#garden pond pumps

[n3ongold3n]

Habemus pumpkin :D two of them worked out and are making beautiful fruit. Forgot again to harvest the courgette so we'll have to find a good use for that much zucchini meat 😅

[meyer-aquascapes]

Beautiful waterfall and pond installation

[meyeraquascapes]

Aquascape Pump Cleaner Maintenance Solution quickly cleans and lubricates pond, fountain, and waterfall pumps to keep them operating properly. The biodegradable solution uses cutting-edge green cleaning compounds to remove scale, bio-film, and more without the use of harmful acids.

[anipgarden]

Things to Do that Aren't Related to Growing Plants

This is my second post in a series I’ll be making on how to increase biodiversity on a budget! I’m not an expert--just an enthusiast--but I hope something you find here helps! 

Some of us just don’t have much luck when it comes to growing plants. Some of us simply want to aim for other ways to help that don’t involve putting on gardening gloves. Maybe you've already got a garden, but you want to do more. No problem! There’s a couple of options you can look into that’ll help attract wildlife in your area without even having to bring out any shovels!

Provide a Water Source

Oftentimes when I see ‘add a water source’ in informational articles about improving your backyard for wildlife, it’s almost always followed by an image of a gorgeous backyard pond with a waterfall and rock lining that looks expensive to set up, difficult to maintain, and overall just… not feasible for me. Arguably, not feasible for a lot of people. And that’s okay! There’s still ways to add water in your garden for all kinds of creatures to enjoy!

There’s tons of ways to create watering stations for insects like bees and butterflies. A self refilling dog bowl can work wonders! Add some stones into the receiving tray for insects to land on or use to climb out, and you’ve got a wonderful drinking spot for all kinds of insects! You can also fill a saucer or other dish with small stones and fill it, though it’ll likely need refilling daily or even several times a day during hot times. 

I've seen people online use all kinds of things to make water features. Some go with terra-cotta pots, pebbles, and a cheap pump to get a small and simple fountain. Others use old tires, clay, and a hole in the ground to create an in-ground mini pond system. If all else fails, even a bucket or watertight box with a few plants in it can do the trick--though do be wary of mosquitoes if the water isn’t moving. In situations like these, a solar-powered fountain pump or bubbler are great for keeping the water moving while still making it a drinking option for wildlife (it not even more appealing for some)--and these items can be obtained fairly cheap online!

Bird baths are an option as well--a classic way to provide for birds in your area, they can be easy to find online or in a gardening store! The only downside is that a good, quality bird bath can be pricey up-front. However, a nice stone bird bath should last a long time, be easy to clean and refill, and be enjoyed by many birds! I’ve also seen tutorials on how to make your own with quickcrete! Bird baths will be a welcome sight to birds, as they provide a space for them to drink and bathe to regulate the oils in their feathers for flight and insulation. Putting a stone in the middle will also help insects to escape if they fall in, and provide a place to perch so they can get their own drink. You’ll want to change the water and clean the baths regularly--as often as once a week, if you can manage it.

If possible, it’s highly encouraged to fill and refill water features with rainwater instead of tap water. Tap water is often treated, so instead of using hoses or indoor kitchen water, collecting some rainwater is a great alternative. Collecting rainwater can be as simple as leaving cups, bins, or pots outside for awhile.

Butterflies and other creatures will also drink from mud puddles. If you can maintain an area of damp soil mixed with a small amount of salt or wood ash, this can be fantastic for them! Some plants also excel at storing water within their leaves and flowers (bromeliads come to mind), making them an excellent habitat for amphibians as well as a drinking spot for insects and birds.

Bird Feeders and Bird Houses

Some of the fancy, decorated bird feeders are expensive, but others can be pretty low-cost--I got my bird feeder from Lowe’s for around 10 dollars, and a big bag of birdseed was around another 10 dollars and has lasted several refills! If you don’t mind occasionally buying more birdseed, a single birdfeeder can do a lot to attract and support local birds! If you’re handy, have some spare wood, and have or can borrow some tools, you may even be able to find instructions online to make your own feeder. You may not even need wood to do so! Even hummingbird feeders, I’ve found, are quick to attract them, as long as you keep them stocked up on fresh sugar water in the spring and summer!

An important note with bird feeders is that you have to make sure you can clean them regularly. Otherwise, they may become a vector for disease, and we want to avoid causing harm whenever possible. Also keep an ear out and track if there’s known outbreaks of bird diseases in your area. If local birding societies and scientists are advising you take your birdfeeders down for awhile, by all means, do it!

Bird houses are naturally paired with bird feeders as biodiversity promoters for backyard spaces, and it makes sense. Having bird houses suited to birds in your area promotes them to breed, raise their young, disperse seeds, and generally engage in your surrounding environment. Setting them up takes careful selection or construction, preparation, and some patience, but sooner or later you might get some little homemakers! Keep in mind, you will need to clean your birdhouses at least once a year (if not once per brood) to make sure they’re ready and safe for birds year after year--you wouldn’t want to promote disease and parasites, after all. But they could be a valuable option for your landscape, whether you purchase one or construct your own! 

Again, do make sure you're putting up the right kind of boxes for the right kinds of birds. Bluebird boxes are some I see sold most commonly, but in my area I believe they're not even all that common--a nesting box for cardinals or chickadees would be far more likely to see success here! And some birds don't even nest in boxes--robins and some other birds are more likely to use a nesting shelf, instead! Research what birds live in your area, take note of any you see around already, and pick a few target species to make homes for!

Solitary Bee Houses

A bee house or bee hotel is a fantastic way to support the solitary bees in your area! For a few dollars and some annual cleaning, you can buy a solitary bee house from most big box nurseries. Alternatively, you can make one at home, with an array of materials you may already have lying around! You can even make them so that they’ll benefit all kinds of insects, and not necessarily just bees.

Though you don’t even necessarily have to break out the hammer and nails, buy a ton of bricks, or borrow a staple gun. Making homes for tunneling bees can be as simple as drilling holes in a log and erecting it, or drilling holes in stumps and dead trees on your property. You might even attract some woodpeckers by doing this!

Providing Nesting Area

There are tons of different kinds of bees, and they all make different kinds of homes for themselves. Not all of them make big cavity hives like honey bees, or will utilize a solitary bee house. Bumblebees live in social hives underground, particularly in abandoned holes made by rodents--some others nest in abandoned bird nests, or cavities like hollow logs, spaces between rocks, compost piles, or unoccupied birdhouses. Borer, Ground, and Miner bees dig into bare, dry soil to create their nests. Sparsely-vegetated patches of soil in well-drained areas are great places to find them making their nests, so providing a similar habitat somewhere in the garden can encourage them to come! I do talk later in this document about mulching bare soil in a garden--however, leaving soil in sunny areas and south-facing slopes bare provides optimal ground nesting habitat. Some species prefer to nest at the base of plants, or loose sandy soil, or smooth-packed and flat bare ground. They’ve also been known to take advantage of soil piles, knocked over tree roots, wheel ruts in farm roads, baseball diamonds and golf course sand traps. You can create nesting ground by digging ditches or creating nesting mounds in well-drained, open, sunny areas with sandy or silty soil. However, artificially constructed ground nests may only have limited success. 

Providing Alternative Pollinator Foods

Nectar and pollen aren’t the only foods sought out by some pollinators! Some species of butterflies are known to flock to overripe fruit or honey water, so setting these out can be an excellent way to provide food to wildlife. You may want to be cautious about how you set these out, otherwise it can help other wildlife, like ants or raccoons. Butterflies may also drop by to visit a sponge in a dish of lightly salted water. 

Bat Houses and Boxes

Big or small, whether they support five bats or five hundred, making bat boxes and supporting local bats is a great way to boost biodiversity! Not only will they eat mosquitoes and other pest species, but you may also be able to use the guano (bat droppings) as fertilizer! Do be careful if you choose to do that though--I’ve never had the opportunity to, so do some research into how strong it is and use it accordingly.

Provide Passageway Points

If you want your area to be more accessible for creatures that can’t fly or climb fences, allowing or creating access points can be an excellent way to give them a way in and out. Holes in the bottom of walls or fences can be sheltered with plants to allow animals through. 

In a somewhat similar manner, if you’re adding a water fixture, it’s important to provide animals a way to get into and out of the pond--no way in, and they can’t use the water. No way out, and they may drown. Creating a naturalistic ramp out of wood beams or sticks, or stepped platforms out of bricks, stones, or logs can do the trick. 

Get or Keep Logs and Brush Piles

I’ve already mentioned logs a good handful of times so far in this post. To be used as access ramps, or as nesting areas for solitary bees. But they have value as much more than that! Logs on the ground provide shelter for all kinds of animals, especially depending on size--anything from mice, reptiles, and amphibians to things like turkey vultures and bears will use fallen logs as shelter. Inside of a decaying log, there’s a lot of humidity, so amphibians are big fans of them--meanwhile, the upper sides of them can be used as sunning platforms by things like lizards. Other animals can also use the insides of logs as nest sites and hiding places from predators too big to fit inside. Fungi, spiders, beetles, termites, ants, grubs, worms, snails, slugs, and likely much more can be found inside rotting logs, using the rotting wood as food sources or nesting places. They can then provide food for mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. They can also be regarded as a landmark or territory marker as wildlife get more familiar with your space.

So how do you get logs for cheap? Try Chip Drop! I talk about them more in a future post, but you can mark saying that you’d like logs in your drop, so they’ll give you any they have! In fact, you may even get a drop faster if you're willing to accept some logs. You may also be able to approach arborists you see working in your area and ask for logs. There may also be local online listings for people selling logs for cheap, or just trying to get rid of them. If there’s land development going on near you, you may be able to snag logs from trees they cut down to make space. Do keep in mind, you don’t need to have huge gigantic logs laying around your property to make an impact--even small logs can help a lot.

If possible, creating and leaving brush piles on the edge of your property can be a great boost to biodiversity--even if you may not see the wildlife using it. They’ll provide shelter from weather and predators, and lower portions are cool and shady for creatures to avoid the hot sun. The upper layers can be used as perch sites and nest sites for song birds, while lower layers are resting sites for amphibians and reptiles, and escape sites for many mammals. As the material decays, they also attract insects, and as such they’ll attract insect-eating animals too. As more small animals find refuse in your brush pile, their predators will be attracted to them as well. Owls, hawks, foxes, and coyotes are known to visit brush piles to hunt. Making a brush pile can be as simple as piling branches and leaves into a mound, as big or as small as you want. You can even use tree stumps or old fence posts near the base, and keep stacking on plant trimmings and fallen branches. Do note that you don’t want to do this near anything like a fire pit.

Don't forget, with all of these, your mileage may vary for any variation of reasons, so don't worry if you can't take all of even any of these actions! Even just talking about them with other people may inspire someone else to put out a bat box, or leave a few logs out for wildlife!

That's the end of this post! My next post is gonna be about ways to get seeds and plants as cheaply as possible. For now, I hope this advice helps! Feel free to reply with any questions, success stories, or anything you think I may have forgotten to add in!

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Winter's King 12

No tag lists. Do not send asks or DMs about updates. Review my pinned post for guidelines, masterlist, etc.

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon/dubcon, cheating, violence, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: You are a maid to the Duke of Debray, a lord of the Summer Kingdom. That is, until the king of Winter appears with his particular air of coldness. (Medieval AU)

Characters: Geralt of Rivia

Note: have a good weekend.

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Please do not just put ‘more’. I will block you.

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

You stand, still uncertain. You look at the king as he tilts his face up to the moonlight. The silver sheen washes over him with an unearthly glow. He looks lupine, much like your dream.  

“Your highness?” You echo again, hands curling around the sides of your skirt. 

“Will you continue to disregard my order?” He challenges as his gold eyes meet yours. You wince at the way they shine. 

“No, your highness, I am only...” you hush yourself and clamp your lips tight. You turn and search around, numbly walking along the curve of the pond.  

He growls as you reach the line of hedges into the next walkway. 

“You will want to go much faster than that,” he warns as you hear him stand. “I will allow you some advance...” He exhales as you glance back at him, “ten...” he stares at you, his figure shrouded in shadow from far away, “nine...” 

You blanch and tumble backward through the gap. You spin and stagger on your soles, throwing your arms out as your heart pulses madly. Something about his timbre, about his words, has you alight. There is something amiss about him. 

You push your legs against your skirts and hurry blindly into the nocturnal void. The moonlight seeps in around the silhouette of leaves as you keep your hands ahead of you to prevent a collision. You try to see through the dark, like silk across your eyes, making out little more than hazy orbs. 

You crash into a thicket of thorns and pull away from the rosy bunch. Their scent clings onto you as you turn to the left and dive down the next path. You don’t know these gardens, not like Debray. For all you know, you’re going even deeper.  

You hear a step behind you and swirl to face it. You squint, trying to see who is there. Is it the king? Do you want it to be? What does he mean to do when he catches you? What is the meaning of this game? 

You plunge back into a sprint, puffing as you pump your arms. You whimper and whine as you slow, legs heavy and feet dull. Where are you going? You don’t like this. You remember a night like this before, how the cold dew of the forest crept up your legs, feet hitting the earth in quick succession, the holler of men and snort of horses behind you. 

You stagger and spin back. No, you can’t run anymore. You don’t like this. You don’t like those thoughts. That last night before you were taken to Debray, before you dawned the cap of your bearing. That orphan girl running from servitude. 

You walk forward, shaking as you peer back and forth. You wade through the thick grey air. You hear a twig snap and a bush rustle, each noise from a different direction. Perhaps it is a rabbit or a chipmunk. You sniffle and wring your hands. 

You must find the king. You will surrender this game and ask that he takes you back to the castle. You trudge over the beaten path and hear the soft trickle ahead. It must be the pond. The silver light blooms brighter as you come upon a space in the hedges. 

Suddenly, there is only air beneath your feet. You kick out as something rigid wraps around your waist and lifts you. You wriggle desperately and cry out, your eyes tinging but not overflowing. Your fear has you clawing at the hold around your middle. 

“Please, please, don’t hurt me!” You plead as you flail, “please, sir, I’ll go back to the castle--” you choke as the grasp on you slackens but your feet still do not meet the ground. You quiet as you recall your present, that you are not in that forest, that you are far from Debray. 

You are sat upon the bench, the silver moon gleaming down on you as it outlines the broad shadow before you. King Geralt faces you, kneeling as you tremble and hug yourself. You put your head down in shame. 

“Apologies, your highness, I was lost,” you reach to rub your cheek, flicking back your tears with your lashes, “I got confused.” 

“No, it is I who should apologise, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he takes your hand between his big ones, “I only meant to make some fun.” He brushes his touch up your arms and squeezes as you drop your hand to your lap, “little maid, did I hurt you?” 

You shake your head, “I was only... delirious. It is too dark out here. I cannot see,” you bite down and look away, “apologies, I did act out.” 

“Little maid,” he tickles along your cheek, sending a shiver down your spine, “I would not let you get lost or hurt.” He tilts his hand to cradle your face, his thumb stroking your cheekbone, “what was it you were running from in your head? Who?” 

“No one,” you lie. “Just a memory.” 

“Memories are not just that,” he insists, “but I understand how they can hurt. Forgive me, treasure, I wasn’t--” 

“Your highness,” the sullen voice has the king recoiling. He quickly plants his foot and stands. You rise as well, toying with that word he called you. Treasure. “The queen sends for you.” 

Bryce steps out into the moonlight. You look at him then the ground. How long had he been there? How much had he heard? 

“The queen,” King Geralt grumbles, “what is it she wants? It is late--” 

“She would not say and I would not guess,” Bryce says, “but she screams for it. Like a yowling cat.” 

The king sighs and lowers his head. He squares his shoulders and resets his posture. He steps away from you and gestures to his soldier. The king twists around and marches away. Bryce falls into pace with you as you follow. He is silent, you all are. 

You approach the castle, guards lurking in the shadows, and are let past the front doors by a sombre pair. Inside, you follow the king through the great hall and up the stairs. You peek over at Bryce as you proceed down the corridor. He gently squeezes your wrist, just briefly, and carries on. 

“Your highness,” Bryce speaks as you hear a racket ahead of you; screeching and crashing. “Should I escort the maid back to her chambers?” 

“Cursed woman,” King Geralt mutters as he slows, Queen Jazlene’s door just ahead. He pauses and looks over his shoulder, “the cost of a kingdom...” 

“Your highness?” Bryce prompts once again. 

You echo him and step forward, “I could calm her. Bring some wine--” 

“No, she will have no more of that,” the king declares sharply. “I wed her, I put my name next to hers, so it is I shall attend to her. Sir,” he looks at Bryce, “do as you suggest, put the maid in her chambers and I will put the queen in her place.” 

“Aye, your highness,” Bryce bows his head and points you back, “come, maid, the night wears on.” 

You glance up at the king. His golden eyes are wrought as his gaze holds yours for only an instant. You see the hesitation bob in his throat before he turns away. You mirror him and follow Bryce back along the corridor. 

As you climb to the next floor and continue down another corridor, Bryce slows. He stops as he gets to the door and faces you. He takes a breath as he looks you up and down. 

“It’s treacherous here in the summer kingdom,” he says, “but that will not change on the road. Mouse, you keep yourself well.” 

“Thank you, sir, I am fine.” 

“Aye, you do not take my meaning but you do not take the king’s either,” he puts his hand on his belt, “his favour might do you fine in this moment, but it is dangerous. Let not others notice so they may not envy it.” 

You grimace and shake your head, “what do you mean?” 

“Your little games do not need an audience. It is no tournament.” 

Your chest sinks and your skin speckles. Is he accusing you of something? 

“I... I haven’t done anything untoward. I would not, sir--” 

“You may not,” he intones, “but we are all ruled by the will of the king.” 

“Sir, the king is married to Lady Jazlene--” 

“And we both see how they fare,” he states bluntly. “Carry my words with you, do with them as you may, but I could not leave them unsaid.” 

Your eyes gloss and your nose tingles once more. He’s mad. Truly, he can’t think you and King Geralt. A maid and her master. 

“I would not,” you repeat. 

He huffs and nods curtly. He turns to the door and unlatches it, “go, rest your head while you can.” 

“Sir Bryce--” 

“I am bid protect you by the king,” he pushes the door inward and rests his hand on the frame, “not from him.” He looks past you, as if through, “little mouse, I do hope I am wrong as well but I know better than to depend on that.” 

You shudder and tug at the end of your sleeve. You slump and drag your feet through the doorway. You stop, just inside, “good night, sir.” 

He grunts and pulls the door shut. Your lip trembles as your heart races, just as it did in the garden. He is wrong. He must be. You saw yourself how the king is trying, he even said it was the queen he meant to game with earlier. It was only that she was too unwell. He said it! 

And he goes to the queen’s chamber that night. He is not there. He has not been disloyal. The matter is not your concern. You serve wine, you lace gowns, you braid hair. You are only the maid. 

⚔️

You return to the queen’s service the next morning. The world is a bit more familiar as you help her into her gown and twine her hair into an elaborate coif. Servants pass in and out of her chambers as they prepare for the royal party’s imminent departure. 

“Why can we not keep this capital?” Queen Jazlene whines, “but my husband does insist on return to his frigid homelands.” 

You say nothing as you sift through the old monarch’s jewelry chest. You present to her successor each gem, brooch, and chain. She has yet to turn any away though you wonder if there would be room in her already bustling luggage. Perhaps the cart will be a touch more crowded on your ride north. 

“And yet my husband did come to me,” she boasts, “I think... hmm, well, perhaps this marriage won’t be so turbulent.” 

You show her a cuff and she snatches it. She puts it on her wrist, turning her arm this way and that, as she oohs and aahs. She wiggles excitedly. 

“I recall this piece. One year, when I came with father to court, the queen wore this cuff. You see the emeralds. I remember she was so proud of it even though all the court knew it was only gifted to her by her husband to distract from his mistress,” she trills, “oh, how foolish. But the old queen was so boring. It is a wonder the king didn’t dispose of her, who can blame him for taking an amour?” 

She sighs and looks at the mirror, “and she wasn’t half so pretty as me.” 

You remain silent, continuing to sort with her endless approval. You don’t think there is a single trinket she could ever turn away. You don’t see the need for so many of the same thing. Some stones are brighter than others but why not keep the brightest and do away with the rest. 

“As I was saying,” she goes on, “last night when the king came to me, he was... almost meek. That man. Can you imagine? I admit I was distraught after the day I suffered but he listened and we spoke.” She strokes her fingers as she admires her oval nails. “There are some southern lords who will come north as well, some northern to stay behind. He says it will help us acquaint the two kingdoms into one.” 

She drops her hands and pushes her shoulders straight, “he is wise. I suppose I should heed him if I am to be a good queen.” 

You are want to agree but to do so aloud may be taken as insult. She might have done it sooner and saved herself some trouble. Yet it isn’t your place and you haven’t the wisdom of a queen. You’re merely a servant. 

“Once I give him an heir, he will have to listen to me too. Yes, I will do what mother could never. Give my husband a son,” she drags her hand to her midsection, “I think last night...” she flutters her lashes dreamily. Her suggestion makes you squirm. Her and the king’s relations are hardly your concern. “It was better,” her voice is brittle, “even if...” she peers around and clamps her lips. She narrows her dark eyes, “close the door.” 

You obey. You come back to her and return to your previous task. She reaches in to pluck out a string of pearls. 

“He puts me on my stomach,” she whispers, almost as if she thinks you won’t hear, but she is speaking to you. There is no one else in the room. Perhaps she is only embarrassed that she has only to the courage to tell a maid. “And he behind me so I can’t see him and... he can’t see me but... but if he could...” she toys with the pearls, “if he’d just look at me, he might like it better.” 

You lift a pair of medallions earrings and she ignores them. She tosses the pearls back in the chest and stands. You back away. 

“He won’t let me touch him otherwise,” she mulls as she paces. “But he is warming. It is early, isn’t it? And compared to the first night... I don’t know. It will get better. It must.” 

She quiets and stands by the window. Her anxiety is palpable. It’s uncharacteristic. You’ve never seen her uncertain of anything yet you can understand it. She is soon to set off to a new life and to brave a long road. When she reaches her destination, she will be a true queen. When you get there, you’ll still be a maid. 

“I’ll go to him tonight,” she says and raises her head, “yes, yes, I will go to him and try again.” She spins and smirks at her grand idea, “maid, I must find something to wear for him. Well, nothing very much,” she remarks coyly, “but I will need a robe. Yes, I saw a satin one in the queen’s closet.” She swallows and stands as straight as she can, “my closet.” 

You diligently cross the chamber and search the wardrobe. You find a white satin robe stitched with gold and silver. You turn to show the queen. She giggles and claps her hands. 

“Wine,” she says, “I must find some courage too.” 

[dwrogue]

Quotes from the novelisation

So the Target novelisation is out! Highly recommend it, an extremely good time that somehow gives us a ton of backstory on Rogue while also still leaving things very open for fic.

A selection of quotes I highlighted on my way through:

The Doctor being horrendously into Rogue

The Doctor was now walking in the gardens with Rogue beside him, his new favourite brooding stranger.

He looked back at Rogue, walking, brooding (of course), and had to remind himself that this was an interrogation, not a date.

Sure, the Doctor couldn’t deny, Rogue was incredibly handsome.

The Doctor was suddenly very conscious that their hands were almost touching.

Rogue grabbed the Doctor’s arm and moved him with ease to the middle of the small metal pieces. ‘Stand there.’ The bounty hunter’s strong, the Doctor thought. Confirmed.

The Doctor could already feel people starting to turn and whisper but his focus wasn’t on that. All he was thinking about was Rogue. Rogue’s hand on his shoulder, his chest. Rogue’s eyes locked with his as the pair of them turned and twirled across the floor.

More below the cut: some of these get very spoilery including for the very end of the book, so don't click if you don't want to know.

Rogue being horrendously into the Doctor

His gorgeous brown eyes beamed up at Rogue from the middle of the crowd. For the first time in a long time, Rogue felt that jolt of electricity when you meet that person. That next person who might be the one to change your life.

the main thing that impressed him was how stylish it all was. How well placed and how welcoming. Rogue had only known the Doctor for one night, but it was clear this ship was perfectly made for the person who travelled in it.

‘I know.’ Rogue smiled at the kind, brilliant, amazing man in front of him.

Rogue felt another jolt of that electricity as their arms almost touched.

He wondered how long he would have with this new and wonderful stranger, and then also why he was troubling himself with the thought at all.

He’d not been asking the Doctor for marriage, but for some simple commitment. A sign he should stay longer than this one adventure. To see those worlds he’d promised. At least for a little while. Now he couldn’t stop wondering how much of their connection was real and how much had been for show.

Socially anxious king

It was then that Rogue emotionally left his body and started panicking a good 50 feet above the scene playing out below.

‘So, have you known the Duchess long?’ It was here that Rogue hoped the Doctor was his bounty because his small talk game was not his best quality.

Usually, the imaginary conversations Rogue had with [Art] were when he was alone in the ship but in moments of crisis sometimes, he would imagine him, a life raft in a sea of social interaction nightmares.

‘Can’t I storm off alone?’ said Rogue. ‘I would rather not talk in front of this many people.’

I had to stop and compose myself for a minute

‘Don’t blame me! De Lacaille chose them! Great astronomer, bad with names.’ Then he smiled cheekily. ‘But if it’s romance you’re after? He also named those stars there the pump, the chisel and Norma.’ Okay, he was flirting now. Ruby would be furious with him if this silly side quest was what got him killed.

‘Not what I’m after,’ replied Rogue, his tone back to matter-of-fact but his face blushing a little.

["the pump"]

**

Rogue had met many dreamers and magicians in his travels. It was surprising how many had bounties on their heads; he immediately recalled quite a complicated winter with Houdini.

[...WHAT. Was this the winter after the Doctor's long hot summer?? What a year Houdini had.]

**

On the banks of the pond, the pair of them dragged themselves out. Rogue’s shirt was stuck to his body; the Doctor’s was the same. They were both drenched through. They looked at each other and laughed. ‘Okay, Ruby was right, this is a bit Mr Darcy.’

[I know the odds of this having been filmed are almost zero, nobody's letting Jonathan risk his voice jumping into a pond in Britain at night in May, but #releasetheherroncut]

**

[Rogue imagines a letter in which his dead love Art gives a potential new relationship his blessing] Please give him a hug from me and do not name a child or dog in my memory when you move in together. A cactus is fine, though. [Almost put this in 'Rogue is horrendously into him' but the 'WHEN you move in together' had me putting the book down for a second. Also that Rogue is contemplating what they should or should not name their future dog OR CHILD.]

Just pure romance

[on seeing the ship] Oh, Rogue, he thought. What happened, love?

**

Rogue just stared in awe, taking in the Doctor, all of them. ‘You’re beautiful,’ he said.

**

Rogue slowly opened his arms, and the Doctor fell into them and sobbed. ‘I’m sorry,’ Rogue said over and over.

**

Rogue looked into the Doctor’s eyes and knew that he would never stop caring. Could never stop wanting to help, to fight, to go on. That was who he was. The Doctor let go of Rogue’s hand and climbed in through the window, and Rogue did what he knew he would do for ever.

Follow him.

**

Then he stepped forward and wrapped the Doctor in his arms and kissed him. It was a soft, passionate kiss, full of promise. The moment was tender. Romantic. It was theirs.

**

As he fell, his mind had one, clear thought. Worth every second.

**

The Doctor just kept smiling, keeping his eyes on the sky. ‘At least we got to live and love together a bit. Exist.’

**

Of all the timelines they could both have inhabited, Rogue was grateful that their eyes had met on this one. What a great surprise that had been from the universe. Yes, right now, he was lonely, but time wasn’t linear, and this was his favourite thing about it. Rogue was sitting in this cave, but he was also walking with the Doctor in the garden, he was laughing with Art in the Yossarian, he was falling from a building, he was running from one memory of his life to another. All at once.

Rogue was in the Doctor’s arms, spinning around and around, for ever.

[solarpunkani]

Hey Solarpunk homies!

I've already made a post about cool ways to reuse parking garage structures but tonight the mind is wandering and now I'm curious about how gas stations might be reused in a solarpunk era.

Gas stations I'm most familiar with generally look like this.

A big shelter overhanging the pumps, held up by pillars where the pumps are at. There's a smaller building inside, which usually at least has restrooms and a few aisles of snacks and other quick-buy things you might need on the road.

While I don't think cars and trucks would necessarily be 100% obsolete, I definitely think they'd be a lot less common, and as such there wouldn't be as much of a need for gas stations. So I'm curious as to how some people think a gas station area could possibly be reused.

Some Ideas I've thought of so far

Tearing them down and building something new in the space is an option, obvs.

The sheltering overhang could make a nice basis for an outdoor hangout area, with protecting from rain and sun while still getting to enjoy the temperatures and vibes? You could set up tables and chairs under it to make it a nice sort of community space?

You could use the overhang as a starting structure to fully enclose the area with walls and make a new building from what's already present, maybe?

I'm enjoying the image of seeing them surrounded with raised garden beds full of flowers and veggies. Oftentimes gas stations also have a bit of land around them, or a retention pond (at least where I'm from) so it could be nice to revitalize that area into habitat with pollinator gardens and tree plantings and such.

I'm not sure what kinds of complexities would arise with reusing an old gas station (I feel like I've seen plenty of run down abandoned gas stations, but can't think of any I've seen be rebuilt into something else), so if anyone has knowledge about that it could be interesting to learn as well!

Let me know if you think of other cool ideas!

[dewsgremlin]

The ghouls before being ghouls 💫

Part: Rain

cw: drowning

The ghouls were once human, before they sold their souls and gave up humanity. Most of them, anyway, because not everyone had to sell their soul. For some, it was a way of making amends.

Rain, for example, grew up in the Victorian era. His family was very wealthy thanks to their involvement in the construction of the railway. Accordingly, Rain was sent to a prestigious private school, where he was one of the best students. With five older sisters and two older brothers, Rain was the youngest child.

Rain has always been very sickly. Whether that was due to the poisonous substances such as mercury, arsenic or radium which were contained in many things at that time or because he suffered from extreme nightmares since early childhood.

His parents took him to the best doctors, but nothing seemed to help. Neither the medicine nor the most bizarre treatments like leech, phosphor or vomiting helped. Rain remained sickly and hardly slept a night without nightmares.

In any case, it was the nightmares that ultimately caused Rain to end up in the mental asylum.

For a delicate soul like Rain, this was the worst thing that could have been done to him. Locked up in a huge building with grey and cold stone walls, surrounded by an iron fence whose spikes rose sharply and threateningly into the sky and threatened to cut anyone who dared to climb over. Whenever Rain had the chance, he wandered along the iron fence in the garden. How small his world had suddenly become. Before, he had been able to go wherever he wanted - now he had to ask permission if he wanted to use the toilet.

His treatments took place in the mornings. He was usually led into a small, stuffy room with barred windows that barely let in any light, so thick was the layer of dirt on the glass. But it wasn't just the window that was dirty - the metal instruments that the doctor used on Rain also looked as if they had definitely not been cleaned since they had last been used.

Numerous diagnoses were made, from physical causes to mental causes. Finally, it was said that Rain had hysteria - a mental illness that is actually mostly attributed to women. This is due to Rain's gentle disposition, his family explained when the doctor announced it. Rain himself said nothing about it, he just wanted to get out. The sometimes painful treatments only seemed to worsen his condition. His dark circles under his eyes became darker, his nightmares worse and Rain became more and more desperate.

Ironically, Rain drowned when he tried to escape the cruel treatment in the asylum and stumbled into the small duck pond, completely dazed by the pills he had been given.

The icy water was like a sharp slice of reality penetrating Rain's foggy brain. His lungs burned as the water forced its way in. His whole body screamed for oxygen, his vision turned black. So that was the end of him. Drowned in a pond, pumped full of medication laced with mercury. So many unfulfilled dreams that went down with Rain. His heartbeat got weaker and his attempts to stay above water became more and more difficult.

Rain's pale body was floating lifelessly when suddenly a strong, burning hot hand grabbed him by the upper arm and pulled him out of the water with a jerk. The heart in Rain's chest had stopped beating, but something seemed to be keeping him alive. Something, or rather someone...

"It's too early for you, my boy. I have another plan for you."

[materlux]

The Priestess and The Swordsman - Chapter 2: "Will you help me?"

This took longer to finish, honestly it's not favorite work and is more like a filler chapter to tie the previous to the last.

I added Yanqing, learnt I have absolutly no idea how that boy acts, and improvised, sort of.

I still hope you enjoy!

CW: Mentions of: Curses, blood, death, chronic illness? It's angst/fluff, JIng Yuan being a worried dad, and Mimi, found family. 2.6k

Bog-rosemary represents; to be bound by fate.

Honkai Star Rail | Main Masterlist

It’s been a week, you think, you have been losing track of time these past days. Since you were bedridden, you spent most hours of the day asleep or half conscious, under the watchful eyes of various healers from the alchemy commission, courtesy of Lady Bailu and Jing Yuan.

   Lady Bailu comes to see you at least once this week, to replenish the bandages and the ointment for your arm, and check on you herself.

   Jing Yuan is here at least once a day, you get the feeling he’s using you to skip work, but you like the company so you don’t question him.

   Aside from the healers who come and go, your best company has been Jing Yuan’s 400 something pound ‘cat’, Mimi, who he clearly trusts greatly. When he first brought it with him, you thought he had gone mad, but Mimi has proven to be great company. 

   He lays himself out on the bed by your side, no one would be foolish enough to do anything to you with a lion as your bodyguard. He’s very warm and his fur is soft, he keeps quiet and lets you sleep as you please; and on the days when you get up to wander the small room, he follows you around and lets you use him for support. All around a good roommate.

   Today is the first day you have felt more alive, energy is practically exploding out of you, but you are under strict rules: No moving from your bed when you are alone. For once no healers are walking back and forth, Lady Bailu isn’t here to see to you herself, you’re alone. 

   Well, not entirely alone, Mimi lays stretched out on the wood floor before a window, sunlight bathing his light fur. He’s been asleep since the moment he walked into the light, what careless behaviour, you wish you could indulge in the same careless behaviour.

   An idea, Mimi is a surprisingly great caretaker, it’s like he knows you're sick. With him around you aren’t alone, so technically you can get out of bed, it’s not like anyone is here to see you break the rule.

   So you get out of bed and instantly Mimi is by your side, as you walk he stays pressed up against your side. You rest your hand on his back, his fur is still warm from the sun. You walk around the small room, it quickly gets boring, you have seen everything in this room at least a dozen times now. The door leading out to the small seating area and kitchen is right there, unlocked and easy to open.

   It’s been awhile since you’ve seen the seating area or kitchen, it’s cosy; with a couch covered in pillows and blankets, a coffee table with dark coffee stains, and walls covered in picture frames of people you don’t know. The kitchen is stocked with food and drinks, the counters are clear and light shines in over the sink. Outside the window, the garden stretches seemingly endlessly.

   You stand before the front door, it’s made of dark wood with raised details. If it was a rule that you had to stay in bed, it was basically law that you stay in the house, but you long to see the flowers, feel the breeze and the sun, touch the running water. One step outside wouldn’t kill you, plus Mimi won’t leave your side.

   The stone pathway is warm under your feet, the breeze caresses your hair, the flowers are soft on your skin. You slowly make your way around the garden, you intend to stay close to the house, only wandering around the first couple of beds, but the sound of running water and the desire to feel it on your skin lures you away.

   The small stream of water leads into a pond filled with lilies, the pump under the water is slightly clogged with algae, so parts of the surrounding area have turned swampy or boggy. Small pink bell-like flowers bloom from low growing plants, you kneel down to look closer to them, bog-rosemary you conclude. The water is cold as it runs over your hand, it sends a shock through your nerves.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

   You don’t know how long you spend out in the garden, Mimi stays by your side like you expected. What you don’t expect is to see the General of the Luofu looking so frazzled, he looks around frantically, until he spots you.

   Jing Yuan walks down the pathway in quick steps, out of instinct you take a step back, he looks upset. He stands before you and for the first time he seems to be at a loss for words, he looks down at you wide eyed like you just insulted his entire bloodline.

   “What are you doing!?” He asks in a raised voice, his tone makes you wince. “You’re supposed to stay in bed!” You feel so small before him now, you take another step back and avoid his eyes. “Look at me! What are you doing?” He demands, you glance up.

   His eyes are fierce, hot molten gold full of anger, your mouth dries up and your throat closes. You know he won’t hurt you, your whole body and mind knows he won’t lay a finger on you. So then why do you suddenly feel so threatened? Why do you want to run away and hide? Why is he making you feel like this, he’s never done anything to warrant this reaction.

   But as you look into his eyes, molten gold gives way to cold silver, they look down at you with disgust, something so foreign in the gold but all too familiar here. The priest drinks from his cup of wine, dark and red, but seems too thick to be just wine, what is it? The room closes in around you, the doors vanish and he leans in, it’s too much it’s all too much.

   Something soft and warm brushes against your leg, Mimi’s standing between you and the General, the tuft of fur at the end of his tail brushes against your leg with every swing. He lets out a low growl, he must have sensed your distress and come to your aid, defending you from his owner.

   Jing Yuan looks taken aback by the display, and yet he doesn’t seem upset about it, almost proud. He takes a deep breath, and much more softly beckons you to look at him. You do, the formerly molten gold full of anger, gives way to something underlying, concern.

   “Why are you out here?” He asks more calmly this time, there’s no malice in his tone. “I- I just wanted to see the garden…” you answer quietly, you look down at your feet and study the gaps in the stone.

   He speaks your name so softly you might have mistaken it as the wind, but the wind wouldn’t be able to mimic even half the affection in his tone. You look up at him, and with a gentle hand gesture he beckons you over, with small steps you move to stand before him. A warm hand grazes your skin, rubbing at tears you didn’t notice were falling.

   “Next time you want to go out, wait for me.” He smiles gently down at you, and you nod. “Okay,” he nearly whispers. “But I am glad to see you feeling better.”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

   From then on, on the days you feel well, you wait for him on the couch, Mimi resting by your feet. He guides you around the garden, and holds you steady when the curse makes the world spin. In return you tell him about the flowers in the garden, about all their hidden meanings and useful abilities.

   On days when you can’t leave the bed, he sits by your side and rests, you wonder if the position is even comfortable. You ask him about his day, and he opts to tell you about the fun stuff, the happenings of the Luofu, and how diviner Fu is ‘oh so cruel’ for making him do paperwork on such a fine day. Much like Mimi, the lion-like general also makes for good company, he keeps your days interesting and less quiet.

   On bad days he holds your hand as healers attend you, people you barely know asking questions and treating your arm, he helps keep you grounded and he even answers some questions when you can’t. A rough but warm thumb running over your knuckles, as the healer rubs ointment over your darkening skin.

   The black tendrils have started creeping past your shoulder, over your collarbone and up the side of your neck. Areas near the beginning are cracking open, they burn terribly, they keep you awake through all hours of the day and night.

   Lady Bailu comes by and does her own examination of the damage, she offers you some painkillers and soothing tea to ease your mind, a good night's rest is important for your health, she says as she bandages your arm and helps you back into your shirt.

   She leaves your room, she and Jing Yuan speak just beyond the door, you can’t hear what they say but you recognize their voices. It must have been bad news, because when Jing Yuan returns with Mimi hot on his heels, he has a solemn and almost distant look to him.

   Mimi joins you on the bed as you adjust yourself, you weave your fingers into his mane, untangling knots as you go. Jing Yuan takes his place by your side, the old chair creaks in protest, he stares at the wall across the room, clearly in deep thought.

   “What’s wrong?” You ask, you’re looking down at Mimi, he looks back at you and rumbles. Jing Yuan stays quiet, he must be deep in thought.

   “Yuan, what’s wrong?” Your hand escapes Mimi’s mane to poke at Jing Yuan’s arm, he snaps out of his stupor and looks at you. “What’s wrong?” You repeat the question again, but he only looks at you, with something akin to pity.

   “Nothing,” he says, but he sounds distant, you aren’t convinced.

   “If it’s about me, shouldn’t I also know?” It may be phrased like a question, but it’s meant as a statement, because you should know. The room grows quiet as he looks into your eyes, you hold eye contact and he relents with a sigh.

   “The healers and Lady Bailu theorise that once the tendrils reach your head, well…” The words die on his tongue, but you get it.

   “I die,” you finish, he winces and his eyes seem to go glassy.

   “I’m sorry,” he whispers.

   “What for? There was nothing you could do, only the aeons can undo this.”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

   It’s like the air around you has grown heavy with a sort of sadness, and frankly you’re kind of tired of it, all this grieving over you when you’re right here. Sure more of the tendrils have started cracking open, and your bedsheets need to be changed almost everyday because of the blood, and yeah your skin is more lifeless now, but still.

   Mimi is the only one who seems unbothered by the heavy air, he sleeps in your lap, as you tease his mane into weird hairdos. Lady Bailu comes to see you more often now, you get the feeling Jing Yuan would like the same freedom, but he has important duties to fulfil.

   One day you offer a solution to this problem, one that would also satiate a certain curious itch of yours, he could take you to his office. That way he can feel more at ease and you get to see the General of the Luofu’s office, how cool wouldn’t that be.

   You already asked Lady Bailu, and she agrees under some conditions: You must stay seated, covered by a blanket for warmth, and Lady Bailu and other chosen healers must be allowed entrance at all times. You nod along to it all, it suits you just fine, you even add your own condition: Mimi must be allowed to accompany you as well.

   You shush Jing Yuan and lay out the conditions, a solemn smile grazes his features, it makes you happy in return to see him a little less dreadful. He agrees to try it for just one day, and you take the offer.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

   The General of the Luofu’s office is massive, it dwarfs the priest’s old office and the atmosphere in this room is far more comfortable, despite the walls being lined with weaponry.

   You sit in the corner of the General’s chair, which is more like a bench, with a blanket and a lion’s head in your lap. The General in question walks back and forth before the desk while looking through documents. 

   It was odd at first to hear people call him General, when you are used to calling him by name. He is still adamant you only call by name, or the nickname you have taken to, it’s really just a shortening of his name: Yuan.

   A warm cup of tea is held between your cold palms, it’s a soothing herbal tea, recommended by Lady Bailu. It soothes your mind and nerves, and warms your body at the same time. Mimi doesn’t mind when you rest the cup and your hands on his head, when your arms become tired.

   A young boy, maybe your age, walks with purpose and confidence up the collection of stairs before the General’s desk. He goes to exchange words with Jing Yuan, but his eyes spot you on the chair, the two of you stare at each other for a moment.

   The boy looks back at Jing Yuan clearly confused, the General bears an ever relaxed disposition, and calmly explains the situation. The boy introduces himself as Yanqing, the General’s retainer and a lieutenant in the cloud knights. You introduce yourself, but leave out the part about your origin.

   The Lieutenant quickly goes back to his duties and reports to the General, after which he takes his leave. You see the boy again later in the evening, you slept from a little over midday to now, the sun is setting and you’ll be going back to your room soon.

   You expect the Lieutenant to leave after he gives, what you guess is his last report of the day, but he stays. As the General organises his documents and cleans his desk, the Lieutenant joins you behind the desk, at first you just look at each other.

   “Hello,” he says, somewhat awkwardly.

   “Hi,” you respond, your voice is laced with sleep.

   The General adjusts one last pile of papers, before he rounds the desk to stand by your side, he ushers Mimi from your lap and places the cup formerly in your hands, on the desk.

   “Yanqing,” he starts, gathering the blanket and wrapping it around your shoulders. “If you’d like to join me as I bring them back to their room, you’re welcome,” Jing Yuan offers, the young boy perks up and mulls over the option.

   “I’ll take you up on that offer, general.” He sounds so formel, especially compared to your ‘Yuan’.

   “Good.” The General smiles.

   The General bends down and gathers you in his arms, blanket and all, and stands with ease. Yanqing follows behind the General, but Mimi keeps pace by his side.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

   You fade in and out consciousness the entire walk, the voices of Yanqing and Jing Yuan bleed in and out of existence, like whispers on the wind. At some point, warmth and soft sheets envelop your body, distantly you feel a hand gently smooth over your hair, before the world goes quiet.

[ihaveacatnow]

cleaned the pond and put a little pump in it so the kittens can enjoy fresh water delights during garden time

[pianokantzart]

Pardon my lack of art and overall absence lately. I have been caught up in a little side project, and since I just recently reached my progress goal I figured now was a good time to show it off!:

I have a winter greenhouse on my parents' property that, ever since I left home, got completely abandoned and taken over by weeds since it never had a proper floor to begin with. My brothers helped me clear the weeds and put down the rock, but I laid out the new lawn fabric and built that pond wall on my own (it's neither the sturdiest nor the prettiest thing in the world, but it does the trick of keeping the pea gravel from being kicked into what is eventually going to be a pond.)

A few more things I'd like to do before I once again leave home:

Add more stone (probably just a few Home Depot bags here and there to even things out)

Staple that back flap of the pond tarp back into place (you can see the wood where it's falling away)

Use some weedkiller around the edges to keep all that bermudagrass from creeping back in.

Transport some of the old tools & gardening pots back into the greenhouse

But yeah!!! I'm excited for when I can settle in, get a pond pump installed and actually get some stuff growing :D

[meyer-aquascapes]

[xxnghtclls]

Permission

Chapter 4

(Chapter 3; Chapter 5)

True Form Sukuna x Reader

Rating: Explicit

Warning: Graphic Depiction Of Violence

Please see Chapter 1 for tags!

The Sounds Of Sex

Tapping on the cold stone floor, you slowly you make your way through the halls of the shrine you call your home for the past month.

After visiting the kitchen you had to bare the presence of the mean bitch, who was ordered to prepare the food for Master Sukuna.

“Don’t trip and spill it.” she remarked in a mocking tone. You ignored her and watched her putting a covered plate on a cart.

Pushing the cart before you, you peek at the covered plate.

It’s heavy and smells raw. Bloody. You wonder if it’s human, female.

After all you saw, him feasting on a woman, him supposedly feeding an old man to crows, you concluded his favourite meat must be that of a woman. Pictures of your first encounter with him still linger on your mind like it was yesterday. You’ve become a grown woman since your eyes first met and the question if you or one of the other maidens working there will be his next meal did cross your mind not just once and yet you’re about to walk into his chambers.

Alone. Brave.

You can’t deny that you are nervous, in a negative but also in a positive way. He’s the reason you came here after all and after one long month you finally have the chance to meet him. Well. Kind of.

I will not look at him until he said so, I will not speak to him, until he said so. I will bow to him as the King he is, your mind recites countless times.

Your way leads past the sliding door that is your room. Uraume instructed you to walk past your door and turn right on the next corner. Doing exactly that, you see another sliding door. A fancy one. Pretty, expensive wood. Another thing you notice is, there isn’t another room except this one.

Have I been sleeping in the room right next to him the whole time?

Your face heats up a little at that thought.

Uraume instructed you to softly knock three times before entering. You race your knuckles, ready to knock.

There it is, the energy. You almost waited for it to crawl back to your throat. Blood is pumping, heart starts racing again. You breathe deeply and

Knock

Knock

Knock

You wait a moment to hear if he’s answering. Nothing. Going down on your knees, you grab the door and slowly push it open, keeping your head lowered at all times. His energy becoming more heavy in the moment the door opens. Sliding in with your knees, you stand up to pull the tray in.

You turn around, on your knees again, to slide the door back into its closed position. Heart is still pumping fast. You almost can hear the blood rush through your ears. After standing up again you go to the tray to push it further into his room.

It’s dark in here.

On the floor you can see the moonlight painting blue shapes on the ground. It smells like smoke, a pipe. Slowly walking in, your body decides to move for you. You peek and there he is.

He’s standing at an opened sliding door that leads to the garden you worked a whole month in. You didn’t notice that there was another door. He was there all along and you didn’t notice. You let your eyes wander from his feet up to his hair. Bare feet on the wooden floor. Tattooed ankles, you remember them. Eyes wander up further. He wears a white kimono, with dark blue edges. His back is facing you, broad shoulders painting a dark shadow on the floor. His left hand holding a kiseru, his remaining hands, as far as you could see, rest cross armed inside of his kimono. Pink hair being illuminated in a blue tint as the moonlight falls upon it.

He’s so tall.

Your eyes jump back to your hands pushing the cart and slow down. Uraume told you to just push the cart five steps into his room and leave. You notice this incredible silence in the room, only hearing some crickets from the garden and the soft dabble from the pond. It’s peaceful. You didn’t feel this much piece in a long time. Well, actually never. His energy, as much intimidating as it is, it also wraps itself onto you like a warm blanket. It’s confusing. You wouldn’t expect that from a creature that you witnessed murder from. Taking another breath you turn around silently to go back to the door you came into.

“You’re new.” A voice.

His voice. Calm.

Your heart jumps a beat. Your feet stop moving. A warm feeling inside you.

He didn’t even see me. How can he know?

The sound of his mouth taking a puff from the pipe reaches your ears.

I will not look at him until he said so, I will not speak to him, until he said so.

You decide to move on quietly until you reach the door, kneeling again to push it open, eyes fixated on your hands as you crawl through the opened space to push it shut again.

Standing up, you start to run in tiny steps until you reach the door to your room and enter it. Breathing heavily you lean against the door you just closed shut. You try to comprehend what just happened. His voice was so calm and deep. It didn’t sound at all like the laugh you’ve heard so many times. It was just so peaceful and yet people always said he was the devil himself.

How can his voice be such a soothing sound?

Bringing him his dinner was your last task for today so you slowly make your way to your bed and lay down. His voice still replaying in your head countless times. Just like the pictures in your head from a woman being eaten would not leave your eyes, his voice would not leave your ears. The only thing bothering you is, that it just doesn’t add up. You softly tug at the sheets of your bed, completely lost in thought. Lost in thought about him.

I need to hear him again.

With this as the last thought on your mind, you consciousness wanders into the realms of shadows and dreams.

You’re new.

His voice being replayed by your mind wakes you up in the morning. You stay in your bed a few minutes more than you normally would, thinking of what happened last night.

Hopefully Uraume will order me to bring him his dinner tonight too.

Getting up, you notice you didn’t change your clothes last night, you slept in your kimono. Completely lost in thought about him. Giving yourself an eye-roll, you walk out of your room. Eyes shooting to your left. On the opposite corner of your room, that’s where he stays. You grow excited and rush into the hallway you clean day after day since you came here.

Uraume did not ask you to bring him his dinner this day. You spent another two days of just cleaning and gardening. Gardening was much more of an exciting task now that you knew he could be there, watching you maybe. You caught yourself peeking into the direction of where his door must be a lot of times. It wasn’t really visible but it must be there.

The days went on without much happening. The other maidens going on with their tasks like usual. Once you heard the mean bitch mocking another girl in the hallway. She made you angry. She remembered you of the people you had to endure while you were living in the village you grew up in. What she said to you on your first day implied that she already met Master Sukuna. You asked yourself what he could’ve said to her, when they first met. Was it as peaceful as your last encounter with him? Did they talk at all?

Three days passed. You mindlessly cut some dead ends off a plant in the garden, still sometimes thinking of him, as Uraume approaches you.

“Master Sukuna was pleased with your service three days ago. You will bring him his dinner tonight as well.” they said in their usual monotone voice.

Hearing their words let excitement grow in your stomach once again, catching yourself to peek at his door again.

“If you do well tonight, you will be allowed to bring him his dinner more frequently.” they added and left.

You noticed once again, that Uraume isn’t much of the talking type, very strict and motivated to keep everything in order.

It was around noon so you had to go on with your tasks until the night approached. Apparently that’s the time he usually eats. After cleaning the hallway, you made sure to eat a few fruits and vegetables before you were on your way to the kitchen to get the tray with his food. No mean bitch this time.

Thank god.

It was another young woman, she was nice to you, even giving you a piece of fresh onigiri she just made. It was filled with salmon. You devoured it hastily, not wanting to be too late and soon you were on your way to his chambers once again.

Walking along the halls, your heart started to get nervous again. I wonder if he’s gonna say something this time.

Passing the corner that leads into the hallway your room was located in, you catch yourself smiling.

What if he isn’t so bad?, you think to yourself, your mind rejecting every bad thing you witnessed so far.

Passing the door that leads to your room you listen to the sound of the soft squeaking of the cart rolling onto the stone floor, waiting for his energy to embrace you again. Then you notice another sound. It’s getting louder the more you reach the corner you have to pass to get to his chambers. It sounds like heavy breathing. Almost like someone is in pain. Approaching his door, your feet slow down. Down on your knees, curious ears reach his door.

Moans. Grunts. Skin clapping.

Fucking.

You heart jumps, your blood rushes to your face. Ears as red as a rose. You have to suppress a squeal, your hand rushing to cover your mouth.

A slap followed by a loud moan stings into your ear.

It sounds erotic, but aggressive. His energy creeping from under the door right into your lap. You feel your heartbeat start to throb between your legs. It’s not like you never touched yourself, you just have never experienced this kind of intimacy with someone. Your imagination starts to grow, remembering that you often heard people in your village having sex, fucking, sometimes in corners of the streets.

A low groan.

That’s him. His voice.

Wetness forms between your legs, making you press your thighs together.

The sound of slapping skin increases. Faster. Her moans become louder. His groans deeper.

How am I supposed to walk in there? Should I walk in there at all?

“Fucking slut, louder!” he growls, followed by a loud squeal from her.

Your face starts to burn.

Did he just call her that?

Your kimono sits tight. Thankfully. If not your hand would’ve decided to touch your cunt here and then. In the hallway. Sitting in front of the door of his chambers.

Your clit is throbbing. Hearing sex, hearing him fucking. It turns you on. So much. But what about your task? You decide to wait a bit.

Maybe they will stop soon.

After waiting for another 30 minutes you figured they wouldn’t.

With wetness between your thighs, you brace yourself. Rising your knuckles once again to knock. Heart racing, pussy throbbing. The nervousness is way worse than last time.

Knock Knock Knock

Your hand is shaking. The sounds continue. They either ignored you or didn’t hear it, which wouldn’t be a surprise. Carefully and as silent as possible you slide the door open, the smell of sex and sweat reaching your nose. Sounds turning louder as soon as you open the door. It doesn’t help your composure, your arousal increases.

Carefully sliding in, you stand up to pull the cart in. Kneeling down again to shut the door, your mind focuses on the sounds again. Raw sounds of lust behind your back. You feel as if you could fry an egg on your face. You slide the door shut silently, eyes fixated on your shaking hands. You stand up and it feels like your juices are already smeared on your thigh. Suddenly you feel eyes piercing into you. So intense. Like a weight on your back. This time however, you don’t dare to take a peek.

A hard thrust, a loud squeal.

You even close your eyes.

I will not look at him until he said so.

Five steps. The squeaking of the cart seems to be unbearably loud. The sounds of sex however, even louder.

One.

Two.

“M-Master.. ugh” she moans desperately.

Three.

Four.

A deep growl.

Five.

“Cum!” he commands.

Hearing it, you feel like it goes right into your already dripping cunt. She cums. Hard. Screaming. You feel like you almost do, too.

The five steps back to the door felt like walking a mile. You rush to your knees, slide out and shut the door behind you. Happy to have this situation survived until now, you run back to your room.

In the desperate need to take care of the feeling between your legs you hurry out of your kimono and let your naked self fall onto your futon. Feeling your ridiculous wet core, while remembering his voice and grunts and commands, your fingers don’t take long to make you cum.

Hard.

[swan-of-sunrise]

Taking Care of Business (Chapter Forty-Four)

Summary: Clan Mudhorn enjoys the quiet calm of their homestead on Nevarro, and Din and (Y/N) discuss an important decision for the future of their little family.

Pairing: Din Djarin X Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: And here we’ve arrived at the end of Season 3 with a short but super-sweet ending! Thank you for reading, I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Forty-Four The Homestead (Previous Chapter)

Although Din had visited Nevarro more times than any other planet in the galaxy, it wasn’t until the three of them moved into the cabin on the modest tract of land gifted to them by High Magistrate Karga that he realized just how beautiful the planet was. They lived on the very outskirts of town – close enough to hear the comings and goings of freighter and trade ships by the city gates but far enough away to maintain their much-needed privacy – and from his chair on the porch, Din was able to admire their sprawling tract of land; the land was interspersed with several trees and bushes that provided the wildlife with shade, and there was even a little pond by the cabin’s foot path, where Grogu was currently playing with one of the many frogs.

Din took a deep breath, enjoying the feel of the gentle breeze caressing the bare skin of his face and ruffling his hair, and leaned back in his chair as he crossed his legs and propped them up on the porch rail. “Mesh’la…” He smiled when he noticed the child using the Force to levitate the frog, but the familiar gleam in his son’s wide eyes suddenly gave him pause and caused him to call out, “No, Grogu, you’ll spoil your dinner! (Y/N)’s bringing home dinner from the market, remember?” His resolve started to crumble when a dejected Grogu lowered the frog back into the pond and he heaved a relenting sigh. “How about a cookie instead?” Grogu let out a happy coo and leapt through the air, landing on Din’s outstretched legs with a toothy smile on his face; Din chuckled before reaching into his trouser’s pocket and carefully withdrawing one blue cookie from the packet he kept from the mischievous child. “All right, kid, take the cookie.” In the blink of an eye, the cookie flew out of Din’s hand and he snatched it out of the air, taking a big bite of the sweet treat while Din watched with a grin. “Good job, ad’ika! Just don’t tell your mother about this, okay?” Grogu nodded as he enjoyed his cookie, and Din’s smile grew when he heard the hum of a familiar engine in the distance. “Speaking of your mother…”

Leaving Grogu on the porch to finish up his contraband, Din walked around the cabin’s corner and leaned against a stack of cargo crates as he watched the approaching land-speeder. Thanks to (Y/N)’s bartering skills, they obtained a secondhand land-speeder for traveling to and from the city with ease; Din and Grogu spent time tuning up the engine while (Y/N) worked on hand-sewing a commission from Bo-Katan – new flight suits for the dozen Mandalorian survivors and the covert’s foundlings who found themselves going through sudden growth spurts – and in the process, Din learned the hard way that Grogu preferred to play with the tools over learning how to make repairs. They usually kept their land-speeder docked beside the N-1, which was where (Y/N) parked before jumping out and walking up to him with her arms laden with canvas bags. “Hi, sweetheart! Did you have a good day?”

“Mm-hmm, I finally got the kriffing water pump working again and Grogu helped me clean up the garden.” Din leaned down to give her lips a quick peck and took the bags from her. “How was the market, alor’ad?”

“It was great!” They walked into the cabin and when Din set the bags down onto the kitchen counter, (Y/N) began to unpack them as she continued. “I picked up more thread and even found a vendor selling buttons, so I’ll be able to finish Bo-Katan’s order and we can drop it off on Mandalore on our way to meet Captain Teva on Adelphi next week. The port manager told me that Boba’s shipment of sewing equipment from Tatooine is halfway through the Hydian Way, and she told me that we can borrow a port cart to transport the shipment home when it arrives the day after tomorrow. Oh, and the Anzellans said that we can pick R5 up tomorrow; his tune-up went very well, but he’s really looking forward to coming home with us.”

Hearing his wife call their tract of land home sent a feeling of warmth throughout Din’s body and he took a moment to admire her; the light filtering through the kitchen window from planet’s setting sun illuminated her stunning features, and the combination of the happy sparkle in her (Y/E/C) eyes and the beautiful smile gracing her face made him once again thank the Maker for placing her in his path all those cycles ago. “I’m glad that you’ve had such a productive day, but it sounds like you could use a little relaxation. How about we crack open that bottle of Coruscant mead after the kid falls asleep tonight?”

“Mmm, I knew that I married a brilliant man,” The captain replied with a grin, curling her fingers around the collar of his tunic and pulling him down to capture his lips in a passionate kiss. Din hummed in pleasure but just as he placed his hands on her waist and started to deepen their kiss, a cheerful coo sounded throughout the cabin and they separated to see Grogu jump up onto the counter beside them. “Hi, little guy! Did you have a nice day here with your father?” The child gave her an emphatic nod, and Din’s eyes widened as (Y/N) reached over to gently brush several blue crumbs off the collar of his robe. “Ah, I see that someone let you have a cookie before dinner…”

Din quickly rearranged his expression into one of innocence when (Y/N) gave him a pointed glare. “Who, me? Ner cyar’ika alor’ad, that doesn’t sound at all like something I’d do.”

Unconvinced, (Y/N) scooped Grogu up into her arms and pressed a kiss onto his wrinkled head. “Well, since you managed to get yourself messy, little guy, you’ll have to have a bath before dinner…” Grogu grunted in displeasure, having never been too fond of baths, and (Y/N) smiled sweetly up at Din before placing the disgruntled child into his arms. “And you’ll be giving him his bath, sweetheart. Have fun!”

The captain disappeared into their bedroom to change and Din watched her saunter away for a moment before heaving a half-amused, half-exasperated sigh. “Okay, kid, let’s get this over with. And no Force-tricks with the water this time, got it?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening, after the three of them had eaten their dinner together and they’d put Grogu to bed, Din and (Y/N) found themselves lying on the flat roof of their cabin and drinking Coruscant mead while they watched meteors streaking across the starry night sky high above them.

“You know,” Din’s fingers drummed against his stomach as his eyes followed the flashes of light dancing across the sky. “Mandalorians have a phrase for this.”

With her arms folded to cushion the back of her head, (Y/N) glanced over at him and arched a curious brow. “A word for getting tipsy off of expensive mead and watching a meteor shower?”

“Mir’sheb.” He smiled and shook his head in loving exasperation as his wife giggled. “It’s a phrase that encapsulates the state of peace and rest: Suum ca’nara.”

They both returned their gazes to the night sky and (Y/N) hummed to herself. “Summ ca’nara. It’s a beautiful phrase, sweetheart…but I’m not sure that we’ve achieved it just yet.”

Din’s brow furrowed and he rolled onto his side so that he could see the captain’s face; her expression was nothing but pensive as she stared transfixed up at the meteors and stars above, but there was something lingering in her voice that told him she was deep in thought. “The Mandalorian factions have united as one, Mandalore has been reclaimed from Imperial control, and Moff Gideon is dead. We’re working as independent contractors for the New Republic, our clan has a home to call our own, and you can finally work towards your dream of owning your own seamstress shop. What more could we possibly want?”

“It’s just…” (Y/N) bit her lip and took a deep breath before meeting his eyes. “I was thinking that maybe…well, maybe Grogu would like having a little brother or sister someday. What do you think?”

Din could feel his heart hammering away in his chest as he processed his wife’s words and while she waited for him to reply, he envisioned the remarkable future she presented him with. A baby who resembled both of their parents was peacefully sleeping in a floating pram while (Y/N) worked on a half-finished gown to rival the very best that royal Naboo seamsters could offer, and Din was hard at work training Grogu the Way of the Mandalore outside their modest cabin; Clan Mudhorn would expand from three to four and thanks to their hard efforts, Din and (Y/N) would raise their children in a galaxy that was safer than ever before. It was the sort of future that Din never allowed himself to long for before meeting (Y/N) and even after marrying her, it was one that always seemed impossible for them to achieve. But as he looked down into her (Y/E/C) eyes and saw all the happiness glimmering within them despite living a life filled with sacrifice, hardships and loss – a life so similar to the one he’d lived before crossing paths with the captain and the child – Din realized that as long as (Y/N) and Grogu were by his side, they could achieve the future he’d always dreamed of.

As a smile slowly spread across his face, Din leaned down and gently cradled the hopeful captain’s cheek with a steady hand. “We’re gonna have our hands full, you know.”

“Mm-hmm. Any baby of ours is bound to inherit their father’s bounty hunter’s stubbornness.”

“And they’re certainly gonna be as intelligent as their smuggler mother.”

“A baby that’s a perfect blend of the two of us being raised alongside a Force-wielding Mandalorian apprentice,” (Y/N) mused, a playful gleam in her eyes brought on by their rapport. “Sounds like one hell of an adventure to me.”

Din nodded as his thumb caressed the soft skin of her cheek. “An adventure I’d only ever go on with you by my side, alor’ad.”

Beaming with happiness, (Y/N) flung her arms around his neck as their lips soon met in a kiss filled with burning desire, the pair of them spending the evening locked in a passionate embrace as the stars shone high above and the promise of their suum ca’nara filled the warm night air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Mando’a Translations:

Ad’ika-Son Alor’ad-Captain Ner cyar’ika alor’ad-My darling captain Mir’sheb-Smart-ass Suum ca’nara-The state of blissful rest and peace

A/N: And there we have it! Once again, I'd like to thank you all for reading, commenting and reblogging of this fic, it means so, so much to me! The adventures of the Mandalorian and the Captain will continue once Season 4 is released but until then, I'll try my best to update with deleted/extended scenes or small blurbs, so stay tuned for that!

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2KuSKJhVOPPvxdJ9YHeo4M?si=2977ff31bf0c4bdd

Chapter Forty-Five Taking Care of Business Masterlist

Tagging: @remmysbounty​ @sinon36​ @seninjakitey​​ @thatonedindjarinfan​​ @ginger-swag-rapunzel​​ @mostclevermiss​​ @momc95​​ @welcometothepedroverse​​ @sarahjkl82-blog​​ @elinedjarin​​ @ccomandercody​​ @crowleysqueenofhell​​  @goldielocks2004 @wondergal2001​​ @groovyqueer​​ @impala1967666​​ @fluffy-canada-pancakes​​ @icee228​​ @siimiasoi​​ @uncle-eggy​​

[davidstortebeker]

Closing Loops in Soilless Gardening - Hydroponics and Aquaponics

What is the future of food production going to look like? Is the projected 10 billion people in 25 years, out of which two thirds will live in cities, going to require us to convert every square meter of arable land into intensive mono cultural farms? Please don't let that be true! There HAS to be some alternative. Fortunately, there are several. Two of them are different ways of growing plants without soil, a radically new method, which may be most appealing to urban food production.

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Hydroponics: Growing Plants in Water

When it comes to growing large amounts of food on a small area efficiently, hydroponic systems are often brought up as a solution. And the reasons sound pretty convincing: An efficient hydroponic farm uses 90% less water, and can yield 3-10 times the amount of produce per area, with 7-14 growth cycles in a year. IMPRESSIVE! But before getting too excited, let's not forget: the devil is in the details! It's worth looking into under exactly what conditions those plants grow, being fed by what light, and most importantly which nutrients, and where they come from.

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The basic concept, however, of growing plants vertically, in mostly water, with some kind of substrate, such as clay balls or vermiculite, is actually a pretty nifty way to grow food where there are no fields. The most basic form of this may be the Windowfarm technique, which I experimented with myself years ago in my Budapest apartment. Going to Shanghai, the whole idea seems to be taken to a whole new level.

https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/04/sunqiao-urban-agricultural-district-Sasaki-architecture-industrial-china-shanghai_dezeen_hero-b.jpg image source

Is That Really Sustainable? Or Even Healthy?

… not to mention, does hydroponics even fit into Permaculture? Because let's be honest: with a system that needs to be constantly managed and monitored you could not be further from a self-supporting ecosystem. Also, what exactly do those plants get to eat? The typical N-P-K made industrially out of petrochemicals? Most likely. So while it certainly reduces the transport related drawbacks, hydroponics is by no means energy efficient, and the nutritional value won't be any better than your most industrially grown veggies.

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How Does Aquaponics Compare?

Okay, so let's bring in the fish! For those not familiar with the difference between the two systems, aquaponics is the combination of hydroponics and aquaculture, which are simply fish farms. Having fish in a tank, they will naturally defecate into the water, requiring it to be changed regularly. Plants, however love to eat those nutrients that the fish excrete. Or to be more exact, they feed on the nutrients that have been converted by bacteria and other microbes. The ammonia will turn in to nitrites, which in turn become nitrates, that is food for the plants.

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So running the water from the fish through the plants growing substrate will on one hand feed the plants, as well as clean it for the fish to enjoy it again. So the system already closed a few loops there, making it more sustainable than just mere hydroponics. Also, the inclusion of microbes already offers a more diverse environment, bringing the system a bit closer to an ecosystem. But let's not get ahead of ourselves: Aquaponic systems still need close monitoring, as they are still a far cry from a self sustaining ecosystem of let's say a pond. Also, the water circulation / aeration is most likely going to require a pump, and depending on the exact setup of the system, maybe artificial lighting for the plants. All these aspects add to the energy requirement of the aquaponic system.

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A Truly Closed Loop? Consider the Food of the Fish!

When praising the sustainability of aquaponics, one thing that mustn't be ignored is the source of the fish food. Just like with the hydroponic systems, where the food for the plants or the fertilizer is considered, we can't ignore the feed we give to our fish to eat. If it is the same industrial feed, we may as well have kept to our hydroponics. Not true, since including fish already makes our system more diverse. So instead, let's continue in that same direction. What do fish eat? What is good for them? How can we grow that food ourselves?

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Making Your Own Sustainable Fish Food

Here I could probably start a number of individual posts, since talking about fish food is like opening up a can of worms. But fortunately, I already have a number of appropriate things written. Talking about worms, by the way, anyone who has been fishing knows that they are a favored delicacy, and anyone who composts will have no shortage of them. Since worms are mostly vegetarians, and many of us eat meat, it may have been a bit difficult to properly compost greasy, meaty, bony food wastes. That's where black soldier flies come in, whose larvae are also frequently mentioned for fish food. I still need to try growing those guys. As for green plants for the fish, duckweed makes also good fish feed, again something I have no experience with. What I do know, though, is spirulina, which is also super rich in nutrients, and I would be surprised if the fish didn't like it. So I can see throwing some composting worms, black soldier fly larvae, and spirulina into a blender, to make some great nutritious fish food. At the moment this is very theoretical for me, though.

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Don't Give Up the Soil Completely

So does this mean we should all focus on setting up our most sustainable fish-plant-compost combo cycles? Hells yeah! But please not at the expense of everything else! Soilless gardening, as exciting and revolutionary as it may sound, is still that: without soil. And let's face it: neither us, nor our beans and tomatoes, have evolved to live entirely without soil. That just seems wrong. Even in a small urban apartment it's worth having a bit of soil on your roof, balcony, or window sill, where you can dig your hands into a world of healthy microbial diversity on occasion. And if you do have the space, by all means, set up a pond, a dam, or another aquatic ecosystem, where fish, and frogs, and dragonflies, and numerous other species can live together without relying on our management. Apart from looking pretty, they will also provide food for us, that is nutritionally superior to anything industrially grown.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8