July morning walk along the lake path.
Bats All, Folks: The Ratbats
The absence of birds as airborne competition has greatly encouraged the development of powered flight in the gliding kiterats of the Middle Rodentocene. As of the Late Rodentocene, these flying hamsters have expanded in great success, and their ability to fly has allowed them to colonize every continent, and by 20 million years PE, over a thousand species of ratbats are extant, filling nearly every niche imaginable.
Many of the more primitive and basal forms are insectivores, adapted for catching bugs midair. Some larger species of the basal lineages have become hawk-like predators, such as the wingsels (Mustelovolaticus spp.), which specialize on small, ground-dwelling prey such as jerryboas and furbils.
However, others have diverged into new and unusual behavioral niches as they became increasingly specialized into other lifestyles. Some, such as the nightflyers (Noctinyctomys spp.) retain their insectivorous diet, but instead avoid competition with their other relatives by being most active at night and Beta-twilight, feasting on the buffet of nocturnal insects. Others have included new supplements to their diet, such as the blue birbbat (Cyanoptera lagocephalus), which feeds mostly on insects but also includes nectar in its diet, its long bristly tongue adapted for probing bugs out of their nests also being surprisingly well-suited for penetrating flowers to reach its sweet prize, and acting as an important pollinator in the process.
The ratbats thrive in dense forest too, where smaller species take advantage of the abundance of seeds, fruit and insects in the treetops. Some, such as the nutcrackers (Pterosciurus spp.) feed mostly on seeds and fruit, which brings them into partial competition with the arboreal squizzels and spunkmunks: but one competition that they can also alleviate due to their ability to catch flying insects out of the reach of their non-flighted rivals. Others specialize on feeding on wood-boring insects, such as the woodchippers (Xyloclastes spp.), which gnaw through bark with their incisors to reach deep into trees to feed on burrowing grubs, and also take advantage of the sugary sap that flows when they chew on the inner wood.
And as larger creatures begin to evolve in the Late Rodentocene, some ratbats have become large-scale scavengers as well, such as the mountain hawckal (Cynopteramys alpinus), a condor-like scavenger that nests on clifftops and searches out carrion of cavybaras and bumbaas that have been left behind by ground-dwelling predators. With a wingspan of over six feet the hawckal is a less agile flyer, and instead soars for long distances riding on air currents to conserve energy.
But though they closely converge upon birds in flight and in niches, the ratbats are anatomically and behaviorally very different. For one, they are quadrupedal on the ground, running on all fours with their wings, which bear two clawed fingers possessing paw-like toe pads, and to take off they utilize a vaulting launch similar to that of pterosaurs, pushing up with their front limbs to launch themselves into the sky.
Like all mammals, ratbats give live birth and nurse their young on milk. As pregnancy adds extra weight and makes flying difficult, this favored the formation of pair bonds, allowing the male to forage for food while the expectant female stays in the nest, and once the young are born the responsibility of defending them goes to the father, with the mother foraging for food and returning only to nurse the young. In some species, communal nests of related individuals are formed, with multiple mated pairs caring for each others' young and cooperatively defending them until the young are weaned and strong enough to fly on their own.
▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪
The Indian side of the Indo-Gangetic plains, one of the most populous patches on Earth and home to over half a billion people. Each white dot is a human settlement.
The only Good Jews are the Jews who are self-sacrificing, who will go willingly to their deaths for the salvation of others. The Good Jew, who will willingly undergo torments unto death, is the only Good Jew.
The Good Jew will absolve their murderers. The Good Jew will 'turn the other cheek'. The Good Jew will write "I still believe that people are good at heart" when being persecuted. The Good Jew will lay down and die for the comfort and education of others.
But for all other Jews who fail to attain such lofty standards?
They are betrayers, corruptors, colonizers, genociders, child murderers, blood drinkers. Capitalists and communists. Sexually depraved and yet sexless, where even the Jewish men are emasculated. They are White, yet also still Other. They are rootless cosmopolitans, from nowhere, yet told to go back where they came from. Their mere presence is a taint, and yet they hide among the disciples of the Good Jew, waiting for their chance to betray and sell out.
The only Good Jew is a Dead Jew who goes willingly to die, on the cross of the Romans or from the knives and guns of terrorists. All other Jews, who refuse to lay down and die, who dare to say "Am Yisrael Chai", that the Children of Yisrael Live, are therefore innately evil and irredeemable, and must be shunned for daring to cling to life.
SO MANY BOTS WHY DID THEY SUDDENLY START TARGETTING ME IN DECEMBER BARELY HAD ANY SPAM ACCOUNT FOLLOWS BEFORE FRUSTRATION!!!
my quality of life has improved tenfold ever since i was introduced to breezewiki, a site that exists solely to remove the bloat from fandom.com wikis. no more ads, quizzes, random autoplaying videos, popups, recommended pages from other sites, or discord server member lists. just the wiki. these things are finally readable again
It is May but it is still October.
It is still October whenever another hostage's body is found. It is still October whenever another IDF casualty is announced. It is still October whenever the red alert shows up on my phone. It is still October when people chant for "intifada". It is still October when people call for our home to be destroyed. It is still October when people deny what was done to our brothers and sisters. It is still October when people show support for Hamas. It is still October when a new lie about us is believed and spread. It is still October when a former role model wishes us dead.
It is still October.
When will it stop being October?
When October 2024 arrives, will it still be October 2023?