#bayleaf thoughts

[sequinbandit]

I feel like I've seen a recent surge in posts on my dash, the subjects of which can be summarized as "trans men vs trans women disk horse." I don't know whats going on with this, but like... is this real? Maybe I'm too reclusive but like, is there actually an issue with trans men being misogynistic to trans women en masse? Or is this a handful of chronically online popular accounts who are just being shitty to each other? Idk, this feels like some kinda psyop to dis-unify right before an inauguration that'll attack both of our groups.'m too reclusive but like, is there actually an issue with trans men being misogynistic to trans women en masse? Or is this a handful of chronically online popular accounts who are just being shitty to each other? Idk, this feels like some kinda psyop to dis-unify right before an inauguration that'll attack both of our groups.

[lumosinlove]

Last minute decision to do @oknutzyweek2023 because FUN!! Decided to add a little twist.

So: O’Knutzy Week (Taylor’s Version)

Day One: Summer Vacation (all that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing)

Two times Logan had a cold and was a BABY about it.

Harvard

There was a flood warning. The whole locker room’s phones blared to attention at once. Finn saw the coaches frowning. Someone flipped the news on. The roads were gone, frigid wind rising from the spray of cars passing through puddles that were as good as small lakes. Blurry red lights and reporters barely hanging onto their umbrellas, sleet stinging their eyes.

Finn caught Percy’s eye and could almost taste it in the wink Percy dropped him. There was no way they were making it to this game.

Max slapped him on the back, short light brown hair sticking up in every direction from his post-practice shower. “Looks like we won’t be line mates after all, Captain.”

Finn sent him a half-smile. “Hm? Oh, yeah, man. Another time.”

It wasn’t good. It wasn’t healthy. It wasn’t anything he was proud of, but the idea of going on a roadie without Logan had been enough to get Finn down for days. A strange ache huddled in his chest, confusing him until he remembered the sight of Logan, feverish and red-nosed in his bed. Max was great. They would have been great on a line together. He was fast and he kept bodies away from Finn. But Max wasn’t Logan.

“All right, boys, you called it,” Coach sighed, hanging up his phone. “Game’s off. Let’s all get home safe now. Keep a close eye on these roads, it’s a river out there.”

At least the guys had the good sense not to cheer, but Finn knew they were all glad for the break. Exams were coming up fast and called for late nights in the library. Finn was exhausted. The games had been hard. They’d been missing Logan on the ice more than any of them cared to admit. He filled gaps that Finn never even thought to look for.

And it wasn’t good. It wasn’t healthy. But Finn felt stretched thin, brittle and sullen, when Logan wasn’t near.

Among the rustle of guys packing up and leaving, Finn hid a small smile, shoved his earbuds in, and pressed call.

The five rings it took for Logan to answer felt like the distance laughing in Finn’s face.

“Hm,” came from the line.

“Did I wake you?” Finn asked.

“Non,” Logan rasped, but Finn could hear it in his voice. He looked down at the call-screen, brushing a thumb over Logan’s contact picture: Grinning, half rolling his eyes maybe. From one of the boys’ pre-season road trips. Finn could just see his bare shoulders, and maybe no one else knew, but Finn had memorized the way his body had looked that day. Golden and strong. Hidden curves of muscles that Finn had mapped out with his thumbs, that one time. Once.

“Finn?” Logan’s voice asked, accompanied by a harsh cough.

“Oh, sorry, hi.” Finn rubbed his eyes. “Hi, I’m here. Just calling to say game’s cancelled.”

“You’re coming home?”

Finn laughed softly. The hope in Logan’s voice was unmistakable. “You’re such a baby when you’re sick.”

“Bring me soup.” 

“I will, I will.”

Finn wished he could make Logan soup, the real kind that his dad got from the deli around the corner when he and Alex were sick. Slight crunch of carrots, soft celery, thick egg noodles, bayleaf and rosemary. He wanted Logan to be better.

Finn zipped up his backpack. “Can you get better already?”

All he got in return was a disgruntled scoff. “I’m trying.” Then, after a moment, “You miss me?”

Finn smiled. He didn’t care who saw. It was Logan’s voice in his ears and his ears alone. “You know it.”

“Yo,” Percy said when the door to OKN slammed behind them. They were all freezing, knuckles tucked under the straps of their backpacks. “You going to check on the gremlin?”

“Yeah,” Finn said. “Kitchen first though. Gotta heat up some chicken noodle.”

Percy snorted. “He knows the stairs still work the same, right?”

Finn dropped his bags and laughed. “Oh, he knows.”

He went to the cupboard and found the cans of chicken noodle he’d picked up. The sink was a mess but he scrubbed a pan clean then stood close to the hot burner while it boiled. The rain was turning to snow outside and he, honestly, couldn’t remember the last time he’d been actually warm. He held his palms over the soup, beginning to bubble, and tried to rub some of the rawness out of his knuckles. He put it in a mug, easier for Logan to hold. Silver, Percy’s dog, came in and sniffed at his ankles, whining until Finn fished a piece of carrot out with the spoon and gave it to her.

How long did this storm give him to relax? A day or two. He still had to finish his Romanticism paper. He needed that book from Kelsey in his theory class. Logan’s soup was getting cold, Logan was sick, Logan was falling behind on his reading and there was only so much Finn could do to help. Logan, maybe, would let Finn spoon up against his back again while he shivered through his fever.

When he opened Logan’s door, he was hit with—well, the only word Finn’s brain supplied was summer. Logan had the heat in his room high, blankets wrapped tight around his shoulders. He was a half-visible lump in the bed, the darkness as good as humidity.

“Jesus,” Finn said as warmth began to seep back into his fingers. “Lo?”

No reply. Finn shut the door softly, then sat on the edge of Logan’s bed, setting the soup down. He put a hand on Logan’s back.

“Got your soup, baby,” he said—and then snapped his mouth shut. He’d meant it as—no, he’d meant—He’d meant here’s your soup. You big baby. But he hadn’t—had he? Baby. I just want to take care of you, and read all of your books to you and I want you to feel better, I miss you, I don’t know how to play without you—

Slowly, Logan rolled onto his back and blinked up at him. Finn stared back and had no idea if he’d heard or not. Baby.

“Raining?” Logan asked.

“Snow,” Finn said. He tapped a fingernail on the mug, making a soft clinking sound. “Soup.”

“We have to study.” Logan groaned and turned into his pillow before pushing himself up on one elbow. His hair was a mess. Needed a wash, too. When the blankets fell down, Finn swore he felt another wave of heat roll off of Logan’s bare chest and sink into his very bones.

“Don’t worry about that now,” Finn said. “Little vacation first, maybe.”

After a moment, one green eye peaked out at him. “Vacation?”

“Feels like the Bahamas in here, that’s good enough for me.”

Logan groaned. “I feel like the Bahamas.”

“So you are feeling better.”

“Non, ugh.”

Finn laughed, but at the frown that settled between Logan’s eyebrows, he quieted. It was a small risk, but he didn’t think Logan would call him on it—He pushed Logan’s sweaty hair off of his forehead. “I know, Lo. I’m sorry.”

Logan closed his eyes. “Oh, your hand is so cold.”

“Oh, sorry.” Finn made to pull back, but Logan gripped his wrist and kept him there.

“Non. Non, it feels good.” Logan dragged Finn’s hand to his cheek and let out a breath. “Fuck.”

Finn could only watched, lips parted, as Logan pressed Finn’s hands against his own neck, his chest, his forehead and cheeks. Finn didn’t dare move on his own. He let Logan put him where he wanted.

After what felt like an hour of Finn holding his breath and trying not to enjoy this too much, Logan let him go and sat up for his mug. He made a face that was something between relieved and dissatisfied.

“This soup is terrible.” He gave a shiver and sank back down into his blankets.

“I know,” Finn said, still caught on the soft roll of the R in Logan’s mouth. His lips were red, chapped. His eyes were vividly green against his fever-bright cheeks.

“What can I do?” Finn said softly. He needed to do something.

Logan looked at him for a long moment. Finn wanted him to say get in. Pull those heated, Logan-filled blankets back for him and let Finn sink into his favorite universe. The one where they might be each other’s.

“Nothing,” Logan whispered.

Nothing. That word out of Logan’s mouth could send him any which way. What could Finn do? Nothing. Nothing is what this seemed, sometimes. But it was everything. Finn was hopelessly trying, pushing and pushing himself to keep up with Logan. To try and figure out what Logan wanted from him. What more could he do?

Logan reached out and grabbed Finn’s hand again, bringing it back to his forehead. It startled a small laugh out of Finn.

“I’m glad you’re home,” Logan said. “D’accord?”

Finn sighed, but nodded. “Okay.”

Present Day

“My poor baby,” Finn said, trying to hide his laugh as he pushed the hair off of Logan’s clammy forehead. “Poor baby boy.”

Logan just tucked his nose up against Finn’s neck and grabbed at his hand until Finn was holding him even tighter around his waist, rubbing cool fingers up and down his spine.

“You are such,” Leo said from the doorway, where he had appeared with a tray of soup and ginger beer. “a baby when you’re sick.”

“Non.”

“Yon,” Finn said. “Always have been.”

Leo set the tray down on the other side of the bed and picked up the mug. He propped himself up against the headboards and Logan, slowly, rolled over and into his arms instead. Leo wrapped his arm around Logan’s shoulders so he could still reach the spoon. “Am I feeding you, is that what’s happening?”

“Yep,” Finn said. “Looks like it.”

Leo just shook his head, but let Logan lean up for a spoonful of broth.

“Merde,” Logan swallowed, his cheek smushing back against Leo’s t-shirt. “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted in my life.”

Finn met Leo’s eyes to catch his grin. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

Logan accepted a few more spoonfuls before sitting up himself and taking more eager sips. His eyes flashed disgruntled. “I just want to get better.” He looked wistfully out the window. “It’s summer, we’re supposed to be on vacation.”

“Hey,” Finn held up a hand. “What more would I rather be doing on my vacation that stay holed up with you two?” 

“Same,” Leo said. “Lo, you’ll feel so much better in a few days.”

“I know but…Yeah. I know. Just ugh.” He took another long sip. “This soup is really the best thing I’ve ever had.”

Leo laughed. “I’ll get you some more.”

Finn watched Logan’s eyes follow Leo out through the doorway. He had that same feverish flush to his cheeks. Glassy green eyes, red nose.

“Remember the snow storm?” Logan asked suddenly.

Finn nodded. “Mhm.”

“Me too,” Logan said.

When they smiled at each other, it wasn’t all that sad.

“What do you need, baby?” Finn asked, rubbing a hand over his bare chest. “What can I do?”

“Be here,” Logan said. He pressed a kiss to Finn’s neck. “I need you two.” He smiled, eyes darting towards the kitchen. “Do you need anything?”

Finn shook his head, watching as Logan brought up his hand to cradle against his own cheek. “Just you two.”

After Logan fell asleep again, Finn found Leo in the kitchen, humming softly to himself. He was stirring the big pot on the stove and Finn settled his hands on his hips.

“Smells so good, Le.”

“You want some, too?” Leo asked, holding the spoon up for Finn to taste. “Need anything?”

Finn accepted it gratefully, but he turned his head and kissed the corner of Leo’s mouth. “No, nothing.” Nothing. It was the fullest word he’d ever used. “Just you humming in the kitchen.”

[cb-writes-stuff]

@tuvwolf Can’t name 100 Pokémon? Bet. Here’s every Pokémon I can name.

100 As Many Pokémon I Can Think Of (Excluding Regional Variants, but Not Regional Evolutions), in No Particular Order (Except for When I Thought of Them)

Can also be used as a study of how my ADD brain makes connections.

Mewtwo

Arceus

Shaymin

Zapdos

Charmander

Charmeleon

Charizard

Darkrai

Articuno

Moltres

Bulbasaur

Ivysaur

Venasaur

New

Squirtle

Wartortle

Blastoise

Fennekin

Blaziken

Archen

Archeops

Mr. Mime

Mime Jr.

Mr. Rime

Delphox

Illumise

Volbeat

Froakie

Frogadier

Greninja

Chespin (MY BOY!!!!!!)

Quilladin

Chesnaught

Lanturn

Lampent

Litwick

Chandelure

Mimikyu

Torchic

Treeko

Mudkip

Marshtomp

Marshadow

Swampert

Sceptile

Mankey

Primape

Annihilape

Nihiligo

Pumpkaboo

Gourgeist

Pawmi

Xurkitree

Buzzwole

Litten

Litleo

Piroar

Incineroar

Guzzlord

Pheramosa

Blacephalon

Type: Null

Silvally

Iron Hands

Iron Thorns

Ferrothorn

Seedot

Nuzleaf

Kyogre

Groudon

Rayquaza

Ho-oh

Lugia

Quillava

Typhlosion

Rowlet

Decidueye

Rookidee

Talonflame

Pickipeck

Trumbeak

Toucannon

Unown

Entei

Raikou

Suicune

Pikachu

Pichu

Raichu

Meltan

Melmetal

Eternatus

Zacian

Zamazenta

Xerneas

Yveltal

Zygarde

Hoopa

Celestiela

Infernape

Empoleon

Piplup

Chikorita

Bayleaf

Meganium

Cyndaquil

Chimchar

Grookey

Rillaboom

Sobble

Sandshrew

Sandslash

Diglet

Dugtrio

Raboot

Cinderace

Zigzagoon

Furret

Sentret

Watchog (I love his show)

Buizel

Floatzel

Ponyta

Rapidash

Machop

Machoke

Machamp

Nidoran♂

Nidoran♀

Nidorino

Nidorina

Nidoqueen

Nidoking

Kangaskan

Cubone

Marowack

Serviper (or Seviper)

Hitmonlee

Hitmonchan

Hitmontop

Tyrogue

Eiscue

Polteageist

Sandygast

Stonjourner

Grapploct

Espathra

Beldum

Metang

Metagross

Delibird

Happiny

Chansey

Blissey

Igglybuff

Jigglypuff

Wigglytuff

Growlithe

Arcanine

Meowth

Persian

Purrserker

Pansear

Pansage

Panpour

Simisear

Simisage

Simipour

Kling

Klang

Klingklang

Poltchageist

Applin

Flapple

Appleton

Hydrapple

Gengar

Zoroark

Zorua

Ghastly

Haunter

Ditto

Vulpix

Ninetails

Zeraora

Beartic

Cubchoo

Bergmite (Perhaps…)

Volcanion

Magearna

Miraidon

Koraidon

Obstagoon

Deino

Zweilous

Hydreigon

Iron Jugulous

Sandy Shocks

Walking Wake

Emboar

Pignite

Tepig

Snivy

Serperior

Munchlax

Snorlax

Giratina

Dialga

Palkia

Meowstic

Espurr

Abra

Kadabra

Alakazam

Hypno

Drowzee

Sinistea

Skiploom

Jumpluff

Hoppip

Cherrim

Cherubi

Oddish

Gloom

Petalil

Lilligant

Ralts

Kirlia

Gardevoir

Riolu

Lucario

Garchomp

Gible

Gabite

Furfrou (the bane of the GTS)

Iron Valiant

Spidops

Joltik

Galvantula

Rotom (Regular, Fan (Blowtom), Lawnmower (Mowtom), Fridge (Fro-yotom), Oven (no funny name ☹️))

Rhydon

Rhyperior

Copperajah

Solgaleo

Lunala

Cosmog

Cosmoem

Necrozma

Eggsecute

Eggsecutor

Voltorb

Electrike

Exploud

Loudred

Mantyke

Mantine

Garboder

Eevee

Vaporeon

Flareon

Jolteon

Glaceon

Leafeon

Umbreon

Espeon

Sylveon

Scorupi

Skuntank

Stunky

Darmanitan

Coffagrigus

Runerigus

Farfetch’d

Sirfetch’d

Falinks (The Boys 😎)

Durant

Heatmor

Weedle

Kakuna

Beedrill

Swablu

Altaria

Skarmory

Magnetite

Magneton

Magnezone

Elekid

Magby

Shuppet

Electabuzz

Electavire

Magmar

Magmortar

Lickilicky

Lickitung

Celebi

Tyrantrum

Shieldon

Bastiodon

Elgyem

Beehee’em (I definitely spelled this one wrong)

Tyrunt

Lapras

Braixen

Tyranitar

Pupitar

Larvesta

Caterpie

Swadloon

Leavanny

Fomantis

Sudowoodo

Bonsly

Butterfree

It’s been two hours. I need to stop.

[balkanradfem]

I went to the forest today. It's the warmest we had this year, and I needed to get more soil for my baby plants.

Few minutes in, I realized that the heel of my sock has developed a hole, and my foot was now chafing against the rubber boot I was walking in. Which is mortifying, it meant by the time I'd be home, I would have a wound on my heel.

But then I thought, wait a minute, I'm a woman in the forest, I have to be more resourceful than that. So I started grabbing moss and shoving it inside of my sock, in order to make a soft protective layer on my heel. It didn't work exactly as I hoped, the moss didn't stay where I put it, but I kept putting in more and it immobilized the boot so it couldn't chafe against me.

I also forgot to take the moss out of my sock, so I am the rare tumblr user to be actively touching moss while blogging.

I saw a lot of butterflies in the forest! Over 20 of them, it made me wonder if they accidentally got born too soon. Most of them were plain yellow ones, and they would not let me take a picture, no matter how many I followed, they never land. This orange one was patient enough to let me snap a pic!

I wonder what they're all eating in the forest, there was about 5 crocuses I found, but other than that, no flowers! There are dandelions and daisies outside the forest though, so possibly they're finding those.

I looked up the orange butterfly, and it's named Vanessa Atlanta, and they're cool to be out during winter! They can hibernate, migrate, they are happy to feed on nettle and dead nettle, and that's available in winter as well. Relieved to know that she's safe!

It was a bit harder to figure out the yellow butterfly, but it's most likely a common brimstone, and they can also hibernate and feed on evergreen foliage during winter. They even feed on holly!

I also found a cool ass birch tree:

I have recorded in my brain that birches are medicinal for something, forgot for what, but the point is, now I know where to find a birch, so when I connect it all together I will benefit from this knowledge. I think the bark is great for starting fires.

The forest I go in is super versatile! At first I thought it was just beech-chestnut-hornbeam, but then I discovered there's a good amount of oaks as well, and now there's birches too. That is very healthy for a forest! Forests that only have one or two types of tree are susceptible to pests and diseases, these trees can support each other.

If you've read my other post, you know I found some abandoned plant cuttings, that I suspect might be bayleaf; that is still under questioning, maybe it's bayleaf, maybe it's something poisonous. The point is that I maybe found something to eat :).

Here's the crocuses I saw! They've only come out, it's the first warm and sunny day of 2024.

[roxannarambles]

Writing practice, short scene with an NPC & Rika on Pasio. Just noodling around with how to write pokemon battles in a more anime style now that I've watched Horizons.

Laurel sighed.

She, of course, always preferred the great outdoors over being stuck inside. She was a pokemon ranger, after all. That's why she usually carried plenty of potions and berries on hand, so she wouldn't need to visit the pokecenters very often. But eventually, even she had to make a run to one of the centers so she could stock up on supplies. It was always so busy in the centers and she felt a bit claustrophobic in such a crowded little building. She waited impatiently in the long line and was grateful when she finally reached the counter so she could grab what she needed and quickly bail.

Bags in hand, her beloved partner Bayleef carrying an additional bag in her mouth, they were in such a hurry to leave that she almost didn't even notice the woman calling out to her.

"Miss! Hey there, I think you dropped something!"

The words finally registering in her brain, Laurel stopped in her tracks and turned. A tall woman dressed in a suit quickly closed the distance with a few strides, holding out a box of Max Revives. She had a lazy smile and striking red eyes.

"Oh! Wow, I didn't even realize-- thank you so much!"

A little embarrassed, Laurel set down a bag and accepted the box from the friendly stranger, who answered easily,

"Yeah, no problem."

Laurel tried to quickly fit the box of revives back into her bag, but she had so many items already stuffed into both the bags it was proving difficult; the box spilled back out onto the floor, along with some potion bottles. She grunted in irritation and stooped to pick them back up. She heard the stranger comment,

"Looks like you have quite the haul. Need any help with those bags?"

"T-thank you, but Bayleaf and I should be okay--"

Bayleef set her bag down and chirped, waddling closer to help her trainer out. When the pokemon reached down to grab a potion bottle in her mouth, though, her leaf smacked against one of the bags Laurel had set down on. The bag promptly flopped over and spread its contents across the tile floor. Laurel's eyes widened and she automatically chided,

"Bayleef! Ugh . . ."

Bayleef lowered her head and let out a whine, looking remorseful over making her trainer look like a dummy in front of someone else.

The stranger chuckled, but in a very good-natured sort of way.

"Aw, I'm sure it didn't mean it."

Laurel sighed and patted Bayleef's head, saying,

"Oh, I know she didn't. She only recently evolved and she's still not used to how big her leaf is . . . the other day she kept slapping me in the face by mistake."

The other woman held a gloved hand to her face and gave an amused little snort.

"Sounds like a handful. Here, let me help you out with all that."

"Thank you so much."

After they'd repacked her bags with her supplies, they had some casual chit-chat.

"Bayleef, huh? A Johto pokemon, right?"

"Yes!"

"I haven't seen one up close and personal before. Mind if I pet her?"

"Sure, go ahead! She's very outgoing. Just be careful of her leaf, ahaha . . ."

The woman patted Bayleef's round head, then ran a hand along her long neck. Bayleef made a happy trilling sound, swinging the leaf about on her head delightedly.

"Aaw. What a sweet face. She's quite the cutie."

Laurel put her hands on her hips and grinned, proud of her partner.

"Thank you! She is, isn't she? She's going to get a kick out of this, she really thrives on compliments."

Indeed, Bayleef seemed incredibly pleased. The other woman laughed and turned to her.

"Oh, does she now? And what about her trainer?"

Laurel blinked.

"Me? Um . . . hmm, I guess I do too."

"Well, in that case, you're quite the cutie yourself."

The woman gave her a playful wink. Laurel felt her face go hot immediately and she released a nervous giggle. Weakly, she answered,

"T-thanks!"

She watched the other woman cross her arms and acquire a thoughtful look.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to be up for a quick battle, would you? Just a little one-on-one."

The woman's brows lifted high and she fixed her with a crooked smile. Laurel was thrown off by the stranger's sudden interest, but she wasn't exactly complaining.

"O-oh, you mean right now?"

The stranger nodded.

"Yep! Is it a bad time?"

Laurel stammered out,

"No, it-- it's, uh, not really! Now is fine! Um, you feel like a battle, Bayleef?"

Her pokemon bobbled up and down with excitement.

"Great! Let's head outside, then."

They walked to a field just outside the pokemon center, where their pokemon would have plenty of space to move around. Then the woman, who'd introduced herself as "Rika," released her own partner from its pokeball.

Laurel stared in fascination as the large, blobby brown pokemon appeared. It was very round and had stumpy legs and a fat tail. Its gaze was vacant and it had a wide mouth stretched out in a dopey smile.

"Whoa . . . look at this fellah . . . so cute! And an absolute unit."

Rika gave the pokemon's back a loving slap, saying,

"Yep, he's a big boy, all right."

"What is he called?"

"Clodsire! I guess you're not too familiar with Paldean pokemon, then?"

Laurel shook her head.

"Not really. He kinda reminds me of Quagsire, though."

"Mmhmm. They're related species."

The strange pokemon was nudging his snout into the ground, which was soft from a recent rain. He was getting dirt and muck all over his face. Laurel narrowed her eyes.

"Related species? So he must be ground type. He sure looks like he is, anyway. Am I right?"

"You catch on fast! He's a ground type, you're right."

The ranger's eyes sparked in sudden excitement.

"That means Bayleef and I have an advantage! C'mon, Bayleef, let's get this party started!"

She quickly got into position, far enough away so she could command her pokemon without being in range of any attacks. The other trainer chuckled, apparently amused by her sudden enthusiasum.

"Sure thing. You ready to battle, Clodsire?"

The pokemon grunted, pulling his face out of the mud with a pop.

"You ready, Bayleef?"

Bayleef wriggled her tail, staring at her opponent and chirping. Laurel translated,

"All set!"

"Great. Then on my count. Three . . . two . . . one . . ."

Rika dropped her hand, calling,

"Go!"

Laurel shouted eagerly,

"Bayleef, nail 'em with an Energy Ball!"

Bayleef responded to her trainer's enthusiasum, quickly powering up her move and spitting out a glowy green ball of energy. Rika didn't even react, just stood there calmly and watched as the green orb struck Clodsire square on the head, sinking into his squishy brown skin.

Clodsire barely even batted an eye.

"Uhhh?!" Laurel squawked, shocked.

Calmly, Rika commanded her own pokemon.

"Heh. Go ahead, Clodsire-- try a Mud Slap."

The placid pokemon wriggled in the mud he had been wallowing in before giving the ground a firm slap with his thick tail. His aim was impeccable, a small jet of mud striking Bayleef right in the face, despite their distance. Laurel had still been so shocked about that Energy Ball she hadn't even thought to warn Bayleef.

"Oh, drat-- Bayleef, I'm sorry--"

Her pokemon shook her head, whining miserbly about the mud getting in her eyes. Laurel wanted to go help wipe her face off, but it wasn't very sporting to interfere with the battle in that way. She forced herself to stay in place, gritting her teeth.

Her arms crossed, Rika commented,

"Good work, Clodsire. How 'bout a little more, just to be sure? Give it a real good squirt."

Clodsire clapped his little feet gleefully and smacked the mud again with his tail.

"Bayleef, watch out!"

Bayleef was already too blinded to avoid it and was coated with even more mud, now dripping down her neck as she squeaked in distress. Laurel squeezed a fist and bit back the urge to snap at the woman commanding Clodsire. It isn't her fault, it's mine. I gotta do better.

"Bayleef, shake it off! C'mon, let's see another Energy Ball!"

Bayleef did her best to shake off the mud and spat out another green orb, but the move missed Clodsire by a mile.

"Ugh."

"Clodsire, might as well keep going."

Laurel felt herself losing her cool when even more mud coated her beloved grass pokemon.

"Hey! Are you just gonna spam mud slaps all day?!"

Rika seemed briefly surprised at the ranger's outburst, but then she just shrugged.

"Why switch up something that works?"

Laurel huffed back,

"It's such a dirty tactic, though."

The other woman chuckled dryly.

"Well, I'm not a Ground-type specialist for nothin'." She paused, seemingly taking in just how riled up Laurel was, and continued calmly,

"But don't worry so much about all that. Just worry about how you and Bayleef are gonna get around it."

Normally, such a comment might have upset her even more, but the way it was said didn't seem condescending, just gentle and friendly. And anyway, she was right-- Laurel needed to get her head in the game.

She sighed and tried to re-focus.

"Okay, Bayleef, are you sure you can't get that mud off? Maybe wipe it off on the ground or something . . ."

The dinosaur bent her head down to try and wipe the sticky mud off on the grass, but to limited effect. It was a shame her pokemon didn't have hands. If she did, she could just get that awful muck right off. If only she could . . .

Wait. Bayleef didn't have hands, but she did have something else.

Laurel pointed, suddenly inspired.

"Bayleef!! Try swinging your leaf around really fast! Maybe you can blow that mud away!"

Her pokemon chirped, nodding, and began swinging the large leaf on her head as rapidly as she could. To Laurel's joy, that big leaf kicked up a breeze very easily, and the mud quickly went flying off. Laurel cheered,

"Yeah!! Great job, Bayleef! Now quick, hit Clodsire with an Energy Ball!"

Chirping, Bayleef charged and spat out a large green orb. Clodsire was big and slow and couldn't avoid the attack, getting struck head-on once again. Although, once again, it seemed to do practically nothing.

"Heh heh, nice work. Guess I'll need to switch things up after all," Rika said, looking proud. Laurel frowned.

"Looks like I need to as well. Bayleef, try a Poison Powder!"

Rika waved her hand casually and commanded,

"Clodsire, Poison Sting."

Laurel's eyes widened.

"Poison Sting? Bayleef, quick--"

Unfortunately, Bayleef was so busy releasing its Poison Powder, the Poison Sting took it entirely off-guard. Bayleef cried out, the attack striking her in the face.

Meanwhile, Clodsire just had his big dopey smile, seemingly unaffected by the powder he'd been sprinkled with.

"Wait, is he part poison type?! I thought you said he was Ground!"

"Well, I never claimed he was pure Ground."

Laurel smacked her face with a palm, briefly.

"Ngghh. All right, get some distance, Bayleef, and put up a Reflect!"

Bayleef bounded away from Clodsire, glowing with energy, putting out a wall of light on her side of the battlefield.

"Oh, nice. But we can play that game too. Clodsire, Amnesia!"

It was pretty hard to tell whether Clodsire was using a move at all; mostly it just gazed vacantly into space and blew some bubbles in the mud. Laurel knew better than to underestimate her opponent, though.

"Okay, Bayleef, now another Energy Ball!" The ball of light struck Clodsire, but her attacks were doing even less now. Laurel tried not to let her frustration show.

"Good work, keep going, Bayleef!"

"Another Poison Sting, Clodsire, whenever the mood strikes you."

The pokemon whittled away at each other, little by little; this was a war of attrition, now. The type matchup was not in Laurel's favor, but Energy Ball was way more powerful than Poison Sting, and Rika didn't seem interested in using anything else. She wasn't even asking Clodsire to dodge anything! If Rika kept being this lackadaisical, they had a good chance.

"Again, Bayleef! Give it everything you've got, he's got to be worn down by now! And keep on your toes for the counter-attack!"

Bayleef powered up and spewed out a huge ball of energy, then jogged out of the way when Clodsire sent out a little jet of poison.

"Great!! Again, Bayleef, you can do it!"

From her side of the battlefield, Rika's voice came as cool and collected as ever.

"Attack if you see an opening, Clodsire, but don't stress it if you don't."

Flummoxed, Laurel looked to the other trainer. She demanded,

"Are you even taking this battle seriously?"

Her arms crossed, Rika quirked a smile.

"Of course. I take every battle seriously. Gotta rep to uphold, after all."

Laurel stared at her a few moments, trying to figure out if she was being honest. She looked to the battle, where Bayleef was still dodging Poison Stings and spitting out her own Energy Balls. She was fighting on like a real trooper, but the ranger could tell she was really starting to tire from the poison that was seeping into her leaves. Meanwhile, Clodsire was still taking moves like a massive sponge, somehow. Unbothered, moisturized, happy . . .

Laurel looked back to Rika, finally realizing why the woman looked so calm and relaxed. It wasn't because she didn't care about the outcome of this battle.

It was because she knew she was in perfect control here.

Laurel felt a chill.

"Bayleef--"

A notification chirped from Laurel's smartphone, interrupting her. She glanced down at her phone, seeing her sync stone was glowing. Her sync move was finally ready.

Excited, she touched the stone, pointing and calling out,

"Bayleef, Grass Beam!! Let's DO IT! Uh--"

Bayleef looked up to her, but she was panting and swaying on her little feet. A few seconds later, she collapsed.

Laurel groaned, setting her phone back down.

"N-never mind . . ."

She approached her pokemon and kneeled down, patting her head gently and then returning her to her pokeball.

"Thank you, Bayleef. Rest now."

She stood back up and turned to the other trainer, smiling ruefully.

"That was incredible . . . I can't believe how tough Clodsire is. We were throwing everything we had at it, and he barely seemed bothered!"

The pokemon in question had gone back to wallowing in the mud, wriggling playfully like some kind of weird puppy. Rika nodded.

"That's Clodsire for ya, he's a hardy one. Cool as a cucumber, too. And the calmer he is, the more hits he can take."

Laurel commented quietly,

"So that's why you weren't in any hurry to counter-attack."

Rika chuckled,

"Yeah, no need to do that when your opponent will wear themselves out first. Clodsire's very easygoing, and he battles best when he stays true to that. So I don't try to rush 'em, I've just learned to embrace it."

"Hmm . . . it's good you've figured out what works best for him."

Rika flashed her a grin.

"It works great for me, too! I've learned a lot from him about how to loosen up and not stress things in life. Hard to be stressed around this silly goober, anyway."

Clodsire wagged his fat tail and smiled up at Rika with a look of pure love.

"Aww. Well, it was very nice to meet you and Clodsire. Thanks so much for the battle!" Laurel said, reaching out her hand. Rika shook it, answering,

"Likewise. You and Bayleef have some real spunk."

Laurel noticed the symbol emblazoned on Rika's fancy black gloves as she shook her hand.

"You have such stylish gloves! Is that some Paldean brand-name?"

She seemed amused.

"Not exactly. It's the symbol for the Paldea League."

Laurel's brow wrinkled.

"The Paldea League? Wait . . . you mean the Paldea Pokemon League?"

Maybe it was fan merch. She didn't just battle a gym leader, surely . . .

"Yep. I'm one of their E4."

Laurel felt her soul exiting her body. She screeched,

"E4?!?"

To Rika's credit, she didn't even flinch at Laurel's shocked outburst-- just continued to look faintly amused. Laurel carried on,

"Y-you can't be serious?? You're-- you-- why--"

She paused, taking in a steadying breath,

"Why on earth would an E4 member want to battle with someone like me?!"

Rika's amused expression immediately dropped into a frown.

"What do you mean by that?"

She swallowed.

"U-uh, I just mean . . . I'm, I'm just some nobody around here! Some of the strongest trainers in the world are gathered in Pasio right now, I'm sure there's dozens and dozens of more interesting people for somebody of your caliber to battle!"

Rika dropped a hand on Laurel's shoulder. She chuckled,

"Hey, give yourself a little credit! That was a good match. 'Sides, not every battle has to be super serious or hyper competitive to be fun, right?"

Laurel glanced away, mumbling,

"I-I guess . . ."

Rika gave her a shoulder a squeeze before releasing her and agreeing,

"Yeah!"

Laurel muttered,

"Geez, no wonder I couldn't win. And you were just using Mud Slap and Poison Sting . . . there's no way that's your usual moveset, is it?"

Rika shoved her hands in her pockets and answered casually,

"Mmm, I might be using a scaled-back moveset for all my Pasio battles."

A handicap. Of course.

"Now I feel even sillier . . ."

The E4 member shrugged.

"No reason to. I can promise you're far from the only person on this island to lose to a Mud Slap Clodsire. Don't stress it."

Laurel gazed at her a few moments, sensing how sincere she was. She glanced down to Clodsire, who was rolling around in the mud without a worry in the world.

She smiled.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Ms. Rika."

"Just Rika. I can't stand any stuffy formalities. And hey, it was nice getting to know you a bit. Maybe we can do this again sometime."

[little-plant-witch]

Candle spell for my boyfriend having a sense of contentment in his job

(March 14, 2024)

Context: My boyfriend is a security guard working for an agency and is tired of them giving him shitty jobs for shitty pay. He says he feels lost in life in terms of career/work. He wants to find another job but doesn’t have any direction, but he’s working on it. I wanted us to do a spell together to help him. Whether he sticks with security or changes entirely, and whether he keeps on this job or finds a new one quickly, I want him to reach some level of contentment to help him feel more at ease, even if it still sucks. We put out a lot of thoughts varying on that idea during this spell.

Ingredients:

“Fortune” incense

Pale yellow candle with the following herbs wrapped inside:

Calendula (positivity)

Basil (prosperity, wealth, good luck)

Plantain (grounding, persistence, courage)

Peppermint (extra oomph to the spell, motivation)

(not in candle) a single bayleaf

Our steps:

Smoke cleansed everything and each other with the incense, and let it burn all the way through during the rest of the spell

On the bay leaf, I wrote “contentment in job” and my boyfriend wrote his initials

Lit the candle and watched the flame as we held hands and said our goals and thoughts out loud

After some time of silence and when he felt it was right, he burned the bayleaf

We watched the candle flame some more and enjoyed the calm focus. I watched it until it fully burned down

[rouxaroo]

Here's a funny story about how stupid BaeTae (little girl me) was.

A long time ago I got my first copy of the Pokemon game, it was Pokemon Gold, the original not Heart Gold. At that age I thought sharks were really cool and cute so I picked Totodile because I did not understand the concept of portmanteaus. Anyways this means that my rival picked Chikorita.

Side note when I met the rival the game told me their name was "???" So I could choose a name for them, but when the officer asked me what their name was I thought, "Well I can't lie to the police officer," (my how things change) and named my rival "???". This went on for years before I realized it was a choice.

Anyways back to the original story. Sometime later I encountered someone who said something to the effect of, "if a Pokemon is raised by a bad trainer they become bad." After that I then encountered the rival in Mahogany Town, where they sent out their Bayleaf.

A reminder on how Chikorita and Bayleaf look in Gold.

So when I saw this I noticed the slightly darker body, the darker leaves, the hole in the leaf, and the slight yellowing around the hole. I knew that usually that was an unhealthy sign in plants that had been munched on by insects, having grown up growing some of our food, so my little seven or eight year old brain decided that meant Bayleaf was dying. I cried for longer than I know with the battle music playing in the background before I eventually turned off the game, turned it back on, started over and picked Chikorita. I was so convinced that I had doomed Chikorita to death and suffering because I had not picked them and I felt so guilty about that even after the reset I felt guilty knowing there was one version of Chikorita out there I didn't "save".

[professor-amaryllis]

If you don’t mind me asking, why does your Meganium look so different?

Beetroot is a variegated pokemon! meaning some parts of her body do not produce chlorophyll! Variegation happens through natural mutation or viral infection and results in a reduction of chlorophyll in some of the plant's cells which causes the appearance of yellow, white, or rarely pink areas amongst green. Normal plants can show these same mutations as well! She showed no sign of it s a chicorita, but when she evolved into a bayleaf it scared the hell out of me! I thought she was sick and rushed her to a pokecenter. Nope, she was healthier than ever, just spotted!

Variegated pokemon need extra care and attention to their diet, as the lighter areas can no longer produce energy from the sun! Beetroot gets a vitamin d supplement every day, among other things. Also, Sickness, too cold or too hot weather, and prolonged stress can actually cause a variegated pokemon to permanently revert to their normal colors!! So a pretty spotted pokemon is a sign of good care!

My two new mystery pokemon here are good examples of different forms of variegation. Pinkie's leaves are have beautiful rose sections in her leaves where the chlorophyll is gone, with hard edges, while Finnegan has stripes of half-chlorophyll throughout and stripes of no-chlorophyll in the edges!

I believe this boy belongs to @veevee-power, i hope you don't mind me using your image! This guy is a good example of a mottled variegation, with spots of half and no chlorophyll scattered seemingly at random. He also exhibits patches of lightened color in his body, commonly seen with variegations as well, but considered a "flaw" in poke-plant shows.

[jesshq]

So I made a update version of my Pokémon au teams for pain, panic and neurosis, and their OC little siblings paranoia and hope as well as for hades too.

But I’ll explain abit about how each character is with their pokemon, and the Pokémon choices are based on my Disney Hercules headcons.

Also the green travel buddies on some of the Pokémon mean that, the Pokémon that has the green dot means it’s basically like ash’s pikachu and is always with them travelling.

Let’s start off with pain:

Most of his Pokémon choices are due to my headcons example: blitzle and tsareena is basically due to my headcon of ship of pain x Pegasus and pain x tele (oc).

pain is accident prone so he has a lot of caring or healing or just protective pokemon.

Most of the choices are to fit with pain’s personality and hobbies especially from headcons: he likes to cook and bake so an alcreamie fits perfectly, where as munchlax and impidimp remind me a lot of pain in body shape and colors.

And since in my headcons he is the caretaker for the hydra where as panic is for Cerberus, neurosis is the harpies, hope is pokey’s care taker (the families pet gold fleece sheep), and paranoia take care of the underworld fire hounds (basically they’re ares’s dogs of war breed but underworld and look abit like Cerberus only one head but sometimes have 2 as that is a 50/50 chance of happening when breeding them) so that’s why he has the three headed dragon Pokémon ^^;

Time for neurosis:

Like pain most of my choices revolved around headcons, hobbies from said headcons or from canon show or movie and that the Pokémon reminded me of or would fit well with the character:

but neurosis’s goodra and frostlass fight constantly as like ash’s bayleaf they love him, but abra has neurosis’s 24/7 attention due to it’s basically a baby, most of his Pokémon are used in the anime or games to help relax pokemon so he has a lot of fairy or grass type as their sweet scent from their flowers helps him focus.

neurosis is also very stealthy as in his episode he goes almost unseen till phil sees him when Hercules was fighting the man eating mares, so Pokémon that are stealthy, fast or hard to see or notice are the best choices for him

His dusk lycanrock is a reference to my ship for him: neurosis x mayhem (oc) and floette is a reference to: neurosis x clover (oc)

And his frigibax is from my headcon he can breath a cool mist like breath and breath fire but he’ll mostly use mist breath to make people nervous.

And the bravairy is referring to in my headcons his pet harpie: avara

Ok now for panic:

Most of his Pokémon choices are like neurosis and pain’s from my Disney Hercules headcons or they fit with the character.

Like neurosis panic has Pokémon have moves or have a tendency to help to relax and focus, he however also has Pokémon that like pain are protective of their trainer.

Scyther and finizen are referring to my ships: panic x Hermes and panic x Lethe (oc)

Panic is show in the series to be a good fighter so Pokémon that aren’t that strong pre evolution but after they evolve are most of Pokémon like chardet, frokie, etc.

I didn’t give panic a Pokémon to reference the family pet Cerberus where as pain and neurosis as well as hope and paranoia do have a reference Pokémon for their family pets they care for, because hades own mostly Cerberus, but I gave him leafeon as it’s grass type smell helps him focus.

His morgrem joined him as a impidimp and kinda thought panic was it’s parent due to their skin colors matching.

Time for hades:

I think the choices speak for themselves ^^;

Dispute his Pokémon’s looks His Pokémon are very parental and gentle  with hades’s kids and their Pokémon. And if you seen my headcon that hades’s is pain, panic and neurosis, hope and paranoia’s father you would know hades’s was as good adopted parent till his bipolar temper disorder got the best of him, but pain and panic (later neurosis, hope and paranoia) learn hades really doesn’t mean it as he will check them over for injury if he hits them by accident while in raged.

[crystalelemental]

As a massive Johto fan, I remember the remakes being a huge deal to me. I didn't even know about them at the time, and found them at GameStop literally the day before going back to college one year. It's one of the few Pokemon games I legitimately remember the event of acquiring. So I admit, HGSS has a lot of nostalgia in it as well.

I played SoulSilver. The team was Feraligatr (Quirky), Jumpluff (Impish), Miltank (Careful), Hitmonchan (Adamant), and Lugia (Modest). Our rotating sixth was Golduck (caught at level 13 in Ilex Forest, bless that 1%) or Farfetch'd (caught on the way to the Safari Zone).

In light of that team composition, I'd like to make that the topic of this game. Specifically, how older Pokemon games before the EXP All structured teambuilding and progression.

See, my wife is playing Sword right now, which...may or may not take the place of me playing Gen 8. But she's doing a run where she's not picking up any Pokemon except what she wants to run in her team, which is currently a team of 4 at Opal. She's not having any particular problems, for a combination of reasons, but the point is this structure is unusual for Gen 8. When talking about it, her thoughts were that she always picks up a full team of 6, and then can't switch them out because she's been with them the whole game. It gets to a point where she's using the same early-game stuff every time, but she wanted to try new options she's never touched before, which necessitates not picking up everything she sees. I'll have a ton more to say about this when I talk about XY, but what she's doing now is...how you were, at one point, meant to play.

Your starter often carries you through the first gym no problem. Very rarely is this something you can't do. Even with Chikorita, you can evolve to Bayleaf and just stomp Falkner on stats. By Gym 2/rival fight 2, you're going to want another partner, just to help handle something your starter can't. Eventually you'll build out a third, maybe around Gym 3, then a fourth by Gym 5 or 6, and by the time you're ready to face the League, you've built up a team of 5 or 6 Pokemon to use.

This structure is felt perfectly in Johto, and it's the reason for so many criticisms regarding "bad level curve." Trying to catch too much too early does stymie your progress, as your levels fall off. In my case, I had three Pokemon all the way through Clair. I caught Lugia, and got my Tyrogue, only after clearing all of Johto. As a result, my main team was perfectly on level with Lugia at 45, and we walked into the League ready to throw down. A team with more Pokemon early on likely does not keep up with that curve, and the level difference can be intimidating. In GSC, badge boosting helps alleviate that. HGSS has no such fallback, so...what are you meant to do?

Johto thrives off its Legendary Pokemon. Lugia and Ho-oh arrive at 45, which is likely well above what your team has reached by this point, and is perfectly equipped to take on the League. By the time you go into League rematch and Red, you have access to the other at level 70. HGSS elevates this further, with options to get the Hoenn trio, the Kanto birds, and even Mewtwo, who is also level 70. Decked out with Legends, you can easily stomp what remains of the game. But, just like GSC's discussion, the question is how bad things are if you don't do that.

This is where the remakes seem to solve for the problem, but falter really painfully. On the one hand HGSS introduces gym rematches and a second round of the League, all with a gradual curve up in levels. However, the gym leaders are stupid. You have to get their phone numbers, with each leader having a different time of day and specific day of the week they're available for that, and then call them at a different (this time specified) time of day on a specific day of the week to schedule the match, meet them in Saffron's Dojo for the rematch, then wait to do it again. I have not done these rematches in years. I cannot be asked. Which means the League is a big jump now. But even if you shitstomp the League like I did, Red is still wildly above you. Lugia handled most of the League at level 63. The rest of my team hovered around 61. We are in no position at all to deal with Red on even terms, and my solutions presented are "Go catch Legends and bench the team you ran all game" or "Make a ton of runs of the League to slowly level up your party." Lugia walked in at 60 and left at 63, despite doing all the hard work. I hope that solidifies how long the grind is.

Red just remains so frustrating. The rest of the game has a beautiful level curve that is perfectly managed, but then Red just ruins it completely. And his team has like no actual technique to it, so if you meet the raw stat requirement he's really not hard to beat, he's just a time waster to catch up to. And they added permanent Hail so his three Blizzard Spam Pokemon can guaranteed hit you, because I guess they wanted to make him cool like Cynthia and able to beat the box legends you got? He didn't. Lugia can tank them just fine. I'm getting away from my point.

You may also notice I said "5 or 6," and used a team of only five. This harkens back to the days of the HM Mule, a Pokemon who lives completely to use a bunch of HMs so your main party doesn't have to waste moveslots on shitty moves like Rock Smash. Gen 4 in particular is obsessed with HMs. I kinda resent it, because HGSS in particular suffers due to the inclusion of Rock Climb, which is extremely demanding on what Pokemon can learn it, and is functionally garbage. Compared to GSC, which only "needed" Flash, this is a major adjustment that tends to strain teambuilding compositions, typically at the expense of your starter, who is...let's be honest, already having a bad time. The HM mule solves this by taking such burdens onto themselves.

It's a sort of utility Pokemon, similar in style to my Platinum Pachirisu, who offered nothing in combat against the League, but whose Pickup got us like 8+ extra Rare Candy. These kinds of odds and ends utilities could be really valuable, but often came at the cost of a direct frontline fighter, so there was some give and take on that front. HM Mules are at least a bit less demanding because their level is completely irrelevant, but you get my point.

I'm not going to mince words: having played both in succession within the last month, I prefer Crystal to HGSS. I don't dislike HGSS, but I do think that the changes it offers are largely to its detriment. Sometimes that's the frustration of like...Silver showing up to do the dumb "dress like Team Rocket" segment and having to force his dialogue into "I was lying earlier to try and track you thinking maybe Lance would come back." It doesn't work. But It's...mostly in the Red fight again.

Red's HGSS rematch has all the burden of shifting meta. By Gen 4, movepools are expansive, and his Pokemon have a ton of options to work with that they didn't before. Charizard has a Dragon-type move that's hard to resist, and its Air Slash is both stronger than Wing Attack, and scales off its higher Sp Atk. Venusaur has Sludge Bomb. Blastoise has Focus Blast and Flash Cannon. Most egregious of all, Snorlax has Crunch, in addition to Blizzard and Shadow Ball. This makes his fight much harder, in that you can't counterpick as easily as Gen 2's rendition, but consider what is lost:

In GSC, you go through the game with your team in a pretty normal level curve, only to encounter a dude with 30 levels on your main source of grinding. If your team can't hack it, most of his Pokemon have clear answers that will 100% counter them. Misdreavus, at base level, completely counters Snorlax. Any Rock-type you have is going to do really well against Charizard and Pikachu. Any Dark type hard walls Espeon, whose other moves hit like wet noodles. A bit of team adjustment, and you can pick up something that gets to completely trounce him. Did you know Larvitar at the Game Corner comes at level 40? Don't evolve until Crunch and Earthquake, and have fun beating half his team no sweat.

In HGSS...that's gone. Bringing Golem doesn't solve Charizard anymore, because Dragon Pulse will slam your bad Sp Def. Bringing Mismagius against Snorlax just gets you one-shot by Crunch, especially if you try something like Curse. Pikachu...okay, Pikachu probably still gets bopped by a Rhydon, but Iron Tail chunks you now. The change from Espeon to Lapras removes the Dark-type cheese, and that overlap with Blastoise can hurt. Both can be answered well enough with Starmie, Slowbro or Slowking (Tentacruel also resists all of Blastoise's stuff), but you see what I mean? GSC, you counterpick in broad strokes. Get a Rock type, any, and Charizard is handled. Now the key to countering Charizard is basically Tyranitar or bust. You used to be able to take any Dark type against Espeon, but now the only counter to Lapras is two evolutionary lines, one with a trade, and one with the hard to get Water Stone. It makes it harder to just counter with specific swaps, and as a result, you have to face the level check directly. Sure there's better grinding options, but it's still so much more work than it's worth if you don't have a team that's automatically good for his fight specifically. And it is so much harder to be good against him specifically.

This does, however, come down to my gamer sins of Completionism and Rushing the Ending. I do not want to get stuck on things right at the end. Especially not when it's been otherwise smooth. Having to spend some time battling the League a couple more times is not the outright worst thing, but I argue it does seriously break flow of an otherwise decently paced game.

In every other regard, HGSS is fine. Great, even. It's just that one fight that is endlessly frustrating, and at this point I should probably just make a point of beating everything except Red and save myself the headache.

[blazeismyname]

Soo. Per the course of Blaze. I forgot to follow through on my promise when I said I would.

Nut here it is

Started when I was staring in a mirror once before a shower and acting like Nelson if he was really like, preppy.

Rest under the cut because this will be long and WAYY too much slay (also like vague spoilers...)

Slaytec Origins:

The first piece of lore I ever created for this was: Yassified version of Nelson named Nicole and he says "You know how many people I've killed honey? Yeah, yeah, thought so.. So why don't you be a doll and kill yourself and make this 10 times more easier so I can go back to looking at pintrest aesthetic boards"

Characters (that I have so far):

Nelson: Nicole

Wesley/Wes: Wheatley/Wheat

Deborah/Deb: Daniella/Dan

Benjamin: Bently/Ben

Scott: Scar

Autumn: Spring

Matthias: Martin

Samantha: Sarah

Woodland/Woods: Grassland/Grass

Bailey: Bayleaf

Jasper: Rose Quartz

Xander: Xander

Personalities (that I have so far):

Nicole: Cofounded the company with Wheatley because they thought it’d be so slay aesthetic. Likes: Pinterest and Tumblr  Dislikes: Working

Wheatley: Cofounded the company with Nicole and actually somewhat cares about the work they’re doing. Likes: Pinterest, Tumblr, and Daniella Dislikes: Cringe culture

Daniella: Small frail woman who can’t do shit. Crushing hard over Wheatley  Likes: Looking at couple’s Pinterest boards with Wheatley Dislikes: Nicole, yas, Slaytec, slay

Bentley: Resident homosexual. Basically the Tim Stoker of Slaytec Likes: Men, women, being fruity  Dislikes: Nicole

Scar: Big and buff. Not shy and not afraid to speak up. Pretty much the only one left who does work. Likes: Gains, speaking up for himself and others Dislikes: Nicole

Spring: Wanna be yass queen Slaytec employee but can’t be slay for the life of her.  Likes: Nicole, slaying, yass Dislikes: Project 114209-25119

Martin, Sarah, and Grass: A bunch of clickbait Trend Riding Twitch streamers living in the Spellbound House Like as a collective: Trends, Twitch, clickbait, streaming, the live chat Dislike as a collective: Barbie Jeeps, yas, Pinterest, Tumblr, slay, Slaytec, Nicole

Bayleaf: The stand-in for Martin, Sarah, and Grass’s live chat Likes: Just being there, violence Dislikes: Yas, Pinterest, Tumblr, slay, Slaytec, Nicole

Rose Quartz: Shy little pookie bear who actively gives away every position of power he’s ever landed in Likes: Yas, sparkles, Pinterest, Tumblr, slay Dislikes: Power

Xander: Xander was already slay. They are the EXACT same

Extra:

Project 863: Project 114209-25119 (There's a meaning. Decipher it or whatever)

The Mercury Mountaineer: Barbie Jeeps

Nicole killed Wheatley saying "There's not enough yas for the two of us"

Nicole has the longest most annoying red nails and literally can't do shit with them

Scar was the one to create Project 114209-25119

BONUS FROM ME AND MY FRIEND'S COVOS ABOUT THIS:

"Nicole?" "OMG WHEATLEY- You know I'm looking at my pintrest boards!" "I was too but Scar said we have a problem"

They spend more time Pinterest-ing then doing science

"You had Jane? Well I have matches" (Nicole talking to Elias Bouchard)

Ben would 100% dress like Tim

Nicole (yassified Nelson) sitting there with his long red nails loudly typing into his phone keyboard looking for a Pinterest board while annoyingly chewing gum with his mouth open, feet propped on the desk, the sparkles around him shining bright enough to blind (edited)

[linc-karo-27]

Links' is called Pickles. Because he is a small bird because lalafell WOL (also because I thought it was a nice idea)

Bimbo Catboys one is called Bayleafe (after the EN VA of the character's namesake socials all seem to be that) because i needed a name for it that matched the theme of referring to Graha tia as Bimbo catboy. Also it sounds fantasy esc with the E on the end

I've seen a couple of people share their WoL's chocobo's names so far, and they're all ready cute, so I'm gonna take advantage of my platform to ask:

What's your WoL's chocobo's name?

I'll start: mine is Edwin! Because he kinda looks like an Edwin.

Edited to Add (Because I didn't even think about this last night, lol): I have two alts that have unlocked chocobos! One of the alts is Patia Por'co from Exandria Unlimited: Calamity, so I named her chocobo Avalir after the flying city from that same series. The other alt is based on one of my D&D characters, and his chocobo is named Phalanges after one of the party's two horses (he is solely focused on eating fingers).

[balkanradfem]

those leaves look like they might be a type of oleander. It’s extremely poisonous. Don’t eat random plants if you aren’t sure what they are and keep them away from any pets!

they DO look very alike oleander! Thank you so much for sending me this, I'm going to do some comparisons!

Okay, after looking at multiple oleander plants, I've noticed some stuff. Oleander plant leafs have a white line in the middle and then no noticeable vessels, they all look like this:

Meanwhile bayleaf plants have visible branches of vessels on their leaves, which are all alternating on the sides:

And I can clearly see those exact vessels on my plant cuttings as well. This doesn't prove that it's a bayleaf, it's possible other plants also have these vessels! I've checked 2 bayleaf-look-alikes and none of them has the lines like this, so until I find out more about plants that look like that, I'll just be a bit unsure. I also thought at one point it could be an olive plant, because people do randomly grow olives here, but the pattern of white lines also didn't fit that.

Bayleaf is the closest yet!

Thank you so much for sending this again, I am having a great time doing these comparisons and learning more about plant recognition this way.

[macquarieridge]

until a few days ago I somehow never thought of adding bayleaf to my chai after all these long, long years of trying to make good chai. it tastes complete now

[2023citypagesbestofthecities]

Best Smoke Shop: Smells Like Green Spirit

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Best Smoke Shop: Smells Like Green Spirit

Best Music School: Ensign Beefheart's School Of Jazz

Best Secondhand Store: Summer Of Junk

[hindbodes]

Bayleaves are fucking stupid and disgusting, and I abhor the thought of making food for other people in some stupid dark timeline where I put a bayleaf in the food I’m making for them. I would rather fucking kill and cook the innocent Gen 2 Pokemon Bayleef in a soup for my clients than fucking make somebody food that uses regular real life bayleaves as an ingredient.