#healthy population

[time-slink]

ethoslab field notes… i love seeing all the little things people do to try and differentiate him lol

[zoology]

me when i dont think with my brain

[soulshards]

FFXIVWRITE 2024, PROMPT #13: BUTTE tw: violence, fighting • words: 1025

an isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top

Ul’dah was not Deeza’s favourite place, the streets in the golden city were unforgiving to them as a child, despite the short years they spent here after first running away. The people were cold, mean. They did not even try to help their country men, nevermind a stranger.

But the desert - they could not deny their desire to run wild in the desert. Though they were a Keeper, and often preferred the moon and the night, when the sun would shine high in this vast scene of… nothingness. It felt so good to let go. It felt so good to let it all out. Away from anyone and anything. They had done this long ago, with an old friend, in an attempt to further unlock their skills - a stupid endeavour, looking back, but they would do it again every single time would they be given the opportunity.  But here they were again.

To let out all the rage and anger that they did their best to keep a handle on these days, to let out all the excitement and fury that they held behind each swing. They had come by chocobo, leaving a small camp to the north with enough food and supplies for a day or two. But they were not here for leisure. They were here to fight.

The colossal sand worm breached the earth before them, spiralling into the sky before slamming down before Deeza. Sand spewed out, covering the Keeper as they simply grinned. Hair pushed back off their face, dark lips split wide as they let out a shout to match the warbled screech of the worm as it came burrowing before them.

Each hand rested at their sides, fingers flexing, an almost manic look to mismatched eyes as they began to charge forward in the sand towards the great beast. Aether twisting in deep yellows around their fists as they came sliding before the worm as it lurched up, and their fist collided in an earth shattering strike to its head. Feet pushing off the ground, hands stayed gripping the plates and hide of the worm as it let out another terrifying bellow. Deeza pushed forward, feet sinking into the sand before another pump of aether had the particles solidify beneath their feet, giving them more purchase to keep pushing.

They kept pushing and pushing, an eager growl on their lips as aether spilled out dense and heavy into the world around them, one hand reeling back to curl into another first, before it came slamming into the worm again. With enough force to cause the creature to topple and flail back, squirming on the sand as it kicked up clouds of dust.

Deeza breathed out deeply, shaking their hand out with another manic laugh, as the worm wriggled enough to write itself some yalms away; before it burrowed deep into the dunes once more. The sand shifted and cascaded down the slope they had found themselves upon, almost causing them to lose their footing, before eyes closed to concentrate.

Pierced ears shifted, twitching, as bare toes dug into the earth. Feeling the vibrations grow, and grow, the sand almost pulsing as the worm burrowed deep, before switching it’s course to where the Miqo’te now stood. Deeza waited.

And waited.

And waited. 

Until the sand rumbled beneath their feet, daring to sink them, they leapt up - a powerful drive from the earth that shuddered beneath their feet as they went flying high into the air, just as the worm breached the surface.

That grin never left them, as with the momentum of their leap, they would fall. Fist extended, the burning bright yellow swelling around their arm as they pumped their seemingly unending aether into the strike, ramming their hand into the colossal head of the creature as it threatened to engulf them - the sky, the sun - with it’s wide maw. A shockwave rippled around from the impact, as plate cracked and split, causing the worm to reel to the side and come crashing into the sand.

Deeza landed with a roll, fingers clawing into the dunes to slow their descent as the worm remained upon the ground, flinching and trying to get its bearings, trying to raise up once more.

“No’h t’day, y’fat fuck,” came that Limsan twang, as Deeza’s hands came to grip the end of the worms tail. Fingers dug into the plate, that aether still burning, shining bright upon the deep red sand, as they shifted to the left. Then the right. Then back to the left. Creating momentum, the worm began to shift and slide across the soft environment with each strong pull of thick, muscled arms. Their core burned from the effort, and soon the Keeper was spinning in a circle, their grip on the great worm never slipping as they spun, and spun, and spun, until the worm began to drag through the sand and flow into the air. It screeched and pulsed with all it’s might, head thrashing to break the momentum, until Deeza released. Fingers uncurled from it’s plate once the angle and speed was right, pushing aether through their fingers to add to the force behind the swing, as the giant worm went soaring through the air, putting a fair amount of distance between Deeza and the creature.

Right towards a singular, tall, flat topped butte. It crashed through the thin rock, sending debris far and wide as the impact shuddered the quiet world around them. Dee bounced on the spot, fists raising into the air with a glorious whoop. “Hahaha, y’fuck! Get back up from tha’!”

The worm lay in the dunes from the other side, twitching, before falling still. Deeza rammed her fists into the air a few times, still so full of energy, bouncing on their heels, before turning on their feet to peer out across the desert behind them. Another - almost squeal of delight - left the Keeper, when the earth began to rumble once more - another worm lured to the thumps on the surface.

It was a glorious day to be alive, to feel the aether pumping through them like blood through their veins, the high of a fight something they would never give up. And they would dive forward once more.

[supercantaloupe]

i really should have started some kind of interfaith org when i was in undergrad. i had absolutely zero time for that of course and was busy with class and orchestra and running a completely different club at the same time but. it would've been nice to have i think

[newtsnaturethings]

GRIZZLY BEAR REINTRODUCTION PROJECT???

[proteusolm]

It's so funny how much lore there is about fishers being vicious demon animals that can and will murder you, your pets, and your kids. Including a lot weird conspiracies about the government introducing them to places. In reality, they're just funny very shy little guys who mostly hunt rodents and rabbits, and primarily dwell in interior woodland habitats away from human disturbance. And they look like this:

There are very few records of them hurting humans. They do occasionally have conflicts with pets, but hey, so can... nearly any animal your pets encounter, especially other cats and dogs! Can't blame wildlife for fighting back when cornered by a dog. Supervising your pets outdoors to prevent run-ins with wildlife is just part of being a responsible pet owner in rural and wooded areas. Hell, cities, even! Urban coyotes are more common than you'd think.

Next time some old fart tells you they're hyper-vicious little monsters that are terrorizing the woods, know that they're actually just cool little predators that want nothing to do with you.

Unless you're a porcupine, then watch out. They've really carved out a niche for themselves re: obtaining delicious porcupine meat without turning into a pincusion.

[valyrianfreehold]

As much as I love dragons and I am overly invested in dragons in this setting and always get incredibly sad and emotional when they suffer/die I do not forget that at their core they’re flying metaphors for power. They’re weapons used for enforcing and maintaining power by people whose interests lay in feudalism, patriarchy, and monarchy.

They do have personality and spiritual/magical connection to their riders but they are not sentient. They represent an age that was doomed to catastrophically collapse because they were created with blood magic and suffering and deployed to enforce an empire created on the back of chattel slavery and conquest.

It was practically written in the stars that the Targaryens would inevitably turn on each other and tear each other apart and their dragons would die in this conflict long before their house’s collapse.

It is my personal wish that Dany’s children are the true last of their kind. She brings change and hope and a future for society and a fighting chance against the Others but I don’t think her dreams are sustainable on the backs of a renewed dynasty of dragon riders. It makes me sad bc I think dragons are such a fun and romantic and exciting part of fantasy writing but I also like GRRM’s world and attached commentary. And what dragons mean in this setting is ultimately an unsustainable fiery grip on absolute power. Dragons plant no trees.

I hope that Dany is the last Targaryen because in her quest of looking forward to the possibility of a new world, she builds her dreams on a foundation that is not doomed to rot and burn away.

[system-of-a-feather]

One of the other thing about ESDM that I really like (which Lin pinpointed first) is that it very much just is the method me and Lin use to help heal traumatized parts PARTICULARLY traumatized child parts Cause other than generic play therapy concepts, ESDM first and foremost is built on this concept of "autistic kids have issues socializing and engaging in play because their usual play is 'atypical' to neurotypicals and sometimes is systemically hard to have shared engagement and control of the play" "Therefore, its important that when we try to play with these kids that we throw out whatever concept of fun and play that we currently have out the window and focus on what THEY find fun and what THEY enjoy and play with them in the way they want to play"

"Then from there expand the play to be more inclusive and cooperative" Like a very very very core concept of how play therapy in ESDM works is very much "If you can't figure out how to play in the way THEY like to play, then don't touch their play" So like, yeah we have blocks and we SHOULD stack them and make towers but you know what You think its fun to drop them on different objects and hear what they sound like?! We can make that into a fun game! I also think its cool to drop blocks on objects! What if we took turns coming up with silly things to drop them on? Oh look! We are practicing turn taking AND join attention AND social engagement AND tolerating people in your area to a reasonable level AND learning that people can be fun and interested in your interests And what are we practically doing? Were just Dropping blocks on silly things together And if you start that at like age 2-4 and maintain that for two to three years you really end up with kids that really realize that people genuinely are interested in what they are doing, that their interests are really cool, and that people are opportunities for MORE joy and MORE engagement than les

[sparreaux]

I owe y'all a requested guide do how I do my bioactive-ish mouse tanks, but I don't yet have the energy, however here is the one updated tank:

[thenarrativefoil]

pro tip: dont eat mastic gum and then take velvet bean on an empty stomach

[stoportotouch]

do wish i didn't have the non-medical emergency form of compartment syndrome. (i mention that so that you know not to worry. i just have sore legs all the time.) but hey, at least i know exactly what caused me to develop it.

[snekdood]

i need more friends that i can give the responsibility of perennial native plants and perhaps shrubs and trees to

[renee-mariposa]

So I was talking to a coworker today and she’s sitting there complaining about the fact that “we try to help patients but then they’re back in the hospital a month later because they haven’t done anything for themselves”

And I was just like. Have you considered the fact that the area we’re living in is extremely impoverished and medicine is very expensive? Have you thought about the fact that our education system has been unfunded for almost a half century now and medical illiteracy is extremely high? Have you considered the fact that fruits and veggies are almost prohibitively expensive and you can’t get any food stamps in my state unless you have kids, and if you do have kids, how the hell do you feed them on $4 per day?

[violeteyedkiller]

what if I just infodumped about hunting and how it is actually good

[faithfromanewperspective]

okay guys so this is a thing?? and i hate to be bearer of not fun topics, but here's just something to be aware of. this is a slightly older article but it's having outbreaks in the US at the moment (all the more reason to boycott usamerica) and so. if you keep chickens over there i will strongly suggest getting them vaccinated if you can afford it! but also, just keep an eye on infection rates and be safe and also come together as a community, we don't need to be scared as long as we know what to do and there's always things to do. we're all part of a bigger system and our actions do have flow-on impacts even if we don't realise. and so whether you're being safe for yourself and your loved ones, rethinking whether you need to eat as much meat and if so where it comes from, raising awareness etc you're part of this bigger system and we can come together and do better. sending delicious vegan meals and healthy environments for you and your local birds and other mammals <3

[needlxd]

Polyamory discussions earlier now just have me like... ooh... writing poly ships...