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pennylanefics · 26 days

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Lake House - Quinn Hughes

a/n: first time writing for quinn! i really need to get the library fic done and i promise i will, i know it will come to me one of these days 😅 also i was able to get this done late last night! :)

summary: quinn invites you to his family's lake house for a week to get away for a little bit

word count: ~ 1.8k

After a brutal two hour drive in the rain out to Quinn’s family’s lake house, you finally arrived just as the sun was beginning to set, despite your desperate attempts to get Quinn to pull over and wait the storm out. But he wanted to get there in a reasonable time, so he took it slow, while you shielded your eyes the entire time.

Quinn brings your suitcases inside, not wanting you to slip and fall on the wet concrete, so you took this time to look around the house, admiring all the decorations and photos of him and his family. He returns for a second time, bringing the last of your things inside and kicking the door shut behind him.

“I hope it stops raining soon,” he grumbles, kicking his wet shoes off and leaving them on the door mat. You chuckle and walk over to him, brushing his hair away from his face, having been pelted with the drops falling from the sky.

He smiles at you and leans into your touch as your hands come to caress his cheeks. Turning his head, he places a kiss on the palm of your hand, and then one to the other hand right after.

“We have an entire week, I’m sure the weather will get better sometime during our stay.” He nods in response and sighs softly.

“Well, let me give you the official tour,” he grins sweetly, taking your hands in his and beginning to guide you through the house.

“And this is my room,” he opens the final door, showing you a neat bedroom with a nautical theme. It was very cozy, the main colors being creams and navy blues, the bed spread the same color blue. It felt calming, with a photo of a wave on the wall, but Quinn made sure to decorate some things himself, including a photo of you two on the dresser.

“I’m assuming this didn’t come with the house?” You tease, pointing to it. It’s from Brady Tkachuk’s wedding, the first big event the two of you attended as a couple. It was a photo that the photographer took of all the groomsmen with their dates, the two of you looking at each other and laughing, your smiles wide.

“It’s my favorite picture of us,” he admits, coming up behind you. “I needed something to personalize the room a little, with photos that don’t include Jack and Luke.”

The rest of the night is spent sitting on the couch, staring out the window and watching the lightning light up the sky and the rain hit the lake in a hypnotizing manner.

The next couple of days, the weather was thankfully better, but there was more rain forecasted towards the end of your stay. The first day there, you two spend the morning swimming in the lake and messing around with each other, Quinn playfully chasing you around the muddy yard; you were sliding and falling every few seconds, but neither of you cared one bit, grass and mud getting stuck to your damp skin.

After you get all cleaned up and showered, Quinn started to prepare dinner and you helped, taking direction from him since he was the cook between the two of you. When it was finally in the oven, you sit out on the back deck, your legs in Quinn’s lap as you both read the books you were currently reading, his hand stroking up and down your shin, sometimes creeping up to your knee.

“What do you want to do tomorrow?” He asks after ten minutes or so of quiet. The birds were chirping around you, stopping near you on the birdhouse filled with seeds, giving you an entertaining sight to watch as they flitter around.

“We could take the boat out on the lake, it’s supposed to be clear skies,” you say, looking out at the sunset.

The clouds created a breathtaking pattern in the sky, the sunlight beaming from behind them, the rays golden and shining. It was bright orange with hints of purple and pink, the sun a massive orange orb on the horizon.

“So beautiful,” you whisper, not having heard a word that Quinn said in response to your suggestion. He just laughs and shakes his head a little.

“Did you hear anything I said?” He asks, though he was well aware of the answer.

“No, sorry honey,” you turn back to him, patting his cheek.

“I said we could definitely do that, it won’t be too windy either so that’ll mean the lake will be calm.”

“Then sounds like a plan,” you agree, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “Now let me go back to looking at the sunset.” He laughs loudly, his head throwing back as he does.

“You’d rather look at the sunset than your handsome boyfriend?” He teases you, reaching over your bodies to grab your chin in his hands and turn your head back to him.

“I don’t know…have you seen the sky right now?” You continue to play along with the joke. “I will say it’s making your eyes look so magnificent, and I didn’t think it was possible for them to get prettier.”

He blushes at your words and hides his face behind his book, feeling very bashful all of a sudden. Quinn was never one to do well with compliments. Sure, he was happy to hear them, but he never knew how to accept them, or react when he was given one. You always told him it makes him even cuter, which leads him to always get even more shy.

His phone goes off for the timer for the food being done, so you head inside to plate everything and finish up the side dishes. Once everything is plated, you sit down at the dining room table, with you at the head of the table and Quinn to your left.

Dinner is quiet for the most part, with small conversation here and there, but you enjoy each other’s company and the peace of the still house. This is the kind of getaway the two of you needed, and you were so glad that you took a week off work to be here with him.

The days following are just as fun as the first day you were there. The second day, as promised, Quinn took you out on their boat and you two spent some time jumping off the side of the boat and swimming around in the water rather than near the land.

Unfortunately, the third and fourth days, rain was forecasted, so you found some things to do inside. On the third day, you relaxed by having a movie marathon with a mixture of your favorite movies, with a small break so that Quinn could catch up on some reading he wanted to get done. But, to still be with one another, you laid with your head in his lap and took a small nap before dinnertime rolled around.

The fourth day is when things took a slight turn.

You were inside, curled up on the couch with some popcorn, talking about the plans for the upcoming hockey season and how you’d work around your schedule to travel with him and things alike, when the front door starts to jiggle and suddenly, Jack barges in, announcing his arrival.

“No need to worry! I have arrived!” He shouts, Luke following close behind. Quinn’s expression drops with disappointment and he turns to look at you. Quinn sometimes struggles with speaking what he’s thinking, but his face always says it all.

“What the hell are you guys doing here?” He grumbles, rubbing his face. You set the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of you, standing to hug his brothers. Just then, his parents stroll in with their things.

“Mom, I told you I was taking (Y/N) here for the week and didn’t want anyone else here,” Quinn complains, finally standing from the couch to walk over to his parents.

You’ve met them plenty of times already, so that wasn’t an issue. But you knew Quinn wasn’t happy, and you suddenly felt like a nuisance. However, you were well aware that no one thought that of you, and this was all his family’s doing, as he did tell them he’d be there with you, and specifically wanted to be alone.

You greet them after Quinn does, giving both of them a hug before stepping to the side.

“Sorry for crashing your little romantic getaway,” Jack comes over to you, nudging your shoulder and laughing awkwardly.

“It’s not like that,” you mumble. “We’ve both been super stressed and needed to decompress away from everything.”

Jack still takes your words as suggestive, and he wiggles his eyebrows teasingly. You scoff at him and shove him away from you just as Luke walks up to the two of you.

“I tried to tell them not to come here, but they wouldn’t listen,” Luke tries to advocate for yours and Quinn’s side.

“It’s fine,” you shake your head. “I’m not the one you should be trying to apologize to.” You nod your head in Quinn’s direction, where he was in a slightly heated disagreement with his dad, his hands running through his hair in an annoyed manner.

When his parents finally go to their room and Jack and Luke head upstairs, Quinn returns to where you stand and hides his face in your neck, nuzzling into your shoulder. His arms go around your torso, just holding you to him.

“Hey, it’s alright, honey,” you whisper. He was very clearly upset that his family couldn’t give him just a week to himself, and he didn’t need to say this for you to know why he was upset.

“I told them not to come here,” he mumbles against your shirt. Your hands begin to mess with the curls at the back of his neck, twirling them between your fingers and combing through them.

“I know. We can try to take another trip together in a couple months, if that’ll make you feel better. Or we can leave a day early, in the morning, because I’d rather not be driving in the rain at night.”

Quinn is hesitant to answer, but after a few moments of thinking, he nods his head.

“I think I wanna leave in the morning.”

Your heart aches at the tone of his voice. Quinn was a family man more than anything else, but when he wanted his time away, he was serious about it. His brothers and parents crashing your small vacation has thrown off all of his plans, and he was now no longer wanted to be here.

“Okay. We can pack everything up right now, spend the rest of our night in the room, until dinner, and leave early before anyone wakes up. I’m so sorry, baby.” He raises his head and kisses you sweetly, silently thanking you for being so understanding and kind.

“It’ll be okay, honey, I promise,” you whisper, wanting him to know that you’re going to be here for him and advocate for him and his wellbeing.

#quinn hughes #quinn hughes imagines #quinn hughes x reader #quinn hughes imagine #vancouver canucks #vancouver canucks fanfic #hockey fanfic #nhl fanfic #nhl imagines #imagines #fanfiction #fanfic

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whoistartaglia · 10 months

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genshin men as types of influencers

part two

alhaitham has an account dedicated to his books. his feed is filled with aesthetic photos of his bookshelves, and videos include updates on his reading list, monthly favorites, and book reviews. might also post his favorite quotes and explanations as to why they are his favorite.

kaveh makes DIY tutorials on home projects. he’s surprising thorough in explaining the projects and showing his audience how to do them. such projects include home gardens, bookshelves (he definitely made alhaitham’s), birdhouses, and fixing repairs around the home.

itto has a workout account. he is a gym bro and definitely records all his sets, personal records, favorite workout routines. definitely a couple more than a couple pictures of him flexing his muscles, and he definitely forced members of the arataki gang to film him.

ayato posts get-ready-with-me’s. his channel is filled with morning and night routines, and he has one for every season and occasion. some are a little too specific—did he really need a “get ready with me for bed after a long day working and then going out to dinner with friends?” maybe, but his viewers eat it up anyways.

zhongli is a lifestyle influencer. he’s not necessarily a vlogger, but definitely makes videos highlighting his daily routine, favorite products he uses throughout the day, and sometimes restaurant and store reviews. his videos definitely have either soft piano or clam lofi beats playing in the background.

childe is a vlogger, but like an extremely hot-mess of a vlogger. his videos are mostly unedited and include him just living his life. you will see his highs and lows in his videos, and even a glimpse into what he does for work—it’s cute, if you can ignore that he’s literally filming himself beating someone up!

wanderer has an account dedicated to his travels. he refuses to show in face in his videos, but he will document his journey around teyvat. it’s more of a pet project than anything else, and some of his videos are genuinely interesting; him filming what the sky looks from each nation, for example.

kaeya is a beauty influencer. posts range from doing his eyeliner to picking out his outfits to shopping and reviewing new products. his makeup tutorials are very well informed and he has amassed a base of loyal fans who wait for his approval on certain products and brands.

diluc has a cat (yes he does) and has an account dedicated to said cat. his feed is filled with pictures of the feline, sprinkled in with some videos diluc filmed of the cat being particularly cute and/or getting into trouble. diluc never intended to become a pet influencer—he just of just started posting his cat on his main and it took off from there.

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evilwickedme · 1 year

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This wasn't asked for because nobody in their right mind would ask for this but this is a fic rec list of fics I cannot stop rereading

Just started yet another reread of Inimitable Verse by deniigiq and I fully plan on rereading their into the multiverse series which occasionally crosses over also - this is a Spider-Man/team red focused series, think comics canon infused early mcu-spidey since only homecoming had come out for a non substantial amount of time they were working on the series and the daredevil stuff is explicitly tv show AND comics. Also the multiverse series is how I got into Murderdock and therefore how I got into Spider Gwen

Unpretty's Sorrowful And Immaculate Hearts series which is just a loosely interconnected series of DC fics. My personal favorites are Empty Graves, in which Martha Kent keeps killing time travelers trying to kill baby! Clark; any of their clois fics but especially Third Wheel; and Anti-Social, which is a social media fic mostly about Tim and Bruce that made me cry laughing. Catch Bruce trying to get Walmart's employees to unionize. Also shout out to unpretty's only fic with Jason in it, it looks awesome but is tragically incomplete

This particular Reverse Robin AU which put in the work to reverse every single younger generation and is chef's kiss I LOVE this version of Tim he's wild

Both of Shoalsea's fics are in constant rotation for me I talk about Into The Brighter Night all the time in the tags of reblogs and stuff it truly lives in my head rent free. Anyway Tim gets kidnapped by aliens and the batfam have to watch as yj98 saves him and it's angsty and funny and such a good take on what could have been if the new 52 hadn't happened. And Compassion Builds No House is about Tim and Pru from Red Robin. Ugh they're both so good

Speaking of Clois (I did you've just forgotten this by now) brilliant (like a confession) by kathkin (penny-anna on the hellsite) is so fucking good I'm. Okay. Anyway it'll be listed as inspiration if/when I finally post my two person love triangle fic for them

I'm too anxious to catch up on this before it's done but jumble sale chic is hands down the best spideydevil fic series despite and because of the omegaverse

Make A Little Birdhouse In Your Soul is my favorite take on Jason, period, and has a lot of fantastic Damian stuff going on too. It's updating every few weeks still! Sometimes more often! I love you bacondoughnut it's me JustGail the person who will not stop commenting on your fic you're stuck with me forever

I lied above Rumspringa Murderdock is what got me into Murderdock but that series is second place. I found this one while scrolling through the tv show's mattfoggy tag, thinking I was safe

Speaking of Murderdock mattfoggy, The Lawyer All the Wickedness was written early on in spider-gwen's history and so diverges from canon really early in ways that I think are super interesting and creative

Oh also straight on 'til morning by merils (Tumblr url mamawasatesttube) does SUCH a great job unpacking Kon's trauma and building up healthy relationships around him including a budding timkon romance and yeah it makes me sad and happy at the same time

We're getting into poisonivory territory so just trust if you like the pairing and poisonivory is writing it you'll like it. Ok rapidfire

Like A Handprint On My Heart mattfoggy soulmate au with a twist

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? Damijon future fic/au. Jon came back from the future when both of them were 19. Demisexual!Damian at its best. Damian's terrified of being abandoned by Jon again and it made my heart hurt

I feel like I've already recommended every JayRoy fic by poisonivory and genuinely I do reread them all, sometimes in order of publication if I'm in a particular mood. Maybe the one I've read most though is I've Got the Feeling You're the Right Thing After All which is about Roy and Jason starting a fwb thing while Roy still harbors old feelings for Dick. Can't see anything going wrong here lmao

Mmm this post is long enough so I'll leave it at just superhero fic for now but I do in fact have the ability to do a whole post just for the Witcher or Leverage so I might do that. Anyway thanks for following me on yet another burst of insanity it will happen again

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kindlingkeen · 2 months

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Hello again!!! :D I read ‘For those who can’t’ from your post replying a rec, and it was awesome! I was wondering if you had any fic recommendations yourself? 👀

In exchange I offer these recs (although I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve already read them!)

- Who I am. Who I'll Never Be. By Zootopon

- Children Will Listen by ParkerAvenue

Welcome back!! You can give your ‘Keen Converses’ punch card another stamp—collect 10 and you get a free AW-related fic ask! 😉

Thank you so much for the fic recs! At first glance at the titles, I think I may have read Who I am. Who I'll Never Be. A scene with an injured Jason in the Batmobile reciting prose to trigger a bomb on a bridge is coming to mind?? Children Will Listen isn’t ringing any bells. I will check them both out!

I posted this list of fic recs in response to an ask a couple week ago—they’re all gen and Jason-centric, with varying depictions of Jason and Batfam dynamics and an array of tropes. So check that out, if you haven’t already.

And here’s a second round of fics recs! All gen and mostly Jason-centric. Again I went for a variety of tropes, tones, and takes on Jay. Hopefully you find something that you like!

The Time Before by Cdelphiki @cdelphiki. Red Hood time travels into the past and merges with 9-10 year old baby!Jay’s body.

Make a Little Birdhouse in Your Soul series by bacondoughnut. Starts out as an UtRH AU and follows assassin!Jason’s road to rejoining the family. This version of Jason is so complex and richly characterized. The series includes two long-fics and a one-shot.

robin's roast by envysparkler @envysparkler. It’s a coffee shop AU that somehow works, but the real star of this story is Steph.

Ricochet (Or, The Side Effects of Being a Bibliophile) by waterunderthebridge. Red Hood Jason struggles to reintegrate with the Batfam, lots of really well written family dynamics (this author does not pull punches on either the hurt or the comfort), plus a good case fic mystery.

Batfam prompts by punkrockhades @punkrockhades. A collection of one shots, all of these are glorious in different ways, and some are truly hilarious.

#keen converses #ask and you shall receive #at least when it comes to batfam fic recs #fic rec #jason todd #red hood #batfam

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flowerpoweryay09 · 2 months

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The Sanctuary, like any other normal establishment, gives its employees 20 days of paid holiday each year. So when Skulduggery is forced to take several weeks off throughout the year, he uses this time to become unhealthily obsessed with new hobbies and topics. The last time he had to go on holiday, he became so obsessed with Bob Ross, that by the end of the week, he had successfully recreated every single painting Bob Ross had ever done: Mountain Retreat, The Old Mill, Misty Waterfall - you name it, he’s done it. It got to the point where he wouldn’t even watch the tutorial. He would just look at the picture and go “I could do that”.

Other notable obsessions that have gripped this man during his holidays include:

- Birdhouse building

- Clarinet playing

- Tap dancing (which he got surprisingly good at tbf)

- Latte art

- Dungeons and dragons

- Dance Moms

#skulduggery pleasant #valkyrie cain #headcanon #please continue this list of hobbies #it’s so funny to think about #i Hope this was canon #so sad that he’s an arbiter now #I don’t think arbiters have to take holiday because they work for themselves #sad times #I bet he misses his paid holidays sometimes

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bonesandthebees · 8 months

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I have watched the vod. I am losing my MIND about q!sandduo.

On one side you have q!Phil, who has been taking care of these eggs by himself for months. Who loves them very dearly. Who completely loses it when they go missing to the point of leaving all his items and running of into the woods without telling anyway for the chance to get them back. Like this man tried so hard he got stuck in a birdhouse for a week and he’s still not sure if it was actually real or not. He’s chasing every lead including the mission in the maze. And then Wilbur has the gall to imply he’s not trying hard enough and he’s to happy when the eggs are gone while on a mission to try and gather intell.

Then on the other side you have q!Wilbur, who just got here after being on tour for months. Who wrote consistent letters to his daughter for as long as he could, but couldn’t be there for here in person. And from the moment he gets there he’s overwhelmed, because there’s constant people and things requiring his attention when he just wants to see his daughter. And nobody’s catching him up on anything because no one wants to be the person to tell him his daughter is gone (and so are all the other kids). Maybe none of them think it’s there place. So when he finally gets told, he’s upset. Because he doesn’t know what’s going on, hasn’t for at least an hour, and he’s only being told his daughter is gone now? In his mind it’s more important. And they are just running around in a maze and he doesn’t get why because it’s not been explained to him. He’s so incredibly out of the loop and frustrated that he lashes out at Phil for telling him the news.

Like it’s a miscommunication plot, but it’s so well done because you can understand where both characters are coming from. Because we know what Phil’s been through, but Wilbur doesn’t. He’s missing so much information. So to then have him walk around and see all the things he’s missed, to see that he missed Tallulah’s birthday, helps him understand that maybe he did miss a lot and maybe he was wrong. I’m paraphrasing but “maybe Phil wasn’t angry that I was gone, maybe he’s angry that I left in the first place”.

Not to mention the “I wasn’t:the first to look for her but damn if I’m not gonna try” or something like that. Because he’s starting out easy. He’s starting out with the same thing he did last time he lost her, but how much further will he go when that doesn’t work? Not to mention the Lovejoy funding the island + wanting to talk to the federation thing! Like there’s a couple directions that could go and all of them are interesting.

Anyway, sorry that I just started analysing QSMP in your inbox, but I had thoughts about q!Sandduo and I know you do too.

-🌲

YESSS EXACTLY!! you can understand where both of them are coming from. phil has been tormenting himself for the past month trying to find his kids. wilbur just showed up, no one told him his daughter was missing for his entire first hour there, and everyone is laughing running around a maze while he's barely being given an explanation of what's going on. of course he thinks no one's taking it seriously.

it's a very well done miscommunication plot. I liked how they pulled it off and I think it worked out very well to give wilbur a chance to get away from the chaos and investigate what's gone on in his absence himself

I really think q!wilbur is primed for a federation plot. lovejoy (apparently) canonically works with the federation already, so they already like wilbur and will likely give him similar favoritism that they give jaiden. considering how disorganized and chaotic the players were yesterday, I can see wilbur thinking he's more likely to find his daughter by working with the federation, while being unaware of the darker things the federation has done in his absence. obviously things might go completely a different way and he could get roped into the resistance stuff through phil, but I think wilbur is in a position right now where the federation is 100% going to look like the best option. and if so, imagine the q!sandduo interactions we could get out of THAT

#ask #spruce anon #q!wilbur #q!phil

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beenjen · 2 months

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Alas, the human experience.

It’s been a rough patch, so much happening, so many hard things, and I forget, that C is in it with me, and it’s happening to him as well.

We had been fussing, and I went to my weekend morning yoga. During yoga, you can pick what to dedicate your practice too, or what to focus on. Under the 8 limbs of yoga, there is Satya, truthfulness or ‘your truth.’ I’ve been dedicating my practice to this for a week now, and during practice, it came to me, that what I want most, through everything, is to come to the other side of this hell (losing mom, dads diagnosis, his plethora of extended challenges surrounding this, the in-laws, all of it) - this incredibly heavy time, with Chris by my side.

In marriage, or any long-term relationship or friendship, I believe you come to these points. Or maybe everyone isn’t tested as hard, or as hard headed as we are, regardless, at this crossroads, I only want to come through this crucible stronger and more capable.

When I came home, we had a long talk - which, is hard with young children - and included too much screen time, extravagant promises to them, and copious candy and junk food bribes.

I’m Lucky in that he also wants to come Out the other side with me in tow. We sorted the real crux; his burnout with work leading to me feeling solo at home, coupled with my frustration in having to re-engage him. There is so much more to it, at the bare bones though, we have been through the ringer in the last 6 months, let alone the last 5 years. It’s human nature to withdraw and think of self at deeply painful and intense times. I’m not sure it’s as natural to look outside yourself for answers and solutions. At least not for someone who has always had to find their own way through.

There is so much past life here, that colors and clouds our thoughts and beliefs on relationships, expectations, you name it. Theres hardly enough space here for that, or hours in the day, to cover it all… suffice it to say, everyone has history, baggage, belief systems, and there are times, in life, relationships, careers, you come to these pivotal points, and you decide, to grow with, and include someone else in that process, or to do that singularly, and potentially grow apart.

Then we hosted Easter for 30 people at our house, and the only real phone I have, is with our son and 2 of my cousins kiddos, sans Lilith -

It’s a beautiful photo 💚

> dads ct came back showing he has 2 nodules that are gone and the large lung mass shrinking in size. This is so encouraging, we know it’s buying time, but damn if it doesn’t feel good to have a little more of that.

> able to get one day a week back for work from home

> spreading out from traditional ‘green’ plants

My zz raven and red secret are 2 beauties I’m playing with. Picked up a killer variegated Thai Constellation as well that I’m just so excited about -

This baby, can come as quite the expense and I LUCKED UP BAYBEE 🤘

My aunt brought me a purple heart-

And c my very first orchid -

> we’ve been in the yard. Garden prepping. Greenhouse planning.

And I found this super fun ‘grill’ birdhouse for the back 💚

May we all grow, as we are intended to grow, and continue to have love and hope in our hearts.

Seek your Satya xx

#satya #nashville #615 #working mom #marriage #plantblr #find your joy #keep trying #Spotify

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monstercampus · 8 months

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ellie... may I please know more about Chaos or the pixies? 🥺 pleaseeeee 🥺

of course my love!! <3 sorry it got so long ehe 👉👈

The pixies live in a pixie-specific dorm (which is basically a large birdhouse that Sheela and Huxley built) since they're all very close and tend to stick together as a pack. The ones you've met already are a group of six, but there's more pixies on campus if you know where to look. They aren't necessarily students, but aren't necessarily staff either; pixies tend to hole up wherever they fancy, and since they're quite rare and one of very few monster species that aren't governed by anyone but themselves, they're allowed to come and go as they please. Plus, they're considered to be good luck by most, so even their mischief is tolerated to a high degree since it's considered just part of their nature. They're usually pretty docile but since your arrival they've gotten.....more active than usual.

See, pixies have a long history with humans, but due to the current state of the monster-human world and the scarcity of the pixies themselves, they rarely if ever get to interact with humans like their ancestors did. It's one of the reasons that faeries, a sub-species of the pixie grouping, are so rare too nowadays--faeries are almost always born from a pixie-human union, so despite their long lifespans the race of faeries is slowly dying off. So the pixie girls on campus are eager to find ways to get close to you, partly because they're absolutely fascinated with humans...and partly because they'd like to recruit you, such a nice and pretty human, to make nice and pretty faerie babies that will revive their population! <3 Pixies are creatures of ecstasy though, and they can get easily distracted, so needless to say they might need a little time to get around to that while they're busy messing around with you and figuring out what you like. But lucky for you, pixie dust is a very potent aphrodisiac for humanoids--and lucky for them, they're small and sprightly enough to get under your clothes even while you're in the middle of class, just to give you a little pep boost for the day ♡

Chaos is a household curse and very well-known in myth, but very, very few have ever had the displeasure of meeting him in person and lived to tell about it. Chaos is one of the last and oldest titans known to both gods and man, imprisoned in The Pits in the deepest, darkest area of the Underworld for thousands upon thousands of years. Aside from being an immortal god whose actions are impossible to predict, Chaos was imprisoned for eternity for the crime of murdering the old gods who once ruled over the Holy and Unholy lands. Although many believe his treason was borne out of nothing more than a destructive, rageful urge and acted upon by impulse, scholars have uncovered many old tomes and ancient texts penned by godly scribes about Chaos' life as a free god; including the snatches of records that indicate that Chaos once had a lover and home he was wholly devoted to. Although the general public tends to prefer the simpler ideology of Chaos being an unpredictably evil god punished by the forces of good, it's been well-established in record that Chaos' story is much more...elaborate than that, and it roughly follows as such.

Eons prior to common memory Chaos once walked the earth as divinity in human form, freshly separated from his sibling Creation where they once were inseparable. Feeling a sense of dread and loneliness at walking the world alone that he helped shape, Chaos wandered until he stumbled upon a treasure in the sands of a beach; a pearl nestled safely inside a rugged oyster, perfectly shaped and smooth and cool to the touch. New to such a natural wonder and unable to resist the pull of a prize that had manifested without his or Creation's influence, Chaos claimed the pearl and carried it up the mountains he had made his home to the highest peak. There, he held out the polished treasure that he had kept so safe and warm to the sun, and with the radiance of the holy lands shining down a spirit sprung from the pearl! The glow of the holy lands spun that spirit into human form out of its light, and with the pearl nestled safely in the crest of their newly-beating heart, a new divinity entered the world; Eden, the first valkyrie of the gods and the first creation made from both earth, heaven, and underworld influence.

At first sight Chaos fell to his knees and wept, his loneliness forgotten, and he grew deeply infatuated upon the first touch of their hands as Eden helped him to his feet. The two were soon lovers and built a home for themselves, happy and content with their simple lives, until the old gods called Eden back to attend to their duties as a valkyrie. They were forced to fight the battles of the old gods and would return to their husband Chaos broken and exhausted, but never able to refuse the will of their deities who had given them life and love, and never without a smile on their face for him and him alone. Eventually the old gods demanded Eden's permanent return to the heavens and were stoutly refused, thus in petty retaliation they subdued Chaos and murdered his beloved spouse as punishment, stripping their immortality from them and casting their body into The Pits to suffer for the couple's shared act of defiance. And in a grievous rage, Chaos broke his shackles and rampaged through both the Holy Lands and the Underworld, slaughtering the old gods and each and every divinity that served them until he grew tired and slow from his injuries. In that moment of weakness the remaining deities cast him into The Pits to be sealed away forever and never return to the surface, destined to be bound by chains and tortured for all eternity as penance in a contract bound forevermore.

But as he wandered there, small and alone once again, he discovered a treasure--the pearl that once served as the heart of his beloved Eden, still warm but cracked and chipped from wear as it lay within their broken body. As the gates to The Pits closed for eternity, Chaos tearfully wrenched it from their breast, held his pearl aloft and begged one last time for mercy, not for him who would accept his suffering but for his paradise not yet lost. And just as his fate was sealed, the pearl was plucked from his hands and spirited far, far away from the Underworld; dropped into the vast ocean of the earth and sunk to the very bottom like a stone, Eden's restless spirit tugging at their shape to search vainly for their fallen husband. With time they settled in exhaustion, and for millennia they were left in the deep, dark coldness of the sea, the water and grit and current polishing them down, down, down until they became nothing but a handful of stardust glittering amongst the waves. And when time came, Creation returned to their side after rescuing them from death and scooped up what remained of Eden in their hands, lifted their palms to their lips, and blew that glittering stardust gently into a cloud that swirled and bound itself into a soul borne anew. With all but the smallest drop of immortal ichor remaining in their veins, Eden the valkyrie was rebirthed and given new life, all but that one drop and the same form they took remaining.

Some say that it was Creation's gift to their fallen brother who still endured endless torture in The Pits, growing larger century after century as his titan blood boils in rage and agony, his chains growing with him yet The Pits themselves eventually growing small in comparison to his enormity. Although close followers of Creation insist that their craft takes form regardless of any personal desire, as Creation itself is a god void of nearly all emotion. Either way, Eden supposedly walks the world in present day, void of memories of their past life and of their dear husband, of the life they once dreamed of and lived together in harmony. Some rumour that Chaos' eyes that were stolen long ago during his enchainment was to eliminate the possibility of him recognizing his newly-reincarnated spouse, for if he ever knew for certain that they live there would be no force that would keep him locked away a moment longer. But were they to be recovered and returned, if Eden themselves were to find their way back to the husband they never knew they lost, the world would undoubtedly witness the return of the most feared, most villainized god from myth and fairy tale alike, and would see firsthand the unbridled ecstasy and arrogance of Chaos claiming for good what he was willing to blight all existence for.

#the pixies #monster campus #chaos (mc)#pixie x reader #chaos x reader #monster girlfriend #monster boyfriend #neutral pov #monster campus lore #ellie writes #anons

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jksprincess10 · 1 year

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Can I request woodshop professor Joel.... idk I prompt, I just can’t get professor Joel out of my head 😅😅

Yes !! I wrote a little something with that idea. Hope you like it :)

A/N: Reader is in her 30s, she's a divorced mom looking for love !

Since your divorce, you tried different strategies and scenarios to meet new men. Speed dating didn’t work, meeting friends of friends didn’t work, and let’s not even talk about websites to meet single dads in your area.

So, when you saw an ad for woodwork workshops in your neighborhood, you thought it was the perfect way to meet men that were good with their hands. You were always creative, anyway, so it wasn’t completely out of character for you. Plus, you wanted to learn to be more independent without your husband here to fix everything.

You left your daughter at your sweet elder neighbor’s house, before heading to your first class. To your disappointment, there weren’t many people. 5, tops, including you. The men there weren’t your type at all.

Until the teacher greeted you all. He was almost 6 feet tall, he had fluffy dark hair, pretty eyes and nicely trimmed facial hair. Plus, no ring on his finger.

“Welcome y’all. My name is Joel. We’ll learn the basics today. But before, let me know your names.” He had a charming southern accent.

You all presented yourselves, and you swore he gave you the brightest smile when you said your name.

“I’m glad we have some variety today. So guys, no locker room talk, hm?” He said.

He distributed the gloves and protective gear, before you got started. You followed his instructions, trying not to get distracted by the way his muscles flexed when he worked on the machines.

“Good job. Let’s take 5, yeah? Smoking break if ya need it.” He said as he started cleaning up around him.

He took off his glasses and his gloves, before coming up to you. You were the only one left in the workshop.

“So, why a woodwork class? Don’t get me wrong, I love me an independent woman, but I’m just curious.”

You felt yourself blush as you took off your glasses and your gloves. You shrugged.

“Do you want the truth or a lie?”

Joel laughed. “The truth, please.”

“Trying to find a new partner after a divorce is really hard. And… I want to be able to fix things myself and show my daughter how to do it.”

“Trust me, I know what it feels like.” He bit his bottom lip as he took the start of your birdhouse in his hands, checking your work. His bright puppy eyes looked at you when he asked. “Found what you were looking for?”

“Depends. Is the teacher single?”

“The teacher is single, and his daughter is sleeping at a friend’s house.” Joel responded with a smile.

“Then, let’s have a drink after this.” You winked.

While you waited for the others to come back from their smoking break, you talked about your daughters, that were a similar age. You had a lot in common.

When the class started again, Joel spent a lot of time helping you with your work, sometimes his hand guiding yours to get a better cut. You could smell him all around you: a mix of his cologne and wood dust. When you did things right, he praised you softly, and you couldn’t help the redness of your cheeks.

You were glad you had given this class a chance.

#joel miller x reader #joel miller fluff #professor ! joel #writing requests

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seat-safety-switch · 1 year

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My local small hardware store was destroyed decades ago. An uncaring foreign mega-corporation swooped in and bought the whole chain. It turns out that when you buy a struggling small hardware store, it doesn’t suddenly become magically profitable because it now has your visionary leadership and MBA-driven artificial metaminds at the helm. So they did the next best thing to doing a good job, and started shutting down stores, including my own one.

As a teenager, this was particularly ill-timed. Now, rather than being able to ride my bicycle through the big field behind the church to get potato gun materials, I had to take the bus to go to the big chain store. And at the big chain store, they didn’t have Bob. Bob was an old dude who worked the front bench at the small hardware chain, and he had lived a lot of lives before he ended up stuck in the asshole of the universe, giving advice to suburbanite dads about what kind of nailgun to use to assemble a birdhouse kit.

I was afraid of Bob as a kid, mostly because of his gruff demeanour and general no-nonsense attitude. When I grew into a teenager, I was still a little afraid – but the desire for knowledge surpassed that. For that one summer I had him, I asked Bob about everything I could think of. House wiring codes. How an internal combustion engine worked. Who Faulkner was. Why he was hiding in our town, had obviously changed his name, and kept going on break whenever a neighbourhood cop came into the store. And then I bought a bunch of stuff, because that was what Bob was there for: to tell me to get the good shit, instead of the bad shit, because life was too short.

Once the store was sold, I never saw him again. It was as if his existence was inextricably bound to that of the store, a sort of forest fairy who was destroyed when the spell was broken by bylaw enforcement. In adulthood, I assume that he still lived in the general area and simply found a new job after the new owners pushed a background check (or tax withholding) upon him. Sometimes I wonder where he ended up; maybe he’s wandering around French hardware stores now, telling Gallic teenagers about the standards body behind Romex.

Would he be proud of the man I’d become? No: he was a dyed-in-the-wool Ford man, Bob was. And I don’t shoplift nearly enough from the big hardware store.

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spiritmander13 · 9 months

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This album...

... Plus this cast.

Excluding Theme From Flood, there are 18 songs in Flood. And in this picture, we have 18 characters.

Please tell me at least a few of these songs LYRIC-WISE fit these characters.

Birdhouse Of Your Soul? Tea Kettle. The song can be about a nightlight, nightlights help kids sleep, so do mothers, and Tea Kettle is the most motherly character I've ever seen.

Lucky Ball In Chain? Silver Spoon. I already made a post breaking down the lyrics and how it relates to him, but to summarize it; the lyrics can talk about his current situation and Silver Spoon and Candle's relationship.

Istanbul (Not Constantinople)? Shitposty, but Bot. I imagine a scene where Bot comes back to the Hotel and everyone is just like 'aren't you Bow' and then cue a parody of this song.

Some others include Minimum Wage for OJ, Particle Man for Goo, and Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love for Fan.

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tmbg-tournie · 11 months

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WELCOME TO TMBG BEST SONG TOURNAMENT 💿

EXPLANATION/RULES/WHATNOT UNDER HERE ⤵️

I’m going to do polls on all tmbg songs in mostly chronological order (oldest to newest) and then put the winners from each album against eachother for the TMBG BEST SONG!!!

There are 2 mods: mod goober (owner, she/her, @gooberdude101) and mod lain (basically my secretary [does all the hard stuff], they/she, @shreeky)

Any untagged posts are probably me before lain showed up, also polls will not be tagged as either mod

I use Apple Music and Spotify as references for what is an album and what is an EP for the most part, so the Spine collections are being polled as albums, rest assured though that all songs will be polled one way or another

Don’t mind my pfp

I post polls once a day (ish) until there’s no rounds finished, which I’ll either wait or poll singles in the meantime until I can get back to polling the actual albums

Sometimes I forget to post so sorry about that

I count eps under the singles category just because it’s easier usually, but if an ep/compilation where most of the songs aren’t on a studio album I’ll poll is as an album (ex. Miscellaneous T)

If a song is in multiple albums/eps I’ll still poll it, even if it is the same version of a song. This is because it’s still part of the official album, so I think it still deserves at least a chance to win

stuff not technically under TMBG but still made by both of them (ex. Other Father Song, I’m Not A Loser, Hot Dog Dance Break, etc) will still be included but I may not know about/find all of them so let me know if you want to make sure I poll something, it really helps me make polls

Solo projects (Mono Puff, 50 States Songs) will NOT be polled until all other TMBG songs are polled including singles and eps

All polls are randomly selected and I have no hand in choosing polls. The only way a poll would change is before I start I might randomize it again

If you have any questions comments or concerns my ask box will always be open

This post will be updated as I feel there’s more things to explain

POLL STATS:

ALBUM: They Might Be Giants (1986)

Winner: Don’t Let’s Start

2nd place: Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

ALBUM: Lincoln (1988)

Winner: Ana Ng

2nd place: Snowball In Hell

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ALBUM: Flood (1990)

Winner: Birdhouse In Your Soul

2nd place: Istanbul (not Constantinople)

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ALBUM: Apollo 18 (1992)

Winner: The Statue Got Me High

2nd place: I Palindrome I

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ALBUM: Miscellaneous T (1991)

Winner: Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had A Deal

2nd Place: I’ll Sink Manhattan

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ALBUM: John Henry (1994)

Winner: End Of The Tour

2nd Place: Sleeping In The Flowers

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ALBUM: Factory Showroom (1996)

In progress…

#tmbg (the album)#lincoln tmbg #FINAL RESULTS #flood tmbg #singles #normal stuff #ask box #finals #apollo 18 tmbg #doodles #miscellaneous t tmbg #john henry tmbg

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magicalgirlmascot · 10 months

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So uh. I've been moving all my playlists off Spotify and onto YouTube (and downloading the songs ~totally legally~ to have on my computer as well), and largely they're private because they're all OC playlists. HOWEVER. I do have a playlist for KNPS which I felt like people might get a kick out of. So here it is. Several of these were added when I moved the playlist off Spotify since a lot of them aren't available on Spotify, particularly video game soundtracks.

Track list (and reasoning) below the cut.

Move Along by the All-American Rejects I don't think I need to explain this one, actually.

School by Toby Fox (from Deltarune) Also kind of self-explanatory. This is music that I associate with Gali and Lewa's class, specifically.

A New Hero by Nathan Furst (from Mask of Light) I love the MoL soundtrack best of all the Bionicle movie soundtracks, so I had to include some of the songs from it here.

Old Friends (Bookends Theme) by Simon and Garfunkel Technically a harp/violin cover but shhh. Old Friends is a Turaga Metru song if ever there was one. This version is just very pretty :3

Wonderland Round 3 by Griffin McElroy (from The Adventure Zone) I'm gonna be honest I don't have an excuse for this one it just slaps.

As Above, So Below by Essenger and Cryoshell A very recent addition to the playlist. I don't think I need to explain this one either, actually.

Birdhouse in Your Soul by They Might Be Giants Takua song. Could not explain why if I tried.

Dreamer by Supertramp Vakama song, also Takua song. It's about someone with their head in the clouds, which applies to both of them in different (and similar) ways.

Friday I'm in Love by The Cure Matau song. Less in that it represents who he is as a character and more in that he's a classic rock guy who loves wandering into the office singing and whistling incredibly on the nose rock tunes.

Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel Nokama song. Also a Gali song. I mean listen to it, come on.

Rivers in the Desert by Lyn (from Persona 5) Boss music baby!!

Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush Music that Gali listens to when she's sad.

Toa Reunited and Death of Jaller by Nathan Furst (from Mask of Light) This is on here because of the "Toa Reunited" part I swear. Anyway one of my favourite songs on the MoL OST.

Samurai Heart (Some Like it Hot!!) by SPYAIR (from Gintama) Full disclosure I've never watched Gintama. However. Kohatu song.

Starlight Brigade by TWRP I mean. It's a song about saving the world. "I'd gladly give my life for one night as a justice acolyte" is also a banger line ngl

Supernatural Superserious by R.E.M. I associate this with Kopaka for some reason. Couldn't tell you why.

The Prophet's Song by Queen The most Vakama song ever. Written specifically for him everyone say thank you Freddie <3

The Touch by Stan Bush LISTEN.

The Last Desperate Struggle by Masakazu Sugimori (from Ghost Trick) This is the song I had on repeat while writing the "Lewa gets possessed" chapter.

Running in the 90s by Max Coveri Pohatu unironically listens almost exclusively to this kind of music. The man loves him some Eurobeat.

Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce Whenuju song. Was their first dance at their wedding. The lyrics are literally perfect for them. "I've looked around enough to know/you're the one I want to go through time with" IT'S THEM.

Unite (Redux) by Ron Wasserman (from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers) YEAH A POWER RANGERS SONG WHAT ABOUT IT. First of all it's literally called Unite. Secondly Power Rangers and Bionicle are like brothers to me. Third and most important it fucks.

A Town Called Hometown by Toby Fox (from Deltarune) Sweet, quaint small town vibes (which is the point lmao). Fitting given that KNPS takes place in a sweet, quaint small town.

Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There by Lyn (from Persona 5) I associate this with school because it used to be on the playlist I used when I got ready for work in the mornings. It's also a sentiment I can see Gali and Pohatu getting behind.

Wonder by Naughty Boy ft. Emelie Sande I think I first found this song on a Wonder Woman playlist lmao. It's basically about like, personal strength and stuff. Good song.

Working for the Weekend by Loverboy Another song Matau likes to whistle on Fridays.

Beach Chant by Justin Luchter (from MNOLG) Iconic early Bionicle music. Had to include it.

Lost One's Weeping by Afterglow Yes this is a cover of a Vocaloid song and yes it's from a fucking. Band anime or whatever. I like it. Also it's the school trauma song so on the school playlist it goes.

Lucretia by Griffin McElroy (from The Adventure Zone) Look, Lucretia and Nokama are very different people, but there's enough overlap (older female characters who struggle with keeping heavy secrets from the protagonists) that I feel pretty good putting her theme on here. Also Nokama would be the world's biggest Lucretia defender, we all know this in our hearts

SAVE the World by Toby Fox (from Undertale) YES another Toby Fox song. Anyway boss fight music hell yeah

The End by Justin Luchter (from MNOLG) Again, iconic early Bionicle music, really captures the feeling that some great victory has been achieved, at least for now.

Everytime We Touch by Cascada Tahu/Gali song. LOOK. It's a Tahu/Gali song okay

Village Bridge (with buildup) by Junichi Masuda (from Pokemon Black and White) Hands down one of the best tracks from the best Pokemon game. Again very small town vibes.

May add more to it, who knows.

#bionicle #ficblogging #a normal playlist by someone with normal taste in music #i made this post instead of showering #listening to it on shuffle is so funny bc it's like. running up that hill > old friends > beach chant > YOU GOT THE TOUCH!!!!#fuckin jumpscared by my own playlist that i made #knps

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ask-the-tf2-mercs · 10 months

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A letter for engineer ( shock and horror ): Hello engineer I have heard you are being sent horrible things enjoy this birdhouse :)

There is a flat-packed kit for a birdhouse, paints included.

Engineer: Oh lord, not again.. [nervously looks into the box and inspects everything before sighing in relief and relaxing when it is just a birdhouse] Well, now I appreciate this quite a lot! We could use more normal mail like this. [sets everything out carefully so he can start getting to work]

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 headcanons #tf2 engineer #//and then hours later he produced a birdhouse that shouldn't have been possible with the materials given #//there's more wood than there was before and it has mechanical parts for maximum bird efficiency

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quotesfrommyreading · 9 months

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For most people, discovering a frog living in your fence post would make you feel either kind of creeped out or kind of charmed. For one guy in Australia, it was a challenge: He decided to make it the sweetest pad possible. In a now-viral two-minute TikTok video, he designs and 3-D-prints his frog an elaborate home. He keeps adding features until the lucky amphibian has an attached pool, a downstairs mating pond with a tadpole ramp, and a predator-proof safe room.

This frog house was gleefully over the top, practically engineered to go viral with its renovations for “increased ribbit amplification” and a brushtail possum who occasionally likes to drink water from the pool. But frog houses as an idea are worth taking seriously. Animals don’t need much to get cozy in our backyards and balconies, as the world has already learned with birds. One ecologist found that bird feeding goes back at least 3,500 years; in the 18th century, the facades of Ottoman palaces and mosques were fitted with structures to house birds, who were seen as both holy and lucky. Birdhouses and bird feeders are so thoroughly part of human culture that purple martins in eastern North America nest almost exclusively in houses made by humans.

But why do birds get all the love? Building a little house for a frog to shelter in, or a pond where eggs can hatch and tadpoles can grow, is a great idea if you’ve got a place to put it. Even a tiny pondlet in a container on a patio can raise a whole amphibian generation. You can provide meaningful help to animals that need it, and participate in species conservation at home with very few downsides. Honestly, creating a backyard pond is probably better than putting up a birdhouse. Will someone please think of the urban amphibian?

Birds are beautiful, and they sing—it is no wonder we have long welcomed them into human spaces. At some level, it doesn’t even feel like sharing space, because birds live up high, in trees and on rooftops and telephone wires. They get the sky, and we get the land. Seems fair. But frogs? Inviting them into the garden can make you feel uneasy. Whereas birds are “so obvious and so charismatic,” Erin Sauer, an ecologist at the University of Arkansas who has studied both urban birds and urban amphibians, told me, frogs are “cryptic” and “camouflaged”—“they don't want you to find them.” Many frogs in temperate zones, including much of the United States, are brown and green, and more active at night. They are a subtle pleasure, compared with a crimson cardinal or an iridescent hummingbird.

It might not be obvious that some amphibians are probably living not too far from you, in part because they stay hidden. Frogs, newts, and salamanders exist in most cities. In New York, you can hear gray tree frogs call in Brooklyn Heights. In Los Angeles, the canyons of Griffith Park are filled with bumpy western toads. According to the biodiversity tracker iNaturalist, 28 species of amphibians have been spotted in Columbus, Ohio, including the colorful eastern red-backed salamander.

But amphibian populations are declining. Forty-one percent of amphibians are threatened with extinction, in part because of an ongoing fungal pandemic that as of four years ago had driven an estimated 90 species extinct. Frogs also have habitat needs that are “so specific,” Sauer said: They must have both water and land to complete their life cycle.

Still, if there are frogs near your home and some relatively protected route for them to travel, and you build a pond with vegetation around it, they will likely move in. An analysis of dozens of projects that created ponds for amphibians found that in every study, frogs showed up at some or all of the ponds. And many of the studies found that the number of species was similar or higher in created ponds than in natural ponds. Not all of those ponds were in cities, but another study looked at ponds in Portland, Oregon, and found similar results. The biggest predictor of how well a pond attracted frogs wasn’t whether it was real or fake, but the amount of plants growing in and around it.

Frog ponds aren’t very common residential features (yet), but it isn’t like no one thinks of amphibian-kind when designing their outdoor space. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has some advice for creating effective backyard conservation ponds for native wildlife. There are any number of guides online to building toad abodes, frog hotels, and general-purpose backyard frog ponds. Some gardeners install toad houses, hoping that a toad will move in and pay rent by eating common garden pests. You can even buy handmade toad houses on Etsy. And naturally, TikTok Frog House Guy is now selling frog houses as well.

It can be simple, and cheap, to invite amphibians over to your place. Tree frogs love to hang out inside vertical tubes, so simply pounding a few PVC pipes into the ground can create a little frog hotel. Building a cozy house for toads can be as easy as half-burying a broken pot. Making a frog pond is as straightforward as digging a hole; setting a commercial pond liner, an old bathtub, or even a plastic storage tote in the hole; and filling it with rocks and water. “You don’t need to 3-D-print some elaborate frog mansion,” Sauer told me.

I had called Sauer to set my mind at ease on one point: Would creating an artificial house or pond also create a transmission point for disease? She told me it wasn’t worth worrying about. Yes, multiple frogs might move into a pond or house, and they might touch if they mate, but frogs already gather in groups naturally, whereas birds at bird feeders can congregate in unusually high numbers. Feeders can pose a disease risk to birds, Sauer said: “You have a single place with one porthole, and they stick their faces in there and chew on things. And then their friends come over and do the same thing.” A frog pond can even bring in birds, who will use it to bathe and drink—with less chance of disease transmission.

There are very few downsides to catering to your local frogs, the biggest of which is that your backyard might have more mosquitoes—mosquitoes, like frogs, breed in water. To avoid that, you either need animals that will eat all of the mosquitoes (such as dragonflies or some tadpoles) or you need to keep the water moving. A solar-powered aerator costs about $30.

It is very possible that the frogs that show up to your patio water feature won’t be critically endangered species, but that’s okay. “We want to keep common species common so they don’t decline,” Sauer said. It all helps. Providing habitat for amphibians is important, but researchers are also working on frog houses that will actually help save frogs from the fungal pathogen. These houses would be like little greenhouses: hot enough to kill the fungus but not too hot for the frog’s comfort.

Not everyone can or wants to build a frog house. But they might be interested in putting a pot full of wildflowers for pollinators on their balcony. Saving species in the 21st century isn’t just about protecting big, undeveloped parks—although we need those too. It is also about figuring out how to coexist with the many species that can thrive in the urban, suburban, exurban, and agricultural landscapes we’ve made. That we’ve shared space with birds for thousands of years proves we can do it.

There’s evidence that this is already happening, and birdhouses and frog houses are just the beginning. People are adding bee hotels and bat houses, and planting milkweed for endangered monarch butterflies to lay their eggs on. It can be dizzying to think about all the species that need help right now, but engaging in everyday conservation can also just be fun, helping to turn neighborhoods into corridors of habitat for creatures such as frogs. Our cities can be wetlands too, at least in spots. Our kids can watch tadpoles on summer days. And in the spring, we can listen to the frogs sing at dusk.

— You Should Build a Frog Pond

#emma marris #you should build a frog pond #environmentalism #ecology #wildlife conservation #history #animals #frogs #salamanders #newts #toads #gray treefrog #western toad #red-backed salamander #mosquitoes #dragonflies #ottoman empire #erin l. sauer

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