#its so cheap and the little bowls are so cute...

[dogwoodbite]

emerging from halloween kitchen goods section at meijer bleeding from every limb $300 missing from my bank account

[haikyu-mp4]

Croissant

word count; 446 – gn!reader

When Tendo first moved to Paris, he ended up in a pretty cheap apartment in a tight neighbourhood. The sidestreet leading to his apartment complex was small and he felt like he could give a handshake to whoever owned on the balcony across from him by simply stretching out the window a bit.

That could have been a problem if his neighbour wasn’t the most dreamy person he had seen in his entire life, reflected in how he would sometimes lean on his hand on the windowsill to look at you as you danced around the kitchen. It’s what led to him learning your name after you were so startled by his sudden presence across the street that he had to start a conversation. It was only polite!

Now, he approached the window once again as he heard the satisfying sound of the word croissant being yelled repeatedly from outside. He repeated the word to himself in a funny little voice, exaggerating the Frenchness of it and chuckling to himself until you finally came into view.

“Making orders from the bakery? I like your style.”

“I got a new cat but he ran up along the rooftops,” you explained without hesitation before once again yelling croissant. Tendo noticed some other neighbours glancing out their windows curiously at all the noise. “Maybe he’s dating an Aristocat and needs to save her from the evil butler.”

As much as the cute reference made him smile, he tilted his head in wonder. “You named your cat croissant?”

“He totally looks like one,” you defended, hands on your hips as you took a break from calling out to the cat, putting the little bowl of cat food on the balcony table instead of shaking it. “You’ll get it when you see him.”

Just then, you saw a suspiciously light orange cat make its way down the ledge that led to your balcony. He nodded theatrically. “Very fluffy. A perfect croissant, I must admit.”

You let out a small gasp, quickly turning the way he was looking and accidentally bumping the table in your haste, spilling a few bits of cat food on the floor. “Croissant! I was so worried,” you scolded. The cat purrs and leans against you, putting every hair into a soft apology. “Aww, it’s okay.”

“I will leave you to it,” Tendo said, deciding he should probably start making lunch.

You picked up your new cat and held him towards Tendo, lifting a paw to wave at him with a little “goodbye, kind sir”.

Tendo chuckled and shook his head as he walked away from the window, heart beating wildly against his chest. You sure are special.

/did I do your idea justice? @cottonlemonade

masterlist

[roosterforme]

roosterforme's Jake Seresin masterlist (Hangman x Reader)

(hey, who the fuck let Jake in here?) roosterforme masterlist

Jukebox War Jake likes the jukebox at the Hard Deck, drinking beers, and cute girls who are a little bit mean to him.

You're Not My Type You only spent one evening with Jake, but it was enough to leave you wanting more and also have you hoping to never see him again.

Specialty Goods Jake is tasked with planning a holiday get-together. He’s unhappy about it, until you offer to let him sample the specialty goods. 

Better Than Revenge You thought you had the interest of one of the aviators who frequented your bar. He always had a soft smile when only looking at you. But when there's another girl hanging on his every word and his arm, Rooster helps you get Jake to come to his senses.

A Formal Reprimand Above all else, Jake prided himself on his spotless Naval record. When his wife inadvertently causes him to be formally reprimanded during a deployment, he plans to give her a fair share of the punishment when he gets home.

Alone With All Your Letters You had been with Jake for so long, he could barely remember himself without you. But he was ready for more, and he was tired of waiting for you to catch up to him. With a few ugly words, he broke your heart. And with one handwritten letter, you brought him to his knees. 

You and Me and She Makes Three Jake had feelings for you. And that was a problem, because he didn't do relationships. He was going to have to choose his independence over being with you. At least that's what he thought until he was presented with the opportunity to enjoy you and his freedom at the same time. 

Sundays Are for the Boys Football Sundays are a sacred tradition amongst Jake and his friends, and he's quick to make sure you know that. But when the boys discover your favorite drink in the refrigerator, Jake makes an exception to his rule.

This Sunday Is for My Girl Jake can barely remember what Sundays were like before you were part of his football watching tradition. When his team makes it all the way to the Super Bowl, his nervous energy practically has you on edge too, but you formulate a plan to distract him. The results are better than you could have predicted. (A continuation of Sundays Are for the Boys)

Sneak Peek You spent so much time around the boys, they counted you as one of them. You were firmly stuck in the friend zone with Jake, so it was time to move on with a guy who could see past your flight suits. It's not immediately obvious to either of you that cranky Jake is actually jealous Jake.

Adult Education (23 Part Series) Jake ends up sitting in on a college physics lecture purely by accident. He's rewarded with a cute smile and a cheap beer when he defends the professor. But since when is he like Bradshaw, getting turned on by math and college classrooms? (Part of the Beer Boy and Sugar universe but can be read on its own)

Mr. Right Now (11 Part Series) When Jake picks your ID up from the floor at the Hard Deck, he has no expectation that he's about to be in for a wild ride. But when he learns that you're looking for Rooster and why you're at the bar in the first place, he starts to feel more possessive than he should. You're young and stubborn and about to get yourself into trouble. Maybe he would prefer if you got into it with him instead. "It's a bad idea," he said, and then your lips were on his.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Bowling Pin

Debut: Bowling

Yeah, Bowling! It's the pin, from Bowling! Bowling is a game, so it is fair game for this blog. And the pins are Weird Enemies! The whole point of Bowling is to Defeat as many pins as possible. You are taught to HATE them! It's messed up. I will teach you to love them.

When anthropomorphizing a bowling pin, are you on Team Face On Tip or Team Face On Base? I think both have their merits. Tip is good for if you want to give it a humanoid impression, like it could walk up to you and shake your hand. Hug you. Even... kiss you?! Base, however, is more of a creature, which I imagine waddling around on a bunch of legs or tentacles emerging from the bottom. It would hobble up to you and ask you, "Gleep gwanorb?" Answer carefully, or it might aim its Space Ray Gun at you! In the base design, the tip of the pin could be an antenna, or it could be read as a long-haired creature that tied its hair up in a tall bun!

You know something messed up? There are more types of bowling pins! No one ever told me that! The classic one we all default to is the Ten-pin, but there are two others! We'll get to them. Biologically, a Ten-pin must abide to the specific standards set by the United States Bowling Congress, adopted by World Bowling. They MUST be 15 inches (380 mm) tall, 4.75 inches (121 mm) wide at their widest point, and weigh 3 pounds and 8 ounces (1.6 kg), give or take 2 ounces (.057 kg). Wow! These would be some unrealistic standards to live up to, if these were not chunks of carved and coated wood produced specifically to match up to these measurements.

The reason the different pins are pictured with different balls is that they are used in different variations of the game! Candlepin is pretty self-explanatory. It's shaped like a candle. But Duckpin? That looks like a smaller, cuter, more marketable Ten-pin. What's its deal?

My first thought was, it's called a Duckpin because it looks like a duck! It has the one red line like the ring around a male mallard's neck, and it is rather shaped like a duck as seen from the front, overall! How cute! In reality, they are called Duckpins because the way they scatter when hit reminded a duck hunter of a scattering duck flock. Always comes back to violence with poor little Bowling Pin. They have it so rough! They could really use a friend, who's always there to pick them up when they're down.

Name: Pinsetter

Debut: Bowling

Pinsetter is just the sort of friend a Bowling Pin needs! No matter how many times Pin is knocked down, Pinsetter will be there to pick it up and put it back in its deserving spot. If any mean ol' stray Bowling Balls try to land a cheap hit, Pinsetter's sweep bar will block them. Play fair, you bully ball! Pinsetter's job used to be done by human Pin Boys, but there can still be a human in the mix, making sure the machine is clean, and unjamming it if need be. I can only assume this beautiful relationship between human and machine is just like that of horse and rider.

The more I think about it, though, is Pinsetter really helping? It's just putting the pins back in harm's way every single time, facilitating their unending torment. It blocks incoming balls, but only briefly, allowing them to crash through the pins as soon as they're all reset. Why does it do this? Who does it work for? Who is sending all these balls?!

...It's Pinsetter.

Pinsetter does not only set the pins. It detects the score, encouraging players to hit as many pins as possible. It returns the balls, giving them the weapons to do so. Humans think they're playing a game, but Pinsetter is playing them all! It controls the whole operation, driven by nothing but pin bloodlust! Maybe Bowling Ball has been misunderstood, another tortured soul, an unwilling pawn in Pinsetter's twisted game!

Bowling Pins are beautiful creatures. They belong in the wild, or with trustworthy, knowledgeable caretakers. To bowlers, they are an Enemy. To me, they are a Friend.

[mactavishsgfandwife]

141 and Their Embarrassing Childhood Haircuts (HC)

just a silly idea i had about what funny haircuts the 141 boys would have been given as children (that they would definitely find embarrassing) and how they’d react to you seeing it simon’s is a little sad (☹️) but mostly just silly fluff not proofread because it’s wayy too long (oops)

his aunt leaves the both of you alone in the sitting room, on her way to procure some tea for you all. on your own in the room with him, you begin to wander around and inspect the mementos that line the walls. your fingers trace a trail along the top of the bookshelf and over the filing cabinet, before you turn your attention to the collection of little family photos on the mantelpiece.

mostly, they’re photos of relatives you don’t recognise - wedding photos, holiday snaps, the compulsory photo of a toddler in a bubble bath - but right in the middle is a small blue picture frame, with little angels painted around it and, well, the photo inside…

you burst into a fit of giggles and his head turns from the random bowl he was closely inspecting, on the side table next to his seat, to you.

"what is it?" he grins as he looks up at you, amused.

but when you turn the picture frame to him so that he can see, that entertained chuckle turns into an audible groan…

Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley

i feel like simon was definitely that kid in class when you were about 6 who had a shaved head

like, a little boy with a buzzcut that was never allowed to be grown out

si probably got some judgement as a little kid for looking a bit ‘rough’ :( when in reality he was just a normal, sweet kid who liked batman and angel delight (this cheap pudding from the 70s that we have in england which you mix with milk to make a mousse kind of thing, it’s lowkey so good and it’s random but i swear simon would have loved angel delight as a kid)

i reckon his dad buzzed his hair and probably wasn’t very gentle about it

a photo of simon as a little kid, in his blue primary school uniform. he’s got no hair - well, as close to no hair as you can get without actually razoring it off. gappy teeth, a big smile and the beginnings of adult si’s strong nose. he’s pretty cute, and the photo is a little yellowed from age, with a little tear in the corner.

"oh, god…" he groans, finding the photo a little humorous, "don’t remind me."

"you look so cute!" you laugh softly, "how old were you here..?"

"pfft… probably about 6 or 7," he shrugs, seeming a little dismissive.

"have you ever not had a buzzcut?"

"you’re not seeing those photos, love," he laughs out loud, and stands up to take the photograph from you.

he goes to put the photo back, to bring the focus of the conversation to something else, but for a second you think you almost catch his thumb gently stroke the cheek of the little boy in the photo, a momentary sadness in his eyes. but that’s only for a moment, and as he places the frame back into its proper place, he grins and turns to you.

"what, y’think it’s a good look? reckon it’d suit you, we could match."

Captain John Price

bowl cut.

i just imagine price’s mum placing a literal bowl on his head and just cutting around it, as he sits on a stool in the kitchen

and he would have turned up to school the next day feeling like such a handsome little boy because his mum had told him how smart he looked 😭 bless

a photo of price, wearing his scouts uniform with pride, turned slightly to the side to display the ‘merseyside scouts’ patch on his sleeve and the union jack on his chest - but the star of the show was that ungodly bowl cut on his head. it was like something out of an old yearbook photo, and he looked very pleased with himself and all his scouts badges, despite the medieval squire-esque trim. it was funny, but he was also a really cute kid.

"ah," he chuckled, standing up to get a better look, "blimey, what a haircut…"

"i like it! i think you should go back to this, honey. it’s a good look."

"i’m not so sure about that," he teases, "but if you really want me to…"

Johnny ‘Soap’ Mactavish

johnny is pretty energetic, i feel like he would definitely have cut his own hair as a kid - terrible fringes and very wonky moptops galore. and he definitely did it more than once.

imagine his mum is just making tea, having left him playing with some arts and crafts supplies. but when he runs in giggling, a pair of paper scissors in his hand, she screams and almost drops the saucepan. much to his amusement

"JOHNNY, DÈ RINN THU?!" (johnny, what have you done?!) as she chases him down the hallway to take the scissors away before he can do any more damage

it’s a photo of johnny, aged 5 or 6, beaming as he poses with the glasgow rangers goalkeeper allan mcgregor. you only know who he is because johnny’s mentioned once or twice before meeting the goalkeeper of some random scottish football team in 2002, as if he met brad pitt or the king of england.

at first, it looks like his hair was ruffled by the football player, but then you realise… it’s just cut like that? as johnny peeks over your shoulder, he laughs, wrapping an arm around your waist.

"oh, i remember! best day of my life at the time. until I met you, that is," he grins.

"i like the haircut," you tease, pointing to his uneven fringe in the photo, with random patches of long and short hair scattered throughout.

"oh, aye, i was a little hairdresser!"

"don’t quit your day job," you smirk, gently placing the photo frame back down on the mantlepiece. he laughs at the cheeky grin appearing on your face, and shakes his head,

"aww, y’don’t like it? thought girlfriends were supposed to be supportive, y’know."

Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick

honestly i wasn’t sure what to write for gaz, given i don’t think he would be rocking the literal bowl cut or walking around bald at 5 years old

but like every victim of curly hair ever (i can relate) i bet he got something stuck in his hair 😭 whether that was comb, or gum, or something really random (once i genuinely got a live snake stuck in my hair lmfao)

"kyle, look!" you laugh, beckoning him over to look at the photo you found. when he sees it, he lets out a groan…

"god, my scalp still hurts from that…" he laughs softly, rubbing his head as he looks at the photo of himself at 8 or so years old. with a superman action figure stuck in his hair. how did that happen? honestly, who knows. his eyes are a little red, and his cheeks are shiny from tears, but it seems like he’d cheered up by the time the photo was taken, giggling at himself with a big smile on his face, as his mum desperately tried to untangle the mess he’d gotten himself into.

"how do you even do that?" you grin, feeling his hand resting on your back, his thumb gently rubbing up and down your spine. he shrugs, with a laugh.

"i really don’t know. had to embrace baldness for a bit, but i think i was more upset that superman got thrown in the bin. that was the real tragedy."

"aww… i’ll buy you a new one, if you like," you tease, just as his aunt returns with the tea.

this. took. YEARS. to write. 😭 and it’s miles long. thanks for reading!

[yuri-is-online]

Bitch the Pot (Trey Clover x Reader)

Trey's birthday is coming up and you really want to buy him a present.

But what if he doesn't want it? What if he just thinks of your efforts as annoying, or even worse what if he sees right through you and makes things awkward. What if he stashes things away and makes fun of them later, years later when he barely remembers your name.

What if he's secretly looking forward to your presence and hasn't even considered he'd be lucky enough to get a gift. What if... what if...

notes: they/them used for Yuu, we're going to hurt comfort town choo choo mother fuckers, I am using the Hitchhiking Ghost names for the Ramshackle Ghosts because I am unoriginal, the more I think about Trey the more I realize Idia is right, Trey's a skethcy mfer and yeah that's hot. If you like this check out my masterlist for more fic.

You didn't want to indulge Trey's teeth thing.

Sure it will make him happy, smooth over all your little insecurities pricking at your heart as you poke through the second hand store for what you had thought would be a really cute idea on your way here but now weren't so sure about. Besides you are pretty sure that everyone else is going to buy him a bundle of floss and call it a day, well other than Rook who has been waxing poetic about how he had "the most fitting cap for the Rose Chevalier" so all the more reason to put a little less of a personal interest into your gifting and more of a thoughtful touch.

As thoughtful as you could afford anyway. You aren't even sure Trey likes these sorts of things, though that worry is sort of drowned by how surprised you are to find nice looking china in Crane Port's equivalent of a Good Will. There is a nice selection of tea cups, mismatched saucer plates, and the odd pot sat all by its lonesome all with neatly written prices on stickers you don't look forward to scrubbing off.

Afternoon Tea Special~ Pick one Pot, 4 cups w/ saucers, creamer, and sugar bowl: all for just 25 T!

Cute, and not a bad idea you supposed even if it did feel a bit overkill. Your original intention had just been to pick up a sugar bowl and maybe one cup, something for him to put candies in that had a lid so no flies could get at his violets. But it really would be a shame to pass up such a nice deal and hey, if Trey didn't like it he could just ditch it with the Heartslabyul kitchenware once he graduated and never speak to you again.

"Oh this is such a cute little selection!" The lady at the counter's eyes practically sparkle as she carefully wraps up your choices in tissue paper.

"It's a birthday gift." You can't help but mumble and the sparkle flutters out to her entire body, ah that's right, this lady always did look a bit bored when you came in. It seems like you have fed her and her knitting circle for the rest of the week.

"Well then this won't to at all." She huffs and stops wrapping up your order and bends under her counter, the tell tale ruffles of paper and boxes sounding oddly comforting as she produces what you think is a hat box and proudly begins to organize the mismatched set and fetches out even more tissue paper. "Must be for someone important with how long you've been eyeing up a sugar bowl." She wiggles her eye brows. You try to keep your focus on said bowl, you didn't realize she'd been watching you but then again you have been coming down here every spare weekend to stare at it. This shop was nice, it had a bunch of cheap clothes and nick knacks that were used sure, but a life saver for someone from a completely different world. If the lady is thankfully not offended by your silence. She simply tacks your receipt to the box and sends you off with a wink.

"Thank you for your purchase! Please come back soon!" And tell me all bout it! You swear she says it but you don't hear it, too much blood is thrumming in your ears

The hat box is not out of place among the gifts on the party table, so trey doesn't have an excuse to stare at it even if his eyes keep coming back to it. It's lavender, plain save for the cream bow he hopes Yuu tied around it, and had been decently heavy when he picked it up before Cater scolded him about playing favorites.

"Be a good Senior and eat the cookies we made for you until Riddle brings out the cake." He flicks his nose with a knowing look. "Normal people save the best for last right? I'm sure Yuu-yuu will be fine with waiting, since they can barely look at you today~" And of course like a fool he whips his head to look, startling them and proving Cater's point as they immediately scurry back to Ace and Deuce.

"Screw you." He's only half joking but Cater's fully laughing and probably already took a picture. "I'm just worried they felt like they needed to bring a gift I would have been happy just to-"

"No you wouldn't have." For someone who likes lying to himself Cater really doesn't seemed thrilled with his choice to gaslight himself. "You would have spent the rest of the night thinking 'ooooh it'd be really nice if I got something from Yuu, I wonder if they hate meeee, I should make sure they think I don't care about helping them some more so they leave me alone and I don't have to think about how nice it would be to-'"

"Cater!" Trey has never been so grateful to hear Riddle yell about anything in his life. "Could you please help me with the cake? I was going to ask Yuu but they had to go back to Ramshackle."

"Yuu's back at Ramshackle?" Trey reaches to adjust his glasses, trying to ground himself.

"Yes, they said they were feeling sick and-" That's all Trey registers, though he hears the rest "went back to lie down, Grim insisted on staying to make sure the food didn't get them sick." It's his party, he can't just leave that would be an extreme violation of the rules but Cater's earlier accusation comes back to him. Make them think I won't care about them. It's not intentional, he thinks it's obvious he always will but then again-

"Fifteen minutes." Cater whispers under his breath.

"Thirty."

"You're delusional." Still Cater doesn't sound mad. "Eighteen."

"Twenty." He's already snatched up the hat box and making his way towards the doors.

~~~~

"Awww Yuu." Phineas would pat your head if he could. "I'm sure it's not that bad, you're just overthinking things."

"Yeah I think anyone would be happy to get a gift from you!" Gus tries, all three ghosts perking up slightly when you smile just a bit at his encouragement. "And if not then well..."

"I know I'm just being dramatic but I couldn't stand waiting anymore." You don't mention how Ace and Deuce had been teasing you, not wanting to relive the absolute embarrassment of having been caught staring at their Vice-Warden one too many times for dots to remain unconnected. "I asked Grim to bring back some cake but I don't know if he'll remember."

"Oooh let's take bets on it!" Ezra cheers and a familiar, unexpected laugh interrupts sending the ghosts scattering and leaving you at the mercy of a familiar face.

"I think it's safe to say that would be a pretty obvious bet." Trey sets the hat box on your coffee table, folding his strong arms and firmly sticking a lump in your throat. "You should have bet on me."

"Returning your gift is not bringing me something." You huff and Trey has the decency to look a bit awkward.

"I'm not here to return it, there's rules to gifts you know." Oh no. "For example, on our birthdays, the Queen of Hearts says we get to ask for anything we want." He finally moves, unfortunately for you he's decided to use his height to his advantage and lean over the table to crowd you back into the couch. "And I spent a long time thinking about what I should ask for from you."

"Um- I well-" You're looking everywhere but him now, as if you were before. "I did get you a gift though?" He laughs.

"And you ran away before I could thank you." Trey begins to unwrap the ribbons, slowly as if he's waiting for you to look at him but not wanting to deny his curiosity any longer. "But that doesn't change the rules. Sorry, I didn't make them."

The sugar bowl is the first piece he finds, the shop lady has to have set it on top on purpose. His eyebrows raise, not in disappointment you think, curiosity hopefully as he slowly opens the rest of them.

"Sorry." You immediately say to fill the space out of habit, and Trey stops his examination to look up at you.

"What for?" He picks up the sugar bowl, just as amused as you with the clover flowers patterned across it in a nice twist on his name and half the accessories he owns. "Don't tell me you want this stuff back, its mine now."

"No! I'm glad you like," you cringe at the question in your tone and cower at the smirk on Trey's face "I mean I hope you like it."

"A hand picked tea set from the Ramshackle Prefect? It's perfect. Especially for a birthday gift for me." He carefully wraps up the cups and their saucers, silence once again falling over the room as you wonder why he hasn't called you out on your lie, the self doubt suggesting he hadn't noticed. "I meant what I said earlier you know."

"What, about making demands of me?" You say.

"Hey chill I only sort of meant it like that." He doesn't even bother trying to hide his amusement. "I mean betting on me. I know it might sound strange to hear me say, but I do have things I think are worth extra effort. And if I have to put in a lot of it to get you to understand that I am glad you are in my life, then I'll just have to do that." So he did know you weren't sick, and was just dancing around the subject to be polite as usual.

"Happy birthday Trey." Because what else are you supposed to say, and he tries his best to not let his disappointment show as he takes his opened gift back to the rose garden. "I'm- I hope you have a nice time at your party."

He pauses at the threshold of your dorm, the wicked smile returning. "I think I know what I want to ask you to do."

"Oh no." You did not mean to say that out loud.

"Mhm. But you are going to have to come back to Heartslabyul to hear it, but after the party, we can use our cups." Our cups he says, as if you had picked out any cups that were supposed to represent you.

He noticed, of course Trey noticed that there was no trace of Yuu in this very you gift. But he could fix that, if you would just give him a chance. And maybe get the calm celebration he actually wants when you do.

[silvermoonphantom]

Zenitsu, Kaigaku, and the cut-tongue Sparrow

Zenitsu's sparrow had my heart from the first lil flutter on his head. So, I was wondering about his little buddy - why would he get a sparrow, and not a crow like everyone else?

In a word; Foreshadowing.

Shita-kiri Suzume, the cut-tongue sparrow, is a Japanese fable.

There's many versions of the fable.

Basically, an old man and his wife live atop a mountain. The man keeps a sparrow as a pet. His wife dislikes the sparrow, seeing it as dirty, and not wanting to waste what precious little food they had, on an animal.

When the man went out and put the sparrow in her care, the woman didn't feed it, and later finds the sparrow eating rice paste (cheap to make, barely food) she'd left out. Enraged, she cuts the sparrow's tongue out and throws the bird from their home.

When the man comes back, he finds out what she did and he goes hunting for the bird. Eventually he finds the sparrow in a bamboo grove and is glad to see it is safe with its family. The sparrows welcome him into their home, feed him, and when it's time for him to leave they offer him a choice.

He's offered a large basket and a small basket to take with him. Some versions say he was feeling old and feeble and took the small one because it would be lighter, while others say he was being humble when he refused the larger basket, taking only the smaller one as to not take advantage of the sparrow's generosity.

When he returned to his home and opened the small basket, it was full of many treasures that made their household wealthy.

His wife was angry that he turned down the larger gift - surely it was full of even better treasure!

So she went out to find the sparrows and tried to cajole them with sweet words in the hope of getting treasure for herself.

When offered the large and small basket, she chose the larger. The sparrows warned her not to open it before she got home. But the woman struggled to carry such a huge and heavy basket and her greed had her stop to open the basket before she reached her home.

From the basket poured terrible things like venomous snakes and monsters, which scared her to tumble off the mountain (presumably to her death.)

--

Since it is a folk tale, there's loads of variations out there. For instance, it's a neighbor who cuts the bird's tongue, or that the bird has the ability to talk and apologizes about eating the rice starch/glue, but the woman doesn't listen. In some versions, the roles are reversed and its the husband who cuts the sparrow's tongue. Sometimes the wife is only scared by the monsters and runs home to repent and become a better person - while other times, the man is deeply grieved at what happened to his wife, and dies despite his new riches.

--

Foreshadowing? (Manga spoilers ahead!)

It's not a one-to-one comparison - only the beats of the story are similar.

Jigoro took both boys into his home. Kaigaku worked hard, while Zenitsu fluttered and complained and tried to run away.

Kaigaku was jealous and angry that Jigoro would take in such a useless disciple, and tried to drive Zenitsu away.

Zenitsu left, and over time was able to hone the small ability (first form of the Thunder Breathing style) into something powerful.

Kaigaku stayed behind, but resented Jigoro for his decisions regarding Zenitsu. When given the choice, Kaigaku chose to become a demon - going down a path of monstrosity and eventual death.

The story of the cut-tongue sparrow is said to be about kindness and friendship, but also about greed and jealousy leading to one's own demise.

--

As an aside:

While people say Zenitsu's hair looks like a bowl cut, I posit that it looks like someone modeled it after an edo-period sparrow.

Round, cute, with stubby squared-off feathers.

[auckie]

waiting for the beta fish post to drop ill wait however long it takes idc 🦦

Okay. I’m ready. Nothing demotivates me more than losing progress on like. A game, or word document or whatever. A lost ask is like a grain of sand dropped into the ocean.

Anyways!

So betas are often sold in little cups, right? And the people at say, pet smart tell you, ‘yeah a bowl will do’. WRONG! While betas are somewhat low maintenance fish compared to many— a cheap but beautiful option that seemingly needs no filter or heater and very minimal space, it is now widely accepted that this is flat out untrue. Everyone knows males cannot be kept together, but even having just one fish I would highly recommend a ten gallon. May seem excessive but considering that betas do well in high tannin naturalistic setups, you’re going to want to fill this space with plants and hides. What’s more is if you don’t want to do a self filtering tank (which will still require moving water and regular changes/cleanings or refills), it is still generally recommended that you do invest in a filter and heater. I’ve seen some people go about this by using natural sunlight or heat lamps but 1) harder to regulate 2) risks overheating.

I used to keep fish. Betas and a warm fresh water 1 gallon with a few species together. I don’t anymore for a few reasons. Mostly the upkeep, and because for me personally. I just don’t like keeping fish. Any animal that’s bigger than your thumb, if it lives in a cage or tank and spends most of its time in there. This isn’t to say it’s wrong by any means, but like birds…I’ve just come to think ‘yeah we probably shouldn’t be keeping them outside of their natural habitat esp if they’re highly social or mobile creatures. Moreover with long life spans and high social/mating needs.’ Again! Not condemning the practice for others. It can certainly be done right! But it’s often a lot more time consuming and costly than people realize. Now if you’re willing to invest in what it takes to keep the animal comfortable by all means! Aquarium keeping can be super rewarding, and making naturalistic setups makes for beautiful and calming decor. It’s an amazing hobby. Even if you can’t keep something as simple as duckweed alive for whatever reason, artificial hardscapes with plastic plants and such can still look okay. And a ten gallon + tank vacuum + simple filter and heater really won’t cost you much! I highly recommend looking to YouTubers for tank inspiration, and tips!

If you do decide to go for a 3-5 gallon, or some nontraditional choice of habitats, like a large vase. Well I can’t stop you, and that doesn’t t mean your fish will die. It was a common myth not to long ago that fish couldn’t feel pain, and that their memory spans only lasted for 3 seconds. This is false, and luckily not as widely believed thankfully— but it’s a great example of how people will assume that non mammalian animals have simpler needs due to misunderstanding how their bodies operate, simply because of how different they are than say a cat or dog. Not accusing you of this by any means— you may very well be waaay more informed and aware of this than I am. But it’s a necessary disclaimer.

Other easy to keep fish include neon tetra, fantail guppies (but do not mix them with fish who will nip their tails), and the classic goldfish. another disclaimer about the latter: flushing goldfish thought to be dead, or simply tossing unwanted ones into local water ways has caused them to become a highly invasive species in many areas across North America. Do NOT do this. They’re outcompeting native species due to how fucking hardy they are, and growing to insane sizes. The lack of natural predators and peoples unwillingness to fish for them makes for a particularly nasty pest :/

These aforementioned fish save the goldfish will need the same basic things as a beta, but can be kept in mixed sexed groups, and tetras are often kept with great danio, mollies, and even tiger barbs (who are cute but can be a little aggressive for smaller beginner fish). All of these are available at big chain pet stores for very cheap.

If you’re hellbent on forgoing heaters and filters you could try triops (they don’t require much space but love to dig so have some specific substrate needs, and don’t live very long but can be multigenerational and sustained if done correctly. They’re also insanely cute and entertaining to watch), shrimp (so many different kinds!), snails, or even a mixture of these!

There’s also ecojars. Very cheap to make, and very educational! I love microfauna and follow a lot of YouTubers who’ve had great success making both aquatic and terrestrial ecojars from the local environments around them. If you live by the coast, brackish and saltwater jars are a lot harder, but freshwater ones are very simple! Terrestrial ones are basically just vivariums/terrariums you can even stock by going out to forage for things like snails, slugs, isopods, millipedes, etc. Clean up crew critters do well, but larger predatory insects are a bit harder to keep in an enclosed/self sustaining habitat. That brings us to our next options!

If I can sell you out of aquariums for an easier and possibly cheaper or equal price with a lot less upkeep! But. It involves insects so I’m going to put it under a cut in case that is not something you’re looking for. It’s long too, so feel free to ignore it. BUT! If I’m able to wet your whistle please feel free to ask for more info 🤠

Bugs! Well, arthropods. Such as: isopods (I have rubber duckies and they are doing exceptionally well eating nothing but leaves with the occasional fruit or veggie and calcium sources! They cohabitate with spring tails, harmless soil mites, and terrestrial amphipods. There are many much cheaper and hardier species that are easier to find such as dwarf whites, dairy cows, or even local wild caught ones! Another warning is to NOT dump these outside. And be careful foraging for things from outside for them to eat because you never know what’s been treated with pesticides or beneficial nematodes, or is infested with fungus, mold, or harmful pest species like parasites or mites).

Really all you need for any given species is a little container with a few air holes, substrate such as coco fiber, reptisoil, jungle mix, or your own backyard topsoil which ideally has been baked to sterilize. You can also bake pinecones and oak or magnolia leaves for them to feed on. Crush them up and mix them into the substrate, and add either crushed oyster shells or maybe bits of limestone or coral if you have them available. You can buy cuttlefish bone online as well. They love cork bark, but again, I’m sure if you find and bake bark or bits of drift wood, you can make that work too. They loooove to eat moss, and some species will readily gobble up fish food and bee pollen. Josh’s frogs (as well as other brands) make some specific powder blends that I feed mind. I think it’s called bug burger. The general practice is to create a ‘moist side’ and ‘dry side’ gradient so the isopods have a choice of where to go. They have gills but that doesn’t mean they want to always be drowning in 90% humidity. There’s a lot of beautiful exotic species but they get expensive fast, and are often fond of burrowing or hiding in sphagnum moss so you won’t always see them, and well. They’re usually tiny.

Millipedes are very similar— some are huge and beautiful, some even look like giant isopods (pill millipedes), but burrow, so…you won’t get the most visual bang for your buck.

A lot of people are very fond of finding and keeping jumping spiders. They’re cute to look at and fun to feed, but this requires buying feeders (crickets, meal worms, roaches, or fruit flies depending on size and what’s available near you), but that’s not always everyone’s speed. Plus they don’t live very long once they’re adult size and sexually mature. You can buy them as well but, I prefer to just enjoy them outside. Why take a solid guy out of his environment if he’s not gonna live much longer and is doing his part in ridding your yard of gross bitches? They do a NUMBER on mosquitos.

Beetles! Some species stay grubs for the majority of their lives and will be buried until they’re ready to go out and find love, so as much as I love larger species that are fun to interact with, I’m going to lean towards what I own: the blue feigning death beetle

Very silly little beasts. Very low maintenance! They live in American deserts and are covered by a powdery residue that helps them retain moisture. You can make a mix of sand and coco fiber and keep them in an open top tank (I keep mine in a huge fish bowl), and provide them with hides such as cholla wood or cork bark, rocks and even plastic decor. They will eat almost anything and get most of their moisture from their diet. I feed mine cut up fruits and veggies, the occasional roach, beetle jellies, bug burger, chicken feed, cat food (wet or dry), sugar water in little bottle caps with a sea sponge, moss, or cotton ball in them, fish flakes, freeze dried peas, bee pollen, and even like. Leftover bread or popcorn so long as it’s unseasoned. They can go a while without food or water too, so handle neglect well. But so long as you give them a ‘wet sweet food’ and protein at least once a week you should be Gucci. They’re diurnal afaik and will begin moving about when it’s light out. They don’t need heat lamps or anything of the sort.

They rarely bite and when they do it’s because you have food on your hand, and it doesn’t hurt. They can’t climb or fly, and play dead when threatened. Very cute to watch, and hold, and they’re constantly fucking. Sometimes a male will see another male trying to feel up a larger female, and will climb atop them both and start trying to have sex with the male. I’ve seen two males feeling up and trying to go at it with a rock. They’re so funny. But it’s very difficult to breed them in captivity. They live a while tho so hey, you got a while to research and experiment! Because of this, however, most available for purchase are wild caught. And I personally am not crazy about that.

Scorpions! There’s a good amount of largely harmless species that make for great pets! Asian forest and emperor are the first two that pop into my head. They glow under UV light, making them easy to find, and don’t have to eat super often. The one I own loves to run up to the side of its enclosure whenever I walk by, throwing its claws up to show me it means business. I’ve never been stung but I hear it’s like a bee sting. The two species listed are cheap and prefer it moist, and afaik don’t really sting once they’re mature. They prefer to use their claws to do the talking. Below is a random species under UV light:

And finally, the most visually pleasing, long living, and low maintenance yet entertaining things I own: tarantulas. Given that I work at a tarantula breeder and am incredibly biased feel free to ignore this next bit, but also hear me out. I’ve never been afraid of tarantulas, but used to be a bit wigged out by spiders as a kid. T’s, at least the new world species I own, are so. Much more stationary, slow, and just. Nonchalant than most true spiders I’ve kept. You will usually know if and when they’re about to strike.

Orb weavers have never done well for me, but I’ve had some luck with cobweb weavers (they don’t tend to remake their webs every fucking day which helps with setting up a habitat), but they just don’t live very long— and when something has such a short lifespan I feel guilty for keeping it from its primary goal of breeding. Tarantulas, however, can live for up to 20+ years. And you can make money breeding them! But a lot of discords or Facebook groups dedicated to this are. Like full of the most obnoxious people you’ve ever met. Males don’t live as long, they usually croak after sexually maturing and then molting again. If they’re lucky they might make it one more. And they don’t have a great chance when it comes to breeding and surviving. Depends on the breeder controlling the situation. I’ve read that the longest lived one on record was a female Goliath bird eater* clocking in at over 30 years old. That’s a fucking cat. Not all get huge either! There’s dwarf species, and many are arboreal meaning you’re likely to see it often!

The shop I work at, along with most tarantula breeders recommend a GBB as a first time spider. I fucking Do Not. They’re aggressive, cute as spiderlings but less cute as adults, gross (web and bolases and shit everywhere), kick urticating hairs* that drive me nuts. And they just suck.

I have two coworkers who follow me and will strongly disagree but I don’t care because I know I’m right on this one: my top beginner picks are the caribena (formerly avicularia) versicolor.

As slings they are bright blue and so fucking funny. They walk like a cat with mittens on and their urticating hairs are so fucking mild that you won’t even notice them. Their red mouths stick out like a shitty lipstick on their stupid blue bodies and they love to shake their butts before they jump, like a cat but way worse. They’re not terribly fast and their bite is nothing. It’s worthless. They’re…somewhat sensitive and do like to randomly die, but so long as you keep them in an arboreal enclosure with ventilation and a weekly misting? You’re golden baby. They eat well, are arboreal so you’ll always see them, and can be kept in fairly small enclosures for quite some time! Here’s what they look like as adults:

Still pretty! And not scarily massive.

I own an even more sensitive species: the Brazilian jewel tarantula. It’s a dwarf species but stupid expensive and makes a shitty trapdoor so you don’t see it often which is a shame bc they’re beautiful and so adorable. Similar mannerisms and levels of ‘this piece of shit can’t hurt me’. Ideally you won’t be handling them but, well, I can’t blame you if you do bc it’s fun. I don’t own any species that care hurt me bc why would I want to?

For some. More common first time reccs tho, I would probably say the Arizona blonde (very chill and fuzzy. Somewhat more itchy), the Brazilian black (a little less stunning but also pretty chill and fun to watch because they will completely rearrange the furniture of their habitat for no reason), the Chilean rose hair (read previous)— basically any grammastola or brachypelma species. Hamorii (Mexican red knees) look cool. Another controversial pick are cyriocosmus. They have golden hearts on their butts! They’re pricier though, and again, other t keepers act as if they’re hard. They’re not. Most new world species are simple if you just research them— my boss often will balk and laugh when she hears people are buying 1/2 inch slings and putting them in like, 5 gallon tanks. But it’s literally fine. They def don’t need that much space but if they burrow. Look for the hole. Give them enough substrate, keep it moist but not sopping. Ventilation is key. Some people use empty, clear take out bins or medicine vials to keep these things in, and that’s fine so long as there’s air holes. You can use a soldering iron or small drill, or even a pin to poke some into the container, depending on how hard it is. Even larger spiders have been kept in big empty jars and such. You feed them once a week unless they’re in premolt (they get fat and shiny or lose their hair on their asses and may make a molt mat of web, or a little enclosed webbing bubble, or bury themselves and won’t eat during this time which, depending on species, could be a while), or whenever they look skinny!

If they’re arboreal give them a vertical climb, be it a real plant or plastic, cork bark, even aquarium decor. So long as it’s not sharp because tarantulas are surprisingly delicate.

Feed them something the size of their ass give or take, and disable it using little, sharp feeding tongs (grab the head and drop it in near them, or hold it to them at a distance and if it’s moving they’ll usually strike). Some super tiny slings will even eat springtails. Larger, adult T’s can take multiple dubia or even big ass roaches like hissers. It’s kind of sad feeding them off but, the spiders gotta eat 🤷‍♂️ if you’re interested and have any questions on other species, or the ones I listed, lemme know!

Okay. And by far. The least wanted or liked recommendation I have. Are roaches 😔 there’s some beautiful species out there man. Hissers are super fucking docile, but prolific. They hiss when scared, but never bite. They don’t even eat each other in times of duress! They do have spiky leg bits which can scare some people off. But take a look at emerald roaches (which are. Expensive 😶), don’t they look like cool beetles? They’re arboreal! Then there’s the table mountain roach, which SQUEAKS when scared! The domino roach! I’ve posted pics of molting roaches many times— they’re soft and white and have huge, mantid like eyes. It’s very disarming and cute. They’re so much more intelligent than we give them credit for. The roaches I keep at work know when I’m about to feed them and they all clamor at the tops of their bins, and once the feed is in they all grab a bit and run off with it in their mouths like dogs! Many tropical, burrowing species are basically little cows, and many are amazing parents which is a rarity in the insect world!

Most of these fellers can do well in a plastic bin with a top, with ventilation of course. And the usual substrate, hides like cork bark and rocks and moss, misting, and similar feed to isopods and the beetles I mentioned. As for price and availability, well, you’re probably only going to be able to find hissers and dubia unless you have a niche store near you or are willing to have them shipped. And while I love both of them. They are gross. They’re R strategists to a T and will multiply to the point that they require sell offs or regular culling. Which, if you own species that eat them, it can be a win win! But they also are hard to keep clean. So I probably, actually do not recommend them 😞 the less prolific, more beautiful species are cleaner, but more expensive. But hey, I had to shoot my shot, right?

Okay. Well. Thank you for listening if you got this far. Good luck either way and thanks for being patient!

*Goliath bird eaters and any similar named bird eating tarantula do not. I mean they *can* eat birds yeah but that’s just a shocking name that stuck. Don’t let that scare you. But also that species sucks so it doesn’t matter

*pretty sure I put another asterisk in here but I can’t find it and don’t remember what it was for sorry. Shoot me an ask if it was like. Killing you ig

[itty-bitty-mess]

TW: BITTYBONES AB//USE, BITTY WHUMP, BITTY T*RT//URE

Pip was a little pygmy lamia and, like almost every individual of his breed, he was quite the ungrateful brat. He had been adopted from the bitty adoption center and then returned by his previous owner who had spoiled him rotten, making him believe he was the most important thing in the world and that everything had to revolve around him. His brattiness had gotten so bad, that his previous owner returned him without a second thought despite the little pygmy’s empty “apologies”, a futile attempt to not lose the luxurious and comfortable lifestyle he had been so accustomed to.

One day, a young woman entered the establishment in looks for a small companion who could add some sort of excitement into her life. Pip’s eyes landed on that woman and he immediately got to work to be as “cute” and “charming” as possible, playing up the “widdle baby” act as much as he could. Trying to charm his way into a new home and back into his beloved comfortable lifestyle. The woman wasn’t entirely convinced on Pip at first, but after a “cute” tantrum full of crying blue tears and puppy dog eyes, she ended up adopting him with a simple shrug.

Pip was over the moon once he arrived to his new home, slithering everywhere, exploring every corner of the small apartment, calling dibs on the places he would soon mark as his property. The woman or, as he began calling her, “Mommy” didnt really seem that bothered by Pip’s behavior. When night arrived, she prepared him a small makeshift bed with an empty shoebox and some tissue paper and socks. Pip straight up refused to sleep in the box, demanding Mommy to let him sleep on her bed instead.

“Eh, im not doing that but if you don’t want the bed then suit yourself” Mommy said with a shrug as she picked up the makeshift bed and put it on the closet. “But I gotta tell you the floor gets really cold at night and I tend to lock my door.” Pip was a little taken aback by her reaction. He had expected her to beg him to sleep on the box, or to comply and let him sleep on her bed. He tried throwing another tantrum, this time trying to be clear about what he wanted.

“WAAAAHH!! BUT MOMMY I DONT WANT A STINKY BOX, I WANNA SLEEP WITH YOU!!!! IM SCARED OF THE DARK!!!!” Pip cried, his fake little tears and screams falling on uncaring, deaf ears.

The woman just shrugged and responded with a “sucks to be you, buddy” and went to her room. Pip followed her and tried slithering as fast as he could to slip into the bedroom before she locked the door but all he managed to do was hit his face straight into the hard metal door. She had entered and immediately locked the door shut, and Pip was way too big to slip through the gap between the door and the floor.

But he wasn’t gonna give up so easily! He started banging on the door nonstop, his tiny gloved hands barely managing to make any noise against the metal door. He tried screaming, directly demanding Mommy to let him in immediately. But what Pip didn’t know was that she was wearing sound proof headphones, allowing her to have a good night’s sleep. He ended up sleeping on the cold, hard floor, trembling and shaking with tears of rage in his eyes. This wasn’t over yet, he was gonna make Mommy’s life a living nightmare and she would have no option but to treat him like the king he was.

From that day onwards, Pip tried almost every trick on the book to make Mommy do what he wanted. He started pissing and pooping on her clothes to “teach her a lesson”, but she simply shrugged and said “Cool, I was gonna throw those old rags away anyways”. Whenever she fed him “cheap and disgusting” Bitty Kibble, he would throw the little food bowl back at her but his aim was so pathetic that he barely managed to flip the bowl. He tried stealing her food which only caused him severe food poisoning because the idiot stole and ate a moldy piece of bread that was many years past its expiration date.

He demanded Mommy to buy him a control remote car and other expensive toys but she just threw a crumpled paper ball on his direction as said “There, play with that instead lol”. He threw constant tantrums but she completely ignored him or just didn’t seem to care enough. Even when he had planned on scratching or biting her, his pathetic and useless little fangs and his weak little “claws” did absolutely no damage

He even tried stealing Mommy’s phone and trying to break up with her boyfriend through text. However, the boyfriend could tell that wasn’t how his girlfriend texted, he could tell that it was Pip by the terrible grammar and childish word usage so he sent Pip graphic images of bitty gore which deeply traumatised him. He told Mommy about this, hoping that maybe she would craddle him on her arms to comfort him but all she did was laugh at him. Pip felt humiliated, he couldnt believe she didn’t even comfort him or tried to pamper him after such a horrible thing!

Tears welled up in his little eyes and he went to the corner to fake cry again, looking behind his back every few minutes hoping to see Mommy looking back at him with a guilty expression, but all he saw was she had left for work again. This wasn’t fair! How could Mommy not care about him! He was Pip, the great and magnificet pygmy! The most specialest lamia of all, who deserved all the love and attention in the world!

Pip suddenly got an idea, he was gonna go to Mommy’s workplace and demand her, in front of everyone, to give him what he wanted, like fancy human food, expensive toys, a shiny new bandana and to let him sleep on her bed! Mommy could sleep on the floor if she wanted! Perhaps he could even make up some lies about him being “abused” and “neglected” to ruin her reputation with her colleagues. Yes! That was a great idea! Mommy would surely listen to him if he isolated her from everyone! Pip was sooooo smart!

Pip spent the entire night planning how he would take his plan into action. The next day, when Mommy left for work once again, he swiftly slipped through the closing gap of the door, trying to no be seen by her. Then, he silently slipped into her car and hid there, standing as still and silent as possible while she drove. Then she finally arrived to her workplace and entered the huge, shiny office building. Oh, this was Pip’s chance! This was gonna be so good!

He got off the car and slithered around, following silently behind Mommy, he was waiting for the perfect oportunity to strike and humiliate her. However, as they entered the building, Pip was immediately greeted with a massive crowd of people walking in all directions like busy bees in a hive. It was overwhelming and loud for the little lamia and, in a moment of disorientation, he lost sight of Mommy!

He panicked and looked in all directions, slithering through the squeaky clean, polished floor and trying his best to dodge the passerby. He tried screaming and calling out to Mommy, surely she would hear him and go to his rescue! Mommy would never abandon such an important lamia like Pip! Surely Mommy would show up and sweep the little lamia in her arms and take him to a warm and cozy bed full of toys and yummy food like he deserved!

However, his squeaky little yells were drowned out by the constant noise of the office building. People calling out each other’s names, machines working and beeping nonstop, loud clicking of keyboards, etc. All louder than Pip’s weak little voice. Pip tried moving through the crowd, and soon he spotted a stranger who had stopped walking to watch their phone. He got an idea and tried making a “cute” teary eyed expression as he approached the stranger, knowing that his cuteness would be enough to capture the stranger’s attention and get them to help him.

“UM.. EXCUSE ME, IM WOST AND TOO WIDDLE TO MOVE THROUGH THIS CWOWD. CAN YOU HELP ME FIND MY MOMMY PWEASE?” Pip said, pouting and about to start fake crying again. But the stranger didnt seem to hear him. Instead, they started to walk back to their office.

“WH- UM, EXCUSE ME?? HELLO??? DID YOU EVEN HEAR ME???? IM A WIDDLE LAMIA AND I NEED HELP!!! ARE YOU DEAF?? HEWWO!!!” Pip yelled, the baby act completely dropped as he was ignored. He was extremely angry so he raised his voice, damaging his throat a little but continuing regardless. “I AM PIP, THE GREATEST AND MOST IMPORTANT PYGMY IN THE WORLD!! HOW CAN YOU NOT HEAR-“

And then another person immediately walked by and “unintentionally” kicked Pip on the rib, breaking it and sending him flying all the way across the lobby, making him hit his head against the marble floor. Pip laid there against the wall, in too much pain and complete shock, trying to process what had happened. Never in his life had Pip gotten harmed before, his previous owner was always so careful and caring, making sure he was always safe and protected. He had never known pain until that moment.

Little blue tears fell from Pip’s eyes, the difference this time was that they were genuine and not fake. He wanted to go back to his first home, where his owner gave him a whole human king-sized bed just for him. Where Pip could cheerfully slither across the long table full of all kinds of delicious food and pick what he wanted whenever he wanted. Where Pip had an entire miniature theme park just for him to play in. He regretted being so ungrateful, he regretted pissing and pooping everywhere to get his previous owner’s attention, he regretted rippin apart his previous owner’s nice chairs and couches whenever he threw a tantrum, he regretted interrupting others and yelling and manipulating his previous owner to get his way, he regretted insulting his previous owner multiple times and calling them horrible things.

Pip started crying, sobbing even. He regretted everything he did and how much of an unbearable brat he had been. He wanted his comfortable life back. He wanted to feel pampered and like the center of everything again. He tried screaming, calling out to Mommy again, he desperately needed her to hold him or at least pat his back or something. But nothing happened. So despite the pain of his now cracked skull and broken rib, Pip pushed himself up and tried slithering around again. Calling out to Mommy and crying non stop, not caring about the ammount of snot that now dripped from his nose cavity.

As he slithered around, Pip didn’t watch where he was going and another person walked by and harmed him. This time, they stepped on his tail, causing the internal tail bone to shatter and the ecto-flesh to rip open, beginning to bleed. Pip let out a loud, ear piercing scream, hugging his tail in pain as he curled up into a fetal position. Then another person walked by and kicked Pip once again, the force of the kick itself caused another couple of ribs to break. Pip could not stop screaming, the pain was too unbearable for him.

Even with his damaged tail, Pip tried dragging his body across the floor, trying to escape the crowd. But another pair of seemingly giant feet crushed his little arms. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!”. He screeched, but the person responsible for it kept walking as if nothing had happened. He tried using his body and his tail to push himself forward but another couple of people walked by, kicking him around between them as if he was a pingpong ball. Every time he tried getting out of the crowd, people would suddenly walk by and either step on him or kick him back to the center of it all. Tears fell from his eyes as he recieved another kick, then another, and so on.

He cried, he screamed, he yelled as loud as he could. Maybe if he was loud enough, people would realize he was there and maybe even help him. But no, nobody cared and they continued on with their day. Now, compared to the treatment he was used to, Pip felt insignificant. He was no longer “The Great and Amazing Pip, The Specialest Pygmy Of The Entire World!”, he was just a worthless little thing, lost in an office building, getting kicked around as if he was nothing but trash.

Finally, Pip caught a glimpse of Mommy in the distance, she was talking with another woman as she held a cup of coffee and a clipboard. Tears of joy formed on Pip’s eyes. Maybe this nightmare would finally be over! Maybe if he screamed loud enough, Mommy would recognize his voice and immediately go to his rescue!

With anticipation and hope in his eyes, Pip took a huge chunk of air and prepared to let out the yell of his life. But life had other plans as a woman walked in. She was wearing tall heels, clicking and clacking against the floor. Without a care in the world, she walked by and interrupted Pip mid-yell as she stepped on his spine. Pip felt the sharpest and strongest pain of his life coursing through his entire body. He wanted to screech in pain but he couldn’t, he couldn’t talk, he couldn’t scream, he couldn’t move the lower half of his body…

Tears fell from his eyes, panic surged through his body as he saw Mommy about to ride the elevator. He used his broken arms and tried dragging himself in her direction with all the strength he had left despite the immense, agonizing pain he felt.

“MoMmy- Mo- ahk! moMmy! hElp mE! It hUrtS.. HURTS! HELP! MO-“ but Pip couldn’t even finish his sentence as a floor scrubber passed by. Polishing and sweeping the floor and picking up Pip along the way. The little pygmy was trapped alongside the dust and trash. Pip could feel everything despite being unable to move. He felt his tiny little body being ripped apart and crushed piece by piece. His arms were first, then his tail, then finally his torso and head detached and nothing but dusty, bloody remains mixed with garbage and dirt were left.

When Mommy returned home that afternoon, she didn’t seem surprised that Pip was nowhere to be found. Instead of panicking or worrying, Mommy just shrugged and started to put away the groceries. Maybe Pip had slipped out and died as he fell from the window, or a stray cat got inside and ripped him apart. Whatever had happened to Pip, Mommy didn’t really care, she had better things to do and she had already been considering returning Pip back to the adoption center anyways.

And so, with another bitty gone, life on the big city continued, for nobody would care about an insignificant and worthless little bitty.

The End.

[ub-sessed]

Favourite knitting notions:

Little tiny elastics: They make great stitch markers because they're cheap, they come in a ton of colours, and I can cut them if I accidentally knit them into my work.

Clover Bamboo Knitting Repair Hooks: The crochet-hook end doesn't make a very good crochet hook, but it works, and the pointy end is great for getting into tight provisional stitches or dropped stitches.

Disc brand crochet hook: The only hook that I can somewhat reliably grab the yarn with.

Knit Picks Options Sunstruck interchangeable needles: Very pointy, perfect slipperiness for acrylic and wool, nice pale colour makes it easy to see yarn. Cable is kind of stiff, so not good for magic loop. Bit of a bump at the join, so yarn gets a bit caught up. A bit too pointy for splitty yarn.

Prym Ergonomic knitting needles: Perfect for learning how to knit, especially with slippery yarn or Norwegian purling, because they're fairly grippy, not too flexible, and the teardrop shape makes it easy to catch the yarn. Also the cable is super flexible.

Cheap bamboo fixed circulars that I found at the thrift store: The cable is silicone so it's super flexible, and the join is perfectly smooth. They're super pointy and not too grippy.

Homemade cake winder: basically just a paper towel roll with a slit cut in the end. Effectively free, easy and fun to use, and so satisfying.

Needle book that I knitted for my yarn needles: I lost this, so I'm going to have to make another one!

Notions that are just OK:

Clover Quick Locking Stitch Markers: I love the fact that they look like little sheep, and it's handy to have stitch markers that can be opened, but this brand often comes open on its own.

Retractable measuring tape: Easier to use than a non-retractable tape, but I wish mine weren't round: it doesn't stand up very easily.

Least favourite knitting notions:

Straight knitting needles: Too long! Difficult to manipulate.

Cable needles: I have a tremor that makes it hard for me to manipulate three needles at the same time.

Blunt metal knitting needles: too slippery, don't catch yarn.

Plastic knitting needles: Too bendy, too grippy.

The cute little embroidery scissors they sell at the cash: Very pretty, but the handles are so small that my fingers get stuck in them.

Kai embroidery scissors: Too big to fit easily in a small bag, too pointy (they catch on stuff), and they don't cut well. But the handles are comfortable.

Lightbulb stitch markers: I have a tremor that makes it hard for me to open and close these, and they're so tiny that they're hard to see on my knitting.

Dark coloured knitting needles (or any knitting needles that are the same colour as my yarn): Make it too hard for me to see the yarn for complicated stitches or splitty yarn.

Unique brand dangly row counter: Too loose, turns by itself while I'm knitting.

The cheap plastic yarn needles that come in kits: Too bendy, not sharp enough.

Clover interchangeable bamboo needles: Nice and pointy, but the tips are too short for me, and the join isn't smooth.

HiyaHiya interchangeable bamboo needles: The tips are too short for me, and the join isn't smooth.

Any stitch marker that can't be cut or opened, because I sometimes knit my markers into my work by accident.

Yarn bowl: My yarn lives in the project bag so I can bring it anywhere, in a centre-pull cake.

Cake winder: I can't imagine ever knitting enough to justify the cost and space for one of these, when an empty paper towel roll will do the job almost as well.

Knitting notions I'd like to try:

Flox: Little tiny 2.5mm bamboo needles joined by a short piece of flexible cable that stays in the shape you put it in.

Knit Picks Colorwork Snap Bag: Has snaps to keep your working yarns in order.

Wool needles with a little plastic loop instead of an eye: However I have read that they break or get flattened.

Barber Cords: I HATE picking up provisional stitches from a piece of yarn, but Barber Cords are ridiculously expensive, so I just picked up a random piece of silicon tubing, and next time I need to do a provisional cast on I'm going to try that.

Folding thread scissors: I don't like having pointy things in my project bags.

Knitting needle case

Knitting thimble/yarn guide ring: For when I'm knitting with more than two colours.

Addi Long Lace Rocket knitting needles: For knitting with polyester, because they're supposed to be very slippery and quite pointy.

Lykke DPNs: For knitting simple things in the round with splitty yarn, because they're kind of grippy and not too sharp.

Hook or U-shaped cable needle: Because I find straight cable needles too hard to work with.

Yarn gauge

Needle gauge

Split ring markers

Tulip bamboo knitting needles: Tulip makes the best sewing needles, so I figure their knitting needles are probably good too. And they seem to have a perfectly smooth join.

Merchant & Mills Wide Bow scissors: Not too long, with super big handles that my fingers won't get stuck in.

Short transparent ruler.

Locking stitch markers that aren't made by Clover: Because the Clover ones are hard to manipulate, and they sometimes come open by themselves.

Higher quality dangly row counter

[ultimateaclrecovery]

Japan day 7 (11/16)

More Hakone and then Tokyo!

Started by trying to watch the sunrise from the onsen. We mostly missed the actual sunrise but it was still really pretty

We then got breakfast in the room which was this cute little bento box.

We then went back up the ropeway and it was so clear and we got a great view of mt Fuji! One of the legs up we even got a car to ourselves which was cool and the views were great.

We then tried to get a picture with the water Tori gate, but the line was crazy long and so slow moving so we took a quick pic from the side and moved on. But I still got a cute pic by an adorable bridge! Sadly my eyes were closed so you get the slightly blurry Live Photo from when they were open 🤷‍♀️

When we finally made it Tokyo station I got dipping ramen and it was the best ramen I ever had and it was like 7 dollars which is crazy.

I also found this adorable penguin in a Christmas tree which I managed to not buy the first time but then went back later to get it 😂

We then wandered around took in the city views and the lake in park. We got drinks at this adorable owl themed brewery my bf likes and then got dinner and then magi carp custard for dessert

Overly long travel diary

Day 7

In the morning we try to catch the sunrise in the onsen. Official sunrise time is 6:18 and we get down there like 6:05 but it’s already pretty light and not very many fun colors. It’s still pretty tho. A little while later the sky gets some nice pink to it.

After we get all our onsen time in we head back up to the room. We still have like an hour before breakfast and finally get some quality time. I am annoyed by how much better this makes me feel, but here we are.

Breakfast is also a lot of fish and I’m over having food I don’t like.

Sunrise onsen.

Breakfast in cute little bento box.

Rooeway which is extra great because clear day and can see my Fuji.

After breakfast we head back to the rooeway. It’s like 9am so it’s pretty empty here and we get a car all to our selves on the way up which is really fun. It’s a clear day today so we can see my Fuji from the rooeway car which is fun too see. It really sticks out above the rest of the landscape. All of the other mountains are full of trees and green on top and then there’s Fuji looming in the background with its giant snow covered peak.

We also get a great view of the sulphuric vents.

When we get to the bottom we go to hike around the lake to a water Tori gate. Some of our way there is on a lovely path through the woods where you can see the lake. And some of it is along the road where you try not to get hit by cars

Try and take pic with the Tori water gate but the line is too long and moves too slowly. Everybody has waited for a while so they want their full photo shoot and it takes like five minutes per group. We don’t want to wait for a picture for like 45 minutes So instead we just take pictures and a selfie from the side and it’s fine.

As we walk back we do cross a really cute bridge and my bf offers (actually offers! ) to take a pic of me on the bridge. I had been wanting a cute bridge pic so I love it.

And then we take a bus and two trains to Tokyo.

We stop at Tokyo station to get ramen. We have to wait in a line for about 15 minutes. Then we quickly order at the vending machine and are seated. The music playing is very fast paced and it feels like everything is rushed. But it is very efficient. We get dipping ramen Where the noodles are in a separate bowl and are cold, and then you dip into the bowl filled with hot broth. It’s so delicious. Sometimes I don’t get the timing of the dip amount right and the noodles end up too hot or too cold but mostly it’s perfect. Anthony paid on his suica card. Mine was 1040 yen. Which is so crazy cheap for the best ramen I’ve ever had.

After we walk through the Tokyo station character street. It’s filled with adorable shops. I find the most precious penguin stuffed animal that’s wearing a Christmas tree and I nearly die of cuteness. (I don’t get it because I do not need a 30 dollar stuffed animal that will just sit in the pile in my room)

There’s also a bear themed store where I find a bear cutout that can be used to make bear shaped pancakes or omelette a. And at 1300 yen I have to have it.

Hotel

Walk around streets

Laundry

Izakaya for dinner

We head to the hotel to check in and then walk around the streets. I think walking around the streets of Tokyo is one of my favorite parts of the trip. They are all lined with so many little stores and there are just people everywhere bustling about. The streets are all really clean and everyone is really polite. Like the queues for things are always so well organized even when they aren’t marked it’s remarkable.

We do laundry at our hotel and then head out to izakaya, which is a Japanese things where you get drinks and grilled items, small plates style usually for sharing. They typically require at least one drink and food item per person. It’s so weird to me that there are places in Japan that will require you to order a drink. It doesn’t have to be alcoholic but as someone who rarely orders drinks and almost never non alcohol with meals it’s a bit odd to me. It’s usually places that are really busy.

The place we go to seems rather American food themed but all of the other people in there are Japanese and not tourists. Our waiter tho has excellent English. I get a mango beer and Anthony gets about her highball, his favorite Japanese thing. And we get garlic bread and a meat sample plate. There’s way too much food and we struggle to make it through most of it. Anthony keeps pushing for us to eat more because he’s convinced it looks bad or something to not eat most of it or is wasteful. I’ve clearly been spending too much time on the intuitive eating side of Instagram so I’m just like my body is not a trash can. Also if I’m too full for it to taste good why bother eating it? We eventually give up on it and head back to the hotel.

[prettypinktulips]

Sam (stardew valley) x my character

(i made this as a joke cus i got mad that he rejected me at the flower dance) WARNINGS: angst um maybe fluff im not editing this after to say if i added fluff or not, sad stuff and i think thats it ALSO THE NAME OF MY CHARACTER WAS A JOKE TOO CUS I COULDNT THINK OF ANYTHING SO I JUST PUT RANDOM LETTERS TOGERHTER

Bishii felt his eyes widen with glee as he opened the letter. "The Flower Dance." were the only words popping out to him, and he knew exactly who he wanted to ask. Sam. Him and Sam have been talking for a few weeks, Bishii offering him a few gifts every week when he could afford it. Sam seemed appreciative of every gift he was managed to get him, he knew the farmer had trouble getting money since he just got to Pelican Town.

The farmer smiled widely as he stashed the letter in his jeans. No time to worry about the flower dance right now, he had to attend his crops. He sighed and grabbed the watering can, the sun dancing against his already tan skin. Harvey was starting to get worried about him because of all the times the farmer as passed out from overworking himself. He kept trying to warn him and telling him to take breaks when he knew he needed them. But of course Bishii just brushed it. He really needed the money from the crops. To take care of his animals and.. he didn't say it distinctly but, Sam.

After he finished watering his crops, he turned his attention to his cat. He almost forgot to give her water. "Come here, pancake." The ginger chuckled and walked up to her water bowl, he tilted the watering can over and started to pour some of the water in the brown colored bowl. (The cat and him are both ginger, ITS SO CUTE) "I think that's all I have to do for today, huh?" Bishii set the watering can down in the yard and yawned quietly, he looked up at the sky as it blinded him. It was still so early he didn't know what made him this tired. Maybe he just wanted this flower dance to come up already; he headed inside and looked around at his house. To himself he thought it was quite spacious, it has a kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom. What else could he possibly ask for? The kitchen had dark chocolate brown, wooden walls. His room was completely different, he didn't even bother trying to change the leaf wallpaper the house came with. He plopped onto his bed.. suited for two people. He didn't want to talk about that part. He knew exactly why he got the two-person bed.

A few days later after the farmer did was just water his crops, fed his animals, went to bed on repeat. It was finally the day, the day he was longing for has finally came. He walked into the kitchen and turned the water on, he tilted his head underneath the faucet and ran his fingers through his long hair. It really was a hassle to keep up, he was just planning on cutting it sooner or later. He had to keep his hair from getting tangled in his earrings sometimes which really pissed him off. After what seemed like forever, he was finally finished getting ready. His hair was slicked back, he had his cheap cologne on, and what seemed like his best clothes. How could he almost forget the most important thing on his list? The bouquet. He kept the flowers in a vase so they wouldn't dry out. They were truly magnificent. He knew Sam would love them indefinitely.

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

THE FLOWER DANCE

Bishii was so fucking nervous. He kept trying to talk himself out of not doing this. The dance was going to start in any minute.. what if someone was to ask Sam before him? I mean, how could they not. He took a deep breath and walked into the forest, he felt his mouth drop open a little as he took in the scenery. "Holy shit.." It was so beautiful, everyone looked beautiful. Then he caught the farmer's eye. There he was. Sam. All he had to do was ask him to dance, that didn't seem so hard. He held the bouquet close to him as he headed towards the group.

"Sam? Could I talk to you?" The farmer swallowed hard. He had already talked to him now there's no running away. "Yeah, what's up?" The blonde looked at him and smiled, he still had that stupid hairstyle of his. The farmer loved it though. "I was.. wondering if you'd like to dance with me?" Bishii watched as the blondes face fell. "I.." Sam looked to the side. He felt his heart drop to his stomach as he gripped the bouquet firmly. God, please, please.. he prayed internally to himself as he felt the tears forming in his eyes. "I dunno, maybe next year? I'm already dancing with Penny.. And plus I barely know you." Bishii felt the flowers fall out of his hands as he clenched his fists. Barely know me..? He choked on his tears and turned around. "It's fine." He lied right through his teeth, everybody was looking at them. Everybody knows that Sam just rejected him. His fingernails were so deep in his skin that they caused it to bleed, tears were rolling down his tan cheeks. He just got humiliated in front of basically the whole town. He had to get out of here but he was trapped, all the exits were cut off with some stupid tape. He was stuck there until the dance ended. But the only thing he could think was how he had to get away from Sam.

Bishii was standing in the dark corner next to some trees, he watched as Sam and Penny danced, he was still sobbing for some reason. Maybe it's because he wished he was in Penny's place.. Yeah, that was probably it.

"Hey kiddo, you alright?" Robin was right there, she had a worried look on her face. "I saw what happened.. I'm sorry that you weren't able to attend the dance." The farmer looked down a little and noticed she had the bouquet in her hands. "The bouquet..?" He mumbled and she just nodded. "Well, I didn't want such beautiful flowers to go to waste.." She handed them to the farmer and he nodded. "I suppose so.."

A few hours later the farmer was back home. In his bed; all he did was stare up at the ceiling, replaying the scenario in his head. Bishii should've known he was going to get rejected. Sam was way out of his league.. and then him compared to Penny? He was nowhere near as beautiful as she was. He tried his best to hold the tears back as he laid on his side, he was meet face to face with pancake. He let out a few chuckles as she licked some of the salty tears off of his cheek. He ignored Sam for a few weeks, every time Sam tried to talk to him, Ignored. Meet him outside his house? Ignored. He just left some flowers at his door when it was Sam's birthday.

[peacefulworld2003feelthegroove]

thank you <3

i dont really regress myself either but its something ive look into, there a lot of old media that makes me naturally regress, ive always hated how much i fight about it in my head sometimes i wish i could just shut my brain off

Oh, I mean as a label. I don't consider myself a regresor, because I don't "regress". I don't consider myself an adult who sometimes falls back into regressing to childhood- I always consider myself an adult kid! I'm always 5-7 at heart, there's a lot of labels that mean this, I don't really mess with labels much though, mostly 'perma regressor' (which I don't care for due to above reasons) or transage which I do like but other people don't, to a violent degree which messes with my OCD, or adult baby / adult child, but other people view these as solely sexual so I don't really connect with them, hence why I call myself just a babyfur often. I'm a golden retriever and I'm 6. Sometimes I have to pretend to be a big kid, but nothing about me changes.

But onto your ask, I love old cartoons! I have a nice little collection of VHS and DVD for my CRT which sometimes I will watch before bed... only modern cartoons I like is spongebob and bluey!

If you want to regress more, I'd recommend listening to 2010 pop music like Owl City, coloring with crayons, looking at old memes like rage comics, getting a 1 foot + plushy to hold (makes you feel smaller) and making kids food (bonus points if you have kids plates or bowls!) (Things like kraft Mac is cheap, and if you take good care of it, a cute sandwich cutter you only need to buy once.)

[soomine-writes]

Seoul is pretty cute, ngl

We had a few free days between traveling to Jeju and Busan (tomorrow) and we decided to spend the time exploring Seoul on our own! We first went to Insadong which is this huge shopping street with popup shops, artist stores, and little souvenir shops. It is also home to cute little photo spots like seen in the second photo above.

I ended up paying too much money here, but when in Seoul, you need to buy I suppose.

I should mention that this was the hottest day of pur trip so far. I think the temperature was 96F and felt like 106F. Walking around was not fun, and I do not recommend it. This trip can be summarized as, we are fighting for our lives.

We next went to Lotte Tower which is this huge department store with 10+ floors! It is divided into two towers where one floor holds its amusement park and the other holds all the stores. We specifically wanted to go to the Ghibli store, but it took a while to get there.

I also spent too much money at the Ghibli store, but you have to do what you have to do. Lotte World is huge, and we managed to find an aquarium there as well. With some time to kill, we ended up wandering around.

It's a really good aquarium! As someone who just went to the Baltimore aquarium a few weeks ago, it's really good! You wouldn't think it since it's inside a mall, but it's huge and has lots of exhibits and 2 water tunnels!!! It just kept going and going, and man, was it worth the measly $25! So cheap! Highly recommend going if you're in the area.

Food here is so great. I love it here. This is a heaven. We've been in so many good restaurants, and I've loved every bite. I cannot wait for my next meal because I know it's going to be good.

Food is so cheap here. Rose explained to me that the restaurants here have very small menus, but they do those few things really well. So the overhead of the expensive items is really small, so meals are cheap. An entire bowl of noodles is usually only $9! It's kind of crazy, but man, I could waste so much money here on food.

We're heading to Busan tomorrow at 7:30 sharp. It's a 4 hour car ride, so god bless us as we try to make it through the literal typhoon that's going to go through the country. Here's hoping.

[alexin-wonderlust]

Day Four - Osaka - Cup Noodles, Asahi Brewery and Aquarium

November 10th 2022

Woke up, ready for NOODLES. But first, we had to adventure to get there. Because it is quite far away, and not "IN OSAKA" itself. Just North, and on civilian trains. But thats fine, because its Japan.

We had to walk a fair way, and it was confusing because there wasnt any English signage. But it was a SUPER lovely day to be out walking anyway. The cutest thing!! They paint their sewer caps here with the Cup Noodle Chicken Mascot. KAWAII!

When we got to the museum, there was a school trip there too but it wasnt that busy. We walked in and to the "Wall of Noodles", but that's actually the END of the museum. (Little did we know, there was a sign in japanese saying -> start that way) Whoops!

The story goes; man lives on ranch, finds a way to dehydrate and rehydrate noodles by twice cooking. He makes the chicken stock because its cheap and easy to make after hes already used the meat. Then he goes on to work out how packaging works, and how the factory will pack the cups with the noodles and why a cup, and not a bowl... it was really quite interesting actually -- and interactive! I used my phone to translate it all -- im quite grateful because it was a lovely exhibit.

Next, we got to MAKE our own cup noodle flavour cup! 500Y gets you a cup to decorate with markers, then you get to choose the stock base and up to 4 toppings. Chilli Tomato was a big hit with us Aussies since we dont GET IT HERE!

After we were noodled out -- no food yet, we realised we didnt have long to get to the Asahi Brewery for their last tour (and that I had forgotten to call and book) so we rushed. Hungry and cranky -- we made it just in time.

Another food tour, and we got to see the inner workings of a massive (and I mean MASSIVE) brewery. The kettles outside were HUGE! They make 6.1 million cans a day there apparently... Crazy stuff. When we had finished with the tour, they give you TWO DRINKS FOR FREE! The tour was free, they give you free beer. WTF!? Oh and these yummy rice crackers with salt and black pepper. SO GOOD.

What's next. Food? No. Aquarium, on the other side of Osaka before it closes. The Tempozan Harbor Aquarium in Osaka is HUGE! They have freaking WHALE SHARKS! It was so awesome. You walk in like, a rainforest area, and you just feel like youre diving down, under the ocean and in different layers of the sea. There's seals, and penguins, and piranha (I've never had to type piranha before) and it was just so cool. We didnt want to leave actually -- even though... hungry.

In the mall, across the way... a KFC. <3 and it's December, which means KFC Japan had all their exciting menu out. Christmas Lunch at KFC. Hehe! What a dream. Im pretty sure I got a lemon and herb mayo Twister or something and Ben got a teriyaki burger. It was pretty good -- better than Australia for sure.

Only one thing left to do now and that'd get back to the hotel because at this stage I think we were at like 18000 steps. On the way back we played some carnival games at Dotonburi, took some photos and headed to Don Quijote for the last moment in Osaka.

Tomorrow we are in Kyoto!

IG Post:

"Day Four; Cup Noodle Museum, Asahi Beer Museum and Osaka Aquarium 🍜🍺🐠

I have too many good photos from this day. It was hard to chooooose! The Cup Noodle museum was so much fun. The Asahi Brewery was hard because it was only Japanese but we got free beers… so that was good. Then we went all the way back to where we were yesterday to go to the Aquarium.

It was worth it. I saw a puffin, a whale shark, a sunfish, a capybara, otters… so many cute things."

"Considering we went to a food factory and a beer factory… We really didn’t eat much today. Oops!"

[darkhorse-javert]

Ok, here goes. because this Idea is too cute to let go

I live in a graveyard. Well not in a graveyard exactly. In the old Graveyard Keeper's house on the edge of a graveyard that few people visit anymore.

It's not really creepy, unless you think to hard about it. I have a great 'garden', and the house was cheap for it's size, because some people are creeped out by living by a graveyard. And no noisy neighbours having parties, either, which isn't my scene.

If there are ghosts, as I said, I don't think about it too hard. Hopefully they won't bother me, as i'm not bothering them. And yes, i did check, the house was never on Graveyard land.

It's one High Summer night, when it's finally dark and I have all the upper windows open, trying to sleep, that I hear it.

"Woof."

I listen for a moment, then roll over, and resettle my sheet. Someone braver than me is walking their dog now it is both dark and cool. Well, cooler. Not my business.

"Woof." There is somethign different, rather insistent in the bark, like the dog we had when I was younger, wanting us up in the mornings so he could have his breakfast.

"Woof." Yes, exactly the same metronomic quality. There'll be no sleeping through this. I swing my legs out of bed, and go over to the window, looking down into my small walled garden and beyond. There's a good moon, good enough to see a large black shape sitting at the garden/graveyard gate.

"Woof." says the shape. I peer out beyond it, but there's no figure moving, only the glints of the gravestones in the moonlight.

Someone's dog run off, and ended up at my gate. Better go down and see who it belongs to. I pully my head back in, check my watch, 11pmand flick the light on, so I can go down the stairs.

As I open the back door, I'm greeted by another "Woof" from the dog, I lean over the gate and it sits there, quite calmly, looking back at me, tongue out in a smile.

"Hello you..." I say, softly, slightly singsong "What are you doing here?" The dog doesn't move, stays sat and smiling. I take a chance and swing the gate open a little, offering a hand. carefully. The dog sniffs it slowly, doesn't move, and certainly doesn't bite

"Good dog.. goooood dog" I sooth, stepping forwards and reaching to it's neck. at the same time i quickly take in the dog's appearence, dark coat, appears black in this light, silver edges on the ears, and no apparent tail. That's odd, tail-docking, cosmeticly anyway has been outlawed for years, and this dog isn't old enough to be done before the law came in. My hand reaches the collar, and runs around it. It's a big, thick leather band, more like the collar you'd have on a greyhound than anything. Ao disk to look at, but the coolness of metal under my fingers all around. The dog pants.

"You'd like some water, boy." I keep a hand lightly on the collar "Come on." The dog whines, stays sitting.

I step a little away, bend down and try to be exciting, patting my knees, hoping I won't get bounced and knocked down "Come, come here."

The dog shifts it's front paws, then actually whines. It clearly doesn't want to move. I try again, and it leans, but won't move. No point trying to drag it, even a small dog can be immovable if it wants to be, never mind one that large. Dog will not go to water, so water will come to dog. I dart into the kitchen, putting the back door on the catch, grab the washing up bowl and fill it with water from the sink, then carry it, precariously out to the dog.

"Stay... Stay. I order as I set the bowl down. Although what I'll do if it, he?- doesn't stay.

The dog puts it's muzzle down and laps hard for a few moments. Then it lifts its head, and stretches out to me. Slowly, I stroke it's head.

"Good dog."

It pants at me once more, then turns away and trots off, deaf to all my calls. I follow, carefully, but it vanishes into the weave of the graves, behind a particularly tall one. Now I wish it had a great long flag tail to give me a clue. And my back door is open, as is the gate

Only when I go back and look at the water bowl, do i realise none is gone, and the wegthmarks are fading from the grass

Okay, apparently there is one ghost in the graveyard. A Good Dog.

Do you think anyone has told the church grims they're good doggies lately. i am telling the church grims they're good doggies.