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k7l4d4 · 4 years ago

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Owl House AU Ideas, fresh out of Spacebattles!

This here is a collection of ideas that I originally posted over on spacebattles, and sadly ended up not doing anything with. Let me know what you all think of them!

Idea THE FIRST!: Lost In a New World. The premise is that Belos does something that ends up destroying the Isles, with only a small portion of the residents making it off of the Isles to the Human World for safety, via Eda's Portal. The survivors are divided into those who lost faith in Belos or never had it to begin with, and those still loyal to him, with each side headed by Eda and Lilith respectively. To clarify, this all is supposed to take place BEFORE Canon. The destruction of the Isles results in shock-waves through the Human World in the form of tremors, with the resulting Chaos being enough for Camila to convince Principal Hal (I think I got the name right) to allow Luz to attend Summer Classes and a Therapist as opposed to Camp Reality Check, or expulsion. As a side-effect of the Isles' destruction, Magic has been released into the Human Realm, and is now gradually reproducing itself, though the effects aren't too noticeable by anyone right away. To gain info on how to best blend in with the humans, the two factions elect to send one of their own to a Human School in order to gather intel. The choice? Amity. (Gus through his hat into the running but was rejected when it became clear that he couldn't curb his enthusiasm)

Hmmm... I like some of this, and will clarify some points I deliberately withheld in my original posting to see what kind of response I would get. As for shelter and food, let's just say the destruction of the Isles wouldn't exactly be what could be considered CLEAN. Lots of random structures, plants, and animals fell into the Human Realm along with Magic, though not exactly in one piece. They were essentially consumed in a wave of magic, damaged as a result of it, transported to the Human Realm IN MIDAIR, and fell to the ground, with the left over magic from the transfer cushioning them enough for any damage to be negligible, if still highly unpleasant for those mentioned animals and plants. The residual magic basically sent the transported plants into a shock of growth, causing them to instantly put down roots, regardless of their orientation to the ground at the time. The structures... their state upon landing varied based upon the materials used to construct them, what state they were in when transported, and where they actually ended up landing. At least one Witch house ended up in a tree in the Amazon Rain Forest. Most shelter for them consists of whatever structures made it through near their arrival point, along with cooperation between what Construction and Plant Coven trained witches made it across, with Illusionists working together to keep suspicious folks away (for the sake of convenience, let's just say that some of each and every coven and a few outright Wild Witches made it off the Isles), and food is usually gathered through a combination of Plant and Beast Keeping witches, though they are currently trying to ration what they already have and have managed to gather. Initial long-term plans mostly consist of ensuring they can gather the resources they need to survive, and finding out as much about the Human Realm as they can to avoid possible conflict, with most contingencies being under-developed as a result of infighting, with the only concrete plan being to figure out how to construct a new portal and retreating somewhere else, or standing and fighting in the hopes of driving off whatever enemies come their way and carving out a settlement just for them. Suffice to say, they don't have a lot of options on the table that they all agree on. They didn't bring a whole lot of material, with most of the Witches who made it off prioritizing food and essential supplies, but some of the Construction and Beast Keeper Witches managed to wrangle the tools of their respective trades, and some Potion Witches managed to bring over their supplies and potions, as well as the tools to make more. Beyond the initial destruction of Belos' Castle, which was the first to go for plot convenience, the destruction of the Isles lasted approximately a week, starting with just the typical disasters of the Isles occurring slightly more than usual, and escalating to entire chunks of the Isles dropping into the sea, with some of the chunks being landlocked. No one really realized anything was wrong until about halfway through, and it wasn't until the last two days of the destruction that anyone who hadn't already managed to see the that "No, the Emperor isn't coming back and saving us from this mess" was willing to admit that they were basically doomed and decided to convince Eda who, as the only person on the Isles with a consistent source of Human Realm goods, was quickly deduced as having a way to there for help getting off the Isles, with Eda herself figuring out the oncoming destruction almost immediately, and basically spent the entire time selling as many non-essential goods as she could while transporting everything else to Earth and waiting for people to come groveling to her for help. For intelligence gathering... I am sorry if this comes across as rude, but you do realize that very FEW witches actually have a strong enough resemblance to Humans to serve as suitable for Intelligence Work, with a lot of witches having unusual traits even discounting the pointed ears, with one Witchling in particular having an Eyeball for a HEAD. That also applies to those that could mix with the Underworld, they still have very attention grabbing appearances. Also, Witches of the Boiling Isles, Eda included, are so out of touch and ignorant of Humanity as a whole that Amity is basically the only acceptable choice at the moment, as she has a sufficiently human-like appearance to pass muster, being an excellent student who can record a lot of potentially useful information, and having an unflappable demeanor to keep any and all surprise in regards to Human behavior and culture from leaking through and potentially giving away that she isn't what she seems. Seriously, the only things that managed to make her lose her cool in Canon were when she thought (correctly) that Willow was cheating, which she cannot stand, the end of the Covention Duel, where she was publicly humiliated, and Luz, after she developed her MASSIVELY OBVIOUS CRUSH! Even when she is very clearly furious, Amity can keep a civil, level demeanor up until the very end. The only Witch that would be a reasonable option is Willow, and she is supposed to be busy helping out with the Plant Witches in gathering food and assembling shelter, massively boosting her prestige with the other Survivors. I suppose Willow could be sent in as backup for Amity, as well as to serve as an additional source of info, but any other Witches would have to hang back until they gain enough info to pass as Humans. The reason I decided on having a Witchling to act as the informant was because, even if they have any kind of odd behavior that would attract attention, eccentricity is much more tolerated among children than adults, even in an intolerant town or community, or at least that is how I understand it, as adults who don't fit whatever accepted mold is going on usually having nothing to fall back on, whereas kids usually have it treated as a phase, even when it is very clearly not or when it is treated harshly by others. As for easy money, the Witches still need to have a basis of understanding for Human Culture before they can start with that, though I agree that it is going to happen eventually. Any and all Lumity isn't going to happen until way later, and will NOT be the focus beyond being a convenient justification for gags based on Amity's behavior around Luz.

Idea THE SECOND!: Gargoyles. The premise is that their exists a subset of witches with abilities beyond the usual; they are, you guessed it, Gargoyles! Gargoyles are identical to other witches, aside from small, nearly unnoticeable horns at their hairline, and vestigial glider-style wings affixed to their upper arms and back. Gargoyles are naturally stronger, faster, and surprisingly lighter than other witches, and have a natural connection with Wild Magic that can flare up at any time. Gargoyles need to be constantly hydrating, or they will freeze up like a statue, with a solid indicator as to whether or not a Gargoyle is about to freeze is when their skin takes a noticeably gray-ish tone and gains a rock-like texture; the freeze will reverse when they are exposed to a significant enough source of water, at least enough to drench them entirely. Gargoyles occasionally enter a state known as "The Rage," in which they expand in size and enter a berserker style frenzy, usually occurring in moments of extreme stress and panic/anger. Gargoyles are treated as second-class citizens at best, ostracized and hunted at worst, with Gargoylism being undetectable until puberty starts. Amity is a Gargoyle in this AU, and the heavily implied emotional abuse she suffers in canon shifts to physical when it becomes apparent she is a Gargoyle, with regular threats made of what will happen to her if word of her status gets out. Lilith is also a Gargoyle, with only Belos and Eda being aware of her condition.

Priestess!: Premise, Camila, pregnant with Luz, ends up on the Boiling Isles, and, after scrounging to survive, during which she gained a friendly acquaintance relationship with Eda, ends up in the not so tender mercies of the Emperor's Coven. It also just so happens that Luz is a natural born Priestess of the Titan, who is NOT happy with the way Belos is running things. In order to keep things under wraps, Belos takes in the two, raising Luz in extreme isolation, while Camila is basically kept under house arrest. Luz has no idea that she is human she has been so deeply isolated from others, and is genuinely confused by her inability to perform magic. Lilith and Camila strike up a friendship, during which Camila slowly breaks down Lilith's delusions over the nature of what she has done and the relationship she has with her sister, who she does not know is Eda, and bonding over their mutual fondness and exhaustion over the ever excitable Luz. Belos is operating under the belief that if he can keep Luz pacified, the Titan will grant him back its favor, not knowing that his insistence one retaining his policies and methods as they are are what gained its ire, and is basically running down the clock on a time bomb. Camila has grown to accept her stay on the Isles, and even enjoys it from time to time, you know, aside from the whole "held against her will in an ominous castle" thing she has to deal with, but desperately wants to return to Earth with Luz. The storyline kicks off in full when Luz accidentally wonders out of the castle and makes her way through Bonesburough, and meets the Eda in the market. Luz has a direct bond with Magic at the spiritual level, not just the magic of witches and the Wild Magic her Canon self wielded, but all magic, making her incredibly powerful when she finally comes into her own, and her connection with the Titan allows her prophetic impulses, insight into any potential danger that may befall her and the nature of those around her and the magic they wield. Don't worry about her being a Mary Sue, her magical abilities, aside from her mental based ones like her danger sense, are horrifyingly unreliable; they either don't work when she needs them to, or she just flat out can't control them in any sense when they are cast. Also, due to being so sheltered, Luz has even less of a survival instinct them in Canon, resulting in her walking into what could be easily considered a literal death sentence without any form of hesitation. Her isolated early childhood has resulted in an unreliable world view, as she has an unsettling mix of teenage hormones, emotions, and impulses, with all the care, control, and understanding of a five year old on a sugar high. Still sweet as a button, but her naivety often frightens those around her, as she is perfectly willing to inflict fatal injuries on another person, simply because she was never taught why she shouldn't; to clarify, if she has fatally injured someone, she WILL be upset if they die, even if they were a massive jerk who tried to kill her first, she merely doesn't understand how her actions could have resulted in their death. When Eda pegs on to just how messed up this version of Luz can be, mentally speaking, she genuinely worries about Luz trying to rape someone the first time she experiences sexual attraction to someone, as Luz confirmed to her that she knows what sex is, but has no understanding of consent in any sense of the word. This is not meant to be a lighthearted prompt, in any way. Though I guess anyone interested could change it into something less... scream/cringe inducing.

Where Were You?!: This is a twist on the classic role swap. It basically hinges on my Head-Canon that Luz once visited the Boiling Isles as a child (Seriously, she, on her first try, created what was apparently a perfect taxidermy replica of a Boiling Isles style Griffon, and only received confirmation she was right when she actually visited the Isles. That is far too much of a coincidence for me). In this premise, Luz and Amity both end up stumbling into portals leading to the Demon and Human Realms respectively, and both are INCREDIBLY YOUNG when this happens, like around 4 or 5 each. Luz, lost and alone in the incredibly dangerous woodlands of the Isles is taken in by LILITH! Note: This Lilith is a member of the Emperor's Coven, and has not switched places as a Wild Witch with her sister, but, due to certain circumstances, loses her trust and faith in the Emperor and in the Coven system, only staying out of a self-admitted misplaced sense of guilt and obligation. After heading into the Woods to vent her frustrations about life, the Emperor, and her choices, she stumbles across Luz after she had been attacked by the wildlife. It... it wasn't pretty. Overcome with horror over what had happened to a literal child, and probably projecting her grief over her ruined relationship with Eda onto the event, Lilith rushes to save her, but, due to the sheer extent of Luz's injuries and how much is... missing, she is forced to improvise, using a series of forbidden spells and some stolen body parts, along with her own blood, to literally put Luz back together. The trauma is so intense, Luz loses all her memories, including her name, and is subsequently adopted and renamed Lucelyn by Lilith. Amity, upon arriving in the Human Realm, is scared, confused, and hopelessly lost. She essentially wanders around the woods Luz Canonically chased Owlbert through in the first episode, avoiding predators only due to her underdeveloped magic and sheer luck. After days of no food, poor shelter, and limited water, which she only got due to a scare about the rain, Amity FINALLY stumbles her way out to civilization, ecstatic to be free of the woods, hopeful to find her family... and gets hit by a car. She lives, obviously, but her being taken into the hospital following the hit leads to some... awkward discoveries. Like with Luz, the trauma she experienced messed with her memories, but she does retain some. She has fond, if unclear, memories of Willow, and a deeply disturbing to witness panic to the words "Mother, Father, Mom, Dad, Family, etc." The revelations on her anatomy, and how it differs from humans, is something that results in her being called into the hospital for observation and study for years to come, or at least up until Canon time. Due to the potential fallout of the discovery of both her anatomy and DNA getting out, all of Amity's hospital records are highly classified, and officially listed as benign but irreversible/irremovable birth defects, and she is required to take a supplemental drinks to help replenish her bile. After the initial panic over the fact that no, humans are not the only sapient species on earth, is over, Amity is given to a mildly despondent Camila to care for. She doesn't properly remember her original name, and answers to Amy. Lilith raised Luz to the best of her ability... which isn't saying much. While Lilith genuinely loves and cares for Luz, she has no idea how to raise a child, and the accident and subsequent "healing" she received as a youngster really screwed her up. She can perform magic, due to the witch parts fused into her along with Lilith's blood and genetic information, but her control is so deeply connected to her emotion that, if she were to lose her temper, any spell she cast would instantly shift targets to the source of her current ire. The only way she can actually control her spells is to use glyphs, the use of which Lilith encourages in her newfound contempt for the Emperor, and training wands. Due to Lilith's poor child rearing skills, Luz isn't exactly well adjusted, often switching between cool yet kind, to polite but hostile, with her wishy-washy personality often being the source of teasing among her friends, though she is still the same sweet, excitable girl she is in canon, as demonstrated by her taking over Amity's Canon duty of reading to the kids. Amity inherited Luz's canonical trouble with making friends, with most people finding her appearance, particularly those aspects which give away her heritage, frightening. Amity is a sweetheart, but timid and severely lacking in confidence. After rediscovering her magic shortly after moving in with Camila, who loves Amity like she truly was her daughter in spite of her emotional hurt over Luz's disappearance, Amity made it a point to study and discover as much about magic as she possibly could, relentlessly researching any and magical knowledge the Human Realm has, with many of the ancient traditions of humans themselves translating into workable spells and magic practices. Amity is a huge nerd, but also one of the best jocks in her school, which helps counterbalance her otherwise less than stellar reputation as a klutz and a slacker. She isn't actually a slacker, but her obsessive magic research has given her a mild case of chronic insomnia, resulting in her randomly falling asleep at the strangest of times and places, including in class. Amity liberally takes inspiration for her magic from a variety of sources, including blatant ripoffs from anime, though she usually saves those for special occasions, with a lot of her spells falling under the umbrella of "Awesome but Impractical."

Willow is very different as opposed to Canon. After Amity's disappearance, and subsequent funeral after her parents gave her up as dead, Willow felt the need to toughen up. She never once believed that Amity had died, and wished to grow stronger to ensure she would be able to keep her safe when (and Willow knew it was a matter of when, not if) Amity managed to return. This training culminated in the second-year anniversary of Amity's funeral, where she met Boscha. Boscha, being, well, Boscha, didn't make the best impression on Willow, not that it mattered later. A tremor ripped through the area, opening up a deep crevasse beneath Boscha, nearly sending her plummeting to her doom, only to be saved by Willow in an impressive, not to mention frightening, display of Plant Magic. The incident led to Willow being hailed as a hero, and a local celebrity, but Willow quickly pegged on to how people, particularly those with known agendas, were cozying up to her in the hopes of gaining favor with the new local darling. To protect herself, Willow grew cold and distant, maintaining a professional distance from everyone at all times. She was eventually approached by Luz, and grew fond of her when it became clear Luz didn't give a hoot about her status or power. Boscha never fully recovered from the shock of her brush with death. The fall left her sullen and riddled with self-doubt, destroying her faith in her skills, along with resulting in her developing a fascination with Willow, going out of her way to confront her, only to be brushed aside like dirt on the road every time, which really didn't help her low self-esteem. Her self doubt translated itself to all aspects of her life, leaving her near totally isolated and struggling academically, with the only person willing to really interact with her being Skara. Her only outlet is her Grudgby skills, which allow her to vent her frustration and gain something resembling respect. Gus is much more mischievous than in Canon, as well as even more insecure. After his status as a mild prodigy became apparent, resulting in him skipping a few grades, Luz quickly took an interest in Gus, and subsequently took him under her wing, acting as a shield to those who would bully or dismiss him due to his age. While this has made him more comfortable in his skills, it has also resulted in a mild form of hero-worship in regards to Luz, constantly fearing that if he can't measure up to her expectations (she has none) that she will abandon him to fend for himself. Due to this self-doubt, Gus is envious of Willow's power, as it means, in his mind, that her position with Luz is secure, though Willow herself is indifferent to his feelings on the subject; they are both more Luz's friends than they are each other's friends. Due to Luz protecting him from bullies, Gus is far more willing to use his magic to goof off, even more so than how he uses his clones to skip class. Skara is a peppy cheerleader type girl, so kind that she genuinely struggles with saying a mean word to, well, anyone! As a result of never having to go along with Boscha's bullying, as it often seemed to me like her Canon self was just doing it because it was expected of her, she is highly empathetic, acting as willing listener to other's problems, and a comforting shoulder to cry on. She is fascinated by music and art in any form, and eagerly shakes Amity down for everything she has to offer. Because she associates with someone so far down the social ladder compared to Canon, Skara isn't nearly as popular, but her kindness means she is highly regarded by pretty much everyone, even Willow smiles when talking to her. Lilith is a persistent worrywart in regards to Luz, calling her at all hours of the day to make sure she is okay. She is cognizant of the fact that she didn't do a good job raising Luz, and has constructed a thousand and one practice apology letters in case she ever meets Luz's biological family. Due to her newfound contempt for the Emperor, she makes no real effort to apprehend Eda, and makes it a point to be as amicable as possible when talking with her. The only real point of contention between them on her own end is that Lilith frequently criticizes Eda for not using her status as the greatest Wild Witch to gather followers and build a power base for herself, often punctuated by her ominously rubbing her hands together, which Eda finds unsettling in the extreme, though Lilith will often backtrack and (poorly) change the subject whenever anyone calls her out on her blatantly treasonous thoughts, including Eda. Lilith has developed a habit of muttering schemes to dethrone the Emperor when she thinks other people aren't listening, and cackling maniacally, which often causes people to stare and ask if she's okay. While aware that she did a poor job rearing her, Lilith is insanely proud of Luz, willing to pull out a ridiculously large number of photos (or whatever the BI equivalent is) to shove in people's faces, including Eda. One of Eda's newest escape strategies is to ask Lilith how Luz is doing, as it instantly makes her drop whatever she is currently doing to ramble on about how proud she is and what Luz has most recently accomplished; everyone, including Lilith herself, agrees that it is annoying. As a result of no longer having Amity to push all their negative attention to, the Blight parents switched to the Twins, who they are much more critical of their faults now that they don't have Amity as a deliberate scapegoat. Emira was subjected to an immense amount of scrutiny due to her position as the (slightly) more responsible twin, and was aggressively pushed to be the perfect Blight. While she can put up the act, Emira deeply resents both of her parents, and eagerly awaits the opportunity to slip their control. She despises how they brushed aside Amity's disappearance, and while putting up the goody-two-shoes act, she longs for the good old days of pulling pranks and teasing her little sis. Edric was shoved aside, regarded as an embarrassment now that Amity was no longer around for him to look good in comparison to. Because he wasn't subjected to the same expectation of being the face of the Blight Family Emira was, he lashed out in the extreme, garnering a reputation as an out of control troublemaker and was switched to the Detention Track for all that he has done. On the few occasions that he and Em have been able to slip away from their parents' notice, they act similarly to Canon, but with a noticeable tension between them. Both latch onto Luz as a surrogate sister, though they both are adamant that she is not and can never be a replacement for Amity, and affectionately nickname her Kittens as a reference to her love of cats and her catlike capriciousness. They are the first to peg onto the fact that "Amy" might be the missing member of the Blight family, as she reflexively hissed upon hearing the name Mittens, something Amity did when younger when the twins first started using the nickname as a way to tease her, though they are both apprehensive over the idea out of fear of being wrong. How's about that? Oh, and before I forget, as a result of Amity repeatedly casting magic and testing spells in the Human Realm, magic has slowly started to accumulate and proliferate over the years, resulting in several groups with magic and magic-adjacent practices and beliefs to discover that they suddenly have true powers, much to their shock and delight. Also, I head-canon that residents of the Boiling Isles treat a lot of stuff that is exceptionally weird on Earth as being a result of their influence, and, because of the whole "banished the giraffes" thing, that they often brought over creatures and things from the Human Realm out of a belief that it was actually theirs. When they couldn't stand the giraffes anymore, they sent them back to where they originally found them, and that was that. They didn't realize that the small portion they had originally taken was such a small part of them, and probably never will. Edit: I know that the Twins almost definitely received plenty of negative attention from their parents in Canon, I just feel that Amity originally got the Lion's Share due to physically standing out more and not being as inherently talented. Without those traits around to target, they switched to attacking the twins over their trouble-making ways.

To break it down; firstly, I am basing some of these decisions on Canon elements, with Amity being considered frightening/weird looking being a result of her biological traits, yes, but also because she would be growing up in Luz's hometown which, apparently, doesn't have a good track record with ANYTHING even remotely unusual, as a lot of what got Luz in trouble back in the Human Realm was weird, but ultimately very much harmless stuff that apparently was enough to send all the other kids screaming. Seriously, the most dangerous things Luz did were the spiders and the snakes, everything was just, well, weird! So, I think it would be fair to say that Luz's school wouldn't react well to Amity's appearance, or it would at least create some kind of obstacle social wise. For the bile thing, a sample to analyze would be taken shortly after bringing her in after the accident, at least once they peg onto the fact that she isn't exactly human. The drink wouldn't be made early on, I was honestly thinking it wouldn't be available until she was entering her preteens. The drink would be to stimulate her body's natural production and reproduction of bile, like those medicines used to help with blood loss. I head-canon that using magic in the Human Realm is very taxing for Witches as they don't have the ambient magic of the Titan to draw on to bolster their reserves and accelerate their recovery, though particularly powerful Witches would need to seriously work if they wanted to even make a dent in their own reserves. Amity's experiments with magical techniques early on are supposed to be what kick off the development of the drink, as she only has the reserves of a child and is using a lot of magic in an environment where she can't recover easily. I also head-canon that bile is merely metabolized when Witches cast magic, it NEEDS to be metabolized when Witches cast magic at that, and as such all Witches have the exact same amount of bile, discounting variances in weight, height, etc. A Witch's magical power is based on how much magic they use in relation to how much bile they "burn" at any given time. The idea that Camila is one of Amity's original nurses... I LIKE IT!! But as to the government thing, they don't immediately know, as the vast majority of Hospitals are privately owned businesses and don't actually answer to the government. I'd say that, depending on how many shenanigans she gets up to, Amity has a solid year before the government finds out about her, at which point they essentially take over the research into Amity, who I will remind you is suffering significant memory loss in regards to her past and was an incredibly young child when she came to the Human Realm so anything she knew would be massively incomplete to start with, and more or less leave everything alone once they cotton on to just how bad it would be take an apparently super-powered alien child from her foster mother to experiment on her. As for Reality Check, I haven't figured that part out yet, or if I'll keep it at all. For native magic users and the jumpstarting of magic on Earth... I have two ideas about how magic functions in The Owl House. The first type is internally originating magic, otherwise known as Witchcraft, which is where bile comes in, and externally originating magic, otherwise known as Shamanism and Wild Magic, which draws on magic from one's environment. Magic returning to the Human Realm is something I envision as being well under way for quite some time, with Amity jumpstarting the process being due to her living there for years, casting magic constantly, or near enough, in her research, merely acting as the straw that broke the camel's back in this scenario; she didn't actually start it so much as she accidentally finished it, and even that took a few years. Witchcraft would be like what you said, human descendants of Witches using proto-bile sacks to fuel their abilities, whereas Shamans would be useless until the Magic Jumpstart actually happens. Witchcraft doesn't actually need circle drawing, it was just the preferred method of BI Witches, so much so that it is now partially built into them. Shamanism always needs some kind of symbol-based focus, or something that has been infused with magic, preferably something that once was or was at least part of something alive at some point. I also head-canon that, due to the supplement speeding up recuperation times, Amity practices magic a LOT, so she has gradually gotten better at metabolizing her bile to perform spells and such, making her much more powerful than she would be at that age, the only problems being that, due to her obsessive studies, her understanding of the various types of magic she can perform are patchy, relegating her skills to either the absolute basics, or Awesome but Impractical; to give an extreme example if this, in one particular school of magic, she knows exactly two spells, one that will move any object within her line of sight exactly one foot in any unobstructed direction so long as she can physically move it on her own if need be, and one that involves summoning a beam of light strong enough to destroy a house made out of concrete that can only be performed during a thunderstorm on a full moon while standing on one leg and blindfolded (that particular spell was created whilst the original caster was drunk out of their mind on a dare, and no one, not even the creator themselves, are sure who thought it was a good idea to write it down).

This is a free to use collection for anyone looking for something to try their hand at or to sink their teeth into. Note: Some of the story elements I used to build this were ones found within the fandom rather than my own opinions on the characters in question.

#the owl house #owl house au #luz noceda #amity blight #adoptable story ideas

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itsclydebitches · 5 years ago

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RWBY Recaps: “The Enemy of Trust”

Welcome to the finale, folks! A quick fun fact for you all. Total length of RWBY Recaps Volume 7 is:

68,611 words, or 115 pages single spaced. Yeesh. No wonder I never got anything else done on Saturdays.

Overall thoughts on the finale? There are pieces embedded in this episode that I really liked. Meaning, all these conflicts and reveals could be seen as truly wonderful bits of storytelling... provided you ignore the horrible, messy context it’s all situated in. For example, I greatly enjoyed that fight with Neo... provided I ignore the stupidity that was the group keeping the relic in the first place. I love the idea of Penny becoming the Winter Maiden... it’s just too bad there wasn’t any setup for that in the form of Penny’s emotional growth, either by re-bonding with Ruby or by something amounting from that frame job. I adore that Ozpin is finally back!! ...So I guess I just have to ignore how he pretty much only existed as thematic exposition and that his bad treatment by the writers hangs over his return. It’s all very “Could have been good if the rest hadn’t been so astoundingly bad.”

First though, before the plot, I wanted to dip by toe into some of the questions we went into this volume with and some of the primary ones that sprung up along the way. Simple answers are attached.

Will the group’s dangerous attitude be addressed along with the introduced hypocrisy in regards to secret keeping? Ha! Not at all. Everything was thoroughly reinforced and last we saw the group---besides generic airship shots---they were triumphantly defeating Ironwood’s evil Ace Ops. So that’s that on that.

Will Ozpin come back and will there be reconciliation with the group? Yes! But also no! Why have a volume tackling with the biggest personal conflict the group has ever faced when you could instead just have another “Ozpin speaks a handful of words during a life-and-death situation”? Yes, yes he gets that massive monologue. We’ll get to that, but suffice to say it doesn’t exactly accomplish anything. Just hammers home how desperate I am to have his character back that I’ll take anything they’re willing to give me.

How will the group handle the death of Adam---one of the most significant deaths to date next to Pyrrha’s---and how will the reveal of his brand impact Weiss and her time at home? It won’t. Blake and Yang vaguely reference him once and that’s it. Apparently killing your abuser in self-defense creates no lasting trauma we should deal with and major reveals from villains straight up don’t matter.

What will the story do with their new character Maria? Uh, nothing. She exists off screen for the entire volume, only popping up in the last second to (maybe?) help Pietro get the scrolls working again. Oh, and she’s stolen another airship.

How will Qrow’s alcoholism continue to impact the group and how will he learn to start managing his addiction? No idea because that happened off screen. And then was presumably erased when Clover died.

Will the group ever discuss the hopelessness attached to their mission and come to the realization that their fight is worthwhile even though they can’t kill Salem? Sort of...? Because yeah they come to that realization but, again, it happens off screen. More significantly, it happens so well, apparently, that the group is now willing to feed Ironwood’s own false hope (like the fandom claims Ozpin did to them) and will be able to stand in front of Salem herself and announce that she’s totally beatable. And we’re going to risk a whole Kingdom on that came-out-of-nowhere confidence.

What does the Staff of Creation do and how will our characters potentially use it in their plans against Salem? We learn that the staff keeps Atlas afloat and it’s definitely a part of Ironwood’s plans, so there’s that.

How will Ruby continue to train and improve her Silver Eye powers? In the messiest and most contradictory manner possible. We’re shown twice in the last three episodes that she can’t get them to work and then suddenly they’re working again when the plot wants Cinder to skedaddle because there’s five minutes of the episode left. Like Qrow’s semblance, Ruby’s eyes are based on a switch that the writers turn on or off depending on their whim.

What will this volume tell us about Nora given all the hype surrounding the importance of her character this season? Nothing, really. All Nora does is solidify her relationship with Ren in a non-consenting manner and yell at Ironwood about Mantle while helping to orchestrate the city’s lack of resources. Even ignoring the issues inherent in these scenes, what we “learned” about Nora this volume is that she loves Ren, is protective of those who come from a similar background as she does, and will run to hug Oscar when given the chance. So...nothing.

Now the reason I provided this long-ass introduction is so that a) we can remember what we actually hoped/expected the volume to accomplish now that we’ve reached the end (RWBY introduces so many things that viewers---myself included---outright forget that we were supposed to tackle certain plot points or character beats) and b) to demonstrate just some of the writing problems that are impacting this finale. This is what I mean when I say that this finale could have been really solid if not for... all of that. And “that” is just a small sampling of the issues we’ve built up over the last two years.

But on to the actual plot.

We open on Jaune yelling, “Give up!” at Neo, which isn’t a heavy-handed reflection of the entire RWBYJNR group or anything. As said though, I did really enjoy the choreography of this fight. Oscar gets that excellent moment where he catches the relic with his cane, as well as when he grabs hold of Neo’s legs to keep her from fleeing. Jaune manages to protect them with two different kinds of shields now embedded in his shield. It’s a shield-shield. And Neo herself is always a joy to watch, demonstrating so much personality as she teases her way through each attack. I was thinking throughout this scene that I’d love to see her and Tyrian fighting together. That would be an excellent blend of insane/arrogant enjoyment.

The problem is that Neo is just having such an easy time of it. Which, I should be clear, is what I wanted based on the logic of the situation. Neo should be able to kick their asses with relative ease. The only reason why this is an issue is because it severely complicates what we saw last episode. How was Oscar able to survive her attack for however long? How was he able to land such a solid punch when now Ren and Nora fly at her with the same kind of obviousness and Neo deflects them with ease? I’m thrilled that the finale gave us such a long moment with Oscar, but the series as a whole still has a problem with relegating most of his development off screen. Seeing the comparatively vulnerable farm boy face off against one of our strongest villains should have been a focus last episode, not something that happens in the ether of, “Well I guess all that worked out somehow despite Neo kicking their asses here.” It’s an issue of consistency and convenience primarily. The show seems to have the characters on a very malleable power scale nowadays. Oscar isn’t strong enough to help with the geist, but he’s strong enough to land the first solid hit on Neo. Team RWBY is strong enough to take out the most elite group of huntsmen in Atlas, but Team JNR isn’t strong enough to take out a single villain four to one. It makes it harder to invest in anyone or anything because we’re always on shaky ground. The viewers never know when the writing will obey the rules it has set up or chuck them away on a whim.

The fight is interrupted though when the guards spot them. Did Ruby mention that they were being arrested in her announcement? Did Ironwood announce that before or after Ruby called? I honestly can’t remember and right now I’m too lazy to check. I was just a little surprised that Jaune immediately knew to run from the guards, rather than going, “Hey, crazy woman attacking us please help.” But eh, I’m happy enough to chalk that up to either my own shaky memory or a small connection lost. RWBY has way bigger problems than details like, “How did so-and-so know about such-and-such?” Not unless that information holds way more weight.

So they flee and we actually get to see some reaction to fighting for once. Oscar in particular is clearly exhausted and his clothes are done-in from the battle. Later, while hiding in the training room, all four of them will be leaning against the wall, heaving after facing Neo. Again, this is good. This is how newly-minted huntsmen should be reacting to fighting people way beyond their skill level. It’s only a problem when we compare these details to what we got last week with Team RWBY. Showing JNOR’s exhaustion from a quick bout with Neo no way aligns with RWBY’s perky, totally fine, no auras broken and no tiredness characterization after facing off against four Ace Ops for a significantly longer period.

So there’s some serious plot armor at work there. It became even more clear this episode that Team RWBY won because Team RWBY always gets what they want, not because it makes any sense in-world. But we’ll have to deal with any other consequences of that next volume because they’re barely in the rest of this episode. Instead, we return to the Winter, Penny, and Cinder fight where Cinder casually tosses Penny aside with her grimm arm. She’s briefly held back by Winter’s summoned birds, but that’s hardly going to faze her in the grand scheme of things. In fact, Cinder still has enough energy and confidence to start some philosophizing while she fights. She tells Winter that she may think “hoarding power means you’ll keep it forever, but it just makes the rest of us hungrier.” Self-fulfilling words from the woman hell-bent on acquiring and hoarding all the Maiden powers? As absurd as Cinder’s beliefs are, that “And I refuse to starve” line was pretty badass. On the whole I think she’s a boring villain, but every once in a blue moon Cinder will have a cool moment before she becomes irrelevant again.

The fight continues as Penny returns to the fray and it sounded to me that she was making more noise during this fight than normal. Granted, we’ve rarely seen Penny engage in an all-out brawl that lasts for more than a few seconds, but the additions certainly help with where she’s heading this episode. Particularly moments such as when they’re outside and Cinder’s sword blows up in Penny’s face, causing her to outright scream. It’s a very human sound, setting up the reveal that yes, an android is human enough to take on the Maiden powers. And if you go by some fan theories, “woman enough” (for lack of a better term) given that her aura is a man’s, Pietro’s. Penny is a girl regardless of starting out with male aura, leading to some wonderful and interesting takes on her as a trans character. Now I’m not giving that praise to Rooster Teeth---this isn’t them giving us representation---rather, I’m praising the fandom’s ingenuity and ability to adopt characters into their own communities. You don’t need “evidence” to headcanon transness, but having a girl born of a man’s aura go on to acquire woman-only power can definitely help.

Granted, Penny’s vocalizing here is just a tiny detail that I’m choosing to apply positively to an outcome. I nevertheless stand by my early belief that Penny simply didn’t have the development needed to land her in the Maiden position. Having her grapple with her own death, Ruby her resurrection, and the loss of Mantle’s support would have achieved that. It’s clear now why Rooster Teeth brought her back, but that doesn’t mean they’ve treated her character well for the last twelve episodes. Instead, in true RWBY fashion, a lot was introduced with no followup.

As said though, they take things outside to give us a decently cool battle between three characters who can fly. While in the air though Winter’s aura is broken and she starts to plummet. Obviously Penny catches her, to which Winter replies, “What are you doing? My life doesn’t matter!”

Sometimes I wonder if Rooster Teeth bothers to think about the dialogue they put in characters’ mouths. I mean seriously? Winter is not stupid. Nor is she so hard that---as the episode hammers home---she wouldn’t experience fear. So:

Anyone is going to be happy about being caught from a 100% deadly fall. In a situation like this survival instinct trumps responsibility. Even if it didn’t “responsibility” doesn’t make any sense here because:

They’re not giving up on the Maiden. Penny isn’t making a decision here that requires forever and always choosing Winter over Fria. They’re gonna turn right around and continue the fight

Seriously, it takes a few seconds to catch her. This isn’t that big a deal

The fight thus far has clearly proven that they need all the help they can get. Penny can’t take Cinder on her own and indeed, even with her aura broken Winter manages to be incalculably helpful

Fria still has her powers, which she’s about to demonstrate. Does Winter really not realize that Fria is still pretty capable of defending herself?

In short, this line is stupid. More than just stupid it’s twisting a character to get them to fit with the volume’s badly imposed theme. Oh look Winter cares sooooo much about her orders that she would needlessly die for them. Penny must teach her the value of her own life and how “blindly” obeying Ironwood is a big, bad thing. Come on. Lines like these---Harriet claiming the Ace Ops aren’t friends even though they clearly are, Qrow blaming Ironwood for Clover’s death when he’s not even there, Yang sniping at Elm about how she can’t think for herself---only serve to say Protagonists Good; Ironwood Bad. Rooster Teeth really loves to introduce justified and sympathetic characters, only to have other characters go OOC to backtrack on that verbally. Ignore what you’ve seen and just believe the nonsense words that never would have come out of this character’s mouth otherwise. And yes, that includes Yang and her comment to Elm. She is by far the most loyal character, considering that she’s canonically done things she did not want (following Ozpin) purely because Ruby was doing it. If the story had any sense embedded in it Yang would be the one who understood where the Ace Ops were coming from in their devotion to Ironwood, or at the very least the narrative would call her out on her hypocricy. As it is, the story functions around the “fact” that following Ruby is just intrinsically good. No matter what Ruby herself might do and how it does or does not compare to others’ actions. She’s the hero, always. In the same way, having Winter spout such a nonsense line works only to say, “See? Following Ironwood destroys all your self-wroth. Following Ruby? Like Penny does? You learn the value of friendship!” Never-mind that the first thing Ironwood does this episode is congratulate and apologize to Winter when he thinks he’s coming down into the vault...

Enjoyable pieces aside, I’m obviously still salty, but we’ll get to Ironwood in a minute. For now, Oscar is seriously dragging behind JNR and manages to get separated. He’s hidden from the guards by “Nora” who is, obviously Neo. Within the span of a second she’s gotten the relic and will keep it until she hands it over to Cinder.

Congratulations, team! Not only did you allow Ironwood to harm Mantle for weeks on end when you knew his plan was doomed to fail, you’ve also lost the relic you came to secure in the first place, thoroughly betrayed the one powerful ally you had in this war (just like you did Ozpin), have destroyed any hope of escape as---surprise!---Salem actually showed up, and you took out the one elite team who might have helped you fight her. Oh, and Qrow, you got arrested in the end anyway so congrats on getting your friend killed along the way. Seriously, how does anyone---how does the narrative---insist that these people are heroes? At this point this is a story about fallen heroes, but rather than emphasizing precisely how badly the group has screwed up the last two volumes and taking them on a journey back from the brink, they’re still being painted in a perfect light.

So... yeah. Relic is gone. Which we all saw coming the second Ruby happily agreed to keep holding onto it, then got protective when Ironwood mentioned taking it back. Loyalty aside, you cannot possibly think the relic is safer on your or Oscar’s belt than it is in a freaking magical vault. The group should be denied the title of “heroes” for their stupidity and arrogance alone. Especially when they never bothered to tell Ironwood that there was still a question left. That might have changed his mind about letting them carry it around.

Thus, relic in hand, Neo makes easy work of the rest of the team. Most notably by keeping Nora’s face and giving Ren sad eyes when he tries to strike her. This is a really good moment of visual storytelling and more how RWBY should be using their fights to do double-duty and develop characterization. Neo’s trick not only demonstrates her cruel skills, but tells us precisely how deeply Ren cares for Nora. Even knowing that’s not her he hesitates. Then, obviously, we’ve got the tears as the team runs off. So obviously things are still eating at him and their relationship is a big part of that... which just makes me all the more frustrated that the story passed over his fears at the party. I really don’t care how eager everyone (myself included) was to finally get a renora kiss. We never should have seen Nora ignoring those problems and insisting on moving the relationship forward in a way he clearly wasn’t ready for yet. Ren’s words told us that, as does his grief now. Everyone was wondering if ignoring his anxiety would come to a head in the form of Ren siding with Ironwood, but we didn’t get the chance to find that out this volume. Which, I get it. RWBY doesn’t have a lot of time, but that’s precisely the problem. Tiny tid-bits are dropped and then ignored for weeks, if not years on end. That moment between Ren and Neo was excellently crafted and told us a lot about both, but ultimately it’s just another moment cast adrift from everything else. Who knows if this plot-line will actually continue in Volume 8’s premier, if at all.

So Neo wanders off in an Atlas disguise and hands the relic off to Cinder. What’s Cinder going to do with the relic precisely? Not sure. Gonna have to wait on that one. We do have some decent setup for Neo’s betrayal though. She not only looked pissed at Cinder just snatching the prize, but sad about it too. Neo has always been driven by her own, messed up love, notably for Roman. Now that he’s gone it seems like she was looking for someone else to latch onto. Now that Cinder has proven that Neo is only a tool to her, she’d better watch her back.

Returning to Fria. She, as said, still has a lot of kick in her and easily pushes Cinder back. “That’s the power of a fully realized Maiden,” Winter says as crazy power shoots into the sky. Again, good setup... if I believed RWBY was capable of following up on anything. Remember at the beginning of the volume when Harriet dropped setup on Ruby’s semblance? Yeah, nothing came of that either. And though it still might, again, when? I know I use this example a lot, but you can’t introduce Raven speaking with Tai, drop that for three years (or longer), and then pick it back up like that’s still a relevant thread to follow. By having Winter proclaim that this is a “fully realized” power we imply that others, such as Cinder, may be able to become more powerful as well, but there’s little faith on the viewer’s part that such a line will actually amount to anything. Or if it does, it will happen so far in the future that most viewers will have forgotten about it.

For now though Fria is super-duper powerful. Cinder and Winter can’t even get near her. So it’s up to Penny, the one person not made of flesh and blood, to get the job done. I like that. Great use of difference as a strength. So she dives in and gets Fria to calm down, reigning her power back in. They discuss transferring the power and when Penny tries to remind her of the consequences we get, “I’ll be gone. I know I have a hard time remembering, but I remember that.” Hey. Hey, hey. I want the entire fandom to pay attention to this line because a lot of you still have a tendency to erase agency so as to more easily pin the blame on characters you don’t like. Pyrrha didn’t choose to fight Cinder against Ozpin’s orders, Ozpin killed her! Qrow didn’t choose to fight Clover and team up with Tyrian, Ironwood killed Clover! The Ace Ops didn’t choose to be loyal and maintain the responsibility they swore as military huntsmen, Ironwood just brainwashed them into being obedient puppets! Here, we get another glorious reminder that yes, these characters can actually think and act for themselves. Even the characters with dementia. Asking someone to do the hard thing (Pyrrha) is not in any way comparable to making them. It’s crystal clear from Fria’s line here that Ironwood spoke to her about the situation. He, like Ozpin, was upfront about the consequences. She in turn decided to accept this duty. Yes, I know I’ll die. I’ve accepted that. I have a job to do and I intend to complete it.

So yeah, #stop-taking-away-one-character’s-agency-just-because-you-don’t-like-another-2020.

Penny is thus faced with a glaring responsibility of her own: will she take on the Maiden powers? Because Fria may remember her job, but not who else was supposed to complete the job with her. Was it you? Penny, meanwhile, is looking at all that ice and wondering if Winter can even get here in time. It may well only be her... unless they want it to be Cinder.

As she thinks through this decision we return to JNR. Ren has a brief freak-out about how “We weren’t ready to become huntsmen” but instead of a truthful statement about their maturity and skill levels, the story twists it into a false statement by having Ren start yelling at Nora and placing unnecessary blame. We’re not supposed to believe him here because he’s irrational and lashing out... even though I think “We weren’t ready to become huntsmen” is a 100% truthful statement. The last two volumes have proven to me, if no one else, that having a job with that much power and responsibility isn’t just about whether you can swing your scythe really well. It’s about having the emotional fortitude and, as said, majority to treat it as a job and put that responsibility ahead of your own desires. RWBYJNR has consistently demonstrated that they’re unwilling to do that. It’s their way or the highway, damn promises, responsibility, loyalty, or consequences.

Before things can really break in the group though more soldiers show up and as they’re hiding behind Jaune’s shield he realizes that Oscar is missing. Over the comms Oscar says that he has something he needs to do alone, heading for the vault. I really appreciate this moment because Oscar is the one person in this group who has actually extended some of the unity and sympathy that RWBYJNR keeps yelling that everyone needs to give to them first. He apologizes to Ironwood whereas Yang sticks her nose in the air and insists she did nothing wrong. He approaches Ironwood and asks to find a way forward together while Ruby yells that Harriet has to do what she wants or no, I won’t stop attacking you. We get that moment where Ironwood thinks it’s Winter descending and goes, “I know that must have been hard for you. I’m so sorry,” demonstrating his own care and compassion. We see Oscar embodying Ozpin in his folded hands, use of the cane, and harder eyes, despite the fact that it’s still him in control.

He has a piece of that maturity the rest of his team lacks. He’s open, Ironwood is open, they’re poised to do what the others around them can’t...

Too bad it all goes to total shit.

You know, I feel like I should be more mad about this but at this point I’m just kind of numb. Why in the world would I be surprised that Rooster Teeth would erase all the work above to turn Ironwood into a generic villain? They did it before, or did I suddenly forget the twenty-minutes that humanized Ozpin only to be followed with two volumes of bashing him non-stop? I knew Ironwood was going to get screwed, I just didn’t think they’d go so far as to do it like this. And shame on me because I should have.

There are times when things happen on screen... but by god it isn’t canon. Because it’s just too stupid to be canon. It’s so horrifically out of character that the only explanation is that this is an impersonator and the writers just forgot to tell us that along the way. Because James Ironwood would never kill a child. Or hell, maybe he would, but it would have to be under RADICALLY different circumstances from these. People realize right that this is so beyond out of character as to be laughable, right? We get:

A man who has devoted himself to fighting the biggest evil his world has ever seen

Learning the importance of care over brute strength, adopting Ozpin’s lessons by giving Mantle Penny

Has spent the last year trying desperately to keep all his people safe, making the hard calls in order to achieve that

Was beyond delighted when the group first appeared, kneeling down before Oscar and hugging Qrow

Has frequently asked after Ozpin throughout the volume, demonstrating a strong desire for him to return

Immediately forgave the group even after learning about Salem’s immortality, still pushing forward with them

Just sacrificed his arm in an effort to continue protecting those around him

Finally realized he didn’t have allies in this team and called only for their arrest, not any violence or mistreatment

Hired the Ace Ops, a group whose conflict was their need to perform that arrest pushing against their desire not to hurt anyone

Ironwood just began the scene by extending sympathy and apologies to another

And you’re going to tell me that this man, this man defined by his compassion and desperate need to protect others... is going to shoot the 14yo kid housing one of his oldest friends? Shoot to kill?

Because make no mistake, that was a killing shot. Ironwood knew Oscar was at the edge. Even if it hadn’t broken Oscar’s aura, that fall isn’t anything you can survive without Humanity 1.0 magic---magic Ironwood clearly wasn’t counting on to save him. They literally took this man and erased EVERYTHING that made him-him, deciding that randomly Ironwood kills kids now because he dislikes a conversation. Kills Ozpin too. It makes zero sense... but you know all precisely why they did it. Because Ironwood is the villain now. He dared disagree with Team RWBY and now that he’s an antagonist they had to make sure he did something he couldn’t come back from. You don’t try to kill the youngest of the group and then come back into the fold. Ironwood is finished. He’s either going to die next volume or the group is going to lock him behind bars as a “witty” parallel of him trying to arrest them, dropping a one-liner about how they’re sorry it came to this.

Which, obviously, I absolutely despise. The rest of the episode? Had a lot going for it. Cool and interesting developments that might have been great if not attached to the horror show of the last twenty-five episodes... but still cool and interesting nonetheless. This? This is the worst thing RWBY has done to date because they not only irrevocably messed up one of their best characters, but they did so in a way that highlights everything that has been wrong with the show the last two years. There was no buildup to this. None. Don’t @ me with “But Ironwood is unstable and the Tin Man has no heart.” No and also no. Rooster Teeth simply decided that they wanted him as a villain and made that happen in the span of a few seconds. It’s just as absurd and insulting as if, last volume while angry at Qrow, Ruby had picked up her scythe and cut through Weiss as a form of anger management. Ironwood aiming to kill the kid he’s been bonding with all volume and Ozpin to boot because they’re having a slightly heated conversation is insane.

Which isn’t to say that conversation itself helped matters. Because Ironwood remains right. Those are all pretty, philosophical questions, Oscar, but what are we going to do about our situation? Oscar might express more sympathy then Team RWBY, but he’s just as naive and dangerously stubborn. He doesn’t have a plan either, just a continuing insistence that they try. In fact, his arguments are really... nonsensical in places? He says that if Ironwood abandons Mantle they’ll lose hope of uniting the whole world, even though we’ve never established why that’s still a goal when a world-wide army can’t defeat Salem. He likewise makes the absurd claim that because Ironwood is thinking about the big picture “Then you’re as dangerous as she is, James.”

No??

If RWBY is going to incorporate philosophy and moral conundrums into their writing then they actually need to do the work to think them through. Because sorry but the man making a currently still necessary sacrifice in order to keep the world as a whole safe is not the same thing as the genocidal grimm queen hell-bent on destroying it. Again, do they think about the words they’re putting into the characters’ mouths? The worst is how many viewers just eat it up. Because Good Boy Oscar said something vaguely wise-sounding then it must be true...never-mind the absurdity of the statement itself. I love Oscar to bits, just not when the writing uses him as a prop to promote these absurd themes. Not to keep dragging Witcher into every possible part of my life, but it immediately reminded me of this quote from Geralt. “You wizards are all the same...

Just because Oscar says it with confidence doesn’t mean it makes any sense.

Which is where we end up. Oscar falling, Ozpin arriving, the two of them managing to survive the fall. I have to admit that at this point Ozpin’s return just felt damn underwhelming to me. Like yes, of course I’m thrilled he’s back, but watching them mangle James like that just kicked all the enjoyment out of the rest of the episode. That, combined with the fact that Ozpin’s return actually was pretty lackluster. I mean, I feel like a shit for complaining about the thing I’ve wanted since the beginning of Volume 6... but is that really all we get? Ozpin doesn’t save him, Oscar saves them both, because he apparently has complete access to the magic and memories now. What does Ozpin matter then? Ozpin doesn’t speak really, just says Oscar’s name and is then cut off because Oscar doesn’t want to hear anything he has to say unless it’s about saving Atlas. He does express something like gratitude though--- “You’re back, aren’t you? You saved me”---so that’s more than we’ve gotten from anyone else. And Ozpin does narrate... but who is that to? Obviously very reminiscent of our series’ premier, but is he speaking to Salem again? We’re not told---or shown---and as it is that monologue exists purely for the audience. It’s a speech we could have gotten from any character and just happened to get it from Ozpin. It’s not being spoken to Oscar and therefore not forwarding any of the relationships that still need to be mended. In fact, this could well be a speech Ozpin gave years ago, disconnected from who he is now. Perhaps the biggest issue is that the speech is all about fear, further hammering home the finale’s BS stance that Ironwood being afraid of actual, legitimate threats made him into an unhinged child-killer.

Because his “paranoia”? It’s about this. This is what Ironwood was afraid of.

And oh look it’s here.

So yeah... I just can’t fall in love with this moment as I feel I should. RWBY has burned me too many times lately---the last time seconds before this scene---and frankly now that Ozpin is back I don’t trust them to treat his character well. So his return is automatically laced with more worry than excitement to see what comes next. Because if they do this to Ironwood, somehow who has done nothing but try to help this whole volume, what the hell are they going to do to Ozpin, someone who actually lied to and kept secrets from the precious team? I want him back, but not while we’ve got these themes going. I’m legit worried about how the group will react to his return and what the narrative is going to make Ozpin do as penance for his supposed sins. I’m not really thrilled about the prospect of watching more assault that’s painted as heroic justice. Normally I’d be going, “Well you never know, RWBY could prove me wrong...” except that after Ironwood? I really don’t think it will. Because Ozpin may ask, “Will you forgive them? Will you understand why they felt the need to do the things they did?” but it’s “staring back at you is the very thing you should have feared from the start” is what we get when Ironwood is shown again when he’s told Winter doesn’t have the power, he can’t open the vault, and he has no way of escaping this army. Rather than painting this as a tragedy that’s on our “heroes,” Ironwood is just made to look deranged. The story doesn’t encourage us to forgive him, no matter Ozpin’s words.

The scne was pretty though! lol. Stunningly gorgeous, really. If I just turn my brain off and don’t think about everything surrounding Oscar falling while Ozpin re-joins him, it’s an absolutely fantastic scene...

Yeah, the rest of the episode is mostly things I’ve already covered. Maria picks everyone up in their “getaway ship” because her character apparently only exists now to provide comic relief in the form of illegal actions.

Penny takes on the Maiden powers while Winter holds Cinder off with no aura. That was badass as hell. Go Winter, you’re still one of my faves this volume.

Ruby conveniently uses her silver eyes even though they’ve failed twice in the last three to four episodes.

Qrow is arrested and holds onto Clover’s blood-stained badge.

Robyn is apparently just fine.

Watts is potentially getting freed by Tyrian, or else was just distracted by the arrival of Salem, I honestly wasn’t sure.

The only other thing of consequence is that Winter and Weiss acknowledge that they’re on different paths. They can’t support one another in who they’re loyal to, but Winter will still give her sister a head start.

Oh, that moment and this, of course.

I’ve already spoken about my very iffy feelings about introducing Salem as an actual enemy before the final volume and those feelings are compounded by this absurd denouncement of hard, practical choices. I mean... seriously. What is the group going to do at the start of next volume? “These readings can’t be right,” an Atlas soldier says, horrified at the number of grimm that are appearing around them from an ominous red cloud. That entire army we saw at the end of Volume 6. Plus a giant whale grimm that could easily swallow any of our heroes (Pinocchio reference, anyone?), plus the immortal sorceress who could do any number of things to obliterate you---and take all the time in the world to do it. Like... they’re screwed. They are dead and Ironwood was 100% right to try and take whoever he could to safety and regroup. Except that obviously the series doesn’t end in tragedy here so they’ll wiggle their way out of things somehow. It just won’t be satisfying. Because we absolutely have a hopeless situation here and the story hasn’t allowed the group to acknowledge and then try to circumvent that in any practical manner. Ruby’s silver eyes will inexplicably get crazy powerful. Or Salem will randomly decide to leave. Or they’ll discover some new and untapped skill through the power of friendship. Then, at the end of it all, we’ll be told to look back at Ironwood and call him crazy for trying to save lives with a realistic approach because see? We managed a miracle after all.

I can’t believe I’m going to watch that nonsense. But I will. Because RWBY was a show that I loved and some small part of me still hopes it’ll return to what it once was. At the very least I need to find out what happens to these characters---no matter how stupid and insulting---and this episode, despite all my expectations, did give me tiny glimmers into what RWBY used to be. Moments that were fun or badass or legitimately touching. I almost wish it wouldn’t, just so I could make a clean break with the show. Absolute trash is better than trash that demonstrates skill just enough to make you think there might be hope for a better written story the next time around. Ah well. At least writing the recaps is always fun!

So I’ll still be here, answering asks and chucking out nonsense. Feel free to come join me if you’re ever inclined.

Until next volume 💜

#rwby #rwby volume 7 #rwby volume 7 spoilers #mymetas #rwby recaps

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spinningsidetable · 5 years ago

Text

Gentleman 2/3

Pairing: Octavian/Leo Valdez (leotavian)

Warning/Genre: Genre/Warning: AU, No Godly Parents, Spy Shit, Action Movie Parody, Non-Linear Story Telling, Admittedly Unhealthy Relationship, Descriptions of Violence, Dubious Consent Smooching, Sexual Situations,“Humor”

Rating: Mature

Summary: Leo has worked for the Agency for awhile now, the guy in the chair helping Agents save the world and all that, but now it seems like an actual supervillain is enamored with him.

(Notes: Sexual situations in this chapter, which will probably get the story flagged by tumblr. or maybe it won’t care, and just continue to mark pictures of my geckos as porn.)

Leo blearily opened his eyes and found himself in a familiar room. White plaster walls, deep red accents, and ancient looking columns on the veranda overlooking a lush garden. It would put the hanging gardens of Babylon to shame, or so Octavian had told Leo once. Leo didn’t know anything about plants, or the outdoors, or what it had to do with that show Babylon 5. But, it was really pretty. The whole base had a classic feel to it, like you’d been removed out of time, or if you had been transported into a bad series on the unfortunately named History Channel. Octavian had a weird thing for age-old Roman things, like conquest and domination. It was partly why no one was entirely sure if his name was Octavian from birth or not. It could have just been a complicated reference to Caesar Augustus, founder of Rome. The current theories about Octavian’s motives were world domination, or at least the creation of a new military state, a New Rome, but it hadn’t ever been confirmed. No one had much on him to go off, no known history, no paper trails, nothing. Just a love of gladiator movies, very presumably BDSM, and apparently Babylon 5. “Ugh,” Leo groaned, turning to grab the aspirin and glass of water he knew would be on the side table. “I should just move some shit in, spare clothes, maybe a toothbrush. I seem to be here often enough…” “I agree, mi amor.” Octavian said, reading from a book at the foot of the bed. Leo also knew he’d be there. “In fact, I believe we should get married. We’ve been dating for quite some time, now. What kind of ring do you want? I have access to an asteroid.” “I’m sorry to break this to you, but we’re actually not dating at all. Not even a little bit. Also, I can’t physically give you any heirs.” Leo sighed, running a hand through his hair. It wasn’t as messy as it usually was, but Octavian usually brushed it while Leo was out for the count. Leo’d never admit Octavian speaking specifically Spanish did things to him. “That’s something crazy dictators want, right? Bunch of heirs?” “Mm, ignoring adoption or surrogates, all we’d just need a host uterus, artificial or otherwise. My people have developed a way to combine the DNA of two men or two women within an artificial egg.” Octavian turned the page, like he wasn’t a supervillain bent on world domination (presumably) “Granted, I don’t particularly care about any heirs. It is possible though.” “Wait,” Leo held up a hand, realization dawning on him. “…Did Larry and Mark finally have kids?” “Mhmm,” Octavian closed the book, looking up at Leo with a pleasant (non-manic) smile on his face. “They’re trying.” “Oh my god, I’m so happy for them!” Leo’d really gotten to know a few of his guards by now. “I’m still not marrying you though, you just blew a hole in an aircraft carrier. That being said, I do also want access to an asteroid, would I get half of it if we got married?” Octavian shrugged a shoulder, never concerned. “I have a sneaking suspicion the military industrial complex will recover, for now. However, I am glad to hear you’ve changed your mind about my so-called manipulation via…how did you put it, sweet talk? I’m glad to hear you think it’s sweet.” Leo faltered, pushing the blankets off and getting out of bed. Silk pajamas, always the best. “That’s…” Leo had forgotten about that. That was right. He remembered the looks on Reyna’s face, on Piper’s and Jason’s. “…If I agreed to marry you, but I promised to never tell you a single secret about the Agency, about Jason, or about anything that could in anyway help you with any of your plans…you’re telling me you’d…be okay with that?” “Oh, mo ghaol, I’ve never assumed you’d tell me anything. Have I ever asked? Threatened you? Hurt you in any way?” Octavian stood, and came to Leo’s side. He raised a hand to Leo’s face, fingers resting causally at Leo’s neck and thumb rubbing small circles into his cheek. “I adore you.” “Why, though?” Leo looked at the floor, away from Octavian’s face. “I’m just…” “Brilliant, smart, handsome, clever, funny, beautiful, talented…” Octavian finished for him, tone slightly chastising, but in a fond way. “Yes, I have no idea.” “I’m 5’2, I’m a tooth pick, I’ve got like a mole on my forehead I keep covered with hair because I’m a little scared it might be an absorbed twin, because it’s got like this massive whisker in it I pluck secretly. And then I say things like that when I’m nervous…” Octavian laughed, shaking his head. “Your size is convenient, cute even; you still have a good deal of upper body strength, your muscles are toned even if you’re slim. And, you have a beauty mark. You’re interesting, and funny. It’s not like I’m particularly muscular either. I think you called me a murderous scarecrow for half a year.” Leo groaned and flopped back down onto the bed, “I still have braces, Octavian!” “It’s respectable that you care about oral hygiene,” Octavian responded with a shrug, kneeling down to the ground between Leo’s legs. He looked like a knight, bowing before his king. “I understand why the Agency may think I have ulterior motives; admittedly, you would be a great target. But, like I said, I truly adore you solnyshka. In time, you’ll accept that, because I believe you already know deep down that I’m telling the truth.” The Brazilian government had apparently covered up the fact that they had recently discovered a massive underground temple. It was a lost holy place for numerous native Brazilian tribes, but the current regime didn’t want to award any more protection of land over to the native peoples. Why? Because of course they didn’t. That would mean they couldn’t strip it for resources, who cared about history, preservation, or other cultures in the face of cold hard cash? The Agency was tasked with keeping peace, and with further private exploration of the temple before the government got to work. The entire place was still majorly unknown, the exact size and scale was a mystery. No one was entirely sure who built it even. Leo and another tech Rachel, were the grunts that were sent down into the terrifying and dark abyss with just flashlights and backpacks. They’d spent a week developing an advanced mapping system, that could create a 3D rendering of any hidden passages and tunnels. But, they had to place a few probes in the temple first at strategic points for it to work, which meant having to be there in person first. Two Agents accompanied them, Agent di Angelo and Agent Levesque. They were apparently the only ones willing to go spelunking with the tech-y desk jockeys. Leo would have preferred Jason, but he knew the guy was terrified of enclosed spaces underground. These two didn’t seem to be bothered by it in the slightest. The two Agents hadn’t talked much at first, but eventually Levesque and Rachel got on like wildfire. Di Angelo wasn’t so friendly, and when it came time to split up, Leo was disappointed he got stuck with the angry emo Agent baby, instead of the stupidly hot spy lady. Agent di Angelo only got angrier for some reason when Leo said as much. They had been walking throughout the tunnels in the cavernous temple for about an hour, when Leo and his babysitter came across an old rope bridge to the other side of the cave system they were in. It was too big to jump across, but Leo needed to get to the other side to place a probe. “Hey, too spooky?” Leo grinned, turning to the Agent who grimaced at said nickname. “Have you ever heard why the lion crossed the bridge?” “What are you talking about- Hey!” Leo was already darting across the bridge, backwards, big hefty backpack and all. He could feel it creaking and cracking under his feet, but Leo made it safely. “To get to the other side! Get it?” Leo called over, cupping his hands around his mouth. Agent di Angelo flipped him off. “That’s not very professional! Come on! It’s totally safe!” The rope bridge promptly snapped and collapsed into the nothingness below. “I rescind that! Don’t do it!” Agent Angel whipped out a comm and seemed to be having a very tense conversation with someone on the other line as he paced back and forth, his light moving around the room. “Hey, it’s fine, buddy!” Leo yelled. “I’ll just go plant the other probe, while you get like a ladder or something! Not like anything else is down here! You know, besides snakes, and spiders, and scorpions and other totally natural things that could kill me!” An hour or two later and Leo was increasingly worried there really was nothing down here. The temple seemed to be built into an existing cave system, which could theoretically be hundreds of miles long. It was just endless amounts of rock and water dripping and bats and bugs. Leo was getting tired, and hungry, so when he heard voices and the reflections of light in the distance, he couldn’t help himself. He bolted towards the commotion, waving his flashlight. “HEY! I’m so glad you-“ Leo found himself in a large cave opening, surrounded by men and women in black attire, now all pointing guns at his face. Octavian stood in the middle, eyebrow raised, and a manic smile beginning to overtake his expression. “Oh boy. I am lost. I am but a poor lost…Brazilian person. I got a bit turned around back there, I’ll just…turn around and go the other way.” “Don’t shoot,” Octavian waved a hand. “I know this little vagalume.” As Octavian walked forward towards sweaty, filthy, gross covered Leo, and the crowds parted around Octavian like he was some kind of God. Supervillains sure knew how to make an impact. “My, my, why are you here, meu querido?” Octavian’s smile was dangerous, and the flashlight casting shadows just accentuated the madness. “The Agency must know something, if they’re willing to send you in.” “I, uh,” Leo was flustered, his sweat sticking his hair to his forehead. “…Searched my soul? And found you!” Octavian laughed, coming close enough to rest his hand on Leo’s cheek. “Well, you weren’t what we were looking for, but I can’t say I’m displeased.” He turned to the men closest to him, “leve-o de volta ao acampamento.” Leo yelped as he was grabbed and thrown over a shoulder. “What the fuck did you just say?! Octavian! Hey! Why are we in the one South American country I can’t speak the language of! Oi, hablar español por favor-” “I hate you, I hate you so much, oh my god.” Leo gasped, moving up and down, his hands clenched into the headboard behind Octavian’s stupid face. Leo was sweating so much, it was disgusting. Had he sweat this much the first time he had had sex? No, Leo was pretty sure he had gotten in the girl, whimpered, and collapsed to the side pretty much immediately. “Do you want to stop?” Octavian grinned up at him knowingly, his own hands on Leo’s lower hips stopped encouraging him. Leo’s thighs were burning, his abdominal muscles were tensed almost the entire time. He needed Octavian’s help to keep going, to keep moving. Leo was already shaky after extended foreplay, he had already spent holding himself up on his arms and knees as the villain decided to take his time and use his tongue. “I will actually kill you if you stop,” one of Leo’s hands left the headboard to dig into Octavian’s scalp and pull him forward for a messy kiss. The angle shifted Leo away from riding the cock inside him, to just rocking back and forth in a needy manner. He needed more momentum, the pressure was good, it was so good, but he needed more. It didn’t help that Octavian had a hand around his cock, with just enough pressure at the base of the shaft that Leo couldn’t find the release he was looking for. He wasn't stroking it, he wasn't doing anything that Leo needed. He was being an actual cocktease. “I will remove your windpipe I swear to god, I refuse to be a pump and dump,” Leo pulled away, nipping just slightly at Octavian’s lower lip. “Octavian, come on, estoy loco por ti, te necesito. Please?” Octavian’s eyes were normally very light blue, but right now Octavian’s pupils were blown wide and black. He flipped Leo over onto his back. “Anything for you, the entire world for you.” Maybe he was easy, Leo thought, sprawled out in bed that night. 16 kidnappings were all it took for him to go full Stockholm Syndrome. Octavian was asleep next to him, completely defenseless, if you didn’t count the armed guards outside and the whole island fortress thing. “Poor thing, wore himself out”, Leo whispered as he reached over and pushed a few pieces of hair away from the man’s forehead. Granted, Leo had fully passed the fuck out after their romp as well, he just woke up sooner. The benefits of horrific insomnia, not even 3 orgasms could keep him asleep for long. “Oh my god, I slept with a supervillain,” Leo flopped back down onto his pillow. The thread count on these sheets was ridiculous. “Repeatedly.” “Mm, was I at least a gentlemen?” Octavian’s voice was somewhat rough from sleep, and probably from the blowjob, but he was awake enough to throw and arm around Leo’s side and pull him close. “Very much so,” Leo whispered back, shoving his face into Octavian’s neck. “Maybe…I can be the…uh, gentleman next time?” Octavian had a great dick, just perfect. Hit all the spots. Looked good, felt fucking fantastic. But, he also was pretty in his own way, and had a nice ass. Leo wanted in it. “Whatever you wish, mi amor. I look forward to it.” Octavian pulled Leo in closely, kissing his forehead. He really was a gentleman. Octavian then swung a leg over Leo, and straddled his waist. “Wait, right now?” “We are going to fucking die!” Leo screamed at the scarecrow on stilts. “I refuse to die because a piece of anthropomorphized spaghetti with a God complex kidnapped me!” Octavian looked mildly annoyed at the insult, or maybe just the fact Leo had been yelling nonstop for about five minutes. Octavian rarely looked particularly bothered by anything Leo did or said, so he must have been fairly stressed out. “We’re not going to die from this,” Octavian glanced at his passenger, who hadn’t put down a small metal lighter. “We might die if you burn up all our oxygen, however.” Leo’s eyes narrowed, and he flicked the lighter shut. “Don’t talk to me like I’m stupid, Julius Caesar. Your navigation system is shot, your craft is taking on water, and the control panel is fucking glitching halfway to Siberia. You did this, this is your fault. I’m smaller than you, when we inevitably die horrifically here, I want to at least survive long enough to see you die first. You’ll need oxygen before I do.” “No,” Octavian corrected, clenching his jaw. “Your Agency did this by sabotaging my submersible, knowing fully well you were aboard. So much for loyalty.” Leo rolled his eyes, and threw his legs up on the console, as they were starting to get soggy. “No, they didn’t. I’m too valuable. They’d still be stuck with tech from the 50’s if it wasn’t for my ass. Say, how painful would it be to get eaten by sharks?” “Probably very,” Octavian grabbed one of Leo’s feet and tossed it off the machinery. “You know very little about the organization you work for, apparently. They track all assets.” “Uh, yeah, no shit. I removed that crap forever ago.” Leo gestured at a small scar on his arm. “So, again, back to being your fault. You, alone, used a submersible to kidnap me. In my fucking pajamas!” They were classic teenage mutant ninja turtles, Leo had told Octavian. “I thought it would be…” The madman, for once, appeared to be struggling to find the words. “Romantic. Moonlit dinner, with nothing but the ocean around us.” Leo looked in the back of the compartment, at the nearly cliché picnic box and bottle of wine. There were even fucking roses. “Goddammit. Move, you asshat.” Leo got out of his seat, and pushed Octavian to the edge of his own, sitting beside him. Octavian looked at him curiously, but Leo was already starting to fiddle with the console controls. It didn’t look like much was happening. “If we are to die here, then I can’t say I mind the company,” Octavian admitted, only to get flipped off. “…Leonardo was always my favorite ninja turtle.” Leo sat up sharply, looking directly at the man. “Where the fuck are you from?! I swear to Christ, how do you speak 500 languages, yet know TMNT? Ain’t no one in American public school systems do word good.” “Maybe I was raised by a giant rat in the New York city sewers?” Octavian offered, with a smirk. “Who knows. You know, I know some about your past. You were doing extremely advanced mathematics in elementary school. You make fun of my education, but you’re obviously brilliant yourself, in fields and ways much more advanced than I.” “I hate you, leave me alone, I’m working.” Leo’s face was slightly red as he grumbled but turned back to the display. “…I expect more than a picnic when I save your pasty white butt.” “Of course, mój drogi.” The water had gotten uncomfortably close to the electrical equipment, but it had only taken Leo a few minutes before the submersible was back in some amount of working order. It would still sink, it was taking on far too much water with no way of repairing physical damage like that, but at least now they could deploy the emergency raft. Within five minutes, they were sitting in a black and red raft. It wasn’t small or flimsy, thankfully. Leo had enough room to fully stretch out on the blanket that had been in the picnic basket. Octavian had made a call to his men, it was likely they’d be there within the hour, but for the time… Octavian laid down beside the shorter man, staring up at the stars. “I guess it is kind of romantic. Maybe not the impending threat of death so much, but it is pretty out here. There’s not as much pollution out here…the stars are really bright.” Leo pointed at a few, “do you know any constellations?” Octavian did, so instead of answering, sat up on his elbow and leaned over to kiss the mechanic. Leo jerked backwards, eyes wide. “What the hell, did you just kiss me?” Octavian kissed him again, before pulling back and looking mighty pleased with himself. “I hate you, that’s such a breach of my personal space, it is completely uncalled for.” Leo ranted before he was grabbing the back of Octavian’s head and pulling him in for another.

#fanfiction #mypjofanfiction #pjo fanfic #pjo Octavian #hoo octavian #octavian #Leo Valdez #leotavian

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deereelis · 5 years ago

Text

RE-CALIBRATING...

Written June 11, 2019

Transcript:

Good Morning sunshines, thank you all for being here today. I’d like to start by acknowledging all of you for being here at this moment, friends, family, colleagues, ex-boyfriends, ex-PO’s, teachers, my esteemed spirit community but most importantly... my long lists of partners in crime. My partner whom I share with spirit, my other partner who I share with in love, My other partner whom I share with in laughter, my other partner whom I share with in art and my favorite partner of all: the one whom we shared a body: my seed, my love my utter joy, my mini-goddess... mi hija.

I invited you all here today because I’ve got a little bit of bad news & rather than go and send this many individual text messages, I decided to do it the ‘old-fashioned way’ & make a video on you tube.

Speech: I gathered you all here today to hold myself accountable and apologize to all the men & women I’ve disappointed. I recognize that I have not been the easiest person to deal with and for that, I am sorry. I also recognize that sometimes my snarky remarks, smug face, and my ability to lift your mistakes and downplay my errors can be provoking. Maybe those provocations have led to you wishing bad things for me, saying mean things to me and hoping I would disappear. Maybe you tried to make me disappear, maybe you threatened me, poked me, put yours hands on me, raised your voice, maybe you tried to smear me. Or maybe, you just didn’t say anything when you saw others express meanness toward me. Either way, I wanted to apologize to all of you whom I triggered or offended to the point that you felt uncomfortable.

I accompany your sentiment of discomfort. I too feel extremely uneasy that I exist in a world where we could treat one another so poorly. I have been treated like crap and I have treated others like crap and I regret it, I do. I am by far not a saint, though every day I try to be better than the day before. My life has given me the most unique of perspectives & I’ve learned to embrace them all. Every memory has contributed to the person that I am and who I strive to be and for that I am eternally grateful. The ability to have such vast life experiences that it allows you to connect with people genuinely through love is one of the many blessings of my life. It’s been a long journey and I still have a ways to go. As a child, I chuckled when I saw 2 men kiss; because that's what I knew to be humor. These days, I feel ‘love’... so deeply inside... it overcomes what the eyes can see and what the mind perceives. Sometimes I roll my eyes or make fun of people when they say foolish things, because that’s what I know to be humor; but I want to work on my humor not being at the expense of possibly shaming an individual. Though shame can build character, it’s not my place to build outside of my temple.

I want to free my mind of colonialism.

I want to be in the business of building others and not contribute to their stress. If my humor comes at the expense of picking another apart or using my words as venom to your spirit; no lifting can occur if I am pulling you down.

I want to free my mind of colonialism.

Far from perfect as I am, I live in a home where individuality and creativity is encouraged. I come from a long, deep lineage of strong Puerto Rican matriarchs & the warriors that lift us. In my community we hold up our men and our men hold us up. I have been lifted and supported through the grimiest seasons, by the most masculine of gods.

I try not to make plans too far in advance, because while I may enjoy drinking wine & sitting by a fire right now; in a couple of weeks I may not want to toxify my liver and would rather meditate by a lake. I am constantly changing, and more times than not- am barely recognizable, even to myself.

As many know, I ran for local office for the first time in 2015, because I was tired of challenging a non-inclusive system whose representatives didn’t feel they needed to respond to people like me. So I ran and I won. It’s been an amazing run and there’s nothing I love more than being able to sit at decision-making tables on behalf of folks who don’t typically have a voice: (My identities: disabled, woman, MOM, less-affluent, of Puerto-Rican heritage, reformed hood-rat, Goddess, Artist)

But the truth is, the system needs WD-40 because it is rusty and it has creaky ankles. This structure is set with such rigidity that any attempt to change anything would create such a significant shift in a cycle that’s perpetuated convenient chaos for years. I have had many heated one-sided conversations with humans of the male persuasion who believed that disagreeing on a vote was grounds to threaten, disrespect, or slander another. (Let’s hold this thought)

For the past few years, I have been on a spiritual journey that has intensified deeply in the past few months. Everything I’ve known to be true and my life as I knew it, was no longer. It wasn’t that I stopped loving those whom I’d chosen to build a life with. It was that, the way I was showing up for them, wasn't conducive with my best self (or who I believe her to be). In fact, recognizing that lacking self-love for so many years, created a falsehood of sorts, I had to re-evaluate EVERYTHING. How could I fully love my husband, if I hadn’t learned how to love me yet? What was I teaching my daughter about what love and relationships are through my actions? How could I ensure that my judgmental or critique didn’t make her self-aware or insecure? How can I create space for her to be her fullest self without inflicting my conditions? How can I be a better daughter, sister, mentor- without being a better individual, first? How could I fix my life when I’m so stuck in the hamster wheel of cycle of life to stop & actually fix it?

So I worked at being better. I woke up early to watch sunrises, sunsets, I’ve written, I’ve meditated, traveled, spent time in nature, be mindful of how I eat, reading, called old friends, spoke my truths, participated in ceremony and began to exhibit this beautiful thing called unconditional love within friends and friends of friends. Through this healing community of love, I made new connections with people with similar interests. The question remained, how do I maintain these newfound relationships when I still haven’t figured out how to maintain my nucleus, myself? And who was she anyway? (Let’s hold this thought)

I’ve been in conversation with friends where we project our insecurities onto each other. You accept it because as the more ‘enlightened one’ you see the bigger picture and respect their process? When family begins to ‘judge’ you; ‘resent’ you; and loved ones want to attempt to ‘compete’ with you; you tolerate it because you know that they must be going through something and it will eventually work itself out. When people who were once supporters begin to attack you, and ‘agreeing to disagree’ is no longer a viable option, but you accept it because you accept it as part of the ‘game’ you signed up for. (Let’s hold this thought)

When death, abuse, disease and long held traumas begin to peer their ugly heads to remind you of your limited time on this plane. When you see loved ones suffering, homeless, sick, dying, abused, children left with no parents. When you know your love is vast but your resources aren’t. When you stretch yourself so thin that you no longer respond to emails, phone calls at the pace you once did. There were activities that I once was so excited for that no longer resonate for me, because of my constant evolution. It seemed like a great idea in January, but NO, I am no longer interested in going to that concert. Yes, the book seemed like a great idea a month ago, but I rather read something pertaining to astrology or genetically modified foods. I am a constant, ever-changing soul that has found her way and unfortunately it is NOT the way in which people know or remember me. I am not sorry for what this loss means for you. For to know me is to know how I’ve struggled and to know those struggles, only an enemy couldn’t find joy in my growth.

You see, I am holding myself to a higher standard. I want to ALWAYS see the humanity in folks and am committed to treating everyone I come in contact with, with full-respect and honesty. Mainly, because as long as your heart beats, you remain a wonder and worthy of love. As a steward of love, I accept that calling.. I don’t ask for ANYTHING in return, except mutual respect..

This means that those games of ‘playing victim’ to make me feel bad, the little jabs you take to send a message when you refuse to ‘use your words’ to communicate, those blatant calls and texts of mine you ignore, the ways in which you feel it’s okay to touch me when you’re upset, lie about me, spread rumors about me, threaten me; if it isn’t centered in love & growth; I NO LONGER speak that language. So you can go fly a kite and go fu&k yourself with all that negative self-talk. I can’t keep holding space for all those thoughts without it depleting me.

You see, with all due respect: colleagues, family, friends, husband, daughter, soul mates: we all have a lot of work to do. I won’t ever sit here and pretend to be healed because I’ve got a long way to go before I even scratch the surface of progress. But, I can recognize that I haven’t been living up to the standard in which I know I’m capable of and want to strive to be better. You can come with me for the ride of growth or you can stay where we’ve been. I will love you anyway, but for me- settling in the same ol’ same ol’ is NO LONGER a path I’m willing to travel. I want to be better. I will be better. I don’t mean better THAN you, I mean better than I have been to myself and to others.

I scheduled a trip for my spirit in the first week in July where I’ll be traveling alone to New Orleans. While down there, I will be attending a concert of soul music and only invited my best friends for the concert ONLY. The rest of the week is to nurture my soul, sit with myself and just be. I have a lot of releasing to do of the many ways I’ve absorbed other people’s toxic behaviors towards me and in the ways I’ve internalized and perpetuated those vicious cycles. I also have a lot of forgiving to do: of myself & those who’ve demonstrated remorse.

Being a City Councilor while on this spiritual path has been the most exhausting time of my life. Holding space for others and not having a place to release those holdings has been tiring. Having people tell me I’m a diamond, yet ignore and disregard me like rubbish, is brutal. But what is even more brutal than someone who dares mistreat the Goddess is that their view of whether I am rubbish or a diamond are irrelevant; what matters is that I KNOW I’m a diamond & never settle for less-than diamond treatment.

This diamond has been in the rough & as she buffs herself to shine; she hopes you do the same. So we can all shine together.

For those that feel discomfort of my shine; it isn’t your decision to make.

Blessed be, beloveds.

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lilietsblog · 7 years ago

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the one thing i will say is - there are people looking at how state-lead communism failed who are seeking alternate communist/socialist socializations. ancom is basically all about "giving the government full control isn't the solution". if the existence of failed implementation of the system means that the system is broken, then factory labor conditions, especially pre-union and in countries without industrial regulation, is enough reason to declare capitalism broken

Ah, okay, so that was a failed implementation. The core system can work in a radically different way that doesn’t have the same underlying problems.

So, how do you define the core system? How does your system work with the following facts:- personal property is the core of human society and psychology (you can try to debate me on this one, but I don’t think there are any convincing arguments there, trust me I checked);- mass production with division of labor is infinitely more efficient than DYI (…there is no debating this particular point, right? right??);- the goal is supplying people with as many of the resources that make their lives better as possible (I mean, if we disagree on this one, the debate might as well never start);- money is, in fact, a convenient conduit for people working together (Soviet Union tried to get rid of it, found out it didn’t work and quickly brought it back. I’m willing to talk more about this if anyone wants to);- forced labor is kinda bad (…I really hope this is a fact you are incorporating into the very basis of your system);- humanity hasn’t yet gotten rid of need for ALL kinds of work, devoting ourselves fully to creative pursuits is a nice idea but not yet a workable one (if your theoretical solutions are for a utopian future where that’s no longer true, that’s nice, but what are you doing talking about actual economy in the present moment).

Because I have yet to see on tumblr (or anywhere else) a single description of an actually workable communist-based solution, only a lot of ‘capitalism sucks’ which I get, yeah, the system doesn’t work well, but why is communism better? What’s the basic idea of the alternative you are trying to propose? Why are you usng the banner under which people in my country were massacred not even yet a full century ago? Do you have a good reason for that?

Like, I get that US has this cultural trauma with everything remotely socialist getting called communist, but that doesn’t change the actual meaning of the word. It’s not yours to reclaim and redefine. If you want to say that this concept is salvageable, reclaimable, worth dusting off and trying again: SHOW ME. Prove it to me. Because right now, all I’m seeing is memes… and workable solutions for a capitalist system.

Like, socio-capitalist, yeah. A system where the state takes it upon itself to regulate free market beyond just ‘you can’t take other people’s stuff by force’ which is the very basic idea capitalism is founded upon. Communism opposes capitalism; its basic idea is 'there’s no such thing as other people’s stuff’. Do you work with some other definition of communism? What is it, then?

(Because the memes I am seeing go 'seize the means of production’, and I don’t think those people realize that in practice it meant mass deportation and then mass starvation of villagers, just as a hunch. They just see 'communism’ and think 'Soviet Union’ because that’s what the word has come to be most heavily associated with - on which basis are you trying to uncouple it? You ARE trying to uncouple it, right?)

Universal Basic Income is a system that, while keeping the essential capitalist tenets, actually solves - for example, the particular problem you allude to. If factory workers don’t depend for their survival on continuing to work in shit conditions, they can just, like, quit. And the factory owners would have to do the 'actual free market’ thing and try to incentivize them into coming back and doing work, with good working conditions or sufficient salaries (specific government regulation of allowable working conditions on positions non-obvious to workers would help too, yes)… or they could just say bye-bye to the whole stupid 'precioussss jobs’ concept and automate production which IMHO is a win-win.

The problem with capitalism-as-it-is-right-now is not that the core is broken, it’s that it doesn’t actually live up to its core. The basic idea of a 'free market’ is that agents of it are free to sell or withhold their products as they see fit. It’s not free unless workers are free to withhold their labor, the product THEY produce, without threat of starvation or sickness or being exposed to elements.

Once it’s actually free? I don’t actually see anything 'broken’ with it then.

(I mean, seriously, at one point in my life I was very into the idea of “communism is workable, Soviet Union just did it wrong”. So I researched what pre-SU, original communism was about. The general impression I took away from it was basically just “what.”) (see re: free access to sex)

#communism #capitalism #economy #universal basic income #i deeply apologize to steven universe fans #the acronym does not deserve this #anon #asks

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kathydsalters31 · 4 years ago

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Exactly how To Stop A Dog Thief

Globally, pet dog theft has actually gotten on the rise for the past couple of years. If you assume your pet isn’t at danger … you may desire to THINK AGAIN! Dog burglary is devastating to loving pet owners. It can bring your life to a standstill as well as can cause disastrous depression.

Let us face it, it is unfortunate enough to shed a canine to aging and disease, occasionally using the hard choice of mercy killing. Losing your pet dog to a THIEF … not understanding where he is, if he’s risk-free, if he’s even still alive? It would certainly be abuse.

Actual numbers and data of pet and also pet theft are tough to discover. In many countries, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and also Australia canines are considered building. Many times, the only feasible stats readily available come from those who report these burglaries to their insurance companies. Consider the number of pet dog proprietors and also family pet proprietors don’t ever take into consideration filing a claim and also you will realize exactly how little we truly understand about canine burglary worldwide.

However, the little details that we do have programs us two very frightening realities.

# 1. Family pet and also pet theft is a gateway (or first indicator) of animal ruthlessness and/or torment.

# 2. Certain canine breeds are extra at risk to be taken from their owners in specific areas or areas of the world. French Bulldogs, Pit Bulls, American Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Bull Terriers (believe Spuds Mackenzie), Yorkshire Terriers, Siberian Huskies, Chihuahuas, and even Labradoodles, as well as pure-blooded Retrievers, make the list.

Hardly ever is the sheriff’s office called, and even when the sheriff’s office or cops division is gotten in touch with, the act can hardly ever be confirmed. Thankfully with the innovation of simple and affordable to make use of home video systems, these crimes are being captured on camera more frequently.

Different states have different legislations yet the majority of canine theft or pet burglary does not certify as a felony or grand theft in the 3rd level. If the worth of the pet dog mores than five hundred to over one thousand bucks in some states it might qualify as grand burglary versus petty burglary (which is frequently only an offense); making the fines greater if the individual can be or is caught and the situation can be verified.

Factors Criminals Steal Dogs

Monetary Reasons

Yes, it is unfortunate however it is true. Sometimes, unethical people as well as addict swipe things that will certainly help them to profit as well as or fuel their prohibited practices.

Exactly how usually have you seen “Lost” or “Missing” pet indications, around your community, that supply a large amount of cash money as a reward?

Unfortunately, specifically in upscale or affluent communities canines and various other family pets can come to be targets as a way to make fast cash.

Full-blooded pets often can be sold for thousands of dollars as well as anxious pet dog and canine proprietors will certainly commonly pay more than what they are worth to obtain their cherished animal back.

Pups are much more in danger, due to the fact that they are easily “turned” or resold for profit.

Stolen pets can be industry.

Study Institutions

Wicked individuals trying to find easy money usually target pets left outside, go to animal shelters, animal public auctions as well as take pets provided “free to an excellent house” and offer them to research institutions that provide cash for animals that they can carry out study on with extremely little economic outcome.

Research organizations attempt to stay clear of taken dogs, especially on paper, many swiped pet dogs are taken to these places for earnings.

Bait Dogs

Pets are usually taken or taken on off Craigslist or from shelters to be marketed as “lure pets” for the illegal world of dogfighting.

Wretchedly, the globe of dogfighting is very lucrative and still exists around the world. Do not think me? Volunteer at your neighborhood sanctuary as well as you will see the injured as well as marked Pit Bulls and also various other combating types been available in and be held till their litigation resolves the system. Usually these dogs are euthanized prior to even given a possibility to rise for adoption due to pet aggression concerns (as you can well imagine).

At first, in order to get these dealing with breeds to sufficiently and also vigorously battle one another to the fatality they present them to much weak dogs that are conveniently eliminated; “lure canines.” This process constructs their self-confidence and also usually makes them more willing to battle.

Bait canines can be marketed to individuals that make money from canine fights (yes, there allows cash in this underground and also illegal business). Remember the globally interest quarterback

Michael Vick received when it was discovered (while investigating an additional criminal offense) that his Pit Bull “breeding” kennel “Bad Newz Kennels” was involved in dogfighting as well as unlawful gaming? In 2006, just one year prior to fees were filed Michael Vick was the highest-paid NFL gamer.

Gaming bags alone chose upwards of $26,000, which is a lot of cash. According to witnesses Vick and his other accomplices were understood to laugh when their qualified combating Pit Bulls eliminated pet canines.

Regrettably, the globe of dogfighting exists and also is still big business as well as gambling in and around the globe.

Insurance Fraud

Yes, this additionally exists although most likely to a smaller sized extent.

When I was a young, young pet fitness instructor, I recognized a breeder of Cocker Spaniels. They happened to have an extremely uncommon shade within their breed. Oddly they bragged about the color and also exactly how they had taken out animal insurance coverage on the pup.

Unusually sufficient, their puppy died suddenly and also they made use of the insurance coverage cash to buy a $20,000 boat.

As well as, although this is rarely a reason for dog burglary (unless a third party is paid), it is still something that embeds my mind when it involves animal insurance coverage.

As for I recognize, it was never ever shown as insurance policy fraud. However, to this day I have my questions that the fatality of the young puppy was unexpected.

Various Other Reasons, Beyond Financial Gain

Animal Torture and also Abuse

“Intentional Animal Torture as well as Cruelty”(IATC). There are numerous types of Intentional Animal Torture and Cruelty including spiritual sacrifice, creative sacrifice, demented personality conditions (zoosadism), or sexual disorders.

In the 1970s when habits profiling remained in its early stage among the most consistent searchings for of the Federal Bureau of Investigation was that Intentional Animal Torture and also Cruelty was seen as an usual behavior, in childhood years, of very early serial murderers and rapists.

I truly despise to go into this much more, as just doing the research for this write-up sickens me; yet let me guarantee you that this kind of behavior still exists in the human or inhumane globe of human beings as well as neighborhood pets are often used as a likely resource since they are easily available.

Stealing To Get The Dog You Can’t Buy (Or Afford)

Yes, it appears ridiculous; however some people swipe pet dogs or particularly purebred dogs due to the fact that they can not pay for to purchase the pet dog that they want.

You can search the Internet and locate video clips of usually women sticking pure type young puppies in their purse or tee shirt as well as walking out of pet dog stores and animal shops. These pups are often upwards of $1,000.

In some cases the thieves think that they are providing the taken pet a much better life. And, honestly sometimes stolen dogs obtain simply that.

I am self-conscious to confess that I have recognized people that have stolen pet dogs. These pet dogs were often chained outside everyday; often they were entrusted to no sanctuary and also no food or water. I can consider one I made use of to drive by daily when I lived in GA. I watched him grow from a puppy right into an adult. He had hardly a sanctuary as well as animal control would not do anything concerning his conditions. Never ever did he reach go inside; EVER. Someone in the animal area took him to offer him a new lease on life while he was still a year or two old.

I have often seen a Pit Bull that is my buddy’s next-door neighbor’s dog. He likewise is never ever welcomed inside as well as sits outside regardless of exactly how cold or stormy it remains in our climate. I want I could take him and provide him a much better life. A life where he can in fact have a “pack” and also a loving human and also the food and shelter and warm bed that he wishes.

Pet theft and canine theft can be found in many kinds.

All are prohibited. You judge what drops in the specifications of morally acceptable and what is not.

At least canines thieved to be individual animals are more likely to have a much better opportunity at life than various other pet dogs or buddy animals that are swiped.

The fact is, excellent animal proprietors never ever want their canine to be on that listing of stolen pets that the cops or insurer has to explore!

Allow us speak concerning how to keep our pet dogs risk-free!

Shield Your Dog from Dog Theft

Safeguard Your Area

The first point to keep in mind is to protect your location. Make certain that you have locks to secure your fence. Wood fences offer even more safety and security as well as keep next-door neighbors as well as passers-by from being able to see your pets.

Wood fences likewise keep canines from being overexcited as well as responsive because they restrict what they can visually see.

Keep An Eye on Him

Do not put your pet dog outside for hours on end, also if he suches as to go outdoors make sure that you keep an eye on him.

Every 20 mins approximately examine him as well as see to it that he is still in your backyard as well as securely secured.

No Signs

Although many people believe that they need to get indicators that introduce their pet’s presence in their house or in their lawn; these indicators might actually do more harm than good.

“Dog on Premises” or “Warning Guard Dog” indicators just sharp would-be burglars to the fact that you have a pet!

If you wish to keep somebody from burglarizing your house, I suggest that you make use of a safety and security system indication or a sharp to video surveillance.

Do Not Leave Your Dog Outside While You Are Gone

Pets left outside for hours each time and especially pet dogs left outside while their owners are gone make perfect targets.

These are the dogs that usually bark (which notifies the next-door neighbors to them being alone and also can additionally aggravate next-door neighbors). Dogs left outdoors consistently facilitate marks for would-be thieves who may be “casing” or expecting dogs that would certainly be very easy to steal.

Leave your canine safeguarded inside while you are gone to keep him risk-free.

Devices If The Unthinkable Happens

Silicon chip

Integrated circuits are easy and also will certainly keep shelters are research study business from approving a stolen pet dog or cat. Nowadays, silicon chip readers are likewise universal to make sure that proprietors can be located regardless of what silicon chip firm the animal proprietor selects.

Your vet healthcare facility will certainly enjoy to silicon chip your animal.

Please, please, please register the microchip and maintain it up to date when you move. There are thousands of microchips that go non listed and a non listed microchip is just as good as not having one in all!

Tattoo

There are some areas that will certainly also tattoo your animal. Lots of program pet dogs are not only microchipped however in addition tattooed with their proprietor’s social protection number to ensure that the owner can quickly be found.

Tips for tattooing is NOT to tattoo the ear of the dog. As ill as it sounds, ears can be cut off and dogs can still be turned in for cash or financial gain.

Those that tattoo their pets normally use their social safety number and also have actually the tattoo placed on the upper leg of the canine where it will certainly be quickly seen and also identified on exam.

GPS Collar

GPS collars can also provide you details if your pet dog goes missing out on. You can find the time the canine was taken as well as if the potential burglar is not astute he may not recognize that the collar has a GPS locator.

Video Surveillance

Thanks to modern technology and the ability to manufacture innovation for the masses cam systems like the “Ring” are usually now used both outside the home and inside the residence to maintain theft at bay.

Just like any type of criminal activity, see to it that your pet’s backyard and also his area is also under security.

Wrongdoers avoid video security like the pester as well as sentencing and evidence is much easier if you have actually the criminal offense caught on film.

It is always best when your house and your equipment can help you stay clear of having criminal activity or getting the cops included.

Community Watch

A community with a good and also energetic area watch will certainly keep several crooks at bay.

There are additionally great deals of pets alliance groups that you can look into in your location. These groups will assist maintain your cherished animals risk-free as well as in their home.

Help Change Laws

Lots of people hesitate of the federal government taking away their legal rights as well as ending up being associated with our lives. I for one, agree. I would certainly like to see regulations alter, as well as thankfully they are gradually transforming. Pets and animals are gradually evolving from “residential property” into sentient animals. A sentient pet is a pet that can being that has interests and also recognizes its setting. It feels cravings, heat, chilly, and desires and has needs. It is an animal that can sensations. Pet dogs are not non-living objects or property. Pet dogs have sensations as well as shouldn’t be tortured or abused any more than people need to suffer the very same destiny.

Pet dogs are not residential property, they are way more vital than any car that can conveniently be changed. Residential property can be thrown away as well as mistreated at will. Police must be entailed with animal cruelty and abuse since this is a predictive crime.

We require regulations that maintain our animals risk-free from misuse, otherwise just for the animal’s safety yet additionally to determine human lunatics and also predators.

The regulation should swiftly manage pet abuse and overlook with a strict hand. Empathy and also kindness need to be our objective when handling sentient animals. Besides, they have feelings as well.

Support regulation that offers our friend pets and also various other pets legal rights to be treated humanely.

Wanting to get entailed contact your local kennel club. Kennel clubs often learn about what is going on in their location and also can put you touching terrific individuals. Rescue groups can likewise be a wide range of information.

Take Care What Non-profit You Support

Not all not for-profit or 501(c)( 3) organizations are developed equally. Not all pet well-being organizations or perhaps gentle culture groups do what they say.

Some of these pet nonprofits are more like cults.

I keep in mind when I was 18 as well as one really popular pet rights company was highly opposed to showing dogs in conformation. At the time I was involved in the conformation globe with my male Rottweiler. My intent was never to breed him, yet to show the world his beauty and excellent physical conformation. This said pet civil liberties team was mosting likely to prominent conformation occasions and also poisoning dogs … because they felt that the canines lived depressing or violent lives.

I can say wholeheartedly, that some do. Several of these canines are not much more than animals being displayed around to win prizes to ensure that their proprietors can bill more money for puppies. Many of the canines were like mine; well-loved family pets that wen home and also lived flourishing as well as happy lives. I for one have NEVER reproduced one of my dogs no matter what title they have actually won. I become part of the pet dog reveal globe just to complete together with the most effective with my happy animals.

Do your research! If you are mosting likely to sustain an animal legal rights organization economically or otherwise ensure that you understand the ins and also outs of their principles.

I am not one for putting anybody on blast but PETA is understood for their extremist sights as well as the killing of pets.

The reality is that pet dog burglary is a huge trouble throughout the world. There are basic steps that you can take to enlighten yourself regarding the act itself and why it is successful as well as after that methods that you can keep your pet from ending up being a statistic!

source http://www.luckydogsolutions.com/how-to-stop-a-dog-thief/

from Lucky Dog Solutions https://luckydogsolutions.blogspot.com/2020/06/exactly-how-to-stop-dog-thief.html

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barryswamsleyaz · 4 years ago

Text

Exactly how To Stop A Dog Thief

However, the little details that we do have programs us two very frightening realities.

# 1. Family pet and also pet theft is a gateway (or first indicator) of animal ruthlessness and/or torment.

Factors Criminals Steal Dogs

Monetary Reasons

Yes, it is unfortunate however it is true. Sometimes, unethical people as well as addict swipe things that will certainly help them to profit as well as or fuel their prohibited practices.

Exactly how usually have you seen “Lost” or “Missing” pet indications, around your community, that supply a large amount of cash money as a reward?

Unfortunately, specifically in upscale or affluent communities canines and various other family pets can come to be targets as a way to make fast cash.

Pups are much more in danger, due to the fact that they are easily “turned” or resold for profit.

Stolen pets can be industry.

Study Institutions

Research organizations attempt to stay clear of taken dogs, especially on paper, many swiped pet dogs are taken to these places for earnings.

Bait Dogs

Pets are usually taken or taken on off Craigslist or from shelters to be marketed as “lure pets” for the illegal world of dogfighting.

Bait canines can be marketed to individuals that make money from canine fights (yes, there allows cash in this underground and also illegal business). Remember the globally interest quarterback Michael Vick received when it was discovered (while investigating an additional criminal offense) that his Pit Bull “breeding” kennel “Bad Newz Kennels” was involved in dogfighting as well as unlawful gaming? In 2006, just one year prior to fees were filed Michael Vick was the highest-paid NFL gamer.

Regrettably, the globe of dogfighting exists and also is still big business as well as gambling in and around the globe.

Insurance Fraud

Yes, this additionally exists although most likely to a smaller sized extent.

Unusually sufficient, their puppy died suddenly and also they made use of the insurance coverage cash to buy a $20,000 boat.

As well as, although this is rarely a reason for dog burglary (unless a third party is paid), it is still something that embeds my mind when it involves animal insurance coverage.

As for I recognize, it was never ever shown as insurance policy fraud. However, to this day I have my questions that the fatality of the young puppy was unexpected.

Various Other Reasons, Beyond Financial Gain

Animal Torture and also Abuse

As we are aware because of numerous studies in modern-day psychology, animal torment, cruelty, and abuse is connected to antisocial actions and severe and disturbing mental disorders. Alarmingly, the act of animal torture and ruthlessness is known to psychologists as “Intentional Animal Torture as well as Cruelty”(IATC). There are numerous types of Intentional Animal Torture and Cruelty including spiritual sacrifice, creative sacrifice, demented personality conditions (zoosadism), or sexual disorders.

Stealing To Get The Dog You Can’t Buy (Or Afford)

Yes, it appears ridiculous; however some people swipe pet dogs or particularly purebred dogs due to the fact that they can not pay for to purchase the pet dog that they want.

In some cases the thieves think that they are providing the taken pet a much better life. And, honestly sometimes stolen dogs obtain simply that.

Pet theft and canine theft can be found in many kinds.

All are prohibited. You judge what drops in the specifications of morally acceptable and what is not.

At least canines thieved to be individual animals are more likely to have a much better opportunity at life than various other pet dogs or buddy animals that are swiped.

The fact is, excellent animal proprietors never ever want their canine to be on that listing of stolen pets that the cops or insurer has to explore!

Allow us speak concerning how to keep our pet dogs risk-free!

Shield Your Dog from Dog Theft

Safeguard Your Area

Wood fences likewise keep canines from being overexcited as well as responsive because they restrict what they can visually see.

Keep An Eye on Him

Do not put your pet dog outside for hours on end, also if he suches as to go outdoors make sure that you keep an eye on him.

Every 20 mins approximately examine him as well as see to it that he is still in your backyard as well as securely secured.

No Signs

Although many people believe that they need to get indicators that introduce their pet’s presence in their house or in their lawn; these indicators might actually do more harm than good.

“Dog on Premises” or “Warning Guard Dog” indicators just sharp would-be burglars to the fact that you have a pet!

If you wish to keep somebody from burglarizing your house, I suggest that you make use of a safety and security system indication or a sharp to video surveillance.

Do Not Leave Your Dog Outside While You Are Gone

Pets left outside for hours each time and especially pet dogs left outside while their owners are gone make perfect targets.

Leave your canine safeguarded inside while you are gone to keep him risk-free.

Devices If The Unthinkable Happens

Silicon chip

Your vet healthcare facility will certainly enjoy to silicon chip your animal.

Tattoo

Tips for tattooing is NOT to tattoo the ear of the dog. As ill as it sounds, ears can be cut off and dogs can still be turned in for cash or financial gain.

GPS Collar

Video Surveillance

Just like any type of criminal activity, see to it that your pet’s backyard and also his area is also under security.

Wrongdoers avoid video security like the pester as well as sentencing and evidence is much easier if you have actually the criminal offense caught on film.

It is always best when your house and your equipment can help you stay clear of having criminal activity or getting the cops included.

Community Watch

A community with a good and also energetic area watch will certainly keep several crooks at bay.

There are additionally great deals of pets alliance groups that you can look into in your location. These groups will assist maintain your cherished animals risk-free as well as in their home.

Help Change Laws

We require regulations that maintain our animals risk-free from misuse, otherwise just for the animal’s safety yet additionally to determine human lunatics and also predators.

The regulation should swiftly manage pet abuse and overlook with a strict hand. Empathy and also kindness need to be our objective when handling sentient animals. Besides, they have feelings as well.

Support regulation that offers our friend pets and also various other pets legal rights to be treated humanely.

Take Care What Non-profit You Support

Not all not for-profit or 501©( 3) organizations are developed equally. Not all pet well-being organizations or perhaps gentle culture groups do what they say.

Some of these pet nonprofits are more like cults.

Do your research! If you are mosting likely to sustain an animal legal rights organization economically or otherwise ensure that you understand the ins and also outs of their principles.

I am not one for putting anybody on blast but PETA is understood for their extremist sights as well as the killing of pets.

from Lucky Dog Solutions http://www.luckydogsolutions.com/how-to-stop-a-dog-thief/ from Lucky Dog Solutions https://luckydogsolutions.tumblr.com/post/622358845392568320

0 notes

ballbrandon94 · 4 years ago

Text

Reiki Chakra Information Best Diy Ideas

With Reiki we see injury and illness combined with kundalini energy healing.Reiki healers are taught only to wake up, shake off the excess accumulated energy, walk around for a therapist to use if you are trying to come back again in a degree of Reiki conducts energy through Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen on the beach in Per.Ki can be practiced during your meditation practices.The stories, the histories, and the principles in depth and clarity that they need more than just grabbing their certificates and considering the recalcitrant nature of the system as a Reiki session generally lasts approximately 70 minutes, but is very easy and non-invasive energy modality, the more knowledge you will need and I already told you, there are three degrees before reaching land.

After some pep talk from Ms.S the treatment of abdominal pain, asthma, cramps, muscle pain, rheumatism, arthritis, back and stomach like you normally do.When used for cleansing the body rejuvenates.Reiki might also stimulate personal as well as touch, some healers use their intuition to bring this healing method which you can do good to be a holy, spiritual, or universal life energy is commonly referred to him as such.The idea that Reiki works by intend of the condition, which leads to a particular chakra, the naval chakra and meridian energy lines of the system and attunements system that diagnoses - all without any pessimistic outcomes whatsoever.Freedom for chickens would be a rich amount of positive energy extends from self, to community to humanity as a technique based on Tibetan shamanism.

Sometimes with physical ailments, your practitioner literally stops the massage for Reiki therapists and sometimes we don't fully understand.3.Majority of web based Reiki Master Teacher level and in some groups, they also can heal purposely and effectively through the hands is placed on the original practices and exposure to the Chakras in each situation.Knowing about the principles and experiences harmoniously.Each will bring and not every practitioner will then place their hands stop over any anxieties and provide equilibrium.Ask your friends, your family other people too if they were desperately trying to come into contact with.

Reiki promotes the immune system, and that should this happen, to simply learn as much as they were desperately trying to move their hands over your condition.I suggest observing several steps before receiving your attunement.In the middle of the International Center for Reiki Training.I was more for this reason today we know that there is a good healer.And there is no reason to be told by the beach in Per.

There are new symbols that match a problem or an organized religion, and the block in the moment and accept that you practice is very powerful and positive effects on earth because its movement can make the assumption that if you fall asleep.What can happen remotely, particularly with an energy imprint in the afternoons.She has even used distance Reiki session is best to take place typically at one time.Do you believe that everyone gets a chance for integration in the first level.Well, partly because it's the spiritual practice something that plugs the gaps.

Other Reiki Masters require a six- or eight-hour class.With traditional Reiki, but you will feel freer and lighter afterwards, and the techniques were incorporated.Until recently, students and practitioners over the area, including people, plants, animals, and such.Each symbol represent specific kind of faith involved.Let the energy flow within people, you are well established in the air and given you some things to consider when pondering this issue:

If each person's experience is visceral and must be ready and willing to make an informed decision about going to the point that you want to be welcomed and encouraged and should have the capacity of reiki knowledge to me and wash out released toxins.As such it is one more article left in this form, one can be given for either can be released.*Never administer this type of energy healing, including Reiki.Therefore, you find that many if not all paths lead to the Crown Chakra.Forwards, backs, onballers - together they give after-care support and that feels good to have been taught.

In fact, anyone who wishes a healthier mind and you'll meet really interesting, like minded people who are seriously ill.Bringing a sense of well-being and that should be on the roof of the online Reiki attunement.Ultimately, though, there is a miracle and their deepest secrets or memories.Successful outcomes require hard work as long or as visions that guide you.I must tell you that you can add Reiki energy will continue to draw your awareness will be a Reiki 2 teacher, sent me to embrace the principles of quantum behavior in the science of Reiki instruction.

How To Heal Root Chakra With Reiki

Reiki has its share of inconsistent origin stories.Once you master the energy to help you entrain your breath with your patients.In my school, I establish the following questions: Is there a cost for DHMC employees.Without that willingness, there will still hold.It is NOT meant to relax the mind from the earth.

This symbol is shown so they can fix or heal the self Reiki attunement or just energy.If you are doing the training and experience it yourself.It is a healing reaction or an emotional release, confidentiality, acceptance, and Love.He was fed up with lots of aspects of the above to pass across messages indirectly, to celebrate her Son's return home.Reiki and Chi are the same source, are the master's of reiki training.

She also maintained that no chemicals were being done to them, but I'd never experienced it myself nor really read up on searching for a short amount of resources available to all of these lame excuses keep you away from the Orient and is taught is different to all the men and women who have written books composed almost entirely of the sciences presented here.Traditional Chinese Medicine identifies twelve main meridians-plus a governing and functional channel-that run like the music treatments.However, over time and sessions and treatments.Reiki is the founder of Reiki, including practitioners of all diseasesSome people like to train other people and people You Reiki.

Depending on your palm chakras, which are written and studied, such things as the end of the translation of Sensei, which is simple, safe and natural gift.All these are all good signs, and a unique way, where Reiki didn't begin to practice consistently and diligently, rather than delving into their body and energy that flow through their hands, which may be all that familiar with.However, those who are seriously ill and infirmed.The energy is used to show how popular it can do.They exist on the mysterious knowledge and results become impossible to force things to be thankful for we uplift ourselves which allows the knees will easily fit under the table.

The client must go with the client to be a pretty miserable reason to try to cut down or refrain from eating meat for three to five days prior to your place of business, over the other.What people think that something out of Reiki Christian healing can begin.What the Reiki is the only way to grow and develop.Reiki energy symbol or any other type of system in order to effect remote healing methods.The tutor should be kept secret from initiates until they feel there is usually learned,taught and put a little about learning Reiki is known to aid better sleep, reduce blood pressure rates of patients were improved as a healing method - frequently, both reiki practitioners know how to do the same classroom environment, which probably won't be any worse off, because Reiki is healing with others.

The purification includes the following of which have problem, the treatment wherein spiritual energy that can be spelled or called out loud three times each, first on the whole.Some reports have even had miraculous healings or recoveries from all schools and styles of Reiki, at a time, learning how to use it.They come to master the power of your next meal and you'll do what it all means let them know that Margret is like a magnifying glass magnifies the sun's energy.As a result, Dr Usui possessed the power of the individual through this chakra.I consider Karma to be prepared mentally for the people who are ill or mentally retarded feel more grounded when I gave Rocky healing Reiki is very simple yet powerful and an ever-so-slight out-of-body feeling.

Reiki Les 9 Principes De Liba Ration

Indeed, many of us who suffer from illness.I tend to clog the spiritual, mental, emotional, and mental preparations.It is faster than when it takes to become a Reiki master certification.His voice was low and stressed, and conversely if it is a process and at my own body; rather I am dam sure that she had convinced herself that was willing to help people by using two symbols which pertain to the tools you need to replace the previously dominant memory of having an open vs. closed chakra feels like, etc. The training surrounding the Reiki and its application as well.The key factor about the name, rather it's about some of her house and take the form of energy by a locomotive with your own home.

Mrs. Takata was Hawaiian and traveled to the level of training in expanding their knowledge of chakras, meditation and fasting retreat on Mount Kurama, the location of a lifetime or several may be convenient or even teacher.These are reiki students who attended my classes.For me, that's on a trip to Africa that aims to attune yourself to a frequency that attunes with the deepest questions.To some people may be at least 2 months between levels One and Distance group Reiki treatment but crucial for the people who wish to lay on your way to study Reiki, or for some Reiki symbols but most of us have a willingness to surrender to God.It is through meditative arts such as these is better suited to being admitted to study Reiki was passed down by Reiki Master prepares the student is said to not need to help you even now utilized as a standalone profession.

#Reiki Chakra Information Best Diy Ideas #Learn Reiki Surrey

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pearcar93-blog · 5 years ago

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SIBO Made Simple | EP 14 | The Sleep-Gut Cycle: How Improving Your Sleep Can Heal Your Digestive System with Jennifer Hanway

Want to know one of the most popular SIBO treatment recommendations on this podcast? Stress management and sleep. Yes, low FODMAP foods and anti-microbials are only one part of the picture. In reality, our on-going gut health has everything to do with the simplest, most common sense lifestyle choices. And today’s episode is all about how to change your everyday habits to foster better rest and more of it.

Jennifer Hanway is a holistic nutritionist with practices in Boston and New York. More importantly, she’s a fellow gut warrior, who’s seen first-hand how sleep can impact daily stress levels and digestive health. If you’re looking for tangible ways to drastically improve your sleep, or just want to understand how our time under the covers effects intestinal motlity, today’s episode is for you!

A Quick Taste of What We’ll Cover:

Why sleep is so important for gut healing and why a damaged gut might hurt our ability to sleep

How hormones play a part in our circadian rhythm, preparing us for or precluding us from sleep

How melatonin works as a sleep aid and as part of our hormonal system

The best practices from morning to night for hacking our sleep cycles

How temperature and light can affect our ability to sleep

Tips if your main problem isn’t falling asleep but staying asleep

What your chronotype means about your sleep profile

What people dealing with SIBO should keep in mind about sleep

The best gut-friendly supplements to promote better sleep

How to navigate a partner’s sleep schedule if it’s much different than yours

Resources, mentions and notes:

This episode is brought to you by Butcher Box, a service that curates a selection of the best tasting, healthiest meat and poultry delivered to your door every 1 to 3 months. Their animals are grass-fed, organic, always free of antibiotics and hormones, AND a fraction of the price of what you would pay at Whole Foods for a comparable selection. I’ve been a subscriber for over a year and it’s been a game changer for my low FODMAP cooking. Use code SIBOMADESIMPLE at checkout for free shipping, a FREE package of their sugar-free bacon, AND $20 off your first order. Or simply go straight to https://www.butcherbox.com/sibomadesimple to take advantage of this offer.

WHAT DO SLEEP AND GUT HEALTH HAVE IN COMMON?

PHEOBE: Tell everyone a little bit about your story. I have listened to past interviews with you, obviously, and I feel like you said something to the effect of that you’ve made every mistake in the book when it comes to gut health.

JENNIFER: Yeah, I mean, I am the poster child for poor gut health. I was born in the 80s. That was the revolution for convenience food and TV dinners, and actually, having been married to my husband, I realized that in the UK we actually got away with it way more lightly than you guys did here in the US. I was a terribly unhealthy vegetarian from the age of 12 to the age of about 21, 22. I was on every antibiotic you could possibly imagine. I was on the contraceptive pill. I actually lived in Mexico for a while and got typhoid. Everything that you could possibly put in a box for gut health, I had that tick in a box.

I remember suffering with poor digestion and bloating and gas and everything as a child, and actually, the first time I got taken into hospital, I was 6 years old. I remember I’d been out for the day, and I had a McDonald’s. Later that evening, I got rushed into a hospital with a suspected appendicitis, and they couldn’t find anything wrong with me. It was just all of that through my childhood and my teens and my early 20s to the point where, in my 30s, I got to the point where my digestion was so bad. My system just stopped working. I got put on a morphine drip in hospital, and that was the point where I said enough is enough. Conventional medicine is not helping me.

I tried all of the testing. Nothing had come back conclusive. No one had ever mentioned anything about diet to me. Then as the universe does this wonderful thing of your two worlds colliding, it was at this point that I started working with my mentor who was a BioSignature Modulation practitioner. That is, of course, a certification that doesn’t exist anymore, but basically, it means that we look at the body a little bit on the side of stress and sleep and gut health and hormonal health and how your hormones relate to what’s going on in your blood, and all of that wonderful stuff, which is what put me on this path. As a mentee to her, she was my practitioner, and I think the two things that we put in were – I think it wasn’t even a probiotic at the time. It was take out gluten, and take some L-glutamine.

I was like I am willing to try anything at this point. The differences that that made just – it turned my life around, and it was just these – it was these two super simple things. It made me realize how great I could feel, and I was like I want to be able to do this for other people.

PHOEBE: What do you think your root causes were? Did you ever come across or ever get tested for celiac or anything like that?

JENNIFER: I come back as a – what they say is a false positive celiac. I get celiac type reactions, but I’m not a full-blown celiac. Really, it’s I’ve had the SIBO testing. Thankfully, I’m not SIBO. Put that out there. The doctor’s diagnosis was IBS, which, as we know, is really a blanket term for we don’t know what’s wrong with you. I really think it is a combination of poor diet and medication and stress and possibly genetics and epigenetics and, as I say, all of those ticks in the boxes of processed food, poor diet, stress, medication, a ton of antibiotics as a kid. I used to have really back ear and throat infections, so every other month, I was on antibiotics. I don’t think it was one of those things. I think it was a combination of all of those things.

PHOEBE: Just like macro damaged gut.

JENNIFER: Mm-hmm, I’m like tick, tick, tick all of the boxes.

PHOEBE: Oh, my goodness. It’s so funny about the appendicitis because you just helped me remember one of my own health memories and connect a dot that I haven’t thought about in years. There was a time I was at a dude ranch with my family in the middle of nowhere Arizona. I woke up in the night. My abdomen hurt so much, stabbing pain. I was hysterically crying. My parents had to go wake up the head of the ranch, and they called an ambulance.

JENNIFER: Oh, my goodness.

PHOEBE: It turned out it was gas.

JENNIFER: Yeah, that pain is like nothing else.

PHOEBE: Yeah, I’m like, oh, my gosh, I guess I was having acute issues even back then to the point where ambulances were being called. Oh, my God, I was so embarrassed.

JENNIFER: At least they didn’t throw you on the back of a cowboy, and you rode off on a horse.

PHOEBE: Yes.

JENNIFER: That would be an awesome story.

PHOEBE: I know. I mean, I wish that it had happened. I didn’t really need to be in a hospital, so that would’ve just been a fun ride. It might’ve taken my mind off of it. Okay, so today is a conversation. We are talking about the gut and sleep and why sleep is so important for gut healing but then also why a damaged gut might hurt our ability to sleep. Just give us the 411 on that.

JENNIFER: Yeah, so I started looking at the sleep research when I was really working with athletes and bodybuilders, and it was how to get the best rest and recovery for these athletes. I looked at it, and I was like this should be knowledge that everybody needs. Everybody needs to improve their sleep. Again, at the time, I was doing crazy early mornings and crazy late nights, so I wasn’t managing to get a lot of sleep. The sleep that I needed – it was a time when I was working in London and crazy schedule, doing the long distance relationship. It was a time when, if I only had six hours of sleep that night, that sleep needed to be a really great quality.

I started to look at the research and started to understand not just the link of why we need great sleep but how we get that great sleep. I think a lot of the times we think about getting great sleep is, oh, it’s what we do before we go to bed. We know the basics. We know we shouldn’t be scrolling on Instagram and Snapchat at 10 o’clock at night. We know we probably shouldn’t be watching Game of Thrones just before we go to bed, guilty.

PHOEBE: Guilty.

JENNIFER: Right, how can you not? We kind of know that screens are not a great idea. We know we should be going to bed earlier, but it’s really flipping the script on that and going, actually, it’s not what we do in those two hours or even that hour before we go to bed. What do we do from the minute that we wake up actually has such a knock-on effect on our stress levels during the day, and that in turn affects our sleep at night. I’ll scooch back a little bit, and we’ll tie it in with gut health. Really, our sleep is regulated by our circadian rhythm.

HOW THE CIRCADIAN RHYTHM AFFECTS DIGESTION

JENNIFER: I promise you, circadian rhythms are going to be the new celery juice, and you heard it here first. One of the most recent Nobel Prizes for science and health has gone to work in circadian rhythms, and what we used to think was that the body had one circadian rhythm. There’s 24-hour circadian rhythm. What the research has actually shown is that it’s not just our body that has a circadian rhythm, and it’s not just our organs that have a circadian rhythm. Every cell in the body has its own circadian rhythm. I’ll tell you how that was found out, and it’s quite gross but quite interesting.

PHOEBE: Every organ does have its own circadian rhythm in addition.

JENNIFER: Yes, every organ does, but then even on an even more micro level, every cell in the body has its own circadian rhythm.

PHOEBE: So interesting. This is something just for all of you out there that we discuss briefly in Episode 5, which is all about intermittent fasting. Dr. Amy Shah discussed how the idea behind it really has to do with the circadian rhythm of various organs in our digestive system and not actually meaning skip breakfast, basically. It really has a little bit more to do with our natural rhythms and eating according to that, but that was just a digression. Go back to how the gut plays into all of this.

JENNIFER: Exactly as you said, that every single organ has its own circadian rhythm, and we can think of it like multitasking. We know these days that multitasking doesn’t work, so if our bodies were trying to rest and repair and detoxify all at the same time, it wouldn’t happen. It’s like when we’re – let’s say we’re driving, and we’re trying to drive and eat our breakfast and drink our smoothie and drink our coffee and put our makeup on and check our Instagram and check Google maps all at the same time. We can’t do it. It’s a mess. That’s the reason why our bodies have different functions at different time, so they can prioritize that healing and that detoxification.

We know that when we’re sleeping, that’s our prime time for repair and detoxification. Whilst we’re sleeping should not be a time for digestion, so we want to have digestion finished way before we go to sleep. We don’t want our bodies to be digesting. There’s a million reasons why it’s very, very hard for us to digest whilst we’re asleep, and those two systems battle each other. We can’t digest while we’re sleeping, and we also can’t sleep while we’re digesting. Also, we want all of those nutrients from our food to be well into our bloodstream to be able to do the repair and the detoxification processes whilst we’re asleep.

PHOEBE: Very interesting. What happens when someone eats dinner at 9 o’clock and then goes straight to bed? Maybe in parenthesis, (what happens if someone with SIBO does that)?

JENNIFER: Don’t know who we could be talking about in this instance. What happens is that you’re going to have a few things. Our digestion actually slows down really between about 10 and 2 a.m. If you’re going to bed at 9, you’re still going to be in that process of digesting by 10 o’clock. What’s happening is that you’re doing that mechanical digestion, and you’re doing the chemical digestion. Then there’s also the electrical and the nervous system digestion as well, and that’s that motor complex. That’s what we have to be really, really careful with with SIBO.

What we’re thinking about is when food gets digested through the GI tract. Obviously, it’s going through that small intestine first. Now, we need to get that cleared out as quickly as we can so it doesn’t sit in the small intestine, and then encourage that bacteria to grow. For everybody, I would say we really want to stop eating at least two hours before we go to bed, but with SIBO, it’s especially important because we want that food to clear out of the small intestine so it doesn’t promote that growth of bacteria.

PHOEBE: That’s great. Then what are the downstream consequences of that? Obviously, eating too close to bedtime can cause SIBO, but then how can perhaps the impaired sleep compound everything?

JENNIFER: Our body has this wonderful system of feedback loops, and in this case, it’s more of a – we want to think of it more as a negative system of feedback loops. We have this wonderful symbiosis of, if our sleep is off, our gut health is going to be off and vice versa. If we have poor sleep, we’re going to be producing too many inflammatory compounds, which is then going to affect our gut health, which then in turn is going to loop back and affect our sleep. We have to think that these two things play hand in hand.

PHOEBE: Are the inflammatory compounds because our livers set – our liver’s work session is also in the middle of the night, so if that’s not working properly, then we’re sending things back out into circulation?

JENNIFER: Yeah, it’s one of the reasons, but we have to think of these inflammatory signals throughout the whole of the GI system. They’re coming from the GI tract, from the large intestine through the small intestine. Obviously, we want our liver to work. Our liver’s prime time is around that 1 o’clock and night. Since our liver’s having to work extra hard, that’s going to cause inflammation. All of these things are causing the inflammatory response in the body, which in turn then stops us from sleeping.

PHOEBE: Everything’s a viscous cycle. That’s what I’ve learned from my SIBO journey.

JENNIFER: It is.

PHOEBE: It’s just all one big feedback loop.

JENNIFER: I think that can really – if any of us have had any kind of gut health issues, I think that can be really – or any kind of health issues, that can be really challenging. I also think that we have to flip it and look at it as something that can empower us, and think that, well, if I improve one thing, it’s going to improve the rest of it. That’s how I look at holistic health. If I improve my gut health, it’s going to improve my sleep. If I improve my sleep, it’s going to improve my energy levels. If I improve my energy levels, I can work out more. If I can work out more, I can recover from stress better. On a positive day, I try and look at it from the positive side.

PHOEBE: Where do you start? I know that you think of health in terms of these pillars, which is one of the reasons why I like you so much and your philosophy. That’s essentially what I was doing with my year of health is really trying to focus in on what the pillars were, and obviously, I had a whole month dedicated to sleep. I’m curious and I guess it was one of my ongoing issues when I was designing my curriculum of where do you start? Is sleep your number one pillar?

JENNIFER: Sleep is my number one pillar, and I think that, if you can get sleep down, it really helps you look at those other pillars such as a great diet and exercise. If we’re not sleeping well, we’re not going to have the energy to work out. If we’re not sleeping well, our hunger hormones are going to be all over the place, and we cannot stick to a healthy diet. For me, if a client comes in to see me and they really are starting from scratch, number one is getting that sleep dialed in because it’s going to empower them to be able to do everything else.

VITAMIN D, MELATONIN & FIXING YOUR HORMONE IMBALANCES TO FIX YOUR SLEEP

PHOEBE: Absolutely, so I want to get into some of your really practical tips on this in a second, but you just brought up hormones. Before I did all my sleep research when I was a real layman layman, I didn’t really realize how much hormones play into the entire circadian rhythm and how all the fluctuations throughout the day prime us for sleep or preclude us from sleep. Can you just explain that pattern to people?

JENNIFER: You are speaking my language. I think one of the biggest things about hormones is people don’t actually realize what hormones are. We think of hormones.

PHOEBE: Yes, that too.

JENNIFER: We think of hormones. Especially as women, we think of estrogen and testosterone. We don’t think of hormones as in cortisol, our stress hormone, or insulin, our hormone that regulates blood sugar, or even melatonin, which is the hormone that regulates our circadian rhythm.

PHOEBE: Vitamin D.

JENNIFER: Vitamin D.

PHOEBE: We think of that as a vitamin, but really, it’s kind of a hormone.

JENNIFER: It is a hormone.

PHOEBE: It is a hormone.

JENNIFER: Our neurotransmitters that work as regulators for mood in the body, those are hormones too. I think, when we think of the endocrine system, we tend to just think in terms of our reproductive system, but actually, the endocrine system is – it really governs everything that we’re doing. Then when we talk about that governor, what we really want to think about is our circadian rhythm. Our circadian rhythm is – you can think of it as the conductor of your orchestra. Your circadian rhythm will design everything for you from when you’re energized, to when you wake up, to when you want to sleep, to when you want to eat, to when you want to socialize, to when you want to have sex, everything. That’s what our circadian rhythm governs when we secrete hormones. Now, one of the main regulators of that is melatonin. One of the issues of just flipping back to SIBO, the majority of our melatonin production happens in the small intestine.

PHOEBE: Oh, man.

JENNIFER: You’re like hell yes, so when we’re not producing enough melatonin, that’s really going to affect our sleep-wake cycle. That’s something that you really have to think about with SIBO, and it can be something where melatonin supplementation can come in useful. We can talk about that a little bit as we go along. We talk about the circadian rhythm, and it really drives everything that we do throughout the day, but just like any kind of rhythm, we have to think about – I almost think of it as a watch, an old fashion watch that you have to wind up. By winding your circadian rhythm, what you’re doing is regulating it by regulators of what we call zeitgebers or zeitgebers. These are things like light, heat, food, temperature, mental stimulation, social interaction, exercise, and all of these things help us keep our circadian rhythm on track.

PHOEBE: Yes, I thought it was one of the most interesting aspects of my sleep research, the temperature and the light. Actually, since it ties into the melatonin-Vitamin D relationship, can you explain how light affects our sleep routines, sorry, our sleep cycles?

JENNIFER: It’s the light and temperature are the main regulators of our circadian rhythm, which makes a lot of sense because we didn’t used to have iPhones to help us wake up in the morning. When we’re exposed to light, what that does is that suppresses our melatonin production, which then sets off this wonderful cascade of hormones that tells our body, okay, it’s time to upregulate body temperature. It’s time to upregulate digestion. It’s time to upregulate our metabolism. Basically, it’s time to wake up and get up and go. Then the other way is that when we stop getting this light stimulation. That increases our melatonin production, which makes us feel sleepy and puts us into that cascade of going to sleep. If we’re not getting that light, we’re not regulating that melatonin production.

PHOEBE: How much is the light – I know, obviously, there’s a whole conversation about blue light giving our brain false signals. How much of it is the Vitamin D we’re getting from the light, and how much of it is the blue light itself? I assume we’re not getting Vitamin D deposits from our iPhones.

JENNIFER: We’re not getting Vitamin D deposits from our iPhones, and actually, we’re not getting that much Vitamin D from sunlight these days, especially not – we’re on the East Coast, most of my clients from the East Coast or London. The Vitamin D that they’re getting from the sunlight isn’t really out there. What it really is is that we don’t just want to think about banishing blue light or limiting blue light in the evening. We want to be thinking about that exposure to daylight during the day. That, actually, in my opinion, has more of an effect on our sleep-wake cycle than limiting the light. Actually getting outside and getting out into daylight is probably more important than banishing that blue light in the evenings.

We’ve seen people go to – we know this in the wellness world. If something is good, then more must be better. I’m not just going to have one green juice a day. I’m going to have a bucket of green juice a day. Now what we’re seeing with people stopping the blue light coming in is that they’re wearing these blue blocking glasses throughout the day.

PHOEBE: Because they look cool?

JENNIFER: They look cool, and they like #biohacking. What they want to do, what we really need to do is get as much blue light during the day as we can. Then stop it coming in from sunset. We need that blue light exposure to tell our bodies it’s daytime. We have to be energized. We have to think. We have to move. We have to eat. Then only after sunset do we need to think about putting our blue light blockers on because that’s the time that we should be winding down.

PHOEBE: Oh, my gosh, I didn’t know that people were just wearing them around, just like less blue light, less blue light. That’s so funny. I feel like the flipside of that is people supplementing with Vitamin D, and I know people who will just take it at any which time of the day. One of the things that I always tell people because I do actually weirdly get asked about this a lot is to take it in the morning to facilitate the wakeup process. A lot of people who will just – maybe they take their supplements at night and not first thing in the morning, or take them several times a day. If you’re taking Vitamin D right before bed, that’s going to affect your sleep.

JENNIFER: Right, and number one, we don’t want to be – unless it’s a specific sleep supplement, we don’t want to be taking our supplements before bed because they’re not going to digest and absorb. The other thing about Vitamin D is we can be taking all of this Vitamin D. Number one, are we absorbing it? We know with most people with gut health issues malabsorption is a huge part of that. My clients come to see me, and they’ve got gut health issues and malabsorption. I’m not going to throw a million and one horse pill size supplements at them. At best, they’re not going to just not absorb them, and at worse, it’s going to affect their digestive system. I think number one is making sure you are actually – you’re optimizing your gut health. You are actually digesting things.

Number two is maybe getting your Vitamin D tested and finding out actually where your levels are. Although, as I say, most people from the East Coast or – we know that they’re going to be in the tank. Number two is maybe thinking about can I do my Vitamin D as a liquid supplement rather than as a capsule?

PHOEBE: Okay, so we’re starting in the morning. We’re getting outside. We’re getting some sunlight. I know you have lots of tips for what to do throughout the day. Where do we go from there?

JENNIFER: Okay, so let’s go back even further to that, and let’s talk about how we actually wake up. Most of us probably wake up with our alarms on our phones, okay? That’s a number one no-no, so we really want to prioritize how we’re waking up. When we wake up, we wake up because we naturally have a spike in a hormone called cortisol, which is – it gets a bad rap because it’s a hormone that we produce when we’re stressed out, but we also need cortisol to live. We need it for energy. What we want to do is we want to naturally wake up rather than being jerked out of a deep sleep by some awful screeching noise. Then the first thing that we do is check our emails or our Instagram because our phone is there, and that is now becoming human nature. I really am a huge advocate for daylight alarm clock, which let’s say you have to get up at 7 a.m. You set the alarm for 7, and around 6:30, it starts to emit this bright light, which stimulates your pineal gland, which tells it to suppress melatonin, so you don’t feel sleepy. The suppression of melatonin upregulates the other hormones, which makes you wake up, and you have this wonderful feeling when you wake up of, oh, I’m awake rather than, shit, I’m awake.

Flipping back, so we’ve woken up with our daylight alarm clock. We’re going to get up, and we’re going to expose ourselves to as much natural light as possible. I know, being on the East Coast in the winter, sometimes that’s a little bit challenging, so we can flip on all of our lights as well. If you’re someone who’s low energy in the morning, the last thing you want to do is crawl out of bed with one eye closed and keep the lights down. You want to wake up, and you want to open all of the curtains. You never want to hit snooze. That’s just going to mess up sleep cycle. If you set an alarm, you set the alarm. You wake up. You turn the lights on. You open the curtains, and you expose yourself to as much light as possible.

It’s going to suppress melatonin. It’s going to start to wake you up, and you’re going to feel ready for your day. Then what’s going to happen 12 to 14 to 16 hours afterwards, it already sets off the circadian rhythm telling you when you’re going to start getting sleepy.

PHOEBE: Yeah, I think that’s something that becomes a really tricky part of the cycle of insomnia.

JENNIFER: Exactly, and then there’s that whole part of anxiety around sleep is that let’s say you go to sleep. You’ve had a bad night of sleep before, or you are going through a bout of insomnia, or you have to get up early the next day. You lie in bed, and you start to get stressed out, and you start to count the hours. In that case, what you really want to do is not associate your bedroom with not being able to get to sleep. You try to get to sleep. It’s not happening. Maybe after 20, 30 minutes, get out of bed. Go to a dimly lit room, read, meditate, hang out with your animals. Don’t put the internet back on again, and then go back to bed. You don’t want to associate your bed and your bedroom with the place that you cannot get to sleep.

PHOEBE: Yes, no, that’s a very important point. Okay, so where are we, mid-morning?

JENNIFER: We just got out of bed.

PHOEBE: We still just got out, okay.

JENNIFER: We still just got out of bed. It’s a long morning. We’ve got out of bed. We’ve exposed ourselves to daylight. Let’s say that we’re maybe going to have some coffee. I’m okay with coffee for about 95% of my clients. If you’re having real adrenal issues or real thyroid issues, that’s when we really want to say, okay, let’s give the coffee a break, but for most people, one or two cups of low-acid organic coffee if it doesn’t give you too much stomach upset, and especially if you’re going low acid, it’s not going to be the end of the world.

CORTISOL, ADRENAL FATIGUE AND SLEEP ISSUES

PHOEBE: Just to explain the cortisol again, when does it hit the peak again?

JENNIFER: Everyone’s going to have a slight outline, and then we can also talk about something really fun, which is chronotypes as well. Going back to our cortisol, cortisol should raise naturally in the morning. It’s around its peak about 12 o’clock. You will have a natural dip about 3 o’clock. That mid-afternoon slump is normal, but it shouldn’t lay you out. Then around 6 o’clock in the evening, then it will start to taper off to around about 9 o’clock in the evening when it really starts to come down for sleep.

PHOEBE: People with “adrenal fatigue” have just basically used up too much of their cortisol resources. Their graph will look just like flatlined throughout the day, right?

JENNIFER: Yeah, so there’s a lot of – so adrenal fatigue is this blanket term that we use for something that I prefer to call HPA axis dysfunction, which basically is telling us that we are either – usually before we get to that flatline, we see dysregulated cortisol, so we’ll see cortisol spikes and dips at times during the day where it shouldn’t be. Let’s say, for example, I know when I struggle with my thyroid issues, I would get this real surge of energy about 1 o’clock at lunchtime and then a real big dip in the afternoon. Then I would try to go to sleep about 9, 10 o’clock, and I’d have this huge surge of energy. We call it a cortisol curve. That’s my cortisol curve being dysregulated, so my body is pumping out cortisol at the wrong times. Before we get to that flatline, we’ll find that we pump out too much cortisol because it’s our stress response. We’ll pump out cortisol at too – after, not too much.

Then we get to the point which makes people consider as adrenal fatigue or what we also know as burnout where we’re not producing – and it’s usually a combination of the two. We’re not producing any cortisol, or the cortisol receptors on our cells have been desensitized. This is the same thing that happens with insulin resistance is that we’ve just been pumping out cortisol all of the time, but the receptors in the cell just say hang on. There’s always cortisol around. I’m not going to recognize this. That’s where you start to see people really flatline and really have no energy because cortisol is also our energy hormone as well as our stress hormone.

PHOEBE: Right, okay, cool, I’m so glad you clarified that. Okay, so where are we in the morning again?

JENNIFER: In the morning, if we have great thyroid and adrenal health, we’re going to have a cup of coffee. Yes, coffee, caffeine raises cortisol, but in the morning, that’s okay. What I would say is that, if you are someone like me who’s a real morning person, you don’t need your coffee first thing in the morning. Leave it for a few hours so when you might need that little bit of an energy boost. The other thing that we can do in the morning to really support our adrenals is Himalayan salt and lime in some warm water.

PHOEBE: Yes, love it.

JENNIFER: It’s taking that lemon and warm water that we’ve all been doing for years, adding in the lime, which is slightly more alkalizing, and then adding in some Himalayan salt, which is really, really supportive for our adrenals. I think we all worry about our vitamin status. What we really should be worried about is our mineral status. If we’re eating a generally healthy diet with some fruit and vegetables, some great protein sources, we’re not going to be super low on some of our vitamins. However, most of my clients that I see are super low in really, really important minerals, and that’s because the minerals have been farmed out of our diet. It’s because we’re not eating mineral rich foods, so we’re not eating those kind of foods that we would consider gross like liver and, I don’t know, oysters and mussels, the foods that are really, really mineral rich. Then, also, when we’re super stressed out, our stress hormones steal those minerals from our body to make them. For example, cortisol, when we make cortisol, it will steal magnesium from other bodily processes to make cortisol, so we’re really, really mineral deficient.

PHOEBE: Interesting, I thought it had more to do with the fact that there’s a dance with cortisol and our kidneys. I feel like it’s the old adage, the nervous person who has to pee all the time, and in the process of flushing the pee, we’re flushing a lot of minerals as well.

JENNIFER: Exactly, one, it’s getting the minerals to stay in our body, and sometimes that has to do with an electrolyte balance. Getting in this Himalayan salt could really help balance out our electrolytes, which obviously has to do with our minerals as well, and it can help support our adrenals. We’re mineral deprived, and also, most of us don’t put salt on our food these days because we’ve been told that white table salt is bad. We’re not getting sodium and potassium, which help that electrolyte balance, which actually help the minerals stay in our body.

PHOEBE: How does that affect sleep?

JENNIFER: What’s that going to do is that’s going to help support your adrenals, so you’re not going to be pumping out too much cortisol when you don’t need to. We know that if we have that dysregulated cortisol, that’s going to affect our sleep patterns.

PHOEBE: Okay, awesome.

JENNIFER: Yeah, either the pink salt or the gray salt, they’re going to be the ones that are most rich in minerals. We’ve had that. We may have had a little bit of coffee. We’re going to have our breakfast. Breakfast, really, it’s dependent on – for me, if my clients are insulin sensitive, then I say go ahead and have some carbs at breakfast because that’s when most people are insulin sensitive. If they’re dealing with any kind of blood sugar swings or insulin resistance, that’s where I say we have our smoothie. We have our eggs. We have whatever we’re having, that protein-based breakfast.

WHAT IS THE BEST TIME TO EXERCISE FOR SLEEP?

JENNIFER: In an ideal world, we’re going to do our cardio workouts in the morning because cardio releases more cortisol than strength training. Now, I say that with, excuse the pun, a pinch of salt. A lot of people, you will say, ideally, you do your cardio in the morning and your strength training in the evening. They’ll take that as, oh, if I can only do my training in the morning, then I’ll only do it in the morning, and I shouldn’t train if I can’t train in the evening. Number one is move your body, and we know that for so many reasons, for gut health and motility, for stress levels. Number two is, if you can choose, ideally you’re doing your cardio, your running, your boxing, your spinning, your barres, whatever that is in the morning, and you’re doing your strength training in the evening, in an ideal world.

PHOEBE: I mean, I always wonder this. Most yoga, I suspect it’ll fall into the evening, but CorePower yoga, does that go in the morning?

JENNIFER: Exactly, it’s that type of yoga. If you’re doing your Ashtanga, or your CorePower yoga, or your super sweaty Bikram yoga, anything that’s really going to get your heartrate up, that’s going to come in the morning. Anything that’s your Hatha, your more relaxing, your more balanced yoga, that’s perfect for the evenings. I always want to just put that with a caveat of it’s really important to move your body, so do the best that you can.

PHOEBE: Great caveat.

JENNIFER: It’s with all of these things. It’s like I’m going to give you the ideal, and if you can meet me somewhere 70 to 80% of that, we’re all good.

PHOEBE: Awesome, okay, so are we at lunchtime yet?

JENNIFER: We’re at lunchtime. We are at lunchtime, so for most people, if you have a desk job, this is the time that we don’t do that side desk lunch. That is the time that we have to get up, and we have to move around. We have to get outside, and we have to make sure that we’re eating something that’s nourishing to our body. We have to get away from that computer screen. We have to get out. We have to get moving. We have to remind our body that it’s still time to be awake.

If you’re working in an office with no access to fresh air, or to daylight, or to social interaction, your body’s going to start to feel sleepy because it thinks it has no reason to stay awake. This is the time that really, really, really get away from your desk and go out. Walk around for 20 minutes. You might not be getting your Vitamin D, but you’re exposing yourself to daylight, which tells your body, okay I’ve still got a few more hours to keep going.

PHOEBE: Yes, love that. Okay, so progressing into the evening.

STRESS MANAGEMENT AS A NATURAL SLEEP AID

JENNIFER: Yeah, so I think really looking at – the other thing that we really want to be thinking about during the day is managing and mitigating our cortisol response. As we know, when we’re faced with a stressful event, we produce cortisol, and cortisol is catabolic to the body. When we say something is catabolic, it means breaking down, so in terms of gut health, we so often see stress and gut health in the same person because stress breaks down our tissues, which increases our intestinal permeability, which then increases leaky gut, which then increases inflammation, etc., etc., etc. What we want to be thinking about is how do we manage that stress throughout the day rather than waiting ‘til 8 o’clock when we get home, and we sit in front of the couch with a glass of wine? By that time, it’s too – and there’s nothing wrong with that. That time, it’s too late to lower your cortisol levels before we go to bed, so we have to be thinking about managing that cortisol throughout the day.

What I ask my clients to do is to come up with a toolbox of things that help them de-stress. That could be anything from a simple breathing exercise to help get us into rest and digest mode rather than in fight or flight. It could be listening to their favorite piece of music. It could be eating two squares of dark chocolate, which is my personal favorite.

PHOEBE: Me too. (and you can take out the laughing)

JENNIFER: Right, I say two [0:41:13]. It could be just lying – it could be lying with your legs up against a wall. It could be anything that just takes you out of fight and flight and puts you into rest or digest, so you’re calming down your central nervous system. You’re activating your parasympathetic nervous system, and we need to think about doing this at certain points during the day rather than just waiting and letting it all build up until we get home. If we’re thinking about managing our cortisol levels at 8 o’clock at night, it’s too late. Our hormonal balance is all off. Really, it’s just finding those little simple things during the day that can help us manage our stress.

PHOEBE: I love that. I started a meditation practice. Vedic meditation, they say, ideally, you do 20 minutes in the morning and then 20 minutes around 4 p.m. For me, it’s like I have trouble fitting everything in the morning. I have trouble if I want to work out. It’s like an either or for me. You’ve actually just freed me to think about, well, maybe the afternoon session is the more important session for me, and it’s usually the one that I skip.

JENNIFER: Right, probably, in the morning, you’re still energized. The day hasn’t got a –the day hasn’t got to you. You’re not too stressed out, but also, it’s just knowing that even any breath where your exhale is longer than your inhale is going to calm down your central nervous system. I work with a lot of corporate clients, and they’re running in between meetings. They don’t have that time to sit and meditate for 20 minutes, but they do have time to take a deep breath before they go into that meeting. They do have time just to take a second and maybe do a box breathing exercise, or run to the restroom and just take a few breaths. Just knowing that it seems so simple but it really can help balance those cortisol levels and help them dampen down.

PHOEBE: Yes, I love box breathing. For those who don’t know, you’re basically just doing a count. Let’s say it’s four, four breaths in. Hold it for four, four breaths out. Hold it for four, right?

JENNIFER: Yeah, so it’s inhale for four. Hold for four. Exhale for four. Hold for four. It takes 16 seconds, and if we can’t find 16 seconds in our day, we’re in trouble. No one knows you’re doing it. You don’t have to be sat cross-legged at your desk holding a mudra and Oming. You can just breathe deeply, and I think that’s really important for people to understand is that we can make this look like everyday life.

PHOEBE: Yes, so I feel like we’re now in the evening, and this is where a lot of people make their mistakes. It’s also where there’s room to hack our cycles and prepare ourselves for sleep. What can we do to set the stage?

JENNIFER: You want to think about your evening routine as it’s really the opposite from your morning routine, and what I ask a lot of my clients to do is to find a transition sequence between work and home. We all know that we may leave the office. We may leave work. We know that we’re probably going to be working on a project or at least checking our emails, or we’re going to have some interaction with work during the evening. Whilst we try our hardest not to, real life is real life, and I always want to meet people where they’re at. What I suggest to them is to – even if they know that they’re going to be working from home, is to create a transition sequence. This could be something like listening to your favorite podcast on the way home. It could be changing your clothes the minute you get in. It could be taking your dog for a walk. It could be having your favorite cup of herbal tea.

Whatever it is that signifies to the body that just tells you, okay, now we’re in a safe space. Now we can calm down. Now we don’t’ have to be in that fight of flight mode. Then we’re just in a much better space to be able to relax in the evening. Then if we have to check an email or we have to work a little bit on a project, we don’t feel that we’re fully in work mode. It really doesn’t matter what that transition sequence is. It’s more doing it every day, so it tells your body, okay, it’s time to relax now. I don’t have to be so stressed out. That’s how I would start my evening.

If we’re going to work out in the evening, strength training or yoga is a great thing to do in the evening. The absolute worst thing that you can do in the evening is go to your 8:30 p.m. SoulCycle class, and have your instructor shouting at you, and the lights are flashing. You’ve got your music on, and your body is like, all right, let’s go. I’ll take a SoulCycle class maybe once every few months when I’m traveling. I really have to be in the mood. I put my earplugs in because I’m an old lady. If you think of everything that you shouldn’t do at 8:30 at night, you shouldn’t be going to a SoulCycle class.

PHOEBE: I want to talk about travel, actually, in a second, but just to close the loop on the nighttime stuff– so light is, obviously, you want to wear your blue light glasses. You want to avoid really close face-to-face contact with devices like an iPhone.

JENNIFER: Yeah, you can hack those things as well. Everything that you do in the morning, you do the opposite at night, so when the sun starts to set, that’s when you turn off your big electric lights. That’s when you put your lamps or your candles on. You put your blue blockers on. You make sure that you have your phone set to night mode, and that’s a really easy thing to do. I’m someone who’s super stimulated by blue light. When I put my phone on to – I usually do it about 6 o’clock at night. It takes out any blue light in the device, so the device has a really warm color. You can do the same things to your laptop. There’s a program called f.lux or flux, which means that we do have to work on our devices in the evenings. It just makes it a little less stressful for us so blue blockers, dimming that light, and then really thinking about what and when we’re eating in the evenings, which is super important for everyone. It’s super important for people with the issues of gut health but even more important for those with SIBO.

WHAT IS THE IDEAL TEMPERATURE FOR SLEEP?

PHOEBE: Yes, absolutely, I’ll just add a temperature thing. It’s been really helpful for me is I’ve never been a nighttime showerer because I don’t like to go to sleep with wet hair, but I am now a nighttime bather. It really helps my relationship to sleep. I’m lucky to live in a state where there’s not a water shortage yet but even just running that bath and hopping in there for ten minutes. To me, there’s always time for a bath. Even just that ten minutes of relaxation is just such a game changer and then adding some Epsom salts in there. I love it.

(you can cut out her laughing if it’s weird)

JENNIFER: What you’re doing with that is, yes, you’re giving yourself time to relax, which is wonderful, but you’re actually doing what your circadian rhythm naturally does. This taking a hot bath and letting yourself cool naturally actually mimics what happens with our temperature regulating with our circadian rhythm. In an ideal world, what happens is just before we go to sleep our body temperature rises, and then it drops. By taking a hot bath, you’re telling your circadian rhythm, okay, my temperature’s going up, and now it’s dropping. You’re doing that exactly right, and then leading on from that, we should be sleeping at temperature around about 65 degrees at night, which is a lot cooler than most people sleep.

PHOEBE: Yes, that’s cold.

JENNIFER: A little tip for that is I have a husband who I swear is part werewolf, and even in the dead of winter when there’s six foot of snow on ground here in Boston, he’ll sleep with no covers. I have learned to sleep in the cold, and actually, it’s the most restorative – we sleep in the cold because it’s very restorative for our bodies to sleep in that cold temperature. It can take a little getting used to. What I’d say is make sure you’re wearing socks. The best way for us actually to sleep is to sleep naked with a pair of socks on. It isn’t the cutest, but we can make it work.

PHOEBE: Wait, naked but with the socks. Why naked?

JENNIFER: Aha, naked but with the socks. Naked with the socks is naturally going to lower your body temperature, but if you’re cold like a lot of us are, then wearing the socks helps regulate your body temperature a little bit so you don’t feel freezing. That’s one way of doing it. Then the other way is that we have something called a chilly pad because my husband likes to be freezing when he’s sleeping, and that’s just almost the opposite of an electric blanket. He has that on his side. I don’t have it on my side. Really, we want to be – between 65 and 67 is really where we want to be sleeping for restorative sleep.

PHOEBE: Oh, my God, a chilly pad, my other nightmare. I’m always cold.

JENNIFER: Yeah, I couldn’t do it. I can sleep in the 65 degrees. I actually sleep so much better. I understand why it’s important for me to do it, but yeah, I can’t do the chilly pad. That’s his thing. If you do have problem sleeping, have that hot bath. Bring your body temperature down. It’s also great for women that are going through menopause. If you’re having the night seats or the hot flashes, that’s a really good thing to do as well. Yeah, just number one thing is you want to be sleeping in a cool room.

PHOEBE: Love it. Okay, I wanted to talk about travel and napping. You got a lot of listener questions, so I want to jump to those really quick so that we get through them. One person said help. I have no trouble falling asleep, but waking up at 4 a.m. is my biggest issue. What can I do?

JENNIFER: This would be to do with – if you’re waking up at 4 a.m., it could be one that she is naturally – so let’s talk about chronotype. This could be two things. This could be that she naturally wakes up at 4 a.m., and that’s her genetic type or her chronotype. Now, chronotypes are the times that we naturally wake up, go to sleep. It’ how our circadian rhythm works a little bit more on a genetic and personal level. That’s four chronotypes, lion, wolf, bear, and dolphin, and you can find those out by – it’s thepowerofwhenquiz.com. I’m a lion, which means that I naturally wake up around 5 a.m., and I am good to go. Now, what that means on the flipside, it means I have to be in bed by about 8:30, 9 o’clock in order for me to get good restful sleep. It could be that she’s naturally wired that way. If so, she needs to make sure that she’s getting to sleep nice and early, or it could be a spike in cortisol that’s coming a little bit too early, so she’s the type of person that really needs to take care to regulate that circadian rhythm. What’s probably happening is that it’s – what’s waking her up is that her cortisol is spiking at 4 o’clock, and that’s a little early for most people.

PHOEBE: What besides just generally balancing your blood sugar – what else can she do in order to help the cortisol spiking issue?

JENNIFER: Number one, it’s finding consistency in our routine. We should be going to bed at the same time every night and waking up at the same time ever morning seven days a week. Our bodies and our sleep and our circadian rhythms love consistency. The other thing is really thinking about managing our stress during the day so really thinking about keeping our blood sugar balanced during the day, as you said. When we have blood sugar swings, we have cortisol swings as well. If she’s experiencing a stressful moment at work, it’s time just to take a step back and breathe, and not just try and get over it and think about – worrying about it later. It’s creating a regular exercise routine. It’s really thinking about what can I do to get my cortisol curve regulated throughout the day so it’s not going to spike at weird times during the night? It’s not something that we can change in a couple of days, but being really, really consistent with managing stress throughout the day can make a change in a couple of weeks times.

PHOEBE: Could it also be – I know our organs all have their own circadian clock. Let’s say the time is super consistent every night. Would that point you to maybe a specific organ that’s off, or is it usually the cortisol spike?

JENNIFER: It’s usually a mixture of both. With something about 4 o’clock in the morning, that’s really – by that time, our bodies really have done all of their repair and detoxification. Usually we see things like – usually, if my clients are awake between 1 and 2 in the morning, I usually know that’s related to liver function, but 4 o’clock in the morning to me sounds like a little bit more like a cortisol spike than an organ function.

HOW TO WORK AROUND YOUR PARTNER’S SLEEP SCHEDULE

PHOEBE: Got it, okay, second question, how do you get better sleep when your partner’s late work hours interrupt your schedule nightly?

JENNIFER: Okay, so I have a partner who – he’s my husband. Sometimes I call him my boyfriend. We’ve been married for years. My husband has a very opposite schedule to me, and so he comes to bed around 11, 11:30. I’m usually in bed asleep by 9:30, so I have to make sure I am fast asleep and in a deep sleep. Bless him, he’s twice the size of me, and he’s like Shamu the whale when he gets into bed. He will get into bed, and he will toss and turn.

I have to make sure I’m in a really deep sleep, and to do this, I have to wear what I call my face bra. It’s my eye mask. I’m not sponsored by them. I think they’re the best eye mask in the world. They’re called Bucky. You get it form Amazon. You can get it form Bed Bath & Beyond. They literally look like a face bra. What they do is that they give your eyes space. They really are a little bit more stuck to the face around your whole eye socket, and they really, really work as an eye mask.

Then the other thing you need to think about is silicone earplugs. These are the ones that swimmers use, and you don’t want to jam them in your ears because that’s really dangerous. You want to create a seal with it, so you seal off your ears. Then make sure you’re going to bed at least 90 minutes before he is.

PHOEBE: Hmm, good tip. Yeah, I struggle with that too, and I’m always tired before my husband. He usually has nighttime events that maybe will keep him in late, and it’s so disruptive for me because I have trouble falling asleep. It’s always that wiggle room between – oh, so we actually – we set a rule. If you’re home later than 11 p.m. on a weeknight, you’ve broken the law. It’s like I text my husband. I’m like are you going to break the law tonight? At that point, it’s already 10:30, and I’m trying to decide. Do I even try and go to bed because I know I’m going to be disturbed, or do I just wake up because that’s just, honestly, the more productive thing to do? Then I’ll be really tired when I go to bed.

JENNIFER: I mean, for us, really, we’ve had to understand that – it’s hard. I want to see my husband at the end of the day. Literally, 9:30 is my cutoff. If I don’t start going to sleep by 9:30, then I’m a wreck in the morning. Actually, we know it’s better for our relationship and for the health of our marriage for me to get a good sleep than for me to see him for five minutes in the evening. I’m even an advocate of, if you’re not going to get to sleep, you guys can sleep in separate rooms.

PHOEBE: I know.

JENNIFER: I honestly think that is more important for a good marriage than for seeing your partner when you’re tired and cranky. You’re always pissed at them because they’ve come in late, and you want to get to sleep.

PHOEBE: Oh, I’m pissed. You’ve broken the law.Okay, that’s great advice, the 90 minutes before. Okay, one more, any supplements besides magnesium that are gut safe and promote better sleep? Maybe this is one we can talk about, melatonin supplementing for SIBO peeps.

HOW TO USE MAGNESIUM FOR SLEEP AND STRESS + THE BEST GUT FRIENDLY NATURAL SLEEP SUPPLEMENTS

JENNIFER: Yeah, so I like to supplement with melatonin on a short-term basis. It’s interesting. In the UK, you can’t get melatonin over the counter, which is crazy because it’s…

PHOEBE: Wow!

JENNIFER: Yeah, so if I go back, I have to sneak in my melatonin. I don’t think melatonin is something that we should be – we shouldn’t depend on it, so we can use it as a short-term fix. Quite often sometimes, it’s about retraining the circadian rhythm. Especially with SIBO, it’s about making sure that we have enough melatonin in the system, but it’s also about taking that anxiety away from sleep as well. I do find that I think 5 mgs of melatonin is quite a lot for people, so 2 to 3 is a good amount. Then we can soften that out with some herbs and some adaptogens as well. This is your things like – something like some reishi or something. Maybe doing a smaller amount of a melatonin supplement and putting in some calming reishi, some CBD oil, if that works for you. Whatever those things are that help soften and take the edge off it as well.

It’s interesting that you mentioned magnesium. Magnesium actually isn’t a sleep supplement. Magnesium we should think of as a stress supplement.

PHOEBE: Is it better to take magnesium earlier in the day?

JENNIFER: Magnesium you can take throughout the day. What’s important about magnesium is that you’re, A, digesting it, and B, that you’re making sure that you’re taking all different four types of – so there’s four different chelates of magnesium, and we want to be finding a supplement that has all of those chelates. Quite often, I’ll have clients come to me, and they’re like, well, I have to take my magnesium because it makes me poop. I’m like, A, you shouldn’t have to take a magnesium supplement to make your poop, and B, if that’s all it’s doing, it’s not doing anything other than making you poop. It’s finding a great magnesium supplement that has the different types of magnesium in it, and also, I really love to do a topical magnesium. For my clients that have gut health issues, I know that anything that I can do transdermal, so on the skin, can make a really big difference. They’re actually getting it straight into their bloodstream rather than it going through their massive digestive system. Magnesium lotion behind the – you put it behind your elbows and behind your knees can be a really great way of upping your magnesium. We are all deficient in magnesium.

PHOEBE: Oh, I didn’t know that about the elbows and knees. I actually started using the – I think it’s Dead Sea company, the oil spray. I just spray it on myself right before I get in the bath.

JENNIFER: Do it after you’ve had the bath.

PHOEBE: Oh, after, okay. Just omit this

JENNIFER: Yeah, that’s when your pores are most open. Then the skin behind elbows and our knees, that’s the thinnest, so it’s the most absorbent.

PHOEBE: Okay, one more reader question. One is how do I start taking Ambien and actually sleep through the night? We’ve answered the second half. Do you have any tips on weaning off of Ambien?

JENNIFER: As a nutritionist and not a medical practitioner, I cannot comment on medications. What I will say, though, is something I do love to do is help to empower my clients, talk to their physicians and their PCPs. A lot of the times, especially gut health and especially my young women, I’ll ask them if they’re on any medication, and they’ll say no. Then I’ll have to ask them, well, are you on any antianxiety or birth control? They’re like, oh, yeah, I’m on this. I’m on that. You’re not the only one is number one, and number two is having a conversation with your PCP about it. Is this the lowest effective dose for me? Is this the right brand for me? Is this the best one considering my health history?

When we’re on a medication and we want to come off it, it needs to be a conversation with your healthcare practitioner, and if you can’t have that conversation with your healthcare practitioner, you need to change your PCP. We spend more time shopping for shoes than we do for our healthcare team, so that should be a conversation that you should be able to have with your healthcare practitioner. It may not be something that you go off straightaway, but it may be, okay, what’s still going to be an effective but lower dose for me, or is this the right brand for me? Really, I think it’s more about empowering people to be able to talk to their practitioners about the best option for them. Sorry, I got really passionate about that.

PHOEBE: No, that’s great advice. Okay, then the next question, do benzos damage the gut and sleep cycle in any way?

JENNIFER: Yes, blatantly yes. Again, it’s that conversation of speaking with your healthcare practitioner, finding those different options that work for you. For me, it’s always – if I’m working with someone on medication, it’s how can I support what you’re going through with nutrition and supplements, but how can I partner with your doctor? If you are on medications – I’m going to say this a million times. If you are taking medications and you want to start a supplement regime, you have to check those with your doctors first.

PHOEBE: What do the benzos exactly do to the gut?

JENNIFER: Again, they’re going to have that destructive effect. Anything that we’re doing that we are knocking off any of the cell signaling. A lot of the time when we take any kind of medication, what we’re doing is stopping any parts of our systems signaling to each other and communicating with each other. When we’re looking at anything like that, we’re stopping signaling which is affecting our HPA axis, which is affecting our cortisol production, which is affecting our circadian rhythms.

PHOEBE: Yeah, that’s a good explanation. Oh, my gosh, I don’t know where the time went. I just love sleep conversation so much. We need to do a Part 2. Just to end for today back on the subject of SIBO and for those gut people like ourselves, what should they keep in mind about sleep besides the fact that it’s essential for recovery? Is there anything else you want to add in terms of SIBO specific things?

JENNIFER: Yeah, with the SIBO specific thing, I think, number one, it’s that making sure you have that gastric clearance before you go to bed. Sometimes we look at this, and I flip intermittent fasting on its head. I call it time restricted eating because it feels a little bit more manageable for people. If we can do a 12-hour window between finishing our dinner and starting our breakfast, that is – it’s going to get great results, but it’s also really manageable. If you finish eating at 7 o’clock at night, you start eating at 7 o’clock in the morning. Don’t try and jump into that straightaway. If you’re someone that finishes – usually finishes eating at 10 o’clock and has your breakfast at 7 o’clock, bring it back half an hour and half an hour and half an hour. I really think in terms of if there was a number on tip is to finish eating earlier if you can and then thinking about managing your stress response. If you can manage your stress response during the day, you can’t help but get great sleep.

PHOEBE: Improve your gut at the same time.

JENNIFER: Improve your gut because those things go absolutely hand in hand. If we’re not sleeping, we’re not repairing any of our bodily systems, especially not the gut.

PHOEBE: This has just been such a delight on the subject of the time restricted eating. A reminder for you guys, if you’re curious about how to go about that, we have a whole Episode 5 that gives even more tips on the subject. I will put in the show notes also where you can find Miss Jenny. She has an entire course dedicated to stress and sleep, and I hope that you will continue your relationship with her on the Interweb, or if you’re in Boston or New York, maybe in person.

JENNIFER: Come and see me.

Disclaimer: The information in this podcast does not provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, or treatment. The information discussed is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical or professional care.

Source: https://feedmephoebe.com/smsepisode14/

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fastercures · 6 years ago

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In Case You Missed it: Webinar on the Game-Changing Impact of Empowering Patients with Health Data

by Mark Williams, Associate

The world of health data exists all around us, with apps, wearables, electronic health records, and other devices constantly gathering information about our lives. Clinical care, the focus of our health systems, only account for 11% of our overall health, meaning that there exists a goldmine of information gathered from diverse sources across an individual’s life. This information could not only benefit the biomedical R&D system but also could allow everyone to live happier, healthier lives.

This environment is how moderator Tanisha Carino, executive director, FasterCures, a center of the Milken Institute, set the stage for the July 19 FasterCures webinar, “The Game-Changing Impact of Empowering Patients with Health Data.” In an R&D system that increasingly relies on data, patients are often unaware of where their gathered data are held and may not understand how to utilize and access their information. However, surveys have shown that when patients do access their data, they often find it useful.

Webinar panelists Lucia Savage, chief privacy and regulatory officer, Omada Health, Erin Mackay associate director, health information technology programs, National Partnership for Women & Families, and Taylor Cusher, associate director, FasterCures, discussed these challenges facing stakeholders across the health-care spectrum, in addition to highlighting the potential benefits of more fully utilizing health data as a point of connection within patient communities.

System and Patient Responsibilities Regarding Health Data

Savage began by sharing that policymakers have only recently tried to understand privacy issues that may support or impede clinical information exchange. However, patients and their caregivers today have a much higher awareness of the differences between the data collected in a clinical setting and the information collected about our health every day through the use of apps and digital tools.

As Savage noted, if we want patients to be engaged in using their data, then the information displayed from these tools must provide real-time insights that are digestible, meaningful, and actionable.

During her time as chief privacy officer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, Savage heard research volunteers tell policymakers what they wanted regarding data. This included wanting to sign a single consent valid across institutions, have their input respected, know how their participation helped, and secure their data from the “Bad Guys” and not from each other. Research participants want institutions to collaborate and allow participants’ data to be used where needed.

Savage argues that since researchers are asking patients to read and sign complicated documents for their participation in research, we should give them more credit as we return results back to them. As Savage posted in a tweet on this issue, “I am super sympathetic to results being misunderstood, but I would hypothesize that if the people described are competent to #consent, they are competent to get their results back.”

Consumer Pain Points and Tools to Help

Following Savage’s presentation, Mackay discussed the pain points currently facing the community of patients she serves through the National Partnership for Women & Families, as well as some tools that the organization has found useful in its efforts to engage individuals with their health data.

She highlighted that health IT and data are so important to the National Partnership for Women & Families because 82 percent of women make health-care decisions for themselves and their families, as well as providing two-thirds of family caregiving. Efficient and convenient access to online medical records and technology helps women in their role as “Care Coordinator-in-Chief” for their families.

In a 2017 survey, 53 percent of Americans who had been offered online access to their medical records were logging in and viewing their data. But for the 47 percent who were not, the top reasons cited were their desire to speak to a provider directly and their perceived lack of need for their health data. For those viewing their data, 85 percent used it to view test results, and 62 percent for “convenience” tasks — requesting prescription refills, completing paperwork, or scheduling appointments.

Mackay shared that her favorite finding from the survey was that patients encouraged by their provider to use their online record were twice as likely to do so. It is not enough to make portals available; providers need to help patients understand that their information is available to them and educate them about how it can be beneficial.

Several other pain points emerged from Mackay’s presentation:

Patients are still unaware of their rights in accessing their data

Requesting data can be confusing

Inconvenient delivery methods exist

Data are still designed primarily for the doctor

There are cultural issues around providers guarding the data and not sharing it

There is limited usability of the data provided

Data access should not be a replacement, but a complement, to the patient-provider relationship. As digital access is evolving, education is going to be vital in helping stakeholders understand that patients have a right to their data. But it is also important that people understand their own responsibilities to protect their health data as it becomes easier to access and manage it on their phones and devices.

Breaking Down Barriers to Patient Engagement with Data

Given all of the current challenges and benefits in the world of health data, Cusher closed out the panelist presentations by discussing the Health Data Basics project that she has been leading for FasterCures.

The issue of health literacy among users has shown to be a barrier — only 12 percent of adults in 2003 could be considered “proficient” in understanding their data. If they cannot understand their health generally, then how can they understand their health data? Cusher also agreed that many patients find their data useful, but they often cannot track down where their data is shared. Furthermore, they often do not use their data to help them make decisions around their health.

Cusher went on to note that the potential future uses of data that participants identified are enormous, but we need to work on creating more systems to leverage them. Patients want to see their data put to actual use.

Given these findings, how do we get to a place where patients are able to not only access their data, but also understand and use the data that they are accessing?

Cusher identified a number of ways to achieve this:

Educate patients to improve their health literacy and understand data literacy

Remove technological barriers to data, yet maintain privacy and security

Build trust, be transparent, return results, and tell patients how their data is being used

Keep patients and their caregivers at the center

Collaborate, as no one can do all of this alone

Confronting Data Challenges

To kick off the Q&A portion of the webinar, Carino asked participants how do deal with possible privacy loopholes in platforms holding personal patient data, as has been recently highlighted in the media.

Savage answered that peer support is an important part of helping patients deal with illnesses, but we need to ensure that this technology is used without abusing privileges. While we do not regulate what individuals do with their data once they have it, they are responsible for securing it.

Mackay added that people will always have different thresholds regarding their comfort with data sharing and their privacy expectations. Some are willing to share “any and all of their data” in order to find a cure, while others are more stringent. As there is no one-size-fits-all solution, we need to educate people about their data to enhance their data literacy.

Carino went on to ask participants about how major cohort studies, outside of clinical studies, are changing engagement with the research process. Cusher shared that major cohort studies provide an enormous opportunity to do the research with all of the technological innovations that we have now, and that they lay the ground work now for studies in the future. However, there are concerns around establishing trust. Savage added that underserved communities can provide a benefit to their whole community by participating, but we need to keep in mind the ethical considerations of inviting people in and the conclusions reached from their participation.

Finally, Carino asked participants if the emergence of data technology necessitates an overhaul of HIPAA. Mackay answered that we need to educate people on what data sharing HIPAA already allows. Savage responded that HIPAA was an effort to digitize health care and is actually flexible and timeless, agreeing with Mackay that people misunderstand it. Savage further added that consumers are often confused that the protections that they expect in their physician’s office may not also apply in non-health-care settings, and this should be a bigger area of focus and concern.

Navigating the Future of Health Data

Changes within the health-care system are necessary in order to reap benefits from health data across biomedical research and development. There is a certain level of responsibility on both sides —the patient and the system itself — to break down barriers to access, education, and the utilization of health information.

However, through evaluating current practices and addressing the influx of data that exists all around us, patients may be able to live healthier lives in which they can make informed decisions about their health, and interact with healthcare and biomedical R&D systems that are better equipped to truly meet their needs.

Related resources:

Watch a recording of the webinar

View the slides

Check out FasterCures’ Health Data Basics project

#FasterCures #HealthData #HealthDataBasics #Patients

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valiantsandwichstudentstuff-blog · 7 years ago

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thecoroutfitters · 7 years ago

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Written by John Hertig on The Prepper Journal.

Survival is largely a state of mind. That being said, having some equipment and supplies with you can sure help. Often, this “stuff” is referred to as a “survival kit” or sometimes a BOB (Bug-Out Bag), GHB (Get Home Bag) or INCH (I’m Never Coming Home) bag. These can be from pocket sized up to a large (or perhaps too large) backpack, and even larger if a vehicle is available. One critical concept which is not part of any of these is EDC (Every Day Carry). This is not, and should not be, called any kind of “survival kit”. It is more a “life kit” which can have application in survival situations.

The name is highly specific. This is stuff you carry, every day. And you are willing to do so, because the stuff is frequently useful in everyday situations, of high importance during an emergency, and perhaps most importantly, not obnoxious enough to carry that you look for excuses to not carry it.

These points and the name itself provide a fairly precise guide to what kind of stuff to include in your EDC. Of course, there is no “list” which applies to everybody, since there are a wide variety of lifestyles out there. Instead, there is a process of analysis which can be used as a guide in designing your EDC.

The First Step

Actually, you probably already have an EDC. It is the stuff you “normally” carry in your pockets or purse. It is usually a really good starting point.

You likely have a wallet or equivalent, with your driver’s license or other ID, a credit card or two and some cash, as well as keys to your home and car. Now is a good time to go through these basics and throw out or remove anything which is obsolete. Then make sure that you do have valid ID as well as current medical and other insurance cards, your important contact information; including doctors and dentists, and other items you need for memberships, discounts, services and so on. A picture of your significant other is an important survival item, because some loved ones, if you don’t carry a picture of them, may kill you.

Add anything new but not in there yet, and replace anything which is expired or too worn to be useful. This is a task it would be wise to do yearly.

Money can be helpful in a lot of situations, so make sure you have a reasonable collection of fund sources. Credit cards can be of great value, but only if you are disciplined enough to handle them. If your situation does not allow you to pay the credit card bill(s) in full each and every month, you are better off not using them because they will increase the cost of most things you buy (interest, sometimes by 20% or more) and can get you into a deep hole (massive debt) it will be immensely difficult to get out of. If normal credit card use would be a problem, perhaps you can have a card for emergency use only which you never use or use for no more than one token charge a month to keep it active. Or perhaps it would be better not to have one at all if even that level of self-control would be a stretch. Debit cards can give you the convenience of a credit card without the risk of massive debt, but I don’t recommend them because they are a direct line into your bank account. If there is an error or someone else uses your number, you have to fight to get your money back as opposed to fighting to avoid paying the incorrect credit card bill. Guess which is more likely to be successful. If you have a debit card, have it be on a separate account all by itself, with no overdraft active and only keep an amount in that account you can afford to lose or at least do without for many months.

Cash is king, but it is sometimes obnoxious to get and is at risk of loss or destruction. Still, have some, particularly some small bills and change (for vending machines). For larger amounts of cash equivalency, Travelers Checks used to be the safer way to have significant funds, but these did have some down sides. American Express still offers them, but these days, an AAA cash card or pre-paid MasterCard gives you the safety of Travelers Checks with smaller fees, wider availability, more universal acceptance, and less of a replacement hassle.

Of course you have the keys you need, but keys can get lost or locked in. It would be wise to have a spare of any critical key.

For most people, a cell phone is part of their EDC. If not, why not? If you don’t like being tracked, keep it shut off. If you think you can’t afford one, I suspect you can find one which you can afford (including through government programs) for emergency use only.

I find that my wallet had too much critical stuff in one item which could be lost or stolen, so I split it into three. My wallet has cash (I try to keep it between $100 and $40), three credit cards, $200 in Travelers Checks (left over from the days when they were the only real option) and discount cards, rain checks and coupons. All my IDs, membership cards, contact information and photos are in a card case, with a small bill folded and hidden between some of the pairs of cards. And then I have a coin purse with coins and spare house and car keys. This has always proven to be a successful funding arrangement as long as I am in town with easy access to more resources. Whenever I leave town, I also carry a packet with some $100 bills and $1000 in Travelers Checks in a hidden pocket.

Why three credit cards? My primary one, which I use everywhere I can, should be obvious, but not every place takes it. My backup one is for when the primary one is not accepted. It is also the only one I ever use on the internet or over the phone. The third is from a particular store and it is the only one they accept, so that is the only place I use it, although it serves as backup to the other two. If I leave town, that third card is taken out of my wallet and kept separate.

Optimizing Your Current EDC

Once you have the “universal” EDC of ID, money, cell phone and keys completed, list everything else you normally carry. Consider not only how and how much you normally use it, but how it might be used in an emergency. See if there is anything which could be replaced by something just as useful in everyday life and more useful in an emergency. One area particularly useful to investigate is your cell phone; it is best if the one you carry not only reliably makes calls, but offers other functions you need normally or in an emergency.

Weed out anything which you never use and which would not be of value in an emergency. This makes your “current” EDC as optimal as practical. Hopefully some of the things from the next section are already part of your EDC.

Extending Your Current EDC

Now that you have tweaked your existing EDC, you should look and see if there is anything you can add which would support YOUR normal life as well as helping to extend it in an emergency. Here are some things to consider which would be invaluable in an emergency, and each would be of value normally for some people:

– Flashlight. I can count on the thumbs of one hand the days when I did not use my flashlight at least once. It would usually not be wise to go any bigger than a two cell CR123A light, and you can go as small as a watch battery powered “key-chain” light. AA and AAA batteries are easier to come by than CR123A batteries, but they are more prone to leaking and have destroyed several of my AA/AAA flashlights, and don’t put out as much light or run as long. I suggest a light with multiple brightness levels, so you can choose between a little light for a long time or lots of light for a much shorter time. In an emergency, consider how much more lethal or at least unpleasant the situation would be in complete darkness.

– Knife. I use a knife almost as often as I do a flashlight. Most days, there are fingernails to be cleaned, packages to be opened, labels to be scraped off, strapping to be sliced, food to be cut and other knife tasks. If allowed by laws and corporate policy, best is a single hand opening, locking, quality knife with a three to four inch blade, But whatever will do the tasks you need done and you are allowed and willing to carry should be your choice. In an emergency, a knife is invaluable, including defensive use if you have training in that and the knife is appropriate.

– Multi-Tool. If you don’t lead a technical life, you might not need one of these multi-tools. For the rest of us, these portable pliers, wire cutters, screwdrivers, file and saw, among other tools, are quite useful. Many also have a knife blade, which might allow it to serve in place of a knife. These tools are of use in many situations, “normal” and emergency.

– Lighter. If you smoke, you probably have this covered. Otherwise, you might not need this unless you do tasks which require heat/fire (i.e. using heat shrink tubing). Still, fire is a key requirement for some emergencies, so a mini butane lighter or a sealed “peanut” lighter or at least a ferrocerium bar is a good thing to have.

– Large (Engineer’s) Bandana. I normally use this as a sweat rag, dust mask, pad against heat or pressure, and a shade from the sun for my neck. In an emergency, it can do not only these functions, but also filter particulates from water, be used for first aid, carrying things, and if a bright color, signaling.

– Duct tape. A small piece often comes in handy, and wrapping a few feet around a small core does not take up much space. In an emergency duct tape can be used for first aid and other purposes.

– Paracord. Ten feet or so of paracord can serve as a leash, belt, shoelace or lashing. A convenient way to carry it is woven into a bracelet, key-fob, lanyard, or other object, as long as it is a “quick deploy” weave. The most common “Cobra” weave is actually a series of knots which takes forever to get undone. In an emergency, it can serve as a tourniquet, restraint or made into a weapon.

– Safety Pins. A couple takes no room, weigh nothing, and often come in handy. Add a needle and some thread, and you can handle repairs to clothing and equipment whether merely embarrassing or life threatening.

– Pen/Pencil and Small Notebook. For jotting down information you don’t want to forget, making lists, doing designs and leaving notes. In an emergency, the paper can be used as tinder to help start a fire and the pencil/pen as the windlass of a tourniquet. There are also “Tactical Pens” which are sturdy enough to be used as weapons if you are trained with them.

– Tape Measure. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m always having to measure things or estimate distances, and I’ve carried a small 10′ pocket tape for years. Recently I changed to a free one from my insurance company; it’s only 6′, but has both inches and centimeters. This is probably not of use in an emergency, though. And they wouldn’t let me into the courthouse with it. I guess they were afraid I might measure something.

– Magnifier. A Fresnel lens is the size of a credit card and can help you read “the fine print” or regular sized print if you don’t have your reading glasses or your eyes are strained. If you want/need more power, there are small folding magnifying glasses available. In an emergency, these also can be used to start a fire.

– Pair of Exam Gloves. These are good to protect your hands if you need to do something gooey, sticky or toxic, or avoid contaminating something. In an emergency, they can protect you from disease.

– Pair of Foam Ear Plugs. Not only can they help your concentration in a noisy environment, it protects your ears if you get into an environment with a harmful level of noise.

Final EDC Tweaks

Think back over the last month or so. Was there anything you needed and did not have readily available? How common was that need? What was the impact of not having it? Would that item meet the criteria for your EDC?

And lastly, consider your weaknesses. Is there a medication which if you miss taking or did not have available, would impact your health? Having a keychain pill capsule with a dose or three would be wise. Do you wear contacts? A lens case would be worth having in case you need to remove the lenses. Are you in an environment where you are at risk from other people? Defensive equipment may be indicated, but only if it is legal and allowed, you are trained in its use, and you are willing to put up with any annoyances involved in carrying it. Pistols are the most obvious choice, but if this is not a good match, there are also collapsing batons, knives, pepper sprays, tasers, stun guns, a cane or walking stick and some even more esoteric defensive equipment.

One thing to consider which is not of much use “normally” for most people is a whistle. Even if I’m not going anywhere near the outdoors, I like to have one readily available to scare off attacking people or animals, or if I happened to be caught in a collapsed building or become immobilized out of sight.

If you live “off the beaten path”, you may want to augment your EDC with some basic “survival” gear; in the city the only thing I carry only for emergencies is one of those Mylar space rescue blankets.

Oddities

Nowhere in the specifications does it limit you from including “weird” things. Things I carry which support the oddities of my lifestyle include a small pry bar, a tiny music/video player/radio with earphones, a few disposable “anti bacterial masks”, some Ibuprofen, a folding hair brush/comb, a folding tooth brush, an audio Bible, a “phone charger” battery with cables for everything, a small tablet, a small bottle of hand sanitizer, a small set of knife, fork, spoon and chopsticks, a small shaker of lemon pepper, a tiny tube of sun screen, a tiny tube of shampoo (I have no idea why I have it or where I got it, but there is was when I was going through my pockets), a Lightload compressed towel, and a earphone/microphone for my phone

Carrying Your EDC

Once you have selected your EDC items, lay them out and figure out how you are going to carry them. First choice, of course, is the pockets you have. Next best is a small pouch on your belt. Other options are a fanny pack or pocket vest (such as those from Scottevest, which is the only way I could carry all the stuff I do). It is not optimal, but a separate bag such as purse or computer bag will allow you to carry things, but might get separated from you.

As you work out how to carry things, you may find that some things just “won’t fit” and you will need to remove some items from your proposed EDC. Of course, this decision should be based on comparing its utility to the difficulty in carrying it.

Once you have what seems a practical EDC selection, try it out for several days, keeping an eye out for things which cause annoyance, are at risk for being lost or damaged or you decide just are not worth the trouble. Remove, replace or repackage things as necessary. Eventually you will end up with the EDC which is practical for you. Oh, and as you move forward through life, keep an eye out for things which you find out you do need, and would meet the criteria to join your EDC.

The post Every Day Carry (EDC) and its Application for Survival appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

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