#storytime with basil

[uncle-dusknoir]

Mild, serious and hardy for the ask game!

- @withoutatrace-pkmn

this took way longer to answer than i expected it to

mild - on a scale of 1 to 10, how patient are you?

uuuuh like a fucking. 2, maybe?? i am not patient. i don't think i am, anyway. not with other people, at least. with pokemon, usually (thyme and skorna do not count) but if i dont have to be patient i will not be

serious - what kinds of topics do you never joke around with?

questions i assume they ask in therapy #27493

i... don't... know? i joke about a lot of shit. if i don't joke about things i think i will go actually insane. i guess, like... i dunno, basic safety. don't get crushed inside of old collapsing ruins kids

hardy - what's a pretty tough situation that you and/or your pokemon managed to get out of?

... it's not too late, yet. i think i have enough time for a story.

this is when i was... eighteen, i think. at that point i had toothy and skorna, and Toothy was still a Linoone. this is very late in our traveling- right before everything happened and i moved back to Unova.

we were in sinnoh, funny enough. the last major city we were in was Eterna, but we had gone to the underground- so we could have been almost anywhere at that point. Thyme had heard rumors that there was some sort of ruins under the city, and as always, I was gonna go with him.

by giratina, we were exhausted. even back then when i was still in shape, it was just... though thyme never showed it. i hated it, sometimes, that stupid grin on his face. i guess that's the one good thing about him being a dusknoir, he can't grin-

that's. off topic.

We'd set up a little camp in a small cave we found; I thought it was something left from the stream of miners. It just looked like it had been torn from the side of the wall, as if something had reached into the earth and pulled it out like a child digging holes with their hands. it seemed safe enough, stable enough; and after all, barely any pokemon lived down there. we were fine.

we woke up to the sound of something rumbling, and for a minute, i thought that we had fallen asleep in an onix's mouth, because the cave looked like it was starting to close in. which is, you know, Not Fucking Great, considering at that time all we had was my linoone, thyme's banette who was asleep in her pokeball, and a shitty dead bird that lived in my brain; so i do, you know, the first thing i could think of, which is try and Stop The Cave In With My Bare Hands.

(my shoulders are still a little fucked up from that)

toothy, my son, suddenly DARTS past me like a bullet, and right before me and thyme are caved in, manages to escape. he's my son so my first thought, obviously, is 'well at least one of us is gonna survive' before i hear the sound of something getting its ass absolutely whooped, and then something really bright flashing through the rocks, and then the rocks shattering into god damn dust

little motherfucker whooped the ass of what i can only assumed to be someone's released Rampardos before Evolving and Brick Breaking us out of there!! the only thing im sad about is that i didnt get to see him actually evolve, but a small price to pay for Being Alive

[jaybutnotthebird]

Well it reminds me of my ex who's a pro swordfighter and also my fencing teacher. Whenever he's bored he grabs a softcombat weapon and just... chases me arround

The funniest sword fight scene in the history of cinema. 

[theogclownboy]

Basil's storytime

Idea from @wolfy-star1401

[random-basil-lover]

One hour of my life for this lol

I don't regret it!

Storytime, when i was playing Omori i got stuck in the cat-thingy part in the lab because creatures that chase you terrify me (my only weakness lmao), and it took me 3 hours to click on the game again because the situation made me panic. But then I thought about how the game is also pretty much about facing your fears, and thought of Sunny/Omori facing his fears, and I was like "yeah, but when he had to go to the spider forest, and swim, and climb he had company. I have no company rn", and then i thought about Basil, and how he was facing his fears alone. And that gave me the strengh to keep playing, I literally thought "do it for him" in my head. I know it's silly, but it's a cute story about my experience. I faced many things in that game for Basil. I even faced the boy himself lmao

[koffing-time]

Look what just arrived at my doorstep!

[a photo shows a luxury ball and a premier ball next to each other in front of a laptop, apparently laying in Tix' lap]

(there's a little storytime coming up, feel free to skip ahead for some spicy stuff)

So as some might have noticed, I'll be going to Castelia tomorrow and get to meet the incredible @artyburgh (for real he's such an inspiring personality). And as some might have noticed as well, he's a gym leader. One who's holding a badge I don't own myself. I've actually given up on my gym challenge a few years back, which was mostly because of time management, me helping at my parents farm and some other personal stuff, but also a little bit because he just CRUSHED me, which left me a little demotivated. I still went battling and trained a lot, i just didn't challenge any gyms until like last year i got the opportunity to get my café going, which was when i basically stopped battling entirely. At the same time though, i always wanted, and still want to beat Burgh in a gym battle. A bit because i want revenge, a bit because i just want that badge, but also because he, and i genuinely mean it, is one of my biggest inspirations in life. And well, now I'm gonna go to Castelia and meet him. I'm going to see if i can work up the courage to fight him again, but if i do, I'll be prepared.

(storytime end)

So, let me introduce some heavy lifters, who basically when i was still battling, carried me through most of my fights together with Bienenstich and Carrot Cake (who i haven't introduced yet).

This is Basil! She's not very special in a competitive sense or anything, but she's very strong. She also shares my love for metal and punk music, and might have a little crush on Mica, but tbh who doesn't?

[a photo shows a Low-Key Toxtricity standing in the middle of a bedroom, looking somewhat surprised. She has lifted her right hand as to greet the viewer (or the person holding the camera).

And this is Poppy! He's incredibly strong, but he's a cutie. He and Basil are together (they have two children who have been given to trainers). He also loves metal.

[a third photo shows a Toxicroak who has his hand put on the Toxtricity's shoulder who is slightly out of frame. His horn is pierced by two metal rings. He seems very sure of himself and exudes confidence.]

They are two very powerful battlers. I hope they can be of use against Burgh (again, if i even decide to battle)

PS: the café will obviously be closed tomorrow

[hesfrombarcelona]

Pizza!: A Slice of History, by Greg Pizzoli

Genre:

Pizza!: A Slice of History is a nonfiction picture book (Texas 2x2 list category).

Target Age Group:

This book is best for children ages 2-8.

Summary:

Pizza is a food enjoyed around the world. This book tells the history of pizza through fun facts and bright, simple artwork.

Justification:

Pizza!: A Slice of History was selected for the 2023 Texas 2x2 list and received enthusiastic reviews from Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly, and Booklist. I was interested in it because Pizzoli's book, The Watermelon Seed has been a very popular Storytime read at my library, and because I cannot resist a picture book with a pun in the title.

Evaluation:

For this book I will be evaluating content, language, and illustrations.

Content:

Pizza!: A Slice of History is surprisingly informative. It touches on historic events that influenced the development and popularization of the dish, and facts about worldwide pizza consumption, giving just enough information to hold one's attention, without boring kids. The range of topics covered makes it likely that most readers will learn something that catches their interest. Finally, there are subtle bits of humor throughout the book, making it a fun read for all ages.

Language:

The language used throughout this book is simple enough for even young listeners to follow the main points, but not simplified to the point of seeming "babyish" to older children or tedious to adults. Definitions of some of the bigger words are incorporated into the text, and the illustrations help to clarify new terms for kids. Text is brief enough to keep the pages turning at a nice attention-holding speed for children. Several pages ask questions of the reader. For instance, after a spread about popular types of pizza in different regions, the book asks, "What is pizza like where you live?" adding a fun interactive component.

Illustrations:

The artwork in Pizza!: A Slice of History is bright and cheerful. There is a limited color palette used, with the majority of pictures rendered in just four, which the copyright page lists as, "sweet-tomato red, fresh-basil green, greasy-cheese yellow, and charred-crust black." The illustrations are simple and the characters look like they could have been taken from a comic strip, down to the speech balloons used for dialogue. The pictures of people depict a diversity of skin tones, ages, and abilities.

I thought this book was very well done and enjoyable. The happy artwork and simple text would make it a good choice for read-alouds with preschoolers, or independent reading for younger grade-schoolers. In fact, I might need to plan an upcoming library Storytime themed around pizza!

References

Pizzoli, G. (2022). Pizza!: A Slice of History. (G. Pizzoli, Illus.). Viking.

[littleunicornblog]

5 Stimulating Indoor Activities to Try with Your Newborn This Winter

As the cold weather ushers in snow, ice, and wind, you might take fewer walks outside with your baby and generally hang out inside more and more. But just because the winter weather keeps you inside doesn’t mean there aren’t many fun and stimulating indoor activities you can do with your baby. Here are five easy activities to have fun with your little one all winter long.

Indoor Sensory Tummy Time Most parents know about tummy time. Simply lay one of your muslin or outdoor blankets down in the living room to create a soft and safe play mat. But this tummy time can be filled with activities that excite your baby’s senses. You can present some fresh herbs like rosemary or basil on a tray in front of your baby to help stimulate their sense of smell. Fill up a resealable plastic bag with water and ice so they can familiarize themselves with the cold sensation. Another great idea is to tie a helium balloon to one or both of their ankles. This creates a fun little game of kicking the balloon and helps develop your baby’s leg muscles. Daily or Nightly Storytime There is no doubt that reading to your little one early on is a good thing and could be a part of their overall development. So, set aside some daily storytime into your routine and curl up with a cozy muslin swaddle to settle in for a story. This is also a great activity to introduce just before naptime or bedtime to get your baby relaxed and ready for dreamland. Create Sensory Water Bags Do you know all those tiny items that your baby is obsessed with putting in their mouth? Well, this option allows your baby to explore those little objects in a safe way. Just put those small items like buttons, peas, straws, or anything you can think of into a sealable bag with water. They can touch and explore to their heart’s desire without any danger. Bubble Baths Bubble baths are such an underrated time for exploration. Whether you’re bathing your little one in the bathtub or the sink, add some baby-safe bubble bath so they can explore the sensation of the bubbles. Many bubble bath soaps are also scented, which can help stimulate your baby’s sense of smell. Just be ready with warm hooded towels for afterward, and let your little one sit back and have some fun under your supervision. A Walkthrough Home Tour This fun little activity is a great way to introduce everyday objects to your baby. Just carry them from room to room and let them touch and look at all the different environments that make up your home. This is an excellent way to introduce different textures to your baby in a safe and supervised manner. About Little Unicorn You and your family deserve the best. That’s why Little Unicorn creates all of their baby products at the highest quality and goes through rigorous testing to ensure they meet international safety standards. With a vast selection of swaddling muslins, large burp cloths, carseat canopies, and customizable diaper bags, you’ll have everything you need to welcome your little one home. Little Unicorn products feature hand-painted designs that make the most adorable baby shower gifts. Whether you need some new nursery items or you’re helping friends and family welcome a new baby into the world, choose Little Unicorn. Find the baby products to make this winter magical at https://littleunicorn.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3junDDe

[fried-manto]

So today I had a school sales where we sell handmade stuffs. One of the stuffs are sketchbook, so I helped with the cover designs of the sketchbook.

Then during today, apparently I'm not the only person in the school who knows omori because there were seniors who stood there with their friends having conversations between themselves as they looked at my sketchbook designs,

They were like, "is that omori?" "Omg that omori?" "Ayo omori?!"

Then one of them came up to me so I did the customer service thing and smile, "Would you like to buy something?"

He looked at me, "...No.. I just wanna confirm something.."

I blink, "..Confirm what?"

Then he gestures me to come closer, and as I did, he whispered into my ears,

".. is.. is that Sunny and Basil..?"

Literally I would've face palmed if I wasn't too much of a shy people pleaser.

But then I was tired of having to explain to people that no, that's not Sunny, they are both Basils. So instead I nod and said, "Yeah, its them, do you want to buy it?"

And he shakes his head and walks away.

and I was left there, hanging.

[bonbons-artdump]

30 day Disney art Challenge

Basil from The Great Mouse Detective. 

I used to rent this movie over and over and over again as a child. Because, of this I obtained my love for the character Sherlock Holmes, clinging to the wishbone episode featuring him and finally reading the books themselves well into highschool. all wouldn’t of been possible without this erratic mouse. 

[uncle-dusknoir]

Finally figured out a good story. this was a loong time ago, before i had toothy. back when i still had corro.

we were in Sinnoh at the time. thyme and i were in some old cave, investigating- someone nearby mentioned that he kept hearing, like, wailing from inside. We were like "yea we'll go see wtf is screaming in your cave," you know, as ghost hunters do

but inside it just felt... quiet. the sort of silence that makes you think the world's been sucked away around you. quiet, and dark, and the world was seemingly just... swallowed past the flashlights.

i still don't get how thyme was so cheerful. he's always cheerful. even if he's about to get gutted, there's that stupid grin that he still can't drop. i hate it.

the cave wasn't very deep- at least, there weren't any other levels. just the one that we were on, winding through. i swear, there weren't even any other Pokemon there; just me, him, and corro next to me. she was able to see in the dark, lucky.

we were in there for... a couple hours, if i remember right, before we heard anything. thyme was about ready to go- he kept muttering, something about a bust mission and that the old man was probably lying. i just wish he respected the silence.

it was LOUD when it started. maybe it was because of how silent it was, but my ears were ringing for a couple of days later. a very sorrowful wailing- like a childless kangaskan or new froslass. no idea what triggered it.

im still not sure what it actually was. it was definitely some sort of larger Pokemon- but it was almost blurry? thyme wasn't able to tell, either; but it just kept wailing like someone stole it's only well of happiness.

corro- i miss her- she walked past me, up to the mystery Pokemon, and did something. i wish I could tell what. it looked like she licked it, or nuzzled it? but after a minute, the thing stopped wailing. Completely vanished. thyme was a bit annoyed that he couldn't figure out what it was but im just glad we were able to do... something about it. i hope it's happy.

[daandyli0n]

Shut Eye, Act One: Uneven Footing

chapter three: an eye for an eye

you guys are about to find out why i haven’t drawn Hickory’s Act One design yet :]

here comes the angst boys!!

@northern-loner

(warnings: eye injury, violence, a bit of gore)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s been a week. The “pranks” didn’t stop.

And Hickory had approached his breaking point.

So when Signal and Coyote finally showed up to the cabin, Hickey decided that today was the day he had finally had enough.

“Slate? Vex? Could you two go and play in the woods?”

While Vex looked up with anxiety written on her face, Slate looked up with joy. “Of course we can! Any reason-”

“And could you take Elliott with you?”

Slate’s smile dropped, and he turned to glance at Vex. “Yeah…we can do that.”

Hickory squatted down and handed the tiny infant to Slate. “Be careful, will you?”

Vex nodded. “We will. Please be safe too.”

As the three young children made their way to the back entrance of the cabin, Hickory took a deep breath, grabbed a few splash potions, and walked to the door.

With a sigh, the door opened, and he stepped out to confront his visitors.

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

Soft, running footsteps echoed through the forest.

They had to have been running for about seven minutes.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Vexen questioned.

“Of course he is! He-he has to be.” Slate stammered out.

He was trying to hold his tears back. He didn’t know what he’d do if Hickory wasn’t okay. Hickory had practically been his whole life along with Vex. But Vex had come later, when he had been two. For Slate, Hickory was, like, 75% of his life! 

What would happen if he lost that 75%?

Vex could tell he wasn’t doing too well. “Hey, it’s Ory! I’m sure, okay or not, we’ll see him again, alright?”

Slate sniffled. “Ye-yeah…”

The pair kept running through the woods. They didn’t fully remember the way to the main area, and Vex was starting to get worried that they were lost.

“Are you sure we’re still heading to the main area?”

“I-we have to be! I remember going this way for the tours!”

“But we’ve been in the woods for, what, hours now? And we still haven’t seen anyone, Slate!”

“We have to be getting close, at least-!”

They heard footsteps approaching. They swung their heads to the sound, seeing a rather tall figure emerge from the trees.

He looked to be a wolf hybrid, but…different. He had a skull mask on his face, long, dark brown hair, and the eyes were glowing bright blue rings. He was wearing a black tank top and some cargo pants. He had a skull necklace.

He was looking down at them. “Uh, are you…three okay?”

Slate stood, looking up at this stranger in wonder. Vex quietly spoke up, “Um, our brother said for us to go to the main area of the server because something dangerous was happening. But I think we might be lost.”

“Ah, I see. Well, my house is in the main area of the server, so if you’d like me to walk you over to the main area, then I won’t mind at all.”

Vex looked at Slate, who was eagerly nodding. “Okay…”

The Stranger introduced himself, “My name is Cerberus, by the way.”

Slate cocked his head. “Cer-bus?”

“Cerberus.”

“Ce-brus?”

He laughed. “You know what? Call me CB.”

As they were walking, Vex piped up, “Are you sure you’re not a murderer who wants to kill us?”

The stranger laughed. “No, no, I’d never hurt some little kids. You’re both too sweet for me to wanna kill either of you. Nope, just a lonely Hellhound going through life.”

Vex looked up in confusion. “Hellhound? What is that?”

Slate, however, gasped. “You work for Lady Death?!”

Cerberus chuckled. “Not anymore, unfortunately. ‘Retired’ is a pretty close term to what happened.”

Slate began chatting with him, holding up Elliot for the man to hold the baby. Vex followed pretty close behind. She glanced behind her, nervous.

She really hoped that Hickory would be okay.

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

Hickory strode across the yard. “Hello gentlemen.”

Signal and Coyote looked up to the approaching sheep. They both almost looked as though they were expecting him to show up.

“Ah, Hickory! Pleasure to see you this morning!” Signal called over to him. Coyote kept his eyes trained on him. He didn’t speak. “Surprised that you’re up this early in the morning.”

“Well, you know how it is. Gotta make sure all the animals are still here and such. Can’t be too careful after…y’know.”

Coyote huffed. “You’re really never going to let that go are you? Look, we haven’t done it since that day in the woods. You act like we’re just gonna do that again all of a sudden after, like, a week.”

Hickory shrugged. “You never know, right?”

The silence between the three was deafening. The chirps of birds, the rustling leaves, and just general nature were the only sounds that could be heard. And, if you listened close enough, the sound of Hickory’s heartbeat quickening. The suspense was growing. He didn’t just want to act out of nowhere. He had a point he wanted to make. Only this time, he wouldn’t just be verbally delivering his message.

It was like a figure from urban legend had once said.

Sometimes violence is the only universal language.

Signal finally broke the silence. “Where are the little lambs at? Still in bed, I assume?” He was glancing at the window.

Hickory narrowed his eyes at him. “None of your business.”

Coyote stared at the window as well. “So are they in there or not?”

“What part of “none of your business” did you two not understand?”

Signal turned back to him. “We have a feeling that you wish to speak with us. Is that true?”

…well, he wasn’t expecting this. He thought that this conversation would’ve gone on a bit further. But y’know what? This worked.

“Actually, I do. I have something I want to say to the two of you.” He pulled one of the splash potions of harming out.

“And maybe it’ll actually stick this time.”

He threw the bottle at the two people outside of the fence. Coyote jumped back, but Signal was caught in the splash. The two of them looked at him in shock.

Hickory stepped closer to them, another potion in hand. “Just because you,” he gestured to Signal, “are this server’s admin, that doesn’t mean I have to have an ounce of respect for you!”

He turned his glare to Coyote. “Same for you.”

Signal simply looked at him, blinking, before turning to Coyote and saying in a voice that was surprisingly non-robotic, “Coyote, if you will.”

The next thing Hickory knew, not only was Coyote rushing at him with an ax, but he also felt pain.

A lot of pain.

In his right eye, specifically.

Out of reflex, Hickory struck Coyote with a splash potion, only hearing a yelp as Coyote scrambled backward. He heard a growl, but then heard Signal call out, “Come on, Coyote. It isn’t worth it. Let’s go.” They were walking away now. Leaving Hickory bleeding out on the ground.

In his haze of pain and general adrenaline, he managed to stumble to his bathroom and look in the mirror.

And what he saw scared him.

There was a gash on his eye. A bad one.

But that wasn’t really the thing that concerned him at the moment.

He needed to find the others.

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

When he finally managed to make it to the main area of the server, he saw Slate and Vexen sitting on the ground with…a wolf guy in a skull mask?

He struggled to stay upright as he walked over to them, and as soon as he got close, the wolf guy looked up at him. But his face suddenly shifted into one of extreme concern. “Oh my Primes- are you alright?!”

Slate and Vex suddenly looked up, and Slate beamed. “Hickory! CB, that’s him! That’s our brother!”

This wolf man, CB, looked even more concerned somehow. “I’m-how did that even-you need to see a doctor man!”

Hickory didn’t know why but he felt…fine. Nothing hurt anymore, and if it weren’t for the blood that was practically pouring down his face, he wouldn’t even know that something was wrong. “Really? I feel okay. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to-”

“No no, that looks…very bad. I’ll take you to Basil’s office. You really need to go there. Seriously.”

He felt someone grab onto his right side and flinched (why couldn’t he tell that someone was there?). He felt someone drag him off.

“Hickory?” he heard Slate quietly call. 

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

It was three days later, and Hickory was sewing something. He had been in that office for about a day, where “Basil”, who he was assuming was either a naga or some kind of snake hybrid. They kept him there as they tried to heal him, and even bandaged up that side of his face.

Apparently his right eye was f**ked up. Great.

And the “wolf” guy was actually a hellhound. Named Cerberus.

Well, he seemed pretty nice, anyway.

Hickory had asked for an eyepatch. Because he was pretty sure that no one was going to want to see his messed up eye.

He was stitching an apple onto it.

When Slate had asked him why he was sewing an apple, Hickory just shrugged.

“I mean, then we can really match, right?”

As he finished the last stitch, he put on the eyepatch and looked in the mirror. He smiled.

It looked nice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

poor boy Hickory :( he was just trying to get those two to stop messing with them and got his eye whacked in the process :(

but hey! at least he has a cool eyepatch now...right? :D

[babibasil]

Meet The Blogger: Big Me

☁️ Name: Basil/Bas

☁️ Age: 14

☁️ Pronouns: He/they/vi

☁️ Gender: Trans (ftm) (afab)

☁️ Why do I regress: My childhood was not the best, my teen years were not the best either. I have been regressing involuntarily for about 6 years now, I didn’t know what regression was until a few months ago, regression is my escape from stress and my mental health. I have ADHD (Diagnosed) Anxiety (Diagnosed) Social Anxiety (Diagnosed) Depression (Diagnosed) Sensory issues related to my ADHD, and a few other minor things. Regression is my safe way to escape from the stress and anxiety of my everyday life. It allows me to calm down and be happy and regain happy memories. (I can’t really remember many happy moments from my childhood, or even normal moments, I only remember negative things so this is my way to get happy memories as a ‘kid’)

☁️ Dislikes loud sounds, being ignored, curtain textures/sounds/tastes, etc.

☁️Info: I am both a caregiver and a little, my regression is not always pure and is not always voluntary. 

Meet The Blogger: Little Me

🧸 Favorite pet names: Kiddo, bug, babybug, babyboy, little royal, prince, sweet boy, little man, bubs, baby, hun, pumpkin

🧸 Age range?: 0-6

🧸 Do you consider yourself a brat?: Not really, I tend to be a good little.

🧸 Little Interests: cuddling, playing with toys, watching cartoons, coloring, drawing, arts and crafts, Storytime, playing games (Minecraft, animal crossing etc.)

🧸 Personality as little: Really shy and/or energetic and playful. Cuddly, lovey, kind, silly, and very playful.

🧸 Do you need clear rules?: No, although small reminders are nice as I can get caught up in whatever activity I am doing. (Edit: I and my little/cg have made rules for each other for when we regress)

🧸 Little gear owned/wanted: I have 2 adult pacifiers (Customized by me), stuffies, blankies, bracelets, clothes, a sippy, tons of toys, teethers, bottle, coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, agere journal, hair accessories, snacks, fidgets, etc. 

🧸 Are you uncomfortable with any little gear?: umm no? I don't rlly know rn.

AngelAsks

Hihi! If you wish to send an ask go for it! I will be calling them AngelAsks for now. If it is something that you don’t want to be shared please say that in it. You can vent just please, don’t do sh vents, this is my safe space and those types of things make me anxious. Keep it SFW, please. Otherwise, feel free to add in pronouns, nicknames/pet names, emojis instead of a name if you are an anon asker, etc.

DO NOT INTERACT IF:

Nsfw accounts/have the blurred pfp

Pro Ed/ pro ana

Age play, DDLG, DDLB, variants, etc.

Pedos, Creeps and weirdos

Gore/trauma

ABDL

Anti-lgbtq+, terfs, etc

Anti-agere

IF YOU POST THINGS THAT YOU WOULDN'T SHOW TO A CHILD

IF YOU DO ANY OF THESE I PROMISE I WILL BLOCK YOU.

[rainandrosehips]

cinnamon basil tea <3

~ made with cinnamon basil that was given to me by our manager at the farmers market today ~

spent the morning doing storytime, walking people through a pollinator matching game, and playing insect doctor with some kids

[boffamie]

Late Nite Storytime!

*also feel free, if you see this, to send your stories. Anything that helps navigate through this weird af world is a boooonus ^.^*

Okay, so I'm in a reenactment group. Partners are also in the same group but in a different state/ part of the state. The first time i met Spicy and Saucy, I was helping out Toasty in the kitchen for our big tournament. (We were making and serving lunch, Spicy and Saucy were helping another friend with supper)

I was already kinda hanging out with our friend, Basil, that day. But i tend to get really bouncy at the types ofbevents we go to so i often float and move around and can't sit still for more than food.

Anyways the first time i saw them it's like everything clicked for me. I immediately decided they both needed to be my friends. And in my group I play as a prostitute, *no. I don't accept s*x for money. I'm all act. I will flirt like a wanton but DAMMIT don't you dare call me a sl*t.*

Ahem anyways, after seeing them i immediately decided their hands needed to be on my derrière. And demanded as such. They happily obliged and also have my permission to touch me whenever. (My love language is physical contact. Shut up.)

That was almost ...2? Years ago. Best decision ever.

[abloomntime]

A Bloom In Time Ch 29

(This is just a random slice of life chapter to fill the gaps before the next major event in the story. Sorta like one of those speed montages in shows or games.)

Days passed since that incident out with the mafia, and the entire thing had been pushed to the back of their minds as her or the girls got things settled. Most of the days Poppy spent watching television marathons with the girls since she found them all really interesting. Most of them was kiddy shows like Detective Pengiun. Science Owl's Magic Hour, etc. But there was also reruns of Cookie's cooking show. Poppy had to ask what reruns were and Bow kindly explained that they were episodes that already aired but were being shown again, rerun on air. Therefore being dubbed reruns. They were great if you wanted to rewatch a favorite episode of yours or series, or if there was an episode you missed, so you could have a chance to watch it. Poppy found it fascinating they could magically show endless shows without having to plug in a projector and record player. Besides that she finally got to see what kind of movies this Conductor person made. Most of them were serious, with great plot stories, drama, a wee bit of romance, but mostly action. Weired titles tho. The Good, The Bad, and The Swan. Gary Pecker High Goon. Blazing Beaks. And so on. She had to admit, for a bunch of owls they were pretty good. Most of Mr. Grooves stories on the other hand were to put it lightly eye soring. Yeah. Most of them have nice or even great plots, but it was usually blind sided by the flashing or bright lights that made her head sore. But there was a few good ones too in the bunch without blinding lights. Poppy was surprised to find out the children had even starred in some of their movies. Mr. Grooves being called The Big Parade, and Conductor's being called Murder On The Owl Express. They were low key, but still enjoyable....That WAS until she saw the complete and utter DANGEROUS situations those two were put through!! Who has a child jump from building to building tons of feet in the air being followed by rockets and sparks of electricity?! AND WHO MAKES A CHILD JUMP OVER BOMBS AND DISMANTLED TRAINS WHILE SHUTTING OFF A TIMED BOMB?! She asked the two about it horrified and they just shrugged it off like they did this kind of stuff everyday.

...

CLEARLY she was going to have to have a talk with those loony birds and give them a piece of her mind. If they expected her to be doing some death defying stuff like that then they were CLEARLY mistaken. Speaking of those two birds, she would be getting a notice from one of them very soon. The next day actually. She was just sleeping soundly on the attic floor (the girls had been nice enough to loan her a miniature pile of pillows to lay upon as to avoid sleeping anymore on cold hard wood) when a sound a came ringing out. She didn't pay very much attention to it first, because...well she was sleeping in and felt like getting some good shut eye from doing nothing but playing with two energetic girls in a limited space it too her a long time to crawl around in. Plus being two rooms over she didn't really hear it all too well. But two little kids running around sure did. Which is when she woke up to Hattie forcefully shook her awake against her will.

"Wh-what-"

"Get up!," hattie yelled practically in her ear making her yelp and sit up fast. Hand shooting up to clutch her ear as she tiredly blinked at the girl.

"What the world are you doin'?" She barely got time to ask before Hattie grabbed her hand and pulled. Telling her to get up and go to the phone. "Phone? What you mean a telephone?"

"Yeah! DJ Grooves wants to talk to you."

So the little alien had a telephone on this ship too? Huh. You learn something new everyday. And apparently Mr. Grooves wanted to speak to her? Huh. Ok. She'll get up. Poppy slowly and tiredly got up and made her way out of the attic, following Hattie down the ramp and and tiredly rubbing her eyes as she walked after her towards the machine room. Already groaning at the fact she'd be having to crawl through a small hallway again. But once she did, the sounds of grinding gears graced her ears as they rattled and worked. And found the girls huddled around what she definately recognized as something from her time. An old fashioned (well to the girls and everyone else it'd be very old fashioned by now but in her day it was a pretty new technology) phone stuck to the side of the wall and it looked like bow was holding up the end you could hear someone's voice from and speaking something but stopped when Poppy came tiredly walking towards her. Bow happily handed her the other end of the phone and Poppy nodded in thanks before holding said object to her ear to listen.

"H-Hello? *yawn*"

"DARLING!! Thank goodness you're awake!," the happy voice of Mr. Grooves boomed out from the other side of the phone making Poppy wince and pull her head away from the speaker. "I have wonderous news, Darling! Incredible, fantastic news!"

"You don't say," she muttered softly rubbing her ear.

"I found a young lady who could not only play one role but TWO in our little plays! Can you believe that!" Oh. So he found someone to fill in another role. Nice. "We're nearly meeting our quota for the entire staff!! There's still much things to prepare for like the scenes and of course, but by the end of next month I'm sure we'll have everything we'll need to start rehearsals. ....Considering if I can find someone else to fill the last few roles of course. The pressure's really getting to me, Darling."

"I'm sure ya'll find someone...*yaaaaaawn* Yer good at your job," Poppy complimented as an attempt to bring some  ease to the nervous penguin.

"Darling, you are absolutely right! I'll keep you filled in on the juicy details as they go, for now don't forget to study up on those lines dear! DJ Grooves out!"

And then he hung up. What a way to start the morning.

This was falling in such a regular routine she was starting to lose track of time and days. Kinda hard to considering you couldn't really tell time from space and there wasn't any calenders around for her to really get a good idea on what day it was or how to calculate it all. Luckily she had plenty to do around the ship. The girls acted like they were a little disappointed Snatcher told them essentially to not leave the ship with or without Poppy without his say so first, so it was pretty much a grounding without being grounded. But luckily they had a remedy-.......Making Poppy play with her. Most of the girls' days the past few-...Weeks? Days?? Was filled with Poppy running around playing whatever games these two came up with from pillow fighting to storytime. She didn't mind of course but all of this was starting to wear down on her. She was going crazy from the limited space and just watching tv. But she had other things too to try out. Like cooking one of those giant fish she got.

Hattie had walked in on her in the kitchen one afternoon(??) with one of the fish in a pan and going through her cabinets sprinkling any herbs she recongized on it, wearing that cooking apron she bought from Mafia town. She didn't hear her walk up to her until she spoke curiously looking at the entire thing she was attempting to cook. "Whatcha doing?"

Poppy had jumped almost dropping some basil and blinked down at the young girl. "Oh..It's just you." She turned back to the fish. "Ah'm makin' lunch."

"With the fish??"

"Yep! There used to be this stream in the woods where I caught these here suckers all the time. Roasted them over a fire lots of nights and made a good meal. Where I'm from ya gotta be resourceful and make do with what ya had....I don't suppose ya'll have a fire place 'round here do ya?"

Hattie shook her head no before pointing to the over attached to the stove. "But I have this. Cookie uses this to make cakes." The child happily licked her lips. "AND COOKIES!! I love her cookies!!"

Poppy opened the strange door attached to the stove top and blinked at what was inside. "What is it?"

"A stove. You bake stuff in it."

".....THIS is a stove?," She rose a brow. "Where in tarnation are ya'll supposed ta put the wood and light the fire to heat this thing up ta bake??"

"...Um." Hattie peeked inside too slightly confused at Poppy's question ...before shrugging. "I don't know, but Cookie presses the big blue button there-" she pointed to a blue button at the headboard of the stove. "-and it starts to heat up."

"....Fascinatin'."

A stove and over that didn't need fire or wood to cook? Wow. Alien technology was sure something else wasn't it. Poppy made a mental note to ask Cookie to help her figure out this crazy contraption when she got the chance. For now she just pushed the seasoned fish into the oven and pushed the blue button Hattie had pointed to. Within half an hour of Poppy sitting there waiting, the thing got to be an impressive hot temperature. After a little while longer(and the girls asking her to read to them again while they waited), she got a whiff of some mouth watering roasted fish! She wasn't sure exactly HOW it worked and had to ask Hattie to turn it off(by pressing the same button again) but the three were treated to some of that delicious roasted fish. Poppy didn't like to brag or anything, and she wasn't the best cook, but she could make a darn good fish meal. It also took her a while to figure out how to use the laundry machine and dryer in the storage room as there wasn't any lines to hang the wet clothes on and she nearly had a heart attack when she pushed a button on the washer and water all of a sudden started spilling into it. Bow had to reassure her this was the way Snatcher always did it and sometimes Cookie if she had a lot of time on her hands-...paws. Another day(??) and again she was started to get frustrated and feel enclosed in whenever she couldn't walk around anywhere else besides the control room, attic, and kitchen. Until finally-

FINALLY!!

Snatcher decided to show his jack o lantern face again. The purple onion. He just popped up one day outta the blue so randomly and suddenly she nearly had a heart attack just walking in on him curiously waiting for her outside the machie room- But we're getting a little bit ahead of ourselves. It would be a MORE surprising coincidence after the fact she had yet ANOTHER call from Mr. Grooves, this time thankfully in the afternoon instead of early morning, no need to wake her up this time.

"DARLING!! SPLENDID FANTASTIC SPECTACULAR NEWS!! WE FINALLY MANAGED TO FILL ALL THE ROLES OF OUR SHOW!! OH IM SO HAPPY DARLING!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!"

Poppy was smart enough to hold the old phone away from her ear this time as she could hear him loud and clear through the device. "Oh, Im sure I can, Sir. That sounds delightful."

"IT IS DARLING!!! OH YOU MUST COME IN IMMEDIATELY FOR COSTUME FITTING!!"

"Wait...As in right now?"

"Oh no of course not! First thing tomorrow mourning, Darling! I want to make everything as perfect as possible!"

"Sure thing!"

Shortly after that the two said their good byes and she hung up before crawling her way back through the small hallway and back into the control room where she met none other than the man of the hour himself....Or should I say noodle ghost? Snatcher was waiting for her arms crossed and with that famous frown of his gazing as Poppy came in and paused standing up at the sight of him. Wearing that plain pink dress she bought some time ago.

"You're late!," he huffed, "You know my time is precious to me as an all powerful being like myself."

"Well, excuse me. But I will remind you I sorta have a second boss at the moment?" She frowned back. "Or did ya'll forget me stupidly gettin' mahself inta debt...again?"

He smirked. "Oh I didn't forget a thing, Red. I love the way you're always stumbling around like a frail leaf in the breeze.~"

"OH!!...PECK OFF YA ONION!!" She scowled more at him as he chuckled. "Do ya know how hard it is ta work two jobs and watch these lil guys at the same time?!"

"Welcome to MY world! And you know I could always scare you out of any debt you got yourself into with those pecknecks down there." He offered genuinely. "I may not look like it, but I'm very good at legal technicalities. I did want to be a lawyer at once upon a time!"

"....That's..actually very nice of ya to offer me, but hard pass. I got mahself into this mess and if I'm gonna survive on my own after this, ah need to learn how to work on my own out there. And I can't go back on my word after I caused so much trouble for Mr. Grooves and Mr. Loudmouth. And I already agreed to everythin'. I need to take responsibility and not just leave him with another problem." Snatcher stared at her for a moment before sighing and smiling widely again. Ah, Poppy. Always the stubborn old gal taking the weight ofworld on her shoulders. "What are you even doin' here anyways?," she asked eyeing him up and down, "It's not like ya'll drop by whenever ya want anyways, but why now?"

"Food delivery."

"What?"

One of those long noodle arms detached itself from his crossed arm position and pointed down to a small bag the size of the two kids rummaging through it. Food was flowing out of it with apples, lettace, and a few other food varieties falling out. Making her eyes go wide as a moment later Hattie pulled out a s bag of cookies and squeled in delight at them.

"I said Im not completely heartless," he spoke Snapping her out of her staring to look at him. "I get them food and make sure they're well fed. ...What? Did you think I wouldn't provide for them? It's been almost a month since you're little incident so I came like any good king would and supply my people."

One of his clawed hands patted Bow on the head when the little girl hugged his tail but Poppy didn't notice. Her eyes went as wide as puddles as she stared at him like a cartoon character. .....A...Almost a month?? .....A MONTH!?!? SHE HAD BEEN COOPED UP HERE JUST WATCHING CARTOONS, PLAYING, AND WHATEVER ELSE FOR A MONTH!? PECKING PECKNECKS!!! She loved the kids as they were darlings, BUT SHE NEEDED SOME OUTSIDE WALK AROUND WIDE AREA TIME!! FOR PECKS SAKE!!! ...Well, that would also explain why the food in the fridge was starting to lower quite a bit. But seriously!? He was gone for a whole pecking (almost) month and didn't bother to tell her or visit!? Gee. What a swell boss. Poppy groaned and shook her head ....before sighing and walking around him and picking up the bag from the two girls, who at the moment, was picking up the fruit that spilt out but stopped and followed after her as she walked.

"Well, thank you for that brilliant update of yers. But ah'm goin' to that fitting or whatever tomorrow an' if ya'll don't like it then come with or too bad. But I ain't gonna beat 'round the bush anymore with these jobs."

Snatcher grumbled but SOMEHOW ended up agreeing to teleporting the trio into the Dead Bird Studios the very next day. Kinda surprised to find Poppy the one up and adam with the two girls still yawning but visibly excited they'd be getting to go somewhere today finally after being cooped up all the time. The teleporting worked as quickly as any other time he did it, when the girls and her grabbed a hold of his clawed hands. Purple energy completely took over the world around them like the many times he's done this before and swallowed them all whole, she was pretty used to this by now so she just stood patiently. Poppy closed her eyes when purple invaded her vision and the air suddenly shifted again to that blazing hot sunny desert area she saw before with the famous studios in front of them all. With Poppy in the lead the girls excitedly followed and Snatcher like in mafia town resumed to sticking into a shadow again. But this time Hattie's shadow. The two girls were babbling excitedly about how they were going to see Mr. Grooves put together their favorite story right before them. And speaking of said penguin, he was awaiting their arrival as soon as they stepped through the dimly lit hallway and into the lobby. The secritary was there too, the bird briefly looked up when the trio of gals came in but only gave them a glance before looking back to his computor screen and going back to work. Mr. Grooves lit up as soon as his eyes landed on Poppy and his large beak curled up in a smile.

"DARLING!! You're finally here!," he shouted sounding almost nervous as he rushed up to them frazzked and Poppy blinked as he grabbed her hand. He was sweating a bit from worrying. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't come!" Before she could say a word he turned and pulled her towards a pair of the giant pair of the doors to the right. "Come, come. There's so much to get done and so little time to do it!!"

"O-Oh..Ok?"

The doors creaked open with a massive creak and the sounds and sights that greeted her when they opened astonished her. The place would've been very dark if it wasn't for the giant lights on the ceiling shining brightly down onto the MASSIVE hussle n bussle of the people-...penguins inside. There must've been(at least to her) hundreds of penguins behind the door everywhere. Carrying things around, pushing giant colorful props or giant crates on wagons for whatever reason, a few penguins with headsets and clipbourds were ordering things into them and checking things over and over again on the papers in their flippers. Apprently it must've been surprising for the girls too because they were gawking around too as they walked. As soon as Mr. Grooves stepped in almost all the penguins who weren't moving things turned their attention to him as he briskly walked past leading the girls.

"Mr. Grooves," a lady penguin called out nervously. "Night Scene three collasped under the weight of too many stars hanging off it-"

"Remove any unneeded weight, but keep as many shiny stars as you can!," he quickly shouted back.

"Silver or gold ones!?"

"BOTH!!"

"Mr. Grooves! The steel poles for the support system came in-"

"Give them to the engineering team immediately!!"

"Sir! Coffee and lunch for staff arrived."

"Pass it out immediately!"

A whole bunch of 'Sir!'s  and 'Mr. Grooves!''s and "Boss!"s was thrown by the multiple penguins around them and Mr. Grooves impressively shouted back while manevouring Poppy around and forward the moving crowd. Sometimes completely stopping her before she hit something before suddenly tugging her forward again making her almost trip multiple times. The girls not far behind him dodging between them all with much more impressive skilled than Poppy. Easily keeping up with the two.

"W-Where in tarnation are ya'll takin' me?", Poppy managed to force out before ducking under a plank of wood being carried passed them.

"Costume fitting!," he answered back quickly, "We're already ten minutes behind scheduale!"

It was seven in the morning. But that didn't matter to the rushing penguin it seemed when he suddenly made a sharp turn to the right which made Poppy yelp and almost trip over her own foot but luckily she didn't. usually she REALLY didn't like being pulled around and would've yanked her hand away long ago but she was kinda lost in this kinda environment and would've probably gotten lost again. The hallway was a little quieter but you can still hear the noise from behind them. The hallway was a lil more dimly lit than the giant room back there but they could still see the many red doors lining the left of them and they could DEFINATELY see the crew of people up ahead of them. Four humans(2 men 2 women), and two owls. One of the owls looked older than the other, a few grey feathers sticking out here and there, with rhinestone glasses a pink dress and a pin cushion strapped to her wrist. The other female owl behind her was holding a mountain of folded fabric and a small suitcase on top of it. The owl scowled angry, wings on her hips, and tapping her foot against the floor as Mr. Grooves ran up to her out of breath and wheezing.

"You're late," she stated calmly despite her face.

"I know, I know." He apologised still nervous. "Apologies for the misunderstanding, Ms. Talon. I should've told her what time to be here but all this pressure has been building on me I forgot."

The owl lady sighed and waved him off. "No matter. Now that she's here I can get the measurements to finish these orders."

Measurements?," Poppy asked curiously.

"For the costumes," Ms. Talon answered, shifting her glasses and looking Poppy over, "You must be the princess. It's about time you got here. I only have so much time to work on these and making costumes of this scale on such short notice aren't easy."

"Uh..Sorry, Ma'am."

"Oh don't apologize." A familiar figure stepped forward with long brown hair and copper eyes smiled at Poppy when the red head looked over at her. "After all woman are known to be fashionably late.~"

" Ms. Hazelle!" Poppy's face lit up seeing the familiar face of the witch. Making two yellow eyes pop out from Hattie's shadow at the mention of the name. "What are you doing here?"

Hazelle smirked and waved her off. "Don't call me miss. Im not that old.~ But to answer your question, I'm going to be your fabulous coworker for the movie-"

"REALLY?!," Bow asked wide eyed at Hazelle who nodded.

"Yep! You're looking at the evil step sister of this Starella character you're playing. I figured what better way to get to know my pal's new friend better-"

A wing shoved between them interrupting their conversation and turned Poppy's attention back onto the elderly bird as the door next to them opened and she gestured Poppy to it. "If you'll please? I have much work to do."

Poppy happily oblidged and walked through the door followed by both lady birds and waved a quick good bye to Hazelle. At the same time another penguin had rushed up to Mr. Grooves babbling wildly about something catching on fire and they needed him right away to assess the damages and the panicked penguin boss quickly agreed rushing away to help with whatever was wrong. Leaving the group of humans awaiting to be measured. No one noticed the way Hattie's shadow enlarged and creeped along the floor and up the wall until it was level headed with Hazelle who regarded it with a lazy gaze and smile. As two angry yellow eyes glared at her very core.

"W H A T A R E Y O U D O I N G?!," he whispered to her with bit and anger in his tone dripping with each word he spoke.

"Oh come on. You know I couldn't just pass up this chance to see how it plays out. Besides. Maybe I can help when things finally go south from all this mess building up. Can't take a broom and sweep it under the carpet this time, Snatchy."

"I. Am. WORKING ON IT!!" Hazelle shushed him when one or two people turned to them...before shrugging and going back to talking to whoever they were originally talking to. "....I just need some time to figure out the best way to tell her is all."

"What have you been doing all this time in that forest? Sitting on your butt reading and doing whatever you usually boringly do and avoiding it?"

".....No," he didn't sound very convincing and Hazelle groaned facepalming. "I swear. I know it. I just KNOW this is gonna end badly."

The girls were behind them and were surprised to see Mr. Thor and Mr. Timophy from the forest there. Apparently the museum they had gone on an expidition on had long sense closed after their freezing for who knows how long and had parted ways with Mr. Oldster looking for more work and had stumbled upon Mr. Grooves's ad in the newspaper. And had sucessfully taken two important roles in his play. With Mr. Thor as the Milkyway Prince and Mr. Timophy as Starella's Father. Well that was all swell and dandy with the beefy mafia woman with them being the evil step mother. Looks like it was all coming together and they excitedly babbled to themselves about how this  would be the best show ever when another familiar face popped up next to them in the form of a small boy around their age.

"Timmy! Hi!," Bow greeted and fist bumped him when he held up his hand.

"Whatcha doing here?," Hattie asked him.

He casually shrugged. "Hazelle's been hired here and I wanted to tag along, eh? A real movie studio and getting to see the action in person. Pops thought it was 'a good educational experience' as he put it."

"Sounds like, Moon. Where is he anyways?" They hadn't seen him in like-...Forever.

"The spook the spook got shook him pretty good. He's staying in the comfort of that empty ghost zone for the time being." He Gave the two of them a curious look before asking. "By the way I meant to ask about that red haired lady who just went into that room. Who is she?"

"Oh. You mean Poppy?" Hattie asked and Timmy nodded and she shrugged. "She was locked in the crazy peckneck's mansion."

"Ya mean when noodle man stole your time piece? Moonjumper told me all about that part when he got home."

Hattie sighed. "It's a long boring story."

"I got time. Tell me."

And so Hattie spilt the whole story to him. In the mean time Poppy was getting poked and prodded by measuring tapes, fabric scrapes quickly cut from the base pattern were safety pinned around her. Ms. Talon explained that the base pattern was an experiment she'd made to make sure all the fabric pieces would fit right and that Poppy was able to move around comfortably in the actual costume and constantly asked how the movement felt and if anything was too tight, too loose, needed to be adjusted a size, if she had trouble walking around in it, etc. All the while at most it took maybe twenty to thirty minutes tops of Ms. Talon carefully walking Poppy move around in the dress and making adjustments whereever she decided needed it the most. Poppy was just going with this because she was the dress expert after all, and she learnt with everything going on for now it was better to just go with it unless she absolutely found it something she didn't want or really agree with. And so far there was nothing wrong with trying on a dress she was gonna have to use anyways. When the old bird was finally satisfied she had Poppy take off the prototype dress with her help and soon after sent her back out before calling in the next person in, which by coincidence happened to have been Hazelle. Also ironically none of the adults before this had noticed the kids chatter, but if Snatcher did he would've definately risked revealing himself when the girls told Timmy the entire tale of how Poppy came to be as his purple eyes widened in wonder.

"You're all kidding!"

Hattie shook her head. "Nope! That really happened."

"So...Finding all that hidden gold in the attic then? That was real too?," Timmy asked.

"Yep! We still got the gold skull to prove it! Like some pirate!," Hattie stated proudly but stopped when Poppy came over and smiled at them. "Hi Poppy!"

"Hey, sugarcube. Whatcha lot talkin' bout?," she asked.

"Hattie was just telling me the exciting discovery of you finding gold in the attic," Timmy answered quickly with a sweet smile. "Is it true there was a whole bunch of gold hidden under the staircase shaped like a castle?"

Unsuspecting anything Poppy only smiled at the little boy and nodded. "Yep! It's a long story but ah would appreciate it if ya'll wouldn't go 'round tellin' everyone 'bout that."

"Of course, Ma'am. I wouldn't dream of gossiping about something like that. It wouldn't be very kind of me would it?"

Her smile went wider as Snatcher glared at him from over her shoulder. Giving Timmy a suspicious glare. "Have ya'll been enjoyinh yer stay here then?"

He nodded. "Yes, Ma'am. It's very interesting to see all the action behind the cartoons and it's nice to take a break from magic lessons for once. Have you been liking it?"

She chuckled nervously and glanced back up the hallway to see Mr. Grooves chatting with another penguin who handed him a tall stack of papers. "You can say that. Truthfully Im nervous 'bout when the real action here is gonna start."

Timmy nodded. "Totally understandable, Miss. This does take a bit of work eh? Then again a wise man once said 'things get hard before they get better'. So you should have no need to worry!"

Snatcher couldn't stop the suspicious look he threw at the boy but he had to duck back into Hattie's shadow before the crowd of waiting people and penguins noticed a shadow with yellow eyes and freaked out. They were only there for a little while longer as Snatcher wanted to have one or two more words with Hazelle before they were all teleported back to the ship. But before that Mr. Grooves managed to pass out the stacks of papers to all the actors and actresses, explaining that it was the scripts for the play with their along with everyone's movements, places, and lines. Since they wouldn't be starting rehearsals until they could gaurentee the scenes would be completely be put together and for everyone to study, study, STUDY these scripts so they'd be prepared and read and to practice the movements and lines there in the mean time. Ok. Seemed simple enough in her eyes. The thing was about as think as your average library book and was expertly detailed and written to be very clear for everyone to read. Hats off to the script writer for their excellent skills. They were able to exchange a few words with Hazelle and Timmy before turning again to make their exit straight back home to Snatcher's orders, but not before Snatcher hissed one last thing at Hazelle.

''You BETTER not do anything foolish!," he hissed a warning at her to which she glared back.

"The only one acting 'foolish' around here is YOU, Prince. I'm just enjoying the back seat view in case I'm needed. If I was you, I'd be taking your own advice."

Snatcher gave her a blank look before silently slinking away from her and back down the halls after the girls who'd no doubt be dodging the working Penguin mob again.  Hazelle nor anyone else noticed the thoughtful look Timmy was giving all of them and only snapped to attention once Hazelle decided it was also time for them to leave. And get him back home to Moonjumper who'd be eagerly awaiting his arrival back home and Timmy's progress report on what Hattie told her all about Poppy. And tell him when he arrived home and Hazelle had left they did.

"My boy. What did you find out?"

"....*sigh* Sit down. It's gonna be a wild one."

The days were passing filled with reading and trying to make heads and tails of the practically book Poppy was handed by the penguin and would often go over the lines and movements in her head and spare time. She once compared the script to the actually Starella book and noticed a the lines and the movements described in the script were the same in the book, only more detailed since this would be a real life action play and not just a picture book being read to them. They would have actual people like Poppy and Hazelle be on stage for the whole veiwing pleasure. The whole thing made her get MAJOR butterflies in her stomach especially since she didn't know WHEN she was about to get called back for actual rehearsals with people and filming crew for LIVE television. But she pushed on. Practicing herself (or at least trying to)in the attic with no one else watching and trying to play and manage two energentic lil girls at the same time and taking care of them the next couple of days too. Bow having a slightly much more clingy but kinda cute bond building between the two. Poppy smiled whenever she agreed to play pretend with her or helped her comb through her curls and in turn letting her and Hattie braid her hair or doing whatever do they wanted to try out on her.  And Hattie asking her every so often to lift something as she was 'So cool!' in her words when she did things like a superhero. And of course excitedly asking her to read to them every night and sometimes during the day. Mostly it was Starella since they were so excited about the play coming out of their favorite bedtime story. Which often included Poppy tucking the two girls in afterwards and leaving to flop her own exhausted self into the small bed made of pillows she had made for herself. And it was one night when they were sleepily blinking against the soft pillows as Poppy read that she got the surprise of her life.

"Starella happily agreed and her father returned. Upon hearing what her Stepmother and Stepsister had done while he was away, he banished them from his home never to return again." She turned to the last page where it showed a very elaborate wedding and the Prince and Starella being the ones to be wed. "After a few years of letting their love and fondness for each other grow, Starella and the prince were finally married. The End." Poppy closed the book and stood up. Stretching out her back and yawning herself as she walked over to the night stand beside the bed with the lit lamp. She found that the night stand would be the book's new home for a while since they kept requesting it so much. Not that she actually had any objections to reading it so much, after all she needed as much info on the book as possible. The book was placed down and the lamp shut off cutting off most of the light in the large room minus the nightlight and Poppy smiled at the two children trying to blink awake at her. "Ok. Bed time you two."

Bow smiled at the lady pulling the rocket ship patterned blanket up to their shoulders. "Poppy...Can I call you mama?"

The blanket stopped and blue eyes looked at Bow at the sudden question- "I wanna call you mom too!" Hattie piped up shifting a little bit closer towards Bow's side of the bed and Poppy's shocked gaze snapped over to the girl who's eyes lit up with even more sparkle.

Mom?....A REAL MOM!! Just for them. Just like Snatcher said. A mom who could pecking bench press a mafia, read them stories, and was gonna be a star!! Poppy on the other head completely blanked out as if her brain was a computor and she couldn't process the info she heard properly. ....Mom? Mom who? Her?! Oh NO! No. Surely they couldn't have been referring to Poppy herself. I mean her a mom? Ha! In her dreams. Don't let it fool you, she absolutely adored children. Thought they were the cutest things since rosebuds, and these two were no exception. She loved Hattie's adventerous and free spirit. Reminded her of herself when she was a little girl. And Bow was such a sweet little girl if not also adventurous in her own ways, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't upset these two sweet kids didn't have any more family beyond the kooky ghost. BUT HER A MOM?! Honestly she's never seen herself having any kind of children in her life let alone a mom!!

"Uh- ....Who me?," she managed to stutter out through her stupor finally before shaking her head. "Y-Ya'll must be mistaken. Ya wouldn't w-want me as a mum. I wouldn't be good at it."

"B-But...You're always telling us stories," Bow reasoned face a little crestfallen, "And playing with us."

"And cooking and cleaning and you're really, REALLY cool!!," Hattie added, "And protecting us."

"W-Well yes. T-That's what I'm supposed to do b-because Snatcher asked me too-"

"So you love, Snatcher?," Hattie asked leaning her head forward to look at Poppy better. "If you guys are a couple then that really makes you our Mom!"

Poppy did a complete 180 stop, rewind, and replay of hattie's question in her mind before a pink rose in her cheeks and she stammered. "W-WHA- Now d-don't you get those silly thoughts in yer head! Your daddy's a very nice man- uh....Ghost. But that don't mean we're cohootin' like love birds! The most we are is...maybe pals, but that's 'bout it. Ya'll don't have a step mum-''

"We don't have any moms."

The sad tone in Bow's voice made Poppy pause in anything else was about to say. That reality hit hard in her mind as all of Snatcher's words came a rushing back to her-

"They're orphans."    " They have no one else."     "I don't know anything about Bow's past and neither does she. As far as I know she was raised in a crummy orphanage her whole life before she decided to run away and get tangled up in the mess Hattie made when she first arrived."   "Turns out she never had anything there to begin with."    "I don't know how long she was out there and I don't know why she wanted to go back to where she came from or what happened to make her flee again. Never asked. But I also never questioned it when she came back and decided not to leave again. She's a smart kid. Here there's people who care about her and want her to be safe."

They...They really didn't have anyone else besides themselves and that ghost. Any potential moms weren't here for whatever reason. They probably didn't even have a constant lady figure around to play with or to look up to. But there was one giant problem with this...Poppy wasn't a mother. She never planned or really wanted to be a mother, and she wasn't planning on staying here forever. She had her own life plans ahead of her she wanted to fullfill. But-....What was she supposed to tell these girls!? They really had no mother to look up to and she wasn't interested in being their mum-

"Don't you love us?," Bow innocently asked in a low voice both children gazing at her with large almost worried eyes.

Poppy still sat there in an uncomfortable silence, the sudden question making any answer die on her tongue immediately after gazing into those sad inoccent eyes of the kids who literally saved her life on one or two occasions, set her free, and honestly made her smile more than she had for a long time. Life almost felt normal behind the chaotic mess it really was.

"Of course I do.....Ya'll may..c-call me that if ya really want to. Ah don't mind."

She may have been lying to herself on that last part but it was too late to take any of that back now as she slowly pulled the blanket the rest of the way up and stood there watching as they fell asleep with happy smiles on their faces. Their new mother. Her a new mother. Watching over her children before her emotional departure to the control room. How does she keep getting herself into these situations? HOW!? How was she supposed to be dealing with any of this now that she was a 'mother' on top of the giant pile of mess she was supposed to be cleaning up herself. Two debts and an (not sure if she wanted or not) title for two little girls' happiness. Things couldn't possibly get anymore worse for her. The silence of the control room she crawled into was one good thing at least. It could give her peace of mind knowing that the only sounds came from Rumbi as he softly swept to and fro everywhere. It was a blessing really. All she needed while passing the large windows as she took a glance out to look at the beautiful world down below....And was met with the twitching figure of red eyes pressing against the glass.

She screamed.

[cookingfoodwhiledisabled-blog]

(Gluten free) Spaghetti and Mushrooms in Vodka Sauce (because regular tomato sauce makes my tummy hurt)

Materials

-wooden spoon because they’re easier to clean -one pan deep enough to hold all your pasta and all the sauce -one pot to cook pasta -strainer -bowl to catch pasta water

Ingredients (main)

-Gluten free spaghetti bought from Target -vodka sauce also bought from Target -small mushrooms

Seasoning

-paprika -a heckin lot of salt -black pepper -oregano -a pinch of nutmeg (think how much you would add if you tasted the sauce and thought “hmm this needs something” and saw nutmeg in the cupboard) -basil -parsley flakies -parmesan

Pasta - medium high/high heat with average stirring

-Get lots of water. Put a ridiculous amount of salt in it (so it tastes like the ocean). Bring to boil. -Put in pasta. Stir so it doesn’t stick. -Cook until it’s al dente (almost soft but with a bit of tough left) -Strain over a bowl to keep the water, and set aside.

Mushrooms - medium/medium high heat with average stirring

-In the big pan, put a bit of vegetable or olive oil and heat. -Slice mushrooms to twice as thick as you want them when you’re done. -Cook mushrooms in the oil, stirring often so they don’t burn. -About halfway through cooking, add paprika, oregano, basil, and some salt. Stir and taste to make alterations.

Sauce - high heat with lots of stirring

-Take a bit of leftover pasta water (like 3-4 oz I think?) and pour it over the mushrooms to slow cooking -Add lots of parmesan and stir until it looks fully incorporated (no chunks) -Add vodka sauce -Reduce until you get tired of waiting, adding pepper and salt to taste. Maybe nutmeg - chef is still undecided on that.

Combine pasta in pan and let cook for a couple minutes to fully coat and have even temperature.

Serve. Add parsley and a bit of dry parmesan for looks.

Clean up takes approximately 9 minutes

--

Storytime: One of my super casual new years resolutions is to learn how to cook well, rather than just to keep myself fed. Decided to start off as simple as possible, and have a good amount leftover for lunch tomorrow. So everything so far is store bought so I can get used to learning things like consistency and texture before trying to make my own. Also, I have standing energy for about 10-15 minutes at a time due to my disability, which means that I don’t want to waste precious time doing things like measuring ingredients, so I chose cooking over baking because cooking is just... throwing shit together until it tastes right. I’ll update when I remember to, but I just wanted a place to organize my recipes that I found personally successful in 2020.