#ITS. A PROCESS. IT TAKES A WHILE TO GET OK AT IT

[fuck-customers]

today, mar 25 2024, a woman came into my red hardware store and dumped her bag of returns on my counter. she said "i have a fucking return. it's all coming the fuck back. i don't need any of this fucking stuff" and i was instantly on edge because she's being loud and every other word was another f-bomb. and i GET IT i get swearing, i get being angry, but why the hell are you upset with me lol i looked at the pile of stuff and was like "oh did you buy this yesterday?" because i recognized the pile of items as things that i had personally rung up at some point. it's a bunch of electrical stuff like outlet covers and some solenoids or wtv. but god i shouldn't've said anything. because she snaps "No what the fuck. i bought this fucking weeks ago. and i dont fucking need it. so i'm returning it"

and i'm like.. damn ok, fine. she's digging for receipts. and has a huge stack of Orange Hardware store receipts. and i'm watching her flip through them and she snaps "go ahead and grab yours if you recognize it!" and i'm like 'uh.. ok i'm pretty sure that my store's receipt is this one' and i pointed at one (idk if its just the font but i recognized my store's receipt and yoinked it out.

so i start processing her return. she's like "ugh i need to go get my card from the car!" and i'm like ok, that's fine. she doesn't really need it for the return but 1) i want her to get away from me because i'm gonna call a manager she's being such an asshole. 2) her friend was looking for other stuff to buy.

she comes back in with her card. i'm like scanning and returning the items. 3 items i KNOW are NOT ours are on the pile. im like.. i don't want to deal with her trying to insist that they belong to our store. but i scan one. it beeps 'item not found' i go 'oh well these items aren't from our store, sorry i can't return them"

and she's like "i dont see how that's fucking possible! everything in that bag is from this fucking store!" and she's just absolutely shrieking. and i don't understand why she's mad, like i don't get it. the manager came up and was like 'we don't sell this product. sorry we can't do a return on it.'

she screams some more but accepts that they must be Orange Hardware and not Red Hardware. She goes out to "make a call while her friend shops"

and i swear to god that she was screaming at someone on the phone for next fourteen minutes and everyone inside the store could hear her from the parking lot. every other word out of this woman's mouth was "fuck" and it was setting my nerves on edge.

her friend finally came up to buy his shit. and it totals $77. she's standing at the door handing him her visa and she is PISSED that the total is $77. she says she doesn't understand how it could add up to that much. and im like uhmmmm.. they're plumping parts.. and the stupid toys you're buying for your grandkids pushed the total to $77 after tax.. either buy it or leave. i don't care

she ended up buying it but you could still hear her swearing up and down the parking lot as she was screaming on the phone with her mother (apparently) saying that she was going to need to be reimbursed for the shit she was buying

and i'm just like... goddamn, i dont care how awful your day is. don't take it out on employees or customers you asshat.

the only funny part about this is the fact that her name was actually Karen. which just made me laugh. but all the other staff had come up to the front to make sure i was okay while she was yelling. and she did get intimidated by some of the men and slink out while her friend paid for the stuff. but still.. a big yikes.

Posted by admin Rodney.

[snailcubezz]

did you hear about that mother? broke her daughter's legs in two

and said "it's too dangerous to walk, so i had to save you"

(rbs > likes)

[frecklystars]

Hi frecklydork!! I just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you- I just got out of a convo w/ a therapist where I realized I was in a really bad relationship and she mentioned I was displaying PTSD like symptoms. I just wanted you to know that theres someone out there who's super super super DUPER proud of you and all the work you've put into managing your PTSD- Feeling constant overwhelming anxiety helped me understand a little of what you must be going through, I can't imagine how stressful your day to day life is and I'm feeling overwhelmed rn! I hope you can take some comfort in this

Goodnight! Or Good day, or good morning whenever you get this!

Hi sweetheart. I'm so sorry to hear that you have gone through a relationship so devastating that it left this much of an impact on you. My heart goes out to you, it's not fun, to say the least, it is a really horrible time and it's especially difficult (in my opinion) when it's repetitive actions from someone you trusted... it's like an extra layer of betrayal on top of everything else. I'm so sorry. I know how badly that hurts.

My response is kind of long so I'm gonna put it under a readmore for ya:

I am so touched that you thought of me, and even more touched that you took the time out of your day to tell me that you thought of me. I hope you don't mind it took me a few days to finally crack open my inbox. I reread this a few times because it really warmed my heart. Thank you for being proud of me. I'm so proud of you, too. I'm so happy you've (I'm assuming, hoping, praying) gotten out of the relationship, or in the very least I'm reassured that you've realized how unhealthy the relationship was for you and you can take the steps to overcome and heal from it now. It's SO HARD getting out of relationships, but nobody else can do it for you, it's always you who has to take those steps, and I'm so proud of you for pushing yourself to take those steps!!!! I know it isn't easy!!!!! I think one of the loneliest feelings in the world is knowing that you're in an unhealthy friendship/relationship with someone and you can literally feel this person draining your energy and making you feel hopeless and worthless and numb. I have never felt more empty than when I was trapped in an emotionally abusive relationship/friendship. It's awful. Getting out of that kind of situation is so difficult, so I am so damn proud of you for recognizing that you deserve better!!! Because you do!!! You deserve the whole world and I'm sorry somebody didn't give you the respect you deserved. It's not your fault. Nothing you went through is your fault at all, and I'll say that as many times as you want to hear it.

I completely hear you on the stress side of things -- thank you for empathizing with me. My God, isn't it the fucking worst? The constant stress?? I PROMISE YOU IT GETS BETTER, I PROMISE I PROMISE I PROMISE!!!!!!!!!! I am finally at a point where my anxiety is not killing me 24/7. It took a hot fuckin minute to get here, but I am at a point now where my anxiety will only eat at me for a chunk of my day instead of my whole day. Getting into the Barbie movie literally saved my life. But, like... it's literally a stress disorder, an anxiety disorder. That feeling of it literally EATING at you every single second that you're awake, and even giving you nightmares when you're asleep -- jesus!!! it's so much!!! it's!!! A LOT and it's intense and it's like you never get any peace. BUT I PROMISE IT GETS BETTER!!!!! 😭😭💙💙💙 IT GETS BETTER ANON I SWEAR TO YOU. I AM HOLDING YOUR HAND THROUGH THIS WHOLE THING!!!!!

One day you will wake up and the person who traumatized you, the events that traumatized you, will NOT be the very first thing popping into your head. One day you'll be able to sit down and eat a sandwich and think to yourself "oh I just went 20 whole seconds without thinking about it". One day you'll be tying your shoe and thinking "oh I think i just went five whole minutes without thinking about it!" slowly, gradually, you will have healed so much, you will look back and think "oh. I'm... so much better than I was."

I actually had this revelation a few weeks ago, I sat down making comics, and then I thought to myself... "...oh... I don't think I thought about my abuser... at all... when a trigger was right in front of my face... for a solid two minutes." I saw a gifset where Margot Robbie was wearing an article of clothing that normally triggers me into a panic attack, but I just kept looking at Margot and thinking "hehehe that's my Barbie!!! <3" and then i realized the trigger was right in front of my face but I was so focused on being gay asf I didn't even realize the trigger was there. And then when I noticed it, my body was like "oh. time to panic" but I managed to push away those feelings and say "nope. nope. that's Barbie. and Barbie is safe. and everything is ok!!!" And two minutes of handling a certain trigger may not seem like a long time, at first... but when you're constantly overwhelmed every single second of every single day... two minutes looks like a blessing. and one day you won't even have to count the minutes anymore. you'll just exist and the misery will only be momentary.

But aside from triggers, now, just in general, I am at a point where I can go hours without remembering my abuser or the events that gave me literally DOZENS of triggers in the first place. Flashbacks are rare, when they used to be constant. I'm not as jittery as I used to be, I'm not as... uh, feeling like I'm going out of my mind, I don't know how else to phrase it, but the anxiety that ptsd gives you literally makes you feel like you're losing your sense of self, and I promise you that feeling goes away with time. I promise you it gets better. I didn't have a support system during my time of need, so my healing process is taking much longer than it would have, so I am hopeful that your healing process is actually going much speedier than mine, even if our circumstances may not be exactly the same ofc but just hearing that you have a therapist helping you out with this is absolutely wonderful. Therapy is so important, paired with self care.

I'm so proud of you anon. I'm so sorry you're going through this and ahhh sorry I'm scatterbrained, it's been a long day and my brain cells are on fire, but!!! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU and I LOVE YOU and IT'S GONNA BE OKAY!!!! IT'S GONNA GET BETTER!!!!!! That feeling of constant anxiety 24/7 is an absolute bitch, but it gets better!!! It gets better!!!! I'll say it a million times, it gets better!!!! And I'm here for you the whole way okay? Please feel free to message me anytime. Ilusm I'm sending you so many hugs and I will be keeping you in my thoughts. 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[gibbearish]

vent

[chisatowo]

Oh fuck thats right I have warrior cat ocs *explodes*

[roryparis]

course selection is going sooo

[papus-clown-enclosure]

Fern not really having social skills and Francine comment with the cookie "here fern this is for you idk what it is just like idk what personality you are"(Not exact but the gist of it. THAT HIT ME SO BAD

I went back watching eps I accidently skipped. Difference is Fern turns out to be really good writer.

[simplyreveries]

I was thinking of when the five overblot (Riddle, Azul, Leona, Jamil and Vil) group were in STYX. So those five (separately) with a S/O GN!Yuu reader that immediately like tackled them into a hug as soon as they find them because they were extremely worried.

Idk I just thought it would be a bit angsty and cute 😭

Thank youu!

AW<3

riddle rosehearts

he is so surprised when he sees you, you were the last person he was expecting when taken to this place! he doesn't have time to fully register it before you quickly run over and hug him tightly. riddle nervously stutters out your name and carefully puts his hands around you too. his eyes are still wide, and he's amazed that you're actually here- he can barely speak. truthfully, you had been on his mind since he had been taken to STYX. he can't believe you're right in front of him right now.

... after the initial shock he quickly snaps out of and realizes you completely went out of your way to come find him and the others here...! his face is painted with worry soon enough when he thinks about how risky for someone like you- to travel such ways he slightly scolds you. but he can't go on for long when he feels so relieved and happy to see you. he is just still stressed from everything that has been going on, you can't blame him, can you?

azul ashengrotto

azul didn't have time to think, he got a look at you and couldn't believe it like there's no way you're here and found them??? before he tries to call out - he wasn't expecting you to dash over and tackle him into a hug, he stumbles as he stands and lets out the longest sigh of relief and hugs you back tightly when he realizes it's really you. once he pulls away and looks at you more clearly, he feels such a sense of comfort after a hectic situation.

he sighs exasperated, he seems to be a bit needy for you since it's been forever since he's been near you (his words ok...) and this whole thing has been such a bothersome to him, really. he doesn't want to be away from you - and will absolutely detest it when he has to be pulled away. he is just waiting until things are resolved, or eventually, the chaos of events that happen in that chapter end.

leona kingscholar

leona is not quite used to having someone care for him so deeply in such a way, he wasn't expecting you to follow rook and epel along and find him. he'll huff, grumbling something under his breath before putting an arm around you and slightly rubbing your back and pulling you away from him so he can get a better look at you.

laughs dryly and tells you it was a real stupid idea for you to come all this way, but he'll give to you, he does think its admirable that you're willing to take some risks for him. him tell you that though is just his way of showing concern though, having something crazy happen to him is one thing but you?? no.

jamil viper

blinks slowly a few times processing that you're actually here and managed to find him and the others. he carefully places a hand on your head and pulls you slightly away after a moment and looks at you all over. he seems to be checking if you're okay after your little journey. despite everything that has happened to him, he seems more concerned over your well-being.

warns you a little because its reckless to come find him, something could've happened. as he does so he looks at you in slight worry and a furrowed brow as he rubs your arm slowly. still, he is relieved and feels eased seeing you again.

vil schoenheit

vil is slightly surprised but immediately wraps his arms around you comfortingly and asks you concerned if you're alright. his eyes show literally nothing but worry for you. and moves hair out of your face and sighing softly. he is a bit relieved to know you at least did something like this rook and epel... he knows rook is a bit chaotic, but he trusts him completely.

he seems to be reassuring of the situation currently and makes sure you don't bother worrying about him more and take care of yourself while you're here dealing with this now along him and the others. he cups your face and kisses you lightly on the head and actually thanks you for coming for him.

[reasonsforhope]

hey, how do you cope with people saying we only have a small amount of time left to stop the worst effects of climate change? no matter how hopeful and ok i am, that always sends me back into a spiral :(

A few different ways

1. The biggest one is that I do math. Because renewable energy is growing exponentially

Up until basically 2021 to now, all of the climate change models were based on the idea that our ability to handle climate change will grow linearly. But that's wrong: it's growing exponentially, most of all in the green energy sector. And we're finally starting to see proof of this - and that it's going to keep going.

And many types of climate change mitigation serve as multipliers for other types. Like building a big combo in a video game.

Change has been rapidly accelerating and I genuinely believe that it's going to happen much faster than anyone is currently predicting

2. A lot of the most exciting and groundbreaking things happening around climate change are happening in developing nations, so they're not on most people's radars.

But they will expand, as developing nations are widely undergoing a massive boom in infrastructure, development, and quality of life - and as they collaborate and communicate with each other in doing so

3. Every country, state, city, province, town, nonprofit, community, and movement is basically its own test case

We're going to figure out the best ways to handle things in a remarkably quick amount of time, because everyone is trying out solutions at once. Instead of doing 100 different studies on solutions in order, we get try out 100 (more like 10,000) different versions of different solutions simultaneously, and then figure out which ones worked best and why. The spread of solutions becomes infinitely faster, especially as more and more of the world gets access to the internet and other key infrastructure

4. There's a very real chance that many of the impacts of climate change will be reversible

Yeah, you read that right.

Will it take a while? Yes. But we're mostly talking a few decades to a few centuries, which is NOTHING in geological history terms.

We have more proof than ever of just how resilient nature is. Major rivers are being restored from dried up or dead to thriving ecosystems in under a decade. Life bounces back so fast when we let it.

I know there's a lot of skepticism about carbon capture and carbon removal. That's reasonable, some of those projects are definitely bs (mostly the ones run by gas companies, involving carbon credits, and/or trying to pump CO2 thousands of feet underground)

But there's very real potential for carbon removal through restoring ecosystems and regenerative agriculture

The research into carbon removal has also just exploded in the past three years, so there are almost certainly more and better technologies to come

There's also some promising developments in industrial carbon removal, especially this process of harvesting atmospheric CO2 and other air pollution to make baking soda and other industrially useful chemicals

As we take carbon out of the air in larger amounts, less heat will be trapped in the atmosphere

If less heat is trapped in the atmosphere, then the planet will start to cool down

If the planet starts to cool down, a lot of things will stabilize again. And they'll probably start to stabilize pretty quickly

[cinnabeat]

every couple of years my body rebels against me in the most hilarious ways possible

[permanentswaps]

Virtually Limitless

For as long as he could remember, Dan had struggled with dieting and exercise. This year, he finally decided to make a change and go all in on fitness. That was how he met Cole, a hunky 26-year-old trainer at the local gym. After training with Cole for a few months, he still wasn’t making much progress. But that was ok, he was happy to crush over Cole and to discuss their mutual love of video games.

Dan loved video games so much, that he had actually made a career out of them. Dan's workplace, WeTech, was all cutting-edge virtual reality startup. One day, without his bosses knowing, Dan got his hands on a yet-to-be-released prototype and a game titled "Dragon Slayers." Naturally, he asked Cole if he wanted to try it out.

"So, how does this work?" Cole asked, a mix of excitement and curiosity in his eyes.

Dan, grinning with anticipation, replied. "We pick our characters, put on the headsets, and say 'Start' followed by our player number. When we’re done, we just say 'Exit' and our player number again."

"Sounds pretty straightforward," Cole remarked, a playful smile on his face.

"Ready to go?" Dan asked, his enthusiasm infectious.

"Let's do it," Cole replied, the room buzzing with a shared sense of excitement. And with that, they plunged into the virtual world of "Dragon Slayers."

“Start Player 1,” said Dan.

“Start Player 2,” said Cole.

The room filled with the soft hum of tech and the glow of screens as they launched themselves into the digital adventure.

Once inside, Cole marveled at the virtual landscape of impressive mountains and valleys. Meanwhile Dan found himself enamored by another “landscape,” the topography of his newfound, virtual washboard abs.

"So, this is what it's like to be in such great shape," Dan mused, his virtual avatar flexing his digital muscles.

Spotting a beacon in the distance, Cole paid no attention to his comment. "Look, there's a beacon; we have to go this way!" he exclaimed, pointing towards the glowing light on the horizon.

Their journey reached a climax when they faced-off against a formidable dragon. After intensely battling for what felt like hours, the two sat down for a debrief.

Dan, catching his virtual breath, couldn't help but muse aloud, "That was incredible! Imagine having such a youthful and strong body all the time."

Cole, grinning mischievously, replied, "Maybe you could know," and without further explanation, initiated the process. "Exit Player 1," he declared, his voice echoing in the virtual realm, and his consciousness was abruptly pulled from the game.

Dan, still processing, hesitated for a moment. That was his player number. Then, with a hint of curiosity mixed with uncertainty, he muttered, "Exit Player 1." An error message flickered in the air in front of him..

Dan said with uncertainty, "Exit Player 2." In that instant, the virtual world around him warped, and he felt a sudden shift. Taking off his headset, he found himself looking at his own body, which had a playful smirk plastered across its face.

"This is so freaky; I didn't know if that would work," Cole confessed.

Dan, distractedly running his fingers over his new biceps through the fabric of his shirt, said half-heartedly, “We …. We have to switch back.”

"Hey, what’s the rush?" Cole asked. "Let’s stay like this for a bit. I can help get your body back on track with its diet, and in return, you might pick up some muscle memory from my training expertise."

Dan, still adjusting to the surreal experience of being in Cole's body, raised an eyebrow. "You really think that's a good idea?"

Cole chuckled, a twinkle of excitement in his eyes. "Think about it, Dan. You'll get firsthand experience of what it's like to live in a body like this, and I'll ensure your body doesn't go on a fast-food frenzy while you're in mine. It's a win-win!"

Dan, intrigued by the proposition, finally grinned. "Alright, let's give it a shot. But just for a few weeks, okay?"

Cole laughed, clapping Dan on the shoulder, or rather, where his shoulder used to be in his own body. "Deal, buddy! This is going to be epic!"

---

Over the ensuing weeks, Dan wholeheartedly embraced his new life as Cole. The gym transformed into a second home.

One night, he found himself cheering on a client during a challenging workout.

Dan grinned, offering encouragement, "Come on George, you've got this! Remember, pain is just weakness leaving the body!"

The client, panting but motivated, nodded appreciatively. "You're on fire today, Cole! What's gotten into you?"

Dan laughed, a blend of his own infectious enthusiasm and newfound charisma. "Just trying out some new tricks. Gotta keep things exciting, you know?"

"Haha, I getcha.” George replied, wiping his sweat with a towel. “Oh by the way, I’m hitting the bars later with some friends. Wanna come along?" he asked.

Dan hesitated for a brief moment. In his old body, he would have never been cool enough for a night out like this. However, with newfound confidence and the thrill of embodying Cole's persona, he grinned and replied, "That sounds awesome, dude. I'll be there."

Later, at the local bars, Dan found himself reveling in the attention he was receiving from both guys and girls. Feeling the gaze of a guy from across the bar, Dan playfully flexed his biceps, a cheeky grin playing on his lips. The guy, drawn in by the confident display, couldn't resist approaching.

"Hey there, looking good," the guy said, initiating a playful flirtation.

“Not so bad yourself,” Dan replied. “What’s your name.”

“Bryan,” he replied with a smirk.

Before Dan knew it, he was back in Cole’s apartment hungrily making out with the twunk in his bed. As Dan ripped off his shirt, Bryan’s eyes grew wide looking at his muscles. Dan raised his arm and flexed his bicep at Bryan again before grabbing behind his head and holding Bryan’s face against his armpit.

Slowly, Dan reached down to unbutton his pants and slide down his briefs. Bryan quickly followed suit before straddling Dan’s waist. As Bryan shoved his face back into Dan’s pecks, Dan began to finger Bryan’s hole and cover his dick with lube. He thrust his hips upwards, slowly at first, but then picking up the pace.

As he pounded his hole, Bryan whispered “ugh I love your muscles. Please flex for me, sir.” Overcome with lust, Dan couldn’t help but flex as bear hugged Bryan and coated the inside of his hole. He’d have to do that again, he thought.

---

After enjoying a month in one another’s bodies, Cole and Dan returned to the virtual world for another quest. Following another climatic encounter, this time with a minotaur, the pair prepared themselves to exit the game.

Cole, eager to resume his life in his original body, confidently uttered the command, "Exit Player 2." However, the response was not as anticipated.

An eerie silence followed before an unmistakable voice echoed through the virtual space, delivering a message that froze the avatars in their tracks, "You can only go back to your original body."

Cole's avatar stood motionless, disbelief etched across its virtual face. "What? That can't be right," he exclaimed, trying the command again, "Exit Player 2!"

Dan, stifling a smirk, puts on a face of fake bewilderment. "Weird, I wonder why its not working," Dan said, his digital brows furrowed.

Panic seeped into Cole's voice as he desperately sought a solution. "We need to figure this out. I can't stay in your body forever," he muttered, his frustration palpable.

“Hmmm.” Dan said. “Exit Player 2.” The game ripping him back to reality.

---

Driven by desperation, Cole pleaded with WeTech to rectify the glitch that confined him to Dan's body. Despite his sincere appeals, the company's response was far from sympathetic, and in a cruel twist of fate, Cole found himself facing accusations of alleged theft of company equipment, resulting in his termination. The once-thriving fitness trainer now grappled with the harsh realities of unemployment and an out-of-shape body.

As Cole navigated the unexpected turns in his life, Dan reveled in the newfound freedom that he had secured. You see, a week before the anticipated swap back, Dan took it upon himself to email his former colleagues at WeTech, disclosing the glitch and urging them to patch it. Unbeknownst to Cole, this intentional act sealed Dan in his new, hunky body permanently.

Now, Dan looked forward to exploring life on his own terms. Particularly intriguing was the prospect of deepening his connection with Bryan. However, even if that path didn't unfold as expected, Dan wasn't concerned. With a body like this, the possibilities were virtually limitless.

[kaijutegu]

Is It Ok For An Alligator To Have Tape On Their Mouth?

Alligators make pretty amazing animal ambassadors when handled safely and ethically. And it is actually pretty safe to take them out to interact with the zoo-going public (or general public in some settings), when done correctly. Many zoos and outreach organizations do an amazing job of this! Every state has different rules, but even if a state doesn't mandate that alligators be banded... well, if you're a responsible crocodilian handler, you'll band anyways. It's a huge public safety issue! Even an accidental graze against their front teeth can cause injury. See, the alligators that are used as handle-able ambassadors are pretty small, and their teeth are razor sharp. An adult gator has sharp teeth, too, as well as blunt teeth for crushing, and they also have the additional force of their jaw muscles.

Here's what it sounds like when an adult alligator pops his jaw. (Don't worry about the hissing/gaping; this is a trained and queued behavior. The stick towards the top of the inside of the mouth is triggering the bite reflex. Chester probably got lots of chicken and fish as he learned to do this.)

Skip ahead to 0:32 if you wanna skip the guest commentary.

What's more, biting is an important reflex for crocodilians. The lower jaws of crocodilians are some of the most innervated tissues in the animal kingdom; they are more sensitive than human fingertips! Even the slightest touch triggers their bite reflex, which likely is an adaptation that lets them detect changes in water pressure that signal a snack heading their way.

Here's a pretty good video about the biomechanics of crocodilian jaws:

So yeah. They need to not be able to bite for public safety. There's just too much risk involved with an unbanded alligator (or other crocodilian). Fortunately, it's easy to get a crocodilian to not bite- you just need to band its mouth!

(This fella is Frodo the dwarf caiman, but the principle is the same.)

This works because while crocodilians have an extremely strong bite force (claims range from 2,000 PSI to 5,000+ PSI, but I don't have time to get into that now but someday I will probably), but not particularly strong muscles to open their mouths. Selective pressure for quickly nabbing prey in murky water where there's not a lot of visibility lead to pterygoid and adductor muscles so big, they extend into the animal's neck. But those muscles only pull the jaw closed- they don't work to open it! That's why you see people holding an alligator's mouth closed with their hands.

Safe bands include:

Silicone tape- this is the best. It sticks to itself and not the gator's snout

Electrical tape

Medical tape

Rubber or elastic bands

There are other options, but these are the most popular- they're cheap, easily available, and safe. So if you see an alligator (or other crocodilian) out in public and it's got tape on its mouth, don't worry too much- it's safe for the gator (most of the time) and it's safe for you!

Here's a couple of safe tape options, modeled by a juvenile American alligator in pink electrical tape (I forget her name, these are from an outreach event a couple of years ago) and Pagasa, a juvenile Philippine crocodile wearing the white medical tape.

So when is tape not safe? When it's the wrong kind of tape. One of the worst offenders is duct tape.

When you're banding an alligator, you need to think about how sensitive their jaws are. A band that's too tight or too sticky can hurt them badly when it's removed- and you want that removal process to be fast, so that it doesn't stress them out too much.

What inspired this post was this picture I saw on Facebook:

That's so much duct tape! Now, this little guy is quite unhealthy; he's been loose in the Pittsburgh area all winter, and he's been struggling. What you see here is a very quick tape job done as he's getting ready for transport. The article didn't say who taped him, but given that he's in a dog crate and was found by bicyclists, I would wager that it was some harried animal control officer who was doing the best they could. And that's fine because this was truly an emergency situation. In an emergency situation, uncomfortable is always, always better than unsafe.

But if you see a tourist attraction and they've put duct tape on their alligator's mouth? That's a red flag! Banding an alligator in public is the safe, correct thing to do- you just want to make sure that it's done right.

If you want more information about alligator jaws, here's some interesting papers to read:

Erickson, Gregory et al. Insights into the Ecology and Evolutionary Success of Crocodilians Revealed through Bite-Force and Tooth-Pressure Experimentation. PLoS ONE 7(3): e31781.

Knight, Kathryn. Croc Jaws More Sensitive Than Human Fingertips. Journal of Experimental Biology (2012) 215.

Sellers et al. Ontogeny of bite force in a validated biomechanical model of the American alligator. Journal of Experimental Biology (2017), 220.

[strawbsj]

Hello can I request for g!p chaewon x fem reader? Wherein cheawon gets a boner during a concert and reader forces chaewon to hold until they get back home and chaewon fucks reader roughly? Lol idk how this stuff works im new to Tumblr and it's my first time requesting

Im not really satisfied with how this came out but hope you still enjoy it!😔

You came to your girlfriend Chaewons concert that she invited you to, it was a pretty normal concert, fans filling the stadium, music blasting as loud as possible and Members having fun singing and dancing and interacting with their fans. It was your first concert after being In a relationship with Chaewon and you decided to come to her concert to surprise her because when she first invited you you denied not really liking being in very loud places but changed your mind at the end. Once she saw you her eyes widened while a big smile found their way on her face. She came to where you were holding a sign where was a picture of Chaewon, and you decorated it. She walked towards you and interacted with you as a fan, smiling and giving high fives and laughing with you. Through the concert Chaewon came to your section more and even when she wasn’t there she stole glances at you. As the time passed Chaewon had a small tent on her pants, she couldn’t help but get a boner of the thought of you. Chaewon walked one last time to your section giving you a puppy look, she gave you puppy eyes. You quickly understood when you saw the small tent, you just looked at her with wide eyes and told her no, she wanted when the members get a break and before the other half of the concert starts, she would fuck you in some storage room. But you didn’t want to risk getting caught so you denied. Chaewon left your section with a pout and sad eyes, you felt bad but she could have her time with you when you both are home.

The other half of the concert soon started and it ended fast, the members bid their goodbyes to their fans. Fans left fast and now its members time to go home, Chaewon asked if they could drop her at your house, so they did.

Chaewon opened your apartments door with the spare key you gave her, and she left her shoes and jackets before heading to your bedroom.

After you came from the concert, you took a quick shower and just laid in bed, reading your favorite book. When you saw Chaewon in front of your bed you, placed your book at the night stand. “How was the other half of the concert?” Chaewon didn’t bother to answer, she hovered over you and pinned your arms above your head. She was quick to take off your clothing, leaving you naked under her touch. She traced her fingers slowly down all over cheek to your hardened nipples, making you hiss. Seeing your reaction her face mustered a dirty smirk. As much as she wanted to tease you. She still had the boner from the concert.

The sweaty bodies slapping against each other, a squelching sound echoing through the room Chaewon was in the process of ramming your brains out. Her thrusts were rough and deep, making you take and feel every inch of her length.

Her thrusts never stopping, she was pounding into you at an inhuman speed. “C-Chae s-slow down p-please” you sobbed out, your pleas falling to deaf ears. “Nah, can’t do that baby” she responded in the middle of her thrusts. Your abused pussy was too sore, and overstimulated. She made you cum four times and not stopping even after she came. “So close baby hnnggh”she moaned out. She rested her head on the crook of your neck, inhaling your vanilla perfume. The smell itself could make her cum, her seed filled your walls, the warm thick fluid soon started dripping down your thighs after she pulled out, both of you panting heavily.

“Im sorry princess” she mumbled while nibbling on your neck. “It’s ok chae” you reassured her. You gave her a quick kiss before spending the rest of the night in each other’s arms.

[pocketkats]

.

[sleepyxxhead]

thinking about boyfriend!nanami who would cut fresh fruit for you while you're studying/working.

your eyes burned from the light of the computer screen that you had been staring at for god knows how many hours at this point. your fingers tapped away at the small keys on the keyboard, too fast for you to process what you were typing. every once in a while you'd quickly scribble something down on your notepad that you knew would be too messy to read later.

you could hear nothing but the tap tap tap's of your keyboard when the sound of a small knock at your door filled your ears. "y/n darling?" your boyfriend muttered, almost too soft to hear over the quier creak of the door opening.

"hm?" you hummed, finger barely slowing down as you kept your eyes trained on the screen.

you heard your boyfriend pad over to your desk, right behind your chair. he placed a small plate of fruit next to your keyboard as his hand found your scalp, massaging it with slender fingers. he worked his hands down to your neck, slowly releasing the knots that had been building up even since you sat down many hours ago.

he leaned down to place a gentle kiss to the crown of your head. "how's it going?" the blonde murmured into your scalp.

fighting the urge to turn your head away from the computer, you replied with a small sigh, body automatically leaning into his touch.

"wanna take a break with me in a bit?" he whispered before pressing another kiss to your head.

"kentooo don't do this to me," you groaned, hiding your head in your hands. "you know i have to get this finished."

"come on, sweetheart. you need to take a break," your boyfriend said a bit more stern this time. "10 more minutes."

finally peeling your eyes away from the computer screen, you let out a small sigh. you turned your head to meet eyes with nanami, a small pout on your face. his eyes softened once they met your gaze. he let a small breath through his nose as he rubbed your cheek fondly with his thumb.

for a split second, you reminded yourself that your work wouldn't get done on its own, but your mind slowly succumbed to the gentle touch of your boyfriend.

at last, you surrendered with another small sigh, your voice barely above a whisper when you told him, "..ok."

something small to feed you guys while i work on flufftober week 4! yes i'm aware it's been two months and yes i'm so very sorry fjdksa;fds

have a nice day cutie <33