#many real berries can have such an effect;

[inkdrinkerworld]

Hiii i just saw your post prision Spencer post with sunshine reader and im soooo in love with it (and in love with him too tbh) could you please do a pt2? Have a nice day💕

spencer and sunshine!reader have set routines on office days and spencer likes flirting pt 1 of their story 🤭

“Spencer Reid, prepare to have your mind blown!” You announce as you walk into the bullpen, your Mary Janes clacking against the tiles. You’re in a skirt today, Spencer supposes it’s because it’s a designated office day- there’s only three a month, but every time there is one, you come in an outfit Spencer would never even dream of. 

Today you’re channelling your inner Elle Woods. He knows about her from Resse Witherspoon, but also from your innate love of the film and the fact that you forced him to watch it on the jet once. 

You’re wearing a pretty black skirt, a grey top and a baby pink blazer that matches the pink socks you’re wearing and your eyeshadow that he just about makes out behind your glasses. 

“With what?” He’s on his way back from the kitchen, your prized orca mug in one hand and his mug in the other.

This is your new routine; you and Spencer have coffee in the morning while you both work through your crosswords and then get started on filing away reports for the many serial killers you’ve either interviewed with Tara or put away with the team. It’s fun, and it’s always something to look forward to, especially on designated office days. 

These specific mornings, you have time for a game you’ve fondly named, ‘Making Spencer Try International Desserts.’

Spencer can smell your perfume, you smell like you always do- orange blossom, coffee and lavender. It’s intoxicating, the way the scent just floats into him with every move you make. 

“The season calls for it, so  I got pavlova. It’s a New Zealand dessert and I got it with raspberries, strawberries and a passion fruit syrup situation to go on top.” 

Spencer knows the informational side to everything in the world but he’s never tried some of it out, as you’d learnt on a night out for drinks, so you’d started the game as a way to help him get real world knowledge of fun things- the operative word being up for debate but he hadn’t objected yet. 

He clears his desk, making space for the two little boxes you have in your hand. “They’re a little sweet for breakfast, but you only live once.” You open up the boxes and Spencer is shocked to see the mini pavlovas and the fruit sitting beside it in a clear container. 

“Do you like these?” He asks, handing over your coffee to you and pulling his box towards him. 

“I do, but they’re more of a picnic food to share in my opinion. Like you need to be having a bar-b-que or a garden party to have the full effect of these.” Spencer isn’t surprised by your enthusiasm for the dessert- your little stories about every one you’ve shared with him is enthusiastic for how and when to eat them. 

You sneak into the kitchen and return with two spoons. “Okay, try to get a bit of everything on your spoon.” 

Spencer does as you say, a bit of the berries, the passion fruit and the shell of the pavlova on his spoon as he takes his first bite. You sit in anticipation, watching him chew and swallow like it’s the most fascinating thing a person could do. 

You try not to focus on the way his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows or the way his tongue pokes out to lick away some of the meringue at the corner of his mouth. Spencer catches the way your eyes widen at the action and suppresses a smile. 

“What do you think?” You busy yourself with setting up your own perfect bite, willing your body not to give away any of your fluster at being caught looking at him. 

“It was really nice, I like the different textures.” Spencer compliments, watching you take your own bite and letting himself smile when some of the passion fruit syrup and meringue stain your bottom lip. 

Without really thinking, his thumb comes to your face, wiping away the stain easily. Your breath hitches and Spencer feels it, his smile widening even more. There’s a moment where you both just stare at each other, your breathing filling the silence- you’re fighting the urge to lean in and kiss Spencer and he’s fighting the urge to lick his thumb. 

“You only pretend to be this coy man, don’t you Doctor Reid?” you ask finally, leaning back in the chair you’re in and crossing your legs. Spencer’s sure his brain short circuits for a moment, your thighs have been a source of his torture for months now, especially when you wear skirts and dresses. 

“You know you only call me ‘Doctor Reid’ when you’re flustered?” he tries changing the subject, leaning forward a bit to get a little closer to you. 

“You have a knack for topic evasion, Spencer.” he laughs, a soft, sweet sound and he shakes his head. 

“I have a knack for you,” you can feel your heart pounding in your ears, more so when Spencer’s fingers wrap around the arm of your chair and pull you closer to his desk. “Where’s your crossword?”

[tklpilled]

it was only days after their contract had been made that kinich asked the question.

"why did you choose that form?" the cave is silent, almost, aside from the crackling flames they're using for light. if not for such quiet, ajaw probably wouldn't have been able to even hear the question, the younger kinich's voice so timid.

"huh?" ajaw pauses, turns from where he's busily munching on a quenepa berry.

kinich isn't eating, knees to his chest as he stares at the ground. he's too damn thin; his body will be of no use to ajaw if it's going to be so weak. "i know you can't go back to your real form, but why this?" he draws aimless shapes in the dirt with his finger. "a human form would be more convenient, wouldn't it?"

"stop with the questions," ajaw grumbles, taking another bite. kinich obeys.

a minute later, ajaw breaks the silence again. "it's more convenient. uses less phlogiston." he sighs. "to think the great k'uhul ajaw has been reduced to this..."

kinich says nothing for a moment. "so, you could change forms if you want?" he finally looks up. "what does your human form look like?"

ajaw scoffs at that. "ha! like i'd show you. maybe one day, if you're not dead yet."

that day came one rainy night when kinich was stuck in bed, burning with a fever, and it was much easier to care for him with real hands. though maybe care isn't accurate, because ajaw doesn't care about kinich's wellbeing. he just doesn't want his future body to be so frail.

similar situations remain the only times kinich has seen ajaw's human form. he never says anything, but ajaw can always feel him staring. it doesn't come as a huge surprise when kinich, one day, specifically asks for ajaw's human body.

ajaw sprawls out on kinich's bed, closing his eyes with a sigh. this form feels more comfortable than his usual one, but at the cost of more of his strength. he flexes his fingers, runs them through his messy blond hair. kinich sits on the edge of the bed, watching silently. then, suddenly, he reaches out.

"what the hell are you doing?!" ajaw jumps away, sitting up, rubbing his arm where kinich had just touched. kinich's hand is frozen in the air, and he blinks.

"your skin feels real."

"huh?" ajaw rolls his eyes. "of course it does. what were you expecting?"

kinich crawls closer, reaching his hand out again, but this time, ajaw lets him. "more...synthetic?" he runs his fingers along the green marking's on ajaw's skin, up the insides of his arms until ajaw slaps him away.

"cut that out," he demands, not liking the oddly tingling feeling that follows kinich's touch.

but when has kinich ever listened to him?

ajaw discovered long ago the unfortunate reality; that with a human body comes human weakness. his sharp fangs have pierced the inside of his lip a few too many times. human bodies are so damn fragile. this, though? it's new. it's uncomfortably foreign, and suddenly he understands why kinich never lets ajaw touch his neck.

"agh! what the fuck!" he tries to escape from the hands squeezing the sides of his waist, but kinich has always been faster.

"if only you could stay in this form all the time," kinich muses to himself, making quick work of turning ajaw into a shrieking, laughing wreck. "this seems effective at reigning you in."

"k-kihinich!" ajaw screeches, head tossed back, electric shocks shooting up his body. "stohohop this ahat ohohonce!"

but, as usual, kinich doesn't listen.

[sevs-corner]

More quick shot ideas on Tf 141: Mafia AU!

Don’t know much about the other charas in CoD like Horangi, Konig, Roach, etc.. (i’m still making progress in watching all the campaign vids- so far tho, finished MW1 and MW2, and in the middle of MW3 right nowww~ So, won’t be able to do much of them but ohohoho- Alejandro? Rudy? Alex? Graves? Nikolai? Oml LETS GET TO IT !!!

Links to other related works✨

(*Same PSA (Im really stuck to typing on my phone lol and also OOC esp teewayyyy✨*)

Of course there were other families in this quaint middle ground of a city. As the place of commodity and exchanges, bumping into one another was inevitable.

Although, more predictable for you at this point in your job

Like clockwork, every Wednesday afternoons, people would flock in after the usual 5pm check out hours

Those people being the mafiosos.

“Hey sweet cheeks, got anythin’ new f’me?” Graves asked with a raised brow, lips curved into a smirk as he sees the twinkle in your eyes

“You’re lucky I do actually,” you roll your eyes playfully, “you’re my first so take it easy on me!”

After leaving real quick to grab a slice of the new blueberry cheesecake you made, you plated it and slide it on the counter for him to grab

Leaning over the counter, he smiles and thanks you for your hard work, “I bet this will be your finest one yet!”

He winks while you playfully gagged, all the while pushing his shoulder to get him off the counter

You chuckle and wave him off, “nah, I still have much to learn from Nonna.”

He nods knowingly, grabbing a fork by the register, “she keepin’ you on your toes?”

You nod with a sigh, “when is she not really?”

Laughing, he decides to eat while chatting you up- so he could compliment you directly. He slides his fork in to eat a piece while, humming in the delight at the sour hint of the blueberries and the soft berry cream which complements into mix of flavors, he couldn’t help but savor it.

“Good?” You ask, swaying from side to side in anticipation for his comment. A wonky smile on your face, unable to hide the anxiety creeping beneath your skin

If there was one thing you could trust about these people, it was their comments when it came to food

From their instinctual body reactions to their initial facial expressions- you took all into consideration, which was quite cute of you to do of course

Graves knows this by how your forehead would scrunch lightly, your glasses falling down the bridge of your nose, lips pursed or bit (depending on how serious you were about the feedback), hands wringing, with small bits and pieces of baby hair framing your face.

He adores that part of you so much that he’ll take every opportunity to see it— just like this moment

He hums and pats your head, “very much so, sweet cheeks~.”

You cheered, immediately ran to the back, telling the two busy couple of what one of your customers said.

Family! They both shout at you back but all you can do is giggle, feeling all fuzzy being complimented for your hard work.

Graves could only stare from afar, seeing how you bounced with each step in happiness- all because he said it was really good.

The unintentional effect you had on each other was not to be underestimated…

But he wasn’t the only one-

"Mi hermosa! It smells especially good today!"

Hearing the chime of the doorbell out front made you quickly go back to your station

Only to snicker in amusement at how huffy Graves was being held closely to the ever friendly Alejandro.

"why thank the cooks at the back!" you proudly claimed with a thumb jutted towards the direction of the kitchen, where the couple waved at the two from their places.

"they're always cookin' up something good for the soul," you hummed, basically vibrating in your spot at how maybe you can ask for Alejandro's opinion on your newly made creation

"it's why we always come back," Graves agrees, finally able to get out Alejandro's grasp with a cheeky grin of his own

"Thanks again for the cake sweet cheeks," Graves waves to you while approaching his table, "be a dear and send me my tea when you're done?"

You nod at his follow-up, giving him two thumbs up before turning to Alejandro who couldn't help but feel a lil' jealous from how giddy you seemed with the dirty americano

With a silent huff, he places the pieces together and now begs for a slice of whatever Graves has on his plate

"Its still a work in progress," you admitted embarrassingly, "I hope you don't mind- and no need to pay either! Think of it as a free sample."

Alejandro clicked his tongue while shaking his head, still opening his wallet and sliding the usual amount to you.

"Paying hasn't and will ever be a problem with me, Mi hermosa."

He admitted seriously and you couldn't help but look away with a light tint to your cheeks.

Seeing this side of Alejandro always made your head feel light...

"Fine!" You shoved the plate in his hands (albeit still carefully), "just tell me how it taste then!"

"Call it even, eh?" He winks, a chuckle rumbling even through you as you practically get swooped into his aura alone.

Call it swooning or whatever but only this man has the chops to make you go dumb from his presence alone

"ye-yeah, but how is it though?" you quickly pivoted again in nervousness as you see him finally take a bite of your work

Deciding to play with you a little, he takes a while to comment- appreciating each chew even though he already swallowed a couple seconds ago

Still, he liked having your eyes so focused on him

"sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo?"

You begged, tugging on his sleeve desperately, the wait killing your soul so slowly that it makes you pout

Seeing this, Alejandro cackled and pinched your cheeks teasingly

"It was delicious mi hermosa," he finally admits, "good balance of sweet and sour too."

Cheering, you- in the heat of the moment and unable to hold back your inhibitions- pulled him closer by the sleeve, catching him by surprise by how strong your grip was and how soft your lips was on his cheek.

"You're the best Ale!"

You giddily leave him by the front, unknowingly leaving a dysfunctional alejandro.exe behind with a slightly panicky Rudy just right behind him.

"Boss!" Rudy shouts, finally snapping Alejandro out of his stupor

He was ready to glare at his friend until he saw the look on his face and the words that accompanied it

"Oi! Los Vaqueros!" Alejandro called out to his men hanging around the cafe, "let's go!"

"you're leaving already?" you asked sadly, coming right outside the kitchen with a take-out cups in hand.

"Yeah," Alejandro quickly walks up to you and kisses your temple before taking one of the cups from your hand. "Can't wait to try more of you-r sweets."

You grin and nod, "take care!"

"Gotta go too sweet cheeks," you turn in shock to Graves who surprisingly got to your behind, stealing the other cup from you just as quickly.

"Thanks again for the treats!"

He squeezes your hips in appreciation before leaving with his crew, making you grumble under your breath at how careless the man was being.

"Don't let the cat get you on your way out back!"

You warned, grabbing a broom to clean up the place once more.

"I won't- AAAAHHHH DAMMIT!"

you chuckled to yourself, proud at how you trained that cat to jump Graves- who for some reason loves exiting through the back side of the bakery every time.

"Alright,~" you stretch and fetch your earphones, "back to work..." ... .. .

"We're back lassie!"

"Oh for fucks sake..."

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Elements of Art

The elements of art are components or parts of a work of art that can be isolated and defined. They are the building blocks used to create a work of art.

LINE A mark with greater length than width. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal; straight or curved; thick or thin.

Horizontal lines suggest a feeling of rest or repose because objects parallel to the earth are at rest. In landscape paintings, horizontal lines help give a sense of space. The lines delineate sections of the landscape, which recede into space. They also imply continuation of the landscape beyond the picture plane to the left and right.

Vertical lines often communicate a sense of height because they are perpendicular to the earth, extending upwards toward the sky. In a church interior painting, vertical lines may suggest spirituality, rising beyond human reach toward the heavens.

Horizontal and vertical lines used in combination communicate stability and solidity. Rectilinear forms with 90-degree angles are structurally stable. This stability suggests permanence and reliability.

Diagonal lines convey a feeling of movement. Objects in a diagonal position are unstable. Because they are neither vertical nor horizontal, they are either about to fall or are already in motion. The angles of a ship and rocks on the shore convey a feeling of movement or speed in a stormy harbor scene.

The curve of a line can convey energy. Soft, shallow curves recall the curves of the human body and often have a pleasing, sensual quality and a softening effect on the composition. The edge of a pool in a photograph may gently lead the eye to the sculptures on the horizon.

SHAPE A closed line. Shapes can be geometric, like squares and circles; or organic, like free-form or natural shapes. Shapes are flat and can express length and width.

FORM A three-dimensional shape expressing length, width, and depth. It is the basis of sculpture, furniture, and decorative arts. Balls, cylinders, boxes, and pyramids are forms. They can be seen from more than one side.

Geometric shapes and forms include mathematical, named shapes such as squares, rectangles, circles, cubes, spheres, and cones. Geometric shapes and forms are often man-made. However, many natural forms also have geometric shapes. Example, a cabinet decorated with designs of geometric shapes.

Organic shapes and forms are typically irregular or asymmetrical. Organic shapes are often found in nature, but man-made shapes can also imitate organic forms. Example, a wreath uses organic forms to simulate leaves and berries.

SPACE The area between and around objects. The space around objects is often called negative space; negative space has shape. Space can also refer to the feeling of depth.

Real space is three-dimensional; in visual art, when we create the feeling or illusion of depth, we call it space.

COLOR Light reflected off of objects. Color has 3 main characteristics:

Hue - the name of the color, such as red, green, blue, etc.

Value - how light or dark it is.

Intensity - how bright or dull it is.

White is pure light; black is the absence of light.

Primary colors are the only true colors (red, blue, and yellow). All other colors are mixes of primary colors.

Secondary colors are two primary colors mixed together (green, orange, violet).

Intermediate colors, sometimes called tertiary colors, are made by mixing a primary and secondary color together. Some examples of intermediate colors are yellow green, blue green, and blue violet.

Complementary colors are located directly across from each other on the color wheel (an arrangement of colors along a circular diagram to show how they are related to one another).

Complementary pairs contrast because they share no common colors. For example, red and green are complements, because green is made of blue and yellow.

When complementary colors are mixed together, they neutralize each other to make brown.

TEXTURE The surface quality that can be seen and felt. Textures can be rough or smooth, soft or hard. Textures do not always feel the way they look; for example, a drawing of a porcupine may look prickly, but if you touch the drawing, the paper is still smooth.

Texture depicted in two-dimensions. Artists use color, line, and shading to imply textures. In a painting, a man's robe may be painted to simulate silk. The ability to convincingly portray fabric of different types was one of the marks of a great painter during the 17th century.

Surface texture. The surface of a writing desk is metallic and hard. The hard surface is functional for an object that would have been used for writing. The smooth surface of a writing desk reflects light, adding sparkle to the piece of furniture.

Principles of Design ⚜ Writing Notes & References

[lesbians4armand]

On Armand + Atropa belladonna

To begin this post, I'm sure I've mentioned somewhere my ongoing belief that the poison that killed Armand was Atropa belladonna, colloquially known as Deadly Nightshade. Where I posted this exactly I'm not sure, It could have been here or on either my main or private Twitter accounts. Either way, it needed more elaboration, so I'll write about it here.

For those unfamiliar with this infamous poison, Atropa belladonna, more often called Deadly Nightshade, Belladonna, or Devil's Cherries, is a flowering plant native to Europe and Western Asia, and naturalised in many parts of North America. They are well known for their light purple bell-shaped flowers, their pointed green leaves, and their highly toxic pitch-black berries.

My interest in these plants has been a long-standing one, and I even plan on having the plant tattooed on me, but another interest arose recently when I was thinking about the history and usage of these plants.

It's well established in the Vampire Chronicles that Armand died from poisoning, mirroring his own fledgling Daniel's death to alcohol poisoning centuries later. Of course, what truly caused their deaths and turnings was being made into a vampire, that's what ceased their mortality, but it does not change that they were both still already dying of poison, and although we know Daniel's poison was alcohol, Armand's remains a mystery.

What begins my theory of Armand's poison being belladonna, is the name itself. While belladonna has had many medicinal uses throughout history and even in the modern day, the most famous use remains its namesake- "Beautiful Lady" in Italian. During the Renaissance, the time in which Armand lived, died, and was made a vampire, this plant was hugely popular among noble women of Italy, particularly in Venetian courts, where these ladies would drop the juice into their eyes, as the toxins in the berries cause the pupils to dilate and the eyes look larger, which was considered a beauty standard at the time. (Interestingly,one of the tropane alkaloids found in belladonna and other plants in the Solanaceae family (Atropine) is still used in modern optometry for the dilation of the pupils.)

Immediately, there is a direct link to Armand's death. With belladonna being such a known and widely used poison in Rennaisance Venice, It is by no means unlikely that it was the poison that eventually caused his mortal death.

But other details in the Chronicles point to this as well. Belladonna was widely used by upper-class Venetian women during this period, but it was not a Venetian woman who killed Armand, it was an English Lord. But who was it that was a noblewoman, who had intimate knowledge and use of poisons, and the host of this very Lord? Bianca.

It's almost guaranteed that Bianca had access to and used belladonna, both as a poison and as a cosmetic at this time. This lord could have easily acquired this poison from Bianca through theft, asking for it, or having been given it freely. Bianca at this time was both a murderer and a courtesan, and with belladonna's widespread use as a cosmetic, it may not have seemed unusual to her to be requested the poison by a guest.

One setback to the theory is that Belladonna is primarily deadly when ingested, and Armand's poisoning was not caused by ingestion of the plant. However, it can still be absorbed through the skin, and if the essences such as the juice of the plant were coated onto a blade that was then used to cut someone as Lord Harlech cut Armand, it would enter the bloodstream anyway and likely be fatal-as it was.

It's described in TVA how the cuts where Harlech's blade had caught Armand began to swell, a side effect of topical belladonna not often seen in poisonings vis ingestion, yet no less real, as belladonna exposure on the skin can cause severe contact dermatitis, as well as its other more known symptoms also found in ingestion poisonings; dizziness, blurred vision, hot flushes, vomiting, fever, delirium, etc. All are also described within the book.

Overall, the time, place, symptoms and associations all line up to make Armand's death read as belladonna poisoning, regardless of what poison may have been Anne Rice's intent, if any specific poison at all. There is also of course the poetic irony of the associations between belladonna and beauty, and Armand's own beauty being somewhat of a curse to him. How perfect it would seem if his death was caused by beauty too, not just his own and how his murderer desired him, but the very poison that was the weapon being a symbol of beauty too?

(Another detail that could be interesting to AMC show fans is that another of the tropane alkaloids found in plants in the Nightshade family such as Atropa belladonna is hyoscyamine, which is used in medicine to reduce spasms in patients with Parkinson's disease, which Daniel suffers with in the show. This is a lot more minor, but interesting nonetheless that the association with nightshades is found in other places in TVC and adaptations)

[earthisaperson]

Thoughts about these posts

It isn't obvious when you're reading the posts on this blog one at a time, but there's a correlation between the descriptions of ecstatic or mystical childhood moments in nature, particularly the descriptions that mention how those moments have long lasting and inspirational effects, for example the quotations by Thomas Berry, Brad Steiger, Rupert Sheldrake, Edith Cobb, Virginia Wolfe and others, with the description in the post preceding this one which describes the vision quest traditions of the Lenape, sometimes called Delaware people of eastern North America. Their practice was to send a young person out into nature alone, often fasting—details differed from place to place. The hope was that the young person would have an experience that would result in their acquiring a spirit guide or helper that would serve as a guide for the rest of their lives. Lenape descendants I have met and spoken with told me that the place where they had that experience becomes special for the rest of their lives and they return to it in their minds and in real life to seek guidance when they need it. There is no agreed-on understanding of these childhood moments in Western culture, although they turn up here and there described in different ways. One person experiencing it may decide it is Jesus speaking to them. Another may see it as the land speaking to them or the gods they believe in or a spirit of that place, or almost anything that's deeply personal. It's an experience that happens to many people, in any walk of life. And because we don't have a culture-wide awareness of these experiences most people think they're the only one it's happened to. Contrast that with the Lenape culture in which at some point someone saw and understood the advantages these childhood experiences bestow on an individual and spread the word. Seeing that it was desirable for the group to have people with that kind of enhanced vitality and creativity, they created what became known to us as their vision quest tradition. So it seems as if, far from being a fanciful "primitive" tradition, the Lenape vision quest was devised as a real way to harness something that in our Western culture we barely acknowledge but that is so striking that numerous writer, artists, and others have felt compelled to speak or write about it, usually in glowing terms.

I don't really have a conclusion beyond that. Except maybe that as they grow up children should be given opportunities to be alone in a completely safe place in nature sometimes. It may give them strength, vitality and creativity that will last them the rest of their lives. It might also be good to find a way to talk about the moments with the child but as yet we have no culturally sanctioned way to talk about it. To say it's spirits or God or most descriptions you can think of makes it seem unreal. The best you can probably do is what the "rational" West does with most things that seem spiritual and that is to call it psychological. But? Maybe there's a third thing? and we should come up with it.

[freezingwhitefire]

Kokiri Worldbuilding

General Kokiri headcanons

(Sorry if this doesn't make much sense, I tried to explain my thoughts. ^^;)

Originally the Kokiri were spirits of trees that gained awareness and wanted to be similar to the people outside the woods. They gained that form, specifically appearing as children in the hopes of convincing others to visit the woods. Over time other children got lost in the woods or were abandoned there and became part of the forest as well. As more and more people entered and became part of the woods the tree spirits returned to being trees, though ones that left a deep magical effect on any who entered the woods.

This caused the magic of the woods to make one great tree sentient to act as a Guardian Spirit and watch over them all. The Guardian Spirit was blessed by the Goddess of Life (Farore) who also gave him fairies to help guide those who did belong there to him but those who did not out of the forest. These fairies remained partnered with any children for their life as a Kokiri.

An indicator that the child was a real child not a tree spirit is that a fairy would go to the child and become their companion. The fairies would over time tie the child to the forest to truly make them a part of the forest in the same way the original spirits were. Some children did not want a fairy after discovering that it would make them unable to leave the woods in time but most accepted them and became Kokiri just like the tree spirits.

Children that got fairies and left the forest shortly after were not tied to the forest and would age like normal children for their race, but within the forest they can always hear the trees and the forest never traps or fools them. Their fairies usually stay with them though they hide in wooded areas or visit the Great Fairies.

The Kokiri view the Guardian Spirit as their father and after discovering a Great Fairy inside the forest they see her as their mother. They made their homes in old trees that hollowed out and figured out how to make simple tools and weapons out of wood and stone, the occasional visit of the other races early in the Kokiri's existence led to them seeing such things as necessary.

They also make their own clothes, fairy magic twined into the fibers of the cloth to make them harder to see but also to give them the distinctive green color. As the magic fades the clothes become darker but are still soft and blend surprisingly well with a forest or other area filled with plants.

They don't really use money, but some Kokiri made a game out of hiding rupees for others to collect and usually those without fairies are made the collectors. They all share good food, especially berries and mushrooms so everyone knows what is safe to eat, though because of the forest's magic the Kokiri bound to the Woods are immune to many plants' toxicity and many plant poisons only leave them somewhat ill. For meat it is more rare since they 'hunt' with slingshots and the occasional bow if one of those with a fairy but not bound to the forest visits.

Kokiri automatically want to heal the land where they are. If the area is cursed their magic wants to fix the curse, and if there is a poison it is a similar thing though this often leads to the Kokiri becoming sick instead of the land. It is believed by some that their fairy companions slowly change their magic to match theirs and that is what drives them to want to heal the world but the truth of that claim is unknown.

They have an innate understanding of plants and can usually tell which ones will heal or hurt others mostly tied to their magic. Primarily grown Kokiri learn to grow plants better with their magic and to help heal the land when some evil force attacks it. That is why the Guardian Spirit is so important, he keeps them from overdoing things and when evil does take over he guides the children deeper into the woods where they can find shelter away from it. He claims that he will always protect the Children of Farore.

Unbound Kokiri have less natural protection against plants though most plant based poisons are relatively ineffective against them. A few plants have other effects than they would on Hylians or other races, an indicator of their unique relationship with the forest. Further they grow slower than their non-Kokiri counterparts but grow to be physically adults and are able to both see and communicate with the other forest children such as Koroks (who appear later) and Deku Scrubs (who hide deeper in the woods).

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

Would Pansage or Simisage be a good pet?

[As per usual, I flipped a coin! Pansage it is!]

Pansages would make great pets!

They’re around the same size as real-world monkeys, which means that they’re not going to be too much of a problem for any home. It’s important to point out, however, that pansages cannot be said to be “pretty much just a monkey”: in the real-world, there are many contexts in which apes are not the best pets. Unlike real-world apes, however, pansages are significantly less dangerous to have in the home. Real-world monkeys can be quite dangerous due to their formidable nails and sharp teeth, whereas pansages seem to have neither. Monkeys living as pets tend to develop mental issues as well, since they require socialization with other monkeys and often become antisocial towards humans who try to domesticate them. While pansages may indeed benefit from spending time with other pansages, there is no indication in the pokédex that implies that living with humans would be detrimental to their mental health.

Pansages are exceptionally friendly and generous. The leaves that grow on their heads are actually edible, and pansages have been observed as having no problem sharing them with other species, especially those who look weary (White). The leaves on their heads have a peculiar medicinal effect, relieving stress and boosting the energy of anyone who eats them (Black, White). Pansages aren’t greedy with their food either: these berry eating pokémon share their gathered food with friends all the time (Black2/White2). Don’t be surprised if your Pansage tries to share the berries you feed them with you, or any other goodies they’re able to get their hands on.

As for your home, you’re going to want to be aware that pansages are active climbers. In the wild, this pokémon makes its home in the forest (Black), so their bodies are well equipped for an arboreal lifestyle. It would be a good idea to keep this in mind when finding places to store food where they can’t easy access it, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to provide them with safe climbing spaces to play on, like indoor cat trees or a children’s playground. If you let your Pansage play in an actual tree, just make sure they aren’t able to escape and get lost on accident!

As far as their moves go, there isn’t too much to worry about. Pansages don’t have any move with a power stat higher than 80, which, given their size, means they can’t hurt you too terribly bad. Unlike a lot of grass-type pokémon, pansages don’t produce harmful spores, which is a definite plus. Considering their gentle, friendly, demeanor, you won’t need to worry too much about your Pansage attacking anyone, but even if they do it would be unlikely to result in anything lethal.

Overall, unlike many real-world apes, pansages would make great pets! If you are someone who struggles with low energy or high stress, a pansage may be a particularly good choice for you. In fact, I’d wager that pansages would make great support pets for people with mood disorders and other disabilities like myself. I don’t mean to over-editorialize, but I’d love a pansage for this very reason!

[rottenstrawberrigirl]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! (No pressure tho)

I didn't have only five answers because I loved thinking about the things that make me happy and happy in a way. I wrote down everything that came to my mind at that moment:

Of course, my husband, Fyodor—😶

To fully understand someone and to be fully understood. It's basically written in my description. Being seen by somebody can feel both frightening and happy at the same time. On the other hand, I enjoy delving into the depths of a person's inner self and their purest thoughts if they would let me. It would touch my heart if they trusted me enough to reveal themselves raw and unprocessed (hopefully, I used the right words). However, of course, nobody would be vulnerable just like that with anyone. It's not easy, and I get it. Still, I think I have this sort of effect on people that makes it possible. Perhaps they sense that I don't mean any harm. I want to help people, not change them in a way that I think is the right choice, but embrace them as the person they already are, acknowledge them, accept them, and love them, help them love what I see. ^^ But also, if they are willing to thrive, be their own authentic selves, and become the best version of themselves they could think of. I will and have helped them achieve that, truthfully and without judgment. The bond I have with those people is always unbreakable. But the problem is that I can't do that for everyone because it takes a massive amount of energy to feel someone, see someone through their eyes. I'm already constantly absorbing the energy of so many things on a daily basis that I almost don't have any left for me. I can say that I have a somewhat different way of dealing with my own issues. So, if this happens and I don't have any energy left to help myself, I can go into a mental downfall, and I may isolate myself from others for a while so that I can recover. I would have appreciated having a special friend, a partner, by my side, with whom I could heal near quickly.

Innocent intimacy. Even though I am a quality-time, acts-of-service kind of girl, I am also big on physical touch (please consider me your teddy bear). It is only reserved for people I feel safe with, though.

Quiet, gentle love. Preferably romantic.

Nature. No explanation is needed; nature is the most beautiful thing. I'd rather struggle to survive in the wilderness than try to fit into societal standards. Seriously, I think we are all doomed and will end up bringing destruction to ourselves and everything else around us due to our selfish, greedy, consuming nature. Even if humans can be adorable sometimes, I'm sure the earth would feel better if we were not in it. We harm like we own it, even if some may deny it.

Art in every form you can imagine.

Concept of life and death. It's very interesting to me.

Sense of security and reassurance. I need to feel safe.

Night sky / Stargazing / Moongazing. I'm nocturnal.

Melancholy. That word is the very definition of I.

Emptiness. If you get it, you get it. Some days, you hate it; others, you find solace in it.

Sunset and sunrise, moonset, and moonrise.

Animals. All of them except for flies and roaches.

Sharks deserve their own special spot cuz they're the coolest for real.

Nice smells.

Shiny, fragile things.

Daydreaming, knowing I am the most delulu person in the room.

Elegance, gracefulness.

Nostalgia.

Positive attention. I was born to be coddled like a baby. 😞

My names. I do like them, but I guess they're not considered aesthetic. So I will stay as Berry.

Justice.

Colors.

A good night's sleep.

Tea. Herbal teas. We should really invent a word like "alcoholic" for tea enjoyers.

Delicious food. Please do not call me a picky eater. I simply know my taste. 😒

Praise. Praise me. I may not show it from outside, but there are actually tiny emotions hopping and dancing in my brain.

Fruits. I have not yet come across one I didn't like.

Purity, innocence (not in that way, tho😕).

Soft textures. Literal heaven.

Water, ocean. And no, it's not because I'm a Pisces.

People who feel.

Money. But I loathe the capitalistic dystopia we live in. I suppose it would be more accurate to say, “the freedom to be able to do, try, and experience what I desire without having to " earn" it,” instead of just replying with “money.”

Traveling, exposure to other cultures, and seeing their perceptions of what art means.

Chestnut ice cream. I would commit heinous crimes to be able to eat it every day. And I would marry you in a heartbeat, devote my whole life to you, worship you if you would keep just feeding me my chestnut ice cream for the rest of my chestnut life. 🥺

Very old houses, dresses, accessories, etc., but never the conditions people used to live in back then.

Writing letters. But I'm collecting them in a box.

Bittersweet tragedies.

Every sun person needs their moon person, but YOU’RE THE SUN. YOU’VE NEVER SEEN THE NIGHT, BUT YOU HEAR ITS SONG FROM THE MORNING BIRDS. WELL, I’M NOT THE MOON; I’M NOT EVEN A STAR, BUT AWAKE AT NIGHT, I’LL BE SINGING TO THE BIRDS.

Maybe I am just a bunch of Mitski lyrics glued together after all.

Honorable mentions:

Humans (Debatable).

[absol-lutely]

As someone who’s resistant to poison and has healing moves and thus came out relatively unharmed when doing idiotic things, I present:

Astra’s pokemedicine guide!

Note that this guide is directed towards hybrids and other sentient nonhumans. Those who are -physically- human should avoid potions and revives like the plague, and should anticipate little effect from more natural solutions. Stick to ibuprofen.

Let’s start with the basic pokemart otc meds

Potions - do not drink them, spray them on your mon. Please. It is both very bad for you and also, I swear on the Wishmaker’s grace, it is the worst thing I have ever consumed in my life. Yes, I did try a potion once. In my defense, I was I think seven at the time and I thought it was grape soda. I learned immediately that it was not grape soda. All levels of potion apply to this one.

Revives - do not fucking bite them. Swallow them like a pill. It’s made for unconscious patients, there’s no reason you would be supposed to bite them. To be clear, you’ll be fine if you do, but if you’re anything like me then basically your entire mouth will go numb with all the medicines that you just released straight into it. Max revives are worse for this than normal ones, but both do this. Yes, I did this too, I was a challenging child.

Next, the less common products

Fresh water, etc. - do in fact drink this. Yes, it is spiked with meds, but not with anything that’ll hurt you, it’s mostly just painkillers. They’re more effective than straight potions purely because they don’t need to be absorbed through layers of skin/scales/feathers/fur and can make it to the bloodstream fairly quickly. Note: physically human readers won’t notice a difference between these and normal bottles of water. They won’t work on you, but they’re more expensive so you’re just wasting money if you drink these.

Bitter roots and related medicinal herbs - you will not like the bitter root. Your mon will not like the bitter root. You will not like wrestling your mon to make them swallow the bitter root. They suck. I personally make them into a horrific tea abomination because at least I can load it with sugar. Your preferred method may vary. Just make sure you ingest it in its entirety, basically anything else is fair game

Berry juice - while I’m wigged out by any straight from the shuckle, it really is just the fresh water category but fully natural. Nothing special here.

This is where I do not comment on what the ancient Hisuians did because while Snowpoint is full of old women who try to teach me, I do not have historical documentation to back up what were real medicines, what was folklore, and what is probably just dementia. As a general guide to what I’ve had stuffed in my mouth by assorted grannies: if you have Hisuian medicine, assume that it’ll taste somewhat like just eating slimy leaves but you’re definitely meant to eat it and it will do more than you think it will. If you have someone who tries to hype up their Hisuian medicine, though, that’s probably just random plants they’re trying to scam you with and it won’t do much.

Then, the berry guide

Obviously you will hate some berries. Natures do that.

Nothing’s going to hurt you, but if you use them wrong they might not do anything.

For the ones that lower the damage of attacks, I consistently see folks eat them after they get hit and they’re surprised when nothing happens. Eat them right beforehand. If you have a really bad type weakness (shoutout to Carbuncle who I had to mail far too many steel-reducing berries for his fairy/rock typing) then you can just kinda munch some throughout the day. To be clear, if you eat two, they’ll only lower the damage for any given attack as much as one berry would.

Healing berries do what they’re labeled as, no notes here

Tamato berries etc. are weird, I don’t understand effort values at all, but these won’t hurt you besides reducing those slightly

Anything that deals with stat boosts is way out of my realm of expertise, I run double team/protect/wish/flash and thus really really don’t deal with attack, defense, or speed for anything in particular.

Some berries only have documented effects on wild pokemon, how those would work with trainer mons is a question for your local professor (who probably also doesn’t know unless you live in certain versions of kanto specifically if reports are true)

Again, physically human readers will, upon eating a berry, experience the following effects: slight hunger decrease, slight vitamin increase, and tasting the flavor of the berry. Yes, those are just the effects of eating fruit in general. That’s because these don’t do anything special for those who are physically human.

(Physically human nonhumans, feel free to consume anything but the revives and potions as they’re processed so thoroughly you’d get yourself hurt. Anything else is fair game)

[practically-an-x-man]

for the headcanon ask game- 🚶‍♂️,⏳ and 📔 for Madison, 🌄 and 🎵 for Eris, and 🎉 and 📿 for Vivienne?

Ooooooh thank you so much!!

Thematic Headcanons

Madison:

hc + 🚶‍♂️ for a habit-themed headcanon

She has a habit of stockpiling food, especially when the weather gets colder. Living out in the wilderness for half a decade has made her very conscious of the calories she has and consumes, and the habit still remains even after she's come back to integrated life. Sometimes she'll find herself looking through the pantry and taking notes on its contents (as if she's NOT living in the home of a billionaire with a grocery store ten minutes down the road), or sneaking extra cans of food into her backpack when logically she knows she won't need them.

hc + ⏳ for a time-themed headcanon

Madison is very good at being bored. Sounds like a weird thing to say, maybe. But what I mean is: while others are getting twitchy and restless from having to sit still for a while, she's perfectly content to be left alone with her own thoughts for extended periods of time. She does not mind being left alone with the passage of time (at least in most situations)

hc + 📔 for a reading-themed headcanon

Most of the time, Madison only reads nonfiction books. She's not much of a reader to begin with - she just struggles to focus, she'd rather be out doing something physical - but when she does read, it's more likely to be psychological textbooks, wilderness guides, or other journals related to her principal interests.

____

Eris:

hc + 🌄 for an outdoor-themed headcanon

Eris is actually a fairly mediocre survivalist despite how long they've spent alive. The main reason for this is just how hardy they are and how advanced their healing is; they don't need to be nearly as careful about survival as most people, and aren't at much risk for something like poisonous berries killing them. He still knows much more than the average person would, but I really wouldn't recommend camping with him unless you've got a lot of wilderness knowledge or are a metahuman yourself.

hc + 🎵 for a music-themed headcanon

Eris' sense for conflict is in some ways able to be influenced by music. Much like an upbeat song can serve to lift your mood or a "powerhouse" song can make you feel stronger, a particularly angry or violent song can make Eris more prone to their own violence. It's never strong enough to spark violence from them outright, but paired with another trigger (like the sense of some real violence nearby) can definitely accentuate their reaction.

For this reason, Eris' taste in music is often shockingly mild for what people would guess of them - as much as she lives for violence out on the battlefield, she doesn't particularly enjoy the "on-edge" feeling violent songs can give her when he's just trying to live out some ordinary moment of his life.

____

Vivienne:

hc + 🎉 for a celebration-themed headcanon

Every few months or so, Vivienne tries to convince Wojchek that it's her birthday and that he must buy her some little treat or take her out to dinner when they reach port. He's fully aware that it can't have three "birthdays" a year, but he plays along because it really doesn't ever ask for much.

Oh, and the reason Vivienne claims she has so many birthdays? She plays it off as a joke, like she's trying to swindle her husband out of an extra sweet roll from the bakery (that they both know he'd just buy her if she asked), but the truth is that she doesn't remember when her original birthday was... and would be embarrassed to admit that fact.

hc + 📿 for a faith-themed headcanon

Vivienne's idea of faith effectively boils down to "was raised to fear God, but they never said what God" - up until becoming a siren, she was as Christian as most of her neighbors in 19th-century Western Europe, and certainly believed in a higher power. After becoming a siren and having that direct influence from a god, its perspective shifted hard and become much more devout to Poseidon and Hellenistic tendencies.

I feel like Vivienne no matter the context would have some form of strong religious faith, and how that faith is channeled is just a result of her experiences.

[askpenpals]

✉️ Welcome to Ask Penpals! 📫

FAQ under the cut

(The FAQ will be updated over time)

-General Comic Questions-

Q: What is Penpals?

A: Penpals is a highschool au for my two favorite OCs, Saturn Lonli and Graham Berry. It starts set in early summer of 2008. It was based off the idea of Saturn and Graham meeting in their teens due to a chance encounter, and becoming friends after that.

-

Q: Why is the AU called Penpals?

A: Because its about Saturn and Grahams long distance friendship and eventual relationship, and how the main way they talk to eachother often is via online chat clients or email, making them like pen pals, but like. digitally.

-

Q: What genre would you call the comic?

A: I didn't really have one in mind when I started, but it's been called a teen drama before, and looking at everything that happens, I'd say that does fit. It's usually more lighthearted than one though...most of the time.

-

Q: How many arcs are planned?

A: Arcs cant really be planned out like story chapters can, but I have set ideas for the plots of the first 7 arcs currently, and a few more that I have concepts for.

-World Questions-

Q: What is the name of the planet the story is set on?

A: Terrafurma

-

Q: Is the old saturation lore still a thing?

A: In a way, yes. If the person who was truamatized was also a magic user, or a naturally magic species, like a dragon or demon, they can saturate and desaturate due to it being emotion-based magic. It is very rare, since it only effects people with string magic or people who are often around strong magic. Other people can see the change, but because its so uncommon to happen, most people won't know what it means.

-

Q: Why do the characters still have punny names?

A: I wanted to keep it, I thought it was fun. There is no big reason for it, in-universe pun names are considered more traditional, but names that aren't puns also exist, they are just not common.

-

Q: What is the main species of animal people called? And what do they have as their version of animals/pets?

A: The animal people are called anthromals, anthros for short, and they evolved from animals. The creatures they keep as pets are called miximals, due to them looking like mixes of already existing animals.

-

Q: What kinds of magic anthromals are there?

A: Theres a lot, so I might be missing some, but currently there are: demons, dragons, vampires, slimes (shapeshifters), griffins, pheonixs, mind readers/ESPers, and, after an anthromal dies, ghosts.

-

Q: Does homophobia/transphobia and the like exist?

A: It's complicated. Generally they don't exist, but a lot of people still have heteronormative and allonormative views. Objectum people are also seen generally by society as being weird and not taken seriously, like in real life. Objectum people are still given eggs, however.

-

Q: Where do eggs come from?

A: The Eggster Bunny.

-

Q: Who is the Eggster Bunny???

A: The Eggster Bunny (any pronouns) is a rabbit anthromal that learned strong life-based magic after anthromals stopped being able to reproduce 20,000 years ago. He makes and gives out eggs to people who want kids. She used to be able to check if the person getting the egg would be a good parent, but with how many anthros are in the world now, he doesn't have the time anymore and usually just guesses. Because of this, there are a lot of people who get eggs they didn't actually want, or people getting eggs when they shouldn't be parents.

-Character Questions-

Q: Are any of the characters neurodivergent?

A: Saturn, Graham, and Bugsy are all autistic. Saturn also has depression, which will be touched on more later, and Graham has anxiety.

-

Q: Are there any queer characters?

A: Most characters are, I'll be making a seprerate post listing all the characters later.

-

Q: What other kinds of characters will we meet other than Saturn and Graham?

A: A lot of the other characters here are either Saturn or Grahams classmates from school, or people they meet through chance encounters who they end up becoming friends with. You'll get to see Saturn's school friends, as well as Graham's.

-

Q: What's Bugsy's last name? Why doesn't he have one listed?

A: That will be answered later.

-

Q: Is Saturn's past with Forge canon here?

A: Unfortunately, yes.

-

Q: For any new readers that don't know about Saturn, what IS his past with Forge?

A: Forge was Saturns boyfriend during his freshman year. When Saturn felt like his other friends were abandoning him, Forge swooped in and convinced Saturn that he was the only person that cared about him. Saturn believed him for a while, despite how horribly he was treated. Eventually Saturn told his sister, Lily, about what was going on, and she stepped in to help.

- Have a question? Send an ask to the inbox! -

[sidewalkchemistry]

Transforming Energy-Depleting "Self-Care" Habits 😫 ➡️ ☺️ | Holistic Leveling Up!

there are a lot of bad habits we've picked up as ways to "treat ourselves," but in the long run, they are more injurious than beneficial. the few moments of gratification they provide are deceptive. they can often be the hidden energy vampires in our lives. i've shared not just a small selection of these habits may be, but ways to overturn them to be nourishing and revitalizing instead 🥰

💔coffee & energy drinks: they run the adrenal glands ragged over time, which prevents us from existing moment-to-moment in the restorative parasympathetic nerve states. sure, many tout that coffee has benefits because of its antioxidants. you're better off getting your antioxidants from a more nourishing source like berries. a need for coffee or energy drinks in your life is often a sign that you're not being adequately refreshed by your sleep or eating enough fruit (want for sweet, nutrient-dense foods). rather than continuing to neglect your needs, start your day with fresh cold-pressed juice, a smoothie, herbal tea, and/or fruit.

💔alcohol: everyone knows it's better for you to do without drinking, but culturally, it often points in the opposite direction. transform your viewpoint over drinking when you consider that it's a tradition based in poisoning ourselves. if it weren't so long practiced in our histories, we would be quite alarmed by the hangover effects of alcohol. also, in drunken states, we are often influenced to do more things which deplete us - whether that's who we choose to hang around, how we speak to others, what we eat, etc. show greater respect for your body and set higher standards for your precious liver who has so much work already to do in today's world by forgoing alcohol. it's much more fun to experiment with creating mocktails because you can drink at much as you want, and the effects are often health-promoting. and if you want to have a close experience to the real thing, there are non alcoholic alternatives sold in many places now.

💔ordering in/out: this is one of the most insidious habits because the restaurant business thrives based on menus made hyperpalatable with unnecessary amounts of oil, salt, refined sugars, and artificial ingredients (even at many of the healthier restaurants). such dishes often make us sluggish, cause mood fluctuations, stimulate cravings for more oversaturated flavors, diminish levels of inspiration, pose problems to digestion, provoke skin problems, cause a tendency to overeat, etc. and worst of all, it makes you lazier about making beautiful efforts for caring and nourishing yourself. it's a night-and-day difference from enjoying your own homemade meal, especially if it is a whole food plant based meal (with little to no oil, salt, and refined sugar). plus, you're able to infuse your own love in your food, exercise your creativity in the kitchen, and seduce yourself with your creations :)

💔hitting the snooze button/procrastinating tasks: this causes us to need to rush. one of the lesser known ways of hurting yourself is existing in the mindset that you are running out of time. try to frame your life in such a way that you're able to take your time. and when you're in time-sensitive situations, still continue to treat and speak to yourself kindly & exist in the now. often, when you act mindfully, you may surprisingly find that you accomplish your tasks more speedily. all the flustering and frustrations we catch our mind up in slow us down. catastrophizing about what might happen doesn't help us to defy physics. so, always be intentional with your usage of time. it's one simple kind act to show yourself, to not put yourself under pressure, no matter the circumstances, because it doesn't help to be harsh with yourself. in fact, it will help to develop a solid & loving relationship with yourself.

💔staying up just a bit later: a poor nighttime routine leads to poor sleep, so it starts your next day on the wrong food. adequately wind down and exist in a frequency of peaceful calm in the last hours of your day. use ambient warm lighting (candle lighting is preferable) instead of artificial blue lighting after sunset. tidy your space and your body, to reduce the stress of clutter. set aside the day's emotional/energetic baggage with reflective contemplation, meditation, body scanning, reiki, and/or forgiveness exercises. and don't fight your sleepiness. it's far better to fall asleep with intention, rather than from exhaustion or by accident while watching a screen. structure your nights to feel luxurious and supportive by remembering the value of a proper wind-down routine.

so, there it is. stop having the bliss stolen from your life by expanding your levels of care & compassion for yourself. always seek to increase your abilities to nurture yourself. contentment & joy await you on the other side. may all beings be blissful💚

[koffing-time]

You like poison types so you must know somethin’ about bulbasaur, right?? I’m gonna raise mine to be really strong so what can I know about poison Pokémon?? @pokemoncollector98

Hey there kid! Yeah, i know a thing or two about bulbasaur, but i actually haven't met many in real life.

First, i have to say, and i bet Prof. Oak told you as well, and probably your mom too, but it's true: A pokémon doesn't need to be strong and good at battling! The most important thing is that they're happy and that you're good friends!

Now that this is out of the way, let me try and get you some useful info (and i also got Olivia to write a little bit about battling. He's better at this than me):

\\there is a good chunk of headcanon in there, and it got a bit long so i'm making a cut lol

So, first: Bulbasaur is a grass and poison type, but you know that already, right? These Pokémon tend to be poisonous, not venomous. That means they use their toxins (and poison type attacks) more to protect themself than to attack others. (I'm not sure how much you know about this already: a toxin is the stuff that makes a poison poisonous. But "poison" is not always the right word, but toxin is, so i use that word. Yes, that also means "poison type" is techncially wrong but that's not my fault)

And Bulbasaur is no different! The Venusaur line keeps most of their toxins in special areas within their back. For your Bulbasaur, that is the bulb. When it evolves, it will be the stem of the flower and in the area of the back around that. So be careful when you interact with it in that area. I'm saying that because they can secrete some poison through the skin on their back, and even if they don't want to hurt you, it could happen by accident. I recommend you wear rubber gloves when cleaning your partner, or when you have to touch them in that area for another reason. It should be safe to touch and pet them on the head though.

Also, i have to say something very very important: For safety reasons, you should always have some antidote for your poison type pokémon with you. I mean, not if they get poisoned, but for the poison they make themself. There are so-called "universal antidotes", but they are not good. They help in a pinch, because they work on the most common poisons, but i'm getting ahead of myself. As the owner of a poison type, it's your responsibility to be prepared if accidents happen. Go ask at the Pokémart, they should have bulbasaur-specific antidote. It is a common starter-pokémon after all. (If it says "Venusaur" on the bottle, that is fine. Each brand does it differently, it's about the evolution-line for almost every poison type).

So, the problem with the "universal antidotes" is the following: they often only delay symptoms and work on the human (or pokémon) body, rather than the toxins themself (they slow down the heart and stuff like that). They do weaken the toxin as well, but only a little bit. If you take some of that, you should definitely visit the hospital (or pokémon center if it was your pokémon) afterwards to make sure everything is fine. Some toxins can have effects long after the initial accident if you take such a universal antidote. Pecha berries are the same, eating them often provides an easy relief for most toxins, but they are not a proper antidote.

This all is very important. I don't want to scare you, trust me, but poison types can be dangerous. Accidents with poison types can be deadly, just like accidents with fire types could burn down your house. Your Bulbasaur is not as dangerous, of course. If you got poisoned by them, you would probably feel very ill for a day or two, but you would not die. I'm saying this more for Ivysaur and especially Venusaur, bad accidents could be VERY bad.

Now, to the more fun stuff!

Something that Prof. Oak probably already told you, but Bulbasaur, as grass types, can do photosynthesis. That means they can eat sunlight! If they can do that, you don't need to feed them as much regular food. You should keep track of the amount of sun your partner gets to adjust their dinner. If it was really sunny, you can give them a little bit less, and if you were indoors all day or if it was raining, they should get a little bit more food. Also, a little tip, if you feed them certain berries, that could make their poison type attacks a little bit stronger. For example Aguav, Ganlon or Durin Berries would do that. It's not neccesary at all though, and depending on where you live, it could be difficult to find them. In addition, if you're just starting out, your Bulbasaur is probably quite young, so they don't know many poison type attacks anyways. You'll have to keep training for that.

Another thing about Bulbasaur is that they are very good at is anything that requires nimble hands. It's pretty astounding, isn't it? They can use their vines very very well. I know a chef who has an ivysaur helping her with cooking, and the ivysaur is very good at chopping vegetables and stuff with her vines. They are also surprisingly strong! With that I mean, they can probably lift you with their vines! They couldn't do that for long, but i met trainers who had their Bulbasaur help them climb in the mountains. If they had a wall they couldn't climb, the Bulbasaur could lift them up if it wasn't too high. You should try and find something that your Bulbasaur likes doing! Maybe they have a lot of fun making funny shadow theater, i saw that during a Pokémon contest once.

Alright, i also wanted to tell you a little bit about other Poison Types.

I already mentioned general safety with rubber gloves and antidotes. But i still want to add, if you know where you're going on your journey, it might be good idea to research what kind of Pokémon live there. For example, in veridian forest, there are a lot of weedle, but at mt. Moon, there lives a species called Nidoran. Both are poison types, but they are very different and their toxins are very different as a result! Again, you should be fine asking at the pokemart about antidotes if you want to be prepared.

And maybe you saw my URL, Koffing is a poison type and i love them very much. You can find them in the wild in Kanto as well! One of my favourite facts about them is: they can eat almost EVERYTHING as long as it is a so-called aerosol. That means, whatever it is needs to be floating in air, like spraypaint or smoke. In the wild they usually eat things like smog from factories or gases from volcanoes, but they can eat candle smoke, the steam from a hot cup of coffee or, I'm serious, farts! But the last one is a bit gross...

Anyways, if you decide to catch a koffing, i recommend you get a bandana or a scarf that you can put in front of your face because they also puff out toxic smoke, so it's good to have something for that when you're indoors.

The next bit is written by my friend Olivia who's really good at battling!

Hello young trainer! My name is Olivia, I'm a professional gym trainer at the Striation City gym in Unova. Your name is Red, right? One of the strongest trainers i ever heard of went by the name of Red! I think he even came from Kanto, did you know that?

But you are not here for that, you want some battle tips for your bulbasaur, correct?

Lets start with the basics. Bulbasaur is a grass and poison type, that means there are quite a few advantages and disadvantages to keep in mind when battling. Overall the poison type helps Bulbasaur when defending against oncoming attacks in my opinion, but it depends a lot on your opponent.

Let us not get ahead of ourselves. As you probably know, Bulbasaur is weak against fire type attacks, since it is a grass type Pokémon. You should also be careful when fighting Ice and Flying type pokémon for the same reason. In addition, the poison type gives bulbasaur a weakness to psychic type attacks, and moreover, it is doubly weak against bug types. If you have to battle bug types, it is probably best to find another team member that can fill this role.

On the other hand, bulbasaur is a great choice against water-type pokémon as well as fighting and electric type pokémon. It's ideal opponent would be other grass types, surprisingly, as it has a double resistance against their grass type attacks. All the other typings are not extra strong or weak against it.

Now, this is an easy thing to say, but keep in mind that your opponents might also have double typings, so you see there is a lot of strategy involved at the highest levels of pokémon battles.

Now that we have the basics of Bulbasaur as a species covered, let's look at it's statistics. Bulbasaur and it's species is generally well rounded, that means they are quite good at both attacking and defending. They have a lot of HP, which means they can easily take a few hits before fainting. They are also pretty good at defending against both special and physical attacks, but are better at taking special hits.

In case you're not aware, Pokémon have two different methods at attacking, one is called special and one is called physical. It is dependent on the type of the attack, so you can look out for that when planning your gym battles!

In the same sense, Bulbasaur is also better at attacking with special attacks than with physical ones, but there is not a huge difference between them in both attacking and defending.

The last statistic to keep in mind is speed: Bulbasaur and its evolutions are not the fastest Pokémon, there are plenty that are faster than it. But that is okay, because you should be able to take a hit and then retaliate just fine. However, it is very important to keep this in mind.

Let us now talk a little about attacking:

There is something that we in competitive battling like to call "Same Type Attack Bonus", or STAB for short. This is a thing that makes pokémon attacks stronger, if the move is of the same type as the pokémon. For Bulbasaur, these are Grass and Poison type. Sadly, Bulbasaur doesn't learn any poison type attacks that do direct damage, but that is okay. You see, Poison is a type that is "physical", while grass is "special", and you remember, Bulbasaur is stronger with its special attacks.

In general, Bulbasaur and its evolutions is, in my opinion, great at fighting longer battles. Again, it can take a few hits (as long as they are not bug typed), and it has great moves to keep the opponent struggling. You could try and find a combination between the moves

Leech Seed

Mega Drain

Razor Leaf

Hyper Beam/Bodyslam (later, and you'd need a so-called TM and those can be a little expensive)

Sleep Powder

Poison Poweder or Toxic

Rest (also needs a TM)

Growth (You will need to train a lot for this one, your Partner will probably have evolved by then)

Reflect (another TM)

With moves like Leech Seed, Mega Drain, Poison Powder/Toxic and Sleep Powder, you have many options to keep the opponent on their toes because they but a sort of timelimit on them. Leech Seed/Mega drain hurt them while they give Bulbasaur energy back while Poison Powder/Toxic make them take a lot of damage over time. Sleep Powder is obvious i think, if the opponent is asleep, they can't do anything so they have to act to get back in the game. But, except for Mega Drain, these moves tend to be quite inaccurate, so you can't perfeclty rely on them.

Moves like Razor Leaf, Body Slam and Hyper Beam are just very strong attacks that can deal a lot of damage. While Body Slam and Hyper Beam is generally stronger, keep in mind that they are normal typed, which means they are physical and they do not get the STAB.

Rest, Growth and Reflect make it so your Bulbasaur get's stronger in battle. Rest let's it recover HP at the cost of falling asleep. Growth makes it so the pokémon gets stronger at attacking AND defending with/against special attacks while Reflect lets you weaken incoming physical attacks (even after switching to another Pokémon).

Wow, that was a lot, was it not? Let's do a summary as well!

Bulbasaur and its evolutions are generally good at both attacking and defending but they are not very fast. They have a lot of weaknesses and resistances. Most importantly, they are extremely weak to bug type moves, but they are great at taking hits from other grass types. They can work well to support the rest of your team by weakening opponents with moves like Leech Seed, poison powder or sleep powder, but they can also do a lot of damage on their own with Hyper Beam or Razor Leaf!

I hope you learned something! And i wish you the best of luck on your journey, young trainer. And most importantly: have fun! (it's totally okay to lose a battle) - Olivia

[fishing-lesbian-catgirl]

Also, on a separate note from my last post, I just want to say that, as cool as it is flavor-wise, Sandygast and Palossand’s signature ability, Water Compaction, is kind of ineffective in practice. Palossand is supposed to be rewarded by being hit by water type moves, granting it a massive 2 stage boost to its defense. But the ability grants no resistance or immunity to water, so Palossand, as a ground/ghost type, still takes double damage from water moves. Palossand has a decent but not noteworthy special defense stat of 75, and the ability doesn’t boost special defense, so it clearly isn’t intended to help Palossand deal with special water moves, which are a significant amount of water type threats. Palossand’s defense stat is a solid 110, which is good but not particularly amazing. If the intent of the ability was to make Palossand good at tanking physical water moves, it isn’t particularly effective, as the first water-type move will do double damage, and then all subsequent physical water moves will have their damage be halved each turn due to the sharply raised defense stat. This sounds good on paper, but in many scenarios that first hit will leave Palossand quite low, probably under half hp. This makes it hard for Palossand to be switched in specifically to take a water type attack, especially because Palossand is quite slow (35 base speed) and will likely take a second hit before it can use its signature move Shore Up to heal back half of its hp. And speaking of Shore Up, the move incentivizes use on sand teams by being boosted to healing 2/3rds max hp in a sandstorm, but because Palossand is a ground type and not a rock type, it does not receive the special defense bonus from being in a sandstorm so Palossand still has no real tools to defend against special water moves

If you were really dedicated to trying to maximize the effectiveness of the ability, you could use a Passho Berry to halve the damage of the first water type attack (regardless of special or physical). Against physical water moves this would mean that the second and first hits do about the same amount of damage. However it is fairly impractical unless you’re planning on using Palossand specifically in a metagame where physical water moves are a big threat. Another option could be to use the much more widely useful sitrus berry to recover some health after dropping below half. Both of these options would make it more realistic that your Palossand might survive long enough to use shore up and become healthy on top of having the boosted defense stats. It still wouldn’t give Palossand any way of dealing with special attacks, and I could be wrong but I feel like special water attacks are somewhat more common than physical.

Another interesting thing to consider is that the opposing Pokémon likely won’t keep using the water move if it stops being effective. Once again, on paper this seems like a good thing. But the thing is that most water type Pokémon can learn decent ice type moves, and Palossand is weak to ice just as it is to water. If you aren’t switching in specifically to try to make Palossand get hit by a physical water type move, then you are relying on the opponent either not knowing or not caring that Palossand has water compaction. And frankly, assuming they’re using a powerful enough physical attacker, the opponent might not have much reason to take water compaction into consideration. However, if the Palossand user anticipates the use of the water type physical move and selects shore up at full health, there is a decent chance Palossand survives the initial hit, gets its defense doubled, restores half of its hp, and then is set up for the next turn. It is a pretty specific scenario and isn’t particularly reliable but it does mean there are scenarios in which the ability is somewhat useful.

One last point I will make about this, Palossand cannot learn body press or any special defense boosting move (outside of stockpile) and is too reliant on status moves to make use of assault vest, so having the increased defensive bulk from the boost doesn’t give Palossand a particularly huge advantage unless the opponent only has physical attackers. The opponent could easily switch to a special attacker, which does give the Palossand user one free turn, which it can use to put down stealth rocks, inflict the opponent with toxic or infestation, set up a substitute, get one stockpile boost, or use a few other fairly impactful moves in its arsenal, none of which are particularly massive moves to make with a free turn, but are definitely worth mentioning. Of course then you have to worry about whether it can actually stay out to tank the incoming special moves which it probably can’t so then you need to switch out and now the defense boosts are gone and it was all for very little effective gain. It’s kind of a shame because if it gave immunity or even just resistance to water it would be an amazing ability

[uncle-dusknoir]

thinking about my shuppet again bear with me.

The mouth on any standard-breed Shuppet doesn't actually have a purpose. Not one strictly necessary to survival, anyway- they can eat berries, but don't really get any nutritional value out of them other than healing effects.

They're practically pure emotivores, which considering how small they are works out fine for them, + unlike misdreavus they don't really have to rely on scaring people as heavily, since they can just sort of filter feed on passive negative emotions.

the reason i know they don't really need mouths is because all of mine are muppets. They just have slits in their faces that can open and close and that's really about it.

though honestly i'm not really sure why standard Shuppet have more visibility developed mouths. my thought is maybe it makes them more endearing, so they're less likely to get driven away from society if they hang around? or it just makes it easier to make the choice to eat berries. My Shroud is still able to, but it makes a bit of a mess before it sort of vanishes into their little cloth body.

(mine also don't have real eyes, just buttons, but i don't want to start digging into that)

If I had to classify a "real" mouth, that would probably be the horn on the top of their heads; it's got some sort of ghost organ in it (the same as the inside of a Misdreavus's necklace). That's the thing that actually draws in negative emotions so they can get absorbed into the Shuppet's energy bank.

but that's all just my experience living with too many of them