#yes yes yes the allosaurus is on point

[alltheboysandgirlsiloved]

remember when in the last episode Santos shows Brooklynn the live video footage of the blind baryonyx and Red attracting dr. Sarr? It's really interesting because notice how this situation almost perfectly parallels how Brooklyn lost her arm - there was also a dinosaur with a visual impairment involved (the allosaurus) on the scene and there was also an atrociraptor there. So like, of course, on its own watching this and making others watch scenes like this is cruel but I think that Santos knew exactly what she was doing there – reminding Brooklyn of the fear she felt back then because people who are scared are much easier to manipulate. I think that Santos (an incredibly smart character after all!) saw an opportunity and seized it. And it doesn't really matter that Brooklynn turned away and ended up not watching the moment of dr. Sarr's death – the point wasn't for her to actually see it, the point was to unlock those memories, make her panic a bit, and hope to remind her what can happen if Brooklynn betrays her

(Of course, we know what Brooklynn's goal is but remember that Santos, a naturally suspicious woman, wants to solidify this new partnership in every way possible. I don't think that it was her plan since the very beginning - she only learned about the baryonyx when she arrived at the lab but let's be real - she is a quick thinker. And while, yes, Brooklynn saved her life just a moment ago, I wouldn't put it past Santos to still have a sliver of doubt in her heart just because that's her character and just because she knows how dangerous it is to put faith in the wrong people. For her fear is as good of a base for a partnership as any other)

[ngray192]

Ok, Chaos Theory came out and I watched ALL OF IT.

So, I'm gonna share every thought I had while watching, with no context whatsoever!

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!!!!

• Brooklyn is already dead ig

• The animation is beautiful

• Darius to the rescue!!

• He's so grown up

• Hes still so Darius

• Sammy would be proud

• This animation is gorgeous omg

• He took mannerisms from his friends omg

• Allosaurus killed Brooklyn!!!?!?

• Omg this show is darker than the first

• His groceries are gonna fly out

• Curse, I know you want to

• Is it a gun gun or tranq gun?

• Omg is he leaving voicemails to Dead Brooklyn??

• Did they get Jenna Ortega back or no?

• He's got a little cabin

• Wtf is that gun??

• Brand!!

• He's like 20 rn?

• CAMP FAM

• Kenji and Darius had a falling out??

• AAAA NEWS VIDEOS

• I miss them

• Someone do the "despite everything it's still you"

• Ok he slayed that electric staff whip tho

• BEN

• He's anxious af

• HES STILL WEARING A FANNY PACK

• God this is so sad wtf

• Ofc there's a site caller Dark Jurassic

• I saw this scene in the clip already

• Teamwork

• That was the whole episode?!

2

• "Aw crud"

• Someone broke the fence

• Why did you park so far away??

• Ofc he drives a van

• The eyessss

• Lockwood Estate mentioned

• Always the logical one

• He wrote down his theories

• Boyfriends??

• "Dork pouch"

• BUMPY DRAEN ON THE WHITEBOARD

• NO HESITATION LMAO

• He's so goofy I love him

• Facial expressions on point

• SHE SENDS CARE PACKAGES

• "Yee-haw"

• Do they only have one picture of them all?

• It's a female voice??

• Oh it was Brooklyn

• They didn't even try to make her sound the same

• I don't like her hair

• She's still Brooklyn

• Isn't that the plot of someone's fanfic on the Discord??

• Someone's gonna read that scene as romantic

• Ben is a reckless driver god damn

• Where are they that they can drive to Texas easily?

• Move dino move!!

• No rear view mirror doesn't sound safe

• Let this boy pee

• BENJAMIN

• He's so done with him

• Hes giving season 4 episode 2

• Boyfriends??

• NERDS

• OMG FIRE

• Hero Ben!!

• Ew the face

• Camp fammmmm

• THE HEAT WAVES this animation is everything

• We get different end-credits every ep??

3

• Cows!

• "Chip me"

• He's so happy to see the ranch

• The ranch is so Sammy

• Awww she's so Farm Girl

• She's STRONG

• She got tall lmao

• Bessie had a calf?!?

• Do Yaz and Sammy usually live together?!!

• "Ding-dong"

• NO FUCKING WAY

• ITS BUMPY!!!!!!

• THE PUPILS

• THIS IS EVERYTHING

• Is Mantah Corp back??

• KILL HIM BUMPY

• Boooo Sammy

• Fuck Carl

• She's an herbivore tf

• Me and Ben on the same wavelength fr

• Tell him, Sammy

• Let this girl have her pie

• She's Sammy, but she's grown up a lot

• She still has her jacketttt

• What happened to her???

• She's so saddd

• Why aren't her parents talking to her??

• NOT YAZ PULLING AWAY

• Don't split up!!

• Omg Carl

• Communication through hand signalsss

• That shot with the raptor and the moon tho

• We haven't had many cute moments yet, it's really about survival now, they've really grown up

• Not the pieeee

• The genuine fear in her eyes holy shit

• BUMPY

• No more Beanie Ben

• So now he has a rear view mirror

• This reminds me a lot of Jurassic Park 2

4

• This episode is titled Brothers

• Season 3 episode 7 vibes

• I love how Ben loves Bumpy

• Their faces are so close

• BENJAMIN

• HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND

• Fucking liar lmao

• Does Kenji blame him???

• THEY STILL GLOW

• God I cannot get over the animation

• Poor boy kenji???

• The kick lmao

• He almost sounds like Ryan Porter

• He's not the tallest anymoreeee

• Benji???

• He doesn't act like Kenji 100% but it's still there

• I miss Ryan Porter

• Another framed photo!!

• They use the words "death" and "dead" a lot, but not "died" or "killed"

• DANIEL KON?!??!

• Yes, go get your girl

• Ok but Sammy and Ben are so Mom and Dad

• Good thing he just had spare gear???

• Oh it's probably for Brooklyn

• That shot he looked so much like Little Darius

• Oh no they broke up, so sad 😐

• Woah

• Valid reason to break up

• He's completely valid for being mad idc

• NOOO DONT GET BUMPY

5

• COMPIES

• Ofc he loves this kind of music

• You guys are supposed to be family tho

• DAMN THATS COLD

• EVERY WEEK I love Kenji

• "Love you" awwww

• She's so sassy I love her

• The head sway omgggg

• The carobbbb

• These background characters are way too hyped for this

• Bobby Nublar?

• Awww poor baby dino

• Free the dinos!!

• Oh he got OLD

• Damn straight in there

• She's so hurt :(

• He only thought Sammy was suspicious

• Creepy ass big ass forehead bitch

• Daniel Kon is a LIAR

• We should've gotten Kenji speaking Japanese in JWCC

• Love sassy Kenji

• "Yeah ok, I'll get my violin" GIRL

• Omg he almost punched Ben

• Yesss Sammy beat the shit out of him

• Those are the smallest corn dogs ever

• You're a shit dad

• What?! Brooklyn would never

• Kenji and I are on the same wavelength

• Different? Was it her voice?

• Are those lillies?

• These bitches are everywhere

• Kill Daniel

• He's old af hes about to have a heart attack anyway

• DAWG WHO TF ARE YOU

• CREEPY ASS BITCH

• Shitttt Daniel tackled that raptor

• Holy shit they killed Kenji's dad

• She's so fucking creepy omg

• I hope she's not from Dominion cause I haven't watched that

• Who's driving the car???!

6

• YAZ

• She's coping!!

• She wants to make it work!!!

• Ok but the crop top on Yaz???

• THE PICTURE ON HER PHONE

• Ben is everything this season

• "Love you too" AWWWW

• Where is there an island in Wyoming??

• She's so nervous/excited

• They're perfect together

• "Fadoula"

• She's happy here. Writers, let her be happy

• "Benny-boy"

• She's so geeky

• "Your favorite"

• They're all the same but so grown up

• Ben's scream lmao

• BENS SO SUPPORTIVE

• So Brooklyn has been dead less that 14 months

• They're both valid in this argument

• Ok but Ben and Yaz friendshipppp

• Is Ben actually dating someone??

• Ooo that's a cool dino

• Omg this show is darker than the og

• How did she walk so far??

• Yaz holding Ben's arm is cute tho

• Girlfriendssss

• BIG BEN

• Dumbass DPW

• Wtf??

• Omg

7

• Therapy girlfriend to the rescue

• Omg I forgot about Darius and Kenji

• Noooo baby boy Kenji

• Wow 2 major deaths already

• God I love Ben

• I feel like they should've drowned by now

• They held hands while swimming up

• Aw he has a daughter

• He lowkey sounds like Ryan Porter

• Idc about this Brooklyn death backstory

• Sammy looks fucking crazy in their one picture of the 6

• Ben 3rd wheeling just like all of season 5

• Their heads SLAMMED together

• He's so weird about this car lmao

• The car scene is funny

• They're in Colorado now??

• This hill is STEEP

• He's been waiting to throw those phones for DAYS

• Why tf would he be coming with you?

• Why did I believe the voicemail?? I saw her phone get ruined

• Darius CALM DOWN let kenji have at least something about Brooklyn DAMN

• Dude this mystery is DEEP

8

• Reminds me of Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom

• Gonna barf because of this "bwookie bear" scene

• He always has been a bad liar

• Sammy is physically fight for EVERYBODY'S lives

• Omg we're actually doing the Darius×Brooklyn plot??

• So that means no Ben×Darius plot???

• BUMPY (again)

• What did they do to you, Bumps???

• "Oh heyyyy" "boo" I LOVE THEM

• I love a good chase scene

• If a car can just drive through it, that fence was shit

• Nobody does a stampede like this show does

• Lots of death (even if they're all cutaways)

9

• God I'm flying through this show

• The heartbeating is EVERYTHING

• Anxious girlfriends

• More good camerawork and angles

• Ofc they'd be good at charades

• Are there still no male dinosaurs?

• Big Eatie mentioned

• "Ok I get it, you're a climber"

• Oh are Camp Fam at the same place?

• She's sick???

• If Bumpy dies I'll kms

• Why is he just carrying a stick?

• GIRL STOP KICKING THINGS

• I love reunions

• No cause why am I sad

• Did he call her "MICROBANGS"

• They're still the same kids from the island and I love that

• Once again, they're so Mom and Dad

• Is she in labor?!?!?!

• YOU CANNOT SCARE US LIKE THAT

• What're they gonna name the egg?!??!

10

• Last episodeeee

• Oh shit we used the word "killed"

• His hat is so tall

• Omg he shocked Ben

• Benji?

• We have so much to wrap up in 23 minutes

• This is lowkey scary

• This is so suspenseful

• She looks familiar

• THE FIRST PERSON SHOTS IN THISSSS

• Is she just dead then???

• Toro!!

• THE EXPLOSION BEHIND THE T-REX IM SORRY THAT WAS AWESOME

• THEY'RE ADORABLE

• The slow-motion scene is so cool

• Coolest dino fight ever

• FUCKING CREEPY BITCH

• Awww she's bonding? with her guard-raptors? I don't care

• Wait is that it??

• They better make another season

• Everyone's so happy for Darius being in love

• She didn't feel the same?! THATS why he didn't show???

• I fucking knew she was still alive

• SHE LOST AN ARM?!

• Her hair got even worse

• So we're getting another season???

[idle-compy]

okie dokie!! here's my live reaction if anyone's interested

ep 1:

ooh a recap jwcc didn't have these

theyre little setup looks cozy comfy ngl

the roar competition 😭

DAMN KENJI ANGST STARTINF EARLY

BROUGHT UP CAMP CRETACEOUS

"has me feeling like my old man... like an 'ex-Kon'" KENJI

"isn't a little soon to be making jokes about ur deceased father" "nah"

kenji and this dang lettuce

risking it all for some potato chips omg

gotta give it to kenji he IS sneaky

THE YASAMMY PHOTO ❤️

these guys just been chatting for over a week but some screams during a little storm got the attention of the crew?? they're shit at they're jobs ok

omg that scene where ben and Darius are serving face for no reason

ik we've been seeing pics of it BUT THE WET HAIR ANIMATION MWAH MWAH

not rhem becoming ship hands

THE EGGGSSS

and the start of kenjis death wish GAAHHH

so much blood omg

THE GALLILIMUS SCENE NOOOO

mama... a majungasaurus behind you

darius saving that captains ass... and be tries to throw them overboard..

now darius with the death wish Jesus christ

oh this scene is animated super cool

not that mf just sliding in the crate

rip eggs pt 2

RIP KENJI PT 2 GODDAMNIT

Australian man coming in with the sense

kenji open up PLEASE

AND THERE SHE ISSSS

ep 2:

bens so desperate to charge that thing

oh so that's why he's keeping the secret that makes sense

poor ben tho imagine seeing that

yaz wondering if ANY of her friends are ok atp

ZAYNAAA

I thought the jacket removal would be later in the season hmm

ben is such a terrible secret keeper omg

not them ab to move these ppls pets

"baby bumpy ur in charge"

KENJI KISSIMF THE EGG

wait those stegos protect the farm I feel this setting up smth

i love this little gallilimus sm

geba was it??

SHE LEDT THE CASE EXPOSED AND OPEN??

kenji messing with darius they're such brothers

this woman's known yasammy for just a couple minutes and alr protecting them

BEN CLINVING THE TREE LIKE HED DO ON NUBLAR

and still no signal

yknow at least yaz is honest

camp fam doing what camp fam does best

"get out of here you off brand alligator!"

KENNI WITH THE DEATH WISHH

rising the stegosaures YES QUEENS

"but they're not our enemy any more than any animal is" preach

goddd bens so conflicted

you can see the pain in his face omggg you can tell he doesn't want to lie

ep 3:

BROOKLYNNNNNNN

RONNIE DID SAVE HERRR

THE HANDLER IN HER MEMORY

"as luck would have it ur my second amputation this week" ronnie omg

oh she's cryinggg 💔

FLASHBACKKKKKM

THE PARASAUROLOPHES oh she's visiting kenji

damn just driving thru em ok girl

VIDEO CALL MY BELOVED CHIDREN

NOOO DANIEL

at least we van see what they talked ab

yeah brooklynn call his ass out

ooohhh she's playing him isn't she

the lead up to the break up omg

SHE WAS TEXFINF HIS FATHER WHEN THEY BROKE UP

THE CASHHH

MEMORIES WITH DARIUS NLW

"something I need you to see" hmmmmmm

oh darius has fallen hard at this point

"if he loved you half as much as I do" DARIUS OH NO

oh he doesn't know how to save this GAAHH

"unless" DARIUS PLEASEEEEEEEEE SHES FRESH FROM A BREAK UP

yknow what idk if I'd be able to face her ahain after that either Jesus christ that was painful to watxh

OH THE WOODS SCENEEE

THE PERSON SHE WAS TALKING TO WAS HACKEDDDDDDD THIS WAS A SET UP

I mean I think we knew ir was a set up BUT NOT LILE THAT

THE RAPTORSSSSSSSSS

THE HANDLERRRR

the allosaurus saved her then got blamed for her death ??? 😭

I feel like ronnie being the other person she was talking to was so obvious but I'm glad it was confirmed

ahhhh the fake death confirmation

"I might have smth to take the edge off" ronnie pulled out alcohol I know it

TIME SKIPPP

"5 second rule"

honestly love that they're showing the process of her adapting to her new limb difference

ok she just changed her hair FAST bc wdym her funeral

nvm they must've held the funeral off bc her arm is healed

"maybe can we go see my friends and family?" What happened to that

"hey fam what's up?! notice anything different? it's the hair!" she's so unserious

EWWW ITS ONE OF THR EVIL DPW MEN

Can't remember if it's Jared or Jensen

"if they start causing problems I'll take care of em" talkimf ab her friends

so they weren't originally being hunted?? was that one theory ab ben snooping causing them to be right???

and in that moment brooklynn decided to remain dead didn't she

ooohhh she left ronnie

ep 4:

ooh a dln mission

OH FACE REVEAL

earnests little jiggy jig

MALTA

"it always lands in-" WHEREEEEE RONNIE WHERE

OOHHB BEN WATCHUNG WHAT THE DLN IS DOING

must've cauhjt up to the current timeline

also they must change clothes constantly throughout the season bc he's already in the grey tee

him debating messaging brooklynn omg

OH SHOOT HE SENT IT

Also brooklynns username??? Ester stone callback

ben debating leaving his friends to find brooklynn???

IS DARIUS CREATINF ANOTHER FIELD GUIDE

oooohhh sammy in the family feels I NEED TO KNOW WHAG BAPPENEEDDD

THE TRACKER

SOMETHJNF HAPPENINF TO THE DLN

"take em out to the field and wait for my signal" earnest are u ab to kill ppl

YAZ RUNNING FOR FUNSIES

Theyre definitely feeling like they were back on nublar

WHO JUST KIDNAPPED GEBA

KENJI WHAT IS THIS SONG

I missed u silly kenji tho

OH SLMEONE KNOCKED HIM OUT AND STOLE THE EGGS NO

brooklynn stays messing with ppl

YEAAHH HER SAVINF RHE CLEANINF CREW WE LOVE MORALS

she was talking to literally random ppl in the hang on scene??? after all my analyzing??

random man handled that well

HE CALLED HER SYD

UGLY CRYINF TO MSKE HIM UNCOMFORTABLE

"what did you want me to do?! fight rhem all off???? I only have one arm!!"

it is just bad thing after bad thjnf goodness

zayna joining them omggg they're 6 ahain

ooh brooklynn tricking his ass yes queen

oooh dubai

ep 5:

"well she needs to learn that sometimes life is a cruel mistress" "she's 14"

ben bringing up he and kenjis gyropshere accident omg

BROOKLYNMS ONLINE

not ben wrecking rhe boat

BENS USERNAME

bumpy_2015 CAN HE BE MORE OBVIOUS

Anyway BROOK GETTINF HIS MESSAGE???

"damning files" 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨 /jjjj

ITS DADDYS GADDY

OOOHHH SHES PRETYY

is it the broker tho

I did not watxh dominion but she looks kinda like soyona santos

OOOHH BROOKLYNN FOHND A WAY IN

kenji and ben already beefing good lord

he is SUCH a terrible liar

WHYD KENJI END THE BRACHI SOUNDS LIKE THE KLIMPALOON

OOOH SOMETHJNF UNDER WATER

And now the brachis are spooked

IT IS SOYONA

RAPTOR

wow kenji risking hjs life again JESUS CHRIST MAN

all of their genuine looks of concern

that's a sick painting tho

"so much more precise than a whistle" soyona and handler beef

SOYONA KNOWS WHO SHE IS

OH SHE GOT OUT OF THERE

ig why they shared all those clips now bc tbjs is NOT playing out like I thought it would

to be so anti phone ben sure is attached to that phone

Sammy assuming bens gotta take a shit bc he ran off 😭

BROOKLYNN VIDEO CHATTINF HIMMMMMMMMMMMMMAMMAMAMMMMMMMMMMMM

BROOKLUNN TELLINF HIM TO KEEP HER A SECRET LIKE HE ISNT CONFLICTED ENOUFHHHH

SHE DELWTWD HER ACXOUNT GAAAHAHHHHH

ep 6:

IS BEN HAVJNF A PANIC ATTACK

THEYRE STARTING RHE EP LIKE THIS???

oh ok it was a mini panic

now yaz has TWO boys to be worried about

"I think I need to tell you somethjng...?" He doesn't know what to do :((((

THE UDNERWATER CREATIRE

DO THEY NOT KNOW HOW DANGEROUS HIPPOS ARE

mangoes are the cure to all

KENJI REACHING HIS ARN INTO THE HIPPOS MOITH???

Not it eating the phone

OHHHB BROOKS CUTTINF EVERYONE OFF SHE BLOCKED RONNIE

they've talked ab pooping twice now omg

yaz throwing kenjis problems onto darius omfg

sammy has grown so attached to zayna

SAMMYS A VEGETARIAN

IS THAT A CORPSEEEEEEE

oh ben is in an absolute panic omg

OOOH YAZ KNOWS HES KEEPIMG SECRETS

"all my proof is gone! dissolving in the stomach of a weirdly aggressive beast!"

why is everyone just throwing stuff on yaz rn 😭

PTEROSAUR

OH SKMETHJNF FUCKINF ATE THE PTEROASUAR IMMEDIATELY

SUCHOMIMUS

OH HO HOBHOOOO BROOKLYNN HAS THE DINO LASER

KENJI WITH THE DEATH WISH

YAZ GETTING CHASED BY A HIPPO??? IS THAT JOW SHE ENDED UP ALOME

OH DARIUS AND KENJI DONT KNOW YAZ DIDNT GET ON THE OTHER BOAT

KENJI GOT INJUREDDD

OH YAZ GOT KNOCKED OUT

BROOKLYNN AND HER MANUPULATING

OH IS BROOKLYNN GONNA END UP IN AFRICA

KENJIS SHOULDER IS JUST CADUALLY DISLOCATED??

HE JUST POPPED IT BAXN INTO PLACE LIKE IT WAS NOTHINF?????

NOOO HE WAS AB TO OPEN UP

THEY LEFT YAZZZZZ

she passed out in such a slay position tho omg

ep 7:

ooohh this has gotta be the yaz ep all the reviews were talkimf ab

THEY AINR TURN AROUMD FOR HER YET???

oh well the suchonmimus won thag battle

YAZ GIRL RUN WHIKE HES SLEEPINT

maybe it's just me but the flashlight is not thag important

THE ANIMATIONNNNNN WE CAN SEE HER TREMBLING

"well look who it is, the kenjinator" "my main man benny" why are they so awkward

"heyyyyy how are u doing... champ?" "champ? what is this what are u doing" the dialogue is so funny

thus soeech??? darius u used to be so good at this

"ahhh!! my socks are soaked"

YAZ DID ALL THAT FOW THE FLASHLUGHT AND ITS DEAD?????

oh there it goes

AND THERES DIMORPJOFONS???

AND THE FLASHLIGHT FELL RIGHT TOWARDS TBE SUCHOMIMUS SOMEONR FIVE THIS GIRL A BREAK

KENJIS OPENIMG UP BUT AT WHAG COST

HE BLAMIMG HIMSELF FOR YAZZZ

"I don't know how much more I can take" KENJKIIIIIIII :((((

KENJI BEN HEART TO HEART I've waited years for this

"WHO YA TRYNA HIT SAM???" "LEAVE A REVIEW LATER"

LIONS

YAZ HE SEES U

OH FUCK HES GOT HER

YAZ GOOOO

ok the sucho left her alone

NOW SHE HAS TO DEAL WITH LIPNS????

WAIT WHAT JUST KILLED THE LION

MANUNGUSAURUS

"MOVE YOUR BUTTS"

SHIT ANOTHER STANDIFF

SUCHO JUST CADUALLY GOT KILLED ON SCREEN LIKE THAT??

this scene is so menacing

kenji in between the gfs 😭

YASAMMY HUG

BROOKLYNM TEYINF TO CALL BEN AND THE PJONES GONE

ep 8:

kenji being protective over yaz 😭

OH IS THIS THE EP KENJI FINDS OUT

"you are not leaving me behjnd!" zaynas so real

also love the continuation that other ppl can here secret talks

OH POOR LEASHED DINOS

kenni finally realizing what he's doing to himself 😭

KENJINA HUGGGG

bro activities is laying on the ground together

damn those chains were pathetic

why are they all going into suspiciously dark areas

IS THIS A DINO FREEZER??

OH NO ITS A GENETUCS LAB

oh zayna clocked him

OH THE SHIP CAPTAIN

OH CAPTAIN LANG JUST GKT JILLED OK

THIS SVENE IS SO WELL DONE?? SO OMINOUS

OH SOMETHINS DOWN THERE WITH THEMMMM

they'd make terrible cheerleaders

OH THAG POOR BABY HAS NO EYES

THIS PLACE IS CRUELLLL

THERES RHE PROMO IMAGE

GEBA BABY UR OK

DARIUS RUN

DARIUS IS STILL DOWN THERE JFC

OH HES HOLDIMG OMTO THE OUTSIFE

"I knew u didn't hate me!"

SHIT DARIUSSSSSSS

BENS IN AN INTERROGATION ROOM KENJI CAN SEE HIM THIS IS HOW HE FINDS OHT ISNT IT

IM SORRY HE SEES BROOKLYNN WALK IN ON BEN??!??!?!?!??!?!?!?!?

BROOKLYNMS HERE?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?@??@?@

ohhhh this looks way wrong to kenji doesn't it

"She's alive? You knew?"

the interrogation set up eas an insane way to do thaf I loved it

ep 9:

I've been so drawn in on this ep I just realized I haven't been reviewing

anyway

BROOKLYNM SAVED THEM IN THE PIT THING

WILL WE GET TO FIND OT WHAT HAPPENED TO DARIUS

YEAH HE MADE IT

DAMN RHE OTHERS SAW HER TOOOO?!??!?!?!?!??

THIS MAN INTENTIONALLY CREATED THE EYELESS BARYONIX???? EVILLLLL

HE FED HER LIVE HUMANNNSSS?!?!??!?!??!??!?!?!

oh rip evil scientist man

OH WE HET TO HEAR BEN AND BROOKS WHOLE ARGUKMENT

"stop looking at me like that" :(((

ep 10:

FINALLEEEEE

fuck mu headphones are dying

BEN AND KENJI ANGST

OH SHIT KENJI BROKE THE GLASS WHAT IF HE HIT BENS FACE

OOHH KENJIS HURT

"after that we'll" "do something stupid? prpbably?" "probably"

EVIL SCIENTIST MAN LIVED???

omg are the acrociraptor and the baryonix communicating

YAY SCIENTIST MAN IS DEAD

oh kenjis trust is broken

BROOKLYNN HAVJNF TO HEAR HER FRIENDS SCREAM THIS IS CDUELL

WHEN WILL THRY REUINITEEE AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

ZAYNAS DAD TO THE RESCUE

SHES GOJNA BLOW IT UP AND KENJI AND VEN ARE SFILL IN THEREEEE

oh ok they drove their asses outta there

"nuh uh u don't get to talk" oh kenjis bitter

CONFRONTATIONNNNNNNNNNNN

ooohhh what's brooklynn gonna do

SHES LEABIFN THEM AND TAKIMG THE EGGGS???

SHE GAVE THEN BHNPYS EGG AND LEDT????????

THATS IT?!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!??!???!??!?!?!??!

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

What’s your favorite *fossil*? Like, mine is the holotype of Allosaurus jimmadseni because it has a radioactive skull and that’s just. Cool as all hell. (Although it’s stiff competition with the Borealopelta “mummy” and any giant millipede trackways.) I’m curious about your fav. 👀

the Sinosauropteryx that changed the world. Like, yes, that's a basic answer, but here's the thing: I remember that day. My mom read the newspaper every morning, and she always shared paleontology news with me. And she was just so excited, and she showed me the fluffy dinosaur fossil picture in the newspaper, and *I* was so excited. I was four, but I knew what this fossil meant. See, at that point, all the skeletal evidence pointed to birds being dinos, but we didn't have other evidence beyond that, leading to a lot of skepticism (what we now call BANDits, but it was more common then). You can see that in PBS' The Dinosaurs!, A&E Dinosaur, and others. Birds are called dinosaurs, but with an asterisk of doubt. But this feathered dinosaur confirmed it. It sealed the deal. And in 1996, that was the coolest thing in the world. Cool enough for me, a four year old, and my mom, a social scientist & stay at home mom, to understand how important it was, and for the memory of the first time I saw it - in a grainy newspaper photograph - to be burned into my brain.

[zhaliacain]

Huntikmas day 4- What Paleopines dinos I'd name after the Huntik team

I'm a little bit obsessed with this game... generally in the game I've tried to avoid naming my dinos (yes I know they're not all dinos) after fictional characters so instead they've all got stupid names like Treadmill, Fajita Seasoning, and Mr Chevvie Kipling. But if I was going to this is why.

Lok:

Desmatosuchus! Right so this is one of my favourite in game just because they're so energetic and happy. To the point I swear its actually faster than the other sprinters... I don't care about game mechanics, I'm telling you it's faster. I think this dinosaur works really well for Lok because of this energy and surprising aptitude and just the overall friendliness and wanting to be social. I've gone for the sky blue colour variant because it works quite well for Lok and the square pattern reminds me of his puzzles.

Cherit:

My Microraptor follows me around and doesn't stop talking... so naturally Cherit. I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I love my Microraptor but I have found them to be very energetic and chatty in comparison to other dinos. Also when we go out on adventures he has a habit of wandering off or me losing track because of the size. I mean that's basically Cherit in a Microraptor sized nutshell, also gone for the albistic for obvious reasons.

Den:

Gallimimus, has a lot of energy and quite social but also needs time alone or with others its close to, also has a bit of a bad habit of annoying the other dinosaurs (or at least mine does I don't know why). It also does a little dance whenever you feed it which I definitely expect from Den. This is the Orchid Head Stripe variant which I think is the closest match to his shirt and colour scheme.

Sophie:

A proud lotus wavy styracosaurs, look at this and tell me it isn't Sophie. So apart from the colour scheme, the styracosaurs is very head strong and determined, it wants to achieve and to be the best. its social but not energetically so and just wants to be part of a community or group, like Sophie has been trying to find with the team and the Casterwill family. I think because of its willingness and enjoyment to work hard it's a good representation of Sophie and I can definitely see the Casterwill family being a bunch of styracosaurs in a parallel universe.

Zhalia:

Ignoring the slightly odd picture because it's the only one I could find on the wiki of this colour variation. The megalosaurus is powerful and fast but it's more of a loner. It not that its shy or timid its just not interested in others until it gets to know them and they earn its trust. Basically Zhalia, I don't really have any other examples but the vibes it gives are just Zhalia so yeah. And the bluebell colour variation is fairly self explanatory.

Dante:

This is actually one of my dinosaurs, my Utahraptor Fajita Seasoning but it's also the one I would pick for Dante. The utahraptor works well alone or with others, its very powerful but its also protective of others (looks after the velociraptors). I think as an example of leadership, the Utahs make a solid case and would be the best fit for Dante. There are more orange colour variations for these guys but something about the orange red and brown of the tyrant jay makes me think of Dante.

Harrison:

Once again proving to be difficult, Harrison. I've gone with allosaurus because it is realllly hard to earn their trust and respect and they prefer being alone. Befriending the allosaurus reminds me Harrison's early days, where he's angry and pushing back against others but there's so much potential there. But once tamed the allosaurus is a really strong part of the team and warms up to the people that show it trust and affection. Rust tail stripes remind me of his hair but also the hoodie he wore before the whole cult pyjamas situation.

[life-in-the-garden]

A Spell Bottle for Big Al

This spell is dedicated to my boyfriend @mikk1n, who introduced me to the world of Walking with Dinosaurs and its various sub-series. The BBC walked with dinosaurs so that Prehistoric Planet could run.

outdated illustration of an allosaurus from Dinosaur National Monument, by the United States' National Park Service

Anyway...

This spell calls upon the power of the Allosaurus jimmadseni specimen identified as MOR 693—however, this fossilized creature is more commonly known as “Big Al” thanks to an imagining of his life’s story being told via a BBC television program in the year 2000. (The Ballad of Big Al was a Christmas special for the popular Walking with Dinosaurs series, and it can be watched legally on the Internet Archive—part one is here and part two is here).

Big Al’s bones currently live in the Geological Museum of the University of Wyoming in the United States (see his exhibit here), but when re-watching his story with my boyfriend late at night I was struck by the depiction of his life. Although I’m not happy with a multitude of the narrative choices that the writers made—my ire is primarily directed at the massive time skips of multiple years and the overall rushed brevity of the story—what really stuck with me was how realistic it felt.

Now, I’m not talking about the depictions of the dinosaurs or the quality of the practical and special effects; science and technology have marched steadily onward since the year 2000, and what we know now puts our prehistoric knowledge from 20+ years ago to shame. That can’t be helped. What I’m really saying is that so much of Big Al’s depicted life was spent searching for food, failing to acquire it, and ultimately dying of starvation… because of a broken toe. Yes, he was an apex predator of his era, but the show is very careful to point out how much his life teetered on the knife’s edge of his physical prowess as a predator—although he healed from a variety of injuries and illnesses throughout his less than a decade of life, ultimately Big Al was brought down by a broken bone that developed a fatal infection and rendered him unable to hunt.

While Big Al failed to reached adulthood, that doesn’t mean you have to do the same thing. This spell is designed to create part of the spirit of Big Al into an animal ally (if you’re not from an indigenous culture that incorporate usage of totems or spirit animals, please don’t use those terms) to aid you in your own efforts toward continuing to survive whatever troubles currently plague you.

Method

Now, the sky’s the limit for what you can ask Big Al’s spirit for help with. However, my own witchy intuition (aka UPG) says that an allosaurus isn’t going to understand a school/university assignment well enough to be able to help you with it. Their knowledge predates algebra. On the other hand, I’m sure theropod dinosaurs (Big Al among them) were incredibly smart in much the same way modern corvids are, so your own UPG might differ on this point…

In other words, make this spell your own! What follows is just one way that you can request aid from the spirit of Big Al; this one is designed for (since Big Al died with an infected fracture) remembering to take your pills.

You will potentially need…

1 empty pill bottle

Pebbles, beads, or crystals of some kind that are small enough to fit inside the pill bottle

Sealing wax (your choice of color) or liquid glue

writing supplies OR 1 carnivorous dinosaur toy, ideally a small & cheap one

Instructions, such as they are…

(This is the boring part.) Put the containers for the pills you plan to consume in a place where they are prominent enough that they won’t blend into the background. If you have a lot of different pills to take and want help remembering the instructions for them, keep a piece of paper nearby (or make a note on your phone) with notes for what pills you are supposed to take at what time + any additional helpful information.

Cleanse the empty pill bottle, the pebbles/beads/crystals, and (if using) the dinosaur toy. You can cleanse with whatever method seems best to you—personally, my favorite method is via candlelight.

(This is the less boring part.) If using the dinosaur toy, have the toy preside over your pill bottle(s) that actually have pills in them. This toy is the embodiment of your animal ally. You can set this up on your altar if you use an altar + want to keep your pills there, but it’s not necessary. If not using the toy, use the writing supplies to draw a picture of a carnivorous, bipedal dinosaur on a piece of paper—this will go under your cleansed (and soon to be filled) pill bottle as the embodiment of your animal ally.

Put some pebbles, crystals, and/or beads into the empty and cleansed pill bottle.* Put the cap on and shake it a few times—or more than a few times, if that’s what feels right to you. If you enjoy verbal incantations, you can say one here; it can be as complex as a full-length sonnet in iambic pentameter, or it can be as simple as “amen” or “so mote it be” or what have you.

* Note: as weird as it sounds, I don’t really care about crystal correspondences in my personal practice; they are just pretty rocks to me. Therefore, I’m not going to tell you what crystals work well in this spell. Follow your intuition!

Once you’re satisfied with the pill bottle, seal it with wax or glue and keep it in a place where it’s hard to ignore. Ideally, this place will be right next to the dinosaur toy, or if you’re not using the toy then atop the piece of paper with your hand-drawn dinosaur. Shake the pill bottle full of pebbles, crystals, and/or beads every time you need to take your meds; for me, the rattling sound is part of the ritual and helps me remember to go over to the medicine cabinet and take my pills with breakfast.

And that's it! I hope Big Al and this spell inspire you in some way. If you have helpful medication of any kind, please remember to take it!

If you enjoyed this spell, please consider tossing some spare change toward my ko-fi. As a poor university student with an abusive home life, every little bit helps me get a few centimeters closer to moving out + pay for food and veterinary expenses for my cat.

[coff33notforme]

Saw your ask was open so could I request how each rise boi would react to gn dinosaur yokia reader ? Like say allosaurus or spino . And maybe how they would bond with the reader ? Also hope your having a good day and love your writing btw.

A/n: DUDE I LOVE THIS IDEA SO MUCH, also thank you for the compliant! This can be read as Romantic or Platonic really whatever you want to read it as.

Genre: Headcannons, Fluff, Crack

Donnie 

He and his brothers had bumped into you in the hidden city 

There was a street market being held downtown and they happened to come across your booth

Donnie was absolutely ecstatic when he saw you! 

Though he tries to play it cool you don’t miss the way his eye light up when he sees you

Be prepared to answer a flood of questions

He's already a super curious person so naturally he has a ton of questions for you 

Do forgive him if he accidentally oversteps some boundaries, he just gets caught u in his excitement  

Donnie's seen ton of different mutants in the hidden city and even just mutants like meat sweats that tend to keep around New York

But he’s never seen any kind of Dinosaur mutant

So naturally he’s pretty stoked 

He wants to study you and learn all about you in his lab which yes he realizes that sounds very incriminating, but it's for science 

He won’t do anything your uncomfortable with though 

But after having you around for so long he’ll start to grow attached to you 

He’ll genuinely enjoy having you around which isn’t something he’ll ever tell you face to face 

Likes to have you test his latest inventions and help him out with experiments

Though ‘helping’ out will just be you sitting off to the sides and watching him work while occasionally handing him things 

Eventually he'll trust you enough to actually help him out with experiments and get involved

Likes to invite you over late at night so he’ll have company while hes working on a project 

Leo 

Leo came across you while on his way to the basketball court

None of his brothers were interested in being beaten by him him basketball ad having him rub it in their faces, so Leo was off on his own 

He was originally planning on practicing some dribbling on his own since he couldn't really play against anyone

That was until he met you

He was you playing on the court and he has to admit he was impressed by your skills

You were quick and you seemed to be able to dribble flawlessly easily keeping up speed as you ran

You were already pretty tall so that probably gave you an advantage anyways 

Leo was determined to play you if he could win against someone that fast and twice his size than it would totally justify his bragging

So you know he walks up to you all smug asking if you wanted to play him in a couple of rounds 

Long story short Leo got his ass whooped by you 

But he actually took it surprising well 

He was already impressed with your skills before but dudes pretty much whipped at this point

So after hanging out with you for a couple of hours he invited you over to the lair hoping to introduce you to his brothers  

Dude loves to skate with you mostly because you fall off a lot ad he gets a laugh out of it and because he can easily show you up when skating 

But also likes to show you all the cool tricks he can do on his board 

He loves to talk to you about all of his comics and even lets you borrow them to read if you ask him nicely 

Raph

Was introduced to you by one of his brothers 

He thought it was awesome that you were a dinosaur yokai! 

I feel like Raph had a dinosaur obsessed phase when he was little so he's pretty excited when he first sees you

I mean he wouldn’t have judged you anyway, I mean he’s a mutant turtle after all

Dude would definitely ask you to train when his brothers aren’t in the mood 

Will invite you to workout with him on a regular basis if you're up for it! Really just appreciates having someone to keep him company while he trains

Definitely admires how strong you are and would ask you for tips on how to get that strong

Offers you some tips as well if you asked him as well

Asks you to tag along on missions and thinks you make a great addition to the team!

Becomes super protective of you even though you literally tower above him

He knows that you're fully capable of protecting yourself but he can’t help but worry sometimes 

I mean he worries about everyone its just in his nature to be a little overprotective 

Will invite you over for Jupiter Jim movie marathons 

Will also probably ask you some questions about yourself that might be a little too personal but he swears he doesn't ever mean to overstep any boundaries with you he's just curious

You and him definitely have a secret handshake with him

Mikey

If you thought Donnie was excited wait till you see Mikey

He practically explodes from excitement when he sees you he is all over you in a matter of seconds 

Thinks you look really cool, and instantly asks you to model so he can draw you 

Loves to draw all sorts of weird stuff and you just so happen to be the perfect kind of weird for a drawing of his

Of course he gives it to you when he's finished it’s kind of like a peace offering 

Will invite to over to stay the night very often

Will make pillow forts with you and watch Baxter stock boy’s horror videos he needs someone to cling to while he shakes in fear

Please don’t ever show him a real horror movie poor boy would cease to exist even if it's  really badly made like the first jaws movie

It doesn't matter he’ll get paranoid about evil sharks for weeks 

Likes to cook with you 

If you don’t know how, that’s okay! Mikey can teach you after all he's been cooking for his brothers all of these years 

If you’d rather just watch that's fine, he’ll even make something especially for you 

Loves making sweets for you just to see your reaction 

Doesn't ever really get compliments about his cooking skills so it means a lot when you do give him praise 

Another one who will share his comics with you if you ask him

[kuroos-babie]

falling in love with a single mom hcs

INCLUDES: nishinoya, tsukishima, yaku

you spent a good part of your childhood with nishinoya, chasing away the dogs that had a penchant of scaring your best friend shitless, climbing trees and playing treasure hunt

it was funny, to say the least, seeing how he grew from such a scaredy-cat to the energetic and confident noya everyone knows

throughout highschool you watched him chase girl after girl and he watched you turn down guy after guy

the dynamic you two had was that of a feral gremlin child and its chill owner holding the leash and everyone, including you two, thought you would always be together

everyday was fun with nishinoya's energy hanging around you, no doubt

but when he asked you to travel the world with him right after graduation, he was met with a hesitant refusal

"i'm planning to go to college, yuu"

"it'll be fun, y/n! like going on an adventure!!"

"visit me once in a while"

his heart clenched at the way you smiled at him with teary eyes, "i can't change your mind can i?"

with a soft shake of your head, he sighed

he leaves in three days

the first few months of him being away were filled with calls and pictures of his trips, smile seemingly wider and brighter than before and a part of you regretted not coming with him

but college starts in a week, and with that came missed calls and ignored messages

at some point, neither of you just remembered to hit the other up, caught up with the stresses of your own life and before either of you knew it, 5 years have passed

he came to visit home for the first time in years, no longer the boyish noya you knew but he still had that warm aura around him

you were the first thought to come to mind the moment he step foot in town, his whole body buzzing with excitement at the mere thought of seeing you again

so of course he went straight to your house, feet taking step after memorized step and hands clutching bags of things he got from his travels

"Y/N!!!!!", he calls out as he enters your house which was answered with a harsh shushing

turning a corner he saw you in the living room, lovely as ever-- he thought, and with a baby sleeping soundly in your arms, "the baby's sleeping, yuu"

"whose...?"

you laughed at the cracking in his voice, "mine, who else's?"

man, he looked like he was about to cry

he quietly approached you, careful as to not wake the baby

"for you", he mumbled while handing you the bag of snacks and stuff

the room was filled with silence after you hummed a short thanks

he was looking at the child's face, it looked like you, he thinks

he asked when you got married, "you didn't tell me, didn't even invite your best friend to your wedding", he whined

"i didn't, i'm not married"

his eyes were wide as they looked at you

you told him about getting pregnant shortly after college graduation and getting ditched

he thought of himself selfish as he heaved a sigh of relief

"it's fine though, my parents are helping me a lot", he notes how you looked at your baby with such fond eyes and his heart swelled, he felt like crying

you chuckled at the look on his face, "hey don't look so sorry for me, can't be happier to have her"

"what's her name?"

you looked at your daughter's face and pet at her cheek with a finger, "yui"

nishinoya couldn't hold it in anymore and so he let himself cry and pulled you close

and for the nth time since the day of your college graduation he asked you again, "come with me, y/n, let's travel the world" but you have a child "i'll stay with you here until she's old enough", he said while kissing the tears that slipped down your cheeks

"then we can all go travel the world together"

he liked working at the museum, he really does

at least that's what he tries to tell himself as he led the group of preschoolers through the sendai museum

they were cute, yeah, but also very chatty

especially this one little boy with the frog hat

"what's this called?"

"it's a fossilized remain of--"

"how about this one?"

"it's--", and before he could answer, the child was already running to the other side of the exhibit

he just sighs

the tour ended and he was getting ready for his lunch break, proceeding to the cafe by the entrance as he always does

his eyes almost caught the flurry of green that passed beside him but he chose to ignore it

but of course it wasn't long after he sat down with his order when he heard a familiar bubbly voice

"mama that's the dinosaur guy!", he heard the little boy whisper loudly, "he's so tall, like a brachiosaurus!"

he couldn't supress the chuckle at the child's remark and he turned in his seat, "so you were listening, i thought you were just bouncing all around the place"

"oh sorry, did he give you a hard time?"

your voice drew his attention and he smiled at the sight of your worried face, something that surprised even him, "not really, no"

he invited you two to sit and eat with him and he listened to your son ramble all about dinosaurs and prehistoric animals

"a smart one, i like him"

your son really liked him too and asked you to take him to the museum again and see tsukishima

and so it became a habit for you to visit the museum every friday with the little boy, waiting for the tall blonde to get off work so you three could grab something to eat

and every time he sees you in the little cafe by the entrancne with your son, tsukishima couldn't help but smile a little and pat at his chest to calm the subtle fluttering as he push the door open

it was a weird feeling he never knew would come so naturally at the mere sight of you two

he bought your son picture books and and figurines and copies of the "walking with dinosaurs" documentary

"we should watch it this weekend..." his eyebrows shot up for a moment at your meek suggestion

of course the little boy was elated, excited to have him over at your house "yes! let's go now! i wanna watch it with tsukki now!!!"

tsukishima returned his gaze on you, "if it's not too much trouble then i'd love to go now"

and so the rest of the friday night was spent on your couch with all the lights turned off and a narration of al the allosaurus' life

you looked over at the other side of the couch to see your son laying on tsukishima, eyes fluttering shut with the man passed out and lightly snoring

he must've been tired

you draped a blanket over the two of them and waited for sleep to visit you too and it soon did

morning came and you woke up to the smell of coffee

"i borrowed your coffee maker, i hope you don't mind", his voice was still low, trying not to wake the little boy

"yeah, sorry i didn't wake you up last night... you looked tired"

he chuckled as you walked over to the kitchen to take out two mugs and prepared some toast, "i don't mind, it was the best sleep i've gotten in a while. i hope it wasn't too much of a bother for you though"

you leaned on the kitchen counter as you took in his appearance; hair ruffled and eyes puffy with sleep, "i don't mind it one bit"

he huffed a laugh and looked over to the sofa where your son still laid

"he likes you a lot"

"so it seems, i hope you do too", his face was smug but you didn't miss the red that tinted his cheeks when you told him "of course i do, in fact i was thinking maybe we should do this more often"

his smirk grew, "just say you want to wake up everyday to the sight of me and leave it at that"

you rolled your eyes at his comment but smiled nonetheless, "oh shut up"

he had just come back from the nekoma volleyball team reunion, head lightly buzzing from the few bottles of alcohol kuroo forced down his throat

making his way through the carpeted hotel hall, he could barely make out the sound of little feet hurriedly padding on the floor and quiet sniffles

taking out the keycard to his room with the blissful thoughts of finally sinking into the soft mattress was interrupted by a soft bump on his thigh, a muffled thud and a small "ow..."

it took a few moments before the sight of the little boy on the hotel floor registered properly in his brain

it was well past 2 am... why the hell is there a child running around the halls

"uh... hi?"

big bright eyes looked up at him and he can't help but sigh at the sniffles increasingly growing louder

"where's your mama, little guy?", yaku crouched to the little boy's level, careful to keep his balance as the booze and exhaustion was catching up to him

however, at the mention of his mother, the little boy's eye filled up with more tears and was ready to burst anytime, "mama..."

"oh no no no no"

yaku's too tired for this

so with a sigh and a groan, he took the boy in his arms and entered his room

"let's look for her in the morning, okay? i think i still have some cookies in my room, would like some?"

the little boy nods his head, earning a relieved sigh from yaku

the rest of the night was spent with cartoons playing on the large hotel room tv, yaku leaning against the headboard with the little boy snoozing away while being tucked in his arm, cookie on his hand and crumbs all around

morning came and panic surged through your body the moment you realized your 3 year-old son was nowhere inside your hotel room

your hurried to the security desk to report and hopefully make an announcement, head reeling and aching with the sudden rush of adrenaline first thing in the morning

with your head in your hands, you let out a groan while trying not to cry at all the possibilites flashing through your mind

your wallowing was cut short with an "excuse me, i found this child last night"

turning your head back to the security desk, you see a man in his pajamas and slippers, hair ruffled from sleep and a sleepy little boy laying on his shoulder

"oh my god"

the whole conlict ended when you came up to them and introduced yourself, the little boy quickly recognizing your voice and whipped his head over to you, "mama!"

your son reached out for you and yaku couldn't help but notice how pretty your glossy eyes were despite how disheveled you looked

"mama, yakkun gave me cookies and we watched cartoons aaaaall night!"

yaku's eyes widened at the little boy's words and let out a nervous chuckle, "you make me sound so suspicious"

he turned to you and explained how your son bumped into him at 2 am and he was just too tired to bring him down to the security desk

"my tired tipsy brain thought it was a better idea to just let him sleep in my room and look for mama in the morning", he ended with the tips of his ears tinged red

you laughed at his nervousness, "well we can talk more about it over breakfast, what do you say yakkun? my treat"

with the way you were smiling at him, how could he even refuse?

the rest of the morning was spent with coffee and waffles, juice and fruits and chatter

he learned you and your son were in town for a few days, "i wanted to go see the fishies in the aquarium!", the little boy quips

with the new volleyball season just around the corner, yaku knew he'd have practices but he offered to tour you two around tokyo

he wanted to see you two again

briefly taking care of the toddler last night and having breakfast with you, he realized, were very much a welcomed change of pace in his hectic pro volleyball life

"are you my dad? mama told me daddy was working in tokyo" he remembered your son quietly mumbling last night, "i haven't seen him though, not ever"

the rest of your stay in tokyo was spent hanging out with yaku, your son growing more and more attached to him and slept over at his room every night

as promised, he took you and your son on a tokyo tour and even brought you to practice, introducing you to the national team and teaching your child receives

of course your trip eventually reached its end, promises of meeting again drowned in the little boy's tears as he tried to reach out to yaku

"we'll meet again, little guy", he says while ruffling the boy's hair, "i'll even go visit you and we'll play lots, okay?

of course he made a point of contacting you frequently, often video chatting during meal times and bedtime and a few more hours after, relishing in the time he could spend talking alone with you

"i can't wait to see you two again", he always says right after "good night"

taglist: @churochuu @bakarinnie @faithieeee @strawberriimilkshake @paulazockt @pattys-got-cakes @hidden-otaku-stuff @haikyuubabie @sachirou-senpai @your-local-abyss @stcrryskies @toosaltyforacookie @mrs-kuroojinguji @shawkneecaps @miyastrology @galacticstxrdust @wakaushi @boosyboo9206 @sugawara-sweetheart @threeconsecutivefs @chichibia @diyosku @curiouslilbeast @cowbeboppy @tsukkaria @yyvveess @kirakirasaku

✨send an ask to be added/removed✨

[doorbloggr]

Thursday 17/6/21 - The Dinosaur Lip Debate

Allosaurus, RJ Palmer

Palaeontology is an ever evolving field. Every time a new fossil is found, or the technology to observe them improves, we find out something new about how the animals looked or behaved. As more details are filled in, the discussion has turned more toward soft body parts, such as the toes, and the face.

I know I said yesterday's post was my dinosaur post for the week, but I got an inbox from a reader asking if I could talk about the Lip Debate, so I thought I'd weigh in on what I know. Thanks for the suggestion @amphibious-owl.

Reptile Lips?

When I say the word lips, you'd immediately think of those luscious smoochers that a human has right? But the term "lip" refers to any fleshy, flexible covering of the teeth in vertebrate animals. Some existing reptile groups have lips, namely squamates (lizards and snakes), so it is possible that dinosaurs had them.

Green Iguana, Bottom Picture highlights Lips in Red

The problem is that the closest living relatives of dinosaurs, birds, have beaks instead. And while it is possible that beaks evolved from lips, the dinosaur's second closest living relatives, crocodilians, have lipless mouths, where teeth are visible when the mouth is closed. If they didn't have lips before diverging from crocodiles, they probably didn't evolve them and then lose them before getting to birds (as the argument goes). This is the start of the debate.

Top: Saltwater Crocodile, displaying the lipless condition

Bottom: Blue Jay, displaying a toothless beak

Reconstructions in Pop Culture

The debate is mostly about therapod dinosaurs, because many groups of herbivorous dinosaurs have beaks and rear teeth that would've been hidden by fleshy cheeks. I didn't mention the use of lips in dinosaur reconstructions during my earlier article, Your Dinosaurs Are Wrong, because different media have showed both the lipped and lipless condition in different dinosaurs. And at present, scientists aren't sure which is correct.

Top: Jurassic Park Velociraptor, reconstructed with fleshy lips

Bottom: Jurassic Park T.rex, reconstructed with exposed teeth

The Palaeontological Debate

• Phylogenetic Bracketing

As mentioned above, the two groups most closely related to extinct dinosaurs do not have lips. Because dinosaurs were bracketed between these two groups, it is easy to come to the conclusion that liplessness is an ancestral condition to all three. Inferring traits from both ancestors and descendants is called Phylogenetic Bracketing.

Comparison of Crocodile Jaws to Tyrannosaurus Jaws (Scott Hartman)

This particular argument has its counter, because the shape and placement of teeth on jaws of crocodiles and therapod dinosaurs differs greatly. Crocodile teeth are angled outwards, a specialisation for fish eating, and lips would get in the way. Dinosaur teeth are almost vertical relative to the skull, and the upper and lower teeth did not interlock at all.

• Jaw-bone Foramina

The debate has reached its head in recent years because palaeontologists have found that markings on the edges of the jaw bones of different animals can correspond to the presence of lips in a living animal. These holes, called labial foramina, allow for placement of blood vessels and nerves around the mouth of the animal. All vertebrate skulls have these, the question is on how numerous they are.

Labial Foramina on Tyrannosaurus, highlighted as red dots (Scott Hartman)

In crocodiles, there are many foramina around the teeth, and in several extant groups, this has coincided with exposed teeth. Some dinosaur groups, such as Tyrannosaurs and Spinosaurs, have lots of these foramina too, so some think this means that they had a crocodile-like face.

Other palaeontologists think that again, crocodiles are poor analogues because the surface of a crocodilian skull is rough in general (refer to the image previous) whereas therapod skulls are only rough around the jaws. These holes may indicate attachment points for fleshy coverings for the larger teeth as they overlap when the dinosaur closes its mouth.

• Variation within Therapoda?

The answer may not be as simple as a yes or no, but maybe a who did and who didn't. I mentioned above that Tyrannosaurus and Spinosaurs in particular have been selected as groups likely for liplessness, but maybe it was just that they were the outliers. Many therapods, including dromeosaurs (raptors) had a more conservative number of foramina, more aligning with the skulls of animals we do know had lips.

Top: Velociraptor Jaw Structure, Henry Osborn

Bottom: Lipped Velociraptor, John Conway

Spinosaurus in particular has been under scrutiny on its lips as of late, (but Spinosaurus is always under scrutiny). And although some have suggested it had lips, since it has a similar skull and lifestyle to crocodilians, maybe their fleshy faces were similar too.

3 different reconstructions of Spinosaurus Lips , MarkM98 on DeviantArt

What's the Right Answer?

To sum up this post, we just don't know yet. My personal take is that some dinosaurs may have had lips, and others were less likely to. But we cannot be 100% certain on any one species' lip condition until we find soft tissues preserved.

If you want to look further into the topic, here's a couple articles from people more educated on the topic:

Mark Witton; "Did Tyrannosaurs Smile like Crocodiles?"

Scott Hartman; "The Lip Post"

And here's a long-ish Youtube video also covering the topic, that I found very informative:

Ben G Thomas; "Did T.rex Have Lips?"

Thankyou for reading, and I hope that you found this post informative. I have a few more dinosaur-related posts on this blog, so happy reading.

[phantombandit-films]

Jurassic World: Dominion Thoughts.

First off I’d just like to say that I did like this movie, it was enjoyable and fun and yes, I did cry. But I just wanted to talk about a few points and how I felt about it all. No way am I saying that I hated this movie because I didn’t but this is just how I feel after my first sitting, who knows maybe my mind will be changed after I see it again. Obviously this post will contain spoilers, so if you still haven't seen the movie, please don't read!

Fist off I would like to talk about every bodies favourite Raptor Blue - I feel like they could have used her way more than they did. They could have found some way to have take her with them to rescue Beta and Maisie, then she could have had a fight with the Atrociraptor’s and maybe even the Pyroraptor. I did like the whole ‘Owen making her a promise to get beta back’ thing but I would have just liked to see more of blue, especially seen as this is the concluding film. Also with Beta! I was expecting her to be the main thing about this film but she wasn't, I also thought Maisie wouldn't want to leave her side when she set her free but she just left her then we didn't see Beta again until the end?! What was the point.

Can we also talk about them completely changing why Maisie was made.

This then leads into the other dinos - which I just feel like they put in so many new/ old dinosaurs but didn’t utilise them enough, like there was this big thing around promoting the Atrosoraptors but they were in it, what? All of five minutes? Same goes with the Pyroraptor and Therizinosaurs I feel like they were a massive part of the promos but then wasn't use to their full potential. The Allosaurus and Carnotaurus looked so good and I'm so sad we didn't get to see much of them and their rampage in Malta. I would of also liked to have seen Allen interact with the Dilophosaurus that would have been so cool.

ALSO WHERE WAS SPINO :’(

I feel like we should have had at least one major death (Not going to lie though I nearly started crying when I thought Giga was going to get Ian), might just be me on this one as I kind of siked myself up for either Ian, Rexy or Blue to die and sort of wanted that strong emotion. Another point that might just be me but I missed Zia and that one scene with her at the start just wasn't enough for me.

I also did really like the locust story line but I feel like that could have been it's own movie entirely, I kind of wished this one had just stick to wrapping up the other two movies and focused more on seeing dinos and humans living together, like 'Battle at Big Rock' Also like what we saw from the concept art that was released.

I feel one thing that would have been good as well, would be if the prologue was added to the beginning of the movie. If people are going to see it who aren't massive Jurassic fans and haven't kept up with all the little promos like 'Battle at Big Rock.' or the Prologue, they wont be confused at the Giga and Rexy rivalry but i feel like seeing that prologue before is more beneficial, because then you see their fight as a rematch of ancestors thousands of years later, and also that the mosquito that took that T-Rex's blood all those years ago after the Giga killed it, is now Rexy.

Talking about the end fight, what even was that? I was hoping for something as twice as epic as the battle at the end of Jurassic world, but this one was so weak and lasted a second. Yeah I was disappointed. The little bit where Rexy comes in though and stands behind the circle like the Jurassic logo made me scream though, I did love that. I also did sob when I though Rexy was dead, my queen.

There was just something a little off about it, something that didn’t feel like Jurassic that I cant put my finger on.

If you want to see more concept art please go follow the amazing artists on Instagram! @andreewallin @riabovitchev

[animc]

surprise — tsukishima kei

⇢ pairing: tsukishima kei / reader 

⇢ synopsis: in which you want to surprise your boyfriend at work for his birthday, but he ends up surprising you.

⇢ word count: 3,245

⇢ genre: smut, fluff

⇢ notes: museum curator!tsukishima (...timeskip!tsukishima yes), girlfriend!reader, established relationship, a bit of cursing as usual, semi-public sex, oral sex (female receiving), this stuff was kind of inspired from real life lol i was not a good teenager sorry... but happy birthday to the love of my life for 6 years and counting, tsukki ♡

“YOU COME HERE often?” you asked Tsukishima, propping a hand on the wall of the entrance of the museum as you looked up at him with fluttering eyelids. It was a poor attempt at flirting, and you were well-aware of how exactly your boyfriend will react, but it was still worth a try to catch him off-guard.

A look of confusion washed over Tsukishima’s face for a split second before his expression went back to being a mix of disinterest and boredom. “I work here,” he deadpanned, adjusting his glasses and lifting his weight off the wall he was resting on. “More importantly, why are you here?”

His question was gruff, and if you didn’t know any better, you would have thought that he didn’t want you to be there. But you knew him well—of course you did—so you didn’t miss the slight tug of his lips upward and the hand that reached out to grab yours.

You interlaced your fingers with his. “Nothing much. I just felt like visiting the museum my boyfriend works at on his birthday.” A grin made its way to your lips, and you tugged him towards the wooden doors of his workplace. “Care to show me around during your break, sir?”

Tsukishima huffed but let himself be dragged inside anyway. He knew you weren’t as interested as him in the line of work he did and remembered how you were on the verge of failing both your history and science class when you were in college together that you shuddered at the mere thought of memorizing years and complex names of wildlife. 

You walked around aimlessly with your boyfriend in tow, passing several paintings and sculptures that you were almost sure you had seen in some brochures filed neatly in his room but never had the chance to look at (in favor of lying down on his lap as he read). You only stopped in your tracks when you caught a glimpse of a life-sized dinosaur display. 

You hurriedly rushed over with Tsukishima and looked at it with eyes so bright you looked like you won something. “This is the one in your room!” you exclaimed, pointing at it with your free hand, feeling a rush of pride at remembering something important to try and hide the fact that you absolutely had no idea what kind of dinosaur you were gushing over.

“Yeah,” Tsukishima mumbled, not having the heart to tell you that what you were showing him was a Tyrannosaurus Rex and not the Allosaurus on his bookshelf. How could he, when you were looking at him like that? 

Your eyes were warm and tender as you gazed at him, the side of your eyes creasing because of the smile you gave him. You even bit your bottom lip as you did so, a habit of yours whenever you weren’t sure of something and looked to him for reassurance or whenever you wanted to hold back a laugh when he made a snarky or suggestive remark. 

He loved that look, so much that he couldn’t tear his eyes away from you. He stared intently and hardly batted an eye, feeling something gnaw at him at the pit of his stomach. He swallowed, hard, knowing this was not the right time for it, not when he had half an hour to get back to work.

As if you heard his thoughts, he felt your palms cup his face to pull him in for a quick kiss. Your lips were as sweet as they were last time, when he dropped you off at your apartment after a date over a week ago, and the first time, when you leapt into his arms from joy in passing a class he tutored you in a year ago. You almost always seemed to know when to do the unexpected, and though he loved it, it frustrated him to no end that you could leave him flustered over something so simple.

“[Y/N].” Tsukishima’s voice was soft but stern that it made you stop giggling, feeling like he was a parent calling you out. He grabbed your wrist with a grip gentle enough to not hurt you but firm enough to make you follow his pace as he walked with quick and long strides towards the elevator in the corner of the exhibit area. All the while, he made no attempt to initiate a conversation, even as he brought you inside the lift and jabbed at a floor number.

You watched his reflection through the metal doors, but as usual, he didn’t give anything away with his expression. “Did I do anything wrong?” you cautiously spoke up, trying to figure out the situation on what made him so quiet. Should you have mentioned that you were paying him a visit today? Should you not have kissed him in front of some kids and the giant dinosaur on the first floor? 

His eyes moved from the buttons he seemed to be fixated on to rest on your figure’s reflection. “Quite the opposite, actually,” he responded curtly, not even bothering to explain any further, as the elevator doors opened. 

A fairly large sign that read, ‘UNDER RENOVATION! COMING SOON!’ greeted you both, but he ignored it and tugged you along with him into the dimly lit floor that seemed new and well-kept rather than old and dusty. 

You didn’t even have the time to admire the artifacts displayed as Tsukishima proceeded to cross the dull halls until he settled on what seemed like an empty area that smelled of fresh paint. You felt him let go of your wrist, but it wasn’t long before you were backed up to a wooden table in the corner of the room. “Kei, what are we do—”

Tsukishima was so on edge that he just simply dove in to kiss you, much different from the way you pecked his lips a few moments ago. It was intense from the get-go, and he was relentless in his pursuit, his tongue grazing over yours to deepen the kiss.

You responded almost immediately, your body keening into his touch. Your arms found its way around his neck as you kissed him back with the same fervor and passion. You could feel a heavy pulse beginning from deep within your core, and you knew you were about to lose yourself in the heady rush of excitement from the situation you were in with your boyfriend.

From the years you have known Tsukishima and the year you have been dating him, you knew all too well how calm and collected he was. He hardly let anything faze him, and he almost never showed if something or someone did. But now, here he was, pupils dilated and breathing heavy with need, and it was because of you.

He pulled away and rested his forehead on yours. “I’ll stop if you don’t want to do this right now,” he murmured, hot breath fanning your face as he studied your features. “But it’s safe here.” 

A shudder forced its way up your spine. You rarely saw this look in his eyes, where it seemed like he could snap at any moment and whatever self-control he had built up was on the brink of breaking down. 

You hadn’t taken a breath in what seemed like an eternity, so you shakily whispered your reply, “I want you, Kei.”

Tsukishima said nothing more as he closed the gap between you two once again. He kissed you slowly at first but soon, his soft lips were pressing against yours harder with fervent desperation. His tongue traced over the roof of your mouth before brushing against yours agonizingly slow, a sudden change of pace that had you whimpering. The hands on either side of you on the table trailed down your waist until one moved under your blouse while the other went to grip your jaw.

Your mind was slowly going into overdrive, overwhelmed with the desire to touch and be touched by Tsukishima. You took the time to let your hands roam from his shoulders, arms, then finally settling down on his back. Not satisfied enough, you pushed yourself against him, wanting to feel more of him that you rubbed yourself against his body. 

Normally, all this would have made you feel embarrassed, but this situation right now was definitely not the usual. 

His nimble fingers traveled from the lowest part of your stomach up to your chest, pushing your blouse all the way up and pulling down your bra to expose your breasts. He broke your kiss with a small smack of his lips and wasted no time delving down to wrap his lips around a perked nipple. His free hand moved towards your other breast, thumb flicking against your nipple, as if to give it equal attention. 

A staggered breath escaped your lips. His tongue and fingers were warm against your skin, and it felt like heat was shooting from your chest to your core from his simple actions. You gnawed the inside of your cheek in an attempt to keep your sounds to yourself, considering the situation you were in, that you didn’t even realize Tsukishima spoke until he lightly tapped your waist.

“Sit,” he simply repeated, taking off his glasses and setting it down near the edge of the wooden table. His eyes were dark as he gazed at you, but he made no move to touch you this time. 

Instead, he waited.

You refused to meet his eyes, though you slowly let go of him to do as you were told, tiptoeing before sitting on the cold surface. Even if this wasn’t the first time you were having sex with your boyfriend, this was definitely the first time you were doing it outside of your homes—at his workplace nonetheless. This made the ordeal seem even more shameful, besides the fact that you were squirming with just Tsukishima watching you.

His hand cupped your cheek which forced you to look straight up at him. “Do you want to keep going?” His voice was deep and rough, like his throat was dry, yet his eyebrows were furrowed, hesitation and concern pushing his desire away.

It took a few moments before his question sunk in, and when they did, you squeezed your thighs together, trying to hold your heart back from crawling out of your throat to beg him for it. “Y-Your work…” you trailed off, gaze falling to his lips and involuntarily recalling the way he kissed you long and hard earlier. “We, uh, we—”

Tsukishima interrupted you, firm yet voice barely above a whisper, “I asked you, [Y/N]. Do you want to keep going?” 

You bit your lip, mulling over his question again. Your hands were balling into fists with the fabric of your skirt in your hands, and you found Tsukishima’s large ones placed on top of yours, as if it was his way of reassuring you, whatever your answer may be. “Y-Yes, please.”

He pecked your lips, whispering against your mouth, “Good girl.” He pushed the sleeves of his blazer and sweater up to his elbows before hiking your skirt up to reveal your baby pink cotton panties (that you haphazardly picked off your fresh laundry without much thought) and holding your thighs apart to keep you from hiding from him. Tsukishima kneeled, faced with your clothed core directly because of his height, a deep breath escaping him and hitting your skin which made you shiver. 

You could already tell the wetness pooled in between your thighs, and it definitely didn’t help that your boyfriend wasn’t saying anything about it when he would usually make remarks in the past to work you up (or embarrass you). Instead, you felt his fingers experimentally touch you then trace figures onto your dampened underwear, which left you a mewling mess. “M-More, please,” you repeated over and over again like a broken record, your left hand finding solace in his soft blond hair while the other held onto his shoulder. 

Tsukishima grunted in response, giving in to your request, knowing there wasn’t much time to make you ask for it. He hooked his fingers on the side of your panties and drew them down to your legs, immediately getting to work and inserting a finger at your entrance to dip and feel the inside of your tight muscle. A second finger of his easily slid through the thick wetness of your folds, and he groaned as he felt you tug on his locks and clutch onto the fabric of his blazer when he started thrusting slowly.

“Oh—Oh fuck,” you moaned, feeling pressure build up on your lower stomach the faster Tsukishima went. “Don’t stop, please,” you begged, white spots clouding your vision and thoughts becoming a tangled web that the rest of what you let out were nothing more coherent than ‘please’ and ‘Kei.’

He snorted in amusement, and you could almost see the smirk on his features even as your eyes were shut tightly from pleasure. “You’re being so good for me, baby.” He lowered his head a bit and kissed your inner thigh as his movements never faltered. He saw the gentle quiver of your muscles—a sign that you liked what he was doing and that you were getting, bit by bit, closer to your high. “I guess I’ll have to return the favor, hm, [Y/N]?” His voice was so low and so close to where you needed the most that it gave you goosebumps.

Before you could even muster a reply, you felt his hot tongue lick a stripe up your wet slit. You let out a gasp from his sudden action, which made you buck against his mouth and fingers instinctively, and the table underneath you creaked in protest. You looked down, the same time he moved his gaze up, to tell him that you couldn’t last much longer, but all words left your mouth as you made eye contact with him. 

Tsukishima’s eyes were narrowed with lust, yet he took his time and roamed. He roamed your expression of pleasure as you tried your best to hold back your sounds with your lips between your teeth, and he roamed your body with his tongue flicking against your clit before sucking on it hard in a persistent routine, as if he was trying to find a way to make you lose control.

And you did.

Your entire body stiffened, and your hands abruptly let go of him to grip the table for support. It felt so good to have him on you, hands and mouth, and it was driving you insane that you couldn’t fight back the moans and screams of his name spilling from your lips. “A—Ah, there! Kei, s—so good,” you slurred your words, forgetting where the two of you were but not really caring when you remembered anyway.

As if that wasn’t enough, Tsukishima added a third finger and curled his digits at that angle to hit your sweet spot as he pumped in and out of you. Beads of sweat were quickly forming on his forehead, and the veins on his neck were pulsating, but he was determined to overwhelm you and get you to where you both wanted.

With the pace he was going, it left you squirming above him, and the fire surging throughout your body burned brighter and hotter with each thrust and each lick. “Shit, I’m going to—I’m going to cum,” you warned him, your hand finding its way to his face to brush his bangs out of his eyes in a moment of romantic intimacy.

Under hooded eyelids and behind blown-out pupils, he intertwined the fingers of his other hand with yours and quirked an eyebrow—a cue for you to cum for him. All the while, Tsukishima was unrelenting with his movements and hardly let a second pass without giving your body attention whenever he caught his breath momentarily during your heated situation. 

With one last brush of his long and slender fingers against your spasming walls and one hard suck to your sensitive clit with his warm mouth, you came undone. The only thing you managed to scream was his name until you felt all the air leave your lungs and the tension built up in your body spill over. Your whole body shuddered, and you felt the most intense climax course through you that it made your head spin.

It took you a minute or two before you could come down from your high, but your teary eyes never left your boyfriend’s, who became preoccupied with sliding his wet fingers into his mouth to taste the mess you just made because of him. As he did so, he stared at you and smirked when you had to turn away from him, feeling the heat rush from your core to your cheeks.

“[Y/N],” he hoarsely rasped, a playful tone in his voice. “You’re shy now, after all that?” 

You closed your legs the moment you felt him release you from his grip. “Shut up,” you grumbled, lightly pushing him away from you, in a feeble attempt to ease your sudden bout of timidity after being eaten out.

Tsukishima chuckled but, nevertheless, said nothing else. He trailed hot and open-mouthed kisses on your body as he rose from his spot on the floor. He only stopped to take out a handkerchief from his pocket and proceeded to wipe off the hot liquid on your thighs. He lifted your poorly-chosen and less-than-sexy underwear that was pooled around your ankles to put them back to where they were on your hips. He spent the next few minutes tidying you up, maybe to make it seem like this never happened when you went back downstairs.

Even as he went about his boyfriend duties skillfully and wordlessly, you were acutely aware of his haggard breaths and the painfully hard tent in his pants. You thumbed over his buttons to open them, but he stopped you.

He carefully peeled your hand away from him to place it on your lap and kissed you gingerly on the top of your head. “I can wait.” 

“But,” you protested, a pout forming on your lips. He had just given you the orgasm of your life, on his birthday no less, and you wanted nothing more than to do the same for him. The reason you were here in the first place was because of and for him, after all.

There were a dozen of lines Tsukishima had in his mind to dissuade you, but he settled on one that would definitely leave you wanting more of what had transpired just now. 

“Later, baby,” he cooed, for the second time today, using the pet name he only used inside the confines of your room. If you liked to pull the unexpected on him, he absolutely knew how to turn the table around with ease and decisiveness. “I don’t want to cum in my pants. I want to cum inside you.”

Just as he had predicted, you brought a hand to your face for a second, always being taken aback by how he could say the most shameful of things without batting an eye. Even so, you masked your secondhand embarrassment with a heavy sigh of defeat then a puff of your cheeks. “Fine, but only because it’s your birthday.”

In return, Tsukishima had a shit-eating grin of pure satisfaction. Maybe being the birthday boy had its privileges.

[thewritershelpers]

How to Write (Accurate) Dinosaurs (Follower Article Submission)

By Salvatore Cucinotta

 Dinosaurs are probably the most popular subject in natural sciences and show up in fiction in so many roles it’s dizzying. But they are rarely shown with any accuracy. Depending on the story, that’s okay, and nothing to be ashamed of. However, the opportunities presented with more accurate dinosaurs can often outstrip the flights of fancy they have often been assigned. There’s a lot to cover, because dinosaurs are a very diverse group of animals, and we’ve learned a lot about them since they were first discovered: Even more things recently that get ignored for the ‘popular conscious’ image of these animals.

If you would like the opportunity to write an article on something you’re passionate about for The Writers’ Helpers, please click here. 

Taxonomy: Understanding through Relatives

 The first thing to understand is about dinosaurs is where they fit in the tree of life. Their taxonomic cousins are Crocodilians, and their direct descendants are birds. This does mean that birds are dinosaurs. Between the two, we have some very interesting and diverse templates to draw from for comparison. We can also make some speculations on things they may have done when the fossil record doesn’t fails us. This article is going to go on with a mixture of things we do know, and things we can infer.  If anything strikes you as off or odd, I fully encourage you to dig deeper on your own.  Heck, by the time this article comes out, a new find or paper could make some major changes to the broad generalities presented here.  But, for now, if you want to get a simplified understanding, Dinosaurs mix some of the best features of crocs and birds, which allowed them to dominate the world for millions of years.

 Jaws and Teeth

 With that settled, let’s focus on the animal piece by piece, starting with the head. Dinosaurs tend to have rather powerful jaws. Tyrannosaurs are famous for it, but the bites of most dinosaurs are nothing to sneeze at. Their modern relatives, Crocs and birds, are rather noted for how powerful their bites can be. This is because they all share a similar muscle structure. They have two pairs of muscles on the back of their head as well as one in the center of their head (between the eye and nose) which are all to make the bite that much more powerful. In many dinosaurs, these show up as holes so they can be clearly seen. By comparisons, mammals only have one pair of extra muscles in the back for jaw reinforcement. This is why crocs can crush bones and parrots can crack Brazil nuts. So it becomes easy to picture: a Hadrosaur pulling off chunks of tree wood in tough times, a ceratopsian munching down an entire bush to its stem, or a tyrannosaur, which have the most powerful jaws among dinosaurs, crunching up the bones of its prey. Their jaws are not to be taken lightly. Other big predators have weaker jaws than Tyrannosaurs, but still enough to leave scratch marks on bones.

 Teeth come next, and dinosaur teeth are as diverse as their diet. The sauropods have simple, peg like teeth for stripping plants. Others, like Ankylosaurs and Stegosasurs have beaks to crop plants, largely forgoing teeth. All these animals likely had gizzards or advanced stomachs or breaking down plant material like modern birds do (we have known examples from Sauropods, but not from the others, but it would make sense). Ceratopsians and Hadrosaurs have massive batteries of teeth for chewing, and powerful ones at that. Ceratopsians shifted their jaws back and forth to chew rather than side to side like mammals do, while Hadrosaurs did something really weird: they flexed their skull. While their lower jaw just moves up and down, the top looks like it’s squeezed by an invisible hand as they separate, which flexes out when the close, grinding any food caught between them as the top teeth slide down and out over the lower set. In life, it would give it very puffy cheeks as it chewed. Finally, predators largely have teeth for slicing flesh and creating gaping wounds in their prey. Except Tyrannosaurs, those animals had more conical teeth for crushing bone and armor, especially Tyrannosaurus rex. After getting a small enough food item in their mouth, they’d then swallow it whole. It seems theropods ripped prey apart like modern birds do, holding it down with a foot and plucking chunks off to be swallowed.

 Tongue Actions

 Staying in the mouth, let’s talk about tongues. Our two modern examples show great extremes. In Crocodilians, their tongues are fused to their jaws, while in birds, they can take a variety of forms. This is generally covered by the hyoid bone and a study from June of 2018 ran through what we have of hyoid bones. The short of it being, most carnivorous dinosaurs and the big long-necked ones had crocodilian tongues (yes, even the birdlike ones), while the Ornithischian dinosaurs (duck-billed dinosaurs, horned and armored dinosaurs, etc.) had tongues and could be a bit more elaborate with them. Given the simple jaws of Ankylosaurs, it is thought that their tongues might have been used to aid in grazing, being large, rough, and possibly used in pulling in food.

 Horns, Frills, Domes, and Other Weirdness

 Now there are dinosaurs that have horns, domes, crests, and other ornamentation on their heads, but they didn’t all use them for the same purposes. In Theropod dinosaurs like Ceratosaurus, Allosaurus, Cryolophosaurus, Carnotaurus, and even Tyrannosaurus rex, the horns, frills, and bumps were most likely display pieces like that of a modern hornbill. They look pretty, but don’t do much else. The Pachycephalosaurs dome heads are often shown ramming each other, and that’s likely accurate. We do have some evidence of lesions from impacts they could not withstand on their massive heads. Now, the Ceratopsian dinosaurs use their horns depending on their family. Chasmosaurine ceratopsians, such as Triceratops, Charmosaurus, and Torosaurus, likely locked horns like deer in shoving matches when battling each other, and used the sturdier horns to defend themselves when they could. Centrosaurine ceratopsians, including Monoclonius, Styracosaurus, and Pachyrhinosaurus did more body shoving and scraping with horns along the frill. So, instead of butting heads, they’d either T-bone their rival, or they’d circle each other to try and flip or knock over their foe. Finally, there’s the big tubes along the heads of lambeosaurine hadrosaurs. These were echo chambers for sound, which will be discussed in more detail below, but in general, these made deep, resonating sounds.

 The frills of Ceratopsians likely served two purposes: defense and display. Display among other members of their species being the primary with defense a secondary bonus. And it wasn’t just bone covered in skin. The frills were covered in a keratin sheath like their horns and beaks, and like the beaks of modern birds. This means that they were quite durable, and possibly even brightly colored in life. It’s also fun to note that Tyrannosaurs had a habit of ripping off those frills in order to eat the thick neck muscles behind them.

 Of course, the thing about Dinosaur heads, especially in Tyrannosaurs, Hadrosaurs, Ceratopsians, and likely Pachycephalosaurs is how much they change as they the animal ages. Ceratopsians show the most change, as they are born with frills and horns that can barely be notices, but which grow into different shapes for each stage of life. Triceratops has 5 distinct growth stages that we can determine so far, and it is likely other horned dinosaurs had similar stages. Hadrosaurs start with ‘cute’ faces, short nose and big eyes, and which elongate as they age. Tyrannosaur skulls deepen and become more robust as they age, to the point where young Tyrannosaurs have more teeth than the adults. Pachycephalosaurs might go through the most changes, starting with horn-covered heads before growing the dome as the horns shrink, but because their remains are rare and usually incomplete, we can’t say this with certainty.

 As a final to-do regarding horned dinosaurs, it has been noted for years that their skulls have massive openings for their nasal passages.  Holes far too big to just be for an enhanced sense of smell.  One hypothesis about them is that they held air sacs that could inflate for display purposes, like that of a modern hooded seal.  If that hypothesis held true, then they would be very showy animals.

 (Almost) Bird Brains

 Our last stop in the head is in the brain. Dinosaur intelligence is hard area to study since brains themselves don’t fossilize, but the braincase gives us some idea of its size and shape, and thus what it could focus on. This is made trickier because of the transition from more reptilian forms to avian ones, but, again, it gives us a rough estimate of what’s going on between their ears. From what we can deduce, animals like Allosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus were about as smart as modern crocodiles, with smarter ones on the way to being bird like. Some, like Tyrannosaurus, are only just, while one of the most intelligent dinosaurs (Troodon) is about 31.5 to 63% of the way to modern bird intelligence.

 This does downplay the movie “Raptors” unlocking doors, or being as smart as crows or parrots, but it doesn’t make them unthinking, unfeeling beasts either. Again, crocodiles are more nuanced than most people are aware. Crocodiles have been seen bringing food to their babies, using very simple tools (putting moss and sticks on them to aid their camouflage), and can be taught a few tricks. They also play. They play with objects (wooden balls, noisy ceramic bits, their prey, floating debris, and even streams of water), they engage in movement play (surfing in waves, using waterslides, and riding currents), and even playing with others. And not just other crocodilians, but otters and even some people. Some of these play bonds can last for years. Crocodilians aren’t just reactive to their environment, they have flexibility in their behavior.

 And no dinosaur has a secondary brain in the back to help out. That is total bunk.

All the Better to See You With

 We can also tell a lot about the animals’ senses from these brain casts. In general, however, we can say that dinosaurs have great senses of smell and eyesight. Their hearing was good, but geared towards hearing lower sounds than humans are used to. This means that overall, the “It can’t see you if you don’t move” trick from Jurassic Park is patently false. Not only could it see you clearly, and in color, but it would just as easily identify a target through scent alone.

 Resonance

 Moving down to the throat, we enter the realm of figuring out what sounds dinosaurs made. This is a big area of curiosity, especially with the crests of the various Hadrosaurs being full of air tubes like massive instruments. The sounds of those is pretty well known – something like an alpine horn, but that’s not the limit of what sounds they could make. Modern birds would easily be a writer’s first thought. Birds make all sorts of sounds, from hooting owls to the lyrebirds’ perfect mimicry. However, Dinosaurs don’t have the bones for it. Most of those sounds are made with a bone known as the syrinx. This bone evolved in birds after they became their own group, and is found in no non-avian dinosaurs.

 But that doesn’t mean they can’t make noises. Ostriches and bitterns and make booming sounds without the use of their syrinx, and crocodiles are very vocal animals. The chirp of crocodile babies in the nest is well known and documented, as is the mating bellow, and threatening hiss. But there are also calls to alert others to danger, call for help, and even an ‘Umph’ call to assure babies that their mother is near. These tend to be low, deep sounds for the most part, with the mating call going into infrasound ranges. This matches with many types of Dinosaurs. The singing Hadrosaurs and Tyrannosaurs both geared their ears for low frequency sounds. The Hadrosaurs to hear and locate each other, and Tyrannosaurs to listen in and find prey. This means that Tyrannosaurus wouldn’t roar, but something scarier. It could produce this sound without opening its mouth, and even if a hapless human couldn’t hear it, it would reverberate through their entire body.

 Dinosaurs Can’t Play Basketball

 The next thing to talk about is in the hands. In movies, and even in mounted skeletons, dinosaurs are often shown with their palms facing the ground. It gives raptors a praying mantis-like arm pose and is a product of anthropomorphism. Dinosaurs did not hold their hands like we do. Birds are dinosaurs, and birds hold their hands with their palms facing inward. Maniraptors (a group of dinosaurs including Oviraptor, Velociraptor, and modern birds) could almost fold their arms up like a bird does, though their fingers point to the ground getting only half way to a full bird fold-up. This is important for them because it allows for a ‘flapping’ motion. With this down, they could do all sorts of displays, catching small prey, or execute tighter turns.

 Gut-Punch

 The next topic is inside a dinosaur, and that is gastralia. This, in birds, is known as the sternum or breastbone. In dinosaurs, it’s basically a set of 8 to 21 reverse ribs that run along the line of the stomach. It is known to be present in Crocodiles and the Tuatara, and we have fossil evidence for it in many Theropods and Prosauropods. It seems to be absent from the giant Sauropods and Ornithischian dinosaurs. In life, they provide extra protection and muscle attachment points for the body mostly related to how they breathe.

 Huff and Puff

 Dinosaurs, like their descendants and relatives, have extremely efficient and powerful lungs unlike any other group of animals. They cycle through without pause, cleanly and efficiently. Throw in the hollow bones of Sauropods and Theropods, and like birds they become even more efficient with their breathing. This means they have very high endurance. The marathon flights of birds are a good benchmark for non-bird dinosaurs. It also means they can survive lower oxygen levels than us mammals can with fewer side effects. So the longer a chase scene goes on with a dinosaur, the more likely it’s going to win.

 Serpentine! Serpentine!

 The legs come next, and they are one of the defining features of dinosaurs and birds. They are extremely efficient runners. Their ankles and knees are simple door hinge joints, and their hips connect to their legs with a wheel joint. Even better, dinosaurs have a muscle attaching to the back of their thigh and connecting to their tail, making their run that much more powerful and efficient. So, dinosaurs can run quite well and for long periods of time. But they have trouble on turns. The tail can be used as a lever to aid in turns, but they’d still rather run straight than turn. So, when chased by a dinosaur, the best strategy is to get to cover and zig-zag randomly. Because you sure as hell aren’t outlasting them.

 Speed wise, dinosaurs can do pretty well. It varies a lot by species. Tracks can tell us some answers, as can biomechanical analysis. It’s hard to pin down, and many a mathematical formula has been put together to try and figure out these speeds, with some variable ranges. The big theropods have a speed range between 10 and 25 mph. Large raptors around 20mph, with their smaller relatives 25-30mph. Smaller therapods can hit up to 45 mph, with the Ornithomimids hitting 50 mph at the most. The hadrosaurs tend towards 25-30mph. Ceratopsians tended to run at most just under 20mph. Armored dinosaurs and large sauropods tend to be the slowest, the fastest of these going roughly 6 mph.

 Like today, predators have quicker pickup than herbivores, who are geared for more long distance running. Throw in all those adaptations for endurance and we have some real marathon runners here. In other words, predators tend to be sprinters, herbivores tend to be distance runners, but both are distance runners compared to mammals.

 Ouch!

 While we’re inside, let’s talk briefly about healing and injury. Dinosaurs are quite robust and tough animals. Their immune system is that of birds and crocodiles. When faced with an infection, their immune system isolates it. This makes it take longer to heal, but prevents septicemia/blood poisoning among other benefits. This does sometimes lead to amputation of toes in some animals. There are instances of healed creatures in many skeletons, though a bad break in a leg or along the spine can still be fatal. They still suffered some diseases. Tyrannosaurus for example has evidence from several individuals of a bone infection that seems to have been spread among them via face biting. Whether this face biting was social interaction of some sorts, violent interspecies conflict, or minor dominance displays while feeding like wolves do today is unknown.

 Warm Blooded, Cold Blooded, or Something In Between?

 At this point, it’s pertinent to mention how active dinosaurs were. The term “Mesotherm” is often put about them, and it seems to fit. They are between “Hot Blooded” Endotherms like birds and mammals, and “Cold Blooded” Ectotherms, like crocodiles and other reptiles. The short of it is, Dinosaurs were on a gradient of activity levels.  Mostly above that of modern crocodiles (who are already geared to be as energy efficient as possible), up to that of modern birds.  They wouldn’t bask in the sun by and large, but could do with less food than a mammal of similar size.  What’s really fun is the cheat they use to assist that even more.  See, most energy in mammals and birds is used to keep us warm and active. But this has a direct relationship with body size.  The smaller an animal is, the more energy is needed to keep it warm.  But large animals can keep themselves warm through their bulk alone. This is sometimes termed “Gigantothermy.”   And dinosaurs hit that sweet spot really well, being able to outdo mammals and be more fuel efficient while doing so.  Still, if the idea of the warmth of a group of mammals seems fanciful, remember: opossums, echidnas, and platypus’ have an average body temperature so low none of them can carry rabies.  

 The Way Out

 Next, we come to an ‘exit’ from the internal stuff: a dinosaur’s butt, because dinosaur butts are weird. See, mammals from horses to humans are … different from other vertebrates. We have separate orifices for releasing both forms of waste as well as our reproductive system. Most other animals, well, they have their waste disposal plant and their amusement park in the same place. This is called a cloaca and is a universal organ for waste and reproduction. Birds, crocs, and dinosaurs have it. Even egg-laying mammals have it. It’s the standard from which modern mammals deviated. Because of this, dinosaurs can’t use urine to mark territory because they have no way of expelling it separate from other excrement. So, dinosaur poo would either be like that of a bird, or like that of a crocodile. On the plus side, this does make them quite good at retaining water, and makes them basically immune to being kicked in the crotch.   

 Eggs, Nests, and Parenting.

 The other thing to come out of that hole, eggs, leads easily into nesting behavior. We only have a few nests we can fully identify, as well as dozens more which we can’t tell who they’re from. And the nests and their uses varied a lot. Some animals were nest bound after hatching, dependent on the parents for food. Others were like young reptiles of today, hatching ready to move and work largely on their own. It is likely, given crocodiles, that there was some parental protection early in life for most species. They had a high number of young, which compensated for the high attrition rates of young individuals. So, even the best mother lizards would lose quite a few children with each brood. In short, seeing a single child from a nest or as a yearling is not only inaccurate, but has extremely depressing implications.

In general, there were two major methods of nest building: the crocodile method, and the bird method. The crocodile method was taken up by the majority of dinosaurs. This being building a nest of rotting vegetation and covering the eggs, letting the warmth of rotting vegetation incubate the eggs. The latter is far better known, where the parents) use their warmth to incubate the eggs (though they were nested in rotting vegetation as well, a between stage for bird and crocodilian styles as it were). This more modern strategy is only found in smaller animals, and of those, the ones that were heavily feathered.

 Scales, Dino-Fuzz, and Feathers

 Yes, feathers. Dinosaurs have feathers. This is partly because birds are dinosaurs, and partly because of the “Ancestrally Filamentous Hypothesis” where the common ancestor of dinosaurs were likely feathered, or more accurately covered in filaments that are ancestral to feathers. This is because we have dinosaurs on both major branches with feathers and filaments of varying types and it is likely that they are from the same source, but it could be independent evolution as well.

 But what’s really weird about dinosaur feathers is the fact that they are not mutually exclusive (meaning a dinosaur can have feathers and scales, and not just in patches either, but all mixed together), that some of the scales on some dinosaurs might be feathers that have become scales once again, and that there are occasionally multiple stages of feathers present on the same animal. There’s three basic stages (with 5 when you really get down to the nitty gritty things). These are the filament (hollow hair-like feathers somewhat similar looking, though often shorter, than what is seen today in emus and kiwis), plumulaceous (Fluffy down-like feathers), and pennaceous (and branching feathers from a central shaft). The latter are the majority of feather types on a bird, varying in how they are interwoven.

 Armored dinosaurs (Stegosaurs, Ankylosaurs), Pachycephalosaurs, and Sauropods have no direct evidence for feathers on them, and aside from polar animals, very small animals, or sporadic display points probably didn’t have any. The scale impressions we have of sauropods and Ankylosaurs indicate rather crocodilian-like heavy scales, with smaller ones at the joints to ease movement.  This includes the armor which, like the backs of crocodiles, were scales with boney core. And yes, some later Sauropods (such as Saltosaurus and Alamosaurus) did have body armor, though not to the extent of Ankylosaurs.  

 Ceratopsians or Horned dinosaurs have evidence of the first type of feathers on their bodies, namely long quills on the top of the tail of Psittacosaurus (along with a skin of fine scales whose coloration, that is similar to a modern deer, was also preserved). The skin impressions of Triceratops dinosaurs show they had more crocodilian-like armored scales, but also knob points where either spines or feather quills could have grown out. Given the size and placement, they might have been for display structures or they could have been more porcupine-like quill spines. But because this specimen is in the hands of a private collector, it has so far not been studied.

 Ornithopods (duck-billed dinosaurs, Iguanodons, and small herbivores often called “Hypsilophodontids”) have several mummies preserving scaly skin, but Kulindadromeus, a primitive member of this family, had a very distinct body covering. Its face, shins, and tail were scaly, easily enough. But the torso, neck and head were covered in filamentous feathers, while its arms and thighs had plumulaceous coverings. So, it’s possible for Ornithopods to have all sorts of feathers, though it seems the larger ones preferred scales as far as we can tell so far, it doesn’t rule out feathered parts of the body as well, or mixed/alternating scales and feathers like the feet of some birds have.

 Therapod feathers are extremely complicated since they include birds, and show the most diversity. We generally don’t have evidence for feathers in Ceratosaurs, Abeliosaurs, Megalosaurs, Spinosaurs, Allosaurs, or Carcharodontosaurs, but because of what we know of their ancestry, it is possible these animals had at least some filaments in scattered parts for display. Compsognathids and Tyrannosaurs have family members depicting plumulaceous feathers, including Yutyrannus which is so far the largest dinosaur to have such feathers (30ft long).

 From there we get into properly bird-like and the feathers become more obvious. Therizinosaurs have plumulaceous feathers, while Oviraptors, Ornithomimids, and “Raptors” all have pennaceous feathers. Meaning that the latter three had wings. They couldn’t fly with them (well, maybe the juveniles can when they’re small and light enough for it), but they are still useful for a wide variety of things: shading young/eggs when nesting, social displays/mating dances, guiding movement when running like modern ostriches do, to aid in climbing like modern birds use them for (flapping furiously), or to pick up speed while running, or use them for balance when sinking their claws into prey like modern birds of prey do. There are a lot of ways birds use their wings for reasons other than flight, and the same might be true for non-avian dinosaurs that had them.

 But let’s not forget the scales too. The do appear on dinosaurs are for the most part rather small. The scales preserved on tyrannosaurs are best measured in millimeters, with an animal up to 40 ft. long, it would make the skin look rather leathery at a distance, but when you get close to it and feel it, it would be rougher, pebbly, but still rather soft like a bird’s foot. Some animals, like Edmontosaurus had a mosaic of tiny scales where the animal would flex, with sections of larger, bumpier scales in between. And then there are the more armored ones on Sauropods and Ceratopsians. Overall, each dinosaur is going to look different from what you see in Jurassic Park.

 But, in short, a dinosaur with feathers is more accurate than one without them.

Other weird skin-related tissues include: Edmontosaurus annectens of the animal having a crest of soft tissue or wattle like that of a chicken, Tarbosaurus bataar having a throat pouch like a modern frigate bird, and Diplodocus having Iguana-like spines down their back (though how big they are in proportion to the rest of the body is unknown).  

 Modern birds have a myriad of fleshy formations on their heads, as well as bizarre ways of arranging feathers. From turkeys and chickens, to kiwi whiskers and quails topknots, don’t be afraid to use them to lend character to your creatures.

 Colors

The last part to talk about is color. We actually do know the coloration of a few dinosaurs. Psittacosaurus and a medium sized ankylosaur Borealopelta have deer-like countershading coloration. A tan brown up top with a lighter color for their belly and dark patches around the face or armored scutes. Yes, even armored Ankylosaurs have camouflage. And those were scaly animals for the most part, most color information comes from feathers. Anchiornis feathers are largely black with blotches of gray, splashes of white (forming a white background with black spots across on the wings), and a brilliant red crest. Sinosauropteryx has a color pattern very similar to that of a modern coati, orange-brown up top with a lighter belly, bandit-mask of orange-brown over its face and white/orange-brown stripes running up its tail like a ring-tailed lemur. Finally, the proto-bird dinosaurs Archaeopteryx and Microraptor were black for the most part, with Archaeopteryx having white tips, and Microraptor’s black being more iridescent-black.

 This means that, color wise, we have a lot of options between these findings and what we see in modern birds. Animals that rely on camouflage would do their best to match their environment: browns, greens, and blacks being common. But we’d also see brilliant colors for display, possibly leading to dances that go with the colors. Predatory dinosaurs might have colorations similar to eagles and hawks of today. Think first of where the animal lives and what it’s doing. Then you’re going to have to think of birds or other animals that fill a similar basic role and see what catches your eye.

 I Blame Society

 There’s only so much we can say about behavior that is not tied to the body directly. Footprints tell us some things, but only give us short scenes. Still, we can say a few things with some confidence. There are three ways Dinosaurs group together. The first is in what is best termed a flock. They travel among their own kind as a group for protection. We see this in sauropod trackways, mass grave sites of ceratopsians, and among hadrosaur group nesting sites. It seems Ankylosaurs were mostly solitary. Other dinosaurs seemed to form smaller groups if at all. The next structure is rare and rather speculative: a pack. Popularised among “raptors”, there is also evidence for this among some Tyrannosaurs. A pack is a family unit with parents and children being raised together, sometimes in expanded form. It’s common in mammals, but rare in modern dinosaurs. Only the Harris Hawk displays this social structure, though crows have something...similar, but different crows are always outsmarting things. The last is possibly the most frightening: a bask. Crocodiles can be social animals. In fact, many are. They gather together in certain locations they know food to be plentiful and wait together for it to show up. This is probably best exemplified by the river crossings of wildebeest and zebra in Africa. Crocodiles gather at these points to wait for their prey to arrive, and then work together to take down prey as well as rip it apart. There is evidence of such basks being used by Allosaurus and it is not much of a stretch to extend it to related animals. They gathered by a watering hole in the dry season and took down prey that came to drink.

 Wrap-up and Further Reading

 This is a lot to digest, but it should give you a very solid handle on how to handle dinosaurs going forward in your stories. They are weird and wonderful animals, but never forget that they are animals and not monsters.  It’s fun to hype of the deadliness of predators, but remember: the most dangerous animal in Africa is an herbivore, as are most of the “African Big 5”.  Herbivores are more likely to (and more willing to) kill than predators.  They just want an easy meal.

If you want more information, and can’t make it to a museum to talk up a volunteer or a resident paleontologist, I suggest checking out the tumblr A Dinosaur a Day, the youtube series Your Dinosaurs are Wrong from the Geek Group, as well as the youtube channel Trey the Explainer.

[randomshitwhenimhigh]

aaaaaaAAaAAAaAsAaaahHHhHhhhHHHH

Oh my god, yes.

I wasn't expecting that but it was what I needed. Ok, so from the beginning, I hope that nekomamushi and Inuarashi were able to kill Jack, they deserve it, but something tells me maybe they won't be able to, maybe Kado will intervene?

I love King, have I said it before? Yes, I love him, he's sassy and his design is beyond cool, I've to zoom in so that I can appreciate it even more. He's really intelligent, he knows they can't afford to underestimate anyone at this point and is quick to take action.

The strawhats have become so strong since Thriller Bark, I'm proud of them, Jinbe is such a cool addition and I can't complain, I've loved Jinbe ever since I saw him in that cell with Ace. I miss Ace, I'll never get over why he was killed, like in the end it was like Whitebeard died along his son and somehow the blood of his old friend, an end of the old era of actual GOOD PIRATES, he wasn't his father and was still killed symbolically for being so in a way, I still have hope of a resurrection or reincarnation, come on Oda. Well, wasn't that the definition of random rant.

Ok, so back to Luffy, I love how he's compared to a deity, I do think he's the carrier of Joy Boy's will, and I do think he was an important figure during the Void Century, maybe a D, the lore of one piece is so intriguing because we don't know shit, we're only aware of small pieces of the puzzle, I think he will be able to help Momo open Wano and what a sight will that be.

When Hawkins said "you're urging me to turn traitor?" I immediately thought he knew about Drake being a marine, which doesn't seem to be the case. Poor T Rex (edit: actually Allosaurus) was caught, Hawkins just LOVES to betray friends, right? Maybe it's his hobby, but even so something tells me he may play nice in the end? I do have negative hope for Apoo, fuck that motherfucking piece of shit. Coby is such a fan of Luffy, and when Drake was like "yo, let's team up", I was so happy, Oda knows what we need.

So, the plot thickens, I'm still waiting for Kid and Law to appear, and, of course, my favorite drummer, Killer. I'd like to see Yamato fight Kaido one on one, I think they'll probably have to team up a bit to go against him, and what will happen once Big Mom comes back, her children are also close, Wano is a ticking bomb of surprises.

[fenth-eiria]

Eiria and Tif’s big night!!!

Fenth❣️Eiria

“Come on, Tif! We are going to be late!!” “Ah, Ah, Ah. Kiss.” Eiria leaned down a bit, “ugh, Dad, I got to go!” SkekTif exited her bedroom, “I’m ready, let split.” “Do you have everything?” “Yes, Dad. I have everything..” “Alright, You can leave. Come home before breakfast tomorrow morning!” “Bye, Dad!”

10 minutes later...

“Hey, Tif, I got a very good question for you..” “what’s up?” “Would you consider me a friend or your subject?” “Ooooh, That’s a tough one..” “I..” They we’re not alone, for a mighty creature lurked in the shadowy trees as fierce as... “DAD!!” The hunter fell out of the trees, he was covering his ears from his daughter’s screeches. “Dad!! Why?!?! I want to hangout with my family member here!!!” “Aww, I’m family?” “Don’t push it..” The hunter brushed off himself from the fall, he then tried to pounce on SkekTif, but she knew what was coming and kicked him in the crotch. He was then down on the ground, whining in pain.. “hmph, shall we?” And with that they got to their hunting grounds. “I guess you did answer my question, I’m a family member to you, aren’t I?” Tif looked at Eiria and sighed, “Eiria, you are the only Gelfling to not throw garbage at me, or to call me a filthy Gelfling drainer.. To me that is the most loving thing someone has ever done to me.” Eiria started chuckling “And I truly am grateful for that, thank you.” “Tif, I have a surprise. I’m going to be a mother soon!” She started squealing, “When?!” “I don’t know, Tif, soon though.” Eiria shot the first arrow, but it didn’t land where they hoped it would of landed...

30 minutes later...

“WHY DID IT LAND THERE?!?!” They parkoured through the forest while some angry Rakkida were right on their tails... They were lucky that Maudra Argot was there, or they would’ve been toast. “AUNT AUGGIE!! MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!” Instead she ran with them, “why are you two screaming your heads off?” They pointed to behind them, when Argot looked, she started to laugh so hard. When she snapped at them, the Rakkida immediately stopped, some of them even coward down. “It’s fine, they are not going to harm you.” “EIRIA!!” When she turned around, it was Fenth. “Fenth! I’m alright! Calm down, I’m going to be alright.” Tif let out a sad smile, then started to leave. “Tif... Come here... You’re part of the family too.” With that it was a hug party, and they headed to the camp site.

SkekTif belongs to @darkskek @magpie-allosaurus

Eiria belongs to me

Fenth, Elder Cadia, Maudra Agrot, and SkekMal belong to the Jim Henson Company..

The

End

[karltface]

It's another bag of plastic critters! Let's dive in, shall we?

I'ma get the modern stuff out of the way first. Not much to say here. They're alright.

This, however, is the reason I buy bags like this. Bemused stegosaurus, shy ankylosurus and allosaurus shaking its hands dry are cornerstones of the Generic Dino Empire of yore, running from the 70s into the early 90s. I used to love picking these up from drugstores and discount chains, their repackagings and color variations over the years adding spice to the shelf.

Two distinct flavors of dimetrodon illustrate my point nicely. Yeah, they're crude. Mold lines and flash cavort across their surfaces with reckless abandon. But it's got a certain charm, I think.

For example, this trio of brontotheriinae. A couple too many horns, yes, but how often do you see them in plastic these days? Forgotten mammals and second-stringer synapsids cropped up with startling regularity back then, giving us a broad selection of fun oddities.

Speaking of which, this one is a total mystery. They're ungulates, they have tapir snouts, and that's all I got. Little help, paleobio crowd?

Update: they're South American weirdos Macrauchenia, by Ja-Ru. Thanks, buddy!

A few erasers round out the lot. All three are new to me, and the unicorn is oddly soft, like a Deiner, but not labeled as such. These need a cleaning, but are certainly a fun find.

Finally, a particularly tiny dimetrodon in glaring neon green, soft vinyl. Looks familiar, but I'm coming up zero. A board game or micro playset, perhaps?

So yeah. Not bad for a buck. 'Til next time!

[autumnleopard]

LORD: Legion of Random Dinos

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Bonus (Part 1) | Bonus (Part 2)

**********

Chapter 4: Say Hello To Gwaine

Once again, Steve found himself in a precarious situation when the Avengers were once more in pursuit of a villain but they were trapped. Not literally or anything. They just couldn't do anything right now. Not without risking hurting the hostages this villain held in their base. Test subjects for them. This wasn't so bad. No, it was bad but it wasn't what bothered Steve. 

The Dino Bros didn't try to be sneaky about their LORD anymore and that's why Steve was currently sitting in the middle of dinosaurs. Okay, he had to admit that they made for a pretty good protection. But that didn't distract from the fact that THERE SHOULDN'T BE ANY DINOSAURS! Steve would never tire of pointing this very important detail out. 

The other Avengers—yes, that included Thor and Bruce; Steve was now officially the only rational person of this team—were busy playing with the velociraptors. Steve had tried to come up with a plan of attack with them but they were all convinced that they should just ride in on the dinosaurs. Steve wouldn't have any of it. He'd had that discussion way too many times by now. That wasn't how this team was supposed to be operating. They were Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Not Earth's Bored Dinosaur Trainers. You know, that should really go without saying. They were supposed to prevent and fight crimes, not possibly commit them… 

Well, at least the dinosaurs actually listened to them. They followed orders better than the rest of the team. 

"Guys, please be reasonable," Steve started another attempt. "We can't just charge in there! We need a solid plan of attack!"

From the looks everyone was giving him, he knew they would ignore what he'd said. They always did. Blasted dinosaurs. If he'd just hadn't rode one of them, then he might still have some of his team's respect. 

"Can I ride the T-Rex this time?" Clint asked, ignoring what Steve had said, like the soldier had expected. It was like he was invisible to them. 

"No, it's my turn now!" Tony argued and crossed his arms over his chest, like a little child that didn't get what it wanted. 

"Boys, don't fight," Natasha stepped in. "The T-Rex is big enough for both of you." 

Both Clint and Tony looked at her like she had just grown a second head. 

"I don't want to share," Clint said. 

"Neither do I," agreed Tony. 

"That's true," Loki suddenly chimed in. "Yesterday, he ate a family-size pizza all by himself. I was hungry too, you know." 

"You had tacos!" Tony defended himself. 

Clint looked at Loki like he had just stabbed him. Such betrayal. "You had tacos without me? Rude." 

Loki looked at him for a moment and then completely changed the topic. Or maybe not. Steve didn't really follow their conversations. 

"I'll ride the dragon," Loki stated like it was the most normal thing ever to say these words. 

Steve stared at him, just like everyone else. So the dragon was a new thing for everyone. At least Steve wasn't the only one confused right now then. 

"Since when is there a dragon?" he asked. There was no point in wondering about the how or from where or anything like that. He knew he wouldn't get a satisfying answer anyway. He had tried that about the dinosaurs and it hadn't worked. 

"Yesterday," Loki answered, sounding very proud of himself. And a bit giddy. "I got him from Alfheim. He's a friend of mine." 

Tony furrowed his brows. "Are you saying you can talk to dragons?" 

"Of course I can. His name is Gwaine." 

And as if that had been his cue, a huge shadow fell over them. The dinosaurs all moved away to make room and then a dragon landed in their midst, close to Loki. He had black scales that seemed to shimmer in all the colours of the rainbow in the right light and angle. He had horns that vaguely reminded Steve of Loki's and piercing blue eyes. Steve didn't even know eyes could be so blue. He was about the size of three T-Rex in height and two in lengths, which didn't say much because none of the people here had ever gone and measured a T-Rex. So at least they weren't that stupid. A gold star for them!

All of them stared at the dragon who now lay down. Loki went over to him and patted his snout. If he wanted, the dragon could swallow the God whole with just one bite. But the dragon—Gwaine—made a sound that Steve could only describe as purring when Loki patted him and gave him the occasional piece of meat. 

"Is he part of LORD too?" Steve finally asked, once he had found his voice again. 

Loki turned his head to look at him and smiled rather condescending. "Of course he is. Dragons are just mythical dinosaurs." 

That was an interesting point but Steven wasn't sure it was accurate because dragons shouldn't even exist! But then, aliens shouldn't either. Or the Norse Gods. Yeah, forget what he just said. A huge dragon whose master apparently was Loki the God of Mischief wasn't the weirdest thing Steve had witnessed recently. Really, he shouldn't be so surprised anymore but here he was, utterly flabbergasted. And who could blame him? At least he wasn't the only one. 

"I want to ride the dragon too!" Tony announced excitedly. 

"That means I get the T-Rex. Sweet!" Clint said and grinned triumphantly.

Steve wondered why Loki hadn't gone ahead and summoned another T-Rex. It was kind of weird that in the entirety of their dinosaur army, there was only one T-Rex. And the fact that that was weird to Steve went a long way to show how very done he was with these idiots that were his team. 

"I'll take the Triceratops," Natasha stated as she stood up and walked over to said dinosaur, giving it a few good pats and some berries. 

Gwaine lowered his head for Loki to climb on it. Once the Trickster was settled and secured, probably by his magic, he looked down at Tony. 

"You will not ride the dragon with me, Anthony," he said and thereby crushed Tony's dreams like an ant under his boot. "Take the Pterodactyl. He likes you." 

"Aww man," Tony whined. 

"What will you take, Cap?" Clint asked as he climbed the T-Rex. 

"I will not charge in on a dinosaur!" Steve answered determined. To no avail though because everyone started laughing. 

"Yeah, sure, of course you won't," Tony said after he had settled on the back of the Pterodactyl. 

Gwaine stood up and towered above everyone. Loki grinned. "Okay, let's go, people! Let battle commence!" 

Gwaine spread his wings and then took off into the sky with the dragon-equivalent of a battle cry. Tony on his Pterodactyl was close behind and the rest of the Avengers on their respective dinosaurs followed, and after them the rest of LORD. Except for one Allosaurus who looked at Steve waiting. 

Steve was honestly close to tears. This was madness! But nobody would listen to him. He sighed in defeat and mounted the Allosaurus, then followed his team.