#it's going to be an issue when i have to hatch the eggs but well. we'll cross that bridge when we get there

[wings-of-fire-confessions]

Clay has literally no reason to believe that he's a monster, there is one incident from when he was literally just hatched (that he doesn't even remember) and that's used against him.

You think a better examples (more importantly MORE EXAMPLES OF HIM BEING A MONSTER) would be Clay being to big, he's probably stepped on sunny and hurt the other dragonets in training without realizing his strength but no just oh no baby cracks other egg.. Like it's literally him being gaslight his whole life or just poor writing.

Because this plot point which is meant to be a central issue to Clay is just suddenly resolved and it proves nothing, he never hurt anyone ever in the cave(except making baby Tsunami's head smash into the floor), Tsunami had more of a reputation as an abusive monster than Clay yet it's his issue? be fucking fr

This also proves he has no character development, his whole point was 'oh I'm lifted from my burden, finally I can grow away from that label' but that label just isn't even there to begin with because he himself has no knowledge of the event to even believe it. This also goes into how ethical it is for Bigwings to 'help' their siblings hatch ESSPECALLY with how it was displayed as Clay jumping onto another egg in the graphic novel, 'oh yeah Mudwings are stupid' nah duh their all developmentally stunted from being body slammed.

There's a reason you don't help an egg hatch as well, as stated by Grubbly farms tutorial to hatching chicks. As hard as this struggle can be to watch, don’t help the chick! It needs to build up its muscles so that it can walk and grow properly. Ntm helping the egg can also lead to it BLEEDING OUT. Same would go for any type of egg.

TLDR: Clay isn't a monster but the egg 'attack' or Mudwings helping their siblings hatch is completely unethical as displayed in the graphic novel as a BODY SLAM.

Tbh me working this out makes Clay seem like a monster so maybe there was a little character development with poor execution, but Kestrel buddy have evidence he actually remembers to gaslight him better you dumby or else the entire narrative is lost. It's not even mentioned by Dune and Webs either.

.

[astralprisms]

New gith who dis?

Saving her for patch 7 since I'm finally going to run Durge. Haven't settled on a name yet but I'm very into this look.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Welcome to my Tuesday morning PSA about plastics!

So--I was walking along the Bolstadt beach approach sidewalk here in Long Beach, WA yesterday afternoon, and I started seeing these little orange pellets on the ground that looked a little bit like salmon roe (but probably weren't). So I picked one up, and it was most definitely rubber. I went around picking up every one I could find, and while I didn't keep exact count I probably amassed 50-60 of them. I took this picture before depositing them in the nearest trash can.

These are airsoft gun pellets, and you can buy them in big jars containing thousands of them. That means that someone who decided that the beach was a great place to shoot their airsoft guns could easily litter the place with countless little bits of plastic rubber in less than an hour. We already have a huge problem here with people leaving trash, including tiny bits of plastic, all over the beach (you should see the gigantic mess after 4th of July fireworks when thousands of people come in from out of town, blow things up, and then leave again without picking up after themselves.)

But these airsoft pellets have a particularly nasty side effect. You know how my first thought was "wow, those look kind of like salmon roe?" Well, we have a number of opportunistic omnivore birds like crows, ravens, and several species of gull that commonly scavenge on the beach, especially along the approaches because people often feed them there. If I can catch the resemblance of an orange airsoft pellet to a fish egg, then chances are there are wildlife that will assume they're edible.

Since birds don't chew their food, they probably won't notice that the taste or texture is wrong--it'll just go down the hatch. And since they can't digest the pellets, there's a good chance they might just build up in the bird's digestive system, especially if the bird eats a large number of them--say, fifty or sixty of them dropped on the ground along the same fifty foot stretch of sidewalk. The bird might die of starvation if there's not enough capacity for food in their stomach--or they might just die painfully of an impacted gut, and no way to get help for it. If the pellets end up washed into the ocean, you get the same issue with fish and other marine wildlife eating them, and then of course the pellets eventually breaking up into microplastic particles.

You can get biodegradable airsoft pellets; they appear to mainly be gray or white in color rather than bright screaming orange and green. But "biodegradable" doesn't mean "instantly dissolves the next time it rains." An Amazon listing for Aim Green biodegradable airsoft pellets advertise them as "Our biodegradable BBs are engineered to degrade only with long-term exposure to water and sun and will degrade 180 days after being used." That's half a year for them to be eaten by wildlife.

I don't know, y'all. That handful of carelessly dropped rubber pellets just encapsulates how much people don't factor in the rest of nature when making decisions, even on something that is purely for entertainment like an airsoft gun. We could have had a lot of the same technological advances we have today, but with much less environmental impact, if we had considered the long-term effects on both other people and other living beings, as well as our habitats. We could have found ways from the beginning to make these things in ways that benefited us but also mitigated any harm as much as possible. Instead we're now having to reverse-engineer things we've been using for decades, and sometimes--like the "biodegradable" airsoft pellets--they still have a significant negative impact.

But--at least there are people trying to do things better, thinking ahead instead of just on immediate profit. We're stuck in a heck of a mess here, figuratively and literally, and changing an entire system can't be done in a day. Maybe we can at least keep pushing for a cultural shift that emphasizes planning far into the future--if not the often-cited "seven generations ahead", then at least throughout the potential lifespan of a given product.

[risaonda]

current gaming setup (very funny):

sitting in bed wrong

scarlet up on the tv, making egg power sandwiches

laptop on. watching sonic x. 30 minute timer up in the other tab to let me know when my sandwich runs out

periodically hitting the a button to check the basket for eggs

intermission (pause sonic x, make another sandwich, resume)

[watcherintheweyr]

'Rhaenyra is a bad mom bc she knowingly gave birth to bastards and she knew how much danger they'd be in!!!!'

1. She had no way of knowing those babies wouldn't pop out looking exactly like her, beforehand. And unfortunately she couldn't stop at Jace. The throne needed an heir. Driftmark needed an heir. And a spare was needed as well, given the sheer rate of Targaryen children dying untimely deaths.

2. She had to provide heirs to the throne, and to Driftmark. If she hadn't, society wouldn't have blamed Laenor, they would have blamed her- which makes her position even more unstable, bc then she 'can't fulfill a woman's duty' so why would men think her 'able' to fill a 'man's role' by ruling the kingdom? And she and Laenor tried. He was either unable (meaning infertile or impotent, or unable to get it up), or unwilling. (And they did try. We dont know what they tried but Rhaenyra is shown to be clever in the show so honestly i have no doubt she attempted what Margaery suggested with Renly.) Laenor was in on the entire thing. He was aware of every part of this. He wasn't duped, he wasn't cuckholded- it was a plan greenlit by him, bc this way he and Rhaenyra would both have their heirs and a family. This cannot in any way shape or form be compared to Cersei cuckholding Robert (fuck Robert Baratheon tho), seeing as Robert was **not** at all aware that his children weren't his, and wouldn't have been OK with that.

Either way- she chose not to maritally r*pe her husband and put him through more trauma after it was clear their attempts weren't working. Yall are always so upset for Alicent (rightfully so, bc show!alicent was maritally raped, even if it wasn't considered as such in that time), but you... WANT Rhaenyra to do that to Laenor? Hello???

[And no. Rhaenyra did NOT rape or coerce Criston Cole. The actors, writers, and directors have all stated their sex was consensual and 'an act of love.' It was Rhaenyra going to someone she felt close to and trusted after feeling abandoned and unwanted and betrayed. In that scene you literally watch, as after Cole tells Rhaenyra to stop undressing herself, she moves aside so she isn't blocking his way to the door. The director states that the moment they show Cole folding and setting down his cloak was him choosing his desire over his oaths. And Criston Cole has known Rhaenyra since she was 14. He knew damn well the sort of person she was- and she was not the person who would have harmed him for saying no. She was an intoxicated and emotionally vulnerable 19 year old- Criston was in his late 20s to early 30s. And it's explicitly stated in ep.9 that the ONLY person a Kingsguard cannot refuse is the king. In ep.7 Criston disobeys a direct order from Alicent when she wants him to mutilate Lucerys. Criston Cole was not assaulted. Stop trying to assign Aegon's sins to Rhaenyra so that you can feel better for supporting him.]

3. In the books, the rumors of their bastardry at large halted when all of Rhaenyra's boys' cradle eggs hatched. The ONLY people who continued to try and raise issue were the core green faction. But the realm at large *did not give a fuck* why? Because every actually relevant party claimed those boys. Repeatedly and without flinching. Laenor claimed and loved those boys even face to face with Alicent's bullshit. Corlys claimed and love those boys- he was proud of them, and it's been stated by the actor in the show that Luke was his favorite- that given the... events of ep.10, Corlys will be out for blood. And Viserys repeatedly insisted upon their legitimacy- because Laenor and Corlys claimed them, because he knew that by forcing Rhaenyra to marry Laenor in order to repair the damage his insults caused House Velaryon, that he had backed her into a corner.

Rhaenyras boys are remembered to history as Velaryon. Even **Green supporters** noted that they were good, capable, intelligent, and **worthy** princes. That their deaths were unfortunate *for the realm.*

Legally, those boys are legitimate. They cannot be proven illegitimate without Laenor renouncing them, and he never did. Furthermore, trying to declare children illegitimate due to their appearance is a stupid, dangerous precedent. The fact that it's people who have no ties to House Velaryon pushing these rumors and pushing for disinheritance makes it even worse, because they're meddling in the succession of a House that *is not theirs.* if that became a standard, imagine the feuds and conflicts that would erupt- lords pushing for the children of rivals to be declared illegitimate all for the sake of trying to grasp and steal land, power, and influence as a norm? The realm would tear itself apart. Not to mention the sheer danger that would place women in, in Westeros.

Furthermore, even whilst usurping her, even while calling her children bastards, the Greens also imply Laenor's homosexuality was inherited by the Velaryon princes- that they would use Rhaenyra's 'promiscuity' and Laenor's 'predilections' to turn the Red Keep into a brothel- ironic, considering that's more what Aegon would've done. So even while claiming that Rhaenyras children are bastards that shouldn't inherit, they try to state that what the boys inherit or learn from Laenor makes them unfit for the throne. They can't keep their own damn story straight- because their usurpation was never about what is moral, what is right, or the greater good. It was about greed. Power. Sexism.

It doesn't matter what those boys looked like, especially seeing as Rhaenys had dark hair in the books. What matters is that Corlys and Laenor and Viserys claimed them and declared them legitimate, and that they **never** deviated from that.

As for Vaemond, he was a second son. And he waited until Corlys and Viserys were dying and too ill to stop him to make a grasp for power. Youre not supposed to look at that and feel hes in the right. Youre supposed to look at that and see a man consumed by greed, and literally trying to bury Corlys' will and intentions before the man is even in a grave. He was NEVER Corlys' heir- he just wanted power. It wasn't about his House, or their legacy, it was about him.

(And before yall start shit about Rhaenyras boys stealing Laena's girls' inheritance... Rhaena and Baela are *TARGARYEN*. Not Velaryon. Their claim was to the throne or to any holdings in Daemon's name. NOT to Driftmark.)

Rhaenyras boys being betrothed to Rhaena and Baela tied up any issue of 'Velaryon blood.' Baela would have been queen consort of the seven kingdoms at Jace's side, and they very clearly adored one another in book and show. Rhaena would have been Lady of the Tides- which she never would have had a chance for, without Rhaenyra (and Laena) making those betrothals. She and Luke were also canonically very close- and in show she's very encouraging of him whenever he looks nervous or uncertain. They had a bond.

Rhaenyra stole nothing. She gave those girls more. And she loved them- they were the only daughters she got to have, seeing as the Greens treachery caused the early death of baby Visenya. If she hadn't loved them, she wouldn't have trusted Rhaena to look after Joffrey or give her Morning's egg from Syrax. She wouldn't have immediately invited both girls to the table when she was queen, which is something her father did not do for her until much, much later. He allowed Rhaenyra's voice to be silenced too often when she was first made heir. Rhaenyra did not repeat that hurt to her girls or her boys.

Anyways, moving on.

You lot do also remember that Rhaenyra herself has Velaryon blood, right? Jaehaerys I's mother was Alyssa Velaryon. Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya the Conquerors' mother was Valaena Velaryon. It's not immediate, but there *is* Velaryon blood through *all* of Rhaenyras boys.

Ultimately, Rhaenyras boys were only in danger because of the core Green faction usurping the throne. If they hadnt- no succession crisis or rebellion could have truly threatened Rhaenyras boys- because none of them would have had dragons. All of Rhaenyras children loved one another- her sons by Daemon would not have turned on her sons with Laenor (and Harwin). They were a true, loving family- possibly one of the healthiest and most close knit one House Targaryen ever boasted.

And another thing... 'her having babies with Harwin was stupid, she should have picked someone Valyrian!'

Here's the thing. Rhaenyra had to be careful as hell choosing who would father her and Laenor's heirs. She had to choose someone who was physically close, and who could be trusted. Someone who wouldn't try to publicly claim those boys in boast or jealousy. Someone who would keep their mouth shut and had no ambition of their own in regards to the throne. Do you really think Vaemond Velaryon (as I see him suggested a lot) would've kept his mouth shut? That he wouldn't have tried to use this to blackmail Rhaenyra and Laenor for more power and status? Do you think Rhaenys would have ever fought for or supported Rhaenyra if Rhaenyra had tried to have Corlys sire her children? And flying to see Daemon in Pentos and having a purely Valyrian child 9 months later would have made things look even more suspect.

Furthermore... she chose someone who cared for her deeply. Who clearly had a positive relationship with Laenor. She chose someone so she wouldn't have to traumatize herself- she took power over her body in a way almost no Westerosi woman has ever been able to. They were a family unit- Rhaenyra, Laenor, and Harwin. Those children were loved and cherished by two fathers and their mother. They were raised never doubting their mothers love, nor their father's- either father. They were raised and educated to be true, good princes of the realm.

Rhaenyra fought like hell for her children. She was an incredible mother. Yall just believe everything the Green faction says without looking at it critically, and that's unfortunate as hell.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

any thoughts on lilias parenting style?

I’ve long held the belief that Lilia is not the “best” or “perfect” parent in TWST, but I love that he’s so imperfect yet is willing to learn and grow from his failures and shortcomings. It’s really commendable how far he has come, especially considering that he used to be much gruffer and made claims like he never wants a child or he’s not suited to be a father and is repulsed by the very idea of it.

It’s sad to think about how, for the longest time, Lilia believed he was incapable of loving others—both receiving love and giving it in a parental capacity. He says as much to Meleanor before what could be her last stand. Bro has so much love to give 😭 and it’s so fascinating to see book 7 focus on that love between parent and child, blood be damned.

Of course Silver is the quintessential child we all think of whenever Lilia’s parenting is brought up. Silver says it must have been tough for Lilia to raise him as a single parent and with limited knowledge of human children—but Lilia still did it, and out of the kindness of his heart, for an infant who was essentially a complete stranger. However, as far back as the human-fae conflict of Briar Country, Lilia was literally throwing his life and reputation on the line for his “children”. He protected Malleus’s egg with his own body. He provided the magic that would shave off several hundred years from his lifespan to ensure that his prince hatched. He allowed himself to be chased out of the capital city but still made the time to be there for Malleus, as well as shielded Silver from the ugly truth. In modern day, we also see Lilia him imparting sage wisdom onto his boys and making efforts to help them with their own downfalls: advising Malleus on the differences between fae and humans, asking the other first years to watch over Sebek, inviting Malleus to events, reminding Sebek to be kind to his human peers, etc. Above all else, Lilia promotes understanding, and wishes for a world where all the races can live together. He leaves Silver with the same sentiments, and in him, Lilia’s legacy of love can live on.

As I said briefly mentioned before, Lilia isn’t perfect. He’s putting his own life in danger and taking the emotional brunt of the events of the past for them. He hides the circumstances surrounding Malleus’s birth, the truth behind Silver’s origins, and many other details pertaining to the warring period. In modern day, Lilia is quick to make an exit when the dark carriage comes for him, trying to save his boys the agony of a prolonged good-bye. There are also just general parenting failures under his belt: feeding babies milk through a cup (you’re supposed to use a fitted nipple, otherwise the baby could choke), not being concerned when Silver is missing + expecting him to come back on his own, general emotional insensitivity and unawareness (him laughing when Silver realized their ear shapes are different and they’re not actually blood-related), leaving Silver unsupervised in their forest cottage while he goes off to travel, taking his pranks and mischief too far (thus causing trouble for Silver, such as Endless Halloween Night), his… cooking… etc. He does manage to mend some of those issues (like having the Zigvolts help watch Silver or letting slightly older Silver housesit with the animals), but other issues like the milk in a cup persist. Additionally, Lilia can be inconsistent with his emotional awareness, as he does not realize his Halloween mischief would worry Silver as much as it did. At the same time, Lilia is overall more in tune with his son’s feelings (he’s one of the few who can read the notoriously stoic Silver’s emotions flawlessly). However, Lilia still prioritizes keeping his childrens’ eyes away from the truth and instead is shouldering the pain for them. We find ourselves circling back around to all the sacrifices Lilia has made for Malleus, Silver, and yes, even Sebek—and I’ll bet that Lilia is willing to go the distance and do more.

I actually wonder if Lilia’s “I’ll shoulder everything for you” parenting originates in part from him overcompensating for the love he never received as a child. He was an orphan taken in as a ward for his country, shunned by the Briar Valley senators for being some filthy bat with no proper lineage to speak of. He didn’t get the girl he crushed on and instead lost her and his best friend (still MIA) to the war. He was banished from the capital and loathed for his mere existence. He had things thrown at him and was chased out of cities. Lilia has experienced so much hatred and vitriol that I would not fault him if he turned bitter and sent that same hate and vitriol back. That would be the easy thing to do. But… he has also experienced great kindness and acceptance along his travels. Strangers inviting him into their homes. People telling him about their lives. Offerings of food and a warm bed. It is through these experiences that Lilia is shown an alternative: a world of love, not war. Then, upon seeing these children in need of guidance, he sees a younger version of himself in them—lonely (Malleus, isolated in his castle), lost (Silver, without his parents), confused (Sebek, about his half fae/half human identity). He knows what could become of them if he lets hate envelop their hearts. And Lilia doesn’t want what he suffered through to befall them, nor a future where the same vitriol is perpetuated. So… he throws himself into ensuring these boys have a guiding star, someone who champions empathy and cooperation between all races, at the cost of himself.

It’s fascinating to consider that Silver (the one who was most closely raised by Lilia) reflects his father’s teachings but also Lilia’s self-sacrificial behavior, even though Silver isn’t fully aware of what Lilia gave to raise him. Silver consciously believes that he hadn’t done enough to “pay back” his dad (similar to how Lilia may have taken Malleus under his wing to “pay back” his debt of Maleficia taking him as an orphan in and not being there for Meleanor in her final battle). To compensate, Silver keeps pushing himself to do things like suppress his own sadness at Lilia’s farewell party, taking physical blows for Lilia, and even believing that he isn’t worthy of Lilia’s love. I guess the sayings “like father, like son” and “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” are applicable here.

Anyway! Lilia as a father (whether literally or figuratively) will never not be interesting to me.

[bailey-dreamfoot]

‼️‼️THE GRAMPA SQUAD COMIC IS DONE‼️‼️

Ok so, wee explanation + headcannons under the cut.

Ok so assuming you've stuck around for my insane ramblings, heres the gist:

This comic is very much inspired by Factual Fantasy's Comics about Marsh, Natquick, and Calico Jack. And while my personal head cannon does share in the idea of the group working together- I thought it would be hilariously fun to include Inkling, and tbh it focuses more on him than the others anyway.

In the show, inkling doesn't really get out much. There are really only a few episodes where he has a significant role, and even less when he actually participates in missions outside of *insert knowledgeable insight*.

I believe this is for 2 reasons:

He just prefers the comfortable vibe of his library. The book-worm role fits his personality well - enjoying studying or cataloging species alongside Shellington - and he likes spending time with the Vegimals.

His Mobility issues. While he can very easily traverse the watery environments in the base show- in a&b, he doesn't really show much interest in exploring the land until he's told an old friend was the one in need of help. He has the ability, its just difficult- and he knows his limitations.

Inkling has his hover chair, that allows him to move around the octopod relatively easily. However - in the Min episode - they make it a point that he cant take it with him on land, or use it over rough terrain.

My version of Inkling uses an actual wheelchair, so I thought it'd be a neat idea that after that adventure- he'd want to try joining missions more often. And to deal with said mobility issues and limitations- say they got specialized tires for his wheelchair- so he could go join up on land missions more often.

After going on a few more missions with the other Octonauts, he hears about Octoagents Calico Jack, and Professor Natquick joining up with Ranger Marsh to help out in the Everglades- you best bet he jumped at the opportunity to tag along. Think of all the species he could ad to his personal catalogue. They might even discover a few new ones! Leaving the Octopod for so long after being basically the one constant to the place was a bit scary sure - and the other Octonauts were certainly emotional ab him leaving (especially Barnacles) - but maybe a change of scenery would do him good.

Sooo He does that! Professor Inkling meets up with the others on a dock near Marsh's Ranger station and get to work! One of the coolest things they did was collecting egg samples and catching an adult specimen of a newly discovered trapdoor spider! the Pine Rockland Trapdoor. Marsh Has a nursery where he cares for tons of snakes, lizards, insects and birds to make sure they have the best chance for survival. Thats where these eggs are going- to hatch in safety and then be released back into the ecosystem. On top of that, they take samples of the adults venom for study, and inkling is sure to make a detailed report of the arachnid in his many journals brought along with him!

As you may expect, Kwazzi takes after his grandad in his fear of spiders. Jack has seen worse, but It doesnt make it any easier to be close to them. Natquick on the other hand- In all his time in the arctic hes never seen anything as freaky as a spider bigger than a quarter.

Aaand that's it! I'm hoping to do some more comics with the lads in the future, although probably not as detailed as this one. It took more than 2 weeks- please.

Also, I find it kinda goofy that the panels get more detailed as you go along. Thats what happens when the first and last panel were made almost a month apart from each other. 💚

Also also- yes I did do actual research for the animals in the last comic. It was going to be a funnel web spider they're researching, but then I looked it up and found out Funnelwebs don't live in the Everglades. :']

[kariachi]

I've said it before, I say it a lot honestly, but I love the reasonable assumptions we can make about firelizards breeding and social habits based on what we see in primarily DragonsDawn.

Like, we've got the basic 'greens Rise a lot and don't tend their nests while golds Rise more rarely and fiercely tend their nests'. That's great, we love us some behavioral morphs in species. But then you also have to consider what would lead to such a thing, namely that both of these behaviors have to be successful, and successful in comparison to each other, in order for one to not completely take over from the other. Meaning that each option has benefits over the other.

For instance, in years or seasons where there's a large predator population, gold clutches are probably the most successful as they're the best guarded. But if you're dealing with horrible weather, or gods forbid a Pass, the fact green clutches are spread out far and wide means it's more likely one or more will survive, while a gold needs just one bad storm or Fall to wipe her whole year's breeding opportunities off the map.

But like, the most obvious one is a pure numbers game. If you don't invest in your eggs post-laying, that frees you up to get back into laying condition sooner and make more eggs. For instance in emus you'll see a female lay 5+ eggs in a single nest, but then she leaves that business to the male and runs off to eat well and find another guy to foist eggs on, ending up with sometimes even five nests in a season. But if you do invest in your eggs post-laying, you get more security in-so-far as assuring your eggs hatch. In emus the males do that, they get the best of both worlds there, but even more effective is to have multiple individuals looking out for the eggs.

Which is where their eusocial-style behavior comes in! By having the rest of the group dedicated to supporting the gold as she guards and tends her nest, the cost of nest tending is spread out, reducing the load on any one member of the group. The same thing happens with youngcare, which seems to be wholly communal, again reducing the cost for any individual member of the group. But eusocial behaviors are most efficient when members of a group are related, you don't want to waste your life raising young that don't share your genes.

Then you remember that firelizards form mental bonds at birth, bonds that they can break with no issue but that they can and do maintain throughout their lives. Taking this and the last paragraph into account, most likely collections of wild firelizards are mostly formed of sibling groups. Even if your bronze brother didn't catch the gold this year, helping with the clutch improves the odds he'll catch next year, and in the meantime you have plenty of opportunity with the greens.

This also probably plays into the fact they hum for all allied births. A green's nest doesn't get tended, but the young still need feeding at hatching. If you're a male then coming when you get the psychic 'birth here now' signals is an easy choice because there's the real chance these are your brother's offspring and his reproductive success is second only to your own. If you're a female, this nest is likely a sister's, in which case same deal, their success is only second to yours. On either side, having more babies around means a higher chance of any individual baby not being eaten by a predator, increasing the survival odds of your own children.

And then all this likely plays into the various male morphs and the color and size differences between ranks. I've mentioned elsewhere- the various male morphs are likely optimized to chase different female morphs. Blues can keep up with the quicker, more agile greens, bronzes with the slower, longer flying golds, and browns are a 'jack-of-all-trades' rank that doesn't specialize but instead can successfully chase either female morph, just with lower odds than the specialized males.

As far as size differences go, it's again all on the females to start. Golds lay larger clutches and defend them from things like wherries, they need to be larger to fit more eggs, to better defend their nests, and to drive off rival golds. Bronzes have to be large to keep up with the golds when they Rise. Greens specialize in laying more clutches and so likely smaller clutches, so they don't need to get as big and can instead focus on evading predators and even being able to lure predators from a freshly laid clutch without getting snatched up, small size is useful there. Blues are also small because it allows them the speed and maneuverability to chase greens. Presumably the reason they're larger than greens are is due for some reason to their being male, likely related to the complex genetics likely tied to rank*. Browns are in the middle because it allows them enough speed and maneuverability to go for greens, but also enough stamina to try for golds.

Color, meanwhile, is likely a camouflage thing. Blues, greens, and browns are all natural colors, perfect for making it harder for predators to notice you. According to the DLG firelizards come in a variety of shades, I wouldn't be surprised if there was even a degree of midtones between the various ranks. Golds and bronzes, meanwhile, I think are more likely a matter of reflective camouflage. A gold on a nest may be hard to look at in bright light, or at a glance appear to just be a patch of wet sand. If a gold has to leave the nest, more likely the sire would be left to guard it, and similar camouflage would fill a similar role. It might even, for some bronzes, give the impression that the larger gold is still on the nest, deterring predators that don't want to tangle with one. Since the smaller ranks are far less likely to be on a nest, more matte tones to mack dirt, wood, sky, foliage would be most effective.

It's all just fascinating and not quite like anything we have on Earth, though you can make parallels between several different Earth species. Absolutely love it.

[factorydefaultlu]

aemond catching the reader taking care of a baby dragon that’s hungry and needs attention (so cute) without fear and he is completely enamored by it? 💓

Anon asked: Can you make a hc of Aemond opening up to the reader about his insecurities?

I mixed these two asks

Keeper of his Heart

Aemond Targaryen x GN!Reader

Aemond had gotten tired of his brother rather quickly that day. Aegon had brought up his favorite subject; the pig, and his eye. Aemond quickly excused himself, ignoring his brother telling him to "Stop being so sensitive."

The young prince wished he could take his brothers eye just to show him how it feels. Aegon's whores would surely turn in fear.

Aemond made his way to the Dragon Pit, he needed to clear his head. A ride on Vhagar may accomplish that. As he approached, he nodded a greeting to the Keepers.

The men looked at each other, almost in fear. Then one stepped forward. "Uh, your grace. Vhagar has brought back an egg. We don't think it's hers, but she refuses to give it up." the Keeper stated at his feet as he spoke, not wanting to look Aemond in the face.

"Let her have it, maybe if she hatches it I'll have two dragons." the prince smirked and continued his way into the Pit. He said hello to Sunfyre and Dreamfyre as he passed them.

The deeper into the Pit he went the more he started to hear this odd noise. It was like small screeching, but not of pain. More like laughter. Curiously he slowed his pace as he turned the corner to Vhagar's den.

There he saw his favorite Keeper, they had always had a kind word for him and never feared to look him right in the eye.

The Keepers back was turned and Vhagar was intensely focused on what was in their lap. She hadn't even noticed her rider. Aemond continued watching from afar, wondering what could possibly have his old girl so enthralled.

Soon that question was answered, he saw the flutter of tiny wings. Small screeches and growls echoed through the den, as well as laughter from the Keeper.

Aemond was in shock, they were playing with a baby dragon. Completely without fear, with childlike wonder even.

Vhagar huffed and stared at the Keeper. That must have been the hatchling from the egg she found, Aemond thought. How crazy it was to think that this Keeper is able to play with a hatchling in front of its mother. Whether she laid it or not.

Aemond smiled, and stepped forward finally gaining Vhagar's attention. The great she-dragon gave a rumbling purr in response as she looked at him. The Keeper turned around, and smiled when they saw the prince.

"Look what Vhagar brought home, my prince!" the Keeper lifted the hatchling. It's scales were a deep green, and the wing webbing was a golden yellow. It was beautiful.

Aemond approached the Keeper and the hatchling. "You're not afraid?" he asked as he came to a stop, staring down at them on the floor.

"Why should I be? If you respect a dragon it will respect you. You can't show fear." the Keeper responded, their eyes never leaving his.

The prince hummed, he knew this Keeper was special. He lowered himself onto the floor next to them. "What are you going to name it?" he referred to the dragon.

The Keeper looked at him wide eyed. "It's not mine to name, I can't ride a dragon. I'm not a Targaryen." they protested.

Aemond could think of a few way to remedy the Targaryen issue, he smirked at the thought. "Well, it seems you'll have to tell that to the baby in your arms." the hatchling nestled itself further in the Keepers lap, preparing for a nap.

They stared into Aemond's eye, a beautiful smoky blue, they thought. "Why is it you always wear your patch? Certainly your scar can't be that bad."

The prince scoffed a laugh. Then looked to the ground, they had not been around when he was maimed. Only arriving after he started wearing the patch in his late teens. They never got to see the way men and women alike, would turn away from him in fear and disgust. Even when he began wearing his sapphire, the whispering and teasing never stopped.

Aemond worked hard to become someone to fear, no one would dare say anything to the man that can have their head in seconds. Aside from Aegon unfortunately.

"I promise, this patch keeps you from the horror below." Aemond looked back up at the Keeper. "It's a scar, and a missing eye. A horrible thing that happened to you. You shouldn't be feared for what others have done." their voice was steady as they spoke.

"My dear, I wish that were true."

[a-fluffy-dog24]

The legend of the sea bros

The boys are off on an adventure at sea And talk about they issues and they need each other emotionally and physically to survive. Ford is trying to reject the help from his brother that he desperately needs.Stan is so worried about his brother that he forgets that sometimes he needs to rely on his brother for support.

September,8,2012

It was a beautiful morning off the coast of South America Stan was standing on the deck of their boat. "Good morning you up early" Ford said sarcastically Stan sticks his tongue out at him Ford rolls his eyes. "At least I don't go to bed at 8:00 "Stan teased "well at least I'm not hungover" Ford teased "Shut up and give me my coffee".

Ford handed him his coffee "what have you been up to this morning" "well I shower made breakfast and, I packed us supplies for today". Stan ate breakfast then they headed out to go exploring.Stan is wearing a red beanie and a white shirt and brown coat,blue pants Ford is weairing red sweater and blue coat,black pants boots They went through the forest, and caves and found a small black egg with red spots alone on the ground. Ford wants to take it to learn more about what creature it is he never seen an egg that color before. Stan thinks he shouldn’t.Because he remembered that time during the summer when he hatch a dinosaur egg and it end badly for his wallet. But Ford is interested on trying to hatch they had lunch on the top of the hill.

."Well Stanley we did it, do you remember when we were 12 years old and we found a boat and named it the StanOwar". "Yea seems like only yesterday I remember mom came to check on us to make sure we weren't missing she thought it was so cute"Stan said "yeah she took this picture of her two little adventurous" Ford put out the picture and showed him and Stan remember “we try to paint the whole thing" ,"I remember you through paint at me" Ford teased. "Yea by the time we were done we were covered in paint" "do remember how upset mother was"Ford said "She was pissed we didn't have shirts we were sunburned that was not a fun night "Stan remember

"Anyway this sandwich is beautiful” he says well eating “oww god I have a bad headache” he complains . “Do you take your meds this morning” Ford asked “no” he replied “well that’s probably why you need to take them when we get back”. They packed up and hiked back to the beach to their boat. They can see the sunset fading from blue to red."Did you see that" Stan asked "what did you do you see" "sixer I think a sea monster maybe". They ran onto their boat and put the egg down somewhere safe "I don't see anything" "never mind let go"Stan pulled up the aker. They sailed out to sea for a while then they saw it bobbing in the water.

Stan look at the water it rose from the water "LOOK THERE IT IS GET SOMETHING TO KILL IT WITH holy SHIT it's huge".The giant monster starts attacking the boat "ok I got a spear" Ford grabs a spear and throws it at the huge green sea monster. It has one eye but he misses and the monster gabs Ford's arm and starts putting him overboard.He accidentally hit his head into the wall of the boat it makes him feel like the floor is moving up and down.He starts pulling away and hitting it hard with his hand but it no use "Fuck " Ford yelled Stan run over and punks the monster in the eye, "GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER YOU SON OF A BICH "he yells.It goes away back into the water, Ford laughs "you did it how hard did you punk it ""I don't know hard enough I guess".

Ford has difficulty sitting down because the his body is shaking and his head really hurts. He tried to get up on the wooden box,but he is feeling frustrated that he keeps falling down do his dizziness."Are you ok" Stan looked worried as he can’t even sit down "I'm fine" "but you’re bleeding and you’re still dizzy let me help you". "No, I can take care of myself I manage to for 30 years” Ford tried to stop the large cuts from bleeding. On his hand and arm it bleeding all down his arm. But he can’t hold still long enough for the blood to clog.Stan dock the boat on the sandy shore but after he come up with a first a kit and a bowl  of soapy water. Ford takes the wet washcloth and wipes his arm ."Thank you" "I'm not going to let my brother get hurt by some dumb monster" he said hopeing that his brother will let him help. “I’m perfectly capable of tending to my own wounds ” it takes him a long while to rap a bandage around his arm.

Then the guys try to call Dipper and Mabel "mazel tov how do you turn this thing stupid on "Stan frustrated hit the phone "I don't know, did you read the intrusion they gave us"Ford said sarcastically."shut up it's working " ....... "Hi Grunkle Stan Hi Grunkle Ford"she yelled excitedly "Hi you guys"said Dipper "we have missed you kids"Stan told them . "What are you doing?"she asks "I just defeated a sea monster" Stan said proudly "how big was it" she wondered "It was huge bigger than the mystery shack" "wow cool"she added "are you sure you're not lying"Dipper questions.

"No he's not and I found this meritorious egg" Ford held it in his hand. It's almost as big as his hand "that's amazing, what do you think it is"Dipper wondered. "I don't know, we have to wait and see" "I think it's like a big butterfly"she hoped ." Mom and dad said we have to go to bed by" Dipper interrupted "by love you guys"she smiled and waved goodbye "bye bye ""by see you soon"Stan hung up  the phone.

Then later Stan makes dinner because if Ford made it they would be eating cereal for dinner.They eat dinner they have fish with carrots and drink their beer on the deck and watch the stars. Ford turns on a radio to listen to some 60s and 70s music.Stan looks angerly at Fords bandages. “Why do you drive me crazy” Stan asks frustrated “what do you mean what are you talking about” he has an idea about what this might be about. “Ford why won’t you let ME HElP YOU ” Stan yelled “because I’m a grown man WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH” he argued “CAUSE I LOVE YOU StanFord I’m trying to make sure you don’t fucking die…. I don’t want you to be hurt” Stan argued. “You need to let people help you sometimes” he finish saying

“I’m sorry Stanley I’m just so used to being independent I don’t realize when I need you” Ford apologize. “It’s okay…….remember when we were kids and we tried to be explores we made a car out of a box. Whore dumb little outfits with the stuff from dad’s shop” Stan reminisce and lit his pipe. Ford takes a sip of his beer “Yes we were really young I think 6 or 7 without are understanding how gravity works.We tried to see what would happen if we pushed it down the stairs with us in it.” “Oh boy that hurt but that didn’t stop us we got up and did it again”Stan laughed. “I think thats how I lost my first baby tooth” Ford told him. “Speaking of which remember in the Photo Booth when we were fooling around and I fall down on my head. I lost my front tooth I was such a stupid kid .” Stan sheepishly .

“Yup I didn’t enjoy explaining that to are parents,they we should have known better at 13 not to be roughhousing. They never got it properly fixed did they?”Ford add “yeah as a teen I got a fake tooth and that help. I mean now I have dentures so that Solve that problem.”He eat some of his food. Then he asks Ford “I've been going out with this girl” “are you sure it’s not a siren we don’t want to end up like the men in tales” Ford jokes. “NO she not or I hope really hope not ……Sixer hey do you want girlfriend", Ford looks up from his journaling "umm Stanley I don't know how to say this but" "oh do you boyfriend"he ask seriously ."I'm ok by myself..I have hobbies, I have the kids, I have you and that is all the love I need. Romance is a confusing feeling to me.I don't want a relationship at the moment I would probably prefer a male partner. It's has taken me a long time to accept that part of myself rather than me trying to run from it. But thank you for the offer".Stan took a smoke from his pipe and blew it off then he asked him.

"Ok just thought I ask....I still love you" Ford hug him and lifts Stan up a little "Hey put me down"Stan smiles at Ford “ since when can you pick me up off the ground you and your week nerd arms” Stan quested. “I’m stronger than you give me credit for little brother” Ford tease him. “Only 15 minutes there show off” Then Stan tried to licks him on the cheek, "what are you doing? No stop it". He moved closer "AHH STANLEY are you high'' Ford laughs "little bit "Stan laughs. "Do you want some" he asks "no I tried it in college I didn't like it and I'm still to mentally recover" he jokes "do you still smoke cigarettes" he asks. "No I quit been clean for 13 years or so" Stan tells him "well that's really great I know you were smoking for a long while good job " "Thanks I did it for the kids Soos brought me to the doctor and helped quit. But I still smoke cigars and stuff like to mix it up every once in a while. I guess that’s not as bad ."

"..Did you bathe today" Ford asked "well no" "that weed makes you stink like stunk go shower" Stan sticks his tongue out at him Ford rolls his eyes and smiles. "Oh bye the way I cooked you clean" Stan asked him "ok but please tell me you didn't use every pot and pan we own." Ford said and goes to start cleaning the mountain of dishes.But before he quickly realizes he needs to keep the egg warm. He picks it up from the blankets it had raps around it He put the egg under the a heat lamp and turned it on. Maybe they’ll have a new pet.

After Stan showers, they go to bed.12:00 am Ford got up to use the bathroom and he found Stan outside out the deck watching the waves. A 6 fingers hand was put on his back "Stanley what are you doing out here" "I couldn't sleep" "Did you have a nightmare". "Yes... I was in a room by myself in the dark and someone was telling me that I was worthless and I believe it.

The voice said it again and again but louder  and then dad came out of nowhere he told me to my face again that he thought I never was good for anything anyway. I...I COULDN'T"T DO A GOD DAM thing about it and I couldn't make it stop it's all my fault "he sobbed. Ford hugs him tightly "shhh okay you are not worthless without you I still be stuck in a another  dimension or the kids would gone.He really was a bad person it's feels a little worse to say that about our own father. But he hurt you and thats Something I can't let you be dragged down by for the rest of our lives. You're much more smarter than I am when it comes to noticing  things and braver too you really mean the world to me Stanley.

“Did you take your medicine this morning” “I don’t remember.. just to let you know you’re the one diagnosed with depression the medication is under your name” Stan told him he’ll have to call the pharmacy in the morning to get the prescription under Stanley name. “Come on let’s go bed” he whispers. He carried Stan like a small child and walked back inside. Ford decided that he too tried and exhaust from his withdrawal to drag himself to bed.

And he thinks that maybe this is a way to make up for his mistreat of his younger brother. Ford thinks that he is unhappy with himself for not being a good brother to him for being so selfish and stubborn even when Stan just trying to help him. He finds it difficult to let himself be cared for. Because he struggles with his shame of feeling like he doesn’t deserve to be loved. Stan would has no problem doing the same for him. Inside Ford gets his him his medicine and helps him in to bed. Stan looked at him and smiled a little bit and Ford thought maybe he still has a chance to change. He feels a lot better now that he’s brother looks to be doing alright. Ford wrapped a red plaid blanket around both of them they slept and cuddled side by side.

A day or two later they did some exploring on the beach of the new island it seems to be very populated by people. The locals are friendly to the twins they stop at a restaurant for breakfast "hey Ford do you want to hear the dream I had last night". "Maybe? Sure ""I had a dream that mom told me that she is proud of me for helping you..Isn't that weird". "Yea that odd I had a similar dream that she wanted me to be less stubborn and she was very happy that we're looking after each other".

"I wish mother was here"Ford told him taking a sip of his tea "I wish too but if it makes you feel better she knew" Stan comforted him "she knew about the portal and my disappearance" he asked. "Yes she is the only one I trusted and she knew I could bring you back. She gave me money when she could to help run it.And told me when she died I think that was a little while after the kids were born. She said to keep going to Bring you back." Stan took off his gold chain and opened it to show him.And in Lock it was a picture of the two of them and their mother.Ford touched with 6 fingers hand gently rubbing it and smiled Stan smiled too.After they finished their food they did some shopping at the market for supplies and food that should last them a few weeks. And get some cool stuff to show the kids.

"Is Shamans still alive" Ford asked him "umm no unfortunately he passed away a year ago from kidney cancer sorry" Stan told him. "That's a shame I thought we could go and see him is his wife Faith is she still alive" he said " Faith is she in a nursing home in Piedmont we could go with Michael if you wanted to" Stan offered Ford shook his head and agreed that they should when they get back home. Stan showed him a Hawaiian shirt he wants to buy even though he already has about 10. They headed to the ship and start dinner when the egg starts to hatch “look Stanley it’s hatching get my journal” Ford waits and watches what ever creature might come out.

“Lets hope it’s not a siren I don’t want to go through that again ” Stan hands him his phone a little brown head slowly pops out it has the ears of a cat and the eyes and mouth of a dog. A small round brown body covered in curly dark brown hair and a cat nose.Paws too big for it body thick tail with a white patch on the end. “Well that’s looks like something Mabel would draw she kind of cute” Stan try to pat her she moves away. “It’s incredible I’ve never seen anything like it before”Ford wrote down his observations.She jumped into his lap and licks his face “gross stop it be a good test subject ” Ford takes her and measures her height and takes pictures.Get a blood sample then he uses a microscope to look at her DNA.

A few hours later after Ford runs more tests Stan asks “You weren’t thinking of just using her to run your experiments and then getting rid of her were you”. “Well yes we can’t take care of a pet” Ford says “why not she can’t survive on her own just look at her” Stan points to her playing with a ball on the floor. “Ok you make a good point” he reaches out and gives her a scratch Stan pick her up and gives her her bottle. “How about Joy” he suggests “perfect” Ford agrees.They sailed around the world together from Colombia to Ireland to Australia to the Netherlands to Antarctica, to Africa and many other places looking for babes and treasure and creatures, myths .

[servethelight]

Shit I’ve noticed during my clone wars rewatch and my interpretation (very Obi-Wan focused because he’s my favorite character lmao):

(Includes spoilers obviously)

+ I love this show to bits, but it has horrible issues with consistency. Every other episode there is a new weapon or something introduced and we’ll never see it again. This is very prevalent in especially the first seasons.

+ Obi-Wan is such a fucking enabler. Like he tells Anakin his plans are stupid at least twice during the Malevolence episodes, but then joins him on all of those. It’s literally like: “Anakin this plan is reckless and won’t work, anyways what’s my part in your plan?”

+ Rex running into that metal pipe. I forgot about that and laughed for 20 minutes straight.

+ Anakin pulls a “Are ya winning son?” on Obi-Wan about Ahsoka.

+ I once saw a post that it isn’t confirmed that Obi-Wan and Cody are friends, but you have Obi-Wan literally marveling on how competent the commander is and Cody always going the extra mile to save his general’s ass. To me that’s pretty much a friendship.

+ The Jedi are in general very gentle, but quite touchy. They might not go for hugs, but there is always someone touching someone’s shoulder or waist. And they’re just so fucking kind. I don’t think I ever noticed that as a kid, but they’re so respectful about life and culture and always helping someone. I just love them so much.

+ And I love the understanding and kindness the clones have. They’re soldiers and programmed to kill, but they’re also good people in most cases. I just wanna hug most of them.

+ My mother told me I cried as a child during the episodes with the Zillo beast. Well, I didn’t cry again, but I’m still so fucking mad at Palpatine for putting that poor creature in that position. If he just had listened to Mace Windu (more of the characters should actually, just saying) that poor animal wouldn’t have killed people and found its end like that.

+ Mortis is quite hated by the fandom but for me it’s a defining showcase of Obi-Wan’s, Anakin’s and Ahsoka’s relationship. I’ve seen people in the fandom saying that Anakin would’ve turned out differently if Obi-Wan would’ve told him he’s proud and took care of his feelings. This episodes literally show that he does exactly that and Anakin still doesn’t give a shit.

+ Anakin tells the son in his dream, that he’ll never come to the dark side willingly. Only to walk over to the literal manifestation of the dark side like 10 minutes later to save Ashoka. I came to the conclusion that the only way to tempt him was by promising to save his loved ones. I still think it was a really awful and greedy thing to become Vader for that, but I must admit it’s a noble character trait to put others first.

+ Kit Fisto doesn’t have nipples. Therefore I’ve concluded he’s isn’t a mammal and hatched from an egg like Nemo the clownfish. (And no, that isn’t a animation thing, Rex does have nipples when his shirt is off).

+ The discussion with my gf about Kit Fisto nipples and Star Wars biology also touched the topic of “how does Maul use the bathroom”. My conclusion is: he has a stoma, because the lower abdomen, where that would be, is always covered.

+ Hardcase mentions he is hyperactive. I now see him as my favorite ADHD clone, because having ADHD myself I can fucking relate.

+ I forgot Waxer died on Umbara and bawled my eyes out. Waxer is one my favorite clones and when he cried while dying I just couldn’t take it.

+ My friend spent the entire Umbara arc just simping for the clones (mostly Jesse), while I was suffering. So maybe they look hot or something for people attracted to men in this episodes.

+ In the episode after the Umbara the duo usually consisting of Waxer and Boil is sent out, but this time it’s just Boil and I was about to bawl again.

+ For being called “the negotiator” Obi-Wan gets his ass beat quite a lot after his “negotiations” (aggressive flirting).

+ While I’ll never forgive Obi-Wan for doing that Raako Hardeen shit, I nearly pissed myself when the Ziro the Hutt’s ex gf is flirting with not one but two women there. Like I didn’t expect her to be the fucking gay rep in clone wars.

+ I’m seriously never forgiving Obi-Wan for that. I can’t get over Ahsoka’s tear filled eyes while she’s holding his corpse. Also she doesn’t seem angry like Anakin just massively sad and disappointed after it is revealed that he’s still alive. Personally I believe she’s starting to doubt the order here.

+ Point three on hating on my favorite character for that shit, I feel like Anakin becomes quieter and less playful after that disaster.

+ Maul is me. He’s obsessed with Obi-Wan and mentions that he has massive problems what is going on inside his head. As a mentally ill person, that makes me feel really seen lmao.

+ The underwater episodes and the ones with Ventress on that train were just the most beautiful worlds I’ve ever seen. Like the planets in general are so beautifully designed in clone wars, I’m so in love.

+ Motherfucking “I said fuck the council and became a child soldier for a rebellion at 13” Obi-Wan Kenobi seems very reluctant on doing it again. There are two entire arcs of him disagreeing on helping rebels. First I didn’t understand, because like dude you literally did this before, but since he talks about his worries about bringing the separatists in or worsen the situation, I think the poor man is just a little bit traumatized.

+ After the events of Onderon I’m pretty sure Ashoka is already filled with doubts about the order, the republic and the war. I also feel like she’s feeling massively led down by Obi-Wan again, which broke my heart because I love their relationship.

+ I just realized he fails Ahsoka a third time, when she is captured by Hondo and Obi-Wan is supposed to help her. Instead he gets attacked by Grievous and is forced to postpone the helping them until they help themselves. I mean it’s not his fault but in Ahsoka’s place that wouldn’t feel good to me.

+ This particular fight with Grievous ignited my love for Obi-Wan again. Before he attacks Grievous he helps an injured clone and when he goes into the fight, Grievous directly kills a clone. Instead of his usual witty remarks, he just goes: “you’re gonna regret that” and jumps Grievous. He just loves his clones as much as I do.

+ One of the most beautiful shots in the entire series for me is in the episode before the droids find Gregor. This WAC droid looks into the desert and it reflects in his eye. Because of the cracks in the desert ground it looks almost like a retina. Beautiful metaphor of combining something artificial and metallic with an organic and almost human part. This was such a fucking raw shot for me, it took my breath away.

+ Tarkin is an asshole, but he’s climbed the asshole latter so hard after he has been mean to Plo Koon.

+ Shotout to Obi-Wan for convincing the order to let Anakin go after Ahsoka. Additionally the whole time he acts in her support only to be shut down by the council. I didn’t remember him doing that so I was surprised.

+ Fives tells the plot with the inhibitor chips to a cab driver. Do you think the cap driver ever thinks back after the war and is like: “Fuuuuuuck”?

+ I kid you not, the clone bar has gender neutral bathrooms (and no, it’s not bc the clones are all male, in the bar are also women). The bathroom are just decided by humans, hutts and a third species I cannot quite recognize.

+ I forgot Teckla gets shot, NOOOOOOO

+ I always say clone wars anakin is better, but Jesus stop acting like a jealous bitch. Padmè deserves an award for putting up with his bullshit. Obi-Wan too. He even tries to give him reassurance by telling him that feelings are not forbidden and Anakin just bitches at him.

+ Obi-Wan casually passing on babysitting duty for Jar Jar fucking killed me (and yes, taking care of Jar Jar is babysitting duty).

+ Never in a million years I would have thought to see Jar Jar admitting to fucking this queen, but here we have him saying he was making love to her last night. Imma set myself on fire and I believe Windu will join me.

+ You could also call the clone wars the exposition wars. Every episode has their one minute exposition in the beginning, but I feel like a lot of the dialogue is used for exposition.

+ Obi-Wan doesn’t learn shit. That man got drugged by Hondo, but yet still accepts drinks from the Pykes. MY BROTHER IN CHRIST PLEASE DONT

+ I AN GOING TO SCREAM. You have been informed that the Clones have a behavior influencing chip in their brains and then you find out Dooku was behind the creation of the clones and no one connects the fucking dots. I love the Jedi, but goddamn are you all dense.

+ Do you think Hunter thought Rex was screwing his general? Because their conversation sounded kinda suggestive and then they trail off to do something secret.

+ Ahsoka going “my older brother thought me”after kicking a guy where it hurts most. I now imagine Anakin going to Ahsoka as soon she got to be his padawan: “Listen up Snips, if you ever facing a creepy guy, you kick them right there”

+ When the sisters make their escape I don’t get why they don’t let Ahsoka fly. She’s clearly the more capable pilot.

+ Controversial opinion: I have a strong dislike for Bo Katan. She’s a fucking terrorist who doesn’t betray the deathwatch when they murder an entire innocent village, no but when there’s Maul trying to take their authority. Says a lot about her character if you ask me.

+ I mcfucking cried when the clones painted their helmets according to Ahsoka’s face markings and my flatmates gf came in and asked me if everything’s alright. I am fucking embarrassing I have seen this scene three times already but I still bawl like a baby.

+ Also my dear Obi-Wan can you quit being an ass? A “hello Ahsoka, nice to see you” wouldn’t have killed you.

+ Through the whole show most of the characters seemed to appear increasingly tired towards the end. Especially Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, but other characters aswell. The only one who seems to stay energized is Anakin. He becomes more serious but I feel like he’s the only one at the end that is still going into battles with full energy. It almost felt like he’s especially thriving in a war scenario which is incredibly sad.

+ The beauty of that last scene with Vader is truly unparalleled. I don’t ever think a tv show can recreate that.

+ I still love this show to bits and I cried 5 times total during that rewatch, shit this was nice.

[creechurrr]

OKAY OKAY, SO. Thank you to @/ultra-raging-ghost for straightening out a bit of the BBH lore timeline for me, because now that I know dsmp egg lore and the qsmp take place in the same universe, I'm going to go crazy and take advantage of it at every moment possible.

In the dsmp, Bad started getting memory problems after being fully under the egg’s influence. He’d have visual and auditory hallucinations (presumably, as reportedly c!Skeppy reacted to Sam Bucket as just another of Bad’s "imaginary friends"). Bad would also have drastic mood swings, from being terrified of the egg, to trying to lure people down towards it. Foolish would have to ask Bad "are you yourself?" Sam seemingly understood that Bad was unstable as well, and thought that Bad was imagining Sam Bucket.

So now we have the qsmp, which is an unknown amount of time after the dsmp egg arc. The last time we saw everyone involved, Skeppy had tried (and succeeded) to secretly lure all of Bad’s friends to the egg so that it could hatch; he made a deal to keep Bad safe if he did that. Unfortunately Bad was still caught up in the crossfire, and a freshly egg-ified Puffy began hacking him with an axe.

So Bad made it out alive with Skeppy somehow.

Bad also became colourless when he was fully corrupted under the egg. Maybe when he has really strong devastating emotions, he's more suseptible to corruption (i.e., the soul vultures infecting him, and his loss of red).

Bad has recently had drastic mood swings, such as scaring Missa (much like he did to people when under the egg), killing Bobniho and not remembering, ect. ect. The time Cucurucho invaded his house is also something we don't yet know was real or not. Bad still seems somewhat suseptible to hallucinations and memory loss. I don't know how much of this cc!Bad plans to be connected, and if q!Bad is experiencing all of this for purely different reasons. But I’m still not over egg lore, so here we are, and maybe even if q!Bad has these issues for a different reason, perhaps he’s more suseptible to it after what he went through under the egg. I wouldn’t be surprised if little bits of his attitude changed because of his corruption.

q!Skephalo better look out, because now I have even more of an excuse to keep torturing them with egg lore, and not just the delusions and voices in my head 👍

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

Hello! So i know that I am WAY! less knowleged than u re: asiof but I have a question about the Prophecy (AA/PTWP). I did a deep dive on it and GRRM spoke repeately about handling prophecy carefully/not too literally etc 3 weeks ago at Oxford he repeated: "you cannot have a prophecy that comes true way it was written and everbody understands it(..) it has to come true in a way you didnt understand(..)so it bites you in the ass" So rather than "who has the most obvious PTWP clues" shouldnt we theorize "how will the idea of AA/PTWP backfire on the believers" or "how can a unique/unpreditable element fill the role"? Since Im assuming GRRM stance will likely apply to the biggest prophecy in the books. What do you think? do you know theories like that? If anything, I only see "the prophecy is just nonsense!!" but that is clearly also not what GRRM says: not prophecy is bogus but has to be unexpected or "bite you in the ass".

Hey! No, you're far too kind 😭

I completely agree with you, and you raise some interesting and important questions, especially when considering how these ideas reflect back on our protagonists.

The tricky thing with interpreting prophecy is that the characters are operating on second-hand, third-hand, or even more distant accounts, all filtered through their cultural understandings of what a hero should be. Their beliefs are shaped by the information available to them, which is often incomplete or distorted. This means each character's idea of who is the subject of prophecy is largely subjective, influenced by their biases and specific cultural narratives and thus might never present the whole truth! So as readers, we should be very cautious about how we interpret the declarations presented by any character as absolute truth. We will probably never know until the final book is published, and even then it might be murky at best.

I saw GRRM’s comments a few days ago, and they really resonated with me because they align with how I’ve been feeling lately, particularly regarding Melisandre's role in all of this:

“[…] It is written in prophecy as well. When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone.” (Davos III, ASoS)

It's often amusing in fandom to discuss how wrong Melisandre is, and she certainly is almost all the time. But lately, I've been wondering: what if we're wrong too? We focus so much on Melisandre misidentifying Azor Ahai, but what if she completely misunderstands her own role in all of this—and we're too blinded to notice it?

Because the issue isn't just that she's chosen the wrong person. The bigger problem is that she's fixated on providing what she believes are the necessary tools to defeat the Others. She wants to "wake dragons out of stone”, repeatedly asserting that "two kings" are needed to wake the dragon so they can serve Stannis Baratheon. This thinking leads to the burning of Shireen—because someone must die to forge the hero's weapon. Melisandre even sees herself as expendable in this grand scheme. But what if her entire understanding is flawed—not just about who the hero is, but about the very dragon she is trying to awaken?

I've been considering all this because "dragons" in the text don’t always refer to actual winged creatures—they're often symbolic descriptors for Targaryens in visions. For example, Moqorro's visions show dragons old and young, true and false; Baelor Breakspear appears as a dragon falling on top of Dunk; and a dragon egg hatching essentially symbolizes Aegon V. So if we're taking prophecy at face value, just as Mel does, we're left wondering where in seven hells she expects to find her "sleeping dragons".

But the thing is, she already has one: Jon Snow. In fact, her visions in Dance suggest that Jon is the one she is truly searching for. And I often think of these visions as moments where I go, "Oh, come on, Mel! It's not that guy; it's the other one!" Yet I've come to realize that even if she identifies Jon correctly, Mel would still face the dilemma of needing another sacrifice to "wake" Jon's dragon. However, she is likely to resurrect Jon before reconnecting with Stannis, which means that by the time she and Stannis consider burning Shireen, she may have already awakened the dragon - and thus fulfilled the prophecy.

If Jon is the awakened dragon, that adds a tragic irony to the whole situation with Mel and Shireen. Legend has it that the woman (Nissa Nissa) dies for the hero’s glory. But if Jon is the dragon, then does that make Melisandre Azor Ahai in this case? After all, we don't know much about the original prophecy so who knows how much it has been distorted over time?

But wouldn't that be such a twist? Mel isn’t a noble lady or royal; she's a former slave, a mere priestess—a tool, a guide, but not the hero. She never considered that she, a woman, could be R’hllor’s chosen. Yet she would perform an actual miracle in bringing a dragon back to life. And if, like me, you believe that Jon will be born from a funeral pyre (inverting Khal Drogo and Dany's dragon eggs), then the prophecy is turned entirely on its head.

This also raises the question: what about Shireen? What does she, an innocent little girl, die for? Why should she have to die for a dragon that is already living? Why should she have to die to exalt a false hero, when the true miracle worker is actually the "expendable" woman who stands before her? Then we have Melisandre carry the baggage of killing a child for something she had successfully completed before...It doesn't matter if she's able to perform some bastardized miracle and create a shadow dragon, because it would all be all for naught and a wasted effort. To me, this is more satisfying from a character development perspective because Melisandre is no longer a background character. She’s got POV chapters now, which means she has an arc that needs to reach its natural conclusion. It cannot begin and end in service of the men around her. She must reflect on her role and come to terms with her actions—both good (waking the dragon in Jon) and bad (sacrificing Shireen for something she had already accomplished and for a prophecy she had already fulfilled); and this could lead to some compelling writing. This might also answer your question about "how will the idea of AA/PTWP backfire on the believers?”. Because “incorrect” interpretations not only hinder progress, but the cost of human life is perhaps too high :/

Oops, so sorry for the long tangent.....

[anipgarden]

Tropical Milkweed, Its Problems, and What To Plant Instead

I am writing this to atone for the sins of my past (handing out tropical milkweed cuttings to my friends and teachers before I knew better).

(Also let me make this clear I am Floridian I am writing this from the perspective of someone in the United States if you live in Tropical Milkweed's native range this doesn't apply to you go forth pogchamp)

Look online, on TV, in books, in newspapers, left, right, up, down, anywhere, and you'll see people talking about how planting milkweed is crucial, essential for the survival of monarch butterflies. Milkweed is the only plant that monarch caterpillars can eat as they're growing, and the loss of it in our wild spaces is one of the most direct links to the ecological extinction speedrun of not just monarchs, but dozens of other insects who rely on its abundance of nectar-filled flowers to survive. You'll be urged to run, not walk, to your nearest garden center, buy as much milkweed as you can, and hurry fast to plant it in your gardens and be part of the solution, not the problem. The issue is that, oftentimes, the milkweed you leave the store with is a vibrant red and orange, with pointed green leaves, dozens like it lining the shelves across stores all over the nation...

Tropical milkweed. Scarlet milkweed. Bloodflower. Mexican butterfly weed. Asclepias curassavica. This plant is a being of many names, and our culprit of the hour.

'Culprit? Culprit of what?' Culprit of enticing people to buy it under the guise of helping, only to possibly cause more harm than good.

Let's discuss.

Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is a gorgeous milkweed (especially the yellow variety? ooh, that had me in a grip as a teen) that's easy to obtain--too easy. It lines the shelves of stores like Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot, and even hundreds and dozens of smaller garden stores, and is sold for reasonably cheap because its quick and easy to grow from seed and eagerly roots from cuttings. It's extremely popular with butterflies too--in many scenarios, Tropical Milkweed will be preferred as host plants over other related species like Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa), and its also popular with other species of butterfly, bees, and wasps as a nectar source. It lasts well into winter in some areas of the United States, is quick to regrow when cut back, and doesn't die back for periods of the season like some other milkweeds do. It's eager to reseed, creating capsules with tens of dozens of seeds and scattering across the winds with the help of little silky parachutes much like the ones dandelions are known for.

'Ani, what's the problem with that? This all sounds like its great for monarchs!'

See, here's the kickers. In fact, here's several kickers. Here's an entire mollywhopping of kickers.

OE Infections

In the temperate areas that it doesn't die back over winter (or even, in some cases, where it doesn't die back during the season like other milkweeds), it can become a host for OE. OE is short for Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, and its a protozoan parasite that can and frequently does infect monarchs. As infected monarchs visit different plants--whether its to drink nectar, to lay eggs, or even just doing a fly-by of the garden--they drop spores from their wings that can then fall onto the leaves, flowers, and even any eggs already on the plant. As caterpillars hatch and begin to eat the plant, they ingest the protozoan, which begins the cycle anew. High OE levels in adult monarchs have been linked to lower migration success, reductions in body mass, lifespan, mating success, and flight ability. And that's if the caterpillars don't succumb prematurely to the infection, or if they're able to even exit their cocoon and fly once they finish pupating--deformed wings are frequently a result after infections. Now, OE is a parasite that's evolved alongside monarchs--and monarchs are usually able to handle an infection just fine, but if they're carrying a high load? That's where the problem lies.

What role does tropical milkweed play in this? Most milkweeds die back after blooming, at least once or even twice per season--and the parasite dies alongside them. As native milkweeds push out fresh foliage, its parasite-free, offering a healthy new buffet for caterpillars. Tropical milkweed... doesn't do that. If nothing's done, (at least in my state of Florida) tropical milkweed will stay fresh and green all the way up until the first real frost hits way in December--and that's if there's a hard frost, when you travel farther south. And during all that time, OE levels are building up on the leaves, so any future caterpillars that feed on this plant are doomed the instant their egg is laid on a leaf.

Its not that it's utterly impossible for a monarch to get infected with OE on any other kind of milkweed--monarchs are known for their traveling habits, and the chances of them happening upon a different milkweed plant than the tropical milkweed in your backyard is pretty high. But whereas native milkweeds die back and essentially reboot their system with fresh, disease-free leaves at least once a season, tropical milkweeds are like downloading a virus onto a USB and then passing it to your friends.

But that's not all, either. Time for kick 2.

Migration Interruption

Sit with me a moment and imagine you're a monarch butterfly. You're hardwired to know that as your food source starts dwindling at home, its time to get a move on and fly on down to the family's vacation home in Mexico for the winter. The buffets shut down, you exit stage left. But on your way to what's essentially a season-long smorgasbord with friends, you find... a buffet is still open. You're supposed to leave when the buffets are shutting down, but this one's up and running, lights are on, and plenty of people are there having fun, so you step in to relax. You'll take your trip later.

Now imagine a bit after you entered that buffet, the staff stuffed the guests into the walk-in freezer, locked the door, turned off all the lights, locked up the building, and left.

That's basically what tropical milkweed being 'evergreen' is doing to monarch butterflies in the fall and winter seasons. In areas up north where it can stay growing far later into the fall/winter months--or worse, in the south, where it can basically be evergreen until a hard frost (if one even happens), it can interrupt the monarchs' iconic migration cycle. They'll stay in place and continue breeding, living life like they aren't supposed to be a country away--until a frost hits, and they're dead in a snap. And if there's not a frost, you're getting a bunch of OE spore-ridden monarchs flying around a bunch of OE spore-ridden milkweed plants that the butterflies who followed the rules and overwintered in Mexico are gonna be returning to. POV you're starting a family in a house so laden with asbestos and black mold that there's practically black dust floating around.

This is already pretty bad. Can it get worse? Absolutely. Kick number 3.

It's Pretty Invasive (in the US)

It's fast growing, its eager to go to seed (so eager that it can flower and produce seed at the same time), its growing all throughout winter--which would be great, if it were native to the United States. Unfortunately, it isn't! As one could imply from the name, Mexican butterfly weed is native to--well--Mexico, as well as the Caribbean, South America, and Central America.

Further North into the states, and it's more of an annual--a plant that lasts maybe a year tops, dies back permanently, and you go buy more next year, or start from seed. Further south? It's a perennial, baby--which means its got even more time to spread its seeds and really thrive in the warmer climates of places like Florida, Texas, California, etc. Not to mention, as climate change makes temperatures rise, places where tropical milkweed is an annual may quickly begin seeing it stand strong all year...

I won't pretend to be a Professional Milkweed Identifier. I'm getting better at it with time, but I'm not a pro. But most of the time I go outside and I go 'oh, that's a milkweed!' its tropical milkweed. I've seen it grow in the sidewalk cracks of a gardening store I go to--its a clean four feet tall, always flowering, always making seeds. Tropical Milkweed is eager to escape the confines of your backyard, or make more plants in your backyard--I started with 5 plants one year, and the next year I had seven, then twelve, and that's just the ones that didn't get mowed over in the seedling stage...

But wait, that's not all! Kick number 4, baby!

Toxic to Monarchs????

According to the Xerces Foundation, emerging research suggests that tropical milkweed may become toxic to monarch caterpillars when exposed to the warmer temperatures associated with climate change.

'What the fuck, I thought milkweed was good for monarchs! How the hell does that happen?!'

All milkweeds produce cardenolides in their sap--a type of steroid that are toxic to most insects (and even people). Milkweeds create it to repel herbivores that would munch on it otherwise--except for milkweed butterflies (Danainae family), like our legendary monarch, as well as the queen and plain tiger butterfly. Larvae eat up milkweed leaves like there's no tomorrow, to stock up on those cardenolides and become toxic to their vertebrate predators--except for a few species that have evolved to become cardenolide-tolerant (black-backed orioles and black-headed grosbeaks). But, when cardenolide concentrations are high enough, it's too strong for even monarch butterflies to withstand--they die because of the very plant that's supposed to give them life. Kinda fucked up. Comparatively, many native species have lower cardenolide levels--and don't immediately go into flux at higher temps like tropical milkweed does.

'Wait, Ani, if there's all these problems with tropical milkweed, why is it sold everywhere?'

Capitalism. The answer is capitalism.

Well, actually, its a bit more complicated than that but it's also still capitalism.

The very same things that make tropical milkweed so invasive and such an issue are what make it so incredibly popular to sell. It's fast growing, and eagerly starts from cuttings as well as from seeds--which is perfect for growing tons of plants in quick and easy batches to send to vendors all over and get a quick profit. It's easy to grow from the home gardener too--its resistant to most diseases, looks gorgeous almost year-round, is quick to return in many areas without even the slightest sign of a die-back, and is popular with monarchs and other pollinators. Want to start a pollinator garden with quick results? Plant milkweed--and when tropical milkweed is all that you see available when you walk into your beloved store, it's what most people are going to get without thinking twice. Not to mention, when you hear it starts quick from cuttings, and you really wanna get your friends and loved ones into pollinator gardening, well... you get well-meaning people sharing invasive plants with their homies, like I did in high school. I've been pollinator gardening for around sixish-sevenish years (I think) and I didn't even catch wind that tropical milkweed was invasive until three years in! To say I was mortified doesn't describe it fully.

'Wait, three years ago? So information about this has been out awhile! Why aren't more places selling native milkweeds by now?! Why are people still buying this invasive milkweed and not native ones?!'

It's capitalism again! But in a different way.

Compared to tropical milkweed, many other milkweeds are a lot more... finnicky to get started, or grow in general. Many of them are a lot slower to germinate, are more prone to failing as seedlings and falling victim to things like 'dampening off' or 'too many aphid' or 'the vibes were wrong.' If they do germinate, they're slower to get to size too--I've grown tropical milkweed from seed in solo cups and gotten something about four inches tall within maybe a month and a half. Some other milkweeds I've grown from seed take about a month and a half to get more than four leaves, or even poke their little green heads out of the dirt. In addition to this, milkweeds have taproots--and some are a lot more friendly to the concept of 'transplanting from a pot to the ground' or 'growing in a pot at all' than others, and tropical milkweed ranks at the top of that list again. Not to mention, their willingness and ability to overwinter in pots--many native milkweeds fail that test, meaning that even if all the resources and efforts are put into getting a milkweed to grow from seed, it won't survive longer than a year in that pot. Considering most milkweeds don't flower until a year or so into their growth, and it's easier to sell plants that are flowering... many plants are a tough sell.

Another reason? Some native milkweeds are way more picky about when they want to make seed pods, or what conditions their seeds want to be grown in. If the seeds are hard to obtain? Good luck growing them in a production greenhouse. Let alone finding seeds for sale to grow them yourself at home--in my hunt for native milkweed species, I've seen packets of ten seeds sold for twenty bucks, packets of 25 seeds sold for anywhere from 50 to 100--meanwhile, you can find dozens if not hundreds of tropical milkweed seeds sold in a pack for maybe a dollar or five.

Let's be real. Producers haven't figured out the magic ticket to pumping out native milkweeds like they have with tropical milkweed--as such, finding native milkweeds for sale is rare, and they're often pricier. And as someone who's been to a native plant sale and found the stands sold out of milkweeds not even 30 minutes into the event--you are likely not the only person wanting native milkweeds. It is war out there in the garden parties.

And that's assuming you've actually found native milkweed for sale! As you get better with milkweed IDs, you'll be able to clearly identify the liars who are telling you they've got something that they don't, but for those who aren't In The Know--if you see a milkweed labeled like a native milkweed and want to buy native milkweed, it might be too late by the time you realize you just got sold tropical milkweed with a mislabel. Whether its on accident or on purpose, it still bites.

I've asked some of my favorite, smaller greenhouses if they'd be willing to start selling native milkweeds. Most of the time I get an exasperated 'I would love to.' But they can only sell what the vendors can produce--so if they can't find a vendor that's selling swamp milkweed (or at least reliably), then they can't give me swamp milkweed when I poke my head in asking if they have any in stock. Of all the times I've gone to dozens of different green houses and gardening events, in different cities even, to see if they have any native milkweeds I've only had success a few times--one small vendor who only has them in stock at events sometimes (and that's if I don't show up late), and the one time I rolled into a not-big-box-but-not-small gardening store near my friends house after being sad that I couldn't find it at a different gardening event. And the one I found there was the last one they had in stock for the next month or two. Until The Vendors get better at growing native milkweeds, your best bet is going to be growing it from seed yourself, getting a start from a friend, or dumb luck at smaller nurseries and events. It's rough out here, friends.

Granted! Keep in mind! That whole last paragraph was personal anecdotes. It's entirely possible that other places' greenhouses have already caught on, and I'm simply in the shadowlands where nobody's selling native milkweeds except for once or twice a year and selling out within 20 minutes of opening their damn booth. And I've heard tell of people getting milkweed popping up willingly in their backyards by doing things as simple as not mowing. I pray you have better luck than I do, young Padawan.

Now, keep in mind, there are people actively working on this. Whether its a team of university scientists dedicating themselves to a project, or a few home-growers in a sunny backyard and a greenhouse doing their damn best to grow native milkweeds as efficiently as possible for themselves and their friends, there are people working on this, sharing advice and communicating online. This isn't some unresolved issue that no one has noticed. We just... aren't at the end post yet. Until then, we scrounge for what we can.

'Oh no, oh god, I have a bunch of tropical milkweed plants in my garden!! Am I a bad person?!?!'

No You Are Not A Bad Person For Growing Tropical Milkweed

And I'm perfectly honest about that. Because I'm here telling you this and I've still got tropical milkweed plants in my backyard. As that one comic once said, about 10,000 people learn something new every day, and unfortunately today that 'new thing' is a bit sad and a bit untimely. In full honesty, oftentimes in my brain I refer to Tropical Milkweed as Starter Milkweed--its what a lot of pollinator gardeners end up starting with, because its just so available! But! There are things that you can do to mitigate the Damage that tropical milkweed can bring to your backyard butterflies.

Step One: Cut back your milkweeds! At least once a year, maybe even twice a year if you want. This will force them to put out new growth, which will be free of OE spores and give monarchs on it a good head start against the Disease. But for sure, for sure, cut your milkweeds back in the fall--once October hits, I go into the backyard and I snip down everything that's tropical milkweed. Usually at this point (at least for me), the milkweeds don't try to grow back again until spring. This is to prevent monarchs from seeing a buffet and getting locked in the freezer.

Step Two: Cut back seed pods! You would not believe how many seed pods milkweed makes. You see those little green footballs? You wanna snip these back ASAP. Even if they're tiny, but especially if they're bit. In peak flower production times, I'll go out there at least once a week and just do a look-back and cut them off. You can even yoink them off with your hands if you're in a rush--just don't get that sap into your eyes. If you do this, you're stopping seed production in its tracks--and don't forget, these plants want nothing more than to split those pods open and unleash a hellfire of flying seeds all over the place. They'll float on air, they'll float on water, they'll do whatever until they land on a prime patch of soil and get started.

If you see these you're a tinge too late. But also still yoink that off and Dispose of it.

Step 3: Don't give cuttings to your friends. It's tempting. If you're raising caterpillars in a little enclosure and see that every time you refresh your cuttings, the old ones have tons of roots and are ready for a little pot of soil and a name tag? Don't. Resist the best you can. Dispose of your cuttings whenever you go in for a trim.

Step 4: Consider replacing them with something else! I know I already went off about just how hard it was to find native milkweeds for sale, how expensive and difficult they can be to grow--but they're not impossible to grow, and putting in the effort could be worth it! Even as I speak, I'm trying to add as many native milkweeds to my garden as possible--and when I've got something that grows reliably in my backyard, I will eagerly rip up my aging tropical milkweed plants and promptly toss them in the bin so i can put a new, better milkweed in its place. Native milkweeds are more likely to be suited to your environment, making it easier to maintain and more welcoming to the pollinators we gardeners want to help. Not to mention, a lot of them are way pettier than tropical milkweed (in my opinion). Do some hunting online to see what's native to your area--your state's extensions office will likely be great for this! You've likely got great variety--the state of Florida has 21 native milkweeds! Who knows how many your state has! (Not me, I am Floridian, and I am already getting dizzy trying to learn about all 21 of our milkweeds).

Conclusion!

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not gonna be the one to discourage someone from starting a garden, especially a pollinator gardener, and especially growing milkweed. But avoid tropical milkweed when you can--the harms it can cause far outweigh the quick satisfaction of a busy garden it can bring. Take some time to select a native plant more suited to your area, give it some friends and some time, and soon you'll have an amazing pollinator garden that'll be teeming with life!

[xxnomadsxx]

okay. Ik this is a long shot but WHAT IF Cooper’s egg was found by Branch and the rest of the grey troll village in your Nomads AU? Cuz like, random funk troll egg falls out of the sky. Cooper raised by slightly grey Funk trolls so he doesn’t need to wonder why no one else looks like him this time unlike Pop Village. May wonder why he’s super bright pink compared to everyone else though.

and since Cooper is super bright and happy, they give him some camouflage cloak and makeup to wear when outside? and omg what would the reunion look like this time?

AHHHHH!!! I love this idea! I’m contemplating if I want it canon?

If the egg was found by the village he would be taken in immediately! The Funk trolls in the village would take him in since they know a funk troll egg when they see one (some would speculate that he was apart of the royal family but they never could tell) Cooper once hatched would be the brightest troll in the village, which was a surprise to most (considering most abandoned troll eggs become grey trolls) he wouldn’t grow up with any insecurity of what he is, instead it would be replaced with why he was brightly colored (which causes other issues) he gets told why everyone’s grey but never truly understood what it was like to be sad…till he got older

Since he grew up not surrounded by happy ignorant pop trolls he becomes slightly different he is still an oblivious goofball, who is a lot more serious in situations as well as paranoid and he is always aware of his surroundings (all trolls in the village get these qualities due to living in the village) his colors dim slightly due to living in the village but he is still the happiest troll.

He would wear a bigger and darker cloak then other trolls (mentioned in past post) as well as mud and paint on his body to make him look less vibrant to predators.

The reunion would be completely different, one he wouldn’t be there for world tour, so it would come in after the village is found by poppy and brozone. (The village would get connected to the other tribes) it would take time for the royal funk family to find him since he looks way different, but once his family find him it’s a lot sadder to look at the scared dim troll then happy (Cooper would be terrified by the funk family just coming up to hug him) eventually he would be ecstatic by the fact he has an actual family. The funk family is still on edge and would get therapy for him immediately (he would be happy to have a new friend to talk to and also go funk family being good parents) eventually he’d become happier and maybe even get his color back completely.

Send more things I LOVE answering questions!!!

[italicized-oh]

hello hello and welcome back from academia hell!! tis lovely to see you, and I hope you're having the most wonderful of days/weeks <3 for prompts purposes, if you're interested: jace and porter attempting to do research on gods/ascension/divine rituals for the sake of The Plan? (how well this actually ends up going is of course a matter of debate)

you’ve activated my secret codes dear. Get ready for Research and Rituals, baby. They’re looking into the orphic cosmogony bc i have Issues. um. nsft and also light gore? but v v tame compared to our usual fare in this tag lmao

Jace feels Porter come up behind him and slumps backward against the wall of warmth. He knows the moan he lets out when Porter digs his thumbs into Jace’s shoulders is pornographic, and he doesn’t even care. He drops his head back against Porter’s stomach to look up at him.

“Did you know that Protogonos hatched from an egg, according to some Orphic hymns?” Porter hums, listening. “And then created all the other gods in that pantheon? Oh, yes, perfect, right there– and that some people believed there was a son of Persephone, who was raped by Zeus disguised as Hades, called Zagreus, who was torn limb from limb because Zeus– fuck, your hands, Porter– because Zeus was tricked, but Zagreus’ heart is saved and then implanted in Zeus’ thigh, and Dionysos is born from that? Fuck–” Jace cuts off with a high-pitched moan.

Porter keeps massaging, hums again, and leans down to kiss Jace on the forehead before whispering in his ear. “Sweetheart, if you’re asking to ride my thigh, you know the answer’s yes.”

Jace flails a hand backward to slap ineffectively at Porter. “No, you animal, I’m just saying, there’s about a million different ways people think people become gods, all of which are impractical. I’m getting nowhere– oh, fuck me–”

Porter bites the shell of Jace’s left ear. “Again, the answer is yes, starshine, but you can beg if you wanna.” 

Jace is torn between pulling away to make his point and collapsing further back into Porter, who’s now biting at Jace’s neck. “Stop– stop that, I’m working, or do you not– ohh, gods– do you not want to know how to actually become a god?”

Porter bites harder, worrying at the skin under Jace’s jaw. “Hmm, don’t tempt me, sweetheart. Can’t have you working without inspiration, after all. Seems to me anyways that the point is more that the story sounds good than that it makes sense.” Jace goes rigid under him, shooting straight up into Porter’s chin. “Ow, fucking hell, Stardiamond, can’t a man leave a hickey in peace around here?”

Jace slaps Porter’s shoulder. “Oh, hush, you ginormous baby. For once in your thick-headed life, I think you might be onto something.”

Porter wiggles his eyebrows. “Oh, I’ll be onto something, all right. One more smart remark and you’ll find out just how onto something I can be.”

Jace snorts despite himself, failing to disguise a laugh. “Fine, fine, keep gnawing on me, what do I care. I’ve got a hymn to write, I guess. Fuck, I hate wizards. Why do they always have to reinvent the wheel? Blood sacrifices and orgies would’ve been so much fucking simpler– oh, gods, Porter, fuck me, holy fuck–”

“Sounds like you’re a natural at the hymn thing, sweetheart. Let’s see how much more work we can get done, hm?”