#but also... two tails is such a rare genetic mutation... rare enough that there's only one other person with it

[phantom-fleetways]

Ever think about Surge canonically owns two tails???

I do!

Plant butt—

[kittykatchao]

World building rambling:

elves and orcs are hominids. Elves live 200 years but age up until 25~ or so,at about the same rate,though their aging slows down as their prime lasts to 60-80 They experience rapid drops in fertility until their sterile at 120-150,with them looking youthful to humans until their death like dogs they have smaller indications of age,only appearing so ageless to humans and other not-elf species, they resemble sterotypes of female humans,with large pointy ears,they posess minimal sexual dimorphism,with the only real indicator of gender being chest sizes,and are otherwise pretty much human,they are pale,light,or tan skinned and substantially darker skinned(black or dark grey/dark black) elves are rare,and are often reffered to as dark elves,but not as an insult. Orcs are descended from crossbreeds of a half elf colony and Neanderthals.(other Neanderthals became dwarves,) So orcs live such short lifespans(50,on average.) not because of their bodies but of their conditions and constant warfare. They evolved tusks as closeup combat weapons and to uproot roots. They use them as a sort of ceremonial combat type thing, a way to show who’s stronger without hurting each other,as their risks tusks fall out and keep regrowing after reaching about 5 inches. Orcs have low genetic diversity from inbreeding. they’ve evolved a gene similar to the fictional x gene that codes for mutations which sorta offsets this,but not enough to make evolution faster. Elves are Homo Etherensis. orcs are Homo Sus due to their similarities to the Sus group.(pigs and boars.) Dragons evolved from Pygmy theropods who survived from small size and feathers that had a in-breeding induced mutation that gave them four arms, with a few different lineages,such a wyverns who fused their arm sets early on and convergently evolved wings. True dragons run on all fours with one set of wings attached to fused shoulder blades. Dragons evolved unwiggleable horn like “ears” early on. Drakes never evolved wings,having six legs for running down prey. Wyrms are the equivalent of giant gluttonous keyless lizards. The common ancestors of true dragons and wyverns had a thick venomous chemical spray to deter predators,and thick inner mouth pads that had enzymes that prevented acid from burning through them,as well in the teeth and other mouth parts,wyverns didn’t change this. True dragons however,evolved to have igniting sprays through evolving their left and right venom tubes to spray two different compounds that met away from the body and ignited upon contact with both each other and the air simultaneously. Fun fact,True dragons fire “breath doesn’t leave behind dangerous residual chemicals meaning it functions more like a super-lighter and less like a flamethrower, and meaning unless it hits something flammable it goes out. Drakonids are humanoids who evolved from a lineage of flightless arboreal dragons that diverged from true dragons who fused their wings and front legs,resulting in 6 digits,two thumbs on each side of the hand and four fingers,which also means they have two middle fingers,they tend to only use one when flipping the bird unless their really mad,most drakonids prefer using their left or right middle fingers for flipping the bird. Drakonids have two small keel remnants that sit on the solar plexus and just above the chest, which means the trick of hitting the solar plexus doesn’t work on them. Drakonids have flexible rudder-like tails that help them steer when running. When running they assume a stature more like that of their ancient theropod ancestors. Drakonids have sickle claws and digitigrade utahraptor like feet and legs. All Dragons have pin feather-derived quill-spikes that are more like spines if they don’t need feathers. Drakonids’ Rudder like tails also help in swimming,and they swim in a manner similar to marine iguanas. Drakonids are also called..Dragonborn. Demonikin are sentient beings resembling clas-

ic depictions of demons,which dont exist in this setting. They originate from the hellish abysses often called hell,or heck in polite company,as the underworld of the same name doesn’t exist,that traps souls who have sinned for all enternity. demonikin or teiflings can have horns resembling various animal horns,with skin color ranging from normal hominid to red to purple to blue to jet black skin,with long muscular tails ending in various different tips,they have hooves and dog like legs,they can have forked tounges too,or even eyes that are one color. they're eyewhites can be black or yellow in addition to normal colors,with a chance for red irseses,they are the only species to not be able to be burned,their horns keep growing from a base under the skin,and unless this base is surgically removed,the horns will keep growing,teifling horns have various kinds of structures such as ram-like ridges,or ibex like smoothess,and naturally grow into certain positions,and may fork naturally,and can be artificially steered into other shapes,and their horns can be easily trimmed,or shaved,by anything harder than them,which is mostly rocks,their variation comes from the residual nature of their world,their fire spawning is natural,being through expelling methane gas and igniting it as it leaves their body(it’s not farting. It’s more like fire bending.) demonikins are immune to fire due to enzymes in their body similar to what Dragons have in their mouth tissue. the largest continent which is Europe sized is a eastern-ish continent resembling north america but shaped more explicitly like a dragon,and more heavy on plains and taigas,with scattered mountains littering across the land,with a inland sea in the middle of the continent and the continent is known as Callistrha. to the west is a large unexplored continent rumored to be deserts and savannahs and volcanic streches of rock formation, the world was an experiment by primordial gods who left. That being said evolution still exists. Humans still exist. Humans can produce hybrids with elves. Human/elf hybrids live to 160-180,and function up to 50-60 in their prime,looking middle aged for their rest of their life. Dwarves are a race of small hominids that resemble humans with smaller,pointier ears,they live in burrows,and have tough skin that could be mistaken for stone,with rocky eosteoderms on their back and arms,and knuckles,lending them mean punchs,they are short,stout,and incredibly strong,their species' name in English originate from an insult they never took offense to,fun fact they are hard to piss off unless you hurt someone they care for,they are fun too. They tend to live to 160. True to their hardy nature they don’t age much after 20 until 100. Halfstature or hobbits are descents of Pygmy hominids who learned sea faring. They live to 100,and cram every joy they can into life,they also tend to have twins with the same regularity other races have single births. They are also called gnomes,halflings,and half foot. and they also like to thinker and invent,and have ravenous appetites. Drakonids lay eggs but they are small and leathery and grow before hatching They start soft ball sized in clutches of 5-7, with an upper limit of 10. They grow to the size of other dragons hard shelled eggs before hatching which are a few inches taller and wider than a 16 year old human male’s head. Drakonids gestate their eggs for a week and they grow over the course of a month,staying at that size for about 2 months to gestate before hatching. One side effect of the gods who made the world leaving it half baked is wild forces of creation that in early ages gave rise to time and space and biologically impossible anomalies such as them changing history so a species of dinosaur survived and evolved into dragons,almost on a Whim,this spirits are simply called Fragmented Creators since they aren’t whole without the guiding hand of the gods that left,and they were once few,relatively,since they all can hop timelines,and they now have shattered. You can’t kill one. Only split one,or fuse two.

[spiritsaraginghomo]

Alrighty the nerd in me wishes to over analyze these cats and what exactly is happening here.

So starting off with the first cat, which is most definitely a chimera, is a combination between a black and a blue/dilute black cat, there is a decently high chance that the cat will also be intersex in some way shape for form due to this. Pretty simple

The second is where things start to get complicated and have more than one possibility of whats going on, that coloring on a black cat will usually be because of sun bleaching. Yet when noting how it is on belly and tail you’d think it is a result of high rufousing, this however can’t really happen on solid cats like this and is only noted to occur in the agouti stripes of tabby cats, if the red traced a pattern that resembled the usual tabby stripes then it would be safe to assume so. Then we start to get into actual mutations that cause red pigmentation on black based cats, from ones that stay with the cats at birth like Ruddy or progressive fades like russets and ambers. However we’ll never know specifically what causes the pigmentation unless the cat has been genetically tested, yet its fun to speculate. This also applies to cat 4 who simple has the addition of being low-medium white.

Cat 3 is interesting, if you look close enough you’ll see the classic mackerel tabby stripes on it. It is probably a high dilute cream tortie. There are however some rare occasions where cats will get random spots of the other pigment base during the development (one way in which male torties and calicos can occur, or why some calicos/torties will have a spot or two of another color) and knowing how complete torties will a majority of the time be brindled with orange and black that may be a possibility here.

Cat 5 is the same, either tortie or random pigmentation of black.

Cat 6 is one of my favorites and probably the most simple, silver classic tabby with high white appearing in a marbled pattern, the nature of white on cats is always random with similarities being predictable in close family trees

SPECULATIVE GENETICS RANT OVER I TAKE MY LEAVE

Unique coat colors on cats 🖤

[futurebicon]

Carolina

Marine Biologist AU that no one asked for but I wrote because I miss my second home. Probably two parts.

Very brief mention of a family members death

"Hi welcome to-" Leo stopped his normal speech when he was met with the two most gorgeous men he had ever laid eyes on. "Welcome to the Fort Fisher aquarium. I'm your tour guide Leo and this is Regulus." He somehow managed to snap out of his shock even though the greeting was all muscle memory.

“Two guides. Must be special." The red haired one laughed a laugh that made doves fly. "I'm Finn." He shook their hands.

"That and both of us wanted a break from sticky children trying to swim with the sharks and gators." Reg smiled.

"Sharks? Like ocean sharks? And ocean alligators?" The shorter one asked in shock and a lot more than a sprinkle of fear.

'Fuck he's adorable' Leo swore internally. "Alligators are typically fresh water reptiles but if you are asking if they are real sharks and alligators, than no. They're they’re hyperealalistic mechanical sculptures." He kept a straight face.

"Cute and funny." Finn flashed him a smile after another angelic laugh.

Leo had to remind himself to not die right then and there.

“Don't worry, Logan" Finn told the other one. "I'll protect you from the scary teeth, baby."

Now Leo was sad.

“Oh yeah, right after you stop ogling over our hot tour guide."

Now Leo was slightly less sad and confused.

“Actually." Regulus pulled out his phone. "Our manager just texted and said he needs someone in the gift shop. Have fun." He left with a pat on Leos back.

Leo glared as he walked away, they didn't get texts from anyone for any assignment. Hence the walkie talkies on their belt loops.

“So, follow me and we can start the tour." +++

“This is our 235,000 gallon tank." Leo stood over top of the two story tall tank. In here we have our eagle rays, round stingrays, whiptail stingrays, hammerhead sharks, sandbar sharks, sand tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks. We also have two moray eels and an abundance of fish including shanks and groupers. And a personal favorite, Sheldon the green sea turtle.” Leo stood on the rusted grate with ease as if he didn’t care about the hammerhead only a few feet away from his toes.

“Um, this is great and all but can we not stand on the edge without a railing?” Logan stayed as far away as he could an the 2 feet wide walkway.

“You’re completely safe don’t worry.” Leo flashed a reassuring smile.

“Okay yeah but-”

“Stop being a baby, Lo.” Finn poked his side.

“I’m sorry I’m scared of falling into a 23 foot deep death cylinder filled with sharks.” Logan defended himself.

“Alright we can go officially start the tour.” Leo laughed. “But we do have to walk across the tank.”

“We what?” Logan asked.

“It’s okay. Just don’t look down.” He decided to risk a wink.

“Listen to the hot guide, babe.” Finn kissed Logan’s cheek. “I’ll hold your hand.”

“I love you, Harzy. But I do not trust you enough to not try and scare me.”

“I promi- no I don’t. Fine.” Finn whined when his plans were spoiled.

“Alright, let’s go.” Leo laughed.

They got across the walkway with only a few exaggerated wobbles to scare Logan. And a very grumpy Logan when Leo told him there was another way around the tank.

+++

“So here we have our bald eagle Maverick.” Leo walked up to the opened enclosure. “He’s five years old and has been here since he was two. He was found on the side of the road nearly starved after being hit by a car. If you look at his left wing you can see it juts out a little. That is due to the bones fusing together incorrectly and it makes him unable to ever fly again.” He recited the well known script.

“Poor baby” Finn stuck his bottom lip out.

Leo blinked away the urge to kiss the sad look off his face.

“If we walk up here you can see the aquariums prized possession.” Leo smiled. “Luna the albino Alligator.”

“Oh my god.” Finn hurried over to the glass.

“She looks like you, lover. Pale as fuck.” Logan teased.

“Luna is one of just 100 recorded albino alligators world wide.”

“World wide?” Logan asked in shock.

“Yeah. It’s an extremely rare genetic mutation and due to the inability to hide from predators they’re numbers are next to zero. Very soon they’ll be no more albino gators.”

“What happened to that alligators toes?” Logan pointed at the dark green alligator.

“That’s Gantur. He still hasn’t learn that Luna’s the leader.”

“She bit them off?” Logan’s eyes went wide.

“Don’t underestimate her. Ready to continue?”

+++

“This is my favorite exhibit.” Leo’s face lit up as they walked up to the touch pool.

“Touch anything as long as you use two fingers and don’t pick anything up.”

“Are those stingrays?” Finn pointed towards the end of the touch pool.

“Yeah. They’re still babies and their stingers have been trimmed. Their barbs are like thumbnails and can be clipped monthly without any harm.”

“What are those?”

Leo’s face lit up impossibly more.

“These are horseshoe crabs.” He held onto one of the dark greenish brown banjo shaped creature.

“They are also called living fossils due to the fact that they haven’t evolved at all since the dinosaurs, around 450 million years. It’s mostly due to the fact that they didn’t need anything added or taken away for survival. They were made perfectly. Now their tails.” He pointed to the long stick like end as it moved around with the help of what looked like scaley gills. “Most people look at it and think it will hurt. But it won’t hurt at all. They are extremely, extremely clumsy and use the long tail to flip themselves back over.”

“Sounds like you.” Finn kissed Logan.

“Rude.” Logan scoffed.

“Horseshoe crabs aren’t actually crabs at all. They’re actually more closely related to scorpions and spiders. Watch.” Leo smirked and flipped it over.

There were five pairs of claws moving around as the gills moved up and down like abs, causing the tail to move with it.

“Here-” Leo grabbed Logan’s hand, he tried hard to ignore the way his skin burned. “Touch it.”

“Oh no I’m okay to just look.”

“Come on, just touch it.” Leo begged. “Please just touch it.” He pouted.

“Oh my fuck you’re adorable.” Logan voiced Leo’s exact same thoughts from before.

“Here” he blushed and bit his lib to contain the smile. “Touch it.” He guided Logan’s hand down to the center of the legs, desperately trying to not think about how close they were. Logan’s t-shirt touching his blue polo shirt with his name stitched in the side. The way he could feel Logan’s breathing against his side, the way his leg was pressed between Logans le- stop it.

“Eww that feels weird” Logan’s laughed raised goosebumps on his arm.

“You’re touch his mouth.”

“Ew ew ew ew” Logan pulled his hand away quickly as Finn cackled.

“You asshole” Logan laughed as he pushed Leo lightly.

“Sorry, but it’s funny.” Leo laughed.

“You are now my second favorite person on earth.” Finn put a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “Oh my god I’m crying.” He wiped his eyes.

“Wouldn’t mind if he stayed our favorite.” Logan smiled.

Leo blushed and moved onto the regular view of the huge tank.

+++

“So how’d you get a job here?” Logan asked Leo as they walked around.

“I’ve lived on the island my whole life and started volunteering here when I was 13.” He explained. “I’m going to UNCW for marine biology. Are you two just here for vacation? Even though it’s April.”

“No. We’re actually moving down here. My grandparents owned the arcade on the boardwalk and left it to me once they passed.” Finn told him.

“Oh. I’m sorry about their passing.”

“It’s okay. Didn’t really know them at all.”

“Well I’ll hopefully see you around.”

“Maybe you don’t have to hope.”

Leo tilted his head in confusion.

“We were just wondering if you would want to show us around the island.” Logan told him. “We’ve only been here for a few days and this is the first place we’ve been to. Not even the beach.”

“Oh that’s nearly a sin.” Leo teased. “I’d love to show you guys around. I get off in an hour.”

“Perfect.” Finn said happily. “Do you want to drive over to our house and then switch cars or do you need to change?”

“That’ll work. There’s a locker room and since there’s next to no one here considering the time of year Evan will probably let me leave early.” Leo couldn’t hide his smile as they walked into the brightly lit gift shop.

Logan let out a loud gasp and ran over to the 6 foot long jellyfish stuffie. “I want it.”

“It’s tentacles are going to strangle you, love.” Finn shook his head.

“Kinky” Logan wiggled his eyebrows.

Finn scoffed as three other people in the quiet store laughed.

“Oh hi again Regulus.” Logan smiled at the black haired man who was sitting on the countertop beside the register tossing a brightly colored foam ball with turtles on it between his hands.

“Hey” He smiled back.

“What’d they need help with down here?” Finn looked around the empty room cluelessly.

“He didn’t help me?” The girl beside him raised an eyebrow. “Hi, Rue by the way.” She waved before going back to glaring at Regulus. “Did Evan tell you to help me?”

“No.” Reg smirked. “Just wanted to leave Leo alone with his crushes.”

“Reg” Leo pushed him.

“It’s mutual.” Finn said and Logan nodded.

“Okay. I’m gonna go ask Evan if I can get off early so I can show you a tour of the island and then get changed and I’ll be back down.” Leo changed the subject quickly.

“They’ll show you a tour of their bedroom and then get you off early.” Rue said quietly but not quiet enough. Leo shoved her hard as Logan, Finn, and Reg cackled.

+++

“So are we ready?” Leo walked back down in shorts and a UNCW t-shirt.

A cropped UNCW t-shirt.

“Uh- yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah.” Finn stuttered failing to make it look like he wasn’t staring at Leo’s tan abs.

Finn on the other hand had no shame. His eyes raked his entire body as his mouth went dry.

“Alright. I’ll follow you guys?”

“Huh? Oh yeah.” Logan nodded.

“Get it Knut.” Reg cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted as they left the gift shop and headed outside to the 100 degree weather.

@lumosinlove

[transhitman]

Nobody asked but I wanna talk about my OC universe. Specifically the biology of the human species because I think it’s cool as fuck. Basically, homo sapiens is extinct after nuclear winter and all the fantasy races are the different evolutions of the human species with adaptations that allowed them to survive. There are 6 total and they’re all sort of like combinations of two or more more traditional fantasy races so yeah.

H. magus -- HUMANS -- Only named as such because they’re the only ones that don’t have a major outward change in physiology. They look pretty much the same but are a little bit taller on average and can have gold or purple eyes. They survived via the magic of invention and Literal Magic, and mostly stayed in one spot. They sat on resources and created pretty capitalist-leaning societies, and thus didn’t have to undergo any major changes. However, there are still enough small differences to qualify them as a different species than H. sapiens, namely that their bodies conduct magic really REALLY well.

H. bucerus -- OGRES -- Sort of like a mix between tieflings and orcs. They’re descendants of the people who were ostracized from the Human communities for whatever reason, and had to deal with radiation, harsh weather, and GIANT FREAKING SHADOW MOSTERS. Since the Human ancestors were sitting on all the resources, the proto-Ogres were forced to become nomadic. In order to survive the Badlands, their muscles became much more dense, granting them super strength. However, they also weigh twice as much as a Human of the same volume and require twice as much food. They also developed methods of dealing with cancer caused by the radiation of the world. They basically integrate tumors into their bodies as horns. They have a special type of white blood cell that specifically targets cancerous growths and forces them to the surface of the skin, where they can be removed. They also have tails, which suit their environment. There are different variants depending on the global region they’re from, each with different horn and tail types. Probably the sexiest species. They’re tall ^__^ But their size is limited to like 7ft since being too big and dense would be DISASTEROUS in the food-scarce Badlands.

H. gurges -- DWARVES -- Ok so they’re honestly more mermaid-like, but I’m trying to fit a theme with the names here. They are short, though. And most of them live in cities that are below the surface, just not a solid surface. The Dwarves are descendants of the seafaring survivors of the Pacific Ocean. There is actually a wide variety that could count as dozens and dozens of separate species, but for function’s sake they’re all under the same category. They have convergently evolved with different types of fish, getting less and less human-looking the deeper in the ocean they live. On the surface, they’re just people with fluorescent skin tones. In the Abyss, they’re barely even human. They are able to withstand enormous pressure, and notably can form symbiotic relationships with sessile sea life. Sponges and barnacles and the like often grow on their bodies, sometimes in a very stunning, very beautiful way. Though the people closer to the surface are short, those deeper in the water grow to be gigantic. One of their subspecies includes the Extremophiles, who live in the deepest part of the ocean. They can reach about 20ft in length when counting their tails. It’s unknown weather these Extremophiles age, or what they really do down there. The Dwarves outside of the deepest Abyss usually live in underwater cities, on the coast, or on floating oil rig-type things. They’re all normal.

H. hiems -- ELVES -- Elves are sort of a combination between elves, giants, and general undead creatures (skeletons lol). They’re fucking massive, and live in only the coldest areas. Their skin is usually a shade of grey, tinted by the type of mineral that is the main staple of their diet. They eat rocks. Yeah. In fact, their bodies are so fucked up and adapted to their barren environment that normal food can easily kill them. Sugar specifically is HIGHLY toxic. Because they don’t process food the same way, they’re skeletal. And 12ft tall. Basically, slenderman. Though they aren’t bald. They have pale down-like hair on their heads. They also have another strange diet habit, which developed as a result of food scarcity during the beginning of the apocalypse. They have a very different culture surrounding cannibalism. Though the consumption of entire bodies is Not A Thing anymore, having your loved ones consume small parts of your body after your death is a very important ritual. It is an acknowledgement that the soul has gone, and the body has become empty matter. The other big thing about them is their special Suit Magic, in which a symbol of one of the playing card suits appears somewhere on their body when they go though puberty. The different suits grant them different abilities, and the four suits have divided into factions which were once at war with each other. (Blood (hearts) is healing. Edges (diamonds) creates shield constructs. Blades (spades) is bolts of energy. And Fists (clubs) is bludgeoning-type weapon constructs.) However, Elves are now extremely isolated up in their mountains and tundras. Very territorial. People honestly sort of hate them cause they’re also a little bit specist.

H. invictus -- MONOS -- Mono stands for monochrome. Predictably, Monos are monochrome. Arcane albinism overwrites their natural skin tone, and instead turns them a sickly white color, tinted by their subspecies hue. Everything else on them is jet black, including their blood and organs. Or, it’s that same hue color. They’re really fucked up, honestly. They’re sort of supposed to be a mix between vampires and orcs. They’re an artificially created species, made via eugenics and dark magic. Their creators were aiming to make an unkillable army, and they sort of succeeded, but at the cost of prevalent genetic defects. Around 70% of the Mono population has some sort of disability, which really isn’t a huge problem. They’re more than capable of providing medical care and creating accessibility deceives like prosthetics and magic medicine. You can do crazy shit with technology these days! In fact Monos were engineered to be compatible with tech- oh their creators were fascist eugenicists who abused them and treated them like disposable garbage specifically because of the disabilities they themselves caused though carelessness and forced inbreeding? Well. Alright. Not how I would have done it but... Anyway, long story short, the Monos pulled a 180 at some point and broke free of all that shit. Because they’re sort of a genetic mess, they have really great healthcare out of necessity. They’re the most technologically advanced species on the planet rn, but all of their scientists are engineers and doctors, not warriors, so they’re at constant risk of being annexed by Humans. Monos also have a very low fertility rate, so the percentage of whole-blooded Monos is going way down. They’re close to being endangered at this point. Luckily, some guy figured out how to grow babies in tubes but that’s a story for another day.

H. unicus -- DOWNDEEPERS -- Ok, Downdeepers are just all the miscellaneous designs I came up with that didn’t make sense as one of the other species lol. They’re the decedents of the people who fled to the newly-formed Downdeeps cave system, which is a global system of caverns that goes really fucking deep underground. The high concentrations of magic there cause Downdeepers to mutate rapidly. No two of them are the same. They all just live in tha caves... hell yeah...

The last human species are the CHIMERAS, which are really just the people who are a cross between two or more species. They were rare at first, but they had a population boom after global travel was reestablished (somewhat, anyway).

There are a couple other inorganic races I could talk about but I’m gonna leave it there. Yeah nobody asked for this but I hope you thought it was neat. I am honestly really proud of this world I think it’s cool as hell : ) yeah. And if you’re wondering how all the species can be cohesive despite their ancestors being isolated in different parts of the world (specifically Ogres, who live on every continent and don’t have a common ancestor), that’s because of some meta shit that has to do with how magic and human will interact. Collective subconscious shit. And that would take like 3 pages to explain so like. Just go with it for now lol.

[wcamino-confessions]

hi I’ve been waiting for species to come up in here, and now that it has, hold on to your asses boys we’re going for a ride

it’s another long one, sorry, but I’m very passionate about the species debate and whether or not you agree with me, you can’t say I’m wrong with some of these points

firstly, species are various ‘hybrids’ or evolutionized/mutated subversions of cats that are commonly found around amino. sometimes they’re simply cats with odd traits that serve no real purpose and were mainly created for aesthetic. some more popular species include delicats, mermyxns, and slimetails. each species has traits that are specific to their genes, although MOST (not all) have the same base traits (horns, wings, steam, fish tails, spikes, random inanimate objects as tails, socks, bandaids, unnatural whiskers, antennae, glass body parts, liquidated body parts, etc).

species really got big upon the first notable creation of warriors species called slimetails back in late 2018/early 2019. the cats featured various colored, themed, textured and substanced tails made from slime after radioactivity consumed the clans homes and resulted in the genetic mutation. they grew very popular very quickly as they were, and are, an open original species. from there, species quickly took off with the members of WA, and with no regulations about who could make them and how you went about doing so, they were quickly overwhelming. well, maybe overwhelming isn’t the right term. the community absolutely ate up the prospect of unnatural, oftentimes irrelevant, cats with pretty features and levels of trait rarity. they’re still a very popular aspect of WA today.

and in today’s standards, they are oftentimes associated with a users level of “popularity.” although this is definitely not the case with all species owners and affiliates, no one can deny that the only reason some members are popular is because of their status as creators, GA’s, or fervent members of that species communities. now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does tend to rile small bouts of drama in some cases. luckily, they usually remain off of WA, or at least out of the BIG drama category of WA. but there is plenty of drama associated with species nonetheless.

firstly, there is the matter of relevancy that needs to be addressed within species. although the LT did reform their guidelines to ensure that all species do have some form of relation to the warriors books in their lore, we haven’t seen much of a change. in order to “abide” by this new guidelines, many species creators simply said that the cats in their species could be found living in clans either in the wild, on their own accord, or as a whole. WITHOUT altering their lore as required. that’s all fine and dandy. but how does it derive species from the books? well. it doesn’t. because in order for a species to be truly relevant to the warriors fandom, they must have descended DIRECTLY from one of the five clans in the books, or a tribe. rogues and loners, while apart of the series, have never been found to go off and create their own clan(s) for the fun of it. and we have no reason to believe that would change in the series. even the Skyclan cats didn’t reform Skyclan for shits and giggles. they were influenced by clan cats and received prophetic dreams from Starclan cats that basically guilt tripped them into doing this really random thing that they otherwise wouldn’t have even known of.

so, in all technicality, rogue/loner species derivatives do not pertain to the books. in order for a species to be genuinely, unquestionably relevant to warriors they need to either be mutated/evolved counterparts to the clans/tribe, or they need to, by direct lineage, be related to the original clan cats. of course no one expects you to go draw up a family tree on how your flying monkey cats have someone come from Firestar the Greats bloodline. but simply saying so isn’t enough. if they’re truly relevant to the books, then species owners need to add it. to. the lore. yeah, that guideline has already been passed. but it was not followed efficiently. your quirky cats with a clan/tribe hierarchy or something similar to such does not make them relevant. fix the damn lore like the guidelines originally stated. oh, and sorry to break it to you, but this means that your mythical god-like cats, your robo-cats, and your human object cats are immediately out of the running for relevancy. I can see how wings might have some semblance of realistism, but your sparkly candle tailed cats or cats who grow moss in cute little bubbles serve no evolutionary purpose and wouldn’t have any possibility of existing within the warriors universe.

now, onto the next topic of relevancy: evolution. some people say that cats developing fish tails or wings defies the laws of evolution. it probably does. but then again, we are dealing with four territorial cult cats who are very religious and, on occasion, will fight ghost cats and lose so. I’m actually defending species on this part, but don’t get used to it. because in all honesty, who are we to defy the lengths that evolution will go to? we didn’t expect fish to grow legs, but here we are. who’s to say that in this hypothetical universes cats can’t evolve to accommodate wings? don’t get me wrong, I hate the idea of it, but it isn’t COMPLETELY unreasonable.

next on the agenda, we have attribute individuality. granted, there are only so many different ways to make your species unique and really genuinely original, seeing the same handful of base traits repeat themselves in multiple different species (that could honestly just be considered one species altogether) does get old. there are not infinite options for creating a species that is going to be genuinely relevant in some remote aspect, and at some point people need to realize its time to stop. new species sprout up on what seems like a monthly basis on several occasions. and, although they don’t always get big, they still hold a place in clogging the latest feed. specifically with their borderline unacceptably irrelevant adopts. species really test the limits in relevancy, and so do adopts, but that’s for another day. and I’m not saying adopts are bad, so don’t single that out from this entire confess.

there’s another thing. species adopts. they’re constantly flooding the latest feed and drowning out actual warriors/oc related content. “it’s not your place to tell people what they should and shouldn’t post!” yeah, no dip. that’s not what I’m doing. I’m simply expressing my grievances with the amount of UNBEARABLY absurd species adopts that are constantly being uploaded and sold. and pricing? yeesh, that’s also for another day. but I am, again, not blatantly telling anyone to “stop posting species adopts!” or “lower your prices!” so that’s not something that needs to be brought up. so, whether or not you continue to post species adopts is your business. I’m positive that plenty of people adore them and are eating them up like candy. but, coming from a rare non-species lover, it does get tiring to trudge through all those horned bases and eye bleed neons to find some actual content.

don’t get me wrong, I’m not against species, per se. but I am against them being on WA. they don’t serve any actual purpose to the fandom in terms of relevancy. in most cases at least. and while I do applaud the creativity, the uniqueness and the overall joy it brings to the table, I just think that they’d be better off elsewhere. this is not a cat amino. this is a warriors amino. meaning we are only inclusive of cats pertaining to the warriors fandom for validated use in the community. validated use consists of realistic role playing, realistic story writing, realistic artistry and/or realistic character development by any means. so, looking outside of species, any unrealistic characters are still fine for the community because they cannot actually be implimented into WA in the ways that species can for their unnatural complexions. the only reason species are justified for their unnatural complexions is because of loopholes that make them seem relevant and viable for validated use, simple because they are completely feline in the genetic sense.

I hope that paragraph made sense, shit got a little complex right there. but, anyways, I’d like to reiterate relevancy. again. because I don’t see anyone giving up their species on WA for the sake of being canonically relevant because they’re going to find some off the wall way to make their quirky cats seem applicable. to be fair, I wouldn’t want to give up by hard earned creation so easily either. but there ARE other places to take them. and it isn’t up to us to figure out where, it’s up to the species owners. so it’s not like the species would be thrown out altogether, it would just be the irrelevant ones. and the relevant ones would be required to ACTUALLY abide by the guidelines instead of finding loopholes or countering valid points as to how their species are not canonically derived with “they lives in clans.” again, sorry if this paragraph was hard to follow. I’m perfectly fine with clearing up any misunderstandings in those last two paragraphs^^

so, to sum up, I believe the guidelines should be fixed and species should be properly mandated to abide by these new guidelines in order to ensure ACTUAL relevancy. I don’t like species. I don’t want anything to do with them. but I like that they bring a new sense of community and likeness to WA. and I don’t give a rats ass if you choose to associate with them. I personally believe that NONE of the species have any place on WA, but that would be unfair of me, wouldn’t it. so, I did my best to accommodate rationality in this entry, and I apologize if I came off as a stuck up bitch at any point. it wasn’t my intention, but I sure it did happen at some point.

oh, and let me derail any “WA would be boring if it were 100% relevant” arguments. because firstly, it WAS 100% relevant when it first started out, and it thrived. secondly, no where did I claim that species need to be 100% relevant. I made it very clear that it was the lore and the traits that needed to match up to accommodate the terms of relevancy. and thirdly, even on the off chance that species were subtracted from the equation, there are still plenty of other aspects that leave WA out of the running for total relevancy. thank you for coming to my ted talk, have a nice day loves <3

[commanders-sole-braincell]

some super speedy sketches cuz I can only think creatively if I’m drawing the thing (excuse the anatomy)

anyway - sylvair and mutations! (cuz sniffing at chimera’s and somantic mutations wasn’t enough for my grubby mitts!)

Also, hey big warning; if eyes, body horror, dead bodies (animal and human), and stuff like that isn’t your kinda thing - DO. NOT. GOOGLE. THE. TERMS. USED. HERE.

(if anyone’s desperate to read the wiki or look at images while dodging the more distressing ones hmu and I’ll help!)

I’m gonna shove my ramblings under the cut cuz A) I’mma write an essay for each and B) due to the nature of these mutations I am gonna touch upon body horror, and death and these are real mutations that do affect people!

Alright, strategically put the ones that are the least likely to throw people off at the top so I’m gonna ramble in order (top to bottom, left to right!) I’m also gonna be trying to summarize, generalize and describe these without writing a whole page so my info might not be 100% spot on!

Warnings for Animal death, body horror, death mention, infant death mention, eye horror mention, and bodily fluids and mess.

Harlequin Ichthyosis - this is a genetic disorder where the skin on the outside of the body hardens and cracks, leaving a jagged pattern across the skin of hardened plates which go a pale cream colour (and if I rcall correctly, possibly calcify?) ; this usually results in death within the first few months to weeks of life, after which the plates fall off, leaving tight, pink skin behind (essentially, the person almost has the appearance of being turned inside out). Recent developments in medicine mean that cases of people surviving this and living the rest of their lives with Ichthyosis are more common (granted alot of intensive care is needed). Breathing cna be restricted due to the tight skin (especially with the plates) and unfortunately ear or noses sometimes do not form on the infant.

For sylvari, I imagine this is probably pretty dangerous, as they can’t synthesize and, like the human counterparts, are very sensitive to the sun and other skin damages; I imagine the skin is like the inside of a plant, paler in colour to the sylvari’s actual skin - possibly with different texutres depending on type, where as the plates form as hardened bark or hard, dead leaves on the sylvari. They have to rely on other cultures for nutrients and clothing, and possibly may not glow at all.

Sirenomelia - (also known as the one I couldn’t draw to save my life!) This is where the individual is born with their legs fused, like a mermaid tail; hence the name. Degree of fusion ranges and can go up into the spine, and the person is unable to walk. While most notable individuals have passed, partly due to the fact this mutation can cause internal organs to not form (if I’m remembering correctly!), individuals do survive into adulthood and some have surgeries to improve quality of life!

For sylvari, I like to imagine this effects water-based plantlife sylvari more, with it varying from fused legs, to a fusion of the legs morphing in a way that it can act as a tail! Wheelcharis are used for land based adventures, and dresses and skirts may be more favoured! 

Also, if I’m remembering correctly, sylvari possibly have their brains in their lower back - which could mean that this could be the most potentially fatal mutation for sylvari, making surviving individuals rare - but also they’re sylvari and rules do not apply!

Polymelia - Simply put, polymelia is where an individual is bron with extra limbs - most are left over from a merge or conjoining twins - but there are cases with several extra limbs. Often these limbs are underdeveloped or deformed. usually this is not fatal, and these extra limbs can be safety removed if necessary.

Because this is sylvari, I thought that there’s bound to be those born who have working limbs, and those who came without (the kiddos in the pic share a nice mix between them) - and I like to think sylvari grow the same as humans (infant - child - teen - adult) in their pods, so limbs could be fully formed, or from one of the other stages! 

Cyclopia (the pink sylvari) - Cyclopia is a mutation where the eyes do not split and form a large eye in the centre of the forehead, and is often accompanied by no nose being formed, and organs may or may not form correctly; making the mutation fatal within a few hours or birth - the longest surviving creature with this was a goat, which reportedly survived up to a week after birth.

For sylvari, where organs don’t matter and the nose is a myth, cyclopia is probably survivable - assuming there’s a lid able to close around the eye and keep it moist. Emoting would probably be the biggest challenge, and bullying from other races may cause the most issues.

Now to tackle the three remaining vari!

These three are all various forms of Polycephaly mutations, sometimes known as two-headed. From left to right;

Wine and gold sylvari - this is a form of polycephaly known as Craniopagus (full name is often craniopagus parasiticus) Where the merging of twin embryos has occurred at the head, and the living twin has the underdeveloped twin’s head and even possibly torso attached to their head. There are even reports of individuals where they have a secondary face on the back of their head, that can function enough to smile. These cannot exist independently of each other, unlike conjoined twins. 

For sylvari, they could function with a twin attached to their skull (assuming it’s just their head, and not other parts - that could cause stress on the body) assuming the brain is not in the skull - or even if it is; theoretically the sylvari twins could function together!

Green twins - These represent a more common, I’d suppose, form of Polycephaly, known as Dicephalic Parapagus and function visually somewhat similar to conjoined twins. Survival depends entirely upon what factors the body has - seemingly those with more than two arms have a higher chance to survive to adulthood, but this is not necessarily a hard truth, as having two hearts and an individual spin attached to each head seems to be the most important factors for survival; as such, survival numbers are low. Interestingly, once helped through certain challenges, most twins can thrive on their own, although we are still learning more. Seemingly, most twins get control of one arm and one leg, although this may vary.

For sylvari, I imagine this isn’t much of a problem unless something happens to one of the twin’s heads - in which case the other twin could be at risk unless the other is removed (gotta get that angst in somewhere!) Granted sibling fights and getting along are probably a big deal for these sylvari, and they may need more nutrient to power their body. Also the fact they control separate sides of the body may actually aid them better in Tyrian life

Blue and gold sylvari - this is another form of polycephaly that is well known - Diprosopus - which is where the facial features are duplicated on the head of one body. While considered to be conjoined twinning, this is actually accused by a abnormal activity in the protein Sonic Hedgehog (stop laughing it’s a real thing). This often occurs with other congenital diseases, and individuals often don’t live very long, as other illnesses or issues are usually the cause of fatality. But there are instances of animals surviving with this, including a cat who lived to be 15 years old.

For sylvari, I imagine the issues that surround humans with this mutation, aren’t as fatal? They may have poorer health, or they may not! And while I’ve displayed one with a more textbook version of Diprosopus, this isn’t the only option, and a variety of features can pop up!

(fun fact! Low Sonic Hedgehog protein causes Cyclopia, too much Sonic protein causes Diprosopus! Sonic controls the width of facial features!)

Hoo boy I think i got them all I gotta go lie down, I read about Sonic protein and got dizzy bye ya’ll

[monster-huntologist]

Monster Ecologies: Rathalos, Azure Rathalos and Silver Rathalos

Entry 18 - Rathalos

Name: Rathalos, Azure Rathalos and Silver Rathalos

Aliases: Inferno, King of the Skies, Rioreusu, Fire Wyvern for Rathalos, Torch, Rioreusu Ashu, Blue Fire Wyvern for Azure Rathalos, and Rioreusu Kishou Shu, Silver Fire Wyvern, Silver Sun for Sliver Rathalos

Classification: Reptile, Flying Wyvern

Biology: Rathalos share the same bodystyle as most of the Flying Wyverns, and share many of their characteristics with their female counterparts Rathian. They do have things to set them apart from each other however. Rathalos have spikes lining the sides of their tail tip, with a larger one at the very end and two protrusions on the sides of their heads, resembling insect mandibles. They also have a larger wingspan than Rathian, which makes sense as they fly a lot more than them. Unlike Rathian, their poison sacs are located in their hips, allowing them to secrete poison from their talons rather than tail. Rathalos become a dark red colour when they leave the nest, which helps them blend in with the volcanoes they sometimes inhabit. In rare cases, the scales of a Rathalos will harden and turn a bright blue colour as he ages. It is unknown what causes this change, but is believed to be due to a genetic mutation similar to albinism. These Azure Rathalos have since formed a breeding population of their own with Pink Rathian, being slightly stronger but known to have more stamina than the regular species. There also exists an even rarer variant, known as Silver Rathalos. The scales of a Silver Rathalos have a silver sheen and are exceptionally tough, giving excellent defense. Their fire-producing organs have also developed even further, allowing the generation of extremely hot blue flames. It is unknown how this mutation occurred, but the commonly accepted reason is due to it living in close proximity to Elder Dragons such as Teostra.

Behaviour: Rathalos, like Rathian, are highly territorial, patrolling their chosen homes daily and chasing off intruders. They are very intelligent though and they have a gentle side, as they are a caring mate and father. Researchers have recorded Rathalos perched in scenic areas after preening, having a much more relaxed disposition and seemingly enjoying the view. Rathian have also been seen doing this, but not as often as Rathalos. A mated pair of Raths will stay together for life and take turns caring for the young whenever breeding season comes around. They have a particular ritual before breeding that they share with Legiana. After flying as high as they can, they lock talons and free fall to the ground below. Before they crash, they both shoot fire at the ground and then separate and brake using the updraft of the flames. Raths are unique in that they will often share their territory with other Raths, even if they aren’t related. While they will usually leave Hunters alone if not provoked, they are just as protective about their eggs as Rathian.

Habitat: Rathalos and Azure Rathalos share the same habitats, being the Ancient Forest and the Elders Recess. Each species tend to prefer one over the other however, with regular Rathalos preferring the Forest and rarely inhabiting the Recess and vice versa for Azure Rathalos. Silver Rathalos tend to live in areas near Elder Dragons, so they can be found in both the Elders Recess and certain areas of the Guiding Lands.

Diet: Rathalos are carnivores, feeding on the numerous prey inhabiting the New World. Rathalos inhabiting the Ancient Forest feed on Aptonoth, Kestodon, Kelbi, Gajau and Mernos while those in the Elders Recess feed on Gastodon and Barnos. They do not need to eat as much prey in the Recess, as just a couple of Gastodon is enough to feed it for a week thanks to the Recess being chock-full of bioenergy. Silver Rathalos in the Elders Recess feed on Gastodon and Barnos, but those that live in the Guiding Lands have a much wider variety of prey.

Attack Method: As Rathian are Queens of the Land, Rathalos are the Kings of the Skies. They fight mostly from the air, but are no slouches on the ground either. They have numerous attacks from bites, charges both on the ground and in the air, tail whips, dive bombs, and venomous claw swipes. Like Rathian, they have two methods of using their fire, powerful fireball shots and close range bursts of flame. Silver Rathalos fight in much the same way as the other Rathalos species, but are even more agile and can perform complex aerial maneuvers to catch opponents off guard.

Place in the Food Chain: Rathalos are apex monsters in both the habitats they live in, unless Elder Dragons decide to appear. They regularly fight against Anjanath in the Ancient Forest, along with both Uragaan and Lavasioth in the Elders Recess. The only threat to them are two of the most powerful creatures in the New World, Bazelguese and Deviljho. While they are attacked by both and sometimes killed by Deviljho if they don’t run away, they aren’t being attacked for food or territory, but instead facing a show of dominance spurred on by the sheer aggression of these creatures. Even then, Rathalos put up quite a fight and a mated pair of Raths are one of the few monsters capable of fighting off these beasts. Silver Rathalos are considered to be at similar strength to many Elder Dragons and so the only threats to them are Elder Dragons themselves or similarly powerful monsters.

This has been a report on the Rathalos, Azure Rathalos and Silver Rathalos. Thank you for reading.

[andtails]

A Prelude to Chaos Control - Chapter 1: A Brighter Day

Note: I hope you enjoy this story! You may also find this story on FanFiction.Net or Archive of Our Own.

Story Summary:  "It's my fault the Chaos Emeralds were lost, so it's my duty to find them before Eggman does!" An immediate prequel to Sonic X, this story explores Tails' struggles with self-worth as he attempts to build a detector to locate the mystical gems. Action/adventure elements with brotherly moments between Sonic and Tails contained herein.

Chapter 1: A Brighter Day

Waking up a few minutes before his alarm clock was set to go off, a young, orange fox rose out of bed, stretching his thin, furry arms. After a few brief yawns, muffled by his large white gloves, he firmly planted his feet to the floor as he began to collect his bearings.

Rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes, the fox cub approached the window dividing his modest bedroom from the gorgeous view from the second floor of his home, drew the curtains, and slowly opened the window. While the rejuvenating sunlight warmed his fur, and the brisk breeze replaced the stagnant aroma of his bedroom with the refreshing smell of the outdoors, Tails looked out over the world beyond. As he slowly filled his lungs with the outdoor air, he listened to the sound of flickys chirping in the distant forest to the east and the shallow waves of the ocean waters to the west, steadily crashing against the mountainside.

“Today is going to be a good day,” Tails said as he placed his hands on his hips in determination.  

After making his early morning prediction of the day’s events, and stealing one final stretch, Tails stepped out of his bedroom into the narrow hallway leading to the staircase.

“Wonder if Sonic’s still asleep,” he pondered to himself as he crept his way across the second floor stretch, walking past his big brother’s bedroom in the process. Twitching his triangular ears in the direction of the occupied bedroom, Tails could only make out the consistent sound of light snoring coming from the blue hedgehog.

Walking a bit more briskly, but still light enough to prevent the bitter end of Sonic’s well-deserved slumber, Tails finally made it to the main floor of their home, comprised of a moderately-sized, sparsely-furnished living room and an open kitchen, complete with a small table wide enough to accommodate a gathering of four.

Stepping outside to begin his daily morning routines, Tails performed a visual survey of his property for any damage caused by the thunderstorm the prior evening. While Tails could be fearless when fighting Eggman’s array of mechs alongside his big bro, the young kitsune had a devastating fear of thunderstorms, a phobia that caused him to roll into a fetal position and bury his face into the fluffy protection of his twin tails.

After walking along the perimeter of his yard, Tails was relieved to find that his home completely withstood the ravaging storm. Then again, why wouldn’t it have? Even a tornado would’ve failed to do a modicum of damage to the brilliantly engineered, albeit almost plain-looking homestead. In fact, if it weren’t for the large satellite sticking out from the top of the roof, the adjoining workshop that was at least twice the size of his living quarters, and the large runway strip that led right off of the cliff overlooking the ocean, most would consider the house nothing extraordinary.

But this was to the liking of Tails, a scientific and mechanical prodigy who prioritized utility over style and would rather prevent unwanted attention.

“That’s Sonic’s job, after all,” Tails said to himself, lost in a daydream while gazing upon the deep blue ocean, a sight that never ceased to bore the young fox. This was in stark contrast to his older brother, who was unable to swim and feared any body of water larger than a pitcher. Not as much as Tails’ overwhelming fear of lightning, but still enough to refuse Tails’ offer to provide him with basic swimming lessons.  

Tails made a quick stop to the mailbox before coming back inside, grabbing a freshly delivered letter. Sitting down at the kitchen table, he delicately opened the envelope to reveal a typed message on thick cardstock paper, complete with official-looking letterhead.

The letter read:

Dear Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles “Tails” Prower,

On behalf of the Mobian Federation of States, I would like to commend your continued support in the collective struggle against Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik to keep the citizens of Mobius safe from his evil schemes.

In recognition of your outstanding bravery and commitment to protecting the innocent, the President of the Mobian Federation of States has indefinitely extended your service contract and increased your compensation by 15 percent.

May you stay in good health and continue the good fight.

Sincerely,

General H.W. Pitliff

“Outstanding bravery, huh?” Tails questioned to himself, putting the letter down and resting his head with both arms against the table. His muscles tensed as memories of being saved by his big bro filled his thoughts. Feelings of self-doubt and worthlessness followed suit, creeping back up from the recesses of his mind.

Tails was a master mechanic whose quick cognitive processing power had helped Sonic thwart Eggman’s dastardly deeds time and time again, but despite this, the prodigious fox was often overcome with anxiety, feeling he wasn’t living up to his big brother’s legacy and, worse yet, only serving as a liability on the battlefield, cowering with fear the instant the duo were separated in the heat of combat.

As far as he could tell, he’d always been like this; back in the day, Tails was constantly bullied for his twin tails, a rare genetic mutation that made him stand out amongst all other Mobians. Coupled with the lack of parents to provide a warm, comforting home, the abnormal kit roamed the lands until he first met Sonic, who’d later adopt him as his little brother. Just being around him washed away his loneliness and crippling self-doubt, but even living with the one whom he greatly admired hadn’t cured his emotional woes.

“Clearly this letter was intended for Sonic,” Tails said with a sigh, twirling the letter along the surface of the table with a finger.

“Intended for me?” came a voice from behind the young fox. Tails turned around to see Sonic, wide awake and emitting his ever-present positive aura.

“Heya Sonic,” Tails said, his sadness instantly replaced with joy upon his brother’s unexpected arrival to the kitchen, smiling wide enough to brighten anyone’s day.  

Before Tails could explain the good news, Sonic dashed over to the kitchen table and snatched up the expensive-looking paper. He gave a long whistle as he finished reading the letter.

“Let’s do something fun to celebrate!” Sonic exclaimed. “Anything you’d like to do, Tails?”

The young fox pondered potential ideas for a few moments, rubbing one set of fingers against his furry chin in thought.

“Well, I guess my idea of a good time vastly differs from yours!” Tails said, giggling to himself.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Sonic asked with no hint of seriousness in his voice.  

“Oh, nothing,” Tails replied. “I was just imagining you sitting quietly in a library reading a book.”

Both Sonic and Tails laughed at this ludicrous idea.

“Well,” Sonic said. “I’m sure we’ll think of something to do.”

“As long as we don’t break the bank, I’m up for almost anything,” Tails said, subtly reminding Sonic that they shouldn’t dent their savings account by partying. While the duo was not strapped for cash by any means, especially since they had just received a raise from their freelance government partnership, Tails was solely responsible for balancing the checkbook and ensuring that their household remained fiscally solvent, a duty that he took quite seriously.

“Of course,” Sonic agreed, as he began to playfully rustle Tails’ hair. “Now, how about we fuel up before our morning run?”

******

Some time later, after Sonic and Tails enjoyed a delectable three-course breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and toast, the brothers began their morning run preparations. Sonic, who had already gotten a few stretches in while Tails finished washing the dishes, dashed outside in anticipation of his favorite pastime. Meanwhile, Tails prepared more slowly, ensuring that he didn’t cramp-up after consuming more food than someone his size should be able to stomach.

“C’mon, Tails!” Sonic called from outside, as he performed his signature foot tap. “The day is wasting away.”

“Coming, Sonic!” Tails replied, hopping on one foot out the door as he slipped on his sneakers.

“Ya know,” Sonic began, chuckling at the sight of Tails hobbling out of the house. “You’d save so much time if you just wore your shoes everywhere like me.”

“Yeah, and get dirt everywhere,” Tails retorted, continuing a long-running debate between the two companions that pitted convenience against cleanliness.

Instead of prolonging this friendly spat, though, Sonic took his place at the edge of the yard, facing the direction of the wooded path to the east that served as the daily stomping grounds for the two brothers. Taking the hint, Tails quickly joined him.

In unison, Sonic and Tails gave their pre-race countdown.

“Three…two…one…go!”

And with that, they were off.

******

Making their way through the green planes on the outskirts of the Mystic Ruins, any passersby would likely only see parallel blue and orange blurs speed past them, with the former going slightly faster than the latter. While Tails could run at impressive speeds on-foot, there was absolutely no way the young kitsune could keep up with the “fastest thing alive” without using his trademarked twin tails as propellers.

“C’mon, Tails,” Sonic playfully taunted as he began running backwards for comedic effect. “You’re too slooo-oww!”

Aided by Sonic’s goading words of encouragement, Tails kicked it into high gear, spinning his Tails faster in order to prove his speedy brother wrong.

And he almost did.

Flustered by Tails’ rapid advancement, Sonic spun back around to continue their friendly racing competition.

“First one to that oak tree is a rotten egg-man!” Sonic declared, widening the narrow gap between the companions.

“You won’t win that easily,” Tails replied, ensuring that Sonic would have to work up a sweat if he were to beat him.

As Sonic was about to touch the oak tree, solidifying his continued winning streak, he heard a yelp from behind.

Tails had focused so much on rapidly spinning his tails that he didn’t see the incoming tree trunk that stood as the only obstacle between him and victory. Not having enough time to increase his altitude, Tails’ dangling feet collided with the trunk, causing him to lose his balance mid-flight and dive headfirst into the ground. Before impact, however, Tails took to his spherical shape, rolling down the remainder of the path towards the oak tree, only his namesakes distinguishable in an otherwise blurry orange ball.

Sonic watched in awe as his little brother quickly recovered from the fall by adapting his signature rolling technique. Unfortunately for the blue hedgehog, though, Tails was rapidly rolling towards him much faster than he anticipated. Without enough time to defend himself, or jump out of the way, Tails barreled right into Sonic’s chest, launching the hedgehog back-first into the oak tree.

After sliding to the ground, and shaking the imaginary flickys from his vision, Sonic looked down to see the young fox, resting on his lap, panting heavily, sweat soaking through his orange fur coat.

“Are you alright?” Sonic asked. He took no damage from Tails’ unintentional attack, but even if he did, his priority would always be the safety and protection of his little bro.

“Did I…” Tails struggled to speak between gasps for air. “Did I…win, Sonic?”

After a few moments of pause, Sonic replied, “Yes, Tails…Yes you did.”

“Hooray,” Tails said in a slow, quiet voice, hardly able to keep his eyes open from utter exhaustion.

“Good job, buddy…I’m proud of you,” Sonic said. Tails smiled brightly before dozing off to sleep in the comforting arms of his big bro.  

Sonic allowed himself to get comfortable, not wanting to disturb Tails’ peaceful slumber. Placing his arms behind his head, gazing up at the mid-morning sky, Sonic allowed his mind to wander.

Tails needs this. He tries so hard to make me proud. Little does he know how much I already am.

Basking in the comfort of the cool breeze and the warm sun peeking through the tall oak’s wide branches, Sonic succumbed to sleep himself, allowing his arms to fall from behind his head and gently land beside Tails.

******

By the time Tails woke from his morning nap, the sun was already high in the sky, reflecting over the small lake just down the hill from the tree. Apart from a slight stiffness from lying in a semi-awkward position, the fox felt well-rested and in good spirits.

I wonder where Sonic is.

Of course, Tails didn’t need to look far. Not seeing him within his peripheral vision, he tilted his head up to see his big brother sleeping soundly behind him, resting against the oak tree which now served as a permanent reminder that, with great perseverance, even he could overcome his obstacles.

In this case, it was finally beating Sonic at his own game.

Careful not to disturb the heavy-eyed hedgehog, Tails slowly rose from his comfortable naptime position, planting his short legs firmly to the ground while brushing himself off with his gloved hands, even though he wasn’t dirty at all. Tails peered down at his older brother, still sound asleep after their thrilling race a short while ago.

I suppose it’s time to wake up.

The orange kitsune looked around to see how best to disturb Sonic’s slumber. He didn’t need to look far, noticing a small branch a few feet away with a small green leaf attached to the far end. Chuckling to himself in anticipation, Tails grabbed the twig from the leafless end, got down to his knees, and slowly drew the branch closer to his sleeping friend. Tails was careful to ensure that the wood didn’t touch his face as he positioned the leaf below Sonic’s black nose.

The sensation of a flat, smooth surface rubbing against his nose slowly brought the sleeping hedgehog back into consciousness.

“Tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle,” Tails said, as if talking to a baby, attempting to laugh his brother awake.

“Heh heh, cut it out!” Sonic said between bouts of laughter.

This, of course, only egged Tails on further, as he tickled Sonic’s sensitive nose more ferociously than before, causing the hedgehog to roll from side to side while laughing so loud as to disturb the birds roosting in the tree above. As Sonic stopped rocking and rolling below the big oak, he slowly tilted his head back, opening his mouth in preparation for a signature Sonic sneeze.

Tails was caught unawares, lost in his quest to continue tickling his older brother until he couldn’t take it anymore.

“AaaaCHOO!” Sonic sneezed, directly in Tails’ direction. Of course, while the force of the sneeze was small, the loud noise caused Tails to lose his footing and fall backwards. Almost by instinct, Tails rolled back into a ball before making impact with the ground, causing him to roll downhill.

By this point, Sonic resumed his raucous laughter, although not from tickling, but from his little bro’s comical clumsiness.

Splash!

Sonic stopped his laughter and immediately faced the nearby lake. At first, he only saw the patch of disturbed water, bubbles rising to the surface, but then an orange shape began bobbing up and down in the lake. Only the back of Tails’ head, his back, and his namesakes were visible as his seemingly lifeless body floated still in the deep blue water below.

“Tails!” Sonic exclaimed as he ran to save his little brother from drowning.

Sonic dove headfirst into the water mere feet from the lifeless fox. The blue hedgehog flapped his arms in the surprisingly deep waters for a few seconds before securely placing his hands on Tails’ shoulders, half-sunk below the water’s surface. It was at that moment the small kitsune’s propeller tails sprang to life, raising the fox above the water, leaving Sonic to fend for himself.

“Ho ho ho!” Tails bellowed, imitating the laugh of a certain evil mastermind while depicting a fake moustache with his finger. “It looks like I’ve finally got rid of that meddlesome hedgehog!”

Sonic, meanwhile, continued splashing about in the water, doing his best to keep his head from bobbing below the surface. After a few more laughs, Tails hovered close to the drowning hedgehog, extending an arm out to help his blue friend out of the lake. Sonic gladly accepted the assist, their hands locking together before Tails transported them both back to the safety of the oak tree.

Sonic laid flat on his back upon returning to dry land. Tails joined him, still laughing under his breath.

“I thought I was a goner for a second!” Sonic exclaimed, shifting his head to see his younger bro staring back.

“Yeah, but you should know that I’d never let you drown,” Tails replied with a hint of humorous sarcasm.

As Sonic and Tails’ laughter slowly started to die out, the two companions stared up at the clouds, allowing enough sunlight to naturally dry their wet fur from their lakeside escapade.

“You know, Sonic,” Tails began, placing his arms behind his head in a fashion not unlike Sonic. “Don’t you wish that everyday could be like this?”

“What d’ya mean, little buddy?”

“You know…just the two of us hanging out and having fun. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more at peace.”

Sonic looked over at his younger brother once more, all but confirming Tails’ current emotional state as he stared at the sky, a smile on his face, not a care in the world.  

“Ya know, Tails,” Sonic replied as he stood up from the refreshingly warm grass and lowered an arm in Tails’ direction. “As long as we keep Eggman at bay, what is there to stop us from always having fun?”

Tails thought to himself as he allowed Sonic to pull him up from the ground. “I guess nothing, now that I think about it.”

“Then it’s settled,” Sonic said, pressing his fist against the palm of his other hand. “We won’t allow anyone to stand in the way of our adventures, and if they do, they’ll have to answer to us!”

“You said it!” Tails replied, flashing a thumbs up that was quickly met with Sonic’s own mere moments later.

“Now let’s say we get ourselves home,” Sonic said, pointing back in the direction of their abode. “It’s almost time for lunch.”

Tails nodded in agreement. “Maybe after lunch I can get back to working on my latest project.”

“What about our party plans?” Sonic asked, as they both started walking towards the direction of their shared abode.

“To be honest,” Tails replied, “spending a nice, quiet afternoon in my workshop is as much excitement as I’ll ever need.”

Sharing a few more laughs, the brotherly duo enjoyed a brisk walk back to their cozy, mountainside home.

******

Spacious by design, Tails’ workshop, directly connected to his shared home, was an absolute paradise for any professional mechanic. Spanning several yards in all directions, and equipped with two floors, the well-organized space was full of workbenches, high-tech computers, complex tools, storage cabinets several times taller than Tails himself, and a host of spare parts, components, wheels, gadgets, widgets, doodads, and other advanced contraptions beyond the comprehension of most.

The mid-afternoon sun poured through an open window on the east side of the facility as the young kitsune sat at his messiest workbench, tinkering with a handheld device with one hand while taking a large bite out of his half-eaten chilidog with the other.

A droplet of sweat rolled down Tails’ forehead as he focused on meticulously taking apart the contraption, a ritual that he had repeated several times that afternoon alone.

“Maybe if I recalibrate the sensors, I’ll be able to get a reading,” Tails theorized to himself as he continued unscrewing components with his specialized multitool, his head bent over multiple work lamps.

“So this is the project, huh?” Sonic said from behind Tails’ chair. Sonic didn’t enter the workshop particularly quietly, but Tails was so involved in his work that he didn’t notice his big brother’s approaching steps.

“Woah!” Tails exclaimed. The surprise caused him to stand up with a jolt, only to hit his head on one of the overhead lamps. Rubbing the new bump on his noggin, Tails accidentally swiped the device and several loose components off the desk with his wandering tails. Reacting quickly, Sonic snagged the device and a few components before they could fall to the ground. The remaining pieces scattered around Tails’ chair, flipped over after his fright.

“Gosh, buddy…are you okay?” Sonic asked. He set the items he saved down on the table in order to properly inspect Tails’ head.

“Yeah…I think so,” Tails replied, moving his hand out of the way to allow the hedgehog to feel through the fur for any damage.

“It looks swollen already,” Sonic said, identifying the cranial bump. He looked down at his fingers to find a small amount of blood from Tails’ wound. “I’ll go and fetch a bandage and some cream,” he said, allowing the young fox a glimpse of his lightly bloodstained glove.

Before he could respond, though, Sonic was already gone, leaving a blue afterimage in his wake, before quickly returning with the items he promised: a square-shaped, sticky bandage and a small tube of antibiotic ointment.

“Thank you, Sonic,” Tails said in a somber voice, looking up at his big bro with wide eyes while Sonic applied the cream to the bruise.

“I shouldn’t be thanked at all,” Sonic replied, as he affixed the bandage to the bump. “After all, it was because of me that you got hurt in the first place.”

“But it was due to my clumsiness that I got startled over something so trivial,” Tails argued, always preferring to find fault with himself over others, especially when compared to Sonic. At this point, Tails was sitting back on his chair, looking down at Sonic’s shoes as the hedgehog eyed the fox with concern.

“Well, I gotta make it up to you somehow,” Sonic replied.

Still looking at the floor, Tails noticed his components scattered all around him. Ignoring his big brother’s offer, Tails got up and began picking up the pieces. Before he could grab the third component, however, Sonic dashed around the desk, swooping-up the pieces as he went, and placing them back onto Tails’ workbench.

“Heh heh, thanks Sonic,” Tails said, smiling while placing an arm behind his head. Sonic simply replied with a thumbs up.

Tails looked back at the device, resting undamaged near the pile of components. Tails got to work organizing the parts into smaller piles on the desk, giving at least some breathing room for the device so that he could better work on deconstructing it later.

“Mind if I help too?” Sonic asked.

“Well,” Tails replied. “I suppose organizing these components isn’t too difficult, so we can separate them out together.” Sonic rolled another chair over from a different workbench a few feet away and placed it next to his fox companion. He sat down, and they both got to work.

After a few minutes of meticulous organization, Sonic broke the silence.

“So, what’s the device you’ve been working on?” Sonic asked, eyeing the contraption that he saved from colliding with the floor moments ago.

“Oh,” Tails replied, just realizing that he never actually explained the project to Sonic. He picked it up and showed it to him. Its circular shape was covered by a glass screen, a small button resting at the top. It almost resembled a pocket watch, albeit larger and more technological looking.  

“Well, you see, Eggman hasn’t caused any mayhem for a while, right?” Tails said, as he set the contraption down on the desk again.  

“Right,” Sonic replied. “But what does that have to do with your project?”

“I’m getting to that,” Tails replied with a patient smile. “I fear that the good doctor may be up to no good, possibly trying to collect the Chaos Emeralds after they were scattered during our last showdown.”

“Oh yeah,” Sonic replied, thinking back to the last time they battled the evil mastermind. He remembered fighting one of the doctor’s large mechs before using the power of the emeralds to transform himself into Super Sonic, granting him a temporary boost in power that allowed the glowing, yellow hedgehog to fly and deal greater damage for a limited time.

At this point, Tails stood up from his chair once again and began pacing, fingers scratching his chin as his eyes looked down in thought.

“The process of re-collecting the emeralds is incredibly tedious,” Tails continued. “But what if we could track them down easily using a detector?”

After a few moments of pondering, Sonic replied, “That sounds like a brilliant idea, Tails!”

“Thank you very much,” Tails said, performing a humorous bow with his right arm against his belly as if he just concluded a theatrical show in front of a live audience. “But there is one problem that I’m unable to figure out.”

“Oh?” Sonic replied, stunned that his little brother encountered a mechanical quandary that he couldn’t solve with ease.

“Yeah,” Tails replied. “The issue is that I can’t get the detector to register the presence of the unique energy that emanates from the emeralds.”

“Huh,” Sonic replied, scratching his head. “If it’s any consolation, I probably could’ve taken out Eggman’s mech without the emeralds, so I probably shouldn’t have used them.”

“It’s fine, Sonic,” Tails replied, remembering how the mech had held him captive, unable to break free from the giant machine’s heavy grasp. He began to breath heavily as the memory of Super Sonic cutting through the thick arm of the robot and teleporting him to safety made him feel worthless, the self-loathing invading his thoughts once more. “I was the reason why you resorted to using the Chaos Emeralds in the first place,” Tails continued, a few tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

Sonic, unable to see his brother in pain, extended his arms. “It’s okay, Tails.”

Wiping the tears from his blurred vision, Tails saw Sonic approaching him for a hug. As soon as he entered into his brother’s embrace, his heart rate slowed and breathing eased.

Still choked up while hugging the blue hedgehog, Tails began to speak again.

“I figured that a device to help us gather them back up would make things right.”

“I’m sure this will make things easier,” Sonic replied, rubbing Tails’ back, “but don’t think for a second that it was your fault.”

Sonic ended the embrace, still holding onto Tails’ shoulders. His young companion sniffled a bit, looked down at the floor once again.

“Now how about you take a break from work and I prepare us some ice cream sundaes?” Sonic offered. This caught Tails’ attention.

“But it’s only three in the afternoon!” Tails countered, concerned about spoiling dinner.

“Okay, mother,” Sonic replied in a teasing voice, eliciting a playful shoulder punch from the orange kitsune, whose spirits appeared back on the upswing.

“Tell ya what,” Sonic offered. “I’ll prepare our treats while you finish cleaning up down here. Sound good?”

“Yes it does,” Tails replied with a smile, his eyes still slightly red from crying.

As Sonic left for the kitchen, Tails’ smile began to fade.

He stared intently at the semi-organized piles of components remaining on his workbench. He felt a little better, but the guilt, shame, and sense of incompetence were still ever-present in his mind.

Tails sighed as he returned to his workstation, sitting back down to continue the organizing that he and Sonic started.

“I’ll try my absolute hardest to make things right,” Tails said out loud to himself. “For the safety of my friends, and to prevent Eggman from gaining absolute power, we must prevail.”

I must prevail.

*****

Chapter 2

[biostudyblog]

Evolution

Evolution is an essential key to understanding all branches of biology. Microevolution is the changes in one gene pool of a population over generations. Macroevolution is speciation, which refers to the formation of an entirely new species.

Individuals never change or evolve. Your DNA is your DNA, and cannot evolve. (Adaption is different). A population is the smallest group that can evolve.

Evidence of Evolution

There are 6 areas of study that prove the theory of evolution:

Fossil record

Comparative anatomy

Comparative biochemistry

Comparative embryology

Molecular biology

Biogeography

Fossil Record

The fossil record is evidence of species who have become extinct or evolved into other species.

99% of all organisms that have ever lived on earth are now extinct.

With studies of radioactive dating and half-life, we know the earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old.

Prokaryotic cells are the oldest fossils, and so were the first organisms to develop on earth.

Palaeontologists have discovered transitional fossils, which link older, extinct fossils to modern species. For example, the discovery of the Archaeopteryx is a fossil that links reptiles and birds. Along with that, we know that the Hyracotherium was the ancestor of the modern-day horse.

Comparative Anatomy

Many organisms share anatomic structures, proving that they came from a common ancestor. For example, by comparing the dental structure of humans and chimpanzees, we now know that we share a common ancestor that lived less than 10 million years ago.

Homologous Structures: Homologous structures are like the wing of a bat, the fin of a whale, and our own arm. By looking at them, it’s evident that they share bone structure. We share a common ancestor, however, we diverged millions of years ago.

Analogous Structures: Analogous structures are like a bat and fly’s wing. They have the same function, however a differing underlying structure. This is a superficial similarity and reflects adaptation to a similar environment. It is an example of convergent evolution.

Vestigial Structures: Vestigial structures are like our coccyx (the tailbone). While it was useful when our ancestors had tails, it now is a useless reminder of what we used to be. Fun fact: the appendix is not a vestigial structure. In fact, it has a function in the immune system.

Comparative Biochemistry

Organisms with a common ancestor have common biochemical pathways. The more closely related two organisms are to each other, the more similar their biochemistry is. Humans and mice are both mammals, which is why mice are often used in medical research (However, mice are rodents and we are apes, which is why studies done on mice can very often be flawed.)

Comparative Embryology

More closely related organisms go through similar stages in their embryonic development as they evolved from a common ancestor. When vertebrates are embryos, we all develop gill pouches on the side of our throat. In fish, these become the gills. In humans, they become the eustachian tubes which connect the middle ear with the throat.

Molecular Biology

Comparing two organisms on a molecular level also gives insight into how closely related they are. Since respiration requires an electron transport chain, we have a polypeptide called cytochrome c. By comparing the amino acid sequence of cytochrome c, we can know how closely related the organisms are. For example, our cytochrome c is identical to that of a chimpanzee, however different from a pig, and almost completely different to that of the cytochrome c found in paramecia.

Biogeography

The earth did not always look the way that it does now. The theory of continental drift states that 250 million years ago, all the continents were together in a supercontinent called Pangaea, which slowly, over time, separated into the 7 continents that we know today. Because of this, we know organisms like marsupials migrated by land from South America, across Antartica to Australia, before the continents separated, isolating marsupials.

Lamarck vs. Darwin

Before Darwin’s theory of evolution was Lamarck’s. Lamarck’s theory was based on the ideas of inheritance of acquired characteristics, and use and disuse. He believed that individual organisms change in response to their environment. For example, when the ecological niche that giraffes in the grasslands of Africa became too full, he believed they learned to stretch their necks to reach the acacia trees. After developing these long necks, they passed the trait off to their offspring.

Darwin did his studies on the Galapagos Islands to study the strange wildlife that lived there. His theory of evolution was based on characteristics of animals like the finches who had developed different shaped beaks depending on which ecological niche they filled. He published his book in 1859 and became a sensation.

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

Darwin’s theory of evolution stated that:

Populations grow exponentially, to overpopulate and over exceed their resources. This idea came from Malthus, who in 1798 published his research on population growth, disease and famine.

Overpopulation results in competition and a struggle to exist.

In all populations, some organisms have advantages over others. Those that win the genetic lottery are able to survive long enough to reproduce, passing the successful traits on. The organisms who lose the genetic lottery die before they can pass their genetic material on. For example, in a snowy area, if there are white and brown rabbits, the brown rabbits will be eaten, as they don’t camouflage. As a result, only white rabbits have babies, and soon the entire population will become white. This is a concept known as survival of the fittest.

Fitness refers to the ability of an organism to reproduce.

How the Giraffe Got Its Long Neck

Lamarck’s theory was thrown out in favour of Charles Darwin’s. What happened, was there were too many animals in one ecological niche, and so not enough food. Giraffes with shorter necks couldn’t find enough food, and so they starved. Giraffes with longer necks than normal were able to eat food other animals couldn’t reach, and so survived and passed on their DNA. Thus, over time, there was a noticeable change in the appearance of the giraffes, as the average neck length of the population increased, not the individual.

How the Peppered Moth Went From Light to Dark

In England, until around 1845, peppered moths were light. This was around industrialisation, and so factories producing smoke and soot polluted the air. As a result, light moths no longer could camouflage themselves and were picked off, causing an increase in the percentage of black moths, as black moths had the selective advantage. This darkening is known as industrial melanism.

Evolution and Drug Resistance

Antibiotics are wonder drugs. People are constantly asking for them, even if they have a virus. However, by taking antibiotics more, the antibiotics become more and more useless. This is because antibiotics kill susceptible bacteria while leaving alone bacteria that have developed resistance. These bacteria reproduce, and antibiotics no longer can fight them. The ability of a virus or bacteria impacts the ease of finding a cure. A famous example is AIDS. AIDS is caused by the HIV virus which evolves extremely easily. Currently, the treatment for the disease is a drugs cocktail which slows its progression. In some patients, the HIV virus becomes resistant, and they take a downward spiral. The flu virus is another example of a virus that evolves extremely quickly.

Types of Natural Selection

There are 3 ways natural selection can alter the frequency of inherited traits in a population, depending on the favoured phenotypes: stabilising selection, diversifying, or disruptive selection, and directional selection.

Stabilising Selection

Stabilising eliminates the extremes, and favours the more common intermediate form. Stabilising selection is the reason why most human babies are born with a similar weight: 6 to 9 pounds, as greater or less than this often increases the mortality risk.

Disruptive or Diversifying Selection

Disruptive selection increases the numbers of extreme types in a population, at the cost of intermediate forms (it is the opposite of stabilising selection.) This results in a balanced polymorphism where two or more phenotypes coexist. Over time this may lead to speciation.

Directional Selection

Directional selection is caused by changing environmental conditions, where one phenotype replaces another. The peppered moth's case is an example of this.

Diversity Within a Population

Darwin’s theory of evolution depends on diversity within any given gene pool.

Darwin at the time could not explain the genetic diversity, however, we now know it is due to mutation, genetic drift, and genetic flow.

Mutation

Mutations are changes in genetic material. They are the raw material for evolutionary change. Even just one point mutation can introduce a whole new allele to a population, as found by Hugo de Vries who studies polyploidy in plants.

Genetic Drift

Genetic drift is a change in the gene pool due to chance. This is the reason why most people from Ireland have red hair because there is no known evolutionary benefit. Two more broad examples of genetic drift are the bottleneck effect and the founder effect.

The Bottleneck Effect

The bottleneck effect is caused by major events, like a flood, volcano, or fire causing the massive, nonselective reduction in the population. The resulting population is no longer representative of the original one, causing certain alleles to be over or underrepresented, completely by chance.

The Founder Effect

When a small population breaks away from a larger population, it is not representative of the original population. As a result, rare alleles can become overrepresented. This happened in the 1770s, with the Old Order of the Amish in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Their ancestors moved from Germany to America, and a large percentage of them have the dominant, but rare gene for polydactyly, which means having more than 5 fingers and toes. As a result, in this area, there is a massive concentration of this extremely rare gene.

Gene Flow

Gene flow is the movement of alleles in and out of a population. Migration of fertile individuals or gametes between populations may cause gene flow. When pollen from a flower in one valley travels via the wind across a mountain to another valley, that causes gene flow.

Population Stability (Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium)

Hardy and Weinburg were two scientists who developed a theory describing a stable, nonevolving population (where the allele frequency does not change). For there to be Hardy-Weinburg equilibrium, the population must meet the following requirements:

It must be very large: Because changes in small populations have such massive effects on the allele frequency of the entire population, there must be a large population to dilute these changes.

The population must be isolated: When a population is isolated, the lack of gene flow prevents the introduction of new alleles into the gene pool

There must be no mutations: Mutations alter the allelic frequency and can lead to a whole new allele.

Mating must be random: When individuals select mates, natural selection comes into play, and the fittest individual will reproduce, altering the allelic frequency.

There must be no natural selection: Adding to the above, there must be no reason for the population to evolve.

Hardy-Weinburg Equation

The Hardy-Weinburg Equation is necessary to know the frequency of alleles in a population.

Example Problem:

If 9% of the population has blue eyes, what percentage of the population is hybrid for brown eyes? Homozygous for brown eyes?

Isolation and Speciation

A species is a population whose members are able to interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Horses and donkeys produce mules, which are infertile, thus they are not in the same species. When a population fragments and isolates small groups, new species may form, as different selective pressures influence the two groups.

Geographic Isolation

Geographic isolation can be caused by any geographic feature that makes it nearly impossible for two groups to interact, such as mountains, canyons, or rivers.

Polyploidy

Polyploidy is a mutation that occurs during meiosis, where instead of ending up diploid (2n), cells can become polyploids (>2n). Polyploids cannot breed with non-polyploids, therefore this is a kind of isolation.

Habitat Isolation

Habitat isolation occurs when two organisms live in the same area but rarely interact. For example, two snakes may share the same genus, however, one inhabits the water, while one is terrestrial.

Behavioural Isolation

Behavioural isolation occurs when two organisms are isolated because of a change in behaviour. For instance, male fireflies attract mates by flashing a specific pattern of lights. If the male firefly does not use the pattern she will respond to, no mating will occur.

Temporal Isolation

Temporal isolation is just isolation over time. Two plants of one species may become isolated, as one becomes sexually mature earlier than the other.

Reproductive Isolation

Reproductive isolation is caused when anatomical incompatibility makes it impossible to mate, for example, a chihuahua and a great dane cannot mate.

Patterns of Evolution

Divergent Evolution

Divergent evolution when a species is isolated and becomes a new species. Homologous structures are evidence of this pattern of evolution.

Convergent Evolution

Convergent evolution occurs when two unrelated species inhabit the same environment. For example, in the whale and the fish, despite having different ancestors, they have very similar appearances and features as these features benefit both of them. Analogous structures are evidence of this pattern of evolution.

Parallel Evolution

Parallel evolution describes when two related species have related evolutionary adaptations. For example, the grey wolf and Tasmanian wolf have striking similarities, as, despite their geographic isolation, their environments are similar.

Coevolution

Coevolution is the mutual set of adaptations between two interacting species. For example, pollinators and plants. When it feeds from a flower, a pollinator guarantees the survival of the plant. Thus, the plants and pollinators evolve together to guarantee survival together.

Adaptive Radiation

When most people are asked to talk about evolution, Darwin’s finches are brought up. When the birds were isolated on multiple different islands, and environments, the one species fractured into multiple. This is called adaptive radiation.

Theories About the Theory

Gradualism

Gradualism is Darwin’s belief that evolution occurs gradually over a long period of time in a linear, or branching fashion. Big changes occur by accumulating multiple small ones. For this theory to be correct, no missing links should exist.

This theory is no longer popular, as transitional fossils are rare to find.

Punctuated Equilibrium

Punctuated equilibrium is more widely accepted by scientists now. It is the idea that new species occur suddenly after long periods of now change, as new species arrive in different places, expanding their range, and replacing the ancestral species.

Spontaneous Generation

Before there were gradualism and punctuated equilibrium, there was spontaneous generation. It was a popular idea until the 1700′s and states that living things emerge from nonliving ones. Francesco Redi disproved this theory by putting decaying meat into wide mouth jars, some with lids, some covered by cheesecloth, and some left open. Maggots only appeared where flies could lay their eggs.

How Life Began

So then, if life comes from life, where did it all start?

After the formation of the earth, around 4.6 billion years ago, earth’s outer surface cooled and solidified, forming a crust. The ancient environment was likely made primarily of CH4 (methane), NH3 (ammonia), and H20 (vapour). There was no free oxygen. Intense heat, lightning, and radiation in the atmosphere gave rise to the first cell. An attempt to recreate these conditions have happened a lot throughout history.

In the 1920s, two scientists, Oparin and Haldane separately concluded that earth’s early conditions gave rise to life. In the absence of corrosively reactive O2 that would react and degrade them, organic molecules were able to form and persist.

In the 1950s, Miller and Urey tested this hypothesis and proved nearly any energy source could convert inorganic molecules into organic molecules including amino acids. They used electricity to mimic lightning, and UV light, as without the atmosphere we have today, with its protective ozone layer, UV rays were extremely prevalent (the sun was a deadly laser, but not anymore there’s a blanket)

Fox, in more recent times, recreated this experiment and produced membrane-bound cell-like structures he named proteinoid microspheres which were able to survive for hours in a lab.

The Heterotroph Hypothesis and the Theory of Endosymbiosis

The Heterotroph Hypothesis states that it is most likely that the first cells on earth were anaerobic heterotrophic prokaryotes (as autotrophs need membrane-bound organelles to produce their own energy)

Eukaryotic cells evolved when small bacteria took residence in large prokaryotic cells and helped perform essential functions in the host cell. These small bacteria became the nuclei, chloroplasts, and mitochondria we have today, which is why these 3 organelles have their own DNA, and why the mitochondria and chloroplasts can self-replicate.

The first multicellular animals appeared around 565 million years ago, and within 40 million years, the phyla we know today appeared. This time, when multiple organisms moved onto land is called the Cambrian explosion. Animals developed features such as lungs, skin, limbs, internal fertilisation mechanisms, and eggshells in order to survive on land. Plants developed roots, supporting cells that allowed them to be so tall, vascular tissue, cutin on their leaves, and seeds.

Mass Extinctions

So if life on earth represents 3% of what used to be on earth, how did so many species die out?

While normal extinction causes the deaths of individual species or populations, mass extinctions are events that lead to the deaths of more than 75% of life on earth. Earth has seen five and may be seeing a sixth in today’s time.

The Permian extinction occurred 250 million years ago when massive volcano eruptions in Siberia spewed massive amounts of lava, and CO2 raising the global temperature up 6 degrees. (Sound familiar?)

Where did the dinosaurs go? The Cretaceous extinction was a subject of much speculation, until the discovery of a massive asteroid hole on the Yucatan Penninsula in Mexico. The 10 km-wide asteroid crashed, causing massive clouds of debris to coat the atmosphere, blocking sunlight, killing plants, and the animals that depended on them. Some dinosaurs survived and evolved into birds. So next time you have a parrot on your finger, remember that you have what used to be a dinosaur standing on your finger.

[maddmuses]

Broly

Age: 48 Affiliation: Freeza Force (Defunct) Date of Birth: April 16 Place of Birth: Birthing Facility 4, Vegetopolis, Planet Vegeta Species: Saiyans (Sub-species: Mutant; Type: Legendary Super Saiyan)

Universe Inspiration: Dragon Ball Super: Broly film inspired, with references to original Dragon Ball Z: Broly the Legendary Super Saiyan

Appearance Broly is a tall Saiyan, in his base form being somewhere in the mid 6 foot range height-wise, with a very muscular build, and deeply tanned skin, that’s covered in scars from his harsh upbringing. As is typical for his species, Broly has wild, black, hair that doesn’t change in shape, but simply continues to grow and maintain its shape until a certain point. At one point Broly had a tail, also as was standard of a saiyan, but was removed by his father as a precaution to avoid the use of his Oozaru form which, even as a baby, was over twice as strong as Paragus.

Generally Broly wears the same clothing that he was given as a baby, when sent to planet Vampa, though in later years he would usually eschew the armor, as even its presence made Broly feel that his movement was impeded somewhat, when he was recruited into the Freeza Force. The only occasion in which he was known to wear his Freeza Force armor was when it was expected, during his fight with Vegeta and Goku. Consistently, though, Broly is known to wear a green pelt around his waist that was made from the skinned ear of an animal who had once been his friend that he called Ba.

As he enters an enraged state Broly is known to grow both taller and larger, increasing in size by roughly a foot, and growing even larger. When in such an emotional condition his pupils also shift from their dark irises to having yellow ones, a change which makes some hypothesize that it has more to do with a partial Oozaru transformation than something inherent to some type of technique.

When in the Super Saiyan base state, Broly experiences the typical changes physically, his muscles becoming more defined, and sometimes even slightly larger, with his eyes changing color to blue, and spiky gold hair that takes on a more stiff appearance. However, this is superseded when activating his Type-C transformation, retaining the yellow pupils from his enraged condition, having larger muscles and growing even further larger than his enraged state, while his hair takes on a more greenish color.

Upon transcending to his Legendary Super Saiyan state, Broly’s hair becomes more notably green, and he grows even further in size, standing over 9 feet tall. As well, he becomes his most fury-driven at this time, with his pupils no longer being visible, and being short of a frothing animal.

Personality Broly is one of the rare saiyan speciment who display a uniquely gentle nature in regard to other living creatures. Primarily, even when hunting, he would generally only attack animals that were known to be aggressive towards his father and he. This is generally consistent in his interactions with others, as he generally will not immediately jump to violence, and in fact only does this when incited to do so. One might say that he has even taken to a passive nature thanks to his largely isolationist upbringing, as Paragus had held no illusions regarding their eventual return to society, and it speaks to a possible conclusion that saiyans may well be very peaceful by nature, when left to their own devices, and lack interaction with many other creatures.

Despite this, Broly is still victim to certain qualities that are consistent among saiyans, such as a voracious appetite for food, which is expressed through eating massive helpings of food, and often mowing through small snacks when offered to him. This results in Broly being readily inquisitive towards things that appear food-like, or even anything vaguely edible as the animals he’s accustomed to eating are a stretch to be referred to as “food”. Additionally, Broly, when losing himself in the throes of a violent episode, will begin to crave and enjoy the violence of battle, eventually becoming psychotic enough to attack individuals who he may not have actually been fighting, such as when he attacked Freeza for roughly an hour, after being redirected towards him by Goku and Vegeta, and then after attacking Whis when he determined that his target no longer had any fight left to give. Notably, this seems to mean that Broly, even enraged, is lucid enough to stop attacking someone who doesn’t have anything left, boring him and causing the saiyan to move on.

As he grew up in an extremely isolated world, with only one other sapient being to have a relationship with, Broly is extremely shy and naive. In fact, he will generally only speak to those he knows well, such as his father, and later Cheelai and Lemo. Through this, Broly has poor manners, and little use for common social graces, which makes him appear more savage and boorish to others than he actually is.

Thanks to the fact that he only grew up with his father, who had something resembling affection for his son, Broly has become conditioned to believe that Paragus is the most important person in his life. This gives him a loyalty to his father that, while being objectively aware that his father brought him up in a vicious manner, forcing the boy to fight dangerous wild animals to enhance his Battle Power, he would still anger quickly when others spoke poorly of the saiyan. In actuality, Broly’s relationship with Paragus is largely more similar to that of a master and a weapon, as Paragus largely did things that would either enable him to emotionally manipulate Broly, bully him into submission, or actively physically control him. This leaves Broly with a fearful, even traumatic, response to certain stimuli, such as electricity and electrical currents, as well as devices which resemble a remote control, and any sort of neck jewelry, or even most types of apparel that would require it be wrapped around his neck.

Despite these facts, Broly invests significant stock into those interpersonal relationships that he does have, especially the one he held with Paragus, to at least a similar regard that Goku held his friendship with Krillin. This is evidenced by the fact that through grief and fury, at seeing the corpse of his father freshly killed, supposedly by combat shrapnel, an already enraged Broly was able to be pushed to the breaking point that would allow him to achieve the Super Saiyan transformation.

Biography Summarized in the Dragon Ball Super: Broly film

Skills, Abilities, and Powers -Superhuman Physical State: Saiyans originated and evolved on a planet with ten times the mass of planet Earth, and accordingly have a greater physical condition when under the same gravitational conditions. Additionally, saiyans are a species who inherently are more powerful than humans with little training at all levels of development. Saiyan infants who are considered unimpressive (Battle Power Ratings/BPR of less than 100 generally) are generally sent to planets like Earth with the expectation of wiping out sapient species from its surface within two decades. For context, an adult human’s BPR on average would be somewhere between a 5 to a 10. Upon birth and analysis Broly was able to measure in the ballpark of 10,000 BPR (Equivalent roughly to Bardock in the TV special, and stronger than Goku’s powered up state when fighting Nappa and Vegeta) at the higher end, when his emotions were elevated, and resting at 920 when calm, both being considered extremely impressive ratings for a newborn. Accordingly, Broly’s inflated Battle Power indicated his ability to kill monsters that made the likes of Peregus (his own father and a lower-class warrior specimen) flee and seek refuge from. Growing into adulthood, Broly would become extremely physically powerful, despite only having training in the form of some very fundamental fighting from his father as a small child, and otherwise relying on the dangerous creatures of planet Vampa. This, combined with the rare genetic mutation that renders Broly a Legendary Super Saiyan, he has become easily one of the most powerful individuals in the multiverse in terms of simple physical might. By comparison, he was said to be stronger than Beerus, a destruction god who is able to effortlessly destroy planets through a single touch, and accidentally destroy the universe that he occupies when fighting. Much like other characters in Dragon Ball, the specifics of Broly’s physical feats, or the feats of others when applied to scale with him, as the story is an Eastern Epic with Sci-Fi elements blended in. It is to be accepted, though, that Broly is among the most powerful beings in existence, and that most feats of physicality should be considered manageable by him, excepting his noted weaknesses and limitations. Most factors that can limit his ability to perform are usually magical in nature, or otherwise come from a higher plateau of power. If one considers a spread of prowess between the three main fight stats (Power, Speed, and Durability) with 15 points to budget, Broly factors as-follows: Power: 6 Speed: 4 Durability: 5 But relative to other DB characters, being stronger than Beerus would likely earn him more points, making an array like this more reasonable: Power: 8 Speed: 6 Durability: 7 This is based on the fact that it required a fusion to ultimately defeat Broly, with the fusion in question being greater than the sum of his parts (Vegeta and Goku both in SSB). --Zenkai (Also known as Saiyan Power): Like other Saiyans, Broly is able to become stronger, receiving a boost to his Battle Power and physical state after recovering from a defeat, or enduring hardship in the heat of battle. Many of the currently living saiyans have used this ability to great effect to become some of the most powerful mortals in existence. ---Combat Zenkai: Uniquely to Broly, likely due to his being a Legendary Super Saiyan, he is able to experience the growth that one would expect of a saiyan DURING battle, rather than while recovering, essentially allowing him to grow more powerful as he’s pressured in battle, making him an exceptionally dangerous opponent.

-Superhuman Senses: like all saiyans, Broly’s olfactory is more acute than a normal human’s. Additionally, he’s able to react and perceive things in a much faster time too, keeping up with his speed, and those of a similar degree of ability in this regard. Broly, however, cannot seem able to react to those faster than him by a degree that matters (such as Gogeta during SSB), but still seems to be able to track, as he attempted to respond to attacks from this opponent WHILE being struck.

-Fighting Ability: Broly has had very minimal training in regards to combat, as he was easily able to surpass his father as a child, and thus only has the most fundamental technique from that brief time in which he COULD train with Broly and have it matter at all. Instead, Broly largely experienced training through fighting and killing the dangerous monsters who inhabited Vampa. However, when it came to fighting other warriors, it became evident when Broly fought others of a similar raw power to himself (Vegeta and Goku) that he had no practical skills in martial arts. Notable, though, is that this lack of experience allowed him to develop and learn how to fight other humanoids extremely quickly, understanding what worked and what didn’t, modifying his style accordingly. In terms of style, Broly is defined by a distinct lack of style, being a true brawler, he moves and attacks in a method that makes sense for the purposes of someone with little combat experience. Broly’s attacks are direct and fast, with little flourish or fluidity, simply compensating for his lack of finesse with raw speed and power. Haymakers, lariats, and hard straights tend to represent most of his attacks.

-Combat Genius: Much like Son Goku and Vegeta, Broly is considered a genius when it comes to combat. Though whereas the likes of Goku is able to improvise battle strategies and tactics tailored to the situation, Broly is able to fight purely on instinct, guiding without thought on a surface level. Though, it is worth noting that he does actively learn and adapt in combat, which is still a degree of thought too far to be necessary to attain Ultra Instinct.

-Adaptive Combatant: Broly is able to deal with opponents who are superior to him in some regard or another, so long as he isn’t outclassed by them entirely. This was clearly the case when after a few moments of fighting with Vegeta, he became reliably able to outfight his opponent, despite remaining in base form as opposed to the other’s transformed state, only to then have trouble with Goku’s fighting style, due to not yet having adapted. This is notably the case, as similar tactics seem to fail to work against Broly repeatedly.

-Technique Mimicry: Like other saiyans, but notably like his mentor and rival Goku, Broly is possessed of the coveted ability to mimic the techniques of those he sees, particularly Chi-based ones, such as when he was able to turn Goku’s own God Bind back upon its user. Broly, while able to copy the techniques of those that he sees, generally tends to only use those that he finds useful, particularly those that don’t require him to stand still and charge.

-Chi Manipulation and Generation: Like all other saiyans, Broly has the ability to manipulate his own life aura, known commonly in Earth philosophic and martial arts systems as Chi, Qi, or Ki, and manifest it into physical phenomena. Broly is able to most notably use this energy to propel himself through the air in flight, or focusing it into a raw blast of plasma, which he can fire from his hands or mouth. While other characters have expressed a range of abilities when using their chi, Broly has had very minimal training with this life energy, due to his father’s rather unimpressive abilities, to be assumed, and not fighting enemies who frequently make use of these abilities. While Broly doesn’t initially have techniques that he uses with his chi in a specific sense, or the ability to detect the life-force of others, he is extremely powerful, with a BPR that can’t be measured by the most advanced Scouter technology. An individual’s chi is impacted by a number of factors, including their physical state, spiritual state, focus, discipline, and emotions. Notably, Broly as an infant was able to become more than ten times more powerful when having typical baby-type anger.

-Oozaru’s Wrath: Due to his uninhibited rage, Broly is able to access his power increase from being an Oozaru (Saiyans generally accepted this to be a x10 multiplier to his BPR, as well as increase his physical size somewhat and strength as if he had transformed into a great ape, but without the loss of agility that comes with being an actual giant ape.

-Heat Resistance: Broly is able to resist heat to the point that he and Goku were able to do combat in a pit of lava, and not seem to be injured by the molten rock around them. This is likely a saiyan adaptation, as Broly wasn’t frequently making use of his chi in a subtle fashion yet.

Chi-Based Abilities and Techniques -Flight -Ki Blasts -Eraser Cannon (A focused orb of chi that Broly has enhanced the explosive power of, creating a more powerful and debilitating attack. This is the closest thing to Broly’s signature technique, though it’s not very distinct from his baseline blasts. Notably Broly can also fire this attack from his chest.) -Omega Blaster (Through creating a larger orb with his Eraser Cannon, Broly is able to power up the destructive power and size of his chi orbs by funneling energy into it after launch.) -Blaster Meteor (After forming an Energy Shield around himself, Broly fires a grouping of homing energy blasts from either side of himself, forming a powerful and destructive blast.) -Gigantic Breath (Essentially Eraser Cannon firing from his mouth, but in more of a stream-like form.) -Saiyan Blaster (Explosion Wave using his Wrath State) --Omega Blaster (A Super Explosive Wave effected by Broly’s Super Saiyan C-Type Form.) -Gigantic Full Blast -Planet Crusher (After forming a large ball of energy above his head, Broly will then throw a bomb of his chi at the opponent, inflicting massive damage. This is Broly’s individually strongest chi blast.) -Gigantic Full Blast (Essentially a wave of energy fired from in front of Broly.) --Gigantic Omegastorm (A charged green ball of chi forms in front of Broly, before being released as a green wave of energy.) --Gigantic Cluster (Broly’s Full Blast, but rather than firing it in a single wave it takes the form of many bullets that follow an opponent’s movements.) --Gigantic Catastrophe (Broly will fire an energy blast from his mouth, but also several, compact, bullets from his hand, before he physically charges, and fires another wave at the foe.) -Powered Shell (Essentially a tangible shield formed from Broly’s dense chi, he is able to use it to protect himself from attacks, though this technique is notable for being not only visible, but can actually impede a target from reaching him by several inches.) -Super Saiyan (As a Saiyan with sufficient Z-Cells, Broly is able to achieve the Super Saiyan state, though he initially requires a state of heightened emotion to spark the transformation. While a Super Saiyan, Broly’s BPR is multiplied by 50x, though generally it’s accepted to be a significant increase in Broly’s already huge power level. Due to the nature of the transformation, Broly’s life energy becomes extremely volatile, much like his emotional state, essentially being able to close the difference between Broly’s base form, and Goku’s Super Saiyan God form.) --Super Saiyan C-Type (Due to Broly’s mutation as a Legendary Super Saiyan he is able to use a far more efficient mode of Super Saiyan, taking it along a distinct path of evolution as opposed to non-Legendary Super Saiyans. While other types of Super Saiyans tend to progress along a series of grades that modulate to an eventual efficiency that becomes Super Saiyan 2 (Or Super Saiyan Grade V), and then from then on becomes inefficient again thought Grade VI (Super Saiyan 3) before eventually reaching a state of perfect efficiency and power with Super Saiyan 4 (Grade VII), C-Type has a similar type of efficiency built into it already, not taxing Broly’s body, mind, or chi, while utilizing this newfound efficiency to push his abilities as a Super Saiyan even further. This version of Super Saiyan is also notable for having green or yellow hair, rather than the typical gold, and that while in it Broly’s mental state still remains volatile, craving combat. At present, Broly has only shown the ability to use this version of Super Saiyan while also using his Oozaru’s Wrath. ---Super Saiyan Berserker Mode (Legendary Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan B-Mode)(Essentially the full-power version of Super Saiyan C-Type, Broly pushes his power to its maximum level, becoming even larger and more powerful, though still without losing his speed and agility. At this point he’s become roughly 9 feet tall, and begun fighting entirely on instinct. As described by others, this form of Super Saiyan can only grow in power, without evident weakening so long as the user’s body can withstand the strain of the power it’s holding, though eventually it can begin to destroy itself in the process, severely inhibiting their speed and strength in the process, until the force of their chi eventually becomes so great that it causes the Berserking Saiyan to explode. In this form, Broly’s chi can become so intense that upon transformation it can be felt from a different quadrant of the galaxy altogether by those who are sensitive to chi. If his chi continues to grow without regard for his body’s limitations it is assumable that even those who aren’t sensitive to life energy might become able to detect his power throughout the entire universe. Berserker Mode is notably referred to as such because of the personality change it causes in users who don’t have perfect chi control, much like Super Saiyan Blue, in which Broly often becomes drastically more violent. In the case of him using this form most often he lacks the capacity to NOT kill and destroy everyone around him.

Martial Abilities and Techniques -Haymaker (Many of Broly’s punches are simply wide, strong, swings that make use of his considerable size and strength. While these attacks are comparatively slow, they are noteworthy for being extremely dangerous to be struck with, necessitating caution when approaching Broly in combat.) -Lariat (Essentially charging attacks in which Broly armbars his foe, or grips them, often slamming them into hard surfaces, or blowing through them with the intent to break bones.) -Wrathful Charge (Broly will charge in to strike his opponent with an Eraser Cannon at Point-Blank Range, usually in the target’s chest.) -Eraser Blow (Essentially Wrathful Charge, though often aimed more center-mass of his target, with the explosion set to knock foes flying.)

[meta-shadowsong]

On Force-Sensitivity Demographics

AKA:  Exactly How Many Force-Sensitive People Are in the Galaxy; and Is This Genetic?

This is something I think about from time to time--I’m not sure exactly why now is one of those times, except that I set up this blog not too long ago and therefore was reading back through some old metas I’d written/bookmarked/etc.

Anyway, since it has been on my mind, I figured I’d go ahead and get my thoughts on the matter into some kind of coherent format!

And said thoughts basically boil down to one big ol’ shrug emoji, because I don’t think there’s enough information to say for sure.

Let’s start with the first question--how many Force-sensitive people are in the Galaxy?

So, the main evidence we have for any type of discussion on this subject is the size of the Jedi Order, which is stated to be roughly 10,000 beings as of the fall of the Republic. But there are a couple problems with extrapolating from that number.

First, who exactly does that 10,000 estimate include? Is it every Jedi currently known to be alive according to Temple records? Is it all active Jedi Knights/Masters/Padawans? Is it limited to full Jedi who have passed their Trials? Does it include retired Masters? Younglings and initiates?

Second, even if we take it as the most inclusive number possible (i.e., every living member of the Jedi Order from Master Yoda down to the three-month old that got brought in the day before the end), that’s not necessarily an accurate barometer for the percentage of Force-sensitives in the general population. For one thing, there are entire populations that are outliers (i.e., Dathomir, which seems to have a higher percentage than the galactic average, to the point where I kind of think it’s some kind of genius locus/an entire planet of people who are sensitive to a perceptible degree), and we don’t know how many of those/how sizeable they are.

With that in mind, using just the Jedi Order is probably not super-accurate to the galaxy as a whole. See above, re: Dathomir; not to mention other populations such as the Bardotta and Lasat that seem to have strong native traditions and generally don’t send their children to the Temple. Also, given that there’s a gradient/some level of variation in terms of raw strength/natural ability above whatever threshold the Jedi consider the minimum for induction into the Order, there probably is below it, too. Meaning, there’s most likely an unknown population of people who are perceptibly more sensitive than Joe Average, even if they don’t quite meet the Order’s standard, whatever that may be. I mean, you could view Force-sensitivity as a simple on/off switch, with…IDK…varying brightness in the bulbs once they’re turned on, but that seems weird/doesn’t really hold up for me. Especially given that, at least in Legends, certain species (such as the Iktotchi, IIRC) have a higher baseline level of Force-sensitivity than Humans do. Granted, the gradient issue is probably more relevant to the second half of this discussion (on possible heredity), rather than broad population estimates, because at some point a line has to be drawn; still, I thought it best to mention it.

Third, even if we exclude populations like Dathomiri/Bardotta/Lasat and people who are sensitive enough to Do Things, but not necessarily above whatever threshold the Jedi require, that 10,000 is still probably not a great sample, because it’s fairly limited. It consists of people who were a) born in the Republic and/or found by a wandering Jedi within the appropriate age range, whatever that may be, and b) had parents who were willing to give them up for adoption. I’ve touched on this before but the highlights: we don’t know how many letter B excludes, but even letter A probably doesn’t catch all the eligible people within that parameter.

And I can say this because of Palpatine.

Based on his background, coming from a sector capital (if a relatively rural/minor one) and born to parents who had a fair amount of personal resources, it’s hard to believe that he wouldn’t be identified. I mean, yes, one explanation is a handwaved because Destiny said so/the Son chose his champion and made sure he would be found by the correct teacher, but it’s just as likely that there are kids, even from highly visible populations, who slip through the cracks--let alone children from less visible populations. Especially since, to my knowledge, there’s not actually a whole lot of information out there on exactly how candidates for the Order are identified, so it’s hard to say how many people, like Palpatine, slipped through the cracks.

Now, to be fair, I don’t know if this possible increase in the numbers of Force-sensitives makes a significant difference in terms of the percentage they make up of the overall population, given the sheer size of the galaxy. But that just brings me to question #2, because I think it does mean that determining whether Force-sensitivity is genetic is really, really hard to determine.

Again, since most of our information comes from the Jedi Order, we’re dealing with a potentially skewed/small/nonrepresentative sample size of people who, generally speaking, do not have biological children. In addition, we don’t actually know a whole lot about who more than, like, a hundred or so of those ten thousand are? Of whom we do see one set of cousins (if I’m remembering current canon about Adi Gallia and Stass Allie correctly) and one sibling pair (from the Order 66 arc in Clone Wars; though they are twins, which by common laws/tropes of Fantasy Genetics makes things Special/weird/more likely to be magic/Force-sensitive).

Anyway, that evidence is not the greatest for making broad generalizations. Basically, we can extrapolate that you don’t have to have (Jedi-level) Force-sensitive parents to be Force-sensitive yourself. Meaning, the ability itself can turn up as a completely spontaneous mutation, so to speak--which, while not the best term, is the one I’m going to use from here on out for convenience.

But that doesn’t necessarily say anything about the likelihood of a Force-sensitive parent passing on said mutation and having a Force-sensitive child.

And that, we really can’t answer definitively, since the only people whose bloodlines we can track that are known to contain multiple Force-sensitives are the Skywalkers (who are outliers adn should not be counted) and Maul and his brothers (who are Dathomiri and thus, as discussed above, most likely a Special Case).

So here, we enter Wild Headcanon territory.

That disclaimer aside, my personal take on the heredity question, is that the more sensitive you are, the higher your chances of producing a Force-sensitive child. So, for example (and pulling numbers out of thin air), Joe Average has a 1/20 chance of having a Force-sensitive baby through a spontaneous mutation; the average Jedi Knight or someone with the equivalent level of potential has a 50/50 chance of passing it on; someone on Palpatine or Yoda’s level has maybe a 3/4 chance; and of course Anakin’s children will be Force-sensitive regardless (but, again, outlier/Life Incarnate/I’m pretty sure the main reason it took three years to conceive the twins was that he and Padme were both using like five kinds of birth control and also didn’t actually have all that many opportunities to sleep together--buuuuuut that is a discussion for a separate post).

Anyway, this still means that Joe Average could have five Force-sensitive kids in a row and a Jedi-level Force adept could have five kids and none of them are sensitive, because these probabilities are for each individual child. In essence, while rare, it is possible to roll a die and get, say, five straight nat ones (as D&D players will probably know); and it’s…actually more likely than that to flip a coin and get tails five times in a row, according to my vague memory of high school math and how to calculate probabilities.

[Tangentially, this explains Korkie in my head, since he seems to be either Force-null or somewhere on that sliding scale between zero and the Jedi threshold. Because I do headcanon him as Obi-Wan and Satine’s biological son (though I think Bo-Katan is legally his mother; but that’s something planned for my fic blog rather than here); and the cointoss turned up tails.]

And this is just the most basic, surface-level analysis, without even considering the impact of the second bioparent in the equation (not that I think this fits neatly into a Punnett square or anything), or what happens if you’re dealing with a Force-null child of a Force-sensitive parent; or varying probabilities depending on where the nominally non-sensitive parent falls on that sliding scale I keep mentioning…but most of that would be well beyond my half-remembered high-school bio/math understanding of probability and genetics soooo yeah.

In conclusion--with regard to the questions of how many Force-sensitives there in the galaxy; and even more so whether or not Force-sensitivity is at all genetic, the answer is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  because there isn’t enough information to say for sure one way or the other.

(Note: it probably also bears mentioning, re: the heredity question, that families in the GFFA seem to run fairly small? Like, I can only think of one confirmed example of a family with more than two kids in canon (Maul and his brothers; who are Dathomiri and therefore possibly not a good example for determining Force heredity) and one possible one (Satine, Bo-Katan, and a possible third sibling; though to my knowledge that has never been 100% confirmed/made explicit, and neither of the two we know for sure exist are Force-sensitive). Everyone else I’m coming up with is either an only child or one of two siblings, or not specified. I can’t even think of all that many in Legends, though there are a few more there. To be fair, we don’t actually have a very broad sample of families, either, so��� ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

[actually-good-rwbyaus-moved]

Dragon Faunus AU

hi welcome to Dragon Faunus AU aka ‘i think they’re neat and i gave them lore’

In it, being a Dragon Faunus is actually a incredibly rare genetic mutation, one that is seen probably once every 2 centuries. How it works isn’t understood, but distant genetics are thought to be involved.

Also in this AU, Dragon Faunus are tied to the culture and history of the Faunus. Dragon Faunus were considered the protectors of the Faunus when they had been much more common, due to having some…. Strange powers, to say the least. You see, in this AU of mine, Dragon Faunus are considered a ‘Ancient Faunus’. Ancient Faunus had powers and abilities the modern Faunus no longer possess. No one knows why or how the Dragon Faunus randomly appear, but the ones that do occur do have the full abilities and appearance of the ones in ancient times.

In appearance, I mean that they have more ‘animalistic’ look, holding much more traits than normal. Dragon Faunus typically have horns, a tail (or tails, sometimes), and wings. Often, there can be much more traits shown, but the variation is great. Great enough that there are actually different species of Dragon Faunus, something I will get into in the other half of this post.

I also mentioned having abilities lost to the modern Faunus. Ancient Faunus had the ability to shift into the traits they exhibited. Cat Faunus could be cats, wolves could be wolves, and thus dragons could become dragons. They could also push out a 'spirit form’, allowing them to battle without receiving bodily harm. They also have minor elemental abilities, like fire and the manipulation of it and variations of it with other elements. The main downside is that it takes quite an amount of time, typically, to be able to use the powers correctly.

The Dragon Faunus mutation replaces whatever Faunus traits the Faunus would have gotten, and there isn’t a specific type of Faunus that can become it. Any Faunus can gain the mutation.

The rarity of the mutation has caused a need to keep any and all Dragon Faunus hidden, to prevent any enemies getting their claws into them and gaining such a powerful ally. One Dragon Faunus can change the tides. Thus, Ozpin has developed a small program of sorts to train them and technology to allow the Dragon Faunus to blend into modern society.

This half will now talk about some of the species.

———————————

1. The Guardian

The Guardians are one of the two furred Dragon Faunus species. They are well known for their protective nature and calm disposition, and typically were the ones who protected the people and villages in times of war. They are one of the strongest physically, and are average magic users. They tend to be on the chubby side, and aren’t incredibly 'sharp’ in the sense of body type. They tend to be more intellectually inclined than the other species, and tend to be more strategic than the others. However, they tend to be passive and don’t tend to take a leadership role. The species is more of a follower type.

2. The Berserker

The Berserker species is the most deadly and unstable species. While they aren’t tough magically, they can do enough damage to be deadly. Their physical strength is unmatched, and it also makes it incredibly hard to severely harm them. They are the ones who would be sent in to obliterate the enemy, tho ones who typically fight and destroy. As stated earlier, they tend to be highly unstable. Either they feel too strongly and their emotions control them to the point of insanity, or they feel little to nothing, becoming cold and cruel if not controlled. They don’t typically live long due to their unstable temperaments, either from reckless behavior or being executed for decisions they made.

3. The Assassin

The Assassin are the other type of 'furred dragon, and are the more common one. They are excellent at hiding and stealth, and are called Assassin due to these skills being used to kill enemies in a stealthy manner. They tend to be much more energetic than the Guardians, constantly moving and never settling somewhere for long. They don’t have strong wings, only able to fly short distances; due to this, they tend to use them as weapons as their enemies never expect it. They are the smallest species of dragon, and use this to their advantage by hiding in places the others couldn’t. This also tends to lead them to be shorter than usual. They also exhibit the traits of the Faunus they would’ve been, but obviously more draconic. They use their magic to warp senses and hide in shadows, and rely on their speed when they can’t use magic. They aren’t much use in a close quarters battle.

4. The Oceandweller

The Oceandweller, alternatively called tho Messenger. This species is possibly the most unique one out of all of them, especially due to the fact they do not possess wings. Its speculated that since they tend to stick in the ocean, they eventually evolved to no longer have wings. They are called the Messenger due to the fact that they were typically the ones who facilitated messages and took them to where they were needed. They were given this task due to the fact it was much harder to track them and harm them than it was for the other species. They are possibly the weakest in physical strength, but do have surprisingly strong scales. What they lack in strength, they made up in magic. In fact, its believed that in many ancient stories, any powerful magic users in it were most likely a Oceandweller who simply happened to go on land at that time. Speaking of land, Oceandweller’s rarely ever go on land or show themselves, preferring the calm and comfort of the waters.

5. The Scale

The Scale are, simply put, the majority of dragons. They are the common folk of Dragon Faunus, being average in both magic and strength. They show the most variation in size, looks, body… The variations aren’t huge enough or common enough to qualify for a different species. These ones sure the footsoldiers, the workers, the roles that weren’t as specific as the others. While not rare, it does not make them any less useful than the other species mentioned.

These are not all of the species and variations, but these 5 are the basics and the ones important to the story I plan on telling. If you wish to see more about the different species and variations, tell me and I’ll do my best to inform you. Now, I’d like to mention a bit about the story.

In this story, I turn a few characters into Dragon Faunus, tweaking their stories and their character. It will follow an alternate timeline quite obviously, one that is… Darker than the current one in many aspects. I’ve turned Yang, Ren, Neptune, and a few others into this type of Faunus, as well as implanting my own characters into the mix.

~~~~

HOLY SHIT THIS IS SO COOL???? I LOVE IT???? Please tag my main (@cherrybmblby) in any other posts you have for it because this is really neat!!!

-🍒

[teachmixerofficial]

What If Your Semen Analysis Results Are Abnormal?

You've had a semen analysis, and your results are considered abnormal. Maybe your sperm count is low, or maybe your test results have found poor sperm motility or morphology. What does this mean? What's next?

One Abnormal Result Doesn't Mean Male Infertility

The most important thing to know is that one poor result doesn't necessarily mean you're infertile.

"It is important to know that an abnormal test result can actually be normal as sperm can fluctuate," explains Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron, Director of Fertility Preservation at Fertility Centers of Illinois. "A semen analysis needs to test abnormal twice to truly be abnormal."

Your semen analysis can be affected by recent illness, anxiety over the exam, and other various factors. Not abstaining from ejaculation for the three to four days before your test can also alter the results.

Your doctor will likely order one or two follow-up tests about two to three months after the first, to see if the abnormal results repeat.

It's also important to remember that the semen analysis results need to be considered together. In other words, if the only abnormal finding is a high white blood cell count, but other semen parameters are normal, and there are no other signs of infection, then your results may, in fact, be considered normal.

"If a second follow-up test returns poor results, it’s time to see a reproductive urologist and reproductive endocrinologist to discuss options for treatment. Men with very poor semen quality are at an increased risk for testicular disease as well. In most cases, there is more emphasis on treating the sperm than treating the man—it’s important to look at the whole picture."

— Dr. Edward Marut, Fertility Centers of Illinois

Types of Abnormal Sperm and Poor Semen Analysis Results

Before you experienced infertility, you may have only been familiar with sperm count. You likely knew that having a low sperm count is a problem. You may not have been aware of the many other ways sperm or semen can be abnormal.

You may hear these terms used to describe male infertility or semen analysis results.

This is when all measured sperm and semen parameters are normal. Here are the ranges for normal semen analysis results.

Semen volume: 1.5 ml or more (or between 1.4 and 1.7 ml)

Total sperm count: 39 million (or between 33 and 46 million)

Sperm concentration: 15 million per ml (or between 12 and 16 million per ml)

Total motility: 40% or more (or between 38 and 42%)

Progressive motility: 32% or more (or between 31 and 34%)

Vitality: 58% or more (or between 55 and 63%)

Sperm morphology: 4% or more (or between 3 and 4%)

Aspermia is when there is no ejaculate and no sperm. This is not the same as azoospermia, where there is semen but no sperm. In aspermia, there is no semen at all.

With aspermia, a man may experience an orgasm, but there may be no ejaculate released. This is sometimes called “dry orgasm.”

Aspermia can have several causes, including retrograde ejaculation, a genetic disorder (like with Klinefelter syndrome or cystic fibrosis), congenital abnormalities of the reproductive tract, hormonal imbalance, diabetes, post-testicular cancer treatment, or severe sexual dysfunction.   

Male fertility is severely affected by aspermia. However, having a genetic child might still be possible. In some cases, the cause of aspermia can be treated. If treatment is not possible, a testicular biopsy might be able to retrieve immature sperm from the testes. These sperm can be matured in a lab, then used with IVF-ICSI treatment.

If these options are not possible, a sperm donor may be considered.

This is when the total ejaculate is low (less than 1.5 milliliters of fluid or less than a third of a teaspoon). Hypospermia can be caused by many of the same things that cause aspermia, but it is most commonly caused by retrograde ejaculation.

Retrograde ejaculation is when semen goes backward into the bladder instead of going out the urethra.

Azoospermia is when there is zero sperm in the ejaculate. It is also referred to as having “no sperm count" and is a severe form of male infertility. The semen may appear completely normal otherwise, so the condition can only be diagnosed through semen analysis.

Congenital anomalies of the male reproductive tract

Genetic disorders

Obstruction of the seminal tracts

Some untreated sexually transmitted infections can cause obstructions that lead to azoospermia. Azoospermia can also occur post-testicular cancer treatment. Rarely, the condition can be caused by a hormonal imbalance, severe sexual dysfunction, or an infection of mumps orchitis.

Oligozoospermia is when the sperm count is lower than normal. The condition can be further characterized as being mild, moderate, severe, or extreme. Extreme oligozoospermia is sometimes called cyrptozoospermia.

Frequently, when the sperm count is low, other issues related to sperm health are also present, such as problems with sperm movement and sperm shape.

There are many possible causes of low sperm count, including:

Celiac disease

Certain medications

Genetic disorders

Hormonal imbalances

Presence of a varicocele

Previous cancer treatment

Reproductive tract abnormalities

Underlying infection of the reproductive tract

Undescended testicles

Untreated diabetes

Environmental conditions, work-related exposure, and lifestyle choices can also cause low sperm count. For example, overheating the testicles (e.g. from frequent hot tub use), toxic chemical exposure at work, smoking, obesity, or recreational drug and alcohol use can reduce sperm counts. In some cases, lifestyle changes may improve sperm count enough to improve fertility.

In the majority of cases, a specific cause for low sperm count is never found. When a cause cannot be identified, it is called idiopathic oligozoospermia.

Oligozoospermia is the most common reason for subfertility in men. Men with mild or moderate oligozoospermia might still be able to father a child naturally. However, the lower the sperm count, the less likely it is that the couple will have pregnancy success without the help of fertility treatments. It can also take longer to conceive.

Asthenozoospermia is when a large percentage of sperm movement is not normal, otherwise known as abnormal sperm motility. Normal sperm should move in a progressive direction (defined as "in a straight line" or "very larger circles").

Poor sperm motility usually goes along with low sperm count. Many of the things that can cause low sperm count also may lead to asthenozoospermia.

Excessive alcohol intake

Exposure to toxins

Illness

Poor nutrition

Recreational drug use

Smoking

Some medications 

Even though the World Health Organization (WHO) defines poor sperm motility by the percentage of properly moving sperm, research has found that the total number of motile sperm is a better measure of fertility.

For example, according to a 2015 study, less than 5 million motile sperm would be considered to severe male infertility, 5 to 20 million would be moderately infertile, and over 20 million motile sperm would be considered normal.

Teratozoospermia is when a large percentage of a man's sperm has an abnormal shape. Sperm morphology is the shape of the sperm. Normal sperm have an oval head with a long tail. Abnormal sperm may have an oddly shaped head, more than one head, or more than one tail.

Sperm shape is essential to the ability of the sperm to move or swim. Therefore, it’s not uncommon for poor sperm morphology to go along with poor sperm movement. If the sperm are not of normal shape and cannot move well, they might not be able to fertilize an egg.

Poor sperm morphology can have a variety of genetic causes. In rare cases, some specific genetic causes lead to all the sperm being the same abnormal shape. For example, globozoospermia is a specific kind of teratozoospermia where the sperm head is round instead of an oval shape. The condition is caused by a specific genetic mutation.

Many causes of poor sperm shape can also lead to poor sperm motility or low sperm count.

Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT) is when all sperm parameters (sperm count, movement, and shape) are abnormal. This is the most common cause of male infertility.

OAT can be mild, moderate, or severe. The condition's severity will determine the treatment and prognosis.

Necrozoospermia is when all the sperm are dead. This is not the same as severe asthenozoospermia, in which all the sperm are non-moving but still alive. Necrozoospermia is a rare cause of infertility.

The treatment options for necrozoospermia differ from those for other conditions related to sperm health. For example, when sperm are non-moving but still viable, treatments like IVF with ICSI (when a sperm cell is directly injected into an egg to, hopefully, allow for fertilization) are available.

However, if the sperm is dead (as with necrozoospermia) these types of treatment are not an option. However, this does not mean there are no treatments available.

The causes of necrozoospermia are not well understood (because it is so rare, it’s difficult to study). When a cause can be determined, hopefully, treatment will resolve or improve the situation.

In some cases, testicular biopsy with IVF-ICSI might be possible. During this procedure, your doctor removes immature (but viable) sperm cells directly from your testicles, matures them in the lab, then uses them for IVF-ICSI.

Leukocytospermia is a high number of white blood cells in the semen. This is also known as pyospermia.

With leukocytospermia, the sperm is not necessarily abnormal, but the semen might be a problem. High levels of white blood cells may lead to sperm damage, which can decrease fertility.

A high white blood cell count can indicate an infection. In some cases, it can be a sign of an autoimmune disease. Many causes of a low sperm count can also cause leukocytospermia.

Semen Analysis Results and Potential Fertility

The normal and abnormal ranges for semen analysis are based on percentiles. Percentiles are based on the percentage of men who had a particular result and went on to father a child within a year.

Your semen health might be subpar, but you may still be able to conceive. Likewise, normal results on a basic semen analysis do not necessarily guarantee fertility.

Semen analysis is not a test of fertility; rather, it's a tool to investigate the possible causes of infertility. For example, a low sperm count is not a diagnosis itself, but a symptom that can be only discovered through semen analysis.

There are a variety of causes for low sperm count. Sometimes, a cause is never found. If your semen analysis shows that you have a low sperm count, your doctor's goal will be to find out the cause and determine what can be done to help you and your partner have a baby.

Further Male Fertility Testing

Your doctor will usually want to repeat the semen analysis. If you had trouble producing a sample the first time, your doctor might suggest that you do so via intercourse.

For this process, you use a specialized condom that is meant for the collection of semen samples. You should not use a regular condom for collection, as it can kill sperm—even without added spermicide.

Beyond basic semen analysis, your doctor might also want to perform other tests depending on your results.

Other tests your doctor might order to assess fertility include:

A general exam by a urologist

Blood work—specifically to check hormone levels including follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol, and prolactin.

More advanced semen analysis testing, which might include Computer Assisted Semen Analysis (CASE), anti-sperm antibodies testing, sperm DNA testing, hypo-osmotic swelling testing, and others.

Post-coital testing (PCT), which evaluates a woman's cervical mucus after intercourse to check for live, moving sperm.

Genetic testing, which checks for chromosomal disorders that can cause male infertility

Genetic karyotyping (especially if recurrent miscarriage is occurring)

Transrectal, scrotal, or renal ultrasonography

Pelvic or cranial Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Post-ejaculatory urinalysis (urine testing) to evaluate for retrograde ejaculation

Testicular biopsy

Vasography

What If Poor Results Repeat

After additional testing is performed, your doctor might recommend treatment to improve your semen health. This could include lifestyle changes, medications, or surgery. Your doctor might also recommend fertility treatments, like IVF or IVF with ICSI. Another possibility is that your doctor will recommend considering a sperm donor.

"The treatment of ICSI has allowed us to treat the majority of male infertility issues and achieve pregnancy. I view ICSI as the great equalizer of abnormal sperm and if there is one problem to have, abnormal sperm is it! Sperm regenerates every three months while we are born with our entire supply of eggs. If a positive action is made—ceasing cannabis use, losing weight, halting excess alcohol intake—we will see a benefit from that action."

—Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron

Treatment is not always straightforward or quick. It's possible that your doctor will recommend one treatment and, if it does not work, recommend that you try another. Your partner's fertility will also be taken into account when devising a treatment plan.

"The value of waiting for the sperm to improve versus doing fertility treatments [right away] is often dependent on the woman’s testing," says Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron. "Before making any treatment decisions, it is important to evaluate the fertility potential of both partners through testing. Infertility testing and treatment is truly a team sport!"

If you'll be trying out medication, lifestyle changes, or surgery, it's important to know that your semen health will take time to improve. While sperm might seem to be produced at the moment of ejaculation, it actually takes weeks for sperm to develop within the male reproductive system. Therefore, your doctor may want you to have a follow-up semen analysis three to four months after a treatment plan is put in place.

"The reversible changes to semen quality can be effected over two to three months by quitting smoking (tobacco and marijuana), reducing alcohol intake to one to two drinks a day (no binging), cutting out high fat/high-calorie foods, following a Mediterranean diet, reducing weight, and assessing the effects of medications that have been prescribed," recommends Dr. Marut. "Motility and morphology both vary the most, and the use of antioxidants like Coenzyme Q10 have been shown to be helpful over time in some men, but not all."

"Stopping any use of steroids or testosterone will also make an improvement," adds Dr. Hirshfeld-Cytron.

Receiving a diagnosis of male infertility can be emotionally distressing, but there are tests and treatments you can explore. Talk to your doctor about testing your sperm health and finding a possible cause for your infertility.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. The more you know, the more empowered you will be to make informed decisions about your treatment and fertility options.

[dartharts]

Tarael Information (Open Species)

[Pictured: Example of female Tarael]

Species Information / Species Art Resources

Trait Information (Tumblr)

Species Name: Tarael (Tah-rah-eel)

Basic Appearance:

The Tarael are digitigrade humanoids with slender, tall forms ranging from 5’ ½ to nearly 7’. They all have between four and six eyes, with the first two along the midline of the face, and the second usually either right above or right below them, and any more are typically mutations that are counted as secondary eyes.

On either side of the head, they have four to six frond-like antenna, which capture vibrations and aid in their ability to hear low tones (the primary way that the species communicates with eachother, often sounding like a very low purr). Though they outwardly function similarly to the long ears of some earthly creatures, Tarael fronds are highly-specialized organs that are extremely sensitive and also act as an aid for their sense of balance.

Their skin is covered with a layer of fur, which can range greatly, from straight to curly and short to long. This fur can be a variety of colors, typically ranging from lighter colors such as grey, gold, or brown in males, and brown, dark gold, and black in females. However, there are rarer colors such as red and white, which are due to a mutant gene for the fur color. It's not rare or uncommon to see Tarael of all gender with manes and other decorations of grooming done to their fur, though it often depends on their political status and wealth in society.

After birth, a Tarael's fur is also marked in a distinct pattern, which can cover their body either partially or fully in a tone a shade lighter or darker than their general coloring. This design can vary in complexity and is often connected and similar to the designs of others in the family, much like a fingerprint--each set of markings is identifiable to a family line. The marks are visible at birth, and often fade away to the general color of their fur by the time a Tarael has reached adulthood. They have the ability to have the design fully or partially dyed or tattooed to their bodies (often depending on the thickness, color, and texture of their fur). Regardless of the amount, this is a somewhat common activity to see done for many Tarael whom are maturing into their adulthood. They have thick, powerful legs and tails that give them an incredible jumping ability and sense balance--this was largely useful when they were treetop predators, using their legs to jump from branch to branch and their semi-prehensile tails to cling to the trees and balance themselves.

The most mysterious, dangerous, and perhaps least noticed feature of the Tarael are their incredible jaws filled with razor-sharp teeth. These jaws and mouths, which are normally hidden away as per a current cultural stigma, were once thought to be the most important part of their anatomy when they were still hunters and lacked technological knowledge. The size of their teeth actually render it very difficult to move their jaws repetitively as one would with most other spoken languages, so they've adapted their language to be spoken with a closed jaw.

Also to be noted that they produce a venom that is considered toxic to many other races across multiple words. To their own species, the symptoms of this venom are mild. To those of other species however, it can be incredibly painful and extremely deadly. There are multiple subspecies within the Tarael, and they're usually based upon one of the 16 districts their family originates from.

Homeworld Name: Ev’ren (Ever-ehn)

Homeworld Description:

Ev’ren is a rather large planet, just a little bigger than earth. It’s within a solar system of four other planets, the others occupied with various other intelligent races that the Tarael have contact, trading relationship, and a close alliance with.

It’s a rather temperate planet, covered with vast, lush forests and plains. Little water covers it surface, so it has no oceans and only very large lakes (thus leading to an almost hilarious lack of swimming ability from most species living on the planet--including the Tarael). Due to the thick atmosphere during most the year, the surface is under almost constant twilight.

This has rendered a number of species with special adaptations to living in this sort of environment, such as the Tarael with their wonderful eyesight, and extreme sensitivity to vibrations.

With the advancement of the Tarael, much of its land has been cultivated and built upon, with some protected areas and preserves still in their natural, luscious state of forests and plant life.

The Districts: There are a total of 16 districts on Ev'ren. These districts go far back into the Tarael's culture when they were little more than primitive tribes, with a matriarchy political system based purely on bloodlines. The capitol of the planet, Credea (which means 'Creation'), is home to the most powerful district family, which itself is lead by the Tarake, the equivalent of the planet's Queen. Though there isn't any modern difference to these districts besides what their main item of trade and production is, they used to have very stark differences in the appearances of the Tarael that were born and lived in each, with subspecies different enough to know what district their family was from simply from appearance alone. It's also said that each district will birth new generations of Tarael that have specific mental and physical abilities, though it is mostly lore and myth in the modern era.

Biology - General:

The Tarael have three distinct sexes, two of which correspond to the male and female equivalent in humans. However, the Tarael species also has a large percentage of beings who are neither distinctly male sexed or female sexed, as they instead have some combination of both biological female and male genitalia. This third sex makes up about a quarter to a third of the total population, but as it is ingrained in various religious, evolutionary and sociocultural reasons, they are most often found in the high-standing families of power (both political and wealth). This does not relate to gender, however, as the Tarael as a population recognize a vast variety of genders and gender expressions, and have very few strict roles that are influenced by physical sex.

Biology - Female:

Sex: The main internal female sex organ of the Tarael is the thick-muscled uterus, set within the abdominal cavity just behind and above the sheath housing the outer genitals. Normally it is about the size of an apple or fist, but can expand many times its original size when carrying a single or clutch of eggs. The walls of the uterus are thick and muscled, both to aid with the birthing process and add protection to the eggs within if pregnant. The lining of the organ is normally dormant, but can be stimulated into producing a hormone that assists to attach the eggs from a male to the walls of the uterus, where the female’s sperm-like gametes would fertilize them.

General: Females tend to have thinner, longer tails than their male counterparts. Their fronds are typically larger in size, and they have a better sensitivity (hearing) than males due to the difference. Unless effected by a mutant gene that controls fur color, they are more often darker in shade, such as deep browns, golds, dark greys and black.

Biology - Male:

Sex: Without proper stimulation the male genetilia is nearly invisible, pulled into the sheath between the legs. When stimulated and unsheathed, it shares a similar phallic apperance to human male genetilia, though it’s generally slightly longer and tapered near the tip. This is to allow a higher chance of conception when depositing eggs into a receptive partner. The internal organs consist of the small, egg-producing sack that lies near the base of the tail. Over the course of a heat cycle, this small organ produces anywhere between one to two dozen eggs. These are mixed with a nutrient-rich liquid, and assists with the acceptance of the eggs into the mate’s body for fertilization.

General: Males often have shorter, thicker tails and smaller fronds. Their coats are typically lighter in color, usually light brown, gold, beige, and grey shades.

Biology - Intersex:

Sex: With little to add besides the fact that those of the third sex simply carry both sets of genitalia, it is key to mention that these features can indeed be lopsided in any direction--in other words, they can bolster more prominent female genitalia and lesser male genitalia, and vice versa. This does not hinder on the function, but in some cases can influence certain reproductive habits (certain family lines that have less prominent female sex organs are only able to have a single egg in one breeding cycle, for example).

General: There is little to note for the difference in general appearance with those of the third sex, mostly because they do indeed play a genetic middle ground--they only genetic oddity is that those of the third sex have a far higher chance of inheriting, expression, and passing down mutant genes; this can include those such as genes for red or white fur, black or white eyes, etc.

Mating:

Mating has several purposes in the culture of the Tarael: pleasure, bonding, and reproducing. The first two can be enjoyed at any time, but reproduction is a slightly more planned occurrence.

Males go into heat several times a year, where their bodies’ actively produce up to half a dozen eggs (or more, depending on family genetics) to implant inside a uterus for them to further fertilize. Because of this, females do not need to go into heat themselves, as their bodies are constantly able to fertilize any eggs implanted within them.

However, they are affected by the heat of a male depending on the closeness, relationship and duration of an exposure to a male in heat. A female may indeed go into a state that is known as ‘heatlust’. There is little to no physiological change in a female’s body, though there is increased arousal and various hormones through the body to induce bonding.

Those of the third sex rarely (if ever) go into heat or are affected by the heat of a male. Instead, their body naturally produces eggs at a rate of approximately one to three per month, with varying degrees of fertility depending on the time of the month and season.

Spawning/Rearing Young:

The birth of young largely depends on the number conceived. Though it is mostly due to their modern knowledge and technology, the mothering Tarael has two options in which they can birth their young. This can either be done sooner in the pregnancy, giving birth while the young are still in their eggs, or far later in the pregnancy and giving live birth to them after the egg shell has been dissolved by specific enzymes that are released from the uterus. The former is normally induced around six or seven earth months into the pregnancy, and the latter around nine or ten.

There are few pros and cons to either option, and it largely depends on the situation of how many young are conceived. Without medical interference, a mothering Tarael’s body will opt for the former if there are more than two eggs, and the latter if there are two or less. This gives the young the best chance for growth and safety, as larger clutches of eggs are more common in larger, more dominant mating groups, and fewer in smaller and possibly more agile ones.

Up until a certain age, kits are mouthfed from their parents. This is due to a specialized pouch just beside and above the stomach, designed to hold food to be regurgitated and fed to the offspring. Mouthfeeding not only assists in partially digesting the food for the young, but it also stimulates their body to begin producing their own unique venom that they will continue to make for the rest of their lives. This venom is particularly crucial in the intake and digestion of most all foods, and is very much considered a disability if they lack this crucial part to their anatomy. Tarael of all biological sexes have this specialized feeding organ in their body, so any parent is capable of mouth-feeding their young. Without stimulation of mouthfeeding, a young Tarael is still more than able to begin producing their own venom--it simply takes a little longer and it may not be as potent. Venom, like fur markings, are very much tied with family lines and Tarael from each of the 16 districts have very similar venom to one another. A Tarael is considered a kit until they've reached at least 10-15 years of age, wherein they begin their adolescent cycle that will continue until they are almost 25. Most kits will begin producing venom by the time they are 5-10.

Diet/Eating Habits:

Early in their evolutionary line, the Tarael were hunters. They had a diet that mainly consisted of meat, which helped develop their strong jaws, long/sharp teeth, and their ability to produce venom.

Early in their evolution, the Tarael had little if any extrasensory abilities. These evolved over a large range of time, as the initial genes were a mutation and found at first only in small pockets of the population. Over time however, this gene proved overwhelmingly helpful in the near-constant darkness on their planet, soon rendering the need to vocalize almost null, as it lessened the chance that they could be caught by predators or sensed by prey (who had not developed such a unique sense at first). They began to rely more upon vibrations, scent, and extrasensory abilities than simple auditory stimulation, and soon enough the mouth only had use in the process of eating, bonding and mating, and fell into a social taboo where it was considered inappropriate for it to be publicly visible and open, which many labeling and associating it as a reclic of their 'savage past'. Because of this, it is a taboo for a Tarael to have their mouth visible then they are not mouthfeeding an infant or eating, though many still abstain and tend to do many of those functions in a more private setting if they do not have a mask. Masks of all sorts are commonplace in the species, often looked upon as a traditional adornment to be decorated in accordance to one's place in the social and political ladder. One with a high standing might have one made of precious metal or adorned with gemstones, while those far lower may only wear a strip of cloth or scarf of some sort.

Basic Social Structure:

The hierarchy of social life with the Tarael begins simply with politics. Their controlled portion of their planet is ruled by a single ruler, called the Tarake (Tah-Rah-Kay). They are the the most powerful leader in their culture, and is kept in balance with a council consisting of 16 heads of families, one from each of the 16 districts that make up their planet. The representing family heads and Tarake pass down the authority as head of the district/leader down to one of the next generation of their family--thus, no position of political power can be earned, and must be born or married into.

From there the hierarchy continues into the artisans (artists, musicians, chefs), the social workers (consisting mostly of those participating in the local and planet-wide military, police, law workers, scientists, ect ), and then into the lower-class population groups with lesser jobs or influence. However, these roles are not inherently set in stone, and particular influence or popularity instead relies on family lineage and the sort of contacts/friends one has. They are quite fluid, and to some degree aren’t even recognized as set ‘levels’ of power, as one has the ability to move up (as much as down).

The lowest in the hierarchy are servants. They are those who, for various reasons, are in debt to a family line or individual for anywhere between a single to multiple generations. This is also the same caste that many species outside those of the Tarael are initially peers to, and like their counterparts, servitude can indeed be bought or worked out of, often depending on the circumstances surrounding it. The Tarael are not very fond of those outside their own species, and have been considered one of the shyest or most introverted of species in their own solar system. While they do not completely disregard the benefits of having allies and trading partners, they're very much isolationists in their philosophies.  

Romantic Etiquette:

By far, there is no single label that can be given for the ‘correct’ number of lovers or romantic partners a Tarael might have, as they are neither monogamous or polygamous, and these numbers often depend on their power, influence, the season, and thensome.

While sexual relationships are by themselves casual and not unusual to be had with many pairs and groups at any time, romantic relationships take on a far deeper and intimate meaning in their culture. These are the relationships that often foster young between those included, and share several key distinctions from far more casual relationships that may include intercourse. These includes activities (beyond mating during heat) such as venom-sharing, scenting, and grooming (through grooming can be done between those of deep friendship--it often depends on the particular bond in question).

Scenting and grooming are by far the most common of activities that mates will partake in. Not only do these behaviors actively mark each as being taken by another, it also assists to cement the bond between them. Grooming keeps their fur, fronds, tails and hair clean. Scenting ensures that, even outside the heat and mating seasons, those who are spoken for are easily visible to others of the species as being such.

Venom-sharing is what could be considered the closest related to the human activity of kissing. While it does induce feelings of pleasure, closeness and happiness, it also has a very practical purpose of letting one another’s body adjust to the effects of the other’s venom. In sense, it builds an extremely strong tolerance so that they will not have a negative response in the future. This tolerance however lasts for an entire lifetime, and acts as the anatomical equivalent to a marriage between those involved--their venom will not act harmfully towards one another, wheres it can be mildly poisonous if this venom-exchange isn’t performed in certain bonding activities. Culturally, this was an act of extreme trust to one another--if your venom would never harm the other for the rest of their life, it would mean you held the deepest trust that they would never hurt you, especially since you would not be able to fight back with the toxicity of your own venom.

This above, along with mouthfeeding, plays the key reasons for the cultural taboo of having one’s mouth visible and in use. And while it may seem obvious, it is also the reason that kissing in the Tarael culture is seen as incredibly romantic and intimate, not usual at all for those who are not mated. It is in many senses, the equivalent of intercourse itself in terms of significance.

Family Life/Gender Related Social Norms:

Family life with the Tarael is a very varied thing, as the essence of a family unit has a great range of possibilities. Instead, it boils down into a few key positions that are filled in some way by those that make it up; these positions include the providers, the caretakers, the representatives, and the protectors. These are not strict rules that a family /must/ abide by, nor is it ever honestly kept track of--it is however, their equivalent of the 'Nuclear Family' model.

The providers are the ones who work and make money for the family unit, often times having to be away for stretches of time depending on the job.

The caretakers are those who care for the family members who are very young, very old, or sick. They do not often leave the household beyond simple errands, and are seen as part of the backbone of the family unit.

The representatives play a legal part in family matters, and they assist with keeping the family’s financial and political matters and reputation in positive extremes. These are usually extended family members who provide the same role for other family units of the same lineage, since the reputation and financial ability of the family is just as important to them as the individual.

Protectors are, simply put, expected defenders of the family in total. Often times this role is combined with the former or the role of the caretaker, but depending on the size of the family unit can be a category all its own, often depending on the active state of defense for the planet/district.

There are defined stereotypes, however, that do hinge on physical sex. Males are the only ones that go into any sort of heat, and are often regarded as impulsive and hormonal, especially when they are close to their cycling heat. Females are regarded less so, as they do not go into their own heat without the influence of a male, and instead are highly stereotyped as being better thinkers and more level-headed.

Those of the third sex, regardless of gender, are looked upon as the example of perfection in the Tarael culture. They carry both the ability to sire and carry young, without the common issue of enduring heat, and without the ability to be influenced by another’s heat. They are fertile through the entire season, and as such, became the backbone of the political system. The first district families were put in place many generations ago when hermaphroditism was far more common in the population (before diverging off into the other two separated sexes), and to this day make up a majority of the political system due to the ideal Tarael image of perfection, decision-making ability, strength and cunning.

In all, it is still true to be said that those of the third sex are regarded as royalty, as they have the strengths of both halves without the disadvantages that come with them.

Architecture/Technology:

There was indeed a time in the Tarael culture where shelter and buildings were little more than hobbled-together shakes of wood and leaves. Skip many millennia beyond that, and they have far surpassed the level of technology that they could ever have hoped to achieve: they have very advanced lives, with shelters consisting mostly of metal, alloys, and electrical components. Their cities are often surrounded by a dome of plasma that can influence the climate and weather within, powered by a various sort of high-production sources such as solar arrays that capture the most of their sun’s lack of light.

After becoming a space-traveling species, much of the architecture and technology afterwards has been quite influenced by that of other species, leading to even greater advancements such as teleportation short distances as transportation, increased ability in both the medical and entertainment fields.

In specific terms of architecture, much of it is based on curves. Many buildings are often in the shape of a circle, and walls are usually built without right angles. If anything, the style of building within the culture could easily be considered by the two words, ‘soft’ and ‘smooth’, as the harshness of straight lines and deep angles were seen to be unnatural, and they preferred styles that mimicked the look of their environment.

Art/Subculture:

Art in any form is something that’s highly prized with the Tarael. Looked upon as a deep expression of the inner spirit (and by extension, something to be applauded and created by all), it’s not something that’s lacking in their culture. Music, theater, animation, drawing, painting and thensome, they are all activities that are seen to be very important for every individual.

Beyond the subculture seemingly dedicated to turning older generations on their head (in the showcasing rather than hiding of the mouth), there are numerous ones dedicated to various other interests--the most prominent and growing one is (surprisingly) the one dealing with humans. It isn’t wrong to say that some of the population is absolutely crazy for the entirety of humanity and their complex cultures.

Clothing/Fashion:

Since the Tarael live mostly in climate-controlled cities and are surprisingly non-explicit in their sexual features outside heat or stimulation, the pressure to wear clothing isn’t nearly as heavy on them as it might be for another species. Fashion is less of a necessity to wear clothes, and instead a way to express one’s family line, prominence, wealth, and interests. Logic and reasonable meaning plays little in fashion, since by it’s very meaning it is to play more for aesthetic appeal than any sort of actual use.

The most basic clothing are skin-tight full-body suits, which can have various other technology incorporated, and allow for the monitor of body functions. It is the most practical of the common fashion in the species.

Religion/Spirituality:

Long ago, the Tarael were very religious in general as a species. They worshipped the god of life and creation, to which they connected with their rare but beautiful sun. Often times they would pray to this god and his created spirits (the beings that breathed life into them and the forest) for good luck, much food, and happiness.

As the Tarael advanced into the species they are today, they moved from being a highly religious species into being instead a highly spiritual one. They take great passion in self-exploration, kindness, bravery and peace. In fact, the greatest goal that can be achieved by one, at least in the traditional view for them, is to find a balance of love and knowledge for themselves as those around them.

This has contributed into the lack of wars over the course of their species history, and also into the reason that the original 16 district families and Tarake’s descendants are still respected and in power from when they first began.

[ezatluba]

The northwest corner of Newark Bay is the kind of place comedians have in mind when they mock New Jersey as a cesspool. The grim industrial coast the bay shares with the Passaic River is lined with the hulks of old chemical plants that treated their surroundings like a toilet. The most infamous of these facilities produced nearly a million gallons of Agent Orange, the toxic defoliant whose extensive use during the Vietnam War has caused generations of suffering. The Agent Orange plant discharged unholy amounts of carcinogenic dioxin—so much, in fact, that New Jersey's governor declared a state of emergency in June 1983. Though the Environmental Protection Agency has announced a $1.4 billion cleanup effort, the waters closest to Newark's Ironbound neighborhood remain highly contaminated; there are few worse spots in America to go for a swim.

And yet upper Newark Bay is not devoid of life. Beneath its dull green surface teems a population of Atlantic killifish, a silvery topminnow that's common along the Eastern Seaboard. These fish are virtually indistinguishable from most other members of their species, save for their peculiar ability to thrive in conditions that are lethal to their kin. When killifish plucked from less polluted environments are exposed to dioxin levels like those in the bay, they either fail to reproduce or their offspring die before hatching; their cousins from Newark, by contrast, swim and breed happily in the noxious soup.

Eight years ago, while he was an associate professor at Louisiana State University, an environmental toxicologist named Andrew Whitehead decided to find out what makes Newark's killifish so tough. He and his research group collected sample fish from an inlet near the city's airport and began to deconstruct their genomes, sifting through millions of lines of genetic code in search of tiny quirks that might explain the creatures' immunity to the ravages of dioxin.

In late 2014, two years after having moved to UC Davis, Whitehead zeroed in on the genes linked to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, a protein that regulates an array of cellular functions. When most adult killi­fish encounter dioxin, this receptor's signaling pathway revs to life in the hope of metabolizing the chemical invader. But try as it might, the protein can't break down the insidious substance. Instead of acting as a defense mechanism, the frustrated signaling pathway wreaks havoc during development—causing severe birth defects or death in embryos. “If you inappropriately activate this pathway when your organs are being developed, you're really hosed,” Whitehead says. But that ugly fate never befalls the Newark Bay killifish because their bodies are wise to dioxin's cunning; the genes that control their aryl hydrocarbon receptors, which have slightly different DNA sequences than those found in other killifish, lie dormant when confronted by the toxin.

As he explained in a landmark Science paper in 2016, Whitehead and his colleagues also discovered that Newark Bay's killifish are not alone in using this clever genetic tactic to survive in tainted water. He identified similarly resilient killifish in three other East Coast cities whose estuaries have been befouled by industry: New Bedford, Massachusetts; Bridgeport, Connecticut; and Portsmouth, Virginia. Since killifish never roam far from where they're born, these resistant populations must have developed the identical tweaks to their genomes without mixing with one another—or, put more plainly, the far-flung fish all evolved in remarkably similar ways in response to the same environmental pressures. This is compelling evidence in favor of the notion that evolution, that most sublime of nature's engines, is not some chaotic phenomenon but, rather, an orderly one whose outcomes we might be able to predict.

Whitehead's work on killifish is one of the signature triumphs of urban evolution, an emergent discipline devoted to figuring out why certain animals, plants, and microbes survive or even flourish no matter how much we transform their habitats. Humans rarely give much thought to the creatures that flit or crawl or skitter about our apartment blocks and strip malls, in part because we tend to dismiss them as either ordinary or less than fully wild. But we should instead marvel at how these organisms have managed to keep pace with our relentless drive to build and cluster in cities. Rather than wilt away as Homo sapiens have spread forth bearing concrete, bitumen, and steel, a select number of species have developed elegant adaptations to cope with the peculiarities of urban life: more rigid cellular membranes that may ward off heat, digestive systems that can absorb sugary garbage, altered limbs and torsos that enhance agility atop asphalt or in runoff-fattened streams.

The story that the pioneers of urban evolution are piecing together is tinged with darkness.

Whitehead and his colleagues, many of whom are at the dawn of their careers, are now beginning to pinpoint the subtle genetic changes that underlie these novel traits. Their sleuthing promises to solve a conundrum that has vexed biologists for 160 years, and in the process reveal how we might be able to manipulate evolution to make the world's cities—projected to be home to two-thirds of humanity by 2050—resilient enough to endure the catastrophes that are coming their way.

Weary as we are of despairing over the mass extinctions being caused by hyper­development, it's tempting to take comfort in the ability of some animals to shrug off our brutalization of the planet. But the story that the pioneers of urban evolution are piecing together is tinged with darkness.

When Carlen started the doctoral program at Fordham in 2015, other students had already claimed some good animals for study—rats, salamanders, coyotes—but no one had yet staked a claim to a bird. She nabbed pigeons.

Charles Darwin's place in the scientific pantheon is deservedly secure, but he made his share of blunders. One of the gravest was maintaining that the effects of natural selection, the linchpin of evolution, could not be observed in a single human lifetime. “We see nothing of these slow changes in progress, until the hand of time has marked the long lapse of ages,” he wrote in On the Origin of Species in 1859. “And then so imperfect is our view into long past geological ages, that we only see that the forms of life are now different from what they formerly were.”

But soon after Darwin's death in 1882, the first wave of biologists to have grown up on his teachings took note of a curious occurrence in the realm of insects: During the second half of the 19th century, the predominant color of England's peppered moths had steadily shifted from mostly white to almost entirely black. One theory was that the bugs' wings were being tarnished by all the coal soot in the air, a result of the boom in heavy industry from London to Newcastle. But Darwin's disciples came to suspect that natural selection was at play. As England had become more urban, moths who possessed the rare mutation for black pigmentation appeared to enjoy a fitness advantage over their white peers.

It wasn't until the 1950s that Oxford University's Bernard Kettlewell conducted a legendary experiment that demonstrated why the black moths had evolved much faster than Darwin thought possible. Over a three-year period, Kettlewell tracked the fates of hundreds of marked moths that he released in two English forests, one by the pristine southwest coast, the other near the polluted metropolis of Birmingham. In the Birmingham woods—a stand-in for the industry-ravaged landscape of the Victorian era—black moths avoided predation by birds because they blended into the soot-stained trees; the white moths, by contrast, were easy to spot and thus became snacks for sparrows. The opposite occurred in the coastal woods: The black moths stood out when they alighted on the light-colored trees and were gobbled up.

Kettlewell's experiment on “industrial melanism” became a staple of high school biology textbooks because it succinctly illustrates how species can, when subjected to intense environmental pressures, evolve in a matter of years rather than over millennia. But the next few generations of evolutionary biologists were less attracted to hives of human commotion like Birmingham. Researchers raised on episodes of Wild Kingdom and the books of Jane Goodall gravitated toward fieldwork in remote places populated by animals they'd never otherwise encounter. Their mentors encouraged them to go abroad because they knew that faculty hiring committees were wowed by the exotic. The road to a tenure-track job ran through the jungles of the Amazon, not the parking lots of Houston or Columbus, Ohio.

For the first chunk of his career in evolutionary biology, Jason Munshi-South harbored all the standard romantic notions about which projects he should pursue. He studied the mating habits of tree shrews in Borneo and the demographics of elephants in Gabon, while earning his PhD from the University of Maryland and doing a postdoc at the Smithsonian. But in 2007, Munshi-South became an assistant professor at Baruch College in New York City, shortly after which his first child was born—two events that curtailed his globe-trotting. Restless, he looked for ways to scratch his fieldwork itch within range of the subway. His search for convenient subjects led him to study the white-footed mice that have colonized New York's parks.

Munshi-South and his assistants trapped scores of live mice and clipped off bits of their tails to get genetic material. Financial constraints and the state of technology at the time meant Munshi-South couldn't sequence the animals' entire genomes. Instead he used a shortcut called transcriptome analysis, which centers on the messenger RNA molecules that carry DNA's instructions for protein synthesis into cells. Since only the crucial bits of an organism's DNA get written into messenger RNA, researchers can work backward to infer, with impressive precision, the composition of the genes where it originated.

Munshi-South found there was scant gene flow between New York's various white-footed mouse populations—mice from the Bronx showed no signs of having recently mated with mice from Manhattan. Of greater note, however, were the sharp genetic differences between city mice and their country relatives: The city mice had conspicuous alterations in genes linked to metabolism, immune response, and detoxification. (“Linked,” of course, is a word that oversimplifies the relationship: Traits are usually the product of a complex stew of interactions among genes and with the environment.)

As he sorted through the possible reasons for these changes, which included the need to tolerate a certain type of poisonous fungus, Munshi-South came to realize that his side project was destined to become his life's work. He was now enamored with the idea that urban cauldrons of noise, heat, and filth are not only as authentically “natural” as any other habitat but also the perfect venues in which to observe evolution at its fastest and most inventive. A bearded and slightly cherubic man, Munshi-South speaks engagingly about his epiphany despite the notable softness of his voice. “For most organisms, cities are incredibly stressful,” he says. “So you'd expect that the evolutionary responses would have to be pretty strong for them to exist in that environment.”

Scores of evolutionary biologists are now investigating how city-dwelling creatures have adapted to life among buildings, traffic, and discarded Big Macs. These are some of the most intriguing urban evolution studies to have emerged in recent years.

Munshi-South next turned his attention to Rattus norvegicus, the brown rat, an especially reviled New York City inhabitant. Though the rodents have been darting around America since colonial times, Munshi-South was stunned by how ­little was known about the genetic reasons for their success. “There was a golden age of rat research in Baltimore in the '40s and '50s, out of Johns Hopkins, which was mostly done in the interest of public health,” he says. “They did things we wouldn't be allowed to do, like they'd go catch 50 rats from one place and dump them in another place and see what happened. And that would basically cause a rat war.” But no one in recent years had spent much time pondering whether rats might be evolving in sync with the cities where they abound.

Not long after moving to Fordham University in the Bronx in 2013, Munshi-South started setting traps in New York's dingiest nooks: subway platforms, storm drains, and the grease-slicked pavement outside pizza joints. (Unlike white-footed mice, brown rats tend to be too vicious to be collected alive.) In just a few years, the genetic tools at his disposal had become exponentially more advanced. It was now possible to sequence the whole genomes of individual rats for a reasonable price, and he could compare his results to a Rattus norvegicus reference genome that had been compiled as part of a federally funded project. Munshi-South and his collaborators found evidence that the genes controlling the olfactory sensors of New York's rats have been dramatically transformed by natural selection. The researchers believe the alterations in the genes' DNA sequences are linked to the rats' ability to navigate New York's subterranean passages, which are bathed in an ever-shifting barrage of smells.

The concept of rats evolving quickly enough to handle whatever humans throw their way has captivated the general public, and Munshi-South has become his field's preeminent evangelist—the scientist likeliest to pop up in a panel discussion to explain how cities are shaking up the genetics of wildlife with astonishing swiftness. But he's only the most visible member of a community of researchers, each focused on an animal usually thought of as mundane.

So when Munshi-South coauthored a 2017 Science review paper entitled “Evolution of Life in Urban Environments,” he was able to list more than 100 recent and ongoing projects involving a range of city-dwelling organisms: moths that shed their species' fatal attraction to artificial lights, finches able to communicate above the din of traffic, swans that possess a genetic variant that makes them less nervous around humans.

When I asked Munshi-South why urban evolution is suddenly hot, I expected him to cite the proliferation of accessible DNA-sequencing technologies—an obvious boon to smaller, more unconventional labs like his that struggle for funding. But his primary explanation was more of a downer: He sees a kind of resignation to a dark environmental future, especially among younger biologists who have no memory of more idealistic days and who see little point in examining any instances of evolution that aren't driven primarily by human activity. “I don't want to call it capitulation,” he says, “but it's kind of reconciling with our changed world.”

Jason Munshi-South, who has studied the adaptations of city rats and mice, has become the preeminent evangelist in the field of urban evolution.

On a pleasantly bright morning last February, Elizabeth Carlen took me to the northern Bronx to catch pigeons. A Californian who's now a doctoral candidate in Munshi-South's lab at Fordham, Carlen has spent the past four years studying the genetics of one of New York's most common birds. It is a line of research that requires her to trap hundreds of pigeons and collect samples of their blood.

Carlen and I camped out by a triangular patch of asphalt along West Kingsbridge Road, across the street from a check-­cashing store and a carnicería. Whenever a flock of pigeons alighted to peck at the stale bread crumbs that elderly locals leave on the pavement, Carlen would fire her ­flashlight-shaped net gun at the throng. A few birds would inevitably become entangled in the nylon net, and Carlen would kneel down to untangle them one by one before drawing a vial's worth of blood from a vein between their toes. Once each needle prick had clotted, she would let the pigeon flap away toward the eaves of an abandoned red-brick armory.

On several occasions, the loud thwump of the net's deployment startled passersby. In one instance a bemused woman pushing a cart filled with groceries came over to ask—with more than a hint of suspicion—what on earth we were doing. Carlen had a disarming reply at the ready: “I'm a scientist and I'm trying to find out how New York pigeons are evolving.” She then invited her inquisitor to hold and release a pigeon who'd already provided a blood sample. An ecstatic grin spread across the woman's face as she cradled the docile bird in her hands; as Carlen would later note, people tend to feel a sort of primal joy when given the rare opportunity to handle wildlife.

As she drove us north on I-87 with a sizable amount of pigeon blood in her trunk, Carlen recounted the roots of her obsession with the oft-disparaged “rat with wings.” Her love for biology dates back to early childhood, when she was enthralled by the brittle stars and hermit crabs she saw in Baja California's tide pools during family camping trips. But she didn't have a clear sense of how to turn her passion into a lifelong career until April 2012, five years after she'd obtained her bachelor's degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. It was then that she heard Jason Munshi-South discuss his research on the public radio show Science Friday. By the time the episode ended, Carlen had decided that urban evolution was her calling—a way to explore the ingenious ways in which nature refuses to be squelched by human dominance.

Carlen went back to school to pursue a master's in biology, with the express goal of gaining the technological chops necessary to join Munshi-South's lab. When she started the doctoral program at Fordham in 2015, she was required to pick a New York City animal as her specialty. Munshi-South's other students had already nabbed some good ones—the rats, the salamanders, the coyotes who lurk around the rim of Queens. But no one had yet staked a claim to a bird.

A bit of work has been done on the evolutionary adaptations of urban pigeons, but the field was mostly wide open for someone like Carlen. “Basic things, like what a pigeon's range is, how long they live—people probably assume we know all that already, but we don't,” said Carlen, now 35, who was wearing an I STAND WITH REFUGEES T-shirt beneath her coat, along with frayed black pants she doesn't mind getting blotched with droppings. She added that she's even had trouble finding preserved pigeons in the archives of natural history museums, complicating her efforts to compare today's birds to those of decades past.

After stopping in a casino parking lot to harvest blood from a few last pigeons, Carlen and I headed toward Fordham's biological research station, located on a bucolic former estate in the suburban town of Armonk. That is where Carlen sequences the DNA in the blood samples by a employing a technique called ddRAD, which uses a special enzyme to isolate the most revealing portions of an organism's genome. Carlen's priority at the moment is to sketch out how the myriad Columba liviapopulations found between Washington, DC, and Boston are related—essentially 23andMe for the Northeast Corridor's feral pigeons.

Her long-term goal, however, is to divine the birds' recent genetic adaptations. One mystery she's eager to solve is whether urban pigeons have lately evolved the means to process refined sugar without suffering health consequences—a trait that would explain their ability to subsist on diets rich in discarded cookies and doughnuts. (Carlen has already used off-the-shelf blood glucose monitors to determine that, against her expectations, New York pigeons who feast on sweets do not suffer from hyperglycemia.)

“If you can't pick up a dead raccoon for your best friend, what kind of friend are you?”

As we rounded an uphill curve near the field station's entrance, Carlen hit her Subaru's brakes and glanced back through the rear window at an enticing slab of roadkill. “Should I go back and get it for Kristin?” she asked. “I mean, if you can't pick up a dead raccoon for your best friend, what kind of friend are you?”

The friend she had in mind is Kristin Winchell, a 35-year-old postdoc at Washington University in St. Louis and one of urban evolution's foremost stars. She and Carlen, who first met at an academic conference five years ago, rarely see each other in person but text multiple times every day. Along with Lindsay Miles, who studies milkweed insects in Toronto, they also coedit Life in the City, the flagship blog of the urban evolution movement, which highlights discoveries being made by young researchers. And whenever Carlen comes across potentially useful roadkill, she scoops it up and freezes it for Winchell to eventually sequence. (The “trash panda” by the field station turned out to be too smooshed to be of value, so she left it.)

Kristin Winchell studies lizards that are native to Puerto Rico. “People didn't think animals could adapt on human time scales,” she says. “So people are excited that some animals are dealing with what we're doing to them.”

As a PhD student at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Winchell chose to focus on Anolis cristatellus, a lizard species native to Puerto Rico. She collected lizards in both unspoiled forests and from the densely populated neighborhoods of San Juan, Arecibo, and Mayagüez. She quickly noticed that every city lizard had significantly longer limbs and larger toe pads than their forest-dwelling counterparts—morphological differences that, unlike the majority of urban adaptations, can be seen with the naked eye.

To test how these differences affect locomotion, Winchell built a series of straight, 1.5-meter racetracks. The tracks were made from common Puerto Rican building materials such as painted concrete and aluminum sheeting. She then unleashed the lizards on these surfaces, and the city natives beat the country bumpkins without fail. The morphological changes had clearly made the city lizards consistently faster sprinters—a crucial fitness edge in urban environments, where the reptiles are vulnerable to feral cats and heat while skittering across wide-open expanses.

The lizard races may have been clever, but they didn't prove that the city lizards had actually evolved. Before even running the races, Winchell developed a way to show that the changes had a genetic component and were therefore heritable. Adaptations can often be the result of plasticity—the capacity of individual animals to change in response to stimuli during their lifetimes, yet remain unaltered at the genetic level. (Think of bodybuilders who manage to develop improbable physiques by subjecting their muscles to stress; their offspring do not inherit that appearance.)

Some urban evolution researchers fear that, in their rush to trumpet exciting results, fellow scientists aren't differentiating between plasticity and natural selection. “To only look at traits but not do it experimentally doesn't give you the opportunity to understand whether that trait is genetically based,” says Max Lambert, a postdoc jointly at the University of Washington and UC Berkeley, who is studying how red-legged frogs are adapting to life in polluted stormwater ponds. “And overselling the field as being all urban evolution does a disservice to getting the public to understand what evolution is.”

Mindful of the distinction between evolution and plasticity, Winchell conducted what is known as a common garden experiment. She collected adult lizards from Puerto Rico, bred them in her Boston lab, and then took eggs from both city and county lizards and hatched them in an incubator. Once the babies hatched, she distributed them to isolated cages in which the conditions were identical: Each contained a single turtle vine and a wooden rod measuring three-quarters of an inch in diameter, for example, and each was bathed in 12 hours of UV light per day. After a year of raising the lizards on live crickets dusted with vitamins, Winchell examined their legs and toes. Her measurements and observations, which she published in a 2016 paper in the journal Evolution, confirmed that the urban lizards were true products of rapid evolution.

Winchell, who intends to investigate the evolution of squirrels and raccoons in St. Louis, Boston, and New York, understands that her work might provide a rare source of hope for those anguished by depressing environmental news. “People didn't think animals could adapt on human time scales,” she says. “So people are excited that some animals are dealing with what we're doing to them.” Those survivors, though relatively few in number, possess genes that have much to tell us about how to prepare for our hostile future.

In 2016 Andrew Whitehead coauthored a seminal paper on the rapid adaptation of killifish in Newark Bay.

As the severity of the climate crisis becomes more apparent with each record-­breaking heat wave or melting slab of Arctic ice, humankind is coming to terms with the fact that much of the damage we've wrought is irreversible. That means making peace with the permanent disappearance of a fair portion of the animal kingdom: According to a May report from the United Nations, at least 1 million species are in imminent danger of extinction, including 40 percent of amphibians and a third of marine mammals. Even if all nations were to magically cooperate and take unprecedented steps to protect bio­diversity, it would be too late for thousands of species.

Like so many of their scientific peers, urban evolution researchers are grappling with the question of how their work can help us make this new environmental reality a bit less grim. On the surface, at least, their inquiries can seem largely aimed at addressing theoretical matters—notably the issue of whether the evolution of complex organisms is a replicable phenomenon, like any ordinary chemical reaction. Cities provide an accidental global network of ad hoc laboratories to test this question: Office towers the world over are fabricated from the same glass panels and steel beams, night skies are illuminated by the same artificial lights, auditory landscapes thrum with the noise of the same cars, food waste comes from the same KFCs and Subways.

This urban sameness is allowing researchers to determine whether isolated populations of the same species develop similar adaptations when placed in parallel environments. “What cities offer us is this amazingly large-scale, worldwide experiment in evolution, where you've got thousands of life-forms that are experiencing the same factors,” says Marc Johnson, who heads an evolutionary ecology lab at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

Laypeople can be forgiven for not instinctively sharing that enthusiasm, however: At first glance, settling the decades-long debate over evolution's replicability doesn't appear likely to make our post-climate-change lives any less hellish.

But in the quest to satisfy their intellectual curiosity, urban evolution researchers are also revealing the fundamental genetic attributes that make some species adept at adjusting to urban life—intelligence that could give us the power to forecast evolution's winners and losers in a world that's increasingly hot and crammed with people. When he concluded that killifish in four US cities had developed the same form of toxin resistance, for example, Andrew Whitehead ascribed the species' evolutionary success to its high degree of genetic diversity—that is, the killifish genome naturally contains an abundance of genetic information that isn't usually expressed. So the key to desensitizing the aryl hydrocarbon receptor was probably already present inside killifish DNA, and natural selection simply brought it to the fore.

“When the environment changes very rapidly, and changes in a way that poses fitness challenges, then species that are going to be able to adaptively respond to that are ones that already have the necessary genetic diversity in hand,” Whitehead says. “The environment is changing right now. You can't wait for migrants. You can't wait for new mutations.”

Urban evolution researchers are grappling with the question of how their work can help make the reality of a ravaged environment less grim.

Perhaps the greatest asset any creature can have hidden in its genome, of course, is the capacity to withstand heat. With global temperatures set to rise by as much as 9 degrees Fahrenheit by the turn of the century, the species likeliest to survive will be those that develop traits to guard against the broil. Today's cities, which are typically 2 to 5 degrees warmer than their surroundings, offer a sneak preview of how evolution will reshape wildlife on a sweltering planet.

The humble acorn ant is among the city-loving harbingers of the genetic churn that lies ahead. Two researchers at Case Western Reserve University, Sarah Diamond and Ryan Martin, have found that acorn ants they collected in both Cleveland and Knoxville, Tennessee, are able to thrive and reproduce in much warmer conditions than those from rural habitats. They hypothesize that natural selection may have favored urban ants whose genes manufacture more robust heat-shock proteins. If they can sort out the genetic markers linked to that suddenly useful trait, we may be able to tell which other species have the potential to adapt when the mercury rises and which are in danger of roasting into extinction.

Diamond hopes that evolutionary prediction will lead to smarter conservation choices. “If we know which taxa are most vulnerable to urbanization,” she says, “then we can do something about it before biodiversity might be adversely impacted.” That could involve simple things, such as building strategically situated green spaces within cities. In extreme cases, though, our only option for preserving some species may be to uproot and transport entire populations to distant lands.

There is an intriguing flip side to the idea that urban evolution research can be used to rescue species that lack the capacity to flourish in megacities: If we can identify which animals are genetically primed to adapt well to living amid glass and steel, we might be able to use that knowledge to engineer a more hospitable world for ourselves. That's because certain species, once tweaked in clever ways, have the potential to help heal the environment.

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Take oysters, whose feeding process involves filtering harmful bacteria and contaminants out of up to 50 gallons of water per day. The gelatinous mollusks were once abundant in America's urban rivers and bays, but they were largely gobbled up by shellfish lovers decades ago. By the time anyone realized it might be environmentally wise to have massive oyster beds in places like New York, it was too late for the populations to be easily revived: Underwater landscapes had been ruined by decades of dredging and dumping, as well as saturated in anthropogenic pollutants that cause fatal oyster diseases.

One solution is to toughen up oysters by tinkering with their DNA. A blunt method of doing so would be to use Crispr, the gene-­editing technology that promises to give us the power to add, delete, or scramble an animal's nucleotides at will. But such an approach remains in the realm of the hypothetical for now, and it's possible the traits we desire in our oysters—disease resistance and faster breeding cycles, for example—are too complex to be created through simple snips and splices.

Fortunately there's a more nuanced option at our immediate disposal, one that makes use of the genetic insight now being gathered by urban evolution researchers. If we can peer deep into genomes and identify the species most likely to develop the specific traits we crave, we can place those animals in environments where natural selection will do the dirty work of shaping them into long-term survivors.

“Like, we could select for oysters that are most effective at growing huge beds and filtering water and protecting us from storm surges,” Jason Munshi-South says. “We want to look for these urban-adapted genotypes and see if we can harness them to clean air and cool things down, provide some service.”

Certain urban design choices can help us nudge evolution in whatever directions we choose. It is in our best interest, for example, to encourage the proliferation of the frogs that have adapted to living in man-made ponds where both storm runoff and toxic chemicals collect. These amphibians prey on mosquitoes and other insects that can carry disease, a threat likely to increase as the world heats up. So it would be smart to establish connections between ponds where the pollution-resistant frogs are abundant and those they've yet to colonize—say, by digging narrow tunnels beneath roadways. Bats are also desirable in cities for their pest-control talents; can we encourage them to adapt to urban areas by favoring particular types of artificial light, or by making sure the sonic environment won't interfere with the way they hunt?

Granted, a certain amount of hubris is required to believe we'll soon master the wondrous mechanism that turned lone cells into whales and giraffes in a mere few billion years. But as evidenced by the terrible environmental bind we've gotten ourselves into, hubris is what Homo sapiens do best.