#Did you know they grow up to be only 4.5 inches long? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

incarnateirony · 10 months

Text

Doo dooo doo doo doo, manamana doo doodoo doo, manamana--

o/~ and aint no cops can say shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit i love legal growing and doing skilled trades

Top section is the grow that's being forced into a 90 day grow (at about day 64), because Mark has none listening skills and made a bunch of promises in my name. Bottom section is the bumper wave gonna rotate in after them in a few weeks (4.5 weeks, rotation point 7 weeks)

Recently, a friend of mine that is None Mark reached out like, hey, I have a friend that runs a professional dispensary now that kinda started with a bin and some mylar and with no intention to micromanage you, would you mind giving me some pics and details to see if he has any advice minding your limited setup? So I sent this huge ass thing, top to bottom, and he was like. damn ok I'll ask him but you seem to know what ur talking about.

Then came back like. Um. Um what? Well. When I said how old your plants were, he was like "so they're like" and made a little gesture like 18 inches. And I was like ummmmmmmmmmmm some of the small ones maybe? The others are like up to a foot more than that. And then they were sitting together reading what I was saying like. You started with TIMBERLINE you treated? When I did that in landscaping that was fill dirt where we didn't need anything to grow. You had WOT lighting to start? MOTHERFUCKER HOWWWWWWWWWWWW "What do you MEAN your partner expected an 85 day grow what he wants is a 6 month venture but--OOF OKAY NEVERMIND YOU COULD HAVE DONE IT AT 4"

Meanwhile Mark goes all dramatic "I'M GOING ON THE TIMELINE YOU TOLD ME" No, you're going on the only part of the timeline you heard, then subtracted from "YOU TOLD ME 3 TO 3 1/2 MONTHS" Yes, Mark, say that again, but slowly. "3 to 3 1/2 months?" Ok mark how many days are in a month. "30. About. 31." "OK. So in 3 months." "About 90. 91." "Okay, great! Now how many in 3 1/2." "+15, so like... 105, 106." Great, Mark! Now when I gave you 3 to 3 1/2 months as a timeline, how big did I tell you I could get the plants in that time. "Um, about 3 feet." GREAT! EXCELLENT.

Ok Mark, here's the hard one. The seller sites say their average yield is based on square meters. How many square feet do you think are in a square meter?" "Um, idk--" "About ten, a little more, but we'll say ten." "Ok. ten." Right, Mark. Now if my strains were 1.5-2 feet wide, and 3 feet tall, how many square feet is that?" Um, like six. Great. Okay. Now we're talking. Now do you remember what I said happens to a plant during bloom? "Um, they usually about double in size." Right. So a plant that is 1 1/2 feet pre-bloom becomes about 3 feet, right? "Right." Okay. And bloom on most strains takes how long mark? "Um... 6-8 weeks?" ...Ish. Varies, but good eye, thats what I aim for and most of my strains do, ok Mark we're on track, now stay focused.

"You don't have to be patronizing" no apparently I do, so hold on here. Now, because I haven't had a choice, these got flipped so they will, indeed, be about 90 days. Now, how big were they before they got flipped, aka, before they doubled. "Um idk" Okay, well I was sending reports about this. The highest performers were about 2.5 feet and the lower performers were about 1.5 feet. We'll say average 2 feet since it's 3 strains to simplify. Are we tracking? "Yeah--" Ok. So if the plants average double in size, and they were two feet, what's twice that? "Four." Okay great. So is four bigger than 3? Yeah? Okay. Great. So did I do even more than I said at 90 days? "Yeah, but-" no buts, no buts Mark, we're not done here wait a second.

Okay. So 90 to 105 days, right? Yeah. Okay. Now, my plants were about 6 weeks and some change when I flipped them. And you know even if I play with the lights to expect 6 weeks right? That's 12 weeks, right? "Yeah?" okay. So now, if they end up 1.5-2 x 4 on average, what is that? Um, about 6-8 square feet? RIGHT. Excellent, now we're talking, but lets dig here. So if 2 weeks of the plant life it is a seedling, the vegetation stage on this plant went how long. 4 weeks. Great. Alright, now we're cooking "what are you getting at."

Remember when I said. And you had initially agreed. I wanted to give them another 1-2 weeks, even if that carried us a few days into October? Yeah. Ok. So how many days are in 2 weeks. 14. Is 90+14 under 105? Yes. Oh. Neat. Okay so if they were growing average half a foot at this stage in life per week, how big does a 2 foot plant get? 3 ? Great. And then when it stretches? 6? Great! Okay so we do that 2x width again, for real all 2x cuz they got fatter those weeks too. What is 6 x 2? 12? Great. Square feet. Is that a square meter? "Yes." Okay. So you're saying, not only did I excel past my general parameters, but I would have exceeded the square meter canopy for the pound a plant you wanted? "Ummm--"

like nono, no ums. Now, what day of what month would be 90 days "I don't know." I marked this on a calendar in the chat, mark. It would be September 25th, so I said "september 20-something" for harvest *at earliest*, with the little calendar floating there. But then, we discussed the extra weeks, and knew it would go a few weeks into October, and discussed the financial balances, do you remember that? "Ummmmmmmmm" okay. I guess you don't, for some reason, which is weird from accounting, or whatever. But even if you forgot Sept 25 on the nose, you have to remember us working around payments and rents while moving and the plants not being able to move well right now. "Right." Okay, so if +1-2 weeks put us 1-2 weeks into October, where does "September 20th" come into your head as even viable as 90 days? Uhh--- right, in nonsense land, mark. It's nonsense land. It's a timeline you told yourself by not listening at all, and forced me to drop these plants early, and they're going to function at 6 sq ft, not 10-12, and what do you think that does to your precious Average Yield?

"But you said-" 12-14 weeks for 3 foot plants, which was exceeded, *and* bent into the availability of achieving the sq meter canopy at 14 weeks, mark. Instead, you tried to push me to 11 weeks because of your failure to meet other expectations and promises in my name. Which of us broke any deals or expectations in that case? [crickets] Yeah, there you go, Mark, now you're getting it. So September 20th for a pound per plant happens in what universe, mark? [more crickets] Yeah there you go I see it registering now. See, mister Accounting Man? [jazz hands] MATH.

1 note · View note

writefightandflightclub · 3 years

Text

Return to Sender: (Richard Alonso Muñoz x GN reader)

What is this? This is 4/10 one-shots/blurbs for my “friends to lovers” event. I’m not gonna share the prompt as it’s spoilery, but it was requested by @sergeantkane who is a genius for picking this combo! It’s a prompt about LOVE LETTERS! Omg! And thus, it matches perfectly with Richard (trust me, I had NOT made that connection when I made the prompt list :P). Thank you so much for requesting, Clarke, and I hope you enjoy it. I’m excited about this one!

If you’d like to read/keep track of the other fics, I’m keeping an up-to-date friends to lovers list in my pinned post.

Author’s note: Oh, I really quite like this one. Hope it makes you feel as soft as I did for Richard while writing it! Also- it’s my first bash at writing him, so let me know what you think! Thanks to everyone who helped with film details too: those not already tagged in the post- @prurientpuddlejumper @witchyavenger @veuliee2 @waatermelon-sugaar @pascal-isaac

Word count: 4.5 k. So not a blurb, then? :P

Rating: Mature, for light steam (not explicit, but 18+ or out, please!)

Warnings: mentions of food/eating. Mild angst (but it ends well), Steamy. Kissing, brief non-explicit mention of erection. Implied coitus (cut scene). Richard works in a “correctional facility”. Small mention of attempted break-in. If I missed any let me know.

Tagging: @anetteaneta @isvvc-pvscvl @nowritingonthewall @supernovafeather (ONLY READ IF 18+)

GIF by @nathan-bateman

“Have you ever received a love letter?” Richard wonders shyly, without looking up from his crossword puzzle, his long eyelashes fanned out as his gaze dances over the monochrome squares.

Meanwhile, your eyes snap up immediately from your magazine, which you are idly leafing through, a breath catching in your chest.

You bristle at the question, and yet Richard seems either entirely oblivious, or entirely determined not to look-up at you. Perhaps both. So, instead of looking, he simply slurps the dregs of his milkshake, and pushes his plate of waffle remnants further toward the far end of the diner booth.

When he finally raises his gaze – a gentle prompt for you to answer him- his eyes are large and shining under the fluorescent lights as he peers at you over his glass, dabbing at his thick moustache with a paper napkin shortly after.

“No, never,” you state sadly, heeding his prompt with a small smile and a shake of your head. Not even a love e-mail.

“I’m surprised,” he flatters with a cautious smile. And, if you’re not mistaken, his eyes light-up with the faintest trace of desire. The barest undercurrent of passion, which is enough to have your heart beating like a drum. You notice it sometimes; this dull heat emanating off of him. It is a spark which never ignites, however - to your endless disappointment; you would fan that flame if only you knew how.

You swallow. He’s surprised? He can’t be that surprised, you think, a stone sinking through your stomach as you dwell too long on the topic of love letters, and meanwhile, Richard’s attention seamlessly diverts back to 3 across.

“You deserve one,” he says, still looking at the page, but a smile animating his wiry moustache. “A letter.”

You wrap your arms around yourself, a spiralling sadness catching hold of you. Does he not understand what this is doing to you? This painful reminder? “Can we drop it, Richard?” you say tensely, and when his eyes meet yours again, they are even more soft and cautious than usual, causing you to admonish yourself for the bite in your tone.

“Yes,” he says. “Of course,” he smiles thinly, apologetically.

It’s simply the new job, you think. Director of Communications. The man has letters on the brain. Richard is so considerate, that you realise he must not intend to hurt you in dredging up the past; he would never. In a way though, you think, it’s even worse that he brings it up so… casually. You can only conclude he has forgotten that you sent your letter to him at all. Had your heartfelt words, declaring your love, had so little impact on him?

Maybe that’s it. After all, they seemed to have so little impact upon him at the time. What could you expect years later? On the other hand, you -apparently- remain rather sore about the topic, all this time later. It’s natural to be sensitive though, isn’t it? You’d written him a love letter and he didn’t write you back. He didn’t say it back. Didn’t feel it back.

And, perhaps it still stings so much, even all these years later, because you never did stop loving him, even if he never started loving you.

Feeling a sudden, overwhelming haste to leave, you thumb through the pages of your magazine so furiously that the next table turn their heads to look at you, until you find what you were searching for.

“Here, Richard. The article I mentioned. Dramatherapy for people who are incarcerated.”

You fold the magazine back on itself, fobbing it off on him with an unprecedented urgency, hurriedly signalling to the waitress that you’d like the check. The roomy diner booth suddenly feels suffocating, and you want to get out. Meanwhile, oblivious, Richard chuckles at the title of the article -some kind of pun, you recall- as you try to push down the unpleasant emotions surfacing within you.

“Thank you for this,” he smiles, looking up at you earnestly. Looking concerned as he reads the expression on your face. “Are you alright?”

Your eyes fix on the table, where his fingertips inch hesitantly across the surface, hovering moments from yours as he debates whether to extend comfort. You make the decision for him, snatching your hand back from his reach.

“Yes. I’m Fine,” you say, unconvincingly. “Can we please go? I need some fresh air.”

“Alright,” Richard agrees gently. He looks a little flustered, but, now sensing your urgency, he begins to sweep up his papers and to shrug on his jacket. He pulls out a small comb to fix his neat curls in place, and offers you a soft smile. “Maybe we can go to the park next?” he suggests.

As much as you want to run, you nod, some of your agitation dissipating now that the prior topic seems to be forgotten. “Okay. Yeah. That would be nice.” You school your expression into something calm, and you offer him a reassuring smile as his soulful eyes dance over you, a lingering but unobtrusive concern there.

As you split the check, you tell yourself for the millionth time that being his friend is enough; but even after the millionth time, you can’t quite believe it.

Still, today -Sunday- is your one day with him this week. And, no matter what you can’t have; you’ll take anything you can get.

He’s too dear to you to settle for anything less.

************

One month later:

You crouch in amongst the boxes on Richard’s front lawn. He is having a clear-out, setting out some items for goodwill, and some for a neighbourhood yard sale happening next weekend.

You are having fun assisting him in sifting through various items, occasionally bursting into a fit of laughter when he reveals yet another ill-informed, late night shopping channel “bargain” – usually some new-fangled, scarcely-used exercise contraption, which he proceeds to demonstrate in good-humour, making you fold over clutching your stomach in mirth. Occasionally, as you rifle through the boxes, you’ll be overcome by a pang of sentimentality when he uncovers an item with a memory attached; and -no matter how useless- he usually sneaks said item into his ever-growing “to-keep” pile.

“But this is the picnic hamper we took to Bound Beach Island! For your birthday, remember?”

“Yeah, Richard, but it’s battered! It has holes! It needs to go.”

“It was a beautiful day. The light and the dunes were beautiful… and… and y-“

“-Oh my goodness, what is this?! Please for the love of God tell me you never actually wore this!”

You work through the midday sun until you come to a tired, dead halt on the grass, finally parking your ass down and wiping your brow. Richard looks warm too, a “v” of sweat soaking his old, oversized “Save the Turtles” t-shirt. No - he really doesn’t throw anything away. You smile fondly, though, remembering his sea turtle phase. Of course, he’d read some article. He always was looking for a cause.

“I’ll make us some iced tea,” Richard announces with a tired puff of breath, looking more spent than he probably wants to admit after shuttling the various boxes. Still, the way his grizzled curls have fallen away from his harsh side-part appeals to you, sitting disobedient and undone on his forehead.

Thinking of him undone, you hear a faint beating of drums sound in your chest.

You ignore the music though, like always, instead smiling gratefully as he heads inside, and you take a second to collect yourself before dragging the nearest box towards you, deciding you may as well continue. This next box is taped securely shut, and you chuckle quietly to yourself when you notice it’s labelled “workout-gear”.

You peel the packing tape away and open it up, scooping out the pile of miscellaneous papers sitting right on top. Beginning to leaf through, you surmise it’s mainly unopened junk mail; mainly garishly printed promotional flyers - from a pizzeria which closed down years ago, you recognise. Probably hastily stuffed in before his last move and never dealt with. Absent-mindedly, you begin to bundle it up for the recycling pile, when a smaller, more humble envelope drops out on to your lap, a hand-scrawled address on the front. The stationary is resoundingly familiar.

In fact, everything about it is familiar.

Your heart hammers in your chest as it immediately dawns on you.

It’s your letter.

The letter you sent him, all those years ago. You’d needed to be apart from him- needed to go away to take care of family, and you simply couldn’t go without letting him know. Letting him know you were in love with him.

The memory is like a slow knife sinking into your chest as you idly turn it over in your hands.

But… It can’t be…?

It’s… unopened.

All the air leaves you lungs.

No. No. It doesn’t make a shred of sense.

You’d spoken to him right afterward, on the phone. The first time he’d called after you left town he’d almost pleaded with you, giving you an unequivocally clear, and endlessly painful answer that he didn’t want what you wanted. What you’d written about. He’d made it abundantly obvious that he simply wanted to be friends. “I- I don’t want anything to change. I want everything to stay exactly like it is between us – please? Can we still talk every day?”

But if he didn’t read it…?

You heart pounds so hard that you hear blood rushing in your ears.

He doesn’t know.

His words didn’t mean what you…

Oh my god. All this time.

You shoot abruptly to standing when you see him approach, as if you’ve been caught red-handed, guiltily stuffing the letter into your back pocket before he can ask you what it is, an abundance of thoughts screaming in your head.

He hands you the glass of tea, ice tinkling gently, and you take it from him, the coolness shocking your palms.

Assessing what you’ve been up to in his absence, and noting the carcass of another box, Richard glances down at the pile of papers strewn at your feet. He looks suddenly worried for a moment, as if you might have found an old porn stash or something – and he looks just as suddenly relieved when he sees they are more innocent papers, scooping them up from the grass.

“Richard?” you say, your eyes burning a hole in the back of his head, and the letter burning a hole in your pocket as he drops the items into the recycling. He hums for you to go on. “Do you... You know when I moved away...?” your voice is strained, and you gulp hard. “Just before, do you remember getting any unusual letters or... weird post from me?”

“Like what kind of thing?” he asks curiously, turning back to you.

“I don’t know exactly,” you lie, nervously. “I have a feeling I sent you something? A sappy goodbye thing?”

You see him mull it over, combing his impressive moustache with his fingers. “I don’t remember, sorry. But apparently I was drowning in junk mail at that apartment. Maybe it got lost, or returned to sender?”

Despite everything, you exhale a small laugh. In a roundabout way, you suppose it had been returned to sender after all. You look at the ground.

“Was it important?” he asks, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand as he looks at you.

Biding time, you take a sip of your tea while you search for an answer. It’s refreshing.

“It… Uh. It was a long, long time ago. Doesn’t matter now, I suppose,” you muse, masking your sadness, and he nods, looking at least half-satisfied with your answer.

Except, it does matter. It matters more than anything. And, with a sudden, overwhelming need to grab on to the past, you track to the “to go” box, rescuing the battered picnic basket from the pile of junk.

“You shouldn’t get rid of this,” you state, your back to Richard, hoping he doesn’t notice the way your voice falters. You tense as you feel him settle by your side, his hand hovering tentatively at the small of your back but never quite touching. “It was a beautiful day.”

“No,” he insists. “You’re right. I shouldn’t hang on to it.”

His words are like a punch in the gut. You turn your head to your side, where Richard is, your eyes and heart almost overflowing.

Noting your sadness, and connecting it to the picnic basket, he does everything he can to smooth things over, like always. “We can get a new one,” he says, his brown eyes sweet and hopeful and bright.

You love him. You love him still and you can’t help but turn towards him and reach out your arms, dragging him in for a hug.

“No! No, I’m sweaty,” he protests self-consciously, but you don’t care. You just need to hold him, even only for a moment – and, for a moment he stills as you loop around him, never quite clutching you back.

When you pull away though, you could swear that dim spark of passion is present in his eyes again. That spark that never catches, no matter how much or how often or how hard you wish it would. Oh, how you wish.

“Don’t ever change, Richard,” you say sincerely, your voice imbued with fondness. “Okay? You’re a sweet, wonderful man.”

His eyes are immediately soft and bashful again, the colour of his cheeks deepening a little, a crimson undertone blooming under his brown skin.

“Yes. Okay,” he offers, with a nod, his eyes creasing at the corners, and his posture even bolstered by the compliment, you could swear, his chest puffing out proudly.

For the rest of the afternoon, you ignore the unread words in the back of your pocket; but for the life of you, you can’t ignore those drums.

************

One month later:

You bundle the yapping, happy little white dog into your arms, relieved that she’s okay as her little tail happily beats against your arm.

“Are you okay, Lady?” you coo as she nuzzles her snoot into your face, eagerly lapping little kisses on to your cheek. “Thanks goodness, sweet little floof,” you baby-talk as your eyes quickly scan around Richard’s place, setting his spare key down on the kitchen counter.

You’d barrelled across town to get here, after receiving a call about an attempted break-in. His neighbour to the left had your contact details in case of an emergency -it’s not very easy to reach him at work, of course- so here you are. You came to give things a quick checking over, assured that no-one suspicious had continued to loiter. Richard won’t be much longer -his shift has nearly ended, and you’d left him a voicemail so you’re sure he’ll hurry- but you still thought you’d go on ahead of him, especially so that he wouldn’t worry about Lady.

Looking around, thankfully all seems well, and you don’t think anyone made it inside after all. Slowly then, you allow your nerves to calm and your heart to settle, bouncing the little bundle of fur in your arms, and feeding her a treat from the packet on top of the microwave, just in case she’d been stressed out.

Calming, you can’t help but smile as you look around, absorbing all the little details of Richard. You do hang out in his apartment a fair amount, but most often you will meet or sit outdoors, when the weather allows. After all, he loves to feel the sun and fresh air on his face, especially after spending all day cooped-up in windowless rooms. To you though, this Richard-ness is like a breath of fresh air, and you let it all wash over you, drinking in the details of his simple daily routine. The discarded half-plate of frijoles and rice by the sink. The ironing-board piled with identical uniform-issue shirts, pants, and plain white t-shirts. The photos on the fridge door – some of you and him too.

Doing a lap of the living space, you further note the dining-for-one TV table, evidence of his relatively solitary existence, and you can almost see him sitting there. Can almost hear his soft voice relating the far-fetched storylines of his favourite telenovelas. You imagine him chuckling warmly - perhaps shedding a tear sometimes too.

You decide you should pop your head into the bedroom and bathroom to check there too, for good measure, and you set Lady down, the dog trotting along at your heels. Once you’ve done a loop, you sigh, seeking out a fresh task, and you circle back to the sink, scraping his discarded plate and rinsing it, stacking it in the dishrack. Then, you move towards the TV chair, intending simply to sit yourself down and wait for Richard to come home. After all, you’re here now - you may as well say hello; or, maybe you can even prepare him dinner after his long shift, you muse.

As you revisit the small, rickety table, however, your eyes more keenly notice that a bunch of papers are strewn over it, all identical- a series of pastel pink leaves of paper and envelopes.

Letters.

Handwritten, in his familiar scrawl.

Letters addressed to you.

Your brow furrows in confusion, as you wonder what they could be. You don’t want to invade his privacy, of course, but perhaps this is something that’s meant for you? After all, sometimes he leaves you notes when you come over to feed or walk Lady.

Still, this feels different, and, with a lump in your throat that you don’t quite understand, you pick up one of the leaves at random, skimming the first line, yet feeling only more confused than you did before.

You see your name at the head of the paper, followed by the words “my dearest love,”, and underneath, some other half-formed paragraphs, scribbled over and crossed out.

No, you shake your head, your stomach flipping over. That can’t be right, you think, even as your fingers scramble for another leaf - for leaf upon leaf, until you piece together what’s going on. Until, with every line you read, fragments of both English and Spanish, you feel as though you are piecing together his heart.

Could it be true? Is this really true?

Your fingers dive for a sheet more developed that the rest, where you see paragraphs of writing, and you devour the words like you are starved of love; for you are, aren’t you? Starved? And yet, you suddenly feel so full. Brimming.

My darling,

There are infinite ways to fall in love. Some are elemental, like a raging fire. A shock of lightning on first sight. Some are slow-burning and constant, the heat of friendship warming your hearth, defrosting your iced fingertips when you come in from the cold.

There are infinite ways to fall in love, and I should know, my heart, as I have experienced every one of them with you.

You can barely read the rest as tears blur your eyes, and your hand comes to clamp over your mouth as realisation sinks through to the pit of you, the page quaking -like a leaf- in your fingers.

You make my heart beat like a drum. When I look at you, I am music, without being played. When you’re with me I am dancing, without movement. If only you would touch my skin, I feel like I would sing. If only you would-

“-Are you safe? Are you alright?” Richard asks from behind you, and you tear your eyes away from the page with a start. You were so absorbed by this swell of beating music that you didn’t hear the scrape of his key in the lock. You didn’t hear his hurried footsteps coming up behind you.

“Richard,” you suspire, and for once his touch is on you without hesitation, his hands clasped around each of your shoulders, slowly running down your arms, and you nod quickly to reassure him, your mouth opening wordlessly. You’re safe.

His touch is warm through your clothes, and you think he is right- your skin would sing for him too if he touched you. Your love rattles you, like drums beating musically in your chest, pulsing through your body.

Then, Richard clocks your sideward, guilty glance at the pile of letters, and you see his panic instantly surface at the thought of all his unsent and unspoken words laid bare before you. All the pieces of his heart exposed.

At first, he looks apologetic, but then you step forwards a little more, into the circle of his arms. Arms which suddenly fall, unsure, at his sides once again. And, achingly slow, endlessly sure, you lift up you hand and you place it on his chest, over his heart, smoothing over his shirt and over the cool metal of the shield he wears there. You feel his heart really is beating like a drum. His chest is rising and falling beneath your hand, his breath quickened – eyes nervous.

You step a little closer, and your fingers continue their slow crawl, dancing up around his collar, inching further up until your fingers finally brush the bare skin at the nape of his neck, pushing up into the curls behind his ears, your thumb skimming his sideburn. You touch him, with your fingertips, and he does sing for you, a half-choked moan leaving his mouth at your tender caress.

“Richard,” you say breathily, searching his face, eyes openly appraising his beauty. “Don’t worry, sweet man. I love you too.” And, when you next meet his eyes there is no nervousness there. Not any longer. Instead, you find his dark, expressive eyes brewing with adoration, and that gentle but ever ascending note of passion.

“Darling, can I kiss you?” he pleads, his voice dogged by desire, his brow knitting together and his hands slipping bravely to your waist, circling you as you arch into him.

“Yes. Yes,” you say, and his mouth meets yours in a desperate, tumultuous crush. You sing too, your skin thrumming as you finally know the feeling of his thick moustache brushing against you. As you taste the sweet flavour of cherry sucker on his kiss. As you finally feel the texture of his slicked curls beneath your fingertips.

You kiss, urgently, until you are each smiling too broadly to continue, and instead Richard beams and presses sweet, intermittent kisses all over – your cheeks, your forehead, your hair, your neck- his moustache tickling wherever it touches. His hands are everywhere they can be politely, roaming over your back and your arms and your hair, and it feels so good to finally be held like this.

Eventually, he pulls back, his smile no longer tugging at his lips so keenly -lips now kiss flushed with deep colour- but shining in his liquid eyes. “How long have you loved me back?” he asks in a still choked, disbelieving voice.

You bite your lip, but then allow your face to split in a radiant, unrestrained grin.

Always. Always. I loved you first, you think.

You reach for your bag, reluctant to break from him so trailing your love’s hand in yours- and you fish out the letter. The one you’ve carried around since it was returned to you. “Take a look, Richard,” you encourage.

He looks from you to the small envelope, turning it in his spare hand as you pass it to him. “What is this?”

His brows rise in confusion as you tap the stamped postmark with your index finger. Years. Years ago.

“I sent you a letter,” you explain. “Telling you I loved you. That I love you,” you correct, squeezing his hand tightly in yours, amazed at how natural it feels already, to touch him.

He audibly gasps in air, looking pained. Devastated. “I never got it. I would’ve-“, he fumbles for words, but he can’t finish them, the magnitude of all those years lost to yearning too big to wrap his lips around. “I never got it,” he repeats sorrowfully.

You shake your head. “Don’t worry about that now,” you soothe. “I got your letter.” And, as you engulf him with your arms a soft smile takes over his features once again. He can’t help it.

“I’m so glad you did,” he beams, drawing you to him for another kiss, which you eagerly accept, opening your mouth to him.

God, he’s a good kisser, his tongue in you deep and eager, and the heat generated is quick to catch, a fire lit in the pit of you. That moustache is a divine thing too, his lips soft and full beneath, his mild-mannered tongue positively sinful as it works against yours.

Letting the kiss grow, you grab hold of him by the belt to draw his body closer to yours, arching your hips into his, and you feel an impressive bulge greet you as you do so.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers bashfully, angling his hips away from you, in case you’re not ready for… that yet. “You’re perfection. So perfect, I… I’m a little bit, uh, excited.”

You don’t blame him. You’re a little bit excited too. There’s a drum beating in your chest. Music in your heart. A song everywhere. A dance in your body.

“W-would you like to take me to the bedroom, Richard?” you purr, softly. “We’ve waited long enough, don’t you think?”

You wish you could capture the bliss which sparks in his eyes then, and keep stoking it forever more. His whole being glows as if you are the sun shining down on him. He loves the sun on his face. He loves you.

He loves you.

*******

Later that night:

At some point after round three, Richard is ravenous, and so you head to the kitchen to grab some snacks. One of Richard’s plaid shirts wards off the slight chill, settled over your otherwise naked body. As you microwave something quick, you can barely keep the smile from your face – even more so as you glance over at the table full of half-finished letters. As the microwave pings and you grab out the plate, another idea occurs to you, and you simply can’t help yourself.

So, you pad mysteriously back towards the bedroom, where Richard is waiting. The blanket is slung low over his hips, skimming the dark trail of hair which draws your gaze down beyond his abdomen. He is covered, and yet you bloom blissfully with heat at your new-found knowledge of what lays beneath. He’s laying with one hand folded behind his head, and one hand rested on the soft, roundness of his stomach, which you had laid your head on only moments ago.

Richard’s eyes shine with unadulterated admiration as you enter, and you flash him a mischievous smile as you transfer the plate to his hands, and subsequently tip a cascade of his letters into the middle of the bed.

“What’s all this?” he asks, with a contented laugh as you bounce eagerly into bed by his side, humming in equal contentment as you slot yourself under his arm.

“I want you to read them to me. Will you?” you ask, sweetly, and he looks bashful all over again. “No-one has ever sent me a love letter.”

“Me neither,” he chuckles. “Or I thought so…”

He hesitates, perhaps feeling shy, but he wraps his arm around you securely, nuzzling you into his side as he picks up the closest leaf of paper.

He hums gratefully as you begin to stroke his smooth chest. He really does sing whenever you touch him.

“They’re not finished,” he caveats. “I wanted to find the perfect words and I… I couldn’t.”

“The words don’t have to be perfect. It’s more important that they’re delivered,” you say, your voice soft as you sink into him, and so, he gently clears his throat and he begins to read, his words and his rich, soothing voice filtering over you like warm sunshine.

After a moment listening, and letting his love and his letters envelop you, you interrupt him gently. “My sweet man. Promise me you’ll never write me another love letter?”

“Are they that awful?!” Richard exclaims.

“No!” you laugh, into his chest, tipping your chin up to look him in the eyes. “They’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. It’s just… I think I hate love letters, Richard. They’ve only ever kept me from you.”

His expression becomes wistful, lost in thought until a smile finally captures him. Then, with a finger curling gently under your chin, he dips down to plant a small kiss to the very tip of your nose.

“No more letters then,” he promises softly. “Let’s always promise to say it out loud from now on. Let’s talk every day.”

You heart full, you bring your hand up to caress his cheek, before planting a gentle, lingering kiss to his lips; and, despite what you’d just suggested, you plead for him to keep reading to you, his voice and his love lulling you to sleep in his arms.

With the love letters as kindling, your dim spark finally catches, your fire now blazing. You set it in a hearth in your chest, and you vow to keep it stoked for always.

THE END

Bonus:

#richard alonso muñoz x reader #Richard Alonso Muñoz #the letter room #richard alonso munoz x reader #oscar isaac #richard alonso-munoz x reader #luna's tumblrversary

186 notes · View notes

henryobsessed · 3 years

Text

The Borrower and Her Bean Part 17

Summery: Melina and Henry have time together on the window sill

Word Count: 1461

Warning: Gentle Kissing

A/N hehe brain is starting to function again. Hope you like it. :) Selah

Part 16 - Part 18

The Sky was Inky black and the stars shone bright, looking out over the trees and silhouettes of his neighborhood Henry was struck with how big the world looked now that he was only 4.5 inches tall. Once again the perspective difference between now and when he had looked out of this window as his big self was extraordinary. Looking up at the sky he could see why Lina was so enamored with the Moon and Stars. From this panoramic view, they truly looked like Gods in the sky.

He turned back and gazed at Lina, she was lost in thought looking out at the night sky. The light from the moon seemed to be mirrored in her eyes as they shone with brightness. Moving behind her he wrapped his arms around her waist and leant his head on hers. It took but a moment for her to melt back against him. He enjoyed the way she felt in his arms, they seemed to be a perfect fit at this moment in this time as they looked up at the stars. They were silent for some time both lost in the feel of each other. Then out of the silence, Melina spoke "I never thought, not in my wildest dreams imagined I would be standing here. I truly thought I would be alone with no one to share my life with." He could hear the vulnerability in her voice at the spoken statement. He squeezed her tighter against him and whispered into her hair "If I can I will try my hardest to never leave you. Even if I grow big again I will put you first Lina." turning her around to face him he lifted a hand to gently wipe a stray tear from her cheek.

He smiled at her as she leant her cheek into his hand, it was too perfect, she was too perfect leaning down he captured her lips in a gentle kiss. He wasn't sure what he had expected, this was not his first but that innocent gentle kiss left him more breathless than any kiss he had given before. Her eyes were still closed as he pulled away needing to balance himself, leading her over to the edge of the sill closet to the glass, they sat and leant against the trim. He pulled her into his arms as they settled looking out at the night sky again. Her arm wrapped around his waist, her head leaning against his chest. As the night continued they discussed their dreams and fears, Melina sharing her life as a borrower, Henry sharing his as a bean until each one fell asleep. The last thought that lingered on both their minds was how long would this last.

The two sets of silver eyes looked out at the borrower and the bean as they slept in each other's arms. The Star fairies looked at each other as one whispered: "Did we make the right decision Night Song?" Night song played with her dark brown hair as she thought "I don't know Whisper, they seem good together as Borrowers but I know that our wishes never work out the way we want." The two Star fairies continued in silences observing the couple a cheeky grin crossing there faces as they contemplated there next move.

Henry looked at his phone, the morning had been quiet. After waking stiff and sore on the window sill after a night of talking, Melina had returned to her bed. Unable to sleep a nagging thought in the back of his mind that he needed to check up with his agent he had sought out his phone to check messages. It had taken him a few minutes to type in his pin as the phone could not recognize his thumbprint or face he had resorted to manually typing in his pin. Once he had unlocked the phone, it began to let out a continual stream of sound as the myriads of texts downloaded. He scrolled through the texts from family, friends, His agent and even some ex-girlfriends. It seemed that the longer they were in lockdown the more people began reaching out.

He responded to the ones that were most important then settled in to read the ones from his agent. They followed in the same vein as the email "Call me, it's important", "Henry, Where are you call me this is really urgent" he texted her back "Sorry my voice isn't working please text back" He waited but a minute his hands resting on the screen waiting. "Ok, thank God you finally responded. Are you sitting down? They want you, James Bond want you. You finally got it Henry" He did sit at that falling beside the phone. "How could this happen?" he mumbled. Just as he was getting used to this lifestyle the first punch to the stomach. He had coveted this role ever since he got knocked back for being too young. Running his hands through his hair he breathed out a sigh, she was worth it, she was worth giving up his career. Chuckling to himself he knew he had it bad, no one had ever made him feel like he could change his career for them.

He felt eyes on him as Greg stepped out of the shadows. The young man had a frown on his face, had he heard his mumblings? As he reached Henry, Greg a sat opposite him speaking slowly "Are you ok Henry?" just talking to someone else about this gave great relief to him, he sat and shared his news and how instead of being upset and angry at the loss of this converted role instead it had just cemented his commitment to being with Melina. Greg's eyes were serious as Henry came to the close of his story "Henry, no matter what you choose to do, we will support you, Melina will support you. If for some reason you turn big again or you stay a borrower it's all moot point now. Your family." His face broke in a smile at the look of surprise on the bigger man's face, Henry chose that moment to declare " well, as of this moment Greg, I know I love your sister and I hope that I will continue to stay a borrower for both our families futures." Greg leaned over and hugged Henry. Pulling back he stood dusted off his pants and left. Followed not much later by Henry looking forward to what adventures were in store for today.

Melina had woken slightly disorientated, her heart was still giddy from the intimacy of the night before. It had seemed to her that they were well on their way to developing a true relationship both letting their walls down and sharing the deep places of their hearts. Not knowing how much time they had she ran in search of the handsome bean to make the most of their time. She saw his phone glowing on the floor in the living room. He must have been here. Getting closer she saw a communication open, as she read her heart dropped into her stomach. Her worst fear realised. A converted role, one he had been seeking for, reading the passion of the statement from his agent she realised, at that moment she loved him too much to hold him back to rob him of this achievement. She ran quickly back to the window sill, she knew she needed to partition the Moon and the starts on his behalf.

Looking up at the bright sky she hoped they were able to hear her "Moon and Stars please hear my plea. I thank you for giving me this time to get to know Henry. He has filled my heart with joy. but I need you to turn him back. It's not right to keep him from living a human life. I will always love him and be here for him but this is my sacrifice for his happiness please turn him back" she then curled up against the window sill and cried. Her weeping heard until she fell asleep.

Whisper and Starsong looked over there friend, they were always there watching. During the day they were dim as the suns brightness blinded those who looked to the heavens. But they were always there. They heard her plea, her desire for the bean and to fulfil his dreams. The sacrifice she displayed in that one wish gave them the final piece. They had been waiting to know what to do and now they knew. Tonight when the Borrower and the Bean slept they would wake to a very different situation.

I have Tagged people who follow me and who I follow if you want to be removed or added please let me know :)@keanureevesisbae @darkverrmin @viking-raider @littlefreya @madbaddic7ed @the-soot-sprite @thelastsock @lovetusilver20 @crimsonrae @demivampirew @ladyreapermc @henrycavillobsessed @nitannichionne @runawayolives @heartfelt-pen @omgkatinka @star017 @llly113 @sad-ghost-of-garbage @ayamenimthiriel @starstruckkittyangel @summersong69 @notyouraveragemochii @imneonpanda @carriebee1 @ivyfatale @thereisa8ella @lucy930@sarahmichelle5 @stuckupstucky @cleodoramer @kmuir1@elliepower @xobriellaxo24 @xxxkatxo @supernovacocorocha@hennerslionhat @xo-mery-ox @waitedforlove743 @ladamari68@coksy @wickedrum @harleyfranquinn @mysticalstrangerearthquake @justrae9903 @willkatfanfromasia@daddys-littlewhitegirl @cavilladdict @lebguardians@theblondetumbleweed @snowbellexx @radaofrivia@geralttheewitcher @acdd22 @lana-rose5 @skorimizize @abschaffer2

#theborrowerandherbean #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill fanfic #the borrowers #GT #giant little

27 notes · View notes

aurorafreerose · 4 years

Text

Don’t Be Late- Ch 2

Summary- Bakugo and Uraraka go on a walk, but not before Ochaco gets flustered.

Notes- Baku is so clueless while this cinnamon roll over here is an becoming an idiot in love aaaahhh also mild inappropriate-ness(?) but not real smut

Writer’s note- I wrote this while listening to Do I Wanna Know by the Arctic Monkeys, Daddy Issues by the Neighborhood, and I Can’t Handle Change by R.O.A.R. Feel free to join in!

Read on a03!

Ochaco, upon examining herself, found herself wearing a large blue gingham skirt with two layers of fluffy material, ruffles along the edges, a tightly drawn patterned corset, a blue bonnet tied to her head with a silk ribbon, and heavy white stockings leading to a pair of blue high-heeled, lace-up boots. She was holding a large white cane which had a small bell affixed to it, and it rang whenever she wasn't idle.

She was standing in a shockingly green field, and the sun's rays bounced off of her cheeks as she spotted something in the distance.

It was a herd of sheep, except they all had a pair of familiar slanted red eyes and wore rowdy blonde fur instead of their trademark white coats. The cluster reminded her of something- no, someone, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. They all growled at her when they saw her approaching, but gradually let down their guard, and soon, she was able to mingle about them with ease. Before she knew it, Uraraka was tending to a flock of slowly-growing-content Baku-sheep, and actually enjoying herself in the task.

Unfortunately, a soft beeping noise began to disrupt the comfortable routine she'd settled into. She looked around the field for the source of the noise ruining her satisfaction, but it only grew louder and louder, before-

Ochaco's eyes burst open. She was no longer in a field, but laying horizontally across her bed. The sight of a still-beeping alarm clock, the source of the annoying noise that haunted her dreams, greeted her dreary eyes. Her right hand, almost as if it was on cue, slammed the button off. Adjusting to the jarring morning daylight that was peeking through the shutters, Ochaco rubbed her eyelids and leaned forward to check the time.

No way.

10:30??

Oh, no. Oh no, no, no...

Starting to panic, she slipped off the edge, landing uncomfortably in the small gap between her bed and her drawer. Ochaco violently grabbed the alarm clock to examine its contents, hoping what she read was merely an extension of the absurdity clouding her dreams. She grasped the clock, drawing it closer to her eyes in order to confirm what she really hoped, for her own sake, wasn't true.

The universe had no such luck for her in store. The clock still read half-past-ten, and Ochaco was now filled with dread. Realizing her brain had tuned out the clock's irritating beeping noises in her jumbled hurry, she pressed one finger to the button and subsequently jumped out of her bed, imagining obscenities she wouldn't be caught dead saying out loud.

She hurried over to her bathroom and brushed her teeth hurriedly while simultaneously splashing water on her face. Then, Ochaco pulled on an outfit not too dissimilar from the one her new sparring partner had worn yesterday; with cerulean athletic shorts that were slightly too tight and a cropped black tank top made out of a light, breathable fabric, you could almost say they were coordinated. In the rush to conserve time, Ochaco didn't realize this in the moment, but she would regret the choice her subconscious had made on her behalf soon enough.

Grabbing a small black duffel bag that she thankfully had the foresight to pack the previous night, the frantic girl stuffed her feet into a pair of old, worn-out sneakers and threw on a cozy gray sweatshirt. She rushed out of her room, slamming the door with a loud shut behind her. Running as fast as she could down the halls of the girls' dorm, she glanced at her watch.

It was already 10:42?

After what seemed like an eternity, she threw herself down the stairs, stopped halfway to catch her breath, and finally entered the common room.

She didn't particularly want to examine her surroundings, but her eyes seemed to make the trip upwards on their own.

They landed upon a boy with unkempt fluffy blonde hair, about 6'2, leaning with one arm resting on a quartz pillar. He, too, was wearing a tank top, and it was accenting his tantalizing body nicely. Her eyes darted to his abs, which were not concealed at all but instead closely hugging the extremely thin, yet tight, fabric of his top. She could see his rock-hard, roughly carved muscle, the product of lots of intense work. His well-defined arm muscles were plainly visible; his biceps were all but perfectly sculpted, but what really caught her eye were the sharp, angular veins that bulged prominently down his arms. She followed their trail all the way down to his hands, where his veins were most noticeable; they accented his hands nicely, complimenting his long, slender fingers, all of which were about 4.5 inches (she guessed). They were scarred all over, no doubt due to previous fights. His right hand's ring finger and forefinger both sported bare silver bands, while his left's middle finger wore a plain gold one.

It was just a few seconds, but she realized her eyes were greedily drinking in his appearance only when a rough, loud voice snapped her out of her hypnotic trance.

"Oi, what the fuck are you just standing there for?"

Bakugo was staring back at her with a look of disgust, which she assumed was in response to the fact that she had stood at the bottom of the stairs, just looking at him, for a good number of seconds. Heat rushed to her face, and her body turned slightly inwards as she stared at her shoes, too embarrassed to make eye contact with him.

"Anyways," he continued angrily, not appearing to grasp the implications of what had just happened. "You're late. What the fuck did I tell you yesterday? And don't think you can get away with this easily, Angel Face. I woke up on time just to meet you here, and you pull this shit?"

Ochaco's face remained heavily flushed. She still couldn't bring herself to speak to him, mainly because her brain was in overload trying to decipher the events of thirty seconds ago.

"Yes," she wanted to yell back at him, "why was I just standing there? I'm not that kind of person! I'm not like... like Mineta or anything!" she thought, going from bashful to downright indignant. "

Wait, he didn't notice that, so who am I arguing with? I know that I'm not! And it's not like there's anything really special about you, Bakugo, anyway," she thought resentfully.

"I only asked you because you were the one who suggested it in the first place! Bakugo's rude, cocky, disrespectful, inconsiderate, not to mention always angry for no good reason, always! He was kind of like...an angry little Pomeranian."

The tiniest of smiles harbored Ochaco's lips as she raised her face to meet Bakugo's irritated gaze. The thought of him as a tiny puppy who was rapidly barking at everyone had momentarily distracted her from her sentiments. This wasn't lost on him, however.

"Fuck are you smiling at, cheeks?"

"Oh, nothing." She realized that Bakugo wasn't actually angry with her; he was just mildly annoyed. He was just expressing any emotion that verged on the edge of anger with a lot of yelling. Their height difference was even more apparent as Bakugo happened to lay eyes upon a pair of large, doe-like eyes that were now looking up at him. His expression softened momentarily, his eyebrows raising upwards and his mouth dropping slightly open. He drew his face back into its usual trappings of anger, but for some strange reason, he seemed like his temper was evening out.

When he spoke to her, his voice was softer than it was only a few minutes previously. It had taken on an oddly calmer quality, which it suited the brash tones of his voice nicely; he still sounded angry, but just in a different font.

"It doesn't matter anyways," he said in a mollified kind of way, avoiding looking at her as he turned his head to glance in the opposite direction. He looked down at his steel-colored watch. "Damn it, 10:50 already? Let's go, Uraraka."

She nodded silently, not knowing why she didn't feel nearly as angry anymore.

They walked alongside each other on the stone path to the training rooms. For the first few minutes, they were silent. Bakugo firmly kept his hands in his pockets, his fingers jutting out at the sides from the awkward angle he'd inserted them in. He stared straight ahead, a weird mixture of concentration and grit on his face. Ochaco, on the other hand, had noticed his habit of sticking his fingers in his pockets. Then, she blushed, remembering how shamelessly she had admired the very same fingers earlier, and gotten both angry with and ashamed of her own mind. Soon, she was too subdued by her own confused head to even bother with initiating a conversation.

Bakugo, without taking his eyes off of the ground, asked Ochaco: "You figured out I wrote to you, didn't you?"

Ochaco, for the second time that day, snapped out of her self-imposed crisis. "W-what?"she replied, bemused.

"Don't fuck around, cheeks," he said, irritation creeping into his tone. "You figured out that I was the one who assigned to write to you in class?"

"Well," she responded, a smile beginning to appear on her face, her eyes crinkled and one hand touching her neck. "You're the only person I know who calls me Angel Face..."

53 notes · View notes

hayjeon · 5 years

Text

Asphodel (Hades!Yoongi)

→ hades!yoongi and persephone!reader. 2k. → 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 3.5 | 04 | 4.5 | 5 | mlist

A/N: This takes place in the beginning of it all in regards to the storyline. If you ever get confused, I always number these ones in chronological order in my masterlist, but you can read them in any order tbh, which is why I never really title any of the hades/persephone! drabbles with particular parts/numbers. Anyways, I hope you enjoy my dears.

“What can I do?” He says.

You turn, tearing your gaze away from the window where you can distantly see the light at the end of the exit from Tartarus, over the River Styx. It has been weeks. Weeks since you accidentally stumbled into the entrance of the Underworld, weeks since you tried to exit to no avail, weeks since you tried to starve yourself to death, and weeks since you spilled tears night after night. Your eyes are swollen, hair mussed and unbrushed, and skin probably ruined after countless nights of salty tears streaming down your cheeks. Your mother would have a fit if she saw you right now. If.

But she couldn’t. Not here, where her dominion over earth and nature cease to exist. No, this was the Underworld, and there was only one ruler, one person who had sovereignty over the sullen wasteland of doomed souls. And that person was hovering hesitantly in your doorway.

“What can you do?” You sneer back, eyes red and watering again at the sight of him. You turn to him, fists clenching. “You can let me out.”

He sighs. “You already know that if you leave now, your soul will be lost forever. Charon will not let you cross without payment.”

You fall, trembling to your knees at the foot of the bed that the demons had set up for you. It was beautiful in here, the place that the King had mutely called your room. Decorated to the brim with flowers and lit with with as many candles as possible so that the darkness didn’t linger in the corners like it did in all the other corners of this godforsaken castle. The demons had done a good job. But what was the point of having all this in a prison of your own doing?

You had no right to be angry at him. You had no right to be angry at all. It was your own fault you wandered farther than your mother permit you to, and this was a result of your own brazen foolishness. You’d declared when you left that you’d wanted independence from your overboding mother, not to be trapped in literal hell. Now she couldn’t even save you. Now even the King of the Underworld couldn’t save you. Not when Zeus has determined your fate to be the Queen of this world somehow.

He watches you fall into sobs again at his feet, and his jaw clenches. With a sigh, he lowers himself on one knee, just one, since he was a King after all. He reaches out, but stops himself midway. Retracting his hand, he clears his throat.

“May I show you something?” He murmurs, and you raise your head to look at him.

He says nothing, eyes just sadly staring at your features. For a moment, you wonder if Hades actually has the capacity to be able to feel empathy for your plight. But when you nod, he stands, and hesitates, hand twitching like he wants to offer it to you. He turns on his heel, and exits your room like he was never there before.

You follow him, wiping your eyes with your sleeves. You trail closely behind, eyes darting around the lingering shadows at each turn, head darting around at every single movement that you catch in your periphery.

His voice soothes you. “They will not touch you. You should not fear them. They fear you.”

You whip your head to the side to stare into a corridor where you swear you heard something scuttling over the cobblestones. “What?”

He comes to a stop, and turns his gaze over his shoulder on you.

“You’re the Queen of the Underworld. It is given that they fear you.”

You still step a few steps closer, as in the moment you two stop walking, the shadows seem to grow longer and bolder as they stretch toward the hem of your dress. “Let’s go,” you whisper, now only inches away from him. “Please.” You lower your gaze, lashes still trembling and darting around at even the smallest movement or noise.

Yoongi turns to hide his smile.

How hilarious. A queen, afraid of some shadows.

“We will have to pass The Fields of Punishment soon. You will want to avert your eyes for this.”

You step a bit closer to him in the chariot, the air around you getting much darker and denser, and you squeeze your eyes shut as the ground the horses stamped over begins to get bumpier and bumpier. Your fingers clasp at the handle on the chariot, but it does nothing to settle your heart that jumps at every bump the chariot rides over.

Your hair whips around your face and you can feel that there is an immense sort of heat around you, hot on your face and your chest, like you’re standing in front of a huge flame.

“It’s hot,” you mutter, brows furrowing as the heat gets unbearably hot and unsettling on your skin.

Suddenly, a hand comes around your wrist and gently pries it from the tight grip you had on the chariot, and pulls you close. Chills immediately float up your arm, and you realize the cold grip around your wrist is his. He pulls you close, and your eyes flutter open on accident, and you gasp, expecting to be met with the horrors of the Underworld, but all you see is...black.

Black fabric, that slopes up to meet a pale neck. A chin, a straight-set of lips, a nose, and two eyes that are solely focused on the road ahead. The gasp turns into a choke that you swallow down deep and you avert your eyes. His body is cool, and it somehow radiates the coolness enough that the heat you feel dissipates.

He smells good.

Not of the good you’re used to. Not of flowers and sunshine and fresh babbling waterfalls. But of...a warm toasty fire, of sunsets, and of stars twinkling in a moonless night sky. Your fingers curl into his shirt.

“We have arrived,” Yoongi manages to say.

He honestly had no idea how in the underworld he’d made it this far. For most of the journey, he was in shock that you had cradled into his chest, fingers gripping his arms whenever the road got too bumpy, and forehead bumping against his chest sometimes when you lost focus for a moment.

You detach from him, and when your warm body steps away from his, for the first time in eons, Yoongi feels cold. His grip on the reigns is so tight that one of his horses sputters in frustration. He ties them down and helps you down.

“W-what is this place?” Your eyes are wide open as you survey the rolling green fields. It has a light breeze, enough to make your hair move around and away from your face. The flowers are tall enough to graze your fingertips.

“The Fields of Asphodel.” He says.

You step forward, palms facing forward and arms out, as you close your eyes and let the breeze caress your skin. He watches you, watches the way you seem to come to life in this place. If he had a beating heart, it would’ve skipped a beat.

You breathe in, a few tears slipping from your closed lids as the burden on your heart loosens infinitesimally.

“Thank you.” he hears over the breeze. His gaze whips up to your face, where your eyes stare back at his. A glimpse of a smile, too small to register as a real one, flints at your lips. “Will you show me around?”

He nods, stepping forward. “It’s one of the places in the Underworld. The Fields are a home for souls who have done no good and no bad in their lives. They cease to exist here, but exist nonetheless, suspended until they forget why they are here.”

Your eyes are sad. “It’s so beautiful, yet so sad.”

Yoongi nods. He doesn’t know how to respond when your eyes aren’t on the fields, but on him instead.

“Why did you design it like this?” You murmur, fingers grazing the tips of the white flowers. “Fields, with flowers.”

It’s been eons since he’s been here. Yoongi has found no particular reason to revisit this place that took care of itself on its own, where souls entered and left on their own. It looks exactly the same as he’d left it when he’d created the Underworld. But right now, with you standing in it, it seems just a bit more beautiful than he remembers.

“I don’t think it’s sad.” he says. “You may see it as souls ceasing to exist. But I see it as souls receiving the freedom to not exist. You see, the souls that are sent here are humans who had no impact on the world, positive or negative. Therefore, even if they were alive, and even if they had sentience here, they would probably have no reason to wish otherwise. They get the freedom, then, to cease to exist. It is a choice that they would have chosen nonetheless.”

You almost forget what he’s saying. You’d never heard him speak for so long, so intricately. His voice is so low and deep, yet each word is punctuated so clearly and audibly it’s like he’s standing right next to you. But even from a few meters away, his voice sounds like heaven. And what he is saying is even the more beautiful.

You close your eyes, breathing in the scent of the fields. It’s a scent that you remember, a scent that everyone probably has far deep in their memories. It’s just rolling grass fields, dotted with patches of a tall, white flowers. No trees, no streams, no animals. Just as far as you can see, fields of nothingness. Even the sun is nowhere to be seen, but the sky is lit up in a soft blue, like it’s nearing afternoon.

But the scenery is also reminiscent of what your mother used to enjoy, the moment when spring fades into summer, the suspension of time right as one season ends and another begins. Just peace. And calm.

Stooping down, you gather a handful of the white flower in your fist and tug. They give away easily, bouncing in the breeze.

“Thank you.” You breathe. “Please, take me back.”

His eyes are solemnly trained on only you. “Are you sure?”

You nod, fists clenching now on flowers instead. “I’ve seen that the underworld is not what I’ve always thought it was. Please, take me back. I want to find a way to conjure up a payment for Charon.”

For a moment, Yoongi’s eyes seem to falter. But he nods, and turns to get on the chariot.

The walk from the stables back to your room is now less frightening. The shadows do not seem to stretch their fingers to you anymore, but now seem as though they are dancing around with the torches that light up the hallways. He walks you back all the way, though.

You walk in, and set the flowers in a vase atop your nightstand. Your eyes soften when you see a fresh new dress set atop your bed, along with a few tools to tame your hair and wash your face. It was a comforting detail, courtesy of the demons.

He lingers in your doorway, dark and gloomy.

“Maybe one day I will take you to Elysium.” He clears his throat, eyes looking anywhere but you.

“Elysium? The paradise for heroes?” You echo, eyebrow quirking.

“One day.” He says, and finally looks up at you, nodding, and then turning on his heel and exiting as quickly as he had come.

You smile when you can’t hear his footsteps anymore. You wash your face, change into the dress, and brush your hair.

You sit on your bed, and look at the new vase of Asphodel flowers. They’re not as beautiful at first sight as roses are, or lilies. They’re white, but look almost as if they have spikes on them, deterring anyone from coming too close. But when you look closer, the thin-petaled flowers are pure white, with hints of pink. They don’t smell like anything, but they are beautiful, in their own individual way. You would have never given them a second glance on earth.

The demons had decorated your room with as many flowers as they could think of. Each corner of the room, if not occupied with a candle, hosted a vase of flowers, purples and reds and yellows adorning every visible spot. But somehow, in the midst of all these beautiful flowers, the Asphodel ones draw you in the most, settling your heart in a way that you’ve never felt before, even on earth.

The room looks exactly the same as you’d left it. But right now, with the new flowers sitting here, it seems just a bit more beautiful than you remember.

#yoongi angst #yoongi fics #yoongi smut #bts fics #yoongi fluff #hades!yoongi #mine #fics #bts smut #bts scenarios #bts fluff #ok honestly....i love this so much

1K notes · View notes

my-wayward-son · 4 years

Text

Happy Halloween!

Here’s my costume: I’m a steampunk skeleton. Our 10-year-old picked it out for me, and I’m liking how it turned out.

This post is going to be just a small health update, then mostly on trans stuff, because I finally have trans stuff to talk about.

So, health-wise, I’m doing ok. Not tolerating oral food so well, but the tube feeds are just fine. Enemas suck really bad (I had one last night that made me throw up), and I’ve had a few sick days to remind me that I’m still med frag, even when I think I’m on the up.

I’ve also had my last big medical test that’s required before I can meet with my colorectal surgeon and talk about scheduling my colectomy. No guarantee I can actually mark down the date and time for the procedure right now, but that’s the ideal outcome of this upcoming appointment. I want to have this surgery done before the end of the year, so that’s my ultimate hope.

Now, onto the real news. I’ve been on T for 2 years and 4.5 months, and another handful of changes have just dropped themselves into my lap. Here’s a pic where half my face isn’t covered by a mask:

I have a good deal more beard than I did even a few months ago. It’s fuller on my chin (which you can see in the pic), as well as fluffy/peachy on my cheeks and jawline, connecting it wit my sideburns, which are also significant and dark (matching my hair).

My jaw is also squaring up nicely, and I have cheekbones again! I used to have them only when I was quite underweight, but now my face is settling into a more angular shape that I like a lot. Like, a lot.

I think I have grown a bit, both in height and in breadth. A good number of my pants are too short, long sleeved shirts are too short in the arms, and t shirts are too tight around the neck. I’ve also gained weight without necessarily adding inches to my waist, thighs, etc. For the first time in my life, I have a “healthy” BMI for my height. Turns out my body was just made to function on Testosterone in order to be properly working. I’ve had to do a major closet upheaval, which has been simultaneously fun and annoying. A lot of stuff I thought suited me really doesn’t work anymore, including most of my boys’ clothing. I really need mens’ things now (or, you know, at least young mens’ stuff. Like Abercrombie proper instead of Abercrombie kids.)

With all this talk of changing up my look, I’ve decided I want to cut my hair. I’ve been growing it out for a couple years now, and I do enjoy my “Bucky hair,” but it’s far too fine and curly to wear down without it turning messy. I’m also experiencing some medication/testosterone-related hair loss, so I pull out quite a bit of it every time I wash it, which I try not to do very often. Additionally, I tend not to pass very well when people see a relatively petite person in androgynous clothes with a ponytail/man bun (especially when wearing a face mask that covers up my beard). I’ve researched a ton of styles, and I’ve found something I like that I think suits my hair type much better than what I have going on right now. Due to our busy schedule and COVID stuff I can’t have my appointment to get it cut until the middle of November, but I’ll be sure to keep you posted on the evolution of the new look.

#Health Update #trans issues #ftm #life update #Gastroparesis #weight tw

5 notes · View notes

anakinsbugs · 3 years

Text

How To Care For Goldfish

New Post has been published on https://walrusvideo.com/how-to-care-for-goldfish/

How To Care For Goldfish

On This Page

How to Clean a Goldfish Bowl

I bought 2 goldfish, how exactly do I take care of them?

Caring for Your Goldfish in a Fish Bowl Without an Air Pump

Comet Goldfish Breeding, Care, Feeding Care Guide

F eeding Comet Goldfish

Aquarium mates of Comet Goldfish

How To Look After Fancy Cold Water Goldfish

How to Take Care of a Goldfish in a Bowl

Looking After Goldfish: Pet Care for Healthy Fish

Beginner’s Guide to Caring for Goldfish

Aquarium Care for Fantail Guppies

Shubunkin Goldfish: How to care for them properly

What Do Shubunkin Goldfish Look Like?

How to Clean a Goldfish Bowl

Many pet goldfish may not live as long as they should. Goldfish have the potential to live a decade or more, not a year or even just months. The reason for this shorter lifespan is due to improper care. Two common mistakes are overfeeding, and irregular water changes.

Can Betta fish live together with goldfish? Goldfish shouldn’t be kept with other tropical fish either. Since goldfish are very dirty, they need frequent water changes. First of all, they are both irritable species. This is because a typical goldfish grows up to 12 inches.

That was five years ago. It lived for a year or two, often less. Just because they can survive does not mean they should be subjected to this kind of treatment. I plan to buy a common goldfish from the shop, but I need to know the minimum tank size! What size tank do goldfish need?

Common goldfish (the ones you can win at folk festivals) are actually one of the largest goldfish species, reaching over 18 inches in length and weighing up to ten pounds. Even the smallest goldfish species reach between four and seven inches in length as adults. They are best suited to aquariums with a capacity of 20 gallons or more, not fish bowls. The size of your goldfish’s aquarium will affect its growth to some degree. Would-be are other factors to consider, such as the fish’s diet and its environment’s cleanliness. Dependent on the species and the factors mentioned above, a goldfish can grow up to one metre long or as small as two inches.

I bought 2 goldfish, how exactly do I take care of them?

Many of us can remember our childhood goldfish, won at the fair or bought from our parents, who carefully replaced dead fish with identical replacements hoping that we would never notice. As a result, many people still consider a jar to be a suitable environment for a goldfish. Although the term goldfish jar seems as obvious as a rabbit hutch, dog bed or cat flap, it is one of those labels, along with terms like bullfight and mousetrap, that refer to animals in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The best way to transfer a new goldfish to its new home is to leave it in the oxygen and water-filled bag that the pet shop employee put your new pet in. Just put it directly into the goldfish tank or tank and wait until the water temperatures are the same. Don’t forget him in the bag as he only has so much oxygen and if you leave him in there too long, he will probably suffocate and die. When the water temperatures are the same (10 to 15 minutes), carefully release the fish and the bag water into the new tank.

I did not buy this tank, but be careful if you do. This is a 10gal tank which is barely big enough for 1 goldfish. Goldfish can grow to an 8-12 inch depending on the species and should be kept in a 20gal, if we are honest. But if you decide to put a goldfish in here, only put one in as they produce large amounts of ammonia. Putting more than 1 in at a time would spell death in less than 2 weeks. If you decide to use a schooling fish, do not put more than 5 small fish such as barbs or guppies

Caring for Your Goldfish in a Fish Bowl Without an Air Pump

When you have many goldfish you have in a tank, more oxygen is needed to keep them healthy. Try adding an air pump to move the surface of the water. The air bubbles don’t really add oxygen, but moving the surface will help. The best solution to maximise the water’s oxygen is to follow the rule: The larger the surface area, the more oxygen in the water. For this reason, you should prefer a wide goldfish bowl to a tall, narrow one.

Although goldfish can make great pets and are easy to care for, it is important to recognise the signs of a sick or dying fish so that you can look after it. If your goldfish is just below the surface of the water or is gasping for air bubbles, it may be having trouble breathing. If this is the case, use a freshwater test kit to see if there is enough oxygen in the water. If not, you may need to repair or replace the air pump. You should also see if your fish has stopped interacting with things or is just resting on the bottom of the aquarium, which may be a sign of illness.

When caring for fish, goldfish need large, spacious tanks with clean water. Goldfish need filters and occasional air stones. Goldfish are related to carp and other cyprinids and don’t really need heating. Can I keep a goldfish in a tank? Do I need an air stone for my goldfish? Do goldfish need heating? Can a goldfish live without a filter or air pump? What do goldfish eat?

They are also practically schooling fish, which means you need to keep them in a group of about 5 or even more. White Cloud Mountain Minnows, Rosey Red Minnows and some Danios can comfortably share a goldfish tank. Goldfish are largely classified as cold-water fish by experts. Disadvantages of keeping pinto barbs with goldfish: Pinto barbs are just big enough, at about 2 inches, to live safely with goldfish. So look for goldfish breeds that are an excellent match.

Comet Goldfish Breeding, Care, Feeding Care Guide

Goldfish are sociable, show schooling behaviour and exhibit the same types of feeding behaviour. Goldfish can show similar behaviour when responding to their reflection in a mirror. Goldfish have a learned behaviour, both as a group and as individuals, derived from the behaviour of native carp. They are a generalist species with multiple feeding, breeding and predation avoidance behaviour that will contribute to their continued success. As fish, they can be described as “friendly” to each other. Very rarely does a goldfish injure another goldfish, nor do males injure females during breeding.

Feeding Comet Goldfish

Shubunkin goldfish spawn in the spring months. To simulate this natural tendency, lower the breeding tank’s temperature to 60°F (15.5°C). A good idea to increase the temperature by 3 degrees each day over the next few days until you reach 22°C. The colours of the males become brighter, and they chase the females. The males then poke the females into the plants (or pugs), which encourages them to lay their eggs.

Goldfish are one of the most popular group of fish in artificial tanks. They are particularly popular in the East. Thus, the Chinese tradition of keeping these fish goes back to ancient historical periods. There is no other fish species that has such a wide variety of breeding morphs. In our country, too, goldfish have been known for a long time (remember at least the goldfish from the story by A. S. Pushkin) and are considered a symbol of well-being and prosperity.

A swim bladder is a gas-filled sac inside most fish that controls their buoyancy in the water. Problems with the swim bladder cause fish to have difficulty swimming, which is common in fan-tail goldfish. Bacterial infections and air swallowing are thought to be common causes of swim bladder problems. Feeding a varied diet can help with prevention. Swim bladder problems are usually not life-threatening but can be a symptom of a more serious condition. If a fish is suffering badly for more than a day or two, it may be worthwhile to use a swim bladder medication.

A varied diet will maximise the health of your goldfish (Carassius auratus). A mixture of special goldfish flakes and granules

Aquarium mates of Comet Goldfish

When temperatures are high, nobody keeps coldwater fish. Likewise, in areas of the planet where the climate means even an unheated aquarium runs at tropical temperatures, it’s often common practice to stay fancy goldfish in with surprisingly different tank mates like a discus. Given the fragile nature of a number of the highly bred sorts of goldfish, we will see that a pleasant warm tank may be a great environment for them and that they will often thrive.

Goldfish are probably the most misunderstood aquarium fish out there. Even though it is the most popular aquarium fish in the world, few people have a clear understanding of these fish. Nothing demonstrates this more than the topic of tankmates. It immediately generates a reaction of ‘nothing can go with goldfish, they are coldwater’. This is wrong in many ways.

The comet goldfish, also known as Carassius auratus auratus has been with us since the end of the 1800s. Hugo mulertt is credited with the selective breeding program which led to the creation of this fish from wild Prussian carps. Since then it has taken the aquarium hobby by storm and this shows no signs of stopping. They are well received in the hobby because of their hardiness and vibrant colours. A healthy comet can live up to 14 years old and grow up to 12 in length.

Plants for goldfish like tank mates are tricky. You have a number of things working against you when it comes to them. Because goldfish like cold water that is 7-8 in ph, this eliminates the majority of tropical aquarium plants available for sale. Goldfish also love to gobble up plants. They will eat just about any plant you stick in the tank. Another factor is that goldfish stir up the substrate, which means that if you have any rooted plants that need to be established in your substrate, it is likely that your goldfish will dig it out.

How To Look After Fancy Cold Water Goldfish

Q: How much can a goldfish weigh? a: Adult goldfish can weigh up to 4.5 kg (10 lbs), but this is rare. However, it is not unrealistic for a goldfish to weigh 2.25 kg (5 lbs). Q: Do goldfish have ears? a: Goldfish have ears, but not like you and me. They have inner ear bones called otoliths that can feel vibrations. Avoid tapping on the glass as this can stress or even kill them. Q: Do goldfish have lungs? a: Goldfish do not have lungs. Goldfish breathe by sucking in oxygenated water through their mouths.

Many potential aquarium mates are ruled out right off the bat because they cannot sleep in a similar temperature range as goldfish. Goldfish are classified as “cold-water fish”. Technically this term is incorrect, but most people within the hobby refer to them as temperate fish that prefer to live in a temperature range between 65° and 75°f (18°-24°c).

I have had 2 armoured catfish in my goldfish tank for two months, and they get on well together! Is this ok? Corys need to be kept preferably in a group of at least six to feel comfortable. I wouldn’t recommend it for keeping them with goldfish, but I’m no expert either. Good luck! Beautiful fish. I think peppered corals do well in colder water temperatures. I would double-check that the species you have likes the temperature of your tank, to be sure. Goldfish should not eat them as corals grow large and have these spines.

A fish with a characteristic arched back, prolonged, sensitive to temperature parameters, does not tolerate cold. All species of goldfish are targeted in spacious open or artificial reservoirs. The optimal temperature is 20. 25 degrees Celsius. The ph-value should be 6. 9-7. 2. water hardness. From 8 units. Among the goldfish, there are cold-blooded individuals. These include the telescope and some other elongated subspecies.

How to Take Care of a Goldfish in a Bowl

If you think of the goldfish you saw in bowls as a child, at a friend’s house, or even at school, they were probably subjected to the “classic goldfish care”. This care was essentially water + fish + bowl, and then they were done! Of course, the other side of this “care” was replacing the goldfish every 1-3 months after it died.

Don Hurst estimates that he has given away millions of goldfish at fairs over the last 25 years. Fairgoers win a fish in a plastic bag by throwing a ping-pong ball into a bowl. Since Hurst sells eight balls for a dollar and 20 for two dollars, the odds of winning are pretty good. Hurst believes that most of the fish he puts out will make it home. But how long they live afterwards depends on how they are cared for. Optimal conditions include a tank with a cover, the right kind of water, a filtration system and sunlight.

The fancy goldfish has been misrepresented over the years. People believe that it needs little or no care and can thrive in a tank. In reality, however, the goldfish has just as many needs as any other tropical fish: good water quality, temperature, good filtration and good food. It is important to understand the needs of your goldfish to keep it happy and healthy.

Looking After Goldfish: Pet Care for Healthy Fish

Answer: Feed quantity and quality is the key to correct goldfish care. It has a direct effect on your fish’s health. When goldfish food is analysed, it has been found to contain more carbohydrates than others, and it contains less protein than other fish foods. Local pet shops already have ready-made goldfish food, so you shouldn’t just take any food. Can be the form of flakes, pellets or a mixture of both.

There is no clear answer to this question. In their natural state, these fish eat small meals throughout the day and are healthy. Smaller meals at shorter intervals are easier on the digestive tract. Small meals include a few flakes or pellets per fish. Observing behaviour during feeding time will help owners know if their animals need more food. If the goldfish still seem to be in a frenzy when all the food is gone, they may need a little more at the next feeding. It is important to watch all the fish individually to see if they are getting their fair share.

Fish used to be sold as low-maintenance pets, but the reality is that keeping them and keeping them healthy requires a lot more care than the average cat. If you are getting a fish for a child, be aware that the costs involved can exceed those of the average family mogul who needs good food, a few vaccinations, flea and worm treatments and a warm lap.

Beginner’s Guide to Caring for Goldfish

Goldfish are undoubtedly among the most popular aquarium fish globally and are typically the first to enter to the mind of beginners when they consider setting up an aquarium. And for a good reason. Goldfish are extremely common, making them cheap and easy to find, and information about their care is readily available. With that being said, people who are more likely to venture into the world of tropical fish keeping are often left wondering if one goldfish or more could survive in their tropical tank, and the answer, as with many things, is not really that simple.

After reading this guide, you should know if the Comet Goldfish is the right fish for your aquarium. They bring both a vibrant personality and bright colours to your aquarium. Just remember that they can grow substantial, although they can be as small as 2 inches as juveniles. While they are not demanding to keep, they require a large tank, which generally means they are not suitable for beginners.

Provides simple information on caring for a goldfish, including feeding, cleaning the tank and what to do if they are sick.

Fish are the jewel in any pond. Their beautiful colours will brighten up your garden oasis, and you, your children and your guests will love watching them dart around the rocks and plants. And they are the easiest pets you will ever own. Pond fish like koi and goldfish don’t require much more than food and shelter for all the fun they provide.

Aquarium Care for Fantail Guppies

The care of ornamental goldfish is very similar to that of other goldfish, except that they can be kept quite easily in aquaria. Goldfish ideally should be kept at least in pairs, and a 29-gallon tank is a minimum for two smaller goldfish, such as pearl scales, fanfish or ranchu. On the other hand, some ornamental fish, such as orangas, reach 10 or more inches in length and require a 40-gallon minimum.

Freshwater aquariums are very colourful. The planted plants, including ornamental fish, snails, crayfish and shrimp, swim and play make it a real water garden. Are crustaceans suitable in a fish tank? Aquarists recommend carefully selecting fish that is placed in a freshwater shrimp tank. The compatibility of shrimp with guppies, some species of catfish and zebra danios have been proven. Shrimp is a delicious delicacy for much freshwater fish. So you want to create a friendly aquatic nursery in your own home where there is no room for hunting and hostility, read the information on who is acceptable for shrimp.

The Ryukin goldfish from the Ryukyu Islands is a popular goldfish bred in Japan. It looks similar to the fan-tailed goldfish but is set apart by a distinctive hump on the head’s back that raises the dorsal fin. The long tail fins can have three or four lobes, with the three-lobed ryukin having what the Japanese call a “cherry blossom tail”. There are several goldfish species of ryukin, the Yamagata Kingyo, Sabao and Tamasaba, which have been bred to have only a single caudal fin.

Guppies are another common tropical aquarium fish. Other names they are called by are million fish and rainbowfish. They are one of the best beginner fish for pet owners or hobbyists to start with. Their colourful bodies add excitement to aquariums. They are inexpensive and also fairly easy to keep. Guppies can live happily in a 5 gallon to 10-gallon size tank.

Shubunkin Goldfish: How to care for them properly

Goldfish kept alone need a lot of space. Common goldfish is best not to keep comets and shubunkins together with ornamental goldfish. Also, some ornamental goldfish such as Orandas, Black Moors and Fantails should not be kept together with other ornamental fish species such as Ranchus. The main reason for this is that the faster fish may eat all the food before the slower, more delicate species can get their share. Nipping fins can also be a factor and something the more petite and slower goldfish cannot avoid.

Having goldfish is great. They swim around in their tanks and are so happy as if they don’t have to worry about anything in the world. Of course, in most cases, they don’t. As long as you look after them, anyway. They don’t have bills to pay, they don’t have to hunt for food themselves, and they don’t have to worry about disposing of their waste. What better life could a fish ask for?

Goldfish have wonderful personalities that really shine through when you look after them properly. They are also intelligent enough to recognise their owners and get particularly excited when begging for food.

Caring for your goldfish should be done according to their basic needs. Even though they are recommended for beginners, these magnificent representatives of the underwater world have their own peculiarities of the aquarium contents. It would be best to take care of each representative of the different subspecies in its own way. There are only native goldfish for which the temperature of the environment and their other characteristics are important. Consider how to keep each species properly and who can survive outdoors.

What Do Shubunkin Goldfish Look Like?

Obtaining a regular goldfish is one of the easiest ways to give your goldfish a new aquarium buddy. Your fish may need another goldfish to combat loneliness. You can add different varieties of goldfish to the tank if you are looking for variation. Goldfish come in a large range of colours. You may have seen one in orange, yellow, red, gold, silver and white. Regular goldfish, shubunkins and comets are all excellent choices for building a community tank.

There are three main types of goldfish that have only one tail: Common, Comet, Shubunkin. The common goldfish are the classic orange ones you see at fairs or pet shops for 7-20 cents. Comet goldfish tend to have the same colour variations as common goldfish, although there are a few more white and yellow ones or ones with coloured spots.

Goldfish are hardy fish. However, like all other fish, they are attacked by Ich. The nasty parasite also shows up in shubunkins. You will notice your fish scratching at the tank walls and decorations, trying to scrape off the white spots. These white spots can spread, open and cause further infection from the water’s bacteria if you do not treat them immediately.

The best-known goldfish breeds to date include the veil tail, riukin, telescope, lion head, redcap, pearl mussel, shubunkin. They are popular mainly because of their undemanding nature and ability to live in conditions with low temperatures. Goldfish Compatible Fishes Socialising other cold-water fish with goldfish is not a simple matter of going to the pet shop, buying anything that can survive in cold water, and socialising it with goldfish. A whole world of problems awaits those who think it is anything other than advanced goldfish keeping. It is worth pointing out that narrow-breasted and thick-breasted goldfish species should ideally not be kept together. The narrow-breasted goldfish, such as common, comet and shubunkin, will have eaten all the food before the fat-breasted goldfish (most ornamental goldfish) realise it is time to feed.

Caring for your Fish Not every goldfish will stay small. Comet goldfish, Sarasa, shubunkin and koi are pond-dwelling fish that outgrow smaller environments quickly. A goldfish housed in a tank that is too small will develop life-threatening health problems. The average size of an adult comet, Sarasa or shubunkin, is 18 – 25 cm (7 – 10 in). Double-tailed or fan-tailed species can be bred in small aquariums, provided they are not overpopulated. There are numerous species from which to choose. They will have egg-shaped bodies with numerous different fin shapes. The colours range from red to orange, white or black, calico or any other combination in a fish.

The shubunkin goldfish comes in two varieties (London shubunkin and Bristol shubunkin). Its body looks similar to that of the common or comet goldfish, but its colours are very similar to fancy goldfish. It has a caudal fin, a dorsal fin and paired pectoral and pelvic fins. The Bristol is larger, and its caudal fin is rounder than that of London.

The post How To Care For Goldfish appeared first on Our Animal Friends.

The Article How To Care For Goldfish First Appeared ON : https://gqcentral.co.uk

#gallery-1 margin: auto; #gallery-1 .gallery-item float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; #gallery-1 img border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; #gallery-1 .gallery-caption margin-left: 0; /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Go to Source Author: Robin

0 notes

gerbiloftriumph · 4 years

Text

So you wanna be a king (pt6)

Or, at the least, you want very much to cosplay one, and you have put too much time and energy into this to stop now. Let’s finish this costume.

Part 6: The Adventuring Cap (and also hair and some makeup)

The rest of the tutorials are here: cloak, tunic, pants/boots, bracers/pouch, accessories, and as always, I’m a novice cosplayer making all this up as I go along, so feel free to ignore me or steal my ideas and run.

There’s one last piece to this costume. Something important. Something that unifies Graham across the years from 1983 to 2015: his adventuring cap.

Even when he has his crown on, that old hat isn’t far away. So let’s get into it.

But before we can actually start sewing a hat, we need to talk...hair. Because that will probably alter the hat size.

Hair (and also make-up):

Should you be blessed with the slightly curly black hair Graham has, then that’s fantastic!

I do not have such hair.

You remember how hot this costume is? At least three shirts, one and a half pants, a cloak, a cowl, bracers, and knee high boots? Let’s make it worse by adding a wig.

I buy all my wigs from Arda Wigs--I love that quality and those nice prices. I’m the sort of person who pulls the wig out of the bag, fluffs it up with hairspray (got2b glued is a miracle in a can), and runs, but should you want to try heat sculpting, they’re great wigs for that too.

Since I’m revealing all my secrets, this particular wig is a Benny in Deep Brown (when I bought it it was called Natural Black, but I think it’s the same color). It’s warmer than their pure black, which I wanted for this sunshine boy. https://arda-wigs.com/products/benny-classic?variant=27836199174

Incidentally, while we’re here, some quick make-up things:

If you can’t grow your own beard, spray some hairspray on your chin and sideburn patches, take an old tube of mascara (the older and weaker the more control you have--gosh that sounds mean), and build up your own with downward brush strokes. A little goes a shockingly long way--I tend to overdo it myself. Use an eyebrow wand brush to shape the beard and make it look more natural. Seal with more hairspray, maybe a touch of setting powder.

For the freckles, I smear a thin layer of eyeshadow primer across nose and cheekbones, and then go ham with a marker eyeliner in dark brown. Seal it with a touch of setting powder. I promise, it will go absolutely nowhere, even in the hot RenFest July sun, unless you yourself rub it. (I carry both beard and freckles makeup tubes in my pouch, just in case.)

Okay, fine, we’re done stalling. You want the hat, so let’s do it.

Hat time!

First, vocab lesson! Repeat after me: bycocket. That’s the name of your hat. It’s a medieval cap popular among men, women, nobility, and business classes. And also, yes, with Robin Hood too.

http://honorbeforevictory.com/14th-c-embriodered-bycocket-cap-of-maintenance-with-a-split-loop-seam-tutorial/ - I found my template from this page and scaled it up. Other Robin Hood hat tutorials will also likely suit, but this is my semi-tutorial, so this is what I used.

I bought what looks like less than a yard of some light blue denim and some dark blue denim. I wanted the stiffness of the fabric to help hold the triangular shape, thus, the denim. I also happened to have a large quantity of semi-stiff orange felt for some reason, which I used as a core strengthener, but this core is almost certainly unnecessary. The hat keeps its shape really well once it’s on your head--no wonder it was so popular. Feel free to skip the core if you want.

Grab your measuring tape, plonk your wig on your head, and measure where the hat will sit. I got 24″ around. Feel free to make tests with that boundless scrap from the rest of this cosplay to get the size you want. My shape is 14.5″ long, and 11″ from its highest tip to its brim. Don’t forget to add half an inch of hemming space to your pattern (which in my case is made of scraps of paper taped together because I Am Cheap).

Test your samples, adjust the pattern as necessary to make sure you’re happy with the brim length and how it sits.

At this point, I made another one of those choices. For some reason, I intentionally transposed the colors, putting the darker color for the main body and the lighter color for the brim. I don’t know why.

The following tutorial will get confusing if you look only at the colors. I didn’t have a lot of images of the process, and I felt like redoing the hat with the correct color order this week. Because I could. So, ignore the colors as some pictures are old and some are new, and look at the text instead. For reference, all things will be referred to via this image terminology:

Your top color will be cut exactly to the pattern size you like (with that .5″ hem margin, as usual). Your brim color, however, gets an additional half inch on the bottom, where you wear it. For a visual, like this:

This way, you can fold the brim over the rest of your hat sandwich (...I’ll explain that, hang on), to sew a video-game-clean line.

Cut two identical shapes from each color, not forgetting that extra half inch on the brim bottom pieces. Sew them along the half inch hemline, so that you have two (three if you’re making a core) separate triangles, open at the bottom since that’s, y’know, where your head goes. They’re kinda like little tents.

Take your scissors and cut out tiny triangles close to, but not into, the hem stitch at the top curve, so that you can poke a smooth arc into the top (see visual below). Iron all hems flat. Take your top piece and turn it inside out, with the hem sitting inside. The core (if you’re making one) and your brim will remain inside-out looking, because that’s how you’ll build your hat sandwich.

It’ll look like this. I stuffed the core piece inside the top piece, then shoved the brim piece into the core piece. All three pieces are tightly, cleanly, stacked together. It’s a hat sandwich! Stitch the hats together in key places so they don’t shift--like at the top of the arc, and in a few places along the hemlines.

Starting at the hemline in the back, fold the extra half inch from the brim piece up, curl it over itself just a smidge so your line stays nice and clean, pin, and hand stitch the top and brim together.

It’s a bit tricky to get a photo of what it looks like, but once it’s all done and you fold up the brim, the stitches will be hidden, giving you that nice clean edge.

Should you be so inclined, at this point you could get fancy with embroidery (that split loop stitch from the bycocket tutorial is one I eventually want to add), or determine a nice way to add the trim to the brim. Which I haven’t yet so...you’re on your own.

(Incidentally, if you’re in a hurry and you have one fabric choice like a sturdy felt, or maybe you’re doing Ch1Graham and don’t want to deal with this double-color nonsense, you can always go with a single sheet method. Cut the usual two triangles of your single sheet, sew them together like normal, but stop sewing when you get to the fold of the brim. That’s about 4.5″ along the back for me. Turn the whole hat inside out, so the nice hem is along the top, pin and sew the back flap that you had left unstitched, and when you fold up the brim, the ugly hem is hidden inside. A visual example is here:

For the feather, I chose an ostrich feather because A: It’s huge and flouncy and bouncy and I like that, and B: ....it’s what the craft store had at the time. Because I figured I’d need to eventually replace it over time and wear, I did loose ugly stitchwork just under the brim, so I can unpick it and replace it as needed.

And with that, my friend, you are A Whole Entire King.

Go memorize some addenda, go act with bravery and compassion and wisdom, go make friends with some squirrels, and please watch out for fairy tale obsessed goblins.

Always seek adventure~!

(And that’s all for the cosplay how to semi-tutorial series! I hope it was helpful! If you have questions, feel free to DM me. I’m happy to help you look your best! At this point, that’s my last post on this topic unless someone asks for how I made the crown. 👑 Let me know if you want that too~)

#King's Quest #kings quest #King Graham #ta-daaaah that's it~ i hope it helped someone~!#cosplay #tutorial

17 notes · View notes

elixir448 · 4 years

Text

Thanks to the lovely @annika77 for tagging me!

1. Are you named after anyone?

Nope. Although, I was named by my half-brother who I’m now estranged from but that’s a whole other story lol.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Jesus. I don’t actually know for sure. I don’t cry particularly often (I used to) but I kind of wish I did because I tend to shut down when I get emotional now. Probably the night after my dad’s funeral a few months ago. We weren’t particularly close and had an extremely complicated relationship.

3. Do you have kids?

Nope. I never really grew up around people younger than me and I’ve never really wanted kids. I’m told by my mum that I’ll feel differently once I have my own but she wants loads of grandkids so she’s definitely not impartial.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Yup. I have a fairly dry, sardonic sense of humour but my best friend said that it’s the main reason she likes me soooo yeah.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Appearance wise, probably their skin. I’m a skincare fanatic myself and it’s one reason of a very long list that I think Christina Hendricks is a literal angel.

Personality wise, I tend to notice how loud and obnoxious people are and then run in the other direction if it’s too much.

6. What colour are your eyes?

Brown.

7. Scary movies or happy ending?

I’m not particularly into either to be honest. I like watching horror movies with friends but it’s literally the only situation I will watch them because the plots tend to be so boring. Happy endings are great sometimes. I dunno.

This doesn’t answer the question but I enjoy psychological thrillers.

8. Any special talents?

Hmmmm. Nothing really. I’m very introverted despite working in a very extroverted role (by choice haha).

9. Where were you born?

Britain. I never actually went abroad for the first 21 years of my life.

10. What are your hobbies?

I always struggle with questions like this. If I had to give an answer, my hobby is probably doing anything related to whatever my current obsession is. And that’s been Good Girls for a pretty long time haha.

Funnily enough, I actually don’t enjoy doing a lot of stuff that people think I enjoy doing. Like, I cook and I bake but I never actually enjoy the process, only the end product. I’m also very conscious of time and multi-task a lot, to the point that I will get frustrated as time passes while I’m chopping a tomato. Or I’ll try and do things in the kitchen simultaneously, when it makes no sense and is frankly dangerous and risks destroying my food.

11. Do you have a pet?

Nope. My family never had pets growing up either. I do love dogs and cats though and I don’t think I could ever decide which to have as a pet.

12. What sports do you play / have you played?

I actually don’t play any sports. I am fairly active though and go running and do other workouts a few times a week at least, mainly for stress relief.

13. How tall are you?

5 ft 4.5 inches. That 0.5 is important.

14. Dream job?

The field I’m currently in luckily!

15. Favourite subject in school?

I enjoyed all the subjects I chose myself in school, which were maths, english and the sciences. I did English and the sciences all the way through though. It was a hard decision not to do maths in my final year at school.

I’m tagging anyone who wants to do this!

#no clue how to tag this and i'm not sure anyone's interested in it haha

5 notes · View notes

amateur-theater-critic-blog · 5 years

Text

Choir Boy

Haven’t posted in a while, haven’t I? Don’t worry, I’m not dead yet. Anyway, back to the review.

Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Broadway play Choir Boy is an absolute tearjerker, a story of a boy who gets everything he believes is a part of him stripped away until he can find it within himself to rise again, using the medium of black culture very well to bring in a majorly white audience. While there were sad scenes within the actual script, I cried the most at the end, when the whole play and all it was saying finally collapsed onto me. It doesn’t matter what other people think you are, or even what you think you are, as long as you have somebody on your side, you can always take a breath and start again.

Unlike a similar musical (Medicine the Musical) this play actually has something very near to a cohesive plot. All of the interactions and communications are little threads that get woven together exceptionally well through song (which I will touch on later) and dialogue. We feel bad for all the characters caught up in Pharus’s exuberance. While Bobby Marrow is portrayed as the bully riling up the gay kid in an all-boys high school, we learn things about him that make us feel pity for him and his attempt to maintain normalcy in a world that feels like it is changing too fast for him (it doesn’t excuse his behavior, but it makes him three dimensional). Similarly, I didn’t initially realize why David Heard was such an important character, but his arc crescendoed and in the end, I realized his importance all along and the interactions he had with Pharus before we knew his importance as the (SPOILERS) secret boyfriend. All parts of the story work together.

However, it isn’t completely perfect. The time frame of the story feels too long, and while I wouldn’t know anything about grudges as I’ve never had a fight that lasted a week (I like to resolve things quickly), the story of the play didn’t feel like it lasted a whole year. It may have been because there were no interactions between Bobby Marrow and Pharus Young outside of choir, and thus didn’t feel like they could grow the grudge the entire summer and eventually the school year, but apparently, it did. On the other hand, the story can’t be cut down, because there are multiple important plot points that occur at what I believe was the end of the previous school year.

In addition, there are a few plot threads that don’t seem to go anywhere but are needed to move forward a different plot thread, so it makes it okay in the long run.

The music is phenomenal. Due to the nature of the whole play - i.e. it taking place with a choir group, all of the songs make sense. And that’s without factoring in the heavy religious themes and ideas sprinkled in and a lot of black culture being ingrained in music and dance. I never felt that the story had suddenly veered into song and I didn’t understand why. It made sense. Each song had a place, and each song progressed the plot. Everything felt like it was there for a reason, and that is the best feeling to have with a musical. Moving on to my favorite part of the whole play, the lighting, and the staging. I was in awe of the purposeful lighting set up in the theater, how the ending of scenes could be punctuated by lighting the departure of one character in a very casual and blase manner, while also being subtle with other patterns and textures in the light. It was glorious. They made marvelous use of the stage and every square inch of the set was used to portray further character development. I loved it.

All in all, it is a beautiful production and really deserves its place on Broadway. The acting is amazing, directing is on point, the lighting couldn’t be better and the songs were worked in exactly as a musical should work in songs. I would certainly recommend this to everyone if they can go see it. It tells the tale of someone who feels like they only belong for one reason only.

Rating: 4.5/5

Tickets Available through February 24th

http://choirboybroadway.com/

Trigger Warning: somebody gets punched pretty bad, liberal use of racial and gay slurs (specifically the n-word).

Cast and Credits:

Junior Davis -- Nicholas L. Ashe

Anthony Justin “AJ” James -- John Clay III

Headmaster Marrow -- Chuck Cooper

David Heard -- Caleb Eberhardt

Bobby Marrow -- J. Quinton Johnson

Mr. Pendleton -- Austin Pendleton

Pharus Jonathan Young -- Jeremy Pope

Ensemble -- Daniel Bellomy, Jonathan Burke, Gerald Caesar, Marcus Gladney

Director -- Trip Cullman

General Manager -- Florie Seery

Scenic and Costume Designer -- David Zinn

Lighting Design -- Peter Kaczorowski

Original Music and Sound Design -- Fitz Patton

Hair and Make-up Design -- Cookie Jordan

Fight Direction -- Thomas Schall

Choreography -- Camille A. Brown

Production Stage Manager -- Narda E. Alcorn

Casting -- Nancy Piccione & Kelly Gillespie

#Choir Boy #musical #theater #review #play #4.5/5 #amateur theater critic #lgbt

2 notes · View notes

fabermemorialrink · 7 years

Text

Day 2 of nurseydex week (bed sharing/room sharing)! Continues in the same universe as day 1.

“Come on up,” Dex says as he unlocks the door. There are trees lining the sidewalk in front of the brick building, and at this time of night, even only a few streets away from the nearest T station, the city is quiet. It’s as quaint as you can get in a metropolitan setting without having to move far west enough to wind up in the suburbs, and Dex admits that he’s grown used to it.

“I’m still blown away by how good you got at riding the subway,” Nursey says, nudging him with an elbow as they climb the stairs to Dex’s fourth floor apartment. “Remember that time you somehow wound up over in Queens?” he asks, teasing.

“That’s because your stupid train routes make zero sense,” Dex gripes.

“You’re a smart guy, Dex; you can figure out public transportation. I believe in you. Besides, it’s not that much better here.”

“It’s easier! There’s only five lines.” Nursey rolls his eyes.

“And I quote, ‘The green line is literally the fifth circle of hell and I hate everyone on it, including myself.’ Said by you only three weeks ago. Insightful, really.”

“One, that was a one-off comment, and two, okay, it wasn’t. I mean that always; the green line is a travesty and a curse. Trains are bad.”

“Well, I’m just proud of you for not throwing down against the ticket machine,” Nursey laughs.

They're more or less meandering upwards, slowly working off the heaviness of dinner and drinks. In the cool stillness of an early June evening, the glow of a late summer sunset seems still to be hanging in the air even though the day grows late. A thin line of music can be heard from through the walls - Édith Piaf, from what Dex can make out as they pass.

Nursey’s fingers brushes against Dex’s as they round the last flight, and Dex instinctively resists his desire to link their hands, then remembers that he can totally do that now. So he does, taking Nursey’s hand, then forcibly cracking two of his knuckles; Nursey yelps, and reflexively clenches his fingers hard around Dex’s until he’s wincing too.

“Ow, you dick, I’m trying to compliment you here,” Nursey says with a pout, and Dex leaves a kiss on the back of his hand before letting them into his apartment.

Nursey has a tendency these days to turn into jelly when he's both sleepy and a little drunk, so they manage to get a glass of water in him and kiss lazily against Dex’s fridge for a few minutes until he starts to dissolve into pudding in Dex’s arms.

“Well, that answers one question,” Dex says into a sea of dark curls as Nursey tries again to nap vertically on him and they begin listing toward one side.

“Mmm, yeah, I think the only sleeping with you I’m up to right now is the literal kind,” Nursey mumbles against his throat, and Dex gently starts walking them backwards toward his bedroom.

“Sounds good to me.” He keeps one hand at Nursey’s waist and the other at the small of his back to guide him across the floor. Nursey’s arms are still wrapped around him like a kite in a tree, but they manage despite his tendencies.

“I take back everything I said about your dancing skills,” Nursey says as Dex turns them so he can drop him softly on the bed without Nursey sending them both crashing to the ground.

“Pretty fly for a white guy, eh?”

“Wow, okay, never mind.” Nursey laughs quietly into the pillow as Dex flips him off and returns to undoing the buttons on his shirt. It's one that Dex recognizes, which means they've been dating for long enough that Dex has started to memorize the contents of Nursey's closet again. The thought doesn't annoy him the way it did back in school, when he’d reach for a shirt and come up with a soft-knit sweater because Nursey had accidentally stolen his clothes again.

Nursey’s hands come up to bracket Dex’s hips as each button is freed. They're older now, obviously, but he still looks as sweetly pliant as he used to those odd nights Dex helped put him to bed after a kegster. It had been a different kind of yearning back then, new and undefined and terrifying, too much for the fragile peace they were building between themselves to explore. That was the working excuse anyway, more and more inapplicable as time went on, but it was what Dex held onto to protect his heart.

Now, he can lean down and press a kiss to Nursey’s lips if he wants to, his heartbeat only skipping because Nursey can still leave him breathless no matter how many years pass. He does so, and Nursey tries to tug him down to the sheets as well, but he slips free.

“Nope, not yet. Your morning breath is bad enough as it is; it’s biological warfare when you don’t brush your teeth.”

Nursey whines, reaching for the hem of Dex’s shirt to try and ensnare him again. “Can't you just pour some mouthwash down my throat and call it a day?”

“Is drowning in listerine really the way you wanna go out?”

“Going out the way I came in: minty fresh.”

“Not tonight, you’re not,” Dex says, kicking off his socks as he walks toward the bathroom. He drops clothes as he goes - belt, and shirt, and undershirt - like a sexy striptease trail, except it’s not sexy; he’s just fucking lazy. He kept a lot of the habits he developed through a childhood of living in a crowded house with little personal space and privacy, but sometimes he indulges in the luxury of living on his own, and does stuff like throwing his clothes wherever he wants and eating nutella straight out of the jar with a spoon. Chowder was a terrible influence on his life.

He’s brushing his teeth when Nursey finally shuffles in wearing sweatpants and a Samwell Theater t-shirt (signed by Ford in sharpie) he stole from Dex’s drawers. He drapes himself over Dex’s shoulders and reaches around him to grab his brush and blindly squeeze toothpaste onto the bristles. He winds up with a glob as large as a floret of cupcake frosting and winces when it prickles on his tongue.

They fall back into the old patterns they grew used to while living together in college, pretending to jostle for space while they brush even though the only use Dex has for the mirror is to make faces at Nursey and Chowder through their reflections. Dex finishes washing his face first and backs away from the sink to give Nursey room. Like always, he's a step too slow to avoid the claw of death swooping in to smear moisturizer on his face in three pale streaks; with a customary grimace, he allows it to happen before rubbing the lotion vigorously in, ignoring the way Nursey shakes his head in disappointment.

Nursey is indeed minty fresh when they kiss again, but still as structurally sound as a melting flan, so Dex maneuvers them back to bed. Because he’s a considerate person even when only half-awake, Nursey has tossed all of Dex’s shedded clothing onto his chair so they don’t wind up a very romantically injured accident on the floor. They flop onto Dex’s slightly too-small-for-two bed foregoing the covers even though the summer heat hasn’t grown sticky yet.

“You wanna be the big spoon or the little spoon?” Nursey asks, turning his head against Dex’s pillow to watch him with those lovely eyes, half-lidded and sentimental. He’s probably composing something in his head again, twirling language together in ways Dex couldn’t even dream of. Nursey needs to write in the same way other people need to feel sunlight on their skin, and Dex has always admired the tenacity he knows it must take for him to keep writing even when the words don't come easy.

“How ‘bout the soup spoon,” he replies as he wraps an arm across Nursey’s waist. Nursey sleeps flat on his back anyway, so cuddling isn't very effective, but Dex knows being held makes him feel more grounded. He leaves his palm resting on one sharp hipbone, tracing arcs with his fingertips. Just a small physical reminder that this is real. That what they have is real.

“Okay, you can be the salad fork and I'll be the demitasse,” Nursey says, smiling when Dex squints at him.

“You have seen in person that I don’t know what any of those things are,” Dex grumbles. He’s been to a handful of these ridiculous functions that Nursey’s family has to attend on occasion, and resigned himself to surreptitiously studying other people before picking up a utensil. At least the food is always stellar. Luckily, Nursey’s parents are some of the most down-to-earth people that Dex has ever met, and have no problem eating easy mac out of mugs with them at Nursey’s place when they come to visit.

“Chill, Dex. I can teach you. A demitasse is just a small coffee cup. Demi is half, and tasse is cup. And a salad fork is a fork that you eat salads with. Salad is salad and fork is fork.”

“Informative. I can see why you always get five out of fives.”

Nursey gives him a little burst of a laugh, scooching an inch closer so that Dex can lean up against his shoulder. “Dude, have you been looking me up on teacher rating websites again?”

Dex makes a non-committal noise. “You have 4.5 chili peppers - where’d the other half pepper go?”

“I mean, I don’t think I lost it. I just never had it.” He shrugs, uncaring.

The expression Dex wears turns consoling. “You're seven out of five peppers to me, Nurse.”

Nursey’s smile brightens, and he covers the hand at his hip with his own. “That’s pretty damn hot - you sure you can handle it?”

“I’ll get some saltines ready in case. The food of my people.”

“Maybe try yogurt instead.”

“Oh, you have a thing for yogurt? Guess I could work with that. I mean, it’s kinda untraditional, but I could try. For you.”

“Don’t try to shame me in my own bed, Will,” Nursey exclaims, and Dex leans forward to kiss the laugh from his mouth.

“Good thing it’s my bed, then, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks for sharing.”

Nursey really does look like he’s going to nod off any minute, but before his eyes slip closed he gives Dex another thoughtful look, asking softly, “You know that time you came to visit a few years back? Around my birthday?”

It had been shortly after a major snowstorm hit the northeast; there were still piles of dirty gray slush on every corner and enough meltwater puddles to soak Dex’s socks for days, but it had been nice, to see Nursey again after half a year. The first few times they met up post-graduation, he thought it might have become awkward between them without proximity to keep them in contact, but they always picked up where they left off, all friendly chirping and stupid arguments, now colored with a few dashes of nostalgic reminiscing of the good old days. That day he had brought a potted snake plant with him as a gift, to add to the growing collection of houseplants on the sill of Nursey’s classroom.

“Yeah, we rode a sightseeing bus around Manhattan for no reason.” Dex had stayed the night, and Nursey had offered him the bed. He'd tried to refuse, but Nursey wasn't having it, and built a nest from a spare comforter in the living room before Dex could protest again. “You slept on the couch that night,” he recalls now. It had struck Dex as a strange miracle at the time, because enough time had passed since they last shared a bed for convenience and necessity that he had almost forgotten what a trial it always was. And as platonic as those moments had been, he hadn't been sure his heart could handle the fresh re-opening of the wound it would be to wake to the sight of Nursey asleep just a few inches away from him, too close to touch but never too far to fall for again and again.

“And you slept in my bed.” The hand nearest Dex tangles in the bottom hem of his t-shirt, a few of Nursey’s fingers slipping under to brush against Dex’s stomach. Dex tries not to shiver, waiting for Nursey to collect his thoughts into something more cohesive. “I woke up first, for once. You were still asleep, bundled to the max in all the blankets, except your leg. That was falling off the bed, dunno how - I fit on there just fine and we’re literally the same height.”

Nursey shakes his head, amused by a memory Dex wasn’t awake for, and takes a slight breath. “You were drooling on the pillow,” he says. “Left a wet spot the size of the pond next to your face.”

“Oh my god,” Dex groans, burying his face against Nursey’s arm.

“Nah, it was cute. I went to check on you, turn your head so you didn't drown in your own spit. You stuck your hand out of your cocoon when I did - I thought you were gonna slap me, but you grabbed my arm instead, and you wouldn't let go. I think it was some sort of anti-sibling protective instinct kicking in.

“I thought you would keep me trapped there until you woke up, and I sat down on the floor next to you because I- I guess I wanted that? I wanted to be the first thing you saw that morning.”

“Just like you used to be?” Dex asks, and Nursey nods mutely. They never talked about it, those hangover mornings where Dex jolted awake so he could untangle himself from Nursey and the sheets before anyone could catch him selling himself out with his moonstruck eyes. “But you weren't there when I woke. You were making breakfast,” he says, the memory coming back into focus, pleasantly overcast in the cool wintry gray of Nursey’s apartment that morning when Dex stepped out barefoot on the cold floorboards to see Nursey studying the spark and sizzle of oil in his frying pan.

“I guess that was always the dilemma. Do I want to be the one you wake up to, or do I want to be the one who makes you breakfast? I wanted to be both, but breakfast seemed safer.” Nursey’s smile, sheepish and uneven, reminds Dex of the years they lost. The years they- well, wasted isn’t the right word for it, because this is the road they took to get to each other, and even now, knowing what they could have had sooner, Dex doesn’t think it was the wrong path. He thinks sometimes they needed to grow up apart before they could grow old together.

“You could be both. You are both,” Dex says, looping his arm tighter around Nursey’s waist. “My problem was always whether I wanted to be the one to make you laugh or the one to catch you when you fall down the stairs.”

“It’s pretty cool when you do them at the same time,” Nursey says sleepily, and Dex leans in to give him one final kiss.

“Night, Derek. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Can’t wait.”

Nursey drifts off first and Dex is left half-conscious, watching him in all the ways he couldn't when he was younger and less sober. Wanting him just as much as he did at nineteen. But they're here now, and Dex doesn't regret a minute that led them to this point. It feels like all that yearning was a debt to paid before he could know how it felt for his love to be requited.

Eleven years ago, on a night much like this one, Dex had held his breath and closed his eyes, hoping against hope that Nursey wouldn’t feel his pulse running wild as he fell asleep. Tonight he exhales, waiting for his heart rate to slow, and holds Nursey closer as sleep approaches.

Dex wakes bathed in sunlight. Nursey is still out, tucked into Dex’s side with one arm lying at a strange angle, but he stirs when Dex shifts to stretch his legs. For a second, his forehead scrunches and his dark lashes flutter twice before his eyes open.

“Good morning, starshine,” Dex says as Nursey turns onto his side to embrace him. His hair is a mess and he’s still blinking himself awake, but he looks rested and comfortable here in Dex’s bed. The way Dex hopes he’ll always feel when they’re together.

“Morning, Will,” Nursey responds warmly, and Dex remembers that all this was worth waiting for.

He leaves a kiss at Nursey’s jaw, his cheek, his crown. Then he props himself up with Nursey still spread across his chest, ready for the new day.

“C’mon, Nursey. Let’s go get breakfast.”

#nurseydex #nurseydexweek #omgcp fic #dex #nursey #every installment comes later and later

57 notes · View notes

woodcider · 7 years

Text

Growing up in the outer boroughs of NYC, I always thought theater was out of reach with tickets in the hundreds of dollars. I didn’t find out until last year that the whole time I was a teen I could have been a seat filler and seen any show I wanted to by walking in after the Intermission. I’m a little bitter about this. Anyway… I’ve seen more plays this past year than I’ve watched TV or movies. And that’s with bootlegging a friend’s Netflix account.

Let’s start with the free and work our way up from there.

Yelp Yelp is more than a place to give one star reviews to Mexican restaurants because the waiters dare to speak Spanish. As much as I rip on Yelp and Stoppleman’s haircut, having Elite status does get you a steady supply of free food and drink. It’s actually worth being that person who won’t let you eat until they take a picture of your dish under different lighting conditions and angles. Even though I’m blacklisted from ever becoming Elite (long story…), it’s still worth my while to have written 378 reviews since 2011. That’s an average of 4.5 reviews a month. And here I am thinking that I barely write reviews.

Yelp’s open events are what I stick around for. They are free-free. All my other sites have “processing fees”. $5 isn’t much, but it still isn’t free. Most of the seats have been font mezzanine but I’m not gonna complain about a free shows and views like this:

#gallery-0-17 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-17 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-17 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-17 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Fool For Love

Kinky Boots

Incognito

Fun Home

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Phantom of the Opera

As you can see I’ve see the most and the best shows with Yelp and for that I’m grateful.

Show-Score The dark-horse of low cost theater tickets. The quality has been all over the place. I recommended it to a friend just when it hit a growth spurt. Really bad timing. Not only did it take forever for him to start getting offers, the majority of these plays were off-off-off Broadway and what I call “Church Basement” plays. “Theaters” in office buildings and community centers. If they weren’t hot messes only populated with family members and other unfortunate Show-Score reviewers, then I wouldn’t have complained, but they were twice baked hot messes on metal folding chairs. I learned the hard way to google the theaters. If it’s located in 59E59 it’s guaranteed to be good. Thought recently all the seats Show-Score gets are by the sound booth up in the nosebleeds. The tickets used to be completely free but once they took off, they had to start charging a $5 processing fee. It’s not bad and helps stop people from thoughtlessly ditching shows. I think they’ve gotten their sea legs back because they’ve started curating for quality again. Or maybe I’m just better at picking the good stuff.

#gallery-0-18 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-18 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-18 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-18 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

The Bad and the Ugly

The Good – Wild Women of Planet Wongo

The Best – 59E59 always delivers

I really like the review format. It used to be limited to 140 characters for and 140 against seeing the show. Recently they started offering a longer format. I’m not a fan. The Twitter style was challenging and forced me to be creative. Here’s how I handled it: My Show-Score Reviews. As you can see, I’m a generous reviewer. They’ve also expanded into the Today Tix and GoldStar realm of offering reduced and full priced on Broadway tickets. Here’s hoping they maintain the quality of their “free” offerings.

Goldstar I’ve mostly used Goldstar for a wide variety of events like baseball and bull riding (Yes, there’s bull riding in NYC) but I’ve had my best luck with the comp off-Broadway show Neal Brennan’s 3 Mics. It’s on Netflix right now, you should catch it. I paid an $8 processing fee for a seat with a seriously obstructed view. But I made out like a bandit when the theater manager started moving people to fill seats smack dab in the middle. It was my first stand-up show and I loved it. GoldStar will get a mention later for sure.

Neal Brennan’s 3 Mics

Even with the head, these seats were 1000x better.

TodayTix The link above will take you to my referral page so you can get $10 towards your first purchase. With Lottery tickets starting at $20, it’s a sweet deal. TodayTix is a combination of full-priced, discount, Rush, and Lottery tickets. Set the search filter to Price>> Lottery/Rush so you don’t have wade through the full priced shows.

I was going to mention Shakespeare in the Park sooner since it too is free-free, but by far the most convenient way to get tickets is through TodayTix. You can set up an alert in the app to let you know as soon as shows become available. Once the lottery opens at midnight you have until noon to enter the drawing via the app. Then you have to check your email from noon until 2:15pm to see if you’ve won. It’s up to you to claim them in 45 mins. or else they return to the pool. Similar rules apply with the Rush and Lottery tickets. Rush tickets are within the $30 range. Still a sweet deal.

#gallery-0-20 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-20 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-20 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-20 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Heisenberg

Shakespeare in the Park’s Taming of the Shrew

I don’t know how updates work on blogs (I’m so painfully green), but as I use new programs I’ll update. Since I’m a student again, I know there are other free/low cost ticket programs like Student Rush, but I won’t review them until I actually use them. No need to go off half cocked and give out bad information. Stay tuned!

Links:

Yelp.com

Show-Score.com

Goldstar.com

TodayTix.com

The Broke-ass Guide to Free/Low Cost Theater! Broadway and off-off-off Broadway. Growing up in the outer boroughs of NYC, I always thought theater was out of reach with tickets in the hundreds of dollars.

1 note · View note

organicdietguide · 4 years

Text

Losing Weight May Decrease Risk for Breast Cancer

For Women's | Weight Loss Prevent Breast Cancer...

Previous studies have shown that high body mass index is a risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer, however, until now scientists and medical professionals have not been clear on the impact that losing weight can have on a woman’s risk for developing breast cancer.

The Real Mom’s Guide

This most recent study analyzed data from the Pooling Project of Prospective Studies of Diet and Cancer (DCPP) to look at over 180,000 women aged 50 and older from ten studies – one of the largest data sets to consider weight loss as a specific breast cancer factor.

Conducted by researchers at the American Cancer Society and Harvard T.H.

Chan School of Public Health, the study monitored the weight of the participants over 10 years (at study enrollment; after about five years; then again about four years later) to determine the potential link between sustained weight loss and risk of breast cancer.

Secret Anabolic Recipes | Cook Healthy | Muscle Building Meals

They found that compared to women who maintained a stable weight, women who lost weight and kept it off showed a reduced risk of breast cancer. And to make the case even stronger for that New Year’s gym membership, the more weight loss, the lower the risk became.

The Harvard research on more than 180,000 participants found those who lost the most weight cut their risk by up to a quarter.

One in eight women in the UK will develop breast cancer during their lifetime.

Being overweight is a driving factor for the disease, particularly after the menopause.

This is because estrogen naturally drops after the age of around 55, but fat cells keep the hormone raised, which can cause tumors to grow.

Two in three women in Britain are overweight or obese.

Belly Fat in Women

The study involved women whose body mass index lay between 22.7 and 28.3 at the start of the research. Anything above 25 is considered overweight. Over the course of a decade, their weight was tracked.

Those who lost between 4.4 and 10 lbs saw their breast cancer risk fall by 13 percent, with falls of 16 percent for those losing between 10 and 20 lbs, and of 26 percent for those who lost even more.

Among those who lost the most weight, reductions in risk were seen even if they put some of it back on.

Study lead author Dr. Lauren Teras, an epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society, said: “Our results suggest even a modest amount of sustained weight loss is associated with lower breast cancer risk for women over 50.”

She said the findings, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, could be a strong motivator for those who are overweight to try to shed the pounds.

“Perhaps equally as important, these results suggest that gaining weight, and then losing it, confers the same breast cancer risk as keeping a stable body weight.

“In other words, it is not too late to lower your risk of breast cancer if you have gained weight after age 50.”

excess body weight is an established risk factor for breast cancer. Research suggests that’s because too much body fat can elevate levels of sex hormones like estrogen, especially among postmenopausal women. But despite knowing there is a correlation between extra weight and breast cancer, it’s been difficult to study how losing that weight could affect an individual woman’s chance of developing cancer.

Now, a new paper published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute provides encouraging evidence that, for women 50 and older, virtually any amount of sustained weight loss translates to a reduction in breast cancer risk.

“We’re so thankful to be able to say it’s not too late to lower your risk if you’ve previously gained weight, even after age 50,” says study co-author Lauren Teras, scientific director of epidemiology research at the American Cancer Society.

Healthy Diet Plant-Based Diet

The research drew on data collected through the Pooling Project of Prospective Studies of Diet and Cancer, an international set of studies that seeks to elucidate the relationship between diet and cancer among women without a history of the disease. For the new paper, researchers used data from about 180,000 women living in the U.S., Australia, and Asia, all of whom were 50 or older and cancer-free when the studies began. Each woman also provided researchers with data about her weight and body mass index, as well as lifestyle and demographic characteristics.

Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Cholesterol

The researchers monitored participants’ weight changes for 10 years after they joined the study, examining survey data collected every few years to see if their weight had gone up, gone down, or remained stable. (Most studies used self-reported height and weight data.) After that decade, they tracked the women for another eight years or so to see how many developed breast cancer. Almost 7,000 did.

After adjusting for other factors that can affect breast cancer risks, such as exercise habits and the use of hormone replacement therapy, the researchers found that the more weight a woman lost, the lower her risk of breast cancer became. Among women not using hormone therapy (which is sometimes used to replace hormones lost during menopause, and has been linked to breast cancer risk), losing about 4.5 pounds—and keeping it off—seemed to be enough to drive risk down by around 18%, compared to a woman of similar starting weight who did not lose any. Sustained weight loss of 20 pounds and up corresponded to a roughly 32% lower risk.

Best Diets Weight loss Diet plans

Given the relationship between excess body weight and cancer risk, the effects of weight loss appeared to be much stronger among women who started the study overweight. That’s an important takeaway, Teras notes since about 70% of American adults are considered either overweight or obese. “Women who are at a healthy weight don’t need to lose weight,” Teras says.

Teras’ study could not prove cause and effect, only pick up on associations between weight loss and breast cancer. For that reason, she says, it’s not entirely possible to say why dropping pounds could reduce cancer risk, though it likely reverses some of the hormonal activity sparked by weight gain.

Understanding weight gain and cancer risk Several studies have explored why being overweight or obese may increase cancer risk and growth. The possible reasons that obesity is linked with cancer include:

Increased levels of insulin and insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which may help some cancers develop

Losing Weight May Decrease Risk for Breast Cancer

Chronic, low-level inflammation, which is more common in people who are obese and is linked with an increased cancer risk

Higher amounts of estrogen produced by fat tissue, which can drive the development of some cancers, such as breast and endometrial cancers

Fat cells may affect processes that regulate cancer cell growth.

Breastfeeding super foods

How your weight changes throughout your life may also affect your risk of cancer. Studies have shown that the following factors can affect your cancer risk:

High birth weight

Gaining weight as an adult

Losing and regaining weight repeatedly

Research suggests that maintaining a healthy weight is associated with a lower risk of cancer and of cancer returning in survivors.

Types of cancer linked with an increased weight

Enlarge

Being overweight or obese has been linked to these cancers:

Breast

Colorectal

Uterine

Kidney

Head and neck

Esophageal

Pancreatic

Endometrium

Prostate

Gallbladder

Thyroid

Measuring weight gain Obesity is often measured with body mass index (BMI) and waist measurements. BMI is the ratio of a person’s weight and height. A healthy BMI is usually between 18.5 and 24.9. A BMI between 25 and 29.5 is considered overweight, while a BMI of 30 or higher is obese.

Also, people with larger waist measurements have a higher risk of various diseases, such as heart disease. Healthy waist measurement is under 40 inches for men and under 35 inches for women.

Weight management tips To control weight gain, pay attention to what you eat and how much you exercise. You should also make healthy choices about what you eat and drink. This can be challenging because eating a high-calorie diet is typical in the United States. The reasons for this include a complete, relatively low-cost food supply and large portions. Here are some tips to help:

Eat more vegetables, fruits, lean protein, and whole grains. Some types of food, such as broth-based soups, also help a person feel “full” faster.

Avoid foods and beverages that are high in sugar, such as juice and soda.

Eat and drink only as many calories as you need to maintain a healthy weight and support your level of physical activity.

Aim for 30 to 60 minutes per day of moderate to intense physical activity on most days. But even a small increase in physical activity has benefits.

There is a large body of evidence demonstrating that overweight and obesity, are associated with an increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.

Women who lose weight after age 50 and keep it off have a lower risk of breast cancer than women whose weight stays the same, according to a study from researchers at the American Cancer Society, the Harvard T.H.

The study was published on December 17, 2019 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

This higher risk is partial because fat cells make estrogen; extra fat cells mean more estrogen in the body, and estrogen can make hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers develop and grow.

Scientists also have recently found that extra fat cells can trigger long-term, low-grade inflammation in the body.

Chronic inflammation has been linked to a higher risk of breast cancer recurrence; the proteins secreted by the immune system seem to stimulate breast cancer cells to grow, especially estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

the results were seen more in women who were overweight or obese, Teras said getting to a healthy body weight has many health benefits and is a good goal for everyone.

Getting to a healthy weight and staying there is not easy for most people. Losing even a small amount of weight – for example, half a pound a week – is a good place to start.

Weight management tips..To control weight gain:

Eat more vegetables, fruits, lean protein, and whole grains. Some types of food, such as broth-based soups, also help a person feel “full” faster.

Avoid foods and beverages that are high in sugar, such as juice and soda.

Eat and drink only as many calories as you need to maintain a healthy weight and support your level of physical activity.

Aim for 30 to 60 minutes per day of moderate to intense physical activity on most days.

But even a small increase in physical activity has benefits.

Women’s Health

Nutritional Needs During Pregnancy

Health and Pregnancy

Pregnancy Tips on Health, Your Body

Preparing for A BabyWeight Loss Tips

Diet Guides

#Breast feeding diet health woman mother pregnancy weight loss women

0 notes

centralparkpawsblog · 4 years

Text

The 10 Best Indestructible Squeaky Dog Toys for Chewers

https://www.centralparkpaws.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Ginger-2-225x300.jpg

It has been many years since I last had to think about toys for aggressive chewers.

Calvin is older now and doesn’t destroy toys like he once did. But now, with a new puppy in the house, it’s like living with a tornado of destruction.

Though she is just shy of 5 months old, she is teething, and as a result, she is continually chewing, and the majority of the toys we now have were not purchased with an aggressive chewer in mind.

So I needed to jump online and see what I could find.

Though we have a lot of teething toys that can be filled with soft food and put in the freezer, I had been hoping to find other fun toys for her to play with, since after awhile the same few toys tend to get boring.

I started looking for toys with a squeaker that could withstand her attention and the playstyle of the other dogs.

It’s funny how a new puppy will get older dogs playing with toys again.

Why Buy Indestructible Squeaky Toys?

There are a few reasons I want super durable toys and why you may want them, too.

First, Mirabelle still hasn’t learned everything she encounters should not be eaten, so my number one concern is safety[1].

Second, I don’t want to have to keep replacing toys. The reality is, it gets pretty darn expensive buying new toys every week.

Finally, I feel like I am constantly cleaning with four dogs, so adding shredded toys to my cleaning list isn’t something I am looking to do.

Though Mirabelle is still on the small side now, we expect that she will be at least forty pounds full grown, meaning her bite power and teeth will only increase.

Plus, puppies can teethe for quite some time, so I expect we will be dealing with this issue for another month.

And even after she grows out of the chewing on everything phase, I imagine she will still want to play with or chew on toys.

What I found during my research was pretty much what I expected, there are a lot of durable toys, but there’s always a dog out there that manages to get a corner or piece off even the toughest of toys.

When Daisy was a puppy, she chewed a KONG apart, so I know it can happen. The good news is that there are several different choices and functions.

Also, giving your dog appropriate chew toys can cut off more destructive behavior[2]!

Does your dog chew on their bed, too? Check out our list of the best indestructible dog beds!

Best Chew Proof Squeaky Toys for Dogs

Here are the best indestructible squeaky toys we’ve tested:

Overall Best – Tuffy Tug, Toss, and Fetch

Best Value for the Money – Gnawsome Medium Squeaker Ball

Best on the Market – PetSafe Squeak and Treat

Best Indestructible Squeaky Toy for Small Dogs – goDog Dragon

Toughest Squeaky Toy for Large Dogs – Nerf Dog Checker Ball

Best Heavy Duty Squeaky Dog Ball – Air KONG

Best Indestructible Dental Toy with Squeaker – Pamlulu Toothbrush Toy

Best Indestructible Plush Dog Toy with Squeaker – Charming Pet Longidudes Plush Giraffe

Most Durable Rubber Squeaky Toy – VANFINE Beef Flavored Rubber Squeaky Toy

Best Indestructible Squeaky Toy for Pit Bulls – M.C. Works Pineapple XLarge

Best Chew Toy for Aggressive Chewers

Tuffy Tug, Toss, and Fetch

Why It’s the Best Choice

Click the image for more info

Tuffy toys are made with four layers of durable material.

The edges of the toy are reinforced protective webbing and then held in place with seven rows of stitching.

Plus, there isn’t any stuffing. What gives these toys its mildly squishy feel are the multiple layers of fabric.

And the squeakers have extra protection since they are tucked into a safety pocket.

We have the Tug O War one, and Ginger loves it. Plus, it is tough enough to stand up to Calvin’s chewing.

I didn’t rate the tug toy as the best since it is pretty big, and would not be the right choice for smaller dogs.

What I Liked

Available in multiple sizes and styles

No fill

Floats, making it a great water toy

What I Didn’t Like

The scalloped edges make it easier for dogs to chew on and possibly wear the material down.

Check Price

Read Reviews

Best Value for the Money

Gnawsome Medium Squeaker Ball

Click the image for more info

Why It’s the Best Choice

The Gnawsome squeaker ball has soft spikes to massage your dog’s gums and makes it easier for dogs to grab.

The ball is made from food-grade, BPA-free, thermo-plasticized rubber.

The squeaker is hidden inside, making it more challenging for your dog to work at getting it out.

And though the ball is very durable, it does float. Plus, since its lightweight and comes in bright colors, it’s one of the few toys that won’t easily get lost in the snow.

What I Liked

Comes in thee sizes from 2.5-inches up to 4.5-inches

Economical

Bright colors allow them to be found easily in the house and yard

What I Didn’t Like

The squeaker may not be as durable as the rest of the toy

Shop at Chewy

Shop at Amazon

Best Tough Chew Toy on the Market

PetSafe Squeak and Treat

Click the image for more info

Why It’s the Best Choice

The Petsafe Squeak and Treat Ninja Star is an extremely durable toy made from heavy-duty non-toxic rubber.

The ninja star is both a squeaky toy and a treat dispenser.

So, it will both physically tire your dog out during play and help stimulate your dog mentally, making it the ultimate fun toy.

Though the ninja star is strong, it isn’t going to damage your dog’s teeth if they chew on it since it is made from rubber and not hard plastic.

What I Liked

Comes in three sizes

Easy for dogs to pick up

Dispenses kibble making it a good

What I Didn’t Like

The treat holes are not very big, so it minimizes the choices of treats that can be used

Shop at Petco

Shop at Dog.com

Best Indestructible Squeaky Toy for Small Dogs

goDog Dragon

Click the image for more info

Why It’s the Best Choice

I love goDog toys. They are soft and lightweight yet pretty durable for small dogs.

The exterior is super soft, and it doesn’t have any plastic eyes or nose, plus it has minimal stuffing making it a safer toy to be flung around the house.

Plus, the interior is made with Chew Guard Technology[3], which is a very durable liner, and the seams are double-stitched, reinforcing the overall strength of the toy.

Unfortunately, it didn’t hold up against Calvin, who later ripped it open, but he’s not a small dog, and he has chewed up firehose tots.

What I Liked

The softness

It’s lightweight so when Mira tosses it around it doesn’t break anything

Comes in two sizes

What I Didn’t Like

Even the large size isn’t suitable for large breeds; the large is more for medium-sized dogs.

Check Price

Read Reviews

Toughest Squeaky Toy for Large Dogs

Nerf Dog Checker Ball

Click the image for more info

Why It’s the Best Choice

Based on most of the reviews this ball is pretty indestructible, one review mentioned it holds up against her Boxer-Pittbull mix, which I imagine has some serious chew power.

The Nerf Dog Checker Ball is made to be strong enough to endure aggressive chewers.

This Nerf ball is made of BPA-free non-toxic rubber, which is both safe and bite resistant.

The outside of the ball is specially designed with a checkered texture to make picking the ball up easy for both humans and dogs.

What I Liked

Comes in multiple sizes

Floats

Bright color

What I Didn’t Like

Because it’s so heavy, it may not be safe for an indoor toy

It doesn’t bounce

Shop at Chewy

Shop at Amazon

Best Heavy Duty Squeaky Dog Ball

Air KONG

Click the image for more info

Why It’s the Best Choice

The KONG brand has a reliable reputation for making durable toys.

KONG is often the first brand that comes to mind when someone mentions an aggressive chewer.

Thankfully, KONG has expanded its line from its classic treat-dispensing toy to now include other toys such as balls and squeaky toys.

The Air KONG squeaker ball is lightweight enough to play safest inside the house, yet durable enough; you won’t be replacing it anytime soon.

Plus, it’s the same size as a tennis ball, which is a manageable size for most dogs. Larger and smaller versions are available, too.

What I Liked

Floats

Durable squeaker

Multiple sizes and shapes

What I Didn’t Like

The squeaker can get pushed inside the ball

Shop at Petco

Shop at Dog.com

Best Indestructible Dental Toy with Squeaker

Pamlulu Toothbrush Toy

Click the image for more info

Why It’s the Best Choice

This dual function toy will help you in keeping your dog’s teeth clean.

The squeaker makes it an attractive toy without having to add food to make the dental toy more appealing. Some dogs may prefer it over solid dental treats like Greenies.

Plus, if your dog won’t let you brush their teeth with toothpaste, you can always add it to the toy to maximize its dental benefits.

Based on several of the reviews, the Pamlulu has held up well even with large breed dogs, such as Great Danes and Boxers.

What I Liked

Multi-functional

One-size fits all

Easy to wash

What I Didn’t Like

Would prefer bristles all the way around instead of strips

Check Price

Read Reviews

Best Indestructible Plush Dog Toy with Squeaker

Charming Pet Longidudes Plush Giraffe

Click the image for more info

Why It’s the Best Choice

Longidudes is a soft, lightweight plush toy that is made from Denier non-rip canvas.

Longidudes also features double stitch nylon infused seams to reinforce the overall toughness of the toy.

Though these toys are long, 29-inches, they have a narrow circumference, plus are soft and pliable, making them ideal for any size dog.

What I Liked

Comes in a variety of shapes

Super soft making it perfect for indoors

Contains three squeakers

What I Didn’t Like

Price

Check Price

Read Reviews

Most Durable Rubber Squeaky Toy

VANFINE Beef Flavored Rubber Squeaky Toy

Click the image for more info

Why it’s the Best Choice

This sturdy beef-flavored toy will keep your pup entertained for hours.

It is a fun toy for your dog to run around while squeaking it, or you can play fetch with this toy, too.

The textured exterior is made from BPA free rubber, ensuring that it is a safe choice for your pup.

Also, based on a lot of the reviews, this toy has held up against rough play from large breeds such as Pitbulls and German Shepherds.

What I Liked

It tapers in the middle making it suitable for smaller mouths

Bright color makes it easy to find

Flavored to help entice play

What I Didn’t Like

It doesn’t indicate whether or not this toy will float in water

Check Price

Read Reviews

Best Indestructible Squeaky Toy for Pit Bulls

M.C. Works Pineapple XLarge

Click the image for more info

Why It’s the Best Choice

Pitbulls often get the short end of the stick when it comes to toys since they can easily chew apart the average squeaky toy.

However, every once in a while, a company comes out with a toy that can often withstand the aggressive chewing of large breed dogs.

M.C. Works Pineapple is well designed to hold up against the jaw power of a Pitbull.

It is made from a strong bite resistant, non-toxic industrial-strength rubber. As a bonus, this toy can also be used as a treat-dispenser.

What I Liked

Textured outside can aid in dental care

Multi-functional

Comes in different sizes

What I Didn’t Like

It doesn’t float

Check Price

Read Reviews

What to Consider When Choosing a Tough Toy

When choosing a durable toy with a squeaker, there are a few things to consider:

Your dog’s interests

Single or multi-functional

Its ability to float

How the toy is made

When I am considering different toys and their overall durability, I think about the various features or areas that may easily be chewed off.

For example, does it have arms and legs that will likely be amputated in play, or does the shape of the toy discourage chewing?

For example, the goDog Dragon is fine now, but when Mirabelle gets older, I have no doubt the wings will be the first to go.

So instead, as she gets older, I will replace the goDog with sturdier toys such as Tuffy.

Another factor I take into account is the weight of the toy.

We allow our dogs to play indoors and will throw a ball for them from time to time.

However, I prefer to use lighter weight toys for indoor fetch that will likely do less damage, such as the Gnawsome Squeaker ball.

Sturdier toys like the pineapple are suitable for outdoor play since toys made of hard rubber can take the different weather conditions and often wash-up well in the dishwasher.

Finally, when I am choosing fabric or plush toys, I prefer to choose toys with multiple layers of material, little to no fill, and reinforced seams, such as Charming Pet, Tuffy, and goDog.

Conclusion

We all want to keep our fur babies safe, and one the ways we can ensure we do this is by making sure the toys we choose for them are both entertaining yet also up to the task of being resistant to your dog’s chewing.

It’s hard to make just one recommendation.

Dogs have various interests, such as tug, fetch, or maybe they just like to play by themselves.

Mira loves playing ball, so I would recommend Gnawsome squeaker ball for other dogs who enjoy playing fetch. But Mira also loves her goDog dragon when she’s tired and just wants to chew on a toy before falling asleep.

My older dogs, especially Ginger, enjoy playing tug, so I recommend the Tuffy Tug O War as an indestructible toy.

And for dogs like Calvin, who loves the challenge of finding and destroying the squeaker, I would choose the M.C. Works Pineapple.

Overall, there are several great durable dog toys on the market.

Still, the reality is if you have a hard-core chewer, you must monitor them with new toys until you are confident they won’t chew the toy apart and possibly eat the small pieces.

Finally, keep in mind that squeaky toys and chew toys are two completely different categories.

If your dog loves to chew, then choose a chew toy made to be chewed on for long periods.

Except for the dental and treat dispensing toys, most squeaker toys are supposed to be more interactive than a chew toy.

Resources

https://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk/how-to-chews-the-best-dog-chew-toys/

https://vetmed.illinois.edu/pet_column/pets-chew-scratch/

http://www.godogfun.com/chew-guard-technology

from https://www.centralparkpaws.net/pet-gear/best-indestructible-squeaky-dog-toys/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=best-indestructible-squeaky-dog-toys

#dogs #cats #pets #reviews

0 notes

micebrandy29-blog · 5 years

Text

even more perfect apple pie

I did not intend to go on an apple pie making bender. I merely did what we always do in October: go apple picking, balk at the price of a bag, insist upon filling it way past the brim (because: economics) and then we ate some apples on the way home home and the bag was still overflowing. So I made an apple pie with 4.25 pounds of apples in it and the bag looked exactly as full as it had been at the orchard. Might they still be growing in there? It’s the only explanation.

I started with the apple pie recipe that’s been on this site for 12 years, but over the years I’ve tweaked it a little at home in small ways (different spice levels, some brown sugar worked in, thinner slices). This time, with some help from the genius Bravetart book, I tweaked it a lot, and it was the best apple pie I’ve ever made. So I did the only rational thing and brought slices of my pie-brag to everyone I saw for a couple days and then I ran out of pie and made another one using the same tweaks and it, too, was the best apple pie I’d ever made, so I did the only rational thing and made a third one and now I think it’s time for us to talk about what I think has made it so much better.

Out of loyalty to the old pie recipe, I wanted to do talk about in a new post because I know there are people who make it yearly and I don’t want to change the way it’s written. But that pie is 12 years old — that pie recipe would be IN MIDDLE SCHOOL right now — it’s okay if it’s not the same person it was in its toddler years and no I’m not projecting, you’re projecting, this is about pie, okay? [WAAAH.]

Here’s what I do a little differently these days (and do skip right to the recipe if you’re not into the Inside Baseball of all it):

Time and temperature changes: Previously, I used the baking instructions from America’s Test Kitchen, which at the time were to heat the oven to 500°F, lower it to 425 after the pie was in, and then, 30 minutes later, reduce it to 375 for the remaining baking time, for about 60 minutes baking time total, which was also rarely enough. I bet you can guess what would actually happen every time I made this: I’d remember to reduce the temperature the first time, never the second, and it also looked overbaked before it was done. Stella Parks recommends baking the pie at a single temperature (400) for a longer period of time (75 minutes), and even gives you a suggested internal temperature if you’re nervous about doneness, and lo, it was perfect, with a crisp bottom crust (despite having no parbaking step) and with caramel-y juices. I haven’t looked back since.

I use more apples and I cut them thinner: One of the most frustrating things that happens when you make a pie is that you put in what seems like a massive amount of fresh fruit but after it slumps, shrinks, and nestles in as it bakes, you’re left with a very flat, if not concave, pie. Parks has a fantastic tip of having you mix your filling and let it macerate for a while so that the apples soften, allowing you to put a lot more in the filling and leading to pie slices stacked to the brim with apples. My original recipe calls for 3.5 pounds of apples; I’m now using between 4.25 and 4.5 pounds. Better to have too much filling (and bake it separately in a dish for the oatmeal or yogurt topping of champions in the coming days) than too little. I also cut the apples more thinly, a scant .25″ thick, which also allows them to nestle in more tightly so they don’t fall as much when baking.

Order of operations: Because we’re going to let the apples macerate a bit, I now prepare them first, and the pie dough second. They don’t mind waiting.

I like a mix of apples — usually: Most apple pie recipes, including my original one, want you to use hyper-specific amounts of hyper-specific kinds of apples, which is rarely what anyone has. I feel strongly that a mix of apples, ideally ones that won’t fall apart when baking, see this awesome page if you want more guidance as to which ones to choose, is the way to get the most nuanced and dynamic apple flavor in a pie. Nobody wants a one-note pie. That said, the orchard we were in had a ton of massive mutsu apples ready, and I made my last few pies with them only. Turns out they’re fantastic baking apples. “Uh, Deb, you just contradicted yourself.” Yes, and I want you, too, to go with the flow.

Flavor changes: Although I started skipping the lemon because we were out of lemons, when I didn’t miss the flavor at all, I never bothered putting it back in. Ditto with the lemon zest, which I found distracting. I also increased the cinnamon and added a little ground ginger (which won’t make it gingery, promise; it just seems to wake the pie up a little). Finally, I started swapping half, then more, of the sugar with brown sugar and I really don’t know why I wasn’t doing this all along. It’s lovely here.

Thickener changes: Over the last few years, as tapioca flour/starch (they’re the same thing) became more easily available (Bob’s Red Mill makes some, so check any store that stocks the brand, or here or here or here), I started using it as a pie thickener and never looked back. It’s clear and unchalky once baked, and doesn’t muffle the filling flavor the way I find some commercial thickening blends do. You’d never really know it’s there, which is basically the dream.

Previously

One year ago: Chocolate Olive Oil Cake Two years ago: Baked Alaska, Indian-Spiced Cauliflower Soup, and Skillet-Baked Pasta with Five Cheeses Three years ago: Broccoli Cheddar Soup, S’more Cupcakes, and My Old-School Baked Ziti Four years ago: Latke Waffles, The Crispy Egg, Better Chicken Pot Pies Five years ago: Miso Sweet Potato and Broccoli Bowl Six years ago: Spaghetti with Broccoli Cream Pesto and Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Seven years ago: Cumin Seed Roasted Cauliflower with Yogurt Eight years ago: Single Crust Plum and Apple Pie and Mushroom Lasagna Nine years ago: Quiche Lorraine Ten years ago: Black and White Cookies, Best Challah (Egg Bread) and Mom’s Apple Cake Eleven years ago: Bronx-Worthy Bagels, Peanut Butter Brownies, and Arroz Con Pollo [New!] Twelve years ago: Lemon Cake

And for the other side of the world: Six Months Ago: Fig Newtons 1.5 Years Ago: Cornbread Waffles, Mushroom Tartines, and Almond Horn Cookies 2.5 Years Ago: Spring Chicken Salad Toasts, Caramelized Brown Sugar Oranges with Yogurt, and Potato Pizza, Even Better 3.5 Years Ago: The Consolation Prize (A Mocktail) and Baked Chickpeas with Pita Chips and Yogurt 4.5 Years Ago: Dark Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

Even More Perfect Apple Pie

Servings: 8 to 12

Time: 3 hours, mostly hands-off

This is an update on my 2006 apple pie recipe, with a few new tricks from the fantastic Bravetart cookbook.

Filling

1/2 cup (95 grams) light or dark brown sugar

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnnamon

Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste, or about 1/4 teaspoon ground

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

4 1/4 to 4 1/2 pounds baking apples, shown here with mutsu (which is like a mix of Granny Smith and Golden Delicious) but more suggestions here

3 tablespoons tapioca flour or starch

Crust

1 recipe All Butter, Really Flaky Pie Dough, or your favorite recipe, or a storebought dough

1 egg, lightly beaten (optional)

Coarse or raw sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Make filling: Combine sugars, salt, and spices in your absolutely largest bowl. Peel, halve, and core your apples and cut them into thin (scant 1/4-inch) slices, adding them right to the big bowl. Toss to coat the slices as much as possible. Set aside for 1 to 4 hours at room temperature.

Prepare crust: Make your pie dough according to instructions. If you need to chill it for an hour or two before rolling it out, you can do so now. If yours is already chilled and ready to go, roll out the first half on a well-floured counter [more detailed instructions here] to a 14-inch circle and transfer it to 9-inch standard (not deep-dish) pie plate. With scissors or kitchen shears, trim overhang to one inch all around. Refrigerate dish and dough until needed.

For a regular pie lid, roll out the second dough half into the same sized circle, transfer it to a large parchment-lined baking sheet and chill this as well until needed. For a lattice or woven pie lid, you can use the same sized circle, or you can just roll it into a rectangle at least 14″ in one direction, and then as long or wide you can get it in the other. Transfer it to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill this as well until needed.

Heat oven: To 400°F.

Assemble pie: Stir tapioca starch into apple pie filling. Pour filling into prepared bottom crust and use your hands to pack and heap those softened apples as mounded as you can get them, then add a few more. Pour any juices that have accumulated carefully over apples; do not leave any behind. Either place your second pie dough round over the filling or cut it into strips to lattice the top. [Detailed classic lattice instructions here, or try some of Erin McDowell’s gorgeous iterations.] Trim the top crust or lattice strips to the edge of the pie dish. Fold the overhang from the lower crust over to form a thick rim, and crimp it together with your fingers or a fork to seal it. Brush top crust with egg, then sprinkle with sugar if desired. If your top crust is in one piece, cut a few vents in it with a sharp knife.

Bake pie: Reuse that sheet of parchment paper on the large baking sheet for easier cleanup, then transfer your prepared pie onto it. Bake for 75 minutes, turning once or twice for even color. If your pie is browning too fast, take a large square of foil, mold it over the back of a large bowl into a convex dome, then use that to cover the pie in the oven for the remaining baking time so it doesn’t brown much further. Pie is done when juices are bubbling visibly through the vents or lattice, or when the internal temperature reads 195°F. A tester inserted into the pie shouldn’t hit any overtly crunchy apple pieces.

To serve: Cool pie for at least one hour at room temperature before cutting into it. However, your filling will not fully thicken until it has fully cooled, ideally in the fridge for a couple hours. You can rewarm slices as you serve them, if desired. Leftovers keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, and in the fridge for 1 week.

Source: https://smittenkitchen.com/2018/10/even-more-perfect-apple-pie/

0 notes