#swamp thing: new roots

[dailydccomics]

the biggest heart Swamp Thing: New Roots #1 

#swamp thing #dc comics #alec holland #new roots #dc #digital version

[talentforlying]

something was in the water for the swamp thing artists who had to draw constantine and i, for one, think we all could drink more of it.

#( ooc. ) OUT OF CIGS. #sometimes i look at new 52 and hate the twinkification of constantine #other times i have to accept. they just returned him to his roots #not their fault he's just better as an old weird bastard #haha roots swamp thing #the third outfit gets me every time like. What was he thinking. something went on in his mind that would fry freud to a crisp #( visage. ) AND I'M A BASTARD.

[rene-spade]

miss louisiana i | c. leclerc, a. saint mleux | chase landry

poly! | fem! reader x obsessive! exes! charles leclerc, alexandra saint mleux (+chase landry and f1 grid)

synopsis. your obsessive exes refuse to accept your new relationship with a man completely different from them. maybe they should move to louisiana? jk!. . . unless?

note. ok so reader is from louisiana and has cajun roots for context. chase landry is from swamp people 😭✌️ I loved that show when I was younger & I rewatched some recently and it reignited my crush on him sorry

WARNING(s); obsessive/possessive behavior, toxic/creepy exes (I make is as fluffy as I can tho trust), ooc Alex and Charles being a rich and out of touch, a spec of classism, stalking oops, (everyone Loves you)

miss.y/n📍belle river, la

liked by charles_leclerc, alexandrasaintmleux, jacoblandry, carlossainz55, and 1,006,349 others

miss.y/n back where I belong ☀️🌷🐊🐝🐍🌿🐠

view comments

mariene.y/l/n be safe in the water my baby 🤗

miss.y/n yes maman 🤞😊 you know I’m protected

user oop who’s protecting you miss ma’am

user omgggg how did Charles n Alex fumble so baddd 😩😩🙏 I’ve needed y/n’s cajun french baddie ass since DAY ONE 🗣️

charles_leclerc so beautiful mon ange 😍 but that water is dark and might be dangerous. ta maman a raison!

see translation | your mom is right

user stopp didn’t y/n break things off with them???

user2 currently losing it my fav throuple might be back 💪🗣️

carlossainz55 hope you’re doing well mi dulce ❤️

alexandrasaintmleux yeah no this isn’t happening

user carlos sweetie delete this comment while you still have hands <3

user SHE’S BACK IN LOUISIANA RAHH

user2 how did I not know she was from the middle of nowhere 😭 what is pierre part??

user3 how didn’t you know!!! her dad literally used to hunt alligator before he died and her mom remarried and moved back to France . Her dad was cajun

user this might be a reach but y’all think she knows anybody from swamp people? Love that show 🤣🤣

liked by miss.y/n

♤ ♤ ♤

♤ ♤ ♤

Alex’s leg bounced up and down nervously as her call went to voicemail for the 7th time in a row. She’d been calling your phone nonstop since hearing the news, anxious to know if it was true or not. It was always something that ate at her; her and Charles’ inability to relate to your childhood in Louisiana. They’d grown up among a higher class than you and in foreign countries. You would just giggle and wave off her concerns, insisting that even though they couldn’t understand your upbringing, that at least you could understand theirs.

“No answer.” She muttered, teeth gnawing at her bottom lip. It was a habit she’d had as a child, one that you disapproved of and had trained out of her before you left them.

“She left us for a swamp man.” Charles pathetically finished Alex’s thought as they sat in his car, waiting to meet some other drivers and wags at the high-end restaurant Carlos chose.

“Don’t say it like that!” Alexandra turned her body towards the passenger window, “She didn’t leave us— not in that way! I told you she was homesick!”

Your father was a Cajun man who definitely took his culture to heart, doing a lot of hunting and fishing before he passed away suddenly when you were 12. Your mother was from France originally, and she remarried a rich Frenchman who’d ended up funding your modeling career after your success in pageantry. You moved straight to France at age 14 and found yourself in a completely different culture from how you grew up. You’d visited France before during summers with your mother, but it wasn’t home to you like Louisiana. You’d met Alexandra when the two of you were 19, and instantly bonded. Despite only really meeting briefly, it was love at first sight on Alex’s part and she supported you all the way to when you won Miss Universe after starting out Miss Louisiana.

When Charles had come along and had the same feelings that she did for you, it felt perfect, like everything had finally come together.

“With us is her home.” Charles replied, sucking his teeth.

“I can’t even—” Alex didn’t have to finish, the two had the same thought. They can’t even fathom the idea that you were with someone else.

x

Daniel was practically cackling in joy while Carlos at least tried to hide his amusement by covering his face. It was no secret that most of the f1 grid was praying for you to leave Charles/Alex so they could get a chance— but this wasn’t what they were expecting.

Bickering around the table ensued, only a few seconds before Alex was rolling her eyes with a groan and putting her face in her hands, “He doesn’t have any recent social media so I can’t even stalk him.”

“So we will just go there!”

“And what? Become swamp people?” Daniel was laughing so hard he was tearing up.

“Cha, that’s so ridiculous.” Alex mumbled.

“It is—!” Kika agreed suspiciously fast, “I just mean the split was recent, so maybe me and Pierre should visit her before you guys?” It’d only been a few months, but that had been enough to drive Charles and Alex a bit off the rails.

They’d only ever been apart from you for just over two days in the last year, up until you ghosted them. Well— it wasn’t technically ghosting when you left a note; a very brief letter in your familiar handwriting that told them you needed some space. They didn’t take it as a break up, although they did panic. Their numbers weren’t blocked, so they naturally took that as a good sign. This was probably because you wanted their attention since all their calls and messages were going through. The finality of it didn’t hit until it reached two weeks of no-contact from you and their photos were removed from your Instagram. The public noticed and so did the rest of the grid despite Alex and Charles’ now 3-month-long denial stage.

“le lieu s'appelle Pierre Part, yeah?” Pierre grinned and Charles sneered at him. (the place is called pierre part)

“They might have a point,” Daniel winced with a wide grin, “I think you’ll just look crazy if you show up. At least, one of us would just look like a friend who misses her, ya know?”

“None of you are visiting our girlfriend!” Alex frowned.

“Ex,” Carlos gently corrected into his fist with a cough before straightening up, “She jus’ is homesick maybe so give her some space and she will come back in no time.”

“I knew this would happen.” Alex slumped with her chin in her hand, “cet endroit est sa maison.” (that place is her home)

“You’ve never heard ‘if you love something, let it go’? If it’s meant to be, she’ll come back.” Daniel tried to reassure, but his face was almost a wince.

“We just wanted her close to us is all! We travel so much, we didn’t mean to take her away from her home—”

But Daniel gave them a look, knowing about their behavior with you. As in love with you as they are, Alex and Charles are intense about it. Endearing on one hand for awhile, but then the jealousy got worse and they were pretty delusional about their tendencies. He could understand it honestly— you were lovely. He imagined he’d be in the same state as Alex and Charles if you were his and you left him. Which is why he cut them so much slack, the rest of the table too.

“I don’t understand why she ran away like that!” Charles finished with a huff, running his fingers through his hair. He was starting to sweat. This felt like a cruel joke on your part— a mean way to get their attention.

“His ears are a little big.” Alex whispered, staring into her phone with a pout.

“et cela! regarde nos oreilles!” (and that! look at our ears!)

Pierre lost it at that; Charles pulling at his ears to make a point, “Maybe he’s just a nice guy, man!”

“We are nice!”

“Let me see.” Carlos walked around the table to see Alex’s phone.

She’d googled the name of your alleged new boyfriend— Chase Landry. He had starred on some Southern US reality show ‘Swamp People’; it mainly surrounded cajun alligator hunters in Louisiana. They had known you liked the show, but had never seen it themselves.

“Eh,” Carlos shrugged, “his ears aren’t that big. He is a little old for her though, no? 34?”

“Exactly! He is a pervert! I’m calling her again, actually.”

♤ ♤ ♤

♤ ♤ ♤

miss.y/n 📍pierre part, la

liked by jacoblandry, carlossainz55, francisca.cgomes, danielricciardo, and 1,014,108 others

miss.y/n me and my dirty swamp man foreva 🤞💛🌷🦆

view comments

user STOPPP SHE SAID THAT’S MY MAN N IMMA STICK BY HIMMMM

user2 stfu 😭✋ the fact that this man most likely has no idea that this is going on

user3 his brother liking her posts and filling him in

miss.y/n jokes on y’all Jacob doesn’t know what’s going on either

bellahadid beautiful lily faery and her dirty swamp bf <3

miss.y/n <3 literally

user BELLA⁉️

arthur_leclerc beautiful view of the water, ma sœur!

see translation | my sister

user THEY SENT Y/NS FAVORITE LECLERC BROTHER IN TO PLAY DAMAGE CONTROL

user2 not “my sister” 😭😭😭 leclercs let her go challenge

user y/n’s harem coming to her defense like the mighty morphin power rangers 😭😂🤣

x

this is part 1 of perhaps 3. I plan on making part 2 much longer and more writing than social media like this one, just for some balanceee

taglist; @alliwantisadonut @splaterparty0-0 @charizznorizz

Ren

#f1 fanfic #f1 fic #dark! f1 #f1 grid x reader #obsessive f1 #charles leclerc x reader #poly f1 #f1 oc #obsessive charles leclerc #ex! charles leclerc #Charles leclerc fic #carlos sainz x reader #alex saint mleux x reader #alexandra saint mleux #f1 reverse harem #swamp people x reader #chase landry x reader

[anipgarden]

What to Do Once Things Are Planted?

This is my seventh post in a series I’ll be making on how to increase biodiversity on a budget! I’m not an expert--just an enthusiast--but I hope something you find here helps! 

So you’ve gotten started on making a garden to boost biodiversity! 10/10, excellent work! So, now what?

First, you’ll need to keep watering the plants--especially if you’re going through a dry season. Native plants will be more acclimated to your area’s seasonal weather, but they’ll need a helping hand while they’re getting established--especially if you’re starting with young, tender seedlings. With that in mind, if you accidentally skip out on crucial watering days, don't panic! There's been tons of times where I haven't watered for an entire summer and had perennials come back the next spring! Even this year, during a heatwave, I completely did not water my swamp milkweeds, but they're already popping back up! You may also need to go in and weed, especially if you’re seeing invasive species popping up in the garden. Invasives are no good--if you do anything, do your best to get those out as effectively and safely as possible!

If you’re needing to maintain your shrubs in spring and summer, double check to make sure there are no active bird or insect nests within them. If it’s possible to wait until later to cut your shrubs, it could be extremely beneficial.

When fall and winter come around and your plants begin to die back, don’t cut them away if you can! Many insects overwinter in the plant stems left behind as perennials die back to the roots. In addition, birds will use seed heads as a source of food over the winter. Try not to clean things up until late winter/early spring, when other food sources are beginning to come back and things are growing again. By then, the insects should be waking up and leaving the plant stems as well.

However, don’t let this discourage you from collecting seeds! Collecting seed from your plants is a great way to continue gardening at low cost, as well as making friends and encouraging others to garden by trading seeds or offering them as gifts. If you're in an area where you do need to cut back, this is a great opportunity to collect the seeds and save them for the future. You could also cut back what’s dying in the front yard and keep things to overwinter in the backyard. Some overwintering habitat is better than no overwintering habitat.

Want to know how to collect seeds from specific plants? I've found YouTube to be a great source of info for this! Knowing what you're doing and when is key to getting a viable harvest.

As your mulch begins to break down, you’ll need to keep adding more to top it off, if you can. It can get a bit repetitive, but no worries--the mulch breaking down means your soil is improving! 

If possible, add to your garden! Expand, add in new things, and keep encouraging the growth of native plants. If you couldn’t add that water feature in year one, see if you can in year two! New interest in birds? Add a birdhouse, or more bird feeders. Loving the butterflies? Add plenty more nectar-rich plants, or do more research into what they lay their eggs on! Want more color? See what else you can add in! Came into some new pots to expand your flowerpot garden with? Find cool native plants to put in them! I always encourage people to start small and then expand over time, as opposed to starting big and getting overwhelmed.

Keep learning and observing native species of birds, insects, mammals, etc. See what’s coming to your yard now, and look into how you can improve things more for them on your budget. If you aren’t seeing what you were hoping, see if there’s other actions you can take that’ll attract what you’re hoping to see in your backyard habitat. Knowing more about the world around you makes it easier to know how to help the world around you. Talk to others about what you’re doing, the changes you’ve made, and the results you’ve seen! Curious neighbors? Work friends? Your closest homies? Your family? All fair game! You just might be the one who gets someone else interested in making their space a habitat for local wildlife!

That’s the end of this post! My next post is gonna be about the secret Other Thing you can do to help biodiversity--tackling invasives! Until then, I hope this advice was helpful! Feel free to reply with any questions, your success stories, or anything you think I may have forgotten to add in!

#biodiversity #solarpunk #gardening #outdoor gardening #ani rambles #out of queue #the biodiversity saga #at least it hasn't been 2 months since the last post amiright #i know its september so by this point a lot of northern hemisphere folks are winding down on gardening #buuuut winter's a good time to buy seeds for cheap! and for plotting and planning #and meanwhile the southern hemisphere will be just gearing up! #either way I hope this advice has been helpful so far!

[rainbowchaox]

OKOKOKOKOK ANOTHER AU FOR ADOPTION:

Space Romance Au

Pretty much Earth sends out people on missions to research alien flora and fauna. They arrive on a distant planet and live in like a portable housing/research station. The station has good housing quarters and labs filled with the best equipment. Also each station has a food replicator. Usually these stations are only manned by one human. Mostly everything is automatic. And Missa is part of this project and is currently manned on the recently found planet coined Vita Viridis.

Vita Viridis is an oxygen rich planet whose natural flora experience gigantism. It’s heavily forested with flora reaching almost unnatural proportions. It tends to be a mild climate but does have typical seasons. It’s tends to rain often and it’s common for bodies of water to dot the surface. So often in fact that Missa usually goes around by boat.

The station Missa resides in is on an island in a middle of a swamp which the roots of the massive trees delve into. It’s the only dry land he saw when he landed so he had to make do. And also why he takes full advantage of the water to explore Vita Viridis.

But the fact is Missa soon realizes he is not alone. Introducing the humanoid insectoid species of Vita Viridis. (Thank you @changeling-ash for all of these)

Class: Suprainsecta (Above Insect)

Order: Sapenoptera (Wise Winged)

Family: Elytronidae (Covering [wing])

Genus: Sapien Vitari (Wise Vitari)

The common name is Vitari. Named after the planet as it’s the dominant species. And one Vitari is very attached to Missa. A Vitari named Phil. Missa saved him from a giant spider web and he now wants to court the pretty human. And does make himself known often to Missa. He is fully sentient but unable to speak human languages.

Vitari communicate by complicated vocalizations including clicks, chirps, trills, rattles and buzzing. Though they can eventually be taught human languages. Vitari also use wing vibrations to communicate as well.

Missa at first was terrified of Phil because he has common sense and healthy sense of what is dangerous. But it wasn’t long until he found out Phil was pretty harmless and mostly curious (Though it does take him a bit longer to realize that Phil wants to court him)

Vitari have elytra that can make them able to fly. Silver or black are the most common colorings. They also have a stinger of sorts that puts venom into whatever they are hunting. They have black sclera with strange pupils. Their elytra is very fast. Their skin is mostly cartilage but can be numerous shades. They tend to wear basic like robes made from spider silk though some Vitari tribes have ways to dye the silk. And some Vitari communities have made full blown cities deep in the forest. Though it’s more common for Vitari to live isolated lives from the rest of their species.

Anyways Phil is courting human missa. This includes serenades. Mainly flapping his wings to create vibrations (not like actually singing). Phil also does elaborate dances and show off with his flying. Also just in general fly close to him (For example in real life male flies would fly close to female flies for attention). Another big thing is the nuzzles. Phil loves to nuzzle into missa hair or shoulder. Also loves to bump foreheads together. Another thing common in real life is insects prepare a meal for females. So Phil keeps trying to feed Missa with strange creatures he hunted. He eventually learns Missa prefers alien fruits and therefore gathers that for him instead. (Yes Missa falls victim to puppy eyes on his alien love interest and goes against all his common sense and eats the fruit. It’s delicious)

Missa has to contact the crew on earth with new findings and just in general checking he is fine and healthy. And they make fun of him so much for going against basic scientific principles and eating foods he doesn’t know how it would affect his human body. Missa too enamored by sweet alien to not accept his gifts. If he gets poisoned he gets poisoned.

Vitari live in hidden treehouses in the canopy. It tends to use whatever is around them to make it though they make the floor soft with fur and moss to sleep on. And they tend to hoard materials for either expanding their nest of sorts or stock food items. They also make simple tools to help them with their day to day. Vitari are pretty smart.

I personally like to imagine during the period Missa didn’t realize Phil has a crush on him and is courting him the Vitari way is when he had to contact the base on earth about his findings and research and Phil just climbed into his lap for cuddles and nuzzles. As he buzzes and chirps happily. His higher ups are concerned at first that he somehow got the dominant species to want to court him. But he is still doing excellent work so it’s fine with them.

#feel free to ask me questions in my ask box #this is a au for adoption btw pls @ me if you make art or fic of it #pissa #qsmp pissa #bugza being gay #bug trigger warning #space au

[bishops-of-the-old-faith]

To Kallamar, whats with Heket's temple??

How ahout your other siblings

Oh I can go ON.

Heket's temple is constantly damp from the swamp water that seeps in. And that isn't a bad thing by itself but with the humidity of Anura? There's mold everywhere. And it does not look good. Not to mention all the lichen that's destroying the integrity of the foundation. And with food allowed, there's always some kind of pest or brand new species of mold creeping around and it is awful to walk around in.

Shamura and Lehsy both have the same issue with their temples. Nobody ever maintains them. Shamura's is covered in dust and cobwebs that makes it impossible to navigate if you're not a spider, and Leshy lets roots and weeds run wild like they own the place, and they can't even think.

Narinder's temple is basically a crypt. It looks all nice and dressed up from the outside but you go in and it's abandoned and drafty. You'd think it's fitting, but in actuality it's just eerie.

#kallamar #anonymous #text post

[treason-and-plot]

REPLIES TO SAFFY LAMBASTING LIAM

@windermeresimblr

Wow! There's Saffy's backbone.

Yeah she's not known for holding back!

@drudragonrose

She's with a boy her own age that she actually likes. Be gone worm!

@ivorycrayon

Man, you write shades of grey so well. It’s hard to root for anybody, but it’s also hard to condemn anybody completely because all your characters’ actions are way too complex. “He’s wrong but..” “She shouldn’t have to deal with this but..” I could use your characters if I ever taught ethics class 😂 (except for Anita, that is, I always struggle to find any redeeming qualities in that lady :P)

Thank you so much Ash! I love writing morally grey characters who have questionable (but hopefully relatable) motives so it's extremely heartening to read your comment. And I love how steadfast you've always been in your opinion of Anita, lol!

@keoni-chan

I don't like this one bit. I hope Liam's brand new backbone doesn't evolve into an "if I can't have you..."-situation 😱

who knows what might have happened if fate hadn't intervened....

@dresdendarlin

Oooh it’s his snapping moment. He’s gonna do something drastic and crazier next.

@batsheba

Ok, now let's see if he, the creep Liam, can process this information?! Whatever happens I hope Saffy will be ok... I'm worried Liam will do something utterly stupid and potentially dangerous.

@oasislandingresident

Ooooh shit's about to go down!!! 🍿

@kimmiessimmies

I'm with @batsheba, this is not going to go down well with Liam...

@wannabecatwriter

Be careful, Saffron. He's in a weird mindstate now.

@bool-prop

Oh no. He's going to snap.

@muses-circle

🤦

@muses-circle

Liam will either have a meltdown right there, in the parking lot, or he'll wait until he's in the middle of class and doing something worse. I'm worried about what his breaking point will look like.

@muses-circle

And Saffron, men DO leave their wives. It's call divorce, honey. Life isn't as black and white as you think.

I didn't write Saffy's speech very well...what she was trying to say was that it's a well-known fact that married men never leave their wives for their side-pieces! She was actually quite enraged that Liam turned out to be the statistical anomaly, lol. That was the last thing she wanted to happen!

@echoweaver

Woo. Saffron's right, but wow she's still got so much growing up to do. OTOH, Liam seemed to be with her in large part because she verbally abused him. It's such a messed up puppy.

Yeah, he seems to derive a perverse satisfaction from being the victim and indulging in self-defeating behaviour. It's also not an accident that the two women in his life routinely humiliate and criticise him.😬

@sweetnovember77

Saffy's words can devastate ANYONE with strong emotions toward another person. It's like a knife to the heart.

Yeah, Saffy can be very acid-tongued. He probably deserved the wake up call but Saffy can count herself very lucky he didn't snap or do something as drastic as Stephanie.

@anamoon63

😮 This is not going to end well. I wish Saffy had been a little more diplomatic. 😔

It definitely did not end well, but fortunately for Saffy she was not the one who was impacted the most! I hope at the very least she learns some important life lessons from this whole sorry experience.

@simsaralove

I really hope this will make Mr. Yucky realize he better go live in the Twinbrook swamps and not make him do something stupid and ruin Saffy’s happiness 😭

@justanothersimsblog

I'd tell her to slap him but I think he likes that so... maybe knee him in the balls then lol

lol he is such a pathetic masochist that he would probably enjoy that too!😆

@greywardenconsort

He's a monster thru & thru

A sad, spineless, loser monster.

@streetlites

That's gotta sting. Bwahahah. Also, what did he think she was going to do? Leap into his arms? She was never like that toward him to begin with.

@mysimsloveaffair

They are both better off without each other. Saffy is doing him a favor and he doesn't even know it. SMH

Liam was always doomed by his poor life decisions and victim mentality. I'm also thinking that it was possible he had affairs as a passive-aggressive form of revenge, but didn't count on falling so heavily for Saffy. In any case, I think he got what he deserved.

#reply post #replies #gif warning #lots of gifs

[cooki3face]

11/27/23

Little channeled message for the collective. This one’s really general, I didn’t pull any piles or anything I just let the cards come out so so take what resonates and leave what doesn’t, I love you! ❤️

***

collective is growing flawlessly. Great deal of you have broken a large amount of general curses and trudged through some deep waters for a really long time and came out on the other side unscathed and ready for better. I’m getting imagery of a bayou or a swamp, one with crocs in it or various other organisms that could attack you or become an issue if they really wanted to but there’s something about a select few of you that has made it to the other side protected, that has defied all odds, for those of you who are African American have ancestors who’ve passed away within the United States during the antebellum era who are watching you very closely and protecting you. Some of them are asking that you light candles for them or come and speak to them soon or connect with them or your roots. The color purple, orange, green, and red are significant. The color purple the movie could be significant as well, I wasn’t thinking that originally but that could be something you need to see or need to watch soon. You could be feeling nostalgic or be feeling a pull to the past, be interested in historical themes at the moment or be feeling pulled by a past version of yourself from a past life.

Those of you who are connected to your spirit guides or have had past life guided meditations done or awakenings, may need to revisit, or speak to your ancestors and spirit guides soon. Those of you who work with deities and gods and goddesses they wanna speak to you as they’ve been quite lately. Deep spiritual awakenings and enlightenment is on the horizon. The other side is calling. Answer. The number 22 is significant. Tap into your power, turn within. Rise. Some of you could be feeling a little primal lately or feeling very ambitious, driven, or aggressive. Spirit says they’re fueling you to go after your dreams. Especially if you’re African American, ancestors are pulling up with all their energy, they’re offering it to you, they said we wanna see you win. There’s a lot of pride here, there’s something very deep, ancestral and strong in the air right now. Spirit says we wanna see how special you are. Call your friend or reach out to someone apart of your soul tribe today or tonight or whenever you see this.

You know who I’m speaking of. Spirit says we want you stand tall in your decisions, don’t let anything knock you down, don’t let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do. Some of you have answers that we’re waiting on your arrival, you’re a generational curse breaker, the baton is in your hands. You’ve got people in your past who haven’t changed, who you’ve left behind or moved on from who want your attention, your forgiveness, and want access to you but you’ve left and opened up new doors. Something is in store for you in about one week. In one week a new part of your life begins or something important is about to happen. People adore you, past and present. You may be out of sight but you’re not out of mind and the people who are watching feel drawn to you. Some of you have met a new soulmate or divine counterpart as well whose in your energy and wants to spend more time with you and who thinks you’re the bees knees and the greatest thing since sliced bread. Good luck, and I love you. ❤️

#self love #self care #self improvement #self discovery #dream girl #self expression #healingjourney #self healing #manifestation #divine feminine #divine masculine #channeled message #tarot #oracle #tarot witches #divination

[satureja13]

Vlad and Jack return from their visit at the Temple. Jack feels so much better now but... Vlad: "This does not look like the place we left this morning...I think we've lost our way - again..." Jack: "Aren't we supposed to see the swamp with that creepy plant when we're afar from our home?' But they heard Saiwa shouting: "We're here!" Jack: "What happened here? Oh, this is amazing! And Jeb cooked!" Jack knuckles a tear out of the corner of his eye. This day is too much for him.

Saiwa: "Haven't you eaten all day?" Jack: "Vlad cooked..." Saiwa: "Oh no."

They sat down to eat. Jack: "This is so beautiful! Where did you get all this stuff from? We have no money!" And Sai told them about the machines they found in the shed. Jack: "This is just like magic!"

Jack told Sai about the amazing Temple and that he feels so much better now that he doesn't even mind sleeping on the floor again tonight. He talked like a waterfall ^^' But Saiwa told him he won't have to and winks at him ;) And Vlad still feels bad he gave Arturo a hard time with his 'meal' and so he asked Jeb if he could brew a few potions for the temple to make it up to Arturo. Jeb: "Sure. I'll do that right tomorrow morning and you can take them with you on your next visit."

And then they wen't over to the houseboat to show Jack his new room. Jack: "Oh there's the Astromech! How did you get him up here from the ship?" Saiwa: "We used the crane ^^' "

Saiwa: "Jack? Don't cry! If you hate it we throw it back into the machine and make something you like better!" Jack: "Noooo! This is one of the most beautiful things you ever did for me! I love you!" Vlad: "I won't sleep while the rooster is in this bed."

Saiwa: "We just did the most needed stuff today. A place to cook and eat, two beds, bathroom and a little nicknack to make it homelier ;) We'll show you tomorrow how the machines work and then you can create whatever you want. We have enough junk around here to feed them ^^`"

Sai left them to keep his promise to spend the night with Jeb.

While Jack, Vlad and Malfoy inaugurate Jack's new home with a Star Wars movie.

They've watched this movie for the upteenth time so they started to chat about the temple - and the tree... Jack: "This temple has a strange aura. But Arturo is amazing and I feel so much better - my body and my soul will heal, Vlad. But the roots scared me a bit." Vlad: "I'm so glad, Jack. And I felt it too. I'm going to stay with you next time. We should also help out at the Temple to make it up to Arturo and repay for his help. And maybe find out why this tree feels so familiar."

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest 🛺 'Home crappy Home' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: 🌴 'The Expedition' from the beginning ▶️ here 🎤 'Putting the Boys Back together' from the beginning ▶️ here 🥀 'Disbandment of the Group' from the beginning ▶️ here

#home crappy home #sims 4 story #simlit #tincan #sims 4 #ts4 story #ts4 #simblr #vladimir tepesz #jack callahan #giga byte #saiwa #jeb harris #tomarang #underwater love #The Crappy Home #sims 4 vanilla #the sims 4 for rent #sims 4 for rent #for rent #R2-D2 #astromech

[thatboreddrake]

Castellans of the Shaded Castle:

Wanted to include this with yesterday's post, but that one took longer to explain than I expected. More of a mini-theory/headcanon, but I feel like it fits well.

As usual, we start with our research (item descriptions as always):

Marais Mask: "Mask in the image of a white-haired young noble. Customarily worn by the head of House Marais. Increases arcane. The Marais family has a dual history spanning generations, serving as both executioners and castellans of the Shaded Castle. This mask bears the likeness of the first of their line."

Fact #1: the Marais family has inhabited the Shaded Castle and served as executioners for a very long time (unclear how long)

Fact #2: the Marais Mask boosts Arcane, a stat which among other things increases build-up for bleed and poison. For our purposes, we'll be focusing on the poison.

Fact #3: the Shaded Castle is built directly on top of a poisonous swamp.

Poison Armament: "Those who dwell within poison know rot all too well. The death that begets life, that comes to all equally. That is to say: it is the cycle of rebirth put into practice."

Fact #4: poison has a direct connection to rot and death as a method of rebirth.

House Marais has operated as bringers of death, executioners, for an unspecified length of time. Given its hidden and out of the way location, I presume that they have operated since before the establishment of the Golden Order.

Mushroom Crown: "Long ago, great lords served the scarlet rot. Perhaps such fungal bodies served as their crowns."

I propose that these "great lords" were indeed the scions of House Marais, representing death and its connection to rot, decay, and eventual rebirth. They well understand the importance of rot and death in the cycle of death and rebirth, dwelling in a castle beset by poison.

Mushroom Head: "To those enraptured by the scarlet rot, they are holy vestments that root one to the earth."

They built the Shaded Castle either on top of a poison swamp or cultivated the swamp because poison and fungus is sacred to worshipers of rot. Then, the Golden Order comes along, the god of rot is sealed, and House Marais elects to bend the knee and become executioners for the new regime rather than go down with the ship. I believe this is supported because the Marais Robe is incredibly similar to the Official's Attire, worn by Marika's Inquisition (Ghiza).

See what I mean? Anyway, fast-forward to the present day (ish).

Antspur Rapier: "Scarlet rot is an old legend, of which Maleigh Marais of the Shaded Castle was a private believer. And indeed, he eventually found his own personal goddess."

The Marais line carries the legend of the god of rot with it, but it is a closely guarded secret among the heads of the family. Marika would not take kindly to her executioners continuing with their heretical religion.

Marais Robe: "The sons of House Marais are all sickly born. Little wonder that Maleigh Marais would be so beguiled by the beautiful and fierce goddess who was born into rot."

Maleigh Marais becomes the head of the family. Considering that the family is consistently in "not great" health, I would imagine he's pretty young when he takes over this role. Naturally, he has official duties to attend to, mostly ceremonial (there's not been much need for executions since the end of the Second Liurnian War). Anyway, he's at court in Leyndell one day for some reason or another and encounters the Twin offspring of Queen Marika and King Consort Radagon.

He is captivated by Malenia, both for her beauty and for her position as the vessel of the rot god. This is about the time when the Twins are preparing to leave Leyndell and establish the Haligtree. Given the Shaded Castle's secluded location, it's the perfect spot to offer inconspicuous passage to the Consecrated Snowfield (remember that the Forbidden Lands are strictly off-limits). Eager to prove himself to his goddess, Marais offers his services. Miquella is skeptical of his intentions: people feel sorry for his sister, but they are never as nonchalant about her curse as Marais is. However, he needs his help so they strike a deal to use the Shaded Castle as a port (this part of the lore courtesy of @catcas22).

In return, Maleigh requests a simple boon: a token of Malenia's favor. Perhaps he could serve as caretaker of her prostheses when she outgrows them?

Valkyrie’s Prosthesis: "When Maleigh Marais, Lord of the Shaded Castle, embraced this prosthesis, he claimed to feel the presence of his personal goddess."

Obviously, this prosthesis is protagonist-sized, as it fits Millicent perfectly. Thus, it must have been one of Malenia's earlier models from before she grew to demigod stature. This is largely why I say that Maleigh became involved with the Twins early in the Haligtree's development. I imagine that this was the first prosthesis that Malenia granted to him, thus explaining why this one was particularly special to him.

So, yeah

Conclusion: House Marais served as executioners to continue the cycle of life, death, and rebirth during an age when the god of rot was a natural part of the world, and Maleigh was thus enchanted by Malenia as the return of his family's deity.

#elden ring #lore theory #malenia blade of miquella #maleigh marais #miquella the unalloyed #I love reading item descriptions #am I wrong? probably #was this fun? absolutely

[oneatlatime]

The Swamp

Random thing I spotted in the opening credits: this Roku (?) silhouette is doing a spinning blade move with airbending, that Azula did with her blue fire while riding the mail system in Return to Omashu. I guess that despite the bending styles being based on different martial arts, borrowing is allowed.

A snippet of blue spirit music plays when that cart carrying the masks passes by. Maybe one second of showtime but the writers and track team put in the effort anyway.

I'm still mad at Zuko for stealing that lady's bird horse, but I'm happy to see that they're looking after it. It even has a blanky.

Those bangs would have done numbers in 2008.

So I'm wishing death on sword guy. Apart from the whole trying to cut off Iroh's feet thing, he can't even do up his shirt right. Zero redeeming features.

I wish I knew how to make gifs to show this, but the way that the diffused lightsource is reflecting off the water peaking through the vegetation of the swamp is incredibly realistic.

Is the sharpening stone the one that usually sits in the indent on the other side of the blade? It would be pretty cool to have a knife with a built in sharpener like that.

Sokka's got a point. How do you "land" on a swamp? Appa will need to break out his sea bison skills.

TIL swamps don't take no for an answer.

HOW are they still ALIVE?!?!

AcTuAlLy Aang it's "where ARE Appa and Momo?"

As someone who has literally had leeches on my elbow, this is not funny.

Also this episode's beat up Sokka quota has already been filled by a tornado, a swamp, and a vampire slug. And we're only 4 minutes in. I feel like this is going to be a rough episode for him.

Look I get that there is no solid land in this swamp, but they could at least move out of the fetid leech-infested water onto a tree root.

Shibari Appa. I ahd to google that.

Momo is a good friend.

Could you imagine what Apppa smells like after landing in the swamp water?

Poor Momo's like "dude. I JUST freed you."

Not everyone can airbend Aang. Some of us would have no option but to cut our way out of the swamp, niceness be damned.

You ever just go FWOMP?

I'm loving these little Appa & Momo scenes.

Did this episode air on Halloween originally? It's really leaning in to the spooky.

And now Appa gets to be a good friend. I love the ear twitch. Have I talked about how cute Appa's ears are?

King of the jungle Appa.

New fear unlocked. Never swimming in seaweed again.

Also kudos to them for sleeping sitting up. I can't do that.

It's neat how all three of their fighting styles are equally effective at freeing them from the vines. No bending superiority here!

How did Cletus and Brandine figure that Appa has six legs from this trail?

No comment. Just thought you'd all appreciate a picture of bowl cut Appa using an alligator as a toothbrush.

Pretty. Swamp wisteria.

This swamp is a dick.

This jumpscare got me. Also, swamp is now a double dick.

And Aang sees some rando. I was expecting Gyatso. Maybe being the avatar makes you immune to swamp dickishness?

If Cletus saw a lemoo at a travelling show once, does that mean that Momo is not the last of his species? Because I've been worrying about that.

This is a pretty cool use of waterbending. Although I don't think 'outboard motor with high manoeuvrability' is a recognised martial arts move.

All the background art in this episode is subtle but very detailed. Another episode I'll be watching on a better quality screen than my little laptop, which makes everything into a green-grey blur.

Sokka was looking for his friends. Katara was looking for her friends. Aang was chasing tail.

Tea party Sokka rocking a midi skirt and thigh high leather boots.

Have to give it to Sokka; they have all been huffing a lot of swamp gas recently. Hallucinating people you think of often after huffing god knows what is a more believable explanation than sentient, dickish swamp. Or it would be, if this wasn't a world where things like the avatar exist.

Looks like I was right about this being a beat up Sokka episode. The number of times swampy has thrown him to the ground, I'm surprised he's still getting up. Also, I think Sokka's voice actor was paid by the scream this episode.

Anyone remember the Absorbaloth?

Are these guys narrating NYOOM noises?

I have to commend the manoeuvrability of these boats.

Not to self: do not piss off a waterbender. They are human deli slicers.

"He's the Avatar. Stuff like that happens to us, a lot." Season 1 in a nutshell.

I applaud this guy's efficiency for styling his hair into a hat.

You guys are really going to go with this guy to a secondary location like 15 seconds after he stopped trying to kill you? Every so often I forget that the Gaang are teens or younger, then something comes along that really reminds me.

Nitpick! Are his socks made out of mud?

This guy has grey eyes like Aang does 50% of the time. I swear Aang has brown eyes in at least half the episodes so far.

More delicious reflections. I wish I could gif this too.

I love the lesson here. The swamp guy's speech about interconnectedness is good, made twice as good by the delivery. Excellent choice of voice actor. Also the bit about the people we've lost still being there hits hard.

A power this useful had better come up again.

Can someone who knows music better than I do tell me if Cletus is on beat? I think not.

New reaction shot!

Why does Sokka repeat "Hugh" so skeptically? What's the joke here?

"He don't eat no bugs. That's people food." This is the kind of stuff I love the most in this show. These seemingly inconsequential, throwaway worldbuilding comments that instantly double the depth of the universe of the show. Every time I get a glimpse of normal people living non-war-torn normal lives I love it.

Scenes like this. PEAK avatar.

That swamp just bitchslapped a bird.

I'd forgotten that Zuko and Iroh were in this episode.

Zuko is well on his way to being forgiven for stealing the horse bird.

Have to wonder why he had a spare set of black clothes lying around though.

Final Thoughts

This episode may well be my new favourite. I like if for the same reasons that I liked Bato of the Water Tribe: it shows us what comparatively normal life is like. Here's a random group of people that might not even know about the war. Looking at them gives us a glimpse of what Aang's pre-war world must have been like, and what the post-war world everyone is fighting to create could be like. It's both nostalgia and hope in one place.

I love that Sokka is still stubbornly anti-supernatural even after travelling for months with the human incarnation of a spirit, being kidnapped by a giant monster panda, and having his crush turn into the moon. Not to mention mega fishman Aang. Although, in a world where the existence of spirits is a scientifically observable fact, isn't believing in the supernatural actually the logical viewpoint?

Apart from that awesome deli slicer waterbending move, Katara did surprisingly little this episode. I think Momo and Appa had more to do.

Spekaing of, I loved having a little side adventure with Momo and Appa. There's enough personality in the animation and voicing of those two characters that they can easily carry dialogue-free scenes. Avatar should do a dialogue free episode with just Appa and Momo going on an adventure. I love their interspecies friendship.

The whole 'we're all connected' thing could have rung hollow if the writers hadn't taken the time to painfully personalise that message for two thirds of the Gaang. In today's arguably too-connected world (thanks internet) the lesson seems obvious, but in a pre-industrial world that's a century into a global war, I bet the connectedness of things is unknown, forgotten, or actively suppressed.

The incredibly short bookends with Zuko and Iroh were (I'm guessing) to establish that Zuko has taken a vigilante turn and that Iroh is inhumanly patient. Neither of those is a surprise. Honestly, if I found myself in that situation, I would react more like Zuko than Iroh. Guess that means I'm a work in progress.

The Storm last season showed that while Aang had a lot to learn, Zuko had a lot to unlearn. Instead of just unlearning incorrect things, it looks like the show is taking it a step farther and progressively stripping Zuko of everything. Zuko isn't one to sit idly by though, so he's fighting back by clinging to harmful things like his pride and learning things he arguably shouldn't, like how to commit theft of bird horses. Although I have no moral objection to stealing that jerk's swords.

This episode didn't have a beat up Sokka quota; it had a beat up everyone quota, physically and sometimes mentally too. Kind of surprised there weren't even bruises. And poor Sokka. The first cut is the deepest.

I'll definitely be rewatching this one.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #the swamp #avatar the last airbender

[dailydccomics]

"she was kind...but she hadn’t had a kind life...she was kind...but not tonight...and neither was I” 🔥 Swamp Thing: New Roots #9

#alec holland #dc comics #swamp thing #new roots #digital version #dc

[walkswithmyfather]

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” —Jeremiah 17:7-8

“Stand Tall” By Wendy Richmond:

“When I moved from Minnesota to Louisiana as a teenager, one of things that fascinated me most about my new environment were the cypress trees. These majestic beauties can reach heights of 100-150 feet and have massive trunks that often extend down into lakes, streams or swamps. Their roots reach deep into the water. They are certainly not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.

These massive trees are a visual reminder of those who trust in the Lord, those who have made the Lord their hope and confidence. In times of heat or drought other trees struggle to survive. They may shed their leaves or stop producing fruit to conserve resources, but the cypress trees remain green. They continue to thrive even when conditions are unfavorable.

When we put our trust in the Lord, when He becomes our hope and confidence, we too will thrive during unfavorable times. It doesn’t mean that unfavorable times won’t come, for they certainly will. It just means that when we trust in the Lord, we will stand tall and continue to flourish despite the circumstances.” Amen!🙏🕊🙌

#jeremiah 17:7-8 #praise god #praise the lord #thank god #thanking god #god cares about you #god loves you #trusting god #trust in the lord #bible verses #bible truths #bible scriptures #bible quotes #bible study #the word of god #christian devotionals #daily devotions #bible #christian blog #god #belief in god #faith in god #jesus #belief in jesus #faith in jesus #christian life #christian living #christian faith #christian inspiration #christian encouragement

[nonobadcat]

A real world AU Gothic Romance - part 1/3

Pairing: Ghost Shigaraki X Fem!Reader

Rating: Chapter one is PG-13. The other two chapters will be for readers 18+ only.

Content Warnings: Dead dog mention, cannon typical parricide

Eventual Kinks: Toys, V/oy, relations with a literal ghost

Chapter One Word Count: ~3k, Ao3 Mirror

Part 2 ---❤--- Part 3

Saturday October 15th, 2022

“So…?” gesturing like a vaudeville showman, you held out both hands towards your new house. “What do you think!? Great, right?”

Your best friend, Serenity, shoved her purple box-frame glasses up her wide, button nose and pursed her plush lips. Clicking her tongue, she curled her pointer finger into a loose coil of hair. Two tone sarcasm purred into her one word reply: “M-hmmm…”

Scratching the back of your neck, you glanced up at your new purchase just in time to watch one of the old tiles slip from the upper pitch of the dual-hipped roof. It bounced off the attic dormer, rolled past the mildew coated eaves, and slid across the mossy porch awning before tumbling a mere foot into the patchy, overgrown taxus bush. 

You forced a smile and pointed to the ancient, untamed yew. “Well, at least the roots are strong.”

Serenity pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please tell me you didn't use the realtor's home inspector."

"Oh come on Ren-Ren," you laughed, waving her off. Your eyes rolled to the side as your smile fell by one tooth. "I mean… I checked the plumbing myself, so…"

Brown eyes narrowed at you as your voice trailed off. With a deep, motherly sigh, she squeezed your shoulder. "Listen, you know I love you, right?"

You nodded.

She hooked her thumb over her shoulder. "It's a dump."

"It's a historical home!" You protested, crossing your arms. "It has good bones!"

Serenity eyed up the dingy, chipping brick and sun bleached slate tiles before shaking her head. "How many square feet?"

You fanned your hand across your chest. "3.5k with an acre of property plus a full attic and root cellar."

She blinked. "Hold up. That's like $400k+ most places! I thought you said your budget was $220,000?"

You grinned. "Yeah, and this was only $130,000 including closing costs. Crazy, right?"

Your best friend did a double take, staring at the ramshackle Second Empire with renewed interest. "Well… at least that covers the roof and siding." She thumbed her chin and cocked her head. "You're sure this thing has indoor plumbing?"

You shoved her shoulder. "Don't be a dick."

Serenity snickered into her palm. "Okay, so aside from having a friggen 'root cellar' and all the curb appeal of a haunted house, what else is wrong with it?"

You pointed to the far edge of the property where a line of grizzled pines swayed in the autumn breeze. "Busiest train tracks in the greater metropolitan area."

She whistled. "That's gonna blow."

"Literally," you agreed, massaging your temples.

She elbowed you in the ribs. "Still quieter than living with your ex."

You grinned. "No kidding!" With a wave of your hand, you beckoned her around the side of the building. "Wanna see the cool part?"

"Your definition of 'cool' is sus."

You grabbed the sleeve of her caramel colored duffle coat and tugged. "Just come on!"

Across the clover riddled lawn, Serenity trudged behind you in her knee high, slouch boots. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed to fight off the cool October wind. You pulled to a stop beside a massive old swamp oak and opened your purse. A wax coated paper sack appeared from the depths of your handbag. Scrawled in inky cursive were two words: "Doggone Delish".

You squatted low, and reached between tumbling roots. Gently brushing the leaf litter aside, you unveiled a carved piece of lichen encrusted soapstone. Time had worn the words smooth, but they were still legible.

"Mon: 1885?" Serenity murmured the text out loud before her eyes fanned wide. "Don't tell me that's a—"

You laid the oatmeal biscuit on the gravemarker and patted it fondly. "He was a Corgi. I found an old picture in one of the drawers." Rising to your feet, you brushed your hands on your jeans and grinned at her. "I always wanted a pet Corgi, and now I've got one."

Serenity eyed the long, dark branches of the towering giant above you. Their bare, grasping fingers crawled at the breeze. "Yeah well, hate to tell you this but your new dog is up the stump and fattening the squirrels by now." 

You scoffed and flashed her a playful smile. "So? Ghost dogs are cheaper than live ones."

"Freak," she teased, kicking your heel.

You stuck out your tongue and wiggled your fingers at her.

A low rumble tumbled in on the wind. The train's whistle shrieked out in the distance. Serenity covered her ears and grimaced. You shrugged and pointed to the house. She nodded, trailing behind you.

When they spotted the biscuit upon the gravemarker, the pair of crimson eyes in the upstairs window wrinkled with delight.

After a brief climb up the sagging porch steps and a short war with the new latchkey, your party arrived in the entryway. Pastel grey and tar black tiles arranged in geometric patterns lay just before the lanky old staircase. To the right, sunlight streamed through the bay windows of the empty, blandly colored front parlor. As Serenity handed you her coat, she examined the silk rose print wallpaper of the foyer. 

"The previous owners have all tried to renovate, but all of them had to stop the repairs before completion for some reason." You patted the yellowing flowers. "So a lot of it is still the original turn of the 20th century decor."

"Okay…" A puff of dust fluttered through the air as your companion tapped one of the old gas landliers in the entryway. With a grin, she turned to face you. "This place is kinda old-timey cool."

"Keep your shoes on," you told her, shuffling her coat onto the hanger. Tucking it into the cedar-lined hall closet, you toed the chipped porcelain tiles. "I haven't finished sweeping yet."

Serenity rolled her eyes. "Nobody’s got time to clean this much house by themselves!" She huffed and crossed her arms. "Why do you think my trunk looks like I scrubbed Mr. Clean’s bubbles?"

With a squeal of happiness, you flung your arms around her shoulders and crushed her against your chest. "Marry me, Ren-Ren."

"Keep that talk up and Marcus's paranoid self is gonna blow my phone up with his 'Baby, where you at?’-s," she laughed.

You released your friend and toed her boots. "You sure keep that boy under your heels."

"Mistress Ser knows what he likes,” she agreed, using the sleeve of her hubbie's hoodie to wipe the dust off the flecked glass of an old, gilded mirror. Tracing the ornate brass with the pad of her finger, she turned to you. “I’m loving this. Where’d you get it?”

“Came with the house.” You nodded to a cabriole legged, mahogany console just below the looking glass. Though the deep auburn shellac had silvered with sun damage, crystal knobs and burled wood spoke to its posh pedigree. A square shaped water ring in the dead center hinted at the old flower vase which must have once graced the hall. “Anything fabric was mouse eaten, but I saved the bedroom set.”

She wrinkled her nose. “You’re gonna sleep in some dead person’s bed? Gross.”

“Don’t make that face, Ren. I’m changing out the mattress.” You sighed. “Besides, this is legit heirloom stuff. When will I ever be able to afford fancy antiques on a my salary?” 

Serenity patted your shoulder. “Long as you don’t go banging a ghost or something.”

You shoved her down the hall. “You're really gonna go putting those thoughts in my head?!”

“You love it,” she teased back, running her hand over the dusty glass shades of the wall bracket lamps. “Are these oil?”

You shook your head. “Natural gas with an open flame. The seller said they capped the lines years ago though. Apparently, they caused a huge house fire back in the day and killed everybody except the little boy who lived here. After that they switched to kerosene and candles.”

“Open flame?” Serenity pulled away from the light as if it had teeth. “Small wonder the place went up.”

“Yeah,” you agreed, cupping your elbows. “Sounds like the people who owned it in the forties tried to repair the damage to the gas when they added the electricity. Supposedly the lines were sound, but the gas never worked right. The flame was always going out, leaving the gas running unchecked. They think it was low pressure or something. It made them annoyed so they sold it.”

As you walked, your companion eyed the soaring twelve foot ceilings and ornate transoms above the massive box doorways. “Well duh. If you make your walls friggin fifty foot tall, of course you’re gonna have pressure problems!”

“Yeah, but the water pipes work fine,” you pointed out, grabbing the round brass handle to the empty parlor. Chantilly parquet floors creaked below your feet as you strolled to the old coal burning fireplace and rested a hand on the chipped marble mantle. In the center of the elaborate plaster medallion, a dusty teardrop crystal chandelier hung above your heads. You flipped the wall switch. The light flickered to life with a painful click, illuminating faded scarlet walls. “The electrician says the wiring is safe, but it still sounds sketch to me.”

“Like it’s grinding or something.” She pressed her ear to the peeling, geometric patterned paper before shaking her head. “Well, at least I don’t hear any bees. Marcus’s mom had them in her walls one summer and Memorial Day turned into a horror movie real fast.”

You strolled to the old pocket doors on the far wall and pushed them wide. Beyond the thick walls, worn stain and gouged wainscot welcomed guests to the formal dining room. Ready for eight, the solid mahogany table stool proudly on hand carved, reeded legs. Beside the bay windows, a matching buffet complete with a wide, oval mirror and rosewood inlays awaited crystal bottles filled with port and brandy. Between twin hall doors, the empty hutch cried out for platinum-edged bone china and silver candlesticks to fill the empty shelves encased in its diamond mutins.

“I had to strip the cushions from the chairs,” you explained, resting your hand on the glossy table. “But the wood cleaned up nice with some mineral spirits and paste wax.”

Serenity shot you an incredulous look. “You've been watching too much ‘This Old House’.”

“It’s only $10 a quart at the hardware store. Way cheaper than a new table.”

Your companion rolled her wrist and beconked you to her. “Show me your hands.”

You cringed, holding out dry, peeling fingers.

Her eye twitched. “That’s it. After we finish this tour, I’m gonna drag your scaley self to Sally's Beauty.” She ripped her phone out of her pocket, furiously thumbing the keyboard. When the signal lit up with one bar, she snarled. “If there even is one in this podunk town.” 

You shrugged. “It’s a well water and septic world out here.”

Gripping her head, Serenity groaned. “I’m buying you a Brita filter. Asap.”

Heading down the long foyer, you made a sharp turn onto a narrow, walnut trimmed staircase. The dark, hand carved banister wobbled in your grip. You frowned at the loose fourth baluster. Not another one! Stupid Victorian hide glue! The original carpenter did some beautiful dovetail joinings but that stuff could not handle the humid summers in this area. More and more, the only dates you seemed to go on were with Norm Abram, Titebond and wood clamps. Now… the question was should you Amazon Prime some of the original stuff for authenticity’s sake or go with the stronger, cheaper wood glue you could get at Milton’s Hardware?

Cheaper probably. Considering the cost of Mansard roof repairs, cheaper was about what you could afford.

Leading her to the creaky upper hall, you bypassed the largest of four bedrooms on the south side of the house. Serenity paused, peaking through the crack in the old, tilted door frame. You shook your head and jerked your thumb down the landing.

“I got stuck in there last week. The house shifted so much over the years that it jams on humid days. I have to sand and rehang it before next summer.”

“Stuck? With cell service this bad?” She glanced out the far window at the long, overgrown expanse of forest which blocked any sight of your neighbors. A shiver rippled down her body. “Creepy.”

You paused, shaking hand rattling the old brass knob to the northern bedroom. “Tell me about it. I’ve left a crowbar and one of those fire escape ladders in there ever since.

Past the solid, double hip door sat a time capsule to the late nineteenth century. The original oak floors had yellowed with age but even the home inspector was impressed by their lack of seam gaps. Overlooking the front of the property, late 2000s double hung bay windows (a testament to the seller’s half-finished remodeling) encircled a small sitting area near the original coal burning fireplace. After hours of fighting with cast iron grating and a stubborn chimney flue, you’d managed to seal out the worst of the draft. The elegant brass chandelier surrendered its tarnish after two hours of polishing, leaving it capped with a luxurious glow every time the sun peeked through the gauzey Walmart curtains. Unlike the worn examples downstairs, dark wallpaper with golden peony blooms looked untouched by the years. 

You flopped onto your new, plastic wrapped mattress and stretched your hands wide. “Behold! Antiquey expensive stuff!”

Serenity’s jaw dropped as she took in the six part, solid mahogany bedroom set. As lovely a red as the day it was made, each piece of satin smooth craftsmanship testified to its owner's fortune. Capped in gothic embellishments and trimmed with burr wood inlays, the queen sized bed looked more like a cathedral than a sleeping space. A marble topped, tiered dressing table with dangling pewter drawer pulls stood ready for silver backed, boar bristle hair brushes and ambergris scented perfumes. You could hide four bodies in the massive armoire. Deep dresser drawers would hold six full skirted walking costumes with ease. Loveliest of all, the free standing, body length mirror reflected your companion’s flabbergasted gawking.

She pointed to the tall, narrow door. “Ho-how’d they even get this stuff in this room?!” 

You snickered, rising to your feet. “That era was all knockdown furniture,” you explained, turning the dressing table around. Tracing the dovetail seam between top and bottom, you tapped your temple. “Not like they wanted to haul all this stuff up the stairs anymore than we would.”

Serenity whistled. “Smart.”

“Oh! I almost forgot!” You dashed across the room to the six foot tall secretary desk and pulled down the writing table. In the center cubby, a luscious painting of olde English foxglove, Narcissus, and Lily of the Valley graced the Purpleheart inlays. You turned the small brass key in the latch and extracted a yellowed, black and white photograph of two children and a pudgy Pembroke Welsh Corgi. “Meet Mon, Tenko, and Hana Shimura.”

Your friend studied the picture. Hana, decked in high pigtails, stood solemnly in her dark pinafore and pristine, lacey apron. Tiny lips smashed in a thin line hinted at her efforts to control her smile. Under a messy flop of black hair, Tenko’s bright eyes gleamed with delight as he forced the Victorian portrait frown while clutching his new puppy. 

“Hold up,” Serenity demanded, tapping the picture with her long, lavender nail. “Aren’t those Japanese names?”

You nodded, returning the old photo to its hiding spot. “I think so.”

She crossed her arms. “Japan had its borders forced open by Perry in 1854. We’re supposed to believe some super rich Japanese family just packed it up, moved to Gilded-Age America, learned the language, and built a mansion in the middle of Podunk, USA just a few decades later?” Jabbing an annoyed figure at the elaborate plasterwork around the chandelier, she added: “Possible, but unlikely much?”

You shrugged. “Deus ex machina?”  

Serenity clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. “I guess, but it’s a terrible one, even for a smutty fanfic.”

“Eh… it’s Halloween. Gotta get our fix somewhere,” you replied, kicking the cotton batting. “Help me get this on the bed?”

Bustling to your side, your companion tore through the thin plastic. “So… which one of the Shimuras burnt the house down?”

“I think it was the dad,” you explained, hefting the edge of the mattress above the bed frame. “Might have been rich, but rumor has it he was a perfectionist and family beater. According to the librarian, local gossip was that, after he killed the kid’s dog, the wife tried to take them and leave.”

Serenity grunted as she swung her side up and over. The mattress flopped into place with a woosh before sinking down into the platform base. “Yeah, bet a man like that doesn’t take too kindly to his favorite punching bags up and walking away.”

You scoffed. “Anyone who hurt Mon-chan deserves to burn.”

All at once, your hackles rose. Pricked ears caught the tail end of a distant cackle. You whipped around scanning the room.

“What’s up?”

Rubbing the back of your neck, you shook off the feeling like a wet dog. “N-nothing. Just swore I heard a…” Your voice trailed off as you fixed your gaze on the old looking glass before glancing to the window. “Weird…”

“Hey!” Serenity grabbed your shoulder. “Don’t be pulling that ‘I thought I saw something’ nonsense when I’ve gotta sleep here tonight!”

You laughed and threw up your hands in apology. “Sorry, sorry. Just caught a glint of sunlight in the mirror. That’s all.”

Inside the glass, body shaking with laughter, Tomura’s pale hand clamped tight over a skeletal grin.

Part II coming Saturday October 22nd, 2022

Taglist:

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@m0nim0ni @minnieplier-blog @blehitsriot @moonwad @saikis-seceretcoffeejelly @nainainairi @bakuhoe37 @un-deadinsomniac @nonominchan @utena-akashiya @molita111 @nekolover93 @pimp-in @slaughterbat777 @chxrryvibes @blackchemicals @coldsaladpiecop-blog @flamme-meuf2-shiggy @aphorditeslust @just-yer-average-key @rekoii @justnothingguys

#shigaraki x reader #shigaraki tomura x reader #ghost x reader #bnha x reader #shimura tenko x reader #shigaraki tomura x you #monster x reader #tomura shigaraki x reader #tenko shimura x reader #tenko shimura #shimura tenko #shigaraki bnha #shigaraki mha #shigaraki tomura #ghost shigaraki x reader #bnha shigaraki #tw the dog is dead #fem!reader #gothic romance #ghost lover #monster x you #tomura x reader

[thestudentfarmer]

Hello and good day!

Just wanted to share a few Planting notes and whats been going on round my garden and kitchen~

Today I planted some

They look very lovely in the pictures, plus the Tubers that grow under them are said to be edible and similar to potatoes. I think their pretty and would like to try them once. I figure if no one in the household likes them I have tried them, and have a neat thing to share with friends at least + can share with the seed library or at a plant swamp :)

Also direct seeded some

Dill and cilantro seed. I've never been real great at making herbs grow well but this year I'm hoping is the year to change that :) with luck in a short time there'll be plenty for us as well as gifting, maybe trading and sharing (which is part of my ultimate grow goals :) ) but I'll be satisfied with enough to use here and self seed for future harvests.

Direct seeded some sugar baby watermelons to replace the bed the chickens dug up. (I'll need to make a new fence for this part of the garden, the old one was just simple wire fence. I'd like to put in a nice wire and wood one with a latch gate)

Tossed out a few handfuls of black oil sunflowers among the unclaimed parts of the back garden. With luck they'll grow pretty quickly to proffer some shade and a snack spot for the parrots again.

And of interest, the regrow from the store green onions is blooming some flowers! They are definatly determined lil plants!

I don't have pictures currently for the rest but I also got a bit of stuff done for both gardening and things to try out

🔨I made 2 olla's to try out in an attempt to reduce watering around the garden as well as to conserve water in the soil a bit more. Their just 2 unglazed Terra cotta pots, silicone sealed together and a cork put in one end. The water coaster I'm using to cover the top in between watering. I've never used them, or seen them used before so at this time its to test out for a future project. Plus i just wanted to see them in function :)

🔨 fully made a 5×2 raised bed for the front garden. A second is about 1/2 made. I need to get more wood to finish. At current fenced in spacing I could fit 2 more beds this size.

⛰️ got that bed lined out with cardboard, paper and filled with compost to settle (currently 6 cubic feet of composted manure) 🪶I still need to lay out water lines for both future rows, but want to get one more of the 3 beds built before I start laying that line down.

I won't be doing ground beds in this section due to the knowledge there are utility lines pretty close to the surface. ⭐️ALWAYS call or find out where your yards service lines are befor digging!! It will save you a lot of stress and financial strain⭐️

Plus I can make the raised beds deeper/taller for root crops like carrots or sweet potatoes without having to dig too deep 😉

Laid out some tarp to die off a section of yard to start an amaranth grow spot (end goal, 2 spaces for this. human food, natural dye work material and chicken feed)

That's it for todays lil blurbs :)

🌱🌻Happy Homesteading and Urban Gardening 🌻🌱

4 19 2024

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[prof-peach]

What would be the most stubborn grass type Pokémon peach has ever had to work with

One particularly difficult Carnivine comes to mind. Handled them about three years ago now. A ranger base out in Unova called us up asking for a specialist to come in and handle an infestation, so I packed a bag and jetted off to investigate. The only details I had was a vine covered expanse of marshland that was actively hostile, no one could go into the area, which must have been about two acres in size. Normally not an issue but plenty of pokemon had gone in and not come back out. People were wondering if it was luring things from near by towns.

So I turn up, usual brief from the Rangers, they drive us over to the area and straight away you can smell this sweet heady scent in the area. The trees and shrubs were so dense it was difficult to find a way in, but we managed, trekking forward.

About a minute or two in, it becomes very apparent that the vines in the area are all the same species, rooted in numerous places, all flowering, and in many cases, choking out the local flora, depriving things of light and nutrients. The size of the area had apparently expanded too, so it was actively growing larger.

I will admit, I may have put a foot in the wrong place, stepped on a vine half submerged under the waters after managing to avoid them for a long while, and like a snare trap got yanked off my feet, into the marsh, dragged about 10ft before Val caught up, she wanted to sever the vine holding onto me, but I told her not to. This was an easy, if not messy way of finding the core of this thing, whatever it was. Damn thing must have dragged me along for a couple minutes before stopping. I looked like a swamp thing by this point.

The open jaws of something familiar, despite its gargantuan size, dropped down from the tree ahead of us, as one head appeared, several more, and then another set, a sea of teeth and eyes, all various sizes, but clearly the same species. A Carnivine, it's ropey tendrils extended in all directions, emerged to investigate me. On each of its flowering vines, multiple heads, a hive mind that seemed to communicate throughout the whole area.

We had to outlast it stamina wise. If you physically fight Carnivine and win, you do not gain its respect like some other species, they often becomes nervous of you, and skitter away given the chance. We didn't want to burn it or scare it, and only redirected its own attacks back at it, or blocked. It was an enduring, exhausting encounter, based on reaction speed and defence, thankfully I had Booker and Val with me and they did great. The Carnivine ran out of steam eventually, we didn't hurt it with our own moves, and came out relatively unscathed save for the odd cut or bruise.

It did not uproot, but did accept our presence in the area. We were able to talk to it. It was suffering with nutrient burns, aggravated by the itching and constant aches. Burn heals don't work on this kind of damage, and a pokemon centre can't fix this issue over night. This was clearly an environmental issue at work. We promised to return with a fix, and were allowed to come and go from the area.

I had a good idea of what could cause the issue, and followed up my hunch with the local agricultural businesses. Turns out Farmers in the area had switched fertilizer brands recently, the trickle down of this new chemical had seeped into the Carnivine's original territory, causing it to gain monstrous strength and stamina, but also go through a lot of harm. This species needs live prey, and prefers low nutrition soil, so suddenly it was being pumped full of nutrition its body couldn't handle, hence the burns.

Of course I tested the soil of its previous location, and its new one, plus several areas around it. The Carnivine had found the last patch of perfect soil for its species in the area, and used its new found power to defend it from all others who may threaten its biome. The flowers it produced lured in flying and bug types for food, and sent the 'leave me alone' message to all of its own kind who dared to try and encroach on its territory.

I had to do a bunch of paperwork to handle the farmers, they mostly agreed to switch out the chemicals used on their crops, and handled the run off water better, those that didn't were taken to court, and while it took a while, they were served with an appropriate set of demands to lessen their impact on the environment.

I called back to the island and got sent our clean up crew, a pod of 32 Grimer, all specially hand trained to target specific chemicals and only gather those up into their bodies, instead of releasing their own toxins. I cannot stress how much i love those little dudes, they do incredible work in some many locations, we've worked really hard with them to learn this skill. They helped the clean up process and returned some of the marsh to its original state. With the fertiliser out of the soil, and the water slowly returning to normal, the Carnivine started to shrink back. Its roots let go of other plants with time, and its many heads withered back and dropped. It must have been 3 months worth of work, but the pokemon calmed down, uprooted, and was willing to return to its home. (I was very homesick by this point, lots of calls home)

I left 15 of the Grimer with the rangers to continue the clean up process, and returned home with samples, and several stacks of papers to file and sort through. The issue was resolved and because of a little insight, the Rangers no longer have this issue when it occurs again, and can handle it themselves. They returned the Grimer after another 4 months of work, job done.

I feel like it was less a case of a stubborn pokemon, and more a situation that was long winded and complicated to the average onlooker. None the less, every time I entered the Carnivine's range, it did drag me half way across the swamps, which entertained the rangers greatly once they realised I wasn't being abducted. It got use to me I suppose.

From what i'm told it never shrunk down fully, somewhere out there, a huge Carnivine roams the wilds, living a good life now. Its burns healed, its rage subsided, and it could go about its days in peace. I should visit it again one day, see how it's doing.

#long post #prof.peach #pokemon #carnivine #peach talks