#queue like a butterfly

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Because nobody ever suspects the butterfly...

[anipgarden]

Tropical Milkweed, Its Problems, and What To Plant Instead

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

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

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

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

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

Let's discuss.

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

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

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

OE Infections

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

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

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

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

Migration Interruption

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

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

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

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

It's Pretty Invasive (in the US)

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

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

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

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

Toxic to Monarchs????

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

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

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

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

Capitalism. The answer is capitalism.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No You Are Not A Bad Person For Growing Tropical Milkweed

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusion!

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

[purpleleafsyt]

Super ultra fast propaganda for the best bow mini tournament, you guys should vote for Lenore :]

@ultimatebabygirlsupremebattle​

[solarpunkani]

Not to say I'm cooking but I might be cooking

(Note: in this context, 'cooking' refers to 'combining 2 crochet patterns to make a cooler pattern, ie a hooded cloak consisting of butterfly stitches)

[evorathesylvurr]

Hm. Perhaps i should make a tag specific for Elpis (my limbus self insert) so that if i get followers they can filter out my cringe.

If anyone is interested in them:

This is them ^_^ their name is Elpis and they’re based off of Pandora’s box since i tend to go for names that start with E for my self inserts (E and S names, for Evora and Sora lol)

Their whole deal is that they had a class (its either a class or an orphanage, haven’t decided) where they spent most of their time w/ the vices in the box until the Bad Things Happened (tm) and Elpis is the only one left :(

They love faust. they are very sweet together and it is very autistic.

They're very much nonbinary and use they/them but they’re often referred to as a girl/by feminine terms (for an example in a oneshot i wrote of them, they are called "faust's girl").

Elpis is a character outside of the fact that theyre a self insert/self ship oc!! Their whole thing is flower language and that’s the a big thing in the way they express their (platonic!!) feelings towards the other sinners.

One of the little flower language things they do is at the end of a sinner’s canto is give them a flower that has a meaning relevant to them… i have a small list and reasons on my Elpis google doc but i dont have that available atm because mobile tumblr is weird lol.

Their little icon is meant to be both a flower and a butterfly! I didn’t want to just go with butterflies since butterflies mean hope BUT butterflies are already kinda taken by *checks notes* ryoshu’s icon, and every single ardor moth and other butterfly/moth themed abnormality.

Also the skirt is very much not super efficient in battle but hey. It works for them. and also they refuse to get rid of it.

Their primary weapon is an olive branch type thing with a lantern at the end. Like the SINGLE most stereotypical staff lantern thing. it also has a branch that they weave medicinal herbs onto :3

The lantern has easy break glass panes, though there is no door. The way the lantern works is they have to reset the Greek fire like substance (half a copout on what it actually is composed, half because Greek fire is interesting, and also half because she's from greek mythology), relight the candle carefully, and then put the panes back in. Her Big Attack(tm) lore wise is them smacking the enemy with their staff and the lantern shatters onto the enemy. I guess combat wise it would be a one time use inflict bleed & burn. like

[on hit] inflict x burn, inflict y bleed (can only occur once an encounter)

They still do damage just no burn/bleed :3 this is for balance purposes (and gameplay/lore integration because DAMN the PMVerse is great at that shit keep it UP /pos)

However because theyre really easily startled if you approach them from behind and they don’t see you, they have a really nasty habit of “swing first, ask questions later”. It’s to the point on the Elpis google doc i literally have a table of how many times they’ve set a sinner on fire by accident (as well as how many on purpose). It’s a source of comedy until it’s Not.

[wheucto]

catching butterflies

[fizzytoo]

[thevalicemultiverse]

To VD:

There is a legend of a legendary swordsman who was apart of a great war known as the Magic War. This swordsman was known everywhere in the medieval times as the most skilled and powerful swordsman in the world. Some legends say that he could awaken the spirits of the dead to accompany him in battle. He was also known as the Butterfly Spirit Swordsman.

Do you know what the amazing thing is?

His name is Vincent...

Vincent Van Dort.

Cuddlepile

Victor: [blinks a few times] What -- really?? I -- er -- I genuinely don't know what to say here. I've never heard of a Vincent in my family tree...but then again I don't know much about the Van Dort family line in general, really. Goodness, though, it would be interesting if we were related...

[munibani]

peaking his head into the rather large meeting room , b-127 or now known as bumlebee let his optics rest on their leader . mostly someone who had pretty much saved him from the sub level fifty . funny time how much that was possibly a week ago . now look at them all , it was changing as they took steps . fractions happened . everyone was all one was now in different groups .

from what he had understand they were now called the autobots , he liked the name ! way better than what he had in mind ( cough badassatrons squad cough ) , and now the decepticons . it didnt set well with him when he watched the two beings that he grew so fond of grow so apart , they were like family to him , though bumblebee wouldnt say it - it broke his spark .

it broke him when those own hands had raised against him hurting him . he forgives - the little guy always does after-all it was just a fit of rage right ? watching it all happen as it did - it burns into you . bit this wasnt about him , far from it . it was a talk he wanted to have with orio- no thats not his name anymore .

optimus prime . that was his name now .

" hey ! there you are ! i been looking for you optimus ! " he spoke waving his hand to him as it turned into a knife once more , letting out a nervous laugh as he sheaved it back again . got to get used to that . really get used to the feel like transforming . " say you got a second to talk ? i mean - if you are busy i dont mind waiting for you ! i know with you being the big bot now everyone well . . . everyone needs you ! looking out for your guidance now - "

he trailed off , rubbing his servos together in a nervous tick he had started to develop when it came to figuring out how to word what he wanted to say . with him being at his side now he was trying to figure out how to appear , in his optics more mature ? if that was what he was trying to say . not how others are still trying to get used to him . being locked down there for so long it takes some time to gain the social ques . " not that its a bad thing ! i just ha ha - im kinda of glitching this up arent i ? "

@tiris (hi dad love son)

[haledamage]

Dancing Lights

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAIT @queen-scribbles 💖💖💖💖💖!!!! Hope you're having a great day!

I bring you a gift of Etain/Vikkari, with him as Commander and her as the companion for a change 😉 she wanted to help him with what must be Azata path's biggest issue in the early days. fairly early in the game, I think, and definitely pre-relationship, but Etain definitely has a crush :3

---

Etain was staring.

She knew she was, and that she shouldn’t be, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop.

She just hadn’t expected the Commander to be so… adorable. Not that he wasn’t also powerful, and strong, and courageous, and charismatic, and all the things the leader of a crusade should be, but… Well, she’d assumed that the mysterious power that inspired the Fifth Crusade would have less… butterflies.

There were just so many of them. They’re like little dancing lights of blue and green and pink, catching Etain’s attention anytime she lowered her guard--which was more often than it should be, lately, but something about Vikkari put her at ease.

Like now. They’d set up camp on the edge of a thick copse of trees that seemed as safe as anywhere could be in the Wounded Lands. Dinner had already been eaten, and their group had split off to take care of their own business before sleep and watch rotations started.

Etain was supposed to be cleaning and restringing her bow, but got distracted halfway through the task, and now she was staring. At Vikkari. 

Again.

If he noticed, he didn’t seem bothered by it. His focus was on the small block of wood that he was carefully carving into, strong hands gently and meticulously coaxing it into shape. Butterflies flitted around his head, glowing softly in the falling daylight.

One of them landed on his nose, flexing its tiny teal wings. Vikkari shook his head to shoo it away, but it held fast. He lowered his whittling with a dramatic sigh, which fluttered the butterfly but didn’t dislodge it.

Etain couldn’t help it. She giggled.

She covered her mouth almost immediately after the sound escaped, but it was too late. Color bloomed over her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears, but she managed--barely--not to pull up her mask to hide her face when Vikkari’s attention fell on her. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to--I, um--” she took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and tried again. “I think you’ve got somethin’ on your face.”

His laugh finally dislodged his butterfly mustache, which flew away in a decidedly irritated way.

The laughter faded, but lingered in his eyes and the warmth of his smile. “Did you need something?”

“Oh!” She shook her head a little too quickly, dropping her gaze to her hands for a second before it was pulled back to the commander. “No. I was just curious about your… your butterflies.”

Vikkari finally (reluctantly? Or was that just wishful thinking on her part?) looked away from her to the jovial swarm fluttering around him. “There do seem to be an awful lot of them.” He sounded more amused than bothered by them.

Etain hummed in agreement, watching the glowing insects in consideration. She could feel the moment Vikkari’s attention returned to her, but she resolutely didn’t look back, in case doing so would make her forget what they were talking about. “Are they illusions? A manifestation of the magic of Elysium?”

He nodded slowly, getting lost in thought for a moment, before he finally said, “Maybe they’re like Aivu. Real butterflies, drawn here by…” he paused, smile faltering, “whatever this power comes from.”

The urge to comfort him was almost overwhelming; Etain would say almost anything to bring that smile back. “Or they could be local. Maybe they just think you’re a very interesting flower.”

Half of his smile came back, a crooked smirk that would look cocky on someone less charming. “Because I’m so pretty?”

“Because you’re sweet.”

A dazzling smile lit Vikkari’s face as an equally radiant blush spread across his cheeks. Her own cheeks flushed in response, and she ducked her head to hide it behind her half-unraveled braid.

Her eyes fell on her knapsack, and a sudden thought struck her. “Sweet,” she murmured to herself, an idea forming.

“What was that?” Despite his obvious curiosity, Etain knew he wouldn’t push if she didn’t want to share.

“May I try something?” She waited for him to nod before reaching for her bag, and dug around until she found a small bottle of amber liquid. The gentle pop of the stopper drew Pippin’s attention from dozing by the fire, but she ignored him and let a couple of drops from the bottle fall onto the back of her hand.

As soon as she held it out toward Vikkari, two butterflies changed trajectory to inspect, landing on her knuckles and flexing their wings with what could only be excitement.

Vikkari leaned closer, golden eyes glowing brighter in echo of the insects’ reaction. “What is that?”

Etain shrugged one shoulder, careful to keep her hand still. “It’s just honey.”

Eventually, the butterflies ate their fill and flew off to join the rest again--though they gave a little more respectful distance this time, she noticed.

Vikkari watched them in something like awe. Etain watched him in much the same way.

“So they are real.”

“I guess so.” She held her hand out to her side where Pippin waited patiently to clean the rest of the honey off of her hand.

The conversation ended there, meandering to other subjects--the Crusade, Vikkari’s whittling--before Seelah, Lann, and Aivu came over to join them. But Etain thought about it the next day while they traveled, and the one after.

Inspiration finally struck two days later, while the group traveled a road that cut through the middle of heavy forest. Etain walked parallel to the group, mask up and bow drawn, scouting the woods for ambushes; Lann took the other side, doing the same, with the rest of their collection of melee fighters and magic users on the road.

She didn’t find any ambushes (it had been waiting a mile up, in the middle of the road in plain sight), but she did find something else.

She brought it to Vikkari after dinner that night, relishing his surprised look when she held out the bundle of flowers in her hands. “May I?”

It took him a few seconds to reply, which made something warm settle in her chest. She didn’t know the Commander could be lost for words.

Eventually, he nodded. “Of course.”

Etain carefully unfolded the flower crown and placed it on his head, arranging it carefully against his (soft, how is his hair so soft this far from civilization?) hair.

As she’d hoped, the butterflies immediately took interest, coming in to land on the flowers instead of swarming around his head. Within moments, he had a halo of glowing wings, green and blue lights among the orange, pink, and purple flowers.

“Aster, phlox, lavender, and butterfly weed,” she said in answer to the question he didn’t ask. “Hopefully that will keep them out of your eyes, at least.”

He grinned at her, brighter than the fluttering crown he wore. “How do I look?”

“You look…” she blushed and looked away, unable to answer honestly and unwilling to lie. “I’d offer to show you, but I don’t own a mirror.”

“Thank you.” His voice was too soft, too warm, and it just made her blush darker. As always, he was kind enough to give her an escape route from her own embarrassment, and changed the subject. “What are the rest of them for?”

“Oh.” Etain had almost forgotten that she still held an armful of flowers. “They’re for Aivu. May I?”

The question was directed at the havoc dragon, who lounged nearby. Aivu nodded eagerly before the question was even finished, and Etain smiled as she settled the larger flower crown on her head. “There. I thought you might like one too. So you can match.”

“Where’s yours?” Both the dragon and the cleric asked at the same time before exchanging a grin, a silent conversation flowing between them that she couldn’t even begin to understand.

“I don’t need one,” she said quickly. It’s not like she had a swarm of fae butterflies to deal with, and even so she wasn’t one to indulge in pretty things. (Except the Commander, a knowing voice whispered in the back of her head.) “And I didn’t want to pick too many anyway.”

Vikkari nodded, seemingly in agreement, but she could see the gears whirring behind his eyes. Etain knew she hadn’t heard the last of this.

Strangely, she found herself looking forward to finding out what happened next.

[kitten4sannie]

THIS IS SO CUTE WTF

a funfair date

pairing: bf! yunho x gf! reader

genre: fluff, slice of life

summary: you’ve been wanting to go to the funfair to relive your childhood. now that you’re with yunho, you can make even better memories with him.

word count: 2.5k (2,515)

warnings: uhh reader is a bit (maybe a lot) shy, yunho leaves (only for a bit!) and she feels a little anxious, bf! yunho understands her needs better than her, uhh anything else and there’d be no point in reading?😭 OH pet names: baby (overused i’m sorry😓), my love, honey, my precious baby

author’s note: this was very self indulgent lol. my first ever fic 😱 i’ve had so many ideas but this is the first that i actually fully wrote cos i just wanna go to the funfair rn and would it be so bad to go with yunho :/. anyways, hope you love it and i would appreciate feedback 😋 ALSO ignore any grammatical errors lmao i went back and forth so much trying to make it all present tense but my brain hurt :/ leave me alone regarding that lol. enjoyyy!

“one sec, baby, i’ll be right back.”

your eyes widen as your boyfriend leaves your side. you turn to view his retreating figure, too embarrassed because of the people behind you in line to call out to him.

“y-yunho…?” you murmur, confused and a bit anxious as to why he suddenly left you alone.

“next!”

it was hook a duck, a game at funfairs you played often and loved as a child. you were so excited to be here with yunho, wanting to experience the loud lights in the dark hours of winter at 5pm. yet now it seemed like you were going to do the first activity by yourself. you’re given the rod and you aim for a duck to latch onto. as you’re about to hook one on, yunho’s voice hits your ears causing you to knock into the duck you were about to catch. before the stand owner could sense a failure, you quickly hook your duck, smiling to the owner for your prize but then glaring at yunho for his interruption and his prior exit. he’s oblivious to this though, eyeing the prizes as if he had a choice.

“so, what would you like?”

you turn your face to the multitude of plushies that came in all sizes, yet you knew for this game you could only have a small one.

“hmmm…”

“baby, they have the me to you tatty teddy bear! you love those.”

it was true, for some reason that bear was precious to you since you were young and as much as you wanted to refute yunho because of your slight annoyance with him, you couldn’t deny your love for that specific teddy.

“i’ll have that one, please.”

“here you go.”

“thank you!” you beam at the owner before turning around, walking towards the rides with your teddy in tow.

“where on earth did you go? you left me all alone,” you pout at yunho with furrowed brows.

“i went to get this.” only now do you realise he was hiding his hands away from your vision. he shows you the cotton candy he got and you make a face.

“yunho, you know i don’t like that.”

he pouts back at you, “oh, i know baby, that’s why i got you this.”

that’s when you see what he was hiding with his other hand: a blue and red slushie. your desperation to continue being annoyed with him wasn’t as big as your need to have something sweet on your tongue, so you take the large cup from him and relish in the taste. he grins at you, happy to see you satisfied.

“thank you, yunho.”

“no worries, baby. where to next?”

you look around at the rides, pretending to wonder about what to first ride on when you knew you already had made a plan before your trip. yunho knew this too but pretends to wonder with you.

“how about the…”

“the…”

you giggle as you look at him with hearts in your eyes, “the miami trip ride?”

“perfect, baby. lead the way.”

you wrap your arm around his and walk towards the ride, yunho putting his cotton candy stick in the bin on the way. as you approach the line, the usual nerves overtake you. you sip on some of your slushie hoping to keep calm but yunho can sense your nervousness.

“hey. baby.”

“yeah?”

“i’m excited,” he smiles at you so wide his glasses bunch up on his nose.

despite your nerves, yunho’s words help you voice your own excitement, “me too! i can’t wait.” you smile at him, grateful for his grounding presence.

finally, you’re allowed access to the seats of the ride. yunho knew you didn’t like sitting next to strangers so he sits next to you whilst you sit on the end. as soon as everyone is seated, the ride starts, slowly at first and then building momentum, going faster and faster which caused your stomach to have butterflies every time the ride came rushing down. it wasn’t too high but you could still get an overall view of the park, allowing your mind to capture the full picture of the aesthetic of the funfair. soon, the ride comes to an end and yunho helps you out. you pick up your slushie from where you had placed it on the ground and grab yunho’s hand to lead him to the next ride, adrenaline coursing through you.

luckily there was space for more people to join so you and yunho were admitted into the tagada ride without having to wait in line.

you sit in the middle where there was space and the ride begins. similar to the other ride, you were going at a soft pace until the conductor wanted to shake things up and started making it spin faster, making more bumps occur. a few times your legs lift into the air with your arms held onto the railing behind you. to stop you from momentarily levitating, yunho placed one of his long legs over your lap, securing you in place. you may not admit it but this is what you wanted the outcome of this ride to be: you held by him. you heart flutters but you try not to let your giddiness at his action show too much. he seemed content with keeping you safe and that was enough for the both of you. some other people did fall and you felt bad for finding it funny so you tried to hide your face behind yunho’s shoulder. eventually, the fun was over and you both headed to the next ride, not as disorientated as everyone else.

you once again had yunho’s hand in yours and was about to beeline to the next ride when he pulls you back. it was a bit comic, the way your leg stuck out only to fall back into his arms.

“how about we take a five minute break, yeah?” he speaks into your ear. it tickles but you couldn’t help the smirk that falls over your features.

you face him. “why? you getting scared?”

he chuckles at you. “no, baby, just thinking we don’t wanna waste all our energy now and be too tired to enjoy the rest of our time.”

he looks at you knowingly and you lower your gaze to the side. he was talking about you of course, since you tended to get overexcited when you were happy and that led to early burnout.

“okay, let’s find a bench to sit on.”

due to it being the middle of winter, the cold bit at exposed fingertips and noses with a dark azure blanket covering the park, which meant there weren’t as many people at the funfair than there would have been during the summer. you didn’t mind this at all, savouring the music from the rides travelling through the air.

“come here, baby.” yunho wraps one of his arms around you to pull you closer.

“yunho, i’m about to sit on your lap!”

“so? sit on it.”

“nooo! people will see us.”

“and? we’re just tryna keep warm.”

“i’m warm enough,” you huff at him.

“i want you to be warm more than enough.”

you look at yunho’s face and see the sincerity in it. the bright lights surrounding you two reflect from his glasses, looking like he was shooting stars from his eyes.

“being here with you is more than enough. i’m content. even tho the weather is freezing, i feel warm when i’m with you.”

because of the cold, because of your words, whichever it was, a light pink tint crept upon yunho’s face. you wanted to kiss him, just a peck, maybe even on the nose but your awareness of other people made you hold back. just as you were about to turn to get up, yunho’s face drops to yours and places a sweet kiss on your lips. he lingers but not for long, speaking just a breath away from you, “i love you.” it was your turn to blush.

before your shyness could overtake you, yunho gets up holding your hand and leads you to the next ride.

“wait, how did you know this was next?”

“mmm, just had an inkling.” he winks at you and you shake your head laughing.

it was time for one of your all time childhood favourites.

after waiting in line for less than five minutes, you and yunho sit in a cart and push the barrier over yourselves to make sure you were secure so that you wouldn’t fall out. when everyone was ready, the ride came to life, with its blinding lights and powerful music. you start moving forward, going up and down as if riding the waves of a smooth ocean. it starts to pick up pace and after a few minutes, your cart begins spinning, turning side to side. it felt like you were in a chaotic ballroom, where the moves were the same but harsher and with upbeat tunes. you fight to keep your eyes open, the intensity making you want to just snuggle against yunho. but you keep your hands on the handle and continue to enjoy the ride.

when it ends, you have to hold onto yunho for support, feeling a bit dizzy. he grasps your waist as he gets you both out of the ride and back on the ground.

“wow.”

“you okay, baby?”

“yeah, that was … a lot than i remember. but i’m okay! but… can we sit down… heh…?”

“of course we can, my love.” yunho smiles as he guides you to the bench you were sat on previously. he didn’t sit down with you, choosing to stand with his arms crossed, looking around as you gather your senses.

“hey, baby. how bout we go on the teacups?” he quirks an eyebrow.

“the teacups?” they aren’t a part of your plan, yet you don’t want to say no either. if you ride them for a bit, it would allow you more time to spend with yunho, and that was the whole point of today. “okay, help me up.”

he grabs both of your hands and then you make your way to the multicoloured teacups awaiting someone to sit in them.

it was getting late, meaning no children were scrambling to get on and you guessed maybe the remaining adults didn’t want to ride a stereotypical children’s ride, which was a bonus for you.

“go on, baby, go pick one.”

you didn’t think about it and just walked until you felt satisfied.

“i see, your favourite colour, honey.”

“oh. oh yeah.” maybe that’s why the green one felt right to you.

the teacups started moving and the whole ride was relatively slow, but that didn’t bother you as you felt calm. you and yunho spin your own teacup for a bit of fun but you mainly enjoyed each other’s presence, basking in the warm glow of the lights above.

it ends sooner than you expect. you drag your tired legs from the teacup and hold yunho’s hand as you both get off the ride. it was time for the next phase of your plan but it didn’t feel right to carry out yet. you didn’t know what to do in the meantime, eyes desperately flicking between the stands and rides that surrounded you.

yunho gasps, which scares you. “what?”

he points at a truck towards his left, a little closer to the end of the park. “churros.”

“oh,” you sigh in relief. “you want some?”

“do you?”

“hmm, yeah actually. let’s get some.” you smile up at him as you hold onto his arm, making your way there.

once you acquire the churros with the accompanying chocolate dip, you feel it’s the right moment.

“yunho, let’s have these whilst we ride the ferris wheel.”

he looks at you with a mixture of surprise and awe. “baby, that’s such a good idea. let’s go.”

finally, the last stop of the day. there were a few other couples getting on the ferris wheel as well, which annoyed you slightly, but you were grateful for the ride conductor for spacing out the people between the carts.

you get in with yunho and your churros, sitting down facing each other. at first, you sit in silence, the pair of you quietly enjoying the sweet treat, occasionally looking out down below. once you finish eating, you could only stare at yunho. shyness crept upon you for a second time that day and you try to avoid eye contact with him. you wanted this alone time together but could hardly handle being alone with him so intimately, let alone initiate anything.

yunho continues to look at your flustered figure, noticing how stiff your body was compared to you eyes flittering all around the cart. he tilts his head with a light smile, finding it cute how hot and bothered you became around him.

without a word, he pulls you onto his lap. you were about to pull away but this only made him hold you closer.

“shh, baby. we’re all alone. we’ll be fine.”

as he said that, the cart stops and you look out the window to see you were at the very top. just like you wanted.

yunho could sense you were too shy to make a move you had planned to make so he wanted to help you. he moves his face to yours so he could look straight into your eyes. you felt yourself warm up, contrary to the weather outside. holding onto his collar, you make yourself look back into his eyes, even if that had you slightly quivering.

“baby,” he speaks on your lips and your eyelids flutter. you will yourself to not shut them completely, resuming the staring contest.

he smiles against you. “ba-“ before he could finish the word, you press you face to his to close the gap, lightly kissing him. after a few (very long) seconds, you pull away, your eyes wide as if you didn’t expect yourself to make the first move. but you did, and yunho was so proud of you.

“my precious baby, kissing me first, hm?” you were ready to hide your face in his chest but he places his hands on your cheeks to keep you in place. “i loved it, should do it more often.” you whine at his words but you both knew how much that filled you with confidence.

the ride starts again, taking you down to the surface where you would have to depart. you wrap you arms around yunho’s neck and whisper in his ear, “i love you, yunho.” even though you were the only ones who would have heard it, your soft voice highlights the vulnerability you feel in the moment.

“i know, baby. i love you too.”

as you near the bottom, yunho gently places you on the seat you were sitting on opposite him and soon the doors open. you look at each other as you have everything you needed, walking out with your hands entwined and your tatty teddy bear in the other.

[anipgarden]

Catch me out here making posts on how to collect milkweed seeds because I'm hoping at least SOMEONE out there has good luck

*collapses to the ground* my fuckin swamp milkweeds got Heat Waved and barely even flowered, let alone got pollinated.... I'll have to see if my root stock ones or Swampy even come back next year, but this year definitely isn't the Year of the Ani Swamp Milkweed Success

[dangeress]

tag drop one: ooc.

. ･ﾟ  out of danger    . . .  ooc . 

. ･ﾟ  would you do it for a scooby snack?    . . .  wishlist . 

. ･ﾟ  sting like a bee    . . .  answered . 

. ･ﾟ  float like a butterfly    . . .  threads .

. ･ﾟ  sealed with a kiss    . . .  letters .

. ･ﾟ  someone’s popular    . . .  texts .

. ･ﾟ  tied up at the moment    . . .  queue .

. ･ﾟ  daphne blake enthusiast    . . .  mun .

. ･ﾟ  hot ! mega hot ! queen hotness !    . . .  promo .

. ･ﾟ  she needs no saving    . . .  saved .

. ･ﾟ  tied up at the moment    . . .  positivity .

. ･ﾟ  a clue for you    . . .  psa .

. ･ﾟ  sit still and look pretty    . . .  sp .

. ･ﾟ  not in danger ; I’m the danger    . . .  prompts .

. ･ﾟ  fresh avacado ! where are you !    . . .  shitposting .

. ･ﾟ  from between the pages    . . .  art .

[solarpunkani]

You’ve heard of ‘Ani cooking with the pomegranate crochet bag idea’ now get ready for

Crochet lilypads

Crochet lilypad pillow

Crochet lilypad drink coaster

Crochet lilypad shaped blanket

You may be noticing a pattern

[dancefirst]

tags; general

*❈ i am drowning my dear in seas of fire — ( study. )

*❈ and i can go anywhere i want just not home — ( wishlist. )

*❈ golly moses naturally we're punks!— ( ooc. )

*❈ was failure borne inside my heart or dead the many years of waste?— ( headcanon. )

*❈ will you still love me when i got nothing but my aching soul?— ( aesthetic. )

*❈ happiness is a butterfly we should catch it while dancing— ( queue. )

*❈ my independence seems to vanish in the haze— ( starter call. )

*❈ the choice is mine. tomorrow's at my feet.— ( psa. )

*❈ you promised me that we could dance first— ( interaction. )

*❈ how lovely is the flower of anger; the red flower in my heart — ( self promotion. )

*❈ i just wanna dance with you— ( promotion. )

*❈ every day is a lullaby try to catch it like lightning— ( meme. )

*❈ red lipstick stains on pearly white teeth— ( visage. )

[thevalicemultiverse]

Fallout Of Darkness meets Secundus

Secundus Victor: [staring at his counterpart] ...the Army??

Fallout of Darkness Victor: [grimacing] I -- I didn't want to join up. The draft came, and Father decided that he wasn't going to get me out of it -- wanted to make a man out of me or -- something like that. [sighs] All that happened is that I ended up hating the American government.

Secundus Alice: It is rather odd hearing what's become of your accent...also, we're focusing on that rather than he's from how many years in the future?

Secundus Victor: Doc and Marty have a time machine, so that's a little easier to accept...also, you haven't asked your other self about being a vampire.

FoD Alice: I think we're all trying to focus on one weird thing at a time here. Like you apparently being some sort of mad genius who can make his own butterflies.

Secundus Victor: Heh, yes, good point...what sort of butterflies do you have in your world?

FoD Victor: I -- haven't actually seen any yet. And knowing what's become of the rest of the insect population, they'd probably be giant monsters trying to attack me on sight.

Secundus Victor: ...So, um, I should probably warn you now that I have a riding butterfly, and he does sometimes jump on people...