Nix

a disorderly therapeutic blog to curb shame. •25•He/Him•Trans/genderqueer•Nigerian living in Nigeria

[only-tiktoks]

[kawree]

Y'all for real please do these. Even if you're certain your posture doesn't suck. One day you will wake up with impinged shoulder pain like I did and let me tell you it fucking HURTS. Do these exercises even just once a week and it will make such a difference. Especially my fellow creatives out there, stop shrimping over your work and go do these right now. RIGHT NOW.

[bumblebeeappletree]

Because I absolutely love joan_de_art’s sustainable city series I’mma share it in one post since I see the art scattered about.

[pangur-and-grim]

oh also a girl in my class found out that I illustrate, and asked if she could commission me for a pet portrait. so I said "sorry, I don't do commissions, but I can give you a free ink sketch." and then the next class I showed up with the sketch and she said "I love this. so why don't you do commissions? I can't commission you?" and I said sorry, just a bit busy. and then she went to grab something from her bag and gave it to me and said "here is a crystal charged under the full moon," and I didn't know what to say so I was just like "oh, okay thanks. thank you."

[undeadentropy]

You completed a side quest

[ahotknife]

the thing is that childhood doesn't just end when you turn 18 or when you turn 21. it's going to end dozens of times over. your childhood pet will die. actors you loved in movies you watched as a kid will die. your grandparents will die, and then your parents will die. it's going to end dozens and dozens of times and all you can do is let it. all you can do is stand in the middle of the grocery store and stare at freezers full of microwave pizza because you've suddenly been seized by the memory of what it felt like to have a pizza party on the last day of school before summer break. which is another ending in and of itself

[clearestbluest]

<3

[shining-bewear]

[naamahdarling]

Hey.

This is one of the reasons why you should be kind to older people.

This happens more and more, harder and harder, and dealing with it that often is pretty rough.

Let them tell their stories.

[the-haiku-bot]

This is one of the

reasons why you should be kind

to older people.

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

[tordenvejr]

art will save you, being unreasonably passionate about something niche will save you, letting past sources of joy show you the way back to yourself will save you, earnestness over composure will save you, the natural world will save you, caring for something bigger than yourself will save you, daring to be seen will save you, kindness not as a whim but a principle will save you, appreciation as a practice will save you, daring to try something new will save you, grounding will save you, love will save you, one good nights sleep will save you

[blumineck]

Looks like I won’t be marrying Penelope…

Hopefully the upcoming film will have enough budget for the other 11 axes!

BTS, art refs and more here

[synapsid-taxonomy]

The species concept that de-extinction should be using is the ecological species concept. A species is an organism that makes use of certain resources and fills a certain niche in its habitat. Then we would be aiming to fill the ecological function of endangered and recently extinct species instead of only trying to replicate their appearance.

[etchif]

Lol. Lmao even

[crystaltoa]

“ So it’s not the same species at all.”

“ Only if you use the scientific definition of species! However, if you use my definition that I just made up-“

[synapsid-taxonomy]

I should say that the morphological species concept is still useful when you have nothing else to go off of, i.e., in paleontology. However, ice age creatures (like dire wolves) are recent enough that we can actually do population genetics studies and delimit species that way. We can apply more apt species concepts in this scenario.

No matter how you slice it, though, Colossal's wolves are Canis lupus.

[teaboot]

We never really talked about it but The Ugly Ducking that grew up to be a beautiful swan was still probably pretty fugly from a duck’s perspective

[teaboot]

Like that story isn’t about an ugly duckling that grew up sexy, it’s a fucking swan was judged as a duck and hated itself as a duck until it found out it wasn’t a duck and stopped trying to be a duck.

The actual ducks in the neighborhood were probably still looking around at perfectly normal swans like “damn, look at those busted ass ducks”

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

This is pretty important, actually. The good ending is finding the other swans, not tearing yourself to pieces trying to impress the ducks.

[everythingfox]

On the job

[mysral]

One imagines that few things are as screwy to a shepherd dog’s instincts as an immovable herd animal.

[writing-prompt-s]

You started a scam religion for a quick buck. You begin to panic when your fake god was actually a real forgotten one awakened from new worshippers, declared you it's high priest, and granted you the power of healing.

[writing-prompt-s]

You are a person who covers your counter space in clutter and inadvertently makes a shrine to a long forgotten god who shows up to thank you.

[caffeinewitchcraft]

The pepper grinder is small and copper with a brass knob at the top that allows you to hand-turn the grinder. You’re never sure where you picked it up – it’s not a gift or a purchase, otherwise you’d have the saltshaker to match – but it feels right sitting next to your fruit bowl. Logically, it should go by your stove where the rest of your spices have congregated in a misshapen mob, getting stained by Bolognese and fry oil. However, your fruit bowl is a stoneware behemoth you found in the crawlspace under the house, and the shine of the copper next to the earthen tone reminds you of spending long hours excavating in the Italian countryside as an archeology sophomore in college (about two years before you became an English major), so it stays.

Then, of course, you’re too busy to eat fruit before it rots and the bowl sits empty- barring a lemon or lime here or there-  and that’s no good either because it takes up over half of the counter to the right of your sink and backs up against the blank wall at the end of your galley kitchen where you can’t hang anything because both the fridge door and the pantry door swing into it.

So when your mother gives you another worry stone for your birthday – rose quartz this time, which means she thinks if you’re not worried about being single in your 30s, you should be – you hold it while staring out the kitchen window, drinking coffee over the sink, and when you finish the last sip full of grounds you toss the mug in the sink and the rose quartz in the bowl. It clinks loudly and then settles between those two lemons that you need to find a use for before the weekend, lest they go hard and unusable except for cleaning your sink.

After that, belated birthday wishes show up in the mail, and you can’t bring yourself to throw them out. Your Aunt Sylvia sends a postcard from Peru that she’s been holding onto for “a special occasion” for the last five years and, -aren’t you lucky?- you’re the special winner of a National Geographic photo of Machu Picchu. And you’re not a monster. The card may not hold the same significance to you as it did to her, but the thought does and so tucked between the bowl and the wall it goes where the very tippy top of the ruins rise over the brown rim, as if from the depths of a valley.

Then your college roommate (the archaeology one who made you want to do the study abroad program in the first place), Audra, sends you a shard of Roman pottery and a note in Latin that you can’t read but understand perfectly by the coffee stains littering the edge of it. The sight of the coffee stains warms your heart more than the pottery shard, so both go in the bowl where you can occasionally glance at them as you drink your own coffee over the sink and reminisce over study dates and the few regular dates you shared before her passion stole her abroad.

(And if the clay and the rose quartz lie next to each other and you suddenly think of marriage and nostalgia and her stoneware eyes that led you to save the same-colored fruit bowl from the depths of your house in the first place, it’s a natural series of associations and doesn’t prove your mother right at all.)

The driftwood isn’t from anyone. Your agent calls to tell you that you won an award for one of your books. The driftwood is in your hand, scavenged along the Potomac from amidst the pebbles deposited by the last storm, and it’s suddenly your only tether to reality as she explains what this means. It means reviews and author readings and an interview - of you! – and a guaranteed sequel. The stick is smooth under your fingertips and you wave it in the air is if it’s a wand in an attempt to burst your bubble.

Only you’re home the next moment and you’ve still got the driftwood in your hand and your bubble is unburst. It feels significant that you brought it back with you so you put it across the top of your fruit bowl as if it’s the award itself. You have a decaf coffee to celebrate that evening and see that stick guarding your rose quartz and your pepper grinder and your pottery shard and you think, I’m doing okay. And the joy you feel from that is so powerful that your next thought is, I’m happy.

Which is, of course, when the power goes out.

Outages happen all the time in a block as old as yours. Before, you’d see it as free time and go lay down in bed and wait for the world to relight or for morning to come. But you don’t have time now. Your agent is planning to call you soon. You are an award-winning author and you have things to do before your 42% battery runs out.

You make your kitchen your base and set the six pillar candles on your counter, lighting them one by one. They’re the rainbow ones from last June your mother bought you in a sweet yet confusing show of support and you’ve never found a special enough occasion to burn them. You smile at Machu Picchu peaking over your fruit bowl. Your aunt is the one who taught you about special things.

Then your agent calls and, while you’re hammering out the details, you see that the candles are about to drip colored wax onto your white, plastic countertops and even though you really want to replace them, you can’t afford to (at least until you sign a contract). You snatch up your driftwood and use it to scoop the wax from the sides until a kaleidoscope of color is collected and you have to keep spinning it to keep it from dripping.

You blow on the hot wax, thinking of Audra and your family and the future your agent is painting for you until it cools. Then you place the driftwood over the bowl where it belongs.

 It’s just a bowl. Of course, it’s just a bowl. It does a good job of taking up a huge amount of your counter and of holding onto things you’d forget in a junk drawer. It looks good in the candlelight, warm and earthy and welcoming with the three bright lemons scattering amongst your treasures. It’s nice to see reminders of your loved ones every morning from the summit of Machu Picchu to your worry stone to that shard of pottery, but it’s not anything more.

At least it’s not until you put your driftwood, wax-covered wand back and think, I wish I could see her.

The flames of the candles sputter and turn gold, radiating a pure and steady light that could never come from a mundane fire. Your agent stops herself midsentence, apologizes, promises to call you back when she has a better connection, and hangs up. The bowl rattles and shivers and you take a step back as your copper pepper grinder tips over. You must not have put it together correctly because it spills when it does, little peppercorns that roll across your counter towards the edge.

You expect to hear the dried pepper hit the ground, but it doesn’t.  Each peppercorn stops unnaturally.

G…

R…

A…

N…

T…

E…

D…

What?

The candles splutter and return to normal flame. Your bowl is still. The lemons seem less appetizing than they had a moment ago, but your treasures are still there and lovely.

You pick up your Roman shard.

Your phone rings. Audra. Although you can’t imagine talking to anyone after what you’ve just witness, your body isn’t on the same page. Muscle memory and association has you answering before the second ring.

“Mal, I got the job!”

“…The job?”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you. Not because I was hiding it! But nobody ever gets it and I didn’t want you to get your hopes up and then my hopes up—”

Her rapid-fire word is grounding. You laugh. “Because my hopes are your hopes.”

“Obviously,” she says. She takes a deep breath. “I got the Smithsonian. The curator role. The job.”

She’s coming home. The realization hits like electricity, raising all the hair on your arms and almost making you drop the shard. You blink quickly to stop the automatic tears.

“Mal?”

“I’m here,” you say. You go to put the pottery shard back with more care than you ever have, as if it’s Audra herself. She can probably hear the way your voice trembles, but you can’t compose yourself. “Oh, I’m so happy. When?”

“In a month. I have to hand over some current projects, which should only take a week, but finding someone to take over my classes might take a little longer, but not too long! I promise. After that it’s packing—”

You put the pottery shard back in the bowl as gently as you ever have. Audra’s voice is the sweetest music as she says goodbye, in a hurry to start packing. You hear that music long after she hangs up. Your knees are weak. She’s coming home. She’s coming home. Thank whatever god, she’s coming home—

Your fingers touch something coarse and feather-light. Your brow furrows as you pull a scrap of ancient paper from the fruit bowl.

You’re welcome.

“Oh,” you breathe.

The lights flare as the power returns.

---

Thanks for reading! If you'd like to support what I do and/or would like to see new work from me, please consider checking out my Patreon (X)!

Thanks for all the support! Excited for another year on this blog. I'll probably make a mushy post about it at some point, but...EIGHT years! And counting! What an amazing time this has been :D

[literaryvein-reblogs]

hello! could I ask for a list of cat breeds(not all, but generic and well-known breeds)? along with their personalities and health issues linked with each breed.

Writing Notes: Cats & their Personalities

Some cat breeds are closely associated with specific behaviors.

Ragdolls - often viewed as relaxed, friendly and affectionate.

Russian Blues - considered more intelligent and reserved.

But a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports is the first academic paper to investigate whether felines actually show breed differences in behavior and how, or even if, these traits are passed down from one generation to the next.

As Nick Carne writes for Cosmos, researchers from the University of Helsinki drew on data detailing around 5,726 cats’ behavior to identify patterns among breeds and gauge heritability.

Overall, the team found that different breeds do in fact behave in different ways; of these behaviors—including:

activity level,

shyness,

aggression and

sociability with humans—around half are inherited.

The starkest differences among breeds emerged in the category of activity.

The smallest differences, meanwhile, centered on stereotypical behavior.

Prolonged or repetitive behaviors, like pacing or paw chewing, with no discernible purpose are called stereotypies.

In some cases, these abnormal behaviors are actually self-destructive.

“Since the age of about two weeks, activity is a reasonably permanent trait, whereas stereotypical behaviour is affected by many environmental factors early on in the cat’s life as well as later,” Hannes Lohi, study co-author and lead researcher of the University of Helsinki’s feline genetic research group, says in a statement. “This may explain the differences observed.”

To estimate behavioral traits’ heritability, lead author Milla Salonen, Lohi and their colleagues focused on 3 distinct breeds:

Maine Coon

Ragdoll

Turkish Van

The scientists’ full research pool included feline behavior questionnaire responses regarding almost 6,000 cats that accounted for 40 different breeds.

As Lohi explains in the statement, the team had ample data on members of the three breeds, as well as the chosen cats’ parents.

Additionally, Lohi says, the trio is “genetically diverse.”

The Maine Coon is related to Nordic cat breeds and landrace cats—domesticated, locally adapted varieties—

while the Ragdoll is related to Western European and American cat breeds.

The Turkish Van and the similarly named Turkish Angora appear to have separated from other breeds at some point in the distant past.

Salonen et al. (2019) surveyed Finnish cat owners on their cats’ behaviors, which included:

"tendency to seek human contact,"

"aggressiveness towards human family members, strangers, or other cats," and

"shyness towards strangers or novel stimuli."

In total, 5,726 cats were studied. The researchers then separated these cats into 19 breeds.

The researchers controlled for environmental factors including “weaning age, access to outdoors, presence of other cats,” and general characteristics (sex, age of cat) in their analyses.

They identified the breeds corresponding with the 10 following behavioral traits:

Aggression Toward (Human) Family Members

Most aggressive toward family members: Turkish Van and Angora (1st); Korat (2nd); Bengal, House cats (i.e., cats that are not selectively bred), Devon Rex (3rd)

Least aggressive toward family members: British Shorthair

Aggression Toward Strangers

Most aggressive toward strangers: Turkish Van and Angora (1st); Korat, Devon Rex, Russian Blue (2nd); Burmese and Burmilla, House cats, and Ragdolls (3rd)

Least aggressive toward strangers: British Shorthair, Persian Cats, Cornish Rex

Aggression Toward Other Cats

Most aggressive toward other cats: Turkish Van and Angora (1st); Korat (2nd); Bengal, House cats (3rd)

Least aggressive toward other cats: Persian (1st); Devon Rex, Maine Coon, Siberian and Neva Masquerade, Ragdoll, Norwegian Forest Cat (2nd)

Shyness Toward Strangers

Most shy toward strangers: Russian Blue (1st); House cat, Bengal (2nd)

Least shy toward strangers: Burmese and Burmilla (1st); Cornish Rex (2nd); Persian, Abyssinian, Norwegian Forest Cat, Korat, Saint Birman (3rd)

Shyness Toward Novel Objects

Most shy towards novel objects: Russian Blue (1st); House cat, Turkish Van and Angora, Bengal, European Shorthair, Siberian and Neva Masquerade (2nd)

Least shy towards novel objects: Persian, Cornish Rex (1st)

Likeliness of Seeking Human Contact

Most likely to seek human contact: Korat, Devon Rex (1st); Oriental breeds (Balinese, Oriental Longhair, Oriental Shorthair, Seychellois Longhair, Seychellois Shorthair, and Siamese), Abyssinian, Russian Blue, Maine Coone, Cornish Rex (2nd)

Least likely to seek human contact: British Shorthair (1st); St Birman, European Shorthair, Persian (2nd); Siberian and Neva Masquerade, Ragdoll, Norwegian Forest Cat (3rd)

Activity Level

Most active: Cornish Rex, Korat, Bengal (1st); Abyssinian (2nd); Devon Rex, Oriental breeds, Burmese and Burmilla (3rd)

Least active: British Shorthair (1st); Ragdoll, Saint Birman (2nd); Siberian and Neva Masquerade, Persian, Norwegian Forest Cat, European Shorthair (3rd)

Wool-Sucking Propensity

Most likely to suck wool: House cat, Norwegian Forest Cat, Turkish Van and Angora, Maine Coon

Least likely to suck wool: Russian Blue (1st); Persian (2nd); Ragdoll, Cornish Rex, British Shorthair (3rd)

Excessive Grooming

Most likely to groom excessively: Burmese and Burmilla, Oriental breeds

Least likely to groom excessively: Persian, British Shorthair (1st); Norwegian Forest Cat, Siberian and Neva Masquerade (2nd)

Behavioral Problems

Most likely to have a behavioral problem, according to owners: Oriental breeds, Persian

Least likely to have a behavioral problem, according to owners: British Shorthair, European Shorthair

Interestingly, house cats (i.e., cats that were not selectively bred) were more aggressive and shyer than purebred cats.

The researchers note that such a finding may not be due to genetic differences. Although house cats and purebred cats in the study were similar in their current environment, they could have differed in their early life. Cat breeders may be especially inclined to carefully socialize kittens as they prepare them for sale or for show.

The researchers also found that the heritability of the studied behaviors was moderate, ranging from .40 to .53, which is similar to the previously estimated heritability of behaviors among dogs. This number indicates that approximately half of the variance in cats' behaviors can be attributed to genetic variations in the population. Therefore, nature appears to play a non-trivial role in cats’ personality.

Finally, the researchers identified correlations among both physical and behavioral traits in cats.

For example, more sedentary and longer-haired cats were less inclined to seek human contact. The researchers suggest that Ragdoll breeders, for instance, may have chosen to breed calm cats that would be fine with being handled and brushed by humans. Calm cats are also less active and thus may be less inclined to seek human interaction.

Although nature matters, nurture cannot be dismissed. Certainly, the human role in a domestic cats’ disposition is significant in multiple ways, shaping both their genes and environments.

Some Common Health Issues

Least aggressive: Ragdoll - Regular vet checkups are crucial for a Ragdoll’s health, as they might be prone to certain genetic issues including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (thickening of the heart muscle), environmental and food allergies, and bladder stones.

Most cuddly: Maine Coon - It is a native breed that developed naturally over time. Despite this, there are still some genetic health issues to watch out for such as: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Hip Dysplasia, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Most active: Devon Rex - Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), Polycystic Kidney Disease, Hip Dysplasia, Luxating Patella

Least active: Exotic Shorthair - Health problems that their brachycephalic features can cause include: Jaw deformities, Breathing issues, and Eye problems; and Persian - Well-bred Persian cats can be healthy and robust. But there are still some Persian cat health issues you should be aware of: Polycystic kidney disease, Brachycephalic syndrome, Progressive retinal atrophy

Bravest: Abyssinian - They are commonly prone to: Gingivitis, Patellar luxation, Hyperesthesia, Renal amyloidosis, Pyruvate kinase deficiency

And some fun infographics I found for you:

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Hope this helps with your writing!

[stealingpotatoes]

i hauve a cold

[stealingpotatoes]

[stealingpotatoes]

[bunlly]

“Go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”

— Kurt Vonnegut

[luthienne]

Marie Howe, from Magdalene: Poems; “The Landing”

[palaeosinensis]

Never walk into a cage willingly. If you're already in one: break out.

Digital faux linocut.