#save me banana slug anime girl

[aristocratic-manors]

Forgot a caption.

Uh this is my second bug girl. My roommate commissioned me to draw a mascot for his intramural sports teams so... anime girl

[dzmoot]

The casino was what you would expect from an establishment specializing in gluttony and moola. As soon as the Tuuns set foot in it, they were immediately enraptured by their surroundings like kids in a toy store. Dozens upon dozens of alien beings gathered in droves around green tables with spinning roulettes and sentient slot machines with glowing red heads every time somebody got 3 bananas in a row.

One alien had gotten so angry that he lost his money that he swiped his game tokens off the table and onto the floor in a fit of rage. Yam Yam and Siobhan snickered. Kruonch pulled everyone to the side.

Now listen up, compadres! We'll all split up and search for Zappy. Keep your eyes open and stay alert and whatever you do, don't gamble! He's gotta be here somewhere!

Everybody nodded as they went their separate ways. But again, the Tuuns were wasting their time for this rabbit eared hooligan wasn't Zappy of course. At the far end of the casino in a special private game room was a gruff billed fellow, the seasoned and stubborn former engineer of the starship Hovering Horse with a bit of a drinking problem. His name, Scokz McGlicker.

McGlicker had been marooned on Loralai months earlier for insubordination towards the ship's captain and has become somewhat of a gambling celebrity ever since. Every time he gets into a heated game of Green Card Sebacle, a set of long yellow rabbit like ears extend from the back of his head like the long balloons clowns use to make balloon animals. The couple who had lost their money earlier had returned to the casino to see if they could get their money back, even lying and saying that their daughter needed a new kidney, but the yellow menace wouldn't budge. The notorious menace had a pool of gold coins so large, he could dive into it with a diving board.

Sorry, lass! What was once yours is now mine and what is mine will surely never again be yours! Now pack up your sob story and take it to the press, I've got some golden beauties I want to be alone with!

Siobhan came across a group of martians standing in a circle. Before their eyes, a set of four or five floating orb like machines hovered over their heads and the martians pushed the buttons in the middle of each one. 3 of the orbs made a trombone like sound as they showered the martians with what appeared to be droppings of an unnamed alien species. However, one of the orbs started glowing with gold lights as it showered one of the martians with about 100 or so gold coins. Siobhan very much wished she had a bucket of popcorn to eat while watching this moment, but she quickly gathered herself as she continued looking for Zappy. But she wasn't watching where she was going and stepped on an alien's tail...

Yam Yam found himself in the cafe of the casino. Several aliens sat on long legged tables as flying yellow robots zoomed by, delivering specially made drinks and beverages to the patrons.

One of the robots accidentally spilled a drink on an alien's head, causing it to blow up like a pufferfish. Yam Yam couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl. On the nearby stage, an alien band played funky interstellar jams. It was Snoot Slyzle and the Purple Boys!

Suddenly, Yam Yam heard someone scream nearby. He ran to the other room to see Siobhan getting picked up by a giant slug with a top hat head. It was the owner of the casino Oonac the Gloopish.

He had Siobhan dangling upside down as the Tuuny blood rushed to her head.

Little girls don't belong in a casino, especially after hours. I'm calling the Las Orgo orphanage right away!

Then Yam Yam intervened, coming up with a quick story to save her neck.

Excuse me sir, but I'm afraid you're mistaken. This isn't a little girl, this is my wife!

Siobhan was just as flabbergasted as Oonac. Oonac quickly pulled Siobhan closer to his face, examining her tiny body.

I don't think so, squirt. This is a little vagabond who thought she could sneak past security.

Yam Yam continued.

No, no! She's my wife. She's a little on the short side like me. She never ate her vegetables so her legs never grew. We're here on our wedding anniversary!

Oonac observed Siobhan one more time. He shrugged his shoulders and carelessly threw her towards Yam Yam.

Very well then, squirts. Sorry for the inconvenience. But always remember, NO CHILDREN AT THE LAS ORGO CASINO!

And the slippery Oonac slithered away leaving a sticky residue trail behind him. Yam Yam asked Siobhan if she was okay. Siobhan was ready to tussle.

If that ugly eel ever touches me again, I'm gonna make sushi out of him or escargot!

Soon after, the two ran into Hampire, who signaled them towards one of the private rooms. When the three of them looked inside through a slit in the wall, they saw Kruonch, yes Kruonch, the one who told them not to gamble, gambling and getting in a fierce card battle with the one and only Scokz McGlicker. Alcoholic beverages decorated the table and both had either a long cigarette or cigar in their mouths. Siobhan was furious.

Daddy's such a hypocrite! He told us not to gamble and here he is! And I thought he quit smoking! His lungs will be black as coal!

Hampire interrupted, patting Siobhan on the head.

He didn't want to at first but that yellow duck looking devil kept poking and prodding. Turns out this guy is the rabbit eared hooligan we've been looking for.

Siobhan looked up at Hampire with saddened eyes.

So you think Zappy isn't here then.

Hampire gritted his teeth.

It's highly unlikely. I've searched this entire casino a dozen times over but no sign of him. When your pappy finishes his little game in there, I think it's time we skedaddle!

Yam Yam's eyes were fixed on the match. He could have sworn McGlicker said something about Kruonch's mother being fat and Kruonch fired back by saying that he didn't even have a mother to gain weight in the first place.

So, how to we put an end to this game?

Hampire waved his hand around and hexed some of Kruonch's cards.

I've been jinxing the cards, but that platypus dirtbag keeps coming back with full Sebacle! I think that gremlin is cheating!

Yam Yam's eagle eyes caught a glimpse of Scokz sneaking cards out through his centipede like legs.

He's cheating all right!

Then he heard Scokz drive the final nail through the coffin.

If I win, and I probably, most likely, most certainly will, I'm taking that Spaceslinger of yours and leaving you with my scum ridden little escape pod I flew in on! You'll probably get back to Namasis in a thousand years or so! Your blue skinned rabbit friend will probably be rotting in the ground! Hahahahahaha!

Hampire looked as if he was going to turn into a pig version of the Incredible Hulk.

I've got something in the old bean!

Yam Yam and Siobhan stood back as Hampire began waving his hands. As the magic accumulated, his fingers glowed neon green and his eyes looked like nuclear cherries ready to explode. He opened his mouth.

Amon, amon, Noma, Noma! Glizzeeble Zobble Nibberu Nobble!

Scokz was still laughing as the cards on the table began floating in the air. Kruonch looked on in amazement.

Holy Spicoli!

And the cards suddenly started flying towards McGlicker, coming together and forming a card house all around him, almost like a card sarcophagus. The menace could do nothing but scream in terror and swear a great many alien swear words as Kruonch quickly made his way out of the room. He reunited with the others as all of them were approached by Oonac, his tail trembling ferociously and his top hat head ready to pop off his neck.

NO MAGIC IN THE LAS ORGO CASINO! I'm afraid I'll have to squeeze all of you with my tail!

But before Oonac could do any squeezing, everyone was startled by something unexpected. The cards which encased Scokz started turning purple and growing eyes, noses, legs and ears and batwings. The cards had turned into a swarm of killer card bats and quickly started flapping their way out of the room, causing pandemonium and chaos all throughout the casino. Oonac, who suffered from a severe case of chiroptophobia let out a loud little girl scream as he quickly slithered under a nearby table. As all the patrons ran around in terror trying to avoid the card bats, the sentient slot machines slowly but surely wiggled to the forefront, their massive bodies standing like soldiers ready to go into battle. And then, they all started shooting down the bats with the golden coins which rattled from within them. Some of the patrons even tried catching some of the coins including the alien husband and wife. It was the most hectic evening in the history of the Las Orgo Casino!

The Tuuns hastily made their way to the Spaceslinger and took off as fast as lightning. Siobhan was very angry with her father and expressed her resentment towards him as they flew away.

You're a hypocrite, daddy! How could you get wrapped up in something so stupid like that! You're lucky I'm not your mother. You'd be getting a spanking right now!

Kruonch was trying to drive the sleigh but his daughter's words pierced him like a sword.

I'm sorry, kitten. I don't know what came over me! I know I've put us all in a great pickle tonight! No more card games for the rest of my days unless it's Old Maid!

Back on Loralai, the pandemonium in Las Orgo had died down just as a portal opened up in the town square. Zappy, Igginsworth and Grundelwarg stepped through to see a clawed alien leading a wild Peatigag to it's stable. The herder named Zif Zopto caught a glimpse of the quartet as they made their way off the planet. Zappy walked up to him and asked him what he knew about his friends.

Yeh, there was a little bear, a porcelain doll, a pink guy and a green pig and they all took off in a ship. I think they said something about going to the nearby planet Maxar XII to find you!

[just-a-re-blog]

Question Tag

My homegirl @evangelene​ tagged me in this, so here goes--more than you’ll ever need to know about me RIP

Rules: answer all the questions, add one of your own and tag as many people as there are questions

1. coke or pepsi?

Coke 

2. disney or dreamworks?

Disney

3. coffee or tea?

Tea--but fancy good tea, like earl grey, not Lipton

4. books or movies?

Books bring me happy

5. windows or mac?

I only own Apple products

6. dc or marvel?

DC SAVED MY LIFE 5 YEARS AGO IN JUNE SO DC ABSOLUTELY DC

7. xbox or playstation?

Wii

8. dragon age or mass effect?

i don’t know what these are

9. night owl or early riser?

I like rising early, but I am at peace at 1 AM

10. cards or chess?

Cards, specifically ERS, but let me be clear--I am ALWAYS down for a game of Real Wizards’ Chess ™️

11. chocolate or vanilla?

le chocolat

12. vans or converse?

Adidas

13. Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash or Adaar?

i don’t know what these are either. sorry.

14. fluff or angst?

Mafia and Soulmate AUs which include moments of both

15. beach or forest?

Redondo Beach and North Cascades National Park forest

16. dogs or cats?

I have always wanted a dog, but cats are my everything

17. clear skies or rain?

clear skies to do stuff in and rain to watch and listen to from the seat by the window like the emo fuck i am

18. cooking or eating out?

I am bad at it, but I like to cook!

19. spicy food or mild food?

listen, I like spicy food, but I never eat it because jalepenos bring my taste buds joy but bring my mouth great pain

20. halloween/samhain or solstice/yule/christmas?

I celebrate Christmas from December 26th to December 25th

21. would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot?

A little too cold. I love winter.

22. if you could have a superpower, what would it be?

GIVE ME FLIGHT

23. animation or live action?

I plead the Fifth

24. paragon or renegade?

I. DON’T. KNOW. WHAT. THESE. ARE.

25. baths or showers?

Showers

26. team cap or team ironman?

DC

27. fantasy or sci-fi?

Fantasy (looking at you, Bilbo)

28. do you have three or four favourite quotes, if so, what are they?

“It’s like when you are excited about a girl and you see a couple holding hands, and you feel so happy for them. And other times you see the same couple, and they make you so mad. And all you want is to always feel happy for them because you know that if you do, then it means that you’re happy, too.” ~Charlie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” ~Marianne Williamson, Our Deepest Fear

“I am a weak person pretending to be strong.” ~Min Yoongi

“These wings came from pain, but they are wings headed for the light. Though it’s hard and it hurts, if I can fly, I will fly so I won’t be scared anymore.”  ~BTS,  A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone

29. youtube or netflix?

YouTube

30. harry potter or percy jackson?

Daughter of Apollo with the heart of a Hufflepuff who was sorted into Gryffindor. Yep.

31. when do you feel accomplished?

Those rare moments when I FINALLY finish a chapter/story

32. star wars or star trek?

Give my son my lightsaber.

33. paperback or hardback books?

Hardback yo. I am a destructive human being that can only be trusted to handle things that are sturdily constructed.

34. horror or rom-com?

Hit me up to watch The Proposal any day--I live my love life vicariously through others.

35. tv shows or movies?

TV shows...like I have time to watch them...

36. favourite animal?

Giraffes are great, but I also like elephants. And bears. And dolphins. And I am forever in love with the indomitable banana slug. Also, I like Pikachu. A lot.

37. favourite genres of music?

Classical piano, K-pop, J-pop, Chinese pop (my sister who is Chinese told me not to call it C-pop or Mando pop), soundtracks, 70s singer-songwriters, 80s rock, 90s rap (yes, I know those lyrics are the definition of misogyny, it’s not a perfect art form), 2000s pop, Keith Urban style country (yes, I said it), James Ingram/Yolanda Adams style gospel, Casting Crowns style Christian, WALK THE MOON/The Fold style indie rock/alternative, Charlie Wilson style R&B

38. least favourite book?

Ugh, Matched. I was just really not a fan. Or Gulliver’s Travels. I hate that book.

39. favourite season?

I don’t really have one, actually! There’s good and bad that comes with each. But I guess I’m pretty partial to winter because snow and, you know, Christmas

40. song that’s currently stuck in your head?

Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers???

41. what kind of pyjama’s do you wear?

whatever’s on top in my drawer (or in front in my closet if I need flannel)

42. how many existential crises do you have on an average day?

i live in a constant state of existential crisis. my brand is crisis

43. if you can only choose one song to be played at your funeral, what would it be?

I choose my favorite song of all time--Young Forever. 

44. favourite theme song to a TV show?

That’s a three-way tie between the Teen Titans theme song, the 1960s Batman theme song, and the opening theme of the Chinese drama Eternal Love

45. harry potter movies or books?

I love the books, but literally nothing in this world can top sassy 11-year-old Emma Watson (”It’s Wingardium Levi-o-sa. Not Levio-sa.”) and clueless, lovable 11-year-old Rupert Grint (“Yes, Hermione, I think this is gonna be exactly like real Wizards’ Chess.”).

46. you can make your OTP become canon but you’ll forget that tumblr exists. will you do it?

Look, if Min Yoongi and Jung Hoseok can finally get together like they’ve always been meant to, then my knowledge of tumblr is a small price to pay

47. do you play an instrument and if so, what is it? 

Once upon a time I played viola. Then I played French Horn. Now I sing, and I’ve been playing piano for almost 9 years.

48. what is the worst way to die?

Being eaten. I have had countless nightmares about something consuming me and just the thought of being eaten alive, I goTTa gO

49. if you could be entirely invisible for a day, what would you do?

Probably do cute lil things to make my friends’ days better like flip their textbooks to the right pages when they’re not looking or leave them coffee at their table when they get up to go to the bathroom. i is too cowardly to do those things for my crush, so it would be nice to be invisible

50. What are you planning on doing with your life?

Imma be a music video producer, y’all. Catch my name in the tiny credits

51. Favorite Disney movie?

HOW DO I PICK BETWEEN THE INCREDIBLES BIG HERO 6 AND MOANA

52. One must have item you always carry with you?

A necklace my sister gave me. It is my security blanket.

53. Drawing or telling stories?

Telling stories because I can do it through so many mediums, ya know?

54. If you could have a superhero sidekick, what animal would it be and what would you name it?

Y’all already saw this coming--THE INDOMITABLE BANANA SLUG NAMED MARVELOUS MAVEN WOULD BE MY SIDEKICK

My question: Stuffed animals or figurines?

Tags: @thatirishgirl078 @bts-exo-seouls @callmyexodus @whysoinvisible

Joke’s on you if you thought I was really about to tag 53 people

[xtruss]

‘It Will Be Beautiful Again’: How California’s Redwood Forest Is Recovering After Last Year’s Wildfires

— Gabrielle Canon in Big Basin | Saturday 5 June 2021 | Guardian USA

The headquarters at Big Basin Redwoods state park was destroyed by the CSU Complex fire last August. Photograph: Gabrielle Canon/The Guardian

Big Basin state park, scorched last August in the CZU Complex fire, is showing signs of rebirth in its majestic redwood trees

There are spots inside Big Basin Redwoods state park that appear to be frozen in time.

Roughly 10 months after the CZU Complex fire burned 97% of California’s oldest park, some trees still smoke and smolder. An open champagne bottle sits untouched atop a scorched picnic table alongside cooking utensils that are melted and singed together. Contents from a toppled cooler, left agape, have begun to blend into the forest duff. The skeletons of burnt cars and trucks are still parked in front of once-iconic headquarters, now reduced to rubble.

But, amid the wreckage, there are also signs of rebirth. Wildflowers are growing over charred debris. Blackened trees have sprung vibrant green sprouts. Birdsongs and hammering woodpeckers accent the hum of state-run construction crews working to ready the beloved park for a new chapter in its history.

“The biggest loss is the human side. This park is not going to be the same place that I saw as a little girl,” says Joanne Kerbavaz, a senior environmental scientist with California state parks on a tour of the park this week. “But as an ecologist, part of me is thrilled by the opportunity to watch how the redwood forest recovers.”

Crews work to clear dead trees from within the burn scar inside Big Basin Redwoods state park. Photograph: Gabrielle Canon/The Guardian

Big Basin is home to roughly 4,400 acres (1,780 hectares) of old-growth redwood trees, majestic giants that are among the oldest living things on Earth. Their lifespan can stretch beyond 2,000 years and they have adapted to survive and thrive in California’s mediterranean fire-prone climate.

After being heavily logged in the 1800s, the Sempervirens Fund, a non-profit group, formed to protect the trees in 1900 and two years later Big Basin was created – California’s first state park – so millions of people from around the world could travel to marvel at them.

Just like the redwoods, Big Basin, too, will survive this fire. But when it reopens, it will look different. Along with new structures and facilities, many of the park’s 80 miles (128km) of trails will have to be newly carved into the rewilded landscape with new bridges, steps and railings built to support them.

“We have the opportunity to reimagine how to interact with this park,” Kerbavaz says. There are discussions around how to rebuild the park back, to be even more accessible for generations to come. Attitudes have changed over the last 119 years and the park, like others across the US, has exploded in popularity. The climate is also changing, adding new pressures and threats to the ecosystems.

“There is going to be a very robust planning process,” she adds, acknowledging the range of views about how old-growth forests should be protected and enjoyed into the future. “It is going to be open and inclusive and that means it is going to take a while to make some of the calls.”

Flames from the wildfire burned through the thick bark on some trees, singeing through to the wood underneath. Photograph: Gabrielle Canon/The Guardian

Most agree that increasing resilience should be a priority. “The near-complete destruction of the buildings and facilities at Big Basin illustrates just how ill-adapted they were to fire,” the Sempervirens Fund wrote on its website in February. “If you love Big Basin, please consider this: rebuilding Big Basin can pioneer a new model for California’s state parks, just as Big Basin accomplished more than a century ago.”

Before rebuilding begins, though, there’s a considerable amount left to be cleared.

Along with toxic debris and crumpled buildings that need to be cleared, hazardous trees are being assessed for removal. The process of identifying which trees are dead or dying is delicate and layered. Five agencies have already weighed in, and perspectives on what should stay and what should be pulled out do not always align.

Several beloved old-growth trees have already been saved by park officials, including the famous Auto Tree, which is the most photographed Redwood in Big Basin. Estimated to be more than 1,500 years old, generations of visitors have climbed into its large opening created by fires in the past. The pictures go back to the park’s beginnings. There are photos of horses and buggies backed in and of ranger trucks in the 1970s.

large redwood tree, which fell decades ago, was a favorite stop in the old-growth grove in Big Basin. Flames swept over the base of the giant tree and half of the sign introducing it. Photograph: Gabrielle Canon/The Guardian

“There was a mark to cut down the tree,” Kerbavaz says, “but I said, hey, this is one we really don’t want to lose.” So far, it’s showing signs of survival, with small green offshoots at the base and sparse growth in the canopy, and there’s hope that it has enough structural support to stay standing.

The process of deciding what will stay and what will go has been thorough and arduous. First, CalFire came through and cleared a path for crews. CalTrans examined what might become hazardous to the roads. Santa Cruz county officials assessed the areas managed by the municipality, and then PG&E did their analysis. California’s Department of Emergency Services is currently in the park and still finding trees to mark for removal.

Trees are painted with a series of letters and numbers, meant to catalog them and indicate to crews that they should be culled. Some also have flags and ties, showing that park officials, who have overseen the process, do not agree.

Blackened redwood trees show signs of new growth after the CZU Complex fire burned through 97% of the park. Photograph: Gabrielle Canon/The Guardian

“There is a science and an art,” Kerbavaz says of the process. “I come, of course, from the parks’ perspective, which is we really would like to keep as much as we can”.

Along with tree removal, trails will have to be remade. Most of the wooden infrastructure, including steps, bridges and railings were obliterated in the fire. Some of it was put in place to hold erosive hillsides, which have since crumbled. Other hazards have to be assessed before guests can be welcomed back in. There are pits left from where subterranean roots from more flammable trees, such as Douglas Firs, burned into the earth.

Meanwhile, scientists are utilizing the opportunity to use the burn scar to learn about fire behavior, ecological resilience, and climate change. “We are trying to get baseline data so people can return in maybe 5 or 10 years down the line, and see how it grows and changes into the future,” says vegetation ecologist Alexis Lafever.

“There are so many baby redwood seedlings and they are so cute,” she says. In some areas, she’s encountered hundreds of seedlings. They won’t all survive, but, she adds, “things are growing back. The forest will be fine.”

There are also signals that animals are emerging and returning. Salamanders survived by burrowing under the duff, banana slugs took refuge underground, and birds have reinhabited the burned branches.

Joanne Kerbavaz, a senior environmental scientist with California state parks, speaks to researchers and students during a tour of the park. Photograph: Gabrielle Canon/The Guardian

“Almost everything that lives here has some strategy for avoiding fire,” Kerbavaz says. “But any kind of disturbance like that, there are some species that are harmed and some species that are favored.”

There are those that thrive after fire. The Knobcone Pine requires temperatures up to 350F (177C) to melt a resin from its cones to sprout seeds. Some woodpeckers prefer dead trees to living ones. But the fire, which burned fast and hot, with flames that licked the canopy 300 feet (91 metres) into the sky and tore through close to 18,000 acres (7,285 hectares) of the park in only 24 hours, did leave devastation in its wake. Current assessments show even with the resiliency of the redwoods, 10% of the trees won’t recover. The damage is also expected to cost nearly $200m.

“Those buildings are gone. That specific experience is gone,” Kerbavaz says. “There’s some of that loss of the big trees that make it such a special forest. But we have opened up places for the next generation of big trees to grow,” she adds. “It will be beautiful again – even if it is not as you remember it”.

[botnation]

The River Styx

E U L O G Y

Here’s to the time we were serenaded by mariachi players who couldn’t play a Michael Jackson song to save their lives

Here’s to holding each other for 20 minutes in a parking lot by the cliffs and then wandering into the Redwoods and finding a banana slug

Here’s to taking moon rocks for the first time in Santa Cruz and falling asleep in the car listening to Daft Punk next to some dock, only to awaken to a dude knocking on the window to tell us the engine was running

Here’s to having sex on a park bench in Big Sur, overlooking the ocean, down the street from a church 

Here’s to wandering across an abandoned beach and doing 108 naked sun salutations before having sex in broad daylight and finding an alien sea slug (what was with us and slugs?) and me trying to convince you it was a messenger from another planet 

To stealing campsite after campsite all summer long

To biking the beach at night and finding fire pits and eventually having a bonfire of our own

To finally dancing with each other and then going out and doing it again 

To the Bonita domes, Tracey Chapman, and that amazing gray sweatshirt that you lost (RIP)

To the San Francisco hotel room

To Yosemite and Big Claim, giving away crystals and finding spirits in waterfalls 

To the flat tire in Red Rocks during a week working from coffeeshops and fighting gusts of wind

To Ryan campground and the expedition-esque storm, to Eagle Rock, to inviting strangers onto the site

To climbing fire escapes after drinking margaritas and frolicking through the Boston Common 

To that Eminem song at the Deer Lodge during an open mic in Ojai

To making out with you in the girl’s bathroom at Treebones and to stealing cheese

To randomly getting passes into a hippie festival in San Diego 

To bike riding through Long Beach on one of the hottest days of the year 

To mining crystals and eating fried pickles and seeing deer in Shenandoah 

To hiking the Adirondacks, discovering an abandoned playground and almost being killed by a mass murderer

To exploring caves in the Seqouias and communicating with animals and watching birds protect their nests

To surviving Angels Landing

To phantom noises while laying on one another in a boulder in Landers

To lazing about in Santa Barbara and peeing on the steps of someone’s property 

To being intimidated out of the main entrance of the Gap of Dunloe, then waving at the sheep farmer who banned us an hour later as we drove in through the back end

To feeling like children again while zipping through Thailand and battling monkeys for our bags

To the moments we shared that made me who I am and to the horizon apart that shapes what I become.