#new babes in the works

[scdp1960]

they said i was a problem,

labeled me a problem child

[markscherz]

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

Artwork by A. Petzold, CC BY-ND 4.0

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

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

No, they're little treefrogs!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

— Vences et al. 2024

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

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

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

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

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

I love how on Tumblr, "media literacy" has become "Um, just because someone writes about this doesn't mean they're endorsing this. I hate all these media puritans ruining everything."

I'm sad to inform you that knowing when and whether an author is endorsing something, implying something, saying something, is also part of media literacy. Knowing when they are doing this and when they're not is part of media literacy. Assuming that no author has ever endorsed a bad thing is how you fall for proper gander. It's not media literacy to always assume that nobody ever has agreed with the morally reprehensible ideas in their work.

Sometimes, authors are endorsing something, and you need to be aware when that happens, and you also need to be aware when you're doing it as an author. All media isn't horny dubcon fanfic where you and the author know it's problematic IRL but you get off to it in the privacy of your brain. Sometimes very smart people can convince you of something that'll hurt others in the real world. Sometimes very dumb people will romanticize something without realizing they're doing it and you'll be caught up in it without realizing that you are.

Being aware of this is also media literacy. Being aware of the narrative tools used to affect your thinking is media literacy. Deciding on your own whether you agree with an author or not is media literacy. Enjoying characters doing bad things and allowing authors to create flawed or cruel characters for the sake of a story is perfectly fine, but it is not the same as being media literate. Being smug about how you never think an author has bad intentions tells me you're edgy, not that you're media literate. You can't use one rule to apply to all media. That's not how media literacy works. Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Aheem heem. Anyway.

[meloodyxx]

Prince Rupert's drop (noun):

A teardrop-shaped bubble of glass with a long, sharp tail, made by rapidly cooling a drop of molten glass in water, which is very strong under pressure at the head, but disintegrates explosively when the tail is broken.

[cynicallyneutral]

sasuke wants his new year's kiss :kissing_heart:

[tenvishund]

F I S S I O N - Why the hell do you hurt yourself for this?

[alelelesimz]

this is kaira! alex's childhood bestie and grap3fruit's photographer :) aside from photography she also loves anime and doing graffiti in abandoned buildings

[zackstriker]

“What are you thinking about?” Phil asks, chlorine trailing down the brushstroke curve of his long, lean neck. Ivory and charming and all his, his, his.

Dan wants to say, every brutal thing I have ever wanted to do to you. The asthmatic ‘I Love You’s that keep getting caught deep in my lungs. How even under a full-toothed sun you are bright enough to chemically alter the cells of my skin. You sick form of radiation. You lovely sunburn of a man.

“If you were an animal figurine what animal would you be?” He says instead.

Read the rest: Here.

[crybaby-bkg]

fic idea where gojo is a masseuse and you go to his studio to get this really bad knot out of your back, but the thing is; he doesn’t even touch you. obviously, he has to put his hands on you, but not in the way some special clients might be touched in those cheesy pornos, no. he begins his little flirting exchange up until he actually feels your back. feels the knots and the tension, that he doesn’t understand how it hasn’t incapacitated you yet.

you’re in heaven though, feels close enough to a climax for you to groan, and your eyes to roll back into your head. he damn near climbs on the massage table trying to put all his weight into working out that one knot in your shoulder blade that feels as big as a fucking mountain.

and when he finishes, he even offers you the next few times half priced because it genuinely concerns him how tight and wound up your whole body is. he can’t even wink and flirt with you anymore; at this point, you’re pure jelly despite the fact that he still couldn’t work out your biggest knot and he’s worried you might pass out right on his doorstep.

you guys don’t sleep together until like. your eighth time meeting, when a majority of the knots are gone, and he actually feels muscles and tendons and not just your stress physically embodied. the sex still doesn’t feel as good as him working out a kink, though, but you’d never tell him that.

[ei-encora]

in the middle of a screenshot redraw and this toki i drew is definitely one of the tokis of all time

[uwumoth]

shhh theyre napping

(can you tell i dont draw digitally like ever?)

[amberaesthetic101]

New back tattoo~

[sasanka-27]

They are ready to go clubbin 💃🥂🏳️‍🌈✨ (Karen & Eddie snapchat)

[fadedrainbowbookshelves]

"Eddie, what did you do to this thing? It's traumatised."

"I'm traumatised! It's got no business havin' that many legs!"

[steelthroat]

The Autobot high command: Optimus, you were supposed to spy on the Decepticons, not play-fight with them, frag them, and then give them sex-ed classes and improve their morale

Optimus: I'm single-handedly ending the war.You don't get to complain about the way I choose to do so.

[wildsaltair]

the way his tunic fits over his chest is literally the air I breathe every day