#it is integral to my morning work routine on site

[spilling-blood]

Leaving on time despite zoning out in the shower thinking of hobby photographer Fyodor stalking Nikolai and rationalizing it.

[mit]

The first asteroid sample returned to Earth

Richard Binzel describes how asteroid dirt and dust delivered by OSIRIS-Rex, with help from MIT, may reveal clues to the solar system’s origins.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News

On Sunday morning, a capsule the size of a mini-fridge dropped from the skies over western Utah, carrying a first-of-its-kind package: about 250 grams of dirt and dust plucked from the surface of an asteroid. As a candy-stripedparachute billowed open to slow its freefall, the capsule plummeted down to the sand, slightly ahead of schedule.

The special delivery came courtesy of OSIRIS-REx, the first NASA mission to travel to an asteroid and return a sample of its contents to Earth. Launched in 2016, the mission’s target was Bennu, a “near-Earth” asteroid that is thought to have formed during the solar system’s first 10 million years. The asteroid is made mostly of carbon and minerals, and has not been altered much since it formed. Samples from its surface could therefore offer valuable clues about the kinds of minerals and materials that first came together to shape the early solar system.

OSIRIS-REx journeyed for over two years to reach Bennu, where it then spent another two years circling and measuring its surface, looking for a spot to pick a sample. Among the suite of instruments aboard the spacecraft was an MIT-student-designed experiment, REXIS (the Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer). The shoebox-sized instrument was the work of more than 100 MIT students, who designed the instrument to map the asteroid’s surface material in X-rays, to help determine where the spacecraft should take a sample. REXIS is a joint project between the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro), the Harvard College Observatory, the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, and MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

On Sunday, OSIRIS-REx released the capsule to fall through the Earth’s atmosphere, as the spacecraft itself set off on a new course to the asteroid Apophis. The capsule has been transported to Houston’s Johnson Space Center, where Bennu’s dust will be examined and distributed to researchers around the world for further study. The sample’s successful return is a huge milestone for the mission’s members, including MIT’s Richard Binzel, a leading expert in the study of asteroids, and a professor post-tenure in EAPS and AeroAstro. As an OSIRIS-REx co-investigator, Binzel helped lead the development of REXIS and its integration with the spacecraft. MIT News checked in with Binzel for his first reactions following the capsule’s landing and recovery, and what he hopes we might learn from the asteroid’s dust.

Q: First off: What a landing! As someone who’s studied asteroids in depth, and from afar, what was it like for you to see a sample of this asteroid, returned to Earth?

A: I was holding my breath just like everyone else! The parachute opening was a huge exhale, and the soft landing was a release of joy on behalf of the entire team. You work with these people for so long, you become like family, so you feel everything together. Kind of like watching your kid finishing off their balance beam routine and sticking the landing. While I wasn’t at the landing site, many of us were “together” online watching the timeline and all the procedures. What a journey it has been, more than two decades in the making, starting with our telescopic identification of Bennu as a scientifically rich and easily accessible sampling target, and then with the many evolving designs of the mission. MIT student involvement with the REXIS instrument began in 2010. It took six years to reach the launch pad and now, finally, we are seeing the mission literally come full circle in returning the sample to the Earth.

Q: The instruments aboard OSIRIS-REx made measurements of the asteroid while in orbit. What did those measurements in space reveal about the asteroid? And what more do you hope scientists can uncover, now that a sample is back on Earth?

A: Spacecraft instruments, no matter technologically advanced, cannot accomplish nearly as much as the power of laboratories on Earth. Our instruments aboard OSIRIS-REx told us that Bennu is carbon-rich, likely containing some of the earliest chemical records of the ingredients that made the Earth and even life itself. But how do we know that the spacecraft instruments making measurements while flying above the surface are fully correct in what they reveal and how we interpret the data? We can only be sure by securing the “ground truth” provided through actual samples being brought into Earth’s laboratories. The laboratory analysis of these samples, confirming our preliminary findings, will verify our ability to interpret data about asteroids from both telescopes and orbiting spacecraft. Then the laboratory analysis will take us to even greater depths about the chemistry, conditions, and processes for how our own planetary system came to be.

Q: Let’s give a shoutout to all the students who helped to put an instrument aboard the mission. Going forward, how might this asteroid sample — and the spacecraft’s continued trajectory — relate to the work at MIT?

A: It’s a reminder that the sky is no limit for what we do at MIT. MIT’s REXIS instrument represents MIT’s motto, “mens et manus” [“mind and hand”], extended hundreds of millions of miles out in to space, with actual hardware the students both designed and built, that was flown farther into space than any other MIT student project has gone before. I feel it is simply a privilege to have engaged so many students in learning and experiencing the depth of hard work, teamwork, and dedication that it takes to be successful in space exploration.

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[marketingmisfits]

Marine Services Near Me: What to Expect From a Mobile Crew

When your vessel needs attention away from the dock, mobile marine service crews swoop in to save the day. Whether you're anchored off Abu Dhabi or cruising near Dubai, these mobile teams bring shipyard-level expertise to your location. I've seen it firsthand, repairing a cracked hull mid-channel, diagnosing engine faults in the heat of day, and doing it all with poise. Let’s dive into what visiting a mobile crew really entails.

Why Choose Mobile Marine Services?

Convenience: No need to disrupt schedules, repairs happen where you are.

Cost-efficiency: Save on docking fees and avoid the hassle of hauling your boat.

Speed: Many marine service providers in UAE pride themselves on providing a same-day response.

Specialisation: They often support offshore needs, from navigation systems to hull polishing.

(Yes, "offshore" doesn’t always mean oil rigs, it means your precise location.)

Top 5 Trends Mobile Crews Are Bringing to Sea

Digital diagnostics on-site – handheld scanners, thermal imaging, real-time data evaluation.

Hybrid repairs – combining traditional welding with advanced composites.

Eco-friendly practices – adopting greener coatings, minimising chemical run-offs.

Remote support integration – video calls with yards or OEMs for complex troubleshooting.

360° vessel check-ups – visual, electrical, HVAC, safety gear, all-in-one visits.

These trends reflect how shipbuilding companies in UAE and ship manufacturing companies in UAE are evolving, too. Mobile crews are simply portable extensions of that innovation.

Behind the Scenes: What Mobile Marine Crews Bring

A typical mobile service visit includes:EquipmentPurpose Portable engine analyzer Diagnose faults while engine runs Hand-held ultrasonic welder Repair steel/aluminum hulls on-site Marine-grade adhesives Fix hoses, deck fixtures, composites Spare parts & filters Routine service component replacement Environmental safety gear Oil-absorbent pads and containment kit Remote connectivity tools Connect with main yards or OEM specialists

Magicians? Pretty close. When they arrived once to fix an overheating air conditioner aboard my yacht, they had me chilling again in under two hours, no docking required.

How It Works: The Process from Call to Completion

Initial contact You call in or submit a request via the website, outlining your issue and location.

Assessment and scheduling Crew confirms scope, ETA, and cost. Many specialise in marine service providers in UAE, so you get tailored expertise.

Mobilization They load up tools and parts, then head to your exact coordinates.

On-site execution A structured workflow kicks in: safety briefing ➝ diagnostics ➝ repair ➝ testing.

Review and documentation Final check, customer walkthrough, paperwork, recommendations for future upkeep.

Follow-up A scheduled check-in ensures the repair holds and they’re already thinking ahead for the next season.

Real-World Example: Mid-Channel Hull Crack

I remember the day clearly. We were en route to Fujairah when a dull bump revealed a half-meter crack above the waterline. Docking wasn’t an option. A mobile crew showed up within three hours, welded, reinforced, inspected, and handed me a steel-welding integrity report. We sailed out the next morning, no drama.

Key takeaways:

Don’t wait for a harbour.

Have location, GPS, and clear issue description ready.

Mobile teams are trained to document everything, good for insurance records.

What to Ask Before You Hire

Certifications – Are they classified by RINA, ABS, or local ports?

Insurance coverage – Do they carry marine-specific liability?

Parts stocking – Do they stock common OEM parts or fabricate on-site?

Safety procedures – Oil spill kits? Fire extinguishers?

Post-service support – Are follow-ups included?

Choosing a mobile crew vetted by ship building companies in UAE gives you serious confidence, especially when time and tide are against you.

Comparison: Yard Service vs. Mobile Crew

Yard Service Mobile Crew Location Fixed dockyard Your vessel location Downtime Higher Lower Cost Docking + haulage Call-out + service Turnaround Slower Faster Scope Broad if vessel in yard Targeted on-site Convenience Low High

FAQs

Q1: Are mobile marine crews licensed? Yes. Most marine service providers in UAE carry certifications from port authorities and class societies (e.g., ABS, DNV GL).

Q2: Can they handle engine overhauls offshore? Minor engine repairs and diagnostics, yes. Major overhauls may still require yard support.

Q3: What are the typical mobilisation zones? Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah are common coverage areas for these crews.

Q4: How much does a call-out cost? Ranges from AED 500–1500 depending on urgency, distance, and time of day.

Q5: Do they operate at night? Some offer 24/7 emergency support. Confirm availability ahead of trip.

Q6: Are parts included? Consumables usually are. Major part replacements may involve additional charges.

Field Tips for Boaters

Keep clear GPS coordinates and local anchor points handy.

Take time to describe symptoms vividly, “clank, shudder, drip” are all helpful.

Ask the crew to record diagnostic readings, oil pressure, and running temperature for your logs.

Meet them at the vessel, even over satellite.

Note follow-up recommendations and plan yard visits accordingly.

Opinionated Takeaway

Mobile marine crews aren’t a luxury; they’re a strategic necessity. Whether you're running charter operations or private sailing, they provide peace of mind. My rule of thumb? If a yard delay could ruin your schedule, equip yourself with a trusted mobile crew on speed dial.

They’re an extension of the marine services in UAE ecosystem, agile, responsive, and equipped like offshore commandos. Too often, boaters think of repair shops as static. But today, they’re mobile, smart, and comfortable stepping aboard wherever you float.

In Summary

Expect professionalism, technical fluency, and genuine on-deck empathy. Think of them less as contractors, more like trusted shipmates. With the right prep, clear communication, and smart vetting, a mobile service team transforms emergencies into minor setbacks.

If you're heading out soon, bookmark a vetted provider specialising in ship manufacturing companies in UAE. Have their number handy. After all, the sea teaches us that when you stay ready, you rarely get caught.

Marine Services Near Me: Trust Comes Dockside

Marine services aren't just about nuts and bolts; they're about reliability. Being part of a skilled team means smoother voyages, calmer minds, and fewer unexpected interruptions. It means feeling supported, no matter where your compass points you.

[dr-ana-house-knows]

PROVADENT REVIEWS CONSUMER REPORTS (DON’T BUY?!) PROVADENT – ProvaDent Review

#ProvaDent #ProvaDentreviews #ProvaDentreview

My Personal Experience with ProvaDent: A Comprehensive Review

ProvaDent Reviews: Real Customer Insights Does ProvaDent really work? What exactly is ProvaDent? How do you use ProvaDent? In this review, I’ll share my personal experience and insights as a real customer of ProvaDent, highlighting various reviews and consumer reports.

What Is ProvaDent?

Many people still ask: what is ProvaDent? From my experience, ProvaDent is an all-natural supplement specially formulated to target and eliminate unwanted build-up in the oral cavity. It aims to improve oral health by balancing beneficial bacteria and reducing harmful bacteria in the mouth.

How Does ProvaDent Work?

In my experience, ProvaDent enhances oral health by promoting a healthy balance of bacteria in the mouth. This has helped me reduce gum bleeding, prevent gingivitis, and maintain teeth whiteness. Adding ProvaDent to my daily routine has also helped me manage early cavity formation, fragile teeth, gum issues, and inflammation.

Does ProvaDent Really Work? My Customer Report

Yes, ProvaDent is effective! Here are the benefits I’ve noticed:

Reduced gum bleeding Prevention of gingivitis Improved overall oral health Maintained teeth whiteness These benefits have made a significant difference in my oral health routine. Based on my consumer report, I can confidently say that ProvaDent really works.

ProvaDent Ingredients

ProvaDent's formula consists of naturally derived vegetables and minerals, creating a gentle yet potent blend:

Lactobacillus Paracasei Lactobacillus Reuteri B.lactis BL-04® Inulin Malic Acid Tricalcium Peppermint These ingredients have specific roles in reducing gingivitis, improving oral health, and whitening teeth. More detailed information about each ingredient is available on the official ProvaDent website.

How to Take ProvaDent?

Taking ProvaDent is simple:

I integrate ProvaDent into my routine by slowly chewing a tablet every morning to support the health of my entire body, gums, and teeth.

Where to Buy ProvaDent?

I purchased ProvaDent exclusively through the official manufacturer's website. This ensures product authenticity, customer support, and secure transactions. Links to the official site are provided in the description and the initial pinned comment.

ProvaDent Guarantee

The producer offers a 60-day satisfaction guarantee. If you are not satisfied with the results, you can request a refund within this period. This guarantee gave me peace of mind when trying the product.

How Soon Can You Expect Results?

Individual responses to ProvaDent vary. Based on my experience and other customer reports, noticeable improvements can be seen within one week of use. For the best results, experts recommend using ProvaDent for at least three months. Bulk purchase options are available, including packages of three or six containers.

ProvaDent Feedback

You can find testimonials from satisfied customers on the official ProvaDent website. These real customer reports reflect positive experiences and results.

My Final Thoughts on ProvaDent

In conclusion, ProvaDent is a highly effective supplement for enhancing oral health. Its natural ingredients work synergistically to reduce gum bleeding, prevent gingivitis, promote oral health, and maintain teeth whiteness. My personal experience as a real customer with ProvaDent has been positive, and I highly recommend it to others. For more information and to purchase ProvaDent, visit the official website.

Important Matters!

00:00 Provadent Review Intro

00:57 Provadent Dental Health

01:09 Provadent Candy

01:41 What is Provadent?

02:39 Provadent Official Website

03:50 Does Provadent Work?

04:30 Provadent Ingredients

05:13 Provadent Benefits

05:44 Does Provadent Reaaly Work?

06:06 Provadent Side Effects

06:21 Provadent Customer Reports

06:37 What Is The Best Way To Use Provadent ?

07:49 Provadent Consumer Reviews

08:26 Provadent 100% Money-Back Guarantee

08:51 Provadent Reviews Conclusion

Searches Related to ProvaDent: provadent,provadent review,provadent dental health,provadent adem naturals,provadent dr. andrew knudson,provadent reviews,provadent order,provadent buy,provadent official website,provadent 2024,prova dent,does provadent works,provadent does it work,provadent formula,provadent ingredients,provadent benefits,

PROVADENT REVIEWS CONSUMER REPORTS (⚠️❌✅ DON’T BUY?!⛔️❌😭) PROVADENT – ProvaDent Review PROVADENT REVIEWS CONSUMER REPORTS (⚠️❌✅ DON’T BUY?!⛔️❌😭) PROVADENT – ProvaDent Review

This is a ProvaDent Review. I hope you enjoyed this honest review.

Now you know how ProvaDent works and how to take it.The post Provadent Reviews was first published on Flamengo Online.

[best-reviews-usa]

PROVADENT REVIEWS CONSUMER REPORTS (DON’T BUY?!) PROVADENT – ProvaDent Review

#ProvaDent #ProvaDentreviews #ProvaDentreview

My Personal Experience with ProvaDent: A Comprehensive Review

ProvaDent Reviews: Real Customer Insights Does ProvaDent really work? What exactly is ProvaDent? How do you use ProvaDent? In this review, I’ll share my personal experience and insights as a real customer of ProvaDent, highlighting various reviews and consumer reports.

What Is ProvaDent?

Many people still ask: what is ProvaDent? From my experience, ProvaDent is an all-natural supplement specially formulated to target and eliminate unwanted build-up in the oral cavity. It aims to improve oral health by balancing beneficial bacteria and reducing harmful bacteria in the mouth.

How Does ProvaDent Work?

In my experience, ProvaDent enhances oral health by promoting a healthy balance of bacteria in the mouth. This has helped me reduce gum bleeding, prevent gingivitis, and maintain teeth whiteness. Adding ProvaDent to my daily routine has also helped me manage early cavity formation, fragile teeth, gum issues, and inflammation.

Does ProvaDent Really Work? My Customer Report

Yes, ProvaDent is effective! Here are the benefits I’ve noticed:

Reduced gum bleeding Prevention of gingivitis Improved overall oral health Maintained teeth whiteness These benefits have made a significant difference in my oral health routine. Based on my consumer report, I can confidently say that ProvaDent really works.

ProvaDent Ingredients

ProvaDent's formula consists of naturally derived vegetables and minerals, creating a gentle yet potent blend:

Lactobacillus Paracasei Lactobacillus Reuteri B.lactis BL-04® Inulin Malic Acid Tricalcium Peppermint These ingredients have specific roles in reducing gingivitis, improving oral health, and whitening teeth. More detailed information about each ingredient is available on the official ProvaDent website.

How to Take ProvaDent?

Taking ProvaDent is simple:

I integrate ProvaDent into my routine by slowly chewing a tablet every morning to support the health of my entire body, gums, and teeth.

Where to Buy ProvaDent?

I purchased ProvaDent exclusively through the official manufacturer's website. This ensures product authenticity, customer support, and secure transactions. Links to the official site are provided in the description and the initial pinned comment.

ProvaDent Guarantee

The producer offers a 60-day satisfaction guarantee. If you are not satisfied with the results, you can request a refund within this period. This guarantee gave me peace of mind when trying the product.

How Soon Can You Expect Results?

Individual responses to ProvaDent vary. Based on my experience and other customer reports, noticeable improvements can be seen within one week of use. For the best results, experts recommend using ProvaDent for at least three months. Bulk purchase options are available, including packages of three or six containers.

ProvaDent Feedback

You can find testimonials from satisfied customers on the official ProvaDent website. These real customer reports reflect positive experiences and results.

My Final Thoughts on ProvaDent

In conclusion, ProvaDent is a highly effective supplement for enhancing oral health. Its natural ingredients work synergistically to reduce gum bleeding, prevent gingivitis, promote oral health, and maintain teeth whiteness. My personal experience as a real customer with ProvaDent has been positive, and I highly recommend it to others. For more information and to purchase ProvaDent, visit the official website.

Important Matters!

00:00 Provadent Review Intro

00:57 Provadent Dental Health

01:09 Provadent Candy

01:41 What is Provadent?

02:39 Provadent Official Website

03:50 Does Provadent Work?

04:30 Provadent Ingredients

05:13 Provadent Benefits

05:44 Does Provadent Reaaly Work?

06:06 Provadent Side Effects

06:21 Provadent Customer Reports

06:37 What Is The Best Way To Use Provadent ?

07:49 Provadent Consumer Reviews

08:26 Provadent 100% Money-Back Guarantee

08:51 Provadent Reviews Conclusion

Searches Related to ProvaDent: provadent,provadent review,provadent dental health,provadent adem naturals,provadent dr. andrew knudson,provadent reviews,provadent order,provadent buy,provadent official website,provadent 2024,prova dent,does provadent works,provadent does it work,provadent formula,provadent ingredients,provadent benefits,

PROVADENT REVIEWS CONSUMER REPORTS (⚠️❌✅ DON’T BUY?!⛔️❌😭) PROVADENT – ProvaDent Review PROVADENT REVIEWS CONSUMER REPORTS (⚠️❌✅ DON’T BUY?!⛔️❌😭) PROVADENT – ProvaDent Review

This is a ProvaDent Review. I hope you enjoyed this honest review.

Now you know how ProvaDent works and how to take it.

The post Provadent Reviews was first published on Flamengo Online.

[samwisethewitch]

Creating Sacred Space

Very few pagans have access to temples or holy sites. If you’re lucky enough to live in the country where your gods were originally worshiped, you may be able to visit ancient temples or sacred sites, but most of us do not have this opportunity. For most pagans, sacred space is something we have to create for ourselves.

On one level, this is very literal — pagans create physical spaces for their gods to inhabit, usually in the form of home altars. An altar is a table, shelf, or other flat surface that is set aside for religious or spiritual use. The altar is likely home to religious items or tools like candles, incense burners, or statues of the gods. It is the place where prayers are made and offerings are given. It is a place within the home that is set aside for the gods.

Like everything within paganism, the exact setup and uses of your altar depend on your tradition. Some groups, like some forms of traditional Wicca, require the altar to look a very certain way, with a collection of ritual tools arranged in the appropriate places on the altar. Other traditions are much more freeform.

Even if you have not chosen a pagan path yet, you may find it helpful to create a special place to connect with the divine. This could be an altar — even a simple one, like an unused shelf holding a white candle and a stick of incense — or another special place like a yoga mat where you do meditations, a special chair where you read spiritual literature, or a special place outdoors. Having a space set aside for spirituality and religion will help you to literally and metaphorically make room for these pursuits in your life.

To dedicate this space to religious pursuits, simply verbally state your intent to use it for that purpose. You might perform a simple ritual by lighting a white candle and saying something like, “I dedicate this space to the gods and to my growing relationship with them.” (It doesn’t matter if you don’t know yet which gods you want to worship.) Now you have a special place to return to when you want to connect with the divine.

You can also build altars to connect to other types of spirits, such as land spirits or ancestors. We’ll talk more about these kinds of altars in a future post.

Though guidelines for altar setup and maintenance vary from one pagan religion to the next, there are a few basic guidelines that are pretty much universal.

For one thing, your altar should be kept clean and tidy. Don’t pile non-religious items on your altar, make sure to clean up any candle wax or incense ashes left after a ritual, and try to keep dust from building up on your icons and statues. I am a generally messy person, but my altar stays clean as a sign of respect for my gods, even when the rest of my house is a mess. If you struggle to keep your altar tidy, schedule 10-20 minutes once a week to go through and clean it up. Think of this cleaning not as a chore, but as a loving service to your gods.

If you use your altar for food offerings, you should dispose of them after 24 hours or less. As we’ve previously discussed, some pagans eat their food offerings after the gods have had a chance to consume their spiritual essence, while other pagans feel that this is rude or taboo. In the latter case, many people choose a special place outside where they dispose of food offerings (if you do this, make sure the offering won’t harm local plant and animal life if left outside). Another option is to add food offerings to a compost pile — you can use the compost in your garden, perhaps for plants that are sacred to your gods (again, make sure your offerings are compost-friendly).

Keeping your altar clean also includes energetic and spiritual cleansing. Before rituals, you should cleanse your altar to ensure that you aren’t bringing any unwanted energy into your worship. Cleansing protocols vary from one tradition to the next and may include sprinkling the altar with blessed water, wafting incense smoke through the space, or using a special tool like a ritual broom or a bell. If you haven’t chosen a pagan religion yet, simply use the cleansing method that works best for you.

When caring for your altar, keep in mind that this is your gods’ space within your home. You want it to be comfortable for them. Like decorating a guest bedroom for a friend, you’ll probably want to choose items that are significant to the god or spirit being honored on the altar. For example, my altar contains a crow skull and feathers because crows are sacred to several of the deities I work with. Take your time to create an environment that will be welcoming to your god(s) of choice. (Again, if you aren’t working with any specific gods yet, you can still create a basic altar — follow the previously stated guidelines for keeping it clean and welcoming.)

While setting up and maintaining an altar or other special space is an important part of creating sacred space, it isn’t the only part. When pagans talk about “creating sacred space,” we are also talking about cultivating a certain mindset.

Just like you need to make space for the gods in your home, you need to make space for them in your life. It’s all well and good to call yourself a pagan, but if you never pray, make offerings, or think about the gods, are you really embodying pagan religious practice? If you’re going to talk the talk, you have to also walk the walk.

Creating sacred space in your life can take many forms. One of the most common (and convenient) is small daily devotional activities. These activities only take a few minutes and can easily be incorporated into your daily routine. This may include meditation, divination, or reading a few verses from a holy book. Even the act of lighting a fresh stick of incense on your altar in the morning can help strengthen your connection to your spirituality.

It can even be as simple as remembering to thank the gods when you see them at work in your life. I have a friend who is a Roman pagan, and he has a habit of verbally thanking Mercury (the Roman god of travel, among many other things) whenever he finds a good parking space or doesn’t have to wait at a red light. This kind of small acknowledgement may not seem like a big deal, but it works to integrate our worship of the gods into our daily lives.

Take a few moments, right now, to ask yourself how you can create sacred space in your life. What can you do to make the gods feel welcome in your presence? Try to think of a single change you can make in the next 24 hours to create this space. Write it down.

Commit to maintaining this new practice for at least three weeks. At the end of each day, write down what you did to create sacred space and how it made you feel. Do you feel a sense of peace? Do you feel the gods’ presence more strongly? Do you feel a sense of connection to something bigger than yourself? Write down these and any other thoughts on your new practice.

At the end of three weeks, look back over your notes. How did this practice change the way you feel about your spirituality? How did it change your relationship with the gods? If there was a positive change, try to continue integrating this practice into your daily routine.

If there was no change, that’s okay — this specific practice may not be for you, and there’s no shame in that. Choose a different practice and repeat the experiment. Keep at it until you find a way to create sacred space that works for you on your unique spiritual path.

In my humble opinion, it’s important to learn how to hold sacred space before you start investigating different pagan religions. Not only will it give you the basic tools you’ll need for religious ritual, but it will help you to discover your personal worship style and comfort zone. With this, you’ll be better able to determine which pagan path(s) is a good fit for you.

Resources:

Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

Following the Sun by Sharon LaBorde

Where the Hawthorn Grows by Morgan Daimler

[iron-mum]

I wish you would write a fic where Tony and kid Peter are being adorable father and son as retribution for the angst you’ve made me suffer through in the past hah! (JK I love you and your angst! 💛)

Well, well, well. What do we have here, eh? A request for adorable? I'm not sure, I'm very good at that 😌

Here's SIMTony who would stop at nothing to help his unwell son, Peter get better. Even if it meant using Extremis.

P.S. ILY3000 💕

In the final throes of the graveyard shift at the hospital floor, the elevator pinged for its frequent lone visitor. The front desk staff, whilst tense and sitting up suddenly straighter, knew not to actually engage. No ID was needed for their boss, one of them barely suppressing a gulp as his determined strides headed for the private room that had been deliberately placed near to the room equipped for every possible kind of emergency. Once inside, he carefully shut the door silently and took a seat at the bedside.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Sharp blue eyes shifted from the persistent buzzing of the most technologically advanced medical equipment anyone, anywhere could offer before looking back down to something far more invaluable and precious. Tony’s entire world. His purpose in life. The little boy on the bed lay motionless, breathing slowly and evenly, nose occasionally scrunching up at the discomfort of the oxygen mask upon him. He should have been cocooned in a hug from his father but instead his son, Peter, was littered with wires attaching him to the very best modern medicine had to offer.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Pale, soft skin with the daintiest of freckles stood out against the dark curls spread across the far too big pillow. The small fingers of his left hand had loosely closed around the calloused thumb of his father, letting him know that whilst he had been rendered weak from illness, he was still aware of his comforting presence. Tony’s index finger gently glided across the small knuckles, willing himself to see a tiny curve of the lips on his son’s face.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

This had been the Avengers fault. Peter’s current critical condition. The young boy had been on a school trip when a battle had broken out and the wannabe heroes managed to cause more destruction than lives saved. A chemical explosion had landed most of the class in hospital and many of them had ended up becoming very unwell. Unfortunately for Peter, he already suffered many ailments so even under the wing of Stark’s finest medical personnel, the struggle had taken a toll. The genius shook his head as thoughts of revenge started to sprout from the many seeds that had been planted since the catastrophic incident. He shelved the many ideas he had that would lead to the demise of the reckless group once his kid was better.

It had been hours when the sound of a nurse's footsteps acted as the catalyst that would remove Tony from the room so he could head back to his lab. As he reluctantly moved his hand away, there was no reaction. Not even a twitch from the slender child. Bending down, he tentatively stroked a small amount of the exposed skin that was available on the boy’s face before planting a light kiss on his forehead. By the time the nurse was opening the door to the room to complete the routine checks, any sign of a visitor would be long gone.

The moment Tony was back in his workshop, he strode towards his desk. Music started to reverberate from the ceiling, the sound greatly appreciated compared to the low hum and incessant beeping from the emotionless devices that were currently keeping his son alive.

Tony didn’t believe in a higher power other than himself. So in no way, shape or form was he ever going to accept that he couldn’t save Peter from the incurable illness now ravaging his frail body. Feeling powerless was simply not an option.

Rolling up the sleeve to his top, the genius opened a drawer and pulled out a device meant for extracting blood as painlessly as possible. Not that pain meant much to him these days. No pain would ever compete with a parent having to watch their child deteriorate every single second of every single day.

Satisfied with the draw, Tony placed it into a diagnostic machine of his own making. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the glass of his workshop, eyeing it like he was in the most intense staring contest of his life. Jaw clenching, his arm shot out allowing liquid metal to glide across his skin before firing a repulsor at the glass and shattering it. There was an element of irony to everyone loving his face except himself in the minimal but intrusive “what if” moments that surrounded his current situation. With a crack of his neck, his arm remained outstretched so the Endo-Sym armour could return to it’s housing tank.

“Boss, the results are back,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. informed as the music lessened in volume. “No adverse reactions detected still. The chemical composition indicates that the Extremis is unchanged in it’s integration with you on a genetic level and continues to remain stable.”

“And the sample from Peter?” Tony asked, confident that he knew what the answer would be.

“Also remaining stable.”

“Alert the staff intending to see Peter following tonight's shift that their presence will not be needed,” the genius demanded as he mentally reiterated the next steps of his plan in his head. Lips curled into devilishly handsome grin at his victory, eyes crinkling at the sides. The smile only softened when his eyes drifted to a framed picture Peter had drawn of the both of them. He’d done it.

“Certainly, boss,” the AI had responded without any acknowledgement. Tony was too busy in thought. Not only was the Extremis flowing through his own veins, leaving him feeling at perfect health. But soon, it would be doing the same for Peter too. Pain free, peak performance and at complete and optimal health.

“Have there been any sightings of the Avengers in the last hour? I feel a splash of revenge is in order for this special occasion?” The holo-screens in front of him started to flicker as social media sites were searched and hashtags refreshed repeatedly. Hulk had been trending within the hour and Hawkeye in the last eleven minutes.

"Well, how about that?" he grinned gleefully. "I really am being spoiled for choice."

Whilst the genius had been certain F.R.I.D.A.Y. had relayed the message to the morning staff, Tony still found himself exhaling sharply at the sight of someone sat by Peter’s side reading his file. The thin bag of Extremis in his hand was shifted into his back pocket as quickly as humanly possible. The good feeling from beating the shit out of one of the Avengers, plus the buzz of providing Peter with a cure that no meagre doctor had been able to, shifted into a tension as tried to work out who it was.

Their face was narrow with sharp features and glasz eyes remarkably penetrating when they met his perusing stare. His black hair had been combed back neatly, the sides of his temples a distinct light grey. The well fitted suit looked designer even for Tony’s impeccable standards.

“Your services are no longer required,” he affirmed with a dismissive flourish of the hands before the man could even introduce himself.

“I’m sorry?” the other man replied without hesitation, closing the file and rising from the chair. Tony’s chair. If he’d been expecting any pleasantries or introductions, he was thoroughly mistaken. Tony was already locked onto Peter, the gentle rise of his chest a welcoming sight as always. He refused to allow his attention to be divided, ignoring the piercing stare boring into him now. “I have an oath to this patient. He critically needs help from the best in all fields. He needs my help.”

The genius turned at that, an eyebrow raised as he looked the doctor up and down. He certainly held himself strongly for someone who had that much audacity in addressing the owner of everything within his current vicinity.

“Are you new around here… Doctor Strange?” He asked disingenuously, eyes narrowing as he scrutinised the name badge. The letters ‘VISITOR - Dr Stephen Strange’ jotted on the bottom, likely the reason he hadn’t got his AI’s memo. The receptionist who let him in would be fired whether it was her fault or not.

“Unlike everyone else in this building, no, I don’t work for you” the doctor shot back tersely. “However, you were so insistent on my consultation that, somehow, I found my diary completely cleared of all surgeries that were booked in.”

“Well, you can now stick them back in your diary. We’re done here.”

“I know this is difficult,” the doctor started, tone suddenly softer as if he were hoping a change of tact would get through. “You brought me in for my expertise, so use them.”

“I’m the most intelligent, capable person on the planet. I don’t need you. I don’t need anyone.”

“Your arrogance surpasses all the rumours and expectations I had of you,” Strange snapped back incredulously. Apparently nothing was going to get through. “Your child is-”

“You know, it would be a real shame if you were to lose your medical licence, wouldn't it, doctor?” Tony sneered dangerously low. This ungrateful little shit was going to get it for not only wasting his time and energy, but also his son’s. An insignificant speck like the rest of the world.

“Are you threatening me?” the doctor replied doing his best to keep his tone cool and unflinching when the other man removed all personal space between them. The lack of intimidation he was feeling only pissed Tony off more.

“Let’s not test my resolve, doctor.” Despite feeling completely wrong about leaving considering Peter’s condition, Dr Stephen Strange tucked the file he’d been reading under his arm and left the room in just a few strides. Tony had spotted the hand diving for a phone as the door shut behind him and clenched his fists in disdain.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., be a darling and ensure Doctor Douchebag doesn’t make it back home,” Tony demanded followed by a nonchalant sniff.

“Yes, boss. His phone has also unexpectedly lost all signal so will not be usable anytime soon.”

Satisfied with the course of action his AI had taken, Tony locked the door to his son’s room for good measure. He eyed the current equipment before making his move. One of the drips currently providing Peter with much needed medicine was switched to make way for a sample of the Extremis that Tony had meticulously created and tested on himself. He peered at his son, swallowing thickly that this would all be worth it.

Bag secured, the first few drops started instantly, the older man watching as they flowed along the thin tubes before entering the cannula imposed on Peter’s hand. The skin began to glow orange, the lava looking trail gliding all the way up the arm’s before entering the chest. Daring a glance at the monitors, Tony noted an instant improvement in the readouts. A smile spread across his face as sheet-white, sickly skin started to immediately brighten.

Peter’s big, brown doe eyes suddenly shot open as he took a huge gulp of air, eyes landing on his father who was remarkably in focus for the first time in his life without the aid of glasses. Tony removed the oxygen mask so he could take his son’s face in fully for the first time in well over a month.

“Dad?” the young boy croaked, clearly a little disoriented from the abrupt wake up.

“Hey, buddy,” Tony whispered, voice cracking with emotion as he closed the distance between them.

Peter lunged at his father, his small arms wrapping tightly around the genius’ neck and face burying into his chest. It had been far too long since either had been able to enjoy the tender, heart-bursting feeling of overwhelming, unconditional love from one another.

“I love you, kiddo.” Tony gushed as one of his hand’s lovingly cupped the back of Peter's head holding him as close as possible. The other enveloped around his back, his thumb slowly stroking up and down. When the older man's hand started to trail through Peter's hair, the boy somehow managed to burrow even closer. Tony soothingly lifted curls between his fingers and then let them ping back as new life continued to circle through his son’s body.

“I love you too, dad,” Peter whispered, a strain evident in his voice that Tony hadn’t been expecting. When he leant back, he saw the likely cause. Now unnecessary wires were tugging at his child’s skin.

“Let’s get these off you, bud. You don’t need them anymore,” he promised softly as he carefully went to work at removing the monitoring equipment clips and stickers. Peter’s curious eyes followed every step of the way, surprisingly not wincing even when some of the tougher stickers were peeled away. Although he was too young to even begin comprehending what had happened, he knew from vague memories he’d been hurt and that he’d slept a lot. Often he had been unsure if he was dreaming or awake when he’d hear his father read him stories, express his love and let him know how brave he was being. A slight tug on his hand drew him from his recollection as he looked down.

"I’m scared," Peter timidly admitted as he eyed up the last piece of medical equipment attached to him. The cannula in his hand.

“Here’s what we're gonna do, bud. We’re going to put on our brave faces and before you know it, it’ll be all done and over with. Can you show me your bravest, fiercest face?” Tony gently challenged, as part of his upper lip curled and he playfully growled.

The child’s dinky nose scrunched up and his lips pushed out into the biggest pout he could form. He shook his head a little and hummed in a way that likely felt fierce to him but could only be described as adorable to his dad.

"Wowzer. That was super mean, you nearly scared me!” Tony gasped dramatically, as he gestured for the boy to look down and see that the only thing on the top of his hand was a small cotton wool ball and a light pressure from his dad. Using his free hand to fish into his pocket, Tony revealed a green Paw Patrol sticker with Peter’s favourite character, Rocky, on it.

It had been a distant memory since the young boy had handed it to him, having spotted the numerous nicks and cuts that littered his hard working hands after a long day in the workshop. Extremis meant Peter wouldn’t even need it, but the placebo effect would make it worth it.

“Am I all better, daddy?” Peter asked as Tony eyed him up once more. The overwhelmed father cupped his kid’s face and planted another kiss on his forehead, relief washing over him that he was now free from the concatenation of medical instrumentation.

“You most certainly are. And that means we get to skedaddle out of here.”

Before his son could anticipate his next move, his father had scooped him up into his arms and they were making their way not only out of the room, but off of the floor for good.

They’d had a chance to change into matching casual wear and feasted on a huge breakfast before snuggling up on the sofa. Peter had selected an Octonauts movie to watch as he tucked into his father’s side and enjoyed the sound of his steady heartbeat.

It would be a couple of hours when Tony’s phone pinged with a notification he knew was F.R.I.D.A.Y. when she was being discreet. His son huffed at the movement as he shuffled to get the phone out of his pocket, muttering an apology to his kid before opening the message.

[Unfortunate accident on the Hawk’s Nest, Route 97. Vehicle crossed the barrier and rolled multiple times down the cliff’s edge before landing in the Delaware River. Initial scan from one of the Iron Sight Bot #364 shows one survivor.]

Tony’s smirk widened into a full blown smile. Peter’s heart-of-gold eyes suddenly on him, looking up from his position. It was likely a silent protest at the lack of head strokes he was suddenly receiving so the genius replied swiftly.

[Call off any emergency services and get him med-evaced here.]

“You know what I think we need. Celebratory cheeseburgers for lunch,” he announced as Peter let out a squee of joy.

[azucanela]

DAY 4. COFFEE RUNS

PAIRING: AKAASHI KEIJI X GENDER NEUTRAL!READER

WARNINGS: NONE.

A/N: coffee is immaculate, so is tea. all beverages are immaculate. send me beverage suggestions. bubble tea especially i like trying new things. 

FLUFFVEMBER MASTERLIST

Everyday, Akaashi stops by a coffee shop on his commute to work. Seeing as his job required him to practically just sit at a desk all day, he found that a healthy breakfast, quick morning jog, and a simple cup of tea or coffee was an effective way to wake up and get things done. Routine was a basic part of his day, it made him effective and productive. 

His co-worker, Y/N L/N had yet to find something similar that worked for them. 

Akaashi could recall the morning Y/N had asked him about his morning routine, and when he’d responded, the shock on their face had been rather evident. Y/N proceeded to go on a rant about how tiring it must’ve been to maintain such a routine— speaking of how they’d struggled to do something similar. 

He could also recall the first morning he saw them standing in line, at the very coffee shop he’d mentioned that day. And the way their face lit up at the sight of him as they began to speak of how good the drinks were. 

It was a welcome change to his routine. One that he’d adapted to fairly quickly as he started buying the coffee for them, something they’d made attempts to prevent. Ever the gentleman— Akaashi Keiji purchased the coffee everyday for them without fail. 

Until one morning, Y/N stopped showing up. Akaashi knew this was coming of course, they’d mentioned a while before that they’d be moving out of that area and the commute would be too long if they continued heading to the café each morning.

Even though Y/N wasn’t beside him that morning, he still found himself repeating their order— that he’d memorized, after visiting the café alongside Y/N dozens of times and watching as they tried drink after drink until they found one they enjoyed — to the barista at the counter, something done out of pure habit.

And as Akaashi stared at the cup in his hand, before returning his gaze to Y/N, who’s brown had raised at the site of him, “what’s with the two cups?”

Akaashi only wonders momentarily if it would seem odd that he bought their drink even though they weren’t him before he extends an arm out to Y/N, “it’s your drink.”

Tilting their head at him, Y/N offers him a smile as they furrow their brows, “my drink?” They pause, “Akaashi, did you buy me my drink?” There’s a clear tone of disbelief as they speak, mouth gaping open as their eyes move between Akaashi and the drink.

Akaashi simply nods, smiling softly at them as he opts for placing it on their desk. “I figured you’d still want coffee in the morning, even if you can’t accompany me to the café.” Although he was partially lying, having purchased the coffee purely out of habit, Akaashi probably would’ve bought it regardless. Because Y/N L/N had become such an integral part of his life that it just made sense.

Y/N opens their mouth to speak, struggling to find words as they say, “will you at least let me pay you back?” They’re already reaching for their bag, cheeks warming as they do.

Shaking his head, Akaashi grabs Y/N’s hand as they reach into the bag for their wallet, “that’s not necessary.” He looks up at Y/N, “but.. if you’d like. We could always go to another place I know— after work.”

“For coffee?”

“For dinner. On a date.” He replies, looking to them. 

A smile finds its way onto Y/N’s face as they reply, “that would be nice. Really nice.”

DAY 3 — DAY 5

[skekheck]

All About the Seven Clans: the Stonewood

THIS POST CONTAINS EVERYTHING I COULD FIND ABOUT THE STONEWOOD. SOME INFORMATION WRITTEN HERE ARE FROM OLDER MATERIAL AND MAY EITHER CONTRADICT STATEMENTS OR IS NO LONGER RELEVANT. I WILL DO MY BEST TO STRING IT ALL TOGETHER AS COHERENTLY AS POSSIBLE. IF THERE IS INFORMATION THAT I AM MISSING, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I’LL ADD IT!

Clan Index: Dousan Drenchen Grottan Sifa Spriton Stonewood Vapra

The Stonewood, once known as the Woodland Folk in ancient times, lived in the Endless Forest (or in other versions called the Dark Wood). Made strong and resilient from their environment, they were the perfect soldiers and constituted the majority of the skeksis army. While they were a warrior clan, the Stonewood were peaceful who valued gelfling culture and songs. Their hometown, Stone-in-the-Wood, was the site of major historical events throughout Thra’s history. 

The Stonewood totem animal was the Fizzgig and their core elements were fire, the hearth, and keeping of the song and essence of gelfling culture. Their clan color was red, their sigil was beige and green with earthy tones, and their pennant color was red with green and yellow detail. 

Characteristics

The Stonewood were some of the strongest and hardiest of all gelfling. They had an olive complexion with green or greenish-blue tinting. Like gelfling from other clans, Stonewood tints were visible on the face but were restricted to the forehead, temples, and around the the eyes. Hair was black, brown, or a mix of both with highlighted sections of blue and/or green. Styling was very minimal with some braiding and styled up in ribbons or clips, but were mostly kept loose. Eye color tended to be blue or various shades of brown. In the J.M. Lee book series, Stonewood wings came in a variety of colors. Shoni, Rian’s mother, had brown and red wings with two large black eyespots accented by other dapples of orange, gold, tan. Maudra Fara in this version had dark burgundy and gold wings.

Stonewood clothing was described to have browns and other natural foresty shades like greens and grays. They preferred to wear leathered armor over regular civilian clothes regardless of their profession. They were also known to carry light weapons on them at all times. 

Lifestyle

Strength, courage, and hardiness were traits the Stonewood valued and emphasized, especially towards other clans. The Stonewood way was to remain put and endure so they grew strong and prospered. All of these values made them perfect warriors. But despite this, the Stonewood were very peaceful. Much like the Fizzgig, their totem animal, they only fought to defend themselves. There was a heavier focus on the community as well as culture and song. 

The Stonewood had great respect for nature, but were also aware that they lived in one of the most dangerous regions on Thra. They understood that no gelfling was on top of the food chain and had to adapt to an eat or be eaten world. They favored a hunter-defender archetype: to understand the cycle of life and have the knowledge to protect oneself as well as their loved ones. But they chose to abide by the laws of nature and frowned upon things like hunting for sport.

The Stonewood Clan had the second largest population of all seven clans, only succeeded by the Vapra. Thanks to an abundance of resources provided by the forest as well as by other clans and the skeksis, their population flourished during the Age of Division. There were smaller Stonewood villages spread out all over the forest to compensate for the clan’s size. This process was difficult for them to accept as it went against some of their traditional values. The Stonewood were known to be slightly more advanced than other gelfling clans as they had sophisticated weaponry and armament to protect their homes with. 

Daily Routine

A Stonewood’s day started off with the sound of clangs of blacksmith hammers early in the morning. The maudra and her elder council assigned daily tasks to all adult gelfling. Those whose jobs took them outside of the village said their good byes and departed early. The others that stayed met with their groups to discuss the day’s plan. Work continued until sunset when the clan’s hearth is lit for the communal supper with the accompaniment of a song or two. Lanterns full of firebugs were kept alighted for gelfling working nightshifts. 

Aside from nightly songtelling, the Stonewood had other pastimes. The most notable of them were sports and competitions. Regardless of whoever won, all Stonewood showed great sportsmanship and encouraged one another. A popular pastime among childlings were Ipsy battles. During mating seasons, the otherwise peaceful male Ipsy would fight other males for the affection of the female. Childlings would collect Ipsy males and staged battles between them. When the battles concluded the childlings would return the unscathed Ipsy males back to the forest. 

As a large industrious community, the Stonewood Clan had a variety of jobs. There were blacksmiths, woodcrafters, stoneworkers, firekeepers, gardeners, hunters, and a dozen other specialists. Unlike in most clans, songtellers were seen as integral to the Stonewood as other occupations. The clan had unique professions as well. One were wayfinders: they were responsible for helping travelers on their journey and kept them from getting lost within the Endless Forest. Sometimes, a wayfinder would spend days aiding a gelfling. Another was staba-senta or “wood watchers”. They were more keenly aware of the balance of creatures within the wood and were charged with maintaining and upholding it. 

Stone-and-Wood Crafting

Inspired by their environment’s requirements for resilience, the Stonewood turned the trade of stone-and-wood crafting into an art. It was a highly sought out skill for its high difficulty and importance in fortifying the village. Stone-and-wood crafters were able to weave wood, trees, and stone together to create many homes for the clan. It took many trine to learn the skills and even more to execute them. A woodcrafter would spend their entire life growing wood into specific shapes. For stone cravers it took generations to shape a single rock.  

Although some Stonewood used metal swords and the like, hunters and trappers preferred stone tipped spears and finely crafted stone daggers. Stonewood spears, their preferred weapon, were renowned for their durability and perfect balance. 

Stone-in-the-Wood’s Famous Instrument Makers

Among Stonewood’s crafters lived one family who were famous for their instruments. They were often away from the village collecting materials from all over Thra. They built their instruments from ordinary materials like wood and stone, but also mixed unusual ones. Some items included melted crystal sand, Sifan driftwood, fine shards of bone, and hollow feathers. It was said that the materials used in these instruments invoked the voice of Thra itself. Among their instruments, their lyres were the most popular. Even the All-Maudra’s musicians sought them out for their unique sound. Despite being busy, the family took up apprentices so they too could create unique instruments. 

Stonewood Legends: Jarra-Jen

Songtelling and folklore were an important part of Stonewood culture and they had plenty of songs about famous characters and legends to tell every night around the hearth. One of these popular characters was Jarra-Jen the Lightning Born who came from Stone-in-the-Wood. As his epitaph suggested, his birth was heralded by lightning. He was characterized as fearless, charming, and curious with an intensity only rivaled by the forces of nature. Whenever he returned home, he’d always brought treasure and mouth-full of stories from his adventures. Many of his stories were told around campfires and memorialized on the stone slabs found on top of Bolentor’s rise.

Some songs were created to explain the origins of things such as him being the one to plant all seven Great Trees. Others were meant to entertain or teach lessons, whether they were true or not. One favorite epic was called Jarra-Jen and the Horn of Thunder. After passing a series of tasks, Jarra-Jen defeated the tyrant Creghel and freed the gelfling he enslaved. Another song, which was more popular with younglings, was called Jarra-Jen and the Fizzgig King. It taught younglings from digging and accidentally disturbing hibernating fizzgigs during the colder seasons. Jarra-Jen accidentally steps on the Fizzgig King’s tail and was swallowed hole. In order to free himself, the hero tickled the inside of the king’s throat which expelled him. The sound effect of the king’s flatulence was left up to the songtellers to put their own unique signature on the song. 

While Jarra-Jen was a Stonewood legendary figure, his tales were told and celebrated by other clans and regarded as a hero of Thra.

Stonewood Legends: The Hunter

For every hero there was also a villain and no Stonewood villain was as popular as the Hunter. He went by other names like Bone-Mask and Four-Arms, but many agreed that he was a bloodthirsty one-of-a-kind monster who loved hunting for sport and ate his prey whole. Stories about the Hunter were told to older childlings to keep them from wondering the forest at night, like the short song “Beware the Hunter”. Legends of the Hunter were found all over the Endless Forest and surrounding regions, even finding their way in Spriton and Podling stories. “The Hunter’s Knife” was a notable non-Stonewood myth sourcing the Mystic Valley as the Hunter’s birth place and the noises that came from it was his heart (which he carved out to continue his evil deed unrestrained) who desired to return to his body. Some songtellers, like Kylan, told stories featuring the Hunter and Jarra-Jen together.

Not many Gelfling believed the Hunter existed, but the legends were based on skekMal the Hunter. He was an outcast skeksis whose main hunting grounds were the Endless Forest and its surrounding regions. He was as bloodthristy and fearsome as the songs described him. So skilled was he in his profession that he remained undetected by most Gelfling, with the exception being the Dousan who guided him through the Crystal Desert. SkekMal’s prey didn’t usually include Gelfling unless under certain conditions as he, in his own words, considered weak and preferred stronger creatures. This was different in the book series as he hunted indiscriminately. He bathed in gelfling essence to mask his scent which made it easier for him to catch prey.  He also prevented podlings from expanding outside of the forest and Spriton plains as he hunted them down and delivered some as slaves for the other Skeksis. Regardless, skekMal was always a terrifying force and feared by many even by his own kind. 

SkekMal’s reign of terror finally ended at the Second Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood which was his (at least seemingly) first and last public appearance. Before killing Rian, his latest target, his other half urVa the Archer sacrificed his life in order to stop him. As the two were spiritually connected, skekMal died as well.

Diet

A Stonewood diet was varied which included meats from game caught by hunters and the many fruits, vegetables, and other edible plants growing in the dense forest. They would also purchase foods that couldn’t be grown or produced in the Endless Forest. Stonewood dishes were prepared near the clan’s hearth and were commonly roasted, baked, and seared. Food was served in groups and were noted to be jolly, hearty, and unforgettable. 

Peachberries were one of the well known native fruits found in the Endless Forest. It had a sweet and sour flavor that was easy to pick. More dangerous to obtain fruits were that of the bluemouth. The bluemouth was a carnivorous plant that lures prey in with its sweet smelling nectar and were dangerous to Gelfling. The fruit of the Bluemouth Tree was considered a delicacy for that reason. The fruit of the arara (or screaming) tree was less dangerous. As a defense mechanism, it produced poison by screaming. It was deadly to smaller animals, but for Gelfling, it put them in a dreamlike daze.  Other foods included merkeeps, a delicious tuber found in traditional Stonewood foods. 

Stonewoods usually washed down their foods with a cup of cold water from the Black River. Other noteworthy beverages was the Stonewood Brew, a type of alcohol that trickled down from trees into a giant trough called the Brew Trough. Both natives and outsiders alike served themselves or each other with the cups stacked near by.

Stonewood Apothecary and Recreational Poisons

The Endless Forest had the most diverse flora and fauna, including ones that were venomous and poisonous. Stonewood apothecaries had an important role of supplying treatments and antidotes for a variety of inflictions gelfling received. And on the flip side, they found ways to use harmful substances for more benign ones. Even usually fatal poisons could be altered (through fire, water, or soil) and distilled into potable liquids. Plenty of these recreational poisons were traded among themselves and other clans.

One of the more involved distilling methods were from the poisons created by the arara tree. When produced in smaller quantities, it had a relaxing effect. Apothecaries got the help of experienced harvesters who stealthily picked the fruits off the tree before it had time to produce its signature scream. When given to the apothecaries, the berries were placed into bowls of water and the apothecary would scream in the perfect tone of the screaming tree. The berries would react and produced its slime which dissipated. It was later reduced into a measurable substance and bottled. 

Stone-in-the-Wood, Hometown of the Stonewood

Stone-in-the-Wood was the main village of the Stonewood Clan. Like their namesake, they lived in shell and stone homes interwoven into trees. It was surrounded by mounds of rock and a lake that sat next to the Black River. It had sections for tourists and traders as well as private ones exclusive to Stonewoods only. The Crucible, the clan’s hearth, lied at its center with the Stonewood Great Hall beyond it. 

The Great Hall was the home of the Stonewood Maudra. It had a large chamber where they held court. When a gelfling, or sometimes podling, misbehaved guards would send them into the Rascal Hole. It was a small jail held down beneath the floor of the Stonewood Great Hall and not too far from the maudra’s throne. 

The village was the second largest gelfling settlement. It became a popular tourist and trading site as the village was a necessary stop to go anywhere in the Skarith region. Beyond that, Stone-in-the-Wood was believed to be the original home of the gelfling, making it one of the oldest gelfling civilizations. It was also the location of important historical events in Thra’s history. 

The Historic Battles of Stone-in-the-Wood

Two historical battles took place in Stone-in-the-Wood. The first battle was also the conclusion of the Arathim Wars. When the Arathim were kicked out of their ancestral home by the skeksis for refusing to join the Alliance of the Crystal, they rebelled. The rebellion was a series of attacks throughout the Age of Division until thirty trine before where Age of Resistance series began. The First Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood began while Ordon and Fara searched for the dual glaive which was rumored to help end the war. The village was evacuated when the Arathim arrived with Maudra Vala and her warriors there to defend it. At first the Arathim had the upper hand, decimating the gelfling forces and inflicting a fatal wound against the maudra. She survived long enough to see Ordon arriving with the dual glaive. After killing several Arathim, he plunged his sword into an Ascendancy of Silk Spitters and drained them of its essence. Ordon promised to let the Arathim live if they stopped their assault on the gelfling. The weakened Ascendancy gave in and retreated from the village but promised this wasn’t the end. This event officially ended the Arathim Wars. 

The Second Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood was the first major battle of the Gelfling Resistance. Stone-in-the-Wood previously had a failed assault on the skeksis in both the TV and book series where the Stonewood were thwarted by the skeksis or the Arathim. The survivors of that failed assault returned to join Rian and his small rebellion ready to fight the skeksis. There were casualties on both sides, including three skeksis and Maudra Fara who sacrificed her life protecting All-Maudra Seladon. But it also brought the return of Mother Aughra and unity of all inhabitants of Thra when the other six gelfling clans and their former enemies the Arathim proclaimed their support of the resistance. This was the gelfling’s first major victory fighting the skeksis. 

Bolentor, the Pride of Stone-in-the-Wood

Also known as the Stone Tower, it was a large mount of rocks weaved together by vines, roots, and trees. The stone’s rise was where Stone-in-the-Wood was positioned. Its top was covered in talking stones featuring the dream-etched legends and folklore of the Stonewood Clan. It told of Jarra-Jen’s adventures, stories of Gyr the Songteller, and Aughra’s teachings. Strangely, many of the rocks that constructed the mound originated from other regions of of Thra like the Claw and Grottan Mountains. Speculation were all over the place from a giant moving the rocks there to being petrified droppings of an enormous bird. 

A favorite theory came from the song called Maudra Melyff the Rock Singer. Though the gelfling in the tale was actually unnamed, many agreed that she fit the description. According to the song, the maudra was so lonely that when she sang the mountains were moved and offered their boulders to keep her company. A different version of this tale was found in the book series and the maudra was named Maudra Ynid the Tree Singer. Similarly alone, she wept at the heart of the Endless Forest and with the Cradle Tree’s blessing, stones multipled from the Earth and became Stone-in-the-Wood. She was also said to be the sister of Mesabi-Nara, one of the Drenchen’s first maudras. 

The Stonewood had a name-day tradition that revolved around Bolentor and was considered a rite of passage. Younglings whose sixth name-day anniversary landed within the same season were sent to climb Bolentor without the guidance of adults with a chisel in hand. Once they reached the top, they found a stone and carved a sigil into it. That sigil became the sign of their name which was memorialized among hundreds of others before them. 

The Crucible

At the center of Stone-in-the-Wood was the Crucible, both a monument and hearth. Like other gelfling hearths, it was the gathering place of the Stonewood during important occasions. It was where the maudra made her announcements and conducted ceremonies. Traders from other regions would come to the Crucible to be welcomed by the village. 

Within the Crucible were dozens of swords and other weapons. It tied with a Stonewood tradition: whenever the clan returned from a battle, their warriors placed their weapons within the Crucible to be melted until there’s nothing left. It was the Stonewood’s way of leaving their aggressive acts and memories behind and go back to their normal lives. In some cases, the melted remains were used as other symbols. After Maudra Vala died, her sword was melted and forged into a crown. Her daughter and successor Fara wore it as a reminder of the battles that were fought, the cost of peace, and to never forget those who lost their lives.

It was one of many examples of the Stonewood’s relationship with their patron element fire. Gelfling from this clan were described to have “fire in their hearts and whose embers never died”. It’s no wonder that the Stonewood gelfling Rian was the one who lit the fires of resistance and sent out his message of rebellion through the Crucible.

The Wall of Destiny

The Wall of Destiny was a giant prophecy that foretold the end of skeksis rule. It was discovered by Jen and Kira when they stumbled upon ruins of a gelfling settlement. At least in the book series, its location resided within Stone-in-the-Wood. In that book’s version of the Second Battle, the gelfling defeated the skeksis through song and their combined singing formed the creation of the Wall of Destiny. 

Another version of its creation happened when both Gelfling and Podling were taken as slaves by the skeksis. Dismayed, they looked into the fires of prophecy. Seven circles of seven Gelfling, (which totaled 49 Gelfling), laid on the hilltops at night. With magic their dreams were made into stone and the Wall of Destiny was created. 

It told the Gelfling their quest: to find the lost Shard and heal the Crystal by the next Great Conjunction. However, the skeksis saw the prophecy too and feared the Gelfling would succeed. To stop them, the skeksis sent their Garthim and Crystal Bats to find and kill all gelfling. However, at least two survived: Jen of the Stonewood and Kira of the Vapra. Jen ultimately became the Gelfling foretold in prophecy that reunited the shard with the Crystal and ended skeksis rule. 

Olyeka-Staba the Cradle Tree

The Cradle Tree was the Stonewood’s patron tree. It towered over all the others within the Endless Forest whose trunk was as wide as the Black River. It was the originator of all other trees and what the forest felt and heard was also heard and felt by the Cradle Tree. It was only a short distance from Stone-in-the-Wood and many gelfling visited it often. Stonewoods sat underneath the tree and hoped to hear its wisdom while others came to inspect it for illness as it determined the health of the entire forest. When one lied beneath it, they would experience a soothing sensation described as being cradled by one’s mother. “The Cradle Tree’s Lullaby” was a popular song sun by Stonewood mothers while rocking their childlings to sleep. 

Like the other Great Trees, the Cradle Tree struggled to keep the darkening at bay. In the book series, the Cradle Tree was so sick with it that it displayed vivid hallucinations which preyed on the fears of the individual. Both Naia and Kylan went through this ordeal with Naia being haunted by apparitions of her brother and Tavra. It also attacked her with vines and roots until she was helped by Kylan. Naia was able to dreamfast with it and healed it of the darkening. 

Relationship With the Skeksis And Other Clans

The Stonewood benefited from the influx of traders and visitors, but it reinforced clan-first mentalities. To preserve a sense of safety, stability, and culture, the Stonewood created public and private sections of the village. The clan was kind and friendly to any outsiders but would treat them coldly if they trespassed on private property, on accident or not. Besides that, they seemed the most susceptible to clan stereotypes, seeing how some were highly suspicious of the Dousan and ignorant of the Grottan. While the Stonewood believed they were tougher and sturdier than other gelfling, outsiders viewed them as aggressive and arrogant.

Being geographically the closest to the skeksis, the Stonewood were frequently called upon to be guards at the castle of the Crystal. In fact, they made up the majority of the skeksis’ army up until the late Age of Division. Plenty of Stonewood were elated to get their recruitment letters as it was seen as one of the biggest honors a gelfling received. Because of this, the Stonewood believed they had a more intimate relationship with the skeksis than other clans. 

That ultimately created some resentment towards the Vapra. Many Stonewoods believed the skeksis were in error by choosing the Vapra as the ambassadors and leaders of the gelfling clans. It wasn’t a secret either as the Stonewood had passionate conversations about the topic. Even Stonewood Maudras would make mention of it while in the presence of Vapran representatives. These vents never went too far as they knew disagreeing with the Vapra was also a disagreement towards the skeksis. Such comments risked their reputation as well as access to resources and valuable supplies. Despite it being a well-known secret, the Stonewoods kept it to themselves. 

Of all the clan relationships, none were more well known than the rivalry between the Stonewood and the Spriton. The severity of the rivalry were different between the TV and book series. In the timeline established by the Age of Resistance, the rivalry was seen more in childlings and didn’t go as far as name-calling and rumormongering. With a mix of the skeksis’ meddling and Stonewood’s overall competitiveness kept this rivalry alive. In contrast to the book series, however, was more serious. The Spriton were a warrior clan in this version and fought over territory with the Stonewood over the trine. 

Legacy of Stonewood: Jen

Although most gelfling were wiped out during the Garthim Wars, their legacies were kept alive by their survivors. Jen was the son of at least one Stonewood parent and seemingly the only surviving member of his clan. He was rescued by urSu the Master who took him to the Valley of the Mystics and raised him in safety. On his death bed, urSu cryptically explained to Jen about his destiny. He was able to succeed in his quest with the help of Kira.

Jen seemed to know some small things about his heritage. He wore the Stonewood sigil on his clothing and was taught how to play the firca. urMaj the Cook attempted to make him gelfling food, but Jen noted it never tasted right  It was possible that what Jen learned he passed it onto future gelfling civilizations and preserved what was left of gelfling culture. 

Notable Stonewood Members

Rian: Son of Ordon and Shoni who lived during the late Age of Division. He was a castle guard who witnessed his girlfriend Mira be drained by the skeksis. Taking the only proof of the skeksis’ betrayal, he was marked as a traitor and wanted by the lords to keep their secret hidden. Rian started as well became the unofficial leader of the Gelfling Resistance. Like his father, Rian ended up wielding the Dual Glaive. 

Ordon: A veteran of the Arathim Wars and the first wielder of the Dual Glaive. He was promoted to be a captain of the castle guards after his victory in the First Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood. Not knowing that the skeksis were the true perpetrators, Ordon personally requested to seek out Rian in the hopes of curing the supposed sickness that caused his “treachery”. 

Maudra Fara the Rock Singer: The Stonewood Maudra who succeeded her mother Vala during the late Age of Division. She believed in strength and loyalty and did whatever she believed was necessary for her clan. She played a big part in the Arathim Wars as well as being the first maudra who challenged the skeksis when she learned about the truth.

Shoni: Rian’s mother and husband of Ordon who lived during the late Age of Division. 

Jen: The seemingly last surviving member of the Stonewood Clan nearing the end of the Age of Division. Saved by urSu the Master, Jen was raised by the mystics so that he would fulfill his destiny of ending skeksis rule and save Thra. 

Maudra Vala: A Stonewood maudra and mother of Fara. She lived during the late Age of Division and took part in the First Battle in Stone-in-the-Wood where she was fatally wounded.

Thriya: A songteller who lived during an unknown time in the Age of Division. She spent her entire life traveling all over Thra to learn about the cultures and songs of each gelfling clan. 

Mythra: A book series exclusive character. She was the younger sister of Rian who supported him while he was branded as a traitor. She also took part in and survived the Second Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood.

Timtri: Rian’s younger brother who only exists in the book series. 

Maudra Melyff the Rock Singer: Believed to be one of Stonewood’s first maudras. She was credited with the creation of Bolentor which would become the home place of the Stonewood. In some iterations she’s known as Maudra Ynid the Tree Singer and was sisters with the Drenchen’s first maudra. 

Old Ari: An old songteller who lived during an unknown time within the Age of Division. 

[Sources: Song of the Seven Gelfling Clans, the official Dark Crystal website, Shadows of the Dark Crystal, Song of the Dark Crystal, Flames of the Dark Crystal, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, the Dark Crystal Film, The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance: An Epic Return To Thra, The Quest for the Dual Glaive, Creation Myths, Author Quest: The Gelfling Gathering, Heroes of the Resistance, the Dark Crystal Bestiary] 

[fangirlshrewt97]

DuckTales Fic - Hey Brother, I’m Back!

Author(s): Fangirlshrewt97

Fandom: DuckTales (2017)

Pairing: Della Duck & Donald Duck

Characters: Della Duck, Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Mrs. Beakley, Others mentioned

Rating: Teen and Up (1 swear word)

Warnings: None

Additional Tags: Sibling bonding, Reunion, Late Night Conversations, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Banned Together Bingo 2020, Prompt: Talking Animals

Summary: My take on Della and Donald’s conversation post-reunion

“I thought you were dead.” His tone was flat, eyes hard, fists clenched.

That shut her up.

Link to A03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24550339

                                                           /////

It was nearing midnight when the Duck Family finally retired for the day, each exhausted after a packed day of reunions, failed plans, and a Moon invasion. Those didn’t happen every day after all. Launchpad had offered to take the moon people to one of Scrooge’s safe houses until they were able to integrate into Earth’s society or decided to return to the moon.

Or rather, most members of the Duck family went to sleep. Della tucked her children into bed as had become the routine ever since her return from the Moon. It was a long process that involved them clinging to her and her clinging back. These were her babies, the ones she had missed, yearned to hold, fought so fiercely to come back to. It didn’t matter what had happened that day, what fight or adventure, or mundane squabble they might have had. Bedtime was sacred. She tasted the regret of every second she had missed of their lives bitterly on her tongue. She never hurried bedtime, stretching it to the last possible second, and staying until all three were asleep, just watching over them.

But tonight, Della left as soon as her sons were tuckered out, which was pretty quick, considering they were asleep the second their heads hit the pillow. She quietly closed the door to their room, gently leaning her head against the wood, breathing in the reality. Assuring herself that the ground beneath her foot was real, the smooth wood under fingertips too.

She stepped away and turned to look out the corridor, walking towards a destination without ever realizing it.

As she reached the attic, a chill breeze blew past her, and a smile started to form on her face. Making her way through the familiar hoard of treasure and trash Uncle Scrooge kept up here, Della made her way up the hidden stairs at the end of the room. The steps up the roof were slightly dusty out of disuse, and she briefly wondered if the boys realized there were stairs beyond the attic.The air was even cooler once she got to the roof. Muscle memory guided her feet as she reached the little alcove above the attic window that gave them a safe perch to sit on.

“I had a feeling you’d be up here.”

Donald’s nod was barely perceptible. He stayed quiet until she settled down comfortably, and shared a minute of silence. 

Then “I stopped talking to Uncle Scrooge after you disappeared. Stopped coming to see him. Stopped visiting this house. I didn’t regret that, I was mad at him. What I did miss was this spot.” Donald’s voice was clear, but the pain was even clearer to Della.

Della felt a weight on her chest. “Don-”

“I thought you were dead.” His tone was flat, eyes hard, fists clenched.

That shut her up.

“I hoped and waited for so long, Della will come back, Della always comes back, she is the best of us.” Tears gathered at Donald’s eyes, slowly started to pour down his cheeks. “But you didn’t. And I wanted- I wanted to drown my sorrows, I wanted to build a rocket and bury myself among the stars with you, I wanted-” Donald hiccuped as he curled his fingers into a tight fist. His voice was shaking with anger.

Della felt her own tears racing down her cheek.

“I wanted to find you Della. Or I wanted to die trying. All I knew was that I couldn’t live in a world without you in it.” Donald hiccuped again as he rubbed at his eyes. “The only thing that kept me here, kept me sane, were your hatchlings.”

“I spent every second I wasn’t with you trying to get back to all of you.” Della whispered.

Donald turned to finally face his sister, looking her in the eye. “I know you did. I know it in my bones. But that still doesn’t erase the fact that you left Della. I know you didn’t mean to get stranded. Or to take so long to get back. But for so long.” Donald cleared his throat, rubbing at his eyes with his sleeve before taking Della’s hand in his.

“So long I was angry. I was sad. But mostly I was lonely. I was raising my nephews and it was so unfair. They should have had you. The first face they saw when they hatched was you. When Dewey said his first word, it should have been ‘Mom’. When I finally managed to coax Louie to eat that damn banana, you should have been with me to cheer. When Huey took his first steps, you should have been the first to catch him. And it.” Donald choked. “It is all so, so, so fucking unfair Della.”

Della bit her lip, closing her eyes and letting the pain she had been pushing away all these years to finally break, and soon she was heaving sobs. She felt her brother envelop her in a hug so tight it must have been hurting him too, but the twins clutched each other tight, letting go of over a decade’s worth of pain together. “When I saw the Spear crash site, I thought I was dreaming. I called out for you, so happy you had made it home, relieved, I had been right. My sister had found her way back home even from the stars.” Della sobbed harder, and Donald rubbed her back comfortingly.

“Of course then I accidentally wound up on the moon, but that’s a story for another day.” He joked. Della just sniffled.

Donald held her until Della’s cries petered out, replaced with small hiccups. Donald started to move away only to be pulled closer to Della as she grabbed his arm and held it in place around her. When he settled behind her, she leaned on his shoulder.

“When I was up there, everyday, every single day, I was trying to get home Donald. To them. And to you. I wanted to see all those things, and I could picture it all so clearly in my head. But you know what I never had to worry about?”

When Donald stayed silent, Della turned her head to look him in the eyes.

“I knew that no matter how long it took me to get home, you would be with the boys. I am so sorry I put you through all this, for thinking I was dead.” Della felt her voice crack at the next part. “But thank you. Donald, thank you so much for raising them. You have done such a good job. Probably better-”

“Shut up Della.” Donald interrupted, voice equally annoyed and fond. “Just. What did you think I was going to do with them? Abandon them? They are my kids too Della. I consider them my kids, not my nephews. Every day, I was so scared I was not doing right by you, that I was messing things up, and it would have been better if you had been here.”

“You would never abandon them Donald. But you did not have to make them your responsibility either. And that is something I am never going to be able to repay you for. You are a wonderful dad to them Donald, and I am so proud of them all. I can see so much of myself in them, and I know that is because of you.”

“I would never have let them forget you.” Donald said sincerely.

Della gulped again, rubbing her eyes hard to stop herself from crying again.

“I missed you so much.”

“Me too Dell, me too.”

Della laughed a wet laugh.

“You’re the only one who calls me that.”

“I’m the only one allowed to call you that!” Donald replied, faux indignation flooding his voice.

Della laughed again, hard enough to make her belly hurt. By the time she quietened, Donald was looking at her fondly.

“Yeah you are Donny.”

Donald started to quack in real indignation this time, setting Della off again.

The two stayed up for a little longer, long enough to see colour start to flood the horizon again before they got up and made their way to Della’s bedroom.

She was not ready to part with her brother just yet.

///

Come morning, Scrooge was making his daily round through the mansion, enjoying the short while the place was still asleep. As he walked past Della’s room, he saw the door was slightly ajar, so went to close it, only to pause when he caught a glance at the scene.

There, in Della’s queen size bed, the twins were curled up close together, in the same position Scrooge remembered seeing so very often when they were wee kids, running around and causing havoc in his house. He’d even bet a dollar that they were holding hands in between them.

Feeling a newly-becoming-familiar warmth flood his heart, Scrooge stood for a few minutes just watching them, a fond smile over his face. A cough from the end of the hallway had Scrooge closing the door loudly in surprise, only to find Beakley at the end of the hallway with a knowing look in her eyes.

“Your whole family is back under one roof Sir.”

Scrooge cleared his throat, straightening his back even as he felt the strangest urge to sink to his knees in relief and happiness. “So they are. I think it deserves a celebratory breakfast doesn’t?”

Beakley bowed her head slightly. “I’ll get started on it right away.”

Saying so, she moved away, heading towards the kitchen.

Scrooge cracked the door open just the tiniest gap to see both Donald and Della were still fast asleep, and then walked back to his room to start his day, a feeling of complete contentment making him feel like he was floating.

[acai-studies]

hey! do you have any tips for how to prep for the start of a new year? I always find the extra work of setting my study systems up burn me out and the first half of the year always ends up being a write-off 😔

hi! god that’s so true — i’m on my first week of the school year and having all the syllabi thrown at you in one sitting can get really overwhelming 😬  

i’ve spent some time over the past few months reading up on success strategies for college though (i recommend Cal Newport’s books and Make Time by James Knapp and John Zeratsky), and here are my best tips + how i apply them into my own life!

Prepping for a new school year 101

Sort out your priorities. You need to get clear on your “essential few”. This one sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s crazy how much trivial stuff students try to fit on their plate. List 3-5 of the most important aspects of your life (say, for me, it could be Academics, Blogging, then Cheer) and arrange them in order of importance. Set goals for each of these areas. Then, keep this list somewhere you can see it often so it can guide you in your decisions throughout the school year!

Build routines. Now, balancing all of those priorities is not easy, and you might overlook another very important thing: taking care of yourself. The best way to mitigate that is by building habits that keep you happy and less stressed (exactly what this is is up to you — I just journal and read). You’re more likely to stick to these habits if you integrate them into morning and evening routines! Design one for your semester and feel free to edit along the way; the important thing is that you’re carving that time out for yourself to take a breather from academics.

Devise a system for seeing deadlines at a glance. I personally use Notion, my FAVORITE tool that I think every single student should give a shot to track my courses, assignments, and topics. This is so important. You can review this every week or so to stay on top of your requirements, and it’s yet another guiding post that can show you how you need to manage your time to turn in quality work...without having to cram the night before. Here’s a screenshot of mine in Notion:

Set up distraction barriers. You need laser focus to make the most out of your courses, lectures, and readings. That means turning off your phone when it’s not needed, or using an app like Forest, or installing a tool like SelfControl or Freedom on your computer to block distracting sites. If you’d like, you can even set specific windows of time that are social media free. For me, that’s often 9AM-12PM, or anytime I just want to focus and do some deep work. Oh, and organize your study space! Clean desk, clear mind.

Allot time to rest and reflect on your goals/systems. Take back your rest days! This ties in with the “build routines” step — a weekly or biweekly review can help you gain clarity on what habits are working for you or what you need to change. This could also be a good time to decide on the next steps towards achieving your goal for the sem/AY: list down the topics to study, what needs to get done, what you need to revise. I do this every Sunday — no academics, no social media, no work, just a few hours to myself and my goals.

Hope this helped! Let me know if you need me to elaborate on anything :) Wish you the best this school year — now go crush your goals ✨

[jeffreygerard6]

Not Another Diet Article - Cyclical Ketogenic Diet

A strategy employed to trick your fat-burning engine by rotating the regarding calories rrnside your diet warmth and body won't detect the routine and then keep you metabolically active to burn additional built up fat. But this is stricter than negative calorie diet approaches your listing of food is even more restricted. Meaning, you might not get enough nutrients for your body requirements, thus can easily result in nutrient problem. Once your body gets who don't have nutrients for too long, your metabolism will run amok. Once more, it's only created for short-term diet. A crash diet at its ultimate. If truly you can't seem to concentrate, are losing focus, or feeling lightheaded, your current carbohydrate intake a minor amount, decrease where ever else you sense able so that it will. I could no longer eat like before. We could no longer train hard like before. I had no idea what was going on, what to try and couldn't seem to get a straight answer from anyone on things i should do. and yes, anyone included my doctors!

There turn into a new set of bars called Crunch pubs. These will be reformulated MedifastBars that are now much magnified the other nutritional supplements and theyve now interchangeable with the shakes and other products. So itrrrs possible to crunch to five bars a day of the week! They contain either 12g or 13g each to choose depending will bar your site. Ketone strips are found in any pharmacy and is clear among the diabetic supplies. In a few stores, they are kept behind the counter so may already have to find out them. You may have to take a prescription decide to buy them nonetheless. As soon as you open a package of ketosis strips they possess shelves existence of 6 12 weeks. It may perhaps be of usage to mark the opening date while in the box. Yes, using a bit uneasy start. But shortly program will adjust, and within 4 days your system will begin changing for that better.Typical foods on a Ultra Keto Blast Review diet include nuts, whey protein, eggs, bacon, sausage, olive oil, butter, salmon, etc; may contains a top amount of protein and fats absolutely no carbs. A vitamin pill is often taken in a Ultra Keto Blast diet since you can't eat much vegetables. (however you can eat at the very one bowl of salad). It takes strong willpower to remain keto if you cheat once or eat something bad the actual will be out of ketosis. An activity that took 3-7 days now provides be re-done. Supposedly people can eat as much fat mainly because they want, but at the start of of the diet part of new Diet Expert. Atkins encourages people to: "feel satisfied instead of stuffed." (p. 123). Will be clear that Dr. Atkins is aiming towards a ketogenic fat burning state, that he tries to call lipolysis instead of ketosis, you will additionally love pretend that running barefoot is some other state from that of advanced diabetics (who enter ketosis his or her body cells can no more use glucose). In fact, it could be the same ketosis (no fair inventing new body processes) but consumers are much not as likely to go to ketoacidosis (out of control ketosis) than diabetics. This diet takes the fats, breaks them down and converts them into energy - this is when the fast weight loss process works. The fat naturally burned and broken on to energy is called as keto diet facts excess fat metabolism. Hence ketones will grow from the metabolism. Ketones in the blood read brain and substitute glucose into strength source. In order to be freed from of all these problems and intake favorite coffee every morning, people consume complicated coffee. The professionals have produced this after detail analysis and web research. The new bskinny coffee healthy coffee or consider coffee could be the best sort of coffee. Is free of fatty acids and contains high anti oxidant elements. The beans grow up without make use of of of any chemicals while are healthy for man's beings. The coffee costs nothing of fat molecules. The anti oxidants burn relatively fat the actual human body. The coffee has low glycemic integrate.

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, August 19, 2020

Welcome to my latest summary of recent ecommerce news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & Etsy! This covers articles, podcasts, videos and infographics I came across since the late July report, although some may be older than that.

Please note I am taking the next week off, starting tomorrow (Aug. 19), so I might be a little slow in replying to any comments. 

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES 

USPS has become the focus of investigations due to reported mail slowdowns. Some small businesses who rely on USPS to deliver are suffering. “The longer the policy has been in effect, the worse the backlog gets.” As of today (August 18), the postmaster says they will rollback the changes until after the election in November. This is a rapidly-moving story in part due to the push for voting by mail, and should concern anyone who ships to US customers using regular mail (as opposed to couriers). Meanwhile, they plan to temporarily raise commercial rates during the holiday shopping season, but retail rates will not change. 

Ecommerce sales are still up year over year. "Before Covid-19 hit the US in March, e-commerce made up roughly 12% of retail sales in the country. That figure grew as states issued shelter-in-place orders that shut stores and kept shoppers at home, creating tailwinds for a company like Amazon. But even as states have begun to reopen, e-commerce has remained elevated, according to Bank of America data."..."The Economist used Google search traffic for hints of how lifestyles are changing and found users are still searching terms related to cooking, crafts, and exercise above pre-pandemic rates. There has been a noticeable spike in interest around such products as gardening supplies, baking flour, and Crocs." The UK is still seeing a good increase despite the ease in reduction in lockdown restrictions. The growth is slowing a bit in the US, though. 

Half of US small businesses fail in the first year (and other stats on small business). 

It’s been second quarter report season, covering company performance from April to June 2020.  Here are results for major companies involved in ecommerce in some way (comparisons are year-over-year):

Amazon US: sales up 40%

eBay: sales up 26%

Etsy: sales up $146% [click the link to read my summary]

Facebook: revenue up 11%

Google: revenue down 2%

PayPal: revenue up 22%

Pinterest: revenue up 4%; active users up 39%

Shopify: revenue up 97%

Walmart [2nd quarter ran May to July]: ecommerce sales up 97%, same-store sales up 9.3%

ETSY NEWS 

Admin are now posting a monthly update thread, in case you fear you have missed anything. This is how they chose to announce that non-seller accounts can no longer post in the forum. Since those account owners can still read the forum, that doesn’t mean you can call out your customers now. 

Sadly, there wasn’t much media coverage of Etsy’s nearly-annual billing screw up, but this one did get some attention. 

Etsy continues to get good media coverage for masks, including masks for your dolls. They also apparently got a decent slice of Google ranking for various pandemic-related searches in May [scroll down to the “Protection and Prevention” section]. 

However, Etsy is getting some bad press (along with Amazon), for allowing QAnon merchandise, because “the FBI has warned of the movement's potential to incite domestic terrorism.” Etsy replied to a request for comment saying that “that product listings associated with certain movements are allowed as long as they don't violate the company's seller or prohibited items policies, which ban items that promote hate or that could incite violence. The company said it is continually reviewing items on the site and could remove items in the future if they're found to violate Etsy's policies.”

More search trends on Etsy, this time kids’ items. I love how they think tie-dye was a ‘90s thing and not a ‘60-70s thing LOL. “a 318% increase in searches for kids tie-dye items...71% increase in searches for dinosaur wall art or decor*, and a 37% increase in searches for school of fish items….we’ve seen kid-friendly crafts spike in popularity, with searches for DIY kits for kids up 336%.”

Also, the holiday trends guide is out. “With the holidays approaching, and most shopping happening online, more shoppers will be looking for your help to make the season feel special.” The report is lengthy, covering Halloween to New Year’s, and most listing categories, while pointing out the possible pandemic changes to the usual trends. There is also an accompanying podcast with transcript. 

Speaking of the holiday season, here are Etsy’s tips for shops. Note that it is a bit late, as businesses need to have their holiday items posted no later than July if they want to be eligible for most fall media coverage. Almost every point refers to an Etsy tool or feature, some of them costing you money, so use this as a very broad guideline & be careful to read between the lines. 

They are still rolling out Etsy Payments to more countries: Morocco & Israel are the most recent. Note that Etsy Payments is not yet compulsory in these new countries. 

Etsy Ads once again has graphs. Do you find them useful? (I haven’t run ads at all this year, so I can’t check.)

Sendle is the latest shipping company to have a label integration with Etsy shops. 

Etsy asked US sellers to lobby their reps for more support for small business and other initiatives in the pandemic aid package.

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES 

Google has stated that content on tabs is indexed and contributes to ranking as if it were on the page instead, but yet another test demonstrates that tabs may limit you. 

Due to the pandemic, Google has delayed finalizing mobile-first indexing until March 2021. (They originally announced it would be finished this September.) That means you have more time to update your website’s mobile version, ideally with responsive design. 

Site speed does matter to SEO, and Google is now asking some searchers how fast certain sites loaded for them. 

User comments on your products, blog posts and website can help you improve your SEO. The article suggests ways of getting that feedback, and ways to use it. [I’ve even had buyers give me new keywords to describe my items, in their messages and reviews.]

Getting links back to your site is important to SEO, but don’t annoy people while doing it. [sort of humour & sort of a rant, but does give some useful background on why backlinks matter.] Internal links also matter. 

There are some special tricks for food/recipe SEO, including structured data and even a WordPress plugin. 

Another WordPress plugin: submit any new or updated pages to Bing to be automatically re/indexed.

Do your keyword research before setting up your website’s sections and sub-sections, as they should serve the buyer experience, not your perception of it. Same with choosing which pages link to each other. 

SEOs are still trying to work out what happened with recent Google algorithm changes. Search Engine Journal claims that the May update was at least in part about demoting sites that had out-of-date or inaccurate information, so they suggest getting rid of the bad content on your site, or at least updating it. “Content pruning” has some advocates, but I wouldn’t worry about investing tons of time in this unless you have tons of time to spend. Just get rid of the blog posts that were wildly wrong, and the out-of-date filler. If you have a lot of sold out products, redirect those to relevant active pages. 

Meanwhile, a “glitch” on August 10 led people to think there was a massive Google algorithm update happening, but it all got fixed in less than a day. 

If you are behind on Google search news, here is a 7 minute video [with time stamped subtopics & resources links listed below], direct from Google. 

(CONTENT) MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails) 

It’s tough to get started in social media if you don’t know the terminology, so here’s a list of the basic definitions you can consult if you get lost when reading.  

Don’t know how to blog? There are formulas you can use; here are eight options, nicely laid out, with downloadable templates. Don’t forget to figure out what your audience wants to read. And make sure you avoid these common blogging mistakes. 

If you have an email list but do not know how to take advantage of all the bells & whistles the companies (MailChimp, Constant Contact etc.) offer you, here are 4 ways to segment your lists. You can then send different offers or newsletters to different segments. 

You can optimize your social posts for people with visual impairments; excellent tips here. 

By the time you read this, the TikTok mess will likely have changed again, but here is an article on Trump’s order to prohibit US companies from doing business with TikTok owner ByteDance if the platform is not sold by September 15. 

Instagram has released its TikTok challenger, Reels, in more countries. 

Instagram is now offering a fundraising option, although it is a slow launch with some beta testing in the US, UK & Ireland to start. 

Here are step-by-step instructions on setting up your “Shop on Instagram.”

Pinterest says that searches around self-care & wellness have spiked during the pandemic lockdowns. “Pinterest has recently seen the highest searches ever around mental wellness ideas including meditation (+44%), gratitude (+60%) and positivity (+42%) that jumped from February to May….Pinterest says that searches for ‘starting a new business’ are up 35% on average, as are searches for ‘future life goals’ (2x), ‘life bucket list’ (+65%), ‘family goals future’ (+30%) and ‘future house goals’ (+78%).” There were also some searches clearly about spending more time at home: “Productive morning routine (up 6x), Exercise routine at home (up 12x), Self care night routine (up 7x)”

LinkedIn has a new algorithm; here’s how to make it work for you. [Many of these tips also apply to social media in general.]

Spotify is now doing “video podcasts”. Apparently a lot of their podcasters already did a video version of the Spotify podcasts, but had to publish it elsewhere up until now. 

Twitter now admits it is considering offering subscriptions to shore up its revenue numbers. “Shares of Twitter rose 4% in early trading Thursday following the earnings results....Twitter's growth plans are under close scrutiny as many advertisers pull back due to the pandemic. On Thursday, Twitter reported second-quarter ad revenues of $562 million, a 23% decrease compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has also been hit by advertisers participating in an ad boycott of social media, linked to the nationwide racial justice protests.” Also, the recent hack is not helping them. 

That said, it is still possible to market using Twitter, and here are some of the basics. 

YouTube is no longer sending email updates when a channel you follow posts new content. 

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS) 

Ad spend has increased again as lockdowns end, in some cases beating last year by a decent margin. 

The Buy on Google program is ending its commission fees. Participants will also be able to integrate their PayPal and/or Shopify payment options. As often is the case, they are starting with the US first, but plan on rolling it out to more countries in the future. There are more details here, and a review here (with some of the drawbacks). 

Google Product Ads are now showing the item’s “material” on the listing card (before you click). If you are doing your own feed for your website, you may have the ability to add the attributes needed for the details to show up.  

If you find Google Ads too expensive, consider buying search ads on Bing. 

eBay is experimenting with showing ads mixed in with unpaid listings; placement would depend on the same algorithm. 

Here’s a new guide to Facebook Ads [videos & text]

STATS, DATA, OTHER TRACKING 

Bing has launched a new version of Webmaster Tools. 

There are ways to reduce the amount of traffic that Google Analytics designates as “direct traffic”; here are 15 of them. 

Currently in closed beta testing, the Google Search Console now has an “Insights” function, just like Google Analytics. I’ve found the GA one useful for telling me things I don’t always look at, so crossing my fingers that they release this to everyone soon. 

 ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS 

Shopify helped many businesses stay open during pandemic lockdowns, giving it the boost to start competing with the likes of Amazon in ecommerce. “Shopify merchants that had previously or entirely relied on brick-and-mortar sales would later report they were able revive nearly 95% of that revenue online.”

eBay started rolling out its Managed Payments system to more sellers worldwide on July 20th. Things seem to be going slowly, with some confusion. 

But eBay is also having a 25th anniversary party for sellers on September 25th; don’t forget to register. 

Walmart is still delaying its new subscription model to challenge Amazon Prime, Walmart+. 

Amazon in the UK has launched a “Face mask store” part of the website. I haven’t seen this on other versions of Amazon. They’ve also increased some fees for some UK sellers, based on the new UK digital tax. And they are launching a site & presence in Sweden. 

The Competition Bureau of Canada has launched an investigation of Amazon’s treatment of third-party sellers. “The bureau is asking any person or business that has conducted sales via Amazon.ca to contact them if they have any insights into the issues it is investigating.“

Amazon Prime Day has been postponed to later dates this year, starting with India on August 6-7. The remaining countries will apparently be announced soon. 

If you use WooCommerce, here are a bunch of free plugins, with brief descriptions. 

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE 

Buyers do not all make purchase decisions the same way; Google uses its massive collection of data and some new studies to provide some examples. “Worldwide, search interest for “best” has far outpaced search interest for “cheap.”

It’s cheaper to keep repeat buyers than it is to find new ones; here are 16 ways to do that. One of my favourites is ““proactively providing information on how to avoid problems or get more out of your product” creates a 32% average lift to repurchase or recommend.”

It seems that researchers can never produce enough marketing guides on Gen Z and millennials. 

MISCELLANEOUS (including humour) 

I see a lot of new sellers, and some older sellers, confused about the idea of a business plan. HubSpot not only explains them, but also provides a downloadable template. 

If you are thinking of changing careers, or just want to add skills to better run your current business, Google has many different courses, some of which they offer for free. 

There are ways you can increase your productivity without (usually) working more hours. “A study published by John Pencavel of Standford University found that how much employees get done takes a sharp drop after 50 hours of work in a week, and even more drastically after 55 hours. The study found that employees working 70 hours per week actually produce nothing more in those extra 15 hours...taking a power nap in the middle of the day can help you process new information and even learn new skills.”

[y3s2-20192020]

Celebration of Devolution and Evolution

An evolution of space from a heavily industrialized area into a nature bank of entire Rayong fabric. This space design will allows and equilibrates the industrialized part and nature.

Site Background and Characteristic

Rayong province is well known for doing agriculture and as the largest industrial area in Thailand. The rubber industries, interception part between both, is one of them. This land use map shows the amount of lands that were taken by Rubber plantation. The rubber is taking up most of the agricultural land use area in Rayong. 

Since the lifespan of the rubber plants are quite long, this allows more diversity, multicultural, and ecosystems to happen. But sadly, all those fragment connections will get torn down by humans when the plants turn 21. Because the plant is no longer producing as much as they can. 

It is ironic how we are able to create this man-made forest and at the same time decide when and where it should end or start. 

It is true that the rubber plants don’t require a lot of care, but the time when people interact and fertilize the plant is just right before we cultivate them. 

So... if we step back and look in the perspective of a third party, what does other players apart from humans get? All I see is they are losing bit by bit so far. But why? Why can’t we both celebrate at the same time?

Celebration of land

Persuasion the core of the project by see no longer to perceived the productivity based on economical value or solely on scientific evidence. But through metaphorical as a third or forth party. For example the density of those green lines shows the density of green fabric created by rubber plants which are labeled as ‘natural’ agricultural but is it really natural if we can be freely manipulated by humans?

The act of Replacing local technique and organic growth with mass production and logical arrangement, just to milk the most out of nature, is showing how much we aware about economic value

Considering things before production nor place under the reason of sufficiency, on the other hand, to milk the most out of natural resources. Is it really the best answer? What if we decrease logical patterns down a little bit and allow nature to penetrate without human control? Losing some benefit to gain more value perhaps?. 

The longer the rubber plant is there without humans acknowledging their fatal actions, the more critical crippling conditions about the rubber plants and the land itself start to surface. The truth is the land is ruined by rubber plants which act as a nutritious plumper, which are dying because of the workload we gave them. 

That’s how “The productive mix of both scenarios” were introduced. Are we okay to sacrifice a few benefits in return for more spiritual value for nature? This might make us humans lose some benefits to regain new knowledge with a little extra man-made structure from the trees themselves

Study of the plants at its micro level allows us to understand and analyze. Organic management of resources, sufficient systems of  logistics and supplies that were found in the study will be further implied in the project. Minimizing, first, human footprint on the land to revive nature? By introducing technology.

Devolution and Evolution

After knowing the  fatal causes of the critical condition, this scanning drawing is to show the existing condition of each unit of the rubber plantations across Rayong provinces.  

Scanning and Analysing

The scanner showed that those three specific blocks are the most critical among all to plant the rubber plantation. The reason behind is that these three specific lands belong to the headquarters of Thai-Hua company which is the biggest rubber industry and exporter in Rayong. Known as the heavily industrialized area that runs rubber plantation farms, the industry allows processing and farming to coexist for one purpose that is - “The Growth of economic profits ”, and entirely disregarding the growth of the land itself. 

After scanning through the map and selected site. Here comes that phase where human knowledge can now be integrated in site to neutralize the condition. 

Diagnosing

My proposal first includes incremental development of high-technology interventions. Since we already diagnosed and understood the land condition through a map scanner, we can now enter the healing process. The first intervention are these “Little Doctors”. The little devices of man-made machines will diagnose, shape, revive, heal, and mineralize the trees and the soil. Since individual plants and each section of land are diverse in conditions. The plug-in modules will be further added accordingly to diagnose, serve, and heal the disease specific to each square meter of the site.

Healing

For example, Scales insects invade during the dry season. This device will monitor the humidity in the air and release the water mist to remain and create consistent microclimate to maintain and keep the scale insect away. Each robot will have indication codes that will be further implemented together with the map. 

Reviving

After nature is diagnosed and healed, it is now entering the phase where we are allowed to interact once again to celebrate the interventions and coexist together. Humans must know that everything in and on the land are valuable resources for its own growth and humans, once again, must learn how to harvest the power of nature, how to co-live with it. 

The introduction of humans in this land might not integrate in the ordinary way, yet humans will intervene as a small player of the ecosystem.

Devolution

Under the condition of devolve to evolve. Some elements in their daily routine such as electricity, running water, and furniture will be devoluted but will be further substituted with this lightning device that will gather, diffuse, reflect, and collect natural light, water infrastructure that use gravitational dripping irrigation system , and new typology of multipurpose furniture made out of bonded muti-local experiences. 

Light Collector Device 

The evolving installation is devolution in terms of electricity usage. The installation will use this device reflector to project the light to specific areas in the habitation and collecting some light inside the core of the device during day time, while during night time the device will use the remain light and project all the resource out using as a gathering space or sanctuary creating the space for them to interacting culturally.

“ At 6 am in the morning, the sun starts to rise and shine through the rubber tree’s crown. when the ray hits the big shiny skeleton, it begins to gather, reflect, and diffuse.”

“ The rooms located near the device are lighting up The residents are beginning to rise up and tilting the reflector to as well rising the others.“

Water Collector Device

Even though rubber plantations are not affected much by Rayong’s drought. Still, water is the most important resource in order for humans to live. This device will collect water from natural resources by using leftover rubber sheets and fabric meshes. The rubber was selected to be used as a sheet roofing because the elasticity of the material will allow the roof to provide both shading and maximize the water retention for the workers to use during drought. During drought season the function will shift from collecting water through the rubber installation into meshes. The mesh will be used as a humidity captivator. 

“ when the storm is passing to our new home, the rain starts pouring down, the surrounding space is covered in mist and high humidity. Everyone started to walk out from their room, gathering around the water collector space, and celebrating the nature resource from the sky under the beautiful organic joint structures.”

Joint, Expression of Careness

The organic wooden structures are united by a piece of rope. The joint is custom made in cooperation with each tree in the grid. It is portraying the careness that humans have thought about how to deal with nature without harming them. The intensity of creating the joints to support the over weight part, leaning structures, anti gravitational growth, and fragile elements are also implied.

Furniture Evolution

Those thoughts and perspective of careness also implement this evolution, furniture. The organic hand-crafted interior furniture will be customized and made by the residents. Together with the existing local knowledge from them, that is where the evolution is starting to occur. Mixing and matching different components of each material collage and mashes them into evolved pieces that can serve as multipurpose elements for daily activities and productivities processes. 

Breeze is also the main factor that determines where each program will be located and when. As same as the placements of those furniture in the spaces.

Wind and Humidity Controller Device

Another design decision for humans is wind and humidity controllers. Since rubber plants themselves and humans both release humidity naturally from their body, the environment inside the rubber plantation will turn a bit too humid for humans to inhabit comfortably.

This device allows humans to access and control nature within their boundary of habitational space. The wind ventilators diagram shows the device covered radius and direction of aeration. 

“ There is not much refreshment for white collars  like us. The cool breeze from the ventilator calms down the rising hot air inside the resident. Those movements created by the propeller cools us down after we are finished working. 

It’s function is reducing the humidity in the habitational space and vertically releasing all the humidity back to the upper air to raise the moisture in the surrounding environment. The increasing rate of humidity will allow the surrounding areas and over Rayong fabric to gain more water availability in ground and nature which leads to multiplication of  new reforestation in abandoned spaces. As shown in the diagram below (last frame of GIF) the evolution-devolution slowly overturns the entire network of rubber plantations to revive new values for land, human and economy for Rayong 

[scenes-in-between]

Vienen (2/2)

Could be worse, Doggett thinks as he kicks hard to stay afloat. Could be wearing full combat gear.

Of course, he was also a good 20 years younger the last time he had to do that.

The chopper circles back around after skirting away to avoid the blast from the rig. Between the spray and the spotlight, Doggett can barely see anything, but he's pretty sure Mulder's still keeping his head above water. He hopes so, anyway. The last thing he wants is to have to tell Agent Scully that he lost Mulder in the damned Gulf of Mexico.

He wonders how exactly they’re planning on trying to do this. That’s a charter helicopter up there, same one that brought him out here this morning. Evacuating from the rig itself would have been one thing, but there’s no way it’s equipped for an open water rescue.

The pilot’s saying something over the loudspeaker again, but hell if he can make out what it is. A shadow cuts through the spotlight, and then he feels more than hears the whump of something landing in the water nearby. Looks like a duffel bag, but it’s actually a raft, he realizes. Well, that’ll work. He kicks his way over to it, adrenaline and fatigue and cold making him unsteady as he fumbles for the pull rope to inflate the damned thing. Mulder gets to his side just as he finds it.

“Heads up!” he yells, though his words are swallowed by the noise from the rotors.

In seconds, the raft inflates, and he and Mulder haul themselves aboard. There’s some relief as the chopper pilot ascends a fair bit, keeping his spotlight on them as he circles but not flying so low as to keep buffeting them constantly with wind and spray. For a while, Doggett and Mulder just lie there, catching their breath.

Hell of a day at the office.

It doesn’t take too long for the Coast Guard to arrive. Long enough for Mulder to lose his lunch a couple of times over the side of the raft though, the poor bastard. Not that he can blame the guy; the water’s more than a little choppy. When the rescue basket drops, Mulder tries to tell him to go first, but he shakes his head. No way. Mulder may have been the one to get them both into this mess, but Doggett is the one getting them out, and that means making damn sure there is absolutely zero chance of Mulder getting left behind.

Only once they’re both aboard the chopper, blankets wrapped around them like, he supposes, the trauma survivors they are, does he finally let himself comprehend the full scope of what just happened. He won’t go so far as to say Mulder was right about all of it, but he also can’t deny what he saw. Oil coming out of the foreman’s eyes. What happened to Diego Garza. The way the workers conspired to trap them and destroy the rig.

And oh, Kersh is absolutely going to blow his stack when he finds out about that last part.

If Mulder was right about one thing, it’s that Kersh sent him out here with an agenda. And that agenda was not to simply uncover the truth about what happened to Simon de la Cruz. There’s something decidedly unsavory about the political nature of Kersh’s priorities in this case; not that Doggett doesn’t understand and appreciate the stakes involved here, but his job is to find answers, not protect some oil company’s bottom line. Being given orders, implicitly or not, that run counter to that job is never going to sit right with him.

Of course, that is far from the only thing that’s not sitting right with him about this case.

He saw the black oil. Doesn’t mean he thinks it’s alien, but it sure as hell wasn’t standard crude, either. What happened to the workers was… well, “unnerving” doesn’t even begin to cover it. He honestly has no idea what the implications might be if the stuff ever gets back to shore, if Galpex doesn’t give up on trying to drill that area. Or what might have happened if he’d skipped on this case like he wanted to, if Mulder hadn’t pushed and gone behind his back to get the Bureau involved.

Mulder. Doggett shakes his head. He probably owes the guy an apology for the crack he made about being able to find a conspiracy at a church picnic. Turns out Mulder’s paranoia wasn’t so completely baseless after all. Doesn’t make his behavior any less obnoxious, of course, nor does it mean every claim he made about aliens was the gospel truth, but his instincts were still good. Doggett doesn’t have to agree with all his wild theories to recognize that much.

Then again, Mulder definitely still owes him an apology for going behind his back repeatedly in this investigation, but he’s not going to hold his breath waiting for one. Nah, he can keep his own mouth shut and just call it even. If it weren’t for Scully, he wouldn’t bother trying to get along with Mulder at all. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like that’s an option. Be nice if Mulder could at least try to meet him halfway, though.

It’s a little less than an hour back to the Texas shore, and A.D. Skinner’s there waiting when they land. Better him than Kersh, Doggett supposes. Skinner looks like he can’t decide whether to be pissed or relieved, as they climb down out of the helicopter. (“Damn it, kids, you crashed the family car, but at least you made it home alive.”) Mulder seems all too comfortable in the role of petulant teenager; after they’ve thanked the Coasties for saving their asses, he stalks over to where their boss is waiting.

“I’m betting Kersh didn’t send you down here to throw us a ticker tape parade for saving the day.”

“Actually, I’m here at Agent Scully’s insistence. You don’t need me to tell you, you’ve got almost as much to answer for to her as you do to the Deputy Director.”

“Yeah, well at least she appreciates what was at stake. What’s still at stake if Galpex Petroleum keeps trying to drill that site.”

Skinner’s frown deepens. “All the men on board were infected?”

“All but one,” Doggett answers before Mulder can. He’s not interested in being shouldered out of this conversation altogether. “I promised I’d help him get home, but…” He shakes his head, remembering the sight of Diego Garza’s burns. “I can’t even begin to explain the condition of his body, same as what happened to Simon de la Cruz.”

“I can.”

He just manages to keep from scoffing. Yeah, I’m sure you can, Agent Mulder.

“In any event,” Skinner says pointedly, “I assume based on what I heard over the radio that we're no longer dealing with a quarantine situation.”

“That's correct, sir,” Doggett tells him, while Mulder says, “We'll need to confirm that,” at the same time.

This time he does scoff. “No way did anyone survive that explosion. We only barely made it out alive, ourselves.”

“I'll agree with you that it's unlikely any human could have survived.”

“Oh, come on, you've got to be kid--”

“All right, that's enough,” Skinner cuts him off. “Fire containment efforts will include a search for survivors, as part of routine procedure. I'll make sure the FBI stays in the loop if they find anyone.”

His phone rings, then, and he turns away to answer it.

“They find anyone alive out there, it’s gonna be a miracle,” Doggett mutters.

Mulder glares at him. Really leaning into the petulant teenager thing full-bore, isn’t he? “After everything you saw out there, how can you possibly still be this dismissive?”

“What I saw, Agent Mulder, was men behaving strangely. I saw oil do stuff I’ve never seen it do before. I saw no proof whatsoever of aliens. And even if I had, why would I assume an alien could survive an explosion any better than you or I could?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you could trust that if I was right about the oil, then I’m right about this, too. Maybe you could trust that I’ve seen these things. But I guess you’d also have to believe that I’m not crazy, and I suppose that’s just a bridge too far for you.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy,” Doggett says, and he means it. “But you told me yourself that you’ll believe just about anything. That you want to believe. Whether that’s in aliens or ghosts or monsters or what-have-you. And in my experience, if someone wants to believe in something bad enough, they tend to ignore all the evidence that might refute that belief.”

“Yeah, well the same can be said of someone who doesn’t want to believe. Only they’ll ignore all of the supporting evidence, denying even undeniable proof out of sheer bullheadedness.”

Skinner comes back before Doggett can respond, holding his phone out toward Mulder. “Agent Scully wants to talk to you. Make it quick, we’ve got a debrief with the Coast Guard in twenty minutes.”

Mulder takes the phone and walks away, and Skinner watches him go, shaking his head. “I know he sounds nuts, but there’s truth to what he says. I’ve seen enough to take his word on a lot of the things I haven’t seen first-hand.”

“All due respect, sir, I’ve seen some things in this job that I never would’ve believed a year ago. But I’m still not gonna compromise my integrity and objectivity by jumping on the alien bandwagon when there might be some other explanation we’re missing.”

“And that’s fine, just… just be careful not to spend so much time looking for another explanation that you miss the one right in front of you until it’s too late.”

Doggett nods. “I’ll do my best not to, sir.”

Mulder walks back over and hands Skinner back his phone. Skinner takes it with a curt nod. “Right. Let’s get this debrief over with so we can go grab a few hours’ sleep. We’re on the first flight back to Washington in the morning.”

“I might go stand in the shower for a few hours instead, if it’s all the same to you,” Mulder says wryly.

Despite himself, Doggett laughs. “You and I might not agree on much, Agent Mulder, but I think that sounds like a great idea.”

[wonderful-you]

31 Self Care Tips

Fortunately, we live in a day and age where not everything is about us. We seek to improve not only our lives, but the lives of others, as well. While this is more commonplace these days, it is still sometimes a struggle to create this mindset as a way of being rather than return to old habits.

Old habits and patterns are sometimes hard to break. We may wish them away and want to do better and be more, but without practical tips and advice along with the creation of new habits, we remain stuck in the same old place.

If you’re looking to become a better you the following thirty tips will smooth the transition and have you creating new habits in no time at all.

Take Time for You

While you might associate being a better person with doing more for others, the truth is you need to take time for yourself in order to be that better person. If you are burned out and stressed, you will not be a positive contribution to anyone. Taking time out for yourself is not selfish; it gives you the opportunity to refresh your own wellbeing.

Create Daily Me Time

Once you understand that taking time out for yourself is a contribution then it’s time to schedule it. It is important to keep your integrity to yourself when declaring your “me” time. Set aside some time daily. If you are like most, this may seem near impossible; but guess what? You can find 15 minutes every day.

Be Dedicated to Your Personal Time Now

If you don’t respect your personal time, no one else will. Take your 15 minute meditation time in the morning or your daily time out on the front stoop just listening to nature; read a spiritual book like the Book of Psalms which will take you a few mere moments every day.

Let Others Know You are Serious about Your Personal Time

Once you have an established amount of time and set time of day, let everyone know you have a big, “Do Not Disturb” sign on your back. It’s fifteen minutes a day for goodness sake. Everyone will survive without you for a while.

Choose How You Start Your Day

You can choose to start your day grumpy and irritable or you can choose to start your day grateful that you were given another chance to enjoy life and love. The choice is always yours. Choose to wake up declaring out loud a few things you are grateful for and watch how this daily habit changes your day and your life.

Start a Gratitude Journal

When you are feeling overwhelmed, grab a journal and write down your feelings – even if they are negative. Then, give it a new spin. For example, even though I didn’t get the promotion I wanted, I now know what the process is and what I need to work on to better my chances before I put in for the next promotion. I am exactly where I am supposed to be in this moment and am grateful for the great things to come.

Practice Journaling Randomly

Journaling releases negativity and toxicity from your body, soul and mind. However, journaling also resets your mindset. Don’t just fill a journal with negative stuff. If your romantic partner makes you smile or performs a kind gesture, write it down. It will give you something to look at when you miss them or are really mad at them in the moment.

Keep Positive People Close to You

Your attitude will directly affect your day; so if you are being sour and negative, your day will spiral into a sour and negative day. Keep positive friends close by and reel them in when you need a boost. Don’t be ashamed of your bad moods, just take responsibility for them. Grab a friend, talk about it and then let it go.

Keep Negative People out of Your Bubble

You will never rid yourself of all the negative people in your life. After all, some of them are your employers, co-workers and family members. You can, however, keep them at a distance while enclosing yourself in a more protected bubble. You don’t have to let their negativity into your space. Make a choice to slowly distance yourself from them and know that their negativity has nothing to do with you; it’s their stuff don’t own it for yourself.

Choose Your Filters Wisely

If you read negative stories, watch the news and get involved in gossip, you will most likely end up with negative thoughts. After all, negative stories are what so much of these things focuses on these days. Choose what books, music and television you let in. Stop ‘hanging out’ on social networking gossip sites and take responsibility for your own actions.

Listen to the Right Kinds of Music

Uplifting music will change your brain waves and fast music will give you a boost of adrenaline. If you are feeling low, pop on some dance tunes and watch how quickly your toes will begin to tap.

Start Your Day the Right Way

Start your day the right way with one positive thought, affirmation or conversation. If you read something positive, think something positive or say something positive, your day will be that much better and you will have done this by your own power.

Laugh it Off

Have you ever started your day by tripping over something, losing your car keys or finding that the raccoons knocked over your garbage pail? Rather than get upset, laugh it off as life stuff or sing a favorite song. You’ll be glad you did.

Smile a Little

Smiling releases serotonin. When something goes wrong or someone irritates you, smile about it. You will instantly feel better for being positive and you may help lift their bad mood too.

Be the Person You Envision

If you are seeking a mate in life or even if you want to attract more success – be the person that you envision successfully reaching those goals. Be someone who sets goals, takes risks and faces challenges with grace. While hard at first, the more you practice, the closer you will be to becoming that successful person.

Time to Get Organized

Set up a filing system, get a calendar and keep it updated, throw out your unnecessary junk. Once the initial work is done, all you have to do is maintain the organized systems. Don’t want to do it yourself? Pay one of your teens to do it for you.

Time Chunk

Chunk your time into sections and give yourself an allotted time frame for whatever you are doing and stick to it. Have you ever started cleaning out a closet in the bedroom and somehow found yourself cleaning the kitchen only to return to the bedroom and it’s still a mess? You’re not alone. Give yourself 30 minutes to clean out a closet and then when the time is up. Move on to the next chore. Do this at work and at home and you’ll find you get a lot more accomplished each day.

Use Your Cell Phone

Use your timer on your cell phone to time your tasks whether it is running errands or cleaning or making phone calls. Knowing how long you generally spend on these tasks can help you see where you can make improvements which will reduce the stress in your life.

Use Technology

Use your cell phone for reminders on your calendar; be it birthdays, appointments or remembering to take the clothes out of the dryer. Set up your bills to be automatically paid each month. Research online ahead of time where you’ll get the best deals before going shopping. Don’t be embarrassed or think you are failing at remembering. Instead consider it not having to worry about remembering because it’s done for you.

Get an App

There is an app for everything today from traveling to banking. When you are on the train or waiting in line at the store, you can things done that would normally have to wait for lunch hour or days off. Being able to accomplish more during these wait times will give you more free time for yourself.

Shut Down and Unplug

Take time off from technology and unplug from your social devices. If you want to be a better you, you need connections – real life connections. You need to see faces and hear voices and so do other people. Take the initiative and plan a real-life coffee date. You’ll make a difference for yourself and for someone else.

Pick and Choose Your Time

Only you can schedule your time productively. If you choose to scroll on Facebook or to stay up late and oversleep in the morning, the results will be an unfocused and unproductive life. Choose and schedule your time carefully and reap the positive benefits.

Set Attainable Goals

If you set your sights too high, you are more likely to fail. It’s ok to have one big goal but break it into smaller attainable goals to work towards. Completing these smaller goals will keep you motivated no matter how long it takes you to reach the final big goal.

Grab an Accountability Partner

When you set a new goal, it’s important to let people know about it. It’s also important to obtain an accountability partner. When you know you have to answer to your accountability partner and that others are watching your progress, you will work that much harder so you don’t disappoint anyone, including yourself. You also have that partner cheering you on from the sidelines.

Learn the Power of No

Learn how to say no; while difficult at first, it gets easier with time. Saying no frees you up to do what is necessary for a healthy, productive life.

Incorporate Health Routines

Never forget the importance of health routines. Keeping fit is your responsibility and it doesn’t have to be sixty hours of cardio or 100 pounds of weightlifting. A simple power walk will suffice, but do it daily and stick to it.

Pay Attention to What You Eat

You only have one body. How you feed it is up to you. A happy body needs the proper nutrients for brain power and health. Avoid foods that only drag the body down. When you eat right, you feel great.

Pay Attention to How You Eat

It’s just as important to pay attention to how you eat as it is to what you eat. Take your time, slow down and eat sitting down. Try not to talk while eating. Take a few minutes to digest after eating. While it is the practice of today’s society to “do lunch,” it’s important to breathe right and eat right for proper digestion.

Take a Time Out

Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths a few times a day, even if you have to go out to your car or take a bathroom break. A few minutes of deep breathing and relaxation can reset your mindset for the rest of the day.

Get the Proper Rest

Lack of sleep can make you feel bad and have negative thoughts. If you’re not getting enough sleep at night consider taking a power nap during the day.  Even 15 minutes can reset you mood, creativity and your focus. Set your alarm for 15 minutes and watch how much more energized you will feel afterward.

Drink Up!

Drink a glass of water before bedtime to hydrate your body and help it flush toxins. Drink another glass first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything else to help kick start your organs.

Everyone wants to be the best they can be. By following these tips you are well on your way to a more balanced, focused, energized life. When you feel balanced, you’ll feel better about yourself and everything else around you.