Hi there! My name is Aelita, avid animal enthusiast. I post lots of photos of the amazing creatures that live on Earth and the great places they live in, as well as write stories about them. Maybe you'll learn something new! I live in Kenya and the United states, but also travel the world frequently - be it to find lost corners of wilderness, or in some way help researchers protect animals and their homes.
Do you have any questions? All you've got to do is ask. I'm sure I'll have time to help.
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((Roleplay blog for my OC Aelita Stones. She does not belong to any specific fandom or universe. I follow the tag 'talkstotheanimals'.
"Regular speech." | 'Personal thoughts.' | ~Animal languages~ | ::Phone conversations etc:: | ((Out of character))
Time zone: CEST (GMT+1)
Avatar made by Orioto on deviantArt http://orioto.deviantart.com/ Header made by me.))
Although you’ll see Secretary birds most often on the ground, they can fly very well! In the air they actually look more like a crane than a bird of prey. They’re impressive hunters, going after a lot of different animals, including venomous snakes from time to time. Secretary birds will stomp on their prey until the unfortunate prey is either dead or can’t move anymore.
Blacktip reef sharks are gorgeous! They live in the shallow tropical and subtropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, and have some of the smallest home ranges of all sharks. They’re extremely bound to their home site, inhabiting the same stretch of reef for years. They’re quite timid sharks, and are easily scared away by humans swimming up to them.
People sometimes claim they have witnessed a whale, dolphin, seal, or sea lion “crying”. Cetaceans (and pinnipeds) have glands near the corners of their eyes which continuously produce an oily, nearly-gelatinous mucous that protects and streamlines their eyes in the aquatic environment. You will often see photos of fuzzy, dry sea lions sleeping on the beach with tear stains on their faces (they do not have tear ducts so it just runs down), but it’s not always so easy to see on cetaceans. The most common situation in which you’d be able to see a cetacean’s natural eye secretions is when they have been stranded/beached and their head is not in near-constant contact with the water. This situational association causes some to belief the animal is weeping in distress. While a stranded cetacean is no doubt in distress, the appearance of tears is not a symptom of their feelings as they do not physically “cry” in the same way as humans do. The animal’s eyes will continue to produce this substance regardless of emotional state. I chose this photo because the lighting actually allows you to see the protective “tears” coating the eye, causing it to appear somewhat blurry.
There is no doubt that whales, dolphins, sea lions and seals have emotions, can be sad or in distress - but they don’t cry like humans do. Their tears are actually very important and helpful to them! Read all about it above.
RULES: Mark the ones you’ve done. Use your result as your post title. Please, repost and don’t reblog!
TAGGED BY: @autopilot03
TAGGING: anyone who feels up to it!
Everything is answered for Aelita, of course.
[ X ] consumed alcohol [unwillingly, and never again]
[ X ] slept in the same bed with someone of the opposite sex
[ X ] slept in the same bed with someone of the same sex [as a little kid]
[ ] kissed someone of the same sex [at least not on the mouth, I mean, there’s moms and sisters of course]
[ ] had sex
[ X ] had someone in your room other than family
[ ] seen porn
[ ] bought porn
[ ] tried drugs
[ ] taken painkillers
[ ] taken someone else’s prescription medicine
[ ] lied to your parents
[ X ] lied to a friend
[ X ] snuck out of the house
[ X ] done something illegal
[ X ] felt hurt
[ X ] hurt someone
[ X ] wished someone to die
[ X ] seen someone die
[ ] missed curfew
[ X ] stayed out all night [nocturnal animals all the way]
[ ] eaten a carton of ice cream by yourself
[ ] been to a therapist
[ ] received a ticket
[ ] been to rehab
[ ] dyed your hair
[ X ] been in an accident
[ ] been to a club
[ X ] been to a bar
[ ] been to a wild party
[ ] been to a Mardi Gras parade
[ ] drank more than three alcoholic beverages in a night
[ ] had a spring break in Florida
[ ] sniffed anything
[ ] wore black nail polish
[ ] wore arm bands
[ ] wore t-shirts with band names
[ X ] listened to rap
[ ] dressed gothic
[ ] dressed girly
[ ] dressed punk
[ ] dressed grunge
[ X ] stole something
[ ] been too drunk to remember anything
[ X ] blacked out
[ X ] fainted
[ ] had a crush on a neighbour
[ X ] had a crush on a friend
[ ] been to a concert
[ ] dry-humped someone; been dry humped
[ ] been called a slut
[ ] called someone a slut.
[ ] installed speakers in a car
[ X ] broken a mirror [probably at some point?]
[ ] showered at someone of the opposites sex’s house
[ X ] brushed your teeth with someone else’s toothbrush
[ ] considered Ludacris your favorite rapper
[ ] seen an R-rated movie
[ ] cruised the mall
[ ] skipped school
[ ] had surgery
[ X ] had an injury
[ ] gone to court
[ ] walked out of a restaurant without paying/tipping
[ X ] caught something on fire [how about the savannah]
[ ] lied about your age
[ ] owned/rented an apartment/house
[ X ] broke the law in the authorities presence
[ ] made out with someone who had a GF/BF
[ X ] got in trouble with the authorities
[ X ] talked to a stranger
[ X ] hugged a stranger
[ ] kissed a stranger
[ X ] rode in the car with a stranger
[ X ] been harassed
[ X ] been verbally harassed
[ ] met face-to-face with someone you met online
[ ] stayed online for 5+ hours straight
[ ] talked on the phone for more than 4 hours straight
[ ] watched TV for 5 hours straight
[ ] been to a fair
[ ] been called a bad influence
[ ] drank and drove
[ ] prank-called someone
[ X ] laid on a couch with someone of the opposite sex
[ ] cheated on a test
GRAND TOTAL:
If you have 00-10 … write [I’m a goody-goody]
If you have 11-20 … write [I’m still a goody-goody]
If you have 21-30 … write [I’m average]
If you have 31-40 … write [I’m a bad kid]
If you have 41-50 … write [I’m a very bad influence]
If you have 51-60 … write [I’m a horrible person]
If you have 61-70 … write [I should be in jail]
If you have 71-80 … write [I should be dead]
If you have 81-90 … write [I got a ticket to Hell]
Pilot whales Bubbles, Squirt and Bimbo in their 640,000 gallon home at the Marineland of California. Bubbles lived to be in her 50′s and spent some 20+ years at Seaworld San Diego until her passing this summer. She was known to be an exceptionally social and gentle animal and will be missed by all who knew her.
I know Bimbo was a long-finned adult male (so obviously to the left) who was released, but don’t know who is Squirt and who is Bubbles, in this photo (because I don’t know who is older).
And does ANYONE know when Bubbles 1 (captured 1957, first pilot whale ever) died, or when Bubbles 2 was captured or died?
Because all I know is that Bubbles 1 was captured in 1957, and then people say there was one in between, and then Bubbles 3 was captured in 1966.
So, these three whales:
1957
1965, must be Bubbles 2
Unknown year, but it’s the Bubbles we know and love.
Edit: So I found the “source” of the photo (the only place Google can find with it), and it says the photo was taken in 1959, so it’s Bubbles 1 in it. Bimbo was released in 1967.
Great info on Bubbles, thank you! I must correct you though on that Bimbo was a Short-finned pilot whale, just like Bubbles and Squirt. Squirt was the youngest of the three, so that’s the little pilot on top in the first photo, with Bubbles all the way on the right. That was indeed Bubbles I.
As you mention there were three Short-finned pilot whales called Bubbles. I couldn’t find the capture date of Bubbles II either, though it was inferred that Bubbles I died somewhere between mid 1962 and 1963.
The dolphinproject has a pretty great article on Bimbo’s life, with photos and videos from the time of him, as well as Bubbles and Squirt too: https://dolphinproject.net/blog/post/one-dolphins-story-bimbo/ (even though I’m not at all fond of the dolphinproject, this post is actually kinda good and well researched and all).
He really was not - perhaps most conclusive being the fact that Long-finned pilot whales do not even occur off California. The only species found in the northern Pacific Ocean are Short-finned pilot whales. And also when looking at morphology alone: he may have long pecs for a Short-fin, but they’re not at all out of range :) The anchor marking on the chest also gives it away, as it is much larger and lighter on Long-finned pilot whales. Bimbo on the other hand has the thinner, darker anchor that’s typical of the species.
Here’s a comparison with an actual Long-finned pilot whale from Andenes, Norway on the left, and an even longer finned Short-finned pilot whale from Hokkaido, Japan on the right (and Bimbo of course in the middle):
Notice the much longer pec fins on the Long-fin, but also their different shape. Short-fins tend to have strongly curved, sickle-shaped pecs while those of Long-fins are really straight and almost sword-like.
Pilot whales Bubbles, Squirt and Bimbo in their 640,000 gallon home at the Marineland of California. Bubbles lived to be in her 50′s and spent some 20+ years at Seaworld San Diego until her passing this summer. She was known to be an exceptionally social and gentle animal and will be missed by all who knew her.
I know Bimbo was a long-finned adult male (so obviously to the left) who was released, but don’t know who is Squirt and who is Bubbles, in this photo (because I don’t know who is older).
And does ANYONE know when Bubbles 1 (captured 1957, first pilot whale ever) died, or when Bubbles 2 was captured or died?
Because all I know is that Bubbles 1 was captured in 1957, and then people say there was one in between, and then Bubbles 3 was captured in 1966.
So, these three whales:
1957
1965, must be Bubbles 2
Unknown year, but it’s the Bubbles we know and love.
Edit: So I found the “source” of the photo (the only place Google can find with it), and it says the photo was taken in 1959, so it’s Bubbles 1 in it. Bimbo was released in 1967.
Great info on Bubbles, thank you! I must correct you though on that Bimbo was a Short-finned pilot whale, just like Bubbles and Squirt. Squirt was the youngest of the three, so that’s the little pilot on top in the first photo, with Bubbles all the way on the right. That was indeed Bubbles I.
As you mention there were three Short-finned pilot whales called Bubbles. I couldn’t find the capture date of Bubbles II either, though it was inferred that Bubbles I died somewhere between mid 1962 and 1963.
The dolphinproject has a pretty great article on Bimbo’s life, with photos and videos from the time of him, as well as Bubbles and Squirt too: https://dolphinproject.net/blog/post/one-dolphins-story-bimbo/ (even though I’m not at all fond of the dolphinproject, this post is actually kinda good and well researched and all).
‘It’s clear sign language is not her forte, but she speaks English so we still got a language between us.’ Pidge was happy they had a language in common, even though speaking had proved to be exhausting. He had to get out of here and find his lion. He gave charades a shot instead. First shaking his head gently while using his index finger to point downward motioning for her to stay put.
He placed his index figure and thumb on the bridge of his nose, and contemplated how best to ask his next question with as few words, and thus, as little effort as humanly possible. Talking left him short of breath and he wanted to minimize the fatigue. “Seen. Giant. Lion?” Three words, they were off to a great start. He hadn’t chocked on any of the words, but his chest still felt as if someone had kicked him three times. One kick per word. This probably wasn’t going to get him anywhere either. The question was vague and by all counts even at his best someone would have given him a dubious glance. ‘I don’t want to sleep, but I know I should. I need to get out of here. Even if I wanted to… I can’t move.’ Thunderstruck as common sense struck him as the obvious hit him square between his eyes. Without thinking he hit his face, immediately regretting this impulsive action. It was plain to him he wasn’t working on all cylinders, but this was daft even by his standards. “Ah-tatata, stupid…” He said to himself in a whisper. ‘I’ll use my Voltcom to recall the lion.’ So he pointed to the desk toward his belongings motioning for something as vague as ever. He pointed toward his arm and then at the desk in hopes that maybe, just maybe, the arm shaped device would be understood as the item he wanted. Little did he know…
Shaking heads, pointing fingers - this was a much more communal ‘sign language’ that Aelita thankfully did understand. So he wanted her to stay. Good. She honestly didn’t feel much for leaving anyways. She nodded once. “Okay. I will stay here.” The last word had barely left her mouth when recollection suddenly flashed before her eyes. Memories presented themselves, but in reverse. Six years ago, when she first came to the lodge, when she first met Pete - back then she could not speak. She was the one lying in bed, wounded, without a voice, having only the gestures she could think of to communicate her thoughts. And Pete had been the one standing by her bedside, carefully trying to suss out her intentions, calmly speaking back in English and patiently enduring her loudly growled temper tantrums concerning her situation. And now everything had turned around, with a stranger wounded under the sheets, and Aelita there to take care of him. Or at least trying to.
It was quite strange, and as often she lightly shook her head in an attempt to rid the thoughts from her mind. Aelita’s eyes still looked at scenes far beyond the present when she took two steps back towards the drawer, ushering Mimi to do the same. She wanted to return to her previous spot to sit. But the man’s mention of a giant lion made her stop and she looked up, her gaze and mind very quickly returning to the physical world. So they were connected. The strange man and the stranger lion. At least if Boko’s story was true. She still was not certain, although the story was slowly beginning to seem more and credible. However strange it might be. Even though the thought of a giant lion scared her, there was no danger right now. And so she relaxed, losing the stiffness in her body.
She was about to answer when the second round of charades suddenly started, and the man’s pointing to his arm and the drawer redirected her physically. Not understanding what he was looking for she nonetheless rummaged through his suit, while explaining the lion situation. “No,” came her first answer. “I have not seen it. But I think a friend of mine has? Not so far from where I found you. He said he saw a very big lion, like, very big. Not a normal one, but made of metal. Is it yours? You don’t have to speak, you can just nnn-.” She cut herself off, mouth hanging onto that ‘n’ for just another second. With a giant lion occupying her thoughts she hadn’t even considered what the man was actually looking for. But now it dropped. A thing? For his arm? Hold on a moment. She looked at the man again and re-realised there was still that rather massive thing RIGHT THERE ON HIS ARM. Now it was Aelita’s turn to facepalm, albeit mentally and with a substantial less amount of pain.
She was still wary of it. It had been a few hours, but the severe shock that the strange bracelet had dealt out lay fresh in her memory. So she came back to the bed and just pointed at voltcom, her eyes still looking at it suspiciously, her finger carefully held not too close. “Is this what you’re looking for?” He sort of reminded her of Pete looking for the phone in his hand or the sunglasses on his face and she couldn’t help but internally smile at that.
A very descriptive and detailed profile of your muse.
TAGGED BY THE AWESOME @autopilot03
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NAME: Aelita Stones
NICKNAME: Aelit, just to lose one syllable
ALIAS: Gloria Kwiatkowski
AGE: mid twenties...?
SPECIES: Human (for the most part)
GENDER: Female (for the most part)
PRONOUNS: She/Her
ORIENTATION: Heterosexual
PROFESSION: None, officially
—————————————————————————-
« PHYSICAL ASPECTS »
BODY TYPE: Lean and lanky, long-limbed, but with a good deal of strong, wiry musles. Very physically fit, very little fat (slightly underweight, even).
PHYSICAL DEFORMITIES: None.
EYES: Green (as a human), blue when using her powers (any animal)
SKIN: Naturally quite pale, but being outside over the years has helped her to a healthy tan.
HEIGHT: 180 cm (5′11″)
WEIGHT: ~50 kg (~110 lbs)
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« FAMILY »
FAMILY: Biological family unknown, but she has found many in other animals. Some of which were very important to her, a few are still very important to her to this day.
SIBLINGS: No (known) blood relatives.
PARENTS: Biological parents unknown.
ANY PETS: yes [√] || no [ ] Well, yeah, though she’d never call them that. Rather, she has a good deal of animal friends, a few of which live with her in/around the Sawubona lodge, or around housing abroad. Some will even join her on travels.
DWELLING: Different things left and right, due to her frequent travelling. Some of the places she’s stayed for a long time were with three girls in Spain, the Sawubona lodge, and a US Navy Base.
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« SKILLS »
PHYSICAL PROWESS: 10/10 She's pretty strong on her own, but no match at all for a buff man - however, using her powers she far outmatches any human in strength.
SPEED: 10/10 Well, she does owe it partially to her powers, but she’s quick on her legs either way.
INTELLIGENCE: 7.5/10 she’s pretty bright, but lack of education and experience in life dampen it a little bit. Also slightly stubborn to learn too complicated things about the human world (like how tv works or so). She just isn’t interested and has no desire to understand it. Despite her lack of knowledge on many everyday subjects though, her intelligence shows in her extensive knowledge on the natural world, and even the basic fact she learned to read and write after having lived with non-humans for a very long time. She had a lot of catching up to do in terms of knowledge then.
MAGIC: ??/10 She’s definitely got magic, but I have no clue how to rate magic hahaha.
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« LIKES »
COLOURS: Greens, blues, yellows - basically any natural or earthy colours. They remind her of the places she’s lived, and the safety of being camouflaged.
SMELLS: She loves the smell of damp earth, and that strange fresh smell in the air after a big thunderstorm. The smells of other animals, and some certain humans can also be extremely nice and comforting to her.
FOOD: Basic, wild, natural foods. Fruits, veggies, maybe some pasta - nothing too fancy. If it weren’t for her different taste, she’d be fine chewing on grass and shoots as a human. Also, oddly, Mediterranean cuisine.
FRUITS: ALL THE FRUITS. She has a serious fondness for fruit. Mango, watermelon and berries are high on her list.
DRINKS: Water usually does best .
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES: Yes [ ] || No [ √ ]
FAVOURITES: None at all. She really, really dislikes the taste of it and can’t hold her liquor to save her life.
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« OTHER DETAILS »
DRIVER’S LICENSE: Yes [ ] || No [ √ ]
BAD HABITS: Jealousy, temper (tantrums), hypocritical, physically aggressive from time to time, has a tendency to yell a lot when angry. She’s also very bad at not scratching at scabs, forgets her phone all the time, and can be extremely flighty/jittery when she’s nervous.
SMOKES: Yes [ ] || No [ √ ] || Occasionally [ ]
DRUGS: Yes [ ] || No [ √ ] || Occasionally [ ]
Aelita is heterosexual, so romantically interested in men only. Overall romance and physical attraction are difficult things for her though – and even more so for me as the writer, they give me headaches trying to think through! I won’t go into endless rambling here but I guess I might say some things.
Relationships are not easy with Aelita. Her unique life means little experience, and there’s only two men she has ever been in any sort of long, loving (be it platonic or romantic) relationship with. Treading the line between love and lust is difficult for Aelita, as well as her partner. Like other animals she wears her emotions on her sleeve, and she feels incredibly deep love for her closest friends. There’s many things she can do out of love only, courtesy of her animal experiences, even if they would be considered flirtatious or sexy by ‘normal’ humans. Yet on the other hand she is very shy in some regards, and has had several bad experiences with men which left her very cautious of certain physical activities. However, despite her shyness and animal ways, she is by no means free of desire or oblivious to sexy things. With her being as physical as she is, but scared of actual sex, sexuality for Aelita is found in smaller things. Like stroking her lips, or kissing, or just being physically close together.
So for a man who is attracted to Aelita, he’ll have to endure her innocent and unintentional seductions, and (if he cares for her any bit at all) also keep himself in check so as to not scare her or hurt her feelings. It takes care and patience to gain Aelita’s love and trust. Combine that with her distaste for putting a label on a relationship, and it usually means Aelita and her partner are left somewhere in limbo between lovers and friends. However, as I said there’s only ever been truly two, and neither of them mind(ed) very much. Even without romance they have loving physical relationships as best friends, and that might be good enough.
Also, it might be worth noting that the difference between best friend and boyfriend has always seemed rather trivial to her in the first place. She’s not one to put a name on a relationship, or question where it is going – to her that only unnecessarily complicates things. Besides, she knows how fond most humans are of their language labels, and she’s afraid that naming it may change the way things are. She tries to operate on the simple basis of feeling things, and deciding how she feels about them. Nevertheless, when someone (correctly) suggests she is in love with someone, she can angrily retort they are ‘just friends’. Where does that leave us? With a confused me, that is, and the end of this answer because I still rambled on for way too long.
She’s quite a lover of fruit in general and would be hard pressed to really pick a favourite. It might be melons though, even if only for the fond memories. While most fruit she loves comes from lush areas where they’re a wonderful sweet snack, most wild melons she has encountered were little life-saving packets of water found in the desert. Finding a bunch of melons as an oryx was like hitting gold.
ツ- Can your muse speak any other language other than their main one?
Yes she can. As of now, her main languages are English and Portuguese. She’s fluent in English, more or less so in Portuguese. Besides that she knows some bits and pieces of French, Spanish, native African and native Amazonian languages. The Amazonian ones she has not used in a while though, so she’s very rusty with those (not to mention there are a plethora of languages spoken within the vast expanse of the Amazon).
However her true mother language is Russian, even though she can’t speak a word of it anymore now, nor really remembers ever learning it. It’s the first human language she picked up on, first as a newborn living with her natural parents, and a little later while roaming the huge country with foxes, moose, wolves, and many other animals.
Although other animals do not have true language like humans do (with separate words and grammar and stuff), I should note that she can also understand many of the calls and verbal communications of the species she can turn into (as well as some she can’t).
Little calms Aelita more and faster than being in close physical contact with a close friend. Especially with her human friends she can really be quieted down by having a pair of strong arms wrapped around her. It makes her feel safe. Nose in shirt, eyes closed – no more sensory input besides hearing their breathing and beating heart. With no friends around going underwater can help too. Especially if she turns into a whale and dives down really deep. In the starving cold and pitch darkness there is nothing more to frighten or worry her. Basically sensory deprivation is what can really reset her mind, especially if the upset was caused by sensory overload in the first place. If the disturbance is more emotional she really does crave the comforting touch of a familiar. Be it the tight hugs described above, or a friendly trunk-to-mouth touch from an elephant, or an amicable flipper stroke from a dolphin.
♡ : Is there a certain scent that brings about nostalgia? If so, describe a memory this scent brings back.
The smell of the sea. Sawubona is quite a ways away from the Indian Ocean, and on her travels too she does not get to visit the ocean very often. But the truth is she has spent many years of her childhood in salty waters with families that lived there, and she misses the great blue an awful lot sometimes. Especially the whale and dolphin pods who took her under their fins are very, very dear to her heart. And while whales lack any real sense of smell, Aelita would occasionally turn into a human, breathing in the salty winds.
One memory the smell of the sea may bring back is her time with the Antarctic type A killer whales, who travelled from the calm Antarctic waters through the rough southern seas, almost to the equator. On one particularly stormy day in Drake Passage (honestly, the calm days are a rarer sight in the roughest sea on the planet) she returned to her human self. Supported by the huge black-and-white bodies of her adopted family, she rode the swell that would rise and fall some ten metres at a time. It was one of those moments where it was really driven home to her what a small and insignificant creature she was compared to the grandeur and endless power of the ocean.
❣: Describe a way that will earn affection (whether platonic or romantic) from them.
Most of Aelita’s affection is dealt out to dear friends she loves, be they human or any other animal, while just doing things together. So in that sense just being her friend and spending time with her will earn affection, not in the least because she’s a very affectionate person to begin with. But if I had to really point out a solid, single action, then it would have to be saving one of her animal friends. It barely even matters whether she knows the person or not, saving an animal will warrant them a heartfelt hug and perhaps even a kiss from Aelita.
☾ : On a sleepless night, what would they be found doing?
Let me start by saying Aelita does not have many sleepless nights to begin with. Sleeping is a rather dangerous activity in her eyes. She may be a light sleeper, but letting her guard down and relinquishing her awareness of any potentially dangerous situation is very frightening to her (one of the main reasons she despises tranquilizers). So if she goes without sleep for a night, or cannot fall asleep even if she wants or needs to, it’s usually for very good reason. So she’d spend her truly sleepless night trying to fix whatever is keeping her from her sleep.
That all being said, there are times when she has nightmares and is simply afraid to go to sleep again. In those cases she usually seeks comfort with her close friends, especially if the dreams spelled out said friends dying or being taken away. In Sawubona this would usually mean waking up Pete and asking if she could spend the rest of the night with him. His bed is large enough, and she’s been with him for so many years that she trusts him enough to sleep in the same bed and not be scared. In the Navy she’d head over to Ryan and spend the night sleeping next to his bed as a wolf or so – cramming herself into his one-person bed together with him would probably give her about as much stress as the nightmares themselves.