#black-fronted tern

[alonglistofbirds]

[1155/10977] Black-fronted Tern - Chlidonias albostriatus

Order: Charadriiformes Suborder: Lari Family: Laridae (gulls, terns and skimmers)

Photo credit: Paul Maury via Macaulay Library

[anonsally]

Day 2 in Chile: Birding along the central coast

After a decent night's sleep, we got up early this morning for our birding tour. The guide and a driver picked us up at 8am and we had an epic day of birding! It was cold but mostly sunny, so not as cold as yesterday except when it was very windy. The guide told us that this is one of the best times of year to visit Chile, bird-wise, because a lot of birds that breed further south migrate here in the winter... as do a lot of birds who breed further north!

We did spend a lot of the day in the car in between birding, but that was fine actually as it gave Wife (who is an introvert) a break from interacting and it also meant less time in the sun and wind. And we saw lots of birds, nearly all of which were new for me.

The guide hasn't shared the eBird list with me yet so I'm sure I won't remember everything, but here's what I remember (not chronologically, and I've tried to put my favorites near the top, but not really in order and they were all exciting in one way or another):

Humboldt penguins! We were pretty lucky; I think there were about 30 of them hanging out on a small island preserve very close to the beach.

Inca terns. These were very beautiful and unusual-looking terns, dark grey with long white whiskers and red beaks, with a yellow spot at the base, and red feet.

Grey gulls starting to get their breeding plumage. I thought these were very cute, elegant gulls.

A giant hummingbird. Which... is not an exaggeration. It was enormous. Too big to hover. But clearly hummingbird shaped. Totally incongruous!

Tufted tit-tyrant. (The Tufted Tit-Tyrants is my new band.) Probably one of the cutest birds I've ever seen.

Peruvian boobies

Peruvian pelicans--not too different from the brown pelicans we see at home, but larger.

Three kinds of cormorant: Most were neotropic cormorants, but we also saw a couple of guanay cormorants, and several of the very beautiful red-legged cormorant.

Southern lapwings. Kind of a patchwork pattern of coloration.

Two rufous-chested dotterels, one of which was getting its breeding plumage.

Three kinds of cinclodes: gray-flanked (which breed in the Andes but winter on rocky beaches), seaside (larger), and (I think?) buff-winged.

Two kinds of oystercatchers: blackish and American (I don't think I'd seen the American kind before; the ones in California are black oystercatchers).

Yellow-billed pintails

Yellow-billed teals

Diuca finches

Lake duck (similar to a ruddy duck)

Rufous-collared sparrows (apparently more common than house sparrows in Chile, and infinitely cuter!)

Coscoroba swans, which looked less mean and more friendly than our usual swans

red-gartered coots

Great shrike-tyrants

Long-tailed meadowlark. Startlingly red face and front.

Chimango caracaras, which were the raptors I'd seen on the way from the airport. Apparently there are no corvids here, but these fill that ecological niche. We saw two of them eating a dead meadowlark.

Dusky tapaculo. The guide made limited use of playback in the one foresty stop. This bird is very shy but we did manage to get a decent view of it.

Variable hawk.

Harris's hawk

Great grebes

White-tufted grebes

Brown-hooded gulls

Chilean mockingbirds

Two kinds of swallows: blue-and-white and Chilean

Chiloe wigeons

black vultures

a rufous-tailed plantcutter

Austral thrushes

Austral blackbirds

We also saw sea lions and a couple of otters!

We had them drop us off at a restaurant in Viña Del Mar, which saved them some driving and meant we could try a restaurant we were interested in. We drank Pisco sours (a great cocktail!) and--as usual--ordered too much food. Then we managed to get a bus back to Valparaíso and had a steep walk back up to the hotel, as the funiculars don't run late.

[nyamadermont]

Watching Birds

#FFF248 Watching Birds

@flashfictionfridayofficial

Avatar: Legend of Korra

379 words

Lin lay on the hard wooden bed, unclear why she was awake. The bells for morning meditation hadn’t sounded. She couldn’t sense any disturbance in the atmosphere around her. Kya’s breathing was even, and she had not stirred.

Lin kissed Kya’s shoulder and slid off the bed. Moments later, she opened the door overlooking the large meditation plaza. 

It was almost entirely abducted by a flock of arctic mouse-terns, clearly stopping for the night on their way south. 

Tenzin had told her the meditation circle needed cleaning periodically before sunrise, but she had never been around on the right days. 

Her scalp tingled, and she turned to see him approaching. They shared a smile, and she pushed the door open a little wider. 

They stood together, silently watching the birds. 

The courtyard seems to undulate as if they were watching the ocean. For so many creatures huddled together, there was little noise. But small movements rippled through the flock, ensuring almost constant motion. 

Lin looked up to the tower, far to the right, and saw the roof begin to gleam in the morning sun. 

She held her breath for a moment, released it, and brought her arm up behind Tenzin’s back. She leaned against him. 

His surprise came and went with a breath, and he returned the embrace, pulling her shoulders close. 

They stood witness that morning as the sun mounted in the sky, warming the winds above the plaza, brightening the colors all around them. 

The flock resolved from indistinguishable black dots into a carpet of white feathers and red beaks. The motion in front of them seemed to energize, with a few individuals beginning to jump up into the breeze. 

The light click behind them alerted the pair. They folded  toward each other as they turned to the noise behind them. 

Kya stood there with their gliders and a soft smile. 

“You’ve been watching those birds for an hour. Go join them.”

She extended her arms. Lin and Tenzin each took their glider and turned back to the courtyard. 

The light changed suddenly when the sun finally created the mountains to the east. In a wave of motion, the birds leapt to the air. 

With a glance and a laugh, the airbenders took off running after them. 

[dansnaturepictures]

Four of my favourite photos I took in April 2024 and month summary

The photos are of; an Osprey at Lossiemouth in Moray, Speckled Wood on dandelions by Lakeside Country Park in Hampshire, early spider orchid at Durlston in Dorset and view at Laggan Dam.

April was another momentous and splendid wild month for me with so much seen and many amazing places visited. My birdwatching year continued to go from strength to strength with some smashing spring species seen and my year list kept pace with where my others had been at this stage in a year being second only to the number I was on last year my highest ever year list. Spring delights Swallow, House Martin, Wheatear, Whitethroat, glorious Sedge Warbler, Redstart, thrilling views of Guillemot and Fulmar, Little Tern and Common Tern were key species added to my year list this month alongside blockbuster names Osprey and rare Marsh Sandpiper. Avocet, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Sand Martin, Goldcrest, Blackcap seen and heard and my first Cuckoos heard this year were other highlights. Following the Lakeside Great Crested Grebes with their four growing chicks and a pair still courting and the new Winchester Peregrine pair was special again this month, as was seeing Greylag goslings and adorable Moorhen chicks at Lakeside. The month ended and the new one began whilst away on the incredible adventure that has been our Scotland holiday; it has been pure, tranquil, joyful and nourishing being out in wilderness areas surrounded and embraced by sensational wildlife both at the amazing cottage we’re staying in and the many fantastic places visited. By the end of April we had already seen many of the standout species of the trip including resplendent summer plumage Black-throated Diver and Red-throated Diver, majestic White-tailed Eagle, exuberant Willow Warblers a very welcome constant, Pink-footed Geese, Red Grouse, Red-legged Partridge, loads of Common Sandpipers, Little Ringed Plover, Knot, Hooded Crow, Kittiwake, amazing views of many Ospreys, Razorbill, Puffin, Common Scoter, Goosander, Goldeneye, Long-tailed Duck, Teal, Wheater, Sand Martin, Yellowhammer, Crossbill, Brambling, White Wagtail, Tree Sparrow, Raven, Skylark, Buzzard, Common Gull, Curlew, Lapwing and Oystercatcher.

It was a massive butterfly month for me too as the peak season moved through the early gears enjoying magical views of Red Admiral, Peacock, Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White, Orange Tip, Green-veined White, Holly Blue and Wall Brown with many making the most of the wealth of dandelions out the front and at Lakeside. My moth year got going too with White-shouldered House moth at home and bright Brimstone moth at Durlston.

It was a marvellous month of mammals with Hedgehog at home, more Roe Deers in a strong year I’m having for them, Sika Deers on the way to Durlston and Grey Squirrels enjoyed. A massive part of the Scotland trip was exhilarating encounters with mammals, getting some of my best ever views of certain species; inside April this included stunning intimate views of Hares and Roe Deers around the cottage, an amazing moment as a Stoat ran through the garden, a dream encounter watching Bottlenose Dolphins at Spey Bay and Mountain Goats. Bees, spiders, Black and Yellow Cellar slugs and pill woodlouse were other highlights this moth. 

Flowers gripped my month of course too as the season really matured with cuckooflower, garlic mustard, wild garlic, early purple orchid, my first ever known sighting of green-winged orchid, early spider orchid, cowslips, bluebells, greater stitchwort, marsh marigold, wood anemone, milkwort, buttercups, lesser celandine, wood anemone, cuckoo-pint, red deadnettle, white deadnettle, yellow archangel, forget-me-not, green alkanet, speedwell and herb-Robert starring alongside the breathtaking dandelion scenes. Vetch, sea and red campion, thrift, hogweed and oxeye daisy (some more than others and largely down to personal perspective) were examples of the cycle of the floral year being slightly ahead again. In Scotland it was interesting to observe spring being slightly behind compared to home with daffodils and primroses still around in numbers among others. It was nice to enjoy the sight of fungi here and there in April including hoof fungus in Scotland.

I enjoyed two great social occasions this month, the Hampshire Ornithological Society’s Member’s Day and a talk from Megan McCubbin based around her book which I thoroughly enjoyed reading earlier in the year. Both were inspirational and eye-opening times where it was great to meet like-minded people something watching the Great Crested Grebes has allowed a lot too. Finally I enjoyed being out and looking out so much in April taking in my surroundings and taking in some wonderful vistas and epic sky scenes. Immersed in the splendour of the vast, open, rugged, mountainous and varied landscape in Scotland also including wetland, coast and forest we enjoyed some incredible and breathtaking views.

[lostandfoundbook]

Chapter 8

Read it on AO3

Read it on Wattpad

Sitting in the bars captivating glow was a new experience for Alex. She was used to the dampening sounds of drug addicts next to her. All of them fiending for their next fix, her included. The rooms would be dark and damp, offering little comfort to the people around. This was different, however.

The bar was warm in a way that was very settling for the outfit she was wearing. It lit an orange tint over all the patrons resting there, partaking in what little small talk they did. She felt at peace with her life for the first time in quite a long time.

She was sat with Everette across from her who was nursing a whiskey cocktail to his lips. The conversations ebbed and flowed throughout the room, but these two were silently watching each other. Sight reading whatever emotions they could gleam from each other.

Alex sat sipping her own drink, a glass of rose pinot, the alcohol taste making her cringe each time she went back for another taste. She never did like the flavor of alcohol, instead favoring the effects it had on her body.

"So, the play?" He finally spoke. "How is that going?"

He sounded a bit incredulous. Alex swirled the wine around in her glass. "It's going well. We're performing it next week. It'd be really cool if you came"

Everette rolled his eyes a bit before a smile spread onto his face. "Of course I'm coming. I may not like theatre but I'm always going to support you"

This earned a grin from Alex's mouth. "It's gonna be awesome. We've worked so hard to pull this piece together. We're doing Spring Awakening but the director has drastically changed everything, so if you think you know what it's going to look like already, you actually don't. I think it's really cool, but the other cast mates hate it."

"You like it though?"

Alex's face brightened. "Yes! I love ballet. It's such an expressive art form. I've always wanted to be apart of a professional ballet production and now I am. The others are so used to doing ballet so it's not special for them the way it's special for me. It's like a little secret I get to hold to myself"

Everette took another drink of his whiskey, masking the dislike in his choice of drink. It tasted like a burning wood-y sensation as it went down his throat. Whiskey isn't meant to taste like wood, he thought. "That's really cool, Andie. Hey, listen. About those photos..."

Her smile slowly faded as her eyes focused on the man in front of her. "Right now?"

"Better than when we're shit faced"

Alex cringed a bit at his tern of phrase, but he was correct. Better now than later. "Alright, then. Let's do it."

He quickly finessed his phone out of his pocket before sliding over to the camera option. Alex put her arm around his shoulder and smiled. "Why don't you kiss my cheek?" He added.

"Oh. Alright"

She placed a kiss on his cheek and watched as he snapped a couple of photos. The situation was very odd to her. It felt like taking a photo with a fan, not taking a photo with her boyfriend. Were they even dating at this point?

"Everette?" Her voice rang out as hollow, lacking any confidence she previously had. "Yeah?"

"Would you say we're dating?"

He turned to face her front on and took his hands in hers. "We're whatever you want us to be, baby." His hands were warm in hers, almost sweaty, and she noticed that they were much larger than hers. "I could be your girlfriend" she added, not making eye contact.

It wasn't that she didn't mean it. She WOULD like to be his girlfriend, but she couldn't help fighting this funny feeling like there was something she was missing. Like she herself was an incomplete picture, painted only in black and white, just waiting for somebody to come along and splash paint onto the canvas that was her life.

Maybe Everette would be her paint.

"That would be nice. We need to talk more, though. I don't like being out of contact. It's like long distance dating and I was never good at that. You can't form a connection that way"

That wasn't entirely true, she thought. She'd made many great friends through online forums, and she felt like he was trying to contest this. "You haven't met anybody online you can connect with?" She added

"No. Not really. I know you have. It's not the same, though. Not for me. For me, It's like building up walls around a relationship that box you in, and you're limited to a key set of interactions. It's like a game."

A game. Was that how he viewed their relationship thus far? As some sort of a game he could win? Was this all some sort of a game to him? That's what it was starting to feel like for Alex at this point. The pictures, the limited interactions, the text-to-call dialogues. All of it felt like.. a joke.

"Why don't you just tell me what you know about me?" Alex eventually blurted out, suddenly switching the topic. "What?" Everette asked back, true confusion in his eyes.

"You keep talking about things I've said or things I've done, and nobody around here" she gestured to the bar they were in, indicating she meant the hotel, "will tell me. Why don't you just tell me what you know about me? It would make things so much easier." When she ended her sentence, she picked up her glass of wine and finished it.

Everette eventually nodded, picking up his own glass and taking a drink. "Well, you and I make music together. You stopped doing theatre because of how it limited you in the sphere of creation. You could perform all you wanted, but people never showed up to the things you created. So you stopped creating and started in a different field. Music."

He took another drink out of his cup as Alex listened fervently. "You and I were trying to find a way to mix the two. You didn't want to do a tour but you did want to keep performing. We figured we could host pop up venues around the city and start enough hype to go to other cities and do the same thing. It would've been like the Survive tour, but just us."

Alex frowned. She didn't remember what happened after the Survive event. It was the one memory that stood clear in her head once. The one memory she could grasp onto, hoping it would lead her way back to all of the others. "What do you mean the Survive tour?" She asked.

"You were going to keep performing after the Survive event. Going around the city and doing the same thing I just said, the pop up shows."

The thought hit her suddenly. THAT'S why they were breaking into the hotel. The hotel had multiple theatre's connected to it, and it only made sense that they were trying to find a way in to host their own event behind Oliver's back. "So, the night I fell..."

Everette nodded quickly, like he didn't want to continue the conversation anymore. "Yeah."

"Alright then."

Logically, it all made sense now. Alex was living with Everette and furthering her career. She was trying to plan events and she was blacklisted. Oliver hated her, and the only person she could rely on was Everette. She stopped for a moment to think about the rumors of fighting.

"What about--"

"Listen. It's been a really long day. I don't think I want to keep talking about this." He sighed and finished off his whiskey, finally grimacing at the flavor. "Bartender?" he called out, pointing towards both of their glasses. "Actually, I think that's probably enough for tonight" Alex said, raising her hand and smiling towards the bartender. He smiled in return, walking off.

"What the hell was that for?"

"You brought it, right?"

Everette was taken off guard for a moment. "Yeah. What does that have to do with my drinks?"

Alex shook her head in amusement, a smile growing on her face as she did so. "I've got a mini bar in my fridge in my room. Let's go up there."

Everette met her eyes, a smile forming on his face as well.

* * *

Sitting in her room in the evening glow was quite nice. It reminded her of all the times she had talked with Oliver, except this time, it was different. "So, where'd you put the stuff?" Alex spoke out as she watch Everette grab a beer from her mini-fridge. "It's in my satchel. I put it on the couch."

Alex leaned herself back to get momentum on the bed and kicked herself up. She walked over towards his bag and reached in. "I didn't even see you bring this." She said.

"It blends in. I wear all black. Do you need help with that?"

"No. I remember how to inject."

Alex went about her process. She pulled the vials out of the satchel along with the needles. "Give me your belt" She spoke out, wiggling her fingers in a 'Gimme' motion. "How do you even know I'm wearing one?"

"You're wearing a button up shirt with slacks. If you weren't wearing a belt, I'd shame you."

The sound of his belt buckle being undone was all that could be heard throughout the room. the 'zwip' sound of it being unsheathed from his belt loops was the next thing she heard, along with his voice going "Here"

"Do you want any?" She asked, a glimmer of hope in her voice. She liked having gab sessions. Spending time with her boyfriend might be nice. "No." He responded. Her heart fell a little bit at this. She couldn't quite place why.

"I'm going to do this out on the balcony. You keep watch." She responded, taking all her items with her. She walked out and shut the door slightly behind her, leaving open ajar. It was a see through door, but it was the distance that made her feel better about it.

The air was getting warmer each week and yet the air this time threatened to nip at what bare skin she had revealing through her outfit. She repositioned her clothes as she sat down on the couch. She quickly tossed her jacket off, offering the wind even more of her body to blast away at.

She looped the belt around the underside of her lower brachial artery and squeezed it tight under her arm. She felt it begin to go numb, so she looped the belt shut and wrapped the dangle-y bit around the inside of her arm.

She grabbed for the needle and vial, tipping the vial upside-down as she drew out the medication. 'Medication' She bit back to herself in spite. She set the needle down for a moment and looked back towards the door.

From where she was sitting, she could see Everette sitting on her couch watching TV, drinking a beer. It was a far contrast to all of the conversations she'd sat here having with Oliver. A big piece of her yearned for Everette to come outside and sit with her. Talk to her. About anything, at this point.

But she had told him to keep watch. She turned back around to face the needle in front of her. She looked at her arm, turning a bright shade of red. She slapped at her cubital fossa, looking for a good vein. She picked the needle back up and she injected the Morphine into her system.

The feeling of the needle in her skin was pinching tight, but she had become used to this feeling at this point. She welcomed it. She put pressure on the insertion point of the needle as she pulled it out, apply pressure continuously. She set the needle down, capping it, and gathered all of her belongings again.

She walked back inside and put the stuff back in the satchel. "Are you letting me keep this?" She spoke out, the effects of the drug beginning to take effect. Her entire being down to her bones felt relaxed and heavy, like lead weights had entered her system instead of Morphine.

"Yeah, if you want. Just don't overdose on it, or something." He spoke out, turning to look towards Alex. "Why don't you come sit with me?"

Alex walked over to the couch and sat herself down next to him. Her arm hurt, but it wasn't bad. It felt like a pin prick at most. If she twisted wrong, it felt like a pinch. Her head was swarming with emotions. One thing she remembered liking about Morphine was the way it didn't numb her, emotionally. It took it away, sure, but she could still feel. Feel the love, feel the joy, feel the pure euphoria.

She turned to look towards Everette, who was staring at her with a weird face. This is when she realized he was leaning in for a kiss. She turned to meet him in the middle, their lips planting on each others. There was no love in the kiss. It was nothing like she remembered from any of the flings she had in her life time. It was connectionless. No spark.

He kept kissing her, though. Attempting to deepen the kiss. She continued kissing him, his lips warm and soft against her. He was so close to her that she could smell his scent, strong and reminiscent of 'Man'. It felt familiar. Too familiar. Like a flame burning the inside of her stomach. Like something was wrong.

He continued to kiss on her neck, moving down near her collarbones. She just realized she left her jacket outside. She didn't want this. She was beginning to remember why she didn't want this.

"Get off of me" Alex called out, pushing him off.

"What the hell, Andie?! We were having fun"

She stood and and put distance between the two of them. "No. You were having fun. You didn't ask me how I felt about this situation. About our relationship"

He stood up too. The look in his eyes was dark and foreboding, with an essence of hate in them. "You're the one who asked me to keep dating you" He growled out, taking a step closer towards her. "You're the one who invited me up to your room. You're the one who came onto me. You asked for it"

"Excuse me?!" She shot back, closing the distance between the two. "What the hell do you think you're talking about? You're in MY room, you have no right to talk to me that--"

Slap. The back of his palm made contact with the side of her face. "Shut the hell up!" he yelled out.

She stood silently for a moment while he continued to ramble on about how he was the man in the relationship.

"Get out."

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer towards him. "You can't tell me-"

She pulled her wrist away from her and pushed him away and into the couch causing his knees to buckle underneath him. "Get the hell out of my room!" She screamed.

"Now hold on--"

She walked up to him and began to pound on his chest. "Get out! Get out, Get out, Get out!" She said, each time with more conviction and force. There was no need to steady her voice. There was no need to stop and think. The morphine may have weakened her punches, but Everette got the point quickly.

He stood up and quickly hauled ass out of the room, Alex continuing her attack all the while.

"You're insane!" he screamed, swinging the door open and running down the hall. "And you're an asshole! I never want to see you again!" She screamed, slamming the door behind her.

It wasn't long before she had Oliver banging on her door, questioning her about the noise. His room wasn't located too far from hers. That was the whole point in why she was placed here. Currently, she resented it.

"What is that matter with you?!" he called out while shutting the door behind him. "It's 10 o'clock at night. There are people trying to sleep after working hard all day. What gives?!"

Alex walked over towards her mini fridge and grabbed a mini bottle of moscato. Maybe this was the way her life was destined to be. Life of revolving doors of men screaming at her. "Piss off. I'm not in the mood."

She looked around her room for her purse. She still had a couple of 'Shitty Joints' that Everette gave her before. "Can I smoke in this room? Isn't there cleaners who can clean these? Or is it different with suites."

Oliver stood there, dumbstrucken. "Are you okay?" was all he managed out.

"That didn't answer my question." She frowned.

"Yes, you can smoke in here, I guess. It's not gonna kill me. Now answer my question. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She spat the words out as if they were vinegar on her tongue that she couldn't swallow. She was a great actress, but even she didn't believe her own conviction there. She knew Oliver wouldn't but it either.

"What happened? I saw Everette running away"

She didn't want to tell him the truth. The truth was... embarrassing. She had started a relationship with another abusive asshole. What else was there to say? How else do you dish out such a heavy dish of emotional honestly without cracking under the weight of the pressure?

"It doesn't matter. I don't want to talk about it." was all she had the courage to get out. "I can't find my purse"

"The one with the shitty joints?"

Alex sighed. "Are you going to help me look or not?"

"No. I'm going to go get you better weed. I'll be right back." he turned to head for the door before Alex responded "It's going to take too long!"

He kept walking anyways. Whatever. He was out the door without another word and Alex was left to fend for her purse by herself. It figured. When were men ever useful? Besides the nice job her got her. And the nice two story suite with a whole floor she's never used. And the weed he's going to get.

She still hated men.

She looked over towards the satchel and sighed. It contained three vials of Morphine and multiple needles. She walked over to it and picked it up turning to head towards her closet.

When she made it there, her feet were exhausted. She had been on them all day, walking all around the hotel. She had likely gotten her 10k steps in for the day at this point. She'd walk around and look at all the different plants they had blooming throughout the hotel. Gazing through all the aquariums they had set up in different locations of the floors. Admiring the local art they had hung up on each wall.

She'd come to realize that the entire hotel wasn't just full of life, but was in it of itself alive. Bustling with people. Filled with culture. Each corner told a different story from a different decade, and each floor shared a different mystery of history being held behind it's walls.

It was invigorating to be able to stay there. Like somehow her head injury had been a blessing in disguise, and the universe was replacing her older, bad memories with newer, happier ones. Not counting the one that just happened with Everette.

Everything felt more... special. Maybe she was just high. She threw the satchel onto the floor of the closet near the island sitting in the middle and she rummaged through her drawers to find a pair of sweat pants she liked. She settled on a pair of gray ones. She peeled off her previous outfit and put on her pants, quickly finding a tank top to wear over top. A simple black one with a band's logo on it.

When she walked out of her closet, she bumped into Oliver, causing him to drop whatever he was holding. "Sorry!" the both of them muttered out.

"No, I'm sorry, I should've watched where I was going" she quickly replied, bending down to pick up the joints he'd dropped. She handed them to him and gave him a fake smile. "Your face is red." He said, grabbing the joint.

"What? Like, I'm blushing? Humans do that you know."

"No. It looks like someone hit you."

Alex tensed up. "I don't want to talk about it." She said and quickly brushed past him to walk towards the balcony. The room really was massive. It wasn't just two-stories, but it was a full on live in suite with a kitchenette attached that she never used and an entire library full of books. There was a little reading section upstairs, and Alex knew she was going to attack those sooner or later.

"Fine, sorry, I didn't know it was related. Whatever." He said as the two of them reached the balcony, sitting down. "You were out here earlier?"

"You are SO bad at not talking about it!" she blurted out, picking up the jacket and putting it over her shoulders. "It just shocked me, is all! I'm sorry"

"It shocks you that you live in my own house?"

"It's a hotel room, and technically I own it" he said, handing her a joint. She reached to grab it and extended her arm. "What happened to your elbow?" He asked. She knew exactly what he was talking about, yet instead she coyly turned her elbow to face him instead of her cubital fossa.

"I think my elbow looks fine" She said, turning it. She had her arms tucked into the inside of her shoulder to hide the proof. "I'm fine. Stop worrying, dad."

"I am not your father." he shot back, reeling at the comment bestowed upon him. "Then stop acting like a dad. You aren't my dad." The two met in eye contact, a silent air of agreement between the two. They weren't going to talk about it, and that was it.

She put the joint up to her mouth and and lit it up. The familiar taste of lemon-y pine hits across her taste buds hard, dancing and inviting her flavors to peek their heads in. Slight tastes of grass and dirt, which sounds bad, but was actually invited by Alex. It tasted fresh. Green. New. Unlike Everette's Dirt Weed.

"So, when are you going to tell me about your arm"

Alex eyed him up, looking at his stance. He looked relaxed and unguarded. Happy, she thought. "When you stop being normal and start being an addict."

he guffawed at her. "When exactly do you expect me to become an addict?!" he retorted, completely missing her confession. Maybe he got it, maybe he didn't. "I don't! That's NOT my point!"

"And what exactly is your point? Why don't you spell it out for me?"

She gritted her teeth together and gave a sideways frown. "I'm not good with confessions."

"I never was either. What if I tell you something about me, and you tell me about you. Deal?"

She thought for a moment before nodded in return, looking out at the distance of the skyscraper skyline. Stars littered the night sky and the twinkled and gleamed so bright, as if they were reaching out to Alexandria herself to thank her for seeing them. They were so beautiful.

"I love stars." She spoke out. "That's not really a confession, not a statement" she added.

"Okay. When I was in college..." he paused as he spoke and looked out towards the city as well. They mirrored each other in positioning, both staring out to the sky in the hopes that it would eat them alive if they stared long enough. Anything for release from this situation.

"My mom got really sick, and my dad was already dead. I was going through business schools at the time, but I instantly switched majors. For her. The hotel could wait with shareholders for just a few years. By the time I got back into business the hotel had so many expansions I'd never thought of. I continued growing it from there and..." He trailed off.

Alex looked down towards the floor. "What happened with your mom?"

"She died."

There was a moment of silence between the two. Maybe to honor her, she thought to herself. Partially because she didn't know what to say. There were days she wished death upon her parents, but she highly suspected their situations were different.

"I'm sorry. There are no words to describe that loss"

"I know. I put so much of it into the business, but it's a big reason why I'm so closed off from people, I think." It was a bid of emotional honestly that Alex didn't really expect from him. So raw and honestly that it felt 10 times easier to do what she needed to do. "I did morphine earlier."

It's like a band-aid. You have to rip it off all at once, or else it hurts a LOT worse in the long run. "Well, I kinda expected that. No offense. Not tonight, either, but eventually."

She pouted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Everette is a really bad influence on you."

She scratched at her injection site and frowned. "I think I agree with that."

"What happened with you two, anyway?"

She sighed. Everything else felt easier to talk about, but this felt a million times worse. How was she supposed to rip THIS band-aid off? "I don't know. I still don't want to talk about it."

"I told you my mom died." He said, sort of in disbelief. "You're really not gonna tell me? It's that bad?"

She stopped and questioned it herself. Was it that bad? "Yeah, to me it is."

"Well, alright then" He said, and took another puff off of his joint. "I'm sorry" She said.

"You don't have to apologize to me. You're the one who has to live with it."

She felt guilty in the pit of her stomach. She took another drag off of her joint before standing up and walking back inside for a minute. She ignored the 'where are you going' and 'what's wrongs' as she grabbed her wine and walked back outside.

"Liquid courage." she said as she sat down. "It's been a really shitty night for me, anyways. Do you want any?"

"Of that? Hell no. That taste like ass." he laughed and crinkled his nose. "It does not! It taste like... floral-y... and grape-y... and good!" She popped the lid off of the bottle and took a drink of it, only barely cringing at the taste. "You don't even like it!"

"I do! I don't like the alcohol in it." She giggled at her own statement. "Drinking alcohol but not liking the alcohol. It's silly. I get that." She verbally thought out loud. She took another drink, cringing less and less each time she did. "Anyway."

"What happened" he finally said, exasperated this time.

"I think it's obvious. Do you really need me to spell it out for you? He came onto me. I rejected him. He hit me. I hit him. A lot. He ran away. Is it not obvious?"

Oliver shook his head looking as if he himself had been hit. She guessed it was a lot of information, after all. "Can we ban him from the hotel already or something?" Oliver said, looking for recognition in her eyes. She looked down. "I don't know... He still has a lot of information."

Oliver shook his head as his expression hardened. "No, why do you need your memories? They'll come back eventually. He's just a prick and he's not worth your time or presence. You don't have to be around him to piece your life back together.

Alex scratched at the back of her neck and reached for the bottle again. She took another swig. "And how do you suppose I'm going to get my memories back? How do you suppose I can do any of the things I want to do without Everette? My music, my career, my life, it revolves around him."

It struck her as she said it.

"That's not a good thing, Alex"

She sighed and put her head in her hands. Her Joint had gone out at this point, and she was left with a muted haze of a drunken high. Morphine, Moscato, and weed. "I know. I'm realizing this, slowly. But... It's hard."

Oliver looked down at the floor. "I know. I can't relate to you, but I understand."

Alex looked out at the city and took another drink of her wine.

[magnetothemagnificent]

Proud to announce that I spotted 60.5 species of birds in my week trip to Florida (copied-and-pasted from my Big Year google doc, so the FA stands for Florida):

Marsh wren FA

Limpkin FA

Great white heron FA

Cattle egret FA

Anhinga FA

Snowy egret FA

Great blue heron FA

Black-crowned night heron FA *was on a boardwalk trail and saw a bunch of people crouching down and looking at something and I thought they saw another gator (on this trip we saw 32 gators in total) but it was something better! A bird! And then I saw another one the next day hiding under brush.

Wood stork FA

Common moorhen FA

Blue-gray gnatcatcher FA

Turkey vulture FA *was looking for wild turkeys and unfortunately didn't see any this trip but one of these guys was stalking on the side of the rode and for a second we got exciting thinking it was an actual turkey.

Black vulture FA

Yellow-rumped warbler FA

Tufted titmouse FA *my grandma's favourite bird

Little blue heron FA

White ibis FA *we were ambushed by them because people at the park would feed them so they expected us to feed them but we wouldn't so they just surrounded us and we thought they would attack us but they didn't.

Cooper's hawk FA

Cardinal FA

Green heron FA *my grandpa was walking a little ahead of me and whispered for me to come and there was this gorgeous green fishing. Moved so slowly and gently that he didn't make a sound, it was incredible.

Carolina warbler FA

Pine warbler FA

Sandhill crane FA

Carolina chickadee FA

Bluejay FA

Osprey FA

Chimney swift FA

Red-tailed hawk FA *saw this lovely lady perched on a fence as we drove out of my grandparents' neighbourhood

Prairie warbler FA

American kestrel FA

Glossy ibis FA

Pied-billed grebe FA

Double-crested cormorant FA

Grey kingbird FA

Brown pelican FA *we weren't anywhere near the ocean but a storm was likely brewing and huge flocks of brown pelicans and white pelicans flew inland

Fish crow FA

Royal tern FA

Bald eagle FA

Painted bunting FA *didn't think I'd see one this trip because the nature garden we went to last year that had a lot of birds, including the painted bunting we saw last year, had too many people this time around so there weren't many birds. But then I saw a painted bunting at a different trail and literally forgot to be quiet and freaked out.

American white pelican FA

Common grackle FA

Boat-tailed grackle FA *did you know that these grackles make a clicking sound when they see humans or predators that sounds like a turkey gobble sound? I didn't until these guys wouldn't stop yelling at my while I was just trying to rest my legs on a bench.

American purple gallinule FA *gorgeous birds. gorgeous.

American coot FA

Brown-headed cowbird FA

Tricolored heron FA

Mallard FA

Black-bellied whistling duck FA

Eastern kingbird FA

Yellow-billed cuckoo FA

Muscovy duck FA

American bittern FA *my grandma and I saw this one and at first thought it was a green heron but then realized it wasn't haha.

Ring-billed gull FA

Feral American Pekin FA

Mallard-Pekin hybrid FA *spent so much time trying to identify these weird ducks until I went on my laptop later that evening and read up way too much on duck genetics and realized that they were hybrids. They were probably second-generation hybrids from my brief scan of pedigree charts of ducks, meaning their grandparents were a mallard and a pekin, but their parents were a hybrid and a pekin.

Eastern bluebird FA

Yellow-bellied sapsucker FA *went to a park my grandparents recommended and there weren't really any new birds there and my legs hurt from walking but then I heard this guy tapping around in a tree and there he was. Still wouldn't recommend this park.

Red-winged blackbird FA *was complaining to my grandpa that I hadn't seen any red-winged blackbirds yet and my trip was almost over when a bunch of these guys literally flew down in front of us.

White-eyed vireo FA

Mottled duck FA

Broad-winged hawk FA *saw this guy as my plane was literally taxiing out of the runway to go home. I was looking out my window cause I was nervous and there he was! Just perched on a sign!

[nanpierce]

Rhea’s DC outfit is truly one of the best subtle costuming decisions in the show to me... her black suit over a light blue top is the reverse of what she wore in her first appearance in Safe Room. She came to Waystar to seduce Logan, represented visually by her wearing black (Logan’s color on the Tern Haven negotiation day chessboard) underneath her standard navy blue, to make him think her loyalties lied with him.

The reversal shows us her change of heart: externally she appears to be on Logan’s side at that point, but her heart is not. Logan, of course, was fooled as well. He believed until the very end that she was just like him, but he was so focused on the manic pixie dream girl version of her that existed in his head, that he failed to see the real woman in front of him. Her own illusions of him, meanwhile, had already been shattered.

Logan’s costuming is noteworthy here as well - he wears the same outfit in both Safe Room and DC, showing us how while Rhea has discovered her limits and decided who and what she wants to align herself with, Logan has made no progress. He remains set in his ways and his worldview, and nothing that happened between them or with the cruises scandal changed anything for him.

Perhaps the most interesting piece, though, is in the detail of Rhea’s necklace. In DC, she wears the very same one she did at Tern Haven negotiations.

In the negotiation scene, she was dressed to match Nan and convey her loyalty to her and to PGM. For her to wear it again when she leaves Logan evokes a return to that time; to who she was with Nan and what she believed in, as well as, perhaps, her own regret over her choices and desire to go back to what she had. It's a visual refutation of Logan's assertions that the past doesn't matter and her condemnation of him.

[godeaterazathoth]

ceremony

CW// references to ethnic supremacy, religious practices/ religious repression.

It was the 4th term of the 94th year of the 2nd millennium and today was a Saturday, in Usave that was the day of grace in honour of the Serine one. All the vendors were out selling their goods and wives were out buying them. Boys ran singing through the streets and girls, especially blonds, the girls who curried the most favoured of the Serine, wore their hair uncovered to attract a proposal, it was good luck to get on a day of grace.

The first snowfall had marked the beginning of the term and it had fallen non-stop ever since, for almost five weeks it had pilled up over the brick road, only to be swept off into the street and kept out of the way.

Crow still wore her dirty black hood. To her the day of grace was on the Sunday. Saturdays in Eburones were days of silence, in reverence to the End and the Beginning. Here in Usave that was tomorrow. She will still practice in the way of her homeland, she’ll fast, remain silent and keep her hood up. But considering the monument to the Serine would be ceremonially burnt tomorrow she might as well pray today.

From a distance of ten paces, she stands in front of the alter. She bows her head claps twice then kneels with hands clasped together. She doesn’t pray for anything, it is heretical to do so, to speak selfishly into the ears of the Serine. She prays in humility only. After the minute passes she terns to the east and bows to the golden skinned child, then to the silver skinned child in the west , she bows one more time to the alter before stepping away.

Crow had entered the city last Monday when the smell of burnt pine was still strong. The city’s best carpenter had just set down the log he planned on using to carve the alter he had set about removing the bark. The people had stared at her, for many reasons, she was unaccompanied by any man, covered in grime and riding a stallion that was 7 foot tall. But what had really captured them was her skin, her cheeks did not glow pink in the cold but remained as stony grey as the rest of her. ‘Ash-skin’ she heard a few whispers as she passed. It didn’t matter it was the same anywhere.

Usave was different from Eburones in more than the day swap. Many of the cities were built on flat planes, forests were cleared the trees were used to build towering walls to keep the Fae out, all the houses and streets were built in a lattice formation with equally small space between them. In Eburones the cities were built high up on the hills circling a castle the houses were built in this cercal all facing the centre where a statue representing the Serine one would stand carved from the oldest oak the people could find. There was a statue here in the Usave city, a stone one about ten meters tall of the Grate Founder Iliyas. Carved from rock he stood still sword arm pointed to the sky, a dragon lay dead under his boot, he looked different here than he did in Eburones, here he had bored shoulders a thick short beard and wore heavy armour, he held his sword in his left hand. In Eburones he was always depicted as slender almost boyish wrapped in a shawl he never had a sword and if he was holding anything it was with the right. The only likeness they shared was his long red hair. The base of the statue was engraved with a plaque, ‘the Great Founder came to this land to slay the evil fell dragon who hunted the people on the 1st term of the 19th year of the first century’ not one of his notable achievements, every city had a fell dragon that was saline by his hand. Not Crow’s though, her home had a grate falcon that was tamed by him.    

  Festivities continue in the square. The atmosphere will be different tomorrow, only the men will leave their homes to burn the alter. Only the priest will be permitted to speak. They will crowd the streets with flaming reeds held high as the priest chants the true word into the air. The women inside will tie reeds in knots and silently pray with their heads down. The bound children will do the same, but unbound boys will follow their fathers on the street, though only men whose beards have grown in may light their reeds. If a man speaks, he shall be locked in a jail cell for the rest of the day until the golden skinned child raises the next day. If a woman speaks, she shall be branded by their husband, once for each word uttered, if a child speaks, they shall be beaten by their farther, if a woman is seen out the house, she will be stoned. The men would walk to the square where the priest would sing a hymn then burn his reef of reeds, then all the men would throw their flaming reeds onto the alter and watch until it was ashes. The ashes would be taken and mixed into wine that the men would share then once the silver skinned child was raising, they would all return home to bed their wives. It was different in Eburones, all the people, man and women, would go to the square, the women would kneel with their vails covering their faces, the men would stand in front and the priest would sacrifice a lamb and collect its blood. The alter would be lit with the reeds, and the embers would be put out with the lambs blood. Then the ashes would be gathers and thrown to the wind. Unbound children and unmarried girls weren’t allowed to attend but Crow would watch the fire from her window every time.

It had been many years since she had watched the alter burn, in Usave the windows were kept locked, most women would never witness it.

But tomorrow she will celebrate the day of grace in full. She’ll walk the streets her silver hair down singing Eburones songs. She will cut down these Usave pig men gored their priest and paint the alter in their blood for the Serine one to witness.

 Then she will burn the city.

[kiskivmiske]

I forgot I finished it.

Fantribe time, because why not. So...

Ashmanes

Ashmanes is a tribe evolved from common ancestors with MudWings. Separated long before the Scorching due to continental drift. Their home island, Algid, is now located in the Arctic Circle.

Because of bad conditions this tribe became primarily subterranean. They used their wings to support body weight while diggnig. After a while wings evolved into an additional pair of talons. Nostrils are located on the front of a snout and have muscles that open and close them to prevent from inhaling dirt or smoke. Not only their scales remain fire resistant, but they also have an extra layer of thick down, protecting them from both heat and cold. Neck fluff is the longest, often resembles lion manes or thick clouds. Pregnant females (picture) normally grow thicker layer of down on their bellies by 16-18th month.

Newborn dragonet's down is long and soft, has properties of cotton. As it sheds, it can be used to make fireproof yarn. Aspiring designer, Icebreaker, makes dragonet down clothes embroidered with sun silk (flamesilk) produced by his friend Mothflight of an unknown tribe (Silkwing). Humans stuff their clothes with down, but normally use adult fuzz, as it's less expensive.

Can't breathe fire, exhale poisonous (stil easily flammable) vapor instead. It has the same effect as pepper spray and doesn't cause long-term injuries, unless you're allergic.

Ashmanes are much larger than any Pyrrhian tribe, five year old dragonets are just as big as an average adult Mudwing. 15-20 y/o dragons are normally as big as Morrowseer, but they grow very slow after that. They are exceptionally fast runners, can cover large distances without taking a break, even at night. Thanks to their heat isolation they can take rest in the middle of an Arctic desert.

Part of their brain responsible for fear and agression is significantly smaller than in winged dragons, which makes them more social. They are very accepting of firescale refugees making their home on Cold Sun Peaks. They believe that they should not interfere in the ways of evolution and aren't hostile towards dragonets with differences. In the ff, a couple of Ashmane twins, Claybelly and Rippletail reveal their ability of echolocation after Rippletail is blinded by a flock of vulture terns, trying to save a dying MudWing later named Leaffall. Twins wonder if they can be a start of a new evolutionary branch.

Ashmanes as accepting as they are, still have strict rules regarding dragonets and parenthood. Hurting, abandoning or killing dragonets is punished several times more severely that the same crime towards an adult. The same rule applies to pregnant females and Pyrrhian eggs. In the ff a MudWing slave trader named Root is violently shredded by Rippletail, who says that it is more merciful than what the other Ashmanes are going to do with him for trying to abduct Leaffall's sister and daughters. Orca and Scarlet would be resurrected just to have their butts handed to them.

Ashmanes are placental, which means they give birth like most mammals do, instead of laying eggs. Dragonets are born blind and covered in long white fuzz. They shed on their second month of life, getting their adult colors. Ashmanes are normally painted in colors of smoke: black, usually with white or spotted mane, gray with warm or cold hues, or melanistic. Erythristic colors like chocolate brown, cream or red are very rare. Cases of albinism were not recorded, dragonets can keep their white down because of disorders, but scales under them are always colored.

Names are usually chosen after the second month. Ashmane names are very much similar to NightWing names, but instead of personality qualities they describe dragon's appearance. Cottonheart (on the picture) has thick curly mane that resembles cotton, Prince Snowberry kept his white down and looked like he was covered in snow. Crowflight is solid black, Queen Curlymoss has long curly down peeking through her scales, siblings Sunpool, Rippletail and Claybelly have ginger markings that resemble water ripples and dirt splatter. Coalfoot is solid gray except his black feet. When winged dragon joins their community, they can, by choice, have a new traditional name or keep their own.

Dragonets don't necessarily require milk, as they normally eat chewed up or mashed foods, like ground beef and mushroom puree (thought Ashmanes are live bearing, they are not mammals and don't have milk producing glands), but they aren't lactose intolerant and can digest animal or human milk.

Agate mountain collapse and Nightwing Island eruption lead to a devastating earthquakes on Algid, that ruined underground palace, burying alive the entire Royal Family, except for a newborn prince, who got trapped in a small chamber with unnamed pet scavenger. She recently lost a baby and saved prince by nursing him for several days. She later died of dehydration, just before the prince was found. This event led to accepting scavengers as a sentient life and implementing ruler regarding parenthood.

Unlike Mudwings, Ashmanes form families with their children and grandchildren. One family can own a large part of a cave, sometimes one family-owned cave net can stretch up to 4 kilometers and house 20+ residents. Sometimes they join families if one of the couples is unable to have dragonets or if someone they know is having trouble raising babies alone. For example, Claybelly, who has an extra X chromosome and is unable to have offspring, and his wife Micadust, who is also infertile, join Cottonheart after she lost her dragonets' father to an incurable meningitis epidemic. Rippletail and his Metamorph (Silkwing) friend Mothflight, on the other hand, adopt a bunch of orphaned dragonets they took away from Root.

Now, Royal Family doesn't take part in politics and only exists as a part of elite and ancestors of a prince nursed by unnamed Mother. The tribe is ruled by Head Council consisting of five dragons. Every settlement has their own Council department.

Ashmanes can use both front and middle talons to manipulate objects, which lead to significant technological progress. Fifty years before the War of Sandwing Succession, the tribe has entered the industrial era. Ashmanes have several large factories producing rubber, building and insulation materials, steel and machine tools, guns and gunpowder. In 5000's the first power plant powered by a volcano was build. Just after that, another power plant on abandoned Nightwing island started to grow.

[riwritingrn]

Echo of Flight

I often think of the birds that roam the sky. The defiers of gravity’s stubborn demands. 

The clever crows. Tiny, tweeting sparrows. Quick and slender swifts. Careless pigeons trotting by. Keen and slender cranes by the water. Silly looking crab-plowers and terns. Seagulls that curse like a sailor. Mynas that fight for their fair share. Shimmering kingfishers. Sweet-sounding songbirds. Parrots with their lipstick-red beaks. Intimidating eagles and falcons,  graceful in flight. Vultures with their heads low, tending to the dead. I think of them all. 

But there are two, in particular, I can never forget: a pair of red-vented bulbuls. 

Outside the house I grew up in, there was a tree that was older than me, older than my parents’ marriage. Every morning, when the sun peeked to catch a glimpse of the moon, on the blank canvas of the world against the audible landscape, a burst of bright, vivid birdsong colored the universe, awakening every being. A lot many years later, however, we heard a subtle difference in the morning songs. An addition. 

Two new voices. Two new sounds. A harmonious duet. 

After a great many laborious days of trying to find the owners of that sound, one fine day, on the brink of early spring when the earth began to blossom, we finally did. To our delight, we found a pair of bulbuls making their nest in the bushiest part of the tree, in its very heart. They had black spiked heads and a very bright red, almost vermillion, patch on the bottom of their brown tail, towards the base of their greyish-white belly.

My mother told me that the female was about to lay eggs. And she was right. 

In a month, there were three new hungry sounds. A while later, the parents took their little birds on their first flight. We watched them as they fell down. We watched the parents offer them fat worms that wiggled in its beak when they got it right and how that influenced them to fly better. And they did. They soared and conquered the skies and we, along with their parents, watched with pride. I have never before been so invested in the lives of birds, not to this extent. 

The years ticked away, like hands on a clock. The vermillion under their tails dulled with each year. Every year, the pair laid eggs, fed their babies, taught them how to fly, and then let them go. Through all this, the pair always returned to the tree. It was their home. It was the nest of many. The tree from which generations branched out, their family tree. 

Though they would disappear seasonally, every morning, I was always greeted with the familiar two sounds. It was like a conversation. One of them would begin, the other would answer its call, and so it went on. One note after another; like learning to walk, one step in front of the other; like learning to soar. 

Like a word after another forming a sentence; a sentence without an end. 

A question and an affirmation: 

Are you here?

I am here. 

Where are you? 

With you. 

Always? 

Always. 

A song. A continuity till eternity. 

I don't know if bulbuls are monogamous or if they mate for life, but they surely seemed to be. And I don't know if birds can be in love, or feel love at all. I don't think they're supposed to. But I'm sure they did.

Every morning they would take flight together and finish each other's sentences. When their wings grew weary, their lungs gave out and their stomachs full, they would come and rest on our tree, on their tree. They seemed more in love with the world and with each other than anyone I knew. They seemed to know more about love than I do. 

They reappeared every year. Every now and then. Always together.  

Somewhere in between, they were gone for too long. Perhaps they had found a better place. Perhaps they had found a better tree to reside in. Maybe they had new kids, I don't know. But I thought of them, often. 

And then one day, on the cusp of late spring, just before the earth undressed, a familiar sound perched on my window sill in the luminous dark; in the short, secret space between night and morning. Right when the moon gazed longingly at the sun, and the sun greeted the moon with goodbye, that's when I was greeted with the first note: Are you here? 

A pause. 

The first note again for the second time. 

A pause. 

Desperately, the first note again for the third time. 

A pause. 

Nothing.

No reply.

A call into the void, there was no one to reply, no one to echo. Just a lone voice barely bouncing off of the too-far-away walls of the world. Maybe this is the price for loving, the price for a lifetime of companionship and intimacy. 

My heart sank. 

I wonder if it knew. I wonder if it knew it would never hear a call back. I wonder if it knew its sentence had been punctuated. Its call now sounded like the last strings plucked on the guitar, the last lone sustained notes of a song. The end of a song that tries to persist but fails to because all things, all good things, must come to an end. This is the way it is, the way everything was, is, and will be. So it lingers, like a ghost, like reminiscence. 

It came to the tree, revisited it every day. It called out for its other half every morning. It searched all morning until dusk when the sun professes its love for the moon in a spectacle of a display, its daily last ribbons of goodbye. 

The world doesn't wait for the sun to meet the moon, it doesn't wait for a lonely bird that does not mourn the loss of its mate because it is still searching, desperately, frantically.

Maybe it knows. Maybe it is aware it will never find what it is looking for, just like the sun and the moon. Though they can never exist together, their every movement is for each other. Though they exist worlds away from each other, their very existence is in hopes, is an attempt, to catch the slightest glimpse of each other. And they wait patiently in their solitude, waiting, hoping, for an eclipse, desperately, frantically, quietly.

Maybe hope is the price for a bond forged. So we search and wait, desperately, frantically, like the bird, like the sun and the moon. Maybe that is the testament for love, for intimacy, for companionship. To wait and be important enough to be waited for. To hope, despite and regardless, of the odds being stacked against.

In the evening when its wings turned heavy and its lungs had given out, it came back and perched upon the leafless tree, their family tree. And it called out: 

Are you here?

At some point, its call diminished, like a flame in the wind, until it was stifled out and only its embers remained, smoldering; the smoke being the only reminder that the fire once existed. 

What happened next, I do not know. I try to not think of it. But I hope when it did happen, it happened softly, tenderly, while it was asleep in its nest. I hope the ghost of the other greeted it in its eternal dream with the song only it would sing, to the song only it would respond to. 

I'd like to think they still fly around in invisible realms until their wings are heavy and then they come and rest in the heart of their tree, that they still sing in frequencies I can’t hear. 

Are you here?

I am here. 

Where are you? 

With you. 

Always? 

Always. 

A song. A continuity till eternity. 

[princess-of-purple-prose]

[ID copied from alt: An excerpt from the book Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, digitally illustrated as a series of comic pages. In this page, Camilla Hect and Palamedes Sextus stand back to back, holding hands. They each have a watch on their wrist. The background is a gradient from black to midnight blue. A speech bubble, above them, reads "I've loved you two." Five speech bubbles on either side of them say "Not well. Not even wholesomely. But I've loved you. You've been my agents...stand-ins for something I haven't had for longer than either of you can understand. Which is why I'm saying - don't do this. Please, don't do this."

The background is a gradient from midnight blue to black. At the top of the page, two speech bubbles read "Understand that once you do this, you can't take it back. It's not love, what you're about to do. It's not beautiful and it's not powerful. It's a mistake." Underneath the speech bubbles, a puddle of water expands to the bottom of the page. Pre-lyctoral Pyrrha Dve and Gideon the First are reflected in the puddle, upside down, from their shoulders up. Behind them, also reflected in the puddle, is a starry sky. Over the top of the puddle, below the reflection of the characters, white text reads "we didn't even do it right...we were children - playing with the reflections of stars in a pool of water...". At the very bottom of the page, white text reads "...thinking it was space".

Four panels: The background of the panels are a medium purple color. In the first, cropped to only show their hands, Palamedes (in the body of Naberius Tern), holds Pyrrha's wrist. Palamedes says "Whatever you think we're doing, we're not." The second panel is a shot of Pyrrha from the chest up. She looks tired and has subtle stubble on her chin and grazes up her arms, neck, and jaw. She says, "Whatever you think you're doing, you shouldn't". The third panel is a shot from above. On the left, Palamedes stands, wearing a white jacket with gold trim and and white pants. Pyrrha stands in the middle, wearing a white shirt and khaki cargo pants. On the right, Camilla is sitting in a wheelchair wearing grey pants and a grey jacket. She has a bandage around her midsection. They are lit from behind by a spotlight on the ground. Camilla says "Just watch us". The fourth panel is the same view as the first panel, except Pyrrha pulls her wrist out of Palamedes's grasp.

Seven panels: The backgrounds of the panels vary from medium purple to dark, desaturated purple. The first panel is a view from the side, from the shoulders up, of Pyrrha and Camilla. Camilla is sitting in the wheelchair and Pyrrha is crouched to her level. They look at each other, and Pyrrha has her hand gently under Camilla's chin. The second panel is cropped to show only their eyes. Pyrrha and Camilla look at each other intently. They have bright highlights in their eyes. The third panel is the same view as panel one, and Pyrrha kisses Camilla's forehead. The fourth panel is slightly zoomed in, and Pyrrha kisses Camilla's mouth. In the fifth panel, Pyrrha and Palamedes are both standing in front of Camilla. It is cropped to be Cam's eye level, so you only see their waists. Camilla smiles subtly and says, "Could you try not to be such a chicken hawk, Pyrrha?". The sixth panel is of Pyrrha and Palamedes from the waist up. Pyrrha ruffles Pal's hair and he leans slighty forward, looking at Pyrrha to the side of him. The both have small, bittersweet smiles. In the seventh panel, Pyrrha turns to kiss Palamedes on the side of his mouth. Palamedes has his eyes closed and is smiling. He says, "You are an appalling old roué, Dve."

Two panels: the first is in the top left, over the top of the second panel, which fills the entire page. The first panel is a close view of Pyrrha's face. She says "Call me if you need me". She looks sadly to the side, with her hand on her neck. The background of this panel is a saturated purple. The second panel is drawn as if you were looking out of the back of a truck. On the left of the page, in the background of the drawing, Palamedes stands next to Camilla, resting his hand on her shoulder. They are watching Pyrrha walk away. In the middle of the page, Pyrrha walks towards the truck, facing the viewer, but turning her head to look over her shoulder. She is in shadow and has a sorrowful facial expression. She says "Otherwise, see you around." On the right of the page, in the foreground of the drawing, Nona is sitting in the truck with her back to the viewer, leaning against the side of the truck. A few obscure, undetailed figures stand on either side of the main characters, not paying attention to them. All the characters are lit from behind by a spotlight on the ground. End ID]

"Pyrrha crossed over to the truck, to Nona, and leant heavily into the interior; Nona could see that she was sweating, in exactly the same way she had sweated after the bottle of bleach. She mumbled 'You knew this was happening. You knew this was happening months ago,' and when Nona put her hand on Pyrrha's, it was like Pyrrha hadn't even noticed her."

[anonsally]

Birds at the bay!

Today I met up with a couple of friends for a walk in a park on the bay. We brought our binoculars, and although it wasn't all birdwatching--one of the friends had brought her little dog, and we didn't make too much effort to identify all the various birds in the water (many were too far away)--it was still very productive. I added three birds to my life list!

We saw a lot of scaups, but not well enough to distinguish between lesser and greater. At one point a black oystercatcher flew past and two of us squealed, even though this is not a new bird for any of us--just a favorite! There were barn swallows, and house finches, and a bunch of willets, but the most exciting sightings for me were:

I saw a sparrow in a bush and initially thought I saw some yellow on the face, but eventually concluded that it was probably a song sparrow as I didn't know any other sparrows with such a streaky front. But then a few minutes later I heard a bird singing and I used Merlin's sound ID on it... and it suggested a Savannah Sparrow. So I looked at the pictures and realised that was what I had seen! The habitat description also supported this ID, so I'm fairly confident it's correct. That was a new bird for me!

There were some terns diving spectacularly into the water, and they had long forked tails, sort of like a barn swallow. We eventually concluded (and confirmed using Merlin's sound ID) that they were Forster's Terns, which were new for me. Interestingly, we also saw a noticeably larger tern a few minutes later, with a very red beak, and were able to identify it as a Caspian Tern. That wasn't new for me, but it was great to see it near the Forster's Terns to help solidify my understanding of the differences.

I spotted a small, grey/brown bird with a white front just along the very edge of where the water would be at higher tides, and its behavior was absolutely hilarious: it just kept bobbing its tail in an incredibly dorky way. A bit of research seemed to indicate that it was a Spotted Sandpiper. (@lies, please let me know if this description could apply to something else!)

We saw a large flock of birds in flight that were probably sanderlings, but I wasn't confident enough to report them on eBird. Later we also got an excellent view of a great blue heron. I always forget how colorful their plumage is. Such a dinosaur though... it was on the grass and seemed to be stalking the ground squirrels.

[dansnaturepictures]

31st July 2023: Lakeside and home

Photos taken in this set: 1. A stunning Jersey Tiger moth I was amazed to see on a leaf just before going into Lakeside at lunch time. An exquisite day flying moth to be fixated on, a thrilling moment. This is only the second I've ever seen and first on patch, and it's one of the Big Butterfly Count species so seeing it means I've seen every species in the count at some point in the three weeks which I've very happy with it feels rewarding. 2. Dandelion on the green out the front at lunch time, good to see them springing up again. 3. One of a few mushrooms that have sprung up on the green out the front too this one with leaves on nicely. 4. Some of my first chicory flowers of the year at Lakeside, one I had been looking for in a particular area so this was nice. 5. One of two Common Terns I was surprised and elated to see at Lakeside, first seeing them on the platforms of beach lake then flying. Then these black capped wonders flew over to Concorde lake, where I enjoyed these sea swallows skillfully wheeling through the air and heard them too as they fished. I've only seen these at Lakeside a handful of times and not since 2020 so I was over the moon to see them something else I had kept an eye for since the spring. Captivating lunch time moments. 6. Greylag Goose entertainingly on a picnic bench. 7 and 10. Views at Lakeside. 8 and 9. Close views of the cattle at Lakeside on an evening walk.

A swashbuckling lunch time walk for seeing different things was finished off nicely seeing another target, my first Migrant Hawker of the year seen briefly flying over the southern fenced off area, one I love seeing taking my year list to 20 making it my joint highest ever dragonfly and damselfly year list alongside 2019. This felt so good to see, and this evening Green-veined White, Small White and Speckled Wood and on both walks Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper were other Big Butterfly Count highlights today. Chiffchaff, House Martin, elegant Swift, Moorhen, intimate views of a Great Crested Grebe chick and the whole families enjoyed from a distance this evening and thrilling views of a Lesser Black-backed Gull in flight this evening were other Lakeside bird highlights with Magpie, Jackdaw, Goldfinch including young, Starling and House Sparrow good to see at home. Pineappleweed, hemp agrimony, purple loosestrife, great willowherb, water mint, spear thistle and bird vetch were other floral highlights.

[hejscandinavia]

We were able to sleep a little bit longer as we didn’t leave until 9:45 am. However, it’s always rough trying to go to bed in 24 hour daylight. You really have to tire yourself out to sleep.

Sadly, yesterday I got blisters. I had several on my feet. It was hurting so bad I needed the group to stop walking because it felt like someone was slowly tearing off my skin. Well, to help, I did double sock layers (one thin and one wool). I also put on blister cream and wrapped my feet in blister tape. It’s like my feet were cut up and I was using duck tape to keep it from falling apart lol. Even though it doesn’t help with circulation, wrapping my feet with tape helps SOOOO much.

We got to the outskirts of town to go on a hike to see the bird colonies. This was one hell of a hike let me tell you.

Already my feet started hurting, thank you blisters. Our first event was crossing the rivers. These were much bigger than yesterday. I also think my shoes are not “waterproof.” My feet were always wet. What doesn’t help is every time you step on the moss beds, a puddle of water escapes from the ground so you are never safe. For being a “desert” this place is quite wet. Well our guides, Joffery from yesterday and our new guide, Yanik from Germany, helped us ford the rivers. They weren’t huge but some parts went up to your knees. Because of this, we had to take off our shoes and go bare foot in the freezing waters. Well because of my blister situation, I was one of the two people who wore the guides rain boots. So my feet were dryer. At one point, the ford was long so everyone made a huge chain. It was really funny. The best part though? Shayna and Zenia did not want to get their feet wet so Yanik carried them across damsel in distress style! It was so funny!!!

Once we passed the waters, then began the hike. Man this was tough. It was a steep 75 degree climb for 1 hour. As a person with asthma and who is not super athletic, this was rough. We needed to keep moving, but BRUH. I was loosing oxygen. Gladly, we had two groups: the speedsters and the slow pokes. Yanik was also very kind and carried my backpack. We were either on dirt or just piles of rocks. We were also right next to a waterfall. Talk about dangerous. What was worse? It got super foggy at the top. We could only see about 300 feet in front of us. Though only one polar bear has been spotted up here, it was a little spooky.

Eventually, we made it up! What a sight! At the top had various piles of snow, small ponds, and many tiny birds. Mostly sandpipers, little auks, seagulls, and arctic terns. Did you know that the little auk eats 60,000 Calanus a day and the arctic tern flies from pole to pole every year? They are crazy!

Well the fog did not let up so it was like a Halloween film. It was a cool creepy. We sat at the cliffs edge. We couldn’t see the bottom or the cliffs around us. Obviously don’t trip. We sat down to eat turkey sandwiches and black current tea.

We then hiked down. Much much better than up. Obviously no hard cardio. Plus, I get to slow because you really have to watch your steps. About every ten steps you were guaranteed to slip. It was a ride.

After the hike, we had to say goodbye to Joffrey. Joffrey was just so funny! He would make so many jokes. Our groups main one was going to a random part of the trail or after someone said a fun fact, we would all say “WOWWWWWWW”. It was fricken hilarious. Also the motto, “the hike? Easy easy. Yep yep.” Mirren and Joffrey were best buds. Joffrey said “I love you” to him like 5 times. It was so cute.

We then went back to the coal miners hotel for dinner. Man DIS treats us. It was SO GOOD! We had bread fondue cheese bowls, pickled vegetables, various thinly sliced meats, potatoes, and beer. I sat with the teachers, Alex, and Macheila. We chatted about future travels and American sitcoms.

It was also our classmates birthday! We sang happy birthday, of course, and Astrid gave her a new pair of wool socks! It was awesome!

After dinner, a part of the group went to get freshwater samples while the rest of us got ready to bed.

[princess-of-purple-prose]

[ID copied from alt: A black and white toned, manga-style comic of one of the scenes from The Locked Tomb series, specifically the Gideon the Ninth book. The first panel is open, with two speech bubbles. "I challenge the sixth for their keys. I name the time and the time is now," someone says, raising the blade of a weapon. In the below panel, Palamedes Sextus and Camilla Hect look up, glowering, at the figure, bracketed by his legs since he is looking down on them from the table.

The middle panel shows Naberius Tern, who is standing at full height, pointing his rapier down at the two he challenged. From the sides of his panel are four smaller ones - the Fourth, Second, Ninth and Eight house look on in various flavors of shock. While the Fourth and Second don't bother to hide their indignation, the Ninth and Eighth are quietly observing. The next panel shows Coronabeth, looking a bit stupefied. “No, you don’t,” she begins to say. “Yes, he does,” replies Ianthe, who is mirrored in the opposite panel. “You need a facility key, don’t you? Here’s our chance. I suspect we won’t be given a better.” Judith Deuteros begins to turn to Ianthe, looking grimly alarmed. "You have no cause."

The top panel focuses on Ianthe, still lounging on the chair. “Neither did you, if we’re all being honest with ourselves," she says to Judith. "Sextus was perfectly right.” The next two panels show Judith and Ianthe, their profiles facing each other as they argue. “If you want to cast me as the villain, do it,” says the captain of the Second. “I’m trying to save our lives. You’re giving in to chaos. There are rules, Third.” “On the contrary,” Ianthe replies, “you’ve amply demonstrated that there are no rules whatsoever. There’s only the challenge … and how it’s answered.” A small panel shows Gideon glancing over to the twins. Ianthe looks away and glances up at Coronabeth, who has been standing beside her chair, not looking at anyone else. She reaches out a hand to her sister and says, more softly: “This is for you, dear, don’t be picky. This may be the only chance we have. Don’t feel bad, sweetheart—what can you do?” Corona continues to stare ahead, a bit blankly. A shadow falls over her face. “I can do nothing,” she replies. Ianthe pulls her in, and they nearly tough foreheads, their hands tangled tightly. “Then let’s do this together. I need you," says Ianthe. “I need you,” echoes her twin.

Another small panel shows Gideon looking back to the Sixths House. Camilla tightens a bandage on her arm, which is already bloodied. "Right," she says. "Second round." Behind her, Palamedes looks panicked and angry all at once. Gideon grits her teeth, suppressing a growl. A series of quick panels shows her gripping her sword and sliding her off hand into the knuckle knives. She looks as though she's about to surge forward when Harrow's speech bubble cuts through the panel: "The Ninth House will represent the Sixth House," she announces. Beside her, Gideon looks a bit startled. Naberius also starts, looking completely confused by the turn of events. Ianthe looks on, not surprised but annoyed. "The plot congeals," she says. "Since when has the Ninth been bosom with the sixth?" she asks. Harrow replies: "We aren't." Gideon's mouth begins to stretch into a grin. "Then--" continues Ianthe, but she is cut off.

The page is dominated by a single vertical panel, showing both Harrowhark and Gideon, with Gideon standing firmly behind her necromancer, her rapier casually balanced on her shoulder. Her grin is wide, and her eyes shine through, even from behind her shades. In front, Harrow is pulling off her hood, her eyes narrowed. "Death first to the vultures and scavengers," she says. The background has grown dark, and both of the Ninth are lit from underneath, throwing them into rather appropriate spooky shadows.

Bonus: A very quick and messy sketch of Gideon and Harrow. Gideon is lifting Harrow up with both arms and hugging her, a big smile on her face. "Thanks for backing me up, my midnight hagette!" she says. Harrow looks like a stick insect heading to a funeral. Her legs are awkwardly kicked up a bit, but she is otherwise stock-straight, and her eyes are wide and staring into the middle distance, though she is also visibly blushing. End ID]

Harrow's necromantic power includes the ability to create underlighting whenever it's necessary.

Bonus:

[travelnew]

20th Mumbai Bird Race 2024 (HSBC India BirdRaces)

Sunday Feb 18, 2024 from 7:38 am to 6 pm, traveling 13.87 km for 626 minutes. Places birdwatched at: Lokhandwala lake > Lokhandwala nalla > Malad InOrbit Creek Road > IIT Powai lake & campus. Morning was cool and then very hot. We retired home for lunch and then resumed again. Lunch break was from 12 o'clock noon to 3:30 pm.

Number of bird species seen/ heard: 56.

25 Lesser Whistling-Duck 1 Gadwall 50 Indian Spot-billed Duck 2 Green-winged Teal 10 Greater Flamingo 5 Lesser Flamingo 1 Little Grebe 1 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 2 Greater Coucal 2 Asian Palm Swift 5 Eurasian Moorhen 5 Eurasian Coot 9 Gray-headed Swamphen 2 White-breasted Waterhen -- Seen 3 Black-winged Stilt 1 Red-wattled Lapwing 3 Bronze-winged Jacana 1 Black-tailed Godwit 1 Common Sandpiper 4 Wood Sandpiper 1 Common Redshank 1 Black-headed Gull 1 Brown-headed Gull 1 Common Tern 1 Little Cormorant 1 Little Egret 1 Indian Pond-Heron 1 Great Egret 1 Medium Egret 1 Purple Heron 1 Glossy Ibis 1 Black-headed Ibis 1 Western Marsh Harrier 5 Black Kite 1 White-throated Kingfisher 5 Asian Green Bee-eater 1 Coppersmith Barbet -- Heard 2 Brown-headed Barbet 2 Rose-ringed Parakeet 1 Spot-breasted Fantail 1 Black Drongo 1 Ashy Drongo 1 Long-tailed Shrike 100 House Crow 2 Large-billed Crow 1 Common Tailorbird -- Heard 2 Ashy Prinia 1 Booted Warbler -- Heard 1 Blyth's Reed Warbler 2 Red-vented Bulbul 2 Jungle Babbler 5 Rosy Starling 5 Common Myna 1 Oriental Magpie-Robin 1 Purple-rumped Sunbird 25 House Sparrow

Sunrise.

Lokhandwala lake

IIT Powai Campus

Here are few photos from the bird race clicked by my good friend, JN.

How did I capture a TIME LAPSE of the Sunset at Powai Lake?

There was a small mound of mud over which a branch of tree had fallen. I balanced my mobile properly for the entire duration of the setting sequence. My friend's son, SSN and other people walking in front of the mobile were politely asked to walk carefully from behind the mobile and over the branch. They complied and even thanked me for offering them the unnecessary hand over the small branch, on which I had balanced my mobile really well. All went well and then when I went to show my group, the result of my endevour, I realised I had not pressed the start button to click the mobile camera. Our hosts, the organizers of the India Bird Races, Mr. Ravi & Mr. Sunjoy as usual were gracious and kind and conducted bird quizzes with panache, that kept everyone on the edge to win prizes and gain knowledge.

You can check the earlier editions of the India Bird Races below:

2023 Mumbai Bird Race - 53 species seen.

2022 Mumbai Bird Race - 50 species seen.

2019 Mumbai Bird Race - 63 species seen.

2015 Mumbai Bird Race - 90 species seen.

The pan flavoured chocolate in this gift box was something new. I look forward to many more bird races and abundance of birds in and around Mumbai.