Common or Garden Variety Emma
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emmavaria.bsky.social
Common or Garden Variety Emma
@emmavaria.bsky.social
130 followers 59 following 1.3K posts
An eclectic assortment of organic molecules and highly impure water in the shape of a professional rando and technomantic adept (fourth class). Turtle-shaped turtle girl who loves turtles. Unrepentently trans and queer af.
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emmavaria.bsky.social
There was also this guy, which was not in any sense a tiny wee little delicate thing, but it pleases regardless. It must have been four or five, possibly as much as six inches across.
A photograph from above of a large, somewhat round mushroom cap with two splits dividing it roughly into halves. It has a dark speckled surface which causes it to appear to be covered in soil, fading to a paler, clearer light tan at the edges. It grows in rich dark soil amidst a scattering of leaves and pine needles. An edgewise photograph of a large mushroom. It has very pronounced gills and a stalk which is short but quite thick for its size. The cap has a dark speckled surface which causes it to appear to be covered in soil, fading to a paler, clearer light tan at the edges and through the gills. It grows in rich dark soil amidst a scattering of leaves and pine needles.
November 20, 2025 at 5:06 AM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Tiny wee little thing. I don't know what it was called, or anything about it. It didn't exist the previous day and was gone the following morning. But for one glorious afternoon I got to appreciate its ethereal fairytale delicacy, and I feel like a better person for it.
A photograph of a creamy off-white mushroom with a slender stalk and a broad, rounded cap. Judging from the scale of the dewy pine needles, moss, and grasses surrounding it, it is very small indeed, the cap perhaps the size of a pinky fingertip or less.
November 20, 2025 at 4:51 AM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Why am I fearful and angry every time I see an American flag on a car on the road, or flying from a house? Do I hate or fear our country? No. I feel like it's been co-opted as a symbol by those on the right who would see trans folk gone. But we're American too, and we love this country just as much.
An image of an American flag re-envisioned using the colours of the transgender pride flag; the red stripes are now a pale pink, and the blue field of stars is now a much paler blue.
April 26, 2025 at 4:55 AM
emmavaria.bsky.social
This is what an American coot tail looks like.

#PlacesBirdsWereASecondAgo #birds #birdbutt 🪶
A photograph showing two black American coots, aquatic birds of the rail family, on a body of water. The one in the foreground is in the process of diving, its head already below water and its tail pointed skyward, a few tiny droplets of water flying. The one in the background seems to watch, slightly out of focus.
April 23, 2025 at 5:09 PM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Post a picture of who you wanted to be as a little kid.

I dunno, does "older teenager" count as "little kid"?

On the left.
A still image from the 1993 movie "Demolition Man" portraying three officers of the fictional San Angeles Police Department (played by Sandra Bullock, Sylvester Stallone, and Benjamin Bratt, left to right) in futuristic black law enforcement uniforms and sunglasses and carrying glow rods, futuristic electric stun weapons reminiscent of cattle prods.
April 19, 2025 at 8:17 PM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Here, better photo. I think my assessment of VF-1 is the most accurate.
A close-up macro photograph if a Battletech tabletop wargame miniature. It appears to be a hybrid of the Wasp and Stinger models of Land-Air Mechs (LAMs), which is to say, it looks exactly like a VF-1 Valkyrie variable fighter from the Macross/Robotech anime series. It is primed grey but unpainted.
April 13, 2025 at 9:23 PM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Mine is a problem of approximately this magnitude:
A photograph of a set of shelves puled high with unopened, unassembled model kits from the Gundam, Star Trek, and Star Wars franchises, as well as Battletech tabletop miniatures and assorted scenery and associated crafts and supplies. Visibly-marked boxes include a RX-79 Gundam Ez8, RX-78GP02A Gundam Physalis, MS-06 Zaku 2, Gundam Deathscythe Hell, Gundam Lfrith Ur, Gundam Aerial Rebuild, MS-07B-3 Gouf Custom, USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Refit, BB-8 droid, R2-D2 droid, TIE fighter, TIE interceptor, X-wing, and Y-wing.
April 13, 2025 at 6:53 PM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Silhouette time! Please bring out your nature silhouettes!

#birds #silhouettes 🪶
A photograph of two seagulls swimming on the wavelets of a relatively calm body of water. The seagulls are dark silhouettes against the low, golden illumination of a sunset setting the waves agleam. V-shaped trails of ripples spread behind the two gulls, their textures accentuated by the contrast of alternating hard shadows and bright highlights.
April 11, 2025 at 6:12 PM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Multnomah Falls, Oregon, on May 18, 2016.
10', ƒ/22, ISO 100
Pentax DA* 16-50mm F2.8 on Pentax K-30.

#waterfallwednesday
A photograph depicting cascading white water falling down a two-tiered waterfall. In the top-center background of the photo the upper fall can be seen against a wall of stone and lush, verdant greenery; in front of it, an arched pedestrian footbridge with several people on it crosses above the lower waterfall, which continues the cascade into a pool of dark, nearly black water.
April 2, 2025 at 5:19 PM
emmavaria.bsky.social
A photograph of a small pet turtle wearing a knitted costume resembling a brown and yellow striped bee with white knitted wings and large black knitted eyes. The turtle is clambering up onto a rock, and several plants are visible in the background.
March 25, 2025 at 5:17 PM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Age yourself with a cartoon you watched as a kid.

Sigh. Don't wanna. But if I must.
A still image from an old cartoon. An anthropomorphic mouse in a red, orange, and yellow superhero suit takes to the sky, right arm extended in a very Superman-like pose, a blur in his wake suggesting rapid motion. A logo in large red letters, outlined in yellow, reads "Mighty Mouse" along the lower left corner. The background is a gradient of deep blue at top, fading gradually to a light blue-green. The picture is small, grainy, and faded, suggesting age.
March 20, 2025 at 2:09 AM
emmavaria.bsky.social
If moths make you happy, then I'd like you to have this dramatic argent and sable morsel of goodness, tentatively identified as Rheumaptera hastata. Spotted in Skagway, Alaska, on June 1st 2024.
A photograph of a moth, its wings alternating striped bands of black and white, resting upon a window. The background is a featureless dull green blur behind it. Tentatively identified as an argent and sable moth, Rheumaptera hastata.
March 7, 2025 at 11:20 PM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Surprise!

It turns out that I am not going home tonight.
A photograph showing the view from the driver’s position of an automobile at night. Revealed in the headlights is a tree or extremely large tree branch lying perpendicular across the entirety of the gravel drive in front of the car, and extending beyond the drive for several meters on each side.
February 24, 2025 at 5:26 AM
emmavaria.bsky.social
A screenshot from the map website MapQuest showing the Gulf of Mexico, surrounded by the southeast United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The label for the Gulf has been altered to read "Gulf of Insecure Mediocre White Men".
February 19, 2025 at 6:08 PM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Author unknown. I've seen this around for years but never with an attribution. If anyone knows who wrote this, I would be absolutely thrilled to be able to attribute it going forward.
Image consists entirely of black text upon a white background, which reads as follows: DEATH BEFORE TRANSITION you will have to pry my gender from my cold dead hands and even then all you will hold is an idea i carved into the side of the world with fire
February 18, 2025 at 11:31 PM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Without downloading any new pics, where are you mentally?
A black and white screen capture of Lucille Ball from the classic 1950s television program "I Love Lucy", her mouth slightly open, her eyes wide in alarm as she looks far to her left. A caption in the upper-right corner reads, "That awful moment when you realize this IS your circus and those ARE your monkeys."
January 24, 2025 at 12:19 AM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Something in orange, you say? Like, f'rinstance, a 2006 Dodge Charger RT Daytona in Hemi Pearl Orange?
A photograph of a 2006 Dodge Charger RT Daytona sedan showing a copper-coloured metallic paint job and black "Daytona" decals, taken from the rear left quarter at night.
January 18, 2025 at 2:15 AM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Update again: finished Death, which was not what I hoped it'd be, and have started Witches. Just finished Equal Rites. Hope Witches as a whole is more in line with my expectations than Death.
A fan-created graphic showing the 55 novels and stories of Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, broken down into a number of thematic arcs and colour coded to differentiate between starter novels, regular novels, young adult novels, illustrated novels, and short stories. Each of the items in the Watch Novels section (Guards! Guards!, Men At Arms, Feet of Clay, Jingo, The Fifth Elephant, Night Watch, Thud!, and Snuff) and the Death Novels section (Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Music, Hogfather, and Thief of Time), as well as the first items in the Witches Novels section (Equal Rites) and Rincewind Novels section (The Colour of Magic) has been crossed out with a thick red hand-drawn "X".
January 16, 2025 at 12:25 PM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Image is a screenshot consisting entirely of text. On a white background, alternating lines of blue and green text, all lower-case and with no punctuation, read as follows: and the universe said I love you and the universe said you have played the game well and the universe said everything you need is within you and the universe said you are stronger than you know and the universe said you are the daylight and the universe said you are the night and the universe said the darkness you fight is within you and the universe said the light you seek is within you and the universe said you are not alone
January 16, 2025 at 12:53 AM
emmavaria.bsky.social
The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is here on Bluesky today! This is where I got all the (excellent) raven and (poor) magpie shots from May which I've posted here over the past six months. Give them a visit if you're ever in the Anchorage area!
@akwildlife.bsky.social
A photograph of a wooly brown wood bison standing in a field of short green grass. In the background, towering mountain peaks speckled with patches of snow loom over the scene; white and grey clouds mostly dominate a sliver of pale blue sky.
January 4, 2025 at 4:50 AM
emmavaria.bsky.social
without downloading new pics, what’s your energy going into 2025?
A screenshot from the video game Final Fantasy 14. A character of the lalafell race, wearing a blue robe, green and white striped pants, and a bright yellow pointy wizard hat, lies prone in the snow with the shadows of trees and branches falling over her. Her health bar is empty; she is dead.
December 28, 2024 at 2:34 AM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Post a picture you took (no description) to bring some zen to the timeline.

Or don't.
A photograph of a wooden pier extending out into a calm lake at sunrise on a foggy morning. To right of center, on the horizon, a stand of silhouetted trees are visible through the mist, reflected in the still water. Muted pale pink-orange light suffuses throughout.
November 16, 2024 at 4:15 AM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Guess what?
Coot butt! #birdbutt #birds 🪶

(I wanted one morning to take a photo of birds diving on the local pond. I'm not quite sure exactly what I expected that to look like other than... this.)
A photograph of two American coots. One's head has plunged into the water and is not visible as it briefly raises its tail to the sky to begin a dive. The other floats, out of focus, just behind it.
November 16, 2024 at 3:31 AM
emmavaria.bsky.social
tuuurrrrtleeees. 😍

Obviously *not* endangered, this one, but... tuuurrrrtleeees. 😍
A photograph of a red-eared slider turtle sunning itself upon an artificial concrete rock, its namesake red "ear" patch clearly visible on its head. Green pond water makes up the background of the image, a few out-of-focus leaves floating upon its surface.
November 16, 2024 at 3:09 AM
emmavaria.bsky.social
Post any 4 from Nature. Do it for Eli, who doubted.
A photograph of a tiny whitewater rapid in a small stream flowing through the dense, lush vegetation of a temperate rainforest. The white of the water contrasts strongly with the vivid greens of the foliage and the near-black shadows of the scene. In the foreground, the water crashes against a large mossy stone as it comes to rest in the pool below. In the background, a fallen tree covered in moss spans the stream. A photograph of two seagulls swimming on the wavelets of a relatively calm body of water. The seagulls are dark silhouettes against the low, golden illumination of a sunset setting the waves agleam. V-shaped trails of ripples spread behind the two gulls, their textures accentuated by the contrast of alternating hard shadows and bright highlights. A photograph of a desert horizon just after sunset. Fiery red and orange clouds above the horizon fade to a duller grey as they approach the top of frame. Below, they form a dramatic backdrop sillhouetting a deep grey low hill which extends off of frame to the right. In the foreground, near the left edge, a solitary desert shrub's black silhouette contrasts boldly against the incandescent sky. A photograph of a tall, stilt-legged blue heron wading in the shallow water at the edge of a pond, surrounded behind and to the left by dense vegetation featuring a spray of tiny pink flowers. In the bottom-right quadrant of the photograph, the foliage above is reflected in the still water.
November 14, 2024 at 12:05 AM