#But I like to think he's albino | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

apollotronica · 2 months

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APOLLO CAN U TELL ME ABOUR ON E OF UR OCS.. i was thinkin about how hearing u talk ab them kinda inspired me to actually pick my projects back up and also i think they r sick as helll :3 pretty pleaase ? ./NF!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

OKAY SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO REPLY I WAS STUCK IN THE LABRYNTH (i couldnt decide which oc to talk about) BUT i relauzed i havent really talkrd about hiiro at all on here :3 EVERYTHING UNDER CUT and ill format it like i formatted the buwan post :3

this hiiro (left image most recent) ignore thr typology on the right its outdated

fun facts :3

likes: warm cloudy weather, bright lights, computers and technology, large cities, classic literature, anatomy and neurology, strong flavors, squid ink pasta

dislikes: most people, sunny days, manual labor, following orders, bland food, going outside, trains and train stations, getting wet

nationality: japanese

relatives: (adoptive) mother and father, elder sister (pacchi, 2 years older), younger sister (heru, 3 years younger)

early life (sort of???) (cw child injury/neglect, bullying, ableism?)

disclaimer i havent Fully fleshed out its backstory so this will just be a large summary of . stuff that Occured

hiiro and his sisters were put up for adoption almost immediately after heru was born (hiiro being 3, pacchi being 5) and they took turns taking care of her bcuz their parents were too "busy" to hire babysitters. hiiro and pacchi got into a fight while heru (like toddler age atp) tried to break them up. because hiiro has always been quick to anger and sort of physical, when heru tried to intervene his first instinct was to push her as hard as he could while yelling at her to stay out of it, it doesnt involve her . errmm aftermath of that argument was . heru got permenant brain damage and hiiro and pacchis relationship Completely broke apart :[ aww womp womp . Ok fast forward . heru is homeschooled by a tutor and hiiro and pacchi are both in junior high. pacchi is popular and friendly and pretty, but her grades are lacking . hiiro has always been incredibly smart (even though pacchi is 2 years older, he skipped a school year or two and is in her same year), but his social life is miserable . because of his temper and Overall Unfriendliness he was put in separate classes away from his peers where he was the only student under a teacher who didnt care about hiiro or Pretty much anything . it wasnt seen often but when he Was seen he was beat up n bullied relentlessly n followed home , so a lot of the time he spent nights hidden in the school or in damp alleys because he didnt want to lead anyone dangerous back to pacchi and heru . when he Was home pacchi ignored him and heru would try to make conversation but hiiro was Pretty much entirely nonverbal during their school years . at home hiiro drew and wrote and played like anyone else his age but bcuz hiiro looked different and sounded different and acted different it ended up outcast and alienated :[ womp womp

career ??

aaaanyway yada yada hiiro graduates early n basically disappears into researching neurology n brains n Specifically how theyre "programmed" , they end up lowkey kidnapping a couple people to experiment on them w a janky "neuroprogramming" device that, once hes sure is Safe To Use , hiiro uses on itself :3 the way proples brains show up on the device isnt like an mri or anything , the way it shoes up actually Depends on the person so sometimes itll be a short rpg or lines of code or Minesweeper and because hiiro Made the device they can decipher what each brain thing means and collects data based off that . but because what he does is Very illegal the government eventually tracks him down and forces it to work w them or theyll Krill him .

fun facts part Two :3

hiiro has only had alcohol Once and despite being of legal age they were kicked out for looking too young . he cant hold his liquor

he frequents a gaming cafe and knows all the staff by name but is too embarrassed to be seen in front of other people , so it rents out the whole cafe when it wants to go

hiiro has 3 cats and they are all Huge

after he Reappeared hiiro actually reconnected w his sisters and visits them as often as possible . Its not very affectionate at all though

i actually made his voice claim miyashita yuu . the songs where hes louder and yelling r more what i was thinking at the time , but i think miyayuu's soft speaking voice works as well

all the sleeves on their sweaters are slightly tethered and frayed because he fidgets with them while working . the right sleeve is more torn than the left

he doodles in his free time and has posted a couple oneshots on obscure manga forums . they dont keep up with them but one of them ended up getting really popular

hiiro Loves scifi . his entire apartment is decorated in super lame and obscure scifi anime posters and figures

THANKIES !!!

#☆ apollo answers #artpollo #dude this is so . messy #again i Havent fleshed out jis story much i just have main points But i hope i explained well ... hes so awrsome #apollos ocs #hiiro okashi #theyre albino btw smilr #i ws thinking ab adding mor e to his story cuz rn its kinda BOOOORRRIIIIINNNGGGG but i have no other ideas ...#hiiro was aldo a dnagan oc . ult neuroprogrammet #r #whatever #i coudve talked about like ccheck or cross but thatll come later methinkd #Anyway . enjoy hi.#m #im so tired i need a nap #hi lyria

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solradguy · 11 months

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wait- your name is 7oby (Toby) and you had a cat named toby- which came first your name or the cats name- who stole who's name ~pumpkin anon

The cat came first. I needed a name to sign my art with and didn't want to use my birth name so I borrowed the cat's. But then it started getting a little confusing because there was Toby (cat), Toby (me), and Toby (character), and I was super into Halo at the time so I swapped the T out for a 7 haha

Bungie, Halo's devs, used to hide references to the number 7 EVERYWHERE in their old games. Like map layouts would branch out into 7 directions, random numbers would add up to 7 or were a multiple of 7, characters would have 7s hidden in their textures, etc.

Somehow 7oby stuck. It's been 18 years. I'm indifferent about it at this point and honestly only still use it because Sol (character) and Sol (me) can get confusing. 5ol is out of the question, I've already laughed at that idea lol

#asks #Way back when I used to have an original setting that my very first fursona fit into #And there was a character for each number 0 through 9. 5 was 5oap and was an albino cat mechanic with biomecha wings #I didn't write any of it down so my memory is foggy...#But iirc they were all experiments in DNA splicing and they all had unique powers #5oap had sort of like an anti-gravity thing going on but it was hard to control hence the wings. He couldn't propel himself without them #7oby absorbed radiation and used it to power a magic sword that looked like a dragon head. It didn't have a blade by default but when it-#-was turned on it would flash-freeze moisture into a cobalt blue magic ice blade #I think there was a big downside to 7oby's radiation powers like it wasn't entirely safe to be around them when-#-they had a lot stored or something but I can't remember if I ever came up with a workaround for that or how 7oby dealt with it #7oby did have a red bandanna/headband though. /Hilarious/ in hindsight

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ghostingurdreams · 3 months

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Why is everyone so insistent on giving astarion like a normal look, i keep seeing debates on if he'd have blue or brown eyes or like if he'd have brown hair. Like he's an high elf, it's all in the realm of possibilities bro literally just born with white hair and red eyes. Let the man be the cryptid ass he was born to be.

#i wholeheartedly think bro's just fucking albino #but like has proper red eyes because fantasy #I'm not really hating on humanizing him but like the entire point of his character is to be a man of the shadows #he's exactly what I'd expect to see before I get mugged #i love astarion sm but I'm like v much #it's just weird for people to try to 'humanize' him

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cuntstable · 1 year

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i wanna draw pucci with his stands as literal snakes and i wanna have each stand be a different species but auuuugh theres. a lot of snakes to choose from is the problem. a lot of tube reptiles in the world…

#like whitesnake alone is tough…. despite the name i wanna base him more on how he actually looks so im thinking like…. either a ratsnake or #maybe white lipped python? but which one!!!!#c moon i was thinking maybe chinese pit viper……#and made in heaven would be an albino of some kind #but auuugh so many to choose from. i want them to all have different shapes too…

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pyrriax · 23 days

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im being normal (my not-cats look prettier than ever i totally didnt forego writing to decorate a few of them)

the ones without a lot of decor are ones that have jobs that dont Give decor items very often (or are new) since i like to put the decor the not-cat collects on that not-cat :3

((the two i was working on decorating were agate and vaccon since i saw the perfect opportunity))

#haunted ecosystem #also YES i know delilah is a bit cluttered he was decorated when he was a baby 👍 i need to decide a palette & theme for him #also im debating whether i focus on trying to get a violet eyed albino for a fancat or if i just get a null like i planned #rn my only null is honey and she has the WORST stats (literally my lowest stat not-cat)#if i get the time i might work on custom decor for some fancats since i'm struggling to find what i need for them #oooh. i might get a violet eyed albino for a DIFFERENT fancat <- just had the idea for a ro fancat. oh. thatd be FUN.#i have some decor in mind too it would be actually painful to get all of it but. i could.#esp since adventuring is a lot easier now since i have my main team levelled to where they deal extra damage.#i think i need to work on a second ranger next? since im swapping out ram once fallen is fully levelled since he's got better movement #OH yeah definitely im swapping ram for fallen since i can get fallen's strength higher than ram's. yea thats my next goal

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nightly-ruse · 1 year

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Cloudtail and Brightheart designs <33333

Yes I did make Cloud a point what are you gonna do about it? Honestly I just colored him in white like canon and then I had the stray idea of him as a point and I just had to do it. Now I love it. I also made sure to make Bright literally beautiful bc I hate how the writers always say “once beautiful cat” like no?? She’s the prettiest kitty and that didn’t change after her attack. So I gave her blue eyes with partially yellow color on the bottom of her eye. It really bugs me when ppl calm down her scars so I made sure she had them and they weren’t hidden by hair or flowers.

also some alt cloud points I liked as well:

One brown like his momma Princess and the other ginger like Fire. I really really love the brown point one but I want Whitewing and Dewnose to both be gray/lilac points so I kept him as a lilac point

(ID- Brightheart is a rather lanky tall cat with many scars across her body, particularly tearing the whole left side of her face, across her throat, back of her front leg, front of her back leg, and a dog bite on her shoulder, her right ear is also torn slightly and slightly limp. She has a round pale blue eye with yellow on the bottom with hearts in her eyes. Her pelt is mostly white with a peachy orange on her tail, back end of her bottom and back legs, back front paw, right ear, heart on her chest, and the toes on her front paw. A gingery red color goes across her orange markings in spotty stripes, mostly on her back legs, nose, chin, ear tip, and on her heart shaped eyelash. She has a small smile and is looking off to the top right of the screen. Her tail tip hangs down and the edge is white in a heart shape. Cloudtail is much shorter and very fluffy, with a big mane, slightly shorter fluffy tail, and fluffy all down his belly. His nose has tufts on it to and his chin is scruffy. He has rather thick eyelashes and circular pupils that are a dark blue with a almost purple pale blue on the bottom. He has light blue, slightly purple to tinged point markings on his face, tail, legs, and ears. Darker blue purple is on his ears, middle of his face, tip of his tail, and paws. He is sticking his tongue out and his inner ears/nose is a light pink. The alternate designs are the same but shifted, one with brown point markings and the other with orange markings. End ID)

#cloudtail #brightheart #Cloud is like just under her chin height wise. I think under all his fluff is a muscular but still very round build like his uncle #If I ever draw their kits Ambermoon will be a flame point Dewnose a lilac point Whitewing a dull gray point and Snowbush is albino #I made these bc I sketched a lil piece with them but needed designs so now I’m getting onto that #Brightheart and Cloud are just some of #my fav cats ever especially as a couple. In my head Bright uses She/They and Cloud uses He/It #They are bi4bi and the whole weird Daisycloud thing never happened I hate that #night knacks #ruse’s warrior cats

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baylardian-1 · 2 years

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Karr is probably my BIGGEST FAVE antagonist in Star Trek: Voyager. :) His chemistry with Janeway is MAGICAL to me.

#we were talking about how likeeeeee #his color palette compared to most of the other hirogen is pretty PALE #likely an implication of his more experienced age but i like to think hes albino maybe :3c #like like like......#deep dive with me besties #what if he was like a scrawny and really runt-like and sickly youth #and he rose in their little hierarchy based on his wit so hes a little QUIRKY #ALL PREY ARE QUEENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#UGH I LOVE HIM HES GOT SUCH OLD SOUL VIBES;;; <33333333 he just wants to save his race from extinction besties;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;#RIP KING </3 #My Art #Hirogen #Karr #The Killing Game #Amelia Janeway #Star Trek: Voyager #Threshold #AU #the other ones were kinda just meant to serve as comparative palettes to others of his species #its really hard to differentiate sometimes so i wanted to establish it in my head i guess haha

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babyloniastreasure · 1 year

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my curse as a karna artist and enjoyer is that i can’t ever really draw him in something significantly more scandalous or revealing

he’s already walkin around in a bikini with his ass half out what am i supposed to do! clothe him?!

#read this with humor pls because its the FUNNIEST possible problem to have #'my blorbo is TOO naked'#i keep thinking about putting him in Royal Icing #but its like LMAO okay royal icing gives him 85% more cover #its hilarious but also so very unfortunate #how to sexualize this albino noodle when he is already showing off what flat goods he has to offer

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mylittlesyn · 1 year

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Tobirama would hate most modern music except Post Modern Juke Box because 'I listen to Podcasts'.

Change my mind.

#Tobirama #i love this dumbass #in my modern AU he is Columbian and Albino #he knows how to dance most ballroom dances on a technical level #hashirama does to but hes more 'with feeling'#their mom made them because 'you need to get a good woman and with dance you can do that #the most important thing is to make the lady look pretty #tobi took that into his heart and soul #but also like #he makes you look so pretty #like youd think youre a disney princess as long as you have a basic understanding of ballroom dances #he also loves shakira but hes too tsundere to admit it

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frowerssx2 · 1 year

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You know know how I had the headcannon that Miru and Kaku were 30% albino King Penguins?? YEAH NO:

This, this is what they are

#CHUKAR PARTRIDGES CAN BE ALIBINO AND NO ONE TOLD ME??#WHAT???#Ryuuji 100% used Shuu's DNA to create the twins with destroyed Christmas decorations #because he isn't gonna mess with his own DNA #fuck that #the twins are albinos because of you know #their hybrid creatures with Christmas genetics so their fur is white as snow and as white as santas beard #I am literally freaking out #hatoful boyfriend #Miru and Kaku #headcannon #this is the best thing ever #thanks google #this is can also be why the other characters think they look like doves #cause partridges look like doves or whatever #idk #let me have this #anyway frowerss will go now #it's almost 11 and I need sleep #this is what my half alseep brain thinks about btw #sorry about the picture with the link #it was literally the first good picture there was #how did I forget that tag?

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miraclespin · 2 years

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Perusing Twitter is always a very... interesting experience, for me. But the other day, after not having looked for a while and deciding to give it a go, aside from the usual psychic harm and another person’s AU that is somehow niggling my brain in spite of knowing very little about it (other than it’s very much a Bad Things Happen sort of scenario), I found a few neat headcanons posted by a Korean account that I sadly don’t remember the name of (and it was translated anyways, so I never saw its original form).

The Korean side of the fandom can be... very hit or miss, for me, personally (a lot of the time it’s where all the psychic damage posts come from, though whether they’re actually horrible or just give off those vibes because I can’t properly understand the posts and therefore lack appropriate context for them is anybody’s guess). These headcanons were kind of lovely, though.

For example, they shared my headcanon of Shadow Joker not actually liking the taste of black coffee, but drinking it anyway in order to help wake himself up because of his low blood pressure in the mornings; with the excellent addition of him adding sugar to it if he’s sure nobody is around.

Another one was that when it comes to the doctor’s office, Joker is afraid of needles, and can’t look whenever he’s receiving an injection- or I think that was what they were trying to say; also that Shadow is in a similar way, but King and Queen are unbothered, or at least a bit braver about it.

A considerably more angsty headcanon posited that Shadow’s scars on his face were put there deliberately by Clover as a mark of his leadership/��ownership” of another of his soldiers, which kind of checks out at least a tiny bit- I did notice that a lot of his soldiers have that mark on their faces, as well, mirroring his own marks.

In the anime, Cyan had those on his face before he even awoke and found himself in Clover’s clutches, suggesting that they were implied to have happened sometime after he fell into the river; though, one could take this as Clover having done it while he was still unconscious and recovering. He would have no idea about it, most likely...

In the manga, though, assuming that it’s not merely face paint, like Hachi assumed Joker’s own scar was, he would have had to have been conscious while receiving them. Interestingly, though, it’s implied that his relationship with Clover, while not great, is slightly less antagonistic, at least on Clover’s end; Shadow had no idea he sent the soldiers to the village that took his sister, after all, and they didn’t nearly kill him in this version of events. So, it may or may not be an actual scar; given that Clover decided that he might be useful, he might not have had as heavy a hand on Cyan like he did in the anime. So it could just be decals or face paint; I don’t know if the manga ever clarifies whether they’re really scars or not. He might’ve even just did it to mirror Joker; we have no indication that Clover put him up to that bit in this version of events, so we have to assume he did that on his own.

It’s all kind of interesting to spring off of; there were more headcanons posted by that account but I cannot remember all of them; and what I can remember, I’m not sure I interpreted correctly based on their translations. I’m hesitant to go too deep onto the account, though, because again, the Korean side of things is usually where I find the worst mentally scarring content (like general thirsting over these very much minor-coded characters, and a certain age-gap ship that is strangely popular nowadays, much to my poor mental sanctity; I’m sure plenty of them are mostly fine, but even the more decent-seeming ones give off some weird vibes), and I haven’t properly vetted them yet- which, to do so puts me at risk of acquiring psychic damage in the first place. Alas.

#Kaitou Joker #Mysterious Joker #Headcanons #HC: Jack/Joker #HC: Cyan/Shadow #((when I say ''weird vibes''; I mean this one person was like... okay so I think they were a medical student right?#they kept talking about that sort of thing a LOT; and therefore referring to Joker in that specific context #some of their ideas were interesting; I can't remember all of them but I remember that they thought he was albino; which is reasonable...#right up until you properly look at his skin; which isn't pale enough to really count- but maybe they think he is...?#he's not any more pale than say; king; or especially queen... anyways...#there were a few other things; like the similar conclusion about his canonical height from the measurements the manga gave us when he #got himself shrunk (around a little over 5 feet to like... a bit more over 5'1'' so... very much a shortass LMAO #but then it got like. WEIRD. they were like; talking about his gestational development??? and worshiping his body???#it could be that the translator done goofed something HARD; but it just... gave me some weird energy man #and they were still one of the more WHOLESOME active KJ accounts I ran into; YEESH. not just the korean side of things is bad these days))

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kaijutegu · 4 months

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Alligator Body Language and You, or: How To Know When An Alligator On Social Media is Being Stressed for Views

Alligators are wild animals. Despite the idiotic claims of animal abusers like Jay Brewer, they cannot be domesticated, which means they are always going to react on the same natural instincts they've had for millions of years. Habituated, yes. Tamed, yes. Trained, definitely. Crocodilians can form bonds with people- they're social and quite intelligent. They can solve problems, use tools, and they're actually quite playful. Alligators are also really good at communicating how they're feeling, but to somebody who doesn't spend much time around them, their body language can be a bit mystifying. And it doesn't help when social media influencers are saying shit like this:

That is not what a happy gator looks like.

That's a terrified, furious gator who isn't attacking because the ogre handling her has her in a chokehold. She's doing everything she can to express her displeasure, and he's lying about it because he knows his audience doesn't even know how to think critically about what he's doing. He knows that because his audience doesn't know anything about these animals, he can get away with it. This I think is why I hate him so much- he deliberately miseducates his audience. He knows what he's doing is factually inaccurate, he just doesn't care because attention means more to him than anything else in the world.

Let's change that! Here are two really important lessons for understanding alligator body language on social media.

Lesson 1: Alligators Don't Smile (in fact, most animals don't)

So what's going on in this video? Jay Brewer is aggressively choking his white alligator Coconut while scrubbing algae off of her with a toothbrush. And make no mistake, he is digging into the creature's throat while she is visibly distressed. He claims she's happy- but she's not. He is willfully misrepresenting what this animal is feeling. That's a problem, because people... well, we actually kind of suck at reading other species' body language. The reason for this is that we tend to overlay our own responses on their physical cues, and that's a problem. For example, let's look at an animal with a really similar face to ours, the chimpanzee. Check out Ama's toothy grin!

Wait, no. That's not a happy smile. That's a threat display. When a chimpanzee "smiles," it's either terrified and doing a fear grimace, or it's showing you its teeth because it intends on using them in your face.

How about a dog? Look at my smiling, happy puppy!

Oh wait no, this is a picture of Ryder when he was super overwhelmed by noise and people during a holiday party. He'd hopped up in my sister's lap to get away from stuff that was happening on the floor and was panting quite heavily. See the tension in the corners of his mouth and his eyes? A lot of the time when a dog "smiles," the smile isn't happy. It's stress! Why Animals Do The Thing has a nice writeup about that, but the point is, our body language is not the same as other species. And for reptiles, body language is wildly different.

For instance, look at these two alligators. Pretty cute, right? Look at 'em, they're posing for a Christmas card or something! How do you think they're feeling?

Well, I'll tell you how the normal one is feeling. He's annoyed! Why is he annoyed? Because the albino just rolled up, pushed another gator off the platform, and is trying to push this guy, too. I know this because I actually saw it happen. It was pretty funny, not gonna lie. He's not gaping all the way, but he was hissing- you can actually see him getting annoyed in the sequence I took right before this shot. Look at him in this first shot here- he's just relaxing, and you can see he isn't gaping even a little bit.

By the end, he's expressing displeasure, but not enough to actually do anything about it. He's annoyed, but he's comfy and that's where one of the best basking areas is, so he'll put up with it.

Reptiles open their mouths wide for a lot of reasons, but never because they are actively enjoying a sensation. Unless they're eating. No reptile smiles- they can't. They don't even have moveable lips. If a reptile is gaping, it's doing so because:

It is doing a threat display.

It is making certain vocalizations, all of which are threats. Alligators are one of the rare reptiles that do regularly vocalize, but most of their calls aren't made with a wide open mouth.

It is about to bite something delicious or somebody stupid. Check out this video- virtually all of the gaping here is anticipatory because these trained gators know darn well that the bowl is full of delicious snacks. (I have some issues with Florida's Wildest, but the man knows how to train a gator AND he is honest about explaining what they're doing and why, and all of his animals are healthy and well-cared for, and he doesn't put the public or his staff at risk- just himself.)

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It's too hot and it has opened its mouth to vent some of that heat and thermoregulate. This is the main reason why alligators will often have their mouths part of the way open, but sometimes they'll open all the way for thermoregulation. This is what a thermoregulatory gape looks like- usually it's not all the way open, kinda more like < rather than V, but you can't say that 100% of the time. Additionally, a thermoregulatory gape... typically happens when it's hot out. If they're inside, maybe they've been under their basking light for too long. Heat's the dominant factor, is what I'm getting at.

There is another reason that a captive crocodilian might be gaping, and that's because it's doing so on command. Some places have their gators trained to gape on cue, like St. Augustine Alligator Farm and other good zoos. They have the animals do this in presentations that are genuinely educational. They ask the animals to open their mouths so that they can show off their teeth and demonstrate how their tongues seal off the back of their mouth. They'll also do it as part of routine healthcare, because looking at their teeth is important.

In this case, the animals aren't gaping because they're stressed, they're gaping because they know they're gonna get a piece of chicken or fish if they do it. And what's more, they're doing it on cue. They have a specific command or signal that tells them to open wide. It's not an instinctive response to a situation. It's trained. If the animal provides the behavior after a cue, the situation is much less likely to be negatively impactful.

It's also important to remember that there's a difference between a partially open mouth and a gape! As discussed above, alligators will often have their mouths a little bit open just to maintain temperature homeostasis. It helps them stay comfy, temperature-wise. These guys are all doing thermoregulatory open-mouthed behavior- that slight open and relaxed body posture is a dead giveaway. (That and it's the hottest spot in the enclosure.)

Lesson 2: A Happy Gator Is A Chill Gator

So if alligators don't smile or have facial expressions other than the :V that typically signifies distress, how else can you tell how they're feeling? One way is stillness. See, alligators subscribe to the philosophy of if it sucks... hit da bricks.

Basically, if they hate it, they'll leave. Unless, y'know, somebody has their meaty claws digging into their throat or is otherwise restraining them. (Restraint isn't always bad, btw. Sometimes the animal is going through a medical thing or needs to be restrained for their safety- which a responsible educator will explain.)

Let's look at a very similar scenario, in which a captive alligator is getting his back scrubbed.

As you can see, it's quite different. First, he's not being restrained at all. Second, look at how relaxed he is! He's just chilling there vibing! He could simply get up and leave if he wanted to, because he's not being held. Towards the end of the video, as he lifts his head, you can see that his respiratory rate is very even as his throat flutters a bit. I'm not sure what this facility is, so I can't comment on care/general ethics, but like. In this specific case, this is an alligator enjoying being scrubbed! And you can tell because he's not doing anything. A happy gator is content to be doing what they're doing.

Why Should I Listen To You?

Now, you should ask yourself, why should you listen to me? Why should you trust me, who does not own an alligator, versus Jay Brewer, who owns several?

Well, first off, there's no profit for me in telling you that what you're seeing on social media is in fact not what you're being told you're seeing. I'm not getting paid to do this. That's the thing with people who make social media content. The big names aren't doing it just for fun. They're doing it for money. Whether that's profit through partnerships or sponsorships, or getting more people to visit their facilities, or ad revenue, you can't ignore the factor of money. And this is NOT a bad thing, because it allows educators to do what they're passionate about! People deserve to be paid for the work that they do!

But the problem starts when you chase the algorithm instead of actually educating. A "smiling" alligator gets the views, and if people don't know enough to know better, it keeps getting the views. People love unconventional animal stories and they want those animals to be happy- but the inability to even know where to start with critically evaluating these posts really hinders the ability to spread real information. Like, this post will probably get a couple hundred notes, but that video of Coconut being scrubbed had almost 400,000 likes when I took that screenshot. Think about how many eyeballs that's reached by now. What I'm saying here is that it's just... really important to think critically about who you're getting your information from. What do dissenters say in the comments? What do other professionals say? You won't find a single herpetologist that has anything good to say about Prehistoric Pets, I can tell you that right now.

Another reason you can trust me is that my sources are not "just trust me bro," or "years of experience pretending my pet shop where animals come to die is a real zoo." Instead, here are my primary sources for my information on alligator behavior:

Dragon Songs: Love and Adventure among Crocodiles, Alligators, and Other Dinosaur Relations- Vladimir Dinets

The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles- J. Sean Doody, Vladimir Dinets, Gordon M. Burghardt

Social Behavior Deficiencies in Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Z Walsh, H Olson, M Clendening, A Rycyk

Social Displays of the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)- Kent Vliet

Social Signals and Behaviors of Adult Alligators and Crocodiles- Leslie Garrick, Jeffery Lang

Never smile at a crocodile: Gaping behaviour in the Nile crocodile at Ndumo Game Reserve, South Africa- Cormac Price, Mohamed Ezat, Céline Hanzen, Colleen Downs (this one's Nile crocs, not American alligators, but it's really useful for modeling an understanding of gape behaviors and proximity)

Thermoregulatory Behavior of Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Cheryl S. Asa, Gary D. London, Ronald R. Goellner, Norman Haskell, Glenn Roberts, Crispen Wilson

Unprovoked Mouth Gaping Behavior in Extant Crocodylia- Noah J. Carl, Heather A. Stewart, Jenny S. Paul

Thank you for reading! Here's a very happy wild alligator from Sanibel for your trouble.

#reptiblr #alligator #crocodile #Youtube

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