#we have a nice yard with no critters

[plushii-gutz]

Yep, part 9 of RnR. I'm not sure what to put here, lmao

ֶ֢︶︶֪︶︶֪︶︶֪︶︶֪︶ིྀ︶︶֪︶︶֪︶︶֪︶︶֪︶

Daylight began to roll back into the distant trees, the sun laying cozy in their deep green leaves. How had the time passed so quickly? Lunch didn't seem that long ago. Hell, Attmoz still carried the bag of chips everyone shared. It was as big as a pillow when they first got it - definitely party-size!

He rested in the grass of the front yard now, still munching on the snack and wiping his fingers clean on his scarf, Syncopite nearby occasionally stealing a chips for themself. Glaishur laid on his back, watching the clouds pass as his partner shifted their shapes into critters and familiar faces. The group has been at this for at least an hour now, enjoying the fresh air and cozy light, but Glaishur wasn't sure what a few of the shapes were. Some sort of reptilian monster? His partner said it was a stogg - a monster he saw while on Amber. Glaishur wondered if he would ever be able to travel like they had. The circumstances have certainly changed. Furnoss sat with them, seeming impressed by Attmoz's work.

"This is neat," the fire monster commented, looking past Glaishur. "How long have you been able to do this?"

"Um.. dunno," he shrugged.

"Oh.. well, what about the wing-thing you did back on Amber Island?"

"The what?'

"You made like.. wings out of clouds and use them to fly. Do you not remember?"

"What are you talking about?"

"He can't remember," Glaishur chimed in.

"The thing that happened with Galvana? Oh yeah, not a clue what happened. I was all kinds of fucked up, man."

"We know, 'moz."

Furnoss tilted his head, looking back to the sky.

"Monsters are weird," the cold celestial spoke again.

"Life is weird," Furnoss added.

"Yeah.. I can't believe we ended up here."

"Hm?"

"Like.. here. On Plant Island. Gettin' out of that old cramped castle, the old island. It just doesn't feel.. right."

"It's a big change. We did meet a lot of very nice monsters, though, and there's plenty more space."

Attmoz hopped to his feet, saying he'll be back. The chip bag was empty, and he'd be damned if he were to litter. Syncopite tagged along, the two joking as they walked off into the distance.

"I know," Glaishur spoke up again, "but.. I can't really explain. I think there's somethin' wrong with my mind."

Furnoss inched closer, intending on listening to the others words.

"I don't mean t' sound.. rude or nothin'.. but when we lived back on our old island, I would always wish for a better home. I'd wish for Lood' to be happier, for you to be happier, for everyone t' just.. stop fighting all th' time. And now no one fights, and it feels.. wrong."

"Wrong?" Furnoss repeated.

"It isn't wrong - I know it's better! Everyone is better. I think.. it's me who feels wrong. Furnoss, Can I tell you somethin' weird?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"When I died in that fire.. I don' think I died. I mean, I did, but I wasn't.. dead. I was in some sorta.. waiting room. There was snow everywhere. Trees faded when I got too close. The moon was always out - it was real blue, too. The snow was deep. It cut my skin when I walked. I couldn't feel anything but hurt."

Glaishur sat up, plucking blades of grass and leaves from his hair. Hopefully, there weren't any bugs crawling around in it. The other monster with him was visibly riddled with worry.

"And I didn't feel dead. Just.. dissociated. It scares me 'cause I kinda feel like that now. And.. it makes me feel like you're not really here. That Attmoz's isn't here. The kids aren't here either. I know they are, but.. I don' feel like you are. Furnoss.. is that where monsters go when they die?"

"I.. I don't know," he answered honestly.

Furnoss helped Glaishur to his feet, helping clean off a few more bits of the nature that tangled itself within his fur.

"I wish I could tell you. I really do. But we're not like the other monsters - we're Celestials. Everything we do is different than what's 'normal' for everyone else, even death. At least, I would assume such. You can ask Strombonin. I'm sure they would have an answer if anyone else. But.. I'm here. You're here, too. I don't know how much my words help, but even a little bit would be an accomplishment."

The purple monster held a small, yellow dandelion in his hands, looking over its soft petals and green stem. He noticed the very, very light weight it had and its bare scent. Maybe it is real. He placed the flower in his hair along with the many others that Scaratar or Blasoom had already added, soon hearing the grass nearby crunching with approaching steps. It was Attmoz, no longer accompanied by Syncopite but instead Torrt. The little monster carried a box of graham crackers, visibly excited.

"Hey, Frosty! G'joob wanted to show us a couple tricks - something about camping? I wasn't paying too much attention, heh. Wanna tag along? You too, Smokey."

Furnoss gave a small grin at the new nickname. Glaishur gladly accepted, marching through the grass with his friends by his side.

Yawstrich and Strombonin had gathered a plentiful of large rocks, creating a short cylinder shape with them on the grass and lining the bottom with a decent amount of smaller stones. G'joob came into sight not long after the four arrived, followed by the remaining monsterlings, who each carried three or four sticks. They're instructed to drop them within the pit the other Mythicals had made, which they promptly do with Yawstrich assisting proper placement.

"Alright," G'joob said with a wheeze, worn out from the simple task of keeping the many kids in one group. "This part is dangerous.. ugh. Strombonin, ya mind takin' over?"

"You must promise never to do this unassisted by an older monster," the cold Mythical stepped forward. "I'm sure you are aware of its dangers, but I would like to reinforce that it is not a toy to be played with."

Attmoz bit his lip to keep himself from commenting. Glaishur's quick look probably shut him up, too. Strombonin looked through the many fallen branches, taking one with dried, gray leaves and holding it under a lighter provided by Yawstrich. The flame spread onto the leaves, the branch. Strombonin rested it within the pit they had built, allowing the fire to grow and spiral upwards. Then it settled. A healthy medium had been met, its fierceness being kept within the set barriers.

The mythical looked to his celestial counterpart, acknowledging his expression and body language. Glaishur seemed a bit off but not afraid. Attmoz moved his hand a bit as an offering to his partner, who took it. Assured by Attmoz's actions, Strombonin continued.

"One of ya got the Graham crackers, right?" G'joob took back the lead.

"Me!" Torrt answered. They hopped forward, offering the box of goods. The other took this, adding it to the marshmallows and chocolate that sat to the side.

"Alright, now we need.. sharper sticks. Yawstrich and I can do this part."

"We can?" The feathered monster asked. "Oh! We can!"

Furnoss offered his assistance, which is gladly accepted. The three look through the remaining branches, using blades to clean and sharpen the ends of each. Glaishur left Attmoz behind, pulling Strombonin aside to speak. Furnoss gives them space, encouraging Attmoz to do the same. As much as he wanted to follow, he agreed.

The two left for the other side of the castle. Glaishur wasn't exactly sure where he was walking, but he hoped it was far enough that no one would hear.

"Uh. Strombonin?"

"How can I help, Glaishur?"

"I have questions 'bout.. s-some really weird stuff, and I don't know who else t' go to."

With a shaky breath, the celestial went on to explain what he had prior to Furnoss. He spoke of the increasingly cold snow, the purple tinted sky, everlasting night, and disappearing trees. They nodded along to every word, almost as if they connected every dot.

"You described it as a waiting room - that is technically correct. However, not every monster experiences these after death. Only Celestials, as far as im aware. Though, I do think Wublins, another species of monster, experience a similar dormancy. This room is where your spirit resides until your body is able to sustain itself once again."

The mythical settled himself down, having Glaishur do the same.

"Life and death in the monster world is.. complicated. It saddens me to know you had to experience it yourself. Let's see.. if a monster within the mortal category dies, their spirit lives past their body. That spirit can wander the living world depending on its.. situation. But typically, they move on."

"To where?" Glaishur asked.

"An afterlife. We don't know what's on the other side, as it varies among monsters' beliefs. We do know for certain that there is a middle - a sort of gateway."

Strombonin seemed a bit worried with the topic in his mind.

"It's known as The Muted Area, In between life and death and acting as a doorway. Though, if I recall correctly, it was held up by energy provided by the spark of life - Galvana's elemental ability. Their powers are strong, and I have no doubts that the relm is easily accessible, but from your experience, I dont believe celestials have that.. but I'm getting off the topic at hand. The way you celestials live and die is vastly different from anyone else. Your fear is understandable, and your worry for other monsters is appreciated as usual, but I promise you there is nothing to fear. If anything is to happen to you or the other celestials, we have the resources to correct everything."

"What about other monsters? Can 'Vana bring them back, too?"

"That is.. different. Yes, one may have the ability to, but it isn't to be used unethically. The world runs along a circular path of day and night. There's many other properties to this, but I think it would be best to discuss it when you're older."

Glaishur nodded. He had more questions than answers but felt as if he had spoken enough. The mythical helped him to his feet, leading the way back to the playing group.

The younger of the monsters held marshmallows on sticks over the edge of the flaming pit, Furnoss making sure none caught fire and helping them put together a new treat. Attmoz hopped back, shaking around a burning marshmallow until it fell onto the grass. Syncopite stomped it out, laughing at his misfortune.

"Ya gotta work on timing, cloud man!"

"Ok, well, It looked undercooked."

"It.. it was on fire for a solid minute."

"Oh look, Glaishur's back!"

Attmoz, whether it was an attempt to change the subject or simply an odd expression of affection, scooped Glaishur off his feet and dropped him over with the rest of the monsters. As shocked as the cold celestial was at the sudden lift, he didn't mind it all too much. He did question where the strength came from, though not out loud.

Attmoz began to explain to Glaishur how to make a s'more. It was relatively simple, just toasting the marshmallow over the fire and sandwiching it between some graham crackers and chocolate. Vhamp and Blasoom ran past the two, trying to start up a game. Glaishur promised to join in eventually.

The edge of the purple monster's marshmallow had only started to turn a soft gold before he pulled back, shaking himself off. Furnoss moved closer, worried.

"Is something wrong?" He asked. He knew fire wasn't something the other was all too fond of.

"No," Glaishur sighed. "It's.. It's just a bit hot. I don' think I can stand too close to it."

It seems to be the truth. What remained of Glaishur's thick fur kept him a bit too warm in general, but the addition of his hoodie added just too much padding on certain parts. He stepped back, having to cool off. Vhamp trotted to his side, offering to start up the game of pretend - pretend camping! Unfortunately, they didn't want to stray too far from the light source - it was getting darker by the minute.

"Maybe tomorrow," Glaishur sighed. Disappointed, the mech monsterling left to begin the game with someone else. He felt bad, but even the younger of the Celestials understood. He was a bit lost in thought, though watching them run off with Furnoss was a bit sweet. It wasn't long until he was joined by another monster. He was surprised to see Scaratar instead of Attmoz.

"Are you ok, Glaishur?" She asked. "Why did you leave?"

"I'm alright, Scar'. Just needed t' step back."

"Oh. Can I ask why?"

"It's jus' too hot around th' fire with everyone else. I guess the hoodie's a bit too thick."

Scaratar circled Glaishur for a moment, looking him over.

"You could take it off," she suggested. Glaishur paused.

"I don' really want to," he spoke softly.

"Why not?"

"I.. You know the incident back at th' castle left me really.. patchy. And my fur ain't gunna grow back. It doesn't look all too good."

"Says who?" She said with a bit of sass.

"..says me. I can't fix it, either."

"There isn't anything to fix, Glaishur! I mean, yeah, the hoodie and sweaters look nice, but I like you."

The poison monster had Glaishur crouch to her height, making sure he listened.

"You know.. You're more than what happened back at our old home - and you're definitely more than your patches! They just remind us how much you cared about everyone, and I think they're nice."

The cold monsters eye searched for something to say. How had Scaratar seen through everything?

"It's ok if you aren't ready yet," she assured. "I can't do a lot to change how you see yourself, but I can let you know how everyone else does - we love you the same."

Glaishur looked between her and himself. He nodded, letting her know he would think about it. After a quick hug, Scaratar left to join the others. She carried a few twigs back with her, adding them to the fire and asking if she could make another s'more. Attmoz offered his help, chatting a bit as he did so.

"I'm guessing you talked with Glaish?" He would ask.

"Yeah. He just needs time. Why didn't you talk to him?"

" 'cuz he already knows what I'd say. Maybe I'm looking into it too much, but he'd probably think I'm biased - and yeah, a little bit, but I wanted him to hear someone besides me remind him that he's-"

"It's on fire."

"Fuck!"

G'joob came along, putting out the flaming marshmallow in time for it to still be relatively edible and mushing it between some graham crackers and chocolate. Scaratar munched away, having enjoyed the little show she got with her treat. Practice makes perfect, Attmoz reminded himself. Again, with the marshmallows. He tries again. Hopefully, they'll have another bag to spare.

Hornacle joined the air monster's side, having a hard time keeping up with the rest as they ran in circles. He didn't mind, of course, asking if there was anything they would like to do instead.

"We could go inside if ya want. Maybe pick out some of the coloring books you got not too long ago, yeah?"

Hornacle hopped up, running off.

"Well damn, I didn't think you'd hate the idea that much."

They didn't run far, hopping in one spot. Attmoz walked to their side, noticing Glaishur coming into view.

He had his hoodie tossed over his shoulder, no longer using it to cover himself. He stood still for a moment, waiting for Hornacle's response. The monsterling quit the jumping, giving Glaishur a look over. Then they began to hop again, excited. Glaishur was back!

The rest began to turn up, having similar reactions. They didn't seem to really notice. Attmoz couldn't help but grin, taking off his scarf and tossing it aside.

"Welcome back, Snowball. Want a s'more?"

"Yeah, but I'm makin' it. I see ya burnin' everything!"

"It's artistic liberty."

"What does that mean?"

"I dunno."

Strombonin gave a nod of approval as the two finally managed to melt the marshmallows and not set anything on fire. Furnoss seemed rather proud as well, though as to what specifically can not be told.

Hours of play pass as the sun finally disappeared. Most of the Mythicals had left for the night, Strombonin remaining as he always had. They made sure to put the fire out, also cleaning up any trash that had fallen into the grass. A handful of the monsterlings had to be carried in and sorted into their designated rooms, having stood up far past their usual schedule and lacked their constant energy. Of course, Galvana protested as always, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle.

Glaishur had slipped his hoodie back on. It wasn't out of fear of being seen, but simply because it was comfortable. He already chewed one of the strings to a threaded mess, though, so hopefully, they'll find a way to replace that.

Strombonin settled with Strombone in the living room, having drifted off to sleep already. The rest of the castle joined shortly, tired after the long day.

ֶ֢︶︶֪︶︶֪︶︶֪︶︶֪︶ིྀ︶︶֪︶︶֪︶︶֪︶︶֪

Furnoss shifted uncomfortably. Something was making noise outside. Attmoz better not be sneaking out again. As much as he didn't want to, the fire celestial left his slumber to check.

The hallway was empty. As far as he could tell, no one had left their rooms. Furnoss moved to the door, listening carefully to the outside world. He was sent back, scared by a knock. Why would anyone be here so late? Perhaps one of the Mythicals returned. Furnoss opened the door, taking a look put before opening it all the way.

"Oh!" He gasped, moving back.

"It's..it's been a while," Furnoss stuttered. He already felt a chilling in his chest.

"It has been, hasn't it?" Loodvigg muttered.

The silence felt awful. The environment felt awful. Before him stood the very monster he feared most.

"Furnoss, we need to talk."

"Oh, do we."

The shadow monster stood aside, allowing Furnoss to exit the door. His eyes flickered between the castle and Loodvigg. The kids were safe. Strombonin made sure of that. He and Loodvigg would be away from their home. Everything should be ok. Furnoss agreed to leave. If anything were to happen, he is assured it wouldn't be anyone but himself. Furnoss left the castle.

They walked alongside one another, following the same trail through the woods that led up to the old building. He had forgotten how awful the exterior looked. At least it kept most monsters away. Most. The two walked the stone path, following it down to a paved sidewalk. It was incredibly late, and it seemed that most of Plant Islands residents have left to their homes to sleep. Maybe the walk would be ever so slightly easier.

The sky was painted with speckled white stars across an ink black canvas, a few deep gray clouds still visible. The grass almost seemed orange against the streetlights. The air smelled fresh, and the island still sung of the critters chattering. If only Furnoss could feel calm. Loodvigg walked with its arms behind its back, silver eyes to the ground. They drew in a long breath.

"Furnoss. I had been.. terrible. Horrid. Vile. I have no proper words to describe my actions. I will never be able to fix what I had broken. It took death itself to make me aware."

They turned to make eye contact with the fire monster, who seemed to be riddled with questions. It was expected.

"During the fire, all that time ago. I lost my life in the wreckage. We as celestials are unable to die - we just fall dormant. Our consciousness move to.. a world between life and death. A limbo, I may say."

Loodvigg remembered the relm very well. It could recall the missing ground, only walking on smoke. The sky had been gray, the moon a deep red, the many yellowed webs he was able to rest upon that dangled from twisted trees.

"It was an odd world to step into. I wasn't anywhere, but I was everywhere. It wasn't long until I realized I hadn't been alone. I encountered a.. strange being, to say the least. They were simply known as Ghazt. During my stay, Ghazt had spoken with me. They told me that they were a monster of interdimensional powers. An Ethereal, to be exact. Similar to the Mythicals, whom they taught me of, they had been unaware of our survival after the fall of Starhenge. They had suspicions, however, as they visited these 'waiting rooms' often in an attempt to find our departed souls."

"I'd say I don't believe you," Furnoss shook his head, "But stranger things have happened."

"Indeed they have. During my time there, Ghazt spoke to me of many things. They learned quickly of my.. mistakes. They intervened quickly, too. Initially, I had wanted nothing to do with it, being the monster I was, but we had until the end of time itself to talk. And so we did. Days upon days of talking. I had been so stubborn, but they dug into me like stone. Chipped away at who I was."

Loodvigg stopped to pull Furnoss's attention back to itself.

"I'll get to the point. After having been revived, knowingly by accident, I had entered myself into a multi-step program for monsters like.. me. I want to be a better monster for myself and for others. I have been attending for only a week, but I plan to continue until I am suitable for your environment."

"My- my environment?" Furnoss stuttered. "What do you mean by that?"

Their walking came to a stop, Furnoss barely visible in the night apart from the glowing embers within his body. Loodvigg reached forward, cupping the fire celestials hand in his.

"Furnoss.. I want for us to be as we had been before. I miss those years so, so much. I'm willing to do anything to bring them back. You deserve help. The others deserve help. How else could I ever repay you?"

The fire celestial ripped his hand back with a sharp "no!" To Loodvigg's words.

"..no?" They echoed.

"I.. I didn't mean to yell.. but no."

Furnoss cleaned the fur of his face, carefully choosing his next words with a deep breath. It was hard to see anyone but the monster he once loved before him, but he knew It was just a monster now. A once horrible monster. But maybe a better one.

"I know you're working on yourself. I know you're trying to change. But our relationship is no longer my priority. The kids are."

Their eyes met once more. He held a stern gaze that had been missing for so long.

"They're beginning to recognize everything that had happened. Everything I say, everything I do - it will all affect them. They're realizing what we had gone through, and they know what you have done, too. Loodvigg, I would love to give everything a second chance, but I need to protect them."

The shadow monster's eyes held little words as they pondered their reaction. It made sense for the kids to be their priority, any monster would. It was Furnoss's choice, and he knew to respect it.

"Alright," it spoke. "I will continue attending the meetings. I promise not to interfere with you or the little ones anymore."

"I'm not saying never."

Furnoss moved himself back into Loodvigg's field of vision.

"Just.. we'll see. Ok? We'll see."

Something deep inside those silver eyes had come back. Furnoss held the side of Loodvigg's head, letting himself relax.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too, dear."

"How.. how did you find us?"

Loodvigg opened its mouth to speak, only to be cut off by another voice.

"I told hiiiiim!" The voice sung. A ghostly figure came into view, having shielded itself in invisibility. It seemed to be the same purple creature that had passed them within the hospital.

"That.. that is Ghazt," the shadow monster sighed. They were annoyed, clearly.

"That's the name!"

"You told me this would be private," Loodvigg spoke with a hiss.

"Well, it seemed like it, didn't it? No, no, I'm required to be by your side as an emotional support friend and to monitor your behavior! I'd say you did excellent just now!"

"Marvelous. Furnoss, this is Ghazt. Ghazt, Furnoss."

Ghazt circled the two, joking about their height and ages. Did today mark their billions of years alive? Who knows!

Loodvigg offered a hand, which Furnoss was yet to accept. He didn't want to. Loodvigg lowered it.

"I'll have you home by morning," They promised.

"I'll give you an hour at most. This is.. a lot to take in. I don't know if I can trust you yet. I'll give you this chance, but only once more."

"It's more than I deserve, really."

"It is. Don't mess up."

Now, with Ghazt spectating the two, Furnoss and Loodvigg continued on their walking, talking trip down a new road. Neither knew where it would lead, but they knew it were someplace new. Only time would tell.

#fallen stars msm #my singing monsters #fallen stars au #msm #fanfiction #msm au #the last bit with Glaishur was a bit personal 🤭

[stepfordgoth]

I wonder a lot about how much my cats actually have an understanding of the seasons. Especially Boo. This is crazy girl shit I know, but every morning Boo and I have this thing we do first thing, I pick him up and say "goooood morninggggg!!!" and cuddle him and walk over to a window and look out and then I talk to him about the weather ahead. Like "oh it's cold and rainy out there today, probably not a good day for kitties to go outside and play" or "wow it looks like a beautiful summer day! We'll go outside later today". I do this so that when he gets the itch to go outside during the day I can say "yeah let's go outside, it looks so nice out!" or "no outside today, too cold and rainy" and he genuinely seems to understand most of the time. He's such a smart cat, truly.

But it makes me wonder how much he notices, and if he remembers the cycles of past years and anticipates them? Like this time of year. He definitely notices that the house is colder, and when we're outside (which is not as often now) it's colder out there too. He seems to have a concept of daylight savings time, as our cats have had a set feeding schedule for a number of years now, and this time of year it's darker out when they get their dinner. He seems to remember the concept of having a tree in our house when it shows up every year - so it makes me wonder if he's added it all up in his little head yet. Like "my humans and I are not outside as often these days and everything feels colder and there aren't any leaves on the trees and there are less critters scurrying around my yard. Soon my humans will bring a huge fuck off tree into the house for some reason, and then soon after that comes Paper Ball Day (Christmas morning)" you know what I mean? I wonder if he knows whats coming.

[burnwater13]

Boba Fett instructing the Sandpeople on the direction of travel as they go after spice runners. The Book of Boba Fett, Season 1, Episode 2, The Tribes of Tatooine. Calendar from DataWorks.

“Ready? Set? GO!”

At least that’s what Grogu thought was going on when Daimyo Fett described the situation, that got all the Sandpeople to line up on the speeder bikes that way. 

“Ready, set go? No, young one, that is not what I was saying to them. But I see your point. When the Clones were training on Kamino, they held many foot races and that is how they would start. I was telling them the direction and what to expect. We were going after spice runners. Those scum have always been a problem on Tatooine.”

“Boss, that may be true but the spice trade paid for a lot of the amenities here, including that bacta tank you’re so fond of.”

Grogu didn’t really know why that mattered. After all, the Jedi built almost all of their temples on top of old Sith temples. Just because something was bad didn’t mean everything to do with it was bad, or did it? Grogu wasn’t sure. 

He decided to ask his dad, who had just entered the room, with the Majordomo following him, talking a klick a minute while some how managing to sputter and sound apologetic.

“Hey, Fett. Your … uh… man here, says I can’t park the N1 in the forecourt. I’m willing to move it, but to where? I don’t want anyone taking pot shots at it.”

“Is this true?” Daimyo Fett aimed his question at Majordomo who was already bowing and trying to look small and unassuming. 

Grogu giggled at that. There was no way for a man that tall with lekku that long to look small or unassuming. 

“Remember Boss, I have that work crew coming in to do some improvements. No way are we letting anyone access to facility the same way we did when we retrieved your ship.”

“What are doing? Adding a pit trap and spikes?” 

Grogu tried not to laugh as he watched Fennec physically bristle at his dad’s suggestion and turn to the Majordomo and scold him for blabbing.

“Fennec, there’s no reason to use language like that in front of the child. He looks up to you, you know.”

Grogu smiled at the Daimyo. That was a nice sentiment but completely unnecessary. He liked Fennec just the way she was.

“He has to look up at everyone, Boss. Listen, Tin Man, just park your ship behind the rancor yard. We don’t have any bantha right now, so you won’t have to share it.”

Grogu was about to scold Fennec for the short joke, when he heard the rest of what she said. The bantha were gone? Where were they? When were they coming back? Why were they gone?!

“Now, now, young one. Don’t worry about the bantha. The tribe that you and your dad befriended near Freetown asked if they could add the few head we had here to their breeding program. We had two females and they could use them to help add to the over all population of banthas. After they have been bred they will be coming back here.”

“Won’t that be nice? Baby critters that are as big as a speeder when they’re born. But that won’t be for months. In the mean time that’s where you can…”

Grogu didn’t hear anything else Fennec said. The prospect of having baby banthas at the palace was almost overwhelming. He loved baby critters. They were so sweet and smelled so good and maybe, if he was very lucky he could have one of them imprint on him and he’d be able to ride it without having his dad tag along all the time. That would be so great. He could see himself making his way from Freetown to Mos Espa the way the Sandpeople had traveled for millennia. 

“Buddy, before you take your flight of fancy to Coruscant and back, I’m gonna remind you that all bantha are the property of the Sandpeople and they need daily care. We don’t spend enough time here for you to be adopted by one.”

Grogu sighed and sat down abruptly. His dad had really popped the bubble that had been forming all around the idea of being a bantha baby minder. Dank Farrik.

“Tell me, Din Djarin, how did you know that’s what he was thinking?”

Daimyo Fett asked quietly, just not quietly enough.

“He was holding his hands in the air and moving them like he was holding the reins of their rig. I could also tell that he was muttering something like ‘forward’ over and over. He does the same thing whenever people talk about that rancor of yours.”

“He’s just practicing for the first time he rides a Mythosaur. Lucky for you two he’s going to be a benevolent Mand’alor.”

Grogu could hear Fennec’s laughter, but strangely his dad and the Daimyo were both silent. He wondered what that meant.

#calendar prompt a day #din djarin #grogu #the book of boba fett #boba fett #fennec shand

[pbandjesse]

I had kind of a hard day emotionally. I did not sleep well and that did not help at all. It left me feeling really bad. Physically and emotionally. I canceled with Celia. And completely changed my plans.

James had already left by the time I got up. I was so tired but I didn't think going back to sleep would make me feel any better. I got up and washed my face and got dressed. I felt okay. The overwhelmed dread I was feeling when I woke up lessened. I would spend the morning putting things away. I cannot wait until the rest of our shelves are here and I can put so much of our stuff away. It's been really tough living with things everywhere but it gets better every time we get a new piece of furniture.

I would clean the kitty litter and vacuum the frog tank. Omelet still seems a little freaked out from the move but I have seen him basically everyday so I'm not to worried about him. Though I noticed that the water was a little cool, so I turned up the temp and hopefully he is more comfortable.

I laid on the couch for a bit. I had breakfast. I decided I would go to the thrift store and then to Taco bell. I had wanted to go to home Depot but I lost motivation for that.

I had a nice drive though. I went through the tunnel to get to Glen Burnie. It was a the different side which I have not gone through in forever. I am not positive that it reads my ezpass. But it was still a nice drive.

I was surprised by how busy it was. As I was going in an older woman was coming out in an incredible ketchup/Heinz knot sweater and I told her how amazing it was and she was so nice.

And I had a good time looking inside. I would find two things I may be able to use for Uganda. And some linen pajamas. I found a framed little sea shell thing. And another wall candle holder. I had a lot of fun just looking at things but I was frustrated by how many things had proved from other thrift stores or yard sales and it was so much cheaper then they were selling them for. Like if you're going to price it higher take the other price off?? Ridiculous.

I had a good coupon though and still had a good haul.

I went to Taco Bell next. And it was so expensive? I was shocked. But it was still really good. And the cashier was also named Jesse and we had a really nice conversation about having the same name and being misgendered because of it. It was honestly just really sweet.

I ate my crunch wrap in the car. And listened to my podcast. And it was a really beautiful day. I was feeling better. My spirits were slightly better.

I decided I would head towards the museum. Go to five below and the dollar store. And then go stop and see James.

And that's just what I did. I would have a lot of fun in five below. I got three blind bags. And some candy. I would sit outside on a bench and open my blind bags and I loved my calico critter the best.

I walked to dollar tree next and got floss and a some hooks for the wall. And then headed back to the car.

Where someone was parked long ways across 3 spots? Bizarre.

I drove over to the museum and James was really surprised to see me. It was a nice surprise. I was also helpful because I could give them a few minutes to warm up their lunch and get some water. I would check in some guests and only panicked a little when I could not find the stickers. Panic panic. James's desk is always so messy but I was eventually able to find them and it was all good.

I hung out for a few more minutes. But I was tired. And so I went home.

When I got back here I brought all my treasures inside. I tried on all my purchases and was very happy with how they look. I took all the stickers off things and put things in their spots. Or temporary spots.

I spent some time hanging the hooks for I have a spot to put my embroidery hoops. And I really like how it looks. Once the other shelf gets here and I can put more things away I want to hang my looms as well.

I would get cuddled up on the couch until James got home. I was tired but didn't really want to sleep. I just watched tiktoks. And was so happy to see them when they got back.

We would hang out in the couch for a while. But eventually they would leave to go to the apartment to get the last of our stuff. The big furniture is still over there. But all of our things are here now.

While they were gone I had a really bad coughing fit and felt terrible. I tried taking a shower but I couldn't wait for the water to warm up and it was deeply unpleasant. I got changed and tired to calm down but I was wheezing really bad.

When James got back I was in the middle of starting to lay out how we were going to hang the big mirror on the wall. And I would help bring things in from the car but I was struggling to breathe and was not feeling good.

Once everything was inside James would get me some allergy meds and the inhaler and it take a little while but it does help. Like my nose is still running but I'm not choking anymore. I am still uncomfortable and I feel sad. But I will be okay.

James made me dumplings for dinner. And they had pasta and burned their mouth. But after dinner we worked together to hang up the very heavy mirror. I got clips that are for 75lbs. But I am nervous because we hung it behind the door. And I think we may have to move it in the end. But it was fun working on that together.

Once we got the mirror on I put hardware on the mirror's frame so we could hang it on top of the mirror and I think it's a very clever way to deal with the problem.

James went upstairs to paint their nails. And I came up here to do my face lotions and laid down. And that is what I'm doing now. I really hope I can sleep better tonight. I want to be in a good mood tomorrow.

Because we are going to visit my parents. I'm really looking forward to seeing them. We are going to borrow their washing machine to wash our towels. But that's just a plus.

I hope it's a fun day. Maybe we can go out to lunch. And my brother might come by. I am really looking forward to it.

I love you all. Sleep good tonight. Until next time!

[doubleddenden]

Yall wanna see some cringe?

I decided to try creating pokemon variants or similar that one might find in my home state of Ms. I'm still working on more but it's a fun thought and doodle experiment

Blurb under cut. Please try not to take it all too seriously lol, this was just for funsies.

I'm also indulging my younger self. See a long, long time ago when I was a kid, I used to see my home as a place you could easily find pokemon around the corner. Tauros in the fields, Noctowl in the trees, the wasps were angry Beedrill, you get the idea

It was magical, a time before greed and capitalism caused rushed and unfinished games with questionable decisions by game freak higher ups. A time where I could just kinda look at the tall grass or the woods and see pokemon just living naturally without feeling a ton of responsibility or guilt for existing.

Recently I've decided to try exploring that AU, where states and such have their own dexes. Obviously some would overlap, like I'm very sure the Gulf Coast would have very similar dexes, but my idea would be that could start out with different starters that have different variant evolutions- and heck, you could even cross state borders to get theirs if that's what you wanted.

But for now, without getting way too deep, I decided to make variants based on critters that either exist here or have some sort of cultural tie in.

Let's go:

Typhlosion, Fire/Ground, low temp fires but also used for welding and construction, trusted with kids because they don't tend to start fires they don't quickly put out. The original line is already kinda mixed of badgers, weasels, moles, etc, but I think there's plenty of those here, and if nothing else Cyndaquil IS the fire mouse pokemon, and by God we got mice. Favoritism put it here admittedly since Cyndaquil was my very first pokemon in the games, and I'd want the same irl.

Blastoise, Water/Rock, basically more of a mobile tank people ride on. Uses the bubbles around its legs as wheels. Based on box turtles that live here

Chesnaught, Grass/Steel, based on various loggers and blue collar workers from here, helps with those sort of jobs and is pretty intelligent. It can form shields or slice up trees easily with its arm saws.

Yanma, Bug/Flying, based on dragonflies I see around the house

Yanmega, Bug/Steel, evolves while knowing Steel Wing. Tends to eat rusted metal from old farms and junk yards, very quick

Salandit, Ice/Electric, based on blue tailed skinks I see around my house often

Freezard, Ice/Electric, evolves from male ms Salandit. They take things by force if they want and their tails can be used as whips. Usually the females keep them in line though.

Corvilich, Flying/Rock- actually a cross over from a fan region I dabble in during my spare time. Lots of crows and corvids here, so naturally I think they'd be here too. Evolves from Corvisquire. They fight each other over nice bones and are great fliers, and are very intelligent, may or may not have good and bad omens associated

Miltank, Water/Normal, based on cows I see often taking dips in local ponds. Ms is a very farm heavy state, so I could see us having our own moomoo milk market. The arms and legs act like floaties.

Dragonite, Dragon/Fairy, evolves from Dragonair with high friendship. I wanted a psuedo legend, and then I found out Ms has its own dragon stories (even a town). I also thought it'd be neat to make a friend you'd maybe see in a forest, so I also added butterfly elements to it from the Great Purple Hairstreak.

I'm still making more, I'm progressing and getting a little better as I go, but I don't wanna get too crazy making a bunch. I'm thinking maybe about the same amount as Legends Arceus introduced. I do want to try making a full, balanced team, though, so I'll probably make more for that. So far though I could see myself with Typhlosion, Corvilich, Freezard, and Dragonite. Looking for a water type and maybe a doggo.

#pokemon #fakemon #arts and crafts with doubled #Typhlosion #Blastoise #chesnaught #yanma #yanmega #salandit #Corviknight #miltank #dragonite #regional variants #just for fun. please remember that

[davidstortebeker]

Urban Composting using Red Worms

Composting is the Alpha and the Omega of food. Compost replenishes the nutrients lost from the soil during food production, at the same time it deals with the bucketloads of organic kitchen waste that accumulates during food preparation. The compost beautifully connects the garden with the kitchen, and vice versa.

No farm? No garden? No Problem! 

What about those of us who don't farm? Those who don't even have small yard? Not that uncommon in cities, even though people still tend to have a kitchen there. For all those who think that this situation makes composting unfeasible, I'd like to share my experience in urban composting using Eisenia foetida, or California Red Worms, first in a Budapest apartment without even a balcony, then on my rooftop in Mexico City.

We are all producers anyway, so let's make the most of it. 

Before getting immersed in the details of urban vermiculture, let's stop and think about all the stuff we add to this world on a regular basis: many household garbage bags contain all kinds of lovely-nasty things, from eggshells to tea-bags, from banana peels to coffee grounds, from toenail clippings to that cucumber that grew moldy from being ignored for too long. Not very nice gifts to the world, at least from our perspective. So it's not surprising that they are generally seen as a 'problem'. Also, our trash can would be so much cleaner without all this smelly and gooey organic garbage.

Now let's imagine getting a regular supply of liquid fertilizer (maybe 4 liters / 1 gallon every week), as well as solid humus (around 40 liters / 10 gallons every 6 months). That is a lot, especially for someone who doesn't have a garden! But in their converted forms these former problem items become highly desired goods by those who do, so they can be sold, traded, or gifted. In the end, the little effort put into it pays of quite handsomely.

How does vermicomposting work?

The principle is pretty straight forward: Decomposers, such as fungi, bacteria, and other microorganisms break down our kitchen wastes and make their nutrients available for plants. There are thousands, even millions of these useful little critters, so how can we collect them all to form an ecosystem in our little bin? Fortunately, there is something like a packaged deal:

Many microbes that are happy to eat our food scraps live in a close symbiosis with another important decomposer, the composting worm (aka California Red Wiggler or Eisenia foetida) and they can be found in the same dirt the worms live in. Together they can turn our kitchen waste into nutritious humus, given the proper conditions. It’s important to mention, that it’s not the worms who bite into the apple-core, but all the microbes digest it down to a juice they all slurp and exude. Yum! This is also the reason why it’s always best to get the worms with a good amount of soil as inoculant.

Setting up the Wormery

For the bin I usually use a 40 liter / 10 gallon storage box, ideally the stackable kind, which will come in handy once the first bin is full. Drilling lots of small holes on the bottom will make sure that it drains well, and prevent the foul smell that accompanies anaerobic decomposition. The drained liquid, by the way, is the fertilizer mentioned above, sometimes referred to as 'compost juice' or 'worm tea'. I use the lid of the box as a saucer to catch it. From there I let the compost juice drain through a strategically placed hole into a bucket. It’s important to make sure the entire system is sufficiently inclined, so the water can drain in its proper direction.

Making it nice and comfy inside 

Once their home is completed it needs to be furnished before our decomposing friends can move in. Fill the bin half way with some organic material, preferably high in carbon, such as dry leaves, straw, hay, woodchips, or if these things are hard to find, ripped-up pieces of cardboard, and paper. Ideally I’d use a good mix of whatever I can find. I usually also include a handful of forest soil, in order to inoculate the system with wild microbes, as well as a good number of thin sticks and twigs, to guarantee aeration when the compost starts to compact. To really make the new tenants happy, it’s also a good idea to prepare some partially composted food, as it is the juice seeping out of the decomposing food the worms live on.

The needs of this community of decomposers, as anyone who has composted before will know, are a good ratio of carbon and nitrogen, good aeration, and sufficient moisture. As for the worms, they are also not too fond of light, so it’s good to keep the inside of the wormery in constant darkness. The bin should be set up in a shady spot, and protected from the rain. Worms need moisture, but they can’t swim! When temperatures approach freezing they will curl up and go dormant, only to become active again in the spring. So don’t assume they froze to death, they’re just sleeping.

Adding the worms 

Once the bin is ready the worms can arrive. The old adage ‘the more the merrier’ certainly applies to them, as long as they are of the right kind of worms. Using regular earthworms, or night-crawlers, will most likely kill them, dooming the entire composting system to fail. For my first worm-bin I was given a kilo of red worms by a friend. In my latest one, however, I had to make do with only about 200 individual wigglers, which I bought for an arm and a leg from a stingy worm farmer. They immediately disappeared into the box, making me wonder if they were still alive for the next couple of months. But these Red Wigglers are amazing at multiplying: if they are happy, they can double their population in only 90 days.

The feeding routine 

Running the system is super easy, and once the routine has become established, it will almost run itself. Every time I produce organic kitchen waste, I place it into a small (1 liter / quart) bin that I keep next to the kitchen sink. This one I empty every 1-2 days, right into the worm box, on top of everything that’s already in it. Next, I use some carbon-rich material to cover it with. Since most of our food is high in nitrogen, this step is essential. Once again, I could use leaves or straw, but in an urban setting newspaper is a lot easier to come by, or bank statements, or other printed propaganda. It is important to make sure this cover material does not include any harmful substances for our microorganisms, such as lead-based ink or bleached paper. My experience in Hungary and Mexico has taught me that most newspapers can be trusted, even the colorful ones. What I still avoid, though, are glossy prints that are almost certain to include plastic.

Covering the food will not only add the necessary carbon, but will also control the smell and keep invading insects in check. To maximize efficiency I like to rip the newspaper in stripes, and once it has completely covered the little pile of food, I pour some water over it. The water makes the strips stick together, hiding the food underneath, ready to be discovered and colonized from below. Before watering it, I usually empty out the effluent bucket, so it won’t overflow. This worm-tea I collect in a bottle to use to water my plants, in a diluted form. Finally, to protect the worms from the light, and to reduce evaporation, I place a cardboard lid on top of the bin. An old piece of carpet, blanket, sweater, etc. can also do the trick, while keeping moisture from evaporating. Just make sure there are no poisons involved.

What do the worms eat? 

As for the dos and don’ts of feeding the worms, the rule of thumb is: they’re not too picky, but are generally vegetarians. Also they are not too fond of oily stuff, and they absolutely hate salt! So I mostly give them fruit and veggie pieces that accumulate while preparing any meal. They don’t object to cooked food per se (cooled down, of course), but since that usually includes oil and salt, it should probably be avoided. Otherwise they get everything from flowers to salad rests, even the dust from the floor. Quite obviously, though it can’t be stressed enough, harmful chemicals should be always avoided!   

Even the water I use on the worm bin I set out in the sun for a while to let the chlorine evaporate. Also, the smaller the chunks I give them, the faster the decomposition will go. Putting their daily food into a blender and pouring it on in liquid form would make it even more readily accessible, though I’ve never gone that far in my efforts.  

What about the flies? 

At this point many users may wonder about possible insects this indoor worm farm could attract. Sure, the better you cover the food, the less insects you have, but in my experience it was hard to avoid a small population of flies. Though they tended to be the tiny fruit flies, and not the pesky houseflies, it can still be annoying to have them around. Fortunately, their population came suddenly under control, just when it seemed like it was getting out of hand…   

The solution was a natural predator, who just showed up on its own, in form of a little lizard. I have no idea where it came from, but it quickly made itself home on my kitchen curtain, from where it hunted the flies with agile determination. First I celebrated this incident as a unique marvel of nature, but since then I have seen many lizards hanging around my worm-bin I keep on the roof here in Mexico. They seem to find delicious flies, even though I don’t! Just goes to show how effective they are.

Completing the cycle with a second bin 

Once there is no more room in the bin to accommodate more compost it's time for a second bin. After drilling its holes similarly to the first one, I just place it on top of the first one, letting it slide down all the way to the top of the compost. I even push it down a bit, to make sure it is in complete contact, so the worms can crawl through the holes into the second bin. This takes time, of course, but there is no rush.   

With a similar substrate, and regularly added fresh food, the worms will want to migrate upwards, especially once they have eaten up everything in the bottom bin. The rest of the compost will be taken care of by other microbes, so by the time the second bin is full too, the first one will be ready to be emptied and placed on top. This whole cycle takes about a year, depending on how much you produce.   

And a year later... 

Okay, so we’ve kept our kitchen trash food-free for a year, the plants in our home have grown like crazy since we started feeding them with the worm-tea, and our house lizard is getting chubby while keeping the flies to a minimum. So one day we reach the point when the second bin is also almost overflowing with compost. What now?  

Instead of getting a third bin (and a step-ladder that would eventually be needed), it’s time to empty the first bin, and set it on the top of the second. This should give the user a sack full of good humus. Now I’ve seen people plant straight into that, and in fact, lots of time you’ll find volunteer plants growing out of it. But this fresh vermi-humus has so much potential that it would be a waste not to dilute it.

The first time I harvested a batch of 50 liters, it ended up revitalizing 500 liters (that’s more than 130 gallons, or about half a ton) of exploited, nutrient-poor soil in a nearby community garden. And yes, there will be some worms left in this humus, which is exactly what we want. After all, the organic decomposition doesn’t stop just because it was taken out of the bin. And why should it? Especially if we mix it with used soil (once again without any chemical poisons), still more organic matter, and start growing plants in it, the continuous cycle of nutrients will go on and on. The most exciting part is starting just now, and to think back that it all came out of our kitchen makes the whole endeavor worth while.

#permaculture #sustainability #composting #worms #kitchen #gardening #organic #ecosystem

[thydungeon]

The Fear in Review: Valentine’s Day Special: My Dog

I spent most of my life not really understanding why people loved dogs so much, and this photo below doesn’t really explain it either, but I have always loved the idea of shaking hands with a dog.

I love Goose because he is so happy to see us whenever we come home, or wake up, or otherwise see him after having not seen him for a long time. He loves being around us and hates it so much when we leave that he tries to find a window to look at us to see where we’re going. I have never interacted with another small critter that likes me as much as Goose does.

But I spend a lot of time worrying about him because he even though he can’t speak, he can emote - specifically, he can emote sadness, anxiety, and fear. I worry a lot about him because I am responsible for his well-being. This quote about Laika, the first animal (read: dog) to orbit the Earth, is very sad to me:

In 1998, after the collapse of the Soviet regime, Oleg Gazenko, one of the scientists responsible for sending Laika into space, expressed regret for allowing her to die:

Work with animals is a source of suffering to all of us. We treat them like babies who cannot speak. The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We shouldn't have done it ... We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog.

Whenever we leave him alone, I worry about his safety:

- If we leave him in the yard, will he dig his way out and escape? If he escapes, what if he is caught and abused, or killed by a passing car?

- If we leave him in the house, will he eat something that’ll get lodged in his gut, or will he choke himself to death on a small object?

- If we leave him in the crate, what if the house burns down and he’s trapped?

As I write this, he’s futzing around in the yard at night, and I know my neighbors have set out poison for rats, so for the past two weeks, we haven’t left him outside unsupervised since there are potentially dead rats around. 

I don’t think it’s the end of the world if/when Goose dies, but he’s a real nice creature and my preference is for him to live a long, happy, and healthy life. And when he does pass away I will cry like a 3 year old for weeks.

#dogs #rambling #the fear in review #Season 4

[fbwzoo]

Had a wonderful day outside with the critters today! It wasn't too hot so I hung out with the dogs for a while until Jack got home and brought Phoebe out. It's been ages since the cats have had leash time bc Phoebe was escaping hers and we didn't have one that fit Shilo well. But Jack put Shilo's old one on Phoebe and it worked well! And we got a custom one for Shilo to be long enough for his back.

It was just so nice that once they were in their harnesses and we had them out in the yard, they immediately went "oh yes we like this!!!" and were thrilled to explore and roll around. Just instant happy tails like it hasn't been months since we've had them out.

Then we had friends over for dinner and the dogs got to practice their "place" command in a new environment & with more distractions. They did really well!! They also got baths before dinner, which is why Addy looks wet. 😂

Finished up the evening with brushing for everyone - Spring doesn't need it but loves it. Addy needs it most and got treats for cooperating. She did pretty well! Still plenty to go, damn double coat. Jack brushed Phoebe, who doesn't usually need much, and got a ton off her. And even Shilo joined the party for a few minutes. He needs brushing most after Addy and he's actually starting to like it!

Just very pleased with all of them tonight, it was a nice evening of enjoying the babies.

#fbw rambles #my pets #Addy pup #springy pup #phoebe kitty #Shilo kitty #just kinda rambling #we have such good kiddos

[populationpensive]

Edumacating

Well I am off for the week after a week of call. It was less of a hot mess than last time but my colleagues and I have negotiated a different call schedule (thank god). Now I just have my whole house to clean since I was on nights, then call. Everything is so....ick.

I got approval to go to the Society of Critical Care Medicine ultrasound conference! I have been dying to get organized training with ultrasound. My skills are...meh not great. I have never been formally trained and I've just figured things out as I go. It would be benefit for my patients to improve my skills here, particularly when I admit sick people overnight and really need to understand what their heart is doing besides being like "oh they don't need volume! oh they don't have takosubos!"

I got a little excited with some warm weather we got over the weekend and bought my spring plants for my pots. It was SO windy that I needed to keep them in my 3 season room so they would stand some sort of a change. I got a small strawberry plant for my hanging basket and 2 jersey blueberry bushes I plan to plant in the back yard. I don't think the blueberries will bear fruit this year but hopefully next year. I just need to protect them from the critters here.

Besides that, not much else going on. Work is work. We've had a ton of strokes lately. TONS. We've been lucky that we haven't gotten a ton of traumas yet but the weather isn't consistently nice enough for that. Soon, though .

And now I'll go off and read, eat some asian cuisine, and go get a massage because #selfcare

#pablr #physician assistant #physician associate #pa-c #pa-s #pre-pa #pa school #caspa #health care #medblr #nurblr #studyspo #critical care #medicine

[urbanflorals]

here is an excerpt from my writing today!

callum's pov btw

also um yeah meet Emberly and Earley.

Earley lives in a two-storied home that seems its straight out of a fairy-tale mother tells Addiline and Lorelei. It’s a white wooden home with vines creeping up the walls, the windows are thrown open each with a small box of flowers hanging from them. A picket fence wraps around the house with a path that travels through the yard connecting the rows of plants. Butterflies float around the garden in harmony dropping to land on flowers and the flying off again when they’re satisfied with their work. A gentle breeze floats through the air and the smell of fresh air and rain hits me – this place smells like Aurelia.

Earley directs us towards the small gate underneath an arch leading us into her home, but the second we step foot in her garden the butterflies freeze, and a high-pitched shriek emits from them as they hurtle towards us. The once gentle breeze picks up to a deadly pace and whips around us caging us in, the clear sky suddenly darkens, and we’re trapped in an air storm that’s closing in on us quickly. Leahla screeches when a butterfly touches her and she lifts off the ground, gripping onto my arm with surprising strength. Aurelia is calming looking about, not showing any signs of panic or care as her hair is whipped into a frenzy, in fact it seems like butterflies are just landing on her and resting.

Earley and Emberly both turn around with frowns on their faces. Earley’s directed at the butterflies and Emberly’s directed at Leahla who is still making noise.

“Oh enough already,” Early scolds to the butterflies, she waves her hand towards them all and the arm walls vanish, and the butterflies move away from us crowding Earley as if she’ll protect them from us. “Yes, I know they aren’t from here,” she says when one of the critters starts chittering in her ear. “That shouldn’t bother you dears okay? Just go back to work, I’ll make sure to leave out extra water for you tonight.” The insect just bobs in the air for a few more seconds before fluttering off taking the rest of the swarm with it.

“You’ll have to forgive me, I forgot about my little friends, they can get quite hostile when new visitors arrive.”

“You think?” Julias mutters to himself so quietly I can barely hear it.

Earley spins around. “Yes I do think that. Next time you wish to say something under your breath you may as well say it out loud, no point in mumbling.” Julias’s face turns red. How did she hear that? “As I was saying, I’m sorry if the Airnts scared you. Sometimes they have absolutely no boundaries.” She sends another scolding look at the flittering insects.

I look back over to the swarm of butterflies and realise they aren’t butterflies at all. They’re small little human like creatures with wings and crystal-like skin. They’re small hands gently tending to the plant they’ve landed on before flying to the next one, laughing with each other and playing with the wind the control.

“So they’re like human bugs?” Julias asks disgust clear in his tone.

No one liked that.

Leahla swats him in the arm. “Are you kidding me Julias? Shush!”

The lead Airnt that was squeaking in Earley’s ear, shrieks loudly at that and sends a large blast of air at Julias sending him flying onto his ass, to the Silent Court and Earley’s amusement.

“They are not bugs, they are Airnts. A word of advice Mr Julias, don’t call them bugs again, they won’t take it nicely.”

“Couldn’t you just stop them?” Avena speaks up.

“I could – but if he insults my Airnts again it’s not that I can’t stop them, it’s that I don’t want to stop them.” By the time we’ve reached the first step I realise that was the second time Earley heard something she couldn’t have.

~~~

its def unedited btw

@nqds @skeelly (sorry for dragging u into this lemme know if u want me to stop lol)

#ems writes #the silent court

[merzelifestyle]

Garden Themed Table Design For Easter

I think that Easter has to be one of my favorite holidays. It has always been a laid-back afternoon celebration where we invited a few family or friends for a small intimate brunch. We set up a pretty table on our patio and enjoyed the weather if the weather was warm enough. It is a nice way to welcome Spring.

 On this day, I decided to create this outdoor garden themed table design for Easter using ideas from my trellis, garden roses, and other things I find in my yard. I like to start my designs using a theme since it helps me with the initial direction of my table.

This collection of spring flowers just is so sweet with the calla lilies, tulips, and roses.

"“don’t Wait For Someone To Bring You Flowers. Plant Your Own Garden And Decorate Your Own Soul.” "  -- Luther Burbank

I made this tablecloth using a lovely fabric with a pink/orange trellis design, and I found the material in a wholesale fabric warehouse in Massachusetts.

Hint: Designers love to rummage through antique stores, warehouses, and the like to find exciting things they can use for decorating.

I HAVE BEEN COLLECTING PORTMEIRION’S BOTANICAL GARDEN DISHES for years. They are perfect for a BOTANICAL garden party since they have flowers, butterflies, and other critters on them. I never get tired of them.

On top of my Botanical Garden dish, I’ve placed a linen napkin with gorgeous embroidered spring and summer flowers. The colors are just so sweet, adding to the texture and theme of my tablescape.

"“you Can Cut All The Flowers, But You Cannot Keep Spring From Coming.” "  -- Pablo Neruda "“I just love Easter. It’s just the best holiday ever. I love Peeps, and jelly beans, and I love chocolate covered bunnies, but I really love Peeps the best.”"  -- Reese Witherspoon

Pink Lemonade Mimosas

1 cup pink lemonade

2 cups of prosecco or any champagne or sparkling wine.

Just a few drops of Grenadine (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Assemble time - 5 minutes.

Serves 2

Chill all of your ingredients

Pour pink lemonade into two coupe or flute glasses. (I used pre-made pink lemonade from the grocery store. It saved me time and was just as good as if I made it myself.)

Gently add prosecco to the lemonade.

Add Grenadine for additional color and a hint more flavor.

Garnish with fruit such as raspberries or strawberries. I added a few edible viola blooms for color.

As with everything I post on my blogs, please feel free to comment or if you have any questions, please email me through my contact page. I welcome it anytime!

Design with your heart™️

Happy entertaining, my friends!

Mary

"May your home be a place where friends meet, family gathers, and love grows. "  -- Anonymous

All photos by Merze Lifestyle

#liechtenstein #journey through liechtenstein #journeys through europe #the unspoken word #stories of humanity #communicating #how to communicate to each other #love one another #travel blog #blog #lemon rose and cardamom mousse #easter dessert #lemon mousse #lemon and rose mousse #easter lemon mousse

[chaoskitty78]

This is the wrong attitude, y’all

(copied from the social media site NextDoor, on a post about how there’s too much construction going on and people shouldn’t be mad when things like coyotes and bobcats show up in their back yard because all this construction is pushing them out of their homes)

“ No shade but it's too much going on in the world that's more important then wildlife. (Town name redacted) is building up their city.”

This kind of “people first, wild animals SUCK and cause problems ANYWAY” attitude is kind of why we’ve never, not in almost 22 years of homeownership, ever put pesticides or insecticides on our lawn. We don’t CARE if our yard looks nice and is an unholy, unnatural shade of green. We have no fucks to give about whether or not it’s a little scraggly and weedy. The critters that live there (wasps, hornets and fire ants aside...those suckers get nuked ASAP when they are noticed) aren’t hurting us. So why bother them?

At our old house, we had bunnies that lived in the yard and had a small warren under the deck. I didn’t give one flying fuck or do anything to try and get rid of them. They tended to congregate in our yard, because we were one of only two houses (the other being our elderly next door neighbors who had no pets) without dogs, etc in the yard to harrass/kill them. And I loved watching them hopping about, nibbling on the grass, etc. There was one big fat male who liked to sun himself on our deck, right next to the sliding glass door which drove our cats absolutely bonkers because they couldn’t get to him and I always found that vaguely amusing.

At our new house (which we’ve lived in nearly a year now LOL), we have squirrels...tons of them. And they’re kinda cute, tbh. And birds, which I don’t feed (but maybe I should), but still hang around anyway because we have 6 immature oak trees in our back yard that they like to hang out in.

I like critters. I feel sorry for the coyotes, bobcats, deer, etc that are being pushed out of their homes/territory because somebody somewhere decided we needed not one but TWO new Starbucks within a 5 mile radius of each other.

#wildlife #towndrama

[freighthouseantiques]

#ocheist of @jaszczurka.exe 🦇 I hope they don’t mind! Another artist I discovered while browsing the #oc tag. I hope you all have a nice day everyone! It’s the last day before a holiday break here in the states and I’m looking forward to doing some fun and productive things with the special set-aside time. The day before a holiday is one of life’s most nice and special feelings. I woke up this morning to a coating of frost on the windows of cars outside and a light dusting of snow on rooftops. This week we installed a heated water bowl for the thirsty outside critters in search of a sip this winter. 💦❄️ AND of course since tomorrow is Thanksgiving that means Thanksgiving For The Yard Animals Too! So they will be getting an extra special snack to enjoy, both daytime critters and nightime lurkers alike. Maybe I’ll snap some photos of their feast and share here… #illustration #sketchbook #drawingforfun #bekindtoanimals #nicethings #gouache #watercolor #permanentmarker #ink #posca #witch #punkart #spookyart #oc https://www.instagram.com/p/ClTv-tXrgeC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#ocheist #oc #illustration #sketchbook #drawingforfun #bekindtoanimals #nicethings #gouache #watercolor #permanentmarker #ink #posca #witch #punkart #spookyart

[msbarrows]

Not much building today as I was mostly exploring. Started off the day by tripping over a crashed class A fighter worth 49 million units (had something like 32 of 38 cargo slots - my current ship will max out at 40). Been thinking of putting together a nice fighter to use when I go out to specifically hunt pirates, so decided to fix it up and give it a try. Had almost everything on hand to do all the repairs since I’m a pack rat now that I have the slots for it; only needed a few things like some more wiring looms (of course!), phosphorus, and emeril.

Within a few hours I absolutely hated having a second ship. Any time I found a new wreck and went to salvage it, the station loaded the new fighter instead of my steadfast cargo ship. There doesn’t appear to be any way to make it default to a specific ship; you’d think it would at least load the last ship you’ve used prior to the ship you just had melted down, but noooooo, that would obviously be too logical. By this evening I’d had enough; I stripped all the improvements I’d put into it back out, sighed over all the resources spent on repairs, and melted it down too (made ~38 million on it, nice).

In my running around I found a sentinel-less planet with a good climate that looks like a decent option for a better underwater base some day, so I built another beach house there to remind myself to go back and check it for really good powered spots some day (assuming I don’t find a different planet I like even more first).

At one point I’d gone back to the powered base I built yesterday (and forgot to take a screenshot of, so have one today). I sort of like the idea of the stepped modules down the hill, but I should have done three modules spaced evenly every two cuboid heights, so I might rebuild that one at some point. The powered one I did show off yesterday definitely needs a rebuild - every time I portal there I fall through the floor and am trapped in the supports underneath it (do they just not do QA on their build sets at all???).

Did a lot of exploring today since I’ve been trying to get around to visiting every planet in any solar system I have a base, so I can tell just from my Discoveries tab that, oh yeah, we don’t go there because that planet/moon has aggressive sentinels (just not visiting ever is obviously not an option, since there’s no way to tell the difference between ‘scanned and noped out of going there’ vs ‘have never even looked at the place from space’). And once I land I usually kill a few minutes scanning everything in view, and sometimes when I check Discoveries after that I notice I’m only missing 1-2 critters so of course I need to locate those for the nanite bonus before I go elsewhere... etc).

The last screenshots are due to missions; the ice planet was a “scan the fauna” where I finished up just as dawn was happening, and the columns was “landscape photo from a strange planet”. And then I wanted a base there because I like having bases on the really bizarro worlds, and wouldn’t you know it, there was another crashed ship just a couple hills over (a super crappy one, not even 1 million units). So I built a tall base to have a view. Also gathered a bunch of the glitched columns to use to decorate my bases elsewhere (glitches are some of my favourite decor for yards and patios). Reminds me I need to hit up soap bubble world again, I’m all out of bubbles.

#No Man's Sky #Euclid Galaxy #I visited so many planets today #It was unreal

[path-of-grass-and-leaves]

I went on one of those Buy Nothing groups and asked for small logs and branches. People were pretty excited for the free yard cleanup and I brought home so much wood!

I'm going to convert my current vegetable garden to a native pollinator garden and use some of these logs and branches to start a hugelkultur raised bed. There's a huge area of bare soil in the yard where we had one of those tiny Intex pools, which I'm rehoming. I just don't have enough space or privacy for a pool and last year one of our cardinal fledglings fell into it (and quickly escaped thanks to critter pool ramps), so it's a safety concern for the wildlife.

The bare patch of soil is going to be a big vegetable, flower, and herb garden, with the hugelkultur positioned in the center. I'm hoping all the decaying wood, leaf litter, compost, and grass clippings from the hugel will yeild a nice healthy layer of soil. Leftover logs will be used to grow mushrooms and some of the smaller branches will be piled in a corner for fireflies and overwintering insects.

I also bought some native seeds for the pollinator garden. Right now I've got Wild Strawberry, Early Goldenrod, Red Columbine, and Spotted Touch-Me-Not in the fridge for stratification.

I've got Purple Coneflower started in pots and a packet of Blue Flag Iris seeds, which I'll be planting this autumn. We also have some American Cranberrybush and Bloodroot seeds, but I won't be starting those yet since they have double dormancy requirements. We already have Bloodroot in the garden but I want to plant even more.

At some point I want to try my hand at building a tiny pond for vernal pools. We have a slug problem so I really want to encourage toads and salamanders. I'm not sure if I want to do something above ground with lots or ramps and hiding spots or something in-ground but very shallow, like 6"-8" maximum depth.

It's going to be a busy spring!

#gardening #native gardening #permaculture

[literallyaflame]

hey my recent post got kinda out of hand so i deleted it, it’s my bad for not being more clear on what exactly i was saying. i’ve been working with cats my whole life, rest assured my pets are neither a threat to themselves nor their surroundings

#seriously i didnt mean you should let ur cats be outside totally unsupervised #we have a nice yard with no critters #in twenty years we’ve never had a bird death or a cat get sick #i think a dog got bit by a snake once but that was a big dog and we were literally there she was on a walk #for reference the reason i posted in the first place was cause someone said catios werent good enough which was so odd to me #catios being like a screened in porch for cats #as if theyre gonna be hurt by idk direct sunlight or something