#mechanical kangaroo

[grogumaximus]

[sysig]

Finally made a Parapluesch OC, introducing Mama Oz ♥ (Patreon)

[wildbeautifuldamned]

MOKO LESNEY 1950 MUFFIN THE MULE DIECAST PUPPET + ANNETTE MILLS MUFFIN BOOK ebay coco-curios

[youhavehitawall]

@nataliecertain Pnorthern Pneumatics seems legit

the fact that doc had straight up three piston cups and a set of racing tyres and a fucking actual literal newspaper article about him all in his garage OUT IN THE OPEN for DECADES is so so fucking funny he is such an awful liar. he has never kept a secret before in his life. the window out to the street directly faces the shelf he had a piston cup on like are you forreal

but its also really sweet because the townsfolk saw that doc didnt want anyone snooping in his past and all collectively agreed to leave his garage alone, even Mater who is absolutely a stickybeak. its like when a kid is trying to tell a fib and you go along with it like yesss of course youre from canada doc. youve always been a mechanic with your fake certificate yes. heres your high octane fuel that you totally dont need because youre totally not a racecar

[heidispikecat6]

Cute Kangaroo

[atthebell]

foolish wont stop talking about kangaroos slime is trying to stay in a cave like a freak baghera is cheering phil is trying to direct them all and cellbit is almost dead silent only interrupting to ask phil questions about minecraft mechanics. jaiden accidentally just turned in a mission.

[doonarose]

New fic!!! The big one that I've been thinking about and writing for ages and I really, really, really want it to be good! Chapter one is here! The next nine chapters are written and will drop about once a week!

CW/TW: Explicit sexual content in later chapters. Minor human injuries, major animal injuries, car accident in this chapter.

Summary: Aziraphale and Crowley are from different worlds with little in common and no reason for their lives to ever intersect. But then one dark, cold, miserable night their meeting becomes unavoidable as they narrowly avoid their cars colliding. They're left with an injured wild animal and the inevitability of starting to fall for each other. But, of course, it isn't as simple as that...

A/N: Hoo boy. This story has been percolating for seven and a half months. It's my first try at a human AU and I first came up with it as some sort of coping mechanism after I hit a kangaroo in my brand new car and had to limp another four hours home without a headlight.

I never would have thought about trying to write it properly without the needling, annoying, and cheerleading of the GOAD writer's chat! Extra special shoutouts to u/harlotofupdog and u/Paperclip_ninja for being at the forefront of the push for 'deer fic' and then agreeing to beta without realising that would also mean listening to me bemoan every last little decision and detail for weeks on end! Thanks also to u/FuzzyGoblinoid for even more cheerleading and also making the lovely header art!

Nine chapters are already written and the whole story mapped out so I will be updating about once a week with those and hopefully stay ahead! There are some feelings to be had, but do not fear, the smut is closer than you think and, I promise, everything will work out in the end!

@goodomensafterdark

Excerpt It is a truly horrendous winter’s night, cloaked in pitch black darkness and pelting rain. Howling winds make the little white hatchback shudder and tilt as it rolls along, Aziraphale grasping the steering wheel tighter as he wills the tyres to maintain their grip on the road.

The night is all the more miserable for being a Monday, in all likelihood the start of a fairly rotten week, and a teeth-chattering eight degrees Celsius — both inside and outside the car because, of course, Aziraphale’s heating hasn’t worked since December. He should have left London earlier and been home already, snuggled under the blankets with a good book and a cup of tea. But Sharron, the bookshop owner, had called to say she was stuck on the other side of town and asked him to work back. It hadn’t occurred to him to say no.

Which is why he is now squinting through the windscreen as the wipers squeak back and forth and the rain starts to come down even harder. The first crack of lightning makes him jump in his seat and illuminates the dense woodland streaming past on either side. It also reveals that the twin gleaming tail lights ahead belong to an old-fashioned, sleek beast of a car.

Aziraphale eases off the accelerator to put a few more metres between him and the vehicle ahead and grumbles as the digital clock ticks past nine. They are both driving at well over the speed limit but Aziraphale knows these roads, knows his way home. He so desperately wants to be there already, instead of here, miserably holding his whole body tense against the onslaught of weather outside.

The road curves and the hatchback’s tyres slip for a moment, hydroplaning and skidding towards the wrong side of the road before Aziraphale regains control around the next turn. He really, really just wants to be home and he feels his bottom lip start to wobble involuntarily.

Around another curve, this one tighter, but Aziraphale knows it well. Only another dozen miles or so and —

The tail lights ahead are suddenly too close and too red — the hulking car’s brake lights flash and then it’s skidding, spinning sideways on the road ahead of him.

Aziraphale has no time to process, barely enough to react.

To continue reading head on over to AO3!

[katy-133]

Why Spy and Sniper are opposites (and why they understand each other)

(A Team Fortress 2 meta.)

I had this in my drafts half-written for a while and then felt motivated enough to finish it up after seeing @gobbogoo's excellent meta about the professionalism aspect of Sniper and Spy's relationship.

I love foil characters. In my mind, what can make a foil compelling is when the two characters are opposites in many ways, they are also, at their cores, the same in the ways that really matter. When you get right down to it.

Mechanics (Or Far vs Close)

Sniper and Spy were literally made for each other.

In-game, Sniper and Spy are designed to counter each other. The Sniper vs Spy Update introduced multiple weapons for both Sniper and Spy that were designed to undo specifically the Spy and Sniper classes. They were introduced day-by-day in a comical, "Your new toy may counter mine, but now my new toy counters that!" fashion. Sniper's Razorback shield prevents Spy backstabbing him. Spy's Ambassador allows Spy to kill Snipers wearing a Razorback, and so on.

When you play as Sniper or Spy, different gameplay styles emerge from their different strengths and weaknesses. Sniper works well at a distance, behind the rest of his team, because his primary weapons are long range. Spy works well close up because of his ability to instantly kill with backstabs. And Spy's disguises can be more convincing if he's where the enemy team is, so he works well when he's ahead of the rest of his team.

Dirty vs Clean

Sniper roughs it with his (Cosy Camper) backpack and his camper van. Spy wears Louis Vuitton suits (or rather, "Louis Crabbemarché"--TF2 universe's counterpart), as mentioned in The Naked and the Dead comic:

Sniper urinates in mason jars and throws them as a weapon (Jarate). Spy has a special knife (Your Eternal Reward) that kills so cleanly, it instantly removes the body. Spy calls Sniper "filthy" as an insult in-game. It's something to cast scorn over, to Spy.

Spy: "You disgust me, filthy jar man!"

Alone vs Together

Sniper loves his job as a sniper for RED (and BLU). His job makes him stronger when he's at a distance from his team. Therefore, while he's not totally isolated from people, he doesn't mind being alone. He works well like that when he's working.

Sniper: "I love this job. Sunshine's free, bullets are cheap, and everybody's got a head."

Spy's Rally, an alternate Meet the Spy audio recording (as I wrote before), illustrates how Spy values teamwork and believes that it goes against the natural order of life.

Spy: "Disorder, the natural state of nature, is cheap to create, costly to overcome. [...] Nature abhors a team, gentlemen. And together, we bold few, we unnatural brothers, are going to seize Mother Nature by the throat."

Sniper finds strength in being alone. Spy finds strength in being together.

Out of vs In the Spotlight

When there was a irl figurine of Sniper being sold, Valve's blog released a post written by Sniper ("Well, Now I'm a Statue", 11 December 2012). He explains that he hates that his happened, as it goes against his wantiness to stay out of the spotlight.

Sniper: "It probably wouldn't surprise you to learn that a professional assassin like myself tends to be… discrete about things. We keep to the shadows. We avoid the spotlight. We don't host bloody dinner parties, is my point, and we don't make big bloody statues in effigy to our bloody selves."

Despite being an operative who has the ability to literally turn invisible, Spy has a flair for theatrics. He likes spectacle. In Expiration Date, when Scout apologises to Spy, Spy wants him to repeat "You're better than me," line over the PA system so that all the other mercs hear it.

Inexperienced vs Experienced in Romance

Sniper is never shown to have experienced romance and it's possible he never did. Sniper, despite his character being inspired by Crocodile Dundee, an adventure romance comedy, doesn't have a love interest. Sniper's "kangaroo wife" line is a made-up insult by Soldier.

Soldier: "I will send my condolences to your kangaroo wife."

In Meet the Sniper, we see him call his parents when he gets access to a payphone. His parents whom he sends postcards to (we see this postcard in the Sniper vs. Spy update). And it's his parents that the Administrator threatens the safety of to keep Sniper in line. It's his parents that are Sniper's priority of keeping protected. Not a girlfriend.

As essayist Kayla explains in a video meta about the mercs' past relationships, Sniper grew up in Australia, where (in the TF2 universe) the country's culture and people value large muscles due to Australium metal exposure giving Australians super-strength, as explained in the Catch-Up comic:

Security locks are punch-based (as Saxton Hale demonstrates to Miss Pauling in The Contract comic). Kids are expected to get into fist fights with each other. Meaning that Sniper is "not attractive by conventional Australian standards" in the TF2 universe (again, observation by Kayla in the video meta).

Spy on the other hand, is characterised by his past relationship with Scout's mother and it's one of the few things we know about Spy's past. Spy has an in-game line about liking his romances "in groups of six." When Scout needs advice on asking Miss Pauling out on a date, he goes to Spy for help (keep in mind, Scout doesn't know Spy is his father at this point). He has a reputation among his team that he is experienced in romantic relationships.

Spy: "I like my teams like I like my romances: in groups of six."

Where Sniper and Spy are Similar

Being Discreet and Valuing Secrets

In the TF2 comic The Naked and the Dead, we find out that Sniper knows that Scout is Spy's son. By this point, Scout doesn't know (or is heavily in denial about it). We know Sniper knows because when Sniper and Spy come across Scout dying in a hallway, Sniper leaves Spy to have a private moment with Scout, when Spy tells Scout that he's his father (or rather, Tom Jones is his father, because Spy can't bring himself to tell the whole truth).

Sniper is discreet in leaving them alone, because he never explicitly says that he knows (or what he knows) in that scene. It's mainly left unspoken. He only says one word, and Spy knows what's he's going to say. And Sniper chooses to leave because he knows that this secret is important to Spy and Scout.

Spy ability to be discreet and valuing secrets inherently comes with his job. His disguises only work as much as his ability to act like the person he's pretending to be. Spy also values the secret of his identity so much that we don't ever see him without his mask. The SFM model of Spy mask less (where we see he has hair) is a fan-made model that the fandom has collectively accepted. It has not been shown in any official Valve works. In Meet the Spy, he's always wearing his mask in the various Top Secret photos. There's also a Miss Pauling contract line for Spy in-game where she tells him that he should wash his mask. He canonically doesn't take it off.

Miss Pauling: "Spy, just between you and me, you should really wash that ski mask. Like once. There's visible stink lines coming off that thing. Anyway, I need a favor."

Kinda ironic, since Spy values cleanliness.

Are Both Willing to Put Themselves in Danger to Save One Another

Despite their differences, when they're on the same team (or even when they're still on opposite teams but have come together against a greater enemy, like in Mann vs Machine), Sniper and Spy can work together to save each other.

In the comics (The Naked and the Dead), Spy gets shot in the leg and is about to be killed by Classic Sniper (from the first Team Fortress game) while trying to infiltrate a building to save his team, but is saved by Sniper.

To do this, Sniper had to run up several flights of stairs, break down a door, crash through a window, scale the side of a building, and then climb silently into the room Spy was in. While naked and bleeding. Sniper was willing to put himself at great personal risk to save Spy.

They Both Experienced Loneliness Just Before Joining RED/BLU

I imagine that, one day, Sniper and Spy will figure out that they are not so different. If they knew about each other's pasts, they would notice a certain similarity.

Sniper's backstory (his description on TF2's website) is that he was a "tracker of dangerous game" in Australia. He would have spent a long time on his own, in the wilderness, isolated from people. He lived on a farm with his parents, not in the cities. In the comics (Blood in the Water), Sniper explains that he grew up with kids who wanted to fist fight, while he would climb up trees out of their reach and throw stones at them. He didn't fit in.

He calls his parents in Meet the Sniper, but they don't like the line of work he's in. Which upsets him, because he wants their approval.

Spy's backstory is that he had a love, Scout's mother, and ran away from her. We don't know the details of why. But we do know that he and her are still on good terms. Spy and her are seen together in Valve's promo animation for the Second Annual Saxxy Awards:

Spy appears to still love her, as at the end of Meet the Spy, he takes one of the photos of them together. Notably, the most chaste photo of the pile--it's of the two of them holding hands, walking away together.

I think that's insight on what he would have wanted in another timeline. But he ran away on his own, leaving a woman he loved (and still loves) as well as his baby son. He left his family.

This is what their lives were like before the Gravel War.

It's also worth noting that they both joined RED/BLU. They all chose a line of work that many would not, and this gives us insight into their character. Whether it was for the money, or for the chance to fight, or to combat loneliness, both Sniper and Spy found themselves working for RED/BLU.

In Conclusion

Sniper and Spy are opposites in many ways, but when you get right down to it, their cores are the same.

[witchofthesouls]

I’d image that Girl Dad! Megatron (mostly MTMTE/IDW) would do some ‘baby proofing’ after his daughter is born, not only the form of hiding sharp objects and putting extra alarms on doors, but also in cleaning up the Decepticon ranks, the first to go being the Phase Sixers or at the minimum Overlord 😳

The ultimate sparkling/hybrid child proofing mechanism and parent-child bonding: his personal sparkling hold.

Frames that deal with immense and wild environmental changes, like miners, submarines, and shuttles, have something like an internal kangaroo pouch.

The structure is located deep within their frames, near if not settled next to their spark chambers. Within the dark hold that mimics similar conditions to a gestational chamber, it's cozily warm, well-protected, and well-fed behind tons of thick plating and nozzles connected to the mecha's fuel systems. There are specialized mechanics that refine the fuel directly from the main tank and their circulation to pull out vital nutrients and initial firewalls to create a dense, creamy sparkling fuel.

Adults unused to having a newspark within them will eventually figure out how to keep their hold still as the bitty bounces and rolls inside them. (Imagine the leader of the Decepticons at the meeting, and his subordinates are hanging onto his subtle changes, thinking the results are not up to adequacy. Meanwhile, his daughter has decided to smush herself to the side that's closest to his spark. I'm here! Yes, he knows.)

Fresh newsparks typically stay inside those holds until they reach the phase where they can toddle on their own as their plating has settled into a more appropriate density and hardness, the milky film has worn off, and they gained a significant amount of weight.

IDW Megatron doesn't strike as a mech that would get rid of the Phase Sixers or other dangerous elements. The violent and brutal kratocracy that became the Decepticon movement is a testament to the cruelties implemented by Functionist-held Cybertron as well as a twisted mockery and reflection of his own self and journey and spiral from "Decepticons to uplift the masses" to "Megatron's Decepticons."

If anything, he would keep the kid under wraps where only a handful of mechs ever known their existence, especially if he sired a techno-organic child.

[theblackcubeofdarkness]

WARNING THE FOLLOWING TRAILER FOR THIS HORROR GAME HAS THEMES OF BODY HORROR, BLOOD, HUMAN DEATH, ANIMAL DEATH, A FLIPPEN SPIDER GIRAFFE, AND SOME WEIRD CENTIPEDE PARISITE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Ok so first watch this.

Ok traumatized? GREAT! Then we can get started. First off this game hands down is AMAZING! Well from what we can see at least. In case you don't know Zoochosis is a real thing that can happen to animals within Zoos making them kind of go insane. The game description says that your a new night zoo keeper and a strange parasitic infection has been spotted in the zoo turning the infected animals into deadly mutants. Along with your duties as a zoo keeper you must make a cure for this infection and save the animals while keeping yourself alive. It also warns us that our choices in the game will effect the ending so we know its a multi ending game. Did I mention this is a body cam horror game because it is. Ok so zoo horror games are really rare and the concept is very unique making it feel like alien but at a zoo. I'm going to take this step by step and say what I think the game mechanics will be from the info given to us.

This is a screenshot given to us on the game page and its very simple. Just infrared vision most likely the same camera seen used at the start of the game. Something I noticed is that in the beginning of the game trailer the giraffe seems more red through the lens while this is more green. I think we are going to have to determine infected and subdue them (probably non lethally due to something I'll discuss later) if their in the green their good but if their red they may be infected. Now how do they get infected? I think there is going to be something like among us here and we must determine if an animal in the pen is infected.

One of the screenshots actually give us the layout of the zoo.

(And yes I am screenshotting the screenshots presented on a youtube video due to reasons)

Here we can see we got 8 animals to take care of and monitor. From what I can see we got Zebras, Kangaroo's, Elephants, Gorillas, Moose (or reindeer I don't know), Giraffes, and the all mighty penguins.

This isn't just a survival game cause it seems we're going to have to take care of the animals and I just realized that not a moose but an elk... MOVING ON we can see in the trailer after grind up the presumed human in the sack the player is seen using a meat cutter with a similar monitor like this in front of them before a strange parasites comes out of the meat and scuttles away suggesting that the human that we grinded up was infected. While making the food for the animals we seem to have to minter the food to make sure there is no parasites in it and keep them safe. This may be one of the way the parasites' can spread. I also think they can spread if a infected animal is in a pen for too long and infects other animals.

This is what I was saying we were gonna talk about later. There seems to be a shop in this game giving us several things. One is the tranquilizer darts which we will probably use to defend ourselves against the infected but we also seems to have Ampoules. A quick google search told me an ampoule is used to contain sample which probably connect to a screenshot that I show next stating to collect sample no doubt connecting to the goal of curing the animals.

We can see several takes such as collecting samples injecting cures and feeding. Thats all I have to say for this one.

Also I think each animal is named so thats amazing. Everyone say to to Fred who is despite in the middle of a chaotic situation is just chilling.

This seems like a generator that we may have to come back to in order to refuel it possibly exposing us to threats as we do so. This is supported by the next screenshot.

POWER SYSTEM! AND COMPUTERS! This is looking like fnaf kind of...

We also don't seem to be safe inside the infected traveling the zoo and stalking the halls hunting you down. They seem to be able to disguise themselves as original normal animals like with the kangaroos in the trailers only detected by the infrared or the strange device.

This game looks amazing but the fact that I just cant wrap my mind around is that face this game is being developed by Clapperheads the people who made Sparky Marky... AND I SUPPORT IT 100% They seem to take criticism and work to improving those parts so I think this game will a blast! (Not like im playing it im a coward).

The game comes out in Q2 of 2024 so we have to wait a bit but I am excited to see what this game will bring upon its release. Wishlist on steam today!

[cigarettesafterwebber]

— i’m sebastian, 18, he/him. mechanical engineering major, asian and latino. i’m here for shits and giggles and whatnot

likes: mark webber, country flags, languages, kangaroos, sharks, wes anderson movies, woodworking, engineering design. of course, formula 1, indycar, and nascar.

plans: i plan to poetry, edits, and f1 aus. i want to eventually start writing full length fics. will reblog about sharks and flags cause i like them…

drivers: not sure why i didn’t put this here the first time? but here’s who i rep (this list is not exclusive, i like many drivers but don’t rep them)

— formula 1: charles leclerc, oscar piastri, zhou guanyu, fernando alonso, lewis hamilton || mark webber, nick heidfeld, christian klien

— indycar: josef newgarden, scott mclaughlin, will power, kyle kirkwood, kyffin simpson, pato o’ward, alexander rossi, david malukas || simon pagenaud, hélio castroneves, james hinchcliffe

— nascar: austin cindric, ryan blaney, joey logano, denny hamlin, harrison burton

feel free to follow or use my inbox for any ideas

🦈🌀🪼

[dc418writes]

✨Pairing✨: mechanic!Ari Levinsonxblack!reader

Summary🪄: The girls are growing up, and Ari doesn’t like it (Operation: Rekindle addition)

⚠️: mention of spider, killing of said spider, Ari being an emotional bean lol, pretty much all fluff💕

*Disclaimer!: although collage/visual created by me via Canva, I DO NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP of photos used, as they were all found via Pinterest*

“Hey,” you smile answering the incoming FaceTime from your ex. Finally able to sit in bed after a long day of cooking and leading an entire kitchen staff, being surrounded by your soft, plush comforter is the closest thing to heaven on Earth. “Everything okay?”

“They don’t need me anymore.”

“Wait what? They who?”

Sitting on the side of his own respective bed, Ari lets out a heavy sigh as his unoccupied hand finds his forehead. “The girls. They don’t need me anymore.”

You feel relief shower over you - momentarily worried he was referring to his job - before you’re light-heartedly rolling your eyes watching him dramatically flop backwards onto the bed.

“I thought I had until 18. 16 at the very least…you know what? I blame that kangaroo they used to watch that would always go on adventures by himself and say how they were big boys and girls that could do anything on their own. What was his name? Rodney? Bobby?”

“..Robbi Hopper?”

“Him! Who agreed that was a good show for kids?,” he asks nearly making you erupt in laughter. You slyly move out of the camera’s view as if you’re just making yourself more comfortable - subtly giggling to yourself - before you move back into the screen gently clearing your throat as if nothing happened.

“Okay I’m a bit lost, so I need you to start from the very beginning.”

“I’m cleaning up after dinner right? And then I hear a shriek then a thud, so I hurry upstairs to check on the girls.”

-

“You guys okay? I need to come in?,” he asked after knocking a couple times. Slightly panicked hearing complete silence as he waited on the other side of their door. Soon there’s soft footsteps and Aliana appears in the doorway looking nonchalant in her pajamas.

“Nope, all fine. We just saw a spider and-,”

“Where?,” he asks looking along the walls and ceiling of the semi messy room. “Keep an eye on it and I’ll get a napkin.”

“No need, I got it,” Brynn states proudly holding out a crumpled tissue of her own. “I threw my shoe at it.”

“Oh..good job guys.” This is how it all started. They kill their first spider by themselves and next they’re off getting their own apartment and jobs completely self sufficient and independent.

No longer daddy’s girls crying out for him and wanting his comfort or safety.

It seems like it wasn’t that long ago one or both of them were running into his room scared of the “monster” outside tapping against the window. Their big, brown eyes and soft “peaseee?” easily breaking him down to let them sleep in his king sized bed.

They’re tiny bodies would scoot close into each side and hold onto his long arms as he tried to calm their worried, little minds with their favorite songs or made up stories. Soon all three would be asleep and that mean monster long forgotten.

How he missed those days that passed much too quickly.

“Dad? You okay?,” Brynn asks after throwing away the squished insect and noticing her father’s sudden stare into the unknown.

“A-Are you crying?,” Ali adds tilting her head in confusion at his now misty eyes.

“No no, I just uh..allergies,” he nervously chuckles quickly trying to wipe at his eyes. “I’m gonna go take something. Y-You guys get ready for bed.”

“…But we are?,” they say in unison, but Ari’s already out the door reminding himself to breathe and that everything would be okay as he moves towards his bedroom.

-

“And then I called you,” he finishes while toying with a loose thread on his comforter. Hearing your muffled laugh has him sitting up - admittedly a little too fast for his brain’s liking - now focused on you through the screen pressing your lips together with clear amusement on your face.

“Are you laughing at me right now?”

“Okay yes, but I swear it’s not because I’m making fun! Honey just because they kill one spider doesn’t mean they’re gonna forget all about you.”

He’s quiet, but you can see his little cute pout as he looks down at his lap.

“Remember when they learned to tie their shoes? I had them married off and leaving me to rot in a nursing home run by that evil lady from Matilda.”

Ari softly chuckles remembering that day. Of course in front of the girls you were so excited and supportive - like the amazing mama you were - showering Ali and Brynn in kisses and praises for achieving such a huge milestone. But he later saw the tears as you sat on your closet floor clutching their baby blankets to your chest while you hummed “Isn’t She Lovely”.

“They’re leaving me,” you adorably sobbed. Tears dripping down your cheeks as you looked up at Ari who immediately crouched down giving you one of his signature bear hugs.

“Yea I’m feeling pretty much the same right about now,” he states.

“And do you remember how maybe 10 minutes later they were running in the room wanting me to fix them a snack?”

He softly chuckles using his hand to push his hair from his eyes. “And how you practically trampled me to go do it.”

“Again, I’m sorry for knocking you down,” you chuckle. “But my point is that they’re always gonna need us. Maybe not for as much like when they were little kids, but still.”

“Yea you’re right,” he quietly admits. “I just miss those days you know? Everything went so fast and now they’re almost teenagers.”

“I miss them too. They gotta grow up though, it’s part of life.”

The light taps at his door already tell him it’s Brynn on the other side - who tended to drum her fingers/fingernails along the hardwood ever since she learned the movement.

“Hold on Y/N. Come in!”

Brynn’s the first to enter twisting a strand of hair around her index finger; then Ali with her tattered stuffed bunny firmly held at her side. Both common tells that showed you and Ari when they were stressed or worried.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing. Well not nothing but nothing’s wrong or anything,” Brynn answers making Ari lift his brow trying to figure out exactly what she said. “We were talking about the spider and how we didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl which led to us wondering if there were babies…”

“And now we don’t know if there’s more in our room,” Ali finishes.

“So can we stay in your room tonight?,” they ask in unison. Both girls in their matching satin, floral bonnets peering at him with those eyes that were dangerous in their own right.

On the outside, Ari appeared to be playing it cool lightly nodding along throughout their explanation. Internally though, you’d think he’d won the Super Bowl how overjoyed he was; practically vibrating with excitement.

From your side of the phone, it’s as if you could personally feel his mood brighten making you smile to yourself. He had his girls back and all was right in his world

Not that he’d really lost them

(And not all was completely right in Ari’s life. If it were up to him, you’d be by his side helping him through this instead of halfway across town. You’d eventually see that later.)

“Well, you guys are a bit too big to spend the night in here, so how about we camp out in the living room tonight? Then tomorrow I’ll check and spray in your room.”

“Okay,” the twins nod with content smiles.

“Alright go ahead and pick a movie we can watch; I’ll meet you guys out there. Oh, and say goodnight to mom,” he states turning his phone towards them.

They each say their respective “goodnight” and “love you” before bouncing out the door going back and forth about what movie genre they should pick.

“Hate to say I told you so,” you smirk causing him to shyly chuckle and rub at the back of his neck as he moves towards his en suite bathroom.

“Okay maybe I was being a bit dramatic.”

“No, you had a moment where you felt sentimental and that’s okay.”

Ari was feeling that quite a bit lately. Especially remembering your time together.

How things could’ve been so different had he never caved.

Gazing at you as you began wrapping your hair in your own headscarf, that feeling returns to his chest as a soft smile curls along his lips. “Thanks for always being there. I know we’re not together anymore-,”

“Not together as a couple, but still friends. So you don’t have to thank me Ari.”

“I don’t have to, but I am.”

Now it was your turn to be in your feelings. “Well, if you insist,” you shrug making his laugh deepen and smile a tad wider.

“Goodnight sweetheart,” he waves. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Goodnight Ari.”

Who would’ve known at this stage of life you’d be in the friend zone? And utterly miserable

[slightlyartist]

I have a dumb story from my Aussie childhood that feels way too Backle not to share. When I was lil, maybe three or four, my family went to this lil zoo sanctuary thing where you could handfeed the kangaroos. NOT A PETTING ZOO DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. My mum looked away for two seconds to focus on my brother, looked back, and was terrified to find me laying down and cuddling on a big buck kangaroo's stomach. Straight up having a snuggle with an animal known for disembowling people with their kicks and drowning dogs for a laugh. She very calmly asked me to SLOWLY come back over and I kept insisting that the roo was so soft and fluffy as she extricated me from the mostly-wild animal.

Anyway Backle would take a nap on the (non-mechanical) Gobblewonker send tweet.

Hey quick question are you Backle in real life because HE WOULD TOTALLY DO THAT. Backle is the type who would pet animals who SHOULD NOT be pet, and would also kiss really ugly and possibly venomous fish <3

AND YES, he would love to meet the Gobblewonker, he was very disappointed when he discovered it was McGucket's invention but he still has hopes that he'll be a real Gobblewonker (he has no idea the real thing is still in that lake, Tate insisted it was all just crazy stories from McGucket)!!

[thefatedthoughtofyou]

Just a cute little thing about Robin, Steve, and Eddie getting high and having a nice time. And hints at future Steddie. 💛 The conversation in this is nearly verbatim a conversation that me and @friendly-jester had not an hour or so ago, and they suggested we sounded like Robin and Eddie getting high.. and i had to agree... So ... take that as you will 🤣 ( thanks for the inspiration love!!! 💚)

"They just make me uncomfortable." Eddie says, taking a long drag from the blunt pinched between his fingers before passing it back to Robin.

"Oh I get that. For sure." She nods sagely, hair shaking, before taking a long drag herself. She passes it to Steve, his eyes are foggy, but he takes it, takes a drag, passes it back to Eddie and let's his head fall back against the couch.

"Did you know they lure people into swamps and drown them?" Eddie supplies, stretching his legs out in front of him on the floor. They make a wide V, one leg resting between Robin's own, spread just the same.

"Kangaroos!?" Robin gasps, staring at Eddie. Blinking rapidly.

"Yes!!" Eddie nods aggressive, his hair shaking wildly.

"Demons." Robin says, stoic.

"I always knew it." She shakes her head, takes another drag, tries to hand it to Steve, he doesn't respond, his eyes are squinted, he's staring at the wall. She bumps his knee with her hand, he eventually waves her away, so she passes it back to Eddie.

"They pretend to be stuck and when people go to help them. They shove them underwater! They are evil beings!" Eddie continues, takes the last drag and stubs the tiny end out in the ashtray, next to their last one.

"I bet it's a defense mechanism." Robin says, blinking rapidly again, her head resting on Steve's knee before rolling to rest against the couch.

"Drowning people!?" Eddie says, incredulous.

"I bet it is!!" Robin says, lifting her head to look at him. Eyes bloodshot and darting around the room before coming back to Eddie again and again.

"Jesus christ. They're evil. Creepy, little handed, fucks." Eddie breathes, shaking his head. He scratches at his head for a second.

"I do like Wallabies though. I think that's what they are. Like, tiny Kangaroos that just stay small." Eddie says, making a little motion with his hands, indicating how they are in fact small. His hand hovering a few feet off the ground. Robin's head is nodding slowly, like she'd started nodding to agree but then just... kept nodding.

"Yes! The small Kangaroos that animated ones are based off of! Those are Wallabies... I think. Not 100% sure on that though." She shakes her head, looks up at Steve and smiles, he's staring at the wall, before looking back to Eddie, a sad look on her face. He frowns to match her as she says,

"I was so heartbroken when I found out how terrifying actual Kangaroos are." Her voice is quiet. Eddie bumps his leg into hers and then reaches over, curls his hand around her ankle in comfort.

"They're horrific. Like..." he takes a deep breathe, gathering his thoughts as they seem to float away from him.

"Like, solid muscle bouncing around. With a weapon at the back and the bottom. AND THEY DROWN PEOPLE WITH THEIR TINY..." his yell, that has made all three of them flinch, trails off, his thoughts stalling.

"Their... um... shit. What are they?" He raises his hands, Robin looks at him, eyes wide, and he makes a grabbing motion with both hands.

"Boobs!" She shouts, pointing at him and snapping her fingers. Steve snorts but doesn't take his eyes off the wall, his hand reaching out toward it now.

"Hehe! Wait what? No! No! This!" And shakes one hand in the air, using the other to point at it.

"Oh! Oh! HANDS!" Her own hands splayed wide in front of her, flailing in excitement.

"HANDS!" Eddie yells back, pounding his hand against the carpet between his legs, nodding as he points at Robin.

"HANDS! THEY HAVE EVIL TINY HANDS FOR THEIR EVIL DEEDS!" Eddie shouts. Robin nodding enthusiastically across from him, patting at his knee.

"They're TERRIBLE. JUST THE WORST!!!" She cries, falling back against the couch dramatically, the motion doesn't even draw Steve's attention. He's sitting very still on the couch, his finger moving over and over a small scratch in the paint on the wall of the trailer.

"Steve." Eddie says. No response. Robin cranes her neck and looks up at him.

"Steve." Nothing.

"Steve." Eddie narrows his eyes.

"Steve." Robin looks to Eddie and smirks.

"Steve Steve Steve Steve Steve!" Both of them calling his name over and over seems to do the trick. He drops his hand slowly and lets his head fall to the side so he can see them both.

"Mmm? What?" The little grumpy groan makes Eddie smile, his chest feeling warm and full.

"What are your opinions on Kangaroos?" Eddie asks, leaning foward impossibly far, his elbows hitting the carpet as he rests his chin in his hand, looking up at Steve. Steve smiles at him for a moment, slow, and sweet, and hazy. Then a frown crawls onto his face and he moves his eyes to Robin, then back to Eddie.

"What... what the fucks a Kangaroo?" He breathes, sounding confused and slightly concerned. Eddie's eyes widen, he looks at Robin, her eyes are wide open as well, and when they meet Eddie's it's all over.

Robin laughs until she snorts, and then just laughs harder. Eddie's laughs have gone silent, his face red as he slaps his hand against the carpet. Steve's on the couch, a small, satisfied smile on his face.

His friends are here. Laughing. Because of something funny he said. He doesn't remember what he said. Or what they'd been talking about. But he watches Robin and Eddie laugh and laugh and feels lighter than he has in years.

He slides down until his butt hits the floor, both of them reaching for him as they laugh, like they're trying to pull him into the laughter too. Eddie's hand is warm on his knee, his eyes bright as he smiles at Steve, laughter echoing through the trailer, beckoning Steve to laugh with him.

Steve grabs Eddie's hand, tangles their fingers, almost says something too much for the moment, but Robin snorts again and sets Eddie off, his eyes linger on Steve for the briefest moment before Steve lets himself be pulled in.

He lets laughter bubble up in his chest and fall past his lips as Robin and Eddie cling to him, and he clings to them, and their joy fills Eddie's trailer on a random Saturday night.

[proton-wobbler]

Round 3, Poll 13

Wedge-tailed Eagle vs Short-tailed Pygmy-tyrant

sources under cut

Wedge-tailed Eagle

“they’re friggin’ huge, they can have a wingspan of over 9 feet, I’m always just completely in awe when I see them. also, great legs.”

As a true generalist, anything is on the menu for this eagle. They seem to prefer mammals, especially the invasive European rabbit, but will also hunt native marsupials, including larger macropods (kangaroo). Because of this wide diet they’ve got a range that encompasses all of Australia and Tasmania.

Wedge-tailed Eagle have been noted to attack hang gliders and paragliders, though they are mostly targeting the sail itself and not the human. They’ve also been known to attack unmanned aerial vehicles used for survey operations. This is likely territorial defense, with the eagles mistaking these objects as another eagle.

Short-tailed Pygmy-tyrant

“small. hilarious name-bird combo”

“the smallest bird in the world after several species of hummingbirds. Naming this beast a "tyrant” is the funniest thing ever. Also I’m tail-shaming it" (for reference: tyrant refers to the family this bird belongs to- tyrant flycatchers, which are named after kingbirds)

“Although its plumage is similar to some other tyrant flycatchers, in the field the bird is more often mistaken for a large beetle or insect, especially while in flight… Its flight movements have a mechanical-feel that enhances the insect comparison.” - Wiki

Images: Eagle (Luke Shelley); Flycatcher (Anselmo d'Affonseca)

[notahorseindisguise]

As someone who's lived in both, the wildlife in the US and Australia are both fiucking bananas compared to europe and everything wants to kill you.

However, I will say that the wildlife in the US is significantly less poisonous and more maul-y.

Like, nothing in australia's gonna maul you face off and eat your liver, but nothing in the us-canada-mexico is gonna kill youi in seconds with no possibility of anti-venom. I mean christ, they even have CATS (mountain lions) in the us that people are (mostly irrationally) afraid will kill you.

we've been over this on the fucking post. the reason the wildlife in AUS and the US are dangerous are because thats how fucking natural selection work. and, like many people pointed out on the post, europe also had dangerous animals before they hunted them to the point of extinction.

you ready for your mind to be blown? think about elephants, hippos, rhinos, lions, zebra, giraffes lemurs gorillas chimpanzees ... these animals are NOTHING like australian wildlife OR american wildlife!! think about pandas, asian elephants, asian tigers... wait a second these are somewhat similar to african wildlife!! almost like they come from common ancestors and speciated over centuries to turn into different animals. i feel like people dont understand how evolution works.

the animals on the american continent are incredibly different to the animals on the australian continent. however - and heres the crazy part - the people ARENT. humans arent really a part of the circle of life. animals dont maul and eat humans anywhere because no animals feed on humans (except for a couple). i dont know how to explain this to tumblr because it seems like nobody understands biology . i understand it enough to know what im saying is right but not enough to get the point across apparently. let me simplify. you are no more at risk of dying from animals in ANY way than you are in america.

australias wildlife is "more poisonous"? first of all, i think you mean venomous. sorry that was a cunt move but like im right . and second of all. explain. give me three examples of native australian wildlife that are venomous. dont google it anon, tell me. youve lived here so im sure you can think of a few. are kangaroos venomous? koalas? emus? wombats? venom is something that evolved to exist independently everywhere in the world in nature because its an incredibly powerful defense mechanism. thats convergent evolution.

it sounds like youre trying to agree with me in this ask, but yet you still want to hold onto the idea that australias wildlife is inherently more deadly . let it go. please anon im begging you for your own sake stop viewing animals like this and start thinking biologically. every single animal in every single country fills a different biological niche that it was the best suited to fit in its own environment. no country or continent is more likely to evolve more dangerous wildlife