waffelheart

[waffelheart]

hey all! it's that time of year again - i'll be on hiatus from daily cats until early august, at which point i will resume daily posting.

ill be posting little cat doodles on my patreon when i have access to my computer (every weekend, give or take) if you truly need your hit of feline fancies.

no matter what, have a great summer - stay safe and stay cool!

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did this when the trend was popular, still think its funny lol poor Oscar

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If you mess up a social interaction you can say "Failed Experiment" and move on

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June Spookems. Too hot, give me October.

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Hey, it me!

I wanted to make a quick note on handling snails, and some basic safety tips. Lesgoo

How do I pick up a snail?

If your snail is sliming or resting on a surface like concrete, glass, plastic etc they can sort of "suction" onto it. If they are suctioned, Do Not try to tug on their shells to pick them up. This can weaken or damage their mantle, the muscle that keeps them attached to their shell, and can lead to you literally pulling their organs out of their shells.

A method I use often is to spray water on the surrounding glass or plastic, then slide them over to and off an edge onto my hand. You can also use something like a plastic spoon (smooth please, no rough edges!) or a paintbrush (well washed, damp, and never used for paint or anything else beforehand) to sort of slide beneath them and break the suction. You can even use something like a credit card.

Of course, you can also just allow them to crawl directly onto your hand by putting it in front of them lol which leads me to:

How can I hold a snail safely?

Always wash your hands first!! Snails are like frogs, in that they absorb things through their skin. Lotions, soaps, dirt, chemicals, skin oils etc etc are all to be avoided. Wash your hands, then rinse off the soap really, really well.

Don't dry those hands! Snails prefer a nice damp surface to hang out on, because the warmth of your hand is pleasant but can cause the moisture in their bodies to evaporate faster. This is especially crucial in very small snail species or babies. Keep a spray bottle nearby and mist your hand occasionally.

Your snail may bubble up a little when you first pick them up, and even make a squeaking or hissing noise. This is normal and okay, they're just not used to being held. Give them time and they'll realise you're not a predator. If they do continue bubbling without stopping, you may have something they don't like still on your hands. Give them another wash and start again.

How do I keep myself safe when holding a snail?

Snails don't bite, so they can't injure you that way, (ETA because some people have mentioned it; Snails cannot bite, but they can rasp. It's the equivalent of being licked by a tiny tiny cat, that's the structure of their mouthparts! It should never break the skin) but hygiene is really important. Snails are gross little guys who live in dirt and eat mold and such. Do not ever place your snails on your face, or share food with them or anything of the sort, and make sure you wash your hands really really well after handling your snails.

Snails can have little parasites which are generally asymptomatic for them, but can be really dangerous for mammals. Keep utensils and such that you use for snails and their food separate from your human food utensils, and also from utensils and tools used for other pets.

I hope this was helpful! Stay healthy <3

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reblogging for later

Snail 101: How to set up a snail enclosure

So, you're considering getting a pet snail? Great! Before you acquire your snail, you should prepare a home. Here are the basics:

TANK:

Reptile tanks are ideal for snails, they allow plenty of air in, while many are designed to hold humidity that reptiles need. These can be on the pricier side, but luckily snails don't really need huge amounts of space. The linked calculator below shows how much room you'll need for a certain amount of snails, as well as how many snails you can fit happily into a tank you may already have.

Fish tanks are also super great for snails. Betta fish starter kits, while awful for actual Betta fish are perfect for a few snails to live in quite happily. Goldfish starter tanks and such are perfect too. Make sure it has a secure lid!!! Snails can lift several times their own weight so a clip on lid or a heavy one is best. You may want to DIY a lid with mosquito mesh to let air in if the lid that came with the tank is solid glass.

Critter keepers are also good for snails, just don't get the teeny ones. Snails can move surprisingly long distances in just a day, and need room to wander and explore. Again, make sure the lid is very secure.

Please don't:

Use cardboard boxes. They don't hold humidity, they get soggy and snails can eat right through them and even get impacted (blocked digestive tracts) Wood is not great for the same reason.

Use tanks that are super tall. Snails are pretty good at holding on while climbing, but they do sometimes fall off. More on this in a bit though.

Use tanks that are too tiny. You will just have sad snails.

~~~~

So, you have your tank. What next?

To start, you'll want to get a suitable substrate. There are plenty of good options, as well as several you should avoid. Substrate is super important as it provides a place for snails to burrow, lay eggs, and a lot of snails also eat their substrate, likely to help them digest. Substrate also provides a soft place to land if they fall off of something.

Coco peat/coir. My absolute favourite snail substrate! Coir is made of the husks of coconuts, but is a lovely soft texture. It holds water really well, which is good for humidity, without getting bogged and swampy. Snails will happily crawl over, dig in and eat coir. It's eco friendly, takes a very long time to break down, can be reused and it's also really cheap. You can get coir in pretty much any nursery or hardware store, and it comes in these sweet dehydrated and compressed blocks so it's pretty much guaranteed to not come with any pests. The only bad thing I can think of is that once it's rehydrated and set up, pests quite like to live in it.

Peat. I'm not a fan of using peat in anything, not just snail terrariums. My main reason is that peat is taken from peat bogs, and is not renewable. The peat bogs are running out :( The good things about peat are that it holds moisture well, and is also easily reused. It tends to come dry in bags, so it's unlikely to have pests already there. Like coir, it can also harbour pests once it's set up. If you want to use peat, I'd recommend researching the company to see where they harvest it, as there are some peat farms out there that don't take from habitats. It can be a little expensive.

Loam. I've never used loam, so I can't attest to it, but from what I've read it seems good! It's often used for acid hating plants, as it has high ph which is good for snails (acidic substrate can damage their shells) Make sure if you use loam it has low sand content, as sand is b a d. I can't find the pricing of loam, but it's good points are that it drains well, but holds moisture, so it won't get swampy.

Potting soil. This can be a hard one, but if done right can be good. if you use potting soil, please please make sure it's organic, with no added fertilizers, and a high ph. As soil often comes moist, it will likely need to be baked to sterilize and kill any pests in it. It can also be pretty dirty to work with compared to other options.

Sphagnum moss. Sphagnum moss is rad, some people use it as a full substrate in its own, but I'd just add a layer on top of others. Holds moisture and is great for humidity, but isn't great for snails to burrow in. can be kind of pricey.

Substrates to avoid

Sand. Grains of sand can get stuck in snail's shells and really irritate them

Normal potting soil. Potting soil often comes with fertilizers and pesticides already in it, which is bad times.

Random dirt from outside. Dirt outside usually will have pesticides, chemicals from pollution, just all kinds of weird shit you don't want your snails on.

Make sure the substrate is damp before adding snails!

Decorations and Enrichment

Snails love exploring their home!! Decorations provide things to climb on, hiding spots and just visual aesthetics. In my tank, I have a flowerpot, a stick to climb on, plenty of leaf litter and a little ladybug ornament from the dollar store! This does not have to be expensive whatsoever! you can literally just get things from outside, but if you do, make sure you bake 'em in the oven for a bit to kill germs and pests. You can even put little plants in there if you want, just make sure they're not toxic and have no pesticides. Some ideas are fake plants, a plastic flowerpot, a kids plastic cup, various little ornaments from dollar stores, sticks and leaves, etc. Try to avoid large, pointy and hard objects like sharp rocks and such, to avoid shell damage.

Food and Water Bowls

I definitely recommend using bowls or plates for food. Food placed directly on the substrate will spoil and go mouldy quicker because of the moisture. The bowl I use is made for reptiles, and is designed to look like a natural rock but it's made from resin, which is a great material because it's very unlikely to damage their shells, but very strong and easy to clean. You can use the same bowls for water, I use the lid of a jar lol.

This seems complex, but I promise it's honestly the most complex part of keeping snails and it's a lot easier than you think. I hope it was helpful! I'm going to make another post on bioactive vivariums too!

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So I used to have a Russian friend who had a pretty thick accent and like a lot of Russians tended to eschew articles. She would say things like “Get in car.” And stuff.

Well one day this asshole who had been kind of tagging along with us asks her why she talks like that because it makes her sound dumb and I still remember her response word for word.

“Me? Dumb? Maybe in America you have to say get in THE car because you are so stupid that people might just get in random car, but in Russia we don’t need to say that. We just fucking know because we are not stupid.”

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eughh still thinking about that picture of tammy in the forest. i likr screamed for five seconds before making it my wallpaper

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Reblog to make it die faster

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reblogging it for an aroace tshirt design im gonna make later

Aspec symbols

Forgive me if someone has made this already, but I thought it would be cool to list the symbols of the ace and aro communities. The ace symbols are generally accepted, but the aromantic symbols are things that I have seen floating around on tumblr. If you have any questions about where these come from I’d be happy to link you to the posts/ sources

This is meant to be a comprehensive collection, so if I forgot anything, please let me know so I can add it!

Asexual symbols

Asexual flag

Black ring on the middle finger of the right hand

Dragons

Cake

Cards (Ace of hearts for alloromantic aces, Ace of spades for aroaces, ace of diamonds for demisexuals,  ace of clubs for grey aces)

Pirates, “Ace pirates aren’t interested in your booty”

Axolotls

Space

Denim Vests

Cryptids

Wolves

Ghosts (Just for Demisexuals)

Aromantic Symbols

Aromantic flag

White ring on the middle finger of the left hand

Griffins

Pizza

Arrows/Archery

Aardvarks

Yellow roses

Ice cream (ice cream sandwiches esp.)

Rats

Nandays and Caiques

Frogs (as of 2020!)

Let me know if I’m missing anything! (thank you to @singeroftalesvoiceofages , @somethingawesomeandironic , and anonymous for your additions) 

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So, I have created this great playlist filled with over 100 TOH-related videos I've randomly come across.

I've decided to try to organize it, and while doing that, I want to pick out some of my favourites to talk more about. But first, some general information.

Most videos can be put into one of these two categories:

Short form (short music clips/less than 1 min/musical memes) ex. "Lost in Rhythm" by EllowMello

Long form (full songs/only small cuts/unfinished) ex. "Stray Italian Lumity" by Maple

Next up are several broad categories of whom or what the videos depict:

Tributes (mostly to the full show) ex. "viva la vida" by itsnicsalad

Lumity ex. "Do You Love Me Too?" by Jelli

Amity struggles (sometimes ends with a first kiss) ex. "Top of My School" by Hushbrush :D

Huntlow (not much from Willows perspective) ex. "When He Sees Me" by Rileyclaw

Raeda ex. "Get This Right" by M Wright

Hunter trauma (religious trauma/abuse/Flapjack/good endings) ex. "Ship in a Bottle" by Celvy Cington

Beta designs and AUs (some Lumity/some cool anime/some really dark stuff) ex. "Vaudeville" by Cotton Candy Sprite

Others (Luz trauma/hexsquad/comedic/without animation) ex. "The Campfire Song" by Whirligiga

There are several creators represented more than once, but these are the creators with more than two videos in the playlist:

Jelli (3)

itsnicsalad (3)

Tess_Bee (3)

Rei (3)

GrimSilverse (4)

cinnamon_mushroom :D (4)

Rileyclaw (5)

EllowMello (5)

That will be all for now!

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Art by Jocelin Carmes

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drops them in a gothic horror au

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I'm rewatching the episode, and Belos is SO deeply fuckedupedly religious, holy. This is ALL about Institutionalized Christianity. No wonder Disney cancelled this show. Promising myself to not make this too long so here's some quick points:

Humans are born into sin, inherently sinful and must spend their lives repenting for their nature (simply by being 'witches' he probably believes there is no such redemption for the inhabitants of the Isles anyways).

Your soul will be doomed to the ashes of hell if you don't repent now. Belos probably saw the 'devil' in his brother and thought he was doing a service of god to kill him.

Remember we are dealing with The Demon Realm. Belos probably believes he is trapped inside some kind of hell. The Titan is the BI's version of God, and he just repeats the rhetoric he's internalized to make it digestible for the citizens here.

He literally thinks he is a saviour and all of the carnage is worth it because he is ridding the world from the influence of the demon realm; which I am sure is very intentionally a society free of homophobia and racism, things that have been largely installed by Christianity and religion.

I might go so far as to suggest that Hunter's grooming by Belos (which doesn't have to be explicit in that way) is probably in reference to the proliferation of grooming done by priests, often with the excuse of this is 'how god wants it' / 'the titans plans'.

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Phillip's memories from

HOLLOW MIND

THE source