s2e6 showing off one of my favorite aspects of Hell's Paradise, namely how information and learning > power level. The tensen are stronger than any of the convicts or Asaemon and that's still true BUT! the fact that the tensen think they're all-powerful immortals has stymied their learning and made them stagnant. they're conducting tons of research on how to achieve immortality, with nooooo interest at all in these newcomers who are wreaking havoc on Shinsenkyo. They pay no attention to these humans beyond how they'll make great tan, meanwhile those same humans are taking in every bit of information they can, learning, adapting, so that they can take on these not-quite-deities. while the tensen think they can brute force their way through any conflict, the humans have been learning to perceive tao, learning to control it, learning to manipulate it to their own benefit in ways that the tensen have never had to think of, because they've never been challenged! The tensen's belief in their infallibility is their greatest weakness!!
And I love that Gabimaru takes a minute to make it clear exactly how and where he's learned his skills. The characters are not getting random power-ups. They're learning. They're exchanging information. None of them knew the word "tao" before arriving to Shinsenkyo, but the story takes care to show you that the concept is familiar to many of them: The shinobi use it to perform their ninjutsu. Shion has been unknowingly honing his understanding of tao for years, calling it "waves". Shion taught Shugen about the "waves", so he knows about tao as soon as he steps foot on the island. Sagiri's position as an Asaemon and her empathy for others has forced her onto the "middle path" (in terms of gender and strength/weakness), and even though it troubles her, it primes her for being able to control her tao. And the characters who don't have a prior understanding of tao continue to struggle with the concept -- the exceptions being the Aza brothers; which is reasonable, because their whole thing is that they adapt. They already exhibit the strength and weakness motifs through their relationship with each other. Chobe adapts to the flower tao. Toma is a quick study when it's for his brother (he became an Asaemon in less than a year for him!!!!). Meanwhile Gantetsusai (bull-headed, all strength, no weakness), Fuchi (science-minded, not suited to understand metaphysical/spiritual concepts like tao) and Nurugai (whose culture doesn't believe in things they cannot see) struggle with controlling tao. That doesn't change over night. They simply don't have the predisposition for it! But they can still be useful! They can still have a nominal understanding of it and operate around it now that they're aware of it!
Gabimaru isn't suddenly just "strong enough" to fight the tensen. He LEARNS how to fight the tensen, and we get to see him learn! But just in case you missed it, he states it clearly in this episode! Shion taught him how to concentrate tao in certain areas! Yuzuriha taught him how to suppress his tao! Sparring with Nurugai, Gantetsusai, and Toma taught him how to deflect and manipulate the flow of tao! Sagiri taught him how to walk the middle path!! His previous knowledge of tai-chi gives him the idea for how to combat enemies who hinder him! He has no idea if this will really work! They're desperate! They're just throwing whatever at the tensen until something hurts them!
They all know different things!!! And they're all teaching each other!!! And in learning and teaching, they are growing!!!!!!! And slowly figuring out how to fight back!!!!!!!!!
Everytime I do a deity deep dive I further refine my research skills and I dive deeper and deeper—
All this to say I have downloaded so many PDFs and ebooks about Norse mythology, practice, and religion, especially those about Odin. It’s fun though!!
I love how much angst possibilities there are in the medical field I hate when people just use it as a cute aesthetic— LIKE NO, RESEARCH IT YOU ANGST WANNABE WRITER!!!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
if you have any questions and you're making a sick fic or a book where a character is injured or sick you can ask me in my ask box ! ^–^
Ball Pythons - The most popular pet snake and what you need to know!
Happy Halloween! I hope everyone is having a spooky time today, enjoying the holiday! To celebrate, here's everything you need to know about ball pythons!
Ball pythons (Python regius) are reptiles that are commonly kept as pets, and are popular among the reptile community of breeders and keepers.
They are native to Western and Central Africa, specifically in the sub-saharan areas such as the Nile, Sudan, Bahrel Ghazal, Senegal and Sierra Leone. They typically inhabit the grasslands and open forests - sometimes they are also found in shrublands. They spend most of the time in the day underground in a burrow, they come out during dusk and dawn, ready to find their prey and hunt!
These terrestrial creatures are carnivores, meaning they typically eat small mammals such as rodents, more specifically rats. This makes them an essential part of wildlife to the local farmers and other agriculture businessses as they kill of the pests that interrupt their business.
Ball pythons are non-venomous and don’t tend to be aggressive, even when threatened - they prefer to retreat and when cornered they will coil into a tight ball, hence their name.
As oviparous reptiles, these snakes lay a clutch of eggs, containing up to eleven eggs each time. Their breeding season is mainly from mid-September to mid-November, correlating with the short rain season. During the dry season, the female ball snake will lay and coil around them to incubate them for around two months. When the babys hatch, they are fully independent and the parents have no involvement.
Due to hunting, agriculture and aquaculture, ball pythons are classified (by the IUCN) as near threatened. To conserve the species, there are education actions in place internationally, as well as in-place protected areas for them in the wild.
In captivity, ball pythons are the most popular snake to keep as a pet. Sadly, these pets are often improperly cared for. To properly house a ball python, they need at least 4x2x2ft enclosures as adults, but the bigger the better. People often believe a misconception about these snakes; that they don’t like large enclosures, and feel stressed when they are kept in them. However, this is NOT true whatsoever! I personally believe that all snakes, including ball pythons should be kept in enclosures that are specific to their size. In this case, ball pythons can grow up to 6ft, so they should, in my opinion, be kept in a 6’ long enclosure. To mimic their natural habitat, they need a heat lamp to bask beneath - on the hot side it should be 30-32C and 22-27C on the cool side, and shouldn’t go below 21-26C during nighttime! Heat mats should not be used for these when kept as pets due to the dangerous risks such as burns on their underside - besides, a basking lamp is more naturaly anyway, so why would you choose an ugly heat mat! A lot of keepers believe that reptiles don’t need UVB if they are given a source of calcium such as supplements, or frozen rodents (which contain bones), however they still massively benefit from it and it is more natural for them to have another source of light next to their heat lamp. They should be given a UVB bulb, that is NOT a coil! Coil bulbs don’t do anything that a UVB bulb should and is purely just a waste of time. Due to the areas of Africa these snakes live in, they need higher humidity levels in their enclosures. These levels should range between 60 and 80 percent in the day and 80 to 100 percent during nighttime. Now, a lot of peoples least favourite part of snake keeping - feeding. Ball pythons eat rodents in the wild, as stated previously. To give them a natural and nutritious diet similar to what they would eat in the wild, the main part of their diet should be rats (sized specific to your snake) - however they can be given a variety of other prey animals, such as mice, chicks, young rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, quail chicks, etc. You should NEVER feed live food to your snake, unless a veterinary professional advises you to for your snakes health. This is because feeding live is unethical to the prey animal, can stress out both parties, and can also cause injuries to your snake as the prey could bite or scratch them in defence. You should feed frozen-thawed food to them on a regular schedule to ensure your ball python gets the nutrition it needs to thrive!
