#organic hermit crab food

[happycrabitat]

We pour a lot of love into our hermit crabs foods! happycrabitat.etsy.com

#hermit crab facts #hermit crab supplies #hermit crab tip #hermit crabs rule #land hermit crabs #hermit crab tank #hermit crab shell #hermitcrabs #hermitcrab #hermit crab #hermit crab food mix #hermit crab food #hermit crab pellets #hermit crabs eating #what to feed hermit crabs #organic hermit crab food #natural hermit crab food #what can hermit crabs eat #hermit crab art #hermit crabs #crustacean nation #animals #exotic pets #reptiles #hermit crab feeding #crab food #proper hermit crab care #good hermit crab care #cute animals

[mychlapci]

I would love to hear some personal favourites with merformers, whether it be ships or physical traits or culture ideas or yknow pure porn, totally not because I’m trying to write a merformers research facility fic, whaaaat noooo, why would you think thattttt

- Robooby

NICE, I can ramble about merformers. this will also be incoherent, but, here we go.

- i think mers are still fully metal. the tail folds cleverly, looking fluid and organic, but it's still 100% metal. what little "organic" or soft parts they have, i think that'd be their array, and various decorative fins. Defensive or attack fins are still metal.

- my favourite merformers culture thing still is the licking inside of someone’s mouth that i already talked about. I think they don’t have a concept of kissing as cybertronians know it, so this isn’t exactly a kiss, it’s much more intimate and significant, since it’s done to show submission to someone. It’s basically saying “i belong to you” in a romantic, platonic, or familial way. I also think mers have elaborate mating dances, embedded deep into their instincts, and will automatically initiate them before trying to have sex.

- I think mers are fully sentient, but they’re far too instinct-driven for researchers to really figure that out until a few years in (early facilities were not very… nice). Unlike cybertronians, they have to hunt for food and still worry about predators and can only reproduce between each other, so their instincts would have never evolved out of them. They are, however, intelligent. There are cities, or, their versions of cities in the depths of the ocean, they have culture and holidays and jewelry (oh lord, i love to put merformers in jewelry. Mers wearing shells and crystals as necklaces, or more morbidly so, teeth and fangs of things they’ve killed, membranes of dead predators as pretty translucent cloaks….)

- I still like the idea of the Lost Light being a ship that crashed into the ocean ages ago and now it’s used as a little hang-out spot for various mers (re: the lost light crew). Or, as a mating spot.

- As for ships, I am still very fond of the idea of Minimus being a hermit crab occupying the dead metal shell of a long-dead Ultra Magnus, and Megatron, who is of the same genotype (the same sub-species of fish) as Ultra Magnus was, becomes deeply enamoured with him after some time spent together, only to be met with a lot of disappointment when it turns out that he’s unable to mate Magnus (because he’s cumming into Magnus’s tank, and well, the dead shell of Ultra Magnus is in no state to be having pups). Minimus is unable to mate Megatron either because the reserves Ultra Magnus has are too old and sterile.

Of course, I am very into veterinarian/caretaker Ratchet and mer Drift. Or facility staff Drift and mer Ratchet. the interspecies thing really hits the spot with these two. But also, let's remember that fanfic i tried to write, where Ratchet has lived in capture for most of his life and Drift is a wild mer that was put into his tank and they struggle to socialize. I like that.

- I really like to think old and fertile is a very desirable trait for most mers. It’s something that the staff of many facilities don’t figure out for a while, but older mers who’ve kept their fertility are much better at having clutches than younger ones. This goes for Ratchet, for Megatron, for Optimus (though we’ve never had mer Optimus in here, which is a pity), for Rung. An old mer is usually harder to mate with but absolutely worth it.

- I think they speak their own language, but are capable of learning how to fluently communicate with cybertronians. "domesticated" mers (re: mers that have lived in a facility for most of their life and cannot survive in the wild anymore) would be indistinguishable from a regular cybertronian if it wasnt for the tail

#you asked me to say anything i delivered pls write that fanfic we need so much more merformers in this world #valveplug #texty #merformers #pregnancy mention

[jamisonwritestf2trash]

Tf2 beach day

TF2 Mercs At The Beach!

————————————————————

Thanks for the ask, Anon! I hope you like this, I love writing these guys in normal everyday situations. Buckle up for a long one!

————————————————————

Okay, so firstly, I can't tell whether it would be funny or deeply terrifying to see a group of nine grown men pull up at the beach. But for the sake of this it's going to be funny.

————————————————————

So one day, all these clowns pile into a van and drive down the road to the nearest beach. And once they get there, it's a mess. Much like when they went to the amusement park (haha old fic plug in >:D), everyone's running in different directions and doing different things.

Engie, Pyro, and Soldier are off finding a place in the sand to start building sandcastles.

Scout is the only one who's running to the water immediately.

Demo and Sniper are on their way to a silent and shady part of the beach to sleep for a bit.

Spy, Heavy, and Medic are setting up towels and umbrellas on the beach.

————————————————————

Even though everyone wants to do different things, Engie asks the others to come join them and do a sandcastle contest!

Demo is actually really good at building sandcastles and building something simple, decorated with some rocks.

Engie, of course, wins the contest. He manages to build a castle with a fully functional draw bridge, a moat, and even tiny little sand people.

Heavy doesn't follow the idea of making a sandcastle at all. He starts making sand food.

Medic comes in third place, which he may or may not be a little bitter about. But others are quick to remind him he made a sculpture of a bird and not a castle. He still thinks his was best.

Scout and Pyro ended up teaming with each other to build the biggest sandcastle out of everyone. It's very messy, and half of it is falling apart (Scouts half), but they both had fun building it and don't really care about the contest by the end.

Sniper acts like he doesn't care. He rolls his eyes and huffs something about this being stupid. Builds a really beautiful sandcastle with sea glass and sand dollars. Like insanely good. He gets second!

Spy doesn't care. He hates the feeling of wet sand and hates the idea of getting dirty and wet. Doesn't participate.

The soldier is making an American flag sculpture in the sand. The stars are made out of the prettiest rocks he could find. He uses drift wood for the red stripes and leaves the sand plain for the white stripes. It's beautiful!

————————————————————

It's time for these guys to go swimming!

Demo and Sniper are good swimmers but are insanely nervous about the currents and wildlife. So they tend to stay in clear and hip deep water.

Engie, Heavy, and Pyro stay near each other near the tide pools! Looking around at all the small animals, Pyro loves looking for hermit crabs. Engie gets so freaked out when he turns around for a minute and looks back to see Pyro with a starfish stuck to their mask. Heavy is also content with just looking at all the cute little creatures that are living in the water.

Medic, Soldier, Scout, and Spy are all in an insane cluster fuck right now. Medic is trying to lifeguard, Soldier can't swim and is drowning in about two inches of water, Scout pushed Spy into the water, and now Spy is trying to drown Scout. Medic finally just pulls all of them out of the water yelling various threats of their organs being removed and swapped with various other things being thrown out as he walks them back to the beach. They seemed to behave a lot better with each other after that.

————————————————————

Due to the swimming fiasco, the team decide to relax on the beach and do some other activities.

Demo, Heavy, and Pyro strike up a bonfire and start to tell stories to each other.

Medic is reading a book he brought and is watching over the others. He is eventually persuaded to play beach volleyball with the other.

After they convince Medic, Engie, Sniper, and Scout start playing a couple of rounds of volleyball. (Medic and Engie v Sniper and Scout) Medic and Engie sweep.

After Scout gets tired of losing, he finds Soldier and asks if he wants to play Frisbee, and they entertain themselves with that for an hour or two.

Spy ends up falling asleep on the beach away from the sight of others (or so he thought, he woke up buried in the sand an hour later, all thanks to Scout).

————————————————————

Eventually, everyone shows up at the bonfire that Demo, Heavy, and Pyro set up. Solider finds a public grill and starts grilling up hotdogs, hamburgers, and steaks. Medic is begging everyone to at least drink one water. Everyone starts talking about various things, and they all enjoy the last of the night until they all pile into the car and head home.

————————————————————

Can you tell I don't go to the beach much 😭

I hope you like this. It felt like this took me years to write, but it was worth it!

I'm praying this isn't ass. New fics are coming soon as I start getting fall themed ideas >:)

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 medic #team fortress headcanons #tf2 headcanons #tf2 engineer #tf2 scout #tf2 pyro #tf2 spy #tf2 demoman #tf2 heavy #tf2 sniper #tf2 soldier #tf2 hcs

[izzy-the-ginger]

Targaryen clan HoTD at the beach!

Alicent is the healthy “fun” mom.

For food She brought some sandwiches, plain organic potato chips, carrots, celery, grapes, apple and oranges slices.

She forgot the dips, not the wine.

Aegon is on leash made for children

Helena is looking for hermit crabs in the sand

Aemond is next to Alicent both on matching beach chairs, Alicent with a glass of wine aemomd with a book.

Daeron stole the chips

Aegon and daeron dig a big hole, they won’t let Jace or Luke help.

Aegon lays in the hole and daeron covers him with a beach towel and and the stolen chips

Aegon catches a seagulls

Alicent is mad there is bird crap on her expensive ass beach towel

Not even that far away from the Rhaenyra lays in her beach chair, fresh martini in hand.

It was a beach day, so she let the kids splurged.

Brought five different bags of family size chips with them, some freeze dried candy bags so it wouldn’t melt or get too sticky, a large bag of pretzels, apple slices, cherries, grapes, carrots, celery, cauliflower, and four different types of dip, two for the veggies, two for the fruit.

The boys were told not to share their when aegon and Daeron refused to let them catch a seagull.

Rhae gives Jace a decent amount a cash and tells him and the other two oldest to go to a near by beach stand and get them a real lunch other than chips.

Jace, Luke, and joffery come back with hotdogs for them, grilled cheese and chips for the littles, and açaí fruit bowl for their mama with another martini.

They don’t tell her how they bought the martini.

Aegon the younger and little viserys bury daemon in the sand before leaving him to eat.

He’s asleep

Alicent ask Rhaenyra for a spare towel.

Rhaenyra bought a cheap ass bulk package of towels because her boys always looses them.

Tells Alicent the boys are using the extra towels.

All the boys are eating in a circle with no towels.

Rhaenyra’s boys go out to swim with beach toys

aegon wants to float on the giant unicorn floaty

Aegon isn’t allowed in the water after the last beach day incident

Baela and rhaena slept in and came to the beach a little later

Baela, rhaena, Jace, Luke, and joffery go to get ice cream

Baela gets chocolate

Rhaena gets strawberry

Joffery gets vannila

Luke gets cotton candy ice cream

Jace gets a ice cream milkshake that’s cookies and cream

Both the littles get a small scoop of chocolate ice cream on a cone with sprinkles

The twins gets Helena a vanilla milkshake

Aegon wants ice cream

Alicent’s tells him that she already brought snacks

The poor vanilla milkshake ends up on the rest of Alicent’s towels

Jace give Helena his milkshake because he feels bad

Alicent leaves with aegon and daeron begging to stay

Aemond is happily packing up their possessions

Rhaenyra offers for Helena to stay

Alicent agrees and leaves dragging a screaming aegon by the ear

Rhaenyra wakes a beached daemon up to go and get the girls some food while the kids play in the water

It takes ten minutes for Rhaenyra to dig him out enough for him to get out of the sand

Daemons face is bright red and his body is covered in sand

Baela , rhaena, and Helena get a açaí bowl

Aegon the younger and viserys dig two big holes

Jace and Baela lay in them

Rhaena and Helena lay the extra towels on them

Joffery places chips and pretzels on the beach towels

Jace caught a seagull

Baela caught three seagulls

Luke made sure to get a video

Daemon is mad bird crap is on the towels.

Rhaenyra sips her martini.

#hotd incorrect quotes #house of the dragon #aemond targaryen #hotd aegon #hotd rhaenyra #hotd daemon #helena targaryen #jacaerys targaryen #jacaerys velaryon #lucerys velaryon #joffery velaryon #aegon the younger #viserys ii targaryen #alicent hightower

[lesbianwriter]

can you continue the ‘they were roommates’ ? your choice, obviously

Yes, I’ve been wanting to continue!

They Were Roommates Part 6

Part one | Part two | Part three | Part four | Part five

Villain felt a whirlwind of feelings all at once. Fear was the most prominent one. Fear about what Supervillain was doing standing at the door with a bouquet of sunflowers; fear about what words would come out of his mouth; fear that Hero would get hurt. 

She’d done everything right…why was he here? 

Hero looked between the two, a naive smile on her face. “Do you two know each other?”

“I’m Villain’s uncle.” Supervillain lied smoothly, passing the bouquet to Hero. It was tied together with a ribbon. Villain knew that ribbon. He only ever used that type when it was an important message. “Can we have a moment to talk? Alone.”

Hero’s eyes darted to Villain, looking for confirmation. Villain, somehow, managed a stiff nod and Hero promptly left the room none the wiser. For a moment, Villain wished—she prayed—that Hero would be…a hero. That she’d stay in the room, root herself to the ground, and protect her from Supervillain. But nothing ever went right for Villain.

Supervillain slunk forward and Hero’s bedroom door shut.

He bent down nose-to-nose with Villain, wafting his heady cologne into her face. “Having fun, Villain?” His eyes lowered to the breakfast plate. He took the fork and jammed it straight through the plate, splintering it into cracks of porcelain. 

Villain wanted to scream. She couldn’t, though. Her voice was trapped in her throat, sealed behind layers she’d built up over the years. There was too much on the line to risk screaming. Not that it’d matter in the end if she did. 

“N-no, sir.” She tried to steady her shaky hands. Maybe there was a way she could get out of this. If she moved fast, she could throw him out the window. 

“That’s good.” He smiled. Languidly, he pulled out Hero’s chair and lounged in it, propping his shiny shoes up onto the table. He looked up at Villain, picking her apart into pieces. “Tomorrow, I attack the Organization. There are two ways Hero can die. Either you kill her, or I do. You know how I kill people, Villain.”

Screams could be heard in the hallways for days.

With a quick glance down the hall, Villain silently made a choice.

Supervillain stood up. Villain’s hands shook; his hands were steady as they slipped down her bare shoulders, caressing her down to her hips and lowering even further to her knees where he grasped her firmly. “You’re a smart girl. You’ll know what to do.”

—

—

“Can I sleep with you again tonight?” Villain stood on the doorway, hunched into herself like a hermit crab. 

Hero sat up, leaning on her elbows. It was unusual that Villain willingly came to her. Vulnerable, too. She wanted so badly so believe that Villain merely felt safe around her, but there had to be something else. It wasn’t like her to let her defenses simply fall. “You really want to?”

Silently, Villain nodded. Her eyes were downcast. Distracted. Whatever she was looking at wasn’t the floor; it was something very far away from the scene. Hero raised her eyebrows.

Something was wrong.

Ever since that uncle came around Villain had been acting…odd. All the progress that had been made was rapidly rewinded and she was back to locking herself in her room, only coming out for food or the bathroom. She was undone. With one tug, the knot Hero worked to secure for months unraveled into strings again.

Hero frowned. “Are you alright? Did your uncle do something?” Her elbows dipped into the mattress as she sat up straighter. Wordlessly, Villain stepped closer out of the doorframe. A shadow covered half her face.

“Can I sleep with you again tonight?” She repeated, duller than before. Her hands were tightly clenched on the pillow case. “I…I can’t talk about it.”

“Get in.” Hero smiled and lifted a corner of the blanket.

She trusted Villain.

—

—

“I’m sorry.” Villain sniffled, moving stray hair out of Hero’s face. Hero looked angelic while asleep. Her features were relaxed and her breathing even; unaware of what was the come. Heavy tears fell down Villain’s face as she crumpled into herself. “I’m so sorry that I have to do this to you, Hero. You saved me for a short time. It was the best of my life. I owe it all to you.”

The knife in her hand shook, but when she brought the blade down, it was a clean stab into the heart.

Hero’s skin unfolded, a flower blooming in crimson, a macabre rose, and blood trickled into her shirt and spread down the the sheets and blankets. Her eyes didn’t even flutter.

“I’m so sorry!” She wailed, grasping at Hero’s lifeless body, leaving scratches in her skin. “I’m so so sorry. I’ll—“ Villain breathed in shakily. “I’ll take care of your cat and I’ll finish that puzzle that’s on the coffee table right now…”

She exploded in more sobs, crying into Hero.

They never truly had the chance to just be two civilian roommates together. 

#sad ending #angsty #hero x villain community #villain x hero #sapphic #my writing #angst with a sad ending #hero x villain #they were roommates

[sun-undone]

New canon obx details from the Pogue Life Scrapbook Hardcover (part 2)

(part 1)

Kiara

During Kie's Kook Year, she performed at a "Rock the OBX" festival, but when she started singing a lyrically modified version of "Get Up Stand Up" that called out the kooks, she got booed offstage and her mom was PISSED. Sarah mentions that Rose had called Kie a bad influence and that she didn't want her around Tannyhill anymore, but Sarah was just super proud to have Kie as a friend in that moment

Kie's summer playlist (i see that Rudy namedrop, go ahead and break that fourth wall with the jiara agenda):

The rest of the pogues' summer playlist, plus a really cute pic of Maddie Bailey cause let's be honest that is all her (and more breaking the fourth wall with the inclusion of Hot Stuff?? v cute):

MORE FIC MATERIAL: During her Kook Year, Kie got really into witchcraft with Sarah, and they both tried to cast spells to make their crushes like them back.....Jarah B and Jiara hello???? They also apparently made a voodoo doll of some bitch from their algebra class and snuck into the cemetery to have a seance for Kie's dead pet hermit crab, Kingston. This is literal gold idc what anyone says

Kie assigns astrological signs to each of the pogues!!! Sarah is a Sagittarius, John B is a Leo, Kie is an Aquarius, Pope is a Virgo, and JJ is an Aries (astrology bitches how are we feeling about these placements) Also unclear whether these are supposed to line up with their birthdays

Anna dropped out of college to start the Wreck with Mike

One time, the pogues showed up to the Wreck high out of their minds after a crazy Saturday night and ended up eating every leftover in the kitchen

When Kie was helping out in the kitchen one day, she accidentally dumped a bowl of pimento cheese into a batch of shrimp and grits. Not wanting to piss off her dad, she just served the shrimp and grits as is, and a bunch of customers started complimenting the "spicy shrimp and grits". After coming clean about what had happened, Mike added it to the menu. (super important jiara note: according to 1x03, JJ's order at the Wreck is beer and shrimp and grits. just saying.)

Apparently Midsummers took place on Friday, July 19th, 2019 and this timeline makes me want to claw out my frontal lobe

Entries from Kie's diary documenting the beginning of her Kook Year (why is the first week of school for the Kook Academy in October?? does that actually happen in rich schools or did Kie maybe not transfer immediately??? weird weird idk):

Pope

Denmark Tanny seems to have been a lot like Pope, which is a cool detail. He worked as a cook on the Royal Merchant and wrote in his diary about keeping a level, logical head despite his shipmates getting drunk and generally being wild

The Pogues' top 3 favorite movies and snacks:

Kie - The Outsiders, Heathers, and The Big Lebowski; Buncha Crunch, chili lime churros, and spiked agua fresca Pope - Jaws, The Goonies, and Weird Science; pizza, nachos, and veggies and dip (which Kie of all people makes fun of him for) John B - Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and Stand By Me; hot dogs, Twinkies, and leftovers from the Wreck Sarah - The Breakfast Club, Romancing the Stone, and Dirty Dancing; Skinnypop, vodka soda hidden in a Nalgene bottle, and mint chocolate chip ice cream (why sarah why) JJ - C.H.U.D., They Live, and Up in Smoke; weed brownies, weed gummies, and beer

Heyward capitalized on the kooks' panic surrounding Hurricane Agatha and raised his delivery prices before the storm hit. Some things that the kooks considered "essential" in light of a hurricane were 10 bags of Skinnypop (assorted mix ONLY), 3 Bloody Mary mixes, 10 bottles of cocktail sauce, and 4 tins of Fancy Feast Gourmet cat food (organic ONLY)

Heyward always has a booth at the OBX Boardwalk Summer Festival, and during the summer when Kie and Sarah were mortal enemies, he happened to have a booth next to the Wreck's. When Sarah went to order something, Kie refused to serve her, saying that "traitors go hungry". Pope then told Sarah to spend her money at Heyward's instead, which pissed Kie off and made her tell the pogues that they were forbidden to talk to Sarah

While writing a physics paper about bottle rockets, Pope and the rest of the pogues set some off outside of Heywards and broke 3 windows

Pope has written practice college admission essays about the time he ran out of his scholarship interview to help his friends. I love this quote from one of the drafts: "Opportunities come and go, but there are precious few chances to be there for your friends when it really matters. In the end, I decided to be there for them." 🥹🥹

When Heyward was catering the Kildare County Sheriff's Department Annual Holiday Party, Pope witnessed Shoupe, very drunk on Moscow mules, slamming down oysters and singing a karaoke cover of "I Fought the Law"

When Heyward was catering the Vanderhorst Homeowners Association Annual Autumn Gala, a bunch of the kooks were super rude to Pope and Heyward and not tipping them, so Heyward left bags of empty shellfish and fish bones in their garbage cans, making the whole street reek for days

How each of the Pogues (minus John B apparently) would spend their shares of the money:

Pope: a submarine to research aquatic life, a new video camera, a mansion, a garage full of vintage cars, a vacation for his parents, a tutor to teach him Gullah, founding the Denmark and Cecilia Tanny Scholarship Foundation, and restoring the Freedman's Assembly Church

Kie: recording a double album in her mansion with a built-in studio, emancipation from her parents, a private chef, donating to a bunch of environmental charities to try to save every endangered species, and buying Kildare Island and kicking out the residents so the animals can take over again

Sarah: a wardrobe makeover for herself and John B, buying Tannyhill to kick out her family and give the keys to Pope, an international trip with Wheezie, and taking a private trip to space with the pogues

JJ: The Surf Trip (he says it's with all the pogues not just Kie, but i can absolutely ignore that), a surfboard for every day of the week, a new dirt bike, a marble statue of himself, an upgraded version of Topper's Malibu, a pet monkey, matching pogue jet skis, a $24K blunt, a private island, and private security to knock out any kooks that get too close to him

Pope likes collecting antique electronics because trying to repair them allows him to see the engineering on the inside. Aside from the retro 90's camcorder (RIP), he's collected a vintage iPod, a Gameboy (Tetris is his favorite game), and a Polaroid camera. He found the Gameboy when Kie dragged him to a thrift store on the mainland a few summers back

Sarah

Pre-canon times when Rafe has been a piece of shit: he stole money from Ward and blamed it on Sarah, he killed a spider for Sarah but then left the dead carcass on her pillow, he ripped apart Sarah's dollhouse and decapitated the dolls, during a game of hide-and-seek, he locked Sarah in the cellar for 3 hours and told Rose that she had ran away, he hid his weed in Wheezie's room, AND he creeped on Kie (very vague very ew) during sleepovers

Ward was going to give Sarah his old car, but Rafe went for a joyride with Kelce and totaled it, so Ward used the insurance payout to lease Sarah a brand new car instead

Wheezie DEFINITELY had a crush on Topper. Sarah recounts a time when Wheezie had hidden in her car to try to sneak into a movie night. When Sarah caught her, she let her stick around for the date, and she sat between Sarah and Topper, blushing the whole time (ew girl raise your standards)

Ward didn't let Sarah host parties at Tannyhill, but her kook friends often let her host at their houses when their parents were on vacation. Sarah Cameron parties quickly became legendary on Figure 8

Sarah volunteered at the Kildare Humane Society, and German shepard-golden retriever mixes are her favorite breed (isn't that what Milo is?? more breaking the fourth wall i see you). She's also volunteered at the Shady Acres Nursing Home, the Kildare County Youth Arts Center, and the South Creek Food Pantry

Sarah mentions how Scarlett's "sleepovers" were code for parties, and that they were always wild (i'm only mentioning this because i really wanna see Scarlett in season 3 if we're getting Kook Academy stuff)

JJ worked as a caddy at the golf club 2 summers before the show starts, and since management were dicks to him, he and John B snuck onto the course and drew dicks in the sand traps

Topper is apparently very obsessive about working out

Sarah and Kie made a friendship bracelet together (i have no other details besides that, trust me i wish i did)

There's more confirmation that Kie has a hidden dolphin tattoo, but no hints as to where it is

#overall pretty fun book #it's not too cringe and pretty in character for the most part so that's cool #i live for these little details that really don't matter but are just pure world building #i might just have my jiara goggles securely fastened but i swear there's intentional hints to it dispersed here and there #obx #outer banks #the pogues #john b routledge #jj maybank #pope heyward #kiara carrera #sarah cameron #jiara

[fbwzoo]

2023 pet goals!!

@bufomancer shared his for next year and I thought it would be fun to make a list for my zoo as well!

Addy - maintain lower weight & comfort. Get professional photos taken in the spring. Enjoy walks, snuggles, and food!

Spring - continue solo outings to increase confidence. Work on tooth brushing. Do scent work for fun! Jack got a beginner kit & they both had fun with their first session.

Emma - ... everything? 😂 But primarily focus on comfort with all household humans, and possibly a couple quiet friends. Desensitization for movement around her, vacuums, fireworks. Work on car rides, and visit training center and vet to work on familiarity/stress level with those places.

Cats - make at least some progress in intros with Frank to upstairs two, & his comfort with the main floor. Add shelves to the run for climbing. Go out on harnesses more.

Charis (ball python) - order forever viv upgrade from Animal Plastics, it'll be 6x2x4! Depending on when it arrives, possibly also getting that set up for her. Also want to get her used to handling more again, and do a vet check up for her.

Rats - possibly get a couple more friends for the Terror Twins, so we don't end up with just one of them at some point. Likely a couple more babies for the big cage as well. Get their freaking dig boxes made! Get on a more regular enrichment schedule for them.

Picante (hamster) - continue being spicy

Spoon (lesser tenrec) - continue being a stinky house plant. Also probably a renovation of his viv

Clover (hedgehog) - upgrade from Christmas tree tote to a 4x2x2 viv (possibly bigger if able?), with Biodude substrate for digging. Improve enrichment as well.

Hermit crabs - get their dang shell collection rinsed and organized again. Get rescue crab added to main tank when/if they return from molting. Spend more time watching!

Crab store - traveling to in-person Crab Con for the first time!!!! Hoping to get some new items made and added to the store as well. Need a new drill press, and need to learn to change the blade on the bandsaw. Also want to figure out a better method/schedule for getting supplies in & making items.

... Me! - get into an exercise routine for home! I give up going to the gym, I dislike the sensory assault too much, especially after work. Also want to add to my wardrobe, and start sewing again, for both me and the critters.

Do I have enough energy and time for all of this? Probably not! Wish me luck anyway! 😂 Happy New Year everyone!

#fbw rambles #my pets #honestly my eternal goal is just increased enrichment for everyone #i still dream of making enrichment idea binders like the zoo had #and getting into an actual routine of varying types of enrichment for everyone #also like they did at the zoo #but the zoo has many keepers #and i have... me #and not enough time or executive function

[lokisasylum]

I envy other hermit crab owners cause i see how organized their tanks or crabbitats are and how their crab-kids don't make such a mess while eating...

...and then there's mine... I wake up to a new mess each day, especially if the food provided for him that day is the fresh kind. He will scatter it ALL OVER the place, bury parts of it (not to be eaten, sadly, I've come to know this is his way of saying he doesn't like something). Though he seems totally chill with the little tray of seeds, nuts and dried fruits no big messes he just sprawls over it to stuff his face.

Like it just fucks with my head how a tiny creature the size of a walnut can be so full of chaos. Like lil dude are you okay? Do you need to talk to someone??

#hermit crab #crustacean #crabs #loki's shitpost #loki's slice of life

[zaph1337]

Monster Hunter Rating 58: Daimyo Hermitaur, the Shelled Sovereign

I keep hearing that everything is evolving into crabs, but I honestly have no idea what that’s all about. If it’s true, though, then here’s something we may see in the future: the Daimyo Hermitaur!

(How it appears in the Second Generation)

(How it appears in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak)

Appearance: While Daimyo may be little more than giant Hermitaur, that design works well with the increased size to make something truly imposing, especially the mouth. You might have noticed one other, tiny, honestly insignificant detail: that’s not a shell, that’s a Monoblos’ skull. I’ll discuss that more in the next section, but appearance-wise, a crab using another creature’s skull as a shell is a powerful image, and it makes the Daimyo Hermitaur several times cooler than it would be if it just had a normal shell. This monster certainly leaves an impression.

Behavior/Lore: When a Hermitaur reaches adulthood, it becomes a Daimyo Hermitaur. They keep their habits of burrowing underground, wandering for food, and occasionally eating people, but they’re actually not very aggressive; sure, they’ll lash out when they feel threatened, but animals choose between that or running away anyways. You can stand right in front of a Daimyo and--provided it’s not hungry--it’ll leave you be so long as you do the same for it. This relaxed behavior is probably due to the carapaceons’ armor, which protects everything but their backsides--which are where most of their major organs are located. I can’t tell whether this is a failure on evolution’s part or its idea of a sick joke. But like the hermit crabs they’re modeled after, Daimyo have a solution for this...one you’ve already seen, but let me pretend there’s suspense.

To cover their Achilles’ rump, Daimyo Hermitaur will take the skulls of large wyverns (mostly Monoblos) and wear them like a shell. This comes with the addition advantage of being totally metal, but it’s not a perfect system; when you rely on something else’s body parts for protection, you’re gonna run into the fact that those parts weren’t made with you in mind. As a result, it’s not uncommon to see Daimyo running around with skulls too big or small for them. Kinda makes you wonder why they don’t go for something else’s skull in that situation, but my guess is that Monoblos heads are particularly durable, making them the preferred choice.

While I get that Daimyo are just the mature form of Hermitaur and therefore won’t be very different, I do wish there was more to talk about than their temperament and skull shells. That last one’s a pretty big point in their favor, though, so I can’t say I’m terribly disappointed.

Abilities: You wouldn’t expect a crab to have particularly strong legs, yet Daimyo Hermitaur are capable of jumping high into the air in attempts to squash their enemies, and use their legs and forelimbs to dig underground to launch attacks from below. You would expect a crab to make use of its claws, and Daimyo do that, too, though not in a traditional way; while yes, the pincers can grab things, they’re also so thick and armored that they serve as effective shields against most weapons. Finally, reaching adulthood grants Daimyo Hermitaur a brand-new power: pressurizing water into jets that allow the colossal crustacean to attack from a distance. Hermitaur didn’t do a lot before, so it’s nice that growing up bestows them with new tactics and abilities.

Equipment: Have you ever thought that using scythes as weapons was too practical an idea? Do you want to fight using only the most inefficient and unwieldy objects possible? Then look no further than this “Long Sword”: the Crab Cutter!

With ordinary scythes, you only had to deal with the measly difficulty of actually cutting someone with the blade. Now, with this revolutionary new weapon, you can push the challenge further by forcing yourself to line up your attacks with the serrated gap! It’s the ultimate in combat inefficiency!

What do you mean you can just use it as a blunt beating object

Okay, jokes aside, this is a pretty interesting take on a scythe...and a morbid one, too, considering the description claims “[t]he giant claw's gap devours meat.” I don’t think I want to know if that’s a metaphor or not. Maybe the next weapon will be less disturbing? Let’s find out--this Insect Glaive is called the Shell Intoner:

This is “[a] rod used by a river people to channel their god and receive oracles.” Why is it a weapon, then? Who knows? But it looks cool, it’s got a cool description, and as an Insect Glaive, it gets bias points from me. I would definitely use this--provided the stats are decent.

Onto the armor, the Blademaster set is...interesting:

It was the first thing I thought of, okay?

Seriously, I get the idea: crabs are armored creatures and football players have to wear heavy padding and helmets to make up for playing one of the most violent sports in the world, but it’s still weird to see, especially in a fantasy setting like Monster Hunter. Granted, that’s only the men’s set; the women’s set is way less bulky to the point where it’s almost comical. It still looks defensive, but it serves as a surprisingly modest example of the priorities game devs give to female armor. Overall, I don’t hate these designs, but they’re hard to take seriously.

Next up is the Gunner set, which is similar to the Blademaster’s, but a bit more...intense:

I’ll admit, “Mad Max the Quarterback” is an...original look. Don’t know what the mask has to do with crabs, but then again, football doesn’t have anything to do with crabs, either. Can’t say much about the women’s set, though; it’s very similar to the Blademaster armor, save for the helmet, spiked greaves, and the pattern on the breastplate. I wish I could say more about these, but other than their oddities, I’m struggling to find anything to talk about. Both armor sets have aspects that interest me, but overall, I feel very lukewarm about them.

While I like the crustacean aesthetic and how it’s applied to the Daimyo Hermitaur equipment, I can’t really say too much about it. I can’t tell if that’s due to the equipment itself, or if I’m just running out of steam writing these reviews again; maybe it’s both. All I can really say is that the equipment is okay, with a few interesting touches added that keep them from being bare-bones.

Final Thoughts: Daimyo Hermitaur vastly improve upon their adolescent forms; they’re cooler thanks to their skull shells, they’re more imposing thanks to their size, and they’re more interesting to fight since they can do more than snip at you. Their equipment is decent, too, so overall, I think they’re neat.

#Monster Hunter #Monster Hunter rating #zaph1337

[elizabethplaid]

daily notes, march 18-19, 2023

Oh gosh, it’s nearly 2am, and I had a very busy Saturday and Sunday. Two social days in a row almost burnt me out. But, gosh howdy, was today really extra-good.

Saturday was the usual library stuff. LL-J stayed for a bit, but left early. Neighbor-G and Neighbor-J came into the town office, preparing for the annual town meeting (coming up on Tuesday). My dad and another town official were there, too. Good discussions about planning ahead for the town’s municipal stuff. The group talks excitedly, so it got a bit loud at times.

My fav bit was Neighbor-J mentioning how the acidity of tomatoes affects/affected the metal of certain dishes/plates, which would make food toxic. I thought ye olde badd rep was from being in the nightshade family, but the acidity makes a lot of sense. ----------

Today, Neighbor-G let me visit and chat, while she made cookies and scones. (Remember, her baked goods are what made me come out of my hermit crab shell.) I talked about some sad stuff with my mom recently, and she was very reassuring. We also got to talk a bit about spirituality and the after-life, and we were very much on the same page. I blurted, “My god, I wish I started talking to you years ago.” I said it before I completely realized I was saying it out loud, too.

We also talked about organizing another craft fair in the fall. She wants me to make things to sell. I’ve decided to make another snood-hood (or 2+) and some large doll sweaters. Oh, and the plush pumpkins. She mentioned that plush toys are popular items. I want to do some hand-sewn quilting work on her patchwork blankets, too, but just for funsies.

She sent me home with cookies, scones, some fabric, and a big tin of vintage buttons. There were some that looked like acorn caps, so I plan to knit some widdle acorns and sell them as charms.

#daily notes

[erikahammerschmidt]

I love how different minds work.

One time I was having a conversation, with another awesomely creative neurodivergent geek... about alien creature design, and how I love the challenge of trying to imagine... something that evolved on another world, and ended up looking COMPLETELY different from any Earth animal.

(Yep that’s a thing I drew, in high school... more on that later...)

Like, what things do we assume are universal, whenever we imagine a living creature? And how do we make up an alien that breaks those paradigms? And how weird and impractical can it get before it's outside the boundaries of what COULD, hypothetically, evolve (bearing in mind, of course, that a lot of what evolved on Earth is super weird and impractical too, because evolution does NOT result in the "best" design, it's just whatever it managed to evolve with what it had, to become as compatible as it could with the environment it happened to be in at the time).

Anyway, when I went through my most enthusiastic phase of this, in my teens... I made several tries at designing an alien with one of the few features that I knew I'd NEVER seen in Earth life: a body that moves on WHEELS instead of legs.

Of course, the obstacle to this is that a wheel needs to be able to spin independently of the main body, so how could it be a body part? And back then, I could imagine two possible ways:

#1. The entire creature is basically torus or cylinder shaped, and moves by rolling. The body IS the wheel.

(here is a drawing from one of my high school art books, with a scene from a very multicultural spaceship... featuring a Cyclian, one of the aliens I designed in this style. It is, quite fortunately, dated, so I know this was 1997.)

#2. Alternatively, the wheel is a separate creature, born together with the main one. They are like conjoined twins, but not actually connected, more like being born with arms linked. A loop of the main body goes through the wheel. Wheel eats and drinks separately, maybe shifts its weight to help with motion.  There can be some other appendages to help propel it, maybe a pushing leg on the ground, or arms that turn the wheels like on a wheelchair.

(Here is a truly horrible quality scan of one of my paintings from slightly before then, maybe 1996, maybe earlier 1997. Meet my spring-legged aliens, and their Wheelberry Beast with its one long cylindrical wheel and little pushing leg. This is also an alien riff on food-producing livestock like cows and hens, because it grows edible “fruit” on its tentacles.)

Years later, I realized there are a few more possibilities:

#3.  Same as #2, a loop of the main body goes through the wheel, except the wheel is not actually alive. It's made of some non-living material that forms along with the rest of the body and then lasts for life without regenerating itself. Like tooth enamel. (Downside: like tooth enamel, if it wears out you're screwed.)

#4. Same arrangement, except the non-living wheel does regenerate itself, because it's made of layers of something like keratin, forming periodically on the skin of the "axle" loop. Maybe wheels are shed and grown seasonally like antlers. Maybe the growth happens in hibernation, and the first thing the alien does after waking up is to loosen the innermost keratin layer, separate it from the flesh like a lizard shed, and get the wheel spinning.

So, a couple years ago I was infodumping about this to another nerd... and she suggested one more way! One that had not occurred to me!

#5. In her idea, the creature is not born with wheels, but is born with some type of magnetic organs inside it, where wheels could go. And then... finds things to use as the wheels, and they attach magnetically.

I asked her what these things would be... flat rocks or something? And she said she was imagining them as the discarded shells of some other creature, like how a hermit crab uses snail shells instead of having one of its own.

I was like WOW that is a whole different perspective! And it really makes me think about what we even mean by a creature that has wheels. If the wheels can be foreign objects, basically used like tools... then, is that kinda the same thing (on a much simpler scale) as humans "evolving wheels" by learning to make wheeled vehicles?

And then this idea inspired another one from me!

I took another look at my own paradigm, in which I had been trying to find ways it could work with the wheels being part of the body... and realized I could COMBINE that same approach with the new idea of a detachable-wheels model.

#6. Maybe there are multiple creatures, including some that are wheel-shaped and others that have different types of limbs, but they're all the same species! And they're a social species, with individuals adapted for different tasks within each family, like an ant colony! And the whole family can combine into a wheeled vehicle, whenever they need to get somewhere fast...

Moral: Get nerds together. You will be AMAZED at the ideas that happen.

P.S. Writing this, I just thought of #7:

The wheels are not actually separate from the body! But the flesh that connects them is flexible and stretchy, like a rubber band. Lift up each wheel one at a time, like a paw, and spin it until tightly wound up. When all 4 (or however many) wheels are wound up, set them all down and let loose! Only good for short sprints before you need to recharge again.

#drawings #paintings #creature design #science fiction #aliens #neurodivergent #art #artists #evolution #biology #wheels #brainstorming #ideas

[casspurrjoybellbittner]

Wreckless - Shopping

*Warning Adult Content*

Emmett

I'm so full that when Finnegan asks if we can go see the stores, I literally don't know if I can.

I may never leave this chair... walking sounds hard.

"How about a nap first?" I counter.

"No, too much to see."

"Okay but we have to go really, really slowly, okay? I am stuffed."

"You can stuff me later Emmett," he teases as soon as we're out and I smack him lightly on the ass.

It's already hard enough to walk... I don't need to add a raging erection to my difficulties.

He's been in full-on little mode for hours, even asked me nicely to order his lunch because he was too busy coloring the back of the menu.

We ate popcorn and played tic-tac-toe until our food arrived and now... well now we're apparently going shopping because I can't say no to him.

I don't usually enjoy shopping all that much even though I've done a good bit of it lately for Finnegan.

But my shorts, for example, are now three years old.

I don't need much so I don't buy much.

Ocean-front stores are different though, it's sort of like going to Ellicott City and wandering through there... you never know what you're going to see.

Three hours later I'm exhausted, my backpack is full to bursting and I'm carrying another bag.

I've talked him out of shells because it's just lame if you don't find it yourself and a hermit crab.

He REALLY wanted the hermit crab.

To be fair, he wanted ALL the hermit crabs... a whole colony.

He said he would organize the shells in a row so everyone could just move up.

He's a hoot but I had to tell him that Marten was enough for now, he's too busy.

He only gave in when I promised we would come back sometime and talk about a hermit crab then.

He bought us each a t-shirt and himself a sweatshirt even though I have never seen him wear one.

We now have matching swim trunks and he actually bought something he needed, a hat.

I'll worry less about his little nose now.

He bought a snorkel and about 500 toys for the pool and sand toys.

We are apparently making the worlds largest sand castle tomorrow and I've promised to let him bury me because he's seen it in movies.

And he just saw it... the LGTB store.

How he missed the huge rainbow flag on our way past the first time is a mystery but now he wants to go in.. of course he does.

Wait until he hears about the leather store.

Actually, that might need to happen.

His smile is about a foot wide.

He's spinning slowly and trying to take it all in.

The bear at the register is chuckling but it's good-spirited, he gets it a lot I'm sure.

Finnegan buys two books because he says reading is a vacation must, a sun-catcher, a little pair of rainbow briefs that I'm sure will join his night collection, the gayest sunglasses I have ever seen and a purchase I didn't think he'd actually go through with.

He bought a t-shirt, a plain white t-shirt with simple black printing.

It says... 'Good Boy'.

He stared at it over and over and now it's in my bag.

"You look tired."

He does and he just yawns,his feet are dragging a bit.

"Tired but don't wanna stop."

"You need to save some energy for daddy, don't you? I think we'd better head home."

"Okay."

Now I know he's tired, he didn't even argue.

"I had a good day, Emmett," he says as soon as I open the front door.

"It's only five, we have plenty of day left but it was busy, how about a movie or a game?"

He gazes outside and I know he's thinking of all the pool toys he bought.

"The pool needs to wait until another day. If we don't swim tomorrow we can do it Tuesday before we head back to Baltimore."

That will work well, actually, not being covered in sand during a car trip.

Talk about chaffing.

Just thinking about the sand makes me feel it.

"I need a shower."

"Why?"

It's a valid question... I've showered twice today already.

"I don't like having sand on me, Finnegan. Not when I'm dressed. It's okay at the beach."

Because the water keeps my head in the right place but stuck in a car or bed with sand in places it shouldn't be?

Not happy thoughts.

"I'll be quick."

He follows me upstairs, the bag of sand toys in his hand and I toss my bag on the bed.

"You can unpack your toys while I shower, okay?"

He says okay and then follows me into the bathroom.

"Emmett?"

"Yeah?"

"We could take a bath. I can bring my toys?" he suggests, his voice lifting at the end.

The tub is huge, much bigger than mine at home and has air jets.

I'm not actually covered in sand, it's mental, so this should do the trick.

At this rate I'll be sick of water and need a break by Wednesday so heading back to Baltimore might not suck as much as I think.

"Sure. Pick a few little ones while I start the water. Finnegan?"

"Yes?"

"Little ones. Hold up your hands and show me little."

As soon as I say it I chuckle but he does it anyway, holding his hands up about a foot apart.

"That's a lot bigger than my cock. Are you saying it's small?"

He shakes his head.

"No."

"Smaller, baby boy. The tub has to hold both of us, too."

He narrows the distance to about six inches although he doesn't look happy about it.

"Good. Two or three that size or smaller, okay?"

"Okay."

He disappears and I can hear the rummaging even over the bath water.

I truly have no idea what he'll bring.

He bought a lot but most of it's clothing so the pool toys are the only option.

I don't know if any of them are small enough... actually, I may have given him an impossible mission.

He comes back in naked and holding three small packages.

"These are small."

Well yes, right now but...

"They're not blown up yet, darling."

"But I don't have anything small and I want to play."

Oh wow, we are close to tantrum.

Closer than I've ever seen him, actually.

"Okay, pick two, alright? And we will TRY to fit them in here. Don't worry if we can't... I have a toy you can play with."

I can't believe I just said that.

He seems happier and rips one open and starts trying to blow it up.

He gives up and passes it to me.

That's okay, I'm turning into a pro but actually no, he is the blow king.

My little blow prince?

Hmmm, maybe I'll figure it out tomorrow morning.

If I have to get buried in sand... I'm burying my cock down his throat first.

Seems more than fair.

[montereybayaquarium]

Squat lobster? More like bench-press lobster, look at those crabulous arms!

Also known as pelagic red crabs, tuna crabs or even lobster krill, these crustaceans are neither crabs nor krill! They belong to the infraorder Anomura, which includes squat lobsters, hermit crabs and sand crabs—you know, the not-so-crabby “crabs.” Pelagic red crabs are vertical migrators, and tend to appear near the surface just after sunset. Like many organisms at the bottom of the food chain, the pelagic red crab plays a critical role in its ecosystem as an abundant food source. So the next time you admire a speedy tuna or an elegant whale, think of the contributions of the small but mighty pelagic red crab.

#monterey bay aquarium #squat lobster just over here krillin it #every day is leg day for the squat lobster #feeling crabulous today

[yvesdot]

5 Recs From yves., by Black Authors

You may have heard that I'm busy organizing every single book I read in 2021, and that is true. While I'm at it, here are 5 books by Black authors I would recommend that aren't on every reading list, taken directly from my shelves and heart. No particular order. Happy Black History Month!

1. Delicious Foods by James Hannaham

This one is probably the most underrated on this list. I read this book at too young an age (I recall it as the first adult book I ever read) and I loved it without understanding it at all. I still enjoy reading it every so often, and sense a reread coming to see how I'll interpret it now. Beautiful, gripping, genius prose.

2. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

Fine, fine, this one is probably on more than a few reading lists. You may also have already read it. I don't care. This is one of my favorite books of all time and a beloved memory from trawling the shelves for Curtis's books as a child; I think everybody should read it again. A reminder of how wonderful children's books can be.

3. Dawn by Octavia Butler

This is also one you may have heard of, but it took me a while to actually get around to it. It wound up being the sci-fi novel that has made me think the most, possibly of all time. I've never seen writing so compelling and effective. If you're interested in the boundaries of literary description; if you want to feel the irrational conflict of the characters; if you want some weird, fucked-up, and discomfiting sci-fi; this is where to go. Still not sure how I feel about that ending...

4. Don’t Let Me Be Lonely by Claudia Rankine

This book is so strange. I'm no poetry person, but I read the whole thing, and I honestly felt like I could not explain it after. It's definitely good. How do I describe its quality, though? Perhaps it's only because I'm not a poetry person, but I was intrigued by my own inability to discuss something I liked. I'm glad I read this with other people.

5. On Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah Yah Scholfield

Do you guys think if I talk enough about On Sundays that Yah Yah will release the self-pubbed version so that people can get copies and I can request it for my local library. 👁️ Anyway, a fantastic read that manages to bring something new to its niche while interpolating every favorite classic text you love.

6. PUSH by Sapphire

This one's technically famous (hence being a bonus round) but I didn't know that until years after I first read (and was horribly traumatized by) it, just because it was famous when it came out in the late 90s. I'd compare it to Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak in that way-- a book "past its peak," which I would really hate to see forgotten. It's a viscerally, beautifully upsetting book; the kind of thing I know I love but can't bear to re-read because I know what it would do to me (again). Highly recommend at least one read, because it is worth it.`

I created this list in part because I was frustrated by lists that seemed to assume 1) a white reader 2) that Black writers write for white readers 3) that the person reading has never been outside before or is living inside a hermit crab shell or otherwise somehow hasn't heard of Toni Morrison, which I suppose goes back to point 1. I'm hoping someone might find a new favorite book here, or at least see a title they've not heard of before, and I am definitely open to chat if you read one of these and want a book club friend! More book recommendations to come ^__^

#It seems like I implied that I read all of these in 2021 and the answer is no I did not. But it got me thinking about my organization. #Also I love Toni Morrison do not worry I am just always like... what is the difference between this rec list and the others. You know? #I'd rather see a rec list of personal favorites &/or more niche books. #(they said; recommending Christopher Paul Curtis.) #txt #yves talks reading #To a future beyond gatekeeping and racism in publishing... to a future of good books. #important writing updates #I love doing book recs I just ;___; never get around to it. So hopefully more if people like them! #Credit to evansyicons for that lovely post break.

[jumpintothewaves]

Weirdo Wednesday

Hello and Happy Wednesday! This week I’d like to introduce you to...

The Giant Isopod! - Bathynomus giganteus

I know what you’re thinking... This is just a large roly poly! Well, in a way you are right. This roaming, lonely hermit has 14 legs and is about 15 inches long (although the largest one was 2.5 feet long!!). They have no spine, but have a hard outer shell.

They are a mysterious weirdo living at at the bottom of the ocean. They wander in the darkness and scavenge for food, that they eat with their 4 rows of teeth. They feed on the dead things that sink to the bottom of the ocean, but there is also evidence of them being carnivores and hunting life prey, a terrifying thought.

Not like other isopods

The roaming weirdo is one of 10,000 species of isopod and that is just an estimation. Contrary to popular opinion they are not insects. They are crustaceans, just like crabs and shrimp. Like other ocean dwelling isopods, they have limbs to help them swim and breathe called swimmeretes. Unlike other ocean dwelling isopods, they are an example of something scientists call Deep Sea Giantism- where a deep sea organism that is usually small evolves into a version larger than their land loving counterparts. It is still unclear what causes this phenomenon.

#weirdowednesday #deep sea #ocean #marine science #not bugs #giant #conservation

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Superb Black Turban Snails

For beach-goers along the North American Pacific coast, the black turban snail (Tegula funebralis) is a common sight. They can be found from the northern reaches of British Columbia, Canada to southern California in the United States, almost exclusively in the intertidal zone. Although they are small, weighing only 20g and about 5 cm long, their clusters are hard to miss. Groups of hundreds of black turban snails congregate in seaweed beds, under rocks, and in the tight crevices of the rocky shoreline, and disperse only when they are covered by the sea.

    The most distinctive feature of T. funebralis is the shell. It is typically black or purple, but over time the outer layer of chiten can wear away to reveal a pearly inside. These shells are sought after by people for decoration, and by hermit crabs for shelter, although in both cases the shell is typically scavenged after it has already been emptied by predators. The rest of the snail’s body is black, soft, and can curl easily inside its shell to protect itself. As a member of the order Trochida, these snails also have an ‘operculum’; a hard trap door- like structure that the snail can close the aperture of the shell with to further protect itself. Interestingly, turban snails also have a unique organ called a bursicle that can sense chemicals released by their predators; primarily sea stars and crabs. When a threat is detected, the snail may either curl up in its shell or attempt to flee at a racing 8cm per minute. 

    Like many gastropods, black turban snails are herbivorous. Their primary food is algae, especially macroscopic algae like seaweeds and kelp. They compete with other grazers, mainly hermit crabs and urchins, for this food, although it’s not uncommon to see all three in the same area. In turn, black turban snail shells are sometimes colonized by limpets and slipper snails, which feed on the red algae that grows there. Periwinkles or other predatory snails will also sometimes attach themselves to turban snail shells and predate upon them by boring holes through the shell itself, but this is less common. 

    The main driver behind the black turban snail’s abundance is its high reproductive rates. It is a broadcast spawner, meaning that when it is covered by water, both sexes of the snail will release hundreds of thousands of gametes into the water column . Within a day or two, many of these gametes will combine and become microscopic larvae, which then disperse, metamorphose into juvenile snails, and settle in less than three weeks. Juvenile turban snails are a favorite food of sea stars, crabs, and intertidal fish, but the sheer number of young ensures that most will survive. 

    Conservation status: Although black turban snails were and still are a source of food for humans, they are extremely common and are considered of least concern. Their primary threat is ocean acidification and warming temperatures, but they are in turn a much larger threat to intertidal zone community stability when their primary predator, the sea star, is removed and their population grows unchecked.

#black turban snail #Trochida #Tegulidae #sea snails #mollusks #gastrpods #invertebrates #marine fauna #marine invertebrates #intertidal fauna #intertidal invertebrates #shore fauna #shore invertebrates #north america #Pacific Ocean #coasts #coastal invertebrates