#maybe I'll get more spider plants this year

[rhysintherain]

All the 'how to make your home feel like outdoor spaces' articles online are like

'Have more houseplants!'

'Paint things green!'

'Copy this Mediterranean patio room!'

Cool, got anything that won't die if I forget to water 500 plants?

Or something that feels like the woods around here rather than a tropical resort?

I come from a place where you actively have to fight off the nature to keep it from eating your yard, I just want my livingroom to feel like that with minimal upkeep.

[kasarasun]

what if I made a thing or it already was that while Airplane wrote the world, Peerless Cucumber illustrated it (only the animals. And Binghe, fighting the animals.) And then then then

He'd totally do it on an alt account, right?? Peerless Cucumber can't be seen making fanart!! (And he's good at it. Like, wiki is using his art in the monsters and beasts pages (that Peerless Cucumber volleyed for. He also separated it from the plant section.) Because 1 its good 2 the artstyle is consistent 3 there isn't a lot of monster official art, other than that one with the black moon rhinoceros python and those other ones and 4 it's really that good)

Haha incomprehensible parenthesis nesting aside, Airplane is watching the forums, right? Not sure about other stuff in canon but he looks at the forums and the fanart and the fiction and most of it is probably corn and binghe and just a little bit of mobei-jun and also the wives tm but!! There's also that guy!!! The monsters guy!! (People would probably suspect 'Drawing the Beast's Ire'- or some other sex euphemism I'm not good at making those- of being Peerless Cucumber because 1 the writing style is the same 2 Peerless Cucumber is the number 1 contributor to the PIDW wiki and a lot of it is the monsters and beasts section and it makes sense, yes??) Anyway, Airplane shooting towards the sky suspects but not too seriously suspects Mr ire of being cucumber's fanart alt but uh uh that ends pre-transmigration section

So, Shen Yuan starts running about, right? Things seem really... familiar, maybe thats the word?- for some reason. This is because every animal and plant he's ever drawn, sketched- maybe even thought about but that's a stretch?- is his design. The firefly parallels hold their forelimbs like butterflies. That is how far down it goes. Maybe it doesn't come up until later, but beasts and monsters from fanfiction get involved, oc species, too... anyway,

Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky transmigrates 30 years (iirc) before Peerless Cucumber. He was an avid enough follower of Drawing the Beast's Ire to recognize that these are their designs! Here's where it gets really crazy. Xiao-Mobei comes along, and while he's still pretty young, Airplane can tell that this is Drawing Ire's design! Some aspect, maybe his ears or teeth, (this isn't a well built theoretical tangent) of Mobei isnt canon. Its Drawing Ire's. From that one Northern Kingdom collection. Whatever stretched his world building into coherence, completion, didn't just pull from fanwork, official art, whatever it could find, it went for Drawing the Beast's Ire's designs specifically. Damn that's crazy Airplane ahahaha moving on,

This is getting really long so I'll be a bit more concise, (want to know more? Talk to me. Please talk to me. I want to interact with the fandom. Ask me questions. Poke your fingers into my cage.) This all comes to head at the Immortal alliance conference. The monsters and beasts really start pouring in! And Shen Qingqiu/Yuan remembers his creations. However, he assumes that this is because like 1 other person maybe was Drawing ghost head spiders.

Hey, Peerless Cucumber really liked the monsters, right? The deadlier, crazier, more intricate, the design the better! So maybe, when he was drawing, he... added some things, really believable, logical additions, really just small creative decisions...

Anyway, the monsters that Drawing the Beast's Ire made were where it came to a head.

Lets have another Canon divergence. Maybe, during or after Binghe gets pushed in, out of the rifts comes a species that Drawing Ire created. It's beautiful, poisonous, beloved, and really quite deadly. Shen Yuan/Qingqiu, Peerless Cucumber, Drawing the Beast's Ire... realizes, quite like airplane before him, that he's illustrated, practically sculpted with his own hands, monsters from the Endless Abyss with claws and teeth and poisons as deadly as Peerless Cucumber thought that the really cool monsters could deserve. It feels like he's the one cutting, biting, poisoning his sweet little sheep. It feels like he's digging out the marrow from his little white lotus disciple's bones.

Ok it is shut up time 👍

[reticent-writer]

Blood demon art: Plants P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6(current)

✿✼:*ﾟ:.｡..｡.:*･ﾟﾟ･**･ﾟﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*ﾟ:*:✼✿　　

"Ow, oooow." You whined as you rolled on your back clutching the arm. You healed almost instantly but unfortunately you don't get hurt often and don't have a tolerance for pain.

"There you are Y/n. What's seems to be the matter." He carefully picked you up and examined you.

"My arm and leg were broken. Its fine now."

Setting you on his hip he went to check on the others. The train was a complete mess. Passengers were crawling out from the reck confused as to what just happened.

The boar man and yellow guy helped the injured.

there's another demon, far off into the wood but coming fast. You could sense it.

Hanafuda was on his back barely breathing.

"You've mastered total concentration constant, that's quite impressive."

As Rengoku helped Hanafuda the demon came closer and closer. He was now close enough to be recognized.

"AKAZA!" You jumped out of Kyojuro's arms just as he sensed him too.

Rengoku pushed you behind him. Akaza went after Hanafuda, but Rengoku stopped him by slicing his arm. Behind Rengoku you were closing Hanafuda's wounds.

You knew someone was going to die now that he showed up.

"why would you go after a wounded person first over me."

"I thought he would get in the way of our little chit-chat is all."

"What is it that you would like to discuss. While this is our first-time meeting, I already dislike you." Rengoku said with a straight face. You would've laughed if not for the current situation.

"Is that right? Well, I dislike weak human beings. The mere sight of them makes my skin crawl."

"If that is the case, I do not believe that we will ever get along."

"Be that as it may let me make you an offer. Why don't you become a demon as well."

"No thanks." Rengoku said, straight forward as always.

"I can tell just by looking at you that you're strong. A Hashira Huh. So that's who's been looking after Y/n all this time. Your fighting spirit has been tempered like quality steel. Your name?"

"I'm the flame hashira, Kyujuro Rengoku."

"I am Akaza as you may already know. Kyojuro, despite being a Hashira your strength is not enough because your merely human is destined to grow old and eventually die. Become a demon Kyojuro, doing so will allow you to better yourself for a hundred maybe two hundred years." Akaza waisted his breath trying to persuade the purest human you've ever met.

"Both growing old and passing away, these are things that make being human beautiful. Those may seem like weaknesses to you, but our lives are all the more precious and honorable because of them. You see true strength does not refer to the physical body. This boy is not weak, don't insult him. Let me be clear, the two of us will never see eye to eye no matter what twisted reason you give. I will not yield."

To Akaza his speech meant nothing but to you, it opened your eyes even wider. You already knew that the human was fighting for their lives against the demons but the conversation between Akaza and Rengoku showed you the big difference between demons and humans.

Demons don't die unless they are killed, Humans die regardless, and yet they still fight to preserve whatever life they have.

Your father was once Human, is he scared to die? Is this why he's been trying so hard to find the blue spider lily. Your father may be a demon, but he is afraid of death just like a human.

"I see. Technique development: Destructive death compass needle." Akaza got into his signature fighting stance. "I guess I'll just have to kill you then."

-----

They both were so fast, you couldn't keep up with it. From the looks of it neither could Hanafuda.

'oh right hanafuda' His wound wasn't fully closed yet he was still trying to move.

"You shouldn't move yet." You warned him, he didn't listen.

"I'm fine, thank you."

"But you're not!"

He tried to get up again as the boar head was ready to fight too.

"Stay there!" Rengoku scared all three of you. "You can't reopen that wound of yours it'll kill you. Let Y/n heal you." Even midbattle he is looking after others.

"Y/n healing a human. What have you done to them, they never cared before." Akaza's attacks were relentless you wanted to go and help but what could you do.

You've never been in a fight before and you don't take pain well. You could only watch as you healed hanafuda.

You couldn't bare to watch it anymore, even when the battlefield grew quite.

"I will see my duty fulfilled. No matter what it takes no body will die here." Rengoku was tired and you could tell, that was it.

Smoke clouded your vision as Hanafuda shielded you.

The smoke started to clear and Rengoku could be seen with a pained expression.

"Ren-" Akaza punched him straight through the stomach. "No." You muttered.

Even with all his injuries he still tried to cut off Akaza's head.

Hanafuda acted quicker than you, running to grab his sword.

"What should I do?"

✿✼:*ﾟ:.｡..｡.:*･ﾟﾟ･**･ﾟﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*ﾟ:*:✼✿　　

*this action will have consequences*

Tag list: @american-idiot21, @unhappy-filling, @lenasvoid, @abbylouamanda

[copperbadge]

[ID: A photograph of a building in Chicago through my window; in one corner my spider plant is photobombing the image. Through the window, snow can be seen falling against the urban backdrop.]

It's snowing in Chicago for New Year's! Everyone who bought a cute cocktail dress to wear out to the parties tonight, I'm so sorry. Maybe invest in some kind of dramatic greatcoat that will keep your butts warm.

Me, I've put the stracotto di manzo on to slow cook (fourth dish I'm cooking, third course in the Festa Alla Cinque Cibi) and I'm about to sit on the sofa and not do much for a bit.

The stracotto di manzo recipe, like the burik recipe, comes from Portico, a Jewish-Italian cookbook (there's an online version here) and I did make a few alterations; I hope people know that whenever I talk about changing a recipe it's because I'm changing it to suit my tastes or laziness, and that's not a critique of the recipe. In this case, I halved the recipe since I'm only one man and four pounds of pot roast is too much. I also replaced the sauteed onions-celery-garlic mixture with my Special Sauce, but mainly because I had the Special Sauce handy and it's the same flavor profile more or less. No celery note, but I'm indifferent to celery.

[ID: three images; left, a photo into the instant pot, showing a golden-brown mess on the bottom; center, a bottle of Bay Bridge Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon; right, the "special sauce" after the wine has been added, which is now a surprisingly appetizing-looking green liquid flecked with gold.]

The "special sauce" is a mixture of caramelized onions, roasted garlic, and my homemade pesto (roasted cashews, fresh basil, salt, roasted garlic, olive oil). I browned the beef chunks in olive oil and removed them, added the special sauce just long enough to get it good and hot, then added the wine and deglazed the pan. They say you should only ever cook with wine you'd drink, but I don't like wine at all, so like a good San Francisco boy I bought some California Cab in the $5-$10 range and hoped for the best. When it arrived it turned out it had been on markdown, so that is right there some of your finest $2.50 wine. I'll use the rest in a ragu sauce or to thin paint or something. How long does jet fuel keep in the fridge?

[ID: A shot into the instant-pot of large chunks of beef bubbling away in a red sauce, bits of gold "special sauce" still visible here and there. None of you can smell the garlic and basil I'm smelling right now but I wish you could.]

Anyway I didn't get a photo of the beef browning, but once the special sauce and red wine were on the boil, I added a massive can of tomato puree and the browned beef, brought it up to bubbling, then switched over to slow-cook. I've got it on the lowest possible setting but that might be slightly too low, so I'll check the temp in two hours and re-evaluate. It's just feeding me and I have no set time to eat, so if it takes all day it takes all day.

All that's left now is the second fry on the Carciofi Alla Giudia, which will be the last thing I do because you serve that warm and there's no real way to re-heat it after the second fry.

Breakfast was a slice of homemade pizza and like four amaretti cookies, because I am only ever classy by appointment.

[weebsinstash]

Atsv Spoilers (not really or kinda depends on opinion I guess? Better safe then sorry) Just thinking about Spider Reader with the destroyed universe getting fucked over by YouTwo and snapping back with "Then just send me home!" and then the Go Home Machine failing cause there is no universe to send them back to. Miguel being horrified that he's made such a terrible mistake, Reader staring at Miguel with absolute hatred in their eyes so caught up in the euphoria of justified rage they don't realize that they've effectively trapped themselves in a neat container for safe keeping.

No but deadass I spent my entire overnight shift last night just like, literally brainstorming different and horrible ways Reader could be "kicked out" and one idea I thought of was, Reader gets confronted and accused of being YouTwo, and YT themself is there to help pour on the tears and treat you like such a nasty awful bully and make up all kinds of accusations and also just different little ideas on things the SS does to make Reader spiral into WANTING to leave (like for example what if Reader and Miguel have a big argument because you were there during like the second movie and you're like "O'Hara what you said to that kid was genuinely so fucked up" and start avoiding him which drives him crazy, more so than you usually make him by just existing anyways

Imagine if instead of using the machine to send you home, YouTwo just strides up and basically suckerpunches you and steals your bracelet right off your wrist, saying you can just glitch out and go home that way (because YT is literally trying to fucking kill you at this point)

You're just glitching and you're crying and SCREAMING in terror, because even if you've been so depressed you were contemplating suicide, ideation is different than HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, and NOW you don't have a choice, and you're getting hysterical BEGGING "I'll go somewhere else and never come back! Don't do this! Don't take my bracelet! I'll die!! I'll die!!" And most of them don't believe you because they're convinced this is another manipulation attempt by the person they THINK you are and they don't want to give you the bracelet because they don't want "fake you" to come back

Some of them, though, realize you're just a bit TOO upset, and that maybe something really IS wrong. You start looking at people and calling them out by name, trying to recall specific events and memories, but many are convinced that "you" were so devoted on spying and copying "the real you" that you must have had them bugged or stalking them and just overheard these moments. They're all so tricked that maybe YouTwo even claims they had a diary that you stole, and that's how you know everything

These are people you've spent months and months if not a few YEARS with, being their friend, training with them, fighting alongside them, helping them through grief and loss, and suddenly you realize, oh my fucking god if you weren't a Spider and they didn't think you still had a home universe to protect, still had a home universe that would collapse without you, would they actually fucking kill you? Like imagine the horror at realizing the unspoken threat and knowing they WANT to kill you or significantly harm you, that they WOULD kill over something like this, over what is essentially just... personal beefing? Idk but, I was also thinking, what if YouTwo had actually sabotaged the elevator project from the other idea I had, so, maybe they've been up to all kinds of dangerous shit

(As a side bar, imagine Miguel investigating the accident bc he thinks the whole like suddenly falling apart thing was very sus and maybe there had been an explosion and upon investigating he learns "you" planted bombs and he like. Gently confronts you about it like "I know you've been stressed and feeling like you need to prove yourself but you can't do things like this" and you're just like. Goddamn that hurts for him to just not even, doubt it was you, maybe YT has created some sort of alibi. He doesn't like, punish you or anything, but, you just kind of blow up at the accusation and I think it'd be pretty entertaining if you're like, "ok you know what, fuck you actually, I'm going to go live in the normal part of the city" and he doesn't even, take that seriously, he just sort of acts like you're throwing a tantrum but he's like, clearly not wanting to punish you even though he's obviously disappointed in you, for something you didn't even do, ouch)

But anyways, so, I've thought about how Reader would get the bracelet back, and it's ranged from "Reader saying something only the true you would know, something that was private or no one else would know about but you and certain witnesses" to "Reader has a food allergy certain people know about but YouTwo doesn't so you just say 'ok bitch watch me prove this shit and also fuck you' and you deliberately eat the thing and go into straight anaphylactic shock out of spite"

YouTwo fakes an allergy attack and says you poisoned them and you're just like "oh you wanna see a REAL allergic reaction bitch" *starts seizing after licking an almond joy*

But no anyways back to more serious ideas, you're just, starting to glitch out more and more, screaming and begging "don't kill me!" and Miguel is starting to wonder if maybe he should just give the bracelet back, he's got an, uncomfortable feeling, and A Lot of Spidey Senses start going off and you're freaking out because you literally think you're about to die (although for closure I like to think you just, bounce somewhere else, and you'll maybe keep bouncing before you find another sort of anchor, and also for spite of course i like to think of that anchor being another Miguel, like either you naturally "settle" there or he gets you a dimensional watch)

And my preferred preference of routes here varies. "YouTwo exposes themself on accident by saying some dumb shit" to "you say something only you would know, something like extremely personal, like maybe you even stalk up to Miguel and bring up something he said to you about losing his family and like, how you respected him for going through all that and how you were glad he was the society's/your leader and he barely gets that bracelet on before you vanish" to "asking YouTwo to prove theyre you by answering certain questions" to "they realize youre telling the truth but literally JUST as theyre about to put the watch back on, you vanish" to, finally, "you cant prove your innocence fast enough and they genuinely do just let you fucking disappear on purpose but instead of dying you just go somewhere else until you meet a different Miguel who rescues you and now you're like hardcore trauma bonded to that man because you were just bouncing around terrified until you found him and he's just like insanely protective of you and you're just kind of, glued to his side bc you only feel safe when he's there to protect you, because you're scared of, everyone at this point, like totally traumatized by what happened and also if you're with him 24/7 you can't be swapped out and he won't think you're a fake and try to kill you right?? Ha ha you aren't traumatized at all :) and it just makes your hero all the more, attached to hear all that you went through, from the beginning, and see what it did to you, and it 'definitely' isnt feeding into any extremely intense feeling of his that you WANT to be with him 24/7"

Ok actually that concept is about to highjack this post, I need to swing back to that later bc there's some real potential in, like, Reader being like so extremely fucked up over what happened that it immediately thrusts you into the arms of another terrible situation. Like you just got straight betrayed and "murdered" by all of your friends, like basically your entire social community, and Miguel2 is now the only one you can trust, and meanwhile he feels genuine empathy for you and is angry at the people who hurt you and he just kind of vows to protect you, and, I like to think, maybe Reader has time before they glitch between worlds (unless you just, magically settle again like you did in the other Nueva York, maybe you're a mutant or your destiny is tied to Nueva York or at least staying alive.) so maybe he literally develops the tech to anchor you down within like, the days you have there, maybe it's a 3 day time limit. So, now you've got just him and you, no Spider Society, no original Miguel, and maybe you just kind of totally fall in love with this dude, but of course Miguel 1 is obviously horrified by what he did to you when he somehow finds out you're still alive. Like an anomaly villain breaks into your new home and, oh great here are some of your old friends and your ex, um, boss showing up and he's just, speechless when it becomes obvious youre the same one. Like imagine you tried to not even speak to them and avoid them to try and keep your new life but youre so obviously scared of them and you accidentally look in your original Miguel's eyes and he knows immediately it's you. Bruh his PAIN AND REGRET when he steps forward to try and embrace you in relief and joy bc oh my god you aren't dead, and you just flinch away from him, maybe you even cling to the new Miguel, and the original just. He's ready to fucking fight. He wants you back, he wants to apologize, he wants to be able to make things up to you and go back to how things used to be, especially if he has feelings he had wanted to act on, whether being more romantic or just more platonically affectionate in general, more open and vulnerable with you, but never got to before the YouTwo wrecking ball came swinging through

But yeah I'm just. Thinking of dramatic painful ideas and grinding them up and snorting them like crack. I think it's the whole "you burned me and now you're groveling for my forgiveness" that does it for me 🤌

[molagboop]

The Mawkin believe in learning by doing, which is why they have little rooms with which to bestow upgrades upon fledgling warriors. Some of the morph ball paths Samus goes through in Dread are defunct + repurposed maintenance chutes, and a few locations (particularly in Ghavoran and Artaria) were set up with the express purpose of serving as testing grounds. The statue rooms are pilgrimage sites whose stone guardians serve as an emissary of the ancestors, bestowing the gifts their people and the Chozo collectively have long developed unto promising warriors.

The process of earning an arm cannon is a whole thing in and of itself: special firearms training is required for certification if a warrior intends on using it in any official military capacity or seeks an upgrade. The power suit as a whole requires its own post because there's a whole culture around it: today I'll just talk about how youngsters earn their first set of basic upgrades.

Let's set the scene. You're a freshly minted warrior between 10 and 30 years of age: you sit on the character spectrum between a kid who wants to make this power suit the focus of your education and someone who has just decided they want to get serious about the whole power suit thing. Maybe it's a cultural curiosity for you: maybe you want to do it for the sake of tradition, maybe you want to put yourself through this to build character. Perhaps you're just seeking a new experience, or looking to supplement your actual area of study with something different. Some warriors, especially those whose family tree includes storied wielders or scientists who developed advancements in power suit technology, are heavily encouraged by their families to take on their own power suit. If you're heading into the military, you're going to be put through a similar series of tests anyways: you might as well get ahead of the game.

So you've passed the knowledge tests on theology, the technology surrounding the suits, and the history of the technology's advancement. The first and third of these are not strictly a prerequisite for the bestowal of a suit: your uncle snagged their suit first and dove head-first into the philosophy and history once they had a grip on how to work it. You wear the suit for two hours a day to start, familiarizing yourself with the mind-to-matter components and getting a feel for your new bio-metallic exoskeleton.

The suit's basic functions are useful, but you want a little more. You go in for your bi-weekly check-in with the team of suit architects and physicians who eased you into the tech, and you get a tip about an old research outpost by the geothermal processing plant in Artaria. It'll take a bit of effort (hope you've figured out how to land on your feet comfortably from a high distance), but it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to reach.

By this point, more people were working their jobs in and around what we people of real life would designate an "EMMI Zone". Artaria's EMMi Zone was originally a hub for power and environmental control infrastructure overseen by a pair of biological computers. The robots take care of the place, but the touch of a living soul was still tantamount: you'd pass technicians keeping tabs on heating and cooling systems, sanitation agents, civilian personnel and the odd researcher working a project down here in the sticks.

After a fair stroll and perhaps a bit of jumping, you'd find yourself in a compact, contemplative, temperature-controlled room with none but a statue for company. It's eerily quiet, bit the statue looks friendly: it's obviously offering you a gift. Shoot the casing off your present, which is emitting an energy signature your suit bristles almost eagerly at upon approach, and you've found yourself the grapple beam.

The trial doesn't lie in simply acquiring to the beam: it's getting out of the hole the technicians who invented the damn thing put it in. The spider magnet is a standard-issue upgrade that most people acquire through basic testing rather than a statue trial, so grabbing the magnetized walls isn't an issue. Your job is to get a grip on your new toy: figure out how it works so you can get out of the hole.

Most of the "fun" upgrades are locked behind minor tests like this which everyone with a suit has some knowledge of. For some upgrades, warriors are told outright where they are after a certain point in their education. Others are just sitting in the wilderness waiting for the enterprising individual to seek them out. You are guaranteed to collect them all if you fully immerse yourself in the study of the history of power suit development. Upgrade locations are extensively documented: you just have to either find them or be granted access by some means. Some upgrades were designed to be taken freely by whoever's clever enough to find them, but your basic education in suit tech is enough to nab you all the important stuff. In fact, warriors are routinely assigned an upgrade trial to complete by their technicians or professors as part of their education.

Not every upgrade is locked behind a scavenger hunt or a unit test: others require specialized training to receive, and some are granted out of necessity for one's chosen career path. An engineer with a power suit who specializes in underwater infrastructure requires the gravity suit. The varia installation is standard for those working in high-temperature environments.

The reason people aren't granted everything right off the bat has to do with the way the suit and flesh interact: you don't want to overwhelm a new powersuit user with a bunch of new powers while they're just getting accustomed to the way the suit interfaces with their central nervous system. If you botch suit-flesh-mind integration, you can seriously injured the receiving party. Samus has been wearing her suit for decades at this point: she doesn't need to be eased into earning new toys. Having everything snatched away from her on a dime is physically taxing in a uniquely awful way, but she's a seasoned warrior: she can adjust to traumatic change on the fly.

[lovecite]

Miguel O'hara- Forgetting Birthdays!

My stupid birthday 🎶 (Potential Breakup Song)

Miguel O'Hara x Y/N

SMUTT

(I'm just starting out in writing smut.  🤭 )

*********************

hehe- I had another idea of a short story while listening to to this old gem !

--------------------------------

Miguel once again forgets your birthday! Second year in a roll! That's it you are packing and leaving....But will Miguel let you is the question!?

--------------------------------

You were tired of reminding Miguel of every single thing! Reminding him of holidays. Reminding that he needed to pay for his bills. But this!! This shouldn't have been something that you needed to remind him of.

So, here you were packing up some clothes to spend the night back in your own dimension give him some time to think. As you grabbed your duffle bag ,your spider senses were going off, and placed it on the bed the door of the room opened. You held bundles of clothes in your arms tightly to your chest. You looked to the door and saw him. He was home rather early you thought you'd have enough time to "escape" and leave a tear filled letter on his pillow. His hand still on the door he gave you a look of question.

"What are you doing." The statement itself should have been a question but coming out of Miguel was spelling something else out. You looked away from him and back down to your duffle bag and placed your clothes with in it. " Well aren't my actions clear enough." You counter with a huff.

"I could see you on the monitors. You have me leaving my post for this." He scoffed. You stayed silent as you zipped up your bag and it placed it over your shoulder. "For this." You repeat back mocking him. " ¿Qué fue eso?" He responded back. (what was that?!). You let out a tired sigh and made your way to the door. It didn't help that Miguel being so lengthy and wide was blocking the door way right out of here.

If anything you could always jump out the window. "And you are headed where exactly?' He questioned. You were standing right in front of him holding his cherry red angry heated gaze. His frown lining deepening more as you didn't respond back. His eyes narrowed as he bent slightly down to your eye level. You rolled your eyes and looked away bringing your arms across your chest. "Move Miguel. " You stated. Why would you have to remind him once again what's your issue. He should know!

His fingers gripped the edge of your chin and forced you to look back to him. "Don't be coy. " He whispered. Being this close to Miguel always made your insides squirm and your bottom half grow warm. But you had to be strong. He forced you forward pulling you closer to him.

You could feel his breathe fanning over your face. "I said move Miguel or I'll make you." You stated annoyed. His lips curved into a smirk as his grip on your chin tighten slightly. "Move me? Are you sure about that." He teased. Usually this would lead to some mad love making but you had been preparing for this.

Bringing a hand up you slapped his hand off your chin and took a step back. His eyes widen slightly at the action you had made. "Miguel I am walking out that door. You will not be stopping me!" Your voiced comment bringing the silence in between the both of you.

Miguel pounced his arms out and everything ready to trap you into his embrace which you had already thought he would and dodged him quickly. You slide under his form and brought your hands up slinging some web onto him and tying a small knot at the end. You quickly turned around and tied the knot onto the bed post. He had face planted into the bed his arms between his legs. He was bent over and struggling to get out of your little trap. You could hear his muffled angered words.

"Told you I would!" You scoff as you quickly turned your back to him and made your way to the door. Almost a foot out you paused. This would be first time you had actually bested the strongest spider man. Now you would tell everyone about this! "Maybe I should take a picture." You thought a smirk craving itself on your face and turned back around your phone out ready to take a picture. A red string splat out and hit the phone out of your hand. It stuck to the wall behind you.

You winced as you looked over to Miguel. His wrists were free for one and two he was very angry. His right eyebrow was twitching uncontrollably as he sat on the bed with his legs spread slightly as he sat on his bottom. His eyes were narrowed . "Uh Miggy I can expla-"

" You have 10 seconds." He stated as he went to the edge of the bed and stood up. His expression was unreadable as he stood there moving each arm in a circular motion. "I-I'm sorry for what?" You ask quickly feeling your spider senses going off. His gaze shifted to you so quickly as he brought his arms up over his head to stretch.

"10." He stated bringing both his wrists up throwing out his red web and entrapping you. You fell forward onto the floor the weight of your duffle bag making you fall. Miguel walked towards you and squatted right in front of you. "You know I hate when people challenge me." His words ringing in your mind.

He grabbed your arm harshly dragging you away from the door way and lifted you up throwing your on the bed. You landed face first and tried to roll on your side. But Miguel already had his hands on you. You could feel his weight on you from behind. A gasp escaped your lips as you felt something rub between you ass cheeks.

"I told you if you were sure about that." He whispered into your ear. You struggled against him but he grabbed your arms and shoved you deeper into the bed. Your face nearly being buried into the bed. You could feel Miguel hands grip your hips and started to roll his hips onto your ass. You let out a muffled moan. "This will be last time you have me come down here to this ." He stated as his hands went to work sliding down your pants. He tore your underwear off with a quick flick of his wrist.

You let out a yelp as his hand gripped one for your ass cheeks and gave a squeeze. You squirmed under him at the pain. He brought an arm around your mid section and lifted you up bringing you closer to him. You watched as he grabbed some pillows and placed them under you. You could feel his tip rub accidently on your ass as he moved things around. It left wet spots from his precum . "Mi-Miguel please." You moan out. " Tell me what did I forget?" He asked as leaned over your body .

His fingers slide down your opening and moving apart your wet lips. Your body shivered slightly at the touch as he slowly pressed his tip into you. A moan left your lips as he slowly entered you. " Tell me y/n." He murmured. You hated reminding him of what he was forgot. It irritated you to no end that you needed to remind. His arms encircled your waist as he lifted you up slightly entering inside you at a rhythm. His shaft becoming harder inside of you causing your thoughts to become scrambled.

It was the gasps and moans coming from the both of you for what felt like hours. You could feel the knot in your stomach starting to unravel itself with every thrust Miguel would make. His firm grip on your hips and the way his pelvis would press onto you. You could feel his pubic hair scraping against you as he thrusted himself in you. His fingers dug into your hips as his thrusts become more erratic. " Tell me dammit!" He grunted. You let our a whine as his tip slammed into you cervix.

"Miguel , I-I..My bi-" You felt the knot come apart in your stomach as your vagina clenched painfully hard onto his shaft. Miguel let out another grunt as his pace quickened into you already sensitive opening. He lifted you up and brought you close to his chest. One arm around your waist and with his free hand he stuffed it quickly up your shirt. His whole palm engulfing your breast.

You felt him twitching inside reminding you he was at his end. "Damn." he grunted into your ear as one final thrust inside you. His palm on your breast gripped tightly as his hip stayed in place. You could feel him emptying himself into you. He pulled himself out slowly and he released his grasp on you. "H-HEY!" You yelp as you feel on your face once again into the bed. Your arms were still tied close to your body.

You rolled onto your side as you gave him an annoyed look. His full body suit slowly started to come back together as he stood there looking at his watch. His ever emotionless expression. "Um excuse me." You call out. He finally looked over to you with his half lidded gaze. "Spit it out first." He stated. Your eyes widen slightly before looking away from him. "Are you serious right now Miguel." You pouted.

"Ugh Miguel you are just so lame sometimes!! You missed her birthday!!!" You immediately sat up straight watching a Lyla stood on your bed. The small digital girl gave her a wink. " Oh by the way you went live so almost everyone and I mean everyone say all of this." She chirped before disappearing. "Live?' Miguel asked. You rolled off the bed quickly arms still tangled up close to your sides from the web and looked around for your phone. " Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" You spouted quickly.

"Its here." Miguel stated his expression none the less the same. There in his hand a red dot on your phone was showing. "M-Miguel point it down!! Down!" You yell out in pure embarrassment. He throw it on the bed his eyes narrowing slightly. "I still don't understand live?" He stated his arms crossing his chest. " Miguel it means we just basically showed everyone here at the spider society what your dick looks like and you sound like having sex!!" You say in horror.

"W-What do you m-" His watch went off. He pressed a button on it answering the phone. " Well O'hara if there was something I'd thought I'd never see in my life time. Is your ass-" Miguel hung up the phone quickly pressing the end button on his watch. His gaze came back to you. Again his watch went off but he hung up and one after the other his watch kept ringing. 'What a birthday." You commented with a sigh.

[anotherdayforchaosfay]

A couple months ago (at least I think it was, but time is weird for me), I purchased an African Violet. This is a plant that's been in my life since early childhood. I had one until my husband killed it during one of our moves; he put it in full sun on a hot day. These plants burn. Just an hour in direct sun is enough to do serious damage. I was at our new place, directing where things go, and six hours later he arrived with a completely cooked plant. No, I was no okay, and more than ten years later I'm still very fucking upset. He's well aware of this.

Which is why he didn't argue when I said I'm getting an African Violet. They were $6 and poorly cared for at the local gardening place. On the container, it says "keep out of direct sunlight" and "water from the bottom." They had them in barely filtered light and were water from above. Yes, I fucking corrected them. The guy threw a fit and called the gardening manager over, who asked if I wanted to work there and sent the other guy to put the plants in a different area.

They had no self-water pots, nor African Violet food. Those are the kind African Violets need. So I've had mine in its original container until today. It started showing signs of dying a week ago, and was getting way too large for the container it came in. I'm using general potting soil because that always worked fine for my previous plant. I had to repot that thing four times! African Violet food will need to be acquired soon-ish.

My husband came home with a self-watering pot today. He went to four different places to find one! A couple days ago I was have a Very Bad Day, and seeing my plant rapidly failing was what set the dam of tears flowing. It was Bad. He was my hero today, didn't even tell me he was getting a pot. The plant has since been re-potted. I soaked the soil before adding the plant and dry soil, something my mom taught me (she has around half a dozen African Violets). If it does well, I'll see about acquiring more in the future. I have a spot on my PC desk set aside for an African Violet. The one I have is on my cutting table, the corner nearest the window.

I now have six pothos plants (all cuttings from the same one), one spider plant that may soon become two, and an African Violet. Next week, I may be filling some containers with soil and wildflower seeds from the front yard. There's too many weeds and general crap in the front yard for anything but more weeds and general crap to grow, so we're more or less destroying it, then adding layers of organic matter (six inches or more of fallen leaves and other similar stuff), and leaving it alone for a year or two while I add more containers. I intend to acquire tires of various sizes, a bathtub, and some other similar items, to decorate the yard and serve as containers. Because it amuses me, we own the house, and I fucking can. Even told the neighbors, and they found it hilarious. When the soil is ready, I'll add native wildflowers, some milkweed (monarch butterflies navigate through here), and other native plants that self-seed and will require minimal effort. The backyard will be treated much the same, but with raised beds for food and herbs, and walkable paths.

For now, my current plants will have to do. I'm just hoping my African Violet survives the transfer and thrives in the significantly larger and more appropriate pot. The other held maybe two cuts of wet soil. This? A gallon, possibly more.

[wolfpants]

unfinished fridays

I've been thinking a lot about the WIP I abandoned for my original @dronarryfest entry. I put a lot of work into the worldbuilding of this, the plot and narrative, but it became something way bigger than I could feasibly handle - especially in approach of the deadline. Maybe one day I'll finish it, this Ron-centric forced bonding (Dron, with endgame Dronarry) chamber play. Let me know if you'd like to see more, and maybe I'll pick it up again before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, do you have any unfinished WIPs you think about often? Tagging (no pressure) @skeptiquewrites @kbrick @getawayfox @tackytigerfic @sweet-s0rr0w @oknowkiss @maesterchill @thehoneybeet @phdmama @the-starryknight

-

From: Precious Metal, Dron-centric, Dronarry endgame

Malfoy puts his hands on Ron’s upper arms and spins him around, ushering him back inside. His fingers are surprisingly warm, the skin of his hands soft as he plants them firmly on Ron’s bare back and shoves him into the cottage so he can close the door behind them.

“I thought we were trying not to die, Weasley.”

“Wh-wh—” is all about Ron can manage, and he swears, frustrated, through shivering lips. 

Malfoy’s muttering something about how stupid Ron is, and Ron is just letting it happen, just like he’s letting Malfoy drag him into the bathroom. 

The spider plant’s gone.

Malfoy pulls his wand from the waistband of his posh trousers and points it at the bath. In seconds, the stained tub fills with cloudy water and the room steams up with the aromatic scent of bergamot. 

“Don’t ask me why,” Malfoy says sharply when Ron’s mouth makes a small ‘o’. “My conjured hot water’s always smelled like that.”

“M-m-mi—”

“Oh, for fuck sake, Weasley.” Malfoy shudders, rubbing his hands over his own arms as he wraps them around himself. “Get in! Before you kill us both!”

Ron leaves his pants on as he awkwardly steps over the rim of the bath, one leg at a time. He shivers and slowly bends to sit, blinking as the water laps around him, hot but not hot enough to hurt. 

He was right. His knees do come up to his chin.

Malfoy’s shuddering subsides, and after a beat, he rolls up his sleeves and sinks to the tiled floor. 

“Wh-what--re—y—”

Malfoy dips a hand into the water behind Ron’s curved back. Ron squirms away, staring at him in alarm, his arms wrapped around his knees protectively.

Malfoy runs a wet hand down the dry top half of Ron’s back. The warm water soothes his skin, trickling between his shoulder blades.

“Idiot,” Malfoy whispers again.

Ron lets out a slow breath. His heart stops pattering wildly against his ribs, and the feeling steadily returns to his extremities. 

“Mine smells like apples,” he says, resting a cheek on one knee.

“Beg pardon?” Malfoy asks. His touches are oddly—tender. Well-practised.

 I have a family to look after.

“My conjured hot water,” Ron mumbles. “Smells like apples. Red ones. Malfoy?”

Malfoy hums in response. He pulls his hand from the bath and shakes it out. Water sprinkles off his skin and into the air, the droplets catching the light outside the window. His wedding ring, unlike his others, is gold.

“Are you a father?”

Ron realises, suddenly, that he doesn’t know.

“What?” Malfoy asks, drying a hand on one of the towels Bill and Corner brought with them last night. 

“Do you have a kid?”

Malfoy clears his throat and looks down at what he’s doing: meticulously twisting the towel over each finger, ensuring every inch of skin is completely dry.

“I don’t, no,” he says quietly. “Though not for lack of trying.” His eyebrows snap together; he reacts to his own words like he’d been slapped. He works his jaw, regret flooding his gaze as he looks back at Ron. “Forget I said that, please.”

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

First of all, no worries lol. It's taken me literal months to respond to people sometimes, and not for any good reason so I'd say you're fine.

Anyways, with that out of the way let me just say I find that interesting. Kiri, to me, has always come off as someone who attaches herself to one place. In my experience, there's a difference between being able to adapt/connect anywhere you go and truly being a traveler at heart, and Kiri strikes me as the former. She yearns to dig deeper into her knowledge and connections regarding her home and thrives on the familiarity of the people, plants, and animals around her whereas I feel like Lo'ak needs to travel, needs to get out from under his father and brother's shadows. To just exist and be himself, find himself and his place without all of the history surrounding his birthplace. That's not to say I think Kiri doesn't like experiencing new things, I just see her as a very nostalgic and sentimental person who finds peace in the plants and animals and people she's known her whole life.

Ikr! I don't know why I haven't seen a single fic about it yet, but rest assured I have a doc opened rn (I feel like my wip list is just getting longer and longer dude). Little fun fact about me: I took horseback riding lessons for a good 5.5 years and so I'll be leaning heavily on those experiences for how Spider approaches his own riding experiences as a human (with obvious differences). There's something to be said for the feeling of a creature so much more powerful than yourself under you, having to be conscious of its every move, every action---the flick of its ears, the position of its head, etc.---- without being able to know for sure it's true thoughts or emotions but trusting it anyways that brings you closer to it in a way I can't explain, even with the ones you don't get along with. And I want that for Spider, I want him to embrace his humanity in this.

He doesn't end up in Awa'atlu at first for the ilu racing one, no. I've got a good idea what I want from this fic in the beginning, but what happens after he escapes is something I'm still pondering. I know for a fact I wouldn't want this to be a story where he stumbles upon Awa'atlu, though, if I end up writing it. I'm thinking maybe he ends up back at that one village and goes from there?

And I figured I'd tell you about another fic I'm working on as we speak because I'd love your thoughts: a world where Paz actually died back on Earth, but per a contract she signed giving away her memories (which she logged regularly) she was revived in an avatar body and put in the newest program. In this program, males and females are paired together to have children (for less than wholesome reasons). A big part of this is Paz being haunted by her experiences on Earth and not wanting to be a mother because of it, and she struggles to come to terms with it over the course of her pregnancy and the early days after Spider is born, along with being in this alien body that doesn't feel like hers. I think that by the time she's gotten pregnant with the 2nd child (they're going for a boy and girl per pairing) and is coming out of her numb fog, she's begun to truly think about the horrific future that awaits Spider and her unborn baby (spurred on by the threat of killing it if it's not a girl) and ends up plotting their escape and running away. Throughout the story thus far she's bonded with the other women in the program and comes to learn about motherhood and what it means to her, and when she escapes she takes the others with her and they make their own little family before eventually running into the Omaticaya and slowly becoming friendly. I'm playing around with timelines and stuff because I think it'd be interesting to compare her and Neytiri's and Grace's experiences with motherhood, which would be so interesting to write about (Grace doesn't die until later in this world, don't wanna give away the death I'm leaning towards though). I'm taking inspiration from the poetry book 40 Weeks and more, and I love the concept but am still working out the kinks. Thoughts? Still very much in the early phases.

Also, I saw you briefly mention my memory-loss idea and I'd like to say that that brought me literal physical pain. Why, you may ask? Well because my one and only doc of the draft I was merrily working on (around 10+ pages of gorgeous notes/early rough-draft work, which for me is astounding since I tend to just ball) was deleted??? And I don't know the fuck how???? 1000 emotional damage points.

And I'm so happy to hear you've taken inspiration from fmdttpt's world! Your idea sounds so fun!

~ CherryApollo

Haha, thank you, and I'm sorry I've done it again. I've been so busy with my new job that I am swamped all the time, lol. I'm bad at responding anyway but my job is making it even worse.

BUT ANYWAYS. I love your interpretations of the characters, I just love when people think of or experience characters differently but in a way that still fits to me. For Kiri, I've just always seen her feeling at home anywhere that Eywa is, and wanting to experience every part of her. Every way she can feel her or be expressed, explore different plants and animals and nature and study and be a part of it the way her mom would've wanted to. And I just think Lo'ak gets bored easily lol.

I looove the horse comparison, it's shocking no one has written this fic yet! You have a ton going but it's okay because I'm excited for all of them. Humans are experts at taming and riding shit, why can't he, especially something as intelligent as an ikran.

Hmm, okay, the village makes sense. They would be able to tell Tonowari and therefore the Sully's real fucking fast through, so it would be kinda similar to him finding Awa'atlu. You coullllld have him escape in the forest and find the Sully's missing? I've always wanted one of those fics.

That's a really interesting idea! I personally don't care much for Paz as a character, or stories about her, but that is a very cool idea and I'd definitely check it out to see where it goes.

NO NO YOUR MEMORY LOSS FIC IS ONE I'VE BEEN SO EXCITED ABOUT, THAT'S THE SADDEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD. Google doc man, I only use google docs.

And thank u for being chill with me getting inspired by/using it! I'm trying to catch up on all my asks today (answer but not post, I schedule those), so hopefully I'll be faster to answer you next time! I'm excited to hear how your works are going!

[choysum]

someday, things will be different.

someday, the ghosts will move out. we'll pitch them off the cliff into such sharp rocks that even the filament is dashed to pieces, and we will leave their graves well-decorated by the seaside, and the cottage all covered in flowers and rot. nature will reclaim it without us.

then we will move to the city for a few years. (it's what the young do best.) and these years will be filled with trains and neon and heartbreak outside movie theaters and making up on the swings in the park at three am. I will kiss you in the rain and you will twirl your umbrella over us so our angels can catch the flying water on their tongues. you'll do my eyeliner like the girl in the picture, and I'll pull you in just to mess up your lipstick and smear it all over both of us. I'll leave dandelions pinned by post-it poetry on the apartment door, so that even when you and I have odd hours, my words can still carry through part of your day. you'll teach and I'll take up a hundred little odd jobs while claiming I'm "still finding my passion".

then we will move out of the city, because it smells and people are rude and I've been finding less kindness in the busstop strangers lately, but really it's just because we're not so young these days. we'll find a new favorite cafe and spot for dinner, and both of these places will be far more affordable, and we'll be saying we should have done this years ago. I'll get antsy like I do and drive out to every surrounding town and take you on adventures through them, and you'll find even more things than I did to love. we'll adopt an animal and grow native plants in the garden and I'll be so frustrated that first year after two-thirds of them die off, and then I'll plant a million more of the third that didn't. we'll visit my sister in the spring (by then you and her will be quite familiar) and she'll ask if we're happy, and we'll say yes. we'll stir up petty little dramas because really nothing's been wrong between us for a very long time, and sometimes it's fun to play-fight and let somebody win so the other one can "make it up" to them.

then we'll live happily ever after. the blanket you made us will grow old in our closet. every letter we ever wrote to each other is kept in the same shoebox in the shelf above it. our library is filled with poetry and real-life webweavings form the wallpaper and we write on everything because we're just horrible with it, ink perpetually smeared on the sides of our hands because we simply never learn and after fifty years we've decided we really shouldn't bother with learning better at all. I'll know every line of your hand.

(- we would have to come to an agreement about how to handle the spiders. you'll probably want to leave the city before I do. I'll use "we're young and queer" as an excuse for everything even up into those fifties and charm you into agreeing with me.)

the cottage covered in flowers, Still Life With Tomato Plant and Sword, an artists' haven on a cliff surrounded by jagged rocks but still the temptation to cliff dive. tombstoning is such a peculiar name for a sport, don't you think?

i have so often the trains and heartbreak and moving to a new city, i know i can hardly go a day without moaning about it - to whom do i have to kneel and pray to receive the warmth of equally returned love. I'll do your eyeliner but the last time i purposefully brough an umbrella with me on a trip was the summer before uni when i was scared this friendship was going to spark out in the next few months of living hours apart and i thought the least i could do would be to have an umbrella to hold over us two (i got very rained on - held it almost exclusively over them, but that can be our secret)

i have to keep reminding myself im just the receptacle to store these snippets of poetry you write because i read them and imagine them, invisage them so desperate to uproot from this life into that. maybe we're in America - would you take me to my first drive in movie if i smiled up at you just so? green thumb? i know what makes your heart ache but not if you prefer cats or dogs

ill draw us a map of all the places we hold dear, I'll have been collecting ticket stubs and receipts for us since before there was an 'us' in your heart to begin with

[sailing-ever-west]

WRIT200 Blog Post #5: Spiders

Will this blog one day have a real theme? Who knows? For now, I'll continue simply talking about anything I find interesting. This is Letters From a Not-Quite Lunatic, after all. Maybe by the end I'll achieve full lunatic status and enter my final, most powerful form, but regardless, today is the day I talk about spiders.

I think maybe it all started when I was little, out of a desire to be fearless (or perhaps, the simple recognition that I was fearless about uncommon things, just as the things I did fear were usually odd). My mom and brother were both terrified of spiders, so when my dad was at work (a.k.a. most of the time), it fell to me with my concerning ability to switch off my emotions for a task to be the slayer of these mighty, tiny beasts.

I took pride in my warrior's status for years, only having one or two big scares (wrapping a towel around yourself out of the shower to see a huge wolf spider right on the front of it is not for the faint of heart), but over time I went from apathy to an actual affection for them.

The seed was planted most likely by my nana, who told me she was glad to have spiders around because they were good for her garden, eating all the smaller bugs that preyed on the plants. They were protectors, in that way. Nature's guardians.

I kept this in mind as the years passed, especially as I found myself to be a rather odd and lonely child. What was so offensive, I wondered, about a little creature who traveled alone and ate flies? We don't even have more than two species of venomous ones in my state. I pondered this, as I tended to ponder things. 

My life changed drastically at twelve when my mom had my little sister and we outgrew my childhood home. We moved to the east side of town and bought a house built in the 70s with problems I don't even blame the seller for tiptoeing around. It was my parents' first time buying a home, being just ahead of millennials in being able to do so at all, and it was certainly an experience. 

The house had a finished basement (a somewhat generous term, in hindsight), and I alone slept down there in a room we had to erect a small wall to create. And perhaps it was the eerie backyard pool just outside my ground-level window (by pure coincidence and having been built in the 70s, it was the exact same blueprint as the one they filmed at in season 1 of Stranger Things), or the fact that the stresses of school difficulty and caring for my little sister were beginning to truly wear on me, but I couldn't find it in me to worry very much about my constant roommates, the basement spiders. 

I think I used to kill them at first, but there were so many of them that after a while I got tired of it, and unless they were in or near my bed I began to leave them alone. I would idly watch them crawl along the wall or the floor, and something like compassion for them began to grow in me. We weren't so different, really. Small, lonely things who kept to the shadows and watched as good, social, normal people turned up their noses. As time went by and life changed, another sibling came along and school got harder, we moved again, twice, and I grew only more wracked with anxiety, I began to almost see spiders as a sign of good luck. A small moment of companionship between me and the creature, two otherwise unconnected beings who despite the so-called ways of the world, had no desire to kill each other.

A couple of years ago I even got a plush spider at a gift shop. It looked cute to me, with its big shiny eyes, and it had just the right constitution to squeeze. I named it Paolo, and with the exception of my youngest two siblings my family found it rather horrid. 

"What's with the spider?" a relative asked. "Why would you get something scary for a stuffed animal?"

I pointed out that bears were quite scary too if you actually came across one, but had been the standard stuffed toy for around a century with no complaint. 

"Well, you can at least see the good things about bears," I was told, "like how they care for their young. This is just…creepy and evil."

I didn't say that spiders protected gardens, or often died for their young. I forgot. I was quieted. 

But despite their rampant unpopularity, I still find myself defending the little creatures, perhaps all the more because they're so universally hated. I tend not to trust human vitriol, I suppose. We often aim it at things, or even people, who have committed no sin but inconveniencing us or being a bit too "different" for our personal comfort. 

It does things for the soul, I think, to love a horrible little creature who can give you nothing back. Perhaps, then, there is hope for yourself, too.

[cagenewman]

MERROCK TASK #17 SPRING FORWARD

first things first: do you like spring? I do, I'm more of a fall guy, but I like spring well enough.

what is your favorite thing about spring? Getting back to work on projects we had to pause or hold off on due to the weather, and also getting new chickens.

what is your least favorite thing about spring? Pollen.

do you have a vegetable / produce / fruit garden? A very large one, yeah, can't wait to get into it.

how about flower beds, or things planted in the house? There are a lot of flower beds around the house, they just haven't been used in a while. Probably will be plants in the house, too, as long as we can negotiate a truce with Twix in regards to not eating them.

regardless of what you do or do not plant, are you good at growing plants? have a green thumb? Dad would disown me if I wasn't.

what's your favorite flower or plant? Butterfly milkweeds.

what's your favorite scent that you associate with spring? ... cow manure. Jokes aside, I like the way the earth smells right after it rains, that freshness.

is there a sound that you associate with spring time? Rain.

do you prefer sunny mornings or rainy afternoons? Sunny mornings.

favorite thing to do on a sunny, warm spring day? Go on a hike with Willie and Colton through the woods, looking for signs of life. Maybe spot some baby animals.

favorite thing to do on a rainy, chilly spring day? Indoor projects that have been put off a little too long, or just lounging on the couch with the family.

do you celebrate Easter? any traditions you follow for it? I do. Growing up, we did all of the traditional stuff -- the Saturday before, mom and dad took us to the Easter egg hunt, we'd get our pictures with the bunny and everything. Sunday morning, run downstairs to check the Easter baskets, go to church in our finest clothes, come home, meet up with the whole Newman clan for a dinner. It's more laidback now, but follows the same pattern.

regardless of if you do or don't: favorite Easter candy? Probably robin eggs, if I had to choose.

what other springtime holidays do you observe? My birthday is on St. Patrick's Day, so both of those. We have Irish in our blood, so I try to make the most of it and not deny my green beer heritage while also carving out time for myself.

favorite place in Merrock to visit in the springtime? Lake Malory.

the spring bugs are coming out: do you rescue them and let them out of the house, or grab the nearest shoe? It kind of depends on the bug, I'm going to kill ants and flies, but I'll let a spider go outside. If it's something that's going to damage the house, it's gone, though, I don't fuck around.

are you a big spring cleaner? I'm not a big cleaner, period. Just stay organized.

do you switch over your wardrobe from cold weather to warm weather clothes? Some, but a lot of my wardrobe stays the same: this is Maine, you never don't need a hoodie, or a stack of henleys, and I wear jeans all year long. But I do put away the heavier stuff, yeah. Mostly my work coats.

how about the house: does your decor change for the spring season? do you rearrange furniture? Considering we haven't moved into the house yet... not so much. But even when we were in the old one, nah. Fresh flowers, and Colton does drag me out to get some decorations, but it's not a huge change.

what color makes you think 'spring'? Robin egg blue.

describe your perfect spring outfit: Jeans, t-shirt, light jacket over top, the same work boots as always.

most adorable looking baby animal that you ever did see? I'm pretty fond of baby deer, but the baby chickens make a good argument when you first bring them home.

what's a drink that makes you think of spring? Energy drinks -- it's when we start really getting back to work and everyone needs that little extra dose, so.

how about a snack? Rice crispy treats.

[cawareyoudoin]

Season 2 of The Owl House, my live reaction!

It took me like twice as long to watch it, because I had to stop and write down my thoughts, but man it was fun, especially when it came to theories.

I can't get readmore to work in drafts, if it doesn't I am so sorry :(

:readmore:

Episode 1

Eda I love you so much you have no idea. She cares for Luz so much and just casually shows it. She's the best.

Lilith, you fucked up, you gotta deal with it.

Cute pirate head thingy Luz! Also, I knew that theoretically fire magic can not only initiate, but also create fire, but powering a furnace? That's impressive. And very economical.

Eda in a PIRATE COSTUME oh man I am being fed WELL

"So unfortunately for you, my life is pretty great because I'm friends with Luz the human" hell yeah, cut that self-sacrificial crap in the bud!

The golden bird boy is weirdly endearing. Kinda. He's... fun at least? Maybe. Undecided.

OMG THE NEW OUTRO IS SO PRETTY!!!

Episode 2

Hmm. Oh yeah, forgot Amity's parents are assholes. That kinda explains the twins being like that sometimes. Also, the genetics + memories suggest that Amity has her father's hair, but she dyes it to be more like her mother's, which already says a lot. Or maybe it's just witch genetics.

Hahah, figures Lilith would love being back in school. Also, interesting way of seeing how Eda would usually mix her magic.

"No-one ever said power comes with responsibility..." Hahah, King has not watched Spider-Man.

Gus just had a growth spurt? Witch puberty? Ok. I won't question it if the show won't.

Aww, Hooty finally has a friend who likes his company!

Willow has two dads, how nice.

Oh, so Amity's mother is like... The murderous kind of crazy. Right.

Eda knows when to ask for help! And in the end, chaos and order work together to find out something new. Neat.

Wait, so the four elements are... Ice, fire, light and plant? That's an... Odd choice.

Episode 3

Ooh backstory?

So the elements aren't necessarily only the thing they have represented so far. Makes sense.

Ah, the entire house is literally living and meaty about it. Love it.

King, are you gonna take them to the dread pyramid floating in the sky or something?

Oh, yeah, kinda. Alien zombie mummy morphing creature, neat!

OH NO HE WAS EVEN TINIER AND CUTER

Aww :( he's so sad! But wait wait wait. Those ruins and murals were actually ancient, right? The weird creature only got aggressive once Eda got there, otherwise little King would be toast... And he did get the army idea even earlier... And he was just in that castle out of nowhere? Nah, there has to be more to this, I'm calling it.

Called it!

EGG!!!

"I'm not that old, it's possible" wait, he's actually not much older than freaking 8 years old?!!? All this time I thought he was just... A childish adult? A dog cat creature animal adult? I mean he still could be but wow. He actually is baby.

Took a break here, but wow. This show is catering to my younger self like no other. It's bringing me back to Gravity Falls - would it be blasphemy to say I like it more? - and it's healing my inner child by making a better magic world than H*rry P*tter ever was. It is also catering to my older self with... Well, mostly Eda, I'll be honest. She is THE character of all time so far. Wow.

Episode 4

WOAH THAT'S TERRIFYING AND COOL!

Eda's backstory mirrors Luz question mark?

Oh, that's a side effect of the curse, ok. I thought Eda was just detachable like that. Cool.

Whoops. Eda was mommy's favourite. That explains a lot about Lilith.

Ohhh no. Oh no she's a healing crystals mommy. She's so getting scammed. "Keep it away from the eyes of nonbelievers"? Oh yeah.

King wants to meet his dad so bad, which makes me fear that it will not at all be what he thinks it will be.

Oh wait, maybe it will be. Lilith and King are spiraling.

Hooty's actually worried about them, and is the voice of reason for once? Woah!

Whoops. Lilith owl. And she's... Even bigger...

WHOOPS. Sister owls.

They're cool-looking, damn.

If only it were that easy to convince parents like that...

Lilith-beast is attacking Eda-beast... It's the jealousy and mommy issues, right?

Yeah...

Stash hair goals!

Good for Lilith. Probably. I hope.

Whoops. A doppelganger. Well, at least Luz's mom isn't worried... Heh...

Episode 5

I like the new intro so much that I watch it every time.

Heheh, Luz wants to see Amity. Nice.

Amity looks so nice with her hair down!

"After he accidentally texted a poem to their mom" oh? Nonbinary people real?

Wait that was. That was the light glyph. Gus just did fire magic because he believed he would.

That's a cool dragon thing.

Matt character development? Neat.

Hell yeah, terrify the mean girl with statues crying blood.

Yay, graveyard management!

Oh ok, Amity is dying her hair. Glad that's cleared up.

Oooh! New haircut, nice!

A little kiss on the cheek? "Sneaking into people's hearts"? Bold move indeed!

Episode 6

Hmm, ok... The Emperor wants to get to the human realm... Is he that human from the journal? He'd have to be old as balls, but hey, magic is a thing right?

Oh he's cursed. And eating palismans.

"Uncle"? Hmm, then not human, most likely. Nevermind.

Eda in a suit jacket ohh yeah.

OH OK THE PRINCIPAL'S HEAD DEMON THING IS EXPLAINED OK

Whoops. The golden guy's back. And he's... Whistling the theme song?

Lol, he's just a grumpy teen. Draco Malfoy looking ass.

Doesn't have powers without the staff huh... Maybe their family really does have some human in it. Maybe the journal guy is their great however-many-great grandpa. "Many of my ancestors didn't have magic"? Oh yeah. I'm convinced.

Hunter. Neat. I worry for him.

Eda, you lovely, lovely thief. And of course she would have Luz carve out her own palisman. She's all for doing things the most traditional, "wild" way.

I worry for the little red bird, but good for Hunter, I suppose!

Another few days' break here

Episode 7: Eda's Requiem

Uh oh, worrying title (also: started paying attention to titles here)

Ah, poor Eda... She thinks everyone's leaving her :(

Whoopsie

Oh, I've seen this bespectacled character. In fanarts and such.

Look at Eda, being a hero and all

Look at this new person being a hero and all?

AGENT OF CHAOS YES I LOVE IT

Raine Whispers. Ok. Cool name.

"They're not very good at it" oh hell yeah nonbinary people real!

Oh, that's the girl from the first episode! That escaped the Conformatorium! I think.

Hmm, they crushing, are they? Oh boy I fear betrayal...

"You're not our mom!" Hahahahah

"Bye mama Eda!" Hahahahhahahaha

Hmm... Decaying magic? Destructive magic?

Aww, King baby...

Gus helping his dad with the news, nice that side characters reoccur even when they're not needed per se

Hmm, wouldn't it be a better idea for just Luz to fly the race? King is not heavy, but still...

Awww, Edaaaa!

Ah, ok, abomination witches can do more than just abominations...

Eber has a perpetual >:3 face

Using the curse as a weapon? Sounds... Interesting, certainly.

Awe, Eda's gonna have to steal another pair of shoes...

Hahah, and Raine's smile is literally :} cute!

Uh, Eda, I don't like this self-destructive episode please stop...

Ah shit. Ah fuck. Raine, no!

I knew taking King along for the ride was a bad idea.

Awwwww!!!!! King!!!!!

Oh fuck. Oh no. Fate worse than death-ing Raine? We just met them!!!

Episode 8: knock, knock, knocking on Hooty's Door

Aww, Hooty found a way to write letters! Wonderful.

King is a baby!

Wait, I just realized. "hootsifer" not as in Lucifer, but as in Calsifer! I'm a dummy.

Let me drive my mouse into your heart???

OH OK THAT WAS MILDLY TERRIFYING HOOTY DON'T DO THAT

Yeah, don't do that either...

Ohh boy. Well, the bipeds having bile sacs thing explains why some people going to school don't look like elves.

Oh? Hello? Huh? King? Magic? Shouting magic???

Yeah Eda, confront your demon(s)!

Ahh, yeah, her and Raine were exes.

Yeah Eda, comfort your demon(s)!

HELLOOOO???? HELLOOOOOOOO???? HARPY LADY??????

"This is a hot look." AGREE AGREE BIG AGREE

Oh man, Hooty, don't do that...

The worst part is that the cheesy romance stuff was actually working.

Well, Hooty did help everyone, in a way. Yay!

Whoops. King's dad question mark? Well, at least he respects his new name!

Episode 9: Eclipse Lake

Oh, ok. We just get his face. Lucius Malfoy lookin ass.

He's been in the human realm, huh... My suspicions grow...

It worries me that Lilith is in the intro as part of the 3 associated with Belos...

Hahahah, now Eda wants to be a harpy lady on command! Cute.

Well that's a very direct DBZ reference (I've never watched it but come on everyone knows it)

Aww, Amity is doing so well!

Hunter is gonna cause a schism in the empire. Well, he already is causing one kinda.

Also aww, Amity has a white kitty! Fits her.

Hunter makes friends way too easily for his own good.

"A bad but sad boy" ooh, that's gotta sting. Accurate though.

Kikimora is fucking insane. Why does Belos keep these people!!?? The guard lady is much more reasonable.

Ok, my "first human=Belos" theory isn't off the table yet.

Hunter is too honest for his own good too. And nobody listens to him. But hey, he used his ability to bond with Amity well, for his own gain. He's pretty clever.

Well, Eda made a deal with the beast... Hmm.

Hunter, I feel like your pathetic-ness can be very beneficial to you right now...

Amity don't. Don't give him. The key. Fuck.

Ok, good.

The little red bird coming in clutch! And hey, Hunter, you've got magic now, cool eh? I love when antagonists get character growth too.

Ah shit. He knows how to manwife mansplain manipulate.

This is very bad. Hunter is the patheticest little meow meow there is though. That's something. Ah wait. No. Key is broken. But he's connecting with his palisman! Good for him, bad for his rep.

Also, phew, the deal was just to eat some voles.

I'm sorry for comparing him to Draco Malfoy so much, but like... He has a similar narrative role, but is SO MUCH BETTER DONE. Draco Malfoy wishes he had what Hunter has.

A few day's break again

Episode 10: Yesterday's Lie

Oooh, do we find out more about the doppelganger?

Oh no, throwing away Luz's stuff?!

Aww, they seem to not be overtly malicious, just... Took the opportunity maybe?

Aww, everyone's helping Luz!

Ah. Mirrorverse only.

Hmm. Dad's face invisible. I sense issues.

Hahah, they're blinking sideways.

Aww, I've come to really like Luz. She's kind but not naive, smart but not all-knowing, optimistic but not toxically so.

Traps and cameras... Uh oh

Wait, one of those statue guys looks like the journal human! Am I crazy?

Marylin? Eda, Really? XD

Simple solution: eat the rats!

Aaaah, Vee as in V, as in a roman Number Five. Clever yet sad.

Ah, the emperor's people. Of course.

Basilisks in the folklore I know turned people into stone. But draining magic seems like a pretty reasonable equivalent.

"I met a basilisk" oh yeah, I forgot about that episode! Wow! That was last season. The continuity and consistent worldbuilding in this show astounds me.

Awww. I'm all for Luz having a doppleganger sister.

Ah shucks. The museum guy. Of course.

Oh, the museum is "under new management". Uh oh.

Hmm. Is he playing dumb or just plain dumb?

Oh no, he wants to be verified. Worst motivation.

Oh boy. She's gonna tell her mom everything.

Two brothers? OH OK SO ONE LEFT THE JOURNAL AND THE OTHER STAYED AND HAD KIDS AND THAT'S BELOS AND HUNTER boom bang bing I solved it.

YES MAMA NOCEDA IS THE BEST YESSSS

Hahah, a sandal to the face. Strongest weapon.

OH BOY THEY JUST LEFT HIM IN THAT CAGE TO DIE HUH

Oh no. Oh no no no. Luz is gonna have to confront that promise huh.

Episode 11: Follies at the Coven Day Parade

Hooty has to... Dry his skin sometimes?????

"He's just evil and shy. It happens" tumblrinas talking about their poor little meow meows

"Sweet potato" sounds like a very typical term of endearment to me.

Amity just 😳

Oh no. I just realized. Coven day. RAINE!!!

Kikimora of all people was not the person I thought Luz might relate to. And yet.

You know, I'm getting a feeling that this show doesn't really have villains. Just people. People in villainous roles, yes, but who always have their reasons, and really see themselves as heroes of their own story. Like. Pretty much everyone has shown different sides to them. I love it.

Oh no Edaaaaa....

Ok yeah Luz I'm with you on this one actually. Get them to talk.

Oh no no no... Raine is probably mind controlled or something... Aaaah....

Aww, Amity and Willow finally being friends again!!!! Good!

Ohh. Ok, not mind controlled, only memory wiped/altered. That might be worse in some ways?

Hahah, Kikimora is a little creacher

Dueling? Ok yeah I'm into that

"Head Witch, are you hurt? -No. Not badly" AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

Kikimora cares about one thing the most. Her job. Of course. And apparently, she has to. Oof.

Amity and Luz work together so well in battle!

Raine is just being continuously drugged to have their memory wiped, I'm guessing...

"But because of your support I can finally take off this mask" what are you, a Minecraft youtuber???

Hahahah, Gus and Willow agree: meh

Episode 12: Elsewhere and Elsewhen

Flaaashback?

No flashback.

"Buy Amity new glove" aww

Ahh, Lilith, haven't seen you in a while!

Huh. Ok, whip lady.

Oh! Yes flashback!

And a trip with auntie Lilith.

"These are the oldest barnacles I've ever had on my head!" Ah, I love this nerd.

Eda, you gotta talk to your dad, come on.

Hm. Luz saved the journal from burning, thus it survived. So time loops are closed here, I suppose.

Philip is sus

Ohhh yeah.

OH OK WAIT IS PHILIP THE EMPEROR AFTER ALL AND THAT'S WHY HE KNEW THEY WOULD MEET SOON? CALLED IT CALLED IT CALLED IT!

Awww! History nerd aunt Lilith is having the time of her life. Love to see it.

Clawthorne dad is cool.

"I just have to live long enough to see this through" oh yeah he's the Emperor alright. Basically confirmed. Even his voice changed.

But there were two brothers...? What happened to the other one?

Episode 13: Any Sport in a Storm

Ah, Hunter. Arts and crafts are not your thing.

Oh buddy... Leading isn't your strong suit either...

The intro has been weird the last few episodes, what's going on?

Oh, Willow episode? Willow and Hunter episode?

Had to look up what hermosa means. Aww.

"Sure, I've never actually spoken to witches my age" oh god Hunter you so need friends my guy.

Oh no... This is like poor Jehova's Witness kids being sent on a mission...

He's getting attacked by a gryphon. Is his father uncle gonna hear about this?

Gus Porter and Willow Park. I don't think we've gotten last names before.

"Even if you're considered half-a-witch like me" OOF Willow was called half-witch, this had to HIT

I love Hunter so much. I want him to get better, and be in a better place, but I know it will be a while, and I know it will probably get worse first.

Poor Amity was the only one buying the books...

Awww, no, actually, Hunter is doing quite fine. And Darius turns out to be a pretty okay dude?

They kept the team name!

Episode 14: Reaching Out

Ooh, ominous title...

Jean Luc is still... Hanging out...

That voice change spell was impressive Amity!

THE TWINS ARE WEARING MAGICAL MAKEUP

"My student/child" ahhhhh!!! Eda!

Luz, kiddo, why won't you just turn the reminder off?!

Oh. Luz's dad is. Dead. Ah. That explains a lot. Man. This was. A good scene. Really good.

Ed got a mentor of sorts! Or at least an Eda to aspire to. Bad Girl Coven got members!

Amity's dad came back to earth for once. Or... Whatever this planet is. Is this a planet? There's stars in the sky...

"Dishes washed :3 -V" aww! Luz has a basilisk sis!

Oh, the outro changed!

Episode 15: Them's the Breaks Kid

All I can think of with this title is the Snapcube Shadow fandub

Luz is approaching the glyph combos in such a scientific way! Experiments!

Ooooh! Backstory!!!

Oh, all the adults as kiddos! I can guess some of them are parents of the current cast.

Ahhh, ok, Bump not being principal yet when Eda was in school explains why he said that she was "never given a chance to" study all courses of magic.

Little Raine makes me wanna cry in a good way

The plant lady is insane.

Oh, ugh, her being fond of Raine since they were a kid... Bad vibes

Raine is okay! Oh man I was so worried...

Episode 16: Hollow Mind

Oh boy, what a cold open!!!

Oooh, okay, so the abomination guy and beast guy are in it too! That's why Darius was so... Okay to Hunter.

Whoops.

Hmm, inner child Belos? Interesting.

He named the birdie Flapjack! Do those even exist there? (Later I remembered the bird told him the name, silly me)

Raine, buddy, you should REALLY work together with Eda.

Oof, Hunter's gonna have to confront some stuff here...

Oh, Collector's design is coo-ool!

"Making those things just to destroy them" OH IS HE FUCKING CLONING HIMSELF?!?!!?

Ohhh, palismen... But if they're still there, then perhaps...

Yup. Okay, the cat's out of the bag. Belos is P-whatever his name was. The journal guy.

Philip Wittebane.

Maybe he's not cloning himself, maybe he's cloning his brother?

Raine did work with Eda in a way, good!

Can't blame Hunter for having a panic attack. Yikes...

Man, I've been bingewatching, but I just... Gotta keep going! Gotta know what's next!

Episode 17: Edge of the World

Hahah, okay, I immediately know it's a dream sequence.

The letter finally resurfaces, hah. Nice way for the show to make space for other stuff, and postpone this King Family plot.

Oh. Nice. Worldbuilding.

Titan Trappers, huh...

"How did it go? Weh!" Oh ok, so King's dad was the last Titan. Weh.

But wait no, there's a poster next to him, "the grand huntsman cannot... Until the lost son is found by..." So???

Oh, ok, that... Confuses matters.

Oh. Oh no. They're wearing. The skulls. Of Titans. Oh no.

Well, this whole situation is very tragic and very, very awkward.

Oh god, guys, you really gonna kill a fucking kid?!

"Um... Hi." said to the Titan... KING YOU ARE BREAKING MY HEART

Episode 18: Labirynth Runners

Aww, Gus, buddy...

Wait, this is before his uh... "witch puberty", right?

Ah, backstory, got it.

Amity's trying, but still not a perfect friend. I like it.

Oh boy, Flapjack, are you feeding your runaway friend trash from the cafeteria? Is Hunter living in the school walls?

Hahahah, still trying to be sinister and scary. Not the only way to live, dude.

Ugh... Even the kids?

The Illusionist coven leader is... Something.

Sometimes a government raid on a school can be a chance for a bonding experience!

Amity's gotta learn to trust in Willow's abilities, Willow to be more assertive, and Hunter's gotta learn... Well, a lot of things, but basic socializing is a good start. Trusting people. Gus has his eye thingy, don't know what's exactly up with that yet. Cool though.

"Just put him... -out of his misery? Got it. -to sleep dude, to sleep!" Yeesh, somebody's eager... Also, with the context of what Hunter is, creepy!

Gus has to learn that he's not dumb. And to not listen to the voices in his head.

Good for you Severine! Good for you.

Agh, gotta take a break and walk the dogs, but oh I am watching the last 3 episodes today.

I've been thinking about the "Making those things just to destroy them" line to Belos. Because it's true. The "kid" Belos was leading Luz and Hunter exactly to the memories that would almost certainly shake Hunter's belief and make him betray Belos. Damn.

Also, the name "grimwalker" suggests some sort of necromancy to me...

Episode 19: Titan Where Art Thou

Good fucking question!

Oh no, the hunters really did connect King to the Collector somewhat...?

Hmm. Might be a chaotic neutral force. Might be possible to negotiate with them.

Sisters on the run! The Owl House empty! Oh no :(

Jeez, Eda, you have no plan so your plan is to check everyone's bucket lists? Morbid, yet considerate.

Lilith, stop treating King like a king, you're making his feelings of isolation worse! Also he's got a lil hat for his tail aww...

"Why is everything going our way now?" Uhh guys I hate to tell you this but that's like a very clear sign of a trap...

Ok, roadtrip with... Steve?

Hm. Them fixing the cart is a weird parallel to the episode where ye olden times were shown.

Eda just wants her kids safe I cannot...

Oh boy. Wasn't a trap, they were just busy fighting each other and got caught.

"Isn't this how you acted with the Emperor? I'm sensing uh, a little bit of a pattern with you" say it like it is King!

"I can recommend a good therapist" SAY IT LIKE IT IS STEVE!

Oh no, darkest hour...

NEVERMIND, THEY HAVE ALLIES, EVERYBODY'S HERE!

"Everything's come full circle baby!" Of course it did. Cat hoodie, CATS. Also, Raine, that is a wonderful team name.

"We've got all the time in the world" well, two days, but the sentiment is touching.

Episode 20: Clouds on the Horizon

The Collector is a funky little shadow thing. I like them.

"We can make another grimwalker" as an image of a hand bursting from the ground appears... Yeah, it's definitely some sort of necromancy.

NO MAGIC IN TITLE SCREEN I AM ALARMED

Amity's mother is trouble...

Oh. I'm not sure if using the curse is a good idea... It seemed rather... Adverse in effect.

Oh no. Wait. Are they gonna keep everyone alive but also take away their natural magic?!?

Aww, an egg palisman! An ultimate wildcard!

"Titan help us... -I'll do my best..." Awwww, King! Don't put such expectations on yourself!

The twins tried to burn the factory down? Hell yeah, arson.

I do love Luz's little ponytail.

Who animated that kiss? James Baxter? Well, probably not James Baxter, but. You know what I mean.

Oh boy... Can you not... Remove coven sigils? Ever? Oh boy...

Hahah, first thing Eda thought to do when looking like Raine is remove her head. Haven't seen that in a while.

The Collector is... More and more interesting.

Kikimora having beef with a teenager is still one of the funniest things.

Alador and King talking it out was not what I expected. I love how this show puts every interesting character combination together in some way at least once. I love it.

Kikimora, you have a mouth big enough to be useful.

Oh no, she got Hunter. Oh shit.

"Buisness partner" oh ok so they were married literally for tax cuts and such.

Ohhh! Illusion! That explains "Hunter" blowing a raspberry at Kikimora. It seemed... Quite out of character.

Episode 21: Kings Tide

I can't even write, I'm so stressed out.

"Don't. Tell me not to worry" AUGH

The Collector is a bratty kid.

I just realized Belos' nose is crooked because Lilith broke it. Heh.

Oh no. They caught them. THIS is the darkest hour.

HA! HA, SHE GOT HIM! SHE GOT HIM GOOD! HE FUCKING FELL FOR IT!!!

Only the coven-less teens can save the day...

King's little skull is broken nouuu!!

Gus activating Belos' worst memories, and someone who looks a lot like Hunter being the first one... And then a hand bursting from the ground. Yikes.

Hmm. Letting the Collector out might be a bad choice in the long run, but the world is ending, so... Gotta adress that first, huh?

Oh. He just. Splooted Belos. Ok. Well, King, buddy, better think of rules for playing the Owl House. Fast.

OH OK HE JUST MOVED THE MOON OK

Never trust a jester I suppose.

Ugh, that sploot seemed important. I'm sure that won't come back later.

Wow. Well, this kinda sucks. Gosh.

Also, I realized, Eda removing her head last episode was to remind us she could do that...

OH SO SEASON 3 IS 3 SPECIAL EPISODES?! AAAAAARGH!!!! I'M NOT READY TO SAY GOODBYE TO THIS WORLD!!

Ok, thinking about Belos... He had a brother, right? At least I think so. And maybe they got sent to the Demon Realm together, and something happened to him? Perhaps something that made Belos hate wild magic/witches?

Gosh, you guys had years to analyze and speculate, I only have days, okay?! But my speculations have been pretty accurate so far, so. Shrug.

Raine destroying Eda's arm so that she lives, but also so that she can practice wild magic... Because they wanted to keep her safe and also promised Luz... Augh... But also I know in my heart of hearts that Eda is going to have the coolest collection of hooks. Once everyone lives and everything is ok. Right???????

About the Collector: I liked his shadow design much better, but oh well. What does he even collect? Also, note to self: a chaotic neutral with enough power might be functionally indistinguishable from a chaotic evil.

Ok, I've been thinking about what Belos said - that it "hurts every time" the grimwalkers decide to betray him, and also that he "doesn't want more people corrupted by this land". So I'm thinking: the "original" Hunter, whoever he was (brother?) and Philip disagreed on the whole witch hunting thing, and... Something happened, whether it was his intention or not. I've also been thinking about grimwalkers, and the lines "you were the most similar of them all", and "many of my ancestors didn't have magic" - if there is variation in looks and in powers, then I'm thinking that it might not be a case of straight-up necromancy or test tubes, but somehow... Transforming existing witches? Might be easier than creating one from scratch... Idk, I'm just spitballing here.

I'm probably gonna make a separate post about this, but wow this show is. Very good. Especially with developing every single even slightly important character, and giving them an interesting dynamic with the rest of the group. I was thinking about the kids that got sent to the Human Realm, and whether there was anyone there who hasn't interacted with each other... And the only thing I can really think of is Gus and Amity? But otherwise, they all have an interesting dynamic/relationship. I even see some possible interactions with Hunter and Vee, if they have time for it. Just... Man. This show is good. Also, it subverted my expectations so many times. I was like "in any other show, this would not have happened", but it did!!!

I love this show. I'm gonna watch Good Omens 2, but after that passes, I will watch the 3-part finale, and let myself actually join the fandom. Better late than never, eh?

Added later: Ok, now that the GO2 phase has died down, I think I'm gonna watch s3 soon.

[balkanradfem]

On the topic of that verbena plants you found, I got some last year for the first time, so feel like sharing how taking care of it went for me. I might just end up repeating what every article says, but hey, experience is always worth sharing, maybe you find some of it helpful!

Before I get into it though, I feel like clearing up some things related to it's name because I remember getting so annoyed at the inconsistencies when I was researching it. The scientific name is actually glandularia x hybrida, but most places will still refer to it as verbena x hybrida because it's only recently been reclassified. As for common names, I've mostly seen it being called annual verbena or trailing verbena.

Don't let the name fool you though! It's actually perennial! Mine from last year is still alive (and has survived powdery mildew, my cat peeing in the pot and I think even a spider mite attack)

It's also been very easy to propagate (read: I propagated it accidentally). It grows roots wherever it touches the ground, so all it takes is cutting it off the original plant once the roots have established a bit.

That or just taking a cutting and ploping it in soil. I think I broke mine off accidentaly somehow and just put it in the nearest soil I saw, which ended up being a 15 cm wide pot with some swedish ivy. The reason I go into so much detail is because later that summer it turned out I had apparently also put a watermelon seed in that pot the previous year and it decided to grow in this crowded space and actually produce fruit. And at this point the verbena cutting was in a better shape than the original plant despite the crowded setting (the original was fighting powdery mildew at this point).

I'll also mention I wasn't particularly attentive of the cutting at any point. I'd water it enough to keep the soil moist and that's about it.

Getting onto care in general, it loves lots of sun, and I mean LOTS (at least 8 hours preferably and it's not too fussed abot the scorching summer heat either). It'll do fine in part sun-part shade as well, but it'll get more leggy, though if it gets too wild it can be trimmed back and it'll resume flowering pretty soon.

As for watering, keep the soil moist. It's not the end of the world if the soil conpletely dries out and it starts looking really sad, it'll bounce back when you water it, but obviously it's best to avoid that.

I'd say the biggest problem for me was powdery mildew. I lost one plant to it (tips would be apprecited if anyone has any, because I tried all sorts of things and none helped enough to save it) and another got it near the base (I removed parts with it as best as I could but some of it still stayed, but apart from it just being there the plant wasn't affected anyway and it later just went away on it's own).

This is the biggest reason to not keep it in too much shade, the one that got the most light didn't get it. Though keep in mind I had a pretty crowded balcony which has pretty high side walls, so naturally also less space for air to circulate, which probably didn't help.

Hopefully I didn't forget anything and you find this helpful in some way!

Thank you, I really appreciate the experience! It's better to know what someone personally went thru with a plant than reading an article. I'll make sure to put the plants in a light and dry place!

Also it's weird they're using a wrong latin name for it, I don't usually hear that about plants. I googled glandularia x hybrida and it's pretty much the same thing. Verbena officialis is a wild plant here, so there can be mixups. It makes sense to call the cultivated plant another name.

[jensownzoo]

Houseplant roundup - all the houseplants that I've picked up for free either in the alley next to the dumpsters or in the green waste dumpsters over the past 4 years. (Except for any aloe shown...I bought one plant and it loves making babies so they're all over the house)

I haven't identified all of them and some of them are still recovering from trauma, neglect, disease, or infestation but they're getting better.

Snake plant. This one had a few droopy leaves and just needed water.

Philodendron. This one had one leaf left. Just required potting up with new soil and water. The second smaller one just popped up later so maybe this was multi-plant arrangement once?

Dieffenbachia (with very tiny leaves) that needed potting up and watering. I'm thinking it might need something else, maybe dividing or root care because it's been a few years and still just puts out tiny leaves. Also a ponytail palm I just picked up today that looks fine, just gave it a bit of water. And above is a purple heart that I actually made from cuttings from the original plant that I currently have outdoors in a pot (overwinters inside). I'm going to pot it up and move it to a hanging basket upstairs to get more light. They get super dark purple in high light unlike this one. Not pictured is the haworthia in the white pot also up top that I didn't realize didn't make it into the pic.

Nice big jade plant in the back - just needed potting up and water. A flowering vine that I've seen on sale at home depot as a tropical annual and I've noted the name but it doesn't stick. It's like a mandevilla but smaller scale. Got this one in the fall when someone tossed it. It was afflicted badly by spider mites over the winter but has since recovered and exploded with growth. I need to pot this one up again and give it something taller to climb. And hanging we have a big healthy pothos plus two rooted cuttings that I had pruned off for being yellow when I first got the neglected, actively dying plant, but as it was pothos, stuck them in water because why not. I'll probably take some deliberate cuttings soon now that the plant has recovered and quadrupled in size.

I think this one is a majesty palm? It's the huge ones commonly sold in stores anyway. All it's fronds were brown and crispy when I got it but it still had two green leaf spikes in the center, so I did the standard pot up and water and it's gorgeous and huge and happy now. I kept it outside last summer but it's pot is just too heavy to keep dragging it up and down the stairs for seasonal rotation.

Fiddle head fig had brown swathes on nearly all it's leaves so I pruned them off, potted it up, and kept it outside until it got too cold. By that time it had new healthy leaves and had recovered from whatever disease or deficiency it was suffering from. I don't know the next one but it has a light purple stripe along the leaf. I thought it was dead for 6 months after the last live leaf fell, but I was too lazy to dump the pot over the winter and it got new growth this spring so I'm glad I didn't! I'll probably add a different plant in the pot with it to provide an 'understory' since it's like a tall, thin sparkler. And then we have a type of yucca palm. It used to sit on that radiator but got too tall and completely blocked the window. It's less happy now so it's getting moved to replace that one philodendron as that's a south-facing window. I've had this one the longest and I honestly don't remember what shape it was in originally.

Monstera with one large leaf. Was severely pot bound. Now that it's adjusted, I may pull it out, mess with the roots some more, and pot it up again. I just need more potting soil atm. The aluminum foil is to keep one of the cats from peeing in it until it gets a little more soil coverage. Little unidentified palm in front that was mostly dead in a gallon size pot. Downsized to this smaller pot after I pulled all the dead bits out. I think it had maybe 3 stems remaining so it has recovered nicely. I keep forgetting what the plant hiding behind the monstera's stake is, but it just needed it's dead bottom leaves removed and water. Then two philodendrons. I think. The pale green one is still giving me fits. I have had issues keeping leaves on the main stem, the growth at the base is relatively new. The pale color seems to be part of the variety and it gets leaf scorch ridiculously easily yet yearns for sun. I keep moving it around the house trying to find it's happy place, but it's a work in progress. I think the second dark green plant just needs more sun so it's getting moved upstairs once I clear a spot.

Random succulent (cat planter) that came from one of those multi-variety planters in which all the other varieties were dead from dehydration.

And another random succulent that has done spectacularly. Some of it's leaf spikes are THREE FEET long. They're mostly round in cross-section (unlike aloe). I kinda want to repot it and move it to give it more room, but it's doing so well where it is.

And that's it except for roughly 20 aloe plants of various sizes. My home is greening up nicely and all it's costing me is some TLC and potting soil.