#a reintroduction of sorts

[shimmerandfists]

With Vijinx it's the obsession, it's the love and devotion. The endless chase and hunt of it all. It's the never going to leave you, I'll always find you, I will always love you in every timeline, in every conceivable way. It's the 'I'll never turn away from you if it was my decision' OF IT ALL man.

Jinx and Caitlyn literally have to gatekeep knowledge of Jinx being alive from Vi because they both know she'll doggedly chase Jinx down to the ends of the earth. And Jinx would do the same if she didn't think Vi would lose it all for her. They will always incorporate the other into their lives, the way they live, the reason to wake up every morning, a hair stripe, a necklace, a partner that almost a 1:1 mirror of them, a shrine devoted to them. Even when they aren't physically in each other's lives anymore they find a way.

They've witnessed who the other was and used to be, missed what changed them and how they changed, and now they're at a point where they don't really know each other anymore. And they get to find out and I think that's beautiful.

I want them to have a sappy reunion, a heartfelt talk. This could definitely not be read as a ship for this post but I do fully mean it that way 🤷‍♀️ I also think they should make out passionately and aggressively for all the time they lost together.

[fideidefenswhore]

chapuys/mary truthers when you mention their relationship 1536-47:

[icantstudyillstudy]

So...

I guess I might be reviving this blog after a few years of inactivity.

I started it as a 16 year old supposedly cishet asexual who had plans to get their GED and start college early.

So let me reintroduce myself.

Hi, my name is Atlas, they/them, and I'm 24 years old.

I think I'm considered a nontraditional student. I attend the University of Michigan as a transfer student and commuter. I'm a senior who will need another year or two to finish, and I'm majoring in English and general music studies (which I might drop soon).

My biggest area of interest is disability studies, but I'm also chasing creative writing pretty hard right now.

I'm neurodivergent, and the two I'm quick to claim are Autism and ADHD. I'm the vice president of the Autism Spectrum Club on campus.

I'm still struggling with studying, though, so as I figure shit out, I'll be sharing it here on this blog, I guess.

Want the full story?

I started community college at 18 at School A, transferred a year later to School B, and then graduated with an AA and an AGS in 2022, at age 22. Then, a year later, I went back to School C for one semester taking two graphic design classes and a social work class.

During that semester, I waited, holding my breath, for admissions decisions to 4-year schools. I got accepted into every school I applied to, and took the option with the best financial aid package, not knowing much about the school aside from that.

I accepted admission to the University of Michigan with essentially a full-ride scholarship, later finding out it's considered a top university. Oops!

During my time at School B, I also found out I had ADHD and was Autistic, which explained pretty much everything about me to that point? So imagine my surprise when I learn that UMich has an autism spectrum club.

Long story short, I made friends, I love my classes, and I love my course of study, BUT I also have a lot of academic issues and problems with trauma that have been getting in my way. I figure that if I can maintain a 3.7 while struggling this hard, imagine what I could do if I figure shit out! I could be an academic weapon for sure!

So That's Why I'm Back!

[teenidleadultgirl]

debut 🤝🏻 ttpd

[phen-akism]

Ah well you see! The really cool thing is that it’s not fashionable to eat them anymore! They just shoot them:D!

Actually your society is the freaks for shooting everything that moves and burning half your "nature reserves" every year so that upperclass dandies can eat leaded pheasant. North Americans are the well adjusted ones here, your country has become a desolate suburban lawn in island form

[bloodborne-on-pc]

Maybe instead of making a really big timber wolf and calling it a dire wolf for no reason they should figure out if we can revive the thylacine, or really anything that only went extinct in the past couple centuries and not a whole 10,000 years ago.

[doodledrawsthings]

The Last Words of A Shooting Star. ___

Sort of a soft reintroduction to my Nine Sols Don't Worry About It AU. I wanted to depict the divergence from the canon True Ending that leads into the AU. After Eigong infects the Fusang Core at the pinnacle of New Kunlun, Yi barely has anytime to react before the roots reach out and drag him into them. When he comes to in the Limitless Realm, he uses the the Rhizomatic Arrow to finally put an end to everything... or so he thought.

[wachinyeya]

A major review of over 67,000 animal species has found that while the natural world continues to face a biodiversity crisis, targeted conservation efforts are helping bring many species back from the brink of extinction.

The study draws on data from the IUCN Red List, the world's largest database of species conservation status. The researchers say their results, reported in the journal PLOS Biology, highlight both the successes and the need for urgent action.

The world is facing a global biodiversity crisis, with 28% of more than 160,000 assessed species threatened with extinction, and an estimated one million species facing this fate due to human activities. However, conservation measures can be successful if there is concrete evidence about what works.

The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge with the IUCN, BirdLife International, and Oxford and Durham Universities, used Red List data to assess whether conservation measures had been put in place, and whether those actions had a positive impact on a given species' conservation status.

"We found that almost all the species that have moved from a more threatened category to a less threatened category have benefited from some sort of conservation measures," said lead author Ashley Simkins, a Ph.D. candidate in Cambridge's Department of Zoology. "It's a strong signal that conservation works."

While there is no 'one size fits all' solution, the researchers observed some connections between conservation success stories. Many of these species live in isolated areas, such as islands, where intensive conservation efforts—such as habitat protection, captive breeding and reintroductions—can be fully implemented.

"While biodiversity loss is a genuine crisis, it's vital that we celebrate the success stories wherever and whenever we can," said Simkins. "It's so hard for a species to improve its conservation status, but with the right effort, we can turn things around."

The Iberian lynx, once the world's most endangered cat, has rebounded from just a few hundred individuals to a few thousand. Likewise, the kākāpō, a flightless parrot from New Zealand, has benefited from dedicated recovery programs. And the European bison, which was hunted to extinction in the wild in the early 20th century, now roams parts of Eastern Europe thanks to sustained conservation efforts over decades.

Marine species have also seen dramatic recoveries. Humpback and blue whales, once driven to the brink of extinction by commercial whaling, have made a comeback after an international moratorium on whaling. However, despite these success stories, the study found that six times more species are declining than improving.

The researchers say that, like human health care, preventative measures in conservation are preferable and more cost-effective to emergency interventions.

"Humans have gotten pretty good at what could be considered 'A&E' conservation—focusing on species at very high risk of extinction," said Simkins. "What we're less good at is preventing species from becoming threatened in the first place. We need to move beyond treating the symptoms of biodiversity loss and start addressing the root causes."

The researchers also emphasize the need for collaborative, locally driven conservation. In Papua New Guinea, for example, conservationists worked with local communities to replace tree kangaroo hunting with sustainable forms of animal protein, including farming of chickens and fishing—an approach that benefitted both people and wildlife.

"It's vital that we as conservationists are working with stakeholders, rather than dictating to them, whether that's an Indigenous community in Papua New Guinea or a farmer in Somerset," said Simkins.

"Conservation doesn't have to be a zero-sum game—there are compromises that can benefit both the natural world and human society."

"In this climate of constant stories about wildlife declines and insufficient political action to protect nature, it's important to realize that there are also many success stories and that conservation efforts are making a real, demonstrable impact on the world," said co-senior author Dr. Silviu Petrovan, also from the Department of Zoology. "Conservation works if given the chance."

"This research sheds light on which actions to save species have been effective, and what interventions are needed," said co-author Dr. Stuart Butchart, Chief Scientist at BirdLife International. "Governments need to turn their words into actions, and rapidly scale up efforts to save species from extinction and help populations to recover. Safeguarding our natural heritage for future generations depends upon this."

"The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species informs and guides on-the-ground conservation decisions; actions which are further guided by the research presented in this publication," said co-author Craig Hilton-Taylor, Head of the IUCN Red List.

"Almost everyone will have their own favorite example of a conservation success story, whether it's the bald eagle in North America, or the red kite in the UK," said Simkins. We need joint action to ensure these positive stories aren't the exception—they're the norm."

[bruhhhhhhhhidk]

Honestly, same. I kind of like the idea of her becoming an environmentalist. Like the fire nation definitely did a ton of polluting during the war, and a hundred years of that has got to have affected the ecosystem there as well as the people. So I just think it would be interesting if she got involved with that, because while she definitely strikes me as a utilitarian person, I think she'd be smart enough to recognize that ecosystem collapse is bad for the fire nation and want to fix it.

I don't think theres any way for those AU's where Azula becomes Zuko court advisor, not only because I can't see any of those two being able to trust eachother enough to work as a team, but also because both of them could focus in different goals.

Azula is more interested in improve the Fire Nation and the life quality of their citizens, meanwhile Zuko seems to be more focused in make international alliances and fix the damages the fire nation do to the world, these two goals could go together but at some point one of these need to cease, and I can't see neither Zuko nor Azula put down their own.

[cryptotheism]

How many languages do you speak?

You are always talking about alchemist that lived all around the world in very differente time periods. And you have mentioned several times that there's a ton of numerology hidden in their texts, counting syllables and letters of certain words and paragraphs. So one would assume you need to read them in the original language it was written, right?

That's a really good question! As with most really good questions, the answer is "kinda, it depends!"

So! Most alchemical texts are written in some form of coded language, but the nature of that code depends on the era and culture the text is being written in. Depending on how its written, modern scholars have a lot of different tools for cracking open alchemical esoterica.

Most ancient Greek/Byzantine texts are written in postclassical Greek. But, they're often written in dense philosophical prose. The reader needs to be familiar with the likes of Plato, Aristotle, and the early Neoplatonists, to make sense of them. Luckily for us, people have been studying postclassical Greek for nearly 2000 years. There are many excellent translations into English.

Late Egyptian alchemists wrote almost entirely in pictograph code. Not as in hieroglyphics, mind you. Egyptian alchemical recipes often made use of custom character sets and symbols that represented alchemical concepts. (One famous example, the Formula of the Crab, uses a complex diagram that looks like a centipede to represent a particular gold compound.) These are damn near impossible to read without expert help.

At the same time, Jewish and Syriac writers of the era could get by on the fact that not everyone could read Hebrew and Syriac lol. The language barrier itself acted as a sort of copyright system for protecting their ideas. Luckily for us, many of these texts were preserved and translated by medieval Arab scholars!

Speaking of Arabic, once you hit the Islamic Golden Age, the amount of alchemical literature increases by a factor of ten. Thing is, the Islamic Polymaths weren't all that interested in obscuring their work. The Islamic Golden Age was all about copying and translating older works, and compiling them into big textbook/dictionaries. They're not intentionally encoded, they're comparatively easy to read once you get a good translation. Thing is, you gotta know your Neoplatonism. Medieval Islamicate scholars love Neoplatonism.

Then we get the reintroduction of alchemy to Europe around the 10th century. What you get is about 400 years of monks painstakingly translating medieval Arabic into Latin. A lot of these texts are very well preserved, and have good translations into English.

Then, around the late 14th century, European entrepreneurial alchemy kicks into high gear, and THIS is where we get all those fancy numerology encoded alchemical texts. Renaissance alchemists loved themselves some puzzles. This would be fine if they were all just writing in Latin, but the printing press meant they could write in any damn language they please. You get a lot of French, German, Dutch, Italian, and antiquated English alchemical texts, and they can be a bitch to read without help.

BUT the introduction of the printing press also gave us something useful: cheap picture books! Late renaissance alchemists loved writing in word games and coded metaphor, but they also loved including esoteric diagrams. And the thing about esoteric diagrams is --if you know your stuff-- you don't need to speak 15th century french to read a picture. Which isn't a replacement for reading the original translation, not even close, but the explicit purpose of these images was to prove to other alchemists that the author knows what they're talking about. So if you can read them, you can get a damn good sense as to what the text is about.

This was fun to write so I'm gonna plug my patreon if you wanna see me write more about alchemy.

[tiffbaxter]

Happy Lesbian Visibility Week!!

Here's a wee reintroduction - I'm Tiff, a disabled lesbian artist in the UK. I make historically inspired lesbian art, making visible the lives which went unnoticed & unseen before. If you want to support my work the best way is via my shop! tiffbaxtershop.etsy.com

My work is fully inclusive of and in celebration of trans, gender-nonconforming & non-binary lesbians who are deeply beloved to me. If you are a TERF/transphobe of any sort you are not welcome in my spaces & my art is not for you.

[mistercrowbar]

The half-drow dream delivery team, Aldiirn, Caelryn, and Zahne! Caelryn warns the others of a hook horror interrupting their discussion of delivery details, and, well, the others only need to know that if Cally's excited it means some sort of dangerous critter is on the way. He just thinks they're neat!

I've been wanting to introduce Cally and Zahne for so long I had to turn their introductory piece from Reintroductions into a full illustration and I'm soooo happy with the result. The underdark is such a fun environment! I finally got a hang on how the modified drow courier armour looks, too.

[probablyasocialecologist]

“The problem with the word de-extinction for many ecologists is that we see extinction [as] being an irreversible event that has finality about it, a bit like death. The idea that you can reverse those sorts of things is anathema, I think, biologically, but also philosophically and ethically,” Hochuli says. Hochuli shares his qualms, from the ecology to the ethics, pointing to the impracticality of the technology, the very definition of the word “extinction,” the high failure rate of existing species reintroductions, and the loss of conservation funding that is sorely needed for existing programs already known to work. Colossal claims that its company, which centers de-extinction promises in its marketing, is contributing to conservation outcomes in the present. Hochuli doesn’t agree. “I feel like it’s greenwashing to claim that it’s having a conservation outcome,” Hochuli says.

6 May 2025

[medium-bloodcrafter-scion]

Oathbound: Bree’s Character Development

Just posting some of the thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head because I need to get them out.

My controversial take is that Bree losing her knowledge/memories was necessary for her character growth in Oathbound.

I don’t agree with the mechanism by which she lost her memories (soul theft), but when I recall how much anguish and guilt she felt at the end of Bloodmarked (and the anguish I felt along with her), it felt like like a healing detour.

Bree’s love for people and for her friends was always, always going to have her prioritising their safety above her own, and I think it’s important that a space was created in the story for her to “put on her own oxygen mask.”

She developed control over her power without risking anyone else’s life.

She’s no longer the girl who has to run and hide, whose friends risk their lives to protect her - now she’s the girl who straps a dagger to her thigh and traps a warlock in a magical dome all while looking drop dead gorgeous.

Romance

There’s a lovely post by Annotate with Sara that explains this and more really well, but I thought it poetic that Nick was the one to initiate Bree’s reintroduction to her old self, seeing as he accidentally/unintentionally introduced her to the society that would lead to the discovery of her true identity in the first place.

While I’ve always maintained (mostly in my head) that Nick and Bree’s intelligences cancel each other out and together they tend towards foolishness, I think that the warmth, support and safety he offered is precisely what she needed in what was a very delicate space, particularly when Erebus told her to expect the exact opposite from her friends.

Nick’s first instinct was not to judge, fear, reprimand or even reject Bree:

…Pull the most frightening question up from my depths to breathe it into existence, because Nick makes it safe to do so.

“Do you think I made a mistake?”

He holds my face in both his hands until my eyes open. “No.”

and:

Nick lets me think. Lets me become who I need to be in the circle of his arms.

••••••••••

Looking ahead

“We’ve only just gotten started, Briana Matthews. You still bear my mark. You are a king without a sword. A Pendragon, poisoned. Your own pain and blood await.”

I feel as though the end of Oathbound sort of left us in a similar place as Bloodmarked. This book isn’t a full stop and it’s not a comma, but it’s a necessary parentheses.

At the end, all of Bree’s memories come flooding back when she reclaims the missing piece of her soul.

We aren’t given time to see what this really means for Bree because Sel goes full chaos mode and we end up with That Revelation, but she is going to have to reckon with the emotional fallout of Bloodmarked and also with her decision to choose her soul over Alice’s life.

She’ll have to address the guilt she feels towards Sel after he sacrificed himself and the consequences thereof.

However, unlike at the end of Bloodmarked, Bree is now equipped with the knowledge that she is still loved by those she ‘left behind’ on her quest with the Shadow King. The knowledge that relationships are sometimes messy and hard but that - to quote her dad - “Loving folks is a practice, baby.”

And I think coming to that realisation was actually her true quest.

[arcanilumia]

ORIGINAL DWBI AU AND COMIC MADE BY @doodledrawsthings GO CHECK IT OUT

With that said, here's something I made for them! They were kind enough to give me access to the original art files so I could make it look nice too. All sound effects are from Nine Sols, though may be modified. All the editing and voice acting is done by me!

I had a ton of fun making this. I hope you all enjoy :]

Small edit: forgor the link to the original comic earlier oops

FLASHING LIGHTS WARNING AT 2:42

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - November 8-14

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles!

1. Agrivoltaics for sustainable food, energy and water management in East Africa

“[… C]ertain crops […] thrived under the partial shade provided by solar panels. The shade also helped to reduce water loss through evaporation, leading to more efficient water usage. Additionally, rainwater harvested from the panels could be used to supplement irrigation needs.”

2. The world’s largest wildlife crossing is now standing in California

“The structure crosses a 10-lane freeway and has been built to help protect all sorts of wildlife[….] And it’s not just for fauna: some 5,000 plants grown from seed collected within a five-mile radius have been nurtured in two specially created nurseries. The bridge will be topped with wildflowers, shrubs and native grasses that will also benefit insect populations.”

3. Judge rules the military must cover gender-affirming surgery for members' dependents

“[Judge] Torresen found that [gender-affirming] surgery is indeed medically necessary and that the Defense Department had not shown that any important governmental interest was advanced by denying the coverage.”

4. Social Media Can Boost Caracal Conservation

“The team found that searches on the species doubled after the project [using “social media to educate about the caracal”] launched. […] ”The research demonstrates how a public interest in urban ecology and the global phenomenon of ‘cats on the internet’… can be harnessed to leverage conservation action.””

5. US Labor Board Bans Captive Audience Meetings to Ensure 'Truly Free' Worker Choice

“[T]he National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday ruled that employers cannot force workers to attend anti-union speeches. [… W]orkers will no longer have to take part in so-called "captive audience meetings," which employers often use as a union-busting tool and a form of coercion.”

6. Study links grazing with plant phenology and abundance

“In general, plants where caribou or muskoxen were present experienced earlier green-up and greater abundance later in the growing season. “We're used to thinking of the timing of plant availability as impacting the productivity of grazing animals, but not the reverse," Post said.”

7. Frog populations once decimated by disease mount a major comeback

“"These results provide a rare example of how reintroduction of resistant individuals can allow the landscape-scale recovery of disease-impacted species, and have broad implications for amphibians and many other taxa that are threatened with extinction by novel pathogens."”

8. California Announces Special Session To Protect Trans People

“Newsom’s directive is clear: safeguard reproductive healthcare, support immigrants, and shield LGBTQ+ people from what is viewed as existential threats to civil rights and democratic norms. […] California has a unique opportunity to set the blueprint for other states in resisting a Trump administration[….]”

9. When ‘OK, Boomer’ Means ‘Let’s Go Protest’

“Youth activists across the country recognize the efforts of their eco-minded predecessors and welcome them as mentors, role models, and collaborators in their battle against the climate crisis. […] “The idea that Boomers don’t care, he said, is “just misinformation.””

10. How Aussie Waste Warriors are Redirecting Excess Food to Those in Need

“A growing movement is working to reduce perfectly good food going to waste by redirecting it to homes and charities. [… C]haritable organisations [… are] transforming fresh produce that would otherwise have gone to waste into millions of cooked, nutritious meals for people in need each year.”

November 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)