#“ok so herb what is your niche

[herbarimoon]

Out of your shell

[phytochorion]

How the Forest Finds the Island

Chapter Nineteen - Niche Partitioning

"How did it go?", trilled Askarya, followed by "What the fuck," as Si-woo crash-landed before them, the naked, scorched and barely conscious Sen falling from his grasp.

"What happened? Why are you on fire??"

Si-woo, seeing that one of the smouldering embers caught in his wings had burst into life, decided to simply tear that whole wing off.

"Can I tell you later?", he asked limply, the lichen fairy nodding and straining to lift Sen.

"First thing's first, I'm bringing you to Glen."

⸙ ⸙ ⸙

Sen's bleary eyelids peeled themselves open. Belek's face, creased in fretfulness, hung over him.

"Sap and blight, Sen, thank souls you're okay!"

Belek hugged him very carefully as though worried Sen might break. He laughed softly.

"Belek, I'm fine. Don't worry, it takes more than that to keep me down."

He shifted and sat up in his bed of soft moss and mycelia. Belek, still cradling him, called in a stage-whisper, "Glen! He's up! Come come come!"

Glen sat beside them, Belek scooching to make room.

"Alright Gongsun, how do you feel?"

"Bad," admitted Sen, "emotionally and physically, but it's nothing that won't heal."

Glen cocked his fungus-encapsulated head in thought. "You have extensive second-degree burns."

"Is… are those the bad ones?"

"All burns are bad. But it could be worse, as far as I can tell the damage doesn't extend far into your tissue. As you say, it should heal in time as your skin sloughs."

Glen stood and decanted water and pollen to make some kind of nutrient drink.

"Your cousin's been worried sick. I'll give some time together, and I'll let your friends know you're awake."

Sen thanked Glen as he disappeared down a woven ladder.

"How long was I out?", he asked Belek.

"Byun bought you in yesterday evening, you slept all night and most of today. You looked like someone dragged you face-first through the Deccan Traps."

Sen croaked out a chuckle.

"Feels like it too."

"Askarya has been keeping everyone but Glen and I away from both of you, insists you need rest. But the whole fort is clamouring to know the story. I don't wanna force you to do it, so maybe I'll see if Byun feels ready."

"No, no, let me," protested Sen. "I'm not moribund, I'll go with him."

Belek though for a bit, rubbed the unburned portion of his arm softly and helped him stand.

⸙ ⸙ ⸙

Sen and Belek stepped into the vaulted and airy hall, where a crowd was surrounding the exasperated-looking Si-woo.

"Sen! Thank souls! I thought it wouldn't be proper to begin without you, come sit down."

Aliwen and Joe stood aside, Sen slowing his breaths and taking his place beside Si-woo.

The progymnosperm held his head high and looked over his audience, their attention rapt.

"Ok, where to begin?", he mused.

Instantly a dozen voices clamoured, demanding to know what had hurt them so badly, if the rest of them were in danger, for him to just get on with it already.

Si-woo cleared his throat and began, "So, Sen met this fairy called Osmund Umber and, er, they really hit it off."

Dead silence. Si-woo squirmed in his seat.

"How d'ya mean, "hit it off"??", asked Jess, those around him looking just as bemused.

"What? I, do I have to explain it? They just seemed to get each other, you know? Sen wanted to plant some trees there and Umber struck a deal so they wouldn't be competing for territory."

"A deal? With Osmund Umber?", Gawain repeated, his eyes as big as button mushrooms.

"Yeah??"

A note of fear had crept into Si-woo's voice. He swallowed and continued, "I could tell Sen had fallen for this guy pretty bad, so we made a gift for him, flew up to meet him and…"

"The entire south side of the island was in flames." Sen continued in a monotone from where Si-woo's words had stuttered out. "All Osmund's doing, of course. Not a tree nor shrub nor herb could stand against him. I fought him. If it wasn't for Si-woo I may well not have returned."

The silence returned. Eventually, Jake spoke.

"Pardon my askin', but… did you not know?"

All attention turned to him.

"Know what?", said Si-woo quietly.

"Bout ol' Mister Osmund Umber, I mean. He's-"

"A bastard?", supplied Nathair.

"A tyrant?", suggested Sirichai.

"A ruthless conquistador without a shred of empathy?", summarized Joe.

"All o' the above," sighed Jake.

"I didn't know." Si-woo was on the verge of tears. Sen put an arm around him. "How did all of you know about him before I did?"

"We've all shared in suffering at his hands," frowned Elei, failing to suppress quivers of rage.

"Back in the Triassic, just after the extinction, I spent centuries reseeding my forests, trying to get them back to even a small part of their former range," recalled Belek. "Then, boom, along comes Umber, all that progress gone in the blink of an eye."

"I tried to stand up to him once," agreed Cullodena. "Thought he was all talk, and if I refused to budge he'd just have to suck it up. Got the scars what proved me wrong."

"I suppose," concluded Aliwen, "we assumed that in all this time, you surely would have run into him too, and if you heard that name, you'd fly in the opposite direction."

"No, no, I should have told someone where we were going. I wasn't expecting any danger."

"You told me," Askarya muttered softly, "but the name didn't ring a bell. Robin's the only one who knew him, and even he didn't have any idea of the full extent of it."

"His name doesn't carry the same weight among fungi. We tend to do well after fires, of course," Glen pointed out. "But if I'd known, I would have alerted you."

"Ei, all's well that ends well, yes?" Sen popped a few of his weary joints. "We lived. And we'll be more careful next time."

The crowd made reassuring noises. Noori signed to Askarya.

"Let us know before you go anywhere unfamiliar," they conveyed. "You don't have to do this alone."

⸙ ⸙ ⸙

Si-woo sat alongside Sen in the fort's high canopy, looking out at the surrounding sparse woodland.

"Shame about those robes though. "

Si-woo laughed.

"Can't believe that's what's concerning you. Would you even still wear them? After finding out about him?"

"Well, no," admitted Sen. "And it did feel cathartic getting rid of them." He toyed with the sleeve of his current robes, some kind of woven fungal material that had come from Glen's wardrobe. "I just wished we'd kept that knot, that was a fair bit of work."

"You mean this knot?", inquired Si-woo, producing the banjang from his pocket.

"Renxiong!", gasped Sen, hands all aflutter. "How? Where?? I don't remember giving it to you!"

"You had it in your hand while we were flying," explained Si-woo. "You dropped it when you challenged Umber, and I supposed you might still want it."

"Thank you," mumbled Sen, hugging his friend, crown resting in the crook of his neck.

Presently, Sen shifted his weight and looked up at Si-woo.

"Byun? Do you…"

Sen suddenly lost his nerve as his friend met his eyes.

"Nevermind."

"No no, it's fine, tell me," Si-woo reassured.

"It's just, do you ever get… lonely? Like you want to be with someone?"

Si-woo leaned back thoughtfully.

"How do you mean?"

Why are you making me spell it out for you?, Sen grumbled in his head, but kept his expression polite.

"I mean romantically. Have you had partners, in the past?"

"Ah."

Si-woo seemed to be choosing his words.

"I haven't. I guess I've never felt the need. Yeah, I get lonely on occasion, but… well, it's the kind of loneliness that doesn't make me want to find a partner so much as go to check up on my friends."

"How very noble," teased Sen, Si-woo laughing and shoving him.

"That's not weird, is it? I mean, I've known plenty of fairies who didn't seem like they needed to seek out romance either."

"No, not at all," confirmed Sen. "It takes all sorts."

"You definitely need someone though," Si-woo told him flatly.

Sen nearly pushed him out of the tree.

⸙ ⸙ ⸙

The fort's inhabitants treated Sen gently for the next few days, and though he acted fully recovered, the strain of his confrontation with Osmund was still keenly felt. His wings grew back in, but he wasn't confident enough to fly far just yet, and contented himself with walks or short flutters over to his nest.

It was on one of his rounds, as he took a break in his swaying cradle and read a treatise on fire magic Nathair had lent him, that he felt something was off. At first he couldn't put his finger on what, exactly, even after sticking his head outside, but soon he pinpointed it as a smell. An earthy and stale scent, not entirely unpleasant, but one Sen knew, both instinctively and from experience, to be bad.

He flew a short distance and pressed himself to a branch. He waited and watched. No sign of anyone except him, but the smell did not diminish. Carefully, looking every which way, he moved further down the tree's limb. Every gust and rustle vied for his attention. He scanned the leaf litter. Nothing.

Something moved in the twigs above him. Sen spun about, fast, not fast enough. A heavy figure crashed into him and they went over the edge together.

Sen flapped furiously and steered them into a lower branch, ripping through the leaves and catching himself with one protesting arm. The impact flung his attacker off him. They had also caught hold of the leaves and were scrabbling to get upright.

Sen, instead of racing to his feet, tapped into the ginkgo's magic. Sap pulsed and forced dewy liquid out of every pore. The ambushing fairy slipped, tried to right themself, slipped again and fell.

Sen breathed out deeply and eased off the magic. He hauled himself to a safe position and peeped through the leaves.

A little figure with knobbled skin and a broad frame was sitting up in the undergrowth, groggy looking. Their body was largely cloaked in grotty fabric.

"Gongsun! Come down and fight!", they roared.

"Not on your life, Bartholomew," yawned Sen.

"Coward!", Bartholomew howled, though his voice was so diminished by the distance that it carried little threat. He stomped across to the tree trunk and pressed his hands to it. Dark rot spread from his fingers.

"Aiyaa! Stop that! You rotten little shit-stew mongrel!"

Sen's increasing agitation failed to get any discernible reaction from Bartholomew, and the rot worked its way higher. Throwing caution (and himself) to the wind, Sen plummeted like a stone.

Bart was flung bodily through the horsetails and cooksonias as Sen struck feet-first. He sprang right back up, Sen attempting a wave of overacting magic to tangle the detritus at his feet, which did little to slow his enemy. The fungus fairy closed the gap and swung, Sen juking under and away. They locked eyes a moment, circled, Bartholomew swiped at him again and again Sen evaded. They came to a stop and Sen pointedly shrugged.

"So what? We keep doing this all week?"

"Or until you tire," shot Bart back. Sen rolled his eyes.

"Not happening. I have home advantage. Go bother someone else, Bartholomew."

"You know full well ginkgos are the only thing I eat."

"Then I guess it's back to tearing each other apart, you bone headed, truculent nitpick!"

"Fine by me, we'll have each other's eye for an eye!"

"You'll have no such thing."

A woman's voice, from above. They turned as one, beholding her fall from some overlooked crevice, a golden-brown sprinkle of magic catching her millimetres from the ground.

"Rita," greeted Sen, monotone.

"Tremella, how, how'reya doin'?," grumbled Bart.

"Not bad, not bad, Barty," whistled Rita. "But you know I don't like to see my boys fighting."

Who are you calling your boys??, Sen huffed silently, unaware that Bart was thinking more or less the same.

"So you're gonna force me to go hungry? That ain't fair," protested Bartholomew. He jabbed Rita with a finger, causing ripples to spread out until her whole body was quaking. Her face remained impassive.

"That's nature. If you rot these trees they're gonna fail to reproduce and then we're back to square one, you get it? No food no longer for you, ergo no food for me."

Sen puzzled his way through this. "Hang on, you're protecting my trees because… you want there to be more of them because… that means Bart can eat them and grow his fungi… which you're then planning to eat?"

"Bingo," Rita smiled.

"That's messed up." Bart shook his head in disgust.

"I say again, that's nature. And we all benefit, uh-huh?"

Sen and Bart looked at each other, looked at Rita, shrugged.

"Short term pain for long term gain," Bartholomew grouched, but looked like he saw her logic.

"Alright, truce for now," Sen conceded, throwing his hands in the air. "But I'm watching you!"

"Yeah, you better!"

Bart backed away slowly, gradually melding into the brush and vanishing from sight.

"I suppose a thank you is in order."

Sen turned to Rita, but found nothing save for some dissipating golden motes.

⸙ ⸙ ⸙

With his two, genetically distinct ginkgo populations healthy and mature, Sen finally got down to the task of cross-pollinating them. Left to their own devices, the groups were so small and widely dispersed that successful fertilization would be unlikely, but with a benevolent guardian's help, they could establish far more quickly.

He wasn't entirely alone in this task. The same flutterflies that had worried the tender leaves of the young trees now became unintentional assistants, transporting gametes as they fed from one blossom to the next.

With all that had transpired, Sen still hadn't found the time to corner Jess and get him to explain the island's prevailing winds, so he moved this to the forefront of his agenda. The fort was quieter than it used to be, as its inhabitants began to claim territories for themselves, but it still served as their social hub. Sen checked in regularly and finally ran into Jess as they were both returning books to Nathair.

"Mr Cleese-" he began and got a snort, more amused than derisive, in retort.

"Nobody calls me that, partner. Jess is fine."

"Right. Um. I wanted to ask you about pollination."

"What do ya wanna know?"

"Hang on, let's put these back and we'll talk."

Sen patted his book's cover and they stepped inside Nathair's storeroom.

It was a bit small to call a library, but it was continuously expanding, both with texts Nathair wrote himself and those he traded from Schuppenbaumer Schloss or further afield. Dusty light filtered down, pale sprigs reaching up to meet it.

Settling at a table seemingly carved from a dried mushroom, Sen twirled his tresses and explained his situation. Jess leaned, casual but attentive, and listened.

When they were done, Jess drummed his fingers, made chewing motions and stood.

"C'mon," he motioned to Sen.

"Where are we going?"

"To pay your cousin a visit."

⸙ ⸙ ⸙

The island presented a mosaic savannah of fields, woods and trickling creeks far below them. It was a far cry from the dense, steamy jungles of Epiphyllia, but it was remarkable how quickly a diverse and dynamic ecosystem had formed out of the wasteland this place had been on Sen's arrival.

"So how's your planting been going?", ventured Sen.

"Ain't bad. Them lil' Clepsydroids can spread themselves no problem, so I've had some down time, not that I'm complainin'. Course, I had my eye on some good land, but Elei got there first. Challenged her, lost, so I've gotta make do."

"I heard about that, but only second- or third-hand, I wasn't sure how much was true."

Jess shrugged. "What can I say, her wind magic's better than mine."

"Don't let that bother you, you're the best flier of us all."

"Ya think?"

"I mean, is there anyone you'd consider swifter in the air than you?"

"Huh. Maybe Si-woo?"

"Sure, he's quick in a straight line, but have you seen his takeoff? He looks like a startled mantis!"

A snort escaped Jess. "Gee, can't refute that. Oh! Here we are!"

They glided in synchrony towards a hilly scrubland, lichens and spiderwebs hanging from branches. Jess began to sing as soon as he landed, announcing his arrival. It was only a few seconds before he got an answer. The voice wasn't Belek's.

"Hold on, who else is here?"

"Wha- oh! Oh right! Sorry, totally slipped my mind, did I not tell you your cuz has made some friends?"

"Er, no." Sen folded his arms. "And neither did they."

"Well no matter. They'll be here in a sec."

"Cleese! And Gongsun! Long time no see!"

A tall fairy with enormous wings emerged from the leaves nearby and flew to join them.

"Kahraman Khitai, now there's a surprise!” Sen exclaimed. “How has life been treating you?"

"Not bad, not bad. All's well with you? Eating ok?"

"I am, they take good care of me at the fort. How come I haven't seen you there? I thought somebody would have invited you by now?"

"Oh, Belek has made it clear I'd be welcome, but, I don't know, I've had so much to do out here…"

"No rest for the wicked," chuckled Sen. "And is Belek here?"

"Sure am."

His cousin shimmied down the vines trailing around them and landed at Kahraman's side. Another fairy who Sen vaguely recognized followed.

"Actually, have you two met before?", asked Belek.

Sen briefly panicked, wracking his brains for the newcomer's name and debating whether it would be safer to say yes or no, but his cousin continued smoothly, "Sen, this is my friend Torguud Odgerel. Odgerel, I'd like you to meet my cousin, Gongsun Sen."

Sen bowed.

"A pleasure."

Odgerel returned the gesture and smiled. All of a sudden, something clicked.

"Oh, Odgerel! I've heard that name before, you're one of the progymnosperms! Do you know Si-woo?"

"Yeah, of course! How do you know him?"

They were soon deep in conviviality, recounting their adventures throughout the Cretaceous and their experience of the island.

"Nice to see you're all caught up," chirped Belek, who had meanwhile been chatting to Jess and Kahraman. "Come, let's have tea."

⸙ ⸙ ⸙

As Odgerel rolled out a rug and Kahraman fetched a pitcher, Sen nudged Jess.

"You still haven't explained what we're doing here."

"Haven't I? Guess it slipped my mind. You said you wanted to plant upwind, yeah? Well, this here's upwind. As you can see, the land's already claimed; lucky for you, by family."

Belek carried in a small, legless table, setting it on the rug, and the five of them sat cross-legged around it. The Czekanowskialean fairy proceeded to pour out a spore-cup of liquid for each of them. Sen took a sip of his and was flabbergasted to find that while it seemed like tea, it was as cold as a mountain stream and unbearably sweet. He genuinely couldn't fathom why anyone would corrupt a perfectly satisfying drink this badly.

"Belek, what-"

Sen swallowed and tried again.

"What do you call this?"

"First time trying it?", his cousin smiled eagerly. "It's iced tea, I've been perfecting the recipe on-and-off, whaddaya think?"

"Well it's, different, certainly, very refreshing and, well, nothing like any tea I've had before."

"Hmm, that's a good thing, right? You're welcome to take some more if you're not sure."

"Ah, maybe in a while, thank you."

"Which brings us to our next order of business," interjected Jess. He stood, doffing his hat, and Sen followed suit.

"Right, yes," began Sen, glancing at the three fairies in front of them. "Belek, I would like to humbly request that I may plant some trees on this land you're cultivating."

"Oh? That's no problem, Sen," his cousin nodded. "In the area around here there might be a bit too much competition for them to thrive, but we've got lots of empty space further out. What is it about this plot that interests you?"

"Trying to achieve good coverage of the island," explained Sen. "According to Jess here, the prevailing winds come from this direction, so these ginkgos stand a good chance of pollinating those I've planted downwind."

"Very insightful," mused Belek. "Well, cuz, since I'll be so generous and look after your plants here, howsabout I send a few down south of the fort for you to keep an eye on?"

"Sounds good to me. The soils are sparse over that way still, but they'll improve with time. Oh, and don't get too near to Osmund."

Belek looked to his friends, and Odgerel nodded dourly.

"Will do," he told Sen. "It's settled then, I'll send you a seed packet with Girjesh next time he stops by here."

"C'mon," announced Kahraman, unfolding to his full, impressive height. "Let's get to prospectin' some plantin' spots."

⸙ ⸙ ⸙

"So tell me about your plants," said Jess, crouching in the dusty shade of a cycad.

"Mine? Well, they prefer warm climes. This place suits 'em pretty well," replied Odgerel. "They're related to Tadgh's and Si-woo's. You know Tadgh?"

"Yeah, I've heard he's on the island, but nobody's seen him at the fort."

"How long does it take to figure out a planting spot?", grumbled Kahraman, cracking their neck and squinting in the direction of the sun, where Belek and Sen were walking in circles, talking animatedly.

"They're just using this as a chance to gossip," laughed Odgerel. "C'mon, I'll tell 'em we've gotta move to the next spot."

The three of them spread their wings and swooped down on the cousins.

"Yes yes, I get it, time to move on!", called Sen, rising into the air to join them.

"This'll be the last one," Belek asserted, flying close alongside. "We're getting to the coast, right where the winds are strongest."

"Do you have any neighbours here?", wondered Sen.

"There's some bryophyte fairies down the cliffs, but they keep to themselves. Sometimes they send us news of stuff they've sighted at sea. Oh! Here we are!"

They landed on a sloping heath in sight of the ocean.

"Lovely location," admired Sen. "Bit exposed though, is the soil deep enough for trees?"

"Hey, you said you wanted reliable winds."

"Right. Well, I'm sure they'll thrive if they're under your care."

"I'll be planting a few of my own here too, so they won't be totally at the storm's mercy. And between the Bryotics and Odgerel's magic we'll have plenty of advance warning."

"That sounds perfect," smiled Sen. "I'll return with the seeds the moment they're ready. You'll remember all the planting sites?"

"I have them marked."

"Well then cousin, I'll see you very soon. Thank you for your generosity, and yours, Khitai tóngshì, Torguud tóngshì."

Kahraman and Odgerel said their goodbyes, clapping Jess on the back as Sen gave Belek a quick hug and ascended back toward the fort.

⸙ ⸙ ⸙

The flight home was uneventful, but on arrival they were intercepted mid-air by Si-woo.

"Hubae! There you are! And Jess too, great. Something's going on, could you report to Gawain in the hall?"

"Sure, what's…?"

"Nothing urgent, but Aliwen's exercised over something, I think she wants to call a meeting."

Si-woo excused himself and hurried off on another errand, while Sen and Jess made their way to the centre of the fort. A harassed-looking Gawain strode over, brandishing a wooden writing board with parchment attached.

"Gongsun, Cleese, fantastic, don't go anywhere," he muttered, scratching with a charcoal nub.

"May we take a seat at least?", asked Jess.

"Yeah, whatever, just stay where I can find you. Where the blight is Nathair, this is his job…"

Jess shrugged, and he and Sen found a spot in the dining quarters, which was already filling with most of the fort's regulars and some less familiar faces. They took a cup of honeydew each and watched as Robin and Rita trailed in, Bartholomew slouching behind. He and Sen glared at each other as the fungal fairy seated himself as far away as possible. Jess nudged Joe, who sat implacably as ever.

"Partner, what's all this about?"

Joe looked at them for a second, his eyes lingering on Sen, before standing Jess up with an arm around his shoulders and walking him a short distance away before talking. Sen didn't wish to eavesdrop, but he was so dumbfounded by this behaviour he couldn't help craning his neck to try and catch some of the conversation.

He was distracted by Nathair parachuting down from above on his single wing, followed by Con and Wilbur.

"Where've you been? I'm trying to keep track of more fairies than I have fronds here!", grumbled Gawain.

"I know your hands are more than capable, brother dearest," soothed Nathair. "I had to make sure all our delegates are represented!"

"Delegates?" Sen glanced over from where he'd been catching up with Con and Wilbur. "Will someone explain what this is about?"

"Not a problem, Gongsun," chirped Nathair, hopping onto the dry bracket fungus on one wall that served as a podium. "I believe all those present deserve a bit of clarity."

"Right so!", called the one-winged fairy, clapping his hands. "Can ye hear me?"

A general chorus of assent sounded as the motley crowd took their seats. More were arriving even now, with Si-woo and Askarya popping through one of the windows and scooching up to Sen.

Nathair beckoned an androgynous young moss fairy Sen didn't know onto the stage with him, who magicked up a pair of cupped leaves behind them to amplify the speaker's voice.

"It has come to my attention…", Nathair began, speaking in tones even more cut-glass than his usual, "that we may be facing… ahem, a conflict of interests as we progress down our current path."

Everyone looked at everyone else and said nothing.

"So I, er, I propose that we convene the Faerie Court at the earliest convenience."

Immediately the audience roused from their polite silence.

"The Fairie Court? We ain't even got mature ecosystems yet!"

"Do we even do that anymore?? I’ve never been to one, I thought they were a thing of the past."

""At our earliest convenience" is very unspecific, we're all working to different schedules…"

"Hi guys, I literally just got here, what's all the noise about?"

Nathair tapped his foot and gave everyone time to settle down again before continuing.

"I can see there's some confusion. Let me clear the air and state some salient points. First of all, for those too young to have participated in a sitting of the court before, the Fairie Court is called to order when an ecological imbalance or perturbation needs urgently to be addressed."

A little girl with an elaborate crown raised her hand.

"Sorry to interrupt, but doesn't nature sort herself out?"

"You mean we shouldn't interfere?", queried Nathair.

"Um, yes. That's the whole idea behind ecosystem dynamics, isn't it? Plants grow where they will, and the environment determines the community that thrives. Our place is to ensure the plants we represent have a good quality of life once they establish, not to reshape entire biocenoses to create a monoculture of our favoured species. That would  be… well, as soon as one starts upending habitats, everybody does it, and everybody loses."

Sen had a sudden, vivid flashback to the fire engulfing the south of the island.

Nathair smiled.

"You have an impressive grasp of the issues at stake, Ms…"

"Medekhgui, sir, Medekhgui Nadintsetseg."

"Ms Meddy- Medegy-"

"Medekhgui."

"Ms Medekhgui. And therein lies the rationale for why we convoke this court. It is not to artificially structure the ecology of this island, but rather, to prevent this. We can examine the issue further as we plan proceedings."

Medekhgui nodded, satisfied.

"Is that the only reason you're calling a court sitting?", called Elei from the back of the crowd.

"Thank you for the reminder," nodded Nathair, with a smile that looked oddly forced. "Indeed, there is another issue at stake, and that's the explosion of insect populations on the island."

""Explosion", is a rather emotive term, don't you think?", asked Robin. Rita and Askarya nodded. "Insects are naturally subject to boom-and-bust population cycles. Once their food is exhausted, or their predators are drawn in, they'll die or move on."

"Ah. Except they can't," pointed out Nathair, by now looking decidedly uncomfortable. "Stating the obvious perhaps, but we're on an island. The rules of biogeography are skewed. There is a dearth of predators. And if all the plants are eaten, how shall they repopulate? I don't think I need remind anyone of the flight from the old country."

A collective shudder ran through the hall, filling it with the dry rustling of leaves and cones.

"Given the precarious nature of our gardens, there has been talk of a cull," Nathair continued. "Controlling insects and other nuisance herbivores until plant associations are firmly established, at which point we can let nature run her course."

Admiral Sirichai Baegu stood.

"You contradict yourself," he pointed out. "Didn't you say our place isn't to shape ecosystems to our whim? Yet what does wiping out insects involve but exactly that?"

Nathair coughed.

"I'm not talking about a complete extermination. Just a reduction in numbers - like I said, their natural predators are largely absent, so we'll have to fill their niche for the time being."

He mopped his brow with his large wing.

"Besides, this isn't even my proposal. I'm only the spokesman. We can discuss it further at the conference itself. Was there anything else… ah yes. I'm glad we were able to round up so many of you, but ideally, everyone who might be affected by the summit's outcome should get a say in it. Could I trouble ye to put the word out to any fairies not currently in attendance?"

The crowd nodded.

"Very good. Well, I'll see you all soon, I'm sure. Until then, as you were."

Nathair and his assistant left the stage, and the onlookers were left to discuss amongst themselves.

[zinzinina]

Hi there! Congrats on 500 followers!! If possible, I’d love to submit something for your celebration! I don’t have a gender preference, but I’d like it if you could avoid creeps like palpatine, dooku, snoke, etc lmao! again, thank you and congrats!!!! 

OK SO If I were an animal, I’d probably be an elephant (v emotional and compassionate animals so, mood)! My ideal night out would be a night at my fave bar with my best friends! a night in would be a pint of ben & jerry’s and a youtube spiral for one of my niche favorite topics! In a partner I really look for open and honest communication, a strong sense of self, and a sense of humor!! Honestly my playlists for getting ready for a date contain a lot of calming 1960s folk music like Peter, Paul, & Mary! My idea of hell, as cliche as it is, would be repeating the same task or awful day over and over again for eternity. again, thank you!! 💖

Hello! Great news, we’ve had a successful match!

Don't be intimidated by her royal background; your date is more than happy to kick back and take it easy with you. She’s a fiercely excellent communicator, and isn’t shy about telling you how she feels. She knows who she is, and what she wants — you’ll never have to worry about mixed signals with her. Leia is deeply compassionate and will always support and uplift you, even when managing her own emotions. This is a woman who comforted some kid who was an absolute stranger to her over the death of his mentor only shortly after losing her entire planet. She is a Rock.

Your date is going to be very laid back and romantic, just like her. I’m sending you off to Sicemon just in time for the annual wildflower bloom! It’s absolutely beautiful here: low grassy plains as far as the eye can see, and during this one spectacular season the entire planet explodes into colour. The local people have a festival around the blooms, and you’ll be greeted with flower circles when you arrive before heading out into the brightness of the day. You’ll find a picnic rug in your basket; I haven’t given you any food because I strongly recommend you try as much as you can from the local stalls. There’s blossom-honey, rose icecream, fresh baked herb-bread… just for the beginning. Little tip, Leia loves to dance, so make sure you take her by the hand out into the centre of the festival if you want to earn extra points.

Thank you for using Sam’s Star Wars Matchmaking Service™️! Antihistamines not included. May the Spires Keep You! x

[penny-anna]

Love Yourself Challenge

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc. ) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I was tagged by @jaskier-wearing-dresses​ - thank you! <3

1. sandstorms and hazy dawns

Geralt loves her, his lion, his dæmon. He loves her with every fibre of his being. She comes to him in the night, breath hot against his ear, and says, “can we keep them?” 

Geralt wants to keep Jaskier at arm's length. His dæmon has other ideas. Jaskier and his dæmon are made of sterner stuff than they look.

i already talked about this one uhh a lot for the commentary meme so I will not say much but I am so pleased w how this one came out... i love daemon AUs and I like to think I did a good job w Geralt’s voice and characterisation

2. Half a Brick (Or, what comes around)

That Tuesday evening, the world came back into his life in the form of half a brick through his kitchen window. 

Gandalf is part of an ancient order of immortal beings sent to earth to prevent interference by certain malevolent forces that ought not to be there. He has bigger problems to deal with than troubled teenagers with a habit of breaking things when they're stressed. He certainly doesn't need to take another child under his wing. Or, Gandalf adopts Pippin.

ok look. LOOK. i love gandalf & pippin’s friendship. i can’t believe there isn’t more fic about them. anyway this one took FOREVER to write and it’s super niche and weird but it was so worth it!! i love modern au pippin.

3. Constellations

"I know how soulmarks work. If a person has two names writ upon them by destiny, then one is to guide them to their true love and the other to their worst enemy. Everyone knows that." / "That’s an old wives’ tale."

When Jaskier was fourteen, two names appeared on his skin: 'Geralt' and 'Yennefer'.

feels a bit cheeky... putting my most recent fic in here... but i love this one very much, had such a good time w it, gave myself emotions.

4. Downpour

They had all afternoon. Sam could see it stretching out before him, sweet and golden. They’d stay in bed till dinner time. They’d talk, and cuddle, and make love again if they felt like it.

i had the idea for this one for... so long. i go back and re-read it a lot bcos it is just so sonft and good.

5. Uncanny

He had travelled far in his life and met many Men and Women whose dæmons were small and often hidden; and he had known some dæmons who preferred to talk only to their Man or Woman, when alone. Both together he had not encountered before, and he found himself unnerved.

this is another idea i sat on for a long time bcos i couldn’t figure out the logistics. there should be more frodo & boromir fics. loved writing a story where Gentian is the star (i love Gentian)

uhh ok who do I know who does fanworks... @herb-acious @thescarletpaperback @rhubarbdreams @a-kind-of-merry-war

[radramblog]

The VGC Meme Team that wasn’t

In my local Pokemon VGC scene, there is pretty much one tournament a month. It’s pretty sleepy. To keep the relatively limited population going, every other tournament is a new meme format, in which we compete to see who’s the master of a competitive style that no-one ever plays. Past tournaments have included Monotype and Battle Factory/Rental, neither of which went well for me, and the latest one somehow went worse.

Because I didn’t get to go. Because I designed this whole-ass team, but I was up til 2am working last night and so couldn’t get up early enough to show up, and also because uni stuff.

Considering the time and energy I spent on this meme dreme teme, I figure I might as well get some content out of it. So anyway, the format was Not Fully Evolved (NFE) doubles, with the only ban being the Eviolite item (since it makes most things just way too bulky). You were bound to get a bunch of underappreciated mons out of that, and that’s exactly what I was doing.

The idea for the team was kinda based on something I’d been meaning to try out in regular VGC for a while. It should get relatively obvious once I reveal the first ‘mon.

(Nickname: 5 Irons in a U is how you make a Minecart in Minecraft.)

Coalossal is a Pokemon you see relatively uncommonly in VGC, usually through it’s main gimmicks- Steam Engine, and G-Max Volcalith. The former I get to use with the pre-evolution, Carkol- whenever it’s hit by a Water or Fire move, you get your speed quadrupled, so if you set up right you don’t need to worry about investing in speed, even on a slow mon. That left spare EVs for Defense, so I could get that Body Press going, letting this bad boy protecc and also atacc simultaneously. I don’t get Volcalith, so for the extra kick (and for a little spice) I decided to go with Power Herb/Meteor Beam. Now, typically the pick with Coalossal is Weakness Policy, since you’re targeting it with a weak Water move usually so you can pop that and Steam Engine in the same turn. And therein lies the difference, because I’m not hitting it with a Water move.

(Nickname: Magmar’s Japanese name is ブーバー which translates to Boober. Yup.)

I think everyone just forgot Fire Plume exists, which is a shame, because it’s a genuinely amazing move on the right setup. Hits both opponents (and your ally) with a 30% to burn? Sign me the fuck up, and with Carkol as a partner, you don’t need to worry about burning it. I guess part of why you don’t seem much Lava Plume is because not that many things get it- the Magmar line, Flareon, Torkoal, and a few legendaries- and most of them are either bad or have better things to do. But the thing is, in NFE, Magmar gets a nice advantage, as being an NFE Pokemon that used to be a fully evolved, single stage mon- so it’s overall stats are much more impressive than most of the competition. I…put AV on this because… I don’t remember? I just like Assault Vest, I guess. But at this point it was like, hey, two Fires, this could be the start to a great Sun team, and you know who else likes Sun and is also a former single stage?

(Nickname: Tagliatelle is a noodle-like pasta, and has like half of Tangela’s name in it)

That’s right its everyone’s favoured shoe’d noodle boy, Tangela. This thing hits like a truck (relatively), and Chlorophyll means its doing that much quicker than you’d estimate. Life Orb for that extra bit of kick, and some coverage moves because…frankly it’s moveset is Not Good. The only other coverage it can get out of Special Attack is Confusion, which…No? I guess I could use Knock Off, but it doesn’t seem great. Tangela is also super bulky- most of the things on this team ended up physically bulky, to be honest, which might have been a mistake, but eh.

I had half of a Sun Team, but no setter. And it turns out, there really were not a lot of options for setting Sunny Day in this format. The only Drought user was Vulpix, but I really didn’t want to be running triple Fires. That only really leaves Prankster users (or just really fast things, but that didn’t occur to me at the time), of which again, there aren’t many good ones. Cottonee would have been OK, but redundant as far as weaknesses, and Morgrem doesn’t even get Sunny Day. That only left two options, and one of them had better support options than the other, sooooo

(Nickname: get back on two legs you dumbass cat, you’re doing it right in the official art why cant you do it in the model)

I have such a love-hate relationship with this cat. On the one hand, it sucks and I had to deal with this line in the Factory, but on the other hand I took it to the E4 in a White Nuzlocke last year and really enjoyed it. On the other other hand, they fucking ruined its design in the transition to 3D by making it bipedal, on the other other other hand it’s the best option I had in my opinion. Prankster Sunny Day, along with a pile of useful priority support moves in a format with basically no Psychic Terrain couldn’t get passed up.

The rest of the team was just kinda 2 good mons. Like, I couldn’t really think of anything specific to fill the Sun Team holes, so I found two good things that filled offensive/defensive niches, and went with them. So first up it was…

(Nickname: man y’all remember arms for the Nintendo switch did anyone even buy it lmao)

I had my eye on all the Pseudo-Legendary middle forms, and bulky Metang is what I went with. Clear Body is a great ability, it gets really chunky moves, and it’s thicc enough. It’s nice to have a Steel around. Brick Break was a later addition- I realised that a bunch of this format’s direst threats- Porygon2, Type:Null, Sneasel, Magneton- were all weak to Fighting, so I slotted some coverage for that on the team. Speaking of Brick Break, our final team member also has it.

(Nickname: yknow, like the discord emote.)

Scyther is actually kind of a really good mon anyway? Like Technician Banded Dual Wingbeat breaks through just about anything, and it’s also really quick. U-Turn means if I lead it and it turns out it’s not a good matchup it can just chunk something on the way out, and it…unfortunately doesn’t really get anything else to abuse Technician with. Like, Thief, I guess? Double Hit? Yeah so the rest of the kit is just coverage for scenarios where I can’t just Wingbeat to victory.

And that’s the lot of them. Unfortunately I have no idea what the field at this tourney looked like, so I don’t know how well it could stack up. Since this isn’t a real format, I also never got to actually playtest the squad, so uhhhh…who knows? Knowing my luck I’d probably just get my ass kicked by Porygon2 or something but I would have enjoyed doing it.

[changelingvixen]

Yet more. Part 3 of...?

 She didn’t have too long to wait.

“Ah, darling, welcome to the Celestium!” a strident voice rang out, drawing her attention. There stood the coolest person she’d ever clapped eyes on, smiling faintly and sharply despite her dramatic phrasing. She looked far too indie for Ul’Dah, and that kind of punk courage made her admire the woman at once. From her short blond hair, checked trousers and short jacket to her quick, clever eyes, she was obviously bright enough to be a businesswoman while still being an individual.

“Time never stands still, especially in Ul’Dah,” the woman – Royse – said, sitting in the chair opposite her. “I’ll be blunt, darling. The Celestium is a fantastic success, even if I say so myself. I am good at talent spotting. I know what people want, and they want entertainment. They want excitement – a hint of danger, a hint of glamour. They also want food.” She raised a finger. “As such, I’m expanding the Carnivale into a post-show dining experience.” She emphasised the word. She knew what that meant; when restaurants wanted an ‘experience’, they wanted variety. Presumably that’s why her varied CV had appealed.

“I don’t really want to interview you,” said Royse. “I want you to cook for me and a couple of my employees.”

She blinked. Was that better or worse than a normal interview? Her mind went blank.

“I’ll give you a menu, and you cook it,” said Royse. “One of my employees will buy anything you need from the markets, and then we’ll taste it. That’s it.” She grinned. “Just show me the talent, darling, that’s all I want to see.”

“O-Ok,” she stammered. “I can do that.”

“Marvellous,” said Royse. “We don’t have a massive kitchen at the moment, but…” she eyed her bag. “I assume you’ve brought some of your own things?”

“A few essentials,” she said. Lyngsath, the master of the Culinarians’ Guild, had taught her that although you could borrow some things, a good chef always owned her own herb and spice selection, one good iron pan and most important, a full set of decent knives. She took hers to every job she had.

“Great,” said the decisive Royse. She slid a piece of gilded paper over the table to her, and a pen. “Here’s my menu idea. Write on the back what you need and Latool Ja will pop to the markets for you.”

She waved at a side door, and just when she thought she couldn’t be any more surprised, Latool Ja turned out to be a beastman. He smiled widely on seeing her.

“Is good sight to see you!” he said, surprisingly enthusiastic. Something of that surprise must have shown in her face, because he laughed. “Ms Royse hates cooking. And Martyn is not good cook either. When we travelled, we cooked – Martyn does not understand food.”

“’The Great Azurro’,” said Royse, “The star of my show and someone who owes me a great deal of money and will therefore be working for the Celestium for approximately the rest of his life, starting his own guild aside.” She nodded at the poster, and the well-dressed man with the heavily blue theme. “He’ll be another judge.”

She nodded, absolutely lost for any sensible words. The Mamool Ja grinned encouragingly at her.

“Celestium isn’t so bad. Is place that seems strange but we are all nice really!”

She attempted a small smile. Beastmen, oddly enough, didn’t worry her in the slightest, despite all the horror stories of Limsa. If anything the Mamool Ja’s presence comforted her next to the stylish, powerful Royse and the mysterious and incredible Blue Mage she had yet to meet. He didn’t care what she looked like or perhaps even that she was awkward and small. There was something pleasing about just being wanted for a job that she knew she could do. It was simple and uncomplicated and was a tiny niche she could actually fit into. After all, she’d almost definitely never see these people very often, if she was sequestered in the kitchen.

“We all live in the building,” said Royse, “So if you get the job you can live here, too. Part of the payment.”

“My chocobo?” she said instantly, thinking of Apple. She’d left her ‘bo with the Chocobokeep in town for a not-completely-horrendous hourly stable rent, but she wasn’t doing that permanently.

“We have a small stable,” said Royse, nodding. She relaxed, and flipped the gaudy menu paper over to take a look.

It wasn’t too bad and thankfully mostly Ishgardian. Baked onion soup and Knights’ Bread. Artisanal Skybuilders’ Quiche. And Lemon Curd Sachertorte which she could have cheered about, because sachertorte was one of her speciality desserts, and lemon was one of her favourite flavours. If she’d believed omens, this looked good.

“Alright,” she said, picking up the pen. “One moment.

[gold-from-straw]

Backstage of the Universe - ch13

The last chapter is coming at the end of this week! I’m quite sad about this! I know this has been an insanely niche AU but I’m very fond of it and of Cherik being total dads! Now it’s Erik’s turn to be a BAMF...

Read from the beginning on AO3 if you like!

Erik caught Charles as he slumped in his arms, and lifted his limp body out of the wheelchair, onto his lap, as close as he could bring him. He held him close and tried to stop the tears from falling as he checked his heartbeat, praising a God he didn’t know he still believed in when he felt a weak pulse. He wiped the blood away from his precious face where it had seeped out from his eyes, his ears and his nose. “Charles… Charles, my love, hold on, you’re OK.”

The body that had once been Riggins moved, pushed himself up to his feet and stared at the two of them in horror. Erik swallowed down his fear and held out his hand, Charles’ wheelchair at once reduced to its component parts, an arsenal of its own against the uncaring Universe.

“What did you do?” the Universe said hoarsely to Charles. He swallowed, then looked at Erik, and Erik saw fear in his depthless eyes. “What is he? What did he do to me? There are people all over the world who’ve developed a sudden coronary condition, what was he thinking?”

Erik cradled Charles closer to his chest as Charles shifted slightly and moaned, just on the edge of his hearing. “He was thinking that maybe you should do some of the work yourself.”

“But he can’t… he’s human… he is human, isn’t he?”

Erik bared his teeth and brought the metal into a ring of spikes, pointing in a trembling collar around Riggins’ throat. “We are more than human. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave these children alone.”

“But I keep telling you, they’re not human! They’re not children, they’re my tools!”

“Then I suggest you wait until they stop looking like children,” Erik hissed, elongating one of the spikes so that it dug into his neck, a bead of black, glittering blood running down the metal. Riggins’ eyes widened and he froze, all but his chest, rising and falling too fast. “You will leave the children - yes, the children - alone. At least until they come of age. You still have Priest, use him instead! You will bring the others home to us, and you’ll let them be children.”

The Universe swallowed. “Or what?” he croaked.

“Or it won’t just be Charles taking your powers away.”

He held the spear still, just digging into his flesh, for an eternity, hoping that he wouldn’t call his bluff. There was no way in hell he’d be letting Charles anywhere near this bastard ever again. At last the Universe nodded, just slightly. Erik retracted the metal and he sagged, clutching at the small wound on his throat.

Erik stood with Charles in his arms and tried not to look as terrified and heartbroken as he felt. And then he realised he had no idea how to get back.

He was just about to start panicking in earnest when he felt himself dragged backwards as if by his shoulders. He clung to Charles, curling his body around him and hoping that when they landed it wouldn’t be in a forest again. The sensation of falling lifted his stomach unpleasantly, and then there was a soft landing, a small, dark room, and a looming figure.

Erik wrapped himself around Charles’ prone form, rolling them over so he was shielding Charles.

“Magneto, move yourself. Let me get to him, I can help,” Wakti Wapnasi said, shaking him with her spindly grip.

Erik sat up, still with Charles cradled in his arms, and looked up at Wakti with suspicion and hope.

“What have you done to yourself, you foolish boy?” Wakti crooned, pinching Charles’ eyes open and wiping the last trickles of blood away. “Even a mind such as yours can’t take on a whole universe alone.”

“Will he be OK?” Erik croaked.

Wakti smiled up at him. “He will need time, and love. Both of which I believe you are well placed to give him, Son of Edie.”

Erik swallowed hard and ducked his head, pressing his forehead to Charles’ as Wakti bustled around, ordering her people to bring herbs and tinctures, muttering under her breath. It could have been magic, or it could have been imprecations against Charles’s stupidity - God knows he had a few things of his own to say on that particular subject.

“Come back to me, Charles,” he whispered instead. “Don’t leave me here worrying about you.”

The bond between them stayed as silent as it had been since all that awful sound and sensation, when all that power and knowledge had drained away, leaving Charles bleeding and limp in his arms. Erik swallowed hard.

Wakti peered into the pool, stroking her fingers over the water. “It looks like your threats have paid dividends,” she said. “I can see Mystique and the Beast with your missing children in their arms.”

“What?” Erik gasped.

Wakti smiled down at him. “I can feel the ripples in the universe. I can feel them, but I can’t control them, not like he does.” She shrugged. “He can’t control me either, but keeping him away from Francis is the extent of my power.”

“Will they be safe now?” Erik asked, hope rising in his chest. He hadn’t expected it to work. He’d barely expected to leave with his soul intact. He looked down at Charles. His soul was still in question as it was.

“He’ll leave them until they’re adults, I can see that much,” she said, stirring the water with a long fingernail. “He’s taken your suggestion to use Priest very seriously, I see, hmmm.” She chuckled to herself. “You have your children back. Congratulations.”

Erik laughed and stroked Charles’ hair back from his face. “Hear that?” he said softly. “The children are home, Charles. Won’t you come back to see them?”

“You take him home,” she said softly. “Take him back to where he is loved, and keep calling him home. He’ll come. Trust an old witch.”

Erik kept his eyes on Charles until his gaze blurred with tears, then pressed his forehead to Charles’ temple and wept silently.

Tagging everyone who interacted with the last chapter - thank you!! @galaxyrise489, @akasanata, @fullmetalcarer, @slytherclaw134689, @mademoiselle-noir-00, @ikeracity

[makeyourlifemagick]

The phoenix has risen

I just have to write. I can't help it.

So much has happened in my life in the last few weeks - it is no exaggeration when I say: EVERYTHING CHANGED.

For years I have been trying to keep my head above water as a coach for mothers and parents. Being a mother has fundamentally changed my life and (without wanting to praise myself) I am one of the most conscious mother on this planet. So it always seemed "reasonable" that I show other mothers how they too can experience such a deep and conscious connection with their child/children. Furthermore it is socially accepted to wear this kind of "job title". It had to work in any kind of way. That was my niche - because I had finally written a book in this area.....

So I tried to get ahead. I tried it partly spasmodically, not so spasmodically and sometimes mediocrely but with negligible success (success in the sense of turnover and the feeling of doing something really satisfying)....

Then came the year 2019 - autumn 2019 and by divine providence I met the right woman at the right moment. She helped me to find ME! She helped me to discover my spiritual gifts and to train them. I grew into a world in which I felt "HOME" from the first second on. A world of intuition, magic, enchantment and love...

I started to train my "new" skills like a muscle and started giving soul readings. Readings for children, adults or already deceased ... that was what made my soul dance. That was what I wanted to do - ALWAYS! And one thing I can tell you, it wasn't easy at first to ignore my ego mind: "Who do you think you are? This is all a lie - you can't know these things ... you will embarrass yourself and nobody will ever take you seriously again!

These thoughts were omnipresent! 

But then came the first feedback: Women who sat opposite me via zoom and cried. Who looked at me and asked me: "How can you know that, I never told you about my child?” Wow .... that was like a hammer blow. I wasn't a liar and I didn't make it all up. I was a medium - a mediator of the worlds and I could see how this gift gave me so much love, trust, courage and togetherness. That was and is indescribably beautiful...

But as if that was not "enough" already, something changed again this year. It went (as for many people in 2020) one step deeper - it became clearer and more unmistakable: that was not it yet, dear Nicole. There is even more...

So I gave myself the OK for this dive and explored what else was to be seen and lived there. I will not write down every detail here, otherwise you will probably still be reading tomorrow ;-) But I can tell you one thing: the phoenix has risen! He has risen from the ashes of all his desperate attempts, his failed attempts and his shame .... 

My wonderful friend Wayne Dyer once named a book "I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW!” And that's just the way it is ... I can see more clearly now, said YES to who I really am and what I want to BE in this incarnation. I am a modern witch! Yes, I am... and I know that it is probably not accepted as a job description without shaking heads. Because I live in a world where WOMAN is ashamed to say: I am a housewife and mother! This is usually followed by a: and what else? 

But that doesn't matter anymore... I AM WHAT I AM!

I am a housewife, mother and magician. Yes I cast spells and it is a really deep and responsible purpose. I make THINGS with my hands (candles, glasses with herbs or gems, dishes, talismans, etc.) and I communicate with Mother Earth and her messengers. I prefer to stay in the forest and shy crowds of people.

This is what I am! And yes, I change human lives - I change the planet a little bit every day for the better. I know that, I have to prove it to myself and no one else. I just invite everyone to experience it for themselves.... it is simple and yet effective. It is simple and yet transforming.

I am risen. I am here and I will not hide anymore. I will stand by those who seek advice and stand up for them. I am here and you will be able to read so much of me in the future. I share my knowledge with all who are interested, because you know what: in each of us there is old knowledge - old wisdom that is just waiting to be lived.

In this sense I wish you a wonderful day / good night and always the willingness to trust this quiet inner voice inside you and to follow the next impulse inside you! Therein lies your destiny, your freedom.

All love, Nicole 

P.S.: you can find my newly opened magic store here. Please feel free to have a look around:  https://www.etsy.com/de/shop/MakeYourLifeMagick

[witchmums]

Oops! Deleted an ask accidentally

@mamadiaba asked  Hii, how are you? So ,im a new "witch", you can say, but i dont know what type i am, like what is my style. I live like, 20 meters from the beach, so i thought i was a sea witch, but i HATE the beach. I feel so uncomfortable there. I love the woods but there is no such thing. HELP! :P What do i do??

Ok so we’ve mentioned a few times now that neither of us see a huge benefit to categorizing yourself unless there’s a really good reason for it. I practiced for 8 years before claiming the title of hearth witch and when I did, it was only because it described what I was already doing. 

Practicing witch craft isn’t like choosing a major. It doesn’t need to lock you into a specific area of study or application unless that’s what comes naturally. I don’t do spirit work because I don’t have a lot of use for it in my current life or practice. That doesn’t mean I won’t ever do it, or there won’t come a time when it becomes a big part of my life. Saying that I’m a hearth witch and therefore I can’t or don’t use crystals because I focus on herbs is similarly unhelpful (and untrue - crystals are a newer part of my practice, but I love my stones!). 

What you do is you begin to read and research and to practice your craft. You try a little bit of everything and you see what works and what doesn’t. It’ll become clear, maybe quickly, maybe after years of work, if there’s a specific niche for you. But all of witchcraft should be open to all witches, regardless of what you do most. 

I hope that doesn’t sound admonishing - my goal in answering this question is to help you find the confidence to practice any way that feels right to you, to free you from the anxiety that comes with trying to choose a forever path when you’re just at the beginning of your journey.

Best of luck, and all our love! Your Witch Mums

[organic-farmer]

AN INTERVIEW with Simon DeBoer of Langside Farms in Ontario Canada. Simon started out as a certified organic grower back in 1998 and ever since is growing a variety of organic garlic, heart nuts and other tree nuts; he grows everything organically.

Q: Today, you don’t have the organic certification per se but you still do practice /stay truthful to organic practices.

A: You can come see my farm anytime.

Q: Great we will come but still I would like to ask you some questions; how have you become aware of organic, the clean methods of growing.

A: It is a health issue, it is a life issue, because I want to stay out as long as I can be healthy while I am here.

Q: So you were aware that there is an impact on your health

A: Absolutely!

Q: Did something happen that made you aware of organic and not conventional way of growing.

A: No, I always have been eating plants, been close to the land. I love it. I have been the other way too. I worked for a chemical company. I have been to the University and I raised 6 children and I wanted to raise them healthy, close to the land. Two of my children were born at home I delivered them myself.

Q: Eating healthy is becoming more mainstream. How do you see that?

A: I always have been interest in eating healthy. If I would not be a farmer I would have been a doctor, but a different kind of doctor. I do not trust these doctors, I do not go to doctors. My doctor lives in Peru.

Q: Peru? Are we talking about South American Peru?

A: Yes, I can email him with a question anytime with a diet I am doing and he responds to me.

Q: Oh, super interesting…

A: My doctor is Russian…

Q: Oh he is Russian, I am Polish, my grandmother was Ukrainian, so not too far away. I see you brought the garlic because it is a garlic festival but what do you grow besides garlic?

A: I have nut trees. My specialty is nut trees.

Q: What kind?

A: Heart nuts, if you never heard of it you have to come. I have some English walnuts, pecans, persimmons; I love trees…

Q: So that would be your niche!

A: Yes. So if I fall on something and cannot get garlic. I will  catch nuts.

Q: Which vegetable, herb or nut is your favorite to grow?

A: My favorite? That would be nuts!

Q: Which nut is your favorite?

A: Heart nuts. That has a heart shape when pieces fall out the pieces have heart shape. I export it from Japanese grower. I have 5 acres of nut trees.

Q: Which one is your favorite to eat?

A: I put nuts in my smoothie, raw, with coconut oil and bananas

Q: If you would end up on the deserted island and if you could take one seed with you, what would that be? Would that be a nut seed? Veggie?

A: Only one seed?

Q: Ok let’s make it 3

A: One of them would have to be a nut.

Q: Which nut tree?

A: Heart nut, off course, they are the best. The squirrels like them too.

Q: Someone told me watch what animals are doing and we will be closer to nature , would you agree with that?

A: Absolutely. Animals do not seam to get sick very often. I have one deer at my place it knows where the organics lives.

Q: What would be one advice or tip for an aspiring either organic growers or nut’s growers?

A: You need to be out there on your hand’s and knees with garlic and watch it grow and enjoy it . I do everything with it. You have to enjoy it. If it is just a job for money it is never going to satisfy you.

Q: That is a great advice. Very genuine!

A: Your work has to be pleasure . I enjoy it. You will see me with my hands and knees down the ground to get weeds out.

    Meet Organic Farmer – SIMON DeBOER AN INTERVIEW with Simon DeBoer of Langside Farms in Ontario Canada. Simon started out as a certified organic grower back in 1998 and ever since is growing a variety of organic garlic, heart nuts and other tree nuts; he grows everything organically.

[rokurookajima]

chilling at a coffee shop but i don’t have any schoolwork to do so i don’t know what to do with myself, here are some questions and answers

send me a fruit

peach:  do you have any piercings or tattoos?

i do i think at this point i have 13 piercings and 11 tattoos?? which is truly not that many at least for tattoos i guess that’s kind of a lot of piercings raspberry:  favorite flower?

i’m rlly not sure all flowers are pretty but i think i prefer like just plants to flowers, like succulents and herb plans and stuff. i have a tattoo of sage coffee and basil, so i’d say those are some favorite plants lemon:  do you have any pets? what are their names?

none of my pets live with me now bc they’re still at my parents house, but i have two cats named snickers and sunshine, and a bulldog named dallas

mango:  what is your trademark?

wow idk overthinking and always being five minutes away from crying??? funny story tho for literally 13 years i wore this black tattoo choker and never took it off that whole time so that was a trademark for a long ass time. now it’s probably like. purple hair. i guess passion fruit:  how would you describe your style?

so for like 2 years i’ve just been describing my style as “american apparel” bc a good portion of my clothes are all from there, and the ones that aren’t, still had that same sort of aesthetic. but now american apparel is CLOSED idk how much longer i can say that before that won’t conjure a concise visual anymore. but rlly it’s pretty simple. highwaisted pants, crop tops, solid plain colors, no patterns except stripes sometimes, a lot of army green  pineapple:  sexual orientation?

i used to identify as pansexual, but in recent years i’ve been saying bisexual a lot more mostly bc when i talk about it in real life it’s easier to just say bisexual bc everybody knows what that means than to try and explain pansexual, and since then i feel like way more comfortable with that label but im chill with either one. not to say they’re exactly the same but??? y’know. i’ve only had romantic/sexual relationships with men thus far but maybe one day the girl of my dreams will sweep me off my feet strawberry:  favorite desserts?

i’m way more of a salty food person than sweet, but y’know desserts are still always good. i rlly like baked goods a lot, like pastries and shit. plain croissants are one of my favorite things in the world, pumpkin pie bc wow fall i’m basic ok a lot of others i mean there’s really no dessert i don’t like  cherry:  can you play any musical instruments or can you sing?

here’s the thing for most of my life, singing was the one thing i always felt confident in saying i was actually good at. bc i really don’t feel like i’m good at a lot of things, and have always had those kind of feelings. i used to sing wayyyyy better than i do now tho lmao i took singing lessons for years bc i once planned to go into theater as a career path, so my voice used to be way stronger with a way bigger range that has sadly decreased from lack of use. but i mean i guess i can still sing pretty okay. i’ve played the guitar since i was 10, took lessons from 10-17. now i don’t play nearly as often as i used to, but break it out every now and then grape:  if you could take a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?

right now i really really want to go to the pacific northwest, like portland and seattle, and also go up to canada and stay in vancouver. vancouver seems like such a cool city i’m very into it. 

banana:  favorite horror movies?

what a QUESTION. ok wow gotta break this down into sub categories i love horror movies and i think about this a lot. for like straight up horror that i love and think are legitimately good movies, american mary, antiviral, it follows, the vvitch, green room, creep (the mark duplass one), daybreakers, ginger snaps, the blair witch project, the silence of the lambs...for like, horror comedies, tusk and murder party & rlly if we wanna count it as horror since it’s about vampires, what we do in the shadows. for like. guilty pleasures/so bad they're good...all the saw movies, devil’s pass, silent hill revelation. and of course, my favorite sub category of all, horror musicals lmao. obviously repo! the genetic opera, both the devil’s carnivals, sweeney todd, i really need there to be more horror musicals tbh  blackberry:  is your life an action film, a comedy, a romantic comedy, or drama?

lmao it’s one of those kind of good kind of shitty coming of age mumble core indie movies. bc i mean rlly. art student, weird druggie friends, everybody is in fucky relationships, we go to waffle house a lot. it’s perfect  pomegranate:  when do you feel the most confident?

lmao also what a question. i guess every now and then i just have random days where i feel rlly good about how i look, usually bc i did something good with my makeup or put together a look i feel good about that’s different from usual, or just like am being blessed by god that day. i feel more confident with my friends typically than when i’m like somewhere alone. also rlly weirdly i probably feel the most confident about myself over all like...during straight up sexual situations. not like in the build up before when it’s like all rlly uncertain and you’re not sure if it’s gonna happen. but like. when you’re for sure certain the person you’re with is already attracted to you and on board with the whole thing and you're just like. ready to GO. i feel pretty confident then. which i always forget til i’m actually in that situation.  cantaloupe:  what are your parents' names?

good ol dave and mariann guava:  dark & dramatic makeup or natural makeup?

all of the above m8. like idk if this is specifically asking what i prefer to wear or what i actually wear more often. bc i mean most of the time, it’s relatively natural or literally just eyebrows and nothing else. most days if i’m actually trying to put on makeup, but don’t have a reason to be dramatic, i just do winged eye liner. but if i have an event or i’m just feeling rlly extra, i love to do more dramatic stuff like red eyeshadow and shit like that  tangelo:  if you could be any mythical creature, which would you be?

idk could i just be a woman with antlers. no other animal parts or anything. i just want antlers  plum:  favorite clothing brands?

rest in peace my sweet sweet american apparel. i rlly don’t know otherwise. i like uniqlo stuff, but haven’t gotten to shop there much ever bc there are no stores around me at all. american apparel was rlly my only brand loyal brand. i don’t know where to go now  coconut:  favorite perfume?

i’ve been using viva la juicy from juicy couture since i was 13 lmao  lychee:  satin or lace?

lace blueberry:  what do you want to dress up as for halloween?

hmmm that’s a good question too. i’m not sure yet. it’s only the end of april so i mean i have a lot of time to think, but i have no clue i should get on that apple:  what do you use more, tumblr or twitter?

probably tumblr, but i’ve used twitter a lot more in the last few months than ever just to tweet dumb things to my friends. i also rlly like seeing content from people i know/vaguely know irl more than anything else at this point, so i like twitter a lot for that. kiwi:  what's something that fascinates you?

uh wow??? a lot of things i guess. i’m pretty fascinated by like...specific niche subcultures?? which is a very vague thing to say but i guess like. there’s this scene in the city i go to school in (guess i live here now too lmao) that i’ve like kind of become a part of, but won’t ever be like as fully a member bc most of them grew up here and went to the same high school, and i find them so interesting. they’re all like kind of ridiculous and a lot of them are kind of pretentious but wow it’s fascinating. guess i’m just really fascinated by people that come from different backgrounds than me?? bc i came from such a like. small, concentrated type of environment from going to the same school for 12 years and being raised in a very religious type of climate, it’s always so interesting to hear about people who were raised completely away from religion and stuff like that. i like hearing about people’s childhoods and high school experiences and what their parents are like  watermelon:  do you have a job? if so, what is your job title?

lmao yes i work at a medical billing company and i think my official title is “medical billing clerk”  papaya:  what song describes your aesthetic?

this is also such a GOOD question wtf. but wow this is really hard?? i’m not sure. one of the first songs that came to mind so i feel like that means it must be somewhat true was off to the races by lana del rey. which rlly is a kind of aesthetic i’m into, like the gross dirty vibes of new york city underground, weird sexual tones, that kinda shit. and i h8 myself but i mean. repo! the genetic opera pretty much shaped a good portion of my aesthetic, so i mean truly the soundtrack describes that aesthetic, specifically zydrate anatomy and night surgeon cranberry:  favorite time of the day; morning, afternoon, dusk, or night?

i rlly like the morning for the vibes and atmosphere most of the time, but i rlly don’t like getting up for it. and it’s also kind of just...contingent on a lot of factors how much i like the morning vibe?? i always like the dusk and nighttime feeling so i guess truly those are my favorite times of day.  nectarine:  would you consider yourself an emotional person?

lmaoooooooooo yes. yes i would. way too much so i wish i wasn’t so emotional bc i’m truly a wreck orange:  do you have long eyelashes?

man i wish i have very average eye lashes  apricot:  what do you do when you're sad?

i mean i’m sad most of the time so what DON’T i do when i’m sad. but for real. depends on what kind of sad i’m feeling. a lot of times i’ll spend a lot of time in the bathtub when i’m sad. i usually try pretty hard to be distracted, so i’ll try to find someone to hang out with, or try to watch something distracting, but pretty much any time i’m alone and really sad, nothing actually distracts me. with people sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. sometimes i just end up telling them how sad i am, which also can sometimes help and i feel better, and sometimes just makes me feel worse for bothering them with it. basically what we can get from this is that i don’t really have any good, helpful coping mechanisms for when i’m sad, and if i did, it would probably improve my life greatly  star fruit:  favorite sea creature?

i honestly don’t know, i’ve never rlly thought about it. sea creatures are all pretty cool but a lot of them are also pretty scary so  dragonfruit:  do you drink alcohol?

yes but not that often. i like enjoy having like just a casual drink with somebody while hanging out watching a movie or something. i like mixed drinks and shit, but i’m not 21 so y’know can never actually order them. i very rarely actually drink like a lot with the intention of getting drunk, but at big parties, i’ll do that. even then i still don’t drink that much bc it doesn’t take that much for me to feel it lmao

[savvyherb]

We spoke with the top recruiters in the booming cannabis business. Here are their 3 best tips for landing your dream job in the industry.

If you’re looking for a new gig, the burgeoning cannabis industry is probably a good place to start.

As the industry grows and cannabis becomes legal in more parts of the US, the number of cannabis-related job postings has quadrupled, from 231 per million in May 2016 to 915 per million in May 2019, according to data from the job search site Indeed.

More people are looking for jobs in the industry as well. Over the same period, cannabis-related job searches have skyrocketed 650%.

“There are very few industries that have seen a sevenfold increase in job-seeker searches in three years,” Andrew Flowers, an economist at Indeed and the author of a recent report on cannabis hiring told Business Insider in August.

While reliable numbers are hard to come by, a recent report from the Toronto-based investment bank Echelon Wealth Partners predicts the US cannabis industry will become a $60 billion market if legalized federally, up from under $20 billion under the patchwork laws today.

The cannabis industry is complex and companies are hiring people with a variety of backgrounds, from entry-level retail to senior-level finance and M&A positions, to pharmacists, biochemists, and horticulture experts.

To get a sense of how to best land a job in the booming industry, Business Insider spoke with some of the top recruiters in the cannabis world. Here are their best tips.

Like any new, exciting space, cannabis companies are growing rapidly. But unlike many other industries, cannabis companies are operating in a murky legal climate where regulations are constantly shifting and businesses are sometimes forced to pivot on a dime.

“People call it ‘cannabis time’ because things are just moving so fast,” said Katherine Kramer, a research associate at the executive search firm Whitney Partners. “You have to be very comfortable with uncertainty and a constantly changing market.”

Karson Humiston, the CEO of Denver-based Vangst, a startup that places job candidates into cannabis companies, agrees. “There’s a ton of hype around the cannabis industry right now,” Humiston said.

If you’re coming from a big, established company where everything is organized and every department is laid out with standard operating procedures, you may have a tough transition into the cannabis world “where every company is still a startup,” she said.

Read more: ‘It’s a once in a decade opportunity’: How top VC firms like Greycroft and Lerer Hippeau are cautiously opening their doors to the potentially $194 billion cannabis industry

“Don’t go into cannabis if you want to be able to hide behind other people,” Humiston said. “You need to go in being ready to provide value and roll up your sleeves and do a ton of different jobs.”

To Humiston, the most successful candidates in cannabis have come from hyper-growth startups in other industries. “They get ready to pivot and jump a million ways and they’re excited and energized by all the changes,” she said.

On that front, Ed Schmults, the CEO of the cannabis company Calyx Peak Capital, previously told Business Insider he’s focused on recruiting “nimble” employees from small startups.

“I think what you really want at the start of an industry are people who’ve been involved in smaller companies who can work fast, be nimble, and wear multiple hats,” Schmults said.

Yutong Yuan/Business Insider

As cannabis companies mature, they’re looking for senior executives across accounting, finance, marketing, and retail roles to help build out their teams.

One of the biggest trends that Humiston said she’s seen this year is publicly traded US cannabis companies is that they’re leveling up their teams by hiring more experienced leaders.

These companies, like Green Thumb Industries, Columbia Care, and Cresco, among others, are expanding rapidly into new markets and have “really aggressive” growth goals, she said.

“They need that level of VPs, executives, and directors who have experience in traditional retail and other mature industries,” said Humiston, especially as these companies go from managing, say, three or four pot shops in one state, to a network of hundreds of stores across many states — all with their own specific regulations.

Read more: CBD and hemp startups are using creative loopholes to skirt Facebook’s ad ban. Here’s how they’re doing it.

On top of that, cannabis companies, like any other emerging industry, are increasingly fighting for market share and hunting for acquisitions. That means they’re in a period where they’re raising lots of capital, so they need financial experts and people with investment banking experience.

“Companies maybe went from having a more entry-level bookkeeper to really saying, OK, we need to hire a CFO,” Humiston said. “I think that what’s happening is you’re bringing in that top-level person — potentially a CFO or the VP of finance — and then they’re getting involved and saying, here are six additional accounting rules that we need to support this growing business. And so we’ve seen just a ton of finance roles this year.”

Read more: These execs are leaving behind careers at companies like Coke and Victoria’s Secret to tap into the $194 billion marijuana industry

A quick scan of cannabis retailer Green Thumb Industry’s open jobs reveals hundreds of open positions across every division from human resources, to retail, to accounting.

And like any other business, there’s high turnover among entry-level retail and cultivation employees.

“There’s a constant need to recruit budtenders and entry-level horticulturalists,” Humiston said.

Besides the bigger, publicly traded cannabis companies, tech startups that serve the industry — like cannabis marketplace LeafLink or cannabis vaporizer company Pax — are also growing rapidly, according to Humiston.

Pax, for its part, has over 100 job openings in multiple states for positions ranging from sales to user experience research.

An employee holds a leaf of a medical cannabis plant at Pharmocann, an Israeli medical cannabis company in northern Israel January 24, 2019.

REUTERS/Amir Cohen

While cannabis companies may certainly appreciate a candidate being passionate about the product, you need to bring “hard skills” to the table, Humiston said.

“Saying, ‘I love cannabis’ isn’t enough,” Humiston said. “Now companies need real hard skills and real hard experience that are going to add value to their business.”

Kramer, from Whitney Partners, said employers in cannabis are looking for experienced workers.

“Having an industry background is super helpful,” Kramer said. “Whether its consumer retail, industrial, or cultivation, there are so many subsectors in cannabis.

Kramer’s best advice: “Find your niche and run with it.”

And don’t be scared to switch up your geography if you really want to land a cannabis job. Humiston said Oklahoma, which legalized cannabis for medical use last year, has one of the fastest-growing cannabis industries in the US. It’s a direct effect of the number of medical licenses the state has issued.

“We’ve seen a ton of growth in states like Oklahoma, Florida, and Nevada this year,” Humiston said.

For those of you who are still in school, Humiston expects cannabis companies to recruit from colleges and universities with cannabis programs, like Niagara University, in Ontario.

“It’s still early days,” Humiston said. “It’s a great chance for people to get in with a company and be a part of building the industry.”

The post We spoke with the top recruiters in the booming cannabis business. Here are their 3 best tips for landing your dream job in the industry. appeared first on Savvy Herb Mobile Cannabis Platform.

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[mmiblog1]

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ion, there, but I’m sure you get what I mean?OK, everyone had finished this course and was about ready to blow up from depth. Do you know takes place . next in Austria? The schnapps is launched! Strictly used being a digestive aid, just kidding, it always helps to help relieve that full feeling. To celebrate our terrific pasta, Grappa, Italian schnapps seemed to be along at a time shot glasses! This group really is able to party!Successful internet marketers don’t treat it as an activity. To be successful, you need treat it as a business, and you actually have no company skills – go out and a few. Simply purchasing book on Amazon drafted by credible business specialists like Jay Abraham, Dan Kennedy and Steven Pierce will get you using the right list.Another person that might become in major medical plans is someone between jobs. COBRA is expensive. Most people cannot put food round the table while paying for COBRA fees. Getting a policy to cover catastrophic medical costs is the right fit during the moment. It will protect your your health without bankrupting the associated with your daily life. Many people use this type of medical coverage in between jobs or semesters at high school. It is a good thing to have if an individual limited money to investin health care costs.All changes in life changes take time, but with love, patience, humor and determination, you and your spouse can enjoy his retirement years this particular can emerge as best time of your day-to-day lives!Watermelon may be blessed with fruit god with lycopene. It’s a secret powerful antioxidant that makes watermelon grey. Tomato and other red fruits and vegetables as well loaded with lycopene, however recent study shows watermelon to have the highest content of them all.Indeed, Woods was outraged, claiming that Harrington hurried to hit a tough chip shot from deep rough above the green. The shot found themselves in the water and Harrington took a triple-bogey snowman on the hole, ending his search to wi http://mmiblog.com/uncategorized/viagra-nedir/ http://mmiblog.com/uncategorized/when-was-viagra-patented/ http://mmiblog.com/uncategorized/viagra-coupon-3-free/ http://mmiblog.com/uncategorized/better-than-viagra-and-cialis/ http://mmiblog.com/uncategorized/otc-alternatives-to-viagra/ http://mmiblog.com/uncategorized/viagra-precio-mexico/ http://mmiblog.com/uncategorized/whats-viagra-used-for/ http://mmiblog.com/uncategorized/womens-viagra-approved/ http://mmiblog.com/uncategorized/make-viagra-at-home/ http://mmiblog.com/uncategorized/viagra-male-enhancement/

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from http://mmi.web9e.com/uncategorized/the-science-of-viagra-and-mens-medications/

[itswomanswork]

A Tasty, Strategic Addition to the Content Marketing Table: ‘Repurposed Content Cobbler’

If you didn’t know, tomorrow, May 17, is home to a very special holiday: National Cherry Cobbler Day.

I know, I know—every day seems to be home to some strange, random, or innocuous holiday these days, but this one has a special place in my heart.

via GIPHY

While my palate generally prefers more savory options, fruit cobbler is my jam. (Does that count as a pun? No? OK.) And as it turns out, not only is cobbler of all varieties deliciously satisfying to eat—but it also serves up a tasty slice of content marketing inspiration.

You see, cobbler was an innovation in both sweet and savory cooking, originating in the British American colonies. Settlers didn’t have access to suitable ingredients or equipment to make their traditional puddings and pies, so using a little creativity with what they did have, the cobbler was born.

Like America’s early settlers, content marketers need to adapt to their new, challenge-filled surroundings. From information overload to the death of organic social reach to age-old challenges such as the lack of time, budget, and internal resources, consistently creating new quality, engaging, and inspiring content is an ever-present challenge.

The good news? You likely already have a lot of the ingredients you need to create a tasty, strategic content cobbler. And the baking tactic is repurposing those ingredients into something your audience can’t resist.

Ingredient #1 – Your pantry of existing content.

If there’s one thing that every content marketer has in spades, it’s a fully stocked content pantry. From white papers and eBooks to blog posts and original or third-party research, all of that robust and niche content has the potential to be sliced, diced, and repurposed into something new and fresh.

For TopRank Marketing’s CEO Lee Odden, microcontent is one tasty repurposing ingredient.

“Snackable content can often be managed and repurposed like ingredients to create a main course,” Lee says. “On their own, short form content like quotes, tips, and statistics are useful for social network shares and as added credibility to blog posts, ebooks, and articles.”

And I have a very fitting example of both microcontent and more robust content pieces being repurposed into a tasty dish: the Mastering the Perfect Content Marketing Recipe: 30 Essential Savory & Sweet Content Ingredients eBook.

In our quest to be the best answer for our audience, the TopRank Marketing team had created individual, robust blog posts on 30 unique content marketing tactics, all featuring definitions, quotes, examples, and best practices.

And as an integrated digital marketing agency, we wanted to bring all of those tactics together under one roof to give our audience a little strategic food for thought.

We plucked and tweaked the best practices content from each of the blog posts to form the meat of the asset. Then we seasoned it with microcontent—namely original and curated quotes from internal and external experts—to add additional insight and authority. Finally, we topped it off with some new, original content to add a little extra flavor.

[bctt tweet=”Snackable content can often be managed & repurposed like ingredients to create a main course. – @leeodden #ContentMarketing” username=”toprank”]

Ingredient #2 – Your spice cabinet of flavorful data and insights.

Herbs and spices often hold the key to unlocking the full potential of any dish or desert—and any good cook has the essentials on hand. So, when it comes to making sure your repurposed content cobbler tastes just right for your audience, it needs to be seasoned with the right data and insight.

“We live in the age of big data. Every marketer has data. Every marketer knows data holds power,” TopRank Marketing’s Annie Leuman stated in her post 5 Reasons Why B2B Content Marketing Works & 5 Reasons It Doesn’t. “And the most forward-thinking marketers are leveraging data and their practical knowledge to draw insights that can be acted upon in their marketing strategy.”

Dig into the data to draw insight on what is resonating most with your audience—as well as what’s leaving a bad taste in their mouth. Then take action on those insights as you repurpose to help improve reach, engagement, completed calls to action, and more.

[bctt tweet=”When it comes to making sure your “content cobbler” tastes just right for your audience, it needs to be seasoned with the right data & insight. – @CaitlinMBurgess #ContentMarketing” username=”toprank”]

Ingredient #3 – A drizzle of creativity and experimentation.

Cobbler was born thanks to the creativity of America’s early settlers. And the truth is, marketers, we all have unique creative insights that can be added to the repurposed content cobbler mix to create something different and relevant for our target audiences.

As I heard Jay Acunzo say during his 2016 MarketingProfs B2B Forum presentation on content marketing creativity:

“You’re the key to your creativity. You’re the starter.”

We often feel like we don’t have the tools, technology, the team, or the talent to be highly creative. But we marketers are scrappy in the content kitchen. We’re innovative. We can and have made the absolute most out of whatever resources we’re given. But the key to success here isn’t luck. You have to tinker. You have to experiment. You have to practice. This will not only help you refine your recipe, but also find opportunities to use your resources in new ways.

[bctt tweet=”We #contentmarketers are scrappy in the content kitchen. We’re innovative. We can and have made the absolute most out of whatever resources we’re given. But you have to tinker.” username=”toprank”]

Cook Up Your Own Content Cobbler Recipe

Like early settlers, content marketers need to adapt and innovate in the ever-changing marketing landscape using the resources they have to consistently create quality, engaging, inspiring content.

So, it’s time to get to the kitchen, throw open your content pantry, data and insight spice cupboard, and add a dash of creativity and experimentation to find unique ways to repurpose content that resonates and drives value.

To get the creative juices flowing, check out our Mastering the Perfect Content Marketing Recipe: 30 Essential Savory & Sweet Content Ingredients eBook mentioned above to beef up your content marketing strategy and inspire your own recipe for repurposed content cobbler.

The post A Tasty, Strategic Addition to the Content Marketing Table: ‘Repurposed Content Cobbler’ appeared first on Online Marketing Blog – TopRank®.

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[samuelpboswell]

A Tasty, Strategic Addition to the Content Marketing Table: ‘Repurposed Content Cobbler’

If you didn’t know, tomorrow, May 17, is home to a very special holiday: National Cherry Cobbler Day. I know, I know—every day seems to be home to some strange, random, or innocuous holiday these days, but this one has a special place in my heart.

via GIPHY While my palate generally prefers more savory options, fruit cobbler is my jam. (Does that count as a pun? No? OK.) And as it turns out, not only is cobbler of all varieties deliciously satisfying to eat—but it also serves up a tasty slice of content marketing inspiration. You see, cobbler was an innovation in both sweet and savory cooking, originating in the British American colonies. Settlers didn’t have access to suitable ingredients or equipment to make their traditional puddings and pies, so using a little creativity with what they did have, the cobbler was born. Like America’s early settlers, content marketers need to adapt to their new, challenge-filled surroundings. From information overload to the death of organic social reach to age-old challenges such as the lack of time, budget, and internal resources, consistently creating new quality, engaging, and inspiring content is an ever-present challenge. The good news? You likely already have a lot of the ingredients you need to create a tasty, strategic content cobbler. And the baking tactic is repurposing those ingredients into something your audience can’t resist.

Ingredient #1 - Your pantry of existing content.

If there’s one thing that every content marketer has in spades, it’s a fully stocked content pantry. From white papers and eBooks to blog posts and original or third-party research, all of that robust and niche content has the potential to be sliced, diced, and repurposed into something new and fresh. For TopRank Marketing’s CEO Lee Odden, microcontent is one tasty repurposing ingredient. “Snackable content can often be managed and repurposed like ingredients to create a main course,” Lee says. “On their own, short form content like quotes, tips, and statistics are useful for social network shares and as added credibility to blog posts, ebooks, and articles.” And I have a very fitting example of both microcontent and more robust content pieces being repurposed into a tasty dish: the Mastering the Perfect Content Marketing Recipe: 30 Essential Savory & Sweet Content Ingredients eBook. In our quest to be the best answer for our audience, the TopRank Marketing team had created individual, robust blog posts on 30 unique content marketing tactics, all featuring definitions, quotes, examples, and best practices. And as an integrated digital marketing agency, we wanted to bring all of those tactics together under one roof to give our audience a little strategic food for thought. We plucked and tweaked the best practices content from each of the blog posts to form the meat of the asset. Then we seasoned it with microcontent—namely original and curated quotes from internal and external experts—to add additional insight and authority. Finally, we topped it off with some new, original content to add a little extra flavor. [bctt tweet="Snackable content can often be managed & repurposed like ingredients to create a main course. - @leeodden #ContentMarketing" username="toprank"]

Ingredient #2 - Your spice cabinet of flavorful data and insights.

Herbs and spices often hold the key to unlocking the full potential of any dish or desert—and any good cook has the essentials on hand. So, when it comes to making sure your repurposed content cobbler tastes just right for your audience, it needs to be seasoned with the right data and insight. “We live in the age of big data. Every marketer has data. Every marketer knows data holds power,” TopRank Marketing’s Annie Leuman stated in her post 5 Reasons Why B2B Content Marketing Works & 5 Reasons It Doesn’t. “And the most forward-thinking marketers are leveraging data and their practical knowledge to draw insights that can be acted upon in their marketing strategy.” Dig into the data to draw insight on what is resonating most with your audience—as well as what’s leaving a bad taste in their mouth. Then take action on those insights as you repurpose to help improve reach, engagement, completed calls to action, and more. [bctt tweet="When it comes to making sure your “content cobbler” tastes just right for your audience, it needs to be seasoned with the right data & insight. - @CaitlinMBurgess #ContentMarketing" username="toprank"]

Ingredient #3 - A drizzle of creativity and experimentation.

Cobbler was born thanks to the creativity of America’s early settlers. And the truth is, marketers, we all have unique creative insights that can be added to the repurposed content cobbler mix to create something different and relevant for our target audiences. As I heard Jay Acunzo say during his 2016 MarketingProfs B2B Forum presentation on content marketing creativity:

“You’re the key to your creativity. You’re the starter.”

We often feel like we don’t have the tools, technology, the team, or the talent to be highly creative. But we marketers are scrappy in the content kitchen. We’re innovative. We can and have made the absolute most out of whatever resources we’re given. But the key to success here isn’t luck. You have to tinker. You have to experiment. You have to practice. This will not only help you refine your recipe, but also find opportunities to use your resources in new ways. [bctt tweet="We #contentmarketers are scrappy in the content kitchen. We’re innovative. We can and have made the absolute most out of whatever resources we’re given. But you have to tinker." username="toprank"]

Cook Up Your Own Content Cobbler Recipe

Like early settlers, content marketers need to adapt and innovate in the ever-changing marketing landscape using the resources they have to consistently create quality, engaging, inspiring content. So, it’s time to get to the kitchen, throw open your content pantry, data and insight spice cupboard, and add a dash of creativity and experimentation to find unique ways to repurpose content that resonates and drives value. To get the creative juices flowing, check out our Mastering the Perfect Content Marketing Recipe: 30 Essential Savory & Sweet Content Ingredients eBook mentioned above to beef up your content marketing strategy and inspire your own recipe for repurposed content cobbler.

The post A Tasty, Strategic Addition to the Content Marketing Table: ‘Repurposed Content Cobbler’ appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

from The SEO Advantages http://www.toprankblog.com/2018/05/how-to-make-repurposed-content-cobbler/

[befoundonlinemarketing]

A Tasty, Strategic Addition to the Content Marketing Table: ‘Repurposed Content Cobbler’

If you didn’t know, tomorrow, May 17, is home to a very special holiday: National Cherry Cobbler Day. I know, I know—every day seems to be home to some strange, random, or innocuous holiday these days, but this one has a special place in my heart.

via GIPHY While my palate generally prefers more savory options, fruit cobbler is my jam. (Does that count as a pun? No? OK.) And as it turns out, not only is cobbler of all varieties deliciously satisfying to eat—but it also serves up a tasty slice of content marketing inspiration. You see, cobbler was an innovation in both sweet and savory cooking, originating in the British American colonies. Settlers didn’t have access to suitable ingredients or equipment to make their traditional puddings and pies, so using a little creativity with what they did have, the cobbler was born. Like America’s early settlers, content marketers need to adapt to their new, challenge-filled surroundings. From information overload to the death of organic social reach to age-old challenges such as the lack of time, budget, and internal resources, consistently creating new quality, engaging, and inspiring content is an ever-present challenge. The good news? You likely already have a lot of the ingredients you need to create a tasty, strategic content cobbler. And the baking tactic is repurposing those ingredients into something your audience can’t resist.

Ingredient #1 - Your pantry of existing content.

If there’s one thing that every content marketer has in spades, it’s a fully stocked content pantry. From white papers and eBooks to blog posts and original or third-party research, all of that robust and niche content has the potential to be sliced, diced, and repurposed into something new and fresh. For TopRank Marketing’s CEO Lee Odden, microcontent is one tasty repurposing ingredient. “Snackable content can often be managed and repurposed like ingredients to create a main course,” Lee says. “On their own, short form content like quotes, tips, and statistics are useful for social network shares and as added credibility to blog posts, ebooks, and articles.” And I have a very fitting example of both microcontent and more robust content pieces being repurposed into a tasty dish: the Mastering the Perfect Content Marketing Recipe: 30 Essential Savory & Sweet Content Ingredients eBook. In our quest to be the best answer for our audience, the TopRank Marketing team had created individual, robust blog posts on 30 unique content marketing tactics, all featuring definitions, quotes, examples, and best practices. And as an integrated digital marketing agency, we wanted to bring all of those tactics together under one roof to give our audience a little strategic food for thought. We plucked and tweaked the best practices content from each of the blog posts to form the meat of the asset. Then we seasoned it with microcontent—namely original and curated quotes from internal and external experts—to add additional insight and authority. Finally, we topped it off with some new, original content to add a little extra flavor. [bctt tweet="Snackable content can often be managed & repurposed like ingredients to create a main course. - @leeodden #ContentMarketing" username="toprank"]

Ingredient #2 - Your spice cabinet of flavorful data and insights.

Herbs and spices often hold the key to unlocking the full potential of any dish or desert—and any good cook has the essentials on hand. So, when it comes to making sure your repurposed content cobbler tastes just right for your audience, it needs to be seasoned with the right data and insight. “We live in the age of big data. Every marketer has data. Every marketer knows data holds power,” TopRank Marketing’s Annie Leuman stated in her post 5 Reasons Why B2B Content Marketing Works & 5 Reasons It Doesn’t. “And the most forward-thinking marketers are leveraging data and their practical knowledge to draw insights that can be acted upon in their marketing strategy.” Dig into the data to draw insight on what is resonating most with your audience—as well as what’s leaving a bad taste in their mouth. Then take action on those insights as you repurpose to help improve reach, engagement, completed calls to action, and more. [bctt tweet="When it comes to making sure your “content cobbler” tastes just right for your audience, it needs to be seasoned with the right data & insight. - @CaitlinMBurgess #ContentMarketing" username="toprank"]

Ingredient #3 - A drizzle of creativity and experimentation.

Cobbler was born thanks to the creativity of America’s early settlers. And the truth is, marketers, we all have unique creative insights that can be added to the repurposed content cobbler mix to create something different and relevant for our target audiences. As I heard Jay Acunzo say during his 2016 MarketingProfs B2B Forum presentation on content marketing creativity:

“You’re the key to your creativity. You’re the starter.”

We often feel like we don’t have the tools, technology, the team, or the talent to be highly creative. But we marketers are scrappy in the content kitchen. We’re innovative. We can and have made the absolute most out of whatever resources we’re given. But the key to success here isn’t luck. You have to tinker. You have to experiment. You have to practice. This will not only help you refine your recipe, but also find opportunities to use your resources in new ways. [bctt tweet="We #contentmarketers are scrappy in the content kitchen. We’re innovative. We can and have made the absolute most out of whatever resources we’re given. But you have to tinker." username="toprank"]

Cook Up Your Own Content Cobbler Recipe

Like early settlers, content marketers need to adapt and innovate in the ever-changing marketing landscape using the resources they have to consistently create quality, engaging, inspiring content. So, it’s time to get to the kitchen, throw open your content pantry, data and insight spice cupboard, and add a dash of creativity and experimentation to find unique ways to repurpose content that resonates and drives value. To get the creative juices flowing, check out our Mastering the Perfect Content Marketing Recipe: 30 Essential Savory & Sweet Content Ingredients eBook mentioned above to beef up your content marketing strategy and inspire your own recipe for repurposed content cobbler.

The post A Tasty, Strategic Addition to the Content Marketing Table: ‘Repurposed Content Cobbler’ appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

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