#THERE ARE SPROUTS *IN THE WOODS* DON'T EAT MY PLANTS

[bubblegum-snowdrop]

you know what. fuck this shit (turns into a salmon and 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟)

Careful, you'll get eaten by the bears

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Foraging has become a REALLY hot topic over the past few years. We even saw a surge of interest at the start of the pandemic fueled both by the shutdown, and by concerns about food security due to grocery shortages. My foraging classes are consistently the most popular ones I offer, and the Facebook groups I'm on are absolutely teeming with new people interested in getting started.

But as with any extractive activity, foraging has its downsides. The more people out in the woods and fields looking for edible mushrooms (and plants), the more strain that puts on local ecosystems. In my classes I advocate for only taking 25% of a given species in an area (unless you find, like, three chanterelles, in which case just pick the three chanterelles.) A lot of people have less restraint, and of course you have commercial mushroom hunters who will clean out every single marketable mushroom they find, leaving nothing for anyone else.

This is a topic that I don't feel gets enough attention in the foraging world, but we desperately need to be talking about it more. Most of us who forage do not rely on it as a primary form of food security, and have other reasonable options for acquiring food. Yes, it can be fun to go out looking for mushrooms and berries and such when we're out hiking and camping, and I am a big fan of what I call "incidental foraging"--picking things you find while you're doing something else. It's good to know how to identify edible and it's a nice treat when I run across something. But unless my situation changes to where my food security is seriously threatened, I do not personally feel the need to be one of those foragers where 90% of what they eat is something they foraged, especially when I am financially secure enough to be able to go to the grocery store whenever I want. I think most foragers these days are in a similar situation, though there are always going to be people for whom foraging is a necessary and vital part of food security.

So yes, I am strongly in favor of bag limits for non-indigenous people, hardship permits for those in financial need (and don't make the application process too much of a hurdle), and curbs on widespread commercial mushroom harvest. It's not just to save something for other people, but to reduce wear and tear on the land. Those mushrooms need to be spreading spores for the next generation, and I worry that overharvesting is going to have deleterious effects both on the mushroom species being harvested, and the health of the ecosystems they are a part of.

[lizardonatoadstool]

Oakie the Acorn is the Best Mascot Ever

I don’t even go to this school I just love them. Here’s an interview they did for SUNY Mascot Madness.

Oakie - SUNY ESF

Who are you, where are you originally from, and where do you do your mascot thing? I'm Oakie Acorn (they/them), proud representative of ESF and its Mighty Oaks athletic teams! I was “born” when I fell out of ESF's Robin Hood Oak which means my roots go back to the Major Oak in England's Sherwood Forest. Maybe that's why I'm so merry! While most of my mascot duties have me in Syracuse, I also pop in at our Ranger School in Wanakena and our satellite campuses in the Adirondacks and Thousand Islands.

What's a unique new thing (building, club, activity, employee, etc.) on your campus that you treasure? The newly renovated Marshall Hall is wonderful! Open since 1933, Marshall underwent a major two-year reno re-opening in 2023. We kept the classic features, such as the spiral staircase and auditorium, while updating the building to a state-of-the-art learning center with spaces tailored to the needs of today's students. The building is home to our Landscape Architecture, Environmental Studies, and mathematics programs. Along with great classroom and studio space, there are plenty of study nooks for students to tuck in and do work between classes or meet with friends.

If you could start your own club or major on campus, what would it be? Wow! Difficult question because ESF has so many unique clubs, activities, and majors already! That said, I'd love to start an a capella group – Oak-apella! I don't speak, but I have a song in my heart and would love to hear ESF students sing. Maybe I could do some interpretive dance while they sing.

What's your hidden talent that you haven't told anyone about yet? Anyone on campus at night might have seen me skateboarding. The other day I landed a kickflip over the gap and was pretty stoked. Sadly, no one was around to see it. Flicks or it didn't happen, right? We do have some talented campus artists who have drawn me and my board though.

What campus cheer gets you pumped up and why? (with great enthusiasm)  O-A-K-I-E!  They're our acorn can't you see?  Sprouting strong through day and night  We've got bark and we've got bite!    ESF Orientation Leaders chant this while they lead our newest acorns to convocation. I love hearing it echo off the campus buildings!

What sport would you play if you were a student-athlete? I would join the Bass Fishing team in a heartbeat! I know when you think “acorn,” you think “land-based,” but I'd love to get out on the water and drop a line or two. There's so much more to me than most people know.    I would look awesome in one of the Bass Fishing team jerseys – provided they could get me an XXXXXL.

Read any good books lately? The Climate Optimists Handbook by environmental activist Anne Therese Gennari is a great read. Her book is about empowering people to get excited about changing the narrative on climate change so we act from courage and excitement to co-create a better world. She totally gets the ESF vibe! She was our commencement speaker last May and inspired our graduates and their guests to Improve Our World!    And of course, Braiding Sweetgrass by our own Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer is always close at hand to read again and again!

Favorite pizza topping? Mushrooms. I love to top my pie with things I've foraged in the woods. Remember, you have to be very careful with mushrooms. I always take along a friend who has taken Dr. Alex Weir's mycology course to ensure I don't eat anything that could make me sick or worse!

If you were SUNY Chancellor for a day, what would you do? I would declare every day Earth Day in SUNY and plant pollinator gardens on every campus. I would also help other campuses set and reach their own Zero-Waste goals. Sustainability is a key component to helping the environment. I would then ask to be Chancellor for a couple more days to visit as many campuses as possible and see all the great things SUNY students are doing.  I don't know how Chancellor King does it all! Does he ever sleep?

How would you celebrate being named SUNY Mascot Madness Champion in 2024? The same way I celebrated in 2017 when I won the title – surrounded by the best students, faculty, and staff ever! We had a party that the whole campus attended. My friend, Victor E. Knight from SUNY Geneseo, was gracious enough to come and present me with the trophy and join the festivities. I think it would be great to host Wolfie on campus this year. 

[dearmrsawyer]

my GARDEN is DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It took 2 years but we made it 🎉🎉🎉 its life story under the cut

last year i dug up all the roses that the previous owners of this house had planted in this space. I HATE ROSE PLANTS. They're VERMIN. It took me a year (interrupted by la niña) to finally get them all out because i had to dig so far down to remove as much root system as i could. i learned that after the first attempt at removing them, where they all simply grew back because i left too many roots in tact 🙃 due to continued la niña last summer i wasn't able to get the space all the way ready so i spent autumn weeding everything that grew in the rain, digging about a foot into the ground to remove as much old dirt (and more roots) as i could, and tidying up everything we'd dumped there while the space was disused. I had pictures of that stage in the process but i can't find them, just know it looked like a garbage dump hahaha. i got all that done right as the temperature started to drop so i laid out a bunch of tarps to minimise the number of weeds that would grow back over winter and waited.

and then! SPRING. I ordered the soil back in September, 8 cubic metres of it which was definitely more than i needed sdkjlgfdkj but how am i supposed to know what a cubic metre is 😅 i was SO excited when it arrived (first photo), quickly followed by 'oh god i need to move all of this myself.' thankfully we had great weather in september so i could use every free moment i had for two weeks shoveling it into our wheelbarrow and then wheeling it down to tip into the garden area (the conclusion of my work in photo 2 lol). It was only at that point that i was like oh boy okay i REALLY have too much soil here. i filled up every single pot i could find and i added some more dirt to to our citrus tree garden in the courtyard since the existing soil had settled by that point and could use a top up. it still felt like way more than i had planned to buy BUT i thought you know what would be good, i could create tiers to organise the vegetables by how deep their roots grow! i laid down a couple of layers of newspaper to deter anything from the existing dirt growing up into my new soil and then started flattening it out. when we first moved in here there was a tonne of random building material around that the previous owners left behind, and we never got rid of it because we figured a purpose would eventually arise. and my garden was it. i collected all the cement blocks and bricks down the side/behind the house, plus the random lattices that had been piled up where our yard meets the neighbour's, and a scrap of fence leftover from the one we put alongside our driveway last year. There were also heaps of random planks of wood, and some logs from a tree that we trimmed earlier in the year. and i used ALL of it (picture three).

Then a couple of weeks ago i finally got to plant my seeds :D (final product, final photo) the tall section up the back is for the deep root veges, so i've planted pumpkin and cucumber there. in the middle i've planted zucchini, cabbage, cauliflower, silverbeet, radish and green beans. and the shallowest area down the bottom has beetroot, celery, lettuce, broccoli and snow peas. also a passionfruit plant in the corner :) i've also scattered flower seeds all over as i've read that it helps to attract pollinators/insects that will eat other insects that want to eat my vegetables. i've put a couple of flowering herbs into pots down there too, and i marked where i planted everything with sticks so i can remember dskfdklj also i drew myself a map.

i'm so thrilled with it :') its such a good space and now it will be useful! there's a good chance some of my seeds won't sprout as they're a couple of years old, but some of them are new and anyway i don't care, whatever grows will grow and whatever doesn't i'll try again in autumn. its just so exciting to have a garden to tend again, i know that i need to be able to just put my hands in dirt sometimes, it is a very helpful outlet, and also will maybe save us grocery money \o/

[articus-icecream]

HELLOOOO <333 could u tell me about your mml/pistachion hcs? :D

EEEEEE OKOKOK LEMME GET MY THOUGHTS IN ORDER-

Their skin is rough(because it's bark) but their bodies/muscles are squishy (like us humans! :D)

They only eat meat and have a huge prefrence for human meat

I feel they would have mixed feelings on deez nuts jokes. Some like them and some find them offensive. It depends on the pistachion really

The 'adult age' for them is 30 years

Speaking of ages, by a 100 years one starts to asexually reproduce by having a pistachion tree grow out of their nutshell and sprouts growing from the branches. King pistachion has been the only instance though (I'm not sure about Derek-)

If you were to cut one of their limbs open you'd see rings that show their age

Despite their looks, their anatomy is similar to humans! They vaguely have the same organs and stuff, though their blood is like a thick yet liquidy sap.

They have a way higher immune system and stamina, toughness, strength though.

King pistachion had cried tears of joy once he realized he became a father.

Child pistachions are about 4'9 ft, teen pistachions are about the average size of a human adult and full adult pistachions are taller than human adults! Their height can range from 7ft to 9ft! King is the tallest one (15 ft) and Derek would become the second tallest one! (12-13 ft!)

Despite hating humans they do have standards. None of them would hurt a human baby. They'd simply leave it somewhere safe.

They don't know why they hate humans. Some say it's instinctual. Some would say that they simply want to protect nature from humans. But most of them would avoid that question.

They're neutrual towards insects, but they love bees and butterflies the most!

They hate all birds, espiecally wood peckers.

A lot of them have the same name, so they use numbers to differentiate themselves better

All the female pistachions we have seen are trans. KP is a lil confused/uneducated about lgbtqia+ stuff but he's still supportive :D

Speaking of the female pistachions, since their hair comes from under their shells then it would mean that the other pistachions have hair as well.

Some pistachions would wonder what it would be like to have a human as a friend or as a romantic partner...xtheyxarexallxvirginsxixmeanxwhatx

Sibling wars are LITERAL. But they mostly end in peace and hugs :p

They're love language is physical affection!

The leaves on their lower body are their equivalent of clothes.

Eating pistachios is a hate crime for them.

They're pretty neutrual towards other types of plants that aren't in the nut family or trees but they still take offense at any harm done to them.

They sleep in gardens. Like, half buried in the ground. They can also sleep in beds just fine :p

If a limb is cut off they can just easily regrow it. But if their shell gets damaged there's nothing they can do.

They're all pretty emberrassed that their main weakness is dog piss. Espiecally KP, he's ashamed of it.

I think that's mostly it tbh! I apologize(not really /hj) for no hcs on the other characters ¦p

[literalite]

nervous subject (he/him ???)

side character in the wolfgang strangerville arc of @gunthermunch 's munch. he was very popular 🥰 which i am very grateful for thank you for loving him you guys. a creature of great renown

an amount of years old

physically decaying a bit but its okay. he has a one demonia each planted firmly in the planes of life and death except they don't fit so he's super shaky in there. he likes skirts because he gets kind of icky when he overheats so he needs a good airflow. smells like lots and lots of deodorant because he's insecure about the decaying part. yes his dad is the grim reaper i am capable of adhering to maxis lore. his mum is really cool. ingame he's actually a vampire. don't ask after his dark form

a statement from ai:

branch (they/it creature of the woods so. who knows. functionally asexual though)

my unused everpresent dnd oc. will i ever get to play them who knows

is a carnivore. this is due to their plant based nature (they r a type of tree spirit, they do not procreate and they do not permanently die, their previous physical body gets injured enough to trigger a regeneration where they become a young sprout then a sapling then get spit out of the trunk of their sourcetree. reincarnation but into the same species basically) so eating plants would be like. being a carnivore for us. so in their eyes it’s vegetarianism. does this make sense. really fond of sucking bird’s eggs. it hasn’t spoken to or seen people in a few centuries give or take

the picture i used is incorrect they have floppy soft goat ears. they will chew your fingers down to the bone if you try to pet them tho

keeps getting hit with the mature label. what is so mature about creature presenting boobs. also their voice is like power from csm

[raemanzu]

Garden updaaaate. We've been renting this place from friends for about 9 months and have been slowly trying to make better use of the yard than just mowing a weed lawn full of burr-y plants. I've planted a few native trees out front but they're still very small. Also planted baby blue eyes and some poppies and other native flower seeds. My most recent additions to the native stuff is coyote mint and another salvia. Pilfered stumps and logs from a neighbor's green waste bin to add habitat for insects, we have a small brush pile and a dirt pile where we've been putting all the clay soil we dig up that is extra after we've mixed in the free (!!) municipal compost. Got free wood chips from the county utility company too, to use for mulch, an some nice redwood chips from someone on a buy nothing facebook group, which has been a big help in trying to get our vegetable garden going.

The raised beds were constructed from disassembled pallets (just taking them apart was more work than using the lumber to put the raised beds together). We have 18 tomato plants, several tiny pepper plants, some edamame, purple greenbeans, cucumbers, small winter squash, snow and snap peas, small asian greens, strawberries, cilantro (which has bolted and is 5 feet tall lol), a few lettuces, lots of volunteer borage (lol), and the most exciting recent development is that Cal scored a bunch of really cheap flowers AND the spanish peanuts they planted are coming up!

We also got not one but TWO volunteer grapevines (our next door neighbors have grapevines). The most recent one was, fascinatingly, attached to a stick or something?? makes me wonder if a piece broke off the original vine and propagated itself in the dirt?

Anyway our yard is apparently acceptable to at least some wildlife now because a pair of mockingbirds built a nest over our catio this spring and successfully raised 1 chick, who has fledged and who we saw preening in the orange tree this afternoon. The fledgling left the nest about 3 weeks ago which means it's almost ready to be fully on its own, but it has been fun seeing the parents bring it all kinds of food to eat, from craneflies to bits of cherry which I watched them separate from the pit carefully before giving it to their child. Now the parents are building a new nest in the plum tree, which is a much better spot where they won't be stressed out by the cats.

This weekend has felt good, I managed to bake a few loaves of bread (well, I'm in process of making the second and third loaves because the first one I FORGOT THE SALT AAAH) and make lasagna and do yardwork AND trim my hair, do my laundry, and get all my homework done, which is.. a lot, actually, and I should be proud of that. I think doing all those things was important for my mental health so I don't feel like my life is nothing but work and school. There are also mockingbirds, and soil, and sprouts, and kneaded dough, and the miracle of things changing under your hands from one thing to another over time. Considering how bad I felt on Thursday this is really great.

[zmasters]

Life and Death, a Warhammer: Age of Sigmar Story

In the streets of Candleheld, a city of Shyish, marched the four clawed legs of Thavara. The vampire, formerly of the Avengorii Dynasty, paused in front of a green realmgate. This gate lead to the other half of the twin city, the half within the lush forest of Ghyan. She planned to enter the gate and travel to the Realm of Life, but nervousness froze her place. The green glow washed over her thin, light blue lower body. Her blood red wings hid her clawed fingers playing with a woven dagger, a gift from the one she wished to talk to.

Thankfully for her, the one Thavara wished to talk to walked through the realmgate first.

“Ahh, Zyn.” She said, faking confidence and trying to use her wings to hide her wagging tail. “Just the wych I wanted to see. What brings a child of life into the realm of the dead?”

Zyndras, a sylvaneth branchwych, stood in the glow of the gate. A scythe sat on her light brown shoulder while bugs skittered through the red leaves decorating her head. “I could say the same of you.” She answered, her voice raspy.

“How many times do I have to remind you that I’m undead?” Thavara laughed.

“You know what I mean.”

“I joke. Still as stiff as the tree you live in, aren’t you?”

“Still trying not to eat everyone you meet?” Zyndras shot back, her still face failing her attempt at comedy.

With a hearty laugh, Thavara plucked a worm out of Zyndras’s foliage. “You supply me with enough meat.” She said, throwing the insect into the air and catching it her mouth. “What to talk in the normal spot?”

The two warriors meandered past the strange looks of Candleheld's residents towards an old, abandoned dock. This dock was partially destroyed during an ogor pirate invasion. While the invasion was dealt with long ago, a small gnoblar tribe that traveled with the brutes had infested the area and keep people from repairing the broken trade port. A new dock was built a hundred meters down the beach.

Thavara’s fangs dug deep into a lone gnoblar’s neck while Zyndras poked at a piece of washed up driftwood. A flower sprouted from the wood.

“So… what’ve been up to seen we last talked?” The vampire asked, trying to avoid what she wanted to say.

“I was,” Zyndras sighed, keeping her eyes on the sprouting flower. “I was visited by Mother Alarielle.”

“Oh! That’s great!” Thavara smiled. “I wish Alarielle was my god. She’s so much nicer than Nagash.”

“She is.” The sylvaneth sadly creaked.

“What’s wrong Zyn?”

She sighed. “Mother Alarielle asked me to become a Soulbound.”

The statement struck Thavara like a stake through the heart. Becoming a Soulbound meant one thing. Death. Permanent death. No resurrection. No rebirth. Nothing. A soul lost forever.

Thavara knew the danger of becoming a Soulbound, especially for a sylvaneth like Zyn. Her plant pal and her kin lived for their cycles of death and rebirth. If she agreed to this request from her goddess, her entire "bloodline" ends right here.

"Y-you said no, right?"

Zyn didn't answer her.

“Right?”

"You wouldn't say no to your god."

"I wouldn't say no to Nagash because he'd rip out my bones and build a new servant!" Thavara yelled, throwing the dead gnoblar to the ground. "Alarielle gives you a choice. YOU CAN SAY NO!"

"I can't!" Zyn shot back. "No sylvaneth can say no to our Goddess!" She lowered her voice with a sigh. "Death can't refuse their god. Life won't."

The two stood in silence. The blood of the greenskin drip towards the piece of driftwood, watering the red flower growing out of it.

"I'm sorry." Thavara squeaked. "I don't have many people I can call a friend. I-I'll miss you..."

"So will I." Zyn said, taking a step closer to the vampire. "But you will always be a member of my Glade."

Thavara wrapped her clawed arms around the branchwych, lifting her into the air and causing her to drop her scythe. "I'll keep an eye open for you here." She smiled, pressing her forehead against Zyn's. "You Glade will be safe with me."

"I trust you will."

The vampire laughed as she dropped her sylvaneth friend. "So what does your god want you to do?"

"Those I am bounded to and I are tasked with preventing Drycha and her Outcast from attacking the free cities of Ghyran. Candleheld included."

Unnoticed by the two, the flower roots buried into the sand of the beach, the blood feeding the burgeoning plant. This will not be the last time this flower will taste blood. Mere months later, Zyndras would stare down at the blooming, blood red flower, fed by the blood of Thavara.

Thavara never told Zyndras that she became a Soulbound herself.

[thatoneterrariaplayer]

Druid's touch. Pt1

My name is Ezra Jane, I was a senior researcher at Academia biologiae of The Shining Crest. The north of Endora is a heavily wooded area with a diverse ecosystem, it was our job as researchers to study the plants and animals of the enchanted wood, a sector of the forest with a high presence of magical flora and fauna. With our group the organisation: Academia biologiae had hired some mercenaries, to deal with the more dangerous creatures we may have had encountered there.

This was the first trip I would go on with the organisation this would also be my first interaction I had with the druid of our land but definitely not the last.

My story begins at the Eastern Wall of the shining crest, a town located north of the what is now known as the green spire. A colossal structure that lights up our currently darkened skies.

My family wholeheartedly supported my research but my mother's concern stayed the same all the way to the day we left.

"Are you sure you will be fine?", I remember her asking half in tears. This would be the first time I'd ever leave the city walls,"Yes mum, I'm not your 'little girl' anymore, I've grown up, made a name for myself, I'm confident I'll be fine." My mother always thought of me as a child who needed constant supervision because I was her only child, I feel as though we both knew this was unhealthy but I understood why she expressed these concerns.

"Just stay safe" she sighed, "and don't eat any weird mushrooms Ez!"

"Mum I promise to stay safe." I said, "I'll also eat every mushroom I come across."

Her reaction was priceless but we both laughed it off.

I hugged her once more.

" I love you, I'll be back soon enough, just try relax while I'm gone."

Her response,"I love you too, please take care."

As I walked towards my travelling parties meeting spot I waved goodbye to her, half in tears.

The east wall was covered in vines, they've been there as long as the city has, covering any structure they could creep up. The vines would bloom occasionally in the spring, sprouting soft red and pink flowers, decorating our walls for a week, the week they bloomed was a week for us to celebrate spring, other than my mum it's the most I miss about that place.

The first member of the team I spotted was a shorter than average dwarf known by the name of Murphy Crane, a zoologist.

There were two achievements he boasted the most; his twelve years of studying zoology and a magnificent beard.

He was arguing with a tavern's staff, his anger could be heard from across the plaza, "Name a seven a year old, that bears a beard more magnificent and groomed, than your entire bloodline is capable to produce."

Everyone knew Murphy's voice, crowds would form to watch him berate any poor soul, unlucky enough to set off his thin temper.

"Do you hear me, you half wit dog?", he bellowed.

"I'm sorry sir I didn't realise-" the worker stuttered.

Murphy took a breath, glanced round the east walls plaza and apologised, "sorry young lad, I lost my temper."

Waddling away he spotted me and groaned. He never enjoyed my presence, always actively avoided me at the academy,

I understand completely, our personalities clashed like the Mage council had.

It was around this time the three other members of the trip arrived, Chase Laine a herboligist and the two mercenaries? Chloe, a elven archer and Baker,a large orc, that the academy had hired for the trip. They were leading two mules whose backs carried a array of bundled items that we'd need for the trip. We greeted each other double checked our packs and begun the trip.

The journey to the enchanted woods followed a relatively tame route suitable for mules to travel along. Other paths could have gotten us there faster but they were generally more suited to on foot travellers who could protect themselves in case of a bandit attack.

Chase was a laid back tabaxi who was often stylish. He would wear baggy and flexible clothing that suited his body, his glossy fur melted together like gold with black jewels set into it. Men, Women, children and even animals had admired his well kept coat. His sharp emerald eyes hid many secrets but his distaste to this trip came forward the most.

The forests paths were well defined, years of travellers, adventurers, thieves and animals made its mark. The hard dirt path was either the beginning or the end to journies, leading those to their desired location. The forests used to calm me, there was a serene aura the lush trees gave off, the sounds of birds complimented the simplicity of the tall trees, their songs carried away thoughts troublesome or not in a beautiful collection of notes. However now the forest hides atrocities of the night, as we are forced to stay where light is.

We would arrive at the enchanted woods on the third day of the trip setting up a semi permanent camp in a glade an hours hike in. However peaceful these woods seemed there was always something lying in wait for an opportunity to strike. It was our first mistake to assume we were safe and sound within our assumed sanctuary. The mercenaries Baker and Chloe knew very well to keep their weapons near and preemptively checked their quality. Baker was observing his longsword edge, inspecting for any faults or blunt spots along the blade, I watched as he meticulously sharpened the blade to create a better edge without proper tools.

Chloe tended to her bow, replacing the string to one that was capable of firing high power shots quickly, I asked her why this string was special and the reason she gave me peaked my interest. Her bow string was imbued with a enchantment that allows for artificial strength and dexterity to be gained temporarily pulling the string. When asking her who created the enchantment she mumbled and I couldn't hear her too well. I could tell these mercenaries knew what they were doing, they respected their weapons like a person.

We awoke to the sounds of low growls and the sound of Baker's sword leaving its sheath. I listened attentively to the standoff and noticed that the growls sounded more like hissing and the grinding of metal parts.

"Bring it on you bronze bastards!" his battle cry echoes through the night. Say it was curiosity that I decided to look outside that night. Say it was fear. All I knew tonight I would meet the most influential person I'd ever meet.

The brass jaws of the gear wolf crash together, an unrelenting force, regardless of who is caught, the jaws would mercilessly close. Their purpose, to detain, occurred without flaw, seldom failing however they had no brain to differentiate between friend and foe, instead replaced by

Cogs and springs allowing for it to move. It's eyes replaced by two blood red gems, their gaze hypnotic and terrifying, they appeared to be automatons controlled by the gems. My gaze followed it's 'spine' the neck being covered by protective plating, protecting the vulnerable joint underneath.

It's back was strengthened by many plates joint together to form a tight armour preserving the intricate mechanisms within. The agile legs were equipped each with a set of sharpened claws that appeared more like large curved blades, if you were not carefull one of those could easily slice your arm off. Again their purpose was to detain but it felt to me they were initially designed as war machines capable of taking down enemies quickly and brutally while remaining mobile and agile enough to escape a tough spot.

The machine let out mechanical groans as if it were alive and breathing, the red gems stood out amongst the blackened tree line,

the metal body subtly shone in the pale moonlight, it stood at the ready, waiting in patience. I watched in anticipation, my eyes fixed upon the brass hunter. Then I saw the illuminated red dot the darkened forest. Usually one person could easily deal with a single wolf if they had combat experience but that's because wolves seldom hunted alone.

Ten. Ten pairs of eyes. Ten wolves. I doubt we could all even take down three no less ten. I heard a rustle to my left and saw Chloe ready her aim. Her body and face were covered in white scars, likely from fights, her chiseled face showed no fear but her blue eyes told the entire story. Fear is an ugly weapon. It brings out the worst of people, their insecurities and problems. Despite trying to hide them she knew this could be her last night of living. The pack of machines approached in ryhtmm takings steps as a unit. Looking back to Chloe her bow remained ready and aimed, Baker had his sword ready, his armour would be certain to protect him for a while but not long enough. I looked back towards my co-workers, Chase was cowering in a corner, so much for his pride and Murphy? Murphy was fast asleep in a bundle of rough blankets.

The wolves had moved ten paces, the glade was shrouded in silence, sweat and dew stained the air. Impatience or hesitation would result in a swift death. The first to strike would be Chloe, the arrows path was true, aimed at the leader, soaring across the glade it struck the gemstone eyes, shattering the delicate crystal to pieces, destroying the delicate machinery hidden behind the gem. The arrows momentum had pushed the creatures head to the side exposing the vulnerable joint. The next instance Baker's sword struck the join ensuring it won't stand up again. I watched as Chloe readied another arrow, her eyes this time had no fear, only certainty, a sharpshooters control. The one man front line stood strong his sword ready to diverge the next attack. The wolves sprung into movement splitting up and surrounding Baker. Another arrow hit its mark piercing the side of it's skull but missing any important internals. A wolf leaped at Baker, jaws bared wide open, Baker struck the creature with the flat of his sword denting its body and moving it across the field. Another arrow, miss.

Baker was completely surrounded, he'd last some time but not for long. Baker swung his sword at an oncoming hound the blade connected with the weak head joint breaking it off cleanly. Chloe fumbled next to me, I could hear her rattling the bow struggling to steady her shot.

A wolf jumped onto his back tearing a clean chunk out of the armor with only it's claws, another followed up by attacking his front, knocking him over his sword scattered out of his hands reach. The hound that knocked him over would soon clamp down on his neck thinking it was an arm or leg. Baker tried shouting but it wouldn't change his situation. Chloe was still struggling to find the shot her chiseled complexion had fizzled into pure fear.

The wolf walked slowly up his body getting it's jaws into position. I winced anticipating the bloody cries for help, has his lungs would fill with his blood. My eyes were closed as I said my last goodbyes to life before the wolves inevitably found us, opening them again to make sure I was not dreaming but Baker still lay there, helpless. I closed my eyes again hoping my death would quick.

The ground shook and I heard the sounds of metal being crushed, a new smell invaded my nose, fresh earth. Opening my eyes I looked back to where Baker had been lying and saw roots of a plant had grabbed the wolf pinning Baker down and

Crushed it, the rest of the pack backed up to avoid the flailing root. A new element had been added to this battle, one that turned the tides. A set of roots emerged behind the remaining group catching two in its swing and throwing the debris at to take out another.

Chloe regained her control, firing a arrow to cleanly take out the sixth. Two roots emerged nearby the last 3 to quickly dispatch them, their bronze bodies bruised and unrepairable.

It took a moment to process what had happened. Chloe's panted regaining her breath after holding it for such a long time.

I looked back towards the inside of the tent seeing that Chase was still cowering in fear and that Murphy had just woken up to our racket. Checking back outside Chloe sat down her breathing though still fast was slowing down to a regular pace her elven ears poking out of her long black hair. Her brow was flooded with sweat and her hands still shook from the encounter.

Baker still lied where the wolf had almost bit his throat not moving at all, I could feel his fear from where I was watching.

"Chloe, Baker, are you two in need of medical help?", I asked them unsure of my own health.

"If you offer therapy I'll gladly agree." ,Said the orc.

Chloe let out an excited giggle, "Did we really just survive that?", she asked.

It was that moment she walked into the glade. Her jade eyes met mine, the moon only amplifying their hypnotic gaze, her brown hair fell just below her shoulders. She was wearing patrol gear and had a thin sword sheath on her right hip.

"Solarim's constructs, a bane to our society, their existence is supposed to help us byt here we are, struggling with machines who don't know the difference between the good and bad.", the mysterious lady sighed, " You're all not hurt are you,"

"My blood is mostly in my body still, so I'm fine." , Baker commented.

"My hand is bleeding but I'm also fine, nothing a bandage won't fix.", Chloe winced as she stretched her hand.

"And you onlooker?" The lady asked.

I stared around the glade sheepisly trying to find who she was referring to only to realise that she was talking to me.

"I think I am fine." I answered, "but how did you know we needed help?"

"My owls told me about the pack moving through woods and I decided to rush over to intercept, luckily I was just in time as it seems your orc was about to be torn apart."

Baker, still lying on the ground, looked embarrassed at what she had said, "mind I ask but what is your name druid stranger?" he asked.

Her response came quickly, "My name? I am called Luna by many but also known as madam Luneiya."

"You are a part of the mage council? The same druid that grew these forests to protect the animals that were being over hunted?" I asked with amazement in my eyes.

Luneiya walked towards the tents in silence, " I will stay with you all untill the sun rises but afterwards I will need to go tend to my duties near the spire."

I'd try go back to sleep that night but rest evaded me, her figure caught in my mind alongside the battle before hand. The second time I'd see her would be four short months from now but that's a story for a different day.

To officer Xerxe,

My magic is not as strong as it used to be, our hopes to unseal the sun look grimmer every day as our numbers drop, we have to act soon before there is no one left to solve the problem. We need to gather our members within the next week and decide on a plan soon we have limited time to execute it alongside it. On another note the spires have appeared to become brighter, even my own, it appears the towers are sentient aside their original owners control.

from,

Arctura Corin.

[alligatorjesie]

Naw, see that's the wrong attitude to take with all of these plants.

Yeah, with horrible land management a bamboo patch can get real fuckin' unruly, but I've never seen a bamboo patch do half the amount of destruction as kudzu.

I've never seen fields of mint choke out all of the life from a forest like winter creeper.

There has never been an artichoke patch so aggressive it's the only thing growing alongside every roadway in every state from Florida to Maine like bush honeysuckle.

Bush honeysuckle, winter creeper, kudzu, they all can be distributed via seed and are fucking impossible to control once you put them in a location because it just takes one bird eating a seed and shitting it out miles away for them to start to become a problem.

Mint and bamboo however only spread via rhizomes and runners. They can only go as far as you let them.

Artichokes can spread via seed but deadheading them can prevent that from becoming an issue but if you miss a few you don't have to fret much because most seeds end up falling close to the parent plant.

Mint can grow as deep as 24 inches but that's uncommon for a plant that's maybe only a few years old as only super old growth would have such deep roots. Someone could and should argue that you should have taken care of mint before it became 'old growth'.

Most mint plants only grow on the top 4 inches of soil. Tilling will uproot a lot of the deeply growing mint and what grows back can be snuffed out by pouring boiling water on it or making a mixture of 1 gallon white vinegar/1 cup table salt/2 tablespoons dish soap and pouring on it till it don't come back.

It's very easy to 'trap' mint into locations but planting them on house walls or along walkways. They sort of grow prostrate and send out runners that need to contact ground to root so if you block them in they just can't go anywhere and they're but weak little mint so they can't wreck your house by growing next to it.

Like this little spot close to my house. I got a whole bunch of shit growing in here happily and no one can escape beyond the confines of the house, the porch, and the foot tall brick wall I made with blocks that were left on the property when we bought the place.

It also keeps mosquitos away.

Bamboo is way more problematic than mint because those rhizomes can grow 2 to 3 Feet into topsoil and you can't always block them in with objects or barriers because they're so stronk they can and will Hulk Smash through a concrete wall.

Don't plant bamboo near your house. It'll wreck your shit.

But there is actually a really simple way to keep bamboo contained.

It's called mounding and it's as simple and throwing whole hay bails on the ground and letting them rot away into a mound that is at least 2 feet tall.

Do you got food trash? Coffee grounds at work? Orange and banana peals?

Throw that shit on the ground.

Rotten wood? woodchips? Cardboard?

Throw it On The Ground.

Mitch McConnell?

ON THE GROUND

And just keep throwing shit on the ground until you have a mound that is at least 2 feet tall after fully breaking down (The mound being taller also wont hurt anything) then plant the bamboo squarely in the middle.

As the bamboo grows it will remain level with the height of the mound but as it reaches the edge the shoots with pop right out the side and can be easily broken off to control the spread.

The shoots are edible but if you don't have a use for them throw them on top of a wood brush pile for a few months to kill the shoot so it won't re-sprout in the compost.

Just always make sure you leave your mound far enough away from fences and walls so you can access the new shoots.

Jerusalem artichokes are actually one of the easiest out of all three of these to control because the tubers only grow a few inches into soil so they're easy to dig up. You don't even need to block them in.

Just wait until they've died back in the winter and dig the tubers up. They can be eaten or pickled just like the heads or you can give them away to friends to start a patch of their own. They're full of vitamins and minerals and even got a little protein them.

The dead leaf material composts beautifully and makes some of the best soil. Throw that onto the bamboo pile.

You don't need to fear a whole ass plant all because one time uncle Joe didn't realize an aggressively growing perennial escaped it's laughably pathetic confines and now you have 5 acres of a plant no one can figure out how to kill.

It didn't grow that fast over night.

A pot wont contain shit if you fucking ignore it for years.

The effort needed is minimal. The most you got to do is go outside every week or 2 and just make sure everyone is where they should be and if they're not, Remove Them.

Good land stewardship is everyone's responsibility and with very little effort all of these plants can be easily contained on a plot of land and can provide you and your community with sustainable food and materials for years to come.

Don't hate a plant just because it wants to thrive. Every one of these plants has very predictable personalities and can be easily convinced to corporate if you just bother to learn how they work and give them the same amount of attention you would a potted cactus.

If you have space and a good method to contain them, I highly recommend growing all of these plants.

[littlecarnet]

- Sol proudly shows off the new trees.

So I finally picked up the baby ginkgo tree from my great aunt, but was surprised by two! Yes, apparently a branch she pruned off her main tree began to sprout a few weeks ago (the one on the left). It was almost going to be tossed into a wood pile to cure. Most specimens don't propagate this way, the one on the right needed to be dusted in a root hormone to start it up, and it was cut when the leaves were already developed. The left one was a bare branch! My aunt told me that one is going to be the strongest of the two, because it was so desperate to save itself, it grew leaves almost overnight. It has a strong will to survive.

Because it's too late to plant them, and they're still so young, she went ahead and put them into pots bonsai style for me (she herself cultivates juniper bonsai). I'm tempted to keep one in a pot indoors, as ginkgos are pretty popular as bonsai, though the maintenance to keep them dwarfed is tedious, as their roots are notorious for breaking through earthen pots or getting root bound in plastic ones. And they have to be repotted and pruned every five years. Yeeeeah...I think I'll go ahead and find places to put them in my yard instead. They'll have complete freedom to grow however they like.

Another thing to consider is the gender. It's too early to tell if they're male or female, and they are capable of changing gender throughout their lives. Why is this concerning? Because the female throws out some of the most rancid smelling fruit you can imagine. I remember visiting my aunt in the fall, and her tree, being female at the time, threw out a bunch of little yellow fruits everywhere that smelled like vomit. But she collected them, put them in a bucket filled with soil, and let them rot outside in order to get at the seed. The seed is edible and...well, really tasty when roasted! She'd give me a few peeled ones to take home. You do have to eat them in moderation, as they contain a trace amount of cyanide (much like cherries pits), probably no more than 12 seeds.

The leaves can be used as a tea regardless of the tree's gender, and as a child I hated to drink it when I visited her because it tasted like grass. But as an adult, I now appreciate the earthy flavor. It's supposedly aids in memory function. Not sure if that's true, but considering my great aunt is 100 years old, still physically active, and sharp as a whip, maybe there's some truth to it. I guess I'll find that out when I collect the leaves from my own little trees.

So there we go! My new additions to my plant collection. I hope I can take care of them properly, these are technically an heirloom.

[pennycat83]

Ok so I just shat out a whole mini story and I need to post it somewhere

The tension in the cabin was deep, an unblinking eye to eyes(?) contest ensuing as she just...stared at what ever the hell was at the door, this place was weird but she hadn't imagined it would be to this degree.

Describing whatever the hell she was looking at was...hard, something about it almost felt phallic in the way it looked like a vagina but at the same time it reminded her more of a personified blood vein. It stood tall above her, rows of tendrils sprouted from its...opening, they felt around in the air trying to detect her. At certain points weird hole ridden flesh sponges pulsed open and closed on the opening.

In general this thing was freaky, it moved around slightly trying to sense wherever she was. Without really minding Penny chan casually asked "need somethin'?", this fully activated the creatures senses as its tentacles penetrated her flesh forming clean holes, they retracted just as easily. With this the creature began leaving before it heard a casual "k". The creature turned back and approached where it stood before,

this time it tried sensing wherever the hell Penny chan was as it approached, Penny chan moved around behind the thing before exiting to the outside. "Oh God it's freezing", at this the creature turned it's head a full 180 degrees before charging in frustration.

Just like before Penny chan was relaxed in dodging any attacks this creature pulled, it was surprisingly agile despite it looking like a wad of soggy meat. Finally, the creature stood back to the woods in a mix of frustration and exhaustion, an awful broken wheezing was emitting from it as it finally let out...something that sounded like words.

"tish elttil uoy llits yats timmad doG"

This intrigued Penny chan much more as her ears twitched in interest, "holy crap". She stared in amazement as the creature carried on it's frustrated rant.

"gnizeerf gnikcuf m'I ereh tuo seerged -3 ekil s'ti !? elbmin gnikcuf os uoy era tihs eht woh"

Something about it speaking reversed greatly humoured Penny chan as she placed her hands behind her back and leant forward, "look bud I don't know what the hell you're saying but uh... I'm doing my normal speed, if anything I'm walking too slow"

This only offended the creature more as it tried again to attack, this time however Penny chan had moved across to the now icy road causing the thing to slip forth and plant it's...face clean on asphalt. The torment continued as Penny chan merrily ran and ambled around whilst the flesh being kept lurching forth and either eating snow or getting exhausted.

It wasn't long before Penny chan became tired and headed back inside to her cabin, she turned around and smirked before giving a laid back peace sign "thanks for the exercise bud".

All through the night she could hear the creature wailing and banging on the door. It didn't feel right, yeah sure the thing had tried to attack her but... she got up and looked outside the window, just like before

she could barely make out in the dark as it tried to attack a squirrel and falling on the ice, this time however it managed to break off one of its tentacles as it tried to clutch it in pain and let out another earth shattering wail in agony.

Oh...

Oh God...she...felt bad for it, whatever the fuck was outside was clearly in pain as the wounds from before only made it cry in pain even more, it even looked like it was...trying to cry.

She sighed and dug around for her first aid kit, she knew it wasn't really going to do much but it felt better than approaching again.

The tensed response from the creature felt fitting as it waved its other tentacles in defence, a low hissing emanating from it. "Chill, I feel like shit for harming you before k?", this seemed to cheer up the thing

as it moved it's upper tentacle into almost a closed eye "emac uoy ereofeb ytmpe ytterp gnitteg saw ecalp, skanht", it raised a tentacle and made a sharp jab at Penny chan's arm. It seemed the creature was nocturnal as it watched in horror as it's tentacle was naturally pushed out and Penny chan's arm automatically started repairing.

"Oh, I see", her tone dropped to emptiness. This seemed to have activated something in Penny chan as she made a clean firm throw of the first aid box into the snow, she crossed her arms and gave a dead poker face. "try it", this confused the creature as it looked up. "try mending yourself then bitch".

She began to head back to the cabin as she heard the creature continuously gloat. "!?XOB ELPMIS A NEPO T'NAC RELWARCDOOW A KNIHT UOY DNA SEIRUTNEC DEVIL SAH SIRI EHT, REDAEL YM"

"HCTUB TIAW TSUJ ECNCEIDAR SIH YB DEHSIUQNAV EB LLAHS SEICEPS ERITNE RUOY"

She ignored it as she went back up the cabin steps and to the warmth of her bed before she heard the sounds of struggling, couldn't hurt to watch right? she turned back around and casually leant against the beam of the cabin, smirking as she watched the thing try and fail to open the first aid kit.

It was more than entertaining, that sense of guilt still lingered and it wasn't long before the thing chucked the boxed away in frustration and slumped down, she just stared as it started...crying? Whatever noise it thought was crying at least, it was almost hard to watch (and...listen to) but Penny chan watched in amazement as she watched this creature just sit there crying in frustration.

"now that you'd never see in Cabin in The Woods", at this the creature turned around, weird yellow red puss dripping down its eye? (least she knew where those were now) as it struggled to stand up before slipping back and hitting its head on the snow, unfortunately it made the regretful decision of sitting behind a lamppost so Penny chan had the glory of hearing a fleshy crunch as she watched the creature lying in the snow. The thing now started fully crying as its tentacles waved around.

"Jesus fucking Christ dude". She walked up to the creature and offered out a hand, in response the thing moved back now in fear until its head made clean contact with the lamppost warranting another cry of pain, "fucking aider, I'm trying to help". The thing rolled around in pain as it shakily made a beg of mercy, "uoy neht...heht, em esaet uoy tsrif, uoy htiw gnorw si tahw-w". More puss trickled down it's eye as it lay back, "ied ot ereh em eveal tsuj".

Penny chan resumed her poker face as she bent down and tried lifting the thing back up, just like before weird roots started forming on Penny chan before wilting away quickly. She made a full lift up of this thing as it now sat (at least she assumed) back on the sidewalk.

She walked off in search of the first aid kit before heading back into the cabin. She returned not to later with her blanket and a few pillows, placing almost all of them behind the creatures back and trying somewhat to patch it up.

By the time the thing came to it looked down in pure fear as Penny chan tried putting snow on one of its bruises "?!GNIOD UOY ERA LLEH EHT TAHW", Penny chan didn't even look up as she nonchalantly said, "trying to numb the bruise, Idk using what I can here k".

The creature looked down its eye studying every part of what Penny chan was doing as it tried moving back before it hit the blanket and pillows. "oh yeah didn't want you breaking your spine so...".

The response the creature gave was amazing as it just...stared, no real emotion could be drawn as it watched Penny chan work. After it had been somewhat bandaged Penny chan got behind it and tried messaging its back, this warranted another yell in pain

and the thing giving a death glare. "-KCUF EHT", "I was just checking to see if you really have broken your back...". Her non existent eyebrows furrowed at this, she didn't have anything on her that could help, the only logical thing would be to use a splint but...

She looked around, the only closet thing she could use would be a branch (would have to be a thick one though), she turned her head up...the woods. She went back into the cabin before remerging with her hiking boots on, she began to head out before hearing the creature

spluttering random sentences "NAC SDOOW EHT UOY LLIK T'NAC I FI", she turned her head "the fuck does that mean?". As expected something was in the woods with her, she could feel a presence as she checked various branches, was that a threat or a warning that thing gave her before?

The tone felt like that thing was mocking her but...she finally pulled out a large enough branch from the snow and began making her way back. As she placed it up against the things back she could hear crunching, she didn't do anything outside of focusing on her work but the tense reaction

from her patient told her more than enough. Finally she was done, she tried helping the creature up before turning back, not really paying much attention; an almost 15ft creature stood above the tree lines, she grabbed everything before taking it in and helping the creature in and locking the door.

This was the fun part, as the two sat inside she could tell this thing was doing mental gymnastics, she had it resting on the other guest bed which only added to the confusion.

"betcha never seen a human do this before huh?", the thing just sat there in silence. It almost felt like it didn't even know what was going on, though the face(?) it was giving seemed to imply it wasn't mean to be part of this.

An ear piercing silence began punctuated only by knocking at the door, Penny chan looked away slightly before asking an obvious question "so...you speak reverse?". This seemed to set...something off in the creature as it began haughtily describing its species.

Obviously none of it was hitting Penny chan as it spoke too fast for her to even understand (not as if she knew reverse to begin with she only knew it writ-), she got up and pulled out a notebook from her backpack. This didn't interest the creature as it still carried on its speech.

"Ok so...I have no freaking clue what you're saying, you're speaking too fast and I think you have an accent? either way I can't speak reverse for shit sooo" she opened a random page from the book and pushed it towards the creature alongside a pencil, "please for the love of GOD use this here on out if you want to speak to me".

This confused the creature for a bit before it tried picking up the pencil, something in its mannerism seemed genuinely stressed as it tried forming a coherent line of text.

Finally, it stopped and just lay back, still in assumed pain. The guilt from before lingered more now as Penny chan tried reading, as expected it wrote in reverse, not really good English but it was more than enough to work with.

"So you're an alien?" with a single word the creature now sat up intently, "woodcrawler?". The woodcrawler only got more intent as it watched her piece more and more together, "so your ruler The Iris wants to take over Earth". At this the crawler seemed to cheer up fully, it lay back in bed as it sighed in relief (the only logical explaination as to whatever the hell a broken harmonica being played through a dusty air vent was).

It wasn't until Penny chan asked the most important question did she see some truly interesting responses, "yeah but why?". This triggered what she could only assume to be it...getting flustered? The woodcrawler starting waving its tentacles in embarrassment as it tried forming a logical explanation.

"-hhu...hhu dna...ew...ees uoy llew", it turned an even redder shade than normal, "eh, not like I care" this seemed to relax the crawler again before it carried on it's gloating. This was the thing that pissed off Penny chan, if the thing wasn't getting flustered over simple questions it was haughtily showing off its species accomplishes. "y'know what? I have a solution", this caught the Woodcrawlers attention as it rested its tentacles on the bedsheet and gave an assumed shit eating grin. "teuiq renedrag eht peek ot tahw", " no to shut you up".

With this Penny chan hopped out of bed and climbed into the one the Woodcrawler was sleeping in. This did one final rotation of its attitude as it began squirming in uncomfortable embarrassment, despite not looking anything close to a human it still acted like one as it moved around and even begged her to go back to her own bed. "Can't, too close to the window bud", she left off her infamous laugh as the woodcrawler became hot again.

"?seiceps ruoy htiw gnorw si tahw", despite the roots trying and failing to penetrate her, Penny chan started growing more and more tired. "nothing really...just got a thing for this.." she was half assuming what it was saying but this seemed to only freak it out even more. Finally, Penny chan said something that truly set something off in the Woodcrawler, "you're a chick aren't ya? kinda hard to hide with a Northen accent". "uoy did woh-h", by this point though Penny chan was asleep, fully embracing her.

[dungeonecologist]

So i fired up Suikoden Tierkreis because I remembered liking this game (possibly out of sheer desperation for a Suikoden anything at the time) yet I have like zero recollection of what the enemy designs and layouts were like. Right off the bat we get some fun stuff though, so maybe this is one I can really dig my teeth into. *fingers crossed*

Our first mission with our gaggle of teens is classic RPG pest control intro dungeon. "Laggarts" have taken up residence in a nearby wood and are terrorizing the local inhabitants. A super nice detail is that on our way East toward said animal lair, there is a farm where a (later) recruit corroborates the premise. In the overworld itself we can run into Laggarts already, in teams of 2 or 3, which checks out with the idea that they're forming packs (which, I guess they normally wouldn't?) and encroaching on the human settlement.

Once we get into the Easten Hill dungeon, the Laggarts mostly appear with other monsters; Grass Squirrels and XBees. At a glance this just kinda falls into that typical RPG quirk where nature has conspired against us against all natural orders, but I feel like there's a little bit of potential for headcannon here...

The way the Laggart's appear to me suggests some feeding habits. In the arrangement with 2 Laggarts flanking 1 Grass Squirrel it seems like they could be hunting it in a pack, and in the case of the 2 XBees and long Laggart my first thought is the bees chasing the Laggart away from their hive and its honey. Sadly the enemies don't seem to attack eachother, so those dynamics are purely in my head, but it would've been a clever way to establish that the Laggart are displaying behaviors of an invasive species, overrunning local fauna and overhunting in a way that threatens not only the local human inhabitants but the balance of the local ecosystem overall.

Although I have no idea what these things are... Wolf-like? Rats? Badgers? The scale of the game models does not help this... People are chibi, the Laggarts are proportionally sorta dog sized? But then the squirrel is dog sized(?), the bees are huge(?), or are these all just much smaller than they appear in battle and the countryside has been overrun with large-rat sized things, but also still pretty abnormally large bees?

...so i started typing bits of this up as i was crawling through the dungeon at kind of a snails pace between doing other things... and it just kept going... It's technically a few dungeons nested inside eachother, or like strung together:

We end up in Flesaria Forest, and then in ruins within that, as the pest control quest gets derailed by magical reality warping happenings. Each new area keeps all the old enemies but also adds new ones to the mix;

Thorn Mushrooms and Googly Seeds, as well as Spider Hoppers begin appearing in the Forest, and within the ruins themselves we get Skull Guts. Broadly speaking I guess the roster doesn't make any more or less sense. Mushrooms and carnivorous plant seeds in the thick forests. Spiders, because where aren't there spiders? I do really love this unique take on the familiar man-eating plant type of monster; the little baby sprout with its one snaking head, still carrying around its seed shell, rather than a full grown plant with vine-like tendrils and many flowering heads is a fun way to communicate that these are early game monsters. They babies.

Skull Guts gets to be the fun anomaly because the ruins themselves have only just appeared magically and are otherworldy and alien. It's appearance has the distinct impression of something gone horribly wrong. We won't fully grasp the nature of these phenomena until a little later, but more landscapes will teleport in, each from their own unique parallel worlds, and many with their own inhabitants. The Ruins have no such sentient inhabitants it brings with it, but it could be a cool detail if these were the remains of the people that would've/should've been brought over in the teleportation; like some kind of mangled inside out teleporter accidents.

[acheemient]

It's so nice of you to ask @hearteyesmcgarrett ! Such a lovely and completely unexpected question!

I have 8 so far!

My first is a leftover from a more innocent time when we didn't know that certain authors were horrible people. This is my Golden Snitch. Don't let anyone tell you that blowout isn't real, kids. Luckily, I like it better the way it is now. I can't bring myself to have it covered, despite the above-mentioned author turning out to be a transphobe.

Next is on my inner, upper left arm. It's my best friend's handwriting, and it means "in the middle of things." It's a literary/writing term that I love. Plus, I'm the middlest child of my siblings.

After that, we have my seven birds, which are for The Adventure Zone Balance podcast. The artist sucked (See my next tattoo), but I love them no matter how goofy they look.

Welcome to the first tattoo that needs to be covered. My Christmas Wreath. Is it what I asked for? Not even in the slightest. Did I tell the artist I wanted purple and blue flowers and Absolutely No Roses? I sure did! Am I too nice to tell an artist that her work sucks and that's not what I asked for? I certainly am! This one was also for The Adventure Zone Balance.

This one is my mom's handwriting. She signs all my Birthday/Christmas/Halloween/etc. cards with this. It's short for "Be good, for God's sake, be good." I am the Bart Simpson of our family!

Welcome to tattoo that needs to be covered number 2! I got this for the daffodils in my mom's forest (she threw what she thought were a bunch of dead daffodil bulbs into the woods to get rid of them. Now they sprout in the woods every year, and it's my favorite thing ever). Unfortunately, you get what you pay for with tattoos, and I did not pay a lot for this one. It's all blown out and looks terrible now. So, I want my current artist to create something with daffodils and forest leaves to go over it.

My favorite tattoo!! This is for my grandparents, who planted a dogwood tree for me when I was born. This was done by my current artist and took 6 hours. It feels like it is my first real adult tattoo!

And finally, my latest! A pineapple! Why? Because! Do I like eating pineapples? Nope! I'm allergic to them! Did I do it cuz I find it hilarious? Absolutely!

And that's it! My tattoo tour! I'm sure I'll be adding to it eventually. I have so many ideas that I want done!

Anyway, thank you so much for asking! 😊

Can someone please just ask me about my tattoos? I just want to show them off like a first grader at Show and Tell!

[southern-juju]

My Grandma's Magic Garden (AKA the Compost)

As I contemplated writing about starting a compost of all things, it occurred to me that I have a lot of odd stories about my grandma. My maternal grandma was the daughter of Polish immigrants. She was born and raised in Hartford, CT during the dark days of the Depression and was in high school during World War II. Right after the war, when she was fresh out of school, she met and married my grandfather. He was a young Air Force officer, and their courtship was a two week whirlwind of a romance that resulted in six kids and decades of marriage. After many moves around the world (and by the time I was born), she and my grandfather (a Lt. Colonel) had settled into an upper middle class neighborhood in Northern Virginia between Old Town Alexandria and Mount Vernon -the famous estate of George Washington.

My grandma and grandpa owned a six bedroom house in this neighborhood. Five of these bedrooms were used for people and one was just used for Grandma's clothes. She loved getting dolled up and could be as elegant as a movie star when she wanted to be. However, because of her humble roots, she was also thrifty and hard-working at home (when she wasn't watching soap operas in her bedroom). She was also never afraid to do her "own thing," as she would phrase it, however eccentric her "own thing" might be.

One of her eccentric "own things" was the way she "gardened." Grandma's "garden" was actually an enormous patch of decaying kitchen scraps --AKA a compost heap. Under the rubbish, you could tell that Grandpa had originally intended for this area to be a real garden. It was a large rectangular plot neatly trimmed with gray plywood fencing around the perimeter. It's size mirrored the deck of the tall wooden porch next to it. You could also tell that Grandpa had once tilled the rich Virginian soil. However, instead of cultivating this patch in the traditional way 98% of gardeners do, my Grandma would just hurl buckets of vegetable scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, and tea bags onto it from the wooden deck above -like a farmer feeding slops to pigs.

Need I say, this "garden" probably made the residents of Grandma's swanky hamlet really happy (she, on the other hand, could give a s*%t what anyone thought).

Once in a while, and I don't know if this used to be standard protocol, Grandma would cover the entire patch with newspaper and and sprinkle it with lime to hasten the process of decay. I am pretty sure you can dispose of dead bodies this way, too, so lime is probably not a product you want big brother seeing you buy on a regular basis -even though alkaline lime can help neutralize acidic waste like pine needles and reduce odor (btw, I am joking about big brother -sort of).

In between these activities, my grandma hardly looked at her heap, and it was during these moments of NOT looking that the MAGIC would happen. Rotten tomatoes would release seeds and fertilize baby plants with sweet decay. Scooped out squash and cucumber seeds would nestle into moist pulp and sprout in the rich soil -gently coaxed by the rain. Grandma's weird compost would magically become a garden of first generation wild edibles -fertilized by the chemical energy of cultivated forebears. The plants that survived and thrived under these hard conditions were strong and untame, just like Grandma.

To a little girl like me, the fruit from this garden was magical because it was a surprise, a gift from the Earth to my grandma because she refused to be wasteful. It felt like Christmas to me every time she walked through her side door with an armload of butternut squash or tomatoes. Of course, we also benefited from these gifts because we got to eat the good cooking a harvest inspired. Contrary to what the neighbors might have thought, we knew that Grandma's thrifty garden was no eyesore but an abundant "waste"land that left us not wanting when it came to meals.

Now, decades later, but still inspired by my memories of Grandma, my family and I have decided to compost, but not using Grandma's open air method. Grandma used to befriend every raccoon and bird that came to visit her "garden." We, on the other hand, are not interested in becoming Chez Rubbish, the new hot spot in town, for every critter near our southern bay. Instead, we have opted to purchase an enclosed, plastic compost barrel that is easy to rotate. The barrel lets air and insects in and keeps rodents out.

The manufacturer's instructions are simple: mix 2 parts Brown materials (wood ash, cardboard, cornstalks, leaves, pine needles, straw, paper -Grandma was on the right track with the newspaper) with one part Green --everything grandma put into her heap plus any green plants (the instructions also say manure, but that is not happening here). It sounds simple enough, but we are clearly newbies, so any advice from more experienced composters is appreciated.

Ultimately, I know that with our new compost barrel, my chances of growing a magical garden like Grandma's are slim to none. Still, I hope to reduce our garbage output by at least one bag a week and to fertilize our sandy soil. And, hey, Grandma, if you are listening, once in a while I still throw fruit directly into my garden patch off season, hoping to create magic just like you did.

[iolitewitchcraft]

Time for another garden update perhaps??

April 23, 2020:

Look at our babies!!!

The nasturtium is spreading everywhere and so is the sweet potato! The sweet potato is putting out these amazing long vines that gently twist around anything they can grab onto, like the cord for one of the growing lights:

Honestly it's just as lovely as any pothos plant - it would be perfect as a houseplant and it was just $0.99 at the grocery store!!

In the background you can see the weed and the sugar pea plants, both of which are doing really well AND both of which are beginning to flower! The sugar pea likes to misbehave and detach itself from the trellis (I think the wood is a little too thick so it has trouble wrapping tendrils around it). I've had to tie it on with string a few times so it doesn't just strangle the sweet potato!

The tomatoes are getting really big. One looked like it was starting to put out flowers, but the buds have sort of shriveled and turned brown - I'm not sure what happened there. The plants themselves look really healthy. The brownish tint is just from the growing lights!

They're still surrounded by a mess of salad greens, which we've harvested a couple times now. They're really tasty - we just eat them drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper.

Hidden behind the tomatoes we still have a little pepper plant, which has been going through a growth spurt these last couple weeks, and the dill, which is SO TALL and likes to burn itself on the hot growing light.

The scallions back there aren't doing so well (neither is our leek, tbh). We were just regrowing them from grocery store scallions, so I didn't have super high expectations.

A few weeks ago we started some catnip in a big, low tray for our cats to play in without knocking anything over. My boyfriend's mom had a pot like this with a well-established catnip plant that one of our cats loved to just get right into and roll around in! We wanted to recreate that for them here. So far they don't seem to have noticed the sprouts!

We started some bee balm at the same time, as well as some more salad greens. Bee balm just screams "summer" to me - it used to grow out behind the swimming pool at the house I grew up in, and I'd always pick the flowers and suck the nectar out in the summer - so I'm really excited to be growing it again, even though it may be another year before it has enough flowers to really use!

The new salad greens are doing... well. As well as they can be. The cats like to munch on them.

And finally, we started a watermelon seed! It's a small variety that produces plants that'll fill a roughly 2' area and little melons with yellow flesh. We don't have the space to grow a giant watermelon for our yoga studio's watermelon festival this autumn, but we wanted to participate anyway! The little sprout is looking a little yellow. I'm not sure why - we used the same soil mix as we used for our other plants, and it has plenty of nutrients - but we're planning on fertilizing everything at some point soon anyway. We also planted a ring of radishes around the watermelon which should be ready to harvest in a month or so. They've been dramatically flopping over, but so did a lot of our other seedlings at first, and they're all doing well now, so I'm assuming it's semi-normal?

We also got a vermicomposting bin!! We're still learning. It's a lot more work than I anticipated - we accidentally overfed the worms at first and we've been frantically trying to rebalance their environment ever since. It's a little stinky still :(

Hopefully my next update will be full of tomato and pepper flowers! We don't have plans (right now) to add any more to the garden this year, but I've been hoarding more and more pots... so.... we'll see what happens.