#source separation to a wild degree

[thattheater-kid]

Found out there’s a fictive in our system who hated his source so much that he entirely rebranded himself to the point that even his twin sister who he shares everything with can’t remember what his source is. And you know what, good for him. Sometimes that’s necessary.

[sysmedsaresexist]

I do not mean to sound stupid, but I read your post "dissociation is not solely trauma-based", and I was wondering if you knew of any sources or books about it? I think I don't fully understand what dissociation is. For exemple, no matter how I look at it, I don't understand how meditation could be considered like anything close to dissociation, simply because it's also used as a grounding technique.

I'm combining two asks here, because I'm going to cover both in one go :) you don't sound stupid.

You've got to start with the understanding that dissociation is a continuum from normal (aka nonpathological) to "abnormal" (I hate that word, but aka pathological). I finally dropped the wild existence of Dr Jamie Marich, clinical trauma specialist and a pro endo, CDD system, who wrote Dissociation Made Simple. Let me quote because the book is actually good.

Yes, dissociation is so hard to understand that she wrote an entire book about the concept.

"The English word dissociation comes from the Latin root dissociātiō, meaning “to sever” or “to separate.” At this point when lecturing, I usually ask my students: What are we severing or separating from when we dissociate? You may take a moment, before reading on, to ask this question of yourself. Try not to think on it too rationally. Listen to your gut-level response...

For the purposes of this opening chapter, let’s focus on the form of separation that every human being can likely relate to —severing or separating from the present moment—especially when the present moment becomes unpleasant, overwhelming, or otherwise painful."

Dissociation is a disconnect from something-- this can be memories, thoughts, emotions, or, in worst cases, reality. The present moment.

Not all meditation is dissociative, but most is. For example, emptiness meditation is about disconnecting from everything in the moment. You are literally fine-tuning your dissociative techniques. This is also true when you're using grounding meditation to disconnect from overwhelming emotions or thoughts to get back into the moment.

There are a variety of tasks that we either develop naturally or learn as a way to achieve some degree of separation (e.g., enough to stay somewhat present but still get some relief, or going further into totally cutting oneself off from in-the-moment presence). Dissociation of this nature is not all or nothing—it generally happens in degrees and can depend upon how much distress you feel in any given context. We can do this by daydreaming, drifting off, zoning out, zoning inward, disengaging eye contact with people, losing focus (especially when driving), or getting a little floaty in many other life circumstances. Some people frame this “floatiness” as similar to hypnotic trance and others feel it is quite distinct. We may even take deliberate steps to enhance the experience of separation. How often have you escaped into a book or a movie, into your phone or computer, or into some activity, because it makes the harshness of dealing with the present moment and the emotions it can elicit somewhat more bearable?

Let me be very clear, if you said yes to this question, this answer does not mean that there is anything wrong with you! All of these can be quite ordinary forms of dissociation that every human being is capable of experiencing.

A really, really good way to understand this concept is actually through maladaptive daydreaming (MADD), a highly addictive form of dissociation.

Indeed for many of us, substances or other behaviors that cause major surges of dopamine (e.g., spending, computer games, sexually acting out) can become the accelerant of dissociation...

Whenever we become accustomed to dissociating, especially as children growing up in complex trauma, our brain becomes bonded or some would even say addicted to that state of escape. Once chemical or other reinforcing behaviors are introduced to us, they can accelerate that already familiar experience and we become further bonded to that behavior.

Daydreaming itself is dissociative. Point blank. It is both the most normal kind of dissociation, and yet the most common maladaptive dissociation.

Daydreaming and journeying into my head’s imaginative scenarios is another series of behaviors that can have both adaptive and maladaptive qualities. As a kid, they kept me safe. As an adult, they are the source of so much of my creative power—yet if I engage them too long, too hard, or too much, I run the risk of getting lost and not being able to attend to what helping professionals might call my activities of daily living (e.g., eating properly, sleeping, taking good care of myself, getting to work, attending to loved ones appropriately and with good boundaries).

Let's cut away from the book really quickly to look at Eli Somer, the guy who came up with MADD.

Maladaptive daydreaming is a dissociative disorder: Supporting evidence and theory.

The only real thing I want to quote is:

Although trauma may be one causal factor, we indicate several other etiological pathways to the development of MD. We discuss associations with related concepts and suggest directions for future research.

And

MD is strongly related to dissociation and seems to rely on an innate tendency for absorptive and imaginative fantasy. Through its rewarding properties, this form of immersive daydreaming becomes abnormal. MD may thus be viewed as a disordered form of dissociative absorption.

While Somer talks about how it can be a behavioral addiction in that paper, I find this is a more succinct description.

Maladaptive Daydreaming: Epidemiological Data on a Newly Identified Syndrome

Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) is a proposed mental disorder characterized by excessive, compulsive immersion in vivid and complex fantastical daydreamed plots, generating intense emotional involvement, often accompanied by stereotypical movements. This addictive absorption in daydreaming becomes maladaptive as it consumes many hours a day, generates shame or guilt, hinders achievement of short- and long-term goals or tasks, and overall causes clinically significant distress and/or interferes with functioning in social or occupational realms. Maladaptive Daydreamers (MDers) report a strong urge to daydream whenever they can and annoyance whenever they cannot, and, repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop daydreaming, like other behavioral addictions.

And that's the best way to look at DID and other maladaptive, pathological forms of dissociation. It's a behavioral addiction, an escape that we not only crave, but can no longer live without. Just like you can get addicted to working out and gambling, you can become addicted to severing ties with reality through pleasurable (and in some cases, necessary) forms of escape.

I don't know if this is going to make sense, but I've found looking at dissociation like an upside-down iceberg helps me.

At the top, the widest part, is everyone on the planet, and the basic, general concept of dissociation. Severing from the present moment, be it through your phone, book, daydreaming, meditation, zoning out.

As you go down, and it gets narrower, it becomes more important to put names to specific types and forms of dissociation, and fewer people struggle with these forms. In the middle is a confusing mix of seemingly normal and pathological dissociation. You have mediumship, authors with living characters, OCD (yup), ADHD (shocking, I know), MADD, DPDR, (C)PTSD, people on the edge of forming behavioral addictions.

At the bottom, the smallest point, only pathological dissociation, with a much smaller population experiencing it. DID, OSDD, severe and chronic DPDR, DA.

For people that struggle with dissociation... they fell down a hole and travelled all the way to the bottom of the iceberg. What was once a general, normal, human experience became a very specific problem. Over the years, as they travelled deeper, they used and developed a complex mix of various normal dissociative reactions until it eventually became a named, pathological experience.

I sincerely hope that this helps explain and answers both questions ):

Here's another really interesting paper (from none other than, DUNDUNDUN, Colin Ross).

Maladaptive Daydreaming, Dissociation, and the Dissociative Disorders

[ariadnew]

The Lowmax property has a long history. Locals can at least agree on that.

The details, however, are sketchy.

It's hard to discern exactly where the stories come from. To separate straight facts from the fanciful, from the embellished, from conjecture. Historians in the area do tend to concede that the most prevalent stories each possess a measure of veracity, though they do so with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Bootlegger Maximillian 'Low Max' O'Leary, for example, did indeed exist and was known to have passed through the area in the Prohibition Era. Whether he was the seasonal inhabitant of Pemberton as claimed or threw lavish, star-studded parties in his hill-top hideaway, however, is still the subject of debate (some assert he inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald; others have it the other way around.) Captain Nathaniel Stanley Maxton, too, exists in the historical record, but the story of his defection toward the end of the American Revolutionary War in favour of running away with an American girl (romantic? or stupid?) (hotly debated) remains entirely unsubstantiated. There is no proof he settled the wild valley plain several miles north-east of Heartbreak Lake and dubbed it 'Low Maxton'; no proof he adopted a new identity and lived quietly with his love on this beautiful, isolated land, farming to eek out a living. On the other hand, Ludlow and Maxwell, enterprising orchardists of the early to mid 20th century, unquestionably worked the property. Apples, predominantly, with a small venture into pears and plums. So it is on paper, at least. Off-paper sources suggest Ludlow & Maxwell had their fingers in other more lucrative (and significantly less legal) pies- and that's not to say they began dabbling in cherries. Reportedly absconding suddenly and hastily at the tail end of the thirties, the facts and theories concerning the duo's moral characters, the truth behind their abrupt departure, and their subsequent total absence from the historical record are yet another set of murky waters for local history buffs to debate- with fiendish pleasure, generally, over coffee and cake at their monthly meeting (the first Thursday of every month, in the upstairs room of the Pemberton Public Library; new members welcome!)

A handful of Pemberton inhabitants bemoan the property went to the notoriously-private Foskett family rather than a preservation foundation, or a benefactor who'd see it restored and open to the public, but in truth, there's little of historical merit to see anymore: precious few of the original- original original- structures remain. The pillar at the end of the drive, however, is one of them. The bronze plaque near the bottom is scuffed and weathered; the rampant growth of wild grasses and meadow flowers at foot sees to making sure it goes unnoticed by most. Nevertheless, it quietly continues to declare the age of the property. Lowmax: pre-dating the airplane, the American Civil War, the telephone, the telegraph, electric light. Age after age, two centuries and then some, keeping staunch watch over the horses and humans dwelling in the valley alongside the mountains and forests that stood long before it, and will stand long after it-

A looming reminder that the story playing out there now is just another chapter, waiting to be lost to history.

[danse--macabre]

OKAY not to get ~thematic~ about my silly rarepair between the milf of the decade herself jaheira and astarion, but. But.

Vampires, in the cultural canon, engage with SUCH a morbid fascination / fetishisation of youth. preferring the blood of virgins. being 'eternally young'. right down to effective predation strategies - which astarion gestures at - choosing victims that are young and hopelessly naïve, or those who are miserable and seek oblivion anyway, ideally both, as theyre the easiest to make disappear. youth for a vampire is something they possess in a horrific way, their faces in some sources appear beautiful, but they're robbed of the ability to age and grow as mortals do, and are representative of a disturbing timelessness (all those out of date fashions!) that eternally separates them from others. Youth is something they possess only the face of and youth is something they seek out and devour to maintain those faces.

In some ways the standard romance route in BG3 plays with this to some degree. It begins as a vampiric seduction FOR astarion's own ends. And sure, you're given no set age as a tav/durge, but it's highly likely you're much younger than him. That route is All About the sexual fantasy of a vampire vs. Astarion the man himself, and you begin with a very false vampiric seduction - the bite scenes, and so on - into very genuine feelings. There's even a virginal aspect to it - you're his very first person he's bitten! you're special! Astarion himself is obsessed with his own looks and his own sense of eternal youth as it's something he cannot seen or possess for himself. There are qualities of this possessive obsession over youth that are reflected throughout as the relationship is engaging with, at its core, the concept of a vampire romance.

Enter Jaheira. Over a hundred and eighty years old. Middle to end of Act 2. Everyone knows Astarion's a vampire now! He's probably already bitten someone, even if it's just a bandit! She's not his first. Nor is Jaheira a wild-eyed youth who'd be enamoured by this far more experienced, mysterious man who is wearing a face that's ethereally young and beautiful (ha!). Come on! she'd see right through it. She's old enough to be wise to these things (also her wisdom modifier and her intial suspicion of the tadpole group... come on). Jaheira's had relationships before- she's loved before - and she's lost before! Any romantic or sexual dynamic between them is absolutely not going to be mediated through her being a precious baby lamb and him a wolf. In fact, if anythiny we're inverting this. Jaheira looks and acts older, has had far more life experiences arguably, and Astarion - despite being more or less the same age as her - looks to be a younger partner with an older woman, is the person with less relationship and life experience, has more to learn. Any relationship, romantic or sexual or both, will not be initiated with Astarion playing the vampire. He'll instead *have* to be Astarion the man.

And that's novel and juicy! It'd be quite tonally different! Fun! Exciting! Not without its own difficulties (have you spoken to Jaheira's kids) but different nonetheless. There's something fascinating as well with the idea that Astarion would *choose* something so different than his classic victim profile as well - that he would choose the oldest person in the party. I'm fucking obsessed with it quite frankly.

[the-trinket-witch]

PlayfulLand Theories before the event starts!

Everybody's excited for the New Twst Halloween Event coming to the JP servers, right? I am too. These bones been rattlin' since I found out. And my brain has been rotting with theories and predictions. Are they baseless? Likely. I would like to say I've seen enough of a pattern in this game to see a familiar plot coming down the pipe. Call it grasping at straws or pareidolia, but I'm having fun turning this all in my brain. Everybody in the Brainrot Buggie, we're making wild guesses and throwing shit at the wall to see what is right. 

(SPOILERS FOR TWST PLAYFULLAND EVENT, TWST CH. 6, BLACK BUTLER: BOOK OF CIRCUS. CW for Child Abuse, manipulation/loss of physical faculties, and general body horror)

Biggest takeaway from this theory dump: Fellow and Gidel aren't the main antagonists of this event. 

"But Trinket, they're the face of the event! How are they not the Big Bads?" I hear you wonder. It's because they weren't the Main Antagonists in their own source material. These two were:

Stromboli and The Coachman.

Assuming anyone reading has already watched the 1940 film, will note these two are connected to Honest John and Gideon/The Fox and Cat by their financial dealings. The Coachman in specific pays the Two for them to round up boys to bring to Pleasure Island to meet their fates. In most iterations of Pinnochio, Mangiafuoco/Stromboli and The Coachman are two separate entities. One adaptation, though, combines them. And while I will not delude myself to think it was an inspiration for the potential 'Actual Big Bad', an idea came to mind when thinking of the character from the 1996 The Adventures of Pinnochio, Lorenzini. A couple ideas, actually…

But before I get to that, where else in Toboso-sensei's work have we seen Charismatic Gingers in Circus Settings who are the bait-and-switch 'face' of a story arc?

That's right:

Joker. 

I guess not really 'bait and switch', but a lot of emphasis was put on him as a character when Book of Circus first came out. But then he and the rest of the Circus troupe began mentioning a man they called Father. Baron Kelvin. 

Before his obsession sparked for Ciel, he was a philanthropist who could have been considered a good man. But in the state we meet him in for the first time in BoC, he's a completely changed man obsessed with becoming physically appealing to Phantomhive, to the detriment of the children who had and would come under his 'care'. Their bones became the ceramic used to give prostheses to the rest of the circus. 

What if we're gearing up to have a similar figure 'pulling the strings' in this coming event? An amalgamation of Stromboli/The Coachman/Baron Kelvin…and Monstro the Whale? 

"Why Monstro? We already have a reference with Azul's cafe!"

Remember Lorenzini that I mentioned earlier?

He's also a combination of The Puppetmaster, Coachman, and Whale.  What if this Combination character… was a Whale merman? A merman looking for a different way to stay human, in a sense 'Become a Real Boy'? What if his transition to humanity has him stuck in one location out of the way? What if this is all a trap to sap the life/magic out of these boys so he can shirk his mer form for permanent legs? While it could be a stretch to say this is the case, lemme see if I can coherently explain…

@thecosmicjackalope posed the notion that the extraneous went characters might in some way be foils/parallels to the Overblot Gang. So far we have Idia getting a parallel with Rollo (two siblings dealing with the grief over the death of their brother), what if this is an event paralleling Azul and his dynamic with The Tweels? 

Shady fish men with (possible) varying degrees of disgust with their mer forms

Equally fishy business practices

Employ more physically capable individuals to do his 'legwork'

Plan(ned) on having the student body of NRC under their thumb of servitude

Employ magical tactics to entice and bind those they want into their grasp.

On top of all of this, what if his magic extends to both Fellow and Gidel? What if those two are just a regular fox and cat given sentience to do a whale's dirty work? Would they turn back after being defeated? That would explain the motivation, outside of just 'I'm getting paid handsomely to bring these boys in and not ask questions'. Even if this part is all thrown out the window, the idea that a shady Ringmaster lording over Playfulland just won't leave me. So then, what else can I guess about this event? (NOTE: THESE ARE ALL QUESTIONS AND THEORIES, not posed by much/any evidence)

The costumes/masks might specifically be used to control the boys. In a way similar to The Beast and the trees of Over the Garden Wall, thanks to @squidwen for the notion, maybe the masks progressively creep up on the NRC boys both subduing them, and eventually sapping them of life/magic? What if the incentive for the boys to act 'like jackasses' is how the mask takes root/grows? What if the end result (the host losing their life/stores of magic) their bones turn to wood?  What if the park is literally built of the Bones of Fairgoers Past?

Something I already began to theorize about when the announced SSRs came out was: why those three were picked.

Ortho we know shares A LOT of parallels/references to Pinocchio already. It's basically a given that he'd be a part of this. He is naive and fresh, so he could very well follow wanderlust wherever (by whoever) inspires it.  But why Kalim and Ace? Ideas for each:

Kalim:

He's a trusting person (played as 'To his own detriment')

A bit of a party animal

One to go with the flow, isn't quick to realize he's in deep shit til it's too late

Ace:

Brutally honest

Brother worked at a theme park. (Possible enticement to bring him in, on the promise of finding him somehow?)

One of the biggest liars of the cast-couple that with his immaturity and quick willingness to shirk responsibility, he's a prime candidate to pick off to someplace that promises leisure and fun away from school.

All three of the SSR boys are technically prime folk to lure off to the equivalent of Pleasure Island. Kalim with his weak will and shortsightedness, Ortho with his lack of experience both as a bot and now as a legit person, and Ace again because he has the most maturing to make for this arc. If anybody becomes a literal donkey in all of this: I can see it most likely being Ace. 

Assuming the rest of the Event Cast are only there on the premise of having drawn the short straw and not able to go to the Glorious Masquerade, I don't have any other theories for them. (Though I gotta say I'm digging the much more blatant Mad Hatter Ref in Trey's design.) A gameplay theory I had is that maybe we have to fight them to 'cut them loose', with eventually Ortho, Kalim and Ace being the 'final' bosses of the event, who defend the Puppetmaster in one final stand. 

For a TL:DR:

It's Book of Circus 2: Electric Boogaloo if it was written by Neal Shusterman (of Full Tilt fame). A Fishman wants to be a Real Boy, masks are terrifying, and Ace is an immature clown who's gonna get a lotta folks put in danger.

[demidabblin]

Anima: The Life of Vichola

Anima is widely understood to be energy that persists in the world, but the various nations view it differently. I'll cover the individual nations in a separate post. This post is purely about how Anima ACTUALLY works as a metaphysical construct in the universe as well as how it works when people use it.

Reading This Cosmology Map

Anima is represented by a sea of green here with two distinct layers: The Shallows and the Depths. The material plane, the red line, exists atop the Anima Sea and rests with just a micron of space between them at all times. Human beings, animals, plants, stones, wind, water, basically anything that exists in the material plane puts weight atop the plane and makes it sink ever so slightly into the sea. This results in Anima bleeding over and populating the world.

The average person rests very slightly into the sea. 

An Affixed person shall dip down slightly lower. 

When someone falls asleep, they slip down into the Depths and their consciousness splits from their body. This causes them to experience dreaming. Sleeping beneath the surface of the Anima Sea is vital because it allows individuals to recharge the latent amount of Anima within their bodies. No Anima = Death.

Dead Zones come about from areas where the Anima Sea pulls away from it, causing many strange effects. Nothing will grow, animals will die, Affixed Aspects will work strangely or perhaps not at all, and worst of all, depending on how far away the sea has gone, falling asleep here could be a death sentence. That’s because there’s no telling how far away the Anima Sea dipped down, meaning it’s possible that someone could fall asleep and not fall far enough to touch the surface of the sea.

Cascades are caused by the Anima Sea crashing into the material plane with such force that it breaks through and floods. This can cause natural disasters in the material plane and many over strange effects. Animals will act wild, plants will grow rapidly, and Affixed Aspects will work strangely or even overpower their user. Sleeping here may refresh someone because even a shallow nap will drag you deeply, but the effects of overabundant Anima exposure are untested. (Which is to say i need to work on them)

Dead Zones and Cascades will naturally resolve themselves over time.

The Anima System

Anima is the energy of life that dwells within all beings. Animals, plants, stone, the very dirt itself, and especially people. Everyone and everything contains Anima. Anima has become an essential energy source in the world of Vichola. This is depicted as the green in the cosmology image above.

Anima and aging. As individuals get older, more Anima collects in their bodies. In fact, graveyards and burial sites in general are often places of abundant life due to Anima overflow. Some animals and plants, if they live long enough, can develop odd powers thanks to the Anima in their bodies. These creatures exist all across the world and can sometimes be great threats to humans. Especially if they are threatened and turn hostile.

Awakening

While everyone has Anima and can call upon it to some degree, there exists a small percentage of people with more potential than the average person. At some point in their lives, these unique people will undergo a moment of Anima Awakening. Often it’s caused by intense emotions and adrenaline, where the Anima in the body surges and changes the person from within. From that moment, they become Affixed. This is the door that can never shut, because now they have access to their Aspect.

It is widely believed that some people are just destined to become Affixed. An Aspect is considered the highest level of control one can have over Anima. (But, realistically, it's actually defined by how someone understands themself and their connection to the world.)

Affixed and Aspects

An Aspect is the physical expulsion of Anima by a person and is considered the ultimate form of mastery over Anima. However, what few realize is that Aspects express themselves when someone begins to uncover their true identity. Anima can be shaped into something unique if someone has enough potential to manipulate it. When someone’s become strong enough to gain access to their Aspect, they’re called an Affixed. Many cultures have their own unique names for the Affixed, though Affixed is most commonly used. Aspects come in many forms, with some of them even being passed down from parent to child. Aspects can evolve throughout someone’s life, often triggered by some monumental event in a person’s life. 

Attunement

Attuning is when someone infuses an item with Anima. Some items and materials are more receptive to attunement than others. Often the item is a tool or weapon a person favors. A particularly talented person can even make items with unique abilities, such as dowsing rods, fishing lures that twinkle to draw fish close, or musical instruments that play themselves when the wind blows just right. Attuned items don’t necessarily vanish when their creator dies either, with some lingering decades after their master’s passing. Those blessed with particularly strong talent in Attunement may go on to become craftsmen.

[theorchardsys]

Niche Kin Appreciation Month: Day One

Hi there! It's day one of my month of niche kin appreciation! This month is going to be the month of the (drumroll please)...

DINGO!!

Now, you may have never heard of a dingo before, and if you have it's probably the common "the dango ate ma baybee" (the dingo ate my baby). It's probably important to have a preliminary note that dingoes aren't just going to ingest random children. In fact, they're actually a native Australian wild dog!

Dingoes aren't actually dogs, though, or wolves, or coyotes, or anything of that variety. They're kinda their own species doing their own thing. They used to be pets of Australia's aboriginal people, but no longer. Now these guys are fierce and very wild. If you see a random puppy in the parking lot in Australia, don't go up to it! It will bite you! Some people can choose to keep them as pets, but they're super high energy and when they get attached to their owners, they don't like anybody else, so it's hard to re-home them. It's important to remember that they are still wild animals.

The puppos are pack animals who work together to take down the larger animals of Australia, such as kangaroos, but normally hunt alone or in pairs, though there have been sightings of dingoes with no relation to each other coming together to take down large prey, eating it, and going their separate ways. They're pretty opportunistic and like to snack on wallabys, possums, and some foreign species like hares, cats, goats, and pigs! They're apex predators and really really important to the ecosystem.

They have some super cool physical bits of them that are really interesting! Like their jaws! Their jaws open up extra wide, showing off giant canines which are far stronger than the teeth of domestic dogs. It can look super creepy when you see them yawn, because it looks like their jaws are unhinging. They also can twist their necks around 180 degrees in both directions and their limbs are all double jointed! They also can rotate their paws and they can (safely) partially dislocate their hips, and dogs can't do any of that. They've got a bunch of different colorations, but all dingos have white on their feet, tail tips, and chests. They have thick fur around their necks and chests and depending on where they live, they'll have different kinds of fur, like thick double coats in the winter alps and year round thin fur in other areas! Here are some of the main colorations for your viewing pleasure, with all the image descriptions sporting coloration details and image sources, along with the usual descriptions:

Other physical variations exist naturally in dingoes other than just coat, such as those on Fraiser Island having longer legs and bigger paws, those in the Alps having thicker coats and being more stocky, and desert/tropical varieties being more lean with narrower heads. This helps them all properly adapt to local needs in their populations.

Dingoes are super fast and can run up to 37 miles per hour (60 kilometers) and can travel up to 25 miles (40 meters) a day! They can also jump over 6.5 feet (2 meters) and can climb trees. They can also climb fences, cliffs, and rocks. They're a great control method against all sorts of invasive species, because they can go basically anywhere!

Dingoes are insanely smart as well as very curious and social! They are very sensitive to their environments and notice if even small things change. They often play together as they are incredibly affectionate and will jump on each other, wrestle, and body slam other pack members. Mates will flirt by giving each other food, cleaning one another, wrestling gently, spinning and flicking their tails, or just whining and purring. They keep their own territories to themselves and will fend off opposing groups.

Dingo packs often consist of the breeding mates and their pups. The pair will mate for life. The litters usually have four to six pups, though adult dingoes care for orphaned pups and adopt them as their own. Only the two mates breed in the pack, though the pups can stick around long past maturity to live with their parents and help raise the new pups. They don't have any naturally occurring diseases and are immune to tick diseases, so they will live ten years in the wild and up to twenty in captivity!

Barking isn't really a thing that dingoes do, per say. They will occasionally, but it's rather rare. They will growl or chortle, though! Dingoes also purr, snort, and whine. They use a deep woof (not a bark!) to convey danger and call pups back to the den if danger is approaching.

European colonization has since assisted in eliminating dingoes from some parts of Australia to make farming more easy. Feral domestic dog/dingo hybrids are becoming more and more common as dingoes are seen as pests. It doesn't help that much of their prey is slowly going extinct, driving them to prey more often on livestock and domestic animals. Their conservation status is vulnerable, right now.

If you would like to help out wild or domestic dingoes, you can donate or adopt a dingo here! If you're just here for the ride, you can click the links below for all the different days shown in the post linked here or the image below (complete with an image description, of course). I'll update as I post. Have a great day!!

<< < x > >>

[sparklyhyperbole]

WIP Title Game

Rules: Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs

Thank you so much for the tag, @mistresslrigtar !

There are four.

So you're going to hear about them ALL and if anybody wants to hear more I will junk up your brain with even MORE.

#1 Of Trust and Trickery [Ongoing]

A BotW AU as a passing wave at my Middle Eastern Studies degree. Inspired by the edition of Arabian Nights my toddler was teething on. ✊😓

So picture this: 100 years ago Link was the captain of the guards assigned to the oldest temple to Hylia, located in Gerudo.

The Sheikah and the Gerudo shared in its upkeep, with Hyrule's military providing support.

In a sweeping response to fear mongers, the King of Hyrule cut off the Sheikah's access to power based technology - prompting the genesis of the Yiga. Oh no!

But that's not all.

Their first move is to ambush the remote temple and make it their head quarters!

It gets worse!

The Yiga use Spirit Orbs to turn each guard into a compliant source of spirit power— Djinn!

Thus my genie AU was born.

🧞‍♂️🧞‍♀️🧞‍♂️🧞‍♀️

100 years later, Zelda accidentally comes across our angry blue 100 year old cat bachelor. (There's a cat, btw, because animal companions are always a plus)

Tldr; local girl discovers fox caught in fox trap, wants to help. Maybe if he can stop biting her and trying to chew his leg off for 10 seconds, she'll help him. Maybe.

#2 Taming Wild Horses / Colosseum / Arena / ????  [3 of ?? Chapters written]

Close your eyes and imagine it—

Link is a colosseum fighter and reigning champion. His whole life is dedicated to it, except in the off season.

In the off season, he's contracted out as a mercernary wherever he pleases.

SCENARIOS OCCUR and both the King & Princess experience close calls with assassins. As a temporary assignment, Link is contracted out to personally bodyguard Zelda.

Zelda, avid botanist and reportedly the most powerful Zelda in 100 years is not a lover of the colosseum, and consequently completely unimpressed with Link.

In the background, Sheikah are mysteriously vanishing, so are dead bodies, and they might be warding off a famine.

There is grief! Injury! There will be betrayal! Pining!

Tldr; A cat and a dog have to fix EVERYTHING themselves. But it's not the fixing that's the issue, it's that the other person won't just GO AWA—waitcomeback. 🥺

#3 Swept Up Botw Prince Link AU Heavy Jinshi x Maomao vibes (Apothecary Diaries) but also this is about power dynamics and FUNGUS.

Here's the setting: There has been a coup! Hyrule's royal family were all murdered! Baby girl princess survived! (Shhhh.)

But like 20 years have passed and everyone says new King Ganon is decent.

Shrug it off. Coups happen. He lets us vote about some stuff.

Link is his youngest son. Being low in the line of succession, he's never at home in the castle.

Instead, he spends most of his time fighting the war that kicked up with Hyrule's neighbors after the coup.

There's something so personal about swinging a sword, you know? You know.

His right hand man and personal secretary is Sheik, a secret intelligence officer whose *actual* job is to ferret out the princess.

But guess who raised Baby girl princess?!

Our trio of sibling Sheikah researchers: Impa, Purah, and Robbie.

Zelda's personality is more like Impa's in this. She works as a castle maid, but she knows exactly who she really is.

Tldr; standoffish pretty boy who *suffers* as a lifestyle falls for the stray cat with the broom who is having none of this. Sheik is referee.

#4 Divinity in Excelsus

So this blurb below may or may not be my only written content for this WIP.

Ahaha it IS. WE ARE LAUGHING.

This will be a Chrno Crusade LoZ AU. *Weeps openly*

Link and Zelda are exorcists from separate orders belonging to the Holy Order of Hylia.

Enemies to lovers with bullets and Urbosa and Rhoam as rival heads of the order.

All the champions are in this because I NEED them and I cannot express how much I want to write Daruk as a Holy Father during the roaring twenties and Revali as munitions assistant to Robbie, inventor of all demon-killing weaponry.

Tldr; Zelda and Link in the roaring twenties, with exorcist guns blazing and a different kind of Calamity to stop.

Sooooooo.....ooo... *throws tags like confetti*

@abbyzwrites, @needfantasticstories, @aegon-targaryen, @airplanned

No pressure to play!

[minimumsky5]

Dionysus, 1.5 billion years after formation, 80 degrees north[1]. A radiokont fights off a roving Nannopraetorion in the foreground, while a much larger placotestan floats by behind it, unbothered by the attention of the roaming single celled predator.

To the casual observer, there has been no greater milestone in the history of life on Earth than the dawn of multicellular life. While the vast majority of Earth genetic diversity lies in its unicellular inhabitants, as well as the greater portion of its biomass, it’s the three clades of life to have achieved multicellular, macroscale sizes that dominate surface ecosystems. 1.5 billion years after formation, life on Dionysus achieves this milestone.

For many millions of years beforehand, the ecosystem of Dionysus was stuck in a series of wild swings. The first predatory genus, Nannopraetorion, developed out of a group of scavengers adapted to consume portions of dead cells, and rapidly ravaged the young, naive ecosystem, reducing the populations of passive chemosynthetic organisms that were relying on the constant rain of complex organics from the upper atmosphere. This was not a very potent source of energy, and so the local producers were simply wiped out by the predators, unable to reproduce quickly enough in the face of a supercharged, heterotrophic lifeform. These cycles of boom and bust continued for millions of years.

Recently, however, a new form of producer has evolved. Developing from a antecessor that lived in the very uppermost layers of the global ocean, for which they developed anthocyanin-like blue pigments for protection against UV rays, this group started to use these pigments to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Initially this hydrogen was used to break down long chain and resistant organic compounds in a vastly more efficient manner, but it didn’t take long before a group of these started using the hydrogen to create simple sugars, though unlike sugars on Earth, these were based on 5 carbon furan rings. Now able to access a much more potent source of energy, these organisms were able to compete with Nannopraetorion. 

For a time, anyway. Even though the ecosystems had stabilized, the mortality rate on these early photosynthesizers was very high, creating a strong evolutionary pressure to develop further defenses against their predators. At the same time, rising oxygen levels provided both an additional threat, and an opportunity. 

Oxygen is a toxin to all life, even modern organisms on Earth. It is highly reactive and liable to break apart many chemical bonds, but that also makes it an extremely potent source of energy for those that can harness it. By a freak mutation, some of the early photosynthesizer cells didn’t fully separate when they split, but this helped both cells by reducing their surface area to volume ratio, bringing down the concentration of oxygen in the cells.

This initial, monumental achievement was rapidly developed, and within a million years a new clade had formed, the Protokonta. Protokonts are defined by having distinct “mother cells”, individual cells that are the only ones allowed to divide to grow the colony, which use chemical signals to inhibit division in other cells. At the opposite end of the group of cells, once sufficient size is achieved, a new mother cell develops, an event which triggers division of the entire colony.

The protokontan body plan was wildly successful, and so the clade would almost immediately split into two subgroups, the Radiokonts and the Placotestans. Placotestans have already radically altered themselves externally, growing two shells of xylan, a polymer made up of 5 carbon sugars. These tests are secreted in a ring around the middle of the colony by specialist cells, and once the colony reaches a set size, each cell detaches from the rest, ready to creat a new colony. 

Radiokonta is the more conservative group externally, as the only visible innovation is a series of radial spines that gives the group its name, but this hides the fact that radiokonts have developed significantly more extensive cell-to-cell communication methods, allowing them to link of the contractile elements of their cytoskeletons to coordinate their movements. This allows radiokonts to warp the shape of the colony in the face of danger, bringing their spines together to form an impenetrable defense. Their spines are derived from the same biopolymers as the placotestans, but each cell other than the mother cells excretes a spine upwards.

The Protokonts are still in the middle of their diversification at this point in the history of Dionysus, and indeed in very recent times a new clade of Radiokonta has emerged which is starting to lose its only newly acquired photosynthetic abilities, in favour of more predatory methods…

[1] I'm going to shamelessly steal the coordinate systems used by The Isla Project for all of my tidally locked planets, as that simple makes more sense when the temperature differences are concentric, rather than latitudinal. To be clear, this means that this scene takes place close to the sub stellar point of Dionysus.

Also, please subscribe to them if you haven't already, it's one of the best spec evo projects I've seen!

[agent-scotch]

Netflix's The Gentlemen Rant/Review (Spoilers)

If you've never seen a Guy Ritchie mob movie then you might enjoy yourself.

But if you're like me then you kinda - disappointed. and here is a rant:

I genuinely thought this was gonna be expanding on the world or characters of Gentlemen movie. I know they would not have the same cast but at least link them to the original story. But instead an entire 2 episode of retelling.

Susie Glass, not gonna lie I was hoping when she mentioned her DAD it would be in reference to the movie. Like maybe the Pearsons had a daughter that is now taking over the business! Like what is with franchises that don't like to touch or can cameos of the source material. She's kind of a spin on Rosie and kinda not.

I loved it when Rosie pulled out a gun, like I liked that she was elegant and posh but also mean despite her husband. Like wouldn't it be great if Susie was the daughter! I liked the mix of Matthew's southern accent amongst the diverse English accents.

The quick talking was fun but the character are watered down as fuck. Ritchie's movie and character are FUN and Kinda Cartoonish but that's what so fun about them! Colin Farrel as Coach, Hugh Grant as Fletcher. These ones are so serious which I get because it needs to span a TV series but this is a guy Ritchie spin off, not Succession.

Not sure if people notice that Guy Ritchie character structures are like a Shakespeare play. He spends the same amount of time introducing the low level criminals, side characters and the high end gangsters. They are interwoven by the same goal, consequences, and share 1 degree of separation wether they know or not.

In the Tv show, the main focus is the Duke and Susie, mainly the Duke and nothing ever comes back to bite him in the ass in the future the way it does in Ritchie's movies.

I will say there are some movie reference I appreciate:

the guns that blow the head off the guy (reference to lock stock)

there is a scene where Eddie pulls a cable to a pair of headphone (Reference to RocknRolla with One Two vs the Russians)

There is a chase scene that very much like Raymond's in the Gentlemen movie.

Finally the inconsistencies and editing. Good editing itself can be very comedic. Sometimes Richie skips directly showing a graphic scene to show the aftermath and let's the acting and script recall what happened - letting the audience's imagination wild. Example would be int he Gentlemen when The coach show the editor what happened between him and a pig. The Freddie's chicken sequence didn't need to pan out in order for the audience to understand how humiliating it is. If anything skip that, show Freddie crying and your brain will do the math. Equally and possibly more effective than actually showing it.

This goes for the scene where he accidentally pulls the chord to a pair of head phones in reference to RockNRolla. In RockNRolla, the two Russians pull the chord - LOUD music and to Gerard's face let's you know shits gonna get fucked up. and then it cuts.

In the Gentlemen, the chord is pulled and they duke it out. Which I guess yea but that point in the show there needed to be a fight scene.

But action sequence is misplaced.

In the first episode Eddie goes to a boxing match to find his brother who stole like 4 million pounds to gamble. Eddie confront brother but then walks away. As susie explains the truth about said gamble across the room Freddie. The shot of Eddie shakes more and more and the tiger roaring get louder and louder showing his growing anger. And you think Eddie, military man, he's gonna pink mist these the fuckers in the room! right? WRONG. HE JUST WALK OVER AND WAGS A FINGER.

Like I get it he's a duke....

In the gentlemen Movie Fletcher and Raymond recall a negotiation between Dry-eye and Micky where Micky suddenly shoots Dry-eye in the balls and lots of screaming. Cut back, it didn't actually happen and they just talked - Fletcher was just trying to spice up the story.

WHY DIDN'T THEY DO THAT. Why did they do they lion roaring and camera shaking, show him pink misting everyone and be like lol that was all in Eddy's head AND THEN he walks over and wags his finger.

And the only reason WHY I'm compiling about this whole shot of eddy being angry, camera shaking and lions roaring is that it only happens THE ONE TIME. They could have made it Eddy's thing where he's so close to snapping, it would have been part of his character but nah. that's it.

None of the characters really grow? Like Susie becomes more reckless but Eddy doesn't change much.....

This show is taking itself too seriously, and I love Ritchie movies cause they are goofy.

Ritchie did go from directing a couple episodes to only producing so that must have fucked things up.

So this is all I have to say for now.

[rairii]

Now that I'm not typing on my phone falling half asleep, I want to talk about this some more, but it's still going to be a ramble.

Something I see a lot of in Western society (my experiences are a lot of south America, the USA, the UK, and a bit of Canada), is this idea that we are inherently damaging to nature. That the best thing we can do is to leave nature alone. We create this barrier between ourselves and nature, this separation, ignoring that we are a part of nature, and that we can coexist with nature without damaging it. That we in fact can be stewards of nature, and help it, as it helps us.

This disconnect between humanity and nature is something that people I've worked with who work with indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon don't believe, whether because they have learned from these indigenous peoples (like the Ashaninka, the Shipibo, the Yanesha), or because they already believed in humanity's inclusion in nature. I have seen brilliant people work closely with indigenous populations to protect their territories. They know their lands, their flora, their fauna - they can tell us when there's a problem, and often even identify the source of it. A wise biologist pays attention to people with this rich cultural history and knowledge. There is more and more respect for indigenous cultural knowledge, and its role in science (Source).

Did you know that deforestation is much lower in indigenous territories? (Source). But this only works when we support, respect and protect indigenous sovereignty, as can be seen by the increases in deforestation in Indigenous Lands in the Brazilian Amazon when policies protecting and providing support for them were weakened under Bolsonaro's regime (Source). People are often the problem, but they are also often the solution.

You know the Amazon, the great big wild rainforest? Well, it's not as wild and "pristine" as it was thought, and that is a good thing. (Source) We helped shape the diversity of the Amazon rainforest. We've helped protect, and spread it. Humans have been influencing, shaping, stewarding nature for as long as we've existed. That is not a bad thing. It just means we need to be wise about how we do that.

You can't do conservation without people. You can't have the wild spaces you love without humans. Stop viewing humanity as the enemy.

This is good news! It means we can, and will, survive and learn and coexist and harmonize with nature. Sustainabilty is achievable. Social environmental justice is achievable. We Can do this. Don't give up. Look for the root causes. Look for the source of the problem, and then, look for ways to help the people there, and you will see improvements in nature.

For me this meant traveling to a semi-remote series of villages in the Peruvian Amazon, and mapping the use of bodies of water, interviewing the villagers how they used, wanted to use, and wanted to protect these bodies of water. Once we had that information, we could help them create management strategies to maintain fishing (an important source of protein in the Amazon) going sustainably. I have no social training. I'm an ecologist, with a biology degree. But that lesson about protecting the environment stuck with me.

You can only do conservation with people. Not by excluding them. Not by prohibiting use. But by encouraging sustainability and providing resources and tools for vulnerable populations and peoples, most of whom had a better idea of the crisis than we do.

When I was in vet school I went to this one lecture that I will never forget. Various clubs would have different guest lecturers come in to talk about relevant topics and since I was in the Wildlife Disease Association club I naturally attended all the wildlife and conservation discussions. Well on this particular occasion, the speakers started off telling us they had been working on a project involving the conservation of lemurs in Madagascar. Lemurs exist only in Madagascar, and they are in real trouble; they’re considered the most endangered group of mammals on Earth. This team of veterinarians was initially assembled to address threats to lemur health and work on conservation solutions to try and save as many lemur species from extinction as possible. As they explored the most present dangers to lemurs they found that although habitat loss was the primary problem for these vulnerable animals, predation by humans was a significant cause of losses as well. The vets realized it was crucial for the hunting of lemurs by native people to stop, but of course this is not so simple a problem.

The local Malagasy people are dealing with extreme poverty and food insecurity, with nearly half of children under five years old suffering from chronic malnutrition. The local people have always subsisted on hunting wildlife for food, and as Madagascar’s wildlife population declines, the people who rely on so-called bushmeat to survive are struggling more and more. People are literally starving.

Our conservation team thought about this a lot. They had initially intended to focus efforts on education but came to understand that this is not an issue arising from a lack of knowledge. For these people it is a question of survival. It doesn’t matter how many times a foreigner tells you not to eat an animal you’ve hunted your entire life, if your child is starving you are going to do everything in your power to keep your family alive.

So the vets changed course. Rather than focus efforts on simply teaching people about lemurs, they decided to try and use veterinary medicine to reduce the underlying issue of food insecurity. They supposed that if a reliable protein source could be introduced for the people who needed it, the dependence on meat from wildlife would greatly decrease. So they got to work establishing new flocks of chickens in the most at-risk communities, and also initiated an aggressive vaccination program for Newcastle disease (an infectious illness of poultry that is of particular concern in this area). They worked with over 600 households to ensure appropriate husbandry and vaccination for every flock, and soon found these communities were being transformed by the introduction of a steady protein source. Families with a healthy flock of chickens were far less likely to hunt wild animals like lemurs, and fewer kids went hungry. Thats what we call a win-win situation.

This chicken vaccine program became just one small part of an amazing conservation outreach initiative in Madagascar that puts local people at the center of everything they do. Helping these vulnerable communities of people helps similarly vulnerable wildlife, always. If we go into a country guns-blazing with that fire for conservation in our hearts and a plan to save native animals, we simply cannot ignore the humans who live around them. Doing so is counterintuitive to creating an effective plan because whether we recognize it or not, humans and animals are inextricably linked in many ways. A true conservation success story is one that doesn’t leave needy humans in its wake, and that is why I think this particular story has stuck with me for so long.

(Source 1)

(Source 2- cool video exploring this initiative from some folks involved)

(Source 3)

[aquariuminfobureau]

There is something quite eyecatchng, despite their lack of gaudiness, about silvery, schooling fishes. Though they are less common in our tanks than more colorful species, some well known species are popular, including the piranhas called silver dollars, and the carps called tinfoil barbs. A less popular member of this category, would be the moonfish, Citharinus citharus, which is usually categorized as a riverine fish usually categorized as native to the zone south of the Sahara. This is not the most popular source for fish imports, so C. citharus is quite a rarity in the aquarium, despite their abundance in African rivers. But in parts of West Africa their rage does extend further south, and they do extend eastwards, with records from such lakes as Albert and Turkana. The eastern fishes are often regarded as a separate race of the species

This is quite a large fish as it grows potentially to 58 centimeters, or about 23 inches. Ecologically it's niche is as a planktivore and a grazer of biofilms, and it has been compared to unrelated fishes inhabiting the freshwaters of other continents. Taxonomically, they are the namesakes of the grouping called the citharinoids, which are an important group of African freshwater endemic fauna. Traditionally the cutharinoids are regarded as a side branch to the mainline of Afro-American tetra (or characiform) radiation; more recently, molecular data has cald this into question, although it remains important that the morphology of citharinoids still suggests their close kinship with the 'true' tetras, and this remains the scientific concebsus.

C. citharus are schooling fishes that must be kept in groups, with spatial provision to cruise and shoal unobstructed. Towards other fish species, they are very peaceful, and very appropriate for mixed species communities. Their tolerances of chemical parameters are probably quite wide, eng present both in localities, such as the White Nile, where the pH of the water exceeds 8, and others such as in Nigeria, where it may drop below 6.5. Wild C. citharus appear to favor waters where the temperature is a little warmer than is the average tropical tank, so circumneutral pH and a temperature of about 27 degrees centigrade, are probably fine when caring for all C. citharus. This fish is quite a habitat generalist within rivers, and is sometimes recorded from lakes also, but everywhere, the species favors life in deep, wide water bodies. Therefore the aquascape is of limited importance, other than opportunity to cruise, school together and forage.

C. citharus are quite omnivorous overall. Their main diet is algal, yet they also ingest insect, fish, annelids, zooplankton, and plant roots during the course of their feeding behaviors. Juvenile and adult C. citharus are known to consume the same food items They are well categorized as aufwuchs and plankton eaters, but it might also be added that they ingest detritus as well, at least incidentally during their benthic foraging activities. Because they naturally swallow sand and mud, it is better that their aquarium substrate be as fine grained as humanly possible. Food items should ideally be small, and any algal or other vegetable component should forn a significant proportion of their feed.

[theprismaticvoid]

Does Mega Evolution hurt Pokemon?

Making a post about this because it's been a topic of discussion with multiple friends, so I decided to go and look into the topic more.

Over the last few years, I've seen multiple people talking about Mega Evolution in Pokemon, and the persistent idea that Mega Pokemon are in a constant state of agony when they're evolved. Some people have even gone so far as to say that this means the 3DS games encourage players to abuse their Pokemon for additional power.

People say this with a lot of certainty, but can't give me a source for where this is stated beyond vaguely pointing at the Pokedex without giving any specific entry. So, I'm going to go through every Mega Pokemon's Dex entry and see how many Pokemon are actually hurting when they Mega Evolve.

A disclaimer before we begin: This is not intended as a callout or attack on anyone. I'm not trying to insult anyone or make them feel stupid. I'm also not trying to attack creators if they decide, in their own personal canon, to say that Mega Evolution hurts Pokemon. As we're going to get into, a lot of these entries aren't super clear-cut, and do not count in my opinion, but might in yours. You could very easily headcanon a lot of these as causing harm to the Pokemon, and you wouldn't inherently be wrong.

Secondly, I have to stress that there are signs the Pokedex might not be as reliable of a source as it first seems. There are many claims in it that are dubious at best, outright impossible at worst.

The main one everyone jokes about is Magcargo's impossible body temperature - there are eleven games where the dex entry says that the surface of its body is 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is almost twice the surface of the sun, yet you can have one near you without harm; the worst that ever happens is that you hurt your hand if you try to pet one in Amie, but that's it. Even though being close to something that hot should be burning you at all times.

Similarly, there's Spoink supposedly needing to keep bouncing 24/7 or else its heart will stop, even though nothing bad happens if it gets paralyzed or faints, and the anime even shows it not hopping several times without issue.

All of that to say, the Pokedex isn't a 100% perfect resource. Several of its claims are blatantly contradicted in other locations, so take it with a grain of salt, especially if it includes lines like "it's said that" or "some believe that".

Finally, this may be my most controversial point, but I'm not going to count "going berserk" as "being in pain". A lot of entries mention Mega Pokemon being more wild and uncontrollable than their base forms, but of all the dubious claims in the Pokedex, "this Pokemon is a killing machine and can't be controlled" is one of the most dubious. So many Pokemon are described as being borderline brainless monsters, and we never see any proof of it.

Take a look through the list of Paradox Pokemon and take a shot every time one says that it's more aggressive than its current-day counterpart, even though you can get right up close to them in Scarlet and Violet and they never try to hurt you at all.

I'll keep a separate tally for "goes berserk" though, just in case you want to count it.

Okay, that's all the preamble. Let's begin. 46 species, 48 forms, let's go.

Right off the bat, a lot of Megas do not have dex entries at all - they were only given their own entries separate from their base form in the Generation 7 games. Those same games also stopped giving entries to Pokemon that were only obtainable via cross-gen transfer.

I could theoretically use the TCG blurbs to see if some of these Pokemon are meant to count, but I'll save myself the hassle and just mark them as No Info Available.

(EDIT: I checked Bulbapedia out of curiosity, and Mega Pokemon do not have Dex entries in the TCG. The only additional place you could probably find lore for these Pokemon would be the promotional websites for X/Y and OR/AS)

No Info Available

Sceptile, Blaziken, Swampert, Gardevoir, Aggron, Medicham, Latios, Latias, Abomasnow, Steelix, Camerupt, Altaria, Rayquaza, Gallade, Audino, Diancie.

Mega Venusaur

Let's Go: "In order to support its flower, which has grown larger due to Mega Evolution, its back and legs have become stronger."

Verdict: No mention of pain.

Mega Charizard X

Let's Go: "The overwhelming power that fills its entire body causes it to turn black and creates intense blue flames."

Verdict: No mention of pain.

Mega Charizard Y

Let's Go: "Its bond with its Trainer is the source of its power. It boasts speed and maneuverability greater than that of a jet fighter."

Verdict: No mention of pain.

Mega Blastoise

Let's Go: "The cannon on its back is as powerful as a tank gun. Its tough legs and back enable it to withstand the recoil from firing the cannon."

Verdict: No mention of pain.

Mega Alakazam

Sun: "As a result of Mega Evolution, its power has been entirely converted into psychic energy, and it has lost all strength in its muscles."

Moon: "Its hidden psychic power has been unleashed. A glance at someone gives it knowledge of the course of that person's life, from birth to death."

Ultra Sun: "It sends out psychic power from the red organ on its forehead to foresee its opponents' every move."

Ultra Moon: "Having traded away its muscles, Alakazam's true power has been unleashed. With its psychic powers, it can foresee all things."

Let's Go: "It's adept at precognition. When attacks completely miss Alakazam, that's because it's seeing the future."

Verdict: No mention of pain.

Mega Gengar

Sun: “Gengar's relationships are warped. It has no interest in opponents unless it perceives them as prey.”

Moon: “The energy of Mega Evolution awakened it. It sinks into another dimension, where it keeps a patient watch for its chance to attack.”

Ultra Sun: “It tries to take the lives of anyone and everyone. It will even try to curse the Trainer who is its master!”

Ultra Moon: Mega Evolution has made it possible for Gengar to access other dimensions. Its entire body is brimming with strange power.

Let's Go: It can pass through other dimensions and appear anywhere. It caused a stir one time when it stuck just one leg out of a wall.

Verdict: Goes berserk.

Mega Kangaskhan

Sun: "Mega Kangaskhan's strength derives from the mother's happiness about her child's growth. Watching it grow up keeps her spirits high."

Moon: "Thanks to Mega Evolution, its child grows. But as the child is good only at fighting and nothing else, its mother feels uneasy about its future."

Ultra Sun: "The explosive energy the child is bathed in causes temporary growth. The mother is beside herself with worry about it."

Ultra Moon: "When the mother sees the back of her Mega-Evolved child, it makes her think of the day when her child will inevitably leave her."

Let's Go: "Its child has grown rapidly, thanks to the energy of Mega Evolution. Mother and child show off their harmonious teamwork in battle."

Verdict: No mention of pain. But it does make Kangaskhan sad :(

Mega Pinsir

Sun: "The influence of Mega Evolution leaves it in a state of constant excitement. It pierces enemies with its two large horns before shredding them."

Moon: "Bathed in the energy of Mega Evolution, its wings become unusually developed. It flies at speeds of approximately 30 mph."

Ultra Sun: "After Mega Evolution, it becomes able to fly. Perhaps because it's so happy, it rarely touches the ground."

Ultra Moon: "It zips around at blistering speeds, looking for an opening to skewer its opponent on its giant pincers."

Let's Go: "With its vaunted horns, it can lift an opponent 10 times heavier than itself and fly about with ease."

Verdict: Goes berserk. This one even says that it's happy! Mega Evolve your Pinsir today <3

Mega Gyarados

Sun: "Mega Evolution also affects its brain, leaving no other function except its destructive instinct to burn everything to cinders."

Moon: "It jets water from the orifices on its sides, streaking above the water surface at supersonic speed."

Ultra Sun: "Mega Evolution places a burden on its body. The stress causes it to become all the more ferocious."

Ultra Moon: "It zooms out of the water at Mach speeds. Even large ships caught in its path are split cleanly in two!"

Let's Go: "Although it obeys its instinctive drive to destroy everything within its reach, it will respond to orders from a Trainer it truly trusts."

Verdict: Goes berserk. Though, that's also not much of a change from how Gyarados normally is.

Mega Aerodactyl

Sun: "Part of its body has become stone. Some scholars claim that this is Aerodactyl's true appearance."

Moon: "When it Mega Evolves, it becomes more vicious than ever before. Some say that's because its excess of power is causing it pain."

Ultra Sun: "It will attack anything that moves. Mega Evolution is a burden on its body, so it's incredibly irritated."

Ultra Moon: "Mega Evolution awakened some dormant genes, bringing back the sharp rocks that once covered Aerodactyl's entire body."

Let's Go: "The power of Mega Evolution has completely restored its genes. The rocks on its body are harder than diamond."

Verdict: In pain.

Mega Mewtwo X

Let's Go: "Psychic power has augmented its muscles. It has a grip strength of one ton and can sprint a hundred meters in two seconds flat!"

Verdict: No mention of pain.

Mega Mewtwo Y

Let's Go: "Despite its diminished size, its mental power has grown phenomenally. With a mere thought, it can smash a skyscraper to smithereens."

Verdict: No mention of pain.

Mega Ampharos

Ultra Sun: "Excess energy from Mega Evolution stimulates its genes, and the wool it had lost grows in again."

Ultra Moon: "Massive amounts of energy intensely stimulated Ampharos's cells, apparently awakening its long-sleeping dragon's blood."

Verdict: No mention of pain.

Mega Scizor

Sun: "The excess energy that bathes this Pokémon keeps it in constant danger of overflow. It can't sustain a battle over long periods of time."

Moon: "Due to the effects of Mega Evolution, its pincers have taken on a more diabolical form, ripping anything they pinch to shreds."

Ultra Sun: "It stores the excess energy from Mega Evolution, so after a long time passes, its body starts to melt."

Ultra Moon: "It's better at beating things than grasping them. When it battles for a long time, the weight of its pincers becomes too much to bear."

Verdict: In pain.

Mega Heracross

Ultra Sun: "It can grip things with its two horns and lift 500 times its own body weight."

Ultra Moon: "A tremendous influx of energy builds it up, but when Mega Evolution ends, Heracross is bothered by terrible soreness in its muscles."

Verdict: In pain. I almost feel like I shouldn't count this one, since it's just soreness after the fact, which should apply to... most intense Pokemon battles, honestly, but I'll count it anyway.

Mega Houndoom

Ultra Sun: "Its red claws and the tips of its tail are melting from high internal temperatures that are painful to Houndoom itself."

Ultra Moon: "Houndoom's entire body generates heat when it Mega Evolves. Its fearsome fiery breath turns its opponents to ash."

Verdict: In pain.

Mega Tyranitar

Ultra Sun: "Due to the colossal power poured into it, this Pokémon's back split right open. Its destructive instincts are the only thing keeping it moving."

Ultra Moon: "The effects of Mega Evolution make it more ferocious than ever. It's unclear whether it can even hear its Trainer's orders."

Verdict: Goes berserk. You could make the argument that its back splitting open would hurt, but given how it's rendered in-game, I can't see this as any more extreme or damaging than any other evolution would be. Take a look for yourself - normal Tyranitar vs Mega Tyranitar:

Mega Mawile

Ultra Sun: "It has an extremely vicious disposition. It grips prey in its two sets of jaws and tears them apart with raw power."

Ultra Moon: "Its two sets of jaws thrash about violently as if they each had a will of their own. One gnash from them can turn a boulder to dust."

Verdict: Goes berserk.

Mega Banette

Ultra Sun: "Extraordinary energy amplifies its cursing power to such an extent that it can't help but curse its own Trainer."

Ultra Moon: "Mega Evolution increases its vindictiveness, and the cursing power that was held back by its zipper comes spilling out."

Verdict: Goes berserk.

Mega Absol

Sun: "When this Pokémon whips the winglike fur on its back as though beating its wings, it sends an intimidating aura flying at its opponents."

Moon: "As the energy of Mega Evolution fills it, its fur bristles. What you see on its back are not true wings, and this Pokémon isn't able to fly."

Ultra Sun: "Normally, it dislikes fighting, so it really hates changing to this form for battles."

Ultra Moon: "It converts the energy from Mega Evolution into an intimidating aura. Fainthearted people expire from shock at the sight of it."

Verdict: No mention of pain.

Mega Garchomp

Sun: "Excess energy melted its arms and wings, transforming them into giant scythes."

Moon: "Its vaunted wings become scythes, sending it mad with rage. It swings its scythes wildly and slices the ground to pieces."

Ultra Sun: "Its arms and wings melted into something like scythes. Mad with rage, it rampages on and on."

Ultra Moon: "Its disposition is more vicious than before its Mega Evolution. Garchomp carves its opponents up with the scythes on both arms."

Verdict: In pain. It's not directly stated, but saying specifically that it's "mad with rage" and saying that its arms "melted" lead me to believe it's hurting and that's why it's mad.

Mega Lucario

Sun: "Black streaks all over its body show where its auras and the energy of Mega Evolution intermingled and raced through it."

Moon: "It readies itself to face its enemies by focusing its mental energies. Its fighting style can be summed up in a single word: heartless."

Ultra Sun: "Its aura has expanded due to Mega Evolution. Governed only by its combative instincts, it strikes enemies without mercy."

Ultra Moon: "Bathed in explosive energy, its combative instincts have awakened. For its enemies, it has no mercy whatsoever."

Verdict: Goes berserk.

Mega Beedrill

Let's Go: "Its legs have become poison stingers. It stabs its prey repeatedly with the stingers on its limbs, dealing the final blow with the stinger on its rear."

Verdict: No mention of pain.

Mega Pidgeot

Let's Go: "With its muscular strength now greatly increased, it can fly continuously for two weeks without resting."

Verdict: No mention of pain.

Mega Slowbro

Sun: "All the energy from Mega Evolution poured into the Shellder on its tail, leaving Slowpoke to be swallowed whole."

Moon: "When bathed in the energy of Mega Evolution, Shellder converts into impregnable armor. There is virtually no change in Slowpoke."

Ultra Sun: "Tremendous energy strengthened the power of the Shellder on its tail, but it doesn't really affect Slowpoke."

Ultra Moon: "Having been swallowed whole by Shellder, Slowbro now has an iron defense. It's pretty comfortable in there, too."

Let's Go: "Under the influence of Shellder's digestive fluids, Slowpoke has awakened, gaining a great deal of power–and a little motivation to boot."

Verdict: No mention of pain. In fact, this one goes out of its way to say that Slowbro is entirely comfortable with its current situation.

Mega Sableye

Sun: "The jewel from its chest, which has grown gigantic due to the effects of Mega Evolution, can turn back any attack."

Moon: "Supporting a giant heavy jewel, it can't change direction very nimbly and is vulnerable to attack from behind."

Ultra Sun: "Bathed in the energy of Mega Evolution, the gemstone on its chest expands, rips through its skin, and falls out."

Ultra Moon: "It blocks any and all attacks with its giant-sized gemstone. However, the stone's a heavy burden, and it limits Mega Sableye's movements."

Verdict: Unclear. I'm honestly not sure how to count this one. On the one hand, it doesn't directly say that it's suffering. On the other hand, saying that the gem "ripped through its skin" and mentions of how heavy the gem is almost makes me want to count it as being in pain. I'll leave it as "Unclear" and let you decide where to count it.

Mega Sharpedo

Sun: "The spines sprouting from its head are transformed fangs. If they're injured or broken off, the spines will regenerate countless times."

Moon: "As a consequence of Mega Evolution, its combative instincts exploded. The yellow marks it bears are scars from a long history of battles."

Ultra Sun: "The yellow patterns it bears are old scars. The energy from Mega Evolution runs through them, causing it sharp pain and suffering."

Ultra Moon: "The moment it charges into its opponent, sharp spikes pop out of Sharpedo's head, leaving its opponent with deep wounds."

Verdict: In pain.

Mega Glalie

Sun: "The excess energy from Mega Evolution spilled over from its mouth, breaking its jaw. It spews endless blizzards."

Moon: "It envelops prey in its mouth, freezing them instantly. But its jaw is dislocated, so it's unable to eat them."

Ultra Sun: "When it spews stupendously cold air from its broken mouth, the entire area around it gets whited out."

Ultra Moon: "The power of Mega Evolution was so strong that it smashed Glalie's jaw. Its inability to eat very well leaves Glalie irritated."

Verdict: In pain. Like with Garchomp, it doesn't directly say as such, but I can't imagine having your jaw smashed and being unable to eat would be very pleasant.

Mega Salamence

Sun: "Anyone standing in its path gets sliced right in two, while this Pokémon continues its flight without interruption."

Moon: "Mega Evolution fuels its brutality, and it may even turn on the Trainer who raised it. It's been dubbed "the blood-soaked crescent.""

Ultra Sun: "The stress of its two proud wings becoming misshapen and stuck together because of strong energy makes it go on a rampage."

Ultra Moon: "It puts its forelegs inside its shell to streamline itself for flight. Salamence flies at high speeds over all kinds of topographical features."

Verdict: Like with Mega Sableye, I'm not sure if I should count this. The Ultra Sun description... It all depends on how you read "stress". Is it just unhappy at how it's been turned into this new form, or is having its wings reshaped like that painful? I'm going to mark this as Unclear.

Mega Metagross

Sun: "This form results from one Metagross, one Metang, and two Beldum linking up."

Moon: "Mega Evolution stimulated its brain. It emerged as a ruthless Pokémon that will clutch at any means of ensuring its victories."

Ultra Sun: "Its intellect surpasses its previous level, resulting in battles so cruel, they'll make you want to cover your eyes."

Ultra Moon: "When it knows it can't win, it digs the claws on its legs into its opponent and starts the countdown to a big explosion."

Verdict: Goes berserk.

Mega Lopunny

Ultra Sun: "It swings its ears like whips and strikes its enemies with them. It has an intensely combative disposition."

Ultra Moon: "Mega Evolution awakens its combative instincts. It has shed any fur that got in the way of its attacks."

Verdict: Goes berserk.

THE FINAL TOTAL

Thank you if you've read all of my ramblings. It's also fine if you just skipped to the end to see the numbers.

Without any further ado, the final totals:

No Info Available: 16 out of 48 (33.33%)

No Mention of Pain: 14 out of 48 (29.1%)

Goes Berserk: 9 out of 48 (18.75%)

In Pain: 7 out of 48 (14.5%)

Unclear: 2 out of 48 (4.2%)

This leads back to the original question of whether or not Mega Evolution is something that hurts Pokemon. My answer is it depends, but broadly speaking, no. Only 7 of them are actually stated unambiguously to be suffering, and considering how ridiculous some of the Pokedex's claims actually are, it's possible the actual number is lower.

(Though to be fair, you could also use the Pokedex being inaccurate to say it's higher. In the end, the lore can be vague, and it's up to your own headcanons to fill in the gaps)

That being said: If you read the whole post, you can see a few times where I was unsure where to place certain Pokemon. Do you agree with my placements? Do you disagree? I'm open to discussion if you have differing opinions on some of these placements.

[vh-rp]

Aberrations

Aberrations are creations of the elvhen Goddess, Ghilan'nain during the times of Elvhenan. They were once ancient elves, slaves or servants of the Goddess, or gifted to her by other Evanuris. They were created through a multitude of processes; some were created through in-utero modifications with magic and therefore born as they are, others tampered with throughout their stages of life. Even among those born as they are may have been further modified later in life. Every Aberration is different.

During the creation of the veil all aberrations entered uthenera, but now the veil is destroyed they have awoken and begin to roam Thedas. Until now, no one has seen one before and ultimately has no idea what they are or where they have come from. Unless you are an ancient elf who knew of Ghilan'nain's experiments, there are all sorts of wild theories that are thrown about as to what these creatures are. As a result, all Aberrations are shunned and reviled in modern Thedas societies. There are exceptions on individual levels, of course, but any large organizations won’t accept them.

Most are loners, hermits, or form and settle small villages for themselves among other Aberrations.

Class: Mage (though those weak in magic may see/refer to themselves as another class) Source Hosts: Draconic, Avian, Ruminant, Odonata, Cetacea Restrictions: 1 type per player. Ages no younger than 3949 and no older than 8000. If they were not in uthenera when Arlathan fell and the humans invaded, or soon after, they would have quickened and died like the rest.

They can all use magic to some degree, some are more powerful than others. Those more powerful Aberrations are Mages and are joined with a demon or spirit. Those that are less skilled in magic, however, are free of this burden.

All Aberrations have a minimum one (1) and maximum three (3) listed features based on their host type. Host types cannot be mixed and matched. You are welcome to ask staff to roll any or all traits if you cannot decide. Flight wings (large) & decorative wings (small) will be rolled separately.

Not all Aberrations have wings, and not all that do can fly. Most with wings have small, unusable wings that are more decorative than functional. Decorative wings can appear anywhere on the body and are not limited to the back. Exception: all Odonata wings are decorative, regardless of size

[earthytalesindia]

Discover the Charm: Why Old-school Chakki Atta is a Must-have!

Gone are the days when people used to rely on their traditional ways. Now modern technology is dominating our lives and food. However, it is essential to be grounded in wisdom and not forget old-school chakki atta. The traditional ways of milling atta are not compromised. It brings freshness, high nutritional value, no involvement of preservatives, etc. to our plates. Whereas commercially refined atta or technologically made flour loses its goodness and natural composition. People understanding this are trying to get back to their roots by adopting traditionally milled chakki atta.

Why Buy Traditional Chakki Atta Over Commercially Refined Atta?

Chakki atta is prepared with a traditional grinding process. It is called the stone-grinding method. There is involvement of whole grain stone where the stone grinds slowly. During the process, the wheat germ doesn’t get exposed to severe temperatures, and germ oil gets distributed evenly. Plus, the freshness, texture, sweetness, nutty flavour, and nutritional value of chakki atta remain intact.

What Is Interesting About Chakki Atta? Know The Benefits Of It.

The nutritional goodness, use of traditional stone mills, use of wheat kernels, natural composition, etc., make traditional chakki atta interesting. There are an ample number of benefits to chakki atta, like:

High nutritional value 

The traditional chakki atta, compared to the refined atta, holds more of the wheat’s nutrients like bran, germ, endosperm, etc. Chakki atta offers the benefits of fibre, vitamins, minerals, etc. It is a healthier option than machine-made atta. Industrial flour separates all the important nutrients after the process is done.

No loss of important oils

The stone grinding process involved in making chakki atta keeps the important oils intact. It helps in offering a better aroma and taste while making rotis or chapatis. However, the technologically made atta involves high-speed rolling affecting the essential oils of the flour.

Apt milling temperature

While preparing chakki atta, milling temperature holds importance. A milling temperature of around 60 degrees C or higher can destroy the essential vitamins in the atta. The chakki atta with stone grinding process involves 40-60 degrees C temperature. However, the roller-based atta involves a temperature of around 90 degrees C.

Unique qualities

Organic atta, or chakki atta, is known for its unique qualities like freshness, mild flavours, fibrous texture, etc. However, machine-milled atta doesn’t have any unique qualities. You can smell the natural aroma of chakki atta that’s missing in refined flours.

How To Get Your Hands On The Finest Chakki Atta By Earthy Tales?

Wheat chakki atta milled using the traditional grinding process has dietary fibre, vitamins, iron, magnesium, etc. It allows you to maintain a healthy diet without giving up on nutrients. Earthy Tales, India’s one of the leading organic food stores online, helps you buy traditional chakki atta from the comfort of your home, along with pan-India delivery. You can get 100% natural and chemical-free whole wheat flour online with Earthy Tales. The traditional and organic flour is milled using 100% organic whole grains while empowering over 700 Indian farmers and saving the environment. The unmatched flavour, nutrients, etc. of organic wheat atta will allow you to lead a healthy life without worrying a little. The best part is you can also explore a wide range of organic foods at the store, including Himalayan wild organic honey, and many more to add organic nutrients to your kitchen and daily diet. Source URL:- https://lemonyblog.com/why-old-school-chakki-atta-is-a-must-have/

[podcast-bookclub]

Specifically to join the conversation around audience distance, it also brings in to question the accessibility of creators and the perceived or literal "lack" of fandom-only spaces. In my experience, Tumblr in particular has historically been a bit off-color; most day-to-day people you encounter don't have a Tumblr blog (and probably have never had one), often viewing the site as something long-dead akin to MySpace despite the consistency of activity across the platform. Generally the content created and shared on here tends to stay on here, especially within fandom (possibly due to a perceived sense of privacy, though that would just be a wild guess.)

That said, Tumblr has always been a "safe" space for fandom to exist, and I believe there's potentially feelings of intrusion to have audio dramatists here right alongside everyone else. While not inherently negative, that type of coinhabitance is (as far as I'm aware) largely exclusive to fiction podcasts, thus just sort of calling for a separate set of rules and a differing approach to fandom than we've seen before. The so-called coinhabitance isn't inherently negative in any way, but by design it definitely lends to a sense of "observation" for lack of a better word.

From the perspective of a fan, knowing that everything you're saying could theoretically be seen by a creator is, in short, nerve-wracking. Particularly with smaller shows and smaller creators (as said, beyond the reaches of audio drama "titans") it's not just a possibility, it becomes just shy of a guarantee. Often posts will circulate around small fandoms; if a creator doesn't see it on the tag or from your blog, it's not unlikely to assume it will circle back across their dash at one point or another. While yes, there is a sense of responsibility as a fan interacting in a space the creator also frequents, it leaves a lot less room for people to share as freely as they might otherwise do. (As an aside, I think creators setting up a filtered/blocked tag to allow their fandom that privacy is wonderful and arguably something every creator on platforms such as this should be doing.)

Additionally, I believe the general (correct) attitude around audio dramas is that the "indie" aspects of the space, as spoken about many times over, allow for the prevalence of representation for often underrepresented identities in audio fiction. Both as creators and fans, such podcasts are a place to feel at home, and here on Tumblr it's further a place to find others you can relate to also within that representation. While there is a certain degree of satisfaction within what the source material's "canon" provides, it may lead to any further hesitance about exploration in fanwork; with the creators, in essence, looking over your shoulder, what if you do something "wrong"?

As an example, take the colloquial habit of rewriting storylines or show endings within more "mainstream" media. A fan feels something was handled poorly, and are well within their right to explore those thoughts and ideas on the betterment of a situation in fanwork. However, I think there's potential with the presence of creators to once again damage that freedom through no fault of their own; a fan may be unhappy with something in the show, but equally as much they're aware a given creator will come across their fanwork depicting however they chose to repair it. While that isn't inherently negative, there may be fear just in the idea of causing an audio dramatist to feel like they made a mistake/should've done things differently/etc. In my experience nothing is ever intended to be an "attack" on a creator's choices, but I do think it could be a very easy conclusion particularly for a creator who is maybe inexperienced in fandom spaces.

All this said, ultimately most things on this topic are, for the moment, speculation, though I'm incredibly curious about the theoretics of any particular solutions to the overall lack of committed fandoms in the space (and, otherwise, observations concerning creators sharing said space.) I think it's easy for a lot of the discussion to become cyclical because everyone seems aware of the issues yet unsure of the best way to handle them, or if they should really be "fixed" at all. Fandom in indie podcasting is, for the most part, an entirely new ballgame, but trial-and-error will only get you so far if there isn't steps taken to at the very least evaluate and potentially adjust the way situations are approached by both fans and creators.

Where are all the Audio Fiction Fandoms?

To be clear, this isn't me complaining, and I know, there are plenty of fandoms for audio fiction podcasts and the like.

But I have always found it weird how few shows get the big, self-sustaining kinds of fandoms, the ones where there's always at least a little trickle of fanfic and fanart. So weird, in fact, that I've been thinking about it on and off for the last 5-6 years, and I have a few theories I'd like to share with y'all as to why, and to see if I can't get some feedback from the audio fiction fans on Tumblr.

Theory 1: Audience Size

The first theory is mostly about demographics - fundamentally, a fandom has to be large enough to sustain itself, and only a certain number of audience members are going to become the kind of fans who make fan works, so ultimately, an audio fiction show needs to get popular enough before fan works start appearing.

There's plenty of support for this theory, of course - Welcome to Night Vale, Wolf 359, The Adventure Zone and The Magnus Archives are titans in the fiction podcast space, and indeed they have big fandoms. But, with that said, there's plenty of other podcasts that are just as big that don't have fandoms, so this can't explain it all.

Theory 2: Audience Distance

This one is similar to the first, but subtly different. A few creators in the space I've talked to have noted that they'd never make fan works of their friend's shows - that feels weird, like deliberately treading on their friend's work. They don't have this feeling when playing in big fandoms, or fandoms where they don't know the creator. This implies to me that fans need a certain level of distance from creators in order to feel comfortable playing with that fictional space. While this is less the case now with the fall of Twitter, a lot of shows, for better or worse, used social media as the primary pillar of their marketing, as well as using Patreons with special access as part of their monetization strategies.

In short, it's never been easier to get close to the creators of your favourite shows, and for smaller shows, the most exuberant fans - the kinds who might make fan works - are also the kinds of fans who will take those opportunities to get closer to the creators. In short, there just might not enough social distance for fans to be comfortable creating works, not at least until the audience grows sufficiently that a creator simply cannot be that close with their entire audience.

This theory I'm not so sure about these days - this one is probably a lot more dependent on the generation of fandom you belong to. Older generations of fandom are more likely to have this queasiness around creator closeness, because they were creating in a time where fandom was a shadow realm, desperately hidden from The Powers That Be, and "No Copyright Infringement Intended" was carved into fan works as an eldritch attempt at legal protection.

Theory 3: Audience Age

To be clear - there are fans of all ages out there. But it is clear to me that fandom trends young, and part of that is just the time needed to participate in fan culture - creating and consuming takes a lot of time, time that tends gets scarcer and scarcer as you get older (there are obvious exceptions of course - stay-at-home mothers have consistently been a major force in fandoms!). It's possible that audio fiction fans just tend to trend older, and thus don't have the time available to create and consume fan works.

Honestly, I'm not sure how relevant this one is - Audio fiction is becoming more popular with younger audiences and slowly shedding the "old fuddy-duddyness" that surrounded it when I was first getting into the space. And, ya know, there are audio fiction fandoms out there, so obviously either the youth aspect of fandom isn't a thing, or it is, but audio fiction audiences are still trending young anyway.

Theory 4: We're getting what we need!

A lot of academic discourse often focuses on the idea that fandoms create for a reason - and that reason is often to focus on parts of a fiction that the original text, for whatever reason, doesn't. The most obvious form of this is the many, many, many examples of ships and erotic fanfiction. You, as a fan, watch a show, see something between two characters, and get frustrated that the show isn't giving you more of that, won't make what is clearly obvious to you, explicit. So, you consume and/or create fan works that help relieve that tension instead.

Or, in shows where the focus is primarily on plot advancement or action, you feel a desire to get to know the characters better - you see the stirrings of these characters, you want to know them better, but the show just isn't the type of show to give you that slow, character-heavy scene/episode that you know would give you exactly what you need, so, again, you go consume and/or create fan works to fix that.

It's very possible that a lot of audio fiction is already built to give these sorts of fan audiences what they want. There's already romantic relationships, characters are openly queer, the nature of the audio medium means that character-heavy scenes are something that the medium directs creators towards, so there's already a lot of character engagement. So, for many fandoms, there just isn't much need to create fan works - there's no tension between what the show is and what it could be.

Theory 5: We can make our own at home!

One interesting theory is that one reason that people make fandom is because, fundamentally, the creators understand that they're not going to be making a film, or a TV show, or a book. They have creative urges, and they're not in a situation in life where they're likely to overcome the enormous barriers to entry in mainstream media, so, in combination with the stuff in theory 4, they play in other people's worlds instead. They know that there's already an audience who will consume their work (they're part of that fan community, after all!), so they can get that validation of creation without needing to create their own TV show or film or book, etc.

Podcasts, however, are different. Now, it's not true to say that podcasts have low barriers to entry - to create a podcast, there's a lot of skills you either need to learn yourself, or find collaborators with those skills. But, those barriers to entry are much lower than visual media. At the very least, audio production is significantly cheaper and less complicated for an equivalent runtime.

Better, podcasts have absurdly low barriers to publication - There are no gatekeepers to satisfy, no distributors you have to convince. Once your thing is made, pretty much no one can stop you from distributing that work. You don't even really need to pay for a podcast host - there's a few free podcast hosts now. So, once you've done the work, pretty much nothing stops you from publishing said work.

So... If you're a creative fan, who loved a show but thinks you can do better? Well, you can! You don't need to play in other people's spaces, you can be inspired by the podcasts you listen to to create your own original work, in the same medium and genre.

What do y'all think? Which of these feel right, which of these feel obviously wrong? Are you part of a audio fiction fandom? What does your fandom feel like to you on the inside? As a audio fiction creator, it's kinda hard for me to get into the inside of fandom culture, so insider perspectives would be super neat for me, so please reblog this to anyone you feel might have an interesting perspective on the whole thing!