#and two of them are from the same evolution line

[gamerexdrex]

My fakeamons! This are Hapahosi, Hapaukos and Hapanova. They were based on the blue-ringed octopus, stars, and their life cycle, and a bit of the goblin fish for the head. This Pokemon are naturally curious and really smart, and can get really attached to their trainers; although they are also known to be vengeful if they feel like they have been wronged. This

I haven’t thought a lot about their abilities, maybe levitate? I can imagine them floating around, like if they could swim in air.

What I have thought about is maybe a move that has a 50/50 chance of causing either paralysis or poisoning, and would have like 5 uses so it would be spammed, might come back to that

I also had a trainer oc to go with this guy, but I haven’t drawn them yet. Anyways.

[ahsokaismyqueen]

Steve Harrington x HendersonSister!Reader Masterlist

Welcome to the Steve x HendersonSister! Universe! I have so many ideas for these two, and will probably never go through them all, but I wanted to keep them in one place! They will not be posted in chronological order, but I will list them here that way. Hope you enjoy!

Idiotic Decisions - Working on a project with douchebag Steve Harrington was not something you were looking forward to doing. However, you’re surprised to find that maybe he’s just a little less of a jerk than you thought. (Season 1)

Disappointed Revelations - After working on a school project together, you had actually started to believe that there was more to Steve Harrington than meets the eye. All of that changes after an interaction with Jonathan Byers. (Season 1)

The Evolution of Friendship - After Steve is attacked by Billy Hargrove, you’re shocked to find the guy still attempting to protect you as you two go into the hub to try and buy Eleven some more time. It makes you wonder. Are you and Steve Harrington actually … friends? (Season 2)

Hold Me Tight - Ever since Prom, Steve and you had been growing closer to crossing that line from friendship to something more. During a hot summer day, a little more of that line gets crossed. (Before Season 3)

Conversations On Top of an Elevator - Well, your brother has gotten you and Steve into another mess, this time on top of a Russian elevator. While Steve stresses out, you reassure him that you’ve gotten out of this shit before, you can do it again. (Season 3)

Saving Steve - Steve Harrington has already saved your life, so it’s time to return the favor. Little did you know that would feel a little less like an action movie and more like taking care of rowdy toddlers. (Season 3)

You Feel the Same? - The tension that’s been rising between you and Steve all summer has finally been set to boiling after spending time trapped in Russian elevators together and overhearing his confession to Robin about the new girl he likes who sounds suspiciously like you. After everything, you don’t care if it ends up burning you anymore. You just know you can’t waste another second not being with him. (Season 3)

Those Three Little Words - 18+ ONLY. Steve gets upset when he finds a letter on your table from Indiana University, and it forces the two of you to confess something you’ve been trying to say for a while now. (Before Season 4)

Reunions and Future Plans - For the first time in a long time, you and Steve haven’t seen each other in three weeks since you started college. So he decides to surprise you. (Before Season 4)

Holding You to That - Steve Request. You go to get your boyfriend Steve from Family Video when Robin tells you you’re a distraction, and of course you’re not! Okay, maybe a little. (Before Season 4)

A Not So Good Day - It’s Spring Break in Hawkins, and you can already tell that it’s going to be a great, relaxing time. Well, until you find out that your best friend might be dead and the gate to the Upside Down might not be as closed as you thought. (Season 4)

Finding Eddie - After a long day of trying to find Eddie, you, Steve, your brother, Robin and Max all find your way to Reefer Rick’s house where the time finally comes to tell the truth to your ex-best friend. (Season 4)

Watergate - Dustin has a theory that there’s a new gate, and Nancy has a suspicion of where it might be. The best swimmer needs to go to the bottom of Lover’s Lake and check it out. Unfortunately, much to Steve’s displeasure, that happens to be you. (Season 4)

Travelin' Man - Well, you didn’t love Eddie’s plan, but you also didn’t see many other options. (Season 4)

Saving the World or Not - Steve’s gone off to fight Vecna while you’ve stayed behind to distract the bats. What could possibly go wrong? (Season 4)

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Do you know who Yuu is canonically close to? Like who actually considers themselves to be friends or at least close with Yuu and willingly interacts with them. I'm sorry if this sounds rude because I know people have their own yuusonas and headcannons but I'm just curious.

In order to respond to this question, I will primarily be referring to the main story. Voice lines are not going to be considered because a lot of them are primarily aimed at the player and serve as fanservice, which does not accurately reflect the character's relationship with them in the main story canon. Events and vignettes do indicate character relationships, but are not technically "canon" to the main story. However, I will bring up examples from these, as while these may not fit in a coherent main story timeline, the lore presented in them is still very sound. Yuu appears to be canonically close with the first years, although their closest allies among this group are Ace, Deuce, and Grim. The first years are seen partying at the end of Terror is Trending as a group, clean up the ghost wedding decorations together, stake out Mickey Mouse + hang out at Lilia's farewell party in book 7 together, band together to help Ortho determine a club to join in his College Gear vignette, and help Ortho research the concept of "evolution" for Fairy Gala: If. Yuu is obviously very close with Ace and Deuce, seeing as they share the same homeroom, eat lunch together, and have gone through many dangerous situations with one another (several OB battles being the main one). They think of each other when one of them isn't included, either! For example, in White Rabbit Fest, Deuce invited Ace to join them (but Ace couldn't due to basketball practice). So Deuce decides to buy him a souvenir instead! Ace extends an invitation to Deuce to join him for Playful Land. And do I even need to bring up the end of book 4 where those two bozos take a long and convoluted trip from the Queendom of Roses to Sage's Island DURING WINTER BREAK to check up on Yuu after receiving a SOS text from them??? Or their tearful reunion at the end of book 6??

Grim is also a very important friendship for Yuu. They are, of course, the first person Yuu meets upon their arrival in Twisted Wonderland, as well as one of their roommates. He's almost always with them, for better or for worse. Yuu is shown to be hurt when Grim attacks them at the end of book 5 and worries for his wellbeing. In fact, the very first time Yuu blatantly acts against Crowley's orders (to stay put) is to rescue Grim in book 6 after he was captured by Ferrymen.

I'd also like to add that the Ramshackle Ghosts are also pretty close with Yuu! They not only live together, but also cover for Yuu when they're unable to fulfill the chores Crowley asked them to do over winter break, play magift/spelldrive with Yuu, worry when Yuu goes away for extended periods of time, and make a Halloween costume for Yuu.

Some honorable/"up for debate" mentions go out to:

Crowley - Some fan works like to portray Crowley (or other staff) as a father figure to Yuu. However, Crowley does the bare minimum in canon to act like a parent and is often offloading work onto Yuu. He doesn't really show affection or go out of his way to spend time with them unless he wants something from Yuu.

"The nice guys" (Rook, Kalim, Silver, etc.) - They're nice to everyone, but not particularly close with Yuu specifically; it should be noted that Kalim, Lilia, and Silver all have called Yuu their "friend" in dialogue. Trey and Riddle - I think it could be said that Yuu is closer to Heartslabyul than the other dorms (partly because two of their closest friends are from this dorm), but I don't know if they're actually "friends"? Yes, Yuu does walk around with Riddle and Trey in book 5 to check out the culture fair. Yes, Trey did send sweets over with Adeuce at the start of their training camp. But I never actually see Riddle and Trey going out of their way to casually hang out with Yuu or anything like that. They seem very... "business professional" with Yuu to me?? But I can see why others may see Yuu being close with the whole dorm. Malleus - I might catch some heat for saying this, but I don't believe Malleus and Yuu are as close as people think they are or want them to be. Do they talk consistently throughout the main story? Sure, but the exchanges are kind of short and usually don't amount to them sharing a lot. Does Malleus help Yuu out? Absolutely, especially in books 3 and 5. It doesn't mean they're necessarily close; every character gets moments where they pitch in. The nickname thing serves as a necessary filler because Malleus refuses to give his real name; it arguably is not a sign of intimacy (especially given that Grim came up with the name, not Yuu). I can see a point being made in Malleus sending a holiday card for Yuu in book 4 and Yuu returning the gesture with a VDC/SDC pass in book 5 (though this could also be viewed as transactional or tit for tat). Think about the main story timeline to put this all into perspective. It's been roughly 6 months since the start of the school year and Malleus and Yuu have only really had brief direct interactions like MAYBE 4 or 5 times total. Yuu doesn’t go over to speak with Malleus upon their return from S.T.Y.X. HQ in book 6; they’re focused solely on their reunion with Adeuce and Grim. They don't have other means of communication (like each others' phone numbers, which Adeuce do have, as seen in book 4) and they don't ever hang out outside of these mandated interactions. Yuu doesn't learn their name properly until book 5, which is in FEBRUARY. And, unlike Yuu's friendships with Adeuce and Grim, Malleus's friendship relies a lot on self-projection. Whereas it's clear that the friendship between Yuu and the idiot trio is mutual, it feels very one-sided with Malleus. Like, Malleus seems more invested in it than Yuu is. He's the one thinking of them on holiday break; Yuu doesn’t think of him on holiday break. They think of Malleus only in like early book 7 when Ortho asks if they know any fae, and it’s for a personal reason too (helping them find a way home).

Yuu's closeness with Malleus is left vaguely defined so the player can insert whatever their own feelings about him are into the scenario. They speak with him in a casual tone, yet they never go out of their way to actually invite him to functions or ask questions to learn more about him. Yuu doesn’t even seem to be that torn up about going back home and never seeing Malleus again. This is not the case with Adeuce and Grim; Yuu has dialogue options which imply they would miss their company. Yuu feels so… detached from Malleus; he at best feels like an amicable (?) acquaintance, but not a friend.

[ecrivainsolitaire]

A summary of the Chinese AI situation, for the uninitiated.

These are scores on different tests that are designed to see how accurate a Large Language Model is in different areas of knowledge. As you know, OpenAI is partners with Microsoft, so these are the scores for ChatGPT and Copilot. DeepSeek is the Chinese model that got released a week ago. The rest are open source models, which means everyone is free to use them as they please, including the average Tumblr user. You can run them from the servers of the companies that made them for a subscription, or you can download them to install locally on your own computer. However, the computer requirements so far are so high that only a few people currently have the machines at home required to run it.

Yes, this is why AI uses so much electricity. As with any technology, the early models are highly inefficient. Think how a Ford T needed a long chimney to get rid of a ton of black smoke, which was unused petrol. Over the next hundred years combustion engines have become much more efficient, but they still waste a lot of energy, which is why we need to move towards renewable electricity and sustainable battery technology. But that's a topic for another day.

As you can see from the scores, are around the same accuracy. These tests are in constant evolution as well: as soon as they start becoming obsolete, new ones are released to adjust for a more complicated benchmark. The new models are trained using different machine learning techniques, and in theory, the goal is to make them faster and more efficient so they can operate with less power, much like modern cars use way less energy and produce far less pollution than the Ford T.

However, computing power requirements kept scaling up, so you're either tied to the subscription or forced to pay for a latest gen PC, which is why NVIDIA, AMD, Intel and all the other chip companies were investing hard on much more powerful GPUs and NPUs. For now all we need to know about those is that they're expensive, use a lot of electricity, and are required to operate the bots at superhuman speed (literally, all those clickbait posts about how AI was secretly 150 Indian men in a trenchcoat were nonsense).

Because the chip companies have been working hard on making big, bulky, powerful chips with massive fans that are up to the task, their stock value was skyrocketing, and because of that, everyone started to use AI as a marketing trend. See, marketing people are not smart, and they don't understand computers. Furthermore, marketing people think you're stupid, and because of their biased frame of reference, they think you're two snores short of brain-dead. The entire point of their existence is to turn tall tales into capital. So they don't know or care about what AI is or what it's useful for. They just saw Number Go Up for the AI companies and decided "AI is a magic cow we can milk forever". Sometimes it's not even AI, they just use old software and rebrand it, much like convection ovens became air fryers.

Well, now we're up to date. So what did DepSeek release that did a 9/11 on NVIDIA stock prices and popped the AI bubble?

Oh, I would not want to be an OpenAI investor right now either. A token is basically one Unicode character (it's more complicated than that but you can google that on your own time). That cost means you could input the entire works of Stephen King for under a dollar. Yes, including electricity costs. DeepSeek has jumped from a Ford T to a Subaru in terms of pollution and water use.

The issue here is not only input cost, though; all that data needs to be available live, in the RAM; this is why you need powerful, expensive chips in order to-

Holy shit.

I'm not going to detail all the numbers but I'm going to focus on the chip required: an RTX 3090. This is a gaming GPU that came out as the top of the line, the stuff South Korean LoL players buy…

Or they did, in September 2020. We're currently two generations ahead, on the RTX 5090.

What this is telling all those people who just sold their high-end gaming rig to be able to afford a machine that can run the latest ChatGPT locally, is that the person who bought it from them can run something basically just as powerful on their old one.

Which means that all those GPUs and NPUs that are being made, and all those deals Microsoft signed to have control of the AI market, have just lost a lot of their pulling power.

Well, I mean, the ChatGPT subscription is 20 bucks a month, surely the Chinese are charging a fortune for-

Oh. So it's free for everyone and you can use it or modify it however you want, no subscription, no unpayable electric bill, no handing Microsoft all of your private data, you can just run it on a relatively inexpensive PC. You could probably even run it on a phone in a couple years.

Oh, if only China had massive phone manufacturers that have a foot in the market everywhere except the US because the president had a tantrum eight years ago.

So… yeah, China just destabilised the global economy with a torrent file.

[thebroccolination]

KRISTSINGTO GAVE A COMPREHENSIVE INTERVIEW ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE QL INDUSTRY, THEIR PARTNERSHIP, AND THEIR PROMISE TO FANS

EDITED 19/3/25: @ysphcpb helped me make sense of some of the wonky subtitles. I added two clarifications below using this same text and color to make them easier to find.

A few hours ago, FEED uploaded an interview in which KristSingto almost made me cry. The full interview is subbed in English and available here on YouTube. It's thirty minutes long, and KristSingto cover a broad range of topics that show how invaluable their seasoned perspectives on the industry are.

If you're new to KristSingto or curious what they've been up to since you last checked in on them, this could be either a very good introduction to them or a refresher. :)

Note: As far as I can tell, the subtitles are mostly fine, but judging by some of the phrasing, I think they might have been auto-translated or else completely done by AI. Like, the subs call KristSingto "Christmas" twice, which I think a human would have caught. (Quick: who gets the angel topper and who gets the star?) Also, there are several times when Krist or Singto is referring to himself in the third person (as you do in Thai), so the subtitles say "he" rather than "I" so you have to pay attention to the context of what they're talking about to avoid confusion. Another day, another reason to study Thai.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Singto said he's gotten in trouble for giving short answers, so he said his main concern is Krist's health. He's said the same thing in other interviews, so Krist already knew. <3 I think he means in general, since Krist has been physically sick more often in recent years, but mental health is also quite important to both of them.

EDIT - Singto: Actually, there's not much I need to tell him, but lately, (what I'd like to say) can be condensed into a short word. And I think he's aware of it. "Health", okay? Short but enough, to the point. And I'm sure he's aware of it.

Krist said he's had to take on more responsibility within his family as he's gotten older. He's been very open in the past about his family's early struggles with money following the market crash in the 90s and how he cleared his family's debts through his work after SOTUS. More recently, he lost his grandmother in 2023 just before his solo concerts in Bangkok and now more recently his grandfather just before "The Ex-Morning" begins airing. He's always been extremely devoted to his family.

Meanwhile, Singto is an only child who lost his mother to cancer in university, so he said his priority has become taking care of himself more. Over the past year he's been very forthcoming about his mental health issues in the past and how he addressed them to get to a much healthier and happier place today.

After everything Krist has been through over the past five years especially, hearing him say he's not sad or stressed just healed something in my heart. I'm really so very proud of him. <3

Singto said that because they've both grown up over the past few years, Krist feels more like an equal to him now. They're only a year apart, but I think since they met in school and Krist has always been a little more excitable and trusting, that gap probably felt wider to Singto. He said they're able to communicate better now and that even though their working dynamic was already smooth, even that has improved.

They also talked about changes in the industry from their joint debut in SOTUS in 2016! I've seen Singto speak in the past about how he wanted to see the "BL" or "Y" removed because he thought it was othering, and in this interview he said he's happy that BL isn't considered strange anymore. As the first in the line of fire, KristSingto went through some fairly harrowing things, and he said that he and Krist weren't sure how people would respond to SOTUS.

Krist talked about the international spread of Thai QL and especially the rise of GL! I don't think the subtitles did what he said justice, so I'll toss the ball to resident GL protector @hallowpen in case there's a better way to phrase what he said in English. I think he essentially said that in the era KristSingto released SOTUS in, Thailand was still in a transitional period where queer media was neither accepted or rejected, and he's happy to see it become a normalized part of society.

EDIT - Krist: Moreover, in this era, we now have sapphic shows too, as in girl-girl pairings, something like that. So it's like, it's great, that we no longer have any of these separate lines (@ysphcpb's translation note: in relation to what he said before this, I think he means lines that separate "BL/Y series" from other types of series, in terms of content and target audience). If the work is good and worth watching, we'll love and appreciate it.

They discussed the importance of partnerships, and Krist emphasized communication above all to avoid fighting. Singto said that in the past they didn't fight, but they did overlook issues by not talking more. He said they're making a more concerted effort to pay close attention to each other's moods and to raise concerns as they develop so they can clear things up immediately.

Krist said he's much more at ease with Singto back. He's spoken in-depth multiple times before this about what it was like for him when he was on his own for the two years Singto was gone, and it wasn't great for his mental health. From the moment Singto left (amicably) to pursue his own path, Krist missed him and was actively trying to persuade him to come back. While GMMTV had been placing Krist in heterosexual lakorn series for years after SOTUS ended, his heart never really seemed to be in it, and I think he always wanted to continue and stay in the BL world. He always wanted the stability of a partner he knew and trusted, and with Singto home (so to speak) he said it's easier for him to plan for the future, which is less frightening for him now. (In 2023 before Singto returned, I really hoped Krist would pair up with Gawin based on the loveliness of their friendship and chemistry onstage and in "Be My Favorite," but it became clear to me over time that even though Gawin is Krist's most beloved nong and a good friend to him, Krist most likely never would have rebranded himself in another khuujin out of respect to Singto and what they established and built together. For Krist, Singto is and always will be his only partner, I think.)

Singto reiterated how much more smoothly everything is running between him and Krist now that he's come back. (Personally, I think they both really matured and grew enormously as people during those two years on their own.) Essentially, they're both back in their safe zone now that they've reunited, and while they're at a place in their careers where they don't have to fight to be seen or heard, they don't want to rest on their laurels either.

This was by far the most emotional point for me, and it actually got me quite teary-eyed. Krist talked about their fanbase, Peraya, who got so invested in KristSingto based on one series and a sequel in their first two years in the industry together, and then nothing else for years afterward. I've been here for almost five years and like Krist said, all I've ever seen in real time are concert streams and sponsored events. I remember when I became a fan in 2020 the fandom was still super committed to creating SOTUS fanworks and edits even though it was four years old by then. KristSingto obviously knew their fans wanted more series from them, but even back in 2017 they said they had to do what GMMTV gave them, and unfortunately GMMTV didn't yet see BL as a cash cow. KristSingto had the success of normalizing BL, but their fandom has had to wait this long to be rewarded for it with another KristSingto series.

And Krist promised not to disappoint. Which, of course, I trust. <3

See the full interview below:

(I'm calling them the Christmas Couple from now on and no one can stop me.)

[therebelcaptain]

While I enjoy seeing Cassian having a deep and intimate relationship with Bix as it shows his vulnerability in a way we've not seen before, it also feels at odds with the image of Cassian I’ve had since 2016—someone who had sacrificed everything for the rebellion. The impression I got from lines like “you’re not the only one who lost everything” is that he’d been virtually alone and isolated in this fight for years before we meet him in Rogue One, his only constant companion being K2. It felt like he’d been keeping himself in a prison of his own mind for the sake of the rebellion.

But in this season, Cassian seems more than willing to walk away for the sake of protecting Bix a mere two years before Rogue One. We're at the halfway point and Cassian is a lifetime away from the man we meet in Rogue One—he was honestly much closer at the end of season one. And maybe that's the point—that things like love can get in the way and hold people back from doing what they must in a revolution—but like others have already said here, making it the focal point of both Bix and Cassian's stories this season feels like a disservice to them as individual characters. Hell, it's not even something that hasn't already been explored in the show. Vel and Cinta's relationship in the first season already looked at how complicated it can be to fall in love while in the rebellion, so I'm not even sure of the necessity of doing the same thing with another couple, much less Bix and Cassian. It seems like the writers room decided an end point for the two of them—likely Cassian being forced to kill Bix, if his last conversation with Luthen is anything to go by—before working backwards to somehow make it feel earned instead of constructing a story that actually felt right for the characters.

While this is essentially what Andor is an exercise in, Cassian already has a specific end point that they need to work toward, but the majority of the main cast doesn't. The next batch of episodes picks up a year before the film, so Cassian's going to have to lose everything in one fell swoop in these next episodes otherwise I'm not confident that he will end up where he needs to be by the end. There are things mentioned in the Rogue One novelisation that could be explored in order show Cassian's further evolution into a fully fledged rebel who's willing to do anything for the movement. Jenoport is one such thing that comes to mind, but that probably won't happen given Cassian hasn't even met K-2 yet.

On the other hand, there is a lot more room to play with Bix as a character. Her end point isn't set in stone in the same way that Cassian's is. They could have explored a myriad of things with her character working through the trauma of being tortured and finding her own way to the rebellion as a result. While that is a factor in her story arc this season, it's frustrating to see her relevance to the story be tied so directly to her relationship with Cassian. At this point it's clear that she's only being kept around so her inevitable death can further galvanise his commitment to the rebellion. After everything she's been through as a character, Bix deserves so much more than being fridged for Cassian's story arc.

To those of you who think my opinion on this is because I'm a diehard Rebelcaptain girlie, it really isn't. Like I've said before, I actually like Bix and Cassian as a couple and would have enjoyed their scenes together more in a different context like maybe in a flashback to their youth. I'd always seen them as childhood sweethearts who still loved each other in their own ways, but had grown apart as they got older and their priorities in life changed. That made a lot of sense to me. What doesn't jive with me is that we're seeing this so close to Rogue One where Cassian is supposed to be living for the rebellion first and foremost and seemed to have been for many, many years. And at this point, the gap between these two men is the size of valley.

[aldmeric]

Species Anarchy: What It Isn’t

I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. The ideology of species anarchy does overlap significantly with otherkin, alterhumanity and nonhuman experiences, but it is not inherently related to these concepts.

Take holotheres for example. They are known as physical nonhumans. The term “physical nonhuman” denotes something very specific, as it is an identity defining term under the nonhuman umbrella (and for some, the otherkin and alterhuman umbrellas). Holotheres are physically nonhuman, but not all of them claim to be biologically nonhuman, as per their self identification. Some do, and those are the instances in which species anarchy may overlap.

A key point that often comes up in holothere spaces is psychosis and schizophrenia (clinical zoanthropy etc). Some individuals have these labels unwillingly placed upon them for expressing themselves, and while they may be considered delusional or psychotic by modern psychological standards, these individuals would likely be highly revered and treated with extreme care and sensitivity in pre-colonial environments due to being seen as spiritual guides — nonhuman creatures come in the form of a human vessel to teach crucial environmental lessons to their clan or village. They also would not have many of the symptoms that come with psychosis if the effects of colonialism hadn’t leeched into everything we know, but that’s a conversation for another day (as is the criteria for delusions, psychosis and schizophrenia being rooted in Christianization and generational trauma of Indigenous people).

Some holotheres take pride in their psychosis, which I would argue is the healthiest possible avenue of existence (if that is constructive and healing for you personally, but it isn’t for everyone). Every brain is different. It would be boring if everybody lived in the same reality. However, some individuals rebel against the label entirely, as I mentioned earlier, but in a different context — they reject the labels that the system of modern Western psychology they believe has imposed upon them, and they choose to redefine what existence is for themselves, and in general, because they know that the system labelled them as such due to the constructed societal view of being a failure if you are unable to conform — of the three, this is the most similar ideology to species anarchy.

While I have always known I’m bosmer in my heart, gut and soul, it was not something that came in words to me until later on in life. I knew I was different, but I didn’t know how. As a child, I had an intense phobia of getting “found out” to be biologically different from humans, and to be hauled off to a facility to be dissected or tortured or brainwashed. While I did suffer from childhood trauma, none of it was ever related to this fear. It’s been completely unexplainable for me (until now). I’ve dealt with a lot of medical mishaps as a result - doctors did not know how to treat me because my body was not responding the way a human’s would. They were confused, and I nearly died as a result.

I realized that, through evolution, I am biologically not human whatsoever. My mother has experienced similar experiences as I have, but not to the extent that I deal with them.

Carl Linnaeus never defined the term Homo sapiens. He just… left it blank. It was the only species he did not define. Just think about that for a moment.

For thousands of years, we have questioned what it means to exist, but only for a couple hundred have we questioned what it means to be human. How do we answer our questions to something with no definition, and the author of the term is long gone? In a time where the only way to become an expert was to observe the unknown, Carl Linnaeus made observations, he crafted definitions — are we not allowed to call out when we have done the observing now? What makes this century different from the last two?

Where do we draw the line when something new has been created?

Species anarchy is that line. It is also the act of drawing it. It is the act of crossing out human and replacing it with what you know to be the truth.

That is why it overlaps with alterhuman, otherkin and nonhuman experiences. It is not inherently of them, but you know who and what you are. Who am I to define you? Who is anyone to do so? You have the pen and the paper. You have the stick in the sand.

Remember that your brain telling you things is a message. Your brain is a very real organ. If you know something about yourself to be true, that is your brain physically being aware of an observable truth, and translating it into thought. Yes, this goes for spiritualism as well.

Species anarchy is a very broad philosophical ideology, and it can be applied to and overlap with many other core identity values. It does not discriminate against anyone, I want that to be very clear (I take holotheres very seriously). As I find myself learning more and more about different types of nonhumanity, I can see a lot of overlap between all these amazingly different experiences and species anarchy. I wanted to make a detailed post explaining the differences between them.

[gotorux]

Fandom Culture, Forced Shipping, and the Blurred Line Between Representation and Projection!

I know I am mostly just a lurker but I’ve seen an increasing amount of problematic behavior I feel like needs to be called out.

In recent months, the engagement in fandom has often taken a more aggressive, absolutist tone, particularly around topics like shipping, representation, and attraction to fictional characters. The result is a space where important distinctions are lost, bad faith accusations are rampant, and people are silenced for engaging with media in a way that doesn’t align with the loudest voices in the room. And this is not only excessively problematic, but alienating as well.

Let’s start with shipping.

Not every ship is canon!

In many fandoms(especially those centered around shonen anime) intense, emotionally rich male friendships are increasingly interpreted as romantic by default. It’s no longer enough for two male characters to share trust, trauma, or growth. If they’re close, they must be in love. And if you don’t ship them, or worse, if you insist they’re just friends, you’re suddenly accused of being homophobic or “anti-queer.”

But this isn’t about homophobia. It’s about preserving narrative integrity and celebrating platonic male intimacy, which is just as rare and precious in storytelling as authentic queer representation.

Take JJK. The bond between Gojo and Geto is complex, layered, and filled with emotional weight…but it is not romantic. Canon sources back this up clearly. The JJK fanbook confirms that Gojo likes women(also parts of the anime/manga), and even states that he moved on from Geto’s defection relatively easily, contrary to the tragic soulmate narrative pushed by fans.

The characters have ideological differences, not romantic tension. Their story is one of parallel evolution, not forbidden love. And yet, fandom discussion around either character often cannot exist without centering the other in a romantic framework.

This pattern repeats across nearly every popular shonen series: Yuji and Megumi, Levi and Erwin, Gon and Killua, Naruto and Sasuke, Deku and Bakugo.

These dynamics are written as bonds forged in hardship, friendship, loyalty, and sometimes rivalry…not as romances. When fandom insists otherwise, it flattens emotional complexity into shallow tropes and undermines both queer representation and male friendship.

Worse, it perpetuates toxic masculinity: the idea that men can’t express love, loyalty, or emotional vulnerability unless it’s romantic or sexual. That’s not progressive! It’s regressive.

The insistence on romantic shipping as a form of queer representation also reveals a disturbing double standard. If fans truly wanted more visibility for LGBTQ+ characters, we’d see more support for female/female (F/F) ships, which are often canonically or subtextually queer. Like Ymir and Historia in Attack on Titan.

But these ships rarely receive the same level of obsession or cultural reach. Why? Because in many cases, M/M shipping isn’t about queer advocacy at all, it’s about indulging in aestheticized emotional fantasy between attractive male characters. That’s not inherently wrong, but it should be recognized for what it is, rather than masquerading as activism.

Queer representation matters. But it needs to be authentic, deliberate, and earned; not projected onto stories that were never meant to carry that weight.

Respecting Canon Isn’t Homophobic.

Choosing not to ship a pair of characters doesn’t make someone homophobic. Refusing to see a romance where none exists isn’t hate, it’s media literacy. It’s about engaging with a story on its own terms, rather than demanding it conform to fan fantasies.

It’s deeply hurtful to be labeled anti-queer simply for seeing value in platonic bonds. That kind of moral weaponization doesn’t uplift the queer community; it silences those who see emotional depth without sexual tension.

Now to my next topic.

Fictional Attraction and the “Minor” Discourse:

Another area where fandom discourse has become both toxic and confused is in the discussion around attraction to fictional characters, particularly those labeled as teenagers in-universe.

Take Megumi Fushiguro, again from Jujutsu Kaisen. He’s described as a high schooler, but designed with adult features: tall, mature, emotionally restrained, and drawn with adult proportions. He looks and acts like someone in his early 20s.

Yet fans who say they find him attractive are often accused of “liking minors.” This kind of accusation is not only wrong…it’s deeply irresponsible.

Fiction ≠ Reality

Being attracted to a fictional, adult-coded character is not the same as being attracted to real-life minors. There is a vast and meaningful difference between responding to stylized, idealized character design and holding dangerous views in the real world. Conflating the two trivializes real child exploitation and erodes the seriousness of actual abuse.

That said, there is a line and it’s when characters are child-coded…that is, when they are drawn, voiced, or characterized in ways that deliberately evoke youth, vulnerability, or prepubescence.

Examples include: Nezuko from Demon Slayer, whose tiny frame, infant-like behavior, and childlike mannerisms are clearly designed to evoke a little girl. Deku from My Hero Academia, who is introduced as either 14 or 15 with a young, innocent personality and childlike appearance.

When people sexualize characters like these, it does raise ethical concerns, because the appeal is rooted in traits associated with childhood. That’s a different conversation entirely, and it deserves to be had.

Attraction to adult-coded characters with stated ages under 18? Not inherently problematic. Depends on design and context.

Attraction to child-coded or loli/shota characters, regardless of “age?” Concerning. Context matters more than labels.

Conflating all attraction to stylized characters as predatory? Harmful, misleading, and erases real harm.

This is about critical thinking, not knee-jerk labeling. We must be able to distinguish between what’s a fantasy, what’s fetishization, and what’s actual danger.

Fandom has always been a place of personal connection, but somewhere along the way, nuance got lost. Every emotional bond became romantic. Every attraction became a red flag. Every disagreement became a moral failing.

But not everything is a ship.

Not every fictional character is a stand-in for real life.

Not every headcanon is representation.

And not every boundary is bigotry.

It’s time to bring context, compassion, and clarity back into fandom conversations. We need to protect the things that actually matter, without shaming people for simply engaging with fiction in a way that’s honest, respectful, and thoughtful.

Let friendships be friendships. Let attraction to stylized adult characters exist without slander. And let’s stop calling everything abuse because that only blinds us to the places where it really exists.

[togglesbloggle]

Evolution, Metaphor, and the Meaning of Gay Alligators

A few times recently, I’ve run across discussions about animal sex that are wrong in interesting ways.  I don’t want to derail those conversations, and I certainly don’t want to call out anybody in particular, so I’m branching off here- but the most recent one was in the notes about the discovery (original paper) that most alligator sex is between two males.

Anyway, a not-uncommon element of these discussions is for somebody to frame animal homosexuality as ‘confusion’, particularly with simpler animals.  The idea behind this isn’t too tricky: it proposes that the animal’s sexual instinct is functionally oriented towards (or intended for) heterosexual coupling and reproduction, but that the perceptions and processing power of the animal’s brain are too limited to reliably distinguish between the sexes.  As a result, simpler animals of the same sex may occasionally copulate with one another by accident, as one of the failure modes along the way to biological reproduction.

If you are a card-carrying member of the Tumblrati, the word ‘heteronormative’ might well be in your brain already, and fast approaching your tongue.  You might be building an argument about how sexuality has social as well as reproductive functions, that a lack of human imagination doesn’t prevent evolution from building towards homosexuality for its own reasons, and anyway human sociolinguistic concepts are a lousy fit for animal behavior.  These are pretty good arguments, but I’m asking you to pause that line of thought briefly; it’s not where I’m going.

Animals confound us in an interesting way: their agency is without question, but their sapience is limited, and we struggle to imagine ‘what it’s like to be an alligator’ for that reason.  What is it like, after all, to be conscious but not self-aware?  So when we ask ourselves why an animal does what it does, we tend to use evolution as a way to paper over that gap, and say “well, the alligators must be having sex in order to reproduce and succeed as organisms.”  Persistently, in odd and elaborate ways, we make this assumption that animals are themselves pursuing adaptive fitness in a way that’s much more direct than humans do, as if natural selection were a motive for animal behavior and not just an explanation for it.

This is the deeper and more interesting error that I’m trying to chew on.  The ‘mistake’ theory of animal homosexuality assumes that animals are motivated to pursue biological reproduction, not because of what we know about them as individuals or as a species, but because of what we know about the forces that produced them.  This assumption gets silently made in the case of alligator sex in part because we often make this assumption, it’s nearly our default way of thinking about these things.  

I’m very sympathetic to this error!  Biology and especially anatomy is our go-to example of purpose in nature; questions like “what are your lungs for?” have obvious (if surprisingly sophisticated) answers.  Behavioral instincts are a little more complicated, but it’s still kind of the same thing- we can cogently talk about the reasons why we shiver when we’re cold, for example.  And every time we have this conversation, natural selection is looking over our shoulder waggling its eyebrows at us.  This kind of language can be very, very misleading, inviting a slip from “we <are born with an involuntary reflex to> shiver in the cold because it helps us survive,” to “we <agentically prefer or choose to> shiver in the cold because it helps us survive.”  It’s practically designed to trip us up like this.

I think this happened in our language because of the theological fights around evolution in the early days of its discovery.  You know how it was- Darwin, the monkey trials, all that nonsense.  Natural selection accounts for biological diversity and the seeming-purpose of natural forms in a way that requires no conscious designer (or Designer), and so what might have been a purely scientific discovery also ended up blowing a hole in the social and religious functions that that sense of purpose provided- and was called upon, in some ways, to fill that hole again.  Evolution got smooshed into a sort of theological shape, and now we have the sort of culture where the phrase “evolutionary imperative” feels like it makes sense to us instead of being an obvious contradiction in terms.

That theological shape comes back again and again when we try to speak poetically about natural selection, because it’s always lurking very shallowly under the surface.  In these failure modes, we talk about natural selection in almost filial terms, a generative entity that hangs out in a workshop occasionally holding up new animals for our perusal; it’s hiding behind Kipling’s ‘gods of the copybook headings’, NRx’s ‘gnon’, Scott’s ‘Goddess of Cancer,’ and so many others.  I did it a little bit myself, not three paragraphs ago!  I called evolution “a force that produced them,” like it was some sort of creator-deity sculpting gay alligators out of clay.  Like “what evolution wants” is something that a person can talk about…

Metaphors and language are hard, but I’ve been trying to think a lot lately about how to build a story about evolution in my head that doesn’t have this problem.  Something passive, you know?  Something that doesn’t have the property of being a designer, doesn’t tempt us into treating ourselves and the organisms sharing our world as if we were all agents of some Lovecraftian entity.

I’m not entirely satisfied with my answer just yet, but for now, I’m trying to let evolution be a labyrinth.  It’s filled with twisting corridors and strange rooms, dead ends and loops, and terrible, deadly traps.  It’s unfathomably large, and mostly empty- even though trillions and trillions of us have explored this maze, we’ve only really seen a small part of it, and out beyond the edges of our knowledge, there’s still mile after endless mile of quiet, dark corridors that have never known a footfall.  

It’s not a comforting place, and even though we were born here, it’s not really home; it’s not something built for us, or one that’s especially concerned with our wellbeing.  But the thing about this labyrinth is that most of the rooms have prisoners in them, strange and unfamiliar beings held in stasis and waiting for the door to open so they can spring into life and begin their own wandering.  And this is a treasure of a kind, if you want to see it that way; not wooden chests full of gold coins, perhaps, but something new and beautiful all the same.  And if that’s not reason enough to explore the maze, to go out beyond the relative safety of the room you were born in- then, well, there’s always the rumors that there’s a real exit, hidden somewhere among the twisting corridors.

It’s… not bad, I guess?  The metaphor has its uses.  

I think it does a decent job of capturing and illuminating lots of our moral intuitions; bioconservatism (and to a lesser extent, social conservatism) as a refusal to explore the maze, rejecting the insane dangers of exploration and the questionable rewards of the search and instead preferring to stay at home in the room where we were born– still trapped in the labyrinth, but at least alive, at least for a while.  It shadows that position with the correct amount of irony, reminding us that human existence follows from a four-billion-year history of discovery, adaptation, and mutation by nonhuman organisms; it reminds us that the discovery of human beings came at a terrible cost for those who came before us.  And importantly, it allows any given organism to be a thing-in-itself.  Sure, life originates in certain places and certain patterns according to the latent shape of the labyrinth (though my metaphor isn’t very good at describing that shape…), but it’s free to act as it prefers, and live or die by those choices.

My hope, anyway, is that by dwelling on this metaphor, and stepping back from all the talk about creators and purposes and imperatives, you’ll find it easier to see what ought to have been fairly obvious to us: alligators have gay sex because they think the other alligators are sexy, and they want to have sex about it.

The questions that follow after, like “why do alligators find each other sexy?,” are also important!  It is vital to learn as much about the shape of this labyrinth as we can, the better to traverse it safely, to explore it comprehensively, and maybe even to find the exit.  But those are different questions, and conflating them can only lead to confusion.  We must begin by acknowledging that we and our fellow-travelers on Earth do not exist for the sake of natural selection, and that any willful concessions to it are strategic, not moral.  The creatures all around us- human and otherwise- carry their own motives and their own reasons within themselves.  To live in the world as it is, we have to confront that radical pluralism head on, and not try to wipe it away by pretending these are all just masks over some domineering force of nature puppetting them towards inscrutable ends.

[astrologysaysno]

You know what would be really fun to do, an AU where for some reason the PIDW world is randomly breaking into song and everyone is conscious of that fact but no one knows how it started or how to stop it.

Like, it's just been a thing in this world. Everyone is just in this state of living through a self-aware version of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.

I think what would make it even funnier is that when Shang Qinghua arrived at CQMS, the music suddenly switched up on everyone in the sect.

For like, centuries, the music people sang were of traditional tales and epics likening their plight to them, they would take poems and proses and accompany them to a backing that would usually materialize for the occasion.

Now suddenly there's like this great expansion of musical styles and genres and it has people in a buzz, wondering if this this was a natural evolution of the strange music mandate overarching the world or was this the fault of some great manipulator pulling the shots and deciding to add new material because they got bored listening to people sing the same epic tale for the millionth time.

(The true origin of this is that Airplane in his last life had a personal playlist made that he listens to whenever he wanted to write PIDW and now it has come back to haunt him cause HE RECOGNIZES THESE SONGS)

One of these instances first occurred with Shen Qingqiu (Jiu) and Luo Qingge, with Shang Qinghua as an unfortunate witness as it began a while after that awful mission that expanded the rift of misunderstanding.

Instead of some traditional oration of a story about rivalry, something new began to emerge.

It only takes the first few lines before SQH almost has his eyes pop out in shock when he realizes what was happening

... IS THIS WICKED?!?!

Shang Qinghua watches as the two perform a duet, the younger disciples of Bai Zhan acting as an ensemble as everything played out. LQG and SJ sang as they ran into the mess hall, everyone in perfect harmony raising eyebrows to every witness who hadn't been dragged into the number as an ensemble voice.

The moment the song ended, the two are immediately called by the Peak Lords of the Previous generation, dragging along Qinghua as they are interrogated about this new change in the musical paradigm.

The new mixes in with the old. Though the usual forms of song still occur, every once in a while, the new music appears to change the pace, attracting people with its unusual and exotic melodies.

Qinghua isn't immune to this phenomena.

Throughout his days when he became head disciple and then Peak Lord, he had never broken into song once, something that very much confused his fellows peers, who have at some point in their life belted a number or two. Shen Jiu and Liu Qingge had already over a dozen of solos each.

Shang Qinghua chalked it up to the fact that the universe probably decided he wasn't worth wasting a beat on and lived in second-hand embarrassment watching his fellow peak Lords air out their feelings in song.

But the day finally came when a song spewed forth from his lips...

...running away from Mobei-Jun

After the ceremony and the fight with Linguang-Jun, Mobei thought to leave a trap to his uncle, setting something on the steps to slow his uncle down.

Unfortunately for Airplane, he gets stuck on the trap as he runs away, Mobei-jun on his heels as the last of his strength is used to chase Qinghua.

The moment Qinghua turned around, time froze. Mobei-jun finds himself immobilised as Qinghua began to sing, his body frozen in time as his advisor belted and fluttered his voice, singing about choices.

The song ends, Mobei-Jun finally giving out as Qinghua runs away. Mobei-jun doesn't forget the song, and he understands what he must do.

[I have had "What is this Feeling" from Wicked and "On the Steps of the Palace" from Into The Woods on loop in my phone going platinum in my bedroom.

I made this entire thing from my delusions so uh, bon appetit I guess?]

[syrupsyche]

in honour of our boys appearing yet again for Les Mis Letters, here is a look at their names + my favourite lines from the Chinese translation of Les Mis (by Li Dan and Fang Yu)

Enjolras = 安灼拉 (Ān zhuó lā)

安 meaning peace

灼 meaning burning/bright

“他有天使那么美。” = He was as pretty as an angel

“他在欢乐中也不苟言笑” = He did not smile even when he was happy.

“他是自由女神云石塑像的情人” = He was lady liberty's marble lover.

Combeferre = 公白飞 (Gōng bái fēi)

公 can be found in the word 公平, meaning just

白 meaning white (which makes me think of: "Combeferre was as gentle as Enjolras was severe, through natural whiteness.")

飞 meaning flight

安灼拉近于义，公白飞近于仁。= Enjolras was closer to righteousness, Combeferre was closer to kindness.

如果这两个青年当年登上了历史舞台，也许一个会成为公正无私的人，而另一个则成为慎思明辨的人 = If these two young men had ascended the stage of history, one would have been a fair and just man, and the other a careful and discerning man.

公白飞也许能双膝着 地，两手合十，以待未来天真无邪地到来，希望人们去恶从善的巨大 进化不至于受到任何阻扰。= Combeferre would have gone on his knees, hands clasped, and bring about the innocent arrival of the future, and hoped that nothing would impede the evolution of the people.

Jean Prouvaire/Jehan = 让·勃鲁维尔 (Ràng·bó lǔ wéi'ěr) / 热安 (Rè ān)

shares an 安 with Enjolras, meaning peace

让·勃鲁维尔是个多情种子 = Jean Prouvaire was the affectionate type

他说起话来语调轻缓，俯首低眉，腼腆地微笑着，举动拘束，神气笨拙，无缘无故地脸羞得通红，胆怯。然而，猛不可当 = He spoke in a soft and tender tone, bowed his head and lowered his gaze, smiled shyly, moved reservedly, had a clumsy air, his face would flush red for no reason, and was timid. But his ferocity was undaunted.

Feuilly = 弗以伊 (Fú yǐ yī)

他只有一个念头：拯救世界。他还另外有种愿望：教育自己，他说这也是拯救自己 = He only had one thought: to rescue the world. He also had another wish, to educate himself, which he said was also to rescue himself.

弗以伊是个性情豪放的人。他有远大的抱负。这孤儿让人民为父母 = Feuilly had a bold temperament. He had great ambitions. This orphan took the people in, and became their parent.*

Courfeyrac = 古费拉克 (Gǔ fèi lākè)

克 meaning overcome or subdue

古费拉克确实具有人们称为鬼聪明的那种青春热力。这种热力，和小猫的可爱一样 = Courfeyrac had what one might describe as the cleverness and passion of youth. This passion can also be found in the cuteness of a kitten

不过古费拉克是个诚实的孩子 = However, Courfeyrac was an honest boy.

在多罗米埃身上蕴藏着一个法官，在古费拉克身上蕴藏着一个武士。 = In Tholomyès' body contained a judge; in Courfeyrac's body contained a knight.

安灼拉是首领，公白飞是向导，古费拉克是中心。= Enjolras was the leader, Combeferre was the guide, Courfeyrac was the heart.

Bahorel = 巴阿雷 (Bā ā léi)

雷 meaning thunder

巴阿雷是个善于诙谐而难与相处的人，诚实，爱花钱，挥霍到近于奢侈，多话到近于悬河，横蛮到近于不择手段，是当魔鬼最好的材料 = Bahorel was a humourous man, though difficult to get along with, honest, spendthrift, spending to the point of extravagance, talking to the point of eloquence, bold to the point of brashness and had the perfect makings of a devil.**

他的父母是农民，对父母他是知道反复表示敬意的。= His parents were peasants, and he knew to often treat them with much respect.

关于他们，他常这样说：“这是些农民，不是资产阶级，正因为这样，他们才有点智慧。” = Regarding them, he often said: "These are peasants, not bourgeois; thus they are the wiser."

Lesgle/Bossuet = 赖格尔 (Lài gé ěr) / 博须埃 (Bó xū āi)

博须埃是个遭遇不好的快乐孩子。他的专长是一事无成，相反地对一切都付之一笑。= Bossuet was an unfortunate, but happy child. His specialty was to achieve nothing, and would laugh at everything.

他能很快用到他最后一个苏，却从不会笑到他的最后一声笑。= He could quickly spend his last sou, but he would never smile a last smile.

Joly = 若李 (Ruò lǐ)

他认为人和针一样，可以磁化，于是，他把卧室里的床摆成南北向，使他血液的循环不致受到地球大磁场的干扰 = He believed man and needle were the same - able to be magnetized - and so he had his bed turned facing the north and south to prevent his blood circulation from receiving any interferences from the Earth's magnetic field.

可是在所有这些人中，他是最热闹的一个 = But amongst these men, he was the liveliest of them all.

年轻，乖僻，体弱，兴致高，这一切不相连属的性格汇集在他一人身上，结果使他成了个放荡不羁而又惹人喜爱的人 = Young, eccentric, frail, and cheerful: all these individual characteristics constituted his being, resulting in a peculiar man whom people were fond of.

Grantaire = 格朗泰尔 (Gé lǎng tài ěr)

朗 meaning bright or clear

格朗泰尔是个不让自己轻信什么的人。= Grantaire was a person who did not allow himself to believe in anything.

这个乱七八糟的怀疑者在这一伙信心坚定的人中，向谁靠拢呢？向最坚定的一个 = To whom did this mess of a skeptic lean towards in this group of confident and steadfast men? To the most resolute.

没有谁比瞎子更喜爱阳光。没有谁比矮子更崇拜军鼓手。= No one could love the sunlight more than the blind man. No one could worship the drummer more than the dwarf.

这是种深深的矛盾，因为感情也是一种信念。= This is deeply contradictory, for love*** is also a form of belief.

他经常受到安灼拉的冲撞，严厉的摈斥，被撵以后，仍旧回来，他说，安灼拉“是座多美的云石塑像”！= He was often attacked and harshly rebuked by Enjolras. Still, he would return even after being driven out, and say that Enjolras "could be a beautiful, marble statue!"

—

If anyone is interested in other lines and what they have been translated to, feel free to let me know and I can dig it up for you! And thanks for reading all this way :)

*Other Chinese speakers pls help me verify if this is an accurate translation? Idk why this particular sentence is tripping me up.

**Verification on his translation most welcome too; this REALLY sent me on a doozy.

***感情 can also be translated as feelings, affection, fondness etc. Used as "He has feelings for him."

[xxxlebensfreudexx]

HPCC Hamburg

The following are some of the little things the actors incorporated that really stuck with me:

Albus was very teenagey, like the perfect depiction of this awkward teen phase of struggling with your own emotions about yourself, about your parents, about school. Just feeling such big emotions but not knowing how to properly process or constructively communicate them. Very relatable!

I personally also always liked how Harry is portrayed in hpcc because I really get losing some of your youthful sparks of rebellion and adventure, when you become an adult, need to follow all these rules. It isn't always easy to keep that spark inside you alive when (corporate) life, all these responsibilites etc. restrict you. Harry also (imo) still is a very traumatized man and hasn't processed and/or healed the plethora of trauma he has experienced.

The German Harry actor did a great job. I completely understood where he was coming from and that his actions were justified in his mind, even if I disagree. He perfectly "balanced" harsh, overbearing father but also just being a traumatised child himself.

Act 1 Scorbus was the depiction of a true and beautiful and close friendship with starting hints of "more" through lingering touches and soft gazes. E.g. the library scene where Albus hugs Scorpius after they say the "Friends?" "Always" line. (Fun fact: that line translates to "Friends?" "Always" but can also mean "for forever" in german, which adds a layer of emotion to it.) Cedric (German actor playing) Albus was always very soft with Scorpius in a physical touch way. Very small touches or soft gazes that were so meaningful and held so much emotion!

A fun mishap that also happened: at the start of the moaning myrtle scene where albus usually hexes the soap bigger. Today the soap was nowhere to be found. And albus asked scorpius for the soap two times while scorpius answered no soap two times. So albus dropped his wand, the albus actor stood there for like 2 seconds contemplating which lines to drop and where to start again with the dialogue. ;) live theater I don't think someone who has never seen the play would have noticed.

Act 2 Scorbus scenes had a lot more emotional weight to it but in a good sense. You could definitely tell their friendship now had a much deeper emotion behind it and that their relationship needed to change and grow with them and their own personal growth. It felt like a very natural evolution of realizing your deeper feelings. The actors beautifully toed the line of true, deep friendship that is on the cusp of developing into something more in a very slow and meaningful way! I love that what they have is so pure and sweet that it doesn't really need a label because they both know they love each other but are also just figuring themselves out and who they are, let alone, what they are to each other. (I swear to God puberty and growing up is already hard enough as a muggle. ;) )

Act 2 details: in the owlery where scorpius tells albus that he fought for him and albus answers "Oh? Good!". You could tell that albus knew what that implies and the way he responded "good" was like elated and relieved that scorpius has the same feelings towards him, almost like glad that his feelings are reciprocated. In the church in godrics hollow albus sits down on the bench next to scorpius while explaining sth about the plot but the coy gaze when he sat down next to him was so meaningful and held so much emotion! I also just wanna add of all the hpcc boots I have watched I feel like the Hamburg one, where I was today, was the one that was the most obvious about the blooming romantic connection between them! It's subtext in all the other ones too but the body language and gazes between them in Act 2 today?! It feels wrong even calling it subtext. It was so painfully clear!

The palace of harmony scene: on the stairs albus and scorpius were so physically close with each other that really exceeds platonic closeness. To me it seemed like Albus was very clear about his feelings and that he knows that he likes him in a romantic way. Like trying small steps to test out the waters to see how scorpius would respond. Like when asking if it's really rose he wants in his palace albus gazes into scorpius eyes, hand on shoulder, faces like 10 cm apart from each other, knowing how he feels but also knowing how scorpius feels about him. It was a really beautiful thing to see. Albus so secure in himself and the way he perceives their relationship and its developing nature. Very cathartic, as the entire play he is always confused how to behave with his father, at school, fixing the time lines, he is never in a comfortable headspace, it's always in chaos. But the play ends with such clarity and security and safety of this bond he has with Scorpius!!!!! At the bottom of the stairs when scorpius hugs albus the albus actor played and said the line like "why are YOU hugging me?" as in usually it's him hugging scorpius and he wants to hear scorpius say what has changed in their dynamic. The see you at dinner line was very flirty while still being very innocent. In this version of the play physical touch and soft, meaningful gazes really is their love language!

The ending dialogue between harry and albus is so healing and cathartic, resolving what was at the core of the entire play their struggling father-son-relationship. They both are so vulnerable with each other, talking about their deepest emotions and opening themselves up. I love how the lines about his relationship with scorpius read like a coming out talk, while it never explicitely is stated.

I think I got the most important parts and want to really recommend the play to everyone! Watch it for the superb emotional storytelling!!!

[alphynix]

Ninoziphius platyrostris was an early beaked whale that lived during the late Miocene (~6 million years ago) in warm coastal waters covering what is now southwestern Peru. Its ancestors appear to have branched off from all other beaked whales very early in the group's history, indicating a "ghost lineage" going back to at least 17 million years ago.

About 4.4m long (~14'5"), it was less specialized for suction feeding and deep diving than modern beaked whales. Also unlike most modern species its jaws were lined with numerous interlocking teeth, with heavy wear suggesting it may have hunted close to the seafloor, where disturbed sand and grit would have regularly ended up in its mouth along with its prey and steadily ground down its teeth during its lifetime.

Males had a pair of stout tusks at the tip of their upward-curving lower jaw, with possibly a second smaller set of tusks behind them, which were probably used for fighting each other like in modern beaked whales.

Its shallow water habitat and more abrasive diet suggest Ninoziphius' lifestyle was much more like modern dolphins than modern beaked whales, and other early beaked whales like Messapicetus similarly seem to have occupied dolphin-like ecological niches.

These dolphin-like forms disappeared around the same time that true dolphins began to diversify, possibly struggling to compete for the same food sources, while other beaked whales that had begun to specialize for deep sea diving survived and thrived. Interestingly this ecological shift seems to have happened twice, in two separate beaked whale lineages – although only one of them still survives today – with bizarre bony "internal antlers" even independently evolving in both groups.

———

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References:

Bianucci, Giovanni, et al. "New beaked whales from the late Miocene of Peru and evidence for convergent evolution in stem and crown Ziphiidae (Cetacea, Odontoceti)." PeerJ 4 (2016): e2479. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2479

Bianucci, Giovanni, et al. A new Late Miocene beaked whale (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the Pisco Formation, and a revised age for the fossil Ziphiidae of Peru. Bollettino della Societa Paleontologica Italiana 63.1 (2024): 21-43. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380459192_A_new_Late_Miocene_beaked_whale_Cetacea_Odontoceti_from_the_Pisco_Formation_and_a_revised_age_for_the_fossil_Ziphiidae_of_Peru

Gol'din, Pavel. "‘Antlers inside’: are the skull structures of beaked whales (Cetacea: Ziphiidae) used for echoic imaging and visual display?." Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 113.2 (2014): 510-515. https://doi.org/10.1111/bij.12337

Lambert, Olivier, Christian De Muizon, and Giovanni Bianucci. "The most basal beaked whale Ninoziphius platyrostris Muizon, 1983: clues on the evolutionary history of the family Ziphiidae (Cetacea: Odontoceti)." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 167.4 (2013): 569-598. https://doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12018

Lambert, Olivier, et al. "No deep diving: evidence of predation on epipelagic fish for a stem beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Peru." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 282.1815 (2015): 20151530. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.1530

[pokemonshelterstories]

Hello! I just wanted to ask- what’s some of your favorite examples of symbiosis and dependent evolution? Not necessarily at the same time, though Shelmet and Karrablast are *fascinating* as an example of both.

one that i got to learn a lot about when studying for my dragon type certification is the relationship between skrelp/dragalge and dhelmise! these two both use seaweed to their advantage by camouflaging themselves in it. for skrelp, this keeps them safe from larger pokemon, and it's the primary way that dragalge and dhelmise catch their prey.

dhelmise's "seaweed" (which is actually the pokemon itself) can stretch out huge distances, and they actively allow skrelp and dragalge to hide within them. in return, the skrelp and dragalge actively lure prey pokemon into the dhelmise's body using their seaweedlike appearance. once the dhelmise has the prey trapped, it devours prey's life force. then, it leaves the body for its hunting partner to eat. it's really neat to see two unrelated pokemon lines that developed similar survival techniques using them to cooperate with each other!

[rosenclaws]

Superstars || Pro Wrestler!Logan x Pro Wrestler!reader

Summary: It's your first day on XMN television since being called up to Evolution. With new friends and possible new rivals your career is filled with the unknown. Especially when it seems like one of the veteran superstars has his eyes on you.

Warnings: some description of wrestling violence.

a/n: OKAY SO. I decided to treat this universe as like sort of series? But it's not like a cohesive story just a lot of short stories in the same universe that can be read separately kind of. This is like the introduction thing though so I will be following up but it can still be read solo. ALSO, I'm gonna add some like wrestling terminology at the end of the fic in case you aren't familiar with certain slang but if that's annoying plz let me know. plz feel free to ask me any clarifying questions too! This is just me combining my two interests lmao.

This was it. Your debut on Evolution since being moved from Origins. You paced back and forth backstage as you rehearsed your lines over and over again. You were supposed to go and interrupt the current Woman's champion Storm. She's the babyface of the Woman's division and you're the egotistical heel.

She has been undefeated for a year now and you were her next challenger. You feel someone tap your shoulder and you turn to see Storm and Rogue.

"You ready?" Storm asks, the belt resting on her shoulder.

"I guess," You were already dressed up with hair and makeup but it didn't feel real yet. Evolution was XMN's main show. That's where the superstars were, the ones they saw as true star power.

"You're going to do great, promise I'll go easy on you." Storm teases. Despite her goddess character, she's nothing but sweet and down to earth.

"First promo on a new show, don't forget your lines sugar." Rogue jokes.

"I'll try." You say nervously. She notices the deep anxiety written all over your face and gently places her arms on your shoulders.

"You got this, take a deep breath and when you get out there take it all in because you're never going to forget it." Rogue says warmly.

The two of them are called by a production manager leaving you alone once again. The clock was ticking ever closer to your call time. As you head closer to where you need to be you're stopped once again but this time by two men you've never met but heard a lot about.

The Wolverine and Deadpool were XMN's top tag team. Somehow the two of them work. Logan or Wolverine was always going to be a star.

Founded on the indie circuit going by just Logan at the time he was big, brooding, and strong. But his mic work was lacking as he wasn't a big talker. Still his raw talent and clear wrestler figure made it a no brainer to sign the man. That's where he met Wade Wilson. Or Deadpool.

He was a comedy character with a big mouth and the ability to get the crowd wrapped around his finger. He was vulgar and unserious as hell but people loved him. So imagine the shock when the two of them became a tag team. It was strange at first, I mean the two were nothing alike but for some reason the fans gravitated to them. The buddy cop duo charmed their way into viewers hearts.

It made sense, Wade was funny but he never quite reached the status to win any gold. Logan had the chance to win gold but fans hadn't really seemed to connect with him as a possible champion. Put them together and you had an odd couple tag team that people just wanted to root for. Wade did the talking while Logan was the muscle. But the banter the two of them electric.

Not to mention the chemistry in their wrestling, pulling off tag team moves flawlessly. Now they're the world tag team champions. And they're standing right in front of you. You were a massive fan of them and had been before you even joined XMN.

"Logan look! A new ducky has joined the pond." Wade pulled you into a hug immediately.

"Oh, uh hi!" You say as you hug him back.

"Get off her idiot." Logan says with a roll of his eyes.

Man Logan was even hotter in person. They had a match tonight and you just thank whoever decided he should wear those low rise trunks. Everything is on display for sure.

"Hi, I'm a huge fan of both of you." You say excitedly.

"Of course you are, who isn't a fan of us." Wade says jokingly.

"Shut up." Logan says before turning to you.

"Thanks sweetheart. Glad to see you here." You notice his eyes scanning you up and down and you silently thank yourself for wearing your good shorts.

"I've seen you on Origins, you're amazing!" Wade compliments and you thank him.

"You really think so? I'm really nervous about tonight." You say shyly. You've done this before but for some reason tonight just felt different.

"Look, you've got no reason to be nervous sweetheart. You got the look, the talent, the athleticism. Everything. Plus a pretty face never hurts." Logan says with a smirk.

You feel your stomach erupt with butterflies at his compliment. Logan isn't the guy to say something he doesn't mean. In fact it's a shock he's even talking to you. You were warned before about how little he talks and to not take it personally. But here he is smiling and giving you advice.

"Thank you, it means a lot coming from you." You say with a smile.

"Good luck tonight by the way, I'm kind of surprised you aren't main eventing. I mean everyone loves you guys." Logan just shrugs and throws the belt over his shoulder.

"I don't mind too much, we'll get the crowd going for you." He says with a wink. Wade eyes the two of you suspiciously, head turning back and forth.

"Oh my god you are so-" Logan slaps his hand over Wade's mouth before he can say anything else.

"We have to go, see you around real soon sweetheart." Logan drags Wade away towards the main stage.

"So rude!" Wade huffs as he shoves Logan's hand off his mouth. Your eyes drift down as they walk away, shamelessly watching Logan's ass.

Despite only talking to him for a couple minutes he's managed to calm all your nerves.

You watch Logan and Wade's match from gorilla. You can't tear your eyes from the screen as Logan clotheslines . He lets out a roar and the crowd cheers. The intensity in his eyes send shivers down your spine. But fuck does he look good.

His massive arms are on full display as he lifts Beast over his head and slams him onto his knee. He turns his back to the camera and you get to see those muscles in all their fucking glory.

"Careful, you might catch flies." You turn to see Jean standing next to you. She's smiling but it doesn't reach her eyes.

"Oh I wasn't...I was just watching-"

"It's okay, he's a handsome man. Trust me I know." She hums.

You laugh nervously but there's a strange air between the two of you. Jean was the top star. She may not hold a belt but she was a massive draw and everyone knew it.

"If I can offer you a word of advice, I'd stay away from him if I were you. A lot of history there." She flashes a smile and leaves.

You start to fiddle with your sleeve as you let Jeans words sink in. Looking at Logan doesn't mean anything. He's handsome anyone could see that. That's all it is. You don't think about him that way, at least you don't think you do. You barely know the guy. Storm notices your mini spiral and comes over to snap you out of it.

"Don't let her get to you," Storm says.

"Whatever she said, just block it out." You nod and try and push that away. This is your moment and you got this. This is no different than being on Origins. You know how to do this, you're good at this. The bell rings and Logan and Wade stand victorious.

As they walk back into gorilla you clap along with everyone else. Logan runs his fingers through his hair, his once perfectly styled tuffs are now flattened from sweat. His whole body is sweaty and fuck is it hot.

"Nice match Logan," Storm hums.

"Thanks 'Ro. By the way, be nice tonight alright, It's her first day." He says gesturing towards you. Storm raises an eyebrow at his request.

"She's not brand new Logan, just new to this show."

"I know. Just saying she might be nervous is all." Storm smirks. Logan has never cared this much about a new superstar before.

Interesting.

"Logan! That match was amazing." You praise. You move to hug him but stop yourself. Feeling a pair of eyes drilling themselves in the back of your head.

"Thanks sweetheart, I had hoped you were watching." Storms music hits and you watch her walk out to the crowd. The nerves coming back in full force as you realize it was almost time to go out there.

"Hey, stop that." Logan nudges your shoulder and you sigh.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous. I've been doing this for years but this just feels so much bigger." You say.

"Look Chuck wouldn't have brought you here if he didn't think you were ready. I've followed your career since you joined this place. Like I said earlier you have everything it takes. So don't let some nerves get in your way got it?" Your eyes widen at his words.

He's really watched you all this time? Logan is a star and you've just got called up from developmental. It's like a surge of confidence. He's right. You can do this.

"Thank you Logan." You take a few deep breaths and wait by the curtain. In and out.

You focus on what you have to say and wait. A calmness washes over your mind and body as your music hits. Like a switch is flipped inside of you. You grab the mic and walk out that curtain, ready to show the world what you had.

The whole segment went flawlessly. You interrupt Storm, pushing yourself as the soon to be new woman's champion. You feel right at home as exchanged a war of words with her. Everything ending in a brawl that leaves Storm on the mat with you standing above her. Holding the belt and pointing right at the camera.

The fans fell right into your hand. Booing your shameless attack on their champ. You try and hide your smile as you walk out. The fans love you, they want this match and you couldn't be happier. The moment you step back through the curtain you let yourself breathe. Jumping in happiness.

"You did great sugar! It was electrifyin'" Rogue says while pulling you into a hug.

A few other people congratulate and welcome you to the show. After a small debrief about next week you're free to go. Walking through the halls of the arena you can barely contain your excitement for next week. As you change back into normal clothes you find a familiar face waiting outside of the locker room.

"Logan, I thought you would have gone back to the hotel by now." You say, slightly shocked he's still her. He's leaning against the wall with his backpack. Dressed in a very cozy looking gray sweater.

"Decided to stick around to watch. I told you you'd kill it." He joins you as you walk to the exit.

"Well I had to make sure we were worth following your match." You tease. The conversation flows easy as he walks you to the car waiting to take you both back. Luckily the lobby is practically empty by the time you're dropped off with no one joining you in the elevator.

"Hey, I'm going to train tomorrow if you want to join me. I could show you a few things. See what you've got too." Logan offers.

"Yes!" You blurt out. The chance to train with Logan, you'd be a fool to pass that up.

"I mean, yes that would be great." You try and cover any embarrassment by staring at the ground, wishing it would swallow you up. Logan chuckles leans against his hotel door.

"Okay, it's a date then. See you tomorrow sweetheart." He scans his keycard and goes into his room, leaving you standing there in shock.

A warm fuzzy feeling growing in your stomach as you repeat his words in your head. Date. You hear someone clear their throat and you turn to see Jean watching with an unimpressed look on her face.

You duck your head and hurry to your room. Getting in as fast as you can. You throw your bag on the table and fall onto the hotel bed. Today was not like anything you were expecting. Debuting on a new show, meeting Logan, Jean, setting up a championship feud. It's a lot in one day but you couldn't be happier. This was everything you had dreamed of since you decided to become a wrestler and now it was coming true.

Who knows what's going to happen next.

Gorilla - backstage area where the show is run and the area right before the entrance curtain

Promo -  promotional interview, a dialogue or monologue used to advance a storyline.

Babyface/Face - The "Good guy", "Hero" character. Wants to be cheered by fans

Heel - "The bad guy" or "Villian" that is meant to be boo'd by fans

[zorlok-if]

Werewolves and Lycanthropes in the Zorlok Universe

A look into some of the facts and fiction surrounding lycanthropy.

(Full text below the cut.)

Lycanthropes: Fact and Fiction

Written and distributed by Haru Kurokami on behalf of the International League of Nonhumans

Fiction: Lycanthropy is a disease.

Fact: Lycanthropy is a genetic and hereditary condition. Some scholars view lycanthropes as an evolution of humanity while others consider them a hybrid of humans and fey creatures. It is often passed from parent(s) to offspring, but some lycanthrope parents have human children. This occurs most often when only one of the parents is a lycanthrope. On the other hand, the lycanthropic gene can lie dormant in a family line for generations only to randomly manifest in a child of human parents.

Fiction: Lycanthropy began as a curse afflicted upon the mythological kin killer, Lycaon.

Fact: This myth is nothing more than that, a myth. There are two common explanations for the origin of lycanthropes. The first is that they, like many other species of nonhumans, are the product of human and fey crossbreeding. The second is that the original lycanthropes were human mages who used lunar power while attempting to merge themselves alchemically with animals.

Fiction: If a human is bitten by a lycanthrope, they will turn into a lycanthrope during the next full moon.

Fact: The concept that lycanthropy can be spread—through biting or any other means—was a false idea intentionally invented by early Slayers to demonize all shapeshifters and encourage public sentiment to favor the persecution of nonhumans.

Fiction: The transformation lycanthropes undergo is always agonizing. / There is no pain associated with the transformation.

Fact: Lycanthropes start shapeshifting when they hit puberty. For the first several years, the transformation is extremely painful, though the first is always the most agonizing. With time, the transformations become less jarring and the pain becomes more manageable.

Fiction: Lycanthropes only transform under the light of the full moon; at which time they lose all human sapience. There is no way to prevent this bestial transformation.

Fact: Lycanthropes are compelled to shift with the lunar cycle—always during the full moon and occasionally for a day or two on either side of it, depending on how close the moon is in its orbit. These transformations don’t necessarily begin at nightfall. They are triggered by the moonrise which rarely coincides perfectly with sunset. Most lycanthropes aren’t solely reliant upon the moon to transform. Once a lycanthrope has been shifting for at least a few months, they’re able to transform at will. Importantly, a lycanthrope’s mind is unaffected by their bodily transformation. The idea that they lose all sense and thought was another lie devised by Slayers to frighten humans. There are enchantments and spells lycanthropes can use to ward off the compulsion to transform [ 1 ].

Fiction: When lycanthropes transform back into their human forms, they look the same.

Fact: After each transformation, the lycanthrope’s skin is covered in stretch marks where their body and face were forced to grow, twist, and elongate. However, thanks to their accelerated healing, the stretch marks vanish within a few hours. Still, you can always tell if someone has recently transformed by the presence of these marks.

Fiction: Wolfsbane and silver are the only things that can injure a lycanthrope. They cannot ingest wolfsbane or touch silver, even in human form.

Fact: Wolfsbane contains a potent neurotoxin known as aconitine. Lycanthropes are naturally resistant to most poisons and diseases, so humans are actually more likely to be affected by wolfsbane than lycanthropes. As for silver, almost all lycanthropes are allergic to silver. Lycanthropic healing does not work on wounds inflicted with silver, but any metal can injure them. If they were to hold silver for an extended period of time, they may develop a rash, but little more than that.

Fiction: Lycanthropes have supernatural strength, speed, and senses.

Fact: Lycanthropes tend to be faster and stronger than the average human though they aren't as strong or fast as fey creatures. If humans and fey creatures were two ends of a spectrum for physical ability, lycanthropes would lie about midway between the two, if not a little closer to humans. They have accelerated healing abilities which are affected by the lunar cycle. This means that around the full moon, lycanthropes can heal wounds almost instantaneously, but around the new moon they heal slightly faster than humans do. Lycanthropes’ senses are more acute than humans, but their strengths tend to be related to the type of were-animal they shift into. For example, werewolves and werebats are known for their hearing while werecats and werehawks are known for their eyesight. Most lycanthropes can see in the dark and have a tapetum lucidum, the special membrane that causes eyeshine in most animals.

Fiction: Lycanthropes turn into animals. / Lycanthropes turn into monstrous versions of animals.

Fact: When lycanthropes shift, they are not turning into animals, though they will appear as a hybridic version of an animal and a humanoid. Werewolves, for example, develop lupine features, are covered in thick fur, and grow long claws but they aren’t wolves, nor do they look exactly like wolves. Most lycanthropes are still bipedal in their hybridic form and will be larger than they are in their normal human form regardless of the natural size of the animal they look like.

Fiction: All lycanthropes are werewolves.

Fact: It’s unknown just how many variants of lycanthropes exist in the world, but there are many different kinds. The most common lycanthropes are werewolves, werecats, and werebears. Lycanthropes will always turn into the same were-animal and cannot control what type of lycanthrope they are. It’s also worth noting that the animal lycanthropes seem like, isn’t always the same as their parent(s)/ancestors. It’s possible for a weredragon to be descended from a human and a weregoat while a werewolf might be the offspring of a wererat and a werehawk.

[ 1 ] These aids are a polarizing topic in lycanthropic communities. Most see them as viable options for those who don't want to transform. Others see their usage as a denial of one’s nature and suggest that failing to transform and falling out of sync with the lunar cycle can negatively impact one’s health.