#also enjoy the magpie picture

[the-victor-brothers]

Two Fanarts (FW and CB) in two different holidays: Independence Day (Fourth of July) and Tanabata (a Japanese holiday). I know both of these two holidays were already passed a month ago - 4th of July and Tanabata (July 7th), but it’s better late than never.

Hope you had a good Independence Day - Mine was good because my family and I went out to stay at my brother’s house for Independence Day/Summer vacation. ;)

1. FW in Independence Day/4th of July theme:

Victor F and Elsa were watching at the fireworks together, while they were both sitting on a picnic blanket outside (Yep, Elsa’s hand placed on Victor F’s hand). The rest of the kids (Bob, Nassor, Toshiaki, Weird Girl, and Edgar) were also watching at the fireworks. The children were amazed to see the fireworks on Independence Day night. (As for the dogs, Sparky and Persephone, they were inside at Victor F’s house together (after all, some dogs can be scared with fireworks)).

Pardon the picnic blanket - I tried my best while I looked up on a pattern for references. I also looked over the 4th of July picnic and fireworks for references from online. As for Elsa and Victor F’s Summer clothings - they were referenced from children’s vintage clothings (mostly 1950’s) that I looked up from online.

2. CB in Tanabata theme:

Victor VD and Victoria were watching the stars together at night - they were at the bridge outside from town. They were so amazed that they saw two big, bright stars together - represent Vega and Altair (Orihime and Hikoboshi).

Tanabata (meaning “Star Festival”) is a Japanese holiday that celebrates every seventh day on a seventh month (July 7). It was originated from a Japanese myth, Orihime and Hikoboshi (Vega and Altair) - about two lovers who were separated by the Milky Way (so, you can say that the couple were “star-crossed” lovers). So, every July 7th, the princess and the cow herder can reunite together by crossing the bridge (made by magpies) once a year. In tradition, people in Japan write their own wishes on colored papers, and then hang them on bamboo trees. The paper wishes were called “tanzaku.”

Even though these CB characters lived in Europe (England), I’m imagining that Victor VD and Victoria both read the tale of “Orihime and Hikoboshi” from the book of Japanese myths and folklores. Then much later on, they both go out at the bridge to look at the stars at night - to see the stars of Vega and Altair (And how about that? A Victorian couple were on a bridge to watch the stars - while the Japanese legend mentioned the bridge for a star-crossed lovers to across the Milky Way. Get the picture when it comes with bridges?).

Originally the background’s stars (in white) were going to be in different shapes and sizes - tiny dots and star shapes (small and large). However, I didn’t wanted the background’s stars to be mistaken as snowflakes. Then, much later on, I upgraded the background into a Starry -Night style (referenced from Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” - and even the “Cafe Terrace at Night” ) with few different colors (white, light blue, dark blue, and yellow).

Done with drawing pencils, art markers (Prismacolor, Copic, Fabre-Castell), color pencils, ink pens (including ink brush pen), and Posca markers. Enjoy.

[uygfiug]

slept like 5 hours, so i apologize in advance for any possible incoherence :)

heh yeah, i always thought of them like little shoulder devils/angels that keep trying to make me engage in the interest :)

not really, i love all of them equally <3 but it's a pretty new interest so that may change as i learn more :) as for how i engage with special interests: i regularly go far walks in the forest looking for bugs, and i really enjoy reading about them (when i have the energy) i also own a butterfly shirt, and i'm planning to look for/make a lot more hug/holmes related clothes :)

So i guess i mostly like experiencing the thing, like looking at bugs in the forest or rereading holmes stories, and then i also really enjoy gathering information and explaining it to myself as i pace my room :) and i always love to put things i like into the way i dress

Hiya <3

How are ya doing? good, i hope :)

You've made me curious, what was the Holmes crossword thingy?

hi anna!!!! <333

i am tired but doing good :))) how about you?

the crossword clue was "fictional sleuth who lives on baker street" (which is relatively easy, imo). there weren't enough letters in the column to fit "sherlock" so it had to be "holmes"

but as soon as i saw it my brain just went !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sherlock!!!!!!!!!!

[shaperaverse-brainrot]

A little Han Mi doodle in exchange for me rambling about my headcanons please?? Specifically ones about her physical appearance because I've been thinking about it a lot??? Thank you.

She cuts her hair short after cabaret - Just walked out of her tent at the carnival one day with hair she cut with kitchen scissors and very patchily dyed bright blue and absolutely no one questioned it.

(She won't tell anyone but it most certainly was a way of proving to herself that no one had any control of her life anymore, other than her. She wasn't stuck in a cabaret loop, she didn't have to look presentable to anyone, she could simply exist as herself)

Second tallest postie, beaten only by Raven. (Lloyd does not like this fact). Doesn't quite wear big heels as much as her grandpa does, but when she does, she enjoys being a good few inches above everyone else.

I rambled about this before in an ask game but despite not looking like Raven or Isabela, she's got very similar mannerisms. Lloyd has a picture somewhere of her and Raven looking at him with the exact same expression.

(the lack of resemblance does not stop Raven asking everyone he can if they can see the resemblance between them. Han sulks if they say yes. Raven sulks if they say no. It's a lovely game)

When she starts growing more comfortable around the others Raven drags her out clothes shopping. She does find some things she likes, but has to iterate to Raven many times that she does indeed value comfort over style and that those shoes, despite being pretty, do in fact make her trip, and that jacket does not have nearly enough pockets-

(They also come back with Claire's piercings)

(Han also steals Raven's jacket a good bit. She's the only postie it fits apart from him. It has over a hundred different pocket (dimensions) that she once found a picture of the old playhouse in. It was a whole debacle)

(Michael saw this and tried to leave his jackets lying around in case Han wanted to steal some. He did not take into account that he is significantly shorter than both Han and Raven)

She's not a jewellery person, but that doesn't stop her from collecting and keeping what she gets. She may not wear them, apart from a few rings on her hands, as she deems bracelets and necklaces far too breakable, jangle-y, and annoying, but she keeps them next to her bed in a box.

(And she gets gifted a lot)

(Seriously she doesn't know why Raven didn't call himself magpie given how many shiny things she gets)

(Is he wanted for committing a heist on a jewellery store or something?)

[jmtorres]

ETA 11/7/24 we are in all kitty all knitting all pretty pictures hours until my dashboard stops being the most depressing thing in the world. i come to tumblr to distract me from shit like the fucking election and right now i have a dozen blocked posts in a row because no one knows how to step away. I'm stepping away. it's all fluff here.

I thought as a fannish tumblr I could stumble along without a *jazz hands* policy but I guess I gotta pin a post.

I am on Tumblr for fun.

If you send an ask for money I will block and report spam.

Below the cut: stuff I reblog, sideblogs, stuff I try to avoid, block policies, queue, do not ask me for money, and as a palate cleanser to thank you for reading, a nice picture of my cat.

I like to reblog:

pictures of animals and flowers

fannish stuff about shows, books and podcasts I'm enjoying (I like a lot of shit and I'm a fannish butterfly and/or magpie, it's not useful for me to post a fandom list, it expands often) (this includes thinking about characters banging, if you are an "anti" you will probably not enjoy my blog)

sometimes chronic health stuff, that's less fun but the spoonie community sometimes offers advice i find useful or just, relatable weariness

neurodivergent stuff too

food and recipes

art (no AI. if you see me reblog AI-generated content feel free to let me know) (by the way I HATE being suspicious of artists and trying to figure out if something is genuinely creative or machine-mixed.)

architecture and interior decor

fashion

hot people, often wearing fashion

if it makes me laugh. memes and shit.

language/linguistics stuff

filmmaking stuff

knitting and other fibercrafts

general nerdery

queer stuff (history, queer rep, talking about the queer experience, hot queer people flaunting it)

jewish stuff (usually cultural, some midrash, I try not to post about current events see below)

scifi & fantasy writing/what-ifs/meta

polls I miss LJ clicky-boxes but i vote in all kinds of polls it activates something in my brain

like literally whatever interests me, this is a personal blog, not themed*

* i have a couple of themed blogs, which I very occasionally update:

@teachdeathtodye, about both fiber and hair dyeing

@wheresmygoddamnlunarbase, about surprising or exciting scientific and technological advancements.

any other blogs that are not defunct? apparently as of 2023 I still post to @hewasonfogmachine, which was essentially a moodboard for an epic plotbunny I never wrote. it was a rock star AU, so lots of interesting musical instruments and performances. also an MCU/Mission Impossible fusion so hot pics of actors from both franchises, and my fancasts for OCs. either a very specific or very random themed blog, but if it's to your taste, enjoy.

But back to THIS blog!

I try not to post about politics (I am trying not to even read about politics on tumblr tbh) but sometimes the moment moves me. I will tag relevantly (I use "us politics" for American shit and "i/p" for the Israel-Palestine conflict).

I believe in curating my tumblr experience. I filter a lot of keywords and tags, but I also unfollow people if you post something that upsets me and gets past the filters. It's rarely personal. Who I follow is meant to give me an interesting and pleasing dashboard experience, not necessarily be a reflection of who I'm friends with.

I block fairly liberally. If I find your posts/opinions antithetical to my existence or my friends' existence, I will do my damndest to block you rather than argue with you (sorry if i was unable to resist arguing with you before I remembered the block button).

I softblock declared minors who follow me. I'm not an "adult" blog per se but I'm not filtering my content for children and also if you are a minor for your own safety you should not be announcing it on the internet, get that shit off your profile.

I periodically check who follows me and I might softblock (or hardblock) you if I do not think we are compatible (ie you have a DNI that lists people like me but followed me anyway for some reason??)

I queue shit and don't mark it queued so me posting is never an indication of whether I'm actually online.

And here's the thing I need to say that got me to pin a post:

I do not reblog ANY requests for money, I do not respond to asks from people I don't know personally asking for money. I'm on Tumblr for fun and my wallet is not available.

If you send me something like that and it looks spammy (which if you're cold calling, it does), I will report you to Tumblr. If you send me something like that and we don't know each other at all, I will block you. (If I know you I will probably gently remind you I don't do that. Unless I know you but you've been borderline annoying or upsetting in the past, in which case I might just block you anyway.)

Look. The world sucks. A lot of us are in financial straits and are not getting the support we need from our communities, our governments, our families. But I don't have the energy to figure out if you're "deserving" and I'm not loaded either. I do my volunteering/community aid locally in person, not online, to be sure I know who I'm helping, and because a lot of the help I am able to provide is via action rather than money. I am very sorry for the failures of our society that have made social media your best chance of getting help, but please don't ask me to participate in that.

Here's my cat.

The end

[allbeendonebefore]

I have to ask nutmeg, I have to

Good to see when one is aware of one's branding ;)

nutmeg ⇢ how’s your room/home decorated? do you have a specific theme or style going on?

my bedroom is kind of a mess and will be for the foreseeable future because it's just kind of being used as storage at the moment rather than decorated. I spent the whole holiday monday moving those damn blackout curtains and my mum is still like "wouldn't drapes be better?" like ma i am working with what i already have and can afford and they do not make drapes short enough for those windows and i am no longer in possession of the sewing machine because you all took it back out of province with you aaaaaaaaaaa

but apart from the ugly but lifesaving curtains and half the bookshelves in the house being crammed into my room I try to have a few personal touches (fairy lights, a nice framed star wars poster). Most of the conscious thought goes into my office.

I'd say it's an eclectic mix of sci fi posters and local art (both mine and others) and a bunch of knicknacks both recent and from childhood. It's not so much themed as just a reflection of my life (and i also keep getting edmonton swag).

i SUPPOSE i can show pictures but be warned its mostly just me like "gotta get stuff off the floor" and not much in the way of serious thoughtful design (which requires some money and some talent). There is some feng shui though to try to balance out the "idk what i am doing" chaos.

Office

ft. ted harrison, art by a person who didnt appreciate it so i keep it out of her reach so she cant destroy it, edmonton skyline print

beluga i have had since birth, star trek / wars figurines and some other guys as well as the tops of two out of many degrees

i have been digging all my pins out of storage to put on here plus necklaces and there's all the giant roadside attractions in alberta prints made by nancy nickolson who's art i love

i had books on this shelf for my zoom background to make me look like an intellectual and then the shelves fell on my head once so i decided to move them elsewhere hahahaha so now i just look like a weirdo obsessed with edmonton transit and star trek which is true.

(ignore the stupid hat it was a gift for my dad that he absolutely doesnt want but i dont know what to do with it)

postcards from places i've lived that aren't edmonton featuring art by @en-theos hehehe

some posters including a print from fort edmonton, local art propaganda, and a very kind yelp review printed out and given to me by a frequent houseguest :)

everyone is just jealous of my edmonton swag (and my piles of roasted peanuts for the magpies)

Living Room

moved my nice zoom shelf books (contributed by @randomoranges over here (and you must understand i liked voltron Before the reboot)

there's some dinosaurs my sister painted for me, several matryoshka dolls, some montreal art, kitty cats, and very tiny elgin marbles.

this is like the gay trek/who shelf i guess?? (ignore the calgary flag that's not real)

the star wars shelf (c3po is filled with orange pekoe so that's c3pekoe) and the eclectic plant collection (some of which belongs to @quatschmachen). They're hanging out here because i blacked out my office windows during the heatwave.

i keep getting these model valley line lrts and they have to live SOMEWHERE okay

tbh now that i have many of these i am thinking of rearranging them in rainbow order but i love them sooo much.

I do have piles of art that needs to be framed languishing in drawers and stuff but that's for Later. enjoy :)

[gutspiller]

sin triangle - I

read it on ao3 here

There’s nothing like finding the perfect thing. Which might as well be everything for you, little magpie.

While you were on one of your weekly walks, definitely not avoiding your blatant debt and lack of knowledge on what a loan was— you stumbled upon this fancy little hotel. It was one you had seen on TV, the flashy picture box straining your eyes but being completely irresistible to not do so. It had been rebuilt, you saw, the abrasive signs blazing in every direction.

Upon smashing through a window you had previously thought to be an open balcony, you’ve come to find a year’s worth of shinies. Plucking a shard of glass out the flesh of your shoulder, you sift through tons of trinkets. Necklaces, pretty metallic blades, earrings, soda tabs..

In other words: A gold mine!

“Oh, oh! This is gorgeous.”

“Yes, yes, this is so shiny and beautiful and..”

You whisper under your breath with, frankly, inconsistent caution, eyeing a fancy little charm. “This too!” You look over at the rack below it, gasping in awe and swiping a fancy little copper broach encrusted with jewels. You flip it over, and on the back there’s an engraved date from a long time ago— the rust creeping up the sides. It’s dated to around the time you were alive, 1926. “So many pretties..” Looking behind you to check for intruders, you shriek. (Not minding the fact of the matter is that you are the detested intruder) You feel a hand reach around your back to rest on your shoulders. Spindly claws tap at your collarbone, too cold to be even remotely close to human.

“Oh, aren’t you just darling?” A devilish man asks close to your ear, and you can almost feel your knees buckle. It sounds awfully like.. Static. Um, but he’s complimenting you at least..? This is for sure just one of Alastor’s many sly ways of taunting you— but you pay the insinuations no mind. This one is too much a threat— and a tall glass of water —for you to not lean into his tricks. You’ve got to hold on to hope somehow, right? Ha..

Pushing away every single warning, bubbling thought in your mind, you slip your hands in your pockets and rock on your feet nervously. “Um, thank you, sir..?” Your voice cracks, and in a fit of embarrassment, you shoot your head down and clear your throat. Ugh, no.

This just won’t do.

Getting caught first thing in the morning is not what you were planning on doing today. And it clearly also wasn’t the case for this fellow. “Well, ta-ta! I’ve got to run!” You squeal, and attempt to slide out of the grandiose hotel. Your glossy wings expand, the greenish-turquoise plumage shining in the light coming through the windows. (Maybe you should do this sort of thing at night..) It was silly of you to even try and steal from the infamous Radio Demon, and at the very least; a guaranteed death sentence.

If you didn’t make it out now, there’s definitely no other side for you to enjoy. It wasn’t like you were going to be spared, much less magically appear in Heaven beyond your expiration date. All you are at this point is curdled milk, as so with every sinner to die and be sunk down to the depths of torture.

To your hellish luck, he lets you escape. By escape, he means let you fall into the claws of the hotel’s residents. They’re pests, but you’re sure you can kill a few to glide by easily. What you don’t expect is for those same residents to be even capable of pinning you down like a twisted game at the carnival.

You thrash in place, and barely hold off dry heaving as you see Alastor’s form descend from his Voodoo-esque shadows. You were dead. You were a right fool to think you could escape the worst overlord in hell— who did you think you were? To even dare to think he didn’t have this all figured out from the moment he spotted you dawdling near his possessions.

The demon’s voice drawls out evilly, a sinister tone itching you under your skin. “Filthy,” He sings. “Little,” You swallow your mucus, choking out a cough. “Thief.” It was a decent run, in the end. To be sad about it would be a waste— Huh?

Suddenly, party streamers litter the room with an annoyingly high-pitched squeak. For a second, you think you’re being suffocated, but the crêpe paper proves otherwise. It is scratchy on your skin, and a familiar face you know for a fact you’ve seen on the TV down at the shops appears in your blotchy vision. Opening and closing your mouth like a fish out of water, miss little “Charlie Morningstar!” yaps in your face without reason.

Maybe you’d rather die.

But at least you have the pretties!

[mirza-majoris]

Heeeeelloooooo it's been a while I know but studies don't work on themselves and I've got the level of stress of a tsunami in a body of 1m63 soooooo guess I draw when I got the time to ^^"

Sooo I wanted to present here with a little animation, nothing truly amazing, but it's linked to a very dark route of my PL Oc Magpie / Madeline ( it's a bit like Undertale, you take a basic oc and make him more or less trauma depending on what you have in mind X3 ). If you wanna know more, let's just say she's dead and craving for revenge ~

Here we go so enjoy and joy to you all darlings ! ^w^

( Also, sorry for the trembling pictures, my phone is still too little to do something very accurate >< )

[celestial--sapphic]

Get to know Evelyn Caddel: Auror

Read below the cut for my VERY LONG brainrot about Evelyn and her career as an Auror 💥

You can read more about my MC in general HERE 🐍

I also wrote about her love of Quidditch 🧹

She signs up to Auror training with Natty as soon as they get their N.E.W.T results in the summer after they finish their seventh year.

It was a pretty nervous wait for her exam results, knowing she needed at least Exceeds Expectations (E) grades in all her subjects to meet the entry requirements needed to get onto the training programme. Thankfully she comes out with Outstanding (O) grades in Beasts, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts and Exceeds Expectations in Potions and Astronomy.

They officially started their training in October 1893 and Evelyn's dream of being Head Auror by the time she was 30 is underway. 

She and Natty shared an unassuming Georgian terrace house in Cannonbury Square in Islington, London alongside three other trainees during their training period. You can see an 1896 map of the area here and a picture of what Islington was like in 1899 here. 

The property faces out onto the green space in the centre of the square and Evelyn enjoyed sitting on one of the benches after a particularly difficult day, closing her eyes and listening to the noisy chatter of the magpies in the trees. 

Sebastian was a regular visitor to their house in Cannonbury Square. Sebastian, who was training to be a healer at St Mungo’s, often conveniently stopped by around dinnertime and always graciously accepted Natty’s offer to make him up a plate of whatever they were having and join them. After a few weeks of this Natty realises it is not the food he is coming for but their pretty blonde housemate who he always found a way to sit next to at the table. Evelyn can’t help but laugh at Natty’s wounded expression when she says “I thought he just really enjoyed my ifisashi and rice”. 

Poppy stays at the house for a few days at a time every other week before heading back to gran’s cottage in Sussex – where she is living whilst undertaking an apprenticeship in Beast Division in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Poppy spends more time out and about on assignments than in the office – which suits her just fine – so she didn’t see the point in moving to London full-time.  

It is a bit weird for Evelyn and Poppy not to have access to the complete privacy of the Room of Requirement anymore and be sharing such close space with four other people. It is particularly embarrassing when they thought they had the house to themselves one afternoon only for Natty to awkwardly ask Evelyn when they make dinner that evening if she and Poppy could use a silencing charm in future, as she had been trying to have a nap. 

As a pretty determined person, Evelyn throws everything she has into the training course but does not realise quite how much of a toll it is taking on her – and how little she looking after herself – until she passes out during a stealth exercise. Poppy is, of course, frantic when she gets an owl from Natty telling her that her girlfriend ended up in St Mungo's and asking her to return from her work trip in Cornwall to talk some sense into Evelyn about making time for rest and relaxation. 

After that, Natty makes sure she sees Evelyn eating both breakfast and dinner and drinking water every single day. 

The intensity training programme combined with Poppy's apprenticeship sending her all over the country put a serious strain on Evelyn and Poppy’s relationship and they briefly split up in the spring of 1894. They get back together after a few miserable weeks where Evelyn mopped around the house and only left to go to training at the Ministry. 

When they qualify, Evelyn and Natty are disappointed to find they are often given the department’s paperwork to fill in and file and when they are given assignments they are low level ones  – pub fights in Diagon Alley and the like.  

“You can’t expect them to put newly qualified Aurors on the hunt for the most dangerous witches and wizards in the world, Evelyn.” Poppy tells her, which Evelyn just grumbles at. 

Evelyn’s first big assignment comes 18 months after she qualifies as an Auror. She is part of the team covering the security of the French Minister for Magic during a diplomatic visit to the British Ministry. She knows something is wrong when she is one-on-one with a colleague who opens the door for her with his left hand, a hand he had injured a couple of weeks prior and lost much of his grip strength in. One skirmish and calls for backup later revealed her colleague was actually a known dark wizard using polyjuice potion to moonlight as her colleague – who it turns out had been captured and was being held hostage. The wizard planned to assassinate the French Minister for Magic and pin the blame on the British Ministry for Magic; no doubt which would have caused unparalleled diplomatic fall out.  

She praised by both Ministry’s for her initiative in halting the assassination and The Daily Prophet and French newspapers both front page interviews with her. 

Evelyn doesn’t meet her teenage goal of being Head Auror by the time she is 30 but is happy enough working as a Lead Auror and oversees a team of 10 junior Aurors. Uncovering secret poaching and beast trafficking rings and seeing those involved punished is a cause she is particularly passionate about; owing to her wife’s work with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. 

In her late fifties, she steps away from her work as an Auror and takes up the position of professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, often telling her students stories of her most dangerous and thrilling cases.

[brb-brained]

Ok random but best/favorite species of bird and why fellow bird enthusiast?

Hi! Thank you so much for the ask, this literally made my day.

Hmmm… for favorite bird, I would have to go with either a crow or a magpie. What can I say, I’m a sucker for corvids! Crows are really cool because they can memorize faces associated with traumatic and/or stressful situations, same thing with people who are kind to them and feed them. They can also pass knowledge down through generations and too other birds, which I think is just. So funny. Imagine, you piss off one bird on accident one day, and then you spend the rest of your life being harassed by its entire bloodline. I love a bird that can hold a grudge. Relatable.

As for magpies, I just think they’re neat. They are super talented mimics and can make the coolest noises. They are quite pretty too. Their coloring is also really mesmerizing to look at and their distinct plumage makes them stand out from other common birds. I’ve seen a lot of them the past couple days, which has been great for understanding of their behavior and tendencies. (Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a photo)

As a bonus, here are some pictures of a billboard a found:

(Sorry for the word vomit btw, I really enjoyed answering.)

[austin-in-taiwan]

August 3 - Kaohsiung - Fo Guang Shan Monastery

This morning, we all met up at 8:45 a.m., as we were an hour's bus ride away from our 10:00 meeting with a Master at the Fo Guang Shan Monastery. Today was definitely one of my favorite experiences on the trip, as we got a rare personal tour. Professor Yeh's mother has been a volunteer for over 30 years at the Monastery, so we had the privilege of doing what we did today because of her. 

First, he toured us to one of the temple rooms, and we all offered a flower after our wish for the Buddha statue. We got to walk through the beautiful scenery and admire the architecture. Then, our guide took us to a classroom to learn how to eat at the silent lunch. There is a sure way you need to pick up your bowls of food closer to you to eat. If you moved your bowls back forward, the servers would automatically think you wanted more and give it to you, and there was a specific way to put your bowls forward if you were finished. The food was vegetarian. We had a plate of vegetables and tofu, a bowl of rice, and a bowl of soup. The dining hall was giant, with long rows of monks on one side and regular people on the other. Before and after the 20 minutes we could eat, there was a chant that we could participate in. When you walk in, eat, and leave, you have to be silent (no noise with your chair or plates) and not talk. Overall, this was one of my favorite experiences of the trip. Unfortunately, there was no photography, so there are no pictures below.

Next, we went to the Buddhist museum, where we got a tour by one of the volunteers. First, we walked around the garden and the eight pagodas leading up to the Big Buddha, which is 108 meters tall. She told us it's the tallest bronze Buddha statue in Asia. This courtyard with the pagodas and the Buddha at the end was stunning. Then, we went under the giant Buddha and tried calligraphy. Finally, we got to explore the museum for one more hour. The first thing I saw was the famous Jade Buddha Shrine, which is behind it is the Buddha's tooth relic. After some final exploring, we boarded the bus and rode back home.

Academic Reflection

During our guided museum tour, we were taught many topics, reflecting on Buddhism and some of Taiwan's history. First, I enjoyed learning about the national bird in the native animal/taxidermy section. The Mikado Pheasant is the national bird and can also be found on the 1000 New Taiwan Dollar bill. Two other endemic birds to Taiwan are Swinhoe's pheasant and Taiwan blue magpie. Additionally, I learned about Robert Swinhoe, an English diplomat who discovered over 1,000 different species. 

One phrase that stuck with me when learning about Buddhism today was the Three Acts of Goodness: "doing good deeds, speaking good words, thinking good thoughts." This phrase is such a strong lesson to teach everyone who visits the museum and anyone in the world. Overall, I find the Buddhist teachings and wisdom spread by Master Hsing Yun fascinating. Our tour guide told us that before his death, he wrote hundreds of books and only slept four hours daily to be as productive as possible! Overall, I find it wild but also very inspiring how not only Hsing Yun but also anyone who dedicates their lives to their religion or passion and spreading its knowledge.

[kandidandi]

Kandi!!! Would you be willing to tell us about what kinda insects/arachnids you've seen that you think are cool? Snakes? Fuzzy Critters?? Venomous or Non-Venomous doesn't matter, you said you like to be out and about in the green parts of Australia, and while I am concerned for your safety I'm even more curious about the Cool Beasts you've seen on your travels!! Have you seen any bright yellow or golden creatures? Green ones? What about the birds that don't swoop? Just!! Tell us about the Cool Animals!! Or cool plants, if you have more about those than Beasties? (Sorry to Explode in ur inbox, I always hear about the Dangerous Animals in Australia because Scary but never hear anyone talk about the Beauties you can go see. And I wanna hear about these walks you seem to enjoy taking!!)

omg omg omg doof im so glad u asked >:D

(i dont take pictures when im out so i'll just use google hahgashg)

i see lots of birds like -cockatoos -kookaburras -galahs -magpies -magpie-larks (also called the peewee lmfao) -crows -butcher birds -noisy miners (native to australia) -indian mynas (not native to australia) -honey eaters (these guys have long tongues) -ibis -rainbow lorikeet -bush turkeys and alot more im probably forgetting about

for marsupials i see -kangaroos -koalas -wallabies -and possums!

now for insects, snakes, etc etc... *cracks knuckles* theres no way i can list them ALL but i'll list most

-LOTS OF ANTS (obviously) -huntsman -red backs -wasps -bees -grasshoppers -cicadas -WORMS -crickets -dragon flies -moths -butterflies -ladybugs -leafhoppers -praying mantis -RHINO BEETLES!!! (I LOVE THESE ONES) -millipedes -slaters -scarabs -snails -cross spiders -stag beetles -stick insects -blue tongued lizards -lots of lizards -termites -cane toads -green tree snake (friend) -brown snake (NOT FRIEND) -geckos

alot of this wildlife looks dangerous (they are but) just leave them alone and you'll be fine (still be cautious but be kind aswell) even snakes, they only bite out of fear or for food, so dont startle them or look yummy hahaffagah

[dansnaturepictures]

6th December 2023: Lakeside and home

Pictures taken in this set are of: 1. House Sparrow in the garden which it was nice to see. 2, 4, 5, 8 and 10. Views on my lunch time walk at Lakeside, it was great to see the stark bare branches with a backdrop of creamy winter sunlight. 3. Some of the dozens of winter heliotrope flowers I was pleased to find in the verge area near the road entrance to Lakeside, flowers I find pretty which seem to be out earlier this season. 6. One of a few beautiful Greenfinches I was over the moon to see along the northern path, a cheery emerald bird which I'd not seen here for a while. 7. A Collared Dove it was great to see on the bird bath when home from my walk. 9. The Common Gull on a buoy on beach lake with a Black-headed Gull behind.

Another green finch was a highlight with some Siskins seen and I also enjoyed seeing a Magpie fly over with some feathers lit well by the sun. Jackdaw at Lakeside and home and Jay enjoyed at Lakeside again were other good crows seen. Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, fine views of Redwing, Song Thrush and Blackbird again, Collared Dove at Lakeside, Great Crested Grebe, Coot and Moorhen at Lakeside with Greylag Geese flying over, Goldfinches and Starling at home were other highlights. White deadnettle, wild carrot and a fair few berries in rose hips, wild service tree berries I believe, hawthorn berries and guelder rose berries were other plant highlights today with rose hips enjoyed at home too.

[the-cash-cache]

Thank you @gift-of-astralaria and @commander-winterberry for hosting a delightful Lunar New Year Banquet yesterday in the Cantha guild hall! It was a blast (of fireworks!) and so many interesting people came dressed for the occasion. Pictured above are Magpie Corvidae and Grand Master Hyosoo enjoying a peaceful cup of tea on a grassy hill. Please pay no mind to the column of flame rising behind them :)

I’m gonna preface this post by saying I kind of got carried away doing photoshoots for @notenoughplants​‘ Thistle Thornsworth, @legendaryskyscale‘s Lyikera, and @midnightmako‘s Nightbloom Larkspur; I promise I got photos of other people too! Tunnel-vision/hyperfixation be a bitch, lot of photos below the cutoff

Much like a moth to a flame, I was attracted to the mysterious great column of flame, which served wonderfully to illuminate my subjects! The fish seemed to like it too, as there was a great fishing spot at the base of the wall. Pictured above are Cryomancer Visi (me!), Lyikera, Thistle Thornsworth, and Nightbloom Larkspur.

Visi and Nightbloom took turns hiding in the shrubbery, with Nightbloom striking a vaguely threatening pose upon discovery.

Thistle’s glowing red hair was enhanced wonderfully by the bonfire of the gods on the opposite shore.

Lyikera was stunning amongst the crystalline flowers! She looked right at home among the iridescent blooms.

Vellisto, Aalish Iayu, @gift-of-astralaria​‘s Yunalia Sol (our host!), and @commanderfloppy​‘s Link the Twink were quite regal as they appeared to discuss matters of great importance around the table.

Link pays respect to @kralkatorrik​‘s Marwyd’s Bridget the Chicken, our esteemed guest.

Aalish, Vellisto, @silvesi​‘s Lichen Larry, and Yoshiyuki Takara stand near the fortune telling place, watching attentively.

My friend Researcher Klinkk also showed up at the celebration to take a look around, and was nice enough to take me for a spin on his jade tech boat!

And of course no party would be complete without a fight, as overhead @commander-winterberry​‘s Yvalris soars through the air towards the arena!

Thank you to everyone for coming, and another thank you to those of you who stuck around to the end of this post! Here’s another picture of Lyikera and Thistle having tea.

[ashcadence]

Loid Forger

Send Me a Character & I'll Tell You✨️

My fictional husband!

My first impression - Marry me!

My impression now - He's such an interesting character and one of those characters that makes me want to know more about them. Which I think some of the mystery surrounding the character is answered in the manga but I haven't caught up with it in a long time. (stares at my unread volumes sitting beside my bed). Also he's such a good dad and husband. I love how much he cares for his little family even if it is "for the sake of the mission".

Favorite thing about that character - Despite constantly thinking, "I can't get attached. This is for the mission," he still cares. Everything he does, he does because he cares about others.

Least favorite thing - Probably how oblivious he is 99% of the time. I know it's for the plot, and I enjoy that aspect of the plot and his character, it does annoy me though lol.

Favorite line/scene - This is kinda just from the series in total, but when he passes out on the couch and Anya curls up with him. It's so goddamn cute and wholesome!

Favorite interaction that character has with another - Any interaction between him and Yor. Their misunderstandings are so funny.

A character that I wish that character would interact with more - I'd like to see more of him and Scruffy together. I really enjoy the little we do see them interact. I would honestly watch a spin-off of them going on a mission together.

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character - John Watson from Moriarty the Patriot strangely enough. I can't exactly explain why though. (Maybe it's the hair)

A headcanon about that character - Really likes Jazz music and if he wasn't a spy he would have a massive record collection.

A song that reminds of that character - Mr. Magpie by Electric Swing Circus (actually just most Electric Swing Circus songs)

An unpopular opinion about that character - I'm really bad at unpopular opinions. Like, I genuinely don't have any.

Favorite picture - Glasses! He should wear glasses more often.

[perelka-l]

itama for the character ask?

Meme time:

favorite thing about them

He's a baby boy and original Uchiha hater uwu

least favorite thing about them

Rare boy!

favorite line

Baby thirsts for blood!!!!!

brOTP

Idk why but I enjoy imagining him with Kagami? Idk why. Is it the cute vibes with hidden murderous beast inside? Maybe?? They would fit nice together... Izuna is also more bro material?

OTP

Do I even have to explain myself. This ship. Especially Itama and the guy in the middle that is practically my semi-OC? Yeah. But then I think about Itama in any modern AU and his five sugar daddies and I have brainrots. Other scenarios also follow but we need some goddamn proper warnings for those.

I also have a certain fondness for ButsuIta (youngest son spoiled by strict dad? Yesssss), MadaIta (I don't even remember why) and Hashirama (can't escape incest demons).

nOTP

I mean, considering what I do ship already do I even have nOTPs for that guy.

random headcanon

I like to think he was Butsuma's favourite son. Also, I like to think he had more of capabilities of a battle medic, would probs have a skillset similar to Tsunade and Kabuto if he lived any longer :D Also, magpies. We all know why.

Oh also vitiligo propaganda.

unpopular opinion

Does this babie even have any unpopular takes. Look at me, I am the unpopular take. I want terrible, terrible things to happen to him, I'm sorry but that boya awakens my worst instincts.

song i associate with them

Patterns by the Band of Skulls, Silent Spring by Massive Attack, Sugarbread by Soap&Skin (VERY MUCH THIS ONE), A Folded Note by Disparition, BLVCK SATIN (DELETED SIN RMX) by BLVCK CEILING.

favorite picture of them

he is very smol, you can probs put him in a pocket (but also man when you look at it those trees are bloody massive like damn

[ripeteeth]

five things you never get tired of writing

Thank you for the tag, @danpuff-ao3!

So, I have to confess that I've grown to hate talking about writing and my process, as I'm constantly afraid of coming off as ultra-pretentious or self-involved. But hey, as my therapist likes to point out, that's my trauma talking, baby! So it might actually be a helpful exercise to think about the parts I really do love.

Before I get started, I'm tagging @mia-ugly, @soft-october-night, @weatheredlaw, @racketghost, @iodhadh, @jaggededges123, @veganthranduil, and anyone else who wants to do it!

the body and everything with it

I'm a bit obsessed with everything visceral. I love imagery of the body - the bones, the tissues, the skin and sinew. I love the constant process of our growth and erosion of ourselves into death. I'm just fascinated with our constant war - we are always both our body and at odds with our body. We spin complex, intricate stories to escape the simple fact that we are animal - put on this earth to eat, drink, fuck, and die. I'm fascinated by the concept of holiness as a rejection of the body, like the Cathars taught. If earthliness is evil, and the body is earthly, then all things related to the body must be evil. We're told that the saints denied themselves - food, companionship, drink, touch. How can the one thing that we are freely given be evil? I can't stomach it. Look, even our language is somatic. I can't stomach it. Get a leg up. One foot on the ground. Head in the clouds. To be separated from the body is death, and I want to roll around in the visceral aspects of language and description.

2. trivia and scientific/historical minutiae

Writing is fun for me because I'm a bit of a magpie about trivia and love to drop in little details about parchment-making or historical polar expeditions or so on. I'm really thriving and enjoying writing my Frankenstein story as there's so much to include - details about anatomical plates, about Luigi Galvani, about historical dissection and surgery. Picture it as a nerd shoving a book under your nose going look, look, this is so cool! That's basically what I'm doing every time.

3. food

Okay, so this is sort of cheating, because all food is a body of some kind or another - plant or animal - and thus we're back to my fixation with the visceral. But I have a deep love of food and cooking, so I can spend ages on the line of cream that rises to the top of milk, the scent of garlic and onions in a cast-iron pan, the tender bruising of a plum at the bottom of a bag, the perfect scent of a sprig of rosemary. Food has always been a focus in my family, despite how completely poor we were, and my mom's treat to herself was to pick up a food magazine now and again - usually Gourmet or Saveur. I would spend ages with her carefully poring over each brightly lit page, admiring the way the light gleamed on olive-oil tossed pasta, and how it disappeared into the powdery dark cocoa of chocolate truffles. We couldn't afford it then but I learned a language of food I had not yet tasted. As we got a little more secure and comfortable, my mother would bring home treats - preserved lemons in a ball jar, duckfat in a quart container in the freezer. I eventually learned how to cook and attended culinary school, later working in restaurants, and it's been a revelation of pairing these things I have heard of - duck, sumac, creme fraiche - with the actual texture and taste. There's something incredibly magical to me about the language of food. The imagery of it. The brutal physicality of it. We make food beautiful because we love it. It feeds us, nourishes us - but I am also fascinated by the fact that food implies death. Everything that feeds us has once lived. We consume the bodies of others; we'll be consumed ourselves. There's something both sacred and profane about that, I think.

4. myth, religion, and monstrosity

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone who reads my shit that I grew up in an incredibly religious area, soaked to the bone with Calvinist damage. I went to a Christian Reformed church and cut my teeth on coloring books with Christ's body dying on the Cross. I doubt I will ever have a wholly comfortable relationship with religion and that comes through. I love to write characters struggling with religion and the claustrophobic, oppressive feeling of an unairconditioned church in the height of summer, hundreds of voices repeating the same things, singing the same songs. This is also why I'm fixated on monstrosity. It's about abjection, right? The abject other? You are alone in the middle of a sea, different from the others. You are queer. Uneasy. Separate. An infection the body is searching for and seeking to eliminate. I can't separate the two. One and other, holiness and monstrosity. I want to write about them and mix the imagery - a holy monster, a monstrous saint. I am a child standing at the fountain soda machine and pushing all the buttons. I love myth for that, because you're given imagery and a language to evoke this. Is a chimera evil? Medusa had her head cut off for a bad hair day, but was it her fault? I always come back to this quote from Ocean Vuong in On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous:

“What I really wanted to say was that a monster is not such a terrible thing to be. From the Latin root monstrum, a divine messenger of catastrophe, then adapted by the Old French to mean an animal of myriad origins: centaur, griffin, satyr. To be a monster is to be a hybrid signal, a lighthouse: both shelter and warning at once.”

5. desire, sexuality, and erotism

Okay, so this is it. This is REALLY IT, which is - I KNOW - back to the body again. When I fixate, I fixate. But I want to be more specific. I'm fascinated with how we are creatures of desire. We're born needing. We need to be fed, to be cared for, to be held. We are a bundle of wants and that never changes, only the shape of our desires change. How do we introduce ourselves? "Hi, I am so and so and when I grow up I want to be -" So many things are about our desire. We struggle with it so much, with the wanting and the inability to have. With our shame for wanting. We want to eat and feel guilt for it. We want to sleep in and feel ashamed. We want, we want, we want. It is endless and consuming. I love characters tormented by desire, twisting their shame into spiraling rituals around it. Have you ever read Hunger by Knut Hamsun? It changed me. This is a man who wants very simple things but who damns himself in his rejection of his want. I love that. I'm fascinated. Desire is so endlessly bewitching because I want to understand why we desire the things we do. I remember reading Crash by J.G. Ballard and coming away floored by this erotic desire that was so strange to me, so completely and wholly not my own, yet somehow familiar in the viscerality of it. In truth, I frequently reverse-engineer my original characters. I begin with a kink and one wholly incorrect fact that they adamantly believe and then build them from there. Beginning with the kink is so fun for me, because I want to then ask how did you get here, what is your relationship to this eroticism and why, how do you feel about it, how do you share it? Whether or not I ever include the sexual life of the character or the kink itself doesn't matter, but it tends to prompt a lot of thought about who the character is and why. If we are the sum of our desires, then I figure it helps to take a good, long look at them.