#THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK

[nortedwayfinder]

Headcanon for how the TailsTube metal pipe thing happened, a reenactment:

Eggman is building his latest project while the chili is boiling for his classic 'lure Sonic into a trap' chili dog. He drops a copper pipe, and it rolls near where his hot dogs are.

Eggman pauses as he goes to pick it up, noting the similar colours between the pipe and the dogs. "There's no way this would work," he thinks.

Cut to Eggman staring intently at his security footage, all eyes on one single "hot dog" he left out in the open in his base - the one he knows Tails hacked information about recently.

One hedgehog's chipped tooth and dignity later, Eggman has proven that yes. That absolutely did work. And he literally cannot stop laughing about it.

This is the single greatest thing to happen to him in years.

[stressedhooman]

limited life au where literally nothing is different except grian is ariana griande in full pink get up. I think this au could also work for bad boys band aus.

[kyroptera-more-like-chiroptera]

Evolution of Nostraman Eyesight

Okay, so, to start off with, I wanted to make this into a proper reply because I always love yapping to a fellow biologist about stuff like this. So, here goes some of the thoughts I had on this whole thing since *checks notes* yesterday lol. So, from my (admittedly limited) understanding, Nostramo is a hive world that was perpetually dark due to its pollution-clogged atmosphere and the fact that it circled a slowly dying star whose light was unable to penetrate this toxic haze to reach the surface. I think I read somewhere that it’s like a shroud of perpetual darkness produced by the massive amounts of toxic smog kept the planet swathed in dull greys and deep blacks. I also seem to remember reading somewhere that only the rich could afford the Nostraman idea of illumination, which was little more than (and I’ll come back on this later) dim blue illuminalion-strips that were placed in the ceilings of the ruling hierarchy's luxurious dwellings in the spires of the dark world's hive cities.

In order to make sense of this properly there’s a couple of sciency things about visual physiology and evolutionary adaptations to dark vision that I’d like to go into (just a little bit). This includes the visual spectrum, both ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR), and some of the basic mechanics of the eye.

Text under the cut because I am a science nerd and wanted to write it all out properly.

(also thanks to @nereidof40k for indulging me in all the geek talk, and @ladyalisette wanted to tag you in this since it's inspired by one of your responses on yesterday's post 😋)

When we’re talking about light, we’re talking about the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. It’s the full range of EM radiation, and organised by either frequency (in hertz/Hz) or wavelength (in nanometers/nm). The spectrum itself is then divided into bands, with dif names for the waves in each band, and from low to high (frequency) these are radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays. We’ll only talk about a couple of these, don’t worry, and I won’t complicate things too much.

So light/visible light/visible radiation is basically what we (humans) can see, and spans the wavelength range of 400-700 nm. As you can see from the image below, it’s flanked on the left by the UV band (high side of the freq spectrum and lower wavelength) , and on the right side by the IR band of the EM spectrum (on the lower frequency but higher wavelength).

When it comes to IR, the only important thing to remember here is that red is on the right side of that spectrum (at the far end of the human visible light spectrum) and that IR begins with waves that are just longer than those of red light. This means that red is at the long wavelength end of the visible light spectrum and has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. Also important is that IR be sensed as heat, even though it is invisible to the human eye.

Now as for ultraviolet light, usually simply known as UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nm, is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of the total electromagnetic radiation output from our Sun. We usually put the lower end of the visual spectrum at 400nm, but that’s not a hard limit, and shorter wavelengths just become less and less visible in that range, and a lot of animal species can see near-UV than humans can’t.

An interesting tidbit here is that your eye is basically just a giant receiver, it captures this optical radiation across the visual spectrum, which causes the electrons inside a molecule to go bonkers, which then leads to a change in the bonding chemistry of that molecule, and that change is interpreted and sent off to our brain as a signal (aka what we see -very very broadly, apologies for any inconsistencies, it’s been ages since I’ve actually had any of this in college). At the lower end of the EM spectrum (at the IR band), we stop seeing things when the longer wavelengths no longer have the ability to excite those photons and trigger a reaction. Same thing goes for the other side of the spectrum (UV), where the internal architecture of the eye steps in, and UV light is absorbed by the cornea below 360 nm and the internal lens below 400 nm. Furthermore, the rods and cones located in the retina of the human eye cannot detect the very short (below 360 nm) ultraviolet wavelengths and are in fact damaged by ultraviolet. Fun fact, this is why some people who are born without a lens in the eye (who can still see since the lens is only responsible for about 30% of the eyes' focusing power) say they can ‘see’ UV light, as do patients who’ve recently had cataract surgery). Birds have a fourth color receptor for ultraviolet rays; this, coupled with eye structures that transmit more UV, gives smaller birds "true" UV vision – remember that, I’ll circle back to it later.

Many animals with eyes that do not require lenses are able to detect ultraviolet (such as insects and shrimp -who here hasn’t heard or seen the shrimp color post come across their dash? They’re not wrong, because shrimp are tetrachromatic, meaning they have more chromatophores than we do and thus see a larger spectrum of shades and colors). And they do this by quantum photon-absorption mechanisms, in much the same chemical way that humans detect visible light. The human eye only uses three types of cones to sense light in three bands of color (meaning we’re trichromatic). The biological pigments of the cones have maximum absorption values at wavelengths of about 420 nm (blue), 534 nm (bluish-green), and 564 nm (yellowish-green).

Though there are quite a few animals that are sensitive to various types of infrared, not all of them do it by means of this so called quantum-absorption where molecules get excited and we capture that change and interpret it. Infrared sensing in snakes, for example, depends on a kind of natural thermal imaging, in which tiny packets of cellular water are raised in temperature by the infrared radiation. EMR in this range causes molecular vibration and heating effects, which is how these animals detect it. I hadn’t encountered prey sight yet in my Warhammer readings, but I’d be interested in knowing what exactly it entails and what type of IR and/or thermal imaging it’s employing. @ladyalisette mentioned this in her response to @nereidof40k's post, which inspired me to dig a little deeper into the topic since I'm always down to geek out with a fellow biologist.

Now, let’s talk about the adaptations that’d happen in case of a perpetually low-light environment such as Nostramo. Adaptation itself is already a term in visual physiology, and very apt in this case since it refers to the ability of the retine to adjust to light levels. In humans, rods (not cones) are responsible for night vision, since cones only function at higher light levels, and our night vision tends to be limited mostly because there’s less resolution and color differentiation is almost impossible, instead being limited to shades of gray (can we say that without thinking of 50 shades? No? just me? *sigh*). But, we *can* see in the dark, even though we don’t do it super well. So when we transition from light to dark, our eyes undergo what’s called natural dark adaptation, and it’s a slow process which can take from 45 min to two hours. During that adaptation, the eye adjusts from high to low luminescence ‘settings’, meaning that they increase their sensitivity (by several orders of magnitude, it’s actually quite impressive). This adaptation period is different between rod and cone cells and results from the regeneration of photopigments to increase retinal sensitivity. I believe @nereidof40k already mentioned rhodopsin in her post, and that comes into play here. Rods (and cones) don't work on their own; they are inert, and that particular type of nerve cell needs a chemical to enable their function -Rhodopsin. The body does not produce this chemical in daytime, and it takes a very low light level sensed by the eyes to produce this chemical. When the light is detected at a low level for 20 minutes or so, the body starts producing rhodopsin and night vision starts setting in. A key trait of this feature is that rhodopsin is photoreactive, meaning it reacts to light, and it only takes a few seconds of bright light to cause the rhodopsin to decay into two parts with a photosensitive reaction, and the rods stop working. Then the cycle starts again, meaning your eye has to start the process of adjusting to the dark all over again. It is an interesting trait that deep red lights do not trigger the neutralization of the rhodopsin, so astronomers and safety officials use red lights for night lighting to allow night vision to continue and work in low-lighting conditions. However, unless the light is monochromatic like a laser, even red light has elements from other colors, which means that even a bright red light can reduce the rhodopsin, and so a dim red light is best for maximizing after-dark eye behavior. It has also been suggested that that since stars typically emit light with shorter wavelengths, the light from stars will be in the blue-green color spectrum. Therefore, using red light to navigate would not desensitize the receptors used to detect star light. This ties in nicely with @ladyalisette ‘s statement that the red end of the spectrum tends to travel further in space.

It also works nicely with what we know of Nostramo, seeing as it’s sun is ‘dying’ and orbited a distant red giant. As objects grow hotter, they radiate energy dominated by shorter wavelengths, changing color before our eyes. Now our own Sun produces more yellow light than any other color because its surface temperature is high at 5,500°C. If the Sun's surface were cooler —say 3,000°C—it would look reddish, like the star Betelgeuse. If the Sun were hotter—say, 12,000°C—it would look blue, like the star Rigel. If the star is dying, the temp would be lower, and the light it gives off would be redder, meaning that if any sun were to reach Nostramo at all through the toxic smog layering the hive city, it would be on the red side of the EMR spectrum anyway. It's atmosphere blocked out the visible spectrum of light, leaving the planet in almost complete darkness. However, the planet isn't noted as an ice world or volcanic, meaning that enough sunlight still reached it, though it might not be visible to the human eye, and it would be safe to assume that Nostramans have adapted to that reality, and their physiology would have evolved measures to survive in that kind of environment over time.

With regards to vision, there’s three main kinds, namely scotopic, photopic and mesopic. Photopic vision is the vision of the eye under well-lit conditions. Scotopic vision is the vision of the eye under low-light conditions. Mesopic vision is also called twilight vision, and it’s a combination of photopic and scotopic vision under low-light (but not necessarily dark) conditions. Now, evolutionarily speaking, there’s advantages and disadvantages to maxing out all your stats in one area, but trying to do both is usually quite ‘expensive’ in the terms of resources it takes to develop a sense. So as per usual it’s about finding the balance in order to give yourself the edge when it comes to passing on your genes. In the human eye, cone cells are nonfunctional in low visible light. Scotopic vision is produced exclusively through rod cells, which are most sensitive to wavelengths of around 498 nm (blue-green), and are insensitive to wavelengths longer than about 640 nm. Under scotopic conditions, light incident on the retina is not encoded in terms of the spectral power distribution. Higher visual perception occurs under scotopic vision as it does under photopic vision. Now, cone photoreceptors are -haha, you guessed it- conical in shape, and there are three types of cone photoreceptors, each being sensitive to a specific wavelength of. The various cone cells are sensitive to either short wavelengths (blue light), medium wavelengths (green light), or long wavelengths (red light). Only relevant thing to keep in mind here is that in the language of optics, red is the color evoked by light that stimulates neither the S or the M (short and medium wavelength) cone cells of the retina, combined with a fading stimulation of the L (long-wavelength) cone cells.

Seeing as our night vision is largely dependent on rod cells, which are more sensitive towards the lower part of the wavelength spectrum, not the higher end (where red and IR are), I’d say that it would be ‘easier’ evolutionarily speaking to just make Nostramans sensitive to UV light, perhaps by adding that fourth color receptor other animals already have, and maybe some other physiological changes like the lens being less susceptible to UV damage.  The main physiological adaptations to such an environment would be (1) having a larger eyeball, (2) a larger lens, (3) a larger optical aperture (the pupils could expand to the physical limit of the eyelids, hence leading to the near-black eye look), (4) a higher density of rods rather than cones (or rods exclusively) in the retina, and (5) a tapetum lucidum (which is a reflective structure that is responsible for this superior night vision as it mirrors light back through the retina exposing the photoreceptor cells to an increased amount of light). I’d definitely say there’d be advantages too when it comes to heightening their ability to see parts of the IR spectrum based on the planetary conditions on Nostramo, so it could definitely be a case of having both adaptations. If we want the human eye to perceive the wavelengths above/below the visible EM spectrum, there would be the need to reassign (or add a new type of) cones to generate a response stimulus at those wavelengths, and we’d have to define how broad we would want the response to be. It would be important to define how sensitive it is (the smaller the wavelength range it detects, the more sensitive it is, but the less it sees overall). Another interesting change could rhodopsin becoming less photoreactive, or it's metabolism being quicker so as to allow quicker adjustment in low-lighting conditions.

*all the images are from Wikipedia, just FYI, couldn't be arsed to find my textbook and take a picture, and they're solid.

[mythallia]

I have always loosely based how I picture Milo off of Bruno Mars. Bruno Mars is 5’5. Therefore, Milo is 5’5.

end of discussion.

if i see one more fucking post ab “milo aint actually short he’s 5’10 and just surrounded by 6’6 freak ass fucking monsters” i’m gonna unload a clip on the redacted fandom. MILO IS SHORT YALL ARE FUCKING COWARDS

[doggrowth]

My actual most controversial Arcane opinion is that this is NOT a BALAYAGE. These are PEEKABOO HIGHLIGHTS.

[riddles-n-games]

GR Rant:

I am so done with Gray and Jamie constantly being in fights. JLB, you already had this plot line in the previous series. Make like Elsa and let it go. You literally wrote a short story about it. Maybe it's time you take your own advice.

Also, I don't understand why these brothers continue to be dumbasses and keep secrets that always affect who they love at large which end up evolving into bigger problems when they don't. It's literally happened time and time again which just shows they never learn. This is a big problem on JLB's part as an author because if she is constantly regressing these characters, it makes you wonder why the current series exists.

And be honest with yourselves, there are so many repeated plot lines that I already saw coming back from a mile away from the start. There is literally NOTHING NEW to read here. The only mildly worthy plot line is the one with the truth behind Sheffield Grayson's death being kept from Savannah and Eve's involvement in their lives being a big threat again. If nothing new can be written here without constantly calling back the old stuff and even going so far as to repeating plot points with the SAME characters, you don't have a new story to tell. There is no reason for The Grandest Game to exist as a continuation and for those who continue to defend it, you're lying to yourself. Period.

Maybe the series could have been continued but having had a good few years gap between the publication of The Final Gambit and The Brothers Hawthorne. Right now, this version that exists is so forced and acting the major cash cow because the og series continues to be hyped. I want new content, believe me, but I can't justify it if the new content I am being given is the same stuff I previously read but repackaged with a new cover and a pretty bow.

Except, the blame can't just be placed on JLB. This is unfortunately part of a bigger problem in entertainment media right now. Be that movies, tv shows, books, whatever, if the original is successful, that is seen as justification for a sequel. But what happens when you are excited and go to pick up that media which you loved up until that point, hoping to see something new and interesting but instead you're given the same thing repackaged? And then it goes on and on, with another installment, and maybe we go at it again because we still desperately hope that it will do justice but no. Again and again we get disappointed because originality and creativity are frowned upon now and because repeating a good story is apparently going to work every time. Well we need to put our foot down and say enough is enough. When that happens, a mountain will move and the sea will divide its waves. But until then we will be stuck in a loop and unless we're willing to break out of the cycle, we're going to continue spiraling.

Thanks for reading.

[boobxrry0]

Thinking of a phaidei AU where they’re talking about moving into a place where they share a room and Phainon suggests they get a chimera. Mydei’s cooking breakfast while they talk btw and Phainon does the. The thing where your partner walks behind you and wraps their arms around you ughhh

Basically, domestic Phaidei being happy.

[michaelormewood]

hit 1x12-1x13 in my rewatch and i'm more convinced than ever that ormewood was probably, at least preliminarily, intended to be part of the ulster storyline (the similarities between book ormewood/his crimes and ulster's murders and butch ulster's partner/patsy/etc are pretty strong). at least i can see how they could have woven ormewood into that storyline even if i prefer what they ended up writing him.

it's also interesting to see how the show and characters have evolved since s1.

onward and upward to s2!!

the brain rot is bad today so i think i'm gonna go back and rewatch will trent s1 again just for the hell of it.

[orgasming-caterpillar]

"fuck it we ball" is for stress about the future "it is what it is" is for stress about the past and "this too shall pass" is for stress about the present thank you for coming to my TED talk

[ink-ghoul]

There's two genres of Minecraft roleplay

- Gay

- Criticism to capitalism

[muqingslover]

*Taps mic* Sylus is NOT a brat tamer!

I've talked about Sylus type of dominance before but I will say it once more: He is a soft!Dom all the way!! He does not feel the need to assert himself in an aggressive or overbearing manner to show/feel like he is the one in control.

He knows exactly how to get what he wants whenever he wants. Hooowever, he enjoys playing along when it comes to you. He will indulge in your every whim, be as bratty, greedy and/or unreasonable as it may be, because ultimately he knows that he can take whatever may happen.

Therefore, Sylus is in reality a brat-enabler! He loooves if his partner is demanding because being able to fullfil your needs and wishes is a major part of what drives him as a whole. It also makes him feel satisfied beyond words.

He will sit back and watch whatever chaos you may cause with much amusement and love in his eyes. He knows you can handle yourself just fine, but he will be at your beck and call at every chance he gets, just say the word and he's right there. You are everything to him and he wants to give you everything he possibly can (and even things he can't).

If you guys want to see a real brat tamer then a cute doc called Zayne is right there.

[thinkingabout-girls]

rating these laios hugs out of 10 cause they are quite possibly the funniest things i have ever seen

(please note this is not based on laios’s efforts it’s just rating the overall hug)

senshi hug: 10/10. that’s a solid hug right there. bit awkward with the height difference but they made it work

chilchuck hug: 5/10. i’ve been laughing at this for 10 minutes. an effort was made. points have been awarded for an obvious attempt at making chilchuck more comfortable but still is still the awkwardest hug i’ve ever seen. it is painfully obvious that laios once attempted to crouch down to hug chilchuck and received a kick to the nuts and was cursed out for 20 minutes, and has adapted to this so that chilchuck doesn’t kill laios or himself

marcille hug: 8/10. this is the way i hug my relatives that i don’t see very often at family events but it’s still a solid hug

shuro hug: 2/10. this is a great hug but points have been deducted because shuro is a bastard man

falin hug: 1000/10. THAT is a hug and it’s a damn good one. very obvious sibling love right there we love to see it

kabru hug: ???/10. what the fuck is this. what’s with the christian side hug. why are you gently holding his tit what’s wrong with you

[the-phantom-peach]

🗣️ huh?? what do you mean I haven’t posted any Link signing propaganda yet??

[gothamite-rambler]

Hey guys just a daily reminder as a DC fan:

Hal Jordan wasn't intentionally written to get with that alien girl and the guy who changed it to that got arrested for, say it with me now, being a diddler. We hate him not Hal.

Grant Morrison has admitted regret for retconning Talia as a rapist and it can be argued it's not canon but if it's not...

You don't have to accept every canon, the writers sometimes don't.

Zatanna is canon closer to Bruce's age.

Roy and Oliver have made amends.

Batman is canonically Jewish on his mother's side.

Talia and Ra's are Arab and Chinese and have brown skin.

Jason Todd wasn't the angry Robin.

Bruce Wayne and Jason did have a good relationship and there wasn't something that secretly matter with him.

Jason was NEVER mad at Bruce for not saving him. Just for the Joker still living.

The bastards who voted for Jason to die are still living.

Jason actually does forgive and forgave two face for killing his dad.

James Gunn is handsome... That's mostly for me.

Anything you want to add comment or reblog!

[n0anix]

whatever *domesticates your Carnivàle Lecroux*

[devils-your-minion]

Luke Brandon Field did NOT put his all into playing young Daniel as the most horny, desperate, pathetic, limp wristed, whimpering bisexual loser who looked up at that vampire with the wettest most submissive eyes and melted into him as he accepted the loving embrace of death just for people to say that Daniel Molloy is some kind of dom top.

Don’t worry Mr. Brandon Field, I saw your masochistic vision.