#great news: silk is easy to frog!!

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Garland Cowl by Galzanne Knits.

Made this delightful cowl for a friend's birthday using hand-painted pure mulberry silk by Araucanía Yarns (which appears to be a thing they no longer make?? We won't talk about how long I've had this stashed). The big worsted-weight lace was a lot of fun and worked up quickly once I got my gauge issues sorted out. I'd never worked with silk before! I'm a fan. Learned a new cast on for this, and I turned my bamboo knitting needles and fingers VERY blue, but I sort of like when my crafts stain my hands--it's bright evidence that I'm Out Here Making Things, y'know?

[wrathandgreed]

A crafty MC making goodbye gifts for the demon bros (unromanced and romanced).

Word count: 3.5k

Notes: I’m a huge crafter (knitter, crocheter, spinner, weaver, cross stitcher, etc)  and I’m currently knitting my husband a winter hat, so I started trying to figure out what a crafty MC would make the brothers as goodbye gifts when they go back to the human world.

Also, this got REALLY REALLY long.

Lucifer

(Unromanced)

This guy is hard to make stuff for. 

His aesthetic is VERY tight and leaves no room for mistakes

So a simple winter scarf, in business-black, is probably the way to go. 

Somewhat lux yarn, cashmere/silk or alpaca/silk, so it has a sheen

He travels to the human world sometimes, and Diavolo has winter themed events in Devildom sometimes, so a scarf isn’t totally impractical.

He would appreciate the amount of time you spent making it, even if he didn’t get a chance to wear it that often.

(Romanced)

Let’s get more personal, now. You still have the same problem with his aesthetic, and the fact that if you want to give him something ~~personal~~ he won’t be able to wear it openly. His pride says no.

He’s stern in public, but affectionate in private.

You knit a medium-sized decorative pillow cover for his bed, in his signature wine-red.

It’s simple and elegant and can sit on his bed like it’s something he picked up in a Hellhome Goods store, and only *he* knows it’s a private gift.

After swearing him to secrecy, you get Solomon to help you charm the pillow, so it never pills up or wears out, and it maintains your scent forever. (Actually, it’s fair to say you do this for all of the romanced gifts).

“I thought, you know, if I can’t be there with you every night, something of me can?”

Awkward MC is awkward.

He not only appreciates how much time went into the gift (who knows how busy you are better than Lucifer?) but that you spent that much time thinking about him.

Mr. Acts of Service over here. Every stitch is something you did *for him*

You assume he’ll just leave it on the bed, and maybe, if you’re lucky, it’ll help you be the last thing he thinks of at night and the first thing he thinks of in the morning. 

Maybe he’ll smile when he sees it, and some of his weariness will lift.

Oh, if only you knew.

Mr. “Stern In Public” wraps himself around the pillow every night. Well. Every time he manages to sleep. Which, let’s face it, isn’t every night. 

But when he DOES sleep, it’s with that pillow. If he can’t sleep wrapped around you, this will have to suffice.

Finds he doesn’t sleep well when he travels, because he refuses to bring the pillow with him.

If asked, he says it’s because it’s not important.

But he just doesn’t want to lose it.

It’s too important to him.

Mammon

(Unromanced)

You’ve seen this boy’s room.

You’re not spending hours and hours and tons of money making him something.

You love the guy, but you’ve seen how he takes care of his possessions.

Most of what he owns is chucked aside when the next new-shiny comes along.

You know he loves you to bits and he’ll be careful with whatever you give him.

But “careful” has a different definition for Mammon than for some of the others.

So you knit him a hat. A trendy, slightly-too-small hat in black with a small yellow stripe on the brim.

You can use some lux yarn because, for a single-skein project, investing in cashmere or mohair or something isn’t too awful.

It looks really great on him - the fluff of his white hair, the small yellow stripe, then the wash of black as contrast. It makes his eyes pop and his skin look even warmer.

He wears it to a shoot one day and the photographer loves it

Now everyone wants one

But he has the only one because it’s handmade

Suck it, losers!

The Avatar of Greed finally has something everyone else wants that no one else can get!

(Romanced)

Yeah, you’ve seen his room. You’ve practically lived in his room. But you know he’ll be careful with anything you give him because he loves you. 

It would break his heart to have to ask you to fix something you made for him.

You know he’s going to suffer when you leave

You want him to know that you’re always there, even if you’re not *there*

So you knit him a sweater

A big, oversized sweater out of super soft chunky wool with tons of texture.

You finish it early so you can wear it around your room for a few weeks. On the rare nights you sleep alone, you sleep in it.

Again, get Solomon to enchant it.

Now it smells like you.

You wouldn’t notice, but a demon’s sense of smell is far stronger.

“I know it’s not, like, fashionable or anything. But it’s comfy and it can be…..a portable hug?”

His face turns red and he winds up stammering. Obviously. So he puts it on to avoid having to look at you.

Chucks it on over his tshirt. He immediately pulls the neckband back up over his face to take a deep inhale from the fabric.

He looks really cute in it

(He looks really cute in anything, let’s face it)

Might start crying.

Hug him pls.

Any night he feels lonely (which is most nights) he wears this sweater. Falls asleep in it half the time.

It really is like a hug, and the boy needs all the hugs he can get.

Leviathan

(Unromanced)

Out of all the brothers, Levi is the one who will appreciate STUFF. No matter what you make for him, he’ll love it. 

It’s limited edition! No one else has anything like this!

So this boy is getting crocheted plushies.

(They’re called amigurumi, and he’ll appreciate knowing that)

You make a mobile for his room

Hanging from it are little plushies of all his favorite sea creatures

Henry 2.0 is the biggest

But there’s a few jellyfish

A whale

You had to completely invent a pattern for a kraken, and it came out okay!

You had some extra yarn, so you made a few extra jellyfish

They get suction cups. 

Now he has jellyfish in his tanks and outside his tanks

Spends the next hour rigging up the mobile over his tub so he can see them before he goes to sleep and remember how much his true friend cares about him.

(Romanced)

This took….time to make.

You had to basically invent two patterns from scratch

There was a LOT of frogging.

And swearing.

When Levi opens the box and pulls aside the tissue paper, there’s two crocheted figures

One of each of you

(The one of you may or may not be dressed as Ruri-Chan)

“You made these…..for me?”

Tell him you made ONE of them for him. You take the one of him and hug it, “This one comes with me. So I’ve still got you.”

(Don’t let him cry!)

(Too late)

Then you show him the best part - each figure has a magnet in one hand.

When they get close to each other, the magnets snap together and the figures hold hands :)

Even though the two amigurumi will be in two separate realms, those magnets will want to find their partner.

Levi is floored - this is just like something out of an anime! Like two halves of a locket or something!

He can’t even find words. Possibly not for the next hour or two.

But he makes the cutest little squeaks and the verbal equivalent of keysmashes.

Like Lucifer, he sleeps with your gift. But he also carries it around his room. It has pride of place on his desk, and he purchases a stand so you can sit with him while he games or does his online schooling.

He talks to it like he would talk to you, especially on busy days when you can’t actually talk to him on the D.D.D.

It eases the feeling that you left Devildom and forgot about him. Eases - just a little - the jealousy of every human in your world who gets to talk to you. Because none of THEM have a handmade you. Just him.

Satan

(Unromanced)

This guy is either the easiest one to make for, or the hardest.

Like, you could make him a stuffed kitty. Or knit him a tie. But he’s not a super sentimental guy (unless romanced) and, in the end, that’s just stuff. His room is FULL of stuff.

Soooooo, you take out your sewing skills and sew him a traditional Sherlock hat - the deerstalker one, the one that never was actually in the books, but is still associated with the character.

The most straightforward of the brothers, Satan is indeed touched that you spent so long making something for him and he tells you so.

Insists he’ll wear it when solving mysteries.

You laugh, but he actually does wear the hat when reading mysteries now. 

It reminds him of the trip to London - how he got to solve an actual mystery, save his brother, and see the sites with his friend.

(Romanced)

YouTube made it look so easy.

It’s just paper, right? Paper and thread and a needle. You can sew clothes and stuffed animals. How hard can it be to sew together pages to make a book?

Oh, my sweet summer child.

You considered actually pulping and making your own paper, but after the seventh ruined batch of signatures you’re grateful you talked yourself out of that one.

You also considered an actual leather binding, but go for boards and a more simple Japanese sewing technique. 

This project is the perfect thing to give to Satan - not just because it’s a book, but because making it is causing you SO MUCH RAGE.

Who needs firewood when you have the ruined attempts of your gift?

You may have thrown various attempts on the floor and stomped on them before chucking them in the fire.

It takes weeks but you finally get the book together. Now the REAL work can begin.

Every book the two of you read together. Every book you discussed. Every book you recommended to him. Every single one gets a page - a title, a date, and a discussion of your discussion of the book.

The book itself becomes a tour through your growing relationship.

While not as stern as Lucifer in public, Satan is also definitely fond in private - he’s completely unsurprised to receive a book as a present, but once he begins leafing through it, the semi-smug smile vanishes.

He looks shocked, and his hold on the book gentles.

His fingers run down the page, tracing your handwriting on a page particularly precious to him.

Speechless for a few minutes, he finally returns with only “I love it.”

Said so softly and sincerely that you can’t doubt his sincerity.

There are blank pages at the end and he begins to use them to document newer books he’s reading - ones he wants to discuss with you later.

Asmodeus

(Unromanced)

Good luck keeping your gift a secret!

Asmo loves craft and crafty things, so he’s always curious about what you’re making and fascinated with the process.

Probably helps with suggestions for the others, especially for a romanced brother (although WHAT you see in them is beyond him, after all, what can THEY have that Asmo doesn’t?)

Because he seems to pop up out of nowhere, he’s already seen his gift a few times. Thankfully, he thinks you’re making it for yourself.

Bonus, he’s whiny and jealous about it, and obviously wants it for himself. So, score. You know he’ll like it.

It seems simple; a pair of fingerless gloves in his signature hot pink. But the yarn is mohair lace (you’ve cursed at it many, many times for tangling on you) held double with merino/silk black yarn.

The gloves are lacy and airy, sensual and soft. They feel wonderful to wear, and look great with a majority of his outfits. 

He absolutely squeals and hugs you when he opens up the gift - the gift he was so jealous of! Of COURSE you were making it for him this whole time!

Wears them constantly. His Devilgram pics start having a lot of “what am I holding?” themes. Cups of coffee or hot chocolate. Someone else’s hand. A ticket for an absolutely fabulous play. And a LOT of peace signs and finger-hearts  :)

(Romanced) 

This one requires the cooperation - willing or not - of everyone in the house.

You start with your DDD. That’s easy enough.

Since you’ll need Sol’s help anyway, it’s easy enough to plunder the pictures on his phone, too.

The rest of the brothers you get, one by one. Belphie’s you steal while he’s sleeping, although you found nothing useful on it. Beel just lets you borrow his phone. You ask to borrow Mammon’s while he’s gambling and he doesn’t notice that it takes you an hour to give it back. Satan - the real photographer - must be taken into your confidence - you might need his help later anyway. But he’s particularly close to Asmo, and knows how to keep his mouth shut.

You stalk Lucifer for a few weeks. You ask Satan for advice. You consider asking Diavolo to just order Lucifer to hand over his phone.

Finally you just ask him for it.

Getting a hold of Asmo’s phone is the hardest bit. You have to wait until he’s deep in a spa day, hanging around in his tub with both a sheet mask AND cucumber slices.

Then you make off with his phone. And go through the photos.

His wonderful Devilgram-worthy pictures you ignore. You start looking for the ones that he rejected, but kept. The one where both of you cracked up laughing right before the photo snapped. The one where he dropped his hot chocolate and then stole yours.

The two of you in clay face masks and toe spacers? Yep. The one you took of him with super-wide eyes as he put on mascara? Definitely. Selfies of you two surrounded by his brothers, by Sol, by Simeon, even a few with Luke.

The one Satan took of the two of you dancing at one of Diavolo’s balls, so lost in each other that the rest of the ball might as well not exist? Of course.

You combine them with the ones taken by everyone else in the house.

Culling them for the best takes weeks. Because you don’t just want the ~~prettiest~~ pictures or the ones designed for social media.

You pick the ones with emotional meaning, ones of important events, but mostly you choose pictures of genuine laughter and affection. Ones that show how much the two of you love each other, and how much true friendship exists in the house. 

How much he’s not alone, and how much he is loved. How much the people around him appreciate him.

With Satan and Solomon, you gather and enchant a simple glass cube.

It displays these photos, gently lit up, like the digital picture frames in the human world.

“I want you to remember me,” you say quietly. “I want you to remember how much fun we’ve had, and how much I love you for you.”

Not gonna lie, Asmo cries.

The cube moves around his rooms depending on where he is - it’s by his tub if he’s taking a bath. It’s on his vanity when he’s putting on  his makeup. He credits it with helping his relaxation and makeup game.

It’s always on a nightstand by his bed before he goes to sleep. Sometimes he just lays on his back, puts the cube on his stomach, and watches memories float through it.

What you wanted - for him to remember that he’s loved for more than his sexual prowess - comes true. The pictures remind him of the life he has outside of a bedroom.

He starts spending more time with his brothers. He starts taking more pictures.

His followers appreciate the diversification in his content :)

He appreciates how much you love getting texts of those photos - the not-social-media-ready ones, but the REAL ones.

Beelzebub

(Unromanced)

I mean, you could just bake the guy a dozen cakes.

But then he’d eat them and they’d be gone.

And you can’t make him anything that looks like food, because he’d eat it.

You’ve finished your gifts for half of the brothers before you even figure out what to make for him.

And then it comes to you…..socks.

He’ll use them.

He won’t eat them.

They’re not the most interesting gift, but you’re running out of time.

You actually manage to find a pattern covered with colorwork triangles that mimic his usual shirt.

You get Satan to charm them for you - the problem with handmade socks is that they wear out FAST. Not anymore!

Beel LOVES them.

(To be fair, he’d probably love anything you gave him)

Once he knows they won’t wear out, they become his Game Socks.

Like most athletes, he becomes superstitiously obsessed with the socks, wearing them for absolutely every game he plays.

Is convinced they help him win.

(Romanced)

You encounter basically the same problem as above - what on earth to make him?

You want something that reminds him how much you love him, and it absolutely can’t be anything he could even be tempted to eat, because he’d never forgive himself.

You try a number of times to build a small tapestry loom, but that skill seems to be beyond you.

Finally you have to beg Lucifer to pick one up for you in the human world.

Once you get it, you’re off and running.

Now, just because things can’t look like food doesn’t mean it can’t be inspired by it.

Red yarn, the exact juicy red of an apple - but here, just an abstract circle. Mixes of pale cream, yellow, and red in a triangle - an abstract pizza slice. 

Those cookies Barbatos makes? There. The broccoli-cheddar soup you learned to make for her? Now just an orange blob with tiny green squiggles. And on, and on. 

And buried, scattered throughout, little woven hearts.

The hearts are made of slightly different yarn, puffier and thicker, so they stand out just a little bit.

In the end, you have a decent-sized wall hanging, full of texture and shapes that are just reminiscent enough of food to bring a smile to Beel’s face, but not enough to actually be worth eating.

He passes the hanging every day, and every day he brushes his fingers over the yarn or through the fringe; a physical reminder of you.

Belphegor

(Unromanced)

This guy is probably the easiest one to make things for.

Is it soft? Is it cuddly? Can he use it as a pillow? Can he snuggle it like a stuffed animal? 

Click “yes” on any of those questions, and you have a happy - well, a slightly less annoyed - Belphie.

Which is why you take this as a challenge. The easy answer - a pillow - is BORING. And the other easy answer - a blanket - would take WAY too much time.

So, like Levi, he gets a plushie.

But not just any plushie.

He gets a plushie of Lucifer.

Lucifer…..on a pastel unicorn.

Belphie starts cackling the moment he opens it, which is fair, because you laughed a fair bit designing and making it.

He starts leaving it where Lucifer can find it, then saying that the elder can’t do anything about it, because MC made it and there’s no way he’d want to harm anything made by MC.

Satan tries to steal it.

In the end, an “anonymous” Devilgram is created, dedicated to the “adventures” of this particular plushie.

It’s all fun and games until Diavolo wants one.

(Romanced)

Well, for your boyfriend, the time and effort involved in making a blanket is just fine.

You debate endlessly - comprehensive color scheme? Granny squares or stripes? How heavy?

You go with your gut instinct - this isn’t a boy who cares about color schemes or blanket styles.

(Just look at his clothes, seriously.)

He cares about one thing - comfort.

You find the softest, smushiest yarn you can, and a pattern you can tolerate working on for like 100 hours.

You go old-school; a granny square blanket like the ones that pretty much every person had thrown over the couch in the 70s and 80s. The perfect nap blanket.

Black… mostly black, with some bright accent colors. Kind of obnoxious accent colors, actually. You figure it’ll appeal to his (dubious) sense of humor. Also it’ll piss Lucifer off seeing it around the house, clashing with literally everything in the oh-so-perfectly-decorated Gothic interior.

This one requires….special enchantment.

A little bit of ritual, and that blanket will fold up into a tiny square; easy to carry from place to place.

Belphie is torn between wanting to carry it around everywhere, like his pillow, and to leave it in the attic room, always waiting for him.

Depending on his mood, he’ll do one or the other.

But no matter what, he also sleeps juuuust a little bit better under it, snuggled up under your love.

You make him the Lucifer plushie, too. It’s too funny not to :)

[bubblyhoney]

soundtrack

warnings: sailor language, suggestive themes/mentions of sex, drinking, nicotine use, being tipsy/intoxicated. no graphic or explicit nsfw content besides basically tonguing and giving hickeys and an ass grab.

tags: karl jacobs x fem!reader

words: 1898

A/N: i wrote this thinking that both people in this fic are of drinking age; i’m not, but i thought it would be a cool idea. i can assume many adult gatherings feature alcohol, so yeah. drinking isn’t integral to the plot of this fic. also it is pre-(or post)pandemic bc it’s just a general rule of thumb to not have parties right now.

-

“Don’t, kill, me,” Karl warbles, setting down his bottle with a sigh. Freaks plays loud and tinny on the TV, album cover bathing those occupying the couch in a grayish light. Those occupants being just you and Karl. The room is lit with purple string lights and that one thrifted lamp with frogs on the shade he’d sworn was the best purchase he’s ever made. You’re sprawled out on the other half of the sofa, ankles crossed and a can of vodka seltzer swaying in your hand. The song changes to 20 Min by Lil Uzi and your foot bounces to the beat.

“What time is it?” You sigh, placing the nearly-empty can onto the coffee table next to your apple berry-flavored pen. He flicks his wrist towards his face.

“2:46,” he delivers, and takes a swig of the Angry Orchard in his hand. His sixth, specifically. The rest of the group had left roughly ten minutes ago, leaving the two loneliest people to drink alone. You, thoroughly tipsy, decided it was better to spend the night on his spare than pay $50 for an Uber. He agreed, of course. Why wouldn’t he?

Lifting onto your elbows, you just stare at him. He lifts an ankle to cross over the other and your eyes drop. What is his fascination with Spongebob socks?

“We should play 20 questions.”

“What?” His head swivels like a bobblehead and a giggle barely escapes your lips.

“20 questions!” You say excitedly, heaving onto your knees to look at him earnestly. “You go first.”

“Um, okay.” The song fades into Paper Planes and he bobs his head to the beat. “What’s your favorite breed of dog?”

“Shiba inu. Are you a virgin?”

The fucking tone of your voice makes him dissolve into giggles, hand pressed to his chest. You just shrug, reaching for the pen in the table. “Fair question, I think,” you say defensively. His chest heaves, but he sits up.

“No—no, I’m not a virgin.” His cheeks are red, but he’s smiling like it was an easy answer. Your mind floods with images of his long hair in your face, long fingers—a sweaty chest. You shake your head. “Okay, my turn,” he continues, giving you a weird look. “would you rather kiss Chucky Cheese or Ronald McDonald?”

“Karl!” You whine. “That is not how 20 Questions works!” You grumpily pull from your pen, blowing the smoke out of the side of your mouth. Eughk. Apple berry sucks.

“Fine, fine,” he sighs, rolling his eyes. The tell-tale guitar chords of The Adults Are Talking floods the room and his face brightens with a new question. “Have you ever been to a concert?”

“Yes, actually. The Jonas Brothers in 2009.” He wrinkles his nose, finishing his cider and dropping it onto the coffee table with a sharp noise. Your eyebrows furrow. “Don’t you dare badmouth my boys.”

“Wasn’t gonna!” He reaches for your pen and you give it to him with a slight pout on your lips that he glances at.

“Good. Where is the weirdest place you’ve had sex?” A grin climbs your lips.

“Jesus Christ, Y/N.” His eyes widen and smoke curls out of his nostrils as he hands your pen back. You just shrug and pick up your discarded seltzer. “Gimme a sec to think.”

“So many places?” You tease, finishing the last drop of your drink and crushing it beneath your palm. He shrugs, mirroring you, and cracks open another cider. He seems to think, brows furrowing, as he pulls a swig from the dark bottle.

“Boat.”

“Boat,” you repeat.

“Yup.” He looks at you, gaze flickering to your lips imperceptibly fast. If you were sober you’d probably notice, but you’re not and you don’t.

“You’ve fucked on a boat?” No way. Karl Jacobs. On a boat. Having sex. What an image—

“Yeah, senior year was great for me.” More Than A Woman fills the space of the silence as you consider this. You blink, processing.

“Whose boat?” You're genuinely curious. Was it a yacht, pontoon, fishing boat? Row boat? The sudden scene of him getting his foot stuck in a fishing net while pantless clouds your vision.

“My girlfriend’s.” And that’s that on that because he’s moving on before you can open your mouth and continue the discussion of the logistics of this. “Stop investigating, perv. Now it’s my turn. Hmm— wait! Where is the weirdest place you have had sex?” A sneaky grin is on his lips and now you just want to kiss him, damn it.

“I-Uh. I think it was under the bleachers. I also had a great senior year,” you offer, scooting forward on your knees so that you’re only a foot from Karl. He looks impressed, actually.

“Who was it?”

Your eyebrow raises in question.

“Personal question or one of the 16 left, Karl?”

His cheeks heat and he looks once to the TV.

“Personal,” he mutters into the mouth of his bottle.

“It was Brian Hernandez,” you sigh, gazing off into the distance with a fond look in your eyes. You feel the end of the game of 20 questions as you see him chew on his bottom lip from your peripheral. “Dude was insatiable. Managed girls’ basketball and looked damn good doing it.”

“I managed girls’ soccer,” he says simply, uncrossing his legs. “My girlfriend was goalie.”

“How long did you guys date?” You fold your legs up underneath you, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear. You feel the most sober now out of all tonight.

“Dunno.” He sips at his cider. “Couple weeks maybe?”

You smirk. “Karl Jacobs puts out in the first couple weeks?” That’s hot, you don’t say. He gives you a look. “18 year old Karl was a player,” you tease, leaning forward to poke at his chest.

Smacking your hand away, he sighs and lifts a hand to tousle his hair.

“Guess he was.” Clear eyes meet yours and you take a hit from the pen that lays discarded in your palm. He watches the smoke float from your mouth. The TV screen swipes to Deceptacon and the mood quickly shifts. “So.” He turns toward you with lifted eyebrows. “You were a total nerd in highschool, huh.”

Your jaw drops. “I was not!”

“Come on; yes, you were.” He makes a face and drains half the bottle of cider. “You probably were in SpellBowl and every teacher’s pet.”

“Nice try, bitch. You were a dumb jock. I’ve seen the pictures. The yearbook pictures.” You look pointedly at his hair.

“My hair was not that bad.”

“Yes it was.”

“No, it wasn’t,” he grumbles and pushes his hand through his long curls. “Just a little… short.” It’s your turn to make a face.

“A buzz cut nearly to your scalp is more than short.” He huffs at you and finishes the cider just as the song switches. “Anyways.” You don’t really have anything to say, actually. Too busy thinking about teenage Karl smacking tennis rackets around and fielding lost soccer balls for his girlfriend. She’s long gone, right?

“Are you wearing lingerie?” Karl asks suddenly and you look up. He stares pointedly at your chest and you move a hand to pat at your stomach.

“Oh,” you start, and flick the last three buttons open, fabric falling to reveal a baby blue lace corset. “Yeah.” He can’t seem to stop imagining what’s underneath it. Fuck. “Do you like it?” The tone in your voice is taunting and he has to look away.

He clears his throat and places the second glass bottle onto the coffee table.

“Yes.”

You rise onto your knees and pull your arms out of the button-up, letting it fall back on the couch.

“Do you want to touch it?” You're looking up at him from underneath your eyelashes, he realizes, and you know exactly what you’re doing. You’re not asking if he wants to touch the corset; you’re asking if he wants to touch you.

“Can I?” He glances at you warily. You just nod, and it’s then that you’re shuffling forward. The material is soft on his fingertips when he brushes a hand across your torso. “Silk,” he mumbles, and stares, transfixed, at the loopy flower pattern crawling across your waist in shades of milky blue. You just hum and watch. He realizes suddenly when he traces a finger up on the ridge of the neckline that you’re not wearing anything underneath it. It makes him stop in his tracks, neck flushing. “Are-are you—,”

“Wearing a bra? No, I’m not.” You lay a hand on his shoulder, hoisting one leg over his thighs and settling down comfortable on his lap. He bristles then relaxes as you slide a hand up into his scalp. “Do you want me to show you?”

He glares at you, barely annoyed, and shifts so that his large hands rest in the curve of your waist. Poison starts in the speakers as his eyebrow raises.

“Do you normally wear corsets when we all hang out?” A lock of your hair moves past your cheek as he brushes it out of the way. His mouth tilts into a smirk. You seem to think about it, lips pursed, and grip both his shoulders in your hands.

“Only when I’ve got someone to impress.” A hand on your lower back presses insistently and you fall further into his lap.

“Who are you here to impress, Y/N?” He’s barely an inch from your mouth now, and can’t seem to keep his eyes on one part of your face. Cool breath fans onto your cheeks and they warm. God, he’s even cuter up close.

“You,” barely passes your lips before he’s taking the side of your neck into his hand and stretching to connect your lips with his own.

Cherry, you think. Cherry chapstick, that cheeky bastard. Taking your wrist in his hand, he loops it up and around his neck. You’re making a noise into his mouth, you realize, right as he’s sliding a hand down to the side of your thigh and gripping it between his long fingers. You shiver as he pulls away too soon, pressing a small kiss to the corner of your mouth before sinking his teeth into your neck. The gasp that leaves your mouth is surprisingly loud and your cheeks flush further. He just hums, pleased, and stretches an arm to the opposite side of your waist to hug you closer. Warm lips move on the skin of your neck and his tongue darts out few and far between the kisses.

“Fuck,” he breathes when your hips jerk forward once.

“Sorry,” you whisper up at the ceiling, eyes falling shut. “reflex.”

He grins against your neck and moves to grip an ass cheek in his palm.

“Your reflex to me licking a hickey is to grind into my crotch?” he teases. You just have to nod, lips parted, as he soothes another bruise with his tongue.

“Karl.” He seems to either not hear you or ignore you for he’s removing himself from your neck and connecting your mouths once more. “Karl,” you stutter between kisses, and he squeezes at your ass.

“Yes?” His lips are bitten and puffy when he pulls away, a smug look on his beautiful face.

“Take off my corset.”

He looks between your face and the lingerie, eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Don’t mind if I do.”

-

A/N: ask or send me some stuff!! requests, rants, anything. :D comment what you think !

[sohin-ace]

Doppio - Frog Princess

Fairy tale AU and lots of love for my small man.

Doppio dragged his feet across the garden, restless and desperate. He sighed and whined to himself, taking the opportunity of being all alone to voice his pain and concerns, something he was never allowed to do.

"Aww jeez... This prince life isn't made for me..."

He huffed again and tugged at his very uncomfortable, gold adorned collar that was almost suffocating him.

Doppio looked around him, sure enough, the tall trees surrounding him did a great job at hiding him from the potential workers on the castle grounds that could possibly be looking for him.

He could finally have a little moment for himself and sneak out, maybe to cry to himself a little bit.

"O-ow... That still hurts..." The boy whined and rubbed on his bruised fingers, the results of angry professors punishing him for each mistakes he made. "I'm no good, I can't do anything right..."

That's right. Prince Doppio was a clumsy and anxious boy who lacked capacity in every domain. He always tried his best and obeyed every and each order, he wasn't undisciplined, oh no, young Doppio was a good boy.

He was just bad. He hardly managed to keep the required straight stance for more than ten seconds, was better at petting the horses than at riding them, couldn't follow etiquette at all, or protocol, was extremely forgetful and sadly, mother nature did not grace him with the strongest physical traits a young man his age was expected to have.

"Tch... Trish was so popular everyone courted her and she was so easy to marry, but me... No one would want to marry a good-for-nothing like me..."

He angrily kicked some rock and held his back that cracked at the movement, in pain, squeezing his eyes shut and sobbing at the sore feeling. That last lesson of fencing went so terribly wrong, how did the others do it?

"I'm so tired... Why meee...?"

"Ribbit!"

"Huh?" Doppio was startled at the very sudden but intriguing croaky sound and approached its direction near the pond.

He couldn't see anything at first, but then a tiny little creature jumped out of its hiding place. Doppio's honey eyes widened and he quickly wiped his warm tears, crouching down towards the animal.

"A frog!" He exclaimed happily, almost like a small child, new to the world. "Hi! You're so tiny, what's your name?"

"Ribbit!"

He knew very well the animal couldn't respond to him with actual words, but just the feeling of having even a one-sided conversation soothed a bit of his loneliness down. He cupped his hands together to invite the frog in, and the animal obliged by jumping on them.

He looked down and observed the chubby little creature. It had the cutest, roundest eyes, almost sparkly in the dim forest light, its green color was so bright and homogenous, there weren't any marks or patterns that frogs usually had on their skin. Even its limbs were tiny and soft, Doppio couldn't help but pet it with one careful and shaky finger.

"O-ooh! Oh my god!" He squealed uncontrollably. "You're so squishy!"

"Ribbit ribbit!"

The quiet and high-pitched croak felt so pleasant to his ears, it meddled with the sound of the water next to him and made him feel so much at peace. He loved to hear that cute sound and how the frog's belly puffed up like a balloon with each croak.

"What are you? A boy or a girl? I'd say you're a girl because you're super pretty and have a tiny voice."

"Ribbit Ribbit! Ribbit Ribbit!"

Doppio gasped loudly. "D-did I get it right?! Oohh yes!! That's so cool! Well... Not like I would have minded if you were a boy... Or both... Wait, do frogs have genders? Oh it doesn't matter."

The young prince felt like this frog was currently the only thing keeping him sane. He had no one else to talk to, there was no one who actually cared for his own well-being and he had no friends.

The only real person to actually show him some kind of recognition and love was none other than the King Diavolo himself. But even his sweet words and affection seemed somewhat back-handed and laced with pressure and severity.

"You know, you're lucky, little thing..." Doppio started with melancholy. "You don't have to worry so much about your life... I'm bad at everything and I'm all alone... I don't know what to do..."

"Ri-rib, ribbit!"

"Even if a nice princess wanted to marry me, I would turn her down because she would deserve better... Sometimes I wish I could disappear..."

"Ribb-ribbit!"

Doppio's eyes softened on the small frog. That's how sad and pathetic he was. Talking his problems out with a frog.

"Why do I feel like you actually understand me...? Thank you for listening to me and being my only friend."

Without even thinking, he lifted the small frog and brought it towards his face, giving it the tiniest of pecks. He smiled at how weird the feeling was, the animal was cold and slightly humid, a bit sticky too which he did not mind surprisingly.

He sighed and looked up mindlessly before his eyes were suddenly striked by a blinding flash of light.

"Wh-what the hell?!"

The light flashed brighter and brighter, coming from the frog in his hands. What was going on?

Doppio could only drop the creature and shield his eyes with his arms desperately as the frog sparkled like a thousand fireflies and grew in size.

The boy squinted his eyes shut and fell back right onto his butt before he felt a strong weight pressing on him, the mass eventually pinning him down onto the ground.

"U-uughh..." He groaned and rubbed his head, a sharp headache from the harsh light hitting his sensitive eyes still slowly fading.

He looked down only for his eyes to widen like saucers. He couldn't believe what he was currently witnessing and thought that maybe he went blind from the flash and was hallucinating right now.

The weight on top of him revealed to be the figure of a girl laying unconscious. He couldn't see her face buried in his chest, but he could make out her beautiful hair, smooth skin tone and the very frilly green dress she was wearing.

And that wasn't just any dress either, the golden ornaments, the tulle, the silk, the lace, the satin... That was an expensive dress, was she...could she be... A nobleswoman? A baroness? A...

...A princess?

"A-aah..." The girl moaned quietly before pushing herself up, not without struggle and Doppio gasped.

"A-are you okay signori-..." The boy could barely finish his sentence and only mumbled open-mouthed nonsense.

He was beyond mesmerized at the beauty who had just ever-so-slowly lifted her face up to look at him. Her shining wide eyes, her innocent glossy lips, her rose dusted cheeks and her hair framing her perfect face made him believe he just stumbled into some sort of forest Goddess.

"Ah-I... U-uuhm.. Y-you...uh.. W-ah-...eh... I-I'm..." He stammered awkwardly, his brain melting like ice in summer as his face and ears burned a crimson red, his breath catching in his now dry throat.

"Ah! My stars!" The girl gasped as she hovered over the immensely flustered prince. "I am so sorry! I must be crushing you!"

The young girl fretted anxiously before trying to scramble over on her knees and straighten herself up to give the poor man some much needed space, but as soon as she did, she was hit with a wave of dizziness and lost balance again. Doppio was quick to sit up and catch her against his chest, wrapping careful arms around her.

"A-are you okay, miss? What happened to you? What's going on?" The boy asked worriedly, regaining his composure slowly.

"Ah y-yes... It's just... It's been so long since I've been glamoured..."

"You've been... Glamoured?" Doppio couldn't be more confused than this, but the girl explained further as she leaned back slightly.

Her name was Y/N L/N, daughter of the King L/N. Many years ago, she had been the victim of a curse cast by the one and only sorcerer Dio, who was overcome by fury and rage against anyone affiliated with the Joestar Empire, or those who refused to become one of his pets, casting spells after spells, and curses after curses.

"He turned me into a frog and swore to me that nobody would ever come to save me from my demise... But you..." Y/N looked up at Doppio's honey eyes and couldn't help the tears pooling at her eyes.

She was free, at last.

"I was all alone... And you came here... My savior..."

Her soft voice cracked with thick emotions and she stared into Doppio's golden eyes with soft ones, her vision blurred by warm tears. Doppio gasped lightly, moved by her story and she shyly wiped her tears.

"A-ah, forgive me! How shameful of me, to weep in front of a prince like this... I'm just.. So..."

"No, princess, don't apologize." He gently held her wrists to pull them away from her timid face. "You have the right to be overwhelmed... Nobody's here, besides... I cried too, earlier, in front of you. Nothing wrong with showing your emotions."

She sighed dreamily at his gentle words and soft touches, the now more confident boy stirring her heart. "What is your name, my prince?"

"Doppio." He gulped, stiff as a rock at her saccharine gaze and tone. "Doppio Vinegar."

"You're a good person, Doppio..." She breathed out, her words dripping with warm sincerity. Doppio's heart could only skip beats at each and every one of her actions.

The boy may be clumsy and bashful, he surely wasn't dense. He well knew he was deeply falling in love with this frog princess, but something in him told him she may not be completely disinterested in him either, despite his overall appearance and personality.

But maybe, just maybe, it was because she didn't know him enough. She didn't know this extent of his foolishness, how worthless of a man he truly was. This was the perfect opportunity for her to just push him away and run back home, only to never see him again.

But against all he could have ever expected, he was completely shaken out of his low self-esteem filled transe when he felt her leaning her delicate hands and head against his chest, closing her eyes and relishing in his warm hold still on her.

"Prince Doppio... I feel so safe when I'm in your arms... I'll forever be grateful for granting me my deepest wish..." She lifted her head just enough to look at his blushing freckled face, his mouth agape. "How could I ever reward you?"

Was she... Really serious? Nobody has ever told him they felt good around him. Nobody has ever felt safe around the small and skinny man that was Doppio. Could he be strong enough for her?

Well one thing was positive, he didn't want to let her go, and if he had to eat razor blades to protect her, he would do it without batting an eye.

She actually wanted to, or at least seemed to, stay with him. She felt grateful, for him, of all people!

He hoped she wouldn't hear his heart go feral in his chest. She would do... Anything for him? Could he be selfish? Could he ask the inimaginable? Would she say yes? He wouldn't force her but... He would love to think about himself only, just this once in his life.

He had nothing to lose.

He gently grabbed both her hands in his surprisingly big ones, squeezing gently and rubbing his thumbs over her soft skin, as if to want to imprint his love onto her.

"Ma-... Marry me, Princess Y/N!" He confessed with loud yet clear determination. "Please, be mine! I will cherish you like my most prized treasure, you will never be alone and feel unsafe again! I promise my entire life to you, please promise me yours!"

She widened her eyes at his sudden assertiveness and his strong, meaningful words. The pink boy in front of her shook her heart in so many ways, and she had already lost everything to Dio in the past. She had absolutely no reason to deny, now did she?

The girl smiled bright and slowly pulled her hands out of his grasp, only to immediately wrap her arms around her hero's neck, nuzzling her face against him lovingly.

"Yes! I accept... my sweet Doppio."

[antigenius]

Tainted Love (Tsuyu x Reader)

A/n: God I’m so late, I apologise but word literally screwed me over. ANYWAY! this is a server collab with the bnharem server, so go check out the whole masterlist here! Go support all these wonderful writers!! ALSO my friend @bnhcs​ made this super cute banner!! It’s so pretty!! Anyway, here’s the fic!

~~~~ 

Your breath hitched in your throat. Asphyxiation was making your brain go fuzzy, but all you could do in her presence was hold your breath.

“Tsuyu?”

You watched her forest coloured hair sway left to right as she turned around, the bow at the end making her look adorable. She was so pretty…

“(Y/n)… You look really creepy watching Asui like that.”

You jump up at being spotted, immediately snapping your head towards Hiryu in attempts to save your dignity.

“I-I wasn’t staring! I just, happened to look! Y’know? Coincidence?” You say, laughing nervously.  The fact that you were rubbing your neck didn’t exactly help your situation all too much either. The boy only chuckles, poking you in the side, making you straighten up with a jerk.

“Just talk to her! You’re even in the same class!”

“I just…”

You sigh and look back to see Tsuyu walking away, talking to Midoriya. You swallow hard.

“It’s not that easy.”

Getting into UA was a nightmare. You were scared to bits, and despite having a potentially very helpful quirk, all you could do was distract the robots to let others run away.

“C’mon, this way! It’ll be okay, I’ll just-“

The zero-point robot slams his arm to the ground, a rumble making you and the other student tumble butt-first to the floor. They cling onto you for dear life, tears running down their face.

“It’s too scary here! I don’t like this, I wanna go home!”

A cough wracks through your lungs from the dust kicking up. The robot tranches its way towards the both of you, hand soaring into the sky. You could only watch, paralysed, as it began to come down again.

But the impact never came.

You had shut your eyes at the last second, but you didn’t feel your body turn into the mush it was supposed to turn into. You heard the loud crack and rumble of his fist hitting the ground, as well as gentle words.

“You should be more careful, kero.”

You open your eyes to see the girl who had saved you. She resembled a frog in a lot of senses, it must be from her quirk. She had emerald eyes coupled with leaf green hair tied in a sweet bow. In her tongue, she carried the other person you had been trying to save before. You could feel your heart skip a beat.

She sets you both on the ground, far from the others. She was about to jump away.

“Wh-what’s your name?”

She looked at you, eyes locking with yours. The whole world froze for that single moment, all was deaf and hushed as she tilted her head and beamed.

“Call me Tsuyu.”

You never thought you’d make it into the hero course, but you sobbed as the acceptance letter came in the mail. You were to be in Class 1-A, unlike your childhood friend Hiryu, who was in Class 1-B.

Your dream was simply to be a great hero. To help and guide people. To do anything you possibly could. You didn’t have to be the best, you didn’t have to do a lot, but at least something, anything to help, since the world had done so much for you already.

A flash of green catches your eye. You spin your head towards it, choking on your breath.

It was her.

In the well-fitted girl’s uniform, her smile shone from so far away. Her hair was its cute bow style, something you had remembered vividly. She seemed to notice your staring, waving at you.

“Kero! I know you! I’m glad you’re in my class!”

She caught up to you, hands on the straps of her bag. She giggled.

“I never got your name?”

“(L-L/n), but you can call me (Y/n), if you want.”

Her eyes crinkled. “I’d love to.”

The flowers in the basket slowly began to disappear as you plait each one into her hair. It was quiet, but it was a silence you would cherish. The memory was so long ago, and now you were here, in third year. It was senior prom, and you had already finished dressing up. You and Tsuyu were best friends, sharing everything from secrets to food. When everyone thought you couldn’t get closer, you did. Yet, you had still to tell her how much you loved her.

“You’re going to look so pretty Tsu-chan.”

“Yeah, I hope so.”

She didn’t have to hope. She was already gorgeous. The dress was made out of elegant white silk, light and airy on her figure, yet heavy enough to not fly in the wind. The sleeves on her arms were puffy, letting her bare shoulders show. She looked almost regal like, and with grace in her steps, she would be the talk of the dance.

Well, in your eyes anyway.

The number of flowers in the basket eventually dwindled down to five.

“(Y/n), how do you ask someone out?”

You froze, heart slamming against your ribcage so hard you almost thought it came out of your chest. Your fingers were still woven in her hair, mid-braid.

“U-uhm, why do you ask?”

Tsuyu sighed as you felt your hands get clammy, you wipe them against yourself in a hurried attempt to not mess up her hair.

“Well, there’s someone I’ve liked for a while now. We started talking a lot more lately and…”

Tsuyu let a smile paint upon her lips, her cheeks turning a soft pinkish hue. “I think… I really like them.”

Your heart moved up through your throat and into your mouth. Was she… talking about you?

With trembling hands and a shaky breath, you brace yourself for what might be the happiest day of your life. To be honest, you had an inkling of the feeling when Tsuyu would hang out with you more, or she’d pick you first out of the groups or she would give you one of her rare hugs. It was so obvious the more you thought of it, you were just paranoid.

“Well… Well…” You keep yourself from bursting, fumbling with her braids albeit. “Maybe just tell them? Like just straight, name, I like you, would you like to dance with me?”

You felt Tsuyu nod her head the slightest bit. She was so considerate.

“Should I practice?-“

“YES!” You almost shout, but you cough into your elbow. “Sorry, I’m just excited for you!”

Tsuyu laughed. “Okay. Here it goes.”

“Uraraka-san, I like you, would you like to dance with me?”

Ah..

You could only look down. It wasn’t a shock. It wasn’t a surprise.

It was never you. It would never be you.

Your hands were rigid with the last flower in the basket, but you force your body to move. Your throat constricts, and you have to swallow down every tear that threatened to fall.

“(Y/n)?”

You shake yourself out of your daze to look into Tsuyu’s beautiful eyes. You’ve adored them forever, and you could just lose yourself in them anytime, if she’d let you. You braid the last flower into her hair. It was a single daffodil.

“Y-yeah. Like that.”

You breathe, biting your lip. A daffodil symbolises regard and chivalry. It is indicative of rebirth, new beginnings and eternal life.

For you, however, it symbolised your unrequited love.

“Thank you (Y/n)! You’re such a great friend.”

“You’re… Welcome… Tsuyu.”

[quillyleaf]

fish anon again ^^ thanks for replying to my ask!

basically, my mom and i were given an aquarium from a friend, and we wanna get some fish for it, but have no idea how to choose. are there any types you would recommend for some first time fish owners? any tips? and if you have resources yes pls i'd love for you to share them !!!

have a nice day <3

Hello again!!

I decided to put a quick summary up at the top because this got super long:

Before you get the fish:

What’s your tank size?

Get a filter that fits

Get a heater that fits (and a thermometer)

Get enough substrate for the tank size (natural coloured is best)

Get your decorations (live/silk plants are great! Driftwood and natural stones, too!)

Research what fish can live well in that tank size (and which ones would get along if you’re getting multiple!)

CYCLE YOUR TANK

There are a bunch of “starting a new tank” chemicals that kickstart the cycle that can shorten this cycle from weeks to a few days

Adding in hardy and small fish (tetras, barbs, platys/mollies/guppies) can also help the cycle go faster

“Cycling a tank” is basically just getting the chemicals inside the water to a stable level. Most importantly, you want NO AMMONIA.

Fish! Recommendations!

(Be aware I have limited experience here)

Small, hardy fish are best for beginners, but you can definitely get something else if you do your research: Tetras, barbs, most livebearers (like guppies, swordtails, platys, and mollies)

Cleanup crew! Fish that will cleanup algae and leftover food: Snails, shrimp, algae eaters, plecos, loaches

Flashy highlight fish! If you plan on these, I recommend choosing just ONE and basing all the other fish in the tank on what gets along with them. Flashy fish can be very aggressive, so beware! Bettas, gouramis, cichlids (I know nothing about cichlids, I might be very wrong), that sort of thing

Goldfish are great if you just want one type of fish, and only one or a few to focus on, but beware: THEY WILL EAT ANYTHING SMALLER THAN THEM.

I personally recommend KGTropicals Fish Keeping 101 Playlist if you like clear and comprehensive youtube videos. Specifically, their video for new fishkeepers is a nice starter!

Also: MAKE SURE YOU COMPLETELY CYCLE YOUR AQUARIUM BEFORE YOU ADD (most) FISH.

After you watch through that new fishkeepers video, here’s some tips for possible fish! (Under the cut ‘cause this is longggg.)

Firstly, disclaimer: I only have experience with some limited fish types, so I’ll give some info on those!

I have two bettas in a divided ten gallon tank. It’s divided in half, so it’s technically two five gallons! Originally I had one in a community tank (with other fish types) but they ended up getting nippy and aggressive so I gave them their own. ^^ With bettas, they have really fun personalities and swim around and can even be easily trained to do tricks as long as you take care of them properly!

But having a betta means you can only have one “highlight” fish, the betta. So if you want more than one fish with longer fins, or really pretty colours, or a flashy personality, bettas aren’t a good idea. Gouramis are a little less aggressive, but a similar fish in that you don’t want to put them with other larger/flashy fish because they tend to get nippy.

In my twenty gallon tank, I have platys, a gourami, weather loaches, and kuhli loaches. I would actually recommend getting a larger tank for weather loaches, I’m just keeping them in this tank temporarily while they’re smaller until I get a larger tank. ^^

In the past, I’ve had guppies and african dwarf frogs. Unfortunately, due to either disease right from the store, or from my own inexperience, these fish passed away a while ago. :c I wouldn’t recommend african dwarf frogs to beginners: feeding them is remarkably trickier than you might think. Guppies can be a great beginner fish, I just got really unlucky with them and I don’t want to get them again. ^^’

Livebearers in general are usually great beginner fish if you have a large enough tank and you want a group of lovely colours and cute personalities. Guppies, mollies, swordtails, and platys are some of the common ones you’ll find. Some of these can be more aggressive than others, so do your research, but the great fun with these is that they breed readily when healthy and happy. HOWEVER, these fish DO tend to be short-lived, so I wouldn’t recommend these if you get attached really easily.

LOACHES are my favourite favourite favourite fish ever because they are!! SO SILLY AND DERPY and so fun to watch! They’re extremely easy to take care of, eat up all the leftovers at the bottom of the tank, get along really well with other fish (because they can be really peaceful), and they can even be extremely friendly (and can even!! ENJOY BEING PET!!). HOWEVER. All loach types are different, so do your research. ^^

I don’t have personal experience with these, but tetras and barbs are also said to be very hardy fish, cheap, have many varieties, and are little and therefore are good for beginners.

Also!!! Technically not a fish! But! SNAILS ARE GREAT. They clean up algae and leftover food and keep your tank nice and clean, and are also fun to watch~ Nerites are known as the best for algae clean-up, but apple (or mystery) snails are also really good. SHRIMP ARE ALSO GREAT for a similar reason! Just make sure your other fish won’t eat them.

Hopefully that helps? Mostly this was just an excuse to rant, though. ^u^’

[dumplingsspookysweeties]

Aviary Information

Here is information on our Bird bitties!

cut below for length

Chickadee (classic Sans)

He prefers seeds and a quiet, private place to sleep. A little bit of a hopper (hops around when he should be still) but otherwise just as laid back and lazy as any other classic variety.

Puffin (classic Papyrus)

these fish eaters are happy to flap around or perch, whatever gets them closer to their owners! Their little webby feet are also good if you like water activities like polo or swimming.

Twitter (swap Sans)

With a body type and feather pattern similar to the common Blue Jay, these energetic birds are prone to protect their owners and homes fiercely and make rather loud noises if threatened.

Robin (swap Papyrus)

your average garden bird, he will perch on your bird feeder all day or laze about in the birdbath if you let him. easy to love, easy to care for, and adores anyone who will pet his fluffy little body.

Tanager (fell Sans) insect scourges, these bright red birdies love to preen their owners, even if they let themselves get a little mussed on occasion. Great for anyone in a high insect zone, or if you just want someone to joke around or banter with that will soak up all your attention with a smirk.

Cardinal (fell Papyrus)

The classic red bird, Cardinals love being the center of attention, posing in picture-perfect places, and talking or singing to their owners. Usually it’s about how wonderful he or his owner are, and the adventures he’d send them on if he could find out how to start such things. Till then, he’ll regale the world about the time he saved you from a late-night cricket invasion or how he chased away a nosy neighbor.

Vulture (horror!bird!Sans)

-likes meat of any description

- will be very patient

- does need sharp objects hidden and an isolation period

- likes to bathe himself in small pools rather than large tubs

Condor (horror!bird!Papyrus)

- meat eater, exclusively

- tends to enjoy decorating himself, whether in paint, jewelry, or mud even!

- can hunt if necessary

- will do dust baths on his own, so make sure to give him an actual washing if you don’t want a dirty bird.

Kite (horrorfell!bird!Sans)

- chitters instead of giggling, but it’s just as involuntary.

- hunts if not fed adequately on meat

- will start shedding feathers if he gets too stressed

- pats and attention are good ideas

Secretary (horrorfell!bird!Papyrus)

-largest of the birds in our aviary

- eats meat of any kind

- tends to walk or run rather than fly most times

- will seek out baths on his own and feels better clean

- aloof, but will leave trinkets for his owner to show appreciation

Shrike (horrorswap!bird!Sans)

-small but mighty hunter

- will stab his prey and show it to you proudly

- feed on meat or insects if you want to curb this behavior

- can carry loads much heavier than himself

- will use a birdbath and be quite happy, often singing while bathing

Heron (horrorswap!bird!Papyrus)

- second biggest bird

- tends to eat fish and frogs

- feed him fish if you don’t want him getting into your koi pond

- do not house with merbitties unless he’s already been acclimated and cares about your feelings.

- likes large pools for bath time. a bathtub is fine in absence of an actual pond or pool.

Pelican (underworld!bird!Sans)

- anything he can scoop up, he can swallow

- do not house with any other bitties or pet fish or rodents unless the Pelican was already there before they arrived

- may occasionally swallow non-food objects by mistake, easily retrievable

- enjoys water and prefers eating fish

Andean (underworld!bird! Papyrus)

- bright colors!

- likes small insects or pureed fruit

- very affectionate

- needs help getting his wings clean

- safe to house alongside a new Pelican

Guianan (underworld!Swapbird! Sans)

- hope you like bright blue

- uses wings as substitute arms

- prefers fruit, fresh or pureed

- safe to home with a new Pelican

Frigate (underworld!Swapbird! Papyrus)

- feed on fish or squid

- will steal baby birds from outside nests for food

- will try to show off for his owner by puffing himself up

- tends to be busy all day doing something

Woodpecker - (Fellswap Red Sans)

- eats insects, meat, or fruit

- very loud and forceful personality

- they tend to do a good job at keeping neat nests and they will insist on their owners doing the same. Even if his idea of a neat human nest is having a circle of blankets and pillows on top of the bed.

-make him a part of your routines. let him have the responsibility of reminding you of things, or keeping you on schedule, and this will make him feel very important and happy.

Oriole - (Fellswap Red Papyrus)

-Fluffy sweet songbird boy

- affectionate, quiet, and very prone to clumsiness

-expect him to fall into various pots, vases, and containers on occasion

-only sings when alone

- messy nester, likes eating seeds but can eat anything, and a very nuzzly companion

- let him hold onto your keys or phone. He’ll make sure you never forget it.

Hummer - (Swapfell Purple Sans)

- flighty, fast, talkative

- most of them barely land at all.

- they enjoy sweet drinks, but will eat anything he finds interesting (and we do mean anything, regular checks for debris in his ecto are recommended)

- will go from snuggly to playful to irritated quickly, very active and shifting attention

- give him silk flowers to decorate his space with. they last longer, come in more vibrant colors, and that way you won’t have to fight him to clean up the rotted ones

Martin - (Swapfell Purple Papyrus)

- trash collector bird

- any shiny bits will make their way into his nest

- eats pretty much anything you give him for food, but will also try to sweet talk you into giving him treats

- will throw little bits of his ‘treasure’ at you as signs of affection....before fluttering over and taking them back. This is mostly an excuse for him to come over and “be forced to” sit with you for a moment.

Turkey (Undertomb Sans)

These boys have the big tail fans, and look very chunky and soft, like a domestic turkey, but they are definitely of the predatory set. They love meat, and their sharp teeth are not just for show.

 However, they are also lazy boys, and will be very prone to becoming a lap bitty if you let them. They’re intelligent, too, and will play riddle games with you if you don’t mind playing along.

 Flamingo (Undertomb Papyrus)

 Another plumage name, these spindly legged bitties also enjoy the shrimp diet of their namesake, but mostly because they’re amazing fisher bitties! They can feed a whole colony of bitties on their own in the wild with being able to use their teeth, claws, and spike-like legs to grab and spear their prey!

 They’re curious, energetic, and like to get into high places to explore them, so maybe get some locks on your upper cabinets until he gets used to his new home. They also enjoy puzzles more on the line of a color cube, or a knot puzzle. Anything where they can move the pieces around themselves.

Lorikeet - our most colorful bird bitty, he flutters around and uses his old feathers for art! Mostly making pretty fans and other objects for the other birdies in the aviary, our Lorikeets are very excitable and tend to swoop down and glomp any new humans in their homes. His bones are naturally swirled black and white, though this does not extend to his skull. They like seeds and fruit.

Kookaburra - our error bird named for his cackling laughter. More chaotic leaning than most other types of error bitty in the shop, he likes to prank and trick everyone, and laugh about it when they get irritated. Can be pacified by an interesting story or puzzle, and will be thankful when fed. Letting him hunt is not a good idea, as they are very brutal, so instead get him a good supply of meat and he’ll be happy.

Black and White Nightjars - Both twins have plumes of their respective colors on the bottom of their long wing tips. Their powers function more on the energy around a home, with the White instilling peace and positivity to an area, and the Black confronting any negative energy and attempting to put it to rest. Good for someone bothered by poltergeists or who experienced abuse, since the dark feeling afterward can linger.

Dark Black Nightjar will be very hard to live with. He won’t come near you, but you will feel his eyes on you everywhere. The air will become heavy and the malice will be near tangible. It is entirely possible for a Dark Nightjar alone to make terrifying haunting-like events occur. A strong grounded person is needed to make them Safe to be around normal humans and bitties.

[pbandjesse]

My throat feels all gummy. It is probably allergies. But man it is annoying. 

Today was an excellent day for the most part. I slept alright but man getting up was hard today. But once I got up things were okay. I was a little snippy when I found that the laptop wasnt plugged in last night and so I had to bring the cord with me and I was pretty upset. I felt bad for being snippy though. So yeah I wasnt in the best head space. But James made me lunch and gave me hugs and sent me off to work. 

GPS was still on random mode because it took me the weirdest way possible. It was real pretty at least. Lots of nature. But also so weird!!

I got to work around 830 though and the two new kids were there. Theyre twins! All the kids I have are lovely and fun to hang out with. I got all their schedules written on the board. Which only had a few issues because. They are children. But we got things done and it was a really good day. 

I worked on the first aid portion of my class. There wasnt a test at the end but it was a lot longer than the CPR. It took me a lot of today to work through it. But I got it done. 

I also worked on a few frogs and got things up and going on the instagram page. Felt productive. I checked in on the kids a few times but really this job is wicked easy and they dont need me much. Just gotta refocus them a few times. 

Me and the two older girls went outside around lunch for a bit. Played with my circus silk. It was a lot of fun. The brother of the twins came out to join us and me and the twins stayed out while the younger girl went back to class. 

We went back inside and I spent some time teaching them all how to sew. We made little felt patches. They would tell me they were failing when they had loose threads. But I would show them how to fix it and they were just like OH! and then moments later tell me again they messed up and had to start over when that was not true. But by the end they were telling me what they wanted to make next. Very sweet. 

Once everyone was done with their classes we headed outside and man. What a perfect fall day. We played with the silk. We made a leaf pile! We jumped in the pile! The girls went inside to grab cardboard boxes to help us make the pile bigger. And once we were done with that we used the boxes to slide down the hill and that was stupidly fun. I had a great time. 

Soon we went inside. The youngest girl was very tired and was throwing a little bit of a fit. Mostly whiny. So I gave her a piggy back ride inside. And we all washed our hands and had juice. 

But then it was time for me to go home. I wrote notes to their moms, saying how great the kids are but also saying please send more info for this one class we cant figure out, and to please send headphones along. And then I was off. 

I headed to a joanns to get some more large eyes for the large frogs I am working on. I meant to get cotton and I forgot. Felt dumb esspecially because I used ALL my cotton to stuff these guys. Ugh. 

I stopped for a sandwich and fries. And I am glad I did because I got stuck in traffic for like 15 minutes and while I was sitting still on the highway it was nice to have fries and a drink. 

I got home around 430. I was tired. I ran into Mr Will on the corner. Told him how well my online store is going. He was really excited for me. Including the upcoming commissions we have broken the $400 mark! I am so excited about how well things are going. And I hope it just grows and I can make other things too. But the frogs are great and I love them so I am pretty happy. 

I got inside and unpacked my stuff. And played animal crossing for a little while. I wanted to catch snails. So I did that. But then I heard sweetP chittering at a squirrel out on the fire escape so I had to go get him inside and decided that was when I would get to work on my frog stuff. 

I stuffed the large frogs. And had a lovely conversation with someone who has made a few orders. They encouraged me to open commissions for them. So I have done that. I will have to get more large eyes. And not at the store because I paid the same for 100 eyes on ebay as I did for one pair of eyes today in person. Gotta be smart. 

I did get really upset though because I thought I was printing test labels to get the paper lay out correct but I wasnt. I was getting charged. And so I wasted like $6. So I feel very very dumb and bad. James and Jess tried to make me feel better. But it is still hard. 

I am pretty tired though. I have been laying in the studio writing for a while. Researching. I thought I had missed an order and so I went through all the orders matching paypal to instagram and writing down everything in my spreadsheet. It took forever but I will just do it as they happen from now on and that will keep me more organized. Im so afraid I will miss an order.  I have already made mistakes sending the orders to the wrong people because of paypal vs instagram names. But I am doing my best and thats all I can do. 

Now though it is after 9. And I want to go get a shower and wash my face and get ready for bed. I dont have class with the kids tomorrow but I do have the in person portion of the First Aid/ CPR class. So that will be all morning it seems. But then I can go home. But what I will actual do is go and buy more cotton fill and maybe go to the thrift store. I think it will be a nice day. 

I hope you all have a great day. Take care of eachother and be safe. Wash your hands. Goodnight!!

[ellaofoakhill]

Oak and Stone, Part Two

Oak and Stone was a bustling town, with fey and creatures briskly going about their business. There were mice like Jasper here, as well as voles, weasels, ground squirrels, tree squirrels, stoats, a few bats, and many other creatures Ella knew.

As well as a few she didn’t.

Creatures like the lizards Ella had encountered on Gaea, or a bit more commonly on Fey. But no lizard she’d heard of had four arms. The smallest of these was a head taller than her. Tusks twisted down from their jaws. Their bodies were a uniform grey-brown or mottled green, with frills on their jaws and crests on their heads, which many had painted or tattooed or pierced with rings and studs. According to Meline, they called themselves drakles, and most of those in Oak and Stone were sailors.

What most surprised Ella about this place—unknown beings were really to be expected—was the abundance of elves. Well, relatively speaking; abundance was not a word that fit well with elves. But there were more of them here than Ella had ever seen outside of Fey. To be fair, impeccable manners and upturned noses aside, elves were known more than anything for their love of the sea. And the sea Oak and Stone did have in abundance.

Meline showed her down to the shipyards, where vessels from across this world—the drakles called it Nidd—docked and unloaded their goods. These went to the seaside market, a paved square by the water with a stream running through. The stream allowed smaller boats to paddle or pole into town and drop their goods right by the stalls.

There were fabrics Ella had never seen, some softer than velvet, others smoother than silk, still others so strong Ella’s knife couldn’t cut them; according to Meline, those needed crystal-edged scissors to cut into shape. There were spices alien to Ella’s nose and tongue, including one somewhere between lemon and banana that she particularly liked; Meline laughed at the incredulous delight that flashed across Ella’s face when she tasted it. There were strange rocks and shells, scales shed by massive beasts, and gems that seemed commonplace here which Ella had only read about. There was a wood here, one a fairy could mould with her bare hands while it was green—or, more accurately, orange—and once it seasoned became like fairy silver. Ella shaved the hair from her arm with a knife made from it. There were metals as well—the mayor had banned the import of iron for all but a few specialized purposes—but this claywood, as it was called, was so easy to work hardly anyone used any metal not found as a nugget.

The moonbeams were strange too. Nidd had four moons and two suns, and each moon made beams different not only from Gaea’s moon, but from Nidd’s other moons as well.

Beyond the market were shops. There was a shop bordering the market that sold crepes filled with berry and honeyed cream; Ella laughed at the white moustache on Meline’s upper lip. Another sold kebabs of sweet and spicy fruits, of roots savoury, sweet, and spicy, and of the spiced meats of different fish and insects, or whatever the equivalent was here.

There were shops that sold fine berry wines, cordials, and ciders, and shops that sold candied chocolate mixed with granules of nuts and dried fruits. There was stronger drink as well, but Ella had hardly more than a sip of a spiced liqueur that made her fingers and toes tingle. Too much made a fool of anyone, and Ella was in a town she didn’t know, in a world she didn’t know, surrounded by fey and creatures she didn’t know.

And Meline knew a great deal about this town in another world. Many shopkeepers and stall-owners in the market waved or greeted her by name, and she knew not only them, but their families, and how business was doing. And she presented it all masterfully.

After they were quite full, Meline led Ella across the bridge and out of the square. Ella had heard the sounds of industry from this section of town for some time, but she suspected Meline had been building toward this.

Ella worked a wide variety of metals, woods, and some fabrics, but would have freely admitted her grasp of other materials was lacking. She saw a water fairy weaving six different materials into one cloth, a mole and a frog setting gemstones into a brooch, a squat, spiny

local—they called themselves ekidnes, according to Meline—throwing a clay pot, and a squirrel blowing glass.

Meline led Ella around a corner, and Ella’s fingers thrummed to the melody of hammer on metal. A shop with a sign depicting a hammer and anvil drew her. Beneath a slate lean-to, a drakle so green he was almost yellow held a bronze bar in two pairs of tongs while his upper arms operated a hammer and punch. Ella watched as he twisted and worked the cherry-red metal into a whorl of vines and leaves. He’d already finished the central portion, which had what looked like three vines braided around each other. He had two trays of tools in easy reach, and the fluidity and precision with which he picked up and set down tools—hardly taking his eyes off his work—gave Ella to know this drakle might have plied his trade as long as she had.

Finally he set the piece on a frame and stood, reaching for the ceiling. His crest and frills were bright red. He wore a thick apron, and heavy trousers with a third leg for his tail. He wore a grey sleeveless shirt with two wide armholes.

His eye wandered in their direction. “Ah, Meline,” he said, stepping out from under the awning, “good to see you again.” He had a thick, unfamiliar accent, with something of a lisp.

Meline went forward and took his hands—well, two of them, anyway—with a bow. “And you, Art.” She turned to Ella. “Ella, this is Arthur Bronzemonger, the best metalworker in Oak and Stone.”

Ella bowed. “It’s always nice to meet another of my kind.”

Meline turned back to Art. “Art, this is Lord Ella of Oakhill. She recently did me a great service, and to repay her I’m showing her around town.” She lowered her voice to a stage whisper. “Her smithing might give you a run for your money.”

Art raised a pair of scaly eyebrows as he took Ella’s hands and bowed. A forked tongue flicked out of his mouth. “You smell of metal, charcoal, and wood—mostly oak, but also willow and poplar—but you have overlaid it with lavender.” Ella reflexively moved back from the tongue. Art’s eyes widened, and he sucked it back into his mouth. His frill reddened more. “Forgive me. Fairies are new to Nidd, and your ways do not always come easily.”

“I could forgive a smith of your caliber far worse than a small eccentricity,” Ella said. She felt a flush creep up her neck. “Could you… would you honour me by showing us around your forge?”

Art’s eyes gleamed. “I would be delighted to show another smith my work.”

“Then lead on, good sir!” Ella said.

Arthur reached for a clay pitcher by a sturdy door leading into what was probably his house. “Would you like a glass of ice water?” he asked. “Smithing is good work, but hot.”

“How do you keep your ice?” Meline’s ear-points wiggled. With interest, as far as Ella could tell.

“Carters bring the ice down the mountain packed in crates with sawdust,” Art said as he opened the door to his cellar and hopped down. He came back up with several finger-sized chunks of ice, dropped one in each glass, and put the rest in his pitcher. “and I put it in my ice

box downstairs.” He took a long draught from his cup. Ella noticed his frill start to pale. “You can also have a water fairy freeze some water for you. But the genuine article tastes better. Now,” he rubbed two of his four hands together, “let me show you some of my projects.”

Hanging from the ceiling was a bronze-bladed scythe. On two hooks on the far wall were a pair of axes, one with a silver head, the other copper. Tools of various kinds hung on the wall, including a number Meline was unfamiliar with; the only one that stumped Ella turned out to be a set of scale clippers. A pair of silver shields shaped like gigantic scales intrigued her.

Art, unsurprisingly, proved a fount of knowledge regarding his craft. There were a few points he was unable to clarify for Ella, though she suspected this was due more to a slight want in his vocabulary than a lack of understanding. He’d no trouble making silver and gold as hard and strong as any fairy.

“I have a question,” Meline said, as she examined a set of caterpillar shears. Art and Ella both raised their eyes from the minutia of a serpentine-handled camp knife (which had a blade below the municipal length limit).

“What is it?” Art said.

Meline looked around the shop. “You have a lot of high-quality items here.”

Art’s eyes lit with understanding. “You are wondering how, in a busy port town, I keep thieves from walking away with my wares.” Meline nodded. Art looked between her and Ella. Ella felt her own eyes widen as a thought occurred to her.

“We’ve just met,” Ella said, “so I understand if you’re uncomfortable talking about the security of your forge. I don’t tell strangers about mine, either.”

Art smiled; Ella hadn’t realized a drakle’s grin split its head in two. He gave a coughing, raspy laugh. “From anyone else, I might have taken the question amiss.” He shook his head. “I will not go into details,” he lowered his voice. “But it stems from my kind being dragonkin.”

Ella felt the blood drain from her face. She remembered from long ago the whump of colossal wings, a roar that shook the bowels of the world, a column of flame so hot it burned white. A pair of eyes larger than she was, a five-part pupil so huge it could have swallowed her, slamming shut as the flame poured out. And a voice, so deep Ella felt it in her bones, howling fire and blood.

“Ella?” She jumped at Meline’s touch on her shoulder. Judging by her and Art’s concerned looks, she’d been elsewhere for a while.

She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” she said, handing the knife back to Art. “Dragons have occasionally wandered into Fey.”

“And massacred and extorted everyone they could, I would guess?” Art asked. Ella nodded. “It is good to know, I suppose, that they are consistent.” Art hung the knife back on the wall. “They have been exacting the same cruelty on us since before our most ancient writings.”

He refilled their cups. “I have set foot beyond Nidd thrice in my life. Once to visit Gaea and learn a special technique for forging steel.” He held up a hand. “I have not used it in Oak and Stone, if anyone asks. Twice I visited Fey; yes, I visited your home world. Once when I was

still in my father’s care, and much later with my wife.” He sipped his water. “And it seems to me both worlds are less wild than mine. Though still full of dangerous creatures, I’m sure.

“Dragons are the worst, though wyverns and drakes are plenty vicious. Wyrms cause serious problems, though they usually stay deep underground. Sea wyrms are actually good to deal with; we give them baubles," he gestured to the silver shields, “and they leave our fishing vessels in peace. And the lung are kindly creatures.”

Ella leaned back. “So… this is where the lung come from?”

Art and Meline both stared at her. “I mean, yes,” Art said. “But they are rare on Gaea, much like the dragons, yes?”

Ella nodded. “I saw one once, shortly after I left Fey.” She sipped her water. “It danced on the clouds, even though it had no wings. And it conjured rainclouds as it danced, weaving in the sky like a glittering ribbon.”

She met Art’s eye. “They’re so different from dragons, I never made the connection before.”

Art shrugged. “Understandable. Take away the long bodies and scaly hides and there is hardly any similarity.” He looked at his own scaly hide. “But kin we all are.”

Ella did not ask which drakles were closer to, dragon or lung. Maybe they didn’t know. Either way, it seemed an unpleasant topic.

[goodorient-blog]

Reasons to Love the Modern Qipao

You've got heard folklores about China's fabric. The exact silk material from China are actually well-renowned with regard to touch plus feel. Numerous effort is definitely put in to produce each costume a aggrade to the little brown eyes.

Centuries past the dress structure in age-old China must have been a fashion statement. Actually, the dress program was a challenging and organized exchange of clothes determined to get fit for any rank, community role, and even gender. The very set of dress in certain functions and formality was initially also according to the dress method ideals.

You can that the China's dress technique was very much influenced by just Confucianism together with other Chinese sages, and so taken into consideration of the model and function of a particular type of apparel conveyed numerous meanings.

China's fabrics have been a center connected with attention. The initial tangible archaeological evidence pertaining to domesticated manmade fiber use in The far east dates back so that you can 3300-2250 BC, as proved by continues from Qianshanyang, a Liangzu Neolithic webpage in the Zhejiang province with southern China.

Follow this link for more details on the history of Qipao.

The Imperial Kingdom have guard all their product certainly. Silk components and strings that would manage to cross punch China's limits into the possession of elites from developed societies, yet, proved to be amongst the ultimate sumptuous luxuries and an appropriate symbol for power together with status.

There are a number kind of China's dresses instructions from old fashioned cheongsam in order to modern qipao. If you are excited about the Asiatic culture and also add some training to your attire, keep reading for more information on different China's dresses as well as how to pick them all for times.

A Quick Heritage of Cheongsam

Qipao/Cheongsam is a type of modernized cool Chinese outfit. It was conceived in the nineteen twenties and nineteen thirties.

The term “cheongsam” is usually searched by Westerners to touch on to female qipao. Yet, it honestly means “long shirt/dress.” It is ill-fitting and usually worn out by gents now.

Qipao/Cheongsam used West costume sun and wind to remold the original Manchu clothes. It might just have some Kent elements, using essence, it has all the product belonging to the influence about Western civilization.

Hanfu is a traditional apparel of cultural Chinese. The main "Han" appertains to the Han ethnicity. The "Fu" means garments. Qipao/Cheongsam has long been catering to be able to western way since its entry into the world. In its preferred period, it will eventually change about the new design of north west fashion each and every year. Qipao/Cheongsam is not related to any conventional Chinese tradition, though it's possible to see visual references identified from the standard attire.

Cheongsam, or Qipao for simple, was a Westernized form of Manchurian Qizhuang (or Manchurian clothing) by the Damien Chinese. Qipao was, actually, a modern invention by Kent women (Han Chinese gals did not use Manchurian outfits before this era, but mainly borrowing has impact on such as behaviors and designs).

The qipao entered general audience Chinese lifestyle during the Qing dynasty. However modern varieties we know at this time are very distinct from how had originally been. It set about as a practical dress through straight as well as loose haircuts. Intricate types were used into the materials. Through colonization, the qipao became westernized.

Manchu females usually consider silk garment as the general material just for qipao, worked with plants patterns, clipped with shoelace. The attire was in general ankle-length, excepting the time when ever young women was about to get married to and bar noble ladies in noble palaces, who seem to wore an incredible as high as two inches, in need of longer dresses.

The slash for the sideways lapel is all about wealth and also prosperity. The capacity of the cheongsam also offers status, seeing that longer clothes are unsuitable meant for physical toil. In the Republican era, it previously was the clothing associated with educated students.

Qipao/Cheongsam can just only be utilized by girls as it was specially designed and manufactured specifically for personal women. Qipao/Cheongsam has a 3d cut, which happens to be typical regarding western shower style.

Qipao: The Choosing Guide

Set alongside the traditional China's dresses, qipao is more advanced, and it is a great deal more in accordance with well-known taste.

The actual Qipao is known as a body cuddling outfit, signifying it is which is designed to show off curved shapes and dermis. So, if you happen to dare to reveal, this combined modern + traditional certainly are a great solution.

And, should you be a guy browsing this…The men’s equivalent involving Qipao can be Changshan, nevertheless form has not evolved an and is yet quite classic, possibly as a consequence of Han China's men regarding to wear those for hundreds of years.

Therefore, here’s issues you should take heed of -

· Don’t plan on being dressed in a Qipao with a shorts.

· Frog Nails are an old classic trait with regard to Qipao. They are not only decorative, won't needed to maintain Qipao off and in destination.

· Take some the slit. A cheongsam will have the particular slit towards the thigh point or lesser.

· There are not the same variations connected with cheongsam aid you can choose from frog fasters, squeeze studs, silent zippers, and so forth Some cheongsam might have a good zipper to the back additionally.

· You can usually get the whole field! Cap-sleeved, sleeveless, three district, long sleeved - pre-owned is yours in making.

· The hemline of a cheongsam will be just a bit curved, clear, or nippy.

Modernized Qipaos are quite numerous. What’s interesting is are returning looser waist lines for easy training movement, and then the fact that smothering the form is trendy.

You should not fall for counterfeit propaganda around national China's dresses. China is a multi-ethnic country, your house Manchu or even Han, their whole clothing is portion of Chinese traditions. Because Qipao is more on the way of wear rather than Hanfu, and a lot more in line with the necessities of modern folks, so Qipao has been put to use more widely.

The particular qipao is definitely the perfect night time dress regarding social operates. Brides at the same time chose it all for their designer wedding dresses. In fact, typically the qipao is by far the longest reigning favorites involving oriental attire styles. Non-Chinese women actually have embraced often the qipao.

The values vary from entrepreneur to provider. However, in order the best, you ought to know that overpriced fabrics for example silk, as well as and purple velvet are often used to make a case for the stratospheric price tags with qipao.

Therefore, if you want to develop a bold fact (within budget), head on for you to Good Orient now.

[cover2covermom]

Goodbye April & hello May!

I read 11 books in April!  Not too shabby if I do say so myself.  I also did well with my April TBR and read 5 out of the 6 books on my TBR.  Woo hoo!

Let’s see what I read & blogged this month…

» Black Leopard, Red Wolf (The Dark Star Trilogy #1) by Marlon James

This book.  I can’t tell if I read something brilliant that just went over my head, or if this book is an acquired taste… It took at least 100 pages for me to wrap my head around the world.  It took 200 pages for me to really be invested in the story.  By the 500 page mark I was wondering why the last 200 pages were not the next book… This book is definitely not going to be for everyone.

You can read my mini review here ⇒ Black Leopard, Red Wolf

» The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson

*4.5 Stars*

A standalone fantasy novel!  This fusion of historical fiction & fantasy hit the right notes for me.  While the plot was a slow burn, there was plenty of adventure to keep me satisfied.

You can read my mini review here ⇒ The Bird King

» Truly Devious (Truly Devious #1) by Maureen Johnson

This YA story had dual mysteries, one occurring in the present time and the other occurring in the past.  After that cliffhanger ending, I’m itching to read the second book in this series.

You can read my mini review here ⇒ Truly Devious (Truly Devious #1)

» Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

*4.5 Stars*

#YARC2019

When this book was chosen for one of my book clubs, I was NOT expecting to enjoy it.  I am not one for fluffy contemporary reads, but this one hit the spot!  It was well written, funny, and surprisingly entertaining.  I loved it so much I’ve already got the second book from the library.

You can read my mini review here ⇒ Crazy Rich Asians

» The Read-Aloud Family:  Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections With Your Kids by Sarah Mackenzie

*4.5 Stars*

This book was an absolute delight! It inspired me to start reading aloud with my own family.

» Frog and Toad (Frog and Toad #1 – 4) by Arnold Lobel

I listened to this book along with my family to dip our toes into reading together as a family.  This collection of short stories was very sweet.  We loved the dry humor.

» The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin

*4.5 Stars*

This was a fascinating look at the start of the film industry and the women that helped pioneer the industry and helped pave the way for those that followed.  If you enjoy historical fiction with feminist tones, I recommend this one!

» Aru Shah and the End of Time by Rochani Chokshi

#YARC2019

This was a wonderful MG fantasy filled with Hindu mythology.  It was a lot funnier than I was expecting.  A great debut for Chokshi in the middle grade target audience.

» Akata Warrior (Akata Witch #2) by Nnedi Okorafor

*4.5 Stars*

Enjoyed the second book in this duology just as much as the first.  Loved seeing Sunny’s growth & development from the first book until the end of this one.

» Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

*3.5 Stars*

This was a solid read for one of my book clubs.  While it didn’t exactly knock my socks off or surprise me, it was an easy read that kept me turning the pages.  It was a nostalgic read for me since I live about 20/30 minutes away from the small town in which it is set.

» The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient #1) by Helen Hoang

#YARC2019

Despite the fact I’m not a huge romance fan, I was interested in reading a romance with a main character on the Autism Spectrum.  I thought the representation was very well done here, which isn’t surprising since it is an #OwnVoices book.

Goodreads Challenge Update:

#YARC2019 Update: 9 books in 2019

Year of Asian Reading Challenge TBR + Progress Tracker #YARC2019

I’ve read 9 books towards #YARC2019 thus far in 2019!  I read 3 books in April: Crazy Rich Asians, Aru Shah and the End of Time, and The Kiss Quotient.

2019 Goals Update:

» 80% NetGalley feedback ratio = 15 backlist ARCs ⇒ 4/15 books read

I didn’t read any of my NetGalley backlist in March or April.  #DoubleFail

Since I’ve failed 2 months in a row, I’ll be prioritizing NetGalley backlist books in May.

» 30 physical TBR books ⇒ 10/30  books read

I read 2 books off my pre-2019 physical TBR.  I read Akata Warrior & Aru Shah and the End of Time.

» No buying new books ⇒ Um….

April is my birthday month… I stipulated that I wasn’t going to count my birthday in my 2019 book buying ban, BUT I bought 22 new books for my birthday… Ugh.  I am going to do my best to not buy any more books until Christmas time!

You can see part 1 of my birthday book haul here ⇒ April 2019 Birthday #BookOutletHaul – Part 1

» Complete mini reviews for all books read ⇒ Still going strong!

I’ve written mini reviews for all of my March reads & half my April reads!  I’m so happy I’ve stuck with this goal of writing mini reviews for each book I read 🙂

» Read long books I’ve been putting off ⇒ 0/3 books read

Still failing on this front 😦

March 2019 Reading & Blogging Wrap-Up + Book Haul

April 2019 TBR

Book Review: Daughters of the Silk Road by Debbie Rix

Books I Read for #MiddleGradeMarch 2019 + Mini Book Reviews

Books I Read for #WomensHistoryMonth 2019 + Mini Book Reviews

Author Event: Laurie Halse Anderson’s Book Tour for Shout

Mini Book Reviews: March 2019 (Part 2)

Kids’ Corner: Encouraging a Love for Science in Kids – Featuring National Geographic Kids Books

Top Ten Tuesday: First 10 Books I Reviewed on my Blog

Bookish Travels: Bookstores I Visited in Savannah, Georgia

April 2019 Birthday #BookOutletHaul – Part 1

Mini Book Reviews: April 2019 (Part 1)

Which books did you read this month?

Have you read any of the books I read this month?  If so, what did you think?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

I share which #books I read in April & what I've been blogging this month in my April #wrapup post! #BookBlogger #Bookish #Bibliophile #Bookworm #AmReading #Reading Goodbye April & hello May! I read 11 books in April!  Not too shabby if I do say so myself. 

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The Bucketlist

Mini-Series of Short Stories

SILK-Should I Let him Know[EN]:Chapter 3/FINALE

Phoebe decided to go out to the school garden and appreciated all of it before it's gone.

She sat on the swing, not caring if her dress get dirty...

"Bye School... You may not know it, but I will miss you." She whispered.

"I'll miss you too..." A voice said from behind.

Phoebe almost jumped out of the swing...

"Oh! Joshua! You scared the hell out of me..." Joshua laughed at her reaction.

"How come after all these years, you haven't still recognized me?" Josh asked.

"What?" Phoebe looked confused.

"Alright... I'll give you a clue." Joshua said as he inhaled air to make his stomach expand like he just swallowed a watermelon.

Well, it's not that effective since the man has developed six pack abs due to non-stop working out through the years...

Then, he widely opened his mouth...

"Hey!!! What are you geeks up to?! I'll tell on you!!!" His voice deep and childish at the same time as he mimic an old dialogue.

"Oh my Gosh! J-josh? Is that you? You lost weight. And... It looked good on you." Phoebe said.

"Yep. But I'm so not your middleschool bully anymore." Josh said laughing a bit.

Phoebe was about to go down the swing but Josh stopped her...

"No, don't go down, I'll give you a push..." Josh said smiling to her.

And he did.

He pushed Phoebe gently on the swing as they talk.

"Why are you alone? Don't you have a date?" Phoebe asked.

"Hey, I should be asking a beautiful woman like you the same question, but to answer your question... I went to the ball alone because she kinda, ditched me..." Phoebe laughed.

"I like seeing you laugh. It's been a while. I also wanted to say sorry..." Josh said.

"Why?" Phoebe asked.

"I blamed myself for what happened to your leg. If I wasn't such a bad kid... You wouldn't end up in that well anyway." Josh explained.

"It's not your fault... I was never mad at you." Phoebe said.

"Phoebe?" Josh called. She turned her head.

"Yes Josh-..." Phoebe was cut off.

She was shocked as he kissed her.

Phoebe kissed him back.

Neither one of them knows that someone accidentally saw them...

When their lips parted...

Josh spoke...

"I have to go Phoebe. I have to go to a job interview tomorrow. I applied for a job in advance. Don't ask sweetheart. I need it badly." Josh said smiling as Phoebe nodded.

With that, Josh left.

Phoebe decided to sneak into the building.

To the classroom that she and Zoriah shared memories together.

"And I thought school took so long to finish..." Phoebe said to herself.

"Time flies when you're having fun..." A familiar figure stood at the door.

"Zack?" She asked.

"Why did you kiss him?" He asked.

"You saw-?" She was cut off when Zack harshly pinned her to the wall and kissed her roughly.

Her crutch fell on the floor.

Phoebe used all of her strength and pushed him away...

"Why?! You liked me from the beginning right?!" Zack asked.

"What? T-this can't happen between us Zack. Zoriah loves you so much. She needs you." Phoebe's eyes began to water.

Zack's expression softened in front of the crying woman.

"You're right... I'm sorry..." Zack whispered and picked up Phoebe's crutch and gave it to her.

Then, Phoebe picked up her pace and she went to the door to get away from the man...

He chased her to the University building's entrance.

"Phoebe... W-will I see you again?" Zack asked her.

Phoebe just smiled to him, she turned her back and closed the glass doors.

Two years after...

Life happened and they have lived it how the paths has lead them...

Separate lives.

"Once again, thank you for calling Parker and Welsing Customer Service, have great day. Bye." Phoebe's closing spiel made it.

It's O'clock.

"And Log-out guys! Good job, our sales went higher this week." Their team leader announced as the floor was filled with applause.

"Looks like someone's going home early." Her teammate teased.

"She's in a hurry. Do you have a date?" Her other teammate Grace asked wriggling her thick jungle brows on her.

Phoebe just laughed a bit and shook her head at the comment.

"Caught you red-handed girl." The other teammate commented laughing.

Phoebe blushed.

"Geez, my last customer's really mad. Said he ain't dying yet so why sell him insurance... Phoebs... How many insurance deals did you close today?" The other teammate asked as they're on the lockers getting their stuff.

"Eleven." Phoebe casually answered.

"Wow, our team leader's right, you are good." One exclaimed.

"Is your boyfriend gonna fetch you?" Phoebe nodded.

"Yes, he's downstairs." She said.

"Is he still going overseas to for his dream?" Grace asked.

"Well, it's job offer as an animator. It's his first love but because of me... He's still thinking about it." Phoebe sighed.

"Why don't you go with him?" Grace said.

"Nah... It's not that easy. He was only sponsored. Me? Where will I get the money to go with him? And besides, he already let me fulfilled my dream. I have worked as a part-time science teacher, even though that I'm not getting a lot from the job while he's earning hard. He said, he's doing that for our future. That's the reason I have applied for this job, I think I'll earn a little more here." Phoebe explained.

"Future? Maybe he's planning to propose to you." Grace commented.

"I'm thankful if he does but I still won't get my hopes up. Marriage is such a big step." Phoebe said.

"Well, if you say so... See yah Phoebs! Ciao!" Grace said as they part ways.

Just then, Josh decided to take her out on a restaurant like their usual...

Later, Phoebe spoke...

"Are you going to Zoriah and Zack's wedding?" She asked Josh.

"Nope. I have to work that day..." Her boyfriend answered.

"Well, if you're not going, then I'm not going too." Said Phoebe.

"Too clingy... I'm living for it though." Josh laughed a bit.

"Uhm... Josh?" Phoebe called out.

"Yes?" He said.

"I know how you thought hard about the job offer you got and-..." Phoebe was cut off.

"I will decline it." Josh immediately said, blocking his girlfriend's words.

"I'm grateful that after all these years, you have been with me... Josh. We both know that declining it, is not really what you want. Thank you for always being there and taking care of me. You've let me do whatever I want, now it's your turn. I will never hold you off and take you away from your first love." She addressed seriously.

Her eyes shed tears as she was speaking.

"W-well, if that's how you look af it but... Phoebs... I'll be back for you. I will marry you Phoebs..." Josh said.

His eyes are getting dewy as well.

"D-don't make promises you're yet not certain that you can keep. I know you'll be happier fulfilling your dream there, even without me. Do not hesitate and go for it. I'll be okay." Phoebe said smiling to Josh...

Josh stood up and went across the table go reach his girlfriend, and hugged Phoebe...

"Thank you..." He whispered to the woman.

Years later, after Phoebe's leg operation and therapy.

She fully recovered.

Then, she went hiking with her new hope.

She's with her mom and dad as well...

When she got to the top along with the other climbers, she walked away a little from them to take in and appreciate how beautiful and peaceful it is.

She so was consumed by the beauty and her thoughts...

I wonder how and what are they doing right now?

Zoriah, Josh and...

Zack.

'Should I still let him know?'

Nah, I'll pass.

They guy's married to my bestfriend Zoriah and I'm sure that they're both very happy now.

I owe it to Josh that I'm here in this beautiful place by myself, now I know I'm not alone.

I have my family...

They're my first and last love.

It's okay to have it that way.

She looked at her parents taking pictures and selfies with the breath-taking background.

Someday, I'll live in a place like this. Serene and free...

'Freedom.'

It doesn't always mean that you need to be out there.

Like the frogs trapped in the well that doesn't need to be saved if it doesn't really want to...

It also doesn't always relate to love.

Sometimes, being able to reflect, focus on one's self and realizing own worth, away from the prying eyes, is the greatest freedom of all.

And when it comes to loving someone freely...

You don't need to always let them know that you love them, 'cause if you really do, they will feel too.

Eventually.

"You seemed pre-occupied. Mind if I join you in your thoughts?" A familiar man's voice said beside her.

She turned her head with tears in her eyes...

Her lips parted and spoke...

"Josh?" She asked smiling.

The man nodded.

"You're one and only... I'll never leave you again. I'll take care of you forever if I have to..." Josh said smiling back and she hugged him tightly.

~END

[maepolzine]

Don't Starve: Maxwell's Door Quest Tips

Maxwell's Door is a portal that brings the player out of Sandbox mode and into Adventure mode. Typically it is surrounded by Evergreens, Fireflies, and Evil Flowers. It resembles the machine which brought Wilson to Maxwell's world in the first place, as seen in Forbidden Knowledge video. It can be found with the help of a Divining Rod. Upon activating it, a warning message will appear informing the player about Adventure Mode and asking them if they want to proceed or not. If they do, the player will be grabbed by a Shadow Hand and then appear in the first chapter of Adventure Mode with no inventory (except special items such as Lucy, Willow's Lighter, or Abigail's Flower) or recipes, so players are required to begin anew in Adventure Mode. Health, Hunger, and Sanity levels will be restored. If the player dies in Adventure Mode, they will wake up in front of the Maxwell's Door in Sandbox Mode with their original inventory, Health, Hunger, and Sanity level as if they never activated the Door. However, Maxwell's Door does not spawn in Shipwrecked. So how do you get through the levels in Adventure Mode?

There are five chapters and an epilogue to Adventure Mode. The order of their appearance is chosen at random. Though certain levels cannot be a particular chapter. Such as darkness can only by the final chapter while Chapter 4 cannot be A Cold Reception (see chart below). So what are the chapters?

A Cold Reception

"Oh, You found my portal did you? You'd think you would have learned your lesson by now. Hmm. Let's try something a little more challenging, shall we? "  -- Maxwell

May appear on chapters 1-3. This level is similar to a Sandbox world, except the seasons change very quickly. A rainy 6 days of summer followed by a snowy 3 of winter makes exploration difficult. In addition, daytime will never exceed one third of the day, and significantly less during winter. Players are more vulnerable to insanity and freezing as you have to face near-constant rain or snow and much less daylight.There will always be at least one resource which is very rare. Sometimes the level generated will not have many Saplings, but a lot of Spiky Bushes instead; other times, Grass might be either scarce or there might be plenty, but they're all pre-picked and need to be fertilized.

Tips:

If this is your first level try to learn as many Recipes as you need, because you will keep them through the Adventure Mode.

It's important not to attack Frogs when others are nearby, as all of them will chase and attack you. Try to kite the Frogs until they give up chasing you.

Alternatively, you can trap Frogs and they will be a consistent food source. Other Frogs in the area will not attack when you trap them provided you do not attack them first.

If this is not your first level, prepare a Farm (in the previous level) to place, as the plentiful rain makes crops grow incredibly fast.

Keep in mind that Straw Rolls and Tents are very useful to skip the night and replenish Sanity level during this mode. However, it is important to remember that sleeping restores sanity at the cost of Hunger and is not highly recommended due to the scarcity of food sources.

You will find the following sources of food on this level: lots of Rabbit Holes; Tallbirds, Frogs and Beefalos. Keep in mind that Tallbirds generally fight Frogs and if one does not die to Frogs, kiting and killing it is a good way to get Meat, Tallbird Eggs, and Frog Legs.  Keep in mind that killing most of these increase Naughtiness, so be wary of Krampus!

There are several areas that are blocked off by Spider Dens. Building 6 or more Traps and luring wave after wave of Spiders into it is a good way of cleaning them. Another way is to attempt to burn the Spider Dens down, but this is only recommended when the Spider Dens are in a Forest, where you would first light a tree on fire. You can also run in, plant a Pine Cone as close to the den as possible, then return when it is grown and light fire on it. If you've just started and your area does not provide resources to make Traps, you can try and run through the Spider Dens at the cost of Health and Sanity.

It is possible to travel to Archipelago, The Game is Afoot, or King of Winter, which has an infinite Winter. Taking with you Rabbit Earmuffs (worst), Winter Hat (okay), or Beefalo Hat (best) will help greatly in those levels.

Keep on your feet during the day and evening, stopping only to pick up food and the bare minimum for tools. Use every other night to set a campfire by the trees so players may chop trees and cook carrots. Between those nights, keep moving by Torch, using the reduced vision to gather Twigs and Cut Grass, and to shave Beefalos. Make a base only if this is your first world and you need to prototype useful items, or if it is the 4th one and you want to prepare for the next world.

An Umbrella is highly recommended because your Sanity will drop very very quickly due to the near constant Rain. WX-78 will have trouble with sanity unless using an umbrella.

Carry cooked Green or Blue Mushrooms, picked on dusk and night.

Consider gathering Flowers and using them to craft a Garland. Picking Flowers will restore Sanity and Garland will help combat Sanity loss due to Rain and foregoing sleep for the first few days. If you manage to get a Science Machine and x6 Silk then you will be able to craft a Top Hat, which restores 3.3 Sanity/min. Rain drains 3.3 Sanity/min., so it makes 0 Sanity loss.

A quick and easy (but risky) way to get past blocked off areas such as the Pig Guardian checkpoint is to place 1 cut grass or 1 twig next to the wood wall and light it up with a torch.

As the rain is frequent during summer, more combustible material is needed to maintain fire. Charcoal stacks up to 40 and will be in great supply when the large forests catch fire due to the of lightning strikes.

When trying to find the Things, if you are on an island-like landform, walk around all the edges of it with the divining rod as you have a good chance to pick up a signal without having to explore too much of the island. This does NOT work if the island is too large.

King of Winter

"Well, would you look at that, you survived. One down, four to go!"  -- Maxwell

May appear on chapters 1-4. Players are spawned in a Grasslands Biome. Maxwell informs that endless winter has already begun, burning trees are around players to prevent from freezing while players hearing Maxwell's dialogue. Players can look forward to 1.5–3 minutes of daytime while juggling the ever-present effects of freezing, starvation, and insanity in this harsh climate. On the other hand, nights do not last long in this world. Hound Mounds are guarding a location of the map forcing players to go through if players want to get all the pieces. The journey will be blocked by a group of Boulders or Obelisks. For the latter, players may need to have a certain level of sanity (either low or high level) in order to pass through the Bridges. The aim is to survive the cold without any preparation time. Do not try to stay here for long; find a place on the first 2 to 3 days to collect as many items as possible and get some food but then just go exploring as quick as you can to find the rest of the pieces. This is a very difficult level and it might take you more than 3 tries to pass this. It depends on the number of obelisks crossing you will get in the level, also the type and amount of natural resources available (e.g. Rabbits may not be present at all, or limited grass in a sector).

Tips

Because Obelisks will block your passage, it's important to know how to pass through them. There are 2 types of Obelisks. One requires you to have high Sanity, another requires you to have low Sanity. You will need 15% maximum sanity (30 for most characters) or lower to pass through the low one.

Reduce Sanity by collecting (-5), eating (-5) or standing nearby (-25/min) Evil Flowers/Dark Petals, eating Raw Meat (-10), eating Cooked Monster Meat (-10), digging up graves (-10), eating raw Green Cap (-50), and more. Refer to Sanity list.

Restore Sanity by picking up Flowers (+5), and eating Cooked Green Cap (+15) at the price of -1 Health. If you have enough Monster Meats/Meats, befriending a Pig will help increase sanity (+25/min).

Accumulation of Green Mushrooms is highly suggested before crossing a low sanity Obelisks so that you can cook to quickly restore sanity.

Timing is important when moving between 'sectors' that are split off by low level sanity Obelisks. Make sure you gather enough resources in case the new sector is lacking a particular resource (e.g. Boulders) and if you are unable to return to the previous location; as being insane can make it more difficuit with Crawling Horror threats.

If you happen to start in or find a 'rich' resource area, you might want to consider staying in the area for a while to gather all its resources before moving to the next sector. Don't rush!

It is best to stand near a fire source until the Heat Stone is charged to max. When it is charged to max, it will turn orange in color. This will give you more time to explore before building a fire.

If you have problems finding Boulders, remember that those can be found in small numbers in the Forests. Also, Gold Nuggets can be scattered around Graveyards or near big amounts of Spider Dens.

If you reach a choke point with Hound Mounds scattered around, two of the ways to get through them is by using a Beefalo Horn to lure beefalos and distract the hounds while you destroy the mounds or flat out running, avoiding the hound's attacks until you reach a place where the hounds stop following you (it is useful to wear a feather hat, as this will attract birds which will take the hounds interest for a short time).

Hounds from Hound Mounds, Tallbirds, and even Deerclops can also be taken out with use of Tooth Traps and the kiting method.

Obtaining the Tam o' Shanter can be tricky due to the long range of MacTusk's darts and the fast speed of his hounds. The best approach to the group is to lure the hounds away and deal with them separately from MacTusk and his son, analyze if any healing is necessary, then going back to fight MacTusk. You may need to try several times, as the hat has merely a 25% drop rate. It is the best hat in the game to wear for regaining sanity and also helps with warmth, making it a worthy endeavour.

Berry Bushes, Grass and other renewable resources no longer respawn. So Plan accordingly.

If Grass is scarce, try to pick up as many as you can and use sparingly. Since the level has only winter, Logs and Grass are needed all the time to make Campfires. An alternative way to quickly get warm is to use a Torch to burn stray trees (so it won't spread) and Manure (if available). Manure can be collected and used to fuel camp fires. A great approach, if rocks are in good supply, is to build Fire Pits. These require no grass to build and are permanent.

If there are Rabbits try to catch them with a Trap. Use Carrots to bait, or (preferred) 'guide' it towards the trap by placing it near the rabbit's home entrance so that it runs into the trap. 2 Rabbits and 1 twig are needed for Rabbit Earmuffs.

If there are no Rabbits on the map, hunting for Koalefants will provide 8 Meat which is more cost effective than hunting for Beefalos. However, Koalefants are also time consuming to locate and they hit a bit harder than Beefalos. It is advisable to have Armor and a Ranged Weapon when hunting.

Try to make a Crock Pot as soon as possible as it is more effective to fullfil your hunger and sanity.

Remember to collect Monster Meat since it can be used to make Pigs follow you. They can be a great help fighting against MacTusks and other aggressive animals. Beware, feeding them 4 Monster Meats in total turns them into Werepigs. It is also helpful to use Monster Meat in Crock Pot recipes.

The Game is Afoot

"What? You're still here? Impressive, but you should probably stop while you're ahead."  -- Maxwell

This can be chapters 1-4. Players are spawned on the ground of a Marsh surrounded by normal Grassland. The player will spawn near a chest usually containing 7 Logs, a Winter Hat and 3 Flint.  On a rare occasion the chest may contain 10 Rot and 4 random Blueprints. Sometimes the Chest is spawned near a Campfire and can be ignited immediately, costing the player the items inside. Seasonal cycles are not present in this world. The world begins in winter, and will turn to endless summer (Spring in Reign of Giants) after 10 days. Periodic Hound Attacks begin in this world.

The world features a resource-rich central island surrounded by dangerous lands containing the Teleportato Things. There is the possibility of an island being completely cut off from the rest of the world, requiring players to find a Wormhole to get to it. The central island will always have Grassland, Forest, and Savanna, but no other biomes except the tiny marsh at the spawning point. Outlying areas may have any biome.

Tips

Players will see various mobs and mob housing occupying the bridges connecting the central landmass to the outlying areas and sometimes on bridges chaining together two outlying areas. It is also possible for a bridge to exist entirely within the central landmass connecting already contiguous land; in this case it can simply be avoided.

Players are advised to move quickly and be well equipped when crossing these blockades.

As Spiders will be present in the central area, it is possible to stock up on Healing Salves before venturing out.

A Grass Suit or Log Suit will provide protection without the reduced movement of a Marble Suit which can be deadly when running a blockade. It will also be possible to craft a Football Helmet from Pigs (the Crank Thing will always spawn one and there will usually be a pig village in an outlying area) or from Pig Heads near Touch Stones or Merm Houses.

Blockades on the bridges and the ways to deal with them (Keep in mind that not everything needs to be killed if it can be avoided by the player):

Tier 3 Spider Dens - The Sticky Webbing around the dens will usually completely cover the ground, making it impossible to cross without provoking the spiders. The player can usually run past the Spider Dens anyway, at cost of Health as spiders attack. Equipping a Spiderhat and/or a Walking Cane can make this run safer. (For tips on clearing out the dens instead, see the Spider Den page.) If left alone, the tier 3 dens will spawn Spider Queens and consequently more dens, making the crossing more dangerous as time progresses.

Hound Mounds - Avoidance is key here; this blockade can be run through because generally Hounds are not fast enough to catch a player who keeps moving. This is safer during Day when hounds are usually not roaming away from their mounds.

Tallbird Nests - This blockade can be run through during Dusk or Night because during this time the Tallbirds sleep. This blockade will also have Boulders, including gold vein boulders, make it a valuable source of food and resources.

Killer Bee Hives - A run through this blockade will almost always cost the player Health as not all attacks can be avoided. A player cornered by multiple Killer Bee swarms can easily be stun-locked and severely injured or killed; some cautious feints to avoid dead ends are advised. In addition to other armor, a Beekeeper Hat will reduce 80% of incoming damage from bees, useful either for running or for clearing the blockade. (For tips on clearing out some or all of the hives, see the Beehive page.)

Clockwork Monsters - A run through this blockade will almost always cost the player Health as Clockwork Bishop attacks are difficult to avoid. It is possible to clear this blockade with mob-on-mob violence: use a Beefalo Horn or a Spiderhat to lead a mob into the blockade or position the Clockwork Rook to charge into the other clockwork monsters.

Swamp Spiral - This spiral bridge is heavily infested with Tentacles leaving no safe place to stand. However, the tentacles do not anticipate the player's movements so it is possible to simply run around the spiral faster than the tentacles react, taking no damage except to Sanity. Stopping or reversing direction on the bridge is not advised, so watch for dead ends at the edges of the spiral.

Archipelago

"Say, pal. You're really pushing your luck. Turn back now, or I may have to resort to drastic measures."  -- Maxwell

This may appear on chapters 1-4. Players are spawned on one of six islands. The only way to get to other islands are by Worm Holes.There is one Thing on each island; except on the island you begin. One island may contain one or more worm holes that split off to mulitple islands. It is likely you may need to return to the previous island(s) after collecting one piece of the Thing in order to set up the Teleportato at the Wooden Thing.

The season begins at the start of spring and will gradually change over time similar to sandbox mode. Each island is dominated by mostly one or two biomes. The islands are placed in a circular shape, and while the shape is no indication of the order the wormholes will travel in, each island always has the same two biomes, each time you try Archipelago.

The starting island has a small square shaped biome full of Carrots, Grass, Saplings, and Berry Bushes, and the rest of the island is dominated by a massive Swamp filled with Spider Dens, Tentacles, and Merms.

Tips

It is suggested that the first Forest biome you see you get enough Logs, Cut Grass, Twigs, and Flint to survive for a long while, because you won't be seeing some of the resources in the forest biome again.

It is recommended that players establish a way to come back from or cope with insanity, since it is inevitable that you will be traveling via wormholes quite often.

Usually, two of the six islands are Swamps. It can be very useful to stick around when Merms and Spiders fight Tentacles, as this gives you a free grinder. If the Tentacles die, you get a weapon. If the Merms die, you get Fish and Frog Legs which you can use to make Fish Sticks or Meatballs. If the Spiders die, you get free Silk and Spider Glands. Just be sure that nothing tries to kill you while picking up the loot.

Spend the first day grabbing everything you can in the starting biome, especially food and flowers. Food is scarce on the other five islands, and there is a high insanity risk too.

Each island may have a particular set of creatures according to the biomes.

Starting and 2nd island: Swamp Biome has Merms, Spiders, Mosquitoes and Tentacles.

1 island: Grassland/Forest Biome has Killer Bee Hives, Bees, Spiders.

1 island: Rockyland Biome has Tallbirds.

1 island: Rockyland/Forest Biome has Spiders and Hound Mounds.

1 island: Savanna Biome has Beefalo, Spiders and usually the usual creatures near the Wooden Thing.

When using the wormhole it is possible that you will travel into a middle of a field of Killer Bee Hives, Spiders, or aggressive creatures so be prepared to run to safety.

You can destroy the hives/mounds with ranged weapons and fires, especially fire darts due to the abundance of trees (Charcoal) and Swamps (Reeds). (Not Advised as it is time and resource consuming; the objective is to locate the Things)

If possible, bringing a Walking Cane from the previous level is helpful to kite aggressive creatures, pass through swamps with tentacles, and to locate the Things.

If this is your fourth level, be prepared for the final stage; Darkness as it is quite difficult.

Two Worlds

"Say. pal. Let's make a deal. You can stay here. Settle down, even. I'll give you food, gold, pigs, whatever you need. All I want in return is a truce"  -- Maxwell

This may appear on chapter 3-4. The character awakens on ground made of Cobblestones surrounded by a Fire Pit, a Tent, Trees, Berry Bushes, and Carrots. Maxwell materializes to ask the player for a truce, provided you stay there. Seven out of eight minutes are daylight on the large mainland where you start. In addition, there are no Things on this land.

In order to locate the Things you must travel through Worm Holes that connects the mainland to the secondary land. There are two types of Worm Hole; One is the normal Wormhole you encounter in sandbox mode, and the other is Sick Worm Hole that can only be used for a one way trip.

When on the secondary island, certain parts of the biomes will cause the day/night cycle to turn from 7 out of 8 minutes day to a more normal cycle, about 3–4 minutes daylight out of 8. (E.g. Walking/traveling through worm hole from a grassland to a swamp biome will cause the time shift). Take care of the time when travelling between biomes as the time change may make it dark faster than you expect.

Tips:

The mainland should have plenty of food and since daylight is much longer, respawn rates from berry bushes and other plants are faster.

The secondary island has a range of aggressive creatures. Take caution.

If this world appeared on chapter 3, it is recommended that you bring winter gear with you to the next world, as it is possible for 'The Game is Afoot' or 'King of Winter' to appear in chapter 4 if they haven't appeared before.

If this world appeared on chapter 4, it is recommended that you bring a stack of fireflies (for a Miner Hat) and a lot of food (Jerky or Honeybecause of long-term storage), as the next world will be in permanent night and scarce on food. Use this chapter as a chance to prepare for the challenging level 'Darkness'.

Darkness

"You insolent, pitiful, insignificant ant! Do not arouse the wrath of the great Maxwell! You will regret coming any further..."  -- Maxwell

This will always be chapter 5. The player spawns with a bunch of Campfires and Fire Pits surrounding you and there will be a backpack nearby which has schematics for the Miner Hat, a healthy stack of grass, a stack of logs, two random items, and an extra random blueprint .The level's Day-night cycle has only permanent night, thus players have to survive and find the Things in complete darkness. Since there is no day light, most creatures are asleep, crops won't grow and other plants may take longer to replenish themselves, and most importantly, your sanity continuously declines over time. To make things worse, due to chronic low sanity, building life-saving camp fires will often attract Night Hands that will attempt to put out the light.

There are almost no food resources for you to collect and your only source of natural light is Maxwell's Lights scattered around the map. Now, those might sound like a lot but they're really not going to help you much if you didn't come prepared yourself. The map is a linear progression where each Biomes are connected by a bridge(slightly similar to the ones in "King of Winter") that might be blocked by Boulders ; make sure you have a Pickaxe or gunpowder ready to blow through them. There is a chance that the bridge might be blocked by Obelisks. Each area has a Thing so make sure you find it before moving onto the next Biome.

Tips

In order to build a Miner Hat it is HIGHLY recommended that you unlocked the Bug Netfrom the previous level so you can catch Fireflies. This will save grass and twigs from making torches. Bringing a stack of gold from the previous level is helpful. The greater light radius provided by the Miner Hat can be critical to survival when traveling through Tooth Trap fields and Hound Mound areas.

Only build camp fires to cook your food, but you must hurry as Night Hands would put it out. It is not advised to stop them, as they will continuously attack the fire (due to permanent darkness) and also decreases your sanity(just put on the Miner's Hat and walk towards them constantly until they vanish).

You may need to build a Log Suit while traveling through the Swamp Biomes as the darkness makes it difficult to navigate and avoid tentacles. This means sacrificing your backpack.

If you haven't found any of these food sources and you're getting desperate for food, you're going to have to resort to Spiders. Cooked Monster Meat can be a life saver at the expense of sanity.

Suggested items to bring over from previous level:

A stack of gold to facilitate making the Miner's Hats.

A Walking Cane to kite and travel faster.

A stack of Jerky or other long-lasting food supply that also restores health or sanity.

Spider Silk for catching Fireflies with Bug Nets and Top Hats or a Tam o' Shanter (highly recommended) to use when standing near stationary light sources; or pre-captured stack of Fireflies for Miner Hats, or something else of your choosing. 

Epilogue: Checkmate

"Well, this is it. You found me. Now, what are you going to do?"  -- Maxwell

This is the last level and the player has reached Maxwell's Island – a small labyrinth leading to Maxwell's hall. Epilogue is a dark and dead wasteland, with a hallway in the center leading to the Nightmare Throne. The hallway branches of into small areas containing resources. The first area contains 4 chests full with supplies, in the second area there is some grass and berry bushes (most are barren), the third area has 3 crafting stations used for prototyping, and the last area has 3 Crock Pots and some mixed food laying on the ground next to them. There is permanent night and Maxwell's Lights are showing your way. No matter what level your sanity may be, eyes can be seen in the darkness. Out in the wastelands is a fully assembled Teleportato that, when used teleports the player to the Nightmare Throne. Also, the map will always be covered by fog, even after you've explored an area, thus your map will be completely useless.

At the end of the road, players will reach Maxwell's Hall. A deformed Maxwell is sitting in a large chair with a phonograph nearby playing music (if you turn it off, Maxwell will thank you). When meeting Maxwell, he will start talking, telling the player that when he got here there was nothing but dust, and "them" and that he doesn't know what they want, that they are just watching. If the player attacks Maxwell, then the throne protects him (a lightning will strike you and no matter what weapon you are holding, it will vanish), and Maxwell tells the player that the throne will not allow it. He also tells you that he has been around here for a long time, and that the player can stay around and keep him company, or to put the key in the box.

Next to the throne is the Nightmare Lock where the Divining Rod can be placed. If the Divining Rod is put in the lock, the game will ask you if you want to take pity on Maxwell but also that his captors would not be happy about it. When Maxwell is freed from the throne, he gets up and instantly dies, then turns to dust and fades away. Your character is grabbed by Shadow Hands and is placed on the throne, effectively taking Maxwell's place and becoming the new pawn (and turning the phonograph on again, if the player had turned it off before). After that you will get the final speech from Klei, and then be brought back to your sandbox game...as Maxwell! Congratulations! You have beaten Adventure Mode!  

Note: If you beat Adventure World as Maxwell, the person you completed the game with last will be sitting in the chair, still doing the terrified animation. Unlocking the lock will kill them, and put Maxwell back in the chair. You will wake up in your world as that person.

[xqzme]

It was nice weather to go here. But, look below the pictures in our place (hotel place) it was snowy and very cold.

View from the lobby before heading to our breakfast buffet.

Kids really love the snow, to think I’m so freezing cold and kids still don’t care if they are cold as long as they enjoy the snow.

On our way to Matsumoto Area, which going down the hill or mountains.

This is the entrance of the Castle.

Matsumoto Castle is one of five castles designated as ‘National Treasures of Japan’ and the oldest castle donjon remaining in Japan. Construction began in 1592 of the elegant black and white structure with its three turrets. Because of the elegant black walls, Matsumoto Castle is sometimes called ‘Crow Castle’. Inside the castle are steep stairs and low ceilings leading past displays of armor and weapons from the Sengoku Period (Warring States Period) when the castle was built. The narrow wooden windows, once used by archers and gunmen, provide amazing views of the Japanese Alps, Matsumoto City and the koi and swans circling in the moat below.

Every summer Taiko Drum Festival and a Takigi Noh (a play performed by torch light) festivals are held at the site which is also famous for its cherry blossoms in April. A Moon Viewing Party is held every autumn on the grounds in the specially built moon viewing room of the Castle. It is said, that “the moon can be seen three times from the moon viewing room”. Once in the sky, once in the water below and once in your cup of sake (but six if the sake is strong).

There are free English language brochures and Good Will Guides provide interesting facts and legions.

Matsumoto Castle (松本城 Matsumoto-jō) is one of Japan‘s premier historic castles, along with Himeji Castle and Kumamoto Castle.[1] The building is also known as the “Crow Castle” (烏城 Karasu-jō) due to its black exterior. It was the seat of the Matsumoto domain. It is located in the city of Matsumoto, in Nagano Prefecture and is within easy reach of Tokyo by road or rail.

The keep (tenshukaku), which was completed in the late sixteenth century, maintains its original wooden interiors and external stonework. It is listed as a National Treasure of Japan.

Matsumoto Castle is a flatland castle (hirajiro) because it is not built on a hilltop or amid rivers, but on a plain. Its complete defences would have included an extensive system of inter-connecting walls, moats, and gatehouses.

Source: Matsumoto Castle

Inside the castle, well in respect we are not allowed to take pictures (sorry, just took 2 snap). The Castle is very old and some are you can’t go inside and see. We went up until 6th floor the passage or hall it was so narrow and the woods you can see how old they were. The stairs were so stiff and narrow. I think we took about 1hr inside the castle (up and down)

It was windy and sunny weather. Take note we expected that was snowy weather but it was not, looks like it turns 360-degree weather. We are wearing snow boots and it was hot and our jackets are so thick. The wrong choice of outfit, we should check the weather before we go here.

List of the names who maintain and build this castles.

Inside / Entrance of the Matsumoto Museum (Historical)

The entrance ticket from the Castles is included in this Museum. The Museum is just located in front of the castle. It was small and all the artifacts of the castle or the whole city of Matsumoto are here. It was also written in English. It gives an interesting insight into the history of the town and includes a model of the town as it was historically.

Above pictures (which is allowed to take pictures).

Matsumoto’s most well-known folk craft is a hand-made ball of intricately woven silk yarn, called “temari”. While the predecessor of the temari originated in China, temari in Japan were originally made with old pieces of kimono.

There are a few theories about the origins of the temari in Matsumoto. One says that over 200 years ago, a noblewoman belonging to the ruling Matsumoto Clan created the first temari handball. Another says that a child of one of the area’s warriors started making them to help bring in money.

At first, the temari balls were popular as simple toys for little girls to play with. Later, they became symbols of harmony and accord between families, hence brides began presenting them to the groom’s side of the family. Nowadays, they are mainly used as gifts and interior decorations. The balls are made by winding colored threads of silk to create various shapes and patterns. They vary in size, but can take about four or five hours to make.

Interesting manhole design also Temari ball.

And my husband took these pictures. I keep on giggling the entire day.

THE KOMAKI FESTIVAL IN AICHI PREFECTURE, IS ONE OF THOSE JAPANESE TRADITIONS THAT WOULD BE ALMOST UNIMAGINABLE ELSEWHERE IN JAPAN. THIS CELEBRATION, WHICH IS DIFFERENT TO SAY THE LEAST, CELEBRATES FERTILITY. IF THE MEANING IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE FOR THE JAPANESE, ITS ORIGINAL FORM IS SOMETIMES A LITTLE SURPRISING FOR VISITORS…

For almost 1,500 years (the event was dated by the discovery of ancient pottery in 1935) the Japanese have been celebrating “Honen-sai“, in praise of fertility and good harvests.It is in a suburb of Komaki, north of Nagoya, that a crowd of curious visitors and regulars go every year to attend the ceremony. A ceremony which is affectionately nicknamed “the Penis Festival“. For a long time, Komaki was only a small farming town. Today, it is a real attraction. Its temple, Tagata, contains many handmade statues of phalluses. You would think that with all these representations, the festival is dedicated to them, and yet it isn’t. Lollies, cakes, statuettes and other objects are offerings to wish great fertility to loved ones. These statues allow couples to pray for a child, the unmarried pray to them for a husband or wife, while farmers hope for bountiful harvests.

FESTIVAL PROCEEDINGS

The festival starts every year, on March 15th at 9am, at Tagata shrine. Of course, the religious ceremony is taken very seriously. The parade of giant wooden statues in the streets, which is repeated every year for the occasion, cannot begin until the priests have salted the road to purify the path taken by the bearers. The bearers then parade down the street carrying a wooden phallus weighing almost 400kg. Originally, the statue was much smaller and attached to a representation of a samurai. The Japanese are very open about the subject, and this festival, representing good health and luck for love and fertility, always has a a great atmosphere. Men, women and children alike enjoy the many attractions present. While sake is distributed free of charge during the parade, no fighting or trouble has ever been reported! When the new statue replaces the old one, the latter is recovered by private buyers or companies.

source: HONEN MATSURI 豊年祭

Just across a small bridge on the way to Matsumoto Castle, Nawate Street is a row of small shops with a subtle but recurring frog theme. The banks of the river once echoed with the voices of frogs. Kaeru, the Japanese word for “frog” can also mean “to return home.” Thus, as a symbol of the frog history and to invoke a safe return home, a statue of a frog marks the entrance to the street. The large fiberglass sculpture, by students from the Tokyo University for the Arts, shows frogs decked out for battle. Right next to the frog sculpture is a small shop specializing in rice crackers (senbei), Japanese crackers made from glutinous rice. Varying soy-based glazes give the specialty sembei here varied characters, ranging from salty to spicy. Keep Taiyaki Furusato in mind as a place for a light snack.

Aside from a variety of snack shops and a “Sweet” little cafe/bakery (which has been around since 1923), the street also has plenty of little nick knack shops and souvenirs. A number of shops allow you to make your own unique item to take home. There is a cute place to pick up pottery at a good price, a place with some very nice steal tea pots, and of course plenty of cute frog trinkets. It is said that a frog will help things return to you. This is especially valuable in or on your purse, as it will bring you money. Yohashira Shrine is also on Nawate Street and is a lovely place to sit while enjoying your taiyaki or rice crackers or to simply soak in the sun and people watch.

Source: Nawate Dori Street

After more than 45mins walking we had to find to rest and eat of course.

We just ate our lunch and snacks here. It was a Family Friendly Restaurant. (Gasuto Restaurant, Nagano)

Again, the weather shifts 360 degrees, from dry to snow… 

Playtime before heading to go hot spring (onsen) and sleep. ’till next time family Adventures.

I hope you like it, Thank you for visiting my blog.

♥lovelots♥

∇ΣΠÙ∫

Day 3: Matsumoto Castle & Museum It was nice weather to go here. But, look below the pictures in our place (hotel place) it was snowy and very cold.

[blastron01]

I’m A Spider, So What? – 118

What It Means To Slay A Dragon

Alright, alright, skill time! Paying close attention to how all these new skills work is essential. Extremely essential. Why? Because until recently I had no freaking clue that All-Purpose Silk could have resistances added to it!!

Yeah, seriously. I'm an idiot. How the heck did I miss something so crucial?

One aspect of All-Purpose Silk, granting resistances, does exactly what its name implies: I can grant the effects of any of my resistance-type skills to my silk. Or, more precisely, I can add Fire Resistance to my silk. Granting it Poison Resistance or any of the various status-effect resistances is pretty useless, but if I gave it something like, say, Acid Resistance, then it would be massively effective against one of those frogs.

I found out about resistance-granting completely by accident, when I was going over some of my skills again a little while ago. Man, I was shocked. Shocked by the fact that it had such an effect, and even more shocked by the fact that I was unobservant enough that this completely managed to slip by me!

Aaaah, if only I'd seen it a little bit earlier, I might have had more opportunities to use my silk. Well, I say that, but even if I add a bunch of Fire Resistance, it doesn't change the fact that it's still rather easy to burn, so I proooobably wouldn't have had dramatically more opportunities to show it off. I guess I could call it helpful.

So, time to check on all of my new titles and skills.

That's a Dragon for you. I neeeever would have thought I'd get a title just for beating a single one. So, what does it do?

Dragon Slayer: Granted skills – [Heavenly Vitality (LV 1)] and [Dragon's Might (LV 1)]. Acquisition criteria – Destroy dragons. Effect – Increases damage dealt against drakes and dragons. Description – A title bestowed to those who defeat dragons."

Feels like the upgraded form of Drake Slayer, huuuuh... Skills look like that, too.

Heavenly Vitality: Increases health based on one hundred times the skill level. In addition, when leveling up, provides an additional increase to health based on ten times the skill level. Dragon's Might: Temporarily gain the power of a Dragon.

I did it! I got a skill that will compensate for my terrible health pool! I mean, thanks to Patience, I wasn't quite as frail as that, but in the end, HP is HP, you know. I might run into another situation like this where I have to use a lot of mana, too. Aaaargh, but, what a waste, my level-ups came too early! If they'd been processed after my titles were awarded, I'd be waaaay more excited about four levels' worth of bonus health... Mmmm, well, can't be helped.

Dragon's Might is the upgraded form of Drake's Might, huh? That means it's just a straight-up temporary stat-boosting skill. I need to figure out at some point what the actual power difference is between the two skills. This is important. This is extremely important. I didn't have the time to test Abyssal Magic before I used it so I just kind of did it on-the-fly, but it really is important to actually understand what a skill does.

Yeaaaah. Abyssal Magic, huuuuh... I really want to test-fire all the level two and higher spells, but maaaan, its power is no joke. I mean, the level one spell was strong enough to reshape the earth, right? What's going to happen at higher levels? The mana expenditure was insane as well, so these aren't the kind of spells I can just fire off whenever the heck I want. I also have no idea how big these might wind up being, so, since this is in fact an underground labyrinth, if I'm careless about blasting these spells everywhere, then I know there's a good chance I'll just collapse this place down around me.

Right now, knowing how ludicrously powerful even just the level one spell is, I'm a little bit scared to test out the others. Unless I encounter a powerful enemy that's somehow able to withstand Gates of Hell, I'm going to lock away the level two and higher spells until I get out of the Great Elro Labyrinth.

Now then, next is the new skills that evolved out of or got derived from the skills I got when leveling up. Probability Compensation got derived from Evasion and Aiming. 3-D Maneuvering evolved into Spatial Maneuvering.

Probability Compensation is what those eels (and their higher-ranked friends) had. Well, based on how their skills were organized, this isn't really unexpected. Since both Evasion and Aiming are capped out, it looks like now I just need to start raising Probability Compensation. If I do that, then my evasiveness and accuracy will rise as well.

You knoooow, this skill looks like it might even increase my luck! Let me pray real quick. Dear God, please let me live just a slightly more peaceful life.

Right! So what I'm really interested in is the skill that 3-D Maneuvering turned into: Spatial Maneuvering. Show me, show me!

Spatial Maneuvering: Allows the user to move freely in any kind of empty space.

Huh? That description sounds pretty amazing, but I don't actually get it. "Any kind of empty space"? You mean, like, the sky? Does this mean I can, like, double jump? I need to make sure I test this out later, too.

Lots of skills so far have gotten way easier to use when they evolved. Even some really disappointing skills have suddenly mutated before, so it's possible that Spatial Maneuvering might wind up being a pretty good skill. If I can do a double-jump, the scope of my tactical possibilities gets blown wide open.

I think that's about it, right? Yeah. My skills have powered up a ton. If I'd only gotten just one more level, thoooough... I could have gotten an even bigger power boost! Ugh, so frustrating.

"A dragon died? In the Great Elro Labyrinth, huh. Was it... no, can't be, they've agreed to stay out of fighting. They wouldn't move on their own, I don't think. So what did kill it, then? Invoke administrator access. ...What? A Lord? A Lord of three things? What the hell? And what's this "Wisdom" skill I don't know anything about? Who could have done this... was this D's work? But why? What is this skill? ...I think I need to investigate."

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[wulfiesessentials]

Comfy Cotton Blend

It pays to do a unscheduled stroll threw the yarn isle when your at your local Walmart 😉 I’m always checking to see if anything new pops up. It has been a big disappointment til the other day. As I ended my walk thru the isle and I was feeling a bit “let down” again.. A bright shinning light was at the end, on a end cap… Comfy Cotton Blend. After the initial O.M.G moment and I collected myself, I went threw the normal routine.

First the Look.. The “look” is a scope the surroundings.. Check the price, See what colors there is, is anyone watching me?? lol Once I have done that.. The Touch Test is activated.. This includes.. Feeling the yarn, giving it a squish test, gently rub a yarn strand and finally, after checking to see if I’m being watched again.. I gently slide the yarn over my wrists for softness test. If all test’s pass, the yarn is then carefully placed in my basket and off we go.. except this time.

This Comfy Cotton Blend yarn done jumped in my cart during the beginning of the touch test…. So lets break this down and on with the review 😉

Maker:0x4c,Date:2017-11-13,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-Y

There is a good amount of Colors to choose from.. 10.. my Walmart however only has about 5 of them.. so far. The colors are vibrant and unique. The striping is not over powering in this yarn as you can see below in the project I’m making…

I’m loving the way this color is working so far. 🙂

  The Technical Stoof’s 😉

1 cake is 7oz.. 392yds …  Weight is #3 light.. Crochet Hook 5.5mm/ Knitting 4.5mm … Machine Wash & Dry

This is a Cotton Blend.. 50% Cotton, 50% Polyester

The feel of this yarn is addicting. The squish & softness is to die for…. Now, so that we are clear I’m comparing this to other Cotton blends I have used. There is softer yarn out there but as far as Cotton Blends go.. This is in the top 3 for me. Cotton/silk blend & Cotton/Bamboo are still my favorites.

Working with this yarn has been a relief to my hands. Those of you that work with Cotton know that after a bit of working with it the texture starts to irritate or even chafe your fingers as you work. This yarn has been a blessing 😉

Durability has been impressive also. It has withstood several froggings and hasn’t frayed, split, etc. Working with it has been easy also. With normal cotton you will get places where the cotton strand has “unwoven” and your hook goes thru the middle of the yarn. This yarn is consistent and has not “unwoven” for me, making crocheting a breeze.

This yarn is working out well for the bigger project I’m making… the weight is not as heavy as most Cotton or Cotton Blends, so it won’t be heavy and bulky. Its actually, so far, very light and flowing giving you more options to use it with.

All in All I give Comfy Cotton Blend a big thumbs up. I have found nothing negative about this yarn.

If you can not find this at your local Walmart you can purchase it online at Lion Brand Yarns.. Starting a $7.99 a cake

Walmart was a bit cheaper at around $6.50 if you can find it there.

Till Next time..

Have a Great Week 🙂

  WulfiesEssentials is not paid nor endorsed by any Person &/or Company mentioned in this post. These are solely my opinions based on use of this product.

                  Comfy Cotton Blend Yarn by Lion Brand… Review Comfy Cotton Blend It pays to do a unscheduled stroll threw the yarn isle when your at your local Walmart 😉 I'm always checking to see if anything new pops up.