#still better than lantana though

[you-turn-it-into-light]

KEIKO - CUTLERY (2023) Album Review

I was thinking of giving this album a review immediately after it came out but I had very lukewarm feelings about the new songs and wanting to let them sink in a little so I left my review for a little bit. Anyway, without further ado:

Overall:

Similar to dew's Album covers, I think these are really boring. The dress is really nice, but I really hoped the album cover wouldn't be just Keiko sitting in front of a plain background like all the single covers, but alas. Again, doesn't really relate to the title or even the themes of 'ordinary people' throughout the album.

The Analog edition only coming with two songs is silly. Charging basically 7k more Yen for I'm assuming enlarged album art, a photo book and a vinyl with two songs on it is embarrassing. This could've been a stretch, but maybe an audio version of the Blu-Ray tracks or just a couple of acoustic tracks on there? Even just increasing 2 songs to 5 from the original album would be better.

There seems to be a few issues throughout the album with the quality of the vocal recordings. In Hitori Janai Kara and Yoru no Uso to you can frequently hear pops that the pop filter (the small shield in front of professional microphones) are supposed to hide. In situations like this, I'd expect the staff or even Keiko to realise this and redo the lines, but it didn't seem like they noticed or cared. This isn't as egregious as Hikaru's microphone peaking during basically the entirety of Kawaisou da yo, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

They decided to do the opposite of dew's album, where instead of making a music video for every song they made none. I'm very disappointed by this, would have liked to see at least one. Because of the structure of this album's release though, I'm not sure what the lead single would even be. If I chose one it'd either be Alcohol or Hitori Janai Kara. (I'd like a music video of Amanojaku though tbh)

Even though I like most of the songs of the album, I'm personally disappointed almost all of the songs have Keiko singing in this higher tone with very little emphasis on her heavier tone and lower notes. I get this is how she likes to sing these songs, but I can't help but gravitate to why I fell in love with Keiko's voice in the first place. This has been a running issue with Keiko's solo music for me, but I'd rather her continue to sing the music she wants to sing or hear rather than singing Yuki Kajiura-discount/rip-off music.

Watashi Update (私アップデート) - (6.5/10)

This song seems to be a mix of Amanojaku and Kirai to me. The opening in particular sounds very Amanojaku-esque, while the synth aspects are very Kirai. I appreciate a few parts of this song, like the part right before the chorus, that guitar hits very nice. I like the melody of 「No,それを決めるのは今の僕たちじゃない」 and also the three-part harmonies throughout the song. Random belted D5 as well? Good stuff. Other than that, this song is kind of mediocre to me, not fun enough to dance to but not rock enough to head bang too, just kind of in the middle. I also wish the instrumental mix was a bit louder, it sounds like Keiko is overwhelming the arrangement.

Alcohol - (4/10)

This songs grown on me a little since I first listened to it and I appreciate what it's trying to do, but similar to Latte from dew, it's just not my thing. I find the repeated synth phrase and chorus melody to be a bit grating and overall this song just doesn't do much for me. I appreciate the harmonies in the chorus, especially the low octave. The lyrics are fun and carefree and I find the control of Keiko's vocals, singing a fast melody in a carefree way, to be very impressive, even if a couple moments seem to be autotuned.

Yoru no Uso to (夜の嘘と) - (8/10)

This song sounds very Kajiura-esque, especially with Keiko's vocals and I really appreciate it. I like how the arrangement increases to a crescendo, starting with piano then acoustic guitar, then adding electric guitar, drums and strings and ending with adding another harmony for the last chorus. It's simple, but I appreciate it. I don't think I'll ever get over the chorus' melody and how Keiko subtly adds emotion to it, especially the 「この愛をどうすればいい」 in the last chorus. The richness of her voice really brings the entire song together and elevates the song for me. The only things I wouldn't say I like about the song is that the melody and structure of the verses and bridge are a bit boring and don't add much to the song except to elevate the chorus, which is fine but I'd like if they gave me more to chew on.

Kirai. (キライ。) - (5/10)

This song has gotten a lot of hate (hehe) and I didn't like it at all at first either, but comparing it to the other song most similar to it (Alcohol), I like it more than than that song for sure. I appreciate the vibes of this song a lot more and very much delivers the city-pop feeling Alcohol kind of failed to bring for me. I like the switch between the lower toned verses and the very high chorus. I will say the chorus is a little grating on the ears, and I'm sure most of it is autotuned a little bit. Given Keiko most likely isn't going to sing that D#5 live, I don't know if I'll ever figure out if she ever sang it or if it was autotuned. At the end of the day though, this type of song still isn't really for me and I don't find myself listening to it much.

Close to you - (6/10)

Similar to Kirai, didn't like this song at all at first. Thought it was very boring and forgettable for a long time. But after many listens, I kind of like it? Doesn't hit as much as Yoru no Uso to, but I'd say it's a good song. I like the blend of the piano and Keiko's gentle singing with the electronic elements (they kind of hid the string synths lol), even if I would appreciate a more pulled back version. I quite like the first verse and bridge/second-verse, sounds kind of romantic. I don't have much really to say about this song, it's kind of a cheesy chill love song that's just kind of okay I guess?

Amanojaku (天邪鬼) - (8.5/10)

This song catchy as hell! Took me a bit to warm up to this song, but this is definitely my kind of song. The fun guitar arrangement and relatively heavier mix is really my kind of tea. It makes when it pulls back and explodes back in even more effective. I love really all of this song, it's so fast-paced, interesting and catchy. I also love the lyrics with the theme of following Japanese folklore, interesting stuff. If there was anything I could complain about, it'd just be usual of Keiko not singing in a heavy-enough tone for my taste. Makes it sound more poppy than intended in my opinion. Probably my favourite song on the album ngl.

Fly, Black Swan - (7.5/10)

Keiko's lower range and tone is back (for one more song) baby! I don't know how I'd describe this, sounds a bit jazzy and I like it. I really like the arrangement and instrumentation of the verses, the fast-paced percussion with the scattered guitar and bass phrases created an interesting vibe. The muted and subtle sound of whatever brass instrument is present is nice as well. This track is kind of sexy as a whole, especially the pre-chorus. I don't usually like multi vocal layering, but I like the choice in this case. I've got it as 7.5 because while I really like it, I don't absolutely love it. I wish there weren't any electronic elements like the synths and keyboard and didn't rely on electronic percussion at times, I feel as if it clashes with the rest of the song at times. Also, overthrill definitely isn't a word lol.

Yura Yura (ゆらゆら) - (6.5/10)

Similar to Close to you, took a while for me to warm to this song but I like it more than that song to be honest. Thought it was very forgettable. I think I keep getting disappointed after not hearing a more dramatic or heavy song and forgot to just appreciate the song as it is. And this song is very sweet. Keiko's singing style in this song isn't off-putting and in fact fits the song very well. I love the arrangement with the strings, especially in the bridge, sounds very dreamy. The verses are very sweet and cute, adds to the whole vibe of the song. While I really like this song, it isn't a song I'd listen to a lot and I don't like the chorus as much as the rest of the song.

Your (ユア) - (1.5/10)

Here it is, the Revolution of this album. At this I've listened to Revolution a few more times and like her singing in that song. This entire song just screams 'cheesy' to me, and not in the charming way. It's trying really hard to very uplifting and bright, but none of it hits for me. I hate the electronic elements and especially the English sections. The 'I will fall in loooooooove' line is.... ugh, it sounds like Keiko's just shouting it (I know she's not, it just sound just she is). I don't like the verse, the chorus, the bridge, the arrangement or instrumentation. Keiko's singing is impressive as usual throughout most of this song, so I'll give it that.

Hitori Janai Kara (ひとりじゃないから) - (6/10)

I definitely like this song more than when I first heard it, but I don't have overwhelming positive feelings for it either. I like the melody most of the song and my favourite part is definitely the bridge, definitely the height of the song, especially the 「変わりのいない君と」. Keiko sings that entire part with such power. Despite that, the song is mostly a bit boring and the issues with the recording bring me out of the atmosphere of the song a bit. It's a nice song, but nothing too memorable to me. Looking forward to hearing it in every single live performance from here out.

Bottom Three Songs: 3. Kirai, 2. Alcohol, 1. Your

Top Three Songs: 3. Fly, Black Swan, 2. Yoru no Uso to, 1. Amanojaku

[tintinntabuli]

The Lantana and Verbena Report: Did they attract pollinators as you promised?

(L) Coleus in front of ‘Little Joe’ Joe Pye Weed; (R) Persian Shield with sweet potato vine.

About a year ago I asked you guys – the savvy, experienced gardeners who read this blog – for what “Potted Annuals for Pollinators” you’d recommend. I was unhappy with some annuals I’d been growing near my front door – which do soooo well but attract nothing. But what could I grow instead, here and in the tomato-red pots in my back garden where the ‘Standing Ovation’ Little Bluestem weren’t standing after all, and were so lackluster that even a commenter here on the Rant called them “underwhelming”? The truth hurts!

(I’m keeping the Persian Shield+sweet potato vine combo shown above despite their lack of appeal for pollinators (though holes in the vine tell me it’s supporting something). Look how great they still looked on November 1 when this photo was taken! And in this spot very close to my front door, I’m okay with no flowers and no bees, which I don’t want in my house.)

Back to the question I asked readers – out of concern for wildlife, sure, but also, selfishly, so that I could enjoy watching them from my patio – your answers were almost thrilling in the possibilities they opened up for this old gardener.

You suggested:

Annuals: Salvia ‘Lady in Red,’ butterfly sage (Salvia guaranitica), Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’, blue salvias generally, lantana (several votes), verbena, verbena bonariensis, pentas, ‘African Blue’ basil, bronze fennel, zinnias, Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) (several votes), ‘Truffela Pinks’ Gomphrena, Lacy Phacelia, Teddy Bear sunflowers.Perennials: Red Valerian, lavender, Calamintha nepeta, single dahlias, catmints, gaillardias, “almost anything in the mint family, which includes Salvias,” wax begonias for hummingbirds, and as a filler, small hostas like ‘Golden Tiara’ or ‘Rainbows End.’

Wow!

What I Bought – Lantana ‘Red Spread’

After reading Ranter Elizabeth’s praise for the annuals she buys online, I chose one of her favorite suppliers (Select Seeds) and ordered some lantanas, and boy, did they perform! They bloomed like crazy until the first hard frost, and the growth pattern is perfect – mostly horizontal, so there’s need to hack them back to prevent flopping. I love the bold, vibrant color! Another wonderful surprise is that they don’t need deadheading. Not only do they bloom just fine without it, but the dying blooms (above) still look good right up until they fall off, so why bother?

Pollinator-wise, they performed like the champs you guys promised they’d be. Honestly I’d need a much better camera to capture the critters in stills, but I took videos throughout the season and I’ll have a short compilation to show you soon. (Preview: it’s the hummingbirds, sometimes two at a time, that steal the show.)

Here in my back garden, by mid-July I’d given up on the grasses in these pots and replaced them with some ‘Havana Red Sky’ lantanas that I found at my local farmer’s market. They took off right away and at the end of the season they were this size. And what a great match for the pots!

I was also happy to learn that lantanas are less thirsty than other annuals – I don’t think I ever saw them wilt.

What I Bought – Verbenas

The other completely new-to-me plant I bought from Select Seeds is this ‘Vanity’ verbena, which did attract some bees and butterflies but didn’t have much impact in my border. I’m going to try a shorter, bushier variety next time.

Extended Season for Pollinators – Done!

My tiny front garden was already attracting critters to the Joe Pye Weed, bronze fennel, Nepeta and wood aster, but with the addition of tropical annuals like verbena and especially lantana, the wildlife action now goes on continuously for a very long season.

Happier Gardener – Done!

So yeah, I love upping my garden’s game at performing important eco-services, like supporting pollinators.

But I’ll tell ya, adding SO many flowers to this small space outside my front door, near the patio where I sit and gaze upon the garden – that’s been thrilling! The combination of floral beauty with stunning insects swarming over them in the sun. You could say it’s upped my mental well-being.

Flowers just make us happy! They attract people to gardening and then reward their efforts with beauty to be enjoyed by them and their family and visitors.

Next month I’ll be ordering even more of your suggestions, for planting in pots and also to fill in open spots in my borders:

More ‘Red Spread’ lantana, plus some ‘Cherry Sunshine’‘Graffiti’ pentas‘Lollipop’ verbena‘Black and Blue’ salviaCosmos seedsPurple Bell vineI’ve already ordered a dwarf canna from a specialist, to replace the (nonblooming) banana in my largest pot.

That’s a lot to look forward to, for not a lot of money, or effort.

The Lantana and Verbena Report: Did they attract pollinators as you promised? originally appeared on GardenRant on December 22, 2023.

The post The Lantana and Verbena Report: Did they attract pollinators as you promised? appeared first on GardenRant.

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[woobieiscool2]

Everything will be better someday, and someday will come soon. I can feel it. I love you with all of my heart.

I feel true happiness for the first time in such a long time. I don't have to lie to myself and pretend to say anything because I love you so much. It's so easy to say all of this because it comes out so naturally. I'd try to write things like this before, but when it wasn't about you, or to you I would just twirl my thumbs one over the other over the keyboard the entire time. I guess I never really realized it till now.

I can't wait until we hug either, but what I'm most excited for is telling you how much I love you in person. It's going to be real, and I'm so excited for it. I want to remember how my lips tingle when I say it to you. I'll never ever forget how I felt the first time we said it. We were on the way home from hanging out at the place where it all started. He actually invited me out last night to celebrate his birthday, but I was too tired to go out. I'm really excited to tell him about us, even though I have no idea how I'll react. One day, when you visit me here, we'll hang out with him. I want to have a big bbq with all of our friends that we used to hang out with and us. I want to see the pugs running around in my backyard. I've been thinking about that so much. I have a lot of plants, I'm not sure if I've told you or if you know how much I like my plants. I need to make sure that none of them will hurt them or make them sick. There's a ton of cilantro, a lemon tree, a lime tree, my big plum tree, a twiddle olive tree, lemongrass, oregano, red Dallas lantanas (but they froze and I'm so sad, I hope they come back and flower again [like you and me 😩😩😩ilysm]), and I recently got a small flowering magnolia tree. That one is gonna be so pretty. I can't wait for you to see it all. It's all yours already. I'm crying saying that :)

A couple of months ago, I went to a show with one of my best friends in Dallas. We went to see The Mars Volta. I don't get as excited as I would've before for them, but I was still excited. I was actually really sad that week too. I remember I wasn't looking forward to the drive because I didn't want to be alone with my thoughts or my sad music. My friends had been criticizing me telling me I was listening to "too much sad boy music". I had a nice time when I got there, as soon as I saw him there. He lives here in the same city, but I had to pick him up in Dallas cause he flew in from a business trip (we're so old 😭). He's really funny and a bit older than me, so way older than you, jk. I met him in college, he said he always liked how cool all of my T shirts were. You told me the same thing once too. But one day on the first day of class, I recognized him, but I sat one seat away from him because I remembered he'd always sit with his girlfriend, so I left her a spot. After the class, he came up to me and told me he liked my shirt, and I actually liked his too, it was of one of the two back to back shows we saw in Dallas. We talked about music for a little bit and then I somehow brought up that I had left and empty seat and he told me she had transfered to another school in town and that we'll sit together next time. That ended up being my favorite class, I was so good at it too. Our prof once handed my test to me upside down and shook her head, and I had only gotten an 89, which was my worst grade ever in that class. I almost got a 100 and so many people flunked out or quit. It was a higher level programming class. But anyway, we stayed really good friends and I ended up being the groomsman for his wedding for that same girl that I had left an empty spot for. What a nice love story :) But back to the whole reason I mentioned this, he had asked me how I was doing during the show. The first opening band was really bad and we were kind of sick of it. I spent most of the time looking around and he told me jokingly that I probably knew half of the crowd. The person I was actually looking out for was your sister. I remember she moved to Dallas, or around it, after she left my college. I had played out a million situations in my head on how I'd ask about you. I think later I found out that her and the bf don't even live there anymore. I told my friend and I ended up spilling the beans about how much I still love you. He gave me all of the typical stuff about more people out there and all of that, but the way he reacted and made me feel like it was normal for still loving you made me feel so much better. I ended up having a nice time when the music started, and at the other show we had booked the following day too. I can't wait for you to meet him either, you've never met him, but he's practically met you hahaha.

I want to write your name a billion times. I love you with all of my heart.

[echo-of-sounds]

I have half a glass of amaretto in my system right now. And you made me vomit rainbows and glitter with your Bastian video and then I went crazy and horny with your post "cock and ball worship". My sober me and my drunk me love you equally. But right now I'm about to drink another glass of amaretto and I have an idea that has not left my head: How would the boys react if you gave them flowers for the first time? Because those sweet babies deserve a lot of love, candy and flowers all damn year.

This made me spend way too long reading about the meaning of flowers during the Victorian Era.

Aizawa’s definitely surprised. He isn’t the lovey-dovey type. People know that. And because of that, they don’t often gift him things. They figure he wouldn’t care at all. He’d maybe look at the flower, say thanks, then throw it away once you’re gone. But, despite his usual attitude, he’d appreciate it. You saw a bouquet of pink and red camellias and thought of him. You’ll see a rare smile just before he kisses you. Sho sets the flowers on the table and, surprisingly, takes care of them quite well.

Toshinori would blush a lot. He’s used to people throwing things at him as All Might: candy, flowers, pictures, women’s panties. As Toshi, he doesn’t get the same praise. Seeing a bright, beautiful sunflower bouquet on the table lights up his eyes so handsomely. And the way they match his hair is utterly adorable. He takes care of them so well, wanting them to last as long as possible. If you buy him more when they wilt, he’d blush even more than the first time.

Hizashi’s way too forgetful to take care of flowers. But he still loves them! Lilies are his favorite, especially giant ones. They’re big and colorful, and what’s not to love about that? Like when you give him anything, he gives you a big bear hug and kisses you plenty. However, because he is so forgetful, you’ll probably need to take care of them. And he pouts when they’re wilted. It’s best to just buy him some fake ones next time.

One of Fatgum’s favorite colors is purple. Lavender, violet, and monkshood are a few of the vivid flowers he enjoys most. But he doesn’t talk about it much. It just never comes up. So when you give him a gorgeous, purple bouquet, he’s all smiles and affection. Make sure he doesn’t crush them when he hugs you sense he’s inclined to do just that.

Gang Orca, in contrast to his hulking figure, loves flowers, especially lily-of-the-valley. They’re so dainty and delicate and cute. Though he rarely buys them for himself. He thinks his money could be used in better ways. When you hand him a rose surrounded by lily-of-the-valley, he gets rather emotional. Not that you’d see it on his face. He hides it well. Yet inside, Kugo feels fortunate, affectionate, loving, and very appreciative of you and your gift. It’s small but meaningful. He keeps them on his bedside table to smell at night.

Hound Dog isn’t one for flowers. He’s never had an interest. Besides, he sucks at caring for them. It’s best to get a plant that requires little care, maybe a laceleaf or a Christmas cactus. Ryo may grumble when you gift them. Don’t let it fool you. People don’t give him soft, sweeter presents. It’s a nice change. And he’ll enjoy the vivid reds and how long they last.

Vlad King, in line with how domestic he is at home, likes flowers and plants for decoration. They bring a certain light and color into rooms. Give him an arrangement of colorful flowers: snapdragon, lantana, and beardtongue to name a few. People typically don’t gift men flowers, so it’s something new to him. Sekijiro’s cheeks will tint a cute pink as he thanks you, bashfully looking away. He’ll set them in the living room so he can see and appreciate them every day.

[moldy-mold]

December Blog

In October, I got a surprise job at a stationery place I did not apply to. It was really all about the connections. I’m starting to understand that all stationery places in town know about each other and who works where because the industry is pretty small...

We are nestled in a little shopping plaza which looks like this:

I get to see it every day which makes me psyched to go to work. It is a lovely place, full of plants. My manager is really cool, and my boss is... interesting. She literally said to me “I sense a big change coming from the universe and I think you will be a part of this change.” That’s great! I think.

For the first time in a while, I feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. At the same time, I also wonder what would have happened to me if this opportunity did not present itself... I got way too lucky here.

-

Occasionally I’ll pick up a book. In the span of a week, I finished The Devil Wears Prada, the novel in which the famous 2006 Anne Hathaway movie was based on. Basically, it’s about a young woman in NYC trying to impress her hell boss so she can move up in life. But at what cost? Actually, a lot of it was so relatable, I had to put the book down sometimes or else I would actually start crying. It reminded me of the hard times. Compared to the film adaptation, which was a feel-good movie, the book was 10x more depressing... It was still a good book though.

-

✵ The Plant Saga ✵

I got a few new ones since my last update.

Florian (Neon Pothos) - Finally! I’ve always dreamed of getting a hanging pothos!

Estelle (Lantana) -  I failed to take a pic before winter = no flowers and fewer leaves, so I’ll just show you what she pretty much looked like!

Unnamed Pansies. I bought them from the “dying plants section” for $0.25 each and I wasn’t sure I could rescue them. Now they’re doing okay! I accidentally crossbred the two colors and made a pinkish one (on the right, not flowering atm).

He’s not new but Kiryu (Christmas Cactus) is in bloom now since it’s winter!

Hubert (Monstera) is so big now that he needs his own space. The leaves are larger than my head...

-

✵ Art and Social Media ✵

It’s been a year since I deleted mobile twitter and I cannot recommend it enough. I feel that I can now be more present. I check it on desktop once in a while in case someone needed to get my attention. I used to get the FOMO, especially when it came to Tales news, but after a while it goes away completely. Luckily some homies have my back and send me choice updates so I don’t live completely under a rock.

I actually discovered an add-on to my web browser called Better Twitter. I’ve hidden my follower count (to myself only) among other things, so I would not feel punished every time I saw it. There are times where I would like to browse my own page for RTs that I liked. Now I can do it without any fear. Please install it if you have similar concerns.

This year, I’ve really been more lax about posting art since I’ve cut back on social media. I just post whenever I want instead of following a schedule like I used to (Insane. Why did I ever do that.). In my head it feels like I only did 3 pieces but it was actually much more than that. I can’t believe finished my Berseria comic series Undercover! this year and tbh felt like 10 years ago lol.

As of now I think I’ve hit a block or some kind of burn-out. It’s not like I don’t have ideas, it’s just not coming out the way I want them to so I give up. Do you ever get those head voices telling you that you aren’t as good as you thought you were? 🤡

I get caught up with “I need to challenge myself” but in the midst of the challenging, I get too tired and end up with something simple, just so I can finish the piece. Sure, I feel accomplished for a few hours but at the end of the day the head voice says Ah, I failed again. It’s not like this is something recent. I’ve been feeling this way for a long long time. When will I break free...

Secret Side Note I opened my shop again but I don’t wanna announce it officially so here it is. If you have last-minute holiday shopping to do, you are welcome to support this small artist! I close shop for the holidays DEC 19.

moldyartichoke.ecwid.com

Why did I shut down in the first place? Well the real reason was it was too expensive to stay open. It was only later when I realized they let you keep the shop for free if you limit your products. Sure why not!

-

✵ Hold up, I need to scream about Xenoblade 2 ✵

I gotta say my piece before I beat the final chapter... Praying real hard I won’t be disappointed lol.

Now I’ve had my beef with the character designs and a handful of weirdly out-of-place dialogue and voice acting but everything else about it blew me away. It’s been a long time since I have been so enamored with a game. The plot, the LORE, the gameplay. So very fun and interesting!

I didn’t think I would enjoy it since I loved the first one and the second is nothing like it. Some friends pushed me into at least trying it instead of judging it based off of what everyone else thinks. And I do that a lot especially when it comes to $60 games...

If I didn’t borrow it from the cafe owner’s (my ex-boss now) son for a trial run... I don’t think I would have started it. He was a huuuuge fan and I suppose it got me curious as to why he liked it so much.

Anyway, you ever just see a character for literally 5 seconds and you’re like “yep that’s the one”? Happened to me. I absolutely had to keep playing to find out who this guy was. That’s all there is to it.

Thanks Nomura for designing him lmao.

-

✵ Finished Watching... ✵

Word of Honor (cdrama) ◆◆◇ Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Oki pt 1 & 2 ◆◆◆ Tenchi Muyo In Love! 1 & 2 ◆◆◇ Tenchi Muyo Daughter of Darkness ◆◇◇ Couple of Mirrors (cdrama) ◆◆◇ Space Cowboys ◆◆◇ The Devil Wears Prada ◆◆◇ Arcane ◆◆◆ Sailor Moon S The Movie ◆◆◇ Scissor Seven s3 ◆◆◆ Lupin III: The First ◆◆◇ Rush Hour 1 ◆◆◇

-

That’s all for now. Thanks for keeping up with me - I’ll see you guys next year!

[frogs-in3-hills]

TOP 5 FAVOURITE FLOWERS GOOO !!!!!! 🌺🌸🌼🌻🌹🌷🌺🌼🌻🌷🌹🌼🌻🌸🌺🌸🌷

oooooh okay i can definitely do this one!!!

LANTANAS!!!! best flower ever actually best flowers of allll time i think about them every day :DDDD actually here i'm out of control i'm adding pictures. i mean just look at them!!!!!! they are the most absurd beautiful little creatures the universe ever put on this earth for realsies. AND they smell amazing?? AND they're so strong and hardy and easy to take care of???? like!! tell me how it gets better than this!! jkjkjk IT DOESNT!!!

calendulas fucking rule like objectively they are actually one of the most stunning flowers in existence like little suns ANNNDD they are also medically useful like! if calendulas were girls i would kiss and marry them!!!

lily of the valley sooo special and important like i already have a Thing for tiny flowers but these lovely ladies take the cake

forget me nots! i love the little yellow donut and the little star on the insides :]

prarie coneflowers/mexican hats i mean they are so silly goofy. i love them. i want to eat them.

still not over my lantana bush that died in march '21 :(((( i miss you Carlito II i will never remarry :((( its ok though they came back this february reborn as Carlitos III more powerful than ever <3

ask game!

[putschki1969]

「KEIKO Live K002 ＊＊Lantana＊咲いたよ＊＊」Live Report

■KEIKO Live K002 ＊＊Lantana＊咲いたよ＊＊ Day & Time：2020/12/16　Doors open: 18:00／Start: 19:00 Venue：Zepp DiverCity TOKYO Live Stream Option: https://stagecrowd.live/4182631157/ Streaming Ticket Sale: 12/1 12:00～12/23 13:00 Ticket Price: 3,000円 Archive: 12/16～12/23

Everyone, SUPPORT Keiko and GO BUY a ticket if you haven’t yet!! (TUTORIAL) It was a REALLY cool live! Keiko was adorable! Koichi Korenaga and Hitoshi Konno added so much to so many songs with their guitar and violin. Also, we got May’n and KEIKO singing to the beginning, a May’n song AND a Christmas song together, all those collabs were AMAZING!!!

KEIKO in a leather jacket on stage. YESSSS!!! What more does a fangirl want? :P And she is wearing what seems to be a red skirt an embellished Christmas-y black top.

Find my first impression below the cut 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

1.Be Yourself: Still doesn’t sound good live. Not at all. Her version from the first live performance might actually have been better than this. I think she shouldn’t start her lives with this song. I feel like she needs to be more warmed-up to go this high. 

2.ミチテハカケル (?): New song. She did tease us on Twitter that there would be some new songs performed at the live but I wasn’t expecting this. Meh...Another more or less forgettable up-tempo song that is not really up my alley. Kinda like Change the World’s Color. Her vocals improved a bit though compared to Be Yourself.

MC: She promises to interact with her online audience once May’n comes on stage. YAY!

3. Hajimari wa: Finally we are getting somewhere. The start of the concert was a bit bumpy but this is a solid performance. 

4. 溜め息の消える街 (Tameiki no Kieru Machi): Another solid performance. By now you know this is not my cup of tea but the live version is enjoyable enough (especially since she is not singing super high).

MC: Hitoshi Konno comes on stage. Keiko remembers their first meeting back in the day. It was for a recording for the Sound Horizon live in 2008. Keiko was super excited to have live strings at the studio and she really idolised Konno back then for his gorgeous playing. She was dying to meet him because so far she had only heard his playing. She was imagining a figure like Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon coming out of the recording booth. But then only Konno came out XD Needless to say, Keiko was quite disappointed. Konno doesn’t seem to remember or he was barely listening to Keiko it seems XD He really has no idea why Keiko is telling us all of this. Keiko says she just wanted to try talking freely about something random.

5. Ray: Ohhhh, the first song I REALLY love from the performance. Ray benefits a lot from the added violin. And Keiko sounds great.

6. 夕顔 (Yugao): YESSSSSSSSS! I was hoping they would use Konno’s violin for this. The intro and bridge were so gorgeous. And the end literally killed me. I LOVED Keiko’s live rendition so much, her expressive vocals hit me right in the feels. 

7. 茜 (Akane): Live violin FTW. Will forever love the verses. The chorus sounds better than in her first live (still not good though - that nobashite mo and kawakasu are just a little too painful for my poor ears). 

MC: Let’s say hello to May’n. May’n is happy to have been asked to appear as guest in Keiko’s live. She is nervous and excited because it has been a while for her to do a live with an audience (+ a live stream). Keiko is going to sing Kalafina together with May’n! BANZAI. On a side note, they are so freaking cute together. May’n is complaining because Keiko so nonchalantly announced that they would be singing a Kalafina song. She thinks this is very special for all of us so it sould be announced accordinly :P Keiko is in a hurry to start singing :P

8. to the beginning: WOW, WOW, WOW! Keiko SLAYS!!! *sobs* The feels!!! And I don’t even like ttb all that much. Keiko got so emotional towards the end. And she sounded better than ever and was obviously so excited to sing a Kalafina song again. Didn’t reallypay much attention to May’n’s vocals. Obviously she is not Wakana.

MC: The excitement is real. May’n loves ttb and has listened to it MANY MANY times so to get to sing it together with Keiko was awesome. Keiko seems to share the sentiment. She is impressed by May’n stage presence and steadiness. Keiko then congratulates May’n on her 15th Anniversary. They finally take a look at the chat for a little while. Keiko is greeting everyone with “yahoo” which everyone in the chat seems to find hilarious because we have never really heard her say this. Someone watches from Korea so Keiko shares some Korean words she knows :P Lots of Macho-senpai talk XD Keiko explains the origin of macho-senpai. It’s from a program Kalafina atteneded and May’n hosted back in the day. Both of them like muscle training so May’n came up with the nickname of macho-senpai for Keiko even though Keiko isn’t even macho or anythin. May’n was shocked to realise that the nickname gained so much popularity and now it is even on Keiko’s Wikipedia page! May’n looks up to Keiko and wants to become macho like her which is why Keiko is “macho-senpai” for her. Keiko denies being macho but May’n is like, “you do so much sports, you are so cool, you love to eat meat, you generally eat a lot (and still stay so thin), you are definitely macho!!!” LOL Keiko thinks about calling May’n Maycho but May’n isn’t into it and she thinks the audience doesn’t like that nickname either even though they can’t see anyone’s face but she sees it in their eyes XD Her HOLA to Mexico is so cute. The tablet is getting heavy so they decide to return it. They are so touchy-feely with each other. And now they are singing a May’n song.

9. graphite / diamond: Never heard it but they rocked the stage together. SO COOL. 

MC: Time for Koichi Korenaga. Lots of cat talk (fyi Kore-chan owns a cat). It’s called JOJO (Jocchan) and Kore-chan often posts pictures on Twitter. Keiko could talk forever about JOJO with Kore-chan.

10. 笑ってやる (Waratte Yaru): Another new song! With lots of English lyrics! Liking this A LOT more than ミチテハカケル I think. So badass. I am into it.

11. エンドロール (End Roll): Is still freaking cool. A mic-stand makes everything better!! Great transition from Waratte Yaru. 

12. Change the World’s Color: While I am not a big fan of the studio live I do quite enjoy her live performances due to her being so enthusiastic. But End Roll and Waratte Yaru are much superior!

MC: Korenaga is about to leave when Keiko reminds him there is one more song to sing XD But before that: Band member introduction. She forgot the guitarist’s full name :P

13: 七色のフィナーレ (Nanairo no Finale):  With both Koichi Korenaga and Hitoshi Konno. BANZAI. Sounds even more like a YK song now. Konno adds so much to the arrangement. Although I think they should have gotten rid of some of the super pop-ish elements of the arrangement to fit the violin more but oh well, it didn’t take away from my listening pleasure. Her final lalala part and the last bit hit differently. So emotional. She obviously felt at home with Konno and Korenaga at her side. So beautiful. Her vocals were a tiny bit better during K001 though and she did make a mistake at one point where her voice literally broke but I am not sure if it was because she was emotional or if she was just exhausted from singing so many up-tempo and high-key songs in a row.

ENCORE: An instrumental of Jingle Bells. May’n is back on stage with Keiko. They want to eat yakiniku for Christmas, not chicken but beef! YAY. MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Keiko loves May’n’s pants and is close to stripping her XD Keiko points out that the slit is very high. I think what she is doing counts as molestation :P Anyways, May’n is super excited to see a new side of Keiko in the future. She has known her for so long but there are still so many new things to discover and that makes her very curious and she feels like it will be the same for all of her fans. Keiko is touched by May’n’s heartfelt little message. Since it’s almost Christmas they need to sing a Christmas song

EN 1. 荒野の果てに (Angels We Have Heard on High): AHHHHHHHHH, one of my favourite Christmas songs. The beginning was FLAWLESS!! Actually loved the pop arrangement even though I usually prefer a more classical one. How I wish I had gotten to hear Kalafina sing this T_T But either way, their collab was great!! I will never like May’n’s voice and it doesn’t go too well with Keiko’s imo but hey, she still did fine.[What I would give to hear Wakana sing this with Keiko. We got a mini version during Kalafina Club once and even that sounded amazing]

EN2. 命の花 (Inochi no Hana): Really loved it.

MC: Keiko says she has many fun things planned for next year so we should look forward to it.

[leahgolds]

Notes on post BLM. Have children’s book publishers opinions changed?

At the beginning of writing my essay I looked at the publisher Andrea Shavick who suggested that in order to avoid problems with upsetting anyone from another culture, one should use an animal as the character of their story. My argument to this was that, this doesn’t help the problem of the lack of diversity and only puts a plaster over the situation without trying to fix it. 

While the Black Lives Matter Movement started in 2013, the world started to take more notice in 2020 after George Floyd was murdered by police. Everywhere people started to look at themselves and society and questioned whether we were doing enough to be anti-racist.  

“It is not enough to say you aren’t racist, you have to be anti-racist”

- This has been often quoted though out the protests and is also very relevant to the world of book publishers. 

Philip Nel - Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: 

. To dismantle systemic racism - starting with children - we need to produce, promote and read a range of books that explore BAME characters.

. It is not enough to teach tolerance, we must respect difference

. We must understand that not only mean people are racist 

. White people must use their privilege to help

Fig 1: David Huyck, Sarah Park Dahlen, infographic, Diversity in children’s books, 2018

. “Children’s literature continues to misrepresent underrepresented communities, and we wanted this infographic to show not just the low quantity of existing literature, but also the inaccuracy and uneven quality of some of those books”

Alison Flood:

. Only 1% of British children’s books featured a main character who was black, Asian or minority ethnic, the proportion has increased to 5%

. Far more likely to encounter an animal protagonist when reading a book for children than a main character sharing any non-white ethnicity

. Representation increased to 10%, up from 7% in 2018 and 4% in 2017. This is still well below 33.5%, the proportion of primary school aged children in England who are from a minority ethnic background

. “We want to encourage the publishing industry just to continue to strive for better.” - Farrah Serroukh

. “Things are going in the right direction, but these things take a long time to change, and they need everybody to work together on them,” - Jill Coleman (director of children’s books at BookTrust)

. Coleman “I think there has been quite a change in people’s attitudes, due to all sorts of things going on - not least Black Lives Matter, which really did impact on publishers. Publishers - are much more interested in making change, and are aware that the situation is not a good one.”

. BookTrust is challenging the publishing industry to increase the number of creators of colour in the UK to 13% by 2022, when it will publish its next report

Sarah Garland: 

Fig 2: Sarah Garland, Billy and Belle, 2004, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, London

. “I was just trying to show things as they are - it wasn’t meant to be an issue” - Garland

. In 2004 the portrayal of a mixed raced family bought on unusual controversial 

. The sales marketing department said it would be difficult to sell this book globally - What Shavick warned about 

. Garland has received many letters from families like the ones in her books thanking her for representing them - Always goes back to the importance of feeling seen and represented

Karen Sands-OConnor:

. “Reading about people who are like yourself affects both your self-image and the likelihood you will enjoy reading”

. “if the world of children’s books doesn’t include people who look like you, it is difficult to feel welcomed into reading” - Darren Chetty

. Authors of colour often feel isolated within the publishing industry. They don’t feel they have as much freedom with what they can write about as white authors

. If there are black characters, they are mostly ‘sidekicks’ 

.  Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie stressed in her 2009 Ted talk on the danger of a single story, that representation affects the reader’s perception of who matters in books

. Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books, began dedicating some of its collecting efforts to culturally diverse children’s literature in 2015

. “Publishing is a market-driven industry. If books aren’t selling, publishers can make the case that there is no audience - therefore they do not need to publish more books with characters of colour”

Farrah Serroukh and Karen Sands O'Connor:

. Over 30 years ago, in 1987, author and publisher Verna Wilkins founded Tamarind Books

. Wilkins was concerned that so few children’s books included Black and minority ethnic characters and the effect this had on children

. This independent publishing house focused on challenging the representation imbalance, producing quality inclusive literature that featured BAME children and children with disabilities

. Because of Wilkins, several independent publishers have emerged in the UK to create inclusive books that show a range of characters and experiences

. These include: Alanna Max, Child’s Play, Knights Of Lantana, Anna McQuinn and Tiny Owl

Charlotte Eyre:

. Some publishers have been called out for failing to take the situation (mis-representation) more seriously sooner and for not doing more to find or promote diverse talent

. Hachette UK donated £20,000 to the Minnesota Freedom Fund

. "There will now be a desire to read new voices and listen to the unheard and buy the books by those who - up to now - have been ignored by the mainstream" - agent and Curtis Brown chair Jonny Geller

. “To agents/editors popping up now to ask black authors to send submissions to them - where was this energy before?" - Headline commissioning editor Katie Packer

. Publishers and writers started posting reading lists on social media of books by BAME authors

. Quite a few made statements that they ‘stand against racism and discrimination in all forms’

Image caption:

Fig 1: Dahlen, S. (2019). Picture this: Diversity in children’s books 2018 Infographic. [Online] available at: https://readingspark.wordpress.com/2019/06/19/picture-this-diversity-in-childrens-books-2018-infographic/ [accessed 22.3.21]

Fig 2: Billy and Belle. [Online] available at: https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-670-84396-1 [accessed 22.3.21]

Bibliography:

Eyre, C. (2020). Publishers, agents and authors continue to respond to Black Lives Matter protests. [Online] available at: https://www.thebookseller.com/news/publishers-and-authors-respond-to-black-lives-matter-protests-1205749 [accessed 21.3.21]

Ferguson, H. (2020). It is not enough to say you aren’t racist, you have to be anti-racist. [Online] available at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/news-views/news-articles/end-racism-at-work#gref [accessed 22.3.21]

Lawrance, S. & Wilson, J. (2015). Drawn from the archive - hidden histories of illustration. Seven Stories Publications. Newcastle. [accessed 28.2.21]

Nel, P. (2019). Was the Cat in the Hat black? : the hidden racism of children’s literature, and the need for diverse books. Oxford University Press. New York. [accessed 7.2.21]

Sands-OConnor, K. (2019). British children’s books are still too white – responsibility to change them is on all involved. [Online] available at: https://theconversation.com/british-childrens-books-are-still-too-white-responsibility-to-change-them-is-on-all-involved-126853 [accessed 7.2.21]

Serroukh, F. Karen. & O'Connor, S. (2020). Go deeper: Reflecting on black presence in children’s books. [Online] available at: https://www.bl.uk/childrens-books/articles/reflecting-on-black-presence-in-childrens-books [accessed 18. 2. 21]

[chachamare]

ahh noo, kagami is actually my fave 🥺,, the way he means the literal world to me i cant even explain hhrngh (so much so im considering getting a tattoo of him SHHD😳) , but hanamiya is a very close second!! followed by aomine & kise!!

aarg!! yes!! oldcodex have such good songs 😩💙 walk & lantana i think are my fave ones they’ve done for knb

what do you think about last game? do you like how it ended compared to extra game? 👀 i love to hear peoples opinions on last game shdhd,, bc personally i rly like how it ended!! also i rly like all their new hairstyles even thou apparently lots of ppl hate them? 😭 mido’s hair looks SO much better in last game i- 🥴 but i think im the only one who thinks that hahahsh

Bruh Kagami ✋😔 what a great lad. we do love himbos in this house. the tattoo idea is really sweet! it's definitely a difficult decision, hell, if you want it then do it (just maybe not a huge tattoo all over your back of him or smthg 😂). some people get tattoos for less reasons.

ohhhh the extra game question... going into dangerous waters here, anon! so extra game is manga and last game is movie, right? so. as a takao stan, it's not surprising that i'm also a midotaka shipper and the- the thing midorima and akashi did... 💀 my dude. it's one of those things i always get a bad mood about and they didn't even let takao (or the other backup players) play! such a waste! their hairstyles 👀 i really like kise's, he looks so cute with the shorter hair. murasakibara looks like he got noodles in his face, the mangaka could've drawn it better tbh 😭 and midorimas- friend i- 💀 i wish i could say i like it but. it's not a fair comparison, i'm used to his hair from 3 seasons compared to a movie that felt lowkey forced. i like that his strict eyebrows and eyes are more visible with the new haircut, his serious face... 🤤 i don't prefer it over his previous haircut but i don't hate it. the others didn't change that much but i gotta say the animation from the anime seasons look so much better than the movie style, imo

the ending tho.... ☹️ it was so sad. like idk, it makes sense kagami wants to go to the nba (though i don't understand why he looks for america when japan has basketball teams too?? like idk the schools aren't even really "professional" right? 💀) but when i found out that he only decided that in the movie i was so mad that they gave viewers who don't read the manga such a heartbreak 😭 also big scary changes always stress me out (it's just a manga/anime but STILL 😔). he left his best friend kakdkfkf 😭

overall the movie, as i mentioned earlier, seemed a little forced tbh. they really went overboard with the whole demon eye and akashi's split personality "fusing" with him like homie i- what the fuck was going on 😳😳 it seems to me like fujimaki, the further he got into the story, neglected strategy and individual strengths and replaced it with over-the-top superhuman skills to keep it exciting which is really sad bc basketball games can be so exciting without everyone having eyes that see the future moves of all players lol. it's of course my personal opinion, i also wish he would've given jabberwock more personality (and more screentime causing trouble bc i'm always so ready for conflict 😳 give me the drama)

that was so much text i'm sorry, it's fun to discuss it and i do have opinions 😂

[salbidum]

Garden log for today 4-14-21, and exhaustive list of what plants are at what stages.

Decided I couldn’t survive one more hour of my life without foundation plantings; haphazardly threw astilbe tubers into containers of potting soil, planted the aquilegia plants the native plants lady from Buy Nothing gave me (four of them in cement block holes - we’ll see how that goes), and then decided that since the dutchbulbs.com customer service is absolutely garbage and I can’t figure out how to send back the pink phlox they sent me by mistake instead of my fern mix, I may as well plant it too. I did try hacking a hole in the top of some of my hay bales and putting potting soil in them. I’m curious how that goes. 

I also reviewed my garden log back to 2018, and wow, I guess in 2018 I also worked from home and basically only got out to the garden store. I put a lot of plants in the ground in 2018.

The back swamp has had the most successful remediation I’ve ever attempted: namely, I called our water utility and asked if there was a reason why that area was full of standing water a full week after any rain, when all the other vernal creeks were dry. There was. It was a leaky meter head. They fixed it. So there we go. (This did exile the single small frog living in a sinkhole full of poison ivy in that area, but the creek is 4 or 5 good-sized hops away, and living in chlorinated city water was probably bad for it anyway. It was absolutely still hopping and yelling in protest every time I walked by yesterday.) 

As far as what is up in the back swamp area: the sweet vernal grass has seeded though the seed heads probably aren’t mature. The self-heal was the first thing to appear in the back area and has formed some impressive mounds. The sweetflag has flowered. The false hawksbeard is starting to flower, and the first dandelions (european not kriga) are in puff ball. There seems to be a single plant of blue-eyed grass up at the corner near the playground, and I’m keeping an eye on that in case it sets seed. Also blooming: tree verbena, black cherry, southern dewberry, and every damn pine in the damn state all at once. 

The stilt grass, poison ivy, and virginia creeper are just beginning to emerge now. Wisteria on the ground is just now sprouting, but it’s in full bloom in the treetops. 

The autumn olive/oleander is blooming some more (we have several types, all vaguely invasive, all absolutely loved by birds, so different sorts have been blooming for a month - the thorny olive first, I think). The yew honeysuckle is fruiting. 

In my own garden, I’ve got the lilies, my one dwarf columbine, the star of bethlehem, and the blueberry bushes, ranunculus, and jacob’s ladder blooming right now, though the last three were bought this year as plants and so who knows if this is their normal blooming schedule. The painted fern has also emerged and leafed out over the last week. The dianthus are back for their fourth year. You will never believe this, but when you fertilize dianthus with fish emulsion and compost it does better than when you just leave it in hard clay ground for three years and wish it luck. 

The first four sprouts of malabar spinach are up. Yes, I did not succeed in getting rid of it this year. It just grows so well with so little effort and then you can eat it. We also bought two cucumber plants and put them in the trough this week even though that’s just committing to a long ugly battle with powdery mildew. 

Whatever I’m allergic to blooms about 4 p.m. every evening and stays in the air until the middle of the night. At least I know now that it sometimes goes away?

In the front, the chives and big dianthus are about to bloom. The cardinal flower is back up, the yarrow is taking over, the lantana is just barely struggling to start leafing out from the base, and there’s a fire ant hill in my thyme plant so that’s a thing I’m dealing with. My wife spent several weeks worrying that the oregano was dead and now it’s taken over a good part of the bed. The mint has been more subdued but it’s early yet.

I put a plant marker on my clover to try to see if I can keep it from getting mowed this year. 

On the last invasive-plant note, besides that spring is depressing because you realize how much of the landscape is english ivy, invasive honeysuckle, oregon grape, and  oleander over and over, I think the newly-appeared thing in our creek is vietnamese water parsley. I’m going to spend more time trying to identify it, and if it’s that then I’m psyched. It’s terribly invasive in our climate, but I also pulled some up and smelled it and it smells delicious. I feel like of all the ways to wipe out a plant, cooking and eating it usually works the fastest. 

[nikatyler]

22 questions for Roxanne , Magnolia and Lantana 😊

This was harder than I thought it would be...I think I’ll have to make a rule or something. I probably won’t answer for the bpr spares anymore because they have zero personality aside from maybe one significant trait, and I honestly don’t even care about them. They age up, I move them out. That’s the curse of big generations lol, after the mess that was the first part of gen 6 of Roses, I kinda gave up on trying to make every spare interesting.

But still, I really appreciate this ask. You didn’t know that I’d give up on them, in fact I didn’t know that either. ♥ I still tried though. You can tell that I didn’t put much effort as it goes on, but...yeah. I tried :D

Full name: Roxanne Clare

Height: 165 cm

Sexual orientation: I imagine straight-ish would be the best way to describe her. Like she’s very straight but maybe not completely, but she personally wouldn’t call herself bi or pan or poly or omni or anything like that.

Where are they from: Starlight Shores

Occupation: She's a writer

Bad habits: Late night snacks. Everything just tastes better after midnight, ugh!

Insecurities: She doesn't really like her thighs.

What makes them proud of themselves: Her writing skills. And the big research on aliens she did.

How would they describe themselves: "A freak for alien conspiracies who will one day get that 'best selling author' title."

Hobbies: Writing, conspiracies, baking (well, trying to bake) and researching suspicious stuff

Dream vacation: Champs Les Sims

Favourite animal: Parrots! The more colorful the better.

Favourite music: Late 00s/early 10s bops

Guilty pleasure: Reading weird fanfiction at 3am (the things this girl has seen…name a strange ship just for fun, she'll probably give you a recommendation)

Pet peeve: This is probably more than just a pet peeve but she can't stand body shaming of any kind. Just stop. (That goes to you especially, Magnolia. 😒 Yeah, her little sister is kinda the worst.)

Favourite subject at school: Simlish

Anything strange about them: Her love for coffee. She probably wouldn't be able to function without it anymore.

Best friend: Limette and Hestia. You haven't seen them yet, or maybe just in a sneak peek, but they're really close.

Partner: Jupiter

One trait they like in others: Curiosity. The desire to keep exploring.

How would you describe their aesthetic: Oof I'm not sure! Her style is very basic, I'd say. Just some denim and a cute comfortable top.

Random fact: Although he was missing from a huge part of her life, Roxanne feels she's closer to her dad than she is to Gwyneth. They just get along better.

The rest is under the cut, that is, if tumblr doesn’t mess up.

Full name: Magnolia Clare

Height: 170 cm

Sexual orientation: She thinks there are far more important things than labels. Girls are hot tho.

Where are they from: I don't remember exactly, but Maggie and Avery were still born in Starlight Shores, right? 😂

Occupation: None for now, but she wants to be the evil empress of Earth…or something.

Bad habits: Not being careful enough while doing her science experiments. Could it get her killed? Yes. Does she care? No.

Insecurities: She makes it seem like she has none, but inside she is a little worried about not being smart enough.

What makes them proud of themselves: She's the mean high school queen. That's a good enough achievement for her now.

How would they describe themselves: "The future queen."

Hobbies: science, robots, watching sci-fi

Dream vacation: Sunlit Tides. It seems like a good place for a secret evil lair.

Favourite animal: She's always loved mice.

Favourite music: Edgy pop music

Guilty pleasure: Pink anything. She can wear pink and still be an evil empress though, don’t get fooled.

Pet peeve: Fake compliments

Favourite subject at school: Chemistry

Anything strange about them: Her desire to be ~evil~

Best friend: What is a friend?

Partner: A what?

One trait they like in others: She doesn't like others. Only if they bow down to her.

How would you describe their aesthetic: She's very elegant.

Random fact: She doesn't really have a personality aside from "I'm evil and want to take over the world"...but you've probably noticed that so here's one more fact: I had a character named Magnolia before. She was really nice. Not like this Magnolia.

Full name: Lantana Clare

Height: 160 cm

Sexual orientation: Pansexual

Where are they from: I'm fairly sure she was already born in Neverglade but who knows, it might have been Starlight Shores too 🤦‍♀️ I remember nothing about this legacy.

Occupation: No clue. When she aged up, I just moved her out 😅

Bad habits: She yells a lot. She gets angry easily.

Insecurities: She didn't like her nose growing up.

What makes them proud of themselves: Her fashion sense is...not bad.

How would they describe themselves: She wouldn’t

Hobbies: She plays...an instrument. But I don’t remember what it was.

Dream vacation: Egypt is nice

Favourite animal: Butterfly

Favourite music: Basic radio pop, maybe some k-pop too

Guilty pleasure: Some could say her music taste, but I try to not shame people for what they listen to.

Pet peeve: Anything Magnolia does automatically becomes Lantana’s pet peeve haha

Favourite subject at school: Probably art. She’s not as talented as her mum, but she still really enjoys it.

Anything strange about them: Not strange in a bad way, but her heterochromia. She loves that her eyes are two colours.

Best friend: Alvin. They planned revenge on their older sister...never got it, but still. They bonded over their hatred for Magnolia :D

Partner: Doesn’t exist. Literally. But I’m not opposed to sharing her with a mutual.

One trait they like in others: Just don’t be evil, she’s dealt with that already

How would you describe their aesthetic: I wouldn’t

Random fact: Ironically, I just made it clear that I can share little to no facts about her, but I think that if Roxy wasn’t the heir, I’d probably go with Lantana, she’s pretty.

Thanks for the ask and sorry I didn’t put much effort in it! 😅

[you-turn-it-into-light]

KEIKO – Lantana (2020) Album Review

I’m a bit late to the party, but I was hoping to review Keiko’s debut album after it came out. I’m so happy this album is finally out, it’s been a long time coming. 

Overall thoughts:

The cover for the Limited-Edition A is super pretty. It’s simple and effective. The Super-Duper Limited Edition’s cover is super ugly to me though. I hate the brown and the pink and the way there’s just a square in the middle of the cover. Yuck.

 I don’t like the main outfit either. The two pieces are okay separately (the jacket’s still kind of gaudy) but together it just looks messy. Two different textures and patterns and two different colour pallets is just a no go.

It’s a bit of a shame that there was only really one new song but hearing the studio versions of the other songs were nice and it gave some room to compare.

Be Yourself

Nope, still don’t like it. The song is so generic sounding I didn’t like it when I first heard it and I still don’t. The lyrics don’t make the song any better either. The arrangement is also weird – Why does the pre-chorus try to bring to mood up with a couple of interesting drum phrases only for the chorus to go to a boring repetitive rock beat, with the bass and guitar just plodding along? The only ‘outstanding’ thing about this song is that is has Keiko hit an F#3 and an F#5 which is pretty cool.

七色のフィナレ (Nanairo no Finale)

I was disappointed by this song. It’s boring and repetitive and I’m not a big fan of the arrangement. The lyrics are generic, but I don’t expect much from a beginner lyricist like Keiko. I wish there were more because the ‘lalalala’s got a little annoying. The only part I kind of like is the first verse and the ‘todoku kana’ part because it sounded a little dramatic.

 始まりは (Hajimari wa)

I like the instrumentation and beat of this song, it’s catchy and interesting to use such minimal phrases to get such an interesting sound. I’m not a fan of Keiko’s singing style here at all, the vowels are pronounced in a way that seems so forced. Keiko’s voice doesn’t suit this type of song very much, but I would’ve preferred her usual singing style to this. Overall, it’s a fine song and I don’t dislike it?

茜 (Akane)

Okay, I know I haven’t been very positive thus far and I’m disappointed to say that this isn’t the exception. I don’t like this song at all really. It sounds like a discount worldly Yuki Kajiura song and to me everything about this song is forgettable. The instrumentation, the arrangement, the melody, the lyrics, and even the singing is forgettable. The ‘nobashitemo’ is also super annoying imo. Let’s hope I can be more positive in the next song.

溜息の消える街 (Tameiki no Kieru Machi)

I wish this song sounded like the live. The live version was more atmospheric with emphasis on the acoustic guitar, but this studio version has emphasis on the electronic rhythm which really isn’t my cup of tea. If the lyrics were less world building and mysterious I think it’d fit the song more and make the lyrics and the instrumentation sound less like two contrasting elements of a weirdly jumbled picture. Speaking of lyrics, I wish the ending weren’t just a repeat of the first verse. It would’ve been nice for a conclusion of sorts. The melody of this song is very nice and Keiko’s voice in her normal deep timbre makes it sound lovely. I especially love the ‘itsumadedemo uuuuhhh’ it hits my heart in a special way.

Ray

This song is pretty dramatic, it has interesting electronic elements which leads up to a heavy (but a bit generic sounding) chorus. I really love the melody in the pre-chorus, and I like the melody of the chorus. The disappointing factor for me is Keiko’s singing style. Unlike Hajimari wa, this song fits a deeper voice so much better but she for some reason decided to go with this style of weird vowels shapes that don’t fit the song at all and sound like she’s trying too hard. It doesn’t change much in the chorus which unfortunately makes the high notes sound more shouty than resonant.

夕顔 (Yuugao)

Very pleasant surprise. When I first listened to the song I found to be quite melancholic and depressing and that still sticks with me. This song isn’t relaxing to me at all. The melody in the verse is a little annoying and repetitive (I kept trying to end the second phrase with B3 instead of an E4 because I thought that sounded more conclusive), the melody for the rest of the song is so nice and melancholic I love it. The ‘futari de’ especially is lovely. Keiko’s voice is lovely in this song, very quiet and controlled and not cutesy.

エンドロール (End Roll)

Very cool! The arrangement is quite simple, but I think it works rather than detracts. The chorus is my favorite part with the parts that go back and forth, it’s super catchy to me. I quite like that digital effect they use in the chorus, I can’t describe it well but it sounds like an explosion that comes down at the song continues. The only thing I’m not a fan of is Keiko’s singing style of the verses, she uses that annoying vowel sound again (The ‘o’ sounds especially are quite grating imo) and I prefer the live version. If I were to describe this song in a sentence, it’d be ‘Simple yet effective’.

Change The World’s Color

Nope, not a fan. The first thing I thought when I heard the first 10 seconds of this song was ‘wow this sounds like an anisong’ and boy was I right. This song is on about the same level of generic as Be Yourself, but only with added cheesy anisong strings. I found it impressive that Keiko reached a C5 twice in the song, good on her. Not much to say other than even though I don’t like it, it somehow still ends up in my head 24/7.

命の花 (Inochi no Hana)

Keiko’s debut song… it’s boring. The melody is fine but ultimately forgettable. I like the ‘kimi no negau michi e’ part in the bridge but that’s really about it. Keiko’s singing is as lovely as usual, but the song simply doesn’t carry it. For her first lyrics, they’re fine, about as good as I expect from a beginner lyricist. I also cannot forgive using synth violins when you’re a big record label and you’re using them for an artists debut song, ugh.

Overall, I’ve been pretty harsh and negative. Keiko’s singing skills are as great as always, but her singing style can be wonderful and immersing at best and grating at the worst. The songs have a lot of variety, but only two of them really stood out to me as being anything interesting compared to songs of the same style. I’m hoping that Keiko as a solo artist has more interesting things coming up!

[asking-the-danger-star]

Tulip, Transvaal Daisy, Sunflower, St. John’s Wort, Primrose, Mugworts, Leather Flower, Lantanas, Foxgloves (physically, like cooking, sword fighting, etc.), Daylily 2: What would you do if your partner's parents didn’t like you? (Because you belong to a different ethnicity I guess?), Candytufts, Blazing Stars (Save for being stuck in your prison forever), Bluemink 2: What are your thoughts on spoiled teenagers?

Flower Asks

Tulip: What would be the best present to get you? 

“Something useful and/or meaningful to me or our relationship, probably. Or a book I have never read. If neither, a chocolate-flavored treat of some kind will do.”

Transvaal Daisy: What’s your favorite item of clothing? 

“I will say my starry cloak. It is thick, warm, and multifunctional.”

Sunflower: What is something you don’t want to imagine life without? 

“Hm...I want to say my magic. I could possibly live without it, but I would rather not.”

St. John’s Wort: Is it easy or difficult for you to express how you feel about things?

“It depends what that thing is and who toward.”

Primrose: Describe your ideal life.

“Free to go where I please without the obstacles of enemies, boundaries of law...and with knowing I have somewhere safe to return to. Perhaps with someone to share it with...but that isn’t required for this dream.”

Mugworts: What was it like for you as a teenager? Did you enjoy your teenage years? 

“By that age I was an apprentice to the last Star Mage born generations before myself. He wasn’t much better than my caretakers, but did give me some attention. Which was more than I could say about them.”

“The only enjoyable part of those years was being given the privilege to learn Star magic and meeting my loyal mount, Andromeda.”

Leather Flower

Answered

Lantanas: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received? 

“It’s hard to choose just one~ Humans were (and in some areas, still are) full of praise and flattery~”

Foxgloves: What’s something you’re bad at? (physically, like cooking, sword fighting, etc.)

“...” He sighs. “Archery...”

Daylily: What would you do if your parents didn’t like your partner(s)? 2: What would you do if your partner's parents didn’t like you? (Because you belong to a different ethnicity I guess?)

“To your first, my parents could care less. They don’t know me and I don’t know them, so why would they have any opinion?”

“If they did know me, though...I could care less what they think as well.”

“My partner, on the other hand...well, I have been disliked before. It wouldn’t be new to me. I would be more concerned with how my partner feels about their parents’ prejudiced ways.”

Candytufts: When do you feel most loved? 

“When understood and listened to, I think.”

Blazing Stars: What are you afraid of? Is there a reason why? (Save for being stuck in your prison forever)

“Everyone is afraid of something. I do have fears beyond the one mentioned, and as with most things there are reasons for it.”

Bluemink: What are your thoughts on children? 2: What are your thoughts on spoiled teenagers?

“There isn’t only one answer...I don’t dislike children, and those raised by loving families I both envy and am more than happy for. I have never raised any, myself, though.”

“But in the end I will say they have a lot of potential. How they grow and develop, and the pace at which they do so...it is intriguing.”

“Spoiled teenagers, on the other hand...they are still young, and in some cases I would say the blame falls on those who raised them. However, they are still responsible for their behavior as well. I pity them, for they have been horribly mistreated and life will be much crueler to them for it...”

“But a little karmic energy might be good for them...hypothetically speaking.”

[trashyswitch]

A Little Magic to Help the Days Go By

Day 1: Butterflies!

The Coronavirus is forcing people to stay inside, and not everyone is pleased about this. So, Roman tries to make the slow days easier with a little bit of magic...

T.S’s Notes: I know a lot of people are trying to get away from the whole 'CO-VID19 Paranoia' thing, but I want to turn it into something positive with this fic. I think we all need a bit of magic in our lives, especially right now.

Everybody in the U.S.A is being forced to stay indoors. Medium/large gatherings are prohibited until further notice. No one should leave their house unless absolutely necessary. Those who leave the house are instructed to wash their hands really good and to resume previous instructions. The cleaning product sections are all empty in the local grocery stores, and so is some of the produce. People are rationing and finding things to do in their own home. Those who struggle with staying still and being in the house, are being forced to either deal with that issue in the safety of their homes, or risk their chances of catching the deadly virus. Anyone who is immunocompromised, are especially warned to stay in their home, and to wear gloves/use sleeves when they go places. Overall: The world has become a paranoid mess in less than a week, and Thomas doesn't know how to process it.

Introverts, like Virgil, are taking this news in a bittersweet manner. Introverts are always looking for excuses to refuse socializing. Now, they have one. Virgil is perfectly content with being in his room with his spider, listening to heavy metal. But, he's also anxious as can be. He has to keep reminding Thomas to stay inside, refusing to let him go anywhere without some anxiety and paranoia going through his brain. The last thing Virgil wants is for Thomas to get diagnosed with the virus and be close to death.

Logan is a little like Virgil, but with more sweet than bitter. Logan is the definition of unsocial, which means the virus pandemic is doing him some favors. Logan has been taking time to research whatever questions come to his mind, and has caught up on some documentaries he's wanted to watch for months. He's been busy learning all he can in the comfort of his room.

Roman's reaction is more optimistic. He's happy to be running around in the imagination he created for himself. He's had quests, dragon fights, and even invited Remus to have a sword fight with him! And surprisingly, it was really fun!

But Patton...Patton was not enjoying it. He missed Thomas's friends. He wished they could come over like they used to all the time. But...it wasn't allowed. Nothing fun was allowed. Though Disney movies and popcorn were allowed, that was really it. No friends over, no travelling too far away, no nothing. It was unfair. Patton had spent a couple of the days just pouting and crying on his own. It hurt, but it also felt nice to cry.

Meanwhile, it was growing painful for the other sides to see Patton like this. It just...wasn't right. They knew crying was okay, but for this long? That's never happened before. So, Roman made it his personal goal to make him a little happier everyday.

Starting today.

Roman hid behind the opened door, as he peeked in and saw a crying Patton, laying on the bed under the covers. Roman could sense himself ready to cry alongside him. He's been like this for almost a week. It's felt like forever since Patton's baked something in the kitchen. Perhaps some magic will cheer him up? Roman knew just the thing...

Patton laid in his blue bed in the darkness. He didn't feel like doing anything, except staying here to be comfortable. He knew it wasn't realistic. He knew he'd have to get up at some point to eat and go to the washroom. But for now, Patton closed his eyes as he laid down in his warm, comforting bed.

...He was so bored and saddened, that he didn't even notice his floor was changing color. His grey carpet had slowly turning brown, and grass was starting to sprout out of the ground. It was only when Patton smelled a flowery scent, that he finally opened his eyes. Patton gasped as big, enthusiastic smile grew onto his face! It was the biggest smile he had ever mustered up in over a week! Patton couldn't believe it! His room was covered in colorful flowers! They were all gorgeous, and pretty-smelling!

Flowers of all sizes, colors, types, and shapes were growing in his room! Butterfly Bushes, Cone Flowers, Phlox's, Lantana's, Marigolds, Black-eyed Susans, Blazing Heart Flowers, even Lavenders were growing there! It was the lavender scent that Patton actually opened up his eyes to. Patton slowly sat up in his bed, and looked at the flowers beside him. There were Chocolate Cosmos' and Lavenders growing beside him! Patton happily squealed before smelling them. They smelled so pretty!

How this was happening, Patton had no idea! But, that didn't matter! Patton knew what these flowers had in common: They attracted butterflies! So, where were the butterflies? Patton looked at each one, looking for any signs of butterflies.

Suddenly, Patton could hear the sound of twinkling magic! Patton turned around towards the source of the sound: Sure enough, there were sunflowers with monarch butterflies on them! Patton squealed and clapped his hands excitedly. Patton placed his finger slowly, but closely to the sunflower. Amazingly, one of the butterflies climbed onto Patton's finger! Patton was now holding a butterfly on his finger!

Patton giggled. "Hi! I'm Patton!" the father greeted. Another butterfly, a yellow and black one, flew itself over to Patton's shoulder! Patton bit his lip as he tried to stay as still as possible, as to not disturb it.

Soon, another butterfly came flying over from across the room! Patton's face froze as the butterfly landed on his hair! Patton slowly lifted his free hand up to his head, and showed it his index finger. The butterfly hopped itself onto Patton's finger, ready to be lifted up to him. Patton slowly carried the butterfly towards his face, and looked at it: It was a sky blue butterfly, with an outline of black pokadots on the outside of its wings, and an outline of black surrounding the dots. Lastly, there was an outline of white outlining the black! It was so pretty!

Unexpectedly, the monarch that was on his finger, hopped off and onto his shirt. It climbed his shirt up to his collar, before fluttering its wings up to Patton's nose! Patton went cross-eyed, to see the butterfly. The content monarch moved its wings open and closed to show Patton what its wings look like up close! Patton giggled and bit his lip nervously. This has never happened to him before! The butterfly's tiny skittery legs tickled the surface of his nose. It was so cute!

"Hi! Do you like my nose?" Patton asked curiously. It felt so weird to have 4 little butterflies on his body. Soon, the butterflies flew off him and onto some of the flowers surrounding him. Patton was so happy! There were so many butterflies! It was so cool!

Patton gasped as he realized who would love this: Logan!

"Logan! Logan!" Patton cheered excitedly, as he headed for the door. He opened his door, and sprinted out. Patton ran towards Logan's door, and began ramming on the door excitedly. "Logan! Come here! You HAVE to come see this!" Patton pleaded excitedly. Logan opened his door, and just about exploded in happiness. Patton was standing in front of his room, a glimmer of happiness in his eyes, and a huge smile on his face! How- Is Patton feeling better? How did he get out of his sad little funk?!

"What-" Was all Logan could get out of his mouth, before being interrupted.

"What do you know about butterflies?" Patton asked quickly.

Logan stumbled on his words for a second. "B-butterflies, you said?" Logan clarified.

Patton nodded his head eagerly. "Yes! What do you know about them?" Patton repeated.

Logan stumbled with his words as he attempted to create an answer for the suddenly enthusiastic Patton.

"I-I can name them off, based on their wing colors and shape-" Logan explained.

"Great!" Patton shouted, before grabbing his wrist and pulling him out of his room. "Follow me! There's something AMAZING I wanna show you!" Patton shouted as he pulled Logan with him.

"WAIT! PATTON! WHERE ARE WE-"

"TO MY ROOM! IT'S IN MY ROOM!" Patton replied excitedly. Logan quickened his feet to try and catch up with the witty father. As soon as they got to his room door, Patton stopped Logan's body by pushing lightly with his hand. Then, Patton slowly opened the door, and smiled as the flowers and butterflies filled his room still. Patton quietly told Logan to come in. Logan's left eyebrow raised, but he followed him into the room anyway.

Logan's eyes widened, as he observed the world around Patton's room: The whole room was filled to the brim with flowers and butterflies! It was absolutely gorgeous! He's never seen anything like it! Sure, Logan has red books on butterfly greenhouses before, but a butterfly greenhouse in Patton's room?! Who's heard of such a thing?!

"Hi buddy! Look! I brought a friend!" Patton cheered as he looked at the medium-sized monarch. Logan's eyes widened as he adjusted his glasses. This can't be real...This has to be Roman's imagination! Who else could create such beauty in under 10 minutes?! "This is Logan!" Patton introduced, bring the butterfly closer to Logan's eyes.

Logan let a small grin grow onto his face, as he lifted his right finger up to Patton's. Unexpectedly, the butterfly flew onto Logan's finger! Logan's smile grew wider as short gasp entered his lungs. Logan slowly brought his other free hand underneath the finger, to keep the butterfly safe. "Hi." Logan quietly greeted. The butterfly slowly opened and closed its wings, revealing its orange and black wingspan. It was so pretty. Logan couldn't fathom it. All he could do, as stare at it in awe, as it opened its wings again. Soon, the butterfly slowly walked itself up Logan's finger, up his hand, and onto his lower arm. It was so calming seeing such a beautiful creature on his arm.

Suddenly, Patton walked into Logan's view with several, different colored butterflies on his body. There were 8 butterflies: 2 on each arm, one on each index finger, one on his head, and even a tiny white one on his glasses! Patton looked so happy! He giggled as one of the butterflies on his right arm began skittering down his arm. The white, light orange and black butterfly flew off of Patton, and onto Logan's reached-out arm.

"A White Peacock butterfly." Logan thought aloud.

Patton gasped, and looked up to the butterfly on his glasses. "That's a Cassius Blue butterfly." Logan told Patton.

Patton gasped again excitedly. "Really?" Patton asked.

Logan nodded, before pointing at the butterfly on Patton's head. That one, on your head, is an Orange Sulphur butterfly." Logan stated.

"Is it orange?" Patton asked, unable to see the butterfly that was standing on his hair.

"Kind of...it's more of a yellow color." Logan replied. He pointed at the now-single butterfly on Patton's right arm. "That one is a Great Purple Hairstreak." Logan told him. Patton looked at it.

"That streak isn't purple, it's blue!" Patton corrected.

"I know it's blue. The name is what's stating it's purple." Logan explained.

Patton narrowed his his eyes with a smirk. "It sounds like the people who named these butterflies, were colorblind when they named them." Patton commented.

Logan chuckled as he watched the monarch butterfly walk up his arm further. "Perhaps they were." Logan agreed.

As they explored the different butterflies in the room, Patton happily listened as Logan named each type of butterfly off by heart and told him little facts about them.

"Here's something coincidental: all of the butterflies in your room are native to this state." Logan told him.

"Really? They originated in Florida?" Patton asked. Logan nodded in response.

Patton looked at a purple and black butterfly, that was collecting nectar from the lavenders. "This purple butterfly reminds me of Virgil." Patton stated.

Logan knelt down beside him, and observed the butterfly in its natural habitat. "This butterfly is called a Purple Emperor." Logan told him.

Patton giggled. "It's beautiful." Patton said with a smile. Logan watched as a yellow, lime green and black butterfly on a Chocolate Cosmos flower nearby. "That one is a Golden Birdwing. It kinda reminds me of Deceit..." Logan stated. Patton turned his head to the side slightly, as he looked at the butterfly. Slowly, Patton lifted hi finger up, and let the butterfly land on his finger. When the butterfly opened its wings, Patton observed them and smiled.

"You're right: It does remind me of Deceit." Patton stated with a grin. "Just put a tiny hat on him, and you'd get Deceit." Patton added.

Logan giggled at the extra comment.

Patton gasped; He suddenly got an idea! Patton got up and let the Golden Birdwing fly off his finger. Then, Patton looked around for a certain butterfly. When he found it, he slowly got the butterfly to get onto his finger. It took a few extra tries (this butterfly was stubborn), but Patton managed to carry back an outstanding-looking butterfly on his finger!

"Here's Roman!" Patton cheered. Logan's eyes widened at the sheer beauty of the butterfly in Patton's grasp: It was a hot pink color, with a mix of light purples mixed into the inner top of the wingspans. It was perfect for him!

"A Noble Leafwing. Good choice!" Logan told Patton.

Patton placed the butterfly onto the lavenders and looked around for a blue butterfly. It wasn't that hard, unsurprisingly. Soon, Patton had come back with a large black and blue butterfly. "Logan!" Patton called, grabbing his finger, and lowering the butterfly onto Logan's finger. "It's you!" Patton said excitedly.

Logan looked at the butterfly with a big grin. "A blue morpho?" Logan asked.

"Yeah! Logan the Nerdy Morpho." Patton stated proudly. Logan took one more peek at the butterfly, before placing it on his pocket. The butterfly locked its tiny feet onto the pocket flap, and opened its wings.

"Logan the Nerdy Morpho: at your service." Logan stated. Patton giggled happily and gave Logan a toothy smile.

"Yes! It's so cute!" Patton reacted.

To add to the butterfly party, Logan grabbed a monarch butterfly, and placed it on Patton's grey tied sweater. Patton's eyes widened as he looked down at the butterfly. "There. Patton: King of the Monarchs." Logan presented. Patton gasped happily. His reaction was so wholesome! Patton's eyes practically glittered with excitement from the light! He looked like he was gonna die of cuteness overload!

"I'm a kiiiing..." Patton whispered excitedly. Logan chuckled and shook his head with a smile.

"Do you wanna collect some flowers for the kitchen table?" Logan asked. Patton's lips closed to hide his teeth, before nodding his head. Logan conjured up some scissors to cut the flowers and fill their hand.

20 minutes later:

Patton and Logan looked at the flowers they collected.

"Hey Patton. Feeling better?" Virgil asked. Patton looked over to him, and nodded.

"Look what I collected!" Patton said, pointing to the vase of flowers.

Wow...those are pretty! Where did you get them?" Virgil asked.

"From my room." Patton replied, casually. Virgil froze. His room?! How does THAT work?!

A couple seconds later, Roman walked in. Upon seeing Patton out of his room and looking at the flowers (Roman's flowers), Roman ran up to him and gave him a big hug from behind. "You're okay!" Roman reacted.

Patton giggled in response. "Yeah, I am!" Patton replied.

"And you're collecting flowers again!" Roman reacted.

"Yup! The table looked like it needed it." Patton admitted.

"It's really nice!" Roman said.

"Thank you! Logan helped!" Patton told him.

"Really? Good job, Logan." Roman said, grabbing his shoulder and winking as he walked by.

Logan blinked and widened his eyes when he realized something:

It was Roman's doing! That explained everything. And now, Logan's in on his secret as well.

Here's some links for where I got the inspiration:

Virgil's butterfly: 

https://the-ghost-of-pastels.tumblr.com/image/183946971862

Roman's Butterfly: 

https://the-ghost-of-pastels.tumblr.com/image/183946010202

Deceit's Butterfly: 

https://the-ghost-of-pastels.tumblr.com/image/183944038382

Logan's Butterfly: 

https://the-ghost-of-pastels.tumblr.com/image/183943297077

Patton's Butterfly: 

https://the-ghost-of-pastels.tumblr.com/image/183942152672

Credit goes to @the-ghost-of-pastels!

[im-not-a-joke]

Mmh... All the field

the whole- the whole field....

thank you for asking, this is going to be one long post

Alisons: Sexuality?

asexual, unlabeled/queer romantic

Amaranth: Pronouns/Gender?

they/them or he/him, nonbinary

Amaryllis: Birthday?

february 4th

Anemone: Favorite flower?

bleeding heart

Angelonia: Favorite t.v. show?

steven universe

Arum-Lily: What’s the farthest you’d go for a stranger?

probably offer a place to sleep overnight

Aster: What’s one of your favorite quotes?

“Do you think God stays in heaven because he, too, lives in fear of what he’s created?”

Aubrieta: Favorite drink?

strawberry lemonade

Baby’s Breath: Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

my gf? yes, absolutely.

Balsam Fir: Have you ever been in love?

i’d like to think so, yes

Baneberries: Favorite song?

currently “better than me” by the brobecks

Basket of Gold: Describe your family.

a mess, i have three siblings, and two of them are currently living at home, we also have two large dogs

Beebalm: Do you have a best friend? Who is it?

yes! my best friend anna, and her brother bryan!

Begonia: Favorite color?

purple

Bellflower: Favorite animal?

mantis shrimp

Bergenia: Are you a morning or night person?

night person

Black-Eyed Susan: If you could be any animal for a day, what would it be?

dog, i want the constant love and affection

Bloodroots: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

first a botanist, then a geologist

Bluemink: What are your thoughts on children?

i want to adopt some someday! sometimes they suck, but i want to be there for someone who doesn’t have a family to lean on.

Blazing Stars: What are you afraid of? Is there a reason why?

abandonment, because i’m annoying

Borage: Give a random fact about your childhood.

i shared a room with my little brother until i was like 12.

Bugleherb: How would you spend your last day on Earth?  

visiting all the people i love most, all of my friends, my gf, i’d call my sister

Buttercup: Relationship Status?

taken!

Camelia: If you could visit anywhere, where would you want to go?

france

Candytufts: When do you feel most loved?

when people take the time out of their day to talk to me

Canna: Do you have any tattoos?  

nope, i do want some someday, though

Canterbury Bells: Do you have any piercings?  

yes! i got my ears pierced twice because it ripped my earlobe the first time

California Poppy: Height?  

~5′8″

Cardinal Flower: Do you believe in ghosts?

yes, and if i die before any of my friends, i’m coming back to haunt them

Carnation: What are you currently wearing?  

a floral tank top, my favorite sleeveless cardigan, and jean shorts

Catnip: Have you ever slept with a nightlight?

yes, my little brother was afraid of the dark and insisted on having a nightlight on

Chives: Who was the last person you hugged?  

my mom

Chrysanthemum: Who’s the last person you kissed?

my gf

Cock’s Comb: Favorite font?

architect’s daughter

Columbine: Are you tired?

yes, very

Common Boneset: What are you looking forward to?

tomorrow i get to leave the house all day to drive across the state and it’s going to be a lot of fun

Coneflower: Dream job?

language teacher! either english to people who don’t speak it or german/french to english speakers

Crane’s-Bill: Introvert or extrovert?

introvert. i’m on tumblr all day

Crocus: Have you ever been in love?

yeah, i think so

Crown Imperial: What’s the farthest you would go for someone you care about?

i’d actually die for multiple people in my life

Cyclamen: Did you have a favorite stuffed animal as a child? What was it?

yes! a stuffed white dog with a plaid scarf and matching antlers! my friend got it for me because it reminded her of my big white dog.

Daffodil: What’s your zodiac sign?

aquarius

Dahlia: Have you done anything worth remembering?

once i came 3rd in my age group for a 5k i ran

Daisy: What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment?

i successfully kept a frail axolotl alive for an entire summer

Daylily: What would you do if your parents didn’t like your partner(s)?  

i dont care what my parents think about stuff like that, they cant tell my who i am or am not allowed to date

Dendrobium: Who is the last person that you said “I love you” to?

@byler-obsessed literally like, maybe 15 minutes ago as of writing this

False Goat’s Beard: What is something you are good at?

i’d like to think i’m decent at singing

Foxgloves: What’s something you’re bad at?

staying awake during the day

Freesia: What are three good things that have happened in the past month?

i saw my gf for the first time in months! i came out to the girls team for xc! i spent a lot of time with one of my closest irl friends!

Garden Cosmos: How was your day today?

decent, i had coach practice, which was nice

Gardenia: Are you happy with where you’re at in your life?

yeah, i’d say i’m pretty happy where i am

Gladiolus: What is something you hope to do in the next year or two?

learn guitar

Glory-of-the-Snow: What are ten things that make you happy/you’re grateful to have in your life?

my best friends anna and bryan, my older brother, the girls on the team, my ukulele, my therapist, my dogs, the creek in my back yard, my grandma’s amish apple dumpling recipe, random internet memes, books

Heliotropium: What helps you calm down when you feel stressed?  

listening to my spotify playlist

Hellebore: How do you show affection?

reassurance and/or talking about things that i enjoy, i’m really insecure so if i’m talking about something i like, that’s me trusting you. 

Hoary Stock: What are you proudest of?

the mental health progress i’ve made

Hollyhock: Describe your ideal day.

i lay in bed until like 11, then, i spend the rest of the day out with my friends, we get sushi for dinner and stay up until like 3am

Hyacinth: What do you like to do in your free time?  

be on tumblr

Hydrangea: How long have you known your best friend? How did you meet them?

i met them both in 6th grade, anna nad i were in the same science class and i met bryan at lunch, he didn’t talk to me for at least the first half of the year.

Irises: Who can you talk to about (almost) everything?

bryan, he always knows just what to say, and knows that he doesn’t have to fix my problems to be a good friend.

Laceleaf: How many friends do you have?

like, 13?

Lantanas: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?

my friend once told me that they couldn’t tell if i was a boy or girl upon first meeting me and it made my day.

Larkspur: What do you think of yourself?

i’m a mess, an anxious, depressed, gay mess

Lavender: What’s your favorite thing about yourself?

my hair, it’s really fluffy and soft, and just about light enough to dye bright colors

Leather Flower: What’s your least favorite thing about yourself?  

my chest, it’s always been a huge part of my dysphoria and i want it gone please

Lilac: What’s something you liked to do as a child?

i would play dress up with my dog, he had to suffer through wearing all my old dresses, but he got treats so it was ok

Lily: Who was your best friend when you were a kid?

my friend ry, we met in second grade, we’re still on and off friends, currently off

Lily of the Incas: What is something you still feel guilty for?

in 5th grade i used the word “suck” in class and got yelled at

Lily of the Nile: What is something you feel guilty for that you shouldn’t feel guilty about?  

see above answer

Lupine: What does your name mean? Why is that your name?

carson: christian. it’s my name because i like how it sounds, and anna really liked it too, she picked it for me.

Marigold: Where did you grow up? Tell us about it.

white, suburban ohio. all the kids had cliques by the second day of kindergarten, and if you were knew, you generally had a pretty good chance of being picked up by the popular kids.

Morning Glory: What was your bedroom like growing up?

i had bunkbeds with my little brother, i slept on the bottom.

Mugworts: What was it like for you as a teenager? Did you enjoy your teenage years?  

so far, not really. i’m just mentally ill and closeted, it’s not great

Norwegian Angelica: Tell us about your mom.

she likes to dye her hair crazy colors, and she used to be a beekeeper, even though she’s allergic to bee stings.

Onions: Tell about your dad.  

he rides his bike almost every day, and supports my mom in whatever she does

Orchid: Tell about your grandparents.

on my mom’s side, the kindest boomers i’ve ever met, my grandpa used to take us on “adventures” to the park and just watch us play

on my dad’s side: my grandpa loves seeing us but doesn’t get out much, my grandma laughs hysterically at every family gathering, and has all the best amish recipes

Pansy: What was your most memorable birthday? What made it be so memorable?

when i turned 13, i went ice skating for the first time and fell and sprained my wrist

Peony: What was your first job?

mowing lawns

Petunia: If you’re in a relationship, how did you meet your partner(s)? If you’re not in a relationship, how did you meet your crush/how do you hope to meet your future partner(s), if you want any?

we had mutual friends and slowly ended up being close, we were in school plays and track together.

Pincushion: How do you deal with pain?

i bite down on my finger to simultaneously distract myself, focus on something else, and hold myself back

Pink: Where is home?

my best friends’ living room at 1 am, with the golden girls playing in the background

Plantain Lilies: If you could go back in time, what is one thing you would stop/change?

i’d go back and stop current president from becoming president

Prairie Gentian: Who is someone you look up to? Describe them.

my sister, she has always been driven and passionate and talented, and she makes everything seem effortless and still gives it her all.

Primrose: Describe your ideal life.

me and my spouse and my kids amd my dogs all live in a decently spacious house in europe, my job is stable and i love my work, my students think i’m cool and come to me if they need help, i am doing well.

Rhodendron: What is something you used to believe in as a child?

i used to believe that the smoke from fireworks was where clouds came from

Ricinus: Who’s the most important in your life?

my best friends

Rose: What’s your favorite sound?

the sound of rain on my roof at night

Rosemallows: What’s your favorite memory?

when my sister, dad, and i all climbed to the top of a mountain in california

Sage: What’s your least favorite memory?

throwing up in the car on the way home for visiting my sister in new york

Snapdragon: At this moment, what do you want?  

a hug from anna

St. John’s Wort: Is it easy or difficult for you to express how you feel about things?

it’s hard because i don’t trust people

Sunflower: What is something you don’t want to imagine life without?

the internet

Sweet Pea: How much sleep did you get last night?

like 5.5 hours

Tickseed: What’s your main reason to get up every morning?

to run, it makes me feel better and i love cross country

Touch-Me-Not: How do you feel about your current job?

lmao i dont have one

Transvaal Daisy: What’s your favorite item of clothing?

my binder!

Tropical White Morning Glory: Describe your aesthetic.  

the record player song but a boy

Tulip: What would be the best present to get you?

a list of reasons why you deal with me/things you like about me

Vervain: What’s stressing you out most right now?

the fact that this is taking a lot longer than anticipated and i don’t want people to think i’m ignoring their asks

Wisteria: How many books have you read in the past few months? What were they called?

actual books? only 2, Catcher in the Rye and the Night Circus

Wolf’s Bane: Where do you want to be in life this time next year?

out with my friends

Yarrow: Do you know what vore is?

yes, and i regret it

Zinnia: Give a random fact about yourself.

i’m double jointed in my left pinky

[eatbreathewrite]

The Adventures of Todd and Granny

(Alternatively: “I Saw Granny Ethel with the Devil”)

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V

Luck

The first time this colorful group entered the town’s local bingo hall, it hadn’t been the best of days.

The host had difficulties overcoming Todd the Demon’s hulking presence and couldn’t call out numbers without shaking and stuttering, and eventually just ran from the building altogether mid-game with a gaggle of players right behind him, and there’s no playing bingo when there’s no one else around.

There still aren’t any other players around when the group decides to drop by today.

But the new host is blind as a bat save for whatever is a foot directly in front of him and he drones on without a care, calling out numbers without lifting his eyes from the computer screen that lotteries out the next. And the next. And the next.

Now, it’s the final round of the day.

Todd, sitting at the small round table that seats four (and only four, in the center of the large room with a dozen other abandoned tables around it), holds the tiny card marker in his large claws, stamping down a neon green dot on B-5—the only successful spot on his card, so far, in any round.

Granny Ethel, though, is on fire. Only two diagonal squares away from her third solid BINGO and focusing intently, awaiting the host to call out O-8 and I-23 so she can claim that nice floral area rug sitting pretty on the grand prize table.

Sam and Todd have already agreed between themselves to help Granny Ethel get whichever prizes she wants if they happen to get a BINGO first.

Her only obstacle in this is Theodore—who only needs one more space to land his second BINGO for the day. Unlike Granny Ethel, his eyes are set on a shiny new tablet and he’s intent on claiming it.

Of course it’s all randomized and comes down to luck, but he could do a little better to be a team player. Especially after the lawnmower incident.

Todd could be mistaken, but he doesn’t think he is—Theodore has yet to earnestly apologize to Granny Ethel, and almost an entire month has gone by since then. Honestly. It’s as if he thinks everyone will forget if he just never brings it up again and it will all go away. Well—the salvaged lantana cuttings are sprouting speckled orange and yellow, at least, but it will take a while before they can be transplanted and grow back to their full glory again.

Maybe Todd will be lenient, and give Theodore until then to deliver said apology.

Maybe not.

Granny Ethel gives a little cheer as the next number called lands her another spot on her diagonal almost-BINGO. One more to go!

The same number is on Sam’s card, too, but he’s dozing off and already dropped the card marker back onto the table. Todd nudges aside one of his brown arms and puts a green dot on the center top row for him. He’s closer to a BINGO than Todd is.

The caller clears his throat, taking a moment to cough hoarsely into a polka-dotted handkerchief—then cough again, and once more, before squinting down at the computer screen and doling out the next number.

“Oh! Bingo! Bingo!” Granny Ethel yells, shooting up from her seat and waving her card in the air, moving faster than Todd has ever seen her move (she does, really and truly, get absorbed in the competition).  

Her shout rouses Sam from his nap and he sits up, rubbing at his eyes. “Nice job, Granny. That flower carpet is totally yours. Hope it fits in the car, though… Well, if it doesn’t, we can just walk and carry it home for you.”

A big, happy smile spreads across her face as she shimmies around the table and darts forward to the host with card in hand, moving so fast she’s a blue blur in her loose, long-skirted lilac-print dress.

Theodore crosses his arms and pouts, huffing an extremely audible sigh. Always a sore loser, that one.

But, well, it’s their final game of the week, and it’s only fitting that Granny Ethel’s win ends it. The host approves her BINGO and waves her along to the prize table, where she collects her new floral rug in her arms with an elated, toothy smile. It’s a bit much for her to carry, taller even than the white poofs of hair on her head, so Todd holds out his hands and she passes the bundle over to him with thanks.

“Oh, this will look just lovely in my bedroom!” she says brightly, hands clasped together as she shuffles along beside him. “Sam, dear, do you think we have time to redecorate before you give us all a macramé lesson?”

“Definitely! There’s always time to help you out, Granny.” Sam nods pleasantly as they approach his car, which beeps as he unlocks it with his key fob. “I don’t think I’ve seen your room before. It’s the one at the back of the house, right?” He pops the trunk and looks over his shoulder at the carpet in Todd’s hands, and nods again. “Yep; it’ll fit.”

“That’s right. I’m afraid it’s become a bit cluttered—I don’t even let Todd clean it on chore days.”

“No way—Granny, are you a hoarder?”

“Haven’t you seen her house?” Theodore grunts as Todd’s sharp elbow bumps into him, but all he does is roll his eyes in response and skulk to his usual place in the back seat of Sam’s old, half-painted, half-sanded sedan from a year Todd isn’t even sure he remembers. Not bothering to help.

Well, that’s typical Theodore.

Todd finagles the rolled-up carpet into the trunk space, making sure not to crumple or cram it, careful not to upset Sam’s menagerie of old sneakers, a lumpy gym bag, and pile of wadded-up shirts, and closes the trunk securely over it all, satisfied. Then he escorts Granny Ethel to the other side of the car and helps her climb into the back seat opposite her grandson.

He’d let her take shotgun, but there are only a few places he can rightly fit in the small car, and that just so happens to be the front passenger seat. It’s low enough that he only has to hunker down and bow his head and horns just so that they don’t scrape the top and not uncomfortably fold himself up like he would in the back.

Ah, if only Sam had a convertible.

Thankfully, the bingo hall isn’t too far from Granny Ethel’s house—nothing is, really, in this small town, where the edge is only a ten minute car ride in any direction, but when they travel in such a large group, and when Sam offers, some days it’s just easier to drive. Especially when the grey clouds hanging overhead droop and sag, heavy with rain ready to fall at any moment.

(Sometimes Granny Ethel’s bones ache on days like this, too—she never says it, but they all know.)

They hurry into the house, with bingo prize in hand, and Granny Ethel’s first stop is the kitchen, because everyone is parched and in need of a celebratory midday snack. She and Todd had mixed up a nice pitcher of peach tea the day before, and it’s just wonderful on ice, garnished even with tiny lemon slices on the glass rims. That morning, Sam brought iced donuts along, and half of the box still remains for snack time.  

Todd tucks the rolled-up rug safely into a corner and sits down to enjoy a chocolate-iced donut while Granny Ethel chatters on about which TV programs they’re set to watch today, and about how she’s always considered trying macramé but just never had the chance. Sam, though, is a pro, and has been practicing it since his mom taught him when he was young. Apparently he is a master at weaving hanging basket cradles for plants.

Theodore, sitting crammed between Todd and Sam’s broad shoulders (though one set broader than the other) broods in silence, barely touching even a single rainbow sprinkle on his pink-frosted donut. Barely touching his peach iced tea.

The small, round kitchen table has become quite cramped with their new population.

Moving through the halls is just as cramped, now, with two fully-grown men and a hulking demon trying to make their way through. It doesn’t help that the hallways are narrow, but at least the bedrooms are bigger and easier to navigate.

Granny Ethel’s room is the largest in the house. Quaint and cozy, with a full-sized bed set against the center of the far wall, between two curtained, arched windows.

And hanging above said bed, on said wall, is a sight Todd thought he’d seen the last of: the old, rusted scythe from the back yard.

Hung up like a trophy, or a prized possession even—only, it’s no longer rusted. It’s clean and polished, with its metal blade shining under the ceiling light, sharp and dangerous as a new cutlery knife. Totally out of place among the knitted and crocheted throw blankets and covered pillows and tapestries and embroideries dotted around the room. Completely out of place among the precious miniature porcelain trinkets crammed along the tops of dressers and shelves, and the decorative plates lining the highest shelves up near the ceiling.

It draws all of their attention except Granny Ethel’s, who doesn’t seem to mind, who overlooks it as another decoration among many.

“I think that rug will look just wonderful in the center of the room, don’t you think, dears?” She perches daintily on the edge of her bed, one hand on her lower back, and smiles at the space of carpet in front of her slippered feet. “The florals match the wallpaper!”

Todd meets Sam’s eyes for a moment, and the message passes through despite the communication barrier, though at times Todd thinks Sam has telepathy for how in-tune he is to most of his thoughts.

But now, the thought is plain as day. Theodore’s eyes, gleaming with that strange little light that mean he’s plotting, always plotting, linger on that scythe for an uncomfortable stretch of time, and though they’d both agreed to keep a close eye on the man, they decide to keep an even closer watch on him while in this room.

“They do match, Granny,” Sam agrees with a little smile, taking one end of the rolled-up rug to help Todd set it down on the floor. “That’s some theme you’ve got going on in here.”

“Charles picked out the florals. I wasn’t always so fond of them, you know. He brought so much color and beauty into my life, and now I can’t bear to get rid of it…” She toys with the fine, silver band around her left ring finger, eyes looking far, far away, seeing something other than the two men and one demon through her thick lenses.

It isn’t often she speaks of Charles, and they all, every one of them, know better than to bring up the subject. It’s an unspoken rule that only Granny Ethel is allowed to speak of him.

The little floral area rug fits perfectly on the floor, not covering too much, not covering too little. None of the edges hit the bed or the dresser, but they do curl up from being rolled for so long. Todd stamps his hooves on the ends to flatten them down—and it works better than steam roller.

Sam brushes his hands clean of imaginary dust, job well done, and claps. “Alright! How’s that look, Granny?”

“Oh, it’s perfect! Thank you so much for helping, dears. It’s such a lovely design I might just have to find a matching one for the sitting room. The one we have there now is looking a bit threadbare these days. But I digress. Today is a macramé day! Oh, I’ve never done that kind of craft before. What are we making?”

“I was thinking we could make hanging baskets for the lantanas. Y’know, before we transplant them back into the garden. I brought rope and beads and all kinds of stuff to make some cool hangers! Plenty of black for you, too, Todd.”

And so, they continue their day by learning macramé, courtesy of Sam and his unexpected talents.

It’s when night falls, when all are safely tucked away in bed (Sam included, because it’s the weekend, and weekends allow for sleepovers Granny Ethel is more than enthusiastic to host, because she’d missed having a full house), that Todd realizes Theodore had snuck away at some point during their weaving lessons—even just for a bathroom break, letting him out of their sight was a mistake.

Now, certainly, he’s snoozing away at the top of the bunk bed they share, and Sam is tucked away in the far corner of the room with a plushy sleeping bag, but all jolt awake when a thump and a startled cry ring out through the house.

Todd is the first to reach her room. He hesitates at the closed door, just for a split-second, if only to steel himself for what he might see (because that scythe did look stable, where it hung, but what if—what if someone did something to it and—?) before barreling through it with every ounce of bravery he possesses.

The scythe had fallen.

Its sharp tip lay embedded in the soft pillows where Granny Ethel’s head most certainly might have rested, once. Cut right through, as easy as a hot knife sinks through butter.

“Granny—!” Sam gasps out.

But Granny Ethel’s head is not there—and neither is her body. In fact, she’s standing safe and sound, with both hands pressed against her mouth, just beside the bed. Fully intact. Safe.

Safe.

“Oh,” she pauses, hands falling away from her face, but hovering in front of it, still, before falling to her heart. “I was certain I’d placed it up on that wall securely.” She blinks, eyes moving from the fallen scythe to the brackets on the wall—one of which had snapped off and lay useless on top of the soft and numerous blankets covering her bed—then to the three gathered at the door, two mostly concealed behind Todd’s large body.

Todd doesn’t waste a moment. His hand finds the back of Theodore’s neck, grips his shirt collar, and he propels him forward, into the room like a badly behaved animal made to stand before its mistake.

“I didn’t—” he starts to say, squirming like a kitten held by the scruff of its neck, feet barely touching the ground, but Todd won’t hear it. He drops him heavy to the floor and points at the scene, eyes livid, feeling a bubbling, frothing rage that heated him like the fire and brimstone of hell—for the first time in quite a while.

“I-I really didn’t do it!” Theodore hisses, shrinking in on himself as Todd’s hulking form blocks the exit, and Granny Ethel’s small form boxes him on from the other side. “I—”

She clears her throat before anything more could be said.

“Dears,” she says in her soft voice, and no matter how soft it is, it always catches their attention as clear as a blaring horn. She leaves it at that, for a moment, as they all three freeze and look to her, obedient, watching as she picks up the scythe by its handle and eases it out of the downy feathers and cotton, holding it between her fingers like it’s made of delicate glass.

“You never have to worry about me. You see, I am blessed with incredible luck. Please, go on back to bed. I’ll take care of this.” A small, serene smile crosses her face—as kind as any of the others, but hiding something underneath.

Something like a secret Todd knows he has to uncover before anything like this ever happens again.