#the ragondin answers

[littleragondin]

Happiest of birthdays my friend! I hope you day is/was full of good music and good food <3

Thank you so very much!! ✨️💜💕🥰💕💜✨️ my day is full of both (and a surprise plant) so I am having a grand old time ♡

#plants and cute rocks and cake #it's a rly good bday ^^ #♡ #the ragondin answers

[chonideno]

I live near Punxsutawney Pennsylvania, home of the most famous groundhog in the world and lemme tell ya you're not missing much. They're a large wild rodent here in the U.S. The phenomenon of them sticking their head out in the late winter or early spring is said to tell the weather if they see their shadow or not. If you google Groudhog day you'll find tons of info since it's this Saturday :)

Anonyme a dit à chonideno : Groundhogs are also called woodchucks! They're related to squirrels. But they're a US & Canada animal so it is understandable. But there's a bit of Dutch superstition that's been a thing here for a looong while that on groundhog day, when the groundhog comes up from its burrow, if it sees its shadow, it will return to its home & winter will continue on longer. But if it doesn't see its shadow, spring is here! We have groundhogs where I live & they're quite adorable! I feed them bird seed.Cuties.

I ended up googling them and I was like yeah!! Of course!!! We have these here as well, in the mountains, they’re called marmottes and I love them. I didn’t know about their power to predict spring though.

#lil cuties #where I'm from we actually have the water version? #they're called ragondins they're just.... huge water marmottes #or maybe they're massive water rats idk #offensiveagentpie #mag answers

[starmind-conservation]

Nutria

This is the first actual nutria I’ve seen, which means I get to tell the story about confusing South American mammals.

It is not uncommon for native peoples to use different classification systems than is used by the Western-educated post-colonial developed countries. This shouldn’t come as a surprise because the way they interact with these animals is very different. Let’s start with the naming.

In English, German, Chinese (various variants), and Russian, this animal is called the “nutria”. However, in Spanish, the word “nutria” refers to what we call the beaver. Since this is confusing, in Spanish, this animal is called the “coypu”, based on the Mapuche language used in Chile and Argentina. In French, it’s a “ragondin”. But, just to make things confusing, in Dutch, it’s a beverrat. Secondary names in German, Italy, and Swedish include “biberratte” (beaver rat), sumpfbiber (swamp beaver), castorino (little beaver), or sumpbäver (marsh/swamp beaver).

OK, so far we know that it’s beaver-like but that it’s not actually a beaver. Now we get to talk about religion.

As some of you know, there is a rather major religion that is now popular in Central and South America … but the path to its popularity wasn’t exactly straightforward. One aspect of that religion when it was being spread throughout the new world was that people were expected to fast on Friday and/or Lent (various reasons for this exist, but I couldn’t find a definitive answer as to why). In practice, “fasting” didn’t mean then what it means today. The point was to avoid eating warm-blooded mammals. In practice, this meant eating fish.

Now, fish just isn’t equally available to everyone world-wide, but rituals matter. At this point, there are numerous stories about what happened. There are stories about native villages refusing conversion because the fish in their rivers weren’t safe to eat. There are stories about missionaries unable to meet the Lenten requirement, and one involving the Bishop of Quebec. All of these stories involve petitions being sent to the Vatican asking for permission to eat things other than fish.

The obvious solution, of course, was for the church to declare that these animals were, in fact, fish. The two decently documented stories I could find specifically allow beavers and capybara to be fish. However, because of the linguistic drift, according to the people I talked to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Peru (not a huge sample, admittedly), the pope has declared “nutria” to be fish … with whatever definition of nutria you prefer, be they beaver, capybara, coypu, otter, or any other rodent found in the water. This is why they’re okay to eat on Fridays and during Lent, but only if you’re native to Central or South America.

I was told that white people don’t eat them whatever day it happens to be.

Originally posted at stories.starmind.org.

#Audubon Zoos - New Orleans

[littleragondin]

Just popping in here to say that I was at a bookstore yesterday and found the first volume of She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat manga. This is a sign from the universe that I need to watch that show

Oh this is definitely a sign! I say, completely unbiased or anything ... I have not read the manga yet, but I hear it, too, is absolutely lovely. Did you get it maybe?

Also would love to hear what you think of the show (if)when you get to it! =D

#Tsukuritai onna to tabetai onna #the manga has been picked in french for later this year #so I am holding off on it for now #but the wait is hard! #that said I only hear good things - and the mangaka is really cool #she's been super vocal and involved in the fight for marriage for all in Japan #the ragondin answers

[littleragondin]

omg dying to know your thoughts about the fact that sparkling water is what comes out of public drinking fountains in paris??

Well, I mean, it's only like what? 10, 12 fountains across the whole city who do deliver sparkling water? (edit: alright there are 17 all in all as of today's google search lol) And thanks heavens and what not, they are SO heavily advertised as such there is no risk of ever mistakenly getting The Worst Water Ever instead of the fresh nectar of the gods that is fresh plain water 😌👌

Couldn't deal with it being the standard though, like why would you ever do that to people, I ask. No one deserves this 😔

#I mean Paris' tap water isn't perfect but it's pretty neutral - taste not always perfect but it's rly healthy #so I won't complain about that #(especially after hearing the horror stories about tap water in the US ngl) #(a friend told me he suffered from dehydration during his PhD in Florida bc he couldn't buy bottled water) #(so I was ????? but the tap????) #(and he explained where he lived it was not fit for consumption????) #(anyWAY) #frankly I still don't get why they put money in that it makes zero sense to me #when instead they could have I don't know paid for more and/or better public toilets #maybe people would stop pissing that nice fountain water in the goddamned streets #JUST SAYING #(okay I know they did it because studies suggest some people only drink plain water if it's sparkling) #(and they hope to reduce the number of plastic bottles yadda yadda yadda) #(but I can protest in bad faith if I want to over my own blog ok) #the ragondin answers

[littleragondin]

top 5 favorite intros :D

Thank you for asking this one! I am a huge intro-skipper generally, buuuuut here's my top of the ones I never skipped while watching this year ( ´ ▽ ` )

5. 609 Bedtime Story

The show was not a favorite, but I really liked the intro. It was very pretty (not just the purple parts I promise) and the mysterious piano worked very well with the expected atmosphere of the show.

4. A Breeze of Love

The happy little guitar with the bird song is lovely, I like how simple but efficient it is > showing pictures of them in front of things they loved (the Slam Dunk manga, the camera...), and the tiny drawings added to the light, soft effect.

3. Shadow

The opening was perfect for the series. The spooky music, the creepy hands and eyes animation on that very black background with only the slightest flash of red, absolutely loved it and watched every. time.

2. Kimi ni wa todokanai

I am a SUCKER for an intro that changes with the story, generally speaking (shout out to the endings of I Will Knock You). This one was as adorable as the show, I really liked it, and that little piano/organ reprise of the song's theme was super cute.

1. Utsukushii Kare Season 2

The first opening I gifed this year just because I liked it that much. First of all, I love the song. Then the visuals are delicious, from the colors for each secondary characters to the beautiful purple for Kiyoi and Hira (yes i do love purple, was that a little obvious?) and their merge at the end. Absolute delight.

Ask me my top 5 of anything BL 2023!

#me this morning: let's do a simple answer #also me: i'll make a few quick gifs it's fine #ANYWAY!! #here it is =3 #thank you again! #the ragondin answers #gifs #mine #ragongif

[littleragondin]

Winter Begonia does not exactly have a happy ending. It is Chinese, so it's censored and thus no one can be totally happy and especially not the gays but it's gorgeous and dense and the characters are fantastic so... you might wanna give it a try anyway? The ending is open and sad but not entirely and exclusively hopeless.

Yeah, I know there is no hope of HEA (that's the main reason I haven't dared to start it yet (˘̩╭╮˘̩)), but I guess if at least no one dies and the ending is open, I can live with it ...

Thanks for the warning though! (´꒳`)♡

#Winter Begonia #it just looks so beautiful and everything i hear about the characters makes me wants to dive in #but while I don't mind tragedy I don't think I want to go through something like this to end up on a bury your gays death #so if that does not happen .... #the ragondin answers

[littleragondin]

Just popping in to scream about how much I love Yai in The Sign. Absolutely the best boy. No contest. I love him so, so much. He might not be relates to Tharn by blood, but he is the best brother Tharn could ask for

Oh you are more than welcome to come scream about Yai here! Let me join you because that man is such a Good Boy, and I love him so, so much. Most of all, I love how much he loves Tharn, how he is always in his corner (whether Tharn wants to see it or not), how he just wants him to be happy, and how he always, always makes it know that YES Tharn is loved (because poor reincarnated little Naga for sure needs it often).

Blood doesn't matter, they are brothers, no discussion. The moment they are all safe and sound, Yai is going to wipe out the childhood stories and pictures for Phaya just to embarrass Tharn. And you just know he will give the cheesiest, weepiest best man speech at their wedding, too 😔😔💕

#I am a simple person I love people who love each other #they make me happy #and yes for sure Tharn couldn't have landed a better brother <3 #The Sign the series #the ragondin answers

[littleragondin]

For that blorbo thingy, do your fav at the moment please 🙏

I won't even try to make any excuse for myself at this point, but here have my current unexpected obsession I G U E S S ( 〃▽〃)

#I don't know what the fuck happened to me there #but HAVE IT #(everyone is being so smart about the show and here I am) #(brain going bbbrrrrrrrrr for the goddamn catholic brother) #(I didn't even make the gif for the game I have just been randomly giffing his face that's where we are currently someone help) #Shadow the series #the ragondin answers #gifs

[littleragondin]

I AM CRYING asdjhajdhasjdk

Thank you, thank you =p

The moment he said "...Shin?" My mind jumped to this immediately lol

#it took me ages to find back the original quote tho #do you know than when you google ''i would know him by touch alone'' you get two pages of only bible stuffs??? #(that's not what I learned in sunday school but HEY) #a n y w a y xd #Bake Me Please #the ragondin answers

[littleragondin]

i wanna hear your wheel spins

PLEASE

OMG 🙈 well, thank you for asking and sorry in advance for the potential word cascade... the wheel spins are done using the wonderful tool made by @lovesickfolly (thank you for this 💜💜)

I have NO self control so I ran the wheel with three different actors lol

First I picked Pawin because he is my favorite plus he's pretty versatile and I want him in everything. The wheel picked Pepper. Both are 27 so I would love an out of school setting for them please. Pawin I'm confident could make it work with anybody (still salty about his aborted crumbs with Satang). I think I'd like something a little more serious/dark for those two, something about grief or guilt maybe? Very "two person who shouldered heartbreak and trauma and responsibilities too early find each other and, in the midst of it all, find comfort in the other and, perhaps, get a chance to start healing" kind of story you know? It would probably need an ensemble cast (at least one of them needs a family with siblings - mostly bc I'm a sucker for siblings and the emotional weight they can bring). There would be a lot of crying. A lot of warmth, too. Specifically I would like a hopeful but not fairytale end. I think I'd really like to see them get a shot at two very hurt, very scarred people trying to build something together.

And then I picked Pod because I saw him get the 2nd lead treatment in the Wandee Goodday's trailer this morning and thought he deserved to get the boy somewhere today xd. For him, the wheel gave me Ford. Was a little unsure at first, but you know what? they could give me a nice age-gap romance. Not necessarily something groundbreaking, but Ford has such a soft and charming presence he would do great in a very classic tropey romance. Maybe something about a slightly jaded and over worked Pod (who works from home) learning to love again (maybe he's out of a bad divorce, or he's just generally disappointed by love) with the adorable new neighbor (they meet because Ford has lost his cat (a grumpy thing as old as he is) and tries to see if the neighbors saw him. The beast has been hanging on Pod's sofa for the last week and a half). Something cute and fluffy, a little comedic (while I have my reservations about his character, Pod was very funny in Tonhon Chonlatee). There will be a "taking care of the other when he gets sick" scene. Ford has to sing somehow. And wear an apron (he wants to cook something to thank Pod for taking care of the cat. It fails catastrophically. Maybe Pod could teach him next time? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Finally, I picked Mike (like you kfdsaj;kla) because. I just always find him delightful in everything I see him in. The wheel gave me Phuwin - because apparently the wheel said it's an age-gap day lol. And while they are not that far apart in age, my mind immediately jumped to Beyond Evil for some reason. So while I don't think I'd want something as dark for them, I think it could be fun to see them in some sort of thriller with Mike as a competent but a bit 'out there' detective (the leather jacket and bike are a must, I make the rules here) having to work with a straight laced, brilliant and young ... either detective or lawyer or SOMETHING for Phuwin (who has to wear glasses, again my game, my rules) and see them learn to tolerate then appreciate then love each other, including a climax involving one of them almost dying in the other's arms. Who nearly dies I leave to chance, throw the dices about it. There would be so much bickering. Some wound tending, obviously. Phuwin's character clinging to Mike's for dear life the first time he takes him on the bike. Protecting each other. Yeah I would love to see that actually.

This makes me realize, once again, how branding pairs robs me (yes, me, personally) of so. many. options. (even if the only branded pair actor in my selection is Phuwin, my comment still stand xd)

#me as a preteen: romance fucking sucks and all the tropes are SO overdone #me at 32: yeah romance is great actually also I will take all the fucking tropes and cliches as long as they're queer plx and thx #the Pawin/Pepper is far more vibe based than the other two but well 🙈 #also actually no school setting for any of them (I could indulge Ford as a senior university student I suppose) #anyway that wheel thing is SO fun #I could play all day lol #thank you so much for asking so I can expose my silly little scenarios xd #the ragondin answers

[littleragondin]

Hi!!

So I’ve read your tags on your reblog of the ULS prequel trailer and I just wanted to drop by and say I feel you ><

Although it’s said to be a prequel I’m still hoping to see at least one scene back in “present” time or a year or two after ULS ended (it’s only wishful thinking but perhaps it could happen ><).

I’m excited to know more about Dong Hee and Ho Tae though! Especially since a lot must have happened during their school years given how ULS kept on dropping hints ^^

Hi!

I was super disappointed when they told us about a prequel because I really, really wanted to see how the would work out from where we left them. There was still so much to work through!! I remain cautiously optimistic that we will get at least a little bit of "present" time - maybe around a very long series of flashbacks? (I think I read that Gongchan was supposed to cameo in there, which would be weird in their HS days right?) But I'm trying to not get my hopes up too high.

I really want to know more about them too! You're right, they have so much shared history it has to be interesting to see what they used to share. And maybe how/were it broke, too, to bring them where we meet them in ULS. The trailer reminded me how good they both were at playing intense, painful yearning (yet in very different ways) which completely rekindled my excitement for the movie tbh. It also looks super pretty, and I was never going to be able to resist all those hands shots 😔 (+ already loving the scene in bed with Donghee against Hotae's back ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also, the screenwriter is the same as ULS, and I thought they did a reaaaally good job with the pacing and unfolding of the romance. So, despite my reservations, I think I'll go in positively and just enjoy what I'll get of Donghee and Hotae =3

#Unintentional Love Story #At My Fingertips #The Time of Fever #my only real 'fear' now is that it doesn't fit well with what we saw/where they were in ULS #but at this point I think I will just... enjoy the ride and then decide if I consider it as truly part of ULS or just... something else lol #the ragondin answers

[littleragondin]

For the book ask: 1, 8, 12

Thank you for asking! (*´︶`*)

How many books did you read this year?

As of last week I had finished 22 books, but I am hoping to finish my two current reads before the 31st and reach 24.

8. Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?

Well I did reach my "20 books read" goal. I also try to keep my % of re-read below 30% to actually tackle my infinite pile of to-be-read books (only re-read 7 books this year!). I am also happy to still be managing to read (at least) 3 non fiction book/year for the ... well. The second year in a row but it's a start lol

12. Any books that disappointed you?

I'd say "Be With You 今会いにゆきます" by Takuji Ichikawa. It may not be the book's fault, because my main problem was the style that I found less poetic and more tedious BUT I read a translation so... I guess skip the french translation for that one, at least?

#sometimes I mourn how many books I used to read when I had a subway commute #but with the hours I do I learned to get satisfied with what I can fit #I am also a pretty easily pleased reader generally speaking xd #books #the ragondin answers

[littleragondin]

Husband, one night stand, best friend: Kurosawa, Maki, Haruta

Ooh good one. Hm, asked me a touch more thinking that I thought it would!

Best friend: this was the easy one, it would be Haruta. We are too similar for romance (or cohabitation - our place would be terrible), but I think we'd have a lot of fun together (irresponsible but delightful fun).

Husband: I pondered over it and I would pick Kurosawa. He is kind, he loves people and worries about them, he can take great care of the house, aaaand he has a flair for the dramatic that I absolutely love.

ONS: It leaves Maki! It's more by default, but I think that I couldn't handle cohabitation with him which leaves husband out, and I don't think we'd be best friends either. I don't do ons so I'd treat him to a nice dinner and a movie, or something as compensation and because he's still nice ^^

#thank you for asking! <3 #the ragondin answers #ask games

[littleragondin]

drop this sunflower 🌻into the inboxes of the blogs that make you happy! let's spread some sunshine☀️

Thank you petri my dear! Have a sunflower and lots of love back at you ~♡

#the ragondin answers

[littleragondin]

BEWARE! Laws of Attraction second couple are coming straight to you with the steel chair! ALAS

You warned me and I still got caught like:

It was everything I could have hoped for and more. A flashback! (Baby Tan managed to give baby Thee a home? They r e a l l y grew up together? Please????? 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺) Thee smiling and laughing (that man is beautiful ffs), Tan crying in Thee's arms!! Ooooh I am twirling my hair and kicking my feet and I am going to cry SO hard next week I know it already 😌👌🏻💕

#technical KO for the rodent #that show is carrying me through the week let me goddamn tell you #Laws of Attraction #the ragondin answers