#(if you like outdated taxonomy)

[mammoth-clangen]

D’you perchance have any thoughts on the morphological (for lack of a better word?) dire wolves that Colossal Biosciences just revealed to the public? 👀

Oh my god Aenocyon, you can't just ask someone why they're white!

"Morphological dire wolf" my ass. Which is coincidentally where Colossal pulled the white coats from…

Give me an example of a modern temperate/grassland predator that's white*, I'll wait. *Excluding white lions, which are an uncommon but resilient morph resulting from leucism.

I based my Aenocyon design off bushdogs and dholes. They are called Masked Wolves in Kindred's setting, because I enjoy a good pseudo hyena niche uvu-b

Extremely extremely long 'thoughts' below the cut lol c':

Preface: in this discussion the term "dire wolf" has too many meanings, as such I will be referring to them as follows:

Thrones' wolves: for the huge, white, fantasy animals from Game Of Thrones GMO wolves: for Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi, Colossal's creations, Canis lupus Aenocyon: for Aenocyon dirus, the true, extinct dire wolf known from fossils across North America

----

Part 1: That's not a dire wolf-

The first question everyone has been asking is "So, are dire wolves de extinct now?" The answer is an emphatic "NO!" from anyone with knowledge of genetics, palaeontology, or taxonomy.

Aenocyon dirus were actually not wolves, nor dogs, but a secret third thing.

They are canids, but last shared a common ancestor with grey wolves and their lineage some ~5.7 million years ago.

For context, this paper suggests a similar divergence time between genus Homo (humans, Neanderthals and co) and Pan (chimps and bonobos); animals that look and behave markedly differently from each other.

The genomes of Canis lupus and Aenocyon dirus being 99.5% similar may sound like a lot, but again, humans share 98.8% with chimps, and 99.7% with Neanderthals, and yet are very distinct from both.

Skeletally, behaviourally, in soft tissue, etc, you could tell any of the three apart; the same goes for Aenocyon and Canis members.

Additionally, Colossal made 20 changes in 14 genes.

The grey wolf genome has 2,447,000,000 base pairs. Does that maths seem a bit off to you?

That's not even enough to change a grey wolf into a domestic dog, let alone an ancient outgroup!

This would be akin to modifying a lion to have bigger teeth and saying you resurrected Smilodon fatalis.

Or editing a Asian Elephant genome so they retain their juvenile hair and calling it a Woolly Mammoth.

It's a bold-faced lie.

Beth Shapiro says "they look and act like dire wolves" but that, too,simply isn't true.

Visually, the GMO wolves simply aren't what Aenocyon would have looked like. It's what a Thrones' wolf looks like.

Hmmmmm, funny about that, seeing George R R Martin helped fund the 'dire wolf project'...

As with many fossil animals, we don't know much about Aenocyon's behaviour.

You can't say the GMO wolves (who are also still pups) act like Aenocyon, because that's based off nothing.

What we do know is Aenocyon were likely pack animals (from the sheer number found in La Brea Tarpits), and crunched more bones than modern wolves (from their many broken teeth).

Also, crucially, they had Wild Sex Lives (from the many, huge, broken and healed bacula... youch).

Colossal is also being colossally shady by: doubling down on their bs use of the outdated "morphological species definition", blatantly misleading the public with their use of the words 'cloning', 'dire wolves', and 'de extinction', and refusing to share their methods in a peer reviewed paper before going public with a clickbait headline.

Do not trust them with your Red wolves either. They're using coyote hybrids and considering what they deem 'close enough' for a dire wolf, I wouldn't put any money on the quality of their GMO red wolves either...

Also can I just say, whatever genes they modified to "make the skull larger" clearly didn't impact the lower jaw...

No, I'm not sorry for this image uvu-b (But for real look at that poor pup and his overbite jfc)

Part 2: -and if it was, that wouldn't be good either.

I fundamentally do not support de extinction.

No, not even for the Thylacine, not even for passenger pigeons, nor the dodo. Even my beloved Homotherium should be left in the past.

This might be an unexpected stance because I am, surprising no one, a big fan of extinct animals, megafauna and otherwise.

But the thing is, I'm an even bigger fan of actual, living animals.

The animal ethics of de extinction are dubious at best.

The surrogate dog mothers of the GMO wolves likely won't live good lives.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were destroyed after being used, because their bodies could contain feto microchimerisms and Colossal absolutely doesn't want their special wolf genome getting out.

I doubt the GMO wolves themselves will live a full life before they outgrow their hearts, like Ligers.

This would likely be the case for any modern animal genetically modified into megafauna; a body not adapted to deal with the increased size.

Purely conjecture, but I also wouldn't be surprised if Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi have vision/hearing issues from their white coats.

White coats in wolves are associated with hearing impairments, so the gene used for these animals was from domestic dogs. Meaning Colossal has created a very expensive wolfdog.

Again, what kind of life are these wolfdogs supposed to live? As awful pets for the rich? In a zoo? Released to pollute wild wolf genomes? (assuming they're fertile; I hope not)

Regardless, it's not looking good if they ever planned to have them be 'wild animals'

Even true clones (which the GMO wolves are not) tend to have health issues.

Celia the Pyrenean Ibex (bucardo) was cloned, but the clone died after 9 minutes from a deformed lung.

So in 2003, this made the bucardo the first species to go extinct twice, yippee?

There's also the problem of genetic diversity.

How many intact genomes do you have on hand?

For dire wolves the answer is Zero!

To my knowledge, we don't have the full genome coded from one individual, just Frankenstein-ed from many. Which is fine for sequencing the canine family tree's relatedness, but not for cloning.

The absolute minimum individuals to survive a genetic bottleneck is said to be 50 in larger species. Called the 50/500 rule, it states that 50 is enough to survive, but 500 is required to prevent genetic drift.

To which I say, good luck!

Even with well preserved permafrost species (such as woolly mammoths), you'll have a hard time finding 500 individuals with prefect genomes.

And then, where will you put them?

If you were to, somehow, make a breeding population, where are they going? A national park? A zoo? Is their old habitat still available to them?

In Aenocyon, the answer is simply "they don't have a niche anymore".

Unlike the Thylacine or Dodo, humans did not directly cause the extinction of Aenocyon dirus. And even if they had, it was 10,000 years ago!

Would making room for a de extinct species impact the habitat/niche of another species?

Regular grey wolves fill Aenocyon's role as a canine mesopredator, with Puma as the apex (alongside bears as an apex omnivore).

With the loss of megafauna to prey on, a de extinct predator would just compete with other, also endangered species.

Animals also change the environment they life in.

Mammoths will clear trees like modern elephants. This would recreate the Mammoth Steppe, but those trees making up the taiga and boreal forests are themselves crucial habitat.

Other species have moved in since the mammoths' extinction. Siberian tigers, lynx, muskoxen, brown bears, elk, moose, and so many others; many endangered.

Trees also prevent erosion, which is already happening at unprecedented rates due to agriculture and deforestation.

Crucially: What's to stop an extinct animal going the same way it went out last time?

Ask yourself this:

Would the average American appreciate "flocks of Passenger pigeons big enough to darken the sky and whiten ground with their guano"?

Would people suddenly be okay with lions in Europe eating their livestock, when they are champing the bit to shoot Iberian wolves again?

Would Tasmanians suddenly feel the same about the Thylacine, when farmers in Australia still happily kill dingoes and eagles for lamb predation? [citation, I am an enviro technician and have had farmers tell me they shoot Wedge-tails, knowing I'm a toothless lion to stop them.]

I doubt it

At what cost?

Are we going to find 50 thylacine genomes?

If so (doubtful), how much will cloning and/or modifying a relative into a thylacine cost? Now that x50?

Wouldn't that money be better spent on quoll reintroduction?

What about finding 50 gestational carriers for mammoths?

Are you going to use their closest relative; the already critically endangered Asian Elephant?

Wouldn't that time and effort on those elephant mothers be better used making more elephants?

And the social cost:

If extinction isn't forever, what's to incentivize lawmakers to fund conservation?

Really, it comes down to this:

Why bring back the dire wolf when we could put this money into protecting the Iberian and Red wolves?

Why bring back the thylacine when their cousin is dying of a transmissible cancer?

We've already seen the impacts of "extinction isn't forever anymore", with those in power already trying to cut funding to conservation, because you can "just bring them back".

But as we've seen time and time again: there is no Planet B. There is no De-Extinction, not really.

Maybe what was gone should stay gone, so we can focus on what we still have.

[bogleech]

Could I mayhaps know what's the name of that arachnid field guide you have 0//0 it looks really pretty and I have. A thirst for all arachnid related field guides and biology books, love those critters

The Golden Guide to Spiders and their Kin! There were lots of them, originally made in the 60's or 70's I believe, and they used to still be so common when I was a kid - still in print, and sold for just a couple dollars everywhere - I thought everybody had a few! But now they seem to be forgotten.

I had the spiders one, insects one and "seashores" one (mantis shrimps and nudibranchs!!) before I could even read, just looking at the pictures all day. As I learned to read they were how I learned concepts of taxonomy and ecology, why I knew what a "parasitoid" was in first grade and I'd talk constantly about insects that aren't really RARE, but culturally most people never heard about. These books made things like velvet ants, bolas spiders and hairy millipedes seem to me like knowledge as ordinary as dogs and cats.

That "pests of animals" page in particular is why I knew there were wingless parasitic flies, and I thought that was so cool, I was obsessed with "SHEEP KED" for my entire childhood. This bug that nobody ever heard of when I mentioned it, but was at one time deemed worthy of inclusion in an everyday field guide. And they include "duck louse" as an animal pest you're expected to encounter. Sheep and duck parasites?!.....Oh, right! When these books first published, it was still commonplace for almost everyone to have experience with farm animals. Most people at least had grandparents or aunts and uncles with a farm they might visit and help out on. Of course they would encounter sheep and duck parasites. I think they still publish these, actually, I'm sure I still saw them in Barnes and Noble only a few years ago, but it's remarkable what a different America they were made under. My old copy even recommended DDT to control bed bugs....they did eventually edit that out in newer editions.

Some of their attitudes may be outdated here and there, and they're only intended for North American wildlife, but I think the golden guides might still be perfect introductions to their topics for anyone, anywhere of any age really?? They're such well-balanced overviews so densely packed with just the most essential information about each organism.

....Did people really ever just call tree frogs "hylas?!" It's one of their genus names, but was it also used as a common name anywhere? That's a cute idea. Maybe it was, briefly, so at some point to someone there was a concept of Frog, Toad, and Hyla?

[onenicebugperday]

Hello

I hope you are having a pleasant day.

I have been interested in animal taxonomy for a while now and would like to spend more time working on it. Do you have any recommendations on sources, et cetera, that could guide me on how to start?

(I cannot figure out how to ask this anonymously, hope that is bot some sort of Tumblr faux pas)

Regards

I'm afraid I can't really recommend much as I don't own any books on the subject and I've learned the taxonomy I do know just by IDing bugs regularly and having to know the classes, orders, families, and genera that I see commonly. I primarily use iNaturalist for IDing and they organize everything there taxonomically which is hugely helpful.

Although even if there are good books on the subject, it's literally constantly changing, so they may become outdated very quickly.

I think if you want to get into it, it may be helpful to narrow your area of interest to at least a class (Insecta, Arachnida, Mammalia, Reptilia, etc) just so it's not such a huge undertaking.

Beyond that, maybe some of my followers have recommendations for resources?

P.S. - You can't ask anonymously because I have anonymous asks disabled to avoid rude messages. But this certainly wasn't any sort of faux pas!

[little-cereal-draws]

So here's a little hc i thought of, fueling my need for Nimona-found-family-including-blitzmeyer fluff.

Every three months or so is "hair dye day." Ballister has helped Ambrosius dye his hair a few times so somehow, he got delegated to be the official hairdresser. He tried to protest and say he only helped a few times with the roots but no one was listening.

It's an all day activity. Everyone puts on their ratty t-shirts and prepares. He usually starts with Ambrosius and they chat (read: flirt). He takes his time touching his roots up because he likes playing with Ambrosius' hair and will usually throw in a super secret head massage too. (Don't tell the others, they'll get jealous.)

He does Blitzmeyer next. He doesn't rush hers but he doesn't take his sweet time either. They joke and gossip and debate things only nerds would care about like weather balloons or deep sea worms or whatever. It always ends on friendly terms but it can get pretty heated in the middle lol There have been a few times where Nimona and Ambrosius will run in thinking there's a serious fight/problem/attack because they hear yelling but when they get there it's just "BIRDS ARE NOT REPITILES! THEY'RE A DIFFERENT PARAOHYLETIC CLADE!" "YES, BUT SCIENTISTS ARE TRYING TO GET RID OF PARAPHYLETIC TAXA BECAUSE IT'S OUTDATED AND MISLEADING!" "WELL, 'REPTILE' IS A TERM THAT'S NOT BASED IN TAXONOMICAL BASIS AND IS USED TO GENERALLY DESCRIBE COLD BLOODED SCALY THINGS." "THE TERM 'REPTILE' IS LITERALLY TAXONOMY but giving you the benefit of the doubt, WHAT ABOUT FEATHERED DINOSAURS AND MAMMILIAN REPTILES, HUH? ARE WE EXCLUDING THEM?? " "I REFUSE TO TALK TO YOU ANY MORE ABOUT THIS. FACE FORWARD BEFORE I POUR THE BOTTLE OF DYE DOWN THE BACK OF YOUR SHIRT!" Ambrosius and Nimona silently leave and let them figure it out on their own lol Bal and Blitzmeyer usually forget about it a few hours later so it's all good.

Nimona goes last because she usually takes the longest. Sometimes she just wants her roots redone, sometimes she wants to recolor her whole head. Ballister has asked her if she could just shift it to the color she wants and she said she could but that isn't as much fun, and she wanted to be included. So he'll dye her whole head. And it takes hours. They have to strip off the existing dye, let it sit, and then put the new dye on. She's done pink, of course, purple, green, and blue. It can be hard for her to sit still the last few hours and Bal has been doing this all day so he's tired and prone to falling for any fights she tries to pick to entertain herself. Ambrosius and Blitzmeyer will have to come and sit with them and they'll have a group discussion.

For the most part though Ballister doesn't actually mind dying their hair. It's a good bonding experience and being able to play with their hair relaxes him. It's the waiting for it to set part that stresses him. Ofc everyone is walking around w bags/plastic on their heads in ratty tshirsts and towels but Ambrosius and Blitzmeyer are both very excitable and spacey and Nimona is a troublemaker so just because they're taking precautions doesn't mean his couch won't get dyed. And then there's the mad scramble for the shower that takes three hours and leaves the tub looking like it got tie-dyed lol Even though they're all spaced out so they can take showers comfortably, Ambroisius and Blitzmeyer forget until Nimona tries to get in. And then it's "Wait, it's my turn! I've been done for four hours." "Well, I've been done for seven hours!" "Yeah, but I'm the one already in the bathroom so..."

At the end of the day, everyone, but especially Ballister, are exhausted. They'll turn on a movie and flop on the couch until bed. It might not be Ballister's favorite day but in the end, he loves to be able to help them and will do it every time.

[ambyandony]

Monster AU - Monster Taxonomy [P1]

[P1: what the fuck is taxonomy and why does it matter in a monster AU]

OUTDATED

short answer it doesn't. you dont have to care butgod i fucking love classifying things an d making up names. and also there are some intricacies that taxonomy can help elaborate on when it comes to species.

Taxonomy is the scientific practise of ascribing names, categories and classifications to living things based on characteristics both individual and shared between different creatures. There is a taxonomical hierarchy that goes as follows, from least to most specific: domain, kingdom, phylum (sometimes division in botany), class, order, family, genus, and species (plus subspecies). Most things you think of as living fall under the domain Eukaryota, so you can assume everything I talk about belongs to Eukaryota unless otherwise stated. A part of taxonomy is binomial nomenclature, by which species are given a scientific name consisting of two parts, the genus and the species.

Vulpes vulpes, the red fox, is the species vulpes in the genus vulpes and Tyto multipunctata, the lesser sooty owl, is the species multipunctata in the genus tyto. Any normal person will call these 'the red fox' and the 'lesser sooty owl' or just 'the fox' and 'the owl' but taxonomically, they both have a very specific classification.

From kingdom to species, the red fox is: Animalia > Chordata > Mammalia > Carnivora > Canidae > Vulpes > Vulpes vulpes the lesser sooty owl is: Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Strigiformes > Tytonidae > Tyto > Tyto multipunctata.

See, they share a kingdom and phylum; Animalia and Chordata; more or less because they are both animals with spines. But then they diverge as their characteristics differ; in this case, the difference between mammals (mammalia) and birds (aves) is their morphology and reproduction; mammals have mammaries (breasts) and give live birth, and birds have no mammaries and lay eggs. Each further specification on the taxonomical hierarchy indicates a more specific list of shared traits between creatures in that classification.

Taxonomy helps to identify species that are related or have common traits. And why does it matter? Simply because monsters aren't human (Okay, well, on that front it's a little complicated) and there are many different kinds of monsters that fall under a single umbrella label; for example, seafolk. They are commonly widely miscategorised as 'mermaids' no matter what they actually are, but there are countless actual 'kinds' of 'mermaids'. Squalo, a Merrow, is fundamentally different from a Siren or a Selkie. Werewolves are a bit of a special confusing case, but I'll get into that later.

In other words, monsters aren't Homo sapiens and the term "monsters" is a catch all term, not an actual class or genus; and while some monsters are human adjacent, not all of them are, and even those who look human adjacent might belong to entirely different classes. (hint, theres a nonzero entirely likely chance that polymorphs don't belong to the phylum chordata)

And I'm a sucker for coming up with names and being silly. Realistically, monsters wouldn't have any taxonomical classifications because most people don't believe in them and those who do believe in them want them dead a good amount of the time. But we're talking biology here! Perhaps a biologist with an interest in cryptozoology would want to classify monsters and perhaps that biologist is hypothetically me (not a biologist) and I'm going to come up with scientific names and figure out some classifications for my Monster AU.

Stick around if you're interested and leave if you dont give a fuck i dont care i fucking love rambling about my monster au. ill update this post with more related posts and ill make a monster taxonomy tag

Monster Taxonomy Page 2:

[outsourcingmentalhealthbillin]

Top Denial Reasons in Behavioral Health Billing and How to Prevent Them

Top Denial Reasons in Behavioral Health Billing and How to Prevent Them

With complex payer regulations, changing rules, and varying insurance coverage, even small errors can result in denied claims and lost revenue. Indeed, medical billing denials cost $262 billion each year for U.S. healthcare providers, with as much as 40% of claims initially denied due to errors such as improper coding, lack of proper documentation, or eligibility mismatches.

These denials not only hurt the bottom line of behavioral health clinics and addiction treatment facilities but also disrupt care continuity and impose unnecessary administrative burdens. As demand for behavioral health services continues to increase in 2025, it is now more critical than ever to get billing correctly.

Have you ever felt frustrated by denied claims that make no sense? Have you spent hours trying to decode CPT or ICD-10 codes? Or have you found yourself dealing with documentation and reimbursement issues?

If so, then you are not alone.

The good news?

You don’t need to become a billing expert to solve the problem. With the right systems, knowledge of denial codes, and smart support, such as outsourcing medical billing and coding services providers in India, you can avoid common pitfalls and ensure timely, accurate payments.

In this blog, we break down the most frequent denial reasons in behavioral health billing and offer practical strategies to prevent them.

Top Denial Reasons

Behavioral health claim denials arise from a variety of challenges. The following are the most frequently encountered reasons that hinder reimbursement and lead to revenue leakage:

●      Not a MCO Covered Benefit

This denial occurs when providers mistakenly bill Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) for services that should be submitted to the Fee-for-Service (FFS) system. For example, billing Medicare Advantage Organizations (MCOs) for services rendered to Health Options Benefit Design (HOBD) clients at Critical Path Emergency (CPE) hospitals often leads to rejections. Providers must consult the HCA ‘Provider Identify Payer Table’ before submitting claims.

●      Service Not Covered

If a service or procedure is not listed under the patient’s health plan benefits or the HCA fee schedule, it will be denied. Even when exceptions exist, providers must verify coverage eligibility and ensure the billed code aligns with the payer’s fee schedule. A claim review may be needed for resolution.

●      Wrong Provider Specialty

Claims can be rejected if the provider’s specialty, as defined by their taxonomy code, does not match the billed procedure. This often results from outdated or incorrect credentialing records. In fact, it is vital to ensure taxonomy accuracy, especially when new services are introduced or provider specialties have changed since the last update.

●      Exceeded Limits

Claims are denied when the number of billed units exceeds contractual or regulatory limits for a given procedure. Behavioral health services often have strict limits on the number of units per week or month. Providers must consult billing guides, like SERI and HCA manuals, to avoid surpassing these thresholds and triggering denials.

●      Code & Location Mismatch

Claims can be rejected if the CPT code billed is not approved for the place of service indicated. For instance, CPT code H0019 billed with POS 21 instead of POS 55 is not payable. Providers should use the latest billing guidelines to verify that CPT and POS codes align correctly before billing.

●      Wrong Payer

Claims for behavioral health services rendered before system integration can be the responsibility of the Behavioral Health Organization (BHO) rather than the provider’s current payer. In fact, failure to identify the correct responsible party leads to claim denials. Providers must verify claim responsibility based on the date of service and region.

●      Not BHSO Covered

BHSO members often have limited benefits that only cover specific behavioral health services. Billing for services outside the covered scope leads to automatic denials. Providers must check eligibility in ProviderOne to determine what services are covered under a member’s limited plan before proceeding with treatment and billing.

Ways to Prevent Denials

Prevention of claim denials is necessary through proper documentation, correct billing, and proactive communication with payers. The best practices to minimize denials and improve the reimbursement process are as follows:

●      Verify Eligibility and Coverage Before Treatment

Always confirm patient eligibility and service coverage prior to providing treatment. Using tools like ProviderOne and the HCA Identify Payer Table ensures the right payer is billed. This step helps avoid errors related to non-covered services or sending claims to the incorrect entity, both common causes of denials.

●      Review Fee Schedules and Contracts

It is critical to know which services are reimbursed under particular payer contracts and fee schedules. Providers need to review payer-specific reimbursement policies on a regular basis and verify CPT code coverage. They should call the payer if they are not certain to avoid denials due to uncovered or non-reimbursable services or procedures.

●      Maintain Accurate Provider Credentialing

Outdated credentialing or incorrect taxonomy codes can cause mismatch errors during claim submission. Providers must ensure that all credentialing, rosters, and taxonomy updates are submitted regularly and accurately reflect the services offered. Keeping these records current aligns provider details with billing requirements and reduces denial rates significantly.

●      Ensure Code and Location Compatibility

Before submitting claims, cross-reference CPT codes with the allowable places of service (POS). Mismatch of procedure codes and locations is a typical billing error. It is advisable to verify that the billed code is approved for the specified location, as it maintains compliance as well as avoids unnecessary claim rejections.

●      Confirm Responsibility for Claim Submission

Before submitting claims, confirm whether the payer is the BHO, MCO, or FFS entity based on the service date and patient eligibility. Misrouting claims to the wrong payer delays reimbursement and increases the administrative burden. Accurate payer identification at the start reduces claim denials related to submission errors.

●      Use ProviderOne for BHSO

When treating BHSO patients, check ProviderOne to see which services are actually covered. It is important to note that attempting to bill for uncovered services results in denials. Pre-checking this information allows providers to tailor treatments and documentation to align with covered services and ensures smoother reimbursement workflows.

Outsourcing to ICS

Outsourcing offshore medical billing and coding services in India to Info Hub Consultancy Services (ICS) significantly reduces denial rates by ensuring expert handling of behavioral health claims. ICS professionals maintain up-to-date knowledge of payer policies, credentialing requirements, and billing rules to help providers avoid common pitfalls. They also handle the complete revenue cycle, beginning with eligibility verification, documentation, coding, resubmissions, and appeals to facilitate timely, accurate payments.

[veryintou]

I swim in darkness, baby...

Lecture performed in January 2025 at Los Angeles (Barcelona), as part of the event Casi Ángeles. Text written for the release of St. France's first album: There's Room for Everything. Language: English.

There’s a fear of being material. Worldly. Part of an unreachable exteriority. Even though I’m devoted to it. A fear of myself. My living condition. The incoherence of subjectivity, displayed from a broader resistance against objectivity. I mourn. And my mourning becomes a child’s song. I sing it as an offering. To the fracture of that which bound me to my limited horizon. The world. Whatever that outdated word means. Or avoids. But, what world? Cannot be a neutral vessel anymore. All these crossroads dislocate the fantasy of a perfectly coordinated existence. No. Must be made up of contradictory elements. Both internally and towards each other. So, what does materiality mean? There is flesh, flesh for sure. The flow of warm, substantial blood. Where emotions meet tissues. Becoming ductile, affective. Altogether. Fluid movement crystalized into actions. Transitory gestures which find their own end. Expired intentions. Can I accept this kind of dissidence? The heresy of dissolution? It’s not about the body. Not anymore. There are many manifestations of fleshy surfaces. It’s about corporealities. Transmutable entities. Liquid insides indicate this mismatched dialogue(1). The impossibility of an absolute form. A denial. A rejection of the urge to name. Craving for the place which, at some point, was pointed out as the right place. The anxious attachment that has installed suspicion in the core of my soul. Sad, sticky soul. I accept flesh. Not as a site, as a threshold. But what of the thick tar that floods within. Dripping from the edges of my ribs. Coloring my nails. Making my hair grow differently than it used to be. Poisoning the static shape, the comfort of recognition. Dichotomy. Taxonomies drain magic. But magic is elusive. Ghostly placed in every single object that remains there. Occupying space. Generating space. Silently. Through whatever gives me the ability to love, and thus to recognize myself. Loving someone ~someones, or something~ else as oneself implies, in return, loving oneself as something foreign(2). Strange and formless. Even disturbing.

The realm of latency is imprinted in my being the same way language is. But there’s still despair. So I keep singing. Looking for a sound that can lead me to an outer vulnerability. I navigate my breathing and it widens. Exceeding my limbs. My boundaries. Those I defined ~by repetition~ over time. Although they have always been growing. Unsynchronized. Like a kid in their teens. Above their actual capacities. Wanting more. Expecting more. Even demanding more. Insatiable, delusional. My breath is a hallway. A corridor of desire. Turning into a calling. A reflection. An echo of what used to feel mine. Genuine. In a way I don’t really get. Unstable signs I cannot track. Not even now that they finally seem to have settled. Producing whatever separates me from you. Whatever you look at me for. I can’t find the moment where this flicker was born. There’s no isolated perspective from which to observe it from a d i s t a n c e. That educated heritage. Stubborn, obsolete one. Still attached to its discursive point. Cruel by imitation. By concern, or maybe shyness. But cruel at the end of the day. Fighting this whole setting hurt too much. So I decided to bless everything. The noble, also the pain. The mundane. Everyday trouble. Darkness. A familiar presence manifests itself here. Often. Taking hold of my conscience. Pulling at it. As if it didn't have enough space. Contracted by the physical scale that has been given. Which is not my fault, by the way. It doesn't belong to me either. This eerie beating has become a habit. A corrupted method to which I return, systematically. Because there’s also a fear of immateriality. Inscrutable land of possibilities. Only signified by practicing. Uncanny this space we share. The doing. We can trust intuition yet we cannot follow it. And in a city of flagrant infatuations, the beloved has vanished. Dusty. We feel damaged. We are finally damaged! For the better. So the song becomes a lullaby. That I can hum to myself. An ongoing voice-over. Ever collapsed. Decadent. But whose vibrations are holding me together. Licking my internal cavities. Gluing them. Up to a transitory wholeness. Fragility encourages the commons. Distributes miseries. Through its forces I can experience some kind of collectivity. Sensitive infrastructures. Powers of governance. What was called radical softness. But, isn’t it a privilege? One needs to feel safe in order to enjoy it. Or even to tolerate it(4). Leading to a fractal, cultural hierarchy. Not everyone has room to feel vulnerable. I myself need time to cultivate my feelings. Even those that are already happening. Or have happened. Feeding this third persona. This affective substance. I just don’t have it. The time. I can’t keep it. Nor can I glimpse others'. And there’s always a chance of putting my affects to work in a way that will consume them. Sooner or later. So I don’t want to affirm anything. I just claim my right to weakness. To disappointment. The experience of discontinuation. As simple as a heart~broken.Extenuated. And gathered again. In a prayer.

References:

(1)Death Knoll Tourniquet. Cassandra Troyan. 2013

(2)El amor. Simone Weil. Hermida Editores. 2023.

(3)On vulnerability. McKenzie Wark. Spike Magazine 20. 2022

[speed-seo]

Did you know that marketing campaigns lose up to 30% of potential insights due to poor URL tagging practices? A 2024 MarketingProfs survey highlights that 78% of marketers already rely on UTM parameters to gauge their campaign performance, yet inconsistent tagging remains a significant hurdle. Proper tracking isn't just a technical detail—it's the foundation of data-driven decisions, helping you identify winning strategies and cut through the noise. That’s where UTM builders shine. They simplify campaign tagging, ensuring your data remains clean, actionable, and aligned with your marketing goals. Whether you're a solo marketer or part of an enterprise team, this guide will introduce the top tools to elevate your tracking game in 2025. Why UTM Builders Are a Game-Changer: The Numbers Don’t Lie Before diving into the tools, let’s look at why UTM builders matter: - Consistency is Key: A 2023 Forrester study revealed that 62% of marketing teams struggle with inconsistent UTM tagging, muddying their analytics. - Scaling Up: Per HubSpot, enterprises managing 50+ campaigns monthly are three times more likely to adopt automated UTM tools. - Better ROI: Google’s analytics benchmarks show that effective UTM use boosts campaign attribution accuracy by 25%. Picking the right UTM builder can transform your tracking from a chore into a competitive edge. The Top 5 UTM Builders 1. Google Campaign URL Builder - URL: ga-dev-tools.web.app/campaign-url-builder - Best For: Solo marketers or small teams with straightforward campaigns. What It Offers: This free tool from Google is perfect for beginners. It covers the five core UTM parameters (source, medium, campaign, term, content) and adds a campaign ID for GA4 tracking. It even integrates with Bitly for shorter URLs. - Pro Tip: Leverage the campaign ID to link your URLs to specific goals or events in Google Analytics—ideal for granular conversion tracking. - Challenge: Manual entry means typos are a risk. Mistyping “facebook” as “facebok” can throw off your source data. - Pitfall to Avoid: Inconsistent casing (e.g., “Google” vs. “google”) splits your data. Stick to lowercase for all parameters. 2. Facebook Google Analytics URL Builder - URL: facebook.com/business/google-analytics/build-your-url - Best For: Social media marketers running Facebook campaigns. What It Offers: Designed for Facebook ads, this tool mandates source, medium, and campaign, making it a breeze for social tagging. - Pro Tip: Add the content parameter (e.g., “carousel_ad” vs. “single_image”) to A/B test ad creatives within the same campaign. - Challenge: Spaces in parameter values turn into instead of +, making URLs less readable. - Pitfall to Avoid: Skip spaces entirely—use hyphens or underscores (e.g., “lead-gen” or “lead_gen”) for cleaner URLs and smoother data analysis. 3. Raven Tools URL Builder - URL: raventools.com/marketing-reports/google-analytics/url-builder/ - Best For: SEO and SEM pros within Raven’s ecosystem. What It Offers: A straightforward builder that syncs with Raven’s marketing suite, great for users already invested in their tools. - Pro Tip: Combine UTM data with Raven’s reporting to track campaign performance alongside SEO metrics like keyword rankings. - Challenge: Manual input slows things down for big campaigns, eating up valuable time. - Pitfall to Avoid: Without a naming convention, your data can get chaotic. Pair this tool with a taxonomy template to stay organized. 4. Terminus App URL Builder - URL: terminusapp.com - Best For: Teams needing affordable bulk tagging. What It Offers: Terminus provides a web builder and a free Google Sheet for creating multiple URLs at once—a lifesaver for multi-campaign teams. - Pro Tip: Add dropdown menus to the Google Sheet for source and medium (e.g., “google”, “email”) to enforce tagging consistency. - Challenge: The bulk sheet lacks real-time error checking, so mistakes can sneak in. - Pitfall to Avoid: Outdated sheets lead to duplicate or irrelevant URLs. Schedule regular updates to keep your template fresh. 5. Triggerbee Link Creator - URL: triggerbee.com/link-creator/ - Best For: Email marketers who value simplicity. What It Offers: Triggerbee’s intuitive design includes a unique email parameter for tracking individual recipients—perfect for email campaigns. - Pro Tip: Pair the email parameter with your CRM to segment high-value leads or analyze audience-specific performance. - Challenge: It skips medium and term, limiting its scope beyond email. - Pitfall to Avoid: Don’t use it for non-email campaigns—it’s too specialized. Opt for a more flexible tool instead. Common Challenges in Campaign Tagging (And How to Fix Them) Even with top-tier tools, tagging mishaps happen. Here’s how to tackle three big ones: - Inconsistent Naming - Problem: Using “fb”, “facebook”, and “meta” for the same source fragments your data. - Fix: Build a taxonomy (e.g., channel_source_campaign_date) and enforce it team-wide. - Parameter Overload - Problem: Too many custom parameters bloat URLs and complicate analysis. - Fix: Stick to source, medium, and campaign unless you have a clear reason for extras. - Missing Internal Links - Problem: Tagging external campaigns but not internal actions (e.g., sign-ups) distorts your data. - Fix: Tag all trackable actions, even on-site, to map the full user journey. Best Practices for UTM Success Maximize your UTM builders with these tips: - Go Lowercase: Case-sensitive analytics tools treat “Email” and “email” as separate—use lowercase every time. - Keep It Clear and Short: Use descriptive yet concise campaign names (e.g., “winter_sale_2025” over “campaign1”). - A/B Test with Content: Track ad variations (e.g., “cta_red” vs. “cta_blue”) to spot winners. - Avoid Special Characters: Use alphanumerics, hyphens, or underscores to dodge encoding headaches. - Document It All: Store tagged URLs and parameters in a shared spreadsheet or tool like Camptag. How to Choose Your UTM Builder: A Quick Framework Match the tool to your needs: - One-Off Campaigns: Google or Facebook—free and fast. - 10-50 Campaigns/Month: Terminus for bulk efficiency. - 50+ Campaigns: A premium tool like Camptag for automation and control. - Email Focus: Triggerbee’s simplicity shines. - Integrated Analytics: Raven Tools if you’re in their ecosystem. Conclusion (Revised) At the heart of successful marketing lies one truth: you can’t improve what you don’t measure. Effective UTM tracking turns raw campaign data into strategic insights, helping you fine-tune your efforts and amplify your ROI. As the CMO Council recently reported, 72% of marketers are doubling down on automation to streamline tracking processes in 2025. Choosing the right UTM builder isn’t just about convenience—it’s about setting up a system that ensures every click tells a story and every campaign adds value. Get your UTM tagging right, and you won’t just track campaigns; you’ll chart a clear path to marketing success. Read the full article

[furby-organist]

Aaand here comes Satan to edumacate and sin-splain @king-of-wrath

"OKAY, so: you've heard about 'dominant alpha males' in nature documentaries, right? You've seen guys online, calling each other 'beta boys' as an insult? That all comes from this old and now-debunked study of wolf social grouping."

"Some people are monsterfuckers, right? Werewolves are monsters. Bunch of people come up with erotica involving a werewolf hunting and cornering them, but not eating them. It goes 'catch, fuck and release'---or 'catch, fuck and keep forever', depending on tastes."

"In fiction, the werewolves have packs just like how vampires have covens and wolves have packs. So people apply that misinformation picked up by misogynist wannabe badasses and these smut tropes to the werewolves. Now, pack society is divided into three roles: alphas, betas and omegas."

"Alphas are, of course, the ones in charge. The physically strongest. They fight for dominance and breeding rights, then take their pick."

"The betas are a step below, but there's some different tropes given to them: sometimes, they're the equivalent of an actual spouse or a trusted companion. Other times, they're just the favorites."

"But then, there's the omegas: pretty much just slaves, minus the agrarian labor. Unironically, they are called 'bitches' by the alphas and the guys who think they're alphas. The smut revolves around power dynamics and the usual kinks---predator/prey, dubious or no consent, breeding, petplay, you name it."

"Imagine your average ancient or medieval historical or fantasy drama setting. There's the king, his queen, the royal court, the royal harem, the knights, all these people vying for power between interpersonal drama. It's just werewolves instead of normal humans."

> The big Sexuality Notebook (prop turned actual notes on sexuality he's started taking since like, receiving copious amounts of psychic damage over the years) is open, he's taking notes! Sexuality is fascinating. It's a mistake, but it's fascinating.

> (It's also pretty cool that Satan is chilling here and educating him about kinks. Nice.)

> "Werewolves? Pardon me, this is about werewolves and outdated pack structure taxonomy?" That's not something Vox had mentioned. Hmm... ignorant! "Normal drama, garden-variety kinks, but with a furry caste system. Huh!"

> It sounded like it should be interesting, but... it's just not. It sounds boring. He's not interested on even an intellectually curious level. It just sounds silly, and like nothing he pokes at is going to offer him any substance or entertainment. Y'all have fun, but this one's not for him.

[fioras-resolve]

okay, look, people have replied to this telling me i missed fashion, rp, combat, and story, and like, i guess i should pull the curtain back?

this poll is based on a pretty old analysis of player archetypes called Bartle's Taxonomy. it was conceived by a guy who designed the first MUD, basically a proto-mmo, from 1978. Bartle's Taxonomy was written in 1996, before EverQuest was even a thing, so yeah, it's going to be outdated. however, it's not as outdated as I presented it here, because i used mostly natural language for each of these options.

if you wanted to know the original names for each of these, they would be Achiever, Explorer, Socializer, and Killer, each with explicit and implicit variants. Achievers like to act on the world, so combat would fall in line there. Explorers like to interact with the world, so story would likely fall under that. Killers like to act on other players, which can mean beating them in pvp or having some kind of concrete power over them. and Socializers like to interact with other players, which i would definitely use to describe rp and to a lesser extent fashion. obviously a taxonomy from 1996 mostly talking about online text adventures isn't going to explicitly mention character glams, but we do what we can. i was not expecting this to get over 1000 votes, but here we are!

[wri227philomena]

Emoji Marketing, 1-Star Reviews, and 37 Email Marketing Tips That Will Drive You Insane | Class 7

Today I Learned:

Emoji Rhetoric: A Social Media Influencer Perspective by Jing Ge and Ulrike Gretzel

I'm going to be honest. I am profoundly jaded when it comes to my perception of Internet marketing tips. Marketing, in general, hurts the more Marxist parts of my soul, and Internet marketing especially feels disingenuous at best, and deliberately malicious at worst. Influencer marketing, in my mind, is one of the worst things to happen to the social internet. As cited by Ge and Gretzel from eMarketer, "it is well accepted by firms that influencer marketing is an effective way to each and engage consumers, and influence their purchase decisions" (Ge et al., 1277). While this article was published in 2018, and thus is relatively recent/contemporary, the rapidly evolving landscape of the social internet has rendered its advice outdated in record time. The FTC was having such an issue with influencer marketing during this period that it was compelled to publish new guidelines governing the operations of influencers in 2019. The article identifies three use cases for emojis in influencer posts: "emojis add appeal(s) to the textual component that does per se not contain persuasive content", "emojis serve as an enhancer to further amplify the persuasive content delivered through text", and "emojis encapsulating emotional appeals act as a modifier to revise the appeal expressed through the text" (1286). They also state that "Surprisingly, influencers express not only positive but also negative and mixed emotions to trigger reactions in their followers." (Ibid) Is this the Twilight Zone? Do marketing professionals not know that human beings will try to seem human, especially when they want to appeal to their followers emotional biases in pursuit of money? It does not feel natural, to me, to describe this finding as a surprise! In terms of what I learned from this article: Marketing professionals can be scammed quickly and easily. Their attempts to establish a taxonomy of The Grift leaves them especially open to more skilled grifters.

2. Diagramming the Story of a 1-Star Review by Miriam Ellis

I appreciate Ellis's more neutral and personal approach to marketing dissection, but I suppose--then--that I must be being Influenced here by a more direct, human appeal for my time.

I'll preface my response to this page with this: Ellis is attempting to sell "reputation management" services. In addition, her Moz bio alleges that she is a "Local SEO [Search Engine Optimization] Subject Matter Expert". I don't know how much I trust this, given that the embedded link to her website throws a security error in Chrome:

In addition, her wesbite--Solas Web Design--looks like this:

Not to be a huge bitch, but this website is ugly. It does not have the feel of a boutique marketing firm, it feels as though it is attempting to appeal to the most general possible market, and is failing to do so.

The final suggestion in this article reads "Consider purchasing paid products that help you analyse your social media opportunities and manage your reputation". So, in sum, Mirriam has generated an issue--of the poor performance of a food truck--and has turned it around into a marketing tactic for her own business, disguised as a list of tips for marketing your business. This feels disingenuous and shady. Mirriam Ellis did not compose this article out of the goodness of her heart, she did it because she wants you to buy her product. In doing so, she only tangentially disclosed that the article was an advertisement for her own services.

I have a deep, biased malign for marketing professionals--this much is true! But, I feel as though my distrust of them comes from a relatively reasonable place, given Ellis's subterfuge here.

3. 37 Email Marketing Tips for Messages that Get Opened, Read, and Clicked by Henneke Duistermaat

This article feels like shovelware. Early in my academic career, I was not yet entirely comfortable with the difference between academic sources, and community writing on the Internet. During my Work Study placement, I was tasked with composing the foundation of the Community Writing archive of the Asexuality and Aromanticism Bibliography moderated by Dr. Liza Blake. During my work for her, I gained an irreplaceable sense of useful online content in the academic context. This website--Copyblogger--has the same issue as Solas Web Design. It is completely impersonal.

In attempting to appeal to every human being with an Internet connection, they have avoided any specific branding, going instead for the exact same thing every other website is doing these days: horrible white void with black sans-serif. It's not ugly, per se, but the nondescript aesthetic makes it forgettable, and the fact that Henneke says to "Add a personal touch. Because you're trying to get reader to know, like, and trust you, aren't you?" while the entire website she's hosting her writing on looks like the ceiling in the Davis cafeteria is unappealing to me. She doesn't take her own advice.

Tip 29, "Don't sell before the prospect is ready. Become a friend and trusted source of information first, and your readers will more readily buy from you" feels like she is attempting to proliferate a pyramid scheme. THIS is the untrustworthy marketing that is getting influencers in trouble with the FTC, Henneke!

Also, I feel compelled to add, both Henneke and Mirriam have some sort of copy+paste blocker on their websites, which compels me to transcribe their text by hand if I don't want to get elbow deep in the guts of their HTML. I suppose this is so their content can avoid being scraped by bots, which I suppose is valorous, but it limits my ability to share quick snippets of their writing with my social circle, non?

Anyway, it could be the Autism talking, but the only thing that compels me to spend money on the internet is JPEGs of Anime Girls tied to a deeply unfair gambling app. Yes, I am talking about hit rhythm game Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! which I spend about 80 dollars on every month, specifically because the app has me locked in a truly horrific cycle of gambling addiction. That could also be why I view Internet marketing in such a poor light, because my own spending habits are so thoroughly tied to disordered behaviour.

4. Lecture, Part 1 - "Prosumers"

During our discussion of "New New Media", the phrase "Prosumer" was brought up, and I feel as though some dark god has plucked my soul from my flesh so that I might view my own corporeal form from the outside. In doing a bit more research on the origin of the phrase, I now know that it originates in Alvin Toffler's book The Third Wave, which is the 1980 sequal to his book Future Shock. Both works attempt to map the emergence of society through anthropological and sociological stages. The 'third wave' described in the book refers to the Information Age that we currently inhabit. As defined by lecture, a ''prosumer" is someone who is both a 'producer' and a 'consumer'. I feel as though a great deal of modern fanwork could be considered Prosumption, particularly that which can be found in Artist Alleys at such conventions as Anime North or FanExpo Toronto. In attending such events--not FanExpo this year, though, sadge--one can see legitimate prosumption on display, as fans create unofficial, unlicensed merchandise for profit through fan art prints, sculpture, key chains, apparel, etc. I am truly the king of commodity fetishism. Had this course been in-person, you could have seen the cat o' nine tails of Bulbasaur acrylic charms I keep on my backpack. I benefit from prosumption as a consumer, because it allows for small, forgotten media works to be reappropriated by consumers, but it also allows for consumers to occupy a market share otherwise unoccupied by producers in a given region. My favourite anime girl from Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! for example--Emu Otori--has no merchandise available outside of Japan.

Everybody say hello to Emu :3

To acquire commodities with her face on them, I would need to use a proxy shipping service to even buy anything (note: I know this because I have already spent [amount of money redacted] on official Emu merchandise through proxies) as many Japanese retailers do not allow people with North American IP addresses to make accounts on their websites. Through the existence of prosumption, I can attend a fan event, and acquire hundreds of dollars in consumer-produced merchandise. In addition, I myself have become a prosumer in the creation of my initial Barbie movie fan podcast Put a Shrimp On It, and my subsequent existence as a guest personality on the podcasts Barbie Movies Slap and Fandoms Gone Wrong.

I feel as though it is extremely difficult to avoid prosumption in our current media landscape, as producers of media franchises continue to encroach on Fan spaces such as the Archive of Our Own and Wattpad. AO3 has, thankfully, been spared in an official capacity from corporate attrocity due to its existence as a non-profit entity, It goes against the terms of service to advertise for-profit fan works on the site. Wattpad, on the other hand, has become a hellpit in recent years in terms of corporate entities milling content out of fans for monetary gain through 'writing contests'.

TLDR: Prosumption is the natural product of our late stage of capitalism, and as a person who benefits from the democratization of production when it comes to Blorbos from my Shows I don't know if I'm in any place to judge

5. Lecture, Part 2 - Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Our definitions of ethos, pathos, and logos from lecture were thus:

Ethos - What the speaker says, and by what people think of his character before he begins to speak.

Pathos - Persuasion may come through the hearers, when the speech stirs their emotions.

Logos - When we have proved a truth of an apparent truth by means of the persuasive arguments suitable to the case in question.

I have always been a big AOC fan, if one can be a 'fan' of any given politician, so my opinions of her tend to have a positive bias either way. I think that Representative Ocasio-Cortez is generally well-spoken, and that her words tend to carry the appropriate weight, and the appropriate emotion. In returning to this speech of AOC's for lecture, I am compelled to consider the political climate this speech came out of. January 16th, 2019 is two years prior to Biden taking office. It is deep in the mud of Trump's preidency. She is, in particular, discussing the 2018-2019 American government shutdown, caused by conflicts in the Trump government surrounding his request for 5.7 billion dollars in funding to build his proposed border wall.

"This shutdown is about the erosion of American democracy." I appreciate the reframing done by Cortez here. She is speaking truth to power throughout this address, but this is, I feel, a key, thetic moment.

I feel as though Cortez's appeals to economic stagnation through her constituent's paycheques has bipartisan appeal, which lends pathos to her argument. In addition, I feel as though her frank, factual delivery procides much-needed Logos during this period of American political history.

Much of what appeals to me about AOC is her down-to-Earth energy. I feel as though this must be a deliberate marketing tactic of hers, but at the same time, she puts her money where her mouth is, so to speak. I mean, AOC isn't out there blowing up pipelines in her spare time, but she is attempting to make the lives of her constituents easier through social welfare advocacy and legislation. She is attempting to make life in the United States less disgusting overall. Her political opponents not only sexually harras her on Twitter, they also actively want people like her to be, at best, deported--which is funny, becuase she was literally born in NYC, and even if she wasn't, Puerto Rico is an American entity--and at worst, literally shot. During the January 6th coup, insurgents entered her office in the attempt to locate and harm her, in fashions unknown.

In sum, there is a difference between appealling superficially to a base in the attempt to un-money them, and being appealling as a product of your work and actions, thus gaining support and finances.

TLDR: Commodity fetishism is a hell of a drug!

[sahonithereadwolf]

"D&D isn't racist, it's just obsessed with taxonomy" falls apart immediately when you remember 1. Some of the shit the gygax's family have said and done. Things like Gary calling the wounded knee massacre “an act of lawful good” or the current lawsuits around TSR and some very explicitly racist material one of his failsons is involved with. 2. Racism in academia exist, especially in the very outdated models anthro/socio models they're parading around with calipers. Say like, who gets to be considered a culture in dnd and which folks don’t. Don’t even get me started on how they handle religion... 3. How they have treated irl workers. Gosh, It’s not like there isn’t a whole class of BIPoC game designers that have their face, name, likenesses, and work used as marketing only to be treat like crap, have their work altered last minute without consent or consulting that alters the very nature of the work and reinserts the shit they were hired to avoid, ect putting these designers in an unfortunate position to be scapegoats for their community. 4. intent =/= harm done Lived experience of racist aggression on both a micro and macro level tells me as much and it’s not like I’m the only one out there repeatedly going “this sucks”. sorry my working conditions as a designer and wanting to be treated like a human being annoys you though.

[amrosenberg]

Taxonomies of Fandom

In the 19th century, taxonomies were a big deal. A hundred years after Linnaeus developed the system of binomial nomenclature, Darwinian natural philosophy emphasized that new and existing taxonomies should reflect the principle of common descent, giving rise to today’s system of evolutionary taxonomy. 

If you’ve read the Aubrey-Maturin series of nautical adventure novels, you might be familiar with Testudo aubreii, the majestic tortoise that Stephen Maturin named after his best friend Jack Aubrey. It is an honor not lightly to be given, a sort of taxonomy as immortality: “This is Testudo aubreii for all eternity; when the Hero of the Nile is forgotten, Captain Aubrey will live on in his tortoise. There’s glory for you.”  Putting a name to something makes it easier to understand and discuss; it can provide a starting point for study and for further investigation. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about taxonomy lately, thanks to a few conversations I’ve had this month with people looking for expertise on fans and fan studies for final projects. I’m always happy to chat about this stuff, but sometimes I’m unexpectedly run up against the limits of my expertise: to be honest, I don’t know a lot about sports fans, or the practices of fans of massive commercial domains like Disney.

I’m interested in transformative fandom, which is a relatively small (but impactful) slice of the pie, as well as digital platforms and the ways in which youth audiences in particular utilize affordances of those platforms to express enthusiasm. I suppose I’m a fan scholar in the same way that an expert in ants is an entomologist: it’s a useful bit of nomenclature, but don’t ask them about spiders. There’s obviously a lot of benefits to specialization: but for someone who has aspirations towards the public humanities, I’m increasingly aware of my own need to have a more comprehensive overview of the different types of fans. 

Over the 30 years of fan studies’ existence there have been numerous attempts to do just that: create a useful paradigm that neatly sections off fan practices into families and genii. The split between “transformational” and “affirmational” fandoms, first proposed by a pseudonymous fan in 2009 and later taken up by scholars like Henry Jenkins, is broadly handy, but problematic: it can lead to viewing “affirmational” fandom such as cosplaying, merchandise-buying, and information-collecting (such as in wikis) as purely mimetic and of lesser cultural value than “transformational” fan activities (see Hills, 2014). 

That binary also ignores the large swathes of people that perform both types of fandom, or whose fan practices exist somewhere in between, or not on that axis at all; it’s also slightly outdated. In 2009, transformational fans who wrote erotica about non-canonical ships could still be safely said to be “against” canon in some way, non-sanctioned and acting transgressively out of bounds. I would say that in many cases, that is far from the case today. 

Something I’m interested in is how fan practices develop and spread from one “genus” of fandom to another. (Presuming “species” is an individual fandom, and “genus” is a group of species connected by ancestry and shared practice). You see this in the phenomena in sports RPF, for example: slash fanfiction is a genre of practice developed by media fandom (TV/film fandom) in the 1970s and 80s, but it has been “adopted out” so to speak to form the nucleus of a sub-species of sports fans. 

This circulation of practice is especially notable in the field of transcultural fandom (see Morimoto, 2017). Fan practices developed in the context of East Asian pop music fandom, such as chart-boosting, have made their way over to Western fandoms and communities centering on non-music media objects. Digital platforms afford this circulation, which in turn results in a blurring of boundaries between fan species and increasing difficulty in parsing out which “type” of fan someone is. Practices are contagious and amoebic. The type of sparkly fancams intially made by K-pop idol fans were adopted by Succession stans. 

Like the animal kingdom, there’s just so much going on. To say nothing of what was going on. Which types of fans have gone extinct? Which modes of interacting with media are now archaeological artifacts, thanks to the shifting relationality of the apparatus of cultural production with respect to audiences? 

I think that especially in a time when many groups who might not explicitly consider themselves “fans” have freely taken up digital practices developed and popularized in fandom spaces, investigations into the origins and classifications of fans and fan culture has the potential to provide broader behavioral insights into online communities. 

[scientificmicroscope]

"Excuse me, Sir? A moment of your time? Excuse me!" A tiny little latex lad waves from afar, brandishing a well worn notebook as his feelers bob enthusiastically. "You are a scientist yes? As am I, my wonderful friend!" The little guy beamed with delight. "I was wondering if you would be willing to talk to me about some of how your species functions, or refer me to the appropriate department?" Hosin waddles over and reads over his recent notes he's garnered from other Cybertronians, tail thumping lightly on the ground. "I would very much like your expertise on some things!"

He almost dropped the data pad in his arm when he heard a voice suddenly. Looking around he saw no one till he looked down.

"Oh! hello there." He said as he saw the new small guest below him. He knew that there were a few new ships docking recently with new passages from other planets visiting Cybertron's reconstruction. He half expected most of them to see more of the newer sights than this old lab.

"Yes I am, I'm Quark of Rodion.  I am one of the scientists here but as for your question...It depends on the "What" functions you are looking for. If it's technology then you came to the right place. If it's Biological you might need to see the medical department, For Cybertronian Taxonomy you might have to look into the data archivists for some "Outdated" info."

"But I have a bit of knowledge on all and a few others so I can answer a few basic questions without too much digging around."

[tyrantisterror]

THE A.T.O.M. CREATE A KAIJU CONTEST 3-D!!!

YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE SAFE!  YOU THOUGHT THAT THE TIME OF MONSTERS WAS AT AN END!  BUT YOU WERE WRONG, FOR NOW YOU MUST WITNESS…

THE A.T.O.M. CREATE A KAIJU CONTEST 3-D!!!

That’s right, it’s back!  Celebrating the publication of The Atomic Time of Monsters Volume 2: Tyrantis Roams the Earth! (which in turn completes The Ballad of Tyrantis arc for this series), I’m holding another monster design jam.  The third of such jams, in fact!

Like the first A.T.O.M. Create a Kaiju Contest, the aim of this contest is to create kaiju that would fit within the setting of my big kaiju story series, The Atomic Time of Monsters.  Think of it as me letting you into my sandbox to play with my toys for a bit, or like you’re being put in the director’s chair of a new ATOM-verse kaiju movie.  That means your entry does have to fit into ATOM’s world, which in turn means that yes, there are limitations to your creativity here.  But limitations can be good sometimes - they can make us explore options we wouldn’t consider when given completely free rein to do what we want!

(also you don’t have to make a three dimensional image or anything, the title’s just a pun on how the third movie in a monster movie franchise will often be a 3-D film)

Read below the cut to learn the rules and whatnot:

THE RULES:

1.  You are limited to one entry per person.  Work hard and make your entry count!

2.  Your kaiju must have some sort of description of its physical appearance and its personality - you can submit a drawing or a written description (or both!) for the physical appearance depending on what you’re most comfortable with.  Using the same template/format as my official ATOM Kaiju Files (https://horrorflora.com/monster-menageries/atom-kaiju-files/) isn’t required, but it was cool when people did it in the last contest, so feel free to do so this time too!

3. The kaiju you create must specifically be created for this contest  - no repurposing characters you made for other, wildly different stories.  This is not “trick TT into drawing/canonizing my main OC” time.

4. The kaiju must fit the setting and aesthetics of ATOM.  I’ll explain this in more detail down below.

5. The kaiju should add something meaningful to the world of ATOM. The more unique and interesting your kaiju is, the more likely you will win the contest.

6. Don’t make your kaiju too dependent on pre-existing ATOM characters - no “Tyrantis’s long lost evil brother who’s the strongest kaiju in the world.” These should be to Tyrantis’s story what War of the Gargantuas is to Godzilla’s movies – heroes (well, monsters) of another story in the same world.

THE REWARDS:

I will make pencil sketches of the top 5 entries in the contest.

I will then make fully rendered illustrations (lineart, colors, & shading) of the top three entries.

The winning entry will be made into a model ala the ones I’ve been making for ATOM’s core 50 monsters, which can then be shipped to the person who created it (should they be able to cover the shipping costs).  That’s right, your kaiju could be brought to life in THREE GLORIOUS TECHNICOLOR DIMENSIONS!  (Hey, we worked the gag title in to the prizes!)

THE DEADLINE: All entries must be submitted by July 3rd, 2021.  You can submit it here on tumblr, via the horror flora e-mail, or any other channel you know how to reach me through.  I’m in a lot of places.

THE GUIDELINES (TO HELP YOUR ENTRY FIT THE RULES AND WIN):

The smartest thing you could do if you want to win this contest is familiarize yourself with the world of ATOM by, y’know, reading all the material I’ve published on the subject.  In addition to the many kaiju files that are free to read on horrorflora.com, there are now TWO, count ‘em, TWO novels in this series for you to peruse, both of which establish many of the rules of the setting as well as its general themes and tone!  You can get them in either paperback or e-book formatting (I’d recommend the former over the latter since I lack the technology to make a really nice ebook, but if money is an object, the kindle version is only $1).  Here’s the links again if you missed them:

Vol. 1: Tyrantis Walks Among Us!

Vol. 2: Tyrantis Roams the Earth!

However, since I know reading a bunch of stuff is, y’know, not something everyone is inclined to do, I’ll jot some good bullet points for you in an attempt to outline how ATOM works in a brief, easily digested way:

ATOM is an homage to the monster fiction of the 1950’s and 60’s (i.e. the Atomic Age), and is set in those two decades, albeit an alternate universe version of them where, y’know, monsters and space aliens exist.  If you aren’t familiar with the monster fiction I’m referring to, there will be some reference material provided at the end of this post along with some recommendations for further research.

Kaiju/giant monsters in ATOM work under very specific rules.  There’s a full description of those rules at this link, but here’s the jist:

ATOM Kaiju are created created by the radiation of a mineral called Yamaneon, which naturally converts harmful radiation into its own unique energy.  In natural circumstances, it takes hundreds of years of exposure to Yamaneon radiation for a creature to become fully transform into a kaiju (luckily, Yamaneon radiation slows the aging process while speeding up the healing process).  However, an explosive burst of energy - such as the geothermal and kinetic energy released by an earthquake, or the blast of a nuclear weapon - can speed up the process, turning a normal animal into a kaiju within a matter of seconds.  

All ATOM kaiju can heal grievous wounds within minutes or even seconds, are supernaturally strong and durable, and can convert harmful radiation to harmless energy that they then feed off of.  Kaiju do not have an equivalent of old age, and can theoretically live forever (though their violent lifestyle means that few do).

ATOM Kaiju generally don’t need to eat unless they are severely injured, getting most of the energy they need from solar or geothermal radiation - but many still have instincts that drive them to seek out food from time to time.

Most ATOM kaiju stand roughly 100 feet tall (depending on their body shape), i.e. smaller than the original 1954 Godzilla.  There are exceptions to this rule - younger kaiju can be smaller, while exceedingly old kaiju can be significantly larger, but these are rare.

In general, ATOM kaiju are significantly more intelligent and emotionally complex than people expect animals to be, though most are incapable of speech or complex tool use.  There’s a reason ATOM Kaiju Files have a “personality” section.

Most ATOM Kaiju are tooth and claw fighters - ranged weapons are a rarity in this setting.

While the terrestrial monsters in ATOM look strange, they are intended to fit within the taxonomy of animals in reality - reptiles, mammals, fish, arthropods, molluscs, etc.

ATOM’s mesozoic era was dominated by a fictional clade of crocodile-relatives called retrosaurs, which are based on the outdated paleoart that one would find in the 1950’s/60’s fiction - i.e. when dinosaurs were viewed as trail dragging lizards instead of strange birds.  You can learn more about retrosaurs here (https://horrorflora.com/2016/11/15/atom-kaiju-file-bonus-a-guide-to-retrosaurs/).

Kaiju appear on every continent in ATOM, but certain areas tend to be dominated by different types.

North America is mainly besieged by retrosaur kaiju and giant arthropods.

East Asia is technically also mainly plagued by retrosaurs and big arthropods, though they tend to look more fantastical and mythic - and, often, oddly well suited to being portrayed by a person wearing a monster suit.

Russia is beset by prehistoric monsters that seem to come from the Cenozoic, particularly the Ice Age.

Western Europe is plagued by creatures that vaguely resemble creatures from myth, if they were also prehistoric.  Dragon-y lizards, fiery birds, etc.

Towards the mid-way point of ATOM’s timeline, earth is invaded by a coalition of aliens from different solar systems called the Beyonder Alliance, and as a result a bunch of alien monsters can be found on earth.

Mars and Venus both host (or hosted in Mars’s case) animal life.  The surviving Martians colonized Venus, and sent some of their kaiju guardians to earth to help us fend off the Beyonders (who are responsible for the destruction of Mars’s ecosystem).  Martian and Venusian kaiju have specific anatomical quirks, which you can see by looking at these kaiju files:

Venusians:

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/03/atom-kaiju-file-29-karamtor/

Martians:

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/17/atom-kaiju-file-39-kemlasulla/

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/17/atom-kaiju-file-40-podritak/

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/17/atom-kaiju-file-41-sombarvot/

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/17/atom-kaiju-file-38-ullawdra/

Giant robots exist in ATOM, but are big, bulky, and incredibly expensive.  Fancy beam weapons also exist, but are similarly clunky - there are no sleek, elegant machines in ATOM.

Since the fiction ATOM takes inspiration from was made at a time when interplanetary travel was only just beginning to be possible, its scope is significantly smaller than modern sci-fi.  Alternate universes/dimensions were pretty uncommon because the idea of alien planets still held a lot of wonder to it.  So, as a general rule, don’t try to go farther than the one galaxy.

ATOM is a setting for stories that are focused on humanity learning to coexist with monsters, rather than humanity destroying them.  A certain level of sympathy is put into almost every creature of its canon, even the ones that are meant to be villains.

REFERENCE MATERIAL

Here is a playlist of 1950′s monster movie trailers.  

Here is some reference material from various monster comics of the 50′s and 60′s. 

Good movies to track down to understand ATOM’s inspiration and tone include Ghidorah the 3 Headed Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, Them!, The Black Scorpion, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Gamera, The Giant Claw, and The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra.

And here’s the intro cutscenes for all the different giant monsters in the PS2 videogame War of the Monsters.

[smeargledshades]

This is all true from a scientific perspective! But the history behind this- how we got to know what types Pokemon are- is even more interesting.

Nota bene, I'm not a Pokemon professor or a Pokebiologist, just a nerd. BUT. OKAY SO.

A Professor called Carl Linnaeus in Kalos (and a Professor named Sayako Oohkido, around the same time, in Kanto) wondered if Pokemon who looked alike were related, and came up with a classification system that grouped related-looking Pokemon together.

Linnaeus' original taxonomy only had 12 of the 18 types, plus some we don't use today: Normal, Fire, Grass, Water, Ghost, Flying, Poison, Ground, Bug, Electric, Dragon, Dog, Cat, and ???. He classed most Ice Pokemon as Water Pokemon, most Dark Pokemon as Ghost or ??? pokemon, Charmander as a Dragon type (because it looks like Dragonair). He also classed a lot of completely unrelated Pokemon (like Smeargle, Houndoom, Fidough) as Dog pokemon, and same (Meowth, Skitty, Purrugly, etc) as Cat Pokemon.

Obviously the flaws in this system were Many and Varied, and scientists who study Fossil pokemon poked holes in it as early as the 1850s. But it took proper genetic analysis in the 80s and 90s to really put it to bed- like @pokemonshelterstories said, Type really is a genetic thing, just like Egg group. It has nothing to do with lines of common ancestry- did you know that Skitty is more closely related to Wailord than to Sprigatito- and everything to do with genes and evolution and stuff.

But that's why you still get people arguing that Charmander is a Dragon type- it's an outdated classification system that people still get taught in schools for some reason. >:(

hi, I was wondering how we know what types pokemon are and my friend just told me that scientists have some way to tell exactly what types a pokemon is but when I asked him to explain he just. refused to elaborate. can you explain?

typing is biological. it's contained within a pokemon's dna, and it can be tested for. that's how we understand "type matchups;" there had to be consistency between the different pokemon of the same type or else there would be no way to assess what other types those pokemon are strong and weak against!

so, for example- a charmander, bar some strange mutation, is always a fire type. the fire on its tail is because it's a fire type, not the other way around. this is because being fire type is an inherent part of charmander's biology; if a charmander were to suddenly be a different type, it would either be declared a regional variant or classified as a new pokemon entirely.