empireequalsshit

[empireequalsshit]

So Friday was Groundhog Day and I watched the video of Punxsutawney Phil failing to see his shadow and... The whole thing just struck me as INCREDIBLY wizard-coded.

I mean, just look at this and tell me it doesn't scream "The Council has convened to channel the wondrous divinations magics of the Great Phil of Punxsutawney":

I just HAD TO do something with this thought...

Behold:

[empireequalsshit]

MANTISES ARE RELATED TO ROACHES??

yes! while they do have differing ecologies—mantises generally are elongate, diurnal predators and cockroaches generally are flattened, nocturnal detritivores—it’s not so surprising if you take a closer look:

they are one another’s closest relatives, being grouped together in the superorder Dictyoptera, which is revealed by their many shared anatomical features.

if you compare the wing structure on these two, you’ll find the veins are very similar. to get a mantis out of a roach, evolutionarily speaking, all you’ve got to do is elongate the pronotum (roach head shield, mantis ‘torso’), elongate the legs, and enlarge the eyes.

mantises and roaches also both produce “oothecae,” tough eggcases in which eggs are protected from the environment. mantis ooths are often made of sturdy, hard foam, while roach ooths are leathery and purse-like.

the raptorial legs of mantises aren’t too greatly modified from a roach forelimb, either. roaches already have spiny legs for digging and defense; with additional spines organized in rows, there’s a powerful grasping foreleg.

additionally, some of the most basal (least changed from the original ancestor) mantises retain a number of very roach-like features, such as flat bodies, a short pronotum, and long cerci (“butt antennae”). Chaeteessa doesn’t even have the long spike at the end of the tibia segment! although I’m not entirely sure if all of these roachy structures are necessary primitive and not secondarily derived, these two do give a good look at how mantises might’ve looked before they evolved the characteristic spindly green forms you recognize today.

[empireequalsshit]

Pipeline

[empireequalsshit]

Halo: My Time In ONI

'Full Metal Brat'

Chapter 1 Preview: The Inheritors

[empireequalsshit]

Halo: My Time in ONI has been launched, go check out the first episode on Patreon with the $2 library card!

[empireequalsshit]

Welcome to the Sierra Madre!

music:  POWERWOLF - Poison (Alice Cooper Cover)

[empireequalsshit]

Headhunters

[empireequalsshit]

Jerry is depressed

[empireequalsshit]

Grunt wants to give you a friendly reminder.

[empireequalsshit]

Maschinen Krieger ZbV 3000 (by Kow Yokoyama)

[empireequalsshit]

And there's a nighttime version

[empireequalsshit]

Canoness of the Adepta Sororitas by @hou_jae04 on twitter

[empireequalsshit]

the FUNNIEST part of Trump selling shitty NFTs today is that it was hyped up with him talking about a “big announcement” and I saw reporters trying to take it seriously like “omg he’ll announce his VP pick” nope! more scams! Have fun reporting THAT

[empireequalsshit]

[empireequalsshit]

Mobile Suit Gundam: Twilight of Zeon

[empireequalsshit]

If you're not on Twitter following the fake Twitter Blue accounts drama... I'd say i feel bad for you but I'm providing you with the best screenshots here so you don't have to feel left out

[empireequalsshit]

The strange beauty of abandoned tanks reclaimed by nature