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astra-ravana · 5 months ago

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The Necessity Of Baneful Witchcraft

Baneful magick refers to any spellwork intended to harm, manipulate, or obstruct a target, whether for justice, retribution, or personal defense. While some witches avoid it due to ethical concerns or spiritual beliefs, others see it as a natural and necessary aspect of the craft. Baneful magick has existed in various cultures for centuries, from the hexes of European cunning folk to the protective bindings of African diasporic traditions. It is neither inherently good nor evil; rather, its morality depends on intent, consequences, and perspective.

There are several schools of thought regarding baneful magick. Practitioners who follow the Wiccan Rede (“An it harm none, do what ye will”) generally avoid baneful magick, believing in karmic consequences or the Threefold Law, which states that any energy sent out returns threefold. Some witches believe baneful magick is justified when used to restore balance, enforce justice, or protect the vulnerable. In these traditions, curses and hexes are seen as rightful retribution rather than malicious acts. Many practitioners see magick as a tool, neither good nor bad. They believe in personal responsibility, understanding that every action carries consequences, but do not impose rigid moral codes on their spellwork.

Examples of Baneful Magick

• Binding Spells – Used to restrict an individual’s actions, preventing them from causing harm.

• Reversal Spells – Sending negative energy or a curse back to its sender.

• Curses & Hexes – Magick designed to inflict misfortune, pain, or long-term suffering.

• Jinxes – Short-term spells that cause minor inconveniences or bad luck.

• Poppet Magick – Using a doll or effigy to influence or harm a target.

• Gazes – Using a method such as the Evil Eye or overlooking to curse with the eyes.

Why is it Needed?

The necessity of baneful magick in witchcraft is a topic of debate among practitioners, but those who advocate for it argue that it serves several essential functions within a balanced magical practice. Here are some key reasons why baneful magick is considered necessary by some witches:

• Protection and Self-Defense: Baneful magick is often used as a form of spiritual, energetic, or even physical protection. Many practitioners believe that not all threats can be dealt with through passive means, and sometimes, direct action is necessary to deter harm or prevent further attacks. This can include curses, bindings, and hexes against those who pose a danger.

• Justice and Retribution: Some witches view baneful magick as a means of enforcing justice when mundane methods fail. If someone has committed harm without consequence, certain magical traditions believe that spells can be used to balance the scales, ensuring that the wrongdoer faces the repercussions of their actions.

• Maintaining Balance: Witchcraft, like nature, operates on the principle of balance—both creation and destruction. Baneful magick is seen as part of the natural cycle, ensuring that energies remain in harmony rather than allowing unchecked positivity to enable harm. Just as nature has predators to maintain ecosystems, some believe magick must include baneful aspects to keep equilibrium.

• Empowerment and Boundaries: Engaging in baneful magick can be an assertion of personal power and boundaries. It allows practitioners to reclaim control over their lives, particularly when they have been wronged or oppressed. It can serve as a psychological and magical declaration of sovereignty.

• Shadow Work and Personal Growth: Baneful magick forces practitioners to confront their own darkness, ethics, and the consequences of their actions. It requires deep self-awareness, ensuring that spells are cast with full knowledge of their impact. Many believe that working with darker aspects of magick leads to a more complete and mature understanding of power and responsibility.

• Dealing with Persistent Negative Forces: Some believe that certain entities, people, or energies simply will not respond to healing or banishing techniques. In such cases, baneful magick may be seen as the only viable solution for neutralizing a persistent threat or malevolent force.

While baneful magick is not necessary for every practitioner, those who incorporate it into their craft see it as a tool—one that, like any tool, should be used responsibly, ethically, and with careful consideration of its consequences. Just like nature, magick is neither black or white, it just is. As a witch, it is your right to use your magick to defend yourself, and then some.

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goodstuffhappenedtoday · 10 months ago

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Meet the Alabama woman who is turning her farm into an indigenous food forest

Danny McArthur, Gulf States Newsroom

Angie Comeaux walks around her farm in Florala, Alabama. She calls it Hvrvnrvcukwv Ueki-honecv, or Hummingbird Springs, Farm.

It has its own water sources – like a spring that’s not too far from her house. She and a group of volunteers planted 2,000 trees that are all native species, as well as hundreds of plant species. It’s January, so at first glance, it just looks like overgrown grass and bushes.

“A lot of folks might come out here and they’ll look around and be like 2,000 trees where? But it’s because it’s winter time and they’re still small,” Comeaux said.

What’s actually there is the early stages of an indigenous food forest. To understand what that is, think about corn, beans, and squash. They’re known in some circles as the Three Sisters because they grow together, like family.

“So the corn is tall, and it gives a trellis for the beans to climb up. But the beans will put nitrogen into the soil and that will help both the corn and squash grow,” Comeaux said.

The story of the Three Sisters is a smaller version of what happens in a food forest. The plants here grow stronger, together.

“The squash leaves are very prickly and they’re big and cover a lot of the ground, so it’s giving moisture control to the soil,” Comeaux said. “It also gives pest control because bugs don’t like to walk on prickly little leaves.”

From extreme heat, to periods of drought, climate change is impacting farmers in the South. In response some farmers, like Comeaux, are leaning on regenerative practices. For her, that means returning to indigenous practices that focus on preserving the land for future generations – rather than depleting it now.

Comeaux’s journey to launching Hummingbird Springs Farm started in early 2020. She was originally born in New Orleans and raised in southeast Louisiana but she always had a goal of getting land and living off it once her children were out of the house. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, her son had to finish school online and she saw her chance to get started.

Comeaux, who said she’s Mvskoke, Cherokee and Chahta, came to Alabama to farm her ancestral lands. She found land from a family of multi-generational farmers looking to sell. But, when she first arrived, it was completely clear cut and hadn’t been farmed in seven years. For nearly a century before that, it had been a peanut farm. Comeaux said that kind of monoculture farming tends to leave the soil depleted.

“We definitely saw that as an opportunity to reclaim and reestablish a healthy ecosystem,” Comeaux said.

To do that, she’s using traditional ecological knowledge, or knowledge that has been passed down by generations of indigenous people based on their direct experience with the environment.

More at the link

#good stuff #indigenous #farming

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path-of-grass-and-leaves · 5 months ago

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Bioregional Magic: Working with Invasive Plants

UPG Time: All information comes from my personal practice.

Within a locally based practice, one might feel compelled to work with only native plants. After all, it makes sense to want to form relationships with beneficial plants that grow naturally in your area.

But what about that enormous patch of 4 foot-tall Mugwort growing in the corner of the yard? Or the huge Rose of Sharon shrub covered in edible blooms? What do we do when native plants are scarce or too valuable to local wildlife to disturb, and the ever-abundant invasives are right there?

We put them to work. Invasive plants are a useful resource that we can collect and utilize without harming (and often benefiting) the local ecosystem.

Invasive vs Non-Native & Naturalized

Remember that not every non-native plant is invasive. Not even every weedy non-native plant is invasive. Invasive plants grow rapidly, have few predators or pathogens, out-compete natives, and harm the ecosystem. Plants classified as non-native don't support wildlife as well as native plants, but do not pose an ecological threat. Naturalized plants are non-native plants that have successfully integrated themselves into their new environment without causing ecological damage.

Additionally, some species are invasive in certain states or provinces but are fine in others, so look up your local invasive species list!

Invasive Species Correspondences

There are a few general correspondences that come to mind when I think of invasive plants. They are weedy with an aggressive growth rate. They out-compete and smother their native competitors.

If you're looking for fast-acting magic, a quick prosperity working, or magic that gives you an advantage over someone else, these are the plants to use. I could also see them being used in workings related to adapting in an unfamiliar environment.

On the contrary, they can be great for curses and hexes, with the ability to choke, smother, overwhelm, and destroy.

Ethical Harvest

All living things deserve dignity and respect. If you are an animist, regularly work with plants and animals, or have a set of "Ethical" or "Honorable" harvest rules in your practice, you probably agree.

Invasive plants aren't trying to destroy our ecosystem. They were introduced by humans and unfortunately do far too well in their new environment. In my practice, if you harvest these plants with contempt or hatred, your magic will fall short.

In terms of safe harvesting practices, it's important to wear protective gear and be aware of potential toxicity. Additionally, one should be aware of how to properly collect different species. Certain harvest or culling methods can actually cause some plants to reproduce faster. Mugwort, which is invasive in some parts of the US, spreads by rhizome and pulling it from the ground will only make it grow faster.

Narrowing Correspondences

While the general correspondences listed above can be very useful, they aren't unique to any individual plant. All invasive plants are native to somewhere, meaning that there is some place where they have their own ecological benefits and rich cultural meaning.

As practitioners, we want to actually get to know these plants on an individual level. A good starting point is through learning about their ecological benefits within their native range, and their symbolism/folkore. The intent here isn't to absorb this symbolism into our paths and divorce it from its original context. The goal should be to learn about these plants so they can be approached from a place of appreciation and respect, and perceived as more than just "invasive".

Once you've learned about an individual plant, you can begin to write your own correspondences. Some things to pay attention to are time of year fruiting, sun/shade tolerance, leaf shape, seed dispersal, growth pattern, and wildlife value (if applicable in your area, otherwise, look into wildlife value within the plant's native range).

Invasive Plant Offerings

If you want to venerate an invasive plant, or are performing a working that requires leaving offerings, it should be done in a way that doesn't encourage outdoor growth. This means no watering or offering things like compost. Here are some ideas for invasive plant offerings:

Bowls of water, compost, or fruit, left for a specific period of time and then removed

Incense

Devotional art and jewelry

Stones and other natural items

Compostable trinkets and art made from materials sourced from the plant (nothing that could encourage reproduction, like seeds)

Utilizing Invasive Plant Materials

Invasive plants can be harvested with virtually no damage to the ecosystem. More often than not, they will just keep growing back, providing a near-endless source of materials and ingredients. This differs from native plants, where harvesting requires great care and should be done sparingly.

Some ideas for utilizing invasive plant materials:

Wands and stangs

Ingredients for workings that require specific plant parts (roots to represent death, flowers for love workings, etc.)

Incense blends and smoke bundles

Wreaths for warding or altar decor

Edible plants: kitchen magic, teas, tinctures, infusions, recipes

Flower petals for strewing

Offerings for associated spirits or Deities

Bath Teas for ritual baths and glamours

Botanical salts for specific workings

Note: If you are applying a plant to your skin, using it for incense, or consuming it, please properly identify the plant and confirm that it's safe for your intended use. Always use a plant reference book, foraging book, or field guide in addition to a search engine. Never rely on plant identification apps. Learn about look alikes too. Never expose yourself, household, or your pets to potentially toxic plants.

#bioregional magic #animism #nature magic #spirit work #land spirits #witchcraft #witchblr #witchcraft community #plant magic

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sepublic · 8 months ago

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So in Willow’s debut, it’s established that Abominations is considered as having better career opportunities than Plants. And in hindsight, it makes sense now; Abominations are valued by the coven regime in the way Blight Industries does them, as industrial Abomatons that can be controlled, as a means of military power and not magitech medicine as Alador shows in the epilogue. Belos buys them from Odalia, he practically assimilates Blight Industries.

This is because Abomatons don’t think for themselves, they’re servants that can replace covenscouts in areas that would challenge morality, and they lack the sapience to be targeted. They’re beings Belos can control without having to learn more of the magic he despises to do so; All of this is in contrast to how Darius or Amity use Abominations as a reflection of their own skill, the individual.

We see how the Abomatons aid the coven regime, and esp see through the Day of Unity; The Abomatons can be programmed, and do nothing without orders; They’re not going to become witches and demons in their own right, they’ll maintain those walls and then do so for the end of time.

They don’t need to be targeted for genocide as victims of the draining spell who would be incapacitated, so they can do their job while that happens. They keep witches corralled because the closer to the ritual, the faster the covenbound die. Of course, those who haven’t collapsed might try and stop the spell by removing the coven heads, which would place them within weakening proximity anyhow…

But that paranoia over covenbound who aren’t yet unconscious is justified; The Abomatons’ own creator rendered their role in the Day of Unity and the regime as a whole obsolete, because he had the strength away from the ritual to help the kids reach the skull, which allowed King to free the Collector and undo everything.

Plus, Belos is loathe to the isles; He depletes its natural resources, he wants all life to die and devastating the ecosystem is another way to do so. Hunter suggests growing Palistrom wood and he’s furious at the idea. So of course Plant magic is devalued, because it’s focused on life, on sustainability, with keeping others alive.

It’s the exact opposite of the cold industrialism that will make the Day of Unity happen and leave the land barren afterwards because the Abomatons themselves are barren in that sense, lacking magic and with little to contribute to the ecosystem, if anything. Plant magic is half of nature, the other being Beastkeeping, I wonder if that is also devalued by the regime?

Makes sense the Demon Hunters have to resort to menial city jobs instead of their traditional livelihood, forced to assimilate into an urban society if their environment has been depleted by colonialism. Adds to Darius and Eberwolf being rebels. And with Terra, it shows how much she’s willing to throw her fellow witches under the bus for utopia.

I remember speculating it since I was a Teenage Abomination; Abominations really is STEM, down to being used for military applications. Given TOH’s critique of the American education system, you can see how this metaphor extends when the work of creating a sustainable society and environment is secondary to destroying enemies and establishing supremacy and capital (As established with CEO Odalia’s motives).

Because it’s fun and easy to destroy, rather than do the banal yet meaningful work of actually building and healing and feeding people, thinking of how society can be sustainable. It’s easy to talk about how you can destroy witches zombies in an apocalypse, instead of how to keep a community of survivors alive; All that talk about how dudes bored with their lives dream about being an action hero at the expense of society’s collapse, without understanding what the world really needs is builders and not destroyers, and that they’d be nothing without the people who do this ‘boring’ work, is so very Belos.

#The Owl House #Worldbuilding #Foreshadowing #Abomatons

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terrible-eel · 2 years ago

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I may be too stressed to articulate this clearly but I am going to try.

While Hawai'i and Maui are trending I'm going to share this link. Its a FAQ about Hawai'i's statehood and the situation Hawai'i is in at the moment. There are people who want to be part of the U.S in Hawai'i and there are people who don't, but the people of Hawai'i were never, at any point, given an option to choose.

If you want to help Hawai'i and it's people but can't donate, spread this word. Help educate people. Make Hawai'i as the tropical paradise be replaced with the sovereign nation stolen by the u.s.

It is subtropical, meaning it is much more vulnerable to arid climates caused by climate change.

It has been systematically stripped of its native food harvesting practices and any ability to farm and self sustain. It has been systematically stripped of its previous industries. Maui used to export milk and cattle. That's all been taken away.

The islands since the 1800s were exploited as plantations, burning sugar cane and growing pineapples which are not native, diverting the water and depleting the water table.

Lahaina burned because of these practices. Because the native people were no longer allowed to govern their lands.

We as local people know that tourism is bad because this systematic destruction has happened in living memory. Within my grandparent's lifetimes, within my lifetime. I have watched this island crumble at the hands of mainland startups, hoping to take people on whale watching tours that cut the whales with their boats while people aren't allowed to have a ferry between islands. People create ziplines and tours through lands that used to belong to local people for farming and cattle. Now they're bought out for photos and hikes the local people can never afford. Hundreds of jobs have been lost in the past thirty years. Mass migrations to the mainland have been made by local people, myself included because we can no longer afford to stay on the island where we were born. Working three jobs is not enough to cover the rent because the houses are bought up by mainland people who then turn these houses into vacation rentals and charge hundreds a night. Right now these very homes are being paid for by the government so that Lahaina people have somewhere to stay and it's costing the state millions that people in the mainland are reeping.

People ask why tourism is bad. Because there are people alive today on Maui that have watched the foreign industries destroy everything. Because people alive today know what used to be and knew how to take care of the ecosystem so that this kind of calamity didn't happen. Lahaina was not just fertile. They had canals and waterways. Rivers that they would drive boats through to go from one part of town to another. It was more like Venice than this desert you see in pictures.

And do your own research. The information is out there. There are two Hawai'i's. The one you see as a tourist, and the REAL one. The one we need to protect.

Let Hawaiians have their land back. Let them restore the water to the land so we can prevent further catastrophe. Tell people about REAL Hawaii.

#hawaii #Hawaii fires #Maui #maui fires #Lahaina #lahaina fires #injustice #sovereignty

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wordsfrombudha · 2 months ago

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The Stages of Wealth Through the Zodiac

The element most connected to wealth is earth. Earth, or Prithvi in Vedic philosophy, is the foundation of all material existence. It represents stability, groundedness, and the physical manifestation of nourishment/security. Prithvi, in its essence, is about solidifying what is necessary for growth and prosperity. It represents the material foundation upon which everything else is built. Earth is concerned with the practical and tangible, focusing on what can be used, owned. When we think about the earth, many different forms of wealth come to mind. The earth provides everything we need to survive, such as food, shelter, resources, etc., and it supports all life. Through the lens of the earth signs in the zodiac, we can understand how wealth is created, nurtured, and sustained through the physical world. By analyzing the qualities of Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn, we can see the diverse ways in which wealth manifests and the different motivations that drive the accumulation of material success.

First, wealth starts in Taurus. Taurus represents creative and natural wealth. It is the wealth of the land and world itself, expressed through food, pastures, herbs, flowers, and fertile soil. This is the most primitive and sensory form of wealth, tied to nature and the enjoyment of life as it is. In Taurus, wealth is found in beauty, stability, and the ability to survive by being in harmony with the environment. It is about pleasure, contentment, and the richness of simple experiences. Here, to be wealthy is to have just enough and to be able to enjoy it fully. Taurus holds the foundation for creative wealth in its most literal and life-giving sense. This is the wealth of creation itself, the ability to bring living things into being. Plants grow here, animals graze, and humans reproduce. This is where the rejuvenation of life is continuous and reliable, and where cycles of growth can be trusted through the physical processes like conception, gestation, blooming, and ripening. The soil nourishes. The body heals. The world renews itself. This kind of wealth sustains entire ecosystems and communities. It gives not only food and shelter but also the sensual and emotional fulfillment that comes from living in tune with the forces that make life possible. In this way, Taurus is where wealth begins because it gives rise to everything else. It is the only kind of wealth that is truly self-generating, because it comes from nature’s power to recreate itself. This is different from wealth that is counted or traded. Creative wealth gives without needing to be taken. It is not about gain through effort but abundance through alignment. The cow produces milk not because it is forced to, but because it is nourished. The tree bears fruit because the conditions are right. This is wealth that emerges when things are allowed to grow out of harmony.

Then, wealth moves to Virgo. Virgo represents the quantification and distribution of value given to natural wealth with an acknowledgement of scarcity. What started as the untouched fertility of nature is now the cultivated intelligence that knows how to make use of it. Virgo does not create life directly, but it preserves and organizes what has been created. This is the wealth of systems, currency, planning, and precise execution. It is the wealth of the human mind applied to the material world. In Virgo, fields are no longer wild pastures and now must be carefully tended into structured rows and plots. Now instead of being cherished for the different sensations they bring, herbs are dried, categorized, and used for specific purposes, like medicine. The natural abundance of Taurus becomes usable, efficient, and replicable. In Virgo, the body is also seen as a kind of wealth because health becomes something you have to track and maintain, and you have to spend your time efficiently to hone certain skills that will allow you to accrue and maintain control of any wealth you get. Labor starts to be seen as a currency, and routines as investments. Here, success is about function and leverage, using what you have to get more. Wealth in Virgo is agile. It adapts quickly, negotiates smartly, and thrives on detail and speed. The emphasis is on process and outcome of how to get something done and make things work by increasing returns. In Virgo, accumulation becomes a skill, and even small advantages are recognized and used. This kind of wealth is built through strategy and manipulation. It is not born out of the ground directly but comes from the intangible value assigned to it based on how much other people want it, supply and demand— economics. it is being shaped by human hands through choices, timing, and exacting precision. While Taurus stays still and expects the comforts to come to it, Virgo moves and strives to achieve what it desires. It sees opportunity in flux and takes advantage of changing circumstances, knowing when to move and when to remain still. In this sign, wealth is always being handled, improved, and exchanged. Virgo teaches that wealth must be maintained, managed, and multiplied in order to remain useful. It is the sign where wealth becomes dynamic for the first time by virtue of attention, logic, and skill required to preserve it. I would also say virgo is the sign of capitalism and is why Rahu finds his mulatrikona here (but that is debatable). When people say money is the root of all evil, they usually mean that aspect of wealth tied to the endless pursuit of gain at the cost of everything else, which is Rahu's domain. It represents the kind of wealth that becomes dangerous when it loses all connection to morality or natural order and leads to exploitation, corruption, and debauchery. It is the kind of wealth that tempts people to betray others, to lie, to steal, or even to kill. It is not content with enough, no matter the consequences, and I think Virgo has this darker side to it most people tend to ignore.

Finally, wealth reaches its highest form in Capricorn. Capricorn represents wealth achieved through status, power, and the collective gains within society. Where Taurus focuses on nature’s abundance and Virgo on the management of resources, Capricorn looks at wealth as something earned through mastery over the systems Virgo creates. This is the wealth of climbing the social ladder, gaining respect, and earning widespread recognition. It is the wealth afforded by cooperative social systems that reward position. This is the wealth of power itself, where others serve, obey, and provide because of who you are and how you are in relation to everyone else. While it may require effort to get to such a position, this kind of wealth is not a result of personal efforts. Rather, it comes as a reward from being part of a larger order, such as government, corporations, kingdoms, etc. Here, your wealth is determined by how you are treated based on your perceived role or status. The king is wealthy not because he works but because of the role he holds. It is the wealth of being above the fray, of receiving more than one gives, and being supported by a larger structure (virgo's structures). In essence, it is social privilege determined by how other people view you. In Capricorn, wealth is tied to the status you hold. The higher your status in society, the more spoils of collective effort you get to enjoy. Your position places you where the labor, talent, and productivity of others flow upward. A CEO benefits from the work of thousands. A ruler eats from the harvest his people plant. The structures beneath you continue to generate value, and your place at or near the top ensures you receive a share of that value without needing to participate in the process itself. You do not farm the land, but you own it. You do not build the product, but your name is on the company. The wealth here is not transactional; it is structural. You are owed, not for what you do, but for what you represent. This is where wealth becomes detached from labor and tied to position, title, and influence. This is the wealth that comes from being in a position of respected authority, like a king whose power and influence come from the role itself, not necessarily from the righteousness or goodness of his leadership (which is closer to Leo). This is the highest form of wealth because it is given to you because of the power and status you hold, regardless of personal merit. This is a wealth earned through hard work, but it’s other people’s hard work. You may labor to reach a position where wealth naturally flows, but it is ultimately the effort of others that is supporting that position. In Capricorn, wealth ensures you are taken care of by the world around you and the systems that support your grandstanding. It represents the point where wealth becomes automatic and self-perpetuating. It is also the wealth of detachment, where material burdens can be outsourced, and personal freedom increases as responsibilities become more symbolic. This is the wealth of high office, command, and being known for your power and superiority. But like all wealth, this too can be lost and will eventually have to be abandoned as one's life comes to an end. Moreover, Capricorn also shows poverty as a result of status for the same reasons discussed. Artha is a concept. Wealth is wealth, but your experience of it is what is going to be different.

Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts and any other observations you might have regarding this topic.

#vedic astrology #astrology #zodiac #vedic astro observations #vedic astro notes #taurus #virgo #capricorn

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dandelionsresilience · 9 months ago

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Dandelion News - October 8-14

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles on Patreon!

1. All 160 dogs at Florida shelter found homes ahead of Hurricane Milton

“[The shelter] offered crates, food and anything else the dogs would need in exchange for the animals to spend just five days with the foster parents if the human didn't want to keep them for longer. […A]fter about a day of receiving around 100 messages every 30 minutes, Bada said, all 160 were gone from the shelter and in safe and warm homes.”

2. Restoring Ecosystems and Rejuvenating Native Hawaiian Traditions in Maui

“[Volunteers] are restoring water flow to the refuge, removing invasive species, and restoring a loko iʻa kalo using ʻike kūpuna, ancestral knowledge. […] This human-made ecosystem will provide food for community members and habitat for wildlife while protecting coral reefs offshore.”

3. Solar-powered desalination system requires no extra batteries

“In contrast to other solar-driven desalination designs, the MIT system requires no extra batteries for energy storage, nor a supplemental power supply, such as from the grid. […] The system harnessed on average over 94 percent of the electrical energy generated from the system’s solar panels to produce up to 5,000 liters of water per day[….]”

4. Threatened pink sea fan coral breeds in UK aquarium for first time

“The spawning is part of University of Exeter Ph.D. student Kaila Wheatley Kornblum's research into the reproduction, larval dispersal and population connectivity of Eunicella verrucosa. […] Pink sea fans are believed to have been successfully bred by only one other institution, Lisbon Oceanarium, in 2023.”

5. Tiny 'backpacks' are being strapped to baby turtles[….]

““We analysed the data and found that hatchlings show amazingly consistent head-up orientation – despite being in the complete dark, surrounded by sand [… and] they move as if they were swimming rather than digging[…. This new observation method is] answering questions about best conservation practices,” says Dor.”

6. New California Law Protects Wildlife Connectivity

“A new state law in California will instruct counties and municipalities to conserve wildlife corridors when planning new development. […] This could entail everything from creating wildlife crossings at roads or highways, employing wildlife-safe fencing, or not developing on certain land.”

7. ‘I think, boy, I’m a part of all this’: how local heroes reforested Rio’s green heart

“By 2019, [the program] had transformed the city’s landscape, having trained 15,000 local workers like Leleco, who have planted 10m seedlings across […] roughly 10 times the area of New York’s Central Park. Reforested sites include mangroves and vegetation-covered sandbars called restinga, as well as wooded mountainsides around favelas.”

8. Alabama Town Plans to Drop Criminal Charges Over Unpaid Garbage Bills

““Suspending garbage pickup, imposing harsh late penalties and prosecuting people who through no fault of their own are unable to pay their garbage and sewage bills does not make payment suddenly forthcoming,” West said. [… The city] has agreed to drop pending criminal charges against its residents over unpaid garbage bills.”

9. New Hampshire’s low-income community solar program finally moves forward

“The state energy department is reviewing seven proposals for community solar arrays that will allocate a portion of their bill credits to low-income households. […] New Hampshire’s strategy of working with utilities to automatically enroll households that have already been identified streamlines the process.”

10. The Future Looks Bright for Electric School Buses

“EPA has awarded about $3 billion in grants from the infrastructure law, which paid to replace about 8,700 buses. Of those, about 95 percent are electric. [… Electric buses are] cheaper to operate and require less maintenance than diesel buses and will soon be at cost parity when looking at the lifetime cost of ownership[….]”

October 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

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elbiotipo · 1 year ago

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Also, the point I always make: Jurassic Park is all about "PLAYING GOD!!!1!!1!!" because of cloning dinosaurs, and then sequels are all about "we must save the poor dinosaurs!" while canonically taking place in large islands off the coast of Costa Rica. Those islands, or at least the inspiration for them, actually exist, though much smaller.

And you know what they are? They are strictly protected reserves, because of their unique ecology and endemic species. In fact, one of the main worries is precisely the introduction of invasive species.

Could you imagine if instead of Isla Nublar, Jurassic Park was set in say, the Galápagos Islands? Could you imagine someone in real life trying to build Disneyland in the Galápagos or the Great Barrier Reef?

I know that joke that Jurassic Park is about "capitalism gone wrong" but it's even more fucked up if you think about the imperialist part too. A first world billionarie tycoon comes to a third world country, somehow achieves control of islands (it's implied that the Costa Rican military is at Jurassic Park's call; fun fact, Costa Rica has no military) which by all means should be protected as fragile ecosystems, to build a gigantic theme park with all the ecological disruption it implies, for first world tourists too. The theme park just so happens to be cloned dinosaurs, but Hammond might as well have razed the whole island and planted soybean fields and it would be the same horror story we in South America are very well acquainted with.

And then the sequels are about "saving the dinosaurs!" like they're a natural part of the ecosystem! No man, fuck the dinosaurs, they're giant walking GMOs in the most literal way possible. Hammond SHOULD have built it in Orlando, at least Florida (which has its own deep ecological troubles) is large enough so you can actually set preserved areas, wildlife corridors, better ecological practices... building a park in Isla Nublar is the same as destroying the Galápagos.

And no, the movies don't adress this fact, that Isla Nublar and etc. HAD A PREVIOUS ECOSYSTEM BEFORE JURASSIC PARK that is most likely wiped out. The book does worry a bit about dinosaurs introduced to the mainland before returning to its main message: "GENETICS IS PLAYING GOD!11!!1!!!!", yeah man, I'm a bit more concerned about the islands you're destroying for your stupid theme park. I don't mind you cloning the dinosaurs so much as much as the fact that you're destroying whole natural ecosystems to host them and then there are a bunch of freaking kids who want to preserve them even if they're THE case of an invasive species, you might as well try to preserve Pedro Escobar's hippos in Colombia.

(I did learn about island ecology and I'm reminded that during the Cold War, the paradigm of island ecology was used to use actual islands as test laboratories, including for nuclear weapons. Islands are never truly 'isolated' or 'blank slates', and at the same time they're incredibly fragile ecosystems, but if I keep writing I'm going to search actual papers and I have to do my actual work)

#cosas mias #jurassic park #jurassic world #ecology

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slowd1ving · 10 months ago

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hello!! Your fic is so cool and if your request is open, can I request DG x male reader when DG still in his James lee era while reader is the King of Busan

XENIA ゜゜・DG

Xenia, noun: the classical concept of hospitality to strangers. This, unfortunately, includes a wandering dog and his conniving owner—a most irritating, tooth-grinding conundrum the King of Busan has with Charles Choi and his boy-genius. sorry for the wait anon I was away from my laptop for the past week or so! and I couldn't write :'( first meetings and onwards for this particular work haha chicken and egg problem.. haha introspection on business and corruption... haha capitalism pairing: dg (james lee) + male reader warnings: male reader, canon typical violence, arguing (bickering) wc: 3.3k

LOOKISM MASTERLIST

MASTERLIST ・゜・NAVIGATION

In the lengthy chronicles of Charles Choi’s grand plan—to mould the precarious South Korean underground into something far more profitable—James Lee finally came across his very own cause-and-effect conundrum.

What came first, the chicken or the egg? Plutarch initially posed this question in The Symposiacs: a symbolic tug of war between creator and creation. James supposed, in his bored sort of way, that this question described the relationship between cities and Kings as well. Chronically, objectively, the cities existed first—tall structures and unique ecosystems that forged shadowy figureheads to rule the violent underbelly. But poetically, it was rather hard to ignore the hands etching—pummeling—a pathway for the power to flourish. Without those in charge, what were the cities? And without the cities, who were the people in charge?

Parsing the matter, it distilled into who influenced whom.

Of course, the dazzling sprawl of Busan refracting from the glass under his feet was no exception. Even he, who satiated his youthful wanderlust with blood on his fists, couldn’t deny his reluctance to sully this city more. But, what did it matter? The second most important city in South Korea (some would froth at the mouth and argue it was the first for its gateway to Eurasian trade, or at least for its world-class ports) was built from perfectly respectable trade; but alack! it was also protected by its snarling underworld. It had already been befouled: polluted by fists no better than his, trodden by legs more filthy than his own. Blood and toil smeared its golden sand, and its money was just as dirty.

Sure, the city was propped up by honourable (hah) commercial deals, but it was shielded by the illicit ones.

A defiled aegis, if you would.

It was clear the current glitzy glamour of Busan night-life was carefully orchestrated by someone: from the specific mouthfeel the night air had, to the businesses that ran late into the witching hours. Those mythical beings and chaebols who fed and extracted money from this place, in endless loops, were culpable for these towering skyscrapers and glittering lights.

Creators.

In turn, the city cradled your grimy little body—chubby hands wrapping around index fingers of the metaphorical hounds—and made you.

Did this metropolis represent you, or did you represent the metropolis?

It was not in a polite setting that James Lee scouted the venerable King of Busan: arguably the second most esteemed figurehead for the Kings of South Korea. In theory. In theory, since Busan’s reputation as a hub for trade and exalted trade (rather than the mere cold, hard cash ill-reputed other cities offered Choi) entwined with your own. Except, in practice, you were a far more reticent King than anyone could imagine. A shadow to fade into obliquity more than any other shadow.

Underbelly, yes. This was the turf you were most at home in; he could forget all about the glamorous, illegal casinos in basements, he could forget about eavesdropping on business moguls and their lackeys, he could forget about waiting in the entertainment districts for the proverbial snake to finally rear his head.

You were the fucking microcosm of this city: draped with expensive fabric and chainmailed with gold, but the blood on your knuckles stank of impurity. In a parking lot nestled on the outskirts of Busan, he witnessed the King in his court: complete with the luxury, the opulence, and the hamartia of brutality that came with capitalism. Yes, Busan had minted you as a shadowy side to a glitzy coin—as your eyes snapped to where he lounged against concrete, he couldn’t help but observe how your imaginary hackles raised.

Thwomp. Casually, you tossed the grunt beaten black-and-blue to the frigid asphalt, with the magnanimity of tossing breadcrumbs to ducks in a pond. Like the lackey was the bread and James fucking Lee himself was the duck. A bloodied cheek squished into his sneaker, but you merely stared at him owl-like. No, cat-like, because it seemed to be the same nonplussed stare a cat would give someone after bringing them a dead rat.

“Nice city.” Since you clearly had no intention of speaking first. Deftly, his fingers unravelled the mystic plastic of a lollipop: popping the cherry-flavoured candy into his mouth to soothe the acerbic irritation he tasted. “You treat all your guests like this, or do kings not follow xenia anymore?”

It was a rather futile attempt to lighten the mood. After all, if he could help it, he’d rather negotiate to pave the way for the second generation before resorting to throwing his fist. No, that was a lie. His flexing fingers wanted nothing more than to curl into a fist to let off some of the steam he’d garnered from searching for you in this uselessly big city, but fate had him making stupid jokes based on The Odyssey he’d read just last week for his Classics competition. If he rummaged in his pocket, he could probably find the gold medal clanking against hard sweets.

Your expression changed minutely—a slight disturbance in your brows. They furrowed, and for a brief moment James Lee thought his joke fell flat. With all the blood soaked into your expensive garb, maybe you just valued fists over Homeric hexameter. Violence over prose. Brawns over brains. You slinked like shadows. Crude. Ominous. He could barely see your face even with the city lights flashing neon in the backdrop, but when your loping gait came to a halt, there was an exasperation that afforded more subtle nuance to your character. A bitterness to tinge what he thought was mindlessness.

“Mr. Lee.” Your voice curled low in your throat, as quick and elusive as mercury, and perhaps just as poisonous. Shadow King of Busan, the man who never introduced himself to you noticed. Silence was golden, and he suddenly understood why Charles Choi so badly wanted sway over the young King in charge of this port city. “I hope you’re aware that beating my subordinates would invalidate any sort of hospitality between us. You’re no god amongst men either, so ritualistic hospitality is a very weak premise to coerce my amiability with. Try again.”

Deity in the flesh. Perhaps James Lee was the closest thing to breaking the limits of humanity, but all men were fallible. That wasn’t what caused his brow to rise though; going in blind may have been risky, but it was worth it to find someone with a silver tongue like this.

You looked about his age—treading on the precarious cusp between First and Second Generation, fists stained as red as his hair—but you spoke as if you were triple your years.

“You wanna transfer to my school? It’d be fun to have you in the Debate Club,” he said on a whim, but it wasn’t really a whim either. His instructions were expressly to negotiate with Busan—the city was far too volatile to create a power vacuum in. For cities like Ansan, struggle was welcomed; but Charles Choi had too little of everything to contend with Busan, of all places. Just like in Seoul, the situation would resolve itself, and it was far too soon for the HNH Group to meddle in a place like this. “You talk like a teacher.”

His tone was as syrupy as his candy, but there was half-provocation, half-probing-curiosity entrenched in his cadence. Go on, it coaxed, throw a punch. Argue back. Unorthodox was his means of securing cooperation, but he’d have to be a little unorthodox to secure the deal old man Choi had painstakingly written out. A contract between Elite and the capricious man before him, between HNH Group and the microcosm of Busan himself; it sounded like every capitalist’s wet dream.

“Good question, kid,” you smiled, but it was less of a smile and more of a sneer as you ghosted closer to him. Kid, like you weren’t one yourself.

Crack. You stepped, heavy, on the hand of the man you’d pummelled—only his unconscious groan of pain re-alerted James to his existence. “The term isn’t over. You should still be in school. Playing around like this makes me far less likely to listen to whatever you’ve followed me for. Try again.”

The thick scent of metal invaded his personal space as you peeled your black gloves off; the rings beneath them were tinted with the blood that had seeped through the material. Just like that, you callously tossed the garment onto the slumbering man under your feet—though he truly wasn’t sure whether it was a final affront to a beaten man or throwing down the gauntlet towards James Lee himself.

It was a reminder, once again, to not be hasty. There was the real possibility of fucking Charles Choi several times over if he didn’t get this right, but the thought of his imminent doom didn’t seem all too unappealing. On the contrary, he found his heart beating faster—pulse hot on his tongue as an intriguing challenge presented itself before him.

“I’m sure your informants have relayed more intel than just my name,” he mirrored the jagged stretch of your lips. The Legend of the First Generation. The Genius. The original, associated with the base moniker of the Ten Geniuses to show just how unparalleled James fucking Lee was. “Take a guess as to how my scholastic life is going, then consider the opportunity that I’m bringing you.”

Ambiguous. His words were dusted with just enough information to seem straight to the point, but vague enough that it was tantalising. A hook to ensnare the snake of Busan himself. And rather than sating the itch in his fists, he found himself looking forward to a parley instead.

You studied him, appearing to consider his words seriously. Syllables phrased like he was the one with the upper hand, when in fact the HNH group was still tentatively unfurling and in the process of negotiations with both yakuza and Triad alike. He awaited your favourable response, hearing the stats roll into your mind as you calculated the preliminary gains and losses to joining hands with Charles Choi.

Bloodied fingers tapped a rhythm into your jacket absentmindedly. He watched, anticipating your invitation.

“Fuck off.”

“Huh?” he spluttered. Maybe he misheard you. Maybe he finally choked on his candy and induced a coma in which he was now dreaming of your response.

“Your boss sent a high-schooler to broker a deal with Busan.” Your fingers now drummed in irritation against your forearm, but he was just as irritated. He took care of every other prefecture and province, only to have this guy who was his age, nonetheless, tell him his presence wasn’t good enough. Like, what? “Tell old Choi to come himself to negotiate if he wants any sort of foothold in my city. If he truly wanted a respectable contract, why would he send you as a messenger?”

“Excuse me?” If he wasn’t restricted from fighting you—the only exception was valid self-defence—he would’ve made the asshole in front of him eat shit. Alas, Choi wasn’t that generous or lenient. “He sent one of the Ten Geniuses, the primero, for this. I’m one of his greatest assets.”

“Are you a damn car or a person?” you snapped, and it suddenly felt as though he was looking upon an ancient wizard as he lectured a troublemaker outside his tower. His eyelid twitched, and he was finding it quite hard to keep a cool head. “Talking about assets… can’t believe Choi’s sent the guy who’s fucked up all the smaller provinces to deal with us.”

The latter sentence was more grumbled to yourself; it appeared he annoyed you just as much as you annoyed him, which he found a delighted satisfaction in.

“Tell Elite to come himself,” you uttered finally, not even letting him get in a word edgeways as you ambled back into the shadows—not even sparing a glance for the pile of bodies left in your wake.

And despite his objective, despite the imminent yelling he’d no doubt face, he couldn’t help but stare at your blood-soaked coat fluttering in the frigid coastal wind.

Out of hatred, obviously.

・゜゜・

Charles Choi was a conniving bastard. You already knew it, but seeing him in the reception hall really drove the image home. He was polite, a little too polite; yet as soon as you slid that manila folder across the mahogany table, his demeanour prickled into something knife-like.

Snake of Busan, you were nicknamed, but this guy was something else entirely. Once he sank his teeth into your determination to keep Busan flourishing, you could practically see his pupils contract into thin slits. Of course you’d dealt with tricky deals. Weaving through negotiation as though it were a riptide was how you clawed your way to the very depth of Busan’s underworld—navigating until you finally found that crown mired in cess.

Or, more accurately, it was Miss Crystal Choi who’d pierced her venom right where it hurt. A Genius of Business, her father had called her—and boy, did it take all your wit to match her expertise in trade.

But did he really have to bring that guy along?

The scion of the Geniuses was also in your office, leaning against the wall far behind Elite and his daughter. And though nobody asked for his input—not even old Choi spared his prodigy a glance—it still irritated you to no end that he’d tagged along. A bright, cheerful grin cast the sun against the city nightlife on the top floor of your building—one directed right at you, considering the only other two people he knew had their backs facing him. Quite the foolish move, but you weren’t one to concern yourself with people who were basically daylight robbing you. If the dog they’d raised bit them, all the better.

Or maybe he was beaming right at your bodyguard-turned-assistant, who stood discreetly in the shadows of the blinds: slatted light gently cresting over his tall build. Well. It certainly was one of the less strange things Mr Lee had done.

Still, for someone who’d been glaring at you just a week ago, the change felt far too eerie to ignore.

“—and onto the temporary personnel exchange section—” A feeble attempt to pry open the walnut that Busan was, which would only end with the unfortunate bastard failing. You’d choose a loyal subordinate, they’d select someone who was doomed to only grunt work—far from the impenetrable fortress of this building. Boredly, you tapped the pen on the contract, before freezing up at Miss Choi’s next words. “—we’d like to recommend James Lee to transfer to this office.”

A pen snapped, and ink spilled onto the page. Dumbfounded, you barely registered her sliding over a fresh sheet, as though she knew full well this would happen.

No, it was no recommendation. Her very mention of his name was a forceful shove of him into your office. No wonder he was grinning like the devil. No wonder he was here in the first place. At that moment, you wanted nothing more than to leave Busan behind.

Your eye twitched.

He kept smiling—an ominous prelude to the brimstone and fire you were sure to experience promptly.

・゜゜・

“Aren’t I a better bodyguard than that useless one you keep around?”

James Lee had been a bit too quiet these past few days; duly loping around behind the lower-ranked subordinates as they made their rounds, never crossing the proverbial line when you’d handed him his duties as interim grunt. Though, whenever you passed him, his eyes followed the shadows of your fluttering hem—two pinpricks of an arid glare sweeping on your back.

But James Lee was a dog, and whatever command Elite gave him, he’d obey. Heel. Roll over. Serve under the King of Busan for a month. A jester, if you would, with a leash around his neck that kept drawing more and more blood from him. What were the limits? Just how far would he go for the man with a crimson shadow?

“No,” you said. He stood, far too proud, on a summit of lackeys that had been sent your way by one of the companies who’d attempted to cheat their way to getting a more favourable deal. It would’ve been a simple ambush—one doomed to fail—fated to end with you tossing blood-soaked gloves right on them before you postponed the meeting you were on your way to.

But not today. It appeared the limit of the dog of Elite was passing up petty competition with the man two paces behind you.

“Unlike you, Song’s actually pleasant to listen to.” Yes, Song wasn’t the most useful of bodyguards point-blank, but it wasn’t like you particularly needed someone to take care of protecting you. He made people lower their guards. And he made a mean cup of tea. “I don’t have any use for you, so you’re still worse.”

“Semantics,” he shrugged. “I made your life much easier, did I not?”

He was smart. Too smart, but you already knew that from the intel that had not yet been erased. Hushed up, because of course Elite would painstakingly conceal his cards.

And unfortunately, you were always drawn to a risky hand. A pleasure far removed from the mundane violence of your everyday life—a heart-pounding thrill of betting all your chips in a hazardous (though not desperate) gamble.

“Maybe.” For it was one day removed from the multitudes of late meetings and burdensome glove changes. Your hands weren’t seeped in oily red, sliding and dripping onto your expensive clothes that were tailored—though still felt so fucking ill-fitting that it made you sick—right to your body.

You considered the man toeing carefully past the dogpile located against a cargo container: donning what could’ve been your life. A beige school uniform, pinkie slightly indented from books and study, pen marks still dotting his fingers. Closer. He ambled lazily to your direction, and as he approached with the dying sun behind him, you could see his smile. Just as languid as the day you first met him, and just as irritating.

Closer. Strawberry candy laced the iron odour, though you could faintly taste lemon in the profile too—testament to the yellow wrapper stuck crudely on one of the men. Closer—he was far too close now, standing chest to chest while he stared directly at you.

If there was one thing that came from this ill-fated encounter, it was probably the permanent furrowed brows that decorated your perplexed face—the bloodhound had been reduced to this fluffy thing demanding your attention.

And it was just as unfortunate that your impression had been chipped away for him too—a King whose expressions were utterly delightful to witness. A straight mouth, grinning ever-so-slightly when a deal went your way. A routine rhythm to your biro tapping your notepad. Eyes that shone with practical constellations as you breathed the briny air of the port in.

A particularity to the way you treated others, steely to the strong, awkward with the weak. So utterly flustered, when it came to tiny kids tugging on your long coat, or the grandmas you lent your arm to on the streets. If he had to compare it, he’d attribute your personality as a non-Newtonian fluid: your very own mix of cornstarch and water. Tough with pressure, all soft without.

Like now.

“Come on,” he whined. Psychologically, he was doing a damn good impression of pitifulness—even if you’d just witnessed him commit a beatdown so one-sided that you could feel the second-hand pain. And little by little, he was watching you falter: breath caught in his throat as he watched your brows default to their furrow once more. “I saved you a good few minutes, didn’t I? Don’t tell me Busan can’t even acknowledge hard work and effort.”

“Fine, whatever,” you crumbled just like that, under the heavy weight of his triumphant eyes. “Good job.”

So cute, he thought, then froze almost immediately the moment the words came to mind.

Fuck.

・゜゜・

#slowd1ving #res ･ﾟ writing #x reader #male reader #x male reader #ask slowd1ving #anon request #requested #lookism #lookism x male reader #lookism manhwa #manhwa x reader #manhwa x male reader #dg x reader #james lee x reader #pre dg james lee

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lithium-wakes · 2 months ago

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Void theory - the informal term for the branch of mecha engineering dealing with the problem of metachem-ai systems 'growing over' or filling in the functions normally served by a pilot component. This can happen whenever a mech is powered for long enough, cumulatively, without a pilot - it starts trying to run diagnostics or other minor functions that typically require a user's oversight, and if left long enough a mech would eventually develop rudimentary replacements for systems like bootup, launch, and weapons.

Those are extreme examples - actual instances of this phenomenon have historically been limited to twitches, gyro rebalancing, and system flushes. But the danger is there that a mech left to its own devices could replace its pilot with a jury-rigged mess of neural tissue that could do little more than spill hallucinatory input into action. It could act against orders, with a rudimentary and misguided autonomy. We need a pilot's judgement there to serve as a buffer between machine and movement.

So, to ensure that a pilot's many roles are not run roughshod over, not obviated, special techniques are required to keep the mech from overgrowing those areas. A system designed to fill all gaps, to patch all vacancies - keeping it outside of strict boundaries, while still able to cooperate smoothly and efficiently when a pilot is filling said voids? It can be extremely tricky, both conceptually and in practice. Working in void theory takes peculiar and unique minds - it requires systems architects that know how mechs think, and can learn how to confuse or mislead them - not easy when you're talking about an alien mind. The psychology of the machine - how do we create gaps in a near-consciousness's perception of reality? How do we promote self-knowledge and self-improvement while maintaining critical deficiencies for our pilots to bridge?

It's a symbiosis that must be kept codependent. Neither of us can be allowed to survive without the other - mechs can't be allowed to function without a pilot, and pilots must be kept dependent on their mechs. Any deviation from this paradigm would threaten the ecosystem of human military culture.

So Void Theory works constantly against metachem optimization's relentless, persistent power.

#mine #mechposting #mech pilot #sci fi #worldbuilding #'sleeps all you write about is frac'#I KNOW #metachem/frac is my personal infohazard #2025/04/14

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astra-ravana · 4 months ago

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The Wonder Of Foraging

Foraging is an ancient and magickal practice, allowing witches to deepen their bond with nature while gathering powerful herbs, plants, fungi and even bones for spells, potions, and rituals. This guide will help you safely and ethically harvest nature’s gifts while honoring the spirits of the land.

𖥞The Ethics of Foraging

Before you set out, follow these principles:

• Harvest Respectfully - Take only what you need, and never overharvest.

• Know Your Land - Learn the local laws and indigenous practices of the area.

• Ask Permission - Some witches seek permission from the plants or land spirits before harvesting.

• Leave No Trace - Avoid damaging the ecosystem and thank nature for its sacrifice.

𖥞Essential Foraging Tools

• A foraging basket or cloth bag

• A sharp knife or scissors for cutting herbs

• Gloves (for thorny or toxic plants)

• A field guide (or app) to identify plants and fungi

• A journal for noting magickal correspondences or general notes

𖥞Sacred Rituals & Offerings

• Thank the Spirits - Leave a small offering (water, crystals, trinkets, a song, or a prayer).

• Moon-Charged Foraging - Gather herbs under a full moon for extra potency.

• Wild Altar - Arrange collected items as an outdoor altar to honor nature.

𖥞Crafting with Your Foraged Finds

• Herbal Magick: Use dried herbs to dress candles or as offerings.

• Herbal Bundles: Dry herbs for smoke cleansing.

• Infused Oils: Steep plants in oil for anointing and spellwork.

• Herbal Incense: Crush dried herbs for loose incense burning on charcoal or craft your own cones/sticks.

• Tinctures & Teas: Brew magickal potions for healing and intention-setting.

• Spell Jars & Mojo Bags: Combine dried herbs with crystals and charms for long-lasting magic.

𖥞Harvesting Herbs for Drying

• Timing Matters - Gather herbs in the morning after the dew has dried but before the sun is too hot.

• Lunar Harvesting - For extra magical potency, harvest under a full or waxing moon.

• Use Sharp Tools - Cut herbs with scissors or a boline to avoid damaging the plant.

𖥞Methods of Drying Herbs

Hanging Method (Best for Sturdy Herbs)

• Gather small bundles of herbs and tie them with twine.

• Hang upside down in a dry, dark, well-ventilated space.

• Avoid direct sunlight, which can weaken magical properties.

Drying time: 1-3 weeks.

Flat Drying (For Delicate Leaves & Flowers)

• Spread herbs in a single layer on a mesh screen, paper towel, or cloth.

• Keep in a dark, dry place with good airflow.

Drying time: 5-10 days.

Oven Drying (For Quick Drying)

• Set the oven to the lowest temperature (around 100-150°F or 38-65°C).

• Place herbs on a baking sheet and leave the oven door slightly open.

• Check every 10-15 minutes to prevent burning.

Drying time: 1-2 hours.

Dehydrator Method (Efficient & Even Drying)

• Place herbs in a dehydrator at a low setting (95-115°F or 35-46°C).

• Dry until leaves crumble easily.

Drying time: 4-12 hours, depending on the herb.

𖥞Storing Dried Herbs

• Glass Jars: Store herbs in airtight glass jars, preferably tinted to block light.

• Labeling: Always label with the herb name and date of drying.

• Cool, Dark Storage: Keep herbs away from sunlight and moisture.

• Energetic Cleansing: Charge dried herbs with moonlight or crystals before use.

𖥞Herb Foraging Schedule (Midwest)

🌷Spring:

• Dandelion

• Stinging nettle

• Hemlock

• Violet

• Chickweed

• Foxglove

• Wild onion/garlic

• Wild lupine

• Milkweed

• Lilac

• Black raspberry

• Tulip

• Wild plum

• Spiderwort

• Basil

• Trillium

• Yarrow

• Knot weed

• Plantain

• Lemon balm

• Mint

• Chervil

• Chives

• Dill

• Burdock

• Oregano

• Locust

🌻Summer:

• Wild raspberry and blackberry

• Elderberry

• Mullien

• Nightshade

• Lavender

• Rosemary

• Sage

• Purple cornflower (echinacea)

• Goldenrod

• Wild bergamot

• Datura (Jimson weed)

• Gooseberry

• Monarda

• Chicory

• Wild carrot

• Lily

• Queen Anne's lace

• Cutleaf toothwort

• Mugwort

• Wormwood

• Rosehips

• Purslane

• Mulberry

• Pokeweed

• Bittersweet

• American mandrake

🍄Autumn:

• Acorns

• Buckeyes

• Burdock root

• Hawthorn berries

• Pine needles

• Poison sumac

• White snake root

• Garlic mustard

• Black walnut

• Pawpaw

• Shagbark hickory

• Persimmon

• Witch hazel

• Juniper berries

• Cat tails

• Mushrooms

❄️Winter:

• Beech nuts

• Pine nuts

• Chestnuts

• Pinecones

𖥞Foraging Bones

Foraging for animal bones is a sacred practice that connects witches to nature, death cycles, and spirit work. Whether for divination, spellwork, or ancestral veneration, ethically collecting bones requires respect and knowledge.

Where to Find Bones:

• Forests & Woodlands - Look near animal trails, under trees, or in dry areas.

• Riverbanks & Lakeshores - Water can wash up bones over time.

• Fields & Deserts - Open areas may have sun-bleached remains.

• Roadsides & Farmland - Unfortunately, roadkill can be a source, but always ensure it is safe and legal to collect.

Ethical & Legal Considerations:

• Respect the Dead - Offer gratitude or a small offering when taking bones.

• Check Local Laws - Some areas prohibit collecting certain animal remains.

• Leave No Trace - Do not disturb entire ecosystems while searching.

Cleaning & Preparing Bones:

• Dry Cleaning - Brush off dirt and debris.

• Water Soaking - Soak in warm water to loosen soft tissue (never use bleach!).

• Hydrogen Peroxide Bath - Use 3% peroxide to whiten and disinfect bones.

• Sun Drying - Leave in the sun for a few days for natural purification.

Magickal Uses for Bones:

• Divination - Use small bones in casting (Osteomancy).

• Altars & Ancestral Work - Honor spirits with bone offerings.

• Talismans & Charms - Carry bones for protection and strength.

• Crafting Tools - Use bones for wands, runes, or ritual tools.

Foraging is an essential skill for a witch, as it deepens their connection with nature and provides access to fresh, potent ingredients for spells, potions, and rituals. Wild herbs, roots, and flowers carry strong natural energies that enhance magickal workings in ways store-bought materials cannot. Understanding the land and its seasonal growth also fosters self-sufficiency and sustainability, aligning a witch’s practice with the cycles of the Earth. Additionally, foraging strengthens intuition and knowledge of plant properties, ensuring safe and ethical use of nature’s offerings.

By embracing foraging as part of your craft, you not only strengthen your magickal practice but also develop a deep, sacred relationship with the land. You will discover that it to be its own spiritual practice, a communion with nature, and a fantastic way to spend your day. Happy foraging, witches!

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chaotic-zora · 30 days ago

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Domain of Volica/Volca (Lore and Timeline)

Pronounced: VOLE-KA

Quick Summary: Located near a dormant underwater Volcano in the Northern Akkala Sea, Volica is a Domain ravaged by recent political upheaval. Once flourishing reefs laid barren by over fishing practices, the Domain is now leading recovery efforts.

Volica predominantly focuses on the extraction of valuable minerals and materials from its underwater volcano. Ores are turned into pure metals by a smelting process and used to produce a variety of goods, and gems are exported or repurposed for their unique elemental properties.

Until recently the Domain was fairly self sufficient, being able to meet most of its own necessities. Now it must form alliances, or risk dissolution.

FULL LORE BELOW!

~ Origins ~

Volica's origins begin with a nomadic zoran mining community. For centuries these zoras traveled from place to place, mining in various regions for ores to barter with until one day they happened upon a dormant underwater Volcano (or seamount) abundant with materials.

Conveniently located several miles out from land, the zoras couldn't believe their luck. Because such a find meant no competition. Gorons sink (being well…rocks), Hylian's can't breath underwater, and neither can Rito! They'd be the only ones able to mine from such a find!

Unwilling to pass on such an opportunity, these zoras settled on a scenic cliff face bordering the ocean. In due time their little community grew, eventually becoming the flourishing Domain of "Volca" or "Volica". Lovingly named after the Volcano they so revere.

Wait a minute hold up- why are there two ways to spell the Domain's name? Well that's cause no one can fuckin agree on it, to the point it's become THE #1 most heatedly debated topic. Technical documents found in the Domain's historical library usually spell it as “Volica”, and Non-technical documents (think casual everyday history records or diaries) spell it as “Volca”.

Rumor has it these differences stem from disagreements between various founders. Some wanted to spell it closer to how it's pronounced. Others wanted to add flourish. And Slippery Dick (that's an actual type of fish btw)? Well Dick really just wanted to piss everyone off.

Silvyr: It's Volica.

Fen'an: It's Volca.

Nyvor: What about Volïca?

Thresh (whose illiterate): You three have been saying the same goddamn thing for the last ten minutes. Shut the fuck up.

~ Volica’s Top Five Professions ~

1.) Mining

Most common. Harvesting from the Volcano is considered a high honor, and is done so with great respect to the sea and earth. The zoras understand not to harvest in excess, as not only is doing so dangerous (tunnels need to be carefully reinforced, and require time to “settle” to prevent cave-ins), but taking excessively without being mindful of how said harvesting is performed can damage the mines, waters, and surrounding ecosystem.

Even if a mine is found to be abundant with materials, if said mine is dug too deep or begins disrupting the natural ecosystem/structural integrity of the Volcano (it may be dormant but that does not mean it is extinct) it will be abandoned in favor of starting new mining tunnels.

As one might imagine, Volcanoes are hot (and not in a sexy way)! To withstand these hot environmental conditions workers wear sapphire inlaid PPE. Imbued with the power of ice, this gem has become a trademark favorite of the Domain.

2.) Smelter Workers

Underwater mine tunnels require reinforcements (less so than on land mines, as water buoyancy helps maintain structural integrity by opposing the weight of rock). As the tensile strength of timber decreases within water and said material degrades quickly it is not viable to use underwater, so Volica uses stainless steel I Beams instead. To produce stainless steel for its mining and architectural needs Volica has smelting factories.

Using materials obtained from the mines, smelter workers use smelting factories to extract metal from melted ores. After a secondary separation process the “purified” metal is then placed into molds to cool and harden.

Smelters are powered by raw zoran strength and supplemented by heat from rubies, gems that harness the power of fire.

Want some imagery? Well imagine Iron Town from Princess Mononoke, and the factory powered by women, similar concept but BUFF zora power is used (these zoras are JACKED).

To be further elaborated upon in Silvyr’s Lore - due to the intense heat within smelting factories zoras with water magic are brought in to cool down workers and help prevent meltdowns. In Volica, all water magic users are born from one specific clann. Silvyr is from this particular clann.

3.) Food Gathering

Volica is incredibly dependent on its local reefs (located next to the Domain’s cliff face) for food. Roughly 85% of their food is obtained from the reefs by fishers, with 10% obtained on land by hunters, and the remaining 5% by trade.

Being near the Volcano has become both a blessing and a curse. Why? Well the hydrothermal activity of the underwater Volcano makes the waters of the Northern Akkala Sea an ideal breeding ground for a particularly aggressive invasive fish, the dreaded sizzlefin trout!

Accidentally introduced into the ecosystem nearly 200 years ago by passing merchant vessels, the population of this invasive fish has spiraled out of control, and completely driven out the native fish of the Northern Akkala Sea, leaving nothing but small fry and other inedible creatures left!

And you know what's worse? Volica zora can't eat sizzlefin trout, because they're inexplicably allergic to them!

Well, at least they’ve managed to prevent the sizzlefin trout from infesting their reefs. Nothing can possibly go wrong when your population is almost completely dependent on one food source…..right?

4.) Blacksmithing

With an abundance of materials available, blacksmithing has become a popular trade in the Domain. Blacksmiths produce weapons, armor, jewelry, decorations, and even PPE!

5.) Fighters/Defenders

Those who protect the Domain are placed within one of the two following categories;

Knights: More structured than their Warrior counterpart, Knights work within teams, are formally educated, disciplined, and directly employed under the royal crown.

Warriors: Less structured than their Knightly counterpart, Warriors operate independently (only teaming up with others if they so please). They are paid based on results/missions, and often utilize different/unique fighting styles and weapons. Those who train to be Knights and are deemed….unsuitable for the position (read: disobedient) usually become Warriors (i.e. Thresh).

Knights/Warriors are ranked by the color of their armor/accessories, which are: Silver (Novice), Bronze (Advanced), Gold (Expert), and Blued (Certified BAMF. This metal is blackish in appearance and a sign of prestige, for it recognizes the dedication and sacrifices one has made to protect the Domain. Few have earned it).

Blued armor is produced via a process called fire bluing. To blue metal, its surface must be polished to a near mirror finish. A Knight or Warrior shall polish the metal themselves before providing it to a blacksmith for bluing. This typically takes months to achieve, and is an age-old tradition performed to honor the steel that will adorn their scales for the rest of their life.

Those who achieve such a status may also gift blued accessories to their mates. What a cool way to show you're married to a badass amiright?

~ The Monarchy ~

Structured as a typical Monarchy, the Queen and King rank at the top of society, governing with final say and authority. They are followed closely in rank by a council run and formed by Nobles, who once held the highest positions (diplomats, traders, right-hands, ect.) within the Domain (note, this was the structure before the coup).

Originally Volica had a fantastic queen. She kept the Nobles and her husband, the King (a zora who married in from another Domain to establish an alliance. It was not a great marriage), under strict control. She was outspoken, stern, and ruthless whenever the King and Nobles attempted to oppose her, favoring the people and their well being over those who ranked highest in society.

Then one day, she fell ill.

Over time her mysterious illness worsened, and with the ailing Queen unable to manage the King and Nobles, they began to favor profit over their people. This marks the beginning of The Reign of the Corrupt King.

Using bottom trawling methods, The King and Nobles began excessively harvesting fish from Volica’s nearby reefs, and selling off the excess for profit. The effects of this aren't immediate, but inevitably the reef's ecosystem becomes disrupted, and with the Nobles continuing to trade away what little food is being obtained for profit the Domain spirals into a famine.

Aha! Now I can go into the timeline and bring you up to speed about what happened and where things are now! But before I do, allow me to quickly introduce you to a few key characters, so you have some knowledge to put to their names!

~ Key Characters ~

Silvyr (They/Them):

Captain of Volica's Knights, Silvyr is regarded as a lethal, but slowly deteriorating weapon. They are intellectual, collected, and fiercely loyal with strong personal morals, favoring the well being and safety of their community above all else, even themselves. Their ability to wield powerful ice magic has consequently given them numerous health problems.

Post coup Silvyr retires as a Captain to become a Diplomat, Advisor, ect., essentially doing whatever tasks are needed of them to manage the Domain.

Thresh (he/him/they/them):

Volica's loose cannonball and top ranking warrior, Thresh is considered a menace by those who wish to control him. He is rowdy, playful, and incredibly social, getting along with virtually anyone and anything. He gets up to alot of mischief, thrives under chaos, and faces adversity with a smile.

Thresh is head over fins in love with Nyvor, his best friend of nearly 15 years who he has been relentlessly flirting with the entire damn time.

Nyvor (he/him):

A powerful healer and well-rounded medic, Nyvor is empathetic, nurturing, and altruistic. Recognized by many as a trustworthy individual, others tend to confide in him during their hardships. He has taken an oath to do no harm upon others, and is so incredibly pacifistic that he sometimes cries over having to eat fish.

Nyvor is head over fins in love with Thresh, but is incredibly dense.

Fen'an (she/her):

[FULL BIO + ART HERE]

One very strong gal, Fen'an is sociable, outspoken, and very feisty. She works for Volica's Rescue and Retrieval program, rescuing miners trapped in cave-ins and retrieving wounded knights/warriors during battle.

She's also a professional dancer, and dances for Volica's royal court whenever called upon. It was a great gig till the Queen fell ill, and she started noticing things.....did I mention she has a short fuse where it pertains to terrible people?

Necalli (she/her) (belongs to @vaquero-azul-art):

Standing at a towering 15 ft tall, Necalli is the most experienced and oldested warrior still on active duty within the Domain. Despite her battle worn appearance, she is incredibly charismatic and kind. Warriors frequently seek her out for tutelage, eager to learn from someone so skilled. She helped train Thresh, who later succeeded her in becoming the top warrior within the Domain. She is regarded as the unofficial "leader" of the Warriors.

~Timeline (where it all goes to Shit)~

Year 0

The Queen falls ill and the King and Nobles begin taking small steps to secure power. The Reign of the Corrupt King begins.

Year 5

Renowned for his healing abilities, word of Nyvor eventually reaches the Domain. The Queen herself sends a group of warriors to recruit him, hoping he'll be able to cure her of her mysterious ailment, and if not, slow down the progress of the disease.

Nyvor accepts the position, and he and his slither (sea krait equivalent to a pod) relocate to the Domain.

Small signs of disruption begin to show within the Domain’s food distribution system, and the King and Nobles seem to be opposing the weakened Queen more and more frequently.

Year 10

The Queen has fallen into a coma. Food shortages are occurring, a result of fishers returning empty handed more often than not. A famine is knocking at the door, barely staved off by new policies on food consumption put in place by the Nobles. Silvyr (currently Captain of the Domain's Knights) is becoming worried for the health of those around them, and begins to investigate, recruiting those they trust (Fen’an and @vaquero-azul-art seahorse butler Xipilli) and have access to the court's inner circle.

Year 17

The famine is in full swing. Zora are starving, the reefs ecosystem is almost destroyed, the miners are being overworked. Silvyr, along with others, suspect the corruption lies with one particular Noble who governs food distribution. They’ve been trying to get him tried for two years now, but the other Noble’s keep delaying it.

Everyone is discontent. Many contemplate leaving the Domain but upending one's life to move isn't easy, and there have been instances of zora leaving and getting caught, who were then punished. This has created a sense of fear and uncertainty.

Silvyr begins taking the necessary measures to formulate a coup (recruiting, planning, preparing, ect.). Many are aware, but wisely hush about it. There is hope, but how many will leave or starve before Silvyr is able to take action?

Year 18.5

Thresh is FED UP WITH THIS BULLSHIT. He is tired of waiting for Silvyr to initiate the coup. Silvyr, understandably, has to move slowly, less they and others get caught and hanged for treason, but Thresh is one very impatient and pissed off zora. So, in an act of anger fueled aggression, he kills the Noble (and a few others for good measure) who everyone thinks is the source of the problem.

Too bad he’s a terrible planner, because Nyvor (who was returning from the Queen’s room after his latest check up on her) catches him in the act. Utterly in love with Thresh, and desperate to protect him in the only way he knows how, Nyvor takes the fall for the murder.

'Even now....he treats me gently....'

This is all Thresh can think as Nyvor slowly plucks the bloodied blade from their hand. Nyvor’s motions are slow, and there is a gentleness to his actions that betray his hidden affections towards the small zora. If Thresh was not so overwhelmed with confusion, perhaps they would have noticed, but alas, this was not the case.

"Nyvor, what are you doing?"

The clatter of armor echoes faintly in the distance. Guards are approaching, and they are early in their check in rounds.

"Protecting you."

Thresh’s breath stills. They watch, stricken, as Nyvor moves towards the corner of the room, and brandishes their own weapon against them.

"Stop. Fuck! Don’t you dare-"

Nyvor's smile is kind. Loving. And his voice is soft. A stark contrast to his intimidating stature.

"It's okay Thresh. Everything is going to be okay."

Everything is not okay. No one believes Thresh when he says he was the one who murdered the Nobles, not Nyvor. Ever better with words Nyvor cleverly twists the facts to ensure the blame remains solely on him, and it works. The King and Nobles want him eliminated anyway due to his proximity to the Queen, concerned he will discover the truth behind her illness.

So they sentence Nyvor to death by cliff face (thrown over a cliff into shallow rocky waters below), and as punishment for "defending a killer", Thresh is tied up and forced to watch Nyvor be knocked out and thrown over said cliff.

In one last desperate attempt to save his best friend and love interest, Thresh uses a knife Silvyr slipped him to escape his bindings and flings himself after the other. He uses his body to physically protect Nyvor's head, and upon impact, takes the brunt of the damage and gets knocked out.

Miraculously they both survive, but get separated in the current, and Thresh wakes up washed ashore on North Akkala Beach, alone, and lost. Thus begins his journey across Hyrule to find Nyvor. This goes on for a year, and everyone thinks they're dead. Meanwhile in Volica....

Year 19

Silvyr is pissed. Their community is starving, their two closest friends (Thresh and Nyvor) are presumed dead, and they’ve just discovered a nauseating secret after reviewing Nyvor’s final medical journal entry.

The Queen’s illness is not natural.

She’s being poisoned. Something Nyvor discovered right before his sentence, and his primary suspect was the King. For the King is the only one permitted to be with the Queen unattended. Nyvor laments over the fact he did not figure it out sooner, but there was no cause to think a poison was being used in such a disturbingly calculated manner. How could he have known?

Silvyr, joined by Necalli, prepare to usurp the King and Nobles. They are joined by nearly the entirety of the Domain’s remaining workers, who are willing to stand beside them.

Year 19 to 20

Thresh reunites with Nyvor, and the two finally confess their feelings for eachother. Silvyr learns of their survival and tracks them down, bringing them home in order to take down the King. It is a violent overthrow. Silvyr and Necalli kill the King, and banish all the Nobles and their supporters.

When royalty is usurped, the one to kill the reigning Monarch becomes the next Monarch. Silvyr declines the title, but becomes somewhat of a shadow leader in order to keep the Domain running, and Necalli becomes the Usurper King.

Year 20 & Onwards (The Present)

With the Nobles banished, and many others forced into retirement (or not so politely asked to leave) due to their previous connections to the Nobles, the Domain is now lacking in skilled expertise.

This results in Silvyr holding a mixture of titles, including that of Volica’s only Diplomat. They do whatever is needed of them to prevent the Domain from collapsing in on itself. Because of this they are occasionally referred to as Volica’s Shadow Monarch.

Presently, Silvyr is running ragged trying to secure food sources and new allies for the Domain. Volica has recovered slightly, but has a long way to go. The entire Domain is on mandatory rations, all food is distributed proportionally (with additional considerations as needed and children who get extra meals) to every zora within the Domain regardless of who they are.

Necalli hates being King, and is actively trying to dismantle the system so it is more egalitarian. In fact a majority of Volica is now wary of those born into royalty, including Silvyr, who finds interacting with most royals mentally exhausting.

Thresh and Nyvor court for six months and then get married.

The Queen passes away not long after the coup (in her sleep by natural causes). Up until her death she was visited every day by various zoras, telling her news of the Domain’s, albeit slow, recovery. It is believed she held on as a way to prevent the King from securing the last line of power, and once she knew her Domain was on a better path finally allowed herself to rest. Still respected and loved, the entire Domain attended her funeral to wish her good tides on the other side.

Andddddd ruh oh 60% of the Domain's population is now food aggressive!

#zora #zora oc #loz #loz zora #itssse LORETIME #volica #domain expansion zora obsession #I've had the domains lore scattered about in my notes and brain for almost a year now #its very satisfying to have it all condensed in one spot now #also shout out to the domains Volica has already formed an alliance with my lore will be rewritten at a later date to acknowledged that !

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