More Dandelions For Rocky

This morning when I got home from work I harvested more dandelion leaves for Rocky from the neighbors lawn. Not to say that I have run out of Baby Arugula, I was just in the mood to harvest fresh food for Rocky. Tonight, I put together more seed pods (56 of them) so that Brian and I can get the garden started. I have arugula seeds that I got the other day to add to the other seeds to grow for Rocky and the grape vine. I really need to discuss the back fence with the neighbors and the husband and get that fence fixed to plant the grapes.

Story submitted. Let’s see how it does. Will post after results are given.

New Rocky Inspired Story

The Reedsy Prompts for this week are all about writing about animals. I am going to choose the Write about an animal species that doesn't exist in real life — an alien, new discovery, imaginary creature — it's up to your interpretation option to write about a Zaratan sea turtle. Along the lines of the title of Somewhere A Herpetologist Is Crying that I mentioned in the TV Tropes post earlier this week. The story is supposed to be between 1000 and 3000 words. That will be my main focus for a bit so most likely no further posts for the next few days but once I finish the story I will post it here too, like I did with White Tortoise Inn earlier this year, once the results for this week’s contest are announced.

Had to throw out Food

There is nothing I hate more than having to throw out food. I have a dog that is basically a walking garbage disposal for that reason. Today I had to throw out the Baby Arugula I bought at WalMart because it had a best by date of May 5^th. I bought it the same day my husband bought Spring Mix for Rocky so we had too much food for him. I did not want to give the Baby Arugula to Charity, the walking garbage disposal, or Rocky anymore once it started to get mushy in the bottom of the plastic container. When my darling husband went out today for last minute ingredients for dinner I told him to pick up some Baby Kale for Rocky but alas the store was out of Baby Kale so Husband picked up more Baby Arugula for Rocky. I would have given Rocky some more tonight, I did feed him yesterday morning, but I forgot to reset my alarm to get up for work and nearly overslept as it was and was running late.

The fact that I hate throwing out food is one of the reasons why I wanted to garden for Rocky. I know that vegetables and greens do not last that long in the fridge. With the garden I can just harvest fresh every feeding. The other reasons I wanted to garden for Rockys food was it would be cheaper in the long run and put us another step towards self-sustainability. Not to mention it gives me many more additional blog topics.

With the snow tonight, I am glad we have not moved all the containers of plants outside yet. Yes, Snow in May. Either Mab’s mad or Persephone must have been missing her Hades. That was my big gardening plan for the winter months, container gardening. I have clover, basil, cilantro, and even a grape vine started. Hopefully the Rosebush will survive this brief dusting of snow. The dandelions should be fine.

Motorcycle Tortoise?

I am, next month, learning to ride a motorcycle. I have wanted to do this since I was a child. I have been playing the Pathfinder RPG for a long time and they have an archetype for the alchemist called a construct rider. It allows for a mechanical (aka motorcycle) druid animal companion mount. A druid animal companion could be a tortoise…

Tortoise Animal Competition

Source: PRG:B4

STARTING STATISTICS

Size Medium; Speed 10 ft.; AC +6 natural; Attack bite (1d4); Ability Scores Str 14, Dex 8, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 9; SQ low-light vision

7TH-LEVEL ADVANCEMENT

Size Large; Speed 10 ft.; AC +8 natural; Attack bite (1d6); Ability Scores Str +4, Dex –2, Con +2; Bonus Feat Great Fortitude

As for the Construct Rider: A construct rider assembles a construct mount shaped like a riding animal. … The GM may approve other animals as mounts.

This construct mount acts in most ways as a druid animal companion, using the character’s alchemist level as his effective druid level. A construct mount is a construct, but uses the appropriate animal companion’s statistics, gaining Hit Dice, skills, feats, and Strength and Dexterity adjustments as the alchemist advances in level. A construct mount has no Constitution score, and instead gains bonus hit points appropriate for a construct of its size. It has an Intelligence score (and skill points), a lower base attack bonus, and better saving throws than a normal construct of its HD. The mount has all the immunities of a construct (except immunity to mind-affecting effects, since it has a mind). A construct rider can use Craft (alchemy) instead of Handle Animal for all purposes involving his construct mount, though the check still takes a –5 penalty due to the construct mount’s unusual nature.

To create a construct with a mind and body that are constantly changing and improving, the construct rider must manufacture vast quantities of clockwork or animating reagents. As such, the construct rider can never gain the mutagen or cognatogen ability, even from a discovery or another class. ... Since I do not like to use the mutagen class ability I feel this is a bonus.

I have been playing with the idea of my Occult Detective having a motorcycle like this but then I felt inept in the fact that I basically knew almost nothing about riding a motorcycle. I thought my Mother would not approve. When I told her a few days ago that I was taking the Basic Rider course at Hudson Valley Community College. She said that she had wanted to learn to ride a motorcycle but then I came along. Perhaps more on this as another time...

TV Tropes!

So I was looking at the Tv Tropes website because I am thinking of writing a dragon shifter romantic fantasy. So, I was looking at the Dragon Tropes page and discovered it is a subpage of Reptiles and Amphibians. So, I clicked on that page to see what it might have for me to use with regards to Rocky and Zaratans. Turns out there is an entire subpage on Shell tropes too.

Granted there are a lot of shell tropes that do not fit the bill, like clam shell …, but the following are intriguing:

• Removable Shell
• Shy Shelled Animal
• Speedy Snail (When it's a snail or turtle)
• Sturdy and Steady Turtles
• Turtle Island
• Wise Old Turtle

Not that the Reptiles and Amphibians page does not have things of their own to offer:

• Lovable Lizard (Because turtles are cute too)
• Reptiles Are Abhorrent
• Somewhere, A Herpetologist Is Crying
• And most importantly Turtle Power (see Below)

Something I did not see that I think is interesting is the gem encrusted shells, there is a gem encrusted page but that is more for items. I was thinking like a Treasure Dragon Turtle ...

Turtle Power!

Just like Monkeys and Penguins, many people have an odd fascination with turtles. They come off as clumsy, shy and slow, and helpless if turned on their shell, but they also appear wise and spiritualistic at times. They are also among the longest-living animals on the planet. If you want a very elderly funny animal, it's usually going to be a tortoise.^note  If they get large enough, they can also qualify as a fantastic transport or living island (or in the case of one series and certain mythologies, the entire world).

Sea turtles in particular are quite popular and are often included as charismatic megafauna for ocean and beach conservation. Giant Tortoises are also quite popular for island conservation, especially the Galapagos Tortoise, which the islands were named after.

They're also notable as the main exception to the Reptiles Are Abhorrent trope, being seen as cute and non-threatening. A localized exception is the snapping turtle, which isn't generally considered cute (that being said, their prehistoric looks make them pretty badass), and pretty bad-tempered to boot; softshelled turtles usually tend to be depicted as evil as well, being frankly ugly by most standards. Compare Lovable Lizard, for another goofy-looking and harmless reptile.

Familiars of Terra Tortoise

The Inky Prompt from May 3^rd had me thinking. The question, “What was your favorite childhood toy?” Mine was a pink Kitty Surprise. I loved the pouch she had in her stomach for hiding things. Alright, so it was supposed to be for the kittens that came with it, but I don’t remember if I lost those or got the mother cat second hand without them. I used to hide all sorts of things in the pouch, eventually even my Book of Shadows which was in a small, locked diary.

 

I remember two years ago doing a Kickstarter for an RPG called Familiars of Terra. One of the options for the familiars is Pocket: Your familiar has a body pouch which leads to a pocket dimension. This dimension can hold a large duffle bag's worth of items and can only be accessed with the familiar's permission. Meaning items you place in it effectively 'disappear' until retrieved. Some animals come naturally with a body pouch, such as a kangaroo pouch or hamster cheeks, but this power also allows you to create a pocket hidden in your tiger's fur.

 

I cannot help but think about how great a tortoise would be as a familiar, not just for the Familiars of Terra RPG but also for the modern witch (more on that later). Thus, I decided to make a beginning level tortoise familiar using the Roleplaying Game Familiars of Terra rules produced by Angry Hamster Publishing.

 

Now familiars start with 5 points in each attribute - Agility, Awareness, Charm, Might, and Wit. Then, distribute an extra 15 points between any attributes as you like. You may also voluntarily lower an Attribute to below 5 … for every two points you remove from one Attribute you get one point to spend elsewhere. Results for Tortoise:

Agility 3 (which is speed and flexibility)

Awareness 6

Charm 7 (average) 

Might 10 (Determines how much weight they can carry)

Wit 13 (Max)

 

Next step is selecting traits, like pocket. Pick 3 traits for your familiar. Traits are special mutations your familiar has that makes them unique. I chose:

• Burrow because Rocky likes to dig,
• Glow because I do not turn off his basking light so the upstairs windows always glow, and
• Pink because I maxed out his Wit and I like the ability.

Burrow: Your familiar can easily dig through rock, stone, packed earth, and walls and floors made of such materials. It digs at normal, non-running speed and chooses whether the tunnel behind it is stable (remains until collapsed on purpose, or through an earthquake), Unstable (will collapse behind the familiar in random card # rounds), or volatile (immediately collapses two meters behind the familiar as it digs).

 

Glow: Your familiar sheds a bioluminescent glow that it can dim to darkness or raise to the brightness of day at will. this light extends in a circle up to 15 meters around it and can even dispel magical or supernatural darkness.

 

Pink: The familiar turns from a baby-pink to a bright magenta. The familiar can lift items into the air. To lift an item the familiar should make a Wit check. On a success, the familiar lifts the item in the air and can manipulate it for a scene. if the familiar wishes to lift a creature, or if someone grabs the item, they should make an opposed check. the familiar uses Wit and the opponent uses Might. In combat, creatures who are lifted into the air can make an opposed check at the start of their turn to see if they can break free.

 

I am trying to make a set schedule for my postings. One day for Gardening, even though I have not been working on that much lately. One day a week for RPG related postings, even though right now that is the biggest thing on my mind and I posted on it already this week on Tuesday and today, but I am thinking Thursday posts will be about RPGs. Perhaps one day (Wednesday?) for worldbuilding using Zaratans. Of course, the usual look at what Rocky did today posts too.

Storytellers Vault Idea Source

Onyx Path publishing in December of 2013 produced for the Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition the sourcebook Changing Breeds. Of the many shapeshifters presented in the sourcebook were the Mokole or werereptiles. Origionally the Mokole were simply werelizards and werecrocodiles but in the 20th Anniversary they added the Ao, which bred with turtles and tortoises. I have been working on writing for the Storytellers Vault and with returning to Rocky's blog I am now thinking of writing an Ao character, fiction, and sourcebook. It would include to Rokea, my faverite Gangrel vampires the Mariners, and most likely not the last two paragraphs from the quote below, unless using them historically. 

To quote Changing Breeds page 249 to 250 "Ao - The Turtle Varna.

The lost turtle varna of the Mokole had many names. In the Indian Subcontinent, they were called Kurmaraja, names after the tortoise whose body formes the boundaries of the world. In North America, they were knows as the Kahaila, and were credited with creating the world. As a varna, they referred to themselves as the Ao, naming themselves after an elder so great he would even be remembered in the myths of humans as the Chinese seaturtle who sacrificed his legs to hold up the sky. Despite being scattered all over the world, the Ao shared a connection unique among the varna. This may be because they were the oldest varna, or because their patient and contemplative nature was not given to rifts or divisions. Turtles are an ancient family was perfectly adapted to its niche millenia before most of life on Earth today had evolved. 

Most of the world's myths about turtles identify them as creators and preservers, and this was true of the Ao as well. Among the longest-lived varna, other Mokole saw especially old

Ao as living wellsprings of Mnesis, the eyes that had beheld a thousand thousand memories now given to all in dreams. As the Ao include a large number of sea turtles, they had the most contact with the Rokea — appraising the weresharks of happenings on land, and lending an extra set of teeth and claws when the Rokea found something worth destroying.

The Ao included all manner of turtles and tortoises, with the following statistics: Str +1, Dex –1, Sta +4, Man –4, Rage 3. Ao benefit from the Armored Scales characteristic in Suchid form but could only move at half their Homid form’s land speed. Turtle Ao had a swimming speed equal to their Homid form’s land speed.

The Mokolé dream different dreams when searching Mnesis to find what caused the Ao’s disappearance. Some claim that their own solitary, secretive natures doomed the turtle varna. Starting around 540 BCE, other Mokolé began to notice that the Ao’s numbers were dropping. When asked about it, however, the Ao would dissemble or, if pressed, simply refuse to answer. The turtle varna became more and more rare until, by the beginning of the first century CE, they had vanished altogether. Some Mokolé ascribe sinister causes to the Ao’s disappearance, while others believe it was part of the natural cycle, and that the Ao will arise again if the time comes right.

A few weresaurians believe that the Ao were not doomed because they did not die. They point to the lack of any sign of dismay or struggle, and say that the Ao did not succumb but were called into the Umbra to serve Gaia in some unknown capacity. Perhaps the Mokolé varna best known as preservers and creators foresaw the Apocalypse years before anyone else and retreated to an Umbral realm where they could weather the storm and return at the time of the Earth’s most desperate need."