#sio 2

[slugterra-twisted-ends]

The slayer of your Slug Slinger Fame; The Narwhaddle

[thatone-highlighter]

I love you albums. I love you songs connected by similar themes. I love you listening to songs in a specific order picked by the artist. I love you reoccurring motifs throughout the same album. I love you album covers. I love you albums with extended editions. I love you songs that reference each other.

[of-chaos-and-flame]

“Cordial” and “Taste Of The Good Life” by Set It Off had such divorce era Spamtenna energy

[dobythealpaca]

@/zeldot whiteboard doodles!!! a lil late to this one,,, 👀

[legokingfisher]

Proposition for a name for that one mountain dragon (besides Riyu) that stayed with the ninja for some of season 1. Their name is Sio and they’re like a big brother figure to Riyu. I’d like to think they visit sometimes. More than Riyu could visit the tribe anyway. They’re cool in my mind

[cerereann]

RATS SMP 2 IIMSO NROMAL RIGJT NNOW IMSSIO NORMAL OH MY GIOD

[magicaldragons]

i'd watch the fuck out of a 'my name/the devil judge' type of retelling, where we learn all about si-o's past, watch him open up to someone who wants to see him, and he goes on a rampage to take down the russian mafia

[sharkdays]

AMETHIO INHZ064????

[ladama47]

Throwing day at Melba. Two in CCSS, and three in sio-2 PRNI black stoneware with impalpable grog.

[fadinglampfireapricot]

ablume(어블룸) ‘Echo’ Official Teaser 2

The second teaser!!!!!

This sounds sooo good. Very bright and upbeat. Sounds like it has a lot of personality and bounce to it too. It also has a spring vibe as well. Their road trip aesthetic has been awesome as well and very consistent.

Everything looks new and invigorated. Like it's real. After months of hearing nothing, to see everything now means so much to me. Can't wait for 9th May!!!!

[v3joker]

A Marianas Trench exclusive playlist about Ion Christine from 'Game of Dice'. Remade from Broken Hero, features a new playlist with some new songs.

A new Ion fanmix because Haven released and it's based on the Hero's Journey and it's about time I made a new Ion MT fanmix. :)

[Spotify] || [YouTube]

Trigger warning for some songs.

September: self harm (implied), depression

Skin and Bones: eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia, body dysmorphic disorder), song title is being "skin and bones" in appearance and it's very clear in the lyrics

Forget Me Not: about someone dear inflicted with dementia

[slugterra-twisted-ends]

We have news everyone!

New Slugterra merch has been released in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia!

They have plans to release this in more countries later down the line

[m3-mianbo]

I've started watching dungeon meshi

[dumbflower3663]

AOAUUUGGHHHH OMGSOA JOJJHJHNN!!!!!!

i miss drawing

[daisyfieldrecs]

Bob Floyd Fics Pt. 2

Man of your dreams| One-Shot| Fluff| @sorchathered

Please Come Home for Christmas| One-Shot| Fluff| @nerdgirljen

bleeding love| One-Shot| Fluff, Smut| @bobgasm

do you wanna make somethin' of it| One-Shot| Fluff, Smut| @theharddeck

All I Want| One-Shot| Fluff| @cornishkat

Pride, Prejudice, and Flyboys| One-Shot| Smut| @sorchathered

Explicitly Yours| One-Shot| Smut| @roosterforme

Cards Close to the Chest| One-Shot| Fluff| @ohtobeleah

Sprinkles of Love| One-Shot| Fluff| @bradshawsbaby

Ruin the Friendship| One-Shot| Fluff, Smut| @withahappyrefrain

Stiff Competition| One-Shot| Fluff| @roosterforme

The Kind of Girl I Could Love|One-Shot| Fluff| @roosterforme

Stud on Board| One-Shot| Fluff, Implied Smut| @roosterforme

He Sees All My Colors| One-Shot| Fluff, Angst, Implied Smut| @peachystenbrough

i want you midnights| One-Shot| Fluff| @laracrofted

Bob and T Swift| One-Shot| Fluff| @peachystenbrough

The Perfect Pink| One-Shot| Fluff| @attapullman

Something in the Orange| Pt.2| Two-Shot| Smut| @sorchathered

A Lesson in Love| One-Shot| Fluff| @tip-top-cloud-surfer

Bob and the Moon| One-Shot| Fluff| @topguncortez

Baby Boy Bob| One-Shot| Fluff| @topguncortez

Dandelions| One-Shot| Fluff| @callsign-phoenix

there's a hole where something was...| One-Shot| Fluff| @bobfloydssunnies

you don’t have to be a star| One-Shot| Fluff, Implied Smut| @sunlightmurdock

color up my skies| One-Shot| Smut| @thiswaytwoinfinity

scenes from the kitchen sink| One-Shot| Fluff| @bradshawsbaby

High On Lovin' You| One-Shot| Fluff, Smut| @bradshawssugarbaby

Bob From Stats| One-Shot| Smut| @attapullman

six summers| Series| Warnings in Each Chapter| @lewmagoo

Mav's Reaction to Each Dagger Dating His Daughter| One-Shot| Fluff| @tip-top-cloud-surfer

I will ease your mind.| One-Shot| Fluff| @floydsmuse

Like Peas in a Pod| One-Shot| Fluff, Angst| @bradshawsbaby

Covering the Classics| Series| Warnings in Each Chapter| @roosterforme

good girl| One-Shot| Smut| @bobgasm

Some Things Take Time| One-Shot| Fluff, Angst| @roosterforme

All The Pretty Girls| One-Shot| Fluff| @bradshawssugarbaby

the legend of the great wizard bobernius| One-Shot| Fluff, Smut| @sio-ina-bottle

As you wish| One-Shot| Fluff, Smut| @sorchathered

Pretend| One-Shot| Fluff, Smut| @attapullman

Room for Dessert| One-Shot| Smut| @purelyfiction

I HEARD SCREAMING| One-Shot| Smut| @oncasette

Stupid White Car| One-Shot| Fluff| @attapullman

DIAL TONE| One-Shot| Smut| @oncasette

So Hold Me Close and Say Three Words| One-Shot (for now)| Fluff, Smut| @attapullman

Untitled| One-Shot| Fluff| @bussyslayer333

"i made a playlist for you, come sit and listen."| One-Shot| Fluff| @bussyslayer333

Make Me Your Masterpiece| One-Shot| Fluff, Smut| @sometimesanalice

four eyes.| One-Shot| Smut| @promisingyounglady

Grow Old With You| One-Shot| Fluff| @vivwritesfics

Vice| One-Shot| Smut| @ohtobeleah

Slice of Your Pie| One-Shot| Smut| @callsign-joyride

The Mug Situation| One-Shot| Fluff| @vivwritesfics

shopping lists.| One-Shot| Fluff| @sebsxphia

[outerwildsgeology]

What is a Rock?

Hey folks!

Before we get started with sharing our full survey notes, we thought it would be a good idea to go over some basic terminology to ensure we're all on the same page!

What is a Rock?

No, seriously! What counts as a “rock”? Geologically speaking, a rock is a solid, naturally-occurring collection of minerals. It might be made of a single mineral type, or multiple, but it is an aggregate of many individual mineral crystals that are interlocked together.

Fig. 1: An image of a coarse-grained granite showing individual crystals of feldspar, mica and quartz. Note that the entire rock is made up of these interlocking crystals.

What is a Mineral?

Okay, so we know what a rock is now - it's made up of minerals. But, what is a mineral? A mineral is a building component of rocks, and they have a very specific definition based on particular criteria that must be met. For something to be considered a mineral, it must meet all the following criteria:-

It must be solid

It must be naturally-occurring

It must be inorganic

It must have a definite and known chemical composition

It must have a defined crystal structure

What does this actually mean? Let’s walk through it. Criterion one discounts anything that is a liquid - such as water. As you know, rocks and minerals can become liquid when exposed to high temperatures, magma and lava for example, but in this form, they are not minerals, and therefore not rocks! They can only be classed as minerals once they solidify, provided they meet the other criteria alongside.

Fig. 2: Image of lava (a non-mineral due to its liquid form) and basalt (a fine grained, igneous rock, and the solidified form of many low viscosity lava flows).

As for the other criteria, naturally-occurring and inorganic are self-explanatory. No crystals that can only be manufactured in a laboratory setting are true minerals, because they cannot exist in nature! Crystals that are commonly lab-grown but can exist in nature (such as moissanite) still count as minerals. Inorganic means the mineral can be formed by inorganic processes. Something like calcite can be produced by animals (such as clam shells) but can also be formed by geological processes without the involvement of any living thing. This actually discounts amber as a mineral - since it is tree resin (formed organically) and is not replaced by any other minerals as is the case with fossilisation - therefore amber is not a mineral!

Having a definite chemical composition is also pretty much what it sounds like - it needs to have a chemical formula - a sequence of elements organized to form a compound that we know the definite composition of. For example, the chemical composition of quartz is SiO₂, which means it is a compound made up of atoms of silica and oxygen. Similarly, the composition of potassium feldspar - KAlSi₃O₈ is made up of potassium, aluminium, silica and oxygen atoms. When dealing with specific types of rocks, such as fine grained igneous specimens, the fine grain size of the individual crystals often makes it impractical to determine rock type via crystal analysis alone, so some geologists will use chemical analysis to aid in this - hence why it's important to know the definite chemical composition of your specimens!

Lastly, a mineral must have a crystal structure - but what is a crystal structure? The simplest way to imagine this is with building blocks. Each block is the unit that defines the chemical composition - for example, SiO₄ for quartz. So, one “block” of quartz will be a unit of SiO₄. By arranging these blocks in a repeating pattern, a larger structure begins to take form. Crystals are naturally orderly structures - imagine the blocks are piled nicely on top of each other, this is why many crystals have such well defined shapes!

Fig. 3: Diagram showing the atomic "building block" structure of quartz using a 3D model and ball-and-stick diagram; diagram showing "building blocks" arranged in the natural crystal structure; image of a quartz crystal - note the same crystal structure!

Something like glass, or a naturally-occurring glass, like obsidian, has these blocks arranged randomly, like if you were to take your tower and throw it into a storage bin. Because obsidian lacks this order on an atomic level, it isn’t considered a true mineral!

Fig. 4: Image showing a fragment of obsidian. Note the conchoidal fracturing on the obsidian - this is caused by the lack of organisation in its structure. The disorganised nature of natural glass and obsidian exclude them from being a true crystal, and therefore they are also not considered true minerals.

Unfortunately, we aren’t going to be able to run any chemical analyses in Outer Wilds, but we’ll do our best to compare what we see to real-world rocks, minerals, and features, and hopefully this will be able to steer us in the correct direction regarding some of these criteria to ensure we are making the most scientifically informed analyses possible!

What is a Fossil?

Now, we just said that minerals and rocks can’t be organic, and you’re probably thinking, well hold on a second, what about fossils? How can something that was organic become inorganic, and then a rock?

Let’s start by defining what a fossil actually is. Fossils are described as “any preserved remains, or trace of a once-living thing from a past geological age.” This includes anything from the fossilised skeletons of dinosaurs, to the delicate imprints of leaves and plants. Now, it’s important to note that not all fossils are rocks. Objects preserved in amber, for example, are classed as fossils - but as they remain organic they cannot be classed as a rock.

How do we go from something organic, like a bone, to an inorganic version of it? Probably the most well known form of fossilisation is via replacement - where organic remains are replaced by inorganic minerals. Most bones are made up of calcium phosphate and other organic materials. When an animal dies and is buried by sediment, these organic materials are replaced by inorganic crystals in a process known as permineralisation. Permineralisation occurs when the pores of the original specimen are infilled with mineral matter from the ground or water - which then, bit by bit, replace the original organics with minerals, eventually completely replacing the whole specimen! When this occurs, you no longer have your original animal bone, but instead a replica of it with a completely inorganic composition - a fossil! The minerals involved in replacement can vary widely, which can produce spectacular finds such as these pyritised ammonites, or opalised vertebrae!

Fig. 5: Fossilised remains of two opalised Iguanodon vertebrae; a pyritised Ammonite.

Other fossils, such as footprints and burrows provide a record of an organism’s life, as opposed to actual remains of the organism itself. These fossils are known as trace fossils and are normally impressions that have been made in soft mud/soil that has then lithified. The cool thing about trace fossils, and especially footprints, is that you’re left with a cast of whatever part of the creature made contact with the substrate - sometimes with incredible detail of footpads, claws, and/or skin. Other trace fossils include things like coprolites, gizzard stones, and nests! A trace fossil is also completely inorganic, as it’s simply an imprint of a creature, or something a creature left behind, and as such, technically classes as a rock!

Fig. 6: Photograph showing a dinosaur footprint mould and a dinosaur footprint cast. Both of these are trace fossils and have been formed via sediment infilling and lithification.

Alright, there was a lot of information there, but hopefully it has provided you with a strong foundation and understanding of what classes as a true rock! In our next post, we will be diving into the different rock types and the funky structures and features that they can create!

Hopefully, you’ll soon be able to start identifying a variety of rocks in your own Outer Wilds adventures!

If you have any questions regarding what we have talked about here, or indeed just about the Outer Wilds Geological Survey in general, please don't hesitate to drop us an ask!

Catch you in the next loop! The OWGS Team