taz-quails:

the New Bloods are 4wks old now. pretty much as big as the adults but tbh its mostly fluffy feathers.

i wanted to keep one of the pharaohs (the two darker birds in the blue tub) but its looking like both are male, and i need a hen. theres a small chance i’ll keep one of them, but that really depends on their temperament once they mature. if their docile, like Left Beef is, then i’ll give them a chance at sticking around and do some breeding with them.

I love them! It’s like a bunch of feathery footballs that all want to know what you’re up to.

Some things I like about cats that people don’t tend to mention:

  • If you offer them an item, they’ll usually sniff it.
  • Sometimes when they get really interested they tuck back their ears to keep them out of the way. 
  • When things are Interesting they perk their whiskers forward. 
  • They use their whiskers to, among other things, figure out if a hole is large enough to fit through.
  • Sometimes the toe beans are different colors. 
  • Their voices come in a range everywhere from “banshee” to “dragon” with assorted offshoots.

HAIRY SHIN BANDITS

thefingerfuckingfemalefury:

between-stars-and-waves:

thefingerfuckingfemalefury:

purplemonkfish:

athenanuu:

wordsonbirds:

bunjywunjy:

varanustitanus:

bunjywunjy:

hey everybody, welcome to another episode of Weird Biology! today, I’m going to give you a fresh look at a really weird bird you may have heard of before. so get ready to learn some badass new facts about this scrappy little football!

so say hello to:

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*HEAVY METAL SCREAMING*

all right, so there isn’t much badass about a hairy, nocturnal, flightless, island-dwelling bird a little bigger than a chicken. or so they’d like you to think.

Kiwis live in New Zealand, which is fitting because they’re the Hobbits of birds. (bear with me a minute and put down the torches, please)

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I swear I’m going somewhere with this

like Hobbits, Kiwis live in burrows. also like Hobbits, Kiwis are short, stocky creatures; they grow to be about eighteen inches tall and 7 pounds. (this is just slightly larger than the average chicken and probably larger than you thought they were) like Hobbits, Kiwis are voracious omnivores and eat basically anything they can fit in that ridiculous beak. and finally as I’m sure you’ve noticed, Kiwis are prodigiously hairy. like Hobbits.

and finally, the Kiwi would absolutely carry a cursed item to the ends of the earth and throw down with a Ring Wraith. (but they’d do it out of spite)

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spite is the only emotion the Kiwi can feel

see, Kiwis are aggressive, territorial, and extremely tenacious. they defend their territories and burrows against anything and everything, including humans and probably also marauding armies of orcs. which, since Kiwis have squat muscular legs and extremely sharp claws, is no joke.

no seriously, they’ve been known to sprint out of the underbrush without warning, gouge people in the shin, and sprint away.

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it’s a lot less funny when you realize that they’re at least as fast as you are.

adding to their sheer tenacious badassery is the fact that Kiwis are even still around. I don’t know if you guys are super familiar with what usually happens to flightless island-dwelling birds when humans and non-native predators show up, but it’s not good. (HINT: starts with an E and rhymes with “distinction”)

hundreds of years ago, humans first arrived on New Zealand. and they brought dogs and rats with them. these predators have been taking huge tolls on the Kiwi population for a very long time, but Kiwis are fighty tenacious bastards and against all odds they’re still here. for comparison: the Kakapo (New Zealand’s other largish flightless bird) has faced the same problem with introduced predators and is now damn near extinct.

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Kiwi resilience is in large part thanks to New Zealand’s conservation programs, but also Kiwis are just tough little bastards who don’t know when to quit.

but I’ve saved the most thrashtacularly metal feat of the Kiwi for last. Kiwis form bonded pairs for life (awww), and lay one to two eggs together per year. which, okay, does not sound like a lot. however, there is an important fact that needs to be brought into consideration:

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yes, that’s a REAL FUCKING XRAY. HOOOOOLY SHIT.

the egg is fucking huge. like, up to 25% of the mom’s body weight huge. that’s completely fucking ridiculous and it’s upsetting to even think about. 

but that big egg makes a big, well-developed chick who comes out of the shell ready to stab you in the shin and sprint into the bushes. they’re literally born ready to throw down and are basically mini-adults. but still adorable.

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continuing the family tradition!

unfortunately despite their badass ways, Kiwis are currently still under threat from introduced predators. the good news is that Kiwis are loved, celebrated, and protected by New Zealanders. (who are justly and rightly invested in their national bird, shin-kicking quirks and all)

there are many conservation programs in place for the embattled Kiwi, and its weirdness is a light that won’t be going out anytime soon.

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shine on, you little weirdos, shine on.

thanks for reading! you can find the rest of the Weird Biology series here.

if you enjoy my work, maybe buy me a coffee so I can caffeinate myself into the 5th dimension.

This was a joy to read

😘

Kiwi resilience is in large part thanks to New Zealand’s conservation programs, but also Kiwis are just tough little bastards who don’t know when to quit.

My favourite part. Fight on little bastards, fight on!

@purplemonkfish !!!

ahahaha I didn’t know about the shin stabbing! little bastards! Ahahahaha.

I LOVE THEM

😀

They are so good!

agatharights:

agatharights:

When you can’t find homebrew gnolls that you like so you gotta make them yourself

A’ight you guys wanna see some Gnolls? This isn’t the finished product, but if you have any suggestions hit me up. I’m currently waffling on having Rampage as an ability or replacing it with something else! It’s kinda flavored towards my homebrew at the moment, but pretty easily to adapt.

Here y’all go.

Hyena babs! 

1, 2, 3, 7, 11, 20, 31, 35 for Duo? >:D LOVE THE BOYS!!

Words changed to plural where needed, but all questions are from this meme: https://bettsplendens.tumblr.com/post/163352543259/uncommon-questions-for-ocs-and-their-creators#notes

1: What’s the maximum amount of time your characters can sit still with nothing to do?

None. 

They do not stop doing things. Even if they manage to hold still, they’re chatting over their bond, throwing ideas back and forth or commenting on their surroundings. In addition, unless forced, they will not stay still for more than a second or two. Fidgeting, at the very least, usually with at least 2 servos each. They get very anxious if not allowed to do things or at least stim. 

2: How easy is it for your characters to laugh?

They’re fairly cheerful and tend to be easy to amuse, though their sense of humor can be a bit odd. Actually getting them to laugh is a bit harder, their amusement is generally expressed via body language and over their bond at each other, and it tends to be non-sinister cackling more than anything else. 

3: How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

Touch, softness, and warmth, if it’s intentional. 

Truthfully, they tend to work on projects until they’re exhausted and then just curl up together to nap, partly out of forcibly developed habit and partly because they’re the sort of energetic people who do that. 

If they’re intentionally trying to sleep, they snuggle up together under a bunch of blankets, pet each other, and chime quietly- both out loud and over the bond. That sort of relaxation usually ends up happening after they’ve spark-merged, so they’re usually both tired and happy and drowsy anyway. 

7: What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

They have a few particularly epic projects that they remember when exposed to the right combinations of scents, and that’s nice enough, but most of their ‘nostalgia’ is borderline flashbacks. The scent of blowtorch against painted metal will do it for the both of them, and there are a few combinations of chemicals that they can’t be around without wanting to vacate the premises immediately and hug each other very tightly once outside. So no, not enjoyable. 

11: 

How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?

Depends on who they’re around and if they feel like they really need to seem competent. 

All situations invariably involve them going “???” at each other over the bond and chucking the problem back and forth like two people solving a Rubix cube at once, but they can do a decent job of just looking mildly considerate instead of confused if they need to. 

If they’re safe, they aim a very confused expression at each other and chatter quiet little sounds back and forth while they think about it, plus lots of gesturing and borderline charades with each other. 

They also tend to immediately seek any clarification that is to be had by grabbing the source material, poking the situation, and licking anything that may be relevant. 

That doesn’t mean they’re above just outright asking someone “excuse, yes, please rephrase” if they think the person isn’t about to laugh, though, they aren’t proud. They just tend to prefer going after the information themselves. 

20: If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?

Oh, they suck at describing feelings. A lot of elaborate gesturing and chirping and back-and-forth feelings at each other, then just a really elaborate shrug (four arms apiece makes for interesting shrugs) and one of them muttering “one of them usually has more sex”. 

They haven’t had much of a chance at experiencing- well, any of those, really. Familial love, technically, but that’s a bit different for split-spark twins. It’s kind of hard to not love someone who is literally the other half of your soul. As for the other two, situations have not permitted long-term relationships. 

I currently have a RP going where they’ve just met someone who they absolutely adore, and they could have a go at describing the differences between the feelings, but it would mostly just be chittering and maybe a few descriptive words that apply to tastes and textures. They’ve never had to communicate their own emotions to someone who isn’t one of them, they have no idea how to even start.

31: Who are they the most glad to have met?

They’re fond of Blackspark and intrigued by Gravescratch, but so far the only being they’ve really latched onto is the aforementioned person in the aforementioned RP. They’ve been wandering around and holing up with each other far too much to meet many people, and they haven’t shared with me yet if there was anyone in the past. 

35: How do they treat the things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive?

Heck yes. Excitement is very contagious with them, and they love hearing about things that other people like. They have a good shot at understanding it, and, if not, that’s okay! They’re still excited! They like it when people are excited! 

Please, infodump at them about the thing. They might end up segueing to something else that’s one of their own interests, but it’s not on purpose, it’s just because the excitement rubs off and then they start thinking about cool things and then! they’re all excited! and they have to infodump about the thing now! 

And they’ll happily listen to more about your thing again as soon as they can finish, they just want to maybe trade off infodumping for a bit!