#I FREAKING LOVE MANTAs!!!!!

[sky-cotl-nature]

animal of the day: this beautiful manta from the lantern!

these guys are so cool, and OBJECTIVELY better than normal mantas due to them being portable. wish i had a little guy to bring around wherever i went 😢

[hasmadara]

Some Beast Wars redesigns!! Annotations below :3

Edit: wow mobile quality is terrible, i hate you tumble

INFERNO

I went very heavy with the knight imagery, serving his rrroyalty!! Went with a mix between a trapjaw ant and turtle ant because I wanted a shield. He has dual flame-throwers on his back/shoulders connected to the ant-butt because might as well add another mix with the yellow crazy ant, that sprays acid (in this case flammable liquid) through it's rear!

Being grabbed by those extremely strong, extremely fast mandibles of the trapjaw ant before being blasted by a flamethrower to the face sounds like a wonderful time <3

RATTRAP

Rattrap I wanted it to feel like an Italian mobster, I think I went a little too on-the-nose but, I like it! He has a fedora-type helmet, with a lovely cigar alongside some hidden suspenders and I tried to make the rat head have a tie - on his wrists he has tools such as lockpicking devices, torch, other things ;)

In my continuity he's primarily infiltration and sabotage, with a heavy preference for explosives

RAMPAGE

Rampage was fun, I stuck heavily to his BW design but I wanted the mutant freak part of him to be more emphasised. So, the crab has teeth. And 6 legs? I gave him extra arms because it would be quite hard to grab things with those mega pincers, but also extra arms are cool as fuck. He also has spurs and leg-guns because, again, cool as fuck. I love how his biolights turned out!

I didn't want to spend time drawing massive guns but he does still have his rotating grenade launcher thing - it has all sorts: hellfire missiles, acid bombs, napalm grenades, and other nightmares <3

DEPTH CHARGE

Depth Charge was very fun also, I wanted his colouring to be extremely opposite to Rampage's so he has very muted cool tones while Rampage is blindingly bright. He has twin remora-shotgun things on his shoulders, and I wanted the manta to be more manta, less metallic. I enjoyed doing the gold highlights to add a bit of grandeur and elegance to him.

In my continuity his primary weapon is the Blades of Chaos from GoW :'))

[thetombedspirit]

Jurassic World: Camp Fam - Next Generation

I was board, so I made a next gen for the Nublar Six, based on my personal headcanons and ships so if you don't like Benrius and Kenlynn, then please don't come at me. This is all just in good fun.

Enjoy!

Emily Bowman (Benrius)

Emily was nine-years old when her parents were unfortunately killed in a freak dinosaur attack, leaving her orphaned. Darius and Ben responded to the call and took her into their care. She stayed with them for a little while whilst Social Services began sorting out her situation, wherein during that time, Emily gotten to get to know Darius and Ben and what they do; how they locate dinosaurs, care for them, and ship them off to private island habitats funded by Dr Mae Turner and Mantah Corp, now under Kenji’s full jurisdiction. She even began to conquer her fear after making friends with a Maiasaura she named Ursa.

She was eventually put into a foster home, but the conditions were poor, so she decided to run away and return to the Sanctuary, via stealing the mum’s credit card to book a plane ticket.

Darius and Ben were shocked to see Emily and horrified to hear about the living conditions. After sending her to bed, they had a long talk about how they had once talked about adopting and raising a family, agreeing they both adored Emily and didn’t want her to go. So they gave Emily the good news the next morning that they would adopt her into the family and she said yes.

Fun Fact: Ursa the Maiasaura is a direct nod to concept dinosaurs that would eventually become Bumpy, as Maiasaura was one of the many plausible candidates.

2. Julia and Xavier Kon (Kenlynn)

Despite their ups and downs, concerning Brooklynn’s line of work and Kenji's inheritance of Manta Corp, Brooklynn tries extra hard to live in the moment and not take her time with her family and friends for granted and Kenji works hard to ensure that the Kon family name is redeemed through his work. Regardless of their hardships, they work well together and support each other through their struggles.

Julia Kon is the more extraverted of the duo. She takes after her father, enjoys skating, archery and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, preferring physical activities to staying coped up indoors all day. Her brother Xavier is more closed off then his sister. Younger by two years, he prefers technology and hacking to climbing and being outdoors.

Despite their differences, two things they have in common is their love for their family and their association with dinosaurs. Namely the herd of Parasaurolophus living by their father’s climbing camp. Every month, Kenji would take the family camping at the cliffs and the kids would play with the baby Parasaurolophuses. One in particular took a real shine to the children; Brooklynn affectionately named her Nightlight, due to how Xavier would snuggle her tightly due to his fear of the dark when they went camping.

Fun Fact: Julia and Xavier are named after Brooklynn and Kenji's original concepts for Camp Cretaceous, Jules and Xi respectively. Also, Kenji and Ben used to have different roles, with Ben being the strong, athletic character while Kenji (at this point in time, Xi) was the shy, nerdy type. They since swapped roles, with Ben becoming the shy one and Xi taking the role of the rich kid and was renamed Kenji.

3. Katie Gutierrez-Fadoula (Yasammy)

When Sammy and Yaz got married and talked about starting a family, they realized there were some complications: Sammy's encounter with the Scorpios Rex damaged her reproductive organs and left her unable to carry a child to term, and Yaz was uncomfortable with the idea of ordering a doner. So in the end, they agreed to adopt.

Katie loves her moms and her life at the ranch. She enjoys spending time with Angel and Rebel, who they were able to rescue and keep on the ranch (best cattle dogs Sammy ever had), tending to the cows, chickens and the stray Pachycephalosaurus that had been hanging around the ranch lately, who she has named Bonehead. She came out to her mums as trans when she was 13 and they wholeheartedly support her through her transition.

Fun Fact: Katie is a sorta merge of Sammy and Yaz's concepts. Sammy was originally meant to be male and Yaz's name was originally Katie.

Anyway, those are my versions of the next generation of Camp Fam. I hope you like them and again, this is just all in good fun; I'm not trying to start any shipping wars.

Take care peoples.

[ghostie-in-wonderland]

Rides I think the Obey Me! Characters would dislike

Tw: motion sickness is mentioned

---

Mammon: Manta at Sea World Orlando

I think his voice box would be definitely strained afterwards from screaming. Definitely don’t think he’d enjoy the whole like laying parallel to the ground part. He seems like the friend who would pretend to not be scared of a ride, while actually being terrified and at the end of the day has no voice from how loud he was screaming. 

Lucifer: Tower of Terror 

I can’t explain it, but he gives me the vibes of someone who has definitely freaked out about getting trapped in an elevator, but he plays it off because of his pride so he would never let anyone know that the ride spooks him. He’s also a 1000% someone who’d go on the People-mover all day, which is definitely a mood sometimes. 

Leviathan: Thunderbolt at Kennywood

It legit causes someone to pretty much sit on someone else’s lap. I think he’d be freaked out by that. If he rode it with the MC, instant nosebleed. I think he’d prefer to play the games or do rides where he’s not sitting directly against someone. 

Asmodeus: A Bug’s Life at Disney World 

The seats make it feel like bugs crawl on you. I think he’d hate that. Plus, you watch like a little Bug’s Life performance thing and it’s freaky (I also hated this attraction as a kid). 

Satan: It’s a Small World at Disney 

Somehow, he would get stuck in there. The ride would then be closed for the next five years because of how angry he’d get about the song. It would be entertaining though for MC if they’re chaotic. 

Beelzebub: Mission: Space at Disney World 

This ride is motion sickness devildom (lol see what I did there). He gives the vibes of the family member who has to sit in the front seat or next to a window because he gets really bad motion sickness and feels guilty the entire time. 

Belphegor: Black Widow at Kennywood 

I don’t think he’d vibe with the swinging and the spinning. I think he’d get really dizzy and annoyed by it. Especially because it’s longer than it needs to be. He also seems like the type to get headaches from rides that spin too much. 

Diavolo: Raptor at Cedar Point

This man is beefy. Truly I don’t think he’d like rides that have over the shoulder harnesses because they squish him. I think if you asked though, he’d still go with you on any rides because you asked. Also, I feel like if you’re plus size/chubby and nervous about fitting on a ride, he would 1000% make it seem like he was the problem if you don’t fit on the ride. He is a 100/10 character to go to a theme park with. 

Barbatos: Exterminator at Kennywood 

This is the entire reason I thought of this idea. I love this ride, but Exterminator with it’s OG theming (pre-making an express lane when it had good theming) would have freaked Barbatos out because it’s all about rats taking over a city. Like the whole ride is rat themed and you’re in a car that looks like a rat “trying” to escape exterminators. 

Simeon: Pipeline at Sea World Orlando

I think he’d dislike the whole standing while on a rollercoaster. I think he’d just dislike Sea World in general because of the ethical issues with it. I feel like his least favorite part would be getting off the ride and his legs being all shaky because of it. 

Luke: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Disney World 

I think it would mostly be the jokes the brothers would make at his expense in line. 

Solomon: Invertigo at King’s Island 

I think he’d hate the possibility of going backwards on a rollercoaster. I think he’d also hate rides like the Music Express at Kennywood or Matterhorn at Cedar Point because it only goes in a circle. 

Mephisto: All of them

He just gives those vibes. I’m sorry he just does to me. I feel like he would be one of those people who are there for the vibes, probably go on a couple of the chiller rides like the Merry-Go-Rounds or join Lucifer on the People Mover (which would be amusing to watch). 

Thirteen: None 

A 10/10 character to go to a theme park with if you want a ride buddy, she’ll go on everything with you. 

[ladyblueberrymuffin]

May I offer you another character to headcanon as trans in these trying times?

His name is Manta, he comes from this French cartoon called Droners, and in season 1 he looks like this

(He's the white haired one)

Then in season 2, after making a much happier life for himself, and going through a cool redemption arc, and standing up to his abusers, he looks like this

(You can even see he covered that tattoo on his shoulder—that was the symbol of the military academy that brainwashed him and where he was treated like trash)

He's a really fun character. We learn in season 1 that despite acting all big and tough on the island, he was actually bullied at his military academy, and basically did everything his abusers told him to gain their respect, which of course never happened.

But like, just look at him. The animation! The smug aura. The voice actor is also doing such a good work selling just how feral this boy is.

And you know the best part? Unlike a lot of redeemed rivals, he never loses that edge after he chills out. He's still this extra. He just went from bully (derogatory) to bully (affectionate). He's still headstrong, he's still ready to throw down, but now it's in defense of his friends. He's willing to compliment people, he does not threaten his friends with violence, he smiles, and has small talk about home food, and plays video games with other droners.

And when he flies his drone in the race, he's still this wonderful heel, he still wrecks stuff in his path, his drone is literally designed to be able to chomp other drones in half. AND WE LOVE SEEING HIM CHOMP OTHER DRONES IN HALF. I love my trans shark son reenacting the plot of Jaws (btw, his drone is also named Jaws, and we love that)

I feel the need to tell you, every time he does that attack, he does the ice cube crunch. So extra.

Have I also mentioned he gets a romantic arc with the main heroine of the story? He becomes the bad boy love interest?!

Also, his drone is literally a blåhaj, and his insignia is the Monster logo. Love that for him

On a side note: check how his best friend added freaking cat ears to his hood after they rebranded themselves. (Also note they both stopped wearing dog tags)

They dance together. (Which is also a nice subtle character development, because at the beginning of season 1, they're always sitting around the parties, sulking, and glaring at everybody)

[spnfanficpond]

February 2024 Angel Fish Awards

(Angel Fish design by @slytherkins!!)

Every month all of you fantastic writers work your asses off to post some truly incredible stories. Our Angel Fish Awards are the way for all of us, as a community of writers and readers, to lift each other up and give praise to those who have captured our attention and deserve a few kind words. (Click here to learn more about how to nominate a fic for an award!)

Nominated by @spn-fanfic-reblog-writes

Pack by @spnexploration

I love this story. I love the pack dynamics and how they all are despite Dean being the Pack Alpha. I love that they even have an extended pack as well (Claire, for example). I love that the reader has to learn the world and shows a very real world freak out over the information as well as how the pack dynamic and tactics work with and without Dean and Sam. I love how gentle and human Dean and the Reader are together. It’s a very relatable story with new relationships. I related to the Reader’s self-view very, very much. I’m gonna start including pack dynamics in my own a/b/o fics. I love that idea, so so much. Evolution is slow to change, so even if a/b/o was an evolutionary change, it doesn’t mean that all aspects would change with modern day society. Please check the story out and the author. Thanks!

The Cala Lillies of Winchester by @littleangelcassie

This is such an amazing story! Castiel instantly connects with Dean who falls asleep on him while on the bus and Cas being Cas decides to take him home and keep him. Doesnt take long for Dean to agree. It’s an amazing, challenging love story from there that encompasses family, children, health and home, and the challenges of in-laws for their personal and religious views. It’s beautiful and terrifying, and worth the tears.

The Heartbreak Hotel by @naughtystiel

You have to read this is such a fluffy story. It’s like so heart warming, chest squeezing, heart racing and so angsty. I love it. It’s so fluffy that it’s schmoopy. That’s how affectionate and caring it is. Let the story take care of you. Trigger Warning: cheating, survivor’s guilt, bad parent Mary Winchester

~*~*~

Nominated by @mrswhozeewhatsis

If you don't look good, we don't look good by @talltalesandbedtimestories

HOLY HELL!!! This is SO HOT! With feelings, and hair, and brotherly Sam, and HOLY HOTNESS DEAN. *wipes sweat from brow*

~*~*~

Nominated by @mariekoukie6661

Mutually Beneficial by @kittenofdoomage

It's cute, fresh, and I can't wait to see where it goes!!

~*~*~

Nominated by @spencereliotwinchester

Flash by Ellia (AO3)

It’s so simple, yet extremely deep. An amazing take on the masks we wear

~*~*~

Nominated by @thoughtslikeaminefield

(K)not For Sale by @sam-is-my-safe-word

I don’t even go to the school of ABO, but, Kasey, love, you killed me. It’s emotional and anxious and hot, and SB is the Omega. Yes. Good.

Spotless by @stusbunker

FAKE. DATING. I’m epically behind in college comments for this, but it’s so fun and sexy and Stuie!

~*~*~

Nominated by @glygriffe

Wait for the Ricochet by @bobwess

I nominate this fic - first, because it is by Bob Wess and I think everybody in the SPN fandom should read at least one Bob Wess story - second, because it’s a time travel WIP where Dean and Sam meet their younger selves. 16-year-old Dean getting all big brother-y with 36-year-old Sam is precious, and Castiel serving as a buffer between the two versions of Dean is quite an interesting read.

(Divider by @glygriffe)

THANK YOU ALL, KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK, AND AS ALWAYS, HAPPY WRITING!

- From your Admins and Manta Rays, @manawhaat, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @mariekoukie6661, @thoughtslikeaminefield, @spencereliotwinchester, and @heavenssexiestangel!

[facefullabugz]

do you have any good scifi recs? i recently read the murderbot diaries and realized i have shamefully little experience with scifi....

Y'know, my scifi's actually pretty limited! I mostly just like the cover art, sorry. oTL Looking at Steve Purcell's work has me thinking about influences in illustrative art of that era so that's why I was in the tag lol

Left Hand of Darkness is an interesting read (just go in knowing what era it's from and know it's mostly about anthropology on a planet where people change genders more or less at will and a lot of it is the protag going HUH????).

Ray Bradbury's The Veldt is an all time good creepy short (what is that noise in our children's hologram room? it sounds like us screaming. well i'm sure it's nothing.)

is the Southern Reach series considered sci-fi...? It's sci-fi horror at least, I'd say (what if there was a spot that was more or less a DNA scrambler and what if you were a biologist lady who loved staring at freak shit. and also your husband's a dolphin. or an owl. dont worry about it.) I still need to read the newest book, but there's a moment in book 2 where a surface is described as like a manta ray's skin that I still think about

if I'm REALLY stretching here, The Hollow Places counts as scifi for me. It's scifi horror/fantasy horror- (what if there was a portal to another world and it was sooooo safe and you should go in.) There's a part I still think about where a man had been standing in this like, waist deep pit of water for a while (years?) and the protag has some realizations about what she's looking at when she sees him that still freak me out.

Otherwise, watch MST3K. That counts, right?

[honey-minded-hivemind]

I had…the weirdest thought/idea while reading through your mermay stuff. This can be h2o no au or just general mer shenanigans but…what if reader was allergic to shellfish/fish in general before becoming a mer/siren? Like- for h2o it just adds to the “ocean and fish bad” mindset and trauma reader has. But also when they become a mer that would bring up so many questions. (Do you think they’d become immune or just stay allergic bc the human part of them is still technically the same???)

When they become a mer they just suddenly have this urge to consume something that quite literally will kill them. When they eventually wind up with the yans and the caretakers try to feed them reader once again just sees it as an attempt on their life and not some caring gesture. The adults are so concerned and confused that their guppy won’t eat anything, but it doesn’t seem like a hunger strike they literally freak out when food is put toward their mouth. Maybe reader finally explains it and the adults are just CONFUSED.

“Reader please eat your food.”

“I can’t I’ll literally die.”

“…..what?”

If reader is still deathly allergic they become the mer equivalent of a vegetarian or idk marine animals are weird, if fate is kind reader is partially a type of sea creature that just filter feeds or something (ex: whale shark, or manta ray)

(Idk all of this is coming from the mind of someone who cannot eat fish, had a very violent reaction to it, and has been scared of it happening again ever since)

I’m curious what you think, does the moon pool just heal the immune response? Is reader only allergic while in a human form but fine to eat fish as a mer? Or is reader plunged into an even worse situation bc when the yans find out about the allergy they become 100x more protective, treating reader as the most fragile guppy on the planet that needs even more of their attention and care? Like- allergies aren’t a thing for mer so they don’t really understand it so they’re just like: “No Reader! If that fish gets near you you’ll die!” Imagine someone like Sabertooth being like that one uncle that’s like “you’re just faking it” or “that’s not a thing!”, playfully force feeds reader a crab or something and suddenly reader’s gills swell and they can’t breathe. That makes x2 murder attempts on reader by Sabertooth. And then from that point on everybody in the pod is traumatized by the experience, reader is even further from being assimilated, and the yan adults are so much more worried about their reluctant guppy.

Weird funny concept. This became so long, I am so sorry.

Been binge reading your work and I think it’s awesome! You’re a really creative writer, and I love everything I’ve read from you!

Idk how your anon system works

Call me rhino anon 🦏 if that’s available?

Oh wow! Okay, I have a family member who is also allergic to shellfish (I'm not sure about fish, but they're allergic to shellfish), and I hope you are okay after that experience, 🦏 Anon.

I can see it working as Reader is either immune as a mer but can't eat shellfish as a human, or as them being unable to eat, well, any seafood at all.

They're basically stuck eating seaweed, kelp, and/or filter feeding, and Reader isn't happy, and neither are the platonic yans, especially the adults. Their kid/sibling isn't eating, they're worried Reader will starve, and they want to help but are confused by being allergic to what is a sirens main diet.

If Sabretooth did force Reader to eat shellfish or fish, he'd be lucky, and so would Reader, if they didn't die or have a severe allergic reaction. Reader does however fear him even more after it, regardless of if they almost died or if they actually stomached fish for the first time in their life.

I think if Reader had to have a meat to eat, it would have to be sea birds or sea mammals. So, seagulls, albatross, terns, for birds... or seals, dolphins, or orcas for mammals... It's still a hassle, but it's worth it if Reader doesn't end up with anemia or sick from only being able to eat seaweed and kelp and seagrass...

The adult platonic yans at this point are having to fist fight or tail fight who is and isn't allowed near Reader as one of their main caretakers, because they need someone they will listen to yet have a chance of liking. Reader is scared of all of them, but some more than others, so it's best to pick the ones who haven't traumatized them, and go with the ones who at least they won't faint from seeing...

(Welcome to the platonic yandere X-Men club!)

[gatheredfates]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers (ू•‧̫•ू⑅)♡

Aww, I love positivity asks! I can't say mine are in any way profound, but:

My loved ones. Cheesy, I know. Shout-out to my partner who does have a Tumblr account but refuses to be perceived because I know he'll read this and appreciate the fact I didn't tag him. I've been asked before how on earth I've been in a relationship with one person for over half my life and that's simple: I fell in love with my best friend. 💖 Also huge shoutout to @riftdancing who will be perceived because she's the platonic love of my life and, without her, I would not be who I am today. These two have seen me at my literal worst and stuck by me — I love them to bits! There's also my FC members/close friends @lightwrought / @gaygentofchaos / @whirlwyrm / @snakemoltsiren / @swingbeard / @dragons-ire / other people I have missed and/or wouldn't like to be tagged but know you are included because I love you. IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW. Also everyone in Seafloor!

Music. I've always loved music, but I really only got into music and listening to different things later in life! Sleep Token fundamentally altered my brain chemistry and I will thrust them on anyone who will listen (start with Sundowning through to Take Me Back to Eden if you want the whole ~experience~ but Jaws is also a good separate introduction). I've also come to love Crywolf, Ashnikko, Bad Omens, as well as old faithfuls like Red, Evanescence, Halsey, etc.

My cat. She's not really my cat, but she adopted me. Ratticus le Catticuses the third of her name; brat cat, rat cat; little goblin; my little baby girl, love of my life. (Her name is Lucy).

Graphics design/creativity. I make it no secret my favourite part of my irl work is when I can make a brochure/pamphlet/poster. I don't profess to be an absolute master in it, and I'm entirely self-taught, but there is something about making something better. It's the same with GPOSING and the like. I don't do it often, but my edits are there. There are people in the community that use the little dividers I put together in Canva. It makes me happy!

My current mental health/personal journey. I'm in a really good spot mentally. My diagnosis has changed my life, and I was already on a good trajectory with my personal mantra/outlook on life prior to it. A few years go I was extremely depressed/anxious, I had a lot of trauma/paranoia around my spaces, and acted in ways I'm not proud of. I've reached out and reconciled a lot of it, and it's allowed me to engage with this community and my personal projects in a manner that's healthy and engaging for me. I was in a spot of ~drama~ recently (which I won't get into — that's another personal choice I made to keep things between relevant parties) and, rather than freaking out and thinking everyone hated me... I just dealt with it. I took all sides, formulated my opinions and blocked the people I didn't want to deal with. I was SO proud/happy with myself — I still am! It's not world-ending like it used to feel and that's so freeing for me as someone who used to be a chronic people-pleaser/conflict averse. I still want to try to be the latter, but I really believe the manta of 'be kind, take no shit'. It's done wonders for my happiness.

This got really long, I appreciate anyone who got to the bottom! I'll send these out to ten people from my permanent interaction call because I think that's nice. Thank you @disciple-of-frost for sending this in!! ✨

[stiffyck]

For the tattoo bug thing you asked for

Praying mantas

And one of these is a silver fish the other one might be a silver fish, i dunno

HONESTLY IVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT A MANTIS TATTOO FOR A WHILE. IF I WENT FOR THAT ONE ID WANT IT ON MY HIP PROBABLY.

Also the other two freaks. Love that. Creepy as fuck /pos

[sardinedweeb]

“I’m in love with a monster!”

introducing my newest self ship, “pig man!” Which is a fan pairing between big man and Snowtrees the Guinea pig (my main fursona). Yes, I love a freaking manta ray….so what? Anyways, have some cute Halloween art of these two. Going to try to make it a habit to pay attention to my other self ships. Enjoy!

[eriexplosion]

Clone Wars - Shadow of Malevolence

Having expended everything I remembered about this three parter in the first part, I'm going into this one not remembering anything whatsoever.

First of all 'diabolical droid commander, General Grievous' I love that the writers simply do not know what this man is. Droid? Not a droid? Who knows, not the people writing this that's for sure!

I love when the clones get the salt and pepper hair... absolute top tier look right there. And one of them even gets a name, Matchstick - taking bets on if he survives the episode because I have a haunting feeling the answer is no.

"The Jedi are never that harsh with their clones." "The care these Jedi show for their troops is a weakness." "A weakness we shall continue to exploit."

Cannot get over that this exchange between Dooku & Grievous is actually about Grievous punching a head directly off a battle droid and getting told off because they're expensive. It's weakness not to decapitate your troops with a single punch, this is why the Jedi will lose. Clearly.

Honestly, I think that there's a strong preference for Grievous in like, the 2D series where he's an incredible badass but I love coughing little freak Grievous. Most character of all time. He has several things wrong with him.

Their target is a medical station with 60,000 injured clones though, fucking. Hands off the boys, Grievous.

One thing I like about this episode is that it really gives us the first bits of the Ahsoka & Anakin sibling dynamic that works so well for me. We got lots of them interacting last episode, but I don't think it has quite the charm of their back and forth over how Anakin TOTALLY doesn't hate Ahsoka's flying he just enjoys her company so she should come with him as the gunner and definitely not fly. Awkward big brother Anakin is my favorite.

UNEXPECTED NALA SE APPEARANCE. I forgot she was here so early. Headcanon possibilities abound with that, is Omega on the station somewhere? What about early pre-deployment batch? Some of the behind the scenes stuff makes it sound like they were only allowed into the field because someone spoke up for them after 99 died, but they're probably still Nala Se's pet project to experiment on. So many options just with her being here.

"Broadside, if we make it through this one, drinks are on me." "I can already taste it."

OH YEAH THEY'RE TOAST. AT LEAST ONE OF THEM. NEVER MAKE PLANS.

I love that Plo Koon knows that this random smuggler's route is the habitat of DANGEROUS POSSIBLY SHIP EATING SPACE MANTA RAYS. Is he particularly knowledgeable in smuggler's routes or does he just know a lot about space marine biology? I hope that he has a book about the Purrgils.

The "It's just smiling at ya!" bit from Anakin. I adore him, god.

Also yep, Matchstick is gone, doomed by making plans for after the mission ;A; don't like that, put him back. (Also lost an unseen clone named Tag, which is the cutest name ever oh my god)

And once again Plo Koon saves the day with clear headed thinking mid-battle. Best Jedi master.

At the end there's another little exchange that caught my attention, this one between Nala Se & Anakin:

Do not take the lives you saved lightly. I don't. But I also can't take the lives I lost lightly.

Once again I am TORN UP by how much Anakin cares about people and wants to do right by them, that even in victory he's thinking about their lives being lost I am In Agony about it. But also, it's interesting to see this Nala Se who seems a little more caring about the clones. She didn't escape immediately and stayed to oversee the evacuation, for one, but also praising Anakin for the lives he saved. She's almost likable and then goes on to do things like drug Fives to lead directly to his death.

I was going to do all three tonight but I'm getting a little sleepy so third one tomorrow. I am going to be turning around the thought of Omega or the batch being on this station with Nala Se ALL NIGHT, I just know it.

[foxyk7]

I usually stay QUIET on main about anything else than is not my art or about my mutuals...

BUT FOR LORD SAKE LOOK AT THEMMMMM!!!!

I FUCKING LOVE THEIR NEW DESIGN FOR THE FINAL SPLATFEST, LOOK AT MY LESBIANS AND MY BIG BRAZILIAN MANTA RAY!!!!! BUT I'M ALSO SO PISSED THAT I CAN'T PLAY IT I DON'T HAVE A FREAKING SWITCH AND THESE THING ALONG WITH THE GAME WILL COST ME BOTH OF MY LIVERS.

If this happen to decide which path Splatoon will take AGAIN THIRD TIME IN A ROLL we're so FUCKED.

I'm soooo fucking sure than Team Past will win but at the same time there's Team Future!! (Of course that is IF its the Idols against each other then Present might have a chance since is Off The Hook, everyone love those lesbians!, or just Shiver VS Frye VS BigMan, then its most probably gonna be Shiver)

I'm even more angy than I won't be able to see the live stream! I HAVE A FUCKING JOB NOW!!! I CAN'T JUST TURN TO MY BOSS AND SAY "Hey boss! I'm not going to work today because there's a Live stream show than I want to see of a bunch of cephalopods with humanoid proportions singing and dancing songs that don't have 'exact' lyrics because is ALL GIBBERISH BUT IS ALSO SO FUCKING GOOD"

Splatoon changed my life in a way that is not reparable anymore.

[askdarkwingduck]

Hey darkwing Duck

Whats your favorite Pokémon?

Oh gosh.... I have so many favorites...

If I had to give 6 pokemon that I like, my pokemon team if you will, they would be...

Honchkrow and Corvikight for obvious reasons... ;)

Delibird for being soooooooo cute!!! Mantine for being a freaking manta ray!! I love those creatures!!

Pelipper for reminding me so much of Launchpad for me! And finally Quaxly, for also being sooooooo adorable!!!

Those are my personal favorites!!! As you can see, theres a certain pattern with most of them!!

[heartsoulrocknroll]

One month later, I have finally mustered the energy to write this trip report. After months of anticipation, I finally got to visit Busch Gardens Tampa and SeaWorld Orlando. This was my first time to BGT. I went to SWO in 2011, but I have only very foggy memories of that trip. I was in Florida from the evening of Friday 2/10 to the afternoon of Monday 2/13. I did BGT Friday evening, all day Sunday, and Monday morning/afternoon. I did SWO all day Saturday. I was able to ride all the coasters, except Scorpion at BGT, which was closed the whole time I was there. Here are my thoughts and rankings!!!!

1) Iron Gwazi - 10 rides, including 3 night rides. MY NEW NUMBER ONE!!!! When I say that this is a life-changing coaster, I do not exaggerate. I have hyped this ride up in my mind for so long, and it still exceeded all my expectations. I expected it to be more intense than most of the other RMCs I have ridden, but my mind was still blown by the intensity after my first ride. I expected it to be ejector airtime city on this thing, but there is a greater quantity of airtime and more aggressive airtime than I could have imagined. I was flung out of my seat on the first drop and on that beautiful outerbanked hill following the drop every time. The barrel roll down drop is taken from such a height and at such a speed that it blows the one on Twisted Timbers, which I love with all my heart, out of the water. I hear people talking about sideways airtime on Fury, and I just think they’re insane. The wave turn on IG actually gives crazy sideways EJECTOR airtime. The stall on IG lasts longer than the one on Steel Vengeance, but surprisingly, isn’t as whippy. You get another great airtime pop on that last drop, then absolutely slam into the brakes. If you have ridden Steel Vengeance, you almost have no choice but to compare the two, and for my money, Iron Gwazi wins. If you have two similar rides, and one has a midcourse brake run and the other does not, the one without the midcourse brakes will usually win for me. Iron Gwazi is shorter, but its pacing is better. You are thrown from one element to the next in rapid-fire succession without a second to catch your breath, and that is one of the most appealing characteristics in a roller coaster to me. I cannot say enough good things about this coaster, and the fact that it is 9.5 hours away from me is eating me up inside. I cannot wait to get back on it. 

2) Montu -- 3 rides. I am a B&M invert freak, so this was my second most-anticipated ride of this trip. Again, it did not disappoint. I am so obsessed with this layout. Carowinds is my home park and Afterburn is one of the great loves of my life. Montu and Afterburn have nearly the same layout, so of course I am comparing them. Montu provides all of the positive Gs I love in an invert, with the gray-out-inducing first vertical loop, the foot-ripping batwing, and the whippy corkscrew. But it also throws in that nice, floaty zero-g roll for some variety. I appreciate the extra height that Montu has on the first drop, as well as the additional ride time you get from the second vertical loop, which is still intense and forceful despite coming after the midcourse brake run. But here we are, back to the “two similar rides, one with a midcourse and one without” issue. As a result, I think Afterburn still sits atop the B&M invert throne. It just feels a little better paced and a little more intense to me. But the rides are so similar, I can hardly even separate the two. I love both more than I can adequately describe.

3) Manta -- 3 rides, including 2 night rides. Manta was the second major thrill coaster I ever rode, with my first ride occurring in 2011. I remembered liking it, but now being 12 years older and an insane enthusiast, I am in love. After riding Nighthawk countless times, this B&M flyer is like a dream. This coaster has an excellent blend of intensity and gracefulness. I am obsessed with the pretzel loop. I love positive Gs, and being exposed to them while lying down is a whole different sensation that sort of blows the mind. Also, the inline twists and corkscrew are floaty and buttery smooth. This coaster also has fantastic interactions with the terrain/surroundings, including the dive off the midcourse toward the water (which results in a little splash if you are in the correct seat) and the following bit where the train flies right by the waterfall. I love everything about this ride, except being left hanging on the brake run for minutes on end when operations are slow.

4) Mako -- 6 rides, including 5 night rides. Now THIS is a B&M hyper!!!!!! The first drop gives excellent airtime, especially in the back row. The overbank following the first drop is nice and intense. But that first hill??? It is the most perfect floater airtime hill ever constructed. I don’t think that’s even debatable. It literally gives 5 to 6 solid seconds of airtime. I’ve never experienced anything else like it. The hills on the return run continue to provide good airtime, lifting you out of your seat for a second or two. The ending bit around the fountain provides a couple of fairly steeply banked turns that actually have the slightest bit of whip to them. This is simply a fantastic ride.

5) Kumba -- 3 rides, including 1 true night ride, with the other 2 being evening/almost-dark rides. Oh. My. God. My mind has been blown. Kumba is the prime example of the forcefulness and intensity that I love in a 90s B&M. The pacing is absolutely amazing. It is an inversion-packed layout that never lets up for a second. And every inversion delivers for me. Awesome positives from the vertical loop and dive loop, a super whippy zero-g roll, a nice cobra roll. The mid-course brakes do not hinder the intensity at all, as the second-half corkscrews still have great force to them. And I love the tunnel at the end, especially at night. This is a relatively smooth, well-maintained coaster as well. What a ride!!!!!!

6) SheiKra -- 2 rides, including 1 night ride. I liked SheiKra far more than I  expected I would after my disappointing experience with Valravn. Despite having a shorter drop and two fewer inversions, SheiKra is a much better ride, owing largely to the over-the-shoulder restraints, which actually allow for some airtime on the dives and don’t make me feel like I am going to suffocate. The 200-foot first drop is awesome, providing some good airtime on the way down. The Immelman gives good positive Gs. I particularly like the second drop into the tunnel. The splashdown at the end is a nice touch as well.

7) Kraken -- 2 rides. Kraken is very similar to Kumba, as it is also incredibly intense and well-paced with nonstop, back-to-back inversions. Additionally, Kraken's sequence of elements is almost identical to Kumba's, with the exception of a second vertical loop replacing one of Kumba’s corkscrews. Kraken gives great positives throughout, with all the loops, but especially the second vertical loop that goes down into a trench. There are several trenches on this ride, offering a lot of low-to-the-ground moments that add to the forcefulness. One of my favorite moments comes at the end, when you barrel through the tunnel and come flying out into that whippy corkscrew. It sort of depresses me to put Kraken below SheiKra, but I feel that I should for one reason. I hear enthusiasts bitching about a nonexistent "rattle" on B&Ms all the time, and to that I say, you haven't felt a rattle until you've been on Kraken in 2023. It holds this otherwise amazing ride back so much, it's depressing.

8) Cheetah Hunt -- 2 rides, including 1 night ride. After riding Maverick, I think it’s impossible not to be underwhelmed by Cheetah Hunt. With a bit more force in the launches and more whip in the heartline roll and banked turns, this would be an excellent ride. But as it is, the ride is still very fun. The three launches are fun (and necessary to keep the speed up as much as possible). The layout is interesting, with the big drop not coming at the very beginning of the ride. The heartline roll gives some hangtime, which is not really my favorite thing -- the lack of whip there is a real bummer. The banked turns that weave through the rocks and over the water are the best part of the ride. The hill after the third launch gives some decent airtime. Overall, the ride also makes great use of the terrain and surroundings.

9) Ice Breaker -- 1 ride. This ride is short, but still packs in some good elements. I like the backwards drop you get with the swing launch, although the vertical spike is extremely unimpressive and does not feel beyond-vertical, especially if you are sitting toward the front of the train. The best and most unexpected part of this ride is the surprisingly powerful ejector airtime, especially on the small hill just before the tophat, but also going over the tophat and on the small hills in the second half. I know everyone says it, but in this case, that's because it's true -- the comfort collars are garbage and really hold the airtime and the ride overall back. But this is still a good ride that I liked more than I thought I would.

10) Tigris -- 1 night ride. This is also a very short ride. Like Ice Breaker, Tigris provides that backwards dropping aspect, which is unique and fun. The slow heartline roll gives good hangtime, which again, isn't my favorite thing in the world. Going from the force of the launch that gets the ride up to max speed to the slow crawl at which the train takes the heartline roll is a weird transition. Nevertheless, the first half of the ride is pretty fun. The rest doesn't do much for me. Additionally, the comfort collar is even more obnoxious here than it is on Ice Breaker. It genuinely ruins the ride for me.

11) Cobra’s Curse -- 1 ride. Although this coaster obviously and purposely lacks in thrill, it is very enjoyable. I like the novelty of the elevator lift, and the spinning of the trains, although very tame and controlled, is a lot of fun. I wish the spinning lasted for the entire ride, rather than just the final third. The ride also provides really good views of the giraffes.

12) Sand Serpent -- 1 night ride. This is the standard wild mouse layout, with all the lateral-filled tight turns and almost-painful dips that make these rides good fun. 

[the-angel-of-the-bottomless-pit]

oh and because i've become obsessed with fallout 4 after buying it (i hate this game and how it runs SO much but GODDAMN IT im having fun and im mad about it) i've already made a little oc guy because nhnhnhnhhhhhh had to

"Caps". Not the vaultie, but an ex pack (nuka cola world faction) ..member? Slave? It's sort of blurred and honestly he couldn't tell you which either.

He's called Caps because he won't give up any other name and there's a bomb collar around his neck studded with factory-fresh caps (figure it's like a Flex, like having a diamond studded collar for your cat or dog or whatever)

I figure he sort of stumbled in after the raiders settled in and, being a violent idiot, figured he'd go in hammer-swinging. The pack alpha at that time was like LMAO, THIS LITTLE FREAK'S NUTS. lets put a collar on him so he can't leave and we can put him in the cage fights with animals (but with like a quarter respect because the pack values that kind of FUCKING KILL! attitude)

So after a few months of living in Berserk mode he slips away (SOMEhow not setting off the collar. Maybe he smashed the remote and got lucky? He's definitely not smart enough to crack into it himself and disable the bomb) and wanders around the state until coming around to goodneighbor. Goodneighbor is seedy enough it'll let him in (unlike DIAMOND CITY the SHITHEAD town) and hey. violence impresses Hancock.

This is sometime after Bobbi's stolen from him, and since the Vaultie fled afterwards, Dealing With It gets to be Caps' job. with half the payment up front he gets his first good meal in a while (a can of cram. he Loves cram.) and a gun and Handles it. He took back what she stole as well dirt-wise and wanted extra caps for it but settled for med-x instead.

Oh and him and Kent Connolly are going to get into a fucking nerd slapfight. Caps LOVES Grognak and would NEVER accept the Silver Shroud being 'better'. Eventually they'll bond over both hating Manta Man and Caps would do the silver shroud quest (FINDING GROGNAK'S THINGS AT HUBRIS COMICS AS WELL, WHICH HE WILL GO INSANE ABOUT. somebody please take the goddamn ax away before he kills someone by accident just swinging it around in the middle of goodneighbor)

His chem of choice is Psycho.