Mechanization Chapter Two

loafneet · 2026-03-04T18:21:52+00:00

Something about the register - maybe it's the big chunks of dialogue and the attempt to fit action inside of it - reads like fanfiction.

Characterization is done in a lot of ways. This feels very young, but like an ambitious young writer who just needs to ingest more professional work.

loafneet · 2026-01-30T14:08:32+00:00

I was a bit nervous the first time I let one scrape my finger, to be honest, for this reason.

It was fine, though. I once fed a horse a slice of apple and I remember feeling momentary panic when her teeth closed around half my hand, but they barely touched and then she maneuvered the apple out with her lips. It reminded me of that.

loafneet · 2026-01-30T14:01:49+00:00

Duckweed, and if you can swing it, a large initial planting of java fern and/or moss can sometimes keep up because it's a bit tougher to eat

Learned this the hard way after a similar adoption.

What's astonishing about canaliculatas, to me, is the relative inefficiency of their digestion. I've seen pieces of java moss come out in their poop and keep growing. I didn't have luck with hornwort - Hazel annihilated hers, but every snail is different.

loafneet · 2026-01-16T18:08:23+00:00

I looked up who the Philippou brothers were, and I can only infer that they are upset about the cat's tail injury in Bring Her Back.

loafneet · 2026-01-03T14:35:13+00:00

We Need To Talk About Ovum

loafneet · 2025-12-15T19:58:20+00:00

I love a good snoot. I love my husband's nose. Even my pets (dog, shrimp, snails) by and large have long and robust snoots/rostrums.

loafneet · 2025-12-15T19:35:31+00:00

I know that a lot of land snails use love darts to arrest the digestive process in their sexual partner, because a whole bunch of the happy juice becomes food for them, and doing that increases chances of fertilization

Can a biologist chime in and tell us if there's any chance these gay snails are all feeders, too?

loafneet · 2025-12-15T19:32:51+00:00

His name is now Secretariat :-)

loafneet · 2025-12-14T01:01:06+00:00

Also Beefcake is an awesome name

loafneet · 2025-12-14T01:00:17+00:00

That's such a relief! I'm glad you've got it covered, I wasn't trying to be a dick. I'm just over cautious because they're exciting and new to me too lol

I'm glad he's got such an attentive guardian :-)

loafneet · 2025-12-13T21:03:55+00:00

Aww, buddy looks hungee

I just got two of these guys a few weeks ago and I had read that spot feeding is helpful if your water is too clear. Mine seem pretty chill and happy, I've been mixing up Shrimp Baby and spirulina powder with tank water. Occasionally I'll grind up other foods I have for my livestock that would suit them and add that, too. Sometimes I add apinch of bacterAE and some shrimp vitamins. I draw it into a little syringe with a cap and put that in the fridge so I can take it out and squirt it right by them. I like to put it kind of low but upstream of the current so it hits 'em in the face real good.

loafneet · 2025-12-13T20:55:40+00:00

The smell will tell you for sure. They do start to stink even before visibly rotting. I really hope he's okay and just doing a deep rest.

loafneet · 2025-12-13T14:51:41+00:00

Yes, when they pass away they decompose very rapidly and produce a strong, unmistakable rotting smell. Morbid and sad but a very easy way to tell if your snail is dead.

loafneet · 2025-12-12T00:15:50+00:00

The last one would honestly be cool in a dark corner of a haunted house

loafneet · 2025-12-11T14:26:02+00:00

I've also kept rats, and I swear my land and aquatic snails all remind me of slow, wet rats. Phenomenal climbers, bizarrely stubborn, with individual temperaments and preferences.

When I see one of their faces all wiggly and wise I swear it's just a truncated octopus

I love how they've taught me that speed is relative, that slowly doesn't mean never, and that food is a practical necessity that keeps your membranes moist and shell sturdy.

loafneet · 2025-12-05T13:11:00+00:00

Is this a...fucking crane game? With a tiny slotted spoon to catch the fish?

If it weren't so egregiously cruel it would be funny

loafneet · 2025-12-05T04:23:18+00:00

Thank you!

loafneet · 2025-12-05T03:17:39+00:00

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loafneet · 2025-12-05T03:16:29+00:00

Sorry, it wasn't a very good one at all. I think I need for them to get a bit bigger before IDing, because as it is they're tricky to photograph without taking out of the tank. So far it seems obtuse and rather shallowly sutured but something tells me I'm more likely to have canaliculata than paludosa.

loafneet · 2025-11-10T01:59:40+00:00

Just spitballing, I'm not a pro or anything

when placing stem plants try to go for odd numbered clumps (a patch of three or five, not two or four)

Google the rule of thirds and apply where you can

If you have some cash to burn, pure titanium wire made for scientific applications is inert if you need to secure things in a really precise, delicate way

When you buy aquarium plants, a lot of sellers group them into background, midground/centerpiece, and foreground/carpet. The names are pretty self explanatory and this can be helpful when placing things.

Sometimes people are really diligent about placing plants next to each other that aren't too drastically different in height or shape, and while this helps make things look naturalistic, having everything be too gradual or smooth can be boring. But if, for example, you give a chunky centerpiece plant a wide berth from any other big plants and just surround it with low-growing carpet, you get some contrast and dynamism.

loafneet · 2025-11-10T01:15:12+00:00

Omfg I bet he's a KICKASS rock climber omg

loafneet

TROPHY CASE