#and scorpions and snakes and all that

[procrastinating-falcon]

Crazy how in media, it’s the Amazon that’s made to seem as “oooh scary” when most of the fucked up giant fauna is in North America

[garlicgravy]

Hmmm some Ninjago Oni lore... Yummy...

[skunkes]

al favorite animal: obviously the humble cow

talon favorite animals: snake, monkey, horse

[ineffectualdemon]

I love you people who own "scary" or "creepy" pets or are enthusiastic about them

I love you people who own spiders, owners of snakes, owners of beetles, owners of roaches and scorpions. I love you breeders of moths and stick insects. I love you insect enthusiasts and amateurs educators. I love you lovers of wasps and hornets and ants.

I could never own your beloved pets because I could not care for them properly but your love for these creatures and your enthusiasm and education has taken creatures that made my skin crawl and fear to strike and taught me their value not only as part of our ecosystem but as something beautiful and worthy of love and admiration

Thank you

[lilliemadoka]

finally made a list of cookie run pairings im Normal about. mostly rarepairs, all sapphic. 'erm actually this isn't-' these are all yuri to me. anything can be sapphic when you're a lesbian with too much time on your hands.

fun fact when i was tagging this my nose started bleeding all down my chin for no fucking reason. insane.

[ocean-sunfish-hater]

A shallowish dive into some pits.

The pit organ of a viper is what is responsible for its ability to detect body heat via infrared (IR) light. Whilst IR detection has evolved multiple times in snakes, the pit organ is far and away the most sensitive and specialised of the bunch. The snake is able to detect thermal differences of just 0.003C, which is wild, because some of the best available cryogenic IR sensors that we've made are apparently sensitive to differences of around 0.01C (although I don't know much about thermal imaging so please someone correct me if I'm wrong).

The receptor that is found in the pit organ is known as TRPA1 (it stands for something technical and boring, cellular biology has never been my jam), and it's expressed in incredibly high amounts in the Trigeminal Ganglion of snakes, which is the main nerve that connects to the face.

ID: A close up image of the face of a rattlesnake. Its scales are a mixture of brown and yellow tones. It looks cool.

Some people theorise that the pit organ didn't initially evolve for hunting, but rather predator detection and thermoregulation. Studies of pit vipers and true vipers have found that pit vipers were much better at finding spots to warm up in than their non-pitty relatives. So the pit organ might have evolved for a more general use rather than the predatory one we first thought.

But you know what's interesting? In mammals, TRPA1 is actually cold receptor, as well as one that's responsible for itching. What's more, it's commonly known as the wasabi receptor, because that's what the chemicals in wasabi bind to to give us that characteristic kick. I guess its link to our trigeminal nerve is why it gets us when it's in our face but not really anywhere else, unlike the spice you find in chillis.

ID: An image of an Australian Black Rock Scorpion sat upon some light coloured wood. The scorpion is dark brown in colour with lighter coloured legs. Both its sting and claws are somewhat raised.

ALSO, I just found this out as I was doing a bit more research, but since TRPA1 is also a receptor involved in sensing pain, it's a target for a toxin called the Wasabi Toxin, produced by the Australian Black Rock Scorpion. The toxin forces the channel open, making the affected area hypersensitive to heat and touch, but doesn't make it swell up.

Anyway, this was a bit more of a ramble than my usual posts, I just thought it was interesting how this one receptor is linked to so many different things, and how it's used in such a variety of ways.

[roman-roy-apologist]

i love you animal symbolism

[dynastyandtree]

I think I found this website some time ago and forgot, but my search bar just autocompleted and brought me to a VENOM WEBSITE of all time!

Exactly what it says on the tin! A collection of information on a huge selection of death/tummyache juices!

For example, I'm going to look at this alongside that one research paper about venom ontogeny in southern pacific rattlesnakes and see if I can get a better understanding of what those guys are referring to. !!!!!!!

[tiredflowercrown]

I miss our chickens

I didn't interact with them at all but when we had them I didn't have to deal with the spiders or crickets

[hey-its-sybarite]

None of the above but I have access to nature. I live on an acre plot bordered by wild public land. Parks in walking distance, nicer parks and public nature reserves in driving distance.

Hmm let me get a poll for something real quick

I want to see how many people have easy access to nature, as I assume most of tumblr lives in urban areas such as cities or large suburbs, and a lot of people seem to not know much about the native species of plants and animals in their area. If you answered several, please reblog with which ones! And if the natural area is not mentioned, add it in a reblog or comment :)

[divinexcarnage]

character tag dump

[mlmxreader]

my bull snake got a new, larger enclosure (it was free lmao & I have plans to construct an even larger one under my bed for him using the new one + the old one but it won't be for a while) and it came w a load of bowls and decor and shit, and the substrate I bought for a tarantula also arrived, so I've spent the last FOUR HOURS working on various enclosures 😭😭

[lilliemadoka]

finally made a list in comic studio of cookie run characters im deeply in love with. in lesbians with. cookie run characters i'd let hit me with a car. how does it feel following someone with such immaculate taste (i am feverish right now.)

nightmare blunt rotation

[kashverse]

it is a rite of passage for every child to have a pet, and when it is finally babykuna’s turn, sukuna—being the extra man that he is—does not just take her to a normal pet shop. no, no, no. he takes her to an exotic pet shop. because why settle for a goldfish when she could have a tarantula named missy? or maybe a snake called george? wouldn’t a scorpion be so much cooler? apparently not. because out of all the fascinating, unique, and terrifying creatures in the shop, babykuna walks past them all—ignores the lizards, dismisses the sugar gliders, doesn’t even look at the parrot that screeches a greeting at her—

and stops dead in front of a massive maine coon that is currently squished into a cage far too small for its body. the cat—fluffy, fat, and looking seconds away from sighing like a disappointed victorian orphan—locks eyes with babykuna. babykuna gasps, pressing her tiny hands against the cage. "mama! papa! it’s him!"

sukuna furrows his brows. "what?"

"him! my pet! my baby! my everything!"

you squint at the cat. it looks back at you like it’s seen some shit. "baby, are you sure?" you ask gently, glancing at the other animals. "there are so many cool options, what about—"

"NO!"

babykuna throws herself onto the ground, wailing like she’s in a period drama. sukuna jumps in alarm. "oi, oi, what the fuck, don’t start—"

before he can finish, the cat in the cage suddenly lets out a long, tragic, soul-crushing howl—as if mourning a life it never got to live.

the entire store falls silent.

"…what the fuck was that," sukuna hisses, visibly unsettled. babykuna gasps again, sitting up. "mr pickles! papa said a bad word!"

"mr…pickles?" sukuna repeats, looking at the cat like it personally offended him. "why is its name mr pickles?"

"because he is my son," babykuna says matter-of-factly, wiping away her fake tears. “and my heart knows his true name.” you press your lips together to keep from laughing. "mr pickles is a cute name, love."

"no, it’s not," sukuna grumbles, rubbing his temples. "baby, listen, papa will get you anything else, okay? you want a wolfdog? a komodo dragon? a fucking capybara?"

babykuna sobs.

"I WANT MR PICKLESSSSSSSSSS—!"

mr pickles, from inside his cage, lets out a sorrowful “AAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOHHH—”

and that is how the fourth member of the family—a fat, depressed maine coon named mr pickles—came to be. turns out, despite his tragic victorian orphan appearance, mr pickles is actually a sweetheart. not only does he fulfill his feline duties—lounging around, occasionally chasing invisible ghosts, and knocking over things just for fun—he also doubles as babykuna’s personal weighted blanket. and let’s be honest, nothing has ever knocked babykuna out quite like mr pickles’ fluffy, oversized body. 

she sleeps like a brick, snoring so loudly that you once thought a grown man had somehow broken into the house and passed out in her room. but there she was—wrapped around mr pickles like a koala, drool dripping onto his fur, dead to the world. and mr pickles? he doesn’t complain even once. in fact, he doesn’t even move. just lies there, accepting his fate, staring blankly into the void while babykuna uses him as her personal mattress. what a versatile king. in fact, mr pickles has so many roles in this household.

a cat? yes.

a weighted blanket? absolutely.

a luxury aesthetic background for your new nail set photos? oh, you better believe it.

you take a picture of your freshly done nails—perfectly manicured, sitting against the soft, plush fur of mr pickles, the perfect neutral background. you send it to sukuna. he normally loves seeing your nails, but this time—his eyebrow twitches as he recognizes the background.

sukuna: are you using that fucking cat as a backdrop again you: mr pickles is an aesthetic marvel. sukuna: i will throw that thing in the washing machine

you report him to babykuna, who screeches in betrayal and slaps his arm like she’s defending her child from a monster. but let’s be real—the best thing about mr pickles? his impeccable manners.

the moment he finishes eating from his bowl, he delicately pushes it towards the sink—like some kind of distinguished gentleman disposing of his fine china. it is so polite that you almost want to give him a little bowtie. sukuna watches this with a blank face. “i feel like i should be impressed, but i also feel like i’m being manipulated.” and maybe, just maybe, he would grow to respect this cat.

except.

mr pickles is a hater. specifically, a sukuna hater. because whenever it comes to sukuna’s belongings? suddenly, mr pickles is the menace of the household.

one night, sukuna walks into the laundry room to grab his freshly washed, neatly pressed shirts, only to find mr pickles sprawled on top of them, looking at him with such deep, sorrowful eyes that sukuna physically cannot yell at him. he stares. mr pickles blinks slowly.

"…get the fuck off."

mr pickles closes his eyes and pretends to sleep.

"GET OFF."

the very next day, sukuna screams when he finds all of his socks shredded into oblivion—like someone went berserk with a pair of scissors. babykuna gasps, pointing at mr pickles. “papa! it was mr pickles!”

sukuna whirls to glare at the culprit. "you little shit—!"

mr pickles blinks at him, looking once again like a victorian boy with consumption.

sukuna’s rage stutters.

"…you think you’re funny, huh?"

mr pickles does not reply.

(but he does later eat an entire stack of sukuna’s important business papers™ and then vomits them out on the living room carpet.)

[bogleech]

Sharks, orcas, wolves, mongooses, hawks, owls, eagles, big cats, snakes, piranhas, centipedes, preying mantises, scorpions, spiders, squids, komodo dragons, polar bears, sea lions, crocodilians: entire groups of life adapted to eat absolutely nothing but the raw flesh of other creatures. Our society recognizes all of these as iconic killing machines. They all occupy a position in our collective consciousness that teeters between majestic warrior hunter and grim terrifying murder monster. Embodiments of nature's ferocity. Agents of death.

Frogs: an entire group of life adapted to eat absolutely nothing but the raw flesh of other creatures. We think they're silly guys who ought to wear floppy hats perhaps

[teatime-tangents-and-toys]

Interesting Monster High design things that are never explicitly stated:

* Unlicensed vampires are all some type of pink-skinned for some reason, including related species like the manananggal

* Clawdeen, and by extension, other werewolves, never wear silver metals, because that weakens them. The Wolfs only wear gold jewelry and accents.

* Lagoona's sporty theme aligns with the use of mesh fabrics to make a pun about fishnets

* Wydowna Spider's hairline is a widow's peak and one of her hands is in Spider-Man's web-slinging shape

* Twyla's eyes glow in the dark on most editions--common knowledge, but Mattel has never told buyers about it on her boxes!

* Twyla is a boogeyman and her costume designs all feature antique architectural details and imagery of things that might be in a scary bedroom at night, like wallpaper patterns, doorknobs, bugs, and beds, while her outfits often resemble pajamas

* The two G1 pop star characters are a witch and a black cat, and a witch and cat were also a Create-A-Monster duo

* The Grant sisters' monster twist on genies is to make them plated like desert scorpions

* Elissabat's face is deliberately highly similar to Draculaura's, but their sculpts have been determined to be different--this when MH has used shared sculpts for more distant-looking and disparate pairs of characters!

* The Blob and Ice Girls are a Create-A-Monster duo because freezing was the one weakness of the Blob monster

* Deuce and Cleo as a couple invoke the synergy of snakes and Egyptian culture, the famous Cleopatra being Greek, and Cleopatra being stated in legend to have died by snakebite--similar reasons a mummy and Gorgon were paired in the Create-A-Monster sets

* Operetta is from New Orleans because it's a uniquely French area of the USA, tying her into the original setting of the Phantom of the Opera

* The manufacturing code on the back of Skelita Calaveras' original head mold is a custom sequence made to depict the name "KATRINA".

This refers to the tradition of carving a name of honor into a Dia de Muertos sugar skull, and may also reflect La Catrina, the iconic Mexican skeleton woman in the wide hat often seen in the holiday's imagery. Other dolls have these stamps on the backs of their heads with meaningless sequences of letters and numbers which are never meant to be seen, but Skelita's stamp was used for a purpose. I've checked her dolls after G1 (starting with her first collector doll in 2016), and they have a generic code stamped in and have lost this detail.

* Viperine Gorgon has distinct visual hallmarks of both human and serpent albinism, and her use of sunglasses could correspond with sensitive eyes from the condition, though she's never stated to have the condition in any material.

* Great Scarrier Reef's transformations: Electric-powered Frankie became an electric eel, Draculaura became a vampire squid, and tigerlike Toralei became a lionfish. I've heard Clawdeen was based on a wolffish, but can't be sure that was actually clear. Gil turning into a ray may be a pun with manta and manster? No idea if Lagoona was based on a specific fish or not. Nor why she even had to transform in her native territory for any reason beyond making a new doll.

* Bonita Femur's color palette is based on the rosy maple moth, which is as implausibly candy-colored as Bonita. Luna Mothews is absolutely not actually a luna moth, but could be loosely based on the cecropia moth, the largest in North America and found in regions that could include New Jersey where she's from (or West Virginia, where the Mothman is from). Her yellow exoskeleton also loosely resembles the hornet moth, but may not intentionally be based on it.

* Mouscedes King, Luna Mothews, and Elle Eedee are a primary yellow/red/blue trio but also a past/present/future trio based on an old fairy tale, a current cryptid legend, and a speculative idea of future tech

* Headmistress Bloodgood's first name was eventually revealed to be Nora, an iconically Irish name that may have been chosen to liken Bloodgood to the Irish folklore of the dullahan, another "headless rider" monster.

* River Styxx is a young-adolescent Grim Reaper ghost who is partially translucent, revealing bones in her limbs and having a more opaque face that looks like thin skin over a bony structure. This creates a fun possible worldbuilding idea that reapers start as ghosts with skin and it fades as they develop, becoming full skeletons in classic Death style when mature.

* Peri and Pearl are conjoined Hydra sisters, obviously reflecting a rare human scenario of conjoined twins through the Hydra monster concept, but also possibly being influenced by the animal phenomenon of snakes being born with two heads in an even Y-shaped structure.

* Elle has a separate sculpted panel on her hip where her factory stamp is placed, canonizing the real-world manufacturing artifact as a real/literal/diegetic feature on the manufactured robot character.

* Corazón Marikit's red fringe blends the two halves of her outfit, but also stands in for the gorier imagery of dangling intestines and entrails when the manananggal monster's body splits at the waist. She does have a spine coming out of her upper torso as the peg that clicks her pieces together, but the dolls aren't brutally gory, so her costume alludes to the folklore's more extreme imagery in a graceful way.

* Scary Sweet Birthday Cupid is the only doll in the SSB collection whose cage element is under her skirt rather than on top of it.

This placement and its rectangular silhouette make the cage functional rather than decorative, replicating an old-fashioned crinoline frame used to internally shape big skirts, and its wide boxy shape matches some rococo skirt silhouettes, suiting the other elements Cupid has drawn from the rococo aesthetic, even before G3. Victorian-steampunk Robecca Steam has also worn cage elements that invoke a crinoline without a skirt to be shaped by it.