#but the point of this post was parasitoidism

[ocean-sunfish-hater]

Parasitoidism and Deep Sea Mechs

ID: A white/ transluscent crustacean inside of a barrel-like jelly structure that is transparent. They are set against a black background.

This shrimp-like creature is a type of deep sea amphipod called Phronima, referred affectionately by some as a barrel bug. Look! It's got a little house for itself! How did it get there? Why is it doing that? Oh god, what does this have to do with the title of this post?

Parasitoidism is an extreme form of parasitism where the host will eventually die. This is different from the other types of parasitism where there may be detriments to the host, but they rarely die as a direct result of the parasitism. Think of a flea - they might suck their host's blood and they may cause damage to it, but one flea will never suck so much blood as to kill the host (of course, it may later die of a disease transmitted by the flea). For a parasite killing the host isn't the best strategy, because then you are essentially destroying your home, your restaurant and your social life all at the same time.

ID: An orange parasitoid wasp sits on top of a bristly caterpillar, with its sting buried inside its victim. They are both sat on a leaf, and the picture is taken close up so that the finer veins of the leaf are visible.

Parasitoidism, on the other hand, eventually results in the death of the host due to the extreme amount of resources taken from it. Most famously, parasitoid wasps lay eggs inside a paralysed host, keeping it alive long enough for its offspring to hatch and consume it. Some larvae even eat non-essential organs first to keep their hosts alive for as long as possible as they grow. Apparently Charles Darwin thought this was so fucked up he questioned whether his God was truly omnipotent or benevolent if such a creature existed.

ID: A picture of a sea salp, a type of marine invertebrate. It has a transparent, jelly-like body that is somewhat tube shaped. Inside the body are two major structures: an orange, spherical mass to the right hand end, and an opaque, white rod-like structure that runs along the body (right to left in the picture). It is set against a dark background.

Anyway, that jelly-like structure that the Phronima is sitting in, it's not something that it made itself through some bodily secretion or scavenging. It's actually the hollowed-out body of an animal called a salp, which is a type of tunicate (these can sometimes form massive colonies, hopefully have a post coming about that at some point).

The Phronima eats the inside of the salp then climbs inside the remaining tunic, in which it makes its home and lays its eggs. It then proceeds to pilot the carcass around like a fucking mech, steering it through the deep sea. Moving its new mobile home round like this allows fresh water and food to flow in through the front, nourishing the happy new homeowner and eventually its larvae once they hatch.

Of course, at this point the salp is likely dead and has been for a while, which is what makes this parasitoidism.

Hope you enjoyed! Have excellent nightmares.

[waspsinyouryard]

✨ bald-face-beauty follow

y'all need to stop shitting on parasitoids. "i'm a wasp but at least i'm not the type that are gross dirty parasites lol" do you fucking hear yourself.

🪵 woodful-chewer follow

Has a cordiceps fungus taken hold or something?????? You're literally defending parasites??????? Like actual real parasites that do so much actual real damage to the bug community???????

✨ bald-face-beauty follow

You also do "so much real damage to the bug community" when you predate things lmao

💛 yellow-coat follow

not the parasitoid trying to say that PREDATION is problematic

✨ bald-face-beauty follow

I am literally a bald-faced hornet. And that wasn't the point i was trying to make anyways.

How is parasitism problematic when predation isn't?

🐛 kitty-pillar follow

Predation literally is problematic??????????????

✨ bald-face-beauty follow

please this isn't about that

🐛 kitty-pillar follow

How can this conversation not be about predation being problematic?

Do you have any idea what it's like to be terrified for your life every single fucking day? To know at any time that a bird or a lizard or even one of you could appear out of nowhere and fucking eat me? Do you have any fucking idea what that's like? Or are you so egocentric that you've never even thought about the fact that all the bugs you kill had lives and thoughts and feelings.

✨ bald-face-beauty follow

ok i'm turning off reblogs on this trainwreck of a post.

Do you ever think about all the plants you eat? Do you ever think about the fact that those plants feel pain? Do you ever think about the pain and suffering your existence has wrought upon the world? Of course not. Plants are beneath you.

Here's the thing, fucker: all life is lived at the expense of others. All of it. Even plants, who get all their food from the sun, grow over and poison each other to get ahead. There is no path to complete cruelty-free living. None. You cannot be alive without directly or indirectly harming something else.

What gives you the right to think you're better than us just because you hurt things that can't complain?

[tamamoarts]

Just saw the post where Torrent is stuck looking like King Candy, and I just wanted to mention how much that reminds me of parasitoid wasps (do NOT look it up, the images can get nasty). They're basically wasps that lay their eggs in other bugs so the larvae can eat something once they hatch.

I just wanted to mention this to point out how clever that little plot idea is! It ties in with the whole idea of Turbo/King Candy being some kind of virus or parasite while also working thematically with his Cybug form! (How would Torrent handle turning into King Candy's Cybug form, anyways? 👀)

TEEHEE, that's what I was going for! The parasite thing, not the wasps, though that is very similar in vibes and such Torrent's form becomes more and more unstable the longer he's stuck with Turbo in his system. He RARELY glitches into Candybug/Turbug, but when he does things usually get pretty messy. I imagine that would happen at like, the climax of his story. However I'm actually planning on a UNIQUE boss form for Torrent based off some concept art!

[frostybearpaws]

TO TALK ABOUT MY LITTLE GUYS

(and the post-apocalyptic nightmare they find themselves in) :3

SO!

What is their world like?

I find parasites that take over hosts to be FASCINATING and make such good inspiration for stories because there is delicious body horror aspects that I can’t say no to

Hair worms that eat the cricket’s fat stores and force it to walk into a water source (the parasites eating the fat is actually not fatal to the cricket. BUT the signals telling it to go into the water leads to many of these afflicted crickets to drown)

the rat lung worm which takes control of its snail host and makes it climb to the tops of trees or grass stalks and makes its eyestalks do this

which is actually the worm itself inside the eyestalk (ouch) acting like a beacon to attract birds to eat the snail so it can reproduce in the birds digestive track

there is the T. Gondii that infects rodents and makes them attested to the smell of cat pee and cats in general. The mouse then gets eaten and like the rat lung worm it reproduces in the cat’s digestive tract. (Fun fact this parasite can get into humans and has the same effects on the brain making some people cat lovers, though (warning) it can be bad for developing fetuses)

there are several parasitoid wasps that lay eggs on caterpillars that eat the butterfly larva alive while still keeping it alive. A more specific example are the braconoid wasps and horn worms. Whats really interesting is that the wasp larvae make the caterpillar protective of them and won’t eat it drink water as it slowly wastes away.

in many ways Rabies is like this too. It infects the hosts brain and makes them aggressive and afraid of water to the point of not being able to drink water without the throat closing up. There is not cure and it can sit in your system for years until it gets triggered by something. (Which is a terrifying though)

Massospora cicadina is a fungus that infects 17 and 13 year cicadas (and funnily enough it’s an STD) it effects the host by living inside of male cicadas and makes them hypersexual AND act female by flapping their wings causing other males to try to mate and then become infected themselves. For fungus hollows out the cicada and also suppresses the pain.

If you look at this gif you will notice that the cicada is missing its abdomen entirely and still crawling around.

AND FINALLY THE ONE, THE ONLY (there���s actually a bunch of different species) THE CORDYCEPS FUNGUS! It’s actually very fascinating how this fungus can affect the insects it manages to infiltrate. Some species of this fungus only infect one type (even species: moths, flies, stick bugs, caterpillars, spiders, etc) of insect/arachnid. Sometimes it’s not that picky. But the one that most people are familiar with is the one that infects ants. The fungus makes the ant crawl to a high place above the colony and latch onto a branch in a death grip (all while it’s consuming the ants tissues) and then the fruiting body emerges. (Ants that are seen exhibiting odd behaviors that indicate infected-ness are actually taken out of the colony to keep the rest of the workers safe)

So I like this infection thing that’s going on, The Last Of Us made cordyceps fungus famous, but there’s also a book called The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R Carey which follows a group of survivors and a new age human whose body has formed a symbiotic relationship with the fungus making them super human (and also insatiably hungry)

Both are very interesting concepts and feel like a fresher snip on an old zombie narrative. And then I went in and added anthropomorphic animals into the mix, and there's a bit of an issue doing on.

This fungus, like rabies, can sometimes sit in a person for years and year before it "wakes up" and starts to infect them. There is a general sense of paranoia that is within this community of people (they use the word 'bipeds' when referring to groups of anthro-sapient-animals and humans)

Secondly globalization is a thing of the past and even the idea that cities a few hundred miles apart working together seems laughable now because technology is fucked, fuel is practically non-existent and everything is either steam powered, hydro-electric, or manual.

And finally this is a world of sapient animals and people (kinda like bojack horseman) in the past they had all been united because they were able to sustain themselves with (non-sapient livestock, think like regular cows, pigs, chickens, wild game, etc). Now it's getting harder to farm, so people are reverting back to their more primal instincts and eating each other. :D

This is the world they live in, riddled with infection, paranoia, and people desperate enough to kill for even a scrap of food.

Now with that all out of the way

Meet The Characters

Shaya Jacks: A human with blue hair. When the world went to shit, Shaya was taking an apprenticeship to become a welder. Then the world caught on fire and suddenly she found herself with a bunch of tools and a dire situation. Shaya quickly found out she was really good as using these tools to quickly shorten the lives of people for a hot meal and a warm bed at night and this is what she did until she was able to find a more stable environment to live. Once a person who fixed things, she was now a person who broke things, her morals went out the window and she became ruthless with her only goal in mind keeping herself and those she cared about safe and fed.

Solis Young: A lion with black hair and a yellow mane. Solis was halfway through high school when the infection took over. Previously he had been living with his sister who was looking after him after the death of their parents. He had dreams of becoming a professional chef one day and was on the school wrestling team. He managed to escape "judgement day" as they call it by the skin of his teeth. Solis has a intimate partnership Shaye, they met when she was on the road, she agreed to keep them safe from roving bands of raiding parties, in exchange for living with them and eating their food, she was the one who got them to safety when it became clear that their home was no longer safe.

Rhea Young: A pink lionness with a white mane. Rhea was working as an EMT when the end of the world rolled around. After the death of her parents she looked after Solis who was several years younger than her. Rhea always wanted to do good, she always wanted to help people, this is why she became and EMT. Having to kill infected peoples probably hurt her the most. For this reason when they found safety in walled off zone, she joined the militia keeping the walls guarded believing she was bringing order to a world that dove headfirst into insanity. She has a strained relationship with Shaya which in turn can cause some tense moments with Solis.

Molly Eisenhour: A dark blue, big horn ewe. Molly is Rhea's wife, they met when Molly was donating her wool to charity for it to be knitted into blankets during a harsh winter before power was restored. Rhea is extremely protective of her, because there had been a rise in the murder and consumption of other prey species such as sheep, cows, and even horses in their community. Molly is a capable ewe but like many sheep this is anxious and feels safest when tucked into the arms of her lioness.

Ben Hart-West: A newfoundland dog. He works with his husband Tony to provide fish for the community. He's protective but he's also a massive teddy bear (and soft too, he gives the best hugs)

Tony West: A Bull Shark. He is a spear fisher that dives down to collect the fish, he feels most at home under the sea as many of the fish do, but he also wants to drown in his husband's fluff.

[rnomics]

Insects, Vol. 14, Pages 100: Host Transcriptome Analysis of Spodoptera frugiperda Larvae Parasitized by Microplitis manilae

It has been extensively found that parasitoids manipulate host physiology to benefit the survival and development of their offspring. However, the underlying regulatory mechanisms have not received much attention. To reveal the effects of parasitization of the larval solitary endoparasitoid Microplitis manilae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on host Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), one of the most destructive agricultural pests in China, deep-sequencing-based transcriptome analysis was conducted to compare the host gene expression levels after 2 h, 24 h, and 48 h parasitization. A total of 1861, 962, and 108 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained from the S. frugiperda larvae at 2 h, 24 h, and 48 h post-parasitization, respectively, compared with unparasitized controls. The changes in host gene expressions were most likely caused by the injection of wasp parasitic factors, including PDVs, that were injected along with the eggs during oviposition. Based on the functional annotations in GO and KEGG databases, we revealed that most DEGs were implicated in host metabolism and immunity. Further analysis of the common DEGs in three comparisons between the unparasitized and parasitized groups identified four genes, including one unknown and three prophenoloxidase (PPO) genes. Moreover, 46 and 7 common DEGs involved in host metabolism and immunity were identified at two or three time points after parasitization, respectively. Among these, most DEGs showed increased expressions at 2 h post-wasp parasitization while exhibiting significantly decreased expression levels at 24 h post-parasitization, demonstrating the expression regulations of M. manilae parasitization on host metabolism and immune-related genes. Further qPCR verification in 20 randomly selected DEGs confirmed the accuracy and reproducibility of the gene expression profiles generated from #RNA-seq. This study reveals the molecular regulatory network about how host insects respond to wasp parasitism, laying a solid foundation for revealing the physiological manipulation of wasp parasitization on host insects, which facilitates the development of biological control practices for parasitoids. https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/2/100?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[tmisaccidentreportbook]

MAG017, The Boneturner’s Tale

Case #9991006, Sebastian Adekoya Release date: May 4, 2016 First listen: 15th October, genuinely no memory of where I was but can catalogue it as ‘the point where I started to loose my shit about Leitner’.

This whole blog is the result of a need to dissect and inspect aspects and themes and imagery and ideas that plague my mind and dodgylogic’s inbox, because at heart there will always be a part of me that’s an A-Level English Literature student. There will always be a part of me looking to take a work and hold it up to the light before ripping it open like Rafiki with a baobab tree fruit and daubbing on the walls with the juices.

So, no surprise, I love Chaucer. Considered an OG of English Literature and Poetry. Thing is, Chaucer was writing late 1300s. It’s Middle English. It’s flipping hard. Take English, German, Latin, French and Italian but to name a few, blitz that all together, then strain it through a cheese cloth of social strata with one language for the court and another for the courtyard. It’s madness. I’m trying to remember which ones I actively studied and which ones I remember from that one time I accidentally watched part of the animated series when I was about 8. Fairly certain it was The Merchant’s Tale and The Franklin’s Tale we studied, there was some heavy comparisons between ‘courtly love’ going on.

Anyway, while some tales were funny or had little morality tales attached to them, some where just dark. The Knight’s Tale, two cousins fight a battle for a woman that doesn’t really want either of them. The Franklin’s Tale, a man tried to extort the love of an already happily married woman. The Wife of Bath’s Tale opens with sexual violence. The Pardoner’s Tale, 3 friends kill each other out of greed. Death, hypocrisy and violence is seen again and again in Chaucer’s work and they way it hurts ordinary working folk.

- ‘Books are amazing, aren’t they?’ - Sir, I love you. There have been statement givers I’ve sympathised with, some I have flat out disliked. Sebastian and I need to go get a pot of tea somewhere and talk books.

- That whole opening section is just me flailing my arms around, wishing I could articulate like this. Jonny, I have major word envy. I mean, this whole blog is me just rolling around in my thoughts and feelings and weird little tangents that this show inspires in me. Ugh, this is so poetic I might cry.

- ‘...though if (a thought) find a host, then they can lodge there, proliferate, and maybe spread further.’ See, now you’re making it dirty. We’re spreading, eheh, into the idea of virus and infection and get outta ‘ere The Corruption, this one ain’t about you. But yeah, I’m back to thinking about parasitoid wasps again...

- ‘… humans are fragile creatures.’ Oh buddy. Buddy, you have no idea. But give it, checks notes on time line, 7 years and you’ll see.

- Sebastian goes off on a line of thought about ‘written texts that have outlived the civilisations that created them’, and that makes me so sad. Words written for prosperity but the people they were written for haven’t prospered. Thinking about various posts I’ve seen of (white) experts saying ‘we have no idea what these markings mean, it’s a mystery!’ and then seeing a screenshot of a whatsapp to someone who asked the native language users saying, ‘yeah, naw, that’s a list of names.’ ‘We had no idea what happened to the Franklin Expedition until Global Warming meant we could look.’ ‘No. We knew where the lunatic white folk were but we didn’t want anything to do with that nonsense and you didn’t ask.’ OK, I’m going to try not fall face first into an anti-imperialist rant. There would be no recipients or citations, only rage. But yes, writing systems and languages dying out is such a heartbreaking strand of the imperialism cat-o-nines. 

- There are a lot of people who have spoken very long and well on this sort of topic, far better than I could ever hope to, but I wanted to give Overly Sarcastic Productions a shout out. Especially with consideration to the line ‘corrupted, or translated, perhaps, by a culture that does not understand them.’ Blue, the history half of the duo, did a wonderful video looking at Sappho and her writings. Now, accusations for why we don’t have much of Sappho poetry left is usually leveled at he the burning of the Library of Alexandria and then the Christian Church and scholars censoring her. But in reality, it was much more likely that her work fell victim to linguist drift as her naive Aeolian dialect of Ancient Greek was overshadowed by the Koine dialect that Alexander the Great wielded lingua franca. Anyway, I love these kids, I so want to be friends with them in real life, go check their stuff out. Red does literature and mythology, Blue does history, hijinks ensue. They also have a podcast.

- ‘Will the thoughts that first ran through Shakespeare’s head ever stop being thought by someone, somewhere?’ *sigh* I love Shakespeare, I do, I will forever go to bat for The Bard. But I also have Netflix’s The Sandman brain rot and I am Dreamling trash… Hob Gadling, my beloved.

- I wonder how The Archivist felt reading this statement? Hearing the words of someone who found the same solace in books that he himself felt once, as a child? 

- ‘…an old library, with heavy tomes covering every wall, seems to have such a weight to it.’ That’s L-space baby! Ook!

- ‘...cash-strapped local councils than of the rich majesty of knowledge.’ Mood. Also, support your local library. This is your PSA, support your library. Don’t let Amazon have a goddamn penny if you can help it. 

- ‘The barcode and ISBN.’ Confession time; this bitch doesn’t know how the dewey decimal system works. I don’t know what it is. I sort my own books by topic so I think I’m sorta aping it, but I don’t know. I hardly used the library at Uni, it was scary and full of arts and business students. I just spent my time in the computer lab we had at the science quad, trying to scrabble over scientific article paywalls with my peers.

- I don’t know if the selection of Ruth Weaver’s name was given a lot of thought or not, but I really like that she has a surname that comes from a profession. Will the name itself may evoke ideas of The Web, the profession surname feels in keeping in this dark draw on the Canterbury Tales, where near all our story tellers are identified only with their profession.   

- I tried to see if there was any significance of the book being returned as Trainspotting, but as I have never read the book or seen the film I’m not sure what a quick wiki dive will yield. I suppose we have friendships going sour in both stories.

- Michael Crew! Lightning boy! His second mention. And it’s connected with another Leitner… I’m getting angry with you Mike, if you are going to shop around for a new Entity to save you, can you at least burn the ones you’ve decided you don’t vibe with and not, you know, drop them in a public library were anyone could find them? Gerard Keay would snap you like a twig if he knew.

- Jared Hopworth, beef boy. So many boys. *Griffin McElroy voice* Too many beautiful boys!

- I like how Sebastian starts to describe a ‘campaign of petty terror’ and not a minute later, Elias is on the scene.

- Ah Elias… Jonny Magna, Mr Bitchard, Bastard Rat Man, Peter Lukas Ex-husband to the power of 12. Hell make it 13, a divorce of each of The Entities. Voiced by Mr Ben ‘I’m going to give this MF a voice like a chocolate dipped orgasm and there’s nothing you can do about it’ Meredith. Urgh, illegal. 

- ‘Do you have a moment?’ Always fucking dangerous words to hear from a line manager.

- The Archivist is so defensive straight from the off, it’s so funny. Elias doesn’t even specify the nature of the complaint, he is just ready to throw down with Ms Herne and her rancid attitude. Sod Naomi Herne and her ‘I want to speak to the manager’ vibes.

- You didn’t need to throw Rosie under the bus, but now I have an answer as to why the Archivist was present for the recording of MAG013. Also, if the complaint was lodged day of the incident or soon after, this from Elias is coming now at least a month after the fact. Yet the Archivist is still so snitty, delightful.

- ‘I would prefer that you not antagonise anyone connected to the Lukas family. They are patrons of the Institute, after all.’ First, ‘connected’ to the Lukas family seems like a weird word considering their whole deal. Second, ‘patrons of the Institute’... is that what we’re calling it these days Elias?

- ‘Fine, fine, I’ll be more lovely.’ Oh the derision, the scorn. I can picture the look of contempt on his little face.

- ‘…(Martin’s off sick) Blessed relief if you ask me.’ RUDE!

- Being stuck in a situation at work, where you have to be professional and calm and controlled, but there’s a member of the public who wants to go off or has decided to make it your problem… Bad times. Bad, bad times. 

- The noting of the look in Jared Hopworth’s eyes when he held the book, ‘not entirely unlike fear’, is interesting. As far as Sebastian mentions, he didn’t feel anything amiss with it when he first handled it, so what made it see something in Jared. Was Sebastian perhaps too well read, in that he’d read The Boneturner’s Tale and while it may disgust him, as it does when he reads a section, is there always going to be a voice in the back of his head comparing and contrasting to the original Canterbury Tales, too much that it wouldn’t hook him? Did Jared had a fear in him already? One that could be cultured? I may be drawing this out of nowhere, but am I right in remembering Jared having a bad home life? Was his father abusive? I can’t remember, but did The Flesh see a fear in him and utilise that? Give him a way to wield fear like weapon and not cower behind it like a shield? Did it see building blocks and potential? A Judas goat to bring in more fearful minds? Maybe Sebastian had no such fear in him to be of use to The Flesh.

- Oh god I’d forgotten about the rat! The poor pet rat with no bones in the back legs and the head at a distressing angle! It was on the same day too, Jared evidently works fast.

- ‘But as the days turned into weeks I started to feel something I wouldn’t have expected to – worry.’ Looks like Jared wasn’t the only one with some left over childhood affection. Or maybe Sebastian was projecting when he first considered the state of their friendship.

- With the arrival and state of Jared’s mother, I wonder how much of her, erm…, rearrangement, was maybe accidental and how much was practised and deliberate? Did it happen when she got the book away from him? Also, I’d like to know how she’d gotten the book away from him. And if the injuries done to her were done deliberately, would he have not fought her for the book. Or was this perhaps in the wake of a terrible accident, and in the aftermath she takes steps to protect her son and herself, but Jared goes after the book.

- ‘Should I have destroyed it? That last thought was quickly pushed away. I wasn’t sure I had it in me to destroy a book, even one with such a strangeness to it.’ OK, I know book burnings and the destruction of books evoke very vivid thoughts of Nazism and cultural genocide down the centuries and part of me is proud of Sebastian for baulking at the impulse. The rest of me wants to take him by the shoulders and shake him until all the ‘bleeding heart’ falls out and then tell him to find some matches. 

- ‘…my hand came away wet.’ THAT. IS. NEVER. GOOD.

- ‘Red dripped and pulsed from the cart.’… ‘Pulsed’… Not just covered in blood, no. Actively bleeding. Who’s blood was it? It wasn’t coming from The Boneturner’s Tale, but the other books. Was it the blood of their readers? Authors?

- I HATE it when things that shouldn't bleed, bleed. Why was there blood in you in the first place? What was it doing in there!?

- ‘…written in modern English.’ Listen, I will defend fanfiction til the day I die, but… oh fuck. Although, sounds like a pretty cool concept in a gnarly way... 

- ‘In the Prologue, over a hundred tales are promised, but the most complete surviving version doesn’t even reach two dozen.’ Hey, the Canterbury Tales were written between 1387 and 1400. Our good man Chaucer dies 25 October 1400. Maybe the stories died with him. Maybe that epilogue is him signing off knowing he’s approaching his death. Or maybe he’d just gotten busy, maybe circumstances had changed. *thinks about my AO3 account with its’ shivering WIPs and multiple incomplete series and sweats*

- The switching and smuggling in of the book and the slightly clumsy altering of the frontispiece by Michael. Didn’t care for Michael when we met him and now, in the relisten, I’m seeing all the little ripples he set in motion.

- ‘…the library of Jergensburg or Jurgenleit or Jurgerlicht or something like that. It didn’t help me.’ Yeah, Leitner be like that. 

- It’s very lightly done, but there are a few points through the statement where word choice has be wondering if we’re talking about a person as a human or as an animal. There’s a point here where Sebastian describes Jared as being ‘longer’ than he had been. Not ‘taller’ or ‘wider’. ‘Longer’. Like you’d talk about an animal being long.

- It’s a well worn image, and lord knows I’ve used it enough in my writing because I am a sentimental hack that in many ways understands animals better than people, but I’ve always loved the way various emotions can be described as a ‘beast that lives in the chest’. Be if something hot like fury or lust, crawling at the bars or something small and frightened, like a heart beating like a bird in it’s cage. But then we get ‘his ribcage (was) trying to bite me’… and I know we’re onto something different.

- ‘He had… added some extras.’ Yup, just… urgh god, vague is so terrifying because it let your imagination kick our own arse for it.

- ‘It wasn’t my book, it wasn’t my responsibility and I had no idea what I was dealing with, so I didn’t.’ I feel you may have been a bit late to the party on this type of thinking so while you fall short of Joshua Gillespie levels of ‘do not engage with this shit’, I think you defiantly deserve an honourable mention.

- ‘God knows how I explained the bloody books, because it wasn’t some disappearing phantom. It took weeks to get out.’… How?! God may know but I don’t and I want to know! Also, part of me wonders what you might have found out if a sample had been taken for testing… Who’s blood was it?… Was it even human? 

- ‘…last I ever need to hear or speak about Jared Hopworth or The Boneturner’s Tale.’ Well, sorry bud, but you’ve got at least one more instalment. And we’ve got several.

- So, so far the two Leitner’s both have a connection with Michael Crew. We’ll find out more about Ex Altiora in MAG046, but on the relisten, I really don’t like Michael. He can’t keep his business clean.

- ‘I’ve seen what Leitner’s work can do.’ …. Archivist? Explain please. Oooooh wait… Nope, sorry, I’ve remembered… I thought perhaps he’d seen the aftermath rather than… the event.

- ‘… he passed away in 2006.’ So we have another death of a statement giver, I believe the second confirmed and connected with the inciting incident, after Carlos Vittery of MAG016. As I’ve said, it’s about 7 years after the statement was taken, almost 10 after the event took place. So in world, Jared’s been… like that… for about 20 years now.

- The fact that it was chalked up as a ‘hit-and-run car accident’ makes sense, given how and where he was found, but I think it also plays into the more animal fear response The Flesh plays too. The idea of being left in the middle of the road, by a higher functioning unfeeling power, in a truly terrible state, like so much road kill.

[sophisticatedscientist]

So, what's your body count?

The body farm at the University of Tennessee has housed more than 1800 corpses and 1700 skeletons. These bodies have been donated for the advancement of decomposition science. The bodies are exposed to several different scenarios and left to do their thing- you know rot and such. Some of the conditions replicate what would happen if a body were; locked in a trunk, submerged under water, hidden under leaf litter, run over by a lawn mower (yes this was a real study), encased in concrete, and frozen, the possibilities are endless. Studying these scenarios help researchers, coroners and crime scene investigators understand how long it takes for a body will decompose in various situations. I hope that this post will give you some insight into the stages of body decomposition and the various types of insects that help with process along the way.

The first stage of decomposition occurs shortly after death and is known as Pallor mortis. Once the heart is no longer beating, the body’s cells can no longer maintain homeostasis. This causes the skin to go pale and the body limp. Next is the onset or Algor Mortis, the corpse begins to cool down and now has a real Edward Cullen vibe and is cold to the touch. Between 20-30 minutes after death, Livor Mortis sets in, and the blood will pool into the interstitial tissues the body. Causing putrefaction of internal organs, skin staining and purple patches of skin that look like giant bruises. At this point moving a corpse can be very tricky, as the release of hydrolytic enzymes cause a loosening of the epidermis and dermis which can result in the skin slipping all over the place. In the instance where fingerprints are needed the technician wears the skin on their hands to take fingerprints. Buffalo Bill from Silence of the lambs would be proud.

During the second stage the corpse becomes a feeding ground for bacteria. Green bottle flies, flesh flies, and house flies swarm body cavities, entering the corpse, and laying their eggs. Within the first 24 hours those eggs hatch into cute little maggots that eat their way deeper into the corpse. Have you ever heard of the myth that hair and fingernails continue to grow after death? Well, in a sense they do! When your body shrinks and muscles stiffen, known as rigor mortis. They push on hair follicles and nails, which makes it look like they have grown longer.

Within a few days the feeding frenzy of fly’s and maggots leads to bloat. Maggots move as one mass over the corpse, spreading bacteria which releases gases like hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and methane. These gases cause the corpse to swell up to twice the original size! This gas also acts as an attractant to other insects, it lets them know that the party is in full swing! With the increase of juicy fly larvae, the predatory beetles such as rove beetles, carrion beetles, hister beetles and the Devils Coach- horse beetle make their way onto the corpse, devouring maggots and laying eggs inside of the corpse. Unfortunately for the maggots there is one more party guest, the Parasitoid wasp. They are known to implant their eggs inside the maggots, who then get eaten alive from within. At this point the corpse has become both a banquet and a slaughterhouse.

After three days of decomposition, the corpse moves onto the third stage, Purge. The build- up of gases put a lot of pressure on your skin and muscle tissue. This bloating can cause the corpse to “pop”, these ruptures release gases and the liquefied internal organs start to seep out through the eyes, nose, mouth, and any other large orifice. This purge is very rich in nitrogen, so rich that the plants will all die off but in about a year the soil will be rich and ready to sustain life. At almost every stage of decomposition, the corpse has provided nutrients and a home for many insects. However, it’s not just insects that love eating a corpse, several species of fungi enjoy the chemical by-products of decaying flash as well. The two main groups are ammonia fungi, these guys feed on urine and feces, and post-putrefactive fungi that grow and feed on the corpse.

Within six months to a year, given the right conditions comes the final dry stage. The soft tissue has been consumed by animals, insects, of fungi. Leaving the corpse as nothing but a pile of cartilage, bones, and loose hanging scraps of skin.Human decomposition is a complex process with many different factors that can change the rate of decomposition. The work done at the body farm, highlights this and has allowed law enforcement and investigators to uncover some of the mysteries of death. Every stage of decomposition holds secrets and clues that provide new insights for forensic investigators.

[bogleech]

That post about the life of a crab makes me think again about how we humans are SO fascinated by monsters, demons, killer robots, supervillains, dinosaurs, big cats, basically the whole idea of having deadly foes more fantastic and impressive than an asshole with a gun or a terminal illness, to the point that some people even kinda wish they lived in Hyrule or the Star Wars galaxy or the DCU where life would be vastly deadlier but at least more exotic and thrilling for it. Our pop culture has invented probably billions of fictional creatures that can kill a person. We are obsessed with this concept. We think we have a mundane position in our natural order because the terror birds are gone and dragons were never real.

But if you’re at the scale of MOST life on Earth, all the tiny little insects and crustaceans and worms and molluscs, there could never be a Monster Manual fat enough to document everything that can slaughter you in a creative new way. If you’re a small enough arthropod in my state alone you might face birds, lizards, salamanders, frogs, rodents, shrews, moles, fish, tiger beetles, rove beetles, earwigs, centipedes, spiders, scorpions, ant swarms, wasps, mantises, mantidflies, scorpionflies, dragonflies, robber flies, owlflies, parasitoid flies, predatory maggots, omnivorous katydids, ambush bugs, assassin bugs, carnivorous stink bugs, toad bugs, water striders, water boatmen, pitcher plants, sundews, fluid-sucking mites, pathogenic fungi, nematode worms that will tunnel through your exoskeleton and puke decomposing bacteria into your guts, several dozen more that I’m missing, and most notably, an ape so huge you can’t even comprehend its entirety but it might still decide to kill you either because it thinks you’re ugly or it decides you’re a threat to its personal garden of food.

We love the idea of being the little guy up against various horrors because deep down it bores the fuck out of us to be one of our own reality’s most untouchable boss battles.

[crusader-kings]

Mycorrhizal; OC dump

This will likely be a long post, press J to jump!

Overall idea; In a distant future where humanity drove itself to extinction with nuclear weapons, not many organisms survived/can survive the high amount of radiation, those who did are now incredibly mutated and changed from their original ancestors. The wastelands do not offer much support for life as it’s mostly rock or places covered with radioactive dust, some live in the long forgotten human’s ruins while others live in whatever piece of land that life still grows, those patches of grass and places where forests and rivers run and grow free are called Cyolizers.

Overall insects and arthropods; Insects are, somewhat more emotionally intelligent out of the 3 dominant species and more crafty, they farm, breed livestock and build, their relationship with others often........depends a lot, altho they’re less willing to work with other species they will tolerate when time calls for it.

Overall fungi and the like; Fungi are extremely clever but incredibly dumb in a way (Do not mix wisdom with intelligence, reader!) their views are very black and white but can formulate many strategies for survival when working in a colony, however, many fungi do not tolerate each other even when territory can support all but they will work together for the sake of the colony/mycorrhizal network while still avoiding each other.

Overall trees, plants and the like; Trees fall in the middle of the spectrum, they have a mother tree and priotize their own young than the others in the forest much like in the real world but have way more mobility while still unable to move, they only speak to Mycorrhizal fungi and whichever possesses the ability to do so.

Somewhat goal; To create a story/characters with very to no little anthropomorfization and still be able to make the viewer feel sympathy for the characters, basing off actual behaviours from the real world (Insects, mostly ants do create fungi farms and breed ‘livestock for an example) more than making on the go and using a very strict language as most of the list do not feel emotions on human levels, if are there any misinfo you’d like to correct me on please LMK! I do love reading articles and the like so I’d prefer if you send me a source. ❤

There are 2 stories to this world, The Sundown society, focusing on the arthropods and insects perspectives and Mycorrhizal, that focus on the fungi perspective.

Overall insight to the fungi culture;

- Fungi, do not have names, they do not understand the concept of names at all.

- Fungi often do not recognize each other, meaning that if there are 2 fungus of the same species they will not remember who they’ve talked to before and pretty much treat each other as if they were the same person.

- Fungi have supernatural sense abilities and perspective, they are able to ‘feel’ each other from hundreds of miles.

- They are clever but dumb, meaning they learn extremely quick but don’t understand many things and also lack curiosity but can be intelligent in group due to shared information.

- They.........do not treat each other kindly.

Mycorrhizal focus on a group of 14 fungi of different species, which you can find here! (Some are still being designed)

CHAPTER 1

A Devil’s fingers fungus is accepted by the forest even not being benefitial to them, having formed an alliance with a Bleeding tooth fungus since formation, both believe that their shared wisdom is good for the colony which is why Devil’s fingers was accepted in the first place, a strange menacing unknown scent rises from the horizon causing many members of the network to flee, both Bleeding tooth and Devil’s fingers believe that remaining in the colony would be safer than running towards the wasteland and not knowing if they ever will find other Cyrolizers.

Fast forward, both meet Lion’s mane fungus that informs that they ran away from their previous Cyrolizer due to the same scent but could not recognize it, Lion’s mane is immediately shunned by the trees for being a tree-parasite species, Devil’s fingers offers that they should let them stay and get rid of the weaker trees and use what they know of the scent to find out what’s happening...the trees...accept this, but hesitant to let their members die like that.

CHAPTER 3

Many trees die due to the decay of the network since Bleeding tooth is the only Mycorrhizal fungus around, a Magic mushroom “traveller” appears and has named themself Carlos, this is new for the fungi who do not understand names, Carlos is the very few fungi who are emotionally intelligent and understand human culture, they talk about how they’ve been travelling alot and mention other Cyrolizers on the way. Bleeding tooth is relieved that they can bail out but Devil’s fingers will not budge and Lion’s mane is happy with a host, Carlos informs that they can aid their cause for a cost in which they happily pay.

They bring Ink cap who’s been following them and more or so a traveller (not by choice.), who’s violent and a fighter and later helps them with an clearwing problem alongside Lion’s mane, their insect problems only gets worse, they hear from one of them that they’re also fleeing from the same thing and this is the first Cyrolizer they found, luckily for the fungi, the merry month of augustus just starts bringing a herd of Cordyceps militaris, Carlos attempts to convince one of them to help unaware that they do not prey on clearwings, months passes with them insects problem until one of the herd is left behind, with nowhere to go they were brought to the colony and apparently their sight was enough to make the insects bail the hell out of there.

CHAPTER 4

With 6 fungi on their hands, the future looks a bit brighter, but many do not understand each other on a personal level except for Devil’s fingers and Bleeding tooth, Lion’s mane has no idea what a colony does for being a parasite and much less Cordyceps, Ink cap does not care for it either, the only willing to help is Carlos, this angers the trees for wasting resources and time on useless members, but once again! Devil’s fingers does not budge, trying to remain organized; they propose that like a normal colony each one should have a role, it took centuries to explain what a Colony was to Lion’s mane and Cordyceps but they got it, Lion’s mane job is more or like of a mortician, Cordyceps uses its cordycepin to keep the trees healthy, Ink cap patrols the entire Cyrolizer for insects and so on, Bleeding tooth is the mycorrhizal head and Devil’s fingers is often planning with Carlos what to do.

CHAPTER 5

The scent is on the rise again, Cordyceps mentions it’s familiarity - they recognize it and call it one of “them” (a parasitoid) but is unable to point out what it is and that it’s unlikely that it’s another cordyceps, they also point out that in migration their herd passed through a completely devastated Cyrolizer with the same scent and spores, Devil’s fingers ask the probability of the cause of the disaster being made by a fungus and Carlos laughs at the implication but their fears are only confirmed when Cordyceps mentions that yes, it could be somewhat a parasite on a giant host and that this phenomenon is not uncommon for their kind.

Ink cap rushes in to inform that there’s a ghost moth by itself alone, that seems desesperate and knows more about it, Devil’s fingers run to the scene alongside Bleeding tooth and Ink cap to meet Lunar, a ghost moth who lost their wing informing that some giant beast attacked and ripped it off but they managed to escape.

CHAPTER 6

 Lunar and Carlos seem to kick off, they talk about human culture and how interesting names are, Devil’s fingers is confused by this, Lunar mentions how their society used to build “huts”, the idea seems alien to them at first but later they understand it’s for warmth and protection from outside elements, Lion’s mane says that they can use the carcass of the dead trees around while Ink cap mentions they dig and only build roofs on the holes to save their lives, Devil’s tooth and Ink cap are in charge of building the huts.

Lunar finds out there’s a Cordyceps on the team and is already keen on leaving, Carlos jokes about how they “wouldn’t even hurt a fly” in which Cordyceps reply with; “I don’t prey on flies anyways.”, they’re kept apart at all times.

CHAPTER 7

Ink cap and Cordyceps become “allies” (Cordyceps has no concept of allyship), often hunting arthropods and eating them together, Ink cap explains allyship to them after that they’re mostly always seem together, both find Gyromitra and they bring it back to camp, they inform that they just stumbled upon and have been travelling for days with no end looking for a place to stay, the trees are happy with their arrival as they are also a mycorrhizal fungus, Gyromitra and Bleeding tooth often split their jobs,

.  .  .   .

[a-whole-lotta-heck]

Well, I caught up on Wings of Fire and then a three and half page headcanon/partial rewriting of HiveWing society appeared on my computer. Might as well post it, so here we go.

HiveWings and SilkWings are both smaller and fuzzier than Pyrrhian dragons. HiveWings are not NightWing hybrids. Pantalan language is the fantasy equivalent of the Latin-Greek mashup used in real life scientific names, so that I can name dragons Anax and Vespa and whatnot.

Food production is a big deal in Pantala after the initial war against the othermind. Both tribes rely on plants; SilkWings are exclusively herbivorous, while plant sap and nectar makes up a large part of the HiveWing diet. Pantalans have made great advances in greenhouse agriculture, but greenhouses require constant maintenance. The structure of the hives is always being rearranged to make the most of the limited lumber supplies that can be grown. The dragons of the empire must work constantly in order to maintain their way of life, and dragonets are expected to work just as much as adults. SilkWing dragonets work on web maintenance teams, and both HiveWing and SilkWing dragonets work in food processing.

HiveWings

A collection of related tribes that unified against the threat of the othermind. The eusocial groups have queens of their own, but these are figureheads and the real governing power is held by Wasp’s parasitoid dynasty. All HiveWings have antennae, which are usually shorter than those of SilkWings, and go through metamorphosis. They tend to be yellow and black, but can be any color. Only females produce venom, but males still have tail barbs that can be used as weapons. Dragonets produce silk until they undergo metamorphosis, but most jobs that require silk production are left to SilkWings. (Bees, wasps, and ants make silk in real life—it’s actually stronger than caterpillar silk!)

·       Parasitoid ruling caste

Based on various parasitoid wasps, these HiveWings range from small to medium in size. They have a slender, almost frail, build and extremely long tails with small stingers at the end. When an egg or dragonet is stung by one of these HiveWings, the dragonet becomes unusually compliant, following any order they are given. When the dragonet goes through metamorphosis, they emerge as a parasitoid HiveWing adult, no matter what they were originally. The implanted compliance wears off, and the new adult’s mind is a blend of their original self and their parasitoid parent. SilkWings are not allowed to care for their own eggs, and the HiveWing nest caretakers are ordered to allow a small number of eggs to be implanted by high-ranking parasitoid HiveWings.

Typical parasitoid HiveWings are non-confrontational by nature and are unfailingly polite. They coordinate the activities of the different hives, acting as mediators and pacifiers when old tensions flare up. Today parasitoid HiveWings hold all of the empire’s governing positions and have other people to be aggressive for them. Some have paralyzing venom, and these are often assigned to police work.

In ancient times, parasitoid HiveWings worked with SilkWings to unite the hives against the othermind. They are known for their reluctance to fight, and the notoriously warlike hives were more willing to listen to them than anyone from an enemy hive. The parasitoids facilitated communication and cooperation between the hives. Once the hives joined together, their role evolved into governing the new empire. The SilkWings, who were once their partners, became mere tools. Queen Wasp is the latest ruling member of the parasitoid dynasty. She’s limited to standard parasitoid brainwashing in this version.

·       Eusocial wasps and bees

Based on social wasps and bees like yellowjackets and honeybees, these are the generic HiveWing: large, boldly colored, and aggressively protective of their society. They live in large family colonies, each of which has its own queen—subordinate to Queen Wasp, of course. These HiveWings have the ability to project their emotions to any of their relatives in a limited radius, so that if one is angry, all her sisters nearby are as well. They often have abilities useful in construction and craftswork, such as secreting wax or gluey saliva. They are typically assigned work as soldiers, artisans, hunters, or SilkWing overseers in construction and agriculture.

·       Ants

Based on ants, these small to medium sized HiveWings have a colony structure similar to the previous HiveWing caste. They can project their emotions over a larger area to any ant HiveWings, not just their relatives. They have four wings like all HiveWings, but their wing membranes do not heal like other dragons’ do, developing tears that cannot be repaired. Their wings become useless after only a few flights and the wing limbs eventually atrophy from lack of use.

Most ant HiveWings work as SilkWing handlers and nest attendants. In ancient times, this was a more mutualistic and equal partnership negotiated between specific groups of HiveWings and SilkWings. Today, it’s slavery pretending to be a beneficial extension of that ancient relationship. Ant HiveWings are more familiar with SilkWings than most other HiveWings; this can push them toward rebellion on behalf of their SilkWing neighbors or toward abuse of their power. It’s not a coincidence that most Pantalan hybrids are produced from SilkWing and ant HiveWing parents.

·       Solitary wasps and bees (including parasitoids that prey on adults)

Based on solitary wasps and bees, these HiveWings are similar in size to the eusocial wasp/bee HiveWings. They are the lowest ranking HiveWing caste, considered little better than SilkWings. They are notoriously meek compared to the eusocial HiveWings. Some possess paralyzing venom; these are based on parasitoid wasps that prey on adult insects. Although they are commonly considered the most useless HiveWings in combat, the most devastating venom of any HiveWing can be found in this caste. The parasitoid rulers are biologically part of this group, but due to their influence and brainwashing abilities they were able to come out on top while their relatives were pushed to the bottom. The solitary HiveWings are believed to have little culture of their own.

SilkWings

Literally connect the hives and hold the empire together. SilkWings are often used as status symbols, and work in construction and food production. Particularly dangerous work is usually left to the eusocial and solitary HiveWings, since SilkWings are so valuable and need HiveWing protection.

SilkWings produce silk all their lives, but dragonets make a lot more. The massive silken roads between the hives are only possible because of the use of dragonet labor.

Although believed to have no natural defenses, SilkWings are frequently born with venomous spines and chemical defenses such as spraying toxins. (This would replace flamesilk in my version of Pantala.) These defenses are usually removed after hatching by HiveWing nest attendants. SilkWings also have incredibly long, prehensile, pointed tongues that could poke someone’s eye out if you’re not careful.

Some SilkWings bear an uncanny resemblance to HiveWings or LeafWings. HiveWing mimics can pass as true HiveWings in society, but face severe punishment if they’re caught. LeafWing mimics are understood to be SilkWings but are distrusted and frequently the victims of violence due to their resemblance to the hives’ ancient enemies. They’re still around because they benefit the propaganda machine; they are a constant reminder of the threat LeafWings pose and also a harmless explanation for any actual sightings of LeafWing infiltrators.

Hybrids

Parents from two different HiveWing tribes produce hybrids, although they are not officially recognized as such due to both parents being HiveWings. HiveWing/SilkWing hybrids are commonplace (unfortunately, given the omnipresent power differentials) and accepted. Officially, they share the caste of whichever parent legally claims them; in practice, they form a caste of their own between HiveWings and SilkWings. HiveWing parents who want the child always successfully claim them and the SilkWing parent cannot treat them as their child. Hybrids with venom are usually claimed as HiveWings, although not necessarily by their true HiveWing parent. Many hybrids do not go through metamorphosis, and their wings instead grow steadily throughout childhood.

LeafWing hybrids are extremely rare today and persecuted by LeafWings and HiveWings both. They are most often found in SilkWing communities passing as LeafWing mimics. They were much more common in the past; HiveWings were infamous for mistaking boldly colored LeafWings for true HiveWings.

Some types of hybrids:

·       Flies are produced from an ant HiveWing and any other parent tribe, and are small to medium sized. Their hindwings degrade like an ant HiveWings’ but their forewings remain. They are famously good fliers and usually raised as HiveWings due to this despite their lack of venom.

·       Beetles are produced from ant HiveWing and any other parent tribe. They are extremely variable in size; the largest Pantalan dragons are beetle hybrids. Their forewings degrade, becoming hard and immobile except at the shoulder joint. They never have venom but may have other chemical defenses, such as spraying burning hot liquid.

·       Webspinners are produced from SilkWing and ant HiveWing parents and are usually dully colored.  Both their sets of wings degrade. They are almost always raised as SilkWings, as they never have venom and produce even more silk than a true SilkWing.

·       Spiders and scorpions are produced from SilkWings and ant HiveWings. Their wing membranes degrade but their wing limbs do not atrophy and can be used as extra legs. They are usually raised as HiveWings because they always have venom, although spiders produce silk their entire lives and may be raised as SilkWings.

·       Dragonflies and damselflies are produced from SilkWings and non-ant HiveWings. They never have venom and are usually brightly colored. Dragonflies are incredible fliers and usually raised as HiveWings, while damselflies are usually raised as SilkWings.

[the-god-of-ruining-good-shit]

@sociophobia459 @casey-bean @sandistrudel @aftershockspark and anyone else viewing

This may be the last thing I post on anything, ever. Unless I can be talked out of it by my best friend @depressedsidecharacter, a friend on discord, a friend on Xbox, or one of you, I will be committing suicide soon. I have lost damn near every reason to live and don’t feel like I can go on. It might just be the mental illness talking, but I really feel at a loss. I have almost nothing left, and if you see a post after this, then I have successfully been talked out of it. I might have had a bright future once, but that has all but faded and nothing remains of it. Germany? Finland? Getting a male genitalia and keeping my female genitalia? Broken dreams lost to everything else. No money, no supporting family, so few friends I only need one hand to count them, nothing.

Lili, my Russia is by a creek crying his eyes out and, being a representation of me, is contemplating and planning to go through with suicide, Æ will never get the painting, Franklin will fail to do more with himself, Tennessee will never see her foster parent again and will never find any love, Damir, Iskra, Emelia,and Wilt will get separated and never see each other again, the two horrible Kievans will never face justice, the rest of the Kievans will never see their sons again, the Mons with either suffer or prosper in the wrong way, and all the Ru’s will be lost without their papas. Anyways, I’ve known you for a little over a year, and you’re wonderful and kind. Keep it up and don’t be like me. Ever. I will haunt you if you do.

Socio, you are all a wonderful person who deserves the best in life no matter how long it will take you to get there. You are a wonderful and best friend(s). Hold strong and never let go of hope.

Casey, keep being the awesome bean you are.

Spark, I apologize for getting upset when an old ass artwork was used in a video without my knowledge, permission, or credit. You were right that it wasn’t a big deal and had been there for years, it would be useless to say anything about it now. And I’m still very sorry for how I acknowledged your other amino accounts in other communities in such a way. I truly enjoyed our roleplays together even if, when looking back, they were a bit cringe on my end.

Sammy, oooh Sammy, where do I begin! You’ve been my best friend since at least 2017, and you have been there for me just about every step of the way on my internet journey. From the moment we met on quotev to now, you have been my best friend in the whole world. Our cringy roleplays, that one time autocorrect changed plop into poop when referring to plopping on a couch, our massively chaotic BFF energy, and your everything. I have had crushes on you, and even had a suicide pact with you at one point! Remember that dragon roleplay in dms that one time...? Or that hetalia x ch/cb/SH/everything in between roleplay? Or how I’ve pestered you since December about the parasitoid wasp roleplay? Or that time soundwave and Fantasy was forced into a relationship by our cringy roleplay antics back then? Good times. I miss those. I still remember your lovely cat skull and the fact you’re a witch. I know you’re an Anarchist. I know so much about you, and I always associate you with teal and scarlet. I hope you get to France or Italy to get that culinary degree, and I hope you and your bf have a great life together. You matter so much to me, and I know I matter to you, but I feel like that’s just about where I stop mattering now. I’m just one soul in the sea of billions of others. There are plenty of people just like me, and I wish you luck. I hope you get out of your abusive household soon.

As of Monday, June 21st of 2021, the day of writing this, you may expect me to be feeling sad or in some sort of non-physical pain, when I’m truth, I feel numb. I just feel numb. My idol stepped away from what got me to idolize him, some of my closest friends abandoned me, and my favorite people departed. Most of this was within less than a year. I’ve gotten accustomed to loss, and surely it will be no different if I am a loss. Goodbye.

Wendi Golden, 15, logging off for possibly the last time.

[virovac]

so Round up of ATOMverse monsters canonically, semicanonically and I headcanon as being created as a result of the USSR attempt to nuke kaiju

(All art and models by author of the series, tumblr user Tyrantisterror /author William Cope)

Lets’ look at the two canon ones first

The Writhing Flesh

Turns out nuking a kaiju point-blank pulps them, but the regenerative abilities will be raised to sea-sponge levels...the parts of several kaiju twitching remains merged together to create The Writhing Flesh (also known as “Cuddles”)

Their fellow abomination, Gorale, was from the remains of a yeti-descended kaiju farther from the blast fusing with a dying whale caught in the blast.

(I chose the author’s homemade puppet incarnation for visual aid, as the dorsal fin’s position in artwork bothers me)

More below. Links to sources in next post.

The semi-canonical Dreg, 

from the create a contest entry by tumblr user bugcthulhu

Dreg’s kaiju mother was rendered all but dead by the nuke and her dying body redirected all resources to her altered child. He emerged from her corpse

Dreg is what happens when a kaiju’s powers are destabilized.  He grows far faster than is normal for a kaiju, and his metabolism is even more exaggerated, giving him an insatiable lust for flesh.  His growth spurts result in a body that is bursting with energy but lacks any stability, making him a frenetic and violent creature by default.  When he satisfies his uncontrollable hunger, Dreg can reach a massive size and develop into a vicious fighting machine.  However, he cannot recover from damage in the reliable way most kaiju do, and ultimately reverts to his fetal form when combat takes its toll on him.

of note is that Tyrantisterror headcanons that his mother was the same species (or close relative) as my own semi-canonical entry: Bajingis

Others I just headcanon existing in-universe as they are designs author created in the past

Conquerverm I’m almost postivie was in a previous outline of the story on TT’s now gone devianart account (back when it was meant to be a futuristic sequel to B-movies and kaiju films called the Second Age of Monsters rather than a period piece), being one of an honestly bloated list of monsters set to appear in the Siberian monster zone.

TT redrew them for  30 Day Kaiju Challenge Round 2

 I think accidentally turning the intestinal parasites of a kaiju into kaiju themselves by way of dropping a couple of atom bombs on one 

In the previous 30 day challenge he came upwith another kaijufied parasite which I headcanon came from the same incident:

Titantick!

I headcanon Titantick as another parasite on one of the mammalian kaiju, a overachiever barely hanging on against their powerful immune system, until they got a second chance at a new life with the drop of a bomb.

Given these two parasitoids would came into existance in Siberia, I imagine they quickly burrowed underground (or into a huge kaiju) to get warm and might be existing without Russia’s knowledge.

Other possible parasite kaiju include barnacles and whale lice lurking in the Siberian sea unnoticed, kaijufied at the same time as Gorale’s whale half.

Also a word from the author on the moral here.

Yeah, sure, scientifically an atom bomb would kill Godzilla.  Allegorically, however?  Allegorically, you don’t solve a problem made by the reckless use of nuclear weapons by recklessly using nuclear ******** weapons.  Allegorically, dropping an atom bomb on the product of an atom bomb makes MORE PRODUCT OF AN ATOM BOMB.

[tanadrin]

below a cut bc i realize posting abt dreams is boring and lame (also gross body horror shit):

my body-horror-anxiety dream last night was not actually about teeth, it was about a kind of magic of physical transformation i had signed up to learn and part of learning it was undergoing it, which was kind of exciting! you could look as hot and/or be as healthy as you wanted, and apparently it could even have some limited effect on the brain, to like, cure mild depression or w/e

except the vehicle for this particular magic was giant magical parasitoid wasps that ate and regurgitated chunks of your flesh and in the process of doing so gradually reconstructed your body and it was going to be every bit as painful and disgusting as that sounds, on top of my preexisting profound terror toward large bugs; and somehow I had found myself at a presentation on this topic not realizing that this presentation would conclude with a practical demonstration that was, er, unavoidable--as in, the doors were locked and they were about to release the wasps

fortunately the dream changed right after that. it did loop back around to the wasp thing, but this time from an external point of view: watching as an enormous wasp-creature descended on a figure wrapped in white, hypnotized by the buzzing of its wings, her body jerking and convulsing both as the force of its mandibles and slashing claws ripped through her, spattering the chamber in which she lay with blood and bile, and with ecstatic joy at the knowledge of what she was becoming.

[philosophicalparadox]

Demon Splicing and Why the Clones Failed.

This is more like a research paper than a fan theory, but hey, I had fun. I’ll try to improv some citations at the bottom, but I don’t guarantee that Tumblr will let me keep them there. 

Now, this is a HUGE, MASSIVE, LONG-ASS POST, and once more it is ultra-sciencey; so if you have any confusions, questions, or want to just look the other way and just go “eh, magic” then that is totally okay. I don’t, and won’t, claim to be any kind of authority on these things; I just needed an excuse to open my computer again and I guess do some intense research into etymology (that would be the study of anything with an exoskeleton, basically. I promise it is very much relevant to this theory.). 

Summary/TLDR: Demons need specific qualities in their hosts in order to suit themselves, ergo they modify their host’s bodies by using Mutually symbiotic viruses, akin to those of the Polydnaviridae ingroup which coexists within several genera of parasitoid wasps, to alter the human genome. What we explore here is how they do so. Also, because it is intrinsically connected, we will also be dipping our toes into why, exactly, the clones weren’t “suitable” in all instances, as well as how demons may or may not select their hosts. This circles back to my previous post discussing the Twin’s and Paternity, and specifically the topic of genetic expression, though you do not need to have seen or read that post to understand what I’m talking about here. Also discussed is the matter of genes that humans lack, but which would seem to find their way in during possession; the production of feathers, the formation of additional limbs, proteins,  and such which are simply not within the power of any existing virus we know of to alter . 

One thing must lead to another however, so before we get into the biological science, we need to get into the hypothetical, cosmological stuff that is quantum physics. Didn’t see that one coming, did ya?

Demons and DNA: 

We know from that one elusive panel of chapter 44 ( I think...) that demons have genetics - they have genes, which implies that they have, at the very least, DNA. The question then is how, but more so where - where did those genes come from?. Demons don’t have physical bodies, right...? Why would they need DNA? 

Because maybe some of them do possess actual, physical “bodies”, or at least cells, that preside in Gehenna. 

The Demon Kings are quite likely to be an exception rather than a rule, considering they were the first demons to have come into existence, or at the very least the first demons to have ever attained bodies -- which is precisely how demonkind may have obtained DNA in the first place, via a phenomena called horizontal transference. 

Now, I’m going to contradict, in a sense, my other post here, and tell you to forget what you were taught about viruses in high school. Virology is a complicated school of biology, and viruses are extremely simple, and yet extremely complex organisms. Now, viruses typically contain RNA which allows the virus to reproduce once it is injected into the cells of its host by combining viral RNA with eukaryotic (for the sake of simplicity) DNA. 

However, there are strains of viruses that contain DNA, not RNA. No one is completely sure how these viruses evolved, but one theory would suggest that these dnaviruses “stole” part of their genetic material from the hosts they evolved with, incorporating pieces of lipids and proteins to turn their RNA into functional DNA; this process of one organism “stealing” DNA from another is called horizontal transference, and it is how bacteria and other asexually reproducing organisms maintain genetic diversity and “evolve”. 

But, you ask, how the bloody hell does a Virus have DNA? How does it replicate?

 When most people think of viruses, they think of mobile ones, pathogenic ones - but dnaviruses are not usually pathogenic, instead highjacking the excretory or reproductive systems of their hosts and using their reproductive cells to spread genealogically from parent to offspring. One well-studied example of this is the polydnavirus found in Ichneumon wasps, which are themselves parasitoid. They reproduce by injecting their eggs into the bodies of paralyzed caterpillars, who then feed the hatching larvae with it’s living tissues. However, one problem the wasp faces with this method of reproduction is the caterpillar’s immune system, which could kill the eggs - were it not for the polydnavirus, which produces chemical signals that prevent the caterpillar’s immune system from destroying the precious egg that is it’s host cell. As the larvae develops, the polydnavirus is replicated into the cells of the larvae, and once it hatches it is literally born with the virus in it’s body. (I’ll let you go wild with the half-demon thing there, I’m here to talk about possession right at the moment.)

Ok, ok, but what does this have to do with demons? after all, demon possession is, in a way, “contagious” since demons can go from host to host. 

Welcome then, to the world of multi-viral mutual symbiosis - fancy way of saying viruses can work together to meet the ends of one another in a host if it benefits both viruses. Demons may possess some form of this event, being somehow sentient (by means perhaps of primitive, conductive cells not unlike what you would find in a jellyfish) but ultimately composed of or utilizing not only one, but several strains of viruses to fulfil their parasitic ends, one which allows them to infect the host and modify existing DNA, and one which can incorporate it’s own DNA into that of the host to bring about desirable conditions. To that, I must add as a courtesy that those primitive conductive cells which could, in a way, offer sentience, may in fact be what comprises the physical manifestations of demon’s hearts. None of this is, of course, to explain demon magic, which is a subject I do intend to breach one of these days - but not today. Today, we do science.

 This goes away to explain why Todou sprouted feathers, a phenomena that would not have otherwise been biologically possible given the constraints of human protein structure. That isn’t to say that it would be impossible for a virus to modify via RNA transcription keratinoid proteins to form hollow attachments, which is exactly what you find in polar bears and porcupines, but the structure of feathers is, I’m afraid, just too far off the mammalian path for it to be but a 0.03% likelihood via RNA transcription alone, meaning that it would have to have been the result of DNA that isn’t human. 

Speaking of statistical probabilities: 

Cloning and the Failure Thereof

Humanity has a hollywood-induced idea that cloning organisms is a fail-less system, when that could not be further from the truth. In point of fact, only about 3% of all attempted cloning experiments with everything from fish to sheep produce viable, healthy clones. This is because cloning is done, kind of ironically, in much the same way as a virus operates; by using the  DNA and RNA of the existing mother’s cell’s to complete the chromosomal pairing up that normally happens in the zygote during fertilization. Because of this, the RNA transcribes, ideally, the same exact DNA code that the “mother” has; but here again we get into genetic expression, because though a clone is genetically the same as it’s parent, it is exactly BECAUSE it is genetically identical that recessive (and often in the case of  some experimental animals, fatal) traits and gene combinations can occur, depending on exactly how the original, zygotic DNA is copied. Even when using the RNA of the same organism, transcription errors naturally occur -- and they occur so frequently, in fact, that very few cloning attempts are ever successful; that is, they either produce genetically weak, fatal-combination, infertile, or underdeveloped offspring that ultimately can’t be re-cloned or which can not reproduce, and therefore negate the incentive to clone an organism for it’s “healthy genes”. 

Connecting the dots: 

When a demon is cloned, it’s human DNA is cloned; but so are the genetic modifications of the dnavirus, which is why clones seem to have human superpowers. They are no loner 100% genetically human, and that opens the door to all kinds of genetic complications and probably meant that thousands, not hundreds, of clones were “discarded”, and hundreds died before they even lived. Simply put, it’s an absolute bloody miracle that the cloning thing worked at all, much less that Lucifer was able to remotely perfect the technique. 

How he did so is not so much a mystery though; unlike what you would assume, with mammals at least, the more often you re-clone a clone, the “cleaner” it’s genetic code seems to become by phenomena of natural selection and artificial selection; clones with good genes are re-cloned, clones exhibiting bad genes are culled or die on their own, and so on and so on until you get a good sized population of identical clones. With the added fuel of the elixir to make growth happen phenomenally fast, it’s not too surprising that he has a private stock of cloned bodies to inhabit whenever he likes. (Which gave me big Orochimaru vibes, just sayin’). 

As for the RNA virus body, I suspect that is retained with the demon at all times, which makes sense because once and RNA virus stops replicating it’s RNA into the host, the host cells re-fix the “broken” codes and eventually replaces the alien DNA created by the virus with it’s own; however, a dnavirus’ DNA gets worked semi-permanently into the system of it’s host, since it has it’s own completed code which is then, reversedly, transcribed over and over by the host’s RNA transcription, which is why dnaviruses went undetected by science until about 20 years ago, and why, God forbid, if there was ever a pathogenic dnavirus, we would all be royally screwed because even the best immune system on earth can’t detect a dnavirus because our immune systems rely on identification markers dependent on RNA viruses; oddly, however, so does every other organism, meaning there literally is not a single living thing, including caterpillars and spiders who are victims directly of “pathogenic” polydnaviruses, has an immune system that could find the damn things. They utilize the host’s own RNA to transcribe their DNA, and therefore go almost completely undetected by whatever they infect.  

Speaking of which, let’s talk about:

Immunity and Prions

If Demons rely on RNA viruses to primarily infect their host, then it would make sense why some people would be more resistant than others; however, there  is a compelling aspect of demon possession which makes me think that it is the other way around - everyone is resistant, until they are not. 

Demons typically possess bodies which have weak-minded and psychologically stressed individuals behind them. Stress weakens the immune system, but it does so in specific ways; and certain viruses in real life are programmed to take advantage of these specific measures more than others. 

Right now in the US, there is a nasty epidemic of CWD, Chronic Wasting Disease, spreading through native deer populations on the east coast. This “zombie disease” is a virus that infects the nervous system of the deer (along with cattle and sheep) and forms prions - folded proteins that are then replicated, and replicated, and replicated; and like cancer of the brain, they just keep on replicating and replicating, eating up the animal’s energy reserves and drastically impacting their behavior and bodily functions, starting by supressing and outright destroying their immune system. Mad Cow Disease is a more famous example of a prion disease in the same family as CWD, except that those prions migrate; they move into the soft tissues of the animal and make every single part of it impossible to eat without also contracting the prion, which contains the virus; and MCD is not remotely picky about it’s host, since it affects a very basic protein structure. Any and everything from birds to reptiles to humans can be infected by MCD and it is completely fatal. 

My point is, that CWD and MCD both primarily infect animals exhibiting high levels of stress hormones, which is why outbreaks happen primarily during the breeding seasons for these animals. Not only that, but the virus then directly attacks the animal’s immune systems and opens them up to every kind of secondary infection you can imagine. 

However, prion diseases and even just plain old viruses can do the exact opposite as well. HIV is a common virus that kills you by making your immune system hyperresponsive, not by shutting it down; it becomes so responsive, in fact, that it attacks healthy tissues. Prion diseases which affect insects also do this, creating folded proteins in the nervous system of the bug that trigger it’s immune system to continuously flood the body with antibodies until it is just too exhausted to do so, and the insect’s body decays as a result of secondary infection. 

It could be that this is the case of demons as well. Prions would be valuable in affecting the behavior of the host, though not necessary; they would, however, make the ingestion of a possessed person almost guaranteed to infect you, since most viruses just don’t have the defenses on their own to tackle stomach acid, but a prion virus does. 

To recap: 

Demons use DNA and RNA viruses to infect and modify their host to their liking, perhaps using the assistance of prions to aid in endurance and transmissibility. Because of this, cloning is a gamble of “what DNA will I pull out of the box today” since the DNA virus’ DNA, and possibly even any prions, is left behind even after the parasitic demon leaves; however, the RNA virus is inert once it leaves a host body, and therefore is retained by the demon within whatever primitive cells they may carry in their demon hearts, which may be taken from some immutable “form” or body that they possess on the other side of the divide (in Gehenna); these alien forms may be the byproduct of their first ever possession, using, perhaps, horizontal transference to absorb some of the DNA from their first (and possibly even subsequent) host and then re-incorporate it into subsequent hosts, which is how Amaimon would be reptilian in spite of having a mammal body; because he perhaps, first possessed or found genetic favor of a reptile of some kind and “borrowed” the DNA from them via horizontal transference, since it worked for him. This can then be applied in turn to all other demons, or at least demon kings. 

DISCLAIMER:

I spent literally a week researching this stuff, but I am welcome to criticism of my shoddy work. Also, I am in no way saying this is technically right; it’s just a theory after all, and you’re more than welcome to disagree. :)

If anyone wants to add on, feel free. :) I think I’m done for the week. 

[maggotsandcream]

Wild Words part 9

Welp, it's been a month since I last updated on the vocab.

CW for mention of racism, insects, arachnids, awkward social situations, politics, teeth, and food

11/23/19

docent- someone who lectures at a university but isn't a professor

pink- to cut around the edges of something in a zig-zag

11/24/19

palimpsest- a page where writing has been scraped off for reuse

11/25/19

turkey drop- everyone breaking up with their high school sweethearts when they come back from college for Thanksgiving

calling card- a card with contact info left for someone

commedia dell'arte- "comedy of profession", Italian comedy characterized by stock characters

book lung- a breathing method for some arachnids, best described by photos and diagrams

11/26/19

scrum- a brief chaotic fight

11/27/19

writ of mandamus- a court order for a government official to do their job

bibliomancy- divination using the random opening of a book

extrafloral- produced outside of a flower (usually used to describe nectar production)

koinobiont- a parasitoid whose host continues to develop after being infested

idiobiont- a parasitoid whose host is paralyzed at the time of infestation

11/28/19

paucity- smallness of quantity

copyleft- a license that gives permission to reproduce or alter something so long as its idea descendants get the same kind of license

11/29/19

vote-a-rama- a rapid voting process for amendments especially for large bills

11/30/19

alterous attraction- attraction to people that changes fluidly

12/1/19

whale (video games)- a big spender

rentier economy- an economy that lopsidedly favors those who own property, do no work, and make money off of rents

12/2/19

nictitating membrane- that extra eyelid some animals have

dendrochronology- aging a tree based on tree rings; discerning weather patterns based on tree rings

univoltine- having one generation per year

12/3/19

n/a

12/4/19

satiety- point of being satisfied

12/5/19

defixion- a tablet with a curse written on it

12/6/19

n/a

12/7/19

brainware- a way one's mind is situated (ex. neurotypical brainware)

recurved- curved backwards

nettlesome- vexing (I'd somehow merged this word and mettlesome AND meddlesome to be the same word meaning plucky, irritating, and getting in your way and assumed mettlesome and meddlesome to be alternate spellings of the same word)

12/8/19

kalimba- those little instruments you pluck with your thumbs that they sell at those fair trade stores

effete- degenerate

edentulous- toothless

malocclusion- crookedness of teeth

12/9/19

coir- coconut husk fiber

12/10/19

catamaran- type of sailboat

fo'c's'le- upper deck of front part of boat

assegai- type of javelin

12/11/19

zaftig- plump (for describing people)

12/12/19

false personation- crime of pretending to be someone else (ex. a cop)

falsidical paradox- a paradox that isn't one with all the info

chuchotage- speaking to a person in a whisper

12/13/19

third ear- like a third eye, but for sound

pavise- a type of shield

12/14/19

n/a

12/15/19

carcinisation- the process of becoming a crab via convergent evolution

malversation- corruption, especially in a public office

12/16/19

familect- way of speaking specific to a family

columbusing- when white people learn about something POCs knew about/invented/were doing already and act like they discovered it

diglossia- when a language exists in 2 varieties in different contexts (ex. formal and informal)

context collapse- in online environments where there are multiple ways of talking in certain contexts but they're all happening at once and problems occur (ex. when you're posting back and forth with a friend of social media so it's a personal conversation, but maybe your boss could see it, or your mom, or even the whole public and will judge it accordingly)

12/17/19

aquafaba- bean juice

12/18/19

12/19/19

extractive- taking resources in an unsustainable way

xeroxlore- the predecessor to internet memes passed around on fax machines

12/20/19

jughandle- name for those side roads you use to turn on some streets

Fair Isle- type of knitting from Scottish island of the same name which looks like quintessential old-timey Christmas sweater

12/21/19

yarn chicken- when you have very little yarn left and try to finish that last row without knowing if you'll make it

updated for spellcheck making trouble again

[pinoyscientists]

Get to know Angelita Acebes, entomologist and applied ecologist

1) What do you do?

I am an entomologist and an applied ecologist. I study insect biology, behavior and ecology with the goal of developing sustainable and effective management strategies against insects that are detrimental to agricultural production. 

I investigate the different factors affecting population dynamics of insects in the field such as weather, host plants, predation/parasitism and agricultural management practices. Knowing how these factors or combination of factors impact insect populations can help us in designing ecologically-based strategies to manage agricultural pests with economic and environmental sustainability in mind.

2) Where do you work?

I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Entomology at the University of Georgia - Tifton Campus. I am primarily a research entomologist working on developing sustainable pest management strategies in tree nut production. I also serve as an Extension Specialist providing technical and entomology-related assistance to the grower community in the Southeastern US. 

I am also teaching a course offered to both undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Georgia. I call this the academic trifecta: Research, Service and Teaching!

3) Tell us about the photos!

[Tall photos:] My profile photos-- professional and in uniform. I also serve in the US Army Reserves awaiting to commission as an Officer and an Army Entomologist.

[Left Top:] At a field site examining a log baited with ethanol lure we use to monitor beetles that attack and kill young orchard trees. We advise growers to manage only if the pests are present, highlighting the importance of monitoring and correctly identifying insects.

[Left Bottom:] Loading predatory mites into a drone and subsequently releasing them on top of trees infested with mite pests. Our main goal for this project was to decrease mite pest populations without spraying pesticides.

[Right Collage:] Doing activities I thoroughly enjoy aside from studying insects! I like to stay active as you can tell. There was a point in my life as a PhD student, when my time was mainly centered on just academics and research, and my personal life was somewhat neglected. When I realized that I was living a mentally unhealthy lifestyle, I have become a proponent of work-life balance! And, it’s been going great!

4) Tell us about your academic career path so far. 

Elementary: Jagna Central Elementary School (Jagna, Bohol) – I grew up in small town in the southern tip of the island of Bohol. I am an island girl at heart.

High School: Central Visayan Institute Foundation (Jagna, Bohol) – I was fortunate to be mentored by Dr(s) Chris Bernido and Marivic Carpio-Bernido (Theoretical Physicists and Administrators of CVIF) during my formative years. They were the ones who inspired to become a scientist myself.

BS: Univ. of the Philippines - Los Banos (Los Banos, Laguna) – Yes, I was an Iskolar ng Bayan and a proud one at that! I owe a lot to this institution. The instructors and mentors I had were tremendously instrumental in keeping me motivated to pursue an academic career.

MS: Univ. of Hawaii - Manoa (Honolulu, HI) – Aloha! Definitely, one of the best experiences I’ve had in my entire life. Imagine being 21 and living on my own just a few minutes away from Waikiki Beach! Definitely, the bulk of my personal and academic growth happened during these years!

PhD: Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA) – This move was tough for me initially, as I had to uproot myself from the comfort of the tropics to the mainland US in the middle of winter. However, I poured my heart into excelling in academics and research; and all the sacrifices were worth it in the end.

Postdoctoral Positions:

Virginia Tech (Winchester, VA)

US Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Station (Kearneysville, WV)

As for my research background per se, it encompasses insect behavior and applied insect ecology. I worked on the classical biological control of aphid pests in Hawaii for my MS research, studying multi-trophic interactions and assessing impacts of a new parasitoid introduction on target aphid populations. 

For my PhD research, I investigated the effects of host plants on the behavior and ecology of the invasive pest, brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), in the Mid-Atlantic region. My findings contributed considerably to the knowledge database for this pest species in its invaded range including host plant utilization and dispersal patterns among host plants. 

As a post-doctoral researcher, I worked on refining the monitoring techniques for BMSB, which aimed to help in the development of temporally and spatially precise pest management strategy for this pest. For those who are interested, you can check out my published scholarly work in various peer-reviewed journals: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Angelita_Acebes-Doria

5) Anything else you’d like to share?

Cliché as it may seem but the most helpful advice I received growing up was ‘to pursue and do what you love’! If you are doing something you love, it will not feel like work at all. I really took this to heart! I am blessed that at a young age, I already knew what I wanted and the people around me were supportive of my decisions… especially, my husband, as he has been with me throughout this journey. If not for them, it would have taken me a longer time and more effort to get to where I am now.

On the same note, do not be afraid to take risks and venture out of your comfort zone! It won’t be easy but the payoff will be worth it if you persevere, stick to it and put your heart into it.

At 16, I left my home island to go to college in a bigger city.

At 21, I left my home country to pursue my MS.

At 24, I left the comfort of the tropics to pursue my PhD.

At 29, I joined the US military.

At 31, I decided to pursue a tenure-track Faculty position on top of my military commitment.

Definitely, the road was not at all easy and there will always going to be challenges. But I just remind myself that it will all be worth it, to be grateful and to have fun! We only live once, might as well give it all we got!

Lastly, I am calling all girls/ladies/women out there to please not only pursue STEM fields but also stay in it after getting your degrees! We really, really need more women in these fields! For those who want to talk about my experiences (struggles and triumphs) being a woman in a predominantly male field, please feel free to contact me. I am very, very grateful for the strong women mentors I had along the way! It would be great to return the favor to other aspiring women scientists.