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anonymousdior · 4 years

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My Lived Experience

I’ve been silent the last few weeks, not because I don’t have a voice or an opinion on what’s happening in this world right now or even more specifically, in my home country. But, because there is just so many feelings of all kind of everything. But, I feel like it’s time to speak up and tell my story and my views.

First off, If you are new here or need a reminder; I am Tri-Racial. My father is African American; my mother is Italian and Indigenous. Mix those three with being a medical anomaly; it can be confusing thing to divulge to people. Which is probably why I usually don’t. In fact, most people don’t know anything about me I would say. But, that’s about to change.

Let’s get real blunt.. I grew up within Racism. In fact, Racism is as much as my family as a brother and sister would be. How so? One family was so disgusted with my blackness that they administered burning liquids to my scalp to change the way my hair follicles grow. Yes, this was something the main culprit had researched. This family had called me every slur in the book, “The N word”, “Burrhead” were some to name a few. I was treated differently from my cousins because they were considered “pure” and I was “polluted and dirty.” That was just one family. My other family refuses to acknowledge me due to being mixed and insults are hurled on a regular basis in reference to my whiteness or indigenous side. In fact, some self hatred resides within my Father’s family as well. On another note, I was given away and sent away because of my blackness and how it would be easier if I was not nearby for the One side of the family.

Fast forward a few years, I was living with my meema and mooma, a strong Cameroonian woman and African man and my uncle C, an African American male. I am in a neighbourhood that was 96% African American and had a 92% crime rate. Racism was very much apart of this neighbourhood. The neighbourhood was fenced in, to not allow the residents inside venture out. In fact, there was a school, library and a shitty grocery store within this fenced area. It was expected that everyone residing within these buildings would stay within the fence and not “pollute” the rest of Atlanta. If you did get out, well expect to be hunted down and harassed. If you wanted a job, you would have to lie on your application of where you lived. The APD would roll in every day, with guns in hand, not even in the holster anymore. They would rough you up for no reason and if you fought back, you’re arrested on the spot and lucky if you made it to the precinct without needing medical attention. However, in the “white” neighbourhoods, no policing was needed and when you were arrested, you were treated as a human. This neighbourhood was treated as less than. Don’t think the APD are bad? Don’t understand why Atlantans are so suspicious of the APD?

Let’s get real again...I was walking home one night from my shift at T-Mobile. It was dark but I was dirt ass poor, not to mention my money had been taken from me (That will be discussed later on). I am minding my own business and all of a sudden, the APD with their cherries on pull over and draw their guns at me, I am 17 years old and alone, not to mention a girl. They yell at me to get on the ground only once, when I ask what is happening or why, I am lunged at and my face is pushed into the ground. With guns still drawn at my head and this heavy officer on me, I’m asked where I live and what am I? I answer the name of the neighbourhood and I am bi-racial. All of a sudden I’m told that I will do and I fit the description of an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon from a bar that was at least a 2.5-hour walk away. I was arrested and thrown into the back of the car, while wearing my T-Mobile uniform, the whole time I am pleading with them that I didn’t do this crime, that I was at work and to call my boss, he will tell them. I was told by an Officer to shut up and that all people from my neighbourhood are guilty and that anyone with “Black” is straight up wrong and guilty of being alive. AN OFFICER, someone who is supposed to serve and protect. They refused to listen to anything I had to say, didn’t allow me a call to notify anybody and threw me in jail and as they threw me in there, the arresting officer called me a “dirty ghetto N word.” I spent a month fighting charges that weren’t mine to begin with and that based off my registered ethnicity aka racism, I was automatically guilty. In the end, a judge was smart enough to actually read the whole case and discovered I actually DID NOT fit the description among other things.. However, I was still 1 hearing from going to prison for 10-20 years... all because I was bi-racial and one of those races was black.

I had a grandfather once, we called him mooma. He was an amazing man and one of my hero’s. He was amazing, respected anyone and everyone and would love to talk proverbs with you. A god-fearing man. When I was young, he had an “accident” that left him permanently blind. By accident I mean white supremacists thought it would be fun and an act of god to my mooma who was simply asking if there was biracial kid books within a bookstore. After he left the bookstore that’s when they jumped him. The APD did nothing and refused to file a police report and dropped my mooma off at a mental health area instead of a hospital. Years from that incident, my mooma would leave for a work trip to Texas and would never return home. My mooma became just another black man gone missing. When we went to report it to the police, we waited 3 hours to file the report while other White families were served asap. When they got around to us, they never wrote anything down and said he probably had a 2nd family because he’s black.... My mooma was murdered by White people who thought they were better then my grandfather...Who didn’t care he had a family waiting for him and a granddaughter waiting for the next critter book. Someone deemed my mooma was not fit to live simply because he was a black man.

As I grew up, I took note how other kids would be treated compared to myself and the people within my neighbourhood. When my uncle would take me to the aquarium, we would be questioned for 5 minutes on the pricing of the aquarium and how there was no guns or drugs allowed. During this time, the white families were let through with no problems. The black families were always questioned and lectured. When I went to school I noticed the kids from my church had better books, their books went to Bill Clinton, my books went to Jimmy Carter. They were assigned homework and readings, I went to class with the lesson on the board with maybe only 4-5 kids in the classroom while our teacher read the newspaper or a book, the white kids teachers were invested in their future.

As I went into high school, I started attending church with my meema at her request. In her words, “to pray the white devil out of you.” While my meema was busy praying for the white devil out of me, I was getting beat up every Sunday in the back of the church for being black by the pastor kids and their friends. They called me every name in the book, called me disgusting, ripped my shirt and spat on me. They always stole my money (as per for my comment a few paragraphs up, I was always broke because of it) In fact, one Sunday they beat me up so badly I went to the hospital. We tried to file a police report but the APD never came... That was the last time we went to that white church. From this moment on, I have only stepped in a church twice.

When I moved back to Canada, I was hopeful that it would be different and more peaceful. In fact, I have heard how not racist Canada is. I have to disagree; it’s just more behind your back, less in your face then back home. I once was told I need to calm down on the alcohol as I’ll fully turn into a “Drunken Savage.” Or not wanting to learn about the culture and mocking it at every moment someone has. Of course, a racist slur towards my Indigenous side.

Even from my Canadian city I reside in, Georgia still inflicts is racist ways on me. The black vote is suppressed to the point legal actions have been launched all around. The white adults can register easily and usually have a flawless voting process. That is not the case for the minority population and people who reside within low income neighbourhoods. To the point, the last election I was given a hard time to register saying my W looks like a V and that I was trying to defraud the voting process. After persistence, I was able to vote but was given 3 faulty ballots that were already filled out for the current president. When asked for new ones each time I was told why wouldn’t I vote for Donald Trump, he loves the poor. On top of that, this year’s voting process was no different and I was given a timeline that was not given to my white friends to register. I was given the run-around and every excuse to vote and was told the same excuse, that my paperwork was filled out with the wrong color pen, that there was problems with a computer system that they don't even use to register or that I was registered within a different state. None of this was an issue before they read where I was from and the ethnicity on file...

The above is just a taste of the racism I have experienced/witnessed. It’s a daily battle within myself to love myself and embrace all that I am. The Black, the white and the indigenous. I still avoid mirrors, most photos and you will never catch me at the beach or the pool in fear my hair get’s wet and you see that little hint of curl come to light.

So yes, these protests are justifiable. Yes, the Atlanta protests were the first turn to ugly and violent.. It’s because we are angry and it’s not just these few incidents, it’s a history of corruption, systemic and blatant racism. It’s years of oppression and anger bubbling it’s ugly head to the surface. I can assure you, it’s always been there..I end this blog with one of my favourite quotes from a movie “The Great Debaters” (If you have not seen it you should!)

“Saint Augustine said, "An unjust law is no law at all," which means I have a right, even a duty, to resist -- with violence or civil disobedience...You should pray I choose the latter.”

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millimallow · 5 years

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correspondence

correspondence is now up on ao3! it’s a letter fic written from the perspective of isabelle coming to smash for the first time. i really enjoyed writing it, though i haven’t played smash personallity i love all of these characters and it was fun to write them interacting. as always, i’ll put the full text below as well!

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17298392

Summary: isabelle promises she won't be gone long, but the people in the smash dimension make it hard to leave.

if you like this, i have other nintendo pieces under my ao3 username and on this blog. you can also support my work here.

enjoy!

so that letter from the smash organization actually held up! i’m sorry if you expected me back sooner. when i’m ready i’ll be around as quick as i can to prepare for the new year, so please don’t worry about it too much, or me. we’ve all been very busy here, so it feels just like back home, though after the incident with the light it’s calming down somewhat… our matches are getting friendlier! and can you believe that, matches? i wasn’t quite sure what all of this entailed (haha, sorry for the dog pun! there are lots of different types of people here, so i’m more unique) and it was a bit intimidating when all of a sudden i was told to get ready for a fight… it’s just not the city gym, is it? yet all of us are on an equal standing going into it, and it wasn’t so bad once i got into my rhythmn.

one of the things i’ve noticed here is that there are a lot of humans. the general consensus between all of us is that we’ve been sent here from our homes because a mysterious personality thought we were noteworthy for what we’ve done there. which confuses me, because i found out that some of these people are from space, or that they’re real soldiers dealing with much bigger problems than town decorations and tiling. can you imagine that? there was this one guy closer to my height who i thought would be super approachable and less intimidating (most of the other fighters tower over me…sigh), then i spoke to him and found out that he and his weird critters had been stranded hopelessly on another planet. then he found his way back. i’m not even the mayor of the town! ack… so i deflected the question when he asked me what i do. even though he was cute, his story was scarily serious.

we keep our appearances, mostly, so even the humans all look a little different from each other. there’s another dog, and, well… i don’t know what he finds so funny! he’s always laughing at something, and a duck follows him around everywhere. they look very different to us. walking on all fours, wearing clothes, sniffing everything. and a “pokemon”- not sure i understand that yet, but they’re cute until they’re scary- named luke ario. he seems pretty smart, but only looks a little like any sort of dog, though he barks a lot when he’s not trying to use telepathy (again, some weird stuff happens in these other worlds!). umm…so making more canine friends has been kind of a bust, relatively, but it’s okay. mayor introduced me to some of the other humans there. one of them is named “solid snake”, which is confusing. he’s not a snake at all. in fact, he looks very human, though he likes boxes like a cat and is as anxious as a frightened bunny! when i approached him from behind he yelled and pulled a weird metal stick out before realizing it was just me. then the other human he was with called me cute and asked to pat my head. i indulged him before leaving to go and drink tea…they seemed very occupied with each other. that’s another thing, we can have guests if we want! only certain people we know are eligible, though. not sure who determines that. i haven’t tried it out yet… because that other guy, i hadn’t seen him before. his name was “otter con”, but he’s definitely not an otter. he looked almost like a shaggy dog, actually. i don’t know if it’s a thing for humans to be named after animals in that universe, but they were talking about someone called “naked snake”. i hope he doesn’t show up.

what do i do when i’m not fighting? it sounds cliché, but i hang out with the other girls. i don’t mind the men! really! but even the human women are so very pretty. some of them are real princesses- can you believe that? and one of them gives us excellent fitness advice. i can’t actually do many of the stretches, but it’s the thought that counts… and amongst them is that space warrior i was talking about before. her name is samus aran, and she showed off her arm cannon to me when i asked! i didn’t grasp a whole lot of what she said, the whole story was so big and confusing, but she goes and defends humanity from aliens known as “metroids”. or at least she did? after that it was hard to follow. but it was cool! then there was another lady from space, whose name is rosalina. a cute little star thing follows her around everywhere, and it’s less intimidating than the cannon, so i got to say hello to it. i’m really looking forward to seeing her again, actually… her hair is amazing! if i was a human i would want my hairstyle to be like that. she knew two of the others pretty well, peach and daisy, so we got to talking. they’re the two other princesses. and i’m glad they didn’t mind when i told them i wasn’t even mayor. we got to talking about how stressful it can be running a place round the clock. our town gets invaded by weeds more than it does monsters and airships, but we all bonded over it anyway. what surprised me is that the person who keeps causing them trouble is here too! they explained to me that here, all of the veterans have learnt to put aside their differences and past conflicts. but next time i met that bowser guy i was tempted to punt him off a ledge for good to show him, haha!

tonight i’m going to hang out with peach so i can meet another princess named zelda. hopefully rosalina will be there too! and there’s a cute little pink thing named kirby who hangs around often. he looks very similar to a “pokemon” named jigglypuff, and i want to get to the bottom of whether that’s just a big prank on me. i’ll be mad it if is!

all my love,

isabelle

#isabelle #super smash bros #super smash bros ultimate #rosalina #ssbu #fanfiction

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piahautea · 6 years

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Appreciation Post: My Lovely Barkada

I’ve always been the stick-to-one type of friend.

Back during the first two years of junior high, you’d only see me with just one friend. One lunch buddy, one fair week constant, one automatic partner, one let’s-go-to-the-library-during-intrams-instead co-lazy bum, one companion and one everything. But never really the more meaningful ones like: a confidante, a tell-me-your-secrets-they’re-safe-with-me type of chill, a laughing comrade or a wingman /pagdating sa mga crushes na iyan/. That was until I met each of the cartoon people above.

This post is dedicated to them. The not-so-small barkada I never thought I’d have. They've also been so supportive of my blogging ever since and I want y’all to meet them! Somehow you may also try to see a part of yourself in them with their little intro’s /but that's only if you want to/.

A little disclaimer by the way: Their art banners are filled with silly deets about them while their actual descriptions are a lot graver; although, it's still sounding a lot like silly Pea wrote them, aye.

This is Leila. Leila’s been one of my best friends since 10th grade. I never thought we’d be in the friendship situation we have now because I only thought surface-level bros were all we'd ever be. But, nah. What are those for anyway? She was the quietly-acing-my-way-in-the-honor-rolls type. And, well, I was trying so hard to be that student. But we just randomly sparked up a convo about my blog and her love for Niall Horan and then she became my confidante in an instant with her shipping me so hard with a Tumblr boy that I used to like. In the things I thought highly impossible for myself, she believed I could turn them around in my favor and she stood there behind me with her hand on my back. She’s the best. I still wish she'd become a doctor, even though she's already faced towards a different track.

This is Margaux. When she spots you and you tickle her fancy, she’d probably talk to you. Basically, that's what happened to us. We were just batchmates in the same baking class. That changed when we bumped into each other at a charm store; she saw me first, tapped my back and said, “Hi!” like it’s nothing. Post the little meeting and the year after, we became classmates. And then I knew that smiling was her best asset and her laughter was her best type of music. She’d made me cookies and a chocolate-mint birthday cake for my 18th because that’s her. You hear little words and phrases like pastries, being top-level artsy, beauty queen pageants, genuine grins, dressing up for fun and you got it. That’s still gonna be her.

This is Froilan. If you know me well enough, you’d know that this dude’s been one of my constants since the beginning of time /‘di naman haha since 9th grade lang siguro/. You'll see him almost everywhere I go and part of almost everything I do. We’ve also been constantly teased by past classmates about us having that chemistry and that maybe we were already secretly a couple. All I can say is, nope. We’re merely bros. I love him, though. In the gayest way possible. He’s amazing in general. He loves getting and slaying the D so much. Drawing, dancing and designing *wink wink*. I’m never afraid to be myself when I’m with him and for that I’m eternally thankful. He’s also my punching bag hehe he enjoys the force of my knuckles kissing and smashing his fudge brownie skin /poetic/.

This is Nesli. She’s the first friend I’ve ever made in our circle. We’ve been together since the 7th grade and mutually sworn to be each other’s best friends during 8th grade. She’s also one of my confidantes. And the one who’s literally seen me in the good, the bad & the ugly and has still loved me no matter what. She has a heart large enough to fit in giraffes, all her favorite Filipino & European dishes, historical fiction books, her family, her art, her hoes and all her other friends. She’s my happy pill, tbfh. She’s going to make it big in the animations field or in any other field because she’s that flexible. She can write, draw, paint /in both the common mediums/, care for wildlife and humanity vividly. It's such a cakewalk to believe in what she's capable of because when she dreams, she dreams with her eyes open and with stellar passion running freely in her veins.

This is Brian. He’s one of my sister’s former tutees. I’ve heard stuff about him being sassy and loud /which he was/, but our friendship was a bit like of a plot twist. An unexpected thing. Although believe me when I say this: my sister predicted that we’d be the best of friends in the future. And she was right about it. 9th grade and I can still fondly remember it all. We’d sit in a corner where people weren't around to sing Defying Gravity because it was his fave and I was his fave duet partner, too. Sooner or later, we begun that singing routine. He easily became the person I’d always wanna sing with and now he’s worked his way to get into theater by switching schools for both SHS and college. I love my theater geek friend /who apparently knows how to get wasted now/. And I miss having to deal with him and his antics everyday.

This is Gia. Being friends with her was also an unexpected one. She’s quiet and was only the closest to Cather /you’ll get know her later/. We’d never really had those talk-talks until the final years of junior high. She lent me her copy of To Kill A Mockingbird and it opened me to widen my reading choices. We also discovered each others’ love for indie/alternative rock music. She loves Nirvana, blink-182 and The Killers and it killed me. I’d also boast to those who love her brother’s band from the indie OPM scene that I’m friends with the vocalist’s baby sister because Hello? it’s not everyday you get to be friends with someone who has blood thick and rich of musical notes and art. She's an epitome of those two things.

This is Mika. Mika was Froilan’s friend first. And then she randomly talked to me in class and we became instant friends who loved hugging each other. She’s the type to get crafty and make you keychains or little drawings of your favorite things for Christmas or your birthday. She’s the sweetest soul and she likes to share stories with you; it doesn’t matter how long you’ll chatter with her. She’s also super smart! She helps me with all the Math help I needed back when we still had to take Math. You would just never see an honor roll without her in it. And yes, she had a phase with Big Time Rush back in junior high. But now, it seems like she’s also been bitten by another Kpopper /probably a friend from outside the circle/. She's the kind of treasure I'd like to keep with me anywhere I go.

This is Carmela. This one’s another plot twist kind of friendship. Like Margaux, she’s also extremely loud and friendly. Like randomly-popping-into-your-face kind of friendly. She’s chatty but it’s a reasonable kind of chatter. She also dances like a pro. I envy her grace on the floor and the flat stomach she'd cultivated out of that. We may not have the same amount of time as we had before but we see to it that no matter how busy we are, we’d never fail to exchange short stories and warm hugs when we see each other. Also, yes, she is my co-bully when it comes to Froilan. Everything she does to put him in artless misery cracks me up every time /that’s how we roll/.

This is Seline. I’ve only known her this year but since then, she’s already been one of my closest friends in class. We just vibe well and we could talk about anything in the pop culture spectrum or just anything Tumblr and art-related. I love how her mind just works like a charm and concocts puns real quick. I love how she'd update me and tell me stories about her dogs and their newborn puppies because we share the same love for these critters and it just makes me giddy every time. Because of her, I’m starting to rethink my stances on animated films /because I’m not big on those/. She makes some of the greatest digital artworks I’ve ever seen and I can’t wait to have more cafe adventures with her and our other amigos and to visit her in Benilde by the time we reach college.

This is Cather(ine). Like Nesli, we’ve been friends since 7th grade and best girls since the 8th. She’s the cutest /next to my spot/ in the group and makes equally-adorable reactions to everything she sees. It kind of takes her a while to do almost everything she has to do but it adds up to how she handles anything with the utmost love and care not anyone would ever spare time for. She's also loud whenever she opens her mouth to speak /e.g. when we're in the car and it's quiet, she would completely ignore the silence and start a quickfire with her words but that's okay because she can never be irritating to me at all/. I love her that much. I hope she’d find solace in the fact that she’s a bright, bright kiddo who would slay any scientific fate she’d choose. I’d always have her back as she's always had mine.

When we met, it suddenly just made sense to meet altogether, too. It wasn't like our personalities were so similar with the other that we just had to gather around a campfire and talk about starting a tribe or something. Our personalities differ; but in such a way that we complement each other, filling gaps that needed a little something of this or that. But about the tribe thing, yes we do gather. Annually. For Christmas. And it has to be in a different house each year until we get to be in everyone's humble abodes.

Ladies & gents, this is my second ohana. My very own battle cohort. Top 1 in my small list of kada’s. My most favorite non-blood related people in the universe. I used to be a stick-to-one kind of person. Now, I'm mostly a stick-to-ten.

#friends #personal

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unofficialzookeeper-blog · 6 years

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***DISCLAIMER: ALL OF THESE TIPS ARE MY OPINIONS ABOUT WHAT IS BEST BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE, SORRY IF ANY OF THIS OFFENDS YOU***

Contrary to popular belief, people do read my blog (despite it being mostly uninteresting because it’s about my life) and a lot of readers have requested that I make an article about my bunnies. Primarily, I was going to make an article about why bunnies make great pets, but a really good friend of mine and fellow bun-mom Carolyn Allen brought up the point that rabbits are great pets only when their owners are educated and dedicated. Rabbits are not easy to take care of and should never be considered a starter pet. They are great pets because, with a lot of hard work and attention to detail, their companionship is completely worth the struggle.

So I’m going to cover a ton of information in this article, feel free to skim through and PLEASE message me if you have any questions/concerns/changes you’d like to make.

Part I: Housing

A rabbit’s living space is arguably the second most important aspect of their care (next to diet), but should be the first thing you consider when you decide that you’re interested in adopting a rabbit because if you don’t have the room for one, just straight up don’t get one.

So, what is an acceptable living space for a rabbit and what is just inhumane, cruel, and downright stupid?

For starters, if you are imagining keeping your rabbit in a wire cage, critter keeper, or any kind of store bought colorful cage with shelves- go ahead and just never have a child or pet or plant or anything alive under your care. Most habitats advertised at Petsmart, Petco, etc. are just absolute garbage and should be abolished. These are NOT suitable for animals- rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, rats, chinchillas, hamsters. NO. DO NOT DO IT. THEY ARE MADE FOR HUMAN CONVENIENCE, NOT ANIMAL SATISFACTION.

So, what, your rabbit gets his own walk in closet and sleeps in your bed with you? Also not the case.

Can I keep my rabbit outside? I know that a lot of people do keep their rabbits outside in hutches/pens/grassy areas. Should you take your rabbit outside? Sure, your rabbit might enjoy himself. Should your rabbit live outside 24/7? No. Rabbits are very sensitive to hot climates and can even freeze to death outside in extreme temperatures.

Would you leave your dog outside 24/7, or your cat? No, and if you do, you’re arguably a terrible person, regardless if your dog/cat “loves the outside!!”, and you should allow your pet access to the indoors at all times. Rabbits are indoor pets and, although they can be taken outside to roam and play, you should provide proper accommodations for them in the comfort of your own home. Have an outdoor hutch/pen and want to let your rabbits enjoy the cool morning while you supervise with your cup of coffee? Yes, lovely. Just make sure you bring them back inside with you.

The absolute SMALLEST enclosure I would recommend is a large playpen for dogs. When I first got my rabbits, I lived in a college dorm (a story for another time) and I sectioned off half of the entire room with a playpen gate for them to enjoy. I got half of the room, and they got half of the room. You don’t have to dedicate all of your space to them, and I would even say that keeping them in the playpen or exercise pen while you’re not around to supervise their bun activities is totally acceptable (assuming that you’re not leaving them in there 24/7 and you’ll be home often enough for them to run around in a room or your house for extended periods of time).

You should bun-proof the areas that your rabbits will have access to, which means putting up cords and cables, putting fencing around wood that they might chew, and picking up any items they might ingest.

Here’s a great article about proofing your house: http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bunny-proofing

Your rabbit should get a lot of time to run around a room or an enclosed area with carpet or some sort of surface they can run on (foam floor tiles, old carpet, etc). Rabbits do not have padded feet like cats and dogs and do not have traction on hardwood floor- only giving them access to wood or tile surfaces to run on will hurt their legs and feet in the long run, although my guys love to lay on the cool tile occasionally in the kitchen. Your rabbit will also appreciate having accessories to his enclosure. The best and cheapest stuff is the items that are made for cats (beds, tunnels, things to hide in). I give my guys a long tunnel with lots of entrances to run in and they absolutely love it. You can buy really cute toys for them to play with that will keep their teeth healthy, too! I also give them cardboard boxes with no tape or dark ink printed on to play in/chew up, and cardboard toilet paper/paper towel rolls to play with.

Look on Pinterest and the internet for housing inspiration. At the bare minimum, your bun’s pen should room to run around in, tunnels/toys, a litter box with a hay feeder hanging above it, and a water and pellet dish.

For my rabbits, they have my entire carpeted bedroom to run around in. I also have a custom built hutch for them that doubles as a large shelf that I keep my mirror and other items on. I just close the door when I’m not home so that the dogs won’t bother them, and when I’m home to supervise, they have free roam of the house and love to sit on the couch.

Part II: Saving Up, Adoption & Veterinary Care

Rabbits, in my opinion, can have pretty intense start up costs, but are relatively cheap and easy to maintain once they’re settled in (assuming all goes well and normal). Before getting a rabbit, make sure you find a good veterinarian that specializes in rabbit care. My buns go to the Glenway Animal Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. When I first got Henry and Moose, I spent almost $1,000 on veterinary costs. They had a pre-surgery checkup, both had their nails trimmed (which should be done monthly, usually costs about $20 per rabbit), and both were neutered, which was about $450 a piece. Getting your rabbits spayed and neutered MATTERS- even if you’re not housing your rabbit with another rabbit of the opposite sex. Fixed rabbits can live up to 13 years compared to a rabbit that is not fixed that will only live to be about 5 or 6 years, as rabbits are susceptible to a lot of reproductive issues and cancer. Hormones that rabbits have naturally that make them territorial or mean can also be flushed out by getting your rabbit fixed. For example, male rabbits will spray their urine in your house to mark their territory if they are not neutered and hump other rabbits/you to show dominance. Ever been sprayed in the face with rabbit urine? It is possibly the worst thing I have ever encountered. Fix your animals. So why would you want a pet rabbit if it’s gonna cost you $600+? Well it isn’t! Rabbits that are up for adoption in sanctuaries and rescues are usually already fixed, vet checked, and up to date on shots. That leads me into my next point, ADOPT DON’T SHOP. Check out PetFinder and local rescues that have rabbits that need homes. You will save HUNDREDS of dollars by opening your home to a rabbit that has been in the shelter instead of a rabbit from a rabbitry or breeder.

However, there are some expenses that rescues won’t cover, and that includes supplies (food, fencing, toys, litter, litter boxes, water and food dishes, etc), so I would recommend saving up around $150+ just to be safe when you first get your rabbit because you never know how many emergency trips to Petsmart you’ll have to make for comfy fleece blankets and toys to play with.

Part III: Research

Again, before you ADOPT your new bun, PLEASE do research outside of this article.

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Getting_started_with_a_rabbit

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Vegetables

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Housing

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bunny-proofing

Watch YouTube videos, join Facebook groups (Rabbit Owners Community is a great Facebook group with tons of good advice), and just google your questions. You’ll learn lots of things from just watching funny videos, like when to tell if your bunny is happy.

Fun Fact: Rabbits “sploot”, or put their hind legs behind them when they lay down, flop on the floor, and “purr” (chatter their teeth together lightly) when they’re happy. When rabbits are SUPER happy, they will jump and kick around, which is called binkying. Look up videos of binkying, you won’t be disappointed.

Part IV: Diet

So, congrats, you adopted a rabbit! He’s at your house, in your special bunny proofed area, and now you should probably feed him! Rabbits have the three main food groups:

Hay: Your bunny should be given an unlimited amount of timothy hay- and by unlimited, I mean your bun should ALWAYS have access to hay, so their little hay rack or bin should always have hay in it. Hay helps a bun’s digestive system and keeps everything processing correctly, and also helps grind their teeth down so that they don’t grow too long. Rabbits don’t possess the ability to throw up, so if something goes wrong in their digestive tract, they won’t be able to get it out and could potentially die. The best brand for any bun food/hay is 100% Oxbow. This is the only brand I use and recommend.

Pellets: I feed my buns ¼ cup each once a day of Oxbow brand timothy hay pellets. The pellets add extra vitamins and nutrients into their diet, but should be fed sparingly based on weight.

Weight (lbs)..... Amount of Pellets

1-3..... ⅛ cup

4-7..... ¼ to ⅓ cup

8-10..... ⅓ to ½ cup

10+..... ¾ cup

Veggies: Once a day buns should be given a little salad to eat. They should be given one one cup of packed greens per every two pounds of rabbit. I give my buns a handful of greens each with a small amount of shredded carrots on top, considering they are between 5-6lbs each.

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Vegetables

A bun’s diet should consist mainly of hay. However, there are some treats you can give to your rabbits occasionally, like fruit or store bought hay treats. BE AWARE, treats like fruit can be extremely high in sugar and bad for your rabbit if fed in large quantities or too often.

Let’s talk about water. In the wild, rabbits usually drink out of water bottles attached to their wire cage walls. Okay, now that you can see how stupid that sounds, why would you make your rabbit drink out of a water bottle if it’s unnatural? Give your rabbits a water dish (preferably a heavy ceramic one so they won’t flip it over for fun) and just refill it a few times a day- being a rabbit is thirsty work.

Part V: Litter box & Cleanliness

Rabbits can be pretty disgusting when they’re kept in a small cage with no choice but to stand in their own feces and urine all day in shredded paper litter- which is why we don’t keep them in small cages that double as a litter box! Rabbits can be litter box trained! If you clean your rabbit’s litter box regularly and use proper litter, rabbits don’t smell at all and are similar to cats when using the bathroom. You can use a regular cat litter box, but I would recommend this special one made for rabbits. The screen on top keeps them from digging at the litter and can be used to clean out poops much more easily.

Pine litter is recommended by almost every single rabbit owner I know. It is literally $5-6 for a 40lb bag of litter, which lasts me about a month (I change my rabbits’ litter once every week or so, and they have 3 litter boxes). It also smells SO much better than any rabbit litter that is “made for rabbits” and lasts much longer.

Despite being litter trained, my rabbits do have accidents occasionally, and I do find little poops in my room. So how do I keep my room from smelling awful and being disgusting?

I clean it (imagine that)! For urine, I use a urine eliminator spray on the spot after dabbing up most of the moisture with a towel. If you don’t wanna fork out that much money for pee spray, I would also recommend water + white vinegar in a spray bottle and a little baking soda on top of the stain. It smells like vinegar at first but goes away really quickly and helps with any pee smell/stain.

For cleaning up poops, I bought this life saving vacuum. I can’t imagine my life without this thing, it is seriously a huge blessing.

Part VI: Personal Experience

My personal story with rabbits has fortunately been very easy. I got Henry and Moose from a really great girl who didn’t have the time to care for them anymore due to her moving on up in her career. I had just gotten out of a relationship and I was, of course, making tons of impulse decisions. I never had experience with rabbits, I just said “I’ll take them” and then I was launched into parenthood. I got extremely lucky with Moose and Henry. They are the most well behaved and socialized rabbits I have ever seen. They barely chew on anything besides their toys, they are litter box trained, they can free roam with my dogs and coexist peacefully, they’re both really good eaters and aren’t picky at all, and they’re so friendly. Henry even grooms me when I sit next to him. A lot of rabbit owners don’t get as lucky as I am and will get rabbits that are timid and need extra love and attention, and that’s okay! Being a bun parent takes a lot of effort, but it is seriously worth it for all the love you’ll receive back. PLEASE message me with comments/concerns/questions/additions to this article, I love to hear from everyone and I would be more than happy to recommend rabbit adoption facilities and veterinarians!

#rabbits #rabbitcare #bun #bunnies

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fantroll-purgatory · 6 years

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@party-ponies-no-its-not-mlp

FIRST: Alternia or Beforus or some type of AU?

Alternia, but like on an alternia where the Beta trolls never existed, but trolls like the Signless did

Ooh, so like the Signless and the ancestors were all natural-born on-planet trolls and were not created or cloned through ectobiology? Interesting premise.

Name (preferably include how you came up with it and why): Rivlos Iqtaaz (I got it out of a random troll name generator, and i thought it was cute)

I like Rivlos for her caligniousexual nature, as it sounds a bit like Rivals! Manufacturing a meaning where there wasn’t one before haha. Iqtaaz most closely reminds me of…. Iqta’, an old Islamic method of tax farming that allowed greater autonomy under leadership. So we can keep that name and work it in thematically. Name magic we’ve done here.

Age: 7.38 sweeps

Strife Specibus: Riflekind (this is because my computer tried to autocorrect Rivlos to Rifle)

I do appreciate the pun, but maybe a set of throwing batons?

It still allows her to utilize it like a ranged weapon, but fits her interest in cheerleading!

Fetch Modus: Charm Bracelet Modus, where basically she keeps them all on a charm bracelet, but in order to make sure she picks the right thing she has to not touch ANYTHING ELSE on the bracelet, which gets harder as she acquires more stuff

This is so cute. Her finances interest originally tempted me to do an accounting log but… this is too cute to pass up.

Blood color: Violet

Symbol and meaning: Honestly, when I first made her I randomized all of the possible sign options, and she got a spade. I used to make her what I call caligniousexual, or only sexually attracted to her pitch partner. It’s cool if you change it to Aquacen or Aquacer.

Hmmm. Hm. Hm. I do like the spade sign, so I’ll figure out a way to match it with Aquacen/cer and violet sign language.

Trolltag: achievementContestant

audaciousCaptain, maybe? Recognizing her sassy nature and leadership capabilities.

Quirk: The quiכk brΘwn fΘx jumps Θver the lazΨ dΘg

I think you should maybe have her <Bracket her sentences with spades3< instead of utilizing too many special characters. Maybe have her replace O’s with ꚙ to represent links, the bonds between people.

Special Abilities (if any): none

Lusus: South American Sea Lion with walrus tusks, peregrine wings, and elephant ears

This is a fun idea but I think………… I’m going to recommend a Portuguese Man O’ War type critter, a big ol’ collection of creatures. Because they’re a little biological confederation of four separate organisms working together and I think that’s just lovely. Also because sea lions are aquatic mammals and she’s a violet, so she needs a fully aquatic lusus.

Personality: Loves to travel, likes troll pita bread, a natural born leader, confident…sometimes, able to speak to a crowd, does endurance running for fun, aloof, doesn’t make friends easily, kind-hearted, wise, bad at keeping friends when she does make them, socially awkward when not leading, lonely even in crowds, sad, can be a smartass, a self depreciation extraordinaire, an amazing writer, very envious of people who can make and keep friends easily, caring and loving, loyal, creative, sasses with out thinking, then gets super embarrassed, knows a lot of totally unimportant trivial facts, rather polite, a bit naive, shy when not leading, and easily influenced (sorry for the block of text! D: )

Don’t worry, text blocks are a great way to communicate personality haha. I like her a lot! She has a lot of great variation in her personality. I hope she has some pretty big leadership goals. To tie back in the taxation thing I referenced and her interest in finances, maybe she could be the leader of a communal area? Like act as protector over a defined area and people pay her taxes for the privilege of her leadership? But they’re able to come and go as they please, of course.

Interests: Finance, Cheerleading, Pets, Fashion, Dolphins

Dolphins are the cheeriest animals even if they’re very dangerous, so I appreciate that. Maybe she should be interest in animal training in general? Teaching animals to do tricks, teaching them to work together and do jobs…

Title: Mage of Blood

I think she might best serve as a Sylph of Blood. Someone who is able to passively form and create bonds and create FROM bonds. Her inverse would then be Prince of Breath, which implies a little destruction of Freedom, but that’s fine when it’s necessary.

Land: The Land of Ink and Pulse (thanks 9 from creative classpect! :D) (I didn’t send in the commission [mainly cuz i’m broke] but i did find it when searching for Mage of Blood lands)

I don’t feel comfortable grabbing right from another source for this… I might recommend the Land of Pom and Pay. A land with pompom trees and some such about money, with an added bonus of being a Pompeii pun that could result in explosive city fun where she has to bring the consorts together to help them either save each other or rebuild.

Dream Planet: Not sure, sorry D:

I think prospit might be most fitting.

Here’s the picture of her

(If that doesn’t work, she has a black bob cut, thinnish horns, cleft lip, wears a black tunic that drapes between her legs and behind her, grey hammer pants, purple boots, and her symbol is either Aquacer or Aquacen, I’m not sure)

I didn’t make the sprite, and I made her on the Fargo Fiction Doll Sim thing, back before the Extended Zodiac came out

The picture didn’t work, unfortunately. So it’s from scratch we go:

Horns: I made them thin as you noted and had them reflect the nature of her symbol!

Hair: I gave her a cute and voluminous bob, complete with a headband and a hairbow.

Face: I gave her sharp eyelashes and made her seem really lively and enthusiastic! Her eyes are edited from Terezi’s. The mouth (edited from Vriska’s) gives her that cleft lip and some big teeth.

Jacket: I patterned it off of dog-training jackets, meant to be waterproof and bite-proof!

Symbol: It’s an abstracted spade with wave sides that references the crosses found in the Aquacer symbol.

Skirt: It looks a little like a pleated cheerleader skirt.

Shoes: Edited from a pair of Jake’s, some white boots!

As a final note, I LOVE this blog, even though I just discovered it today. You guys do amazing work here, and are so sweet and kind to people. In fact, the whole reason I sent in my character was because you all made it look so fun and exciting. Thank you so much for reading this, and I’m so sorry if it’s super long for you. Have a good day/night! :D

I’m so glad you love this blog! We love putting a lot of care and attention into the work. Thank you so much for sharing your troll and for the compliments. I appreciated reading about her a ton! Have a good day/night yourself!

-CD

#party-ponies-no-its-not-mlp #rivlos iqtaaz #rivlos #iqtaaz #violetblood #seadweller #review #redesign #cd review #submission

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fadingfartconnoisseur · 7 years

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13 Adventurous Scuba Diving Ladies Share Their Favorite Diving Destinations

When was the last time you explored our world underwater?

To be honest, it’s been a while since I last set foot in a beach destination, let alone strapped on some fins, a mask, and stuck my head underwater. Yet when I stop and think about the fact that 71% of the Earth’s surface is water, I’m reminded that there’s so much of our planet waiting to be explored!

So why am I even talking about scuba diving?

Well, PADI recently reached out to me to help celebrate Women’s Dive Day, which falls on July 15th and is a worldwide celebration of female scuba divers and their love for the ocean. The idea behind this day is to unite divers from around the world to celebrate and honour our beloved female divers, all the while aiming to decrease the gender gap in scuba certification.

Scuba diving is still a fairly male-dominated sport, but women are steadily gaining more interest in it (as they should!). In 2014 35% of all PADI certifications were for females, and in 2016 this number rose up to 37.2%. This may not sound like a lot, but each year they’re getting a bit closer to an equal 50/50 split between male and female certifications, which is pretty cool. PADI is the world’s largest scuba diver training organisation, having issued more than 25 million certifications to passionate divers and ocean advocates across the globe, and Women’s Dive Day is just one example of how this powerful group can unite as one under a worthwhile cause.

I may not be a scuba diver myself (yet!), so instead, I thought I would reach out to some adventurous scuba diving ladies (a.k.a. real-life mermaids!) and ask them to share their favourite diving destinations around the world.

Let’s dive in!

Kristin of Camels and Chocolate

Sipadan, Borneo

Nearly a decade ago, my husband and I went on our honeymoon to Borneo for three fantastic weeks of underwater exploration. And while, of course, we tackled Sipadan—which was fabulous with its schools of nurse sharks, turtles by the dozen and torpedoes of barracuda—it was actually the cornucopia of macro life at the sites around Mataking Island and elsewhere in the Celebes Sea that really got me excited about the destination. A bonus? I got to see my first ever cuttlefish, which for a diver who primarily gets her fins wet in the Caribbean, was a dream come true!

Rika from Cubicle Throwdown

Roatan, Honduras

My favourite dive site is in Roatan, Honduras. It’s called Rockstar and is on the north side of the island, between Pristine Bay and Palmetto Bay. Rockstar has incredible topography – there are huge cracks to swim through, pinnacles, a vertical wall full of crevices and a shallow plateau teeming with colourful soft coral (a good place to spot seahorses, nudibranchs and other macro critters!). The wall drops down past 100 feet and I have spied spotted eagle rays, sharks and moray eels all around it. There’s usually a pretty good current moving past, so there are often massive schools of creole wrasse hanging around the dropoff. The best part about Rockstar is that there’s only one dive shop near it, which means you’re almost always the only divers at the site!

Sarah of Girls That Scuba

Tiran Island, Egypt

I’ve been lucky enough to dive in a lot of destinations around the world, but I always come back to Egypt as the diving – for me – is the best in the world. I love all the dive sites in Tiran Island, Sharm el Sheik as you’ve got a great mix of corals, fish and the big stuff; I’m talking sharks, mantas and dolphins, and in the summer the water is almost HOT!

Arianwen of Beyond Blightly

Komodo, Indonesia

My favourite dive destination has to be Komodo. It’s where I did my divemasters so I know it better than any other underwater spot on the planet. There are so many reasons why it’s the best: the diversity of marine life, the challenging currents, the visibility, the calm surfaces, and the variety of dive sites all add to its charm. While many of the dive sites around Komodo require a high level of preparation and concentration, the one I loved visiting the most was Siaba Besar. Frog fish and flamboyant cuttlefish could be found in the sand, while huge octopods, numerous turtles and sting rays, and sometimes even sharks preferred the coral islands and its passing channel. This was also the perfect spot for watching the sunset from our liveaboard.

Nadine of Hey Nadine

Speyside, Tobago

Speyside is where I got PADI certified. I had done about 5 beginner dives before then and finally decided I was ready for the real deal. It is a tucked away beauty on the Atlantic coast in the Caribbean, where you dive out of a private bay and around the surrounding islands. I saw tonnes of marine life and all sorts of turtles, manta rays, eels, sharks, coral, you name it. A great mixture of beginner and advanced dive spots, plus they do night diving.

Christy of Ordinary Traveler

Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean

I received my PADI certification on the beautiful island of Bonaire in the Dutch Caribbean. I’m told I’ll never top Bonaire with its 100 foot+ visibility and thriving sea life. This island has been voted the Best Shore Dive Destination for 22 years in a row, so there’s no need for a boat!

Kia of Atlas and Boots

Daphne Island, Galapagos

Diving at Daphne Island in the Galápagos was something I’ll remember forever. At one point during the dive, I was completely surrounded by a large orb of black-striped salema fish. A sea lion burst through the wall of the orb, circled me gracefully, then darted out through the ceiling. The memory of it has a surreal quality, as if I dreamt it or saw it in a James Cameron movie. That’s what diving does though: it opens up an incredible new world.

Christine of GRRRL TRAVELER

Similan Islands, Thailand

Taking a dive liveaboard around the Similan Islands in January is a dive experience I’ll never forget. It was my first time doing a liveaboard and covering many dive sites, daily. The varied underwater terrain of the Similan Islands was exquisite, as was the variety of fish. From the large granite boulders of Elephant Head to the colourful coral and variety of fish at East of Eden or doing a night dive at Anita’s Reef (it wasn’t as scary as I thought!), there was much to explore. The Similan Islands are definitely a bucket list visit if you’re diving in Thailand.

Laurel of Monkeys and Mountains

Protea Banks, South Africa

I love diving with sharks – without a cage in South Africa. You never know who is going to show up. I was fortunate enough to dive with Oceanic Blacktips and a couple of shy Bull Sharks on several dives. Getting up close to sharks is such a privilege and gives you the opportunity to see another side of these feared creatures.

Richelle of Adventures Around Asia

Malapascua, Philippines

Diving with the thresher sharks in Malapascua is one dive I’ll definitely never forget! Rather than swimming around a reef, divers descend off the side of an underwater cliff to a small area where you kneel behind a rope. For the entirety of the drive, you watch and wait for thresher sharks to suddenly appear out of the deep. Trust me, this sight is more than worth the 4 am wake-up call!

Kristin of Be My Travel Muse

Komodo, Indonesia

Even after 150 career dives in dozens of different sites, my favourite dive site remains Komodo National Park in Indonesia. The massive schools of fish and the abundance of so many species, gorgeous corals, and especially the Manta rays, make this such an amazing place. As if that weren’t amazing enough, it was really the Mandarin fish that I saw there on a night dive coupled with the amazing stars I saw when I surfaced that put it at the top of my list. The Komodo Dragons are pretty cool, too!

Katie of Two Wandering Soles

Koh Tao, Thailand

Scuba diving has always been a dream of mine — ever since I was young and my dad told me stories of scuba diving in shipwrecks when he was a young man. Instead of following in his footsteps though and diving in the frigid lakes of Minnesota, I had my first scuba experience on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. It’s safe to say I was hooked after the first dive! Eventually, I went on to get my certification while travelling in Thailand, and I ended up staying a week longer than I expected on the island of Koh Tao (oops!) to get my advanced certification. I loved learning in Koh Tao because dive courses are super affordable, the water is warm and great for beginners. Plus, there is so much beautiful and diverse ocean life relatively close to shore! Koh Tao is a great place for beginners to get their toes wet (sorry for the pun!) and learn a lot while also experiencing epic dives. I am still such a newbie in the world of scuba, but it has been so much fun connecting with other men and women who are passionate about diving and hearing their experiences and advice. I’ve already been planning my dream scuba trips to places like Egypt and the Similan Islands in Thailand. And who knows, maybe someday I’ll even dive in those chilly Minnesota lakes in search for the wrecks my dad told me of long ago.

Alesha of Nomadasaurus

Dos Ojos, Mexico

My most memorable dive site of all time is Dos Ojos in Mexico. This cenote (a cave-like sinkhole) has two connected chambers and is filled with crystal clear fresh water. Sunbeams come in through holes in the earth giving the whole place a beautiful light. It was the most magnificent dive I have ever done, as well as the longest at 67 minutes.

If you came looking for some diving inspiration, there you have it! Now you, too, can join in the celebration. Locate a Women’s Dive Day event near you and celebrate the fearless females in your life! Check out more inspiring stories from PADI women here: http://ift.tt/2ty5I2g

Have you ever tried scuba diving? If you have, what was your favourite dive site? If you haven’t, what’s holding you back?

This post was written in collaboration with PADI to help celebrate Women’s Dive Day.

via Travel Blogs http://ift.tt/2sEP0uW

#IFTTT #Travel Blogs

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