#Nerd engage

[nerdnag]

THE HORSE

HAS A HAT

[markscherz]

Meet the seven new frog species we just named after iconic Star Trek captains!

Artwork by A. Petzold, CC BY-ND 4.0

At the right time of year along rushing streams in the humid rainforests that stretch the length of Madagascar's eastern and northern mountain ridges, otherworldly trills of piercing whistles can be heard.

Are they birds? Insects? Communicator beeps? Tricorder noises?

No, they're little treefrogs!

Boophis janewayae. Photo by M. Vences, CC BY-SA 4.0

Until recently, we thought all of the populations of these little brown frogs across the island were one widespread species, Boophis marojezensis, described in 1994. But genetics in the early 2000s and 2010s showed that there were several species here, not just one.

Now my colleagues and I have shown that they are in fact eight separate species, each with unique calls!

These whistling sounds reminded us so much of Star Trek sound effects that we decided to name the seven new species after Star Trek captains: Boophis kirki, B. picardi, B. janewayae, B. siskoi, B. pikei, B. archeri, and B. burnhamae.

Photos of all new species described by Vences et al. 2024. CC BY-SA 4.0

I subtly and not-so-subtly built some Star Trek references into the paper, but probably the best one is this one:

'Finding these frogs sometimes requires considerable trekking; pursuing strange new calls, to seek out new frogs in new forests; boldly going where no herpetologist has gone before.'

— Vences et al. 2024

There’s a real sense of scientific discovery and exploration here, which we think is in the spirit of Star Trek.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that there are at least two Trekkies amongst the authors (including yours truly). As fans of Star Trek, we are also just pleased to dedicate these new species to the characters who have inspired and entertained us over the decades.

On a personal note, this marks a milestone for me, as it means I have now described over 100 frog species! I am very pleased that the 100th is Captain Janeway's Bright-eyed Frog, Boophis janewayae (if you count them in order of appearance in the paper)—she is probably my favourite captain, and I really love Star Trek: Voyager.

You can read more about the discovery of these new species on my website! You can also read the Open Access paper published in Vertebrate Zoology here.

[vulstare]

fanart for @qoldenskies's caged lungs fic 💥💥

it isn't based on any scene in particular, just my overall interpretation and visualization of things I felt. mostly bad things. but apparently human brains enjoy that. so let's go

I'm gonna ramble now, buckle up

Frankly that's the first personal piece I've drawn in months, and I'm grateful for it. I'm grateful that I was able to feel emotions and wanted to draw something again

I struggle a lot with empathy and understanding of other's feelings and displaying my own but. I hope people will feel something by looking at it, too

I've got inspired by the old tale that we used to read on literature lessons, altho I for the life of me can't remember the name of it, or anything else from the plot for that matter. There were a competition for retrieving the jug from the bottom of the river, where many men tried and failed, as they couldn't reach it. As you can already tell, it was a reflection of the jug that was hanged on a tree all along.

I liked the concept of something unreachable being seen as being very close to you :) hence the whole water situation

generally water is seen as a positive symbol in art but for me it's cold, slippery, you can't see shit in it, misleading and uncomfortable. go figure

and I really like how CL displays yellow as a color with negative connotation while it's classically being the The Most Happy Coded Color Ever.

while I'm at it I wanted to share a song I associate with caged lungs in particular

just let it die!

I would have liked to talk more about how awesome the fic is and how invested I'm in the plot and characters and how noticing details and parallels makes my brain go brrrr but I'm shy and not really eloquent with my words. I hope you will get the idea anyway. I love it <3

& textless version :0

If you spot any symbolism, it's probably there. or not. up to you really. that's how art works. have fun

[autisticaradiamegido]

day 230

a gamers duel....

[blumineck]

Thanks for paying attention!

I know this is very tiktok, but I thought some of y'all would appreciate this (and it applies here too! 😉)

[whales-are-gay]

im not a train autistic but i believe their beliefs

[blackcrystalball]

Apparently there's some bitch on tiktok that complained about the lack of women GM's within the ttrpg space, before taking a moment to jump down Aabria Iyengar's throat to complain about how the things she says, "leave a bad taste in her mouth." They then proceeded to go on and on about how much they like Brennan and how he would never do/say those things (news flash: he does. Frequently) and I'm just like, what the fuck do you want then.

And like, we all know why they have so much smoke for Aabria and not Brennan. The very least they could do is be real about it, because doing all kinds of bending over backwards to make it seem like they aren't dropping microaggressions everywhere they go is not only not believable, but it's also fucking pathetic. They are not slick, they are not sneaky, they're just mean and disingenuous.

And like, if you're so desperate for more women in the ttrpg space, then going after the best, most popular and main woc in that space is not the move. They weren't even criticizing Fr, they were literally posing double standards, in the same breath that they lament the lack of women in the space.

The entire reason I even got into ttrpg and dropout in the first place is because I saw the first episode of burrows end on YouTube and I was truly mesmerised by Aabria's work. She literally inspired me to try out being a DM, and I wholeheartedly believe that she has done the same for so many other women.

And I'm riding really hard for a woman that does not know me, which is kind of crazy, but that video kind of upset me and I needed to get that off my chest.

[olfactomancer]

What I would give for even one of my IRL friends to care about KSBD even a fraction as much as I do

[jem55]

Every time I’m sad I just remember that the 11th doctor got engaged to Marlyn Monroe in a Christmas episode with a Scrooge retelling. And dumbledore is just casually in it. The doctors ability to get engaged in zero point two seconds will never not astound me 🥲

[redfurrycat]

🐓💍🤠The LOTR Proposal🤠💍🐓

Bradley "Don't Think Just Do" Bradshaw buying a ring on his way to Jake Seresin's temporary housing, several days post-mission, (days he spent at Icemav's big house, under the loving care of one Icepops and one injured Mavdad).

After a superb 'mav-style'-mad-running, Bradley arrives at the house, breathless, and says to a confused and sleepy-looking Jake:

"There's good - and some might say VERY good- in this world, and it's worth fighting for."

*gets on one knee and offers Jake the Ring*

"I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you for the rest of our lives, if you let me."

"Marry me, My Precious?"

Bonus:

"Wow, Bradshaw, did you get me a lotr mood ring?!"

[thefairmaidenoffandom]

what they could have had as the original science couple T-T

[nerdnag]

Zelkov GETS it

[mr-double-downer]

Explain to me why "public sex" is a hill you are willing to die on. What is the point, really? What could motivate someone to feel this way?

because getting my dick sucked at an anime convention was fun next question

[tariah23]

It’s still wild how whenever anything major is happening, especially when it involves politics and race, the first thing that fandom mfs do is run to ao3 to post their ff of the parties involved, and make light of the things that they fully care to understand.

[yarnnerdally]

So. In all the craziness that is my life, my partner Mr. Yarn has been my constant, my #1 biggest fan, and someone who loves me no matter what. And despite having been sure that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, he surprised me today :3

He rolled a nat 20 on that persuasion check ;)

[fictionadventurer]

The best people in the world are the ones who are genuinely interested when you infodump at them.