#are the size of giant sloths

[crowsyart]

Here’s these guys drawn very much not to scale(yay I didn’t forget arachnes. What’s a good shorthand for spider rattle thing tail? False spider? Lure? Something I’ll figure it out)

#Arachne gorgon #soul eater au #beastars au #soul eater #anthro au #alrighty onto the lore #as a giant land sloth eibons species is an extinct one so his search for immortality was very much influenced by being the last of his kind #I’m playing with the idea of scarification for arachnes cult using her fang #maybe shed ones #Arachne is a pretty old and pretty big snake #being alive as long as she had she never stopped growing (a common occurrence for more powerful witches) and most of the time when they get #as large as her they die off because they’re unable to take care of themselves #(think lobsters) #part of the reason she has a cult is to keep herself alive #they find food for her and she doesn’t have to leave her castle often if ever #which makes it a big thing when she hauls her ass up to the mountain where asura is hiding #(in a remote bat monastery where he massacred and ate all of them) #shedding is a big annoyance too at her size #a lot of her cult members actually steal it to use as clothing beneath her robes #she doesn’t really care #mosquitos back is almost bald where an intricate design was carved by one of arachnes fangs #she moves very slow and stays hidden most of the time #a large amount of her cult has never even seen her #when she was reborn she was rather small (as why she was able to hide in giriko’s golem) #her tongue is thicker than asuras arm(not saying that much cause he’s mega skinny but it’s something) #her servants help her shed sometimes because. it’s hard finding big rocks to rub against to get all the stuff #her body has black marks all over it that make it look like insects are skittering across her when she moves #if a witch survives long enough to get really big they might try to find a group to settle with(usually other witches) #it’s rare (even unheard of) for it to turn full cult like Arachne #usually the magic in an area can relate to just how big they can grow(running out of room in the tags but feel free to ask questions)

[allosaurusrock]

Just learned about something very very cool that I’m shocked I didn’t know about before- Paleoburrows.

These are giant tunnels, mostly found in Brazil. Over 1,500 of them are documented.

It was originally assumed that they were dug by indigenous people, and many of them were repurposed into human shelters at some point, but we now believe they were built by prehistoric megafauna.

We know this because of distinct claw marks along the walls of the caverns, unlike anything humans have produced.

They come in a variety of sizes.

The smaller ones were probably dug by large armadillos, such as Holmesina.

The larger could have been dug by giant ground sloths like Glossotherium.

Thank you for reading, I just thought this was cool and wanted to share.

Sources and credits after the cut

Additional photos:

Additional photos:

#paleoblr #long post #glossotherium #sloth #paleontology #holmesina #paleoburrow #burrow #cave #animals #biology

[lomoturbo]

Giant sloth size

Often difficult to learn details of the life habits of animals from theirįossils. Aside from the basics of size, food choice and general mobility, it is.Jeffersonii became the official state fossil of West Virginia. In 2008, Jefferson received a final honor from his fossil, when Megalonyx Took Wistar’s suggestion, naming the fossil Megalonyx jeffersonii. Twenty-three years later, French zoologist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest Caspar Wistar correctly identified the bonesĪs belonging to a sloth and suggested that the specimen be named in Jefferson’s (which means “giant claw”) because he thought the bones belonged to a giantĮxtinct lion. To then-Vice President Thomas Jefferson, who named the animal Megalonyx Former Revolutionary War Colonel John Stuart first discovered Megalonyxīones in a cave in present-day West Virginia in 1796.Indeed, His waysĪre higher than our ways, and hallelujah for that! Tail, huge claws, and “weak” teeth could migrate all the way into North Americaįrom South America and be so successful? In the changing world after Noah’sįlood, including the Ice Age, Megalonyx reminds us that God’s intriguingĪnd effective designs are often packaged in surprising ways. Who would have thought that big, lumbering herbivores with flat feet, a fat Unlike nearlyĪll other mammals, Megalonyx never had to worry about a chipped tooth! Part would wear out and be replaced by healthy dentin over time. Modern sloths) could keep on eating even if a tooth was damaged, since the damaged How can teeth that wear out faster be a good design? The surprising answer 4 Dentin is much softer than enamel, and wears out faster. Sloths possess simple peg-like molar (back) teeth made primarily of the materialĭentin. Which lack the hard enamel found in humans and nearly all other mammals. One of the most peculiar anatomical features of sloths is their teeth, So instead of worrying, Megalonyx could concentrate on his main task:Įating. Probably didn’t worry too often about predators. Its large size,īig claws, and ability to stand up made it look very, very big. One swipe from the arm of a Megalonyx may have been more powerful thanīut such encounters were probably rare for this gentle giant. However, they also made for a very effective defense against predators: Up to 8 inches (20 cm) long! Unlike the claws of modern lions, these “giantĬlaws” (what Megalonyx means) were mostly used to grasp and tear up branchesĪnd leaves. The arm and shoulder bones are large, and have wide wings andĮach of the three fingers on the hand was equipped with large, powerful claws, Spent time ripping down and feasting on soft leaves and fruit from trees.īending down those huge branches to reach its mouth was the job of Megalonyx’s Its massive hips gave ample area for strong muscles, while Megalonyx Massive legs, God provided Megalonyx with a thick, muscular tail (a rarityįor land mammals), which meant that Megalonyx easily balanced on a “tripod.” To give this giant ground sloth added stability and to ease the stress on its This provided good surface area for carrying weight and better balanceĪnd Megalonyx probably spent a lot of time standing in order to eat. Walked with its heel, foot, and toe bones all on the ground, just as you and You see, unlike most sloths, the hind feet of Megalonyx are what biologistsĬall “plantigrade.” That means they are built like human feet: Megalonyx And at 1,000 pounds (455 kg), this giant sloth was about Trees! Instead, it was designed for life on the ground, starting with its feet.Īt up to 10 feet (3 m) long, Megalonyx would tower At that size, this short-faced,īarrel-chested behemoth likely didn’t spend any time hanging upside down in It was about the size of an American bison. At up toġ0 feet (3 m) long, weighing 1,000 pounds (455 kg), and walking on all fours, Now Megalonyx certainly doesn’t look like a typical sloth. 2 From West Virginia to California, from Texas to North Dakota,Īnd even throughout Canada’s Northwest and Yukon territories, this sloth really In sedimentary deposits formed just prior to and during the Ice Age that occurredĪfter Noah’s Flood. Fossils of this extinct animal are found all over the continent One of the most common giant sloths known from North America is Megalonyx Giant ground sloths, and they were built for walking. Looks very different from the sloths hanging around in the zoo. Go to a natural history museum, you’re likely to see a sloth skeleton which Trees, eating leaves, and generally not moving very much (or very fast!), theyĪre nonetheless favorites at zoos. It was designed for life on the ground, starting with its feet.Īmong the living mammals, sloths are an odd group.

#Giant sloth size

[miguelhugger2099]

Here, Kitty Kitty

Summary: Miguel O'Hara is your world's Black Cat. A/N: me when there's no fanfic of miguel as black cat: fine, ill do it myself Art: Marbipa on twt

Miguel x Reader, No warnings, a little suggestive but that's it, Word Count: 2,535

Swinging on your webs, you hopped from building to building and made sure to to keep an eye out for any more crime during your patrol. You hoped that tonight would be a breeze but unfortunately, the life of a superhero will never rest. You landed by one of the police antennas and heard a call coming through their radios. Tilting your head, you focused on the frequencies to get a better signal. "All units be advised. We've got a call for a robbery in Lower Manhattan. Heading there now, requesting backup." You glanced up at the sky seeing the moon illuminate brightly. "I guess I could help the boys in blue." You shrug and thwip your web shooters, the silk spinning and sticking to another building before jumping off to gain momentum. You hauled yourself up after swinging, diving down between apartments and just barely slipping through a couple fire exits. You thought about who it might be this time. Maybe it was the Shocker again. Oh, he was always so easy to make fun of. No, that wasn't possible: you put him in prison. You just hoped it wasn't another one of Tombstone's men--they were always a little too cocky. Maybe just a couple of randoms trying to make extra cash the wrong way–a boring way to end the night but at least it'd be easy. You swung faster after hearing the sirens of police cars echoing throughout the night of New York. You saw a few police cars behind you and you giggled to yourself, playing a one sided game of who would get there faster. Always the competitive one you were, you stuck your webs onto two poles and pulled back so hard that they bent slightly. Your forearms burned until you let go, slingshotting yourself in the sky and allowing yourself to glide above the city. You wished to take off your mask and feel the breeze properly but you settled for the ripples flapping on your suit. "Robbery, robbery, robbery..." You murmured, swiveling your head around to see where the robbery could've been. You blinked as you spotted the familiar colors of blue and red flashing in the distance. "Robbery!" You grinned.

Zipping through the wind, you landed above what you now see is a jewelry store. You crawl into the shadows, making sure none of the policemen could see you. "Hm. I guess they win this time." You mutter to yourself about your little game. Perching on the ledge, you listened in on their conversation. "Any security footage?" One policewoman asks. "We're checking them now but so far after entering the perimeter, all cameras have been damaged." "Did you see what was stolen?" "A few rings and bracelets. But the owner is more concerned with a diamond necklace. Says it was going to be auctioned off later this weekend." You tilt your head in thought. And they got away? Definitely not some regular citizens. You began to feel a headache creep on you. You couldn't handle another big bad to fight this weekend. You stepped down from the ledge carefully and walked around the top of the building to find a vent. Once you did, you ripped it open and crawled inside, your body sticking to the ceiling. You looked around and saw various cases filled with glittering jewels, ranging in size and colors. You crawled through another room and hopped off the ceiling with a small thud. Looking behind you, you made sure no one had seen you and you began rummaging through the room to find any evidence lying around to catch the perpetrator.

You found yourself in front of the glowing case in the middle. You circled around it, the eyes of your mask squinting at the empty sloth that would've fit a giant diamond necklace inside. The glass was perfectly intact instead of ruthlessly shattered. This was no common thief. No fingerprints, everything was spotless and clean. You took a closer look. "Looking for this, arañita?" You hear a smooth voice behind you. You spin around, shooting your webs to trap the wrist of the stranger behind you to the wall. The familiar tall man you've had a complicated relationship with, Miguel O'Hara a.k.a. Black Cat. His skin tight black suit hugged his built body, white fur fluffed at his forearms and around his shoulders. His suit was opened at his chest, a long slit that gave everyone a nice view of his tanned skin littered with little black and graying hairs. His dark brown eyes were decorated with a thin diamond shaped mask that did little to hide his ‘secret identity’. His dark brown hair was in its usual slick back, gray strands curling in his locks and a pretty black collar around his neck. He tilted his head at you and lifted his other hand to cut your webs off him with an extracted claw. “Eso es como se trata un amigo? I thought your whole thing was being friendly, arañita.” Miguel says light-heartedly, unphased at the way your mask narrowed at him. You noticed that the hand you had webbed up was holding onto a pouch. Miguel slips open the pouch by its strings, lifting out the diamond necklace. He clips it around his neck and it shines in the moonlight that seeps through the ceiling window. He admires his reflection in the cases, his gloved hand caresses the jewels, his nail being gentle with grazing over it. “Isn’t she just a beauty? She’s not my style, personally, but I can appreciate her.” His eyes meet yours and he grins. “I think you would make it look even more beautiful.” You ignore his blatant flirting, your hands itching at your sides, wanting to snatch the pouch from him and return it to the police so the owner could have a good night’s rest–so you could have a good night’s rest. Now knowing the one behind this was Black Cat, your headache had gotten worse and you knew it’d be a long night. Miguel stalks up to you after taking the necklace off and placing it back in his pouch.

“What’s wrong, arañita? Cat got your tongue?” He smirked, his claw grazing under your chin and making you look up at him. You bit down on your tongue. This cat always had a way of pissing you off. “I thought we agreed you’d put this behind you. You’re rich. What more could you possibly want?” You grab his wrist and take his hand off from your chin. “Would you believe me if I said I just wanted your attention?” His lips curl up, showing off his fangs. “No.” “Ouch. I’m hurt. I thought we had something.” His smile doesn't falter. “Give back the jewels, Miguel.” ‘Hmm. No. These could go for a lot of money. Way more than whatever that auction it is they’re doing.”

“Miguel, you promised me you would be good.”

His eyes soften for a split second. The memory of your last encounter months ago where you two had spent the night together in the city up on the Empire State building. Your relationship was a confusing one. There had been nights where you were on opposite sides and other nights where he answered your call for help.

Miguel began to trust you. Despite his tendencies to slip between your fingers, you always spoke to him kindly when he wasn’t pushing your buttons–even then he knew you never harbored any actual hatred for him. So after a long night, he confided in you that this was his new life and it wouldn’t change–he’d always come back to a life of crime, it’s who he was. You believed he was better than that.

That night before he disappeared for months, he pulled up your mask just enough to see your lips and he kissed you, leaving with a promise to do better. But cats were known to do whatever they wanted. “You know I’m not good like you, arañita.” His smile turns melancholy. “But you could be.” You insisted. “Give me the pouch.” “I can’t do that, amor.” 

You huffed through your nose, jaw clenching, and you tried to snatch the bag from his hand as quickly as you could. Miguel was faster, his clawed hand grabbing you and forcing you to bend over the glass display of jewelry with your arm behind your back.

You grunted when your cheek met the hard glass and attempted to worm your way out of his hold. You feel Miguel lean over your body, his warm breath whispering next to your ear.

“I've thought about you like this. Maybe with a little less clothing.” He teases and chuckles when you stiffen. 

“Miguel.” You warn lowly. 

“It's been nice seeing you again, arañita, but I've got to run.” You hear a dull clanking sound along with a small whizz.

You felt rope like strings wrap around your body and arms and suction themselves to the glass he slammed you on, trapping you.

Shit.

You crane your head as much as you could to see Miguel take a step back away from you. Just for shits and giggles, he plucks a pair of earrings from a stand and places it inside his bag before raising his hand up at the ceiling window. 

Miguel gives you a wink and a charming smile and his grappling hook zips out from his wrist, denting itself in the wall. It pulls him up and he pops the window open, successfully escaping without leaving a trace.

You groan and knock your forehead on the cold glass. With your strength, you pop the rope off you, stretching your arm and wrist out.

Police began to enter inside the building, their commotion and their comms going off and getting closer to you.

Collecting the ropes, you webbed yourself out through the same window Miguel used and closed it behind you. You tossed the ropes away and began swinging around, trying to sense any trace of Miguel.

“Dammit, kitty.” You mutter under your breath. You ignored the way your heart pounded as you scanned every nearby corner. The sight of him after so long sent flutters in your stomach. You ignored the lingering hot touch of his fingers around you, the weight of his body towering over yours. His hips that gently bucked up against–

You tumbled on the roof of a brick building. This was not how you wanted your night to go. You let out deep breaths, your arms and legs spread out as you lay on your back. 

After a couple of minutes, you sat up. You ripped your mask off and rubbed the sleep out of your eyes. You felt a turmoil of emotions. 

When Miguel had kissed you that night, it broke your heart. He felt so sure of himself to give you affection but at the cost of his disappearance right after. It hurt but you thought if he could turn his life around for the better, it'd be worth all the heartbreak and what ifs.

You stood up and placed your mask back on your head, your arm raising up to shoot a web when your spider senses alerted you of someone. 

You turn around to see Miguel, half of his body in the shadows.

“I don't have the pouch so don't shoot.” He raises his hands in a mock surrender.

“Didn't you say you needed to run?” Your voice spits and Miguel nods.

“I also said it was nice to see you again.” He walks up to you, his hands gently placing themselves on your hips. You stand tall, not wanting him to know his effect on you. “So forgive me, I'm a little selfish. I wanted to see you one more time.”

“Why are you back?” You mumble. Why are you back in New York?

“I'm sorry, corazón. You know me. It's what I do.”

“So you lied to me.”

Miguel winces. “No. No, I didn't. I tried, believe me.” His hands squeeze your hips. “I tried for you but…it's not for me. This,” He gestures to himself, clad in black spandex and white fur. “This is who I am now. It's how I have to live.”

He cups your cheek, his thumb caressing your mask-covered face. He wonders what you looked like underneath. Were you as beautiful as your body? Your heart? He dreamed so. He knew so.

“I still don't believe that.” You whisper, leaning into his touch, hands slowly going around the back of his neck and he takes it as an invite to bring you closer.

“You're still so naive.” He murmurs.

“You said you liked that about me.” You quipped. Miguel chuckles.

“I did say that.” 

You feel a smile creep up on your face, your heart feeling lighter at the sound of his laugh.

“Hopefully we'll cross paths more often now that I'm back in New York.” Miguel grins. “Te extrañe.”

“I missed you too.” You whisper. With your chest pressed up against his, you could faintly feel the rumble of him purring. Miguel's claws run under your throat, flicking up the fabric of your mask to expose just a bit of your neck as if wanting to lift it off. “But you know I have to turn you in for robbing.” You add.

“Hm. A shame.” He mumbles dismissively. He continues to ride up your mask and you let him. He stops at your nose and leaves it there, eyes focused on the way your lips parted. “Kiss for good luck?” He asks. His eyes glint when you licks your lips subconsciously.

“You’re pushing it, kitty.” You mumble back but your arms tighten around him. Miguel purrs at the pet name.

“Just one kiss.” He insists, leaning down to brush his lips against your mask where your forehead was. You tilt his head further down with your hand at the back of his head and he follows. With your guidance, his lips find yours and your heart skips a beat. Miguel tugs you closer by the waist, pressing your chest and hips together. His hands crawl up your spine while he tilts his head to deepen the kiss. You match his pace with your eyes closed while you feel his soft lump lips caressing yours. You didn’t know how long the kiss lasted–not when his hands roamed your body, squeezing you and devouring as much of your tiny moans as he could. Your hands curled up at the base of his neck while he swiped his tongue across your bottom lip. Gasping, you allowed him access but he pulled away. “I’ll see you next time, arañita.” Miguel whispers against your lips,the fangs of his teeth gently nibble on your top lip before he pulls away. He squeezes your waist, his touch lingering and aching to keep you near but he lets go. He takes a step back from you and jumps back into the night, the sound of his grappling hook zipping through the air faintly. You sigh, trying to slow down your heartbeat with a hand over your chest when suddenly you pause. “Dammit…” You huff and kick a pebble away from you.

a/n: black cat miguel o'hara if you can hear me, please save me, save me black cat miguel o'hara

#miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara x y/n #miguel x reader #miguel o'hara x you #atsv miguel #miguel o'hara #miguel spiderman #miguel spiderverse #miguel ohara #spiderman 2099 #miguel x you #spiderman 2099 x reader #miguel o'hara imagine

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil's mysterious tunnels made by giant sloths

These tunnels were once believed to hide religious fortunes deep in their chambers, but the real treasure is found in who – or what – created them.

In 2009, a farmer was driving through his corn field in the south of Brazil when he suddenly felt his tractor sink and lurch to one side, making the vehicle shudder to a halt. He jumped out and saw the wheel had sunk deep into the dry soil.

Much to the farmer's shock, the tractor had broken through what looked like top of an underground cavity. Hearing about this unusual find, researchers came to investigate and were surprised to find a tunnel nearly 2m high by almost 2m wide and about 15m long running across the field and right under the farmer's house. Deep claw marks embedded into the walls indicated its past occupant was not human.

The farmer had stumbled upon a puzzling subject in palaeontology that is still unfolding today. He'd uncovered a megafauna paleoburrow, a prehistoric tunnel dug through rock by what Luiz Carlos Weinschutz, a geologist and one of the scientists who visited the farmer's property, concluded was the work of a giant ground sloth or giant armadillo from at least 10,000 years ago.

These giant ground sloths, described in one paper as "a hamster the size of an elephant", were far removed from today's unhurried, tree-dwelling ones. They grew up to 4m long and walked on all fours, although research suggests some could stand and move bipedally. Almost 100 different species of sloths roamed the Americas between 15 million to 10,000 years ago alongside car-sized giant armadillos that also dug long tunnels through rocks in Brazil.

Continue reading.

#brazil #science #biology #paleontology #mod nise da silveira #image description in alt

[arminreindl]

Gharial rescued from sea

Another instance of more recent croc news, a "giant" gharial was found in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Balsore, eastern India.

According to news articles, the animal, an adult Indian Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), meassured around 13 feet or in metric close to 4 meters in length while weighing some 118 kilos.

The gharial apparently got caught in a fishing net and was found by fishermen, who promptly reported their catch to the Forest Department. The department then handed the animal over to Nandankanan Zoological Park, where the crocodilian still resides.

That's all the information given to us by the article, which you can read here, but there's two key notes I wanna touch upon.

The first is size. At 4 meters, this gharial was decently large for sure and as someone who has seen a (stuffed) female of slightly greater proportions I can attest that it must have been an impressive animal. However, I think its worth mentioning that Indian gharials are capable of growing even larger. The female I just mentioned is accompanied by a stuffed male nearly 5 and a half meters in length, with some reports claiming sizes even greater than that.

Me and the Vienna gharials

The second point is the mysterious presence of a gharial this far out at sea. This is simultaneously unusual yet also very much reasonable from the point of view of paleontology.

On the one hand, Indian gharials are critically endangered. Their range today is incrediply spotty and isolated and to my knowledge they aren't found anywhere near the coast these days.

However when you look at how the range was meant to be like, then you see that they definitely reached the river deltas and coastal regions. So our image of gharials as this inland freshwater species is more based in circumstance than reality.

This becomes especially apparent once you begin to consider the paleobiogeography of gharials. Based on our current knowledge, gharials most likely originated somewhere in Eurasia or Africa, spreading from there across much of the eastern hemisphere and beyond (full disclosure I am not considering thoracosaurs to be gavialoids, more on that can of worms later maybe). Anywho, phylogenetic analysis and the fossil record both suggest that gharials then crossed oceans and settled South America sometime prior to or during the Miocene, where they diversified and gave rise to the gryposuchines. Some species even remained saltwater species, such as Piscogavialis, which lived in the coastal waters of Peru.

Although gryposuchines were once thought to be a distinct subfamily of gharial, recent research suggests that they were but an evolutionary stepping stone, with some South American form once again crossing the Pacific and settling down in Asia where the much more basal "tomistomines" or false gharials (a misnomer) still resided. And while the gryposuchines of South America went extinct, those that returned to Asia survived and eventually gave rise to the Indian Gharial of today.

Left: A cladogram showing the relationship between Gryposuchinae and modern gharials Right: Piscogavialis swimming overhead some marine sloths of the genus Thalassocnus by @knuppitalism-with-ue

So ultimately, seeing a gharial in saltwater is much less bizarre than one would initially think, its just that habitat destruction and overhunting have largely pushed these gorgeous reptiles further inland and to the brink of extinction.

#gharial #indian gharial #gavialis gangeticus #gavialidae #news #croc #crocodilia #crocodile #india #herpetology #gavialinae #gryposuchinae #piscogavialis #some paleontology #palaeoblr

[cryptid-quest]

Cryptid of the Day: Dusky Sound Monster

Description: In 1831, two sailors off the coast of Dusky Sound in Fiordland, New Zealand reported seeing a giant kangaroo eating foliage, estimated to be 30ft tall. Due to its size, some have suggested it was a ground sloth, thou no evidence of either has ever been found in New Zealand.  

#cryptid #cryptids #cryptozoology #cryptid of the day #cryptid quest #dusky sound monster

[void-of-unparalled-chaos]

Okay so now that the semester is over, here is a list of actual things my paleontology professor said/did during lecture and discussion:

“I've watched this like 20 times now” (Prehistoric Planet 2 trailer)

“Hi yes I am me, an exemplar of our species. A prime specimen.”

*visible confusion while reading the Colossal website*

“Turkeys can be terrifying. Birds are terrifying in general”

“That’s David Attenbourough not a bird.”

“Thank you for clarifying.”

“You’re welcome! It’s what I’m here for! This is why I have a Ph.d!”

“You need to have a healthy bullshit meter to read any paleontology paper.”

“As I keep telling you, life hates us.”

“Look at the size of the head compared to the body. This is just stupid.”

“Look at the butt of that thing!”

*measures with hands on screen*

“This is a stupid looking animal.” (Cotylorhynchus romeri)

"for example comparing femur robustness is ... what does that even mean?"

“You can laugh…this is a stupid looking creature!”

“Then of course you have your penis worms.”

“Holding fossils from the Burgess Shale is a religious experience.”

“It would be a very mossy world, which I am not opposed to. I like moss :)”

“Taxonomy is a clusterfuck.”

“This is probably one of the most ridiculous animals to have ever evolved.” (Whales)

“It looks like a strange monster from the black lagoon.” (Maiacetus)

“It’s a magical Liopleurodon!”

*does push ups on a table to show us how a fish would have walked*

*showing us a video of a crocodile taken by someone in the water*

“Do NOT do this. Don’t jump into the water with a crocodile. It will end very badly :(“

“This was like one of the weirdest papers I’ve seen. Alright so Ken Carpenter is a very legitimate paleontologist in Colorado. He normally worked with dinosaurs but he also decided to try and figure out how mosasaurs swim. So you look at the skeleton but then you also put two undergrads in a pool, one grabbing the other one's legs to see how that double-limb locomotion would work. It's like the kookiest thing I’ve ever seen published… but yeah I'm not even sure how he got the approval for this… I don’t think this was grant funded… “I would like some undergrad volunteers to jump in a pool, one holding the other ones legs to see if they will drown.””

*rants about the size of the mosasaur in Jurassic World and debates with a student whether or not an actual size mosasaur could pull a T. Rex into the water*

“I like owls. They look like they are wearing trousers :)”

"The Ice Age movie was a missed opportunity. There were so many cool animals they could have used and they didn't use ANY of them! There were giant ground sloths that were so big you can stand in their fossilized burrows! Yeah sure we have that one guy...what's his name...Sid? Yeah sure we have Sid but Sid is NOT a giant ground sloth. That's not even mentioning all of the horses and bison and bears and lions! Its disappointing!"

...

"I was on a podcast about this :D"

#man is iconic #i love him so much #paleontology #paleomemes #college is fun #science

[redrapscalian]

Stuffed Animals in Wayne Manor

Dick: Used to have an extensive collection, but after passing some of his down to his siblings, has closer to a dozen now. Most of them are in his closet, and two get a place on the bed, but he has them all on a biweekly rotation so none of them feel left out. They all have names and he loves them very much. He prefers ones that are perfect hugging size. Calls them “stuffies”.

Jason: Has four total. One he got from Bruce, a black cat, one from Alfred, which is a bear wearing a Batman outfit, one hand-me-down from Dick, a well-loved monkey, and a giant sloth that’s almost as big as him that he bought with his own money. All but the one he received from Dick are kept in his safe houses, and Dick’s stays at the manor on his bed. When Dick insisted he name the monkey, he dubbed it “Fucker” and Dick was appalled, the rest don’t have names. Calls his own “dumb toys”, but wouldn’t dare call his sibling’s plushies that.

Tim: Has a large collection of original Beanie Babies and keeps them all pristine and organized on a shelf in his closet. Has one stuffed animal on his bed from Dick, a golden retriever plush named Sunny (Dick named it), and every time he remakes his bed he puts her in the middle by his pillows where she belongs. Refers to them as “Plushies”.

Steph: Has a lot of stuffed bears of different shapes and sizes and a couple dragons from her childhood Dragon Phase. Also has a lot of Cursed Baby Dolls that are all mangled (Dick tells her they don’t count as stuffed animals, she is adamant that they are). Some are named, some aren’t, and all the dolls have names along the lines of “Anita Hoe”. Refers to them as her babies/stuffed animals.

Damien: Didn’t have any growing up, but Dick kept gifting him them because “every kid needs a stuffy”. Despite resenting the sentiment, he kept every single one and has a basket of them in his closet. A majority of them are various sea creatures and farm animals, and his favourite is a stuffed cow named Freya. It’s under his bed during the day and he sleeps with it at night. Every one of them has a name with a very specific and researched meaning, not that he’ll ever admit he’s named them. Refers to them as “Stuffed toys” with an eye roll.

Duke: Has a couple stuffed animals from his childhood. He doesn’t sleep with them or have them out, they’re in a box as nostalgic keepsakes. They don’t have names, but if he’s feeling homesick or just wants to look at them, he takes them out for a bit and just kind of smiles to himself. He has a lot of plushy keychains on his bags. Dick gifted him a Build-a-Bear wearing a custom Signal hero costume. Calls them “stuffies”.

Bruce: Has one bear from Alfred, it is named Batbear, and it sits on a dedicated place on a shelf. It’s been given to every child who’s come into his care at least once after a nightmare or a particularly bad mission, or just for comfort. It has seen many bad days, many tears, and many injury recoveries, but he makes sure to keep it in relatively good condition. The beans inside are heavy and so the bear is weighted to help with anxiety, and can be microwaved and used as a heating pad.

#batfamily #batfam #dick grayson #damien wayne #tim drake #jason todd #bruce wayne #alfred pennyworth #dc #plushies #stuffies #stephanie brown #duke thomas

[hoverboards-and-dragons]

Lucifer’s Fall; told from the Sloth Sin’s  Perspective

Belphegor finds a heavily injured angel and a woman of Creation in the wastelands of hell’s highest crimson ring.

The same ones that just caved in their realm’s roof with an incredible light show.

Despite being aware of the potential threat a powerful angelic being poses to all demons, something compels her to start picking up the pieces before her fellow sins have even finished deliberating on whether they want to kill the pair or not.

~

Hell itself is alive and reacts to Lucifer with cuteness aggression, and to Lilith like a friend group finally gaining one person who’s good at social interaction

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Belphegor’s tail dragged against the thick layers of red dust covering the ground as she slogged through the endless dark in blind search of a query unknown.

The highest level of hell was a crimson wasteland bathed in impenetrable pitch black. It’s giant expense only sparely populated by roving bands of tiny simple creatures.

The heat and power from which hell had sprung thinned out bare up here and under the shadow of creation, heaven’s light wouldn’t reach.

No demon prince or deadly sin had ever risen from it nor did any of the others wish to claim it despite its grand size, content to consider it the lid caping off their realms and nothing more.

Mammon had probably mentally dubbed it as his, but he wasn’t ready to back that claim up without anything valuable to show for it.

The demon prince of sloth had always been a slave to her own whims. Most of the time that meant she slept with no motivation and thus no ability to do anything at all.

But sometimes, she’s awaken with a vague but unbearable compulsion that would send her scrambling, as helpless to stop herself as anyone else from her mission.

So, she found herself wandering this never ending desolate ring so far from home and bed.

Regardless, her visions had never led her astray before, if they brought her here, there was something to find.

She felt the change in the air before anything else.

Soft light was ever so slightly penetrating through the black above her; washing out the dunes around her. Piercing a dark that swallowed up the glow from even as great a creature as she.

She inclined her head, gaze straining for the source.

A thin white line, like a tear in the very sky itself, slowly wretched apart.

Taking on off-white shades of gold and blue as it deepened and strengthened.

Belle tilted her head. Well, this was certainly getting somewhere interesting. Hell wasn’t a very old realm, she wondered if it was really coming to an end so soon.

It pulsed a few times, fighting through some unknown resistance.

And then it broke.

Belle was forced to look away as painful light burst from the sky, bathing the eternal unseen wastes in harsh white.

Through the sound was inescapable, nearly rupturing her eardrums, a thousand glasses shattering, unknowable violence, rage and desecration retrained to a moment.

And then it was over.

She glanced back up, blinking a few times. Oh, not quite.

The brightness was falling down, the opening quickly sealing behind it, leaving the sky permanently altered.

She could taste it’s power, the energy from that break still echoing forcefully against her senses; no doubt all of hell had felt it.

The other sins were on their way.

But even now, after the break, hell was shifting around to accommodate this new entity, as if a gravitational force they were all being orientated towards. As if it’s mere presence changed the makeup of the entire realm.

It reeked of something powerful, even if temporarily stripped.

There was one more thing.

It wasn’t just entering hell, it was being *given* to hell, bound.

Something the light starved ring accepted eagerly.

The assumedly unwitting and unwilling light source would probably be less excited.

Belle started to move again once she had a good idea of where it would make contact.

She wondered what her fellow sins would decide to do with it, could they feel hell’s unabashed yearning to keep it? If they did would that carry any weight when deciding to destroy or consume it.

Satan would probably be the next here, coming from just one ring below. The others not far behind.

The noise of the actual impact was a little underwhelming when following the realm being thorn asunder.

A slamming, a crash, a scraping skitter. Belle winced sympathetically at a sound that was definitely shattering bones. And then nothing.

It… was a pretty far way to fall after all.

She was pretty sure she heard a woman shriek, but not nearly enough compared to the intensity of the landing.

She continued to trail towards the light, now laying unmoving in a decently large crater.

Another glow caught her eye, not nearly as bright but quite distant.

Golden ichor, spattered across the ground.

A grim gift from Heaven then? Perhaps they had finally come to open relations properly, even if this was rather morbid for their like.

But she supposed even those above needed disposal methods.

Belle peered over the edge of crater, squinting while her eyes adjusted.

“Lucifer-!” A broken cry.

Her head snapped to the voice, another figure in the pit shakily attempting to stumble to her feet.

She smelled of dirt and roses, earthen. *Creation’s* work.

As she scrambled over to the light, Belle could feel hell swirling around her too, equally as fervent but different from its attraction to the glowing creature.

Whatever attachment to realms beyond she has won’t remain for very long. Hell was taking to her as if welcoming her home.

And yes, she could see that now, the light was a being, still alive even, if barely.

The figure desperately pulled it against her, and Belle finally recognized its wings, tattered and scorched as they were. They had seen beings of its like a few times, circling and observing the young hell from afar.

The few direct confrontations said they despised this place, everything in it and every single creature born of it.

“Ya think that little thing’s a threat?” Satan had shuffled up beside her at some point, thankfully keeping his voice low. “Would do us good to end it now.”

The light was yelling something, maybe names she didn’t recognize barely intelligible between the sobs in its ruined throat.

The other sins didn’t take long to follow.

“I say… we eat it?” Beelzebub had been curious about the angel creatures’s taste since she first saw them, Belle was honestly a little shocked at the hesitance. “I dunno it’s just, in a lot of pain. Feels bad, gone sour.”

“The air tingles with its power even in such a pitiful state~” Leviathan hissed, her tail thrashing in derision. “Leave it to bleed, let it die, let it die! While we still can, before it consumes us all in its shadow.”

“If we killin it, we’re goin down there to make sure it’s good and dead and staying that way.” Satan adds “Coward.” He spits quietly in Levi’s direction in spite of their seeming temporary alliance.

“You kidding?” Mammon choked a laugh. “The perfect potential counter to all our enemies falls into our lap, and you wanna chuck it?” He stalked forward, eyes gleaming. “Nah nah, we make it ours.”

‘We’ Belle thought that was interesting addition for him.

“If that becomes the strongest thing in hell, what’ll that make us?” Asmodeus kept his voice steady, not giving either way.

“Masters!” Mammon cheered.

“Slaves!” Levi retorted.

The puddle of gold beneath it was deepening, they’d have to make this decision quickly before it was made for them.

It was good hell had never been a democracy.

Belle lurched her hulk over the side, sliding towards the centre.

She came to stop just before the two. She could see why hell found both so appealing up close.

The woman faced her not with wide eyes like she expected, but careful scepticism, although her exhaustion and panic permeated clearly just below the surface. Judging her not just for a threat, but for potential assistance.

Belle could taste hells energy so much clearer here, how it warred with itself. Desperate to surge forward and take what belonged to it and longing to preserve the glow. The light’s essence writhing in repulsion to the demonic force.

She was exhausted just observing it.

Based on the angel’s shock and fear, it could feel the shadows pressing and snapping against his weakened essence too.

She wondered if the woman could, did she know she was the one thing holding back the darkness from snuffing out her light totally.

“Mistress of Night,” Belle had no idea where the title came from as offered greetings to the pair.

She didn’t seem to recognize it either. “H-hello-? “ she cleared throat, finding her confidence. “Hello. Why do you appear before us?” Even toned, a chance to dismiss the accusation before it needs to be levered.

Belle dipped her head, in respect and in gesture. “Your light is fading.”

Her breath shuddered in dismay, expression breaking for a moment. She nodded tightly. “H-he is.” She swallowed hard. “Can- May you help?”

She stepped closer, bringing up her great claws. “I may. I can.”

The woman hesitated, tightening her hold before allowing her access.

He stared at her with wide eyes, delirious with pain and fully able to view her connection to the dark.

But unable to so much as shy away from her looming form.

Oh yes, taught to despise the demonic he was, how fun.

A distant tiring thought wondered why she was even doing this for the little thing.

She felt him attempt to call upon his magic once or twice, seemingly more out instinct than anything only for it to fizzle out.

She brought her face right down to his, staring into her blank eyes with a mad gaze.

Belle took a deep breath in; blowing out smoke that blanketed him. His eyes squeezed shut but at least he didn’t try holding his breath.

She held a moment.

Before sucking it back in.

She couldn’t say she was surprised at the extent of damage, but it was something to see it all laid out.

Wings burned and torn from air friction, a web of cracks in his skull, all of his ribs had been fractured and two had been entirely scattered, she was sure some of the organ damage came from a wandering bone piece or a couple piercing something.

There was too much organ damage for even her to tell at a glance.

His back was especially a mess, mostly likely bent double in the landing. Including a complete break in his spine that seemed too clean to be from the fall alone, or unintentional; placed at the perfect point to paralyzed all of his six wings at once.

If she wasn’t convinced of his power before, the fact that he was alive at all more than proved it.

Belle steadied herself.

Estimate his limits based on how bad he’s handling the current damage compared to the average; she doesn’t need to get him perfect, just stabilized enough for his magic to begin to recover and take over; just like one of the sins.

She kept her ring and her effort out of others constant wars by playing healer to all sides, she could do this.

She numbed the pain just enough to take the edge off without compromising his reactions. Both of the pair visibly relaxed, she hadn’t realized how much their tension had been getting to her.

If any of the other sins reveal themselves now she’s killing them.

She began moving bone fragments back into place and locking them, disappearing some that were too small or embedded. Stitching the wounds left behind.

She added some magic to assist the faltering bodily tasks and save his body precious energy, as well as avoiding a full system shut down if an organ properly fails for a moment or two.

She seeped the heat from the burns and the tension from his muscles with little else to do.

And she finally breathed.

Well, more heaved painfully as the weight of such draining magic collapsed on her all at once.

It took every bit of effort left not to collapse right then, a dust pile alone wouldn’t be her worst nap spot but the pool of ichor was too much.

She focused down. His body still shuttered even as he fell against the woman and shut his eyes, good, he was still fighting.

“Keep him awake.” She spat, barely managing. Her bedside manners were usually a little better.

But the woman nodded determinedly, staring at Belle with nothing but bewildered but grateful awe.

Before turning her attention back to her light, Belle could practically see the rest of the world disappear to them as she placed a hand on his cheek and began speaking softly.

“The angel needs rest and to be carefully monitored for the next,” she’d never fully treated such fatal injuries before, she had no idea how long they’d take to heal given the chance. “While.”

Belle noted the small nod that said she was still listening.

“Lucifer.” Interrupting her own mutterings. “His name is Lucifer, and I am Lilith.”

“Pleasure. Prince Belphegor of Sloth, my ring is some distance below.” Lilith was already beginning to stand, taking the hint. “You can tell me what happened on the way.” Belle didn’t have enough left in her to be curious at this point, but she had met enough suspicious types to know better than to present this as just charity.

“He ain’t in a state to make that trip,” Belle narrowed her eyes at Satan’s approach. “My ring’s closer.”

“I thought-“

“I just said if we’re gonna put the lil angel out of his misery we do the job good and right, but if we ain’t then we ain’t.”

Belle watched Lilith bristle at the mention of threat. Carefully holding her composure and glaring down the towering bull, “You aren’t.”

“Thems fighting words but guess you’re right, so hows bout another time.” He added quieter. “I like her”

Bee pushed by him. Giving the pair a soft look “Oh, you poor things.”

She buzzed back to Belle. Excitedly announcing, “Yup, I made up my mind! I’m with you, Belle, they’ll taste much better after you fix ‘em up.”

Great, she was so looking forward to the panic that line would inspire in the clearly protective and threatened woman.

“I’ll carry him.” Ozzie offered, and oh thank fuck he did before Belle had to make Lilith choose between the sin that talked about killing or eating her light.

She heard Mammon laugh some ways away. “Good luck with prying ‘im out of her grip.”

Ozzie grumbled something insulting, but one glance at her said he was probably right.

He shrugged, “Then I’ll carry both.”

Lilith perked up, agreeing after a few thoughts.

And they began the delicate process of getting them both comfortable and safely positioned against Ozzie soft chest.

Leviathan kept her gaze targeted square on the sky, long since losing interest in the scene in the crater below.

She still thought dead was a preferable option, but that doesn’t mean she was gonna let herself be left out of the loop just cause her fellow sins didn’t go with it.

The dryness here usually could irritate her, but it was different now.

A barely noticeable breeze, a shifting in the dust.

Feeling less like the nothing after hell ended and before creation began and more like a blank place, a yet to be territory…

An empty ring.

The sky had changed and was changing still, she could she it through the enveloping shade for the first time.

She looked back the angel, she wondered how much it’d take from him, she wondered how much it’ll give back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hell and Heaven are both cesspools of writhing energy (heat and light respectively) that life is clawing it’s way out of, just with like slightly different aesthetics

This kinda implied hell is only weaker than heaven cause it’s so much younger and I’m lowkey down with that theory

Lucifer’s Fall is honestly a very messy affair to me; way more damage was caused than intended cause 1) it’s the first time Heaven ever did something like it 2) it’s very hard to make a being as powerful as Lucifer leave when they do not want to. It was scrambling mad rush(mostly by Michael) to break his halo and get him out cause his panicked blind resisting kept bringing buildings down and crumbing any angel not an archangel or seraphim like tissue paper

~~

If this is received well enough I might make a part two following Lucifer’s recovery, adjusting to hell and processing what’s happened to him, so ~ reblog ~

It’s going to be apart of a bigger series of oneshots interpreting past events of Hazbin’s universe, From The Very Beginning, if out of order

#Michael heaving: thank dad that’s over… holy shit I broke his spine #forcing you all to agree with Mammon in the dont kill him front #helluva boss #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel lucifer #hazbin hotel lilith #hellaverse #helluva boss belphegor #hazbin hotel headcanons #hazbin hotel fanfiction #helluva boss leviathan #helluva boss beelzebub #helluva boss mammon #helluva boss asmodeus #helluva boss satan

[bluepeachstudios]

Ghost's Birthday Part 3

Ghost's Birthday Masterpost

Where do you take Ghost first? You chose to take Ghost to see the dinosaurs first.

Leo made a good argument for the planetarium, but in the end Mikey's idea won out. Ghost had been giving them random dinosaur facts since they were kids; it was hard to ignore that.

They headed for the 4th floor, where the majority of the dinosaurs were, and began exploring. Donnie and Ghost took their time looking at the displays and reading the descriptions while Leo and Mikey were the opposite, giggling as they ran around pointing out the skeletons and taking selfies of each other pretending to be eaten by the displays.

Ghost paused by the triceratops, staring at it harder than he had the others. Mikey noticed first.

"Your favorite?" He guessed.

"Least," Ghost answered. He reached up and scratched his temple.

"Oh. What's your favorite, then?"

"My favorite is the argentinosaurus," Ghost answered, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards. "It's one of the biggest land animals to ever live, possibly the biggest. It lived during the Last Cretaceous period, and they've only found fragments of fossils of it before, so it's a little hard to guess what they really looked like, but there are computer model recreations and estimations based on the bones they have found."

As he talked, he became more animated, his eyes brightening. He shifted his focus from the triceratops to the stegosaurus, ambling over.

"The one specimen they found was in Argentina, which is where it got its name from. A computer simulation that was studying its gait found that it actually walks at a decent speed despite its size, about 7.5 kilometers per hour. And even though it's the largest known titanosaur, there are some other sauropods that may have been larger, but there's so little pieces left of them it's impossible to tell. The blue whale's mass still far outweighs even the argentinosaurus, though. The argentinosaurus is only about 75 tons, and a blue whale can get bigger than 150."

Ghost had drawn Leo, Donnie and Raph's attention now as well. He'd always gotten excited talking about dinosaurs, but he'd never had his eyes wide and his voice so expressive. He shook his fists at his sides and leaned up on his toes.

When Ghost finished his small infodump, he looked down at Mikey and his expression faltered. If Mikey didn't know any better, he would have thought Ghost was flustered.

"You know sometimes I'm reminded how much of a huge nerd you are," Leo blurted.

"Leo!" Mikey gasped with a laugh.

"Says the guy who can quote all of Jupiter Jim 7 1/2: Don't Forget Pluto," Donnie snarked.

"Far off at the edges of our galaxy-" Leo started loudly.

Ghost quickly slung an arm over his shoulders and pressed a hand over his mouth, whispering, "Inside voice, Leonardo."

"Sorry," Leo said through his hand. "But I really can recite the whole thing."

"I know," Ghost murmured, a hint of pride in his tone.

"Ghost, look!" Mikey squeaked from the doorway to the next room. Ghost walked after him, peering inside.

"That sure is a giant sloth," Donnie noted, peeking around him.

Ghost let out a breath, ducking his head.

"Sabertooth tiger!" Mikey pointed and rushed over to the display.

"That's a smilodon," Ghost informed him.

"I don't see any smiles on Don," Leo quipped. Donnie shoved him and he toppled over.

"They lived during the Pleistocene," Ghost continued as Raph pulled Leo to his feet. "Only went extinct about 10,000 years ago."

"That's such a long time," Mikey marveled.

"Not in the history of the entire planet, Michael, it's quite recent," Donnie said matter-of-factly.

"I can't even wait 10 seconds for an egg to heat up in the microwave," Leo complained.

"An egg in th-?!" Mikey whipped around to stare at Leo, mortified.

Ghost rubbed a hand over his face. "Leo..."

"Whaat I learned my lesson!" Leo defended. "You only put it in for five seconds at a time!"

"With the shell?" Mikey moaned.

"Well how else am I going to fast-boil an egg, Miguel?"

"As our family court stenographer, I've put Leo down for a second consecutive life sentence for culinary-related crimes," Donnie said, tapping away at his wrist pad. "May we have the jury's approval?"

#tmnt #tmnt ghost in the shell #Ghost's Birthday cyoa #rottmnt #tmnt 2003

[herrmannhalsteadproduction]

The Rules of Bex Ball

As previously mentioned, I had an ask on ao3 about that actual rules (using that term loosely) of Bex Ball (as seen in this fic: Game Night 3: It’s Bex Ball, Bébés) so I've written them up in a handy post for anyone else who might be interested.

One request - if you ever attempt to play this game - PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW IT GOES IN REAL LIFE AND SEND PICTURES!

Bex Ball Rules:

Equipment

1 giant bouncy ball (scale to size of players, but it should be truly large)

A field to play on

Number of Players:

Minimum of five per team (1 goalie and four people on the field, the number of people on the field needs to be an even number since they will be pairing up at different points.) Depending on the size of the field, you might want a bigger team of eleven or more. If it’s an exceptionally big field, you may have two goalies (especially if the group is made up of younger players.)

Rules (if we can call them that):

Essentially, the basic structure of the game is soccer. You’re trying to get the ball into the other team’s goal and you’re usually accomplishing that by kicking it. However, there are also specific modes of play that can be activated at any time at the whims of the referee. As referee, when you want to activate a certain mode, you call it out and then announce when it’s no longer in effect as well. Everyone playing on the field needs to have a buddy on their team that they can pair up with when the mode calls for it.

Play for twenty-ish minute periods with breaks in between. The amount of periods can be decided upon before starting the game and judged by the age/willingness of the players.

MODES OF PLAY

These work best if you rotate through them at random and don’t keep any one mode activated for too long. Keep the players on their toes! (I added a few that weren't in the fic just to round things out.) Bunny Mode – only hopping allowed.

Butt Bumps Mode – you can only move the ball by bumping it with your butt or hips.

Donkey Mode – you are only allowed to move the ball around the field using backward kicks.

Flamingo Mode – you have to tuck one leg up and can only move around by hopping on the other one. You can use your hands to move the ball around during this mode. And if you can kick it during this mode, more power to you.

Hot Potato Mode – you have to continuously throw the ball to the other members of your team and you cannot hold onto it for longer than a second.

Koala Mode – team members find their partner and one member carries the other member on their back. Any free limbs can be used to move the ball. If you’re dealing with younger players, this mode can be adjusted. Instead of one player carrying the other, you can do a repeat of Squad Mode or have one player wrap their arms around the other player’s waist from behind or have them link both arms. Judge this based on the comfort levels of your players.

Marco Polo Mode – half of the team closes their eyes (no cheating!) and the other half has to shout out instructions to try and get the ball toward the proper goal. No running allowed during this mode for obvious reasons. (Possibly not a mode to be played with younger players.)

Pony Mode – only galloping allowed.

Sloth Mode – team members may only move in slow motion.

Squad Mode – you find your partner and link arms with them. You must travel the field joined together like that and move in sync until this mode has ended.

PENALTIES

Hitting the other players with the ball – you get a point if it’s funny and lose a point if it was a low blow (ex – a forceful hit to the head or directly to the face)

Bad sportsmanship – ref can dock points for bad behaviour such as being an obnoxious winner, complaining about the play modes, strutting around with your shirt off, pouting about losing, not showing gratitude to the ref for spending their precious free time running herd on this bonkers game. Stuff like that.

Breaking a mode – you can be lax on this rule until people get the hang of the game. Once you’re dealing with seasoned players though, if a team breaks a mode, the rule is that you give a point to the other team.

BONUS POINTS may be awarded at the discretion of the ref. Reasons for a team being given bonus points could be things such as great teamwork, a particularly neat move being executed, good humour in the face of being knocked on your butt by a gigantic ball – that kind of thing.

IN THE EVENT OF A TIE – each team will choose one representative. These two players will go head-to-head in a game of rock, paper, scissors. One round. Winner takes all.

That’s it. That’s Bex Ball. Play safe (ish) and have fun.

#a herrmann/halstead production #Bex Ball #games to play with friends #and enemies #games #most likely to result in absolute chaos

[fatehbaz]

me: in the break room on phone, smiling widely, nodding with satisfaction, sighing

coworker: “what are you looking at???”

me:

They thought they might get stuck in the mud, but there was no thought of turning back. It would take another hour and a half to get to their destination. Giving up was not an option. They were after a holy grail of conservationists  —  a live sighting and registration of one of the rarest of the rare armadillos in the world, the elusive Chacoan fairy armadillo (Calyptophractus retusus), also known as the greater fairy armadillo, the mythical culotapado of local lore, or tatujeikurajoyava to the Guaranis of the Bolivian Chaco. Alternatively called tatu or coseberu by those in the cities, or “the cryer” by its 18th-century discoverers, it is also known to science as Burmeister’s armadillo. There was a lot of excitement. [...] Hearts were pounding with anticipation. [...] [T]he team was headed east, up Bolivia’s Highway 7, Doble Via La Guardia, toward the mining town of Camiri in the transition area between Amazonia and the Chaco dry forest. [...]

“There was no doubt, we had a culotapado,” said Bustillos, using the local name for the Chaco fairy armadillo, grateful to observe one of the rarest species in the world, alive. He explained how its back end appears to be sealed with a shield that keeps soil from sliding back as it digs down, and permits it to move and “swim” down at a 45-degree angle. [...] Bustillos said those were important observations of this unique animal, just fractions of an inch to an inch longer than its smaller cousin, the pink fairy armadillo of Argentina. It acts like a mole in its adaptations to subterranean life, said Bustillos, but instead of caving in search of food or escape, it submerges itself — swimming in the sand — and there it lives unnoticed. It is a species of armadillo in the family Chlamyphoridae. “It has a unique tail which he can use as a tripod,” Bustillos told Mongabay. No other armadillo has that use of its tail, he said. [...] What distinguishes the Chacoan fairy armadillo from other armadillos is that all others have a hard shell,  Bustillos explained. This one has a soft shell, like skin [...]. “It was just a shock seeing such a strange naked pink-looking animal,” he added. “Huge claws for its size. Delicate looking. It makes a noise like a baby.” [...]

That noise was heard, by many of the first to see the peculiar little animal, as a cry of the [...] “duende,” the ghost-like pixie humanoid of South American myth, and so it is also called, “el lloron,” the crier. [...]

Closely related to anteaters and sloths, but not to the similar-in-appearance pangolins, armadillos range in color from the baby pink in Bustillos’s hands to the dark brown of the ‘tatou,’ as the giant armadillo is also known. [...]  [T]here is a subtle but significant difference in the hue of the pink in this armadillo versus those of the same species found in the Gran Chaco itself [...]. The ones found in the Amazonian region are a baby pink color, like a pale salmon, he notes, while in the dry forest of the Chaco the same species is a darker, stronger, more vivid pink. [...] Encounters with the lighter-hued fairy armadillos in this area are still fewer --  just 12 registrations in the 161 years since 1859, making it the rarest of the rare. Underscoring the rarity of this find and the difference in appearance, Bustillos noted that after a 10-year intensive effort by the Wildlife Conservation Society in the Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area, Bolivia’s largest national park, the result was just 12 official registrations between 2000 and 2010. Only three have ever been registered in Argentina, and Paraguay registered eight in the period of 1959 to 2020 [...].

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Headline, images, captions, and text published by: Milan Sime Martinic. “Sighting of super rare Chacoan fairy armadillo in Bolivia ‘a dream come true’”. Mongabay. 21 December 2020. [Includes photos by Ivan Gutierrez Lemaitre, and commentary by field researcher Huascar Bustillos Cayoja.]

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Bonus round, involving the other species of fairy armadillo (Chlamyphorus truncatus, the pichiciego or pink fairy armadillo of Argentina):

[pleistocene-pride]

Megatherium known as the giant ground sloth or the megathere is an extinct genus of ground sloth which lived throughout South America from the Pliocene to Pleistocene some 5 million to 12,000 years ago. The first known remains of Megatherium consisting of a mostly complete skeleton were discovered in 1788 by Manuel Torres, on the bank of the Luján River in Argentina. The fossil was shipped to Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid the following year, where it remains. It was reassembled by museum employee Juan Bautista Bru in 1795 and subsequently described by Georges Cuvier in 1796. Cuvier assigned the fossil the scientific name Megatherium americanum from the Greek méga 'great' and theríon 'beast' and americanum being a reference to the Americas. In the centuries to follow dozens of well preserved specimens have been recovered representing some 8 species considered valid: M.‭ ‬americanum‭,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬altiplanicum,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬gallardoi,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬istilarti,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬medinae,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬parodii,‭ and ‬M.‭ ‬sundti which are separated into the two sub-genuses of Megatherium and Pseudomegatherium. With the largest species reaching some 20ft (6m) in length, 7ft (2.1m) tall when on all fours, and 8,400 to 10,100lbs (3,810 to 4580kgs) in weight, megatherium surpassed most modern elephants in size making it not only one of the largest xenathrans but one of the largest mammals known to have ever existed. Megatherium had a robust skeleton with a large pelvic girdle and a broad muscular tail. Its large size enabled it to feed at heights unreachable by other contemporary herbivores. Rising on its powerful hind legs and using its tail to form a tripod, Megatherium could support its massive body weight while using the curved claws on its long forelegs to pull down branches. These large animals likely lived in small groups feeding during the day before spending there nights resting inside of caves and large burrows the animals likely dug using there massive claws. Megatherium became extinct around 12,000 years ago during the Quaternary extinction event, which also claimed most other large mammals throughout the world. The extinction coincides with the settlement of the Americas, and multiple kill sites where M. americanum was slaughtered and butchered, suggesting that human hunting helped caused the sloths extinction.

Art belongs to the following creators:

Megatherium Mother and Baby: Mark Witton https://www.redbubble.com/i/art-board-print/Megatherium-by-MarkWitton/40411556.TR477

Megatherium: Brian Engh

Lost World - Megatherium: Rob Brunette https://www.artstation.com/artwork/3dbQXY

#pleistocene pride #pleistocene #pliestocene pride #pliestocene #cenozoic #ice age #stone age #giant sloth #sloth #ground sloth #giant ground sloth #megatherium #pliocene #south america #megafauna #prehistoric #prehistoric animals

[sinosauropteryx--prima]

National Fossil: Peru

We‘re continuing our travels through South America and the next stop is Peru.

Once again, you get to vote on which one should represent the nation. As always, it could be a fossil that is just exceptionally well preserved and beautiful, had a huge impact on paleontology and our knowledge of the past, is very common/representative of the area, is beloved and famous in the public eye, is just a very unique and interesting find, or has any other justification.

Perucetus: The first contestant has just been described earlier this year. Named after its home country, the giant whale made headlines because it might be the heaviest animal that ever lived, even surpassing the modern blue whale (just keep in mind that this is still very much up for debate as Perucetus‘ estimated size range spans from “just“ 85 t to well over 300 t; Art by Adam Works)

Livyatan: In case one giant whale is not enough, Peru also offers you Livyatan, named after the biblical monster. It was first discovered in Peru, where it lived about 30 million years after Perucetus. It was similar in size to its modern cousin, the sperm whale. (Art by Balasz Petheo)

Megalodon: It seems to be an unspoken rule of paleo that you cannot mention Livyatan without pointing out that they shared a habitat and directly competed with megalodon, fighting brutal battles to the death (honestly, they were probably both chill and just stayed out of each others way, but whatever…). Since it had a global distribution, picking megalodon as a National Fossil might be a bit controversial - on the other hand: There have been fossils found in Peru and no other country has claimed the giant shark yet, so this is your chance to call dibs on the famed movie monster.

Inkayacu: Next up is a cute penguin! Well, cute might be the wrong word considering it was almost as tall as me. Inkayacu lived about 35 million years ago during the Eocene (btw great time to be a giant penguin) and is known from very well preserved fossils, including feathers. From the material researcher could even tell its coloration and unlike its modern relatives, Inkayacu was reddish-brown and grey. (Art by Ripley Cook)

Thalassocnus: Ground sloths are among the most iconic prehistoric South American fauna, and this one is not just your regular weird giant ground sloth - it was a semi-aquatic giant ground sloth! There are multiple species of these guys known, all from slightly different ages. They show very well how they transitioned to a more aquatic lifestyle over time, making them a great example for evolution in progress. (Art by Mark Witton)

Macrauchenia: Lastly we have the “long llama“ as the name translates. Since today llamas (well, vicunas, but same difference) are Perus national animal, I wanted to give an option that resembles them. Macrauchenia actually belongs to a now extinct line of hoofed mammals that lived in South America back when the continent was still separated from all other land masses. While they weren‘t too closely related to our modern camels and llamas, they probably filled a similar niche. (Art by Olga Kobrina)

#paleobr #paleontology #fossils #peru #perucetus #livyatan #megalodon #penguin #ground sloth #macrauchenia #national fossil

[ubercharge]

Hey, genuine question. When drawing female character, how do you decide how big their boobs are?

when i design a character, i ask "what do i think looks good?"; it's mostly a matter of personal taste. a character's body shape contributes to their silhouette, overall look, and viewers' impression of them. here are thoughts on some of mine:

mia is wider below (hips/thighs) than up top (shoulders/bust), which is how i design most female chars because i like thick thighs. i wanted her to look like a hot anime lady with some roundness to help balance out her gigantic tail. her design forms a pleasantly stable weighty triangle with the large shapes of thighs + tail at the base, the medium shape of large bust + thin arms in the middle, then the detailed point of interest that is her cute lil face with horrific sparkly anime eyes and messy hair.

her curves and round shapes (big boobs included) contribute to the impression i want her to give off even without dialogue: endearing and cute, but still sexy. the kind of girl you might want to tease and cuddle irl if you could, with a welcoming & approachable softness. the other reason for her boobs is "i like big boobs"

the archdemon of wrath has small boobs, but a comparatively medium hip/thigh thing going on. like mia, she has a big tail! it's balanced out in part by big reptilian paws, giant floofy BRIGHT hair, and large horns.

let's get "i like small boobs too" out of the way, because that's a given. ira likes to fight, so her small boobs add to her reptilian bits by making her look more slinky, lithe, and dexterous. her design wouldn't be completely thrown off by big boobs, but big boobs + her skimpy outfit (this is the sfw version! she's usually topless and has dangling nipple piercings) might give her a little too much "sexy" that could downplay how her spikes and fiery hair are meant to scream "dangerous" instead. so for ira, her boobs being small + taking up less space for the viewer allows more room to pay attention to her sharp bits instead.

here are sloth's fighter cat and wrath's fighter kitsune, both have small busts + wider hips. what's your impression of them now vs if you imagine each with a different chest? would one or both have more appealing designs to you if they had bigger/smaller boobs? would it not make a difference? would you change them if you could?

if you want to make a new character, it can help to ask yourself why you want certain design elements (e.g., bust size, hair colour, height) and why they work or don't work for you or your specific character! thanks for reading. i love boobs.

#ask answer #anon #well it's late so i'll just schedule this reply for the afternoon ....