#big leaf lupine

[muttball]

Bigleaf Lupine

[pnwnativeplants]

Botanical illustration of bigleaf lupine or Lupinus polyphyllus

[theroadtofairyland]

Loopy

Watercolor On Black Paper

2023, 11"x 14"

Big Leaf Lupine, Lupinus

[maraudersmyloves]

｡☆ : . Garden Party . :☆｡ﾟ. ───

•̩̩*˚James Potter's birthday party ── 750 Follower event

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YOU'VE BEEN OFFERED A BOUQUET!!!

as thanks for getting me to almost 750 Followers, you have been offered a bouquet of flowers!! All you need to do is select a type of flower, the main color, a filler flower and a type of greenery!! Requests end on the seventh of April and first requests will be written first please read everything before requesting!!!

── request rules, masterlist

type of flower/ character

⊹˚₊˚꒰🌹・꒱ THORNLESS ROSES ; James Potter (the birthday boy) Their usage began not just as a decorative touch to one’s home, but they were also used for medicinal purposes and to make perfumes, and their petals were even used as confetti for festive occasions such as James' birthday.

⊹˚₊˚꒰🌻・꒱ SUNFLOWER ; Remus Lupin They generally symbolize adoration, loyalty, and longevity in the language of flowers. Native Americans view sunflowers as a symbol of harvest and bounty since the flower provides seeds and pigments, in addition to being visually beautiful.

⊹˚₊˚꒰🏵️・꒱ HYDRANGEA ; Sirius Black You know summer is here when big, showy hydrangea bushes begin gracing gardens across the country. Some hydrangea flowers can turn a pretty pink or blue depending on the acidity or alkalinity of the soil, while others will remain white.

⊹˚₊˚꒰🌼・꒱ DAISY ; Peter Pettigrew Daisies are a very popular flower that can be found on every continent other than Antarctica. They belong to one of the largest known plant families and symbolize innocence, a connotation that comes from the Victorian era.

⊹˚₊˚꒰🌷・꒱ TULIP ; Luke Castellan There are over 150 species and 3,000 varieties of tulips, which are part of the lily family. At one point, tulips were more valuable than gold in Holland during a period called “Tulip Mania,” and their popularity has only spread with time.

⊹˚₊˚꒰🌸・꒱ DAHLIA ; Mattheo Riddle These attractive blooms come in a wide range of colors and can be easily incorporated into any existing or new garden. They also flower extremely long, first blooming midsummer and lasting through the first frost.

⊹˚₊˚꒰🌸・꒱ BEGONIA ; Lorenzo Berkshire With over 1,800 species native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, begonias are one of the easiest-to-grow and best-loved plants we have in our gardens and homes.

type of greenery/ prompt

✦˚₊ ‧ ꒰🌿・꒱LEATHER FERN ; "Can you hug me?" The way the stem branches out creates a triangular shape and is great for adding body to floral decor. It can stand alone in a vase as a centerpiece or add a tropical flair to a floral arrangement.

✦˚₊ ‧ ꒰🌿・꒱MYRTLE ; Looking at each other, knowing it will never be the same Myrtle is one of the most popular types of greenery because of the variety of ways that it can be used. It has long stems that are lined with glossy leaves. The thick foliage that this creates looks best in floral centerpieces.

✦˚₊ ‧ ꒰🌿・꒱DUSTY MILLER ; "Can we have a date night tonight?" Because of its unique frosted foliage, the dusty miller has a wintry vibe. It is often used in winter weddings or in fall tablescapes.

✦˚₊ ‧ ꒰🌿・꒱LEMON LEAF ; "Can you wash my hair for me?" The lemon leaf has round, thick leaves that resemble the shape of lemons. Like the leather fern, it has a long-lasting vase life. Its shiny leaves work well with all flower types and are most fitting in vases as table centerpieces.

✦˚₊ ‧ ꒰🌿・꒱IVY ; Whether it was a mistake or not, he couldn't seem to find the strength to care Ivy is perfect for accessorizing and can be added to anything from floral headdresses to table centerpieces. The leaves cascade down its branches, making it ideal for wrapping around wreaths and adding flow to floral baskets.

✦˚₊ ‧ ꒰🌿・꒱SILVER DOLLAR EUCALYPTUS ; "Can I borrow your hat, please?" The silver dollar eucalyptus has one to two-inch circular leaves that resemble silver dollars. Its thin, bendable branches mirror that of the ivy, making it ideal for decorative wreaths and displays.

✦˚₊ ‧ ꒰🌿・꒱HONEY BRACELET ; "You promised me!!" The honey bracelet has long stems that are decorated with soft, thin leaves. Its thin stem is easily molded into any shape and can be used for just about anything.

✦˚₊ ‧ ꒰🌿・꒱GREVILLEA ; Realizing some things they know about each other haven’t changed and feeling comforted by that The grevillea is a unique type of decorative greenery with red stems that branch out into multiple green leaves. The branches vary in their length causing them to add depth to floral decor.

✦˚₊ ‧ ꒰🌿・꒱TREE FERN ; your own prompt idea The epithet name for the tree fern is virgatus, which means twiggy. Unlike its namesake, the tree fern has thin, wispy branches and leaves that are often used in corsages and boutonnieres.

✦˚₊ ‧ ꒰🌿・꒱OLIVE BRANCH ; song prompt Olive branch greenery adds a sage hue and a wild, windswept look. Incorporate it into your bridal bouquets, boutonnieres, bridesmaid bouquets and centerpieces.

filler flower/ character dynamic

๑❞・꒰💐・꒱ STATICE ; golden retriever x black cat The statice flower, also known as the sea lavender, is a beautiful purple flower that grows even smaller blooms than the stock.

๑❞・꒰💐・꒱ SNAP DRAGONS ; somehow gets good grades and has no idea the other hates them x studies incredibly hard and hates the other for having it easy The snapdragon is arguably one of the most unique flowers. Its bizarre name represents the face of the flower that opens and closes like the mouth of a dragon.

๑❞・꒰💐・꒱ STOCK FLOWERS ; celebrity x secret lover Stock flowers bloom from spring to fall and come in a multitude of colors ranging from soft white to bright purple. They develop small blooms that are perfect for adding a pop of color to any bouquet.

๑❞・꒰💐・꒱ POMS ; always gets hurt x personal nurse Poms are identified as spray flowers, which means they have more than one flower head on each stem. This makes them easy to include in any arrangement to enhance the look.

๑❞・꒰💐・꒱ DELPHINIUM ; insecure but beautiful x YOU'RE LITERALLY SO GPRGEOUS AND PRETTY!!! Delphinium gets its name from the Greek word “delphis,” which means dolphin. This refers to their beautiful purple and blue hues and closed flower buds that are shaped similar to the nose of a dolphin.

๑❞・꒰💐・꒱ GYP ; your own dynamic idea Gyps are also known as baby’s breath and are members of the carnation family. They are cute, tiny flowers that look finest when grouped in bunches.

main color/vibe

๑❞・꒰👒・꒱ YELLOW ; Platonic The color yellow is primarily associated with spreading happiness and joy; however, it is also the ideal color for symbolizing friendship. With their bright hue and cheery personality

๑❞・꒰👒・꒱ PINK ; Fluff Similar to red flowers, pink flowers have also grown to be a symbol of love, though they can also mean happiness, gentleness, and femininity 

๑❞・꒰👒・꒱ WHITE ; Angst White is universally recognised to represent mourning as it symbolises peace, purity and love.

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╰┈➤ love, me!

[mountrainiernps]

Lupines at Mount Rainier

Some plants and animals at Mount Rainier National Park are just meant for mountains.

NPS Photo of multiple broad leaf lupine in a meadow.

Some of those plants are species of lupine. Lupine is a genus of flower with over 200 species. Anyone who has failed to grow lupine in a home garden can tell you that some of those species are more resilient than others. Garden cultivators tend to be bred for big densely packed stalks and can be over three feet tall. Sometimes being big can also mean being fragile.

NPS Photo of the dense lupine flowerheads in a historic garden at another NPS site.

Mount Rainier National Park is famous for its seasonal wildflower meadows, but this is not a groomed garden. Broadleaf lupine is common in the park meadows. These flowers grow in volcanic soil, not garden fertilizer so they need to make the most of the available resources. If you look closely, each flowering stem has fewer individual heads. They are shorter, stouter, and stronger than your typical garden variety of lupine.

NPS Photo of broad leaf lupine flower head at Mowich lake.

At higher elevations, in rock outcroppings away from the meadows you will find even more resilient lupine species. The arctic subalpine lupine and dwarf mountain lupine species can be less than 6in tall with tiny leaves and flowers. There isn't very much food up here but there is also almost no competition. They are all alone on the rocky slopes and they prefer it that way.

NPS Photo of arctic lupine with tiny leaves and tiny flowers.

Other than trail restoration and species monitoring, Mount Rainier National Park doesn’t tend to the park meadows. We don’t need to. These plants were made for mountains. ~mmm

[vashtijoy]

So, if I may be so bold to ask, what are "change of heart" and "psychotic breakdown" called in the Japanese version of the text? Also, what about Medjed's "catchphrase"?

what's a change of heart?

What we know as a "change of heart" is called 改心 kaishin in the original. It audibly echoes 怪盗 kaitou, the original name for The Squad, meaning "phantom thief" or "gentleman thief" - Arsene Lupin is a phantom thief, for instance, and Leblanc's original novel is called 怪盗紳士ルパン kaitou shinshi rupan (Gentleman Phantom Thief Lupin) in Japanese.

so what does kaishin mean?

Jisho has it as “conversion; reform; correcting someone’s conduct”. But ejje.weblio has it purely as “reform”: if you kaishin suru (do kaishin), you are penitent; you’ve mended your ways, turned over a new leaf. A kaishin shita hito (someone who did kaishin) is a reformed character, a changed man. All the sample sentences (of which there are many) talk about reform and repentance.

Most specifically: kaishin appears to be something you do to yourself. Someone else can’t kaishin you; they can only make you kaishin. You can kaishin saseru somebody, with the causative: “make them reform themself”.

As in many regards, the original Japanese is more concise and less colourful than the English localisation. That’s not necessarily bad! - I’m not equipped to interpret how colourful Japanese native speakers find the text. We certainly have expectations here that video game dialogue will be flashy; Persona 5 specifically is an extremely flashy game that deserves a flashy translation. ( @nardaviel suggests “Im so fucking glad its called a change of heart in english, reform is so boring”, to which I can only agree, lol.)

To highlight one thing: the phrase “change of heart” often appears in dialogue (e.g. Joker uses it to Yoshida), and it is not necessarily as suspicious as it appears. It’s not necessarily a deliberate hint that he’s a Phantom Thief (though it certainly could be, as kaishin becomes a meme, a Big Thing, right along with the Phantom Thieves). But it’s not a phrase; it’s a word. It has deniability. Something I’m noticing is that subtlety is often stripped from the localisation, which is a bit of a shame.

[more detail and examples below the cut than anyone could possibly want]

how did we end up with “change of heart”?

If you know any Japanese, you probably already noticed that 心 kokoro (heart) on the end of kaishin. 改心 literally reads as “change of heart”. That’s right: the idea of a “change of heart” is explicitly part of the Japanese word for “reform”.

It’s also often described as a “change of heart” in the original - because not everything that’s translated as “change of heart” is kaishin. Here’s Morgana, wondering if Sojiro is abusing Futaba. He uses 更生 kousei, "rehabilitation”.

Morgana 更生すべきはゴシュジンってことになる⋯ kousei subeki wa goshujin tte koto ni naru... Maybe the chief is the one who needs a change of heart...

Here’s Medjed’s warning to the PTs, quoted on TV. Futaba uses the idiom 心を入れ替える kokoro o irekaeru, “to replace one’s heart”, literally meaning “reform” - to change your ways, to turn over a new leaf.

TV Reporter 『心を入れ替えるのであれば、我々の傘下に入ることを認めよう』 "kokoro o irekaeru no de areba, wareware no sanka ni iru koto o mitomeyou" If you agree to a change of heart, we will accept you as our own.

Lastly, here’s Akechi bringing some shade, the first time we see him on TV. He uses 心を無理やりねじ曲げる kokoro o muriyari nejimageru - “to forcibly distort someone’s heart”. nejimageru has the sense of twisting something into a pretzel, of using excessive force to bend something from its natural state. Note that this isn’t the same word used for e.g. “distorted desires” - that’s 歪んだyuganda, “distorted”.

Akechi 第一、人の心を無理やりねじ曲げるなんて、人間が一番やっちゃいけない事ですよ。 dai-ichi, hito no kokoro o muriyari nejimageru nante, ningen ga ichiban yaccha ikenai koto desu yo More importantly, you should never forcefully change a person's heart. Most importantly, using force to warp someone’s heart is the worst thing you can do.

briefly dons akechi whisperer hat: think about third semester with that line in mind.

how is kaishin used?

Here’s Yusuke after Madarame’s palace, being nice and straightforward. “Is that his reform? Is that him reforming?”

Yusuke あれが⋯改心なのか? are ga... kaishin na no ka? Is that the change of heart?

Then there’s “trigger a change of heart”, “make someone have a change of heart”. Like we said further up with how you can’t actually kaishin someone directly, this is always the causative. Here’s Ryuji talking about Okumura. “If we make him reform”

Ryuji ま、改心させりゃ済む話だ。行くぜ! ma, kaishin saserya sumu hanashi da. iku ze! Well, if we change his heart that'll be the end of it. Let's go!

And here’s Sojiro talking to Futaba after her palace, with a passive-causative. “Did they force you to reform against your will?” Note that Futaba replies with her explanation that the Phantom Thieves saved her, which makes more sense when you know Sojiro is afraid Futaba has been violated.

Sojiro お前は、その⋯『改心』させられたのか? omae wa, sono... “kaishin” saserareta no ka? Did they... trigger a change of heart in you?

It really puts a new light on several events in canon, when you know that when someone talks about a “change of heart”, they’re really just talking about a reform, that could be any reform; it doesn’t need magic. Several characters in P5 undergo voluntary reform, voluntary changes of heart - Sae does, Mishima does, Akechi does.

Ask a simple question, eh?

what's a psychotic breakdown?

I'm going to try to give this one its own post, because I have Thoughts and Feelings about Call of Chaos, and that seems like a good place to dump some of them.

what's medjed's catchphrase?

I'm really glad you asked this, because I remember wondering on my playthrough, and then I forgot all about it. However, question 1 has gone so long that this will have to be a separate post as well.

[jimblejamblewritings]

what we were, what we are | part 3.

Summary: The worst thing that ever happened to Y/N Lupin was getting sent to Azkaban for a crime she didn’t commit. The second worst thing was when she got out on parole and not because her name was cleared. Trying to get her life back proves difficult when everyone has moved on into the present while she only has memories of the past.

Warnings for the Series: angst, smut

Pairing: james potter x black!reader, james potter x lupin!reader, sirius black x black!reader, sirius black x lupin!reader

Word Count: 4.3k

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist)

You went to breakfast in the Great Hall when school was back in session after winter break. It was with hesitance. No Auror had escorted you from Malfoy Manor to Hogwarts, letting you use the Floo Network all on your own. You wanted to think that it might have been a good thing. The sting operation had been a failure but that was on your end. You thought they were getting Voldemort over Christmas. They informed you that they were getting him when they felt the time was right now that you gave them an idea of what his daily routine looked like and his favorite disguises.

However, nothing had been said about your trial. No updates, not even an offhand comment. Sirius started to raise his hand and wave to you but thought better of it after seeing the wrinkle between your brows as you scowled at your own shoes.

“Moons, you’re not going to do anything about your sister?”

Remus looked up from his reading for one moment to see you pacing the entirety of their dorm room. You looked up from scowling at your shoes to give him a small smile. Even though you weren’t twins the two of you definitely had weird twin telepathy. You went back to scowling and Remus went back to reading.

“She’s fine, Pete. That’s (Y/N)’s thinking face.”

“Thinking? She looks like she’s going to kill someone.”

You stopped pacing for a moment. “Remmy, how bad do you think it would be?”

“I don’t know. That’s the problem. What if it triggers the lycanthropy, what if you turn out like me?”

That made the other boys sit up. While they hadn’t known you and Remus for very long, it was almost the end of second year when they had figured out Remus’ big secret. And when James had blabbed about knowing the truth, you and your brother didn’t hide it. So why hide yours and for so long? Sirius’ eyes squinted as he voiced what the other boys were thinking, albeit in his crude way.

“But (Y/N) only has one time of month.”

James and Peter struggled to keep their leaves under their tongue as they laughed. You stopped pacing long enough to chuck a pillow at Sirius’ face. Three of the Marauders listened intently as you explained that you and Remus shared a room when you were younger. Fenrir didn’t just go after Remus, he went after you as well. But your screaming when Remus was bit had alarmed your parents that when they raced to your room, the only thing Fenrir could do was scratch at you.

The Marauders had alway assumed the scars on your left hand were from Remus. You turned your back on them and lifted your hair. A very large scar near the base of your skull could be seen. You had tried to stop Fenrir from continuing his scratches at your head.

With a frustrated sigh, you plopped down on Sirius’ bed. The raven hair boy scooted on his knees towards you. He turned your head and squished your cheeks together until you opened your mouth. With great care, he stuck one of the extra leaves they had under your tongue.

“I’ve read everything out there since we knew about your little furry problem, Moons—”

“You read?”

You almost choked on your leaf at your brother’s comment. Sirius rolled his eyes and continued like nothing was said.

“Nothing about scratches turning into full blown lycanthropy, you’ll be fine (Y/N). Maybe a little more wolfy but fine. So stop worrying so hard.” Sirius nodded in content as his thumbs smoothed out the wrinkle between your eyebrows.

You sat at your spot at the staff table and focused solely on your food. Sirius, James, and Remus were watching you with intensity. You ate even less than normal, chewing the same bite of food over and over again without noticing that you were doing so. Because Voldemort knew about him, Remus had no worries about sending you letters of the break. Almost all of them were apologies. But he honestly became worried when you hadn’t responded to a single one.

There was nothing that raised any alarms. He couldn’t see any bruising, no red marks, nothing that would indicate Tom had hurt you. You left your seat to move in front of where Remus was. He just stared at you for a moment, realizing that he could no longer read you by just your face. You held out two pieces of paper.

“The Quidditch World Cup is this summer, do you want to go with me?” You looked at the other two men. “I’m sorry but Tom doesn’t kno— he’d be suspicious if I asked.”

The other two men shook it off, knowing that you really didn’t have a choice. The corners of Remus’ mouth pulled up a little at the fact that you even invited him anywhere. At the same time, he was a bit ashamed of himself. Why did it feel like you were reaching out to him instead of the other way? It should have been the other way around. He was the one who should be trying to get back in your good graces. Remus just nodded as he took one of the tickets. You looked at him with confusion when he replaced the ticket with some buttered toast in your hand.

“You’ve barely eaten this morning.”

He watched your eyes wander back over to your own plate as if you hadn’t noticed that what he said was true. You took a bite. The furrow in your eyebrow that Sirius had noticed came back. Remus still couldn’t tell what the problem was. With some reluctance, you looked over at James.

“You don’t still have any of my stuff, do you?” you whispered. “From Godric’s Hollow?”

James tensed up. You guys had just moved out of a flat and into that house that all your stuff was barely out of moving boxes when you got taken to Azkaban. It had been so easy to just make it all disappear with the swish of his wand. It had been so easy to sell the house despite the fact that you guys went halves on buying it because you insisted on wanting to feel like you contributed even though he was more than happy to provide for you. He didn’t even move far away from the place. The neighborhood was amazing so of course he settled with his family there.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, voice cracking as the new familiar sadness washed over your face. “I’ll pay for whatever you need. Alright, sweetheart?”

You and James both cringed at the pet name. It had slipped out of his mouth on instinct. He had to do everything in his power to stop from reaching out to you when you started to shake your head at the pet name. It was a mistake on his part but it hurt you so much.  

“You don’t have to,” you said. “You really don—”

“Ms. Lupin.”

You turned around at the sound of the voice. The Marauders watched with steely expressions at the Aurors coming your way. The entire Great Hall had fallen silent. The tremors that Remus had unfortunately become accustomed to see on you turned into full blown shaking. It was stupid of him but Remus reached for his wand just in case.

“Ms. Lupin, your presence is being requested at the Ministry.”

You followed them, not like you really had a choice. As you left, Filch and another Auror entered the Great Hall. Everyone watched in confused silence as a projector was set up and their tables were moved to the sides of the room. The food was left for students to eat but after a few whispers between Dumbledore and the Auror, it was suddenly announced that all classes were canceled. The entirety of the Order sat at the spare tables set up. James looked at his wife in confusion when Lily stepped in. She slipped in between the three Marauders before saying anything.

“Trial. That was all they said before sending everyone not directly involved home to watch. It’s playing in all the pubs so not everyone would storm Hogwarts to watch.”

Voldemort on a projector screen was the last thing anyone, even Lily who had been at the Ministry all day, expected to see. It was fairly quick. The Ministry didn’t really want to do it but after the letters from Remus about demanding a proper trial for you, the last thing they wanted was a reason for Voldemort to be let out of Azkaban.

Students and staff alike watched with actual interest at Voldemort’s trial and then all the Death Eaters. The Marauders couldn’t help but sneer when Peter was called up. Others were surprised but not quick to assume Peter was suddenly on Voldemort’s side. His lie about staying a rat out of fear of Death Eaters coming after him again was believable enough.

You could be seen in a tiny corner of the screen. The only thought going through all three men’s heads was to hug you tight and not let go, all while telling you it was okay. But instead, they could only watch your Ministry-assigned lawyer give you a pat on the shoulder. Sirius frowned.

He would’ve hired the best lawyer in the wizarding world if you had said something. You didn’t have money, sure, but he had the entire Black fortune. He stopped focusing on you and onto the very loud, open argument between some Ministry members.

“Suppose he is one of You-Know-Who’s supporters, it is very likely that using Veritaserum wouldn’t give us an accurate portrayal if he is a skilled wizard,” Amelia Bones said. “Or another supporter could aid in the altering of memories.”

“Then what are we going to do?” Barty Crouch Sr. asked. “In regards to Ms. Lupin, we need—”

Your lawyer stood up.

“In regards to my client, the best witness would be her. She’s been in Azkaban all these years without a way to perform magic. Even if she was working for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, she was caught off guard the night she was arrested that there was no chance to begin working on memory alteration.”

Amelia looked at where you were seated. She sighed heavily at noticing your eyes flit to every Auror in the room with lots of nervousness. It didn’t take much for her to be swayed to your favor. Seeing Peter Pettigrew alive was enough for her.

“Is it safe? Is it safe to force Ms. Lupin to relive memories if she has been innocent this entire time?”

“There isn’t much of a choice,” your lawyer said. “Or this will be a long trial of he said she said.”

It was put to a vote and after considering the circumstances all members were in favor of using your memories to show the truth. You gently raised your hand after sitting in the chair in the center of the room. Amelia gently encouraged you to speak up.

“There are holes in some memories… the dementors,” you admitted.

“W-w-we are aware of that, Ms. Lupin, we’ll just do the best we can.”

As they set up a pensieve that would allow everyone watching on the screens set up around the wizarding world to watch your memories, your lawyer whispered to you that it was good you had holes in your memory. It would make you seem more believable. You frowned as you took a potion to open up and unlock all your memories. You were believable.

“(Y/N)? We don’t think they’ll find it suspicious?” Dorcas asked at the Order meeting. “That’s like sending in Lily.”

“I can do it,” you piped up. No one in the Order ever liked to give you a chance on anything.

Everyone seemed unsure but ultimately agreed. Without hesitation, you met with Fenrir Greyback. He smiled in a sickly sweet fashion as you both sat across from each other in a muggle diner.

“How’s the full moon treating you and your brother?”

You sipped your coffee. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve heard through the bushes that Tom Riddle— don’t tell me you flinch at his name too— anyway, Tom is promising refuge of sorts to werewolves. Is that true?”

Fenrir leaned back. “Free reign on muggles, mudbloods, and half-bloods, more than just a little taste.”

“And he means it?”

“The Dark Lord has given his word about it.”

“And you believe him?”

“As long as we don’t touch his precious purebloods. Exceptions can be made for blood traitors, I have every reason to believe him.”

“Then I want in.”

Fenrir’s brow raised. You knew it would take a little bit to be convincing but you had planned it out. Remus was having a hard time getting any good jobs. He was discriminated against left and right. You lied that the scratch caused people to think you would turn at any moment. A single conversation about how Fenrir ruined your life, not only boosted his ego but gave him confidence to bring you into Death Eater ranks. He told you when the next meeting was and that he would put in a good word for you.

The Hogwarts’ staff watched as you gripped your wand when watching Fenrir’s eyes lock on one of the muggle waitresses who was getting off the midnight shift.

Your eyes closed tightly and you tried not to cry as you let him slip out of the booth and go after her, knowing that you would immediately blow your cover if you did so. You waited only five minutes, not able to bear waiting any longer, before running into the back alley that she was in. She looked awful to put it mildly. You pulled the woman into your lap and held her face in your hands.

“Shhh, shhh, it’s alright. Just drink this.”

“What was that?” she asked with a shaky voice as she gulped down the large amount of wolfsbane potion that you put to her mouth. You didn’t even know if it would work but you hoped that pouring enough wolfsbane to kill a werewolf down her throat right after being freshly bit would be enough to keep her human.

“A nightmare, it was an absolute nightmare.”

She nodded as you healed her wounds, not even caring about using magic in front of a muggle. The woman seemed alright. Not perfect but alright. You kept track of her until the next full moon, relieved at seeing nothing happen.

~~

“Are you sure?” Severus asked you. “These will be difficult to get rid of.”

You turned to look at Severus who was kind enough to invite to his home even though you two had not been friends at Hogwarts. Being the only double spys, it became easy for you two to bond. You nodded severely.

“Everyone else has it but us. They will notice if we don’t.”

You kept scratching at where the Dark Mark was now on your forearm. James came around your kitchen island. He was cooking while you were just sitting on the counter and watching him. He kissed the scars on your hand before kissing the ugly tattoo.

“Stop scratching at it, sweetheart. You’re only going to give yourself a bruise.”

“It’s fucking awful, James. Severus doesn’t even know if we’ll be able to remove them after the war.”

“You can always get it covered.” He slotted himself between the open space of your legs. “You’ll definitely get a chapter in the history books. Badass Order spy gets a Dark Mark to fully convince Voldemort that she’s on their side.”

You huffed. “And then a century later when I’m dead they’ll just call me a whore.”

“Hmm?”

You sighed. “Tom—”

“Since when did you call him by his real name?”

“I’m trying to tell you.”

“Sorry.”

“Tom… wants me to be his, asked me to… I agreed.” You started playing with your ring when James said nothing. “I get it if you want to call the wedding off at least for now, or forever, but he’s already told me things no one else knows and I think the Order can really use this.”

James’ hands covering yours cut off your rambling. “One, you’re still a spy not a whore no matter how you’re getting the information. Two, I’m not calling off anything. Sweetheart, we get married in a week and we move into our new house in two weeks. This whole flat is nothing but boxes. I’m not unpacking again unless it’s our new home. What you have to do has nothing to do with my feelings for you.”

James stiffened up as he saw a younger him tell you that he would love you forever. He broke that promise with little regard past himself.

“You need to clean up, Remmy.”

“And you need to stop nagging,” Remus retorted but picked up all the laundry scattered around his flat anyway.

He suddenly coughed when you knocked the breath out of him trying to give him a hug. It had been so long since you saw your brother properly. You were around Voldemort almost all the time and could really only send letters. Remus hugged you back.

“He has horcruxes. Five of them.”

Your brother froze. “What? How do you know, ho—”

“Is my information ever wrong?”

Remus shook his head because you were right. Every piece of information you got to the Order was correct and he didn’t know how you got Voldemort to tell you.

“He’s going to make it six. He wants to turn his snake into one but… he’s waiting for the prophecy to come true. He wants to use that death to make his sixth one, like a victory or something.”

“What prophecy?”

“I don’t know yet, Lucius interrupted us.”

Order members started to squirm in their seats as they watched every interaction between you and Voldemort. Every memory tended to end the same way, you crying to James with a locked bathroom door between you guys until you felt like Voldemort was gone from your body. The worst was you crying about the ring because he proposed. Actually the worst was when you scooted away from James in your shared bed because you felt bad that he was effectively sharing you with Voldemort.

Everyone returned from the trial break with lots of questions about the truth. Lunch came around and even though no one was obligated to return to the Great Hall to continue watching the trial, they all did. Everyone sat up straighter when the next memory showed Peter.  

When the Order meeting had ended, you pulled Peter to the side. “We have a problem, Pete.”

“What is it?”

“There’s a spy here.”

Peter stuttered out a what.

“Tom was telling me something that he shouldn’t have known about. Something he was surprised that I didn’t know about. It’s not Severus, I know it’s not but it’s someone here.”

“Should we say something?”

“No,” you said. “No, we can only trust Remmy, Pads, and James. What you need to do is switch with me.”

“Switch?”

“Hiding Frank and Alice, becoming the Secret Keeper. They’re the only ones in the Order that are married and childless, Tom’s convinced the baby to kill him is going to be theirs.”

“Alice isn’t even pregnant.”

“He knows. He wants to make sure that never becomes an issue.”

“I’m supposed to meet Alice today to know where they’ve moved but you need to do it.”

“Me?”

“They’ll easily torture it out of the other boys. Remmy’s too obvious, James and Sirius might tell the spy on accident since they go on the most missions. They won’t think of you. You’re close to us, not Frank or Alice.”

“Why can’t you keep doing it?”

“I think Tom doesn’t fully trust me yet. I swear I taste something in my pumpkin juices whenever we all eat dinner but I don’t know if it’s Veritaserum or not. I don’t want to risk the Longbottoms’ life, I do—”

Everyone watched the memory go fuzzy before turning into smoke just like a bunch of your earlier memories. It was another memory partially eaten up by dementors. Lots of memories tended to do that. It wasn’t lost on James, Lily, or even the oblivious Harry, how your memories with James were fully intact. Sometimes they got blurry but it was like you fought with the dementors to keep the memory whole. Sirius and Remus noticed as well, wondering if anyone outside of their friends also picked up on it.

Remus’ jaw clenched so tightly that he thought he might break his own teeth when the memory of you being arrested at the scene of the crime showed up. You had been calling out to him.

A few times you called your parents’ names but you had mainly been calling for him. Him and James, only for neither of them to ever show up. The entirety of Hogwarts looked on in horror at seeing the inside of Azkaban for the first time.

You broke off a bit of the charcoal tray that your food came on and hid it in the corner of your room. A shaky hand made the first tally mark followed by ten more. It had been eleven days. Eleven breakfasts, you only got a shitty breakfast for the entire day, and that was how you knew. You were whispering to yourself that someone would come to get you. Someone had to. You shifted into your Animagus form, a fox to match your old Patronus before it had changed to a stag, and curled up to sleep.  

Christmas came around and there was still no one there. You couldn’t even save yourself. The bars on your cell were spaced out just enough to fit your fox form through but there was nowhere to go. You had no wand, Azkaban was in the middle of dangerous ocean water and high up on a cliff, and it was impossible to turn back into wizard form to apparate because the dementors were all around to see it.

The only thing your fox form was useful for was providing a little bit more warmth when you slept. Your eyes went wide when Christmas breakfast of mush came with a roll of brown bread. Water was accompanied with another cup that held butterbeer. Like a feral animal, you scrambled to grab the bread and butterbeer in case it had been a mistake and they didn’t mean to serve it.

The Order watched in horror as you drank the butterbeer so fast that they thought you would choke. You cried as you ripped off chunks of the bread and ate it, chewing the same piece until it was void of all flavor and you were forced to swallow it. Most Order members couldn’t look anymore when you turned to the charcoal drawing of your friends on the wall of your cell and wished them a happy Christmas.

Every Christmas in Azkaban was like that. An extra bit of bread and butterbeer. Of course, it was a trade for an extra sweet memory of yours but you didn’t care. You would do anything for the extra food once a year.

Students felt like they should turn away at seeing your lowest moments. McGonagall wiped at the tears that had fallen at seeing all your Azkaban memories. They were all the same yet different, just like how your days in prison blended.

Seven years of memories of you tallying walls, crying, screaming you were innocent, walking around the cell and talking to imaginary people— imaginary Remus and James the most— followed by more crying when a sudden consciousness that they weren’t actually there seemed to hit you. Seven years of memories of you being fed on by dementors, poking at your Dark Mark and saying you hated it, saying you would actually kill Peter when you got out, begging your brother and husband to at least visit you if no one else would.

But the scariest had been the final four years. In one of the memories, they watched you tell the imaginary Order and the imaginary Marauders that you knew what they thought of you. You knew they hated you. You knew that it didn’t matter anymore.

After that, you only spoke to ask for your daily bathroom break and weekly shower. You only cried when you begged the dementors to not feed on you that day. You simply marked tallies after each delivery of breakfast and then sat in the corner of your room until your limbs were stiff and you would pace once to stretch them out before sitting back in the corner. A shell of a person was what you had become.

The Marauders walked out of the Great Hall before your verdict, once all the memories had been seen. If you were seen as anything but innocent then they didn’t know what they were going to do. You spent twelve years there. And you broke at the end of year seven. They hated themselves. As your brother, friend, ex-husband. They simply hated themselves. A large bottle of firewhiskey was passed between the three of them as they waited in your classroom.

You opened your classroom with shaky hands. Remus was up first. Hugging you to his chest so tightly that you felt like it was a bit hard to breathe. It wasn’t just your brother who couldn’t read your face anymore. You couldn’t read his.

“From now, I’ll always believe you, (Y/N). I promise you that. Always your word first, no one else.”

Sirius and James stayed where they were, sitting on your desk. They waited for you to approach first. You noticed the empty bottle of firewhiskey and they noticed the dried tear stains on your face. They both opened their mouths to apologize again when you spoke up.

“Isn’t it a Moony Night? You guys have to leave soon,” you whispered.

Both men looked at each other. James gave in first.

“Um, you should stay with her Pads. I’ll go with Moony.”

(Part 4)

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

New species I’m getting this year!

Antennaria rosea (Rosy pussytoes)

Arisaema dracontium (Green dragon)

Asplenium scolopendrium (Hart’s tongue)

Calycanthus floridus (Sweetshrub)

Carex aurea (Golden sedge)

Claytonia virginica (Fairy spuds)

Echinacea pallida (Pale purple coneflower)

Equisetum hyemale (Scouring rush)

Iris setosa (Bristle-pointed iris)

Linnaea borealis (Twinflower)

Lonicera canadensis (Canadian fly honeysuckle)

Lonicera involucrata (Twinberry honeysuckle)

Osmunda claytoniana (Interrupted fern)

Passiflora incarnata (Maypop)

Pediomeleum esculentum/Psoralea esculenta (Breadroot)

Polystichum munitum (Western sword fern)

Triglochin maritma (Seaside arrowgrass)

Vaccinium macrocarpon (Large cranberry)

Viburnum acerifolium (Maple-leaved viburnum)

Viola pedata var. bicolor (Crowfoot violet)

Species I’m trying again this year after failed past attempt(s)!

Antennaria neglecta (Field pussytoes) Was planted in late summer and I was kept from watering it adequately.

Argentina anserina (Silverweed) No idea why they didn’t survive where I put them, but try, try again, elsewhere this time.

Artemisia frigida (Fringed sagebrush) First time ended up being white sage brush instead; second time plug was on its last legs on arrival, died soon after.

Chamaenerion angustifolium (Fireweed) Going to try this in yet another spot.

Dennstaedtia punctiloba (Hay-scented fern) Supposed to be aggressive! Mine was not. Maybe the one I get this year.

Dioscorea villosa (Wild yam) Planted the tuber but it never came up.

Glycyrrhiza lepidota (Wild licorice) Squirrels...Dug it up and broke the stem.

Lupinus polyphyllus (Big-leaf lupine) Leafed out nicely for its first and second year and then just didn’t come up again after its second winter.

Maianthemum racemosum (False Solomon’s seal) Squirrels! Dug it up and broke the stem.

Pteridium aquilinum latiusculum (Western bracken fern) I put it in a dry shady spot, as recommended, and it died.

Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed Susan) SQUIRRELS!!! Dug it up and while I was visiting home and it dried out. Couldn’t revive it.

Silene acaulis (Moss campion) Sunny, wet, amongst rocks. Check, check, check, but they keep dying on me.

Sisyrinchium montanum (Blue-eyed grass) Two places tried, two place died. I shall try a third place this year.

Viola pubescens (Downy yellow violet) FUCKING. SQUIRRELS. Dug it up while I was at work and left it to scorch and dry out in the sun. Couldn’t revive it.

Species I’m getting again because I’m fairly sure mine didn’t make it

Apocynum cannabinum (Hemp dogbane) It might not have gotten enough sunlight thanks to the white mulberry that grew over. I’ll try it in a different area.

Sagittaria latifolia (Duck potato) It may come up after all but I don’t want to take the chance of planting too late if it doesn’t.

Sparganium americanum (American bur-reed) Not sure why, but we’ll try again this year. And I may yet be surprised.

Symplocarpus foetidus (Skunk cabbage) It’s possible it’s just young and takes longer to come up than it would if it were more mature, but I don’t want to take chances since there’s only one place I can get them at.

[loulucifer]

i feel like ive been seeing some new folks in my notifications so i think its time to reintroduce myself -

Hi I'm Lou (Lupine) - Local Guy/Local Dumbass I'm 23 living in Van just kinda vibing Im originally from Washington state so Im a big Kraken fan, but the canucks got me into hockey so they also matter to me SO much You'll mainly see my losing my marbles about the canucks, kraken, ducks, leafs, bruins I only actively dislike like... 2 teams I consider myself a distributor of Seattle Kraken propaganda (Also soucy propaganda, also beauvi propaganda, also....) I like a lot of players but as of late my obsessions have been - Dunner, Lars, Beauvi, Davo, Matty Tkachuk, Grubi, Soucy honestly ive got so many i can talk about uuuuuh I love talking to people so never hesitate to shoot me a DM <3 I write RPF because its the only way to get into heaven, I also make a lot of art! Digital collage and traditional print my life is a joke but at least im laughing

[lillianofliterature]

about me. . .

Lillian, 23, she/her, panromantic asexual, pots, adhd, infp, 2w1

follower of Jesus, friend to bugs, obsessed with dinosaurs

aspiring author, fanfic writer, jewelry maker & paleoartist

what i’m typing. . .

REQUESTS

"silver fox”, terry silver x younger!reader [age gap] [mini series]

ONE-SHOTS/MINI SERIES

“extending hospitality”, obi-wan kenobi x reader [part three] [mini series conclusion] ON HIATUS

“reflections of the heart”, severus snape x reader [mini series]

“the guilt of seven graves”, severus snape x reader [one-shot] [dark content warning]

"of gits and glowers", severus snape x reader [one-shot]

links and resources. . .

main masterlist

imagines/preferences masterlist

request guidelines

my spotify (including character themed playlists and povs)

characters i obsess over. . .

alan grant, aragorn, august booth, beetlejuice, beorn, bofur, bruno madrigal, daniel larusso, data soong, din djarin, dwalin, eddie munson, elrond, frodo baggins, george of the jungle, haldir, heimdall, jack sparrow, jareth, johnny lawrence, killian jones, loki, obi-wan kenobi, remus lupin, rick o'connell, rumplestiltskin/mr. gold, severus snape, silco, spencer shay, spock, tarrant hightopp, terry silver, thranduil, tyrion lannister

ariel, arya stark, brienne of tarth, danaerys targaryen, emma swan, frankie bernstein, jinx, katniss everdeen, leia organa, merida, mulan, natasha romanoff, regina mills, sansa stark, zelena

my fandoms. . . 

TV/SERIES:

once upon a time, outlander, arcane, star trek (tos, tng, voy, pic), stargate (sg-1, atlantis, universe), cobra kai, game of thrones, good omens, our flag means death, the last of us, the clone wars, the mandalorian, the book of boba fett, the falcon and the winter soldier, loki, avatar: the last airbender, the legend of korra, grace and frankie, the waltons, matlock, sherlock, icarly, 2000s nickelodeon/disney channel shows

MOVIES:

the hobbit, the lord of the rings, harry potter, the chronicles of narnia, star wars, star trek, marvel/mcu, jurassic park/world, pirates of the caribbean, the karate kid (I-III), labyrinth, hunt for the wilderpeople, sense and sensibility (1995), alice in wonderland (2010), finding neverland (2004), the phantom of the opera (2004), beetlejuice, the nightmare before christmas, the little mermaid, emperor’s new groove, tinker bell, and a gazillion more 

BOOKS:

the hunger games, the hobbit, the lord of the rings, the true confessions of charlotte doyle, percy jackson series, the selection series, anything austen or brontë, and a lot of heckin’ good fanfiction

WEBTOONS/COMICS:

lore olympus, let’s play, midnight in poppy land, the wolfman of wulvershire, suitor armor, he’s harmless i swear, the first night with the duke, the remarried empress, tricked into becoming the heroine’s stepmother, subzero, what’s up beanie, not even bones, my gently raised beast, your throne, madame outlaw, the wrath & the dawn, forever after, siren’s lament, eaternal nocturnal, age matters, of swamp & sea, lady knight, house of stars, archie comics: big ethel energy, blood stain, punderworld, i love yoo, brass & sass, miss widow, and even more (obviously I’m obsessed with them)

VIDEO GAMES:

animal crossing: new horizons, animal crossing: new leaf, animal crossing: city folk, breath of the wild, the wind waker, jedi fallen order, the last of us (I & II), any and all lego games, and more!

MUSIC/GENRES:

film scores/soundtracks, musicals, reggae, alternative/indie, celtic punk, celtic music, various independent instrumentals/composers, folk rock, 70s/80s rock, indie folk, pop, and a sprinkle of everything else (I listen to almost every genre, it just depends on what my soul needs in the moment! music is so cathartic, i’m almost always listening to it)

james newton howard, howard shore, bear mccreary, rachel portman, anne dudley, alexandre desplat, john powell, john williams, harry gregson-williams, mark isham, bob marley & the wailers, jack johnson, dave matthews band, red house painters, iron & wine, cat stevens, daft punk, adele, lord huron, fleetwood foxes, dodie, birdy, avril lavigne, priscilla ahn, AND SO MANY MORE! (i freaking love music)

if you want to know more or chat about any shared fandoms or inquire about unlisted fandoms or interests, just dm me!

[muttball]

Big Leaf Lupine

[pnwnativeplants]

Hey there! I recently moved to to a property owned by my fiance's family in the greater Seattle area, and there are a lot of empty pots on site. I'd like to plant native plants in them, but my fiance's family would definitely prefer showy nonnatives like geraniums and petunias. Do you have any ideas of long-lasting (not ephemeral like camas - I grow those in a meadow format, but I wouldn't use them in a pot) and showy (absolutely no fringecup or piggy-back plant lol) native flowers for partly-shaded to full sun pots?

You can grow achillea millefolium, or any kind of lupine potentially. Achillea might not be showy enough, but they at least have a long bloom time. Big leaf lupine have very showy purple flowers and cute palmate leaves year round. Irix tenax is a native iris that's very showy. Western columbine (Aquilegia formosa) is also pretty popular everywhere. Lonicera hispidula is pink honeysuckle, which is a vine you can train and it keeps it's leaves year-round. Lonicera ciliosa has more flowers but is deciduous in winter time, so its vine just look like dead sticks till spring. Both big hummingbird plants. You can have beach strawberry around anything else you grow too, to help keep weeds down. Granted I've never tried planting any of these in containers so I have no idea how they do. (except achillea can probably do whatever it wants to be honest, it doesnt care hahaha)

If you have bigger containers you can mess with small shrubs but I just stuck with forbs here since you mentioned looking for alternatives to petunias and such.

[sweetsweetnothin]

Best Laid Plans pt. 2

Remus Lupin x Reader (gn)

Read part one here!

Summary: After successfully sneaking out of the house, reader and Remus take a stroll down to the shore to watch the sunrise. This is very gentle and fluffy. If u live by or frequent the coast you'll know this is just the feeling of autumn by the ocean. Enjoy part 2, this got quite long :)

Warnings: None, maybe like thalassophobia (the ocean). Very slight angst, Remus misses his mum.

Wordcount: 3.2k

Before Remus realises, you’ve led him to a small break in the treeline that borders your vast property. He notices that this is the entrance to a proper trail as he spots a small hand painted sign nailed to a tree on his right. It has a bright floral border and a simple arrow indicating that they move forward. 

“So this is like, a hike or something? Or are you taking me out here at the break of dawn to murder me?” he says looking down at you. 

“I’m murdering you, yeah.” you respond, swaying your hands between his as you walk past the sign and into the mossy trail. The sky was changing again. Now a dull blue-grey that was becoming slowly obscured by the thick cover of the canopy above.  

“Aw. Damn today? I think I’ve got plans later.. Think we could maybe push the murder to tomorrow? My schedule is suuuper tight right now..” He says, glancing at you with that silly smirk on his face. You huff and decide to play along.

“Oh.. oh okay. Hmm you know what you should get in contact with my secretary.” you pretend to think for a second. “He’s super busy though, great guy you might actually know him… tall scruffy bloke.” You look at him and he chuckles at your description. “I think he has a thing for me though.” you respond. 

When you look at him again his eyes are forward, on the trail but glossy, and he’s smiling through his speech when he answers. 

“Wow. Super unprofessional. You should do something about that.” 

“Yeah you know how workplace relationships go. Would be awkward for sure.” You say, watching the trail as well. You bump his shoulder familiarly and continue walking in comfortable silence. Just the two of you like this is nice, away from the house you relax a little and adjust your grip on Remus’ hand. You feel him shift slightly beside you and glance up at him, catching his gaze. His head snaps forward sharply and blushes, his ears going slightly red.

“What.” you ask coyly.

“Just you.” he says, looking away bashfully. 

That’s always his response when you catch him staring. Just you. 

You never really know what he means, it’s different every time but you know that asking him to elaborate would be silly, sure that he wouldn’t be able to put all that he’s thinking into words. You shake your head like you always do and Remus squeezes your hand for a moment. A wordless I love you. 

Continuing forward, you remember your way well enough but of course the trail is slightly different each time you walk it. Plants and trees slightly larger than last time you were there, the moss under your feet was slightly fuller. It was truly beautiful this time of year, you’d come at just the right time. The leaves were just starting to change, most still green and yellow but others a deep orange, every once and a while a stray leaf would float down from the canopy and land on the trail ahead of you. In addition to the rest of the house, your Nan had also put love and care into the maintenance of this trail. You knew there were some complicated charms that kept the path in line, never letting it become too overgrown, and every few trees, she had strung great big clam shells to smaller branches as trail markers. There were smaller things strung up through the trees as well. Little bottles, shells, holes with stones, and anything else that had washed up on the shore over the years. 

You had been walking for nearly ten minutes, and you knew there would be one last turn before you reached your destination. As you neared a fork in the trail you couldn’t help but glance at Remus every few seconds, watching him crane his head up at the gentle tinkle of sea shells suspended from the branches overhead. 

“Brilliant.” he says softly. His pupils are wide again and he stops in the middle of the fork. One path to the right, one to the left. 

“Which way.” he asks and you pause with him, putting a finger to your lips and hugging his arm rightly in your own. 

“Just listen for a second.” you say and look around. He does, closing his eyes for a moment to focus. You can hear it if you really listen, the dense, rhythmic crashing of great waves on the rocky shore. From this distance the slight echo through the woods sounds like a great voice, but gentle. A hush of a mother to a fretting child. A feeling of great calm comes over you and you see the moment he hears it too and glances to the right, looking at you brightly. 

You nod in reply and move to follow him down the new path, adjusting the bag on your back slightly. It��s gotten heavier, you think as you catch up to his long strides, slipping your hand easily back into his. 

“Suppose we must be getting close to this mystery spot soon,” he says after a moment. 

“Though I am enjoying this walk, don’t get any ideas.” 

“Yeah not long now, I feel like the moment isn’t going to be as cool as I thought it would, I've hyped it up too much.” you say lowly, looking at the ground.

The trail was changing slowly from dirt and moss to a clover spotted grass, seemingly freshly cut. You see the path start to curve slightly to the left and the trees become even more sparse. A gust of salty sea wind suddenly surged up the path from a break in the trees, ruffling yours and Remus’s hair and jackets, you shiver slightly and begin to feel the electric pull of the ocean. A few more paces and as the path straightens out the trees on your right side fade out completely, revealing the startling view. Remus stops suddenly and gasps, taking it all in. 

The view was astounding, Remus had hardly noticed the trail sloping uphill, at least it must have as the two of you were now standing on the edge of a great rocky cliff. The path ahead twisted and turned down and down to a small beach carved into the little inlet. He understood now the reason for the early wake up call too, and mentaly noted how precisely you must have timed this. The sun was only just creeping up over the grey expanse of ocean ahead of him, slightly fuzzy in the morning fog, it lit the whole scene in a gentle pink glow. This is how the world looks in dreams, he thinks. Fuzzy and warm, and you’re there looking up at him, eyes round and expectant. He looks out again and is suddenly overcome with emotion. Tears prick the corner of his eyes and he stares into the horizon, eyes glossy.

 Maybe it’s the sheer vastness of the landscape, or the power of the ocean, or the fact that you planned this all for him. A sunrise walk to a special and very private place, one that clearly meant a lot to you. Perhaps it was the fact that you knew him well enough to know that he would genuinely enjoy this. A quiet outing without any particular purpose or meaning,  completely (seemingly) spontaneous. A giant, nonverbal loveletter from you to him. Here’s how well I know you, how much I love you. 

You sigh contently beside him and bump his shoulder lightly. 

“What’s up doc? You okay?” you ask gently, already knowing his answer. It comes out with a gentle sigh as he takes your hand again and starts to lead you down the path towards the small beach. 

“Yeah. Just you.’”

The walk down to the shore could be treacherous at times, you remember, but with Remus’s steady form beside you, you both make it down unscathed. Letting go of his hand, you break away, twirling around a few times, arms outstretched and face to the sky. You move further down, stopping in an area where the sand is more sand and less rock. You draw your wand and with a flourish, conjure a small patchy quilt. It flutters slowly to the ground and lands evenly, the edges staying put with the help of some clever spell tweaking despite the occasional gust of sharp wind. Another flick of your wrist and two plates, glasses, cutlery, and napkins appear. You lug the bag off your back and set it down in the centre of the quilt, sitting down cross legged in front of your own table setting. You watch Remus observe, a fond smile on his face, then move to join you. 

He sits down with a huff and moves to open your rucksack, then stops, glancing at you for a silent go ahead. You smile and nod slightly. He reaches inside and pulls out the smaller paper bag, chuckling at the note scribbled on the front. He pulls the small bottle first, freshly squeezed orange juice you had picked up from a local bakery yesterday, along with two crisp and flakey croissants, shining with a butter glaze. He smiles and shakes his head as he pulls the last two items from the bag. A small container full to the brim with various cut fruits, and another container of brie. The simple food of generations of poets, philosophers, artists and muses alike, he could think of no greater place to indulge in this simple pleasure.

“You spoil me, darling.” He says deeply, setting aside the bag and moving to arrange his goods across the blanket. He opens the container of fruit and grabs a shining, almost black cherry. You watch him eagerly, pupils wide, as he leans over and taps your chin gently with his unoccupied hand. You oblige and open your mouth, maintaining steady eye contact as he places the fruit gently on your tongue. You pull away, and with a gentle pop, leave him holding the thin stem between his fingers. He pauses, looks at it for a moment before smirking and putting it in his own mouth. 

You watch him, amused, as he manoeuvres it around with his tongue, using his teeth as a brace, attempting to tie a knot. You didn’t know he could do this but weren’t surprised. He  steadily held your gaze as he triumphantly pulled the stem from his teeth. Holding it out for you, dropped the small heart shaped knot into your open palm. 

“That was obscene, love.” You say and toss the cherry’s pit to the sand behind you. You look down at the stem for a moment again, then place it delicately in your pocket. 

“And you deserve this. All of this. I mean it.”  you add, poking him gently. And his smug smile is coloured slightly with the blush creeping over his cheeks. He looks down. Remus could  get so down on himself sometimes, and you knew that he just needed reminding every once and a while, that he was worth it. 

“You know, you’re the first person I’ve ever brought out here.” You tell him, gazing through your lashes. 

“Besides my family of course. I don’t know… it sounds silly to gatekeep, like, a place but yeah, couldn’t take just anyone out here.” You say, blushing slightly. 

“To murder, you mean.” he responds quickly, gazing out into the now bright sky. 

“Ha.” you say dully. 

“How about thanks babe! For the wonderful picnic and sentimental moment we’re sharing! You should be worried, you know, out here all alone on a trail you don’t know, far away from civilization… anything could happen.” you add sarcastically, earning you a small poke in the ribs. 

“Thank you.” He says, gazing now directly at you. He does this sometimes, looks extra long and hard at you to let you know that he really means what he’s saying, a softness in his eyes that only comes out when he looks at you. A warm smile returns to his face as you nod and motion to the spread in front of you. 

“Alright. Let's eat then.” 

And you do, polishing off the fruit, cheese, and bread quickly. All the while looking out at the sky and sea and each other, occasionally pointing out a bird diving sharply into the water, or the soft lap of an ambiguous fin slapping waves into the tide. After magically vanishing any stray crumbs, Remus stands and swipes the sand off his hands. He holds out a lean hand and you take it, standing with him and following his gaze. Even with the sun fully risen, the weather had stayed stubbornly grey and foggy. Not unusual, but you had never been out at  this time of day. The sky and water had blended together almost perfectly with the help of the morning mist. It was surreal and slightly unnerving, a perpetual sea that stretched up and up, all encompassing. 

“It’s just so compelling, I can’t explain it.” he says softly, you almost couldn't hear him over the waves. 

“Like, I understand why sailors sing about the sea and all her wonders, you know? And there is something, like, super feminine about it too. I don’t know.” he says, not looking at you. His eyes are shiny, and you’re about to ask why when he mumbles softly. 

“Making me miss my mum, i- i can’t really… explain it.” 

You let out a soft “aw” and move quickly to face him directly, placing your hands softly on his waist and looking up at him. He stares past you a moment longer before meeting your gaze, eyes full of unshed tears. He blinks them away quickly then takes your face in his hands. 

“Not in a sad way, don’t worry, just. Feeling-feeling that everything is going to be okay. Feels like being with mum.” he looks out again and smiles, pulling your head into his chest. He kisses the top of your head fondly, and you decide you don’t need to say anything at this moment. Just being here would be enough. 

After a moment he lets go and sighs. 

“Thank you.” he says.

“Again?” arch a brow, looking up, glad his temporary sadness seems to have passed. 

“Yeah. Always. Every day. Thank you.” 

He looks down at his watch and raises his brows. 

“Christ! It’s nearly eight!” he looks at you, a wide grin creeping across his face. 

“Think they’ve noticed we’re gone yet?” you ask, drawing your wand and with a swish and vanishing the quilt and dishes. You move to pick up the now empty backpack but Remus beats you to it. You shoot him a mock glare but don’t complain when he takes your hand and responds. 

“Doubt it. Lily might be up soon but the others will probably be asleep. Lazy gits.” 

As the two of you walk slowly hand in hand back up the beach you feel a warm weight in your chest, grateful all your planning had paid off and grateful that Remus had gotten a chance to enjoy himself. He stops before you get to the established trail, now a daunting, twisty walk uphill, and turns toward the sea one last time. With misty eyes, he looks back at you and nods forward. You comply, wordlessly following,beginning  the upward trek back to your sleeping friends. 

Before you know it you’ve passed the fork in the road and have emerged back into the meadow. The hill slopes slowly downward toward the old house, a single window you knew to be one of the upstairs bathrooms lit up in the misty grey morning. 

“Thank you for the outing, darling.” Remus says quietly as you near the back door. 

“I’d absolutely do it again, just give some notice next time it’s that early, yeah?”

“Really? Wasn’t too boring? We should bring the gang out there if we get some sun any time soon.” you ask, and swing open the back door, standing back to let Remus through first. 

“Boots please,babe” you say softly, toeing off your own now muddy boots.

 He does as you say and opens his mouth to respond when he's interrupted by a creak in the floorboards, then soft footsteps and Lily’s soft voice from the direction of the kitchen. 

“Bring us out where?” She chimes cheekily, emerging with a cup of steaming tea in hand and a paper tucked under her arm. 

“Sneaking out, were we?” she asks, mock stern. “Thought you could just get back in without anyone noticing?” 

“Well we got out all right, didn't we?” you quip. “Relax mum, we were just over the hill. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I’m bringing the rest of you lot out there soon.” 

Lily hums and gives the two of you a knowing smile, shaking her head slightly before going back upstairs, no doubt to read more comfortably in bed. 

You stifle a yawn and turn to Remus yawning as well, the early wake up and long was starting to catch up to the two of you, and you blinked slowly at each other a few times. 

“We could go back to bed, you know, catch up on those crucial few hours of sleep we missed.” You say through a yawn. 

“Sounds good to me, honestly.” he yawns back through a smile. 

“Actually think we’ve got a crucial appointment in there later on. I'd have to check that schedule I so dutifully arrange for you, though. Could go into the office early… get a head start.” he adds, guiding you slowly back up the stairs, that boyish smirk back in his face.  

“I suppose I could allow it.” you say blearily as you follow him back to bed. You were satisfied that the morning played out exactly as you had planned, and knew that Remus was as well. In the now dull grey light of your room you plop down heavily into the bed and gaze, dazed, up at the ceiling. 

The day had only just begun and already, you felt more content than you had in a long, long while. Curled into Remus’s strong embrace, you close your eyes and finally drift off into an easy sleep, dreaming of soft leaves falling gently into the swirling tide beyond your window. 

Thank u so much for reading! Is my first fic complete so feeling very accomplished. PLS let me know what you think and thanks again:)

[spacedykez]

where can we find info about your ocs. on the off chance someone wants to draw fannart.

starts vibrating at sonic frequencies.

u can find all the info i've shared on my mc ocs here, king thorn i should really rework a little because i love zem but ze just do not really have a good fleshed-out character or any good refs/drawings since i made them like months ago and my art has improved drastically.

MY SILLIEST LITTLE GUYS THOUGH MY WEIRD LITTLE BUGS ARE MY FABLEWILDS OCS <333 i should REALLY get around to making good refs of them. but u can find them all at #oc [name]. theres zephyr who ive probably drawn the Most because bug's been around the longest. aeolus & notos who each have two designs but theyre both canon because I Said So. sundew and lupine whose designs are honestly probably my favorites to draw. and then boreas and deimos who i NEED to talk more about. but i think ive posted a LOT more abt them in the meowdy & not so much here mostly because my friends love them and i never really get anyone askin about them whose not a meowdy member anyways. so since you asked.

THIS IS DEIMOS!!

xe are very sillay xe are based on a crow. xe are the dragon of Life which means xe're also the dragon of Death because those two things are interconnected. she's meant to have lots of pouches on her belts. also a big fluffy neck ruff thing and a cape made of big feathers. xyr earrings are: acorn & beetle on ears, flower & leaf on horns. but i do like the idea of changing out the flower for a skull of some sort

BONUS SUNDEW DRAWING!! bee has two tails and big goggles to scream Dragonfly at you and also chest armor not to protect zip really but to add to the Dragonfly effect. it has a shawl thingy that looks like dragonfly wings

another boreas, her design's not changed much at all. very geometric!! very shapes!! her wings are mechanical btw. because i thought it would be fun.

zeph, notos, lupine, and ao i'm sure i've posted plenty about so you have plenty to see of their designs. but just 4 u <3

SOME ZEPHYRS!!!

ao's Sun design (her redesign was quite recent. i like her new design better because its more coherent sksksks but i only have a few drawings of that; they're in his tag)

both of nox's designs side by side!! his Fire design kinda mirror's Ao's Sun design and its very flame-y. His stars design is a lot more childish & spacelike!! Fits his character a lot better. But doesn't match Ao as well.

AND one of my favorite drawings of zeph & lupine (draw / dream) + some misc. sillies <3

also more misc design notes:

Notos's stars form is meant to look a lot more childish. His clothes would have a very PJ vibe to them

Zephyr's outfit would be very leather-y! Its right leg (the one that isn't scales) is meant to be various patches of leather sewn together, and its jacket would be leather I think. Very much bard inspired!!

Lupine's outfit was inspired by the Onceler and has not changed since I designed him. I love her.

yes boreas' wings were inspired by raph from the mechs

THEIR HEIGHTS ARE AS FOLLOWS (heights do NOT include their horns/antlers/antennae!!!) Sundew: 4'8" Deimos: 5'1" Zephyr: 5'5" Notos: 5'7" Aeolus: 5'9" Boreas: 6'1" Lupine: 6'4"

[willowelijah]

Headdesking - Remus Lupin/OC

Read the rest

Summary: Follow Remus Lupin bury his head in various pillows as his friends tease him about a crush he’s developed on the girl they recruit to assist them in their mission to become animagi.

Content warnings: Swearing. Some angst.

Chapter 9: Assistance in Potions

Hazel was trying her darndest to get her cauldron to the correct temperature. It seemed that no matter how big or small she made the flame that heated it, the liquid inside still wouldn't turn luminescent like the professor had told her it was supposed to.

At another table, Sirius was complaining to his mates.

"I'm so tired of having this leaf in my mouth." He said as he dug his tongue against the inside of his cheek, fiddling with it.

"Just a couple of weeks left." Peter reminded him.

"Isn't there something we can do to speed the process along?" He pressed while leaning his hand against the handle of his chopping-knife with the blade digging lightly into the table.

"Why don't you ask Hazel? She's right over there." Peter glanced discreetly at the girl and pointed briefly with his own knife.

"There's nothing we can do." James insisted. "Unless you can physically pull the moon forward, we just have to wait."

Sirius swayed in his chair while thinking. His eyes were on Remus, who was unsurprisingly not paying much attention to this particular topic, instead focusing it all on finely chopping the last bit of ingredients for his potion.

Sirius suddenly stilled his chair and stuck the knife fully into the table. "I'm bored of waiting." he declared.

Remus peered up under his eyebrows at Sirius, who resolutely stood up and made his way over to Hazel Pembroke. He shook his head and stirred the liquid inside his cauldron, while James and Peter both watched the boy go.

When Sirius neared Hazel, James couldn't just stand by and watch anymore, he had to stop his friend from acting a fool. He offhandedly spelled his ladle to keep stirring the pot and left to join Sirius at Hazel's table, soon followed by a nosy Peter.

"Say Hazel." Sirius opened when he came up behind her, with only her brown hair in sight so far. "You don't suppose there's any way that we can speed this leafy business along, do you?"

Hazel turned and Sirius pointed at his cheek to indicate what he was referring to. This of course did not stop Hazel from looking puzzled.

"No. I mean, I don't know how we'd even go about that. We can't speed up the moon's cycle." she explained while mindlessly stirring.

Over at the other table Remus was stirring his freshly chopped ingredients into his potion, but his eyes were glued on Sirius and Hazel and his mates approaching her.

I should go over there.

I should stay here.

I should go over there.

I should stay here.

He let go of the ladle and leaned his hands against the table. "I should probably go over there..." he muttered to himself one last time and left to go and join them, thinking that he didn't want Hazel to think that he was still freezing her out.

James arrived at the table, looking apologetically between Hazel and his friend. "Is he getting on your nerves? He has a tendency to do that."

"No, it's completely fine." she assured them. "But I don't think there's much that we can do. If there was, someone would have thought of it by now. The mandrake leaf has been a torturous experience for centuries of witches and wizards attempting the transformation."

"Is there something we can do while waiting at least?" Peter inquired once he had joined the party. "So that we're at least being productive while waiting?"

Hazel let go of the ladle, which clanged against the edge of her cauldron. "Sure there is!" she said excitedly. "For example, we need to acquire a silver teaspoon."

"I swear some of this stuff she just makes up on the spot." James muttered.

"A silver teaspoon?" Remus repeated curiously. But his curiosity could not match that of his friends' as they watched him join them.

Remus however didn't care how stumped they all were, he had his attention quickly stolen away by the small flame underneath Hazel's cauldron, trying desperately to heat the contents of it.

"That flame is too small." he commented.

Hazel contorted her eyebrows, but followed his gaze until her eyes lit up in realisation. "I know. But when it was bigger nothing happened." she explained.

Remus asked sensitively, "Is something happening now?" But a sliver of doubt slipped through the cracks as he spoke.

The brunette paused and pursed her lips in uncertainty at first, and after realising how clueless she was coming across, compensated by crossing her arms and puffing her chest out. She didn't want to become a target of critique right now. She was already stressed enough about her potion not going right, without needing Remus to make her feel even worse about it.

She grabbed the ladle again and began whirling the liquid around, some of it spilling out over the brim before she got proper control of it. "No." she mumbled, refusing to meet his eyes and instead steeling her gaze on the swirling liquid.

Remus assumed a dissatisfied frown and walked around the table to examine it for himself.

Sirius shook his head vigorously, reminding himself of the main topic. "Why do we need a silver spoon?"

"We need to collect the dew with it." Hazel replied while pausing her stirring to let Remus assess her potion. His frown deepened and he felt the rim carefully for any residual heat before grabbing it and swirling the liquid around.

"Do we need a special silver teaspoon?" James asked.

"As special as any other silver teaspoon. Any teaspoon will do as long as it's made of real silver." She slowly tore her eyes from Remus' swirling, but he soon grabbed her attention again.

"It's not very dark." he remarked, still eyeing the potion. "Have you added the aconite?"

"Oh, shit! The aconite!"

Remus gave her a curious look; a little thrown by her; not quite amused yet — but getting there.

Hazel deflected the look as soon as her eyes fell on it and immediately proceeded with the task. She wasn't going to let him judge her, and was in this moment much too concerned with her failing efforts at potion-making to let it distract.

She quickly grabbed the discarded sprigs of aconite, buried in the midst of a pile of the other ingredients and the recipe book. Once she had laid them out in front of her she grabbed her knife and got to chopping, feeling that she just wanted it over with.

"I bet the kitchens would definitely have silver spoons lying around." Peter suggested pragmatically.

The boys nodded enthusiastically and James continued off of his friend's point, "...collecting dust. Unused and without the proper attention they deserve."

Sirius grinned devilishly. "Would be so easy to nick one."

Hazel slipped with the knife in what looked to Remus like a very nearly harmful manoeuvre. He immediately took the knife from her while the boys were still plotting.

Their eyes met for a fleeting second as Remus helped himself to the knife, but the exchange went unnoticed by the rest of the company. He proceeded to sweep the sprigs his way and began chopping them with a sturdy hand and meticulous precision. She half expected him to sigh at her for doing a bad job, but he didn't. Instead he politely instructed her to also add more of the lupine seeds.

"What do you say Hazel?" Sirius rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Should we sneak into the kitchens tonight and see if they have something that we could use?"

"I have an essay due tomorrow that I really need to finish." she explained as she mindlessly dropped fuzzy little pods inside the cauldron one by one. "But also, how do you suppose we find the kitchens? I mean... while I suppose that there is in fact a place within the castle where the food is prepared, I don't think there's an easy way to find it."

Peter and Sirius exchanged a smirk. "You forget that we have a map of the castle." the latter said with wagging eyebrows.

Hazel's mouth fell open. "Hold on, so you have actually found the kitchens? ...and you've mapped out where they are?"

"Uuh, Hazel..." Remus piped, having finally looked up from his task for long enough to notice the next mistake she was making.

The girl dragged her attention away from the conversation at hand. She focused it on Remus first and secondly on where he was looking.

He grabbed the ladle and began fishing up one of the pods she had thrown into the mix. "You're only supposed to add the seeds inside the pod. You need to extract them first." he said sheepishly and placed the pod on the table.

"Oh no!" she cried and began fishing for more of the pods. "This is a disaster!"

"No, don't worry." he assured her, fighting not to be amused by how endearingly flustered she was. A hand flew up to rub the back of his neck. "It's easily remedied."

She could tell he was amused, but what struck her was how instead of making a condescending remark like she would have expected him to, he began instructing her on the best method of cutting the seeds out. His eyes were on the pod as he cut into it, too wrapped up in the task to notice that he was still wearing a lopsided smile.

While this was happening Sirius kept tapping his fingers on the table and James let out an elongated breath.

"What about tomorrow evening?" Peter suggested, to try and relieve his friends of their apparent boredom.

Hazel was reminded of the initial conversation at once, and though she didn't have great feelings about it, she ended up agreeing to it as enthusiastically as she could.

"Yes. Okay... yeah, wonderful."

"Great!" Sirius chimed, and leapt straight into some ideas on when and where to meet up.

Hazel's eyes travelled to Remus, who had just added the seeds to the cauldron and was swirling the ladle around, looking dissatisfied.

"This needs to be stirred for longer before you try to activate its luminescence." he mumbled.

"But the recipe said I only needed to stir until it was porous." Hazel argued.

His same amused smile from before made itself known and he pointed inside the cauldron. "This is not porous."

The frustration from the three onlookers seemed to reach a crescendo and Peter's head fell, while Sirius expelled a breath of air at the same time as James began to work on an exit.

"I guess we'll leave you to it then..." he said while they left the two to tend to the potion by themselves.

Hazel began stirring the pot while Remus finished hacking up the aconite and adding it before getting to work on the lupine pods that she continuously fished out of the potion. Neither party noticed their company's departure enough to say goodbye.

She was impressed by his ability to work so quickly and precisely — like he wasn't even really thinking or concentrating, just going with the motions. The way he brushed off the knife with a simple sweeping motion, and went to cut into the pods in the very same move.

But when he noticed that she was studying him he stopped. "What?" he asked, hand dragging through his hair.

Hazel only shook her head in reply and continued stirring.

When Remus finally dropped the extra seeds into the cauldron he also leaned in closer to inspect it. Taken aback by the sudden proximity, Hazel leaned back awkwardly. Remus didn't seem to have noticed how close they were. He was busy adjusting the heater.

Soon after the flame grew the potion lit up like it was supposed to. Casting a shimmering green light over them.

Remus reached across the table, right past her to fetch the intended phial. As he did so Hazel's eyes went wide and she breathed in sharply, catching a dizzying whiff of his hair in the process. When he leaned back with the phial in hand, a potent blush had settled on her cheeks.

Remus swirled the ladle once more, eyeing the now thick and lustrous liquid.

"It's pretty good now. You'll definitely pass." he assessed. "Would you like to fill it?" He handed her the phial, which she took without making any eye contact.

Once Hazel had collected the potion with a pipette and sufficiently filled the small flask she felt ready to face him. Her blush had gone and she set the finished potion down and turned to the boy.

"Thank you for helping."

It was Remus' time to blush, and he became quite antsy suddenly. He turned to look back at his own desk, then at the clock and the teacher and the potion. Everywhere but at her.

"It's no problem. I like to help." he mumbled. "I should get back to my own desk." he reasoned and left before she had a chance to reply.

Later when Professor Slughorn came to inspect the potion Hazel was happy to find that, while by no means anything of esteem, he deemed it a perfectly acceptable contribution.

The Professor was quite happy with Remus' own potion however, which he received special praise for.

[bethestaryouareradio]

The Smell of Fall

By Cynthia Brian

“Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away; Lengthen night and shorten day! Every leaf speaks bliss to me, Fluttering from the autumn tree...” ~Emily Brontë

 When it rained this past week, did you smell it? The scent of earth mixed with fallen leaves and decomposing plant matter signals the transition of the seasons. On the calendar, autumn began on September 22, 2022, but it wasn’t until November that I inhaled this intoxicating aroma that brought back childhood memories of the end of harvest, jumping in piles of leaves, and blazing bonfires. 

In just a week, it seemed that so many trees changed their wardrobe from vibrant green to sunset colors of amber, gold, red, bronze, and yellow. The “foliage show” is late here in California, yet it is glorious. As the leaves turn, they also drop, blanketing our landscapes with a marvelous source of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and nutrients that the soil craves.  As much as you want to tidy your garden, refrain from raking the leaves into your green bin. Leave a layer of leaves on the ground to encourage the photosynthesis process in the natural circle of life. If leaves are too big, mow or cut them and add them to a compost pile with food scraps, lawn clippings, eggshells, coffee grounds, and other biodegradables. After a few months, you’ll have a rich mulch filled with worms and beneficial microbes to add back into your garden at no cost to you. When you add organic materials to your soil, you are providing food for the organisms that improve soil aeration and drainage while reducing soil compaction. The nutrients will release over time

As we inhale the delicious flavors of fall and experience the cooler temperatures, it is also time to perform tasks in preparation for winter.

AUTUMN CHORES

ü  CLEAN patio furniture before storing or covering it for the season. It is especially critical to remove bird droppings left on your umbrellas, hammocks, or other furniture.

ü  TURN OFF sprinkler systems.

ü  CHECK for any irrigation leaks.

ü  LEAVE leaves where they fall, spread them around your garden, or add them to a compost pile. 

ü  FERTILIZE grass, especially when it is going to rain.

ü  REMOVE debris, sticks, and weeds from garden beds.

ü  PLANT cover crops to fix nitrogen. Fava beans, mustard, and clovers are excellent choices.

ü  PICK pumpkins, apples, guavas, squash, and any fruits or vegetables left hanging before frost and rain.

ü  DIVIDE overgrown clumps of perennials such as daylilies, agapanthus, iris, or naked ladies. Move them to other locations or share them with fellow gardeners.

ü  COVER any exposed soil with straw, grass clippings, aged wood chips, pine needles, or even shredded newspaper to reduce weed growth, moderate soil temperatures, retain moisture, and reduce erosion over winter.

ü  BUY six packs of perennials including columbine, carnations, penstemon, and coral bells.

ü  BRIGHTEN your fall garden with pops of color from pansies, cyclamen, violas, Mums, stock, Iceland poppies, and primroses.

ü  FIND favorite fall color trees to add to your landscape where selections are vast at your local nursery.

ü  SCATTER California wildflower seeds including poppies and lupines and sow seeds of sweet Alyssum, bachelor buttons, forget-me-nots, and milkweed.

ü  DEADHEAD roses for continued blooms during the holidays.

ü  PRUNE dead branches from trees and shrubs. 

ü  BEWARE hungry coyotes have been on a rampage killing poultry, cats, and small dogs. Keep your animals and small children safe.

ü  ENJOY the many colors of lantana blooming throughout fall in purple, orange, red, white, and yellow.

ü  GET READY to plant bulbs towards the end of the month for a spring show.

 IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN

During a cold winter, there is nothing better than knowing that you have organic, tasty, greens and vegetables growing right outside your door. Fall is the best time to get these nutritious edibles going for a bountiful harvest in the new year. Most of these plants prefer extra nitrogen. Side-dress them with a balanced fertilizer as they grow.

Plant seeds or seedlings of:

Varieties of lettuce

Asian greens

Spinach

Arugula

Swiss Chard

Chicory

Kale

Cress

Beets

Cabbage

Radish

Broccoli

Broccoli rabe

Carrots

Cauliflower

Kohlrabi

Peas

Turnips

Make sure to plant shallots and garlic now to harvest next summer.

 NOT TO BE MISSED

Saturday, November 12th from 3-5 PM, I’ll be in-person reading, telling stories, and signing books from my new children’s book, No Barnyard Bullies, at Point Richmond Art Gallery, 145 West Richmond Avenue, Point Richmond, California, 9480. Families with children are welcome. If you have purchased an NFT from www.StarStyleCommunity.com, you’ll be given a gift.

 Monday, November 21st at 2 PM, I’ll be hosting a “Thanksgiving is Every Day” celebration via Zoom for members of the StarStyle® Community. Buy a StarStyle® NFT today that benefits Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3 charity and participate in numerous exclusive experiences designed for members only. www.StarStyleCommunity.com

 Although I don’t like the darkness that descends so much earlier when I still have so many chores to complete, I am reveling in the cooler days that allow for laboring longer with less strain. Digging in the dirt in fall bequeaths the most luscious autumn aromas…musty, musky, intoxicatingly earthy. I wish I could bottle it!

Thank you to so many readers who sent me notes of healing. You touched my heart and my spirit, and I am very appreciative. I am following my own advice. Each day anew…and a wee bit slower!

Go outside and breathe in the fragrance of fall and know that, as gardeners, we will be resting soon, along with Mother Nature.

Happy Gardening. Happy Growing!

 Photos and more: https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1619/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-The-musty-sweet-smell-its-fall.html

Press Pass: https://blog.voiceamerica.com/2022/11/11/autumn-aromas/

Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia Brian is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at www.StarStyleRadio.com. Her newest children’s picture book, No Barnyard Bullies, from the series, Stella Bella’s Barnyard Adventures is available now at www.cynthiabrian.com/online-store  For an invitation to hang out with Cynthia for fun virtual events, activities, conversations, and exclusive experiences, buy StarStyle® NFTs at https://StarStyleCommunity.com  Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures. Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com

https://www.GoddessGardener.com