#Coral Sea Basin

[ceciliawyu]

..in search of Ai visual magic... Haven't found it yet!

[i-draws-dinosaurs]

Prehistoric Reef Cam Footage: Field Notes

A series of Horizontal Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (H-BRUVS) were lowered into the sea over the Late Devonian Canning Basin reef system, in what is now the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The purpose of this research study was to understand grouping and trophic interactions within the Canning Basin Biota. Screenshots of the footage from the third camera (file name HBRUVS_Cann_03.mp4) are shown here to present some select interactions observed during the day's recording session. The BRUVS was baited with chopped Bothriolepis.

Slide 1: After being lowered into the water at 10am, the bait bag draws a small group of Mimipiscis toombsi that begin to feed on the bait. Placoderms Rolfosteus canningensis and Camuropiscis laidlawi are observed swimming among the stromatoporoid corals, seeming disinterested in the bait bag. Acuticryphops trilobites are visible on the seafloor and ammonites (likely Ponticeras sp.) swim slowly suspended in the water column.

Slide 2: The bait bag has drawn a larger group of Mimipiscis, the gathering has been disrupted by the presence of Mcnamaraspis kaprios. The placoderm is larger and has a stronger bite than the Mimipiscis, and claims feeding privileges while they keep their distance. Materpiscis attenboroughi is briefly visible in the lower left of the frame, and slowly drifted along the sand before disappearing off frame. One Rolfosteus individual continues to swim around the stromatoporoids.

Slide 3: The feeding session is interrupted by a large Eastmanosteus calliaspis as it attacks the bait bag, startling the Mimipiscis and Mcnamaraspis into fleeing. This was the only Eastmanosteus individual observed in the week since beginning video surveys, and their usual habitat is still unknown. A dramatic and exciting encounter for the team upon rewatching today's footage.

Slide 4: This slide is indicative of the rest of the footage until the thirds BRUVS was recovered at 17:00. With the bait bag torn off by the Eastmanosteus, no further fish were drawn to the camera and activity in the area was limited. This slide does, however, show a rare sighting of the predatory Onychodus jandemarrai toward the background, likely hunting. Materpiscis is visible sheltered at the base of the reef, and the small saltwater lungfish Rhinodipterus kimberleyensis can also be seen.

Field notes for future reference:

- Use heavier weights on the BRUVS to prevent motion

- Investigate use of a metal cage or canister instead of the net bag, as the bag is evidently not strong enough to withstand an attack by the largest predators of the area

[life-on-our-planet]

At 2994 meters on a never-before-surveyed seamount north of Johnston Atoll, the team made a thrilling discovery — the chance to examine an animal spotted for the very first time in the Pacific Ocean! The sea pen, a colonial cnidarian, had a single large feeding polyp with pinnate (barbed) tentacles stretching over 40 cm from its 2-meter-long stalk.

Solumbellula monocephalus is the only described species in the genus and until this sighting was only known to live in the North and South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Before this discovery of the colony, the animal had never been seen in the Pacific Ocean. Further review of the footage and this sample will help experts determine if this is the first Pacific S.monocephalus or potentially a new species in this ocean basin.

Enjoy some beautiful close-ups of this coral relative that astounded our team with a detailed view of its stinging feeding tentacles that capture marine snow and food particles drifting by its home on an underwater mountain sedimented saddle. Two individuals were spotted on this dive, confirming a population within the protection of the Johnston Unit of Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. This huge range expansion of Solumbellula in the Pacific Ocean reminds us how important ocean exploration efforts are to understanding this diversity of our planet!

Learn more about this expedition funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute

🎥video here🎥

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

So about the mertwins?? Are the moray eels or electric eels? Or are they moray eel mermaids that can electrify preys? (those who made contract with Azul).

[We talked about squid vs octopus Ursula and Azul in this post!]

I believe the twins are referenced as moray eels, not electric eels, in several lines and in some title sequences. One example, shown below, is 3-28. (Flotsam and Jetsam from the OG movie are also said to be moray eels, so the logic follows that Floyd and Jade, too, are morays.)

If you compare the traits moray eels and electric eels, it also just makes more sense that the twins are morays. Morays or “true” eels live in coral reefs (ie saltwater) while electric eels hang out in river basins (ie freshwater). Jade and Floyd come from the Coral Sea, so they are a saltwater species.

Furthermore, electric eels are… well, electric. They are able to generate a voltage to protect themselves—however, we don’t see either twin naturally possess this ability. They use regular magic spells to protect themselves; their merbodies do not seem capable of generating that electricity on its own (else, why would someone as fickle as Floyd not want to change things up by electrify others with his touch alone instead of always squeezing or using magic).

The confusion for the twins being electric eels may arise from the name of Jade’s UM (Shock the Heart), which actually has nothing to do with electricity. It may also stem from the fact that, in book 3, Octavinelle’s golden contracts give off the illusion of being indestructible since others that touch them get zapped. It’s later revealed to be a clever deception, so the zap must have come from an electrical spell cast by Jade or Floyd (or Azul).

On the subject of making a deal with Azul to gain electrical abilities, it’s possible for Floyd but not for Jade. This is because in book 4, Floyd easily agrees to make a deal with Azul to let his dorm leader borrow his UM (something you’d think Floyd would treasure a little more) in exchange for getting a deep voice, which ended up helping out Azul in his machinations. Meanwhile, Jade explicitly states in 4-33 that he would never personally consider making a contract with Azul (on the basis that he wouldn’t trust Azul to return the collateral for the deal).

[prince-kallisto]

I’ve seen several theories about the mirrors Crowley has on his outfit (he has four), and people have said maybe Crowley uses them to keep watch of everything at all times. I agree with that plenty, but Ortho gave us even more information. It almost feels like the game has recently been dropping hints left and right about the importance of mirrors and crystals??

Mirrors, crystals, and water basins…

In the 5th Unified Exam voice lines, Crowley exclaims how much he loves the shimmering mirrors on his belt, and how much he adores sparkly things like jewels and precious metals. He says he could stare at them forever, which is a little sus but also very birb of him. But wearing mirrors is more than a little odd, so I feel there has to be a reason behind them. We don’t know the exact limits or techniques of magic, so it’s entirely possible that one-sided communication is possible, which is fairly creepy.

But how exactly could Crowley watch everybody through mirrors?

There are two possibilities I can think of:

One, the mirrors can work similar to the one from Beauty and Beast, which is one-sided communication that allows the viewer to see the entire person

Or…Crowley uses the magic pens every student has.

Because Ortho mentions *crystals* being used for transportation and communication. Crowley seems to be responsible for gifting the magestones every student has, so to me, it doesn’t seem implausible that he could see everything the students see through the magic pens they carry in their breast pockets. Although the vision wouldn’t be as endless as the Beauty and the Beast mirror, Crowley could know everything that the students see and do. Plus, also notice how the magestones are encased in a design that looks EXACTLY like the Dark Mirror’s border- as if they were matching sets.

It practically feels like Crowley is rubbing it into our faces if this theory is true 🤔 The magic pens are made to look exactly like the Dark Mirror, as if the pens are just another ‘mirror’ for Crowley to look into.

In the courtyard, there’s a well modeled after the one in the Evil Queen’s castle from Snow White. Again, water basins is a pretty specific word to use, although water in general makes sense in the world of magic. But what I want to point out is that in the Twisted Wonderland animated intro, Crowley’s cape falls in what looks like to be a pool of water

I’m looking at it in a more symbolic way than literal, just because I can’t think of a body of water that’s been significant in TWST 🤔 Obviously there’s the Coral Sea, but that’s not what I mean. Water in general has a ton of symbolism regarding the unconscious and your emotions, but this water is super dark and murky- as if it’s a warning of danger, defeat, and destruction. And since it’s Crowley’s cape falling into the water, it makes me wonder if Crowley will be ‘shedding’ his outward personality and showing his true self.

[starry-snippets]

mer-may #1

what type of mermaid are they? what type of water do they prefer? (risotto, abbacchio, giorno, narancia) 

risotto resides in the mariana trench. he appreciates the weird looking creatures down there and feels like he belongs in the darkness. risotto has glowing accents on his tail and underneath his eyes in a rounded highlight on his cheek bones and along his eyes. he’s like a night light in the way he can conceal himself using his stand which often disturbs the wildlife so he won’t do it unless there’s observation happening and he doesn’t want anyone knowing he exists. risotto lives surprisingly peacefully. he will sometimes rise to the ocean basin to observe the jellyfish and lively crabs skittering across the rocks. risotto enjoys the peace and the unusual sights of the trench, but it’s when he swims a bit higher he sees how delicate the ocean can be (as most fish in the trench are rough looking creatures, which is a big reason why he adjusted himself to live deeper. he likes to be unbothered and also he thinks he’s really gnarly looking ): 

abbacchio drifts a great deal, but he spends the most of his time in the arabian sea. one he can mess with a lot of vacationers because of the proximity to the land and islands, but there’s also a massive dead zone. abbacchio decided to stay so long in the arabian sea because he came across these harsh conditions. he found this area void of life and he found... beauty in it. he’s had a hard life and he’s made many mistakes, but he’s not entirely stripped of empathy. he likes the arabian sea because of the reminder the dead zone gives him in how life is so easily taken away, as in the same body of water other animals thrive. at first he hated the blaring reminder of how fragile life truly is but the closeness of enduring wildlife softened that. he hated originally how hot the sea is but grew to enjoy scaring annoying tourists by just existing (he also uses moody blues to play audio since they can’t see him, but in the midst it’s scary as heck) 

giorno is having so much fun in the great barrier reef. it’s like he’s gone to heaven. all these varying animals, expressive plants, and vibrant coral fascinate him to no end. he does a fair bit of drifting but he always comes back to the reef. to check in to see if he can help out at all with his quirk and he’s making it his new mission to help restore the reef because he hates how terrible pollution and climate change has gotten. all the animals actively love to see him, even the most dangerous of them. giorno is especially fond of dugongs and it breaks his heart that they’re going extinct. he’s very sneaky in the way he’ll prevent and get back at people who harm the reef or any other biome he’s residing at the time of their misdeed. creates the scariest animals in the reef - sometimes just making things that don’t belong there (but he’ll revert it immediately after in order to not impact the native species) to really freak whoever hurt the ecosystem into fleeing as fast as they possibly can. giorno loves to witness the growth of the coral population and diminishing fish species coming back with his support. feels important for helping and is happy to do so. (when he sees more dugongs he’s like !! dude is leaping with joy) 

narancia is so from the caribbean. he fits in so well with the energy of the water, the creatures inhabiting the space, and he’s very curious about visitors! like abbacchio he messes with people who explore the water but he isn’t sinister. narancia is just interested in human affairs and can be reckless in his intrigue. he has a lot of fun exploring the area and looking at the colorful creatures that live in the same space as him. his tail is as vibrantly colored as the fish swimming around and he gets along with all the wildlife swimmingly very well. narancia enjoys when the area is warm, but he’ll travel to the gulf whenever it gets too chilly. is open to exploring but is nervous about venturing too far from what he’s used to. loves the fun shells he finds along the sea bed. also plays with crabs and fish, but isn’t disrespectful of them (he doesn’t fling them around like a child or anything, if they are uncomfortable he will stop since he respects them and realizes he wouldn’t want to be prodded himself so he shouldn’t just touch everything compelling he sees) 

[mysteryshoptls]

SSR Cater Diamond Bloom Birthday Personal Story: Part 1

"Happy Birthday"

Part 1 (Part 2) (Part 3)

[Heartslabyul Dorm – Birthday Party Venue]

Cater: Ah, it's almost time for the interview. Let me adjust the angle of my hat one more time… Okay, ready to go.

Cater: If I remember right, the presenter was chosen by the "Magical Pendulum." I wonder who's gonna come today～

Floyd: Wassup～ Hanadai-kun. Happy Birthday～

Cater: Aah! You just showed up out of nowhere, you scared me. Wait, you're telling me that you're my presenter, Floyd-kun?

Floyd: Yep, yep. 'Kay, gonna start the interview.

Cater: Right away!? But, okay, it's fine, I'll answer any question you throw at me no problem ♪

Floyd: The first question is…

Floyd: "If you could use flight magic to go anywhere, where would you like to go?”

Floyd: You don't gotta think about how much magic it'd take to get there.

Cater: Travel using flight magic, hm… Ah! Then, I want to go see this waterfall that's been showing up a ton lately on Magicam!

Cater: The water falls from so high that half-way down it turns to mist, and when the sunlight hits it, there's this gorgeous rainbow…

Cater: And if you're lucky, you'll get to see a real pretty sight of a ton of rainbows!

Cater: Whenever I check the hashtag of this waterfall, it's got a ton of posts with thousands of likes.

Cater: If I post a picture or video, I bet I'll also totally go viral!

Floyd: But other people're doin' the same thing, right? If you just copy 'em, I don't think that's gonna draw anyone in.

Cater: You figured that out quick, Floyd-kun. Yeah, of course, I've also given that a thought too.

Cater: The reason why the waterfall I just mentioned is even making its rounds in the first place is because it's not some place that can be reached on foot.

Cater: It's a spot where only those who book an expensive tour and take a helicopter there would be able to take these photos…

Cater: And because the helicopter's flight path is fixed, and there's only so close it can take you, most of the pictures are all the same.

Cater: But, unlike a helicopter, a broom would be more maneuverable and let you choose your own course, right?

Floyd: Aah, I get it. So you'd be able to take different kinds of pics from everyone else.

Cater: Yeah! If I had a broom, I'd be able to go behind the waterfall, and down towards the waterfall basin too…

Cater: If I got a video of any of the places the helicopter can't go, or of me flying under the rainbow on my broom, that video'd totally take off!

Floyd: Wooow～ You really thought of everything just to take pictures.

Cater: Heh, that's because I'm always researching into photogenic spots. I have plans where I think, "I'd like to take this kind of video here" for each place.

Cater: Honestly, though, I haven't been able to go anywhere～ I bet once I actually get a chance to go, the buzz would have died down.

Floyd: But wouldn't it be better to take the pictures when that buzz is gone and there's no people in the way?

Cater: I mean, as a Magicammer, I want to have my pictures go viral so...

Cater: If everyone else has already gotten bored of it, there's really no point in going.

Floyd: Hmm… So you're saying, as long as it can go viral, you don't care where you go…

Floyd: Then maybe I'll take you to the Coral Sea sometime. I'll show you some out of the way spots that no one knows about.

Cater: That's… a crazy rare chance! Yeah, you gotta take me there, Floyd-kun!

Floyd: You got it. I think you'll reeeaaally enjoy it～

Floyd: Oh, yeah! I forgot to mention, but we might get attacked by sharks along the way!

Floyd: But, hey, if we get there safely and in one piece, the pic'll definitely go viral, so win-win, right?

Cater: A… A SHARK!? Wait, did you mean… like we'd be swimming underwater instead of going there on a boat…?

Cater: …I think I'm going to have to pass after all. My phone might break, so.

Part 1 (Part 2) (Part 3)

Requested by @azurus-world.

[rjzimmerman]

Corals are bleaching in every corner of the ocean, threatening its web of life. (Washington Post)

First around Fiji, then the Florida Keys, then Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and now in the Indian Ocean. In the past year, anomalous ocean temperatures have left a trail of devastation for the world’s corals, bleaching entire reefs and threatening widespread coral mortality — and now, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and International Coral Reef Initiative say the world is experiencing its fourth global bleaching event, the second in the last decade.

At least 53 countries and local regions have experienced mass bleaching across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Bleaching — which occurs when stressed coral turn white after expelling symbiotic algae that provide food and color — must be confirmed within each ocean basin to be declared a global bleaching event.

Derek Manzello, an ecologist and head of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch program, said the frequency and severity of bleaching events has increased since the early 1980s. That intensity and regularity has also ramped up in the last two decades.

“Now we’re just reaching a point in this warming cycle where these events are becoming so extreme and they’re just getting worse and worse and worse,” Manzello said.

According to the Global Bleaching Event Index, which is based on sea surface temperatures data, more than 54 percent of all the reef areas on the planet have experienced bleaching-level heat stress in the past 365 days. And that number is increasing by 1 percent each week, Manzello said. For context, during the worst global coral bleaching event on record between 2014 and 2017, the Global Bleaching Event Index peaked at 56 percent.

“Right now, we’re almost equal with the worst global bleaching event on record in terms of spatial extent,” Manzello said. It’s possible the overall percentage of reefs experiencing heat stress will surpass the previous record in the next few weeks.

“This should be a global wake-up call. The fact that corals are bleaching in each ocean basin essentially simultaneously,” Manzello said. “And more than half the reefs on the planet have basically experienced bleaching-level heat stress in the last year.”

[separatist-apologist]

Young Gods

If there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes

Summary: When invaders come to Elain's shores, she's certain it means death.

Taken to a foreign land, Elain finds herself a princess of a people she barely understands and married to a man she's not sure she can trust. But Elain will need more than her wits if she wants to survive.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Read on AO3

Lucien hadn’t shown up for dinner, and Elain had eaten alone. She’d gone to sleep alone, and when she woke she was, once again, alone. It was a strange relief, knowing that he preferred to spend his time elsewhere. She’d almost begun to convince herself that he had someone else whose company he preferred and she was merely foisted upon him. 

She should have known he’d show up—and she should have put a robe on as she left the bathing chamber. Elain just assumed if he wasn’t there in the morning she would not have to worry about him until later in the evening. She’d padded out of the bathroom naked as the day she was born with more than a little delight.

She’d never taken a bath so easily before. All she had to do was turn the taps and hot water came rushing to fill the large basin. Elain had stayed, arms draped over the edge of the square tub as she stared out at the sea until she was wrinkled like a prune.

Lucien sat in a chair by the window, one sandaled food crossed over his knee. When she stepped out, he turned to look. His eyes widened, drinking in the sight of her. Elain froze for a home, her heart pounding in her chest. She momentarily forgot what she was supposed to do, having never been the subject of a man's fascination before. 

He didn’t have the decency to look away. His eyes raked over her with dark interest until she yelped and all but flung herself back behind the bathroom door. Swallowing hard, Elain heard Lucien clear his throat.

“I thought we’d have breakfast together,” he finally said, his voice rough and accented in a way it normally wasn’t. She forced herself to take a breath before wrapping a robe firmly around her body. It hardly mattered, given the way he’d seen everything, and still she didn’t want him to assume she was offering herself to him if she returned naked.

Elain opened the door slowly. Lucien hadn’t moved an inch. He’d abandoned his leathered armor for a pair of crisp, white pants and a blue tunic that looked marvelous against his golden brown skin. The scar on his face was healing nicely, she thought and sharpened his elegant, handsome features.

She had to force herself not to think of him shirtless, gleaming with sweat. Lucien glanced over at her as though he didn’t care about her one way or the other. She suspected he did it to try and make her comfortable, which confused her.

“I might trade you, actually,” he said, rising quickly. Lucien kept space between them as he ducked into the bathroom. Elain caught the scent of him as he passed—masculine and clean, the same as the pillows she’d slept again since she arrived. 

While Lucien was gone, Elain busied herself with dressing. She slid on a pretty coral dress and slippers over her feet before she began untangling her hair and letting it dry in the warm air. Elain had thrown the windows and doors open before she’d gone to the bathroom, and the humidity combined with the heat made her hair curl up quite nicely. 

She didn’t hear Lucien return to the bedroom. In fact, she hadn’t realized he was back at all until she felt his fingers brush against the nape of her neck, sweeping her hair to her shoulder. She couldn’t move, not when his warm breath fanned over her skin, causing her stomach to flip nervously.

“A gift,” he murmured before sliding something around her neck. A string of pearls, she realized. Elain reached for the necklace as he clasped it, fingering the smooth beads between her fingers. She moved away from him, looking for a moment in the mirror. It was, she thought, the nicest thing she’d ever owned. 

She turned to look at him. Lucien looked so hopeful and Elain, who’d just been about to thank him, found herself unable to say anything at all. Thank him for what? Kidnapping her? They stood facing each other until Lucien’s hope faded to nothing. He sighed heavily.

“Breakfast?”

She wondered if she could tell him no. Elain padded after him, her defiance a silent thing festering just beneath her skin. Outside on the balcony, Lucien had brought the same breakfast as before, though he’d arranged it far nicer. Elain beat him to her chair, sitting before he could pull it out. 

She saw him hesitate—this wasn’t going how he’d hoped. Still, Lucien joined her at the little, rounded table with all the polite manners of a gentleman. 

“Sorry I missed dinner last night,” he began, his cheeks darkening. “I ah…” 

Elain looked back at her plate. He didn’t want to be with her. That was obvious enough. They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Elain ate while Lucien pushed food around his plate and stared out into the sea as he tried to think of something he could say that might convince her to speak. 

Elain finished and moved to stand. Lucien glanced at her sharply. “Sit down.”

She did, unsure why she’d obeyed him so quickly. 

“You may leave the table when you say something to me,” he continued, reclining back in his chair. “Something nice.”

“Your face seems to be healing,” Elain replied quickly, careful to keep her voice innocent and sweet. “The scar is quite becoming my lord.”

A smug smile settled over his face. “Yes, I’ve heard I’ve become quite handsome. I was wondering if my wife would agree.”

Ass, she thought privately. What woman had so lovingly told him so last night? “I am breathless in the wake of your beauty.”

She spoke the words so dryly they practically crumbled off her lips. Lucien’s smile only grew. 

“I felt the exact same when you stepped from the bath this morning.”

Elain exhaled loudly, rising from her chair. “You disgust me.”

“Oh?” Lucien replied. She tried to stalk past him, but he was too quick. One arm reached, banding around her waist to pull her roughly into his lap. “Because I could have sworn, when you looked at me yesterday…” 

Elain wanted to die. Pressed against him, all she could feel was the hard, shifting muscle of his body, and all she could smell was the warm, masculine scent of him. Tendrils of his red hair brushed against her cheek and some depraved part of her wanted to thread the strands through her hair and rip. She wanted to make him feel half as bad as she had, trapped in that boat unaware of what she’d find when she docked.

Unaware he intended to put her straight into his bed. 

So lost in thought, Elain had forgotten about Lucien entirely until his nose slid along the side of her neck, disturbing the necklace around her throat. He tightened his grip around her, this thumb rubbing a lazy circle over her hip bone. “That was the look.”

Elain turned just in time for Lucien’s tongue to glide along her jaw. He was going to kiss her. The thought terrified her, and in an effort to stop him without considering the implications, she slapped him hard in the face.

“Don’t you dare.”

“I love when you’re mean,” he groaned, though he released her so she could scramble off him. 

“Don’t touch me after you spent the night with another woman,” she spat, doubly disgusted at the process of the same hands touching someone else now trying to touch her.

Lucien laughed. “Are you jealous? I spent my night with Jurian drinking in the tavern so my wife could have space. But if you’re missing me, I’m happy to warm our bed.”

“I don’t want you in bed, Lucien,” she spat, but he’d figured out what it took to get her to speak to him, and it was clear he had no intention of letting up. Lucien was hot on her heels, grabbing her like he’d done in the woods and tossing her easily over his shoulder.

“Lucien!” she protested, beating her fists against his back.

He walked her through their shared chambers before dumping her on the bed. Elain had no chance to push back before he was over her, his knee pushing apart her legs as he settled himself against her. Elain was so conflicted—she was married to this man, in this strange place, and some part of her thought it was stupid not to try and earn his good will.

And the other part of her hated him deeply. 

“Lucien,” she panted, breathless from the heavy weight of him. Lucien peered down at her, his hair falling around their faces like a curtain. He reached one hand for her face to cup her cheek. 

“I won’t take you unless you ask me to,” he told her, his words filling her with relief. “But I would like to get to know you.” “Why did you take me?” she asked him. More than anything, Elain was desperate for him to answer that question. 

Lucien sighed, rolling off her to stare up at the ceiling. Light poured in from every direction, casting a golden glow over his skin. He looked over with shame stained cheek.

“I…” 

Elain sat up, curling her knees beneath the soft fabric of her dress. “I thought you were beautiful. And when you cut me with your knife…” he trailed off, his eyes wide in memory. “I knew I was going to be asked to pick a wife out of everyone we brought back. Be an example, show our people how it was done. And when you tried to kill me, I thought you had the right temperament.”

Elain digested that while Lucien stretched himself out beside her. “You…you liked that I tried to stab you?”

He looked over. “You have made me incredibly handsome, Elain,” he teased, though there was real fear under his voice. Elain pressed her fingertips into her eyes.

“I know you were supposed to get married. I didn’t see a ring and I just assumed…”

“He told me that day,” Elain said with a heavy sigh. “No ring.”

“Then I’m not sorry,” Lucien said, turning to look at her. Elain’s mouth fell open in outrage, but Lucien was unrepentant. “If I’d seen a ring, I would have left you with my regrets. But if he didn’t have a ring, how important was it, truly—”

“You interrupted,” she seethed. Lucien grinned.

“Fate, then. C’mon, Elain—”

“Don’t c’mon, Elain, me,” she hissed. 

Lucien reclined his head against his hands, flexing his biceps obnoxiously as he did so. His muscles strained against the fabric of his tunic and oh. She was going to smother him in his sleep. 

“This will all be funny by next year,” he said with more confidence than, frankly, she thought was deserved. 

“You came looking for wives?” Elain asked instead, trying to make sense of all of this. “No woman here wanted you?”

Luicen’s amusement immediately shuttered. “I was engaged once, too.”

“She wised up, did she?” Elain tried to taunt. Lucien’s whole body was so rigid, his face ashen that she was certain she’d found something with which to hurt him.

“She died.”

Oh. 

“As did most women last year—and children, too. An illness swept over our shores and it took so many of us.”

A muscle jumped in his jaw. Elain swallowed, feeling strangely sorry for her captor. She reached out a hand and very gently pressed it to his chest.

“I’m so sorry. Tell me about the symptoms.”

“Why?” he asked sharply. 

“I was apprenticing to be a healer,” she explained. “The local apothecary had taken me under his wing. Maybe I could help.”

“I know you can help,” he murmured, his posture relaxing ever so slightly. “We were told by your king that you and your people are immune.”

Elain let that sink in. Horror slunk through her, hot and oily. “Our…our king told you that?”

Lucien looked over. “Yes. He promised his daughter to Eris as a gesture of good will. We sent gold and food and—where are you going?”

Elain had scrambled off the bed. “Why did you come? For wives, or for—”

“Arina,” Lucien told her, brow furrowed. “When her father tried to back out, we came to enforce the contract between them. He promised we would be allowed to intermingle among you, to marry—”

“For immunity,” she said, looking wildly toward the door. Arina’s back ripped open—and what had she told Elain about it? Had Elain even asked? Or just assumed her father had punished her for disobedience. Arina had been in the woods, too. She knew. She knew, and she’d run. 

“You–”

Elain couldn’t breathe. She felt so betrayed. She’d lost everything to help Arina, who in turn had sold them all out. Elain could feel herself caving in on herself, was moments from collapsing off the bed when Lucien reached for her. 

She turned and hit him hard in the face. He barely flinched, though pink bloomed over his cheek. 

“Breathe,” he ordered. Elain sucked in a breath.

“I helped her,” Elain told him, forgetting she hated him, too.

“If I were her, I’d try and escape Eris, too,” he murmured, pulling her back against his chest. “Is this really so bad? You’re a princess—”

It was the wrong thing to say. “I never wanted that! I never asked for it!” she shrieked. She pulled herself from his grasp because only Lucien had gotten a say in this new marriage, and she didn’t want his comfort, his council, his friendship. 

“Without me, you and your whole village would have starved years ago,” Lucien replied. There was no malice to his words—only a weariness she knew so well. “You and I have been linked for years and I knew it the moment I saw you.”

“I didn’t,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around her body. “Doesn’t that matter?”

His eyes slid to the floor. “Yes,” he whispered with that same look of shame. He wasn’t sorry, though, and they both knew Lucien was not going to apologize to her. Elain began to turn her back, to hunt down Arina and demand to know if she’d know all along that this was going to happen—if she’d planned to save only herself. 

“What would it take?” Lucien asked, his voice distracting her. “For us to have peace, to—” he swallowed, clearly choosing his words carefully. “For there to be respect between us.” Elain started to scoff. Respect? He wanted respect when he’d hauled her onto a boat, bound her wrists, and then made her his wife without once consulting her? How could he ask for her respect when he’d ever once shown her any?

“Respect?” she questioned. Lucien nodded earnestly. It was occurring to her that he wasn’t even asking for her friendship—and he’d sworn not to touch her until she asked. And she’d come, assuming she would be someone's bedroom slave. 

Lucien wanted her respect. She wasn’t stupid. She was certain he was hoping it would lead to a moment in which she might ask him to come to her bed—in which she’d let him undress her and touch her.

Elain knew she merely delayed the inevitable and there was something almost intoxicating on being allowed to choose the exact day and time in which she did finally give in. It wasn’t love—he could never have that. 

And Elain was certain he could have her respect, either. “I want to be your equal,” she said, watching him closely. 

Lucien didn’t blanch, didn’t wrinkle his nose in disgust. “Is…is that all?” he asked her. 

She knew Graysen would not have given her this—and neither would he. “Yes.”

A smile spread over his handsome face. “Done.”

A promise he almost certainly could not keep.

ARINA: 

Arina spent a week getting used to the newfound freedom of this life. She woke next to Eris most mornings, who got up with the sun to run on the beach. He’d asked if she wanted to join him and Arina had declined. She didn’t think she cared to spend any extra time with him—not when he looked at her with that predatory gleam. The sort that told her he was merely biding his time, waiting for her to break down just enough that his attention was flattering. 

Arina didn’t think anyone had ever told Eris no, and she liked being that person. 

If Arina was honest, she was also avoiding Elain and Vassa. She felt as if she’d ruined their lives—Eris’s obsession had brought them all here. What happened when they found out? Arin was better off in the library where no one bothered her. In fact, no one but Eris seemed to know where she was. Everyday Arina attempted to find a hiding place where no one would find her, and everyday Eris sauntered in with a smug look.

The sort that said, I know you as well as I know myself.

She didn’t like the implications of that. 

Elain found her, too. Whether she tracked Eris down and demanded her location, or she merely figured it out, Elain descended on Arina with suspicious eyes one especially humid afternoon. Elain looked well, if not a little tired. Her hair was a cascade of golden brown curls against fair shoulders that had begun to freckled in the sun. The bridge of her pert nose was slightly burned and made her look positively sunkissed.

Arina knew Elain knew. Accusation shone in those warm, brown eyes. She’d come looking for a fight. Arina deflated. She knew how it looked—the cowardly princess fleeing her betrothed and dragging them all down with her. 

“Vassa and I have been waiting for you all week at the pool,” Elain began. Arina, still holding her breath, waited for Elain to say the rest. We know they came looking for you. “Do you ever plan to join us?”

Arina hesitated. “Is…is that what you wanted to ask me?”

“We don’t blame you,” Elain finally told her, the words falling from her lips like a gentle stream. “They made choices that had nothing to do with you.”

“I didn’t know,” Arina whispered. She just—she needed Elain to know that much. Regardless if Elain forgave her, Arina needed Elain to know she hadn’t known they were coming. “I would have warned the village if I knew, I—”

Elain waited, her expression shifting to sympathy.

Arina willed herself not to cry. “I was just trying to get away before they made me marry my uncle. I didn’t know about Eris—about any of this.”

Elain exhaled a breath. “Our circumstances are the same now. Unless you’re hiding because you’ve been holed up with the prince—”

“Don’t be disgusting,” Arina said without malice. Elain smiled, and all was forgiven. Again. Arina felt like she could breathe as she closed her book and stood. “Can you swim?”

Elain’s smile became rueful. “No. But Jurian brought us floating rafts, so we lay on top of the water and try not to go out too deep.”

“I could teach you,” Arina offered, trailing after Elain through the library.

“You were taught?”

“Self taught,” she said with a grin. “I had a lot of terrible cousins jockeying for the throne.”

“You make being royal sound almost too fun,” Elain teased. “Everyone keeps saying how lucky I am but maybe I should beg the king for a different husband.”

“How is that going?” Arina questioned, glancing at Elain’s face. There was no creeping blush, no softening of her expression. If anything, Elain’s features seemed to sharpen. If Arina had to guess, she’d assume Elain had adopted a similar approach as herself. There was something strangely liberating about it.

Being able to say no. To know the other women she’d come with were also employing that strategy with success. Sometimes, without meaning to, Arina would compare her home to Rhodes and found that Rhodes came out favorably. Her uncle, had she been forced into that union, would not have let her wait on consummating the marriage which seemed like such a low bar and yet it had been over a week and Eris hadn’t touched her. 

Eris didn’t tell her what to do at all—had only warned her not to try and leave him. Arina believed him when he said he’d hunt  her down and bring her back. And after what felt like a lifetime of constantly waiting for the next worst thing, it felt good to just be. 

“Swimsuits?” Arina dragged herself out of her thoughts to ask.

“They’re obscene,” Elain replied, blushing finally. “No one here has any sense of modesty. I’ll show you.”

Elain turned abruptly towards the bathing rooms. Arina had stumbled in there once and was greeted by several very naked men for her troubles. She was trying very hard even then not to look as Elain swept in. She didn’t want to imagine Eris undressed—didn’t want to consider what lay between his legs or even admit she had a passing fascination with it. 

Elain had all the trappings of a princess—she didn’t look at anyone, chin tilted in the haughtiest fashion. As though they were all beneath her notice or didn’t exist at all. Arina knew Elain was also trying very hard not to notice the bare-breasted women lounging in opaque turquoise water as steam curled around their faces, or the men stretching out their limbs while their cocks flopped this way and that. 

Arina, too, tried to adopt that same air but from her periphery, she saw everything. She was more than curious—she’d never seen a naked man before. If she’d had less pride, she might have demanded Eris strip and just show her himself, if only to settle her wild thoughts. 

He’d take it as an invitation. And worse, still, she just knew if she ever asked to see any part of Eris, he’d be so unbearably smug. 

Hidden in the dressing room, Elain pulled open a door to a cubby with her name etched in a bronze plaque. Inside were scraps of cloth hung from wooden hangers.

“Gifted from Lucien,” she said through gritted teeth. Arina could understand why as she pulled them out. They were the most scandalous underthings she’d ever seen, clearly meant to cover only their chest and bottom and nothing else. “He said most people choose to swim nude.”

“Have you used one?”

“Yes,” Elain admitted, her cheeks a flaming red. “No one comes to the pool besides us, and I wear my dress as a cover up.”

“Vassa, too?”

“She’s a little less uncomfortable,” Elain said, eyes cast to the blue and gold tiled floor beneath them. Arina reached for an orange one, thinking it would like nice against her skin and while Elain turned to offer privacy, quickly stripped from her cerulean gown and into the suit. She felt a strange sense of both power and shame—so much of her body was on display, with very little left to the imagination. She could taste her fathers disapproval, could hear her tutors lecturing on proper womanhood. 

Women were to remain covered. Their bodies and their chastity were their most prized possessions.

And here she was, offering it up to anyone who cared to look. There was more to Arina than what was between her legs, she thought. She was already married and everyone back home would assume she was thoroughly debauched. Did it matter? 

She couldn’t convince herself not to put her dress back on over the swim costume, though Arina swore she’d get to a place where she could walk through the palace in nothing but one day. The idea of strolling through the sauna in the orange suit made her palms sweat. Her mind raced with images of Eris seeing her in it and becoming so overwhelmed he lost all control. She’d always been told men were like that, and yet when they made their way back through the baths, none of the naked men were jumping on the naked women. 

“Do you ever think the things we were taught about men and women were lies?” Arina whispered, reaching for Elain’s arm as they made their way back through the palace.

“Yes,” she admitted with a soft sigh. “Lucien asked—”

But whatever he asked, Elain clearly didn’t want to share. She clamped her lips together and Arina knew better than to pry. They could talk about anything except the men they’d been wed to.

Though— “How do we know we’re married?”

They rounded the corner to the pool, hidden on one side by high, neatly groomed hedges on the other by the walls of the palace. The deepest end overlooked the ocean below while the other was only accessible through the garden path Elain had walked them down. She understood why they felt comfortable here. While the beach was packed with bodies, the pool was utterly empty save for Vassa in a dark blue swimsuit laying atop a bright green raft. 

Even Elain stripped, tugging the bottom of a violet suit before carefully lowering herself beside Vassa. Arina joined, her head by Vassa feet just as Elain had done.

“Where was she?” Vassa asked, brushing bouncy red curls from her face.

“Library,” Elain replied, before adding, “Told you.”

“Alright,” Vassa grumbled. “We’d looked everywhere else by then, it wasn’t that good of a guess.”

Elain only shrugged, a smile creeping over her face. Elain kicked off the edge of the pool, letting the float in the large basin of water. Arina had the general sense of the day—one of them would push them back toward the shallows anytime they crept too far into deep water while they began to untangle the complexities of their new court.

Elain and Vassa had gathered a lot of information. Queen Arina ruled not as consort, but a monarch in her own right, and the kings empire stretched over the continent and had begun to creep into the island territories such as their own. Helion had made his sons dukes of many of these territories, who then appointed governors that oversaw those places and reported directly to them.

Elain also knew that some illness—she suspected Ironbark—had only recently come to their shores and wiped out a large swath of the population. Vassa confirmed their army and their navy had also been hurt by the death, and between the two, Arina guessed that Rhodes could not defend a large scale assault the way it might have in the past.

Which made Eris’s actions all the more reckless. He assumed her uncle wouldn’t care or perhaps that he wouldn’t dare attack him.

“There is no cold season here,” Elain continued, unable to move past the illness. Arina seemed to recall she’d been some sort of healer. “So ironbark comes and goes in waves. I want to go into the city and see if I’m right.”

“Have you asked Lucien?” Vassa asked, earning a dark scowl from Elain.

“I don’t think I should have to,” she said primly, a no if Arina ever heard it. Whether Elain genuinely thought she didn’t need his permission or knew he’d tell her no and was merely circumventing that ending, Arina couldn’t say. “I’m going tomorrow morning first thing, just to see. I thought if I explained to the queen, she could have ironbark brought in. There’s no reason for anyone else to die.”

It was generous, all things considered. Arina almost told Elain that if she did nothing, more people dying might send them back home.

To what? 

The hangman's noose if she was lucky. Her uncle's bedchamber if she wasn’t. Perhaps Elain had begun to consider the same—that going back for Graysen wasn’t an option. 

“We’ll come with you,” Vassa offered, her teal eyes sliding to Arina, waiting to see if she’d agree. Elain and Vassa hadn’t spent the last week hiding, which made Arina the unknown and the odd person out.

“Of course we will,” Arina agreed. At worst, they’d spend a week in bed with a fever and the chills. 

Elain opened her mouth, so clearly delighted to have help.

“Well, well, well,” came a familiar, masculine voice. All three twisted to see Lucien and Jurian, sweat soaked and shirtless as they approached. “What do we have here?”

“Go away,” Vassa ordered, turning her eyes back to her friends. Had she continued to look, she’d have noticed the flush of pleasure that stole over Jurian’s fair skin. 

“I don’t think we will,” Lucien replied, eyes only for Elain. Elain, too, seemed to realize just how undressed she was and pressed her hand over the flat plane of her stomach like that was going to help. 

Arina rolled onto her stomach carefully, eyes narrowed. “Don’t you have anything better to do?” she demanded.

Lucien only grinned, kicking off his sandals at the far end of the pool. They were drifting purposefully into the deep, trying to keep as much distance as they could.

“I sure don’t. I wonder what my brother is up to,” he added, a pointed reminder for Arina to mind her own business. Arina sighed loudly, curious if she could boss Lucien around.

“Stay over there.”

He ran a hand over his toned chest, stepping into the shallow end of the pool with burning eyes. “Yes, princess. Any other orders?”

“Bring us a drink.”

It was Jurian who turned, one foot hovering toward the water. Lucien turned to look at his friend. “No, Jur–” 

It was too late. Lucien’s eyes narrowed on Arina, who merely smiled smugly before turning back to her friends. Good. Make them work for every inch they were given. At least Jurian was trying. He returned not with drinks, but a servant who brought a tray of them in large glasses shaped like bowls. The liquid inside was a pleasant yellow and the rim coated in salt.

“Good choice,” Lucien told Jurian, who joined him lounging in the shallow end of the pool.

Elain took the first drink, choking the moment she swallowed. Lucien broke out in laughter and Elain, sloshing some of the liquid over her bare thighs, turned to glare at him. 

“Drink more,” Lucien told her, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “You’ll like me better.”

“Impossible,” she insisted, though Elain turned back to her raft and her friends to take another drink. Arina, too, was surprised by how strong the drink was—spicy and sour in equal measure, and yet pleasantly smooth as the liquid slid down her throat. Warmth spread through her limbs, relaxing her for maybe the first time since she’d arrived.

Back home, women were allowed wine and nothing stronger. Only one, and always for some special occasion. A holiday, a wedding—never casually. Arina had once tried her fathers whiskey, just to know what the fuss was, and found it deeply disgusting. This, though—this was nice. 

It was easy to forget Lucien and Jurian were stretching their overheated muscles in the large pool when they made their way to the deep end. They couldn’t hear the men’s conversation, only the hum of their voices, which allowed them to go back to talking. They were careful with the information exchanged this go around. Instead of discussing the dynamics of court and pooling information, they were more frivolous. They discussed the gowns they’d seen on different court women and compared them to back home. No more heavy wool, even in the hottest months. No restricting layers laced punishingly over their ribs.

Elain also—somehow—had so much gossip. Where was she learning the names of everyone? When did she find the time? How did she know who ought not to be sleeping together but totally was versus who was unfaithful to their husband and wife?

If Arina hadn’t been quietly chastizing herself from hiding, she might have noticed how quiet the end of the pool had gotten. She might have seen Lucien slip beneath the surface and begin making his way toward Elain’s ankle, dangling over the end of the raft. She could have warned him what he learned the moment he yanked Elain off, sending her plummeting into the water without even a chance to gasp a breath of air.

“She can’t swim!” Vassa screamed, as Arina tumbled over the side. Lucien’s mischievous smile faded to horror and he, too, dove beneath the surface. Of the two of them, Lucien was the far more competent swimmer—and Elain hadn’t gotten far.

“What are you doing in the pool if you can’t swim?” Jurian demanded, coming toward Vassa as though he thought she, too, might vanish into the water.

“Where else are we supposed to go?” Vassa asked, throwing her hands up in the air. “The beach is too dangerous and filled with naked people.”

Jurian’s expression darkened and Arina imagined he thought she ought to stay out of the water entirely. A moment later, Lucien and Elain appeared, both equally soaked and scared. Elain gasped down a breath of air, clinging to him like a drowned cat. 

“I’m so sorry,” he panted, clearly bracing himself for her rage. Elain let him haul her over the edge, palms flat against the glittering tile. She was shaking, her hair stuck against her face.

“I can’t swim,” she gasped while Lucien crouched beside her, still clad in the leather he’d been fighting in. “Never learned.”

“We should remedy that,” he murmured, offering her his hand. Arina was surprised to see Elain accept it, to watch as he helped her shakily to her feet before leading her away from the pool. He snatched up her dress, awkwardly draping it over her shoulders as they went.

“You,” Jurian barked, lifting himself out as well. “With me.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” Vassa snapped, letting Arina swim the raft with her atop back toward shallow water.

“I am today. Get out of the godsdamned water—”

“How am I supposed to learn to swim if I’m not in the water—”

“You need a life jacket—”

“I’m not wearing a life jacket—”

“Vassa, I will drop you straight off a cliff—”

Arina tuned out their squabbling in favor of heaving herself out of the water. She felt the strangest sense of jealousy. It was so obvious Lucien and Jurian cared about Elain and Vassa. As she plodded back to her room, dripping trails of water as she went, Arina felt like she was merely a pretty trinket that Eris had wanted to acquire. She shouldn’t care.

She didn’t care. 

She stripped out of her wet clothes, leaving them on the floor specifically because she knew it annoyed him, before getting into the bath to wash the salt from her hair. She vowed she’d teach Vassa and Elain to swim, and how to navigate the politics of court in order to acquire enough power they never had to listen to their husbands. 

As if she knew anything about that second part. Still, she’d seen how one collected allies and positioned themselves with those more powerful often enough that she assumed it was the same for women here.

The sun had just begun to dip in the sky when Arina emerged, wrapped in a large towel. She expected several more hours of solitude and planned to spend the rest of it until Eris tracked her down in the library to drag her back for dinner.

The doors to the bed chamber flung open just as Arina finished buttoning the back of a spring green dress. Eris looked wild—his normally perfect hair askew as though he’d been raking his fingers through it. His skin was paler than usual and yet his eyes still burned.

“Bad day?” she asked flippantly, reaching for her brush to pull out the tangles in her hair.

Eris crossed the room, reaching for her roughly and spinning her so she had to face him. “I heard someone drowned. You weren’t in the library,” he said, his voice rough—panicked.

“Lucien pulled Elain in the pool. She can’t swim,” Arina explained patiently even as Eris began to back her up against the wall. “No one was hurt. He and Jurian were there the entire time.”

Eris didn’t release her. “Can you swim?” he asked. Why did that question sound so sensual? Arina hit the cool marble, palms touching the stone to ground herself.

“Yes,” she whispered, noting how his eyes slid down her face before settling on her mouth. 

“Because you’re better than them,” he whispered, drawing his face closer. Arina couldn’t move, was barely breathing.

“Were you scared?” she asked, forcing him to look her in the eye with her words. 

Eris didn’t flinch. “Yes.”

He gave her no chance to unpack that. Whatever he saw looking back at him was all the permission he needed to slant his mouth over her own. Eris pressed himself against her, one hand fisting in her still wet hair to tilt her head exactly the way he wanted. Arina once had imagined her first kiss and how it might go. Soft and sweet, she’d thought, at least until her father began talking about her uncle.

Afterwards, Arina had refused to think of kissing at all, which left her unprepared to deal with the insistent urgency of Eris’s mouth. He wasn’t soft or sweet. Eris might have been trying to devour her—he was all teeth and tongue. She was trying so hard to keep up. Kissing wasn’t difficult once she got the general shape and feel of things, but the moment Eris tugged at her bottom lip, drawing a soft gasp which, in turn, allowed his tongue to sweep against her own, Arina found herself utterly lost again.

When had her fingernails dug into his shoulders? And when had she begun trying to taste him? Excitement churned in her stomach and arousal began to burn between her legs. She couldn’t pretend she didn’t like this. Eris had his body pressed against her own, his free hand braced against the wall like it was the only thing keeping him upright. For a moment, all she could think was more, I need more—

And then he rubbed himself against her, letting her feel his own desire. All of Arina’s good sense came flooding back. She shoved, pushing him off her before she did something stupid. 

Like try and touch. 

“You—” she touched her lips, swollen and bruised from the kiss she’d very much returned. He knew it, too. Eris still looked wild, like he might ignore her entirely and fling her to their bed. Arina didn’t know if she’d be upset if he did. Some part of her wanted him to. Wanted to feel the weight of him against her, wanted to strip him down to nothing until they were skin to skin. 

He knew it. 

Panting like he’d run a marathon, Eris ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He didn’t like the waiting, which only made her want to make him wait more. She wasn’t supposed to want him. 

“Dinner, I—” Eris turned abruptly, leaving Arina standing in their room feeling confused.

She could still feel his lips pressed against her own.

[thatmintleaf]

Hey! I've never heard of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. What does it entail~?

Messinian Salinity Crisis my beloved <3

Around 6 million years ago the straight of Gibraltar closed, isolating the Mediterranean sea from the Atlantic Ocean, thus stopping seawater input. Due to the hot climate, poor freshwater intakes and high evaporation rates, the Mediterranean almost (or completely, we're still debating about this) dried up. In the early stages of the crisis salinity kept rose, reflecting on the reefs that once grew in the basin. Before it was too high for corals to survive, reefs were comprised of very few species mostly Porites, Tarbellastraea and Siderastraea. Sea-level dropped more than 3000m and the extremely high salinity made its water inhabitable except for extremophiles organisms.

Now you have to imagine a very different Mediterranean, here a reconstruction of it right before the Salinity crisis in late Messinian (Vescogni 2022). During the 1million years the Mediterranean was sealed away, gypsum precipitation built impressive formations that can be around (and more than) 100m thick. Halite precipitated too, but it's more common in the Central and Western Mediterranean (Very famous are the deposits in Sicily for example).

Here outcrops of Gypsum from the "Vena del Gesso" in Italy (My picture. They're impressive up close). You can see the stratification highlighted by vegetation. It is due to precession cycles. It all ended with the Zanclean flood, ~5million years ago, when Gibraltar finally reopened and the basin was filled with ocean water again.

I kept it short but books could be filled with all the many theories on the event. The gypsum precipitation on itself is worth pages and pages asdfgjskg

I have some very cool articles tho! I'd gladly share them if you're interested!

[squirrels-rewrite]

Common Meals by Kinship

....And further facts about the banquet traditions of each Kinship!

Wingward : Skywing Roast

The most common meal among the Wingward cats is the "Skywing Roast." This dish is beloved for the cuts of mountain-dwelling creatures, such as mountain goats, hares, and bisons, seasoned with herbs and roasted over open flames in the high altitudes. The meal is accompanied by spicy herbs that give it a "difficult" but beloved touch.

Seahaven : Coral fruit Salad

A refreshing salad made from a variety of underwater fruits and seaweed, often topped with freshly caught minnows. The Seahaven cats enjoy this light and nutritious dish, as its not too filling but grants extra energy for any further tasks for the day. The Coralfruit salad is the first most cubs eat when beginning to try meat.

Sunfang : Solar Harvest Feast

The Sunfang cats commonly enjoy the "Solar Harvest Feast," a meal centered around the produce from their Golden Harvest Fields. Grains, fruits, and vegetables, harvested during the sunlit months, are creatively prepared into diverse dishes. Additionally, dairy products from their livestock, like cheese and milk cups, are offered inside the Feast.

Individual Practices before eating:

Traditional practices are common, such as offering a moment of silence for Seraphina before partaking in the meal. This ritual is a sign of gratitude and acknowledgment of the divine connection they share with their goddess.

Feather Blessing: Before a meal, Wingward cats engage in a ritual known as the Feather Blessing. A feather, representing the freedom of the skies, is passed around the gathering. Each cat takes a moment to express gratitude for their health, and wish strength, power and freedom to every single member. The feather is then placed at the center of the dining area as a symbol of unity and thanks. The oldest of the Kinship begins the feast with the first bite. Beginning to eat before them (especially as a young cat) is considered a sign of disrespect.

Tidal Blessing: Prior to eating, Seahaven cats perform a ritual called the "Tidal Blessing." They dip their paws into a basin of seawater and sprinkle a few drops onto their food as an offering from the ocean. This tradition symbolizes their connection to the sea.

Sunlit Toast: Prior to eating, Sunfang cats participate in a Sunlit Toast. A cup of Sunlit Nectar is raised to the sun, and each cat takes turns expressing a brief sentiment of gratitude or sharing a positive aspect of their day. The Sunlit Nectar is said to be collected from a special wildflower that grows close to the Sunlit Altar, making it highly delicate and sacred to the cats; in every meal, only a small part is allowed to be taken by each cat for their food, and those who do are expected to take part in the collecting too.

Common Food shared through all Kinships:

Silver Nectar:

A refreshing beverage made from a blend of fruits, herbs, and sweet nectars found in the valley. Silver Nectar is a popular drink enjoyed by cats from all kinships, providing a taste of Mirthvale's natural sweetness.

Harmony Pudding:

A delectable dessert made from a combination of honey, nuts, and berries. Harmony Pudding is a symbol of unity, often shared during festive occasions that bring together cats from different kinships.

Celestial Brew:

A herbal tea brewed with celestial herbs found near the mountains close to the Heartstone. Celestial Brew is known for its calming properties and is often consumed during moments of meditation or reflection, and is given to patients who are suffering anxiety or nerves.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil divided over oil drilling proposal off Amazon delta

‘A big fight’: potential new fossil fuel source causes rift in Lula government after green pledges

A proposal to drill for oil in the sea off the mouth of the Amazon river has exposed a rift in the cabinet of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, lining up an important test of his pledges to halt environmental destruction.

National oil and gas company Petrobras has lodged an appeal after the environmental agency rejected its request to drill an exploratory well in the zone known as the Foz do Amazonas, or Amazon Mouth basin, some 175km from the country’s northern coast. 

The scheme has split opinion among Lula voters, and while the leftwinger has avoided taking a firm position, he has said he found it “difficult” to believe the activity would cause ecological problems given the 500km distance between the deepwater site in the Atlantic Ocean and the rainforest.

More than just a single wellhead is at stake. Environmental policy in Brazil draws international attention because it is home to a large portion of the Amazon river and its surrounding rainforest, a store of carbon critical to protecting the earth’s climate. Campaigners say the area around the proposed oil exploration site is ecologically sensitive and near coral reefs.

Yet industry figures argue that tapping the wider offshore region in which the block lies, known as the Equatorial Margin, is crucial to the South American nation’s continued status as a globally important energy producer.

Continue reading.

[true-blue-sonic]

Just went to the aquarium and it was so fun!!! Hiw do you think silver would react to an aquarium?

Oehh, I love aquaria myself as well! ^-^

Silver is going to be absolutely mindblown the moment he steps foot inside the aquarium. Aquaria always have this vibe over them, with the dark blue lighting and the, like... general calmness? And the reflecting of the water on the ground and walls and stuff? I figure that'll be quite intriguing to Silver, and he'll be most curious by how different the aquarium is compared to what he knows of normal zoos. And he'll love watching all the different fish, as well as learn more about all the other sea creatures that inhabit the oceans! I doubt he knows much about stuff like corals, anemones, sea slugs, sea stars, just how many different fishes and other species there are, and things like that; thus, each different tank has got him more and more amazed. Bonus points if there's a few truly big animals like sea turtles or sharks, whose exhibits span a massive area for one one-meter hedgehog. And if there's a little petting basin with fish or rays in it, you can bet he'll be there the longest time during his whole trip! So generally I can see him be completely mesmerised and having the time of his life learning more about the various sea creatures. Taking Silver to the aquarium is a sure-fire way to give him a fun-filled afternoon!

[the-melting-world]

Paradiso | Door Lords

~ In which the door lords gather with some new friends for a day of fun and relaxation in the Melting World...

Featuring: Ozy, Kipling, Khleo, and (@amuseoffire) Bakri, Theo, and Vehanoush!

Friendship Prompts: beach days, friendship bracelets, laughs, hyping each other up

Music: "Paradiso" by Yoko Kano

~ 1.2k words

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At the entrance to the sea caves, there is a very tall rocky shelf overlooking a deep stretch of an old reef. 

Because there was no one around to stop them back then, Ozy and his friends would leap from this rock and unleash their screams upon the elbows of broken, half sunken limestone architecture. 

For the longest time, this tradition was only shared between Ozy, Kipling and Khleo. Many years passed where the reef went unvisited. The sea caves hiding just under the rocky outcroppings went unexplored. The ruins continued to collect sea moss, content to sink further and further into the belly of this island world.

That is, until Ozy and his friends, after so many years, finally returned. They came with more friends this time, who hailed from even farther lands and had never seen this rough layout of ancient lagoons and coral rock.

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One after the other, Khleo and Theo jumped off the edge of the tallest rock. The sounds Theo made seesawed between bursts of boisterous laughter and raucous whoops as she cannonballed into the warm basin of liquid turquoise. 

Kipling, Vehanoush and Taro were keeping to themselves off by the entrance to the sea caves. Kip had them working on a project that she, when probed by Khleo, said was a secret and that no peeking whatsoever was allowed until they were finished.

Ozy and Bakri were hanging out in the shallows, right between the leaping rock and the entrance to the sea caves. Thanks to the ruins and the rocks, there was enough disrupted sunlight to create a warm, dappled umbrella of shade. 

Ozy was supposed to be helping Bakri ease into some deeper water to practice swimming, but the latter was more preoccupied by the faded glyphs on the broken limestone. The harder Bakri looked, the more he noticed a circular pattern forming. 

Before he could comment on it, Ozy pointed to a ring of glyphs and said, “Grey mages have always traveled the Doors in teams of three. The Elders sometimes referred to it as the cadre.”

Bakri studied the depictions a bit. Then he asked, “Why three?”

The beads in Ozy’s locs whispered as he bent closer towards the rock and dragged his finger from one glyph to the next. “Three roles. Three specific functions. First you have the locksmith. Then the architect. And finally, the support flex.” He straightened up. “They can be powerful forces to be reckoned with on their own, but together…”

There was someone calling Ozy’s name from off to the right. The grey mage’s entire demeanor changed as he waved to where Kipling was sitting with Vehanoush.

Ozy and Bakri waded over near the entrance of the sea caves. Normally, Bakri would have hesitated at the sensation of the water level rising up his back, but he was preoccupied by the glyphs shimmering in and out of focus along the walls. And by the sheer wonder in this blend of tropical waters and forgotten history.

Once they reached Kip and Vehanoush, it was hard to listen to what they had to say over the exclamatory echoes of Khleo and Theo hurling themselves off the rocks in the distance.

“We can go somewhere quieter,” Kip said as she spread out the project she and Vehanoush had been working on: friendship bracelets made from cowrie shells and dark twine. It didn’t surprise Bakri that Vehanoush had seemed to master the technique even though this was their first go at it.

“There’s a lagoon not far from here called the Enchanted Pool. The water is so clear that you can see all the way to the very bottom.”

Vehanoush’s eyes lit up at Kipling’s description. Ozy started nodding enthusiastically with every word. Just as Bakri was coming around to the idea of visiting waters deeper than the ones they were standing in, Vehanoush caught his attention with the bracelet they had made special for him. 

While she tied it around Bakri’s wrist and he was quietly admiring the smoothness of the shells, Ozy called out for Khleo and Theo. The grey mage’s voice bounced against the arching walls of limestone like a powerful bell. Despite this, they got no reply from the two cliff divers. Nor could they hear them splashing in the water.

Once again Bakri was being pulled in another direction. Though he didn’t mind. He waded through the shallow water with Vehanoush, keeping close to the sandbars while Ozy and Kip pushed into slightly deeper waters so that they could swim to the spot where they last heard their friends. 

Vehanoush showed Bakri the friendship bracelets they had made for Theo, as well as the other members of Bakri’s team, Heîv, Sevak, and Abisoghom.

Soon they wandered out from under the shade of the rocks and entered into sunnier waters. It appeared that Khleo and Theo had left their playground and instead sought refuge on another exposed shelf. Khleo was lying on her stomach, her arms folded under her head. 

Theo had taken advantage of Khleo’s lower back, resting her cheek just left of Khleo’s spine with her body facing away from the approaching group. Kip and Ozy both chuckled at the army of small conch shells slowly working their way up the rock and over Theo’s legs and hips. 

“They played so hard, they wore themselves out,” Bakri noted, smiling softly as he bent to pry a conch shell off of Theo’s ankle.

A soft ripple of noise came from where Khleo’s head was. “I’m up. Just resting my eyes.”

Theo interrupted them with a yawn and added, “Yes well, I’m definitely fast asleep.”

As soon as Kip said something about having a surprise for the two of them, they were both very suddenly upright and holding out their hands for Kip to drop gifts into. 

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The six visitors sat in a row on the reef, their legs dangling over the water. A shifting array of brown skin glistened with salt and tiny sand crystals under the midday sun. Kip and Vehanoush tied everyone’s bracelets on for them. Theo celebrated the loudest, laughing and positively delighting at the way her cowrie shells clicked and snapped the more she flicked her wrist.

Bakri asked Ozy to finish telling him about the glyphs and what they stood for. He wanted to know about those three roles that each door lord cadre fulfilled. And if those same roles applied to Ozy, Kip and Khleo – then how exactly? 

While Vehanoush and Theo were excited to hear about this too, Khleo reminded everybody how hungry they all were. So Ozy’s explanations would have to wait until they got some lunch. The three newcomers pouted, but agreed that it was definitely time to eat and hydrate a little.

Ozy reminded his new friends that they would have plenty of time to learn about the Doors. He promised Bakri that he would show him more glyphs in the sea caves. As well as the monastery where he grew up alongside Kip and Khleo.

He would show them everything worth seeing. He promised them.

Ozy really wanted his new friends to have that chance to see whatever they had their heart set on.

He believed they deserved all that the Melting World had to give.

[eddsworldrus]

What do all the boys home planets look like from your space au?

Ok oh boy!

this will be long since a lot of based off some oc stuff

Tord

So his race (Kathar) Their species a fair sized chunk have never even seen their homeworld!. A lot live on massive warships that cruise around, and are cities in their own light with their size and scale. And there is def a big difference in the cultures between Kathar who live on the homeworld, and those who live on warships. So different traditions/customs/and attitudes. Especially since every warship develops it's own customs, micro-holidays, and communities.

But it's a very pretty world with huge forests of megaflora Red wood trees spanning 100's of feet up. A world with a /lot/ of mountainous terrain and huge plain like areas on some of the steep mesa/flat portions

then deep foggy basins, and lots of the cities built up the sides of the mountains, mesa's or plains areas often pretty tight clustered cities where they live close together i was thinking of lots of world building and all these paleontology videos had me a lot more inspired to think about world building, and environmental factors their world would have that probably helped kathar adapt like that Mountainous landscapes, do powerful/digitigrade legs for climbing/traversing difficult areas, A lot living in very high altitudes. heavy/dexterous tails for balance and grabbing things especially

Fave lil leaf mice that catalogue as leaves/ect to hide in their forest floor homes. Just laying flat on the ground when many of the many species of avians are overhead.

Edd His planet is mostly ocean (like 90% water). With immense ocean biodiversity, (like think subnautica variety as a close example). (especially his species has a ton of variety based off their location/sub species) Edd mostly lives in massive underground tunnel networks. The world is *viscous* when there's massive leviathans and hostile sea life all about, so constantly out for ways to survive.

Also around the few patches of land massive coral reef like forest, some as tall as tree's branching out into the water.

Kelp forests that go for miles and miles

Then deep trenches with all sorts of life. You bet there be some weird ass crab creatures cause we love carcinisation

Matt

His planet is the least habitable, with most of the surface being to harsh for many species to live on, as it's volcanic, extremely hot, acidic rain, and just generally volatile. The surface is craggy and mostly barren, asides from the few species that live there. Most of his species live in vast underground networks. They've developed extreme tolerance to heat, toxic gases. and other rough environments.

So they've built up and reinforced their deep tunnel systems, and giant open caves, over many years. Having made gorgeous structures and adornments to it. Especially since living underground having a lot of access to metals and minerals to work with as building materials.

Fruit is a rarity/delicacy there as most plants they get tend to be more uncommom/mostly succulent/cactus adjacent with how rough the terrain/soil conditions can be.

Then big underground springs are another common feature, as they'll actively seek these out and build around.

Tom His is a mostly nocturnal planet, cooler temperatures, and has multiple moons. A lot of Lots of flat plains land and thick woods and brush. Not as many mountains/extreme heights.

For a majority of the time it's dark or almost a constant state of night/occasional dusk. Which a lot of bioluminescent life has developed, especially in the plants and fruits. Glowing to attract pollinators and seed spreading creatures.

Just sometimes fields of glowing flowers cropping up during the right seasons.

Their capital city is a massive floating city (Built on a base of the same crystals he has on his necklace and are 'magic amplifiers' so a whole lot of magic junk on his world),

Dappling of rural towns and villages. Lots of buildings having been lived in for generations, as a lot of importance in their culture for their history/traditions)

(some of their focus on tradition/valuing their culture does get toxic and there has been a growing counter culture movement against it)

A lot of the small towns have nice wooden buildings, or spires and obelisk like buildings. Most build around the environment but not over it.

Their sea/ocean is a big point of superstition, and very little sea faring. As it's a jet black ocean and most of it's contents are unknown, that is often seen as 'cursed'. Like a common phrase is 'sea touched' as those who are unlucky/dealt with tragedy (A lot of their funeral practices are mostly sea burials to pass on)

A couple other members of his species! oops I have a lot of lore/stuff for Tom and Tord's worlds especially

[travelella]

The Pacific Ocean

The largest ocean - covering more than 30% of Earth.

About 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; almost equal to the total land area of the world

It touches the west coast border of the Americas along with East Asia and Australia.

The equator divides the Pacific Ocean into two separate parts – the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean.

Pacific means “peaceful” in Latin.

Total area: 168.723 million sq km

Coastline: 135,663 km

Ocean volume: 669.88 million cu km

Lowest Point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench - 10,924 m

Mean Depth: -4,080 m

Percent of World Ocean total volume: 50.1%

Includes Arafura Sea, Bali Sea, Banda Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Celebes Sea, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Flores Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, Java Sea, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, Solomon Sea, South China Sea, Sulu Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies.

Continental Slope: Where the ocean bottom drops off more rapidly until it meets the deep-sea floor (abyssal plain) at about 3,200 m (10,500 ft) water depth. These waters are characterized by cold temperatures, low light conditions, and very high pressures.

Pribilof Canyon

Zhemchug Canyon - deepest submarine canyon

Abyssal Plains: at depths of over 3,000 m (10,000 ft) and covering 70% of the ocean floor, are the largest habitat on earth. Sunlight does not penetrate to the sea floor, making these deep, dark ecosystems less productive than those along the continental shelf. Despite their name, these “plains” are not uniformly flat; they are interrupted by features like hills, valleys, and seamounts. 

Aleutian Basin

Central Pacific Basin

Northeast Pacific Basin

Northwest Pacific Basin

Philippine Basin

Southwest Pacific Basin

Tasman Basin

Mid-Ocean Ridge: Rising up from the abyssal plain, is an underwater mountain range, over 64,000 km (40,000 mi) long, rising to an average depth of 2,400 m (8,000 ft.) Form at divergent plate boundaries where two tectonic plates are moving apart and new crust is created by magma pushing up from the mantle. Tracing their way around the global ocean, this system of underwater volcanoes forms the longest mountain range on Earth.

East Pacific Rise

Pacific-Antarctic Ridge

Undersea Terrain Features: The Abyssal Plain is commonly interrupted by a variety of commonly named undersea terrain features including seamounts, guyots, ridges, and plateaus. Seamounts are submarine mountains at least 1,000 m (3,300 ft) high formed from individual volcanoes on the ocean floor. They are distinct from the plate-boundary volcanic system of the mid-ocean ridges, because seamounts tend to be circular or conical. A circular collapse caldera is often centered at the summit, evidence of a magma chamber within the volcano. Flat topped seamounts are known as guyots. Long chains of seamounts are often fed by "hot spots" in the deep mantle. These hot spots are associated with stationary plumes of molten rock rising from deep within the Earth's mantle. These hot spot plumes melt through the overlying tectonic plate as it moves and supplies magma to the active volcanic island at the end of the chain of volcanic islands and seamounts. An undersea ridge is an elongated elevation of varying complexity and size, generally having steep sides. An undersea plateau is a large, relatively flat elevation that is higher than the surrounding relief with one or more relatively steep sides. Although submerged, these features can reach close to sea level. 

Caroline Seamounts

East Mariana Ridge

Emperor Seamount Chain

Hawaiian Ridge

Lord Howe Seamount Chain

Louisville Ridge

Kapingamarangi (Ontong-Java) Rise; note - largest submarine plateau

Macclesfield Bank

Marshall Seamounts

Magellan Seamounts

Mid-Pacific Seamounts

Reed Tablemount

Shatsky Rise; note - third largest submarine plateau

Tonga-Kermadec Ridge

Ocean Trenches: The deepest parts of the ocean floor and are created by the process of subduction. Trenches form along convergent boundaries where tectonic plates are moving toward each other, and one plate sinks (is subducted) under another. The location where the sinking of a plate occurs is called a subduction zone. Subduction can occur when oceanic crust collides with and sinks under (subducts) continental crust resulting in volcanic, seismic, and mountain-building processes. Subduction can also occur in the convergence of two oceanic plates where one will sink under the other and in the process create a deep ocean trench. Subduction processes in oceanic-oceanic plate convergence also result in the formation of volcanoes. Over millions of years, the erupted lava and volcanic debris pile up on the ocean floor until a submarine volcano rises above sea level to form a volcanic island. Such volcanoes are typically strung out in chains called island arcs. As the name implies, volcanic island arcs, which closely parallel the trenches, are generally curved.

Aleutian Trench

Chile Trench

Izu-Ogasawara Trench

Japan Trench

Kermadec Trench

Kuril-Kamchatka Trench

Manus Trench

Mariana Trench; note - deepest ocean trench

Middle America Trench

Nansei-Shoto Trench

Palau Trench

Philippine Trench

Peru-Chile Trench

South New Hebrides Trench

Tonga Trench

Yap Trench

Atolls: The remains of dormant volcanic islands. In warm tropical oceans, coral colonies establish themselves on the margins of the island. Then, over time, the high elevation of the island collapses and erodes away to sea level leaving behind an outline of the island in the form of the fringing coral reef. The resulting low island is typified by the coral reef surrounding a low elevation of sand and coral above sea level with an interior shallow lagoon. Often times the remaining dry land is broken into a ring of islets. Some lagoons can be hundreds of square kilometers. It may take as long as 300,000 years for an atoll formation to occur. Guyots are submerged atoll structures, which explains why they are flat topped seamounts. 

Federated States of Micronesia

French Polynesia

Kiribati

Marshall Islands

Midway Island

Tonga

Tuvalu

US Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges

Vanuatu

Wake Island

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Ocean Zones: The Ocean is divided into three zones based on depth and light level. Although some sea creatures depend on light to live, others can do without it. Sunlight entering the water may travel about 1,000 m into the oceans under the right conditions, but there is rarely any significant light beyond 200 m.

The upper 200 m (656 ft) of the ocean is called the euphotic, or "sunlight," zone. This zone contains the vast majority of commercial fisheries and is home to many protected marine mammals and sea turtles. Only a small amount of light penetrates beyond this depth.

The zone between 200 m (656 ft) and 1,000 m (3,280 ft) is usually referred to as the "twilight" zone, but is officially the dysphotic zone. In this zone, the intensity of light rapidly dissipates as depth increases. Such a minuscule amount of light penetrates beyond a depth of 200 m that photosynthesis is no longer possible.

The aphotic, or "midnight," zone exists in depths below 1,000 m (3,280 ft). Sunlight does not penetrate to these depths and the zone is bathed in darkness.

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Natural Resources: oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish

Natural Hazards: surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire; 80% of tsunamis, caused by volcanic or seismic events, occur within the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December

Enviornmental - Current Issues: Pollution from land- and sea-based sources (such as sewage, nutrient runoff from agriculture, plastic pollution, and toxic waste); habitat destruction; over-fishing; climate change leading to sea level rise, ocean acidification, and warming; endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea

Major Seaport(s): Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong (China), Kao-hsiung (Taiwan), Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Busan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (Russia), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)