#nut weevils i love you

[flecks-of-stardust]

[image description: a lineless digital doodle of a dark colored beetle in flight. Its front two pairs of legs are raised, with little marks around the end of its feet to emphasize them. It is almost as if it is excitedly raising its arms. A written ‘Wheeeeeeee’ curls around the right side of the beetle. end image description]

obsessed with how insects do this when they fly

[onenicebugperday]

@galacticnova3​ submitted: Some more nice bugs, still in Texas! First is one of the loopers I helped out; found several pupae on a sage plant that was going to be near part of the yard getting sprayed with insecticides, so my soft spot for Lepidoptera kicked in. All of the cocoons hatched successfully, revealing these beautiful little moths with green eyes and shiny golden wing spots.

Next up is a couple of dragonflies; I thought the first picture looked nice. The second one I just thought was funny— fella hung on to my shirt like it had wanted to be a pin or pendant when it grew up and was taking the opportunity to achieve its naiadhood dream.

Then there was this weevil on the fence that promptly played dead and fell when I tried to get a closeup.

This beautiful moth’s colors reminded me of a tapestry.

And lastly, this honorary bug who had a whole bed to themself. Oh to be an isopod curled up on a leaf perfectly shaped to hold you.

I’m glad the moths were saved from the insecticide. Maybe you can talk whoever is spraying insecticides in the yard out of doing that in the future! It is very harmful as I’m sure you know. Anyhoo the dragonflies are lovely but THE NUT WEEVIL. GET A LOAD OF THAT SNOOT. 10/10. Love the moth’s patterns and I absolutely LONG to be a tiny pillbug rolled up on a leaf having a snooze...

[wilbur-e-184]

SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 25 OF THE MAGNUS PROTOCOL

"Oh, he's a maggot :3 he's my friend :3"

"why didn't you just say that? I love maggots..."

"do you really?"

"no."

Aah episode

Sam and Celia are fine, Celia is late because she's having problems with getting a babysitter for Jack, again

Alice got a little.. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂

Gwen and Lena having an important meeting or whatever

Didn't really pay attention to the beginning of the statement

Food, maggots, not being able to leave, mmm burger with weevils or whatever

Colin!! With a hammer

He breaks a computer- probably just let one of them out, probably Augustus or smt

Smashes another one- Alice seems actually scared 😭

Sam attempts to take it, they end up in a fight or whatever, Lena doesn't seem too happy

Colin is in custody?? NO

It is reasonable though, considering he's sorta going nuts

Where the hell is Celia going? Hopefully to work, Lena's gonna be on her ass about it

[vanilla-cigarillos]

How to Eat Acorns!

Many of us as kids were told not to eat acorns because they were supposedly poisonous. However, my family always knew better, so today I'm going to share with y'all how you can eat acorns!

Step 1: Float Test

You're going to need to put your acorns in water in order to test which are bad nuts. If an acorn floats, toss it back outside! (And if any have holes in them, that means a weevil beat you to the good stuff, so those aren't any good either).

Step 2: Get Crackin'

I find that the easiest way to do it is pinching the acorn in place with a nut cracker, and then popping it open with a hammer. This helps keep your fingers out of smashing-vicinity (your nails and bones will thank you!).

Try to get as much of the skin off the interior of the acorns as possible for further steps.

Step 3: Soaking Time

Put your acorn inside in water! This is important for leeching the tannins out of the acorns, so make sure you don't skip it.

After about a day (full 24 hours) the water should have turned a slightly murky brown color, which means the tannins have left the acorn bits. (This is typically true for white oak acorns; red oak acorns can take up to 3 weeks! Just make sure to check by your water color)

Step 4: Grind Em Up

Now you're ready to use acorns for whatever you need! A lot of people grind up the acorns once they've been dried to make acorn flour.

I'll have this page linked to any future recipes that use acorns! Happy foraging loves!

[icarusthelunarguard]

This Week’s Horrible-Scopes

It’s time for this week’s Horrible-Scopes! So for those of you that know your Astrological Signs, cool! If not, just pick one, roll a D12, or just make it up as you go along. It really doesn’t matter.

This week we’re hitting SHUFFLE on our music collection and see what comes up for you.

Aries 

Jerry Reed’s “The Legend of the Bandit” from the movie “Smokey and the Bandit” popped up for you, and not a bad start! You might not like country music generally speaking, but that’s a song you can love. Make it a two-fer this week; watch the movie and let your dog on the sofa with you. And if you don’t have a cocker spaniel, a cockatiel will do. 

Taurus 

U2’s “I Threw a Brick Through a Window” came up this time. We’re not really familiar with that track either, which is kinda on-brand since there’s a lot of you we don’t know… and that’s OK. This week be OK with not sharing everything.

Gemini  

You get the first instrumental piece of the group; Tommy Smith & Brian Kellock’s song, “You Must Believe In Spring”. It’s piano and sax jazz, but not, like… Lounge Room Jazz? It’s cool and calm to listen to. This week when you put on some background music to occupy your head, just listen to it for a change. It’s calming. 

Cancer Moon-Child 

DAMNIT, Cancer! The song you got is called “Boll Weevil”. That’s not the annoying part. The name of the group who recorded it is, and this is the legit full name… “The Presidents of the United States of America”. A name so pretentious it barely fits on the spine of a CD jewel case. This week stop being so.. You know… like Leo!

Leo 

OH! We know how you are, Leo! Always the center of attention and ready to be a drama queen. So, ready for your song and group? You get… A PODCAST?! No, seriously! You got the Buck Benny Podcast replaying the old Jack Benny shows - this one was from 1954. How ironically fitting. Bet you’ll be the only one to get this too.

Virgo 

You get a serious throw-back to the 50’s! “My Little Girl” from TT Grace; a Rock-n-Roll Doo Wop greaser song released in 2017. This week, get some engineer boots, leather jacket, and grow out your sideburns to your jawline… unless you look better in mary janes, a poodle skirt, and cat’s eye sunglasses.

Libra 

You get Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto Number 2 in C Minor”. Here’s what someone wrote about it when it was first performed:

“If there were a music conservatory in Hell, if one of its talented students were instructed to write a programme symphony on "The Seven Plagues of Egypt", and if he were to compose a symphony like Mr Rachmaninoff's, then he would have fulfilled his task brilliantly and delighted the inmates of Hell.”

That was not a compliment. This week ignore the haters; we remember Rachmaninoff’s name, but not that critic’s.

Scorpio 

Back-to-Back instrumental tracks huh? Ok. You get… the karaoke track for Blood, Sweat and Tears’ song, “Spinning Wheel”. The song is older than you by a wide margin, so… roll down the windows in the car, crank up the stereo and belt out the words… assuming you even know them.

Sagittarius 

You got… It LOOKS like some kind of weird MIDI file. The hell even is this? “D_E1M1-dot-MUS”? All we can read in the file’s info is the name ”Bobby Prince” and the year 1993. Screw this. If you think we’re gunna find an old Pentium machine with a SoundBlaster16 in it to see what this is, you’re nuts. We’ll throw it on a floppy disk to you. You figure it out.

Capricorn 

For you, we found a listening that’s more annoying than the one Cancer got. Which song it is isn’t important. It’s from the soundtrack to the musical named… and I SWEAR to you this is real: “Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812”. The plot involves characters attending an opera… in the middle of what’s been described as an electropop opera. This week just… stop being so full of yourself.

Aquarius 

Look, we are NOT picking on you this time. You got… (*Sigh*) the 80’s hit… “Canon in D” by Johann Pachelbel. In this case that would be the Sixteen Eighties. Yes, it’s got a bad rap, but it’s the basis for so many other hit songs. This week checkout Rob Paravonian’s treatise on this song on YouTube.

Pisces  

Nope. You get NUTHIN’! Last week’s Triceratops encounter killed you. You’re still dead. Perma-Dead. Necromancers with a Nat-20 and Wish Spells can’t bring you back. Come back next week.

And THOSE are your Horrible-Scopes for this week! Remember if you liked what you got, we’re obviously not working hard enough at these. BUT! If you want a better or nastier one for your own sign or someone else’s, all you need to do to bribe me is just Let Me Know! These will be posted online at the end of each week via Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Discord.

[drsillyguy]

!!CW BUGS!!

i am such a bug guy, a little buggy boy if you will; big fan of entomology! and i am especially a big fan of weevils,, i am crying real genuine tears currently over weevils./srs they are so lovely and polite looking! 

(left photo: Curculio nucum-the nut weevil)

(right photo: Rhinastus latesternus-bigfoot weevil)

[sapphireemeralds]

Dude, I'm super curious about your spicy Yugiho takes for the fandom post lol

You got it! <3

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most) - Yugi Mutou, my son, sweet bean, best boy, fictional light of my life!!! I AGGRESSIVELY adore this character, always have, always will.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped) - I could also put Yugi here, honestly (as the previous answer demonstrates, lol), but to mix things up and try to give a different character for each answer, I'ma say Mokuba! He goes from an awful little gremlin in his first few manga appearances to a disarmingly charming little brat for the rest of the series. Rock on, funky lil' dude. Also the style upgrade he got for Darkside of Dimensions was A+. The twins Lua and Luca from the 5Ds spinoff are also absolute darlings. <3

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave) - I have to go with Anzu/Tea for this, cuz I hated her as a kid but have really grown to appreciate her! She and Honda/Tristan may not be the most important characters to the plot, but they both have good heads on their shoulders and balance out some of the, uh... bigger personalities in the cast. Tempted to also put most of the 5Ds cast here cuz I. Actually love 5Ds??? And don't see it getting as much love or attention as some of the other series???? Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places, I dunno. All I DO know is when the series first aired I was fully prepared to hate-binge-watch it, but I fell in love with it instead.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week) - There's this classmate of Yugi and co. in the manga, called Tomoya Hanasaki; he shows up in a couple of chapters where Yugi and Atem (the latter still a morally-knackered mess, more alter-ego than distinct entity) save his ass, and he's even name-dropped in GX as an easter egg, I think? But he completely disappears from the story after Duel Monsters hijacks the plot, and I think that's a damn shame. It would've been fun to see the main cast interact more with their classmates, make more friends outside their tiny little tight-knit group, and do more more normal teenager shit. Also! I have questions about Ushio from 5Ds, namely whether or not that's actually the same Ushio from the first chapter of the original manga... because if that IS the same Ushio, that has some interesting (i.e., HORRIFYING) implications for the timeline of the Duel Monsters-through-5Ds continuity and the fates of some of the characters from Duel Monsters and GX. Oof.

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave) - Okay. Jounouch/Joey is a divisive, love-him-or-hate-him character, I know, and the anime did him dirty - not just the dub, the anime in general. Dude's actually kind of a badass. Imperfect, still annoying sometimes, but much more interesting than he gets credit for being. At least that's my opinion. Fully prepared for people to not agree, that's a-okay.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason) - Part of me wants to give Shadi a taste of his own cryptic medicine, but he's a little too powerful and also True Neutral to an extent that... unsettles me. Fucking with him would backfire badly, I'm sure. Fucking with Kaiba would ALSO backfire, because he has too much money and NO chill. Also... kid's got issues. Even if by some miracle Kaiba didn't retaliate, I'd feel a little guilty. So I'll go for the low-hanging fruit: Insector Haga/Weevil Underwood. Fuck that twerp.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell) - Oh, what's-his-nuts, Dartz, I think??? and literally the entire Atlantean biker gang from Season 4. Their greatest sin: being boring as hell, which is an unforgivable offense for villains in a series this goddamn weird. I know there are people who love Season 4 for the sweet, sweet angst it inflicts upon Atem, but I am most distinctly not one of those people. Nothing else about that season vibes for me, at all.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh Ep33 S4 pt 2: The Best Storyboarder Came Back Just so They Could Draw Tristan Getting Hit in the Nuts

OK lets just get to the good stuff.

God bless you, storyboarder.

(read more under the cut)

The team has entered the Atlantis lair of Dartz, which is also accessible through Paradius in San Fransisco, but youknow...we don’t have magic so it’s not like we could’ve skipped like 10 minutes and just done that instead of the helicopter escape, the Military moment, and the ride through a hurricane.

Oh wait, we do have magic, that’s right...well...for now, pretend we don’t.

Enjoy the snakes.

Strangely, Kaiba does not feel comfortable with the snakes, when snakes really just a smaller and cuter dragon. I love snakes. Never owned one...but I trust em.

Dartz has the Yugioh “old guy” aesthetic of “We just really like yellowed sandstone”

I get that they want this place (and also Yami’s house) to look like a tomb so there won’t be any paint on the wall but this is just a pet peeve of mine that Ancient times freakin loved garish colors on the wall in layers and layers of patterns and yet in fiction we never show that.

But...it doesn’t go with the vibe. I’ll let it go because it would absolutely ruin the vibe to have a bunch of swirly stuff in neon orange and green.

Before we have a chance to grab a step stool and just kinda yoink Yugi Muto, Dartz shows up, and this shot happens.

I couldn’t not grab a cap of that. I mean...look at it. It is SO HARD to foreshorten hands so it looks right and then bam they just did that. It’s just...

...I’ve been breaking down foreshortening in Yugioh shots for a while now trying to figure out why when I do it, it looks like a busted huge hand, but when they do it, it looks really good, and I’m starting to realize that maybe it’s more than just stacking but also...the composition?

You can’t really look at this picture as a whole. The hand is such a strong focal point that you must start there, and then follow down the arm to the face. I think when I do these foreshortening shots I make the hand the same weight as the face, and that’s my downfall. You gotta let the composition force the viewer to slow down and take time in order for the optical illusion to happen...maybe? I’m like over 30 now, you’d think I’d figure this out by now.

Whatever, that’s another post.

So like...what happened to those two people who used to be there????

And now prepare thyself for my lazy math. I know this math is bad. For people out there who feel like working out the geometric growth and calculate just how many souls Dartz slurps up--feel free to tell me. If I like the explanation, I will adjust the Death Count to match it. It’s just too 2020 for me to do more than multiplication at the moment.

Did I count how many people would have existed 10,000 years ago? no. Did I account for plagues? No. Like this math of 4 a day is bad...but eh it’s all I got right now in my mental ammunition.

Something that we did think about was...

Why not slurp up the Pharaoh soul when Yami was still alive? Like we assume the puzzle existed in the past but like...did Yami not get superpowered until Yugi woke him up? Was he in fact useless until he got a little bit of a battery charge during Season Zero when he was dumping people off of bell towers?

And like I get not knowing about the underground Ishtars, and not being able to get a hold of Shadi because Shadi is a lazy ghost, but Bakura was RIGHT THERE. You can’t munch up Pegasus off screen and then say “eh but Bakura’s kinda low tier” we know for a fact that Bakura is not...so like...there must have been some copyright situation where they couldn’t use certain characters. This is a filler arc--but it would have been nice to have at least some explanation as to why it took Dartz so long to finally murder the hell out of Pharaoh.

Which is me expecting way too much out of this show. Just something I was really hoping would get addressed but leave it for the headcanon.

It’s at this point that Mokuba realized he’s standing on top of people.

A crypt made out of human souls! Crazy, usually we’re in a crypt made out of one single human soul....and both of these crypts have Yugi in it.

In Raphael’s storyline, he’s been busy just cleaning up after everyone else. It’s supposed to come off as very serious but I was totally busting up when he’s just dropping bodies into the back of this jeep.

And in the Kaiba Corp plotline, Roland is anxiously wondering if he should be a Dad and save the kids or if he should be a dog and stay in the plane.

He stays in the plane.

Strangely this was the right call. (And this is why Roland has never died)

So they start throwing around cards, as you do, and Dartz puts down his Orichalcos, has he does, when suddenly...they started seeing stuff again. Can’t have a single card game without it.

So the Orichalcos is just a backstory device? For reals?

Something I alluded to quite a few episodes back with Valon was just...wondering why the hell the Orichalcos crew had so much freakin magic as to make all these visions during duels. Turns out...it’s just a thing to occasionally trip on Oricalchos juice. I’m not sure why we never had a vision with Mai, Weevil, Rex, or Gurimo, but at least we now know that Raphael and Valon weren’t as magical as I thought they were.

So we’re in like...outer space. Kind of the last place you’d expect out of ancient Atlantis and Dartz isn’t having ANY OF IT.

And honestly that makes sense. Imagine giving someone 10,000 years ago the run down on outer space. They’d freak. They’d definitely think you’re talking about demons.

If space is an elaborate analogy, we don’t know that yet. For how this is presented, it’s just an old man hootin and hollerin about how much space sucks, and I love that.

PS how anime is this shot of the earth behind the orichalcos symbol and the dude in the middle with the ass length blue hair--really damn anime, right?

Like at least one of you has this wall hanging, right?

For those that are too tired to look it up, Pangea was 280-230 million years ago.

THAT REALLY CHANGES MY MATH.

AND I’M TOO TIRED.

So my thoughts are...either the math is wrong and I’ll fix it eventually in post, depending on my mood come next Wednesday, OR...humanity was deleted and then came back later??? (because the dawn of mankind was 7 million years ago)

OR...

They just felt like drawing Pangea 10 million years ago. Maybe that’s all. Maybe I don’t have to fix anything. I dunno.

Maybe this isn’t Earth.

Maybe Yugioh Earth never had Loma Preita because it isn’t actually Earth. And, like a Final Fantasy situation, is a second planet on a parallel plane of our own?

Either way, I’m not redoing the math because I actually don’t know how to change it anymore. I’m v undecided of the timeline now......maybe the next episode will tell us more? (I doubt this very much)

RIP deathcount.

Yo Atlantis!

I have a lot of questions!

About Atlantis!

And the purpose of the aqueduct going the wrong direction.

Is that in fact the poop shoot?

But wtv it looks neat.

So anyway, that’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed my bad math, and I hope you enjoy your Halloween. Ours is a whole lot of nothing. I’ll be watching lots of Phasmaphobia streams while eating Butterfingers that I legally can’t give to children because it’s an epidemic (butterfingers is like the last candy that my old 30 yo ass can handle without passing out or gagging. Weird how getting older makes me hate all the good things I couldn’t eat when I was younger because I was too young to be allowed to eat them.) and that’s about it.

WHY did Halloween finally fall on a Saturday DURING an epidemic? I only get so many Saturday Halloweens in my youth...just why.

(and here’s a link to read these in chrono order)

[tvfanatic]

Caramel and Cheddar

She hates O’Hare. She hates landing at a gate in Concourse L and having her connecting flight leave out of Concourse G when she only has a 20-minute layover without delays from her first flight. She hates being stuck there for three-hour layovers, and after sitting at a gate in Concourse K for that entire time, looking up to find the flight boarding at this gate is headed to Atlanta and her flight is now leaving out of Concourse H, causing her to sprint to the other area of the terminal and nearly miss her flight because no one bothered to announce the gate change since she was there three hours early.

You would think it’d be easier to get a direct flight from New York to California. But the holiday prices to fly from JFK to LAX round trip? Not worth it. Flying into San Diego is so much closer to home too. Until she ends up at a layover in O’Hare right before Christmas and she curses at herself for not booking a direct to LA earlier and just driving a rental car the nearly two hours down to Neptune.

Something else she hates about O’Hare? About Chicago? Snowstorms. Blizzards. Yeah they happen in New York, and her California born-and-raised self does not fare well in them there either. But the New York blizzards have yet to leave her stranded in an airport on the 23rd of December. She hadn’t left right after finals because she was determined to get ahead at her internship and get her foot in the door at this law firm after graduation next spring. She’d managed to impress one of the partners, but at what cost? Potentially spending Christmas Eve, and even Christmas if they can’t get the ice off the runways fast enough, at the airport? Or alone in some airport hotel?

Why was leaving sunny, summery California such a good idea again?

Veronica groans inwardly at the thought, standing up to throw away her now empty coffee cup. Her hand brushes against someone else’s at the trash can and she looks up to apologize, not expecting to see him standing there. Let alone him standing there dressed in pristine military whites. The Navy, that’s right, that’s what she’d heard.

Of all the snowed in airports in all of the world, of all the stupid concourses in this damn airport, and he ends up at hers.

“Logan,” she breathes.

He looks good. Damn good. He should wear that uniform and only that forever. Although she wouldn’t complain if he was shirtless.

Stop, Veronica. Don’t go there. Not again.

“Veronica Mars,” he whistles. “As I live and breathe.”

She hasn’t seen him since he was punching out the son of a very prominent mob member in the Hearst cafeteria for her. She hasn’t spoken to him since. But she’s thought about him plenty.

“Are you on the flight to San Diego?” she asks. “The one that I’m 99% sure is about to be cancelled.”

He nods. “Dick and I had plans to avoid the holidays together. I’m assuming you’re going back to spend them with your dad?”

It’s her turn to nod. “Where are you stationed right now?”

“Right here in Chicago. Hence the uniform. Came to the airport straight from a work function and didn’t have time to change. Although now, I guess I could have made time for it. You’re in New York now, right?”

She nods again. “Yeah, at Columbia.”

“Veronica Mars as a lawyer,” he smirks. “I should have seen that one coming.”

“Logan Echolls as a military man,” she parrots back his phrasing. “Not something I saw coming.”

He laughs at that, gestures back toward their gate. “Want to wait out this inevitable flight cancellation together?”

“Sure,” she smiles. “Let me grab my stuff.”

Veronica brings her carry-on over to where Logan has positioned himself at a seat near the window. The snow is coming down in big, fat flakes and the infamous Chicago wind is whipping it around creating white-out conditions. She’s afraid to even flag down a taxi in this.

“It always fascinates me that the weather can manage to do this here and yet California is stuck in a perpetual drought for most of the year,” he says when she sits down next to him.

“I’d barely seen snow until I moved to New York. I’m not sure that I like it.”

He laughs again and she realizes just how much she’s missed that sound.

“A true California girl at heart, huh?”

“Apparently so.”

“Think you’ll move back after you graduate?” he asks, looking over at her.

She takes her eyes off of the swirling storm outside and meets his gaze. She sees their past etched into his familiar features. It hurts. Maybe her feelings for him never truly managed to go away.  

“I don’t know. I’ve been busting my ass at this internship trying to get a job offer from the partners. That’s why I’m traveling so close to Christmas. But if that doesn’t work out, who knows where I’ll end up.”

“What kind of law firm is it?”

“They’re defense attorneys.”

“Huh. Always thought you’d end up at the other table. The prosecution taking the criminals down.”

“How quickly they forget,” she teases. “After everything I’ve done to help clear your name in the past? To clear Weevil’s? Hell, Abel Koontz?”

“You think Weevil and Koontz could afford someone as high-powered as you?”

“Who said I was high-powered? I’m just a lowly law student kissing ass to get a job.”

He laughs again, turning away to look back out at the snowfall. “You look good, Veronica. You seem good.”

Is she though? Good? Is she happy with the way her life has turned out in their years apart?

“I’m okay, I guess. School and work are pretty much all I have time for anymore. I ran into Piz last week, I guess he lives out in New York now too. He asked if I wanted to get coffee after the holidays were over to catch up. I’m not sure that I want to.”

She doesn’t know why she just did that, why she brought Piz up. Is she trying to subtly hint that she’s single? Why would he care? Why does she?

“How long did you two last?” Logan asks softly.

“The summer,” she shrugs. “I broke up with him before I moved to Stanford. I should have done it sooner though. We were never compatible to begin with.”

“Less compatible than the two of us?”

She looks back over at him and he’s still not looking at her. “Compatibility was never our problem.”

He turns his head back to meet her gaze. They stare at each other for what feels like an eternity, trying to read each other in the old way they used to be able to do.

“Right,” he finally sighs, turning away first.

She doesn’t know what he means by that. She also in no way wants to start a fight with him right now.

“You look good too, Logan,” she tells him instead, her voice quiet. “The uniform suits you.”

“Thank you.”

His mood has already shifted. Why did she bring up Piz? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“I’m sorry,” she says, staring straight ahead at the never-ending blanket of whiteness outside the window. “For everything.”

He doesn’t say anything, but instead slips her hand into his and squeezes before letting go and pushing himself to his feet.

“I’m going to go talk to the gate agent. See if they know how long this storm is supposed to last.”

“Okay,” is all she manages to say before he’s walking away.

It’s not like she expects anything to happen from this encounter. Eventually they’ll both get on a plane to San Diego. He’ll be in first class; she’ll be in coach. Her dad will pick her up at the airport. Dick might give him a ride, or he’ll just take some car service to take him wherever it is he’s meeting Dick. Their paths might across again while they’re in Neptune. But after New Year’s, she’ll go back to her life in New York and he’ll go back to his life in Chicago. Nothing is supposed to come from this chance airport encounter.

But the way she wishes he was the ex running into her in New York and asking her out to coffee sometime instead of Piz – the ways she’s wished on more than one occasion that she hadn’t left Neptune without saying goodbye or without cutting him completely out of her life. They were friends once. They were in love once. And she’s never felt that way about anybody since.

Logan shuffles back over. “So, surprise, our flight is cancelled. They’re just about to announce it. They’re waiting to rebook until the storm passes.”

“So, we’re stuck here for an indeterminant amount of time?”

“Looks that way,” he sighs. “I don’t think anyone’s going to be out driving during this. Or at least they shouldn’t be. At least they’re leaving all the restaurants open. It’s not like the employees can get home any easier than we can.”

Did she mention that she hates O’Hare?

“You hungry?” he asks. “Nuts on Clark has got the best caramel cheddar popcorn.”

“Caramel cheddar?” she asks back.

“Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. It’s a delicious combination. I think you’ll like it.”

“If we’re stuck here for hours on end, I’m going to need more than popcorn.”

“We’ll do a food tour of the concourse, then.”

He extends an arm to her and she accepts it, looping her arm through his.

“It’s probably not the right time or place for this, but uh, I’ve missed you,” he says, guiding her down the hallway of the concourse.

She looks up at him, the cut of his jawline, thinks about the way she used to tease him by kissing her way around his jaw before he’d grab her face and pulls her lips to his.

“I’ve missed you too.”

Maybe she hates O’Hare. But maybe Chicago and blizzards aren’t so bad after all.

[ayma-nidiot]

“Don’t Speak Their Names” - Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 27

This chapter can be found here on AO3.

Chapter 27 - I Challenge My Fate

~07 November 2005~ 

“President Phuckdis! Reporting in, sir!” A Buster Blader saluted his general. 

“Proceed, Captain.”

“Several enemies calling themselves ‘Earthbound Gods’ started attacking Joey and his friends. Apparently, Joey lost a duel, and last I checked, he was engaged in battle with a snake-like monster. There are now hundreds of enemy soldiers coming this way! It’s only a matter of time before-”

“Th-They’re here!” shouted a few guards who stood watch at the door. “Aaaaaaargh!”

“Hah!” Watda led the charge, showing no mercy in cutting down the guards. He aggressively attacked Joey and showed little interest in anything else. “How kind of you to show me where you lowlifes camp out! Now, give me Uru or else!”

“Never!” Joey swiped at Watda’s feet with his Salamandra sword, “summoned” from his Duel Disk.

“Oh?” Watda smirked as he jumped over the sword like a jump rope. “Why would you want to protect that ‘dung beetle…’ or whatever it is you called him?”

“Hahaha…” cackled a voice from behind Joey. “I wonder that, too. Well, no matter, since that will be your first and last mistake!”

“Weevil!” William growled at the half-shifted Weevil. “Dammit, he escaped!”

“What do you mean, ‘escaped?’” Joey wanted to know.

“William, you moron!” Phuckdis bopped his brother with the blunt end of his sword.

“Hey, Joey!” Weevil’s arms hardened, glowing blood-red. “Think fast!”

“Wh-What?” Joey darted around for the agile bug duelist. Before he could really process what was going on, Weevil found him first, stabbing his non-sword arm with a sharp spider arm. “Aaaah! You… You mosquito…”

“A mosquito, am I?” Weevil continued to assault Joey, who had to parry the attacks with a shaky arm. “Hah! A mosquito is but a caterpillar compared to the monster I’ve become, compliments of my fellow Earthbound Gods!” 

“You’ve gone absolutely batshit, Weevil! Open your eyes, why don’t you!”

“Nah, how about no.” Weevil stabbed Joey’s sword hand so hard that the Salamandra sword went flying. “But I’ll gladly open a giant wound in your belly and let the maggots have at you. I’ll make you suffer for what you’ve done in the past…”

“G-Ggh…” Joey looked up at his former Battle City rival, knowing his life was as good as done.

“The only one who will be suffering here is you, Weevil! Amazoness Empress, get ‘im!” exclaimed a debilitated Mai. 

“Ah…” All of the excitement of battle left Weevil in an instant, and he knelt to the ground in pain. 

“Bind Weevil at once!” Phuckdis ordered. “And be quick about it!”

“Yes, sir!” Several Magician Girl monsters got to work right away.

“Mai…” Joey got up, hoping to help the woman he loved - that was until Watda got in his path. 

“Going somewhere, Wheeler?” Watda slashed down a few Club members who got between him and Joey. “Not that it would do you any good, since your pretty little girlfriend is history!”

“Get off her, you thug!” Seeing Watda’s snake arms slither around Mai’s face pissed the hell out of Joey.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I want to hear her scream in agony after I take your life away!”

“Ggh…!” Joey tried to pick up the Salamandra. “Rex… Where the hell are… you…”

“Dammit, get out of our way!” Though the enemies Amber fought on the way to the Club meeting room were weak, their numbers were enough to overwhelm her.

“Need some help?” Rex asked before transforming himself, felling most of the enemies and weakening the rest.

“Papa! You shouldn’t be-” Amber would have scolded her mother if she hadn’t noticed what Rex’s transformation had done.

“Hehe!” Rex remained in rabbit form as he ran with Amber. “I might not be a strong monster, but I’ve got one heck of a special ability. Surprised?”

“Yeah, at the fact that your baby bump is still intact when you switch forms. Shapeshifter physiology is a weird thing, isn’t it?”

“It shouldn’t be for a girl genius like you.” 

“Papa… I know the circumstances are grave, but I don’t want you to push yourself. Let your strong daughter do the fighting.”

Rex’s endurance barely held on long enough to reach the Tabletop Gaming Club’s meeting room. As soon as he turned back into a human, his ankles swelled badly, and held onto Amber as a crutch.

“I got you, Papa. Oh?” No sooner had Rex reverted forms when Amber saw a fight going on well inside their meeting room, in the health/recreation center.

Unlike Amber, Rex recognized Watda instantly - as well as the captive he held by the neck. “That’s the guy who captured me! And he’s got Joey! Ugh!” Rex strained to transform.

“Papa, are you nuts? That man is the Crimson Devil, the strongest of the Earthbound Gods! Even I’m not match for him! H-Hey, get back here!” Amber couldn’t stop her mother from running to Watda in human form.

“Hehehe…” Watda cackled as he raised Joey above the gathering crowd - most of whom were weak monsters that didn’t dare to raise a hand against Watda. “My Earthbound Gods have lost to your friends… It’s too bad that you really lucked out and ended up dueling me ! Although I have to commend your bravery, Mr. Wheeler. It’s too bad you’re not as smart or strong as you are reckless.”

“Joey!” As much as Mai wanted to rescue the man she loved, enemies restrained her. “No! Take me instead, please!”

“D-Damn… you… Watda…” Having lost against Watda himself, Phuckdis barely had the strength to crawl on the floor, let alone fight back.

“Y-You’ll never… have… Urk!” Joey howled in pain as Watda’s nails dug into his neck, drawing blood.

“You’re trying to protect the man who tried to steal your soul, and the one whom you call a ‘duelin’ disgrace?’ Hah!” Watda used his free hand to grab Joey’s head, with the intent to twist it off. “I’ll show you the consequences of being a nice guy, you bleeding-heart filth! You don’t even deserve the honour of final words!”

“And I’ll show you the consequences of messing with my friends!” Rex thundered as he quickly shifted and latched onto one of Watda’s arms.

“Wh-What? Yeowch!” Thanks to Rex’s special effect, Watda could feel his strength draining. “You damned rabbit! How did you escape?”

“Not gonna tell you! But you best think how you’re going to escape!”

“What do you- Argh!” Before Watda could even turn around, an arrow from Amber pierced his shoulder.

“You’re… gonna pay!” Amber continued to shoot a flurry of arrows, chasing Watda out of the building. “Wait! ...Dammit, he got away! Let me-”

From an all-fours position, Rex grabbed one of Amber’s ankles. “Amber, not now… Just look around you.”

“Papa…” Amber noticed that in this battle, many Club members have already died, the vast majority of them killed by Watda.

“At least we know who are enemies are now.”

“...Fine.” Amber turned back into a human and glanced at Joey. “Just so you know, I still hate you. I didn’t do what I did because I consider you a friend.”

“Hehe, I know you do. You just won’t admit it!” Joey’s tone turned serious when he looked down at Rex. “That was a bold thing you did, man. Not only are you super pregnant, but you got beat to a pulp for gods know how long. I’m… I’m sorry for all that I said about you in the past. I take it all back.”

“It’s cool, dude…” Rex decided he couldn’t move anymore, and leaned against a giant wooden table for rest.

“Ugh.” Amber instead turned her attention to her incapacitated allies, Phuckdis and William. “Guys, are you okay?”

“Barely…” Phuckdis managed to stand on his feet, and helped his brother stand up too. “More importantly, Lady Amber… We’ve finally done it. We can now complete our mission.”

“Oh?” Amber looked to the smaller crowd, gathered around… something.

“‘Lady’ Amber? Come to think of it, I think I’ve heard her called that before…” Rex couldn’t see what was going on, even though he wasn’t very far.

“...Stay where you are, Rex.” Amber didn’t allow Rex to move one more inch forward.

“Amber?” Rex’s heart broke a little when Amber called him by his name. “Let me see what’s the ruckus over there!”

“Oh, I will.” Amber gestured for her soldiers to move out of the way, and when they dispersed, Rex could see Weevil - bound at the ankles, weak, and completely void of emotion.

“Weevil! You’re okay…” Rex attempted to crawl over to where Weevil was, but the ankle pain held him back.

“Rex… I don’t think you realize what kind of enemies we’re up against.”

“I’ve learned enough when I was captured. They want Weevil to join them because he’s an almighty god. And who wouldn’t?”

“They don’t want him for just any reason… He’s an Earthbound God, destined to cause ruin.”

Rex remembered what Dip told him, but tried to deny it. “Th-That’s not true! I thought you knew better than anyone that he can use his powers for good!”

“For now, yes… But in time… In time…” Amber walked towards Weevil and stared him down. “Their minds will become so corrupt that they have no choice but to fulfill their destiny. And when they’re with their own kind, they’ll cause unspeakable destruction.”

“Amber, that’s nonsense!”

Amber’s body and voice shook. “After seeing this destruction myself, I can hardly call it nonsense! The Earthbound Gods are what ruined my future! It was them… They were the ones who…”

“You’re not serious…?” Rex hugged himself to stop trembling.

“I saw it with my own eyes! Weevil was the one who killed my baby brother… My boyfriend…” Amber looked at the members of the “Dweeb Patrol,” who were even more confused than Rex. “All of you… And… you, Rex. Weevil killed you right in front of me.”

“Oh… my gods…” Rex wanted to throw up just from hearing this awful story.

“This… has been my mission… all along…” Amber half-shifted and pointed her arrow at Weevil, who looked up at her without a gleam in his eyes.

“Amber!” Rex couldn’t stop crying. “Do you mean to tell me you were duping me this whole time? That all along, your only real goal was to kill Weevil?”

“That’s right.  This overgrown spider is the only thing standing between our future and complete freedom!”

“Amber…” Rex cried. “I… I can’t believe what I’m hearing… No, I won’t believe it!”

“And now… I challenge my fate!” Amber’s arrow glowed brightly.

“Do it, Lady Amber.” Phuckdis ordered. “Your mother is already pregnant with your present self, so you can still live. And Francis… He never deserved to live in such a terrible future. Do this, and his soul will be appeased.”

“Haha…” Amber’s eyes hardened on Weevil. “I’m going to free everyone… I’m going to save the world! All I have to do is kill one bloody Earthbound God! And I’m going to do it in front of your very eyes, Rex!”

“Amber… Argh!” No matter how much it hurt, no matter how much Phuckdis and William pulled his legs, Rex crawled forward. 

“Don’t you dare interfere in our mission, Rex!” Phuckdis threatened to stab Rex’s legs with his sword. “I don’t care if you’re pregnant! I won’t hesitate to hurt you!”

“Amber… I know you don’t want to do this. The bonds your father and I have forged with you over the past few months are real. They’re not something you want to end with a stupid, puny arrow. Even though you’re barely younger than us, Weevil and I really love you as our daughter. Isn’t there any room in your heart for the father who raised you? The father who taught you everything there is to know about insects and dueling? The father would would take all the pain and suffering in the world just to make you happy?”

“Shut… up…” Amber started to tear up.

“Amber… I want us to live and bond as a family. There’s got to be another way. Let’s put all this behind us and go on another mall trip, or walk in the park. But whatever you do… please, don’t do this.”

“Shut up, Rex! You’re just making it harder!” Amber’s aim at Weevil’s heart began to waver. 

“But you can save him! We’ve done it before!”

“No. Look at him! He’s too far gone now... He doesn’t even remember who the fuck you are, Rex! This is the only way I can save the world - and Weevil’s soul. I… I don’t want to see this man suffer in the soulless shell that was once Weevil Underwood. I’d… rather… Sniff…”

“Rex… Weevil…” Even the normally-proud Joey, the Joey that once despised Rex and Weevil with everything he had, couldn’t help but shed tears of his own.

“Weevil…” Amber choked on her own breath, and she pulled her bowstring as far back as she could. “Sorry, not sorry.”

So were Amber’s final words as she tearfully let her arrow fly at Weevil full speed.

[someawkwardprose]

OKAY so instead of an entirely incoherent liveblog filled with reblogs, this rewatch is gonna be in bullet points. we’ll see how it goes. today we are watching Reset, which I remember Exactly Nothing about, and am ready for sexy martha content and Owen Thots. i am also crosstitching. gotta reach that Peak Stimulation Zone

tosh and owen chasing after the weevil looks so incredibly stupid sgjsgsjsg also my subtitles say “weevil roars” when its really more of a cat hissing

love the martha pov of ianto. this man is in a three piece suit in a dingy tourist office reading a magazine saying “we’re closing” and she’s gotta be like. yeah thats the one jacks fucking. ALSO MARTHA MARTHA MARTHA “excuse me ma’am” scream. he wanted to be cool but she’s IMPORTANT GOD. every 20+ year olds nightmare

jack’s EXCITED SMILE and jump he’s like!! SHE!!! he’s so valid honestly

“I’m here to complete your post mortem” OWEN’S face like yes. Yes I know what this is but. also. owen/martha had potential I will not shut up about this.

MARTHA JACK MARTHA JACK @ louise its THEM

“End Of The World Survivors Club” jack and the jones’ i have SO MUCH TO SAY martha LOVES HER BIG BRO gshjkzjhgdhjkjh

“we must be the only two people on the planet” “i know what are we doing wrong” when you meet your best friends best friend and you team up together to bully your best friend

SINGULARITY SCALPEL iantos >:(

why are all the medical records online hello my doctor still fucking prints out and scans my shit before sending it to me instead of just emailing the doc like a sane person

“my dog bit him and i kicked him in the nuts” “haha respect” jack is kinning me

FEEL GOOD INC PLAYING WHILE OWEN MARTHA PLAY YES SIR

love to know what the fuck kinda science is this

“gwen/ianto - criminal investigation, owen/martha medical side, tosh I will be sitting with you in the corner because we have nothing to do today :(”

sidenote tosh/martha/owen. I Have The Braincell Today

“who’d assassinate a student” “the student loans company” god i WISH saas would take a hit out on me *stares down my debt*

ianto: what do u mean he *was* diabetic? also sidenote someone write me torchwood team member who is diabetic because I don’t see enough of fics with stuff like that.

OH THAT IS SOME BODY HORROR BULLSHIT

hm I don’t want what comes next to happen <3

jack this man is the most mediocre middle age dude. he’s like stale white bread. what is attractive about that. stop flirting

owen: when i was writing my MD thesis- me: SHUT UP ABOUT DISSERTATIONS -

“ask whitehall” BEYOND THE GOVERNMENT YOU LITTLE BITCH

“I know its hard to believe Owen but I wasn’t thinking of you <3″ martha jones I am IN LOVE WITH YOU

IANTO LITERALLY WALKING AWAY IN EMBARRASSMENT MEEEEEE he’s so AWKWARD bless him he really doesn’t want to talk about the fact he is in An Adult Relationship, Like An Adult,

“told you she was brilliant!” THAT’S MY WIFE

“where have you been” *martha having brutal literal war flashbacks*, “oh, you know, around”

tosh....its okay martha/owen/tosh is on my mind i will give you This,

“I WAS ASKING YOU OUT ON A DATE” oh NO WORST TIME TO SHOOT YOUR SHOT HONEY LIKE I KNOW HOW THIS GOES BUT “alright.” “sorry?” babes....like I have Thots about Owen/Tosh (mainly owen doesn’t deserve the love of my life) but this HURTS

massive break because my tv remote stopped working and i couldn’t unpause and had to shut the whole thing down

ianto really likes his stun gun huh. he literally uses it every episode. love of my life spice things up a little. chokehold someone. 

I am not allowed to make bondage jokes because I love martha too much but just know i am sitting on many.

“torchwood is irrelevant to us”

TORTURE VIA WEEVIL???? thats gotta be against the geneva convention. love that ianto just gives them a glare and they behave tho. pet dad.

GET UR FILTY HANDS OFF MY WIFE

“clever huh” “oh you are warped on the inside” this is literally a conversation between me and my brother word for word ghjhjsjksh

owen/martha....martha/tosh....tosh/owen/martha...my mIND

gwen/ianto/tosh: see a weevil in pain, pet parent instincts ACTIVATED

“that’s cyberterrorism” YOU LITERALLY KILL PEOPLE HELLO although jack you literally commit war crimes everyday.

martha is getting tom ellis’ dick which is so sexy of her even for an ace personn

OWEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU STUPID NOOOOOOOO I HATE THIS FUCKIN -

jack. oh jack. “stay with me buddy.” “owen”

CONCLUSIONS: I have such a love-hate relationship with this ep because. a) MARTHA :DDD b) owen :(((( c) where the fuck is tosh she’s a main fucking character LET ME SEE HER. frankly, not enough weevil content. wish they hadn’t had the towen if all owen was gonna do was flirt with martha but. I Will Admit I Used To Ship It and tosh/martha/owen Has Potential. I would die for martha. have I mentioned Martha Jones, My Wife-

[kittenshift-17]

WIP writing ask 9 14 16 Happy sunday XOXO

9. Who is your favourite character to write?

This is such a tough question because I have favourites from each fandom, you know? I adore writing Hermione, and I do find that all the practice I’ve had at it does mean she’s the easiest to write, for me. But I love writing all the heroines in my fandoms faves. Buffy is a lot of fun because she’s so sassy and strong, Clarke Griffin is tough and sensitive at the same time, Katara is exciting, and Arya’s a total badass and Veronica Mars is witty and smart and righteous and all the things I adore in a female character and personally aspire to be. The women in my life are definitely faves, though that being said, I adore writing a sassy Spike, and a flirty Weevil, and a snarky Prince Roan and angsty Zuko. I love writing the gritty characters, too. The tough nuts like the Hound and Sheriff Lamb and Bellamy Blake or Octavia.

Honestly, I don’t think I can pick a favourite. Some are easier than others, of course, and there are 100% some characters that I DON’T like writing because they’re energy and their mindset is hard for me to climb inside and live through, but even the challenge of that is kinda fun, you know? 

From my original characters that y’all have met, Mitch is probably the most fun to write, though Irving Novikov is making a name for himself as the perfectly snarky and ruthless villain and I’m having a lot of laughs writing him into book 2. Nosey, scheming vampire. *clicks tongue, smirking fondly*

14.  Tell us about an upcoming scene in your WIP, that you’re excited about.

Okay, so the next chapter of Tip of my Tongue, right? I have seven words for you:

“Mummy, will you play Dragons with us?”

*bounces eyebrows*

I’ve been melting my own heart writing this scene, y’all. I can’t even.... 

16.  Give a spoiler for your WIP.

Shoot, I’m always bad at this because my ideas are so fluid that often a spoiler I could give might end up being written out of the story before I get around to sharing it and then anyone who’s read it gets all up in arms about it missing from the tale..... Hang on.....*thinks real hard*..... Ummmmm...... *clicks fingers nervously at rapid pace*..... alright.... I’ve got it.... Okay... So, in A Promise Unspoken.... oh god....*deep breath*..... Hermione commits murder!

*scampers away before you can start throwing things*

xxx-Kitten.

[mielikki-austin]

09102021

Firstly, some health news that turns out not to be news after all, for which we are very grateful- I had a cancer scare!  A few weeks ago I had my yearly regular mammogram and they said they wanted me to go back in because something looked weird.  So I did that last week, and they said there's definitely something going on, and they did an ultrasound right then.  I watched, and it was clearly something- it looked like when you have a smooth piece of wood and there's a knot in the wood grain pattern. So a needle biopsy was done Wednesday, and I got the results back quickly: "Good news! The biopsy of your breast shows a benign results of fibroadenoma. These are not cancerous but you should have a discussion with breast surgeon about the possibility of removing it before it grows. I can refer you to breast surgeon for discussion." I'll be talking to my doctor about that in the near future, but the worst did not come to pass, thank the gods. On to photos!  It's going to be a planty update this week, since I assume you'd rather not see the photo of the ultrasound.  So, on to the garden report!

1.  My potato plant looks like shit - you may recall, one of our 50 cent plain ol' baking potatoes got forgotten in the pantry and sprouted, so I planted it.  It made a big, green beautiful plant but about 75% of it has died of some unknown malady.  I tried to research it, but it turns out that a *lot* of things can fuck up a potato plant.  There's a list as long as your arm with things like potato weevils, potato mites, black potato smut, southern weeping potato blight, potato melting fungus, Cooper's horrible potato worms, and on and on.  I have no idea what has been afflicting it, and so I cut off all the dead growth, sprayed some shit on it, and am hoping for the best but not really getting my hopes up.  God clearly hates potatoes.

2.  My tomatoes also look like hell.  I have gotten just tons of tomatoes off of them, but maybe a third of the foliage has turned brown from... also, endless possibilities.  I've seen stink bugs messing with the fruits, and I've picked off a couple of hornworms which are these horrifically gigantic caterpillars that are almost the side of a goddamn hot dog (they make lovely big moths, I'm told) and I was wondering if they were done for, but they've gotten a bunch of new green happy-looking growth (including flowers) so I'm leaving them alone to see what happens.  I think it's safe to say that my style of gardening is best described as 'benign neglect', and I've met with a satisfying amount of success with it.

3.  Beleaguered artichoke - it continues to live, but it's clearly not happy.  Again, I'm not sure why, but it doesn't seem to be from some pest but like it doesn't like the growing conditions.  It's been blasted by sunlight all day long, and when I think about the ones I saw when I went to California, they all seemed to be thriving in the foggy, cool weather so maybe they're not a fan of the heat.  So I've given it extra water, and it's hanging in there.

4.  Cat plants - because I have become a crazy cat person, I've noticed that the older cat is sad about the lack of grass in the back yard since it has been taken over by the sea of beige rocks.  Eric had some leftover wood from the big planter boxes and I talked him into making a planter for a grass bed.  He finished it yesterday, and I've just now filled it with soil and put a couple of little catnip plants in it, and sowed it with cat grass seeds from the pet store (which are, if I recall, barley, oats, wheat and rye) and some alfalfa seeds from the health food section of the store.  I'm hoping this will make a nice little bed for the cats to lay in and munch on and they (the cats) will be less sad.

5.  A latecomer - the blackberry, which has been in the ground for almost a year, has exploded in growth in the last few weeks.  It lived through the freeze but stayed less than a foot tall well into the summer then just went nuts.  Not sure what made it so happy now, and I'm about 95% sure it's not going to produce anything this year, but that's fine. And I think that's how this variety of blackberry do anyway- growing out the first year then fruiting in the second year.  I'll look for flowers on it next spring.

6.  Back yard - closing out the letter with a little bit of peace.  You can almost hear the water splashing and feel the warm breeze. It's still very much summer here, but the days are noticeably shorter, and the light looks a little more golden. Soon it will be fall and I can't wait.

All my love.

[sweet-child-of-the-paradise-city]

11 Questions

I was tagged by @spoondragon - thank you so much for thinking of me!

✰ post the rules

✰ answer the questions given to you by the tagger

✰ write eleven questions of your own

✰ tag eleven people

1) You have the opportunity to become immortal, but you must commit heinous crimes to achieve it. No one else would ever know about these crimes. Would you do it? Why? - I wouldn’t. I don’t think I would be able to commit super horrible crimes, plus I think living forever would get boring after a while.

2) What were your favorite television shows as a kid? - Gosh, this is hard. It was probably the old Tom & Jerry or Scooby Doo cartoons. But then I loved Hannah Montana too

3) How do you think humanity would react to the discovery of extraterrestrial life? - I think, overall, humanity would be pretty chill about it because so many already believe that there are others out there. Of course there would be the ones who go nuts - either good or bad. I think most people will be intrigued.

4) Star Wars or Star Trek? Why? - Can I choose both? I love Star Wars because it’s just amazing, I can’t describe the feeling I get when watching any of the movies. But I love Star Trek too (mainly the reboot movies)

5) Is free access to the internet a fundamental human right? - I’m not 100% sure how to answer this. Human rights, to me, are things like food & water, shelter, freedom of speech etc. Free internet access isn’t a human right because there are more important that people need. That being said, I believe internet access should be free, i believe in net neutrality.

6) What would your perfect bedroom look like? - ooooh, I love how it looks now. Dark furniture, light walls and flooring with art prints on the walls (pretty much like it is now)

7) Is there such a thing as freedom of expression, or is some degree of censorship necessary? - people should be allowed to express themselves. Unless it’s in the way of sexism/racism etc. Discrimination is just unnecessary, be nice for fucks sake!

8) What is something you would like to learn how to do? - I would like to learn how to speak a few different languages, French and German mostly, Russian too I think

9) What was your first cell phone? - gosh, I think it wasn’t a small, rectangular blue and white nokia, like years and years ago

10) How do you relax after a long day? - I get into my comfies and curl up on the sofa to watch some tv. Sometimes I might read or play video games, sometimes I’ll accidentally fall asleep

11) What was something good that happened this week? - I had a break from university this week so the whole week has been great because I was off.

Questions for you:

1- what’s your favourite animal?

2- Do you want to get married at some point?

3- if you’re having a bad day, what can instantly make you feel better?

4- Do you have a favourite book and what is it?

5- What colour do you just hate?

6- What are you looking forward to the most this year?

7- where in the world would you like to live?

8- What trend should be banished forever?

9- if you could time travel, which time period would you visit?

10- can you speak more that one language, or would you like to learn more?

11- tell me an interesting fact?

I will tag: @not-all-the-prayers @whatcha-gonna-do-about-it-huh @lesser-of-two-weevils @luddlebubble @steve-rogers-best-girl @purpleandpinkhouses if you guys wanna do this

[empathwayhealing]

Red Acorns #soldout. #wow Will be renewing tomorrow. Thank you for your orders. 🙌 #onlineshopping #etsy🎈 Check out my igtv channel! If you have #trees that produce nuts you can help benefit the 🌎 by #recycling some way. I make reasonable money doing what i love and in return assisting by sharing what I have access to. ☺ #redoak #bread #pancakes #deserts #oaknut #squirrelfood #wildedibles #deerfood #tannis #protein #leeching #larvae #weevils #linkinbio👉💻 #onlineshopping #EmpathicWay https://www.instagram.com/p/BrMmRPgnBPm/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=19jm8yp4w83i7

[thefaeriereview]

https://ift.tt/2YkVQXy

Rita Pomade's

WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING TOUR 

OF

Seeker: A Sea Odyssey

Seeker: A Sea Odyssey is the story of two people who meet in Mexico and fall in love. Rita is an American part-time English language teacher and freelance reporter for an English language tourist magazine struggling to raise two young boys on her own. Bernard is a French geologist under contract to the Mexican government to search for underground thermal springs. She dreams of finding Shangri-La after witnessing a bloody government crackdown from which she barely escapes. He dreams of having a yacht and sailing the world. Their dreams mesh, and they immigrate to Canada to earn the money to build their boat.

Print Length: 330 Pages

Genre: Memoir

Publisher: MiroLand

Seeker: A Sea Odyssey is available to purchase at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Books-a-Million. You can also add this to your Goodreads reading list.

Guest Post: Cooking on a Shoestring at Sea

When my mate and I set sail from Taiwan on our newly minted yacht, we had a lot of enthusiasm for the adventure but not the resources to match. Whatever remained of the money we had saved for the yacht’s construction went towards a World War II outboard engine, and a life raft salvaged from a defunct cruise ship. A fridge was out of the question. Provisioning fell to me to do the best with the little we had.

Fortunately, in the Far East rice is ubiquitous, cheap and versatile. It served as the foundation for many of my dishes, and meant I could manage with a wok, saucepan, and kettle. If I couldn’t make it in a wok, it didn’t get made. The saucepan was for boiling rice, and the kettle for boiling water— instant coffee our only indulgence as coffee was expensive in the East.  

I looked for staples without expiration dates, and settled on flour, rice, baking powder, sugar, powdered milk, peanut and sesame oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper. And I picked up carrots, onions, garlic, cabbage and ginger— inexpensive and abundant in open markets, and with long shelf lives. I stored the veggies in a net hammock out of the sun.  Still, on long periods at sea, they did go soft and wilt, but it took awhile, and when cooked, who noticed? 

I bought eggs and greased them with Vaseline, having been told it was an old sailing trick to keep them from spoiling. A more seasoned sailor than me suggested I turn the eggs over once a week, and scrap the ones that floated. I followed his advice though I can’t say for sure if it prolonged the life of the eggs. In a book on provisioning, I read bay leaves repelled weevils in flour, but my weevils were oblivious to the fact. I hid them in pancake batter, and chalked it up to a little extra protein. 

Meals consisted of cooked rice tossed into a mix of the sautéed long-life veggies. When we were in port, I bought fresh greens from local markets to add to the dish. The tasty last touch was always a splash of soy sauce and a dash of toasted sesame oil. For protein, I scrambled eggs that I sliced thin and stirred in at the end of cooking. When available, I bought tofu or nuts to change the dish. I stored a variety of canned duck, chicken, and other protein, the names of which I couldn’t read from the Chinese labels. I always bought at markets where the locals bought. The point here being, that it pays to be adventurous and eat what the locals eat.  As we moved towards the West, I exchanged canned duck feet for beans and tuna fish. With rice as the base, combined with veggies, and a protein, our meals were balanced and nutritious. To this day, fried rice with whatever vegetables I have available is my favorite dish.

About the Author: Rita Pomade, an intrepid nomad originally from New York, now lives and writes in Montreal. Her work has appeared in literary magazines and poetry reviews, and her monologue for auditioning actors was selected for inclusion in the Monologue Bank. An excerpt from her forthcoming memoir Seeker: A Sea Odyssey was included in two travel anthologies.  

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