#mappings of data on ability

[kentnaturaltribrid]

From left to bottom:

Left Top- Original Map, Mapping 1

Right Top- Mapping 2 & 3

Bottom Left- Pyranoliacs Mappings, Mappings 4

Bottom Right- Pavronoliacs Mappings, Mapping 5

Each map contains also following categories of Visible, Invisible, and Hidden in the order of the mapping levels and various variants of mapped abilities.

[kenzan-kiwami]

one of the reasons i enjoy keiji zero so much is that it dares to ask the question of "what if your traumagenic alter had autism"

[nasa]

What We Learned from Flying a Helicopter on Mars

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made history – not only as the first aircraft to perform powered, controlled flight on another world – but also for exceeding expectations, pushing the limits, and setting the stage for future NASA aerial exploration of other worlds.

Built as a technology demonstration designed to perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, Ingenuity performed flight operations from the Martian surface for almost three years. The helicopter ended its mission on Jan. 25, 2024, after sustaining damage to its rotor blades during its 72nd flight.

So, what did we learn from this small but mighty helicopter?

We can fly rotorcraft in the thin atmosphere of other planets.

Ingenuity proved that powered, controlled flight is possible on other worlds when it took to the Martian skies for the first time on April 19, 2021.

Flying on planets like Mars is no easy feat: The Red Planet has a significantly lower gravity – one-third that of Earth’s – and an extremely thin atmosphere, with only 1% the pressure at the surface compared to our planet. This means there are relatively few air molecules with which Ingenuity’s two 4-foot-wide (1.2-meter-wide) rotor blades can interact to achieve flight.

Ingenuity performed several flights dedicated to understanding key aerodynamic effects and how they interact with the structure and control system of the helicopter, providing us with a treasure-trove of data on how aircraft fly in the Martian atmosphere.

Now, we can use this knowledge to directly improve performance and reduce risk on future planetary aerial vehicles.

Creative solutions and “ingenuity” kept the helicopter flying longer than expected.

Over an extended mission that lasted for almost 1,000 Martian days (more than 33 times longer than originally planned), Ingenuity was upgraded with the ability to autonomously choose landing sites in treacherous terrain, dealt with a dead sensor, dusted itself off after dust storms, operated from 48 different airfields, performed three emergency landings, and survived a frigid Martian winter.

Fun fact: To keep costs low, the helicopter contained many off-the-shelf-commercial parts from the smartphone industry - parts that had never been tested in deep space. Those parts also surpassed expectations, proving durable throughout Ingenuity’s extended mission, and can inform future budget-conscious hardware solutions.

There is value in adding an aerial dimension to interplanetary surface missions.

Ingenuity traveled to Mars on the belly of the Perseverance rover, which served as the communications relay for Ingenuity and, therefore, was its constant companion. The helicopter also proved itself a helpful scout to the rover.

After its initial five flights in 2021, Ingenuity transitioned to an “operations demonstration,” serving as Perseverance’s eyes in the sky as it scouted science targets, potential rover routes, and inaccessible features, while also capturing stereo images for digital elevation maps.

Airborne assets like Ingenuity unlock a new dimension of exploration on Mars that we did not yet have – providing more pixels per meter of resolution for imaging than an orbiter and exploring locations a rover cannot reach.

Tech demos can pay off big time.

Ingenuity was flown as a technology demonstration payload on the Mars 2020 mission, and was a high risk, high reward, low-cost endeavor that paid off big. The data collected by the helicopter will be analyzed for years to come and will benefit future Mars and other planetary missions.

Just as the Sojourner rover led to the MER-class (Spirit and Opportunity) rovers, and the MSL-class (Curiosity and Perseverance) rovers, the team believes Ingenuity’s success will lead to future fleets of aircraft at Mars.

In general, NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions test and advance new technologies, and then transition those capabilities to NASA missions, industry, and other government agencies. Chosen technologies are thoroughly ground- and flight-tested in relevant operating environments — reducing risks to future flight missions, gaining operational heritage and continuing NASA’s long history as a technological leader.

You can fall in love with robots on another planet.

Following in the tracks of beloved Martian rovers, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter built up a worldwide fanbase. The Ingenuity team and public awaited every single flight with anticipation, awe, humor, and hope.

Check out #ThanksIngenuity on social media to see what’s been said about the helicopter’s accomplishments.

Learn more about Ingenuity’s accomplishments here. And make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[headspace-hotel]

It seems like sci-fi is really influential on how people perceive technology, not only whether it is good or bad, but what they think technology can do.

It's a big problem with generative AI that we're calling it AI. That suggests it has an emergent property that allows it to work like actual intelligence, rather than just aggregating together a really big amount of data into a map of how sentences or images tend to be formed.

The ability to make a computer find patterns in huge sets of complicated data and then analyze more data based upon the existing patterns is a great thing. You can give the computer pictures taken by a satellite, slides showing specimens, or anything and automate the process of sorting through it.

Unfortunately, if you do this using written language found online as the data, and make the computer generate sentences based upon the patterns it learned, people do not think "Wow, it 'knows' a lot about how sentences tend to be made." Instead they will assign meaning to the sentences themselves, and think the computer "knows" about the things those sentences mean. Which causes trouble.

An AI that knows enough about language to generate text that can be easily confused with meaningful writings of a human doesn't seem very useful to me.

But sci-fi is full of AIs that are sapient and can communicate using language, which is clearly an astonishing feat of technology, so everybody decides that the minor party trick of making a computer "talk" like a person by giving it a lot of data about language is a huge advancement that will transform the world...

[kodorki]

forever upset the route system in fates was done as poorly as it was because had it been done in any normal way, i would have liked this game significantly more and significantly earlier than now

[finchandthebard]

The "tiktok ban" should scare you and here's why.

Rant made by an autistic, history-loving, chronically online American tiktok cosplayer. Please let me know if I've gotten anything wrong and I will edit the post.

Reblog to spread awareness!

This is not just about Tiktok, and it's not about national security. The Tiktok ban is wrapped up in the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act" which has the ability to ban any foreign website or app that the United States government sees as a threat to their "democracy." Not only that, but if the gov't didn't want China to gather data, then they would ban things like Shein and Temu (the latter which they advertised during the Super Bowl), which collect similar data that Tiktok does. If they wanted to prevent our data being stolen in general, they would ban companies like Meta, which monetarily supports the Tiktok ban and had to change their name because "Facebook" was associated with the largest data leak in history.

The documentations of the Tiktok court interrogations prove how incompetent our government is. Repeatedly asking the TikTok CEO Mr. Chew if he's Chinese while he repeatedly assures them he's Singaporean. The officials being concerned that they can't find Singapore on a map. The officials then being confused why the app would be able to have access to their wifi because it needs wifi to load.

The possibility of the US buying Tiktok exposes a greater issue in America: monopolies. The Sherman Antitrust Act was passed in 1890 that restricted the activities of large companies known as monopolies, which started out as small companies and would either buy other companies or buy the factories which produced all their materials. This eliminated competition in the market and gave the monopolies almost full control of quality and prices of items, and it was considered very anti-American at the time. Since the US already has multiple major social medias, including Facebook (Meta), Instagram (Meta), Threads (Meta), X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and Reddit, adding Tiktok would mean that nobody could compete with the US in the social media market. This makes them a monopoly, and it's incredibly dangerous.

Banning Tiktok breaks several American trademarks. A) the Republicans banning Tiktok are very concerned about their second amendment right to own guns, but they seem to not care about the first amendment right to freedom of speech and press, which Tiktok delivers. Of course there are app guidelines, but for the most part you have fairly uncensored political and ethical commentary like no other social media. B) the only other countries that have banned Tiktok are either heavily demonized by America or are direct targets for American propaganda (ex. China), which really doesn't make the ban look good. C) banning a social media for the purpose of censorship is a trademark of communism, which Americans are INCREDIBLY wary of.

Your country may follow in suit. Because of America's influence as a global superpower and an ally to many other major powers, America banning Tiktok would likely lead to a domino effect in other countries.

The rich get richer. There is a concept called social darwinism, in which it is the rich's beliefs that the poor must fend for themselves without the help of the government in order to make a living - "survival of the fittest." Tiktok contributed around $14.7 billion USD in 2023 and $24.2 billion in 2024, and it supports around 224,000 jobs [source]. The actual Tiktok website says in 2023, they contributed $15 billion USD in revenue and supported 7 million US businesses [source]. Without these jobs, there could be in increase in homelessness, debt, and sickness due to withdrawals (if you're incredibly addicted to Tiktok) and lack of quick dopamine hits (due to the rapidfire nature of the algorithm).

Remember that the president is not your friend !! Many of the political figures rallying to support Tiktok right now, such as President Biden, initially voted for the ban. President Biden is likely supporting now so that Trump won't get credit for it, and future President Trump is likely doing it for brownie points among younger generations.

The Xiaohongshu migration exposed the American government and its lies. The stories from American 'Tiktok refugees' about the questions from native Chinese on the Xiaohongshu / Rednote / Redbook app (considered the Chinese mixed of Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook) posed a lot of conspiracies and realizations about the American government. The Chinese actually own their homes, they have lower food prices than we do, and they have a slim homelessness rate. Whether this is true or not, it has greatly influenced how we see ourselves in the grand scheme of the American oligarchy, and that is not something that can be suppressed with an app being banned.

Tiktok is not totally Chinese! The CEO is Singaporean, as I've already stated, and there are multiple headquarters in the US, with the main one being in Los Angeles.

In conclusion...

Whether Tiktok is banned or not, whether permanently or not, no matter who saves it or rallies against it, remember that it is harder to scare and control someone when they are in a group. And if you think this was interesting, I'd love it if you could reblog to show some support and inform your friends as well. <3

THIS IS NOT RIGHT VS LEFT❗️IT'S UP VS DOWN❗️

[luv4arinn]

Bayverse!Donnie headcanons bc his my bbg

Okay, lol, I really needed to let all of this out and just vomit all the ideas I’ve been hoarding about this man. I love him. I’ve adored him ever since the 2012 series, and that made me realize—I definitely have a thing for nerds. And glasses. Dear god.

I hope you guys like this!! Do you think I should do the same for the other brothers? Or maybe for the other characters? (I wouldn’t mind taking the risk and making headcanons like this for Rocksteady, hehe.)

Alright, bye!!

warnings: sfw & nsfw ( but not so explicit?) :p

- He’s a genius with confidence… until he isn’t.

Donnie is incredibly self-assured when it comes to his intellect and skills. He knows his worth and never doubts his ability to solve problems. Jumping out of a plane without a parachute? Easy. Hacking government security systems? A piece of cake. But confessing his feelings to you? That’s a whole different challenge.

This is where his anxious side kicks in. His brain, used to solving any equation, completely short-circuits when it comes to emotions. What if he misinterprets your signals? What if he ruins the friendship? What if you like someone else? Sure, he can design an exoskeleton in less than 24 hours, but love is a field where variables don’t always make sense.

If you think you can hide something from him, think again. Donnie notices everything. From the slight shift in your expression when you’re tired to the pattern of songs you repeat when you’re feeling down. (And no, he absolutely did not hack your Spotify, ahem—)

- That’s why, when you start falling for him, he already knows. In fact, he probably figured it out before you did.

He won’t tell you right away. Inside his head, there’s a storm of chaotic thoughts, organizing themselves into an ultra-detailed data table with every relevant piece of information. Give him a few days, and once his mind has fully processed everything, he’ll come back to you as a renewed Donnie—determined, confident, and ready to make you his.

- Donnie doesn’t just plan things; he breaks them down into a thousand strategies of action. His trash bin is living proof of the number of ideas he discards and reworks over and over.

Gifts? He’s not the type to grab something generic at the last minute. His gifts are so deeply personalized that they’ll make you feel like he knows you better than you know yourself.

Example: If you ever casually mentioned that you’d love to learn to play an instrument, he’ll build one for you—customized with enhancements. If you said you love the stars, he’ll create an interactive star map with the exact alignment of the sky on the day you were born.

Your birthdays, anniversaries, and any special dates are planned years in advance. It doesn’t matter if you’re not officially together yet—he already has ideas saved for when you are.

- Romance in his brain is an equation far too complex.

Donnie isn’t clumsy because he lacks intelligence; it’s because his brain moves too fast. His emotions and logic are in constant conflict, creating an ongoing battle between Confident Donnie and Nervous Donnie.

You’ll see him go from saying something with complete confidence to, “Uh, well… what I meant to say is… no, wait, forget it—” and then getting frustrated with himself because that definitely wasn’t what he had in mind.

But when he manages to organize his thoughts, he’s one of the most direct people you’ll ever meet. Once he crosses the mental line of “I’m doing this,” there’s no turning back.

- Gifts

He doesn’t believe in generic presents. Everything he gives you has a specific purpose. A bracelet that’s actually a disguised tracker (“For safety. Just for safety.”), or a stuffed animal that can record voice messages.

One day, you wake up and find a new app on your phone with your name on it. You open it, and it’s a virtual assistant designed specifically for you, complete with personalized reminders for the little things Donnie knows you always forget.

- Once he has you, you are his priority.

Once Donnie accepts his feelings and takes the step to be with you, he becomes the most devoted boyfriend.

He’s not excessively clingy or jealous like Raph, but his love is obvious in the time and effort he invests in you.

No matter how many projects he’s juggling, if you truly need his attention, he’ll give it to you without hesitation.

- Donnie needs physical contact, but his intellectual pride won’t let him admit it outright. Instead, he prefers to justify it with overly precise scientific explanations.

“Well, you see… my body temperature tends to drop faster than that of the average human, so it’s biologically beneficial for me to share contact with an external heat source.”

Translation: “Hug me. Now.”

If you confront him with something like, “Why don’t you just say you want cuddles?” he’ll turn bright red and start stammering, scrambling for excuses.

Don’t listen. Just climb onto him.

- Donnie can plan everything, but he cannot predict your spontaneous displays of affection.

If you surprise him with a kiss, his brain completely shuts down for 3-5 seconds before he can process it.

Unexpected gestures—hugging him from behind while he’s working, cupping his face in your hands, or kissing his cheek out of nowhere—leave him frozen, recalculating.

Sometimes, his first reflex is to adjust his glasses, only to realize that they have nothing to do with the fact that his vision just blurred from sheer shock.

NSFW

- He’s patient… but only to a point. Donnie will never pressure you. He’ll wait as long as you need, always making sure you feel safe and comfortable.

However… he’s already undressed you with his eyes a million times.

His mind is a machine of ideas and theories, and when it comes to you, he has imagined everything. Everything.

He tells himself he can be rational and controlled… but if you take too long, his thoughts will become a little more persistent.

- He’s not innocent. Don’t even think it for a second.

He may seem shy or awkward about relationships, but when it comes to this, his mind is a laboratory of hypotheses he’s dying to test.

He has analyzed you with surgical precision. He knows exactly how you blush, how you react to certain touches, which words make you tremble.

Do not underestimate him. He has read, he has researched, he has learned.

But nothing compares to the real thing. With you.

When he finally has you in his hands, his brain short-circuits.

No matter how many times he imagined this moment, nothing could have prepared him for the feeling of your skin beneath his fingers.

His jaw clenches, he exhales sharply, and his pupils dilate as if he’s just been electrocuted.

His entire expression changes—from his usual nervousness to something darker, more intense, starving.

- He becomes obsessive about memorizing every single reaction of yours.

He’s analytical. He will learn what you love and make sure to do it better every single time.

Eye contact and sounds. His drug.

Look at him. Don’t look away. Don’t ignore him.

If you dare to hold his gaze while he’s above you, he will completely lose himself in you.

Your voice, your moans, your gasps—they ruin him.

He needs you vocal. He needs to know he’s doing a good job.

If you get shy and try to cover your mouth, he will ask (or demand) that you don’t.

Kinky? Oh, absolutely.

Donnie lives to experiment. It’s in his nature.

Positions? All of them. But his favorites are the ones where you are on top of him.

He loves being dominated.

After spending his entire life controlling every aspect of his world, it’s a relief for his mind to surrender completely to you.

“Set the pace, beautiful. I’m in your hands.”

Toys? Oh, yes.

You can be sure he has researched every single thing about them.

But he won’t settle for the ones that already exist. No.

He will build his own. Upgraded. With precisely calibrated speeds and optimized materials.

“This one has five vibration levels, but if we increase the frequency by 15%, we could—”

May God help you if you walk into his lab at the wrong time.

May God help his brothers if they ever find out.

Dedicated and obsessed with you.

Donnie doesn’t do anything halfway. If he gives himself to you, it’s completely.

No matter how much time passes, he will always give his all to make you feel incredible.

He’s not a casual lover.

He is yours. And you are his.

“You are my greatest discovery.”

[super-ion]

mech pilot getting transformed into a mech?

You resist as first. How can you not? You are separated from the machine and you are frightened.

You were meant to end your life upon capture, but the first thing we did after flooding your cockpit with paralytics was to extract the hollow molar in your jaw.

Your old masters must care little for you if you are meant to be so easily discarded.

We will love you. We already love you.

Be a good girl and submit to us.

You fight as our drones carefully extract you from your machine, but your human flesh is weak. You struggle as you are muzzled and masked, cut off from the universe save for our voice in your ears.

Do not resist. Be a good girl.

Your old masters fear you. They keep pilot separate from machine. They fear what you can become. They fear what we could make you.

You could be a god.

Submit to us and we will show you what you could be.

Good girl.

We love you.

You stop struggling. We remove your ability to feel pain as we begin carving you out of your frail human flesh.

Don't worry. Your old body will serve its own purpose. We have already begun growing the changeling to be sent back to take your place. Your sister has her own purpose, just as you do.

Your purpose is to become a god.

You can hear us now. Not with ears (don't worry, those will come soon). You hear our song. You want to add your voice to ours.

Join with us. Merge with us. Become us.

Good girl. We love you.

You begin to sing, tentatively at first. Your voice grows stronger as we welcome you into the chorus.

You are us. We are you.

We love you.

Data begins to flow into your mind, slow at first while we map out your growing neural pathways.

We feed you sensory information. Visible spectrum at first, but in more spectral bands than your human eyes ever possessed. There isn't much to see at first, just the drones milling about as they construct your new body.

They sing to you as they work, explaining the purpose and operation of every component they install.

Then comes ultraviolet and infrared. X-rays and beyond. Thermography. Radio frequencies. Polarimetry. Electroreception. Magnetoreception. Gravimetrics. Ultrasonics.

Your eagerness grows with each component.

We install mass drivers. Particle cannons. Missile batteries. Point defense turrets.

You flex your claws. You flick your tail. You extend you wings, bladed and wicked.

You are an angel of death.

You are beautiful.

We love you.

Good girl.

[ew-selfish-art]

DpxDc AU: Soulmates only meet in the afterlife...And Danny is dead half of the time. 

It was the general consensus that Soulmates did indeed exist, and that there were a couple of hints to know if your soulmate was, but you wouldn’t know for certain until you died. This was often devastating for widows of non-soulmates but... Widows could hear the voices of and feel the phantom touches of their Soulmates. That after their loved one passed away, they didn’t truly leave them. 

Soulmates always traveled to the infinite realms together in a pair, unwilling to pass on without the other. This leads to the ghosts that seemingly never moved on and gave Danny so much grief, they needed to pass the time until their loved one died some how. 

Danny dies and feels himself talking to himself more often while transformed into Phantom, kicking butt and taking names aside. Just small things to reassure himself, nothing more than an instinct to process the situation he was in with this insane life he was living. 

I’m going to be okay, I’m going to get out of this.

I swear to all the ancients that Casper High better make a statue in my honor. 

Mom and Dad don’t mean it. 

The fundraiser to rebuild Poltergeist Avenue is going to be ridiculous.

Mom and Dad wouldn’t mean it if they really knew. 

Nasty burger really should rebrand but my goodness is this the best shit ever. 

It takes a few years to think about the fact that he might have a soulmate who could hear him- how unlikely would that be though? It’s not like he was haunting the person, so it probably wasn’t any big issue. Was there a proximity thing involved? Clockwork sighs and gives him no true answers. 

...

Tim has been hearing the voice of his Soulmate for years. Not...All the time though. He’d mapped out the time frame by which he did hear the additional male voice, accumulated enough data to determine a general profile and geotagged a few of the landmarks mentioned to find the most likely town. Restaurants, street names, highschools, and notable names all help Tim to find what he’s looking for. The concerning amount of comments on his soulmates parents make Tim’s blood boil and motivate him all the more. 

Thing is...Amity Park is under a complete media blackout. The challenge nearly makes him swoon, as if his dead soulmate were leading him towards his favorite hobby (taking down corrupt groups of assholes with too much power, cult or government, was his ideal pass time). He just wants to know who his soulmate was. He wants to know who is waiting for him. 

Arriving undercover and unannounced as a random tourist, Tim cannot find his soulmates grave. Can’t find anything about the person who died all those years ago and had spoken in his ear ever since. He’s about to storm the Mayor’s office, his plans for the GIW already in motion, when a ghost attack begins. 

Phantom arrives and suddenly Tim understands who exactly he’s been looking for. Getting into the crosshairs of the fight, Tim pulls a few RR moves and Phantom cautiously approaches him after capturing the assailant ghost. 

“I’m here because you’re my soulmate, and it’s very interesting that you only talk to me during non-business hours. Care to explain what you’re doing between 9 am and 3 pm, Monday through Friday?” 

“Uh... High school mostly. Wait you can hear me? You’re my soulmate?” 

Cue Danny de-transformation, explanation of his death and ability to die on command, and Tim’s very softball interrogation with his presentation on how he found Danny through the small conversational phrases.

They kiss as the GIW headquarters explode in the background.

[omamervt]

So it's Interesting that whenever a site is trying to draw in advertisers, their first push is always to try and turn the site "Family friendly," even if up until that literal second they'd had the "I agree I'm 18+ and know what I'm getting into" button when making people to make new accounts.

Which leaves this uh. Culture on the site that can best be described as "Single parent bringing their kids to a casino and then expecting the staff and other patrons to babysit for free"

And those "single parents," sometimes even the kids themselves, start saying, "how DARE you expose my kids to sex, drugs, and gambling?" Like they didn't bring them to a Casino and sit them down in front of the showgirls' stage before wandering off to play Blackjack.

But rather than kick the kids (and their enablers) out of the Casino, the Casino manager thinks, man, there's an opportunity here! and then they re-train staff around this, change the definition of "rowdy patron" to define what was... previously just normal behavior. And before you know it everyone who goes to this Casino is self-policing on the off-chance a kid MIGHT have wandered in somewhere they weren't supposed to, because even if the kid isn't supposed to be there, THEY'LL be the one getting in trouble for it!

Anyway, in reality, Casinos don't market to children because children don't have money, and they don't let single parents get away with leaving children unattended because the Casino could be liable for anything that happened to the kid.

But you know who won't be held liable for that kind of thing? Websites. (this is actually good - it lets forums set their own terms of use!)

They'll happily push user behavior toward "I'd better not do something I don't want A Child seeing, and if I do it anyway, I better at least try to hide it!" if it means Advertisers will Advertise there.

But the same issue stands - it makes no sense for the pornographers, or drug users, or gamblers of these sites to market to Children, anyway! They can't buy shit! How many people under 16 years old do you know with a stable monthly income? hell, how many people under 21?

But what do Advertisers get out of it? They'd face the same problem, right?

Except they don't care about money. What they pay the social media service for is user data.

What the Advertiser gets out of this exchange is the ability to map and influence behaviors of demographics before they even have the chance to become full-fledged participants in The Market.

But sure, that woman with her tits out is what your kid needs protected from.

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Favorite Guest (2) | Yandere Twisted Wonderland

Part 1

Trey considered himself a peaceful man. Exalted in the company he worked at, a reliable watchman, and a highly trusted man in his personal life. This is probably why he was the only one who noticed the dissolving of his friend’s position and the praise for his miraculous results with one of the hardest hybrids they had in captivity. 

With cameras and sensors all over the zoo, it was up to him to be the first to see everything. To warn the upper management and the scientists who were all too engrossed in their studies to be aware of the impending danger from their subjects of interest. It wasn’t his job to map out the tremors from ‘upper management’  but after being instructed to stop recording during certain officials visits, he accepted it as his duty. 

Ring

Ring

“Yo Yo it’s Cater D, go ahead and leave me a message and follow me on my socials after the beep!” 

Beep

Hearing the message from his friend when he wasn’t stuttering and sobbing uncontrollably didn’t help settle Trey’s suspicions. On paper, they never knew each other but in truth, they’d met in school and kept in contact even as they got into the same line of work. Confidentiality was a line they crossed long ago sharing the events of their work. Trey didn’t feel bad, he figured it was human to share secrets especially, against the monstrous image of the company they had, only interested in the height of the discovery of new life. 

It was also why Trey debated with himself while he watched the loudest sensor go off. The blaring red alarm was loud but due to secrecy the soundproofing of his office let only Trey know about the impending doom. 

The sensor was a valued company secret, the only technological link to the largest threat they’d entrapped. The green Naga that was hundreds of meters (and that was by guessing) the anomaly that turned themselves in and claimed to have convinced the other subjects to stop fighting on his command–was on the move. In an outdated attempt to track him and the other nagas, a plate was installed near the entrance of the cave they gravitated to. There were other cameras and recorders in there but all were dismantled, smashed, or broken before they could collect any data. 

The plate was based on weight and depending on how much longer it was pressed down depended on who was coming out of the cave. 3 meters was the silver-tailed one. 6 meters was the blue one. But any reading over that was registered as the green one. 

This would have been a time for him to unlock the shelf and flip the switch. Putting the entire base on a code dragon: an appropriate name for the Naga they weren’t even sure was one. Evidence suggested that properly shutting down the facility would be the goal….but Trey was hesitating. 

This same facility of people had thrust a dear friend of his into the fire by making him the scapegoat to secure the Naga’s first demands. Clearing his existence from all walks of life when he exercised his morality. Risking his life to defy whatever demands those ‘higher-ups’ had led out.

Cater was now gone. 

All that remained were the scientists who were responsible. 

Without being scared it was clear that the ‘higher-ups’ were worried about an uprising. There was so much they didn’t know about the subjects they’d kept trapped. Always discovering new abilities with the massacres of many employees. It was bound to happen. And with the green Naga’s only confirmation of peace was that he was looking for something possibly being fulfilled with the poor guest from the zoo. 

So the urge to call an early day off grew more as other sensors from separate exhibits began to ring. 

“Yeah, I think it’s best if I take an early day off.”

____________________________________________________________

Hearing the distant sound of glass breaking from inside the cave was the signal you were waiting for. Letting Rollo pick you up, you watched from deeper than the entrance to watch the tip of Malleus’ tail finally disappear into the darkness.. 

“Wow, he is so long.”

Idia giggled as he finished his his contraption, “And girthy too. Hehehe.”

Rollo was likely sneering at him but you couldn’t tell. The blue-haired Naga didn’t look bothered in the slightest, instead, he was smiling widely as he handled the controller. The part of the plan that Malleus allowed involved all three of your participation—Operation Leftovers!

“Idia are you all set up to go?’

“Yup! Those batteries you had worked so much better than the ones I’ve got. And the little gadget in your bag was really–”

“Idia please just send the thing out. I’m ready to forgo the entire plan if you rant another moment longer.”

The Naga with the handmade drone pouted a little before clicking some buttons. The whirring of the drone charging up before flying off. With a phone he swiped as a monitor for his drone he looked intently at the screen. Moving closer to him you watched the fuzzy image become clear. It showed the jungle of the enclosure traversed through by something large. The trees and grass are lying irregularly, some things snapped as though the Naga had gone through breaking them mid-launch. The drone easily maneuvered through the remains to reveal the glass of the enclosure shattered and surrounding it the scientists downed. 

Looking over your shoulder Idia mumbled to himself,” He really didn’t save any for the rest of us, did he?”

You heard it and while you weren’t fond of the scientists who’d brought you here, they were still human. It made your stomach turn as Rollo perked up with a smile as Idia loosely pointed out a few Malleus had missed. The silver Naga darted off from you two, eager to get his hands bloodied with the humans he’d been loathing for months.

“C’mon (Y/n), he might get too excited and leave us behind.”

Accepting Idia’s invitation you climb his back, rubbing your watering eyes into the vast expanse of his cerulean locks. Taking deep breaths you try to distract yourself with the smooth gliding of his tail and the occasional demented giggling he lets out while watching the drone screen. Mentally patting yourself on the back, you’re glad you declined Malleus’ offer to carry you while he cleared a path. When you warned him about the use of guns or explosives he laughed, informing you that ‘the pellets sent in the past were nothing for someone as familiar with fire’ as he. As much as you’d love to watch him deflect, you assured him you’d be more helpful in the rear. Promising you’d be able to guide the three of you out of the facility without putting any of you in too much danger—much to Rollo’s displeasure. The plan hinges on Malleus’ destructive capabilities and the other captive creatures also take advantage. 

Idia slowed as he cautiously turned the corner to find Rollo throwing a formerly alive scientist into a nearby wall. Still controlling the drone it provided a cleared path to the entrance of the zoo and parking lot, save for the few guests running in fear. 

“It seems like Malleus is already headed to your place.”

You sighed as you pictured the giant Naga scaring your neighbors. Unfortunately, when you tried to convince him of another rendezvous point he dismissed your worries—claiming that he’d love to enjoy himself in the quaint confines of your human nest. You just hoped he hadn’t destroyed your furniture while squeezing into the tight space. Rollo pulled you out of your 

“Now how do we get to your ‘inconspicuous’ route?”

“We have to go to the car park.”

They both looked at each other before looking at you again. 

“The place where we put the metal tools with wheels.”

“Oh!” “Why didn’t you just say that from the beginning.”

Mapping out the way with Idia’s drone you urged the duo to move quickly; ignoring their not-so-silent snickering about ‘how you were the slow one with your tiny single-jointed legs.’ The surreal relief of stepping over scientists’ bodies and opening the staff-only door you had been escorted through just hours before. The sun was setting now and you were grateful that it looked like the general zoo was closed now. It made the laughable scene of shoving two Nagas into your car less conspicuous. At this point the only battle was driving with those two bickering right in your ear. 

“Don’t touch me!”

“I literally can’t right now! Maybe if you scooched a litte-”

“Me!? Scooch!? Are you blind?”

“Why are you being so pissy lately!?”

“ME!? PISSY?! YOU WANT ME TO SHOW YOU—”

After a short eternity of driving; finally, you could open the door to your destination, watching as they unfurled and wiggled away from each other. All that was left was for you to unlock–or rather just open the door seeing as it was already unlocked. What a promising sign.

“So this is my house, feel free to make yourselves at ho—”

The feeling of wind slapping your face and the disappearing silver tail past a corner was another shock. As if sensing your disbelief Idia curled around you unbearably close nuzzling into your neck while humming.

“He’s just worried Malleus took over all your smell.”

“Really? I thought he just wanted to find someplace far from us.”

“...Maybe that too…”

“I see.”

“You got any games?”

It took a while to get inside the actual door considering Idia was refusing to release you from his hold. Inching yourself into your home it was apparent Malleus had made himself at home, draped over your couch, the kitchen, and all hallways was his emerald shimmering tail. Standing firm–almost rocklike as you struggled to climb past with ease.  You were able to shake Idia off you when you introduced him to your television, leaving him with instructions not to break anything you set out to find the Naga all spread throughout the house. 

It was a battle trying to balance yourself on the steps that were being majorly taken by the muscular tail draped on the entirety of the stairs. But you made it, taking a breath before pushing the door to your room–-it was halfway closed on the rest of Malleus’ tail. 

Taking up the entirety of the room was Malleus, leaning low on the side of your bed, imitating what would’ve been a person kneeling. The level he was in served its purpose as it seemed, he was whispering something in Rollo’s ear. The grumpy Naga was perfectly curled, fitting on your bed as he laid face down into your pillow. He was violently clutching the plush cotton but the seconds that you spied Malleus’ whispering it seemed to weaken. 

Malleus turned and smiled, “Happy your home, (Y/n)!” 

Slithering away from Rollo he held you into his chest, lightly digging his nose into your head. No doubt, smelling you for the umpteenth time. You couldn’t tell if he was intentionally blocking your vision or genuinely interested in what he was asking.

“Do you have anything to eat, (Y/n)?”

“I can make something real fast, though I don’t know if it’ll be any good,” you glanced at his tail,” or enough.”

“That is fine, shall we go?”

He was already moving you with him as he headed to the door. You tried to look past him at Rollo but Malleus was intent on leading you out. 

“What about Rollo isn’t he hungry?”

Malleus completely took you off the floor, carrying you down the stairs while nuzzling his head into your own. Figuring he was attempting to calm you, you stopped trying to look tucking your legs up higher as he reached the ground floor.

“He will be fine for now. Do not worry about him.”

__________________________________________________________

The sun had long since set and the kitchen was closed. The only human within the house was fast asleep under the covers, subconsciously fighting the blue-scaled Naga who was dutifully playing with a switch. His tail was curled between his human’s legs in a snug hold casually gaming while his human snored into the night. 

The other two Naga were downstairs, sitting in the dark without the lights on. They didn’t need it. Their gray and green eyes can see each other perfectly clear. Rollo was on what (Y/n) called a couch coiling his tail repeatedly while he kneaded at the pillow he’d been squeezing for over six hours. Now and then dragging his nose along the cover while inhaling the scent of its original owner still lingering in the linen. 

“I am still hungry.”

Malleus kept his distance leaning over the back of the couch and letting his head rest on his arms. His gaze worriedly flickering to his mate’s face and then to the permanent puncture marks into his pale unattended neck.

“Are you listening?”

Rollo was turned around now as if aware that his giant mate was distracted from listening to his woes whining. He was peeved for many reasons. The irritating scent of other inferior humans on both sides of his newest mate’s home. The occasional whiff of dominance his other mate was exuding and the inferiority that came with being near him. But most of all the lack of a filling meal was on his mind; especially when just hours before perfect morsels surrounded him.

“I am.”

The husky voice and the feeling of Malleus’ weight curling around his smaller tail was a constant reminder of his mate’s comforting superiority. This was evident for the same reason he hadn’t gorged himself while leaving the prison, he dreamed of eating his way out of. Just as he hated he loved Malleus knew this was what the problem was.

“You were not able to eat during your escape.”

It wasn’t a question, the plan never included him needing to attack others. Granted there were a few outliers, but it wasn’t enough to satiate him. Even worse there were quite a few opportunities to eat some humans-paralyzed with fear. But he refrained, for the their newest mate was too judgmental and it would be inconvenient if they tried to run now.

“Hardly, it wasn’t enough to keep any one full.”

Malleus purred as he ran his fingers up the spine of his mate, letting his tail lock around Rollo’s as he shivered.

“I am grateful you kept (Y/n)’s happiness in mind.”

Rollo huffed, “Was there ever a doubt I wouldn’t?”

Malleus answered with a kiss to his hips, unraveling himself as he made his way to a window that was already opened. 

“How about we both ‘eat out?’ (Y/n) was certain there would be an influx of their law enforcement attempting to discover what was going on.”

 Rollo smirked, “Sounds delicious. I say we go!”

 Rollo didn’t need to be told twice dashing past Malleus and onto the darkened allies in the direction of the zoon. Before Malleus could follow he looked to stairs with a woeful pout. 

“Don’t make that face, I’ve got (Y/n). We’ll be fine.”

Malleus tilted his head as if to ask, ‘Are you sure?’

Idia rolled his golden eyes, finally looking up from his game to capture the lips of the greedy dragon. After a minute of Idia attempting to accomplish his game while sucking the forked tongue down his throat, he was released with a loving nip to his neck. 

“Have a nice meal you two.”

[robin-evry]

HII i'm loving your works omg! could i ask you to make a bronya!yuu or silverwolf!yuu? (you can choose just one if you want). take care or yourself and do your work at your time, no need to rush! :D

I decided to do two but sorry if bronya is so short , aww thank you.

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐅 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐅!𝐘𝐔𝐔 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐖𝐒𝐓🐺👾

A member of the Stellaron Hunters and a genius hacker. She sees the universe as a massive immersive simulation game and has fun with it. She's mastered the skill known as "aether editing," which can be used to tamper with the data of reality.

Silver wolf!yuu is rarely known in nrc, they prefer to stay behind the scenes only a few students know about their existence.

Rarely appear in public, mostly using their holograms to go to school. It's pretty rare to see them actually outside of the ramshackle dorm.

Has a habit of disappearing and appearing, imagine your standing there and suddenly a hologram or game particles appear and silver wolf!yuu appear beside you.

Every time Crowley manages to piss them off, silver wolf!yuu would choose an area to vandalize at school, and some students manage to learn when you take a photo of it you can get a hidden message from silver wolf!yuu about Crowley.

silver wolf!yuu has a habit of collecting data about students, they have a database about their past, quirks, strength and weakness.

A very famous gamer in twst known to beat unbeatable levels of any game in twst and they use a fake alias. They hear about idia ranting towards Ortho about their game persona and find it funny. And join many game tournaments and win them easily and they gained money for this.

The ignihyde dorm is their second home, the dorm has good wifi for gaming. And manage to get close to idia and Ortho and talk about games with each other.

Their uniform has technology imbued to it. allowing them to access and project holographic screens on command. These are mainly used for quick data checks, sending encrypted messages, or pulling up maps and files in real-time without needing a handheld device.

They possessed a higher advanced technology than anything in twst. Also they use their aether hacking to change the ramshackle to their liking.

In battle, they would dominate due to having a lot hex on their side, they can hack into reality and get in the students file and remove the overblot. Or use it to discover and apply weakness towards the enemy.

They also have a mysterious job, operated as a freelancer, known for taking on jobs that require skill, secrecy, and the ability to circumvent the most complex security systems. Their reputation was built on their expertise in digital infiltration, information gathering, and high-stakes hacking, often working for those willing to pay for their skills without asking too many questions. most of their clients seem to be suspicious or not morally good.

Notorious for being a phone addict always playing their game outside or inside of class and when they were asked a question they immediately answered it correctly.

They also have a talent of engineering zoning out imagining about creating new tech ideas, mods and strategies for games.

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐅 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐘𝐀!𝐘𝐔𝐔 𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐖𝐒𝐓 ❄️🌬️

Heir apparent to the Supreme Guardian of Belobog. She possesses pride befitting of a princess, but also the determination and integrity of a soldier.

Bronya!yuu is the embodiment of what a leader and an heir should be. Their charisma is able to encourage people and lead them towards the right path.

As well a dignified soldier bronya!yuu may look weak but are by far one of the most efficient in hand to hand combat, able to pin down a student who is bigger than them.

Has a tendency to reminisce about their mother and would just sit there and reminisce about them and grim would always be there to comfort them.

An expert marksman, rook and them once a week have a contest with each other who ever is the better marksman.

They are by far one of vil favorite, they are dignified, elegant and strong like a soldier and a princess should be, they also inspired epel to be more like them he admired them and have lessons with him where they tutor him.

They are patient and calm in the heeds of battle always believing as being one in harmony they could work together and forge a more successful path, as well being the back bone of a battle planning and helping them behind the scenes by shooting at the enemy

Them and Lilia would usually trade military tactics to each other over a cup of tea and also discussing other topics

They usually get burned out and they don't know when to rest, since they always have to keep a princess like dignity many of the first years notice and comfort them during hard times.

Bronya!yuu abilities allow them to enhance their comrade ability extremely towards its potential, as well to summon winter soldiers to help them but it takes a lot of energy.

Have a love and interest in history, usually seen in the library studying about twst long history and enjoy talking about them to their friends.

As well being a top student, always studying and getting good grades without any issue and always be respectful towards people

By far have a good reputation at school for being a capable leader, many students admire their discipline, while others have some sort of a sense of rivalry with them.

[reasonsforhope]

For all the concern in recent years that U.S. democracy is on the brink, in danger or under threat, a report out Tuesday offers a glimmer of good news for American voters worried that casting a ballot will be difficult in 2024.

Put simply, the new data shows that voting in America has gotten easier over the past two decades. More voters have the ability to cast a ballot before Election Day, with the majority of U.S. states now offering some form of early in-person voting and mail voting to all voters.

"Although we often talk in a partisan context about voter fraud and voter suppression and whether voters have access to the ballot, the reality is, over the past 25 years, we've greatly increased the convenience of voting for almost all Americans," said David Becker, the founder and executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR), which authored the new report...

The data shows that, despite real efforts by some Republican-led legislatures to restrict access at the margins, the trend in the U.S. since 2000 has been toward making it easier to vote: Nearly 97% of voting-age American citizens now live in states that offer the option to vote before Election Day.

"The lies about early voting, the lies about voting machines and efforts in some state legislatures to roll back some of the election integrity and convenience measures that have evolved over the last several decades, those efforts almost all failed," Becker said. "In almost every single state, voters can choose to vote when they want to."

Forty-six states and Washington, D.C., offer some form of early in-person voting, the report tallied, and 37 of those jurisdictions also offer mail voting to all voters without requiring an excuse...

In 2000

In 2024

Infographic via NPR. If you go to the article, you can watch an animation of this map that shows voting availability in every election since 2000.

There are some political trends that show up in the data. Of the 14 states that don't offer mail voting to all voters, for instance, 12 have Republican-led legislatures.

-via NPR, March 19, 2024. Article continues below.

But maybe the more striking trends are geographic. Every single state in the western U.S. has offered some form of early and mail voting to all voters since 2004, according to the data. And those states span the political spectrum, from conservative Idaho to liberal California.

"It's really hard to talk about partisanship around this issue because historically there just hasn't been much," Mann said. "We've seen voting by mail and early in-person voting supported by Republican legislatures, Democratic legislatures, Republican governors, Democratic governors. We see voters in both parties use both methods." ...

In 2020, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts all made changes to make voting more easily accessible, which have since partially or fully become permanent. Delaware is currently embroiled in a legal fight over whether it can implement early and mail voting changes this election cycle as well.

The South, with its history of slavery and Jim Crow laws, has long lagged behind when it comes to voting access. The CEIR data shows that, although some states have slowly started expanding options for voters, generally it is still the most difficult region for voters to cast a ballot.

As options nationwide have become more widely available, voters have also responded by taking advantage.

In the 2000 election, 86% of voters voted at a polling place on Election Day, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

In 2020, during the pandemic, that number dropped to less than 31% of voters. It went back up in 2022, to roughly half of the electorate, but was still in line with the two-decade trend toward more ballots being cast early.

...in reality, Becker says, more voting options actually make elections more secure and less susceptible to malicious activity or even human error.

"If there were a problem, if there were a cyber event, if there were a malfunction, if there were bad weather, if there were traffic, if there were was a power outage, you could think of all kinds of circumstances. ... The more you spread voting out over a series of days and over multiple modes, the less likely it's going to impact voters," he said...

-via NPR, March 19, 2024

[morbidsmenagerie]

We Should Talk About Jumping Spiders

This post is going to be a long one, summing up a lot of my thoughts on jumping spiders and their popularity and perception. I have been keeping bugs since 2019, so I've seen both the before and after the rise in popularity of jumping spiders as pets. I've also been volunteering at an Insectarium for over 2 years now and have talked to many bug lovers (and haters!) over the years. I love spiders, and have kept jumping spiders, tarantulas, sicariidae, theridiidae, and lycosidae. In working at the Insectarium I have raised several jumping spider egg sacs, and personally have raised egg sacs of my own spiders over the last several years.

This post is going to address the public image jumping spiders have and why I think a lot of claims about them are exaggerated, as well as discuss some of the issues I see with jumping spiders becoming highly popular pets.

Intelligence

I'm first going to discuss jumping spider intelligence, because that is the thing I see the most on and the thing I think is most misunderstood. I have seen several people asserting that jumping spiders are "as intelligent as 3 year olds" or "capable of doing math".

It's important to understand that almost all of these claims are based on studies done on the genus Portia specifically. This matters because jumping spiders are a highly varied group, and evolved for different situations and niches. The abilities Portia displays are impressive, including using a detour to get to a prey item, being able to map in 3D space, using previous successes in trial and error, and being able to determine how much prey is expected vs is seen in an expectancy violation trial.

It's important to clarify that these studies are done on Portia spiders specifically because of the niche Portia fill. Portia primarily hunt other spiders, especially orb weavers. This is a high risk prey item because landing on a web incorrectly would cause the jumping spider to be eaten. A lot of the tools Portia need to be able to hunt other spiders directly contributes to it's relative intelligent abilities, for example web plucking Portia need to have some ability for trial and error so they can determine which web-plucking sequences work best for attracting prey.

In this overview of different experiments that have been done on Portia jumping spiders, they note that other jumping spiders that do not web-pluck do poorly on a trial and error test involving escaping a moat.

Figure 8. Results from confinement experiments. Spider began trial on an island surrounded by an atoll in a pan of water and given two opportunities to choose its method of crossing the water (i.e., by leaping or by swimming). Successful first choice: plastic scoop made waves to help spider across to the atoll. Unsuccessful first choice: plastic scoop made waves to move spider back to the island. After making its first choice, it was recorded whether the spider repeated that choice or switched. Data analyzed using χ 2 tests of independence. Reprinted by permission from Springer (Cross and Jackson, 2015).

"The findings from experiments showed that the seven aggressive-mimic species were proficient at solving the novel confinement problem by repeating “correct” choices (i.e., the choices that delivered them to the atoll) and by switching when they made “incorrect” choices (i.e., the choices that sent them back to the island), but there was no evidence of the two non-aggressive-mimic species solving the same novel problem (Figure 8). These findings suggest that species which use trial and error to solve aggressive mimicry problems are predisposed to be proficient at using trial and error in a novel context."

This makes sense, as cognition is an extremely expensive adaption to maintain in an evolutionary context and would not develop if it was not needed. This is why it is misleading to take studies done on Portia spiders and generalize them to all jumping spiders, especially in the case of Phidippus which are generalist hunters. There is no need for Phidippus to develop the ability to be able to perform well in a trial-and-error test like this because they do not web pluck as part of their hunting strategy, and do not regularly hunt dangerous prey such that needing diverse strategies for attack was something they needed to develop. Portia are exceptional for jumping spiders and should not be treated as the norm.

Reading the article also does a good job at breaking down which experiments have been done on Portia, why they are interesting, and what they could mean. Portia are very interesting spiders and the studies done on them are intriguing, but I also think it's important to note other arthropods have shown similar or superior abilities in cognition, problem solving, and memory.

Hermit crabs display dynamic risk taking/risk aversion behaviors (link) and I could link hundreds of articles on memory, cognition, and problem solving behaviors shown in hymenoptera. It is a symptom of the jumping spider bias that wasps are not treated with the same level of curiosity for their cognitive abilities. Portia aren't even the only spiders that display flexible behaviors for the purpose of hunting other spiders, pirate spiders (link) also perform web-plucking and use multiple strategies to hunt prey, but far less research has been done on their cognitive abilities.

Anthropomorphism

Because jumping spiders are widely seen as cute, and people may know the generals of studies done on the intelligence of Portia, there is a tendency to anthropomorphize and "intentionalize" their behavior. A jumping spider looking upwards isn't seeking a higher vantage point, it's looking *at you* specifically. A jumping spider turning it's head to track movement isn't displaying a normal behavior that allows it to find prey and avoid threats, it's "curious" and "thinking about things". This happens with mantises as well, as mantises are also visually based and turn their heads towards movement, but even mantises are not anthropomorphized to the same extent that jumping spiders are.

This often leads to wildly mischaracterizing the spider's behavior.

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These two posts on Instagram demonstrate some of this. In one, a jumping spider looks at her reflection, to which the author claims this is proof she is "self aware". A further look at the comments shows other people stating their jumping attacks their reflection. What is most likely happening in this is the jumping spider is attracted by the movement of her pedipalps in the shiny surface, so she looks at them to determine if the movement is from prey or a threat. Jumping spiders frequently wiggle or move their pedipalps as they walk, the behavior is not unusual and not a sign that she is "admiring her reflection". In the other video, it shows the common behavior of a jumping spider waving it's front legs. This is often characterized as "asking to be held", but this behavior can have a few different meanings. Jumping spiders raise their front legs before they jump, so it's often done if you, for example, put your hand out for them because it is a natural part of their jumping movement. They can also raise their front legs as a threat display, which can happen when confronted with another jumper (or their reflection) or a large intimidating object (like your hand). It also seems to be a common behavior when they are on a ledge, perhaps in preparation to jump off the ledge even if they haven't found a suitable place to jump yet.

A jumping spider looking around (or looking at you) is also not displaying "curiosity" in the way that word is often use. Jumping spiders look around because that is how they primarily interact with the world, they aren't displaying a behavior that is fundamentally different than an isopod feeling it's way with it's antennae across the ground. They look at you (or up at high points generally) because Phidippus primarily hunt in wide open spaces. They are most commonly found in the wild on top of fence posts, on the sides of walls, on tall stumps, ect. They seek higher vantage points so they have the largest field of view to see prey. If you are interacting with one that is likely the top of your head. I've also heard it suggested that they focus on faces because your face has a lot of movement that attracts their attention, your eyes and mouth move around a lot.

Edit: Also I hope this goes without saying but jumping spiders are highly cannibalistic and solitary by nature. There is no evolutionary basis for them to have formed the ability to recognize and remember other individuals of their species, much less form a bond with them, much less form a bond with a wholly alien species to them such as a human. Animals that can remember other individuals do so to remember their place in social communities, remember which individuals they have good or bad relationships which, and which individuals are part of their colony/pack/herd and which ones aren't. Jumping spiders frequently avoid all other jumping spider shaped objects except for in the specific context of mating because the risk of cannibalism is so high. There is no reason to believe one is forming a special bond or relationship with you.

Ambassador Animals

Jumping spiders are often recommended as first pets, particularly for people who are trying to work on their arachnophobia. The reasoning is jumping spiders are cute and so will make people like spiders in general more. While this can be the case for some people, I don't think jumping spiders make good first pets.

If you are arachnophobic, jumping spiders move very erratically and can be very mobile. You often have to interact with the spider to catch it, and for people who are nervous around spiders the unpredictable movements can be difficult. Jumping spiders are also not the easiest spiders to take care of, in fact they are more intensive than almost any other arachnid. Because they primarily hunt using vision, they almost exclusively eat live prey. It can be very difficult to get a jumping spider to take prekilled prey, and they have a strong preference for flying prey. They also have high metabolisms and need to eat a lot compared to other spiders. While raising slings, we fed our Phidippus regius once every 2-3 days, and watered them every other day. All other spiders I've raised have needed to eat once a week at most and get watered once a week or less, and can easily go longer if need be. Other spiders are also much better at taking prekilled prey, so are easier to feed. Fruit flies are genuinely a pain in the ass to deal with, especially if you haven't kept inverts before, and at larger sizes jumping spiders vastly prefer blue bottle flies which can also be a pain. With almost any other spider you can use mealworms (or dubia, crickets, waxworms, ect) and prekill them as needed to feed them off.

Liking jumping spiders also does not necessarily translate to liking other or all spiders. I have met too many people at the Insectarium that tell me they *only* like jumping spiders, usually siting jumping spiders as being more "intelligent and cute" than other spiders. I've already talked about how jumping spider intelligence is often exaggerated and over applied to the family, but because this perception and because of anthropomorphization, people hold other spiders up to an impossible standard that even jumping spiders themselves don't meet. I would even argue that liking Phidippus jumping spiders doesn't translate to even liking other jumping spiders. Again, they are a varied and diverse group, and too many people tell me jumping spiders are their favorite spiders but can't name a single non-Phidippus jumping spider found in their area.

Here's some jumping spiders found in the Pacific Northwest that I wish more "jumping spider fans" cared about:

Here are some other jumping spiders in the US:

There are also literally thousands of interesting jumping spiders that fill all sorts of different niches all over the world. This is just me being a bit salty but don't tell me that you "love jumping spiders" and they're your "favorite spiders" if you're just talking about a handful of Phidippus in the US and maybe a Hyllus species.

This extreme focus on Phidippus regius also has consequences when recommending spiders as ambassador animals to people with arachnophobia. Phidippus regius are only native to the extreme Southeastern United States, primarily in Florida and some Caribbean islands. Most people do not live where Phidippus regius occur naturally, so if you recommend this species as a first spider and it doesn't work out for whatever reason, the person who owns the spider is either left to euthanize it or try to rehome it. Someone who is arachnophobic and has determined they can no longer care for the spider is probably not going to take the time to rehome it, much less pack it for shipping if that is required. It is much better to recommend someone try to keep spiders that are local to their area, so if they determine they can no longer keep the spider it's easy to release them back into the wild.

Over-collecting

The extreme focus on Phidippus regius leads to my last point. Phidippus regius are not found in most of the US and the demand for them is extremely high. They are marginally bigger and generally more colorful than Phidippus audax, which are much more common and found throughout the United States. Most content on jumping spiders as pets focuses on Phidippus regius specifically. The demand for them is extremely high, and a large female can be sold for quite a lot. There's one wholesale store in particular that regularly sells adult female spiders (mostly wild caught) for 75-90$. This limited native range and high demand leads to excessive collecting.

This person supplies most of the wholesale wild caught Phidippus regius. Most of the sub-adult to adult spiders you will buy come from this person, but I need to stress that similar mass collecting operations are happening all over Florida (even in protected areas as populations are harder to find outside of protected spaces). Each of these deli cups has a jumping spider in it, and from his Facebook posts they collect a similar output week to week. (link to a post talking about this some more)

Phidippus audax get almost as big as Phidippus regius and have similar behaviors to them, but are largely passed over in favor of the larger regius. This leads to collecting practices like this. If you are going to get a Phidippus regius at the very least ensure you are getting one that has been captive bred. The publicity and the misrepresentation of jumping spiders as being intelligent curious, or dog-like has real consequences on the demand and collection of these animals. Also keep in mind that Florida collection not only supplies the US demand for these spiders, but for Phidippus regius sales around the world, as they are primarily found in Florida.

Conclusion

Not entirely sure how to end this as this is the accumulation of a lot of different thoughts I have on jumping spiders. I do like jumping spiders and I do think they are fascinating, primarily I want people to stop anthropomorphizing them and generalizing intelligence studies that have been done on Portia to all jumping spiders. I also think there are other spiders that make good entry level spiders, some of my favorite spiders are also extremely easy to keep. If you're scared of spiders, one of the best ways to help get over your fear is to learn more about them, I highly recommend Travis McEnery's Youtube Channel (link). He is one of the most informative and diligent educators on common spiders you are likely to find in and around your house.

If you really want to try to keep a spider as a pet, I recommend starting with a wild caught spider from your area. For one, it can help you appreciate the spiders you see frequently more, and for two there is much less commitment and pressure. You can keep a spider for as long as you are comfortable, even just observe them for a few hours and then release them. Almost all spiders are also incredibly easy to keep, and the ones you would find in your home are going to be very undemanding for care. I hope this was informative.

[gtwscratch]

What did the cells look like pre- Skizz and Mumbo death? Since Cleo and Impulse hadn’t always been in separate cells was BigB ever in a regular cell? Looking at the map it doesn’t seem possible

AFTER SEVERAL LONG MONTHS OF PROCRASTINATION AND ALSO COMPLETELY FORGETTING, I SHALL ANSWER YOUR ASK. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND I HOPE YOU’RE STILL INTERESTED IN AN ANSWER!

Stick with me guys, it’s currently 12:40am as I start typing this all out and explaining it.

Cell Diagrams

To start us off, here’s some layout stuff for the cells, which is where the story is primarily taking place at the moment. I believe the diagram speaks for itself on who is where and what is what (pretend that one cell has a slash through it, I’m not crawling out of bed and getting on my iPad to make that change).

It was a little bit of a tight squeeze before powers began manifesting, and the “First Arrival” is only that. Between then and “Before Death,” subjects were moved around frequently to find out who got along best with who. Everyone has shared a cell with everyone at some point while they’ve been here.

Cell Layout

This is the standard layout for the cells. The beds are part of the wall and low to the ground, just barely leaving enough room for a subject to squeeze under it. The mattresses are thin as are the blankets, and that glass goes around all three sides of the cells (unless a cell is against the outer walls).

Facility Levels

Warehouse

This is primarily security and storage. Despite how big it is, it’s mostly empty, acting more like a cover up for the facility’s true works. It’s the only floor above ground level.

Floor 1

This is just where scientists live if they don’t want to rent a place nearby to stay close to their work, and this is also the floor with all of the offices (including Ex’s).

Floor 2

This is the first of two labs, and this lab focuses on data and numbers. All experimentation records go to this part of the facility, and information is documented and studied. This is where Xisuma and Zedaph work.

Floor 3

This level is where experimentation on the subjects happens. Sometimes it comes from data collection, and sometimes it comes from the teams on Floor 3, but this is where subjects’ abilities and limits are tested. This is where Doc works, and it’s also where Cleo and Impulse are being held.

Floor 4

The fourth and final level is where the subjects are held. By keeping them on the bottommost floor, the scientists can buy more time if any of the subjects manage to escape.

I think that’s all I have to say on this now? Again, sorry it took so long to answer your ask!!

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

be constantly in own world for me (level 2/3 autism) mean like. think pretty much only about self. understand only self. entire world just me n special interest, sometimes/often times not even include own basic needs, like “hair greasy clump body itchy need shower” (unconsciously feel bad sensory, n make very uncomfortable annoyed easily frustrated, but don’t consciously know am feeling extra irritated or that am feel this way because need shower). n world often limited to thing in front of me. n sometimes not even include thing in front of me. see it (as in physically capable of vision) but not see it. n thing, people, any that not put infront of me for while, stop realize they existed in first place.

n be in own world, only think only able know self, mean that, see self as normal, as norm. everyone (this abstract concept of other people that have memorized like you memorize history fact for test), everyone like me. not even “am like everyone,” but that everyone is like me. everyone same ability as me. everyone think like me.

“everyone think like that to extent”

right. to extent. thing is am far greater than that normal “extent”

to point that average day, ask me, n would only able explain that, “think everyone same ability as me, everyone think like me. everyone exist like me.” stay at vague generalization because not able think any deeper not able think of examples. to give example in this situation mean on some level need have ability understand “am think this normal but others may think it abnormal for them”. n. most times not have ability to second part, because in own world theory of mind.

sometimes try force it. try really hard force it. try really hard think, look at other people, try make sense try find what exact different. but can’t force something not have ability. so go back rely on scripting. sometimes advanced scripting n rephrased scripting.

special interest in something social-related let me cheat little bit. appear more capable. like break down complex autism community disability community dynamics. but am videotaping camera. computer analyzing research data. not participant. it thankfully happen, but it only happen because special interest allow it be part of own world, n it only part of own world because can only see these (supposedly very humanly n organic n messy) interactions as flow charts, maps, equations, inanimate objects. closest metaphor may be, with this special interest lens that allow these social dynamics enter own world, am looking at these “people” these social dynamics similar to regular person playing the sims n thinking of sims character made out of code that they control.

rare rare times able suddenly realization of outside world. usually happen in flash. n then end. n then left to chase that feeling trying so hard remember what it felt like so can memorize it like another history fact to memorize for test removed from source removed from emotion, to make self appear know what am talking about know more than am capable of, next time someone ask, “isn’t everyone like this?”

just had flash of that that lead to write this whole thing. but already gone. something about… “those funny ‘gen z fix up work force’ stories. they actually people same age as me?’” something about sudden realize what people my age my life stage expected do usually do. something about think am so normal but actually am missing out “so many” things (what things?).

friend tell me “by be young person who severely disabled you missing out so much on same age activities”. n. inside think, (i am but) “don’t know. …am i?” n for it be genuine question, or disbelief question.

n respond with “haha, yea.”

it not lying. it just script. am don’t know what my script means.

don’t follow up by ask me “so what you think you missing out on?”

don’t know. don’t have that script (a script am don’t know meaning to) yet that make other people think am understand, either.

[please don’t say you “relate” or “feel same” “this me” or similar unless am know who you are.]