#hell yeah fossil fish

[generallyinsan3]

coelecanth study

[deadsetobsessions]

Sea Cryptic!Danny Phantom- pt. 8

[Pt.1] [Pt.2] [Pt.3] [Pt.4] [Pt.5] [Pt.6] [Pt.7] [Pt.9] [Pt.10]

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve been to the hospital in the past three years, I’d have enough money to buy a bag of skittles from Target. Most of it wasn’t for me though lol I’ll add this onto the list in a bit, but I tend to do that from my desktop but I’m still currently attached to an IV drip. I’ve also never been this hydrated in my life lmao

——

Danny poked a puffed up pufferfish. The poison floated through his ghost form and did nothing but give him a little zap. Danny chuckled, wiping away a bit of oil that had gotten onto the fish from a nearby oil spill. Jesus fuck. Danny knew that bald headed, easily drawn Vlad wannabe from across the river would do something terrible to Gotham’s waters (not that it needed help being atrocious to Danny’s clean water appreciation).

The puffer fish- Danny gave up on understanding Gotham’s water ecosystem, having realized that it was a cursed mix of saltwater and freshwater and swamp- gave a fearful little wiggle and Danny let it go, turning to the oil particles floating around.

Danny took out his phone.

“Danny? Why the hell are you calling at three in the morning?”

Danny raised a hand and blasted out some ice, gathering the oil up. “Hey Sam. If I got you into contact with Poison Ivy, do you think you could team up to get rid of Lex Luthor’s new holding company in Gotham?”

“Danny, are you asking me to commit an act of ecoterrorism?”

“That’s not even the weirdest thing I’ve ever asked you to do.” Danny placed a hand on the ice mass and flew it, the oil, and himself across the river to Metropolis.

“Deal.” Sam’s voice gets further away as she pulled her phone from her ear. “I’ll text Tucker, see if he could futz with Luthor’s taxes. I heard her doesn’t even give his workers a livable wage, and that’s so not gonna fly.”

“Perfect! Thanks! We could totally meet up and hang out with my new friends!”

“Hah! That Tim guy? The one that wanted you to introduce Phantom to him?”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, goth girl.”

“Sure, dork. I’ll swing by Friday?”

“Sure! Want me to pick you up?” Danny phased through Lex Luthor’s frankly ridiculous amounts of security measures, still completely invisible and towing a giant mass of oil covered ice.

“Cool. Now hang up. I actually need sleep.”

“Ah, you must be dead tired. I get it.”

Sam hung up, and a second later, Danny got a pic of her holding up a middle finger with her signature purple nail polish.

Danny stared down at the sleeping billionaire. Gross. He let his face re enter the visible spectrum and lowered the temperature of the room drastically. Luthor groaned, waking up as he shivered like a hyped up chihuahua.

Danny bared his teeth, glowing green skin reflecting the black holes of the universe and imploding stars and burning planets as he leaned towards the frozen two bit villain.

“RESPECT THE PLANET,” Danny snarled. He unmelted the invisible ice as he simultaneously made the oil visible, the entirety of the oil spill coating every single inch of Luthor’s penthouse bedroom. Danny winked out, but not before snapping a quick picture of Lex Luthor’s absolutely covered in his company’s oil spill.

If Danny had made sure that there were fish droppings mixed in with the oil… that was his own damn business.

——

Danny floated over to a brooding Batman.

“Do you have two hundred dollars on you?” Danny asked in lieu of a greeting.

Batman grunted a yes.

“Two hundred dollars for a photo of Lex Luthor being hit with karma.”

Batman instantly handed over the cash and received a printed out photo of Lex Luthor (in his Lexcorp pjs) covered by fossil fuel.

"Is this..."

"The oil from his oil spill? Yes."

Batman stared at the picture.

"Why was this more expensive than ID'ing corpses?"

"Cause it's funnier. And dead people deserve more consideration than a egg looking ass polluting everything he touches."

Superman zoomed into the space in front of them, face eager.

"I heard you had something about Luthor?"

Danny figured that Batman probably contacted the hero, and confidently said, "$200 for personal use, $300 for commercial use."

Superman quickly got together three hundred dollars in cash and quickly forked it over. Danny gave him another physical copy of the photo and a usb drive with the photo in a digital format.

"I am so pinning this up." Superman muttered.

"Get out of my city." Batman said flatly. Superman waved a hand, beamed at Danny, and left.

"Did you know Gotham's waters is a mixture of freshwater, swamp, and saltwater habitats?"

Batman grunted.

"Also, please stop stalking Danny Fenton. It's odd."

Batman swiveled his head over. "What."

Danny stared him down. "Stop. Stalking. Innocent. Bystanders. Or else I will recreate the phrase "drowned rat" with you as the subject."

Batman stilled.

"I don't kill, by the way. I can, however, dunk you in the sea and lift you up like a goth version of Simba."

Batman relaxed minutely. "I can't."

"And why not?"

Batman gave him a despairing look. "Have you met my children?"

"... Point."

[cupcakewebkinz]

Dorkus' Judgement

𓆟 Gi may have won over the Toons, but will they be able to win over Dorkus the Fifth?𓆟

𓆜 Modern Shellvision au belongs to @soupiestzilla / @soupiestfics 𓆝 Caretaker Shanon au is mine! 𓆜

*I have no explanation for this other than the fact I wanted more Dorkus the Fifth content... Forgive me.

────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────

It was a normal morning, by the standards of this chaos household. Toon Vee and Gi were sitting by the tank their beloved betta was in, watching as the fish ate the food Toon Shelly had just dropped in there. The fossil smiled as she joined the two, the three now sitting and just watching the beloved fish eat his breakfast.

"We're such good fish parents, Shells." Toon Vee mumbled tiredly, getting a nod a kiss on the cheek from the fossil beside her.

"Yeah, though I'm sure it'll help if you didn't stay up all night watching him." Toon Shelly softly replied, getting a yawn from her wife in reply.

"I was worried he'd have a nightmare..."

"Oh Vee, honey, he's so spoiled I don't think he'd have anything to have a nightmare about." Shelly softly reassured, kissing her forehead gently before gently patting her head.

"Go and take a nap, I'll watch over him, okay? You deserve to rest hon." She continued, getting a simple, tired nod from the robot before she sleepily gave Shelly a kiss and got up, then trudged off to go find someone to loaf upon and nap on. Gi just looked at Toon Shelly, who just looked back at them.

"You want to know if he likes you too?" Shelly asked, and Gi just nodded.

"I wanna know if I'm accepted as his insane aunt or if I'm just some random visitor he doesn't like." Gi replied, staring deep at the betta in wonder. Dorkus just looked at them with a small "blub" before swimming off to his castle. Gi blubbed back quietly, eyes larger than before. Toon Shelly giggled at that, finding the other's curiousity adorable.

"What are you two talking about?"

"I'm making peace with the gorgeous floating grape."

"I wish you the best..."

"Blub."

Toon Shelly just watched curiously, watching as the gachapon squinted at Dorkus. Dorkus just blinked, unphased. The blubs were being blubbed, their conversation unknown. Modern Shelly soon walked in, looking at the two.

"Hey it's breakfast time, what are you two doing?" She asked, making Toon Shelly look at her.

"Gi's making peace with Dorkus so she has the rights to be his weird aunt." Toon Shelly simply explained, and soon the Modern fossil had joined them. Gi didn't flinch, her focus purely on the betta, who had floated back over to the side of the tank they were on. More blubs were shared- Gi looking soothed by their unknown conversation. The two fossils watched intensely, watching the intense conversation unfold- despite not understanding a word. Gi soon solemnly nodded, adjusting their pajama shirt before sitting up fully.

"It is time. May I see if I get the boop of approval?" Gi asked in a very terrifyingly calm voice, and Toon Shelly nodded solemnly. The tank lid soon was removed, and Gi stuck her hand in slowly. Dorkus floated over slowly, cautiously. After a moment of held breaths and oddly intense tension- the boop happened. Gi was approved. The fossils both immediately cheered, Gi letting out a happy screech, Modern Vee soon walking in and looking at them funny with a cup of coffee in hand.

"What are you guys doing?" She asked.

"DORKUS HAS ACCEPTED GI INTO THE FAMILY!!!" The trio roared excitedly in reply, acting as if all the world's problems were solved by just a single boop from a fish.

"HELL YEAH!!!" Modern Vee immediately cheered, joining in the chaos happily. The four now were cheering as they moved Dorkus the Fifth into his portable tank so they could all go eat breakfast together, all rejoicing in the victory of the fish accepting their newest chaos member of the family. Shanon, who had been drawn in by the absolute chaos, just chuckled as she took a picture on her phone, then sighing as she left to get ready for work.

"Oh Shanon, how in the world did you get into such a strange family?" She asked herself, chuckling even more when Modern Vee was heard yelling "THE GLITTER ALWAYS WINS!" before the group was heard all going to the kitchen to eat breakfast. They'll never have a normal morning ever again, but she has accepted that long ago. Who needs normal when you have such an amazing, loving family anyways?

[theriverbeyond]

THE ANTICAPITALIST MESSAGING IN HADESTOWN TOOK ME SO COMPLETELY BY SURPRISE IN SUCH A GOOD WAY AND I HAVEN'T SEEN ENOUGH PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT IT BECAUSE ITS SO GOOD AND IT WORKS WITH THEIR STORY SO WELL

YEAH EXACTLY Im like... is it all just so obvious everyone decided it's redundant to mention or??? HELLO???

And I was sitting in the audience as one does and Chant was actually the song that reframed the entire show for me -- up until then I was like "aw :') theyre falling in love and are doomed, I should google all these lyrics later" but that song just... I felt like I was being hit in the face w a fish, honestly!!

"In the coldest time of year/ Why is it so hot down here?/ Hotter than a crucible/ It ain't right and it ain't natural"

"In the darkest time of year/ Why is it so bright down here?/ Brighter than a carnival/ It ain't right and it ain't natural"

Persephone's lyrics here are so specific -> a "crucible" is an ancient tool that can be used to create art but also industrialized into mass production, a "carnival" something that is inherently about celebration and festivity and joy but it is also a thing that can be commercialized almost beyond recognition. Capitalism is ravenous and will never be satiafied or sated, it will steal & exploit every scrap of art and joy that it can, then corrupt it all into hollow immitations that it then sells back to you on websites like SHEIN and Disney+.

"It ain't right and it ain't natural" hits so hard in this song because nothing is as natural, or as "right", as death -- so obviously Persephone is NOT talking about the literal underworld to the literal god of the dead. She's talking about how we need to stay warm and safe and dry in the winter, but we don't need fresh summer fruits imported from thousands of miles away. We need to stay cool and safe and hydrated in the summer, but we don't need to steal water from another state to keep the golf courses green. The winter is natural, the cold is natural, seeking warmth and light is natural. What is unnatural is this overconsumption, this never ending, never satisfied hunger.

And then of course you have Hades' parts,

Here, I fashioned things of steel/ Oil drums and automobiles/ Then I kept that furnace fed/ With the fossils of the dead

And wasn't it electrifying/ When I made the neon shine!/ Silver screen, cathode ray/ Brighter than the light of day

And obviously "fossils of the dead" is a reference to Hades being the literal god of the dead, in the ground, in the underworld, and it is also a reference to the modern dependence on oil and fossil fuels, but TO ME it is also about how capitalism relies on the exploitation of workers. In this show, the "fossils of the dead" are literally Hades' subjects. They're the workers of his factory town, and he both exploits them and is fully dependent on them, just like how the furnance of industry/capitalism relies on YOUR body, YOUR labor, it eats you when you're alive and it often continues to eat you when you're dead.

And then like "wasn't it electrifying" -> it's EXCITING what technology and industry does, but the problem is the overconsumption and the overproduction ("Brighter than the light of day") beyond what anyone actually needs or even wants. It ain't right and it ain't natural!!!

Every year, it's getting worse/ Hadestown, hell on Earth!

And the wind is so strong/ That's why times are so hard/ It's because of the gods/ The gods have forgotten the song of their love

Lover, what have you become/ Coal cars and oil drums/ Warehouse walls and factory floors/ I don't know you anymore

And it all keeps building in this song, re-emphasizing that Hades is not who he once was, that he has changed. Which again is not only commentary about consumption vs overconsumption, and how so many things started as wonderful ideas that could save people and help people and help make the world better were corrupted and turned into profit machines, killing machines, etc. "The gods have forgotten the song of their love" UGH

I also think the Themes are magnified because this is presented extremely directly alongside Euridyce's growing desperation, especially with the context that Euridyce DOES, in fact, "sell out" to Hades' promises.

There is no food left to find/ It's hard enough to feed yourself/ Let alone somebody else

Desperation forces her hand, she turns to Hades because he offers salvation, and she ends up just another nameless worker turning the gears of his machine. And I feel this is so similar to how when rich people are like "Just do XYZ", or telling people to bootstrap, or selling quick fixes to desperate people, when the reality is they got where they did due to a combination of luck, pre-existing social/monetary capital, etc, and buying into their promises of wealth will only make them richer and you more dependent and vulnerable.

[wowitscoldout]

People who like transformers o/ hi I have a question about these freaks. Tldr: "do they have fossils (and oceans) on cybertron"

Do they evolve? Like, is there evolution on Cybertron? Hi yeah, I'm new here and I've only watched tfp once and that is the extent of my knowledge, but is there evolution? Mechanical evolution? Or have they always been like, fully people.

I've seen that there are deer! There's deer in transformers one, I think at least, how'd that happen? Were there proto deer? Proto people??

What I'm asking you is if there's a mechanical anomalocaris that could've existed, if there's extinct species of pre-transformers, did they have something like dinosaurs???? ← wait can't some of them transform into dinos? Ok maybe disregard that last statement.

But like Cybertron is a planet right? So it's gotta have like, planet stuff, at some point it had to have right? Planets are so big, are there like, untouched swaths of land on Cybertron? Are there nature preserves?? ← asking because I also don't know if these guys even have an ecosystem or if it's just a planet that's fully metropolitan. ???? What the hell is the ecology of this planet I GOTTA KNOW

Are there rivers?? Does it rain????? Bacteria? Do they have bacteria??? What about fish, mechanical fish? Do they have whales? If they do can they talk? What's their intelligence like?? I wouldn't have to ask this if soundwave (and others probably?) didn't have that cat that can talk, what's up with ravage?? Are all the animals (??) intelligent??? Do they have bugs? How far does it go and how far does it go back in time?

They live for like ever, right? Do these folks die of old age??? Can they?????? How slow is evolution then, if they even evolve at all, that's gotta be so slow.

ARE THERE EVEN PLANTS??????

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

It's my birthday!

My Birthday Post featuring DiscoPunk!

I had work today but afterwards I went to the Gordon Ramsay Fish and Chips shop in Times Square to treat myself 😋🐟🍴🍲

I ate Fish 'n Chips on my birthday so Hobie could be with me in spirit 💅🏾🎉

Though he'd probably call Gordon Ramsay a 'fuckin tosser' or a 'loud-mouth wanker' or something. (his words, not mine)

I would pay SO MUCH money to see Gordon Ramsay yelling at Hobie meanwhile Hobies like

"Yeah, yeah. Cork it, you uptight Tory Twat."

I love British slang. I'm so happy I can abuse it through Hobie. I say 'I can't be arsed-' and 'taking the piss' all the damn time because they just sound so much better than 'I can't be bothered' or 'making fun of'.

Review: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That shit was HITTING. The inside could've used a little salt but I'm a greedy American and black so you know I like my shit GLUTTONOUS.

The breading was so good though!! And it came out HOT. I liked the aioli too ☺️

The fries however were BOMB.

They're CRIMINALLY GOOD.

I got these fries with garlic and butter and chives and stuff called the 'Dirty #2'. So good OMG!!!!!

I'd go back JUST for the fries. Oh my Lord. I love me some seasoned meatless fries. Like just season the hell outta them, Popeyes-chicken style.

I don't know any other place that sells fries this flavor so I'LL GO BACK.

Y'ALL... Y'all. What if..

What if British food... g-good? 😳

The Discovery of British Chickens - DiscoPunk

(Dianes actual reaction every single time Hobie gives her British food that isn't beans or blood sausage. Then Hobie has to watch her drench it in Tobasco hot sauce-)

Diane has legitimately said to Hobie "I didn't know y'all had chicken wings over here! I won't even know know y'all had chickens! That's so cute!"

Hobie's response: 'Di, you lot come from here. Where did you think the Americans got the chickens from if not us? 😭'

'I don't know.. Just thought we discovered them after the revolution or something.'

Pavitr, astonished and overhearing this - 'Do you think Americans discovered chickens?'

'We didn't?'

'Diane, they're chickens. Not fossils. I can't bel-'

'Bruv, she's American. You're gonna to confuse her-'

----------------------------------------

Anyways, thanks for reading my birthday post! Here's Hobie as a thank you!

BYE.

[tonguetyd]

literally annoyed that all coastal states (including my dumb glove shaped state) aren't 90% hydro/wind

i might not be an engineer but i am with you there

*drags soapbox out and jumps on top*

DO YOU KNOW HOW INFURIATING IT IS TO HAVE EVERYONE SAY “ELECTRIFY EVERYTHING” KNOWING FULL GODDAMN WELL THAT THE GRID 1) CANNOT SUPPORT IT AND 2) IS DRASTICALLY NOT BASED ON RENEWABLE ENERGY?!?!?!

Don’t get me wrong I love electric cars, I love heat pump systems, I love buildings and homes that can say they are fossil fuel free! Really! I do!

But it means FUCK ALL when you have!!!! Said electricity!!!! Sourced by fossil fuels!!!! I said this in my tags on the other post but New York City! Was operating on *COAL*!!!!! Up until like 5 years ago.

WE ARE SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF A RIVER.

Not to mention the ocean which like. You ever been to the beach?! You know what there’s a whole hell of a lot of at the beach? Wind!!!!!!!! And yet we have literal campaigns saying “save our oceans! Say no to wind power!”

Idk bruh I feel like the fish are gonna be less happy in a boiling ocean than needing to swim around a giant turbine but. I’m not a fuckin fish so.

NOT TO MENTION (I am fully waving my hands around like a crazy person because this is the main thing that gets me going)

THE ELECTRICAL GRID OF THE UNITED STATES HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED ON LARGE SCALE LEVELS SINCE IT WAS BUILT IN THE 1950s AND 60s.

It is not DESIGNED to handle every building in the city of [random map location] Chicago being off of gas and completely electrified. It’s not!!! The plants cannot handle it as now!

So not only do we not have renewable sources because somebody in Iowa doesn’t want to replace their corn field with a solar field/a rich Long Islander doesn’t want to replace their ocean view with a wind turbine! We also are actively encouraging people to put MORE of a strain on the grid with NO FUCKING SOLUTION TO MEET THAT DEMAND!

I used to deal with this *all* the time in my old job when I was working with smaller building - they ALWAYS needed an electrical upgrade from the street and like. The utility only has so many wires going to that building. And it’s not planning on bringing in more for the most part!

(I am now vibrating with rage) and THEN you have the fuckin AI bros! Who have their data centers in the middle of nowhere because that’s a great place to have a lot of servers that you need right? Yeah sure, you know what those places don’t have? ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT THE STUPID AMOUNT OF POWER AI NEEDS!!!!!!!

Now the obvious solution is that the AI bros of Google and Microsoft and whoever the fuck just use their BILLIONS OF FUCKING DOLLARS IN PROFIT to be good neighbors and upgrade the fucking systems because truly what is the downside to that everybody fucking wins!

But what do I know. I’m just friendly neighborhood engineer.

*hops down from soapbox*

[keep-the-wolves-close]

Steady Heart

Chapter 3: Me and the Devil

Pairing: Slow-burn Kayce Dutton × OFC Stella Daniels

Rating: M? (Still figuring out the rating system) (might eventually be M anyhow)

Warnings: violence, language, I’m not even sure what to add, I think this chapter is pretty tame?

Word count: 4,892ish

I would love to give credits to @dameronscopilot for being a sounding board for me during this whole process, giving outsider insight, a cheerleader, and allowing me to screech at her about things that have happened during the writing process. I seriously couldn't have gotten this far.

Author’s note: I hope everyone is enjoying so far! I hope you love this chapter as well! 💛🤓

After Stella had jumped out Abigail’s stall window, she raced to the bunkhouse. She was pretty sure she had left her keys on the kitchen table. Swinging the door open, she saw the orange wrist strap on the table in front of her. She bounded forward and snatched them off the table then raced off to her car. Her brother and Colby had perplexed looks on their faces, but they shook it off as she drove away.

Pulling up to Monica and Kayce’s portion of the reservation, she got a few weird looks before people realized who it was. She placed the car in park behind Kayce’s truck. Hopping out she heard Tate holler from across the yard.

“Aunt Stella!”

“Hey lil dude!” She let out a small oomph as he ran into her legs and gave her a quick hug.

“Me and dad found a dinosaur! Come look!” He grabbed her hand and tugged her in the direction of a giant crater.

“A dinosaur?! What? That’s so cool!” She exclaimed. Most people would probably just be placating him, but Stella actually thought it was pretty neat. She gave Kayce a glance and a smile as his son dragged her past him. Stella slid her glasses back up her nose. Tate hopped down into the hole and explained everything he could about the fossil at lightning speed.

Kayce strolled up to the edge of the crater he had made in his yard. He focused on Stella and watched her show genuine interest in what his son talked about. He thought it was sweet.

“So you wanted to talk about a horse?”

Stella nodded and backed up from the hole. “Yeah, about Tank.”

“That horse, which you’ve apparently named,” he gave her a pointed look, knowing how she was once she named something, “was a gift to my father. That’s his problem now.”

“And by default it’s a problem child that I also have to work with.”

“Well that’s part of your job, Stell.”

“Thank you, smart ass. I know that. However, that horse is very much yours.” Stella gave him a sharp look of her own. “His demeanor and deliberate, planned movement says it all.” She giggled at the memory of this morning. “Not to mention his high distaste for your father. He barely listens to me, let alone anyone else that isn’t you.” Kayce snorted in amusement. “Hell, he almost wrecked your dad this morning before I got to them. He flipped on him.”

“I feel like it’s an even trade then.”

“Kayce…” Stella chided him. “There was also something else I wanted to tell you —,” before she could get any further, the sound of a truck caught their attention. Stella’s heart dropped as she saw that it was John. She wasn’t sure what exactly the conversation she overheard was about, but she knew it couldn’t be good. She also wasn’t entirely positive they didn’t hear her trying to leave.

She bit her lip as she tried to convince herself that John hadn’t heard her. He had bigger fish to fry it seemed. Surely he wouldn’t be concerned with some random noises in a barn.

John walked up to the twosome. “Stella, what are you doing here?”

“I was talkin’ about that horse like you asked, sir.” He raised an eyebrow at her, wondering why she came here just for that.

He looked at Kayce. “I’m gonna go see my grandson.” He then walked over to the fossil and Tate.

Stella turned to her best friend. “Hey, I got Monica some flowers. Is it okay if I go to the house?”

Kayce shrugged. “Yeah, just knock first.”

Grabbing them out of her passenger seat, she made her way to the front door. She thumped the door a few times before she heard light footsteps make their way to the door. She was greeted with Kayce’s wife looking confused.

“Hey, Stella. What are you doing here?”

“I had to talk to Kayce about that horse he gave his dad. John asked me to this mornin’. I had asked Kayce if I could meet him here and he said it was okay with you guys. I hope you don’t mind?” Stella brought the flowers close to her stomach.

“No, no. It’s okay. Come in.” Monica ushered her inside.

“I brought these for you. That’s also why I wanted to stop by here. I’m really sorry about your brother.” Stella couldn't even begin to fully understand the feeling. If she went far enough into the thought, it made her want to shut down at the thought of losing Ryan. She might not have been the biggest fan of Robert herself, but she wouldn’t have wished death on him.

It was quiet as Monica studied Stella. Almost as if she was feeling out her intentions. “Yeah, me too.” Monica stepped forward to take the flowers and the condolences. She gave Stella a quiet thank you and placed them in the center of the dining table. Stella let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

“So what about that horse?” Monica busied herself in the kitchen cleaning up from breakfast before her shower.

“Oh it’s a thousand times your husband's horse. I told Kayce that I understood it was a present to his dad, but he’s not the one that works with the horses every day. So that means that mustang is my problem as well. If his dad lets me keep the position, that is. I’m good at my job. I mean as good as Kayce and Lee got me to be, but that stud ain’t gonna completely listen to anyone who isn’t Kayce.”

Monica huffed out a laugh as she placed the dish towel on the counter. “That sounds about right for him.” Stella joined her with a laugh of her own. Monica motioned to the couch. “Let’s sit.” Monica seated herself on the plush couch but the window. “So how are you holding up? You seem fine, but you’re just like Kayce. You hide it well.”

Stella shrugged with a flat chuckle. “I wouldn’t say we hide it well. I like to call it compartmentalizing.” She made eye contact with Monica. Both women knew the best friends held things in, dealt with them alone, and eventually reached a boiling point. Stella was blowing smoke. “I dunno.” She reached down to fiddle with a loose string from the couch. “I suppose I’m alright. I’m more worried about Kayce because it was his brother. You know?”

“I do.” Monica paused. “But Lee was also your coworker. Your friend. The Duttons aren’t the only ones who lost someone. All of the employees did too.” Monica was being logical. Stella struggled with feeling selfish, even though her grief was just as appropriate as the Duttons’ was.

Monica chimed in again. “You’re allowed to miss him. You’re allowed to be sad, Stella. I’m almost certain Kayce would tell you the same thing.”

Lee had been around for the very formative years of her life. And just like Kayce, Lee had been a constant. Stella pushed her glasses back up and looked at Monica. “I know.”

Monica sighed. “I can hear your “but” forming already.” The one thing she wished Stella wouldn’t do, was ignore herself to take care of everyone else she cared about.

Stella groaned. “I just don’t want anyone to worry about me. Plus, do you know how hard it is to talk to a bunch of cowboys about feelings?”

Monica nodded. “Yeah I do. I have one who’s clammed up tight, remember?” She looked out the window at her husband and father in law. “Has he said anything to you? At all?”

“No. He usually goes to you before me, which I would expect.” Stella crossed her leg over the other at the knee. “Enough about me. How are you? Like truly? Because you lost someone too.”

There was a sigh and a long pause from Monica. The dark haired woman looked longingly out the window again at her husband. “I’m alright. Taking it day by day. Trying to work through the feelings as they come. I’m just confused as to why he won’t talk to me about what happened out there.”

“I know it’s not my place, but can I offer my opinion?” Stella looked between the window and Monica.

Monica shrugged. “Sure. It couldn’t hurt. You knew him before I did.”

“Coming from someone who, like we determined earlier, also clams up when things get heavy, he probably doesn’t want you to have to carry the burden. He wants to make sure you and Tate are good and safe. He wants to worry about himself last. I don’t think it’s out of distrust or anything like that.” Stella pursed her lips in contemplation. “Just like I do with the horses, let him come to you. Drop little reminders that you’re here to talk when he’s ready. He will definitely take his time, but he’ll break, and make his way to you.”

“I hope you’re right.” They both heard John’s truck pull away.

“I think that’s my cue. I’ll talk to Kayce again about Tank some other day.” Both women stood. Stella asked, “can I give you a hug?” Monica nodded and they embraced just long enough for the sentiment to be passed between them.

“Thank you. Be safe on your way home, yeah?”

Stella giggled. “I always try, but I make no promises.” Stella winked and headed out the door. She almost tripped over Kayce, who was now seated on the steps that led up to the porch. “Shit!”

“Sorry, Stell. Dad just left.”

“Yeah I heard. What did he have to say?”

Kayce didn’t look at her. “Ah, just his usual bullshit. You know him.”

Stella scrunched her face up at his back. Something felt off. She noticed he was quieter than normal. He wasn’t lying, but to Stella, it felt like he was glazing over something. She placed a pin in that for later, deciding to choose her battles today.

Stella hopped down to the bottom of the stairs. “I’m gonna head out too. I’ll talk to you more about Tank man later on, okay?”

“Yeah.”

She turned and peered intently at him. “You sure you’re okay?” It was a loaded question, but she had to ask. She couldn’t bring herself to leave without doing so.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. You be safe on the way home.”

She laughed. “Why does everybody think I’m gonna drive off the road?” She walked over to her car and Kayce followed.

“I know you, that’s why.”

“Pfft. Yeah. Sure you do, cowboy.” She stood up on the sidebar of the car to see over top in Tate’s direction. “See ya later lil dude!”

They heard a faint response of, “Bye Aunt Stella!”

She turned her gaze back to Kayce as she swung into her car. “See ya later, cowboy.” She smiled at her best friend’s wife still standing in the doorway. “Monica.” Kayce shut her door behind her.

Stella had gotten back to the ranch in one piece. She decided to hang out with her brother for a little bit. She missed him. The craziness of the last few days had taken over and she needed her safety net. The siblings sat in the same position on Ryan’s top bunk. Their backs were against the wall, their legs drawn up not quite to their chest, but high enough to have their feet on the bed.

They looked like they did when they were younger. There were many nights spent like this before they got to the Yellowstone, and even after. Some nights they were planning their next steps, others Ryan was comforting Stella; letting her know everything was going to be alright and he would stop at nothing to keep her safe. Other nights they were just happy being.

Stella had her arms crossed against her lap. She let out a big breath as her eyes closed. Things in the house were quieter tonight. For that, she was thankful. She might be able to sneak in a nap before she headed home.

Ryan visibly watched Stella decompress. He was happy she still felt safe with him and the other guys. He always wanted to be her safe space. He nudged her shoulder lightly with his own.

“What, Ry?” Stella cracked open her eyes. He raised his eyebrows and nodded at her. She acknowledged him back with her own sleepy nod.

He leaned fully against the wall and slid close to her. He whispered. “You know you can talk to me about it, right?”

Stella’s head thudded back against the wall and she sighed. “Yeah, I know.” She started picking at the side of her nails. “I just don’t… know. What do you expect me to say?”

“I mean are you sad? Angry? Devastated? Hurt?” He suggested.

“I’m all of those things, Ryan. He wasn’t just my coworker, or my boss. He was a friend, too.” She thought about what Monica had said to her this morning. She placed her hands on her knees, bracing herself back against the wall. “There’s legitimately nothing I can do to change the fact that he’s gone. Hell, I wasn’t here when it happened. Even me being here wouldn’t have stopped anything.”

“It might have given you some closure though.”

Stella audibly groaned with annoyance. “That’s the thing. Even if I had closure,” she put air quotes around the word, “it still wouldn’t have stopped it from happening. You get what I’m saying?”

Ryan’s voice became stern. “I do, but you haven’t said anything to anyone about it. I don’t want you to internalize it, Stella.”

“I just, I don’t know what to say. I have no words. Yes, I’m sad. Yes, I’m experiencing the hole left behind. I’m going through the same shit y’all are. I just don’t want to talk about it.” Stella huffed and started to hop off the bunk.

Ryan grabbed her arm. Her head snapped back in his direction. “Ryan Stephen, let me go.” She ordered him with a low voice.

“Look, just come to me if you need to. Please?” He gave her his best version of puppy dog eyes.

Her tone softened. “Okay okay. I will if, if, I need to.”

He decided to go shower, leaving her to her own devices. Her gaze panned around the room. Jake and Ethan played the arcade game in the corner. Lloyd was at the table. Colby and Fred sat off to the side, and Jimmy was laid out on his top bunk. Stella could tell he was in a lot of pain from however long they had him on Tank. She felt for him.

Everything was business as usual. There was still a somber tone amongst the bunkhouse, but it wasn’t as heavy as it had been.

Lloyd called out to her. “Hey little bit.” She grinned at him and shuffled over.

“Yessir?”

“Care to keep an old cowboy company?”

“I would love to, my good sir.” She happily plopped down in the chair next to him. Ecstatic to be distracted from the thoughts brought on by the conversation with her brother. They started to play silent two man poker. They were just honing their skills, no real betting going on.

Ryan came out of the shower. He called out to the other guys. “Okay showers up.”

Stella looked up at the movement. She dramatically covered her eyes, as Ryan was only in a towel. “Oh my god, put your shirt on! My eyes!”

“Oh shut the fuck up, Stella!” Ryan threw the aforementioned shirt at her. She caught it and let out a cackle. She tossed it back to him. Stella started to respond to him, but Colby and Fred started to get loud with Jimmy.

“Would you two shit heads leave him be?” Stella rose from her seat. Lloyd put a hand on her arm gently to keep her in her spot. She and Fred never got along. She tolerated him a good portion of the time, but more often than not, she wanted to smack the shit out of him.

Ryan sighed, but walked closer to his sister. “Don’t start,” he whispered to her. As soon as she heard those words, she wanted to set fire to the whole place.

“And what are you gonna do princess?” Fred patronized her, adding fuel and striking the match.

“Princess?!” She snapped with lightning speed around Lloyd and leapt across the room. “I’ll show you princess you son of a bitch!” Ryan raced forward and grabbed her around the waist causing her to snap like a rubber band forward and back. Ryan heard the air leave her as she connected with his chest and started swinging.

“Fuck you Fred!” Stella shouted. Ryan wrestled her for the upper hand. Stella pushed and shoved at Ryan’s hands and arms. She pushed his head. She tried to step on his toes. Anything to get him to let her go. Colby tried to keep Fred back with the same amount of dedication. They didn’t want either of them to get their hands on the other.

“Stella!” He struggled against her pull. “Stella! Stop!” Ryan yelled at his little sister.

“No Ryan! Let her get her ass handed to her! Your bitch of a sister needs to be taken down a peg or two!” Fred screamed.

Stella pulled forward hard and heavy. Ryan’s hold on her slipped. She launched her body as fast and hard as she could at Fred. Fred wasn’t expecting her to make contact with her fist, but the crack of his jaw as it snapped shut was heard around the whole house. It was deathly silent as he staggered back.

“You dirty whore!” Fred screamed as he lunged at Stella. He grabbed for Stella’s neck, but Ryan stepped in his way. Ryan shoved his sister backward to Lloyd. He squared his jaw and stood to his full height.

His voice was deadly. “If you’re feelin’ froggy, Fred. Leap.” His eyebrows jumped upward as he said leap. “But the second you touch my sister?” He stepped closer to Fred to get in his face and make his point clear. “I will cut your fuckin’ head off and not feel any remorse.”

“I’ll help him feed you to the fuckin’ bears!” Stella screamed while she fought against Lloyd.

Lloyd hollered, wrestling Stella back. “Knock it the fuck off! All of you!” They all stopped and looked at him. It was rare that Lloyd would raise his voice.

He practically handed Stella to her brother. “Ryan take her outside.” He pointed to Fred. “You simmer down.”

Ryan dragged her back toward the door. She finally stopped fighting against it and went outside. She let out a snarl and kicked at the dirt. Her knuckles let her know they were angry from the hit. She shook her hand. ‘That’s gonna suck in the mornin.’

“You should have let me punch him in the throat. Give him something to choke on.”

“Listen, I know we all don’t like him, but you can’t be doing that.” Fred would have most likely beaten the absolute hell out of her. He had no control over his anger.

“He fuckin’ deserves it though.” She shouted.

They heard the gravel crunching off to the side. “Who deserves what?” John asked.

“Fred deserves to have his ass beat within an inch of his life.” Stella explained hotly.

Ryan scolded her. “Stella!”

She glared at her brother and fixed her glasses. She held her hands out to the side. “What? Fred is a bully and I’m just saying what we’ve all been thinking.” Ryan remained silent because he knew she was right.

John let them settle out then interrupted. “Stella, I actually came down here to ask if I could talk to you for a minute.”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“It’s about that mustang. Come to the barn with me so I can show you.”

“What did y’all do to him??” She rushed to the barn.

She got in there and hurried her way over to Tank. Both Tank and Abigail made happy noises at her approach. She pet the mare quickly, and moved to Tank to look him over.

John followed behind her at a slow pace. He took his time and observed her doing what she did best, what he paid her for, but also in general. He needed to decide if she was taking Lee’s place. It depended on how the next few minutes went.

He knew she was hot headed, exemplified by the previous conversation about Fred; but she was focused when she actually put her mind to whatever she was doing. Quiet, but could be boisterous with the right people. Smart and mean, a dangerous combination. Kayce wouldn’t have chosen to be her friend if there wasn’t some level of trust there. Lee wouldn’t have worked with her if he didn’t think she was trustworthy. He shut the small door behind him with a thud.

Stella stood and looked at the door and then to him with her brows crinkled. Her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. The expression on John’s face was impassive. That bothered her. She hated that he was one of the few people she couldn’t figure out. Even Rip seemed to have more expressions than John did some days.

“He looks fine, sir. What did you need to show me about him?”

“I didn’t bring you in here to talk about the horse, Stella.” Dread ran through her.

“Oh?” She raised her eyebrows in question as she tried to keep her face flat. Her heart jumped wildly in her chest as she hoped he wasn’t about to interrogate her. Her mouth fell open to take in more air. She started to feel like the walls were closing in.

“Why were you at Kayce’s today?”

She leaned against the outside wall of the stalls. “I told you sir. I was talkin’ to him about Tank because not only has he become your responsibility, mood swings and all, he also became mine.”

“Is that so?” John leaned a shoulder against the wall.

She shrugged. “I mean, yeah. It’s part of my job. It’s what you pay me for. I also hadn’t seen him since —,” she cut herself off. She didn’t want to think about the loss more than she had to, but also didn’t want to put salt in John’s wounds either. “— well, you know. So I wanted to check up on him. Monica too.”

“When Jamie showed up this morning, where’d you run off to?” He grilled her.

“I got a text from Kayce that it was cool to stop by. So I went to my car to head out.” He stared at her in contemplation.

“I just find it very convenient that you ended up there after Jamie talked to me. Here. In the barn.”

“I mean, I left before you did?” Stella tilted her head confused and adjusted the frames on her face. “What did he talk to you about?”

“That doesn’t matter. What does matter, is why you feel so comfortable lying to my face.” Her mouth dropped open, opening and closing, but she couldn’t seem to find words. “That’s right. I saw you sneak around the broad side.”

Stella’s mind grasped for anything she could muster. There was absolutely nothing she could find.

He questioned. “What did you hear?”

“N-not much, sir.” She fought to get the words out.

“What did you hear, Stella?”

She swallowed hard, stood up straight, and came to her full height. She squared her shoulders, prepared for whatever storm was brewing. “I was originally gonna call Kayce. That’s why I stepped away, to find somewhere quiet. I chose to leave the barn at the point I did because it wasn’t my place to know what was being spoken about. I had heard more than I should have, and I didn’t want this to happen.” She motioned between them. “I was gonna leave and ignore it.”

She continued. Her voice got stronger as she went. “I don’t even know the context of what you were talking about. So I’m just as much in the dark now as I was before.”

“Damnit, Stella. Don’t make me ask you again.” John’s voice was harsh.

“Jesus, Mr. Dutton.” Calling him that was a habit that she hadn’t ever really broken out of. “I overheard you ask if they, whoever they are, had identified Kayce. For what? I don’t know. Then something about who the investigators were and something about Lee. That’s it. I promise. I don’t even really remember what I heard because I didn’t wanna hear it in the first place.” She slapped her hands down on her thighs in frustration.

It was deathly quiet in the space between them. Stella glared at him trying to catch her breath. The fact that she tried, and failed, to give Kayce a heads up about whatever his dad was bringing his way would stay with her until she was six feet under. She cocked her jaw to the side and ran her tongue along the side of her teeth. Being put on the spot by not only her best friend’s father, but also her boss, really killed her vibe.

John studied her closely. In the 12 years he had known her, she had never toed too far over the line. That was a feat in and of itself, especially being his youngest son’s best friend. There had been moments when she had needed some coaching to get back to the straight side of things. It was the normal rebellion of a teenager that John expected. Ryan and the wranglers had reined her in well during those times. John had expected that.

As she grew older, the fire inside her grew as well, but she put it to good use. She was a damn hard worker. She could put his men to shame most days. She also fiercely protected his son. His ranch. He respected that in her. She also wasn’t afraid to stand her ground. ‘Must come from dealing with all those stubborn horses.’ His thoughts broke in between. ‘Or dealing with your hard headed children.’

She had been around for a lot of things. She hadn’t ever mentioned anything about the affairs of the ranch to anyone that he was aware of. John didn’t know if she had actually picked up on the events that happened around her, but he wanted to give her intelligence more credit than that.

“Sir,” she fixed her glasses while she cleared her throat and continued, “I understand you’re worried about discretion here. I’m not gonna say anything to anyone. Why would I? Especially when I don’t know what it was about in the first place?” It didn’t make sense to Stella. Logically or otherwise. I mean to give Kayce a heads up that his father was on his way to spew some of his regular bullshit? Yeah, but she wouldn’t just go tell Joan at the local grocery market.

She had seen John angry at other people, but now his ire was directed at her, and her foundation felt shaken. She was reminded of when she stood up for Kayce when she was 18. That day and the following weeks were a doozie.

This job was her livelihood. Her brother’s. This place had become home. John kept quiet while she pleaded her case.

“That’s why I left and was gonna ignore it. I didn’t hear anything, I didn’t see anything.” Stella admitted. “I’ve never told anyone anything I may have ever caught. And if you think I would say something that would potentially jeopardize Kayce?” She shook her head. “You’re dead wrong.” Her voice hardened with the last sentence as she looked him directly in the eyes. She was banking that she had that working for her.

The fact that Rip trusted her, that Lee and Kayce trusted her, said a lot. Even though she had been around for so many years, for John, her lying to him made it a little harder to give his trust to her.

John’s lips pursed together. “You’re on thin ice, little girl. Tread carefully.” He left through the door behind him.

She sagged back against Abigail’s stall door. The mare walked up and stuck her head through the door and nuzzled at Stella’s back. Tank gazed at her from the side. They both knew she was stressed at this point. She had no idea where that left her in John's eyes. She didn’t know if she was fired, or kicked off the ranch, or anything.

After Stella had gotten herself calmed down some, she returned to the bunkhouse. She knew she couldn’t let herself go in front of Ryan, or Lloyd, shaken. They would immediately know something was wrong and grill her to the third degree.

“Hey, Ry?”

The man in question glanced up from the cards in front of him. “Yeah Stellee, what’s up?”

“I���m gonna head home for the night. I’ve gotta work more with Tank tomorrow, so I’ll see you then. Okay?”

He nodded and stood. “Yeah I’ll see you then, sis.” He wrapped her in a hug and she breathed for the first time since the barn. He rubbed her back quickly and released her. “You text me when you get home. And be careful.” He gave her a stern gaze. She faked a giggle and acknowledged him with a nod. She waved to Lloyd and made her exit swift. She had a lot to think about on her way home.

Comments, thoughts, commentary, and asks are welcome! Just please be gentle lol. 🤓

[sketching-shark]

oh sketching-shark, do u have a favorite species of shark?

HELL YEAH I DO. They're so important for marine environments and are some of my most loved fishes. My particular favorites are whale sharks, great whites, and those wonderfully weird little beasts that exist now only in fossils.

[victorluvsalice]

-->When Victor got a call on his phone. From one Emilia Ernest. Asking if he wanted to duel her on the dueling official grounds of the Magic Realm.

Well, how the hell could I say no to a rematch? :D I had Victor tell her “OK!” and head over to the Magic Realm, bringing Alice and Smiler along once he arrived. He flew off to the dueling grounds right away, eager for battle –

Only to have to wait quite a while for his opponent to show up, because Emilia doesn't own a broom and thus had to take the long way around. She did eventually arrive, however, and the two commenced their epic magical battle! :D Both took a few magical blows from the other, but in the end, Victor was triumphant once more! Yay!

...and I found out that dueling the same person more than once does not count toward the “win three duels” goal in the Spellcraft And Sorcery aspiration. Boo. *sigh* At least he proved to Emilia he’s the more powerful spellcaster, I suppose. And got a well-earned nap on the bench nearby afterward. :p

-->Anyway – while all that was happening, how were Alice and Smiler getting on? Well –

Alice had some mushroom conserve as a snack, then took a feral run over to Caster’s Alley before transforming into her beast form again and going out for a proper hunt. And when she returned from that, belly full of found meat, she did a little bit of scavenging and found a fossilized udder and a Yuki MySims statue. Unfortunately both duplicates of stuff we already had, but well, what can you do. Even if they're dupes, they're good for the werewolf XP!

Smiler, meanwhile, hit up one of the local fishing spots and caught a perch, a sturgeon (worth $192! I mounted that one), and a pufferfish. They then took a moment to feed the local cowplant (yeah, the Magic Realm reno I downloaded apparently includes a secret cowplant! Guess I shouldn't be surprised, it is from LilSimsie) before going to play some chess. Gotta keep that Logic skill going in the right direction and all! Plus it's something a little different from having them play video games while they're here.

-->However -- I came here to try and get some progress made on one of Victor's spellcasting aspirations for his New Year's resolution, and I was determined to do that. So after he woke up from his nap, I had him grab a mote for later consumption (since he's now got the Mote Hound perk and can just see them always), then got him to transportalate himself back to the main building. My INTENT was for him to do some more tome browsing and maybe find a new potion book for the Purveyor of Potions aspiration, since he seemed to be doing better with that one than the other...

But, who should be in the room he found himself in but one Morgyn Ember! Who was once again available to ask for a potion recipe! :D Even better! Victor thus did so, and got the Potion of Nausea – great for your enemies, not so much for customers in a grocery store. :p But it was another potion recipe regardless, bringing his total known up to five, and thus completing that goal on his current aspiration milestone! Now he just has to brew up two more potions, and he is set!

[how-to-speak-cicada]

#wait sharks don't have bones??? what

Yeah! Sharks are cartilaginous fishes, which means their skeleton is made of cartilage. In humans cartilage makes up your ear (except the earlobe, that's just skin and subcutaneous tissue and capillaries and nerves and tiny tiny hair follicles) and the tip of your nose (the flexible part). In sharks though that's it, that's the whole underlying structure, although shark cartilage is much tougher and more laced with minerals than ours. This makes them incredibly flexible and incidentally smooth as hell. Bony fishes evolved later on the taxonomical tree and include basically everything else (tuna, bass, salmon, swordfish, mackerel, etc). Even the jaw "bone" is actually made of cartilage, it just gets preserved and fossilized more easily because sharks slowly deposit calcium into it as they age (much like Percy Bysshe Shelley's heart) in order to use it to bite harder (...as far as I know, in this respect a shark jaw differs from Percy Bysshe Shelley's heart).

Source (sharks): California State University Long Beach:

Source (heart): The Rosenbach Museum

the “affirmations” the official shark week instagram posted are really funny. like yeah Mecore tbh

[ilovecoelacanths]

It’s time for some facts about coelacanths!

I said I’d do this a while ago and I forgot so I’m doing it now because coelacanths are the best and more people should know how cool they are! I did not mean for this post to turn out so long but I promise the facts are very good (how could they not be when coelacanths are so cool)

There are two living species of coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae, the West Indian Ocean coelacanth, and Latimeria menadoensis, the Indonesian coelacanth.

This is a West Indian Ocean coelacanth, they’re dark blue and each one has a unique pattern of white spots:

And this is an Indonesian coelacanth:

Indonesian coelacanths are noticeably different from West Indian Ocean coelacanths due to their background colouration being more of a greyish brown rather than blue. Their spots also appear more gold due to light reflecting off them :)

Coelacanths are old! The oldest coelacanth fossils date to more than 400 million years ago, and they were thought to have gone extinct about 66 million years ago, until 1938 when one was accidentally caught off the coast of South Africa and found by Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer.

Latimer contacted her friend, the ichthyologist J. L. B. Smith, who confirmed the fish was a coelacanth! Smith was given the honor of naming the fish, and he named it Latimeria after Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer. (Shown below with the coelacanth she found)

After their discovery, people mistakenly described them as the 'missing link' thanks to their leg-like fins, and this myth persisted thanks to the interesting way coelacanths swim, which appears almost like crawling.

Even today they are sometimes called 'living fossils' because of how little they have changed over millions of years. This label is not technically accurate since they are still evolving, but they do have one of the slowest evolving genomes in the animal kingdom, probably because they're already very well adapted to their environment and they don't have a lot of selection pressures affecting them.

Coelacanths can be more than six feet (up to two meters) long, weigh up to 200 pounds, and are estimated to be able to live up to 100 years! They are covered in hard, armor-like rough scales that are themselves covered in tiny spikes called denticles, which help protect coelacanths from rocks and other fish that might want to hurt them.

They also give birth to live young in litters of 10-25 pups and new research suggests they can be pregnant for as long as 5 years! This would mean that they beat out the frilled shark as the record holder for the longest gestation period by more than a year!

(Unfortunately this means that the birth rate for coelacanths is very low, which doesn't help their small populations. The West Indian Ocean coelacanth is critically endangered, and the Indonesian coelacanth is classified as threatened :( )

Coelacanths are what’s called a lobe-finned fish! This means that their fins look more like stumpy appendages than skin that's been stretched over flexible spines. Their closest relatives are lungfish, and that actually means they’re more closely related to us humans than they are to ray-finned fish like tuna or goldfish! Hell yeah!

Coelacanths live in the "twilight zone" which is between 500-800 feet deep. It’s hard to study coelacanths in their natural habitat for extended periods, but they never survive trips to the surface due to the pressure change, so a lot about their behavior is still pretty unknown.

Coelacanths are generally slow moving, nocturnal drift hunters, which means they tend to sort of just eat whatever fish cross their path, but they have a lot of interesting adaptations that make their particular method of drift hunting unique.

First, coelacanths have a hinge in their skull, called an intracranial joint, that lets them open their mouth more than would be possible with just their jaw.

Second, they display an interesting behavior when feeding, where they will float with their head pointed down, almost like they're doing a headstand. They do this while floating along catching prey, and it seems to be working out for them.

Third, coelacanths have a sixth sense! They have an organ in their snout called a rostral organ that functions as an electrosensor to help locate their prey by detecting the electrical signals given off by other animals!

They truly are a unique animal. They even have a caudal (tail) fin with three lobes instead of the two-lobed tail that is common in many fish.

(source for this diagram)

And here you can see the three-lobed caudal fin on a real coelacanth (and also you can have a reminder of how big these guys are. They are not little fish)

It seems coelacanths also have more similarities to their relatives, the lungfish, than we used to think. It turns out coelacanths have a vestigial lung! They have a lung that they don’t use anymore! It’s all shrivelled and wrinkly but it’s there!

They also have a spiral shaped intestine! Some sharks have this too, it’s basically shaped like a spiral to increase surface area for maximum nutrient absorption.

Another way they differ from many other fish is their swim bladder, which is how they control their buoyancy! In most fish the swim bladder is filled with gas, but coelacanths' swim bladders are filled with oil and fat instead!

Coelacanths are also the proud owners of notochords! They don’t have backbones, they’re so old they were around before animals had backbones and they just never got one, they still have their oil filled notochords! Don't fix it if it's not broken, right?

Also, just in case you were wondering, they would not taste good, they are full of all sorts of oils (as mentioned in the above two facts), plus they do have very hard and rough scales. (But also even if they did taste good it would be a bad idea to eat them since there aren't a lot of them left and it's generally considered bad to eat endangered species)

Well, that's the end of my coelacanth facts, so if you took the time to read this whole long post that was just me talking about my favorite animal, thanks for sticking around! Here, have some bonus content!

Coelacanths make a guest appearance in Atlantis: the Lost Empire!

I like seeing them in the movie so I ignore they weren’t discovered when the film takes place in 1914 (easy to ignore) and that they wouldn’t survive the trip to the surface due to the immense pressure change (less easy to ignore but I do it anyway) :)

My friend @thelunarbee even crocheted me one for a Christmas present :’) his name is Milo and I love him so so much

I also drew a coelacanth a while ago, here's where I posted it if you want to see it :) (I mean, I draw coelacanths all the time but those are mostly doodles, this one I actually put effort into)

Alright that's all I have to say, but I hope you liked the coelacanth facts and remember, if coelacanths can survive for 400 million years, you can make it through today. Be kind to yourself :)

[trashworldblog]

i think the "nice doing business with you" line from the s5 finale is definitely going to have significance to season 6. there are too many examples of innocuous lines that end up being foreshadowing to overlook it. it's also a general rule of genies that they can't bring things back from the dead, so i think that's going to end up playing into whatever the "deal" with ryan was. the genie could've said it was against the rules to bring prof back, so ryan made another deal to get him back (1/2)

[i think there's also going to be a conflict with time travel in season 6. it's such an integral part of the show, and ryan definitely screwed the timeline by bringing prof and his family back. if we hadn't seen the article with the photo of the prof and his parents' fossils, then i would be a little less convinced of this, but because its explicitly shown onscreen, its very likely that something will go wrong with the timeline (2/2)

oh i also think that the substitute survived defenestration, but i think he's going to be a minor antagonist next season. just a nuisance, if you will. like yeah he's still a problem, but there are much bigger fish to fry than a 1'2" puppet hologram with an obsession with murder (3/3)]

...

sorry for taking so long!! this has been sitting in my drafts and ive been slowly pulling my thoughts together on this so its taken me some time!! (plus ive been chillin with the holidays and such) i appreciate this ask so much!

!disclaimer! i may accidentally pull from shane's commentary on the season finale on pateron. im doing my best not to because i know some people dont have access to patreon content. (plus its fun to make it more challenging) all puppet history lore is like marbles in my brain and its hard to separate what ideas came from where. im doin my best tho!

ok lets jump into it!

i am So. Curious. on how ryan and the genies whole deal is gonna shake out. was that it? will there be consequences? i have a feeling we'll be seeing some kind of fallout from this wish. it feels like they cut their conversation very short for a very specific reason. theres gotta be something going on there.

I think that ryan didnt *technically* wish the professor back to life, he just wished the professor back to the present. i also like the idea used in @ask-the-substitute that ryan used his 3 wishes to bring the professor back and thats how the profs mom and dad got to the present. its so perfect, i love it. just the idea of ryan thinking the first wish didnt work so then he tried again, and again. incredible.

i am curious if there is gonna be any time travel conflict! im not sure what that would look like (my brain kinda melts when it comes to timey wimey bullshit). honestly this is the part im the most unsure of. like theyre probably is consequences, but i dont even know where to start for what that would look like. i still like to think that the article showing the professor's family's bones just faded away like how people in photos did in back to the future.

the substitute ABSOLUTELY survived the defenestration!! watcher hq is one story and im slightly convinced the substitute cant die (unless we go by hot daga hologram logic, in that case you would need a witch and a volcano to kill most holograms [and i dont have a volcano handy])

i hope the substitute turns into either

1) a minor villan thats more annoying/funny then anything.

2) character redemption arc. we really like this funky guy and it would be cool to see him chill out with the stabby stabby. (just a little, he can stabby stabby as a treat)

now it would be REALLY FUNNY if the substitute did ad reads for future seasons Especially for nord vpn and other online security stuff.

i think the bigger fish to fry is gonna be those puppets trapped in the wonderium arena!! we gotta get them outta there and back into their earthly bodies!! how is that gonna happen??? god is asleep, the devil isnt gonna help, and neither is the genie. how the hell do you even get to a purgatory like that? dorthy ruth has moved on even though her husband isnt really dead!!!

what im really curious about for next season is

1) who is gonna be the musical guest. if the professor cant time travel, where is he gonna get his musical talents? will he reuse the substitutes tech to make guests?

2) any new stuff to go with our new professor??

3) are dino mom and dad gonna be involved? casually mentioned? i really hope a guest asks if the professor has a family just so that he can excitedly say "yes!! i do :D"

those are most of my thoughts going into s6! pretty excited to see what next season is going to look like! not sure if its gonna be lore heavy. ill be keeping an eye peeled for any hints 👀 either way, im excited to learn :)

[one0p1nk]

(Ascends from the fiery pits of hell) animal crossing scenarios with TWST boys of your choosing 🥐

//Idk much about animal crossing, but I love how cute the game looks,,,, 🥺💕✨{sorry, I really feel like doing reader insert scenarios too hhhh-}

Riddle Rosehearts

Knowing him, he must be confused at first how to play the game

so he ended up looking through reviews, guides, and even if there are rules in the game before playing

long procedure, and he’s pretty insistent and tells you to be patient with him-

Lowkey finds the voices of the NPCs weird- but Riddle overall finds the game design adorable and well-made.

Deuce Spade

Gets pretty obsessed with fishing until he finds very creepy-looking fishes,,, X’D

Loves to take screenshots of your avatars together-

Would lowkey think why does he feel slow when trying to make his avatar run-

Likes to drop items in the inventory for you to pick up whenever you miss a certain item.

Jade Leech

He’s more used to watching you play rather than making himself play games-

But since you offer to play with him whenever he’s free, he won’t mind-

Pretty good at decorating his room- And takes his time to customize his island.

Likes to stay still and keep his avatar in a bench near the flowers when AFK for some reason-

Loves to send you letters with gifts at Dodo Airlines- pretty much a way to pamper you through game.

Floyd Leech

I can imagine him collecting fossils and trying to catch any bug he sees-

“Making a whole town in an island? Sounds like a lot of work,,,,-“

Often visits your island-

You’ll see Floyd start calling millions of sea names to all the NPS he commonly sees instead of SIMPLY calling them by their names- 🤣

Floyd// *sees a tokoyaki-like NPC working out* where’s the interact button to eat him-

Lilia Vanrouge

This is what happens once I learn that this old man plays video games-

Low-key finds the game cute ad would be down to play with it with you whenever you have couple game nights.

Lilia quietly chuckles like a child whenever he reads the NPCs interact- some moments are pretty funny,,,-

Audie(NPC)// Y’know… if I were a song.

Chadder(NPC)// Yeah, I think I’ve got the answer. You’d be, like, the world’s saddest breakup song-

Audie(NPC)// What?! I would never listen to a sad song, even if I did just get dump-

Lilia// *About to wheeze quietly like a boiling kettle through vc*

___

{Note// Everyone can now send writing requests in my writing blog @idv-sunsxin3 !}

[ofmermaidstories]

And I will WRITE YOU MORE HAPPY ANIMAL CROSSINGS HERE YOU GO!!

Deku, in all things you should have realized, once he favors something, he favors it with his entire soul. A dedicated man in every aspect and you love him for it.

Except for right now as he shows off how far along his museum is compared to yours.

“I just need a few more fish and I’ll be finished with that!” The symbol of peace explains with all the pride he would giving an interview after defeating a tough villain.

He already has all the fossils and bugs donated. And his art exhibit? He has his little villager walk around the art museum like a prized tour guide and you’re there trailing along like a grumpy school student who hates being there because how did he manage to get all these statues and you barley have one?

Deku of course senses your childish malice and blinks worried at you in real time.

“Wait did I do something wrong?” So concerned even at your pettiness.

“Yeah I wanna know how the hell did you manage to bribe redd to get all this good stuff huh? Should I be alerting the news that their hero is actually into some shady business deals?”

He laughs and it’s warm and melts your annoyance. It also helps that the minute the two of you escape the museum you’re smacking his villager upside the head with your net and chasing him with your axe without mercy.

Deku having his own switch and Island just made sense. With his long away trips and the times he played in the airports it kept you to two together in a way you didn’t think you both needed.

You love seeing the new updates he’s done like color coordinating his flowers or finally getting that one bunny villager he’s been trying for months to get. It feels as if the world isn’t on his shoulders and he’s simply your Izuku who you tease about how he’s made a full wedding pavilion on his beach like the sad sap he is.

You’re no better though. On your island you try not to think about the cute all might room you made him in your house because “of course all of the junk we hoard has to be kept somewhere even here”

(He tears up a lot over that)

Izuku is if not anything endearing to the point he is happily asking about your new villagers or how your coffee shop is coming, giving full enthusiastic detail as if it’s the next big thing coming to Tokyo.

You cant help but think of how much it infuriates you that this is the symbol of peace before you, fury and destruction colliding with absolute comfort and peace here getting really into how you could rearrange your neighborhood.

All you can do is kiss him fierce and then immediately after your villager smacks his again with your net.

“Hey!” His defeated pout is worth it.

(Okay that’s all I LOVE YOUUU BYE)

keddie. 🥺 i love you SO much and this has made me so happy. 😭 i’ve reread it over and over and over. 😭 HE MADE US A WEDDING PAVILLON ON THE BEACH!!!! i CAN’T. 😭💔 I WANNA HIT HIM.

[bat-connoisseur]

coelacanth opinoins,,,,, pls

I FUCKING LOVE COELACANTH!!!!!

They are soso cool looking, like that's The Fish Of All Time, they demonstrate some interesting evolutionary quirks, and like. Being more closeley related to mammals birds etc than lobe-finned fish?? power move. Like I know we're all fish anyway but. You get me right?? that's so cool

Also I just love Lazarus taxa in general. I mean just the name alone is fucking sick but like. Dissapearing from the fossil record but still being around is just so cool to me.

my one critique is that I can't fucking ever spell their name and this whole time I've been copying your spelling. but hey who cares LOOK AT THIS THING

To conclude: Hell Yeah