#in the summer I overheat pretty easily too

[sillimancer]

still making my way through braiding sweetgrass and it's really good and making me want to get outside more but alas, like all facets of my life right now, actually doing that is complicated

[shepherds-of-haven]

Hi, Lena. It's currently over 90F where I live right now... so that made me curious, how would the Shepherds handle a really hot summer/how do they beat the heat?

Hello anon, I feel your pain: we have an "excessive heat warning" in our area right now too and the high of this week will be 111F! 🥲 Remember to wear sunscreen and stay hydrated!

Blade: he 'handles' heat all right, but his skin is actually quite delicate and prone to sunburning easily, so unless he sticks to the shadows assassin-style, he's going to get burnt! No more training outdoors with his shirt off for him 🥲 He's usually good enough about not getting sunburnt that no one's seen his nose or the back of his neck all pink, but one day he'll slip up...

Trouble: he's a summer boy, he's totally fine in the heat (he's less fine in the cold) and doesn't seem to be affected by it at all, he sort of likes it (so long as it's a dry heat, which it is in Haven). He doesn't like how things get a bit sluggish and sleepy in the height of summer, but he himself physically is resilient and just fine!

Tallys: she's pretty much like a cat, she soaks up heat with relish and isn't too adversely affected by it; she likes the excuses to come up with cooling tea recipes and using a lot of basil and mint, so it's not really a problem for her, except that her poor garden does tend to wilt a bit when the sun is at its worst!

Shery: she stays indoors almost exclusively, so the summer doesn't have much of an effect on her in the general course of things. When she does have to go outside, she tends to overheat/feel a bit faint/get heatstroke quite fast if she's exerting herself, but that rarely needs to happen, so moving at a sedate pace is just fine for her!

Riel: this is the time of year where he's at his crabbiest. You try wearing a three-piece or more suit in blistering weather. His hair won't sit right and he wants to crawl out of his skin if there's even a hint of mugginess, humidity, or sweat. He shuts himself away in his office and hides from the sun like a vampire. You can't even enjoy a hot cup of tea or khav! And scheduling meetings across the city is miserable. Summer is just dreadful. Give him fall--or even better yet, winter--where he can just cozily toil away in comfort anytime!

Chase: I feel like summer is one of his favorite seasons for the simple fact that the city comes especially alive at nighttime, which are his Thriving Hours. Because many stores close during the day to beat the heat, a lot more people fill the streets at night, and night markets and general night life make the city practically buzz with evening activity. He loves this! And since he can adjust his schedule so he's basically sleeping during the day and becoming a Nocturnal Creature at night, the heat doesn't really affect him too much! Plus, he comes from the Southern Crescent, which is way more humid, so the summers in Haven are very mild to him in comparison!

Red: this is not his favorite time of year. I mean, he's often locked away in his workshop anyway, so it's not like he has a huge right to complain, but he's not really a huge "summer guy" and often viewed summers as a time of forced idleness when he was sent home for the holidays at the Circle, so it's not something he has any great enthusiasm for. His admirers, though, love the summer, because this is the time of year that Red sheds his heavy Mage-style robes in favor of rolled-up shirtsleeves and slightly-unbuttoned collars... you know... like a whore

Ayla: you'd better not complain about the temperature, weather, heat, or summer anywhere in her proximity. She came from the Jalis desert, you pussies (she barks to the whining recruits), where 2 minutes in the sun can dehydrate you and people regularly die of thirst!!! This is nothing!!! This is her bragging time, because the weather has 0 effect on her and she's out in the sun basking like a cat!

Briony: she's miserable and melting and weeping and wanting to throw up and die. She does a lot of her training outdoors, so the summer heat often forces her to wake up early, before dawn (which she HATES), or it's leaving her feeling ugly and frizzy and melty and damp with sweat like

"am I still pretty?..." 🥹

She doesn't have the luxury of hiding away indoors, just don't look at her for the next month!!! *dramatically runs away crying*

Lavinet: she's pretty much in the same boat as Briony! While visually, she fares much better and always looks immaculate, internally, she's pretty miserable. She hates how much more she sweats and how miserable it is to train outside, especially her long hair! But she's too proud of how long and beautiful her hair is to wear it up in a bun or anything, so she suffers in proud silence lol. On her off-days, she always walks around under a lady's parasol like she's afraid the sun is going to vaporize her, but she makes it look natural lol

Halek: he has mixed feelings on the summer heat! On the one hand, it's a really nice change of pace from the Reach (although, famously, summers up in Uth Baryd are lovely and mild and gorgeous), so he likes the heat as a physical ambient component, but he hates having to do any work in it... there's nothing better than taking a nap in the drowsy noontime summer heat, and everyone else seems to be doing it anyway, so...! This is the time of year when he's at his laziest lol

Mimir: she doesn't seem to notice it outwardly, but I will say that she prefers summer vastly more than winter! She just hangs out in the shade of her little tent and seems quite happy!

Caine: another summer baby, this is the time of year when he really thrives!

Croelle: if he has a preference at all, he prefers summer to winter. the heat doesn't have any effect on him!

Prihine: she has Trauma around the summertime now, so she prefers winter or spring...

[paraphoned]

WHAT ARE THE CREWS FAV TIMES OF THE YEAR...

!!!

WHAT I THINK DIFFERENT POPEE THE PERFORMER CHARACTER’S FAVORITE TIME OF THE YEAR IS ! 🎪⭐️

Popee

- Holiday wise? Totally Fourth of July

- Well, it would be if he were American (not sure if Japan DOES Independence Day yk. If they do, I’m gonna stand by the fact that they’re in the middle of assfuck nowhere and it’s near impossible to know anything else going on elsewhere in the world.)

- On the day of, he gets some unknown sense (like a vision almost) that somewhere across the world, people are exploding things

- And he wants in on it

- Like he wakes up in a cold sweat, 12 am, July 4th…

- And just knows.

- But season wise? He likes Spring!

- Not a big fan of summer because he actually gets overheated really easily

Kedamono

- definitely fall

- He loves fall

- For a holiday? No shocker, it would be thanksgiving

- Yeah fun fact, Japan celebrates Thanksgiving! I didn’t know this

- Like Popee’s 4th of July Phantom Sense, one day he’ll wake up and KNOW what day it is

- Anyways, that’s part of the reason he likes fall

- The other reason is because will all his fur, he ALSO overheats easily

- No one in the zirkus really KNOWS about basic fur care (neither does he.) (he tried to trim it once and almost went totally bald.)

- So he’s got really scraggly fur and it’s KILLING HIM

- But in the fall? It’s a blessing

- It’s not too cold, not too warm… it’s perfect temperature for him to lay around

Eepop

- much like popee, she loves spring

- But that’s because there are some flowers she found close to one of the tents and that’s when they spring up and start to be colorful

- Which she’s never really SEEN plant life so this is Amazing to her

- Highlight of the year, even

- I think she’d like Easter

- Just trust me

- OR HALLOWEEN

- HALLOWEEN AND EASTER

Onomadek

- new years and summer.

- Summer because that’s when everyone has their guard down

- While everyone is sweating to death and laying around,

- She’s plotting and scheming

- And for new years, she has some of the CRAZIEST fireworks display

- Its always really great, trust me

Papi

- probably those really weird and made up holidays

- Bitch it is NOT “feel the Sunrays on your face day” gtfo

- He thrives every time of the year, no matter what

- 24/7 nonstop

Alien

- he’s not a fan of the earth

- At all. So he hates ALL times of the year

- But one time he came down around fall time and it was

- Pretty decent. Okay, even.

- Holidays? FUCK NO.

- He HATES anything humans celebrate

- It’s all smelly and loud and pointless to him

Paola

- Christmas ^___^ she loves getting presents

- In that same vein, she LOVES winter

- She actually has a favorite blanket and winter is the only time she can carry it around and not feel stupid

- She has it covering her head snugly and she’ll roll around all jolly-like

[milligramspoison]

Hi fellow Floridian FOB fans! And hello to the fans traveling here to Florida to see them!

So FOB has their first Florida show tomorrow, July 24th, in West Palm Beach and their second (and final) Florida show in Tampa the following day on July 25th!

If you’re planning on camping out before the show, please be careful!

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been having record heat and the heat index has reached over 110°+ in some areas, so it’s been extremely hot here over the last few weeks!

We’ve also had heat advisories and excessive heat warnings placed too in some areas. So basically, we’re in the middle of a brutal heat wave here.

If you’re camping out…

Please stay hydrated! Staying hydrated, especially in the heat, is very important!

Please use sunscreen! The sun is brutal here, especially in the summer, and protecting your skin is incredibly important!

Please wear clothing that won’t make you overheat so easily!! Lighter and more breathable clothing will let the heat escape!

Use an umbrella if you have one! You will be in the shade, which will make you feel a bit cooler. If you don’t have an umbrella, find some shade if you can!

Check on those around you and have others do the same for you! Heat-related illnesses are a very serious thing.

Whether anyone is camping out or not, all of these bullet points are still very important! Both venues are outdoor venues AND it’s still pretty hot at night.

I hope everyone has a great and fantastic (and most importantly, safe!!) show in West Palm and Tampa! :)

[zomzomwritingwhileeating]

THERE IS NOT ENOUGH MITSURI HEAD CANONS AND I FEEL THAT IS AN ABSOLUTE CRIME. A SHAME.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚Mitsuri Kanroji Body Head Canons+Random HC's˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

HOOOO BOY

So for starters, my girl is chubby. Not pudgy, no, no, no. Chubby.

You're telling me that this woman can pack down plates on plates of food and not gain anything? Anything at all???

Idc about her metabolism, that woman is chubby and you can pry that out of my cold, dead hands.

She is so soft, like pillow.

Mitsuri screams the type of girl who pouts about her thighs in thigh highs (the little muffin tops <3)

Screaming.

She absolutely had issues with her weight in the past, insecure about her stretch marks and the moles on her body because it was "imperfect".

It took a lot to love the body she has, she still probably struggles with it but is definitely better

Also she's absolutely pink-toned. Like fleshy pink tones.

OH SHE ABSOLUTELY HAS MORE MOLES ALL AROUND HER BODY

I like to think she has one on her thigh, one on her shoulder and hand and a few scattered around like star dust

She would paint her nails, not any bright colors but a subtle clear gloss

And makeup. Screams the type to just do natural make-up.

She loves it when you hold her from behind, or you let her lift you up.

Girly is strong under that chub.

Like Kyojuro, she's an absolute heater in the winter. Like furnace/fireplace warm.

Her entire face gets warm when she blushes.

I feel like Mitsuri would overheat in the summer, like heat wave bad, often needing to cool down under some shade or take plenty water brakes.

Naturally long eyelashes. I do not make the rules.

I feel like she's pretty pale, like not paper white but an off white.

Bruises easily, not as much as Shinobu but she's definitely covered in em.

ALSO SCARS

She would be so insecure of them at first, but would eventually grow to like them with a little help from her comrades.

She loves being taller than her lover, no clue why but it makes her so happy.

Also, gives tiddy hugs, bear hugs and is just a nice hugger.

She wants the person she's hugging to feel safe in her arms, so she sometimes squeezes too tight (rip to your back...)

Back to the boobs

Sometimes she doesn't even realise it, and she gets so embarrassed when she does!

(Subconsciously learned it from Kyojuro. It's comforting)

Thick hair, like yes we see how it is braided but it's so thick that it takes forever to wash and longer to dry.

Naturally a little curly. I don't make the rules.

Oh and she's got a chubby face, like round/circle shaped.

And plump lips (pls bbg just lemme kiss u </3)

[he1chouarts]

Get to know Veryn (Tav)

Basics:

full name: Veryn Shadewalker

titles: None

nicknames: Ver (by his mother), my Sun/little sun (by his companion)

gender: Nonbinary, presents masc

pronouns: He/Him or They/Them

sexual orientation: Pansexual, Panromantic (he's a lover AND a fighter)

marital status: Unmarried/Single

age: 30

place of birth: Baldur's Gate, Lower City.

residence: Pre-Nautiloid incident, Baldur's Gate. Post-game, the Underdark (with Astarion)

occupation: Entertainer and thief (by trade and necessity)

species: Half wood elf, half human

known languages: Common, some Elvish, Thieves' Cant, bit of Gnoll (he's got a soft spot for animals and dangerous, misunderstood things)

Appearance:

height: 5'11"

build: Slender, athletic

eyes: Ersatz Eye (blue), otherwise "Elf Summer" (gold/hazel)

hair: "Feywild Trickster" in blonde strawberry 3 with a touch of neutral grey highlight

tattoos: Beholder Gorgon on his throat

other distinguishing features: Pierced ears with a couple cartilage cuffs on the right ear. Typically seen with a cat eye deftly smudged on his eyelids in a color called "Justiciar" (a pigment his mother often used)

style: Not a lot of baggy clothing, and not a lot of exposed skin. He isn't a prude, just finds that bulk can slow one down, snag on things, be easily grabbed. Rogue gear pretty standard. He isn't vain when it comes to clothing but he keeps his face pristine. It's quite literally been his money-maker.

Personality:

positive traits: Bold, compassionate, empathetic, cheerful, adventurous

negative traits: Risk-prone, avoidant, emotionally evasive when it comes to himself, overconfident

likes: Stealing, the arts, commonfolk, nighttime, heights, eating

dislikes: Slavers, gods, pursuit of power, people who don't like animals, tradition for the sake of it, group think

fears: That no one will ever truly know him.

phobias: Sickness/disease, extremely confined spaces

hobbies: Reading voraciously, eating (I guess he's a Faerun foodie, robbing people gave him a distinguished palate), fishing

skills: Stealth, dual wield mastery, performance (music, singing, acting, you name it), sleight of hand "magic" tricks on bystanders

quirks: Obviously needs little sleep but overheats easily and likes to keep Astarion by his side through as much of the night as he can manage (letting Astarion feed nightly helps). Talks to animals by any and every means. Can't whistle.

pet peeves: Being asked to do things for free. Animal cruelty. Wasted time. Being bored.

Family:

mother: Van Essa de Vannedicque (human)

father: Alfyr Shadewalker (wood elf, clan elder)

siblings: Only child of Van Essa. His father likely sired others before him, though.

spouse/lover: Astarion (spawn)

children: None, and while they tend to like him, he doesn't want any of his own.

pets: Scratch & Owlbear cub, literally any animal that will be nice to him

notable close relatives: He knows no family other than his mother and deceased father. Because of how he and his mother were forced out of the wood Alfyr called home, he assumes he'll never know how much family he has kicking about in Faerun. Van Essa may have descended from a respectable house, but she never talked about her own family. It was as if her ties were severed and she only really had Veryn. Veryn was always too afraid to probe further, and she died before he got the chance to overcome that fear.

best friend: A Tiefling child who lived in the wood of his people, oddly enough. He never saw her again once exiled, and never knew how she came to live with a relatively small clan of elves. He can no longer remember her name, but he has an odd affinity for Infernal creatures because of her. As an adult, no one in particular. He had many friends and some lovers, but had a way of keeping them at arm's length. During the Elder Brain fiasco, Lae'zel was definitely his closest confidante other than Astarion, and Astarion took a bit longer. They were both playing each other for different reasons, which was never the case with Lae'zel. Call it a poor sense of self-preservation, but much like with Astarion, Veryn liked her from the moment their eyes met. Draw a blade on this guy and he's all in...

rival/nemesis: Haarlep, post-game (more rival/annoyance)

Faves:

time of day/night: Nighttime, preferably from outside the Gate.

weather: Cool and still at night, sunny with a slight headwind at daybreak.

breakfast food: A porridge or curry, anything from a bowl that can be proper stuffed in his maw.

dinner food: Expensive meats (nicked, of course).

snack food: Bread, fried things on sticks, sweet buns

colours: Shades of blue

songs: Nothing like belting The Elf Song to a bunch of drunkards for coin before you rob them blind later

Other random stuff:

a cherished item: He forces himself not to be sentimental, but he'll hunt his mother's favorite makeup (the aforementioned pigment called "Justiciar") down to the ends of Faerun as if his life depends on it.

first love: Probably Astarion. Definitely has had at least one previous "lover," he's not a prude or standoffish, but that's probably why Astarion is the first. Nothing he's ever experienced can compare to what they've been through, and he's still a young man, even by human standards. It made him realize what romantic love really feels like (and it's beautiful and terrifying).

usual mood: Calm, contented, perhaps a bit mischievous

defining moments: His most defining moment is the one thing he never utters to anyone until Astarion is able to get it out of him once the bond between them has progressed in strength. His father was a bizarre elf—a strange obsession with dark arts had taken him over in his late age and he was twisted by it. Veryn doesn't fully understand the degree to which he held power over his mother, but it was enough to have her visiting the wood despite Alfyr's increasingly erratic and abusive behavior. For whatever reason the other elves in the clan grew cold toward them, and a fateful incident left a young Veryn with no choice but to murder his father. They only escape the wood by the grace of what good temper remained in some of the other elders who didn't buy their cries of innocence and banished them from the High Forest forever as a result, essentially stripping Veryn of his Elvish identity. After the Elder Brain, his most defining decision is to stay with Astarion in the Underdark and work to find a way to help him return to the sun safely. He also entertains Astarion's reverse determination to extend Veryn's lifespan by some magical but non vampiric means.

[eardefenders]

Ice Lolly

I feel these are probably pretty straightforward, but! I will give two recipes here. One recipe is for the kind I make every summer for my kid and the other recipe is for the kind I've made a few times in the past (and points to you if you recognize where I got the idea from lol).

Simple Ice Lollies

Ingredients:

Fruit Juice Concentrate or Fruit Juice of your choice(I use 100% Unsweetened cranberry juice)

Fruit (I use strawberry or raspberries usually)

Water (to water down your concentrate if that's what you're using)

Ice Trays

Toothpicks or popsicle sticks

Get a measuring cup and mix your juice concentrate with water until its the taste profile you like. If using juice you can probably skip watering it down.

If you're adding fruit, cut it into small chunks that'll fit into the ice cube tray slots. (I slice the strawberries so one slice fits or I'll usually put a whole raspberry and so no cutting required!)

Pour the juice into the ice cube trays about 3/4 full. Stab a piece of fruit and put it and the toothpick into the ice cube so the toothpick sticks out like a popsicle stick.

Repeat filling the ice cube tray until they're all full.

Place the tray in the freezer until frozen. (An hour in my freezer, time may vary depending on your freezer.)

Crack the tray and hold your homemade popsicles by the toothpick!

Fancy Ice Lollies

Technically these are ice cream lollies, but these'll look more like the stuff from the store, especially if you use a mold.

Ingredients:

4 eggs yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

6oz evaporated milk

1 cup heavy cream

Blue & Green food dye

Sea salt flakes

Ice Cube Tray

Popsicle sticks

Popsicle molds

Separate the egg yolks and place into a large bowl. Add vanilla extract, sugar, and regular salt. Whisk quickly for about 2-4 minutes until the mixture falls off the whisk in thick ribbons. Don't overbeat.

In a small pot bring the evaporated milk to a simmer. Be careful not to boil it or scald the milk by making the heat too high. (If it starts to get a skin on the bottom don't scrape the skin. That doesn't break back down and you'll have milk skin chunks...) Incorporate the simmered milk into the egg mixture by mixing and pouring in slowly.

Once combined, pour entire mixture back into the small pot and place on stove at a medium heat. Whisk continuously until the mixture begins to thicken and take on a custard like texture.

Be very careful not to boil or overheat the pot otherwise your eggs will begin to scramble.

Once finished, place the mixture into another big bowl and place in the freezer until it reaches room temperature (30-45 minutes).

Add in 1/2 cup of heavy cream to your first mixing bowl and whisk until it has doubled in volume.

Remove the egg mixture from the freezer.

Carefully fold in the whipped heavy cream into the egg mixture until it is fully combined. Pour the contents into an ice cube tray, spread it out evenly, then place back in the freezer to freeze (3-4 hours).

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream with 10 drops of blue food coloring and 3 drops of green food coloring. Mix until the cream is the desired color.

In a blender, combine the food coloring heavy cream, sea salt, and ice cream chunks from your ice cube tray. Put in as little or as much sea salt as you'd like. It has a very powerful flavor and you may find the salty taste a bit overwhelming, so add it in slowly and mix it around until you feel you have a good balance between sweet and salty.

Blend the ingredients together in the blender, occasionally stopping to stir the chunks around and scrape the sides down. Once the entire mixture has reached a soft-serve like consistency, pour the mixture into your ice cream molds.

Stick popsicle sticks in your filled molds and place back into freezer.

After about 3-4 hours, your ice cream will be done! Take the molds out and run them under warm water to remove the ice cream more easily.

Enjoy!

The sea salt ice cream popsicles is a recipe I wrote down from Feast of Fiction like a decade ago. It's a pretty good recipe and I wholly recommend it.

[inevitablestars]

☕️tell me how you feel about the seasons linds, do you have a fav or a least fav?

least fav is absolutely winter! too cold. very sad. not a good time

fav is probably spring because it's coming out of winter and getting warmer but not quite summer yet

fall would be a close second because it's still nice and pretty but it's slowly getting colder and that's :(

summer is in the middle because sometimes it's too hot and i overheat really easily and pass out so like less fun but i do love summer !!!!! just like a 75 and mostly sunny summer not a 95 and dying summer yknow

[jesse-cosay]

or 21

You get both. Also, apologies it starts abruptly, I wrote 200 words and abruptly changed my mind, so.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm coming!"

They followed him downstairs. Making their way to the door. Jesse already had one shoe on. Trying to balance on one leg as he adjusted the heel of his second shoe.

Lake sat down, slipping on their boots. Letting Jesse rest his hand familiarly on their shoulder. Using them to keep his balance as he finally got his sneaker on.

"Thanks."

The two of them were out the door in no time. Walking down the street to the lake at the edge of town. It wasn't long before Jesse was shedding the shoes he'd only just put on.

"So using me not to fall over was for nothing?"

"I didn't realize how hot it would be." He whined. "Doesn't it make you want to put your feet in the water?"

It did. But that didn't mean Lake couldn't be difficult about it.

"I don't overheat in the same way you do." They grumbled, stripping off their boots and setting them next to Jesse's shoes.

They didn't wear socks. Hadn't bothered to buy any yet. Hadn't seen the need.

It was as they were rolling up their pants that they realized the problem.

The mirror. The one Tulip had used to free them- it was still there. They could move it pretty easily. And they did, sometimes. Depending on what they planned to wear. It had been hidden in their boot for so long on the train that they forgot Jesse had never seen it.

At one point or another, they'd moved it up their leg. The incriminating red resting closer to their knee, usually hidden by Lake's pants.

"You good?"

"Yeah it's just- I have this, uh, thing."

Lake sat beside him. Rolling up one pant leg to set it in the water next to Jesse's. The other they pulled up against their chest, taking their time as they tucked the cloth over their knee.

"Oh, what's-?" He paused, glancing at Lake and then back at the thing that was definitely not the same shiny chrome that the rest of their body was made of.

"To escape the mirror world, I needed a reflection. To keep me solid, or something." They remembered the goopy way the flecs had looked when their suits deteriorated. How they'd melted back into any reflective surface. How he had splattered against the train wheel.

That's what they would be, without this. If they didn't have it. In some ways, they felt they should be thankful. In others- they felt like it was another thing proving they weren't supposed to be here.

"It never came off, so I guess I still need it." They mumbled, willing the issue to not be a big deal. To be unbothered by the shiny red presence.

"It's kind of like a birthmark." He said, admiring it with something akin to wonder in his eyes. "I have one too!"

"A what? You do?" Lake had never noticed anything like that- but then again. They hadn't exactly been looking for it either.

"Yeah!" Jesse was wearing shorts, no surprise considering it was summer. He pushed the pant leg up a little further, pointing at what looked like a bruise on his thigh.

"It's kind of hard to see but- these lines right here!"

"It looks like veins. Are you sure it isn't a bruise?"

"It's not!" He insisted. "My parents thought that too- took me to the doctor because it didn't go away."

He seemed confident, but Lake wasn't convinced.

Still.

Maybe their mirror wasn't so odd. A birthmark. It was their first day free. It made sense.

"It's kind of like that, huh." A part of them wanted to cover it. The memories still so fresh. They could still recall being reflected in the mirror. Before the Chrome Car. Before the train.

"You don't have to keep your pants rolled up all the way. You can just change when we go home." He offered. His eyes were on their feet, swaying with the lapping current.

"Thanks," they mumbled, trying to find somewhere to set their own eyes. An angle that might hide the warmth they felt on their face. It wasn't a big deal if they didn't want it to be.

They'd only glanced away for a moment, the soft press of lips against their knee- against the mirror, jerking them back to reality. To Jesse. He smiled at them, shy and earnest.

"But I like it. I think it suits you. It makes us similar." He tapped the not-bruise for emphasis.

Lake would have loved to blame the heat for the way they sizzled inside, but it was a luxury they weren't exactly privy to.

"Yeah," they tried to bite down their smile. To not look so pleased. "It's not so bad."

They didn't bother covering it, before putting their foot in the water. Kicking at the waves lazily.

[polyamorouspunk]

heyheyhey!!! how’s yr friday been? how’d it go? I totally nailed a presentation and am feeling pretty good!! what’re yr thoughts on summertime? I think it’s way too hot but sometimes it’s nice :D

Congrats on your presentation! What was it on?

Summertime is nice because there’s a lot more events that happen, but also yes I overheat easily, possibly due to the antidepressants, possibly also due to just slightly more weather intolerable than most people. I will say however I can stand heat pretty well in my room. I took a nap while it was 88 in my room today. My room can reach up to 95 in the summer. So that’s not ideal either but like 🤷🏼 the drawback of having such an awesome attic bedroom.

Today was good! I just finished up the hot chocolate I made laying in bed playing my new cozy switch game under my fairy lights! Work was nice, I had a customer I was working with for a while who said that I waited on him a lot but I probably didn’t remember him (I didn’t but I know the name since I deal with orders, and his last name is one that Punk was actually considering as a first name) and he told me every time he sees me my hair is a different color, which made me feel good because that’s what my family always says to me. I got to talk to him for a while while we worked on his order (sadly didn’t finish it, as our program sucks ass) but his company was featured in Trillium’s online newsletter, which is a company comparable to Medicare/medicaid but for mental health services, and I was like I have a Trillium t-shirt! And he was like really? Where did you get it? And I was like Pride. Gay people love free shit.

[catreginae]

I accidentally lost the ask that ❄️ anon sent! I don't have the exact wording, but they asked to see a picture and asked about how to take care of a chinchilla, especially regarding dust baths since that's popular content. I swear that ask was cursed because I've had to 'answer' it three times now and I'm not happy about it.

Obviously, this won't be a complete guide and you should always do a lot of research and preparation before committing to owning an animal. You should always make sure you can provide for an animal before getting one.

I'll start with the dust baths since they were brought up in the ask. Yes, Chi Chi has dust baths but unlike what I see on on Instagram at least, he has a cardboard box because my sister wants him to have a lot of room to dig and roll. Chinchillas actually need dust baths because they shouldn't get wet (their fur is too dense for it to dry easily) but they still get oils on their skin, so the dust baths solve that problem. He loves a good dust bath and he gets so excited when he sees us with his box, but too many dust baths will make their skin too dry, so Chi Chi doesn't get them as often as he wants.

There's also their cage set up to contend with. They can jump pretty high and they jump around a lot, so they do need a cage with some vertical space. We have three levels for Chi Chi with a lot of platforms and perches. He has a whole route he follows to get up and down his cage. Their cage also needs places for them to hide and be in the dark. We have a wheel for exercise but we had to get one off of Etsy because none of the pet store ones are big enough (they need to be at least 16" across to keep their spines straight while running).

For food, chinchillas eat timothy hay mostly (or something like orchard grass or botanical hay when he's feeling kinda picky). That is the majority of their diet and they need 24/7 access to it. Chinchillas constantly need something in their digestive tract so they do need that constant access to it. They can be wasteful though, so be prepared to give them lots of hay and then throwing out lots of hay too. I've watch Chi Chi eat half a piece of hay and then chucking the rest of it away because it was beneath him, I guess. We also give Chi Chi pellets and treats! Another ask had a treat question in it, so I'll answer that in there.

Temperature is really important to chinchillas becuase their fur is so dense that they have a hard time regulating their temperature. It's pretty easy for them to overheat, especially in the summer. His cage is in the basement when doesn't get as hot as the rest of the house, but we also have a mini AC unit, we have some fans, and marble blocks that we rotate in out of the fridge (the idea is that you always have one in the fridge so that when one gets warm, you switch it out). If it's really hot, sometimes we wrap up an ice pack and let him sit on that for a bit. So yeah, it's important to make sure they don't get too hot.

Their teeth never stop growing and that's super expensive if you have to go to the vet for that because chinchilla dentistry is super specialized. We've spent like $1300 on his two surgieres. That being said, they need chew toys to help with their teeth. You have to make sure that the wood is safe for chinchilla, so if you don't know what something of, don't get it for them. We go to Etsy for this a lot because the petstore selection is kind of small.

Anyway, I think that will be it for now! At least for this ask.

This is Chi Chi, hiding from the vet.

[solarpunkvince]

🥵🌦️🍂🤠 - for the ask game!!

Hi Arrow!!! Thanks for the ask :))

🥵 - Would you rather be too hot or too cold?

Too cold. My body runs hot so I overheat pretty easily (already am starting to not wear jackets in February rn) and when I overheat I panic which sucks.

🌦 - What’s your favourite weather?

20-25°C with some wind. Or a thunderstorm if I'm inside.

🍂 - What’s your favourite season?

Summer probably? Even though it can be way too hot, I prefer it over the massive amounts of rain in all the other seasons and I have a lot of happy memories in summer.

🤠 - Are you more of a city person or a country person?

Probably a city person if I have to pick, but only small cities. The city I currently live in has about 150.000 people and I think that's a great size. I get uncomfortable in really big cities but also being in bumfuck nowhere (that's where I grew up and I don't vibe with it) because I like having people around but too many makes me nervous. (Idk why)

From this ask game:

[thetreetzar]

asks 1-49

(no pressure I just thought youd enjoy answeing all of them bc I certainly do, also im genuinely curious)

Thank you!

This is a lot, so I'll put it under a cut

1. I kind of get freckles in the summer

2. I like tea and coffee. I like milk and sugar in both, but really only like coffee if it has loads of sugar.

3. Talking in Your Sleep from the FNAF movie

4. Not sure how I sleep. I seem to wiggle around. Once managed to very nicely unbury a blanket and correctly position it in my sleep

5. I sometimes will have stuffies on my bed

6. I prefer drawing silly little doodles

7. 1-3 blankets. Need a weighted blanket and then I'll have a quilt/blanket or two if it is cold

8. Favorite bands/artist are The Longest Johns, Uamee, and Hozier

9. My birthday is July 19th

10. I am 5 feet tall

11. My eyes are blue/green/grey-ish but I just say blue on my ID

12. My mutuals (especially June), My in-person friends, and Tom Scott

13. Changes in routine, not being able to live on my own, the future, <hj>the kids at my school</hj>

14. I like blue

15. I love winter and snow and the cold (I overheat too easily for other seasons)

16. I would love to have tattoos. Maybe like a trans thing on my thigh and definitely some nonsensical little guys

17. I think piercings would be fun. I have kind of thought about angel bites/fangs, industrial/helix, eyebrow, and septum. (I would not turn down those spin for a free piercing things)

18. The last person I've texted is my dad

19. My best (and longest) friend is Momo. I've known them since September 2014.

20. I miss Toys R Us, ketchup chips, and some friends I've lost touch with

21. My day has been good. I am making progress in cleaning

22. I got maybe like 6 hours of sleep last night

23. Aliens probably exist somewhere in the universe

24. I don't remember when the last time I cried was, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with my parents arguing and my brother and I being in the middle of it (my parents are restarting marriage counseling soon, don't worry)

25. I liked 2005-2010, it was nice being a little kid

26. Childish things I like include kids meals, the fun stuff made for babies, baby snacks like the puffs and Cheetos

27. I like too many books, but Louise Jenson is a great author, Because Internet was great, and I'm currently reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series

28. How am I? Absolutely terrified of graduating high school and being a Real Adult™️ 😀

29. Oh it can take forever for me to decide things. My strategy is that if it passes peer review and/or still seems like a good idea after a week or two than I should do it

30. I am looking forward to duck club on thursdays

31. I can't wait to get top surgery! (Hope to get it before 26 so I can still be on my parent's insurance)

32. If I could go anywhere, I'd go to Toys R Us/Canada and to visit my friends and mutuals

33. I sleep with the door closed because my cat Loki is not to be trusted

34. I like roses (trans flower) and sunflowers (tasty seeds)

35. I derive great serotonin from my mutuals <3

36. I like my middle name, now that I've chosen it myself

37. I love all animals

38. I don't think I have any proper phobias, just a lot of anxiety

39. It is easy for me to stay up late, however I can no longer be fine staying up late and getting up early the next day

40. I haven't really been to the beach. I prefer partly cloudy, like sunny but not hot or too warm

41. My favorite cartoon is Natural Habitat Shorts

42. Five of my favorite blogs are @one-time-i-dreamt @alltimemathhater @70snasagay @hrkrkrwpfrbrbrlablblblblwhitooap @shiftythrifting (sorry if being tagged in this annoyed anyone)

43. I have a younger brother

44. Probably my friends and mutuals are the last people I've said "I love you" to

45. I'd die for my pets, friends, and mutuals

46. I need a weighted blanket and probably also a snack when I'm sad

47. I have both my cell and landline numbers memorized

48. I feel I could trust my friends Momo and Vennie with my life

49. The last text I sent is asking where my dad parked

Thank you for the ask, and for reading this far if you have

[eggs-machiavellian]

15 and 43 :D

15. What’s your favorite season?  I LOVE winter. I overheat really easily so summer isn't a fun time for me. I live in the southern hemisphere and it's like, peak summer right now and it's rough. Haha. If I lived in the states I think I'd be pretty into autumn, too, because of all the beautiful colours the trees turn. Here the weather is just really mild, which is nice, but the trees don't do anything in particular, just kinda go brown!

43. Do you have siblings? How many? I have two! I'm from my mom's second marriage, so I have a half brother 15 (!) years older than me, and a half sister 12 years older than me. It's a big gap obviously, so I pretty much grew up as though I was an only child. That was a little lonely sometimes, but I did get a lot of attention from the family, being what we in South Africa call a "laat lammetjie" (literally "late little lamb")!

[cheswirls]

it's probably not necessary to explain the ethics behind each piece of clothing that uses (i don't wanna say "parts" but i am lost on the correct word right now) of pokemon in this au bc i think most ppl that read pkmn fic do so under the assumption that there is ethical consumption of pkmn-related goods as the norm and that only villainous ppl would resort to, say, poaching and using pkmn a la cruella deville.

regardless of the necessity, i think it's fun to come up with good moral reasons bc it forces me to think on the creation of such things and how each is perceived in the public eye, and also if that perception changes depending on, like, if it's a norm in one region but culturally inappropriate in another, or if someone unfamiliar with a pkmn species would have a different outlook on production, etc etc

that is all to say, i'm slowly working on the coordinator!sabo au again and since he wears such eccentric clothing, i've been trying to incorporate more pkmn aspects into each so it's not just all lace and frills and actually reflects the world a little bit more. not impt to the story overall but i love expanding the world in this way. it's like extra details i have in my back pocket that i can throw out if need be.

a few notes below that are more specific but also more ramble-y

there's a scene where it's snowing in goldenrod and sabo is outside bc the only suitable attire he has is a thick cloak and he hails from sinnoh so a little snow off the coast is nothing to him, so he's trying not to overheat by being indoors with it on.

i left it blank forever on what sort of feathers the fabric is lined with, but i thought if i could elaborate a bit more and have it fit, it'd be fun to have some of the stuff he wears relate back to sinnoh in some way. so the cloak is tentatively downed in shed starly feathers. only select things are made with starly feathers when it's shedding season because most of the stock isn't in good condition to be repurposed and used for goods, so any items featuring them tend to be quite expensive! i also think it'd be a cool tell if the feathers changed color slightly when they're shed, so someone would easily be able to tell if something was made from loose feathers versus, say, plucking them directly from the pkmn itself.

i think it depends on the pkmn species as to which goods are expensive and harder to come by, and which are more common and rather cheap depending on the season. in johto specifically, clothing lined with shorn mareep wool is very easy to acquire at the start of summer, even though it's too warm to wear until winter rolls around. this is because mareep shed in the spring, and by the end of the season, any products made with the wool are considered as overabundance and the price is significantly reduced in order to clear out the excess stock.

alternatively, anything made with altaria down fluff is always high quality and pricey. altaria are a lot harder to come by, and it's a rare commodity to raise an entire flock of swablu until they evolve into altaria. most of the time, acquiring altaria fluff/feathers has to be because of a mutually beneficial relationship. since altaria are more vulnerable while shedding, it's good practice to invite one to home on private land/property where they won't have to worry over falling prey to any wild pkmn that would take advantage of such weakness. bonus if the altaria have any swablu young they're nurturing, since a) swablu tend to shed their down in cycles with their kin, and b) an altaria is more likely to accept shelter if they have young to care for.

besides these two examples, i think it would be realistic to have "dupes" of pkmn goods without crossing the ethical line. the anime has pretty good examples in abundance, but here are more i've been thinking on myself:

one is passing an item made with a pkmn's features off as another pkmn's, specifically a more expensive feature to have an excuse to hike the price. claiming a winter coat that has an inner lining of mareep wool is actually made with altaria down, for example, in order to sell it for more (or sell more in general, perhaps offering an expensive item and mediocre price to encourage more ppl to buy) would be a merchant scam. more often these types of scams are used in cities with high tourist rates, because foreigners unfamiliar with the pkmn in question would be less likely to question the authenticity

another is using remnants of a pkmn attack to create what could pass as a held item. (idr if the anime did this exactly so if i am saying verbatim what is shown, you knew where it came from in my head) painting over the curved blades of grass from a razor leaf attack to look like a cresselia's lunar wing, or a sneasel's razor claw. or dyeing the scales from a magikarp to pass them off as ones from finneon or lumineon. anything that isn't clothing but might count as an accessory, or items the seller is claiming have special properties, would fall into this scam.

just because like!! even if i don't wanna touch on any illegal poaching/pkmn goods production, i do think it's not a perfect industry probably so having sham products floating around isn't out of the ordinary. it's another reason why branded items can get so expensive - because a brand and/or company has public backing and can be trusted. it's not the same trust as your local rancher neighbor offering milk and wool and such on the cheap, but it's a more broad level for those w/o such connections. on that note, selling product dupes claiming to be from a certain notable brand is a higher crime than simply lying about product authenticity

came up w/ most of this after i thought it would be really cute for sabo to get excited when he and ace run into a shop selling scarves made from altaria fluff and sabo coercing ace into buying a pair so they'd be matching. i think in current, sabo would have possession of ace's scarf, because his own ended up in tatters for some reason, and ace had given his own to a crestfallen sabo since he had it spare

i have it penned down that sabo wears elaborate contest outfits, but i'm slowly messing with the idea that he might have homage to whatever pkmn he's using with each fit. not really basing the whole look on his partner of choice, because he'd probably consider that gaudy, but something little that could relate to each. maybe!! still thinking on it.

i also thought it'd just be cool for him to have dragon pkmn items since he's a dragon type trnr. it's smth he goes especially crazy for because they're such rare finds

[lvsamine]

frost blue: does your muse enjoy the snow and cold? or are they the type to enjoy summer more?

raspberry: what food and/or drink can your muse not get enough of? do they indulge in it often, or is it something reserved for special occasions?

colorful headcanons // accepting

frost blue: does your muse enjoy the snow and cold? or are they the type to enjoy summer more?

(( Lusamine is a summer gal through and through, she hates the cold and snow. Kalos wasn't too bad in that regard, but the climate was one of the reasons she chose to move to Alola at eighteen instead of somewhere else - She much prefers warmer weather. It's a little inconvenient these days though, since she chooses to wear more modest clothing to hide her scars, and she's quite sensitive to extreme temperatures on account of The Fibro, so she overheats pretty easily.

"I'm fine!" Lusamine insists, sweating profusely.

raspberry: what food and/or drink can your muse not get enough of? do they indulge in it often, or is it something reserved for special occasions?

Lusamine really isn't much of a foodie? Most of the time she just eats because she has to, and she wouldn't be able to pick out a favorite food, so I suppose... Coffee would be the answer? She relies on it heavily to keep her functioning throughout the day, but it's something she never gets sick of despite how much of it she consumes. Which is a lot. She drinks so much coffee. ))