All spiders in the Portia genus are fascinating because of how much they accomplish with so little. They’re all tiny little jumping spiders, mostly under one centimeter, so they have tiny little brains.
Most Portia spiders have a brain of only 600,000 neurons, which is physically much smaller than the head of a pin. This forces them to think rather slowly from our point of view, but compared to their prey, they’re devastatingly brilliant.
For example, many jumping spiders are know to take detours when stalking prey. Portia spiders are notable for taking very long detours that break line of sight, which means they must remember and predict where the prey will be when they arrive.
When hunting sedentary web-building spiders, which usually have poor vision, a Portia spider will mimic a bit of leaf or bark to get into attack range. They only move forward during light breezes that shake the web enough to hide their footsteps. If the target moves to defend itself, Portia will disengage, retreat, and try again.
If they can’t get a good approach, they have also been recorded mimicking the vibrations of a trapped insect, or a male spider’s mating dance, to lure the prey spider into attack range. One Portia Fimbriata, the fringed jumping spider, was observed using trial and error to vibrate a target web for three days, repeating any pattern that caused the prey spider to move closer.
In places where other spiders aren’t common enough to be reliable prey, Portia adapts. They’ve been witnessed scavenging and even consuming nectar from flowers. They also innovate new tactics to hunt insects. For example, many insects freeze and stand motionless to avoid predators. Portia spiders counter this by guessing where the prey is and jumping nearby, which often scares the target into breaking cover and running. Then Portia can spot it and resume the normal detour-and-ambush routine.
The population native to Queensland, Australia is particularly inventive. They’re known to drop down on target spiders from above, a tactic called “swooping”. While all other Portia gladly jump into target spider webs, the Queensland orb weaver Argiope Appensa discourages them by shaking the web violently, which disrupts their normal techniques. Swooping counters this defense.
They also use a unique walking gait, slow and robotic, when hunting other saltacid jumping spiders with large forward-facing eyes. They freeze and depend on their natural camouflage whenever the target looks directly at them, so we suspect they prey may not even recognize them as living creatures. Portia rarely uses this “cryptic stalking” technique against any other prey.
Portia Africanus appeared to be a comparatively bad hunter at first glance, but that was in lab testing with 1v1 combat. In the wild, this spider hunts in packs.
Yes, really. They form social groups that hunt cooperatively and sometimes share prey. Groups of mixed ages and sexes will gang up outside the nest of a target spider. They prevent the target from entering or leaving and surround them until one of the Portia, usually a juvenile, manages to lunge forward and bite.
I don’t know why but this makes me think about that one post that’s like “if the uncanny valley was a defense mechanism then what exactly were we hunted by for so long that that evolved?”
personally i like the sneaking out option a lot because it could potentially make their first meeting not be tense and formal so he gets to know the real her briefly before she has to put on a formal royal demeanor
True! Though I’d imagine the formal meeting would be fine too since there’s age differences between the options. If they meet formally, they’d be young children so Zelda wouldn’t really understand “acting like a princess” to the entirety of the idea. She’d just be like, what, 5 or 6 at most here so she and Link have nothin’ to hold back and become bestest best friends.
The stable option would put them both at an older age, maybe around 10 for both, so she would now be trying to act like her role under the pressure of the kingdom and the added stress of questions about her bloodline, but struggle with it at such a young age (and will continue to struggle with it). The stables is the only place Zelda feels like she can be herself, specifically around her horse Stormcloud, then bam, there’s Link sneakin’ about to pet the horses, and so they meet that way when she catches him in the act.
The last one, the one where she sneaks out, def occurs when they’re both in their teens, and she’d have a very clear picture of the role she’s meant to play and the thoughts the kingdom have on her and the rumored scandal surrounding her family. In this one I can only imagine her succeeding in sneaking out because Impa (or Sheik, haven’t fully decided yet) helps her sneak out (something any other guard would be immediately fired for, but she’s too good at her job and a close family friend that they’d never). Anyhow, she sneaks out, she goes on a joyride with her horse OR maybe she has a specific destination? Maybe the tiny village a few hours down is having a festival and she sneaks out to attend it, and that’s where she meets Link under a disguise. They become fast friends and hang out for the festival but she must be home soon before getting caught (probably gets caught anyway) so they part without Link knowing her name.
Fastforward a few months later he and his family visits the capitol for business and he just so happens to run into her again, only she’s in her royal garb this time, but he quickly recognizes her when she’s like “HEY WAIT ITS YOU!” And’s just like “WHA? I made friends with a PRINCESS?? Cool! :D”
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ALTERNATIVELY! I’ve just remembered @naturecomics and their suggestion of mix-matching comes back into my brain (this is why I shouldn’t headcanon so late into the night and sleepy; I almost pass up good suggestions ;w;)
-The two meet as kids when a royal visit to Link’s village occurs. Rune (Link’s parent) is in the royal guard stationed at said village so the fam is familiar with them on that basis. Zelda, Link, and Linkle hit it off easily and become bestest friends in the span of 5 minutes. Results in regular visits so Zelda can play with her new buddies
-Both are older now (10-11) and Zelda is beginning to be taught what it means to be a princess and the protector of Hyrule. Stress begins to mount here but she’s still not entirely aware of the whole of it. This time, it’s Link who visits her via his family coming to Hyrule castle. Maybe it’s for a surprise visit but decides to sneak into the stables where he knows Zelda is. Hints at his proficiency at sneaking around. Heartfelt reunion, Linkle soon joins them, and they hang out.
-In their teens, probably 17 or 18. Zelda is now burdened with the stress that comes with being who she is and where she comes from. Rarely gets to leave the palace outside of royal duties or being accompanied by guards all the time. Hasn’t seen Link in several months and only in contact through letters; one letter has Link talking about a festival his village is holding and that he and his sisters were going. Zelda wants to go but is (reluctantly) refused by her parents, citing the work she needed to get done. What occurs is dubbed “zelda’s great escape” where she sneaks out to go to this festival and parties too hard, and what gets her caught is the fact that she sleeps on the couch of the Link fam’s house instead of going home like she planned
-Current time, both in their late 20s (like 25 or 26). This is when the adventure officially begins. Something happens that prompts Zelda and Link into going on a quest to save Hyrule a brewing darkness that’s slowly making itself known.
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I actually had a whole lot more written it almost resembled a fanfic so, I cut a good portion out to keep it relatively shorter and easier to read. xD If ya’ll are interested I can come back in and write it all out later. x3
It’s way harder to relearn a song you’ve known by heart for over 20 years than memorizing a completely new one. Add in the fact you are supposed to be the smart mouth and it should come easily to you.
I swear those doodles started out randomly and one picture led to the other.
I recently started bingewatching animaniacs both reboot and 90s version, and gosh… never had i teared so much laughing and smiling from a show. QvQ I regret not watching this show sooner. [Also, that scene from Wakko’s Wish “
cAN u tELL mE tHe sTorY??
“ made me tear up way too much my uni lecture got soaked in the process afsdhgdmnxcv i love the movie smuch]
I am Silver Tongue, I am an artist. I have many characters and you can check out my art in the art tag. I occasionally practice witchcraft though I don't do anything too complicated. I am girl 2 and don't know what else to put here.
