During my free time on Woppa, I did some snorkelling. It was fucking scary, but fun. Without an underwater camera, I sadly couldn't take photos of the things I saw. BUT I did collect a handful of items off of the reef/sand (anything I took, I returned to the reef closest to shore).
The most impressive thing was this lobster tail. It seems all the good parts had been eaten, leaving behind this big ass tail. I consulted an ex-diver about the ID, apparently these things can go for thousands in high-end restaurants (the guy got 40 bucks for capturing a perfect one... middlemen make all the money). I know lobsters are the cockroaches of the ocean, but I think they're really cool.
Gastropoda: Haliotis sp.
The second thing I picked up was this abalone shell (also used as food lol). The interior of these shells is really shiny when polished. I've never come across one of these snails before, so I had to pick it up.
Here's a short list of the other things I saw but couldn't photograph:
(what I remember clearly, lots of fish I couldn't ID)
Blackeye Thicklip
Goldstripe Butterflyfish
Giant Clams
The large variety of coral (mostly red)
School of pipefish (I think) found near shore
I wouldn't mind doing snorkelling in the future, though I'm certainly going to teach myself how to do it better lol. I will keep an eye for sharks too. This was a popular tourist diving spot, but even still, you've gotta be careful.
And the one for Ed. Damn, paua shells are as hard to capture on camera as labradorites, and just as magnificent to work with. 'Stuck in textures'-style painted paua/haliotis pendant, because they live in my head rent free.
I like checking lioden drama blogs it's so funnyyy you see people talking about other members like they're the devil and then u see them in chat and they're just like "Hiii who here likes haliotis and decennial marks :3" And then that remark inspires 20 anons on lionews bitching about how they hate modern colorbombs and they think popular users are manipulating peoples' opinions or something
Both pieces together, I really like how the texture of Stede's jacket and the waves and ornament (based it on Māori pattern, Ngaru) on Ed's pendant look together. And a way to wear the Stede brooch, because I found my old shirt while sorting through clothes. Trying to cheer myself up with the only thing keeping me sane. And I'll definitely paint more things about ofmd
“I barely look at r/lioden (bc reddit in general is a pain) but I’m convinced half the people there are stupid and the other half is the annoying people in main chat” fucking real dude I get so frustrated reading the posts on that sub it might’ve taken a few years off my life expectancy. idiocy. insanity
guyz look at this beautiful 1/15 NRLC! price check?
Raven Hat, Tlingit (Pacific NW Coast), early-mid 1800s. Carnegie Museum of Natural History display.
“RAVEN HAT
Tlingit, early to mid 1800s
This raven crest hat probably belonged to a clan that owned the right to display Raven in this guise accompanied by story and song. The basketry rings may refer to the number of times that the hat was publicly displayed and validated as a crest object. Since the rings are woven as a single piece, at some point the number was set and no more were added.
Unidentified wood, Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), mineral paints, abalone shell (Haliotis sp.), commercial cotton, unidentified adhesive, laundry blueing, tanned hide, iron
3178-60 & 3178-1236”
“Raven and Eagle
Tlingit society is divided into two halves, or moieties, named the Ravens and the Eagles. (Note: it’s more broadly Raven/Crow and Eagle/Wolf as there are regional variants)
Every Tlingit person belongs to one side or the other. Within each moiety, there are many clans.
When introducing themselves, Tlingit individuals identify their moiety and clan. We're very clanish people. We are proud of who we are, like I'm a Raven, says Isabella Brady (1992).
Other Northwest Coast cultures have similar and equally complex social structures, some with two divisions and some with more. Each clan has rights to its own designs, songs, stories, and more.”
“Raven also moves between the creature and human worlds, bestowing gifts yet playing tricks on humans in an extensive series of stories. He has a dual personality. As a culture hero and transformer, Raven is credited with shaping much of our world. As a trickster, he is driven to outlandish adventures by his selfishness, greed, and hunger.”
both clean triple rosettes, a velvet Tovero for my side and an alabaster subtle for my main. i’m planning on finding some heritageless or low gen high stat cubs to use as a heritage replacement, even though the heirs are actually clean in their natural form. gonna focus really hard on my double rosette rose gold breeding project, this year!
i know people don’t like haliotis markings, but i love the rainbow vomit personally.