#dramatrix4

[saieras]

I just started reading Once There Were Dragons yesterday and oh my gosh! Snotlout's story is heartbreaking!! I almost started crying reading it! This is an amazing story and I love it already!

Thank you SO MUCH!!! I’m a bit stuck on the current chapter, but when it does go up I hope you’ll enjoy it too :)

[elfpen]

I don't know if you want questions about your FMA fics, but do you think Ed and Al would try and stay connected with Gracia and Elicia? I just finished a rewatch of FMAB, and before Al left for Xing, he stopped in with them. Do you think the boys, especially Ed after they moved to Central, stayed in touch?

I’m always good with fic questions!

Oh, they definitely would. I don’t know that they’d be constant companions in each others’ lives, but they would be old friends who have each other over for dinner once in a blue moon.

I also have this personal headcanon that, when she’s older, Elicia enrolls in central U. She is not an alchemy student and has no interest in alchemy, but she often goes to Ed’s office during office hours to be with him and just learn about university life from him, ask his opinions on sororities, professors, programs, etc. She asks him how to take tests and what not to do in class and how to make sure your schedule isn’t overloaded. When she first shows up in his office, Ed is gobsmacked that she’s old enough to be a college student (and may or may not have to come to terms with his own age and mortality), but is a quick supporter. She also manages to get Ed to share stories of her father that her mother would never be able to tell her - stories of him as a mentor, on the battlefield, on assignment. 

I think once in central, Winry would start seeing Gracia more often, and that while Gracia helps Winry through the younger years of motherhood, Winry would become something of an aunt/big sister to Elicia. I say aunt because I’m not sure they’d be constant companions, but Winry is definitely a female figure in Elicia’s orbit that she looks up to and wants to emulate. 

I think that Elicia would babysit the Elric kids, once the family moves to Central, and that as a child, Yuriy had a crush on Elicia, age gap notwithstanding. She found this immensely funny, and refuses to let him forget about it, even when they’re adults and happily single or paired off with other people, whatever the case may be.

I think that Elicia would reserve questions for Winry and Ed that she feels like she can’t ask her mom, about the military, and her father, and whether or not he’d want her to follow in his footsteps or find another path. I think they’d be like an aunt and uncle to her, always around, but not always together.

[elfpen]

The FMA gifset of Al sneaking up behind Ed is from the movie Star of Milos. Unfortunately, Netflix does not have it to stream but there are a bunch of anime sites that might.

Oooohhh okay! Thanks!

[flyingcrowbar]

Ello! Just wanted to pop in and say that I absolutely LOVE I Got A Boy. I found it a couple years ago, but lost it somehow and just spent the last couple days reading it on AO3. I noticed that a lot of your other fics haven't been updated in a couple years. Are you thinking about updating them? Your Pacific Rim AU is awesome!

*tiny gasp* Thank you. 

As for the PacRim AU, @ananbeth​ is up next. But she’s busy saving the world in real life! We’ll just have to be patient. 

I’ve got a big (seriously, epic) PJO fic planned but my original stuff is taking priority. I’ve got a deadline to meet at the end of the month for Sherwood Park, and grad school is starting right after, and then I’ll be starting on my new book, so fanfics are going to be more of a casual side project to help me get through all the chaos. 

[elfpen]

So my RAs gave out succulents at a WALL-E movie night. I accidentally dropped mine and broke off almost all her little leaf things. I remembered you had succulents and wondered if you had any advice about saving them? I don't have much of a green thumb and would really like to keep this alive.

Oh no! I have to say I am a self-taught gardener and may not be able to help too much.

If she still has a few leaf things you can water her (SPARINGLY) and give her LOTS of sun and see if she sprouts some new leaves on the stalk, which will become a new bloom. After she has a nice bloom going on top, you can bury the rest, so long as you don’t upset the root system. Or, you can do the same thing and do the riskier thing and behead the bloom, basically cutting (CUTTING, not sawing!) off the tiny bloom and letting it callus (dry) in a shady place for a week or two and letting it grow roots (I HIGHLY recommend picking up some rooting hormone (find it at a Home Depot or garden center) for a few bucks if you plan on doing this because it will help a lot) and planting that in a pot to grow once it has a few roots to start off.

OR you can carefully wiggle off whatever leaves are left and, again, let them dry (callus) in a shady spot and wait for roots and a tiny bloom to grow. These take forever to grow but eventually they can form little blooms. 

But honestly? Google is your friend! I’ve learned all I know about succulents and gardening from google. 

[elfpen]

So my sister's boss gave her a small pot with a couple succulent plants for Christmas yesterday. Any tips for taking care of them?

Oh, sure! Succulents are not that picky, but they are built for extreme environments, namely very sunny ones. So make sure your succulent gets a lot of light. If it is an echeveria (the quintessential ‘flower’ type) or any type with long fatty leaves, they may start drooping if they don’t get enough light, or having a lot of empty stalk between leaves (”leggy” it’s called). They’re also phototropic, so if it’s not getting full sun exposure, it may start growing toward a sunny spot. This is especially true if you have it in a window. I’ve found most success with growing them in sunny, sunny windows indoors until they’re big enough to go outdoors, where they can get full sun exposure.

That being said, don’t keep them outside if it’s freezing. Especially because winter is dark, if you’re really dedicated to keeping them alive, look for a grow lamp, there are plenty on amazon, and set it up to light your succulents indoors so they stay lit but warm in the winter.

As for watering, you really do not need to water them that often. I mean, don’t not water them, as I have a few times because I forget, but don’t over water. Keep them in a well-draining pot in well-draining soil, water until the water passes out the bottom of the pot, and don’t water again until the soil at the base of the plant is bone dry.

Overall:

Give it more light than you think it needs - if it’s droopy or “leggy” (big spaces between leaves) give it more light

Give it less water than you think it needs - if the leaves get thin or wrinkly, give it more water. If you give it too much it can lead to root rot.

Water when the soil is very dry

Pot it in a pot with a draining hole/holes

Rocks, as a general rule, do nothing. Don’t feel compelled to pot with any rocks.

Keep them out of frosty weather, indoors in the window with the most light or a grow lamp, preferably

Watch them grow! Echeverias grow fairly quickly, while crassulas and others grow more slowly. Either way, they add some nice greenery to your deck/house/porch/thing.

Best of luck!

[tysonrunningfox]

dramatrix4 replied to your post “Okay how about Suki vs Astrid? That would be one for the books ja?...”

But isn't Astrid kind of like a Jack of All Trades when it comes to weapons? With her being a great fighter and somewhat of a strategist with Hiccup, she would know the value of being able to use more than one weapon. Yes, the axe may be her weapon of choice, but against Suki, she would probably go with a pair of knives, right?

I mean, if we want to take that angle, I’m sure you could give Suki an axe and she’d kick most anyone’s ass.  A warrior goddess is a warrior goddess and apples to apples I”m sure they could figure each other’s weapons out.  

But I’m trying to say that I bet Suki at her absolute best in her absolute 100% exact element is on par with Astrid at her absolute best in her absolute 100% exact element.  Which is, unfortunately, comparing fans and axes.