#team shear obsession

[terrymcmurray]

Don't go to Team Shear Obsession unless you want to look silly. These women don't know anything about giving a nice haircut. I would rather get a haircut at a cutting up a hair salon. Now those people know what they are doing. They have also been in business a lot longer. These women know about hairstyles and are very friendly with customers.

[tylerjordanrose]

Team Shear Obsession is the worst place to get a haircut and I will never use their service again. They are located in Big Stone Gap, Virginia near the Huddle House. Their address is 4504 Aerial Way. Big Stone Gap, Virginia, zip code 24219, and their phone number is (276) 523–6500. About Their business: Brittany Kelly who works at their salon. She can't cut her hair to save her life. They don't have a good hairstylist. It is hard to get a refund from these people. I also left their service a bad review online using one of those review sites. You can check out my review by clicking on this Website [LINK]. For the best haircuts, go to Modern Barber Shop. They are the best! Team Shear Obsession is the worst place to get a haircut. No Doubt!!

[kiwinatorwaffles]

pro gamer move of combining my hyperfixations

doc is the only living zonai left because he developed a way to stay immortal but once he crawled out of his invention cave he noticed everyone got nuked, etho is a sheikah on the tech team, beef is a traveling painter, and bdubs is a bloodthirsty korok who needs to reach his friends (nho)

hypno and xb are traveling treasure hunters who may or may not have created several contracts to steal souls

grian and pearl are two friends since childhood :3

other characters me and sky came up with (so far) include:

joe, a hylian poet who takes inspiration from the most batshit topics

tango, a sheikah who is obsessed with the color yellow thus he works as a spy to infiltrate the yiga clan. also practically lives in the depths

zedaph, a hateno sheep rancher who is trying to innovate a machine to shear sheep faster and terrorizes the village in the process

impulse, a goron in tarrey town who is just concerned for his two friends

iskall, a traveller who craves adventure, and stress, iskall’s friend who is trying to find him an adventure

gem, a sweet and lovely hylian in hateno whose weekly routine includes hiking up to kakariko and ding-dong ditching etho with monster parts

wels and false, guards at lookout landing who are supposed to watch the supplies. (wels lost the keys)

[callmethehunter]

Oh dear Anon, you have made my day! These are great questions about my favorite subject in the world: Robert Plant.:D And as far as that goes, I could (and will) go on and on about this forever, I’ve got so much to say!!

I’ve been obsessed with Robert’s music as well as with his personal life for years. I find him to be a multifaceted, highly talented and intelligent person who embodies traits that one would think were mutually exclusive, yet are somehow at home in him. He is without a doubt, totally outrageous and extroverted, he wants to be the center of attention, yet he is also reclusive, a deep thinker who is keenly aware of the world around him while also being introspective and self-aware. In his own words he has said

“It's part of me to get off on those moments where... well, what people would call attention. Obviously, that isn't the be-all and end-all of life, but at the states of creativity that I've reached, well, it helps the lyrics along a little bit.”

“ I’m pleased with how ridiculous I am. I like me. Though I’m not a huge fan. I know when to switch me off.”

I do think he has a very warm heart. He is genuinely interested in other people, in experiencing the most out of any given situation.

In my opinion, he loves the idea and the feeling of falling in love. He gets off more on that than on the longevity. It’s like he’s got ADHD in the aspect of love lol!! I say this because of the number of serious relationships (and not so serious relationships) that he has had in his life. I’m sure he was saddened when they ended, but then he’s moved on to the next great infatuation and adventure. He’s quite capable of starting again, as he has shown multiple times both in his personal and professional life. But I also think it’s a testimony to his heart that he’s been able to continue to be friends with his past loves. “There have been people I've warmed to over the years but, as the situation I'm in is so fleeting and transient, I've always known it's going to be over kind of real quick.”

I mean think about this: after having children with two sisters, Maureen (his exwife) and Shirley, they have been able to raise their children in what looks like a loving extended family. His sons, Logan (with Maureen) and Jesse (with Shirley), are half-brothers as well as first cousins. Just think on that for a moment. In a recent picture, there’s the entire family on vacation: Maureen, Shirley and their children with Robert, as well as Robert and a previous girlfriend, Jessica something or other (don’t remember her name). He’s not confined to societal conventions. He could give a flying fuck. I love that free spirit and he himself has said (and I paraphrase) that he may come across as being a good mate, but in reality he’s out to do whatever the fuck he wants. (And it shows!! )

He says, “...if you do what you think is right for the benefit of everybody and everything and you make decisions, then to go back and regret them afterwards - it's a futile experience and it's not worth thinking about. Because life just unfolds. Provided you do your best and you think you're on the right track, you can only be right or wrong. But to regret it - I don't think there are any huge errors or misdemeanors.”

In the area of friendship, however, he is fiercely loyal. He and Bonzo were like brothers till the end, and even still, Robert honors his dear friend. He’s also been able to maintain friendships with so many people from his hometown- people he knew before he was famous. He puts away the trappings of fame and fortune to be the good old Black Country boy, riding horses and playing with goats, walking around in the forests and enjoying nature.

“I think I could sing and shear a few sheep at the same time.” He is the picture of the word “earthiness”. Able to be the rock god on stage as well as the humble farmer on the farm or at the local pub. He’s loyal to his soccer team and to the sport itself which has been a lifelong passion. And I love that in him.

Is he a hedonist? Absolutely, he has tasted every pleasure there is to taste. His every material wish could be a reality in an instant...He has done drugs, had hundreds of one night stands. He is a highly sensual man. IMO the sexiest man that’s ever walked the planet. His sizeable bulge perpetually stands* as a symbol (no pun intended*) of his virility and lust (and I like it!!) He exudes charisma and raw sexual energy. He’s done it all to the highest level, partied and cavorted around the globe. What a life he’s lived!!

But in his lyrics there is also a deep spiritual side of him: I think he is a modern day troubadour and philosopher. His lyrics touch on that, “it is the springtime of my loving” ….“In the light you will find the road” “when all is one and one is all” “Then as it was, then again it will be, though the course may change sometimes, rivers always reach the sea” and I could go on and on with other examples. These are just what popped in my head. “I am a reflection of what I sing. Sometimes I have to get serious because the things Ive been through are serious” He’s had moments where he is the “golden god” as well as tragic moments such as the loss of his 5 year old son and the loss of his dear friend Bonzo. These are definitely reflected in his music.

All in all, in his own words:

“I'm like one of those firecrackers that goes off in your pocket occasionally. I'm not really struggling with it as much as the people around me. But at least I'm not doing too much damage to anybody or to myself. It's just the condition I'm aware of.

And he’s still got a twinkle in his eye.

Thank you for letting me go and on about this man, he holds such a special place in my heart. He is a beautiful and joyous old hippie full of wisdom and talent.. He has created a lasting legacy and I hold the deepest admiration for him, despite his human frailties or shortcomings.

[hocksburn]

thank you @rubberpuckies for the tag in this get-to-know-your-mutual game!

last song: ROKI by mikitoP. im on a jpop streak rn dont worry abt it

favorite color: grey

last movie: wicked! WHICH IS REALLY BALLER EVERYONE SHOULD GO SEE IT

last tv show: taskmaster series 16!

sweet/savory/spicy: sweet but where is my beloved sour :(

relationship status: single n ready for ppringles. actually no pringles are like the most nothing snack like they have NOOO substance i dont like them at all

last thing i googled: shear stress of a circular beam. me n the robotics team r goin thru it

current obsession: ao3 comments :) :) :) ive gotten so many recently and the sheer joy i felt has reminded me to go comment on other ppl's fic too :] when im havin a bad day i go look at them and its like Wowza... so many people in my phone n they care so much abt me waugh <3

looking forward to: my beloved stupid ass ncaa hockey boys tomorrow! hockeyblr coffee date on saturday plus more stupid ass ncaa hockey boys! grocery shopping tomorrow! im just like cale makar

tagging: @tjarry @endeus @cerona10 and sending it over to the esports side @boxenstopp @clover-siya!

[ripaxed]

Sugar and Heather for the character ask?

Evil women <3

Sugar!

Sexuality Headcanon: Lesbian! Nothing too deep about it

Gender Headcanon: I don’t really have one? I generally default to thinking of her as a cis ally but I vibe with her being trans too.

A ship I have with said character: Skygar <3. Their team up went hard idc. Also I don’t really think about it much but her and Leonard is cute

A BROTP I have with said character: Not really a friendship but I think the alliance she offered to Shawn would’ve been interesting if he agreed. Her laughing at Max is funny also.

A NOTP I have with said character: Sometimes people would talk about her and Owen and it’s so. side eye

A random headcanon: With her making it far in Pahkitew, Sugar was offered more role in tv and commercials. Which let her eventually go to veterinary school, like how she wanted if she won the million.

General Opinion over said character: Sugar suffers from Pahkitew’s weaker writing a lot of the time, but I still really enjoy her. Her huge personality makes her a standout even in the season of zany characters. Plus I find her rather interesting, with her history in exploitive child beauty pageants resulting in her underhanded and competitive attitude and her lack of trust in others around. If Pahkitew theoretically somehow had a second season, she’d be the number one character I’d have wanted to see expanded on.

Heather!

Sexuality Headcanon: Unlabeled! I think Heather struggled to accept she was queer for a long time, in part because no label felt “like her”. Finding out she didn’t have to fit into any particular box made it easier for her to understand herself.

Gender Headcanon: Transmasc. I have. many thoughts about this hc that I should save for it’s own post. But I first thought of it when I started to read the line “I’m the good guy?” as equating to gender euphoria and Heather being tied to being labeled a villain as she is to being labeled a girl.

A ship I have with said character: Ah Sceather, the crackship made as an inside joke that I turned unironic and I am obsessed with. Outside of that, Aleheather is so good. Genuinely just a fantastic canon ship and the backbone of World Tour. I also really really like Gweather and H-bombs.

A BROTP I have with said character: Her and Harold again! They work super well together both platonically and romantically to me.

A NOTP I have with said character: Uhh, I guess I’m not a fan of her and Courtney? Not in the sense I hate it I am just incredibly indifferent to it. Shearing sheeps pops off tho

A random headcanon: I hc they work as a union negotiator in adulthood! Based on that scene in action about her knowing union rules and wanting to organize against Chris

General Opinion over said character: Heather <3. A favorite character easily and forever. I’m obsessed with her. I think she’s under appreciated in Island. She’s not very complex but she brings such an energy that almost all of her scenes are entertaining. Also season one would be impossibly dull without her srry </3. She’s so good in the Island special where her confidence is totally shattered. In Action not only do we see her at her most pathetic /pos but also at some of her funniest. I love you bald Heather <3. In World Tour, well, what can I even say that someone else hasn’t. She’s at her peak, she’s funny, she’s completely hated but manages to scrap her way to finale, and she’s the best winner of any gen 1 season by a mile. Her history of unpopularity and horrible parents and being rejected by everyone around her it just- I love her. Heather sweep.

[mariacallous]

Thanks to global warming, there is less ice at the top of the world. And less ice, paradoxically, means a surge in demand for icebreakers, the specialty ships that are seen as the must-have currency to be a player in a melting world.

It’s that time again, when the very real warming in the Arctic—four times greater than the rest of the world���is exceeded only by superheated predictions of a coming great-power clash in the High North. Russia’s been rattling Arctic sabers for years and is now being joined by China. There are renewed worries about a resource scramble, new shipping lanes where ice floes used to be, greater military competition, and as always, the icebreaker gap that periodically frazzles U.S. policymakers.

Russia has scores of icebreakers, specially designed ships that crush ice with their hulls or shear through it to clear lanes of open water, including numerous nuclear-powered ones and one (soon two) armed with deck guns. China has four, as well as a super-advanced one on the way. The United States has just one heavy icebreaker—the half-century-old Polar Star, which is out of its annual dry dock after its Antarctic run—and one medium icebreaker, which is out of action for now after catching fire last month. This summer, there are no U.S. missions in the Arctic; China has three.

The United States and a pair of Arctic NATO allies, Canada and Finland, have announced an ambitious plan to team up and build scores of icebreakers. U.S. officials have touted the so-called ICE Pact, announced on the sidelines of July’s NATO summit, as a mix of friendshoring and industrial policy, leavened with a dose of great-power competition fought with rivets and ratchets, not rockets. 

But the looming competition in the Arctic is not like that facing the United States in other oceans or battlefields. The United States has immense strategic interests and challenges in the warmer waters of the Western Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the rest. If the still-chilly waters of the High North get short shrift in Washington, it’s because whatever may come to pass there takes a back seat to things that are happening in the wider world. The U.S. Defense Department’s new Arctic Strategy essentially boils down to a watch-and-monitor approach to an arena that for two decades has been the perennial next great-power flash point.

“Why do we have trouble seeing ourselves as an Arctic nation in anything like the same way as Russia does? One of the reasons is that Russia gets a significant and growing share of its GDP from the Arctic; we do not,” said Rebecca Pincus, director of the Polar Institute at the Wilson Center. 

“The United States is clearly focused on the Indo-Pacific and Europe, so the Arctic is not top of mind—so why the obsession with icebreakers?” said Pincus, who previously worked on Arctic issues at the Pentagon.

The short answer is that all the Arctic nations—there are eight, and seven of them are in NATO—have the icebreakers they need, except for the United States. The long answer is that there seems to be a looming great-power competition up north, and the only way to play is to have the chips, or ships. But the even longer answer is that there is only one gambler at the table—Russia—and it has a very definite tell that can be exploited.

If the competition in the Arctic boils down to another front in the rivalry with Russia (and China is at best a self-proclaimed “near-Arctic state,” despite its frequent polar forays), then the fight should be in Russian shipyards and vulnerable Arctic facilities, not in American ones. The better strategy to combat Russia in the Arctic, Pincus suggested, happens to be the one that the United States and Europe are already employing: making it harder for Moscow to profitably ply the icy waters, not just easier for Washington to do so.

More icebreakers for the United States would not be a bad thing. For years, the United States Coast Guard has said that it requires a minimum of six icebreakers to adequately handle multiple missions a year to both poles, and only a generous accounting of ships on hand can tally even one-third of that minimum; now the service wants eight or nine. 

Icebreakers are used up north to support several research missions every summer, as well as for practicing oil-spill response and environmental monitoring. On the far side of the world, the United States has to break in once a year to resupply its Antarctic research station at McMurdo, for which really heavy icebreakers are needed. 

The problem is that, while the United States can build some very complex ships such as nuclear aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines, it cannot quite manage to build icebreakers despite years of trying. The Polar Star was built in the 1970s; the Healy, the U.S. medium icebreaker, was built in the 1990s. Since then it’s been dry ice.

In that sense, the new Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, or ICE Pact, makes some sense. Finland and Canada are best in class at building that very particular kind of ship; Finland alone has built more than half of all the icebreakers afloat. For a country like the United States that is now hoping that its much-delayed Polar Security Cutter, the new generation of icebreakers, will arrive only about five years late and over budget, getting some professional help is smart. 

“Icebreakers have been a key Finnish know-how for a long time. Now that we are part of NATO, this is one thing that Finland can provide—we are tops in the world in designing and building icebreakers,” said Mika Hovilainen, the CEO of Aker Arctic, the world’s leading designer of icebreakers.

What’s not clear about the ICE Pact, though, is what it will actually deliver or how it will work; the outlines of the collaboration pact as announced so far do not tackle the fundamental challenges that have bedeviled decades of U.S. efforts to build the kind of ship that China turns out inside of two years. 

Foreign shipyards, for starters, are off-limits for U.S. Coast Guard and naval vessels, yet they are the ones with the specialized workforces. U.S. shipyards, bereft of investment, workers, work orders, and even dry docks, have enough trouble even building the congressionally mandated number of nuclear submarines, let alone a new class of vessel. Misguided adventures, such as choosing an unproven German design for the new polar cutter rather than a tested blueprint, only add to the woes. 

The ICE Pact, Pincus said, is a little bit like AUKUS, the three-way deal among Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom to bring nuclear submarine technology down under. “Except this time, we’re the Australians,” she said of the United States. “What price are we going to have to pay for their expertise?”

Why does the country that invented the nuclear aircraft carrier find it so difficult to build a ship that can drive straight into a six-foot chunk of ice and keep going? It turns out that icebreakers, like nuclear carriers and subs, are very complicated to design and build, and practice does indeed make perfect. Icebreakers need not only specially strengthened hulls, with different attributes depending on whether they will crush the ice or shear it, but also massive engines and absolute all-weather systems. 

Aker Arctic, for instance, spent a decade working on hull-strength analysis to figure out just where an icebreaker needs to be strong and where designers can save steel. That matters enormously when building a ship that is explicitly designed to steer straight for what everything else afloat avoids.

“We are gaining that kind of experience with icebreakers, because we design icebreakers all the time,” Hovilainen said. “We have a lot of standard solutions, we know what works, and we can apply that to new projects. If you have to reinvent the wheel in all areas of the ship, it is going to be super complex.”

Perhaps the new ICE Pact will indeed deliver a collaborative arrangement that helps build the estimated 70 to 90 icebreakers that U.S. officials say Western allies need in the years ahead. But the point about the looming Arctic challenge isn’t to build more Western icebreakers—which mostly carry scientists and science projects—but to make sure that the main Arctic rival of the United States and its NATO allies can’t really take advantage of any ice that it breaks. The United States aspires to be an Arctic nation, or at least Alaska lawmakers do; Russia genuinely is. And that presents not so much a threat as an opportunity.

In 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin updated his already ambitious plans for the Russian Arctic by 2035. He added some new hits such as “protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity,” but he kept the old favorites, including the two most important: tapping Arctic resources to drive Russian economic growth and turning the northern coast of Siberia into a shipping lane worthy of the name.

The Russian Arctic does have mind-boggling amounts of oil and natural gas. (The U.S. and Canadian Arctic has lots, too, but it’s easier and cheaper to frack in North Dakota than to drill in the Chukchi Sea.) Tapping those oil and gas reserves is challenging enough, but Russia has been able to do it, to an extent, despite a decade of Western sanctions that have handicapped some of its frontier energy projects. The tricky part is to move that gas from the frozen north to thirsty markets in Asia: Arctic ice may be melting, but that doesn’t mean those are warm-water ports or easy to navigate.

Especially after the onset of the war in Ukraine, which largely foreclosed European energy export markets to Russia, Arctic energy and its shipping routes to the east have become a key strategic priority for Putin. The Yamal Peninsula in northwest Siberia is the epicenter of Russia’s newfound trade in liquefied natural gas, or LNG; since piping it to Europe is no longer an option, and China is proving a hard bargainer on piped gas headed east, freezing it and shipping it out is the future for Russian energy.

For Putin, the so-called Northern Sea Route (NSR)—the would-be shipping lane across the top of Russia—is the embodiment of his end-run around Europe and toward a full embrace with China. Moscow has visions of the route becoming a genuine global sea lane to rival such routes as the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal, no matter the fact that container ships cannot and will not save a few days’ journey by venturing into shallow, ice-filled, foggy waters that Russia calls its own and taxes as such. In 2023, the NSR had its best year yet, shipping a whopping 36 million metric tons. The Suez Canal, when not disrupted by Houthis, transits that much cargo in a week.

There is one vulnerability, though. About half the traffic on the NSR is LNG exports. Shipping gas through ice floes requires icebreaking LNG tankers. Those were previously being built for Russia in South Korea, but the Ukraine war put paid to that, with Seoul canceling the pending delivery of new ice-class tankers. (Western dry docks are still servicing the existing fleet, though.) Russia is trying to build some of its own, and probably can, but it may struggle to master some of the advanced cargo containment technology that was a Western monopoly, Hovilainen said.

That is part of an evolving Western strategy to strike at the Russian weakness in the Arctic. Just after the invasion of Ukraine, Western sanctions poleaxed the big LNG liquefaction facility in the Yamal Peninsula, which was reliant on Western technology. Novatek, the private Russian company plowing ahead, now hopes to jury-rig a solution to get its gas super-chilled and super-moving by 2026, but it is employing unproven workarounds. The facility upped production and even started exports this summer but is still running below capacity.

The West has found other chinks in the armor. This summer, the European Union, in its 14th sanctions package on Russia, specifically targeted Russian transshipment of LNG in European ports—Moscow would use precious ice tankers to ship gas south, then move the gas to a regular tanker for export overseas. With that trade foreclosed, Russia’s hard-worked LNG tanker fleet will have to make the full run from Siberia to the final destination and back again, essentially cutting its energy-export capacity.

Or take the latest Western step to hit Russia. In late August, the United States went after Russia’s LNG shadow fleet with new sanctions. The latest sanctions not only intensify the pressure on Russian gas production and liquefaction in the Arctic, but they also take aim at the fleet of specialized tankers that Moscow needs to build up in order to get its product to its last remaining big market. The goal, the U.S. State Department said, is to “further disrupt” both production and export of Arctic LNG, especially relevant now that the big plant in Yamal is up and running again.

If there is a great-power competition in the Arctic, it is only existential for one of the players. And the recipe for success is not building more icebreakers, welcome as they may be, but making sure that those in Russian hands are opening leads to nowhere.

“We are pressuring Russia with economic tools in the Arctic, which is a cost-effective means of pursuing our goals. Russia’s icebreaker fleet is all about energy exports to Asia,” Pincus said. “That’s why the sanctions are smart. If we can sustain them, and the Russian Arctic oil and gas reserves and facilities become stranded assets, then what is the Arctic to Russia? That could end up starving the NSR.”

[saberwitch]

Character Rambles.

Just been thinking about the characters I have (and have recently made) and how I'm running out of character slots. So this is kind of a who's who, and kind of a what's what.

(I've been playing since release but I had a bad habit of getting bored with my alts and deleting them and starting over from scratch, so I don't really have any long-term characters.)

The Old Guard, aka "Destiny's Middle".

Arare Breide, Human Guardian

Petra Merchant, Human Engineer

Hekja Stoneheart, Norn Revenant

Caheris [Sparkweaver], Sylvari Elementalist

Arare is my oldest character (4 yrs). I made her by random selection in the CC, and fashioned her with whatever I initially pulled from a selection of Black Lion chests. Petra, Hekja and Caheris are all modeled after NPCs Arare met "in the field" (as it were). Arare and Petra are childhood sweethearts; Hekja and Caheris are also a couple. I have a decent amount of sappy romance fic written about them. They're not seeing much play lately, but they're my comfort characters.

The New Guard

(There are a few of these characters but I'm only going to mention the ones I plan to keep)

Investigator Hilly, Asura Engineer. Hilly is a ghost hunter (remember those "reality" shows?) and I really love her combination of scientific zeal and skepticism.

Ouija Planchette, Human Revenant. Born from the idea of a Victorian parlour seance gone horribly wrong when the host actually starts channeling real spirits. Ouija and Hilly are a fun team.

Fayne Skavin, Human Necromancer. Fayne was my attempt at making a Final Pam. She failed spectacularly, because even with the wonky sliders, she still ended up looking oddly cute. The Rat Princess is one of my favourite characters, and she will never die.

Hearthfire Steading

All these ladies came about from my enduring love for the Norn and their culture (warts and all). The "main" character of this story-heavy idea, Halennia, was designed after a patron goddess of travelers.

Halennia Hearthfire, Elementalist. The ultimate "mom friend". Guide to wanderers and travelers, adoptive parent of lost Nornphans. Will make sure you're hydrated and have snacks.

Stara Halennisaetr, Ranger. Also based on a pagan goddess, and Halennia's daughter. Very social, somewhat mischievous. Bunny Acolyte.

Saskia Deathsong, Necromancer. My current main. I've written a fair bit about her lately. She was the first adoptee into the Hearthfire family.

Ruenar Deathsong, Thief. Saskia's little sister. A work in progress, but I hope to have more about her soon.

Mischief Crowcaller, Mesmer. Absolutely a trickster deity in disguise. Like Rue, a bit of a work in progress.

Meade Honeybrew, Engineer. Brewmaster supreme, follower of Dolyak. She, Elke, and Herring get into a lot of (usually consumable-related) trouble together. Fiery, butts heads with folks a lot, very stubborn. Will help you move for a round of ale.

Herring Rollmop, Guardian. Mostly just wants to fish and enjoy pickles. Can't fathom how she keeps getting caught up in Meade's shenanigans. Absolutely agrees to any and all shenanigans when they are presented to her. Culinarily adventurous, will eat anything that's been brined or fermented. Quiet, stoic, and unshakeable.

Elke Sheepshear, Norn Warrior. A sheepfarmer's daughter (*cough*), Elke is obsessed with being warm and cozy but also loves trying new things (see Meade, shenanigans thereof). Expert on all things wool: shearing, carding, spinning, dyeing, and weaving/knitting. Can and will make you a cozy sweater.

Veerle Deathsong: still a vital component of the Deathsong family drama, but I really don't want to play her as a character, so she'll be going.

Hijinks Squad

Just Kasmeer, Human Mesmer. My Kas clone. Honestly not sure how much actual play she'll get but she's fun so I'm keeping her.

PENDING *Lady Nae Trews, Human Guardian. My first "started as a joke" alt who kind of took on a life of her own. She's not a fan of pants (that's it that's the character)*

Bearyn Bearjayl, Norn Ranger. Exists solely to win GW2. Will she stick around after she succeeds? Only Bear knows for sure.

And finally: plans. I really want to make a vampire themed character but haven't had much luck sticking with one. Current thought is a Norn whose Spirit of the Wild is "Bat". Could be fun? (There are canon vampire bats in the game, so.)

All this said, my main focus right now is Saskia, and getting her through the story so I can play the new expansions as soon as possible. She is my main, and my 'get things done' character. But knowing me I'll be jaunting off on a "side quest" or two, doing fashion stuff, and/or participating in events and other things, so some of my other ladies will likely pop up now and then.

[total-mkulia]

Sometimes I still think about team Amazon band au so I’m putting my thoughts down here so I don’t forget them/can draw stuff for it later

-Keeping the reality show mindgames by making them be part of a reality show still, just music themed. Sorta that they all auditioned with their own musical talents and what instruments they can play and then got grouped into a band and have to write songs and survive a tour together, so they all still get to hate each other.

-Of course, contestants are all in other bands. It’s not necessarily a one-to-one of the WT cast and teams (taking inspo from all g1 sources motherfuckers)

-Courtney is the leader, which Heather resents and denies half the time but she’s too busy bickering with/trying to sabotage Gwen to wrest power from her enough (Gwen also kinda has problems with Courtney being the leader bc she thinks Courtney needs to chill but she’s too busy with Heather to do anything about it)

-Cody is well and truly a godsend talent-wise for them but the girls still all treat him like garbage. It’s not ideal, but he also does kinda need the structure of someone bossing him around, so he never goes solo after the fact.

-Sierra isn’t in there from the start (she does not seem conducive to being famous) she’s like a big fan that followed their tour when the show was going on, and ended up becoming their roadie after the fact. They’re all freaked out by her obsessive nature but she’s useful and willing to drive the tour bus soooo

-And yes, that does mean they more or less parallel their roles and instruments in shearing sheep, but most of them do know how to play more than one instrument (Courtney—in true controlling fashion— has learned everything her band mates play if she didn’t know it already, Gwen knows drums; guitar; and the teensiest bit of bass, and Cody know keyboard; guitar; and drums. Heather is the only one that knows only one instrument but she claims it’s because she knows it best, a “do one thing well” kinda defense)

-The type of music the girlies settle on is pop rock, but depending who worked on a song more, it can swing into being more of one than the other. Gwen is really into rock and views pop as shallow, Heather loves pop and thinks rock is for either dads or freaks, and Courtney is smack dab in the middle. No matter how many songs they’ve written, they ALWAYS get into fights about genre and Cody has far too frail a soul to ever be able to influence them.

-Sadly I have NO idea what band name to give them.

[summercheyennerose]

Brittany Kelly from Team Shear Obsession messed up my hair. I told her about it. She said sorry no refund. All she did was make excuses for it. Also, she pulled my hair very hard while cutting. I asked her to stop and she got upset. Now I wasn't trying to be mean, it just hurt while Brittany Kelly was pulling. I tried to leave a Google review and it got removed, It makes me wonder if any of their reviews are real. I believe their Google reviews to be fake, otherwise, why remove my review? Also, they don't sound real. They are located in Big Stone Gap, Virginia near the Huddle House. Their address is 4504 Aerial Way. Big Stone Gap, Virginia, zip code 24219, and their phone number is (276) 523–6500. In my opinion, the Team Shear Obsession is the worst place to get a haircut. No Doubt!

[teatitty]

Thank you very much for answering, my obsession with Fate has been revived recently I've been needing fuel. Anyways now I'm picturing our celtic Lancer trio fighting without their glamor on.

Fionn is just wowing his opponents with his shear presence. It's almost as if they're fighting celtic Jesus or smth and they're torn between kneeling and swearing allegiance or just sacrificing themselves in his name.

Diarmuid is just too pretty to fight. They can only just stop and stare as Diarmuid gives his trademark smirk as he mows them down. They're not even angry about it, they're happy to be stepped on and Dia is just taking full advantage.

Cú Chulainn is just feral and making everybody else piss their pants. He's over there committing massacre after massacre and the rest are too scared to leave the castle. They all try to run but end up caught anyways. Needless to say, Cú will be living in their nightmares.

To be honest any of the Celts fighting with the gloves off would be terrifying for a variety of different reasons. Fate severely nerfs what they could actually do [one of the few things turas realta got right was showing how menacing they are on the battlefield] which is obviously a case for a lot of the mythos servants (you can really tell who the faves are lol) but the celts get it the most consistently

Medb might not be a frontline fighter but you cannot forget that the only reason she didn't take down Ulster was because of Cu Chulainn standing in her way and taking down so many of her warriors. Even then she was still smart enough to send Ferdiad after him to get him to a standstill

Point being if the fate writers weren't cowards having the celts all on one team together would be uhhhhh. Well 5 of them can take down entire armies by themselves and at least 3 of them are incredible leaders [Medb, Fionn, Fergus despite my jokes about him] so yeah. I'll say it forever but realistically Chaldea should not have won in pluribus unum with all the celts [minus Scathach] on one team + Arjuna it was a bunch of nukes versus a coughing baby asfdertfgy

[terrymcmurray]

Bonny, Brittany, Lora, and Jessica are the worst hairstylists. Miss Kelly was the last hair stylist I had used in their shop. I gave them more chances than I should have. I will never go to them again and give their hair salon a 1-star review. About Team Shear Obsession Reviews: They have fake reviews about their shop and wanted me to leave a fake good review. These women offered to cut my hair for free if I left them a 5-star review. Never trust these women they are the worst. They will mess up your hair.

[team-rancher]

So the question on everyone’s mind is, what did Tango see to provoke the classic Tumblr Fear Response?

Judging by his Twitter likes, I doubt all the team rancher shipping art would scare him. Maybe the shear scale of it, tumblr is a tad….obsessed. (Apparently people are even making blog solely devoted to it, can you imagine that? 😳)

Stumbling blindly into fic would definitely cause that, but I can’t imagine how he would end up in that scenario.

So that leaves the most likely option, he’s shocked that people have 1.) found his new skin within hours and 2.) started making fanart this quickly

[callmethehunter]

I've read a few fics by different authors about Robert, and I'm kinda confused. They portray him in different ways, so what's his personality like in different aspects? I know that he's extroverted (I saw him getting typed as an ENFJ) and extra, and has a warm heart, but what about his flirtiness and apparent hedonism? How does his rural ideals contrast with touring? I know people are multifaceted and no one's flawless, but I still wanna know some things for certain.

Oh dear Anon, you have made my day! These are great questions about my favorite subject in the world: Robert Plant.:D And as far as that goes, I could (and will) go on and on about this forever, I’ve got so much to say!!

I’ve been obsessed with Robert’s music as well as with his personal life for years. I find him to be a multifaceted, highly talented and intelligent person who embodies traits that one would think were mutually exclusive, yet are somehow at home in him. He is without a doubt, totally outrageous and extroverted, he wants to be the center of attention, yet he is also reclusive, a deep thinker who is keenly aware of the world around him while also being introspective and self-aware. In his own words he has said

“It's part of me to get off on those moments where... well, what people would call attention. Obviously, that isn't the be-all and end-all of life, but at the states of creativity that I've reached, well, it helps the lyrics along a little bit.”

“ I’m pleased with how ridiculous I am. I like me. Though I’m not a huge fan. I know when to switch me off.”

I do think he has a very warm heart. He is genuinely interested in other people, in experiencing the most out of any given situation.

In my opinion, he loves the idea and the feeling of falling in love. He gets off more on that than on the longevity of it. It’s like he’s got ADHD in the aspect of love lol!! I say this because of the number of serious relationships (and not so serious relationships) that he has had in his life. I’m sure he was saddened when they ended, but then he’s moved on to the next great infatuation and adventure. He’s quite capable of starting again, as he has shown multiple times both in his personal and professional life. But I also think it’s a testimony to his heart that he’s been able to continue to be friends with his past loves. “There have been people I've warmed to over the years but, as the situation I'm in is so fleeting and transient, I've always known it's going to be over kind of real quick.”

I mean think about this: after having children with two sisters, Maureen (his exwife) and Shirley, they have been able to raise their children in what looks like a loving extended family. His sons, Logan (with Maureen) and Jesse (with Shirley), are half-brothers as well as first cousins. Just think on that for a moment. In a recent picture, there’s the entire family on vacation: Maureen, Shirley and their children with Robert, as well as Robert and a previous girlfriend, Jessica something or other (don’t remember her name). He’s not confined to societal conventions. He could give a flying fuck. I love that free spirit and he himself has said (and I paraphrase) that he may come across as being a good mate, but in reality he’s out to do whatever the fuck he wants. (And it shows!! )

He says, “...if you do what you think is right for the benefit of everybody and everything and you make decisions, then to go back and regret them afterwards - it's a futile experience and it's not worth thinking about. Because life just unfolds. Provided you do your best and you think you're on the right track, you can only be right or wrong. But to regret it - I don't think there are any huge errors or misdemeanors.”

In the area of friendship, however, he is fiercely loyal. He and Bonzo were like brothers till the end, and even still, Robert honors his dear friend. He’s also been able to maintain friendships with so many people from his hometown- people he knew before he was famous. He puts away the trappings of fame and fortune to be the good old Black Country boy, riding horses and playing with goats, walking around in the forests and enjoying nature.

“I think I could sing and shear a few sheep at the same time.” he says. He is the picture of the word “earthiness”. Able to be the rock god on stage as well as the humble farmer on the farm or at the local pub. He’s loyal to his soccer team and to the sport itself which has been a lifelong passion. I love that in him.

Is he a hedonist? Absolutely!! he has tasted every pleasure there is to taste. His every material wish could be a reality in an instant...He has done drugs, had hundreds of one night stands. He is a highly sensual man. IMO the sexiest man that’s ever walked the planet. His sizeable bulge perpetually stands as a symbol (no pun intended) of his virility and lust (and I like it!!) He exudes charisma and raw sexual energy. He’s done it all to the highest level, partied and cavorted around the globe. What a life he’s lived!!

But he is also soulful- in his lyrics there is also a deep spiritual side of him: I think he is a modern day troubadour and philosopher. His lyrics touch on that, “it is the springtime of my loving” ….“In the light you will find the road” “when all is one and one is all” “Then as it was, then again it will be, though the course may change sometimes, rivers always reach the sea” and I could go on and on with other examples. These are just what popped in my head. “I am a reflection of what I sing. Sometimes I have to get serious because the things Ive been through are serious” He’s experienced moments where he is the “golden god” as well as tragic moments such as the loss of his 5 year old son and the loss of his dear friend Bonzo. These are definitely reflected in his music.

And finally, in his own words:

“I'm like one of those firecrackers that goes off in your pocket occasionally. I'm not really struggling with it as much as the people around me. But at least I'm not doing too much damage to anybody or to myself. It's just the condition I'm aware of."

And he’s still got a twinkle in him and always will.

Thank you for letting me go and on about this man, he holds such a special place in my heart. He is a beautiful and joyous old hippie full of wisdom and talent. He has created a lasting legacy and I hold the deepest admiration for him, despite his human frailties or shortcomings.

If you have read this far, you deserve a kiss and a medal! Thanks so much for this ask!!

[mask131]

A deeper look at the horror homages of Resident Evil 7

As I mentioned before, I believe that “Resident Evil 7: Biohazard” was the beginning of a third act in the RE franchise, a new period of the series whose one of the main characteristics is to be centered around horror. Not just a return to the survival horror genre of the first games, but also a trend to craft each game around horror references and a play on horror genres.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard has been described by many as a “love letter” to horror movies and the horror genre. Many tend to simplify this game as just “an homage to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre” but there is much more than that, the same way that Resident Evil 8 wasn’t just an homage to Dracula.

 But let’s go with the most notable and obvious horror movie reference here: “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. Yes, this game is a deep, deep homage to this franchise. Both have a family of insane and violent serial killers, with a twisted sense of family and the habit to cannibalize their victims, living in a disturbing house in an isolated and seemingly abandoned area. Both also include a lot of chainsaws – Jack Baker even ends up using a weapon made of two chainsaws tied like shears, a very eccentric weapon that would not be out of place in “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2”. Interestingly, the team tried to reference both the original game and its 2000s remake/reboot continuity: while they did an homage to the iconic dinner scene of the original movie by recreating it with the Baker family, the decaying mansion/former plantation of the Baker and the use of a trailer inhabited by a dirty dark-haired girl reminds one of the Hewitts from the 2000s movies. The video game also decides to play with the archetype of the “hillbilly horror” so associated with Texas Chainsaw Massacre, first by using the “swamp rat” hillbilly variations, then by revealing that the Baker were actually upper-class, kind, wealthy and cultured folk before it all went to hell.

However this is not truly the “core” of this game. The true core of this game is another iconic horror movie: The Evil Dead. The original idea for the game to recreate the iconic 1981 movie, in ambiance, tone and storytelling, in the Resident Evil universe. Traces of this linger in the final product: both deal with an abandoned, isolated house in a wild area… both deal with an evil force corrupting everyone entering the building and turning them into inhuman monsters… both deal with horrible things hiding in the basement… And there are also more direct references, such as Jack shouting a “Groovy!” straight out of Evil Dead 2, or the whole character of Mia who is a nod to Mia in the 2013 remake of The Evil Dead.

Many have also pointed out how the visuals of this movie, with its decaying Louisiana landscapes, brought to mind the first season of “True Detective”, which is true but in a very broad and general way: the two works simply share the aesthetic of the modernized Southern Gothic genre. The same way that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre could be seen as a horror take on the Southern Gothic – yes, the core of the game always tie back to this genre.

  As a result, the Baker family as a whole is a mix between the cannibal clan/Sawyer family/Hewitt family from the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” franchise (even having the Grandmother be a direct copy of the Grandpa) and the Deadites from The Evil Dead series (formerly human monsters with grotesque appearances and possessed by a malevolent force). But further than that, each member of the family has his or her own set of references. Lucas Baker is the most obvious of them all, since his character is based on a mixture of Jigsaw from the Saw franchise (a maker of elaborate death traps and torture games) and the Joker from the Batman universe (a cheerful, giggling and very intelligent psychopath obsessed with games and parties, plus using a clown motif for his traps). Others are a bit more undefined, such as Marguerite Baker who has the general appearance, behavior and powers of a wicked witch from old legends or fairy tales, or a bit more obscure, such as the boss fight with chainsaw against Jack in barn filled with meat on hooks being probably a nod to “Motel Hell”. The character of the “Daughter” seen in concept arts and demos was originally a HUGE nod to the Japanese horror, by embodying the “yurei” archetype, the Japanese ghost seen in movies such as “Ringu” or “Ju-On”: a female murderous entity dressed in white and with long dark hair… Some of these traits went to Mia, and others rather went to Eveline, who is quite similar in design to Samara from “Ringu” (except she wears darker clothes), and played much more the card of the ghost child, with her constantly appearing and disappearing in the shadows. In fact, it was considered playing the “creepy child” card fully since concept art explored several attempts at introducing a creepy child in the household (one even named Samara). The original concepts even had a duo of creepy twins simply named… “creepy twins” X) It was also supposed to an homage to The Shining.

In fact, this game has a lot of nods and Easter eggs towards the works of Stephen King. The password Lucas uses for his death traps (and smartphone) is 1408, the name of a short story of Stephen King later adapted into a successful horror movie. The behavior and setting in which Marguerite Baker is found in one DLC brings to mind Annie Wilkins in Misery. But the most obvious of those references is actually the character of Jack Baker, who was named and modelled after Jack Torrance from The Shining (hence why at one points he has an axe, and during his stalking he keeps shouting lines filled with dark humo ; before he switches to a Leatherface-like chainsaw). Given Lucas was supposed to have a mutated dog named Diane, maybe we would have had a Cujo reference also thrown in the mix.

 The connections to Ringu are quite a bit deeper, due to the fact the house is filled with VHS tapes and old television sets, despite being in 2017. This also ties to this game’s huge homage to the found footage horror genre. Most of these references are ones directed at the Blair Witch Project, such as Mia talking to the camera like Heather or the whole concept of learning about the previous victims through their recordings, though one of the tapes also seems to be a reference to [REC]. Talking about the tapes, while not a horror movie The Sewers Gators are of course a reference to the paranormal investigation shows such as “Ghost Hunters” or “Ghost Adventures”. The Sewers Gators also speak of “Amarillo”, a nod to the FEAR video games series – which is also referenced in the character of Eveline, quite similar to Alma Wade. (The nods to FEAR are very intentional, since RE 7 and the FEAR franchise share key staff members).

 To recap it all, this game is a buffet of horror movie references. But to conclude this post I would like to bring out a theory/analysis formulated by Julio Ibarra on an article he wrote about the game: the theory that this game being a “love letter” to the horror movie, it actually tried to reference several horror genres in general. I’ll explain: according to Julio Ibarra, each of the Baker family members are representative of a given genre.

Jack Baker is an homage to the slasher genre. He is this extremely strong and quite snarky male enemy that stalks you throughout the house with a different set of weapons, ranging from the usual to the improbable. Being a mix of Jack Torrance and Leatherface, it is easy to see why he would fit the mold of the archetypal slasher villain, many gamers pointing out Jack reminded them of Jason Voorhes (from the Friday 13th franchise). Marguerite Baker would rather be an homage to both the “insect horror” genre (a minor genre of horror centered around entomophobia, and dealing with huge swarms of insect, flesh-eating bugs or giant insects) and most of all to the “body horror” genre. It is true that Marguerite’s character is centered around the horror of the flesh, from her repulsive cooking to her monstrous mutated form (turning her into a living insect hive). Lucas Baker is obviously a huge homage to SAW and thus a reflection of whatever genre it belongs to (while originally a mix of psychological and gore horror movies, Saw ended up forming its own sub-genre of complex torture and executions, found in other movies such as Cube).

As I mentioned previously, the found footage horror genre is also heavily present, though not embodied by one of the Bakers, rather by the Sewer Gators team. Finally, the two main characters left represent types of supernatural horror, with Mia representing the “possession horror” (Ethan having to confront his beloved wife acting like a stranger and fighting her transformation into a monster) and Eveline playing more on other supernatural horrors (her nature as an hallucination and the fact the Baker house was considered a “haunted house” by the locals bring in mind ghost horror, though Eveline as a female character with seemingly supernatural powers also brings the witchcraft theme).

[ganymedesclock]

outta curiosity, why do you think the bugs are human-y sized? i've seen that portrayal fairly often in fandom, but it never occurred to me during my own playthrough b/c of things like the weapons all being things like "Nails" and "Needles" (plus Cloth's huge fang club) which feel... like they're supposed to /seem/ small, if that makes sense.

Kind of a complicated web of reasons, some in-universe, some out.

The first thing I’m going to say is that I agree with you in that there is something that “feels small” about Hollow Knight’s world. When a friend of mine, @betterbemeta played the game, they spoke a bit about a “microscopic aesthetic” that they chalked to things like the amount of detail in the backgrounds. At the size we’re used to seeing the world, dirt is just dirt. From an insect’s eye view, however, individual grains are visible to a much greater degree.

This very granular nature fills the world. Nothing has the anonymity of just being dirt- it’s all shells or fossils or bits of stone and sand and glass. Our relationship with the world is intimate. We are shown spaces and the vastness of them looms, daunts. So I don’t for a second resent the impression that the scale of the world “feels small”.

What does bug me, if you’ll pardon the pun, is trying to add humans into this world as some kind of vast upper limit. Because while they wield pins and needles, nails and shears... these are not scavenged objects. This is not Pikmin. The nail is called such, but it is never a nail as we would recognize, designed to be hammered into an object. The bugs of Hallownest mine materials, and forge them into shapes that are engineered and worked artistically. The Nailsmith has spent much of his life obsessively honing his craft.

It feels arrogant, when there is no human presence in the game, to automatically slot us in an imagined supergiant slot that would trivialize the game and everything narratively important about it. It feels even more arrogant to suggest an independent culture that never shows any evidence of being dependent on humans is whimsically plucking our door nails for funny little bug sword duels, rather than that they have a culture of forging and carving their own weapons, tailored to their needs, without “divine inspiration” from anything bigger than it except its gods, which are themselves entities not in the likeness or shape of humans.

For me, I feel like it operates much better to presume Hollow Knight’s world is comparable to Nausicaa’s- it is a land of giants, rather than a land of the diminutive. A world that, if we or creatures like us were walking them, we would walk alongside Ghost, these same roads and highways, and would have this same experience of being dwarfed by the vastness of the space. I feel like if you really want to imagine humans in this world, either explicitly or for a sense of scale- we’d be on the level of the setting’s bugfolk.

Another thing worth noting is that this world is also very alien. Far moreso than, say, Pikmin, a game that does feature tiny aliens on a post-apocalyptic earth, where we can recognize much of the world and its shape even if the creatures now inhabiting it are strange. In Hollow Knight, the world is strange in its beauty and savagery. It’s really not like ours. The larger things get, the weirder they get. There’s almost no indication of mammalian life, or even, besides the bug-people having some recognizable species among them like moths, butterflies, cicadas, bees- creatures that we recognize. God Tamer is either an ant or a cockroach most likely, but her steed was originally conceptualized as a lobster- and it is an eight-eyed, quadrupedal creature with a filter-feeder mouth, large horns, an expanding translucent dewlap and neither claws nor long tail to speak of, so Team Cherry has actively avoided putting “normal creatures” in there.

This setting has a particular logic about creatures. Everything is translated through that lens, so things we would recognize come out distinctly different, and the general thrust is ‘more like a bug’. So to me, that precludes the intrigue of humans, because we have what humans would look like, with concession made to these strange rules.

They’re the characters we already see and interact with.

I dislike the idea of towering humans, because to me, the sapient bugs of Hallownest so clearly are the humans. I feel like this is a world on a divergent planet. There’s no apes for humans to come from, or monkeys to grow into apes, or even mammals for monkeys to come from- everything is bugs, so the sapient creatures come from bugs. Quirrel, in the prequel comic, even briefly holds a much smaller crawling insect and muses how it and he have similar shells, and, yet, are fundamentally dissimilar creatures. Another narrative could very easily transcribe a similar moment between a human researcher and an orangutan he spots in the bushes.

So this compels me to, in crossover contexts, put the bugs as close to humans. I feel like this is a beautifully constructed and deeply alien world, and there’s so little to gain and so much to carelessly bulldoze by adding in a sense of scale that allows us to just ignore so much of the strangeness and force our own ordinary world over it. I don’t have this problem putting in other giant or strange forces in the setting- I’d be super up to colossal forests of giant trees as a level or scene in a fanwork, for example.

But I guess that’s what turns me off of a lot of things like the bug tank AUs- the humans’ presence and society feels like a way to not just put what’s familiar to us in there, but in such a way that invalidates the refreshing novelty of the world around it. There’s no stated upper limit to Radiance’s powers- there’s nothing she can’t infect merely because it’s too large. So putting her in a glass tank wouldn’t negate her. If it was that easy to stop her, PK wouldn’t be driven to desperation and have committed a staggering amount of esoteric sin on his own children trying to find a way. It immediately undermines character plots and motivations.

Suggesting that the bugs are living borrower-style among humans and making use of their technology, likewise, cheapens the plot of the Nailsmith and his obsession, one that is shared by many, or, in the Silksong demo, Forge-Daughter’s “ancient line and honored role”.

Now, I have seen borrower-style stories and loved them! I was massively obsessed with the movie 9 when it came out, which featured tiny cloth dolls (the largest of them could be held easily in one hand by a human) surviving in an apocalyptic wasteland, and they utilized pieces of human technology cobbled together into ingenious new forms. But the thing about Hollow Knight, is it is not that world. Some weapons are large, almost oversized for their wielders- but they were still built with those wielders in mind, by other bugs, using designs developed by bugs. 

Cloth’s club doesn’t really refute this by being a tooth broken from a larger creature, either- the temple of the black egg is made either from, or in the likeness of, the hollowed shell of a truly gargantuan creature.

This world has some very big things. I feel like thinking of humans as ‘the giants’ in this setting vastly underestimates the world. That somewhere in Cloth’s journey- and somewhere accessible to the kingdoms’ guards that became Husk Guards- there were vast cadavers with teeth that could be harvested is explained handily on its own by the idea that this is a world partially populated by giants- giants that play by the same lovely arthropod sensibilities of the more regular-sized denizens.

Another exciting thing worth noting is that there are ribs and spines all over this world! If these guys were truly on the scale of ordinary bugs, they wouldn’t need them- their exoskeletons would do all the supporting for them. But these guys are big enough to need at least vestigial endoskeletons. The implications of the remains that we see don’t exactly show us arm or leg bones, but rather intact limb exoskeletons. So these guys would have more complicated organs and more bones, that a bigger creature would need, but something the size of a realistic our-world ant would not.