#archionblu

https://www.instocklabels.com/Star-Stickers-s/149.htm

I’ve gotten a couple of pieces from petco and petsmart (though it takes a lot of re-checking and waiting to find anything remotely good from them), but most of my driftwood pieces come from local fish stores. I found all the ones I could in my area, and about once a month I swing by them and have a look for supplies, but also keep an eye out for nice pieces.

The driftwood in the crayfish tank is actually 2 pieces, one big honkin’ one and one smaller cut piece. They’re both spider wood. I also have two large pieces of grape vine (lashed together with fishing line) in my 55g, along with 2 pieces of mopani wood (again, lashed together). Grapevine is generally not recommended because it “decomposes” quickly, but I’ve had mine for a couple of years and I like the softness of it; the plecos and amano shrimp both prefer it to the harder woods. I’m not sure what the pieces in the shrimp tank are; they were both little pieces of driftwood being sold at Petsmart.

Preparing driftwood really depends on if you care about tannins in your water or not. Tannins can soften your water considerably (they can tank the acidity) and turn your water brown; some people actually WANT this, it’s called a blackwater aquarium and some kinds of fish want to be in that sort of water. Some kinds of wood will leak tannins a lot longer than others (the mopani wood we gave up on and just put it in). A bag of Purigen beads, I have found, will clean the water easily of the dark colors. So, in that respect, if you have purchased a piece of actual driftwood from a reputable store, you can just give the wood a good scrub down with water and a stiff bristled brush and put it in your aquarium. It won’t sink for a bit, but as it becomes waterlogged, it will. If you aren’t sure about your source, I would be SUPER careful about putting it into an aquarium; a lot of wood made for reptiles etc has been treated with chemicals to kill mites and such (as opposed to heat-treated), and soaking that kind of wood will leach those chemicals right into your water.

The only thing I can say re: driftwood purchasing is that is is expensive. If you want a nice piece, you’re going to get what you pay for, and any store that knows what they’re selling (and most LFS do), will price their driftwood based on size, density, and shape. This means even a tiny piece that looks nice can cost $15+. That big piece of driftwood in my crayfish tank was $100.

Big shout out to @twistedboxy for sourcing it originally, in their post here! 

Thank you!! 

***

The Doctor spun around the console, flipping switches and pressing buttons in sequence that would dematerialize them from Adam’s living room. He was nearly overwhelmed with gladness to be rid of the prat: so relieved, in fact, that the pretty boy’s performance on Satellite Five had been somewhat of a relief. Yes, he’d nearly cocked things up unimaginably, but the fact that he had cocked things up so significantly meant that the Doctor was well within his rights to ditch him in his own time, hole in his forehead and all. Now the boy would be away from Rose, and he’d have his companion all to himself again. Fantastic!

When he’d finished dematerializing them, he turned to look at Rose with a daft grin, prepared to ask her where she wanted to go next. The look on her face, however, stopped his words and stole his smile. “What’s wrong?”

She didn’t answer verbally, just shrugged, looking down at the grating, and the Doctor knitted his brows. This was unlike her. He took a step towards her, wanting to reach out, to soothe whatever was troubling her mind. He tried again. “Rose?”

“I’m just… I’m sick of being useless.”

The Doctor was shocked and shook his head slightly. “You’re not useless.”

“I am!” she insisted. “I talked you into bringing Adam along, and he nearly ruined everything. If he had, it would have been my fault.”

“No, it would have been that twat’s fault. Not yours, Rose.” She shook her head sadly in denial, and he pressed. “It wouldn’t have been. You had no way of knowing what he would do. You were just being kind, wanting to show him the stars.”

“Well, what about in 1987? Nearly cocked everything up that time, too. I did cock everything up! Got you eaten by a reaper and everything! Useless. I’m absolutely useless.”

The Doctor had had enough. He stepped forward and folded her into a warm hug, pressing his mouth to the top of her hair but not kissing - never kissing. “That was entirely my fault, Rose. I didn’t properly explain, and you had no way of knowing what would happen.”

She let her arms wrap around his waist, under his leather jacket, and he couldn’t help the thrill he felt from that. 

“Rose, what you think of as you being useless is actually one of the things I like best about you. In both of those instances, you were acting from a place of love, showing kindness I’ve never known the like of before. Do you know how rare and special that is? It’s a quality you hardly ever see in humans. That’s what sets you apart. That’s what makes you different.”

“Yeah?” she murmured against his chest.

“Yeah,” he agreed, swaying her a bit. Just a bit. “So what if it having a big heart causes a spot of bother sometimes? The vast majority of the time, your kindness improves everything it touches. And it’s better than the alternative - being bitter and cold. I hope you never change, Rose.”

She sniffled but didn’t answer, and he hugged her a little tighter. If, when she pulled back from him a couple of minutes later, her eyes were red, he wasn’t going to comment on it. 

“Better?” he asked.

Rose nodded. “Better.”

“Good. Now, run along to the wardrobe room and have the TARDIS pick you out something for a visit to Greece, 23BC. I’m in the mood for some honeyed figs and a philosophy lecture. Interested?”

She smiled. “Yeah. Something boring, yeah?”

“If that’s what you want. Go get dressed and meet me back here in a bit. Go on,” he encouraged her. 

His blonde companion gave him a smile, then went to do as he’d asked, her mood clearly lifted. He watched her go, his heart swelling with an emotion he didn’t dare name, but kept growing and growing within him - regardless of what he sternly told himself. It was stupid and foolish to lo - to care about her more than he cared for anyone else. He couldn’t afford to do that, and he wouldn’t. He simply wouldn’t.

“Remember that movie where the guy fucked a pie?”

Link, who had just shoved a bite of pie in his mouth, choked. When he recovered, he said, “Why the hell would you say that to me when I have a mouthful of pie?”

Rhett smirked. “It’s because you have a mouthful of pie.”

Link wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You’re gross.”

Rhett leaned forward across the table, dipped his voice lower, and raised his eyebrow. “Imagine me fucking your mouth while it’s full of pie.”

 infinite cheers for nine x rose!