#organic liquid nutrients

[peptechbioscience321]

Thriving Green: Unleashing the Potential of Liquid Seaweed Extract for Sustainable Plant Growth.

Peptech Biosciences Ltd. is a biotech company that specializes in producing high-quality, eco-friendly, and sustainable agricultural products. They offer a wide range of innovative solutions that are designed to promote plant growth, increase crop yields, and improve soil health. Their products are made using natural ingredients, such as seaweed, amino acids, and humic substances, and are free from harmful chemicals. Peptech Biosciences Ltd. is committed to providing farmers with effective and sustainable solutions that help them grow healthier and more abundant crops. If you're looking for reliable and eco-friendly agricultural products, Peptech Biosciences Ltd. is definitely worth checking out!

#liquid seaweed fertilizer #organic gardening #sustainable agriculture #plant growth #nutrient-rich #eco-friendly #natural fertilizers

[soaps-mohawk]

Cherry Red, Crimson Blood

Chapter 12: Fire In My Veins

Summary: Your heat begins. Luckily you have a good alpha to take care of you during your most vulnerable time. 

Pairing: Poly 141 x reader

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, smut, oral fingering, p in v sex, unprotected sex, knotting, spanking (it’s like once), fluids so many fluids, heat cycles, mating cycles, lots of talk of breeding and mating, biting, brief mention of blood, this is gross y’all, Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics, Alternate Universe, a/b/o typical classism and sexism, language, and of course a little fluff

A/N: It was quite the ordeal, this chapter, and it's come a long way from when I first wrote it between Sunday and Monday this week. It's pretty much just smut so enjoy!!

The smut starts after the first scene and goes to the end, so only read up to the first green line if you don’t want the smut. You’re not missing much, just Price biting the reader to claim her, but I’ll talk more about that in the next chapter.

MASTERLIST | <- Previous | Next ->

“You alright, love?” 

You look up from where you had been staring at the floor, suddenly pulled back into the real world by Gaz’s voice. He had been organizing the nutrient bars and electrolyte bottles in your room while you sat and dissociated to the sound of rustling paper bags. 

You stare at his furrowed brows and worried eyes for a moment before averting your gaze with a nod. “Yeah.” 

The carpet under your feet has never looked quite so interesting before.

Gaz moves to sit next to you on the bed, sinking down onto the mattress with a sigh. “Nervous?” 

You nod in response, clutching the strawberry pillow in your arms tighter against your chest. 

“You’ll be alright.” Gaz says, his hand warm as it presses against your back. “I’m gonna take good care of you, yeah? Both you and Price. I’ll be right outside that door, and I’ll be in and out too. Dr. Keller’s ready in case something happens, but I don’t think anything will.” He wraps his arm around you, pulling you close against him. “You’re in good hands.” 

“There’s no going back after this.” You say, leaning into his side. 

“No, I don’t think any of us would want to anyway.” He smiles down at your surprised face. “What? I thought that was obvious. We all want you as part of our pack. You are part of the pack already, at least in every way but officially. None of us would trade you for anything.”

Your eyes fill with tears at his words. You know it’s just the stress and the hormones and the impending heat that could start at any time, but his words reach some deep part of you that was worried that they were all faking, that they all actually hated you. His words calm you a bit, easing away that stress and fear that you’ve been carrying for the last almost six weeks. 

“Come now, none of that.” Gaz says, wiping the tear that trails down your cheek. “Can’t afford getting dehydrated now.” 

You can’t help but laugh, even though you know he’s right. You’ve had so much liquid over the last couple days you feel as though you might burst at any second. It was necessary, considering the amount of fluid you were about to lose. 

Gaz leans down, kissing all over your face. You giggle, falling back on your bed to try and escape, but he follows you, continuing to plant little kisses all over your face and neck. 

“Kyle!” You shriek, giggling as his kisses tickle your skin. 

He pauses, leaning up so you’re eye to eye, a grin on his face. “You called me Kyle.” 

“That is your name, isn’t it?” You say, blinking up at him. 

“Yeah.” He chuckles. “You can call me Kyle as much as you’d like, love.” He says as he leans down, pressing his lips to yours.

You wrap your arms around his neck, holding him in place as you kiss him back. His arm snakes beneath you, pressing you tightly against his chest. He groans quietly into your lips, body taught against yours. You can feel every part of him, the muscles under his shirt, the strength of his thighs. Your head is spinning, and you know it’s mostly due to your impending heat. 

You let out a quiet whine as his lips leave yours, trailing down your neck to your shoulder. He leaves a scalding kiss over your scent gland, nipping playfully at the sensitive skin. 

“Can’t wait to see the mark,” He murmurs against your skin, a quiet whimper leaving your lips as your body begins to warm a little. “When Price claims you, makes you his.” 

“Fuck.” You breathe, a shudder running through your whole body. 

Kyle chuckles, sucking a mark on your collarbone. “You won’t be just his, though, huh? Gonna be ours.” 

You let out a whine at his words, your fingers trailing up the back of his neck. He lets out a quiet groan, his body shuddering as you tease the sensitive skin. You feel lightheaded and dizzy from the rapidly shifting hormones of your pre-heat. You’re very close to the start. Any day now you could wake in a sweat with an insatiable ache between your thighs. You're like a ticking time bomb, but neither of the demolition experts you now live with can disarm you. 

If only it could be so easy. 

Kyle presses one last kiss to your lips before he pulls back, smiling down at you. “You’ll be alright. I’ll make sure of it.” 

You can’t help but believe him, especially with those big brown eyes staring down at you. 

It’s sweltering. A fire has started beneath your skin, flames licking your veins, your very cells scorching in the fiery inferno that has overtaken you. An arid desert has bloomed in your mouth, your tongue heavy and sticky. Sweat has slicked your skin, consciousness only bringing awareness to the dampness of your sheets and pajamas. 

It also brings awareness to the pain. 

There’s an intense ache between your legs, your pelvis cramping. Slick has coated your thighs, soaking through your pajama pants, the fabric clinging to your skin. It’s too much, the sensations of your pajamas and the weight of the blankets nearly driving you to insanity. You need to be bare. It’s too hot and the drag of the fabric across your skin makes you want to cry. 

Not to mention the intense need burning through you. 

The mattress protector crinkles as you shift on the bed, every movement taking an excess amount of energy as you attempt to tug your shirt off with fumbling fingers. It’s like you’re moving in slow motion, your arms heavy and sluggish as you peel the fabric from your sticky skin, letting it fall to the floor. You lay there exhausted, body twitching as your temperature begins to spike. You blindly reach out, fingers trembling as they grasp at your phone. Your eyes are bleary as you blink rapidly at the too bright screen. You fumble with clumsy fingers on the screen, dialing the first number you see, not caring who it is.

“Hello?” 

You let out a quiet whine at the rough voice, thick with sleep. You can’t get your mouth to move, to form any words as you lay there pathetically, half undressed and soaked in sweat and slick. There’s an ache between your thighs, pulsing in time with your heart. Your free hand fumbles with your waistband, desperate to try and get your pants down, to remove the feeling of your underwear sticking to your slick folds. 

“Help.” You manage a single word, not even sure it was intelligible. You let out a frustrated whimper, your body not cooperating to lift your hips so you can pull down your pants. 

A moment of silence passes before you get a response. “Fuck, be right there, love.” 

The line clicks, and a moment later a door is opening down the hall. You’re silently grateful you hadn’t locked your door last night, as there was no way you would be able to get out of bed and make it across the floor. It opens just enough for the figure to slip in before he closes it, not wanting to let your scent freely flow down the hallway. 

The light of the lamp on your nightstand accosts your eyes as it’s turned on, making you squint. You don’t miss the way Kyle’s nose crinkles for a moment as he catches the sickly sweet, overwhelming aroma of your scent as it pours from your body. His hand is cool against your forehead as he brushes the stray strands of hair sticking to your skin back. Johnny had braided it last night at least to try and keep it out of the way. 

“Easy.” He says quietly, shushing you as you whimper in need. 

You let out a whine as Kyle pushes the blankets out of the way. You’re incapable of caring that you’re half naked in front of him for the first time, and he pays it no mind. You tug uselessly at your pajama pants again, letting out a frustrated whine as you fail to shimmy them down your legs again. Kyle bats your hands away, slipping his fingers under the waistband and tugging the pants down your legs. You sigh in relief as the fabric is pulled away from your skin, a shiver running through you as the cool air hits your slicked folds. 

Kyle gathers your clothes, adding them into the bag of things that would need to be washed as soon as your heat is over before he returns to your side. 

“I need you to drink something for me, then I’ll go get Price, alright?” He says, kneeling down next to the bed as he grabs the electrolyte drink from your nightstand. 

You flop against his chest as he slips an arm around you, helping prop you up. Your face presses into his neck, inhaling deeply. A whine of disappointment leaves your lips as you realize he’s not what you need, your omega dissatisfied with the scent of beta emanating from him. 

“I know.” He says, easing you away from his neck. “Just drink this first and then you can have your alpha.” 

“Alpha.” You whimper, leaning against Kyle’s chest. 

He helps you drink some of the sweet liquid, and you gulp it down, relieved as it eases some of the dryness in your mouth. He lets you drink half of the bottle before he pulls it away, setting it on the nightstand. 

“Good girl.” He praises you, helping you lay back down against your pillow. “I’ll go get Price. I’ll get your alpha.” 

You hum contently at the promise of what’s coming, your omega practically screaming for her alpha, for some relief. 

Kyle slips back out the door, your head buzzing as the intense arousal and need burning within you gets stronger. Your pussy is pulsing, slick dribbling out of you as the need to mate takes over. The primordial instinct to reproduce is strong, your omega clawing at your mind, screaming to be bred, screaming to be bred, to carry pups. You need your alpha. You need his knot. 

You roll onto your stomach, pressing your hips into the mattress. You need something, anything to ease the aching pulse in your body. You begin to rut against the sheets, dragging your clit against the rough fabric. You let out a quiet whine as the friction sends pleasure shooting through you, a slight relief from the pain of your intense arousal. 

The door opens, your head shooting up as the heavy scent of alpha washes over you. Your eyes dilate, a shudder traveling from your head to your toes as the familiar scent of damp earth laced with the musk of arousal invades your senses. You let out another whine as John approaches the bed, your hips still rutting desperately against the sheets. You look utterly ruined, wide eyed and sweat-slicked, panting like an animal in heat. 

You are an animal in heat. 

“Look at you.” John mumbles, his voice rumbling deep in his chest. He stands over you, watching the desperate movements of your hips for a moment. “Needy little thing.” He teases, setting his phone on your nightstand before tugging his shirt over his head. 

You watch as every inch of skin is revealed to you, lips parting as you take him in. The strength of his muscles, the softness of his stomach. You want to lick every inch of him. You want to roll around in his scent, cover yourself in his essence, mark every part of your body with him. 

You arch into his touch as he drags a hand down your back, rough fingers following the line of your spine. You press your ass into his hand as he passes over it, fingers tugging your thighs apart. He groans again as a wave of your thick, sweet scent washes over him. 

“Let me see you.” He growls, sweatpants hitting the floor. 

You hear him, but you’re too busy staring at him in awe. More slick slips out of you at the sight of his cock, red and angry and painfully hard already. You can almost swear it’s pulsing in time with your pussy. A harsh gasp is pulled from your throat as he brings his hand down across your ass, the sound of skin striking skin loud enough to pull you back to reality. 

“I said, present for your alpha.” He says, the rough rumble of his inner alpha coating the edges of his voice. 

You whimper in response, scrambling up onto your hands and knees like a good omega for him as he kneels on the bed behind you.  

“Good girl.” He rumbles, a pleased whine leaving your lips at his praise. 

You push back into his hands as he cups your ass, his hand smoothing over the burning spot on the cheek he’d slapped. You can’t feel the pain from it, far too lost in your heat-riddled brain to register anything but the need pulsing between your thighs and the alpha staring at your soaked pussy. Thumbs part your folds, slick dribbling onto the sheets as he stares at your pussy. 

“So fucking slick for me.” He groans, dragging a thumb along your slit. 

“For you alpha!” You gasp, pressing back harder against his hands. 

A low growl rumbles in his chest as he drags his thumb through your folds again, pressing the digit against your clit. Your gasp is broken by a whimper, your clit already sensitive from you humping against your bed like a needy pup. You bend your top half down, relaxing against the mattress as you grind back against his hand. He lets you, keeping his hand still as he lets you work yourself to pleasure on your own. 

“Please! Please!” You beg, mind going numb with pleasure as his thumb brushes your clit with every rock of your hips. Your legs are already shaking, body trembling as the pleasure starts to build and build, the promise of relief coming at the hands of your alpha. 

“Eager little thing,” He rumbles, his breath fanning across your folds. 

You moan as his tongue drags along your slit, tasting your slick. Your fingers sink into the sheets, holding on as his tongue prods your entrance, his mouth slurping at the slick dripping from you. It’s obscene, but either of you care, both of you too lost in your need. 

Your knees nearly give out, your pussy clenching around his tongue as he applies more pressure against your clit, drawing slow circles with his thumb. He’s groaning against you, the quiet sound rumbling deep in his chest. He’s losing his own sanity, his alpha taking over as your heat triggers his rut instincts. His alpha has to be screaming as much as your omega is to mate. 

Your orgasm hits you suddenly, washing over you with a power that almost makes you black out. Slick spills out of you as your pussy flutters, soaking John’s face and beard in your juices. He’s relentless, not giving you even a second as he continues to fuck you with his tongue as his thumb rubs tight circles on your clit. Your legs are shaking, eyes rolling as the pleasure continues to build. Despite your orgasm, it’s not enough. Your brain knows it and your body knows it. You need a knot before you’ll be able to relax, before the pain and the need fades enough for your brain to relax. 

Even then, it will only be for a moment. 

“Alpha!” You whine, pushing back against his face, seeking out more. 

John growls against your pussy, the sound vibrating into your very soul. You let out a whimper in response, clutching at the sheets desperately. He pulls away from your pussy, licking his lips. You wish you could see him, the way his face shines with your slick, his beard soaked with your release. He licks his lips, savoring every last taste of you he can get as he sinks his fingers into you. 

You clamp down around the thick digits, a groan leaving his lips as you squeeze around him. You’re desperate for another orgasm, another chance at relief from the blazing inferno under your skin, the painful need still pulsing in your pelvis. 

“Please, alpha!” You whine, bucking back against his hand. “Hurts.”

He shushes you, continuing to fuck you with his fingers. The wet squelch of your pussy is loud in the small room, obscene and depraved, but you cannot bring yourself to care who might be able to hear as another orgasm rushes through your body. You whine in pleasure as slick dribbles out around his fingers, forced out by the fluttering of your walls. You can’t stop, don’t stop, as you continue to rock back against him. He watches you, holding his hand still as you fuck yourself on his fingers. You’re still desperate for more, still needing the one thing he won’t give you yet. 

He pulls his fingers from you, making you whimper at the sudden emptiness. Your pussy is still pulsing with the aftershocks of your orgasm, still trying to clench around nothing. John curses as he drags his fingers through your folds, spreading your slick and your release across the sensitive skin. 

“Tell me what you need.” He rasps, the edges of his voice harsh as his alpha begins to take over.

“Need your knot, alpha.” You whine, pushing your hips back, searching for anything that might offer some more relief. “Please.”

He lets out a pleased rumble, shifting behind you. You bite your lip in anticipation and excitement, your body twitching as his rough hands smooth over the skin of your hips. His touch is electric, amplified by the sensitivity brought on by your heat. You want to feel him against you, you want to feel him inside of you. You need him, every fiber of your being, every cell in your body reaching out to him, inviting him in. 

A quiet mewl escapes you as he drags the head of his cock through your folds, gathering your slick on his hard length. Your entire body flutters in anticipation as he pushes against your entrance, meeting no resistance as he presses into you. Your body aids him, relaxing around him as it welcomes the intrusion. There’s no pain, no discomfort as he stretches you open, aided by the copious slick that still seeps out around his cock. You practically shudder in relief as you finally get what you want, what you need. 

Your alpha’s cock inside you. 

His grip is tight on your hips as he begins to move, rocking his own hips as he presses deeper into you. He shifts his legs around yours, pressing himself closer until he’s flush against your ass. You can feel him deep inside you, and you’re almost certain you could see it if you looked. You brace yourself against the bed, instinct taking over as you begin to move with him, rocking back to meet his thrusts. It’s lewd, the sound of skin slapping skin as he sets an almost frantic pace, sharp thrusts accentuating the wet squelch of your pussy around him, and the sound of his hips meeting your ass. 

His fingers dig into your hips almost to the point of pain, but you don’t care. You’re far too lost in your instincts, and the pleasure, to care much about anything. The hormones and endorphins block it out, only one thought on your mind, playing on repeat. 

Knot knot knot knot.

You moan loudly as Price ruts into you, not caring who might hear, or who can hear. Price moans and growls, the sweetness of your scent blocking out all thoughts except how much he needs to breed you, how much he needs to be a good alpha and take care of his omega. 

You just want to be a good omega for your alpha. 

You cum again with a cry, pussy fluttering around his cock as more slick dribbles out of you, soaking the sheets below you. John doesn’t stop, save for a slight falter of his thrusts as you squeeze around him tightly, your pussy trying to milk his own orgasm from him. Your body is shaking, his hands the only thing keeping your hips upright as more and more pleasure continues to build despite now three orgasms that have rocked through you. 

You need him to cum, you need him to fill you up with his knot. You need to feel the warmth of his seed inside you, the heaviness of it as it fills you. Drool begins to pool on the sheets below your face, adding to the mix of fluids soaked into your already damp sheets. John’s pace never falters, even as sweat begins to build on his brow, sliding down the sides of his face. You want to lick it, follow the trail of salty liquid as it falls down his neck and onto his chest. 

Sweat drips from your own skin as another orgasm begins to build. You can tell John is close too as his grip tightens on your hips, the pain registering just for a moment at the back of your mind. You’ll forget it by the time your heat ends, the momentary pull to awareness lost in the haze of mindless pleasure and a need to mate. 

“C’mon.” John growls, his hand wrapping around the back of your neck. “Give it to me.” 

You let out a whine, knowing what it is he wants, what it is you need as you push yourself back up onto shaking arms, the adrenaline the only thing giving you the strength to move. John moves your braids to the other side of your neck, his chest pressing against your back. It changes the angle of his thrusts as he grinds against you, the swelling at the base of his cock catching on your walls as he continues to thrust deeply into you. 

“Please,” You whimper, bearing your neck to him as he kisses along the line of your shoulder. “Please alpha. Wanna be yours.” You whimper, arching into him in an attempt to get closer as his teeth drag across your skin. 

“My good omega.” He growls, teeth nipping at the sensitive skin right next to your scent gland at the junction of your neck and shoulder. “My good girl. Gonna take my knot like a good omega? Let me fill you up with pups as I make you mine?” 

You let out a high pitched whine at his words, trying to press your neck closer to his mouth. “Please, alpha! Please! Wanna be a good omega!” 

He curses under his breath, his arm wrapping around your body to hold you up. His knot presses into you, stretching you open as it continues to swell until he’s locked inside you. You cum around his knot at the sensation of being filled so completely, his hips continuing to grind against you as he chases his own orgasm. 

You nearly black out as his teeth sink into your skin, the pinch lasting only for a second before pleasure rushes through you. You let out a loud, high-pitched sound as he claims you, marking you as his forever. Another, sudden orgasm slams into you, his arm holding you still as you try to writhe on his knot. He growls into your skin as he stills, hips jerking against your ass as he cums inside you. 

Your arms give out as he releases your shoulder, blood dripping onto the sheets below you. Your head is spinning as he drags his tongue across the raised skin, cleaning the mark he’s left on you. 

He shushes you as you let out little whimpers and whines, gently easing your body so you’re laying flat against the bed. “Easy, that’s my good girl.” He praises you, pressing gentle kisses against your neck. “My good omega. Take my knot so well.” 

Your vision slowly fades to darkness as exhaustion takes over, a small smile tugging at your lips from his praise. 

His eyes are dark and glazed as he stares up at you, mouth parted as he breathes heavily. Your head is thrown back, the sweetest little moans and whimpers leaving your lips as you bounce on his cock. His hands hold your hips, far too tight to be comfortable against your sweat-soaked skin as he guides your movements, but you offer no complaint. His thighs are soaked with your slick and a mix of fluids that seems to endlessly drip from you. Your own thighs are shaking around him, exhaustion prevalent in your sloppy movements. You’re close, eyes fluttering as your grip tightens on his shoulders. Your nails bite into his skin but he doesn’t care. He can’t feel much of anything but pleasure at the moment. 

He guides you through your orgasm as it rocks through you, your body shuddering around him. His hips press up against yours as he reaches his own end, spilling into you as his knot locks into place, connecting you two once again. He doesn’t know how long it’s been, nor does he care. All he wants is to be inside you, fucking his seed into you until you’re swollen with it. He stares down at where you’re connected for a moment, your pussy spread open around his knot.

He guides you against his chest as your body gives out, the haze of his instincts lifting just momentarily. His body aches, soreness settling in as his mind clears. You lick at his throat, tasting his sweat-slicked skin. Sweet little whimpers and whines leave your lips as you rest against him, completely boneless and at his mercy.

He reaches over to the nightstand, wrapping an arm around you to hold you still so he doesn’t tug on the knot as he grabs the bottle of electrolytes. He unscrews the cap, gently easing you back. You’re both still breathing heavily as he cradles the back of your head with one hand, helping you drink the electrolytes. You gulp it down even in your exhausted state, your body recognizing its need for sustenance. 

He drinks the rest after you finish, tossing the bottle onto the floor with the others. He picks up one of the nutrient bars, peeling the wrapper off before he begins to eat, feeding you bites of it as he does. You’re half asleep, chewing slowly as you rest against his chest, body still trembling slightly from the aftershocks of another of what’s now a countless number of orgasms. 

He gives you the last little bit of the bar before he relaxes back against the headboard, keeping his arms wrapped tight around you. The skin on your shoulder is still angry and slightly swollen from his claiming bite. It doesn’t help that he’s sunk his teeth into that spot twice now since he first claimed you. 

He swells with pride upon seeing it, the proof that you’re now his, a warning to others not to mess with you. It’s a slight weight off his shoulders. He has to worry less about someone trying something. Some haughty, cocksure alpha getting it through his head that he wants what he can’t have, that he can just take what’s not his. A low growl rumbles through his chest at the thought. 

He shushes you as you stir in response to the warning growl, a purr rumbling through his chest as he eases you back into a relaxed state. His good little omega, his sweet little omega, taking his knot so well. 

You make a quiet noise as he twitches inside you, the feeling of being enveloped in your tight heat almost like heaven. He closes his eyes, calming his inner alpha. He knows you need to rest. You need a little break before you start up again, before your heat continues to ravage you. 

Before he continues to ravage you. 

Taglist:

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#call of duty #call of duty fic #alpha/beta/omega dynamics #a/b/o #omegaverse #captain price x reader #price x reader #kyle gaz garrick x reader #kyle garrick x reader #john mactavish x reader #soap x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley x reader #x reader

[dreamgrlarchive]

High Maintenance 101

Prissy Girl Beauty Regimens 🎀

my prissy girl guide to beauty services and building a beauty lifestyle that fits you 💗

Skincare:

Essential Skincare Routine ❤︎︎

twice daily, in the morning and at night

daytime: gentle cleanser, toner, serum, eye cream, moisturizer, SPF

prep and protect skin

nighttime: double cleansing with oil and cleanser, exfoliation, treatments, moisturizer

wash away the day and help skin accept treatments and actives during your beauty sleep

products will change depending on skin type and goals, but sequence will more or less stay the same

Face Masks + Treatments ❤︎︎

Face Masks -

typically done at home 1-3x/week

clay, gel, mud, cream, liquid

my fav masks at home:

aha + bha liquid mask by the ordinary: a literal overhaul of my pores. it’s refining and helps reduce texture and hyperpigmentation. 1-2 x/week

korean modeling mask: i use this after doing everything in my routine. it’s super cooling and smooths my skin out. the low temp of the mask reduces flushing of my skin and helps the steps in my routine absorb better. 2-3 x/week

Treatments -

done either 1-3x/week and/or exclusively at night

consumer grade Retinols, AHAs, BHAs at high strength

little extra things i like to use to enhance my routine:

gua sha, ice pack, rose quartz roller, however often i choose

Facials ❤︎︎

done every 1-2 months by licensed estheticians

often includes exfoliation and extraction

Classic Facial: cleanse, extract, massage, moisturize

HydraFacials: extracts pores while infusing serums to boost skin’s vitamin and nutrient content

dry, dehydrated skin

Microdermabrasion: microabrasive tool removes outermost, textured, damaged layer of skin using suction to reveal a smooth and refined new layer of skin

sun damaged, aged, textured skin or skin with hyperpigmentation

Chemical Peel: application of medical grade AHA, BHA, Lactic Acid, Fruit Enzymes, or Retinol to peel away top layers of skin over the course of 1-2 weeks

pore refining, brightening, and anti-aging

after care is crucial. skin will be peeling and sensitivity to sun is increased. SPF MUST be used. it’s heavily advised that clients stay home for the first few days.

HydroJelly Facial: facial made of electrolytes, algae, organic white grain oat flour, rice flour, and white willow bark powder. leaving your skin hydrated, plump, and nourished. forms a vacuum-like seal that compresses facial contours.

there are 25 different hydrojelly pro masks for most skin concerns you may have, check here

More Facials ❤︎︎

Contouring Facial: sculpting, tightening, and lifting of facial muscles

LED Facial: uses LED light to soothe inflammation, aiding in acne healing and prevention

Vampire Facial: plumps skin and improves wrinkles by extracting blood, removing its platelets, then either re-injecting it into the skin or applying it topically

Diamond File Facial: finely ground diamonds resurface skin by filing to improve dark spots

Glass Skin Botox: multiple tiny botox injections just below the surface of the skin. alleviate fine lines, redness, texture, and more achieving glass skin

AquaGold Facial: microinjections that combine vampire facial methods, hyaluronic acid, botox, stem cells, antioxidants, vitamins, peptides, etc. improves fine lines, wrinkles, pores, pigmentation, acne scarring, dryness, tone, texture, skin elasticity, and more

cite

Hair:

Hair Care ❤︎︎

Wash Routines:

curly textured: wash and condition every 2-3 weeks, deep condition every 1-2 weeks

straight: wash and condition every 2-3 days, deep condition every 2-3 weeks

Styling ︎❤︎︎

Hair should have a style everyday! At home hairstyling is limitless and really depends on your taste and lifestyle. The everyday woman does her own her once every 1-4 weeks using natural hair products, heat, or other tools.

Professional Stylists:

hair is styled every 1-3 months: uses heat to straighten or curl, extensions to lengthen and add volume, shears to maintain/attain a shape and length

trim ends: every 6-8 weeks

hair color: touched up roughly every 6-8 weeks (depending on how fast your hair is growing and how fast your color will fade)

Silk Press:

after a clarifying wash and deep conditioning, natural hair is straightened using flat iron and/or pressing comb, then usually curled in feathers or pin curls to preserve the style

lasts 3-4 weeks depending on maintenance

preserved by wrapping hair at night, keep hands out of hair, and using a wide toothed comb only

can be further styled with different kind of rollers, or with pin curls

Braids:

afrocentric hairstyles typically done to protect hair while maintaining beauty

lasts 3-8 weeks

styles include knotless braids, faux locs, stitch braids, french braids, etc

Extensions:

hair added to natural hair to enhance length or volume

can be done at home with patience and proper materials

sew-in extensions: (my personal fav) 1-2 months

your natural hair gets braided down flush to your scalp and the bundles are sewn on by the wefts in a flat pattern typically with a section of hair left out to cover the wefts $100-600

microlinks: up to 4 months

i-tip extension is added to hair using micropliers, clippers and loop tool. takes far longer than most extension methods but looks the absolute most natural $500-1000

tape-in extensions: up to a year, touch ups every 4-6 weeks

medical grade tape is used to attach extensions to small sections of hair $200-400

clip-in extensions: 3-6 months

extensions are clipped on by the wefts. the hair itself can last up to six months, but it’s not recommended to sleep, shower, or swim with the extensions in $50-100

Natural Styles:

all last roughly 1-2 weeks at most. allowing hair to completely DRY is crucial for these styles. your natural hair can be further changed in styles like buns, puffs, etc once dry

natural hair essentials: scalp oil, leave in conditioner, detangling brush, wide tooth comb, curling cream, styling gel, edge control and edge brush

wash n’ go

wash and detangle, then use leave in conditioner to keep hair moist. oil on the scalp and ends is recommended for growth and healthy ends

bantu knots

a traditionally african style where the hair is cleanly sectioned (usually parted in a cute pattern) and twisted into knots. style can be worn just like this or taken down for curls

braid/twist out

a specific pattern of curls is achieved after hair is twisted or braided with curl preserving products. end result depends on how big your twists or braids are

roller set

hair is sprayed with water and curl cream applied before roller of your choice is added. hair is left to dry usually overnight for springy well formed curls

Brows and Lashes:

Brow Shaping ❤︎︎

in salon or at home

Waxing - every 3 weeks

Threading- every 2-3 weeks

Razor Shaping - weekly

Brow Enhancement ❤︎︎

Tinting - monthly

can be done at home or by pro in the salon

Microblading - every 1-3 years + annual touch ups, exclusively professional work

cosmetic tattooing using a manual tool with nearly invisible hair-like needles to inject pigment in brows to create your desired brow look

Lash Enhancements ❤︎︎

*done exclusively by professionals

Lifts - every 6 weeks

basically a perm for your lashes to curl them semi-permanently for lashes to appear longer

Lash Extensions - new set every 6-8 weeks, fill ins every 2-3 weeks depending on quality and style

false individual strands of lashes glued to natural lashes to create semi-permanent length and/or volume

lash baths: wet lashes and apply a small amount of gentle cleanser or a “lash bath” to lashes. cleanse lashes and eyelids for about 10 seconds. hold a towel under your eye and use a nozzle bottle to flush soap and bacteria from lashes then dry with a disposable lint free towel. finish by brushing your lashes with a spoolie. daily.

Lash Styles:

Classic: one lash on each fan, thin lashes

Volume: fluffier lashes with more lashes on each fan

Hybrid: uses classic and volume lashes to make an alternated look

Russian: volume lashes made with very thin individuals, 5-6 extensions per natural lash, fanned out look

DIY Lash Extensions - lasts about a week (sometimes longer)

lash fragments or individual wisps are glued either under the lashes or on the lash line. KISS Falscara is a product that makes this concept simple and easy

Nails:

all these services can be done at home with the proper materials and KNOWLEDGE

Classic Manicure ❤︎︎

every 1-2 weeks

nail service that consists of soaking hands in warm soapy water then drying them. nails are trimmed, filed, and buffed. cuticles are pushed back before applying nail polish (base coat, color, top coat), then finally cuticle oil is applied.

nails can be enhanced with rhinestones, glitter, or charms and attached with uv gel or nail glue

my fav styles are pink, cream, white, black and any french tip using those colors

Pedicure ❤︎︎

every 2-4 weeks

sister to the classic manicure, but can be upgraded depending on materials. steps are similar to manicure, except feet are scrubbed and exfoliated before feet are washed and dried to apply nail color

regular polish, acrylic, or gel can be used on toenails

Gel or Shellac Mani ❤︎︎

every 2-3 weeks

same process as the classic manicure, but traditional nail polish is replaced with uv base coat, gel or CND Shellac polish, then uv top coat that’s cured in a UV or LED lamp

longer lasting and more strong/3d than classic mani and is typically removed by soaking in acetone

Apres Gel-X Nails ❤︎︎

every 2-3 weeks

my personal fav at home nails using the artme yoko matsuda nails. after doing a classic mani sans polish, you apply a dehydrator and primer to prep nail for gel. then you apply builder gel to your natural nail and cure. then you apply that same builder to the nail extension after etching it using an electric drill or acetone. marry the gel to your nail and cure. then just shape to your liking and top with uv top coat. tutorial here

Acrylic Nails ❤︎︎

every 2-3 weeks, nails are fully grown out after 6 weeks

manicure done with liquid monomer and acrylic powder to build and extend natural nail, then polished with color or just a top coat if desired

Russian Mani ❤︎︎

every 4-5 weeks

essentially a gel manicure, but more invasive. the eponychium is snipped away so polish can be applied more closely and flush to the cuticle. this aids in visuals and longevity

service is seen as risky because the skin is more susceptible to fungal or bacterial infection. this is actually how i do my nails at home.

Body:

Bathing ❤︎︎

2x daily

self explanatory, we all know how to bathe. i have other posts that talk about my shower and bath routines.

use a gentle cleanser then a scented body wash to complement perfume and smell fresh all day.

if needed, you can use body soaps with actives like aha, bha or retinol to exfoliate or treat skin at night

exfoliation - 2-3x/week. using scrubs, loofahs, bath brushes, etc.

Hair Removal ❤︎︎

shaving - 2-3x/week

waxing - every 3-5 weeks

sugaring - monthly

ipl device - a device that uses light therapy to slowly destroy hair follicles and unwanted pigment in skin. i use mine after every 5-6 shaves but i could really use it more often.

Vajacial ❤︎︎

1-2x/month

a “facial” for your lady area

the esthetician will first wax, then cleanse and apply an enzyme exfoliant. then they extract any blackheads or ingrown hairs from the area before applying a soothing mask usually in the jelly form.

Moisture and Hydration ❤︎︎

body cream or lotion - daily right after bathing to hydrate skin

body oil - daily to seal in moisture and protect skin from debris and dryness

masks - weekly to address particular skin concerns

ex. when i was having eczema flare ups on my back, i used a dead sea mud mask every 1-2 weeks to help treat it

done at home or at spa

glycolic, clay, mud, salicylic, etc.

Enhancement Procedures:

the goal is to look younger and balance facial features. all these services are exclusively done by professionals usually in a medspa and are widely considered luxury.

Botox ❤︎︎

every 6-8 months; between brows, smile lines, outer corners of eyes, etc

discourages muscle movement to reduce wrinkles

Lifts ❤︎︎

lasts about 10 years; face, neck, brow, eyelids

skin is lifted to desired look, then excess skin is removed

Fillers ︎❤︎︎

every 6-12 months; under-eye, lips, jawline, wrinkle sites, cheekbones

injects acids (usually naturally occurring) like Hyaluronic Acid and Calcium Hydroxylapatite to add volume to your face

Body Contouring ❤︎︎

every 2-4 months until desired results are achieved

non invasive liposuction to achieve desired physique

CoolSculpting - cryolipolysis freezes fat cells for the body to the metabolize and and remove them

SculpSure - essentially the same as CoolSculpting, but uses heat and laser technology to destroy fat cells

Laser Hair Removal ❤︎︎

every 5-6 weeks; bikini, underarms, legs, arms

touch ups done every 1-2 years

hair growth is inhibited by exposing follicles to light at frequencies that kill them

Building the Regimen 🗒️💕:

when making appointments with your “glam squad” you can stagger your services by week depending on what’s being done. for example you can get your mani and pedi done one week. then your facials, brows and lashes another week.

Things to Keep in Mind 💭💞:

these frequencies won’t be the same for everyone depending on personal wants, budgets, etc. but will most likely land somewhere in the ranges i gave. if you need touch ups or redos any sooner than i mapped out, then the service most likely was of poor quality.

anything done at home may or may not be up to the level of detail and longevity as salon or spa work. if you see yourself doing the majority of your beauty maintenance at home, this can save money but may end up taking more time than professional services. so it’s a give and take.

More Resources:

manage your routines, services and products using a beauty binder

a look at my skincare routine

at home beauty treatments for the summer

my hair care routine at home

pretty on purpose by @shefromhouston

monthly beauty routine by @angeljpg

dream girl routines by me

#the prissy girl agenda #dream girl journey #prissy lifestyle tips 💕🎀 #dream girl routines #masterpost #my posts #skincare

[mysteryfleshpit]

Aquifer Leech

Chaetoderma repens

These tube-like mollusks are similar to a shell-less clam or mussel. They can grow to a length of two meters and are equipped with two retractable, mucosal proboscises which branch into many thousands of microscopic tubes. These small tubes, which are able to penetrate even the densest tissues by finding microscopic fractures in its structure, sap liquid moisture from which the Leech feeds.

Aquifer Leech are typically found in well-oxygenated aquatic environments within the pit such as moisture crops and water bladders . They inhabit the soft, porous substrates of these aquatic environments, often forming large aggregations to feed on nutrient-rich organic matter suspended in the water. The Aquifer Leech also provide an important ecological service, as they help to aerate and clean the substrate of these aquatic bodies, by consuming organic material and expelling crystal clear water in the process. Aside from their ecological importance, the species have been utilized to treat water to an extremely high purity, requiring far less energy than a traditional desalination plant. Additionally, their mucosal proboscis is used in medical research as a way to perform research on the human vascular system and its response to various conditions.

#mystery flesh pit #mystery flesh pit national park #worldbuilding #horror art #unreality #horror #worldbuilding art #mysteryfleshpit #wildlife #creature

[weirdmageddon]

the new zeltik video finally pushed me over the edge and made the connections between the bunch of details i noticed throughout totk seem more significant than i already thought they were. by myself i was hovering around these connections i came upon like “is this anything?” for a while, but after the video i was like “ok this is something”

alongside the theme of hands, i also noticed a secondary and more minor theme of blood and siphoning/circulation

most importantly

rauru rips into ganon’s chest with his bare hand like a badass to bind ganondorf’s heart, suck away and purify his dark magic. (btw and Not importantly ganondorf still has rauru’s finger holes in him and it’s pretty funny)

gloom seeps out from organically branching root-like structurs in the depths. if you watch closely you can see gloom slowly move inside them. they all seem to lead back to gloom’s lair where ganondorf is absorbing them. this is very evident in the cutscene where you finally make it to ganondorf himself and they show a close-up of this through thicker branches of these “gloom vessels”

gloom sucks away vitality from a person. fittingly, whenever a heart container is damaged due to gloom, you hear a heartbeat. gloom hands visibly siphon this vitality in more of a physical way. if you watch them they will sort of grotesquely pulsate when sucking the Juices out of link

is gloom ganondorf’s dark-magic infused blood? when the edge of the master sword cut mummydorf’s face, instead of blood it oozed gloom which boiled after making contact with a chip of the sword. rather than being magenta gelatin like malice, gloom is red and flat, staining surfaces like a liquid

phantom ganon is made entirely out of gloom. the compendium says it’s made from “the demon king’s own flesh and blood”. the dark clumps left behind from the gloom spawn/phantom ganon (with the depths talisman on them i guess to turn it into gloom antibodies lol??) also pulsate like monster guts

my idea is that this all goes back to those roots that pump this back to ganondorf to revitalize him. he was siphoned by rauru, now he siphons others to revitalize himself. there’s a lot of details put into this no way it isn’t connected

btw i didnt notice it at first but the landing pad for gloom’s lair is shaped like a heart like actually. it shouldve been stupid obvious

the gloom system is like a reverse circulatory system. instead of nurturing the periphery from a central location, it drains the periphery and delivers the nutrients to a central location. so like, oops! all veins. apparently after writing this i found an identical point from a forum post made ONLY YESTERDAY

“real world cardiovascular systems deliver vitality to the rest of the body from a centric location, while Gloom drains vitality from its surroundings and delivers it to a centric location”

and this “nurturance” line of thought made me remember how I thought at one point that the lightroots look a bit like hearts and the big roots are like the vessels. it wasn’t really a significant thought at the time until I made these newer connections. if we put them into my analogy, they would be the opposite to the gloom vessel system since they deliver light from the surface and emit it to the periphery (the surrounding area). i associate light with rauru, and he healed/nurtured link, so there’s just parallels and another reason that made me think of the lightroots. also the lightroots heal gloom-damaged heart containers

there are more minor but supplementary details such as

the sound of a heartbeat is featured very prominently in the E3 2019 teaser, and is literally the first noise in the game itself as the opening screens play. so it’s literally the first experiences we have with the game, both the game itself and in the meta about the game.

gaining an essence from a goddess statue, the heartbeat was not in botw (and of course neither was the miasma emitting from link’s entire body every time)

the gloom in link’s body reacts to every shrine of light blessing he absorbs into his arm and the joycons themselves pulse using the haptics

probably more shit i missed lol

the whole thing doesn’t really mean anything significant to the lore at all but neither does the hands theme. but it’s just definitely a pattern, potentially a minor theme, and deliberate choice in setting tone. i think it’s Something. im not a heavy zelda theorist tuber or anything but i’m very observant of patterns and i like to share them for deeper appreciation and contemplation/discussion

#loz #totk #totk meta #totk spoilers

[reasonsforhope]

The new 'compost obligatoire' rules came into force on 1 January 2024. Here's what they entail.

As of 1 January 2024, organic waste recycling is mandatory in France under new 'compost obligatoire' rules.

With support from the government’s Green Fund, municipalities must provide residents with ways to sort bio-waste, which includes food scraps, vegetable peels, expired food and garden waste.

Households and businesses are required to dispose of organic matter either in a dedicated small bin for home collection or at a municipal collection point. Previously, only those who generated over five tonnes of organic waste per year were required to separate it.

The waste will then be turned into biogas or compost to replace chemical fertilisers. Alternatively, it can be composted at home.

The obligation is currently on local authorities to provide an easy means for households to compost or separate organic waste.

While facilities are rolled out, there will not be fines imposed for non-compliance. It is yet to be seen whether stricter rules will be imposed in future. 

One-third of household waste is bio-waste

Organic waste from food and gardens accounts for almost one-third of household waste. When it is mixed with other rubbish, it typically ends up in landfills or incinerators, where it produces heat-trapping greenhouse gases like methane and CO2.

Food waste is responsible for about 16 per cent of the total emissions from the EU food system, according to the European Commission. Globally, food loss and waste generates around 8 per cent of all human-caused emissions annually, the UN says.

It can also contaminate packaging destined for recycling like paper, plastic and glass.

In 2018, only 34 per cent of the EU’s total bio-waste was collected, leaving 40 million tonnes of potential soil nutrients to be discarded, according to NGO Zero Waste Europe.

In France, an estimated 82 kg of compostable waste per person is thrown away each year.

Is bio-waste separation mandatory in other European countries?

Under the EU’s Waste Framework Directive, bio-waste collection is being encouraged this year, but it stops short of setting mandatory targets.

In many European countries, organic waste separation has already been implemented at the municipal level.

Milan in Italy has been running a residential food waste collection programme since 2014. Households were given dedicated bins and compostable bags to kick off the scheme.

Elsewhere, taxes or bans on incinerating bio-waste have encouraged similar schemes, with separate bins and home composting widespread in Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium.

The UK announced plans to roll out separate food waste collection in 2023. It remains voluntary for households in England, but is more strictly enforced in Wales and for business owners.

How to sort your bio-waste

Ideally, all waste - including organic matter - should be kept to a minimum.

This can be achieved through careful meal planning. Consuming, freezing or preserving food before it expires along with using every part of an ingredient also help to reduce waste. Some food waste can even be repurposed into animal feed.

Any food waste that cannot be saved or repurposed should be either composted or separated for collection. This includes uneaten food scraps, baked goods, dairy products, eggshells, fruit and vegetables and their peels, mouldy food, pet food, raw and cooked meat and fish, bones, tea and coffee grounds.

Liquids, non-food products and packaging should not be placed in bio-waste bins.

-via EuroNews.Green, January 2, 2024

#france #composting #eu #european union #organic waste #biofuels #recycling #sustainability #food #food waste #compost #carbon dioxide #carbon emissions #sustainable living #good news #hope

[juicyolpickle]

Don’t know he’s name don’t know he’s business all I know for now is that this creature is a plant based organisms who’s family branch became the dominant organisms in their ecosystems. Many alike these highly evolved plant like animals have multiple other creatures alike with similar biology and diets. Their legs are operated by hydraulics similar to insects. Their muscle’s powered by liquid being forced into them to expand and retract. They come in many colours, but hues of greens, orange yellows, and blues, are the most common among this lumbering cows.

They have many ways of getting their energy source; either sucking up nutrients from the rich soil, photosynthesising a trait that has still stuck to this day from their ancestors, breathing in carbon to exchange into auger or to consume foods. These are the reason to why these animals have risen to success on their planet.

I have no idea what their planet is made out of but the dude is pretty chill and that’s all that matter.

#xenobiology #alien species #spec bio #spec evo #speculative biology #speculative evolution #speculative ecology #speculative fiction #artists on tumblr #speculative worldbuilding #creature design #creature #alien stuff

[learnyouabiology]

Fun Fact: Starfish get around using a hydraulic system!

I want to start off by saying: you may have heard that starfish have sea water instead of blood! This is not true!

Before I explain, let me point out this little dot that every starfish has (and I SWEAR that this is relevant)

(It’s like they all have lil’ buttons on! 1, 2, 3)

This little spot is known as a madreporite, from Italian madre (”mother”) + Latin poro (”pore”). 

What is it? Well, to over-simplify:

The madreporite is basically a pressure valve for the insides of the starfish. It lets water in and out of its water vascular system as needed. In order to prevent debris and sea life and other non-desirables from getting inside the starfish, the madreporite filters the water that it takes in.

this is what the madreporite looks like up close:

(Name origin: apparently someone saw that and thought “huh, that kind of looks like madrepore coral, but tiny! They... weren’t wrong.)

Now, you may look at the name “water vascular system” and think “hey, I know ‘vascular’! That's related to blood!” This is a reasonable misunderstanding.

While in humans, the circulatory system is part of a vascular system (along with our lymphatic system) in the starfish’s water vascular system, seawater is NOT analogous to blood in a circulatory system. Or, well, it’s complicated, because it does do some things that are similar to a mammalian circulatory system, such as transporting certain types of immune cells, but still (source: Ferguson 1966)

Instead, these seawater-filled tubes are used for things such as the movement of starfish arms (and their little tube feet), which in turn allows them to move around their environment, find and consume food, and stick to surfaces. Mammals generally don’t use their circulatory systems in this way (if I am wrong about this, PLEASE let me know, as that would be absolutely WILD).

(diagram of a starfish’s water-vascular system, revealing the starfish’s final form: some sort of fidget toy, I think)

I admit that “starfish use seawater instead of blood” is a much more attention-grabbing headline, but it’s not true, and it’s also kind of sad, because the water-vascular system is really cool without the misinformation!

(before you ask, yes, this entire post was prompted by one (1) person saying something that was WRONG, and that person may or may not have been related to me 😤😭😭😭😭😭)

The water-vascular system is, essentially, a hydraulic system. By adding and expelling water, as well as opening and closing internal channels via muscle contractions, starfish can create positive and negative pressure within their bodies. This allows them to “flex” their tube feet in surprisingly complex ways, among other functions.

(these^ are a starfish’s “tube feet”. They are little structures with suckers on the ends. If you’ve ever held a starfish in your hands, you probably felt these feet holding onto you. They have a surprising amount of strength!)

You can imagine this sort of like how a whacky inflatable tube man uses air pressure to straighten up and fall down, except with hundreds in one connected, complex system (and also the pressure is more tightly controlled in order to prevent all that flailing, and also to allow fine control required for things like ripping open a mollusc shell).

(I always imagine this when looking at starfish tube feet. And now, maybe you will too! join me. 1, 2)

The confusion regarding starfish blood being seawater is understandable, but in the end it’s essentially a misunderstanding.

Plus, starfish have coelomic fluid, which is honestly more analogous to blood.

Coelomic fluid is, basically, the fluid that fills the starfish’s body cavity between all of its organs and such, facilitating nutrient transport, gas exchange, and overall being more blood-like than the water-vascular system in general (Andradre et al. 2021).

And ok, technically the liquid part of coelomic fluid comes from seawater, ultimately, but that would be like saying I, a human, use tap water for blood. And, ok, yes, there is water in my blood, and that water came from the tap, but no one would say that I have tap water instead of blood! Except my brother but he also says trigonometry doesn’t exist so we will be ignoring his opinion at this time.

(a more detailed diagram than the one before. The coelomic fluid is found in the coelomic cavity! Also, as a bonus, you now know where a starfish’s anus is! Enjoy this new knowledge next time you look at a starfish! source: x)

Starfish aren’t the only animals with a water vascular system and a madreporite. They can also be spotted in other echinoderms, such as sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers (although in the sea cucumber the madreporite is inside the animal, so you probably won’t see it in the wild).

That said, starfish have my favourite madraporites, because I think they look like little badges. They all win the award of being lil friends (and also keystone species that are essential to many marine ecosystems. So.)

This has been Fun Fact Friday, telling you all about wacky lil friends who have funny little feet and DO NOT HAVE SEAWATER INSTEAD OF BLOOD!

I will do battle with my sibling later, as is tradition

Sources under Read More:

Andrade, C., Oliveira, B., Guatelli, S., Martinez, P., Simões, B., Bispo, C., ... & Coelho, A. V. (2021). Characterization of coelomic fluid cell types in the starfish Marthasterias glacialis using a flow cytometry/imaging combined approach. Frontiers in Immunology, 807. 

Ferguson, J. C. (1966). Cell production in the Tiedemann bodies and haemal organs of the starfish, Asterias forbesi. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society, 200-209.

Mao, S., Dong, E., Zhang, S., Xu, M., & Yang, J. (2013, July). A new soft bionic starfish robot with multi-gaits. In 2013 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (pp. 1312-1317). IEEE.

#biology #science #stem #fun fact friday #science side of tumblr #animals #starfish #marine biology #there are many benefits to being a marine biologist #such as knowing the location of a starfish's butthole

[thewarmblanket]

How do na’vi feed their babies?

I’ve been writing a WIP that revolves around a pregnancy since june and I still have no idea. I’ve heard and seen so many answers from they can’t breastfeed bc of their low body fat to actually they do breastfeed to actually they use their kurus

That is a good question! Actually whole fandom now struggles to answer that since we've got some new info about na'vi birthing process in the script for ATWOW.

WARNING! So everything I'm going to tell is yet not been proven to be canon!!!! But since before that we didn't have almost any information at all... It's up to you to use it or not. (and sorry it took me so long to get to the point 😅😅)

Firstly a little about na'vi gestation period and birth. It is not stated how long it takes, but we know that it is split into trimesters and na'vi actually "give birth" in the end of the second trimester! They give birth to a translucent chrysalis called "tsalnu".

And for the third trimester mother nourishes her baby with kuru. And when times comes for the baby to "hatch" that is when the na'vi are born.

Neytiri, Jake and baby Neteyam

(there's supposed to be my thoughts on chrysalis thing but then I thought it wasn't important for the topic so, if you wanna hear it then ask me)

Kuru nourishing

I saw people hating on this concept since kuru is supposed to be an extention of the neutral system, how can it transport nutrients and vitamins through it? These questions started even earlier, when we discovered that reef na'vi can extend their time being underwater by connecting to the sea creatures and plants that can transport oxygen through tsaheylu. But how? Well, apparently it has veins.

Avatar the way of water: the visual dictionary

I'm gonna talk more about possible similarities between na'vi and other animals especially tulkun in the way how they reproduce but later in other questions.

So, when tsaheylu is made, it not only connects two creatures neural systems but circulatory too. I have a headcanon explanation of how it works but it's weird lol. So, do you remember this sticky wet sound kuru sometimes made when connecting/disconnecting? Well, what if, when connected, kuru produces some kind of liquid that is similar to something like blood plasma? And that's when nutrient transportation starts? (and now I'm thinking that it can also keep this fragile organ clean and protected from harsh disconnecting that could rip off poor tendrils). I have some questions on how circulatory system works in that case, like maybe Pandoran animals only have one blood type or it somehow separates inside, but we just don't know. That is a question for the speculative biologists out there!

Now, for the everything I said above, I need some proves on can you consider it canon or not. Your word, Mr. Cameron.

So, he never said anything about chrysalis, but kuru nourishing is pretty much a real thing I suppose. But what happens when the baby is out of it's tsalnu?

Breastfeeding

I haven't heard anything about them not being able to breastfeed due to their low body fat, but my immediate thought was... Why do they have breasts then? 😅 Alright, maybe it has a different purpose, but NIPPLES? For what reason? So I'd rather think that maybe their bodies produce hormones somehow differently than assumed that they have breasts but are not able to feed with them.

We even know that they "nurse their infants for up to four months"! So the answer is clear.

Avatar wiki fandom: na'vi species

Summing this all up!

So the answer for your question is:

- na'vi women give birth at the end of the second trimester and nourish their baby (inside a pod) with their kuru until it's ready to born.

- after birth they breastfeed a newborn for up to four months. ☺️

Thank you for reading!

Btw if you'll finish your WIP please let me know!

#Waiting for more questions! #Ask me about avatar series #avatar #avatar the way of water #avatar frontiers of pandora #afop #Atwow

[punkedsolar]

Funguary Feb 25 - Cryptic Stinkhorn - Clathrus archeri

Clathrus archeri, var. Mari.Lwyd is a rare form of european stinkhorn commonly found in Wales. It can reach up to ninety centimeters in total height, from generative organ to the tips of it's tentacles.

The tentacles exude a syrupy liquid commonly understood to have beer-like properties, designed to attract various insects and mollusks that then become drunk, and die near the fungus. This ensures it has plenty of nutrients to eventually grow more fungal matter under the skull and lever it to the top.

Once exposed, the skull will weather and develop a cloak-like veil, enabling it to be used as the basis of a Mari Lwyd costume. However, if not given regular alcoholic application, the fungus will deliquesce and collapse.

#funguary2024 #funguary 2024 #mushroom #fungus #fungi #funguary week 4 #funguary day 25 #cryptic #stinkhorn #clathrus archeri #mari lwyd #marilwyd #original art

[smalltimidbean]

What's inside your Fake Peppino?

I wanted to show how clone tongues are stored inside them, but then it turned into a full anatomy diagram kjfgkj - I was gonna make one for Peppiclones too, but that would have been redundant since they are the same thing, just in a smaller package kdfggdsfg

More info under cut - but be warned bc I am not a science man, even if I try to base it on real stuff kfgdsg - it's also a wacky cartoon world so it doesn't have to make real life sense

This is also a 'standard' clone, so other clones with additional DNA might have extra organs or whatever

Please also note there are mentions of body horror, injury, death, sexual reproduction, and vomit (phrased as 'regurgitation') but nothing graphic

All aspects of a clone are made of the same material - a highly malleable dough-like matter - just in different forms or densities. Clone matter can take on most properties, turning from liquid to solid in seconds, and even mimic different textures or colours, but they will always return to its default state after some time - although the default state can be altered via a clone's own desires, an overabundance or a lack of food, trauma or another outside influence.

The Membrane, or the 'skin', is the outermost layer and gives a clone their structure. It is around 3–4 inches (7-10cm) thick, thinner around the hands, eyes and orifices, and thicker around the organs - the thickest the membrane will get is if a clone develops a pouch, which is around 6–7 inches (15-17cm) thick, protecting any offspring inside. The membrane is fairly resilient - most damage simply bouncing off it - but it still can be cut/punctured/etc, causing a clone to 'ooze' (the equivalent of bleeding), but this is quickly healed dependent on damage taken, and how much 'blood' they have.

The membrane is quite porous, and a clone is able to absorb things through it - although this is more prominent for newborn clones, as they have yet to learn how to eat properly, and their membrane is not as thick. Liquids can pass through the membrane easily, but solid matter requires some time.

The 'Blood' (for lack of a better term) is not actually blood, but a more-liquid form of clone matter. It is full of nutrients and keeps a clone healthy. Anything digested by a clone is turned into this fluid and then predominantly used as an energy source for a clone. If there is an abundance of food, clones will continue to store this fluid inside them until required - this also causes the membrane of a clone to expand to accommodate this, making them larger as a result.

Alternatively, if a clone is injured severely causing excessive 'oozing' or experiencing a lack of food, and is using up 'blood' reserves, the membrane will shrink around the fluid, making them smaller - or if they are loosing a lot of 'blood' quickly, they will just lose their shape, appearing to 'deflate'.

The 'blood' is also used as other bodily fluids, as saliva and tears etc, and changes viscosity as needed.

The Brain is possibly the most important part of a clone, as it tells all other parts what to do. If the brain is destroyed, or severely damaged or starved, a clone will be killed. Although it is commonplace for clones to toss their heads around as projectiles, leaving their brains exposed - they are not very smart... But it also can be a sign a clone trusts someone, if they feel comfortable enough to have their brains exposed for long periods of time, and some clones even swap heads as a bonding experience.

The Brain 'Legs' are not actually 'legs' but part of a clone's nervous system. These were named after the fact that if a clone is in a dire situation, the brain and main nerve will eject itself from the body as a 'last resort' type of escape and 'run' on these 'legs', akin to a beetle or other bug. The brain will either have to return to the body when it is safe, or find a new source of clone matter, as the brain will starve without a stomach and 'blood' after about an hour of leaving the body. The 'legs' also help keep the tongue in place, so it is not caught in the 'blood' flow and end up stuck inside.

The teeth are the only 'bones' in a clone's body, but they are also the same dough matter as everything else - they are just in a very solid state. Mostly, used for chewing and tearing food as it is faster to ingest (and while most can swallow things whole, this can leave a clone vulnerable as it takes longer to ingest and then digest). A clone's teeth are also a main part of the threat display, usually opening their mouths wide and baring these teeth, often forming a secondary set behind the first and making them appear sharper. A clone that shows their teeth excessively, or 'smiles' a lot, is often seen as an aggressor and should be avoided.

The tongue is a primary sensory organ for a clone, used in conjunction with their sense of smell to find food or figure out what is nearby. The tongue is very long - typically almost the length of a clone's body - and it is fully prehensile, acting as an additional limb. The tongue can be projected out of the mouth at quick speeds, but it is slower to retract, depending on if they are bringing something back, and how heavy that thing is etc. Tongues are also important in clone behaviours, with clones bonding over grooming/licking each other (or favourite person/thing), and tongues hanging out of their mouths as a sign to show they are relaxed, or if combine with excessive drooling and/or lip licking, so show they are submissive and not a threat.

The 'crop' is a smaller stomach that precedes the main stomach, although it is not able to digest anything, and is often used as a storage space of sorts - much like a bird's crop, hence the name. Food must pass through the crop to get to the stomach, so the crop can expand to accommodate large meals passing through.

The 'Heart' is not a heart, but does function similarly, as it pumps the 'blood' around the body, and keeps everything moving. The movement of the 'blood' generates heat and keeps a clone warm - the faster the 'heart' pumps and the fluid moves, the warmer a clone is, and the slower the process is, the cooler a clone is. A clone's heart can stop if required - i.e. if a clone is overheated - but if the process is stopped for too long, a clone can become unwell as the nutritious 'blood' becomes stagnant, and a clone can even begin to solidify entirely if left too long.

The Stomach is the second most important part of a clone, as it is the only organ to create new clone matter from food. The stomach can expand to around five times its size if needed, but most clones opt for smaller and more frequent meals, as trying to digest a large meal takes more effort and can leave a clone vulnerable. The stomach can digest most organic matter, and some non-organic if they happen to swallow any - but if it can not be digested it will simply stay within the stomach, until it is regurgitated - a clone can starve to death with a full stomach if it is filled with non-digestible items.

Digestion can begin instantly - although some clones choose to stave off the digestion process in order to regurgitate it later for offspring or others in need. Everything digested is turned into clone matter, and absorbed directly into the 'blood' from the stomach. Clones do not produce any waste product, everything is used.

The reproductive organs - well, I am sure you can imagine what these are used for - although most clones have offspring via budding, so these are mostly just for pleasure, bonding or stress/tension relief

The 'Spinal Nerve' or the 'Main Nerve' is the largest nerve in the body and connects all other nerves and the brain together - although not shown on these images, there are many nerves all over the body, which are what make a clone able to feel sensations

(I did draw a version with the nervous system visible, but I did not like it, so you will have to use your imagination ksgksd - it's pretty much like a human's, just made of dough)

#now what the hell do I tag this with #Bean's PT AU Lore Tag #there should be a tag for clone info too #idk what yet kjfdgk #this clone is 0001 but he is technically dead so no character tag #pizza tower #body horror

[saliinthia]

Desert folk are nomadic, though during the mating and birthing season most clans come together to settle in riverside towns. These times are always full of creativity and partying, as well as a time of relaxation for most. The desert folk celebrate their collective religion, worshipping the twin suns. They share stories and writing, feast, make clothing, dance, and engage in artistic and hedonistic activities for the duration of mating season. After the season ends, most clans leave the towns to resume their livestock’s feeding rotation, but some clans stay behind in the riverside towns to tend to the buildings and grow crops in the fertile soil.

After the season, work begins once again. The desert folk travel in a rotation unique to each family clan, feeding their livestock on various desert plants. The cow-like animals produce crop milk, hair, hide, and meat. To protect their herds, mature members of a clan carry a rifle. These guns are basic and equivalent to our own blackpowder rifles of the past. They are powerful but relatively inaccurate and slow to reload, so they are used as a last resort or to scare off skittish predators.

These livestock are the most widely produced due to their hardiness and the variety of materials they produce. Both cows and bulls produce a milky substance using a digestive organ similar to that of Earth’s birds. Bulls produce less of this liquid, but it is more nutrient dense and bacteria dense to help the bull’s cows or calves gain strength or work through a sickness. Bull crop milk is known for having healing properties and the small amounts of it and importance for the herd’s health makes it expensive.

Crop milk is obtained by massaging the crop of a cow or bull until it regurgitates it. It takes practice to feel the crop and figure out if the texture is ready to be consumed. This substance is cottage cheese consistency, and is separated into the curds and liquids. Curds are used to make cheese, while the liquid is used for drinking and cooking.

These animals are protgynous hermaphrodites, meaning that the most dominant cow in the herd’s body will start changing and producing testosterone until she becomes a bull that can take over when the old bull is sick, weak, dead, or otherwise absent. Bulls will protect their cows with ferocity, and mate with each one during mating season.

When a cow gives birth, it is to 5-6 live grub-like pupae that cling to her back and consume crop milk. During this time, many larvae will die until 1-2 are left. When the grubs are ready to pupate, the mother consumes them and stores them in her crop until they are finished pupating, and during this time the cow does not eat. After the babies are finished pupating, the mother regurgitates them, and they can finish growing to their adult forms. She will continue feeding them crop milk until they can eat solid matter on their own.

#saliinthia #salii’qi #desert folk #alien #speculative biology #xenobiology #spec evo #sophont #speculative ecology #speculative evolution #alien cows

[intestinalemphasis]

"For the Long Haul"

(unwilling prey, digested with food, safe/non-gorey digestion)

-

It felt there would be no end in sight. All his world had become this thick, crushing darkness, and smothering heat, his life reduced to a hunk of meat inside a damp chamber, intent on taking its time with him. He was in for the long haul now, surely.

He'd been struggling for hours now, surely. Fighting and kicking and struggling, to no avail. He came close once, upon a massive belch the pred released that he pushed through to get to the back of their throat. But only a hand managed to get far enough up to feel the cold air of the outside world, before the pred took another thick swallow, sending them back to the abyss.

He grunted as he was jostled around again, feeling nauseous and dizzy from all the jostling and pushing around. He couldn't tell where gravity was going anymore, sometimes feeling upright, sometimes feeling upside down. These slick walls squeezed and massaged into him constantly, keeping him in place enough not to leave, but not so in place that he wasn't slipping around every other minute. He felt so gross, covered in slime and whatever stuff the pred had eaten beforehand. An ominous groan in his ears alerted the fact that he was on his way to becoming the very stew he resided in.

That was only added to the fact that a bunch of mush started raining onto him. He spat and struggled, pushing against the walls to no avail. His pred was eating again, filling his already too tightly cramped personal chamber with more food. Liquid poured in, sloshing around and basting him in...what was that, root beer?

The filled organ burbled around him, squeezing tight around its prey, until an almighty belch forced its way out through the pred's mouth, echoing back into their stomach walls. The prey tried to squeeze himself up their throat, following the trail of expelled air, but he was unsuccessful, sliding back down into the pit he was trapped in. Surrounded by mush. Mush that he would soon enough become a part of. Whether he liked it or not.

The uncomfortable jostling and sloshing continued. Liquid was filling the chamber even quicker, stomach acid and sweet soft drinks mixing together with food bits into a frothy slop. It was too hot, the prey couldn't tell if they were just sweating or if they were starting to melt. It was getting hard to breathe in this pit. They tried to struggle again, finding themselves weak and dizzy. Their body was starting to lose its shape in the muck, becoming squishy and sticky.

They pushed against the walls, begging to be let out of this prison. They could hear the pred chuckling, saying something unintelligible. Were they actually listening to them!? The prey pressed their hands against the surface of their pred's belly...and were met with a painful *SQUISH!* against them, kneading and massaging their food, and compressing them deeper into the slew they were becoming.

All he could hear around him now was the sloshing and gurgling of a happy, full belly, enjoying him, digesting him, turning him into a nutrient goop. His form was sliding down into a near puddle now, mixed with all the other contents of the stomach he was destined to be the meal of. The most liquified parts of him were being slurped down further, deeper into the pred's intestines to be pumped through. He whimpered, feeling the last of his being starting to slip away from him. He was food. Mush. Nothing more than another meal for this beast to have.

Another loud groan rumbled through the full organ, and the rest of the pred's dinner funneled down into the rest of their system...

#v0re #implied digestion #fatal vore #unwilling prey #; vore #digestion #vore digestion

[extrajigs]

Tying down pentapod anatomy and going to do so through the sophont of the group, who I wanna call Whorls. Thinking of giving them lil spiral eggs or something to justify the name. But just getting out basic anatomy so have a lil front/side view to enjoy and then organs below the cut! 

1. Eyes- You know what these are.  2. Brain- This too!  3. Spinal cord/Nerves- Basically they have a ‘main’ cord running down their neck and branching off on either side to run to different sides of the body. Nerve also runs through the center of the hips branching out to run down each leg.  4. Voice Box- Basically a little chamber that they can manipulate the shape of to produce sounds. Two on either side connected to their lung. Talking involves different sounds out of each side, so lots of coordination.  5. Heart- 4 chambered heart, one major intake chamber that feeds into two different chambers who pump it over the lung before returning into the last chamber to pump it out into the body.  6. Lung- They have a single lung with four separate lobes, breathing involved inflating and deflating different lobes.  7. Liver- Filters blood, also functions as a kidney but directly feeds the waste into the stomach. They are very sensitive to poisoning with this settup as toxins will circulate through digestion a few times.  8. Stomach- Big basic vat, basic as in they use bases rather than acids to break down food.  9. Intestines- A big compact organ with long flaps extending into the center to soak up nutrients from the broth made in the stomach. Food remains a liquid for the entire digestion process as there is no effort to retain water.  10. Hips- The only bones in the body are the skull, jaws, shell, and hips. The hips are for muscle connection for the limbs and cradling the organs. 11. Mouth- Three tooth plates, two up top and one below, move independently to chew food.  12. Gizzard- A pouch to grind up tougher food, often puked up from the stomach, filled with bits of bone and shell from other animals as rocks are extremely rare.  13. Spear- All pentapods reproduce via traumatic insemination, this is the way that they stab each other for that. In species where parents partner up the process is no more than a quick jab where in others it can be a fatal affair. This is partially why the shell encasing vital organs is a common feature.  14. Testes- Sperm is made here!  15. Ovaries- Eggs are made here!  16. Reproductive Tract- Basically where the spear needs to hit to inseminate and where the eggs will be stored until they are ready to enter the world.  

That’s the gist, there is some variation but this is the basic body plan that I am thinking. Subject to change however. 

#whorl #i just like that word tbh #and its snaily #xenobiology #speculative biology #spec bio #alien

[evolutionsvoid]

Going out to the canyons and badlands guarantees beautiful views and memorable trips. The majesty of time worn rock, the incredible colors found in their many layers! Get a look from up high, and you see a landscape that is sculptures of nature itself! To sit there and take it all in, soaking up the sights, listening to the wind howl through the rocky canyons and enjoying the serenity of the wor- BAM! The jarring sound of an explosion echoing through the air! The peaceful quiet is randomly broken up by these startling blasts, ringing through the channels and chasms. The first time people hear it, they are quick to panic and think there is an attack happening. Some sneaky group of bandits blasting powder kegs or volatile magic or something! It certainly startles you every time! Even when you know it is bound to occur eventually, it will still catch you off guard! These loud bursts are rare and sporadic, but there is no way to ignore them if you are anywhere near the region! While some think bandits or loud mining, it is actually the result of a native resident of these lands dealing with some trouble. Someone is agitating them, which leads to quite the ruckus and quite the mess!

The species I am talking about is the Blast Cap Scutumback, though most people stick to calling them Blast Caps. As the name points out, they are a member of the Scutumback family, a group of mollusks known for their armor plating and flattened shape in their juvenile stages, which leads to the comparison of them and a shield. Blast Caps live in arid places, typically where rocks are aplenty and water is rare. Fitting that they live in such stony places, as they both blend in with rocks and move about as fast as one too. Blast Caps live at a snail's pace, slowly crawling about with a muscular foot that is hidden by their girdle. Now would be the part where I talk about their day-to-day lives and their incredible behaviors, but crawling about and eating pretty much covers all they really do. Blast Caps have no interest in rich social lives or finding odd ways to pass their time. It is essentially "eat until the food is gone" and then "move until you find more food." While pretty simple, you can't argue with results! 

Blast Caps do not eat meat or plants, instead going for a troll's diet. Rocks, minerals and metals are their meals of choice, and they use a powerful toothy radula to scrape away at stone for sustenance. The process is very slow, but I already said that they live a very slow life. As their radula etches the rock, they feed on the dust and flakes that come off, running it through an odd digestive system to extract nutrients from it. Some suggest that they also feed on lichens and moss, as those have been seen on rocky surfaces they chew on. However, we do not know if they specifically target these food sources or just so happen to eat them merely because they grow on the food they actually want. A Blast Cap will spend days sitting in one place, chiseling away at the stone until they deplete whatever substance they want from it. Once it is gone, they move on, leaving a distinctive wear mark on the rock that lets you know who is responsible! 

While sitting around and eating rocks doesn't sound like the most thrilling species to describe, things get much more interesting when you consider the substances they build up in their guts. The Blast Cap's love for specific minerals and stones winds up making a dusty mixture in their bodies that they add to potent fluids of their own, which winds up creating an explosive compound. It may seem like a real bad idea to create explosive fluids in your own guts, but the Blast Cap's creation is rather stable, only detonating when exposed to flame or sparks. When stored in the body, its own internal fluids and organs do well to prevent any accidental detonations from occurring. When danger approaches, that is when the liquid is put into use, and to powerful effect! Blast Caps will secrete this fluid in different ways, then use flint-and-steel-like setups in their anatomy to create the triggering spark. Their extra "teeth" and radula are capable of being scraped together to make sparks, or their armor plating may be rubbed together to do the job. 

How they utilize this defense varies by age, as the juveniles have one trick and the adults have another. When Blast Caps are young, they are much smaller and flatter, and their coloration helps them blend in with the stone. It is good for hiding, but some predators can sniff them out, or some oblivious beast may accidentally step on them! When a young Blast Cap senses a presence getting too close for comfort, their armor plates will shift to reveal fluid spraying pores. These orifices are tied to their explosive liquids, which can be released in a faint mist. They will only eject the weapon when pressure is put onto their armored bodies, be it a probing predator or a heavy misplaced boot. When they feel their body being touched, they release a small cloud of explosive mist and slam their plates shut, making a spark and then BOOM! While the area of effect is small, the explosion has a punch to it and it can severely mess up a snout or foot. While their armor plating protects them from this blast, those who agitate them are not so lucky. Predators can have a nose blown off, or even be blinded due to damage to the eyes. Beasts who step on them by accident will have chunks of flesh destroyed and nasty burns. Human-sized hikers often straight up lose a foot, having it blown to pieces due to this blunder. Though the young Blast Caps are small and weaker compared to the adults, some would argue they are more dangerous due to how easy it is to miss them and not realize you are walking through a living minefield.

When a Blast Cap gets old, their bodies fill out, almost inflating into a more hunched shape. Two large storage organs develop on their sides, for holding explosive fluid and small stony chunks for digestion. Their mouth parts become more flexible, allowing them to rotate it from its usual downward position up so that it points outward. This helps them eat things at different heights, or reach places where their bulkier body cannot climb. It also makes for a handy weapon when threats approach. While they can still release an explosive cloud around them, this wastes far more fluid due to their larger size requiring more to fully cover them. Instead, when they sense danger, they move their mouths upward and point it at the enemy. They will take a chunk of stone from their gut and bring it to their throat, along with a gob of explosive fluid. If their foe doesn't retreat, they will scrape tooth and radula together to make a spark and ignite the liquid sitting behind the rock. In an instant, their mouth erupts in a plume of light and smoke, and the stone is launched out at incredible speeds. This projectile is shot out faster than a rock sling could throw it, and it can do serious damage to those it hits. Bone shatters easily and armor is damaged beyond repair. If it hits you in the chest, your ribcage is busted and probably embedded in some important organs. If it hits you in the head, well, you won't realize it until you wake up in your afterlife.

To make matters worse, is that sometimes the rock is porous and winds up soaking in some explosive fluid. When launched, it will shatter when it hits its target or the environment, releasing a cloud that can be triggered by a single spark. Folk scrambling for their weapons or falling with armor hitting stone may accidentally create this trigger, and blow themselves to pieces without knowing their mistake. Needless to say, not many animals choose to prey on the Blast Cap, as the cost is massive if they screw up. However, some crafty birds, like ravens, have figured out a way to prey on juvenile Blast Caps. They pick up small rocks and debris in their talons or beak, then fly overhead and drop it atop the Scutumback. This "attack" will cause the Blast Cap to explode its defense, but the birds are far away from danger. They will then drop more rocks again and again until the Blast Cap stops detonating, as its fuel will have been depleted. Then the birds can swoop in to attack, knowing the young mollusk has no weaponry to fight back.

With the dangers that can come from an exploding mollusk, it should be obvious that locals are very careful around them. Areas that are heavily populated by Blast Caps will have warning signs around them (not that those can truly ward off dumb tourists). When traveling these places, people walk slowly and always keep an eye on the ground in front of them, as a single misstep can cost you a leg. While these areas are notoriously dangerous, the native people have found ways to benefit from them. Places where young Blast Caps are plentiful will be scouted out, and then hunters on horseback would go out to track down a nearby herd of game. With incredible coordination, they would scare the animals into a stampede, and direct their escape route towards Blast Cap territory. The thundering hooves would agitate the mollusks and they would prepare to explode. As the herd tramples through, they would trigger the Blast Caps, resulting in explosions, lost limbs and fatal tripping. In less than a minute, dozens of ungulates could be downed by these living traps, allowing the hunters to slowly creep in to collect the freshly exploded meat. It should be noted that most Blast Caps actually survive this crazy tactic, as they are very hardy and can handle being stepped on or trapped beneath a fallen beast. It should also be noted that this hunting tactic was only used in hard times when an entire village needed food, as it can be pretty wasteful with how much meat gets blown to mush and also the state of your food is pretty rough by the time you carve it up. No fine steaks or flanks to be found here, just messy ground beef.

Also, this same tactic has been used on invading forces, where natives tricked enemy armies to travel through Blast Cap territory, using their ignorance of the local fauna against them. One wrong step and the whole force is thrown into chaos, as people panic, flee and trample over more Blast Caps. While casualties would be low due to the small area of these blasts only taking out legs, the effects could be crippling to an army, now laden with wounded and mutilated, while also worrying about where the danger is. It is a clever strategy, I give them that, but it does make me worried anytime I am hiking in these areas. I am careful in my walking and mindful of my step, but then I think to the chaos of these hunts and attacks, and think of how a tumbling rock or a dropped canteen could set off a chain reaction that would turn me to mulch! It hasn't happened yet thankfully! But I guess you know that because I am alive and writing this entry....                 

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

-------------------------------------

"Blast Cap Scutumback"

#chiton #invertebrate #mollusk #monster #creature #tank #art #drawing

[mixelation]

wrote some reborn au. takes place after the tori v itachi fight

i decided iwa has a bunch of tunnels connecting everything !!

--

The little makeshift clinic set up in the holding wing of the stadium was quiet. Tori sat patiently on a cot while one medic wordlessly spread healing chakra over the burn on her shoulder; the other medic was organizing ampules of clear liquid at table, the glass gently clinking together. 

Across from her, the poor fifteen year old who’d drawn Deidara was unconscious in another cot. Kurotsuchi was nowhere to be seen, probably because Itachi had beat her without harming a hair on her head. The latter was definitely more embarrassing than ending up in a hospital, but personally, Tori would take a blow to the ego over cracked ribs any day. 

Maybe she should have just let Itachi take her out with genjutsu. It wasn’t like she was going to pass, anyway. Then again, even Itachi’s less bad genjutsu were really scary… and she’d wanted to test her new seal…

The quiet of the room was broken by Kushina slamming the door open. 

“Tori you did so good, you know,” she proclaimed, unconscious teenager be damned. A noise like a muffle tea kettle escaped the medic’s throat. “Your taijutsu has improved so much. I’m really proud.”

Proud…? When was the last time anyone had been proud of Tori? She didn’t know what to do with that, and she felt her cheeks go hot against her will.

Kushina didn’t say much out loud about the four-part seal Tori had painted on herself, but she did shoo away the medic so she could help Tori take it off. The medic looked affronted by Kushina’s bossiness, and then scandalized when the seal on her burned shoulder turned out to have four matching ones. 

“You did all that to your genin?” the medic half-squawked. 

Kushina paused, a brush hovering over Tori’s shoulder. 

“Well, she designed it herself,” she said, like that excused it. A grin cracked on her face. “Hey, make sure you get that to the judges, you know. I don’t just hand my students fuinjutsu.”

Only two of the four seals had to be deactivated to break the random fluctuations in chakra, which is all they needed for the next leg of their mission. 

“We should grab some snacks before Itachi and Deidara duke it out,” Kushina said loudly as she led Tori out of the clinic. Both medics voiced annoyed protests. “Oh, come on, she’ll just come back after the show, you know!”

Tori let Kushina take lead. She led her down two flights of stairs, babbling about how there was a ramen stand just a couple blocks away that she was craving. As far as Tori knew, Kushina had not liked that stand and complained in length about Iwa having bad ramen in private, but it was established fact to anyone observing them that Kushina was obsessed with ramen. 

“Sensei, ramen is hardly a snack,” Tori whined as Kushina pretended to look confused as she navigated them through the maze of tunnels under Iwa. 

“Nonsense,” Kushina told her. “You need nutrients after your fight, you know.”

“Sensei, ramen barely has any nutrients. You told me you got scurvy when you were my age from not eating anything else.”

“Um, no, I said I nearly got scurvy from cup ramen. Restaurant ramen is completely different–”

It was easy to fake getting lost under Iwa, deep in the passages anyone could access. The tunnels were creepily empty, and they only passed two other people, an older civilian couple rushing in the direction of the stadium. Almost everyone was currently gathered to watch children try and kill each other.

The hardest part of this mission, they had both assumed, would be the transition to the ninja-only tunnels and then not getting caught in the prison complex. The transportation seal itself should be simple enough to plant. 

They never got that far. They were attacked first. 

The tunnel suddenly rose up in front of them, the stone cobbles flipping and stacking on top of themselves in a complex Earth jutsu. The path in front of them was sealed within seconds. 

“Er,” Kushina said, pausing, but the jutsu was already repeating itself behind them. Iwa-nin after Iwa-nin peeled themselves from the walls, crowing Tori and Kushina. “Hey, what the hell?”

All the ninja were wearing gas masks. This was very, very bad. 

“As an invited guest of the Tsuchikage,” Kushina started, her hair twitching at her side in building anger, “I demand an explanation.”

Tori felt dizzy. She wasn’t sure if this was nerves from their mission taking a sudden nosedive, or whatever thing the Iwa-nin needed gas masks for. 

No color, no odor, able to be filtered, Tori thought, mentally sorting through all the gasses and aerosolized poisons it could be. They’re covering their skin, so it might be absorbed that way even if I hold my breath… 

Had they already been caught, before they’d even gotten close? How?

The masked ninja offered no explanation. They didn’t even move to attack, although each and every one of them was tensed for a fight. 

Tori felt her knees going weak. Somehow all her limbs seemed to be getting weaker. 

“Chakra poisoning…?” Kushina wondered out loud. “Alright, I think it’s fair to call this self-defense.”

Kushina grabbed Tori, pulling her protectively into her chest, and chaos broke out instantaneously. Chains erupted from Kushina back, ensnaring and pinning down ninja in the claustrophobic hallway. Six chains shot right through the walls cutting off the passage. Tori was aware of weapons being thrown or swung at them, clinking loudly off the mass of chains and ricocheting into the narrow tunnel.  

The cobblestone walls rebuilt themselves as quickly as Kushina knocked them down, countering her attempts to vent the space. More ninja crawled out of the walls and ceiling, pushing and crowding them. Sharp blades slipped between the chains more than once, knicking the both of them. 

“Sensei,” Tori started, fingers fumbling for scrolls. “I can–”

“They almost definitely want me, you know,” Kushina huffed, breath heavy. Kushina had a lot of chakra to poison, but even she had limits. “Run.”

A chain wrapped itself around Tori’s waist and then shot her towards one of the cobblestone walls at a terrifying speed. Three more chains broke the wall in front of her, and Tori had to hold up her arms to protect herself from rubble. They she was flying down the open passage they’d walked through earlier, which felt almost cavernous with the sudden lack of other bodies. 

The chakra suddenly evaporated, turning from the most solid thing Tori had ever touched to gold dust. Tori was flung forward, and she only barely managed to get her weak legs under her to land, which turned into a sad, uncontrolled roll directly into a wall. 

Tori was on her feet immediately, running as fast as she could in the opposite direction of Kushina and the mass of Iwa-nin. The cobblestone wall had already prepared itself, and the passageway was eerily quiet. 

No one appeared to be following her. Should she go back? She couldn’t abandon Kushina. 

But what was she going to do, by herself with no plan? It would be smarter to go get Itachi and Deidara’s help. 

She found a staircase up to the surface and sprinted up it. Her chakra was sluggish and unmoldable, and her muscles weren’t quite right because of it. But she got herself up the stairs, and then she forced herself into a false calm as she walked back to the stadium. 

She couldn’t do a henge in this state. She pulled the tie on her braid and brushed her hair over her shoulders to hide her face. She hunched her shoulders and kept her eyes on her feet. I’m a shy little girl, I’m timid and civilian and harmless… 

It wasn’t a good enough disguise to hide her from anyone actively looking. But it would keep anyone else from noticing her, she hoped. The guard at the gate to the stadium certainly barely looked at her. 

The fight between Deidara and Itachi was in full swing, and it was about as loud as she’d expected. When she entered the stands, most people were standing, screaming in excitement. In a better mood, Tori would have contemplated that whatever bad blood ws between their villages, Iwa’s citizens still enjoyed seeing two top-tier ninja beat the shit out of each other as much as the next village. 

Itachi and Deidara’s role was to draw this fight out as long as possible, and draw it out they did. There were too many ninja in the audience and crawling around the stadium for Tori to even think about signaling for them to wrap it up. Instead, she sat there in silence, forcing her hands to not knot themselves in her shirt in anxiety. 

She needed to calm down. She couldn’t do anything if she didn’t keep her head on straight. Why was she getting so bent out of shape, anyway? Either Kushina was already dead, or they would hold her hostage. There was no point in letting herself get bent out of shape until after the crisis was over. Tori had thought herself accomplished at the ancient shinobi art of stomping down panic. 

She said she was proud of me, Tori thought over and over.

#reborn au #my writing