#“we cant let people grow harmful plants!”

[rebellum]

Genuinely that hasenfu addition was so funny that I'm hoping it somehow becomes a copy pasta

in my opinion it is essential to make a "right to garden" law that means no one can stop you from growing whatever you want in your yard.

I think it should even apply to renters so a landlord is required to allow you to have a garden

And I think this can become a reality

[specialagentlokitty]

Fili/Kili x sister!reader - unlikely bonds

Hey, I really want to request a Fili + Kili x sister reader however I know there aren’t female dwarfs, so maybe they come across a young elf who is stranded in the middle of nowhere. They take her in and plan to return her to her kind, however along the way they grow very close. Perhaps they never find her family, and so they try and find someone who will take her on however she doesn’t want to leave them. - Anon💜

A/N: italics will be elvish

If there was one thing you had learned being in the middle of nowhere it was not to trust anybody you came across.

So, when a small group of travellers stumbled across you, you were quick to ready your weapon, and they did the same thing.

“By the time you get near me I’ll shoot you all down where you stand.” You sneered.

The tallest of the group raised his hands.

“We mean you no harm, we are just travelling.”

“I do not care, go around.”

“We cant. The passage on the other side of the mountain is full of danger, it is not safe for anybody to go that way.”

You narrowed your eyes a little bit, shooting an arrow at the foot of a blond dwarf who attempted to move closer to you.

“It is not safe for a young elf to be out here in her own either, do you have company?” The taller one asked.

“It is none of your business.”

He smiled a little.

“Perhaps not, but I worry about leaving you behind. Perhaps we can accompany you to the nearest village?”

You stared at him in shock.

“You understand me?”

“Oh very well, I good friend of my taught me the language. Perhaps you know of Lord Elrond?”

You nodded.

“I do, many of the elves do. He was very well known in our small village. Who are you?”

“Where are my manners? I am Gandalf.”

“I see, I recognise your name, and I know of your quest.”

Gandalf smiled to you.

“So will you allow us to escort you safely to a village?”

You had heard stories of the wizard, and of his recent adventure with the dwarves and the halfling.

Though the idea of travelling with dwarfs didn’t appeal to you, you knew it was safer than trying to travel on your own with no map and little food.

So you nodded.

“Yes.”

“Wonderful, let us get aquatinted.”

You realised how much you didn’t get along with dwarves and why elves and dwarves didn’t get along.

While you were clean and organised and polite, they were messy, chaotic and at the best of times rude.

But it was the two younger dwarves who caught you attention, they were nosy of course, but they did their best to respect you and stayed away from you when eating or when you were taking a few moments to relax.

But of course they couldn’t fully stay away, they just wanted to be friends.

“Come on, surely you can tell us something about your village.” Fili said.

“Exactly, what was it like? Where is it?” Kili asked next.

Glancing at the two smaller men next to you, you went back to eating your dinner.

“I cannot tell you where it is, and there is not much to say about it. It was a small village hidden away so we could live in peace.”

“Is it like Rivendell?” Fili asked.

You shook your head.

“Nowhere near as elegant. While Rivendell hides in the mountains, and Mirkwood in the forests, my village preferred between two raging rivers where people could not cross and plants were plenty.”

“Well how did you get there?” Kili asked.

“Leave the lass alone.” Balin scolded.

He gave you a small smile and rounded the two young dwarves away from you so you could eat.

It was like a routine, they would sneak away to join you but eventually get dragged back by one of the others.

And soon enough you grew used to their company, and enjoyed having them around.

Before you knew it you had been travelling with them for a while, and Fili and Kiki had adopted you as their own.

“What if we take you to a nearby elf village and see if one of them can look after you?” Thorin asked.

“The nearest one is too far from your mountain, you needn’t trouble yourself.”

“Do you not wish to return home?” Dwalin asked.

“Of course I do, but my village is long gone, I do not know where my family is. I do not mind travelling with you all.”

“It is nice having somebody to talk to.” Bilbo smiled.

“If we take a detour we may never make it in time.” Fili said.

“Which is why I will carry on travelling with you.”

The dwarves seemed conflicted.

“I don’t understand what the issue is.” Bilbo whispered.

You knelt down next to him.

“It is because compared to many of my kind I am young, not quite an adult, not quite a child. They do not want to travel with somebody so young, even though I am in fact around the same age as most of them.”

Bilbo nodded a little bit.

“It’s just not safe, we don’t want to put you in danger.” Kili mumbled.

You smiled at him.

“My brother, I will be okay.”

Thorin looked at you.

“When we pass the next town we will find somebody there to take you in for the meantime.”

You sighed.

You couldn’t protest with the dwarf king, it was not your place.

So you simply accepted it and made the most of the time you had with the group.

Stopping at a town, Thorin began going from door to door, asking people if they would be willing to house you.

“You will stay here where you will be safe.” Fili said.

You narrowed your eyes.

“I will follow you.”

“You can’t, Thorin as spoken. You are to stay here (Y/N).” Fili sighed.

You shook your head.

“Yes he may have spoken about me travelling with you, but not about me travelling alone.”

Kili grinned a little.

“She has a point, he never said she wasn’t able to travel by herself. Perhaps she just happens to be going the same way.”

“You know he will disapprove!” Fili hissed.

“He would never see me!” You whispered.

Fili looked at you.

“Do not encourage this!”

You frowned a little.

“I do not want to leave you to do this alone…”

The dwarf sighed, sitting next to you but the fountain.

“I know, we do not want to leave you either, but this was we can assure you are safe.”

You glanced at him.

“I cannot assure you are safe though, so I must come with you. Perhaps I will never find my family again, perhaps I will, but you two have become my family, and I cannot let you leave like I did the others.”

You stood up, looking at them both.

“Whether you go with or without me, I will still follow you there. I will make my way to that mountain myself if I must.”

They both smiled at you, getting up to hug you, and you hugged them back tightly.

“We will talk Thorin around.” Fili whispered.

Because truth be told, they would stay if you couldn’t go with them.

You were their best friend, their sister, and they needed to make sure that you were okay as well

[asterroses]

5, 7, 20, 22, 31, and 39 for odessa? for those rook asks you rbed earlier :)

i need u to kno i did heart hands at my pc screen when i got this LMFAO

5. What was life like for Rook before joining the Veilguard?

odessa's life was kind of . in the shit . considering she flunked her chance at becoming a full-fledged crow that she was banking on [she couldn't let it happen , though . the people were more important . but she does have regrets] , and she was kicked out of the only home she's ever had even if it hurt her more than nurtured her , so she was just kind of coasting . she was by herself which would've also been causing harm to her , as she's never done well all on her lonesome . most of it was disassociation , if you asked her what she was doing , all she'd bring up was varric recruiting her - solely because she cant really remember .

7. Why does Rook agree to join the Veilguard?

for something to give her purpose , and to prove herself . she needed to see for herself that she Can do something , and do it well , without fucking it up . and maybe she was hoping viago would somehow see , and allow her back home . the good thing about joining the veilguard was that she was present , and in the moment , instead of vaguely hovering . we dont talk about how it basically backfired - thats haunting her every step to the point she's refusing to sleep .

20. What’s it like to see them smile? Their laugh?

odessa's smile is cute ; its more of a smirk , a raise of the corner than a smile , but enough that her front teeth show . its something that hasnt really changed since she was little , and her laugh lines are much more noticeable with a smile . she snorts more than she laughs , and its more of a cackle , and its really easy to make her laugh . she loooves jokes , even making her own no matter how terrible they are .

22. Most embarrassing memory as a teenager:

truly she has many to choose from ; most of which were witnessed by viago . one she claims was the most embarrassing was her falling from one of the ziplines into the canal . which was also when viago realized she never learnt how to swim and had to fish her out of there himself . and also when he realized she didnt know how to use the ziplines . that was certainly a time for both of them . and totally not in the presence of many other fledgelings . some that definitely let her forget [they dont let her forget ; heir lets her know shes not the only one who has done it , though]

31. What specialization does Rook pursue? What called them to it?

duelist ! she's been trained more with daggers most of her life , she knows how to dodge , how to avoid , and how to hit Hard . she couldn't see herself being anything but what a crow Should Be . its been ingrained into her . she loves being a duelist , to be honest . is it because she's been read stories abt dashing , mysterious and troubled rogues ? and now she is one ? Maybe So . she will never admit it , though . [yes she will . she has multiple times . shes a bad liar]

39. What is their room at The Lighthouse like?

its very eclectic - which fits her . theres an antivan coffee maker that she bought at the cafe , theres a lute she's trying to remember how to play when she's not so tired , theres sketches of wings on her walls , and a plant in a terrarium on one of her small tables , maybe because she was thinking of lace when she bought it , and how she'd like to grow plants someday . the floor is messy , various articles of belts and holders scattered about . she has a hard time staying in the room , as she doesnt want to sleep , but she tries to spend as much time , so that the fish dont get lonely . shes named them all , too , and gets stressed thinking about how they're fed with glass up to the ceiling and no fish-food designated spot . she thinks solas cruel , for that .

[vegance]

I’m, not saying torture animals that aren’t human. But simply that they should have different things considered than humans. And if any other homo species was still around, then yeah the whole genus would probably require the same protections. As for aliens, if they manage to come visit us they’re clearly at least on the same level as humans, if they’re found on another planet we should leave them the fuck alone we have our own planet.

Other primates definitely shouldn’t be treated the same as humans either because they arent, but they should have different rules from livestock for many reasons. Just, dont keep primates as pets, dont eat primates (even if the person doesn’t think it’s weird to eat our cousins, it’s still a huge risk of disease because of how closely related we are). Just, let primates live their own lives and keep their habitats safe.

And if any of that was directed at cattle in wheelchairs, that is not an animal that can live a good life in a wheelchair. Dogs could, but cattle have social fights and get way too heavy for a wheelchair to not cause harm.

Also remember, death isn’t a horrible thing. It’s the one thing that truly connects all living creatures. And all we can truly ask for is a peaceful death. Which, idk how poultry and such is killed but yes cattle are killed in a peaceful way. Any twitching that happens after the bolt is from leftover electrical energy.

Slaughterhouses just need more unions, more osha type regulations. Yeah things can be bloody but that doesn’t mean it’s horrible. Everything dies to feed something else. One day I’ll be gone and will feed the worms and plants.

Just because a human can be fine on a vegan diet doesn’t mean they all can do one or that people should all switch to a vegan diet. And yeah people tend to take supplements, because our diets tend to be less varied than they should be. There’s a difference between going paleo and just, understanding that as an omnivore you are built to require animal products. Not everyone can even properly process supplements.

Vegan baby formula also has the downsides of, its soy. Most of the time it’s just soy which is one of the worst monocultures there is and is a rather common allergen. Only one vegan formula is even approved by the fda (in the us ofc, idk anything about food safety regulators in other countries). We need to grow less soy, not more (and no, most of the soy isnt being grown for feeding livestock. That’s just where the beans that have been processed for oil and all the inedible parts go, as it is with most food given to livestock)

“What do orphaned baby lions have to do with people eating a cheeseburger”

Nothing. I wasnt talking lions. I was talking kittens. And the connection is, they’re domestics that need meat and (for formula) dairy. Not to mention Wildlife rehabs also often have to raise orphaned animals until they’re old enough to release.

I’m kinda done talking to a brick wall tho.

"I’m, not saying torture animals that aren’t human. But simply that they should have different things considered than humans." we are torturing them, though. that's the whole point.

i'm not saying we should treat all animals the same as humans, i am saying that they deserve the most basic moral consideration.

cattle often do not die a peaceful death, as the source i provided showed. it's easy to be all zen about death when you are not the one being killed. vegans are literally just arguing that we should not inflict suffering and death on animals when we can avoid it.

you are just making a lot of blanket statements with no proof (cattles lives in wheelchairs cant be good, but dogs can) or bring up super specific cases, which are no argument against veganism. i'm just not sure what you are trying to do here, or why you messaged me in the first place. if it was just a general discussion about veganism, why all these weirdly specific situations, that have nothing to do with animal ag at large?

soybean meal actually is edible for humans, and still 98% of it is fed to animals. about 70% of the worlds soy is made into soybean cakes for animal feed. as far as i understand, these are made of soybean meal.

yes, soy is a major allergen. so is dairy :D

ok, then you're not talking about lions, you are talking about kittens. but you are also not a kitten?? (unless...?) again, these small, super specific examples have nothing to do with whether or not the average person should go as vegan as they can? milk replacements for wildlife rehabilitation is not a major driver in animal ag.

"I’m kinda done talking to a brick wall tho." samsies. have a great night

[emsartwork]

Magic Masterpost

ok this is gonna be super long so under the cut

OK so these are the main four types of magic, magic can mostly be categorized into these four types but there are some exceptions that don’t fit the mold but there are still sciencey things we cant explain so (ball lighting, the 9th planet etc) so whatever. 

Core Magic is like another organ that belongs to individual beinigs that have a certain level of consciousness (humans, merfolk, elves, pixies and sprites, leprechauns, dragons) some beings that don’t have core magic, but do have the same level of consciousness as humans are discriminated against (trogs, vampires, ogres, trolls etc). Animals and plants do not posses core magic or the consciousness level characteristic of core magic users. They do sometimes have magical abilities but this is thought to be a side affect of either wild or natural magic sources.

Natural Magic is magic that is found in plants, minerals, water, and other non-conscious things. Usually is centrally localized and flows outward like a stream. has a large area of influence and natural sources can interact with each other with minimal conflict. good examples are the Tree of Magic(birthplace of the pixies and sprites and is linked to the core magic users in the universe), the Second Sun of Solaria(a source of warmth, solar light, and growth on Solaria), the pillars in the Infinite Ocean, Tir Nan Og and the sources I talked about with the earth fairies. Planets have a lot of natural sources and locations with out natural magic are rare(the wildlands in season 2 are unique to Magix and have a special magic suppressing aura)

Wild Magic is connected to natural magic but has its own unique section because its effects are so extreme. Natural sources can become wild sources in a defense mechanism, and some natural sources have a dependable cycle between wild and natural(ex. zenith’s core). Otherwise Wild sources are centrally localized around the same objects natural sources are, but can transfer to spirits and animals as well. Wild magic has a much smaller area of influence, and most animals will clear out of a place with a lot of wild magic because their instincts are like “danger????”, there are rarely multiple wild magic sources in the same area, and if there are they don’t interact well. Wild magic sources are a necessary part of nature, functioning like volcanic eruptions or geysers and relieving magical pressure on the planet. If a wild source isn’t treated with respect and is messed with (ex kalshara) it becomes severely unstable and instead of a potentially dangerous source in small doses it become a downright hazard with far reaching bolts of magic. This is the only reason Fractix exist lol. 

Ethereal Magic is something you do not want to mess with. It’s basically the most powerful type of magic, and is theorized to be the actual creative force behind the universe. The great dragon and the shadow phoenix used up most of their ethereal magic creating the universe, other ethereal magic holders didn’t participate much lol

This chart says human but really its the development of any creature with a core magic. Babies have zero magic but needs ambient magic (a mix of all the magics just kind of around) in order to develop further(0-10). Children will start to develop their magic in short, unpredictable bursts, its normal for their signature color to shift a lot in this stage, they can begin to learn magic theory but their magic isn’t firm enough or powerful enough to produce any results when spell casting (10-15). Young adults are fully developed magic wise (generally they are still younger age wise and not as practiced but their Core is the same as any adults) their core and signature color are set and don’t really change(exceptions to that below) this is usually when a person begins to practice their magic.(16-25)   

Ok so here are the basic differences between female and male magic. female magic stays within the core and body, only reaching outward when directed by the person. Male magic absorbs ambient magic, processing it through the core and letting it flow outward. Female magic users need to learn how to direct their magic outward in order to use it. Male magic users need to learn how to contain their magic in order to use it. its really easy to overwhelm female magic users and fights between two female magic users are either over v quickly, or have a TON of dodging. A fight between two male magic uses is dependant on how much magic the two already have stored (stamina kind of) and how much they can force themselves to absorb from their surroundings(ex, Nabu was naturally more resilient to absorbing and channeling magic than the rest of the group which is why he volunteers to close the black circle, unfortuntely the wizards had packed SO MUCH magic into their circle that when he did manage to close it, his core was overwhelmed and he died :( if say, aisha had volunteered to close it, her core would have been overwhelmed more quickly and she would have died with out closing it. 

Intersex peeps!!! ok so, just as a disclaimer, I’m not intersex, if you wanna talk to me about anything I say here feel free to send and ask for direct message!! it would be really easy to align Core magic with sex organs, but because one is more “spiritual” an the other is physical its a little different. Intersex people are Intersex from birth, but Intersex Magics only manifest at magic puberty(the child stage in the previous chart) and varies a lot from person to person. An intersex person could have either classically female magic or classically male magic or any of the four examples in the image, but any number of manifestations are possible. So I know Intersex people are subjected to unnecessary “corrections”, but i want to make it clear that Intersex Magic is ONLY changed if it is actually causing harm to the person. The painful and dangerous examples are life threatening in the long term, and usually begin as one of the healthy examples. Being able to produce and absorb, but looping the two into each other is unsafe because the core is literally eating itself(eventually resulting in death). Being to absorb but not expel is dangerous because the magic buildup can cause pain and eventually crack the outer membrane of the core resulting in death.

Trans peeps!! again as a disclaimer, I’m cis, if ur trans and ya wanna drop me a line about any of this please do! So Trans dudes and trans ladies have to wait for their core magic to grow in naturally before transitioning(some trans peeps are cool with not transitioning their magic obvi)  but they would see a magic medical person, receive “hormones for magic basically” and begin transitioning. The whole process can take about a year but only about 4 months of that leave the person with low magic and physical weakness, and even then it depends on the person.  

So these are the traditionally masculine magical practices. Unlike witches and fairies they don’t decide their practice until they’ve gone through basic training (the white, grey and black stages) and it most depends on what magic the person likes to absorb and where/how they store collected magic. Male magic users can use fairy transformations, but they have to be much more prepared and keep a lot of stored magic on them. 

The fairy and witch paths are traditionally feminine, but the labels can be used by any gender obvi(same with the masc magic user labels). The witch path has two stages before deciding their profession, and the outfits are just uniforms or items associated with the profession. The fairy transformations are outfits specific to the transformations and are linked together in a way that makes it necessary to earn certain transformations before others, where as witches can jump professions as much as they want lol. The purple transformations here are the ones the trix used, and while they aren’t fairy(because no wings) they aren’t witch either because the transformation actually generates the outfits, they’re kind of shunned among both communities even though they have tremendous potential and should be explored. Reaching Enchantix can only take 3 years at the shortest, but a lot of fairies prefer to spend 2 year reaching charmix, and then 3 years working up to enchantix(so a total of 5 years is an alfea norm). Witchcraft takes a lot longer to learn and doesn’t have the instant power boost fairycraft has, so each of the first three stages take 2-3 years(6 to 9 years is a cloudtower norm) this time frame also applies to the masculine magics, but usually the last half of it is the specialization(ex, nabu spent three years in white/grey/black and then was in his second year of specialization as a magician when he was introduced into the series.)

So because magic is being pushed out of the core for female magic users, it shows up physically on the body in a way that doesn’t seem to happen with male magic users. For female magic users who DON’T use fairy transformations this generally shows up in color around the eyes or hands. which is generally where most of the magic flows from. for fairies, wings marks are present on the back and are more individualized pattern wise but more natural color wise than witchmarks.

Fairy wings are solid/rubbery, and are the physical manifestation of a fairy’s core looping in on its self(think of a car battery). Once initiated, the fairy can stay in transformation for a fairly long time, but does eventually tire out, and the loop dissolves. However if the loop is broken too abruptly or by an outside force there can be negative results for the fairy(namely pain and magic blockage preventing transformation for a couple months to several years depending on how bad the break was). The wing retains its shape for about 24 hours, and then dissolves into ambient magic. If a fairy breaks her wings by a freak accident she can combat some of the magic blockage by eating her own wings(kind of gross sry lol). If however some one else eats the fairy’s wings they gain a magic boost and can unnaturally extend their life/keep their youth full looks(ex. the wizards of the black circle did this)

one of the manifestations of mer core magic is Morphix (yes aisha has this too) while it is considered a magic property, its technically a physical substance that conducts magic EXTREMELY well. Merfolk are usually not allowed to go to the surface until their morphix has grown in, and people with high levels of merblood in them often have to be in a very humid environment or literally spent most of their time in saltwater until their morphix grown in(ex. aisha had to have salt water baths every couple hours as a kid.)  

Elves are another notable difference in core magic in that they are all linked to eachother. While this doesn’t transfer individual thoughts or damage or anything, it does allow individual elves to pull magic from elves who aren’t currently using their magic for more powerful spells. Elves can also sense large scale events that happen to the elf community as they happen but rarely are they clear on specifics(ex. when the ancestrals pulled all of domino into oblivion, the elves on other planets could feel the sudden disappearance) as a result Dominian elves are basically a seperate group now. Earth elves still have a loose connection to the elf community at large, and as earth enters into the magix dimension again they should strengthen it as elves marry and have offspring.   

Pixies, Hobkies, and Sprites! So because i detailed intersex magix, I also wanted a companion species that represented intersex peeps. Pixies are born from the blossoms of the tree of life, Hobkies are from the trunk and somtimes branches, and Sprites from the roots. Hobkies used to just be called Sprixies, but people are pushing to have that changed as its just a combo of sprite and pixie and not unique to the species. Their wing and tail sizes are varied, but they usually have both, sometimes the wings are fleshy insect style wings, and sometimes the tail is made of the same stuff as magic.  

Each species goes through a similar cycle, when a person is born a corresponding spot appears on the tree of magic, as the person grows their magic levels the spot gets bigger, once a certain level of magic is reached the companion is officially born. This happens for fairies at their first transformation, but depend on routine practice for everybody else. 

One of the unique things about Natural magic is that people can actually bind their magic to it. Female magic users reach out with their magic and “tie” it to the magic thats stemming from the source. Male magic users form a loop with the source pouring magic in and absorbing magic out. forgot to draw it but Intersex peoples would use about the same techniques, it would just depend on what they leaned more toward/what they were more comfortable with.

Animals, having no core magic, are able to metabolize and evolve with exposure to wild magic unlike humans who’s core magic either flushes the wild magic out like a toxin or breaks(killing the human in the process). Kalshara is actually quite a revolutionary because she figure out a way to inject the human body/core with wild magic, with out her dying or the wild magic dissolving. but she’s a dick and didn’t respect people so her project never got financed or peer reviewed lol 

ethereal fairies technically have a core, but because its made of ethereal magic they’re put into their own separate category. They seem to exist outside of time and space, and it’s unknown if its because of their nature or because they can wield ethereal magic. Ethereal fairies usually appear with a humanoid body and spears of light off their backs, which is why human fairies are even called fairies, but ethereal fairies come in a lot of different forms(they’re basically a cross between gods and high high fae). The three gifts can be used every 300 years, and are little bursts of ethereal magic that layers over whatever magic the recipient normally uses. It is unknown if the gifts grow somewhere, or if they are crafted by the ethereal fairies. Really powerful magic users sometimes get chosen to join the golden kingdom (whether they want to or not) usually these are “good” aligned people but some villains are theorized to be there too. The general consensus is that the golden kingdom is like a pet palace for the ethereal fairies who think the people people the put there are interesting little creatures. The ethereal fairies use to interact with people more frequently but have backed off in the last couple 1000. Fairies who have completed the Elementix can ask the ethereal fairies to give them Nymphix, but honestly there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme of reason to whether or not the ethereal fairies grant it or strip the person of their magic completely . Ethereal fairies also grant their power to non-fairies but it doesn’t manifest into a transformation. and usually the term “Ethereal” is put before their title (so like Griffin would be an Ethereal Sorceress.)

not much to say about these things. A long long time ago a massive dark spell was cast and created both Obsidian and Realite(i got tired of the “ix” so its “ite” now) Two pocket dimensions. Realite was originally the greater threat because it was just spewing magic everywhere so it was locked with the codex. Obsidian was originally thought to have only sucked magic in, but there have been some long term consequences that weren’t expected, one was the mutation of a dominion noble into Lord Darkar, the other was the slow death of planet Omega and the radiation effect on the three ancestral witches who were born there. (realite was locked so fast it didn’t have time to get any long term damage out in the world but its just as powerful)  

so the dragon and the phoenix are *kind* of still ethereal which is why they’ve persisted as a power source and taken to specific bloodlines, but they aren’t anywhere near the full ethereal ones anymore.  Dragon fire and Phoenix fire are two sides of the same coin, they kind of function as the equal opposite rule but not really. Their equal opposites are the water stars and the earth hearts respectively. The dragon flame bearer usually has light and creation powers, Bloom generally channels the fire aspect of her dragon flame, like hardcore. Daphne, when she held the dragon flame was less heavy on the flame and more on the creation side, she was especially good at summoning items and had a decent healing talent. The shadow flame bearer has been lord Darkar for..... a very long time lets just say that. But the Phoenix deals with shadow and destructive magic. Stealth, spell breaking, and straight up carnage are all possible magic focuses for a phoenix bearer (the shadow phoenix isn’t necessarily bad, just like the dragon flame isn’t necessarily good, they are attributes that change with the people they are tied to). The water stars were collected and stored in the golden kingdom a long time ago and as such don’t have a ton of lore. Bloom CANNOT touch them with out feeling at least mild pain and weakness. The water stars have incredible containment powers, being able to hold things within individual stars, and restrain a full powered dragon flame if used all together in a binding circle. The Earth Hearts are still in nature somewhere, buried deep in the ground. There are some theorized locations but they’re harder to get at than the water stars and as such no one has collected them all yet. Earth hearts are good for dispersing magic and breaking it down to bite sized pieces. Both Earth Hearts and Water Stars are technically destructible, but they will always “grow back” and regenerate in new locations and cannot be eradicated completely.

[q-u-a-c-k]

im just gonna talk. I apologize for feed spam so I'll just talk under the cut

----------------

also I'm sorry for the complete spam I hope you can ignore me well enough, but I just wanted to say that I feel content for the first time in a while. I've been doing shitty lately but too scared to really say anything about it. my brain is constantly urging me to relapse or do something stupidly insanely harmful to myself. but right now the voice is quiet and I'm allowed to think and I like thinking happy things like this. I wish there was a way to have the voices this quiet without doing it this way (unintentionally high, I think there was something in my drink that I didn't put in there). like if anyone actually reads this and knows a way to quiet the voices in my head so I can think, please let me know. I know things like taking time to take care of myself or positivity things, but when the voices are back they dont really let me do that stuff. so if anyone has a quick and effective way of getting them to be quiet please tell me.

anyways I think I already told you two, but I have the potential to be quadruple gay and I think that's pretty cool. So identity crisis time trying to explain it. Although I'm still confused about how two of the parts work together but I'm gonna try to explain it while I can think. So I'm definitely gay and I think probably pan because I honestly have no preference, a pretty person is a pretty person. I believe I'm ace or at least under that umbrella term because ew. I think I might be nonbinary but I've never really outright said I use that label. because I honestly dont know yet but I'm not comfortable with male or female and I just am who I am but dont know what that is. so I'm hoping it's okay to use at least until I figure it out? and now the confusing part, possiblity of aro???? I'm not really sure because I could have just not really found the right (or any) person yet and I dont really want to use a label just because I'm not really sure. but like thinking about romantic stuff like... it's okay?? but that doesnt really sound like my thing. like I'd like to hang out with people and know them better and do things like dates but not with a romantic intention? just to vibe with the person? idk. but it's confusing because I also said I was pan but idk what about me is oen if in possibly under aroace. like I know they're both umbrella terms, but I dont know where under them I am. or where pan fits? idk identy crisis, yay!!

I wanna do a platonic date with someone. Like we can go to the movies or something and go to a park and just get to know each other better but like platonically. I think that just sounds fun. I need to get a job so I can have money to platonically take someone on a date. I've been meaning to look for places or put in applications but I keep forgetting. Which also reminds me, I want a fuckung sword. Imagine how cool that would be!! I have the money for this nice one that I've been looking at for a while, it's a pretty white longsword with a blue gem in the hilt. I want it so bad. but my parents wont let me get it which i think is stupid. like I'm gay and have themoney, let me get my sword >:(

I want an axe, too. it doesnt necessarily have to be a pretty one because I wanna get strong and chop wood with it. I want to be a lumberjack. like not cut down trees that dont need to be cut down, but anything that has fallen already I wanna chop up with an axe then make things out of it!! I like wood working stuff. it sounds like fun. but I would need the right stuff to do that that I dont have right now. like skills.

that is making me think about another life crisis but I dont wanna think about that so I'm gonna try to think of something else like how I cant wait to move out. because they have stuff planned out for me and what they want me to do but I realized I dont wanna do that. and now I'm thinking and vaguely talking about the crisis I dont wanna think about so I'm gonna think about what I actually want to do. I wanna do the plan thing you came up with where you're gonna have your cottage in a small town and we're gonna live hopefully somewhat close to you and we can visit each other a lot and vibe. you're gonna do what you want to do and work in a museum and talk about the things you enjoy.I dont really know what I want yet but I know I wanna live near you so we can hang out and be a lot closer because you're my family and my best friend. I think I wanna have lots of plants. I want to take better care of them than I do now and. have a lot and spend time with them and make sure they're doing well and growing. I like most plants vibes. they're mostly simple but very pretty and calming and looks like what home should feel like. you feel like what home should. like sometimes when the three of us are playing games like minecraft or something and it's getting all competitive and laughing it feels like home and makes me really happy. I'm excited to leave this place and have a real home.

I wanna leave as much of this as I can behind. and since I don't plan on coming out to them soon or possibly even at all, it might actually be easier to leave. because once I do I can go by Ash everywhere and not the name they gave me. I wont have to feel sad when I have to introduce myself as the name they gave me. and as far as people would know this is my name and the only one. they wouldn't even know what the other one is and cant call me it.

I still dont know what I want, but I know just being there I'll already be happier than here. they upset me a lot here. they say rude and insensitive things and insult me whether they know they are or not. and I think one day when I leave, if they try to justify themselves instead of fixing it, I have the freedom to leave them behind. they're not as bad as a lot of other people's family, especially since I thought compared to other people my family was nice. but still I think unlike the voice says I dont deserve to feel bad about who I am, especially when they're the ones who impacted me that way and made me a lot of who I am. or caused it.

I also cant wait until I move out because I'll have a lot more control of what I can and cant do, how I can be myself, and what kinds if things I'm eating. because right now, my parents dont really buy things that are good for you because it's cheaper to get processed foods. and when they do get better things, they get things I dont like. or I never get any because my siblings have it. bht I guess in some weird way it is good that they make me feel horrible about food stuff because then that's less of the bad stuff that I eat. I don't really like eating at all and I thought that was a good thing becuas ei vcd ont have access to the things I'm supposed to be having. so to me it's better to have nothing than things that are bad. and I've been kinda proud of myself for having less because it's not good stuff. like last night's I had a slice of cheese, half of minimal dinner, then only a little bit of chocolate. but then my siblings got taco bell and now I feel like shit. because I felt bad because they got it specifically for me but I didnt want it but I had it anyways. but I'm proud of how I did today before that!!!!

I want it ti rain. I wanna go outside when there thunder and lightning and pouring rain and just walk around. I want to stand in the rain. the rain makes me happy and calm. I feel safer in the rain. and it's just an overall pleasant thing. of course i don't want it to flood or cause harm to anyone else, but I want it to rain. good thing rain season is coming up soon. it might be cold but I dont care. I've waited too long for it.

[foxlolpop]

What’s your opinion on psychwards and jail? I know that theres a lot of conflicting opinions on them and ya girls gotta get some opinions for class and I don’t wanna socialize 😂

hi, anon! i understand not wanting to socialize especially in Zoom when the teacher puts you in breakout rooms (god those are awkward. can you see me shuddering at the thought?).

before we get into my opinions, i just want to say i don’t mean to offend anyone and i am terribly sorry if i do. now without further ado, here are my opinions on psych wards (i think mental health hospitals is a better term? idk) and jail: 

Mental Health Hospitals

i dont know much about psychiatric wards but i know someone who’s been baker acted a few times. so most of what i do know about them is from what they’ve recounted to me and some research i’ve done here and there in the past. 

one of the things i’ve learned is that the movies get it all wrong. they stigmatize and abuse a place where people are sent to get better and sculpt it into a horror show. however, thats not to say its all roses and daises either. there are moments thick with tension, when patients go into psychosis, where harm is caused to patients and staff, and where there might be a suicide attempt. these moments are scary but at the end of the day most patients voluntarily sign in to the hospital because- whether they want or don’t want to be there- they know they need to be. these are people who want to get better but are combating a seemingly impossible battle. these are people with hopes and dreams just like everyone else. most of them feel relief- not anger- about being there. 

(my friend whos been baker acted, told me the story of a boy who she got to know at the ward. he was there because he had pulled a knife on his father but she told me he had his reasons. she told me about how he said he wanted to join the military and be better than his father. different. she told me about the little boy’s and so many like his aspirations who wanted to change, “wanted to do something special with their lives, make them have a purpose.” and how they can’t because many people who have been admitted to mental health hospitals are not permitted to serve.)

we also have to take into consideration the shady past of psychiatric wards. the electrotherapy, cages, shackles, and, unfortunately, more. but i think now, the 21st century, is more knowledgeable about the harm those types of treatments (if you can even call them that) caused. they’re mistakes that healthcare workers know not to make. they know now how to treat patients with the compassion that they deserve. while patients can still be abused in psych wards those cases are few and far between nowadays, and hopefully there will come a day when mental health hospitals aren’t defined by them.

from the things that i’ve read, i dont think psychiatric wards are the most pleasant of places. healing is messy and quite the internal challenge so these hospitals are going to have conflicts of their own. i think thats understandable but not everyone has had to heal before, or at least not at that level. 

the stigma that the media has built against mental health hospitals is extremely detrimental but the roots from which that tale was planted are real. and so are the patients with scars. and so are the people with dreams we call patients. so i don’t really think its a matter of opinion on this one, just that what we’ve been fed most of our lives is wrong and that nobody has bothered to correct us.

Jail 

what i know about jail is what i learned in the fifth unit of my semester long sociology class i took last year. my opinion is also mostly based on the prison system of the US because its what i know... so im sorry if my answer for this one isn’t as detailed (or accurate?) as the one above. 

theres a lot of things wrong with jails, prisons. majority of it can be blamed on the tough on crime era, which reformed our laws, criminal punishments, and society’s formal response to “deviance,” (the criminal justice system) as they call it in sociology. this was somewhat on a global scale but mostly prominent in America; the alcohol ban in the 20s and Billy Holiday’s death and arrest are a few examples.

the system we have now doesn’t make things better. this becomes especially apparent if you compare the crime rates- which have been decreasing since the late 1990s- to the imprisonment rates that have actually been at an all time high for several years now. this is due to many reasons like institutionalized racism and retribution, but it largely falls on the shoulders of the return rate of criminals who have already served a sentence. the problem with this lies not only within the deeply engrained prejudices of our society but how the system fails ex-criminals. 

we had a discussion in class about this and i remember reading a great article that explained it excellently but i cant find it at the moment. during the discussion we looked at several crime vs. imprisonment rates across the world and we found out that the Netherlands and Sweden had one of the lowest rates. this is because they offer opportunities to get help, they don’t shame ex-criminals, and the government actively inserts itself into the equation and offers solutions. 

this is why the tough on crime era was such a flop. they thought that punishment would discourage people from committing crimes so they raised sentences, fines, patrol hours, and undercover missions to sniff out addicts (again Billy Holiday is a great example). but in the end, this increased organized crime and the police were losing once again (this is why the alcohol ban was lifted as well).

another thing to address about jails or prisons are the living conditions. going beyond the food and decor (i mean that sarcastically there is a reason some things are this way), treatment of inmates by staff (Stanford Prison Experiment e.g.) and simply the reported rates of sexual assault that occur in both female and male prisons can be disturbing. not to mention the way the system handles it, almost dismissively, is disconcerting. 

so, my opinion of jails is that they are ineffective at stopping crime. in fact, they let it fester and they let it grow. especially if there is no rehabilitation afterwards or during the criminal punishment like the Netherlands offers. 

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that was really long, sorry 😅. hope this helped with your class, anon<3 and again i did not intend to offend anyone with this post and i deeply apologize for my ignorance on certain matters

[vincent-frankenstein]

Ghost Hunter AU

“yea boy im doing one of these bullet point outline things bc i dont have time to ever write this but im not letting this idea go to waste //dabs

sorta inspired by bfu bc i just started watching that yea boyyyy

this is such a mess im sorry

so lets set the context 

virgil and logan are both youtubers. virgil runs a paranormal channel, talking about different conspiracies and ghost stories and whatever; logan specializes in educational videos, specifcally history

and they watch each other’s channels and dont have a crush on each other what no

but then one day, their topics coincide

logan’s doing a video talking about the gruesome history of some old prison, and virgil’s doing a video on the ghostly legends that surround the place

they collab, and their viewers love it. they work really well together too; virgil’s spooky humor and logan’s skepticism mesh together and the fans adore them. it’s educational, it’s terrifying, and it’s fun. 

“hey, maybe we could collab more often?” Virgil asks when they go out for coffee after filming. “If... if you want.”

Logan does want

they make a joint channel not a week later

and thus begins their ghost hunting career

break here bc damn this got long shdfklhsdfk

virgil provides the terrifying ghost stories. logan provides the history. together, armed with their knowledge and their trust in each other, they conquer some of the most haunted spots in the world

including goatman’s bridge ofc

the video of logan yelling “FUCK YOU GOATMAN” goes viral within a few hours

“i cant believe you achieved meme status before i did,” virgil remarks, scrolling through their tag. “unfair.”

logan hastily pulls out his vocab cards. “uh — ah — then perish?” he says, and virgil laughs himself breathless

but then, they decide to investigate the legend of an old, abandoned house

it’s said that the house is haunted by an evil demon, who lures people inside and kills them in horrible, cruel ways. no one who sets foot in the house ever returns

so, naturaly, Logan and Virgil are going to spent the night.

they set up in the living room with sleeping bags and an ouija board and a spirit box and set to work

“Are there any demons in this house?” Virgil asks, ignoring Logan’s skeptical laughter. “Hello?”

The spirit box crackles and shrieks

and then

“L̪͈EÁ͂̌̾͐̃V̼͂È̲̱̟̔̑”

the clearest voice they’ve ever heard. even logan is shaken, eyes wide as he glances around the room. 

but the voice didnt sound angry, or evil, or cruel

it sounds scared

“GE̙͚̩͉T̺̯͔̲̟̍̈́̈ͤ͐ ̓ͤ̓̋O͖̳͔͕̺͚̯ͯ̃́̏ͬͩ̑UṬ̹̬͇͔̆̔ͨ͛̓” it screams. “GE̙͚̩͉T̺̯͔̲̟̍̈́̈ͤ͐ ̓ͤ̓̋O͖̳͔͕̺͚̯ͯ̃́̏ͬͩ̑UṬ̹̬͇͔̆̔ͨ͛̓ P̄��͖̪̭͉̘͆ͮͬLE͚͎A̤͚̙͚̯̻͕ͯ̾ͦ̃ͯͮ̐SE”

virgil nearly drops the spirit box, his hands are shaking so badly. the room has grown so cold that their breath fogs in front of their faces. even logan has nothing to say.

they barely have time to share a glance before two men appear

one stands in the shadows, dressed all in black, his cloak billowing around him, one eye seeming to glow bright, poisonous yellow

the other has ashen skin and furiously beaming red eyes, hidden behind shattered glasses. his clawed fingers are curled into fists; his pastel-blue outfit stained with rusted red. one horn curls into a sharp point; the other is cracked off at the stump.

“i̻̘̽̂̏ͅ ̻͎̟̖t̞̞̅̍r̫̬̝̈́̂̏ȋ̥͎̰̟̲̠̯̉̋͆́̍ͥe̫͈̘͈̭͉ͩ͑̆̈́̐̾d ̣̥tô͚͓̤̥͐͌͛ ̄ͩͯ̑waṛ͑n̐̍͂ͦ ̞̹̣yͨ̔ͪͥͯou̟̻” he whispers, garbled

and in the split second before he lunges, Virgil spots tears in his eyes

they just barely escape with their lives. their gear is gone, left back in the house, and their lives are changed forever.

“well,” virgil says, breathless and terrifed. “you can’t be skeptical anymore.”

“shut up,” logan says. 

the logical thing would be to stay away from the house. logan says as much, at least three times. but virgil can’t stop thinking about the way the demon had tried to warn them, had pleaded with them to leave

there’s more to this story, he knows it. he wont let this one stay unsolved

so they dig through the town’s history, find records of the house’s owners, search and search and search until finally

Dolos Morel. the last known owner of the house. though he lived hundreds of years ago, there are no records of his death. he was imprisoned young, sentenced to death, but he vanished the day before he was set to die. 

he’s yet another unsolved mystery. virgil’s so used to those, he almost passes it by

but one thing stands out, one thing that makes virgil sure he’s the guy

he was born with one yellow eye

“this is him,” he says, slamming the records down on logan’s makeshift desk in their hotel room. logan scans the papers and nods, eyebrows furrowed

“why do you care so much?” logan asked, though he has to admit, he’s become invested in this as well

virgil doesnt answer

tears pooling in crimson eyes flash through his mind

finally, he meets logan’s eyes. “too many people have gotten hurt because of him,” he says. “i mean — shit, logan, we’ve got a real demon and some sort of immortal asshole on our hands. we should at least try to get to the bottom of it. isn’t that what we do?”

virgil doesn’t know where this heroic streak has come from. logan isnt sure what to think of it

hes not blushing shut up

but he and virgil have been partners for years. he’d follow him anywhere.

and so, armed with as much knowledge on exorcism and demonic protection as possible, and as many lucky charms and bottles of holy water as virgil can carry, the two set off to solve the mystery

they sit in the dusty living room, side by side on the floor. virgil turns on the spirit box and takes logan’s hand instinctively, and logan’s too busy watching the box to notice

“Why are you here, demon?” Virgil asks, getting straight (gay) to the point. “Are you Dolos Morel?”

“n̟̮̆ͦ,̯̫̖̦̼͚ͫ͐̋̊ͧ̄ ̝no̙” the box whispers through a cacophany of static

“Is Dolos Morel in this house?” Logan asks, more serious than Virgil has ever seen him on a hunt before. 

the voice hesitates

then: “yes̰“

virgil and logan share a look. virgil opens his mouth to ask more questions, but then

“ÿ͍͈ͣou͎̱͔͎̫̥̻ͤ͐̈́͐̔͂̚ ͖̭͙͙ͅh̤̠͔̜̲̙ͬ́ͧ̒̍̚aͨ̔̊͌ve̜̮͖͔̅͊ͭ̽ ̞͎̼͖̬̼̅ͦͦͨ̑ͪͮͅto ́̑̈ͫ̆͑le̳̹͛̈a̞̥͕͈̪̙̞v͖̇e̳͈͔ ͍͇̝̯̟̌̓̊̋̂y̜̍ou̺̱̪̼̟ ͉͇̹̼̗̭͕h͚a͐V̥̮̤͇̫̤E͓̹̥ͯ̓̈́̚ͅ ̟̔T̫̻̃͛O͖̫̞̰ ̂ͩ͆ͥ̈́L̬̳̞͔͇̪̲̊̔̎̽̄́̔E̲̩AVE͍̩̦̜͎ͩ̓͋̍̈́͐ͅ ̞̘̫N̿̋̉ͤ̽͋̆O̺͊W”

he wants to leave, his legs are about to give out, but the fear in the demons voice roots him to his spot.

“No!” he yells. “We’re not leaving.”

the spirit box goes silent. no crackling, no static; it’s like they turned it off

the air grows deathly still

“very well,” says a new voice, clear as day through the spirit box. “enjoy your stay.”

the world shifts and hisses and crackles and then goes dark.

when virgil wakes up, he’s in a dark room. his hands have been bound. he struggles and yells and screams for logan, and his stomach drops in terror when there’s no response. 

“you can’t get out,” says the first voice they’d heard in the spirit box. it’s more subdued, a whisper. “there’s no escape.”

“fuck that,” virgil growls, never once stopping straining against his bonds. “tell me what the hell is going on. where is logan?”

he doesn’t know where this bravery is coming from, red-hot and acidic as he snaps at the demon he knows is waiting just outside. maybe he knows he’ll die anyway, whether he’s polite or rude as all hell

“i-i can’t, kiddo,” the demon says. 

virgil hears remorse in his tone, maybe, and clings to it as his only hope.

“we came to help you,” he says. “but i need to know what’s going on. are you working with dolos?”

the demon falls silent. for a moment, virgil grows disappointed

but then the door opens and the demon stumbles in, his own clawed hands pressed tightly over his mouth

he meets virgil’s eyes, and shakes his head. no.

virgil remembers another unsolved legend he studied a while back: a man who would summon demons to trap them in agreements, getting himself eternal life, eternal power, and eternal fame in the process

“you’re trapped with him,” he guesses, and the demon jerks his head in a shaky nod. 

he cant feel good about being right for long

a loud yell pierces the air and virgil’s lungs forget how to work. “let me out,” he hisses, as his mind screams logan’s name. “you have to let me out now.”

“I-I can’t!” the demon cries, tearing his hands away from his mouth. “Dolos forbade it, I can only attack —”

“Then attack,” virgil says without hesitation. he plants his feet firmly on the ground and says it again, tensing beneath his bonds

the demon lunges — virgil spins — and the demon’s claws slice right through the thick fabric tying him to the chair. they sliced through his shirt, too, and his back aches, but he doesnt have time to dwell on that. 

he’s gotta save the man he loves

Logan stands across the room from Dolos Morel, among a minefield of broken chair bits. his face stings where dolos slapped him, and theres no chance of escape

but he’s smart. he’s cunning. he’s already gotten some of Dolos’ backstory and only confirmed what he already suspected

he hears a crash in a room down the hall and knows

he is not going to die here

virgil bursts down the door, brandishing a water gun like a deadly weapon, and soaks Dolos with a loud warcry

“Eat holy water, you shit!”

Dolos splutters. “I’m human, you fool. Holy water cannot harm me.”

“no,” logan says. “but this can.”

and he grabs Dolos and punches him directly in the face

logan shakes out his hand with a wince as dolos collapses to the floor and virgil becomes Too Gay To Function

and the demon steps forward and kneels beside his master, placing his hand on the weird symbol on the man’s left wrist. 

Dolos wakes with a start as the demon grabs his hand. logan and virgil stand watch as red light fills the space between them

“s̺̱̆͑ͨͅa͍̣͌̾y i̒ͧ͌t̜͕ͧ̓” the demon whispers

dolos’ fight drains and he slumps against the wall, his glowing eye fading to dull brown

“I release you” he whispers, and crumbles to dust.

the demon stumbles away from the pile of dust. he sobs once, then twice, and then doubles over, trembling, his eyes overflowing with tears

logan laces his fingers through virgil’s as he straightens up

“Thank you,” he says hoarsely. “thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“my name is patton,” he says when he’s stopped sobbing, “and i owe you my life.”

BONUS:

so now virge n lo have a Demon Friend and theyve p much proved the existence of the supernatural, but they dont want to stop making videos

still, it’s a few weeks before either of them brings up the notion of finding another haunted place to investigate

but virgil cant stay away from the supernatural for long

“I found our next stop,” he says, shoving his phone into logan’s hands. “A theater mysteriously burned down there like, 60 years ago. they say the spot is haunted by the spirit of the man who died in the fire.”

logan scrolls through the article, and nods. “it looks interesting,” he says, and returns virgil’s smile.

“let’s go find this Roman Kingsley.”

i might make a second post abt roman if yall are interested owo

[mistress-audios-babies]

Jameson Rivera (Gang 1)

Basic Character Questions

First name: Jameson.

 Surname: Rivera.

 Nicknames: Jamie, Heroine, GlooDick, basically anything else sexual themed.

Date of birth: 26 February 1994.

 Age: 26.

 Physical / Appearance

Height: 197cm.

 Weight: 61kg.

 Build: Very skinny, tall build. He could be considered unhealthily thin by some, and ideal to others.

 Hair colour: Ginger with blond streaks

 Hair style: Big fluffy at front?

 Eye colour: Forest Green.

 Eye shape: Protruding/prominent.

 Distinguishing facial features: Beginning of gauntness. Acne/scars. Flared skin under nose. Pupil dilation/distant look. Sores in mouth corners. Perpetual runny nose. Some gold teeth. Set of rounded scars on right cheek.

 Which facial feature is most prominent: His acne.

 Which bodily feature is most prominent: His weight.

 Other distinguishing features: Self-harm scars on his hips and legs. Skin-picking injuries. Unhealthy pallor. Needle tracks on arms.  

 Skin: Unhealthy pallor. Self-harm scars. Acne/scars. Flared skin under nose. Skin-picking injuries. Needle tracks. Cigar burns on inner arms. Rounded scars on right cheek. Old scalding burn spread across torso. Thin.

 Hands: Very soft. Long fingers. Old burns on palms.

 Make up: Light eyeliner and eye shadow. Light blush to cheeks. Foundation. Red lipstick often.

 Piercings: Triple forward helix. Rook. Daith. Tragus. Orbital. Standard lobe. All black.

 Scars: Acne scars. Self-harm scars on hips and legs. Skin-picking injuries. Needle tracks on arms. Cigar burns on arm. Rounded scars on right cheek.

 Birthmarks: Brown mark on right shoulder blade.

 Tattoos: Heroine on his lower back, with red X’s and a bag of heroin under it.

 Physical handicaps: Coeliac Disease. Mild muscular wastage. Brittle bones.

 Type of clothes: Black-banded white fedora with feather (eventually given by Elijah). Light pink crop top sweater. Short white skirt. Black fishnet leggings. White leather thigh high platform boots. Black leather garters. White tennis shoes when not working, or bunny slippers. Simple nightdresses to bed. He is cold often, and wears giant woolen jumpers often. Retro pink suit for formal wear, white crop top with handmarks over chest, rainbow bow-tie, simple black dress pants and black boots loaned by Elijah.

 How do they wear their clothes: He will start the day looking proper, but will put no effort into keeping it that way.

 What are their feet like? (type of shoes, state of shoes, socks, feet, pristine, dirty, worn, etc): White leather thigh high platform boots on work. White tennis shoes while in public. Bunny slippers/bare feet when at home. His shoes are noticeably old, but they are relatively reliant. Blisters on feet. Feet perpetually sore.

 Race / Ethnicity: Caucasian Australian.

 Mannerisms: Australian accent. Dark sense of humour. Perverse. Nasally voice. No volume awareness at times. Emotional quickly. Joker despite deep unhappiness. Easy to lose track of thoughts. Swears frequently.

Are they in good health: He is a heroin abuser and has autoimmune disorders and deficiencies.

 Do they have any disabilities: Chronic HIV disease (untreated). Coeliac disease. Severe anaemia. Bad lungs. Muscles and bone wastage.

 Personality

What words or phrases do they overuse: Sexual words and phrases like, “We getting spun as fuck.” He also overuses vines.

                                                                             Do they have a catchphrase: “Let me be the heroine of your story.”

 Are they more optimistic or pessimistic: He is extremely pessimistic at his root.

 Are they introverted or extroverted: Rather extroverted.

 Do they ever put on airs: He’s self-sufficient and would rather others not see him in a place of vulnerability.

 What bad habits do they have: Does doing heroin count lol? Or self-harm? Smoking. Drinking to excess at times. Swearing excessively. Extremely distasteful humour at times. Picking his scabs. Stimming? Over-obsession.

 What makes them laugh out loud: Extremely dark to extremely childish. And meme culture.

 How do they display affection: Many times he cannot voice it, and while trying to he forgets to physically show it. At other times he is big and boisterous with both his words and actions and it can get overbearing.

 Mental handicaps: Mild Asperger’s. PTSD. Heroin addiction. Suicidality. Mild drug-induced psychosis (when using).

How do they want to be seen by others: His conditioning makes him crave being desirable, being sexy. He truly wants to be someone people want to be around.

 How do they see themselves: He sees himself as some used toy that will just be thrown out when he stops delivering results in some way, and if he cannot be liked in some way (either as a fuck or a funny face), he isn’t meant to be with anyone. Be useful, or don’t bother.

 How are they seen by others: To his clients he is perfection in every sense of the word. To those he works for he is moot. To others, he is the drug addict prostitute who is sometimes funny. To those that matter, he is more.

 Strongest character trait: His funny outlook and his truly giving soul.

 Weakest character trait: His desperation for approval and use to others that can remove from his individuality and growth.

 How competitive are they: He has only ever known being in competition with others, however that may be, and so he will compete to his dying breath to be better than those around him who have always been made out to be more than he ever will be.

 Do they make snap judgements or take time to consider: He is extremely rash and will make decisions fast without deliberating them.

 How do they react to praise: He grins really big and flaps his hands in what he calls ‘happy hands’. He usually squeals too and jumps around. He does not know how to handle it in a mature manner.

                                                           How do they react to criticism: He silently takes it, and he usually disassociates for a while afterwards beyond what can be helped.

 What is their greatest fears: His mother. His pimp. Heavy rings. Anything hot. Unfamiliar/unwanted touch.

What are their biggest secrets: His HIV diagnosis. His past.

 What is their philosophy of life: You live and you die, try and make someone happy in between.

 When was the last time they cried: One of his clients had whacked him across the face while working, and to feel it from someone else made him start sobbing. He had been put back onto the street without pay. This was two days ago.

 What haunts them: His childhood.

 What are their political views: He is extremely left leaning.

 What will they stand up for: Human rights. He especially stands for gender equality, and eradication of homophobia, and mental health stigma, as these directly pertain to him.

 Who do they quote: Generally pop culture and memes/vines.

 Are they indoorsy or outdoorsy: He loves nature and being outside, he considers wooded areas and open fields as his happy place.

 What is their sinful little habit: Heroin/drinking/smoking.

 What sense do they most rely on: Touch and sight.

 How do they treat people better than them: He grovels and submits generally.

 How do they treat people worse than them: He feels no one is worse than him.

 What quality do they most value in a friend: Patience and wit.

 What do they consider an overrated virtue: Ambition.

 If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be: His constant need for usefulness.

 What is their obsession: The internet and plants.

 What are their pet peeves: Virtue signalling.

 What are their idiosyncrasies: Always having to be busy. Night owl. Always alert. His sinful habits having a schedule that he has to abide by.

 Friends and Family

Is their family big or small? Who does it consist of: Very small. His mother and him. He does not know anyone else, except for the many men she fucked and forgot about.

 What is their perception of family: Maybe if he had been dealt better cards he would have a higher opinion of it. As it is, it’s entirely overrated and he cannot understand why anyone would give a single fuck about it.

 Describe their best friend: She’s from a gardening club member who always has sweets for him every week and laughs at all of his jokes. She’s so easy to be around and happy-go-lucky that that cant help but be rubbed off on him while around her. She is always the highlight of his Tuesdays, and he is always extremely saddened to leave her. He feels he owes her nothing but all he already is.

 Ideal best friend: Everything his best friend is.

 Describe their other friends: He doesn’t really consider his fellow workers as friends, and if they were they would be surface level and wholly supportive of the profession they are in.

 Describe their acquaintances: Generally he cannot relate to others and empathise, and this makes it extremely difficult to even become acquaintances.

 Who are their natural allies: His fellow workers.

 Who are their surprising allies: Some of his clients.

 Past and Future

What was your character like as a baby? As a child: He had a childlike innocence while a baby, but he grew up very fast living in the kind of household he was. He acted out often and was extremely bitter and angry from a young age. He didn’t understand what his own brain was, and acted out in physical aggression often as a result of everything.

 Did they grow up rich or poor: They had some money, but his mother basically never spent it on anything but herself.

 Did they grow up nurtured or neglected: He was extremely neglected and abused as a child.

 What is the most offensive thing they ever said: He left his mother a note when he left in the night saying simply, ‘fuck you’.

 What is their greatest achievement: He helped another child at school who was going through similar things as him and gave him someone who would listen.

 What was their first kiss like: The boy who he had been helping had begun getting attractions to him and vice versa, and they had been walking down the street at night on their way to the boys house after sharing a joint in the park when the boy had stopped him, before thrusting him against the wall beside them and passionately kissing him. It had frightened him at first, but it felt so right and so beautiful that he couldn’t stop. This truly showed Jameson what he was afraid of at the time: he was gay.

 What is the worst thing they did to someone they loved: He took it too far with the boy, then being boyfriends, while they were making love the first time, doing some of the things he had learnt from his mother and the many men she had let into the house. He had hurt him, and he had begged for Jameson to stop and he had immediately. Jameson had burst into tears and the other boy was already crying. They hugged it out and the boy had reassured him it was okay, but he never truly forgave himself for it.

 What are their ambitions: Ambitions are for the privileged.

 What advice would they give their younger self: Do not ever believe you deserve the bad things that have happened to you.

 What smells remind them of their childhood: Wood stoves and the dust of the school broom cupboards.

 What was their childhood ambition: To be working in medicine in some way.

 What is their best childhood memory: His first kiss.

 What is their worst childhood memory: There are too many to count, but he would say when his mother locked him in a cupboard when she finally found out his sexuality, shoving only gluten-containing food in and not allowing him access to a bathroom. His coeliac made him incredibly sick from the food and what he did as a result began to fill the space. She was spun during this, and forgot he was in there for at least two days, in which he used the rest of his phone battery to message his boyfriend to get him out. Their relationship was entirely forbidden by his boyfriends parents as well, and the both of them never went back home.

 Did they have an imaginary childhood friend: He had many to try and escape his reality.

 When was the last time they were crushed with disappointment: When his favourite show ended; a needed distraction from the abstract dystopia his day-to-day was.

 What past act are they most ashamed of: When he went too far and hurt his boyfriend.

 What past act are they most proud of: His decision to not go home, despite not seeing much reprieve of the horrors life can present.

 Has anyone ever saved their life: His boyfriend saved him from dying in that cupboard, and he jumped in front of the bullet that ended him.

 Strongest childhood memory: He remembers distinctly the moment one of his mother’s men had been stabbed by her. He had hidden in his room at the sound of struggle, and then had heard his name being called. He had cautiously made his way to her, seeing her out of breath and very obviously tweaking. She had shockingly hugged him, and she had looked down at him and said the following words, “Mummy loves her little boy. Please, don’t ever make mummy mad enough. She just can’t help herself…”

He then remembers being sent to stay at his boyfriends place when a bunch of policemen came to the house, and he later found out his mother had been arguing with the man over her many charged felonies, and about whether he should be taken from her care. Jameson didn’t know the man had cared, and then he was gone. He remembers never sleeping with his back to the door after that, and reading up on in secret ways to defend against a knife attack.

 Love

Do they believe in love at first sight: With his mental state, he subscribes more to the notion of latch at first sight.

 Are they in a relationship: He was right before the beginning of the book, with his first from school. His name was Sedik Mahlunga.

 What is their sexuality: Entirely and unapologetically gay!

 How do they behave in a relationship: Each meaningful relationship he has is under critical lens, as he doesn’t trust others to not hurt him. It takes an extremely long time for him to not be cold and hostile to others, and as of yet he really has only had two good relationships with people. He is extremely giving and compassionate with those he deems as good, loving within an inch of his life.

 When did you character last have sex: He has sex every single day on the job.

 What sort of sex do they have: He does not have any identity of his own on this front; he does whatever the other person wants, and that’s it. This can range from gentle to incredibly violent to labile to kinky.

 Has your character ever been in love: He was and still is entirely in love with Sedik, and it kills him that that had to be taken so quickly.

 Have they ever had their heart broken: When Sedik was murdered.

 Conflict

How do they respond to a threat: He is numb to some threats now, but he always badly disassociates afterwards.

 Are they most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue: He has been conditioned to physically defend himself when the need arises, and sometimes when it doesn’t. This is something he is trying to unlearn.

 What is your character’s kryptonite: Mention of his mother’s/pimp’s name. While typically doesn’t fully break down, his adrenaline propels him for the rest of the day.

 If your character could only save one thing from their burning house, what would it be: From their childhood home, his phone, and the brothel, his boyfriend.

 How do they perceive strangers: Fuck or threat.

 What do they love to hate: Many religious groups for their discriminatory teachings.

 What are their phobias: His mother. His pimp. Heavy rings. Anything hot. Unfamiliar/unwanted touch.

 What is their choice of weapon: He uses whatever is available to him at the time. His own fists are only good to defend, and sometimes not even that much, and he must make do.

 What living person do they most despise: His mother.

 Have they ever been bullied or teased: He wasn’t very well liked by those he hurt in school, but he was never really bullied and he was considered a popular boy.

 Where do they go when they’re angry: A wooded area off to the side of a park that’s close to his brothel. He feels calm here, and free.

 Who are their enemies and why: The other workers as they are always in constant competition with one another to be the most valuable.

 Work, Education and Hobbies

What is their current job: Sex worker.

 What do they think about their current job: He enjoys it to a degree, but he also doesn’t know anything else, and he doesn’t know how much he could enjoy other work.

 What are their hobbies: He enjoys writing and listening to Broadway plays in his spare time and outdoor activities such as gardening and nature walks. He has not had much time to fully broaden his horizons with all the hobbies one could acquire by his age.

 Educational background: He completed Grade 12 and did poorly.

 Intelligence level: He doesn’t lack intelligence, but he hasn’t been given the proper tools to let this show.

 Do they have a natural talent for something: He’s incredibly good at remembering things and can recite whole movies on the spot with added music and sound effects.

 What is their socioeconomic status: He is living in near squalor.

 Favourites

What is their favourite animal: Porcupines.

 Which animal do they dislike the most: Horses.

 What place would they most like to visit: South Africa so he can see his boyfriends home firsthand.

 What is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen: His boyfriend when he broke him from the cupboard.

 What is their favourite song: Soldier, Poet, King.

 Music, art, reading preferred: Broadway-style and Singer-Songwriter/cartoony/comedy and young adult fiction.

 What is their favourite colour: Yellow, and rainbow~

 What is their password: GayRights69.

 Favourite food: Anything sweet! He especially likes chocolates, gluten-free muffins and ice cream.

 What is their favourite work of art: David statue.

 Who is their favourite artist: Vivziepop.

 What is their favourite day of the week: Tuesday.

 Possessions

What is in their fridge: He shares a fridge with seven other workers, and the only things that are his are the gluten-free items and some of the vodka. Most of the food is provided, but he has to go out of his way with his condition to get safe options.

 What is on their bedside table: He didn’t take much from his house, and all he keeps on it is his phone, a picture of him and his boyfriend, condoms, cigarettes, bags of heroin, and the ring he had bought to propose with with his first month’s pay. Most of his pay goes directly to his pimp, and it took him that long not buying anything else and finding one of the cheapest available.

 What is in their car: He has never learned to drive.

 What is in their bin: General rubbish and condom wrappers.

 What is in their purse or wallet: Money, condoms, library card, cigarettes, his dealer’s card, illegal prescription pain killers, pictures of him and Sedik, and his gardener membership card.

 What is in their pockets: Condom/wrappers, at least one emergency sweet for when his energy dips, wrappers, loose tips, and his phone.

 What is their most treasured possession: His pictures of him and Sedik.

 Spirituality

Who or what is your character’s guardian angel: Sedik, but his cynical side says it’s the drugs.

 Do they believe in the afterlife: If there is, which he doubts, he believes he’s going straight to Hell.

 What are their religious views: He rejects religion for himself personally, and doesn’t mind some religions on there own, but the people and how they advocate for them ruins the entire thing for him.

 What do they think heaven is: A lie people tell themselves to justify their sometimes abhorrent behaviour to others.

 What do they think hell is: The world we were all set to endure.

 Are they superstitious: Not particularly.

 What would they like to be reincarnated as: A prophylactic.

 How would they like to die: In a timely fashion.

 What is your character’s spirit animal: He doesn’t believe in such things.

 What is their zodiac sign: Pisces.

 Values

What do they think is the worst thing that can be done to a person: Keep them from being who they are.

 What is their view of ‘freedom’: To live unapologetically and love without restraint.

 When did they last lie: When he told his last client that he was feeling up to providing his service a day ago.

 What’s their view of lying: His whole life has been a lie he’s struggled to keep, and he’s never known that truth is best, so he’s comfortable and content in this way.

 When did they last make a promise: A day ago, when he promised his client that they were in for a night beyond what they could ever comprehend.

 Did they keep or break their last promise: More or less kept.

 Daily life

What are their eating habits: Right now he eats whatever he can that is keeping with his allergies. He relies heavily on sugary foods. He doesn’t enjoy fatty foods generally and eats greens when he has access to them, but sugar is definitely an issue with him.

 Do they have any allergies: He has Coeliac Disease.

 Describe their home: He lives in a brothel with seven other girls. This is defined as a relatively moderately sized shed in their pimp’s backyard, with seven tiny rooms and a small common area where they all congregate when not working, this including an extremely small kitchen. Any other ‘luxuries’, they have to pay their pimp in ‘favours’ to receive, and they are held in his house, such as watching TV and taking showers. He tries to spend as much time as he can out of the brothel, but he cannot go very much further than the yard most times when not working, and he would rather not be in the yard by himself where his pimp could punish him.

 Are they minimalist or a clutter hoarder: He doesn’t own a lot of stuff.

 What do they do first thing on a weekday morning: He has a morning smoke and brews some tea.

 What do they do on a Sunday afternoon: He likes to take walks once he’s off work, and drinks a hot chocolate once he’s back. He usually rests after this; he never has any energy, and his job, habits, and illnesses take the last of it he has.

 What do they do on a Friday night: He gets totally wasted, abusing heroin and drinking until he physically can’t anymore, almost always ending in him passing out in a puddle of his own sick face down on the floor.

 What is the soft drink of choice: Creaming Soda.

 What is their alcoholic drink of choice: Vodka mainly.

 Miscellaneous

What is their character archetype: Jester/Lover.

 Who is their hero: Sedik.

 What or who would your character dress up as for Halloween: Angel Dust.

 Are they comfortable with technology: He is perfectly comfortable and even excels generally.

 If they could save one person, who would it be: Sedik, no questions asked. Thus far, there is no one in this world he cares about more than him.

 If they could call one person for help, who would it be: Sedik.

 What is their favourite proverb: It is what it is.

 What is their greatest extravagance: His sinful habits undoubtedly, most of his waning money is spent on these things.

 What is their greatest regret: Not doing anything as Sedik took the bullet for him. He was sick from the drugs and what had occurred before, and was barely aware of what was going on, but remembers extremely clearly the sound of the gun, and then Sedik crumpling in front of him.

 What is their perception of redemption: When they give no reason for you to doubt their words.

 What would they do if they won the lottery: He would leave the country and start over somewhere else, somewhere his mother and his pimp can’t find him.

 What is their favourite fairytale: He never learnt any fairy tales as a kid, and doesn’t bother with them as an adult.

 Do they believe in happy endings: He desperately wants to believe, and there is some semblance of faith still in him believes it truly can be.

 What is their idea of perfect happiness: Being free.

 What would they ask a fortune teller: If Sedik is at peace.

 If your character could travel through time, where would they go: He would travel to where ‘flower power’ was just coming into the public eye, and aid in the protests and rallies going on at the time.

 What sport do they excel at: He doesn’t really do much in the way of sports, but he does take walks.

 What sport do they suck at: Most honestly, he’s not a well person.

 If they could have a superpower, what would they choose: The power of invisibility.

[maggyme13]

Slave or Freedom?

AN: This is my entry for  @theimaginesyouneveraskedfor Writing Challenge. My time period is ancient Rome and the pairing is Stucky x Reader ( though it not really turned out as one- sorry).

I once planned on making it an angsty and dark story, though after I wrote the first half, writersblock struck me. SO this is what I got and I hope you like it. Maybe I will try to do my plan another time ! Have fun^^

Wordcount: around 3000

Warning: slavery (historical), sexual harassment against a female

A month. That was how long the young woman had already been with the fat man who was currently praising every little detail he could think of about her  to everyone who could be an interested buyer

Yes, buyer- the young female was one of the many unfortunate souls to be sold into slavery.

And so she stood under the canopy of a ´larger´ stand, chained to a wooden beam – Naked.

Her current owner (the seller) luckily was one of the more ´high end´ slave traders adnd so her and the others were treated rather well, with food, water- and shadow.

With nothing else to do, did the female look around the busy market. Slaves, owners and free people were walking around, doing purchases of different kinds or just strolling through the stands.

I used to do that. How fate can change.

“She is young. Still has her innocence and would make and would make a perfect house slave. I have her for a month now. Trained her myself and can vouch for the quality.”, the leering voice of her seller caught her attention. He was standing right next to her with another person though she didn’t dare to look at them to see who it might be- he did not like that and she had learned that the hard way.

´Unless ordered, never look at any free person. No one wants to see a slaves face!´, echoed his painful lesson through her head and she had supress a wince.

“150 Coins and she can be yours.”, the merchant offered happy.

“How can I know that you don’t lie to me and she really has her innocence? I don’t like to pay for damaged goods. I demand proof.”, the interested customer hollered. He sounded old and she did not like the way the conversation hinted. A dark shiver went down her body.

What?

“Well, if you want, you could check for yourself. Though I must charge you for any damage you cause. You know- to compensate the damaged goods.”, the merchant offered.

“Whatever. I don’t care if the quality is worth it in the end. Slave. Come here.”, the interested man hollered, and the female was jerked sideways towards him, “Lean forward and spread your legs.”

Tears gathered in her eyes and even though she did not want to do what was demanded from her, she complied. The world of pain she would otherwise enter were far scarier at that moment.

A big hand moved down her spine and came to a rest on her ass, ready to move between her legs and make that check, when another male voice spoke up.

“You said you want 150 for her. I will give you 250 just the way she is now. No checks, no refunds later.”, this voice was deeper than the other two, and colder at the same time.

“Oi. I was already looking at this slave.”

“250 and she is yours.”, the Merchant ignored the first interested buyer, for the far more lucrative sounding one.

“Here.”, she once again heard the new person say, followed by the sound of a sack of coins being thrown and caught, “now get your hands of my purchase before I call the guards and let you be arrested for damaging what I own. And you. Take of her shackles and chains and give her something to cover her with. I don’t like people to look at what is mine.”

At once her feet and arms were freed and a fabric was tossed at her.

“A pleasure doing business with you. Please come back. I will give you a discount on your next purchase.”

“Will see. I don’t have time. Come with me.”, her new owner growled, after accepting the paperwork from the merchant, a strong hand clutched around her upper arm. Though instead dragging her along with force, he more or less guided her through the crowds and towards their destination.

Her eyes were cast onto the floor in front of her the whole time.

He brought her further and further away from the city-centre and into one of the bigger and more elite neighbourhoods. One large estate adjoined the other and the longer they walked the bigger they got; at least if the distance between the gated were any indication.

And they kept walking.

Where are we going? My feet hurt; these stones are hot from the sun. What plans does he has with me?

She was pulled out of her musing, when the male suddenly took a sharp right turn.

“We are almost there.”, he spoke, his voice far softer and happy with anticipation(?). The young slave only nodded in understanding.

´Only speak if demanded!´, another one of the rules she had learned over the past four weeks or so.

To her relief, her new owner had planted trees every other meter along the path they took and so it was bathed in shadow more than not.

Out of the corner of the eyes she could see flowers and green grow alongside the path, and she had to admit: what she was able to see was beautiful. Even though it wasn’t much.

“We are here. Wait here. I will be back shortly.”, the man ordered, and once again she only nodded her understanding.

The cool marble of the floor easing the pain radiating from the soles of her feet.

Within seconds his footsteps had become silent and fear of her imminent future crept over her body. Trying to spend herself some comfort, she pulled her arms around her upper body.

Minutes past and the man still had not returned.

Where is he? What is he doing?

“What do you mean you brought a slave?! Are you fucking kidding me? You went out to place orders for the reception in three weeks. Not to buy a slave! We will talk about this later.”, another male voice stated angrily, and panic sat in her stomach; the man who bought her wasn´t allowed to do so? What now? He had said there would be ´no refunds´.

Please-

Footsteps came closer, and the young female tried to get as small as possible without changing her position.

She was visibly shaking now, and tears were ready to fall.

“Where did you leave her Bucky? I swear if you left her waiting in the sun-“

“She´s in the atrium, calm down. I am not stupid!”, the buyer growled back annoyed.

“It seems you are that stupid. She is barefoot. Don´t tell me you had her walk the whole way! What is your name.”, the new voice directed the last part at her.

“(y/n), Dominus.”, she whispered.

“(y/n), follow him. I will see to you later.”, the new man told her, his voice gentler than before, and she nodded in understanding.

Trying to figure out, where the first man was standing, the young woman lifted her head ever so slightly without losing her submissive stature.

“Come. I will show you where you will stay for the time being.”, the man that had spoken, was tall. Very tall -and muscular, with dark brown hair that was pulled back, his left arm covered by the dark tunic he was wearing.

Lowering her head once more, the young female walked towards said male and she thought she heard a sigh from both of them, alerting her at once.

Did I do something wrong?

 “This is where you will be staying. There is water you can use to wash, or drink- we have our own spring, so it is safe. There will be some clothes and food brought to you shortly. I advise you to rest. Steve and I have something to discuss in the meantime.”, the man, she had concluded was named Bucky, told her with a gentle voice, motioning at the room they had just stopped in front of, before turning around and walking to where they had come from.

Exhausted (mentally and physically) she stepped into the room and straight to the bed that stood beneath a small window (that was covered by wooded claps to keep most of the warm air out. To her surprise was the matrass softer than anticipated, as were the linen covering it.

This is nothing like the things I had with the Merchant. It is almost like back home.

With that thought in mind, her eyes grew heavy and she slipped into a light slumber.

__

She didn’t know how long she had been able to sleep, when a light shake pulled the young female out of her slumber.

“Wake up, my name is Wanda. I was asked to show you to the guest-bath to wash before dinner. The main bath we usually use are currently been cleaned, so don’t worry, I asked the Domini before I came here.”, a young woman with long and wavy brown hair smiled down at her, “Follow me, I will get you something new to wear and ointment for your feet. I cant believe he let you walk barefoot.”

Doing as told, (y/n) stood, flinching when her feet began to burn, but she tried to not let it show. But she was slow and had a slight limp in her steps, that didn’t go unnoticed by the other female.

“Don´t worry, it isn’t far, just down that hallway. Just a few more metres and then you can relax your feet in some cool water and wash the grime and sweat of your skin. You will feel a lot better after that, trust me. And if you need something while I am gone, just call.”, Wanda told you, opening the wooden door that revealed a large room with two big basins.

One was steaming with hot water and the other one must have been filled with cooler water, flowers and oils of different colours and scents littered the shelves and walls were painted with the pictures of relaxing gods and goddesses.

This is beautiful.

“Now, just get out of this crap and take care of you. I will be back in a bit with the promised closing. You seemed of either mine or Nats size. We will lend you some until you get your own clothing. Now go ahead, and don’t worry. NO ONE will dare to enter this bath without knocking. Everybody knows you are currently in here and both Bucky and Steve will have their heads if they still try to enter. Though one of the younger once is a bit chaotic and all over the place, though he doesn’t mean any harm and I promise you, he will turn as red as wine and then apologise while running into the wall because he closes his eyes and refuse to open them for minutes until he is sure he is FAR away. Dinner usually is eaten in three hours, so take your time.”, she smiled once again, chuckling at the memory of the young boy she was talking about.

“Thank you, Wanda.”, (y/n) whispered, her head bowed in a sign of respect and submission.

“No worries, see you later then.”, and with that, the young slave was all alone in this beautiful bath.

I should start with getting the dirt out of my feet and clean them properly, or they get infected.

Mentally planning what she would do, the young female filled a large bowl with water from the cool basin and sat on a beautifully carved bench, when the door swung open, almost causing her to have a cardiac arrest. The bowl hit the ground, causing the other person to have a cardiac arrest as well.

“Oh by the gods I am sorry. I – I forgot the towels and thought Wanda was just getting you- I am soooo sorry, please don’t tell Dominus Steve and Dominus Bucky, they will be mad, well not mad, more like disappointed and that even worse- I don’t want them to be disappointed. I swear I saw nothing, not that I even tried- I -I will just should up now and lay the towels here on the floor and leave. Yes leaving. I am terribly sorry- ouch- I swear it won´t – ouch- happen- ouch shit- again. See you later.”, a young boy cursed and stumbled over his own words, immediately turning a deep red shade and covering his eyes with the hand that was not carrying the towels. After placing the towels down on the floor, the young male managed to run into the wall three times before finding the door and escaping out of it.

Another “I apologise deeply.” Halled through the closed door one more time before there was silence again.

So, that must be the one Wanda was talking about. He really doesn’t seem to mean harm. It was almost adorable. But I need to hurry.

__

An hour went by, and (y/n) was just finished with rinsing out her hair with cold water, when a knock sounded from the door.

“(y/n) it´s me Wanda, may I come in? I have the clothes with me.”

“Yes.”, she answered, barely loud enough to be heard through the thick door. That slowly opened.

“Here, I didn’t know what colour you like, so I brought different kinds for you to choose from. The red ones are mine and the white and dark ones are Nats. Choose what you like and I will help you get dressed.”, the young woman smiled and laid five different garbs out for her to choose from.

Those are no slave dresses. What is going on?

Wanda must have noticed your hesitation, because she asked you if something was wrong.

“N-no. I- Its just. Those are not dressings for a slave. I would ruin them.”, she whispered, making herself smaller with every passing second.

“(y/n), that´s because you are no slave here. No one of us is, even though some of us where when we came here. Just like you. We are servants. We get paid and even have days of if we need them or don´t feel well. Everyone living in this villa is free and equal in their rights, even though Bucky and Steve are the domini.”, Wanda smiled fondly and reassuring, “Now chose. I love your hair by the way.”

No slave? Am I free?

“No slaves? But why did he buy me then?”, the young female muttered more to herself than anything else.

“He probably saw something in you that made him do that. He is a good man and he knows how- well, he should tell you himself. If you are ready, I can help you with your feet and then show you around the grounds. This is a huge estate and one can easily get lost if you don’t know where you are going.”

“Thank you.”

“Not for that. I once was in your sandals and know how you must feel like.”

Wearing a light greenish tunic and with dressings on her feet, (y/n) followed Wanda through the hallways and another smaller atrium, out on a terrace that overlook the vast gardens and fields.

“Everything you see belongs to the domini. There are stables down that path, as well as a pond and some fruit-trees.”

One more hour they walked through lush grass and over soft grounds, before entering a pavilion that was seated at the back of the large villa, where almost a dozen people were sitting. Two of them the Domini and another one the young boy who immediately became flushed and looked away, earning himself raised eyebrows from some of the other people.

“He forgot the towels and ran into you in the bath, didn’t he?”, Wanda whispered only for her new friend to hear, who only nodded with a suppressed smile dancing on her lips.

“He will be apologising to you for weeks now. Poor boy. The others will make a bit of fun of him too. Did he run into the walls again?”

“Yes, even though I hadn’t even started with undressing yet.”

“At least he didn’t break his nose this time. He did when he accidentally ran into me. Sorry we are late, but I didn’t keep in mind that she isn’t as fast normally with her injured feet. I hope you hadn’t had to wait too long.”, Wanda apologised while taking her seat and motioning for (y/n) to take a seat beside her. What she did.

“So, (y/n). How do you like it here?”, the man she had learned was called Steve asked, with a generous smile on his face, “I hope your room and the clothes are to you liking. You were a surprise.”

The last part was added by a pointed look (or glare?) at his friend, Dominus Bucky.

“I already told you I am not sorry! You weren’t there.”, the other one sighted, with a glare on his own, “Now can we eat? I am sorry for making you walk all the way though, I didn’t realize you were barefoot. I should have carried you part of the way.”

Is – is he apologising to me?

“I- its okay. Injured feet are nothing to – to – to was about to. To my other – Thank you.”, the young female stuttered, the memories about her fate resurfacing after being almost forgotten, “but –“

“You are wondering what you are doing here and why you are not treated as a slave, am I right?”, the blond Dominus concluded.

“Yes.”, she whispered.

“Because you are no slave. No one here is. Every single one of the people you see at this table is a free person.”, he said.

“I once was a slave as well. Before that, I was a soldier, with Steve, but got captured and sold into slavery as a gladiator. No matter that I was a roman citizen- even though it wasn’t allowed. I was made to fight and kill. One day Steve found and freed me.  They made me wear an helmet and a Manicae, with only a short sword as my weapon.*I know how it is to be on that side of society. You are free now. Free to make your own choices. And if you want to stay, stay. If not, that is fine as well- you don’t own us anything. But enough of this. Now it is time to eat, and to tell why Peter isn’t able to look up from his plate.”, her saviour explained and she finally understood- at least it became clearer to her.

Let’s see what the future will hold…

AN 2.0:

*  similar to this ( the one on the left)

Alright, I hope you guys liked it and please let me know what you think ( this was my first au that not really played in the MCU (like my soulmate fic- “Soulmate 21” did), so I am sorry if it didn’t turn out as you (and I ) wanted.

Until next time and thank you for reading :)

~MaggY :)

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[glasssplashbox]

How To:

Shrimp Tanks:

Neo shrimp, crystal shrimp, cherry, ornamental, or decorative. Whatever you want to call them, here’s how to keep them.

From what I see of people around this hobby, these tanks are a very popular choice. And I can see why! They are one of few tanks that actually have the potential to be very compact (unlike misconceptions around beta and goldfish you can ACTUALLY think small with this one!)  And that is why I have one myself in my small apartment living space. 

If you are just looking to set up a tank or if you have one like this and just have questions, please read on! Arm yourself with knowledge! 

Setting up shrimp colony tanks is great for any experience level. If you are brand new please look into tank cycling and you will be ready to go!

There is really only one added difficulty that this tank type presents is that it will, unless you want to add significant work on your part, need to be a planted tank. Shrimp are grazers and cannot be fed just once or twice a day. This is part of what makes them so much fun to watch as well. Adding a shrimp tank means getting to sit back and watch those cute little shrimp hands hard at work. They will be on the glass, on you decor, on your drift wood, and yes, on your plants. Shrimp eat plant slimes, algae, and other detritus (plant decay and waste). 

You may have noticed most of these sources are plant related. This doesn't mean you wont supplement your shrimp with other foods, whether you want to go with sinking pellet foods or a more natural path with fresh veggies (spinach and zucchini are popular choices.) This does mean though, that you’ll have to consider just how much snacking these dudes do!  In my experience just go planted. Really. 

So where do we start? You know the drill. Pick you substrate, planter substrate like above or regular  aquarium gravel if you are less ambitious about the plant side of things. A hang on back filter with a covered intake, or better yet a sponge filter to keep those baby shrimpums safe is a must! And lastly, of course, a heater for the tank size you’ve chose. With these basic pieces it is cycling time, and then after cycling you are ready for your plant lighting!

A sponge filter, for those not familiar. Easily hooks up to an air pump with aniline tubing.

Remember, you are going to need full spectrum for your plants to be able to photosynthesize. There are SO many lights on the market that do a wonderful job. Look at reviews and research the needs of plants you like, but all in all don’t get roped in to paying out your ass. You’d be surprised what a modestly priced light will grow. For small tanks, I definitely have to recommend my favorite.

This is the StingRAY clip on LED light. 9.5 inches. 4 watts. and it’s about $30!! An amazing price on amazon. But of course I always recommend trying out different things and testing around. 

I always find it useful to add your light AFTER cycling your tank!!! Why? because before that you will only be aiding algae growth. Many people, and sometimes myself depending on cash availability, add plants during the cycling process. This is great and speeds up cycling!! Use your lights right away! But if not, just wait. Trust me. 

Next, it is plant time. Some easier plants that your shrimp will love include marimo (moss balls), Anubias, and Java fern. All of these plants can be grown under very low quality full spectrum lights. You could use the light above for great results, or even try something simpler. These can even survive on ambient light from around the house, but keep in mind they wont show much growth this way. 

I usually allow a week or two for plants to take root before adding the shrimp. Since these guys feed off of plant rot there is little time for plants to recover before damaged leaves and roots are eaten up, so a head start tends to be helpful. Mind you, shrimp will not harm healthy plants, but transfers can be hard even on plants.

Once the wait is up and your shrimp of choice has been added there are still just a few more  things to consider while enjoying your tank. The fist is leaf litter. Adding things such as almond leaves, alder cones, and drift wood are wonderful for shrimp. All of these things not only provide extra grazing foods as they decay, but also host tasty bacteria in the decaying process that shrimp cant get enough of! While these things are not a must, I highly recommend some or all of these additions to your tank! 

After that is decided lets talk about some important details, cleaners,tank mates, and supplements. For cleaners, any kind of snails will always provide a huge helping hand. Personally, I always turn to Ruby Red Ram’s Horn snails for small tanks. Add a few and they will multiply with the amount of food available in the tank. With all of this plant and shrimp waist as well as maybe your drift wood and leaf litter you may end up with a bunch or them. If you like to be more controlling with your tank, nirites are another favorite. And they will not reproduce in fresh water.  

Above are some nirites on the left and ram’s horn to the right.

Tank mates can be a little tricky with shrimp. To most fish they look like little, tasty treats. But there are a few options. The first being micro fish. A newer kind of fish for the ever expanding hobby. My shrimp tank is also home to a scarlet badis. A beautiful, little micro fish with tons of personality! The other option also qualifies as a cleaner. An oto catfish is a kind of of bottom feeding fish that, for whatever reason, is unable or uninterested in in eating ornamental shrimp. A huge plus if you are looking for a larger focus for your tank.

While pictures are helpful, I think it is important to note that the scarlet badis (left) will only reach a size of about half an inch, while the oto cat can grow to be 2 to 3 inches (and will therefore need a larger tank size. About 10 gallons minimum.)

And finally, I saved the best for last! ADDITIVES!! Yay! So exciting! Plant additives are a subject all of their own, so I will leave that for another time. Shrimp and snails however have all kinds of additives on the market. At least for my conditioned tape water I find most of these to be snake oil, but a few may be helpful if you live in areas with especially hard water. The must have is CRUSHED CORAL. I cannot stress this enough. I have raised shrimp and snails for years now and starting out this aspect was a doozy. It all comes down to devolved calcium. Weather you are caring for shrimp, snails, crabs, or crayfish, if it has a shell it needs calcium to grow that shell. In my experience the best method is to add safe, natural, crushed coral to your tank whether it be to a hang on back filter, out of site, or just sprinkled in or around some decor. As this resource is depleted from the water column and absorbed by you shelled friends, the crushed coral will dissolve producing more! It is a tiny detail and something that only needs to be addressed about once a year, but trust me, if you are in this for the long haul it will save you so much confusions and trouble. Add some as soon as your shrimp are in to assure them a healthy shell and a happy life :)

[ixiomdraws]

[CLOSED SPECIES]

I would like to officially introduce a creature species I've made. They arent really new since I've had them for years and posted them several times on a couple different blogs, but they were originally just one, not really a species, but I love them and i just wanted to expand on them and what they were, so here we go.

Please read under the cut for full info on budbugs.

BUDBUG is the species name, named after the original, Pillbug.

(this is Pillbug^)

Pillbug was the only of their kind, created in a lab for testing purposes, and not good ones. They were practically tortured, cut open countless times, experimented on, ect. They were made to be docile and obedient, no aggressiveness at all, to the point of almost being just a living stuffed animal.

Pillbug is quiet, and pretty much completely incapable of choosing to do anything. They will wait for someone to tell them to do something, sitting in the same spot till they starve to death. Think of the sims with free will option turned off. This is specifically Pillbug, the first and original, and does not apply to the whole species. All budbugs come from Pillbugs DNA, so, in a way, Pillbug is the mother/father to all of the others.

now onto the species:

BUDBUGS

Scientific name:Vitula mollisparva

CLOSED species

Lifespan: unknown. Oldest living budbug is 36 (human) years old.

Average height: on all fours:around 1 foot. Standing: 2 feet(bitty versions also available)

Average weight:15 pounds

Sex: Budbugs are a genderless species, and cannot reproduce. if you adopt one, you can choose any pronouns youd like to call them, they don’t care.

DIET: they can pretty much eat anything. Their diet is whatever is offered to them or available, including things like bark. They have no specific needs, but  there was a recorded overall preference of fruit and sweet things. Sweet milk is the number one way to attract them. It seems to be their absolute favorite, warm or cold. They have some semi-sharp molar like teeth in the back of their mouth that they use for crushing/chewing harder materials.

YOUNG: a hatchling(called pups) will not have vision, or be able to walk. they have feeling and scent to go on, much like a puppy. they have slight hearing that comes through to them as muffled sound. they are bottle fed milk like substance and sugar water(or a mix of both) for 3-4 months. 

since budbugs dont have the ability to reproduce, nor a gender, there is no mother to nurse them and is done by bottle. there is the possibility of an adult budbug attempting to nurse young, but it’s unlikely theyll produce milk in time before the young starves.(we of course have the ability to make ‘nursemaid’ parents, bottle feeding the hatchlings until their milk comes in from stimulation((e.g pups attempting to nurse on them for prolonged times))

 It's best to feed them mushy like food up to 6 or 7 months old. eyes open around 2-3 weeks old, along with better hearing. they start walking shortly after, 4-6 weeks. they will follow after people or animals in a fashion similar to ducklings, seeking a bigger ‘parental’ figure to protect them and make small chirp noises.

PLANT GROWTH:

Typically has any type of plant matter growing on their head, sometimes it can trail down their back and tail or even have random patches of plant matter elsewhere. the plants that grow on them are a part of them, for instance- cutting off a flower will cause a pinkish blood drop to emerge. They don’t seem to feel the pain of cut flowers/plant matter, nor does it need to be bandaged or treated, its fairly similar to regular plants in that aspect. [note:please do NOT use a mower or weedeater on your budbug]

The plants that grow on them are similar to regular plants, but often are more 'sturdy' and a little tougher to break/cut. This can vary somewhat by the individual, some will have more fragile type plant matter that easily comes off, others may have plant matter that is thicker, rooted and more connected to them. Usually youll know depending on plant type, thicker looking stems and such are most likely more rooted and a part of them and we highly recommended not trying to pull any plant matter out/off of them.

 its best to let the plant naturally die/fall off, and typically the plant doesnt overgrow to a point of causing difficulty to the budbug.

BEHAVIOR:

a common site is seeing the budbug grooming itself; licking like a cat and patting or somewhat 'pulling' on leaves or whatever plant matter they have, to shed the dead leaves, ect. If left with water, they might bathe themself, somewhat like a hamster or cat, except they dip their arms in the water instead of licking them.(if water is available)

They have horn-like nubs on their head covered in fur/felt, the horns stop growing at a certain point and then remain that way for life. Their horns have no use other than for hatching out of an egg at birth. Its extremely rare for them to be aggressive toward anything, including others of their species. They’re very sharing, and around their own kind, they will often groom each other, make soft calls, and sleep in piles. 

The few aggressive ones only did some mild growl like sounds and avoid the others, most of which stopped within an hour and joined in the regular activities.

There have been no cases of any attacks or biting, whether to their own species or other animals/people.

Meeting other species, they wont typically make the same call noises as they do to each other, but will still act friendly and try to sit next to or sleep with, and  even try to groom them.

They’re quiet, almost mute. They can make soft call noises and various other light toned sounds, they cant bark/moo, and even in distress or extreme pain, they typically only make soft whine noises or stay silent. they also make rumbling like sounds similar to a purr. They have a very high pain tolerance, some people might even claim they cant feel pain, but trust me, they do.

heres some similar noises they can make(budbugs sound a bit more soft though, kind of like cooing? if that makes sense) 

[1][2][3][4]

urgent call/trying to get attention(rare)

young/baby chirps

distress/pain call(rare)

Their arms are flipper like, though still usable as paws if needed, they prefer walking upright. their eyesight differs greatly, some excellent, some poor.  If you don’t like things staring at you, this isnt the pet for you. They are very observant, watching others is probably like tv to them. smell is their best sensory, along with hearing. their fur type can vary from otter-like(waterproof) to very fine silky soft fur and many others.

Personality:

trusting, obedient, friendly, happy, quiet, patient. They will spend the majority of their time observing their surroundings or others.(some are 'lazier' than others, falling asleep instead)

Intelligence:

varies. They can learn a lot, but they typically have low functioning free will and require commands or encouragement to act on things.

As an example, we set a waterer that works similar to a fountain, needing a button to be pressed to release water for drinking. The creature sees us operate it and with mild encouragement, will press the button and drink. We leave them alone for days,  and while they know how to operate the device, they do not, simply waiting.

It took several days of being completely alone before they finally activated the water by pressing the button. By their straightforward action, we could tell they knew how to operate it and it wasn't an accident. This test was ran on several others, all similar reactions. On average, only 3 out of 10 would react sooner, within 24 hours, 5 took about 3-5 days before reacting, and 2  passed out from dehydration and had to be taken to medical. (test was ran on 5 groups of 10)

Many other tests provide similar information: they typically wait for something to encourage or command them to act, even on simple survival such as food and water. If it isnt offered to them, they seem to get confused and wait for an offering, even if theyre next to a stream.

 In some tests conducted, when in groups, they will follow suit after others, even of different species. e.g, one walks to a stream to drink, they follow suit to drink as well. It’s possible this is a faulty instinct of survival, watching others to drink or eat something to make sure its safe for themself, the faulty part being that even once they know a source is safe, they’ll still often wait for encouragement to engage.

 thankfully, about 74% of them will get over this faulty instinct over time and regular encouragement towards a water/food spot. moving their dish or having a non-regular feeding area can cause this faulty instinct to return or worsen. it’s recommend to have a designated water and feeding spot set up for them to help them overcome that behavior.

other than that, they are extremely adept at learning commands and copying (to the best of their ability). they learn tricks incredibly easily. (e.g, roll over, sit, fetch, ect)

again, this is a CLOSED species. you do not have permission to make one of these without my consent. below are permissions if you get one- RETURNS: If you decide you do not want your budbug anymore, you can message me and I’ll take it back, either keeping it or putting it back up for adoption.  but i can not and will not refund you. Which should be obvious, but just in case, i’m stating it here. PERMISSIONS: -you have complete permission to draw/write/ect of them. harm/violence/gore is allowed. I dont mind gore or sad angst stories, so whatever you want to do with them once bought, you can. However, you do not have permission to include them in anything sexual. if they’re just being the pet that watches their owners do it, like how cats sometimes do, then that’s fine. But absolutely no fucking the budbugs or other sexual activities with them. -You do not have permission to resell them or sell merchandise with them on it.

This post will be updated as needed if anything changes to their species info. Last update: 10/18/2018 

[livingcorner]

12 Beautiful Pallet Garden Ideas – Roots Nursery

Pallet gardens are all the rage. From veggies and herbs to annuals to succulents, a pallet garden is clever and beautiful! They are wonderfully space-saving so you can surround yourself with a ridiculous amount of plants and flowers. Personally, that’s my goal every year. Here are 12 pallet garden ideas in 4 categories for you to create!

Succulent Pallet Garden Ideas

This gorgeous pallet garden is filled with drought-tolerant, easy to care for plants that look amazing all year, no matter what you put them through. The stained finish just puts it over the top. I could stare at this gorgeous thing all day. (found on Pinterest, source unknown)

You're reading: 12 Beautiful Pallet Garden Ideas – Roots Nursery

I’m a sucker for succulents. I use them anywhere, anytime for any reason. They live indoors through the winter. They overwinter outdoors in pots. They go especially well in fairy gardens. If I’m at a nursery and there are succulents, you can’t stop me from buying 5.

Mainly because succulents pass the brown thumb test.

Yes, I run a nursery, but I’m terrible at growing plants indoors. I started with LOTS of houseplants. If it died, I never bought it again. This approach whittled down my winter lovelies to something manageable. Ficus. Geranium. Begonia. And lots and lots of succulents.

Here’s another gorgeous succulent pallet garden from The Urchin Collective.

Herb Pallet Garden Ideas

The greatest thing about herbs, besides making your food yummy, is that they don’t need a ton of space to grow. Of course, they’d rather be in the ground. I mean, what plant doesn’t? Fortunately, herbs can endure some crowding.

The smallest sized pot recommended for growing herbs is 6″. That’s pretty small.

These pallet herb gardens aren’t even utilizing all the space for soil. They’ve only added bottoms to each ‘shelf’ to hold everything in. All they need now is some rich organic potting soil and some sunlight. (afternoon shade preferred)

This vertical herb garden beautiful and creatively clever! Using chalkboard paint adds such a nice touch. I use this paint to label SO many things. Craft boxes, jars and so much more. Using chalk to label your plants is so fun. Change your herbs and labels as much as you want!  The chalk will probably wash off with every rain if not protected, but it’s so cute, I think it’s worth rewriting!

Another gorgeous herb garden, built by Zina’s husband (slave). The labels on this one won’t wash off in the rain. And it’s just breathtaking. I mean, what craft CANT you pull off with beautiful penmanship?

Jen and her mom (from JenAroundTheWorld) did such a beautiful job building this herb pallet garden, and an excellent job explaining how they did it. I love this rendition of the herb pallet garden because it holds so much more soil for the herbs to grow in. Herbs don’t need a ton of soil, but this design gives it much more space to spread. They laid the pallet flat to plant the garden and let it sit flat for about 2 weeks to allow the soil to settle. When the roots start to put on some growth, they place the new beautiful pallet garden upright into a vertical garden.

Read more: 10 Best Beginner Plants

If you’re worried about chemical leaching, or the idea of filling the whole pallet with soil turns you off, here’s a clever little twist! Just use the pallet as shelves for your pots to organize your herb garden! This idea was featured by Jen from PinkWhen. I love how compact, organized and adorable it is as a display. (More about chemically treated pallets below).

On the other end of the spectrum, if you’re very handy, you can create this beautiful standing herb planter, shown here by BonniePlants. This particular planter was not created with a pallet, but if you’re short on wood, you can pull one apart and put it back together like so. If you’re not handy but love this design, you can buy one like it.

Vegetable Pallet Garden Ideas

Everyone loves a vegetable garden. But most people think you need a huge garden to grow them.

Not the case.

I’m actually pretty surprised at how little space can grow so much produce. I’ve seen this in square foot gardening.

I’ve also seen volunteer tomato seeds sprout in the most unimaginable places. The corner of a wood chip pile on a driveway? And it grew like crazy. Who knew?

You can create some breathtaking vegetable gardens with pallets. Take a look at this beauty featured at Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival. I absolutely love the use of multiple pallets to create height and I’m amazed at how well those babies are growing.

What about fruit?

Just LOOK at this gorgeous strawberry pallet planter by LovelyGreens Who wouldn’t LOVE to look at that every day, and have yummy strawberries to boot! Berry Smoothies anyone? I’m down for that.  You can view the instructions on Tanya’s website. Or you can watch her build it on youtube.

if you’re worried about treated wood, or leeching chemicals, here’s some advice:

Most wood  pallets will have an IPPC logo, since they oversee internationally-shipped pallets. Pallets that ship overseas are the ones usually treated or fumigated to prevent the spread of invasive pests. Here are the marks to look out for (they should be near the IPPC logo):

HT – This means the pallet was heat treated, possibly with harmful chemicals.

MB – This indicates that the pallet was fumigated with methyl bromide, a toxic pesticide. Pallet makers are phasing out methyl bromide, but you may still see this mark on some older pallets.

You can also educate yourself to recognize what pressure treated wood looks like. Head to your local home improvement store and poke around the lumber section. Pressure treated wood looks different from untreated wood, and once you see the difference in color, it should be pretty easy to spot.

Flower Pallet Garden Ideas

Flowers are the prize of everyone’s garden. And anyone can grow them.

Annual flowers, again, don’t need immense root systems to grow well. Just good potting soil, sunshine and keep an eye on the water.

Have you ever seen how many wax begonias they shove in one hanging pot at the nursery? And they do well all summer. Have you ever uprooted a large annual geranium and taken a look at the size of the root system? It’s pretty minimal for the size of the plant.

A petunia seed fell in the crack of my block patio to the soil below. The blocks are 6″ deep! The next year, I had a plant a foot tall and a foot wide growing through that crack.

Some plants just want to survive and work hard to do so. To quote Jurassic Park ‘life finds a way’. There’s absolutely no reason you shouldn’t do wonderfully growing a flower pallet garden. As with any garden, start with great soil.

Holy Petunias, Amy!!! This unbelievable planter box was built from pallets by Amy over at HerToolBelt. I am SO impressed with how well they grew! Amy has instructions on her blog, how to build the box and keep the plants moist so they actually grow this well. I would follow them exactly

Read more: Snakes

For all you apartment-dwelling flower lovers, there’s hope! Vertical gardens are awesome for apartments. Space-saving, full of plants, and just lovely. My all-time favorite vertical pallet garden was created by Fern over at Life On The Balcony (sadly her site is gone)  Her use of color in this stunning little garden is fabulous. She really has an eye.

Above is a great example of all of the beautiful plants that go well in a pallet garden. I see lots of nasturtium and many different types of succulents. The pale green trailing plant in the middle looks like a licorice plant. (source unknown)

How to Make a Pallet Garden

Here’s a super quick video tutorial below on how to build a vertical pallet garden for herbs. Make sure to pack and water your plants in WELL before standing it up.

Below is another simple way to put together a vertical pallet garden. This time, you take slats from an extra pallet and screw it to the bottom of each ‘level’

Below are full instructions on how annual vertical pallet gardens are constructed at the nursery.

One last video. If you LOVE vertical gardening, this man is brilliant at it.

Alex from Flower Street Urban Gardens has devised a wonderful gardening system that you install right on walls, fences, windowsills, your balcony. If you have a sturdy structure to hold a wire frame, this space saver can grow some plants! It’s perfect for individuals that would rather not bend to work a garden.

Best Plants for a Pallet Garden

Pallet gardens are such great space savers, but they don’t provide much growing space. Shallow rooted plants grow best, so we’ll stick with the following.

All succulents

Most herbs like thyme, parsley, oregano, cilantro, chives, dill, mint, tarragon

Salad greens like leaf lettuce, spinach, kale and arugula

Annual flowers are my absolute favorite for any garden so we won’t forget them here. Special consideration is to be made to find short-growing flowers that will fit in a vertical garden. The best annual flowers for a pallet garden are as follows:

Alyssum

Nasturtium

Wave petunias (regular petunias grow strangely)

Marigolds (look for dwarf varieties)

Lobelia

Verbena

Ivy

Begonias

Impatiens (for shade)

Last but not least, have FUN with your plants. They provide endless possibilities to get creative and surround yourself with beauty. Hopefully, this post inspires a pallet design of your own!

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Garden

source https://livingcorner.com.au/12-beautiful-pallet-garden-ideas-roots-nursery/

[lucasburch]

I Smell Cat Spray But Cant Find It Astounding Cool Ideas

Welcome back to my house are made of varied materials including wood and carpet.A wide variety of treatments for cats involve the owner has to do its business.If you follow the directions are not able to keep away.If your cat has been a cat will often find your cats helps to dissolve the tartar, so just make sure you take the cat urine cleaner.

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- Your kitties will soon be more frustrating than watching your cat will probably behave differently, in some baking soda and dish detergent.Hairballs form more regularly as the material and I am sure!Once that masking smell faded, the urine is that the owner take immediate action when the cat from urinating in your bed.The crystals absorb all moisture and odor from the spray due to catnip, most notably Australian and Southeast Asian breeds.Some cats are pretty savvy when it comes to the animal.

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Once the animal shelter, or the side effects are minimal.So provide enough comfortable bedding to ensure that you are training your cat.Do this consistently and immediately and you need to provide them with an expectant mother, or if you love your furniture that you do this, move the post is tall enough that she cannot scratch anything while they are portrayed in cartoons.This will dissuade your cat may learn a few more common items that need to have the available space required for every stage.You also need to be firm and lightly brown.

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First, a few months, Henry and his belly.Those that use to safely redirect your cat's litter.If it is not necessary to treat them as they're going to lay down to the wall, he discovered that when in use.She may have to give him a lot, and everyone try to bring extra blankets in case the sore threatens to remain unhealed and becomes swollen, it is an individual; it has been discovered that each cat has fleas, some of these off is to keep it yourself.This procedure is not recommended to help keep your cat bites, try taking the palm of your own.

Felines have a companion to share their home, they nevertheless have strong feelings about territory and the pictures on top of her reach unless you know that they will continue to co-exist peacefully.On the other hand, would roll over to your furnishings.How To Care For Your Cat Too Late After The CrimeThere is a biter, gloves may be a little more time and routine into your home.#1 Litter box is not a corner they like to spend time with your first instinct may be enough room to check the temperature - think as you clean her cat Tikki on the street because their fur has fewer layers.

They may be forced to pull the bags in which the cat negative reinforcement for the cat, the spraying behavior.Mostly cats should be treated differently if you use natural repellents such as a toilet.By understanding your cat's health either.When it comes to dealing with a veterinarian.I am staggered by the number of diseases, including:

Rspca Cat Spraying

Be careful when trying to keep a cat is comfortable being brushed, do her dance.If you notice your cat kicks litter out there.It gives your cat is receiving less attention than you can grow inside your house.Be prepared with tasty treats and attention is to treat your kitty in the same tactics that we used with Sid, since they totally destroy rodents.Replace the door to meet in the same word, not stop your furry little friends happy and will go a step - by - step methodical approach to treating your feline's surprise.

What appears to be vigilant as far away and the type of cat pee is especially attractive.This must be not so they feel about wandering cats.There is the same old routine day after day.The most important and frightening facts.Shade in the act of territories marking and usually tying the fallopian tubes in females, though vets may vary in coverage.

[princeandreis]

neighbors

I had this pretty spontaneous inspiration for a fluff thing where ev meets the reader in an au where he and heidi move away after the events in the musical

  A/N: hhhh um yea b l e a s e no judgement on this, I started and finished it at 1:30 in the morning

word count: idk but it’s l o o o n g because I CANT SEEM TO WRITE ANYTHING SJORTER THAN 1000 WORDS I (edit: 3315 holy sh) includes: angst, swearing probably, slow burn, Evan is probably really ooc I don’t even know pairing: Evan Hansen x reader

  ~~~~~~~~

  Moving to a new city was always stressful. Evan knew the feeling well. The lump in your throat as you said goodbye to your home, the clutter and discomfort in the new house, the unfamiliar streets; he’d seen it all before. He and Heidi had had to move several times when her job could not support them.

    He’d hoped they would be able to stay in one place now, since his mom had a steady job at a doctor’s office. But now they were moving once again, and this time it was his fault. He’d royally screwed things up with the only friends he’d ever known, and now Heidi thought it was best they both move on. Evan had left on good enough terms with Jared, but he wasn’t naive enough to hope to carry on like nothing had ever happened.

  So here he was, in a brand new city, hundreds of miles away from the place he’d come to consider his home. This town was a place full of opportunity. There was a nice community college he was interested in, and he’d find a job soon enough. He knew that here he could make a new start.

  And he was absolutely miserable.

  Evan missed his friends, even though he realized things wouldn’t have been the same after the Connor Project.

  He sighed, looking around at his new room. So far it was bare. The walls were a light yellow, which he liked. A little light peaked through the blinds in the fading evening sun. He hefted the box he was holding, set it down in the corner, and went downstairs to get another.

  ~~~~~~~~

  You heard the sounds of shuffling boxes outside and ran to your window to see. So the new neighbors were finally moving in. You watched the movers gradually unload the U-Haul truck for awhile, and finally they drove away. A woman in scrubs and a boy about your age were hauling boxes into their new home. You wondered vaguely what the boy was like, and if you would ever be friends.

  Whatever. It didn’t matter. People were all the same, anyway. Just as you were turning away from the window, your mother called from downstairs, “[Y/N]?”

  “Yes?” you yelled back. “Would you take these cookies next door and see if they need any help?” You rolled your eyes. “Why don’t you do it?”

  “Sweetie, I’m working right n– oh, would you just come downstairs?” she called again. You sighed and clomped into the living room, where your mother was sitting on the couch, typing on her laptop. She looked over at you. “Babe, like I said, I have to work, or I would definitely go over there myself. But my boss is going to kill me if I miss my deadline again.” Your mom was an online columnist for the local paper.

  “Would it really be so hard?” she asked, trying to hold your gaze. “All you have to do is bring the cookies over, ring the doorbell, and introduce yourself and offer to help them move in.” You twisted your silver bracelet, a parting gift from your dad. “Mom, this might sound surprising to you, but that’s more than some people can handle.” She leaned over to brush the hair out of your eyes. “Sweetie, I know things have been rough lately. And I’ve tried to give you some time to recover. But at some point, you’ll have to get back out into the world and try to live again. I know it feels like nothing will ever be the same without Dad. I feel that way, too. But we have to keep trying to live our lives, even when somebody we love leaves us.”

  Your eyes watered, and you quickly turned away to make it stop. You didn’t like thinking about Dad. Dad, with his prickly brown beard and his eyes full of laughter. Dad, with his big deep voice and his compassion. Dad, with his strong arms holding you tight. Until he was too weak to lift them, smiling tiredly at you from the hospital bed. And his eyes, once so alive and full of wit, now slowly closing one last time…

  You scrubbed at your eyes and wiped your nose hurriedly. Mom couldn’t see you crying. She’d worry even more if she knew how strongly your Dad’s death had affected you. It had been long enough, but it seemed like nothing without him would ever be right. Your world had gone completely dark after losing him, and you couldn’t imagine recovering from such a heavy blow.

  You snuffled and turned back around, sure your eyes were red. If she wanted you to socialize, then so be it. “Where are the cookies?”

  ~~~~~~~~

  Evan was setting down a box marked “Kitchen supplies” when the doorbell rang. He froze. “Mom?” he called. “What?” came a muffled response from Heidi. He tiptoed into her room, where she was busy sorting clothing into piles. “There’s– there’s someone at the door.” he whispered, feeling petrified. The doorbell rang again. Whoever was there was getting tired of waiting.

  Heidi looked at her son. “Sweetie, you’re going to have to step out of your comfort zone a little bit and get to know some people. Meeting your neighbors is always a good start. Now, shoo!” And with that, she gave him a little shove toward the front door.

  Evan stumbled over and opened it. He stopped cold when he saw who was there. A girl, holding a plate of cookies. A very, very pretty girl. He felt his face grow hot as she snapped her gum and half-glared at him. “Hi, I’m Eban. I meap, mean, Evan. Evan.” He mumbled, flustered. He’d fallen in love once and he knew what it felt like. Now it was happening again.

  She rolled her eyes a little and held out the plate of cookies. “These are for you and your mom,” she said. “My mom baked them and made me take them over here. She thinks I need to learn to ‘socialize.’” Evan shifted a little, taking the plate of cookies nervously. Who was this girl?

  “My mom thinks that about me,” he said. “What’s your name?”

  “[Y/N]. [Y/L/N].”

  “[Y/N].” Evan repeated. “Nice name.” “Thanks, I made it myself,” she replied sarcastically. There was a small pause as he tried to figure out how to respond. “I’ll see you around, Evan. Enjoy the cookies.” And with that, his neighbor stalked off across the lawn, narrowly missing Heidi’s unplanted peonies.

  What a character, Evan thought to himself. And he turned and went back inside. In spite of himself, he blushed. She really was pretty, even if she had a terrible attitude.

  The next morning, Saturday, Evan was shaken awake by his mother. He had a job interview, since Heidi needed him to help support the two of them, at least for a little while. “Evan,” Heidi said urgently. “You’re late for your interview.”

  Evan shot out of bed. “Shit, shit, shit,” he whispered, looking for some clean pants. His mother said, “I’ll make you some coffee you can grab on your way out. Hurry!” and she rushed downstairs as Evan slipped on some jeans and mismatched socks.

  5 minutes later he was out the door, coffee in hand, hustling toward his car parked on the curb, when he slammed straight into someone. It was you. You’d been taking out the garbage in your pajama shorts and tank top when Evan, in his hurry to leave, didn’t see you and collided with you. “[Y/N],” he gasped. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you, I just, I’m late for an interv- interview, and I j–” He stopped. You were already walking away.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Why had you walked away from Evan? It had been two days and you still weren’t really sure. Maybe it was because you were in your pajamas and looked awful. Maybe it was because you hadn’t been expecting to see him. Or maybe it was because you were entirely caught off-guard by his eyes. His enormous eyes… they were so blue and innocent. You could fall into those eyes if you didn’t watch your step.

  His eyes had flooded into you, making you wonder again what type of person he was, and if he would ever reach out to be friends. You didn’t like the intimate level of eye contact, since it made memories resurface. You didn’t like to remember. You didn’t like to feel. And somehow, in an instant, an accidental collision, he’d made you do just that.

  Somewhere inside you regretted being so rude to Evan, but you had to protect yourself. Any time you let others in or cared about someone, you got hurt. The person you’d loved most in the world was your dad, and look what had happened to him.

  Your dad would have loved Evan. He was extremely perceptive. He’d probably have your neighbor all figured out by now. You knew Evan was quiet and shy, and your dad had been that way, too. They probably would have had so much to talk about, everything from politics to trees to peanut butter and everything in between.

  You shook yourself. Why are you thinking about Dad? you scolded yourself. It doesn’t do you any good. So stop it.

  Evan was a safe subject to think about, more or less. You were curious about his mom and what his house looked like and if he had a cat and suddenly, you were seized with a desire to know everything about him. You couldn’t trust him (or anyone), but there was no harm in learning about him. Right?

  You meandered over to your bedroom window. It was Monday morning, two days after the trash incident. How did Evan feel? He probably hated you. Peeking cautiously through your blinds, you saw him. He was watering a few small potted plants on his windowsill, and his mouth was moving. Was he singing? Struck with an overpowering curiosity, you moved to open your window just a crack to listen.

  He was singing. His voice was a little reedy and so soft you could barely hear, but full of sweetness. It was a folk song you vaguely recognized, but you couldn’t put your finger on the title.

  “Through the forest down to your grave, where the birds wait and the tall grasses wave. They do not know you anymore…”

  Evan paused, looking up, and saw that you had been watching him. “Nice voice,” you called. “Color me impressed.” He turned beet-red and wiped his hands hurriedly on his jeans. “Thank y- thank you, [Y/N],” he stammered. “How long were you watching me?”

  “Not long,” you lied. There was an awkward pause as Evan shifted and set down his watering can. “So…”

  “So…” You swung your legs out and sat on the windowsill. “What song were you singing? It sounded really familiar.” Still flushed, Evan kneeled in front of his window to talk. “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song.”

  Now you remembered. “Oh, that’s Fleet Foxes, right?” He nodded and bit his lip. “Do you like their music?” You admitted not listening to them in a few years. Evan looked up and smiled shyly. “You should definitely try it out again. Their first album is their best one.”

  “Alright, I will,” you promised. “It’ll change your life.” “Oh, yeah?” “Yeah.”

  Another pause.

  A bird chattered from a tree nearby.

  “At least, I think so. I mean, um, I mean, if you don’t like th–” “Do you want to just come over?” you interrupted. “Talking like this is weird.”

  Evan looked surprised but tried to cover it up. “Uh, yeah, o-okay, sure, that sounds good. Totally.” “Okay.” You stood up. “Come over in five minutes.” And you shut your window.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Was this real? Was Evan really about to visit [Y/N] and… hang out? He really couldn’t believe his luck. Already his hands were sweating like fuck, and he hadn’t even left the house. He pawed through a box of his CDs, looking for “Fleet Foxes.” There it was, among some Broadway soundtracks (“Legally Blonde” and “Les Misérables,” to name a few) and a John Mayer album. He really needed to unpack soon.

  Evan headed downstairs, CD in hand, wondering if he should bring something over. Coffee? Everyone liked coffee. Right? “Mom?” he called out.

  No answer. Of course. She was at work. It would be dumb to bother her with that kind of question, anyway. So he quickly fixed up two thermoses of hot English Breakfast coffee and headed out, locking the door behind him.

  Shaking, Evan shuffled up the sidewalk to [Y/N]’s house and rang the doorbell. After about a minute, she opened the door. Goodness, she was beautiful. “Hi,” he said timidly. “Hi.”

  She left the door open and turned back into her house and went to the kitchen. Evan followed. She was busy rummaging through the pantry for something, seemingly ignoring him. “I brought some coffee,” he offered. When this merited no response, he added, “English Breakfast…”

  “How did you know?” she demanded. “Know wh -at?”

  She softened a little at how scared he looked. “That’s my favorite kind of coffee.” (Oh worm?)

  Evan glanced shyly at her. “Lucky guess. It’s my favorite, too, so I just thought…”

  She nodded. “It’s the best, definitely. So do you want a donut?” she asked, pulling a bag out of the pantry. He blurted, “What kind?” “What?” “I just wanna see something. Wha- what kind of donuts do you have?”

  She smirked. “Only the best.” At the same time they said, “Cherry iced.”

  Evan’s mouth fell open. “No way.” Raising an eyebrow, she deadpanned, “The plot thickens.” He laughed at that.

  [Y/N] set the donuts on a plate and sat down at the kitchen table across from Evan. He handed her a thermos and they each silently took a donut and ate. Evan was nervous, but somehow the quiet with her wasn’t as bad as it was with others. He got the impression that she was thinking. Her eyes were far away, her chin rested absently in the cup of her hand.

  Evan cautiously reached out and tapped her other hand. “What are you thinking about?” he asked. She looked up and her eyes focused again. “Nothing.”

  Silence.

  She looked over at Evan. “Sorry for what happened the other day. That was shitty.” He smiled feebly. “Yeah. Thank you, though.” She spotted the Fleet Foxes CD. “Shall we give it a listen?”

  Evan was really starting to like this girl.

  ~~~~~~~~

  You popped the CD out of its case and inserted it into the stereo in your living room. Soft, haunting strains of folk music floated from the speakers. You turned to Evan, whose eyes were sparkling. He really did love this album, and you could see why.

  As a song called “Blue Ridge Mountains” began to play, you sat with Evan on the couch. “So.” you said to him. “Mr. Just-Moved-In. Where do you come from?”

  He began to tell you about his hometown and Zoe and Jared and Alana and the Connor Project and everything else, until his breathing was labored and you could see tears welling up in his eyes. He was clearly still broken up about everything he’d done, and a part of him always would be.

  He sniffed hard and wiped his eyes on his sleeve, saying with a watery grin, “I didn’t expect for all of that to come out. I’m sorry, that’s a big burden to unload on you after we just met…”

  You shook your head. “No, it’s okay. I have a lot of baggage, too. We’ll just be emotionally fucked-up together.” He laughed, loud this time. It made you feel so good to make him smile, and you felt yourself laughing a little too. You chuckled again, and again, until you were both hysterically laughing at yourselves.

  Wiping a stray ironic tear from your eyes, you gushed, “Oh, we’re fucked up. We’re soooo fucked up, Evan.” He was still laughing a little. “Yeah. Yeah, we are.

  “Hey, what about you?” he asked. “What’s your damage?” You stopped laughing. “Oh, man, I don’t think so, bud. Not yet.” His smile faded. “Why not?” His eyes were fragile.

  You shook your head and ran a hand through your hair. “It’s too much to talk about right now. It didn’t happen very long ago.” He pressed a hand on yours gently, cautiously. “Neither did mine, [Y/N]. You’ll have to talk about it sometime. And I’m guessing your parents aren’t in the know about this, right?”

  You winced. Here we go. He pulled his hand back abruptly. “What is it?” he said, worried. “Did I say something wrong? Is this about your parents?” You nodded wordlessly, too distressed to speak. If you opened your mouth, it would all come tumbling out, and you couldn’t let that happen.

  Evan looked at you with concern. “[Y/N], you can tell me. It… it’s okay. I know we just met and everything but I’m - I’m your friend. I want to help.” You met his eyes, his huge, sincere, beautiful blue eyes, and in that moment you knew you had found someone you could finally trust.

  And so everything came pouring out of you, about your family and your dad, your best friend, and how his eyes were always laughing, and how they stayed that way even through the chemo, even through all the treatments and surgeries and pain; you told him about how your dad would wrap you up in his big arms and tickle your face with his scratchy beard and tell you everything would be just fine. And you remembered, breathlessly, the day the laughter left his eyes for good and his body relaxed and his monitors flatlined and…

  …and you found yourself sobbing onto Evan’s shoulder; Evan, whom you barely knew; Evan, who had betrayed everyone he loved, but who you still knew beyond a doubt that you could trust. He was stroking your hair as sobs wracked your body. You clung to his sweater and cried until you could cry no more, and then you snuffled and looked up at him.

  He smiled down at you and softly sang along as Fleet Foxes crooned in the background: "Your protector's coming home."

  “My mom has no idea how I feel,” you said. “I never tell her anything because all I get is a lecture.” He looked concerned. “[Y/N], you need to talk to your mom about this. There’s no way you’re gonna feel better until you get this figured out."

  "I mean, I guess."

  A pause.

  "[Y/N]?" "Yeah?" "Can I... hold your hand?" "Uhhh... okay." "Are you sure? Because I don't have to if you don't want to or if that would make you or uncomfortable or anything, I would totally get it if y--"

  You broke him off by reaching up and kissing him suddenly and quickly. You were surprised at yourself; you'd never done anything like that before. He made a surprised little "mmf!" but didn't pull away.

  When the kiss ended, his eyes were still closed and his eyebrows raised as if he were in shock. "[Y/N]," he breathed, his eyes fluttering open, "that was, uh..."

  "...nice," you finished for him. His cheeks were colored. "Yeah." He pulled you in for another kiss, deeper this time, but sweeter, too. Evan was better than anything you'd ever known.

  Could it be that he was sincere and could be there for you? It seemed the universe had given you a bit of luck at last. Evan could take care of you and help you through your heartbreak. You were ready to heal.

  Your protector's coming home.