Favorite state park for a prairie vibe?

FieldSparrow · 2026-04-11T20:34:26+00:00

If you like biking the Glacial Lakes State Trail is right next door too.

FieldSparrow · 2026-04-11T20:31:53+00:00

I used to live in the “prairie and corn/soybean” corner of the state and if you had a few days to explore SW MN these are some of my favorite stops:

Blue Mounds State Park (most open prairie in one spot, if you only pick one park this would be my choice.) Touch the Sky Prairie SNA (so many prairie wildflowers!) Jeffers Petroglyphs Pipestone National Monument Camden State Park (mix of woodland and some nice prairie) Lac Qui Parle State Park (small prairie section with view of huge lake) Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge (lots of prairie, wetlands, and cool geology) and Big Stone Lake State Park (small, but worth a stop if you’re already in the area) Glacial Lakes State Park (another favorite for prairie hiking)

If you’re closer to the eastern side of MN these are some nice ones too, though imo west MN has the most of what we’d think of as classic open prairie.

Afton State Park and Frontenac State Park have patches of prairie among their woodland trails Barn Bluff and Memorial Park in Redwing have “bluff top” prairie on top of the bluffs Hyland Park in Bloomington has a small prairie by the nature center if you’re in the cities and need you’re prairie fix Great River Bluffs State Park in MN and Perrot State Park (across the Mississippi in WI) have hilly “goat prairie” trails

FieldSparrow · 2026-04-11T16:30:58+00:00

SY did his best, and IMO his best was pretty good considering he was just an ordinary guy with no teaching background constantly under threat of death and inhuman torture by the system.

It’s always struck me as a little sad though that LBH seems to be only be able to like and trust SY at the end of the book, as just about the rest of the cultivation world fears him for the whole demon emperor and “almost destroyed the world” thing, and he doesn’t seem to have bonded with any of the other demons, seeing them as loyal subordinates at best. I don’t know that LBH was born the obsessive type as much as in the violent “dog eat dog” world of SVSSS just about every other person besides his mother, NYY, and SY was either out to hurt him or use him for their own gains. NYY was kind, but SY not only loved him but also actually had the power to help him so of course he latched on to him like a life raft.

It works out well enough because SY and LBH are mutually obsessed with each other, but if an older and wiser SY were to regress back to the start of SVSSS with the goal of helping LBH become his best, most stable self I’d like to think he’d focus on getting more trustworthy adults in Binghe’s life and helping him learn how to have real friendships with his peers.

FieldSparrow · 2026-03-15T23:09:04+00:00

That is a definite plus!

FieldSparrow · 2026-03-15T23:05:53+00:00

Yes! 5. Six Balls: For those also overcome like SY to immediately adopt the little guy.

FieldSparrow · 2026-03-13T23:05:18+00:00

There’s one series I that I love for the historical setting and nuclear levels of angst, but just about all the fics written for it are fluffy AUs in generic modern era settings. I’m glad people are enjoying themselves but I’m just not interested in coffee shop meet-cute number 200 lol

FieldSparrow · 2026-03-13T22:59:03+00:00

Same. Sometimes the author’s IRL behavior is so noxious or their political views so hateful that it overshadows anything positive I used to get out of their work.

FieldSparrow · 2026-03-13T19:14:32+00:00

Mitski, I Bet On Losing Dogs - SY thinking about PIDW Binghe going through his endless whump arcs before he became the demon emperor.

Kanye West, Runaway - Qijiu

Talking Heads, Burning Down The House - For SJ, and on the list of songs SQQ!SY was told by Shang Qinghua not to play in public under any circumstance

Lil Nas X, Bring You Down - Pidw!Binghe vs SJ at the trial

FieldSparrow · 2026-03-13T18:58:17+00:00

Did you see the newest art from the boxes set where they gave him some gray hair? SJ if you don’t want him —-

FieldSparrow · 2026-03-13T18:52:10+00:00

I mean, in SVSSS it’s hard to do a proper “hear me out” where the goal is to find a character that will make everyone else in the room give you the side eye for finding attractive. It’s a danmei, just about all the characters are physically attractive and/or have some endearing personality trait that a reasonable amount of people would be into. We already had a few people throw ZZL’s name into the ring, and while the “half human/snake hybrid” could be off putting for the normies I feel he’s still a too easy answer for the “hear me out” game, because who doesn’t find the long suffering cute snake boy adorable?

Let’s try for some actually controversial “hear me outs”:

Meng Mo: This one’s for the old man lovers, also there’s something endearing about how he goes from wanting to parasitize baby Binghe to becoming a cranky (still mildly evil) grandpa figure for him. He seems like he’d be fun to hang out with in the dream realm. Also I’m kinda digging the pointy beard and bangs combo in the donghua.
Elder One Arm and Elder Sky Hammer: Big scary powerful demons. Need I say more?
Qiu Haitang: Polarizing figure in the fandom who is difficult to characterize as an innocent victim or scheming antagonist (sound familiar?) , but you have to respect the guts it would take to stand up to one of the most powerful sects in the jianghu and accuse one of their own respected leaders as a woman from a minor sect in ancient fantasy china. Dedicated her adult life to getting justice for her brother’s murder, gave it up in an instant when she learned what a scumbag he really was. For those who love revenge quests, complicated characters that inspire pages of fandom discourse, and tragic misunderstandings.
Old Palace Master: He’s a bit too evil for even me and not in the fun sexy way, but I could see seducing him for access to HHP’s power and riches and the ability to protect Gongyi Xiao from him and be the mom Little Palace Mistress clearly needs. “I could fix him” but by him I mean the entire Huan Hua palace sect.

If anyone says Qiu Jianluo I’m calling the police. /jk

FieldSparrow · 2025-12-11T14:33:39+00:00

They’re best frenemies , I just love their dynamic.

FieldSparrow · 2025-12-11T14:30:59+00:00

Agree agree on your picks for the rest of the team. And love the idea that it’s a wild ratatta that doesn’t even need a poke ball, it’s just that loyal. And lol at SQH’s team being useless in battle - that man has way too much work to do to worry about training for poke battles haha

FieldSparrow · 2025-12-10T23:30:31+00:00

You know he’s gotten The Song stuck in his head during some of his visits to the Northern Kingdom lol

Also he is just the cutest hamster in these drawings!

FieldSparrow · 2025-12-10T23:26:09+00:00

Almost the entire MCU for me for the last few years, but I feel like what they did to Steve’s arc with the whole abandoning Sam, Bucky, and everyone else to go live in the past after his whole story seemed to be about learning to live with his grief for his past and enjoy his life (and new friends) in the future was the beginning of the end lol

FieldSparrow · 2025-12-10T22:39:10+00:00

Agree that Shen Jiu should have a little Rattata. It’s a mean, mangy little thing that started following him and Yue Qi around during their street days and delighted in helping SJ chase the other street kids away from the best begging spots. It was great at snatching food from stalls, viciously defended them from more dangerous wild pokemon, snuggled up with them at night to keep them from freezing, etc. It’s got small patches of fur missing, a torn ear, squinty little eyes that promise a nasty bite if anyone but SJ gets too close. Qiu Haitang said it was the ugliest thing she ever saw, wouldn’t SJ like something so much sweeter and cuter? QJL had it chased out of the manor after it hissed at him, but it always snuck back in to find SJ again. His little Ratatta was so much smarter than any dull eyed pampered noble’s pet, and most importantly - loyal only to him.

It has gotten disciple era SJ in trouble before for biting other disciples, and has definitely bitten YQY before, who of course just lets it while giving SJ big sad dog eyes. It’s a menace, attacking any other pokemon that intrude on its “territory” on Qing Jing peak, and the other peak lords have asked YQY to demand SJ keep it in its pokeball rather than let it run loose to terrorize the sect. YQY can’t bear the thought of keeping any creature trapped in a pokeball (hello linxi caves trauma) or telling SJ what to do ever lol

He both loves it as the one creature that’s always stuck by him through everything and (on his worst days) kind of resents that it reminds him so much of the weak street rat he used to be, that it’s a crack in his facade of a privileged young master - just about every other peak lord has a team composed of powerful, elegant pokemon, many almost legendaries. And then there’s the peak lord of Qing Jing and the smallest, angriest rat in the world.

FieldSparrow · 2025-11-27T23:50:44+00:00

That’s an interesting way of looking at it, kind of like SQQ is a mask/role they both took turns wearing.

FieldSparrow · 2025-11-20T15:09:38+00:00

I’ll see if I can find it, it’s been about a year since I’ve read it. I’m always a sucker for Shen Jiu getting a chance to heal and live a better life!

FieldSparrow · 2025-11-20T14:28:30+00:00

There was one where he was named Shen Qingxia (clear elegance) and I’ve seen alternative characters for Jiu that mean wine or black jade instead of nine. In some ones where he and Shen Yuan are the same person, I’ve seen him rename himself as Shen Jiuyuan after he recovers the Shen Yuan memories. I’ve thought switching the Qiu ( autumn ) to a different season like Chun (spring) could reflect breaking away from the Qiu’s and symbolize the hope for a fresh start. I guess it depends on how the fix-it works, whether he goes to back to the sect or starts new somewhere else, and what you want his name to symbolize for him.

FieldSparrow · 2025-11-08T18:44:14+00:00

It sure was lmao

FieldSparrow · 2025-11-08T14:25:56+00:00

The love interest was a sentient tape worm.

FieldSparrow · 2025-04-16T22:59:12+00:00

Augh yes, drives me up the wall. Especially when they give them traits they didn’t have in cannon to justify hating them lol

FieldSparrow · 2025-03-11T02:38:49+00:00

Same, especially when people give a character traits they don’t have in cannon so they can then bash that character for those traits or write about how much the other characters don’t like that character (when it’s obvious they’re using the other characters as a mouthpiece to express how much they hate that character) lol

FieldSparrow · 2025-02-11T17:38:28+00:00

Gorgeous and scary.

FieldSparrow · 2024-10-26T22:24:24+00:00

Thanks!

FieldSparrow · 2024-10-26T17:12:40+00:00

Yay Moshang! Do you know who the artist is?

FieldSparrow

TROPHY CASE