#speculative mating

[speculative-world]

If the oviparent, which I understand is the organism which cares for the eggs and in some cases raises their young, has to lose whatever mating ritual the two organisms do wouldn't that make them less fit to take care of their young compared to the victor?

yeah this question has been in my inbox awhile, i had a lot of issues trying to figure out how to deal with mating selection for hermaphroditic organisms, in the end after like.. almost a literal year of trying to figure it out [i used to have all my spec evo stuff just in my computer for fun before i remembered i had an old tumblr account i could turn into a spec evo account], and i decided that half of their mating selection involves the two individuals involved deciding whether or not the other is fit enough to be worth mating in the first place, so the oviparent, though usually being the one who loses the mating ritual, is still fit due to other more visual means, hope this helps, feel free to ask more questions if youre confused

[bandaidmackerel]

No one is talking enough about the fact that akutagawa and atsushi’s abilities attack each other instead of attacking them

[izzysillyhandsy]

My predictions for the S2 finale (also, 100% wish fulfillment)

I'm so intrigued by this quote from David Jenkins regarding the dream sequence in S2E1:

"Stede, Blackbeard, and Izzy are on an arc together. Whether they're in stories together or not, their ultimate arc is together. I think, by the end of this season, the last episode, that first scene will be gratifying. I won't say why, but their fates are tied together."

(Just to get this out of the way, because I have seen posts worrying about it (and for my own peace of mind): if the last episode mirrors the first one and that "scene will be gratifying", in no way can I see Izzy dying - gratifying would be a really weird way to describe Izzy's death, although some antis might see it that way ;).)

But let's look at the dream again.

Stede looking all piratey-tough, beard, earring and all. Izzy standing between Stede's and Ed's happiness, and Stede knifing and stabbing him without the slightest bit of remorse. Stede and Ed running towards each other on a sunset beach. Izzy dead, forgotten and out of sight.

Combined with this quote (referencing "A Star is born") from the same article:

"... to watch Stede — spoiler, but he becomes a real boy, and he becomes a notorious pirate. To see Ed try to process that, Ed's more like Jackson Maine, and then Stede's doing a Gaga, and he's blowing up."

and the scenes from the trailer and teaser where Stede and Ed are running/fighting towards each other on (I think) the same beach...

My prediction for the show's finale is:

While Ed's still on probation, Stede, with Izzy's help, gains respect in the pirate community. "The Gentleman Pirate" becomes a thing, and Ed finds this difficult to deal with. Yes, he wanted to give up pirating and run away with Stede to China, but being overshadowed by him in his own field of expertise? His life's work? By an amateur?? (and Stede not only has his crew, but he has his Izzy too now?)

Maybe there is another separation, maybe Ed goes away to chill somewhere, maybe there is a fight between Stede and Ed.

Then Price Ricky comes back, and he wants Stede (and piracy in general) dead. Izzy has some undercover part where he's talking to Ricky over a candlelight dinner and is seen wearing a Navy jacket later. At one point, he gets severely injured (as seen in BTS photos).

The showdown is happening on the beach. But instead of Stede killing Izzy and then running towards Ed, Ed is coming back to help Stede and his crew out when the battle seems lost and Izzy is hurt/dying.

It could be framed like the scene in episode one - Ed coming from one side, Stede seeing him and running towards him from the other, both fighting Navy guys left and right. With their combined effort, the battle is won.

But instead of Ed and Stede having only eyes for each other, this time around there's also Izzy, and they won't let him die (maybe with help from a certain bird? Or is this to out there).

I can even see a bit of jealousy going on with Ed regarding Izzy and Stede.

In reversal of the dream though, Izzy will be the one bringing Ed and Stede together (through giving Stede a sense of self-worth, through talking to Ed about his feelings of envy/fear about his unloveableness because Izzy knows him and I think Ed really cares about his opinion, etc.)

In the end, the conclusion could be that they're all in it together. Ed and Stede co-captain, and Iz is their shared first mate.

(and then the three of them ride off into the sunset)

[secretly-a-catamount]

MC having an ancient magic ability to instinctually understand dead languages, but only dead languages.

[goldenspringmornings]

I think Rhys would be sooooo much more interesting if his dad were still alive

[ruthlesslistener]

How accurate/believable do you feel the bug behavior is in hollow knight? And if you find it inaccurate/unbelievable do you find that it affects the enjoyability of the story told? I really enjoy stories that center on fictional creatures (which I believe is called fantastical xenofiction?) but I always find myself anxious bout making stuff believable since I know nothing about regular biology, and it feels like most writers of xenofiction whether more humanoid or animalistic have a degree or at least some advanced schooling in biology that informs their writing.

Oh my friend, don't worry at all about biological or behavioral accuracy in Hollow Knight, because there is very little of it present and the fact that they are an advanced species means that it merely has an influence on their behavior, such as Leg Eater and Divine's cannibalistic courtship, Flukemarm's family system, or Willoh eating other bugs. Hollow Knight appears to be set in a completely alternate universe where invertebrates filled the niche of the large vertebrate species we see today (bc why else does gruz mother have bone in it), so while there are species that are analogous to the ones on our planet, it's not entirely 1:1. That's part of my enjoyment of it, actually- we're given just enough similarities and tidbits for us to base them off of irl creatures, but they're also different enough from our bugs that personal interpretations have a lot of breathing space. Their species will infer how they view and act in the world, which is something we see in the above examples, but because they evolved to live in civilizations, how much of that base instinct ends up persisting in the society is variable and up to headcanon. That's why I like it so much- because the game makes it very clear that these civilized bugs are very much not human, and builds the world and the culture of each tribe around it. The spiders and mantids of Deepnest and the Fungal Wastes being eager or unbothered by killing/eating other sapient bugs makes sense, but does not detract from the fact that both tribes harbour sympathetic or deeply honourable characters. Hollow Knight embraces the fact that each species of bug has different needs while also sticking fast to the anthropomorphic characteristics that makes them so relatable, making it a believable alternate society setup that does not discriminate which tribes are 'good' or 'bad'. Which was actually what threw me off in Bug Fables more than the inaccurate biology, as in Bug Fables, the socialized bugs were all herbivorous while the 'evil', feral bugs (with the exception of one, the tarantula sorcerer) were all carnivores. That just doesn't make any sense to me, and it bothered me more than all the other biological inconsistencies in the game- because I can assume if bugs have developed a new language and civilization, their biology wouldn't match the bugs in our world. Having consistency in worldbuilding rules is much more important than biological accuracy.

I also don't think that a background in biology is a necessity in order to enjoy xenofiction. Much of what I learned about bugs and snakes is information that I learned in my free time rather than learn in the classroom (though some of my classes did indeed inspire or reinforce some of the stuff I've made up, such as wyrms being simultaneous hermaphrodites due to mate scarcity). Having a background schooling in biology will make understanding your research easier, yes, but learning how to read scientific papers is a skill that every biology student needs to learn, no matter how long they've been in school. If you're determined enough (and curious enough), then you too can do the research necessary to flesh out the biology and behavior of fictional species! All you need is plenty of curiosity and free time, and the patience to chew through some tough, dry words to get to the meat of the good stuff. As long as your worldbuilding is consistent, the amount of biologically accurate material in your writing is more of a secondary thing to worry about.

(If you want a tip though, do a deep dive into the evolution of reproductive behaviors to help you get a basic idea of how different social structures evolve. Sex is a pretty key factor to how animals behave and evolve, with resource scarcity/location, scarcity of mates, difficulty of rearing young, tertiary sex ratio differences, and the harshness of the environment all leading to different social structures, physiology, and behavior. It's pretty fascinating stuff, and is a great help in determining how a fictional society might work.)

[aeriona]

Amateur teuthologist here - I love to see so many dedicated speculative biologists here and I liked the detail in your document. While not getting into too many nitpicks (teuthology goes deep, but if you really do want more feedback I'll happily give some), I'd like to ask where the mantle (by extent the fins and occasional tail) is in the humanoid inkfish forms. Considering the mantle contains almost all of the vital organs of the animal and is where the head and siphon are attached, I'm curious about its exclusion in the humanoid form and if there's any reason behind it. Thanks in advance!

Hi Hellooooooo

I had to take a lot of creative liberties when coming up with a somewhat-plausible, basically anthropomorphic squid as I had to basically butcher any semblance of cephalopod anatomy and poorly rearrange it into a humanoid shape while somehow having everything still work lmao.

Most of what's in the mantle got relocated to the torso as they evolved, the whole system they've got now actually pretty closely resembles human anatomy (because dumb Alterna-related reasons).

Figuring out where the respiratory tract would go was a nightmare, as it's completely separate from the digestive tract in real-world cephalopods. I ended up having the two tracts fuse together like in most vertebrates, mainly so that the squids would be able to vocalise, and because both tracts are in similar locations now anyway thanks to the weirdass humanoid proportions I forced upon them :).

I actually did used to draw the mantle on the back of the inkfish's head in some of my reeeeally old art (blegh), ultimately I ended up getting rid of it as most of the organs would have been relocated to the torso anyway, so it doesn't really have much of a use outside of looking kinda cool. The tail is also another ancient relic of my older artworks lmao, I had only ever included also because it looked cool. Very scientific, I know.

Thank you for such a detailed ask, by the way!

[divinekangaroo]

Tommy's 'i have no limitations' after he shoots michael dead via bullet to the eye = his most depressing rote realisation, that he will do pretty much anything? (kill and fuck?)

there is the other way to read that line, which is that supposed god complex reading that the sigma boys enjoy, but TBH every time tommy goes near that line (or even the "you're not God" / "not yet" exchange he has with Charlie) it's usually so bitterly tongue in cheek it sounds like he says it like a blatant inverse relevation OF his limitations.

but the way Tommy says that after Michael, after killing his cousin which he...probably didn't really want to do except for the way Michael absolutely wouldn't let him be. Tommy couldn't guarantee everyone's safety back in England (especially Charlie) after his own impending death unless Michael and his vengeance campaign was out of the picture.

Therefore: no limitations. he does what it takes

[thedegu]

Thanks to @fishbeholder for letting me know about Hox genes.  After this paragraph is an in-universe description of dragons, all real-world locations described in the text are equivalent of not direct 1:1 comparisons; for Reath, I’m using our world as a map and outline but many of the details are vastly different.

Dragons have a mutated Hox Gene causing them to have an extra set of small limbs. This mutation happened sometime during the early Jurassic era; these limbs were originally only used for mating displays. Though in one species found in Southeast Asia, these fins evolved into tools for gliding. This arboreal species was much smaller than those we know and recognize as dragons today.  This was the only draconic species that survived the  K-T extinction event.

With the skies open after the extinction of non-fay pterosaurs, the niche of flight was available for anyone willing to grab it first.

Yes, birds got there first by just a few million years,  but they never really grew much use for magic, generally preferring more mundane means of flight. The only species within the class that bear any major magic ability are harpies, sirens, phoenix, and Rocks. So Dragons fully embraced the niche of massive magical flyers.

During the Pleistocene, with the explosion of megafauna, the growth of dragons followed. This period is where the only major split of the draconic class happened. With the early semi-aquatic forest-dwelling smooth Dragons moving into rockier, flatter terrain and deeper seas: The mountain-dwelling horned dragons, the forest-dwelling sail dragons, and the fully aquatic finned dragons were born.

During this time, there was an intriguing mammalian upstart in Africa who grew a deep coevolution with dragons were born.  Maybe you've heard of these two-legged hairless apes.  While the interactions between early humans and dragons are challenging to study, it is known that humans and dragons hunted the same prey and lived in the same regions. Many traditions say Dragons taught humans magic, speech, and how to make fire.

Though it is known that dragons and humans must have been able to find some sort of truce. Early humans had no way of defending themselves against dragons, but entire generations of humans could be born, reproduce, and die in the time it takes for a single dragon egg to hatch and reach sexual maturity. So while any one-on-one fight with a dragon would easily defeat any human, the death of a single dragon, especially young dragons, could devastate the entire population. But we found peace

Dragons are deeply magical creatures, and without this magic, they would not be able to function at all; their bodies are too heavy for their bones to carry them, let alone fly.  They also simply cannot live off of consumed calories alone, their hibernation periods being used to take in, filter, and store magical energy inside their bodies like batteries for their animated periods

While it is unknown if dragons were the ones to teach humans basic magic, it is known that humans taught dragons refined spellcasting.  Only a handful of species are known to purposely and consciously manipulate the magic around them rather ten passively using it as a means of predation or defense. In other words, true spellcasting. Dragons are also the only known species, outside of humans, to not take their magic through the filter of Fairy; instead, they directly manipulate the magic from the magical plane.  

This leads us to today; dragons are our collaborators, an equivalent to humans, if not surpassing us. Another species that is considered to be a person amongst us fay and sephlopods.  While dragons as a species live very different lives to us, you may be surprised to meet one on the street or have one as a coworker, they are rare; with only a few thousand alive today, and only a fraction of those living outside their suspended animation but they are people, our peers, and living history. Though we may need to return to the amniotes to find our common ancestor, I am happy to call dragons brethren.”

- Prof. Julian Corzo 

Space Magazine, October issue 2012

[spacetrashpile]

also as we are on the topic, this is my personal prediction for what the leader board is gonna look like when this is all over

14. Jimmy

13. Skizz

12. Joel

11. Etho

10. Bdubs

9. Scar (I'm hesitant about what order to put Bdubs and Scar in though)

8. BigB

7. Grian

6. Tango

5. Cleo

4. Pearl

And then top 3 being Martyn, Scott, and Impulse. I honestly can't say which of them would win. If Scott's still got the most time, it'll probably be Martyn (I think he and Scott would team up to kill Impulse and then Scott would give his time to Martyn, or Impulse would kill Scott and Martyn would kill him). If the rest of the server has fucking focused on taking Scott down (PLEASE) and they're all on the same level, I think Impulse could take them out, especially if one of them is particularly low and gives the other their time in hopes they win.

[onewomancitadel]

Forget Knightfall for a second (if I can even manage it); if Ozlem get the long way around to a happy ending I'll faint

[rjalker]

It's really fucking stupid to me that the Raksura get violently murderous when they're in labor to the point they'll even try to murder their own family members because like, they still fucking need midwives. And this has been a feature rather than a bug since as long as anyone can remember.

Like, either they'd have a fucking system in place to knock the person giving birth out once they know for sure they're going into labor, or make them so loopy they're just chill the whole time with fantasy laughing gas or something, or...they'd evolve to not try to murder the midwife in the first place simply due to the fact that the people who are most violently homicidal and likely to *literally kill the midwife* would be the ones most likely to die from complications because the midwife who *could have saved their life and the lives of their children* is currently bleeding out on the other side of the room.

If you're trying to create a fantasy species of people and you're looking at animal behavior for inspiration, you...cannot just take traits of animals and transplant them 1:1 onto people and not think through how this trait would impact and evolve in the society these people live in.

Unless other members of the species are still actively trying to murder any newborn babies they can get their hands on, having the members of your species who give birth flying into homicidal rages when they're in labor is the exact opposite of evolutionarily fit. That is causing more people to die than it saves. The reason bears and crap don't let other members of their species near their babies is because the other members will fucking kill the cubs because it means less competition for /their/ offspring.

If your fantasy people are not literally still doing this, it is not realistic that they'd still fly into a homicidal rage when in labor unless complications with birth are like, completely unheard of and they never need any help or supervision at all, so there's never been any reason for midwives to exist and the mere idea of "helping" someone give birth is seen as absurd beyond belief.

[zuppizup]

i currently have she’s already dead open on one tab and a simple life in another so i’ll read a bit of angst and then a bit of fluff to ensure my survival

long story short your writing is exquisite

Aw, thank you Nonny! You are too sweet!

The lead up to season 4 is very much feeding my thirst for angst, that I am well aware 😅

[iscariotapologist]

I got Lucy from I love Lucy, now what is that supposed to mean am I vanilla

it means you inspire nostalgia in people over the age of 50

[orcelito]

helping my character’s crush’s dad kill their prince in a flaming ship <3

crush in question is upstairs trying to save people. meanwhile we are committing grand treason. woo!

[gun-roswell]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Cartoon), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: CT-9904 | Crosshair & Rampart Characters: CT-9904 | Crosshair, Rampart (Star Wars) Additional Tags: Inspired by Fanart, Inspired by TBB S3 Trailer, S3 Speculation, Mount Tantiss (Star Wars), cellmates, Spite and Truth, Rampart loves his own voice, Crosshair Needs a Hug (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) Series: Part 25 of Pre TBB S3 Jitters Shorts, Part 4 of End Game Summary:

What if Crosshair and Rampart shared a cell together and on Mount Tantiss?

Inspired by fan art of @RealSpicyNoodle.

Part of TBB S3 jitters / End Game series