#this is really easy to understand dandelion culture

[nyan-1233]

Dandelion + culture sketches

#dandelion clan #Nightpaw #nightwhisper #specklepaw #speckleweb #Softpaw #softdawn #Applenose #sunnypaw #Sunnystep #warrior cats oc #warrioe cats culture #clan culture #oc lore #warrior cats #this is really easy to understand dandelion culture #if you can read my fast and messy writing #flower language #flowers

[crimsonophelia]

holidays and festivals with genshin characters ||

many thanks to my bestie hani for giving me inspiration for many of these~

featuring: zhongli, venti, childe, razor 

warnings: none

published: april 14 2021

form: headcanons

zhongli - lantern rite festival

okay but i’m genuinely upset at how they barely featured zhongli in the lantern rite quest unless you actually played as him :c

but anyways! the liyue lantern rite festival is heavily inspired by the traditional chinese holiday called the lantern festival (元宵节), so i think a lot of the things that you would typically do to celebrate lantern festival would apply to lantern rite as well

i think zhongli would take lantern rite quite seriously, as most chinese do, and he would make sure to plan weeks in advance his days off from work and what he will need to do to prepare to celebrate lantern rite with his friends

when the morning of the festival arrives, he makes sure to come visit you bright and early, much to your dismay

he bids you a good morning, helps you get dressed, and takes you into town to run errands. and, as expected, zhongli has once again forgotten that mora is a key element in financial transactions and requires your monetary assistance unsurprisingly

liyue is donned in bright shades of red and jewel, and families are out and about viewing the beautiful decorations, reminded of their beautiful and prosperous land and of those who protect it

zhongli would take you around, asking you to buy buying little trinkets for you and for you to gift to others as a sign of well-wishing for the holiday season. you and zhongli also purchase heaps of street food, exclusively available around lantern rite week, and zhongli probably eats more than you’ve ever seen him eat.

once the sun sets later in the day, you two watch the lanterns and lightshow, in awe of its beauty. you turn to see zhongli’s reaction, and as the stars and lights cast a magical glow upon his face, he seems more content than you’ve ever seen him before. perhaps spending lantern rite with a beloved companion has done something for the old man’s weary heart.

venti - windblume festival

all i have to say is that venti is a drunk mess the entire time the festival is in mondstadt

he’s on a drinking spree trying to taste test all the different new cocktails and wines that the angel’s share is selling exclusively during the festival season, and is not apologetic whatsoever that you have to deal with his obnoxious drinking habits

in addition to his little side hustle going on, scamming innocent people of their money by teaching them how to write “love poems”, i also feel like he would make some extra cash for booze by reselling random flowers, claiming that they are actually real windblumes or something like that

but i do think he would have the decency to save some of the mora he makes to spend on you during the festival season. venti isn’t stupid and it’s a little bit concerning how smooth and tactful he actually is when he chooses to be so, hence i do think that he would actually treat you to some nice things ;)

however, he isn’t as big on buying gifts as zhongli is (ironically, considering zhongli is probably more broke than the traveling drunkard) so i think he would make a lot more homemade gifts for you, like a hand-picked flower bouquet and a self-brewed dandelion wine drink

if venti hasn’t officially confessed his love before windblume, i think he would take this opportunity to make it official and take things a bit more seriously.

venti walked over to you after his poem masterclass with a sheet of paper in his hand, a little sheepishly, which was unusual for the cheeky little bastard

he says the class went well, and he hands you the paper he was holding. 

“i showed them this example i wrote. give it a read. pretty good, isn’t it?”

neither the lampgrass, nor the dandelion, or the delicate cecilia, nor the vibrant aster, could ever compare to the way my heart beats faster, when you spare an ounce of your beauty, spending your love on a poor, old, drunkard like me.

impressed, you lift your gaze, and to your surprise, the little bard looks more genuine than you’ve probably ever seen before.

“keep it. i wrote it for you.”

childe - maslenitsa

okay so my good friend, who is russian, gave me the idea to write about childe celebrating maslenitsa (an eastern orthodox holiday that is related to easter), and i am by no means orthodox nor eastern european (so please forgive any cultural misdescriptions), but i do think this is a super cute idea

i think childe would get some time off from being a harbinger to celebrate with his family, which is a rare treat for the fine-tuned warrior whittled down to little more than a hedonistic machine by the tsaritsa 

like truly, i feel so sad when thinking about childe sometimes because he’s so kind to his family, especially his brothers, and the fact that he’s away on missions for so long must make him miss his family a lot

that’s why during the holidays, he really treasures every second he gets to be back home, and now that he gets the chance to take you to meet his family, he’s even more overjoyed

there is still a thin layer of snow on the ground, but there is a slight scent of spring making its way back into the household as ajax and his brothers help their mother prepare ingredients to bake bliny, the buttery smell wafting through the kitchen

the boys are a mess as ajax is particularly clumsy with tasks that require dexterity of the fingers, and he ends up getting flour all over his clothes as well as his shorter brothers, and thus receiving a scolding from their mother

being the teasing little brat he is, he smears some of the flour onto your nose when you aren’t paying attention, which calls for even more chastising coming from his mother while she mixes all the ingredients together. 

the total domesticity of the scene melts your heart, and seeing ajax laugh with such tenderness and without any barriers obstructing his heart might be one of the most bittersweet things you’ve ever witnessed, knowing he inevitably will have to return to a life of danger and uncertainty

bonus: razor - windblume

i literally don’t have any fleshed out ideas for this but my friend and i were talking about how he would try and pick wolfhook berries for you during windblume, because he thinks that’s what the windblume flower is and he wants to express his care for you by giving you the most special flower he can find :’)

like he would ask to take you to wolvendom on a walk, and you acquiesce because who could ever refuse razor

whenever you two are alone together, razor tries his best to talk and form the most proper and eloquent sentences that he is able to, and he does try very hard, really, but often to no avail

but you reassure him, “razor, baby, it’s okay, i can understand you without words just fine” and he blushes because nobody has ever called him “baby” before T_T

when you’re in wolvendom with him, he holds your hand in order to not lose you, and his grip is a little nervous at first but gradually gets more confident and his fingers fit more comfortably between yours. he will walk ahead of you, creating an easy pathway through the dense flora, and will pull you up by your waist in case the terrain becomes difficult

once he finds the biggest and plumpest wolfhook berry, he gives it to you with both hands outstretched, gaze averted out of timidness

you accept his lovely gift and ruffle his hair a little bit and the boy melts T_T and from then onwards he gives you a ton of gifts in the form of random little flowers or berries he finds because that’s how he shows his care for you 

can you tell i started listening to mitski halfway through writing this

#genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #zhongli x reader #venti x reader #childe x reader #tartaglia x reader #zhongli #venti #childe #tartaglia #razor #genshin impact fanfiction #genshin impact headcanons #genshin headcanons #zhongli headcanons #venti headcanons #childe headcanons #razor headcanons #writing #genshin impact imagines

[betafibiiiiiivviiixiiixxixxxiv]

so i saw a take about eula that made me mad so here’s my (biased) rant about her

i’m pro-end user license agreement, i think she’s cute, not just appearance-wise but personality-wise too

(didn’t pull her tho bc the kinda obvious powercreeping made me salty, might pull her when her rerun comes around just to have her and not level her)

but basically the gist of this rant is gonna be i think people unfairly mischaracterize her and i’m gonna talk about why i think she’s a good bean based on the two things about her that i’ve seen people mention they dislike the most: the way she talks and her relationship to/feelings about her family

disclaimer: a lot of this is my opinion and my interpretation of her character, probably has a lot of typos

this will probably be really like

incomprehensible i’m tired sorry but i’ll try to make sense

okay so

a lot of people from what i’ve seen dislike eula bc of the way she talks, but at least try to understand why she might talk the way she does

putting aside the reason why she talked the way she did to the people of mondstadt during her story quest (i’ll get to that later), let’s talk about her whole focus on vengeance first

imo her whole thing about vengeance is a shield of sorts for her

many of the people of mondstadt would only ever see her as a descendant of the lawrence clan, someone who means to do mondstadt harm

so might as well give them what they expect, even if it’s not what you really mean

her story in her character profile even says this

“Her grievances and vengeance are but a habit, a signal, a shield.

“What remarks she should just laugh off, what concepts she should bear in mind given her unique circumstances and position...“

one has to remember that eula is a descendant of the lawrence clan, a clan that is hated in mondstadt bc of how corrupted they became during the era of the aristocracy

it’s likely that when she was a child she was ostracized even though the sins of her family, her ancestors, aren’t her own

even if she wanted to make friends with the other children of mondstadt, they were probably too distrustful of her

in her story in her character profile, there’s no mention of jean or diluc in regards to her past, but amber is mentioned to have been her friend even before eula joined the knights of favnious

it’s likely amber was one of her few friends growing up, if not her only friend

and amber is a pretty easy-going and welcoming person; she probably didn’t care about the way eula spoke all that much and bc they’re friends she understands the feelings eula hides behind her seemingly contentious words

anyways about her and the people of mondstadt

the people of mondstadt only see the family she’s a part of; they don’t see her

from her profile story:

“Eula has been viewed with contempt by the citizens of Mondstadt since birth. The Lawrence name stands for a legacy of depravity and despotism that stains Mondstadt's past and scars the minds of its citizens even to this day.

“So, whenever Eula appears, old wounds resurface. People despise the aristocracy, and this does no favors for her reputation.”

“In truth, Eula is nothing like the fearsome predator many imagine her to be. On the contrary, constantly being met with prejudice at every turn means she is often the victim.

“At one time, shops would refuse to sell her their goods, restaurants would put no care and attention into her orders, and the citizens on her patrol route would refuse to cooperate with her. So, Eula's work is fraught with difficulties.“

and in her voicelines:

“The life of a Lawrence doesn't include much worth talking about... Basically, whatever you say, whatever you do, people will always despise you and treat you like a potential threat to society. It's nowhere near as bad as it used to be, though. Before I'd joined the Knights, good grief... I couldn't even buy groceries. Even Good Hunter and Mondstadt General Goods wouldn't take my money.”

“People tell me that if I just spoke more softly, or was more polite, or acted more deferentially, others may find it easier to forgive me, but the only reason they think that way is because they've never been branded a pariah before. There is no easy path to redemption when you're a social pariah. I'm more inclined to stop tiptoeing around everyone all the time and just get out there and make them respect me the old-fashioned way! As in, we square off and if they win, I humbly accept my punishment, but if they lose, they must acquiesce to my demands... Such as... Well, I mean, if I want to buy a loaf of bread, take my darn money, for crying out loud!“

the people of mondstadt wronged her and were mean to her simply bc of the blood that runs through her veins, and i think it’s bc of that she says that she’ll have her vengeance

imo her act of vengeance against the people of mondstadt is being a faultless knight, a knight who completes their duties flawlessly and is without reproach

from her story in her profile:

“...she is a law-abiding citizen and has never harmed another Mondstadter in her life. She may come across as having a somewhat frosty demeanor, but she is entirely scrupulous in her speech and conduct.”

“When Jean sends a new recruit to track down Eula in the wilds and deliver a new set of verbal orders, they always receive the same response: ‘If you have to resort to tasking the descendant of your former oppressors with doing your work, then perhaps you are not as strong as I thought’

“But despite the antagonism in her words, she will complete her newly assigned tasks to perfection. The new recruit is invariably forced to admit that with her abilities, it is no wonder she was able to achieve a captaincy within just a few years of joining the Knights.“

and honestly i just think she’s a tsundere

my evidence, your honor?

her “About Us: Feud” voiceline:

“Our feud is for the long term, so rather than get payback on a piecemeal basis, I think I'll make things easier for myself and wait for a day when I can settle the score once and for all. It could be in ten years, could even be twenty... But don't worry, I won't forget. In the meantime, I'll need you to take good care of yourself and have a happy, healthy life, okay?”

anyways about the way she spoke in her story quest

one first has to learn that this was what she was taught that way since she was young

reading up on the lawrence family based on her profile story, the renmants of the lawrence family are pretty much a cult i think

“The Lawrence Clan may have been overthrown a long time ago, but they have never given up hope of one day rising again and reclaiming their place as the ruling class. So that they are always prepared for this monumental moment, their offspring are subjected to an educational regime so unbelievably harsh that it is considered borderline abusive.

“’Noble obligations’ must be performed to absolute perfection in every possible sense, and these obligations cover etiquette, ritual, and study as well as cooking and other domestic chores.”

and also

she clearly doesn’t talk that way all the time?

personally the reason i think the mondstadters we talked to were like ‘ugh, this again?’ is bc all of the lawrence clan does it, and eula is part of the lawrence clan so it’s like, expected of her to talk that way

but the main reason she talked that way was to give an example to the traveler

she didn’t talk that way to us when we first met her, and she didn’t talk that way to amber and sarah

and some people think she still supports her family? like man

i don’t know if we went through the same story quest or not

but eula quite clearly ruined a plan of her uncle’s that was to harm mondstadt? and during that quest she quite clearly shows her disdain for her family and her family’s ideals?

“I’ve never experienced the age of ‘glory’ you always speak of, and I’ve never understood our family’s incessant pursuit of it. [...] The Lawrence Clan should never and will never become what you’ve dreamed it to be!”

not to mention her voicelines where she makes fun of her family often:

“Knights and aristocrats share the same cultural heritage, but the knights had enough sense to do away with all the superfluous detail.“

“Aristocratic etiquette is all just for show... Just smile and nod along! I was forced to learn all of the rules by heart, but even I don't take them that seriously.”

“I heard that bard sing a few songs about the Lawrence Clan... They were lighthearted and funny stories that mocked the clan in a way I've never heard anyone else do. Even I couldn't help but burst out laughing... And for this, he must pay!”

“Technically, aged Dandelion Wine should be poured into a silver goblet and allowed to breathe for 12 minutes, then you're supposed to add ice cubes, ideally so 60% of the ice is submerged beneath the wine. I refuse to do all that though, it's not worth the hassle.”

and not to mention this voiceline where she outright states that if her family crossed the line she’d end her family herself:

“If my family members refuse to change their corrupt ways, or worse, continue to cause active harm in Mondstadt... I should be the one to end them, along with the Lawrence name itself. For once, it'd be a family obligation I'd actually enjoy. And once the deed was done, I'd be free to pick any name I wanted. Or even let you pick one for me!“

also about her saying she wants to avenge her kin in her voicelines, (this is me kinda reaching, ngl) imo it could just be her sarcasm, or she could be trying to change mondstadt’s view of the lawrence clan so that others in the family like her who aren’t as attatched to the aristocratic customs and share her beliefs can walk freely in mondstadt’s streets without fear of reprisal, which can be evidenced by this voiceline:

“The name Lawrence only became a social stigma after the clan fell from grace. It was once an honor to be called a Lawrence, but unfortunately, most people have forgotten about that part of history. The Grand Master says that I am performing rather well as a knight, and that if it's not enough to restore the honor of the Lawrence name, it's certainly a strong rebuttal against the one-sided opinions so many people throw around. I'm quite satisfied with that appraisal.“

furthermore based on her voiceline about barbara, i’m pretty sure she wants to be liked? to be acknowledged in a good way?

“Everyone loves her. What's her secret? Maybe I could learn a thing or two from her... Hmm, or maybe not. I can't imagine a ‘Shining Idol’ would want anything to do with a descendant of a depraved dynasty.“

like, she doesn’t want to be thought of as just a descendant of the lawrence clan

she wants to be known for who she is, not her family

i think this is why she avoids lisa too, since lisa would have read all about her family and she doesn’t want lisa’s judgement

lastly, what she learned from amber’s grandfather, found in her profile story:

“From him, she learned an open-mindedness and down-to-earth persistence that she had heretofore not possessed. Before grievance and vengeance, before clan and outsider, one must find "oneself" first.

“One's way of living, self-preservation, objects of perseverance...

“Then call it "grievance" and name it "vengeance" — that will not change its essential strength and goodness.

“It would be Eula's very own gentle path of revenge...“

she didn’t turn against the people of mondstadt and join her family in their crusade for glory even though the people of mondstadt treated her horribly

she instead strove to be someone worthy of being respected, someone who is more than just a part of a disgraced and despised family

anyways i think that’s all i wanted to say

basically tldr: end user license agreement is a sweet and gentle person and i like her very much

#genshin impact #beta’s genshin ranting #eula

[itsclydebitches]

Godddddd I'm so upset that I dislike yen this much, doing main quests in skellige and Freyas ppl were doing stuff and she again disrespected other cultures with Geraly being against, "I may be inhumanly beautiful" I know she's meant to be confident but wowww. She's not confident and worried for Ciri she just comes off arrogant and selfish and vain. Like, fuck.

The ultimate mood, anon. My Witcher fandom life would be so much easier if I enjoyed Yen ... but I just do not lol. Remember how I mentioned that things were going to get even worse than her stealing and using a potentially dangerous artifact? Yeeeaah. She also resurrects Ciri's friend to torture him for information, all while destroying another sacred garden to get the power to do it! It's not even a "She's so evil and I love it 😏" situation for me because the game tries so hard to convince us that she's still The Best. Geralt's sexy soulmate, Ciri's adoring mother, the baddest bitch around who gets things done and does it with an effortless confidence... all while ignoring how horrific her actions and attitude are. Oh sure, other characters speak ill of her at times, but considering how much Geralt is written to adore her, no matter what you choose, that's all undermined. I love morally gray/evil characters, but I've never enjoyed them when the text refuses to appropriately acknowledge that side of them. Nothing is more frustrating to me than a story that frames disliking a character as the unambiguously wrong thing to do, especially when the text is piling up reasons to dislike them and, as a result, ignoring or shrugging them off their actions as not that bad. Yen is a rather extreme example of that for me. Despite her attitude, her choices, and other characters outright going, "Why do you like her?" the story as a whole works under the assumption that it's correct to like her anyway because Geralt loves her. And he loves her for... reasons.

They do meet before the wish, but only just. Major "The Last Wish" spoilers in this paragraph, so feel free to skip. Basically, Geralt and Dandelion run into trouble with a djinn, he goes to Yen for help since she's a sorceress (first time meeting her), he instantly falls for her because she's gorgeous and such (there's an elf there who is also madly in love with Yen. Men just... fall for her, instinctually), she heals Dandelion, Geralt agrees to pay her, but Yen has already decided on the payment she wants. She takes control of Geralt's mind and forces him to attack the town to seek revenge on those who have insulted her, resulting in him waking up in prison awaiting execution for "his" crimes. Meanwhile, Yen has gone after the djinn for herself because power/trying to regain her ability to have a kid. Geralt escapes, finds her failing to master the djinn (an attempt which btw has endangered the whole town) and despite what she's done to him, Geralt tries to get Yen to escape with him. She refuses, set on capturing the djinn even though it's obvious she can't. So as a last resort he uses the final wish to bind their fates together, saving Yen from the djinn in the process. Aaaaaand then they have sex.

So yeah, their rocky relationship is one of the main reasons why I can't enjoy Yen. For some their tumultuous history is evidence of realism, for me it's evidence that they're not actually very compatible and they're only together because a) that's the fantasy trope: protagonist men get together with the hot sorceress and b) because the magic is literally ensuring that they can't escape one another. I mean, canonically their fates are tied together by magic and canonically they spend about 20 years swinging between passionate love and fearsome fights... but there's supposedly no connection between these two things? No chance at all that they keep coming together because magic is drawing them rather than because they actually want/should be together? I wrote a meta a while back about the short story where they meet, which includes a present day scene where Geralt is criticized by another character — Nenneke — for running out on Yen. Thing is, he tries to explain that he left because she was "too possessive" and this is... flat out ignored. By both Nenneke and the fandom. There's a strong trend of ignoring Geralt's words in favor of a pro-Yen interpretation of events. He says he left because she was too possessive and she treated him like ____ — he's not allowed to finish the sentence and say what she treated him like because Nenneke interrupts him, saying she doesn't care about his version of events. Major yikes imo! She turns a claim of being possessive into Geralt not being man enough to stick around. The fandom likewise turns this into a case of Geralt getting cold feet and running out because he's a bastard who hates commitment. Likewise, Nenneke and the fandom claim Geralt is trying to get Yen money as a way of appeasing his guilt for leaving, he claims he's doing it simply because he still cares for her — even if he doesn't want to be with her — and knows she needs it. Geralt's words are frequently dismissed, in the same way others characters' opinions of Yen are dismissed. Any mark against her is treated as either a lie, or a convoluted claim that they don't really know her... never mind that an understanding of why she may act this way doesn't excuse the behavior itself. (Plus, the whole "Yen had a horrible upbringing, so of course she struggles being kind" perspective always fell flat to me when so many, including witchers, had horrendous upbringings too. The whole point is this world is a mess and most everyone suffers). It's supposedly true love, yet if someone came up to me and went, "I magically tied my fate to this woman to keep her from getting herself killed and we've spent the last couple decades having what many would term a rocky relationship, to put it kindly. I left once because she was too controlling. She once cheated on me. I likewise hooked up with others during our frequent breakups. A mutual friend used magic to get me to have sex with her — also while my lover and I were broken up — and though I view it as a dumb decision I'm happy to forgive her for, my lover is ready to commit murder because again: possessive. A lot of the time we're only a family because of our daughter. I once thought she'd horrifically betrayed us both. She didn't, but it says something that I was so ready to believe it, huh? Hmm? Permanently separated? Of course not! I love her. We're destined to be together after all :)" I'd be like, "Uh... you sure about that, dude?"

Not that Geralt doesn't make his fair share of mistakes in the relationship — he absolutely does — but I don't think it helps his case that he's immature in other ways and, frankly, that he's a very strong, badass witcher. It's easy to turn the hints we get about their relationship into a simplistic "emotionally naive man can't give the poor woman the commitment she wants" situation. Given Geralt's status as the badass fighter of the tale, it's likewise easy to dismiss his admissions of her being "possessive" and his general discomfort. He's the man. He's the witcher. If he's making any claims about how Yen isn't treating him well, they must be excuses, or exaggerations, because real men, especially physically powerful men, would do something about that — a something that's not sneaking out in the middle of the night. A lot of people read Geralt leaving as the ultimate proof that he's an immature bastard who doesn't deserve her. I read him leaving and think, "What were you trying to get away from? What was going on that made you think you could only leave by sneaking out without a word?" To me, that doesn't read as someone who felt safe, comfortable, and respected enough to do anything but slip away and try to wash his hands of things. And I'm not just pulling this "Geralt is at least somewhat afraid of Yen and isn't comfortable establishing boundaries with her" reading out of my ass. When Yen wants Geralt to kill the golden dragon for her and he refuses, saying he doesn't care anymore, his thoughts are:

He expected the worst: a cascade of flames, flashes of lightning, blows raining down on his face, insults and curses. There was nothing. He saw, with astonishment, only the subtle trembling of her lips. Yennefer turned around slowly. Geralt regretted his words.

And everyone is like, "See! Yen has improved so much. Geralt nearly made her cry, but she's supposed to be the bad guy here?" Meanwhile, I'm going, "Uh... anyone want to unpack why he expects fire, lightning, insults, curses, and blows to his face for telling her no? Why he's astonished that she wouldn't use her magic against him? Anyone think that Yen refraining from attacking Geralt when he refuses to murder on her command is a pretty low bar? No? Just me?"

Geralt and Yen's relationship makes me uncomfortable and a great deal of that discomfort derives from how much of the Witcher fandom shrugs off the fictional warning signs. I mean, I post primarily about RWBY. We watched a man in that show try to sneak away with his kids when his villainous wife planned to use them for a eugenics plan... and the fandom still blames him for that, refusing to admit that he was in an abusive relationship. Because that doesn't happen to men, right? I'm not saying it's the same for Geralt and Yen, simply because they are written to be soulmates. An abusive relationship was, quite obviously, never the authorial intent. However, I am saying that the a "This isn't a healthy relationship" reading is there, it exists as an interpretation, and both the story and fandom's tendency to dismiss it is something that hasn't helped me enjoy Yen's status as an otherwise well written, complex character. Their equality supposedly stems in part because they're both so flawed, yet each time I see a list of Geralt's supposedly equal faults they're... lacking imo. "Geralt bound himself to Yen without her consent." Yeah, to save her from dying from the djinn she was trying to enslave, after she refused to leave, while her actions threatened a whole town. "Geralt ran off without a word." Mmm hmm, anyone care about why? And my personal favorite is a scene you may not have gotten to yet (or may not get depending on your choices), but suffice to say, Yen is supposedly justified in physically attacking Geralt if he dares to challenge her in any way. That's the main takeaway across the fandom: If Yen is pissed off, you must have done something to deserve it which, in the relationship deliberately written to be "stormy," is something that sets all the alarm bells in my head off. Honestly, it kinda makes my skin crawl to go, "Geralt didn't deserve that" and get responses back of, "Yeah he did because he [insert basic human action here]." The Witcher world is hard and cruel, absolutely, but that doesn't mean I personally enjoy seeing an equally messed up relationship presented as something that's enviable in its flaws. "That's actually true love because the magically bound man who often expresses discomfort with his lover, written by a male author with a very iffy perspective on women, says it's true love." Crazy theory here, but... maybe it's not?

Idk, lots of rambling on my end tonight! For me, Geralt/Yen reads as something rather tragic which, in a canon that unironically upholds the relationship, and in a Yen-adoring fandom, doesn't make enjoying her character any easier. I keep coming back to Witcher 3, the comics, the show, even the books going, "Maybe I'll like her this time?" but nope, still trying lol.

#witcher #mymetas

[gayregis]

netflix witcher and netflix witcher fans really showcase the absolute Audacity of americans using foreign (in this case polish) words they don't understand and cannot pronounce right at all for absolutely no fucking reason like what was the point?? what was the point of butchering my language haven't yall had enough???

really agreed. sorry if this sounds like kind of off-topic or a tangent, but i swear i’ll loop it back around to your point eventually — i was discussing about jaskier’s name in the server earlier with @nightimefairy and the decision from lauren to keep it in polish in the [obv. american but important for content] netflix adaptation.

to an english-only speaker, the word “jaskier” doesn’t sound really different than any other name in the witcher, it does not translate the meaning that it’s the name of a flower.

jaskier/dandelion’s name being obvious to the audience as being the name of a flower is important, because it helps define his character if only by name. i remember when i first learned of the character, i really was like, that’s a strange name, no one is called dandelion from birth, and why would someone be called after a flower. of course months later when i read the tower of the swallow (or perhaps minutes later when i read the wiki, because i wanted spoilers ahaha) it was a mystery that was solved for me. but if he hadn’t been named his translated name — dandelion — i would have totally had missed this and not understood at all that his name is the name of a flower and not like, a “normal” name that one would totally give to the child they bore. but overall, this name of a flower suggests to the reader that buttercup/dandelion isn’t his real name, making them wonder what it, and thus his other identity, could possibly be. and we all know that artist-types tend to have a stage or a pen name under which they perform or publish, so dandelion having this name cements for the reader that he is such an artsy-type.

then of course, a buttercup or a dandelion being a small yellow flower makes it not an especially masculine name, and additionally these flowers are largely considered weeds... that’s two things we can tell about the character right off the bat. and since they are yellow flowers with golden petals, we can understand another thing about him — he’s blonde, it’s a fitting nickname due to his hair color. and of course, blondes carry with them many different literary and modern media tropes.

additionally, the name not being translated in english adaptations prevents it from carrying any other linguistic cleverness or connotations — for example a similar-sounding word for the original polish jaskier, “jaskrawy,” meaning vivid/vibrant/brilliant, or similar-sounding words for the english translation dandelion, “dandy,” a historical term for an effeminate or foppish man (think “yankee doodle dandy,” who ‘stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni’... i.e. basically ‘did something foolish and called it fashion’) and/or an colloquial expression to indicate pleasure or happiness (“oh well, that’s just fine and dandy!”, sort of like “swell!”)

although it’s not a perfect 1:1 translation, as a dandelion is not the same flower as a jaskier (buttercup), the name carries a very fitting connotation with it for the character, which can be used to understand him (and of course he is not the only one, for example, milva being named after a red kite, regis meaning king)

however, when you don’t translate “jaskier,” and leave his name as-is, this leaves the english-only speaking audience completely missing everything i just talked about. you won’t understand a thing about his character by knowing that his name is jaskier, because english-only speakers don’t know what a “jaskier” is, and they also don’t have the vocabulary in polish to understand the connotations in that language ...

and this is the entire point of translations. to translate meaning from one language to another — often imperfect, as is the nature of language, but necessary when trying to bridge gaps of understanding.

and when you deliberately don’t translate, you get english-only speakers thinking that they know how to pronounce words in polish because their favorite british boys on screen said a polish word aloud a few times. and you get anglicizations of words that don’t make any sense at all — for example... “jas” or “jask” as a nickname, when that’s not how polish language functions (to my knowledge) and there are specific conventions for making pet names or nicknames in the languages (with diminuatives?) (to my knowledge).

to me, it demonstrates, from both the american creators and the audience, the white american perspective that other cultures and languages are easy to understand and take from, as long as you think that you are being respectful (not that you ARE being respectful, only that you determine yourself to have good intentions). the approach lacks any actual respect, carefulness and preciseness, and most importantly actually talking or reaching out to people of that culture & language, so you are not just trying to do something yourself that you don’t know shit about, but that you can learn from others (and make friends along the way hopefully).

but as you said — what was the point?

in my opinion a lot of the point of including untranslated polish words in the netflix adaptation was part of the marketing towards the polish audience (and perhaps books audience?) that they attempted, with relatively little success. lauren proclaiming on twitter that she’s loved these books and read them dozens of times, the youtube videos with the actors reading scenes from the books with sound effects edited in (to me, reminiscent of the polish audiobooks, but the polish audiobooks have better quality), the games with the actors trying to guess what witcher-relevant polish words mean in english.

when in reality, it’s obvious they didn’t really care (or at least, the people making the top decisions) didn’t really care about making a books-faithful adaptation (this isn’t even attempting to touch the topic of making an adaptation that respects the origin culture of the witcher).

of course from the trailers (and casting... re: cavill and batey, who don’t look like their characters’ book equivalents) everyone could tell that this wasn’t an “adaptation of the books” like they sometimes advertised it. but if they were able to show, hey, we didn’t change this one name of this one character to english, hey, we have read the books, look, we are literally reading them on camera! ... then they might get some more polish books fans to give the series a watch, meaning more people to buy into a netflix trial which then all too easily leads into a subscription because people forgot to cancel or enjoyed the convinience of netflix and ‘hey what’s $10 anyways,’ which leads to money for them, which is how they gauge their success. they don’t give two shits about respecting anything, because that doesn’t give them any money.

i do find it amusing though, because they’re like “we have the amazing minds so much better than sapkowski to improve on the witcher and we’re truly just visionaries who are taking the books into an inspired direction and it’s not an adaptation, it’s so much more” while also being like “we respect the books so much and we worked with sapkowski and we really wanted to be faithful to the books and this is an adaptation where we really thought about the canon material” like just choose a marketing ploy and run with it, you’re going to tire yourself out running between both camps. though it does look to me like finally in season 2 the mask will be off because they’re adding so many new OCs and plotlines they really won’t be able to pretend they cared about the books at all (e.g. geralt throwing axes from trees)

#last comment is not intended to suggest i respect sapkowski im just saying this is what they say #ask #anon #the witcher netflix

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt.70

Keith gave up trying to keep up. First Lance up. Then he was down. Then he was getting angry and upset on Keith’s behalf. Then he was pacing. And now he was crying again as they sat in Lance’s Bronco. They hadn’t even left the VOLTRON staff parking area before Lance was apologising about “his ego” and “wanting to punch people in the dick”. He’s thought taking his boyfriend for a walk would calm him down enough that he’d realise he needed to take things easy. But no. He hadn’t even gotten that far. Sitting in Lance’s car, Keith had his arms full of his crying boyfriend. Lance hadn’t had enough blood as far as Keith was concerned, now that he stopped to think about it. Keith’s blood during his heat had made his boyfriend super horny, and a bit egotistical, which Lance wasn’t right now. Now he stopped to think about it, he was sure he was right when he’d been worried Lance was pushing himself. All Lance’s “extraness” was coming from him being determined to find something before Krolia and the werewolves arrived. He was hyped up on emotion, not blood. What he needed was to rest, not go investigating crime scenes.

Keith wasn’t great at admitting he wasn’t good at resting when he needed to. He felt like resting would only cost people their lives. He had to work harder and be better. He had to be there all the time and be hands on. Being with Lance showed him how much pressure that had been on his shoulders. He wasn’t saying Lance couldn’t shoulder helping, he was saying he couldn’t shoulder helping on the back of yesterday and him being overly emotional that morning. He’d made the mistake he’d nearly made the day before. He’d let Lance rush, when he wasn’t ready to. He should have pulled Lance into his lap instead of letting him pace. He should have pulled Lance out of his head instead of sitting there between Shiro and Curtis.

“Babe. I’m going to say something and I don’t want you to get mad”

Lance sniffled

“Okay?”

“I think you’re still emotionally exhausted”

“I’m okay...”

They’d spent so much one together Lance was sounding like him

“You’re not... and I think I worked it out. I think the blood was okay, but you’re not”

“I’m fine... I had too much blood”

“You didn’t though. I think maybe... you did a me. Said you were, then tried too hard to be”

Lance shook his head

“I’m okay... I’m okay”

“I think you ego wants to protect me... I think you maybe feel that you want to solve this really badly because you don’t want them to have anything against us when they get here”

Lance sniffled, bringing a hand up to rub at his face

“Is that what I’m doing?”

“I think so”

As they say “Take’s one to know one”. One of Pidge’s favourite lines when Matt accused her of cheating

“Sometimes I get too focused... I’ve seen Coran for it before. I think maybe... maybe I was looking for something I could throw myself into... especially if I could be some help to you”

“A wise man once told me I can’t be a superhero”

“I feel like a super zero. It’s hard when you can’t forget things”

“You’re not a “SuperZero”. Do you regret not taking that pill?”

Lance shook his head

“I believe you. That’s what Rieva was talking to me about. I didn’t think about how it’d be to be a werewolf in heat and deal afterwards with not falling pregnant. It kind of makes me feel lame for worrying over a broken condom”

That subject was still tender, he wasn’t ready for prodding there

“Does that make me the same for still trying to process it?”

Lance shook his head again

“No. No. No, it doesn’t”

“Then your not lame either. We’ve blown off two briefings now. Do we call it a day?”

“Can we go for a drive instead? Get out of this place and breathe?”

Keith could drive. He’d done enough talking. Taking his bike would have really gotten his mind off things, but Kosmo was too wiggly for a bike ride

“You’ll have to give me directions”

“I can do that”

Lance leaned in and kissed him. Keith happy to kiss him back. One near miss wasn’t going to get between them.

*

Lance directed Keith to the park where the bodies were found without thinking about it. It was a nice place. Plenty of grass and open space. Not the kind of space you’d expect to see two dead bodies, not with all the people there today. Kids played in the playground, parents sipping coffees as they played on their phones instead of watching their kids

“Babe, what are we doing here?”

“I guess I was thinking about this place. I didn’t mean to end up here”

Keith sighed at him. Lance didn’t blame him. They agreed he was trying to overcompensate for the lack of control in his life and his perceived uselessness. Though Lance couldn’t help it. Every time he thought of Keith being bullied by those wanker wolves, he got mad. Keith was mad too, but he’d let himself feel like he wasn’t worth people’s love or time. Lance loathed it. They’d spent so long talking, learning, and growing together, that sometimes they didn’t know how to follow through after letting themselves be vulnerable. Focusing on the reports meant helping Keith and moving forward. Focusing on reports meant he might be able to help Keith when the crucial time came, or at least show him he really did have his back, despite how much of unlikely pair they made.

Staring across the park through the windshield, Keith sighed as he turned to look at him

“We were supposed to be taking a moment”

“I know. I can’t help it. I miss Garrison, and the open air. Besides, it’s not like the park itself is bad. I don’t see a gaggle of lurking vampires or a scurry of werewolves. We can take Kosmo for a walk and he can do his doggy business. I’ve got plastic bags in the back. And I’ve got my jacket on, so it won’t be too bad out there”

“Babe. It’s not the weather I’m worried about. Krolia is full on. James has no time for anyone he thinks under him. We can’t walk out of briefings with them”

“I know... I mean, I don’t know. I guess I’m assuming. The park was on my mind, but I wasn’t thinking of coming here to work. I just needed air. We won’t even poke around, because that’s not what we’re here to do. Look at the grass. Look how uniform it is. I wonder what kind of lawnmower they use”

Keith raised an eyebrow

“Did you just... Your old man is showing. No one cares about how smooth the grass is”

“I do... my poor garden’s probably half bloody dead. The damn dandelions are probably having a picnic knowing I’m not there to rip the little bastards out”

“I still don’t think I understand what made you come back so fast”

“Rieva did. Honerva’s gone mad. Human experiments. Blood lust. Maids and tourists that go missing. Dead werewolves and vamps. Honerva’s barely... she’s not sane and she’s fae. Lotor’s her son. If he’s here, she’s sent people to retrieve him. People like Sendak. People like Sendak don’t have morals. That’s what Rieva is scared of. Killing us would be like swatting a fly. Lotor painted targets on all of us by showing up. Take into fact that you and Shiro are hunters and you’ll be drugged and off to Europe to be pets between bouts of experimentation. That’s the general gist. They’ve got so much power that they don’t care about the Blades or VOLTRON. They’d easily crush both groups without thinking about it. Between you and me, I think maybe they had something to do with Rieva’s parents being killed. She knows a lot about European wolf culture and even the big bad wolves there avoid Zarkon and Honerva’s territories”

Keith leaned back to rest against the seat

“They don’t teach us about them. They teach us history to a certain point, but it’s not until we’re heading out that we get a full briefing. It’s supposed to be in case someone turns traitor or something like that. Maybe I was too low on the totem pole to know? Krolia would know”

“Yeah, well, we’ve got Rieva. She was raised by werewolves. We’ve got Matt who can hack just as good as Pidge. Coran can use his fae magic to subdue wolves. And you’ve got me...”

Keith reached out, tucking a strand of stray hair back behind Lance’s ear

“Babe, you’re getting worked up again”

Lance couldn’t help it. What good were the Blades if they didn’t share intelligence on targets? No. Fuck. He was stressing Keith out. Keith had been brave opening up to him. He’d wanted to act as normal as possible to show Keith that what he’d told him didn’t change how he felt for him.

“I’m sorry. Maybe you should find another stick, and smack me with it when I’m doing it again?”

“I didn’t know you were into spanking”

Keith gave him a crooked smile, acting like he wasn’t being a tease. Keith could spank him and he’d probably beg for more

“Maybe? Maybe not? Maybe I just wanna be smacked like a piñata? Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out after we’ve taken a walk and taken in the sun. It’s good a source of Vitamin D-grump”

“I’m not grumpy”

“You’re not happy either”

“I’m getting there. I don’t want you pushing it on your walk. You need rest”

Just like that, Keith had him thinking about the broken condom again. This was why he shouldn’t be resting. He could wallow in his room, but he’d rather wallow on his sofa with his wine. He might as well be a wheel of Swiss cheese for all the whining he’d been doing... But if he was Swiss Cheese, he might earn himself a bit of God’s love with how holey he’d be

“I’ll tell you if a need a break. And you’ll tell me if you need one. I can’t wait until Kosmo is big enough to teach him how to play fetch”

Kosmo was trying to eat Lance’s shoes because they were taking so long

“Okay. Let’s head out”

*

Keith wished he’d had more than his phone camera as Lance played with Kosmo. His boyfriend would jog a few steps ahead and Kosmo would go bounding along after him. There were other people in the park, Keith kind of wishing he’d thought to arm himself before they went out, but it was a much needed moment of normality. Lance laughing and scooping up Kosmo when he chased him. He didn’t feel like a hunter, other than the fact he couldn’t stop scanning the park every so often for potential threats. He felt like he’d felt back in Garrison with Lance. He’d had so much time there to think and be with Lance. Now they were here as two boyfriends taking their fur son for a walk with the sun sitting low in the horizon.

Keith’s idea of Lance taking it slowly wasn’t having his boyfriend jogging, but Lance was so happy with Kosmo and had promised to take it easy. Jogging was probably as much exercise as a brisk walk for a vampire, plus being behind Lance and Kosmo meant he was able to take lots of photos of the pair of them

“Keith, look how cute he is”

Kosmo was nipping at Lance’s fingers, Lance having stopped meant he caught up to both of them

“He is. He is the precious fur son”

“Having a dog is great. But don’t tell Blue I said that. We should bring her. She’s really good on a lead”

Reaching out, Keith ruffled Lance’s hair

“Yeah. We’ll have to head back soon, we shouldn’t be here after sunset”

“Awww, but look at his face. 10. No. 15 more minutes. Please”

Lance raised Kosmo up, pulling “puppy dog eyes” and a pout as he did. Keith was weak

“15 minutes. That goes for both of you”

“Yay! We should totally take some photos too”

Keith drew his brow

“Haven’t you noticed I have been?”

“But they’re all of me and Kosmo. Not me, you, and Kosmo. I won’t forget today, but they’re precious memories for you too”

Keith was a push over as he set a timer on his phone. The next 15 minutes spent taking selfies with Lance and Kosmo. He wasn’t terribly photogenic, and didn’t like the way he looked in most of them, but He couldn’t erase them. Not with the way Lance was looking at him in them. He was looking at Keith like Keith was the only person in existence... and it felt good. He’d lived to survive, now it felt like maybe he was living and not just alive. Lance kissed his cheek, Keith blushed as he hit the button on his phone, just before the timer went off

“I guess that’s it?”

Lance sounded disappointed

“Yeah. We have to head back, but we should do this more often”

Nosing into Keith’s cheek, Lance kissed him again

“I’d really like that”

“Me too. This was nice”

“Yeah. Next time you should try having Kosmo chase you. He looks so happy running around”

“You looked pretty happy too”

“I am. I feel so much better now. I know we vampires are supposed to live in coffins and hate the sun, but I like the outdoors”

“Have you ever been hiking?”

“Years ago. We both know how I feel about unnecessary physical exercise”

“We should go. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it at the end”

“Fiiiiine. But if I let you find a trail, can you promise you’ll go easy on me?”

Lance didn’t need him to go easy on him. He could out walk Keith any day

“No way. You have the advantage”

Lance blew a raspberry on his cheek, before darting away from him

“Be nice to your elders”

Keith wiped at his cheek, nose wrinkled

“You’re fucking gross”

Lance laughed, setting Kosmo down. The puppy bounding over to Keith happily

“You brought it on yourself”

Picking up Kosmo’s lead, Keith huffed

“I’m going to find a stick and stake your undead arse!”

“Babe, you don’t need a stick for that. Hey, tripped over a branch lately? How about a root?”

Groaning at his boyfriend, Keith buried his face in his hands

“Baaaabe. No. That’s terrible”

Lance came back to his side, slinging his arm over Keith’s shoulders

“Why is sex in tents always great? Because it’s fucking in-tents. Pidge made me learn a bunch of pick up lines because she worried I was going to die alone”

“Lance, you don’t need to lie to me. You knew pick-up lines before Pidge, didn’t you?”

Lance sighed dramatically, leaning heavily against him

“Yeah, but I never used them. I mean, the only guy I would pick up, I can literally throw over my shoulder at any time”

“And now I can never show my face in that pub again... You’re lucky your cute”

Lance eased back, smiling as he did

“You’re the only one who’d say that”

Good. He didn’t want to share

“Hey, babe. Go ahead and feel my shirt. It’s boyfriend material”

Lance snorted with laughter, Keith a little embarrassed, but happier that his boyfriend was happy. Today had been salvaged and now he just wanted to go back to Lance’s room and ignore work.

#once bitten twice stupid #oncebittentwicestupid

[abalonetea]

I'm new to your worldbuilding and ocs. Could you steer me in the direction of who everyone is and what's going on in the stories? thank you

HELLO ANON

I NEED YOU TO KNOW I LOVE THIS QUESTION and also! welcome to my blog! i have a lot of minor background wips, and several main ones. i’m gonna throw this under the cut!

GROUNDHOG DAY - 60k words into the first book, outlining the second half of the first draft - part of Cat House Productions Verse

This is my MAIN wip. The heart and soul of everything I write. Groundhog Day is set in two versions of the same classic rpg video game, one the gritty reboot of the other. But when glitches start to wreck the original games’ codes, several characters begin retaining memories of their past lives, realizing their kingdoms are trapped in a time loop. It’s even worse when another glitch strikes, switching the games of one of the characters with his counterpart—Red and Blue—prompting a race to get home amidst the formation of friendship and family and the threat of a new war.

It stars Bolte, Locke, Red, and Blue. Secondary mains include Captain, Celeste, Aba, and Midnight! You can find art of most everyone HERE! Locke is the goodest good boi to ever exist, the literal embodiment of Hope. Bolte is a very hurt, angry desperate knight just trying to keep himself and Red alive. They’re the two “Official Mains” of the wip. Celeste is one of the most popular side characters - they’re a spider bard!

It’s a “worlds collide”, power of friendship and love story set in two candy kingdoms; one already fallen and the other on the cusp of war. The main themes are learning to accept help, making your own family, and understanding that there’s always time to make a better life and a better self. Hope, love, and compassion are the main driving points. It’s a highly emotional story, and the first of an eventual series.

_-_-_-_

STARBOY - 13 chapters in, posted over on patreon.com/abalonetea for the $10+ tiers, excerpts and art frequently posted here, goal of finishing by december 

The crew of the Cosmic Pearl have been on the run for years now, their ship set in a permanent course towards chaos. It’s just that they’ve never really gotten into a mess like this before.

When they find a ship idling in a part of the galaxy no one else should be, Rumi orders it to be docked. What sort of pirate would skip a chance to plunder, right? It’s just…the ship isn’t abandoned. And the single man they find on board isn’t…exactly how he should be.

Judges cast the first stone, but hunters throw the knives.

And captain’s? Well, they’ll protect ship and crew to their dying breaths.

Rumi just hopes he’s not about to take his any time soon.

An epic space adventure following the pirate crew of the Cosmic Pearl. Main characters are Rumi, Starboy (Jude), Jaxon, and Carmelo. Rumi is the captain, and he’s got a really hard time keeping track of his pants. It’s a running theme for him. The basic idea is that a concept called “Judges” exist in this world. It’s random who ends up as a Judge. Jude is a Judge that managed to escape from Unity, where he was being held, and who accidentally gets picked up by Rumi and his crew.

The smart thing to do would be to just turn Jude in but...Rumi’s not known for being smart. What follows is an epic chase across the galaxy while they try to get Starboy home, find their own treasure, and avoid being caught by Hunters. Heavy themes of found family, learning to be yourself and not what other people want, friendship matters, and also poly-relationships.

_-_-_-_

PASS YOU BY - almost done the outline, hopeful nano story

Axel and Wrench have made a living for themselves in the Fallows; the wasteland left behind after a magical nuclear explosion. They aren’t expecting for a doll to show up in their dreams and rip them into an entirely new world. They really aren’t expecting for a bunch of children to show up in their bedroom closet, talking about how they’re the only ones that can stop the Melt from destroying their world.

Despite having been content finally making an easy going, relaxed life for themselves, they can’t let literal children try to save the world. So they take up that task instead...and find the same doll from their dreams at the heart of it all.

Main characters are Axel, Wrench, Blanket and Doll. Secondary mains are Ruin, Russet, Wren, and Melt. Wrench is literally a walking lamp post, and Axel has a floating cow skull for a head. It’s a hardcore fantasy with magic, alternate worlds, and a “Studio Ghibli” vibe to the designs. 

The running theme is that Axel and Wrench, an unofficially-married married couple end up adopting a bunch of kids because the other adults in this world are useless. Culture clash, Food With Importance, found family, and making a place in the world are all the main themes. The first in a two part set, with a spin off planned called Take It To The Grave.

_-_-_-_

Dandelion Fluff - gets published on the 15th

A casual read about the prince of the Land of Monsters and the monster he finds trapped in the basement of the Royal Labs. Running themes are making wishes reality, it’s never too late to find a friend, standing up for the people you love, and dealing with grief in your own way.

The prequel to the upcoming book Quilted Blanket, in the outlining stages presently.

_-_-_-_

You’ll also frequently find me posting about my background wips - 

NeonPnk - set in a post apocalyptic world where radiation has caused people to develop “glowderm”, causing glowing colored patches on their skin. It follows the members of a strip club trying to locate one of their missing employees and accidentally over throwing the government in the process.

The Business - animal mafia, set in the video game world of The Business

Catharsis - all about vampires, soul mates, and dealing with grief

Wings Of War - set in a CHP video game, starring the winged members of the Compass Team.

Swimming In Stars - four young adults take the road trip they were never able to go on in their youth

I also make new wips every three or four days and will frequently post about them here! I LOVE answering questions, so feel free to ask any questions about the wips or characters if you would like!

A lot of my stories have food as a central theme, and about half of them are set in the CHP verse, meaning they take place in various video games.

[moonb-eam]

your tags concerning self-image & sexuality? spot on. it's def partly the reason for why it's so hard for me 😪 I'd like to read your thoughts about it and I wish you the very best for your life ❤️

Oh gosh ❤️❤️ thank you love, that’s so kind

You know, I said something similar to this earlier - I’m so glad to be able to connect to other people about this, but it also breaks my heart whenever I meet someone else who’s had this experience, because it can be so, so hard

I sat on this ask for a little while, because I wanted to make sure I was in the right headspace to elaborate on my thoughts more, and here we are. A serious trigger warning for eating disorders here, folks. Please be careful ❤️

So, I’ve been uncomfortable with my body since I was about 12. I was “the chubby friend” in elementary school, but I didn’t properly grasp what that meant until people started to make me aware of what that meant. Since then, I’ve been struggling with disordered thinking around food and my body, and I’ve been bulimic, with varying severity, for about 8 years.

There’s really no such thing as a ‘cure’ from an ed - it’s a constant struggle that looks different every single day, and I think the journey is made so much harder by toxic diet culture and a general attitude towards eating that’s shameful. I can’t count how many times I’ve been eating lunch with friends, and one of them has to explain why she’s having a second helping, or how many times I’ve been with a friend, and they’ve said, “I don’t know why I’m hungry right now.” And this type of apologetic and embarrassed attitude towards hunger, towards something we literally all feel, is so normalized. If there’s someone in the group who doesn’t speak this way, who doesn’t apologize for taking seconds and just eats, then usually they’re met with skepticism, or even envy.

And I think that’s because women grow up learning to compare themselves to one another, being pitted against one another. This is the body you should want, this is the guy you’re going to fight for, etc. This type of thinking has been particularly toxic for me, because my eating disorder makes itself known in harsh envy and judgement, and I know that’s not okay. I know that’s not healthy, that it’s unfair, but trying to change this way of thinking takes a lot of time and work. And this is where sexuality comes into it.

For a long time, my sexuality was something I didn’t want to think about. I knew I wasn’t straight, but my curiosity and attraction towards women was something that felt forbidden. I didn’t know who to ask about it. I didn’t want my friends to look at me differently. I felt ashamed, and so I pushed it away. I began to convince myself, because I was still attracted to men, that it was nothing. These thoughts about women were fleeting, too thin for me to grasp before they disappeared again, and that made them easy to ignore. Because, whenever I thought about being with a woman, when I thought about being kissed or touched, my entire body would recoil from it. I thought, well, that must be it. I’m not really bisexual.

Yet, years pass, and those thoughts, fleeting as they are, are like dandelion seeds: light as air, but can stick to your clothes and follow you all day long. I would see a woman in the street, in a cinema, on the subway, and I would think, Oh. She’s so beautiful. I would think, I wish I looked like that. I would think, I wish she would look at me. My battling desires to be just as noticeable and to be noticed would clash until exhausted, then melt together to make one murky pool of longing.

Strangest thing is, what made me finally understand what was at the root of this was being on Hinge.

While using the app, I had my settings open to both men and women, but I began to notice that I would swipe right on far more men than women. And then, whenever I got a notification that a woman had liked me, I would get so excited, until I went to their profile, and saw what they looked like. The longer I looked through their pictures, the longer I stared at their face, the lower my heart would sink.

Because, of course, if I’m constantly comparing myself to women, they’ll compare themselves to me, and they will inevitably find me lacking. They’ll find me unattractive. They won’t want to touch me or be close to me. I’ll be disappointing to them, because they’re used to seeing themselves.

This is disordered, unhealthy thinking.

I’ve spent my formative years hating my body, constantly comparing myself to other women, and where it’s left me is thinking that no woman will ever be attracted to me.

Knowing is one thing. It’s almost a comfort, to be able to put a name to the thing that would gnaw at my chest from the inside out while I would stare at a dating profile on my phone. Knowing at least feels like a direction I can orient myself to. I don’t know where to go, but I know where North is.

Honestly, I’ve only talked about this once before, to one of my closest friends. It’s a lot easier to say it here than to say it anywhere else. I can’t afford therapy, so I can’t talk to anyone professionally about it for now. I can’t wait on a rom-com love interest to appear at my door and whisk me away to New Zealand, or something, and make me see that the beauty and confidence were really inside of me all along ✨

It’s really the same as it always is, with ed recovery. Every day looks a bit different. Some are better than others.

The thing that is different is now, I know that I’m bisexual. I know that I’m attracted to women. It makes it feel almost a bit more forbidden, but I a way that subversive, to rip apart that competitive thinking I’ve been taught my whole life - I wish I was like her - and to turn it into something soft and awed - I like her.

Lately, when I left myself feel it, it's nice.

Thank you for asking more about this, anon. I hope that this is coherent, oh god, and that helps in some way, even if it’s just finding more of a shared experience to connect to. If you want to talk about it more, my ask box and dm’s are always open. I wish the very best for you too!

#asks #anon #whew #tw: eating disorder #tw: ed #sexuality #sorry for being embarrassingly personal asdfjjdkf #but this actually #felt really really good to talk about #although it's hard to properly express how this unfolds in my mind #tried my best

[i-heart-danchou]

Freedom

This is for eruri week day 9 and also 6, Fireworks and marriage!  It’s something of a sequel to ‘Stay with me’ in which Erwin survives his injuries at Shiganshina.  https://i-heart-danchou.tumblr.com/post/185630592451/stay-with-me You won’t need to read that one to understand this one though, but it probably won’t hurt.  -- It wasn’t very often that Levi got excited, but he’d been waiting for this for a long time, and dammit he was gonna make the most of it. It had been a long and difficult journey since the last stand at Shiganshina: a whole world against them, their true enemies revealed, and Erwin… badly, badly injured.  Levi had spent the first three months after the battle helping Erwin adjust to being newly disabled.  He’d barely survived his injuries, and was left with a somewhat large chunk of his abdomen missing as well.  It was hard for him to walk, hard for him to eat, hard for him to piss and laugh and do things he used to take for granted. Levi stood beside him though, celebrating even the smallest accomplishments and trying to keep Erwin’s spirits up.  He’d seen the truth of the world, he’d lost his independence in a meaningful way, but dammit, he was alive and that was all that mattered.

Levi had more or less forced him to resign his position as commander, and instead had encouraged him to take up the less physically challenging role as advisor to the queen and the various commanders.  If the demotion bothered Erwin, he never mentioned it.  He had his office refurbished with wheelchair accessible accoutrements, and… slowly, carefully, started to get readjusted to living.

His depression was always there, but it seemed to have abetted somewhat now that his father’s death and truth had both been vindicated.  Sometimes Levi would fall asleep curled up against Erwin’s side— one or the other really, his right side wasn’t as good for cuddling as it was missing an arm, but his left side was so, so tender and delicate… it wasn’t easy— and he’d wonder if saving Erwin’s life had been a gift or a curse.  Erwin struggled, surely, with how limited he was now but… he was alive.  He was alive.

Levi had had to leave Erwin behind more times than he cared to in order to help build the new Paradisian infrastructure.  He had to leave once more when Eren had gone rogue, a fact which annoyed Levi considerably since Erwin had predicted he was going to do something quite rash if they weren’t careful, but that was another matter.

A horrific war followed, a tale of death and destruction, of betrayal and redemption, a slimly won fight that altered the course of humanity forever but… Levi wasn’t interested in dwelling on that.  

They had free movement beyond the island now, and Levi wanted to show Erwin just what the world had to offer.  He’d arranged for the finest ship in the Paradisian fleet to take him and Erwin across he ocean, and he hoped very much that the old commander would be able to handle the journey.  He had attendants at the ready, was going over the safety manuals ad nauseam, apparently had practiced rescuing 200 pounds of dead weight from the ocean just in case.  

“Honestly Levi, you don’t need to make such a fuss.”  Erwin protested mildly as Levi pushed his wheelchair onto the boat.  “I’ll be fine.  I’m fairly tough, all things considered, you don’t need to worry so much.”

Levi scoffed and kept pushing, not really wanting to get into the fact that he couldn’t bear to lose Erwin again.  “If you keep complaining I’ll dump you into the ocean and save myself a lot of money, so zip it.”  He growled, a twist of fondness ebbing through his voice.  

“Are you at least going to tell me some of the itinerary?  I’d like to know what to expect.”

“First up is Marley, obviously since it’s closest.  We’re staying at some beach resort there, I dunno the details, and Hanji’s arranged for a culture tour or whatever.  Should be about two days to arrive, apparently.  We have a nice private cabin on the boat and I made sure the chef knows that you only eat bland shit.”  

Erwin chuckled.  “My hero.”  He squeezed Levi’s hand and sniffed the ocean air.  “It’s a beautiful day.”

“Yeah.”  Levi muttered.  “It is.”

**

Levi had never really imagined that he and Erwin would end up having freedom like this.  That the weight of the world would release them one day, that they'd be able to relax and just… enjoy whatever time they had left.  Their cabin was certainly luxurious; clean enough for Levi’s standards, a private bathroom, a big fluffy bed with the softest sheets he could ever remember feeling.  There was a food cart ready for them, with chilled sparkling wine and pastries enough for the both of them.  

Erwin couldn't really drink with his abdominal injury but he had a tiny glass of the stuff to make Levi happy.  “It’s perfect, Levi.  This is so lovely.”

Levi’s lips twitched and he shut his eyes.  His face still hurt him sometimes after his run in with Zeke, and he subconsciously rubbed at the wound that had just about blinded him on the right side.  “You deserve it.”  He muttered.  “C’mon, get some rest before the sun sets.  I want you to see how it looks over the ocean.”

Evening rolled around and Levi carefully pushed Erwin to the main decks so they could watch the sun sink over the horizon.  The ocean was lit up with beautiful pinks, oranges and purples, and Erwin let out an appreciative gasp as the sun made way for the stars in the sky.  “It’s incredible.”  He whispered.  “Thank you, Levi.  For helping me see this.”

“That’s nothing.”  Levi informed him, pointing up at the sky.  Moments later a loud explosion cracked through the night sky, erupting into a dandelion puff of golden sparkles before their eyes.  

Erwin was impressed.  “What—“

“They're called fireworks, Erwin.  A Hizuru invention… I wanted you to see them.”

Blast after blast went off in the sky, showering them both with sparkles of all the colors of the rainbow.  Erwin was rapt, and Levi eventually moved to sit on his lap as they watched the show together.  

“Levi?”  Erwin asked in between fireworks.  “I’m so, so happy right now.  Thank you.  For this.  For everything you’ve done for me.  For the beautiful world you’ve carved and shown me.  I love you and I always want to be with you.”

Levi shook his head and smiled, kissing Erwin’s temple.  “You’re going soft on me, Erwin.  I don’t need any marriage proposals from you.”  A barrage of fireworks went off, and he leaned in close.  “We’re already pretty much married anyway, asshole.”  He explained, kissing Erwin on the ear.  “And we’re always going to be together.”

Erwin smiled at that and stole a proper kiss, gingerly pulling Levi close with his left arm, obviously trying to keep his balance.  Levi supported him, because he always did, and they melted together.  

In the sky the stars kept shining, muted temporarily by the gunpowder display that settled peacefully on the water.  They were free now, they were alive, and the world was theirs for the taking.  

#eruriweek #eruriweek2019 #my stuff #canon rewrite #eruri fic #my head hurts #i did all the prompts yay

[zen-garden-gnome]

Understanding Soil Basics

Some recent, introductory horticulture projects have brought my attention to the regenerative nature of ecosystems. One of the most basic and important aspects of plant cultivation is the health of the soil. Good soil is alive, an ecosystem unto itself. Industrial agriculture (and plenty of horticulture) functions with a narrow and exploitative understanding/prioritization of the soil ecosystem--a holdover of colonialism, now built into capitalism, excused out of desperation. Our reliance on synthetic fertilizers, destructive tilling practices, excessive pesticides/herbicides/fungicides, monoculture “efficiency,” and deforestation (for more monocultures!) has resulted in abysmal global soil quantity and fertility levels, largely related to loss of biodiversity in and around the soil ecosystem. Now climate and agriculture experts predict our soils can produce approximately 60 more harvests. Speaking of which, check this out:

So I’m learning about soil. Not just because I’ll need to in order to help a community enjoy food security, but also because... I dunno, I just really like it. Putting my fingers in some dirt feels good and right. Currently I’m reading The Ultimate Guide to Soil by Anna Hes, and I’m summarizing important content as I go back and review sections (especially stuff I know I’ll want to reference later). Rewriting it helps me remember it, so I’ll be dumping that stuff here. along with any extra research I wind up doing in the process. As I work my way through the sections of the book, I’ll make more posts!

First up: Understanding Soil Basics...

Healthy soil is dark with humus. Humus is stable organic matter that’s decomposed into a mix of waxes and lignins, held together by microbial gums and starches, and loaded with nitrogen. Humus bonds readily to heavy metals and excess elements/nutrients, too, thus improving food safety. Organic decomposition into humus even increases carbon dioxide near the soil’s surface, which stimulates plant growth.

“Wild” plant growth can reveal aspects of soil health. Since weeds often thrive in low-nutrient soils and are less susceptible to diseases and pests (since they grew based on what was appropriate for the soil/area), observing them may make it easier to filter out non soil-related variables in overall garden health/output. Of course, these correlations tend to be region-specific and don’t indicate much by themselves. Regular tending is the best prevention, but some general weed-to-soil conditions are as follows:

Nitrogen-fixing plants thrive in low-fertility soil (legumes, dandelions, nettles, comfrey, horsetails, watercress, parsley, plantains, chamomile, chickweed, autumn olives, alders, temperate list here).

Sedges (Cyperaseae grass-like flowering plants with triangular cross-stems) and rushes (Juncaceae grass-like erect stems with tufted tops) thrive in wet, waterlogged soil.

Mosses thrive in damp, shady, compacted, low-fertility/nutrient, and/or acidic soil (pH < 7).

Pfeiffer (found reliable) claims acidic soils (pH < 7) are often linked to poor drainage and tend to grow sorrels, docks, fingerleaf weeds, lady’s thumb, horsetail, hawkweed, and knapweed.

Pfeiffer claims crusted or hardpan soils tend to grow field mustard, horse nettle, penny cress, morning glory, quackgrass, chamomile, and pineapple weed.

Pfeiffer claims overcultivated soils with excess nitrogen tend to grow lamb’s quarter, plantain, chickweed, buttercup, dandelion, nettle, prostrate knotweed, prickly lettuce, field speedwell, rough pigweed, common horeground, celandine, mallow, carpetweed, and thistles.

Soil order relates to the origins of a region’s soil:

*It seems notable that the author focuses on a soil region’s “agricultural” use. A soil’s agricultural value doesn’t necessarily relate to its cultivation prospects. On the contrary, if Oxisols in Hawai’i and Puerto Rico can support indigenous cultures and hosts of wildlife with lush year-round vegetation, then perhaps agriculture isn’t the most reasonable, sustainable, or appropriate means of obtaining food from the land.

Note, regional soil is more than just regional bedrock. It also contains naturally and unnaturally imported soils, like sand used for human developments sand or windblown silt (loess).

Dominant soil order map (as seen below)

Soil order images (as seen below)

All USDA soil data/maps

Soil texture relates to the various sizes and types of particles in a soil sample. The three soil particle types are clay (smallest), silt (mid-size), and sand (largest).

Sandy soils can be useful for early growth and for root veggies that excel at pushing through tough earth, but water flushes through too quickly to maintain hydration, and big dry pores make it easy for microbes to churn too quickly through organic matter additives, leaving no time for humus to form. Try no-till gardening in sandy soils and add heavy mulches and bio-char. In areas with droughted, sandy soil, try sunken pit gardens.

Clay soils have small particles and therefore small pores, causing a tendency to drain poorly and clump up when worked too wet or too dry. However, the small particles bond readily to nutrients better than do sand or silt. Clay gardens can be quite productive, albeit damp and heavy. Adding organic matter helps create larger aggregates and therefore more pore variety, thus improving air and water circulation. Try raised beds.

Silt soils can appear similar to clay soils on the microscopic level, and their medium particle size has its benefits. However, silt soils aren’t sticky like clay, so erosion is often an issue. Utilize cover crops and/or mulch.

Loamy soils are the ideal texture because they contain relatively balanced quantities of the three particle types. Adding compost, mulch, and cover crops to sandy, clayey, or silty soils improves diversity of particle, aggregate, and pore sizes; increases overall water retention while providing balanced aeration; creates balanced microbial activity; and provides nutrients. Simply blending the 3 soils textures together does not yield the same results and is a resource-intensive process.

(Check out comparisons here.)

Moistening and manipulating the soil makes it easier to identify. In the ribbon test outlined below by the Australian Department of Primary Industries, if a ribbon is unable to form then soil contents are sand or loamy sand. If the ribbon is less than an inch, its contents are loam, silt, silt loam, or sandy loam. If the ribbon is 1 to 2 inches, it’s sandy clay loam, silty clay loam, or clay loam. If the ribbon makes it up to 2 or more, it’s made of sandy clay, silty clay, or clay.

To perform a jar test, pour one-part soil and two-parts water in a clear jar. Separate aggregates by lidding and shaking vigorously, before allowing the particles to settle at the bottom for at least 24hrs. The largest, heaviest particles are sand and will sink to the bottom. Small, light clay particles remain at the top, while silt rests in the middle. 

Measure the thickness of each layer and calculate the percentage of sand, silt, and clay using a soil triangle (or enter calculations here).

Online soil surveys like https://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/HomePage.htm are also available.

Soil aggregates clump together as soil particles (waxes, minerals, lignins) interact with the weather, organisms, and each other. Soil aggregates vary in size depending on their circumstances. A sandy texture of mostly uniform aggregates suggests the soil sample consists primarily of its original mineral particles. It lacks organic content, including vegetal, fungal, insect, and microbial activity. Without this variety of shapes, sizes, pores, or biological activity, the particles don’t hold moisture and provide no avenues for soakage. Meanwhile, a chunky texture with large aggregates, hard clods, and/or a thick crust suggest soil compaction, again resulting in a loss of bio-pores. These issues are often man-made, resulting from excessive tilling, or from tilling/harvesting/planting in wet/dry soil, all of which break down natural soil aggregates. A healthy soil texture contains a variety of aggregate sizes, thus supporting a variety of pores. Ideally, good soil texture no longer requires tilling for the purposes of artificial pores. The best solutions are to increase organic matter, especially compost; introduce cover crops to create pores, attract biological activity, hold moisture, and prevent leaching/erosion; and reduce tilling.

Soil color reveals clues about soil health, too. Heavy rainfall soaks through paling topsoil and pulls clay and nutrients into the darkening subsoil. This separation of soils may call for a season of deep-rooted cover crops to bring nutrients back to the surface, hold soils together, and add organic matter. Grey or whitish soil (gley) in waterlogged areas indicates soils high in iron. The loss of oxygen leaves iron colorless and soil color visible. Patchwork grey and brown suggests waterlogging during part of the year which has now drained and regained some color. (Note, anaerobic activity releases hydrogen sulfide for a tell-tale swampy odor. Mounding up soil can help in waterlogged areas. Try a percolation test, first.)

While loamy soils are dark with humus, soil color is also heavily affected by mineral content:

Know your minerals. Iron oxides, sodium, and calcium can disrupt soil structure or kill plants outright.

Professional soil tests may be necessary if learning about and adapting to your soil doesn’t seem to increase fertility. All testing centers have their own requirements for collecting and sending samples, and not all labs offer the same types of tests. Unfortunately, most soil tests don’t look for heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, selenium, or zinc. But this one does!

Soil pH describes a measure of potential (/power/percentage) concentration of hydrogen ions in a sample. The higher the number on a scale of 0.0 to 14.0, the fewer number of hydrogen ions available in the soil. Soils with a pH under 7.0 are have more hydrogen ions, making them acidic or “sour.” Soils with a pH over 7.0 have fewer hydrogen ions, making them alkaline, “basic,” or “sweet.” (Note, while a soil pH of 7.0 is considered neutral, a slightly acidic range from 6.0 to 7.0 is considered ideal for most garden soils.) Hydrogen concentration affects the mobility and availability of nutrients to plants and the structure of the soil itself due to the interactions between mostly negatively charged soil particles (anions) and mostly positively charged nutrient particles (cations). (Note, not all soil ions are anions and not all nutrient ions are cations, but many of the most important nutrients like calcium, magnesium, potassium, and hydrogen are cations.)

Cation-exchange capacity (CEC) is the amount of positive charge (most major nutrients) that can be exchanged per mass of soil. Specifically, the CEC of a soil sample measures how many nutrients can be retained on soil particle surfaces. CEC levels are higher in soils rich in organic matter and clay because these negatively charged particles have more surface area to attract positively charged nutrients. Therefore, CEC levels also indicate the soil’s quantity of negatively charged ions. Soils with a low CEC are low in organic matter and clay, and therefore nutrients won’t readily magnetize to the soil particles, leaving them to leach away from plant roots whenever water passes through. Furthermore, different nutrients have different quantities of protons and electrons and thus different bond strengths. With its neutral charge, hydrogen has the lowest cation, and so it tends to bond with soils only if there aren’t enough other cations available. Higher hydrogen bonds means there aren’t enough other cations bonding with the soil anions, resulting in lower pH and higher acidity. Ideally, hydrogen only fills “excess” bonds and otherwise moves freely in the water. For example, adding lime (calcium carbonate) to soil introduces more calcium, which has a stronger charge and thus can knock hydrogen ions loose from soil particles. Loosed hydrogen bonds with the carbon in the lime, producing H2O and CO2, which washes readily out of the soil and leaves it more alkaline than before.

Organic matter is a vital part of healthy, fertile soil. Diseases, fungi, poor water retention, and even pests are less likely to cause problems in healthy, living soils rich in decomposing organic matter. While small/weak plants can often be attributed to low nitrogen or improper pH, both issues tend to be caused by a paucity of organic matter. Nitrogen gets used up/washed away in the dirt quickly, but decomposing matter releases nitrogen constantly, slowly and steadily feeding plants and microbes alike. Soils need only be composed of around 5% organic matter to produce around 100lbs of available nitrogen per acre, per year. Perfect for veggie gardens.

Organic matter breaks down faster in hot, sandy soils, so it’s harder to sustain healthy levels and may require more. Organic matter is so active in cooler climates that the slower decomposition produces less nitrogen, and so faster-acting nitrogen amendments (diluted urine, compost tea, etc) may be necessary.

While soil’s cation exchange capacity only concerns positively-charged nutrient ions, the organic matter used to increase these nutrients will also improve soil’s ability to attain and hold onto negatively charged nutrient particles, too. Good soils have a CEC of at least 11 mEq/100 g. A milliequivalent is 1/1000th an equivalent, which is the measurement of the number of ions needed to total a specific quantity of electrical charges in another substance (100 grams of soil). These CEC levels may be difficult to attain, as they’re affected by ratios of passive, slow, and active organic matter:

Passive organic matter is very stable and takes a long time to decompose, sometimes hundreds or thousands of years. This includes the “browns” in compost, like the cellulose, lignin, and even charcoal of woody debris. Fungi and bacteria convert these into the humic substances in humus. Lingering passive organic matter affects texture and helps the soil water nutrients and prevent nutrient leaching, making it vital for maintaining CEC levels. Tough-stemmed cover crops are helpful.

Slow organic matter includes finely divided plant tissues high in lignin and other materials that take decades to decompose. These provide “slow-release” nitrogen and other nutrients, and feed the soil microbes that affect the breakdown of active organic matter.

Active organic matter breaks down readily into nitrogen and other nutrients. This includes the “greens” in compost, which provide sugar, starches, and proteins. They have high carbon-to-nitrogen ratios and break down within a few months to a few years. Decomposition of active organic matter also feeds the microbes that help determine aggregate variability and therefore soil texture. AOM includes living biomass, detritus, most of the polysaccharides, non-humic substances, and the more readily decomposed fulvic acid.

Sustainable soil amendments of organic matter (especially nitrogen) essentially run in two phases: development and maintenance. Development consists of adding large quantities of slow-acting organic matter, including burying logs and other organic debris; extensive cover cropping for the added biology, interactivity, and green compost; and at least an inch of compost before every planting. Depending on soil conditions at the outset, it can take anywhere from 2 to 10 years to reach the maintenance stage. At this point, maintaining around 5% organic matter in the soil just requires adding enough to replace whatever’s lost to decomposition each year—that is, approximately 2,000lbs (one cubic yard) per acre. A well-planned garden can eliminate wasteful amendments around low feeders (beans, peas) and ensure greater quantities for heavy feeders (squashes, tomatoes, garlic, bananas). Whew! This post may be updated as I amend relevant info for my own records.

#soil #reference #agriculture #horticulture #gardening #permaculture #zgg

[feralgoing]

odd directions

I have a lot of weird stuff going on. It feels like ever since I fell off the beaten path, when my skin mutinied and declined to acquiesce to my request of behaving like normal dermal tissue, I fell down my own personal rabbit hole of weirdness and have just been grabbing hold of oddities on my way down.

If someone were to sit me down and be like, so what are you up to these days (and have time for a long-winded answer) this is probably what I would say:

Well -insert name of person inquiring here- , I spend a lot of time overthinking everything. But primarily I spend the majority of my time hanging with my delightful Figlet, witnessing her grow and become her own person, and trying to make sure I don’t fuck that up too much.

I spend a lot of time trying to learn things, lots of things, that I think add to my life in fun and important ways (more on that in a moment), and as a result I spend a lot of time trying to figure out when to read. I wile away the hours trying to figure out when and how to take care of my ever changing body, when to workout, when to drink water, what and when to eat, when to have other self-care items thrown in there. I’m not really good at that yet, but I’m working on it.

Now back to those things I am trying to learn. Well I am trying to learn about death, how it looks in our society, in the world, why we find it so scary, how it is monetized, how it is supported, how it is prevented, how it is avoided. I try to understand my own experiences with death and work to find my own way with it hopefully before it is my time.

In a related subset, trying to learn about being a mom and my own body/mortality has me studying postpartum care, breastfeeding, etc to understand what is happening to me, what dictates the decisions mothers make around their postpartum period. Does it give me all the answers? No, but I don’t think anything ever will. So basically it helps me learn to live with indecision.

I am trying to learn about herbs, partially for self-care, partially because we treat most herbs like weeds when they are abundantly available, healthy, and easy to eat. Like dandelion and plantains. Also one of my friends from childhood is jumping into the learning process with me so we will have a lot of external motivation getting one another to keep learning.

I am trying to learn about sustainability, and what that looks like as an individual, a culture, a society, and a species. I am trying to learn how to grow all my own common veggies, fruits, and herbs in limited space with less-than-ideal conditions, without pesticides or really anything that doesn’t come from the ground or a more traceable circle of life. I am learning how different houses can be made more efficient, through better insulation, maintenance, windows on certain sides of the house, water filtration and storage, available solar enhancements, how to decrease electric and gas usage, etc.

I’m learning about bodies broadly- different schools of thought on how to maintain them, but also keeping in mind goals for what one wants their body to do. What postures are natural for longevity versus important for crazy loads? What diets help what conditions or demands? What home adjustments create healthier lifestyles? You name it. One change we have done is that we now sleep on a bed that is 5 inches of the ground, on top of a fairly hard futon mattress. We decided to try this because we wanted to:

have more of a movement challenge waking up

have a mattress that didn’t sag and conform to our bodies but instead provided some resistance

see if it would help decrease our night sweating (it did!)

see if it would improve our sleep (maybe it did? or maybe Figlet sleeping through the night more consistently is the culprit)

see if it would decrease various joint pains we were having (it did!)

I’m one step closer to volunteering with hospice! I had my training this past weekend; next step is the mentoring. I’m excited but also have my reservations of working (for free) under healthcare (as all hospice volunteers are technically unpaid employees under Medicare. For a hospice organization to receive funding, they must employ volunteers). I’m hoping the people I visit are hyperlocal so I am able to walk to their residences, and thus visit for more time.

I am trying to write more (note the increased frequency of posts?!) for my own clarity of mind, and am still occasionally creating poems to capture the more intense feelings I have here and there. I am also reading more for pleasure and curiosity than pure intentional intellectual gain, which feels much more natural and enjoyable to me.

I think I keep circling back to this idea of my life going ferally because it feels like, though no parts of what I am doing are unique alone, the culmination of them is odd and uncommon. I find myself constantly trying to label myself (usually on instagram) to have some way of summing up all I am working on in my life in a concrete way. I usually fail miserably, and end up ranting like a loon, but the show must go on.

[littlesprinklesofsunshine173]

Happy birthday Earth! These days might be crazy but our Earth is still here and let’s take a few seconds to appreciate her! 

Write a poem! Hug a tree! Clean up some debris you see outside. Remember to stay safe and keep your social distancing. Cannot WAIT to be free to roam the Earth again. Here is a fun activity from Tinkergarten:

Age: 0 to 8+ Time: 1 hour+ Materials: Flower Garden book; kitchen items; spices (optional)

No matter where you are in the country, spring is time of transformation. Through the ages, many cultures have looked at springtime as the Earth’s birthday, celebrating this time of rebirth and renewal. And, it’s no surprise that the people who started Earth Day chose this time of year. The chance to stage a birthday party for the Earth is a marvelous, age appropriate way to inspire creative mess-making, pretend play and a genuine connection to and appreciation for our planet. To kids, it’s just a good old time.

The Guide

Plant the seeds: Ask kids about which season it is. Talk a bit about how spring looks in your neck of the woods. Look for and point out the changes in plants, bodies of water, climate and even new additions to animal families. Talk about how the earth is starting over into a new year...just like we do when it’s our birthdays.

Let’s have a party! Suggest, “Hey, do you think we should throw a birthday party for the Earth? What do you think we’d need for a party? What would the Earth want at its party? What do you like about birthday parties?

Whip up treats! Set up an impromptu outdoor kitchen and start making favorite party treats. Mud pies, cakes and cupcakes along with stone soup make a great spread. Sticks make easy candles and, since the Earth is so old, you can just use a few.

Deck out the area Use the things around you to decorate for the party. Sticks and other items can be laid to make a great dining table, complete with placemats. Wildflowers, dandelions and fallen petals can make lovely centerpieces. String up some twine to make a nature curtain. Note: Be mindful to help kids understand which nature objects can be taken for play. At Tinkergarten, we say that objects that are “found on the ground” are what we use for our play (e.g. fallen petals, leaves, sticks, tree fruits, bits of bark as well as grasses/ground cover). Objects still on a growing plant are needed by that plant and are not for our play.

What could be our present? If you have children over 3 with you, wonder together about what might be a present worthy of our planet Earth. Kids have absolutely marvelous ideas. Some of our favorites have included lovely nature displays, a pile of trash cleaned up from the park and ready to recycle, and pledges to care for the planet (e.g. use less water, recycle, etc.).

Feast and sing Do a little clean up (we recommend washing with castille soap and water). Then, as goofy as it may feel, have a feast, pretending to savor your nature treats and nibbling on real treats that you’ve packed. Take a minute to talk about what makes our planet Earth such an amazing home. Sing the Earth Happy Birthday. Do whatever kids want to do to make this a party worthy of our planet.

Why is this activity great for kids?

Hosting a birthday party offers children a marvelous play scenario in which all ages can engage. Even toddlers know what a birthday party is and can join the pretending. Young children move effortlessly between reality and fantasy, and the blending of the two supports their developing sense of the world. So, it is an easy leap to personify our Earth just a bit and throw the planet a party. By doing so, you can activate imaginations, build and a sense of empathy and a greater, more personal connection to the natural world.

Kids also engage in several behavioral schema (e.g. transporting, rotation and transforming) as they gather materials, stir up and mix or mash batches of yummy birthday treats. All of this leads to a great deal of sustained, brain and body boosting play.

Nature party prep also encourages children to work freely, engage multiple senses, and make a mess. We know that the chance to act messy now maps to a young person’s ability to think messy down the road. And, you really can’t be a creative thinker unless you are prepared to think flexibly!

We think all families should be learning outside. Try this activity with your child and begin to see the power in outdoor, play-based learning. Have fun!

#earthday happybirthdayearth staysafe thankful sunnysideup toddleractivity

[mootmuse]

So, I was suddenly overcome with book!Jaskier feels and wanted to ramble about him. Here it is!

First of all he’s horrible to women, in a really blatant way that from my particular corner of my particular culture (the US) comes off actually feeling old fashioned. (I bet y’all were expecting me to start out with something positive, weren’t you. XD Welp.) It isn’t that men who treat women the way he does no longer exist in the corner of society I live in, but most of them - especially fictional characters you’re supposed to like - are aware that they have to try to get away with it. Not saying that’s better, just that it’s different, and makes Dandelion’s behavior come off as all the more blatant and shocking for it. Dandelion doesn’t try to ‘get away’ with the way he acts toward women because he has no need to hide it; both he/many of the characters and the narrative seems to see blatantly shitty (often at least a little disturbing) treatment of women as unremarkable and expected.

Gathering up enough examples of this to thoroughly prove that the narrative itself feels in on it is more than I’m up to, but have one brief example from Last Wish:

Dandelion chuckled loudly and rested his head against the bookshelf, on the leather-bound volumes.

“Millet and mosquitoes! That reminds me of our first expedition together to the edge of the world,” he said. “Do you remember? We met at the fete in Gulet and you persuaded me--”

“You persuaded me! You had to flee from Gulet as fast as your horse could carry you because the girl you’d knocked up under the musicians’ podium had four sturdy brothers. They were looking for you all over town, threatening to geld you and cover you in pitch and sawdust. That’s why you hung on to me then.”

and then they carry on with their reminiscing without commenting on Dandelion getting a woman pregnant and leaving her. That’s how they met. That’s an absolutely horrible thing to do to a person and it’s treated like a funny little memory.

I do love Dandelion. Jaskier. Whoever he is. Believe it or not, I do. I’m getting to it.

I’ve seen a gifset where Joey Batey says they decided, in Netflix!Witcher, to reinterpret that misogynistic quality as Jaskier falling in love with everyone he meets, genuinely falling in love with them and genuinely liking them, because characters who do what Dandelion does (Dandelion=book!Jaskier, Jaskier=show!Jaskier, for clarity) are tired, character-wise, and uninteresting to watch. This is the only reasoning for changing that character trait that I could have actively approved of (and for the record, I approve of it quite a lot). I don’t like Dandelion’s lack of respect for women, but I’m not going to pretend it isn’t there just because I like him. In fact, that’s why I didn’t want to like him. I have a memory of realizing mid-scene, with some dismay, that he was my favorite character; he has flaws that step a bit too far into what reads to me as real life problems for me to have expected myself to gravitate to him.

The scene, I think, where I fell in love with the character was set just outside Brokilon forest, a piece of land its dryad inhabitants defended so violently that even the toughest of the humans who lived nearby were terrified to go close to it. But Dandelion knew his friend had been injured very badly; he knew Geralt was in that forest being treated by those dryads, and he had a plan. He was led to the no-man’s land that no human dared approach and was left alone to cross it, and as he walked he got more and more frightened. He knew the dryads were there - he walked past bodies of other humans who’d been as dumb as he was being right then and he was genuinely convinced that he was going to die. And he kept going. He sang a song that he’d translated into an ancient language himself just for the dryads, still mostly convinced that it wasn’t going to work and that he was absolutely going to die, and he kept doing it and he saw it through, just because he was worried about his friend and wanted to be there for him.

This isn’t an isolated incident; earlier, in the first book, Dandelion is the one we see visit Geralt while he’s recovering from a different injury, having had to actively work out where Geralt would go and track him down to do it. He is the only person (at least in the earlier books that I paid more attention to) who we see make the attempt - much more difficult with the slow, unreliable long distance communication and dangerous, snail-slow travel inherent in the setting -  to locate and travel to a recovering Geralt in this way.

And later on in the series, when things get grim and Geralt gets very grim himself, and insists things are so dangerous and dark that he has to go on solo and is willing to drive his friends away to do it, Dandelion refuses to leave him. He isn’t the only one who refuses to leave Geralt alone, but he is the only one who insists on it with absolutely no way to physically defend himself. Dandelion, whenever he travels with Geralt and Geralt’s Friends, is surrounded by people who can kill as easily as they breathe, and he never picks up a weapon himself. He’s so unused to battle that he’s glanced by an arrow and loses his shit, freaks out - and still stays. He’s seen the ugly realities of war and he’s seen slaughter, he knows the horror of violence, and he not only continues to put himself near a man who makes his living through violence because that man needs his support, but he never becomes numb to it. Let’s see an example of that in Baptism of Fire (warning for brief mention of gore and some vomit):

Next to him, Dandelion hauled himself up, throwing off the corpse with a mutilated throat which was weighing down on him. The poet’s face was the color of quicklime.

Milva came closer, pulling an arrow from a dead man as she approached.

“Thank you,” the Witcher said. “Dandelion, say thank you. This is Maria Barring, or Milva. It’s thanks to her we’re alive.”

Milva yanked an arrow from another of the dead bodies and examined the bloody arrowhead. Dandelion mumbled incoherently, bent over in a courtly - but somewhat quavering - bow, then dropped to his knees and vomited.

“Who’s that?” the archer asked, wiping the arrowhead on some wet leaves and replacing it in her quiver. “A comrade of yours, Witcher?”

“Yes. His name’s Dandelion. He’s a poet.”

“A poet,” Milva watched the troubadour wracked by attacks of dry retching and then looked up. “That I can understand. But I don’t quite understand why he’s puking here, instead of writing rhymes in a quiet spot somewhere.”

This part of Dandelion matters a lot to me. The part of him that can be exposed to that level of violence sort of repeatedly, can be near it as a matter of course, because in that kind of world traveling with that kind of person is going to get you up close and personal with some really horrific shit even if the war doesn’t, and yet he never changes himself into someone who will respond to violence with violence, he never becomes okay with being face to face with it.

That’s one of the big differences I’ve noticed between Dandelion and Jaskier, at least when it comes to how fandom interacts with Jaskier because honestly I haven’t watched the show, I'm pretty much just here for fandom shit. Netflix!Witcher fandom is pretty great. Anyway, the difference: there are a lot of fics where Jaskier learns a bit about fighting. Which makes sense, it’s the practical thing to do when you’re traveling with a man who often gets into very violent situations. But that being a tendency in fic about netflix!Witcher does indicate to me that the show likely doesn’t put as much emphasis as the books do on the idea of Jaskier as a man who is so different from the fighty-badass types who are usually the focus in stories like this - the idea of The Most Badass Witcher’s companion being a man who’s not just untrained in combat, but averse to it right down to his soul.

That’s not a negative, not a positive. It’s intended as a neutral observation, just a thing I’ve noticed and been thinking about. I feel both versions of the character, books and adaptation, are true to the heart of him, and I find it fun to look at them both. They have similarities, they have differences. Dandelion is an interesting character because he has qualities that mean a lot to me, that confident nonviolence, that deep loyalty that drives him to be brave in ways the more physically capable people around him might not even recognize as bravery. He believes in beauty and love and the equality of all people, not just humans - and then he turns around and treats the nearest cute girl like an object that exists solely for his entertainment, and so doesn’t get close to living up to some of those lovely beliefs and ideals he’s got. I want to see him grow from that - of course, that’s not a need the book series recognizes, but there’s some potential, at least, for growth there that could make fandom interaction with Dandelion particularly compelling. Fandom activity does tend to gravitate toward the things which we want to fix.

tl;dr dandelion is a character who exists and I love him. Also, AU where Jaskier and Dandelion meet, initially really get on until Jaskier starts to notice the particular difference between the way they treat their lovers/women in general, this is sort of the last straw on top of his already existing jealousy over the easy affection Dandelion gets from book!Geralt-

(not that netflix!Geralt doesn’t act like book!Geralt in any particular but he does seem to act more similar to book!Geralt near the middle/end of the series, after his life had been going to shit for years and he felt horrible and became thoroughly unpleasant - the interesting approaches to book vs show Geralt is a tumblr essay of its own, to be made by someone who remembers more of the books than I do, but even when he was acting like a shithead book!Geralt had already long since established that he cared for Dandelion and appreciated him. If I were Jaskier, I’d sure as hell be jealous of that shit.)

-cue climax of the AU after which Dandelion realizes he should start figuring out how to not be shit to women, show!Geralt learns to treat his friends as if he actually values them, everyone learns from one another the end. I can’t write that AU but I sure as hell would read it.

#long post #the witcher #i'm too shy to have a proper conversation about this so i won't be following this post up or whatever #but i somehow spent at least an hour writing it it's 2am and brain is shutting off higher functions #and i figured someone might find this interesting #it's not totally positive about book!jaskier just a warning if you're not up for that kind of thing but i do love him #like brief-ish discussion of misogyny and shit that kind of not totally positive

[serpvntsarchive]

A N T O N   P H I L I P   J O H A N N   H A S L E R  ---  T A S K  O N E

—— ❝ let’s start off easy. tell me the basics. ❞

[ name ] anton philip johann hasler

[ date of birth ] 12 october, 1633

[ place of birth ] vaduz, liechtenstein

[ age ] thirty

[ religion ] roman catholic

[ marital status ] single

[ occupation / title ] crown prince of liechtenstein

[ gender identity ] male

[ allegiance ] liechtenstein

[ spoken languages ] german ( first ), french ( fluent ), english ( fluent ), italian ( fluent ), spanish ( intermediate ), hungarian ( intermediate ), slovenian ( intermediate ).

[ special skills ] shooting, sword play, musical talent for the piano, a surprisingly good dancer, pissing of his father, knocking back a several cold ones with the boys, spending his father’s money to piss him off, ruining betrothals to piss off his father, sleeping around, sleeping around with the intention to piss off his father, lad culture probably.

—— ❝ what of your family ?? are they still alive ?? ❞

[ father ] king of  liechtenstein and a really wanted connection!!! ( age tba, alive ) 

[ mother ] queen of liechtenstein ( age tba, alive )

[ siblings ]  claus philipp herman hasler ( older brother, lived to nine years, dead ), unnamed brother ( stillborn ) alessia maria johanna hasler ( younger sister, twenty and four, alive )

[ children ] none, does not particularly desire to be a father.

—— ❝  now let’s paint a picture of you. ❞

[ height/weight ] 182cm ( 5′11″ ), 85kg ( 187 lb )

[ built ] athletic and muscular,

[ hair color ] dark brown and thick.

[ eye color ] green.

[ accent ] high german accent, harsher when speaking german, or languages with similar styles, but grows softer when speaking other languages, though still prominent. 

[ voice ] deep and fruity, often very loud and booming when in a good mood, though grows quieter and sharper when he is in an argument,

[ style of speech ] smooth and slow, usually calculated though tenser when upset.

[ scars ] no large or obvious scarring, however a few smaller ones scattered around his body. the most notable scars would include a very round circular scar on his knee caused by being burned bitch probably playing with a poker as a child, a long thin scar on his calf and a shorter, fatter scar on the bicep of his right arm, both sword injuries. 

[ abnormalities ] none.

[ clothing/style ] lavish clothing style despite not being particularly interested in fashion, tends to have nice detailing or embroidery, always in rich fabrics, prefers dark neutral colours such as beige, golds, greens, dark brown but favours red or blue for more colour, particularly to special events etc.

—— ❝ tell us, what kind of person are you ?? ❞

[ star sign ] libra - libras are the diplomat of the zodiac. they are able to put themselves in other's shoes and see things through another person's point of view. they are the ones that always want to make things right and have balance and harmony in their life, their surroundings and the lives of the people close to them. they have captivating charm, elegant taste and they are easy to like due to their eager-to-please, easygoing nature. in return for a libra's amazing ability to be a good listener, sooth and calm people, they expect admiration. libras will gather a group of people, everyone will become friends then the libra will be in the center of the group. they like the attention and the admiration for the people that they have brought together. libras are very intelligent, they often hide this inside their easygoing exterior. libras love variety and different situations. they welcome change. libras love luxury. they will spend lots of money and surround themselves with beautiful things and they seem to be constantly fussing over their appearance. they love anything upscale and classy. libras work hard to please others, this they do an others find them incredibly captivating. 

[ alignment ] chaotic neutral - a chaotic neutral character follows his whims. he is an individualist first and last. he values his own liberty but doesn't strive to protect others' freedom. he avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. a chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. to do so, he would have to be motivated either by good (and a desire to liberate others) or evil (and a desire to make those different from himself suffer). a chaotic neutral character may be unpredictable, but his behavior is not totally random. he is not as likely to jump off a bridge as to cross it.

[ enneagram type ] type two, the helper - twos are empathetic, sincere, and warm-hearted. they are friendly, generous, and self-sacrificing, but can also be sentimental, flattering, and people-pleasing. they are well-meaning and driven to be close to others, but can slip into doing things for others in order to be needed. they typically have problems with possessiveness and with acknowledging their own needs.

[ colour personality ] pale violet red, #D87093 - your dominant hues are red and magenta. you love doing your own thing and going on your own adventures, but there are close friends you know you just can't leave behind. you can influence others on days when you're patient, but most times you just want to go out, have fun, and do your own thing. your saturation level is lower than average - you don't stress out over things and don't understand people who do. finishing projects may sometimes be a challenge, but you schedule time as you see fit and the important things all happen in the end, even if not everyone sees your grand master plan. your outlook on life is bright. you see good things in situations where others may not be able to, and it frustrates you to see them get down on everything.

[ what plants best represent you ] dandelion: scrappy and tough, you’re a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps kind of person. you don’t give up easily and you often thrive in situations that others would find discouraging. you have an instinct to serve others and see yourself as most useful in times or places of crisis, but you may over rely on your toughness and forget how sensitive you really are. ginger: spirited. a feisty and fiery companion, quick with an opinion, a laugh or an idea. warm, friendly and inviting, you never allow an awkward moment to pass. in fact, even cold and distant people warm up to you more quickly than others. negative experiences or too much indulgence, however, can send you into a bit of a tailspin, and when hurt you may become quite cold and distant. ginger people do best when their natural warmth and affection is flowing freely, giving them easy access to their love of life. slippery elm: let’s just say you’re a vocal person. sure, that might mean you’re chatty. but it also means you’re the one humming in the hallway, singing in the shower, speaking your mind, standing up and shouting if need be to get yourself heard. you’ve got a voice and you know how to use it. inclined to speak up for the voiceless, defend the defenseless or simply bring joy to the joyless, you may have a tendency to overuse your voice.

[ theme/character song ] ‘ super rich kids ’ frank ocean.

—— ❝ do you have anything more you wish to say ?? ❞

[ link to bio ] currently not written yet im lazy ok

[ link to intro post ] a little more about him

#( * statistics | anton. ) #crowns.task1

[ramajmedia]

Rotten Tomatoes: Every Comedy Movie That Got 100% | ScreenRant

You think it’d be easy to please comedy critics. After all, if it makes you laugh, the movie did its job. In reality, very few comedies hold the prestigious 100% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes and we can’t even blame it on a time period. Since the days of silent films, everyone’s been a critic.

In chronological order, here’s every comedy movie that got a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

RELATED: Ignore The Critics: 10 Good Comedy Movies With Bad Rotten Tomatoes Scores

12 The Gold Rush (1925)

It would be a crime if at least one Charlie Chaplin film didn’t make it on the list. And wow, is this a big one. Successful in its original 1925 release and the 1942 re-release, Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush was inspired by the events of the Klondike Gold Rush. It captures the essence of Chaplin’s work and even if you’re not into the silent film era, it’s worth your time.

11 Modern Times (1936)

Chaplin’s Little Tramp persona takes the cake again in the 1936 silent film, Modern Times. Created as a commentary on working conditions during the Great Depression, this film has been declared “culturally significant” by the Library of Congress. Though a comedic film, there’s no erasing Chaplin’s social commentary about industrialization and its impact on the workforce.

10 The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Starring the OG comedy stars Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, The Philadelphia Story is the premier romantic comedy of all time. At least, in American film culture. It’s a reflection of the popular love stories at the time: a couple gets divorced, both parties flirt with other people, but then they end up getting back together. The trope isn’t particularly popular today, but now films aren’t barred by the Production Code to tell those types of stories. But this is definitely a must watch for any Katharine Hepburn or Cary Grant fans.

RELATED: The 13 Best Romantic Comedy Movies Of All Time, According To IMDb

9 Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

Still in the era of black and white, Kind Hearts and Coronets hails from Great Britain. Based loosely off of the novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal, it tells the story of Louis D’Ascoyne Mazzini. His mother had been disowned by her aristocratic family for marrying outside of her social class, so Louis decides to avenge her. The film has since been digitally restored for DVD release and given the 4k treatment.

8 Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

A staple of the film industry, Singin’ in the Rain is a musical comedy about the film industry shifting from silent films to “talkies,” otherwise known as synchronized sound films. Starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds, this is the oldest movie on the list that you’ve either seen or will definitely see in the near future. Seriously, get on it. This film is iconic and if you’re a film major, you’re going to be writing a paper on this. Also, Gene Kelly in his hayday is a joy.

7 Mary Poppins (1964)

It’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Earning itself 5 Academy Awards, Mary Poppins has turned into a timeless classic that most of us have seen at some point in our childhoods. Its success led to a Broadway musical, Saving Mr. Banks (telling the story of P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, with questionable historical accuracy), and Mary Poppins Returns.

RELATED: The 10 Best Disney Live-Action Movies Of All-Time, According To IMDB

6 Playtime (1967)

Proving that money isn’t the only thing that makes the history books, Playtime was an absolute commercial failure during its release. Created with a more experimental approach, the film is separated into six sequences with the overarching story being connected by two recurring characters. The most impressive aspect of the film is the huge sets director Jacques Tati specially built for the film.

5 Tampopo (1985)

A Japanese comedy, Tampopo (literally translating to “dandelion”) tells the story of two truck drivers who end up helping a widow revamp her noodle business. The root of the plot is anchored in food, with various subplots and comedic situations popping up. It’s something of a satire too, riffing on American story themes, camera movements, and character tropes.

4 Toy Story 2 (1999)

There’s no snake in this boot. Toy Story 2 had an almost overwhelmingly positive reception considering the impact the first film had on the film industry and animation as a whole. But the sequel not only expands upon the characters and the universe, it actually works really well as a standalone and took even greater strides in computer animation. And we’re living for the Star Wars references. Buzz Lightyear of Star Command anyone?

RELATED: 10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Toy Story 2

3 Mr. Roosevelt (2017)

Indie films have a place in the world! Directed by Noël Wells, Mr. Roosevelt is just a big suburban girl mood. Or at least, resonates with anyone who left their home to escape. The film follows Emily Martin, played by Wells. She returns to her hometown to face some past demons and ends up staying with her ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend during her visit. It premiered at South by Southwest and was later released on Netflix.

2 Hannah Gadsby: Nanette (2018)

It’s hard for a comedy movie to earn a perfect score. It’s even harder for a comedy special to do it. Hannah Gadsby: Nanette debuted in 2017 and was recorded by Netflix for a 2018 release. The performance contains a lot of social commentary, including LGBT issues, mental health, and experience as a marginalized individual. Gadsby uses comedy in a powerful way, earning laughs as well as a better understanding between people.

1 Paddington 2 (2018)

Yes, the second movie about a fuzzy CGI bear with a love for marmalade is the purest movie to be released in the last five years. And it was one of the most understated movie of 2018 too, despite having a pretty good financial return. Pretty much everyone agrees that this movie is fun, lighthearted, funny, and very, very enjoyable. Our intrepid little bear just wants to spread some joy and buy a present for his aunt’s birthday, but ends up being framed for a crime. Cue the gloriously cute Paddington nonsense, witty dialogue, and heartwarming family story. Like, what did we ever do to deserve the Paddington franchise?

NEXT: Which Romantic Comedy Are You, Based On Your MBTI

source https://screenrant.com/rotten-tomatoes-every-comedy-movie-got-100/

#screenrant

[biophytopharm]

Principal Chinese Herb Types

Principal Chinese Herb Types

Anyone who has walked into a Chinese herbal shop and experienced the aromas, and the impressive number of herbs available, can tell you the depth of knowledge and the tradition of medicinal herbs is unparalleled in Western culture. Gaining popularity In modern times Chinese herbal medicine has been an increasingly interesting area of study for contemporary scientific investigators. The surge in popularity in Holistic approaches to health and lifestyle has put Chinese herbal practice into the middle of our new look at what it means to get and stay healthy. The literally thousands of years of experience, organization, and observation of the positive effects of herbs, herb essential oils, and other herbal combinations offers an intriguing alternative to today’s health-conscious individual. Holistic health It should always be remembered that Chinese medicinal herbology does not exist in a vacuum. That is, there are no herbs that by themselves, will make you thinner or cure any digestive problem, or miraculously increase your basic energy level. Chinese herbs and their use are but one part of a philosophy of life that includes diet, lifestyle, and spiritual well being. The use of herbal preparations and remedies must always be considered as part of this larger picture of a balanced life. One of the basic understandings that Chinese herbal practitioners have discovered is that herbs should be approached not only as occasionally utilized medicines or cures but also as part of a regular well thought out diet. Herbs are thought of as highly concentrated foods, essential to life and a sense of well-being. Many Chinese herbs are used in cooking and are important ingredients in recipes. Popular herbs One of the most well known Chinese herbs now days is Gin Seng – known as an energy enhancer. Ginseng has enjoyed a surge in popularity. You should know, however, that herbalists do not consider Ginseng useful for all people. Again it depends on the whole picture of the person’s lifestyle. Other popular herbs are Ginger preparations, Lotus seed, Fox-nut, Cardomon, and Jujuba – there are entirely too many herbal remedies to list here. A thorough study and good information will help you understand all the potential uses of herbs in your diet and lifestyle. Chinese herbal medicine and supplements are based on the Yin-Yang principle, that is, a world of opposites that must be brought into balance. That’s the word to remember: “balance.” Using Chinese herbs offers you a new way to help center your health on an ancient proven tradition that provides for the health of the complete person. 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Significantly arid desert weather conditions as unwelcoming topsoil salinity encouraged multiple location classes unfavorable plant life program is easy to rare, most often through an involving mega-xerophytic herbal arrangement, a lot xeric sort of trees, merely very often degraded or maybe it leaves behind (and/or maybe reducing offices) with somewhat-bushes maybe minuscule timber. Purely consists of vegetation communities inside of South America, along with Important Parts Of Asia as well as antique Mediterranean Sea parts, predominantly by a few groups of house plants, that Chenopodiaceae Asteraceae is considered to be temperate desert location very specific companies of these two most crucial, gone by Zygophyllaceae, pinto beans organizations in addition sod, tamarisk individuals and their families, Polygonaceae, ephedra Side, Caryophyllaceae, Convolvulaceae, as well as account for big proportion; alternate organizations while using fruit significantly. Vegetation attention premium of the 5 to finally 20%, as pond dunes as 50% plus, generally speaking with 10%. Chenopodiaceae A Great Deal genus along with species of seedlings, represent a selection of wilderness communities, where ever medicinal vegetation is essentially small (suo suo, suo suo whitened), genus Salsola (Salsola bead, woody scoparia cookware), anabasine is really (little Anabasis aphylla), Ceratoides (F. arborescens) and/or halophytes get Kalidium (Kalidium), salicornia (Salicornia), S. salsa definitely is (Suaeda), and as well wasteland house plants Shami, in addition to Zygophyllum (wood Overlord) in addition , Nitraria simply. Leguminosae Caragana remedy posses kids are (Caragana, Caragana young), Oxytropis (Oxytropis thorns), Hedysarum (Hedysarum Mongolia, waste Hedysarum), Glycyrrhiza (licorice, Glycyrrhiza inflate) , and holly now. Polygonaceae medication should be Calligonum spp. Tamaricaceae practice of medicine is probably Tamarix yet Reaumuria then. Division prescription drugs ephedra Ephedra przewalskii, for example. have always been. A Number Of People create Salicaceae Populus euphratica, Elaeagnus angustifolia Elaeagnus varieties of classes.

The bradenton area recognized natural herbs tend to be licorice, ephedra, Ningxia wolfberry, Cistanche, Xinjiang euchroma, precious metal Bupleurum, together with the expectations Xinjiang Codonopsis, Wuqia Fritillaria, Wushi seas buckthorn, mulberry Turpan, Atushi figs, grapes soso, poon holes, chickpeas, or anything else. Cynomorium combined with Elaeagnus angustifolia. And also, you will have with regard to medicinal Gentiana Puhuang, reed, Apocynum, D., ferulic, chinensis child, compacted snow lotus, gentian,? Gather, front, Tribulus terrestris, Hong Qing Lan, Motherwort, Yan Chen, dandelion, artificial leather rod Liu, orange sand mustard, M., skullcap, Inula Britannica, Mongolia almond, puffball, Peganum harmala, Arctium, Cuscuta, Orobanche, fruits, Vaccaria and many others, routinely Perhaps the leave grassland varieties. Exactly How natural herbs operating in Far Eastern wolfberry virtually all conspicuous, through safflower, Ibe mothers, astragalus, licorice and thus magical Bupleurum. And Also unveiled their 20 kinds of currency types, like chrysanthemum, Angelica, Radix, Far Eastern yam, honeysuckle, melon wilt, Sophora japonica, Rehmannia also Peony and so. Growth associated people medicinal drugs, dunkelhrrutige your lawn, almond, soso grapes, coriander, Elaeagnus, A Very Yu Wei, figs, cumin but fennel, or anything else.. Using the Kunlun Mountain Range, Altun different alpine desert, dry, continental temperatures consisting of heavy circulation Lithospermum Xinjiang nope, incorrect Lithospermum, Xinjiang, Codonopsis, Licorice, Hedysarum, seabuckthorn, Rhodiola, Saussurea alpine , hands ginseng, compacted snow lotus, various Yeqing Lan, Nardostachy Chinensis Batal, alpine gentian, Xinjiang Notopterygium, Xinjiang self-reliance actions, online heartbeat rhubarb, Polygonum, alpine clematis, clematis, Gansu also Qinghai, Alpine Aster, Ephedra przewalskii as well as also report on ephedrine, . Healing reptiles in this region scarlet deer, musk deer, flight squirrels, he, wild rear end, as well as geese gazelle, wolves, crazy free, donkeys, livestock, lambs, chickens, hedgehogs, scorpion, horsefly worms, leeches, Organic Green toads, bees. Therapeutic Gypsum, sulfur, mica, Fulong busy, jade, actinolite together with water lower stone backsplashes, calamine, Xuan Jing Shi, Glauber’s sodium, talc, shot goose be in charge of, magnetic field, Daqing salts additionally natural real estate agent. Follow us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); Read the full article

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