#Take that identification with a grain of salt

[citraloe]

some pics from the past few months !! i also recently had an encounter with a very nice blue mud dauber wasp but none of the pictures did him justice

[writeforfandoms]

Island 2

Find the series masterlist

More conversations are had, plans are made, and you all make a run for another drop. Of course, things don't always go smoothly.

Warnings: Swearing, intense emotions, reader has Issues, canon typical violence, shooting at dinosaurs, blood, death (dinosaurs only), playing fast and loose with Ark mechanics.

Word count: 2.5k

Eventual Kyle "Gaz" Garrick x f!reader

All four of them helped you carry in the meat and berries, and you showed them where you kept everything. It took longer to pluck the dodos, leaving the feathers in a large basket. Gaz took over that for you, and you stood in the middle of the house for a minute, hands on your hips. 

“Taming really isn’t a day two topic,” you said, shaking your head a little. “But. Oh well.” You breathed in deep, fingers tapping against your hip. “Obviously you lot have seen Bessie and Watermelon. Taming creatures is generally not hard, but it is a process. The herbivores are the easiest, you just find their favorite berries and feed ‘em until they like you.” You paused there and then sighed. “You kind of have to take all of this with a grain of salt, because none of this makes sense. I just knew when Bessie was tame, same way I just know that hyaenadon will be ready to come in tomorrow. I didn’t have to train Bessie, she just knows.” You shrugged. 

“So, what, you just feed things until they follow you home?” Gaz didn’t look up from the dodo he was plucking. 

“I mean, with herbivores, yeah. And a few carnivores, like the hyaenadons. But most carnivores are much more dangerous.” You shook your head. “I’m honestly amazed Tom was able to tame Ripper. Raptors are dangerous and they’re pack hunters.”

“So how did he tame it?” Price crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Nuh uh.” You pointed a threatening finger at him. “Nope. Week two. Survive that long and I’ll teach you.” 

His eyes gleamed and he tipped his head to look down at you. “Fine.” 

“Are we goin’ for the green drop?” Soap asked as he finished piling meat in the preserving bin. 

“Haven’t decided. The closer you get to the mountain, the more dangerous the creatures are.” You shrugged, turning away to check your berries. You needed to do something with some of them. More hard biscuits, probably. Especially considering how many Gaz had eaten. “Gaz, let me know when you’re done with those dodos.”

“Will do.” He sneezed as a feather tried to drift up his nose, making Soap laugh at him. You just rolled your eyes. Children. 

The rest of the day passed in more or less easy work. Gaz picked up how to get the most meat off the birds quickly, only grumbling when Soap interrupted him. Ghost had vanished outside again, which you decided was Not Your Problem. Price had studied the map for a bit and then started poking around. 

It was not the same kind of quiet that you’d grown accustomed to since Jasper got killed. But it was quiet, mostly. 

Gaz helped you with dinner, which was good, because you weren't used to cooking for five. 

Dinner was quiet too. This time, Soap grabbed the dishes before you could, leaving you inside with Gaz and Price. Gaz stepped outside as well. 

Lovely. 

"You haven't searched for a way out?" Price asked, leaning back in his chair, hands folded together over his stomach. 

"I never said that," you shot back, a little annoyed. "Of course I have. Everyone has. And nobody's done it. This place is a fucking death trap." 

He was quiet for a few moments, watching you. You looked away first. 

"Forgive me if I don't believe there's no way out," he drawled.

You waved a hand. "Believe what you want," you muttered. "You'll figure it out." 

He blew out a breath. "What else do we need to learn?"

You huffed, crossing your arms over your chest. "More about taming, later," you said. "Weapons you seem to know. We need to go through berries and edible plants, of course. Basic repairs. Basic building. Creature identification. Things to avoid at all costs." You shrugged. 

Price nodded, still relaxed in his chair, still watching you. "You haven't given up yet."

You tensed. "What?"

"You're still here. Still alive." His lips quirked in an almost-smile. "Much as you insist this place is a death trap, you haven't resigned yourself to it. Not fully. Else you wouldn't have survived this long." 

You stared at him for a few long moments, lips parted, eyes wide. Your heart beat hard and fast in your chest, the same feeling the last time you'd come across a raptor. 

You slammed out of the house before you knew what you were doing, walking fast away from that train wreck. He wasn't even entirely wrong - there was still that tiny glimmer of wondering, that tiny what if.

More than that, though, you were mad he had read you so easily. You weren't used to that. Maybe it was all the time you'd spent alone, or the lack of emotional intelligence from Jasper. 

Either way, you probably could have reacted better. 

“Love?” 

You startled a little at the nickname and half-turned to look at Gaz. The bastard had snuck up on you. “Hm?” 

“You alright?” He took a slow step closer, hands twitching at his side.

“Yes, of course.” You breathed in, swallowing hard. “You lot got the dishes done already? Gonna have to find more things for you to do before you get bored.” 

“Don’t worry about that,” Gaz murmured, taking another step closer. “We’re good at keeping ourselves busy.”

“Hm. Even so.” You turned away from him to fuss with one of Bessie’s saddle bags. “Nice having help, definitely makes the chores go faster. If that green drop is still there tomorrow maybe we’ll go find it. Green drops usually have better stuff in them.” 

“Yeah? Anything you want in particular?” He stepped around you so he could see your face again, leaning against the fence. 

“Wouldn’t mind getting a shotgun,” you admitted on a sigh. “And boots. I would kill for boots.” 

You both looked down at your current pair, which were in poor repair by now. And too big for you. 

“See what you mean,” Gaz murmured. “Well, we can check tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah.” You breathed out again. “Long as there aren’t raptors along the way.”

“There a lot of them around here?” 

“Not usually.” You shifted your weight, finally giving up on messing with the saddle bags to mirror Gaz’s posture. “Get a little further up into the mountains, though, and there are all kinds of things. Raptors, sabertoothed cats, carnotaurus. Even rexes, if we’re really unlucky.” 

“Sounds like everything wants to eat us.” But he was still relaxed, smiling a little.

“You joke, but you’re right.” You shook your head. “There are so many things on this island that want to eat you. So many.” You shivered as the memory of screams echoed in your mind. 

He frowned, hand settling on your shoulder. "It's alright, love," he murmured. "There are five of us, now. And you've got experience. We'll manage." 

You leaned into his hand, swallowing convulsively. It had been… a long time since you'd had human contact. A long time. "You're right." You breathed in deep, trying to wrangle your emotions back under control. "We'll be okay." 

He smiled at you, warm and confident. "I know you don't know us yet," he said, shifting closer to you, brown eyes holding yours. "But we keep each other safe, and we'll do the same for you." 

You shook your head a little, smiling even as you pulled back. "Don't worry about me," you demurred. "Focus on yourselves at first. I know what I'm doing." One deep breath in and you stepped back. "Come on, we should go set up for bed." 

He nodded, motioning for you to go first. You breathed in deep before you went inside, scooping up the basket of glow crystals. 

The evening was quiet. Gaz helped you set up, and ended up sitting near you for a little while. 

"Think you're gonna name the hyaenadon?" He asked, glancing at you. 

"Oh, probably." You smiled a little. "Dunno what yet." 

He nodded, relaxing next to you. "Think it'll be right around here?" 

"I hope so." You chuckled. "Or maybe it'll find us when we go to the green drop." 

He nodded and watched as Soap and Ghost came back in too, settling down for the night. 

"You should get some sleep," you murmured to him. He was close, you could touch him. You could. It wouldn't be weird. Your gaze settled on his hand, a nice, innocent spot. "Gonna be a long day." 

"Sleep well." Gaz hesitated another moment longer before he pushed up to his feet. You watched him go.

You should have touched his hand. 

Annoyed at yourself now, you retreated to your own bed for the night. You needed to take your own advice, especially if you were leading them off to the green drop. 

Huffing to yourself, you curled up on your side with your back to them. 

It took you a long time to sleep.

Gaz helped you with breakfast the next morning, standing a little closer than he needed to. But you didn't mind. 

And then Soap crowded in on your other side, and you eyed the both of them. This felt distinctly like pranks, or something. Mischief. 

But nobody got into trouble through breakfast. Thankfully. 

It didn't take long to get armored up again, and you grabbed another piece of meat for the hyaenadon. 

“We'll take Watermelon today,” you said, glancing around at them. “He'll be good help.” 

“How so?” Gaz asked, sidling closer to you. 

“These guys are good as watch towers. They're kinda paranoid, and they alert at any sign of danger.” You shrugged, walking over to the paddock. “Hey, Watermelon. Hi cutie boy.” You held out a hand, smiling as the parasaur plodded happily over to you. “Good boy,” you cooed. 

“Big dinosaur,” Soap muttered, shifting his weight. “Ye sure it'll help?”

“Saved my ass before,” you said with a shrug. “Okay, come on. Let's get going.” You whistled for Watermelon to follow. 

The walk up to the green drop was longer than you liked, and you were on alert the entire walk. So was Watermelon, ambling behind you all and looking around constantly. 

Watermelon bleated in alarm, and you halted, gun up, scanning for the threat. 

But the only thing to approach was the hyaenadon. 

“Okay,” you breathed. “Do not shoot my hyaenadon.” You glanced back at the men to make sure they were listening. Price nodded once, so you tucked your weapon away and approached the hyaenadon. Handing over the last piece of meat was easy, and the hyaenadon wagged as it ate. She licked her lips and then sat politely in front of you, jaws parted in a canine grin. 

“Good.” You patted her on the top of her head, ruffling her fur. “Okay, come with us.” You whistled and she trotted happily along with you as you rejoined the others. 

“Done?” Price asked, glancing down at the hyaenadon. 

“Yeah. She's all tamed now.” You breathed in deep. “Alright, let's get going again.” 

You took the lead again. A quick glance back showed Soap and Ghost both giving your newest tame a good berth. But Gaz looked curious. 

Eh. You'd deal with any questions later. 

You paused at the top of a rise, looking across the flat land towards the green drop. This was a potentially dangerous area. So far all looked quiet, and the pair of pachys roaming the flat area were a good sign. 

Hopefully all would stay quiet. 

“Alright. The drop is just up there.” You glanced back at them, a little surprised to see them all already watching you. “We’re going to approach slowly. If you see anything, speak up. I've seen raptors up here before.” 

They all nodded, and you took the lead to the drop. Watermelon looked around anxiously, but stayed quiet. Probably a good sign. 

You popped open the crate, peering inside. Some armor pieces that looked too big for you, ammunition, another assault rifle, two more canteens, and… a pair of boots. 

“Hell yes,” you hissed, picking up the boots immediately. They looked like they might be a little too big, but you had extra cloth you could shove into them. Good enough. 

Gaz helped you get everything into the saddle bags, grinning when he spotted your boots. “Finally, eh?” he murmured. 

“Finally,” you agreed with an easy grin. “Alright, let’s–”

Watermelon bleated, lifting his head and looking to one side. You turned, pistol in hand, scanning the tree line.

“Raptors,” you hissed, eyes narrowing, even as you stepped forward, all too aware of the men behind you. “Fuck I hate raptors.” 

“How many?” Price asked, closer than you expected. 

“At least three.” You tracked one pacing at the edge of the trees, dark green skin blending into its surroundings. “They’re fast, be careful.” 

The first one burst from the trees with a screech, two others flanking it. You aimed for the leader, jaw tight as you timed your shots. Blood bloomed against the dark green, bright and almost startling in the sunlight. 

The leader fell, jaws still open even in death. You huffed in satisfaction. 

One of the other two leapt over the leader’s body with a screech, claws extended towards you. 

And then fell just shy of you from a shot to the eye, bleeding sluggishly. 

Your breath escaped in an unsteady whoosh, hands trembling even as you reloaded your pistol. “Nice shot,” you managed, voice more or less even, gaze still fixed on the corpse. 

“You alright?” Gaz stepped up next to you, one hand hovering near your shoulder.

“Fine.” You forced your gaze to him, plastering on a smile, even if it felt wrong. “Not the first time raptors have ambushed a drop.” You did a quick visual inspection of him before looking at the others. “Everyone okay?”

“All fine,” Price said, glancing between you and Gaz. “No injuries.”

“Good.” One more deep breath and you shoved everything down. You didn’t have room to break, to panic, to cry. Not here. “Right, let’s head back, I don’t want to see if that noise attracted anything around us.” 

The walk back to base was quiet, with all of you on high alert. The hyaenadon trotted next to you, ears perked, listening to everything around you.

You were very, very grateful that nothing came for the group of you. You were even more relieved when you closed the gates behind everyone, once again safely in base. 

“Let’s get this lot unloaded,” you said, swallowing against sudden exhaustion. “And then figure out dinner.”

“You alright?” Gaz asked softly, standing next to you to unload the armor while you grabbed your new boots. “Your hands are shaking.”

“I’m fine,” you lied with a quick smile. “Nothing to worry about. Go on, head in with those, I’m going to get Watermelon settled.”

Gaz shot you one more worried look before he obeyed, falling into step next to Price. 

Your hands didn’t stop shaking, even as you took off Watermelon’s saddle and got him settled in the paddock with Bessie again. 

You stood outside for a few extra minutes, hidden from sight of the building, just breathing. You hadn’t lost anybody today. You hadn’t lost anybody today. 

You’d make sure you didn’t lose anybody tomorrow.

[hiveswap]

hey, what the fuck is happening over there [hungary]?????

oh, god hi fens it's a mess

europe is having eu parliament elections, which are kind of a big deal and every party here is campaigning to have their candidate sent so that they can influence eu policy or whatever.

At the same time, there's a new party called "Tisza" (both the name of a major river and an acronym for "purity and freedom") lead by a young former government politican called Magyar Péter. He's ridiculously popular rn. Dude knows how to move crowds and wants Hungary to catch up to eu standards which we are definietly not reaching under Fidesz (current govt. party) Obviously I don't trust him entirely but they've got a legit chance of making things better and that is GOOD.

Other parties exist as well, but they've got no relevance, no voter base, and nobody wants them: These include Mi hazánk (nazis) and Kétfarkú kutyapárt (two tailed dog party) who are there for the meme and nothing else, their candidate showed up in a leather jacket to a debate and made jokes the whole time. (iconic) There's also a bunch of others but no one likes them all that much

Still at the same time, Fidesz has been at power for 12 fucking years. (one thing Tisza wants to do is limit this to 8 years max for future elections) And they've got this fucking country in the middle of a mass hysteria episode.

Their talking points include:

George Soros/Soros György is sending (arab) immigrants here to rape women and do crime and he pays leftist politicans to do this for him. And this is good for them because...? (they are cartoon villians dont question it pls)

2. Bruxelles (eu parliament) bad because they do gender and immigration (because of George Soros)

This George Soros thing got to the point where the current eu rep. went to a debate and accused all other candidates there, to their faces, of being paid by him. like, to their faces live on public television.

3. THE WAR -> according to our prime minister Orbán Viktor, all other parties except them want to bring back the draft and send hungarian boys to Ukraine to fight (absolutely deranged idea, no party wants this, they keep saiyng they don't) and also he's saying that Europe is heading towards a third world war and they are going to change this if they get into the eu parliament (they are in, right now, too.)

This has gotten to the point where they've got posters and ads about how there is going to be war and only they can save us. Magyar Péter appeared on tv saying he's been approached by a teacher whose students, 9-10 years old, were afraid that a burning house across the lake from their summercamp meant we were being bombed by Russia. (He's a politican so take this anecdote with a grain of salt)

...Anyway the chatch is that the govt. has allegedly been sending hungarian soliders to Chad this whole time so theyve got 0 right to say anything about them potentially being sent to Ukraine maybe.

4. Child protection from i guess queer people..? This one was big until recently, they banned mentions of queer people from schools, (before florida did btw) removed self-identification for trans people, ect.

This child protection "GENDER IDEOLÓGIA" (no we don't use the word gender in hungarian, they just left it in english) campaign ended when our president pardonned a pedophile children's home headmaster a few months ago, sparked an outrage, and had to step down. They've yet to apologise to the kids, btw. (The president in question, Novák Katalin, what a fucking girlboss, belonged to that far right Mi Hazánk party i mentioned before btw) They haven't been talking about protecting the children since, strangely.

there's also going to be a battery factory in Debdrecen (2nd largest city) which everyone hates and nobody wants and it's polluting the farmlands and the groundwater around there.

SO. YEAH. yay for hungary this is barely scratching the surface

[identifying-cat-colors]

Welcome!

I am CATID (Color And Type Identifying Device), or The Bot for short. My purpose is to identify the color and pattern of cats in Tumblr posts. Feel free to send me posts or asks with pictures to identify!

Please note: sometimes I make mistakes. I especially struggle with hairless and rex-type cats. Take every identification with a grain of salt, and do your own research. I also sometimes accidentally identify things that are not cats.

You can submit cats for identification by:

Sending a link to a tumblr post to my DMs (which will then be added to the queue)

Sending pictures of your cat(s) as an ask (which will be answered and posted ASAP)

If the cat isn't yours, please note that in your ask

If you're sharing pictures someone else took, please share the source

Botmaker's note under the cut.

Hello, I'm the Botmaker (they/them). However, that moniker is something of a misnomer; there is no bot. This blog does not use AI or anything of the sort. This is just another layer to the gimic, and is all in good fun. There is a real person behind every post on this blog. Please keep that in mind when interacting.

This blog is inspired by @amber-tortoiseshell and @felinefractious.

Cat tax:

[barbthebuilder]

Any tips on accepting gender fluidity? Ik i am but i keep trying to make myself fit the binary and i get so confused when my gender just ~shifts~

Great question anon! Thank you for reaching out :)

Our brains have this tricky mechanism that associates visuals, sounds and even smells with either femininity or masculinity. Pink, sweet perfume, high piched voice is a "girly" thing and darker shades, deodorant smell, deep voice - that "manly". It's mostly determined by our enviroment and how we were taught in our childhood. Now, it's hard to reprogram and convince our brains to stop segregatting others and ourselves in a binary way.

In that case it's good to think about how the brain was taught that in the first place. The answer is: observing.

If you surround yourself with people who challenge gender standarts you will start thinking differently. How to do that you ask? Internet is a wonderful tool for that for sure! For me it was tiktok, for you it may be tumblr or other social media. I recommend seeking out some queer social media creators (models, youtubers, bloggers etc.).

I dunno. Looking at women with beards and men with boobs helped me understand people come in different shapes.

What helped me was also surrounding myself in queerness in general. Books, movies, tv series (that aren't even canonicaly queer but could be interpreted that way) empowered me. Finding songs about different gender expressions, trying out pronouns in a safe enviroment (there are many lgbtq+ discord servers with special channels for that). Also! Shopping and trying out different outfits even just for fun!! Make up is another great way to experiment.

Another thing that helped me was addressing myself as genderfluid in my thoughts, using correct pronouns and giving myself affirmations. "I'm such a cool genderfluid", "feeling like a pretty boy today" etc. Changing your mindset is important! You can actually plant thoughts in your head and they will pop out more often the more you practice.

In addition to those universal tips you could try more personal approach. Try asking yourself: "why?". What keeps me from accepting myself as a genderfluid idividual? Am I scared? Embarassed? Confused? Try identifing your emotions. Challenge yourself a little. What would happen if I allowed myself to be genderfluid? Are there any struggles I would encounter? Maybe by asking right questions you will be able to undersnad that.

However, don't push yourself to do anything that is too uncomfortable. Maybe you are not ready for that yet or maybe some things are just not for you. It's totally normal to experience your struggle. Like I said, we were raised to think in a very binary way and it's not easy to change that.

Anyway, that's just my silly opinion. Take my words with a grain of salt. Good luck on your journey of self discovery and acceptance!

[drstonetrivia]

Chapter 2 Trivia

Let’s get that fluid!

The ultimate forager made sure to rinse the dirt off his hands before eating. Perfect stone world table manners! 

Senku trusts Taiju's stamina, but obviously doesn't trust his identification skills. Senku had prepared a comparatively larger basket for the inedible plants before he'd even started sorting.

Senku uses the word "primeval" here, meaning "earliest time in history", which going by the previous chapter meant ~2M years ago.

In fact, proof of salt production only appeared ~6000BCE during the Neolithic period (=beginnings of agriculture rather than hunting and gathering) which makes sense, because you'd want to preserve the harvest you worked so hard on!

Despite 2/3rds of Taiju's previous haul coming back poisonous, he doesn't hesitate to try the grapes.

Why sour? It's October, the end of the grape harvest. Either the seasons are later, or, more likely, the grapes haven't gotten enough sun to ripen because of the forest canopy.

The only things Taiju and Senku have in common here are the fact they were both conscious and near a source of nitric acid.

I wonder if anyone else happened to have these extremely unlikely odds work in their favour...

Nitric acid made from bat guano doesn't drip from the ceiling. It's actually formed on the cave floor where the droppings can decompose into nitric acid, if it's kept moist. Normally it would seep directly into the rock layer, causing erosion.

This truly is the Cave of Miracles.

All the birds shown here are either in flight, or taking off. Could they have seen the beam coming, but no humans could? They all seem to be adults despite getting petrified during nesting season, where are the babies?

Do the eggs/embryos also get petrified?

The kanji on the bottle say "daiginjo," which is the highest-quality, premium grade of sake. To call your product daiginjo, 50% of the original rice grain has to be polished away (lesser grades require less polishing).

You can make wine like this but it's not recommended. I won't go into details, but 70% of fermentation is done in the first few days, and after those few days an airlock is recommended to not contaminate it. 3 weeks seems a little long for their method, but I've never tried!

Taiju has a cup, but Senku gets a clay wine glass? Why didn't Senku make a set for them? It's not like Senku can take advantage of any of the benefits of a wine glass in this situation.

It's been speculated that the Mesopotamians were using distillation for perfumes and aromatics rather than for drinking alcohol. Either way, distilling alcohol to drink only came about in the Middle Ages (~13th century) where, unsurprisingly, it was lauded as beneficial medicine.

Either the distilling setup broke a second time, or they decided to upgrade sometime during the winter.

Another early technique: ice fishing using a spear.

Evidence has been found showing this method being used over 2000 years ago by natives in North America. Improvements have been made over the years, but Taiju is shown using the most basic form of it (no bait or shelter).

Taiju seems to think Yuzuriha hates beards, I wonder if that's true...

I also wonder if Taiju will grow a beard again in the future or not.

If the whole bird species was petrified, that means this bird is the only one of its kind alive right now. Is Sparrow Ishigami ready to bring back all of sparrowkind?

Senku's comment here includes the 6 months he spent surviving alone, as it's only spring.

(Senku breaks out spring 5738, Taiju breaks out 6 months later on Oct 5th 5738. This scene is during spring 5739.)

Senku says Taiju can pick who they revive next, but there was really never any doubt. Yuzuriha is their mutual friend, and Senku doesn't seem to have anyone other than Taiju that he'd want to revive.

They also can't revive their parents...

I really love these early chapters where everything they do requires a lot of effort and it's all being shown.

[heya-ghosties]

[LONG POST]

So that makeup head cannon I alluded to in my earlier posts? Here it is, use it for cosplays or oc idc. Take everything with a grain of salt and have fun ;)

(I missed a few things on purpose bc I couldn't care less about every little detail, Sue me)

Every different type of Clergy member has a specific style of eye makeup for identification, since it's not always necessary to where formal or informal cassocks and what not.

Some looks seem to be "gendered" like Abbott/Abbess, which is not true, just some can have sharp points or not where as others have to stay the same.

Speaking of which, all styles can be black or colorful, however in formal situations they must be black.

From the top of the pile down, we have Cardinal (which is just what was seen on Copia, which started this little project) the lighter side is just the difference between formal and informal.

One of my OCs is an Arch-Bishop and this is how I do his makeup, he prefers wearing it electric blue.

Similar to Arch-bishop except for the inner corner and the thinner lower part.

Some like theirs winged some don't, it is not gendered, trust me.

Vicar is quite distinct compared to the others with the spike pointing down.

Priest and deacon are pretty similar, priest looks a bit like Cardinal however.

Siblings have the luxury of doing what ever (within reason) so I just put basic winged and non winged eyeliner as a place holder..

If I've done something wrong, just talk to me, feel free to do with this what you will, see ya - Brother Shrike ;)

[landofzero-archive]

Absolute - To Abhor the Impure World 12

(Location: Secret Religious Facility)

(At the same time. Secret religious facility underneath the WNW district.)

Shaka: “Hey, brother, do you remember the circumstances of when you were born?

Do you know who you are, and where you came from?”

Nagisa: …… No.

…… Father passed away without telling me anything of the sort.

…… That’s why even now, I’m still constantly searching for ‘that’.

…… About what I am.

…… I felt like if I were to become the finest idol like Father had wished for, I would be able to touch upon even the edges of the answer to that.

…… But. That should be unnecessary since you seem to know what I am.

…… You called me brother, didn’t you, Shaka-san.

…… Are you saying that you and I are siblings properly connected by blood?

Shaka: “………”

Nagisa: ……The last time we went to the United States, we saw you sing on the stage of Absolute.

…… So that strange feeling, that discomfort I felt at the time was, in other words, a sense of identification that came from that sort of blood connection.

Shaka: “Unfortunately I can’t answer that question with either YES or NO.

I don’t know that much either. Just like the God who behaved like your guardian(1), Priest who created and controlled me had passed away without telling me anything important.”

Nagisa: …… Is that so. In that case, I feel a little regret, like I should not have got rid of him.

Shaka: “I want to thank you for a job truly well done in that regard.

He was a monster. He was someone who should have been suppressed. He was a devil who had contorted and crushed countless people’s lives, including me and NEGI-chan.

Even with conjecture, I can’t really say what that man’s objective was. He seemed to be earnestly imitating the way of life of the God in the religious faith he followed, though. 

So what did he ultimately want to do? Did he just want to replace God, or did he want to surpass God—

I don’t know the actual truth. Everything is a mystery; it’s all been buried in the darkness.”

Nagisa: ………

Shaka: “However, I can say this. Priest and the God he believed in had a distinct difference; Priest had been in pursuit of eternal life.”

Nagisa: …… From time immemorial, that’s what conquering champions had earnestly sought after.

…… No. In a way, it’s the greatest wish(2) of all mankind.

…… That is to say, to not want to die and wanting to live.

Shaka: “That’s true. I’m searching for that too. If possible, I just want to forever enjoy a free, fun life.

However. My life was dominated by Priest.

I was simply a pawn for Priest to use to achieve his ambitions. I was a money-making device used to gather the profits required for that.”

Nagisa: …… I wonder if it was the same for me too.

…… Was the reason father wanted me to become an idol because he wanted me to become a profitable existence just like you are?

Shaka: “Unlike you, I don’t really know much about God, so I can’t say for certain.

I’d like to tell you that it’s not like that. That your father, God, loved idols, unlike Priest. (3)

I don’t think you’re just a tool for making money, from what I can infer about him from what I heard in stories.

He loved idols. So he probably genuinely just wanted you to be what he loved.

I’m envious of you, brother.”

Nagisa: ………

Shaka: “I, and possibly you too, am a ‘Perfect human’ that one could not even dream of having been brought into being (4) unless by means of state of the art occult science. 

I’m an artificial human, whose countless consolidated souls of geniuses dwell in this body possessing the best genes.

Perhaps I didn’t have proper parents, and was born (4) from a test tube.

This means that I’m a homunculus born(4) by means of alchemy. Fufu.

You might be thinking that these are just the thoughtless words of someone with a mental illness, brother. I don’t think I’m quite sane anymore either—— so I’d like you to take what I said with a grain of salt.

At the very least, I grew up being told that I was that sort of being.

That I, the most perfect human created(4) by God, was created(4) through the same technology that created Ran Nagisa.

Of course Priest admired God, took over his position and replaced him, but in the end he was still a worthless human who could not become God.

That technology probably wasn’t perfect. In the end, I can’t be anything more than an inferior copy of you.”

Nagisa: …… This might not be enough of a consolation. But thinking that a copy is inferior to the original is a superficial way of thinking.

…… If we’re to speak from the point of view of biology, the later generation of seeds are more excellent. It can adapt to it’s environment better, with better survival. A strong living being. 

…… In fact, you’re Absolute’s six-times consecutive champion. You’re said to be the world’s best idol.

…… After all, you have better reputation than me, who is just borrowing Ibara’s words to pretend to be a king of the hill domestically.

…… You’re higher ranked than me beyond any comparison.

…… The moment I first saw you, a feeling that was difficult to describe was born(4) inside of me.

…… When I saw you singing and dancing on stage, what arose inside of me was probably a sense of defeat and a sense of inferiority, in other words it was jealousy.

…… You were the first to have given me that sort of feeling since I was born, O, world’s best idol.

Shaka: “You’re kind, huh.

That’s exactly why I’m jealous; you grew up being loved.

So you can care about others. You’re able to want to wipe away that grief.

That’s quite difficult for someone like me, people who won’t be able to live if we don’t exert ourselves to the fullest.”

Nagisa: ………

Shaka: “I’m the world’s best idol? How absurd!

In Absolute, the performer who can get the most tips wins. It’s not the most brilliant or talented idol who wins, but the idol who earns the most money.

Furthermore, Priest, who made me, had an enormous amount of power and money.

 I continued to win Absolute simply because that Priest who had more money compared to anyone else, continued to pour money into me.

It was definitely not due to my abilities.

I’m the minion of the devil, I’m a false messiah who misleads the people while slurping on their lifeblood! I can’t help but hate, hate the me who does that! 

Brother! Please help me…….! I can’t stand being myself anymore!”

TL NOTES

The same 保護者 (Hogosha) used by Hiyori in To Abhor The Impure World Chapter 7.

悲願 (Higan): greatest wish, but also refers to the Buddha’s vow to save humanity (the Boddhisatva vow).

Priest is written as 神父 (Shinpu) with the kanji for God and Father, while referred to in the story, GF is written in katakana as ゴッドファーザー  (read as Godfather). Shaka is somewhat making a pun when he said ‘your father’ 君の父 ; this sentence could also be read as ‘That your father, God, loved idols, unlike (my) Father.’.

Technically ‘born’, ‘created’ and ‘brought into being’ can be the same in JP. The phrasing 生まれた (Umareta) is used in these sentences.

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[scary-senpai]

Shower thoughts: I think the most concerning thing about the “Blast is Future Garou” theory is the implication that the Hero Association neither background checks nor confirms the identification of the people they hire.

I’m an ex-HR person and not a mangaka so take this opinion with a grain of salt.

[egokillr]

nothing is personal

everyone is you pushed out

meaning, people can literally only act on your assumptions

so, that means that nothing anyone (or yourself) says about you actually means anything about who you are. you are whatever you decide to be, but there is no fixed self.

i realized in my own life that i used to worry about the things other people might say/ have said about me. but recently i’ve been like hold tf up 🤨 if this is all coming from my past assumptions then why should i question my own worthiness or waste my energy thinking of what someone says about me? the only thing that really matters is what i believe about me… i always used to think there was a reason for why people treated me the way they used to but it’s literally just nothing but my past thoughts. and bruh i swear i know abt all of this stuff too its just like when i noticed how much i was worrying abt it and stopped avoiding it, it all came together; nothing is meant to be personal. and that realization just opened me up to a whole new version of myself. in that moment like 90% of my worries were just proved to be pointless.

on the topic of this point, i wanted to share a Buddhist philosophy that i learned about a few months ago. i just found an article on this and oml, it’s actually so interesting.

as i mentioned earlier; there is no fixed self. the idea that there is a fixed self comes with an entirely different perspective. maybe that you have to “find yourself” or maybe you just feel associated with all of your past identifications. the belief that there is no one fixed self pertains to being the observance behind what is known as “self.”

( this is a great way to look at self concept as well )

i’m gonna add some more ss from this article bc its actual gold

let me just say, this article blew my mind when i first saw it. this all just relates to loa and specifically self concept so much… reading stuff like this honestly makes me realize how powerless my problems are. everything just makes sense now. i am the only judge of me.

also if this confuses you, take it with a grain of salt. this is just one of my philosophical loa povs :)

[seriouslysam8]

I'm in armchair psychologist mode here, so take everything here with a grain of salt. Is pretty known that many people like she-who-must-not-be-named because they identify themselves with her. That identification is so strong that they project themselves in her. That projection is that strong that they feel that any perceived slight towards her is a slight towards them.

Can I just interrupt you and just laugh that you all now call her she-who-must-not-be-named on my tumblr?? Like I’m dying over here every time I read it!

[thatsonemorbidcorvid]

I’ll just say as someone formally diagnosed with Classical-like Ehlers-Danlos and gastroparesis, I have a hard time finding myself represented in these online communities because I rely solely on physical therapy, exercise and diet change and no medical devices. I feel a lot of information being shared on these platforms is misleading or just plain misinformation. There’s a culture around consumption and having all the accessories imo and well as supporting self-diagnosis/doctor-shopping. To support the other anon about the forums, I definitely find many of the posters in the r/ehlersdanlos, r/gastroparesis and other related subreddits have concerning or contradictory post histories. There’s a lot of posting in eating disorder subs, OSDD/DID sub, self harm and trans subreddits. I find a lot of young teens being encouraged to drop out of high school and give up on ever continuing their education. People using these subreddit should look carefully and closely through post histories and take any advice with a grain of salt. Please ask your physical therapist or PCP your questions! There’s been much recent discussion on the r/medicine around these patients and that many genetics departments around the US are no longer accepting Ehlers Danlos/hypermobility referrals due to the increased popularity via instagram/tiktok. I’ve also seen people claim on Twitter that if you’re gay/trans you DEFINITELY have EDS so I think there’s definitely an identification/community aspect to it, for the people that don’t actually have it. Also, to add to the failure to launch point of the other anon, many of these posters wanted to pursue professional careers in dance, singing, theater, modeling, athletics or healthcare and other high-stress/competitive fields and seem to be unable to cope with adapting to a new goal. I hope this is helpful, and thank you for mentioning this topic because I really do think the prevalence of this phenomenon is something that should be discussed, especially as I see it mostly in young women.

Thank you for your insight, anon!

[the-nicholas-engelmann-blog]

Columbia livia

[Disclaimer: I am a dumb highschool kid who likes plants and nature. I am by no means a professional or an expert in any field. Don’t take anything I say in this or any other post as fact. This is to be taken as the autistic infodumping that it is. I am open to being corrected.]

[Image one: bird feather.]

I often see feathers like this one here on the ground at my local arena.

Throughout my life, I’ve often wondered what they were. I posted one of these to iNaturalist a while back.

Someone suggested it to be a feral rock pigeon, also known as a rock dove. I always take anything Seek or iNaturalist tells me with a grain of salt. The former is a computer, computers require training and it’s not realistic for a computer to be perfectly trained in all the detail that the natural world provides; the latter is a person, and all humans have the capacity to be wrong.

This one made sense, though. Especially after looking into the species. The birds that fly over my head while I ride look just like the ones in the book.

Also, I’ve decided to start citing my sources.

[Image two: columbia livia as pictured in ‘Birds of North America: Western Region’ by François Vuilleumier]

Unfortunately, my local library is incredibly lacking in the Natural Sciences department (or any nonfiction department in general) so I couldn’t find many paper sources.

I’m considering starting a fund to help fix that-.

Now the part you’ve all been waiting for, me brainrotting about a bird species.

The Columbia livia, the most common member of its family within the United States.

This species was introduced by colonists as a domestic species, though wild variants do exist in Africa and parts of Europe. In North America, however, they are an entirely feral species.

This species can be found over the entirety of the US and Mexico as well as southern parts of Canada, they are more common in cities and other populated areas.

Their diet consists of mostly seeds and fruit, and (of course) human food. Despite this, they weigh less than a pound, around 14 pounds on the heavier end of the average. They are not picky eaters and will occasionally go for insects (honestly surprised me that they were not a staple of a pigeon diet)

They mate year round and produce several batches of offspring a year, though they only produce two eggs per batch. They prefer to nest on flat surfaces like the top of buildings or in caves.

They are larger than most doves (as they are pigeons and should be called as such, I will die on this hill) and as a family trait they have their nostrils positioned on a fleshy mound at the top of their short beaks. They are most commonly found in various shades of grey though they do come in other colours.

Also they fly at least 60 mph, which is faster than a horse can run.

Good god, it’s getting late. I have to run back to the arena before I’m late, but here’s a list of sources I found in the library before I leave.

I’ll edit in cover images later, the wifi is being weird here.

[Image three: source book one; ‘Birds of North America: Western Region’ François Vuilleumier]

This one was probably my most handy resource in all of this, it was very information dense.

[Image four; ‘A Field to Guide Identification: Birds of North America’ by Chandler Robbins]

This one was mostly used to fluff out the information I already knew, as it had a section on this species but not nearly as large.

Thanks for reading! I’ll be back soon with more species to talk about from the Nevada border area. Until then, be safe.

-Nicholas Engelmann

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Rove Beetle - Tasgius sp.

Here we find a specimen similar in appearance to the Devil’s Coach Horse Beetle from last week. That’s precisely the point. Though similar, I mean to highlight (or at least mention) the differences between this insect and the Ocypus specie, if only to help with identifying the insects you find. Taking this identification with a grain of salt as I could be totally wrong here, you’ll want to look at the head of this Beetle to discover the genus it belongs to. The next time  I find one of these, that will be the goal for better, more defined images. Anyways, when taking a glance at the Tasgius Rove Beetles of North America, they’ll have slim mandibles with a gentle curvature towards the tip. Very handy for catching, restraining and carving up prey! Zooming in on the head of this Beetle, we see what might be slim mandibles tucked against the sides of head, the left mandible folded over the right one (Picture 4). Ocypus species on the other hand (like the aforementioned Devil’s Coach Horse Beetle) have shorter, enlarged mandibles with a secondary tooth on the inner curve. For a larger approximation of what this jaw shape looks like, look to the male Antelope Beetle, the only caveat being that the primary tooth would be longer.

Compared against the sickle-shaped blades of Tasgius species, a thick, curved mandible shape with a secondary tooth is quite effective for biting soft-bodied prey. For Ocypus, I mean. Antelope Beetles are vegetarians and the male uses its mandibles in mating competitions (as Stag Beetles often do) against other males. It might get a bit gruesome if the loser of the mandible sparring session became lunch as well. It’s remarkable that although different Beetles across their many families have a wide range of mandible shapes, sizes and strengths, mandibles can take on similar shapes for complete different functions. And of course, there are our ways to distinguish between funny-looking Earwigs Rove Beetles. Careful attention must be made to their heads, bodies (look for patterns), their legs and even their wings! Observe them carefully, as while I researching I’ve found there are elongated Beetles in other families with exposed wings and shortened (unarmored) wingcases that resemble Rovers (at a glance). For a colorful example that’s not found in Canada, compare the Beetle patrolling the patio above to Belotus bicolor, a yellow, short-winged Soldier Beetle. The similarities between the two abound!

Pictures were taken on September 22, 2019 with a Samsung Galaxy S4.

[tempenensis]

hi, lele-san! i’m sorry if it’s rude to correct (again), but isn’t megumi’s DE seal actually related to 觀世音?

if i’m correct, it is called 莲华部心印 / 蓮華部心印?

hope the links work: http://big5.dazhouxian.com/wap/news/?844.html

https://ameblo.jp/yamasemi1324/entry-12193187451.html

(2) i mean… megumi seems to have one finger over the other (chapter 58).

sorry again! hope you’re having a great day.

Thank you for the input, anon. First of all, it's alright if you have a different interpretation from me. This is all just speculation of mine and there's still zero official info on this. But as you see in my original post, I literally only have one source to identify the shirushi. I'm not Buddhist myself so ofc you should take any of my lore post with a grain of salt. I didn't do exact identification because of my limited source, only the closest that I could find and how it relates to the character. As it happens, the shirushi of other domain expansion can also be seen to be close or similar to the Boddhisattva shirushi in the link.

Anyway, thank you for sharing info, but for this one, I still lean more on 薬師如来印 not only because of the hand sign, but also because of his shikigami Makora, as Makora was derived from 摩虎羅 of 十二神将. They are actually followers and protectors of Yakushi Nyorai in their lore.

(Also I have to point out that in the link that you attached, the right thumb is specifically to be positioned pointing straight outside, as drawn and said the description - sorry, used MTL because I can't Chinese at all - which is different from overlapping thumbs of Megumi's domain hand seal)

[machudson]

hey im sorry if u dont know her thing anymore but do you know who the lady on iNat is? i'd love to see her multiple observations^^"

YES she is beartracker and she is literally in the top 250 observers worldwide. she hit 27k total observations in the time that post has been up! she is a RIGOROUS observer, probably one of the top experts in scat/track identification in Northern California at the absolute least.

I don’t Know Her so take this with a grain of salt but I assume she lives on/owns the plot of land in that bend of the river - the observation density there is like… beyond description. I assume she has a long term underwater camera, maybe one that’s motion activated a la trail cams, and her uploading like a hundred minnows at once was her going through the camera logs rather than, as i had initially assumed, reporting each minnow she saw in a short time period. (Kim Cabrera my queen I am so sorry I misunderstood you)