#insertions and extraction tools

[newcastleindustries]

Discover high-performance Aerospace Electronics Connectors engineered for precision and durability at Newcastle Industries. Explore our full range at https://newcastleindustries.com/.

[theconcealedweapon]

Insulin is a perfect counter to the "without a profit motive no one will invent anything" bullshit.

The inventors of insulin wanted it to be free and avaliable to everyone who needs it. The inventors invented it without a profit motive.

Then, capitalists inserted themselves as middle men in order to extract profit from it. It's now ridiculously expensive and people need it to live.

People are dying. The tool to save them exists. Capitalists hijack the lifesaving tool and hold it for ransom. Because of that, people die.

Capitalism is pure evil. Capitalists are murderers.

[rallamajoop]

The Complete Guide to Eye Colour In Resident Evil 8

Alright. I've cracked open the game files to extract every eye-related asset I could find. I've installed a bunch of mods to let me remove face coverings and zoom all the way in on the RE8 model viewer. Let's settle this one once and for all!

The short version, for those who just want a cheat sheet:

Ethan Winters: Hazel

Miranda & the Four Lords: Various greys

Bela, Cassandra and Daniela: Yellow

Mia, Rose, Chris and the Duke: Blue

Every local villager: Blue

Most of these are, of course, open to some interpretation, even beyond the usual scope for debating the exact line between grey and blue, etc. Does the eye colour on Ethan's model even count as canon, when you never see it in game? Does Donna's, when her eyes are either hidden behind a veil or vanishing as the light fades from them? It's up to you. But have some longer notes below.

Ethan

For Ethan, I could not get a good shot of his in-game model even with mods, so the render comes from Noesis (a tool for viewing game assets). His eyes are a sorta dark-blue-brown, which I think I can safely class as 'hazel' under the standard definition of "kinda brown, but not, like, brown-brown".

Unsurprisingly, the texture for Ethan's eyes has barely changed from the one in RE7 (lower resolution, and with a larger pupil than most in RE8) ‒ because why update what won't even be seen? But they're still distinctly different from every other character in either game, so I like to see hazel-eyed-Ethan as the official version myself.

Miranda and the Four Lords

Genetically unrelated though they may all be, Miranda and her four "children" all have some variant of washed-out-blue-grey-eyes ‒ even Moreau, who has the least human-looking eyes in the family. Is the mould a factor? (Insert your own theories here!)

Donna's eyes look brown in her portrait, and I would not blame anyone for taking that as more definitive than her character model. But the portrait is dark and fairly low-resolution, and her eyes are very pale in death, so I'd still tend towards the grey-blue of the model myself.

For such different characters, Dimitrescu and Heisenberg's very-pale-grey eyes are remarkably similar. Even Donna's are arguably just a darkened version of the same colouration, and all three have areas of orange-brown discolouration near their pupils.

Apparently this counts as a form of heterochromia ("central heterochromia"), which gets some people very excited. Realistically though, this particular form of heterochromia is so common that you probably don't even notice it most of the time (pick an eye colour, plug it into google image search, and I guarantee you will find examples without even looking for them).

The same central-orange-brown-region is also present for Mia, baby Rose, and Ethan ‒ you can even see a traces of the same in the Baker family (though not Miranda herself). And it's tempting to start to theorise that blue/grey-eyes-with-brown-centres are a symptom of mould-infection ‒ but then, two of the five members of Chris' team have it too, as well as some of the villagers. It's not there for every blue-eyed character in this game, but it's probably just one of Capcom's standard ways of adding a little realistic variation to eye textures.

All that said, Heisenberg, Dimitrescu and Miranda's eyes are so pale that they look just a little bit unnatural, and I'd be very surprised if that wasn't deliberate.

As for mutated forms, Heisenberg is the only one whose monster-form maintains his original eyes ‒ though they're darknened by a heavy pink overlay, which looks even more extreme to me in his game model than it does in the asset, so there's probably another layer of filters on top of it.

Dimitrescu and Moreau just get pupil-less white eyes in their own monster forms (though Moreau certainly gets plenty of other monster-eyes elsewhere on his body). And Miranda gets just one weird eye in the middle of her forehead, for whatever reason. Other monsters in this game have all manner of different eyes, probably just whatever the designer thought looked cool ‒ there's no one, consistent mould-infection-standard, just an awful lot of bizarre individual variation.

Bela, Cassandra and Daniella

All have unnatural yellow eyes, which I think we can take as a cadou-fly-people trait. Their eyes are so consistent they all seem to use the same eye-texture-asset between the three of them, so I haven't bothered including it three times.

There's also one official render of Lady Dimitrescu which gives her almost-glowing yellow eyes, though there's a yellow tint to all the light in the picture, so it may just be reflecting ambient lighting. Still, if you want to theorise she can make her eyes do that, that pic's arguably as canon as anything else.

Rosemary Winters

Rose's eyes seem to change a little between her baby stage and her teen years, losing those brown centres, though they're still a similar blue otherwise. The much stranger thing is that both baby and teen Rose's models have two slightly different extra red eye textures included alongside the standard blue ones, and I could not tell you what they're for.

Possibly there's some way of superimposing the red over the blue base to create the glowing-white-eyes you see when she uses her powers. But that doesn't happen until the DLC (which has even more confusing eye textures which might work for this purposes), and never to baby Rose, so I'm not entirely convinced. Were Rose's eyes supposed to flash red at some point in development? I have no idea.

Mia and Chris

Get grouped together because both appeared in RE7, where their models had brown eyes instead of blue. This makes more sense for Chris, whose model was completely redesigned for RE8, but what's going on with Mia? Her eyes are the same colour before and after she's infected in RE7, and her eyes only get even more brown when she's being mind-controlled, so I don't think we can blame the mould. I'm going to have to assume Capcom just changed them when they reworked her model for RE8 (which has changed, if not nearly so much as Chris') and didn't notice, or didn't expect anyone in the audience would.

I could not actually find any textures for Chris' eyes in the RE7 files, probably because he only shows his face in cutscenes stored in video format, but here's a close-up pic anyway.

The Villagers (and the Duke)

There are 8 named villager characters in the village files, but only five different eye textures to share between them ‒ and two of those are just lightly-adjusted variants on one of the first three. Luiza's model doesn't even have textures for her eyes ‒ I assume her model just references eyes from one of the first five.

Below in order are Elena, Leonardo, Roxana (the other woman at Luiza's), Griggori (man with the gun who Ethan meets first), and finally, the common texture used by Anton, Iulian, Sebastian, and even the Duke. Maybe we can blame inbreeding.

I doubt there's any important buried lore to be found in the fact the Duke has the same eyes as half the village, it's probably just a texture the developers liked using for characters whose eyes would never have to be seen up close.

Chris' Team

Yet more pseudo-canonical eyes, never actually seen in game. But they do all have detailed face models (you can reveal them with mods), probably because there were plans to give them bigger roles earlier in development. Their eye textures are an a different format to the usual, possibly because their models are invisible and incomplete, but they do match what that mod reveals.

The team are notable mostly for containing some of the very few white-skinned but brown-eyed characters in the game (the mother and daughter on the bus from Rose's epilogue are the only others) ‒ though the team isn't all white anyway.

And having now spent way too long digging into this subject, I'm not totally sure Capcom is aware that green eyes are a thing that a) exist, and b) can be as common as blue in some parts of Europe, because Eveline is the only person in this game with green eyes, and she's just a hallucination.

What colour eyes do white people have again? Blue, right? Blue eyes for everyone!

You may draw your own conclusions.

[barleyo]

Hybrid.

Recom! Miles Quaritch X Fem! Reader (smut)

A/N: Hey, guys! I'm back from hiatus, sorry, I've been gone for so long. I got this idea while listening to one of my favorite nsfw asmr creators (feelgoodfilth, please go check him out y’all). Love you all, thanks for reading!

Tags: breeding kink, medical fetish, p in v, handjobs, fingering, unprotected sex, creampies

Wordcount: 1.7K

“Colonel Quaritch?”

“Hm, yeah?”

The woman walked into the small waiting room, taking only a few steps while clutching a clipboard to her chest. 

“I’m ready to run your tests. Would you follow me to the back office?” Her lips pressed into an awkward line, the pissed look on Quaritch’s face telling her that he wasn’t in the mood for a smile.

He stood up, head leaning down uncomfortably in the room. The ceilings got a bit higher when they turned the corner to her office, allowing him to reach closer to his full height. An examining table sat in the middle of the office, and an overhead light stood above it.

“Do I–?” Miles’ hand loosely pointed over to the table.

“Oh, yes, please. Careful of the light, Colonel.” The woman took her seat on a spinning chair, scooting it toward the table with her wheels. “Careful– careful now,” she said, holding her arms out as he roughly sat on the table, trying to protect his large body, as if catching him would have done any good. 

He snorted, lip pulling into a bored, fixed snarl. “Yeah, so sorry, miss,” he said, voice anything but apologetic. 

She gave a small nod, eyeing her papers clipped to her board, scanning over them quickly. 

“Ah– no matter. So, Colonel Quaritch, I have to run a few simple tests and check-ups before we start the extraction process. Please, hold still.”

Extraction.

“Lord, this damn thing couldn’t take any longer, could it? Fucking Christ,” he snapped, patience thinning by the minute.

The RDA just wanted to piss him off at this point, he thought. The whole situation left a bad taste in his mouth, from start to finish. Creating recoms with lab grown Na’vi bodies was getting too expensive, so this was the alternative. Why make them from the government and taxpayers’ money when they had all they really needed: a few female recoms, a few male recoms and a way for them to mix.

“I know, I’m sorry– I know this can’t be pleasant for you,” she said. She was trying to be as sympathetic as possible, but it wasn’t a great process for her to deal with either, especially when the medical wing was understaffed. 

“You have no idea, girl.” Miles groaned impatiently and spread his legs out, trying to work out the stress and kinks from his joints. “Can we just get this over with?”

The nurse nodded and scrambled over to her desk, pulling out an otoscope. She ushered him to lower his head to her level, having already pumped her chair up to its maximum height. “Hey, hey, hold still,” she inserted the tool, holding his blue ear to stop it from flicking as she looked through the lens. “Okay, all good.” 

“What’s even the point of this? Can’t I just jizz in a fucking cup and leave?” He took a deep breath and his nose twitched in irritation. 

“That– that comes later,” she said, face warm at his vulgar language, “just a few more tests, I promise. Now,” she pointed at her mouth, “open up, I need to take a look at your teeth.”

“What? Why?” Miles drew his eyebrows together, looking her up and down. 

“I’ve got to make sure your teeth are healthy, and strong before we pass your DNA down to our other soldiers,” she said while still pointing her fingers at her mouth. “C’mon, show me that handsome smile, eh, Colonel?”

A sigh escaped his muscled chest, stripes seemingly shaking as he breathed. 

“Fine.”

She brought a small light to his mouth, lifting her head up high to see all of his teeth. They were sharp and barred at her, shining in the reflection of her light. 

A few other meaningless tests were performed, each draining Quaritch of his patience more and more. If he had to do one more fucking thing, he was going to—!

“Here you are. Now just take this and, uhm, you know,” she said, passing him a sterile cup to fill. “Fill it to the top, if you can.”

She looked away and started to turn to her desk before she heard a zipper. Her head snapped over to the table to see Miles removing his heavy cock from his cargos, giving it lazy pumps.

“No, there’s– there’s a bathroom for that…!”

“It’ll take like two seconds,” he muttered through gritted teeth, “not leaving just to blow a load.”

She barely heard his response as she watched. She was too busy feeling her grip on the corner of her chair tighten, eyes hooked on the sight of his pretty, blue cock growing in his fist.

 “I, uhm, I think,” she paused, still watching as her voice trailed off.

“Huh? You think what?” He looked at her, smirking at her knuckles going white as she held onto the chair. “I think, little miss, that you want to come help me with this. Am I right?”

“That’s not professional,” she coughed out, turning her head away from him, arms going up to cover her chest. 

“Oh, come on. Don’t you want to help a patient in need? Don’t leave me here to suffer,” Quaritch teased, feeling his impatience being replaced by smugness. 

She bit her lip, eyes squinting as she thought. 

“Oh, nurse,” he called, voice smothered with satisfaction, “I need your help.” He let go of his dick, feeling it spring back to hit his clothed abdomen. A string of precum stuck to his shirt as his cock twitched. 

She walked over to him, pushing the wheeled chair to the corner of the room and out of her way. Taking his cock into her hand, she looked up to meet his blown, amber eyes. “Just to help? T-to hurry the process, right?”

“Mhm,” he hummed, “but, I wouldn’t mind if you took your time.” 

Giving a few, testing strokes, she held as much of his cock that she could manage in her small fist. She went slow, from tip to base. Miles shuttered a bit, hips threatening to snap up into her hand. 

“You’re a little fuckin’ tease, aren’t you? Gonna– fuck,” he clenched his jaw, “gonna actually take your time, huh? Ain’t know you’d listen t’me.”

Taking her other hand, she takes her fingers and traces around his tip, collecting the slick and rubbing it in. She felt it kick in her hands, and gave it a sharp squeeze.

“God, just– let go, c’mon.” 

She let go quickly. “Did I do something wrong? I didn’t mean to!”

Quaritch took a breath through his nose and patted his lap. “Come here, come on. That’s right.” 

She sat, facing him. Her blue scrubs made euphoric friction against his cock, gliding across the length as she got comfortable. 

“I’ve gotten a taste of you, darlin’,” he started, “I won’t be able to hold back. Can’t cum inside that fuckin’ cup.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, mouth parting slightly as she felt his hands reach under her shirt. “Colonel?”

“Ain’t no point in growing another recom in a lab with my DNA,” he started, leaning to her neck, letting the warmth of his breath hit the exposed skin, “when I could put my DNA inside of you. Gonna let me breed you? Huh?”

He held onto the swell of her breast under the shirt, running a thumb over her hard nipple. 

“Gonna let me fuck a hybrid into you?”

Her mouth hung open for a second, unanswering. “Colonel….”

“Answer me, missy. Gonna do it? Let me fill you up with a fuckin’ alien baby.”

A slow nod was all he needed to see. In a swift movement, she felt her body turned and pushed, her back on the table. 

“Careful, please,” she mumbled, lips raw from her chewing them nervously. 

“No time for ‘careful,’ honey, I gotta take you nice and rough.” Quaritch pulled her pants and panties down, balling the fabric up and tossing them into a corner in the office. He brought his fingers to her cunt, collecting the slick leaking from her hole. “Worked up, huh?”

He placed one hand over her thigh, pulling her legs apart. She instinctively tried to close them back, unsuccessfully. 

“Keep ‘em open, I need to get you prepped for me.” He took one finger and rocked it into her, reaching to the far back of her walls. “All this talk got you wet already,” he said, feeling his finger slip in and out with ease. 

“Wait, I’m close, really close,” she said, legs starting to shake. 

A  dry chuckle left Quaritch’s mouth. “Yeah? I won’t stop you. Cum.” His fingers curled into the gummy spot in her, abusing the sensitive area. A soft clenching trapped the digit, tightening over him for a few moments. “There, there you go.”

“Thank you, yes– fuck!”

“One load ain’t enough for you, huh?” His eyes were completely blown and lust-filled. “God– your greedy little cunt, milkin’ me dry.” 

“Please, one more time– one more. Want your babies so bad!” she moaned, voice completely punched out. Her whines were breathless, and broken. 

Quaritch gave a soft hum as he continued at the same pace, slotting his hips between hers roughly. The squelches of her messy, wet cunt filled his ears and egged him on further. Dribbles of his cum from earlier dripped out of her with each of his thrusts.

“I’m just gonna seed you, girl. Spill my fuckin’ cum all in you for second time so it takes.”

Her walls clenched around his cock at his words, a soft moan escaping her lips. 

“You like that, yeah?”

“Yes, yes—” 

“Keep clenching on me, keep me nice and hard,” he growled into her ear gently licking the shell of it after he finished talking, “God– you got me right on the edge.”

“Don’t make me wait,” she sobbed, feeling herself go blind from pleasure.

“So greedy, so– so impatient.” Quaritch held onto her hips, using her hips for further leverage as he fucked her into the table. 

“Cum– cum in me, please, Colonel, one more time.”

Her begging threw him over the edge, and he spilled his second load into her, his cock kicking as he did. 

“Fuck, sweet girl, there you go. Not even gonna pull out of you, gotta keep you plugged up.” He sat up, pulling her on his lap, dick still inside. 

“Do you think I’ll actually, uhm, you know?” she sighed, looking a bit concerned.

“Get pregnant? I don’t know, girl. Maybe not. Or maybe you will, and you’ll get full with some little recom soldier babies.” He ran his hand over her cheek before speaking again, “Maybe I should fill you up again. Third time’s a charm.”

[vgperson]

What Did I Do In 2023?

Whatever I wanted, mostly.

----

As I mentioned last year, my site now has an RSS feed with basically everything I've done back to 2020, so this will mainly be going over the same stuff from that, just with added context.

In January, I finally sat down and properly realized an idea for a short story I'd had sitting around for a while: From the Sidelines, about a fantasy RPG expedition going sideways. I remain very proud of it in both concept and execution, and hope people read it.

In February, Your Turn To Die was released on Steam Early Access, receiving character profiles and some bonus mini-episodes, adding two more later in the year.

After finishing From the Sidelines, I carried that momentum to revisit my Ut0p1a story series about funny computer animals. I'd always meant to continue it - and conclude it - but hadn't been satisfied with the ideas I had for it until totally rethinking them this year. In March, I posted the remaining stories one after another: Right to Code and Left to Code. I'm very proud of these as well. Also in March, Kenshi Yonezu released LADY. (Video, interview)

In April, Uri released the Data Book of the Strange Men Series, a big collection of the writing she's done on the games in the series, with a lot of new parts as well, all translated by me.

Then in May... uh, well, let's see. In April, Capcom released the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection. I always adored the Battle Network games, and was initially excited that they finally did the thing... but by the time it came out, I was pretty disappointed by how, while you certainly couldn't call them low-effort ports, the effort didn't extend everywhere I thought it should, with the biggest offenders being the total absence of any "convenience features" except Buster Max Mode, the bad font, and the almost entirely untouched translations.

So, I ended up deciding I might as well just replay the originals, and that was a fun time (aside from the parts that were bad). Doing this, I couldn't help but notice how... turbulent the translations were, even if I'd always known they were less than ideal. I mean, the first two games just used periods for ellipses despite the tight character limits, then in BN3 they had an ellipsis character... but it's center-aligned, Japanese-style? Aside from the intro, which has normal ones? Gosh, somebody should fix that - it's simple enough to find and edit in YY-CHR. "JapanMan" is silly, too - I wonder if anybody made a patch for that? Wait, what do you mean there's just a tool to extract and insert text in all the Battle Network games including the Legacy Collection???

Thus began a journey that sort of occupied the rest of my year. First I did the BN3 Translation Revision, trying not to worry too much about cross-referencing the Japanese text unless something seemed wrong, so that I didn't spend too long on the project. Then I began to consider BN2, with its unfortunate "foreigner" text that would need some more significant reworking. I established more convenient tools for comparing with the Japanese script, and thus did a much more thorough job with it, releasing the BN2 Translation Revision in June (AKA Princess Pride Month).

Finally, after giving myself time to recover and actually finish replaying the series, I knew what I had to do to close things out. With the BN4 Translation Revision, you can finally play Battle Network 4 with a translation that isn't such a mess. Whether you'd want to is for you to decide, though if you can get over the structure, I don't think it's the worst game in the series by any means. (Oh, and in December I also updated the BN3 Revision to 1.1, doing a thorough pass with the methods I'd honed. But I think I'm pretty much good on MMBN translations now.)

Anyway, backtracking to other things that happened during my Battle Network haze... June had Kenshi Yonezu's Moongazing (video, interview), and July had Globe (video, interview, interview).

Last but not least, released in November, I translated Refind Self: The Personality Test Game, a short game from Lizardry (creator of 7 Days to End with You) with a fun concept.

----

Obviously I was right to have said "no promises" last year. But really, Your Turn To Die should get its final part on Steam sometime next year, maybe even early-ish in it. That's certainly the goal.

I'm also hoping to buckle down and finish one of my own games, but as usual, who knows how that'll pan out. Letting my whims carry me this year let me finally finish From the Sidelines and Ut0p1a, which was great, and it also led me down a Battle Network rabbit hole, which was... fine, but definitely for a narrower audience. I'd always like to get back to more free game translations and the like, too, but it takes effort to find things I'd want to translate. For now, I think my increasing desire to be able to let loose some of these original games I've been planning, and the stories in them, might come out on top.

[shimii26]

Not Always Peaches And Cream

61 days after the crash…

“F-Four months of food left?” Anya repeated back to Jimmy who had relayed out the reality of the situation to each of the crew members.

“Yeah, Daisuke double counted what we’ve got left minus what’s probably left in the vending machines.” Jimmy confirmed. “If we have the discipline, it should last us the same amount of time as our remaining air supply.”

“I suppose that means no more mocktails by Daisuke on the weekends…” Anya mumbled under her breath.

The Pony Express crew had been under emergency protocol and off course from their original travel path for the past two months, with a distress signal seemingly being sent out to hopefully nearby rescue stations everyday, the team had gone through what could be extracted initially from the foam without tools and evaluated what wasn’t damaged from the blast. While their ship wasn’t prepared enough for emergencies as is, a good half of the supplies they did have were either destroyed or hidden under the foam, and most likely wouldn’t be accessible as it would be too risky to remove too much of the foam for the chance there could be another foam trigger. It was clear for all of them that while they were waiting for rescue, they would have to make do with using any supply sparingly and with thought, or risk starving to death before help arrived.

Curly was already causing quite a bit of conflict in how medical supplies were used, he required round the clock care of new dressings, painkillers, and a lingering sense of doom for the crew, considering everyone besides Jimmy was under the impression that this whole situation was his fault. Nevertheless, the team agreed to keep him alive and do what they could to reduce some of his suffering, but it wasn’t an easy task given the fact that Curly was basically completely helpless. With no appendages on his limbs and barely any skin left, he was at the mercy of the crew’s help, and couldn’t even communicate to them anything he needed. So due to the unusual language barrier, it was mostly guesswork by Anya and Jimmy who would take turns giving him his painkillers, food rations, water, and maintenance everyday. Anya handled most of the task as she was the crew’s onboard nurse, but lately administering Curly’s painkillers had been difficult for her, the noises he made when she had to insert the pill down his throat was gut-wrenching to put it lightly, each round made her stomach turn worse and worse, which meant Jimmy sometimes had to take her place and take care of it. It wasn’t an easy ask from him after he inserted himself as the new captain, along with Anya having to walk on eggshells around him after he had assaulted her before the crash. She was taken out of her looming deep thoughts about where the crew’s plans would go from here when Jimmy asked her a question she dreaded hearing.

“By the way, have you given Curly his medication today?” Jimmy sternly asked her, knowing he would most likely be the one to do so again.

“...I, w-well u-um…” Anya stuttered, not wanting to upset him with a ‘no’ answer.

He wasn’t in the mood to negotiate with, it was clear he was on edge about a conversation he must’ve had with Swansea about checking the cargo they were hauling all this time. She knew damn well that if she didn’t muster up the courage to bear through the nausea and give Curly his painkillers today, Jimmy would surely take his irritation out on him and further worsen his injuries. He let out a frustrated sigh and took a step forward.

“...I’ll take care of-” Jimmy started, but was cut off by Anya.

“N-No, I-I got it this time…” she interjected, trying to improvise her answer. “...Afterall, ‘People have to be worth their titles’, right?...”

. . .

Jimmy paused before answering. She flinched as he stepped back from her.

. . .

“...Fine, just get on with it. I’d like to sleep tonight without his interruption.” he huffed and turned away, heading for the door back to the lounge. “Keep an eye on Curly while I’m searching for the code scanner.”

“...Y-Yes, Captain…” Anya managed to squeak out, swallowing hard.

Once Jimmy had left the room to look for the code scanner, Anya released the tension in her shoulders and sighed in relief, any chance to take a break from dealing with him was welcome in her book. She had always been wary about her actions around Jimmy ever since he had assaulted her months ago, of course none of it was her fault, but she felt it necessary not to get on his bad side anymore. She leaned against the gurney, turning her head to face Curly, who was now staring at her with concern, he wasn’t shy about the conversation that just happened, he knew what was about to happen now was going to hurt.

“I’m… sorry you had to see me like that, Captain… Let’s get you feeling a bit better, okay?” she whispered to him.

Curly responded with a soft grunt.

After a couple moments of awkward silence and staring, Anya got up and stepped over to the counter where the remaining painkillers lied and she grabbed a bottle, taking out one of the pills inside. Taking a prepared breath, she sanitized one of her hands with the remaining hand sanitizer on her desk and got closer to Curly, trying not to make too much eye contact. She slowly tilted his head back and opened his mouth, readying her hand with the painkiller in it. Squinting her eyes a bit, she quickly inserted her hand into his mouth and hesitated from the slimy yet burnt texture of his tongue. The nausea wasted no time filling the pit of her stomach with its presence, but she knew she had to persevere, so she extended her hand further. Curly’s eyes watered and he began to choke, but attempted to hold it together, knowing that the pain would be over before he knew it. Finally, Anya stuck the pill far enough for Curly to be able to take care of it from there and swallow the painkiller down. Once she knew the pill was gone from her hand, she retracted it without as much care as before due to her panic and foggy mindset from the nausea. Curly flinched and coughed quite hard from the hand removal, gasping a bit for breath. Her hand had quite a bit of blood on it from irritating the more sensitive parts of his throat, a bit of guilt washing over her, she didn’t want to hurt Curly, but she had no other choice of pill administration since he couldn’t swallow properly. She took a couple breaths of relief as she closed his mouth and tilted his head back into its original position.

“...Sorry Curly, but… At least you won’t have to deal with Jimmy tonight now…” Anya reassured him as she wiped his tears away with his hospital gown.

Curly groaned in agreement and settled down a bit.

Anya stepped over to the sink and washed Curly’s blood off her hand, the sickly texture of his mouth still lingering in her mind as the nausea took its usual course. She decided to take a moment to try and settle the feeling and talk to Curly, so she slid her nearby office chair over to his face and bent over slightly to be closer to his eye level.

“...Y’know, despite the fact that I’ve yet to earn my nursing degree from my university, I’m surprised how well my lessons of emergency treatment were retained…” Anya began to trail off in conversation. “I mean, it’s very difficult now to keep the standards all the way given the fact that we’re out of most of the supplies we need to keep you the most comfortable, but we’ve managed to get by so far, right?”

Curly didn’t respond back, his stare giving her no reassurance about her explanation. She took the hint that despite the care she was giving him, he was still in a lot of pain and she sighed.

“...Okay, maybe ‘most comfortable’ isn’t the best description for your situation. But, at least we can keep your pain under control for a little while with the painkillers… But then… I’m unsure where to go from there with your care, pain isn’t easy to ignore without some kind of medical help once they run out…”

Anya placed her hand on Curly’s head, giving it a little pet.

“...But in any case, I won’t abandon you… not with Jimmy around…” she whispered to him, letting her eyes slowly close if just for a moment.

He responded with a little huff, putting all his trust in her better judgement.

Suddenly, Curly’s head jolted up from feeling a sharp pain in his abdomen, his limbs curling up in response too. A harsh, raspy barrage of grunts erupted from his throat as he tried to fight through the pain, the painkiller hadn’t kicked in yet, so he could feel the entirety of what was happening to him.

“C-Curly? Wh-What’s wrong!?...” Anya nervously asked him, getting up from her chair. “Where does it hurt?”

Grrooowwrrlwll…

Curly’s stomach let out an uncomfortably pained and empty noise, the painkiller hadn’t been taken with food, so it’s coating was causing some inside irritation within him.

“...Oh, that’s right…” Anya realized, looking at Curly’s strained expression. “When was the last time you were given something to eat?”

She knew Jimmy was the last person to feed Curly his rations, and he typically never wrote down the times he did so, but it was clear it had been quite some time given Curly’s current predicament. She had to feed him something as quick as possible with the minimum amount of viscosity since he had trouble swallowing and didn’t want to risk choking him. Plus, she couldn’t waste time feeding him slowly as his stomach needed help digesting the painkiller right away, and the more food in immediately, the better the outcome. Anya remembered one of the groups of cans of various foods they had stockpiled after the crash included cans of peaches with their juice, something that Curly should be able to swallow without much struggle. Despite the fact that the whole crew had to make four months worth of rations last six months, he was included in the crew’s calculations, so it wouldn’t be a total loss if a whole can was cracked open for him to eat. Anya gently rubbed his head and tried to softly shush him into a calmer state, eventually he managed to get ahold of himself long enough to listen to her.

“I’ll be right back with something for you Curly, try to breathe deep while I’m away, it should help subside the pain a bit.” Anya reassured him. “I won’t leave you like this, okay?” His exposed eye kept eye contact with her and he nodded, it was clear he was holding a bit of tears back from the pain.

Wasting no time to get back to Curly as quickly as she could, she ran out of the room and into the lounge, stepping into the kitchen area where the majority of their canned food rations lay. Following her finger to guide her eyes to quickly scan the labels of the cans, she managed to find one of the cans of peaches with the fruit juice on the counter. It was much larger in size compared to the other cans of the same product, but right now that didn’t matter to her, Curly needed her help right away, and she wasn’t going to disappoint him and Jimmy about her care for him. A clean enough spoon lay on the counter next to the cans, not the most ideal since it was on the smaller side, but it would do, so she took that with her back through the hallway. Daisuke sat nearby the kitchen and watched silently as Anya panic grabbed one of their ration cans and rushed it to the medical ward. He knew it probably wasn’t a good sign considering the whole crew was just made aware of their need to conserve rations, but he decided to trust her better judgement and didn’t get involved with what was going on. Ripping the top of the can open once she returned to the medical ward, she sat back down in her chair and prepared a scoop of peaches and juice on the spoon and scooted her chair next to Curly, her arms approaching his mouth.

“Relax Curly, this should help you settle back down, okay?” Anya softly whispered, trying to keep her nerves together. “Open up.” He turned his head to face her direction, taking notice of the spoonful of peaches next to his mouth. It wasn’t exactly a meal for someone struggling to heal from an almost complete third degree body burn, let alone balanced and nutritious, but it was clear there was thought put into his current swallowing obstacle. Peaches in a can were quite soft and moist, they could easily slide down his throat with minimal effort, and would be alkalizing enough to speed up the process of the digestion of the painkiller. Curly took a couple of rough breaths before uncurling his body and slowly opening his mouth to receive the food Anya was feeding him, the juice first coating every bit of surface in his throat. Most of his taste buds were destroyed from the blast, but enough remained that he could detect the syrupy goodness of the subpar peach juice, it was almost intoxicating to him. Once his throat was thoroughly lubricated with juice, the peach slice easily slid to the back of his throat without resistance, and he eagerly gulped it down, feeling almost instant relief from finally having something that didn’t taste like cardboard or charcoal. His tongue licked the remaining juice off his teeth, making sure not to miss a single drop. Anya seemed to relax in her seat, knowing Curly was now in a much calmer state of mind. She warmly smiled as she prepared another scoop from the can.

“Heh, you look like you enjoyed that. Haven’t seen you so excited for any of the Pony Express food.” Anya chuckled. “...But I guess any food would taste good if you’re hungry enough for it…Ready for another?”

Curly panted with anticipation, he couldn’t wait for another taste of temporary freedom.

. . .

Freedom from hunger, freedom from pain, freedom from his own personal hell…

. . .

If only just for a little while…

. . .

She spoon fed him another slice, this one almost tasting better than the first, sweeter and juicier, he happily took down the helping, and another, and another. The empty void in his belly fading as it was now filled with the sweet nectar of the Pony Express can ration Anya provided for him, the irritating pain subsiding as the painkiller soon took effect, rushing to his brain and giving him an instant euphoric high. The joy-filled experience for him intensified, he needed more mouthfuls of peaches and their juice, so her administration of each spoonful got a bit faster overtime. Spoonful by spoonful, the can of peaches slowly emptied to about half filled before Curly’s consciousness dwindled and it became harder for him to swallow effectively without coughing a bit. Anya soon realized that his painkillers had taken full effect, so he would most likely be in no condition to continue eating safely, so she decided to call off serving him another peach slice. The can she chose was quite large, so given that Curly managed to consume about half of its contents, he had probably eaten about a pound of peaches and drank a good half liter of the juice, probably a bit much of a portion for someone who hadn’t been able to eat much since the accident, but at least he hadn’t thrown it up like the last couple of feedings he had in the past.

For now, Curly was taken care of, medically distracted from the agonizing pain, and given a hefty meal of sweet bliss. Anya couldn’t hold back a chuckle as a bead of drool rolled down Curly’s mouth and a little snore escaped through his teeth. She could almost hear his stomach softly gurgle with contentment as it got to work extracting whatever nutrients it could from the meal to use towards further healing. If he wasn’t now just an almost inhuman looking pile of unsettling muscle, bone, and memories, the sight of him in this content state would’ve probably been kinda cute. She gave his belly a soft pat after she wiped away the drool off his face, it was one of the only parts of him that wasn’t completely burnt clean off, so she didn’t worry about injuring him with the pat.

‘...You’re not the greatest captain, you’ve let all of us down by not standing up for what’s right, but…’ she shuddered. ‘...Compared to Jimmy… You’ll always be the captain in my eyes… Captain Curly…’ she thought to herself.

Anya looked down into the can of peaches, the smell of them was actually a bit pleasing, enough to pique her appetite as well. She was pulled from her daydreaming and realized that she hadn’t eaten much today herself, and with the fridge in the kitchen no longer operationable from the foam’s impact, it wouldn’t be worth trying to preserve what was left in the can and eat something different. She shrugged and figured it was better to just finish them off for her ‘meal’ and call it a day, unless Jimmy managed to find the code scanner tonight. She stood up and took the spoon over to the sink and gave it a quick rinse before using it to scoop out a slice for herself. It still felt a bit odd eating food straight from a can, but nevertheless, it was technically edible in this manner, so she gave one a taste. To her surprise, the peaches were almost reminiscent of the fruit cups one might pack into the lunch bag of a child, nostalgic in their flavor, and decently seasoned in their own juices. No wonder Curly was so excited to eat them, it was one of the best tasting food can rations the Pony Express probably offered, and the two of them got to share the experience together, albeit not as together right now since he was a bit incapacitated with his painkiller high.

She sat on the edge of the gurney and watched over him as she took her time polishing off the other half of the peaches and juice, making sure not to let any little bits on the side go to waste. If they were going to be sparingly eating their rations to stretch their supply out for an extra two months, every bit from the can might as well be eaten to ensure they were all getting enough to eat when they did. Once all of the peach slices were gone, Anya sipped on the remaining juice and got up, giving Curly a once over check before deciding to step out for a break to maybe speak with Daisuke for a bit. However, once she entered the lounge area, she noticed that he was no longer in his original seat. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, which caused her to jolt a bit, quickly turning around to see who it was. Luckily it was just Daisuke and not Jimmy, but she was now quite irritated with him for scaring her like that.

“Anya?-” Daisuke started, but was cut off from Anya’s yelp.

“-Don’t scare me like that!” she scolded him, keeping the can of peach juice close to her body. “...What’s wrong?”

It was clear that Daisuke was on edge about something, having one hand holding his other elbow as he spoke.

“...Jimmy found the code scanner, and managed to find the combination to our cargo hold… He wants all of us to be there when he opens it.” Daisuke explained.

The cargo hold. The Pony Express didn’t allow the crew to utilize anything from the cargo they were hauling without some kind of reprimand for breaking the rules. But what other choice did the crew have? If anything, it could be of use to them somehow. It’s not like after their possible rescue they were going to finish their transport mission, but then again, The Pony Express wasn’t very kind to those who had just gone through work trauma.

“...Oh, I see.” Anya nodded, keeping her eye contact minimal. “Whatever’s in there, I hope we’re doing the right thing by checking it… Let it be medicine, food, or water. Any of those will be a major help for our situation…”

“I’m keeping my hopes up that that’s the case, and if not… I can’t imagine what we could possibly be transporting for over a year like this.” Daisuke agreed, beginning to make his way down to the cargo hold.

“...I just hope it isn’t dangerous…” Anya mumbled under her breath, not wanting another reason to keep away from Jimmy. “...I’ll be right down.”

“Alright, but don’t take too long, he wants to open the cargo hold tonight.” he said as he turned back around to head down the steps.

She slowly shut her eyes and tried to clear her head, worried about the unknown outcome all of them were about to face by discovering what they had been hauling all this time. If it was survival supplies, then it could be a complete game changer, if it was something completely useless, then the panic would surely wash over them like an overpowering minty teeth cleaner after a serious dental procedure. All they could do was find out now. She opened her eyes back up and gulped down the rest of the peach juice before placing the empty can into the recycling bin nearby in the kitchen, and following not too far behind from Daisuke to meet with the rest of the crew.

It was time to find out what The Pony Express had them transporting all this time…

Mouthwashing characters belong to Wrong Organ ^w^

[talonabraxas]

Buddha Nature

Amrita: The Nectar of Immortality

In Indian mythology and spiritual philosophy, “Amrita” holds a special place. Derived from Sanskrit, “Amrita” is often translated as “nectar,” “ambrosia,” or more intriguingly, “the nectar of immortality.” This concept permeates not only Hinduism but also Buddhism, Sikhism and Greek mythology each offering unique perspectives on its significance. In recent times it was also the story line for a James Cameron’s movie.

Amrita in Hindu Mythology

In the realm of Hindu philosophy, Bindu Visarga is a fascinating concept that delves into the depths of human consciousness and potential. Bindu Visarga, located at the top of the head towards the back on the same plane as the third eye, is considered a psychic center of immense significance. The term ‘Bindu’ translates to ‘point’ or ‘dot’, symbolizing the potential consciousness and creative force each individual possesses.

According to ancient texts, Bindu Visarga is the residence of the moon, and when the moon is full, it releases its nectar or ambrosial fluid that permeates the entire body. This nectar is known as Amrita is believed to fortify the body against toxins and strengthen immunity against viruses. From a physiological perspective, the release of Amrita is associated with the secretion of hormones from the pituitary gland into the bloodstream, enhancing overall health and longevity. Certain yogic postures such as Sirsasana (headstand) and Sarvangasana (shoulder stand) are believed to increase the production of Amrita.

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (HYP), a classical text on Hatha Yoga, suggests that practicing Khechari Mudra can reverse the body’s degeneration process. Khechari Mudra involves turning the tongue backwards into the cavity of the cranium and directing the eyes inwards towards the eyebrow center. However, mastering this mudra is not an easy task and requires diligent practice under the guidance of an experienced teacher.

The nectar of immortality begins to flow when the tongue becomes flexible enough to be inserted into the upper epiglottis. This nectar descends from Bindu Visarga to Vishuddhi Chakra (throat chakra), where it is purified and distributed throughout the body. However, for one to attain immortality, specific techniques and practices need to be performed to trap and consume the nectar within the human body.

Jalandhara Bandha, also known as the throat lock, plays a crucial role in this process. ‘Jal’ means ‘water’, and this bandha is used to hold the nectar in Vishuddhi and prevent it from falling into the digestive fire, conserving prana or life-force energy.

The story of the churning of the ocean by the devas (good supernatural deities) and asuras (the supernatural forces of chaos) and the subsequent extraction of nectar and deadly poison provides a rich symbology for understanding Vishuddhi chakra and the nectar of immortality. Lord Shiva’s ability to drink the poison, retain it in his throat, and purify it signifies the yogi’s capacity to assimilate both positive and negative aspects of life, maintaining balance, health, and equanimity amid life’s dualities.

On an energetic level, the concept of Amrita-nadi or ‘conduit of immortality’ provides a profound visualization tool. This pathway of light between the deep centers of the upper coil (midbrain to crown) and the lower coil (below and behind the navel) illuminates the body with radiant bliss, reflecting the heart’s essence. This visualization serves as a powerful tool for spiritual enlightenment, embodying the transformative power of Amrita, the nectar of immortality.

Amrita in Buddhist Philosophy

In Buddhism, Amrita appears in a more metaphorical context. It’s perceived less as a physical substance and more as a state of consciousness or realization that leads to liberation from suffering and cyclic existence, essentially a form of spiritual immortality. In Tibetan Buddhism, Amrita is associated with initiation rites where practitioners receive blessings from their teachers, symbolizing the transformative power of the teachings.

Amrita in Sikhism

In Sikhism, Amrita refers to the holy water used in the Amrit Sanchar ceremony (Sikh baptism). Prepared by stirring sugar into water with a double-edged sword while reciting five sacred verses, this Amrita is given to initiates, signifying their commitment to the path of truth, service, and devotion as outlined by the Sikh Gurus.

Amrita in Greek mythology

In Greek Mythology, Ambrosia holds a position of supreme significance. It is often considered as the divine sustenance of the Gods, a potent concoction that bestowed upon its consumers the gift of immortality. The term ‘Ambrosia’ is derived from the Greek words ‘a’ (meaning ‘not’) and ‘vrotos’ (meaning ‘mortal’), clearly indicating its association with eternal life.

According to Homeric tradition, this celestial nectar was transported to the Gods residing on Mount Olympus by doves. It’s believed to be the divine essence exhaled by the Earth itself, adding an extra layer of mysticism to its existence. Often intertwined with the concept of nectar or the ‘elixir of life,’ Ambrosia was a crucial element that added a dash of magic to the already enchanting tales of the Greek Gods. Although the Gods were inherently powerful and immortal, the presence of ambrosia and nectar in these myths added a certain allure and excitement to their narratives.

One particularly compelling account is found in Homer’s epic poems, where the Goddess Athena uses Ambrosia in a rather intriguing way. It is said that Athena sprinkled Ambrosia over Penelope while she slept. Upon waking, the effects of age had miraculously vanished from her skin, making her appear youthful and radiant. This transformation was so profound that her suitors were consumed with passion at her sight, showcasing the transformative power of this divine nectar.

Amrita in contemporary cinema

In the blockbuster movie Avatar 2, Amrita takes on a whole new meaning. It is portrayed as a neurocrine liquid of a yellowish hue produced by tulkuns, a creature from another world, in the glands located at the base of their brain. This substance is no ordinary fluid; it possesses extraordinary properties that can halt the aging process in humans entirely, providing them with a form of physical immortality.

The tulkans get mercilessly hunted. by humans. to extract Amrita which is portrayed as the most expensive commodity in 2170. This narrative surrounding Amrita illustrates the lengths to which humanity might go in its quest for immortality.

Amrita: A Symbol of Spiritual Aspiration

Across these diverse interpretations, Amrita stands as a potent symbol of spiritual aspiration. It represents the quest for immortality, not in the physical sense, but as a transcendence of the ego, ignorance, and the cycle of birth and death. The pursuit of Amrita is, in essence, the pursuit of enlightenment, liberation, or self-realization.

Whether it’s the epic churning of the cosmic ocean, the profound meditative practices of Buddhism, or the solemn rites of Sikhism, Amrita serves as a reminder of our inherent potential for spiritual growth and transformation. It invites us to embark on our unique journey towards immortality, guided by wisdom, compassion, and the enduring hope for liberation.

[smoked-salmon-official]

UH. UH-

USE THIS ASK TO INFO DUMP ABOUT VICTORY!!

WHO! WHAT! WHEN! WHERE! HOW! WHY!

RAUGHHHHHHHHH TYSM

okayyyyyyyyyy

yapping ahead !

Victory is a megop fankid/sparkling OC. Victory uses they/them pronouns and turns into a humvee [insert image that im too lazy to grab]. They exist in the TF Dying Light fan continuity, mostly because those megs and OP designs are the ones I'm most comfortable drawing, so I can import aspects from both their designs nicely in. However, they can conceivably exist in any continuity and I'm excited to explore that !

Victory was created entirely on accident, via the Allspark. Either on Earth or in the final days of the war on Cybertron, the Autobots and Decepticons were fighting over the Allspark in typical transformers mcguffin fashion. So, basically, the Allspark is in a capsule that will only open to someone Primus deems worthy, like the sword in the stone. At this point the capsule is sitting dramatically between Megatron and Optimus.

Optimus figures, if I use the Matrix to harmonize with the Allspark, it'll see that Primus chose me to be a Prime, and also the Matrix is from Primus too. It's not his intention, but he also exposes his spark in the process. Megatron sees this and he's like, oh shit. At this point his true wish is still for a better Cybertron, and of course he's Megatron he thinks hes worthy. So he opens up his own spark to try and get it on the same frequency as the Allspark, same Primus magic spark logic thing.

Unfortunately, Primus has shut off the tap of energon at this point and is ignoring all of Cybertron. So the Allspark instead does its intended function - to create new Cybertronian life ! At this point the Allspark hasn't produced new sparks in a long time due to Primus shutting off the tap [like in tf one], but a massive influx of energy from both their sparks and the matrix sort of wakes it up again. So the Allspark absorbs the energy from their sparks and uses it to forge a new kind of spark - one mixed from both of them !

So instead of the Allspark capsule opening up, in the middle of this big, big battle... Out pops a little ass sparkling protoform.

So you can see the problem here. They are fighting a war and neither Optimus nor Megatron want this. They don't want a sparkling nor one they accidentally created with their worse enemy. Neither of them want this.

But... Megatron sees that Victory was made through Allspark magic. If he can't have the Allspark, this is the next best thing and maybe they can figure out a way to extract the energy from their spark. Also, he lowkey wants an heir.

Optimus very much does NOT want this, but he knows he has a reponsibility to any tiny ass kid he finds, and especially now because he made Victory, whether he intended to or not.

So here comes the game of hot potato - the Decepticons take Victory, the Autobots steal them back. This happens for a long ass time. Megatron really wants the Allspark and OP can't have Victory grow up with the Decepticons.

Both of them are very bad parents in different ways - Megs bc he only sees Victory as the annoying middle step between him and the Allspark and OP because let's face it, he knows how to fight a war and he does not know how to raise a child. Also, Victory reminds both of them of each other and both of them hate that.

In the war, they get used a lot too - as a bargaining chip for OP to entice Megatron into peace talks, as something Megatron can threaten for OP to do what he wants, and as a tool to get the rest of Cybertron to fall behind either faction [propaganda, look the allspark sharted out a kid and we have the kid ! follow us !].

But ultimately Victory grows up hating both of the factions for never letting them stay with the people they love and turning them into a weapon/tool/bargaining chip.

And then Cybertron goes dark... And the bots and cons go to Earth...

But. Victory, at this point, is a young adult/teenager and they're fucking tired of everything. So at one pont or another, they slip away, steal a ship, and now, they're a traumatized neutral who hates both factions ...

And one day, yes, they will stumble on Earth and find everyone they hate conveniently in one place ...

[Megs and OP both love Victory in their own ways, but the ways they ultimately express that are very harmful]

Megatron named Victory, because, you know, he likes victory

[newcastleindustries]

Discover high-performance Aerospace Electronics Connectors engineered for precision and durability at Newcastle Industries. Explore our full range at https://newcastleindustries.com/.

[eeldritchblast]

Making Baldur’s Gate 3 GIFS Tutorial

TOOLS USED:

Nvidia or alternate game video recording software

PotPlayer

GIMP (Optional)

Adobe Photoshop

PART 1: Recording

I personally use the Nvidia recording software that came with my computer to capture videos of the game, but there are plenty of video recording options out there. I know OBS Studio is a popular one, for example. Whatever your choice may be, here are three important tips for when capturing video:

Use the least amount of compression settings your recording software can output, and I recommend at least 30FPS, though 60 is better

Press F10 to hide the Baldur’s Gate 3 UI and capture the entire screen

Give about three seconds worth of video before and after the section you want to record, as safety buffers, if you can

PART 2: Frame Extraction

 Open the video you’ve recorded in PotPlayer in window mode (not full screen), and pause a little bit before where you want to start your GIF. Press Ctrl + G to open up the Consecutive Image Capturer window, and drag it to the side of the video player. These are the settings I recommend in general:

HOWEVER, I suggest playing around with the “Every # frame” option to your own liking. I have a pretty high framerate for this video I’m using, so 5 is fit for me, but if you have a lower framerate, you may want a lower number, like 2.

With your settings in place, click “Start” and unpause the video. Pause the video again after you’ve captured all the frames you want, then click “Stop”. If you’re making a gifset, I recommend then storing each set of frames in a single folder at a time.

PART 3: Resizing

I personally use GIMP to resize/crop the images because I find it easier, then export the image as a PSD for the next steps in Photoshop. But you can use Photoshop for this step too, if you’re more comfortable with that.

The number of frames you can get away with in a single GIF for Tumblr depends on the aspect ratio you plan on saving it as—for example, 270x200 obviously can handle more frames than 540x300 while still fitting within Tumblr’s size limit.

PART 4: Sharpening

In Photoshop, use the Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen tool on each layer. The settings are your choice, but I usually use 200 for the Amount and 0.5 for the Radius.

PART 5: Animation

If you don’t yet have the timeline set up in Photoshop, click on Windows > Timeline to bring it up. Then from the arrow, choose “Create Frame Animation” and click on the button to do so. This will insert the first frame into your timeline. Click on “Make Frames from Layers” in the timeline options menu to add them all.

Click on frame 1, then hold down Shift and click on the last frame to select them all. Then click on the drop-down arrow from the last frame and set the delay between each frame changing. I usually use 0.1 seconds.

Change the “Once” option to “Forever” to make the GIF repeat itself ongoing.

PART 6: Editing/Colouring

Click on frame 1. Then click on the top layer, while still keeping frame 1 visible.

You can use a variety of tools in Photoshop to editing the colours, brightness, contrast, etc. of the gif. Make sure the filters are the top layers to apply them to all the frames. If you test out your gif and see that the filters are not applied to all the frames, toggle the visible option on them off and on again.

I’m not going to go into detail of how to edit your GIF here, because each one is different. But I will say the tools I most typically use are Brightness/Contrast and Curves.

PART 7: Export

Click on File > Save for Web. These are the settings I like to use:

Congratulations, you’ve made a GIF!

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

are kegel eggs/those ovipositor toys safe??? You're not supposed to use stuff without a flared base right....

hi anon,

kegel eggs are actually pretty bogus for a lot of reasons, including that they tend to be made out of porous stone (you never want porous materials in your orifices; you can't clean them thoroughly enough for that, since bacteria hides in all the little cracks and crevices) and put users at a real risk of overstraining their pelvic floor muscles to keep them in place.

if someone does need a tool to help strengthen their pelvic floor, I recommend using kegel weights like these, which are made out of body-safe materials and have tails to help with retrieval like a tampon

I should also emphasize that generally using weights like this is only recommended for people who are trying to treat incontinence, have given birth, or are working on other forms of medical pelvic trauma. for everyone else, just flexing the muscles by themselves will be fine.

for ovipositing, there are a variety of ways to practice safer sex. some folks use eggs made out of a body-safe gelatin that simply melts out of them. for more long-term eggs, I've seen people recommend using an internal condom (sometimes called a female condom) while inserting eggs so that folks can just pull the condom out with the egg(s) safely inside when they're finished.

while it is strongly recommended that all toys that go inside the body have flared bases or other means of easier extraction, some folks prefer to put eggs inside of themselves and then push them back out with their muscles to simulate the feel of laying an egg. this requires patience and good muscle control, and while it is riskier it is also an informed choice folks are making in pursuit of their egg-laying bless. god's strongest soldiers, etc.

[missamyrisa2]

I have been a fan of your blog for so long, Miss Amy, but have always been wayyy to nervous to interact! That being said, I wanted to tell you I am SO in love with your machine tickle scenarios! Especially anything with plenty of soft feathers and brushes… 💞

Awwwee darlingggg~!! I'm sooo flattered alwayssss and I would sayyyy don't worry you can always interact but I knowww how it goess~ I'm always a bashful messss any time I send someone an ask or comment~

Which just means you neeeed my Tickle Therapy bottttt to pay you a visitttt~ oooh don't worry that's just the sound of her hovering into your door with that slightly glitchyyy gitchy voiceee ~ "Time for your wellnessss sessssion~" she chimes, her shining pink sphere body smiling brightly as the padded clampy arms slide out with a woosh. Robotic hands in soft gloves spring out ahead of them and begin poking and adoring your blushy self, happily stripping away your clothes and stroking your cheeks and bellyyy while the bot moves in closer. Two hands teasingly descend carrying your tickle therapy outfit ~ the adorable pink fuzzy undies with dangly tickly tassles on either side. A team of hands is lifting and positioning you as per their protocol with beeps and whirrrsss, the soft soft fabric gliding up your legs to gently snugly rest on your royal area~

"Now, if you would juuuuust cooperate~" I lean into the room, tablet in hand as the clamps engaging on your wrists to hold you upright. "Mmmh. Mmhmmm~ tickle spotsss~" I muse, drawing my tablet pen up your wriggling body. "That's what I thoughttt~ riiight along hereee~" My pen glides up your ribs to your armpits as the bot follows with her scanner, beeping away and rumbling through tool selections. "Uh uhhhh~ riight down here toooo~ we'll need a full workup and yeahhh let's just get the big ~package~" I smirk, dipping my pen into my long white coat's pocket before grasping your side thoughtfully, my thumb carefully rubbing to feel for those squirms.

"Ta ta~~ enjoyyyyy" I grin, waving my fingers at you and patting my bot on the head, just as her compartments spring open revealing a swarm of feathers and supple makeup brushes. Two feathers begin cresting along your underarms in long strokes, while a blush brush glides across your waistline from hip to hip ~ tiny lip brushes begin detailing up your ribs, tracing each one carefully while a stiff feather tip carefully traces circles around your navel~

"Increase wellness capacity ~ deploying additional brushes ~ begin scrubbing procedure~" The bot announces, the lower compartments producing matching clampies for your ankles as you're lifted and positioned on your back, the tools following your movement and squirm. Her shining metal body hovers intently near your face, the smile taunting your ticklishness and encouraging it as verbal teases begin. "Ticklishness~!!" she declares, sending the scrubby brushes down to start working your soles from heel to toes, pausing at each end to stimulate thoroughly. At your belly the feather dips into your navel to probe about, and is then replaced with a mascara wand which glides in and begins twirling slowly ~ The feathers at your underarms move down to start teasing your royal chest buttons with wispy strokes while the lip brushes engage in painting along the rims of your pits working inward~

"Tickly tickly toooo~" She hums away, sending more implements to work your writhing body and extract all your giggles and gasps. Fluffy puffs tease at your neck and ears, and swishing dusters start trailing up your legs from knees to thighs and back down. "I'm going to tickly tickly toooo~" her not-quite-right teasing continues to warble away, the brushes moving from your feet up to your armpits for a gentle tickly scrubbing from underarms to upper ribs while feathers follow to your shining clean feet to carefully insert between toes and wave over your inner sole.

"Begin buffing procedure~" She suddenly announces, having received a command from my tablet. The buzz of orbital brushes begins, joined by wiggly clamps to carefully hold you by your hips. The clamps vibrate and tremble to not waste their grip, and the spinning brushes swirl up to begin their angular work on your bouncing tush~ coming in from each side to caress and whirl around, from under each cheek to your thigh backs and behind the knees ~ back up to tease at the small of your back and shoulders ~ and the army of makeup brushes and feathers at your front side are all there to catch every buck and bounce. "Completing the full Miss Amy package protocol~"

Adding an even further layer to the tickles are robotic hands carrying fluffy feathers. They carefully start inserting each one under your cute tickle outfit panties, setting each at a specific position and angle so that the incoming buzzy mini wands can begin vibrating the ends of all those feathers. "giiitchgiitchyygooo~" the bot taunts, making sure you feel every one of those trembling feathers as they are held to your most royal area~

Somewhere in the haze of your laughs and gasps and squirms, you see me there again, inspecting and hmmming over your twitching thrashing self ~ and on my tablet I make sure you see as I begin checking everyyyy day off to schedule you for sooo many more wellness treatments~<3

[duusheen]

Duu, I apologize if I'm asking too much, but would you mind doing a tutorial on how you use Rig Plus? The creator's tutorial is too complicated for me to understand :(

omg, okay. this is how I do it, but I'm fairly new to using this, so it might not be perfect. Still, it might help you get started 👇🏽

I'm going to make it as beginner-friendly as possible and include a lot of pictures because maybe you're like me, anon and you're more of a visual learner 🙃

First, let's check that we have the correct version of TS4 Studio and Blender (this is important, trust me). Following the creator's instructions: "It's compatible with any recent Sims4Studio Star (beta) that supports Blender v3.3 & v3.6". so I have Sims4Studio v3.2.1.2 and Blender 3.6 (Is that the latest S4S? I don't know, but it works for me).

you need to download both files. Only extract the one that says 'vyxated - RigPlus v1' (if you extract the other one, Blender won't recognize it. Don't ask me why, I have no idea, but I extracted it and it didn't work, so I had to leave it as it is. we learn from mistakes, I guess). It should look like this:

Ok, can we make the poses now, Du? No, I mean, you can if you want. But first, we need to make sure we have everything ready to export it when we're done. For that, we need this:

You can see this in the right column of the Blender window, under the 'Scene' section at the bottom

Do you have it in your Blender? If you do, yay, then you can make your pose. If you're like me and you don't have it, don't panic yet! I'll tell you how to get it. It's as easy as opening an exported rig from S4S in Blender, and magically, the little window appears. Now I'll show you how (assuming you previously synced your S4S with Blender from 'settings'. I'll assume you know how to do that; if not, send me another ask, and I'll tell you how).

now what? nothing. you SHOULD have that S4S tab (when I first opened the EA Rig+ it didn't show up for me until I did that. You can close that blank rig; you won't need it anymore). ok NOW can we make the poses? yes! wait, no. the Add-ons. that's pretty easy: "File > Blender Preferences > Add-ons > Install… > select vyxated_RigPlus_extras.zip /.py"

NOW you are ready to make a pose. here's mine 🤠

We're going to save the pose. For this, the process is a bit different from saving a pose normally. Just follow the steps and you should be fine. You can check if it's saved correctly at the end; I'll show you how, don't worry.

fist, HIDE 'the RigPlus_Adult' (that's the one with all the controls to move the sim).

It should appear orange, both the selected parts and the points on the sim body. According to the creator's instructions, you MUSTN´T insert keyframes while in Object Mode or you'll end up with the T-pose in the game. Orange = OBJECT MODE, blue = POSE MODE. You need to be in POSE MODE (all blue dots) to insert keyframes. let's see some pictures.

don't insert keyframes here ☝🏽

NOW you can inser keyframes (in other words: on your keyboard, you press A and then I > Location & Rotation). IMPORTANT: always remember to have Rig_Adult selected to insert keyframes.

Now hide Rig_Adult and leave only RigPlus_Adult visible because we're going to insert the keyframes there too. Same process: make sure you're in POSE MODE > A (to select all) > I > Location & Rotation.

You're ready to export your pose. But wait! Remember I told you we needed that S4S window? Here's where that comes in. To export your pose, you need to have 'Rig_Adult' selected, otherwise, it won't save properly. The way to check if you're selecting the right one is by looking at that S4S window. Let me show you how:

You go to Scene, and at the bottom where it says 'S4Studio Animation Tools,' it should say 'Rig_AdultAction.' If you have the right one selected, you can now save your pose as you would normally do.(you know, going to Files > Save As…)"

That would be basically everything!! ✨Now, Some tips:

to view/use the Asset Browser (where you can find objects), you have to go here:

And to install it, in the creator's words: 'Edit > Blender Preferences > File Paths > Asset Libraries > add the vyxated - RigPlus Assets folder you've extracted'

I don't know how much you know about Blender, anon, so I'm going to be super basic here. To move the "bones" use R, RR, and G. Just press one of these keys and see if it moves where you want. Doesn't work with R? Then Ctrl+Z and try RR. Still no? Ctrl+Z and G. Just try until it looks the way you want 😁

Oh, right! I mentioned you could check if the pose was exported correctly and almost forgot to tell you how lol. Once you put the pose in your pose pack in S4S, all you have to do is export the pose you made from there (in the same way I explained to you above). I export it to the desktop, double click and open it. If the pose looks exactly like what you made, then congratulations! You've done it right. If all you see is the T-pose, then go back to the saving step because you've done something wrong (in my case, I was saving the pose in Object Mode, but I also had issues when I didn't have Rig_Adult selected when saving the pose 😆)

Alright, that's all! I hope it's not too confusing and that it helps you! Let me know if something isn't clear, nonny! 💖

[mermen]

started building an electrical harness yesterday and it's actually kinda fun even though my thumb is raw and i broke a few of the plastic insert/extract tools -_- it's gonna look like this at the end !

[atangledfate]

Project Legion [Part 1]: The End of Mimic

The soft sound of foot falls filled the long hall as the mouse made his way across the long bridge of the lab to the central platform. His cybernetic tail swayed to and from as he hummed a soft tune. His pink cybernetic giving a red glow as they adjusted to the lighting. His hands firmly in his lab coat as he practically skipped across the room toward the center where his new pet lay strapped down firmly with more locks then most bank vaults had.

" Ah, to meet the legend himself! the famed Mimic! the man of many faces! "

He chittered excitedly as the octopus struggled against the bindings yet, he'd find no way to escape. Those binds were designed to hold him specifically and even disabled his shape shifting. Wagner was not about to lose his prize!

" Ah you can struggle all you like, it won't do you any good... oh i see they have drawn samples of your blood! Excellent! I promise to put it to good use! "

The Octopus only glared at him from the table, his tentacles writing in the bindings. he was clearly not happy to be here, nor happy at the poking and prodding he was getting. Wagner knew if he had half a chance the man would strangle him dead! It was amusing really! he did enjoy the man's spunk if nothing else!

" When i get out of here! i'm going to find you and gut you like a tuna! "

The Doctor could only smile as he moved around the table grabbing a clip board and making some checks. Scribbling away on his clipboard as Mimic made his threat. The Doctor paused chewing on the eraser with his large front teeth. This was far from the first time one of his new pets threatened him and it would not be the the last either.

" Ah, Yes well its a long line! and i've died once before--- nasty business but as you can see! i got a brand new lease on life! and i must say this mobian body has its perks! though i admit it took some getting use to... and a few modifications but--- oh i do apologize! i'm going off and rambling again! "

He motioned to one of his assistants with a sly smile!

" Right let's prep our patient, remember to insert the rods at the proper depth... or we won't be able to extract the data properly! We really only get once chance so no screw ups! "

He chastised the nurses who ran about grabbing various tools to prep Mimic for what was to come. The more he watched the more visually nervous he became. It always amused Wagner how fast there courage ebbed away as there minds mulled over what was about to happen to them! It was comical if not also a tad sad. The chances of Mimic surviving this was quite low, and on some level he did feel bad for his pets when they died. but that was science, and progress did not come without sacrifice. He had to remember that this was all for the good of mobius! or at least its what he told himself to himself... sometimes he was sure that empathy came from the host body and not himself--- He would have to look into that theory later.

" What are you going to do? I thought i was a valued asset... i thought--- Lupus won't like it if you damage me beyond repair... i'm useful after all... no matter what i've done! "

Mimic tried to bargain as he was panicking watching the nurses mark his head with a marker as he tugged and pulled on the binds harder. yet Wagner waggled a finger at him as if chastising a child.

" Who do you think ordered this? This was his idea after all! he was originally suppose to be the primary subject for project Legion. But his age and the cybernetics made that impossible... so we needed a new subject! well you aren't ideal either... truthfully i had other plans for you--- but we don't always get what we want! "

Wagner chuckled as the nurse injected his IV with a anesthetic The Octopus grit his teeth struggling! as somehow he knew, that he wasn't going to walk away from any of this! Yet he looked desperately at the Mouse as if begging him for some other fate! as if this was not how this ended!

" Oh don't worry ... you won't be dead! well... your body will be alive--- can't say how much of your personality will survive the transfer... but i intend to keep that lovely DNA on file for as long as i can! now take a deep breath--- and count to 10... and close your eyes....this is how your story ends..."

[creature-studios]

This creature is part of my science fiction worldbuilding project, Verseworld.

Name: Raycon (Anomalodraco agnathus)

Length: 5-6 m (16-19 ft)

Height: 2 m (8-9 ft)

Weight: 76.9 kg (169.53 lbs)

Wingspan: 8-10 m (26-32 ft)

Diet: Blood

Lifespan: 250 yrs

Walking Speed: 20 km/h (12 mph)

Running Speed: 40 km/h (25 mph)

Maximum Flight Speed: 200 km/h (124 mph)

Average Cruising Speed: 80-96 km/h (50-60 mph)

Taxonomic Classification

Domain: Synthetica

Kingdom: Neo-Animalia

Phylum: Ingeni-Cordata

Class: Biotechnis

Order: Anomalia

Family: Anomalodraconidae

Genus: Anomalodraco

Species: A. agnathus

Binomial Name

Anomalodraco agnathus

Carter, 2020

Anomalodraco agnathus, commonly known as the Raycon, stands as a pinnacle of genetic engineering by Kontoo Industries. This winged reptilian creature exhibits a remarkable wingspan of 8-10 meters and is capable of reaching flight speeds up to 200 km/h. Its back is adorned with hollow quills that produce a hiss-like rattle, serving as a communication tool among its kind and a deterrent to potential threats.

Equipped with a retractable tongue, complete with a sharp, hollow spike (made of bone), the Raycon efficiently extracts blood from its prey. This species has the ability to mimic a range of sounds, including human speech, which it utilizes to attract, deceive, or intimidate other organisms within its habitat.

The Raycon’s sensory capabilities are highly advanced, featuring pit organs for infrared detection, which aid in locating warm-blooded prey. Its visual acuity extends up to four miles, with the ability to perceive a spectrum that includes color, ultraviolet, and polarized light. Adaptations such as a nictitating membrane, tapetum lucidum, and a rod density six times that of humans afford it exceptional nocturnal vision. Furthermore, its neck flexibility allows for an owl-like rotation of up to 270 degrees, and its auditory range reaches frequencies up to 500kHz, enabling echolocation and electrolocation akin to bats and sharks.

As a solitary and territorial organism, Anomalodraco agnathus favors dimly lit, secluded environments for habitation and hunting, displaying remarkable adaptability across diverse climates and terrains. Despite its formidable presence, it encounters competition from its own species and the Common Monster, another hyperspecies from Project Hyperspecies.

Interactions with humans are fraught with danger, as the Raycon may view them as potential hosts for its offspring or as threats, leading to aggressive behavior. The reproductive method of implanting eggs in hosts underscores the peril it poses to other living beings.

Intelligence and behavioral complexity characterize the Raycon, showcasing problem-solving skills, self-awareness, and a range of emotions. Social dynamics within the species are intricate, with occasional group formations that exhibit a clear hierarchy. These groups engage in cooperative or competitive interactions, reflecting a sophisticated social structure.

Tongue

The Raycon's tongue is long and can be retracted back into the throat, though it usually hangs out most of the time. It is tipped with a long spike. There are three holes positioned at the tip of the tongue spike; the center hole connects to the esophagus which leads to the stomach. Two small chemical glands (known as the Pyro Glands) sit snugly beside the esophagus and connect to the two outermost holes at the tip of the spike. These two glands produce hydrogen peroxide and hydrazine, which it can spray in two liquid streams that ignite into flames when the streams cross. This function is used primarily in self-defense and to mark territory. It feeds off of blood by inserting its tongue spike into prey and draining them of it.

The Pyro Glands

Each pyro gland contains a series of biochemical reactors that facilitate the synthesis of hydrogen peroxide and hydrazine. These reactors are lined with specialized cells containing the necessary enzymes and catalysts to drive the reactions.

Hydrogen Peroxide Synthesis: The first part of the gland mimics peroxisomes, organelles that produce hydrogen peroxide in living cells. Enzymes like catalase and oxidase break down substances, using oxygen from the blood to create H₂O₂.

Hydrazine Synthesis: The second part of the gland contains engineered cells that possess the anammoxosome, a specialized organelle found in anammox bacteria. These cells convert ammonia from the blood and other nitrogenous waste into hydrazine using enzymes like hydrazine synthase and hydroxylamine oxidoreductase.

Storage and Release: Both chemicals are stored in separate chemical sacs to prevent premature reaction. The sacs are lined with inert materials to contain the reactive substances safely.

Controlled Release: When the Raycon intends to spit fire, the chemicals are released simultaneously through ducts that converge at the tip of the tongue spike. The spike’s cartilage serves as a safety mechanism, ensuring that the chemicals only mix at the very tip, away from the creature’s body, to prevent self-harm.

Combustion: As the chemicals mix, they combust spontaneously, creating a stream of fire that the Raycon can direct at its target.

The flames that the Raycon can produce reach up to 800°C (1,472°F)

Interactions with Humans

Color Changing Abilities: The Raycon’s skin is a marvel of biological engineering, capable of changing colors to communicate or adapt to its surroundings. This chromatophoric display is not only a defense mechanism but also a means of social interaction among its kind. The vibrant patterns that emerge across its scales can convey complex messages, from territorial warnings to hunting prey.

Sound Mimicry: Equally fascinating is the Raycon’s ability to mimic sounds, including human speech. This auditory mimicry serves multiple purposes: it can be used to lure prey, confuse predators, or even interact with humans. Researchers have observed Raycons replicating entire phrases, leading to speculation about their intelligence and potential for understanding human language. Raycons have both a trachea and a syrinx.

Aggressive Encounters: The Raycon’s interactions with humans are typically marked by aggression. With its innate predatory instincts, the Raycon sees humans not as companions but as potential prey. Encounters are often tense, with the Raycon displaying its prowess through intimidating displays of color and sound.

Curiosity and Intelligence: Despite its predatory tendencies, the Raycon occasionally exhibits a curious behavior towards humans, indicative of a higher level of intelligence. This curiosity does not equate to friendliness; rather, it’s a calculated assessment of humans, either as threats or as prey.

Defensive Mechanisms: The Raycon’s pyro glands are a significant factor in its interactions with humans. When threatened, the Raycon can unleash a fiery assault from its tongue spike, a clear warning to any human who dares to provoke it. The intense heat of the flames serves as a deterrent, ensuring the Raycon’s dominance is respected.

Fatal Attraction: The Raycon’s ability to mimic human sounds can be a deadly lure. Unwary individuals may be drawn to familiar sounds, only to find themselves face-to-face with this apex predator. Such encounters rarely end well for the human involved.

Adaptation and Coexistence: Humans have learned to adapt to the presence of Raycons since the Kontoo Incident occurred, giving them a wide berth and respecting their territory. Some have even attempted to study the Raycon from a safe distance, fascinated by its unique abilities and the potential secrets it holds.

Venom

Raycon venom consists of cyneurohemomyotoxin (CNHMT)

Biochemical Composition: CNHMT is a cocktail of various enzymes, peptides, and proteins, each contributing to the venom’s lethal effects. The enzymes include proteases that break down cellular structures, phospholipases that disrupt cell membranes, and hyaluronidases that facilitate venom spread by breaking down extracellular matrix components.

Mechanism of Action: The venom targets multiple systems simultaneously:

Nervous System: Neurotoxins in CNHMT block nerve transmission, leading to paralysis and convulsions. They may act on ion channels or neurotransmitter release, disrupting normal neural function.

Muscular System: Myotoxins cause muscle fiber degradation, resulting in weakness, spasms, and potentially rhabdomyolysis, which can lead to kidney failure due to the release of muscle breakdown products into the bloodstream.

Circulatory System: Hemotoxins affect blood and blood vessels, causing bleeding, clotting disorders, hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells), anemia, and shock due to the loss of blood volume and pressure.

Venom Delivery: The venom glands, situated in the Raycon’s head, are biologically engineered to synthesize and store CNHMT. These glands are connected to hollow teeth, allowing for efficient envenomation. The Raycon can inject venom directly into its target or spray it as a defensive mist, providing both offensive and defensive capabilities.

Synthesis and Regulation: The venom’s synthesis from ingested substances suggests that the Raycon’s metabolism is highly specialized. It likely has a series of enzymes capable of converting dietary proteins and other molecules into the venom’s components. The immune system’s role in regulating venom production could imply a complex balance between venom synthesis and self-protection, ensuring the Raycon does not succumb to its own toxin.

Adaptive Advantages: The presence of such a venom confers several adaptive advantages to the Raycon:

Predation: CNHMT allows the Raycon to quickly incapacitate prey, making hunting more efficient.

Defense: The venom serves as a deterrent against larger predators and competitors.

Territoriality: Venom potency could be a factor in intraspecific competition, with more potent venom conferring higher status or intellect.

Sticky and Flammable Properties: The sticky nature of the venom could be due to mucopolysaccharides or glycoproteins, which increase its viscosity and adhesion. The flammability might be attributed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or other flammable substances synthesized by the Raycon.

Defensive Tactics: The Raycon can use its venom to immobilize its victims and then ignite it, causing severe burns and further incapacitation. When threatened, the Raycon could spray its venom as a mist and ignite it, creating a fiery barrier to deter predators.

For a more in-depth description of CNHMT, visit this entry.

Lungs & Respiratory System

Biologically Engineered Lungs: Kontoo Industries has designed the Raycon’s lungs to be highly efficient and versatile. The lungs’ multi-chambered alveoli are similar to lungfish but are enhanced to maximize gas exchange efficiency. This allows the Raycon to extract oxygen from various environments, including fresh, brackish, and saltwater, as well as the thin air at high altitudes.

Buoyancy Control: The Raycon’s lungs also incorporate tissues that can alter their density, providing precise control over buoyancy. This feature enables the Raycon to float effortlessly in water or soar in the sky, adjusting its internal air sacs to maintain the desired altitude or depth.

High Altitude Flight: For high altitude flight, Kontoo Industries has equipped the Raycon with a specialized respiratory system that includes a supercharged hemoglobin capable of binding oxygen more efficiently at lower pressures. The muscle metabolism has been altered to reduce the production of lactic acid, allowing the Raycon to sustain prolonged flight without fatigue.

Adaptability: The Raycon’s respiratory system is a marvel of bioengineering, allowing it to adapt to different oxygen concentrations and pressures. Its lungs can switch between extracting oxygen from water through a process similar to gills and breathing air like terrestrial animals, thanks to a series of one-way valves that prevent water from flooding the lungs when submerged.

Reproduction

The Raycon reproduces asexually by means of parthenogenesis via oviposition and exhibits a unique form of automixis, a process that enables genetic recombination without the need for fertilization. This sophisticated biological mechanism is encoded within their DNA, allowing for the fusion of genetically distinct nuclei from the same cell. As a result, the Raycon can produce offspring that are not exact genetic clones, but rather, individuals with a mosaic of genetic traits inherited from their single parent. This genetic shuffling is akin to the mixing of a deck of cards, ensuring that each Raycon offspring has a unique set of genes, promoting diversity within the population.

The Raycon has a large stinger on its abdomen that functions as an ovipositor, which it uses to pierce the body of its prey and implant a single small egg. The egg is about 1 cm in diameter and has a hard, smooth shell. It is a dull brown with a matte finish to absorb light rather than reflect it, further aiding in its concealment. The egg is attached to the prey’s internal organs by a thin, flexible cord that allows the embryo to feed on the prey’s blood and nutrients. The egg develops inside the prey for about two weeks, during which the embryo grows rapidly and undergoes several morphological changes. The embryo has a soft, transparent skin that allows it to sense the environment and the prey’s vital signs. The embryo also has a pair of rudimentary wings, quills, and tongue that gradually become more developed and functional.

When the embryo is ready to hatch, it breaks the shell of the egg and burrows its way out of the prey’s body. The hatching process is violent and often fatal for the prey, as the embryo uses its sharp teeth, tongue, and claws to tear through the flesh and bones. The hatchling is about 20 cm (8 in) in length and weighs about 200 g. The hatchling is covered in a thin layer of mucus that protects it from infections and parasites. The hatchling also has a nictating membrane that shields its eyes from the light and dust. The hatchling is able to fly and hunt shortly after hatching, but it is still vulnerable to predators and environmental hazards. The hatchling reaches sexual maturity in about six months and can produce its own eggs thereafter. During those six months, the hatchling undergoes a rapid growth spurt, reaching near adult sizes.