#sandstorm is so underrated

[astroturf-enthusiast]

The sandstorm tag on that piece....

Hello there Mr. Sandstorm, the ghost Cole poster ever

[shadesofnavy]

I'm too sleepy for any serious guesses rn so I shall jokingly guess that Otis' roommate is Cassandra's cousin Damien

LMAO wouldn't that be something! Unfortunately he ain't it, but I will be thinking of where Damien will go here

[extensionallydefined]

I did another ability forms post! This time, another favorite of mine, Escavalier. This is a really underrated mon imo and I wanted to show it some love (same with the previous one, Shiinotic, tbh). I might've gone a little too hard on the differences but Escavalier is just so fun to build off of.

Here's some "concept art" of them:

Swarm increases Bug move power in a pinch, so I tried to make that design more "animalistic". Plus I added a swarm of Karrablasts, because that's cute. I also emphasized the "lance" part of Escavalier's arms, making the point more stinger-like.

Shell Armor protects from crits, so that'd be the "Heavy Knight" of the set. I gave it heavy thrusting swords for its arms, with some rapier-like flare, and more greyed out colors, to emphasize the steel type.

Finally, the idea for Overcoat is that since the abikity protects from weather conditions, its skin would be paler (less sun) and the armor would be rusted from the rain, hail and sandstorms. I kinda tried to mix the "Spanish Tercios Soldier" vibe with the "Western" vibe and this is what came out - with some good old Estocs for arms, and buckler-like shoulder guards, this one's a duelist.

Which is your favorite? Mine is probably Overcoat. I played around with line weight in these designs and I think that really works in its favor.

Also, I'll tag @n0rtist since it seems that's encouraged when participating in this design challenge! Hope y'all like these guys.

[tainbocuailnge]

folinic is genuinely such a good unit please raise your folinic there's so many fun little niches folinic can fill please listen to my folinic manifesto

folinic was the game's first Medic That Can Hurt You!!! respect your ancestors!!! they later refined this concept into incantation medics but the big weakness of incantation medics is that they need to have enemies in range in order to heal allies which isn't the case for folinic, if there's no enemies to hit she just blasts allies instead. she won't be killing strong enemies on her own the way reed can cast explode your dick but she's great at helping thin out large numbers that threaten to overwhelm your blockers. as you can see the uptime on her skill is pretty decent and since it's splash attacks that prioritise enemies she can reach allies that are blocking enemies just outside her range with it or just pull double duty as aoe healer for a bit

s2 is the one people usually think of when they remember folinic exists but her s1 is actually strong as fuck and it scales really hard with masteries too i just haven't gotten around to that yet, it upgrades to two extra tiles of range at m1 and goes all the way to +80% atk for 30sp at m3. it has good uptime it very straightforwardly jacks up her healing and it gives you a lot more leeway with positioning because of the huge range it gives her, criminally underrated skill she's just straight up a strong medic even without her funny meme skill

folinic by default has status resistance and reduced damage from environmental effects for herself and with her module she gets the unique niche of being able to extend that reduced environmental damage to other team members, meaning you have much less healing pressure from things like poison mist and sandstorms just by having her on the field and you can cover even more allies with it through her s1 range extension. i actually have no idea if this also works on tile effects like active originum or nethersea brand i should experiment with that sometime but the status resistance alone already makes her more reliable than her colleagues when there's another fucking ice altar stage or something

folinic is a fucking god in the workshop she can make you 24 tier 2 mats in one sitting she's worth the e2 for this alone honestly

she's FREE she comes free with your fucking xbox go get your FREE fucking folinic RIGHT NOW

[openphrase123]

presatrpg has RUINED me... i keep thinking of animations I'd make if i had the time

The Weight Of Us (Sanders Bohlke) comes to mind. housemaiden and traveller centric. people don't really talk about what their dynamic COULD be enough. almost as underrated as people exploring defender and researcher's situation but I'm asking too much here

Nothing Left To Say Now (Imagine Dragons) would be REALLY fun with Eukarya's fan timeline. traveler centric, starting with their time alone, ending with their sacrifice.... AUGH i can see it so vividly. the endcard being a "personal ghost traveller" sitting next to defender and trying to comfort him, FINALLY touching one of the party members willingly.... oh my Heart

i can keep going

lksdfjaldfsadfjkljdfa see my favorite animatic is that one that was done to darude sandstorm where it's set in the desert area, which like!!! they could have phoned it in as a meme but it's actually SO SWEET? it's hard to find researcher-centric content anyway so of course i love it. it goes so hard

[authoralexharvey]

This Or That Tag

@little-mouse-gardens and @memento-morri-writes both tagged me for this forever ago and I'm just now getting around to it. Thank you and I'm sorry lol

Historical or Futuristic

While I can appreciate both, I find I like historical settings and inspiration better at this point in time.

Opening Chapter or Closing Chapter

Both can be difficult for me to write, and while I have an idea of what closing image/s I want to relay to the audience, I am better at conjuring an opening image instead. That, and I have to write in order [for the most part] so I can't get to the end if I haven't even conceptualized the beginning.

Light + fluffy or Dark + gritty

I can appreciate both and do love cutesy and fluffy things in general [do not ask about my Bulbasaur collection] but... I tend to write about darker topics overall. I find them more compelling. Even if things end happily, I need to have periods of melancholy. As a treat.

Animal companion or Found Family

I think I'm going with animal companions for this one. While I like exploring relationships of all sorts, I don't feel like most of them fit the "found family" criterion? Animal companions are so underrated nowadays and I miss them. I've been wanting to write one for a while.

Hard magic system or Soft magic system

I like them hard [lol]... I like having rules and knowing what they are. I can appreciate a soft and fluid magic system and they can be fun, but... I need the rules.

One project at a time or Always juggling 2+

Have you met me? I'm constantly juggling several projects at several stages of completion.

Fantasy or Sci-Fi

Fantasy, by far. I can read sci-fi, I've even wrote sci-fi before. But... fantasy is so much more appealing to me for some reason. I love it a lot. Now... science fantasy.... good shit. Gooooood shit.

Character Description or Setting Description

I'm pretty bad at remembering to do either, to be honest, but I love character descriptions a lot more. What you choose to say about a character says so much!!

First Draft or Final Draft

Having wrote enough projects, I can confidently say I prefer the final draft. While I love seeing how I got my start, seeing the finished product and how I got to realize the concept from start to finish is SO much more satisfying to me.

Love Triangle in Everything or No Romantic Arcs

I'm... undecided, mostly. I chose no romance arcs, because I don't go into most projects prioritizing the romance arc? I do end up writing them a lot of the time because I like writing about queers falling in love with other queers, but overall it's not the thing I Prioritize yaknow? I'm also much more partial to polyamory over love triangles--with the caveat that love triangles CAN be a compelling source of drama and tension. Idk.

Constant Sandstorm or Constant Rainstorm

I live in Washington where it rains a fair amount so... probably that. We have some sand beaches here and that is bad enough to deal with once you're done having fun. Constant sandstorm? No thank you. I'll save that for Brando Sando.

Tagging: @alistonjdrake, @linaket, @ladzwriting, @andromedaexists, @magic-is-something-we-create, @bardicbeetle, @asablehart, and @ashen-crest. Have fun!

[sieglinde-freud]

6) Who's your favorite lord/protagonist?

10) A character you find underrated?

11) A character that deserved better?

12) A game that deserved better?

15) What are your favorite musical tracks?

16) What's your favorite world/setting?

30) Since horse abuse is currently popular on Tumblr, beat up a dead horse with your take on an oversaturated topic🐴

6. Favorite lord/protagonist?

answered already, but briefly its lucina and then the sacred stones twins tied :)

10. A character you find underrated?

i think kjelle flies under the radar a lot because she comes off as just one of those character who just trains all the time and like. im not gonna say thats wrong exactly? she can be annoying to read sometimes, thats true. but i dont know, i personally really like how they took her character. obviously, im biased, awakening second gen is my favorite cast in fire emblem and shes included in that, but the obvious backstory of coming from a ruined timeline already does a lot to elevate her higher up for me if you just. consider her thinking from that perspective. but i also really like her “strong vs weak” mentality she has going on. i dont agree with it, but i like that she has it. obviously shes lost a lot, so wanting to put up a strong front and act like she doesnt need anyone weaker than her as a way to protect herself from losing more is a really fun way to take a character from a backstory like that, and its fun to see how that manifests in her supports with the others. she spends a lot of time looking down on them, which can admittedly be boring to read, but if you dig into her a bit more, is it really because she thinks theyre pathetic? or does she want to cling onto what strength she has and push them away so they dont have to? does she really think theyre weak? or is she jealous of their strength to indulge in frivolity while they have it while shes too scared to do so?

also shes pretty and im not immune to women who could beat the shit out of me

11) A character that deserved better?

NYX…. NYX FIRE EMBLEM… GIRLLL IM GONNA GET YOU OUT OF THAT STUPID DARK MAGE OUTFIT! nyx is honestly one of fates’s best characters, and honestly probably one of fire emblems best characters, but people wont give her a chance because 1) her outfit sucks which is honestly a valid reason considering her gimmick and 2) shes a fates character. a much less valid reason. but its like!! guys please i SWEAR shes not the same as the other characters with the stupid “im older than i look” trope please please please im on my KNEES right now please please please please please please please PLEASE. anyways if nyx has 1000 fans im one of them if nyx as 1 fan i am that fan if nyx has no fans im DEAD and BURIED, probably still hyping her up from the grave.

12) A game that deserved better?

answersd previously, but i said echoes :)

15) What are your favorite musical tracks?

recollection and regret is my favorite support track by far. that is musical perfection right there. huge fan of twilight of the gods for final boss maps. bright sandstorm, dark wastes, and dont speak her name are my favorite map themes. and comrades is my favorite recruitment theme :) my favorite track is probably pulled from one of these

16) What’s your favorite world/setting?

you know worldbuilding is not something i really praise fire emblem for. but i think i’d pick ylisse/whatever world awakening is set (is it still called archanea?? i dont know) just because it feels really homey i think. not biased btw

30) Since horse abuse is currently popular on tumblr, beat up a dead horse with your take on an oversatured topic.

every single side of the edelgard/dimitri/rhea discourse is fucking annoying and i think if you start going after people simply because they have an opinion on one of them that you dont you’re the reason why we’ll never get an attempt at true nuance in fire emblem again. games been out for what, 3? 4 years?? and people still cant manage to say “i like [X character] and think [Y character] was in the wrong, but i respect that you dont and that you have different interpretations of them than i do.” its not that hard you guys. “ohh but edelgard started a war” “dimitri slaughtered people” “rheas corrupt” its not real. its not fucking real. you gonna start going after every fan of julius and ishtar because of their role in fe4? what about all of the villainfuckers in this fandom? you ever seen grima thirst??? (i love yall. btw. good taste) like its just so… stop basing your opinions on real people off a stupid anime game!! its not that deep! its never ever been that deep!!! if someone keeps posting a dumb take you dont like, you know what you can do? block them!!! its so easy!!!! its so fucking easy so how is this even a problem anymore!! godddddd

[ink-flavored]

This or That Game

Tagged by @stuffaboutwriting thank you!

Historical or Futuristic?: I enjoy both, but I think I prefer historical. I'm huge into the 1920s <333

Opening or Closing Chapter?: Mmmm... I think I'm better at openings than closings, but both are so important. Openings, I suppose!

Light and Fluffy or Dark and Gritty?: Gritty gets exhausting really quick to me. It feels like a slog. Light/Fluffy is what I prefer to read/write most of the time, with the occasional sprinkle of dark.

Hard or Soft Magic System?: HARD MAGIC!!! I LOVE YOU HARD MAGIC I LOVE YOU INTRICATE MAGIC SYSTEMS I LOVE YOU MAGIC RULES I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

Stand-Alone or Series?: Currently, all my projects are planned to be stand-alone, so! Stand-alone I suppose! Although I do love me a series to read.

One Project at a Time or Always Juggling 2+?: Oh, always juggling 2+. More like 5+

Fantasy or Sci-Fi?: Fantasy my beloved <3

Character or Setting Description?: Setting! It's not hard to make character description unnecessary or tedious, but there's never not gonna be a position where you won't need at least a little setting description. Plus it's fun!

First or Final Draft?: First draft because my brain gets bored after about 2.5 drafts and I never get to the final. I've had a short story on the 3rd draft for literally years

Love Triangle in Everything or No Romantic Arcs?: I love romance but I'm also polyamorous so my solution to every "love triangle" is to make them a polycule. Does that count

Constant Sandstorm or Rainstorm?: Deserts are SO underrated, but I love rain... I guess sandstorms are more likely to be dangerous than a rainstorm -- at least it isn't a hurricane. I live in Florida so I'm used to that.

Tagging: @sigridhawke @duelistkingdom @hallwriteblr @zonnemaagd @liv-is and anyone else who feels like it! consider yourself tagged!

[the-monkey-ruler]

🗣️🌄🤝💬🤔📝💢

🗣️ If you grew up more on family/oral tradition or region-specific storytelling, what's a fun quirk in how your version JTTW differs from Wu Cheng'en canon?

Ooo that's hard to say, I really learned from my teacher about JTTW in class or tv cause my parents are kinda... boring. I still have the PowerPoint she used to show us the slides somewhere on my old laptop all those years ago. If my parents were the ones to tell me about it orally I think they would have made it similar to the 1961 Wukong in mind, making him more mischievous than anything else. I would have to ask them if there was any tales they heard it from or they are more just diehard cartoon fans.

🌄 Favorite minor character?

Li Muzha. Man does not get paid enough to be the ultimate errand boy. He does get a new little brother disciple out of this though.

🤝 Underrated dynamic?

Wukong and Bajie. I know now they are getting a lot more love with their dynamics but seriously... they are so funny with one another and between the contact pranks, jabs, and "I refuse to believe he's dead, nothing can kill someone that stubborn" attitude between the.... they give me life.

💬 A quote you love?

Chapter 24, "Pilgrim said, "You can walk from the time of your youth till the time you grow old, and after that, till you become youthful again; and even after going through such a cycle a thousand times, you may still find it difficult to reach the place you want to go to. But when you perceive, by the resoluteness of your will, the Buddha-nature in all things, and when every one of your thoughts goes back to its very source in your memory, that will be the time you arrive at the Spirit Mountain."

🤔 Has an adaptation ever reshaped how you feel about a character or arc?

I think the 1996 has forever influenced how I see Tang Sanzang for the rest of my life. To me that is the peak Sanzang and the one I think really shows a man who this struggling with himself but still holds fast to what he believes in even in times of hardships. He is a little naive but has a heart that is too big that cares for both humans and demons and truly thinks that going west can save them both through the beliefs of Buddism. Demons can repent their ways and change from eating humans to just living their lives, and humans can reach enlightenment and escape pain, which is all he wants for the world.

He is the MOST monk of all the monks and I will forever hold him close to my heart.

📝 Favorite thing an adaptation changed in their version of the story?

Strangely enough, I really loved the 2003 My Son Goku because of this one scene where Wukong is trying to go to Master Putis and during this, he gets caught in a sandstorm. This was before he got any magical powers or immorality and he was surely going to die. But then a monk trying to go west stops and saves him, his own horse was already dead and he gave the last of his water to Wukong. Wukong was able to survive but he wasn't strong enough to save the Monk that gave up his life for his and could only watch as the sandstorm covered his body, forcing him to leave.

Or the Hero is Back 2015 were Wukong is awaken earlierthan expected and literally is put on babysitting duty to protect Liu Jiang while he is trying to get back home and being a grumpy dad.

Wait, wait, no 1986 gaslighting me so hard for years thinking that Bailong really had a finance that ran away with the Nine Head Demon. That for YEARS convinced me he had a whole thing going on until I reread and was like… "I played myself." That's impressive.

💢 Hot take?

Sun Xingzhe is terrible at worst and a coward at best but also he is fucking funny and I want an adapation with him.

He is giving... this engery.

[starswallowingsea]

kaoru for the ask game bc it's his birthday!!

doing this 20 minutes before i have to leave to hang out with my friend but ! yes for the birthday boy

ask game

First impression: ngl i started playing engstars during atoz and i was so convinced i was going to produce him. oh how the turn tables

Impression now: i still like him but he just doesnt give me the same brainworms that crazyb and tatsumi do. i need to put him in situations though

Favorite moment: i think in general in sandstorm his scenes with hinata in the desert. it showed a lot of his growth from the past year and how he was way calmer and more ready to just help people without anything in return and like. make friends. sandstorm was really good for him on a character level.

Idea for a story: i'm already writing a long form fantasy au fic w him do not make me write more

Unpopular opinion: i feel like he's another underrated character. i rmr luce telling me that people hated him back in the day bc they were anime only and didn't get all of his development that happens in the other stories and i still feel like a lot of people look over his interactions with other characters in favor of shipping (namely uhm. no i shan't say but you can probably figure it out. not dissing the ship i like it too but its just i wish people would look at him for more than just that u know)

Favorite relationship: i will never get over the best friends arrows on his n kanata's relationship charts. guy who still likes kaokana in 2023

Favorite headcanon: he is trying so so hard to teach kanata how to swim and it is going miserably because he just gets distracted by how pretty kanata is! they've mastered floating and like. that's it. they keep being sillies and splashing each other in the water but thats okay they're having fun

[enne-uni]

This or That

Thanks for the tag @sender-paulson!

I choose you, @theroseempress, @charlie-aka-tired, @pure-solomon

Historic or Futuristic?

Hard one to start with. I love dystopia, but reading historic stuff will always just be so fascinating to me, I think I have to go with that. It inspires me a lot, even if I'm horrible at it.

The opening or closing chapter?

Love both, but I like how the opening can just set the scene. I can introduce you to a character and kill them immediately just so you get the vibe. The pressure is on to get you hooked, but I don't mind, I adore prologues. Endings also make me sad since they remind me that the story is over :(

Light & fluffy or dark & gritty?

I'm an edgy bastard who has zero excuses, but I feel like mixing them together would be the best. I dunno. (Tooth-rotting fluff is also my least favourite tag on Ao3, so that says a lot.)

Animal companion or found family?

I'm not an animal person, which actually includes humans, but yeah. Found family just makes me happy. I love a good platonic relationship.

Horror or romance?

I love horror, but I write romance more often.

Hard magic system or soft magic system?

I don't entirely understand, but I like some 'rules' to magic. Mostly I like them to be like the laws of physics, something that cannot be broken because that's just how it is. But I also love to stretch and pull at everything. A character breaking their limit is lovely.

Standalone or series?

Haaard. I like one sequel, but no more. And I hate reading fics that are finished and be delighted that there's a sequel, only to realise it hasn't been updated in ten years. I hate you if you do that, and death is not an excuse.

One project at a time or juggling multiples?

I have many in the background, but I always focus on one in particular. I'd say I still switch around a lot when I get bored. (I'll eventually finish one. I hope.)

One award winner or one best seller?

I'm not really close to being published, but I'm selfish and I love fame sooo...

Fantasy or sci-fi?

Like I said, I love dystopia and other sci-fi subgenres (steampunk), but the hardcore sci-fi that has space stuff and futuristic technology is not for me. I rather read it and admire the research than actually do it. And I feel like it's easier to be creative with fantasy.

Character description or setting description?

Every time I try to describe characters in writing it ends up with five sentences starting with 'his eyes, his hair, his body, etc'. I'm getting better, but describing lighting, smell, or vibes is a lot more fun to me.

First or final draft?

I... don't really draft...? I fix small mistakes, but I usually write almost everything I have right off the bat. Maybe it's bad, but I've never had a bad problem.

Love triangle in everything or no romantic arcs?

Love triangles are good, but I don't often write stories which entirely focus on romance, there's always something else. I just feel like good platonic relationships are underrated. And yes, I'm being hypocritical since I've yet to write a story focusing on family or friends, but I will some day!

Constant sandstorm or rainstorm?

I love rain! Sandstorm sounds like an odd other thing to put, honestly. Who wants to have sand in their eyes all the time?

[captain-crowfish]

Spore-related videos from my childhood

Dragon showcases, set to electronic/rave music

These things shaped my music taste permanently. I remember feeling super inspired to create super complex dragons of my own, then getting frustrated when the complexity meter intervened. 2) This slideshow of Spore creatures photoshopped into photographs

This video is an underrated gem and has some good meme-worthy images

3) VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS

This adventure series has so much lore you guys have no idea

4) this

5) THIS

This is actually a short series and it cracks me up every time

6) life cycle videos

7) The story of the first pikmin game, retold in Spore

8) 100 ways to Die in Spore

My first exposure to Darude-Sandstorm This is also a series and it gets increasingly random

9) This one isn't nostalgic to me but I found it while digging up the rest 10) I actually can't find this one after looking for hours. It's similar to the number 4 entry but much longer, and it actually has a plot: A guy downloads spore creature creator and makes some carnivores. After a while, his game crashes. He goes underneath his desk and fixes a plug. Sometime later he goes outside and notices the spore creatures he made are running amok, causing havoc. it's portrayed with some greenscreen/video editing and it looks surprisingly good, even when the creatures are shown knocking things over. The man meets up with a mysterious girl in all black, who tells him the plug he used to fix his computer was from the spore universe, and that's why all his creatures exist in the real world now. I forgot what happens after that but if anyone happens to know where this video is, PLEASE help me out on finding this one, I would greatly appreciate it

[crystalelemental]

The last 10k Master Mode.  I'm getting all emotional. We had to say goodbye so soon...

Vs. Shauntal Naomi, you are the only Ground-type damage dealer worth a damn on an F2P budget, and I'm so glad you exist.  Lodge Morty, I know MU Torchic just popped into existence and can kinda do your job better, but Torchic doesn't have evasion so thank you too.  Acerola, your ability to flinch and supply Sandstorm is wildly underrated.  Good showing from the team all around.  We took like one hit on Morty.  That said, Naomi almost didn't win, so like...that was dire.

Vs. Grimsley Blaine's a lot better than I sometimes give credit for.  Like sure, Silver's sync explodes stages, we all know this.  Grimsley in particular, however, has a butt-billion HP, and doesn't go down in one, so you need to survive.  And Blaine's ability to hit confuse in addition to Trap on Fire Spin actually caused him to stagger enough for us to win no casualties.  So that's fun.

Vs. Caitlin Much smoother this time.  The solution is pretty easy, since BP Karen can 2HKO the right side with Double Edge.  The real fun is that, when Nanu only hit for 16k on center, Karen cleaned up with 10k on Double Edge.  She didn't even KO herself with it.  So that's pretty sick.

Vs. Marshal I hate half sync countdown parameter.  Even Giovanni, one of the hardest EX Strike nukers you can get on the F2P budget, couldn't take this stage down easily.  It's really annoying.  We eventually pulled it off, but man that's annoying.  This was a rare moment where we won because the enemy was slow.  Marshal led with Hammer Arm, then the side used Facade, and he didn't have enough gauge for his next 3-bar move right away so Giovanni got sync and a follow-up Psychic, putting us in a better position.  That said.  He queued trainer move.  So maybe Marshal took pity on me.

Vs. Iris Okay.  After last time, I had a thought.  Maybe the problem is me.  Maybe I just messed up Zinniquaza somehow.  There's no way she's that bad, right?  Friends.  She's that bad.  6k on sync.  6k!  That's it?!  I had weather and max offenses and everything, girl!  I thought that maybe again she just missed the crit, but if that's the case she missed an 80% on all three of them simultaneously.  So my point still stands.  This is exactly what I get, trying to perform a denial.  She couldn't even beat the sides down.  I need a better Dragon.  Now that MU Torchic is up and moving, maybe I'll bring Clair instead.

Anticipation for 12.5k After this F2P run, I think 2.5k per match is a bit scary, depending how much parameters shift.  To point, let's take Grimsley.  Grimsley wasn't too bad, entirely because of Silver's nuke being enough that he could finish the job with Sacred Fire.  If parameters don't make it easier to keep defenses and HP low, Grimsley's suddenly in a position to survive.  And that's a problem.  The same is true with Naomi trying to clear her stage.  Caitlin likely would have enough bulk to survive the combo of Nanu sync and BP Karen Double Edge, and then what?  I feel like there's a serious problem for them all right now.  If I had to pick from currently available parameters, they couldn't do it.  I'm convinced of that.  The only one who maybe could is Giovanni, but that's only true when the half sync countdown parameter isn't in effect.  If it is...well, good luck, pupper.

Really counting on some new parameters to make this not a nightmare!

[incorrectly-quoting-mxtx]

YOU BET YOUR SWEET ASS IT IS!!!!

First things first, our rovers are basically our children. They have names, they get birthday parties, Perseverance got a goddamn family portrait of the other rovers painted onto its chassis.

Let’s start with arguably the most underrated rover, Sojourner.

Sojourner landed on Mars in the year 1997 on July 4th and last for 95 earth days before finally shutting down. She weighed 11kg and drove a total distance of 100 meters. She (all of our rovers are she’s btw) was part of the Pathfinder mission and was designed to test a bunch of different technologies and see what worked in a Mars environment. She basically acted as the blueprint for all of our other rovers.

Next up we have our twin rovers, Spirit and everybody’s favorite Opportunity.

Spirit and Opportunity landed in January 2004 and were planned as a 90 day mission to explore and search for geological clues as to the earliest conditions of Mars and to assess whether or not Mars could have held life at some point.

Spirit lasted for not only 6 years before shutting down in 2010, but did so with a broken foot. In March 2006, her front wheel stopped working entirely, and she completed the rest of her mission dragging the wheel along. She is arguably a great rep for disability as she actually managed to turn her damaged foot into a useful tool, and helped her clear away soil from the surface of Mars which allowed scientists to discover that Mars is actually white underneath its red surface! Unfortunately Spirit got stuck in sand which left her stationary for the rest of her mission. She continued running science experiments in one spot until finally shutting down in March of 2010.

And then there’s her sister Opportunity. Opportunity, or Oppy, is basically NASA’s golden child, as she lasted for a record breaking 15 YEARS past her life expectancy and provided mass amounts of invaluable data about Mars. Oppy was extremely important as she was the rover to discover evidence of water on Mars. She also made tons of astronomical observations and atmospheric data that helped further our understanding of Mars. Unfortunately, in 2018, Oppy shut down permanently after a sandstorm left her unable to recharge. Her last transmission was “My battery is low, and it is getting dark.”

Spirit and Opportunity were unique in that NASA had curated very special music playlists that would be played every time they woke up from hibernation. When Oppy shut down, NASA workers sent her over 1000 wake up calls trying so hard to get her to wake up. Finally, on February 13th, 2019 Opportunity was declared dead and NASA workers played her “I’ll Be Seeing You” by Billie Holiday. Oppy touched many scientists’ hearts (many of them cried when she was declared dead) and was anthropomorphized heavily. It seems fitting that the last thing she heard was a love song.

On a much happier note, we now go onto the Curiosity rover!

Curiosity was launched in 2011 and landed on Mars on August 6th, 2012. Curiosity’s current mission is to explore the Gale crater, theorized to have previously been an ocean. Curiosity is a unique rover as she was the first rover to learn how to sing! In August of 2013, it was discovered that her instruments made different noises depending on what commands they were given, and on her birthday, she became the first to ever play music on a different planet by singing herself “Happy Birthday”. This of course has since been taught to the other rovers.

Next we go onto the biggest and baddest of the bunch, Perseverance and her little sister Ingenuity.

Perseverance, who is roughly the size of a car, landed on Mars on February 2021, and was an absolute technological marvel. Perseverance is notable for having a family portrait of the other rovers on her chassis. Percy’s mission is to find evidence of microbial life on Mars, collect samples of regolith and store them for a future astronaut to collect, and test potential oxygen production methods.

Her little sister Ingenuity was notable for being the first helicopter on Mars. Ingenuity completed 73 flights and demonstrated that flight is completely possible in low atmosphere environments. Unfortunately, in January 2024, her rotor blades were damaged while landing and became permanently grounded. NASA declared her mission ended later the same day.

One of my favorite facts about our rovers is that most of them have nicknames!

Opportunity is known as Oppy.

Curiosity is known as Curie.

Perseverance is known as Percy.

Ingenuity is known as Ginny.

These little guys barely count as AI, and yet they are shining examples of humanity. To the naked eye, they are nothing more than super specialized scientific instruments, but to scientists like myself they are alive. They are family. We anthropomorphized them to the point of giving them nicknames, and family portraits, and birthday parties. We not only taught them to explore, we taught them to think and to sing. And I wasn’t kidding when I said they get birthday parties every single year!

To me, the way we care for these little guys is pure evidence that humanity is good and kind at its core.

And I can’t say I blame NASA for feeling that way! When I got to build our Frogger rover for the Lunabotics competition this year, I legitimately started feeling emotions over this little metal robot.

Someone tell me how to flirt with someone because currently my only skill is being able to talk about space exploration for 4 hours straight which, while interesting, doesn’t exactly scream sexy

[trickfrantic]

gossip kids

[araluen-arrows]

underrated scenes from erak’s ransom

- Svengal straight up crashing Halt and Pauline’s wedding

- this hard ass quote from Baron Arald (paraphrase): “if you only value my opinion when you agree with it, then you don’t value my opinion at all” BARS

- the fact that the Wolfwind kept Cassandra’s pennant this entire time

- Halt making fun of Svengal for being unable to sit a horse. Svengal making fun of halt for his seasickness and offering him a meal

- Halt getting back at Svengal by chugging his favorite, very rare, very expensive mead

- Evanlyn seeing straight through Selethen’s bluff of having someone else pretend to be the Wakir. (the hero of this book was Evanlyn and you cannot tell me otherwise)

- [Gilan talking to Halt about Will] "would you trust him with your life?” “without question.” “then trust him with his own.”

- Arrow being killed by a desert lion and in turn saving Will’s life by attracting the attention of the bedouin

- Will killing a sand cobra with an arrow and saving Umal’s grandchild

- the Tug vs. Sandstorm race

- not an underrated scene, per se, but in my opinion Yusal’s absolute cruelty (leaving two water skins for forty men in the desert) makes him one of the evilest villains of the Flanagan universe

- slightly related, Aloom’s entire character is underrated for keeping forty men alive on said water

- Halt refusing to give up hope after being captured by the Tualaghi because Will’s still out there somewhere

- Evanlyn standing unflinching as the executioner swings his sword at her, and the crowd calling for her release

- Will shooting the executioner a split second before the downstroke begins

- Horace holding up his bound hands and shouting for Will, and Will splits the rope by shooting an arrow between his wrists

- Erak killing Toshak in battle and returning his sword to him so his spirit won’t wander

- Evanlyn hitting Yusal with his sling and ending all effective resistance from the Tualaghi

- Evanlyn ripping Selethen to shreds in subsequent ransom negotiations by pointing out that Erak isn’t his hostage, he was Yusal’s; Halt subsequently saying “my god, I’ve created a monster”

- Will’s graduation scene