#the thing about aphids. is that if I kill them all. then what are the Aphidius gonna lay eggs in.

[cantankerouscatfish]

you adorable little bastards. get off my senecio.

[turtlesandfrogs]

One of the things I think about a lot is productivity comparisons between conventional and unconventional agriculture. Mostly because that's the first question you get asked when you talk about anything that's outside the norm*, but, on what metric are we measuring? Per acre? Per hour worked? Per cost of input? Are we measuring yields of product or dollars earned?

This question also, to me, rings of fear. Fear of food shortages, which are really a problem of greed & distribution, not the world's capacity to grow food. If we were really worried about calories though, I think we'd at least switch to pastured animals instead of sending so much corn and soy to livestock (for any non-farmers out there, you do not get nearly the calories out of a chicken or pig that you put in- you get much less**). Or we would put more effort into making cities great places to live so we stopped turning farmland into suburbia. Or we would be much more concerned with how to prevent erosion & loss of arable land. But we don't, and we're not.

I also think of the complexity of non- conventional farming, and how instead of it being a return to the past, it actually relies on new information and methods***.

Take the plot of land that I'm working to make into a market garden. It's soil is, from a farmer's perspective, crap. It's gravely, sandy, very little organic matter. If I were to farm it conventionally, I'd basically have till to open the soil and kill weeds, and then provide all of the plant nutrients through fertilizers, which would cause the plants to kick out their symbiotic fungi, leaving them vulnerable to pathogenic fungi, and more dependant on me for water. There would also be bare soil everywhere, increasing evaporation & providing plenty of opportunities for new weeds. My costs would be very high, paying for fertilizers, pesticides, & herbicides, and I would have to water, a lot. It probably wouldn't be at all economically feasible to grow food on this plot using conventional methods.

Now, I look at it and say, I'm going to do no-till. I look at the hard, weedy, depleted soil and there's no way a seed is going to be able to come up through that. But, I'm not just doing no-till, because I'm not looking at it from a conventional mindset and just trading out one practice. I'm doing basically everything different from above.

Instead of tilling, I'm laying down a thick layer of mulch, to shade out the weeds, increase soil organic matter (increasing the amount of water and nutrients the soil can absorb & good on to), and feed the soil ecosystem. By the time spring rolls around, the soil underneath will be much better, but I'll still add more compost in most cases.

Instead of fertilizers I've had to pay for, I'm using mulches that I got for free from my gardening work & composts made for free from restaurant kitchen wastes****. I'm going to use over crops, plants that fix nitrogen and also serve as perennial hosts to beneficial soil fungi, which will also form symbiosis with most of my crops, increasing their resistance to pathogenic fungi while also providing them with increased access to water and soil minerals.

Instead of bare soil, there will be mulches and cover crops every where. Instead of monocrops & pesticides, I'll be intercropping which will help by hosting beneficial native insects that will chow down on aphids and other crop pests.

From this framework, there's an upfront investment of effort and planning, but farming this land now seems feasible.

And the thing is, each of those choices is backed up by research. We know so much more now about soil and nutrient cycling and how it actually works than when conventional ag really got started. We know so much more, and so many practices are new, so growing non-conventionally isn't a step back into the past of how things were grown.

But at the same time, it's not exactly completely information either- other cultures have different ways of growing food crops, and if you broaden your concept of what cultivating plants looks like, there's examples everywhere. We're just studying it now and providing it scientifically.

*and I honestly think that it's a result of the extractive mindframe that comes from being the decendants of colonizers. Just look at the different perspectives between many western foragers ideas and Indigenous peoples' relationship with the land.

** chickens are one of the most efficient, with a feed conversion ratio of 1.6, which means for every 1.6 pounds of food you give them, you can expect the chicken to gain 1 pound (cows are over 4 pounds of feed to pound of live weight, and pigs are 3 to 4ish). That's the whole bird though, counting all the parts we don't eat- guts, feathers, bones, etc. Even so, a pound of chicken food has over 1300 calories, and is about 20% protein for starter/grower, where as a pound of chicken has about 500 calories and about 30% protein (for dark meat, you get fewer calories from white meat). I'm not saying everyone should give up meat, but I am saying that the amount of meat in mainstream diets has increased dramatically, much of it comes from cafos where animals are fed on grains & legumes, and if we're measuring productivity and yield per acre because we're worried about feeding the world, this is a huge factor. Look up how much of the corn & soy crop goes to actually directly feeding people.

*** from a western, colonizing prospective

**** is this a particular boon from my particular circumstances? Yes. But everyone has their own challenges and resources, there is no cookie-cutter solution to all agriculture, everywhere. You have to find the solutions that work for you.

[tomorrowsgardennc]

today, let's talk about

✨️ aphids ✨️

specifically, when you have a basic greenhouse enclosure (aka not a commercial-built high tunnel with all the accessories).

aphids will be a problem. guaranteed. this is due to lack of airflow (like, legit airflow from wind or a very robust intake/exhaust system). i have a fan or few for my greenhouse tunnel contraption, but it's more for to help prevent stagnant air and keep the temperature uniform. i'm not at aphid-prevention level of airflow yet. and that's ok, because over the past few years i have learned the signs and what to do about them and today i am sharing with you.

✨️ step 1: finding ✨️

there is one tell tale sign that indicate you are in the presence of aphids. just like other pests, the sign you'll see is poop. for aphids, this looks almost like white and clear glitter on leaves. on the soil, it will look more like white glitter. the leaves will also be very sticky. sticky, glitter poop.

✨️ step 2: locating ✨️

ok, we found the pest poop. now to find the pests.

aphids nom on two parts of the plant: the newest growth, and under the leaves. as you see here, the very tip of this pepper plant has some babies. now when we get to the next stage, keep in mind that since the aphids are here, you already lost the game. there's no hope in this new growth unless you do the following and final step.

✨️ step 3: elimination ✨️

no no, put that neem oil down. neem oil kills any and all bugs. it does not detect which is good and which is bad. no no, dish soap and water legit does nothing except wash the poop away; ignore what pinterest and the influencers say about that combo. ok, army of ladybugs bought at the local hardware store is good, but we gotta do one more thing before we unleash them. and that's 𝓼𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰.

legit, the only way to remove an aphid infestation, regardless of what stage of infestation ("beginning", "haha, i'm in danger", or "HELP I'M DROWING IN GLITTER POOP") the most effective way to have any hope of saving the plants is to squish the aphids. this will not happen all in one day, nor two days, or three. day three is when you unleash the ladybug army, though, and i'll explain why in a second.

day one you'll be in shook and overwhelemed, and squish to your hearts content. but you will not get every single one nor any eggs. day two will show progress. day three is now manageable, and all the subsequent days afterwards will be to ensure you got every. single. last. one. including the eggs that hatch.

✨️ final step: release the hoard ✨️

sadly i can't find my video of releasing ladybug hoards in the greenhouse in years past... so i'll just scatter ladybugs 🐞 as i type this 🐞 part out to help with the ambiance.

ladybugs and other happy 🐞 bugs love to eat aphids. why not 🐞 have them do all the work?

well, think of your favorite cake. like legit the most perfect cake you could ever imagine. mine is yellow cake with chocolate mousse frosting and sliced fresh bananas. mmmm...

now imagine 20 of those, 🐞 and they're capable of reproduction. don't ask how, but they do. at a rate of 10 cakes every 🐞 other day.

🐞 how long will it take for you to be able to eat all those cakes before they can stop reproducing??

also, keep in mind when you purchase a pack of live ladybugs, only about 2/3rds actually are alive in the packet 🐞 by the time they make it to freedom and the remaining will either die very shortly from the last bit of energy to be free and fly away or just fly away and enjoy being elsewhere because they're an 🐞 introvert who was just stuck in a bag for a month or so 🐞🐞🐞🐞 and fuck everyone and everything they just want to leave regardless of the buffet at their feet.

that will leave you with approximately 10 ladybugs. and now that 🐞 you have done all that squishing, they will keep the aphids in check and make sure they don't pop up ever again. now your plants will attempt to regrow and leaves or new growth they lost and be happy.

✨️ the end 🐞✨️

[wolvebonez]

please do dump about your watcher au as much as you want!! I'd love to hear about it!!

YAYYYY THANKS FOR ASKING its autism time Basically um. You know how most the watcher!grian hcs/interpretations have him as an unwilling participant in all this ? Uh, yeah ! Not this grian:3 Well. Kinda. But. Im a TMA Fan and I love FUCKED UP guys so !!!! Watchers feed off emotions. All emotions, but they're especially known for finding fear or grief or other negative emotions the most nutritionally filling/benefital to their health. However: They can't just sit there around someone whos very happy, sad, angry, ect, and then get fed from that. They have to- uh, for lack of better word- latch onto a players "soul," and tear chunks of that from them, dig into their mind and bite into whatever makes them feel and then tear that away. Sometimes, a feeding will cause the victim to be unable to feel anything at all after the feeding, if a Watcher gorges themself solely on them. Most often, when they use restraint while feeding, the victim will loose all feelings they'd had about the previous days, weeks, or even months, and might feel like everythings "dulled down" for some time while they recover. (Younger Watchers usually have to have physical contact with the victim to feed, older or more powerful Watchers can feed without even being on the same plane of existence as their victim, only needing to be able to See them.) Now, that's all kind of similar to a lot of headcanons about Watchers already, and I pulled the "eating emotions" thing from Martyns Eyes & Ears AU (altho in that its JUST fear), but uh... Heres where it differs: The Watchers aren't sentient. Not really, anyway. They're...predators, beings that know they need to feed and will go to great lengths to do so, survival their greatest worry above all else. Think of them like... Smart animals. Corvids, for example, crows especially- they will investigate their own dead to figure out what killed the other bird so they can avoid it, and are extremely good puzzle solvers. Prairie dogs have an incredibly advanced verbal communication system- able to even denote the speed of which a predator is approaching their den (probably the closest we could get to an ""language"" in the animal kingdom). But neither of those animals, as smart as they may be, are considered sentient. Its the same with Watchers. Watchers CAN communicate, they can understand eachother, they can achieve a certain amount of planning, like how squirrels can count what nuts they have & deduce how many they need, or how whales and other marine life are especially prone to being able to plan & use logical reasoning... They can understand the concept of death and... the concept of keeping their food alive for delayed gratification and a continued food source, instead of just going out and feeding on someone until theyre a husk of themselves, unable to provide more food. How, exactly, they got all the players into the life series/how they made the games IS something im working on, but the point im getting at here is that theyre basically like ants farming aphids, except the aphids are sentient people..? yay..? Ah, and Watcher cant reproduce normally. They have incredibly long lifespans, but when a Watcher does come to its end, they... Well, theyll find an player to bite into the soul of, and instead of feeding, they basically do the reverse- shoving all their energy into that being and becoming a parasite that will eventually take over the host and make them a Watcher, similarly without much sentience. Thats what happens to Grian. :3 The exact process of turning is also in the works but basically it starts by becoming unable to eat regular food, slowly focusing all the players willpower into wanting to eat, before they develop the ability to feed from other players. At this stage they might still be able to feel themself, however after feeding from another you tend to loose your own emotions amongst the ones youre feeding off of, and at some point, any remaining emotions the "player" has, is consumed by them for extra nutrition, and in turn they officially become a Watcher.

UMMMM YEAH!!!! Thats all the worldbuilding I have :3333 Theres uh- a story in my mind, but its not as fleshed out? I also MIGHT make it a fic (heavy on the might) so idk how much i'd wanna spoil. But uh, yeah, Grian'll be a bit of a special case in that his turning takes... a lot longer than normal. ^_^ I put him in the torture world sorry

[reliquiaenfr]

What is Aphid and Shiana's relationship like?

so shiana and aphid are based on ocs of mine! i looooove talking about my ocs ahaha

shiana is an oracle (in their original story, she's the second in charge of a church of oracles, but in fr she's just an oracle), she's a bit cheeky and doesn't take things as seriously as she ought to - though at least SOME of that is an act, she actually had a pretty traumatic event happen to her when she was younger so underneath the snark, she's very grounded. (the story is that since she can "pull" on the threads of fate to change the future, she thought she could help people and when she was younger she tried to expose someone for their misdeeds by meddling with their future, but it got her mentor killed instead, and since then she's been very VERY careful about what she does with her power). since shiana still wants to help folks, she has to find other ways to do it.

aphid (her real name is tao li, but she goes by aphid, mostly, and also other psuedonyms) is a spy academic. she's from a monastery village, worked in a library, and loves learning things. the only thing she loves more than reading things in a book is learning them in person. she's a bit of a stickler for rules and can come across as having a stick up her butt because she's a bit inflexible and snobbish lol.

all of which is to say that they have the sort of relationship that others look at and go 'but... why tho?' because shiana comes across as way too chill for aphid, and aphid is the kind of person who would unironically wear a no fun allowed shirt. but aphid is the only person shiana ever told the story about her dead mentor and aphid like... gets it. a lot of their initial friendship was built on the possibilities that teaming up would afford them: shiana can see when something unsavoury is going to happen, and aphid has the soft-spoken tenacity to do something about it.

as part of a governing group, shiana had access to a lot of resources, and aphid has the unassuming demeanour to use them without making others suspicious. so they started trying to help people and change the bleak futures that shiana saw without directly rewriting the future. now, they're both different kinds of hopelessly gay, and in exact opposite directions: shiana didn't want to mess things up with aphid bc aphid was like... her best friend, you know? someone who understood her fears and her powers. aphid didn't want to ruin what they had going either, but UNLIKE shiana, she's scarily observant and figured shiana out in ten minutes lmao.

these days, they're the annoying sort of in-synch couple that can have entire conversations in a single glance. aphid is very uncomfortable with public affection, so she often seems quite cold to shiana when others are around, but she absolutely adores that silly woman and she does a lot of things shiana will like (gifts, special date things, massaging shiana's scalp, etc). and although shiana likes to tease her (even in public), she always respects aphid's no pda preferences. it's extremely common for someone meeting them for the first time to have no idea at all that they're together, but once you know it's obvious.

their communication is fucking top notch also. it has to be because aphid can't see into shiana's head to visualise the futures she's seeing and how best to change them, so even before they got together, they were super good at talking things out. aphid's comfort boundaries are so excuriatingly well defined that it's like... shiana knows when it's okay to touch aphid's hand or back or something more intimate and when it's not. and althought shiana wasn't the most comfortable expressing her own boundaries to begin with, aphid is just very blunt about it all, she's like "well see, shiana, i happen to love you and i don't want you to do something that will fuck that up so here is my rulebook" and after that shiana was pretty cool with talking her feelings and desires out.

[archoniluthradanar]

A Day in the Garden with Marcus Volturi

Response to a request by @marcusofthevolturi

The weather was gorgeous in Volterra today, yet the Volturi master, Marcus, was not in an appropriate mood. Today was the anniversary of Didyme's death, something he'd never forgotten over the past hundreds of years.

When you pass him in the corridor, you notice his despondency, which seems worse than ever. As the only human allowed to live in the castle as companion and social liaison for the vampires, you hate to see Marcus sad, especially about something that happened so long ago. But you know vampires tend to suffer intense depression if they lose their mates.

"Marcus," you call out. "Where are you off to?"

"Good day, child. I'm going to the garden to see to my roses."

You think it might be nice to get outside and see the garden. The Volturi have professional gardeners, but they are forbidden to touch the bed of roses planted alongside the castle's southern wall. That is Marcus' small garden, and only he may care for it. "Mightn't I come with you? It's so lovely out."

Marcus doesn't really feel like company, but since he likes and trusts you, he acquiesces. "Of course, my dear. We will need to fetch a few supplies from the gardeners' storage room.

You walk together in silence to the room located two floors down. Once there, Marcus helps you choose gardening aprons and tools needed. Marcus looks over at you and smiles. He is feeling better about having someone to garden with. None of the other vampires care about the maintenance of the garden.

You both go outside, carrying the equipment you will need. When Marcus puts down all the gardening tools at the side of the rose bed, you marvel at the beauty of the multi-coloured blooms. The smell is sweet and delightful. Leaning forward, you barely touch one of the pink roses, inhaling the scent. "It's beautiful, Marcus. They're all beautiful."

He practically grins broadly, happy in your praise of one of the few things he cares about. "Thank you, child. I am proud of this garden. It's dedicated to Didyme, you know. This rose here, I named after her." He held a pink bloom gently in his fingers, inhaling the fragrance. He closed his eyes, remembering his beloved mate.

You both get to work, and under Marcus' instructions, he shows you how to prune the old blooms. While you are loathe to pick off any aphids, he doesn't mind that task. If killing a human means so little to them, killing a bug is nothing. You're just grateful they love you enough not to want to kill you.

"Oh, Marcus, look at this rose. The colour is gorgeous!" You peer down at a bush that carries pure white roses that have a light blush- pink closer to the center of the blooms.

"Ah, yes. I created that one myself, by blending cuttings of a Full Sail white rose and a Queen Elizabeth pink rose." He admired the blooms on the bush, happy the experiment had worked so well.

"You like pink roses, Marcus?" you ask.

"The pink flowers were Didyme's favourite. I grow them in remembrance of her."

Suddenly, a bee begins to chase you, and you run around screaming while waving your arms.

Marcus is confused, but sees what is scaring you into making so much noise. He can't help but smile at your antics. "Stop running," he tells you. "You're only making it angry."

You run to Marcus and stand behind him, your arms around his waist. Hiding from the bee seemed the best course of action. Bees could never hurt Marcus.

The tall master smiles at your fear, but tries to help you by swatting the bee.

"Don't kill it!" you shout, knowing bees are endangered insects.

Marcus laughs at your sudden compassion for the hapless bee. Using his quick reflexes, he flicks the bee over the wall, watching as it flies away. "All gone," he says, his arms around you, steadying you.

You laugh, thanking Marcus for being our savior. He bows to you ever so gallantly, then you both laugh.

Aro happens to have heard voices and looks down from his office window into the garden. Watching you and Marcus seemingly enjoying the day and each other's company, he is amused by the laughter coming from both of you.

Aro initially wondered about you as a human female who joined their ranks by accident, and how you would fit in. You begged him not to kill or change you, and to allow you to do something for them. He had decided they needed someone who could intercede for them with other humans, teach them modern ways, and be a companion to them.

At the time. you had wondered if that meant indulging them sexually, but so far, aside from occasional teasing, none had asked you for sexual favours. Sometimes, when you were feeling your oats, you wished they would. If Aro had read this, he never said anything.

Aro did wonder if perhaps you would be a suitable mate for his despondent brother. There was no instant pull, but perhaps something could happen to increase your feelings for one another. He knew that you would probably not be averse to such a connection.

Back in the garden, you and Marcus continue caring for the roses, pulling out a hose to water them once the pruning had been completed. Then you both gathered the equipment to return it all to the storage room lest the gardeners rail at everyone within earshot, angering Caius.

Once that has been done, you and Marcus go back inside. But before Marcus lets you go, he removes a perfect pink rose from inside his shirt and hands it to you. He kisses your cheek, and leaves you watching him walk away, a smile on your face. You inhale the scent of the rose and return to your room.

[littlestsnicket]

- i was very fidgety all weekend (yes i know it’s tuesday) but not in like an objectively bad way. just interfered greatly with my plans to write and bing watch iwtv. did neither of those things. but managed to harnessed fidgetyness into lots of other achievements! (and i did get back from dnd slightly early and completed a whole writing task last night!)

- i finally put together what the problem was and solved the issue with my potted lemon tree. it had aphids! but i took it outside, aggressively removed all of the spotted and yellowing leaves, sprayed it with garden hose, and sprayed it with diluted castile soap. there were a few aphids crawling around in the soil this morning but i sprayed those and there’s no longer a cloud of vague floaty grey bugs around it so i think if i keep a close eye on it, it will recover.

- tomatoes also had aphids. i was going to just ignore it since it’s already late september, but i fixed that as well using a similar method, and now i have more cherry tomatoes that are ripening nicely instead of becoming sad and icky.

- and then i removed all the dead leaves from the string beans which were attracting bugs.

- I CANNED APPLE SAUCE!! the only bad part of this process was that my stock pot really wasn’t big enough so i had to fill it basically to the brim to get the recommended inch of coverage over the jars and then stand there and watch it for the whole 15 minutes of processing time to make sure it didn’t boil over too badly. none of the lids popped! so proud of myself. i think i’m going to get a pressure canner, that will make more sense than a larger stock pot that i will use for basically nothing else. and i want to can the chicken stock next time and that needs a pressure canner. it takes up so much freezer space and is so annoying to plan ahead and defrost.

- and i finally straightened up the furniture that got moved around when i hosted the tea party a… month ago, and gave away some extra chairs and an a/c unit that came with the house on facebook market place

- and i did manage to sit on the porch and do some bird watching, but that’s probably because it was extra exciting! something (probably my neighbor’s cat) killed a rabbit and left it in the middle of my neighbor’s back yard and there were a bunch of larger birds (i spend a lot of time bird watching but i like just watching them do their bird thing and have learned very little about identifying them) swooping around that aren’t usually there and a crow landed in my neighbor’s yard (unless it was a raven? it seemed improbably large for a crow but i’m pretty sure it’s a crow, it made crow sounds and seemed crow shaped but i am not that kind of bird watcher). i hear them all the time because a whole flock lives in a tree down the street but i rarely see them and have never seen one up close like that before (i live in a row house so the middle of my neighbor’s yard is very close to the edge of my yard)

[wingsofmud]

Eh why not two posts in one day while we're at it:

Look, I don't care if dragons don't think humans are as smart as them since they can't understand them the same way. Humans do that all the time.

But it's not like humans are oh so especially strange. There's a species of ants that raises insects for meat, another species of ant that farms aphids for honeydew liquid as food, beavers stop the flow of rivers with dams, herbivorous animals will eat meat if given the chance.

I'm saying humans keeping pets is not up there in odd things. However, dragons don't often keep pets. If anything the keeping of animals should be strange enough that of course a non-dragon species would do it.

Jambu: We live in a place with a huge amount of food, so we don't usually feel the need to hunt down a meal when we can get more calories for less energy. We never go hungry.

Glory: Vegetarian = Lazy.

I'm gonna stop commenting on every out of pocket thing Glory says because we're not going to get anywhere at this rate

Would love to see more of this and less of "Glory is more beautiful than all other species of dragon because she's the closest thing to human feminine beauty standards a dragon can get to"

Babes, all the other queens you've met are Coral, Scarlet, Burn, and Blister. All of whom are their own forms of evil and cruel. I think Rainwings are doing something right actually. I mean they're careless, sure, but they haven't killed any children or locked them up in a prison for existing so... And bonus, no matricide, which can do wonders for one's mental health.

On the other hand, why would Rainwings do "queens" if they don't do families? Why not have a council of elders or elected leaders instead of a singular person every month? Something that reflects their highly communal society.

God forbid any dragon society isn't explicitly racist.

I do honestly love how accepting Rainwings are. Unfortunately this is attributed to them being lazy and careless so...

AKEJRA;KERJGN;A!! YES LIANA

YES? Just a SMIDGEN? Didn't she leave you to die, then imprison all of you along with her daughter in a place where you'll die if you touch the water? And threaten to kill Tsunami when she wanted to protect her younger sister's egg?

If you're communally raised there should be no reason why you can't punish that dragonet yourself. There are communities raised far less...together(?) like this, but your neighbor can punish your kids if they act out.

I think there are more pressing issues, even in time of peace, than bringing up every kid who's acting a fool. Because then like half of the queen's job would be dealing with annoying kids.

-

-

Alright, there's quite a bit here so I'll just put them all together so I can talk about them as a whole. Because boy do I have words:

Let's start with what we know. Rainwings are communally raised. Everyone is expected to aid in either raising children or providing for the tribe as a whole in some way (and possibly both at times). Animals that communally raise their children like this tend to have a very strong parental instinct towards young. Which also leads them to easily adopt into their groups (even from species not their own), which is possible reason why Rainwings can keep sloths as pets.

There is no class divide that we can see, and in general dragons seem to get along well with each other and are extremely friendly, even towards strangers. One would assume there'd be a very strong sense of community here.

So I ask this: Why would no one care about 12 missing dragons? From everything we know about Rainwing society, all the dragons should be very shaken and concerned by this. Those are their children, their parents, their friends, their family.

This is not laziness, this is apathy. You can be the most lazy person on the planet, but the moment someone you truly care about is in trouble that tends to go away quick. This does not show that Rainwings are lazy. This shows that they're uncaring and selfish.

The reaction Queen Magnificent gives is one of going up to an actual high queen and telling her 12 peasants are missing. Okay, fine, as cruel as it seems, we'd at least get why she wouldn't care. But this? It's not like she's being paid to be queen. She doesn't even seem to enjoy doing it. Why not just leave it to someone who actually cares?

And Bromeliad talks of Kinkajou as being "no one's favorite dragon," when Kinkajou is equally as friendly as the Rainwings have been shown to be. They clearly don't appreciate grumpy or downer dragons, so why would they hate Kinkajou who hasn't shown any of those traits? She's talkative sure, but that's not unusual. At worst, she just acts like a kid, what should be a normal Rainwing kid tbh. And there honestly shouldn't be anything stopping Bromeliad from changing her assignment and giving it to someone who like dragonets more than she. Again, it's not like they're paid to do this.

ERRGGGHHHH

[franki-lew-yo]

Had to unfollow an artist I otherwise admire and love because they've turned to Designer Vegan nonsense ( "Designer Vegan" = "shameshameshame how DARE you even think of meat you are evil | animal husbandry is literally slavery | humans are eeevil creatues | go vegan or you're not a true abolitionist." Yes. Seriously, that last one's not made up). It's just sad. As a person who supports animal rights and human rights, I hate the "no true scottsman"- fallacy of Designer Veganism soooo much. My sister is vegetarian and I would drop milk if an actually sustainable alternative was made; I'm also a vetrenarian's granddaughter and my vegesis took FFA.

Slavery is keeping another of your species as property. It's wrong. It's always been wrong it's just that early humans got up to some messed up habits. It's a primal behavior we've learned to articulate as wrong and should have been commanding as such long before the Gospels put in that part about Jesus okay-ing a slave-owner for being nice. Slavery is wrong the same way cannibalism is wrong. A dog or a person eating a horse is not cannibalism, a dog eating it's own is. For what in animal rights is considered "unhealthy", disturbed" and "stereotypic" behavior- in human rights it's what we call "amoral" and "wrong". Although, to call this behavior "unique" to humans, is untrue. They're a very different animal than us but different ant species absolutely go to war, take slaves from rival colonies, and even farm aphids like we do cows or sheep.

Animals owning other animal species is called animal husbandry. Humans beings are one of those animals who practice it. We are not evil, heartless creatures for eating and taking from other creatures. We are tactful like the ants, we are intelligent and thoughtful like the monkeys. We are as social as dolphins or parrots. Call it a 'gift' or a 'curse' but our ability farm animals, not humans, other animals, is our rite as our own species, hence why we do it throughout our many different cultures. I don't see how this is comparable to colonialism or slavery. It is an instinct. It is our nature. And...isn't it so amazing that we (humans) recognize that at all? Isn't it wonderful that we, an animal, similar in so many ways to dolphins, parrots, elephants, pigs, monkeys and apes, can make a world where we don't HAVE TO kill if we don't want to? Where we can make homes and habitats for animals that don't 'benefit' or 'care' about us personally at all just because we know it's the right thing to do. That we can try and problem solve for ways around factor out the cruelty all together in animal husbandry? That we've developed a way at all for some of us to live without animal husbandry at all - even save animals from it? Would our world be so different than it is now if somehow orca whales had grown legs and opposable thumbs? Wouldn't they have developed tools and made societies? Wouldn't they have gone to war and committed war crimes against other orcas and had orca races and cultures? Wouldn't they have a distinction between other animal's rights and their own rights as orcas? Probably, if their behavior in their wild pods indicates anything. Orca whales partake in blood sports while they hunt and personally torture their pray.

But back on topic and-also-kind-of-on-that-same-thought; humans as a species are omnivorous. As a species we can choose not to eat meat (no, humans can not live souly on meat; Peterson) and probably without milk and eggs. However, not every individual human has that luxury.

Not every human CAN go vegan. Some people are allergic to the plants that give you proper protein or fat. You could never force a person with a severe nut allergy to go vegan. No- your allergies will not be "cured" if you "just stick to veganism" even more. That's malnutrition. That's an eating disorder. That will eventually kill you. Same with people who take way better to veganism- don't force them to eat meat or drink milk if doing so makes you physically sick.

Beyond that, Veganism is an entire lifestyle. You shouldn't be shamed into it/ lead into it on falsehoods. Vegans do not have to be evangelists about animal's rights by degrading the lives of other humans. Vegans are not abolitionists because different animals we coexist with ARE NOT fellow humans. We don't live in zootopia - species is not the same as race. They never will be the same unless we literally find aliens who we can interbreed, communicate, and create cross-cultures and transpecies customs with.

Veganism should be made available for everyone who wants it and not be a money-intensive endeavor where you must eat a VERY SPECIFIC way to be a "true vegan", or an emotional one where you have to hate the animal you are in order to love animals around you. There's a reason vegans are seen as stuffy, elitist, privileged bullies- the vegans who aren't exactly like this just don't last, OR they're just unable to practice their veganism openly. Why would you when the biggest name isn't a buddhist monk but an animal abusing pedoKaren screaming at Gordon Ramsay? If she doesn't hound you about being a "fake liberal" for your refusal to disown your nut-allergy cousin, that self-proclaimed carnist' blog on tumblr will conflate you with her anyway. So what's even the point of confirming your lifestyle when it's a mark of "shame"? It's unfair.

So to sum up:

Human rights and animals rights are not comparable. Switch out humans w any other species of animal, and we have the same problem.

Animal rights are real rights. They should be a priority of all humans given the kind of animal we are.

Animal husbandry is not at odds with animal rights.

Animals rights are not the same as human rights because human beings are all one species. Millions of types of animals are not.

We mustn't compare ourselves to species so unlike us, but slavery is wrong to humans because of the kind of animal we are.

DON'T force people with allergies to eat what they really shouldn't be eating.

If you go vegan, know that other people can't. Live life as the best truffling pig you can.

If you love meat and dairy, know that other people don't and in some cases can't. Red meat sensitivity is real, shut up Jordan.

If you eat meat and dairy maybe do your homework. Nothing hurts from finding out how your food gets to you.

Be cool and support family farms who really do love their animals.

If you force your dog or cat to go 'vegan' with you, you are 100% abusing animals.

Vegan candies are delicious, actually. Just very sticky and still not safe for dogs.

We have to coexist. We are all humans and we all love animals and the world we live in. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

[japanesepenguin]

Quick, Akina's in the office today. Current state of the garden?

Current state of the garden!

First row (left): wind- and typhoon-rain-destroyed beets; second row: wind-, typhoon-rain-, and caterpillar-destroyed carrots; third row: somehow surviving beets; fourth row: newly planted radishes (just sprouted)!

I've learned a lot from the above and I'd do things completely different with a second chance.

Since... well, probably for as long as I can remember, I have never intentionally killed another living creature (except mosquitoes, which I have always made it a point to intentionally kill), but in the past week I've killed a dozen aphids and a handful of caterpillars. I think trying to grow food brings out some primitive nature life-and-death passions.

Anyways, here's the latest addition: A $0.67 plum tree, just purchased yesterday. It was out in the direct sun in a tiny pot for at least a week slowly decreasing in clearance price (from an original $9.00) and I finally bought it last night. I've repotted it into my biggest pot with my best dirt in hopes it'll bounce back and establish itself before winter. The plums are technically "Japanese apricots."

Kale seedlings just absolutely taking their time to grow in the 90°F+ weather we've had the past two months. Hoping they'll take off soon and I can transplant them here:

The new side land! The owner visited a couple weeks ago and thanks to Akina I've learned this is our space, it's okay to plant things directly into the ground, and it has much better soil (since confirmed). He also will donate some edamame for us to plant here in the spring. In the meantime:

I've transplanted most of the broccoli sprouts I had. On the left and right are radishes (just sowed the seeds today). The photo distorts the perspective, but this is only using about 1/3rd of the row space. There's lots more room, which will be for:

Left: beets (I'm trying to sow them in the seed trays rather than direct sow since the Internet made it seem like it was possible, though I'm not convinced), ice plants, and two trays worth of salad greens.

The ice plants were Akina's request. They're... very hard to grow and have particular requirements. I got about 20% of them to germinate and now I'm just trying to not kill them.

Anyways, here's the shiso/ooba, going crazy. It's starting to bolt, which was the intention, since you can get hundreds of seeds off a single plant and two $0.07 plants is way cheaper than a packet of seeds (while also coming with leaves you can eat).

Got the basil to recover, looking good.

Pentas is just about on its last flowers. I hope I can get these to survive the winter; I really like this flower.

These flowers just keep making flowers. I dunno what they're called.

A fairly recent addition.

Rosemary clipped from... a public space and transplanted here. There might be a fungal infection on the bottom, giving it another day or two to see.

This is a male kiwi plant. It was $0.07 (like everything else). Only the female plant produces the fruit (and a male is needed for that to happen), but they both produce flowers. It was really close to death when I got it, but after dropping all its leaves it's now starting to recover.

The mums are just... existing. Flowers come in small and brown and then die.

The king 'n queen, blueberry bushes. Samson has a bunch of new branches and SukSuk just started sprouted her first two:

Wee~

Rock collection. Very important.

And, out of everything, the two things not doing great are the mint plants...

This concludes your garden update.

[indigokashmir]

Embrace Nature's Allies: How Birds and Beneficial Insects Tackle Garden Pests.

Discover the Eco-Friendly Approach to Pest Control and Biodiversity in Your Garden.

When I planted roses, the first thing that came to "attack" them were the dreaded and pesky aphids. From early on, I decided to try my best not to use insecticides. I chose to squish them by hand (and yes, it is not a very pleasant sight, but you can wear gloves if you don't like your fingers looking all green from the gooey aphids!).

As my roses grew, and as the birds came into the garden (from the food that I had been putting out), I noticed that Sparrows and Blue Tits were onto the aphids - I even saw the little Wren take them. The birds need them to feed their chicks. If you attract enough birds to your garden, they will take care of the aphid problem for you, and what they don't eat, you can get rid of by just squishing them (the aphids - NOT the birds).

Sparrow: a natural born insect killer.

If we use insecticides, the birds may take the aphid or its eggs that have been sprayed with chemicals, and that, in turn, could have an impact on their health and reproduction, and so the cycle starts where the bird and insect numbers go down, and then we complain that there aren't enough of those around.

It's so important to learn to coexist with nature. The lawn, for example, doesn't have to be pristine and only grass; nature is wild! It looks better with clover and dandelions. I have seen goldfinches eat the dry seeds thistle as well dandelions. They need this natural source to survive.

Goldfinches.

Good friends:

Ladybirds also eat aphids, so if you can attract them, they will do a lot of the job for you. I have put a little house for them to breed and live in. I am sorry to say that their numbers are very low. I have only seen 5-10 ladybirds last summer. We need to do more to help their numbers recover. They are the good guys!

Ladybirds.

Blue Tits: Another aphid eater and a very territorial bird. I have two blue tits in the garden, and they have chased away the nuthatch, blackcap, and all the other tits. Very feisty but super cute birds. Their chicks eat aphids (and I am sure the adults nibble on them too).

Blue Tit.

Goldfinches: These birds also take aphids for their chicks, but otherwise, they love eating sunflower seeds. I sometimes worry about the lack of variety in their diet! They seem to love those seeds even more than nyjer seeds.

Goldfinch.

Blackbirds: They eat slugs as well as other insects and berries. Instead of using insecticide, try to attract them to your garden. They also love soaked raisins, which they particularly love to feed to their chicks. I have seen many blackbirds who visit my garden dig out slugs and get rid of the sticky bit by rolling it in the grass and then eating it. So if you use insecticides, we kill the food supplies of our birds.

Blackbird.

Starlings: Starlings will dig at the lawn to feed on leatherjackets among other insects. They will make your lawn healthy. They are a very noisy and cheerful bunch, and as far as I am concerned, the party does not start until the starlings arrive!

Starling.

Apart from birds, you can also plant flowers to deter aphids, such as marigolds. They help reduce pests such as whitefly, blackfly, and other aphids. Whiteflies are also easily deterred by the natural secretion of limonene from marigold plants.

Marigold.

Other birds, including song thrushes, as well as magpies, all help keep pests in your garden at bay. Perhaps we just need to learn to coexist with nature and create a healthy planet?

Left: Song Thrush; Right: Magpie.

[futurebird]

The Queen is Dead!

There is this tiresome old trope in any science fiction that deals with ants, (or aliens that are stand-ins for ants or termites or bees or any other eusocial insect,) where the queen dies and then, suddenly none of the workers can function anymore. The workers in this theory of what a "hive mind" is are all just automata that extend the body of the queen. This is, of course, totally backwards. It's the death of human queens that leaves their subjects disoriented. We misperceive the order and smooth functioning of eusocial colonies for authoritarianism. No society could function so well without a tyrant, a single central mind, we assume. A great man or woman who drives their history must exist. This is all human mythology applied to the alien world of ants. What happens when the queen dies? Well let me tell you, because I've seen it happen... sadly. Queens are the longest lived members of ant colonies. So, naturally if you keep ants, you grow attached to the queen. And it's true that without her the colony has no future in the long run for most species of ants (there are exceptions, who can gain new queens, or who have multiple queens... but most ant colony have but one) So, when the queen dies it's sad. But, when she dies the workers ... keep going. You see the advantage of a "hive mind" isn't that there is one central node doing all the thinking, no, the colony is a distributed organism. And when the queen dies it's like menopause for a human body. There will be no new children. (though all eggs and larvae alive when the queen dies will be raised fully.) The ants without a queen continue to care for each other, continue to grow their fungus gardens, or heard aphids, they keep storing seeds and feeding the young. With time, the last of the eggs and brood are raised to be adults. The nest is cleaned and tidy, everyone is fed, with all these tasks done the ants huddle together to conserve energy. They will keep tending the nest and eating when they need to... possibly for years. Menopause isn't the end of an individual life, it's just the closing of a particular door.

I do think ant colonies like this, like my own queen-less colony can seem a little sad. Eggs and larvae and pupae are such joys for ants. They lavish food and attention on their little sisters. No more little sisters means a less active colony, it's like winter has set in permanently. But ants live through winters. Sometimes many winters. If you give a colony in this state brood from another queen they will raise them with great excitement. But there is no peaceful way to move the workers to a colony with a living queen.

This situation happens rarely in the wild. There are so many other things that can kill a colony long before a queen lives so long that she dies of old age. In the wild there are also parasitic species of ants that look for colonies without a queen, or with a queen that is weak and easy to kill. These sneaky queen ants will "steal" a colony. Though, from the perspective of ants without a queen, this is almost a mercy. But, there is none of this... everyone falling over and dying or everyone going crazy you see in stories about hives. The queen is just one part of the colony... a critical part... but still only a part. And each individual ant still has her own life to live.

[baka-monarch]

Dirt Crawlers

Look @darkeninganon , I beat you to writing the slug thing!!!! :)

(brain just randomly started thinking of story and I just decided to write it now before I lost motivation/inspiration)

Part 2->

TRIGGER WARNINGS: BUGS, FEAR, MENTION OF DEATH, FEELING SMALL, VERY GROSS DISCRETION

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Tommy watched Dream as he pushed the door to their hole in the ground open The younger Dirt Crawler was practically bouncing with excitement. Today was the day, finally Dream was taking him out on his first hunting trip. It was the perfect day for hunting as well, since it hadn't rained for weeks and was so bright and sunny out (as Tommy could tell from the blinding light coming through their burrow door) that there was no way it would rain; so there was no risk of them drowning in a puddle or getting dragged down to suffocate in mud. It was also the afternoon by now, judging by where the sun was, which meant almost no birds out hunting at all. Yeah, now would be the perfect time to get some food.

"You remember all the rules I told you, right?" Tommy was startled out of his thoughts by his older brother's voice.

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know I know!" The teen rolled his eyes. The rules had been drilled into him ever since he was a kid, ever since their parents were still around.

"Okay, so remember that we're only hunting aphids- no attacking ants, ladybugs, termites-"

"Mantises,"-He cut off Dream's words-"slugs- yeah yeah, I know boss man! We don't fight anything that isn't an aphid!!" Tommy climbed out of the burrow with that in mind. He already knows what happens if a Dirt Crawler tries to fight anything other than an aphid, he's been told the horror stories thousands of times. Ants will swarm you if you hurt one, ladybugs can headbutt trample and eat you, termites can take a limb off with one bite, and mantises- of Prime Tommy really does NOT want to think about fucking mantises.

"I'm just making sure-" Dream added as he climbed out to stand next to Tommy, kicking their burrow door closed behind himself. "I know how adventurous you can get at times and I don't want to risk anything." The elder puts a hand on Tommy's shoulder and looks into his baby brother's eyes seriously. The world is a dangerous place for someone only half an inch tall, and he wants to make sure his baby brother is safe.

"Stop worrying so much- I'm not gonna leave your side big man." Tommy smirks into their serious gaze and gives his brother a comforting pay on the shoulder, making them sigh with relief.

"Good- because I don't know what I'd do without your annoying voice." Dream jokes with a slightly forced chuckle and ruffles the teen's curly blond hair. Tommy only groans in annoyance and pushes his hand away, which only makes Dream let out another fond chuckle. "C'mon, we don't have all afternoon!" The elder doesn't give Tommy any time to fix their hair as he grabs their hand and pulls them off into the towering grass blades.

It's a few hours later when the two brothers find themselves watching from being blades of grass as several aphids hop around on the dirt, having called off of the grass after the two tiny people had shaken their plant homes with the help of a light breeze. Dream pulls out a small sword and turns to Tommy to make sure he's holding his own sword correctly. Once the eldest is sure the time is perfect, he gives a signal with his hand and both split- Dream running in from the right and Tommy from the left, both catching the tiny bugs off guard and using that to their advantage to slice off the heads of several before they can jump out of reach.

"You did it!" Dream smiles up at Tommy who himself is smiling proudly. They were running low on food, and now with Tommy's help, they're both sure to have more than enough aphids to last them for a week or more at least. "This should be good- you, did good Toms." The green clad Dirt Crawler walks over to his brother and ruffles their hair, and this time Tommy does not complain. "Now help me bag them up-"

"Yes sir!" Tommy gives a small thumbs up and starts to fill his sprig woven bag with the dead aphids as Dream does the same. It's all fine until one of the aphid bodies gets up and starts to limp away- Tommy missed it's head. "I'll get it!" He calls over to his brother, who gives a nod of acknowledgement before Tommy chases after the aphid, knowing he can easily catch and kill it since it can't jump.

Tommy doesn't notice anything suspicious as he approaches the injured aphid. He doesn't look around at his surroundings as he gets out his sword. He doesn't look up as he stabs the bug and finally kills it. He does however scream after looking up to see where the droplet of slime had come from on his sword after landing the killing blow.

Dream snaps his head up to attention, his eyes wide with fear for his Tommy as he looks to where they'd run off to- and he almost screams as well. "IT'S A SLUG!!!!" He's quick to run over and grab Tommy's arm and start to drag the petrified teen away before they can be eaten.

Tommy doesn't hesitate to follow Dream once he snaps out of his state of fear. As they run Tommy tries not to think about the humongous slimey being of pure squishy muscle, with four eyes that stared at him with nothing but hunger, and a large gaping mouth that was opening and closing, ready to eat it's lunch with the rows upon rows of tiny razor sharp teeth that could allow the disgusting giant to swallow him whole. Tommy shivers, yeah that's going to be haunting his nightmares- oh well at least slugs are slow, so he and Dream have plenty of time to run away…. Or so he thought, before suddenly his running is slowed significantly by something making him stick to the ground. The teen looks down, and sees he's stepped into a trail of familiar slime that has him now stuck where he stands.

"Dre- Dream!?" He yells to his older brother, who also finds himself slowed by the slime trail. Dream looks at his brother sadly, and grabs their arms before desperately trying to pull Tommy free as the slug approaches at a slow orgilating crawl towards them.

"Tommy- Tommy, look at me!" Dream said, keeping his voice firm, trying to give his baby brother something to focus on. "Don't look back- don't- d- don't look behind you. Just focus on me, we're going to get out of this." At least Tommy is close enough for Dream to pull them into a hug. He lets Tommy bury their face into his chest, letting them cry as he glares up at the omnivore that had successfully hunted them down on Tommy's first aphid gathering…

"I- I'm scared…" Tommy admits quietly, something they usually would never do, but Dream can understand in this situation: getting stuck while running from a slug is certain death for any and all Dirt Crawlers.

"I know… I know, but it's going to be okay, I promise…." Dream whispers softly and weaves his fingers into Tommy's soft golden curls, something that's always calmed them down, no matter how old. He hugs his small brother close, closing his eyes so he can savor one last moment with them…

BOOM-SQUELCH!!!

The sound is loud and disturbing to hear for the absolutely miniscule brothers, and they both open their eyes wide in surprise and fear of what happened. All that can run through Dream's head is that the slug must've been crushed by something, but what? A deer? A wolf maybe? Possibly even a skunk even if they aren't in this area? The only way to find out is to look up- and up- and up and up and up and-

"Fuck." Dream doesn't cuss often, but for this occasion it feels necessary.

"Wh- wha-" Tommy begins to ask but cuts off his own words as he feels all his breath leave him in fear, as he looks up too.

A giant. An actual giant. A person, thousands of times their size was standing right on top of where the slug had been only seconds before- and it seemed like they didn't even notice they'd crushed anything.

"Human…" Dream mutters quietly, remembering the word from a story their mom told him once before Tommy was born. Giants- humans- weren't supposed to be here. Dirt Crawlers almost never had to deal with humans… yet here one stood, having unintentionally saved the two brothers lives, and Dream realized in a moment how close they both were to that death dealing foot, and if the human hadn't seen the slug, then if they took another unfortunate step- "R- run- we need to run! Run!!" Dream shouts and starts to pull Tommy, and his brother quickly gets the message as they both pull themselves out of the slime to start running.

Dream doesn't let go of Tommy's hand the whole time as they both run as fast as they can, but it doesn't feel fast enough as every time Dream looks back the human looks just as close as they were before and- oh gods they were looking down at them. Dream pushes forward, trying to pull Tommy even faster with a feigned hope that maybe, just maybe they can at least get to the burrow in time and be safe until the human leaves-

Dream bounces back off of something hard and smooth, he can't see it but he can feel it. Tommy rushes forward to stand beside him and starts to bang on the invisible wall; it's a fruitless effort however as both know that anything used by humans is guaranteed to be too strong for either to break through. Only a few seconds later they feel gravity change and they're sliding down the wall, Dream grabs Tommy and hugs him, wanting to make sure that wherever they land his brother is safe more than anything. They eventually hit a bottom, made of another invisible wall- and as Dream looks up he meets two massive eyes, twice as big as himself, staring directly at him and his brother.

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Mcyt g/t list:

@trashpumped @lorie-the-little-ghost @encaos @i-am-a-weeb @wyforyu-gaming @5unfl0writ3r @colorfulsiren @moonmwah @iwasgoingtohellanyways @echoslime @wilbur-simp @trouble-off-grid @lilsyxx @smogs-0 @hello-world-im-snow

[faeriescorpio]

3, 4, and 29 for the soft asks ask game!! Also I saw that you were willing to share ego headcanons 👀 can you spare me one for Eric Derekson?

3. what’s your favorite candle scent?

i love a good cinnamon. i currently have a cinnamon apple which is very good. I also have a eucalyptus mint candle. it seems so basic but cinnamon and mint respectively are up there. i think maybe a good crisp citrus smell is the only thing that could top cinnamon or mint but those can be hard to find. I keep buying caramel scents because i like to eat caramels but the scents always make me ill for some reason

4. what flower would you like to be given?

This one makes me think about when i drew all those markiplier egos with flower symbolisms, mostly because i didnt know anything about flowers at all before i drew those and then i studied the shit outta flowers for those pieces. I am so basic but I love roses. There's a rose bush in my backyard that my moms been trying to kill but that rose bush has survived for like over a decade out of spite and I go nuts over the bush. im always bothering my mom about the bugs or the mold and I've bought those containers of ladybugs because of aphids. it's referred to as MY rose bush. no one is allowed to clip roses off without my permission. there's literally a photo in my camera roll of me stalking towards the camera holder with rage in my face and a handful of petals in my hand because SOMEONE (cough krae/aero cough) wanted to cosplay Annus and wanted rose petals so they massacred my boy (the bush). I love sunset colors and so many roses can capture those shades, the yellows and oranges and pinks. also classic red roses are nice. I love white roses but those guys never do well in my backyard. yeah im crazy about roses i could go on and on about them.

29. morning, afternoon or night?

Night. I love when its sunset/dusk. For some reason I have better night vision than anyone I know but I also am so bad with bright lights and also i need black out curtains to sleep. Eric Derekson

I think he'd like a fresh linen smell, but while there are fresh linen candles, why buy those when he can just tuck his face into the collar of his sweater and breath in? Maybe if he weren't so used to not having the money for the luxury of candles he might buy some, but for now he'll just look longingly at the sandalwood candles. Not the ones that are like "sandalwood + tobacco" or "+ smoke" or whatever. I know people are like sandalwood = men's smell, must add manly smell to make it double manly. No, he's looking at the gentle sandalwood smells, like "sandalwood and rose" "+ vanilla" or "+ amber". Couldn't be me tho wood smells are for deodorants only in my opinion and even then im not a fan.

Flowers. I paired him up with lilies and snowdrops in my flower language works and those fit kind of well with him. They suit his personality very well but that doesn't guarantee they're his favorite. I can see him enjoying something like Richardson's Geranium, which is a very small and somewhat common little white five-petaled flower. I can see him very clearly in my mind crouching down to pick a flower like that only for Derek to make him throw the flower away because it's probably a minor weed and then Eric having to garden and pull out weeds but he has to pull out all his favorite flowers since they're "weeds" and it takes them two years to grow back in the lawn outside his window.

I think Eric is a morning person. I think he probably has a habit of waking up very very early because of his father, but in the manor he doesn't mind waking up early. It's very tranquil and quiet and probably the only time the manor is at peace because the Jims aren't up yet. Eric is probably the first to rise.

[house-foxglove]

Umbrella Pantheon

So i adore and love the god au for re8 by @booaghost and the art is DOPE. and my adhd/hyperfixation has decided this is the only thing now and have written my own headcannon for it. I especially like the minor/obscre characters like the sword maiden, Urias, the guy who made the dagger, and the guy who made the labrynths. (Leagăn refers to the expanded kingdom that was the Village) But right now here’s what i got for the Four Lords, Miranda, The Dark God, and the 3 Sisters: The Black God / It that Remembers / Necros / The Grimm Egg

A primordial god, not a conscious being but one of a strange and eldritch nature that rests below Leagăn the cradle of the creature. It wishes to be linked and to be known by every living thing, it cares not what is done with the power siphoned from it, only that it is gifted or taken at all. Curses dead flesh to rise again, and curses already living bodies to undergo horrible change. All under its sway that die turns into calcified crystal that in turn wields properties that could harm beings of Necros even further.

Mother Miranda / The Winged Mother / The Hag 

Gifts divinity to those she finds worthy, they in turn gift divinity in their image, but she maintains absolute order in the hierarchy of the divine. She was the first among those in Leagăn to inherit divinity and when not attending to her divine duties she roams the countryside seeking those who would be worthy of divinity. But as of late she has been getting impatient, none of the other gods have been able to match her power and she is getting tired of their, in her eyes, wasted efforts.

Donna Beneviento (Berengario) / Goddess of Day and Night - Joy and Sorrow - Comedy and TragedyA silent goddess who only speaks on rare occasions. Her domain is the Theater and her throne and workshop at Mount Teatru’s peak. Due to her agoraphobia and aversion to humanity she solely works with non-living materials which gain their own life. Some of these mannequins and other living creations break off in their own passion causing joy and/or sorrow wherever they tread. Only a few humans are allowed near the theater and those who come too close to the peak are lost.

Salvatore Moreau (Nichola) / God of the Sea and Healing / The Vile PhysicianThe most meek of the gods who is self conscious of his divinity. He didn’t think he was worthy of it in the first place and dislikes the separation from humanity. People pray to him for safe passage on the ocean as well as healing illnesses. His fins are rumored to be a cure-all, but it takes canny or a great amount of trust in order to get one from him. He responds to any prayers he can but doesn't like making a show of it. When he does take on his human form he will attend a variety of plays and productions as well as attending different shows Donna has been concocting and is easily delighted by all of them. Frequently takes on the form of a mer-man or an anglerfish-like sea monster, as staying him his human form takes much energy to focus on.

Karl Heisenberg (Guglielmo) / God of Creation and Defiance / The Dark Prometheus

A spiteful god and one that encourages all humanity to rebel against higher powers and to break chains. Similar to the Duke, Karl will provide upstart adventurers and mundane folk with the tools to defeat obstacles placed by gods and even minor deities, but if they fail they are to be bound to him. He will allow them to succeed up to a certain point, so far as what he truly wanted accomplished is done so. The whole quest is a trick. All of those who fail fall back into his arms in defeat and shame and agree to join him. He holds no true love for his “siblings” but finds traits about them admirable. If they would join his side that would allow a chance for a bond to truly be forged between them, but he knows they are too enamored with their divinity and their mother to turn against her. He takes on the form of a clockwork horse or a centaur. 

Alcina Dimitrescu (Cesare)/ Goddess of Harvest and Debauchery / Dragon of the Mountain

The most Prideful of the gods who was proud even before she was raised by divinity. Before she was a god she originally had three daughters that were killed by an assassin from the village below her castle. She then beat the man with a candlestick and choked him to death. But when she was gifted godhood she decided to make the lives of the village below her a living hell. For decades she would take villagers as a tithe to hunt and feast upon, until she came upon three infants who she took in and gave divinity and raised as her own. Miranda was impressed by the savagery and motherly instinct of Alcina and offered her own power in giving the girls power. She holds some bitterness towards her siblings, especially Heisenberg, seeing them as not quite regal or as fitting to the position of a god as her or her children. But despite this she holds them in warm regard, reluctantly, especially Donna in her creativity and Sal in his skill and knowledge in medicine.Takes on the form of a giant bat when going on hunts or a mighty furred dragon to wrestle and fight with Heisenberg.

The Aphid Daughters / The Witch Sisters / The Hateful Swarm

Bela- God of Blood and Guts (Mosquito) She seeks to hunt individuals who exhibit more bravery than most, some of them have even come close to inflicting a mortal wound on her. But she makes sure that it never goes too far and kills them before they inflict real harm.

Cassandra- God of Famine and Hunt (Locust) She torments by devastating crops and chasing villagers. She likes to provoke and prod at her uncles. She feels the need to be in constant company with her sisters or anyone she imprints on, constantly asking to hunt with someone else (even some of the werewolves if no one wants to).

Daniela- God of Love and Song (Cicada) She adores visits with Donna as she can join in her productions as a lead role. She tries to woo different maidens that are enlisted to join the castle staff to varying success and failure. Most likely to people please anyone despite her station.

[wolfpoets]

end of the year Thoughts about the garden, as scheduled:

this year, garden-wise, was pretty much a wash. which is unfortunate because it was the year with the least amount of fires we've had in a long time - almost no smoke where i live, and certainly not all consuming and all present like it was last year (and the year prior).

but the weather was unusual for our area. i planted new raspberry canes in may, which is usually hot and dry, but this year was cold, wet, and windy. the worst weather you could possibly plant in. most of the canes dried out and died, and the ones i had left i foolishly fertilized with pelleted fertilizer, even though i damn well knew better. i now have a handful of living canes out there in the "orchard", when i should have had fifty.

same with the new climbing roses - i hit them with fertilizer at the same time. both died once the heat hit, after succumbing to aphid attacks due to overfertilization. wish i could go back in time and kick my own ass, but. You Know.

and of course the garden and flowers got planted late because a) weird cold weather persisting, and b) i was so busy that i lost my damn head. so everything is late and struggling and i've given up on near most of it.

and of course ... losing the entire greenhouse. also something that was entirely my fault - i should have made sure that i installed that heater, and barring that, should have taken further measures to protect against frost. but i didn't. i know why i didn't - taking care of my mother and my new job took up all of my Brainspace and i had barely any left to care about anything else - but it was a devastating loss then and still is now.

i only had one day of sales out of that greenhouse, and i made half of what i needed to break even on investment. so i know that if i'd been able to open more days i would have made my money back, if not made profit. which, you know. kills me.

and of course with that came disappointing customers who had wanted to come out but couldn't make it that first day. the upside is that it proved i had loyal customers - i had someone see the sales ad on fb and rush back home from an hour away just to pick up plants from me. i had a woman make a four hour trip to come buy plants, even though she'd never bought from me before. the customers i had the very first year came again this year.

(and of course i worry, because most peoples' gardens did extremely poorly this year, that that will influence next years' sales. are they going to blame my plants for not producing, even though nobody's did?)

so ...... yeah! shit sucked. really was a wash of a year all around.

the upside:

the cantaloupes and watermelons, as always, produced tons. i'm having the unusual problem of none of them wanting to ripen, which is frustrating, but at least they did produce. and of course the peppers can't be beaten by anything, plague or no plague, crap weather or good weather.

the one huge success for this year? the asparagus. planted 24 crowns - wrongly, which tells you how fucked up my brain was at the time - and only six failed to come up. a tremendous success considering our poor soil and the fact i've never seen anyone here successfully grow asparagus. fingers crossed i won't fuck it up and kill them next year.

oh ... and i grew dahlias this year. they are truly the most beautiful flower i've ever seen and now i understand why so many are obsessed with them. i plan on starting them early next year, getting more varieties, and dedicating entire beds to them next year.

i guess the one thing about this year was that it was a learning year. things i knew theoretically i now know to be concrete, like don't fertilize the first fucking year, and don't plant in shit weather. and don't put off things that HAVE to be done, like installing the heater for your greenhouse that held over two grand worth of plants.

and the one good thing about learning years is that they always light a fire under you for the year after.