#here meaning tumbo

[nasty-hellbread]

a little psa regarding the future of this blog

hi hey hello. long time no see.

if you didnt miss my older posts/actually read my rambles in tags, then you know that this acc has not been getting traction at all due to it being possibly shdwbanned. hell, i cant even check my asks or messages here, and i know theres a least one unanswered ask thats been sitting there for like, half of year now. anyway. if you didnt know all that, then you know now.

so, thing is - im abandoning this blog with new year, as i have no power within me to try to reach staff once more and get this nonsense resolved, and making a fresh new one (not a sideblog for this current one), that will not only have my fanart, but maybe original art as well. maybe ill even try to use it as normal people do, with reblogs n shit. im not sure yet. ive never been a fan of posting here, on tumbo. too much people that i dont wanna associate with. yadda yadda you get what i mean.

the things that has been posted here already will stay for archival purposes, as intended. thanks for following me and my art here! i do appreciate all the support. if you are still interested in my stuff, then you can always follow me on other socials like pifo/twi, or @erix-detergentt here (as of writing this its still empty, as im only setting up).

до свидания!

-- erix

[spanishskulduggery]

Hello! I had a question. I have some conversation sentences and was curious about conjugation. One question is "Te gusta levantarte temprano o tarde?" I was wondering, since te gusta is already conjugated, why wouldn't it be levantarse? I don't think I can answer "Me gusta me levanto tarde". Would "Levantarme" work? I'm just confused on placement and conjugation with two verbs. Thanks!

Short answer: te gusta levantarte temprano o tarde is the correct answer; and if you were going to use a yo it would be me gusta levantarme tarde "I like to get up late" or me gusta levantarme temprano "I like to get up early"

The reasoning is that the reflexive verb, even in its infinitive, needs to match the person. It's only in 3rd person or something impersonal that you'd see -se

A few things are happening here, so let me explain and I hope I'm not sounding condescending I'm just going to explain it all like you're five. There are lots of moving parts and different concepts here and I need to touch on them or I risk losing you somewhere so please bear with me

#1 You're seeing an indirect object used te gusta

Normally, if you're using a verb like this the next verb is in the infinitive form - unconjugated. In other words me gusta estudiar "I like to study"

This is essentially the same idea behind other modal/auxiliary [helping] verbs, like querer, poder, deber etc.

-

#2 Just like the helping verbs, you have to take into account if the subject is changing

In me gusta estudiar "I like to study", there's no subject change. And similarly something like quiero estudiar "I want to study", there's no subject change

When there's two separate subjects with separate clauses - that's when you see another conjugation

In the sentence te gusta levantarte it's "you like to get up" - no separate subject, so you can't have the levantarse conjugated

Most of the time if you're seeing me gusta or a modal with a whole separate subject it's subjunctive... something like me gusta que estudies tanto "I like that you study so much"

Two separate subjects, two separate clauses. If you made it just one thing referring to a yo it would be me gusta estudiar tanto "I like to study so much" [lit. "studying so much gives me joy"]

-

#3 What you're seeing when you use gustar + an unconjugated verb is something called a "substantive verb"... which just means treating a verb like a noun [el sustantivo is "noun" in Spanish; which is what it means by "substantive"]

A verb used like this is "the action or result of the verb", not someone actually doing the verb

As in me gusta estudiar "I like TO STUDY", or more literally "studying pleases me"

It's "the action/result of studying" - but there's no conjugation, no real subject, and it's not implying a motion or continuous action the way the progressive forms would [like estoy estudiando "I am studying"]

You sometimes see this with al + infinitive, meaning "upon" or "once"... like al descubrir la verdad "upon uncovering the truth", or al ver la escena "upon seeing the scene", or al cumplir los dieciséis años "once they turns 16"

*Note: The al + infinitive can often be used interchangeably with past tense - al tumbarme en el sofá / cuando me tumbo en el sofá which is "once/when I lay down on the sofa" [though tumbarse often implies "flat on one's back"]

But you see this a lot with using the idea of the verb, not actually conjugating it...... such as no fumar "no smoking", or nadar es (un) buen ejercicio "swimming is good exercise", or hablar español es más difícil "speaking Spanish is harder"

-

#4 When you use reflexive verbs as infinitives, the reflexive pronoun needs to match who is speaking

It's part of agreement and for the reflexive to make sense it needs to adhere to the proper subject (or in the case of gustar it's "object", technically)

In other words:

Te levantas temprano. = You get up early. Quieres levantarte temprano. / Te quieres levantar temprano. = You want to get up early. Te gusta levantarte temprano. = You like to get up early.

In regular sentences with one verb, the reflexive pronoun goes before the verb; i.e. te levantas

In a sentence with two or more verbs, the reflexive goes before it all or all the way at the end attached to the final unconjugated verb; i.e. te quieres levantar OR quieres levantarte, where both are acceptable

When using a reflexive as a substantive verb, the reflexive pronoun stays on the verb. The se is used only for 3rd person subjects or unspecified subjects [who are considered 3rd person singular]:

Al despertarme... = Upon waking up... [or, "after I get up"] Antes de irme... = Before leaving... [or "before I leave"] Lavarme la cara es parte de mi rutina diaria. = Washing my face is part of my daily routine. Vestirse de negro era parte del proceso del luto. = Dressing in black was part of the mourning process. Casarse es muy fácil. = Getting married is very easy. Casarse es más difícil de lo que creías. = Getting married is harder than you [tú] thought. Prohibido zambullirse. = No diving. / No diving allowed. [this would be seen at a pool]

Any phrase that isn't specifically an unspecified - such as signpost expressions like no zambullirse or no estacionarse "no parking" - can be twisted to however you'd like to phrase it:

Lavarme los dientes es importante. = Cleaning my teeth is important. Lavarte los dientes es importante. = Cleaning your teeth is important. Lavarse los dientes es importante. = Cleaning his/her/Your/one's teeth is important. Lavarnos los dientes es importante. = Cleaning our teeth is important.

This also applies to the al expressions - al casarme "once I got married", al casarte "once you got married", al casarse "once he/she/You got married", al casarse "once they got married" / "upon marrying", al casarnos "once we got married" etc

-

#5 What makes this more confusing than normal is that you have two separate ideas happening at once - an indirect object verb + a reflexive verb

It sometimes throws people off, but because they're different concepts, both require their object pronouns, but they do have to match the person being talked about:

Me gusta levantarme tarde. = I like to get up late. No me gusta levantarme temprano. = I don't like to get up early. No te gusta preocuparte. = You don't like getting worried. / You don't like worrying. A mi padre no le gusta afeitarse la barba. = My dad doesn't like shaving his beard. A mi madre le gusta divertirse. = My mom likes to have fun A ellos no les gusta sentirse enojados. = They don't like to feel angry. A ellas no les gusta sentirse enojadas. = They don't like to feel angry. A todos nos gusta llevarnos bien. = We all like to get along with each other. / We all like to get on well with one another.

Note 1: In the case of gustar you're still doing it for the object - but just like regular substantive verbs that are reflexive.

In other words me gusta levantarme tarde is "I like to get up late" BUT more literally it's "me getting up late brings me joy" or "me getting up late makes me happy"

Note 2: If you have an opinion on the way someone ELSE does something or what they do, that's a subjunctive expression - someone's mood or desire impacting someone else:

No me gusta que te levantes tan tarde. = I don't like that you get up so late.

...Literally, "that you get up so late does not please me"

This also applies for helping verbs:

No me quiero acordar (de algo). = I don't want to remember (something). No quiero acordarme (de algo). = I don't want to remember (something). Pienso irme. = I'm planning to leave. Me pienso ir. = I'm planning to leave. Debemos lavarnos las manos. = We should wash our hands. Nos debemos lavar las manos. = We should wash our hands.

And so on.

-

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I'll be happy to walk you through it some more!

[cmescapade]

I always wonder if I should be posting story updates on my tumbles 

but I get anxious because my early screenshots for White Lies are so trash and I hate them, but also got 0 time to bother retaking them lmao

I’d say Remember is a little better on that end since it’s recent-er, but I dunno, still probably a hot pile of that stankeridoo-doo

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[sunder-soul]

I understand why you want to move to AO3 but it's also super sad :(

I feel like Tumblr is a great website for people to constantly engage with a writer and I always try to express my love after someone posted (or even if they don't post) but it also intersects with people that don't do that and only ask for more (cuz that's pretty easy to do)

The way AO3 is built (especially with the fact that they don't have a great app) i feel like people don't engage with stuff as much as Tumblr allows.

But i understand your frustrations and will keep up with your writing when you switch to AO3 exclusively!

Yeah I just remember being so excited to write and post and then read comments when I was exclusively on Ao3, and I'd like to get that back. Idk if it's BECAUSE interacting with "creators" is easier on tumblr but I just never encountered the same entitlement and prodding there as I do on tumbo.

But the people who send me lovely messages and asks (like you! 💕) here are really what kept me going for so long, to be honest. Ever since writing white dove posting here has felt like a bit of a chore for me so thank you for making it bearable, it really means the world ❤️

[namu-the-orca]

T2C2 Tumbo

Here’s a little in between commission I finished recently: a lineart drawing of a very special whale indeed. This is Tumbo, a transient killer whale living off British Columbia. His most remarkable feature is his severe scoliosis: his spine veers from left to right and back, leaving his body crooked and his dorsal fin swayed. He can’t swim fast and is by no means agile enough to hunt. Born in 2005 his scoliosis has become more pronounced over the years, and no doubt he would perish quickly if left to his own devices.

But his family takes care of him. His mother Tasu, T2C, leads her band of four (grand)children through the Salish Sea. Often only four whales are to be seen, with Tumbo lagging behind by as much as a mile. But they always stay in vocal contact, and when the gap becomes too great his family circles back to keep him company again. When they hunt, Tumbo patiently waits by the side and is fed a part of the meal. Tumbo comes from an extended family of genetically curious whales. They have been known since the 1970s, when the whole T pod was captured, including Tumbo’s grandmother T2 Pointednose Cow. The famous white whale Chimo (T4) was a calf in that pod, as well as Charlie Chin (T1) who had a deformed jaw. A second, much lesser known white whale (Alice, T6), also used to travel with them but was never captured. It seems some strange lines run in this family, although all of Tumbo’s siblings so far are normal, healthy whales.

[angelphylaxis]

Tagged by @solus-manet !

Nickname: Nate, Neito, Sodium, Senpai, or simply a well-inflected bRUH shall suffice

Gender: if y'all have any ideas i'd love you to let me know. I like bein a boy tho so uhhh, that

Astrological sign: pisces?

Height: too short. 5'6"

Hogwarts House: ravenclaw!

Favourite animal: i mean. Bears. But if mythical creatures count then drAGoNs

Number of blankets: currently? Four. Ideally? So many.

Where i'm from: australia babey! G'day! Crikey!

Dream trip: anywhere from sweden to iceland to scotland to california to canada! Somewhere with snow, forests, and wildlife!

When I created this account: uhuuhhhhhhhh like apparently 27/10/17 at 8:19am but I call bullshit. I've been here since the dawn of time.

Why I created this account: well I kinda gpt locked out of my last account (long story) and then I started playing dnd and missed all the art from tumbo so I made this one and only looked back when the porn bot thing was happening. So every dang day. Also I was deeply into ml at the time.

So apparently you gotta tag people so uhhhhhh @edwarddono @herculesmulligansaidtransrights @juliaburnsides >:3

[thrillingdetectivetales]

WIP: Into a Bar

So, I shared this snippet of my fill for “A Ficathon Walks Into a Bar” over on my Dreamwidth and I got to thinking that some of y’all here on the ol’ Tumbo might like to see it, too. The premise I’m working off of is “Lewis Nixon walks into a bar and meets...Angus McDonald!” which is a) deeply exciting and b) incredibly difficult, considering how different the two fandoms are. At the moment it’s basically just a Band of Brothers D&D AU, but I hope maybe it will be fun for everyone anyway:

“I prefer you in leathers,” Dick said.

“Why, Captain,” Lew cooed, batting his lashes coquettishly at Dick’s reflection. “How forward of you.”

Dick rolled his eyes and snorted through his nose.

“You know what I mean,” he chided, unhooking the sword at his belt and carting it over to the unlit fireplace, where he propped it up against the sooty brick facing, scabbard and all. He settled himself on the edge of Lew’s narrow mattress and began the tedious business of coaxing his gloves off without removing his vambraces. Each gleaming plate was painted with the sleek, red chess piece of his patron god and Dick hated to divest of them unless absolutely necessary. “I’d prefer you in any sort of armor, instead of all that velvet.”

Lew huffed a sigh through his teeth, irritation and fondness rising in a hopelessly tangled wave up through his belly. He fussed at the ruffled cuffs of his shirtsleeves to give himself something to do with his hands.

“As I’ve explained several times,” he said pointedly, and was rewarded when Dick flicked him an amused, knowing look in the mirror, “walking into Waterdeep armed to the teeth is as good as taking out an ad in the newspaper announcing that the Alliance is trying to slip agents into Gesdelicht territory.”

“They probably know that already,” Dick pointed out. “We are at war, Nix.”

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

Hippo Internet Dating? It Feels More Like Hippo Harassment.

Buckle up, folks, I’m about to claim my “Professional Buzzkill” title for the year. 

I generally avoid commenting on the PR choices of zoological institutions unless readers ask specific questions, but I’m really struggling with my discomfort over the way the San Antonio Zoo is having their juvenile hippopotamus, Timothy, publicly court pursue the Cincinnati Zoo’s Fiona. The “love letters” that “Timothy” was writing were cute at first, but given the spotlight the #metoo movement has recently put on male entitlement to female bodies and the commonly accepted cultural trope of harassing women until they give consent… the choices Timothy’s PR team is making about “his behavior” after “Fiona” said no are increasingly squicky. 

I know. I know. It’s a hippo - and actually, it’s a human PR team behind a hippopotamus. Saying “this twitter account for a baby hippo is harassing a baby hippo who doesn’t even have a twitter” sounds ludicrous. But hear me out, if you will, because it’s important to remember that Fiona is a major figure at this point for a lot of children (and role model for a lot of disabled kids). How Fiona is treated by other internet figures - especially those “interested” in romance - sets an example for all her young fans of what is considered appropriate behavior towards potential intimate partners. Zoos pride themselves as being family-friendly institutions where children go to learn, but “Timothy’s” reaction to being told no by “Fiona” is modeling a set of behaviors for kids that America is frantically trying to unlearn.

Okay, so here’s the story. It started out super cute and family friendly.

On March 8th, the San Antonio Zoo posted this letter to their Facebook, written in first person from the almost-three-year-old hippo: 

“Dear Fiona,My name is Timothy. I recently moved out of my mom’s house to San Antonio and currently live with my grandma, Uma who I love very much. My grandpa, Tumbo was a cover model for National Geographic magazine. Grandma says that’s where I get my great looks. Anyhoo, I have seen your pictures and videos on the internet at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and I think you are the most beautiful hippopotamus I have ever seen. Perhaps we can meet someday and be boyfriend and girlfriend? I am single and available. I hope you #HippoSwipeRight #TeamFiona Sincerely,Timothy PS, Hippos rule and elephants drool!“

When I first saw this, I thought it might have been a cute PR tactic before an announcement about a breeding transfer. Both the Cincinnati Zoo and the San Antonio Zoo are AZA-accredited facilities, and so both Fiona and Timothy are part of the River Hippo Species Survival Plan. This means that any potential future mates either of them have will be chosen based on genetic compatibility, and who knows, sometimes those pairings are planned out way in advance of the animals actually being of breeding age. This would be a pretty cute way for the two zoos to introduce that topic, if they were actually matched. 

But, on the morning of March 9th, we found out that the relationship is a no-go for now. Cincinnati’s PR team chose to respond with a message written from a human perspective, not that of a hippo. 

“Fiona thinks you’re cute too, but it’s what’s on the inside that really counts! Your DNA will ultimately decide if you are the one for our little diva . She’ll be with her mom for a while, so you have time to consider if you are willing to put up with her fame. Any potential mate would have to be thick skinned and okay with taking a back seat. Are you okay with paparazzi? Are you willing to move out of the way during photo shoots? Most importantly, are you willing to relocate to Cincinnati?”

Tl;dr of the response from Fiona: she’s too young to “date” and it’s not yet known if they’d be a compatible match. While I don’t know at what age breeding eligibility is decided for a hippo, neither of them have a mean kinship score or breeding recommendations through the SSP information available at this time. 

Now, if the “internet courtship” between the two hippopotami had ended there, it would have simply been a super cute PR stunt that potentially could have been revived to the benefit of both facilities when the two animals “come of age.” But it didn’t - and that’s where the problematic stuff started. Instead of utilizing this chance to model appropriate behavior after rejection to the kids who are fans of Fiona, and having the two hippos be friends, the San Antonio Zoo has Timothy double down on his persistent displays of affection - and “his” assumption that Fiona should be receptive to and flattered by his affections when they’re expressed in such a public manner… even after “she” publicly turned him down. 

A twitter account was created for Timothy shortly after this exchange; “his” original letter to Fiona was posted on the zoo’s official twitter account, but on March 12th the zoo announced “Timothy” had joined twitter with his own account. Now that makes total sense, since “his exchange” with Fiona had made him (and the zoo) highly visible on social media. They’d absolutely want to capitalize on that. The first thing “he” did with his account (after a test tweet) … was announce he was sending another letter to Fiona after “her” rejection. Here’s a link to the full letter, but the important part to highlight is that “Timothy” totally refuses to take Cincinnati’s no for an answer.

“Grandma also says at my age I need to spend less time in front of a screen and WAAAAY more time learning and playing outdoors so as much as I want to message you daily I just can’t make it happen. Her roof, her rules blah blah blah.I’m going to tweet to you as often as I can from my new Twitter account. I have to say there just aren’t enough characters available on Twitter or really anywhere else in the universe to express all of my feelings for you. I will do my best to put these feelings into words and will send you a letter or something on Facebook every Thursday at 3:00 pm!” 

…and boy, does Timothy’s account continue to tweet at Fiona as often as possible (during human work hours on weekdays). 

As I’m writing this, it has been less than 48 hours since Timothy’s account’s creation. “He” has posted 37 tweets and replies: 12 of those are reactions to posts about Fiona, either by the Cincinnati Zoo or other twitter users; 2 of those take posts about other animals at AZA zoos and point out they’re not as good as Fiona, 2 take posts from Cincinnati about Fiona and turn them into comments about how “attractive” she is, 3 are direct posts at Fiona (mostly “his” feelings for her), and 4 are retweets of new articles about “their love story” and how “he” “might have a shot.” One tweet actually conflates the Bachelor with “Timothy’s” interest in Fiona. 

So… 24 of 37 posts on the account - that was only created after the original request for a “relationship” was turned down - are directly about “his” interest in Fiona. (Only 3 things on the account so far appear to be entirely unrelated to her). In addition, starting with the first post about Fiona, Timothy’s account is now using a “relationship” hashtag. That’s not comfortable. Creating a twitter account for a baby hippo that is now visible to the public for PR? Sure, cool. Using that twitter account to continue pursuing another baby hippo who “turned him down” in a very public manner? Not so cool. Especially when the content of the tweets is… pretty representative of the stereotypical manner in which women are constantly harassed on twitter. For instance:

Top Tweet: “Timothy” interprets a post about Fiona just existing in a video as her “being into him.” (He also replied to this post with two gifs as well, one of Squidward from Spongebob making heart eyes and another of a person making the “call me” gesture.)

Middle Tweet: “Timothy” re-frames a post about something mundane to “compliment” Fiona even though it’s totally out of context. 

Bottom Tweet: “Timothy” uses a post talking about a dating TV Show to publicly promote his relationship hashtag with Fiona even though he’s already been told no by “her people.”

If you’re a woman, the types of tweets “Timothy” is posting are probably familiar - because you or someone you know has almost definitely experienced that type of “attention” from a guy who just won’t get the message. And that’s the crux of the problem with how this “hippo internet romance” is evolving: there’s no mutual interest here. “Fiona” - or her handlers and PR staff - is not a consensual part of this interaction. A twitter account created for a male animal is being used to continually exploit the name and internet presence of a female animal to generate media attention, even though the people who are responsible for that female animal’s media presence seem to have made it pretty clear they’re not interested in playing along (through the response to the first letter from “Timothy”, the comments they’ve made on further posts on the San Antonio Zoo’s Facebook page about this “romance”, and their utter lack of engagement with this roleplay). And yet the San Antonio Zoo continues to have “Timothy” completely ignore all these very distinct signals and instead indicate that he’ll keep tweeting frequently and writing love letters to Fiona every week. 

Until… until what? Until the Cincinnati PR staff get tired of being forced into prolonged romantic hippo internet roleplay? Until Fiona is sexually mature - at least six years from now - and is paired with a male? Neither of those are good options, but the way Timothy’s account is being handled really leaves no good way for Cincinnati to choose to disengage without causing a major kerfuffle. And that’s the problem. 

Cincinnati has been put in the same situation here, through Fiona, that women all over the country find themselves in on a regular basis: subject to unwanted, oblivious, persistent affections that are escalated in inappropriate and public ways as a response to a polite rejection.  And yes, it feels really silly to be upset about this when we’re talking about zoo PR staff running accounts for baby animals -  but awareness of and sensitivity to current social movements is crucial when communicating with the public, and especially when it involves the persona of a baby animal that is beloved by children across the nation. American culture is currently very sensitive to ways in which autonomy and consent are subverted, and as a politically-aware adult it’s hard to not notice that “Timothy” isn’t taking “no” for an answer. But kids? Kids who see these tweets won’t understand that the behavior “Timothy” is engaging in isn’t okay. They’ll think that continuing to persistently dog a girl who has rejected them is appropriate behavior, even though that’s exactly the type of “boys will be boys” behavior that our society is currently working to prevent our children from learning. 

The San Antonio Zoo has a wonderful opportunity here to use their hippo’s platform to help model the behaviors we want to teach this next generation of kids - how to handle rejection gracefully, how to view girls as people instead of eventual conquests, how to respect boundaries and notice when enthusiastic consent is not present - but instead they appear to be choosing to perpetuate rape culture tropes because it gets media attention. 

Considering that the San Antonio Zoo actually runs a nature-based preschool on the grounds of their facility, I really would expect their messaging to be more socially aware. I hope that moving forward, they’ll reconsider how “Timothy” is interacting with Fiona - and that “his” future choices will model behavior that parents will want to encourage in their children, rather than attitudes parents want to prevent their children from emulating. I would love to see “Timothy” choose to accept Fiona’s “no” and become her long-distance pen pal and partner in crime, and to see them go on adventures full of childish wonder and free of all ulterior motives. 

[grovey]

tag shadowbanning

okay enough testing because my test image of maelle here stopped working consistently haha (she used to be a ‘safe’ image, now the filters hate her) Here are some observations. these were done on browser/web. i haven’t done mobile as much but it looks like it shadowbans less.

I’ve noticed a certain pain for many artists here where they post but their work doesn’t show in the tags, despite it being sfw and despite their post apparently not being flagged. I still think tumbo is filtering them in some way.

offsite links will pretty much always get your post filtered. In fact even normal links to links within the tumblr domain (username.tumbo/post)  will shadowban your posts.

Unless it’s literally just “tumblr.com” or, for some strange reason, AO3??? AO3 doesn’t get shadowbanned, which is strange.

Links seemed to be checked for all the time, so if you have a link and then remove it, your post probably will show up again if nothing else is tipping off the filter, while if you add a link to an existing post, it’ll vanish from the tag.

I think having too many tags might tip off the filter too sometimes? not sure

Now for photo posts being filtered... I often check just the text contents under my photo posts (and even tags) on their own to see if they get past filter. If they do, it’s usually safe text.

In that case, it’s the photos that get your otherwise okay post shadowbanned. Sometimes they just take forever to show up in the tag, but it’s better y’know if you can see them immediately and know if they actually made it past filters???

Single photo posts, if they get past filter, will always show up in the the tag immediately.

I thiiink that’s the case with 2-photo posts too, but I’m not sure since it isn’t really consistent with me, I think I usually have one picture that tips off the filter and thus the whole post goes kaput

The filters hate photosets with 3 or more photos. no question. They like, never show up in the tag immediately, if ever.

This might just be because of the higher chance for multiple photos to set off filter, but I really can’t remember having a success on pc

However, on mobile, you can make faux-photosets (text posts with embedded image sets) and these don’t tip off the tag shadowban. I think.

And posting just regular photosets on the mobile app also is similar, i think: doesn’t tip off the filter, but i’ve only tested this once.

The filter isn’t consistent, as mentioned. Sometimes a filtered picture will pass upon reposting the same thing, or vice versa.

I think the filter only works when you first post a picture. Note I didn’t test this with drafted posts, though.

Editing a post to add another picture, I thiiink, will never tip off the filter again.

But also editing a post to remove a picture after it’s tipped off the filter won’t save it. it’ll stay shadowbanned.

That said, here’s the workaround for browser:

Post a picture and check to see if it’s been filtered. If it got through, go ahead and edit in the actual photos lmao and it should all show up???

As in literally I posted a picture of one dragon that went through safe and was able to add in another nine when in the past, some of those dragons always tipped off the filter and just having 10 photos means the tag will hate you

Again, another way is just to use tumblr mobile’s lol (unfortunate if that means a lot of photo transferrin)

[tovonind]

On the names of plants

One of my players wants a terrarium-of-holding, and considering that my campaign involves a certain amount of worldhopping, I’m rather fascinated by the idea. It also means that I have to spend some time thinking of (i) how such a  thing would work, (ii) reading up the effects of introducing non-indigenous/endemic species into interesting biomes, and (iii) names for fantasy plants. Let’s talk about each of these for a bit:

1. The terrarium itself

Taking inspiration from how incredible terrariums can look, the early brainiac’s obsession with miniaturizing cities to preserve their culture (kandor being a prime example), and the native D&D bag-of-holding variants (the bag of colding, devouring, beans, tricks etc.), I’m taking a stab at an artifact that maintains small pocket-biomes. The item can be found here on D&Dbeyond, where it can be added to character sheets etc. Art for the terrarium comes from this fantastic artist on redbubble (Will Hewitt).

2. The effects of non-endemic plants in fantasy biomes

Before we get into this, let’s first look at some real-world examples (not that we want to be bounded by reality, but still, reality can very often surprise us). For reference, here’s a wiki article on introduced species. 

To summarize, when introduced into a new biome, plants can either - die out,  - naturalize (affecting the local biome to different extents),  - adapt/mutate/hybridize with local flora/fauna, or - become invasive

The fourth has the more interesting consequences, and the prerequisite for this can be summarized by two conditions:

- it has the resources it needs to grow.  - it doesn’t suffer competition or predation

From teh wiki,

An introduced species might become invasive if it can outcompete native species for resources such as nutrients, light, physical space, water, or food. If these species evolved under great competition or predation, then the new environment may host fewer able competitors, allowing the invader to proliferate quickly. Some interesting examples of this would be 

- introducing sustainable food crops in regions without food can lead to a complete change in the economy and lifestyle of the people in that region.

- a new plant can sometimes carry diseases or pests that are relatively benign to the plant itself, but fatal for other native species.

- Rootless duckweed (see below) can be dangerous almost everywhere it’s introduced.

- Cactacae and Myconids coming into contact with each other can be hilarious or deadly depending on the circumstances. 

- Mana-rich plants in mana-poor regions can completely warp the surrounding biomes, since they have no resistance to the glamouring effects of these plants. It is important to be careful while bringing any plants over from the Feywild.

- Some plants (like the fleshy tuberondum carnis) can cause higher level predators to stop preying on grazing animals, since they taste similar. This can lead to an explosion of grazing animals, which leads to the savannah being stripped of edible grasses, and upsets the biome. 

- Plants that grow in remote/inhospitable/extreme/space-like locales (that are not used to resource-rich environments) can sometimes go crazy when introduced into normal ones.

3. Names and characteristics of fantasy plants:

All right, let’s take a stab at these. A lot of these are real, with some added flavour. Can you identify which ones aren’t?

‘Bob’ is a variant of the Blackhew (Viburnum prunifolium): Native originally to Karvadam and now other parts of Tovon Ind with trade, the plant is thought to emit a low hum, along with an almost unnoticeable musk that vibrates at the same resonant frequency. Tabaxi, Moogles, Loxodons and other sensitive species can detect this to some extent, but it particularly seems to affect the slakemoths and other creatures of a dark aspect to varying degrees, ranging from mild distaste to complete discombobulation (scribbled in the margins: 'see what i did there?'). It is not presently known if this effect can be amplified, although traditional means like poultices, brews and steeped concoctions do not seem to be effective in this regard. The plant also has certain religious aspects to it, and is sometimes used as an offering during rituals at Dracoperonia (dragon temples) across the land. (updated Jan 6)

Corpse Flowers (also called the Titan Arum, Scientific name: Amorphophallus titanum) - not one big flower, but thousands of smaller ones. grow on corpses in the crystal forest and emit a faint bioluminiscence. folklore suggests that they’re releasing the souls of the fallen from their bodies to wander the forest for evermore.

Dwarvish Wheat / Lithiops (Lithops Hookeri, Lithops Salicola, Lithops Olivieri, etc.): A small, desert thriving rocklike plant of the succulent family that yields flour when processed, and is used to make dwarvish bread. It is thought to be what gives dwarvish bread its characteristic texture and density.

Witches' Butter / Yellow brain / Golden Jelly Fungus (Tremella mesenterica): Mostly extinct in nature but found in many private botanical gardens, this potent herb can sometimes be found growing on recently fallen and dead trees, especially if the trees had any magical essence. Being rich in mana, it has been used as a catalyst in many magical potions and poultices. While edible, it remarkably has no flavor. It is parasitic on other fungi.

Dragonsblood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari): With mana-rich sap that resembles dragons' blood (It’s a deep red, even when dried into resin, and is used for magical ceremonies, and as a stimulant), this rare tree is highly sought after and was even worshiped in older times. It is said that it can not be grown without the blessing of a dragon, and can only be found on the floating island of Caelondia. The canopy looks like an umbrella and acts like one. It shades the roots and reduces evaporation. 

Welwitschia / Tumbo / Tweeblaarkanniedood (Welwitschia mirabilis): A living fossil found in the deserts of Tovon Ind, its close relatives have gone extinct and its distant relatives include pines, spruces, larches, and firs. It has one very short trunk and two leaves—only two. It grows only two leaves no matter how mature it is (and it can get very mature - living 400 to over 2000 years!). Wine made from the leaves of this plant are said to induce intense visions, but sometimes have the unfortunate side effects of driving the imbiber completely insane (DC 10 CON).

The dude (Dudanus Principus): A small flowering bush that produces a pungent green-and-black bud that is often smoked as leaf, fermented to make beer, or steeped as tea, depending on the region. Produces a sap that tastes like milk. Grows best in cool climates. Artists in recent times have experimenting with using it as an ingredient in making paint.

Rootless Duckweed / The green death / the ravening swarm (Wolffia Arrhiza): An extremely small flowering plant, normally not dangerous unless it comes in contact with water, in which case it starts multiplying exponentially as long as water is available to sustain it. Once it crosses a critical threshold, it beings leaching moisture from the air. Careless mismanagement of this plant is thought to have wiped out small villages.

The strangler fig (also called the pleasant sleep, Ficus vulgaris): A symbiotic plant found in the forests near the northeastern part of the continent (to be fleshed out), emits a sweet scent that charms prey into coming close (DC12 CON). Small creatures caught unawares are slowly asphyxiated, and animals that come to eat these creatures carry the plant’s seeds to other locations.

Hydnora / Magis’ staff / the seeing Maw (Hydnora Morgana): The Hydnora plant grows almost completely underground, except for its strange, bristly red flower that is shaped like an open pod, or a gaping maw. Traps insects and other small creatures and keeps them until the flower is mature, then releases them to complete the pollination. The fruit takes two years to mature underground, is said to be similar in taste and texture to a potato, yet useful for tanning leather and preserving fishnets.

Mandrake root (Mandragora Vox): Potent magical herb, that has the appearance of a radish-like root. Causes deafness/madness and death in extreme cases if uprooted at any time other than twilight (recent studies show the absence of shadows as a necessary component in controlled conditions). Can be used to revive the recently dead if prepared in appropriate ways. 

Tesla trees / Wednesday’s weed (Arborum Fulmenis): Large electrified trees that appear to store up electricity inside their body during certain seasons, releasing all of it in huge arcs of lightning from their crown, burning away all that was growing or walking near them and thus getting fertilizer. Found in the garden of the time-lords in Karvadam and metal sections of the crystal forest.

A lot more fictional plants to cover! See the list here of fictional plants, this list of real but cool plants, and this list of old names for plants, for example.

A few more resources from my player: 

- https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/94hpjl/are_there_any_magic_items_to_have_a_portable/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

- https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/1077so/4e_making_a_portable_garden/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

- [starter item] https://aonprd.com/EquipmentMiscDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Portable%20terrarium

[littledeludeddupes]

danksoulsthree replied to your post “every time i dip in to see what otherkin tumblr is up to i am...”

also mfw now because of tumbo weebs everyone thinks otherkin is just thinking youre an anime character and thats it instead of also mythical creatures or animals and shit

yeah its gotten very abstracted from its original meaning in this corner over here. i kinda miss when it was almost entirely therians. tumblr kin community was still abysmal back then tho as it was so it will be forever and ever amen

[nakklepiggy]

BOTW Zora Life Cycle

i put too much thought into this. this is largely headcanon, with information from BOTW and an idea or two from Majora’s Mask!

alright, onward through the 9 stages of the Zora life cycle:

note: the ages I’ve given for each stage are more of an estimate than a “this always happens at this age” thing except for stage 1 to 3! because everybody goes through puberty and matures at a different rate. think of the ages I’ve assigned as being averages, haha.

Stage 1 - Egg (0 days - 1 month) Every Zora’s life begins as an egg; a parent Zora will lay a clutch of two to four soft, jelly-like eggs in a spawning pool and tend to them as they develop. The eggs start off clear but eventually turn opaque as the babies develop, but since the eggs are so delicate it’s very likely that most of a clutch will not actually hatch, even with the best care possible. After one month the surviving eggs, usually one or two, will finally hatch!

Stage 2 - Hatchling/Alevin/”Infant” (1 month - 1 1/2 years) A newborn Zora is called an alevin, though they are colloquially known as hatchlings, levvies (singular: levvy), guppies, or pollywogs. Hatchling Zora somewhat resemble tadpoles, as they did in Majora’s Mask, with a proportionally large rounded head, a less-defined abdomen segment with the signature triple gill-slits on each side, two small head-fins and a long tail which they use to swim. They can breathe both air and water, but have an easier time breathing water at first. Hatchlings also have yolk sacs which they feed off of for their first 3-4 weeks after hatching; this is thought to be a vestigial trait, but it is still a developmental benefit as the yolk contains antibodies from the parent, helping the newborn develop their immune system. By the second month the hatchlings’ yolk sacs are totally depleted, thus they will require regular feeding starting around this time. From this point onward they simply grow larger for about a year and a half, staying in a limbless tadpole-like form but eventually growing to be 1 1/2-2 feet long and undergoing marked proportional changes. Specifically, the head and abdominal segment become larger and more well-defined, also gaining body fat; meanwhile the tail does not grow as quickly, eventually leading to a rounded, chubby, somewhat ball-like shape. This is often called the “ball phase” or colloquially “second egg,” due to the similarity in shape. The onset of this proportional change is a sign that the hatchling is getting ready to undergo metamorphosis.

Stage 3 - Metamorphosis Metamorphosis can be thought of as a young Zora’s first growth spurt, and it is by far the most dramatic change. Taking place over the course of 24 to 48 hours, metamorphosis involves a hatchling in ball phase undergoing a drastic transformation. Prior to metamorphosis hatchlings will gorge themselves and gain body fat in preparation for the massive energy requirement of the process, and Zora parents are encouraged to feed their children more often in the weeks leading up to the event. The changes, roughly in order of occurrence, are: -the tail separates from the lower body, freeing the abdomen and officially becoming the ‘head-tail’ -pigmentation develops on the back and sides of the abdomen -small fins form along the ‘shoulders,’ lower back, and ‘hips’ -as the baby Zora uses energy from its body fat, the reduction of fat around the head reveals the shape of the jaw and neck -similarly, the head-tail shortens and becomes smaller as body fat is repurposed for energy -the arms and legs emerge - these structures began forming gradually during the “ball phase” but were partially fused within the abdominal segment at that time; the young Zora undergoes a partial ‘shedding’ on their belly that removes an outer layer of flexible skin that held the limbs in place as they developed, and then their limbs gradually unfuse - generally the legs unfuse first and then the arms follow -finally, the forearm fins unfuse from the arm mass and unfurl A hatchling is officially considered a toddler when the legs and arms have emerged completely. Most toddlers are 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall from head to foot, but will weigh a little less than their pre-metamorphosis weight due to the consumption of so much body fat.

Stage 4 - Child/”Toddler” (1 1/2 - 40 years) After undergoing metamorphosis the Zora child's growth refocuses towards mental/psychological development than body development. Mental development from 2 years old to 40 years old in a Zora is equivalent to that in Hylians from age 2 to 12. Essentially, Hylian children grow about 3 times faster - and they also grow their bodies, not just their minds! Meanwhile the young Zora will undergo very little change in their body aside from increased hand-eye coordination, dexterity, and the improvement of other senses. They learn how to walk and swim early on in this period and are highly active, though they have low stamina; they’ve got just enough for a short burst of speed or effort, but not enough for extended bouts of running or swimming. Zora children generally start primary school at the age of 20. An in-game example of a Zora in this age range is Laruta, the little girl who hangs out at Mipha’s statue! I’d peg her to be in her early 20s in terms of Zora aging, which puts her mental age/equivalent Hylian age at about 7 years old. just a lil baby. <3 The brothers Tumbo and Keye are also in this stage but they are a little older than Laruta, so they’re probably in their early 30s - equivalent to Hylian 9 year olds.

Stage 5 - Preadolescent/“Preteen” (40 - 45 years) Hylians may have trouble telling child, preadolescent, and adolescent Zoras apart because they all have the same body shape and size; in Zora culture, these differences are denoted more by a child’s mental maturity, their behavior, and their pheromone markers. A preadolescent Zora is akin to an 11 or 12-year-old Hylian in terms of mental maturity and likely has more stamina than a child, but has not yet begun producing adolescent pheromone markers. The “preteen” phase is actually rather short, more of a transitional period between prepubescence and puberty. As such, preteen Zora often have voracious appetites; this is because they need to build up body fat again, since they’re preparing to go into puberty.

Stage 6 - Adolescent/“Teenager” (45 - 60 years) Zora puberty begins around age 45 and is made up of two parts: physical maturity and mental maturity; a Zora is not considered an adult until they have completed both parts, however. Physical and mental maturity start at the same time with changes occurring in a young Zora’s brain chemistry and hormones. The biggest indicator that puberty has begun is the change in a young Zora’s pheromones, and the change in their behavior. Their brains grow more, which results in many of the same emotional and mental woes that Hylian and other peoples’ teenagers experience, and with that they develop their mental maturity further as well. Meanwhile, their physical maturation goes slower; though the body is producing adolescent pheromone markers and hormones, most of the energy is spent on their growing brains rather than the rest of their body. As such this often leads to “teenage” Zora having an awkward “short phase” where they still look fairly young. To the relief of many, they generally get their second growth spurt after about 10 years of mental development. The growth spurt lasts anywhere from 3 to 7 years, though it can take up to 10 years; and it’s this spurt that brings them to full maturity, ability to make babies and all. An in-game example of adolescent Zoras would be Finley, Tula, and Tona (I’m assuming that Tula and Tona are teenagers from the way they act, and the fact that they don’t seem to be actively working). As stated in the game Finley is hasn’t had her growth spurt yet, while Tula and Tona have. Finley is about 54 years old, equivalent to a Hylian 16 year old; while Tula and Tona are around 57-59 years old, equivalent to Hylian 17-18 year olds.

Stage 7 - Young Adult (60 - 85 years) This stage is pretty self-explanatory: now that the Zora has completed both mental and physical maturation, they’ve completed puberty and are now officially an adult, if a young one! At this point they’re ready to take on an apprenticeship, military training, further education, or anything else they’d like to try their hand at. Also, they’re legally allowed to get married and purchase alcohol at the age of 65 (which may be a bummer to any early bloomer Zora who finish puberty at 60 or 61). 60 to 80 year old Zoras are about equivalent to Hylian 18 to 22 year olds at this age. An in-game example of a young adult Zora would be Mipha, before the Great Calamity! She was a bit small for her age, but other than her height she was fully mature by the time she began training with Vah Ruta. I’m going to be totally arbitrary here and say that she was 70 years old when the Calamity struck... my understanding is that Link was 20 years old when the Calamity happened, so they were born 50 years apart but were still in about the ‘same’ stage of their lives! Another example would be Dunma, Rivan’s daughter who guards the entrance to Zora’s Domain with him. She’s probably around 62 at the time that Link first meets her in-game; I have a feeling she was an early bloomer :B

Stage 8a - Common Adult (100+) Another self-explanatory stage is the adult stage for the common Zora; this means any Zora who’s not of Royal blood. This is basically when you’ve gotten out of your early twenties and your body’s mostly stopped growing and you start to realize oh man, I’m actually an adult now. So like, a 100 year old Zora is about equivalent to a 24 year old Hylian or human. Adult Zora are generally more serious than young adults, and they start to hold themselves to those higher standards of speech and etiquette that the Zora are so well-known for. This is also generally when a Zora will settle down to have a family, though some get married and have children earlier. Examples of adult common Zora would be Bazz, Rivan, Gaddison, Laflat, Kodah, etcetera... basically all of the Zora in the Domain who aren’t children, teenagers, oldies, or Royals. To throw out a few ideas I’d say that Bazz, Rivan, and Gaddison are all probably around 145 to 160 years old, having been children/early teenagers when they knew Link. (Rivan’s the baby of the group at 137 years old.)

Stage 8b - Royal Adult (100+) The adult stage for Royal Zoras is slightly different than that for common Zoras, because Royal Zoras undergo additional growth spurts after they hit the age of 100. An evolutionary quirk that was seen as an indicator of greater strength and fertility in ancient times, the Royal Zora’s first additional growth spurt makes them first grow taller than their compatriots, then broader. They end up looking awkwardly skinny with hands and feet too big for their bodies for a while, but they’ll fill out quickly whether with muscle or fat as long as they have access to adequate food (which, being royalty, they usually do). After that growth spurt a Royal Zora will grow more gradually over time until they’re anywhere from 16 to 25 feet tall! The final height of a Royal Zora depends on the individual, of course. The obvious example for a post-growth spurt Royal Zora is Prince Sidon! He is more than 100 years old, as stated in game, and as such is around 10 feet tall - he was closer to 8 feet before his growth spurt. I would peg him at being about 115 years old, which is about equivalent to a 25 or 26-year-old Hylian. It’s not an exact conversion but whatever, he’s a fictional shark man. Speaking of which - Sidon was 15 years old when the Calamity struck, still just a little one, and Mipha was 55 years older than him; if she had survived she would be 170 years old and Super Tall. ...but still maybe shorter than Sidon. hehehe.

Stage 9 - Senior Adult/Old Age (250+) Once a Zora hits 250 years they are officially considered “elderly;” 250 for Zoras is about equivalent to 65 for Hylians/humans, along with the expectation of retirement. The average Zora lifespan is 310 years, but there have been recorded instances of Zoras reaching a natural lifespan of up to 375 years old. It is possible that a Zora’s lifespan could be medically or magically extended, but at that point you’re getting into the sort of “toying with life and death” that more environmentally/socially conscious or pious individuals would object to. King Dorephan is 255 years old, but he is expected to maintain the throne until he dies; on the other hand, Muzu is around 268 but will likely not retire until he feels he’s done all he can to look after the Royal Family. All of the other elderly Zora in the Domain are between 250 and 310 years old, I would say. Dento and Seggin are probably two of the oldest.

WHOOOOO THAT WAS A LOT OF WRITING my head hurts now

[chillwerewolf]

rules: answer the 20 questions and tag 20 amazing followers/people you’d like to get to know better

Blast from the past!! I got tagged by @rdiohead (thank you dude!! I love doing these!!)

name: greyson

nickname: grey / wolfie / wolf boy / gayson

zodiac: gemini (& proud tbh)

height: 5ft 3 or 5ft 4, havent measured in a while

orientation: bisexual i think

nationality: british (bristol, to south wales, to winchester)

favourite fruit: peaches, nectarines, and english plums

favourite season: halloween

favourite book: right now? smoke gets in your eyes by caitlin doughty 

favourite flower: my fragile masculinity means i dont have one

favourite scent: peaches, cadbury chocolate, and cold night air

favourite colour: grey bc im boring

favourite animal: take a wild fuckign guess (wolves)

coffee, tea, or hot cocoa: i can only drink hot chocolate from cafe nero, so assam tea probably

average hours of sleep: 7, plus the hundreds of naps i have during the day

cat or dog person: ultimately, dog.

favourite fictional character: currently it’s akko from little witch academia

number of blankets you sleep with: one? my duvet

dream trip: canada & its national parks

blog created: the furthest i can go back on my archive is october 2012 but i’m sure i was here in 2010/2011. 

number of followers: 2562 - its been going down in 10s every day yay

random fact: im dying squirtle (uh, i have the same username for tumblr, twitter, and insta? is that good enough?)

i don’t have 20 ppl i know on here so @featuringjoshdun, @punkautism, @desperate-mousewife, @its-a-bloody-disaster, @prousts, @little-raccoon-paws and @griffins-tumbo 💙

[lady-on-the-grey]

So I was tagged in a thing by @lesblion for this thing

the last 1. drink: coffee or water 2. phone call: my bubbie 3. text message: marty! (@teabank if you want their blog) 4. song you listened to: well right now I’m listening to a shit ton of Miyazaki movie music, all by Joe Hisaishi of course. But that’s not really songs, so I guess the last song I listened to was Rouge No Dengon from Kiki’s Delivery Service, which does have lyrics and is all fun. I’m kind of on a Ghibli kick rn, any other day this answer wouldv’ve probably been some Mitski or LAKE song. 5. time you cried: recently I think, but I can’t remember specifics. time isn’t real

6. dated someone twice: not applicable, I don’t date at all screw that shit 7. kissed someone and regretted it: once more, not applicable 8. been cheated on: n/a 9. lost someone special: that’s kind of vague. does this mean death? or just them being gone? Because I kind of have both 10. been depressed: that’s a loaded question 11. gotten drunk and thrown up: never been drunk.

3 favorite colors 12. black 13. grey (you may have noticed a theme) 14. olive green? maybe? I love colors, but I don’t wear them much lol, so I dunno, I don’t really have favorite colors. There’s different very lovely colors for every occasion. I like red. Anything is cool, depends on my mood

in the last year have you 15. made new friends: yes! I plan to keep my friend group small still, I like having a small amount of people to keep in contact with and all, but yes, I’ve made several very good friends! 16. fallen out of love: love is fake lol 17. laughed until you cried: I think? Yeah I have 18. found out someone was talking about you: yeah, I don’t really have to find that out, people do it all the time and I hate it, but it’s a very common aspect of my life. I’m used to it 19. met someone who changed you: I dunno, I feel like it would take a lot to change me in a big way, but everyone changed you a little at least. I probably have. If I have I probably haven’t noticed it, that’s difficult to track though. (I would like to point out the very nice and good response Ariel had for this one, ilu buddy! You’re the greatest!) 20. found out who your friends are: I guess so. What does this mean exactly? 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: what’s a facebook

general 22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: see number 21 23. do you have any pets: YESSS I have five cats! Three adults and two kittens. (Warning, sadness ahead) We used to have another cat but he recently passed, and we all miss him very much. I know it’s weird to mention that in this question, but it feels weird and wrong not to mention for me. We had him for like my whole life. 24. do you want to change your name: I used to really want to go by my middle name, Grey. I feel ambivalent now. I’m okay with my name, it’s a bit boring, but I don’t mind it. It’s a nice name, I don’t think it suits me. Plus I don’t like that my first name is the last name of a neo nazi lol, but that’s not that big a deal. It just puts a sour taste in my mouth. 25. what did you do for your last birthday: I went out to get Polynesian food and hibachi and stuff. I was very stressed and anxious the whole night. I think a few days later or before @gummybird took me to see a cure for wellness, which was one of THE worst films we’ve ever seen in theaters. And we go to the movie theater to specifically watch bad movies together. He also gave me a DS and a bunch of mini kit kats. Thank you Jay (I know it’s been like like more than four months, shush, thank you anyway) 26. what time did you wake up: which time? I wake up like five separate times every damn morning. I’ve set three different alarms with different tones at completely different times to ensure I’ll get up at a reasonable hour, and I still fall asleep immediately after turning them off. 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: showering 28. name something you can’t wait for: @nicehairprincess AND @listeningforpudding COMING BACK TO AMERICA THIS MONTH!!! They’re gonna be here tomorrow for the party my mom is throwing at our house that I don’t want to be at lol (parties make me anxious as all hell) 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: maybe 40 mins ago 31. what are you listening to right now: a fan in my room 32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: probably 33. something that is getting on your nerves: my brother is a little pissbaby who gets defensive at everything and can’t ever admit he was wrong. My mom does the same thing. It get’s on my nerves every day 34. most visited website: tumbo dot com

35. hair colour: dirty blond 36. long or short hair: on the long end of short. I’m thinkong of either growing it out of getting one of those cute little fluffy furly mohawk lookin’ things. I wanna do something new with it 37. do you have a crush on someone: see numbers 6, 7, or 16. You’ll notice a theme happening here. 38. what do you like about yourself: next question (I legitimately hate everything about myself, not an over exaggeration. I don’t view it as some tragedy though, I just don’t like myself)

39. piercings: none 40. blood type: blood 41. nickname: god there’s too many. My dad calls me senor speedskate. Everyone else just calls me “that little bitch” 42. relationship status: alone and wouldn’t have it any other way, see number 37 43. zodiac: pisces 44. pronouns: he/him or they/them. tbh I don’t give a shit about pronouns, I probably wouldn’t use any if that wasn’t the most inconvenient thing. The only reason I primarily use he/him is because I’m used to it 45. favourite tv show: gravity falls yo! but it’s over and I’m still crying. my favorite show that’s currently still running is star vs,I can’t wait for the update!! 46. tattoos: none. I may or may not ever get one, I don’t really care 47. right or left handed: right

48. surgery: none? Once I had to get stitches on my head after i cracked it open on a radiator 49. sport: ew, that’s a slur 50. vacation: when I was like 4 my family went to disney? then every summer up until I was in like fifth grade I think we rented a beach house for the last week of summer 51. pair of trainers: ???? is this code or something? Do I need to break out a cryptogram book?

MORE GENERAL 52. eating: right now? nothing 53. drinking: nothing 54. i’m about to: stare blankly into space for four hours then probably shower at way too early in the morning like I usually do 55. waiting for: goddamn anything to happen 56. want: to be less of a sadsack boring peice of nothing lol 57. get married: how dare you say the m word to me 58. career: animator and a lot of other things probably, but the man=in thing is animation and writing

WHICH IS BETTER 59. hugs or kisses: hugs, but please don’t make me do too many. If I hug you it’s fine, if you hug me we got a problem 60. lips or eyes: both, duh. I fnd them both to be visually interesting 61. shorter or taller: both are good, but I’m tall, which I prefer for me 62. older or younger: um what 63. nice arms or nice stomach: why should I choose, they’re just bodies. I don’t care how other’s look so long as mine is good 64. hook up or relationship: hook up but I’ve never done one and probably never will lol. Ain’t no great tragedy 65. troublemaker or hesitant: the two aren’t mutually exclusive. I’m very much both

HAVE YOU EVER: 66. kissed a stranger: no 67. drank hard liquor: no, because taking sips from my older sibling’s cups doesn’t count. The most I’ve had is a beer equivalent like 5% abv thing. It was cherry flavored. But that’s not hard liquor 68. lost glasses/contact lenses: my eyes are in working order, I don’t need those 69. turned someone down: it’s a hobby of mine 70. sex on the first date: I don’t date, binch 71. broken someone’s heart: how would I know that 72. had your heart broken: this is vague but it probably means romantic, so no 73. been arrested: no 74. cried when someone died: not when a human being died, but there have been cats. and friends nearly dying that got me hella upset. 75. fallen for a friend: look, I have some very nice friends but not on your goddamn life

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 76. yourself: did you not read the little shpeil I had about hating myself? Also, it depends 77. miracles: cat’s count as miracles I think 78. love at first sight: no 79. santa claus: I’m an adult. No 80. kiss on the first date: ??? is that somthing I can or cannot beleive in?? it exists whether I do it or not??? 81. angels: no, though the thought is nice, but no

OTHER: 82. current best friend’s name: I have several best friends, I don’t like to categorize my friends, it feels weird, but I’ll just say that Jay and Beck are my closest friends  83. eye colour: like this really muted blue 84. favourite movie: Coraline. But I have a lot of favorites, I talk about them frequently.

I tag @cllusterfuck  and @teabank I guess? and anybody who wants to

[islandadventureswhales]

Anacortes and Port Angeles

Anacortes

10AM

We pushed it to the limit today as far as timing went, going the extra mile to pack in as much wildlife as possible into our journey. The epic adventure started with a stop at the Peapod Island’s National Wildlife Refuge. With an extreme low tide, there was plenty of rock space for the seals to utilize. There must have been at least fifty hauled out here, with many pups in the mix. At the largest of the Peapods, there were at least four bald eagles calling to one another, and soaring in the thermals. It was a beautiful sight to witness. We continued on, cruising between Barnes and Clark Islands, then to the Sucia Archipelago. We stopped to check out the eagle nests on Ewing Island, also finding many pigeon guillemots in the process. At Clements Reef, we found dozens more harbor seals, including Captain Scott’s spirit animal, the ginger-bearded seal. Our search for whales took us into Canadian waters, past Active Pass and deep into the Strait of Georgia. It was humpback heaven out here, we were able to visit with five different whales! First up was Scoop, a mature female that greeted us with some pectoral fin slaps and several tail slaps! She mellowed out after those initial surface activities, and gave us some gorgeous looks at her fluke when she dove down deep, allowing us to ID her. A bit further north, there was a group of four humpbacks chilling side-by-side just beneath the surface. Amongst them was a young calf. Seeing this social interaction between so many was a true treat, although with no flukes shown we weren’t sure who all was present. As we were on scene with the humpbacks, we got word of orca whales to the south near the Bell Chains. Two species, a double header! We raced off in that direction and were thrilled to find the T65As (sans T65A2). This group of five Bigg’s Orca were scouting the shallow reefs for prey. All of a sudden, the water right alongside a small island covered in harbor seals exploded. Two of the kids were scouting for prey, pacing back and forth right along shore, wary harbor seals looking on in fright. This continued for some time before they found something. Then the water erupted once more as the two pursued an unlucky seal, circling their meal before tearing into it. Meanwhile mom and her youngest ones were off ahead, swimming onwards towards Tumbo. What an epic finale to an epic trip. Once we left the whales, we had to race back to the dock, making it just in time to board the next trip. The drive back was one of the more scenic routes through the islands, cruising past rugged coastlines and emerald waters, Mount Baker looking over us all the way.

4PM

We took a completely different route this evening than that taken this morning, turning south down Rosario and out into the greater Strait of Juan de Fuca. We stopped off at Bird Rocks, finding sleepy harbor seals, and many glacous-winged gulls and double-crested cormorants. The waters of Rosario Strait were positively glassy. With conditions this calm, we could see every harbor porpoise in the area break through the surface, meaning we weren't likely to miss any whales if they were around. We tucked in between South Lopez and Castle Island, finding pigeon guillemots and harbor seals. Smooth sailing through the Strait of Juan de Fuca brought us to Hein Bank where a minke whale or two were busy taking out bait balls. Between Port Angeles and Victoria we found the T46Bs and T46B1s seemingly finishing up dinner. With full bellies, and boundless energy undoubtedly fueled by the two calves in this group, they proceeded to play. Toddlers rolled over mother's at the surface, kids spyhopping and showing off flukes amidst the play. It was truly a delight to watch, and all with Mount Baker framing the scene. Eight orcas and so much surface activity, what a treat! On the return trip, we stopped at Smith Island to see what we could find. We lucked out, Captain Scott found puffins galore amidst a bait ball feeding frenzy. Glacous-winged gulls and Hermann's gulls were pounding down baitfish, while dogfish circled below. At one point, a tufted puffin, with a mouth full of fish, fled the scene when a dogfish swam a little too close for comfort. To top it all off, even Mount Rainer was fully visible to the south, its glaciers turning pink with the setting sun. What an amazing finale to a beautiful evening on the water. 

Port Angeles

9:30AM

A beautiful morning to start our wildlife tour with the Olympics in view and a few tankers in the harbor. As we rounded Ediz Hook a few harbor seals were playing near the beach along with many glaucous winged and heermans gulls. We also saw some cormorants and rhinocerous auklets. As we traveled west we ran into harbor porpoise near the Elwha river and got a peak at the snow covered peaks throught the Elwha valley. Our first whale was not far off and was a humpback whale. He proved to be a very difficult humpback staying down for 15 miutes at a time and moving off in erratic distances so we never got a really close look at him. Word came through that we had some incoming orcas and we decided to head out west to meet them. We found the T46B's incoming with their celebrity gray calf T'luk T46B1B. We enjoyed their company for quite awhile and watched as they surfed the incoming swells. It was quite a sight to witness and not one we often see. We eventually broke away to go check out Race Rocks with its beautiful lighthouse. A handful of harbor seals were close to the waters edge and many Steller sea lions were hauled out high up on the rocks. We could hear them growling as they argued about personal space. A lone California sea lion was resting on the rocks across from the stellers. Pigeon guillemots flew around the rocks and 2 black oyster catchers were seen. Heading back across the straits we kept looking for whales but all that was spotted were more harbor porpoise. A whirligig of red necked phalaropes were also seen. All in all was a very successful wildlife tour. -Lee

3:30PM

The water had laid down a bit from this morning as we aimed out of Port Angeles harbor on a northeasterly direction. We had a tip that there were orcas south of Constance Bank so we made our way towards them. On the way an eagle eyed passenger spotted a steller sea lion swimming quite rapidly at the surface heading due south. When we arrived on scene with the orcas it was obvious they were our Bigg's or transient marine mammal eating orcas so no surprise that our steller sea lion was making a mad dash away from them. We spent over an hour watching the T46B's as they traveled along heading east and then taking a southerly turn following some current lines. They never really spread out in true hunting mode but looked like they were sometimes spread out enough to possible snag a seal or seal lion. Though we saw no actual predation we had fun watching the younger calves as they cavorted around including our much sought after gray calf T46B1B T'luk just born this past winter. As they continued their southeasterly journey we had to pull ourselves away and head west. We continued until we reached the Elwha river where Capt Steve spotted our first humpback pair. They were going down for a good 8-10 minutes feeding deep and spending a little time on the surface . The first pair remain anonymous at this moment . The second feeding pair a little to the west were moving south along the current lines. One of the pair was BCZ0298 Split Fin with an unidentified friend. As we watched these two pairs we could see more blows in the distance of other pairs further west to us but the wind had picked up and time was growing short so we spent what little time we had left enjoying the company of these humpback whales before heading back to port. -Lee