#How To Grow A Grape Plant From A Cutting

[phoenixyfriend]

Ko-fi prompt from IndigoMay:

What would be the economic impact if people could magically grow whatever food they liked? Including fodder for animals.

This is a very wide-ranging question, like... when was the magic introduced? What was the state of agriculture before that? Is this food generated from existing matter, delivered by gods, or something else?

I'm going to narrow this to:

What would happen if people could, starting tomorrow, grow any plant...

That is edible, by either humans or livestock, with appropriate treatment.

Without delay, meaning that the time sink is several minutes instead of weeks or months.

Without concerns for weather or other natural dangers like fungal infections or pests, or requirements for water or fertilizer.

Without depleting soil nutrients, so long as they have arable land to work with.

Without relying on fresh seeds or other 'raw ingredients' like leaf cuttings.

Well... let's start small.

Personal Basis - people who are not farmers

People who do not normally grow things would start angling to acquire some kind basic gardening implements. For some, like those who live in the suburbs, this would be as simple as going into the backyard. For those in cities, they'd need to get a window box or similar to use. If you have free, guaranteed fresh plant matter, that's already a good thing, but the time and care required to keep a garden alive is more than some people can manage due to work or children or housing. With immediate food that requires minimal effort, a lot of those hurdles are removed. You can grow the two tomatoes you need for dinner, and then put the pot of soil away for tomorrow.

The cost of

Personal Basis - small farmers

The obvious impacts for those who are small farmers is that people are less likely to buy their raw ingredients. Most of these small farmers would start looking into modifying their operations to do things that require processing.

Growing apples in your house for a snack is fine--if you have a pot big enough for a small tree, and a way to dispose of the wood if it's a one-time thing--but if you want applesauce or cider or pie, someone who knows how to cook or bake needs to do that part. You can grow wheat, but your chances of having the necessary tools to grind flour are slim. You can grow cashews, but fuck knows how you're going to process that without poisoning yourself! You can grow grapes on your trellis, but that doesn't mean you have the knowledge to make wine without accidentally going straight to vinegar. You can grow corn, but that doesn't mean you know the best way to dry it to make popcorn.

So small farms shift to those products that either need processing, or are part of an animal-based food. This includes things like flowers for bees. You can't really control bees, so just 'grow and go' might incite the bees to leave somehow. Maybe they can sense magic! Who knows!

Another option would be to focus on unique or heirloom things. If you go to a farmer's market, you might be going just to see all the fruits you've never encountered before. If there's an apple stand one year, and suddenly you can grow your own apples at home, then maybe what they start doing is growing unique or rare cultivars that you've never heard of, and that's their new niche. It's not that you can't grow the apples, but would you grow them if you've never heard of them? Plus, the apple stand is doing sauces and ciders now.

Mid-tier and large farms

These farms will start to focus in on large-scale crops that don't go straight to tables or cooking pots in homes. Scrap the eggplants, the cucumbers, the blueberries. Focus on:

Fruits and vegetables that are needed for popular secondary products, like tomatoes (ketchup, marinara), or oranges (juice), or corn (anything with fructose corn syrups, popcorn).

Plants that are popular but NEED processing to be edible, like coffee beans, cocoa beans, or wheat, that most people just don't have.

Plants that are needed in massive quantities for animal feed, such as alfalfa or chicken grains.

Now, I think these large farms would still be in production. We'd see a massive reduction in water usage, which is great (except for cranberries, I guess), but many of these products would still be needed in quantities that need industrial levels of processing. Someone needs to pick the oranges, to drive them to the juicing facility, the facility needs to juice and treat and preserve and bottle them, and then that needs to be driven to the store. The reduced time to grow, reduced water usage, reduced waste from natural predators or dangers, and general ability to plan things more efficiently would result in lower costs for many of these products in a truly free market... but would possibly also rise in cost as companies try to maintain a consistent flow of profit.

Sure you can make the juice at home, but what if you're already at work? There's still a demand for products; most of us can get water from a tap at home, but there are still convenience stores selling bottled water on every other corner in a big city.

I think the most interesting of these concerns would be grazing animals, like sheep, cattle, and goats. Being able to 'refresh' the grass of a single field without having to rotate the animals to new pastures once they've eaten away at one, and without damaging the nutrient profiles of the one they're staying at, means reduced deforestation or soil destabilization in agricultural areas. We'd see a fairly significant stalling of things like the decimation of Mongolia's grasslands if the goats didn't need as much grazing land.

Maintaining the meat industry would be one of the most constant sources of demand for large-scale agriculture, given that other products could go through cycles to more efficiently use land. You can grow and harvest oranges for Tropicana on Monday, grapes for Welch's on Tuesday, soy beans for Silk on Wednesday, tomatoes for Heinz on Thursday, and so on. They probably won't need more than they used to.

Meanwhile, the cows gotta eat. And eat. And eat.

Corporations

This one is fun! MONSANTO'S GONNA BE PISSED.

So, magically growing food, you don't need seeds, at least in this case. Or you can coax more product out of a seed you already have planted. You've gotten eight cycles corn out of this one stalk this season!

So Monsanto loses some of that insane seed monopoly situation.

You'd see a decrease in pesticides and anti-fungal products as agriculture speeds up a cycle by enough to prevent the spread of dangerous infestations. It's not going to kill your entire farm if you find fungus one day and have to burn it to prevent the spread. You lost one day's profit, not a full year's.

This impacts Monsanto too. Remember the Roundup debacle?

Now, to be clear, there are still plants that will rely on pesticides and anti-fungals. The premise only covers food, after all, so there are still important plants that will need longer, dedicated growing seasons.

Industry-wide shifts

Sooooooooooo a lot of the money starts to come from non-edible plants. This is your cottons, linens, hemps, latex/rubber trees, cork trees, lumber, and so on.

As the needed arable land necessary to feed humanity (and our livestock) decreases, more land is freed up for return to indigenous peoples, reclamation by nature, usage for alternate cultivation, housing, or... well, other capitalist ventures, like bitcoin mining or whatever.

On a geopolitical level, this causes some interesting shifts in places that draw their power from being 'breadbasket' nations. For instance, if you remember the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war, we saw some major pressures being placed by virtue of some countries (e.g. Lebanon, Pakistan) getting most of their wheat from Ukraine, and the war suddenly cutting off a massive portion of how they fed their people. Much of Ukraine's support, in those early days, derived from their importance as a breadbasket nation. If everyone can grown their own food, that moves the lines. Countries that are poor on space or water can stop relying on trade to survive in terms of water. Countries that rely on their agriculture to be able to trade for other things need to diversify their economies, and fast.

(Does mean that Saudi Arabia can stop using Arizona's water, though.)

The greatest shifts would come down to water usage and pollution, I think. Agriculture is currently one of the biggest contributors to the climate crisis, and the reduction of water use by farming would be a massive help. However, I'm less sure of how we'd see meat consumption change. The greater availability of fresh fruits and vegetables could result in a shift towards more plant-based diets worldwide, but just as easily we could see large agricultural corporations (and those that rely on them, like John Deere or the aforementioned Monsanto) market meat to consumers as a greater rate due to the profit margin.

Oh, also, I have a feeling that a lot of those corporations would try to get garden centers shut down, or buy out ceramic pot and planter factories. If you can't grow anything at home because you don't have a window planter, you have to buy from the store, right?

[hunters-vigil]

Her Champion - Mavuika x Kinich's older sister!Reader - Part Two

First Part Next Part

request: do you think maybe you can do another one which talks about how the reader is Kinich’s older sister and having an affair with Mavuika?

Warnings: domestic violence, childhood trauma, abandonment, child abuse, neglect, death, alcoholism, gambling, Ajaw being rude still trying to figure out how to write Kinich and Ajaw, so characters may be ooc - I read Kinich's lore a lot to write this…

Fic under the cut, don't repost my stuff on other platforms, i have ao3 which my fics are also available on.

Winning the Pilgrimmage and gaining the attention of the Pyro Archon, 'Kiongozi' Mavuika, wasn't what you anticipated however. You scraped through the team stages with whoever approached you each time. Kinich was always busy or had another team lined up. One year, he decided to participate in some Saurian Relics Association survey instead of take part. He came home with K'uhul Ajaw, an almighty headache- dragonlord, and you went on to participate in the Night Warden Wars.

Mavuika watched over the battle from the Speaker's Chamber, watching as you never stopped fighting, not even when you saw the other members of your team fall to the abyss. You brought alone brought them victory, but the celebrations did not interest you. Again.

Mavuika wanted to know why. Why did her champion refuse any acknowledgement of victory in the every Night Warden Wars you participated in?

She ended up asking her 'Hot Spring Buddies' about you, after realising that you had failed to come to the People of the Springs to celebrate, even after Atea's personal invitation.

"Honestly, I'd never seen her before her first Pilgrimmage." Atea admitted, a frown on her face as you disappeared from the stadium far too quickly.

"Kinich's older sister. The two were living with Elder Leik up in the mountains, but now… I'm not sure." Vichama elaborated, but it left Mavuika with a lot to wonder.

Why not get some answers from the source?

///

She knew Kinich well already, he inherited the ancient name 'Malipo' from her childhood friend, Burkina. But she hadn't had the opportunity to speak to you, and Kinich didn't talk about his past at all, he barely mentioned he had a sister to her in fact.

When she sent the team to the Night Warden Wars each time, you barely looked her way, instead staring at the entrance like it was calling to you. Had she ever heard you speak?

"So, this is how I finally get to congratulate my champion in person." Mavuika found you staring at a large plot of land, from the looks of it, multiple different crops had been planted and were growing well.

"Archon? Is there something you need?" Kinich approached her first, Ajaw kept quiet by the grapes you had thrown at him earlier, while you watched the woman from the corner of your eye.

"Hello Kinich, how have you been?"

You could feel her eyes drift over you, but you didn't say a word as you headed inside, telling yourself that it was snack time just to avoid talking to the archon.

You didn't worship her like most people in Natlan, you were completely uninterested, which made Mavuika's intrigue for you even worse.

"She called you 'her champion'. Did you skip out on your reward for winning again?"

"Wasn't in the mood." That was your excuse, but Kinich knew better. He only nodded, folding his arms and looking over to where Mavuika was waiting on the two of you to join her.

"Servant! Fetch me more- ah! How dare you throw grapes at K'uhul Ajaw, the Almighty Dragonlord, you, you wench!" Ajaw screeched, gaining everyone's attention as you stared icily at the pixelated creature, "stop- stop looking at me like that!"

Mavuika watched as Kinich slapped Ajaw into a time out, while you disappeared into the mountains, taking your weapon with you. Mavuika's gaze remained on you until you disappeared out of sight, smiling at Kinich as he said nothing but the look on his face was laced with confusion. What business did the Archon have with you, he wondered…

You weren't the first to win the Pilgrimmage, Kinich having won and gone to the Night Warden Wars last year, getting his dendro vision in the process. The one year you didn't participate due to getting injured while fighting him… the look on his face after that still haunted you as you didn't even wince at the pain.

The Pyro Archon wasn't someone who gave up easily however, as she found you as you were training, watching you carefully as you practiced over and over.

"My champion, may I have a word with you?"

"Forget the pleasantries, just tell me what you want." you turned your head to look at her, twisting your weapon away from her as she approached. Mavuika knew the craftsmanship immediately, one of Xilonen's creations, but she had no doubt that you had influenced the design.

You cleared your throat, waiting for Mavuika to speak, but she only blinked and met your eyes with a smile that felt so warm it was almost uncomfortable… had anyone ever looked at you like that before? Could your mother have, before…

[seresinhangmanjake]

Stolen Angel - part 2

Demon!Jake Seresin x reader

Summary: You thought you were having a one-night stand with some random, normal guy. Turns out he’s a winged, demon-like stalker who has been obsessed with you for years.

Warnings/Notes: Jake is a little dark. Kidnapping. Manipulation. Obsessive behavior. Brief smut 18+. I’m sure there are typos. This used to be a different fic for August Walker, so if you see it, it’s fine. I wrote that one too.

Words: 1551

Part 1, Part 3

He moans so sweetly for such a strong, toned man. And it’s odd.

As he moves in and out of you, filling and stretching, his lips graze across one of your cheeks before he makes his way to the other, his nose nudging yours between those kisses. 

You try to meet his thrusts harder so you can get him to fuck you faster, but he plants a giant hand on your hipbone to hold you in place so he can continue at the pace he wants. It is not a pace you are used to, and certainly not one you expected, but you don’t hate it. 

Eventually, you succumb to it, you thrive in it, and when he flips you over and you sink down onto his cock, you keep it slow. You would like to think his hands on your waist are stopping you from increasing speed, but they just rest there, occasionally moving to your ass or breasts and gently squeezing. 

“Beautiful,” he sighs, eyes locked onto yours. “Absolutely beauti–”

You shoot up at the sound of knocking at the door, instantly groaning at the ache of your healing back. There is more healing to be done, but you’ve made rapid progress, and, to your dismay, you’re slowly starting to get used to the weight of the new appendages. You’d resisted accepting the wings at first, but after multiple mornings of waking to find them still attached to you, you gave up on the idea that any of this could be a dream.

There’s another knock. You have no idea why he bothers, seeing as he hadn’t bothered with politeness when he invaded your body with whatever drug he used to get you here. But then, true to character, he opens the door and walks right in despite your missing permission. 

The small tray in Jake’s hands is covered with an assortment of what appears to be familiar foods, but you’re no more certain that they are real than you are certain that the view outside of your window is real, or that he is real. There could be a monster under that handsome disguise. A fitting figure to match how he has treated you. His skin could be an unnatural color, bones twisted and mangled, teeth razor sharp, with eyes to compliment his misplaced soul. 

You hope you’re wrong. You hope you didn’t let a creature like that inside of you. 

As Jake nears, the blaze of his gaze over your body is unashamed and cuts into your skin like a heated knife. “Tell me you didn’t sleep in that again,” he says, disappointed.

You glance down at the dark brown smock cinched at your waist with a thin piece of rope; the first item of clothing given to you after your wings had finished growing.

“What happened to the nightgown?”

“It’s see-through," you huff.

“And?” he questions, setting the tray on the table beside your bed. “I’m the only one who will see you in it, and I’ve seen you in nothing at all, so what does the opacity of the fabric have to do with your not wearing it?”

“I don’t like it."

“So what did you do with it?”

Your eyes flick to the fireplace on the other side of the room, the fire long burnt out since its lighting the night before, and Jake’s head turns to follow. He sighs, clicks his tongue, and says, “I’ll bring you another.”

“I don’t want anoth—”

“You need to eat,” he interrupts, nudging the tray closer to you. “You haven’t in days.”

You get a better view of the fat, green grapes, and thin apple slices next to cubes of cheese and round plums. All foods you enjoy… coincidentally? No, suspiciously. You’re increasingly wary of the hints telling you that he knows so much about you.

“Not hungry,” you tell him, crossing your arms like a petulant child. 

“Yes you are, you little liar. I heard your stomach groaning from down the hall,” he replies with a slight smirk. “So, you’re going to eat whether you want to or not. I don’t need you getting any ideas about starving yourself until you’re skin and bones,” he says. “That’s not to say I wouldn’t still find you appealing, but I prefer the woman I love to be a touch livelier than that.”

Just when you think you’ve gotten over the last of the nausea, another wave rolls through you—you would rather be skin and bones than be anything that pleases him—but then the sickness is overpowered by a rush of gritty determination. 

“I don’t care what you like or prefer,” you spit back. “You want to dress me up and feed me as if you’re trying to play house, but I am not your girlfriend, I am not your wife, and I am not your toy. All you’ve done is kidnap me and put me through unbearable pain, so drop the bullshit.”

Jake’s fists are balled at his sides by the end of your words, face harshly contorted, eyebrows knitted, and the corners of his mouth tipping down. 

“You think I wanted you to hurt?” The low rumble of his voice shakes the walls. The vase of flowers on your other bedside table shatters. A small frame you’ve never noticed before falls from its hook and smashes to pieces on the stone flooring. “You think I enjoyed hearing your screams? I wish I could’ve taken it all away, but that's not possible!”

You stand sharply, sturdy despite the tremor of the floor, and try pushing him back, but he doesn’t budge this time. He’s like a brick wall, tall and six feet thick. 

“You could have left me alone!” Your fists slam into the rock-solid muscles of his arms and chest and shoulders; anywhere you can reach. “I’m not meant to be here! I don’t belong! I’m not supposed to be whatever the fuck you are, I'm supposed to be human!”

Jake snatches your wrists, presses them together, and wraps one large hand around both. Your eyes widen and wings fan out to keep you steady as you’re forced into a seated position on the mattress. The room descends into still silence, and with a tightening grip, Jake leans in until his nose nearly touches yours. 

“You are meant to be with me,” he growls. “You are my Angel, and you couldn’t return to your old life even if I released you. You are not human. This is your home now.”

You try your hardest to hold your position in the stare-off, but you're distracted by a bright red that begins to seep into the green of his eyes, like little tendrils slithering from the pupil and infecting the iris. It's barely noticeable, but it calls for you to back off, to stand down, and though you don’t want to, you have to look away. 

“I hate you,” you grumble.

Jake exhales heavily as he straightens to full height. “You will learn to love me,” he says. 

You look up to find all traces of that red gone. “How could I? Why would I even try?”

“Because I saved you from a miserable life in a useless world. Because no man could love you like I do,” he replies. “Because before you knew about any of this, you enjoyed having me in your bed.”

When he goes to tuck a stray piece of hair behind your ear with the hand not holding your wrists captive, you jerk your head to the side. “Bastard,” you mutter.

Jake chuckles dryly and releases you, but there is a warning in that chuckle, a threat in the way he frees your hands. You can feel it—how he wants you to understand that he will have no problem putting you in your place if you refuse to cooperate, but that for now, for reasons you’d be wise not to test, he's willing to be lenient.

“I don’t know what we are going to do about that rude mouth, Angel,” he says, crossing his arms. “I’m getting a bit sick of it.”

“Yea, well, then maybe you took the wrong girl.”

His lips pull into a closed-mouth grin as he stares down at you, almost in examination. After a few seconds, however, you realize it’s not examination, it’s adoration. He’s not scanning your face as if to memorize all of its fine details now that he has ample opportunity, he’s gazing appreciatively at what’s been previously memorized. As his eyes drink in your features, you’re starting to believe he could map them out in complete darkness if necessary; he could paint your portrait with no source of light. They follow the curl of your eyelashes, trace the bow of your lips, give attention to each faded freckle as if caressing a long-lost lover. 

“No, I didn’t,” is all he says before he turns and walks to the door. He pauses halfway through and points a finger at the tray of food. “Eat,” he demands. “And I want that attitude sorted out by the time I come back.”

Plucking a grape from the bunch, you hurl it his way as the door shuts behind him. You miss, of course. Because, somehow, he’s just a tad too quick. Somehow, he’s always one step ahead of you.

tags: @wkndwlff @kmc1989 @sagittarius-flowerchild @dempy @oliviah-25 @rosiahills22 @xoxabs88xox @matisse556 @hardballoonlove @lynnevanss @pono-pura-vida @tgmreader @amgluvsbooks @ravenhood2792 @djs8891 @shakespeareanwannabe @penguin876 @tgmavericklover @athenabarnes @emilyoflanternhill @wretchedmo @shanimallina87 @crowsreadsarahjmaas @mamachasesmayhem @sky2nd @jessicab1991 @rosedurin @averyhotchner @horseshoegirl @roosteraloha @b-bradshaw @fandom-life-12 @hookslove1592 @buckysteveloki-me

[growingwildgardens]

Winter Sowing 🥶🍀🪻

Winter sowing is the act of planting seeds, particularly native northern plants and those that require cold stratification, in mid-Winter, rather than waiting for warmer weather 🌬🌧❄️

Winter sowing has several benefits ☃️✅️

-Best way to awaken dormancy from native/northern seeds that require 1-3 months of cold stratification and moist soil, especially those that need a false spring and then return to cold (as we're likely to have several of these in Zone 8b)

-Allows early germination and success of the strongest seeds most suited to your local environment

-When done in jugs or some other type of mini-greenhouse increases the temperature, and increases how early and vigorously seeds germinate

-Allows you to have many of your flowers, bushes, and fruit trees planted very early (mid-January to early March) so you can focus on annual food crops as your yard or greenhouse warm up

It's also a pretty easy process, mostly done with recycled materials! ♻️

The easiest way to winter sow seeds is to save excess plastic jugs - milk, juice, even vinegar bottles - anything with clear or slightly opaque plastic 🫙

1. Rinse out your jugs, use a wood burner/heated screwdriver/whatever is easiest to poke holes in the bottom

2. Cut them roughly in half, leaving a good amount of space in the bottom area

3. Fill with soil, ideally deeper and with slightly more starting nutrients than a typical seed mix - this will give you flexibility to let things grow in and not need immediate up-potting

4. Scatter your chosen seeds - prioritize wildflowers, native bushes/trees, fruit trees, and anything that says it requires cold stratification. Avoid hot weather annuals like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants that will suffer in the cold nights

5. Cover very lightly with soil and water deeply, since this is a pretty closed system you'll only need to water about once a week until real growth or warmth sets in

6. Label inside and out, then use tape to reconnect the two halves. Put lids back on to retain heat and humidity, if can't be found can use styrofoam, aluminum foil, or plastic wrap rubber-banded on

Winter sowing is an easy process that let's you get a headstart on planting, increases germination rates in native plants and wildflowers, and uses recycled materials to grow more food 🌱🫐🍎🪻🌿

Message me for any questions, I'll discuss troubleshooting and alternatives later this week 💚

[ID: Two pictures; the first shows 3 1-gallon jugs, half full with dirt, and labeled things like "oregon grape" and "juneberries." The Second shows a long line of these jugs of varying types lined up against a garden fence, each closed and labeled.]

[silverynight]

Underworld

<--Previous

Part XXV

Before he can think about what he's going to tell Todoroki, Aizawa appears for Izuku's daily training.

"I think it's time to take you to the Olympus; Toshinori wants to train you too."

Izuku can't stop himself from beaming; Aizawa had told him that All Might wanted to train him, but it was difficult for him to believe it at the time.

Well, it still is.

However, it's a good thing that he's going to the Olympus because that way he can tell them both at the same time about the courtship.

He goes home quickly to say goodbye to his mother and promise her to be back at night.

The Olympus looks a little bit empty now that there's no party, but it's still very impressive and beautiful to look at.

There's some sort of garden with a golden apple tree in the middle of it all; Izuku can't help but stare at everything and notice how much life is in every inch of it.

He can feel it everywhere.

"Midoriya!" All Might is very different from Aizawa; he greets Izuku like they have known each other for ages and hugs him in such an enthusiastic way Izuku's feet stop touching the ground for a moment.

"You're going to crush him!" Aizawa scolds the other god after a while, although Izuku feels completely fine.

"It's a pleasure to see you again!" The demigod beams, slightly flustered.

"Are you ready to test your power against me?" All Might grins, posing like one of those statues the mortals have on his temples; he flexes his arms, showing off his muscles.

Izuku gets immediately nervous; he doesn't think he's ready to test his abilities against the king of the gods.

Aizawa rolls his eyes before standing in the middle of the two.

"No. There's not going to be any of that; we agreed." Aizawa sighs, looking like he's about to have a headache. "First, you're going to watch him train on his own so you can see his progress so far."

The fact that he's going to be aware of them watching him makes Izuku feel even more nervous, but he tries to focus.

He needs to know what kind of life grows in that garden; the plants and flowers are not used to Izuku's presence, but they welcome him anyway.

Izuku is not sure if it's because he has had a lot of practice or it's that life is buzzing with energy there, but it's easier to control. He manages to catch Aizawa once with vines, although he makes sure not to use thorns.

All Might puts a hand under his own chin and just as Izuku waits for him to point out everything he's doing wrong, he smiles and claps his hands together once.

"Let's eat!"

If he doesn't count that time at the party and when he was in the underworld, Izuku is almost sure he has never seen that much food on a table before.

Gods don't need to eat, but they still enjoy the taste of food. That's why a lot of the offerings mortals made to them are meat, grapes and sometimes wine and juice they make with their own hands.

"You have done an amazing job with the boy, Shota," All Might says after a while, making Izuku relax somewhat. However, when he turns around to face the demigod, he looks slightly more serious: "Even though you are obviously working on your technique and have better control over it, you still hesitate a lot, Midoriya."

Izuku turns slightly pink before looking down; he knows he's right.

"Don't be afraid of your own power, young Midoriya. I promise it won't betray you or consume you like you seem to believe."

Aizawa quirks a brow at the other god, almost as if he's quite surprised by his wisdom.

"And don't hesitate to use it on Shota!" All Might chuckles before giving the other god a slap on the shoulder that almost makes him fall face first over his own plate. "He can take it!"

Aizawa glares back at the blond god, but when he turns around to look at Izuku, his expression softens considerably.

"He's right. You shouldn't hesitate."

"Let's go back to training!"

"Wait," Izuku cuts in, looking at both of them. "I need to tell you something first."

He gets slightly nervous when he notices Aizawa's worried expression and All Might's excited grin.

"Kacchan is courting me!" Izuku blurts out, knowing that if he doesn't say it as soon as possible he never will.

"He's... WHAT?" All Might doesn't seem that happy about it. "But you're too young for that!"

Even though the god doesn't seem to agree with that, Izuku worries a bit more about Aizawa's eye twitching. He hasn't said a word, but it seems that whatever he's thinking is definitely nothing good.

Maybe he should've waited a little longer to tell them.

***

It's been a while and Aizawa is still pacing around the room; Izuku is not sure why he doesn't seem to like the idea of Katsuki courting him.

"It's okay!" All Might says then, he's not completely happy, but it seems he has come to terms with it. "I mean, young Bakugo is not bad! He doesn't like to come here often, but I know he takes care of his realm and the people in it quite well!"

Izuku is ready to agree and tell him how kind and gentle Katsuki actually is, but he realizes that All Might is talking to Aizawa.

The other god pauses, pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath before looking back at him.

"I know, I know," Aizawa sighs. "I don't have anything against Bakugo and he seems to have learned his lesson after what happened the first time, but..."

"You don't want Midoriya to suffer because you care about him," All Might says, surprising Izuku. "I care about him too."

The demigod feels the tears in his eyes before they start sliding down and he realizes he can't stop them.

Izuku already knew they cared about him; they wouldn't be there at the moment if that wasn't the case, but now he thinks that he doesn't quite understand how much they care. A couple of years ago, Izuku firmly believed that his mother was the only one who could care about him like that.

It seems he was completely wrong and he's never been happier to be wrong before.

He jumps into Aizawa's arms first, but this time the god immediately hugs him back.

"You still have to bring Bakugo here because I want to talk to him, alright?" He says after a while.

"Sure!" Izuku beams before giving another hug to All Might.

"Actually," Aizawa adds, almost like an afterthought. "I think it'd be better if he meets us in your mother's house in a couple of days, if your mother is okay with it."

Izuku nods, knowing his mother will agree.

"Great!" All Might cuts in, cracking his knuckles. "I have a couple of things to say to young Bakugo too!"

Even though they kinda said they're okay with the courtship, Izuku gets slightly nervous about the upcoming meeting, but he doesn't have time to think about it too much because Aizawa puts a hand on his shoulder.

"You still have to train, Midoriya. It's time you use your powers on Toshinori."

Right. Another thing to be nervous about. At least it takes his head off the courtship for a while.

Then he realizes that he's not a good opponent for All Might; the god defeats him every single time without breaking a sweat.

It's going to be a long day.

***

Next--->

Patreon

[hypnodigitalis]

My voice claim for Narinder!

Terrance Zdunich is best known for his role as Grave Robber from REPO: The Genetic Opera. This song from "The Devil's Carnival" is weirdly fitting for Narinder though!

Song: Grace for Sale by Terrance Zdunich

Here's the full art piece! It was a fun one, I think I've only drawn imprisoned Nari a couple times.

Lyrics under the cut

A sheep has left the fold

Hoof beats go trotting, trotting

Up to heaven, bold

At the gates, knocking knocking

Sheep in wolfish clothes

Holy jaws are dropping

Up in Heaven's hold

Plant my hooves, my hooks, my books

Once upon a time

Heaven was a towered tower

Tethered in its pride

Castor's grapes is sour, sour

My fairest wheels are turning

Thought the ink was dried

But hellish gardens flowered

Ivy to be climbed

Spread my filth, my wings, my weeds, my weeds

Hark! The angels wail

Bedtime is a-burning, burning

We've got grace for sale

How the worm is turning turning

Lay you down to sleep

With wicked little stories

Count your missing sheep

Shed my skin, my fleece, my sin, my worms

They burrow up the line

Serpents in the branches, branching

Up those crooked vines

Vultures of a feather hatching

Circus lullabies

Carousels are ramping up to heaven

I raise my hell, my cane, my stakes, my snakes

Tongues, tongues

Slither in the mud

That's how a carnival grows, my son

Tongues, tongues

Slither in the psalms

That's how a carnival grows!

All these fickle beasts

Heaven hath rejected, lapping

Glory from our teats

Each of them is tested, blessed

Cast out for your sin

Come here for redemption

We've got grace for cheap

We've got grace for cheap

Lest you end up bested, lost and torn to shreds, dissected

Tongues, tongues

Slither in the mud

Slither in the mud

Slither in the mud

That's how a carnival grows, my son

That's how a carnival grows

Tongues, tongues

Slither in the psalms

Slither in the psalms

Slither in the psalms

That's how a carnival grows, my son

That's how a carnival grows

Fa la la, it's off to hell we go

Cross your heart and hope to die

It's off to hell we go

Fa la la, it's off to hell we go

Stick a needle in your eye

It's off to hell we go

Fa la la, it's off to hell we go

Cross your heart and hope to die

It's off to hell we go

Fa la la, it's off to hell we go

Stick a needle in your eye

It's off to hell-

[frogandbird]

Garden Day

Splinter kept his pace steady as he prepped the fruit, cutting apple skins away and pealing oranges. kiwis were cut and grapes washed, all arranged on a snack plate with care.

He grabbed pretzels and an array of nuts, all in bowls on a tray. Water, juice, and cups were all grabbed.

Splinter balanced his two trays as he walked out of the kitchen, pitcher held by his tail.

The walk from the kitchen to the greenhouse was not long, turn a corner and walk down the hall.

Pushing out his nimpo to form one of his favorite extra limbs, a set of wings, they pushed the door outside open.

The sky was blue, a change the Boran had only just implemented into the farms wards. The wooden porch under him was soft, warn down from just how many people ran over it everyday. Even if it was only a few mouths old.

The false sun was warm, the cave itself warming in the early spring. He should check to see if they needed anything from the market, it owuld be nice to go for a walk.

Splinter turned when he reached the glass building, the door propped slightly open as bodies busted about inside. He could smell two, both of the plant oranted children making a home in the indoor garden.

The room was massive, though it was stuck between the main house and the twins room and shed. The glass roof wasn’t slanted, though some of the pallets could be lifted to let fresh air in.

The rows of plants were being tended by Raph when Splinter stepped in, the warmth of the outside doubled when he walked end into the greenhouse proper.

Splinter kept going, walking to the only clear table and setting their trays and the pitcher down, wings folding back into nothing. Raph was at his side quickly, a muttered thanks and hands already going for a cup.

Splinter hummed in affirmative, turning back around to try and find the other child.

Violet was at the far end of the greenhouse, partially hidden by the still growing tree. Hunched over a table and working on something with extra metal limbs as well as their organic hands.

Splinter huffed, rolling his eyes as roundly as he could. Back into the spiral.

Splinter walked forward, stopping next to the table to watch.

Violet was working on some kind of water system, all six hands working in sink. The four metal ones glowed faintly with nimpo.

“Violet.” Splinter spoke, leaning into the teenagers view.

Said teenage startled, almost dropping the filter in their hands.

“Papa.”

“I brought snacks. Please eat before you finish up.” Splinter nodded towards the table Raph was still at, eating apple slices and writing in a book of some kind.

Violet huffed once, slotted the filter into the device, and turned to walk to the table.

Splinter followed, more to make sure Violet didn’t double back.

“Hey Splints.” Raph spoke from his lemonade. “Where’s Berry? Said he was gonna help today.”

Splinter hummed, trying to remember where the other man had been.

“I believe he was helping Haru and El in the dojo, they were having trouble with a spell.” Splinter said, one ear flicking absently as a bee flew past.

Raph groaned, falling back dramatically onto the backing of the chair he was in. The baby blue metal creaked. Violet huffed again, shoving pretzels into their mouth.

“Do you want help..?” Splinter asked, leaning on the table.

“Yeah. Tie your hair up old man, you’re helping us.” Raph sat up, the same grin on his face as Splinters middle daughter.

Splinter shook his head, but did tie his hair into a loose braid as the children finished snacking.

Over the next few hours, Splinter helped Raph prep garden beds for fresh crops, move old crates out to the coop, mix dirts and fertilizers, and check on seeds and sprouts.

Violet had them help with putting in new filters and pipes, helping take notes on paper of all the digital records, a service Sky had pushed them to do; helped fix anything Violet deemed broken, and clean.

By the time it was start to start dinner, Splinter was rubbing dirt onto his pants legs, attempting to get semi clean before he left to start on thats meal.

A green scaled and freckled face poked in from the door, chirping happily. Splinter returned the noise with his own hum, joining Mikey at the door.

“We started on dinner, lil me is insistent of fresh noodles though and we need flour.” Mikey chirped, leaning into the head pat Splinter offered.

“I will grab some, anything else?” Splinter spoke as they walked back out onto the porch, waving at the two children who were still at it on the gardening.

“Uhh,” Mikey buffered as they reached the side door into the kitchen. “O! We need anything else!?” Was shouted in his ear, bus Splinter ignored the volume.

*Greens for the salad!* Was the returning shout, Splinter already on the wya to the cabinet where they held baskets and tradables.

*I’ll be home soon then.* Splinter called, leaning on the doorframe for only a moment.

*Thanks Daddy!*

Splinter just laughed as pink sunlight hit his face.

He did get it go to the market after all today.

@tmnt-splinterweek

[the-habitat-ring]

The (Real) Stardew Valley Farm Update 2024

I’m wrapping up my third year trying to grow everything from Stardew Valley in our yard, with substitutions as needed, preferably with Midwest USA native plants.

I’m continuing to battle the invasive plants (why won’t the honeysuckle and thistles stop?????), beg for truckloads of woodchips (Google decided our address isn’t real anymore), and deal with a body and brain that makes going outside impossible sometimes (the past two years have been rough medically). But despite all of that I still managed to make a ton of progress!

Here’s how things stand as of now. If you’re looking back at previous posts you might notice some differences, but that’s mainly because things I planted died (drought + medical crises don’t bode well for newly established plants). I’ve also added the additional crops from the new update.

2021

Amaranth - Native white amaranth

Grape - Native riverbank grapes (so many grapes). I’m hopefully going to successfully propagate some cuttings from the neighbor’s green cultivated variety

Dandelion - Obviously

Maple Tree - Native silver, red, and sugar maples

Pine Tree - Douglas fir

Apple Tree - Three old apple trees of different varieties in very rough shape. I’ve been working to prune them up and two are looking a lot better. I’d love an Enterprise apple tree at some point

Coffee Bean - Chicory (a naturalized plant commonly used as a coffee substitute)

Salmonberry - Native black raspberries since salmonberries aren’t from around here, although I really want to add raspberries of various colors in the future

Starfruit - Native wood sorrel

Cave Carrot - Queen Ann’s Lace, AKA wild carrot

2022

Kale

Rhubarb

Strawberry - Both cultivated and native

Tulip

Radish

Tomato

Eggplant

Fairy Rose - Native prairie rose

Cranberries - Native cranberry viburnum

Orange Tree -Native persimmons, which produce orange fruit

Daffodil

Spring Onion - Native nodding onions

Spice Berry - Native spicebushes

Wild Plum - Native plums

Crocus

Cherry Tree - Native black cherries and nonnative bush cherries

Banana Tree - Native pawpaws, which are also known as Indiana bananas

Sweet Gem Berry - Native Juneberry (Downy Serviceberry)

2023

Garlic - Native wild garlic

Blueberries - I planted three varieties and only one survived. Don’t shortcut your bed preparation, friends

Wild Horseradish - Not wild, but contained with my mint

Hops - Teamaker hops which is good for tea since we’re not alcohol fans

2024

Blue Jazz - Native Ozark Bluestar

Beets

Apricot Tree - Native passionflower vine, also known as wild apricot

Sunflower - Both native and non-native sunflowers

Pumpkin

Cactus Fruit - Native prickly pear cactus

Melon - Cantaloupe

Oak Tree - Native dwarf chinquapin oak, which took me forever to get

Hot Pepper

Palm Tree/coconut - Native palm sedge

Poppy - Native purple poppy mallow, after other native poppies failed. I still want to grow bread seed poppies, though

Corn - Tried some gorgeous colored corn and popcorn that didn’t grow great but they did grow!

Green bean

Hazelnut - They’re supposed to be easy to grow but they do not like me. Third time’s the charm, right?

Carrot

Summer squash

Powder melon - I decided to do honeydew melon because it’s kinda powdery and I don’t really have any other ideas

Planned for 2025 and beyond

Potato

Pineapple - White strawberries (pineberries)

Winter Root - Hopniss, a native root vegetable

Red Cabbage

Artichoke - Native Jerusalem artichokes

Yam

Bok Choy

Leek

Fiddlehead Fern - Ferns do not like me

Blackberry

Crystal Fruit - Probably honey berries, which produce fruit earlier than anything else

Ancient Fruit - Native Aronia berries. They’re blue(ish) and have lots of antioxidants so you live to be ancient

Tea Leaves - Native New Jersey Tea bush. The previous ones were murdered by rabbits

Mango Tree - I thought one of our pawpaws was a variety called mango but I was wrong

Ginger - I want to try growing native wild ginger again

Rice - Native rough-leaved rice grass

Wheat - I have some gorgeous ornamental blue wheat seeds

Summer Spangle - Possibly native prairie lily? I was unsuccessful growing it from seed this year but maybe in the future

Parsnip - I can’t get them to germinate to save my life but one day I will be successful

Sweat pea

Holly - Native winterberry holly

Mushrooms - I'm just gonna ignore varieties and try some plugs or similar

Peach - Vine peach. It’s a melon, and more doable than a tree

Mahogany Tree - I think I’ll resort to mahogany nasturtiums

Broccoli

Pomegranate Tree - I could try Russian pomegranates?

Taro Root - I would have to plant it in pots

Snow Yam - Not actually a yam but maybe native sweet potato vine?

Qi Fruit - Very creepy, not sure what to do with this

Over halfway there! If anyone has suggestions for plants please let me know because I’m still stuck on a few and very open to alternatives.

In other news, I’m making Stardew Valley Fair displays with cross stitch patches for each of the items I’ve added that year. I’ll have to post pics of those at some point.

[dark-elf-writes]

Also just thinking of the twins’ powers in general for the transmasc Percy AU.

Like I’ve mentioned a few times that Castor has some control over madness that he hides because he thinks people would be scared of him but I think Pollux also hides the majority of his powers from everyone that isn’t his brother and Percy because it makes sense that they are two sides of the same coin and the jump from Revelry to Madness isn’t a very big one.

So the twins pretend that their only power is their limited control over plants and no one really notices how Pollux’s eyes are particularly bright and tinged purple when nights around the bonfire get particularly rowdy or how the people who tried to kill Castor in the battle of the labyrinth fall to hysterics, cackling even as they started to claw at their own faces. They’re just Dionysus kids after all. Nothing special.

(Percy notices. Percy sees them like no one else ever has. Percy who smuggles in grape juice and has the three of them lock themselves into the twin’s cabin to see if they had some limited control over liquids as well. Percy who throws his head back and laughs loudest, who shouts the campfire songs even louder, to watch as Pollux’s grin gets wider and wider and his eyes grow ever brighter. Percy who cut down the people who tried to kill his friend both for revenge and to keep castor’s secret until his friend was comfortable sharing it.)

[luneandbarbecue]

How about pur beloved Genesis for the headcanon ask game?

(Tumblr mobile has an inconvenient copy-paste system so I just swapped the prompt titles to the appropriate headcanon)

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

The bougainvillea remains to this day his favourite flower. Even if Banora carries a lot of childhood baggage for him, he still remembers those flowers fondly, growing up amongst them along with the apple trees.

Post!Dirge, he feels an explicit sadness knowing he burned those climbing blooms when they had constantly watched over him. They were there when he’d read, cry, or play with Angeal. The bougainvillea were victims of his wrath, they were innocent…

He planted a cutting to the ground one day, on a day he had chosen specifically to mourn his friends annually. Genesis’ tears fell to the soil as his bare hands dug into the earth and covered the roots as he cried bitterly. For years it weaved itself on the stone and brick walls, its branches reaching for the sun like outstretched hands.

That bougainvillea tree stood till the end of time, perhaps outliving Genesis himself.

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

(To be honest, I think it’s realistic)

He was in charge of training the soldiers to sing in a special Shinra event. He had his… methods.

Headcanon A: realistic.

(CW: emetophobia)

Genesis thought he’d lost his budding friendship with Angeal once when he was a kid. When eating together, Genesis playfully took Angeal’s grapes as he was chased by his friend and ate one of the berries. Being poor, Angeal is protective of his food, so he freaked out and pushed Genesis down. Genesis thought they were having fun, so he was startled seeing his new friend mad, crying and upset. Angeal ran away.

Genesis cried out to him to come back, but to no avail, so the young boy was a sobbing mess, thinking that he had lost his one, only true friend because he was a worthless bully destined to be alone forever. He was so scared that he grabbed a bunch of food from the pantry to give to Angeal.

Gillian was the one who opened the door for him and when he entered the Hewley’s house, that’s when Genesis began connecting the dots about his friend’s situation. As his guilt began to well, Gillian called Angeal inside the house, who was helping his dad out. There, Genesis apologised for yanking his food from him and brought food from his house to make it up to his friend.

“Can we… still be friends?”

Genesis was prepared to hear a no, but he feels Angeal pull him close in an embrace, saying that he forgives him and is happy he came to apologise. Angeal’s dad commends the boys for making amends, telling Genesis that he’s did the right thing. Genesis sobbed so hard, that the stress he accumulated from his terror had him vomit on the floor.

“I’ll… clean that up,” said Angeal’s dad, as his son rubbed his friend’s back and his wife wiped Genesis’ mouth.

The boys grew closer after this event and got to know each other’s boundaries. And in the manufacturing of Banora White juice, Genesis hopes that he has also alleviated the financial burden on the Hewley’s as well so that they could eat.

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

In my Distant Kind Future AU, Sephiroth’s daughter (Wendy) has a friend named Jenina (who is coincidentally called Jenny or Jen) by everyone else. Jenny is also a theatre kid who loves LOVELESS and successfully won her audition for a role she wanted in the community theatre. However, she knows that the male lead is going to be played by a boy she absolutely HATES and wants him out of the way.

Jenny begs Genesis to audition for the role, because he’s amazing and more handsome and wants that TWAT out of her breathing space.

He raises an eyebrow.

“Are you saying that you want me to sacrifice half my own year to back your petty mission against one single boy you dislike?”

Guilty and ashamed, Jenny looks down and nods her head.

“Yeah… s-sorry, that was wrong of me. I need to be more mature.”

Genesis grins.

“Lift up your head child. You are to be commended for acknowledging competence. Let’s humble this brat.”

He absolutely kills that audition and outperforms the boy. His mother is outraged at him for taking her darling child’s place, but Genesis doesn’t care. He has an absolute blast singing and performing with his new little friend.

[livealittleoc-cb]

“Trip to the club tonight?~ How sweet of you to invite me.~”

Basic Information

☽｡⋆ Name: Dionysus | Human Name: Theodore Angelos

☽｡⋆ Species: Greek God; God of Wine, Pleasure, Festivity, Madness, Wild Frenzy, Theatre, Fertility && Vegetation

☽｡⋆ From Thebes, Greece [The Human Equivalent to Grail Fra in Astria] [His Human Form was raised in Queens, New York] [Human Form]; Ancient Greek Realm [Originally]

☽｡⋆ He/They | Pansexual, Polyamorous | 28 [Human Age; 12/21, Sagittarius], As Old as Wine, Desires && Madness | 6’2”

☽｡⋆ Occupation: Cafe Owner

☽｡⋆ “Human” Appearance: tan/bronze skin, short length wavy/curly brown hair, heterochromatic eyes [one wine red && one grape purple], has scattered unimportant tattoos on his chest && back, a tattoo sleeve of the Virgo constellation on his left arm && a leopard pattern sleeve on his right leg, has an eyebrow piercing on his left eyebrow && a dermal piercing on his right hand below his thumb above his wrist, wears very masculine presenting clothes, button ups normally unbuttoned at the top, slacks, jeans, t-shirts, gym attire, sneakers, boots, shirtless a lot of the time, wears a lot of rings [doesn’t like too many accessories], paints his nails black or red sometimes [at the club might wear some eye makeup but only limited to the club], wears a lot of reds

☽｡⋆ God Appearance && Information: God of Wine, Pleasure, Festivity, Madness, Wild Frenzy, Theatre, Fertility && Vegetation, feeds off the energy of wine making/drinking, sex && parties, his eyes turn blood red when feeding, normally can be seen in clubs && wineries, normally can be seen carrying a thyrsos [a pine cone tipped staff] or harp && a drinking cup; 7’2”, bronzed skin, short wavy light brown hair, white or purple eyes, has one tattoo on his wrist that says ‘Bravery & Sacrifice’, no piercings, wears masculine presenting clothes [in Astria wears what she wears in her human form], normally completely naked or wears a toga, wears a crown of ivy, nails are permanently painted red && purple, is followed by Satyrs, Mainades [Wild female devotees] or Wild Big Cats, wears a lot of purples, reds && whites

☽｡⋆ Personality: calm, chill, level headed, kinda emotionally constipated, a tease, party animal, lazy, horny™️, blunt, carefree, dramatic

☽｡⋆ Likes: wine, crackers, cheese, coffee, sleeping, naps, cats, the gym, parties, night clubs, cigarettes, salmon, corner stores, yayas [they’re sweeties], shades of red, umami && salty food

☽｡⋆ Dislikes: being sick, flus, colds, small cuts, annoying people, emotional vulnerability, lightweights [depends how annoying/lovingly]

Fun Facts

✮ Pet[s]: Ragdoll Cat [Snowcone🐈] ✮ Languages: Greek, English [Greek Accent, Switches to a New Yorkian Accent When Angry or Annoyed]; As a god he knows all languages but sticks to where his human form is from ✮ Abilities: Can Turn Liquids to Wine/Alcohol, Grow Grape Vegetation/Help With Grape Plants, Create Sexual/Frivolous/Etc Thoughts && Dreams, Dream && Thought Invasion, Sets Up the Best Parties/Celebrations, Create Madness in Others ✮ Love Language[s]: Gift Giving && Acts of Service [Giving], Quality Time && Physical Touch [Receiving] ✮ He normally feeds and gains power from drinking wine/alcohol but is most powerful at Clubs, Parties && Sleeping Around [His eyes turn a Blood Red when feeding] ✮ He can sense && smell certain emotions; Specifically lust ✮ His eyes can change color depending on mood; royal purple [happy], glow red [anger], one pink the other lavender [sadness] ✮ When angered enough he can go into a stage of madness, this madness can spread to others around him [He can also spread madness without being angry or annoyed] ✮ Has an average amount of strength compared to other gods && greater than humans ✮ Like other gods he has lived multiple human lives ✮ Has massive hands ✮ Even though you normally see him with just rings you can see a gold necklace with the Virgo constellation on it ✮ Is not on good terms with Zeus, his dad; he was much closer to his mum ✮ He was engaged to the Satyr Ampellos in Ancient Greece before he passed away ✮ In the 20-30s was a Medic for the Italian Mafia, in the 80s for the Valentzas Organization [Greek Mafia] ✮ Him and Hermes are best friends in Ancient Greece and reunited in the orphanage ✮ Around 2014 he took on the role of a ring fighter after coming out of the orphanage ✮ Snow has been different big cats in the past, in Ancient Greece was a Leopard, later on a Lioness && Panther now a House Cat ✮ Tends to be compared to a Great Dane ✮ Smells like fine wine && grapes or coffee, roses, && cologne [light hints of cigarette smoke] ✮ Is the protective embrace of strong arms wrapped around you

NSFW

☽｡⋆ Hard/Lazy Dom && Power Bottom [Doesn’t Sub Easily or Give Control Up Easily, Can with Trust, Tends to do Stuff from the Bottom by can Top]; Oral [Giving && Receiving], Pet Play [Giving, Be His Bunny or Kitten], Marking [Giving && Receiving], Breeding [Giving], Size Kink, Squirting [Receiving], Public, Impact Play [Giving], Praise [Giving && Receiving], Degradation [Giving], Hair Pulling [Giving && Receiving], Body Worshipping [Receiving && Giving], Toys [Giving], Shibari [Giving && Receiving], Choking [Giving], Forced Submission [Only When Close!], Spit Play, Wax Play [Giving && Receiving], Overstimulation [Giving && Receiving], Edging [Giving && Receiving], Mirror Sex, Somnophilia [Giving && Receiving], Corruption [Giving], Dacryphilia, Gagging [Giving], Exhibitionism [Including Being Recorded], Voyeurism, Cum Play, Fingering [Giving], Blindfolding [Giving && Receiving], Dirty Talk [Giving && Receiving] [He's open to all and any kink, hard or soft.]

☽｡⋆ Hard Nos: feet, watersports, wasteplay

☽｡⋆ Both eyes turn a ruby red when arroused

☽｡⋆ Safe Word: Grapes

☽｡⋆ Uses 🍷 on Dash

Relationships && Statuses

☽｡⋆ Planning a New Menu, Calm

☽｡⋆ Happily Dating Ace [Heart Baby💖] with @monsterhigh-cb Hongjoong [Puppy🐶] [They’ll take ONE [1] more partner together [1/1]] [02/22/23]

☽｡⋆ Happily Dating [2/4]: @welcome-to-maniac Hyunjin [Crescent Moon Eyes🌙][04/30/23]; Amused by @kardpackcb Jiwoo [Princess👑]

☽｡⋆ Friends: Hermes [Best Friend, Dumbass Bird🩵], Cupid [Baby Arrow🏹], Aphrodite [Miss Lioness🦁], Eros [Kind of Friend🤨], Venus [Sweetheart💕], Ampelos [Ex-Fiancé, Complicated, Honey Pie🍯]

☽｡⋆ Tags: #🍷dionysus.txt [General Interaction Tag], #🎶dionysus music [Music Inspiration], #🍷dionysus wants [Outside Reblogs], #��snowcone.txt [Snowcone’s Tag], #🍾happy birthday idiot [27th Birthday Tag, 12/21/23], #🍇happy birthday desires holder [28th Birthday Tag, 12/21/24], #💙❤️joongdi [Puppy’s Ship Tag], #⚡️🐶lightning puppy [Puppy’s Ship Tag], #💙❤️🩷joongdice [Puppy Throuple Tag], #🤍❤️hyundi [Pretty Ferret Ship Tag], #🌕🎨my moon [Pretty Ferret Ship Tag]

☽｡⋆ Dionysus is open for One Night Stands && Friends with Benefits!

☽｡⋆ Faceclaim: @/whoiskir on Instagram, Other[s]: @/leoskepi on TikTok [his literal vibe twin]

[t-mblr-begone]

HI I JUST FINISHED TNG AND AM AUTISTIC I NEED TO TALK (warning long ass post, ramblings)

Q in his stupid fucking judge outfit???? Oh my god i love him so much?? And like?? I dont even think he wanted to put picard on trial at the end he says it was the continuums orders so did he even want to do that too him? Who knows!! We do know hes gay as shit though oh my god. I love him.

The past, the Encounter At Farpoint, picard yelling for Q on the bridge and everyone probably thinking hes insane. Picard not telling any of them whats going on, even though it doesnt affect the other timelines. Tasha Yar???? Hi Tasha!!!!!! Worf with his old sash, the old uniforms, the shitty dress deanna wore in the first episode (it slayed), data being. So autistic. Liek actually hold on can i talk about tha

This episode, with all its converging timelines, really shows how data grows- not just as a character just in general, as the years go by on the ship, he starts understanding idioms, somewhat. He. He gets more human. He really does. His movements more fluid, hes smarter. He really does grow, something about his neural net constantly evolving or something. Oh my god.

The shitty future?? Worf liking Deanna Romantically Cannon??? Riker was still holding on to the relationship this whole time?? (I never noticed really. Im. Autistic.) PICARD AND CRUSHER GOT MARRIED. And then divorced BUT STILL. Picard back on earth?? Tending to what i can only assume to be grape plants or something, like his brother. Data teaches at Cambridge. He has grey hair, thinks it makes him more distinguished. Geordi has eyes! Like in two different timelines he has eyes.

Thats another thing actually, like i could have sworn at least in the earlier seasons, he didnt want. Eyes? I thought?? But like. It seems like a minor Thing, cause it showed up in that one Riker Gets Kidnapped By A Child Alien Because Its Lonely episode. And again here, and probably other places i can't remember because ive consumed all of tng in 2 months.

The present. I dont have shit to say about that actually. It sure is season 7.

OH MY GOD THE BEGINNING OF THW EPISODE BEFORE Q REAVEALS HIMSELF?? How we dont know if he Is travelling through time or if hes Going Senile. The cuts?? I mean the cuts through the whole episode is so good the cinematography in general!!!! Oh my god. The close ups, the panning, THE ACTING?? TASHA YAR??? EARLY WORF? OLD WORF? I like worf. GEORDI? DATA???? love brett spiner.

And i mean who remembers the judge scene from the first episode at this point? The foreshadowing with the jury(?)/audience(?) i didnt even. Realize until they put Picard on the stand again.

DEANNA BEING FUCKING DEAD IN THE FUTURE HELLO?????????????

Oh my god but the end scene. The end shot of the poker game? Imagine seeing the future, all your friends, drifted apart, tense at each other with worf and riker. Seeing that. And then coming back to reality, to Your Time. And seeing your friends as they are right then. Why didnt picard join them for poker?

No like actually. Did. Did he have a reason for that? Some like, weird captain thing? Or like. Some weird barrier wall thing? Thing where he feels like he should isolate himself.

But the point is, he joins his friends for some poker, i dont think he had probably played poker in years. Its just. Amazing.

You know. I think this is one of the first times ive seen her again and not cried, which is progress because every other time it was. Not great.

But now that tngs over

Hey does tumblr have a word limit? We're about to find out.

But now that tngs over, theres still a lot i have to ask. Like why the fuck did they do that to wesley? Do we see wesley again? Is still dont know who b-4 is. Whats Ro doing now? Is she good? Do we see her again? Does she know kira? Do ro and kira meet? Probably not actually. Itd probably be cool though. Do worf and deanna get married? Please. I ne- oh wait no they cant bc worf has a thing with jadzia at some point. What the fuck is up with worf and jadzia? And also where is alexander now? When does worf join ds9? Probably season 3 idk. Or Barclay? Cheif o'brien? Cause the show ran concurrently for a bit. WHY DONR WORF AND DEANNA GET MARRIED THEYRE LIKE PERFECT???? What the fuck is that guy with the ears damar? Gamar? I think its damar? Idk. Why he look like that? IS RO GOING TO DIE??

Oh hey i get to meet sisko, hes cool. He gets like visions or some shit. Q doesnt like him i think "picard never hit me ):" "im not picard."

Q and Quark. Odo and Q. Do we get to see the cunty judge outfit again? Why does he have a mustache when hes boxing sisko or whatever?

OH I GET TO SEE FUCK ASS DUKAT THEOW DARTS AT HIM EVIL. Fun.

Okay yeah im done

[merrimentsmight]

Cicero and Listener gathering flowers for Mother, then killing people who're bounty hunting the Listener and then just having a cute camp/picnic while still covered in blood,,,,, that's my favourite daydream of Cici

Mother needed dragon's tongue, Cicero said. He would always bring her flowers, and make sure they were fresh and fragrant. It was sweet, and it made him happy. The Listener suspected it made Mother happy, too. So they were picking dragon's tongue off the side of the road south of Windhelm. The Listener was being careful, picking only a few blossoms from each plant to keep them growing and healthy. Cicero was less calculating, and picked whichever ones he thought best, even if that was every flower the plant had to offer. When they had a full basket of flowers, the Listener rested, sitting on the side of a stone ledge, and began to pick wild jazbay grapes, popping some of the sweet berries into their mouth and adding some to the over-crowded basket.

Cicero kept gathering flowers. They watched him flit about in the late afternoon sun, mumbling and laughing to himself and looking, gods bless him, content. “And there was the one with the, no, no that won't do, too crass. Oh, terribly, terribly crass. But perhaps if I reworded it...” he mumbled to himself, following a train of thought whose beginning and end were as obfuscated to himself as anyone else. They were so caught up in looking at him that they didn't notice the quickly approaching footsteps on the road behind them, despite the fact that they were far from stealthy.

“Well!" said Cicero sharply, catching the Listener's attention, “It looks like we have company. Should Cicero set another place at the table?” The rest of the world came back into focus, and they hopped off of the ledge to stand next to him.

“Perhaps it's nothing," they said, as the group approached, "perhaps they'll just keep walking.” They both hoped that it was not nothing, and that they would be stupid enough to make trouble. They both got their wish.

“You! We know who you are,” said one of them, a thick-accented Dunmer near the front.

"Oh?” They asked, clutching the basket of flowers like an innocent youth. A sentiment undercut by Cicero's grim laughter.

“Yeah.” He returned, stepping dangerously closer, “and ever since what you did to the Emperor you've got a mighty fine price on your head, too.” He was in leather armor, as were most of his cadre, and the leather was from cows and not netches. They hadn't traveled too terribly far for the bounty. The Listener wondered how far rumors had spread, and who was spreading them. They had gone to great lengths to remove witnesses in the past.

“Do you have proof, or are you going to execute me on your hunch alone?” They asked.

“Please. You have the jester with you. There's only one little redheaded jester in all of Skyrim, far as I know, and he's your one.”

“Oh! Cicero feels terribly special,” he said, knives already drawn. But he did like that idea of possession, that even strangers knew who he was, and who the Listener was, and that he was theirs.

The Listener smiled in that way they did, sharp and nasty, that made Cicero's heart start beating even faster than the thrill of the impending fight did. The good name of the Dark Brotherhood had been tarnished so badly that these poor men had no idea what they were up against. The man reached for the sword on his belt, and Cicero, like a well trained attack dog, pounced.

He cut the man's throat before anyone knew what was happening. A spray of blood issued from the wound and covered Cicero and the Listener and the basket of flowers, which the Listener set gingerly behind them before drawing their own weapons and advancing to join Cicero in the throng. They made quick work of the rest of the bounty hunters, who reacted slowly, as if they had been expecting the assassins to surrender when outnumbered.

“Mash and bash and swipe and clash! Ha!” laughed Cicero, sidestepping to avoid overturning the discarded baskets of flowers, “nobody gets the best of the Dark Brotherhood.” The Listener allowed themself to laugh with him. When it was all said and done, they were ringed by the bodies of the dead and dying, sitting among the flowers and leaning on each other to laugh like children. By the time they stopped fighting, and then stopped laughing, the moons had come out.

“Oh,” said the Listener, pushing away from where Cicero had clutched them in his helpless mirthful peals, “I suppose we'll have to set up here for the night.”

“Mmhm,” said Cicero, still giggling. He lowered his bloody head onto their lap and popped a blood-splattered grape from their basket into his mouth. “Whatever you say, my Listener.”

[thriftingfreak]

Nothing Lasts Forever

Pairing: Luke Castellan x female ares!reader

Summary: Some moments in time where Luke and you can’t seem to figure out how you feel about one another. Part 1??? Maybe more if y’all like it!

Warnings: Yearning. Pretty much a yearning page at this point. Also a lot of background building. My bad yall. This is so long i’m sorry _____________________________________

the very first night

The day you rolled into camp is a day that will go down in infamy.

At least, for Luke it would.

There was no day he would ever remember more clearly.

The sun rose among the clouds beating down upon the plethora of kids and teenagers. He could remember helping some of the younger Demeter and Dionysus kids in the fields with their different crops ranging from strawberries to the beloved camp grapes. Luke wasn’t the biggest fan of grapes himself but he never turned down one from a Dionysus kid.

“Yes, those look perfect Courtney” A grin spread wide across his face as he watched the girl pluck a perfectly ripe strawberry from the plant. If anyone knew how to grow good fruit, it was a Demeter kid.

As he stood up, he brushed his khaki shorts clear of dirt. A flash of a shadow appeared from the corner of his eye. As he turned around, he came eye to eye with a very bewildered face.

“Where am I?” You muttered out. You bent over, placing your hands on your knees. He could tell that you had been running from something terrifying enough to prompt the expression.

“Camp Half-Blood” was all Luke could muster up.

“What?” Oh, this poor girl had no idea how her life was about to change.

“Are you okay?” Luke asked, looking you up and down. Your jean shorts were slashed and your right elbow looked like it had been burned.

You looked up after catching your breath, you shook your head. It was a dumb question, because anyone could see you clearly weren’t doing too great. To this day Luke still felt embarrassment from it.

But even with your confusion and aloofness, you followed him to the infirmary and get the cuts and gashes cleaned up.

Your feet dragged along the path, a couple feet behind him. When Luke turned around, your eyes were pointed toward the ground to the mud stained tennis shoes.

He wanted to explain Camp Half-Blood and every single thing that came with it, the good and the bad. Although now definitely wasn’t the best time. He was afraid you would burst into tears or worse, start hitting him. Luke learned that some of the campers react in that manor, the hard way. Thoughts rattled his brain trying to figure out the best decision.

“Why are you staring at me? Never seen a girl been chased by a big ass bear before?” you snipped at him. At least she wasn’t crying, he thought.

“Uh, actually I have” Luke smiled at you, hoping you would appreciate the sentiment.

You did not. A scowl festered on your face. Maybe from all this anger you’d end up being an Ares kid.

This thought process would prove him to be correct.

Entering the infirmary, he guided you over to a room with several beds. Collapsing on one of them, you shoved your shoes off. You brought your knees to your chest, staring at the ceiling. It was difficult to comprehend the sudden and profound change in your life. Luke knew the feeling all too well.

Luke sat down in the chair across from you. He watched you, almost with care. You seemed to notice though because you immediately sat up.

“Is someone going to explain what’s going on here?” He noticed the sudden quietness in your voice.

Taking a deep breath Luke started the same speech he gave every new camper, with some exceptions. He left out minor details usually directed toward young campers. You clearly weren’t young, at least 16 or 17. Pretty old for a new camper but hey, Luke didn’t discriminate. A part of him didn’t want to scare you away with all of the knew information, leading to little white lies.

“I’ll give you a tour tomorrow morning of camp but I think you should just rest up for now” Luke stood up, walking toward the door. As much as he wanted to stay, he knew the Apollo kids had to do their job.

“Oh by the way” He turned around to face you, “I’m Luke.”

You gave him a curt nod before shutting the door in his face. __________________________________________

a place in this world

It took a couple of months but it finally seemed like you were settling in. Even though your mom had told you about the Gods and Goddesses and how your father was a God, you didn’t have the heart to believe her. That was, until a hairy brown creature was chasing after you.

For the first time in weeks you noticed you didn’t wake up with a heavy heart, missing home.

Someone else noticed it too.

Luke, very slowly, had built up your trust. He really was a good guy, even though he annoyed the piss out of you at first. Countless lonely nights in the Hermes cabin had been made better by him. He would listen to you complain about everything and cry over missing your mom.

That was until an intense game of flag football concluded in being claimed.

After Chris had thrown the ball to some poor Athena kid, you chased after him. Yanking the strap around his waist so hard it sent him flying into the ground. When the ball launched up in the air, you had caught it, sprinting so hard you thought you were going to throw up. In the end, it didn’t end up counting as a point for your team, to your disappointment. Although when a red holographic boar appeared over your head, peace finally seemed to settle in your heart.

The Athena kid did end up in the infirmary after the game but in your defense no one had explained the rules of flag football to you.

On the other hand being claimed meant moving out of the Hermes cabin. In some ways, this was an upside. No more blue dye in your shampoo or whip cream on your face. You wouldn’t feel like you wanted to drown the Stoll brother.

The one who was affected by your claiming the most though was no other than Luke. So many warm nights of your body heat radiating off of his own were no longer. He couldn’t reach out to you in the dark anymore. Now it’s for the better, he thought.

Even with these bubbling feelings, he couldn’t force himself to come to terms with them. They would sit in the back of his throat, burning and itching. But maybe the pain was worth it.

That night he helped you pack your things up to move in with your newfound siblings.

“I wonder why it took so long to get claimed” You wondered out loud, shoving your childhood teddy bear into your backpack.

“The Gods do everything on their own time” Luke’s face fell into a solemn stare. You knew it was a touchy subject for him, specifically his own father. Ares may not have been the best shoulder to lean on but in his own ways he still managed to beat out Hermes by a mile.

Doing your best to shake his mind from it you said, “Did you see Bryce though? I really didn’t mean to yank him so hard” You smiled at Luke and in return you were granted the smallest laugh.

The next morning, you were itching to hang out with your friends (and distance yourself a tad from your brand new siblings). It was a group Luke got along with, but didn’t care much for. Gods knows why. Of course, however, your new found sister Clarisse remained a part of the friend group and Luke never really liked her. She was soft with you and some of your other siblings but rarely anyone else.

The rocky path crumbled under your shoes as you made your way to dinner. You swung your water bottle around your hands before spotting a warm and familiar face.

“Hey Poppy” a smile broached your face. You linked arms with the daughter of Athena. Even though you loved your friendship with Luke, Poppy was your number one. She had only been here for a month before your arrival, causing a very tight knitted bond between the two of you.

“How was the first night in the Ares cabin?” Sharing a look, you both knew the answer. You shrugged. There wasn’t much to share. Your brothers and sisters didn’t seem to hold their rage as well as you thought they might. Arguments ended in screaming matches. Or a dagger being thrown.

“Listen, I’m hot-headed but they really take it to the next level” You both giggled.

Right before you stepped up to the pavilion, Poppy unhooked your arms, turning to face you. “Are you sitting with us today or,” she paused and in air quotes she said “Lukie Pookie?”

Ah yes, the nickname everyone around camp designated upon him. You knew Poppy meant no harm by it but even just by the mention of him, it felt like a pillow smashed your stomach.

Brushing it off you quickly looked around for him, “I was planning on sitting with you guys and I don’t even think he’s here yet.”

Poppy raised an eyebrow and pointed to the curly haired boy across the pavilion. Shrugging once more, you grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the opposite side of the benches.

Your friends, a cluster of kids from different cabin, were gathered in their usual spot. Before you could even sit down, someone called out your name. Whipping around, it seemed as if the curly haired boy teleported.

“Speak of the devil” Poppy muttered. You lightly smacked her shoulder.

“Hey” A soft smile graced Luke’s lips, “Mind if I sit?”

Interesting.

His eyes lingered in yours for a moment before you shook yourself out of it.

“Of course!” You patted the spot next to you. You mouthed a quick ‘sorry’ to the group, just incase.

A flash of hesitation crossed his eyes but he plopped down anyway.

“Mhm! I’ve been meaning to ask you Luke” your friend Ben started “I was wondering if you could help me with my swordsmanship?”

Luke nodded quickly before turning to face you. It was the signal that he wasn’t interested in the conversation. Although you knew Ben would pry about it later as Ben was also a child of Hermes.

But he didn’t see things in the way you did. Instead Luke focused on how your hair fell in front of your eyes. It took everything he had in him to not move it. Others around him could talk and talk and talk but he was only ever focused on you. Over and over again he chose you. But what were best friends for, right? __________________________________________

snow on the beach

The sound of footsteps against a shallow pier never particularly bothered Luke. That was if they weren’t disturbing his peace.

The humming of the trees blowing in the wind, soothed his mind over. His eyes followed the way the fish swam with air bubbles peeking over the surface.

Watching the water helped slow everything down. His particularly dense relationship with his father was starting to wear down on him. Luke knew how even the scar on his face didn’t do his hatred justice.

Too clouded by his thoughts, he didn’t notice a familiar giggle breezing behind him.

You placed your fingers over Luke’s eyes and he immediately reached up to touch your hands.

He turned around and peered up, meeting your gaze. Luke’s breathe slowed when he met your eyes. There was a mutual sense of warmth between the two of you. Shared between little moments of laughter and light. And just by looking up at you, he knew he was in a little too deep.

Luke could, of course, fess up. But even the thought of that made him want to hurl his cookies. It’s not like he wanted these feelings and trust, he’s tried to get rid of them. They were more painful than awkward. The flutter in his stomach when you stood just a little to close to him. The way he caught his breath anytime you looked up at him and smiled. Or the shakiness in his throat and on his tongue whenever you quipped a snarky comment.

He quickly stood up reveling how he towered over you so easily.

His eyes glanced down to your hands which had been pulling something out of your jean pocket. A small string bracelet was cupped between your hands.

He snatched it from you, looking it over. It was covered in red and blue zig zags. His favorite colors.

“Hey” you whined, “I worked hard on that.”

A grin broke out on his face, “Is it for me?”

You frowned, “Well it was supposed to be but since you don’t seem to have much patience, I’ll be taking it right back!”

Before you could seize the gift back, Luke’s arm shot up in the air, holding the bracelet overhead. It was a trick he pulled on you plenty of times. Of course it did nothing but annoy you yet that was the fun of it.

Many could not dupe a child of Hermes. Even so, if there is one thing you inherited from your father it was the fight response in oppose to flight.

Your hands wrapped around the front of Luke’s orange t shirt, bunching it into a fist. Swiftly you yanked him back just enough before you efficiently shoved him backwards.

In the blink of an eye, he performed a large flop into the lake. Although the water that had skyrocketed upwards, dunked you clean with water. Worth it.

Now soaking wet, his mane of dark curly hair, bobbed up and down in the water.

“Not cool” He sputtered out. He pulled his upper body on the dock, holding his hand out for you to grab.

You sighed, knowing what was about to happen. In order to escape future prank endeavors, you had to let him do it.

Before you knew it, you were handing over your right to dry clothes.

Head hitting the water first, you tumbled off the deck. Your entire body, including the dry clothes, plunged into the inhospitable water. How on earth could fish swim in water this cold?

As soon as you breached the water, Luke shoved your head down. Well played.

“Was that necessary?” you groaned, water stuck in your ears and nose. Luckily it was pretty shallow otherwise you would have been way more upset.

“I have bad news” Luke paused, running a hand through his hair, “I think I lost your bracelet” He hesitantly waited for the backlash he was about to receive.

As soon as your mouth started to curl into a frown he knew it was over.

You dove headfirst into Luke. He tumbled back and you pushed him so far under he hit the sand. Although it wasn’t that deep, he managed to grab onto you, pulling you underwater with him.

Your laugh threw bubbles all around. His brown eyes shot open. For a minute he seemed like he was searching yours for something.

In just a couple of moments, it felt like the world stopped moving. You could feel the air in your lungs start to sting. Maybe it was time to resurface.

You mentally clocked all of the seconds you could spend underwater without passing out.

But when Luke smiled, all of your thoughts went muddy. He grabbed your hand, pulling you up.

You gasped for air, feeling the sharpness. It quickened when you realized Luke’s shirt cling to his body.

Look away look away look away look away.

A hint of rose rushed to your cheeks. You cursed yourself for thinking anything different.

After you two had burned every ounce of energy you had, you found yourself laying on the deck, eyes closed.

You could hear Luke breathe as his chest fell up and down.

The sun started to set in the distance, and the buzz of grasshoppers with Luke laying next to you is all you needed.

It’s all you ever wanted.

Almost as if he read your mind, Luke mumbled “I could lay here for hours.”

You hummed in response, simply glad he appreciated the sentiment as much as you did.

Something tickled your cheek with its moisture. You opened your eyes to find small snowflakes falling from the clouds. Snow, specifically snow at Camp Half Blood was rare.

It was weird, but it was fucking beautiful.

It crossed your mind that maybe it was Zeus’s doing, a little reward. You were reminded that even though the Gods had failed you time after time, there were small moments where none of it seemed to matter.

Like laying next to the boy who pulled at your heart strings when snow fell.

You glanced at Luke and caught a glimpse of his smile. The way his lips tugged at each other, you knew he felt the exact same way. It was provoking the way you both knew the ins and outs of one another.

In the back of your mind, you knew the snow wouldn’t last long as it was the start of summer. But oh how you enjoyed it so.

As some would say, nothing lasts forever.

———————————————————————

Authors note: I definitely meant to put this out sooner however I have been booked and busy! Now that it’s summer, I should definitely have more time to write because I love writing this stuff. Lemme know if you guys want more pieces in time of Luke and reader! Also if you have any requests or recommendations send them in!!!!

-Bee

[aelfheimerandrobots]

Sims au: Old Helex, Castle Heights, Old Dreadnaught Castle| Overlord

Brought to you by popular demand we are now featuring a tour of the infamous, Dreadnaught Castle! This castle has gone by many names over the centuries and certainly has a reputation of a sort but it's current owner has certainly done quite a deal to turn this crumbling old fortress into a magnificent mansion! Now this tour may take us awhile ( a reblog or two) due to its sheer size, but don't let that deter you! This masterpiece is worth the long walk! Should you survive ....

Rather than a street view look we'll start this tour with an aerial shot of this sprawling estate. From it's magnificent front towers to it's beautiful gardens and lovely private pool this mansion features of plenty modern touches to bring the crumbling relic up to our contemporary standards. With solar panels galore, on-site farming, rain capture water heaters, and natural springs this space does it's best to erase whatever carbon footprint it might take to keep this place up and running. And the incredibly manicured gardens surely- wait...do those trees look...phallic to anyone else?

*ahem* Yes, well, phalic nature of the tree-lined exterior approach aside, the gardens are excellently maintained and offer lovely moments of picturesque splendor in this quaint countryside. And what a front walk this makes for! With a romantic fountain, iron lampposts, and an expansive patio with elegant architecture this space certainly holds to higher standard of elegance and atmosphere.

Continuing our tour of the grounds, we'll be starting with the southern garden path. This lovely pathway beckons us in with a fantastical archway and leads down an ancient but lovingly restored path to the Castle's growing fields. While not terribly expansive this section of the grounds do offer horribly fertile ground to grow grapes for the ground's famous in-house wine. I'm told that most of the manor's food needs can also be supplemented from these fields and offer a lovely tableau for the grilling and picnicking area adjacent to the fields. This outdoor rest area looks out perfectly over the estate's expansive pond, which we will happily explore next!

This large pond can be easily accessed via the posterior entrance to the estate grounds as well as from the Castle directly. The Castle entrance here leads from the ground-floor laundry and storage area directly onto this waterway and it's lovely collection of flora and fauna. With romantic archways and grottoes reserved for enjoying the beauty of nature one can hardly blame Overlord, the current owner, from doing his best to stock the pond with local wildlife. Why there's a lovely pair of swans who- Is that an Alligator? No not the log, the thing next to the log. I saw it move! I did! Right there! I- ugh... okay fine. Let's move on to finish the tour of the grounds.

This long back walk opens toward the road leading to the estate and back out to the road, allowing access to staff and guests alike from the rear should they not wish to traverse the long drive to the front entrance of the estate. Though, I'm told it's bad manners to approach the estate in this manner. The walk is lined with lovely memorials to beloved pets who once walked these grounds and opens up to the west side of the grounds which feature a historical graveyard that has largely been overtaken by native plant growth, now cut back and cultivated to reveal more of the old facade. How odd though that some of those graves seem freshly dug. Also why is there a giant bonfire located near the gravesite? Hm. Yes well, moving on. The West end of the grounds also feature some ruins from the old castle which have been left intact for posterity but removed from the castle proper due to their crumbling nature and state of disrepair. And with the grounds wrapped up, let's head on inside for the rest of the tour!

We enter on the ground floor into the lovely foyer which features many of the estates modernized furniture while also highlighting the eras that have come before. Particularly the nineteen twenties which saw quite a bit of activity for the Castle! With lovely art deco revival pieces and stately vintage furniture to highlight updated facades and restored architecture, this foyer feels grand and welcoming. The water feature in particular is quite lovely and an amazing statement piece! Huh, that vase...is that really an urn? Hm. I'm sure I must just be mistaking it for a funeral urn, that's all. Shall we move on?

Heading into the hallway on the right we've entered into a stately passageway that features some lovely modern art pieces as well as a bit of industrial storage while still providing access to the safety measures included in the castle to protect the owner's vast investment into this home.

Heading into the door on the right and we've entered into the ground floor office space. This cozy den has plenty of charm and really highlights the use of industrial, art deco, and luxury inspired pieces to create a cohesive and good-looking environment. The office's private bathroom also features lovely tile work that manages to avoid feeling cramped thanks to the vaulted ceilings and large mirror. Just around the corner from the couch is the first set of stairs on the east end of the castle, which will eventually become the east tower. Ah and I see we've included a few antique taxidermy pieces. What a...lovely vulture skull. Oh and a preserved cow-plant! How...unsettling beautiful. Erm, let's just head on out shall we?

We'll head next into the door at the end of the hall which leads us into the ground-floor laundry which has access to both the exterior grounds as well as the pool deck and patio space! The laundry itself is serviceable and feels charming with much of the original stonework and infrastructure remaining intact. And with this room we'll go ahead and take a break before returning to our impressive tour!

[gardenreviewus]

How to Prune Grapevines to Grow on an Arbor Pruning your grapevines might initially seem daunting, but with the right techniques, you can create a lush and productive arbor. By working with nature, you can train your vines to thrive and produce delicious grapes while enhancing your outdoor space. In this guide, you'll discover the simple steps to effectively prune your grapevines, ensuring they flourish on your arbor and provide a stunning centerpiece for your garden. Let's get started on transforming your grapevines into a beautiful and bountiful edible display!Understanding the Basics of Pruning Grapevines A fundamental aspect of growing healthy grapevines on an arbor involves mastering the art of pruning. Proper pruning enhances air circulation, sunlight penetration, and promotes optimal fruit development. Familiarizing yourself with the basic principles will empower you to keep your vines lively and productive, ensuring a thriving harvest year after year. Why Prune Grapevines? If you want your grapevines to flourish, pruning is crucial. It helps to remove dead or unproductive wood, encourages new growth, and shapes the vines to maximize sunlight exposure. With careful pruning, you can balance foliage and fruit, improving the overall health of your plants. Key Factors to Consider The key factors to consider when pruning your grapevines include vine age, growth patterns, and the season. Be attentive to these elements to achieve the best results: Assess the vine's age and healthObserve the natural growth patternsTime your pruning during the appropriate season After evaluating these factors, you can make informed decisions about how to prune effectively. It's also important to take into account your desired vine shape and size. Different grape varieties may require specific pruning techniques for optimal yield. As you familiarize yourself with your vines, consider the following additional aspects: Check for previous pruning cutsEvaluate the spacing between vinesPlan for future growth and expansion After you've gathered this information, you'll be set to prune your grapevines confidently.The Best Time to Prune Some experts agree that the optimal time for pruning your grapevines is in late winter or early spring, just before the buds begin to swell. This timing allows your vines to recover from the cuts and encourages robust growth as they enter the growing season. Pruning during this period helps ensure that your arbor is filled with healthy, thriving vines. Seasonal Timing Tips Even when planning to prune, taking note of seasonal conditions can make a big difference. Here are a few tips to help you decide when to prune: Prune when the risk of frost has passed. Avoid pruning during heavy rain or storms. Timing can vary based on your local climate. Assume that if the buds are still dormant, it's a safe time for pruning. Signs Your Grapevines Need Pruning With grapevines, a little attention goes a long way, and you'll be able to identify when they need pruning. Look for signs like excessive growth, tangled branches, or deadwood. If you notice these issues, it's a good indication that your vines would benefit from some careful trimming. Understanding the signs that your grapevines need pruning can help you maintain healthy plants and maximize your harvest. Check for overly vigorous canes, which may crowd the vine and lead to poor air circulation. You may also see spindly shoots or an abundance of unripe grapes left after harvest, indicating that it's time to rejuvenate your plants with some careful cuts. By pruning at the right time and being aware of these signs, you can ensure that your grapevines remain healthy and productive.Tools You'll Need for Pruning The right tools can make your pruning experience much smoother and more efficient. Whether you're trimming for the first time or you're a seasoned pro, having the appropriate equipment ensures that you can handle your grapevines with care. Essential

tools include hand pruners, loppers, a pruning saw, and a sturdy pair of gardening gloves to protect your hands while working. With these tools in hand, you'll be well-prepared to sculpt your grapevines for a beautiful arbor. Essential Pruning Tools If you want to make precise cuts and avoid damaging your grapevines, investing in a few necessary pruning tools is vital. High-quality hand pruners will help you snip away small branches, while loppers are perfect for thicker growth. A pruning saw can tackle the largest limbs, and don't forget a pair of gloves to keep your hands safe. Safety Tips While Pruning The safety of your hands and eyes is paramount when using sharp tools for pruning. Start by wearing safety goggles to protect your eyes from debris, and make sure to use gloves to avoid cuts and scrapes. Always cut away from your body, and keep your tools sharp to ensure clean cuts. Check the area for potential hazards, like uneven ground or low-hanging branches. Follow these helpful tips: Wear sturdy gardening gloves Protect your eyes with safety goggles Keep your work area clear of distractions Always cut away from yourself Thou will thank yourself later for taking these precautions! A safe pruning session will keep you focused on shaping your grapevines without worrying about injuries. A few more safety practices you should consider include inspecting your tools regularly and maintaining a firm grip while cutting. If you're using ladders to reach higher vines, ensure they're stable and that someone else is around to assist you if needed. Follow these additional tips to create a safer pruning environment: Inspect tools for damage before use Ensure your ladder is stable and secure Work in pairs, whenever possible Take breaks to avoid fatigue Thou will have a more enjoyable pruning experience when you prioritize safety! How to Prune Grapevines Step-by-Step Not all grapevines require the same pruning approach, but following a step-by-step process will help you achieve healthy growth. The table below outlines the primary steps you should take when pruning your grapevines: Step Description 1. Assess your vine Review the previous season's growth and identify strong canes. 2. Choose your method Decide between spur pruning and cane pruning based on your vine type. 3. Make cuts Cut back the canes or spurs to promote new growth. 4. Clean up Remove any dead wood and excess growth to improve airflow. Determining the Right Cut Even the smallest cut can make a big difference in your grapevines' productivity. Identifying the right cut starts with understanding the previous year's growth pattern. Look for healthy canes that grew well and keep those while removing weaker or overcrowded ones. This selective cutting ensures optimal production for the coming season. Techniques for Effective Pruning The best approach to pruning involves using the right techniques to ensure your grapevines thrive. Start by using sharp, clean tools to make precise cuts, which helps prevent disease. Angle your cuts to promote healing, and try to leave a few buds on each cane for new growth. Consistency in your techniques will yield the best results as you develop your gardening skills. Plus, consistent pruning practices will help you learn more about your specific vines over time. Each season offers an opportunity to assess how well your grapevines produced, allowing you to adjust your techniques as needed. Also, safeguarding your tools and keeping them sterilized can elevate your pruning sessions, ensuring your plants remain healthy and vigorous.Common Mistakes to Avoid For successful grapevine pruning, it's crucial to stay clear of common pitfalls. Many gardeners tend to prune too aggressively or not enough, which can hinder your vines' growth and yield. Pay attention to these mistakes to ensure your arbor thrives and produces delicious grapes for you to enjoy.

Over-Pruning versus Under-Pruning To achieve the best results with your grapevines, find a balance between over-pruning and under-pruning. Too much pruning can stress your plants, while too little may lead to a tangled mess that restricts air circulation and light. Aim for healthy growth by targeting the right amount of wood during your pruning sessions. Timing Errors to Watch For Mistakes in timing can significantly affect your grapevines' health and fruit production. Pruning at the wrong time can expose your plants to frost damage or disrupt their natural growth cycle. Take care to prune during the appropriate season for your grape variety to help your vines thrive. Plus, be aware that pruning too late in the season can hinder new growth, while early pruning might expose tender buds to chilly temperatures. Aim to prune when your vines are dormant, typically in late winter or early spring, just before new growth begins. This timing allows your grapevines to recover quickly and set the stage for a bountiful harvest. Maintaining Your Pruned Grapevines Unlike other plants, your grapevines require specific care to thrive after pruning. Proper maintenance will ensure they grow beautifully on your arbor, providing a lush, green canopy and delicious grapes. Regularly check for any signs of pests or diseases, and be diligent about watering and fertilizing as needed to support healthy growth. Post-Pruning Care Tips The success of your pruned grapevines relies on attentive care after pruning. Here are some crucial tips to follow: Water your vines adequately, especially during dry spells. Apply a balanced fertilizer to promote new growth. Remove any dead or damaged wood as it appears. Monitor for pests and take action as needed. After following these tips, your grapevines will be well on their way to thriving. Encouraging Healthy Growth The key to encouraging healthy growth in your grapevines lies in providing the right environment and consistent care. Make sure your vines receive enough sunlight, ideally at least six hours a day. Keeping the soil well-drained and regularly mulching around the base can help retain moisture and suppress weeds. Encouraging your grapevines to grow strong means giving them the right nutrients and conditions to flourish. Regularly check the soil moisture and adjust your watering schedule accordingly. Additionally, support healthy development by pruning appropriately each season and ensuring your arbor offers the necessary structure for climbing. With your dedication, your grapevines will reward you with abundant foliage and tasty grapes over time.Conclusion Taking this into account, pruning your grapevines not only helps them grow beautifully on your arbor but also ensures a healthier and more fruitful harvest. By following the proper techniques and timing, you can guide your vines effectively while enhancing their appearance. Each season offers a fresh opportunity to refine your approach, so embrace the journey and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with nurturing your grapevines. Happy pruning! https://gardenreview.us/pruning-grapevines-for-arbor-growth/?feed_id=214&_unique_id=672db9216c441 https://gardenreview.us/pruning-grapevines-for-arbor-growth/?feed_id=214&_unique_id=672db9216c441