#Vicious Varmints

[inthemosss]

I don't want anything to do with body horror, unless it's a D&D campaign courtesy of Aabria Iyengar featuring stoats puppeteering Carlos Luna-voiced doctors

[acourtoffeyandfables]

HELLO VICIOUS VARMINTS !

[chungledown-bimothy]

There has been no better situation for "do you believe in miracles?" than Aabria pulling out vicious varmints, honestly.

[daughterofsarenrae]

Does anyone know anything about how to get a scary beast out from between ur laundry machines. Some kinda varmint got back in there and he's very vicious 😱

[fillingthescrapbook]

Let's Talk About: Burrow's End and Protect the Light

Gonna be honest, I thought two hours was a long time for this episode. And I was really feeling that length in the beginning. But once we hit the middle of the episode, I realized why it had to be long--because the episode picks up once Thorn gets his first experience as a dad with Jaysohnn and Lila pulling him through the hoops and then it just doesn't let up.

Also: it's getting real hard to pick the perfect thumbnails for this episode. I also realized: they don't show Aabria's reactions as much when wild things happen. Like, I get the cast are very very expressive, and the director doesn't really shy away from putting Aabria in the spotlight--but when you're searching for the perfect thumbnail of an Aabria reaction?

Is it because Aabria's reactions aren't as pronounced and long as Brennan's? Because I can get a Brennan as DM reaction screencap quickly. But with Aabria, I have to keep replaying and pausing to capture the actual reaction. It's so fleeting.

It makes me crave it more.

…

Now that I've made myself sound like a deranged loon, let's get to the episode proper, vicious varmints! Spoilers!

I love how the cast, because they're playing a family, is using backstory lore drop as a way to instigate pvp. I feel like Brennan making Erika's Ava an alcoholic grandma is revenge for Ava mentioning that Brennan's Tula is a ho.

Brennan as Tula crumpling to the ground asleep was very relatable.

I have to say: I feel really bad about the lack of Olliver and Teedles. Sybil is fun though. So was Lukas. Ellen being a gossipmonger was hilarious. But something about Thalia's efficiency scares me. If anything truly unsettled me about the Last Bast? It was Thalia.

Not gonna lie, I kinda was sad that the unsettling tension that the scene with Thalia was building up kind of evaporated once Erika hit Brennan with another pvp lore drop: implying Tula has a case of the toots.

Much more happened. Stuff that will percolate in my head until the next episode drops. I love the stuff we continue to discover about the Last Bast and the world of Burrow's End at large--but, again with the honesty, I am enjoying the character interactions more this season. Especially with the last couple of episodes. Especially when Siobhan and Izzy goes completely unhinged with their sibling energy.

My MVP this week is Aabria's Sybil. Specifically. I'm not going to expound. If you've seen the episode, I feel like you'll understand why I am deeply and unrevocably in love with this NPC. One of the best in Dimension 20 history for me.

And in lieu of stray thoughts, I have stray reaction shots instead.

Now, when can next week get here? 'Cause I need to find out what Tula has lied about.

[sinisterspinster]

It's time for some vicious varmints!! The last bastion is straight up going to wipe out all of humanity, huh 😂 if we find a nuke I'm going to scream

[fuzzydreamin]

What The Companions Say About... Mole rats!

I'm posting these just because I find the companions in-game reactions to things rather interesting. You might be surprised by what some of them have to say about certain things.

These are just their dialogues for during combat and after combat or walking through areas inhabited by this enemy type. It does not include anything from specific areas, quests, or other dialogue.

⌨ Ada

⌨: There must be literally miles of mole rat warrens beneath the Commonwealth. ⌨: The mole rat is a filthy species… I'm detecting high levels of bacteria in the area. ⌨: Humans actually ingest these beasts? Fortunately for us both, I lack a vomiting subroutine. ⌨: Since mole rats will chew on anything… including wires, may I suggest we move along? ⌨: Mole rats. Hardly worth our time, ma'am.

☘ Cait

☘: They're comin' out of the ground! ☘: One rat-ka-bob comin' right up!

☘: Mole rats? Disgusting little vermin. ☘: If we bag a few of them, maybe we can have a little treat for dinner tonight. ☘: Wish we could just step on these little bastards. Would save us some ammo. ☘: Mole rats gather all sorts of interestin' things, so it's worth pokin' through their den for loot. ☘: Phew. Yup, it's mole rats all right.

⚙ Codsworth

⚙: Get those varmints! ⚙: Exterminating time!

⚙: Mole rats. Nothing more than two vicious vermin merged into one, I suppose. ⚙: Watch out for holes, mum. Mole rats about. Wouldn't want to twist an ankle. ⚙: Curious creatures, mole rats. ⚙: Quite enamoured with bits of shiny, the mole rat is. Occasionally they pilfer something useful. ⚙: Not your garden variety vermin. Nothing short of the saw or flame-spout will do for mole rats, I'm afraid.

⚕ Curie

⚕: Was the ancestor of the mole rat a mole or a rat? Does anyone know? ⚕: Potentially mole rat meat may be quite nutritious. A healthy diet requires a great deal of protein, after all. ⚕: Mole rats exhibit pack behaviour. ⚕: These mole rats are little more than pests, yes? ⚕: Mole rats are a curious species.

♞ Danse

♞: {With contempt} Diseased vermin! ♞: {With contempt} Bleed, you filth!

♞: {Nasty rats.} Ugh. Diseased filth. ♞: {Repulsed by the thought of eating rats.} The thought of eating these things makes me sick. How can people stoop so low? ♞: I loathe wasting precious ammunition on these vermin. ♞: Ugly little creatures, aren't they. ♞: {Pause while trying to think how to describe it.} Mole rat stench is quite… pungent.

🕶 Deacon

🕶: Do we have to kill these guys? 🕶: Burrow deep and run away, little buddies.

🕶: You know, I've always wanted a pet mole rat. I'd call him, "Ziggy." 🕶: I always feel a little bad shooting mole rats. Not bad enough not to eat them, though. 🕶: Mole rat. The other white meat. 🕶: One mole rat is kinda cute. A swarm of them, though, that's trouble. 🕶: When I retire I want to be a mole rat farmer. That'd be the life.

☠ Gage

☠: How many of you little shits I gotta kill? ☠: You're not tunnelling away this time!

☠: Little shits oughta stay underground, if they knew what's good for them. ☠: Get an entire pack of mole rats on your ass, and you can wind up in serious trouble. ☠: All right, mole rats - another friggin' nuisance the Commonwealth shits out like there's no tomorrow. ☠: I ain't saying I've been desperate enough to eat mole rat, but… well, I ain't sayin' it. ☠: Cook anything long enough, and it doesn't taste so bad. Molerat might be the exception to that.

☣ Hancock

☣: {Amused} Only room for one skinless freak 'round here. ☣: {Amused} Hey, dinner delivered itself.

☣: {Neutral} Mole rats. About as dangerous as they are pretty. ☣: {Neutral} Watch your ankles around these things. ☣: {Neutral} Keep an eye on the ground. Little bastards like to burrow. ☣: {Amused} Nearly lost some fingers to a mole rat once. They do not like to spoon. ☣: {Ribbing the player. / Amused} Pretty sure even you could handle these things on your own.

☸ Longfellow

☸: {Sage old hunter giving advice} Mole rats are damn tricky, poppin' up out of nowhere like they do. ☸: {Sage old hunter giving advice} If you think there's mole rats about, you get up on somethin' tall and you watch the ground. ☸: {Sage old hunter giving advice} One mole rat ain't a threat, but when the other six show up, that's when you start runnin'. ☸: {Begruding respect for a small but aggressive creature} Mole rats are nasty little buggers, I'll give 'em that.

⨁ MacCready

⨁: Goddamn mole rats! ⨁: Gonna mount you on a stick!

⨁: Ugh, I used to eat these things. Still can't get the taste out of my mouth. ⨁: Don't even want to imagine what kind of diseases these are carrying. ⨁: Mole rats will burrow right up under you if they have the chance. ⨁: That smell is horrible. I think I'm gonna puke. ⨁: Don't underestimate mole rats. Seen them strip the flesh from a man's bones in a matter of minutes.

♥ Nick

♥: {Neutral} Walking sacks of plague. ♥: {Neutral} Guess that makes us the rat traps.

♥: {Neutral} Seems everything that survived the bombs got bigger and madder. ♥: {Neutral} Watch your step. Probably walking over a mole rat warren as we speak. ♥: {Neutral} I heard these things taste as bad as they smell. ♥: {Neutral} Whoever coined the phrase "mountains out of mole hills" clearly never saw a mole rat den. ♥: {Neutral} Mole rats are quick little buggers, aren't they? ♥: {Smells something horrible at the start. / Disgust} Bleh! You can bet no one would eat these things if they had to smell them first.

✉ Piper

✉: {Concerned} Hello. Mole rats! ✉: {Stern} Watch it. Could be more burrowed nearby.

✉: {Emphasis on the first "A." Telling a joke at the end. / Neutral} A mole rat's a pest. A pack of them, well, that's just good eating. ✉: {Remembering / Neutral} During the thin years, when the harvests didn't pan out, finding a mole rat felt like a gift. An angry, smelly gift. ✉: {Neutral} Rule one of mole rats - never get between a Brood Mother and her… anything. Just stay away from them. ✉: {Neutral} Wonder if there's a warren nearby. ✉: {Neutral} Whew. One of these rats must be seriously ill. Nothing healthy should smell like that.

☀ Preston

☀: I thought I smelled something. ☀: Look out. There may be more of them under the ground.

☀: Watch where you step. Mole rats. ☀: I once lived on mole rat for two months. Almost turned me vegetarian. ☀: When these little buggers start tunnelling, watch your back. They're liable to pop out anywhere. ☀: These things'll tear up a field of crops faster than you'd believe. ☀: You can always tell when mole rats are around. What a stink.

☢ Strong

☢: Puny little mole rats. ☢: Strong smash mole rats. ☢: Mole rats worthless fighters. ☢: Strong hear humans say mole rats annoying. Strong agree. ☢: Strong not like mole rat tunnels.

☾ X6-88

☾: {Amused} If these things were a little smaller, we could just step on them and save bullets. ☾: {Disgust} Damn mole rats get into everything out here. ☾: {Confident} Time for some pest control. ☾: {Confident} Come on, give me something real to fight. ☾: {Disdain} Mole rats… the scourge of the Commonwealth. At least they die easy enough.

-----

My Notes:

Several of their voicelines imply that people think the mole rats are some sort of combined creature of a regular rat and a regular mole, and not just a big naked mole rat. Even Curie is confused about it. This just doesn't seem right to me, especially since the model does just look like a naked mole rat. Also of note is that the mole rat did exist before the war, as the ones found in vault 81 were specifically bred by vault-tec, so it's not a product of random wasteland radiation exposure.

Mole rats STINK.

Cait, Deacon, Hancock, and Piper enjoy eating mole rats. Curie seems open to the idea. Danse, Preston, and Gage could not be paid to eat one, ditto for Ada and Nick but they aren't exactly needing to.

Deacon and Curie both want to keep mole rats, though Curie would certainly experiment on hers.

I wonder if Mac primarily ate mole rats just because living in a cave attracted them. Perhaps they were common pests for the Lamplighters. At least it's a change up from the usual cave fungus and "strange meat".

[chronicallyaddled]

Something about “We see it in the crushed clover. We feel it in the tremble of the earth itself. We feel it in the thunder on a cloudless day.” You know who else canonically suffered the consequences of thunder on a cloudless day? And now our vicious varmints find themselves in a community of people who take in people and their stories from all over? “Thunder on a cloudless day” was said twice and both times by Aabria, so it wasn’t another PC being inspired by a cool turn of phrase.

[mamadonut]

Vicious varmints

💗💗💗

[gayandtrashy]

Totally did not just cheer watching the clip of the intro when we got Vicious Varmints

[kobold-royalty]

" Long ago on a mountain top A mighty egg was laid Burned by the light of the circle bright And cooled by the forest shade Then one stormy evening when the icy rain did pour Out of the egg appeared the leg of the Lone Dinosaur His neck was long and limber His shoulders broad and lean His eye was high as the mornin' sky And his vision it was keen He wandered strong and silent across the valley floor And everybody called him the Lone Dinosaur Dinosaur... His tail was swift as lightning Dinosaur... His heart was brave and pure Dinosaur... Whenever times were frightening call his name and he'd be there for sure Lone Dinosaur One day when he was roaming alone out in the west A vicious pack of Sharpteeth came and gobbled up his nest He tracked that pack of varmints and fought them by the score He left them lying toothless Toothless? And he gave a mighty roar Dinosaur! He promised his protection Dinosaur! To the helpless and the poor Dinosaur! Whenever there was danger They'd never be defenseless anymore This he swore The Lone Dinosaur Dinosaur... His tail is swift as lightning Dinosaur... His heart is brave and pure Dinosaur... Whenever times are frightening He'll be there to fight the carnivore The Lone Dinosaur Ye-haa! "

[grantgfan]

The Legend of the Lone Dinosaur

Ellie:🎵 Long ago on a mountain top a mighty egg was laid Burned by the light of the circle bright and cooled by the forest shade Then one stormy evening when the icy rain did pour out of the egg appeared the leg of the Lone Dinosaur

His neck was long and limber his shoulders broad and lean His eye was high as the mornin' sky and his vision it was keen He wandered strong and silent across the valley floor and everybody called him the Lone Dinosaur

Dinosaur...

His tail was swift as lightning

Dinosaur...

His heart was brave and pure

Dinosaur...

Whenever times were frightening call his name and he'd be there for sure Lone Dinosaur

One day when he was roaming alone out in the west A vicious pack of Sharpteeth came and gobbled up his nest He tracked that pack of varmints and fought them by the score He left them lying toothless

henry: Toothless.

ellie: And he gave a mighty roar

Together: Dinosaur!

Ellie: He promised his protection

Together: Dinosaur!

ellie: To the helpless and the poor

Together: Dinosaur!

Ellie: Whenever there was danger They'd never be defenseless anymore This he swore The Lone Dinosaur

Together: Dinosaur...

techo: His tail is swift as lightning

Together: Dinosaur...

Henry: His heart is brave and pure

Together: Dinosaur...

thomas: Whenever times are frightening he'll be there to fight the carnivore

ellie: The Lone Dinosaur🎵

Together: Yee-haw!

[waltwhitmansbeard]

VICIOUS VARMINTS

[321spongebolt]

"SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom" Robot Poll

I'm going to ask you all a question if you've ever played this game. If you've ever played "SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom", then you'll know that Plankton's robots are your enemies. If there's any robot you could turn from bad to good and keep them, which one of Plankton's robots (not counting the three main bosses) would you adopt? And what would you use your selected robot for?

There's all kinds of them, so before taking the poll down below, I have descriptions and links for each one.

LIST OF PLANKTON'S ROBOTS

Fodder - A small robot with a cube-shaped head, a hexagonal green eye, and a black wheel for mobility. It wields a black stick topped with a red electrical orb in its left hand. Nifty electrical touch attack. Not tall enough to ride most roller coasters, but more vicious than a pack of rabid clams.

Ham-Mer - A large cylindrical robot with green eyes, a green mouth, and a green glowing compartment on its chest. It uses a water wheel to move around, and its right arm is a large bamboo pole with a ham on it with "Mer" written on the ham. Impressive meat byproduct attack. Smarter than it looks. Goes well with broccoli and a nice Chianti.

Tar-Tar - A humanoid robot that carries a large container of tartar sauce attached to a device strapped around its back that lets it shoot it out at its enemies. Uncanny flying tartar sauce attack. Smells somewhat better than stale fish.

Chomp-Bot - A very small, dog-like robot with razor-sharp teeth. They contain poisonous gas in their bodies. Somewhat unstable critter. Beware his stinky doggy breath. Likes to chew toys, random citizens, and mimes.

G-Love - A green and purple robot with five arms wearing white latex gloves and resembles a flying saucer. Has the most vicious smack attack, hands down. Expert foot masseuse, lemon squeezer, and delightful hand puppet shows.

Chuck - a submarine-like flying robot with lime-green eyes and a gloved robot arm sticking out from the top, which is used to throw water missiles. Annoying missile attack. Likes to throw tantrums... and other various military grade disobedience. Not terribly friendly.

Monsoon - A robot that wears a big pair of square glasses. It carries a red and white umbrella on its back, allowing it to float in the air (meaning attacks that can head upwards are its main weaknesses). It also carries a remote that it uses to generate and control electrically charged storm clouds. Shocking electrical attack. Rather sensitive. Reads poetry, likes plants, and enjoys zapping wandering denizens.

Sleepy Time - A large, sleepy robot that casts a light around its personal space. This light turns red if anyone gets closer to it. In their awake form, Sleepy-Times are revealed to have green eyes. Mostly harmless... unless awoken. Somewhat moody. Likes to express himself by blasting everything in sight or finger painting.

Bomb-Bot - Resembles a bomb and behaves like an Arf-Dawg. Bot follow you, go "boom". This is just the bot to get for the friend you like least.

Arf - Large robots who are dressed like cowboys: they feature a sheriff's badge, a mustache, boots, a belt, a large cowboy hat, and a doghouse. This here's one mean varmint... packs a .45 caliber "Kat Krusher" - most powerful doghouse made.

Arf-Dawgs - A dog-like robot who behaves a lot like the Bomb-Bot.

BZZT-Bot - Small robots that are equipped with a light green laser eye with a yellowish tinge. Their metal body is gray and each of their hands only has three fingers. A BZZT-Bot's face is shaped like a square. Lemon-scented gamma ray attack. Somewhat unpredictable. Borrows money without returning it, blasts things at random.

Tublet - robots that wear a striped red/white helicopter hat and have lime-green eyes. They also ride on a pink hippo floaty. Comes in threes, or in six packs with coupon. Inexplicable jello attack. Stays crunchy, even in milk.

Slick - Massive robots that tower above most other non-boss robots. Their torsos, shoulders, and hands are chrome along with their head, and they have lime-green eyes. Instead of having legs they have three inner tubes that they use for mobility, apparently by gliding across the ground. They hold what appear to be an oil can in their left hand and a bubble wand in their right hand. Disgusting oil blob attack. Doesn't wear underwear or bathe very regularly. Just the kind of bot your mother warned you about, kids.

Now, let's move on with the poll below. This poll will last for one week only, so don't delay. You can also use the list above for more help with your choice. Also, after voting you can also leave comment about what changes you would make to your adopted robot.

[davidleejones]

When I was cop (long retired now), I was considered my PD's secret weapon when dispatch got calls about "vicious pit bulls chasing people" or whatever. I had a very effective tool in the trunk of my Crown Vic cruiser: boxes and bags of doggie treats.

By the time animal control arrived, I'd have these varmints at curbside, on their backs, begging for more belly rubs, slurping my fingers and ears.

Vicious? Methinks not.

Back then, I adopted five "vicious strays" and kept them in my large, fenced-in backyard, where they were well-cared for. Big babies, each and every one of them. And I found loving homes for the others.

Both myself and one of my supervisors often took our mountain bikes for 15-mile rides along country roads. Of course, we encountered farm dogs and strays. He carried a snub-nosed .357 magnum in his handlebar bag (thankfully, he never scored any hits); I carried goodies in mine. Guess which one of us had the most success?