#Piglets in Space

[satureja13]

Why Vlad and Ji Ho wear the same sleeping shirts Extended Version - Part 2 Part 1 is -> here

Jack: "My last hope for the washer dilemma was Saiwa. He was running the Strawberry Cake Fashion online store together with Noxee and he had to know how to - cheaply - replace Vlad's clothes (and some of his too...). So I told him the whole story..."

Jack: "Sai stilled in his movements for a few seconds. Stunned - staring into nowhere. Trying to process. Then he said: 'RUN!' and I ran. Sai chased me around a bit, as always. We got a bit of fresh air, cleared our heads and eventually he got tired, calmed down and we went back."

Jack: "He sat again, hissed and vented on a bit about how exhausting it was not being able to let me do the easiest stuff without worrying I would burn the house down. I just let him because that's just how he deals with stuff."

Sai got sad when he thought of the old days: "I know I shouldn't have been mad and yelled at you, it's not your fault you're like this." Jack hugged Sai: "Don't worry, hm? Those were hard times we went through, and you were busy with all your jobs and stuff. I know you don't mean it."

Jack went on with the story: "And since he'd missed so much work that had to be done while chasing me around and having to deal with my chaos, Sai just sent me the link to the site where he usually ordered the clothes for their store so I could look for some cheap replacements for the clothes I'd destroyed. Vlad's trousers and dress shirts weren't that cheap and I'd almost used up our budget. Luckily for me, Sai refused to get his destroyed clothes replaced and I found a whole pack of black sleeping shirts at a stunning discount. I asked Sai if he'd be ok with us wearing all the same shirts, and even though he was picky about his clothes, he said no one's going to see us anyway at night and plain black shirts are just fine and I should go for it. And then I clicked the button..."

Jack: "The clothes I'd ordered took a while to get delivered and the next days had been busy with Ji Ho moving in and hiding Vlad and him from each other (because we'd had a tiny little misunderstanding ö.Ö'). But finally the parcels were there! Vlad's pants and dress shirts were fine, just like ordered. But the sleeping shirts... Sai took one look at them and was sure Vlad would freak out and never wear them. And we couldn't send them back since it was a remaining stock - excluded from exchange. Poor Sai cursed himself because he didn't check back my order even though he knew he shouldn't let me do stuff all by myself..."

Jack: "Sai was at the end of his wits: Sai: 'We have no money left to order other ones. What are we supposed to do? Vlad is going to kill us!' "

Vlad didn't like where this was going but he didn't interrupt. This whole rambling was already going on for much too long - and he finally wanted to hear the end of it.

to be continued...

'My baby may not be rich He's watchin' every dime But he loves me, loves me, loves me We always have a real good time And maybe he sings off key But that's alright by me, yeah

'Cause what he does, he does so well Makes me wanna yell

Let's hear it for the boy Ah, let's give the boy a hand Let's hear it for my baby You know you gotta understand Oh, maybe he's no Romeo But he's my lovin' one-man show Oh, whoa-oa-oa Let's hear it for the boy'

Let's hear it for the Boy - Deniece Williams (I imagine Noxee and Jack in the MV ^^') OST from Footloose

From the Beginning 🔱 Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: starts ▶️ here Last Chapter: 'Here comes the Sun' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 23-29

[mrmozzarellaman]

A mood board dedicated to my favorite childhood plushie, piglet from winnie the pooh! And to my favorite animal, pigs :3

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: tardigrades

Last week on Wet Beast Wednesday I covered the largest animals to ever exist on our planet. This week I'm going to pull a full 180 and cover the smallest animals yet on this series. Meet the tardigrade, the internet's favorite micro-animal the is said to be basically immortal. How true is that? Let's see.

(Image: an electron microscope image of a tardigrade. It looks a lot like a potato with eight stubby legs tipped with long claws. At the front is a small, circular mouth. It has no other discernable features. In the background are bits of plant matter that look like seaweed at this scale. End ID)

The tardigrades are 1,300 known species (and probably a lot of unknown ones too) in the phylum Tardigrada. They are also part of the superphylum Ecdysozoa, which are animals that grow by molting their outer cuticles or exoskeletons. In particular, the tardigrades are believed to be a sister group of the arthropods, the group that contains crustaceans, insects, isopods, and a lot of other things. Tardigrades are truly tiny, the largest species reaching a whopping 1.5 millimeters in length, though most species reach no more than 0.5 mm. They have round, segmented bodies with four pairs of legs that end in either claws or suction discs. The body segments consist of a head, three body segments with a pair of legs each, and a caudal segment with the final pair of legs. The first three legs are used for movement while the final pair points backwards and is used for grabbing onto substrate. All of the body segments except for the final one correspond to segments found in the head section of insects. Tardigrades are missing many hox genes, genes that direct the body plan during development. Their ancestors may have had a body plan more similar to insects, but the loss of the hox genes has compressed them into walking heads with a bit of butt. The mouth is tubular and sucks in food. In the mouth are stylets, needle-like structures used to pierce food objects. Once food is drawn into the mouth, a structure called the buccopharyngeal apparatus activates. This is a combination of spines and muscle that acts like an inner jaw that pulls food into the digestive tract. The buccopharyngeal apparatus is distinct enough to be used as a major identifying feature between species. Tardigrades are translucent and many images you've seen of them have false color to show the details or are 3D models based on scanning electron microscope imagery of them. Tardigrades molt their exoskeletons multiple times (up to 12) during their lifecycle. Some species are unable to poop normally and instead all their waste is discarded during the molt. It was formerly believed that tardigrades could exchange genes with each other without mating, a process called horizontal gene transfer that is seen in bacteria, archaea, and other micro-organisms. It has since been discovered that while still capable of horizontal gene transfer, it is quite a bit rarer in tardigrades than we thought.

(Image: an electron microscope image of a tardigrade standing on a bit of plant matter. This one has a closed mouth with a ring of triangular tooth-like structures. It also has two simple eyes that look like black dots. End ID)

The name "tardigrade" means "slow walker", which is fitting as, despite their eight legs, tardigrades have a slow and awkward gait. This is the result of their legs being unjointed, only able to pivot at their connection to the body. Their gait has been compared to that of bears, hence why they are often called water bears and their discoverer, Johann August Ephraim Goeze, called them "kleiner wasserbär", meaning "little water bear". Tardigrades are found worldwide and have inhabited virtually every habitat, from the tops of mountains to the deep sea, from hot springs to the antarctic, from freshwater to saltwater. The one thing they have in common is a need to stay wet. Tardigrades can survive out of water as long as they can stay moist and are often found in mosses, hence another common name: moss piglets. The majority either eat plants or bacteria, but some will feed on smaller tardigrades or other micro-animals. Their famous survivability makes it easy for tardigrades or their eggs to be carried to new habitats by larger animals or other phenomena. Tardigrades are one of the first micro-animals to colonize a new habitat and they are a pioneer species, the first species to colonize a new environment and whose presence makes that environment fore suitable for other species to follow. Tardigrades are a major food source to other micro-animals and larger organisms. Most species have distinct males and females, though a few reproduce through parthenogenesis. In most cases, molting female will lay her eggs in her shed cuticle and males will them fertilize them. Other species have a form of internal reproduction. Males and females will court each other before mating and females will usually allow multiple males to fertilize her eggs. Female tardigrades are typically larger and more abundant than males. Eggs can take up to 14 days (species dependent) before hatching. All tardigrades of the same species have the exact same number of cells as each other. They are also born with the same number of cells they will have as an adult. Their growth is driven by enlargement of the existing cells rather than cellular reproduction making new cells. The lifespan ranges between a few months to a few years, depending on species.

(Image: a color photo of a tardigrade. It is a pale, translucent white, making it hard to make out details. Its body is curved, with the front end pointing at the camera. It has two simple eyes. End ID)

(Image: an electron microscope image of a tardigrade egg. It is round but covered in small pores and conical structures. End ID)

The most famous feature of tardigrades is their legendary durability. It is commonly said that tardigrades can survive just about anything (except for the things that are actually trying to kill them. They are prey to a lot of species after all). Among the things they can survive is extreme heat, extreme cold, dehydration, extremely high and low pressure, exposure to ionizing radiation (that's the scary kind), low oxygen environments, environmental toxins, heavy impacts, and the vacuum of fucking space. While the can survive in extreme conditions, tardigrades are not considered extremophiles. True extremophiles thrive in extreme environments and are negatively impacted by leaving them. Tardigrades can survive in extreme environments, but are negatively impacted and can't survive as well there as they can in less extreme places. The main trait that has allowed tardigrades to survive all five mass extinctions in history is cryptobiosis. Cryptobiosis is the rare ability for an animal to enter a state of dormancy where their metabolic processes come to an almost complete stop. While in cryptobiosis, metabolic activity drops to 0.01% normal and water content drops to 1% normal. In this state, the tardigrade is called a tun. Tardigrades usually enter cryptobiosis in response to arid conditions. One experiment showed that a species of tardigrade could last for at least 30 years in this state and return to normal lifestyle functions when exposed to water. Tardigrades will also enter cryptobiosis in response to low oxygen, toxic chemical exposure, increased or decreased temperature, and excessive salt content in the water. Tardigrades also show extreme resistance to both high and low pressure. They can live in 0 atmospheres of pressure and some species can survive up to 6,000 atmospheres, more than double the pressure at the bottom of the Marianas trench. More interesting is their ability to survive dangerous radiation. They can survive 1,000 times the dose of gamma radiation that humans can. Early tests focused on tardigrades in cryptobiosis and concluded that the extremely low water content of a cryptobiotic tardigrade doesn't leave much opportunity for the radiation to react with the animal. However it was later found that active and fully hydrated tardigrades are still considerably resistant to radiation. Studies into this resistance indicate that tardigrades can very efficiently repair damaged DNA and have unique proteins called Dsup that provides additional protection. Dsup introduced to human cells has provided additional protection against x-rays.

(Image: an electron microscope image of a tun - a tardigrade in cryptobiosis. It is smaller and very wrinkly, with the legs and mouth retracted into the body. End ID)

Tardigrades were the first animals to be exposed to the vacuum of space. They were exposed for 10 days, some in a state of cryptobiosis at the time of exposure and some still active. It was found that they were able to survive the vacuum when shielded from the sun's ultraviolet radiation, with those already in cryptobiosis doing better. Upon being rehydrated, many were able to resume normal life functions and successfully reproduce, though others died after being rehydrated. Those that were exposed to UV radiation fared much worse, with only a few hydrated individuals surviving. The individuals in cryptobiosis had a lower survival rate when exposed to UV than those not exposed to UV and were less successful at reproducing afterwards. Studies of tardigrade's space survival abilities and resistance to radiation could go a long way in helping human space travel. One of the largest dangers of space travel is that space is full of nasty radiation from the sun that Earth's magnetic field protects us from. Some scientists speculate about the possibility of accidentally seeding other planets or moons with tardigrades or other space-resistant organisms. This is a problem because introducing Earth life to other world has the potential to damage any native ecosystems and if we find life in space in the future we don't want to have to figure out if it's something we accidentally put there. While tardigrades could likely survive on other planets, they would eventually die without a food source. Some sources reported that tardigrades may have colonized the moon after an experiment with them crashed. Unfortunately, the moon is not crawling with tardigrades now. It's way too dry for them to exit cryptobiosis even if they survived the crash, which they probably didn't.

(Image: art of a tardigrade floating in the vacuum of space. End ID. Source: University of California - Santa Barbara)

[littleprincerianne]

the realest dude in the hundred acre woods ಥ⁠_⁠ಥ

[oh-bother-stickers]

[timbercow]

Tardigrade Bok globules. Inspired by the Hubble image of a Bok globule nicknamed the "Caterpillar" in the Carina Nebula.

[mwolf0epsilon]

Clone Medic Sponge Fact #???

Despite being completely ok with the idea of midichlorians and how they are the key to certain beings getting strange mystical powers, Sponge is incredibly unsettled by the existence of tardigrades...

[sweater-equestrian]

and ofc the mandatory visits to the pigs and the goats at the pumpkin patch <3

[satureja13]

Why Vlad and Ji Ho wear the same sleeping shirts Extended Version - Part 3 Part 1 is -> here, Part 2 is -> here

Jack: "We tried the shirts on. They fit perfectly, but... Sai blamed himself: 'Omg Jack, when something is this cheap, there's always a rub! Oh, why didn't I check back? It's my fault! Vlad will kill us. He's never going to wear such cheesy stuff!' " (Editor's note: Back then it was really problematic with Vlad. He only wore one kind of each piece of clothing and had several of the same pants, shirts, you name it. And everything plain black. Even after two years, he was still mourning the death of his first love, Wesley.) Jack: "But my hyper brain was already a few steps ahead. I had a plan. Sai wasn't convinced it would work, but he played along. Because anything was better than getting killed by Vlad...

And a few hours later, I went to his room - with his new shirt... He was standing in his bathroom, bare-chested and said: 'Oh, if I only had a shirt to wear!' Vlad huffed: "That's certainly not what I'd said. Rather something that I'd kill the one who didn't do the laundry..." Jack: "I did do the laundry! It just went wrong..." Vlad: "What I didn't know that because no one told me and you'd chosen to lie to your best friend - for years!" Jack: "Can I go on now? You can thank me later." Vlad: "I doubt that, but go on already."

Jack: "So I showed Vlad my new shirt: 'Look what I've got! The limited edition Han & Leia shirt!' Vlad: 'I don't know. Doesn't like Star Wars at all. Is it legit?' Jack: 'Sure it is. It's featured on the official website and it's the original label inside!' Because I'd urged Sai into creating a fake site and tore the labels out of my other Star Wars shirts to sew them into the fake ones ö.ö' ... " Vlad felt like he fell into the abyss: "You did - what? Why would you even do that? Just to make me wear a stupid shirt?" Jack: "You will thank me later?" Vlad doesn't even know what to say anymore: "Ach!"

Jack: "I told Vlad I got these shirts for all of us because they are kind of insider Star Wars shirts. And that I even got Sai to wear it because there was nothing screaming 'Star Wars' on it..."

"No one would see us in them anyway and it was kind of showing our love and support for each other after everything we'd been through. And so Vlad eventually agreed to wear it!"

Jack: "And whenever we saw each other wearing those shirts, we'd say 'I love you' and the other repeated 'I know'."

Jeb: "Aouwww! That's sweet." Jack: "Right? *Jack ogled Vlad* One can't be mad at me for bringing us closer together, right?"

Jack: "A few days later, I went over to Ji Ho. We hadn't had the best start together so I gave him the shirt to make it up to him. And told him what we'd say to each other when we met wearing those shirts. To make him feel welcome and a part of us, you know?"

Jack, with a side look at Vlad: "Ji Ho didn't ask nosy questions, like some other people I know. He just put the shirt on and seemed genuinely happy." Ji Ho smiled shyly: "I'm still." Vlad: "I can't believe you even dragged Ji Ho into this madness!" Jack: "You will thank..." Vlad didn't let him finish his sentence: "I warn you!"

Jack just continued with the story: "Ji Ho was very shy back then and he didn't talk much. He went through a lot, like all of us. So I thought we'd practice. I showed him the scenes on youtube and told him about Star Wars."

Jack: "It took me a while to lure him out of his shell, but eventually he got it. Jack: 'Ok, once again for good measure: I love you.' Ji Ho: 'I - I know?' Jack: 'That's how we do it!' "

Jack: "I was glad we'd been able to finally put our first gone-terribly-wrong encounters aside. *Jack shot Vlad a glance* So this shirt already showed it was worth all the troubles."

Jack: "We all know that Ji Ho had been very afraid of Vlad in the beginning and Vlad avoided Ji Ho due to that curse. One evening, Sai, Vlad and me just hung out together in my room, it was late and Vlad was about to leave. We all said our I-love-you's and I-know's and when Vlad opened the door he just spotted the shirt on Ji Ho and he automatically said 'I love you' to Ji Ho."

Jack: "Ji Ho was so startled, he said nothing at first, even though we practised. But eventually he whispered 'I know'."

Jack: "And this is why Ji Ho and Vlad wear the same sleeping shirts for years now!" Vlad: "RUN, Jack!"

And Jack ran.

Skully: "But why do only Ji Ho and Vlad still wear them?" Saiwa: "You must know that Jack and I shipped Vlad and Ji Ho from the very beginning. Vlad had been suffering for two years. Mourning Wesley's death and trying to get over with what happened at the Castle. Finally he showed interest in someone else. So we thought these shirts should be a them-thing ^^' And it became. Vlad continued to wear it even though Jack and I didn't after a while. And Ji Ho too. He didn't even like Star Wars ^^'. Somehow this shirt connected them through all those months when all hope seemed lost they could ever be together one day. *Sai looked after Jack and Vlad and sighed* COME BACK NOW, YOU IDIOTS! THAT MURDEROUS CREATURE IS STILL OUT THERE!" And, as if on command, the creature screeched and rustled in the ventilation shafts again ö.ö' And Vlad and Jack ran back to the bridge...

Jack's story inspired Skully to sing:

'… I wonder how we can survive This romance But in the end if I'm with you I'll take the chance

… Oh, can't you see it, baby? You've got me going crazy

… Wherever you go Whatever you do I will be right here waiting for you Whatever it takes Or how my heart breaks I will be right here waiting for you Waiting for you'

Right here waiting - Richard Marx

Good choice, Skully! Fits so well for the both of them <3

Current Chapter: starts ▶️ here Last Chapter: 'Here comes the Sun' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 23-29

[hoperays-song]

Gunter Babysits Review and Commentary

Time for the first shorts commentary! Is this an elaborate plan to distract me from my fic being with my beta reader? Yes! Am I using it for content? Welcome back to the madness!

(Shorts will be posted individually but only one part each. Sorry for the delay, some stuff for my school got bloody insane.)

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Jump scare Gunter within the first three seconds!

Is that a drawing of a human? It kinda looks like it. Probably isn't but looks like it.

Also, very curious to what's on this whiteboard.

All other phones in this series we see seem to be normal modern phones, so this was a choice by Gunter to have this one. Also, love the stickers and pig home button, it's really cute!

Awwwwww, he called himself uncle Gunter!!!!!!!!!

Rosita definitely designed this kitchen because the lights coming on slowly when off if you open the cabinet (to give your eyes time to adjust) is simply brilliant.

So we already saw inside this cabinet in Sing 1 and it had a ton of assorted stuff. Now, it is purely candy. This has to be like right after Halloween or something because why else would they have so much candy? Especially with really young kids.

... The horror movie music that starts playing here is correct. This is terrifying. Straight up. Just terrifying.

I worked as a babysitter and nanny for a bit... this is legit one of my worst nightmares. Gunter, I feel for you mate.

Ok, these kids got their mom's inventive brain but they also look like tiny little DnD villains while they're plotting. Honestly? Love that for them.

Two things! One, we get to see the recipes that are planned out for the family, all of which, kinda unsurprisingly, are vegetarian sounding. We have leeks and potatoes, eggplant burgers, and Mom's super soup! Plus a really cute drawing the kids made of their parents!

Two, those are groceries on the counter. Like, some of those look like bottles of stuff that seems like it should be kept cold. It almost makes me theorize that this wasn't a date night or anything like that (I know it's hinted to be, just throwing this theory out there) but instead some urgent family thing that would have pulled Rosita and Norman away, hence them needing a babysitter.

Ooooo, the phone has lights on the side, that's cool!

Ok, bonus points to Gunter for being able to stop a cabinet from falling while restrained because that would have seriously hurt those kids.

...Kids. Will. Try. To. Eat. Anything.

Also, Gunter's little grimace in response was just so fair. I've done that so many times mate.

Ok, what kinda phone is this?!?!?!?!?

Plus, love how all the kids were immediately afraid Gunter was going to call their mom the moment he got free. Terrifying Rosita confirmed.

Love this because it reminds me that Gunter canonically runs his own dance studio and likely teaches classes there.

Also, I have decided the kid on the counter to the right is Rory. No reason, just gives off Rory vibes.

Ok, but this is so accurate??? Like it is easy to convince kids to do things when you have music most of the time. They will just go with it.

Rosita and Norman were only gone from 7:30ish to 9:00 apparently. That is an incredibly short amount of time. Also means the kids were running absolutely insane for potentially close to an hour, so Gunter has my sympathies.

Rosita's kids really love space. Like not just their pjs but everywhere in their room. Bonus: stickers I was able to screenshot over their bunks.

The Alien Rosita Drawing Lurks Once More.

Gunter, I have a small feeling that as soon as those kids wake up and tell their mother, you will not be watching them next week.

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Overall, this was super cute. Gunter is already uncle Gunter to the kids so he was clearly incorporated into the family really quickly after the events of the first movie. Also, the piglets are pure and utter chaos and I love that.

[smolpotatobigdreams]

Does anyone else just want a CG who can be as nurturing as Kanga with Piglet 🥰? Piglet's Big Movie is the best Winnie the Pooh movie and no one can change my mind 🐷🍯

Source

[downfallofi]

It's too peopley in the shop.

[frentique]

[timbercow]

Cosmic tardigrade.

[slothandmanatee]

Sloth and (Moon)atee 15

New comics come out Each Weekend along with Art and Nonexistent Tarot and Other Nonsense, come join us, yes yes!

[cloudberryalf]