#the rest are open source

[cookiencupcake]

Miserable at Best // Mayday Parade

[residentialhomeowner]

a lot of people are using nex as a queer talking point without even mentioning they were choctaw and 2S. without even mentioning that this - harassment, assault, murder, disappearances, lies/indifference/denial about the circumstances of our death - is typical of the violence we face. not once have i seen non-native people address that we, as natives, face this same treatment within queer communities. that queer institutions use our land while declining to offer native-inclusive and -sensitive care. we suffer at the hands of white lgbt+ people just as much as we do at the hands of people outside the community.

nex is not your NB pariah. nex was a 2S, NB, choctaw child. thousands of native people go missing and are killed and no one cares. many are two-spirit. many are LGBTQIA+. many are "queer" in ways only defined and recognised by our closed cultures, that you may never hear of and may never understand.

if you are going to flock to nex, you are not going to take them from us post-mortem. they were choctaw. they were native. their tribal affiliation has already been falsely reported on. if you are talking about nex, you will talk about how unwelcoming and dangerous your communities are for us, too. you will talk about how natives face this violence constantly, everywhere. you will not remove nex from the context of them being choctaw, ever - or you won't say their name at all.

even when we die, you don't care about us. i am telling you to care about us if you want us to stop dying.

[champagneshoey]

I LOVE ur girl Daniel snippets … ur a genius 💗

thank you!! you wouldn’t know it looking at the state of this blog, but i am a lesbian and women are my specialty

i discovered through asking the question “how would Daniel’s F1 career be different if he were a woman” that he’s remarkably woman-coded already. like he’s already out there getting body shamed [1][2][3], called old [4][5] and untalented [6], told to smile, and accused of only being a personality hire [7][8]

truly, the only significant difference is that there’s serious speculation in actual media sources that she was fucking cyril instead of just us jokingly speculating here on tumblr dot com

[handfuloftime]

"and some historians have diagnosed his feelings for this attractive, able courtier as surpassing those conventionally allotted to friendship." You can't just say that, you have to tell me which historians.

[daily-public-domain]

Day 319: Christopher Lee

link

–This image is part of the public domain, meaning you can do anything you want with it! (you could even sell it as a shirt, poster or whatever, no need to credit it!)–

[newtness532]

I've been searching for her articles by searching the title, like i did for mine, sometimes adding the date or author, sometimes looking at the journal it says it's from and so far ive found like 14 of the 35 articles I've looked for. am I doing sth wrong? what is happening?

[kntxt]

THE KING (JOHN DOPE) IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE KING (KONTEXT)!

WAVLAKE: https://wavlake.com/album/73c5fed3-7c63-4fcb-893f-d5ea80696ee1

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/album/6tOe3gV5UCYIoKBAIew3Hb

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaPFuUAhgQxC08lZnXIBR36iJlRF868O4

BANDCAMP: https://mckontext.bandcamp.com/album/rest-in-beats-john-dope

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/john-dopest/sets/rest-in-beats-john-dope

FREE MUSIC ARCHIVE: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kontext/rest-in-beats-john-dope

INTERNET ARCHIVE: https://archive.org/details/kontext-rest-in-beats-john-dope

This is my birthday gift to y'all. I'm retiring by beatmaker moniker John Dope and to commemorate the event, releasing an album consisting of 36 beats I've made in the timeframe of approx. 2010-2023. Some of the instrumentals on the album are what I've rapped on myself, some I've already released as just single beats, some I have never posted anywhere before. As per the culture and my philosophy, the album is COPYRIGHT-FREE so anybody and everybody is free to use them to rap/sing on, remix, use in videos, podcasts, resell them, or in general do whatever you wish with them, for both personal and commercial purposes - your imagination is the limit (technically it is CC-BY 4.0 license which means you'd need to credit me, but while crediting is nice, honestly - I don't really care). Streaming via Wavlake #V4V exclusively for the first 24 hours, streaming on other major platforms and download links will be available 30 July 2024.

All tracks by Kontext (AKA John Dope)

Find me on nostr: https://njump.me/npub1qfc7rwddjl3lzhkhgge8ch82xjfm6e3gqcgk8zm6pahz3tvvl7gq88xnrh

Elsewhere: https://vida.page/mckontext or https://linktr.ee/mckontext

E-mail: kntxt@pm.me

Guitar by El Brujo in tracks: #2 Sky Blue, #9 Alutaguse, #14 Mini Mouse Disco, #20 August 2017, #23 February 2019, #29 November 2016

All tracks licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Release date: 29 July 2024

Brought to you by Satoshee (https://satosh.ee/)

SUPPORT/DONATE:

BTC: bc1q2lz2su4uyf0tmyz4c07my70u8jzaz4wcm5t5ph

BTC (Lightning): getalby.com/p/mckontext

PayPal: ko-fi.com/kntxt

LOVE & PEACE.

[a-flaming-idiot]

Alix is the smallest of her class. But she's not below the average height, her classmates are all just freakishly tall.

[piwakkio]

OP is right and should be legally allowed to shoot a IT Tech CEO every time a new "feature" is dropped

[yosefgaza]

🫂Please stop and listen to my story. Don't ignore me.💔

I am Yousef, 35 years old, married

Please take two minutes of your time and I hope you stand by me and help me save my family from the war

I have three children

They were deprived of their most basic rights as children, their right to education, play and live safely like the rest of the children in the world. They were terrified and very afraid of the sounds of missiles. Our house was bombed while we were inside it and some of us were injured, but we miraculously survived. My house was completely destroyed in Khan Younis and I headed to the displacement camps on the beach. I had a beautiful house and I had clothing stores, but they were completely destroyed during the brutal war on the Gaza Strip, which was a source of income for us. The tent we live in now does not protect us from the heat of summer or the harsh cold of winter and rain. I want you to help me so that I can be with my family again

I have suffered from the war for more than a year and a half. I lost part of my family, my home and my work

We have nothing left here

I lost my dreams and ambitions after I drew a beautiful future

This war is cruel and brutal, we cannot provide the most basic rights

We have been suffering from famine for months and we are still patient

I also need to travel with my family if the crossing opens at any time in order to save our lives

One person needs to pay coordination to the Egyptian side from $5,000 to $8,000, this is a large amount

But I know that thanks to your support we were able to save our lives from death

Your donation is enough to save our lives from death

Things here are more difficult than you see

I hope you do not leave us here alone🫂

✅️Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #591 )✅️

Verified before

✅️Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #591 )✅️

@90-ghost

@dirhwangdaseul @bonkcreat @tamamita @chokulit @3000s @killing-stalking-posts @apas-95 @pitbolshevik @ot3 @punkitt-is-here @vampiricvenus @turtletoria @postanagramgenerator @paper-mario-wiki @valtsv @omegaversereloaded @i-am-a-fish @catsgifsarefun @spongebobssquarepants @vamprein @postanagramgenerator @feluka @nyancrimew @90-ghost @beserkerjewel @neechees @memingursa @certifiedsexed @afro-elf @11thsense @sawasawako @spacebeyonce @skipppppy @beetledrink @schoolhouserockmycock @fools-and-perverts @dailyquests @evillesbianvillain @wolfertinger666 @taffybuns @sealsdaily @sabertoothwalrus @meshugenist @isuggestforcefem @yekkks @hotvampireadjacent @tododeku @marxism-transgenderism @sporesgalaxy @moringmark @turtletoria @khanger @heliopixels @lukewarm-lesbian @rhubarbspring @redbuddi @mazzikah @maester-cressen @ankle-beez @anneemay @beesmygod @blackgoliath @butchfeygele @chilewithcarnage @cadaverkeys @determinate-negation @taffybuns @hotvampireadjacent @judelaws-hairline @bisexuel @flipout6 @turian @neptunerings @the-stray-liger @devilofthepit @stupid-dumb-bitch @sleevesareforlosers @sleepybitchdisease @kibumkim @monsterbutch @prisonhannibal @violentbisexuality @victoriawhimsey @killy @heritageposts @ghostofanonpast @sayruq @queerstudiesnatural @sar-soor @feluka @stuckinapril @brutaliakhoa @khangerinedreams @aria-ashryver @imjustheretotrytohelp @brokenbackmountain @schoolhater98 @neptunerings @certifiedsexed @girlinafairytale

@fllagellant @jjjammerson @verycolourfulflipflops @genericminecraftpotato @probablynotaskeleton @sh4rkh4ts @bonicedemandarina @radical-l0ver @weareweirdpeople @ash-the-bee @ettaberrytea @cryptdmoth @cthulusposts @eastgaysian @uhhh-i-dont-know @charc-arts @hexblooddruid @strawbebbyboba @strawberridrops @rawdvd @rinthesecond @brookepagebe @kixflip @1p0lly1 @morihaus @rattlesnake-acrobatics @thatonebored-juniorcolleague

@slendyverseargcollections @neonfruitbowl @momfriend2800 @luvmoonie @womenbehotfr @seventhefurbfather @c0-j-c0 @ignore-this0 @space-ace-books @olivedacat @exhausted-asterism @iphigenia-wailing @enderenby404 @implalazz @lunar-eclipse-bunnies @microwavesex @a-court-of-valkyries @thegoodwitchluz-uea @diagnosedhorsegirl @bebbls-craft-blog @the-acid-pear @moviequotes23 @nickbluehour @number1ludicolofan @inkslingerr @madspades @decadentmuffindreamscissors @taptrial2 @virovac @blue-jacket-blues @tacit-semantics @timeless-orchid @cinnarainbow @aziraphaleapologist @harley-angel @swapauanon @yakiattaki @piratefry @pegglefan69 @writing-is-a-martial-art @ohmerricat @mildmayfoxe @sunnyartistwriter

@luvqwish @sherbetp0p @starlightsugar @fr0ge @whatislovevavy @timeless-orchid @magentasky234 @swapauanon @yakiattaki @pegglefan69 @writing-is-a-martial-art @bug-s0da @ohmerricat @mildmayfoxe @sunnyartistwriter @rabbithaver @madeline-kahn @unabashedmagicalgirlfan @averagenotnormal @emathyst9 @pet-shop-of-horror-fan @reyesstrand @rainy-fog @thefakehedgehogaroundhere @discreative @antixabound @liamins @thenextglamourousbard @jolyne-best-jojo @officialgleamstar @cosmicsymbols @spunkfunkyzzz @fairedoll @tomboyjessie13 @citrusfruitman @baldwin-10-12-d

@moonrisemoonchild @senlinstudies @birdmenmanga @rabbithaver @jolyne-best-jojo @just-a-mod @officialgleamstar @ehjane @cosmicsymbols @treeen @spunkfunkyzzz @fairedoll @trashrunes @skiddlecat @tim-the-rat @whatyouvegotunderyourskirt @kurtle @rabidkermit @splend-42 @dustywarbler @400terahertz @poltiddies @yourlocaleccentricscientist @honeybeeffdrawshere @jayskai @astronnonyy @artsyrosie @halfmoonism @whisper-valley @loonfromq @here-sean-once-was @waiting-on-mars @bandtrees @mpregwizard

[kaijutegu]

Alligator Bites Might Never Heal, But Doechii Is Good At Holding Alligators

Doechii won the Grammy for Best Rap Album for Alligator Bites Never Heal, but she also should have won the coveted and definitely not fictitious "Best Alligator Handling" award for the way she held Coconut on the cover!

(Yes, it's this Coconut.)

And the best part? She released a BTS video showing how they shot the cover, meaning that we can see more than just the still image! If a picture's worth a thousand words, video's worth... a lot more. (Sorry if it autoplays I don't think I have any control over that either way)

So, using the photoshoot images and video as evidence, let's take a look at how Doechii handled this alligator very well! I'm going to go into excruciating detail here because I think it's important to know why something is good just as much as it is important to know why something is bad. It's hard to understand alligator body language a lot of the time, so in this writeup, I will address how Doechii's holding the gator and what she's doing right, as well as point out how you can tell from Coconut's reactions that she is not distressed.

Body Support

In the album cover image, Doechii is seated, which is good, because even though she's a small alligator, Coconut is a very strong and powerful creature. That tail is pure muscle! But even in the standing images, you can see that Doechii is giving Coconut great body support and holding her correctly- close to the body, but without grabbing too tightly or being restrained uncomfortably. I think for a gator of this size I would have recommended pinning the back foreleg against her body for a little additional support and movement restriction- but I don't think she had to restrict movement because Coconut seems quite relaxed!

In the seated image, Doechii has one hand under Coconut's chest, supporting her sternum and head. The other hand is on top of her tail, and her knee is under the pelvic girdle. This type of hold lets the alligator feel safe; remember that these are aquatic and terrestrial creatures. An insecure hold that risks dropping them is going to stress them out and make them uncomfortable. By holding the alligator gently against her body and not squeezing, she's avoiding any uncomfortable pressure.

Head and Throat Support

In all of the images, Doechii is bringing her hand under Coconut's neck, creating a cradle with her hand so that the alligator can rest her head. But what she's not doing is she is not squeezing or grabbing the throat. The throat is one of the soft bits of an alligator, and squeezing it too tightly is very uncomfortable for them. But the way Doechii is supporting her gives her several degrees of freedom to move her head if she so chooses.

Body Language

Another indication of good handling is that it's clear that Coconut is not uncomfortably stressed. Alligators express displeasure with being held in a lot of ways, including struggling to get away, hissing, and holding their mouths open. (If you want to know more and see my sources, you can read my post on alligator body language. LOTS of info there, including peer-reviewed ethology sources that explain what alligators do and why they do it! Go get your data-driven answers!)

But Coconut isn't doing that; she's calm and alert. You can see in the BTS video that she's active on set. She's not shut down, and when she wants to walk around, she's not restrained. Obviously the video is an edited timelapse, and it's not the whole story- but when people show alligators in media, they usually don't know enough about them to edit out any uncomfortable body language. So I think that if she had been upset, we would have seen that.

We can also see in the video that Coconut is unbanded, meaning her mouth was not held shut. I thought they might have banded her and then edited the band out for the cover, but no, there was nothing restricting any distress cues. Banding is usually done for public safety, but the facility Coconut's from... doesn't do that, so I'm not surprised she's unbanded. At least it gives more evidence that she's not trying to gape!

One more good indicator that Coconut was comfortable is that she's got her eyes open, which you can even kinda see in the video if you zoom in. Reptiles will often squinch their eyes shut to avoid distressing stimuli or signal distress, and albino alligators have even more reasons to do this. They're much more sensitive to light than their pigmented counterparts. But it looks like her on-set work was completed quickly, meaning that she didn't have to be around bright lights for long.

In conclusion:

Doechii's album cover is an example of good alligator handling. Yay!

That said, please note that this is only about handling and is divorced from any other issues surrounding this particular alligator. (Read the body language post if you want more on that.) These are not issues I'm touching in this post, because that's not the point! I simply want to point out an instance of good handling and how you can identify relaxed body language in an animal that is notoriously hard to read when posted on social media.

[zomgcaleb]

NSFW — caleb would loatheeee you trying to be quiet. he’s waited so long to have you this way after all the daydreams and fantasies that would distract him. the ones that would make him reread his source articles in academy because the image of your collarbones in that v neck from your hangout blurred the lines, the ones that would make him improvise in conversation with friends because he was too busy thinking about kissin up your spine to hear what they said. and after all that you want to hide away from him. uh uh.

he’d finally have you sprawled out on his huge comfy California king, pressed under the weight of his body in a nasty prone bone. his shoulders and sculpted biceps would be caging you in and his forehead would rest gently in the crook of your neck, suffocating in the smell of your sweat mixing with the perfume you always wear that drives him insane. you were completely trapped and it was delicious.

but here you were, shoving your face into the pillow and squeezing your eyes shut in hopes to find the strength to stop being so loud. your were embarrassed at how primal he could make you sound like your noises were being ripped from your chest at the feeling of him.

he’d hear the hitch of struggle in your voice once and his eyes shoot open and his brows pinch together. he lifts his head to look at you through droopy eyes. ‘w’ya doin’?‘ he slurs firmly. ‘stop it.’ he shifts to lean on his forearm and uses his other hand to grip your jaw and tilt your head up.

you let out a gasp into the thick sticky atmosphere but you still don’t seem to ease up and he whines in something close to agony at your muffled noises. ‘nooo please baby sing for me gimme ‘ur pretty voice.’

he’d get so impatient that he hooks his thumb into your mouth and pries it open, moaning at the drool that trickles down his wrist. he starts to fuck you as if he’s trying to thrust through you and you can’t help but cry out in bliss, right into his ear, as he rams right into that sweet spot that’s just for him.

it was like a mountain was just lifted off of his shoulders and the relief coursed through him like euphoria. ‘my pretty girl. nothin’ t’be scared of stop hidin fr’me. let caleb hear you, let him hear baby’ he’d coo absentmindedly. he has to try like never before not to cum in you right then.

[nochepsicodelica]

"Really?" Toji asks, nudging your shoulder to wake you up, when he gets a good look at your back turned to him. His voice is slightly raspy with sleep, low in volume from its lack of use.

"Mm..." you hum in response, eyes shut as you try to ease back into slumber. You're in a curled position, your limbs wrapped around one of your extra pillows.

"Really?" Toji repeats, pawing at your shoulder, again.

"Yes, Toji," you say, quietly, not understanding what he's talking about, but agreeing just so that you can get back to sleep.

"Be serious, ma. Really?"

"What?" You ask, your tone somewhat laced with irritation, now.

It goes quiet for a few seconds, and then out of nowhere you hear the sheets rustling and the bed feels lighter. You're thinking there's no way he's so upset that he's leaving the room to sleep on the couch. He's the one who seemingly didn't want to cuddle, so you made do with what you had and grabbed a pillow.

You're snapped out of your attempt to go back to sleep when you feel your pillow trying to be yanked out of your arms.

"Let go of it," Toji mutters.

"What-" you grunt as you pull back and attempt to keep the pillow in your grasp. "What are you doing? Get back in bed, Toji." You hold on as tight as you can to the pillow that is slowly being torn out of your hands. "You're not gonna like when I let go and you're flung towards the wall."

"And you're not gonna like the punishment you earn if that happens. Let go of the pillow. Now."

You stare Toji down, holding your own against him. You know this isn't all of his strength and that he can easily rip the pillow out of your clutches, if he really wanted to, but like a dog with something it shouldn't have in its mouth, you're unwilling to do what he says.

"Listen up, doll, if you don't let go in the next five seconds, you're in for it."

"You're the one who pushed me away."

"Five."

"I need to hug something to sleep comfortably."

"Four."

"It's a pillow, Toji," you say, incredulously.

"Three."

"You're gonna take away my source of comfort?"

"Two."

"Toji."

"One. Let go."

"Oh my god," you groan, irritatedly. "Fine." You release the pillow, allowing Toji to take it away. You watch in disbelief as he throws it at the door so you can't get it without leaving the bed. You huff and scoot as close as you comfortably can to your end of the bed without falling off, before he returns to his side.

"Geeet back here." An arm is thrown over your waist, dragging you closer towards the center of the bed, until your back meets his front and his legs are tangled with yours. "Where are you going, huh? Still chasing after that pillow?"

"All of a sudden you wanna be close to me?" You scoff, in disbelief.

"So much attitude," he murmurs. His hand goes under your shirt, gliding up your warm skin to rest on your tummy. "Need me to give it to you all seven days, now?"

"No," you grumble.

"Well, that's what it's sounding like, to me." A kiss is planted on your shoulder. "Fix that tone, mama."

"You're so unfair. You're the one who didn't want to be held, but as soon as you noticed that I wasn't holding you, you took away my source of comfort. What did you want me to do, Toji?"

"I didn't even push you away, I rolled away in my sleep. It doesn't count."

You just hum in response, no longer in the mood to bicker about something so trivial when you could be working on getting back to sleep. A few seconds of silence go by, a spark of tension formed due to your lack of words.

"Ma?" He calls, barely pinching your soft, warm skin.

You sigh, blinking your eyes open. "What?"

"You mad?" His hand flattens on your tummy, rubbing slowly, as he waits for you to respond.

"No," you say, quiet and icy, even in its subtlety.

"That's a lie," Toji says, chuckling. "Come on, doll. What's got you all hot?"

It's hard not to melt into his touch. The kisses he presses to your shoulder only add on to the difficulty.

"Doesn't matter," you say, still trying to remain stoic.

"Yeah, it does. Now, tell me," he insists. "You're really gonna make me beg at almost two in the morning?"

"I was sleeping, and you woke me up 'cause you were butthurt over me hugging a pillow. There. Does that satisfy you?" You respond, and Toji has the audacity to laugh. You want to laugh too, but your stubbornness and pride will not easily allow you to.

"Poor baby," he coos, a mocking lilt to his tone. "You wanna tell me how to make it better?"

"You're an ass," you bite, no sharpness in your tone whatsoever.

"Ooh, I can hear that pout. You want a kiss? 'Cause I can give you one," he whispers, in your ear.

"Shut up," you mumble, trying not to give away the curling of your lips.

"You want a baby in here?" He asks, gently pressing into your stomach with his index finger.

"No! What?" You say, your giggles finally beginning to surface.

"Gotcha. Made you laugh," he says, pressing his face into the nape of your neck. He presses a kiss to the area before squeezing you in his arms, tight enough to make you groan until he eases up. "Now, tell me how to make it better. Come on, ma. It's not good to go to sleep mad."

You sigh, not wanting to argue with this annoying, yet, charming man, anymore. "Just help me get back to sleep," you mumble.

"Oh, I can do that," he says, a low chuckle homing into your ears. His hand lifts your shirt up more, aiming to get more access to your chest.

"Not like that, you perv!" You chide, pinning his hand on your mid-center. "Can you do that thing you always do?" You guide his hand down, until it rests just above your navel. He knows what you mean, and if this is what it takes for you to not be mad at him, he'll do it.

"You're like a baby that needs to be soothed to sleep," Toji murmurs, as he begins caressing your tummy, drawing little shapes on your skin that fuel your tiredness.

You huff out a laugh. "Acting like you don't drool and snore the second I start playing with your hair when you lay your head on my chest."

[cheswirls]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaa well!!

ig yarinaoshi stopped updating july of last year... and then august of last year yen press released an english translation of volume 1. i couldn't find anything abt a drop or continuation but i'm assuming the translator stopped to support official release. there are chapters up to 30 released online in another language, and it looks like there's enough volumes out in japanese for around 60 chapters? so if there's only 21 english chapters online then there's 40 or so more to read so. um. hmmm

that's kinda disappointing ngl bc even if the anime is only 12 episodes i have faith that that's plenty to adapt more than the first arc!! and i rly wanna finish arc 2 in manga form if its available aaaaaaa

there's the web novel i have pulled up but i can't find any info on manga to light novel to web novel chapter adaptation so i have no idea where to start except the beginning. and i'm not super keen on that anyway bc again if it's illustrated then i'd rather read the manga

HEY WAIT LMAO i checked yen press and these manga volumes are only 150 pages which means a 30 page chapter is about five per volume, so that means 6 released means 30 which is where the non-english translations were!! so if need be i can always re-translate those and read that way aaaaaa im saved omg im so glad i checked to see where the english release was (v4 will be at it not just before where the eng scans left off and that doesn't release for another month so!! better alt all around)

but i AM going to bookmark the web novel translations that go up to ch233 bc if the manga leaves off on a bad note i might need//// to indulge hmmmmm maybe///////

[laurelnose]

it does indeed! the short answer is that the anglerfishes (Lophiiformes: Ceratioidei) who practice sexual parasitism (only maybe two dozen out of over 170 species)[1] mostly don’t have adaptive immune systems anymore, jettisoning anywhere from half to all of the major histocompatibility complex genes and a lot of the code for T and B cell proteins.[2] while it’s not unheard of for modern bony fishes to drop the MHC class II genes for various reasons (pipefish[3], cod[4], a single monkfish[5]), the general trend is for them to have a far more diverse set of MHC class I genes than mammals do[6]. except in the deep sea, where exists a lanternfish (Benthosema glaciale) sans its mhc1u lineage[4] and the ceratioid anglerfishes.

anglerfishes who practice sexual parasitism have a significant contraction of the MHC class I genes and are missing the proteins that let T cells interact with MHC class I molecules, and species that form consortial matings (2+ males, the record is the Queen of the Deep's eight, yeah this is a huge fucking deal from a histocompatibility perspective) also kick the class II genes as well as both rag1 and rag2 (genes whose absence causes the lethal state of severe combined immunodeficiency in mammals).[2] going hypothesis is that they might have hardwired some of the adaptive upregulation of the innate immune system known to occur in rag1-deficient zebrafish[7], which might explain how they don’t drop like flies from all the microorganisms in the abyssal zone[8] but is not a fully satisfactory explanation for the lack of allograft rejection response, given the differences in which pathways get dropped. Ceratias, a monogamous genus, dropped the mhc1u lineage but significantly expanded the mhc1z lineage,[2] so, like... what gives there? (yeah it does fucking kill my friends who actually work in this field that both in situ and in vivo study of this group are currently impossible, on account of the “lives six miles underwater” thing.)

separately, there’s a good chance immune response changes first and sexual parasitism follows afterwards: all the ceratioids have the famous exaggerated sexual dimorphism and all of them perform some form of attachment, but in most of them the male just bites down and hitches a ride for a bit, then lets go and moves on. given the relative lack of nutrients in the deep sea, the evolutionary trend may be for anglerfishes to drop immune infrastructure for metabolic cost reasons and for full-fusion sexual parasitism to arise to take advantage of it, which would explain why 1) sexual parasitism has evolved 3-5 separate times in this suborder[1], and 2) why Vanhöffen’s whipnose, which does not practice sexual parasitism, also doesn’t have a fucking adaptive immune system.[2]

1. Pietsch, T. W. Dimorphism, parasitism, and sex revisited: modes of reproduction among deep-sea ceratioid anglerfishes (Teleostei: Lophiiformes). Ichthyol Res 52, 207–236 (2005).

2. Swann, J. B., Holland, S. J., Petersen, M., Pietsch, T. W. & Boehm, T. The immunogenetics of sexual parasitism. Science 369, 1608–1615 (2020).

3. Haase, D. et al. Absence of major histocompatibility complex class II mediated immunity in pipefish, Syngnathus typhle: evidence from deep transcriptome sequencing. Biology Letters 9, 20130044 (2013).

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did you know that the well-known factoid that male anglerfishes degenerate after attachment until they’re basically just a pair of testes is false? i knew of course that they don’t just become “growths” on the female because I’ve handled dozens of attached pairs and every male I’ve ever seen has been very much obviously a whole and complete second fish, but I sort of assumed there was internal degeneration, perhaps muscle atrophy, etc. i can’t believe no one ever corrected me on this but this just doesn’t happen. in obligatorily parasitic species, the male actually continues to grow and increases considerably in size after he attaches to the female, because the two of them can only reach sexual maturity together. me, an octavia butler fan: is this the height of romance??

what is true is that attached males do have hugely enlarged testes proportionate to the rest of their bodies & organs, and that they receive all nutrition from the female’s bloodstream so their stomachs are always empty, though their own gills seem to still be functional, as are their fins and muscles—you can even induce movement and swimming motions on recently dead attached males. I can only assume that at some point someone said that basically the only biological function a male anglerfish needs to perform is sperm production and this got taken out of context and luridly exaggerated over time. he’s not just a pair of testicles! he’s her forever partner! one flesh one end!

[greymind-wildheart]

I am getting so sick and tired of all the ai bs everywhere. I am getting sick of companies tracking my every move on every single app I use (i'm especially taking about Microsoft and Google right here). I am getting sick of every single intrusive advert that is forced upon me. I am getting SICK AND TIRED OF SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES!!!

Every time I think about how little choice I have when it comes to technology, and products in general, it makes me feel so claustrophobic. It makes me feel uncomfortable in my skin. It makes me feel like I'm drowning.

The hollowness of corporate enshitification is something I am becoming more and more aware of with every passing day and it makes me feel dirty.

This isn't the way we should be living. This isn't what technology is supposed to be.