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smuttymess · 4 years ago

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bts astro soulmate reading | for christiana

sign: libra sun | cancer moon | taurus rising

lover: park jimin | soulmate: kim namjoon

This reading is for Christiana, a Jimin bias who regularly finds herself wrecked by Taehyung, Namjoon and Jungkook. The girl has taste! I hope this brings you some joy during this wildly uncertain time. Take care xoxo

Dreamy, empathic, and sociable are just three of the many words that can aptly describe you, dear Libra. As one of the most popular in the zodiac, people naturally gravitate towards your nature empathetic, enthusiastic and caring nature. Your interpersonal relationships are of great value and importance to you - people often come to you for your sound advice, to be heard, and to be understood. Your Taurus rising, however, does not let just anyone into your space, as you are prone to people trying to take advantage of you. While you supremely enjoy the company of others and enjoy a wide social circle, you are also fully comfortable to retreat into solitude at a moment’s notice. This allows you to pause before leaping forward into a job, relationship or important decision - providing you with a level of protection when it comes to your heart that many Libras lack. More than anything, you crave balance and harmony across all areas of your life, because that is when you are most at peace. You are likely to avoid anyone or anything that could disrupt said harmony like the plague.

With your sun in Libra and rising in Taurus, you are one that appreciates life’s many luxuries, and you are known to self-indulge in all that brings you joy. While you want balance in your relationships and work life, when it comes to physical and material pleasures it is likely that excess is not in your vocabulary. Often at the center of social gatherings, you love to be seen, admired, and adored with all eyes on you, preferably with a glass (or two) of champagne in hand. On one night out in standard Libra revelry, you can’t help but take notice of the dark haired boy that emerges next to you at the bar, his presence disarming as he flashes you a flirtatious smile. You can feel his eyes fixated on you with as he watches you try to order a drink before he intercepts the frazzled bartender with merely a swoop of his hair and orders a bottle of Dom. All of that for you? You tease, more than happy to talk to this handsome stranger. A devilish, smirk moves across his face as he hands you a glass. Well, there are two glasses and two of us. Why don’t you join me?

It is not long before you and Jimin - both Libras - become practically inseparable in a whirlwind relationship. Despite his sultry persona and ability to practically undress you with his eyes, you quickly discover his deeply sensitive and emotional nature, and recognize that you are kindred spirits. With his Jupiter in Sagittarius and Venus in Scorpio, he is equally charming, romantic, intense and enthusiastic. In him you see a reflection of a kind, genuine and peace-loving soul, in which you find true comfort. You are also thrilled to find that his shared love of excess extends into the bedroom, wherein he can never leave too many kisses along your neck (all over your body) whisper too many sweet nothings into your near. In bed with Jimin, time does not exist - he is fully devoted to enjoying every inch of you, however long it takes, and is not afraid of running late to his next engagement if it means making you cum back to back. You often lose yourself in intellectual conversation only to find Jimin on top of you, his eyes taking you all in as he presses his weight into you, making you whine against him as his cock hardens between your thighs. As meticulous he is with his dancing, he is equally deliberate with all of his movements, his fingers moving calculatingly over your most sensitive parts as you practically beg for him. Look how beautiful you are, and just for me.

While your affair starts of very passionate and filled with long nights into longer, blissful mornings, this fire soon subsides when you two of you emerge from the early-dating fog of sex, pillow-talk and champagne. Soon enough you two begin questioning each others actions, his jealous and possessive Venus in Scorpio emerging as your shared insecurities bubble up but never reaching the surface. Remember: you’re two Libras, after all, who are practically allergic to conflict. Eventually, your worries about where the other has been and who they were with become exhausting and at odds with to the equilibrium you both crave in a romantic partnership. Your shared inabilities to address issues head on, wanting to exist solely in the fantasy world of your romantic relationship, is not possible to maintain when faced with the complexities and hardships of the real world. You both need someone who will somewhat lead, and ultimately you cannot find that in each other. After the dust settles and emotions are quelled, this becomes a lifelong friends relationship...with the occasional benefits.

Reeling after Jimin, you’re certainly not expecting to fall into anything else so soon other than perhaps a quick rebound at most. So you are surprised to find yourself suggesting coffee exchanging numbers with the cute, tall guy you run to catch up to after picking up his abandoned airpod on the street. Its only hours later when you tell your friends about the encounter with the clumsy, slightly awkward stranger that you’re told its the Kim Namjoon. Of course, your interest is piqued further.

It is weeks before you actually meet again in person and you are happy when he invites you to a small, gorgeously designed cafe. You tend to idealize people and relationships, and you have of course had this idea of him formed in your mind since your first meeting. Namjoon is one of the few people, however, that is truly genuine and lives up to your expectations - he simply exists like that. He is a Virgo through and through, with the fully analytical, reasonable, and hard-working nature that comes along with it. He knows what he wants and the path to get him there, striving for perfection in every area of his life, and he does not shy aware from sharing his goals and dreams with you on the first date. You immediately admire how knowledgeable he is and how strong he is in his beliefs and convictions, while still open to learning more. Both cautious to trust too soon, you take time to open up to each other, falling in love with each others minds over months of long walks hand in hand through the city’s parks and many galleries. Neptune in Capricorn speaks to your sensitive, dreamy Cancer moon and he finds comfort in your ability to make even the most guarded soul relaxed and at home. His Jupiter in Scorpio grounds you - not in a restrictive way but in a way which helps you problem-solve quicker than you would on your own. Suddenly, you can begin to see all of your big plans, hopes and dreams begin to become your reality with him at your side. Your Cancer moon nurtures him, and he is elated to have someone who so openly and ardently loves and supports him and that enigmatic brain of his.

In the early stages of dating you may be intertwined - quite literally - in your own private fantasy world, discussing your current reading lists before his hands move to embrace and explore your curves. As with everything else, Namjoon wants to be knowledgable when it comes to pleasing you, and it shows in his tender approach which is loving and affectionate with lots of touching and caressing, but also animalistic - think spanking and dirty talk into your ear as rubs your clit and fucks you from behind, endlessly enjoying watching you come undone beneath him. You can, and do, spend countless days and nights together this way, lost in each other’s presence and bodies. But it is not long before your Libra heart begins to crave more of that energy you gain from large social gatherings and groups of friends. His Saturn in Pisces protests, regularly and often. But baby, do we really have to? I’d much rather spend time with you here. His mind quickly changes when he sees you in your LBD, stilettos on, ready to paint the town red. its not long before he too is dressed and out the door to whatever night you have in store.

Few people know how to get under this Virgo’s skin better than you, Libra. You love how easy it is to rile him up, often without even trying. Namjoon, with his Virgo in Scorpio, is equally annoyed and turned on by your sociable nature, which often has many pining for your attention. For however famous, powerful, and desired he is, he has nothing on your innately flirtatious aura which is akin to a bee to honey. This magnetism you possess is one of many things that attracted him to you, but it also is what gets his blood boiling, bringing out his jealous, controlling and possessive side. This is a man that hates acting out of character or losing himself in emotion, but you cause him to become someone else entirely. You looked so fucking good tonight, everyone couldn’t stop staring. Why do you need to be so sexy? You enjoy seeing him like this, his seeing his eyes darkening as he throws his keys onto a side table and loosening his tie before his big hands grip your waist, hoisting you up onto the kitchen counter to straggle his torso. I’ve been waiting for this all night. I couldn’t stop thinking about getting you home, away from those eyes. But I know you liked the attention, didn’t you princess? Your kitchen is fairly decorative (we know Joonie’s cooking skills) so you are happy to lean back, your legs raised supported by his hands as he devours you whole, making you drip all over the cold marble countertop.

You and Namjoon are a true opposites-attract pairing, existing on two different wavelengths that manage to flow quite nicely and making you true partners in love. Namjoon adores you for how optimistic yet level-headed you are, and you enjoy his strong, disciplined and future-thinking persona. He needs to understand that perfection is an illusion, and life is meant to be savored. Over time, he learns to be less critical with your sensitive heart, which you remind him of whenever he goes into full Virgo-mode. Ultimately, you know that Namjoon means no harm - he simply wants you to be your best self because he sees you for not just who you are today but who you can be tomorrow. As you both crave balance and fairness, your home will overall be one with minimal turbulence as Namjoon is a problem-solver who will always seek to meet you halfway. It is likely that you cohabitate in a plant and art-filled abode high above Seoul, creating a comforting atmosphere for the two of you to retreat into and find peace. With Namjoon, you create a life that successfully balances autonomy with interdependence and teaches you how to trust in true, long-lasting love.

#bts #bts astrology #astrology readings #horoscope #horoscope reading #bts fic #bts smut #fiction #libra #virgo

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kentuckywrites · 4 years ago

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The Hero’s Path

One hundred lobsters. Two endings. One hero, one villain.

New Los Angeles was alive tonight. The lights of BLADE Tower and the surrounding buildings lit up the city streets and drowned out the stars in the sky. All natural beauty was destroyed in its wake, but the city harbored its own form of beauty, its own way of sheltering life. Amongst the humans walked all kinds of xenoforms, many who had come seeking refuge in the city thanks to the brutal conditions of Mira’s ecosystems. They were peaceful here, secure in their safety and the parts they now played in the city’s development.

To think New Los Angeles was being threatened by something internal. To think that only one BLADE knew of the danger, lest innocents be caught in the flame.

Pongo was exhausted. No, there had to be a better word, a better way to describe just how his body ached with every step forward. He wasn’t even sure if he was in control of his own two legs at this point. No matter what he thought, he simply walked forward, watching the comm device in his hand with bloodshot eyes - though no one would see the strain even if they got close enough. They would see the eye bags, surely, and if they dared to stick around they’d see how his left arm twitched more often than usual, having held the comm device up for hours, days on end.

He stumbled through the administrative district, down Division Drive in the dead of night. The map on his comm device beeped suddenly, a red dot appearing in the nearby vicinity, and Pongo beelined for it. The Mediator division, an open section to his left. Yes, it was here, it had to be. Pongo didn’t acknowledge the weird stares he was given as he walked in and began to search through the crates pushed up to the left wall. An easy hiding spot, a perfect hiding spot.

Pongo’s efforts paid off. He eventually pulled out a lobster plush from behind the crates, shoving his comm device into his pocket so he could dismantle the bomb with both hands. The process was quick, perfected over ninety-seven other bombs, and soon the lobster plush was simply that. Now there was only one more left to find, and then the city would be safe again.

Safe again...or safe for now?

As he exited the Mediators’ unit with the lobster plush dangling loosely in his hand, he grit his teeth at the memory. The first plush he’d discovered, lined up nice and pretty next to the test hangar in the industrial district. He’d received a call from an anonymous number from one “Blood Lobster”, who informed him that there were a hundred lobsters hidden in the city, all bombs, all ready to detonate at a moment’s notice. Find them all, Pongo was told, before they blow. Find them all, before people were killed. A twisted game of hero and villain, a game Pongo couldn’t back down from, a game he couldn’t afford to lose.

His comm device buzzed in his back pocket. Even in his delirium, Pongo wanted to believe it was Elma checking in on him, Lin telling him there was an update to her newest Skell fanfiction, L’Cirufe asking for help packing up his shop for the night. He pulled his comm device out, answered it.

“My dear, dear Pongo! You’re finally down to the last of my precious babies. Such a busy worker bee. I just want to pull all your little bits apart and see what makes you tick!”

Of course it was the Blood Lobster. Of course it was. Pongo felt his skin grow warm as his blood boiled beneath, his entire body now quivering to match his left arm. His grip on the comm device and the plush tightened.

The Blood Lobster continued, knowing fully well what kind of reaction he’d sparked in Pongo. “But that will have to wait until you find the last toy. And I’ve put that one in a veeery special place.”

“Where is it.” Pongo growled, his voice raspy and unforgiving.

“Ah, such an obedient little puppet,” The Blood Lobster cooed, “You make Daddy so very…ANGRY.”

“Where is it.” He asked again, losing patience.

“Oh, I am SO going to enjoy killing you in person! Just a bit longer now. Kyaaa ha ha ha ha! Are you EXCITED yet?” The Blood Lobster gave no indication that he’d heard Pongo’s question at first. Perhaps he had and ignored it in favor of his performance. But after a content sigh, he said, “I left the last of my little babies with one of New LA’s especially useless citizens. It’s the perfect cure for their annoying little justice fetish.”

The next words the Blood Lobster spoke fell on deaf ears. Pongo dropped the lobster plush and sprinted towards the elevator down to the city’s lower level. He didn’t care how much his legs ached, he didn’t care that the call hadn’t ended and that the Blood Lobster’s laugh echoed from his pocketed comm device. All that mattered was getting to him. All that mattered was reaching Justin as quick as possible.

The elevator was too slow. The world was still turning, and the elevator was still too slow. When it finally stopped at the lower level, Pongo bolted, heading for the street. There were hardly any cars, making it simple for him to run with reckless abandon towards the commercial district. He could see the fountain from the highway, positioned to the front left of the two towering office buildings, he could see how many people were walking around. He could see the outline of the man sitting on the fountain’s edge, blissfully unaware of the danger he was in. Pongo pushed forward with all the strength he had left, and soon he had made it into the commercial district and off the street. The man at the fountain - Justin, Justin Wright, the Mediator with a profound sense of justice - spotted him and stood up suddenly. As Pongo stopped in front of him, he smiled, a bright and warm gesture tainted when he saw the state Pongo was in.

““Hmm? Well, I’ll be! It’s the agent of justice!...You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Is something wrong?”

“Has anyone given you a stuffed lobster?” Pongo blurted out, still gasping for air that never filled his lungs.

Justin raised a curious eyebrow, his arms folding over his chest. Even in the midst of the city lights, there was nothing they could do to illuminate his features. He was a beacon of light, a spark that Pongo had grown to love and adore for the past month. Being someone’s hero, their icon of justice...he wanted to do anything he could to keep that image, because Justin’s smile wasn’t the same otherwise. Deep below, Pongo knew just how much he meant to Justin, and the same could be said reversed. The Blood Lobster knew exactly which target would hurt him, and Pongo was scared shitless thinking of who he’d target next, given the chance.

“A stuffed…lobster? Like a hunting trophy?” Realization hit Justin in that moment and he lit up, a finger raised indignantly. “Oh, you mean a stuffed toy for children. Yes, actually, I did receive one recently. The note said it was from someone I helped on an assignment - it was quite kind of them to remember. But how did you know?”

Tears started to form in the corners of Pongo’s eyes, a result of stress and relief combined. He’d made it in time. Justin was still alive, talking to him, and he could still be saved. He started to explain, words broken up by occasional gasps for air, “Someone planted...bombs all over the city, hidden in those...those plush lobsters. One hundred total...I believe that you have the last one.”

“So the plush I received was a bomb?” Justin’s eyes widened, “And a hundred of them were hidden all over the city...oh my word. It’s a good thing you went out and found the rest.”

“Do you have it with you?” Pongo asked.

“The plush? Why yes, I do...er, yes, let me just hand this over to you…”

Justin pulled a small stuffed lobster from his pockets, much smaller than the previous ones Pongo had encountered. But he treated it no differently, taking it from Justin and working quickly to disarm the bomb that was sewn inside. One loud breath escaped his lips, and finally, finally, he had done it. He was one step closer to saving the city from the Blood Lobster.

Pongo threw the lobster off the edge of the road, not bothering to watch it splash down into the waters below. Approaching Justin again, he let his tears run wild, embracing Justin in a tight hug. “Thank the gods...I was so worried I would not make it in time and something would happen to you…”

“And I’m thankful you came to save the day, my magnificent hero,” Justin returned the hug, rubbing Pongo’s back. His words were gentle and reassuring, and Pongo kept the hug going for longer than was necessary. He’d spent so long hunting down the bombs that he had neglected every aspect of himself, including this dormant desire for physical affection. He let himself sink into Justin’s body, fatigue and relief hitting him all at once, and Justin let him. When Pongo pulled away, he kept his hands on Pongo’s shoulders, making sure they were staring each other in the eye.

“When you find the evil genius behind this crime, bring down the mighty hammer of justice for me!” He said with a confident grin, “I have no doubt you’ll emerge victorious.”

Pongo grinned, feeling restored from the hug. “I will do my best, for the sake of New Los Angeles. Thank you for believing in me, Justin.”

All too soon they bid each other goodbye. Justin turned away and walked towards the central part of the commercial district, and Pongo took one step towards the highway he’d came from. But then his comm device buzzed in his back pocket. Pongo tensed, nearly ripping it out of his back pocket and accepting the call with a sharp scowl.

“…It seems you’ve found the final piece, friend. And my preparations here are complete as well. Let’s end this, shall we?” The Blood Lobster’s voice dripped with a poorly hidden rage, “I’m inside the base of those useless puppets, the Definians. Don’t keep me waiting. I’m so eager to see you, I could just EXPLODE!”

The Ganglion Antropolis. Pongo know the base well, knew the best way to sneak in and not be seen. It would be tedious searching the entire cavern, but worth it, especially if it meant finally putting an end to this tiring charade.

Pongo pressed the button to end the call without saying anything. The Blood Lobster would pay for almost killing Justin, for endangering and taking the lives of the innocent people of NLA. He would suffer by Pongo’s hand, and Pongo’s hand alone.

The end was nigh. Pongo knew the hammer of justice would be swift.

Pongo refueled Eros and got his tension filled on his weapons before taking flight. No one questioned his departure, no one stopped him from leaving, no one even assumed he was going on this mission. He was on his own, just as he’d been throughout this entire nightmare, and he would see it through to the end. Eros left behind a gentle trail of pink and purple light, an artificial aurora in the night sky. Outside of the city the stars greeted him with soft twinkles, scared of the anger boiling in the pit of his stomach. Nothing, not even Mira’s indigens, stopped him from reaching Cauldros in the next few hours. The atmosphere shifted to an oppressive heat, and Pongo wiped his brow absentmindedly.

Eros landed just outside the Ganglion Antropolis, the entrance to a large cave surrounded by a thick lava flow. Pongo hopped out of his Skell, checking his gear one more time before jogging inside. The Blood Lobster hadn’t said where he’d be inside the Antropolis, but Pongo had a feeling that he wouldn’t be hard to spot. Stealth was never his forte, but he took great caution to follow it, lest he aggravate every Ganglion inside and suffer an untimely death before he could bring the Blood Lobster to justice. He knew the best places to hide, the best places to run, thanks to the time he spent here fighting the Definians. As he approached the room where he fought the Rekoskell, Pongo caught a glimpse of pink metallic paint, a manmade Skell, waiting deeper inside.

This was it.

Pongo took a steadying breath and walked inside, his photon saber drawn and hanging low. The Skell took a small step forward as if to prompt Pongo forward, and a voice echoed out from its cockpit, distorted but familiar.

“Ah, it’s so nice to finally meet you. My name is the Blood Lobster. Yours is Pongo. There. Now we’re old friends.”

Pongo bit his tongue, itching to scream at him that they weren’t friends, friends wouldn’t place bombs around the city and expect him to find all of them, friends wouldn’t pull this kind of shit whether it was a prank or not. The Blood Lobster continued, “I’m so very impressed with all your hard work. And as a special treat, I’ll answer one question of yours right here, right now.”

One question. One answer. Pongo’s grip tightened on his photon saber, briefly glancing down at the energy that radiated off of the blade. There was only one question he needed answered, one question that burned at the edge of his mind.

“Why...why did you do this?”

“Some people just want to see the world drowned in a tidal wave of chaos and hate. Is that so wrong?” The Blood Lobster chuckled, and the answer made Pongo grit his teeth. “Oh, and before we fight, would you like me to kill a few more of New LA’s finest? Just to add to the drama, you understand.”

Pongo opened his mouth, stepping forward to start the fight early, an uncontrollable rage dripping from his expression. But the Blood Lobster interrupted him.

“No, don’t answer that. Let me answer it for you: ‘Why, yes, I’d love you to kill Director General Chausson!’ MINIONS! Bring the captive to me!”

Pongo whipped around, expecting to see the director general in chains, beaten, within an inch of his life, begging for mercy. But the entrance of the cavern was empty. There was no Director General Chausson, nor were there minions dragging him along. The Blood Lobster laughed, and Pongo resisted the urge to slice the Skell in half, right then and there.

“Kyaaaa ha ha ha! Oh, that’s rich! If you could have seen the look on your face! Priceless, I tell you…Anyway, question time is over. Now you and I will settle this for good and all,” The Blood Lobster’s Skell braced itself to fight, lights igniting from inside its frame, “That is, if you can overcome the final weapon left by the Definians…the Blood Despair!”

Pongo spun the hilt of his photon saber in his hand, mentally and physically preparing himself for the fight. One versus one, man versus Skell - though the Blood Lobster was driving an Urban model, the same make that Pongo was given upon completing the Skell license tests, the same make that he’d cherished until his upgrade to the Lailah model. He knew the ins and outs of the Urban like the dirt paths of Primordia.

The Blood Lobster cackled as its first attack powered up, a large machine gun that pulsed with electrical energy. Pongo charged forward, deciding that his best move was to try and topple the Skell and render it useless. But he wasn’t fast enough to outrun the electrical currents that fired out of the Blood Lobster’s gun, and it hits him square in the chest, sending him flying onto his back a few feet away. His photon saber flew out of his hand and he coughed as he pushed himself back up. Thank the gods he could take hits like those - no visible blood stained his armor, but a tingling sensation left over from the electrical energy had him wrap an arm around his stomach.

The Blood Lobster prompted him forward with its empty hand, and Pongo made a mental note of where his photon saber had landed before pulling out one of his dual guns. He activated Ghostwalker, stepping forward as the shadows licked at his feet, crawled up his arms and shoulders. His newly formed clones mimicked his every action, and as he looked up at the Skell, the Blood Lobster growled.

“Always prepared, Pongo. I’ll admit I’m impressed!”

The way he said Pongo’s name made him stiffen, but he soon rushed forward with the lone gun in hand, attempting to fire at the Skell’s head. His aim had never been the best, and dual guns were not the greatest at dealing damage on their own, but at least some of the bullets hit their mark. A few ricocheted off the Skell’s frame and hit the cavern walls, but Pongo was already switching the gun out for the photon saber he’d dropped before. Picking it up with his left hand, he bolted towards the Skell’s left leg just as the Blood Lobster began unloading more rounds to try and stop him in his tracks. Thankfully the Ghostwalker he’d prepared was taking effect, and many of the bullets hit the shadows that flickered around him. One managed to catch him in the leg, but he’d fathered too much momentum, he was too close to his target. Pongo jumped, bending behind him to catch the inner joint of the Skell’s knee with a powerful slash, and the cut was deep enough to disconnect the lower leg. The Blood Lobster’s Skell fell to one knee and he cried out in frustration, swinging an arm wide and catching Pongo off guard. He was hit in the chest again and flew backwards, tumbling over himself and getting the wind knocked out of him.

“Not done yet, are we?” The Blood Lobster taunted as Pongo forced himself to stand again. Luckily he hadn’t let go of his photon saber, but the mistake had passed on to his gun, which had been tossed to the side. He shook his head as an answer to the Blood Lobster’s question, but quickly realized he was bleeding from a new gash on his forehead as the blood trickled down his right eye and into the corner of his mouth. More determined than ever, Pongo leapt back into action, aiming to attack the other leg of the Skell. As the Blood Lobster continued to fire at him with the machine gun, Pongo thanked the gods that Ghostwalker was still in effect, since many of the bullets kept scattering around him. Pressing down on the hilt of his saber, he slid underneath the Urban and quickly righted himself against the wall and used his speed to launch himself forward, unleashing a Starfall Rondo on the other leg joint. Several slashes made in quick succession, too quick for the Blood Lobster to counter, and the lower leg popped off completely. Another cry from inside the cockpit and the torso of the Blood Lobster fell forward. Despite the arms still functioning, the impact on the ground incapacitated the remaining limbs, and the machine gun was knocked out of the Skell’s hand.

Pongo let out a loud exhale before walking around the corpse of the Skell, retrieving his gun in the process. Putting his photon saber away, he pulled out his second dual gun, and once he was positioned in front of the Urban he raised both towards the cockpit as it opened in a swell of smoke. He could only afford a small glance down at his leg, which was bleeding through his jeans. A lucky shot, Pongo cursed silently, trying to avoid standing on it with the full weight of his body.

Someone finally pulled themselves out of the cockpit, and Pongo watched as they entered the smoke, coughing. Then they emerged, and finally, finally, the Blood Lobster’s identity was revealed.

“Heh…victory is yours. I…knew it…Heeeee…You really are the agent of justice I longed for.”

No.

Every part of Pongo’s body screamed out in pain, in heartbreak. The Blood Lobster, after all this time...it was Justin. Justin was the Blood Lobster. Justin did this. Both guns still pointed at him, Pongo’s hands shook, and he couldn’t stop the tears that came to his eyes.

“Surprised?” Justin asked, crossing his hands over his chest as he watched Pongo breaking before him, shattering into pieces, “You didn’t see this coming, did you?”

The question wasn’t one of surprise, no, it was more of an indignant and disappointed remark. But Pongo couldn’t bring himself to answer. Words would betray him, bring out the pieces of Pongo’s heart to be stepped on and broken again. Justin smiled as Pongo lowered his guns, on the verge of collapsing in on himself.

“High praise, I must say. Though that trusting nature is all part of your heroic appeal.” He sighed, “You’re amazing, you know that? I’d even say…perfect. Oh, my pulse is just racing right now!”

Pongo forced himself to look up, some demented fragment of hope sparking to life once again. But Justin continued, perhaps never seeing the spark or ignoring it entirely, “I colluded with the Definians, planted bombs, killed scores of innocent people, all for this moment! All to become a villain worthy of you. To finally complete my story arc and earn the right to be smitten by the forces of justice.”

He pushed some of his dirty blonde hair out of his face, and blue blood trickled down his face. He wore the wounds like war paint, and it made Pongo sick to his stomach. “Now, what say we bring this story to a close? The only one fit to drop the curtain is an avatar of absolute good…you. Now end this! End the Blood Lobster’s villainous plot to plunge New LA into chaos - bring down your mighty hammer of justice!”

Justin expected Pongo to…to kill him? Pongo raised his guns again, locking onto Justin, his heart pounding beneath his armor. Was this really how things had to end? Of course it was. Maybe Pongo deserved this, since he trusted Justin, he looked up to the Mediator like he was a beacon to follow in the darkest night. Now that he’d shown his true colors, that he’d proven he was a shadow following along in the brightest light…

Pongo’s eyes squeezed shut, and let his heart decide.

Deploy the Hammer || Stay Your Hand

#xenoblade x #The Hero's Path: Short Story #blood lobster #ayyyy we love interactive endings #remember to pick ;3 #also don't we just love writing fight scenes #(sarcasm.)

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themangledsans0508 · 5 years ago

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Ugly Tricks

@mindless-pidgeon here ya go my friend! sorry it took so long

Mal was well-aware that the scavenger hunt Rosie had put together was not supposed to end up with animals launching a full assault on the scouts and their parents. Bees, birds, squirrels, raccoons, and rabbits unleashed the wrath of the animals upon them. Markers were uncapped and bees, which turned out to be plastic, were thrown.

In seconds, two raccoons were on Mal, running as fast as they could while trying to keep their balance. Their claws dug into her. She wasted no time, breaking a stick and swinging it to make her attackers lose balance. She swung it around carefully as to not actually hit or hurt the animals.

She kept them away for a short time; long enough for them to lose interest and leave. She was briefly proud of herself. Then she heard a shout.

“Mal!”

“Molly?” She spun around quickly, trying to catch a glimpse of her blonde hair or shirt.

“Mal!” Looking towards the source of the noise, Mal could see the dark of the woods. For once, she wasn’t scared. Nothing was going to stop her from helping her best friend. Her girlfriend.

“I’m coming, Molly!” She ran towards the darkness. She couldn’t be too far in, right?

“Stop!” Mal began to turn around, just enough to catch a glimpse of Molly and her mother, but it was too late. She tripped over a log, falling onto her back. The ground crumbled beneath her, and she was gone.

Mal looked up to the distant sky. She was dizzy. She could feel something warm on her left leg and right arm. Of course, she had gotten cut by branches and rocks. Even a bit of her flannel had been ripped off. Just her luck.

“Mal!” She could faintly hear Molly’s voice from far above her, like an angel or a goddess.

“I’m okay! I’ll find a way back up!”

“Baby, you stay just right there. We’ll go get help, and a rope!” her mother called down. That’s fine, better than her plan to try and climb back up, she decided. She looked at her surroundings. It was nothing she recognized.

She looked at her bleeding limbs. They were not too severe, but still enough to get a scar. She sat up, looking for anything that she could use to make a bandage out of. Her body ached a little bit, but not enough to immobilize her.

She looked at her now-stained shirt and jeans. She sighed, but she wasn’t worried about clothes. She had more identical pairs anyways. She pushed herself up and scanned the area.

Still, nothing looked familiar, or helpful for that matter. She saw the ominous woods looming above her. Most likely hiding something, and nothing good she guessed.

She took a few careful steps towards the shadowed forest before hesitating. She could swear she heard something rustling in the bushes. Something breathing. Something coming towards her.

Her senses heightened. She could feel her breaths get shallower and shallower. She couldn’t keep the air in her lungs. She looked for any signs of movement while trying to calm down. A panic attack would just make things worse.

She couldn’t see anything through the densely packed trees. It was like one of her comic books, and a monster was about to leap out. Her eyes passed over something and swiftly locked back on them. Red.

Red?

How could she see red in a sea of black? Was she dying? No, that wasn’t it. Whatever those are, they were glowing.

She stepped backward, tripping over a log once again. How did those keep being in the way? She pushed herself into a sitting position and looked back to the glowing orbs. Well, they weren’t perfect orbs, but that didn’t matter.

The orbs were coming towards her rapidly, and she had nowhere to really run. She leaned back and braced herself for the teeth that were going to tear her apart.

At least that’s what she assumed would happen.

When the orbs emerged from the woods, they revealed themselves to be eyes. Glowing red eyes for a big wolf.

Calling the wolf big was no exaggeration. It was five feet tall, far taller than a wolf should be. Fully black, its eyes completed its classification as a demon. It wasn’t a be-warewolf, she knew that right away. But it was definitely something she would beware in the future.

If she had a future.

The wolf made a sound similar to a laugh and took a few steps forward. It sniffed her and growled a tiny bit.

That was not a very wolf-like growl, she thought. Not that she had ever heard a wolf growl, but she was almost positive it wouldn’t sound like that.

Then the wolf tried to bite her.

Mal decided that it was tried, but felt like the wolf intentionally missed her leg, which she swiftly pulled to her chest.

Quickly pushing herself to her feet, she ran towards the woods. She knew she had no chance of getting away if she just tried to run like her mind was telling her to. She felt the wolf biting at her heels, skinning the materials off the shoes and grazing her skin. Great, more ruined clothes and blood.

She reached the forest and ran along the tree line, looking for the perfect weapon.

She eventually saw it, a fairly bulky broken stick resting on the forest floor just inside the woods. She jumped in, grabbing the stick with both hands. She lost balance and tumbled for the third time.

She saw the wolf panting and approaching. She waited.

It was finally within her reach. She lifted her stick above her head and swung downwards.

“Ow! Kid, whaddya think you’re doin’!” The wolf jumped backward onto its hind legs, its form melting away to reveal a brown and orange pattern.

“What the hell are you?”

A fox. It was a fucking fox.

It laughed, sounding like a maniac on a killing spree.

“Don’t worry about that kid; where you’re going it won’t matter,” it cackled.

Whatever that meant, she had no intention of going with that fox or getting eaten. She started pushing herself up from the ground.

“I wouldn’t bother, I could catch you in seconds if I wanted.” Mal ignored that statement, but she didn’t doubt it.

It made sense now actually, foxes are considered trickers, sly, and sometimes beautiful.

She knew a beautiful fox, and this one was not her.

She reached down for her stick, gripping it tightly and holding it like it was a heavy sword.

“Kid, just work with me. I’m doing a friend a favor right now, I’m not gonna kill you.” It looked mildly irritated as it spoke, crossing its arms and looking down at her. Part of her believed it, the other part called bull.

However, both parts of her agreed she had no intention of going anywhere.

“I think I’m good right here, thanks,” she stated, trying to put as much power into her voice as she could. The fox sighed.

“Last chance. I don’t want to have to drag you there, but I will if I have to. Make the right choice girl.”

She tried to think of all her options. Go with the shapeshifting monster and probably get murdered, try to run and hide and probably get murdered, try to just run and probably get murdered, or try to fight and probably get murdered. She sighed internally. Don’t get her wrong, she was one-hundred percent terrified, but she also wasn’t naive.

She tried to raise her stick as much as she could without being noticed.

“Okay fox, you win. I’ll just surrender…” Mal felt like a supervillain, pretending to surrender before really kicking some ass.

The fox took a few steps for her, coming far enough within Mal’s range for her to feel comfortable enough to try and defend herself. As fast as she could, she whipped the stick at the fox. It yelped in pain, and she took the opportunity to make her escape. She ran as fast as she could, back to where she fell from and tried to find a place to hide.

She had just barely dived into a bush when she heard a howl, and something even bigger than a fox or a wolf running at her.

Molly was in no hurry to waste time. She had to save Mal, she just had to. It wasn’t about morals and not even about friendship, it was about someone she loved. She hadn’t admitted it to her, even though they were “basically dating”, or so April told her. She’d admit, they had held hands, and cuddled as they fell asleep, and maybe even kissed each other a few times, but she had not yet said “I love you,” or even called Mal her girlfriend for that matter. Had Mal done any of that either? She couldn’t remember.

But she knew she loved Mal, more than she had ever loved another human being. She didn’t love her mother, and her relationship with her two younger siblings was hard to describe. Somewhere she did love her father, but it was hard to truly care about someone who allowed you to get hurt time and time again.

She loved her friends, but she loved Mal just a bit more.

And watching Miss Yoo do everything in her power to find her daughter was really inspiring.

She was running behind Rosie, Jen, and Nellie who Rosie had found on her way. It was surprising how fast the old lady could run while complaining at the same time.

They ran to the cliff where Mal had fallen and Rosie tied a rope to a nearby tree. Molly didn’t wait to test if it was secure, or even check if the rope reached the ground before she jumped off with one hand gripping the rope.

She ignored the searing pain the rope left as she slid down it, she had one mission and nothing would stop her.

She hit the ground hard, but only hard enough to cause a small bit of pain. She looked quickly for any signs of Mal, but quickly hated what she saw.

Blood staining some of the rocks and adorning patches of dirt. A bit of flannel caught on a branch, and footprints and some paw prints trailing through the mud.

Worst of all was the final trail of some blood, a messy line from dragging a person, and some marks in the dirt that were definitely not anything she could recognize.

Like it? Check me out on Wattpad!

Feel free to send a request!

Also pidgeon (not sure what i should call you lol) if you want a part two i can do it for you

#lumberjanes #lj mal #lumberjanes mal #mal #lumberjanes fox #lumberjanes molly #lj molly #lj fox #molly #angst #request #mally-ish #Chara writes

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jasminetwil · 6 years ago

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Inktober Day 25- Prickly (This is an official @inktober prompt!)

Meet the Prickly Pear Beast (PPB for short). This spiny critter thrives in environments with mild winters and semi-arid conditions, although domesticated PPBs have been bred to survive most weather conditions, if given the proper care. In May, PPBs begin to develop hemaphroditic flower buds (monoecious, for you biology folk out there 😉), and these begin to bloom in May and are either pollinated by bees or by the PPBs nuzzling their heads together. Baby PPBs will develop as fruits from said pollinated flowers and will emerge throughout August-October, as smaller, but fully formed versions of their parents. PPBs are curious by nature, and once you’ve gained the trust of one, you’ll have a spiny friend for life. They also have a strange habit of walking up to you and just staring blankly at you. They’re odd like that. Much like their non-sentient plant cousins, PPBs also possess glochids, which are small barbed bristles, that cover the entire surface of their bodies, which is bad for us, because these guys love to nuzzle and glochids hurt like heck! Therefore, owners will have to de-prickle their PPBs every few months by either using sandpaper or a blowtorch. ❤🌱🌵

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buckymorelikefuckmebarnes · 7 years ago

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Walk of Shame

Paring: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: SMUT (18+ only), Alcohol use, terrible writting

Summary: You wake up after a night of drinking to James Barnes.

Pounding headache? Check. Weak stomach? Check. Light sensitivity? You cracked your eye and immediately shut it again. Check. You rolled over to pull the covers over your head and found that you weren't alone. As a matter of fact, the bed you were in felt different than the one you usually slept on. You pushed yourself up on your elbows and flipped the hair out of your face.

Shit. This definitely was not your bedroom. You looked out the giant windows that seemed to overlook the entire city.

Oh god. What did you do last night?

You remembered going out with a couple friends to celebrate your birthday. You had more to drink than you should and Katherine took your keys. But why would they leave you alone with no way home?

Just then the person sleeping next to you groaned and rolled over, pulling the sheet that had covered him down enough for you to see who you had gone home with. There was a flash of silver and your hand flew to your gaping mouth.

Shit.

You quietly slipped out of bed as the memories trickled back to you.

“Hey doll. Where'd your friends get off to?” A tall man asked, taking a seat next to you.

“Who knows.” You giggled as you turned to give him your full attention. “Oh God. You're you.” You said, star struck.

He chuckled and ordered you another drink. “Yes I am. And you are?”

“Um. Y/N. Wow. Thanks for saving the day.”

“Oh that's Steve's job.” He said with a wink.

The two of you flirted and drank most of the rest of the night. Bucky drinking two or three for every one you finished. You both were pretty tanked by the time the bar lights came up and he insisted on sharing a cab.

You both poured yourself in to the car and you didn't make it a block away from the bar before your lips molded to his.

You threw on the short black dress you had worn the night before and scooped up your heels, trying to make as little noise as possible. Jeez. Why couldn't you have worn a pair of jeans or at least something that didn't scream “GUESS WHAT I DID LAST NIGHT” as you walked down the city streets. You kept your head down as you slowly shut the door to the bedroom behind you. The tiny click sounding like an explosion in the relative quiet that surrounded you. When you glanced around you were flooded with the memory of bouncing off of every flat surface in the narrow hallway as Bucky kissed his way from your lips to your chest. His shirt was unbuttoned before he got the door open and he had his mouth latched on to your collar bone.

Once the door shut his shirt fell to the floor and your dress was pulled over your head. He quickly lifted you from the ground and you wrapped your legs around his waist as he moved you to the bed. He dropped you on the mattress and you giggled softly as you bounced, you worried that your laughter had ruined the mood when his lips didn't immediately find yours again.

Those worries were lost when Bucky flipped on the bed side lamp and you caught a glimpse of his face. His eyes were dark, pupils dilated from want and he was slowly running his teeth across his swollen bottom lip. He looked disheveled in the most beautiful way. You squeezed your legs together to ease the fire that was burning between them, you had never wanted anyone this bad before and it felt like you would burst in to flames at any moment.

The movement caught Bucky's attention and he looked at your clothed core like a man starved. He sunk to the floor in front of your legs and pulled you to the edge of the bed. A feral noise ripped from his throat as he kissed the inside of your thighs.

“God damn Doll, you smell amazing.”

You moaned at his words, writhing beneath him as his hot breath hit your core. His thumbs hooked around the edges of your underwear and he bit and kissed your hips and thighs as he slid the flimsy material down your legs. You bucked at the air hoping for some friction.

“Please.” You begged, only able to muster a breathy whisper.

He drove in, licking a thick stripe through your folds and making your legs quake. He pulled back and made eye contact with you before taking the middle finger of his left hand into his mouth. He wet the metal enough to sink it in to you. His mouth returned to you before he slipped the sinfully cool metal in to your heat. You felt the knot in your stomach coil tighter as he attached his mouth to your clit and began working his tongue in slow, lazy circles.

Your back arched and you twisted his comforter in your fists. You orgasm blew through you when his mouth and hand picked up speed. He continued working his mouth on you as you came down from your orgasm.

“Please, James. Please. I need you.” You said as you pulled him up your body.

He paused long enough to pull off the rest of his clothes and to slip on a condom and you got the first look at him fully naked. His body was pure sin and you pulled him down to you.

“Are you ready babygirl?” He asked, his voice shaking slightly.

You could only nod.

He slowly slid in to you and you felt yourself stretch. You groaned at the fullness.

He slowly started to rock in to you and his lips found yours again. Your walls clamped around his length as he reached down to rub your swollen clit. You rolled your hips in to his thrusts and you cried out.

“M'not gonna last much longer if you keep that up, doll.” He growled against your neck.

You moved faster, matching his frantic speed and it wasn't long before you were flying. His name on your lips like a prayer.

“God. Baby. Gonna. Cum.” He panted, each word punctuated with a thrust.

“Come on baby.” You heard yourself whisper.

His thrusts became more frantic as his own release washed over him.

You shook your head back and forth, trying to clear the memories from your head. Bucky had been a very attentive lover and would make one hell of a story for your first on night stand but you wanted out of the tower before he had a chance to wake up or you ran in to the other people that occupied the space.

You had to have pushed the button for the elevator 60 times hoping that it would move a little quicker; you could hear the first signs of life coming from the other rooms. You were sure that this was a common occurrence for a Sunday, someone making their way from one of the rooms in the tower. You had never thought of yourself as a superhero groupie but you knew that they existed. Several girls camped out on the sidewalk of the tower every night on the weekend hoping to catch their favorite's attention. You didn't blame them, the Avengers were all stunning in their own way but that just wasn't you.

You heard a door open behind you at the same time the elevator finally made it to the floor. You quickly shuffled in and started frantically pushing the close button. Your eyes stayed glued to your shoes until you heard a husky voice. “Hey, no wait.” The voice was almost frantic as you glanced up and you were met with steely blue-gray eyes. The doors closed before he could say anything else.

You leaned your head back on the cool metal of the elevator as you tried to gather your jumbled thoughts. Your rummaged through your purse to find your phone. You held the power button until it buzzed to life in your hands. There were 15 texts on your phone and you scrolled through them before letting your best friends know that you were more than okay. When the elevator made it to the lobby you made a bee line for the door.

Your phone vibrated in your bag, signaling an incoming call and you quickly reached in to your bag and ducked in to the first coffee shop you laid eyes on.

“Hey babe. What's up?”

“Don't 'what's up' me when I know for a fact that you went home with an Avenger last night. How was he?” You best friend could be infuriating sometimes.

“Yeah. About that. Thanks for leaving me alone to let god knows what happen to me. Great friend.” You teasingly scolded her.

“Pu-lease.” She half whined at you. “We left you in good hands. They were good hands weren't they?” You could hear her wiggling her eyebrows over the phone.

“Not over the phone, Kat! Get Mina and meet me at my place in an hour. I've got a cab to catch.” You quickly shut the phone.

Bucky’s POV

Bucky woke up with a smile plastered on his face. He rolled over to get a look at your sleeping form just to find your side of the bed empty and your clothes gone. He quickly jumped to his feet and threw on the first pair of sweatpants his hands touched.

He ran out the door and skidded to a hard stop as he saw you getting on the elevator. He called out to you and you met his eyes for just a moment before the doors closed.

Does she regret it? He wondered to himself for a moment before he decided to act.

He ran to the emergency stairwell and took off. You were walking through the front door of the lobby before he made it down the last few steps. He saw you through the little window and jumped the stairs before bursting through the door after you.

You weaved your way through the crowd and he lost you.

Standing barefoot on a New York City sidewalk in the warm morning sun Bucky felt like a fool. He had met a wonderful girl, someone genuine, clever, and gorgeous to top it all off. And he just let her slip away. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Gone. No phone number, hell he didn't even bother to get her last name.

Idiot. He scolded himself as he made his way back in to the building.

He called for the elevator and stood quietly waiting for it to reach him. When he got in he could faintly smell the perfume you had been wearing. He inhaled deeply before resting his head on the cool metal doors.

When the doors opened up he stood face to face with his best friend.

“Hey Buck. Whoa. Whats wrong?” He asked, taking in Bucky's mood.

“Brought a girl home last night. She just took off. Left me with no way to contact her.” He said with a defeated shrug.

“Did the cameras get a good look at her?” Steve asked hopefully.

Bucky felt a smile spread across his face and pulled Steve with him to the security room.

Your POV

Kat and Mina burst into your apartment just as you were getting out of the shower with wild eyes and loud voices full of excitement.

“Girl! Where are you?” Kat's voice rang out.

“Just a second!” You called tugging on a pair of jeans.

“Jesus! That's one hell of a love bite.” Mina commented on the hickey on your collar bone that peaked out from your t-shirt.

You pulled the collar a little closer to your neck.

“So...” She started. “Did you get his number?”

“No. I got the hell out of there.”

“What?!?” They both half shouted at the same time.

“Look, I've never just gone home with a guy before and he can have his pick of the women in this city so I left to save myself the embarrassment. I didn't want to have the 'I'll call you' talk with a friggin' Avenger.” You said as your cheeks burned.

“From the way he was looking at you last night he made his choice. He had an awe-struck look on his face after thirty minutes of talking to you. And if he wanted an easy lay there were at least 6 other girls willing to go home with him a lot sooner. He spent all night getting to know you, you big dummy.” Kat said bluntly. Mina nodded in the background, agreeing with Kat, which is not something she did often.

“Well, shit. That would explain-”

“Explain what?” Kat interjected.

“This morning. When I was leaving, he must have noticed. He tried to stop me before the elevator took off.” you said with a shrug.

Both of your best friends looked at you like you had grown a second head.

Before either one could yell at you again for being an idiot there was a knock at your door.

“Don't look at me like that.” You said to Kat as she shared a knowing look with Mina. “I've only been out of his bed maybe two hours and he didn't even have my last name.” You said walking to the door. You turned the knob to open it without looking to see who was on the other side. “There's no way in hell he found me at 11am on a Sunday.” Your friends stood shell shocked, unable to move their eyes from the doorway. You turned to see what had their attention and your eyes met a wall of pure muscle. You moved your gaze up to meet familiar blue gray eyes.

“Well, there may be no way in hell, but there must be one in heaven, Angel.” He said with a wink.

“Oh god, Bucky. You're so corny. I'm sorry. Sorry that you had to hear that and sorry that I helped this lucky son-of-a-bitch stalk you. Tony. Tony Stark.” The legend himself said from his spot, leaning against the outside wall of your apartment. “Seems to me that you've got our dear child here totally love-sick and I can't have him too distracted on our next mission.” he pushed off the wall and made his way down the stairs leading the exit. “See you back at the tower, Buck. Oh, and miss... I really am sorry.” He said with a mischievous grin.

“I... Um... Didn't expect you to have company.” Bucky said as the nerves leaked in to his voice, all of his previous bravado gone.

“We were.. uh.. just leaving.” Mina said, pulling Kat with her as she exited the apartment. “Talk to you later.”

When the door clicked shut Bucky stepped closer to you. “So, Why'd you run off this morning?”

You told him the same thing you had just told your friends and he looked away.

“That's not really my style, doll.” He said softly. “I had a good time with you last night before the thought of going to bed with you ever crossed my mind. I had planned on getting your number and taking you out on an actual date but when you started talking, I never wanted it to end. And when we kissed I felt something I didn't think I'd feel ever aga-” You cut him off by pressing your lips softly to his.

He returned the kiss until you finally pulled away.

“So, since you're here now... Want to grab lunch?” You said with a smile.

He nodded and grabbed your hand, leading you out the door.

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes smut #winter soldier x reader #james buchanan barnes #james barnes x reader #james bucky barnes #james barnes #james buchanan barnes x reader #Bucky Barnes #bucky smut #bucky x reader smut #winter soldier x reader smut #avengers smut

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liliannorman · 4 years ago

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Pesticides can have long-term impact on bumblebee learning

The soft sound of bees buzzing among flowers signals warm weather throughout the world. But in many places, those sounds are fading. And it’s not just honeybees that are struggling. Native bees, including bumblebees, are also becoming scarce. Factors such as climate change and habitat loss may be partly to blame. But a new study points to the threat posed by a common pesticide. Bumblebees exposed to this chemical had a harder time learning. And it was true even when bees ate pesticide-laced food only as larvae.

That’s a concern because affected bees could have a harder time finding food.

Bumblebees make up about 250 of the world’s 20,000 bee species. Most native bees go it alone. But the bumbles are social. They live in colonies of 50 to several hundred bees, depending on the species. Like honeybee workers, bumblebee workers collect pollen and nectar. Then they bring it back to the nest to feed the young. Anything interfering with this process could pose threats to the colony.

Scientists Say: Nectar

And threatened they are. Nearly one in three species of bumblebee is becoming harder to find. That’s a big concern — for everyone. Bumblebees are important pollinators for all types of plants. They vibrate their bodies against flowers. This releases pollen that most other bees can’t access. That makes them essential for a variety of flowering plants, including tomatoes. If you like pizza or spaghetti, you need bumblebees!

The problem with pesticides

People use pesticides to control insects, including ones that damage plants. But such chemicals can harm animals other than their intended targets. Research has found that insect pollinators, such as bees, are especially vulnerable. Because these insects travel from flower to flower, they are exposed to pesticides again and again. Bees often take pesticide-laced nectar and pollen back to their nests. This can expose every bee in the nest, even larvae.

How to limit the need for pesticides

Bee colonies grow over time, as new bees hatch. Researchers have tested the effects of pesticides on colony size. Such studies found that colony growth slows after pesticide exposure. But curiously, those effects did not show up for several weeks.

These findings got Richard Gill wondering what, exactly, was going on. Gill is an insect ecologist in England at Imperial College London. Was the pesticide affecting larvae? If so, any impacts might have had to wait until those larvae grew into adults.

To find out, Gill and his team studied 22 bumblebee colonies. This included a total of 413 bees. The researchers assigned each colony to one of four treatments. Five colonies served as controls. They received pollen and a sugar water solution, but no pesticide. The other three groups received sugar water laced with imidacloprid (Ih-mid-uh-CLOH-prid). This pesticide is used around the world to control sucking and chewing pests. (These include aphids, thrips, whiteflies and some beetles.) The researchers added only a tiny amount to the sugar water. This was roughly equal to what the bees encounter when foraging on plants treated with this chemical.

Six colonies received the pesticide only during the study’s first three weeks. That’s how long it takes for a larva to become a pupa and then emerge as an adult. Another six colonies received the pesticide from day 22 to the end of the study, around day 45. The bees here were exposed only as adults. The remaining five colonies received the pesticide-laced water throughout the study.

Gill and his team then tested the ability of three- and 12-day-old bees to learn. They harnessed each one and placed it in front of a gently blowing fan. The fan blew lemon-scented air at the bee for 10 seconds. Halfway through this time, the researchers touched the bee’s antenna with a drop of sugar water. This caused the bee to stick out its tongue-like proboscis (Pro-BAA-sis). They then let the bee drink the sweet treat.

Healthy bees use scent to help them find flowers. The lemon scent mimicked a bee’s natural process of detecting an odor and getting a nectar reward. After 10 minutes, the researchers gave each bee the same lemony scent followed by sugar water. They repeated their process 10 times for each bee.

After the learning experiment, the team scanned each bee with a micro-CT scanner. This tool created a 3-D image of structures in its brain. The team focused on structures called mushroom bodies. (When viewed from the side, they look like mushrooms.) These regions are where insects process information and form memories.

This micro-CT scan from Gill’s study shows the mushroom body (purple) inside a bumblebee brain.Dylan Smith/Imperial College London

Damaged brains

Gill’s team found that bees not exposed to the pesticide learned quickly. Some needed just two or three tries before sticking out their proboscis when they smelled lemon. (Much like you might salivate at the smell of baking cookies.) Bees exposed to the pesticide — in all three treatment groups — struggled to link that scent with the reward. They took longer to respond to the lemony odor. Some never did.

Older bees (12 days old) learned faster than younger bees. Critically, exposure to pesticide during the first three days of adult life seemed to cause the most problems. “Bee brains are still undergoing a lot of change, making it a vulnerable period in their life,” Gill explains.

On average, bees exposed to pesticide had smaller mushroom bodies than did those in the control group. There was variation in size, though. Among control bees, those with larger mushroom bodies learned faster. That wasn’t true among the pesticide groups. Having bigger mushroom bodies didn’t make it easier for those bees to learn.

“Mushroom bodies are mostly responsible for learning and cognition,” Gill explains. Pesticide exposure during early life “may have affected the development of the neurons inside the mushroom body,” he says. This results in a kind of brain damage. “The bee did not have the nerve network it needed to perform the simple task.”

The team published its findings online March 4 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The study highlights the risk of imidacloprid and other, similar pesticides to all stages of bumblebee colonies, says Elaine Evans. She is a bumblebee researcher at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul. That risk extends from “solitary queens founding nests, to fully developed colonies with workers, males and queens,” she notes. However, she cautions, not all bees exposed to pesticide get a dose as large as the ones in this study. And that makes it difficult to know the real-world impacts of these pesticides on bumblebees, she says.

It’s essential to consider the broader effects of pesticides before using them, Gill says. “If colonies are exposed to [toxic chemicals], then the baby bees developing inside can be at risk.” That can have a serious impact on the entire colony. If a colony is producing impaired workers, it can’t function well. And that puts it at risk of collapsing, he says.

How, then, can growers prevent insect damage to their gardens and crops? One solution: Plant a variety of native plants. These attract pests’ natural predators. That can keep pests in check and limit damage, without unintended harm to pollinators.

Pesticides can have long-term impact on bumblebee learning published first on https://triviaqaweb.tumblr.com/

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iamthechocobabe · 7 years ago

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We All Have Battle Scars

A PromptoXOC Soulmate AU based on: We Intertwined

Do I write fluff alright? Well, I guess we gunna find out

We All Have Battle Scars ~Chapter 14~ SFW Word Count: 2,419

Prompto listened to the gentle sound of breathing coming from Alaea, her mouth slightly open as she slept peacefully. Sometimes her eyebrows would go downwards, like she was having a bad dream, but then her eyebrows would relax again and she would look peaceful once more. She wasn't right next to Prompto, but she was close enough for him to still watch as she turned over in her sleep so she could sleep on her stomach. She slept opposite of the group,one arm rested underneath her while the other she used as a pillow for her head; she looked slightly uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough to wake herself up.

Right before they left, Wiz had approached Prompto, his eyes red. He had tried to talk to Alaea, but Alaea just barked at him about something that Prompto didn't catch and moved to go get some supplies for the road, not noticing that Wiz looked like he wanted to curl into a ball and die. When he approached Prompto, Wiz handed him a photograph.

"You like pictures? Do me a favor and keep this one around, yeah?"

Looking at the photo, Prompto saw it was the picture he saw of Alaea last night, when Wiz had caught him in Alaea's bedroom, the one at one of Alaea's performances when she was little. Even though she was bowing to the audience, you could still see the bright smile on her face, her scar almost barely noticeable in the stage lights.

"That's always been my goal," Wiz said, his voice gruff and low and he closed his eyes tightly to fight the tears. "I want her to be as happy as she was in this picture. I want to see the little girl who was brave and determined, even after a stupid accident ruined that beautiful face I know and love. She was determined to not let that scar beat her-and it never did beat her. It was the people around her,"

Prompto traced his finger gently across Alaea's face in the photo, her scar. He was now battling his own tears, empathizing how painful it must be to have someone be ridiculed for their whole life over something that wasn't in their control. She was so brave, standing against it,all despite how many refused to have anything to do with her. How could people be this way?

Alaea was beautiful-why couldn't other people see that?

"When she's with you," Wiz said, a tear escaping ."Even when I caught you in her room last night, it was the happiest I've seen her since she would sing on stage, not caring what other people thought of her. You make her happy-all I ask is that you're there for her when I can't be,"

Wiz looked up, tears still in his eyes, but now he was looking angry and intimidating as he squared his shoulders back to stand tall. "So, I swear by the Astrals, Prompto Argentum. If you break my baby girl's heart, I will beat you within an inch of your life and feed you to the Chocobo's as dessert. Got that?"

Prompto knew he probably looked shocked, but he didn't need any more threats to get the message. "Loud and clear, sir,"

Alaea never told Prompto why they were going to Old Lastallum, but he figured it had something to do with her aunt, the woman who apparently was her mother’s twin sister. It was beginning to bother Prompto, for some reason...he felt like Alaea was finally starting to trust him and now she wasn't telling him something. Prompto knew she needed her space and refused to push her, but he couldn't stop feeling antsy and a bit hurt by her lack of trust in him.

Because if she didn't trust him, what hope would there be that...there would be something more?

Prompto's eyes drifted to the ceiling of the tent as his thoughts drifted to what Gladio had said before they had gone to bed. "Give her time-eventually, she'll open up to you, but if you push her, it'll just drive her away. You've got to be patient with this one,"

Prompto was never good at being patient. Especially considering how he just wanted to jump straight into his happily ever after when he found out he and Alaea were soulmates.

But it was like when Prompto had to lose weight-he had struggled at first because he just wanted to lose the weight right away, but he needed the patience to eat healthy every single day and go jogging even when his legs and knees ached. Of course, it took quite awhile to lose all that weight, but Prompto had been determined. Not just so he could be friends with Noctis, but for himself as well.

And as Prompto sat there in the dark, he figured it out-he knew he was determined to wait for Alaea, whether it took five days, five months, five years. However long it took.

And if it didn’t turn into something more...Prompto would have to be satisfied with just being her friend. It could be worse.

Even thought it made Prompto feel like his heart was caving in.

But it turned out he didn't need to wait that long.

"Prompto?"

When Prompto looked over at Alaea, her eyes were open and staring at him. "What is it?"

Alaea moved so that she was on her side and curled into a fetal position. It was the first time since Prompto met her that she didn't look like she was trying to hide her inner pain. It all showed on her face; she looked small and weak...

She looked afraid.

"My aunt gave me coordinates to where my mom is-she's near Old Lastallum. My dad doesn't want me to, but I want to know. I want to know if the reason she took me with her that night was if she wanted me or not. I just feel like if I don't find out, I'm going to burst,"

Alaea sniffed and wiped her sleeve across her nose, a strand of hair from her messy bun falling into her face. "I don't want the guys to watch me as I go meet her, though...will you come with me? You don't have to stay while I talk to her, but...I feel like I need you there,"

Prompto felt his body warm up, feeling like he was an Astral and could fly anywhere in the world he wanted. He would soar across the night sky, among the stars, calling out Alaea's name and he would find her and carry her with him. And he wouldn't care about ever coming down.

Because she trusted him.

Maybe not fully, maybe not right away, but she did trust him to a certain degree. And he felt like he had hope.

Hope was a gracious thing.

"Of course, Ali. Whatever you need, I'll always be there for you,"

Alaea smiled and hid her face into her elbow, but Prompto still saw her shoulders and chest shaking from gentle sobs. Scooting a little closer, Prompto rubbed her arm soothingly, like a parent to a child, while making soft hushing noises and assuring her that it was going to be all right.

And Prompto felt like it would be alright-he felt like if Alaea and Prompto were near each other, lovers or just friends, nothing bad could ever possibly happen to them.

Alaea looked back up at Prompto, their faces only a few inches a part. Alaea gently reached her hand and laced her fingers together with Prompto's, the warmth now filled to his soul as they stared at each other with content and peace.

Alaea's eyes were the first to slowly close; Prompto felt so relaxed that all he wanted to do was sleep, but he forced himself to stay awake for a few more minutes so he could continue to watch her sleep.

Prompto was glad he stayed up because if he hadn't, he wouldn't have felt her grip on his hand tighten and seen her smile in her sleep.

And he wouldn't have realized in that moment that he loved her.

Alaea's heart began thumping when she saw the buildings of Old Lastallum come into view. Before, she had a knot in her stomach,like she was gonna throw up, but now she felt like she was gonna have a heart attack while projectile vomiting. Could be worse ways to go, Alaea thought to herself.

The five of them steered the Chocobos into the original Crow's Nest Diner and left the giant fluffly birds where they were while Alaea and Prompto stood near their birds, Beanie and Bongo, two of Alaea’s favorite since childhood.

As Gladio and Noctis went inside to eat, Ignis stayed outside to help Prompto plug in the coordinates into his phone-Prompto was the only one who really knew the purpose of the coordinates, but they didn't push Alaea or demand to know why they were brought along, even though Gladio was pretty curious.

"We'll wait for you two here until you're done," Ignis handed Prompto's phone back to him.

"I don't think we'll be long-maybe an hour or two," Alaea said. "Thank you again,"

With a hitch of the reins, Alaea and Prompto headed out into the valley towards the coordinates, which turned out wasn't far from Old Lastallum. The ride was somber, as there was no music from Noctis' mp3 player to calm Alaea's nerves and she started to wonder if this was the best idea.

"If there are any daemons, just let me handle them," Prompto said again for the fifth or sixth time. Alaea had brought a spear, this time a little more of a sturdier one than before so she could actually, you know...stand a chance, but Prompto explained it was for emergency uses only.

"I can help," Alaea argued, but her argument died down when Prompto shot her a look.

"Last time you helped was great, Ali, but you also threw up for five minutes,"

Alaea looked down and began to grumble things like 'I still saved you' or 'I'm not completely hopeless', etc. So, when Alaea noticed a Killer Bee buzzing around near a tree, she decided to prove herself once more, since it was just one.

Dismounting Beanie, she ran off before Prompto had a chance to stop her and she fought the giggle forming as she heard Prompto groan in frustration.

"Alaea, seriously, stop! Have you lost your goddamn mind?!" Gods damn this girl, Prompto thought as he dismounted and chased her.

Alaea ignored Prompto and got closer to deliver a stunning surpise blow-the element of surprise was going to be her friend, this Alaea knew. The Killer Bee landed on the ground, it's wings twitching slightly as it rubbed its legs against its face. Alaea ignored the fear biting her in the stomach when she heard the humming of the buzzing coming from the Bee as she got closer...it was a lot bigger up close than it was far away. But, ignoring that, Alaea raised her spear to take aim...

And was stunned to see five more Killer Bees hovering in the grass just beyond the one she was aiming for.

Alaea only needed half a second to realize what she had walked into, so half a second was all it took for Alaea to turn around and high tail it out of there. Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope.

"I fucking told you," Prompto said as they closed in. "There's too many for just me, we've got to run!"

Grabbing her arm, he ran with her back to the Chocobos, mounted faster than ever before and they were off. Running into the fields, Alaea did everything in her power to avoid hitting rocks and trees as the Killer Bees continued to buzz after them. Luckily for them, after about five minutes of dodging around the trees and other daemons, Alaea noticed the Bees were no longer following them, so they began to slow down.

After a few minutes of making sure they were in the clear, Alaea bent over to catch her breath, despite not having ran anywhere, and started laughing. "Okay, I think I can admit I have a problem,"

"Gee, you think?" Prompto was gasping for air too, but when Alaea gave him an apologetic look, they both started cracking up. "Okay, while I won't deny that was kind of fun, we have got to talk to you about your daemon skills,"

"Or lack thereof," Alaea pointed out.

"Or lack thereof," Prompto agreed. "I tried to tell you that Killer Bees travel in groups,"

"I really need to think before I act..."

Their laughter died down when Prompto's phone buzzed, signaling that they were nearby the coordinates set in the phone. Without saying a word, Prompto pulled his phone out and checked where the phone led them and he looked around for anything out of the ordinary, remembering that Alaea said that her mom was apparently holed up in some old shack.

Like that old shack.

Off to the right of them next to an old oak tree lied an old fishing shack, the dark brown woodwork now warped to the point where the shack looked like it was caving in on itself. The roof had a giant hole in the corner that had a branch from the oak tree sticking out of it; the place did not look habitable, but if you were desperate to hide from people looking for you, Alaea figured it would be a good place to hide.

"That's it," Prompto said softly.

Alaea's nerves were now completely fried as she dismounted and approached the old shack slowly, dried leaves from the trees crunching under her feet as she approached. She fought the urge to cover her nose from the smell of mildew coming from the shack after years of rain had made it smell similar to a strong bleach that made your eyes water and skin itch and burn.

It didn’t take long for Alaea to find the door that was barely hanging on its hinges and looked like the tiniest poke would make it fall over. Taking a deep breath, Alaea raised her hand to knock, but found herself completely frozen, unable to bring herself to finish the task. Tightening her fist, she tried to force her hand to move, but she couldn't force herself to knock.

Tears were coming on and Alaea looked over her shoulder at Prompto, who stood about ten feet away. When Prompto saw the fear on her face, he gave her a big goofy smile and two thumbs up to show her that she could do it, silently encouraging her.

It must have worked, because Alaea felt herself start to relax and smiled greatfully at Prompto.

Turning back, she no longer felt hesitation as she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

#ffxv #ffxv fanfiction #prompto #prompto argentum #prompto argentum soulmate au #prompto argentum soulmate #soulmate au #zis is not ze fluff you are looking for

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kayostesting · 8 years ago

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The Ace: She's a pro gamer, an expert mech pilot, a pretty good shot with her energy pistol (managing to impress even McCree with her shooting), and if the posters in the Hollywood stage are anything to go by, a successful actress as well. Action Bomb: Her MEKA has a self-destruct ability that does 1000 damage to anything in direct radius of its Area of Effect. Before a patch adjusted it, it could also harm D.Va herself. Always Someone Better: Amusingly, despite being one of the most mechanically-skilled players in existence, one of her pre-battle lines is "솔직히, 스타로 아빠는 못 이기겠더라" translating to "Honestly, I can't beat dad at Starcraft." Animal Motifs: The rabbit. Her gameplay icon consists of a white bunny, she has a bunny decal sticker on her chest, and her gun even has a pink rabbit keychain. Even her Mini-Mecha somewhat looks like a bipedal rabbit with machine guns for hands. One of her skins from the beta is even titled "White Rabbit". As the icing on the cake, her Facial Markings resemble rabbit whiskers. Her "B.Va" skin has a bee theme, complete with yellow-black color scheme and stylized insect wings and carapace, in addition to being a shout-out to the Transformers character, Bumblebee. The "Junebug" skin, its recolor, is alternatively based on June bugs. Artistic License – Military: Given how much of a tactical and security risk it would be, it's unlikely that someone like D.Va would be allowed to stream her combat operations...let alone expressly displaying real, dangerous battles for entertainment purposes. Ascended Meme: Though she doesn't transform into a nastier diminutive version of herself, one of D.Va's new emotes of August 2016 has her chowing down on D.Vas and soda while playing video games like her infamous "Gremlin" counterpart. The Halloween 2016 update turned Cardboard Meka D.Va into an official spray tag. Attention Whore: She's a very visible celebrity, appearing in live streams, movies, and other forms of mass media. Some of her dialogue gives the impression that she's more interested in putting on a good show and getting cheers than whatever the mission is about. Attack Its Weak Point: While every character receives critical damage when shot in the head, D.Va's weak point in her mech is her cockpit, which is comparatively easy to hit because it's in the center and very large. This is to offset her MEKA's high HP pool of 600, the fact that it can be hit only from the front and her ability to completely shield it with Defense Matrix. Awesome, but Impractical: When reloading her pistol, she does a little Gun Twirling before slapping in the next magazine. If she didn't, she'd presumably reload much faster, but it wouldn't look nearly as cool. The Baby of the Bunch: Though technically an adult, she's by far the youngest human member of the cast (Orisa is even younger at one month, but being an Omnic, her case is more ambiguous), and some of the older members will brush her off as Just a Kid. Badass Adorable: She's a 19-year old girl who is a professional gamer that can keep up with seasoned combatants. Badass Armfold: Her default pose in the game's menus. Balance Buff: Pre-patch, D.Va's Defense Matrix was rather lackluster: it only lasted for a few seconds, had a monstrous cooldown, and would shut off immediately if she fired her main weapon. Since said main weapon only does good damage at point-blank, this made D.Va a non-issue at a distance and (thanks to her unforgiving headshot hitbox) laughably easy to kill in close quarters, which is pretty bad for a Tank class. Post-patch, Defense Matrix's cooldown was instead replaced with a charge meter a la Reinhardt's shield or Pharah's jetpack, giving the player more control over it and making it much easier for D.Va to do her job. Bare Your Midriff: Her "Junker" and "Scavenger" skins replace her jumpsuit with a cropped top and a pair of pants. Becoming the Costume: Her B.Va and Junebug skins give her a few bug-related lines, including "All systems buzzing!" or "Did that sting?" Her Junker and Scavenger skins adds "Hear me baby? Just hold it together," as one of her respawn quotes. Bilingual Bonus: Her name means "one" in Korean, and one of her voice lines translates to "I'm number 1!" in Korean. Bland-Name Product: No, those aren't Doritos she's chowing down on in her Game On emote. Those are "D.Vas◊". Blue Is Heroic: Her suit is predominately blue-violet. She's also one of the playable characters, and all her ego problems aside, she's still genuinely committed to the defense of South Korea when the Omnic struck there. Body Armor as Hit Points: Or rather mech's armor. If she loses all armor points, her mech is destroyed and she has to fight on foot, and if she sets her mech to self-destruction, she loses all armor points. Bottomless Magazines: She can fire her mech's fusion cannons all day long, no reloading needed. The catch? Her movement speed drops to a crawl. Bubblegum Popping: Does this during on of her intros and victory poses. Bunny-Ears Lawyer: While most heroes have this to some degree, D.Va is notable in that she talks and acts like combat is simply one big video game to her. Yet she's a hero to South Korea who was deployed on the front lines. Justified, in that the government was scrambling to find new recruits and decided that drafting professional gamers was the best answer. Car Fu: Her Boosters give her mech enough momentum to damage and knock enemies down. Chicken Walker: Her mecha has this design, with back-bent legs and very claw-like toes. Close Range Combatant: Her Mech's Fusion cannons deal well above-average DPS at point blank range, but at a distance deals some of the worst. She can also use her boosters to ram an opponent and follow up with a quick melee. This starkly contrasts her Mechless form, which is a Long-Range Fighter. Comically Missing the Point: D.Va is fully aware of the fact that Sombra is a hacker, but the reason the latter has earned the gamer's ire is the fact that D.Va thinks Sombra uses her skills to cheat at video games, making it easier for less skilled gamers to believe that the skill of professional gamers are not genuine. Sombra is rather baffled at this accusation. Competition Freak: From her dialogue, this seems to be her reason for fighting at her best. She seems to treat battle like a game, but one she "play[s] to win". In the Hanamura arcade, she boasts, "No one's beating my high scores!" Concealment Equals Cover: In regards to her mech's ultimate, as long as you get out of its line-of-sight, it won't even scratch you. Theoretically, someone could stand behind a wall a foot away from the explosion and not be harmed in the slightest. Or, alternatively, one could survive her ultimate at ground zero of the explosion by standing behind a pole about an inch wide. It won't kill, but it will hurt like hell. Conscription: She, along with other top Korean gamers, was drafted into service. The Cutie: Youngest human character in the game, in her late teens, has a highly competitive streak, and has a rather petite body in a form-fitting plug suit? Yes, she absolutely qualifies. Damage Reduction: Armor in general allows a significant portion of damage-per-bullet to be reduced and (prior to the Year of the Rooster patch, D.Va (in her mech) had the highest quantity of armor in the game). However, the effect is negated by other factors in her design—particularly, the wide hitbox of the mech, as well as the absurdly large critical hitbox directly in the center of it. Also, armor is not very effective against weapons with high damage bursts (such as Pharah's rockets, Junkrat's grenades, or Zarya's fully-charged Particle Cannon — all of which, again, are easy to hit her with thanks to her bulk). Thus, she takes so much damage and so easily that many players don't even realize she even has Damage Reduction. The aforementioned patch brought her down to 200 armor, which is the same amount of armor as Reinhardt. Death from Above: Since the self destruct took time before it actually explodes, a common tactic that is used by D.Va players when they use her ultimate is to boost her mech upwards right before they activates the ultimate, taking advantage that the boosters would remain active even after D.Va activates her ultimate. When her mech drops to the ground, the enemy team are potentially being caught off-guard and would have less time to avoid the area covered by the self destruct explosion. Disintegrator Ray: Defense Matrix completely atomizes any projectiles in range, hence why explosives don't even detonate. Drop Pod: It's never specified, but her Call Mech ability looks like an orbital deployment via teleportation. And it can be used to flatten people. Early-Bird Cameo: She was initially revealed on Blizzard's Battle.Net page as a Starcraft II player who had to retire to defend her nation. Also, in the Hollywood Attack stage, she appears in a poster of a movie, apparently her pro-gaming sensation turned her into a celebrity/actress as well. Eject...Eject...Eject...: When her mech is about to be destroyed, she gets a warning about imminent ejection; a bright red message will flash on her HUD, reading 비상탈출 (pronounced as bisangtalchul), or "Emergency Escape". Ejection Seat: Well, not an actual seat, because D.Va lies in the cockpit instead of sitting, but her mech is equipped with ejection system. Explosive Stupidity: Averted in the current patch, but back when D.Va was subject to the same "Your own explosives hurt you" rule as every other character, she was notorious for dying to her own Self-Destruct Ultimate. The devs mercifully removed this weakness later on, partly due to Self-Destruct's countdown being made shorter. Facial Markings: Pink "whiskers" on her cheeks. Fighting Your Friend: If she kills a character she's friends with, she'll lovingly quip, "I still love you!" Frickin' Laser Beams: Her Defense Matrix fires very small lasers that shoot down incoming projectiles and other hazards. Frothy Mugs of Water: She can be seen on advertisements for Nano Cola, which looks exactly like Soju. This ad can also be unlocked as a spray. Future Spandex: She wears high tech skin-tight jumpsuit.h Fun with Acronyms: Looking closely on her default skin, will reveal that MEKA stands for: Mechanical Exo-force of the Korean Army. Gamer Chick: She's a professional gamer. It seeps into her actual combat speech; when using her Defense Matrix, she calls it raising her APMnote and when she activates her MEKA's Self-Destruct Mechanism, she boasts "Nerf this!" Additionally, her MEKA makes distinct low-bit sounds that one would expect from an older video game, and her sidearm is called the Light Gun, even going as far as to resemble a controller from a light gun game rather than having realistic ammunition and firearm colors. Gatling Good: Her mech is armed with twin rotary fusion cannons. Genki Girl: She's rarely ever not cheerful, and she treats the action around her like a game rather than an actual combat zone. Glass Cannon: In her mech-less state, D.Va can do heavy amounts of damage with just her pistol, but she can die to one or two high damage attacks and has no means of escape or defense. Goomba Stomp: It's difficult, but very possible, to crush someone with D.Va's mech when calling it in. Gun Twirling: Part of her reloading animation. Hell-Bent for Leather: Her "Junker" and "Scavenger" skins give her leather chaps, bracers and a cropped vest. Hidden Depths: A conversation with Mei reveals that D.Va has an adventurous side. She loves reading the former's journal, and wishes she could visit all the different places the climatologist explores. A quote on Eichenwalde also shows a quieter, more pensive side to her. I Know Mortal Kombat: Her mastery of video games, including Starcraft II gave her the reflexes and instincts necessary to pilot the mech. McCree: D.Va, just tell me one thing. Where'd you learn to shoot like that? D.Va: 16-Bit Hero! Improbable Age: She's only 19, in a game where almost all the other characters are at least in their mid-20s, if not 30s and up. Doesn't stop her from kicking ass alongside and against fighters with far more experience. Irony: In her MEKA, she has the most durability of any Hero in the game, at 600, a good fraction of which is armor (Roadhog also has 600 HP but it's all health that offers no damage reduction or self-regeneration).However... Outside of her MEKA, she ties with Tracer for the least HP of any Hero in the game, at 150. In-Vehicle Invulnerability: Nothing can hurt D.Va personally until her mech is destroyed and she gets out, though Sniping the Cockpit does do more damage to the mech for some reason. In the Back: D.Va's design makes flanking or attacking enemies from the rear the best way to use her offensively. Going head-to-head with anyone is a bad idea because they can "headshot" her much more easily than she can do the same. For the most part, D.Va's job in a head-on fight is to cover the rest of her team with Defense Matrix until the other team falls apart and scatters. Jack-of-All-Trades: In terms of a tank, she has the basic tools to achieve whatever the team needs (she has decent mid-to-close-range DPS, mobility and flanking options with Boosters, and her on-foot form system gives her slightly more survivability and long-range options). She excels in primarily two areas. One, her Defense Matrix destroys any projectile that comes near it, allowing her counter most forms of burst damage. Two, her ultimate itself has the highest burst damage of any attack in the game, making it instant death if the enemy is stunned or has nothing to get behind. Jerk with a Heart of Gold: D.Va's a bit bratty and arrogant and absolutely relishes the spotlight, but she takes her mission seriously and her interractions show her to be pretty chummy with other heroes, accepting without a second thought to sign autographs for Reinhardt and Lucio and complimenting Mei on her travel journal. Its also shown with some of her voice lines that she is legitimately saddened by what the Omnic Crisis has done to her country and hopes to restore it back to normal. Jet Pack: Her Boosters ability. The Juggernaut: While she activates her Boosters, few things can stop her. She can push enemies away with it, and yes, that includes punting them down into Bottomless Pit. Kid-Appeal Character: The closest Overwatch has to one, being the youngest human hero and clearly made to appeal to the young gamers. Kid Hero: Slightly older than the usual example, but is otherwise the closest example of one in Overwatch being that she's 19 in a game where the majority of the cast are above 30. The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Is a fan of Lúcio's music. When Lúcio asks her for an autograph, she will ask for his as well. Knockback: Her Boosters can push enemies out of the way, disrupting their positions at the least and potentially sending them into a nearby Bottomless Pit. Call Mech will push back any enemies in proximity of the incoming mech, meaning that someone who tries to go against a mech-less D.Va may suddenly find themselves falling off a cliff to their deaths, not helped by her Ultimate gauge charging very quickly while in this mode. Leaning on the Fourth Wall: An interaction with Soldier: 76 displays this but it isn't certain if D.Va has fourth wall awareness or she just thinks this as a philosophy or if it's just a reply to his statement. Soldier: 76: War isn't a game. D.Va: Are you sure life isn't a game, Soldier: 76? Lethal Joke Character: Mechless D.Va might seem like an easy kill, but her Light Gun shouldn't be underestimated: it has a fairly fast fire rate, doesn't suffer the harsh damage falloff of her MEKA's Fusion Cannons, and is capable of headshotting. If the player's aim is good, it's entirely possible for them to take an enemy from full HP to zero with one clip. She also gains a lot of Ultimate charge on each hit, meaning that a good on-foot D.Va can get a new MEKA within seconds, essentially negating what would be death for any other character. Lightning Bruiser: In her MEKA, she's one of the most mobile characters, has a ton of health, deals good damage, and can block incoming fire as well. Outside of her MEKA, she becomes a Long-Range Fighter. Long-Range Fighter: Outside of her MEKA, D.Va has access to an extremely accurate automatic pistol with no damage drop-off at range. Provided that she can land all of her shots (preferably headshots), she can kill most average-health characters in seconds. However, in that form, she has no mobility, no offensive or defensive abilities, and low health, so most characters able to close the distance can kill her easily. Magic Skirt: Averted with her Palanquin skin, her short skirt behaves much like a real skirt would in a fight, luckily she wears some Modesty Shorts. Meaningful Name: Her first name, Hana, means "one" in Korean. She was a world champion professional gamer who was enlisted in a special mecha division of the Korean army before joining Overwatch. Mechanically Unusual Fighter: She has two different states (in mech and on foot), and a different Limit Break for each (manual self-destruct, and summoning a new mech respectively). She also changes to a Fragile Speedster when outside her mech, and she can stay alive after her mech is destroyed if she can survive long enough to summon a new one. Military Superhero: Even though she's supposed to be a gamer, decal MEKA logo stickers on her suit and mecha indicate she's a member of MEKA - "Mobile Exo-Force of the Korean Army". Mini-Mecha: Rides around in her MEKA, which is a relatively small mech shaped like a rabbit. She calls it a "suit" when summoning it, but it's not actually Powered Armor, since it uses a cockpit and its limbs are controlled via joysticks. Modesty Shorts: When wearing her Palanquin skin, she has a pair of white biker shorts under her skirt, which is a good thing considering how often the skirt rides up when she is taken out on foot. Ms. Fanservice: She isn't the most curvaceous female member in the cast, but that bodysuit is pretty form-fitting. Additionally, D.Va also fulfills the non-looks fanservice, being a Gamer Chick that drops in a lot of gaming lingo and references, thus she's also won the hearts of male players in the 18-21 age range. Mundane Utility: Apparently her MEKA Defensive Matrix can also be used for dancing lights and playing a top-down shooter. No Sell: Her shield has a very small effective zone compared to Reinhardt or Winston, but their shields will break under fire. As long as hers is up, she will stop every projectile that meets the shield. She can negate an entire Roadhog ultimate, completely nullify Pharah's ultimate, and prevent Hanzo's, Mei's, and Zarya's ults from happening at all with her shield. Pink Means Feminine: She decorates her entire arsenal as well as parts of her costume with the color pink. Post-Apunkalyptic Armor: Her "Junker" and "Scavenger" skins wouldn't be out of place in Fallout or Mad Max. Power Fist: Her mech can punch enemies with its fusion cannons. Product Placement: Referenced and parodied In-Universe with her own brand of chips◊ named D.Vas◊, in the Game On emote, and played straight in the real world with Blizzard Entertainment's logo can be seen on her right leg of her out-of-mech suit. Pre-Explosion Buildup: Precedes her mech's self-destruction, complete with Pre-Explosion Glow and Sucking-In Lines. Product Displacement: It isn't clear just what type of soda Hana drinks during her Game On emote. The white label over the can completely obscures whatever it could be. Punch-Packing Pistol: At range, her laser pistol is more deadly than her mech's Fusion Cannons...and more accurate, too. Ranged Emergency Weapon: Her laser pistol has no damage dropoff from range, and has no accuracy spread. If you can line up every shot at a distance, you can deal massive damage in one clip. Self-Destruct Mechanism: Her ultimate has her eject from her mech while it self destructs dealing a wide area damage. She Cleans Up Nicely: While she was never unattractive to begin with, her "Palanquin" skin has her wear a traditional hanbok and a braided haircut, and she looks gorgeous. She's Got Legs: Her "Palanquin" skin has her in a hanbok with a very short skirt that accentuates her slim, feminine legs. Shoot the Bullet: Her Defensive Matrix ability is actually two laser arrays plus incredibly fast reflexes. Sore Loser: When she's killed and revives, she says, "I'm not a good loser!" That seems fitting, considering that she was a professional gamer. Stance System: Using D.Va in her mech and outside of it means essentially learning to play as two separate characters: one, a Lightning Bruiser mixed with an Action Bomb, and the other a Long-Range Fighter Glass Cannon. Super Reflexes: The reason she was drafted. It also shows up when she uses her Defense Matrix, where her Mech deploys holographic distance markers and lets her individually shoot down every projectile that comes into it. Fans have done the math, and it turns out her APM is frankly superhuman: An individual Tracer's Pulse Pistols fire 40 rounds per second. If 6 Tracers were to simultaneously fire into D.Va's Defense Matrix, D.Va can shoot down 240 rounds per second without fail, meaning she's fully capable of 14400 actions-per-minute. To put this into perspective, the highest real-life APM ever recorded was Park Sung-joon's 818. She can also fully withstand Roadhog's ultimate, which according to this post fires approximately 145 projectiles per second. If she were to face against 10 Roadhog ultimates (5 enemy Roadhogs and 5 on her team deflected by an enemy Genji), in a best-case scenario, her maximum APM would be 87500 APM. Damn. Throw-Away Guns: Taken to an extreme whenever D.Va's mech is destroyed or she triggers its Self-Destruct Mechanism. Given a little time she'll just summon a new one without incident. [Verb] This!: The enemy team hears this when she uses her Ultimate. D.Va: Nerf this! Victory by Endurance: A D.Va vs D.Va fight is this by default. Since D.Va can't fire while using Defense Matrix, one D.Va blocking the other is a complete wash. Also, trying to charge at another D.Va only results in taking the full damage of her Fusion Cannons. Thus, the vast majority of D.Va mirror fights are decided by who attacked first and who had the most health. V Sign: Does this during one of her intros and victory poses. We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties: Not unlike Gazlowe in Heroes of the Storm, if D.Va is hit by Ana's Sleep Dart, she will move the joysticks desperately to try and get her MEKA back online. Wearing a Flag on Your Head: Her Summer Games skin changes her bodysuit and mech's colors to those of the South Korean flag. What a Piece of Junk: Unlike her shiny, high-tech regular mechs, her "Junker" and "Scavenger" ones look like they were made from whatever parts were scavenged from the nearest scrapheap.

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sherristockman · 7 years ago

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How to Grow and Enjoy Arugula Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola While known as a salad green with a tangy, slightly peppery kick, arugula1,2 is actually a relative of the cruciferous family, which includes radishes, Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower and broccoli. Like other members of this family, arugula contains a number of medicinal nutrients, including cancer-fighting compounds and carotenoids known for their importance for good eyesight. It’s an excellent source of fiber, vitamins A, C and K, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and manganese. Arugula also provides high levels of protein, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, zinc, copper and pantothenic acid (vitamin B5).3 Its flavonoid content helps improve blood vessel function, increase blood flow, lower blood pressure and lower inflammation. Arugula even has cleansing properties to counteract the poisoning effects of heavy metals in the system, particularly in the liver,4 and helps eliminate pesticides and herbicides from your body. Arugula has long been considered an aphrodisiac, and modern science supports this notion, showing trace minerals and antioxidants help block absorption of environmental contaminants suspected of impacting your libido. Arugula Is a Heart-Healthy Food Arugula also contains about 480 milligrams (mg) of nitrates per 100-gram serving, which your body uses as raw material to make nitric oxide (NO),5 an important biological signaling molecule that supports normal endothelial function and protects your mitochondria. Acting as a potent vasodilator, NO helps relax and widen the diameter of your blood vessels, supporting healthy blood flow and oxygenation of your tissues. It also carries away waste material and carbon dioxide. A diet high in nitrate is a natural strategy recommended for the treatment of prehypertension and hypertension6,7 (high blood pressure), and helps protect against heart attacks. Raw beets are perhaps the most well-known for their ability to lower blood pressure (thanks to their nitrate content), but arugula actually contains the highest levels of nitrates of any vegetable. For comparison, 100 grams of whole red beets provide a mere 110 mg of nitrates to arugula’s 480 mg.8 How to Grow Arugula Arugula9 is a cool season crop, and can be added to your fall garden plantings. It’s forgiving in that it can tolerate low-fertility soils and frost, and is really easy to care for, although it does best in humus-rich soils with a pH between 6 and 6.8. Seeds germinate best at temperatures between 40 and 55 degrees F. Plant your seeds directly into your garden bed, but avoid planting them in a spot where you just harvested another cabbage family crop. As noted in the video above, there are two main types of arugula.10 Common arugula (Eruca sativa) is best for eating and cooking, as it produces large, lush growth, while the wild Italian arugula (Eruca selvatica) — which does have a bolder flavor — tends to be more stemmy. The Italian variety will also bolt faster. Plant your seeds about one-fourth inch deep, 1 inch apart. Rows should be about 3 inches apart. Seedlings will sprout in about 10 to 14 days. Arugula will do well planted next to lettuce and peas. For a continuous harvest through the fall, plant new seeds every two weeks up until about four weeks before your first frost date. Dry, hot weather will speed bolting. If temperatures are still on the high side, you can slow bolting by providing shade and making sure the soil doesn’t dry out. Addressing Pests A common cabbage family pest is the flea beetle. Row covers can be used to protect tender seedlings. Another protective measure is to sprinkle food grade diatomaceous earth around the seedlings. Diatomaceous earth is available at most garden centers. One drawback is that it will kill any soft-body insect, so in addition to fleas, it could also have a detrimental effect on worms and even bees. For this reason, it’s best to use it only when absolutely necessary. Another alternative suggested in the video above is Reemay fabric. Used as a row cover, it allows about 75 percent of sunlight through, and is permeable enough to allow water through — but not the pests. Simply pin the fabric down so that it’s loosely covering the plants, allowing for growth. Harvest — and Eat Mature arugula is ready to harvest in about 40 days. “Graze” harvesting means selectively picking just a few leaves here and there to add to your cooking. The smaller the leaf, the milder its flavor will be. Alternatively, use a pair of garden shears to cut back about one-third of each plant, selecting the largest leaves in each bunch. The remainder will continue to regenerate and grow back. Once the arugula starts to flower, it’ll start turning bitter. At this point, your best option is to pull the whole plant out by its roots. Salvage whatever leaves you still find edible and compost the rest. The arugula tends to bolt quickly, so keep an eye out for the telltale signs of flowers (shown in the video above), and harvest right away. Ideally, harvest at a time when it’s cooler and shadier, as the leaves will wilt quickly when cut in full sun. Arugula is a popular salad green, but can be added to any number of dishes, such as sandwiches and hot or cold pesto, although it will lose some of its peppery punch when cooked. For a delicious side salad, try my grapefruit and arugula salad with avocado recipe. How to Save the Seeds Arugula seeds are easy to collect and save, and can be stored for up to five years. The plant will produce small, white flowers. Once flowers emerge, small seed pods will start to form along the stem. If you like, you can actually eat the seeds. They have a strong spicy kick, similar to a radish. Once the plant bolts, the leaves will turn bitter and begin to brown. There are a number of ways to collect the seeds. Some will cover the stem with a nylon stocking to catch the seeds as the pods break open. Alternatively, clip the stem, tie a paper bag around it and hang upside down to dry. To check if the seeds are ready to be collected, gently shake the seed pod. The seeds are ready when you hear them rattling around inside the pod. Eventually, the pods will break, releasing the seeds, or you can crush the pod if you like. To separate the seed from the chaff, Heirloom Organics suggests the following method:11 “If your seeds are in a bag already, you can shake the bag or stick your hand in the bag and crumble the dried seed pods. You'll end up with a pile of tiny dark seeds mixed in with papery seed pod chaff. To separate this out, you can do it the old-fashioned way, which is to put everything in a shallow pan and blow the chaff off the top of the pile. The seeds weigh more than the chaff, so they will stay put. Another way is to put them in a sieve that has holes bigger than the seeds, but smaller than the chaff and shake.” Store your seeds in a paper envelope or jar in a cool, dark, dry place. Alternatively, store them in a zipper bag in your refrigerator. Try Arugula Microgreens A simple and inexpensive way to boost your nutrition is to grow microgreens. Any regular herb or vegetable, including arugula, can be turned into a microgreen simply by harvesting it while the plant is still young. It’s simply a matter of not waiting until it’s fully mature. A microgreen or “baby” green is harvested when just a week or two old, when it’s reached a height of about 2 to 4 inches. Many of the benefits of sprouts and microgreens relate to the fact that, in their initial and early phase of growth, the plants contain more concentrated amounts of nutrients.12,13,14 Vitamins like A, B-complex, C and E also increase in sprouted foods, sometimes by 20 percent within just a few days of germination. As a result, you need to eat far less, in terms of amount, compared to a mature plant. As noted in the book, “Microgreens: Novel, Fresh and Functional Food to Explore All the Value of Biodiversity:”15 “Microgreens are … increasingly used by haute cuisine chefs to prepare gourmet dishes intended to satisfy the needs of modern consumers, more and more health conscious and particularly attentive to their health, diet and food quality. Although [they] are often used with the main aesthetic purpose of garnishing dishes, microgreens also have a very good nutritional profile and … are considered ‘functional foods’ or ‘super foods’ as … they can also provide bioactive compounds able to improve some functions of the organism and/or reduce the risk of diseases.”

#VitalityPath

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mmtread · 8 years ago

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Ovid opens his Metamorphoses with the line “In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas corpora” (I intend to speak of forms changed into new entities), and that’s exactly what I intend to do today.

Ovid’s metamorphoses are largely concerned with one entity changed completely into another – Diana converting Actaeon into a stag after he had the misfortune of stumbling upon the goddess and her nymphs nakedly cavorting in a forest spring (he was quickly hunted down and killed by his own dogs); the hunky Adonis turned into the anemone flower by an adoring Venus after being gored to death by a wild boar; Perdix mercifully transmogrified into a partridge (the Latin genus name for partridge is, in fact, Perdix) by Athena after a jealous Daedalus chucked him from a high tower. (If Daedalus sounds familiar it’s because he was the father of Icarus, the boy who famously flew too close to the sun and melted his waxen wings, thus plummeting to a watery death. Hanging out with Daedalus apparently carried a serious risk of cataclysmic descent.)

But today I’m not talking metamorphoses mythical or metaphorical, but about teaching your kids about the physiological fundamentals of metamorphosis. Let’s keep it simple for the little ones, shall we? There are two main types of metamorphosis – complete and incomplete.

Most insects undergo complete metamorphosis, distinguished by 4 distinct phases – egg, larva, pupa, adult. Beetles, butterflies and moths, flies, ants, wasps and bees all follow this pattern. We’re undoubtedly most familiar with the butterfly life cycle. So familiar with it, in fact, that we may regard it with a yawn. But ponder it a moment, if you will.

A caterpillar emerges from a tiny egg and begins immediately to eat. And grow. A monarch caterpillar, for example, will increase its body mass by 2000 times in under two weeks. That’s the equivalent of a 7-pound (3.2 kilo) newborn turning into a 14,000-pound (6530 kg) toddler in less than a fortnight. That’s a big-ass baby.

A full-grown caterpillar with a newly-hatched one below.

Then a chemical process kicks in and it goes into its pupal stage. In butterflies this stage is called a chrysalis, in moths it’s a cocoon. Not much seems to be going on in there, but inside it’s a churning urn of activity, with organs morphing, migrating, developing. There’s magic transpiring deep within.

A short while later the chrysalis (or cocoon) cracks open and the insect emerges, pumps blood into its wings, warms up a bit, and flits off, a beautiful creature obsessed with sex.

Sure, it happens all the time, but it’s a pretty stunning stratagem nonetheless. And a successful one. The fossil record shows that insects have been around for roughly 300-400 million years. Anatomically modern humans? About 200,000. Insects may make up over 90% of animal life on Earth, and have been here perhaps 350 millions years longer than us. So have a bit of respect, okay?

Fossil dragonfly

Here’s a good informative video narrated by a little kid with funny hair.

Incomplete metamorphosis is not quite so dramatic, but fairly astonishing nonetheless. There are only three stages – egg, nymph, adult. Dragonflies, cockroaches, crickets and grasshoppers all demonstrate incomplete metamorphosis.The nymph looks more or less like a tiny version of the adult, but without wings. As the nymphs develop and grow, they shed their exoskeletons until their final molt, when the adults emerge to start looking for mates.

Then, of course, there are the frogs and toads. Watching frogs develop from egg to adult is fascinating, plus you get to say the word frogspawn which, you must admit, is kind of fun. The process is too familiar to require much explanation here, but this kid has made a great video that you can show your own kids.

So how do you best do a metamorphosis project with your kids?

Well, for butterflies and moths, it’s just a question of finding some caterpillars. Look carefully on plants in your yard, in some local woods, in a park or even on your own terrace. (We’ve had several species use the plants on our terrace for their egg-laying.) Caterpillars are often difficult to detect, but if you look closely for tell-tale droppings on the leaves, you know a caterpillar is nearby. (And since caterpillars eat a lot, they also poop a lot.)

Many species are specialists, laying eggs on only one variety or family of plants. Search for monarch caterpillars on milkweed, swallowtails on dill or fennel, vine hawk moths on grape vines, spurge hawk moths on spurge, etc. This site has a useful list of butterfly species and their corresponding host plants.

So now you’ve got your caterpillars. Place them in an aquarium or bowl (out of the sun or you’ll cook them) filled with a few branches and cuttings from the host plant arranged in a jar or cup of water. Cover your container, and place new cuttings in as necessary. In a week or so, your caterpillars should pupate. Then it’s just a waiting game. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch them as they’re just emerging, and will get to see them pump up their wings and prepare for flight. Release them immediately, or they’ll starve to death.

Swallowtail caterpillar on wild fennel

Starting to pupate

Crysalis

Just emerged

Pumping up its wings

Ready to fly

Dragonflies spend much of their lives in the nymph stage (some species up to 4 years), so are less suited to keeping at home. If you do want to collect and keep some, you’ll need a glass aquarium. Half-fill your aquarium with conditioned water then – and this is crucial – add plants, algae and water collected from the pool where you found the nymphs. Dragonfly larvae are voracious eaters, so they need to have suitable prey. Small fish will work, as will mosquito larvae, blood worms, or aquatic insects. Make sure there is a stick rising above the water so that when they do eventually become adults, your nymphs will have something to climb out on.

Nymph

Emerging from exoskeleton

Adult ready to fly

Frogs and toads are captivating to watch develop. Just don’t try to raise them with dragonfly nymphs, as we did. Tadpoles are nymph food. And don’t put their eggs in a tank with goldfish, as we did. Frog eggs are fish food. But if you avoid nymphs and fish, you’re good. Make the same setup as you would for the dragonflies, collect some frogspawn, and sit back and enjoy the show. As soon as your tadpoles have lost their tails and become adults, release them right back where you found the eggs; it’s really, really difficult to feed tiny frog-or-toadlets properly.

Tadpole and froglet

G with froglet

Almost fully developed

Tiny new toad

Well, I hope I’ve inspired you to do one (or all) of these projects with your kids. Metamorphosis is, to me, one of nature’s most marvelous, mind-blowing phenomena. Sharing it with your kids is even cooler.

PS: If you want to make your project a bit more academic, here are some worksheets for the kids.

Teaching Kids the Magic of Metamorphosis Ovid opens his Metamorphoses with the line "In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas corpora" (I intend to speak of forms changed into new entities), and that's exactly what I intend to do today.

#fun projects with kids #raising butterflies #raising dragonflies #raising frogs #teaching kids about metamorphosis #teaching metamorphosis #types of metamorphosis

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