#twilight worldwide

[bethanythebogwitch]

It's October and I want to talk about something creepy, so this Wet Beast Wednesday is about the lancetfish. These things look like what would happen if a fish became a vampire. Lancetfish are the only members of their family, Alepisauridae and consist of two species: The longnose lancetfish Apleisaurus ferox and the shortnose lancetfish Apleisaurus brevirostris. While they are often caught as bycatch, there is still a lot we don't know about them.

(image: a lancetfish held by an angler. Its body is long, skinny, and silvery. Its dorsal fin extends down most of its back and is supported by a series of long, thin spines. Its head is pointed and the moth is very wide. It has a large, green eye. The tail is out of frame)

Lancetfish are long and skinny fish capable of reaching up to 2.08 meters (6.8 ft). Their dorsal fins are especially notable, stretching down most of their backs and being spiny, resulting in one common name for them being the "handsaw fish". The fin likely gives stability when the fish swims fast and can fold down. The fin is situated in a groove so when it folds down, the top of the fish is smooth and reduces drag. Lancetfish are also one of the relatively few fish to have an adipose fin. The mouth is large and opens very wide. It has long, skinny teeth that point backwards and are adapted to hold onto struggling prey. Their bodies have no scales, only smooth skin with pores for the lateral line. The name "Alepisaurus" means "scaleless lizard", a reference to their body shape and lack of scales. The stomach can expand to hold a very large volume. Lancetfish lack swim bladders and are simultaneous hermaphrodites, posessing male and female gonads at the same time. They show some anatomical differences from other hermaphroditic fish, including testicles that are independent from the ovaries.

(image: a lancetfish held by a child on a boat. More detain can be seen on the dorsal fin, which includes four spines that grow long past the webbing. The tail ends in a forked fin.

Lancetfish are found worldwide except for arctic regions and are more common in temperate to tropical waters, but have been found as far north as Greenland. They are found in the mesopelagic (twilight) and bathypelagic (midnight) zones, but sometimes swim closer to the surface and can be found at a huge variety of depths. They are unusually large for fish that live in those areas. They are generally believed to be solitary, but may gather together to mate. They may also be migratory, as they have been reported seasonally appearing and disappearing in some locations. Lancetfish do also travel to colder waters if food is scarce. They are predators with extremely wide diets that include fish, cephalopods, tunicates, and crustaceans. They are also notoriously cannibalistic, as lancetfish show up in the stomachs of other lancetfish very frequently. There have even beec cases of scientists finding a lancetfish inside of a lancetfish inside of a lancetfish. They are so well known for cannibalism that they are often named "cannibal fish". Lancetfish are likely ambush predators. Their muscles are gelatinous, which is unsuitable for chases but does work for sudden bursts of speed. They most likely hang motionless in the water, waiting for prey to pass. How lancetfish reproduce is unknown, but they are probably broadcast spawners.

(image: a lancetfish in its natural habitat. It is suspended vertically in the water, with the head pointing up. Its dorsal fin is folded back)

One interesting feature of lancetfish is how slow their digestion is. Lancetfish are often found with undigested or partially digested food in their stomachs. One hypothesis is that They digest food slowly wile living a low-energy lifestyle to make the energy gained from each meal last as long as possible. Another is that the stomach acts like storage and will only begin digestion if the fish is low on energy. This provides an interesting avenue of research. Lancetfish caught as bycatch or that was up on beaches can be dissected to investigate their stomach contents, which are so much more pristine than those of other species. This means each lancetfish acts as a net, containing tons of specimens that give us a good (if biased) look at the bathypelagic food web and local biodiversity. Scientists are starting to find a lot of plastic in lancetfish stomachs. It is hypothesized that some of this plastic may be ingested by prey who practice daily vertical migration bringing tiny pieces of plastic down into deeper waters where they are ingested by larger predators. Some plastic pieces found may be too large to be explained by this method alone, such as a fragment of a black plastic bag around the same size as a hand towel found in one lancetfish. This is part of growing evidence that shows plastic pollution is not just a problem for the surface as was previously though, but exists throughout the water column.

I told you, its a vampire fish (image: a close-up of a lancetfish head. Its mouth is open, showing the teeth. They are long, skinny, and sharp. Most are short, but a few on the top and bottom are much larger than the others)

Lancetfish are not commercially caught as there is no market for them. Their gelatinous meat is considered unappetizing, though it is also said to taste sweet. They are considered pests in longline fishing industries for taking bait intended for other species. The amount of lancetfish bycatch is increasing, possibly indicating population growth due to overfishing of their competition and prey. Known predators of lancetfish include tuna, cod, opah, salmon sharks, and sea lions. Because of how deep they live, not much is known about any conservation needs

(image: a juvenile lancetfih. Its body is green and translucent and much shorter than that of the adult. The head has the same shape as the adult. The dorsal fin is much smaller and less distinct. The body is curved at the spine and the internal organs are visible through the skin)

[bloobluebloo]

Actually I still find it stupid that people think they’re making some sort of grandstanding statement by posting that Ganondorf is evil and only evil and that there is nothing redeemable to consider about him. They often bring up Wind Waker Ganondorf as well, saying that if he really cared about his people he wouldn’t have acted so selfishly and violently so his words should be dismissed. Let me ask then; even if his words were about his own suffering in his lands, he is king is he not? What should he have done, bent his knee and ask nicely? Especially when Wind Waker is off the heels of OoT where the Gerudo were met with suspicion and distaste by the rest of Hyrule? Would he have to promise fervently with his word, with his own sweat and blood, that his people would become model citizens in exchange for aid and put on a show of civility of a very Hyrulean flavor? After all, Twilight Princess was a very blatant example of not only what happened to him, but to the Gerudo and his lands based on an accusation that was never realized. Is his unwillingness to bow to the light that unjustified, regardless of whether he intended it for his people or himself?

Veering away from media, it is a reflection of the general trend of having to be the perfect victim. You have to be helpless, your suffering has to be demonstrated to the rest of the world like some sort of sick show while your oppresser beats on you mercilessly. That is the only time people open their eyes and acknowledge your pain. However, should you have people who resist arrest, who hit back and damage the oppressor, who form groups and politcal factions that will use armed force to fight back, you are now a terrorist and uncivilized, and a threat to the peace and order of the world. This sort of line of thinking from mainstream seeps into everything, from the way they digest worldwide events to the way they approach media and fiction.

[bluesdesk]

Hello and sorry again for being late! Here's round 11, with only 6 games left! We can say these are for sure the best Zelda games, they're all almost equally good and the choice depends on personal likings, for example Wind Waker vs Twilight princess for colors and art style! Or Breath of the Wild vs Skyward Sword for fighting style and story! Though Ghirahim is the best villain ever. Fight me.

As for Minish Cap, I'm so glad it reached this poit. I loved it. As I said, maybe not as much as albw but the art style is really gorgeous! And we have one of the few games in which Link and Zelda are childhood friends and close! It gets better in the italian translation because they're not only friends but also related, Smith there is both the uncle of Link and Zelda! Of course worldwide Smith is known as Link's grandpa so maybe he's Zelda's great-uncle!

Back to the poll, remember to vote the game you think is the worst out of these in the list! Please don't vote a game if you don't know it! Knowing means having played the game (even not completed), watched a gameplay, read the wiki! Having read the manga is ok too, I can't think of any other things rn but I hope you got what I mean :D

Reblogs are appreciated, since for obvious reasons I won't tag this as Linked Universe, but the majority of my interactions come from that fandom!

<< Previous round

Rankings under the cut!

The CDIs

Triforce Heroes

Zelda 2

Hyrule Warriors / Legends / Definitive

Cadence of Hyrule

Zelda 1

Four Swords Adventures

Four Swords

Oracle of Seasons/Ages

Age of Calamity

Phantom Hourglass

Link's awakening/LANS

Spirit Tracks

Tears of the Kingdom

A link to the Past

A link between worlds

The Minish Cap

[fayoftheforest]

vampire kyle & historic antisemitism

DISCLAIMER: this post is not intended to incite drama or discourse, I simply want to share my thoughts on a complex topic. Just because I’m Jewish does not mean I speak for the entire community. We’re not a monolith, there is great diversity of opinion among us, discussion and debate is a beloved part of our culture, etc etc :) ok on with the post!

But wait, Fay, I hear you interject. Vampires aren’t even real! How can they be sayin’ stuff about Jews? Well, my dear friends, I have some rather grave news for you: much of pop culture is Sayin’ Stuff About The Jews. And very little of it is positive :/

I’ll quote Jewish author Deke Moulton to establish the basic links between vampires and antisemitism:

The problem is tied to the conspiracy called the blood libel. If you’re not familiar with it, the blood libel started in Medieval Europe in the 12th century and claimed that Jewish people needed the blood of Christian children to make our Passover matzoh. For context, Jewish people are prohibited from consuming blood at all – we will salt kosher meat to draw out blood. Despite being very old and very wrong, the blood libel idea still persists today (albeit usually with slightly less obvious framing).

There is also a common trope of vampires operating through a secret, worldwide council that often governs ‘vampire affairs’ but also may dabble in controlling other aspects of the world’s governments. While some people can see a similarity to the Catholic Church, often times this calls upon the antisemitic trope of the ‘cabal’—that Jews secretly run the entire world (which is another strange antisemitic trope, as Judaism doesn’t have any central religious figure like the Pope). The word ‘cabal’ itself is a bastardization of the word kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism. If you combine this with a trope of vampires hoarding large amounts of money (especially gold?), you’re using yet another antisemitic trope that says Jewish people control the world’s banks.

Even things like being adverse to the sunlight can have antisemitic implications – the early Church claimed that, because in Judaism days start at sundown and thus our time of worship happens at night, that gathering at night to worship was proof of us being evil and satanic.

So, all vampires are bad and wrong, and vampire Kyle AUs are a hatecrime, and everyone who’s ever done one should go straight to jail, right?

Well. No.

Because really, it should be noted that this extract is from an interview on Moulton’s novel “Don’t Want To Be Your Monster,” a book which not only features blood-sucking vampires, but a blood-sucking Jewish vampire. Interesting, interesting... it's almost as if this topic is nuanced or something 🤔

Many iconic vampires are based on antisemitic stereotypes. Perhaps most famous is Dracula, with curly hair and a hooked nose, is an Eastern European immigrant who has the intentions of “infecting” British society. Another example is Nosferatu, who also has an exaggerated hooked nose, is thin, pale and hunched, and is topped by a skull cap. There are modern exceptions to this trend, though! Twilight comes to mind. Edward Cullen is far more inspired by Stephanie Meyer’s Mormonism than Judaism as a whole. Explained so aptly by The Quietus, “As vampiric portrayals become more positive, they tend to also become less connected to Jewish representation.” Come on, you guys >:( Jewishness can be hot and sexy too, I swear!!

From what I’ve seen of Vamp!Kyle AUs, portrayals tend to lean more towards the mysterious and alluring Cullen-type than the bad-to-the-bone Dracula. Ultimately, I think this is what redeems our fandom’s vampire Kyle. Because crucially, whilst vampires can be antisemitic, they are not innately antisemitic. When you show Kyle brooding behind his high-collars and flashing toothy grins at his love interest, it’s not typically symbolic of the ultimate evil that we are expected to fear and ridicule. It's intended to be cute, or cool, or hot, or whatever.

My advice is thus: if you want to make something deeper or complex with the AU, just have a think about what you’re using his vampiric traits to represent. Are you drawing from unfortunate stereotypes or feeding into antisemitic fears? Are you validating or justifying the “othering” or ostracisation of Jewish people from wider society? You could consider finding a Jewish beta/sensitivity reader, if that’s accessible to you. But generally speaking, so long as you’re not presenting Kyle as an all-powerful predator to pure, innocent Christian society, I reckon you’re probably alright :)

[drinksss]

Hi volume one of my new children's graphic novel Tales of the Twilight Forest is OUT and available for paperback order worldwide. It's volume one so there will be a LOT MORE volumes out soon! (volume two is almost done), each volume will be focused on an individual aspect of Twilight Forest progression, this one's about Alex defeating the Naga and it's cool and easy reading. CHECK IT!

[seulgist]

saw spy x family: code white yesterday and i have a lot of (very positive) thoughts about loid forger and the forger family in general.

!!! spoilers beneath the cut !!!

OUHHH the trailer/clips posted before the movie was released worldwide did loid so dirty. that scene of him caressing that women’s leg and “”kissing”” fiona. like woah where was his PR team. he was getting dragged left and right.

just had to get that out of my system bc i will be loid forger’s lawyer in the rest of this post.

i think the most notable moment of the movie was when sylvia told loid that someone else would be taking over operation strix. instead of him being relieved, he was upset.

mind you, operation strix is a long-term mission and is extremely stressful for him. being tasked to appear as a perfect family man when he grew up without one? almost impossible. on top of that, he has a ton of side missions he has to take on during operation strix. so, you would think being told that operation strix has ended would relieve a lot of his stress, but it added more.

i think the best part (different from the most notable) of the movie is that the reason why twilight didn’t want operation strix to end is never directly answered.

sure, it could be that he was finally in a (somewhat) stable place with a semi-permanent home he could come back to everyday which made his job a lot more convenient, but the movie never shows that. in fact, it shows the opposite; that he wanted to continue operation strix to keep his pretend family for selfish reasons.

for once in probably decades, twilight did not worry about anyone but himself (and his family). he was more focused on prolonging operation strix because he hadn’t lived a happy & stable life in so long. twilight doing something for his own happiness is unheard of ,, so i love seeing the subtle growth he’s experienced since creating the forger family.

OH and don’t even get me STARTED on the ferris wheel scene with him and yor. you can tell when he goes into ‘agent twilight mode’ to smooth things over with yor, but that moment in the ferris wheel was genuine.

he was already afraid that sylvia would take him away from his “”pretend”” family, so hearing yor doubt her skills as a wife/mother then finding out that she thought he was seeing someone else was what broke him. i believe that entire scene was not twilight talking, but was loid forger. maybe he believed that if he could smooth things over with yor and go back to presenting as a normal & loving family, that operation strix could countinue. at the least, maybe him, yor, anya, and bond could stay together.

AND when anya ended up not even getting a stella and he had to rework his WHOLEEEE plan in order to appeal to the vice principal’s taste instead of the principal’s, he didn’t even feel upset.

he had spent so much time and energy to make sure they had all the ingredients for the perfect meremere and went through so much trouble to make sure she had even the slightest chance of receiving that stella. yet, when anya came home without a stella and the plans for who would judge the pastries changed, he didn’t even budge. he just looked forward to spending another day with his family. if the old loid forger was put in this same situation, he would’ve passed out or had a heart attack.

(i have so many other things i could talk about like the way in a few scene, an object divides loid from yor + anya but at the end of the movie that divide is broken but i’ll save that for another day)

so today, i proclaim that loid forger will no longer be referred to as loid “for the mission” forger, but shall henceforth be referred to as loid “the official family-man” forger.

[silverteacups]

current list of comms where they say "sekai", as far as i know (this is very necessary and important)

Leo/Need: needLe, Integral

Ichika: Ryuusei no Pulse, the WALL, Hoshi wo Tsunagu

Saki: Stella, From Tokyo, Teratera, Aioi

Honami: STAGE OF SEKAI, Flyway, Regulus

Shiho: 「１」, Peaky Peaky, Voices, purpose

MORE MORE JUMP!: Idol Shin'eitai

Minori: Worldwide Wander, DREAM PLACE

Haruka: If, Float Planner

Airi: MORE! JUMP! MORE!, Ice drop, Momoiro no Kagi

Shizuku: Color of Drops

Vivid BAD SQUAD: Ready Steady

Kohane: Flyer!, Realize

An: Forward

Akito: CRaZY

Toya: Utsuro wo Aogu, Blender

WonderlandsxShowtime: Sekai wa Mada Hajimatte sura Inai, Sekai wo Terasu Tetrad

Tsukasa: Tondemo-Wonderz, 88 stars, Mr. Showtime, Filament Fever

Emu: once upon a dream, Niccori^^Chousa-tai no Theme

Nene: Nijiiro Stories, Glory Steady Go!, Hoshizora no Melody, Hakoniwa no Coral

Rui: Showtime Ruler

Nightcord at 25:00: Kuyamu to Kaite Mirai, Twilight Light

Kanade: Kanadetomosusora, 25-ji no Jounetsu

Mafuyu: n/a

Ena: Infinitely Grey, Watashi wa Ame

Mizuki: IDSMILE

Virtual Singer: Un-Lock, Bottle Cake, ARQETYPE, ShowtimexAudience

Other: SEKAI, Wah Wah World, Gunjou Sanka, Journey, Be The MUSIC!

[swallowtailed]

palisade 43

man. incredible episode.

really pulling the entire divine cycle together—calling back to the hypha, to strati, to volition—and the whole sweep of partizan/palisade.

extremely cute intro. hopping back on air (while high) to freestyle for the entire twilight mirage, honor the dead, drop one “valence” in there real quick, and get out again. parti rights. we’re baaack~ :D

thisbe this episode: hooting hollering etc. worldwide resonance!! her conversation with volition was really compelling. it did strike me that volition seemed to approach the question of divine autonomy from a rather individualist angle (just think yourself free! let people do what they want!), which i suspect is an artifact of (a) living in a supportive community for 500 years & so somewhat forgetting the importance of that, and (b) being volition. i do think that thisbe is on the right track in the principality context, looking toward community building.

also it’s so funny that volition just is an obsidian orb again sometimes. trans rights

brnine this episode: describing grief as a disconnect from your past akin to leaving entire planets is so perfect for brnine. also devastating. loved the sandwich callback as well, that was one of my favorite twilight mirage beats.

am pulling together thoughts about brnine getting challenged to stay in the mirage or leave and fight. when you’ve been defending the distant concept of an ideal, how do you handle the reality of it—especially when that reality is something you were never meant to see, and is so disconnected from the circumstances of your life and your cause. but of course brnine’s tied their life entirely to their idea of keeping up the fight, and haven’t thought that anyone they’re honoring could ever have wanted anything else. (it is also: blue channel going back at the end of partizan.)

have we considered the possibility that ali isn’t gonna have brnine say valence’s name unless and until it’s with their last words

on that note: you know, if someone was terrified of dying, but also sort of craved death, and also grounded their self-worth in their fight for their cause, it would seem awfully appealing to be promised endless life as long as you don’t stop moving. very here for jesset’s motion era. i don’t think there’s enough left of motion to take an elect… is this a dark mirror of integrity? something burrowing in? jesset’s brain gets hooked into that mech…

but also what do we think he’d pick for his elect name if he did pick one. has to be a plant, right? and he already has another naming scheme to fit as well… i think it should be catnip

eclectic this episode: of course he’s trying to arrest the divine who killed his squadmate in front of him, aka the first chapter of every noir procedural ever.

what is futgure doing ohhhhh my god

hey also we still don’t know dre’s new character? many questions

cori this episode: SO glad she’s joined perennial. love this for her. also the… black russian sage wings???? excellent. her entire conversation with perennial was so moving—reaching out to figure and finding their god doing the same is such a piece of tragedy. and the way the need to protect is shared among the three of them—have not stopped thinking about figure just wanting to see cori safe and happy. and then cori holding perennial as she sobs.

“we were figure’s people” is exactly what i wanted someone to say but also ;-;

the conceit of doing a story in a time loop is that you’re gonna repeatedly say, well, can’t do it this time, better move on—which sucks when the loop is a revolution, right, because then it’s implied that liberation is a one in a billion chance and more than likely impossible. (fine starting place, frustrating ending.) but with perennial no longer able to turn back the clock, it gives cori room to declare that there’s no need to keep restarting, they can win it here and now. it’s never impossible. which i am glad for.

look i’m sure they’re just gonna do 1-2 more downtime eps and then 4-7 finale eps and that’ll be palisade but. clears throat. taps mic. It’s Gonna Be Really Funny When They Do Thirty More Episodes. ok that’s all

[rainbowdaisy13]

I read that article and this jumped out:

“In the interview, he alludes to retirement – 'he confesses that he thinks about it non-stop' and 'broods on life without football'.

How convenient, then, that this most high-profile of relationships has come now, in these twilight years of his career – not only providing a significant boost to his finances but also shoring his future, post-football prospects.

And for Swift, too – perhaps the most famous woman in the world and hardly in need of more media attention – this hallmark-movie romance has nonetheless done much to sustain public hysteria surrounding her on-going worldwide stadium tour.”

God damn just saying the quiet part out loud

[1saviorrudra]

How Robert Pattinson relates to BATMAN and dark characters?

Vedic chart analysis 2

(Birth data source: Astrodatabank)

Hi everyone.. We will look into the chart of Robert Pattinson. Known for starring in both big-budget and independent films, Pattinson has ranked among the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and he was featured in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. He has been nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards for his performances in Good Time (2017) and The Lighthouse (2019). So he is quite popular. So what makes him so much of a good actor? Let's look into his Vedic chart.

He started his career by playing Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). He later landed the leading role of Edward Cullen in the film adaptations of the Twilight novels by Stephenie Meyer, and came to worldwide fame as a tame vegetarian vampire (2008, 2009, 2010). In 2010, Pattinson was named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World. He also played a Batman character recently.

So you guys might be wondering how come he played such dominant characters. He is an aries rising and exalted sun in ascendant. So it gives him quite a dominant aura. You feel his characters are very masculine from a vampire to batman. But there is a dark shade to his characters. It comes from the Rahu in ascendant. Also his 10th Lord saturn is in martian scorpio sign. The aspect of venus from taurus fills the artistic zeal to his characters. Most of his planets are situated in fire signs. So his characters are really masculine.

BATMAN CHARACTER BREAKDOWN AS ROBERT PATTINSON:

And one more thing is, his character is batman who played a detective role in the recent film. It relates 100 percent as karma Lord Saturn is present in the detective sign scorpio. Not only that, his Saturn is also present in scorpio navamsa being vargottama. It makes his karma for scoprio themed. His rahu in lagna with sun mercury is very relatable to Batman's character. Rahu in lagna gives some sort of individuality and mystery to character and that's how batman. Batman is a character who is very private and can take any means to beat his opponents (very much rahu in lagna and 10th Lord in scorpio like). So he was destined to play Batman role and shine in it. His vampire role follows the same formula of dark shaded hero and he fitted perfectly.

CHEATING IN RELATIONSHIP:

Since meeting on the set of Twilight in 2008, Pattinson had been romantically linked to co-star Kristen Stewart. For roughly four years, they did not explicitly confirm a relationship. Stewart officially acknowledged the relationship for the first time in July 2012, when Us Weekly published photos of Stewart caught cheating on Pattinson with her married director Rupert Sanders, prompting her to issue a public apology to Pattinson. You can clearly see that in his birth chart. Rahu ketu in 1-7 axis brings cheating in relationships. It also makes you misguided in partnerships. His 7th Lord and planet of love venus is aspecting 8th house of secrets where 11th Lord of desires Saturn is situated. There is Guru chandaal yog in his navamsa chart which is infamous for lack of morals. It indicates his partner secretly cheating on him. Now.. That's a tragedy which rahu in lagna faces sometimes.

HIS OTHER INTERESTS:

Aside from acting, Pattinson plays music and has sung on several soundtracks for film. He supports several charities, including the GO Campaign, and has been the face of Dior Homme fragrance since 2013. His side of generosity comes from Jupiter in humanitarian sign aquarius. His Jupiter is present in Jupitarian nakshatra purva bhadrapada. His lagna Lord Mars is present in generous sign Sagittarius which also add to it. His musical interests can be related to his strong venus in second house. Venus is present in mrigashira which is seeking and exploring of music.

CURRENT RELATIONSHIPS:

Pattinson began dating singer-songwriter FKA Twigs in September 2014. The couple, who were engaged, ended their relationship in the summer of 2017. Pattinson has been in a relationship with English actress and singer Suki Waterhouse since mid-2018 (Notable thing is, she is singer and he was going through venus subperiod. Venus is present in 2nd house of singing/speech). The couple resides in Los Angeles. There is a pattern in his relationships. He mostly dated people who were connected to art. It can be seen in his birth chart. His 7th Lord is venus which indicates he will most likely to get attracted towards people in art/acting. His 7th Lord is present in venusian sign taurus. His venus being in its own sign, he will most probably have partners who are artistic.

Actually.. It's just a surface level analysis. It can be analysed much deeper with dashas and divisional charts etc. But.. I have pointed out the main factors of his life. That's all for now. Bye.

[elbiotipo]

Current worlds I'm building on my head:

Biopunk South America: where a biotechnology revolution and a worldwide ecocide changed the world forever, set in Buenos Aires in 2143. Six students set to make a grant project that would bring back the spirit of old biopunk. Inspired by Argentine rock and fútbol, hacker culture, and biopunk of course.

Campoestela: A 'classic' space opera setting, humanity has spread across the stars meeting hundreds of other civilizations, the focus here is on the cultural diversity of countless worlds. An Argentine space trucker finds a cringefail gamer girl from an extinct civilization and they try to cope with this. The theme is travelling but not for adventure but to work, like truckers or bush pilots.

The Alchemists: Set in the historical Republic of Florence in 1491, except the supernatural is very, very real. An alchemist and a witch deal with adolescence and their jobs while uncovering the secrets of Hermes Trismegistus (and eventually travel all the way to Egypt, China and beyond). A magical setting but based, as much as I can, in real historical conceptions of 'magic'.

Space Battleship Aurora: During the twilight years of the Space Roman Empire, the crew of a battleship rebel and they join a communist (not metaphorical, literal) revolution, as things fall apart. Basically a retelling of the Russian Civil War but in fantasy space.

METAL LML: This is just a rule of cool setting where everything that happens in Heavy Metal covers (the magazine and the genre) is real. A bunch of badass characters fly on their spaceship fighting hordes of evil demons with the power of METAL. With a found family, if you actually care about plot or stuff like that.

Argentina post-magiapocalíptica: Somewhere in 2012, the world changed and civilization collapsed with the "return" of magic. Argentina is a vast land full of wonders, all based in popular legends from the pre-columbian to current memes. Argentina-core basically. It has a lobizón and bruja characters too.

América Invicta: In this setting, the Inca and Mesoamerica remain unconquered, but they still have to deal with the contact of Europeans. This is a setting where every myth and legend about the Americas is real and then some. It's an excuse to present more Latin American mythology and legend.

The Greatest Scam: A hard (as it can be) sci-fi setting where the Solar System is turned into a dyson sphere to mine bitcoin, and the Socialist Interstellar roams the galaxy, safeguarding what remains of Earth from the ultimate apotheosis of capitalism

Concordia: (or Star Trek: Rebuild) An optimistic atompunk (but realistic) setting where the US and USSR decided to cooperate and do a joint atomic and space program, and things escalate from there. Humanity reaps the benefits of the peaceful Atomic Age, as ATOMIC ROCKETS explore the stars.

If you see me talking about worldbuilding, or reblogging very specific things, it's about some of these. EL BIOTIPO CINEMATIC UNIVERSE.

[bethanythebogwitch]

It occurs to me that I have yet to cover an actual bony fish for Wet Beast Wednesday, so it's billfish time. Billfish are a group of related fish in the families Xiphidae (swordfish) and Istioporidae (marlins) that are knows for their long, pointed rostra, commonly known as bills. The taxonomic placement of billfish is something of an open question. Some sources place them with barracudas in the order Istiophoriformes while newer sources group billfish and barracudas with the tuna and mackerels in a group that I'm delighted to inform you are called scrombroids.

(image: a swordfish)

All 12 living species of billfish are large, migratory predators which live in the epipelagic zone (sunlit region) of the open ocean that rarely approach shore. As they either lack teeth or have small, file-like teeth, they feed primarily on small fish they can swallow whole. Billfish typically hunt schooling fish like mackerel or herring by swimming through the school, waving their bill from side to side to strike and stun and/or injure fish so they can be easily eaten on a second pass. Despite common depictions, billfish rarely impale or slice apart prey. Some species may also use their bills for defense as bills have been found imbedded in predators such as sharks. There are reports of billfish charging boats and getting their bills stuck, which is likely accidental. Many pelagic fish are attracted to floating objects so the billfish may have charged fish around the boat or mistaken the boat for a school of fish. Swordfish have broad, flat bills while marlins have rounded bills.

(image: a swordfish skeleton)

Billfish are considered highly migratory as they are constantly moving, migrating to follow the currents and find the best feeding grounds for their prey. Some species restrict their migration to certain regions (with half of the living species living primarily or exclusively in the Indian Ocean) while others, like the swordfish, live worldwide. Because of their constant migration and wide distribution, it can be hard to find and study them in the wild. Consequently, little is known of their movements and life histories, which complicates conservation efforts. All species live primarily within the epipelagic zone, but some will occasionally descend to the mesopelagic (twilight) zone. They have specialized swim bladders that can quickly compensate for pressure changes. This allows billfish in the mesopelagic to quickly ascend where other fish would have to slowly acclimate to the pressure difference. In the open ocean, speed is often one of the most important traits for both predator and prey, as there is nowhere to hide. Billfish are masters of speed. All species are capable of rapid bursts of speed, though the sailfish holds the record for the world's fastest fish. They have been reported moving up to 111 km/h (69 mph) though more modern estimates suggest this is an exaggeration and their top speed is between 37 and 55 km/h (23 to 23 mph). Like cheetahs, billfish are sprinters, only able to move so fast in short bursts. Billfish can tuck their dorsal fins into grooves on their backs to further streamline their bodies and are slightly endothermic, keeping their body temperature a few degrees above the water temperature, both adaptations that help with their speed.

(image: two marlin and some fish that are about to have a very bad day)

The swordfish (Xiphias gladius) is the most famous billfish and has several physiological differences from its marlin cousins. Interestingly, they have both teeth and scales as juveniles, but lose them ad adults. During the day, swordfish live in deep water, hunting in the deep scattering layer (which is worthy of its own post), ascending to shallower water at night. They are known to bask with their dorsal fins out of the water and to jump out of the water, likely an attempt to dislodge lampreys and remoras. Another famous billfish is the sailfish, a species of marlin known for its extremely large dorsal fin, which extends down most of the back. Known as the sail, this fin is raised during hunting to herd prey and is kept flat against the body most of the time. Sailfish have also been seen raising their sails after hunts, probably using them to cool down after a strenuous period of activity. Sailfish were previously divided into two species, the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific species, but most sources now consider them to be the same species.

(image: a sailfish with sail raised hunting a group of small fish)

All species of billfish are popular gamefish and many are fished commercially. Anglers consider billfish to be highly coveted due to their large sizes and the fights they put up. They are one of the more dangerous gamefish as they can easily injure or kill a person with their bills while thrashing around. There are no reports of billfish attacking someone unprovoked. Many species are being overfished or are having they prey overfished and conservation efforts have been put in place for some of them.

(Image: a sword made of a swordfish bill I found at an aquarium)

[wynterrolls]

Arcana Twilight and Obey Me (OG) Comparison

Background: Obey Me (OG) was officially released on December 11, 2019, while Arcana Twilight was released on August 25, 2022 for worldwide audience. People have said that Arcana Twilight have similar mechanics with Obey Me (OG), but to what extent? I've played both games, so I'll write this comparison.

Disclaimer: The things I would write here would be based on my observation of the game mechanics and features present in both games. I did this post to list down the similarities and difference between both games, and not to cause dissonance between two fandoms.

Similarities

I'll list down the similarities in this format:

[Arcana Twilight feature = Obey Me (OG) feature]

MP = AP

Gold = Grimm

Crystals = Devil Points (DP)

Magic Tickets = Demon Vouchers (DV)

Visit = :D Jobs

Milky Way = Devil's Tree

Sorcerer Cards = Demon Cards

Wish Cards = Memory Cards

Scout = Nightmare

Constellation Room = Chapter A

Wish Room = Chapter M

Possession Room = Chapter G

Dressroom = Majolish

Chat = Chat

Calls = Phone

Diary = Devilgram

Mission = To Do

Shop = Akuzon

Magic Academy = Contacts

Stage = Your Tasks

Arcana Club Membership = Akuzon VIP Membership

Amplifier Stone = Glow Stick

Summon of Sorcerer = Surprise Guest

Unicorn = Raven

Differences

a. Amount of ads

The very first thing that will greet you when you open the Arcana Twilight is an ad. Both games have ads to support their game mechanics, but the amount of ads you could find in Arcana Twilight is more than those in Obey Me.

The Obey Me ads are mostly there to help the players gain more chances to battle the stages - thru gaining more AP or gaining more battle chances in hard stages or event stages.

The Arcana Twilight ads, however, are mostly found everywhere, since the ads can be used to double the resources drops/gold and to obtain materials and gold if you don't have MP to farm battle stages. You could even use the ads to reduce the time for Visits, which then you don't have to wait long to get gold to upgrade your cards. The ads in this game is like a massive cheat to progress faster thru the game. All you have to do is watch ads and you'll have your resources as reward.

However, there are times wherein forced ads would sometimes pop out after you complete a battle stage in main story or when you'd open the app. If the player wants to opt out of the ads, unfortunately, they can't do so. I'm not sure if the Arcana Club membership implements a "No-Ads" perk though.

As for why are there so many ads in the game? There's a speculation that the reason might be because of this. The link discussed about the reason for why it looks like they are in need of money. Since ads is an option to gain money in a game, they utilized it in order to make money because they are constantly on red. This is actually a good way for free-to-play (F2Ps) players to support the developers if they can't shell out money or buy the Arcana Club membership in the game.

b. Crystal Rewards in Main Story Stages and Daily Missions

One thing you'd notice right away is that in Arcana Twilight, each battle stage rewards 50 crystals for first-time 3-star clear. Then, after you clear out the whole chapter, you'll receive another crystal reward for 3-starring all stages in the chapter. The daily missions give out 50 crystals each day, so it pays the effort to open the game daily and clear out the dailies.

It is completely different from Obey Me (OG), wherein completing each stage in the main story, you'll only receive devil's tree items in the missions and occasionally, you'll get DP for the boss stage you've cleared for the chapter. The daily missions only give out a total of 18 devil points.

c. Events

Obey Me constantly push events every time in the game. There are times when there would be downtime, but it is pretty minimal. The events have story stages and reward ladders that players could opt to grind if they want the UR cards in the event. There are also event cards that is only available in time-limited event banners, which can boost the points for the reward ladder grind.

However, the Pop Quiz or Celestial Blessing events are mostly for spending players and not for F2Ps because of how much resources you need to put into the event just to get the desired rewards from the ladder. F2Ps could join the Birthday event grind but with proper preparation first. But the good news is that the past Pop Quiz and Celestial Blessing events do come back in Lonely Devil and you could rerun the event for a limited time to grind for the rewards as F2P.

Arcana Twilight, on the other hand, has event cards but there is no event story stages nor reward ladders to grind for. The event story is locked behind the event cards from the limited-time banners.

When it comes to limited-time event banners, Obey Me only have demon cards in the banners, whereas in Arcana Twilight, the event banners include both sorcerer card and wish card in the roster. The Obey Me event memory cards are only available in the event reward ladders.

Both games have event banner reruns and Obey Me rerun banners also retain the pity/total summons done from before, so that players could continue their pulls the next time the banner reruns. As for Arcana Twilight, I have no idea if the rerun banners also retain the pity/total summons from previous banner run.

d. Main Story Chapter Updates

There's this joke in the fandom that while Obey Me updates their main story chapter every week, Arcana Twilight gets update every year. It sounds like a joke, but it's not really far-fetch from what happened.

To start off, I'm not a day 1 player. I only started recently so the things I'm writing here are from what I understood in my research. I snooped around the archives of the official Tumblr account of Arcana Twilight and sub-Reddit and found their posts about the chapter additions in the game and noted their timestamps.

Their very first chapter addition is Floor 10, which means that on its initial release, the game has until Floor 9 only. Floor 10 was announced to be added on September 2022, Floor 11 on April 2023, Floor 12 on late October 2023, and recently released, Floor 13 was added on December 2023.

I still haven't reached Floor 13 yet. I stopped at Floor 8 at the time of this writing, because of the requirement needing me to be at least level 30 to proceed to next floor, which I'm currently low-leveled yet for that, so I could only bid my time and make my team stronger for the next floors.

But from what I could tell, the players feel as if they were left with a cliffhanger with the recent addition, with many of them thinking that a lot of questions were left unanswered. They could see the potential of the story in the game but, a lot of lore details weren't really touched on in the story.

I'm not really sure what happened in Floor 13 since I tried to avoid the story spoiler, but this image below is what I saw mostly talked about.

People are either thinking that this ending credit means that the main story of the game is completely finished or that this credit is saying that this floor is the end of Season 1 of main story.

In my opinion, I'm not really sure how to react to this kind of news. I just recently started the game and wrote the newbie guide and card mechanic guide posts just a few days after playing the game, only to find out that the game is probably on it last leg. I'm not really sure what would happen next for this game and I could only wait it out.

e. Inventory

Obey Me (OG) doesn't have an inventory, while Arcana Twilight has one.

f. Friend list

Obey Me (OG) has friend list where you could gain 50 AP by exchanging with friends daily, while Arcana Twilight doesn't have one.

Sources

Reason for the lack of new content by u/No_Economist_7447

10th Floor: New Additional Stage Notice

11th Floor: New Additional Stage Notice

12th Floor: New Additional Stage Notice

13th Floor: New Additional Stage Notice

➥ Back to my otome game masterlist.

Update Log

12/17/2023 - Uploaded the post.

12/17/2023 - Added additional info about ads, events banner, inventory and friend list in Differences

01/29/2024 - Added the reminder line at the top

[sapphicbookclub]

Burningblade & Silvereye trilogy by Django Wexler

(Ashes of the Sun, Blood of the Chosen, Emperor of Ruin)

Long ago, a magical war destroyed an empire, and a new one was built in its ashes. But still the old grudges simmer, and two siblings will fight on opposite sides to save their world.

Gyre hasn't seen his beloved sister since their parents sold her to the mysterious Twilight Order. Now, twelve years after her disappearance, Gyre's sole focus is revenge, and he's willing to risk anything and anyone to claim enough power to destroy the Order.

Chasing rumors of a fabled city protecting a powerful artifact, Gyre comes face-to-face with his lost sister. But she isn't who she once was. Trained to be a warrior, Maya wields magic for the Twilight Order's cause. Standing on opposite sides of a looming civil war, the two siblings will learn that not even the ties of blood will keep them from splitting the world in two.

Genres: fantasy, romance

Get the books from Blackwell's with free worldwide shipping here!

[vampireacademyshow]

You know, instead of rebooting Twilight as a tv show we could just renew Vampire Academy for a season two.

It’s another young adult novel that was adapted into a TV-MA show.

I recommend watching THIS edit for some general idea of the show.

You can sign THIS petition to help the show get picked up for a season two. It’s trending worldwide as other networks regionally were in charge of international markets 🔥