Problematicallybored - Hello

Me rn.

Writeblr Intro

So I've been peer pressured by a friend into joining Writeblr, and so I don't know much about this all. I am just here to have a good time.

About Me

I don't like using my actual name online, so you can call me Maura. My pronouns are she/they. Despite being on this runaway train we call Tumblr for six years, I don't really think I have ever shared any of my writing on here.

I mostly write high and urban fantasy, but I dabble in crime dramas, romance, and science fiction every once in a while. I have ADHD, so I am always jumping between a couple projects at a time.

Current Projects

Barknola Island

When Evie Bryn wants to escape the rush of urban life, what better way to do it than work as a lighthouse keeper on a small, rural island? But when she arrives to find the lighthouse abandoned and in disrepair, the last thing she expected was to uncover a mystery as old as the island itself.

A more lighthearted fantasy that features Celtic folklore creatures. Basically, if My Neighbor Totoro met Song of the Sea.

Blood by Proxy

Desdemona Walsh has amassed plenty of dirty cops within her city's police department and has dealt with plenty of undercover operations as the leader of the city's crime syndicate. Usually she can thwart all attempts through bribes and just enough reasonable doubt, however, the cops throw a wrench in her plan when they send her an attractive rookie detective by the name Allana Bunker. But as time goes on, Desdemona can't let her infatuation put her behind bars.

A slow burn, enemies-to-lovers crime drama starring two women who refuse to let their emotions get in the way of their jobs.

I think I've rambled on for long enough. Shout out to @problematicallybored for making me do this.

여어- 히싸씨부리 （ ɔ̸ᴉʇɐ͟N͞さんのツイート ）

guys ple a s e

I asked my mom if I could get a little fish to stay in my room if I got 10,000 notes on Tumblr, and she said yes. P l e a s e reblog this or something because I WANT A FISH

I’m begging y'all sjfjddkfkdk

Note: I claimed a community copy for this game, so while I did not pay money, I received it for free.

Exquisite Biome was pointed my way by one of my Discord community members as something I'd be interested in, and oh my God, they were right. As a professional ecologist and wildlife conservationist--and a fan of all things spec evo/bio--Exquisite Biome is everything I love conceptually, and it even had the audacity of being fantastically designed.

Caro Asercion on itch.io has managed to make a masterpiece of a GM-less game for one to three or four players, using only a single deck of cards. It's incredibly simple and intuitive, with much of the interaction coming from the human element. In fact, I loved the test run I gave it. Exquisite Biome (is it named after Exquisite Corpse? I'm pretty sure right?) uses drawn cards to guide player(s) through the designing of a speculative species, from the creation of the biome it lives in, to its most notable features and how it interacts with other species within the ecological web. Each designed species culminates in a scene played out, almost akin to a nature documentary, of an important part of the animal's life--giving greater insight into both its daily existence and its most important evolutionary aspects.

I can't give too much detail as to how, exactly, the game parts function, or what they are, but they are precisely balanced between detailed and loose enough to allow players the structure/random element needed for fun and guiding through the process, while leaving the vast majority of the imagination up to them. A traditional Exquisite Biome session is intended to be done with creating three unique animals, seeing how they all intersect with each other, but there are also other options for various modes of gameplay given as well!

My favorite aspect of Exquisite Biome, however, may be what isn't in the game just yet. The system itself is so perfectly intuitive and genius that it lends itself instantly to conceptualization of further deep-dives into specialization (speciation?) of different biomes and concepts--expansion packs, in short. What would a variant of EB look like in a xenobiological setting? Or perhaps an entire variant dedicated to rainforest or tropical reef biomes (or the various listed ones, even--even deserts have great biodiversity!)? Caro Asercion has managed to hit upon something here that I would really hope to see find success, because I can envision it having an incredibly dedicated and loyal fanbase for years and years to come.

I'd recommend this game to anyone who loves nature documentaries, who is passionate about life sciences, and who enjoys worldbuilding natural elements for tabletop settings! For fans of Monster Hunter, In Other Waters, Pokemon, Pikmin, and Wingspan, definitely give it a look to see if you'd be intrigued!

And, bonus round--a sketch of my own Exquisite Biome's first animal, the Shepherd Spider!

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A highly territorial species of cobweb-spiders, shepherd spiders create various 'pastures' with their webs where small insects such as beetles, flies, butterflies, and aphids can safely use as nursery habitats. By hiding within the webbed pastures, they obscure their location from predators, allowing an easier chance to reach adulthood and pass on their genes.

Additionally, the shepherd spiders tend to avoid immature specimens as much as possible: they prefer to hunt adult prey at the end of its lifespan, or sickly or otherwise 'unfit' food. In doing so, it ensures itself a steady supply of food, keeping a 'pantry', and opportunistically feeding on the young as needed when times are dry.

Shepherds mate for life, and their courtship rituals are based on the large, iridescent eyespots of the chelicerae. During rainy seasons, male spiders will gather up dew and rain and daub them on themselves, magnifying their false eyes to greater proportions and causing bright refractions in the water's reflected curves. A female will choose her mate based on the brightest display. There seems to be a growing subpopulation of males with prominent pseudopupils as well, which may affect apparent fitness during these rituals versus specimens with smaller or nonexistent pseudopupils.

hey reminder that the monterey bay aquarium has livestreams of the tanks and also fish r pretty

I edited the let’s go lesbians clip to be just the “let’s go lesbians!” part without the trivia questions and whatnot for a fun alarm tone. I figured yall might have fun with it too

(vocaroo download link here)

“But if you forget to reblog Madame Zeroni, you and your family will be cursed for always and eternity.”

skin color ref because some of yall non-black poc and whites keep fucking up as if yall don’t know there’s other shades of brown when u racebend for woke points or something 

(non-black artists please reblog)

if you dont reblog this youre straight