#fishing education and conservation | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

reasonsforhope · 4 months

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[Warning: Graphic (some very graphic) shark-fishing pictures at the link.]

"Suhardi isn’t your average snorkeling guide. Born on the Indonesian island of Lombok, he’s spent his life on water. While he now seeks out sharks for the enjoyment of tourists, he once hunted sharks to help earn money to feed his family and educate his two children.

Suhardi was a fisherman for more than 20 years. He first started fishing working on his parents’ boat, but was then asked to join the crew of a shark boat where he was told he could earn a lot of money. Back on deck, he looks embarrassed to divulge what a meager wage it was, but finally confesses he earned around $50 for up to a month at sea.

Now he and 12 other former shark fishermen are part of The Dorsal Effect, an ecotourism company that helps ex-shark hunters find a new vocation. Each week, the team takes groups of tourists, schoolchildren and university students to off-the-grid locations and guides them around pristine reefs. Each trip is designed to take guests on an exploratory journey of both the shark trade and marine conservation through the eyes of the Sasak people of Lombok.

Lombok is a hotspot for marine diversity, sitting just east of the Wallace Line, a biogeographical boundary separating Asia and Australia and their respective fauna. Pristine coral gardens and around 80 species of sharks can be found in its waters. The island is also part of the world’s largest shark-fishing nation. Only the whale shark (Rhincondon typus) is protected in Indonesia; all other sharks can be legally caught.

The Dorsal Effect first launched in 2013, a year after Suhardi met Singaporean ecologist Kathy Xu, who had traveled to Lombok to find out more about the shark trade. The diminutive but quietly determined Xu wanted to protect sharks, but because she knew shark fishing was poorly paid and dangerous, she wanted to hear the fishermen’s stories too. They told her how once they could fish for sharks close to shore, but now with the shark population dropping, the fishermen said they needed to travel farther out to sea, only to come home with a relatively poor catch. The reduced catch also meant reduced pay, so they often couldn’t cover their costs...

Yet, when Xu asked why fishers didn’t seek out another trade, she learned they didn’t want to be separated from the sea. They saw it as part of their heritage.

But as they spoke longer, the shark fishermen talked about the coral gardens that could be found under the waves, ones that only they knew about. Inspired by a whale shark diving trip she’d taken with scientists on the Great Barrier Reef, Xu had an idea. “If such spots exist,” she recalls telling the fishers, “I could take tourists out with you and pay you more than you earned shark fishing”.

At first, Xu guided the former shark fishermen on how to become eco-friendly tour operators. They dropped anchor away from the reef, served guests plant-based dishes, and made sure all trash was taken back to shore. But then Xu saw that something special was happening: The former fishermen had started to take the guest experience into their own hands, making sure tourists felt at home. Suhardi painted “Welcome” in large letters over the front of his boat, fitted green baize to the top deck for outdoor seating, and hung curtains in the cabin so his guests could enjoy some shade.

Suhardi has already bought a new boat with his earnings from snorkeling trips. “Every day is my best day,” laughs Suhardi, whose smile always travels from his mouth to his eyes.

While they were receiving tourists from across the globe, there was another group that Xu wanted to reach out to. “I think it was the teacher in me who felt impassioned about influencing the young,” she says. She reached out to schools and created a five-day program that would help students understand the shark trade and local conservation efforts. During the program, paid for by the school and students, participants would not only meet the ex-shark fishermen so they could ask them about their lives, but also hear from NGOs such as the Wildlife Conservation Society about their efforts to slow the trade. The Dorsal Effect also hired marine biologists to host nightly lectures and help the students with their field surveys...

The students were faced with the realities of the fishing trade, but they were also encouraged to take a balanced view by The Dorsal Effect team. The villagers weren’t just taking the fins, and throwing away the rest of the shark; they processed every piece of the animal. While they did sell the meat and fins to buyers at the market, they also sold the teeth to jewelers, and the remains for pet food.

The Dorsal Effect also takes students on an excursion to the fishermen’s village, a small island that lies off the coast of Lombok. Marine biologist Bryan Ng Sai Lin, who was hired by The Dorsal Effect team, says that on one trip with students he was surprised by how quickly the young people understood the situation. “One of them said it’s good to think about conservation, but at the same time these people don’t really have any other choice,” Lin says....

Conservation scientist Hollie Booth of Save Our Seas, which does not work directly with The Dorsal Effect, says the need to provide legal profitable alternatives to shark fishing is critical: “We are never going to solve biodiversity and environment issues unless we think about incentives and take local people’s needs into account. These kinds of programs are really important.”"

-via Mongabay, December 15, 2023

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dailymothanon · 24 days

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A sketch of Gov in the new episode 🐶! I always kinda imagined Gov to look pretty much how he is portrayed in the episodes tbh so I never bother to make him that much of a separate design 🤔 BUT also this is an excuse to educate y'all on federal land. It will be under the cut for those who wanna learn.

What does Federal Land mean for a state?

Well, this is something I think a lot of folks in here (the fandom) needs to know, because I just see people jump to conclude Gov is horrible towards Nevada. That is not the case.

This is just the basics, but federal land literally just conserves, manages, and protects natural resources and wildlife. For example, national parks are federal lands. You'd notice this because of how western states tend to have more wildlife than the east. And how federal land is mostly administered by agencies such as the BLM, FWS, NPS, and USFS, which all are catered towards handling wildlife and resources.

Federal land also tends to consist of land that states cannot easily manage or utilize, which for Nevada it's pretty easy to notice, as most of Nevada is semi-arid and desert, meanwhile land more available to use, like by rivers and other water sources are not usually federal land.

Historically, up until 1976, you could easily just claim a homestead of hundreds of acres! The Federal Government just ended up taking what nobody else really wanted because they couldn't live there anyways. It's why Nevada has so much Fed Land, and now that land is managed by agencies; and in Nevada's case, most of it is under the Bureau of Land Management. This is why Nevada's population only resides in no more than 20% of the land. Because they bought it as they could use it and live in it, even then they don't use much of the full 20% that is accessible to them.

And it's not as if federal land is completely off-hands, people hunt, hike, camp and fish in federal land all the time! Take Alaska for example, who's 60%+ federal land, in terms of Alaska's size that's a LOT of land, yet Alaska is one of or the best state when it comes to fishing and hunting either way, and Alaska's natural beauty remains largely untouched and unbothered (at least directly).

There is also the fact that if a crime is committed on federal land, it instantly becomes punishable to a higher degree than it would on state grounds, as it becomes of federal interest.

So no, Nevada being 80% federal land isn't bad for him. It's just Gov taking up and protecting what Nevada can't really utilize or manage easily.

#anyways I hope some of yall do something with this knowledge because some of yall really need it #wttt #welcome to the table #welcome to the statehouse #ben brainard #wttt fanart #wttt fan art #wttt headcanons #wttsh #wttsh fanart #wttt nevada #wttt gov #wttsh gov #wttsh nevada #wttt alaska #wttsh alaska #wttt facts #wttt dc #wttsh dc

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lgbtpopcult · 7 months

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October 2024 wlw entertainment rundown

youtube

Lucky My Love, First episode drops October 28th on YouTube

youtube

Everything Now, Netflix, October 5

youtube

The Fall of the House of Usher, October 12, 2023

Movies

youtube

Tripped Up, October 20,

Books, Games, Music etc.

In A World Of Our Own: Chasing Dreams And Love

Sophia Miller, an openly lesbian supermodel, enjoys her solitary life in the bustling heart of New York City. But when her gay millionaire best friend, Chris Anderson, requests her to play his pretend girlfriend for a family gathering in Texas, she can't refuse. After all, Chris is on the brink of becoming the CEO of the billion-dollar Anderson Corp.

Enter Alissa Anderson, the Oxford and Cambridge-educated, closeted lesbian daughter of the conservative and formidable Henry Anderson. With the CEO position at Anderson Corp now up for grabs, Alissa finds herself in a fierce rivalry with her own brother. Ascending to the top of the family business and shattering traditional gender roles has always been her ultimate dream. However, her well-laid plans begin to unravel when she encounters her brother's "girlfriend" at a pivotal family gathering on their Texas ranch.

When Sophia and Alissa's worlds collide at the Anderson estate, everything is on the line: the coveted CEO position, concealed sexual identities, a sham relationship, and a burgeoning real one that threatens to bloom amidst the chaos.

“Sushi for Empress Setsuko” is a cozy and comedic point & click adventure game and yuri dating sim set in a fantastical Japan-inspired land. Follow Mizumi Nagashima as she travels around the Empire, seeing gorgeous views, catching delicious fish, and charming beautiful women.

RELEASE DATE:

3 Oct, 2023

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date

A fake relationship after a horrible one-night stand is anything but an act in this witty and heartfelt new romantic comedy by Ashley Herring Blake.

Everyone around Iris Kelly is in love. Her best friends are all coupled up, her siblings have partners that are perfect for them, and her parents are still blissfully married. And she’s happy for all of them, truly. Iris doesn’t want any of that—dating, love, romance. She’ll stick to her commitment-free hookups, thanks very much, except no one in her life will just let her be. Everyone wants to see her settled down, but she holds firmly to her no dating rule. There’s only one problem—Iris is a romance author facing an imminent deadline for her second book, and she’s completely out of ideas.

Perfectly happy to ignore her problems as per usual, Iris goes to a bar in Portland and meets a sexy stranger, Stefania, and a night of dancing and making out turns into the worst one-night stand Iris has had in her life. To get her mind off everything, Iris tries out for the lead role in a local play, a queer retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, but comes face-to-face with Stefania, whose real name turns out to be Stevie. Desperate to save face in front of her friends, Stevie asks Iris to play along as her girlfriend. Iris is shocked, but when she realizes the arrangement might provide her with some much-needed romantic content for her book, she agrees. As the two women play the part of a happy couple, lines start to blur, and they’re left wondering who will make the real first move....

Moonlight in Garland is a cozy open-ended life-sim video game that sees you making a new life in the bustling metropolis of Garland. Find an apartment and make it perfectly yours, befriend your neighbours, grow your urban garden, solve community problems and experience all the weirdly wonderful stuff that city living offers.

Of course, city life isn’t all farmers markets and fancy coffee. Will you step in to stop the heritage building from being torn down and preserve a piece of history? Look after the neighbourhood so more residents stick around? Figure out which jerk is stealing packages from the mail room? Be swept up in a whirlwind romance along the way?

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petrolstationflowers · 3 months

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Are feathered friends better than human coworkers? Why not try out an Ornithology career for your sims! Once more requested by @catrillion, we wanted to work on something that incorporated a specific form of laws protecting animals, and came up with this.

This job is available for YA - Elder, and you can join via the Arboretum. Please note you will need to either play this in Moonlight Falls or save the Arboretum lot and place it in another neighbourhood for this to show up in game!

You will need to level Fishing, Science, and the hidden skill WildlifeFriend. This latter one maxes out at level 6. You can change and track this using MasterController, and the metrics in the job panel will update as you progress it.

No opportunities, uniforms, or books, and the lower levels will not have a carpool so make sure to send your sims to work manually!

Please note if you want to use this, you must have Nraas Careers installed for it to show up!

There are three custom tones:

Read Journals (increase Science) Socialise the Birds (WildlifeFriend) Survey the Park (Fishing)

Meet/Hang With Coworker have also been changed to "Meet Birds," and "Chill With the Birds."

If anyone can translate for me, I'd be very grateful!

Level descriptions under the cut:

Enthusiast - 10 simoleans p/h, 10:00 - 16:00, M-F

Description: You’ve loved birds for as long as you can remember; the family budgie that sat on your finger, the class cockatoo that someone taught to swear. You spend most of your days working the checkout at EverFresh Supermarket staring out the window at the trees in the car park, where a flock of parakeets have their nest. Maybe it’s time to spread your wings and look for a more interesting job?

Amateur Ornithologist - 15 sp/h, 10:00 - 16:00, M-F

Description: You’ve bid farewell to the checkout and instead set up camp in the local park, photographing birds for your local twitcher group on Sims Social. The pay is chickenfeed (unless you photograph Mothman himself) but your online friends might know where you might find something that pays more of the bills…

Park Volunteer - 20 sp/h, 09:00 - 17:00, W,T,F,S,U

Description: Now this is certainly better than the supermarket! The pay is still terrible but you get to spend your time outdoors at your local wildlife park – and most importantly, with your avian associates. Clean out their pens, guide lost tourists, and do a coffee run or three; you might make enough friends to get a little higher on the perch.

Conservation Education Guide - 40 sp/h, 09:00 - 18:00, W,T,F,S,U

Description: Despite their awkward reputation, ornithologists are a chatty lot when it comes to their favourite subject. The general public don’t tend to know a lot about birds, muddling up their crows and their ravens, and think that leaving out generic birdseed is just as good as black sunflower seeds, raisins, and tasty mealworms. Give them a lecture to remember – oh, and try to shill the organic bird food in the gift shop.

Intern - 45 sp/h, 09:00 - 18:00, W,T,F,S,U

Description: An actual job title and pay that doesn’t leave you eating ramen all week! Granted, it’s a lot of book learning along with the hands-on experience, with long hours studying and memorising complicated Latin names, but keep at it. Onwards and upwards!

Park Ranger - 55 sp/h, 05:00 - 14:00, W,T,F,S,U

Description: You’ve finally got your hat but it looks like you’ll be wearing a lot of them; being a park ranger means dealing with the public too. As well as showcasing the beauty of the natural world, you’ll be delivering activities to guests and raising awareness of just how important it is to keep their natural habitats safe. Hope visitors like trail walks and nest building competitions!

Bird Keeper - 60 sp/h, 05:00 - 14:00, W,T,F,S,U

Description: Finally, a flock of your own! You’re in charge of the bird habitat at the park, taking part in the captive breeding program and making sure the conservation effort is going according to plan. You’ll be hands on developing research projects and coming up with new enrichment ideas for your charges – a pity the higher ups said no to a birdie disco ball in the main office.

Conservation Delivery Manager - 75 sp/h, 09:00 - 17:00, M-F

Description: Another flock, but this time the underlings are a team of people rather than baby birds. You’re responsible for a team of wardens across the local area, sending them nationwide to ensure they deliver conservation projects funded by City Hall. There’s a lot of business plans and project management, but someone needs to make sure resources are allocated properly (and birds can’t hold a pen).

Protected Sites Advisor - 90 sp/h, 09:00 - 17:00, M,T,F

Description: You’re deep in the science side of ornithology now; working with local farmers to make sure their food production methods are environmentally friendly, reducing the impact of climate change, and ensuring that important ecosystems thrive and flourish. You’ll also get the chance to pitch sites for new developments and green spaces – so if you want a Birdie Bistro & Bar serving Band Slams & Baked Angel Food Cake, now’s your chance!

Ecologist - 150 sp/h, 09:00 - 17:00, M,W F

Description: You’re out of the suburbs and into the woods – time to be a consultant! You’ll be travelling all over SimNation to various sites and places that have the potential to become the latest havens for your bird friends, writing up surveys and reports to convince the mayor of Barnacle Bay perhaps they can build their luxury flats somewhere else and not disturb the local condor population. Ecological assessment work might not sound the most interesting on paper, but it’s hugely important to make sure you’re protecting birds for generations to come – children and eggs alike.

With thanks: To MissyHissy's career building tutorial!

#sims 3 #the sims 3 #ts3 #ts3cc #the sims 3 cc #the sims 3 custom career #sims 3 custom career #the sims 3 custom job #ts3 custom career #ts3 custom job #sims 3 custom job #ornithology #ornithologist

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jennadknowsbest-blog · 1 year

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Stingrays of the world. #animals #fish #sharks #rays #skates #batoids #ocean #wildlife #marinelife #sealife #nature #sea #education #conservation #stingrays (at Nashua, New Hampshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqIk03Puy4R/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#animals #fish #sharks #rays #skates #batoids #ocean #wildlife #marinelife #sealife #nature #sea #education #conservation #stingrays

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beardedmrbean · 2 months

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The Philippines' fisheries bureau said China is trying to "intentionally destroy" the Scarborough Shoal.

The fish-rich atoll is hotly contested by China, but internationally recognized as Manila's.

The bureau on Saturday accused Chinese vessels of pumping cyanide into the shoal's waters.

The Philippines' fishing bureau has accused Chinese fishing vessels of using cyanide to destroy the Scarborough Shoal, a fish-rich atoll in the South China Sea contested by both Manila and Beijing.

"These Chinese fishermen use cyanide," Nazario Briguera, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, said on Saturday, per a translation from Filipino by The Philippine Star.

Cyanide fishing is a controversial fishing method that typically involves dumping the highly toxic chemical near coral reefs or in fishing grounds to stun or kill fish so they can be easily captured.

It is widely condemned because it indiscriminately affects most marine species in the area, causes severe damage to aquatic ecosystems, and can make fish harmful to handle or eat.

But Brigeura accused the Chinese fishermen of using cyanide to also "intentionally destroy Bajo de Masinloc to prevent Filipino fishing boats to fish in the area," per The Philippine Star. Bajo de Masinloc is the Spanish name for the Scarborough Shoal.

The spokesperson estimated that the alleged use of cyanide would result in around $17,850,000 in damages to the region, per the outlet.

The bureau said it has not conducted a formal study of the total damage, but called it a "serious concern," The Philippine Star reported.

"We will see clearer, and we will have proof or evidence that this is really being done by Chinese fishermen and, apparently, other foreign fishers," Briguera said, per Philippine outlet GMA News.

However, the Philippine Coast Guard on Sunday said it hadn't found any evidence of Chinese fishermen using cyanide and could not confirm the fisheries bureau's accusation.

"We don't have any scientific study or any evidence that would suggest that cyanide fishing in Bajo de Masinloc can be attributed to the Chinese or the Vietnamese fishermen," coast guard spokesperson spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said, per GMA News.

Notably, the Philippines' fishing industry was known to use cyanide fishing back in the 1960s to capture live fish for aquariums and restaurants, though the practice has become less common. In 2023, a study from the Cebu-based Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation found that some Filipino fishermen still use cyanide in the South China Sea.

In response to the accusations, the Chinese state-linked tabloid The Global Times wrote that the Philippines had "groundlessly smeared" China over its cyanide claims. The outlet is known for sticking closely to Beijing's viewpoints.

#nunyas news

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typhlonectes · 11 months

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We finally reached 30,000 followers!

Hey y’all, I just wanted to say thank you so much for following the blog. I’ve had a big influx of followers lately, so I thought I’d re-introduce myself.

HI, I’m Paxon. I’m a wildlife biologist, and I work as a naturalist at a nature center in Houston, TX, USA. I’m cis-male, gay, and interested in a variety of leftist political philosophies. Trans-inclusionary intersectional feminist, vegetarian, ANTIFA, anti-racist, Latinx.

This is a science-natural history-wildlife-conservation-biodiversity blog (with some politics, philosophy, Pokémon, anime, poetry, punk, art, cats, gay stuff, naked guys, and other personal interests). :3

____________________________________________________________

I’ve worked in wildlife science and environmental education since I was 17 years old (I’m 45 btw). My field experience includes:

bird surveys,

small mammal surveys,

deer counts,

amphibian call counts,

bayou fish surveys,

reptile and amphibian surveys,

insect surveys,

Loggerhead sea turtle monitoring in Viginia Beach,

Piping Plover monitoring on Long Island, NY,

shark surveys in Florida Bay,

King Eider monitoring on the Arctic tundra of Alaska,

Bluebird and Prothonotary Warbler nest box surveys,

wetland plant monitoring,

prairie and bayou restoration projects.

I’ve worked as a guide and naturalist here in Texas, Corkscrew Swamp in Florida, and at Sacha Lodge in the rainforest of Eastern Ecuador, near Yasuni. #SachaRuna

I AM AN AVID BIRDWATCHER, and spend a lot of time hiking. My nature and outdoor interests include: herpetology, entomology (especially native bees, butterflies, moths, and beetles), malacology, native wildflowers, native wildscape/pollinator gardening, marine biology, and hiking.

I identify animals for people for a living, so if you have any nature questions, or would like me to ID animals for you, I’m here...

https://typhlonectes.tumblr.com/ask

I’m also here if you just wanna chat, say hi, or talk about something else.

Ciao, and thank you for following, I love you,

Paxon

#me #paxon #nature #science

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let-tyrants-fear · 3 months

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Percy Jackson Careers

I'm tired of everyone writing Percy as a marine biologist, so I've compiled a list of jobs he would actually have as an adult.

Teacher. Specifically a middle school Latin teacher, modeled after his year in Chiron/Mr. Brunner’s class. Maybe he just does it because he likes kids and likes teaching, maybe he works as like a long-term sub to get into schools where they think there are half-bloods. I don’t know, but I could totally see him as a teacher in some capacity, and I think he would work really hard to make sure that none of his students feel the way he did in school.

Underwater archaeologist. This is a real thing. There are a lot of shipwrecks that are accessible and provide valuable resources, as well as a lot of ancient sites that are now underwater as a result of shifting coastlines and changes in sea level. @phykios has a great post about Percy as an underwater archaeologist here.

Plumber. Because he is after all Supreme Lord of the Bathroom.

Electrician. Because he loves to mess with the gods. He becomes an electrician as a 'fuck you' gesture to Zeus.

Demigod Union Rep. I know we all joke about how Percy ‘pay your damn child support’ Jackson essentially appointed himself as the demigod union rep at the end of The Last Olympian, but what if they made that official? He takes a class on Ancient & Immortal Laws in college, and now demigods call him in whenever they’re having issues with a god. They all pay “union dues” so he can collect a salary of sorts.

Aquarium worker. There are several possible routes Percy could take to work in an aquarium. I've listed a few ideas below.

Presenter/Educator. Like, the guy who does the little shows for kids and shows all the school groups around. Percy is great with kids, and I think he’d have so much fun presenting, but also just interacting with kids and families visiting the aquarium.

Aquarist. This is apparently a real word for a person who takes care of fish, which my sister discovered by googling 'zookeeper but aquarium.' Anyway, Percy would be the person who cleans their tanks and sets their diets and provides enrichment, etc. Also, accredited aquariums would have a research branch to study fish and observe behavior, and Percy would be super helpful because he could just. Ask the fish.

Social media manager. He would have so much fun posting memes and fun facts on the aquarium's social media accounts, and I think his sarcasm would make him a huge hit on the internet, a la Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Plus, I think he would spread fish gossip all over Twitter.

If you have any more, please feel free to add them!

#no shade to the people who write him as a marine biologist #but we as a fandom can do better #pjo #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians

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xirayn · 9 months

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A continuation of the merEddie AU based on the amazing art done by @maikaartwork. The ficlet for the kiss they drew is coming, Steve just needs to get some help first.

This is the first year Dustin is old enough to be a summer intern at Hawkins Aquarium and Institute of Marine Research. He spends his days educating guests on the animals and conservation efforts with weekly professional development and environmental advocacy courses. The position is also paid, which is nice, and he gets the aquarium practically to himself as he waits for Steve to finish up and give him a ride home.

He's watching the eastern rat snake climb her fake branch in search of a resting spot when Steve finds him an hour before he is usually done.

"I need to get into the restricted area of the aquarium," Steve states much to Dustin's surprise.

"Why?"

"The voice in my head needs help."

Dustin's eyes narrow. "Have you been talking to the lampreys again?"

"Yes, but they have nothing to do with this," Steve responds with an annoyed huff. Dustin is unconvinced.

"I think they might," he states plainly. "When was the last time you went on a date or talked with, I don't know, an actual human rather than a bunch of fish?"

"I talk to Robin all the time."

"Yet you won't date her."

"Boys and girls can be friends without -" Steve cuts himself off mid sentence. He sets his hands sternly on his hips. "You know what, this is getting us off-topic. Restricted area. Voice in my head. Plan. Go."

Dustin rolls his eyes. "That voice is called conscious thought, Steve."

"Ha ha. No. This was... something else. There is something - someone - who is hurt and alone, and I need to get them out."

"So we aren't just getting into the restricted area," Dustin observes, "we are getting whatever creature you think is calling you out?"

Steve hesitates for only a moment. That does sound pretty outlandish, but the call for help is still echoing in his mind. "Essentially. Yeah."

Dustin tilts his head in consideration. "How big is it?"

"What?"

"The creature," Dustin clarifies, "how big is it?"

"I don't know."

"Is it a siren trying to lure you onto the rocks or eat you?" An obvious question to Dustin, but a new one to Steve based on his look of surprise.

"A what? No. It doesn't want to eat me."

Sirens don't exist, for one. Except they might since there is something psychically communicating with Steve and they've run into things that supposedly didn't exist before.

"How do you know?" Dustin asks because if sirens do exist, it is a perfectly valid question.

"Because I felt it!" Steve throws his hands up. The snakes and other reptiles in the exhibits around them are as indifferent to the gesture as Dustin is. "It just needs help."

"Angler fish lure their prey in with a light on their-"

"I'm not prey!" Steve insists.

"Prey doesn't always know it's prey," Dustin counters.

"Then I get eaten, I guess, but I can't just ignore this. What they shared with me…" The mounting irritation drains from Steve's shoulder. Sorrow replaces it as he remembers the pain of captivity he was shown and the longing for home. "They just want to be free."

Dustin folds his arms across his chest. "That could, arguably, be a really bad idea."

Freeing non-native creatures was never a good idea. There was a whole workshop on invasive species that included how animals in captivity might suffer if released without the proper skills to survive. Media was also full of good intentions leading to the release of monsters.

"Which is why I came to the king of bad ideas," Steve says far too casually.

"Are you insulting me?" Dustin scoffs. "You're asking for my help and then insulting me. Seriously?"

"Do I need to bring up the coyote with mange you trapped in your cellar because you thought it was a chupacabra?"

Dustin frowns. "Considering you just brought it up- no."

"Voice in my head," Steve states to get them back on track. "Restricted area. Plan. Go.

Dustin sighs. "Fine. Do you think I can fit through the vents?"

Steve shakes his head. "They had to put grates in those because the octopus kept using them for midnight snack runs."

"Really?" Dustin feels like he should have heard about that, but he's only been an intern for a little over a month now.

"Yeah," Steve says dismissively, "It was a thing. Robin is a bit obsessed with her now."

"Like you're obsessed with the lampreys?"

Steve is clearly insulted by the accusation. He takes a moment to gape. "I am not obsessed with the lampreys. I am the opposite of obsessed."

"Sure." The one syllable is pure sarcasm. "Okay, so the other plan is we steal the badge of someone who has access."

"What do you mean we?"

"You aren't doing this alone."

"It's too dangerous." Steve's hands are back on his hips, but Dustin doesn't back down.

"If you get eaten, I get eaten," he states firmly. They have a silent standoff that Dustin eventually wins.

"Okay," Steve relents. He's learned in the few years he has known Dustin to not fight his loyalty. It was either agree now or be surprised when Dustin tailed him later. "Any idea who's badge we are going to steal?"

Dustin presses his lips together as he thinks. "There has to be people who do maintenance -"

"Maybe like the head aquarist?"

They both swing around to see Robin standing with a lanyard hanging from her finger. At the end is the badge of someone Steve doesn't recognize. He wonders how long she has been there and how much she heard.

"He left it in the food prep room," she explains as she holds it out to Steve.

He takes it, not bothering to ask questions even if there are quite a few that came to mind. The picture is of an older man with a receding hairline and white goatee. The text underneath reads: Wayne Munson.

New memories are sent to him. The sound of a kind drawl. Sweet and salty and tangy flavors masking the taste of decayed fish. Different textures. Something to look forward to.

Hope.

Steve looks at Robin. He smiles. She smiles back.

"Commence operation we're all getting fired."

#steve harrington #dustin henderson #robin buckley #captured mermaid eddie au #steddie au #apologies to Erica for not figuring out how to work her into this

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becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys · 1 year

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Doctor Who, but Chronologically: 41

Well. Holy shit.

It's 1955, and hot on the heels of the incredibly socially important episode about Partition, we get one of the greatest episodes this show has ever produced: Rosa, co-written by Malorie Blackman.

(Funnily enough, once again, this dumbest of watch orders has triumphed - this close to Demons in the Punjab, you feel emotionally prepped for Rosa. "Ah yes," you think. "A much-needed and blindingly important historical episode that educates white British people in race relations. One of the functions of Doctor Who."

You still aren't ready.)

I mean this without hyperbole: of every episode, book, comic, radio show, and everything else Doctor Who has ever produced or had a hand in, this one makes you feel the imminent danger to the companions the most, and on a level that none other ever has. We get Whittaker, Ryan, Yaz and Graham back as they all go to Montgomery Alabama, the day before Rosa Parks stages her sit-in protest, and sweet Christ on a stick they do not pull their punches in making every single white person into a raging cunt of epic proportions. They do not shy away from stressing that Ryan could be lynched at literally any time and it would be legally sanctioned. They are not coy about citing the real-life murder of Emmett Till - murdered for daring to speak to a white woman - within seven minutes of the opening credits, after a white man physically assaults Ryan and snarls that he will have him "swinging from a tree with a rope for a kerchief, boy".

It is visceral and shocking and completely out of the normal tone of this show. Part way through, Ryan chooses to go off alone because his spine is apparently made of fecking titanium, and I honestly don't think I relaxed for the rest of the episode (although it leads to a fantastic scene of him meeting the leaders of the civil rights movement, including Martin Luther King Jr, and I really mean that it is FANTASTIC). I've watched companions be menaced by everything from statues to large pepper pots to fucking Bertie Botts; I've seen them trapped in drifting spaceships, partially turned into birds and fish, stuck in the Blitz, slaughtered in the Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve, melted, possessed, infected, mutilated, and threatened with compulsory roller derby membership. I have seen it all and then some. Some I have seen in more than one iteration.

This is the only episode where I have been genuinely frightened for one. I've aged, Tumblrs. 73, I am now. Wizened.

Anyway. You know the story of Rosa Parks sitting on the bus and refusing to give her seat to white people. This episode does cover that, but it does so through the medium of an awful time travelling neo-Nazi, complete with Richard Spencer haircut, who has been released from intergalactic prison Stormfront Stormcage and decided to use a vortex manipulator like Captain Jack's to come to 1955 and stop the Montgomery Bus Boycott from happening. There's a nasty scene where he tells Ryan he's doing it to stop Ryan's "kind" from "rising above their station", so when I say he's a neo-Nazi, I am not pissing about, and nor was this show. (Ryan shoots him with a time gun in the end that sends him to a prehistoric past trololol enjoy that, conservative, you people love The Past)

The TARDIS team spend the episode trying to nudge history back into place so the protest can happen. It's genius, really - super simple sci-fi plot, so the focus can be on the social issues. There's a beautiful conversation between Ryan and Yaz about the way they both still face racism in the present day, and the way Ryan has to constantly police his emotions and faces police discrimination even now; but, also about the nature of social change, and the importance of looking forwards and fighting the good fight. There's also a great scene when they first get on a bus - Ryan is forced to sit at the back, but Yaz doesn't know where to sit. The driver lets her on at the front, but she's not white - so which box do they want her in? "Does 'coloured' just mean black in the 1950s?" she asks, having been accused twice of being 'Mexican'. It's a subtle performance, but the indecision of it - guessing if she's endangering herself or not - is shown to be genuinely distressing.

God, fuck, this is such a good episode. It's absurdly good. They fit so much in 42 minutes, while still making it a Doctor Who episode and yet not shirking on any of the fundamental issues. And the writing is still deftly done - there's a dry humour that they intersperse throughout as a palate cleanser that never undoes the impact of the social stuff, like some stupid MCU LOL NOT REALLY bit of obnoxious bathos; instead it's a foil for the serious stuff, making it that bit more impactful. And! A rare Sexy Lamp Test pass for all three companions! That does not often happen in Chibnell's run, so shout out there.

Anyway. ANYWAY. I could honestly write a whole scene by scene breakdown of this episode complete with citations and explain in exquisite detail how much I love it, punctuated with "We laughed at this bit, and then cried at this bit, and threw shoes at the screen at this bit" but uhhhh, that is not the point of this project. So I shall stop.

Plot threads! Any answers? Not really. A few things we've seen before though, like the vortex manipulator, that was fun.

And apparently there's a big prison called Stormcage that puts anti-violence implants into its inmates' heads before release! That's fun. Good to know that policy.

“She” (an unknown person) is returning (perhaps River returned as Missy. Maybe Me? Maybe Clara???!)

There is something on Donna’s back

An entire planet, Pyrovilia, just… disappeared, somehow. (Maybe because the TARDIS is exploding??? Saturnine was also lost, and that WAS because of the TARDIS exploding. The lion man’s planet was also lost but he was a bit of a knob about it if I’m honest. The Thijarian planet was destroyed by some sort of impact)

Amy is maybe dead (she’s not)

The Doctor has been cubed (he’s out, but how?)

River is possibly blown up (unless she’s Missy. Nope: she is definitely not blown up)

The TARDIS has blown up (It’s fine now. Except it’s sort of melting now because it’s corrupted, but it’s fine again)

The universe appears to have ended (the universe is back again)

The Doctor has employed(?) Nardole

(And Nardole was “reassembled???” Nardole had glass nipples and invisible hair?? WHAT THE FUCK IS HE)

There’s a vault in the TARDIS and it contains Missy but we don’t know why (sometimes she knocks for the bants)

There’s an immortal Viking girl now. Her name is Me and she’s now looking after the people the Doctor abandons

Why was Rory entirely unconcerned by the entire world suddenly going silent when that is Not Normal and should have been, at the very least, extremely disconcerting?

What did the Doctor do to Queen Lizzie One?

Why is Amy seeing a one-eyed woman in a vanishing window? (She’s with the Silents, but we don’t know why Amy saw her)

Why is Amy’s pregnancy inconclusive? (Maybe because the baby had Time Lord DNA?)

Who is Sarah-Jane Smith?

How is the Doctor Bill’s teacher and why/where does he have an office?

What is going on with the Cyber War and the Cyberium???

What happened with the Other Cyber War?

What happened with the Third War that deleted the void?

Why does Rose seem particularly important?

What order do these Doctors go in? (Eccleston, Tennant, uncertain, Smith, Capaldi, Whittaker)

Which companion just… forgot the Doctor, and how?

Yaz and Vinder are about to die as Mori/Mwri/Muuri

There is a Lupari shield around Earth.

What’s a Time War?

What’s the Rift?

What’s Bad Wolf?

In which war did the Doctor become a war criminal, and how?

Who is the Master?

Why has Amy forgotten Rory? How did she forget a Dalek invasion?

Is Rory plastic or not?

Why is the Doctor sulking on a cloud?

How exactly does the Doctor have a cloud?

What exactly happened with Strax to, uh, tame him?

Which friend killed Strax?

Which friend brought Strax back?

Where did this lesbian lizard and human couple come from?

What happened with Clara as Souffle Girl and the Daleks?

How does Clara actually join?

Why so many Claras?

Why is Missy apparently in robo-heaven?

Why is probably!Missy pushing Clara and the Doctor together?

What is Trensilor and what happened there?

Who is Handles?

The Doctor is about to be dissolved by a beautiful geode man

The universe is being crushed by the Flux

Will the Doctor open the fobwatch?

Sontarans are invading Earth again

Who is Kate?

Who is Osgood? Another name of Clara’s again?

The fuck is the deal with the Grand Serpent

Does Martha get to go to an ice cream planet with 12-fingered massage aliens?

How did the Doctor forget Clara?

Who is Bill’s puddle girlfriend Heather?

How did Nardole die?

When does Bill get Cyberman-ed and die?

When does the Doctor shrink and enter a Dalek called Rusty?

Whittaker is falling to her death rn

Was that ring relevant?

Does anyone know the Doctor’s name?

When did Yaz talk to Dan about fancying the Doctor?

When did Dan talk to the Doctor about fancying Yaz?

What’s happening with the bees?

What happened with Donna’s ex and a giant spider?

What war wiped out the Daleks, and is it one of the ones already mentioned?

What did the Doctor mean when he said “The (Daleks) always live, while I lose everything?”

If Dalek Caan is the last Dalek left why are there more now?

How did the rest of the Time Lords die?

How and why did Amy melt?

What’s the question that will make silence fall?

Why do the Silents… want silence to fall?

How and why are Silents at war with the Doctor when he… hasn’t even heard of them?

How does Hitler get out of the cupboard?

What’s the significance of fish fingers and custard?

Why does the Doctor feel guilt about Rose, Martha and Donna?

What happened with the space whale?

When does Rory defend Amy for 2000 years?

How does the Doctor survive River

How does he erase himself from history

Did Captain Jack lose his memories to the same people as the Doctor? What did he lose?

When did the Doctor send the Daleks into a void to save the universe?

What’s with the weird crack in the wall and is it affecting memories?

Why do Amy and Rory think the Doctor is dead?

Is Matt Smith’s Doctor a tree racist?

#doctor whom #and yet we are continuing

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