#Fruit of evolution

[drag0nalias0]

Wasn't expecting a trash isekai with an op protagonist anime to make me start to almost cry today but hey ho.

It seems that my weakness for cute villains with sad backstories has struck again.

Atl least Toma didnt die like i thought he was going to, unlike Rui and Destra. (Although the second season of Fruit of Evolution was horrible and deviated from the light novel in the worst way. He didnt even die, from what i remember, in the light novel. But i was yelling the whole season for the poor boy to get a hug and at least he got that. Untill he killed hisself)

[heather-m-quigley]

they're all saying omedatou (congratulations) through the clapping

this is how you commit to the bit. they could have just done the clapping shots and saying omedatou and left everyone wondering 'is this an eva reference', but the 'standing on the world' shot was included to really drive it home and answer emphatically 'YES THIS IS AN EVA REFERENCE'

im not always great about keeping up on shinka no mi, but it's got charm

[bootleg-nessie]

Predatory Bananas: an Evolutionary Horror

(Pls read, I literally spent HOURS on this <3)

A friend sent me the following video about the various potential methods of banana locomotion. It got me thinking. How would a banana move? Naturally, as an autist with a special interest in evolutionary biology, I took the joke a little too far and wrote a whole piece on the matter, analyzing the feasibility of each method and the changes they’d need to evolve in order to achieve them.

(Video courtesy of Burning Onion Animation on TikTok, they make great content, go check them out)

The first and most likely way bananas would move is if banana trees evolved to spread their seeds through their fruits rolling down hills like the morphology of #1 suggests. The only major mutations that need to happen are a more pronounced curve and increased rigidity to facilitate rolling and absorb the impact from falling from the tree. Overall, evolving to this point is relatively straightforward. #1 is the most feasible and realistic answer.

For bananas to develop motility like in #4 is theoretically possible with the right environmental pressures and with enough time, though much more difficult. I see this working in one of two ways. First, they could evolve rigid structures that change shape depending on moisture content, using natural dry/wet cycles to move a little more each time it rains, much like the seeds of Erodium Cicutarium (pictured below). The fruits of the banana tree would most likely evolve to have hooks on the end of said structures, contracting and pulling themselves forward a little each time they dry out, and relaxing and resetting their grip on the soil each time they get wet.

The second way I could see this happening is if they evolved true locomotion. True locomotion in bananas would take at least a few million years to evolve (probably more like tens of millions), and even then, movement would be incredibly slow. There exists a plant called the “walking palm” (socratea exorrhiza, pictured below) that’s capable of “walking” using its roots, but it can only travel about 20 meters per year in ideal conditions, and has the resources of the entire tree at its disposal, not just that of a single fruit.

While this is the more likely explanation as to how #4 might happen, it’s not what the video depicts. The video clearly shows a banana dragging itself along like an inchworm, indicating motor cells such as those present in Dionaea Muscipula (venus flytrap, pictured below). Whenever this type of movement in plants occurs, it takes an extreme amount of energy and is generally rather inefficient and slow. In addition to this, the banana is moving its entire mass every time, so it’ll have to move much more slowly to compensate. This means that the banana would probably only be able to travel a few centimeters before decomposing beyond the point of functionality. After a few million more years it’s possible that bananas could evolve to travel as far as several meters after falling off the tree, but the further they go, the more fit each individual fruit needs to be, and the more energy and resources they need. Eventually, it’ll reach a point where the energy expenditure will outweigh the benefit and the fruits will stop evolving to travel any further, which I imagine would plateau somewhere in the 0.5 to 3 meter range. However, the fruits still require a significantly higher amount of energy at this point because they’ve evolved to move autonomously, so trees would likely evolve to produce fewer, but more developed fruits as a result. Overall this is the second most likely way bananas would evolve to move, but the video depicts a time lapse, not footage taken in real time.

The next most likely option is #2, which is where things start to get much more interesting. At this point we are quickly beginning to leave the territory of the banana being a fruit and stepping closer towards the realm of the banana being its own independent organism. Whether the banana is still a single fruit from a larger tree depends on if the video is stabilized or not. First, let’s assume that the video has automatically stabilized the banana within the frame. This means that the banana is moving erratically and aimlessly, with the goal of simply moving as far from its origin as it can. The most simple form of this would be a ballistic dispersal method in which the banana grows curved and under tension, falling off the tree when ripe. Upon impact, the tension is released and banana extends, springing itself upward and outward with a single bounce. But this isn’t what the video shows either, it depicts clear and repeated movement, again suggesting the presence of motor cells much like those likely found in banana #4. In this case it probably evolved in roughly the same way as banana #4, but works less effectively due to having a less stable method of traveling.

But what if the video ISN’T stabilized, and the banana’s staying upright all on its own? In the video, the banana isn’t just moving along a single plane with one set of motor cells like the Venus flytrap. It’s full on galloping. This requires multiple groups of motor cells working together in a coordinated effort. This banana has real-time sensory input to orient and stabilize itself. This means that the banana has evolved some sort of internal gyroscope, much like our inner ear that helps it determine what up and down is, and more importantly, angular rotation. While plants have been observed reacting to and even predicting stimuli in ways that still baffle scientists to this day, this is far more complex than any plant every discovered throughout human history. Everything here points to something more, perhaps rudimentary intelligence, dare I even say sentience.

This begs the question: is it even a plant anymore? At this stage it’s evolved sensory organs and can move independently. But why? Organisms don’t evolve the ability to move without reason. This could mean one of three things. First, it could have evolved the ability to run as a means of spreading its seeds further. But this can’t be the answer. Moving more slowly would be way more efficient for a banana in terms of energy expenditure, and spreading seeds the old fashioned way is still perfectly viable, so it wouldn’t have evolved that way due to lack of necessity. This brings us to the first legitimate possibility: the banana is prey. If the banana were prey, then the ability to gallop most likely evolved as a means of escaping predators and to avoid being eaten. This is further evidence that the banana has evolved beyond being a humble plant as this goes completely against the purpose of fruits, which evolved to be eaten on purpose. Now, the banana’s goal isn’t to be eaten so that its seeds may be deposited elsewhere, its primary objective is to survive. At this point it’s relatively safe to assume that the banana no longer comes from a tree, and now reproduces through fragmentation, or perhaps even live birth. Its lack of leaves suggest that it’s evolved beyond being an autotroph and relying on photosynthesis. But if it no longer gets nutrients from a tree, how does it subsist? It must be getting its energy from somewhere. The most likely answer to this is that banana is a herbivore, and gets its energy from plant matter, which contains a lot of the same nutrients that the banana recently used to get by growing on a tree. Overall, this is the third most likely way the banana would evolve locomotion.

But what if it isn’t an herbivore? This brings us to the other possibility: the banana is a predator. The banana that concerns me the most is banana #3. While all the other bananas have undergone major changes to their morphology, banana #3 appears to be identical to any regular banana, yet it still moves. The only way that such movement could be possible is if the banana had some sort of internal mechanism that moves its center of mass around rather quickly within its outer shell, which also requires an internal gyroscope for balance. I know what you’re thinking; “but this is an incredibly complex mechanism, wouldn’t it be easier to evolve one of the other ways?” To which the answer is yes, it would. But this raises another question with an even more alarming answer: why didn’t it? The answer lies in the banana’s identical appearance to that of a typical Cavendish. Clearly, looking like an ordinary banana is central to its survival strategy. At this point, it’s evolved well past the point of being a fruit and has become the first of an entirely new kingdom of sentient creatures descended from plants.

According to my estimates from the video, banana #3 is only able to move at a pace of around a tenth of a meter per second, maybe a quarter or half of a meter at the most. This means that it probably didn’t evolve the ability to move as a means of running from predators. Based on the physics in the video, my best guess as to how the banana moves is through the use of mostly hollow internal chambers with a central mass (probably a calcified seed) suspended by tendons that can move in any direction, accelerating the banana in that direction. Here I’ve collaborated with the massively talented @pholidia to bring my ideas to light.

Picture it. You’re a lone banana farmer in South America. You’re out harvesting your crops when you see a single banana on the ground. It looks a little weird and bruised, but still totally edible. “No good in letting perfectly good produce go to waste” you think to yourself as you pick up the banana. You go to peel it when suddenly, you feel a sharp shooting pain through your hand. You drop the banana, then fall to your knees. You look around for the wasp or whatever it was that stung you, but you can’t find anything. You collapse in a heap on the ground, unable to control your body. It’s at this point you notice the banana start to move. “Are… are those teeth?” you think to yourself. At this point the venom has taken full effect. You are alone and completely paralyzed, unable to do anything besides observe the banana as it starts moving towards you. Sharp teeth and beady black eyes are fully visible now. It ambles towards you clumsily, moving almost as if it were being controlled by invisible strings like a marionette. It reaches you and starts to chew. It is at this moment that you discover, much to your horror, that the venom is merely a paralytic, and not an anesthetic. Helpless to the venom, you can do nothing but watch as your blood slowly drains out onto the ground as the creature consumes you. Slowly, your vision begins to fade to black. You pass out, either from the pain or the blood loss, you’re not really too sure. You take one last look at the creature, then you’re gone forever.

[juicyolpickle]

Some fruit inspired spec biology creature design adopts I did for my instagram! If anyone is still interested and the designs are still up for sale, you can follow the link to my instagram post - [HERE] - to check them out.❤️

Apple

Horned Melon

Star Fruit

Kiwi

Rambutan

[xxladyloganxx]

My aesthetic/personality in a nutshell

[eternal-gromnommer]

It's Spectember again apparently so have some giant flightless fruit bats convergent with gorillas.

I don't even know what context and setting these guys would have evolved in so I guess I'll just leave it up to your imagination. 🤷‍♂️

[objecthusbandry]

keeping objects as pets #4: fruits!

hi there! in this series, i’ll be going over basic descriptions of commonly-kept object species (and some rare ones too!), facts about them, why you might want one as a pet, their basic needs and necessities provided you want to house one, and things you should NEVER do. for the fourth post in this series, we'll be going over fruits, berries, melons, gourds and similar species!

description

as with the plants they mimic, these creatures are wildly diverse and come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colors. their limbs are furless and leathery, with tough skin. each hand has five fingers with opposable thumbs and each foot has four toes. they don't have claws. they're adapted to be primarily arboreal, living high in trees in the wild; they rarely leave forests and don't feel comfortable without leaf cover. their teeth are flat for grinding plant matter, and aren't known to bite (fortunately for the anons i keep getting).

facts about fruits

just like with their objects, the terminology for these can be... confusing, to say the least. tomatoes are fruits, by the way! they live off of plants in the wild, always near sources of water, such as ponds, lakes or streams. they tend to stick with other members of the same object species, but finding a bushel of varying fruits together isn't unheard of. they're a very physically active species, typically - they love to run and play whenever they're not sleeping, which they do a lot. these guys LOVE to sleep - when they're not climbing or playing, they're almost always curled up for a nap.

why as a pet?

fruits are absolutely amazing to watch! their high levels of activity make it a delight to see them in action. they're intelligent and happy-go-lucky most of the time*, which makes them great for people who are just as active as they are. they're great for organic weed control, too, since they can just eat them. unfortunately, they can contract most diseases that plants can, which can cause sickness and death if not treated properly. always get your objects vaccinated!

basic needs + do’s and dont’s

fortunately for people who don't like insects, these are strictly herbivorous animals and they need a steady diet of vegetables and lots, i mean LOTS of water. they HAVE to have an available water source at all times or they will dehydrate! they also need a lot of sunlight, which is why i only recommend them as an outdoor pet.

housing

these objects need a lot of outdoor space. they will not be content to be indoor pets. since they're natural climbers, you'll need a large fenced-in area with an enclosed top to prevent them from leaving. for indoors, fruits can and will climb anything that they can, so you should be careful to move any fragile objects that they could potentially knock over. their preferred places to sleep are in enclosed pet beds, so make sure to have one handy!

*depression

this species group is unfortunately prone to depression when their needs aren't met. we aren't fully sure what causes this, but it's important to note for anyone who is considering one of these as a pet.

that’s all! hopefully this helps educate anyone who is considering this species!

[i-was-today-years-old-when]

i learned that about 7000 years ago, bananas were not the seedless, fleshy fruits we know today. The flesh was pitted with black seeds and nearly inedible (x)

[fiftysevenacademics]

Avocado sex is wild:

"The avocado flower has both functional male and female organs. The male floral organ, which produces pollen, is comprised of the anthers and stamens. The female floral organ is comprised of the stigma (which receives the pollen), style and the ovary. The flowers are small (10 mm diameter). The flowers are usually only open for 2–6 hours, then close and open again for 2–6 hours on the second day. When a flower opens for a second time, it produces pollen and the stigma is not receptive. Flowers then close and remain closed. Flowers will usually be one sex in the morning, closed in the middle of the day and the opposite sex in the afternoon. The timing of the sex phases can be quite defined, but environmental conditions will affect the timing and duration of the male and female phases. The mature tree can produce in excess of a million flowers during the flowering period."

[toonabby]

Happy birthday, Corey Pettit!

[findroleplay]

greetings my fellow roleplay lovers ^^ ! i’m a 19 year old high school graduate just about to go into university and i have a big gap of doing nothing until then so i thought i’d reach out and connect with people over roleplay !

i don’t have many requirements, all i ask is that you be 18+ and write semi-literate or literately. at least a paragraph is required ! i only do oc x canon and we’ll be doubling up for it ! also i love plotting or chatting ooc ! im here to make friends out of my writing partners so if that’s not your cup of tea, i’m probably not the best partner for you. also discord rp is fine with me although i’m pretty new to it ^^

replies aren’t a problem, i have my own life and you have yours so please take as much time as you need and i mean that, you could take a whole year off and come back to ask to write with me and i’d be more than happy to ^^ !

now fandoms i’m into/looking writing partners for:

⭐️ record of ragnarok

⭐️ blue lock

⭐️ jjba

⭐️ bnha

⭐️ kuroko no basket

⭐️ burning kabaddi

⭐️ haikyuu

⭐️ demon slayer

⭐️ jujutsu kaisen

⭐️ tokyo revengers

⭐️ free! iwatobi swim club

⭐️ vanitas no carte

⭐️ fruits basket

⭐️ bungou stray dogs

⭐️ black clover

⭐️ assassination classroom

⭐️ dance with devils

⭐️ beyblade burst/evolution

⭐️ fire force

⭐️ full metal alchemist brotherhood

leave a like and i’ll reach out to you !

_

[kurtchangart]

[adaginy]

Bureaucracy is the woooorst

Like, I know on the grand scale the alternative is actually terrible. The alternative to credit scores, for example, is getting a loan based on whether you can convince the bank manager you're good for it, which you have to do by being a white man.

But right now I need to fill out an I9, which means the company wants proof of my identity and citizenship/work-eligibility. I can do this with my ID + Social security card, or a non-expired passport (there are other options, for people with very different lives from mine, like a tribal identity document or immigration paperwork, but those options are less relevant to me). My passport is expired. It expired about 6 weeks ago, so if HR had its shit together when my boss *wanted* to hire me, or had even started the process earlier with intent that I wouldn't be hired until now, I'd've been fine. Even expedited, this will take about about 6 weeks to replace. I do not know where my social security card is. Even the social security administration, as I try to replace it, is like "are you sure you need to replace it? it's rare you actually need the card" and, yeah, I know, I haven't needed it in at least 11 years, that's why I've never bothered to replace it. I am having trouble replacing it because the social security website keeps telling me it cannot confirm my address. I have a suspicion of something to try, but I can't retry until tonight because I'm locked out after multiple failures. If I cannot replace it online, replacing it in person for some reason requires my birth certificate, which best-case scenario is in a file at my parents' house (my parents are traveling and will be for another week) but worst case is in [birth state 10+ hours away]. Actually worst-case scenario is that it's also lost, because my mom is sure I should have it. If I do get past that hurdle and get it replaced online or in person, this will take 2 weeks to replace.

But the most frustrating, stupid thing about this IMO is that I am going back to my previous employer. My previous employer who I left ~14 months ago. My previous employer who gave me 2 and a half months of severance. My previous employer who, as a result, sent me a 2023 W2. My previous employer who is apparently just re-activating my employment, judging from my new employee ID number being the same as my old employee ID number.

My boss is gonna try to talk to a human in HR.

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

I think someone put the brain of a mouse or maybe a squirrel inside my head at some point because all winter I was like “I crave nuts and seeds” and now that it’s getting warmer and brighter out my brain keeps going “it’s fruit time”

Like, modern transportation has made it possible to move many fruits all over the world (in theory) all the time! But the primal early plesiadapiform part of my brain is like “you must eat what is available this season”

[queenlucythevaliant]

When evolutionary theory is framed as a paradigm for understanding the human person in the light of Jesus Christ, we are free to follow the scientific evidence where it leads. The importance of this freedom is the recognition that evolutionary theory opens up the possibility of a certain type of world and a particular way in which human beings inhabit this world. It pushes us to think about our embodiment, our particular human identity, as it is deeply interconnected with the created world and about a type of embodied spirituality that is opened up to suffering and death in new ways. This way of thinking about evolutionary theory in relation to Jesus Christ provides new ways of thinking about the creation, about the nature of sin, about human finitude, and about the power of death and resurrection.

Denis O. Lamoureux, emphasis mine

[corvianbard]

#6411

You are the serpent That swallowed the morning star, Fruit of knowledge that grants The strength to par With the random melody That nobody can ever disbar. Descend now to begin the discord From all that is war For evolution To evolve before it can mar.