#okay moss rant over

[synthshenanigans]

🎶✨️when you get this, put 5 songs you actually listen to, then publish. Send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers🎶✨️

5 songs is too little give me a CHALLENGE/j

[lanawinterscigarettes]

I hate veneers. I literally hate them so fucking much. people with crooked and/or chipped teeth I love you

[syrupfog]

Zoro wakes up to the scratchy feeling of a note beneath his haramaki. 

“Cook’s name is Sanji. 

You fight every day. He hates you. He knows your favorite foods. You loved him. 

Hanahaki got bad again. You took the pill. 

No. of times this has happened: [a number of scribbles] 11”

The note looks like it’s been through the ringer, crumpled and bloodied. Zoro reads it, folds it up, and sticks it back in his haramaki. He assumes he’ll need it again.

The cook— Sanji— is hard to get along with. He yells at Zoro, fights with Zoro, complains about Zoro. He’s terrible. 

Living alongside him is like breathing. 

It feels so natural, slotting into place next to him. Zoro knows instantly why the disease keeps coming back. It’s hell.

Robin knows. Nami knows. Chopper doesn’t seem to, and if Usopp did then Sanji would. And Sanji doesn’t seem to know. 

Thank god Sanji doesn’t seem to know. 

It’s only a few weeks before Zoro’s coughing up petals again. Small and blue and fragile.

They’re on an island and it’s autumn and the town’s harvest festival is happening. There’s a cult or possibly just a really zealous group of farmers. Zoro doesn’t know; he got lost and ended up at an old woman’s cottage on the outskirts of town.

His theory circles back around to *cult* when he ends up prone on her floor after some apparently drugged mulled wine. She stands over him and rants about something or other— he doesn’t care what she has to say, he’s preoccupied with the way the drugs coursing through his system are making it hard to cough, and the flowers in his throat are sticking to his insides. 

It’s gross. He doesn’t cough them up so much as pukes them out. 

The old woman also thinks it’s gross. She kicks him, but she’s old. He doesn’t really feel it.

Anyway, it’s a whole thing. The problem is that the woman wants to drag him somewhere to be a sacrifice to the great pumpkin or something, but Zoro’s too heavy and she can’t move him. But when she opens the door to find a neighbour to help— 

Sanji’s there.

(Or, as Zoro has taken to calling him recently, Curly). 

(Nami told him after he started that he often ends up at that name). 

Sanji lays on the simpering to the old woman for all of about two minutes, asking if she’s seen some lost moss and then going on about her hair care. But eventually he does notice Zoro there on the floor behind her. 

Slipping around the woman, who seems to be somewhat at a loss, Sanji starts ranting to Zoro about how he shouldn’t drink so much if he’s going to puke it all up, and how he stinks now— and to be fair, Zoro’s shirt is covered in puke and wilted flower petals. But then Sanji starts pulling his shirt off of him while Zoro’s still struggling to get up, and as he does so, the note— The note slips out of his haramaki. 

And Zoro can’t grab it.

(He still can’t REALLY move, although he suspects that puking the flower petals did get some of the poison out). 

But he cant stop Sanji. His weak “fuck off, give that back” falls on deaf ears as Sanji unfolds it. Frowns at the state of it. Reads it. 

Fuck.

Then, fast as anything, Sanji stands up and punts Zoro hard enough that he flies across the room, hitting the far wall and sliding down to the floor with a grown. 

Awesome. Great. Good to know how Sanji feels.

He hears the click click of his dress shoes as Sanji hurries out. And then he’s alone with the old lady, who seems truly at a loss for what to do, but that’s okay. Zoro’s too busy coughing up whole branches to notice.

Zoro is retrieved by Robin and Usopp not too long after that. By the time they’re back at the ship he’s regained a fair amount of his mobility. Whatever was going on in town, Luffy took care of it. Or Usopp did, depending on who Zoro asked. 

It doesn’t matter.

Zoro coughs up petals and licks his wounds and starts searching for those pills. And probably it’s too early this time, but he just— 

He wants to forget this. 

He can’t find the pills, though, and he remembers too late that Sanji kept the note. He needs that.

But he’s a coward. He waits until everyone should be asleep before sneaking into the galley to see if he can find the note in the trash or something. 

He miscalculates, though, and runs straight into Sanji, smoking in the dark.

“Eleven times?” Sanji asks him, staring resolutely at the wall next to Zoro. 

“Apparently,” says Zoro. 

Sanji laughs. Humourlessly. “Can’t wait to make it a twelfth, can you?” 

“Listen,”growls Zoro. “It’s not my fault you read the fucking note. Just pretend you never found it.”

Sanji grits his teeth around his cigarette. “Is it that fucking horrible?” He asks. “The idea of having feelings for me is so fucking repulsive you’d rather rip me out of your life entirely?” 

Zoro goes to say something, but there are petals squirming their way up his throat.

He coughs, hacks, spits them into his palm. Delicate blue petals splattered with blood. “You asshole,” he says, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “What, would you prefer I wallow in rejection and suffocate on a fucking plant? I don’t plan on dying here.”

Sanji goes still and quiet. 

“You hid the pills, right?” Zoro continues. “Give them back. I’m done here.” 

“No,” says Sanji. Quietly. “I— Moss, you can’t believe that.” 

“Who else would it have been?” 

“No, I mean— yeah okay, I threw your pills overboard. But that’s not—“ He swallows. “Zoro. You can’t possibly think I would reject you..?” 

Zoro scrunches up his face in confusion. “Uh, yeah,” he says. “You flirted with that old woman who drugged me. You’ll flirt with our literal enemy before even looking at me.” He blinks. “And then you threw me into a wall!” 

“I was caught off guard!” Sanji shrieks, jumping up. “Anyone would have done that after reading that note!” 

“THAT’S AN INSANE THING TO THINK!” 

“WELL MAYBE I’M A LITTLE INSANE RIGHT NOW.“ 

They’re suddenly at each others’ throats. Zoro grabs Sanji’s collar as Sanji grips his shoulders. He’s grimacing, face inches from Zoro’s, cigarette smashed on the floor. 

“You don’t get to DECIDE WHAT I THINK and then HURT YOURSELF OVER AND OVER AGAIN,” Sanji yells. 

“I’m FINE, COOK,” Zoro yells back. “I was HANDLING IT.”

And then Sanji smashes their faces together. 

It’s a terrible kiss. Someone’s nose is bleeding and Zoro thinks it’s his. He thinks Sanji’s broken it. 

Pulling back, Sanji says, “You didn’t have to handle it.” He pushes his forehead against Zoro’s. “That’s the fucking problem.”

Zoro purses his lips because his eyes are damp. “Shut up,” he says. “How was I supposed to know?” 

Sanji’s hands are still on his collar and he pulls Zoro impossibly closer. “Just. Don’t forget me again.” 

Zoro closes his eyes. “Fine,” he says. “Eleven was enough.”

[thealtofvalleyxdoodles]

"Tell her her dress is pretty."

You were just an average babysitter. Nothing too grand-sure you loved kids, sure the parents paid nicely-but fucking hell, Joe Graves.

And Sarah-the cutest little thing ever! She's so sweet, little chatter box, sure, but it's cute, you think, hearing her rant about how cool her daddy is, and how he's got some of the coolest friends. When this happened, you just sat there, letting her talk-but one day, it happened in your front yard. So you played with her and her dolls-kinda. She forgot they were there and started waving her armsand hands around as she told a story that Joe told her, one about where had to swim in a big river. "Really, Sarah? Did you daddy say all of that?" "Yeah huh! Yea huh! He's so cool!" Sarah said, jumping up and down on her feet now. You giggled before saying, "Careful hunny. Dont wantcha falling now do we?" And Sarah shook her head. "Nuh uh. That would hurt...hey-Miss Y/n? Why don't you have a husband?"

you ch0oked on your spit. "Uhm-where'd you learn that word hunny?" "Daddy! He was talking his friends about you-" "And I told you not to eavesdrop anymore, Sarah." the gruff voice made the both of you jump. "Joe! Hi! Goodness, I didn't see you!" "I walked," he said simply. "I don't live far anyway. Besides, it's good for my health." You nodded your head, "True." Joe smiled at you, and you smiled back. Sarah huffed before saying, "Daddy! I was talking to Miss Y/n! And you said it's rude to inter-inner...I don't know!" Sarah pouted, crossing her arms over her chest in that cute little way only toddlers could. You laughed and said, "Sarah, calm down sweetie. I'm listening."

But Joe quirked a brow up. "You've never pouted like that before..." he grumbled to himself, watching Sarah go on her little taggant to you. He listening somewhat, but then looked at his wrist watch, "Sarah, sweetie. It's almost time for mom to pick you up." And Sarah pouted-again. "I don't wanna go to mom's! I wanna stay with Miss Y/n!" "Sarah...I'm being called in-you have to go to Lena's." "I'm not going!" Joe sighed and picked up his daughter. She started to fake cry. "Sarah! Enough! What the hell is wrong with you today?"

He felt bad for saying that to her, he knew it was probably a side affect of aging, but jeez...this was bad. You got up off the little picnic blanket and said, "I'm not going to tell you how to parent, Mister Graves...I'm just going to say, maybe it's because she sees how stressed and annoyed Lena makes you-maybe she's reluctant to go with her mother because of this." Huh. Good point-Sarah's was always a Daddy's girl. "Yeah-Yeah maybe..." but his daughter was (trying to and failing) glaring at him. "Sarah. Sweetie. We'll have a talk at home, okay?" Jeez-he already had to pull out the dad talk? ...Maybe Lena was right-Maybe he spent too much time at work and not enough at home.

"Say bye to Miss L/n." "Bye, Miss Y/n..." Sarah said sadly, waving to you even more so. You jutted your lower lip out before saying, "Well-here's the bag of toys she brought, Joe. Have a nice day!" Joe nodded and he took the bag, "Yeah-you too..."

but as he walked away, "Tell her her dress is pretty, Sarah," Joe said, smiling, "YOUR DRESS IT PRETTY MISS Y/NNNN!!!"

~~~~~ 𝕋 𝔸 𝔾 𝕊 ~~~~~

@spicy-seaweed @seconds-over-first @thebunnednun @staytrueblue @writing-with-moss and my backup blog: @valscodblog bc i can c:

[void-of-unparalled-chaos]

Okay so now that the semester is over, here is a list of actual things my paleontology professor said/did during lecture and discussion:

“I've watched this like 20 times now” (Prehistoric Planet 2 trailer)

“Hi yes I am me, an exemplar of our species. A prime specimen.”

*visible confusion while reading the Colossal website*

“Turkeys can be terrifying. Birds are terrifying in general”

“That’s David Attenbourough not a bird.”

“Thank you for clarifying.”

“You’re welcome! It’s what I’m here for! This is why I have a Ph.d!”

“You need to have a healthy bullshit meter to read any paleontology paper.”

“As I keep telling you, life hates us.”

“Look at the size of the head compared to the body. This is just stupid.”

“Look at the butt of that thing!”

*measures with hands on screen*

“This is a stupid looking animal.” (Cotylorhynchus romeri)

"for example comparing femur robustness is ... what does that even mean?"

“You can laugh…this is a stupid looking creature!”

“Then of course you have your penis worms.”

“Holding fossils from the Burgess Shale is a religious experience.”

“It would be a very mossy world, which I am not opposed to. I like moss :)”

“Taxonomy is a clusterfuck.”

“This is probably one of the most ridiculous animals to have ever evolved.” (Whales)

“It looks like a strange monster from the black lagoon.” (Maiacetus)

“It’s a magical Liopleurodon!”

*does push ups on a table to show us how a fish would have walked*

*showing us a video of a crocodile taken by someone in the water*

“Do NOT do this. Don’t jump into the water with a crocodile. It will end very badly :(“

“This was like one of the weirdest papers I’ve seen. Alright so Ken Carpenter is a very legitimate paleontologist in Colorado. He normally worked with dinosaurs but he also decided to try and figure out how mosasaurs swim. So you look at the skeleton but then you also put two undergrads in a pool, one grabbing the other one's legs to see how that double-limb locomotion would work. It's like the kookiest thing I’ve ever seen published… but yeah I'm not even sure how he got the approval for this… I don’t think this was grant funded… “I would like some undergrad volunteers to jump in a pool, one holding the other ones legs to see if they will drown.””

*rants about the size of the mosasaur in Jurassic World and debates with a student whether or not an actual size mosasaur could pull a T. Rex into the water*

“I like owls. They look like they are wearing trousers :)”

"The Ice Age movie was a missed opportunity. There were so many cool animals they could have used and they didn't use ANY of them! There were giant ground sloths that were so big you can stand in their fossilized burrows! Yeah sure we have that one guy...what's his name...Sid? Yeah sure we have Sid but Sid is NOT a giant ground sloth. That's not even mentioning all of the horses and bison and bears and lions! Its disappointing!"

...

"I was on a podcast about this :D"

[valscodblog]

"ℙ𝕀𝕊𝕋𝕆𝕃𝔸" an Alejandro Vargas x OC; Pt 1

Warnings: Non really-just some. Not for this part at least. Just some vulgar language and a very very very very slight mention of past attempted murder. Oh, and refusal to move on. (not like-romanticly, like rant wise.)

OC: Maria "Pistola" Sanchez

Credits to OC: Myself C:

Tags: @writing-with-moss @thebunnednun @seconds-over-first @needa-sum-luvn and @skauni oh and wth why not!? @spicy-seaweed

"I love how she does this!" "I love how she does that!" "Ohh, she performs so well, how is she only a corp?"

Like she needed reminding of why she never tired to move up. Of Why she tried to make herself seem stupid and weak...but every single time she went into battle-she was reminded.

"Maria's one of the best-i recommend-" but she wasn't listening anymore. This is why she and Alejandro never saw eye to eye-he tired to convince her to let him write to the General to move her up-she always said no. She didn't want to be seen-seeing as she was forced into this life. "Ay, Cállate, Alejandro! I'm not the best of the best and you know this," she said, cutting him off in the middle of this stupid meeting. Alejandro put one eyebrow up-so high it arched in the middle and made him look ever so dangerous. "Delscupme?"

She bit her lower lip and said, "Nada...Nada." "Yo creio que...y, Si has terminado, María..." Maria nodded, and tuned out his voice again. Rudy was going to use her as a toll during this mission and she already knew that-he always did. Rudy was nice, sure, but he had a levrage on Maria no one else did. Her past. She looked at Rudy-and he looked back, smiling. El Pendejo. She forced a smile back at him before looking down at her lap-"Maria! Are you even listening to me, amor?" "Si, si, claro que si." Alejandro hummed before saying, "What did I just say then?" "You said i was to work with Rudy-otra ves-and-" "No. I did not. I said you are to work with el nuevo teniente."

"There's a new one?" Maria asked, quirking a brow up, and crossing her arms over her chest-oh if only she knew the affect she had on him. Alejandro took a deep breath before saying, "Si, there's a new one. Ghost, they call him. You've never met him-but we're changing that...you'll also be working with another sergeant-Soap." Maria held back on hell of a barking laugh. "SOAP? ¿Jabón? they call him that? Why?" "no se, now. If your done talking back, we'll leave to meet your new partners." "Fine, fine..."

Alejandro picked up a file and said, "This is for the-" "I dont want to know, Alejandro. Nor do i want to, Pendejo." Alejandro sighed, "You still mad at me for that?" "Yes i am." "I told you-you succeed that mission, you were moving up whether you liked it or not!" "Yo se! Pero-I told you why i don't want to!" "And I don't care! The forms are sent-long over due-and el general-" "I don't care! No me importa!"

And they walked off in silence. Maria's anger known to all those who saw her-Alejandro's too. "Why are you like this, chica?" "Be-" "Don't give me no sassy response, quagliò." "...im going to kill you, Vargas." "Try it, muchacha. I dare you." "...Vete a la mierda, Alejandro."

"Ghost...is the one with the skull mask, si? ...How do we know he ain't part of el sin nombre's ranks?" Maria asked, eyeing the new Lt. Alejandro sighed. "Laswell recommended him. Same with Price." Maria was still skeptical but she nodded. "Okay..." "Just-go meet him, huh?" "Fine." She walked over to him and said, "Ghost, i take it?" the tall man nodded. "You must be Pistola." "that I am."

"Why do they call you that, eh?" ghost asked, Maria smiled, "Should I show you, Pendejo?" "Ay! That's enough, Mari-Pistola." Maria glared at Rudy and he fixed her name halfway through. "Mari, her name's Mari?" the other one asked, the one with a mohawk. She shook her head. "Dumb nickname they call me," she lied smoothly. "Short for my real name-which you idiotos will not be receiving whatsoever-so don't ask." Alejandro frowned at Maria before raising his eyebrows.

'Play nice.' That's what the look meant. She frowned back before sighing. If that CIA lady said that they could trust these two...No. Should she trust again it would be the end of her world. No, she won't play nice. She'll play cold. She'll play harsh. And she'll play Dirty. She nodded at Alejandro, who was now walking over before looking at the one with a mohawk. "You-Mohawk. You a punk rocker or somethin'?" And he blinked. "Scottish. That's wha' aye am." She hummed. "Scotland, huh? What part?" "That's private." "My bad-just tryna...i dunno, be nice or whatever," she said, shrugging. Soap nodded, "I get it, i doo, just doon't ask my home yeah?" "Yeah-sure."

"Oye, Pistola, ven." "Si, senor."

"Que?" "Maria, por favor, I know your scared of-" "Shut up." "Exscuse-" "Shut. Up, Alejandro. I'm scared yes, But do I want Rudy or the rest of LOs Vaqueros knowing that? No!" "Why are you scared, Amor? Soy aqui-" "Yo se! Yo se, okay, Alejandro? Pero-Yo-" she took a deep breath, "They could work for my uncle and we wouldn't never know." Alejandro sighed, "Your never goinf to let that go are you?" "You think Imma just-forgive mi tio for trying to kill the both of us?" "...No. Not when you put it like that...but he's the genaral of Mexico! What are we going to do? Plus-their flags say-" "Undercovers! They could be undercovers!"

Alejandro looked at Maria-really looked at her for the first time since recruiting her eleven years ago and his eyes went wide.

"...You don't trust me, do you?"

And she shook her head. Eleven years-and she never trusted him. Not once. Not during the nights they spent alone-not during the missions they took, not during any of it. She never had trusted him.

"Is this why they call you Pistola? Because your like a bullet to the heart, Corazon?"

[sleepynegress]

Okay. So, I was gonna do a recording on this... still may, but... Ehh, I'm getting new meds on Friday. Anyway. About The Acolyte...

This right here is why BIPOC are always cynical when a show centers us. There's a much greater chance the rug will be pulled and a lesser chance of seeing anything in that space again. I enjoyed the show, but it wasn't perfect. Unfortunately, post-Trump and Apartheid Clyde, incels have dumbed down and polarized any reactions to media. Anything that has white men and white men nostalgia they'll eat up with the spoon regardless of actual quality *cough*deadpool*cough*. ANYTHING with the alphabet crew, BIPOC, -really any 'other' they don't find to be fuckable or exactly like them (because fuck empathy or trying on someone else's shoes), shouldn't exist, because that's pandering.... The norm is everybody else should be fine seeing them all the time, because 30% that is white men and even less,*het* white men should always be catered to, because they are fragile emotionally stunted children and nobody else is important.... *sigh* Yeah so /rant. I feel for the younger generations, because I feel not being raised with the "twice as good" lecture has been used against these talented marginalized creatives. If the art isn't 100% excellent all-around, that is used to justify why any product they make is always gonna be inferior... "Go Woke, Go Broke" nonsense. Meanwhile, the big-money, non-art-minded people running things don't advertise properly, don't have a more experienced and artistic-minded higher-up go over the finer details to polish it up, and mentor the young-ins right. They don't sort out proper spending because they pre-assume the inclusive property can be the 1st(!) written off for taxes.

They drop awkwardly cut and paced eps stretched out over weeks. They mishandled Carrie Anne-Moss by implying she's a major character when she was just a cameo. They kneecapped this production. They just didn't count on Oshamir gaining such a fan following. Anyway, keep fighting... I'm pissed for you, but this isn't my first rodeo. P.S. ....I am so tired of these fucking incels. They make everything lousy.

[mosslingg]

i dont knoow how it happened but on my gf's and mine save file i turned into the stardew valley embodiment of a suburban white dad (i do have 2 children) so uhhhhh. yeah.

also feet will be my downfall. "but moss you can just study drawing them-" NO. YOU DONT UNDERSTAND. FEET MAKE ME TERRIBLY UNCOMFY. LIKE EXTREMELY UNCOMFY. EVEN DRAWING THEM FEELS WEIRD. BUT THE BOOTS ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE OUTFIT SO I SACRIFICED MYSELF. THERE IS A REASON WHY I DONT DRAW FULL BODIES OFTEN. okay rant over bye

[rosenbergamot]

What about the word: mistake

YIPPEE ok i found this old silly fic i was writing ab vampire mumbo and nobody knowing or believing that hes a vampire. its just like little snippets until the big reveal and i think im gonna pick it back up bc it was fun and silly and i enjoyed it. heres a small scene from it!!

There’s someone approaching; he hears him clunking down the stairs. Judging by the scent (all warm wet moss and Etho’s deodorant) it’s absolutely Bdubs. He turns to see him, wiping a trail of blood off of his mouth with his suit jacket-- he’d gotten a little aggressive while feeding, made a little mistake, killed a villager, all that. 

“Hi Mumbo-- oh my gosh!” He trips on the last step as he sees the blood. Smells very much like Etho. They must have just stopped hanging out. Why on Earth is he here, then? “W-What the heck? Are you okay?! My god, he’s bleeding everywhere! I don’t know first aid! What should I do?”

His friend frantically runs around, searching for a first aid kit or a potion or anything. It’s quite silly of him. There isn’t even a visible wound. He looks perfectly fine.

“BdoubleO, I’m perfectly fine! Calm down, man!”

He stops so quickly it should leave an indent in the stone. “Then why the heck is there so much blood everywhere, Mumbo? Huh?”

“Just doing my daily feeding is all.” 

“You eat blood?!” He cries out, face paling. The allay part of him makes a distressed chiming sound before he slaps a hand over his mouth, clearly embarrassed. “Is that a thing humans do? I need to ask Iskall next time I see them…” 

What.

“No, it’s a vampire thing, mate… like the first thing people think of when you say vampire.” 

“Oh, Mumbo, you’re such a prankster!” He slaps his knee. “You set this whole thing up just to make a vampire joke? That’s freakin’ rich, man. Do you not have anything else to do?”

His eyes narrow. “No, BdoubleO, I suppose I don’t have anything else to do.” 

“You should probably get a hobby! Just saying!” He chirps very helpfully. The villagers have started to recuperate. Their ire has been forgotten as he turns to stare at them. He hopes his eyes communicate the ‘what the absolute hell?’ sort of vibe he’s going for. They seem just as puzzled as he does, twin puncture wounds on each of their necks. 

He sucks a bit of stray blood off his fang. “You know what, Bdubs? I think you’re right. Maybe my new hobby will be convincing people I’m a vampire.” 

“You’re gonna have to get more convincing than this,” Bdubs gestures to all the blood. “I mean, I thought you were injured or something! Thank goodness you’re not-- though I do know how to take care of it. Licensed first aid and all that.”

He just nods and tries to look very convinced. “I’m sure you do. Now why are you in my trading hall…?” 

Bdubs launches into a rant about how he ran out of building materials halfway through constructing his stable, but all Mumbo can think about is how strange it is that this has happened twice. Do people… really not know?

[disorderedcritters]

Inktober day 2 !! Overgrown

Admittedly not as overgrown as I wanted but I'm tired as hell today.

Mini rant below cut

Okay, so the idea here is that when Lunar is gone from her garden (due to what takes place in the game) it is left without anyone to care for it and grows over. The idea of the green stuff on the bench and buildings is that it's moss, but I don't know if it looks like that so you might also be able to consider it rot if you want

[synthshenanigans]

Round 7 gang!

-Vote for what you think is more underrated but also what you still like a lot-

[RB for more votes if ye'd like]

[demonsteapot]

this took me way longer than it should have

Team pic of the Moss-Eaters, Bronnie's unit. Their main task is dealing with rogue angels before they near settlements, but as Fleur-de-Lune has only two units, they're often sent on smaller errands.

More about everyone here vv

Tethys Bronya Wormwood, in the center, is the team's operator, a term which might imply she stays out of the field but is really quite the opposite. She is the wielder of a magnetic pile bunker (not pictured), a weapon powerful enough to deliver the coup de grâce to a weakened angel.

She's somewhat irritable and keeps to herself – not qualities you might need in a leader – but she's very protective of her team under it all.

Gato Cello, to her left, is one of the team's scout units, and Bronya's longtime best friend and assistant, once a freelance mercenary. Their rather vitriolic friendship started with Cello trying to kill her, which might explain why Bronya makes friends the same way.

Valentine 'Val' Phloem, the leftmost, is the former Princess of Rust, daughter of the kingdom's governing demigod. Demigods are complex things, so I won't go into them now, but Val is essentially a clone of the Queen, and was born – or rather, grown – inside the massive, fleshy being that underlies the Red Royal Capital (and indeed the whole kingdom.) She escaped and found her way to Fleur-de-Lune on the kingdom's outskirts, where she joined the Moss-Eaters. She is rather upbeat compared to her teammates, perhaps since she doesn't take her freedom for granted.

Wielding the chainsaw with which she cut herself free, she is one of the team's combat specialists.

Vivian Leyland, to Bronya's right, is the team's other fighter, and is considered a 'special asset' owing to a degree of magical affinity. He has control over the temperature of blood, which would make him a dangerous opponent if he had any guts at all.

As it stands, he prefers to fight with his archaic weapon of choice, a rainshade given to him by his sister Ling. He was recruited to the Moss-Eaters after Bronya tried to kill him while on dispatch (long story.)

The rightmost is Franni Velasquez, the team's second scout. He is in fact depicted with his weapons here, since he fights with honourable fisticuffs. He wears a smile at all times, but if we're being honest, working with Cello and Bronnie has made him plenty cynical.

A childhood friend of Viv, he joined the Moss-Eaters after Bronya – arguably forcibly, but there were extenuating circumstances – recruited his buddy. Not that there's much else to do in little Fleur Town.

I'll do a team pic for Catalina's Screwballs, Fleur's... better unit, at some point, but seeing how long this took me it might not be soon. Also, I need to introduce a bunch of new characters for them first.

Okay oc rant over bye <3

[erzsebetrosztoczy]

Mild rant because I need to talk it out into the void.

The thesis not thesising, i just finished the literature, starting tomorrow the questionnaire analysis and I plan to be done with it by the next weekend because my thesis supervisor just announced she will want our writings by march 15, not the end of the month because she will be abroad, so my plan of "one more month" is over, i need to rush meanwhile im trying to balance field practice in the hospital every weekday while also preapring for my state exam with them delicious 92themes FOR JUNE 3.

Like I need to do cell division and have the brain capacity of Megamind to deal with all of this. And im just a silly little girl. I know this should not be the end of the world, heck TÖBB IS VESZETT MOHÁCSNÁL but still this is my biggest challenge and fear for my short ylung life so far and I already developed panic attacks because of academics, what will i do when im working???? Someone poof me out of exiatance please, i want to be a moss rug on the forest floor.

My high anxiety really goes hand in hand with my procrastination to destroy my mental state in my early 20s, aren't they?

Anyway whowever reada this, and also has shit ton of work to do and you are panicing and want to run off to the woods, leviing all responsibility for the strrrong capable ones -- you are not alone as you can see, and I'm sure we'll manage. But first lets disappear into the swamps together, okay?

[c-130jsuperhercules]

okay rant on dark souls poison swamp got too long

like. one of the ways people fault darks souls 2 is that Miyazaki wasn’t very heavily involved in it. But apparently, looking at the other games, ds2 was even better for it. Like, take each games obligatory poison level, and i know i’ve ranted about this before, but holy shit. Dark souls 1, blighttown. the top part, fantastic, once you get past all the frame dropping issues. the verticality of it, the complexity of it, the way it makes you change up your play style, love it. The bottom tho? the bottom of blighttown? i will die on the hill of how bad and boring it is, not that anyone reasonable would kill me for it. You get past this amazing level of spooky mosquitos coming after you, evil dogs, stupid fucking toxic dart shooters, elevators, the whole nine yards only to get to the bottom and be introduced to Walking Simulator but it Hurts 2011. And, you have to keep going back there if you want to finish like three or four npc quests. 

DS3? Ohh, now there’s a miyazaki poison swamp alright. This time, he didn’t even put a blighttown before it, and don’t get me wrong, road of sacrifices is a pretty decent level, but it wasn’t blighttown with five extra years of thought put into it. this time, we’re spared the npc quests in favor of having a fuckton of items(one or two of which you do need to grab for an npc quest tho). I will give ds3 that it does have better enemies in it than ds1, tho. rock throwing fucko got nothing on the elder ghru. And we can see that this time, FromSoft heard people say “ohhhhhh the poison at the bottom of blighttown almost killed me so oftennnnnnn, it was so annoying to have to mitigate for the sake of some npcs and a couple items” and decided to just drop the poison damage down to fucking nothing. I have genuinely not used a poison cure item out of necessity in ds3 everrrr. At least the boss fight that came afterwards was badass.

Dark Souls 2. Now, i may be biased, but i do believe Harvest Valley is the best poison “swamp” between the three. Here, poison is actually a danger, but there’s enough items around and in a small enough area that it feels like holding your breath to dig around in a radioactive treasure chest, instead of wallowing through the equivalent of a prostate exam if the guy you’re elbow deep in suddenly decides to kegel really hard and twist. Instead of standing ankle deep in poop water, you at times are wading through a toxic miasma, that sticks to your skin and continues to make that poison meter rise unless you use several poison mosses to wait it out, use a cleansing spell, or bathe! BATHE you can fucking bathe by rolling in water. Poison even does about five times more damage, compared to ds3, simultaneously making poison builds viable while making the entire way they approached poison different. Instead of it just being a status effect that puts a little timer on how long you can trudge around for, it is an actively threatening experience, you have to cure it as soon as possible or you will be facing some heavy losses. The devs, recognizing that, made it so it’s not an ever-present, yet mild hazard, but something more akin to a trap from ds1 sen’s fortress. And that’s not even getting into earthen fucking peak

Earthen fucking peak is one of my favorite areas in any souls game. It’s unorthodox, it’s fun, it’s vertical, it’s surprising, i love it. There’s several hidden doors, headless fucks, women you can make out with(but watch out), an old shifty fuck who makes ladders, you see pate again, elevators, hidden rooms, and the main advantage it has over blighttown(in addition to being a larger, more fleshed out level with a lot more stuff going on), is how well the boss at the end ties it all together. When you get through Blighttown, you face Quelaag. When you get through farron keep, you face the Abyss watchers. Neither of these bosses share a connection with their boss run except by lore. Mytha, the Baneful Queen, tho? Not only is she a headless snake lady, akin to the headless manikins and the poisoned area, but her boss room is almost filled with poison that heals her if she stays in it. However, if you set fire to the windmill(which you can find out how to do bc a npc summon will help guide you and point to it and cheer when you do it) below her boss room, the poison stops getting pumped up there, making the poison ring around you smaller, and the boss fight that much easier. Like fuck yeah! That’s what i call interesting level design! That’s what i call sticking to a theme! Not to mention, you kill her deeply devoted and in-love-with-her servant on the first floor, then go upstairs to meet her, so the entire is a metaphor for cuckolding.

[encryptedlunacy]

Prime example of every rant I've had about moss collection ever. TW: I'm about to have another, there's a TLDR at the bottom if you don't wanna emerse yourself in it or you're welcome to skip unless you plan on doing this yourself in which case please read on

Despite the praise moss receives for it's "fast spreading" qualities, moss takes an EXTREMELY long time to grow and cutting out a section like this is a huge loss on that patch that will take probably over a year to regenerate.

Moss is so important!!! It not only provides habitats for an abundance of insects and other micro-organisms which sustain the ecosystem and soil health, but are also a vital food source for larger animals due to nutrient rich qualities as well as it's inhabitants!! Birds use moss as a source of nesting material, and some amphibians spawn their young in moss due to it's common growth habits and moisture retention qualities. All of these species need to have enough moss to sustain their populations and that's really difficult to do in it's own right with growing habitat loss without the consumer market taking it a step further. Carving out this much in one sitting - from one area - not only completely destroys any hope another species' may have had for using it but will stress the moss out and this clump likely will not even survive the transition, and the two pieces left by the road may even decay as well.

If that doesn't suffice, moss has so many benefits for the environment, it lays the groundwork for other plants to grow by stabilizing environments and trapping organic matter as it grows to basically make it's own soil for other plants to establish themselves in, filters air far more efficiently than trees and grasses, and can store CO2 for longer and trap nutrients for other organisms to process.

Another important role it plays is that scientists use moss to detect changes in our environment, purify waters and other substances, and restore habitats for other life forms - and all of these different areas are not only vastly more important than aesthetic preferences for a living room, but also require a healthy and thriving population!! Sphagnum(/peat) moss particularly is praised for a lot of different reasons, but if you ever get the chance just research the effects the loss of peat bogs has had on places like Canada and Chile because it's so crazy it's actually ridiculous - and sphagnum is probably the easiest thing in the world to propagate yourself as well!!

When people do this in mass quantities, it can be so harmful to the environment I cannot even begin to tell you. With the rising popularity of moss for the plant/herp community for terrariums, etc, and usefulness in crafting projects, the demand for it is increasing, which means that people are capitalising on an easy source of income by making businesses out of harvesting "fresh moss" as it's a readily available item for them to go out and grab. Etsy is rife with sellers using "fresh wild moss" as a marketing strategy to gather more interest, because hey if it's grown in the wild it's good quality right? And then the moss being distributed by these sellers is likely "foraged" unsustainably and having videos like this where they make this collection process seem so simplistically enjoyable and easy to do encourages other people to do the same. We (and yes I mean we, I'm not gonna stand on a soap box and pretend I'm Florence Nightingale, I've done stupid shit too, we're all learning) are so quick to trust that it's okay to do something because we assume somebody else knows better because they're doing it, and it breeds a whole community of bad practices.

I'm not saying buying moss or collecting moss is bad but PLEASE if you are going to harvest moss, there are so many videos on how to do it so that it doesn't destroy habitats (or at least lessens the damage done) by taking small portions from the middle of a patch where you can pat the other moss down around it to fill the gap and decreases the stress you're putting on it - or better yet! Take small clumps that have already dropped or been picked off by birds (our magpies love chucking moss off the roof, there's nothing we can do to stop them from tearing it up, but we can certainly make sure that it doesn't go to waste.)

There are more videos than I could swing a seal at showing you how to propagate moss as well, simply by cutting it into small pieces, spreading it out across a wider surface area, and you have even more moss to utilise in the future. P l e a s e, I am on my hands and knees begging you to challenge people who are doing this and politely inform them of the destruction it causes.

TLDR: Moss is really important for the environment and we need to make sure we're purchasing CULTIVATED MATERIAL ONLY or harvesting sustainably. Let's stop destroying habitats and harming the environment further!

If you would like yt links to video tutorials or simply channel recommendations I am happy to provide my favourite people I seriously do not mind just stop harming my moss please

DIY Terrarium

[valscodblog]

ℙ𝕀𝕊𝕋𝕆𝕃𝔸 -Part two

Warnings: Mentions of death (obvi-it's call of duty y'all.), in-depth past explanation, OC being forced to take up a role she never wanted, very very very VERY slight mentions of sexual themes (like-one or two sentences), trust issues at it's finest, and that's around it.

Alejandro Vargas x OC

Credits to OC: ME MYSELF AND IIIIIII~~ (Uhm-anyways-)

[{TAGS! <3 : @seconds-over-first @thebunnednun @writing-with-moss }]

Alejandro felt like he had been shot through the heart. "I-What have I ever done to you, to make you reluctant to trust me, Linda?" Maria shook her head, "It's-It's not you, Alejandro...it's just-personal." Alejandro nodded. "I understand. Yo Entiendo." Maria gave him a soft smile-she smiled!-and then walked away. Alejandro nearly died right then. Rodolfo smirked at put a hand on Alejandro's shoulder. " Su maldito desesperado, coronel," Rudy joked, and his higher-up sighed. "Yo se, Rudy...Pero...." "Pero Nada, Amigo. You love her. That's it." "Not so loud, Pendejo!" "We're mexican! We're loud!" "Parra!" "Okay, okay! Don't kill me, Alejandro!" "Mhhh, i should...I really should. But-alas, I can't."

"Say-Pistola, why do they call ye tha', aye?" "Because." "It means Poistol, doon'it?" Soap asked, "So that means-ye must be handy wit one!" Maria groaned and rubbed her face. "If i say yes, will you shut up?" "Nay, prolly not, bonnie." "Don't call me bonnie-" "Bonnie, bon-bon, bonnibell, bonnie-boo," Soap teased, and Maria looked over to Alejandro and mouthed, "Im going to kill you, Pendejo." He just laughed. Maria looked back over to Ghost and Soap-who were...flirting? Talking? How could you tell, honestly? "...Are you two...Novios?" "Huh?" Ghost said, quirking a brow up, "I asked if you two are dating, Fantasma." Ghost shook his head. "No-why would we be?" He snorted, and Soap laughed. "Okay...Although, I hope you two know, that I will be teasing you now." "Aboot...?" "Dating. Because y'all act like a married couple."

"Hey-quick question-why'd'ye sound like yer from Texas or sum?" Ghost asked, and Maria gave him a deadpan stare. "...The border? I live on the fuckin' Boarder?" Maria said, quirking a brow of her own up. Ghost then put his brow back down and then raised both of them this time, "Ah..." what was he supposed to say after a lady just told you that and clearly wasn't liking you? "So-You grew up knowing how to fight, Alejandro says." "Yeah. I did..." Ghost sighed.

"Well-" "If your trying to flirt with me, i suggest you learn a few new pick up lines other than whatever the fuck your on, Ghost." Simon blinked. "Love, i assure you, I'm not takin' a shinin' t'ya." "Good. Because I'm not on the market." "Oh?" Well, she's interesting...Simon sorta was starting to like her. "So..." "So?" "...What's anotha way to say "I came inside of a woman," Pistola?" "...What?" "Loadin' tha dishwasha." And Pistola nearly laughed, but she caught herself and just choose to quirk a brow up and shut her eyes. "Funny." and Ghost smiled behind his mask-but not a nice one, oh no. An annoyed one.

"Hmm, your not laughin' though?" "Yeah-lost my ability to year ago." "Ooh...damn, thats gotta suck f'ya, Lovie." "Oh yeah, it does."

And Alejandro looked over to Maria and frowned. "Here we go..." he muttered to Rudy. Rudy shook his head before saying, "She's not a litle kid, Amigo. She can flirt if she wants-" "Not with that gringo!" "Alejandro!" "....Mhhhph, I just don't like how she won't even look at me half the time i talk to her-but this, this guy! He just shows up and it's all 'Ohh let me stare at him-let me make eye contact!' Like, Pendeja! Por favor, why do you treat him like an old friend, huh?"

and Rudy leaned into Alejandro, arm on shoulder, and said, "Jelous, Ale?" "No-why?" "...Pinche mentiroso..." "No soy!" "Si tu eres! You ranting like-" "Dont." "Si, senor..." Alejandro went back to looking at Maria, whom was still talking to ghost and Soap. He hummed again before saying, "Alright, maybe i am...just a little. Un Puco." Rudy grinned. "First step's admitting it, Alejandro." "Yo se..."

"Right-so...what do I say, Alejandro?" Maria mumbled, more to herself than anything, really. BUt the man caught it and said, "You introduce yourself, tell them your New rank, Maria, and tell them you'll be leading this squad. Okay, mi amor?" "Not your love." And Alejandro sighed softly. "You know how i mean it, Maria...right?" "Claro que si. I just-don't. Just don't, okay?" "Claro, Maria." "Grasias, Ale-" "Maria! Here you are, thought we lost ya!" "Juan Price." "Erm-it's John." "Oh, so sorry, I'm Mexican, Sir." "It's fine, it's fine." "John Price! Ey, one capitan, to another, this is the easy part." "True..."

Alejandro quirked a brow up. "You two, know each other?" "We've met, yes. Back in, what was it?" "Ahh, good ol' Brittan-the country side, right?" "Indeed," Price agreed, smiling. "By the way! How's it coming along for you?" Maria asked, Price sighed and shook his head. "Hassan's still causing problems, so what does that tell you?" "Horrid." "Worse than." "Oof, i feel for you, John." "So, when-"

"Maria, it's time," Alejandro said into her ear and she said, "Fine fine...Sorry John we'll have to catch up later. I have to meet new squad." "Steaming Jesus-right before a mission?" "It's my family curse-we're alwasy last minuet and the people around us are affected too." "Well-i'll let you go before i get affected, huh?" "Hmph, yeah, see you, Price." and Maria walked away. Alejandro stayed behind and said, "That scoff? That's her laugh...consider yourself a trusted allay to Los Vaqueros now, Price." and he clapped John on the shoulder, shook it, and then let go and jogged to catch up to Maria.

Rodolfo was there, already telling the squad a new Captain was to command them and the rest of Maria's new squad just tensed. A new Captain? Oh, Jesus, that was never good...the last one was dead, sure, but this new one? They would have to learn how to read and how to act around this new person.

Or so they thought. It was just Maria.

"Oh! The Corp finally moved up, huh?" Private Diaz asked, and Maria sighed, "Here we go..."

"WHy now, out of all times?"

"HOW DID SHE GET TO MAKE THAT BIG OF A MOVE?"

"Wow...she really just left us in the dust, sucking off Alejandro must help a fair ton."

"For real. Prolly added in a few extra rounds to ensure her new place too."

Alejandro quirked a brow up and was about to say something when Maria shouted, "IF YOU LOVE YOUR MOM'S, SHUT IT!" and everyone shut up-minus one rookie who thought she was joking around.

BANG!

"Any? Body? Else?" Maria asked, her single hand still holding her pistol sideways. The person who spoke had been shot in the leg. "No? Good...now, rule one, i ever hear you talking behind my back again, you'll end up worse than that boy there, okay? Bueno. Dos, listen to rule one." Everyone nodded.

"Maria-that wasn't legal." "And what are you going to say, huh? Nada because if you report me, you'll be asked why you didn't step in." and Rudy shut up. "Damn-she's better than I thought at this," Alejandro said, smiling proudly.

"Well...let's get this mission over with and the lines drawn, yeah?" Maria muttered, Alejandro nodded...but as he started to explain, Maria started to zone out, she didn't feel safe, and this is how she dealt with that feeling.

"Ma? ...Mama? M-...MAMA?" Maria shouted, running into her mother's room as she heard what sounded like fighting. "Mami-mami!" her little brother screamed-in pain. "Eres igual que tu papá, chico..."

"MAMA-ALTO! Whatever he did-"

"No hablo ingles a Me, nina..."

Maria just stared at her mother-not hearing anything but the high pitched ringing in her ears. She had to run-hide. After she was done with her brother-she was next. and in for worse. Maria did run-into the room. She grabbed her four year old brother and then, as fast as her legs could carry the both of them, she ran out of the bedroom and down the stairs. She ran to the front door, and tried to open it-locked. She unlocked it but her brother wouldn't stop fighting her movements. "You'll just make it worse, Hermana! Stop-please!" "Shhh, dont speak English, Nino! Why do you think your being beat!?" and her brother shut up and chose just to sob into her shoulder. "Poor thing...if only Dad-"

"Tu padre ya no está aquí, no estará por mucho tiempo… Ya tendré tiempo…Es hora de pensar en una mentira… Es hora de hacer que parezca un accidente..."

No-Nononono-She heard the trigger of a gun and then she heard the recoil. It didn't hit her, however. "...Alex?" "Ma...Ri...A..." was his last word and Maria snapped. Thirteen, and she snapped. She dropped her little brother and charged at the drunken woman. Her mother was skinny-she wasn't. She had been working out for the last three years in secret. She threw a punch to her mother and her mom took it harshly. She toppled over, dropping the gun. It would've been funny to Maria if she wasn't so far gone in the moment. Maria then picked up the gun and said, "I'll talk how i want-and just so you know, Dad will know...and then he'll see to it that you get what you deserve..."

"Live, Pendeja...Live knowing I only let you becuase your husband and the god you so claim to love will punish you. They'll punish you so harshly-so badly...that you wish that i killed you-that one day, when we meet again, you will Beg Me to kill you...understand me? And know, that I no longer am a fucking Rodriguez, but instead, a Sanchez-como me Papa!" Maria said, sounding ever so calmly. She then laid the gun down on her mother's chest, and left the house.

She never went back. She found her uncle, and asked to stay with him instead, and her uncle, the evil bastard said yes. So she lived with him and was trained by him for War.

"Maria-MARIA SANCHEZ! Are you listening to a word that Alejandro just said to you?" Maria blinked and muttered, "Que?" Rodolfo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Alejandro-get your damn girlfriend." Alejandro, who had been talking to one of the rookies, looked over and said, "No eres mi novia, Rudy...solo una amiga importante." And Maria groaned, "Shut it, Alejandro."

Maria walked away and muttered, "I have to stop zoning out..." Alejandro jogged after her-again. "Alejandro-" "I know what your going to say, so just don't! Instead, Escuchame!" Maria nodded, but kept walking. "So...Maria...do you, uhhm..Wanna go get something to eat after this?" Maria stopped dead. "You asking me out, Alejandro?" Alejandro sighed, "Not like-romanticly or anything! Just-you know, a couple of friends going out to eat." Maria laughed softly and said, "You know, I don't trust that...just us two-and i've never seen you outside of work...i don't know you-and you don't know me, Ale."

"I know-pero-i wanna take you out, okay? Tu eres muy linda, bonita, ermosa, and not to seem like im kissing your ass or anything but-" "Vargas. Your already kissing my ass." "Oh, shhh! Let a man talk to you for once, Maria!" Maria laughed again before nodding. "Sure, Vargas. Talk." "Grasias! Dios mio...okay, where was I?" "Oh so this was rehersed?" "In the mirror to myself." "Alejandro Vargas!" "What? Im telling you the truth!"

"Oh my god, fine! I'll go out with you-but no where cheap! Make an impression if you want this chica to stay around. Dont ask or tell me where, just take me. Okay?" and she winked.

Alejandro felt like he had been shot through the heart again-but this time...by cupid's bow.