#Healthy Living Re-set

[thecoachingdirectory]

Want to create a healthier and happier you? You are invited to our upcoming event 12 Week Healthy Living Re-set this coming 29/01/2024, 8:00 pm-21/04/2024, 9:00 pm. This is a program that provides you with a framework to live a healthy and happy lifestyle and not succumb to a diet or all-or-nothing mentality. Don't miss this opportunity! Register now!

[bettsfic]

today is my birthday! i’m 33 today and i have done an ungodly amount of stupid shit in my life that honestly probably should have gotten me killed. so here are 33 hard-won things i’ve learned that i wish someone had told me sooner.

whenever you buy an object, you are going to own that object for your entire life unless you make the conscious decision to throw it away or give it a new home. maybe other people don’t struggle with this as much as i do, but i’ve grown to become a little exhausted by finding a thing and realizing i don’t want it anymore, but i don’t have the energy or motivation to do anything with it. signed, a woman with a packed 10x10 storage unit who is now extremely hesitant to buy new things.

food, and by that i mean good food (and by that i don’t necessarily mean healthy food, but food of good quality that you love), is necessary to live, and buying it, preparing it, and eating it is not a chore. the sooner you accept this and make food a priority in your life, the healthier you’ll be. 

speaking of food, not everything you buy should be the cheapest version of it. personally i’ve found it’s always worth it to splurge on good olive oil, butter, and canned tomatoes. for years i thought i was an awful cook because i was cooking with cheap, disgusting olive oil that made my food taste like shit.

speaking of food part 2, i can’t BELIEVE how long this took me to figure out, but mise en place is the real real. get your shit out and organized and prepped *before* you start cooking, even if it makes things take longer. and yes, it is always worth it to do the dishes as you go, which pisses me off.

when i was teaching myself how to cook and feeling daunted about it, the best advice i ever got was to aim to learn 15 recipes and then put them in rotation.

this is the most horrific and awful truth i have forced myself to accept: there may come a day you can no longer digest your favorite foods, and you will either have to stop eating them, or remain very close to a toilet. i’m sorry.

other people are always going to misperceive you and misunderstand you, sometimes willfully. other people’s opinions of you don’t actually have anything to do with you. they’re not your business, and you don’t have to worry about it or change yourself.

when innocuous or neutral things make you irrationally angry or upset, step back, realize you’re having a big reaction, and then when you’re ready, pay very close attention to the thing that upset you, because you’re about to learn something important about yourself.

a pill sorter can save your life. i don’t know how i managed my meds without one.

sometimes college is about learning stuff, and not about becoming something.

no matter how many perfectionist tendencies you have, it’s worth it to remind yourself that no matter how much of a mess you actually are, you deserve to be loved.

if you’re always forgetting to do important but tedious things, set an alarm and set aside one hour of each week, not to do the important tedious things, but to assess what needs to be done, and *schedule* the important tedious things for the following week. this literally changed my life.

during that hour, make a meal plan too. the point of doing this is condense the time in which you’re making decisions (what to do, what to eat, etc) so you don’t have to burden yourself with them throughout the week. decision fatigue is real. any way you can alleviate that is a good thing.

learn the difference between aggressive, passive, passive-aggressive, and assertive behavior. recognize when you’re being one of the first three, re-assess and aim for being assertive, even if it’s hard.

you can tell you’ve processed trauma, not when the traumatic thing stops upsetting you to think about, but when the traumatic thing takes up the same size in your brain as all your other memories.

if you’re one of those people who never seems to finish projects or follow through with things, there’s a chance you may just grow out of it naturally. until then, follow your interests and don’t feel bad about putting down a hobby to pick up another.

if you love stickers but have sticker anxiety, buy vinyl stickers. you can re-stick them.

there are only a few careers i can think of that you have to commit to early in life because getting the undergraduate credentials is a pain in the ass (teachers, doctors, and engineers, from my research). nearly everything else you can switch to later, which takes a LOT of pressure off having to figure out what you want to do with your life.

people say there’s no money in becoming an artist, writer, musician, etc. actually there’s a ton of money in all of those things, it’s just in the stuff other people want you to make and never what you want to make. it’s still worth it to develop the creative skill and not force yourself into business school because it’s more “practical” or whatever. 

sleep when you’re tired. SLEEP WHEN YOU’RE TIRED. don’t beat yourself up about it, don’t tell yourself you shouldn’t be tired or that you’ve already slept too much, just take a fucking nap. you would never say “hm i’ve already had enough water today, therefore i should not be thirsty” so don’t treat sleep the same way.

when you build a piece of furniture from target or ikea or whatever, the first thing you should do is count all the little screws and things to make sure everything’s there that should be. it sucks to get halfway into putting something together only to find there’s a piece missing and you have to go buy it.

learn to travel by yourself, go out to eat by yourself, see a movie by yourself. in my early 20s i was scared to do these things, but i do them so often now i don’t even think about it. it’s the most fulfilling skill i’ve ever learned.

adding to the above, if you’re a people-pleaser, being alone is especially important, because you’ve probably developed the habit of making the people you’re with more comfortable and happy than yourself, and you’re missing a lot of the beautiful and interesting things around you. when you’re by yourself, you can focus on what *you* want without guilt. 

sometimes you’ll want to break things off with a friend for reasons that are no one’s fault, and you don’t want it to be volatile or make a big thing of it, in which case the goal is to simply fade out of their life. it is okay to let people go.

shame is useless. get rid of it.

no matter how much of yourself you put into your art (or writing, or music, or whatever), when people criticize it, they are not criticizing you. they are having a reaction colored by their own tastes and perspectives. their opinion of your work has nothing to do with you. you don’t have to take everyone’s feedback. in fact you don’t have to take anyone’s feedback. the other side to this coin unfortunately is that compliments don’t have anything to do with you either. it’s good to accept this because it means you’ll stop seeking validation from other people and won’t let anyone else’s perspectives impact your work. anything nice anyone says about your work is merely a bonus to an already good thing.

if you’re an artist of any kind, take one day a year to look up opportunities like grants, funding, residencies, workshops, whatever. put the due dates of all of them on a calendar for the year following and get into the habit of applying for stuff. getting rejected sucks, application fees suck, but in all the years i’ve been doing this, it has always, always been worth it. these things give you a chance not only to help fund and support what you’re passionate about, but they force you to take your own work seriously, and that is something that’s absolutely necessary in order to be successful.

you must become your own greatest advocate. in all respects--in health, in love, in happiness, in freedom, you must. no one will ever fight as hard for you as you will. this in turn will give you the strength and motivation to help others fight for themselves too. the only way the world will ever get better is if every person on this planet learns to see themselves as equals to everyone around them.

brag about yourself as often as you can. for one, people develop their perceptions of you based on how you treat yourself and speak about yourself. but for two, it’s the fastest way to figure out which people to keep in your life, because they’re the ones who are going “oh hell yeah, you’re awesome.” 

be the person other people want to brag to.

at some point in your life, someone is going to hurt you, and it’s going to be willful and intentional. it is not worth it to waste brain space figuring out why they did it or why you think you deserved it. all you have to do is let yourself feel that pain, acknowledge it, and try to move on.

no matter how bad off you think you are, recovery is possible. the first and hardest step is to learn you’re worth the time and effort it takes to recover from the awful things that have happened to you.

developing an expertise does not mean you’re getting objectively better at something. becoming an expert is only the process of seeing your mistakes and having the patience to sit in the discomfort of not knowing how to fix them.    

[adviceformefromme]

YOUR RE-SET

So your life isn’t looking and feeling how you envisioned. You see the TikTok and IG girlies living that life. You dream about luxury travel, pilates on a Saturday morning, drinking overpriced green smoothies, driving a sexy car, and living your fullest most authentic life…But in comparison, you’ve grown to mostly hate spending time with your friends, you’ve out grown them and notice how much they complain about life and generally are low vibes, you’ve spent all of this months wages already, and still have 2 weeks left until payday so your bank balance is no way supporting the life you dream of, to add, your dating life is a mess not consisting of your dream guy that provides for you. No, instead it seems too much effort for him to message back, let alone take you to that sexy spa you’re dying to visit. So in short your life is a far cry from what you want. The life you’ve created right now is absolutely not what you would want for yourself for the next year, or even five years. So in order to completely shift from where you are to where you want to be. You need a fucking RE-SET. 

The re-set is basically your metamorphosis. Think of being the caterpillar, heavy, slow sluggish (currently you right now). In order to become a beautiful butterfly you need to completely transform, undo, take time to reorganise so you can re-emerge as nature intended. 

The Re-set might look slightly different for everyone so take what you need from this: 

2-3 months stepping back from the people around you. 

THE CORE ESSENTIALS FOR YOUR RESET - A DAILY PRACTISE  

Meditating daily to clear you mind so you can hear yourself, your own voice and drown out any external noise. (I recommend insight timer app, or mind app both for meditations)

A journal, to document your feelings and emotions, empty your thoughts, and a space where you can become your own best friend and create a connection with yourself. 

Movement. - you need to move your body this is KEY, you might pick up running, stretching at home, pilates, yoga, HIT, whatever it is just fucking do it. Your body needs the movement to replenish its energy and move you out of stagnation. 

Healthy diet. Less alcohol more greens. If it’s processed, if its fizzy, if its sugar, if its cake, if its chocolate, if its ice cream (you get the picture), cut that shit OUT. You need food that supports you, cleanses you, energises you in order to thrive and clear your energy. 

FAITH in something bigger than yourself. If you’re religious, great lean into your faith with prayer, scripture, faith music. If you’re not religious maybe you believe in the universe, the love all around you, faith in something unknown, something guiding you, protecting you, even if you believe this is part of your own psyche - lean into this. Your faith is your support system. Your faith is the unseen that will guide and protect you on this journey. 

The above might seem overwhelming, and it will be if you don’t already incorporate those things into your day already. The worst thing you want to do is try and do everything at once and feel disappointed when you don’t succeed. So start with one thing if that’s all you can manage and focus on doing that one thing consistently and then add from that. 

The purpose of the first 2-3 months is the cleansing. You want to start slowly removing what doesn’t serve you, and start creating space for yourself, your thoughts and visions so you have space to start planting new seeds of the life you want to live. 

What your first steps in your journey might look like: 

Saying no to going out for drinks with friends, instead you go for a long walks in nature listening to an empowering podcast, go home journal and meditate. 

Weekends might look like not seeing friends, maybe even family. Doing exercise, making healthy food, researching recipes, creating a vision board on Pinterest and doing a guiding meditation, affirmations and mirror work. 

Having a prayer practise, reading books/ passages that support you in your journey 

Deleting your social medias or even doing a detox day / weekend so you have a break 

PART 2 - COMING NEXT….(Here)

[igotanidea]

Boss bitch and a princess: JT x reader

Summary: grumpy and sunshine trope with a little twist :)

***

The sun shining though the windows were quite surprising, if not shocking, occurrence in Gotham. Most of the citizens were used to constant rain, fog and misery surrounding them from every corner of the place. Therefore, the sight of a nice weather, for once was about to make some people content and energetic, finally getting the motivation to do some work and move on in their lifes.

Y/n was not one of those people.

It seemed like everything she did, was thrive in the October like atmosphere. Not because of the charming cosy autumn mood, but because she was cold and ruthless. She didn't give a damn about sun, butterfly, girly dresses and all that feminine stuff. Which obviously didn't mean she was a tomboy. Things like clothes and makeup just didn't took much space in her mind, she was acing them effortlessly and efficiently.

Exactly.

Efficiency.

That was definitely one of her favourite words and most definitely her life motto. Deal with shit, break the obstacles and if you cannot go though the doors, go though a window.

A taskmaster, if you may. A corporate rat. Ambitious, ruthless and unapologetic.

She woke up alone in her bed, just like every morning, immediately starting her routine of a few yoga poses, five minutes of meditation, ten minutes of setting her priorities for the day and getting into the right mindset.

She made herself a healthy breakfast and took a taxi to work.

The second she entered the building, her assistant caught up with her reminding y/n of the daily schedule, meetings, briefings and points on the checklist.

Obviously at the end of the day everything and then some was done. Including reprimanding her subordinates about being lazy and uncompetent.

In a mood she went home.

Opening the door.

"Hi baby." a little hoarse voice came from the kitchen.

"Jason!" she cried out happily, immeditely throwing her bitch boss attitude out the window. "You're back!" in a blink of an eye she was in his arms, kissing all over his face, hugging him and turning into a little ball of fluff, knowing her boyfriend was back.

"Whoa! Easy tiger!" Jason laughed wrapping arms around her waist.

"I was so worried when you weren't here in the morning!" she did not calm down even a notch. "I was thinking that something happened and -"

"I'm almost sure you just went on with your high corporate day and attitude without giving me a second thought, didn't you?" he teased, boping her nose.

"Hey, that's-" she started, his words strking her chords

"True?" he cut her off raising an eyebrow.

"Not fair!"

"But still true?' he pressed further and the roll of her eyes alongside with a pout gave him all the answers he needed. "don't do that or it will stay. would be a shame to waste such a pretty face, princess." he put one finger over her chin and lifter it out so she was forced to look into his eyes.

"You know exactly why I'm blocking it..." she whispered, getting a little nostalgic "I can't--"

"I know, I know. You've said it a million times. Emotions in your line of work are a deathbed." Jason mocked a little, empasising the fact that his beloved girlfriend had a tendency to overreact sometimes.

"It's true! You know it;s true! If any on my employees knew--"

"That you are soft for a guy?"

"That I have feelings!"

"Oh no! Look at you, you;re human and not a robot! How will you live with that?"

"And that's coming from a walking dead." she muttered, crossing arms over her chest and stepping away. "I hate you…"

Not for long though, when he reached for her in a practised move and pressed his lips to her ear.

"No, you don't princess..." his lips ghosted over her temple

"Yes I do...?"

"Really? Do you?" he moved to kiss her neck, softly, but teasingly "Cause the way you shivering right now make me think otherwise."

"Jason--"

"I know, I know... you love me so much my little grumpy." the grip on her waist tightened and he pulled her closer. "You've been lonely and that's the reason for the sourpuss mood, isn't it? Let me make it up to you..." another argument making her melt took a form of running hands all over her back, from the shoulders and down to the rear.

"You know what I like..." she responded with a hint of mischief in her voice.

"that I do..." he scooped her in his arms and carried her to the couch.

***

Half an hour later Y/N was splayed on the couch with the face mask on, hair freshly washed by Jason himself and her legs on his lap, having full control of the remote. In her own belief, this was the greatest torture she could impose on her boyfriend.

Little did she know, that is was his greatest pleasure.

Pampering her in all the million little ways. Using the most mundane, tiniest example of self-care (or rather boyfriend's care) as a way to spend time with her and have multiple excuses to touch and feel her close. Not that he needed excuses, but getting her to agree to this softness was not always easy, given her charcter.

Even that had to be somewhat productive.

But once she did agree?

Hours.

She would be glued to the spot for hours, letting him please her, comb her hair, apply skin care products on her face and body.

Finally sheding her work attitude.

Becoming his princess once more, cause with him - her deeply hidden, secretive sensitive part was safe.

[yridenergyridenergy]

Dir en grey interview translation notes around The Devil In Me

Just some of the more interesting bits from the single's booklet and from PHY vol. 25.

Kyo

He was the one who came up with the title, and the title was determined before they even attached a song to it. The band basically decided to set a date for a new single ahead of time, not too long after 19990120's release, then they had just one song selection meeting (usually, they have three) to pick a song to work with toward becoming "The Devil In Me". After scheduling a release date, they had to pick a title before even knowing what song would be part of that release for production/logistical reasons.

Kyo wrote the lyrics of The Devil In Me based on his sense of dissociation from world events, how his own issues are not aligned with what the world cares about. He finds that people's lives are sometimes pre-determined the moment they are born. It's really a reflection on: "Why am I the way I am?"

The chorus has so many layers because Kyo wanted to illustrate that inner evil, or wickedness.

While re-recording Yokan, Kyo realized that he used to sing in short bouts, taking a breath more regularly, whereas he's evolved to sing as much as he can in a single, long breath now.

The small changes made to the lyrics of Cage just serve to help Kyo feel more immersed in that old poem, but if he'd wanted to change the lyrics to represent his current mindset, clearly he would have composed a completely new, different song.

Kyo commented in PHY vol. 25 that if the producers wanted a band that sells a lot, they would have had to replace him with someone who is taller, has a nice face and that composes songs that appeal to a wider audience. But around their debut, Kyo had to bend to some of the producers' demands because he had to rely on their knowledge of what would make the band successful. He wanted to make a very dark band, but he had to accept to make songs like Yokan.

"It wouldn't be appropriate to sing about corpses and internal organs to a melodious song such as Yokan (lol)."

Kyo feels like Dir en grey is the toughest band for him to be a part of, because the band's shows are especially mentally difficult.

Kaoru

The music of The Devil In Me was Kaoru's idea.

Kaoru agrees that the song kind of ends in a way that the band could have, in the past, followed up on with a second section of the song, but they felt like ending it in a more simple way now, which still represents the band's current state.

Die

The band had a discussion in a dressing room during Tour23 Phalaris Final –The scent of a peaceful death- and that's where they came to an understanding of where they wanted to take the band next. Kyo brought them ideas on what he felt that the next single song should sound like, but in the end, at the selection meeting, the majority of the band chose a completely different song than the other of the 5 that Kyo preferred. He's fine with letting the majority win.

Die started working out in 2018 to make sure to stay in shape for stage performances, and I think that he mentioned that it's important for him to appear young and healthy so that the fans who follow the band also don't feel old.

For Die, he was in part less active on stage during the Dum Spiro Spero era because the songs were dark and complex, so he had to focus more. Because of that, he couldn't enjoy the actual shows as much.

Toshiya

Toshiya mentioned that doing commemorative tours and shows is really just fan service.

Toshiya described Dir en grey as a group of five dictators. Their enemies and friends/allies are all inside that group, and the past 25(+) years have been a continuation of challenges to bring the band forward despite this type of chemical reaction between five egos.

Apparently the band never has casual "weird" conversations where they chat about their interests of the moment, but they quietly observe the others without interacting, like by observing what kind of clothes they wear or are into.

Shinya

Contrary to the band's habit, the vocals did not even exist yet when Shinya had to compose and record his drumming for The Devil In Me. When the vocals were eventually recorded, they kind of matched what Shinya had expected.

However, overall, a couple of members of the band feel like The Devil In Me might be a song that people react to with: "I don't get it", rather that just liking or disliking it.

Shinya dissing The Marrow of a Bone again hahah.

Shinya described The Devil In Me as mysterious, inexplicable.

He started taking some lessons from Buck-Tick's "Anii" (Toll Yagami) to learn a new drumming method. In the past, at the very beginning of his career, Shinya used to wear lead weights at his ankles to hit the pedal heavier and develop muscles, but Yoshiki and other seniors told him how to actually play and he quickly got rid of the weight belts.

[scarletwinterxx]

fool for you - mark lee dad scenario

a bit late to this but OH MY GOD MARK LEE GIRL DAD😭🥺😭🥺 we already know he's going to be the best dad to his kids in the future🤍🤍

you already know my feels went through the roof after seeing that cli[ so here's another mark dad scenario and can you believe this is the 10th one OMGGGGGG anyways i hope you like it!

part1: day with dad mark lee

part2: another day with dad mark lee

part3: a day with the lee's

part4: (prologue) i don't know how to make eggs

part5: glitter pens and goodnight kisses with the Lee's

part6: first love and kisses

part7: naps and baby kicks

part8: then there was three

part9: just like you

For my other works you can check them out here, and for my other story series’ you can check them out here.

and if you want, u can buy me coffee(totally optional but any donation is very much appreciated!) thank you🥺💛

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2024 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

(gif not mine, credits to rightful owner)

"in my next life, I think I'll become a fool for my daughter"

"Lovie, can you stay with Minjee? I'm just going to the mall with Minjung to get new shoes and a few other stuff for the baby" you tell your husband who is currently on the sofa resting.

It's around that time again when you're counting down the days until the new baby comes, this time the two of you choose to keep the gender a surprise. You won't find out until you give birth. There's an on going bet in your household whether it'll be a girl or a boy.

"Why don't I come with him? You sure you okay to go out?" he asks, watching you struggle putting on your shoes. He chuckles before walking toward you, kneeling down to put it on for you even double tying the shoelaces just to be sure.

"It's okay, besides the doctor said it's healthy to walk around. And we both know it'll be easier to look after Minjung then Jee" you laugh, your husband agreeing with you

"She's the main character, we're all just living in her world" he says

You smile at Mark, giving him a kiss before getting your purse and keys.

"Call me if you need anything" he tells you

"Minjung, let's go" you shout, your son appears from the staircase ready to go

"You already know, buddy. Take care of mom, okay? Call me if something happens" he gives his son a quick hug before watching the two of you drive away

The two of you finished the errands and is now getting a quick snack before heading home. You like having one on one time with your kids. It helps you keep a closer relationship with them. And even though you know the two siblings get along very well, you still make it a point to spend time with them one by one. And so does Mark.

"Is there anything else you need, buddy?" you ask your son

He shakes his head, taking a bite of his sandwich. You smile watching him, it feels just like yesterday you were sitting in the backseat with newborn Minjung in the baby car seat on your way home from the hospital and now he's 13.

"How do you feel about getting another sibling?"

He looks at you, it's like looking at Mark's eyes. They same round, adorable chocolate eyes you love so much.

"Excited. It'll be cool if it's a boy. I'll teach him to play basketball and bike. It's okay too if it's a girl" he shrugs

"You know mommy and daddy loves you very very much"

"I know, I love you too" he smiles back at you

When you get home, Minjee welcomes you excitedly asking if you got her a cakepop which Minjung hands over to his sister

"Wah thank you, oppa! Dad look oppa got me a pink cakepop!" she screams excitedly, running to wherever Mark is. You and Minjung follow her, Mark in the kitchen getting dinner ready

"Cool, but you can have that after dinner okay? Na uh don't give me that look, missy. I ordered chicken just like you asked" the father-daughter banter continues

The two siblings help set up the table while you stay in the kitchen with Mark, "How did it go?" Mark asks you

"Good, we had fun. You sound like you had fun too" you joked

"I swear she knows how to make me says yes" he mumbles, you walk towards him, giving him a side hug

"You love her" you tell him with a chuckle and a kiss on the jaw

"That I do. I'd do anything for our kids" he says, looking down at you. He kisses you on the nose, eliciting giggles from you before breaking away

"Okay, dinner time!"

After dinner and everyone finished with their night time routines, it's finally time to call it a night.

You lay on your side of the bed, getting the pregnancy pillow ready

"Can I keep that after?" Mark asks, you watch him step out of the shower. Towel hanging on his hips while he dries his hair with another

"No" you tell him with a tight smile, Mark laughs before walking towards the dresser to get clothes

"Oh come on, let me enjoy the view some more"

"Woman, you are already pregnant" he tells you, playfully throwing the towel he was drying his hair with towards you. He puts on his sleeping shorts, leaving the shirt behind. He goes out the room to check all doors before going to bed

He turns towards you, the two of you face to face.

"Just a few more days and it'll be five of us" he whispers. His hand resting on your belly

"I'm calling it, this one will look like you again" you tell him

"You love us"

"That I do, I love you and all versions of you. Especially the little humans we made" you smile at him. He scoots closer to kiss you. Kissing you on the lips then on your cheeks a few time until you were laughing.

"Okay, time to rest. Goodnight, baby. I love you" he tells you

"Love you"

Minjung woke up to something poking his back, groggily looking to see Minjee

"Jee? What?"

The girl hiccups, still crying. This woke Minjung up more, sitting up on his bed and turning the bedside light on,

"Why are you crying? Did you have a bad dream?" he asks

"Will mom and dad not let me live here when the baby comes?" she asks, her tiny voice breaking

"What? of course not" her brother immediately answers. He gets out from under the blanket to hug his sister, wiping a few tears running down her face

"When you were born, I was so excited. Dad took me to the hospital to meet you. You had this big bow on, you were crying a lot too" he tells her

"You were there?" she asks

Minjung smiles "Yea, dad even helped me to carry you. You were really tiny. When the new baby comes, we'll go together to meet them"

"Will you still play with me when they come?"

"Of course I will, we're bestfriends right? You gave me this" he says, showing the beaded bracelet Minjee made for him. Similar to what she's wearing.

"You promise? You'll still get me cakepops?"

"Of course, pinkypromise"

The two siblings lock pinky fingers, the younger one finally smiling.

"Wait here okay?" Minjung says before going out of his room and carefull walking towards his parents bedroom. Knocking lightly before going in.

He walks towards Mark's sleeping figure, tapping him awake

"Huh what wha huh?? Minjung? Are you okay? What's happening?" Mark asks, sitting up immediately

"What time is it?" he asks, looking for his phone to see it's 2am

"Minjee woke up crying, she's in my room now"

Mark stands up carefully, looking over at your sleeping figure before quickly putting on a shirt and walking out with Minjung

"She okay? bad dream?"

"No uh it's about the new baby"

His son didn't need to elaborate anymore, already getting a hint why his babygirl was crying.

When the two walks back to Minjung's room, Jee still sitting there.

"Hey, Jee. Come on, dad will come with you. Goodnight buddy, thank you for being a good brother" Mark tells his eldest, kissing him on the head before stepping out of the room with the younger one

"Do you want warm milk before going back to bed?" Mark asks the 6 year old girl, getting a no from her

When they get to Minjee's room, the two sat on the bed

"Are you sad right now?" Mark asks his daughter

"Will you still love Jee when the baby comes?" Jee asks and Mark crumbles

"Oh my girl, of course I will. I'll love you longer than forever and that's a long long long time. You'll always be my princess. Even after the new baby comes, mom and dad might need to spend more time with them but that doesn't mean we love you and your brother any less" he tucks her hair behind her ear, pinching her cute round cheeks she definitely got from you.

"Can dad have a hug?" he opens his arms, Minjee scooting in her father's embrace

"Always remember, dad loves you so so much. I'd give you the moon and all the stars if you want. If you ever feel sad you can come and talk to me okay?"

He feels the younger one nod. Tucking her in bed, giving her a kiss on the forehead before calling it a night (again)

When he gets back to your room, he slides under the sheets then he feels you search for him

"Min?" you mumble

"Here, baby. Go to sleep" he leans over to give your temple a kiss. He sees a sleepy smile on your lips before your heads goes down on the pillow again.

Just like that everyone was asleep again, but before he fades into dreamland he says a silently thank you to heaven for this life. Ready and excited to face tomorrow with his family.

[thatonejumbledmess]

So I got this random ass DCxDP Idea out of nowhere, so just hear me out for a second.

Vlad steals the infimap again, tells it to take him to his future, he ends up on this random ass mountainside in what seems to be the middle of the Himalayas. Danny gets sent by Clockwork to go retrieve the infimap. By this time, Vlad has discovered an odd pool of ectoplasm just through one of the caves in the mountain he'd landed on. It seems different from usual, but doesn't have enough time to inspect it before Danny shows up and re-claims the infimap and leaves Vlad there, he'd been oddly more violent, especially after seen Vlad with the pool of ecto.

Noting the location of the odd pool of ectoplasm, Vlad attempts to return to Illinois, only to find that he's several hundred years in the past, rather than just somewhere in the Himalayas in current time like he'd thought. He's now stranded here with no way of getting back to his own time, as the technology to even attempt to do so wouldn't exist until at least the 1980s. So, he returns to the pool of ecto to try and figure out what to do.

Eventually, he decides to gain power for himself in this time, he changed his name, starts a cult surrounding himself and the pool, gathers resources using his powers, and has his new subordinates build a tenple for him around the pool. His subordinates need to be able to defend him, so he hires a master swordsman to teach them how to weild weapons, he ends up following alongside the lessons either from afar, invisibly, or both, so he can claim to have known this skill all along. Slowly, the group expands, and someone attempts to kill Vlad. He sicks his now assassin level subordinates on the attacker, and thus, the League of Assassins is born.

All is well as Vlad waits patiently to catch up with Time. He'd found out early on that the pool he'd dubbed the Lazarus Pit could heal the sick and kill the healthy, so he used this as an excuse for his ghostly immortality. He ends up having a couple of paramors and a couple of children, which makes his core sing. Then, oddly enough, a young man shows up to request training from the group, he almost looked enough like Danny that Vlad had to take a second to realize that it was several years to early for the boy to have even been born; let alone a young adult.

Turns out, the young man was Bruce Wayne. This was certainly an odd turn of events, as it turned out Brucie Wayne was Batman. This revilation didn't bother him for long, and Talia had taken a liking to the man, so he instructed her to keep an eye on him.

Things were going well, Talia had been doing well keeping track of the fine detective. And had even coerced him into a relationship with herself, that might prove rathar useful down the line. Danny was due to be born the upcoming year. And Vlad was making preparations. While he couldn't take the boy just after his birth, that would mean he'd never become a halfa, he could bide his time and become a part of the boy's life earlier on, and take him under his wing after the accident.

He wasn't expecting Talia to come to him and tell him she was pregnant. He tried not to think too much on it. He knew of Damian Wayne's existence, and this child was likely that same boy. However, what he couldn't get put of his head was the sudden revalation to how similar the youngest Wayne and Daniel looked. They were even the same age. He decided to put it out of his mind, but the thoughts were wrenched back to the forefront of his mind when he found out Talia was pregnant with twins. He didn't like this, Damian had been an only child as far as he knew, so why had things changed?

He became further concerned when he tracked down Maddie and Jack to attempt to re-insert himself in their lives, only to find Maddie wasn't pregnant. Something had changed, and Vlad was panicked. Somehow, Damian Wayne would now be a part of a set of twins, and Danny would either be born later than last time or not at all.

Vlad tried to look into when and where the change had occurred, but without complete knowledge of how the timeline had occurred before his presence changed it, he had no idea what could have happened.

That was until the birth of twin boys, Damian came out perfectly healthy. The second boy had been very sick, but Vlad would recognize those blue eyes anywhere. It was Danny. He immediately ordered for the infant to be placed into the pits to heal and promptly secluded himself to his chambers to have a mental breakdown.

This didn't make any sense! Daniel was Jack and Maddie's son! Not Bruce Wayne's! But this made all too much sense: why there hadn't been any photos of Daniel before age 8 in the Fenton household, how Danny looked just slightly different than his parents, but in a way that could have feasibly been explained by latent genes. But it wasn't latent genes, Daniel Fenton wasn't Jack and Maddie's biological son, was he? Then, the final nail in the coffin, Vlad was reminded of his and Danny's first meeting, the boy had immediately tensed uppon seeing him, and had muttered something under his breath, something Vlad had brushed off as an insult. But now he thought about it, his tone had been questioning, almost scared. Danial had called him Grandfather.

[sad-not-glad]

Just some ramblings

I love getting to see Bucky post recovery in fics. Getting the happy slow life he deserves, pretty little housewife (you) and a tiny chubby-cheeked baby. White picket fence, holidays, Barnses family reunions, because we all know Bucky would adore that. Welcoming a cat and another one of his mini-me’s, maybe two.

But what about after that? His oldest’s graduation, his youngest’s? I want Bucky who struggles to watch his babies move out, I want Bucky who is devastated to watch them leave but even happier to see them thrive. What about when he becomes a granddad?

So here is old man Bucky becoming a granddad after getting the domestic bliss he deserves.

It’s his birthday. What number, Bucky didn’t know, he stopped keeping track too long ago. Far more important was the roudy group of his grown children, scattered around the living room with their partners and childhood friends, extended family and the like. It’s been nothing short of perfect, great food and nice weather with all his favorite people shoved into one house.

All except for one, that is.

‘Little’ Eliana, the youngest of the bunch and the only girl. Even though she’s a happy and healthy 25 years old, she was still doted on by all the men, brothers and Bucky alike. She was the princess, the baby, the littlest duck in the row- despite being married for 3 years already. So it really shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was to him, but Bucky still saw a grinning little girl with dirty hands when he looked at her. Eliana arrived with husband in tow fashionably late, her present tucked away to the back to the pile amidst the chaos of being greeted. Bucky, being the birthday Dad, got the first and longest hug naturally. One that he savored, tucking his little girl into his arms and holding her close. He still couldn’t believe where life had taken him, finding his soulmate and settling down. Getting to watch his outstanding children grow and prosper in ways he never imagined, everything he never believed he deserved. But it was his anyways, and he had no idea just how much more amazing his life was about to become.

Every year Bucky insisted he didn’t need any gifts. He was the happiest he could imagine with just his family, all safe and sound in the same house. Yet every year, he got to unwrap a mounting pile of presents that just keep getting better. So far he got a new watch from his son, which was amazing. Something he had been really needing too. A cat tree from the other son, two new mugs, the softest blanket he had even felt. Slowly the pile went from huge, to decent, until there was only one left. Eliana’s, a tiny little black box topped with a cute golden ribbon. She always had adored her father’s arm, hours of her childhood spent marveling at the metal. Now the fascination presented itself in his gift wrapping, or the black wedding band on her finger. A mimic of the engraving he had done when he married you.

She passes it over with a nervous smile, immediately curling back into her husband’s side. Bucky took the gift with a grin and a thank you, settling back and carefully peeling away the paper. You’re watching over his shoulder when he opens the lid, tossing it to the side and revealing the contents within. A little folded square of fabric. He pulled it out, confusion clear on his face as he turned it over. He unfolded it, taking a second to process just what he was looking at.

A tiny baby onesie, and written across the front was ‘I’m not spoiled, my Granddad just loves me”. He blinked, turning it over in his hands and re-reading the words, then reading them again. You had already put together the dots, leaping from your spot next to him with a surprised shriek. For Bucky, it was taking a while to really set in, eyes locked on the little outfit in his hands.

His daughter was…pregnant?

He was going to be a grandfather?

…He’s going to be a grandfather!

The tears are falling before the poor man even realizes he’s crying. Because after everything he had done, all the pain and suffering caused, Bucky was lucky enough to now be a grandfather. He looked up when legs appearing in his blurry vision, and there she was. The girl he had read stories to every night, kissed her boo-boos and held her hand. The girl who he raised into a wonderful young woman, smiling at him with giddy excitement. Excitement over having a child of her own, creating her own family to love and cherish. His chest was practically bursting with emotions, all of them pouring out with his tears and laughter as he stood to sweep her in his arms again.

And needless to say, the onesie spoke the truth. If you think this man spoiled his children, it’s a whole other ball game with his grandkids. His wallet is their atm, stealing them away for weekends with Pop-Pop, giving them memories to cherish forever. He cries holding his first granddaughter after she’s born. He cries when the second and third come, and he’s inconsolable when your eldest son reveals the name of his own firstborn. Andrew Bucky Barnes, the fifth grandchild he gets to welcome.

Pop-pop who picks up his kiddos early from school just because he missed them

Pop-pop who never misses a thing. Holidays, birthdays, graduations.

Pop-pop who always has the best stories, the warmest hugs, and the fluffiest pet cat.

Pop-pop who all his grand-babies adore just as much as he adores them.

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

Minun and Plusle, assuming that you do not separate them. I would assume separately it's a bad idea but the pokemon do seem to do better together...

[While their pokédex entries do differ, I’m going to cover both plusles and minuns in a single post, since you asked about them both in your request!]

Plusles and minuns, perhaps surprisingly compared to many Electric-type pokémon, would make fairly good pets! Of course, you’ll need to take into account that they have a pretty unique set of needs, and could be dangerous in certain circumstances, but all-in-all their not a bad option among their typing and can even provide you with certain health benefits.

Both plusles and minuns are the perfect size to be a house pet. They’d have no difficulty getting around most living spaces, and transporting them without a pokéball would be no problem at all. They have a great temperament to be pets as well, given their incredibly social nature. Both plusles and minuns are natural cheerleaders; both pokémon are known for cheering on their partners and other pokémon by forming pom-poms out of electricity and cheering loudly, so rest assured that a pet plusle or minun would always be by your side, rooting for you whatever you do (Ruby - Plusle, Emerald - Plusle, Ruby - Minun, FireRed/LeafGreen - Minun). You really must keep in mind, however, that you shouldn’t let a minun get too hyped up in these cheering displays. While there’s little indication of this being a problem for plusles, minuns are known to shun their own safety (Ruby - Minun). Their little cheerleading displays are adorable, but make sure to keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t get too riled up and hurt themselves!

Now, like I said at the top, these two species of pokémon have some pretty unusual behaviors and needs, which may make their ease-of-care a little too low for some owners. For one thing, as has been alluded, these little ones are NOISY. They can short out the electricity that they carry in their bodies to make a variety of loud noises and brilliant sparks of light, and are known to do so even more when whoever their cheering for is losing or struggling (Ruby, Sapphire). If you live somewhere where you need to be wary of noise complaints, I’d consider a different pokémon. Additionally, bathing plusles or especially minuns is a whole ordeal: not only is it already pretty hazardous giving any south of bath to an Electric-Type pokémon without the proper equipment, but minuns have a distinct dislike of water, making it a whole lot more difficult to keep them clean (FireRed/LeafGreen - Minun). Finally, feeding either of these pokémon can be a chore. Like a lot of pokémon of their type, plusles and minuns feed off of electricity, which can get pricey. Peculiarly, wild plusles have a particular preference for electricity from telephone poles: using their impressive climbing abilities, these pokémon routinely drain power from their tops (FireRed/LeafGreen - Plusle). Keeping either of these pokémon happy and healthy isn’t going to be as easy as popping over to the pet store for food, which is going to make them too much of a handful for some owners.

Both of these pokémon, naturally, could be pretty dangerous in certain circumstances. Moves like Thunder Wave and Nuzzle can allow them to temporarily paralyze targets with electricity, which could easily prove deadly to those with certain medical conditions. Other Electric-Type moves like Electro-Ball and Thunder are no joke as well. Thankfully, it seems that neither of these pokémon are particularly violent and get along well with humans. That being said, you should always keep these kinds of risks with Electric-Type pokémon in mind when making a decision about adoption.

On the bright side, the passive electricity both plusles and minuns carry within their bodies does not seem to pose much of a threat to humans. In fact, pokémon academics have determined that exposure to the types of electricity each pokémon carries can have really positive health benefits for humans, such as muscle relaxation and an improvement in blood flow (Emerald - Minun, HeartGold/SoulSilver - Minun). These pokémon are surely used in tandem for different kinds of physical therapy for humans, and you could probably see some positive vitality outcomes if you adopt one of each species! There doesn’t seem to be any indication that keeping plusles and minuns apart has any negative impact on their biology or psyche, but the benefits of keeping together make them a great package if you’re willing to adopt two pets at once.

While, due to their typing, both of these species bring certain risks and difficulties to the table, their perfect size and personality, as well as the potential health benefits you may see after exposure to both, these pokémon could make a pretty good pet for the right owner.

[queerprayers]

any tips/advice for someone who is not catholic who wants to participate in lent? like how to choose what to give up etc?

Cheers to not letting Catholics have a monopoly on Lent, beloved! Last year I answered a similar ask that might be helpful. Here are the thoughts I have right now!

[CW: discussion of eating/fasting in italics] My most important note/disclaimer: Fasting is not for everyone. It is a beautiful tradition (for Catholics and non-Catholics) that can change people's lives, but if it's going to be a part of your practice, do it on purpose, knowing yourself. It inherently changes your relationship with food--and for people who have always had enough to eat, who have never struggled with disordered eating, who have never been seriously ill, there can be a solidarity and new perspective in fasting, in realizing how sensory experiences and comfort and mortality go together, how privileged you are to have the choice to go hungry. But for those who have struggled with food insecurity, or have lived through/live with eating disorders/disability/illness, or any other experience/relationship with food/the body that changes your perspective, fasting will often be a re-traumatizing or triggering practice that doesn't change your perspective so much as reinforce unhealthy ones. Something I think about: why fast if you cannot feast? Lenten fasting brings us to Easter feasting--if that's not accessible to you, if that wouldn't be joyful or affordable or healthy, fasting probably isn't either. Okay, all that said:

There is so much diversity in what a Lenten practice can look like, and I can't tell you what will be most meaningful for you, but I'll give you some ideas and some questions that have been helpful for me to ask myself! Lent existed way before the Catholic/Protestant divide, and exists among so many diverse communities, and there is a path here for you if you want one.

"Giving up something" is the most common language used for Lent--fasting technically refers to anything abstained from--and generally that's really useful! Jesus's forty days in the wilderness was time that he had nothing but God, and during Lent we can get closer to that experience. I give things up not as punishment or a test of self-control (those ideas trigger unhealthy behavior patterns for me), but as a letting go of something that is in my life but doesn't need to be, and may deserve reconsidering. Sometimes it's a bad habit, but sometimes it's just a conscious allowing of my life to grow simultaneously smaller and bigger. There is space for grief during Lent, but we're not just making ourselves feel bad--I've never found forced emotions to be spiritually helpful. Emotions come and go--we're doing this on purpose, and whatever we feel about it, we make space for that.

Ideas of things to give up:

eating out/getting coffee/buying drinks/little treats

impulse buying/nonessentials (you could pick a category, like clothes, or go all out)

alcohol/drugs/smoking (if this would be starting a recovery journey, I am not the person to ask for advice on that but please do seek help)

social media (you could choose one app to give up, or set time limits--it doesn't have to be all or nothing)

scrolling-on-your-phone time before bed/another time when you get sucked in

another form of casual entertainment (like TV/video games--again, you can limit this rather than cutting it out)

sexual activity (I talked about this here)

makeup/other appearance-related thing (I must confess I have considered doing this and always chickened out. I know that's because it would force me to rethink too many things, which is a probably a sign I should do it one of these years.)

a social habit, like gossiping or getting into arguments online

overscheduling/not having rest days (this is often unavoidable, but rest is necessary and holy, and perhaps this is the season for sacrifice in honor of rest)

single-use plastics/another environmental choice

Note: I don't think any of these things are inherently bad things. This is a list of things we can change/investigate our relationship with or have a season without them as a distraction, not things I think we shouldn't be doing or we should feel bad about.

One of the most important things I've realized is that so often I have given something up and not done anything about it. Like I didn't watch TV for forty days and was mad about it and then Lent was over and I watched TV again. Perhaps this strengthened my self-discipline, or made my life better in a way known only to God, but ultimately nothing happened. I didn't consciously do anything else, I didn't learn anything.

Now, when I give up something, I purposely do something with whatever space it leaves. If I'm not watching TV, what am I going to do when I would usually watch TV? Am I gonna pray? go to bed earlier? call my grandmother? Am I gonna cancel my Netflix subscription for a couple months and donate that saved money? Or maybe I'm gonna give up watching mindless TV, and find stories that resonate and make me think. Don't give things up to check a box, but to reexamine your relationship with them, make everyday things sacred, fill the space/time/money/energy you now have with God, and ultimately to set this time apart.

The other way of looking at Lent practices is things you can add. Often, as I mentioned, they go together--you can pair up something you're no longer buying with somewhere to donate to, or give up an activity and replace it with a new one. I always caution against Lent-as-self-improvement--obviously I can support improving our habits, but I've seen too many people use Lent to restart their new year's workout plans, and while exercise can be a way to care for ourselves, if new year's and Lent are treated the exact same way, what's different about this season? What makes this Lent?

One of the questions I've been asking myself recently is: What are you gonna do about it? When I'm investigating a belief, or learning something new, or reframing an old thought process, I ask myself: What am I gonna do about it? Lent is a path to Holy Week--something I and many others commemorate as the week when God was put on trial and literally killed. I genuinely believe God died and was resurrected--how does this affect my life? Believing something like that and not letting it change you is, to me, inauthentic. When I'm considering a belief, I think, if this were true, how would it change me? Would it lead me to Love? Lent (and Christianity itself) over and over asks us to do something about what we say we believe. Faith without works is dead--and faith is a work, something I do.

It's almost Lent, which is preparation for the Resurrection, which fundamentally changes our understanding of what it means to be alive--so what are you gonna do about it? Not because doing something will make God love you more or make you a "better person," or even because you'll succeed or change your life, but because how can we not? We are of course welcome at Easter having done nothing, but I can't imagine knowing what's coming and not letting it change me.

Ideas of things to add to our lives:

start a prayer/Bible routine--I can now wholeheartedly recommend (as a Protestant who connects with ancient traditions but not always Catholicism) Phyllis Tickle's Divine Hours books! For Bible study, I like The Bible Project's videos.

read a book--it can be anything that connects you with God! (I had a lovely experience with Lenten Lord of the Rings last year, and this year I'm properly going through the Quran)

pick a subject to research (theological or anything else)

start to attend worship services or commit to attending more--this could include going to several different places if you don't currently belong to a church

research places to volunteer for or donate to

do something politically active, like calling your representatives, researching the next local election, or attending a protest

donate to the next [insert number here] posts you see online requesting mutual aid

start a physical practice like taking a walk or stretching

write a letter or call someone regularly, especially with people you've been wanting to connect with more or have unresolved conflict with

start/commit to more regular therapy/other health treatment

ask for help--maybe you're the one who needs mutual aid, or reaching out to, or support cleaning your house or with your kids. there is no shame in this.

These are all obviously things we can be doing year round, and certainly we can use Lent as a season to start something we want to keep with us! I'd also encourage us to have something that's only present during Lent, or something that we do more or in a different way.

You asked how to choose, and I don't have a one sentence answer to that (...obviously), but perhaps in these days before Lent you can look at your routine/habits, the places where God is present, the things you do to distract yourself from life (not a crime--just something to be mindful of), and you can see where Lent might be able to come in and change you. The thing that's nagging at you that you know might be helpful, the thing you're not in control of and just do, the time you take up or the money you spend that might not be bad but also doesn't lead you anywhere. We can't expect every aspect of our lives to be purposeful and present, or to be continuously improving ourselves (in fact, that sounds terribly stressful and unsustainable)--but we can look around us. We can have a season that looks different because everyone I've ever known has a brain that craves ritual in some way--and either we do it on purpose, or we fall into it. Do something (or don't do something) a little more on purpose this season.

Another think to think about is what Sundays will look like for you--the "forty days" don't count them. There's no fasting on Sundays--my mom says every Sunday is a little Easter. "Sundays in Lent" is such an interesting concept because it's very much Lent, but the rhythm of our weeks breaks through. When I give up soda, I'll have one as a celebration on Sundays, but a prayer/reading practice I'll continue through. It's up to you and depends on what your rhythm/habits ask of you.

Ultimately, let God interrupt you. Let Them seep in the cracks of everything you do and let go of. To be loved is to be changed. Even the smallest thing--like wearing a cross necklace every day--can cause our lives to be filled with noticing God's presence. I keep saying to do this on purpose, but know that I find Them much more often by accident.

And an obligatory note: starting Lent late, stopping your practice halfway through, not meeting a goal, whatever comes up--Easter still comes for you. Lent is for paying attention, for making space, not for perfection.

I also want to add that while a lot of Lenten practices (including most I've mentioned here) tend to be personal, ultimately what is asked of us is interpersonal. We make space in our life and be more present in the name of Love--which we cannot do alone. If a practice is not specifically about other people (like volunteering/donating), ask yourself how it will serve the ways you love others? This isn't a trick question, just something to think about. Personally, my study of the Quran this season will connect me with my Muslim siblings through time and enable me to more fully love the Muslims around me, and my rhythm of the divine hours will connect me with the wider Christian community and center me as I go about my day, allowing me to be more present in my relationships.

Easter comes whether we're ready or not--and I don't think we can be ready. But we can look at the small parts of ourselves, set this time apart, see what we can change our relationship with, and perhaps when Easter comes, we will every year have come that much closer to understanding what it means to live out the resurrection by honoring the death that came first.

Wishing you a blessed almost-Lent, and praying for you and your practice (as well as all those reading this)!

<3 Johanna

[thecoachingdirectory]

Need help to elevate your health? Join our upcoming event this month from 29/01/2024, 8:00 pm-21/04/2024, 9:00 pm. This is a program that provides you with a framework to live a healthy and happy lifestyle and not succumb to a diet or all-or-nothing mentality. Hurry and register now!

[the-exercist]

Healthy New Year's Resolutions That Don't Involve Weight Loss

Instead of focusing on the same tired weight loss goals for 2023, let’s think about habits that could actually improve our lives. What has slipped during the past year? What are you missing? How could you better address your own needs, or the needs of those around you? Take this opportunity to really address the parts of your life that could improve and consider some of these healthy resolutions for the new year:

Reduce your alcohol consumption

Get more quality sleep/limit your sleep to 8 hours per night

Bring reusable bags when you shop

Eat vegetables at every meal

Wash your bed sheets weekly

Actually eat your fruit before it goes bad

Don’t watch tv or use your phone during meals

Support local food producers through farm shares

Donate to your local food bank

Take vitamins

Learn to knit or sew

Stretch and improve your flexibility

Volunteer as a caller for political campaigns

Concentrate on improving your posture

Set up a weekly board game night with your family

Replace your toothbrush

Educate yourself on basic home care and maintenance

Clean your kitchen and dishes after each meal

Stop biting your nails

Wear sunscreen every day you’re outside

Clean your pantry and throw out expired food each month

Quit smoking

Reduce impulse online shopping by creating a weekly budget

Put your laundry away

Cut down on the amount of plastic you use each day

Re-try foods that you hate, but haven’t eaten in years

Make your bed

Moisturize and remove your makeup before going to bed

Keep a journal

Tip service workers generously

Floss

Focus on purchasing goods from small business owners, not Amazon

Join a pen pal exchange

Set up that therapy appointment

Text your friend that you haven't talked to in a while

Small, actionable goals are key here. What can you start doing today to improve your life, and the lives of those around you?

[nasa]

What are Phytoplankton and Why Are They Important?

Breathe deep… and thank phytoplankton.

Why? Like plants on land, these microscopic creatures capture energy from the sun and carbon from the atmosphere to produce oxygen.

Phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that live in watery environments, both salty and fresh. Though tiny, these creatures are the foundation of the aquatic food chain. They not only sustain healthy aquatic ecosystems, they also provide important clues on climate change.

Let’s explore what these creatures are and why they are important for NASA research.

Phytoplankton are diverse

Phytoplankton are an extremely diversified group of organisms, varying from photosynthesizing bacteria, e.g. cyanobacteria, to diatoms, to chalk-coated coccolithophores. Studying this incredibly diverse group is key to understanding the health - and future - of our ocean and life on earth.

Their growth depends on the availability of carbon dioxide, sunlight and nutrients. Like land plants, these creatures require nutrients such as nitrate, phosphate, silicate, and calcium at various levels. When conditions are right, populations can grow explosively, a phenomenon known as a bloom.

Phytoplankton blooms in the South Pacific Ocean with sediment re-suspended from the ocean floor by waves and tides along much of the New Zealand coastline.

Phytoplankton are Foundational

Phytoplankton are the foundation of the aquatic food web, feeding everything from microscopic, animal-like zooplankton to multi-ton whales. Certain species of phytoplankton produce powerful biotoxins that can kill marine life and people who eat contaminated seafood.

Phytoplankton are Part of the Carbon Cycle

Phytoplankton play an important part in the flow of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the ocean. Carbon dioxide is consumed during photosynthesis, with carbon being incorporated in the phytoplankton, and as phytoplankton sink a portion of that carbon makes its way into the deep ocean (far away from the atmosphere).

Changes in the growth of phytoplankton may affect atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, which impact climate and global surface temperatures. NASA field campaigns like EXPORTS are helping to understand the ocean's impact in terms of storing carbon dioxide.

Phytoplankton are Key to Understanding a Changing Ocean

NASA studies phytoplankton in different ways with satellites, instruments, and ships. Upcoming missions like Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) - set to launch Jan. 2024 - will reveal interactions between the ocean and atmosphere. This includes how they exchange carbon dioxide and how atmospheric aerosols might fuel phytoplankton growth in the ocean.

Information collected by PACE, especially about changes in plankton populations, will be available to researchers all over the world. See how this data will be used.

The Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) is integrated onto the PACE spacecraft in the cleanroom at Goddard Space Flight Center. Credit: NASA

[tillthelandslide]

Happy Valentine's Day 💌 - Ross Macdonald One Shot

A/n: hiiiii lovers. I know this is a day late but I was at the show and having the best time. But I wrote this recently and wanted to post it before it's too late. It hasn't be re-read since I wrote it so apologies for any mistakes I'm just eager to get it out (before I end up re-reading it and deciding I hate it and then deleting it). Hope you enjoy my loves and hope everyone had the best Valentine's day ❤️

Her and Gabbriette have been hiding away in the kitchen of the current venue for around an hour now. Their giggles can be heard a mile away and the sound brings a smile to Matty and Ross' faces.

Y/n is covered in flour, the healthy kind Gabbriette bakes with. Usually she bakes with the most unhealthy of ingredients but today she agreed to follow one of Gabriette's recipes.

One disagreement between the two friends ended in laughter like every single one of their disagreements did. They couldn't stay mad at each other for too long. This time the disagreement had caused them to childishly throw said 'healthy' ingredients around the kitchen, flour and sugar landing on each other.

They both hear two sets of laughter and both turn their heads quickly to the noise.

"What is going on here?" Matty says, reaching for one of the heart shaped cookies the girls had baked. Gabbriette is quicker than him and gently slaps his hand away.

"Ah! They're not finished yet" she says, moving the cookies away from her boyfriend, allowing them to cool a little longer.

Y/n is quiet now, her laughter silenced by the presence of Ross, who hadn't taken his eyes off her, or the little patch of sugar resting above her lip.

Things between the pair had been a little odd recently. But to explain that we'd have to go back in our story, just a little bit.

Y/n had been Matty's best friend for years, which meant, she had also been in the rest of the band's lives for years. Things between y/n and Ross had always been... Complicated. He was smitten from day one, hiding his feelings for years until one day, one day quite recently, they had all come boiling over the surface.

Matty had introduced his best friend to his girlfriend, the pair becoming very close, very quickly, much to Matty's happiness. But the presence of Gabbriette caused y/n to slip from Ross' life slowly.

She wasn't around as much, always with Gabriette at some event or spending time in the trendiest of places.

Of course it made the times she was around better. He missed her and when she was here, chilling backstage with him and the band, he was content. She had arrived at this particular show with Gabbriette, she looked amazing, dressed in a pair of leather pants and a black lace top that ended at her belly button, revealing a slither of skin.

She looked beautiful, she looked hot and Ross was finding it exceedingly hard to conceal his feelings towards her.

He had a drink before the show hoping to take the edge off, and when that didn't work, he had another one. Two drinks (on an empty stomach I might add) had his lips loosening and his carelessness began to show.

She was making herself a drink when he found her, some fruity concoction that he knew he'd hate. She smiles when she sees him, he makes a direct beline for her and if has her heart quickening. He wasn't the only one who had been hiding his feelings.

His hand rests against her waist as he comes to stand next to her. The action isn't unusual for the pair but the way his eyes flick around her face, glistening with desire and longing, well that's new.

"What are you making sweets?" The nickname was something everyone used to call her when they first met, for she would always bake them treats here and there. It was forgotten for a few years but was brought back with the presence of Gabriette.

"A fruit cocktail" she says, smiling widely at the man. Her eyes take in his outfit, he looked good. She always thought he looked good, but especially tonight.

"How vague" he says with a chuckle making her laugh too. She lifts the plastic cup to her mouth to take a sip, eyes watching him over the rim of her glasses. She can't help but notice the way his eyes linger on her lips a moment too long before they're finding her eyes again.

She lifts the cup slowly towards him, offering him some. He would usually decline immediately, already Knowing he'd hate it. But his eyes fall to the rim, coated with her crimson lipstick and he finds himself agreeing with a nod.

She lifts the cup to his lips. It's like they're kissing he thinks. The way he feels the slight stickiness of her lipstick before he tastes the sweetness of the fruit. Some strawberry vodka mix that he actually doesn't hate.

She pulls it away and smiles at the liquid residue that coats his moustache.

"Like it?" She asks. He can't help but think about the fact he can taste her slightly. He definitely likes it. He nods slowly, eyes following her hand which slowly inches towards his face, thumb swiping across his upper lip. His mouth falls open then and she feels him squeeze her waist tightly, saving himself from gasping or lunging forward and taking her.

"Sorry..." She murmurs, lowering her hand slowly ,"you had some on your moustache" his hand closes around her wrist gently, halting her retreat.

He shakes his head, silently telling her she didn't need to apologize.

"Thanks darling" he says, his voice is sweet just like the drink and sickeningly slow. It has her own mouth falling open slightly, eyes flicking back down to his mouth.

His hand slips from her wrist down to her fingertips, intertwining with hers. Tingles shoot up her wrist, all the way up her arm.

"You look good tonight love" his eyes drop to her chest, down to her waist, across her thighs before they're back on her lips again, only landing on her eyes at the last instance. She can't deny that it's not the first time he's openly checked her out, but he doesn't usually make such a show of it.

It gives her whiplash. She wants to clench her thighs but that would be letting him know too much. Instead she tries to speak but he cuts her off.

"Really good" the emphasis has her breath faltering, eyes snapping up to his brown orbs before landing back on his lips. He was smirking.

She had seen that look before, the dazzling Ross MacDonald famous smirk. She usually wasn't the victim of it though. She usually had to watch girl after girl fawn over him whilst he smiled at her like that, she usually had to pretend like her heart hadn't just shattered into a million pieces.

He wanted nothing more for it to be her. Every single girl was just an attempt to get over her. Of course it didn't work. It was impossible.

She wonders whether to play along, he was being bold and so could she. She questioned herself for far too long, wondering if this would change anything. She then realises she's just standing their like a lemon with her mouth agape and decides she needs to say something. Anything.

"Someone's in a mood tonight" she says suggestively. That certainly wasn't the response she was expecting to come from her mouth. She was being flirty back and he loved it. would this be it? Would this be the moment everything changed?

"Oi Macdonald" someone shouts behind them. They both turn, Ross letting go of her waist and taking a step back, a large one.

"Have you seen my sunglasses?" Matty asks, completely oblivious to what he had just walked in on.

"It's fucking miserable outside why do you need glasses?" He snaps, clearly peeved, he then begins walking away from the pair.

"Someone's in a mood" Matty says following the bassist.

"you have no idea" yn murmurs to herself, hearing Matty shout "oi dickhead we've got a show to do"

That was two weeks ago and nothing even remotely similar had happened since. But now he's here, staring at her as if she was the only one in the room, hell, staring at her as if she was the only one on earth.

She hears a squeal from Gabbriette and her attention is drawn from the bassist to her friend, who was running after Matty, who had just stolen a cookie.

"Matthew!" She shouts. She hears Ross chuckle and she looks at him again. He's then rounding her side of the kitchen, fingertips carefully plucking a cookie.

"Don't you go stealing one too" she jests. He places the cookie down carefully, leaning backwards against the counter opposite her.

"No offence... but you'd have to kill me before I eat whatever that is" he says making her laugh.

"Prefer yours sweets' the comment makes her blush. His hands find the counter behind him and he pushes against it, coming to stand in front of her, one hand taking in her waist. She flinches and he chuckles "stay still a second' he says.

His thumb finds her lip, smoothing against it, removing the sugar that's there. What she doesn't expect is for him to place that thumb, into his mouth.

"sugar" he explains, tongue peaking through his lips to retrieve the last of the sweetness from the pad. She laughs a breathless kind of laugh. He doesn't remove his hand from her waist but his eyes flick around the kitchen, taking in the mess they made.

"What did happen here?" He reposes Matty's question from earlier. Once again she's speechless, much like that time before, and it takes her a while to reply. Almost too long.

"Gabriette and I had a slight disagreement" she says, laughing as she looks around the kitchen.

"This is how you settle your disagreements?" He laughs, gently squeezing her waist. She tries not to react, not to make so much as a gasp but ultimately fails. His eyes fall to get lips again and she does the same to him, his begin to move but it takes her a second to register what he says.

"What was the disagreement?" All words fall from her brain, she couldn't focus when he was this close. She could see every detail of his skin, the smoothness of his lips, she could feel every single breath he took.

His lips spread into a smirk, dimples showing and it prompts her to answer.

"I wanted to decorate the cookies but Gabbriette wanted to leave them as they were... Healthy option" she explained, eyes never wavering from his mouth. She really hoped Matty and Gabriette were settling their disagreement the way she knew they liked to... Because that would buy her more time, or at least another 10 minutes.

She didn't want Ross to disappear this time. She wanted to see what would happen.

"How did you want to decorate them?" He asks, she swears he leans forward slightly, because then the lips she's staring so intently at are right there.

She stutters as she speaks "pink and red icing, something simple' she says.

Ross is fascinated by the way her lips move, so pretty and perfect, like a heart.

"Valentine's Day after all" he speaks.

"it is" her words come out in a whisper. Her eyes flutter closed when his lips graze hers, one barely there movement. She wants to lean forward just slightly, one slight shift and his lips would press against hers, just slightly. Maybe then he'd press forward more and properly kiss her. Like they've both wanted all these years.

"I think you should do it" he says, she's unsure whether he somehow heard what she was thinking or whether he means she should decorate the cookies (likely the later).

"open your eyes y/n" he murmurs, his lips grazing hers more now, bumping against hers and causing her to gasp.

Her hand flies to his shoulder as his other hand not holding her waist finds her cheek.

"Open your eyes so you can see how badly I want to kiss you. How badly I have wanted to kiss you since the day we met" he says and her eyes are snapping open then.

Neither of them move for a few moments, she watches the way his eyes flick between her eyes and her lips. He leans forward ever so slightly more.

"Kiss me" she murmurs. That's all it takes. All it would have ever taken. His lips find hers and it's everything.

Every hair on his body stands on end, electricity runs through his veins. He's kissing her, finally kissing her and she's kissing him back.

Their lips mold perfectly together, their sighs fall effortlessly from their mouths, captured by the other. He takes her bottom lip in-between his and she pulls him tightly. He edges his tongue across them and she opens easily, finding his and making them both groan.

He pulls away slightly but continues kissing her, only stopping when he utters the words "I love you, I have loved you for so long"

"I love you too" she murmurs. They hear two squeals from behind them, two. They both sperate to find Matty and Gabriette jumping up and down.

"fucking finally" Matty says making them laugh.

"We should leave them" Gabbriette says.

"He's been pining over her for years" Matty says as they walk away.

"Years aye?' she says, gripping Ross shoulder.

"Oh shh" he says, smearing his lips to hers again, she laughs against them before she's kissing him back with equal fervour.

"Happy Valentine's Day" she says against his mouth.

"Happy Valentine's Day, sweets"

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[always-is-always]

The gifts of military service...

As hard as it was to see 12/12 arrive and to watch Jimin and Jungkook entering the base, 4 weeks later I feel much more peace about it.

Them being sequestered away from public view, away from all the sasaengs and invasive photographers, and away from social media is a gift. I personally believe that this break from public view will help them in ways that nothing else could.

All the pressures that lived on their shoulders as part of BTS are a bit less stressing, for 18 months. They can breathe and be simply human beings doing their civic duty. Yeah, all the people who surround them in the military know who they are, but the playing field is level, as they stand shoulder to shoulder with their fellows in training. A soldier is a soldier. Basic training is hard, yet it comes without the ongoing pressure 24/7 that they live with out in the regular world.

The other gift is obviously that Jimin and Jungkook are side by side, every day. They get to share the experiences and support each other through. That is huge. It will add depth to their already deep bond. It will build trust that already was that of a soul mate/partner/beloved. This experience can take them next level in their connection.

I'm sure they will have their moments where they aren't happy or perhaps they are disagreeing. That is what it is to be human. Any healthy friendship or partnership contains moments of discord. Part of a healthy relationship is the ability to be able to have the hard conversations, to talk through the disagreements, and to sort out differences. That leads to a stronger bond, overall.

On the other side of this re-set (time away from public view) we will get a stronger and more confident Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook. And, we will more than likely see a much stronger bond between them.

As much as I miss them I must say that I am actually glad that they have this time away. I am thrilled that they are sharing the experience. I am really really happy that they are free from the insanity that is happening online and in the fandom.

Most of all, I am simply grateful that they are safe, and that they are together. 💜

[indiaalphawhiskey]

Hii India

You already said a few things about Harry taking a break.. now that the last show is over and Harry saying goodbye over Instagram, what do you think?

A lot of people have the opinion he’s going to be gone for quite a while now. Whatever it is I’m glad he’s taking the break. For me it’s a confirmation that he’s still dealing with the mess that fame is in a healthy way and I’m going to be here for when he decides to come back. I’m going to miss him so much though.

And I would love to hear your take on things. Do you think this is a goodbye for a longer time period? Or is it more an goodbye for him, to be okay with the fact that things might never be the same as they were during this tour? That his fame is changing and he accepts that he doesn’t have to control it?

Hi, love 🩵

Hmm. So, I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this, but practically speaking, for the first time, the set up of a new stunt is a hopeful sign. If they’re finding a way to keep Harry in the press, however low the profile (🤞🏼), it’s for a reason. My hunch is that he is tying up with Loewe in some way, and in that sense, I don’t think it will be long ‘til we see him again, physically (however infrequently).

But, I also think touring is tougher than he makes it seem, physically, mentally and emotionally. I think all the things he realized during COVID, about being a better son/brother/friend (and partner) is a driving force in this seemingly more urgent need to find balance. It’s certainly a shift from the way he was working/talking during Fine Line, but I also think that’s the point.

He’s now in a very rare “natural” break in his career as a musician. We haven’t had any confirmation that he’s re-signed with Columbia (although I have no doubt that he has), so for all intents and purposes, he’s currently publicly free from professional obligation for the first time in a long time (at least in terms of his music) and that is going to feel very, very odd for someone who’s been working essentially non-stop (whether in the spotlight or behind the scenes) for over a decade. I think that novelty and sense of impermanence is something he’s trying really hard to embrace; to meet with excitement rather than fear. So, for the most part, I stand by my original thoughts.

But, if I can add:

I think Harry is the kind of person that is very aware of the gravity of fate and sheer magic that has gone into his success. You can see it in the way he talks about there being “no reason he should be getting to do this instead of anyone else” and how “we’re all the same” and “this doesn’t happen to people like me very often”. In this way, I think there’s a constant groundedness about his person and an acceptance of the vulnerability of his career and his success — in other words, he knows that lighting really might not strike thrice, and I think he’s preparing himself for that. There was a moment on the last Late Late show, when he was comparing himself to Will Ferrell and he said something like “Will has longevity and I’m more a flash in the pan” (untrue, but I digress) and what struck me about that line was how acutely aware he is that things can change for him at any moment. It’s similar to his “whatever people say about you, it’s not true. If people say you’re the best thing ever, it’s not true” quote on Howard Stern; like I think it’s one of the themes of his life, having to have a firm hold on reality so that the ‘inevitable’ crash is manageable.

He also seems to be trying to learn from the lives of other musicians/celebrities, and take those lessons to heart by applying them to his life and his work. in the end, I think what he’s trying to do is just accept that there are no guarantees; that he doesn’t know and has no control over whatever happens to the world while he’s away or what he’s returning to. I think the reason it sounds so definitive and scary and existential is because it is all of those things, for him. This is a big change, and he’s giving it its space and weight for the first time, because it is the first time he’s been able to say a proper goodbye (1D hiatus was rushed, HS1 went directly into FL, FL ended abruptly during COVID… there’s a pattern.)

Bottom line though, is that I know for certain Harry fucking loves music and touring. It’s a compulsion, for him. It’s in his DNA. And that’s why I’m not scared that he’ll leave forever, because I’ve always hard the feeling his music nourishes him just as much (if not more) than it nourishes us. He does what he does for himself, and we’re a bonus, and as an artist, that is the best reason to do anything and the only reason to keep coming back to it, regardless of the uncertainty that awaits him.

Not to make this novel any longer than it is, but I’ve also had a recent thought that occurred to me: Harry is 29, which means he’s currently going through his Saturn return.

I’ve asked my therapist (who is also an astrologist) for a bit more literature on Saturn returns, cause I’m super curious about how that might be affecting him. (For background, all my friends got married around the times of their Saturn return, and both my best friend and I picked up and moved halfway across the world during ours so at least for the people in my life, it seems like it is consistent with big change, and from the way Harry is talking, it seems it might be affecting him the same way.) I’ll get back to you. 😉🪐