#a group of manta rays is called a squadron

[manta-bae]

Manta-Bae Masterpost

Be that bae the manta way 🌊

Manta-baes are species of anthropomorphic manta rays! They can prevail in both aquatic and terrestrial realms. They also have a tiny cute manta-baby form!!!

It’s an open species!!! Designs are very flexible!!! Make your own manta-baes and manta-babies!!!! Join the squadron!

MANTA FACT: A group of manta rays is called a squadron!

Links

(click on underscored text!)

Read below the cut to see traits and examples!

Manta-Bae Rules — Be kind! Make a splash!

Manta-Bae FAQ — Common questions about the species are answered here!

F2U Bases / Manta Base Database [soon] — Don’t want to draw your manta-bae from scratch? Snag free bases here! (Picrew soon when I feel like it)

Masterlist / MantaList [soon] — The species’ masterlist, or more properly named the MantaList is a place where you can find approved manta-baes! Approval is entirely optional! You can submit your manta-bae to be showcased in the MantaList by filling this form.

ToyHouse World / The Manta Bay [soon] — Join the squadron of manta-baes and submit your manta-baes here!

Discord / D’Manta Bay [soon] — Interact with the manta-bae community! Chat! Share art! Share manta-baes! Share adopts! Be silly! MANTA-MOJIS?! NO WAY!!!

• Basic Traits

Manta-Bae

This is the form a manta-bae could poof into once they mature into an adult! You can freely adopt ANY other trait into your manta-bae character beyond the specified basics below! Go crazy with markings and colors!

Anatomy — Manta-baes stand upright on two legs, with a human-like body structure. Their heights ranges from 100-230cm tall! Their arms are imbued within their fins, resembling the wings of a manta ray. This unique feature of theirs is called a mantle. Their mantles usually start around the sides of their head to the upper sides of their neck and diverges from their humanoid forms around their shoulder blades and armpits. They have tails that begin at the end of their mantles. On top of that, they have cephalic fins around their face or mouth and can be upright or droop downwards. Their skin has a sleek, glistening texture to aid in swimming. Nubby feet are not necessary!

Coating — A coating of slime or mucus on their skin is optional. It makes them slippery and is especially convenient for manta-baes who find themselves spending more time underwater. A manta-bae’s slime coating is much more resistant to oils than real life manta rays, so it’s fine to be touched by anyone of any skin!

MANTA FACT: The mucus coating in real life manta rays protects them by repelling bacteria. Oils from your hand could harm this mucous coating and make the manta rays more susceptible to infections or the rapid peeling of skin. So, hands off the rays!

Manta-Baby

All manta-baes have a manta-baby form but not all manta-babies have a manta-bae form. This is the form manta-baes assume before maturity. Basically a mini manta-bae. When mature, they can choose to poof into this form whenever they feel like it. You can freely adopt ANY other trait into your manta-baby character beyond the specified basics below! Go crazy with markings and colors!

Anatomy — Manta-babies, as the name suggests, is a manta-bae in baby form. I personally call it the pancake form. These forms resemble real-life manta rays but are more reminiscent of plushie manta rays than their actual living counterparts. Their disc length (this refers to the length between their mouth and the base of their tail) ranges from 10-30cm.

MANTA FACT: Rays in real life can range from 60cm (Mobula diabolis) to 700cm (Manta birostris) wide. Big girls!!!

Coating — All manta-babies possess a coating of slime in this form whether or not their manta-bae forms have it too or not.

• Example Manta-Baes

I present to you, the first manta-bae and debatably the species’ mascot: Nautica (they/she)!

By @anonymocha /// You can ask them silly questions or just ask stuff about the species here! I am well aware about how they look like a rabbid.

Lemon (they/them)

By @skal98k /// “THEY ARE THERE” -Skal

Eva (she/her) :3

By @anonymocha /// She is an established character who I turned into a manta-bae.

More will be added soon once I return to the sea to catch them :3

Thanks for reading! 🌊 Have a question or just want to chat? Contact me at @anonymocha here or Discord! You can also ask Nautica!

[oh-god-nathan]

Today I found out a group of manta rays are called a squadron

And honestly? It fits.

[kerra-and-company]

16, 19, 24 for the headcanon asks!

Ooh sure, sounds like a plan! :D (And while I'm here answering your ask, thank you so much for making this excellent ask game; 'tis very fun to both ask and get asked these questions! <3 )

16. Have you put any thought into how Asuran Magitech works? (If yes the author of this game would love to hear as many details as possible ;D)

I have no idea how much of this is supported by the actual canon, but I tend to picture magic as an energy source of sorts, like heat or electricity or light. It's both more chaotic and more malleable than some other forms of energy, and the asuran magitech functions by harnessing that energy source. They can harness it via runes or via crystals (which are kind of like batteries), both of which I think can be found on the golems we see in-game, and I bet they've made solenoids and circuit boards and capacitors and inductors and all that other fun circuit stuff that functions with magic rather than electricity. And this would just be the inherent magic in Tyria that they're pulling from, not the magic of individuals.

This does bring up a question that makes me want to hide this post from the Inquest, though--if we take the headcanon that they're harnessing magic this way, could they pull magic directly from a person to make a device work? Would that have different effects, since an individual's magic tends to be class-based, and could they ever possibly be beneficial or useful or would devices just explode? I hope no one from the Inquest has tried anything like this; I have to imagine that people are worse batteries than crystals, and draining their magic for a device would most certainly hurt if not outright kill them. But considering that it's pretty much canon that they put people's brains in golems both as an experimental method and as a torture one, I don't have high hopes on that point :P Alternatively, and on a slightly less evil-scientist (but still angsty) note, if an important magitech device malfunctioned at a critical time and needed a power source because for whatever reason its original one wasn't working, could it be modified to pull power from the operator instead? This entire thing might not be possible at all, of course; the magic produced by a person might not be in a form that's usable for a device, just like ATP (our cells' energy molecule, to oversimplify) can't really power an electrical grid.

And if magic is like light or electricity, is it possible to build something that acts as an insulator for magic? Or is that not possible because magic is such an intrinsic thing in Tyria that it permeates everything on some level? I could see either one.

19. Can skimmers actually go underwater or is it just a gameplay mechanic to satisfy the fans?

I 100% believe they can actually go underwater! They are completely made to swim if you look at their design, and though I do think they breathe air and don't have gills, I headcanon that they can hold their breath for quite a long time underwater, potentially as long as some whales can--up to 90 minutes or even more. @mystery-salad gave me the lovely image of a shoal of skimmers in the ocean, snacking on tiny plankton and other small things, so I'm passing that on here as well. Also, stingrays burrow in the sand to hide from predators, and I definitely think skimmer pups will do that too (underwater only, above water the sand's too hot for them) when their parents are away (if their parents care for them, which I headcanon they usually do, at least for the first year or so).

(Side note, did you know a group of stingrays is called a fever and a group of manta rays is called a squadron? I didn't until just now and thought I'd pass that on, too xD )

24. Wild card slot. Just anything that’s on your mind

Ever since I answered the question about the Mordrem and the Branded and what happens to them after their masters die, my brain's been throwing around what happens to the Icebrood and the destroyers after Jormag and Primordus are gone. (tw: discussion of injuries in the next paragraph)

As far as any of Jormag's minions/followers who were touched by their magic go, there's gonna be a lot of melting involved. I grabbed this from the icebrood wiki page: "Recently corrupted icebrood are merely covered in ice, still having blood in their bodies, while older icebrood are said to have frozen insides." So anyone turned recently has a chance of surviving, but those who weren't are most likely dead. Also, even if they do survive, they could be left with pretty dangerous injuries (see: Bangar and the "unfortunate" holes in his throat because of being the Voice and having a spiky ice collar). There's also a high probability of cellular or brain damage from being frozen that long; cells can burst when frozen. I think the Frost Legion, or whatever's left of them, will probably survive with faculties intact, though injured for sure. And the Frozen are confirmed to be alive inside their magic prisons, so I'm going ahead and saying they're all right, too.

My first instinct for the destroyers was to say that they would continue on being a nuisance, kind of like the Branded or the Risen might, but if they react the same way as Jormag's minions, they won't be able to maintain their warmth anymore without Primordus. They'll slowly cool and solidify, like lava, and thus won't remain a threat for long. Tyria might get some frustrating (because they could get stuck to the ground) but kinda neat statues out of that whole process, and I bet the asura (and everyone else) would run lots of tests on the leftover volcanic rock.

[jimabernethy]

Image by @jim_abernethy // As a Wildlife cinematographer/photographer using my images, knowledge and stories to showcase the Beautiful, Amazing and Fragile Creatures of our Planet while pushing for activism with my conservation campaigns to save these creat, I often see incredible animals that were not the target species of the trip, such as these Manta Rays from our upcoming Whale Shark trips! Often these magnificent unexpected creatures as well as the new friends I get to meet and get to know are more incredible than the target species! As it is often said, "It's not the Destination but the Journey that is Most Memorable!" Every year on our whale shark trips we are blessed not only with incredibly amazing people but also the beautiful Manta Rays! Some years we have had thousands and other years less than a hundred! Manta Rays grow to 22 feet and can weigh as much as 3000 lbs. They are filter feeders like the whale shark. It takes roughly 10 years for them to mature! Adult females give birth to no more than 2 pups every 2 to 5 years. Their brain is immense in relation to their size. They are social animals usually traveling in large groups called squadrons. Unfortunately they have been relentlessly hunted for their gills because of the demand for traditional Chinese medicine. The medicinal benefits of eating the gills (in a soup like shark fin) have never been substantiated by the scientific community. We must stop slaughter of our wildlife now! There are many many ways to help our friends in the sea! Practice recycling, help our planet get off one time use plastics, educate and of course become active in conservation! Support proper ecotourism trips by going! I believe the value of these beautiful creatures alive through ecotourism is there best chance of survival! Join me in this battle by going to the link in my bio and helping with my conservation campaigns! Hope to see you and the beautiful Mantas with me this year on our Whale Shark trips! @jim_abernethy @wildlifevoiceinc @sealegacy #TurningTheTide #FinBanNOW #worthmorealive #FlFinBan #epicencounters #finfree #savethesharks #savethemantas #beautiful #epic #love #gorgeous #Bethechangetheworldneeds (at Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxZsYYhHhzy/?igshid=elbhuzjkfqzj