I never realized how similar some of my wife’s language (Anishinaabemowin) was to Cree. Would Manitôhkâsowin literally mean “someone who hides God/spirit from others?”
Thanks for sharing!
Ojibwe is basically Cree's first cousin & bestie. Some dialects are literally intelligible to each other (but others not), & some of our words are virtually the same, such as:
Feather (mîhkwan/miigwan)
North (kîwêtin/giiwedin)
Wolf (mâhikân/ma'iingan)
Grandmother (Nohkom/Nookomis)
But yeah!! I love all the similarities :) happy to share!
So I love bugs, especially beetles, but the scarab chafers are pretty bad this year and are not staying away from my garden no matter how much lavender dr.bronner’s soap I spray. I don’t wanna use neem oil and actually kill the beetles, and googling it just shows me horrible insecticides to use. Do you potentially know anyways to make plants smell or taste so horrible to beetles that they will ignore it?
If keeping garden pests away were that easy, there wouldn't be such a huge market for insecticides! You could try picking them off by hand and then putting netting over your plants...of course if you want them to be pollinated, the netting would have to be large enough to let other pollinators through but not the beetles. And if this is a flower garden and you want it to be attractive, the netting sort of puts a damper on that...
If anyone else has any ideas that may be helpful, feel free to share! I've never personally had a problem with beetles so I don't have much input.
Glad you saw what we got! We heard from your friends about the algae research Thesis! I hope everything went great! Hope we can meet you next year (we’ll be tabling next year either here or at Botcon!)
[aw im so late on this] but thank u thank u so much! Everything did go great! :D The biofilm gods looked kindly upon me that day…
i hope i can make it to another one in person but it’s total chaos right now, kind of hoping to table at a local con [RetroCon] since the next TFCons are in florida and california 😅. We’ll see tho! I have no idea where I’ll be in a few months LOLOL
17 and the Ambus brothers! (Except if it’s a love song, then just do your fav Minimus ship instead!)
Very Good Bad Thing - Mother Mother
Minimus had, like most outliers, discovered his abilities unexpectedly, unwillingly, and in a moment when he had enough else on his mind it wasn’t possible to fully appreciate what this would mean for him in the long term. It was the sort of awkward introduction that would lead to a lifetime of uncertainty, neither he nor his specially adapted brain module ever to make it entirely past the feeling that one had rudely intruded on the other.
Someone was owed an apology, but several million years on he still had no better idea whom than he did for the first time he and Dominus had fought. Brotherly quarrels, existential dilemmas, not really so different at their cores.
“First squad takes the western flank. Second squad behind them. Kup, you take yours over the top as soon as they are in position. We can’t turn positioning back on until we know Soundwave has been removed from the field, so squad leaders will need to designate one bot to serve as beacon.” The voice had been the hardest part to get right. It was only in the moments when lives were on the line that he could speak without getting sucked away into doubts: had that sounded natural? Familiar? Did he actually fit the voice as well as he thought he had?
“Ultra Magnus, sir!” a soldier said, skidding to a stop in front of him. “Message from command.”
“Go ahead.”
He maintained his composure as the bad news rolled in. No relief ships coming in for another day, suspected DJD arrival on planet. In moments, Magnus saw their advantageous push turn into a desperate hold on a sinking ship.
“Change of plans,” he announced to the gathered squad leaders. “I’m leading first squad. Confirming these reports is now top priority.”
The soldiers obeyed without question, making the necessary adjustments for the new maneuver. People listened to Ultra Magnus. Whether it was respect or fear, when he spoke, no one doubted him.
Very occasionally, he would be forced to snap at someone to shut up and listen, but it was never, ever the other way around.
He led his Autobots gravely through the trenches. For once, no one ran up to him with requests for additional support or responsibilities. Everyone was working at their greatest capacity, leaving no room for indecision. First squad made it to the end of the trench without incident. Ultra Magnus held up a hand to stop them, then steeled himself. As squad leader, it was his responsibility to gauge the battlefield and determine their timing.
He moved quickly, revealing himself just long enough to scan the battlefield. The visual data from Ultra Magnus’ optics bypassed the armor’s original sensory cortex and instead was straight sent to Minimus’ processor, where it was recorded and interpreted as easily as if the information had come from his own systems.
Ultra Magnus ducked down quickly. Although Minimus was in no mortal peril, tucked deep within the safety of the armor, he still felt afraid. He didn’t like exposing his eyes. He didn’t simply look through them—they were, by all practical measures, his.
And it was with his eyes he had seen movement on the far ridge.
Rather than risk the lives of every Autobot under his command, Ultra Magnus paired the squad further down, taking with him only a small company. They traveled slowly across the battlefield, sticking to cover and only moving at the all clear. Ultra Magnus, at the head, continued to act as the eyes, keeping his immortal gaze locked on the ridge.
Minimus didn’t believe in Functionist dogma, but maybe there was something to be said for predestined purpose. He had always been good at looking. The day of their first fight, as Minimus had fretted over what to do about Dominus’ shattered optics while trying to figure out how they would get back home, maybe Dominus had already seen the potential in them both.
He had asked for Minimus’ eyes. Minimus had argued it would be indecent. Dominus had then demanded, and Minimus argued it was illegal. That had been the fight.
And afterward, the revelation, Dominus seeing not through Minimus’ optics but incorporating them into his systems like they were his own. The mutual understanding that they had just stumbled into something incredible and dangerous.
That discovery would change the course of their lives and become the reason Minimus was here now, on a battlefield, watching as the DJD stepped into view. Their movements were unhurried, their gazes sweeping wide across the battlefield’s expanse. They spoke to each other like tourists. They let their weapons flash in the daylight.
Magnus knew in an instant that the battle was already lost. Maybe they could get a few Autobots off the planet, but the base would come down, and with it this star system. There was nothing more they could do.
He gathered his squad and prepared to leave.Once the others were out of sight, he turned back one last time to check—
And froze. One of them was watching him. Staring into Minimus’ optics like he could see through them.
Minimus was afraid, but Ultra Magnus was already pulling out his gun.
