#and it was hard to explain so i made a visual guide

[starridge]

careful what you recycle !!

[kathaynesart]

RECOMMENDED MUSIC: Boom Goes the Donnie-mite (Mikey/Donnie/Raph vs the Sweeper) - "The Red Zone" by Mitsuoto Suzuk

Finally! This big ol' update is out! Thank you everyone for your patience. Hopefully the next one will be much sooner since I already have parts of it drawn out. We're nearing the end of... uh, lets just call it the "Holiday Special."

BEGINNING || PREVIOUS || NEXT MASTER POST

Also couldn't get this out of my head as I was drawing this update:

Mikey's Ninpo:

Donnie's Ninpo:

Anyways, have some long winded deep dive into Donnie and Mikey's powers below the cut:

Mikey and Donnie are interesting because I feel these two are the ones who truly reach the full potential of their gifts. Mikey isn't there as of yet in the story but he will be by the end of Replica. Where as Leo and Raph had a lot of other things to focus on (leading, planning, and dealing with colony drama), Donnie and Mikey took the time to really focus on themselves and their abilities, choosing to distance themselves from a lot of the drama that the leaders of the family have to deal with.

Mikey's Ninpo

I always found it interesting how Mikey's weapon (the kusari-fundō) seemed to be the only one that had an actual entity within it. While they never address it, it's obviously some sort of flame demon/spirt. It could also help explain Mikey's dramatic increase in strength knowing that the spirit of his weapon is literally able to help him lift boats and buildings. I like to think that Michelangelo formed a connection with the spirit, especially since he looked so crushed when the Shredder destroyed his weapon in a way that none of the other brothers had.

Shortly after the victory against the Shredder I imagine he comes across his destroyed weapon in their old lair (probably while they're gathering thing to move to their new home) and he can still feel the sad little remnants of the spirit clinging to life in the broken object. I feel this would be the turning point that would lead to Mikey's first dip into the mystic arts. He would bring the weapon back to Barry for guidance and Barry would explain that the spirit has been bound to the object for so long that it can no longer survive on its own. Normally it could be bound to a new object but in it's dying state it would not be able to attach properly.

It is Mikey who suggests that maybe if it was bound to a person rather than a inanimate object then maybe the person could help the spirit survive. Barry admits the reasoning is sound and after much coercing finally helps guide Mikey through the steps, allowing the fire spirt to bind itself to Mikey's being (think something similar to Howl and Calcifer in Howl's Moving Castle, sans the heart losing). At first, not much seems to comes of the union. The spirit is still too weak to be able to do much of anything, but over time it regains its strength in tandem with Mikey and is able to gift him with similar abilities, becoming an integral part of Mikey's arsenal as well as a new spiritual connection to the Hamato family line. That is what we get a peek of here in this chapter.

Donnie's Ninpo

Just as Mikey canonically will go through a sort of mystic and spiritual enlightenment, Donnie too will have a similar scientific revelation. It always bothered me in the movie that his "firepower" (guns, missiles, etc) never seemed to be very effective, or at least not as effective as his ninpo designed physical constructs (such as the jet packs and the giant drill he uses on both the Krang and the Shredder). I believe this is because with physical constructs like a drill he has a sense of the weight and velocity needed to understand how hard it should hit. This properly visualized weight and damage is then made into reality.

But it's different with firearms and bombs. Up until the movie he really doesn't have a lot of real world experience around artillery and projectiles outside of what he sees on the internet and film. He does not know how a megaton bomb should feel or even the damage a bullet can create. And don't get me started on the the imaginary ray guns he uses on the Krang that don't seem to even leave a scratch. Without proper knowledge it's all just a light show. Very flashy, but not very effective.

When he realizes this it comes as a heavy hit to Donnie early on in the war. ...However, if there's one thing he is going to be exposed to in this bad timeline it's weapons of all kinds, even mass destruction. He will know exactly how it feels to get hit with a bullet, the blast of a projectile, and even an atomic bomb. He will then take this real world knowledge and recreate it in the same realistic way he can recreate his battle shell or drill staff. It takes a lot of work, sweat, and literal blood but this exposure to the worst of mankind's creations will help make him a walking encyclopedia of destruction. Over time, he will no longer need to make actual constructs of "bombs" or "bullets." He'll be able to simply create the pure raw power desired, no radiation or nuclear fusion needed. That's exactly what we see here.

We also see his use of shields, which is just as important as his ninpo arsenal. Specifically his ability to create shields to contain his own blasts, dramatically reducing the collateral damage from his own weapons of mass destruction. This makes him highly effective at taking down large enemies, but the shields sap his strength even more than the weapons (for it is easy to destroy, but hard to protect and preserve). This makes him often times a liability. He's often a sitting duck after pushing himself too hard and it can take him a decent amount of time to build these heavy hitting bombs. It's a double edged sword to be sure.

NOTE: these are stories I do plan to address further in my Patreon, with proper illustrations, but I wanted to give a little taste of what to expect! Haha. Very soon....

[redroomreflections]

A New World: A Mom for Hugs

Wanda Maximoff x Natasha Romanoff x Child!Reader

Summary: Bunny is beginning to understand what it means to have a mom.

No trigger warnings I think. Will probably pull at the heartstrings. This is for anon bestie who asked for it.

in the sixteen candles universe available on a03

w/c: 2k

Life in Westview had settled into a gentle rhythm, a mix of routines and quiet moments that Natasha and Wanda had carefully created for their little family. It was an adjustment for the two of them to be the best parents they could be for the girls. It hadn’t been easy, but after months of hard work, the house now felt like a true home—a place where Faith and Bunny could finally start to heal.

Bunny had been officially diagnosed with selective mutism not long after she and Faith moved in. Natasha and Wanda had suspected as much from the start, but the confirmation helped them understand their new daughter better. It explained the way Bunny would retreat into herself, the way her voice seemed to get stuck somewhere deep inside. With the help of a kind therapist, Bunny was slowly learning to navigate her world, and both girls were making progress, however gradually.

The house had adapted too. Visual charts and schedules were now a part of their everyday life—bright, colorful guides that hung in the kitchen and hallways, providing structure and a sense of security. At first, they’d been meant for Bunny, to ease her anxiety and help her know what to expect each day. But over time, Natasha and Wanda noticed that Faith had started to rely on them as well. Whether it was checking off tasks on the morning chart or quietly using the emotion wheel, both girls found comfort in the predictability and order these tools brought.

"Make a space for her that is only her own," The therapist had recommended. "Let her know it's where she can go if she's scared, afraid or needs time alone." She reminded them. "Always respect that boundary if she doesn't want anyone there."

So in Bunny’s bedroom, they’d set up a small tent in one corner—a soft, cozy space filled with her favorite stuffed animals, blankets, and a tiny lantern. It was Bunny’s sanctuary, a place where she could retreat when the world felt too big. Wanda had spent countless hours in there with her, just sitting quietly, offering silent reassurance whenever Bunny needed it.

Faith had her own way of coping. She was more independent, spending hours reading or doing homework in her room. But she was never truly far from Bunny. Natasha had noticed how Faith would hover, always watching, always ready to step in if Bunny needed her. It was a role Faith had taken on long before they arrived in Westview—a protective older sister, who had learned too early how to shield her little sister from the world’s harshness. Wanda often found herself watching the girls, her heart swelling with a mix of pride and sadness.

She couldn't believe she got to bear witness to such a pure and innocent relationship. It was much like her own and reminded her of the times she and Pietro were practically attached at the hip.

It was a beautiful thing to watch, and Natasha and Wanda tried their best not to interrupt, unless it was time for dinner or bed.

Some days, Bunny liked to help in the garden. It was one of her favorite things—stepping out onto the soil with bare feet, feeling the earth beneath her toes. She’d spend hours digging in the dirt, searching for worms or hidden treasures, completely absorbed in her little world. Natasha quickly realized that despite her sensitivity, Bunny was fearless about everyday things. The girl would fearlessly pick up earthworms, let ladybugs crawl on her hand, and splash in muddy puddles without a second thought.

“These things don’t hurt like people do,” Bunny had once said quietly, holding up a wiggling worm for Natasha to see.

The words had hit Natasha hard. They made sense, of course, but hearing them out loud from someone so young was a painful reminder of the life Bunny had known before coming here. Natasha had nodded, kneeling in the dirt beside her, and gently patted her shoulder. “No, they don’t,” she had agreed, her voice soft. “And they never will.”

Bunny’s simple observation had lingered with Natasha. It was clear that Bunny was beginning to make sense of her world, finding safety in the quiet, predictable things like the garden. There, she could be herself—fearless, curious, and free from the weight of her past.

As the day wound down and the evening sky darkened, the girls went through their bedtime routine—Faith brushing her teeth while Bunny carefully picked out a book for the night. Wanda read to them, her voice soft and soothing, as the girls settled under their covers. The house was quiet now, the only sound was the soft rustle of blankets and the rhythmic ticking of the clock on the wall.

Bunny woke with a start. She blinked around the room as her hands swept across the sheets blindly. She grabbed at the purple elephant clutching it to her chest. Her back was sweaty and she felt immensely hot. She tried to catch her breath as she sat up.

Usually, when she had night terrors she would run to Faith's room and crawl under the covers. She would force herself into the older girl's arms until she scared the nightmares away. Bunny loved her big sister for that. This time though she wanted more.

She pushed back the covers and slid off her bed. The floor was cool on her bare feet as she walked quietly towards the door. She opened it as softly as she could. The hallway was dark and her heart pounded in her chest. She took a few steps, the plush carpet silencing her footsteps.

The door to Natasha and Wanda's bedroom was cracked. Bunny paused. It was quiet and dark in there. She could tell both women were sleeping. She debated on whether or not she was allowed inside the bedroom. No matter how many times they assured her she was she just couldn't do it. She stood there, her hand reaching for the door.

Her hand hovered over the handle and her breath hitched in her throat. She padded over to Wanda's side of the bed. Her knees sank into the carpet and her fingers clutched the edge of the comforter. Her face was close to Wanda's. The woman's breathing was even. Her red hair was strewn across her pillow. Bunny took a shaky breath and leaned over, pressing her hand against the woman's shoulder.

Wanda stirred. She turned her head towards the girl, blinking. She had half a mind to be surprised by the child, but she knew better than to let it show. She'd gotten used to the occasional night visitor. "Hi, honey." She tried to see Bunny's face through the darkness. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Bunny frowned. She wanted to speak and tell Wanda all of her fears. Instead, she signed. It's another thing they'd been practicing extensively for moments like this. "I can't sleep."

"Oh." Wanda sat up. "Did you have a bad dream?"

The little girl nodded and bit her lip. She didn't want to talk about her dreams. She was scared to think about them.

"Well, how about I come and sit with you for a while?" Wanda suggested. She glanced behind her to see Natasha still asleep. Not wanting to disturb her, even though she probably wouldn't mind, Wanda threw the covers from her body and sat up straight. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms.

Bunny's heart swelled with hope.

Wanda looked down and reached for the girl's hand. "Come on, let's go get a glass of water and we can sit in the living room." As they began to walk, Bunny tugged at her arms.

"I have to pee first," Bunny said quietly. Her voice croaked, filled with sleep and lack of use.

Wanda chuckled. "Okay, sweetie. Then we'll get a glass of water." Wanda stood outside of the bathroom, one leg crossed in front of the other as she waited. She eyed the hallway, wondering if Faith was having just as much trouble as her sister, when her thoughts were interrupted by the flushing of the toilet.

The door opened and Bunny appeared, rubbing her tired eyes. She held the woman's hand as they walked to the kitchen. Wanda poured them each a cup of water.

"I'm sorry," Bunny whispered, her voice cracking. "For waking you up."

"That's okay, Bunny. You know I don't mind," Wanda said softly, handing her a cup. "I'm here whenever you need me."

Bunny drank from her water cup, downing it as if her life depended on it. She passed Wanda the cup and waited patiently for their next steps.

"Do you wanna tell me what your dream was about?" Wanda asked, leading the girl into the living room.

Bunny shook her head. She sat beside Wanda on the couch and looked over at her expectantly. Wanda could see that the little girl was exhausted. She wished she kept better track of how the little one was sleeping.

"Okay," Wanda sighed. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She looked over the girl and watched her shoulders droop. "Do you want to come over and sit in my lap? I heard it's pretty comfy."

Bunny grinned and nodded. She climbed into Wanda's lap and buried her head into the woman's neck. Wanda could feel the warm breath on her neck and her heart clenched. She dared to raise a hand and run her hair over Bunny's head. The girl's hair was a mess, tangling in the woman's fingers. It wasn't often she'd let anyone touch her hair so they made do with the times she would allow Faith to run a comb through it. It was almost time again.

Bunny seemed to enjoy the physical contact. She reveled in Wanda's warmth. Her body was tired, but she couldn't sleep. She didn't want to.

"Are you scared?" Wanda whispered, her fingers gently playing with the tail end of Bunny's braid.

Bunny's nod was hesitant.

"What are you scared of, my love?" Wanda kissed her temple.

"I don't want the mean people to take me away from you." Bunny admitted. "I want you to keep being my Mama."

"Oh, baby." Wanda wrapped her arms around her tighter. "I will keep being your Mama for a very long time." It wasn't often Bunny used that title. Faith never. Wanda's heart never failed to soar whenever she heard Bunny call either one of them those words.

"Promise?" Bunny lifted her head and looked up at her.

"I promise, honey." Wanda cupped her cheek and wiped a stray tear. "There's no getting rid of me."

"At my old house, my mama didn't sit with me after I had a nightmare," Bunny said. There was no emotion in her voice. It's simply a fact for her. She was telling Wanda something she knew and she was expecting her to understand. "Only Faith."

Wanda nodded. "I will sit with you after every nightmare."

"You don't get mad when I don't talk," Bunny spoke again. Another fact for her. "Even though it's hard."

"Of course, I don't." Wanda kissed the top of her head. "What emotion are you feeling right now? Can you tell me?"

Bunny scrunched her nose, her eyebrows pulled together. "I don't know."

"Is it a good one or a bad one?" Wanda asked, hoping to help the girl identify her emotions.

"Happy," Bunny answered.

"Happy," Wanda repeated. She hadn't expect that answer.

"I'm happy because I get to be with you," Bunny explained. "Riley has a Mama that hugs her all the time. Whenever she wants."

Wanda smiled. She'd met Riley, one of the few kids Bunny was willing to play with. Bunny nuzzled deeper into Wanda's arms.

"Mama."

"Yes, Bunny?"

"Can you do your magic?" Bunny asked. She noticed Wanda's hesitation. "I want to see."

Wanda grinned and held up her hand. Red wisps appeared.

Bunny was mesmerized by the sight. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen. She watched, her mouth gaping open as the wisps danced around her fingers. It was warm and inviting. "Riley's mama can't do that." She said.

"No, she can't," Wanda whispered.

Bunny's eyes drooped and her breathing became more even. She rested her head on Wanda's chest and her hands gripped her shirt.

"Sleepy?"

"I think so," Bunny mumbled.

"Do you wanna try going back to bed?" Wanda offered.

"No," Bunny shook her head.

"Okay, let's stay here for a little bit," Wanda said. "And when you're ready, we can go back to bed."

Bunny nodded.

Wanda began to stroke Bunny's arms, slowly rocking her, soothing whatever fears she had. The girl was nearly asleep and Wanda could have sworn she heard her hum in delight.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but eventually, Bunny's breathing had evened out. Wanda looked down to see the girl fast asleep, her mouth hanging open. She smiled to herself, her heart feeling full. So this is what true love felt like.

[tenofmuses]

Free Witchcraft Resources for Beginners

A couple months ago I made a post shouting out the fact that witchcraft doesn’t require any money to get started (or to be practiced, for that matter), and I had a few people ask me about what they can do that’s free, especially as a beginner, so I wrote up this post. I was lost and broke when I was getting started with my craft, and it was really difficult to find tips for beginners that weren’t just “buy these things!” I’m hoping this will be useful for people who are looking for a place to begin.

So. You’re interested in witchcraft and would like to find out more. Maybe you keep seeing those “crystals/herbs/books/etc. beginner witches should have” posts, and you’re frustrated, because you want to begin your practice, but don’t have the money for those supplies. I was once in that spot, and even now that I’m five years into my practice, I have rarely purchased any of the supplies witchtok deems to be fundamental. Here are some places you can begin instead. Let’s get started!

Info continues below.

Foundations

By foundations, I’m referring to things that aren’t explicitly witchcraft, but that I have found very beneficial within my own practice.

1. Before anything, I recommend asking yourself a simple question: why do I want to practice witchcraft, and what do I hope to get out of it? You may not know for sure yet, and your answer will likely change over time, but having some intentions going in can be helpful when you’re in the early stages of research. When I was starting out, I felt very overwhelmed by the amount of info out there, so if you have a bit of an idea of what you’re specifically interested in, that can be helpful to get you going.

2. Meditation: not all witches meditate, but a lot of the skills you develop through meditation can be helpful within witchcraft. You can try out secular meditation (apps like Balance and Headspace, as well as Insight Timer—the former has a mix of secular and spiritual meditations), or you can find a witchcraft-specific guided meditation on YouTube. For neurodivergent folks out there, I recommend looking into active meditation, which I’ve found to be quite beneficial for myself.

For me, it’s always important to remain grounded when I’m doing any spiritual practice, and meditation is a good skill you can work on to help with that. I also find that having a background in meditation can be really helpful later down the line when/if you are attempting visualization and/or astral projection, witch’s flight, and so forth.

3. Journaling: another thing that isn’t specifically witchcraft-related, but is an important skill to harness, on my opinion. To me, it’s crucial to be in touch with what I’m feeling (especially when it comes to doing spellwork), and journaling is one great way to do that. If you’re stuck and don’t know where to begin, look up witchcraft (or general) journal prompts on here or somewhere else. A lot of the ones that come up will be shadow work, which can be intense, so only do what feels comfortable for you.

I’d also like to note that automatic writing/drawing is an entirely free option if you’re interested in communing with spirits or deities. Essentially it involves getting into a trance-like state (usually in a dark room only lit by candlelight or similar—this is to avoid distractions) with a piece of paper and pen, and you write or draw everything that comes to your head without thinking about it. And then you go back and see what sort of messages you may be receiving. It’s a bit hard to explain and I’m not very experienced in it myself, but it’s something worth looking into if it sounds interesting to you!

4. Look at what you have, instead of what you don’t: a lot of beginner witch resources will list specific items that you should have, without really explaining why. And without that knowledge of how/why having an item is important, you might find your Must Have crystal sitting unused on a shelf somewhere. So instead of focusing on the items you want or feel like you should have, look at what you do have. Are there plants or herbs in your house/yard that you feel drawn to? Do you have a collection of cool rocks and stones? How do these items make you feel?

For me, a large part of my craft is my belief in Animism (the belief that all living things have innate spiritual qualities, like a soul, spirit, or specific energy) and this can play into the way you interact with the natural world if it’s a belief you also subscribe to. Try and feel the presence of a plant to see if it gives you any specific feeling. It does? Great! Now you have a correspondance for that plant. And it’s even better than the correspondances you’ll get in a book because it’s based on your own personal connection and intuition. That’s what is most important.

5. When in doubt, use your intuition. You might find a source that says cinnamon should be used for protection. Another will say it should be used for abundance spells. What matters the most is what you think about an herb/plant/stone/colour, or whatever else you may utilize. I recommend to start keeping a list of what you associate these things with. It can take awhile to build up a personalized list, but once you have one, it’ll be a lot more useful than what a correspondances book says to do.

6. Scour your pantry and get cooking: are you wanting to try out a spell but you haven’t bought the ingredients? Look in your pantry. You may be surprised by how many commonly used witchcraft herbs you find in there. And if you have been starting to associate certain herbs or spices with specific feelings or energies, that’s a great way to get started with creating your own spell.

You can do a spell in many ways, but when I was starting out, one of my favourite ways was to incorporate a certain herb or spice into food I made. Say you’re making a soup and maybe you want a bit of protection, so you add some ground pepper with the intention of that pepper protecting you as you stir it into the soup. Same goes for any other ingredient you’d like to use. A little intention goes a long way!

7. Dedicate your actions, time, or energy: if you’re interested at all in working with deities, ancestors, and other spirits but don’t have the time/space to build an altar—or maybe you aren’t sure how involved you want to be with this part of witchcraft—you can devote an action to the entity. This can be simple. For example, when I worked with Apollo, I would use taking my meds and vitamins as an act of devotion to him. This is an offering. And offerings can be anything you want them to be. They don’t have to be expensive or fancy!

It’s also important to note that you do not need to work with deities or spirits to be a witch. You don’t even have to believe in them. Many witches are atheists or don’t work with any deities at all. But for those who are interested, simple offerings can be a good place to start.

8. Practice energy work: in my view, energy work is the most important skill to learn for your craft, since so many things build off of it. And with energy work, you don’t need to spend any amount of money on it. All you need is yourself, your intuition, and anything else—I mean that quite literally, you can practice feeling the energy of other people, pets, trees, buildings, foods, socks, your favourite pen, and whatever else you think of!

Once you get to know the energy of the things around you, you can more effectively utilize them as tools within your practice (this builds off of the intuition point I made earlier).

For example, as a child I lived in a house that was surrounded by cedar trees. It was a place where I felt very safe. To this day, when I see or smell a cedar tree, I feel safe and protected. You can read this any way you’d like—to me it’s both a spiritual and psychological phenomenon—but this is one example of sensing energy.

As a witch, you can practice that skill and use it to get to know the tools you’d like to use within your own craft (the things that connect to you personally, not what you’re told you should connect with). This isn’t an easy skill by any means, so if it doesn’t come naturally to you, that’s perfectly okay!

For more on this subject, I recommend two books: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer (more on animism in particular) and Psychic Witch by May Auryn (lots of exercises to practice working with and sensing energy).

Where to Go for Learning

After you’ve thought a bit about some of the above, or skipped it altogether if it doesn’t suit you, you’re probably wanting some good resources that will actually tell you how to do the witchcraft thing. But before that, I want to reiterate again that this is your practice, and you should only do what you are interested in. So take what you want and leave what you don’t.

I’m going to point you in three primary directions for learning good information: books, podcasts, and YouTube.

But first, I want to issue a massive disclaimer for the YouTube information (and some books, for that matter). You should not have one sole source for your information. Books that have bibliographies are always the most trustworthy sources. And even though I trust the information coming from the YouTubers I’ll mention—especially because I’ve read similar information in several witchcraft books—don’t take their word at face-value. Be critical of what you’re told. Believe what you believe. This is a skill you’ll learn over time. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but it will get easier to discern what’s good info vs. bad info, over time.

Before you get started, I highly recommend watching this helpful video by HearthWitch with info on how to vet your witchcraft sources: link.

Books

In my view, books are the Best source of information, period. Anyone can publish an article or video online, but not everyone can publish a book. So there tends to be a bit more reliable info in witchcraft books.

As far as knowing what book you should begin with, there are lots of lists out there for beginners, and I recommend just looking at one of those lists and picking what sounds interesting to you. Take what you like and leave what you don’t.

Most of the YouTubers I’ve listed below have videos recommending books for beginners.

If you’re interested in British folk witchcraft, I started out with Folk Witchcraft by Roger J. Horne and it was a brilliant beginners guide that I recommend to anyone who is interested in that branch of witchcraft.

As always, while you read witchcraft books, be critical of the information you are presented with. Unfortunately, lots of witchcraft books (especially the classic ones) can be rooted in concepts like bioessentialism, colonialism, and racism. My recommendation is to not take any author’s word as gospel and to use your critical thinking skills when reading witchcraft books.

Where I live, books are EXPENSIVE. And when you’re just starting out in your practice, you might not have the money or ability to go out and buy a book just yet. Maybe you’re still unsure if witchcraft is right for you. Or maybe you’re in the “broom closet.” Whatever the reason, here are some free places to find books.

1. The public library: a bit obvious, but a great resource to look at, because you never know what your library might have. Libraries are the best. And entirely free!

2. Library apps like Libby or Overdrive: especially helpful if you don’t want to bring home a physical witchcraft book, or if your branch doesn’t have any copies of what you’re looking for. You can also get some audiobooks on there.

3. Archive.org: aka the web archive. Entirely free and entirely legal, this works as an online library service where you can check out a book for a bit of time right from your computer. Sometimes you can download PDFs as well. I’ve found a lot of my favourite witchcraft books on there, so if you have a specific title in mind, search it there.

YouTube

First, as a bit of a caveat before recommending you to watch YouTube videos on witchcraft: in my view, books are the best source of information for any witch, as they are able to contain a large degree of nuanced and research-informed information. But books aren’t a simple solution for everyone, and I’ve learned a lot from informed YouTubers over the years (in fact, like many witches, I was first exposed to witchcraft via Harmony Nice on YouTube!).

I’m including a list here of witch YouTubers that I personally recommend because I have found that their content aligns with information I have read in books and other research-informed sources over the years, and because I find them to be generally reliable.

I want to note here that this list is rather biased, as I tend to watch witchcraft YouTubers whose practices mirror my own in some ways. So most of these practitioners have practices informed by European folk witchcraft, and are not very diverse as a result. If any practitioners have further recommendations to add on, especially for practitioners of colour and practices that are different from mine, please do so!

My recommendations:

ChaoticWitchAunt: folk witchcraft, specifically in the Italian tradition, some great beginner content, info on working with saints and spirits.

TheWitchOfWonderlust: death magic, spellwork, great beginner content, lots of excellent info on working with spirits.

HearthWitch: truly a well of information on British witchcraft, beginner videos on any topic you can think of, q&a livestreams, and there’s even a video on vetting witchcraft sources that I really recommend for beginners.

The Redheaded Witch: folk witchcraft and folklore, spirit and ancestor work, daily witchcraft ideas, some beginner videos.

TheGreenWitch: such an excellent resource for herbal/green witchcraft, videos on spellwork, ingredients, tools, and more.

Mintfaery: lots of beginner information, videos on working with the fae, nature witchcraft, and lots of fun witchy days in the life.

Ella Harrison: German folk witchcraft, great beginner resources, including some more niche traditional craft topics like witch’s ladders.

The Norse Witch: info on Norse witchcraft and Heathenry, Norse paganism, and some content about astrology.

simplywitched: lots of great everyday witchcraft content, pagan witchcraft, more vlog style.

Warrior Witch Nike: witchy book reviews, paganism, deity work, some astrology content.

Mhara Starling: the place to go for anyone interested in Welsh witchcraft and folk magic related to Wales.

Alwyn Oak: lots of witch’s guides, especially relating to sabbats (those popularized in Wicca), forest witchcraft, gorgeous videos.

Ivy The Occultist: chaos magick and lots of interviews with practitioners from a variety of paths/backgrounds.

Shadow Harvest: personal day in the life witchy content, some videos looking at working with dark goddesses and deity work in general.

Note: some of these YouTubers have written their own witchcraft books geared towards beginners, so if you enjoy their videos and want to learn more, check those out.

Podcasts

The Astrology Podcast: not specifically witchcraft, but if you want to learn about astrology in detail, this is an excellent place to begin. Link goes to YouTube.

Books and Broomsticks: all kinds of good info, especially pertaining to folk magic, witch guests invited on to share more about their own practice. Link goes to Spotify.

Southern Bramble: A Podcast of Crooked Ways: a variety of witchcraft related topics, interviews, and discussions, often revolving around folk magic and traditional craft—interviews show different traditions. Link goes to Spotify.

New World Witchery - The Search for American Traditional Witchcraft: what it says on the tin; various topics and conversations through an American traditional/folk magic lens by the author of the (amazing) book with the same name. Link goes to Spotify.

Salty Witches Podcast by Cat & Cauldron: traditional witchcraft through a modern lens, another podcast that has a wide variety of topics covered. Link goes to Spotify.

—

As always, if anyone has any additional (free!) resources to add onto these ones, please do so.

Good luck to all of the beginner witches who are embarking on their spiritual journeys, and I hope some of these tips have been helpful! :)

-Em

[pitchsidestories]

eras of us (1) II Ona Batlle x Reader

part 2 I masterlist I word count: 2981

a/n: inspired by this request, be warned it's a bit angsty but we promise it will have an happy ending in part 2. Your feedback is always appreciated.

2024

Barcelonas training had just ended and you were still breathing hard. Grabbing your water bottle, you already dreamed about taking a nice long shower and ordering some food. But you had not expected Alexia to appear in front of you, right before you wanted to leave the pitch.

Her arms were crossed in front of her chest: “Y/n, can we talk for a second?“

The seriousness in her face made you stall for a second, replaying every scene from training and searching for a mistake you made: “Yes, sure…“

She motioned for you to follow her away from the rest of the squad: “Come with me.“

“Uhm okay?“, you replied slowly, your heart beating almost as fast as it did when you were chasing after the ball.

You finally stopped on the opposite end of the field. Alexia turned towards you: “You and Ona…“

“Yeah? Did we annoy you during training?“, you grinned, all the tension immediately gone when you heard your best friends name.

The corners of Alexias mouth quirked up: “Yeah, by acting like you don’t fancy each other.“

“Excuse me, what?! We don’t fancy each other. We’ve been close friends forever.“, you explained. The smile had died on your face and was now replaced by furrowed eyebrows.

The team captain shrugged unimpressed: “Sure, keep telling yourself that.“

You shook your head as you continued: “That’s why I’d never go for her, she’s one of my best friends.“

You immediately knew something was wrong when Alexia did no reply. When you turned around, you only saw Ona running away towards the dressing room. Your warm up shirt was laying on the grass.

Your brain needed the moment but eventually made the connection. She obviously wanted to bring you the shirt and must have heard you. You cursed under your breath: “Shit.“

“I told you.“, Alexia said plainly.

Your thoughts were racing: “What?“

She shook her head with a sigh and pointed in the direction of where Ona had disappeared: “Just go after her!“

2011

They say beginnings are always the hardest. And at twelve years old, you had to agree.

Setting your first steps into Barcelonas youth academy La Masia had felt like the end of everything you knew so far. You were riddled with anxiety and awe, walking through the halls towards your new room. You could barely grasp that you were finally here but at the same time you started to ask yourself if you even wanted to be here at all.

You stopped in front of an inconspicuous looking door. Only the number on the front told you that this was the room that you would call your home from now on. You took a deep breath and knocked.

A short girl with reddish brown hair opened the door with a wide grin. Her face was covered in freckles. “Y/n, right? Hi, I’m Ona. We’ll be roommates.“

There was a warmth radiating off of her that immediately made you feel a lot calmer. With your suitcase still in hand, you smiled: “Hello, nice to meet you, Ona.“

“If you want, you can leave your stuff here and I’ll show you everything.”

You were eager to get to know the place which would be your home for the next years. Gratefully you took Ona’s offer:” Yes, let’s go.”

It turned out that your roommate was the perfect guide, she seemed to know where everything was and had a charming way to introduce you to this new place and people.

Still the vastness of the grounds was intimidating to you as the girl who grew up far away from the Catalonian capital in a village with a small population:” Wow, this is huge.”

“It’s quite cool, right?”, Ona beamed at you.

You nodded in agreement while taking a closer look at the pictures on the wall from footballers like Messi, Iniesta and Xavi who have started here where you were now:” It’s especially when one thinks about the people who came here before us.”

Before the visual history could put too much weight on your shoulders the other girl quickly changed the topic:”Do you have your schedule, already?”

“Yes, I do. Do we have things together?”, you curiously asked her before showing her the printed schedule you got at your arrival.

Happily, Ona observed: “Looks like we have a lot of classes together. And training of course.”

“Of course, what’s your position?”

“I play defense. Mostly left back.”, your roommate replied with a grin. You could immediately tell that she enjoyed what she was playing which was much to your surprise most players in your previous team didn’t like to be a defender or a goalkeeper.

“That’s cool. I usually play right back.”, you told her in an excited tone.

The brunette beamed at you:” Oh, that’s perfect.”

“Do you think they thought about that when they assigned us to be roommates?”, you thought out loud.

The fellow defender answered thoughtfully:” Possibly. They always try to put people together that might be compatible.”

“Can’t wait for the first training.”, you confessed.

“You’ll like it. The girls are really nice.”, Ona promised you with a warm smile on your lips.

Thinking about your own football history you admitted to her:” It’s my first time playing with an only girls’ team.”

“You played with boys before?”, she lifted an eyebrow in surprise.

“Yes, you didn’t think that, huh?”, you gave her a challenging look, knowing full well how you must look in your eyes with your long ponytail which was held together by a bow.

Quickly Ona waved it off:” I was just surprised.”

“Because I look too girly to kick a ball around with boys?”, you teased her.

“I didn’t say anything about that.”, she protested laughing.

“Yes, okay, you didn’t.” When you discovered a ball close to your feet, you picked it up glancing expectantly at your roommate:” Do you want to play for a bit now instead of just talking about football?”

Your first days in La Masia were filled with football and classes. All these new impressions and the tight schedule left you with little time to catch your breath. Only at night, your thoughts started racing and the heavy feeling in your chest became unbearable.

Lying awake in the dark of your room, you could not stop the tears from falling. You quietly sobbed into your pillow when you felt a weight pushing down the mattress next to you. A small hand started stroking your hair while you held your breath.

“Hey… are you okay? What’s wrong?“, Onas voice whispered close to your ear.

You quickly wiped away the tears: “Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you up…“

“It’s okay. I wasn’t asleep yet anyway.“, she replied softly.

“I just miss home, my family, friends and team… They live so far from here.“, you tried to explain but the tears welled up in your eyes again.

Ona laid down next to you, pulling you close to her for a short hug: “I understand that, trust me. The first few weeks here are always hard.“

“But it gets better?“, you asked with slight hopefulness.

“It will. I promise.“, Ona nodded.

For a moment, you both wordlessly stared into the darkness, existing in each others space.

“The coaches are really tough but you were right, the girls are really nice.“, you said into the silence.

You could hear the soft smile in Onas voice when she replied: “They are. Trust me, the coaches only want the best for you. You will get used to everything.“

“What if I’m not good enough?“ When your question was met with a chuckle, you gently hit Ona on her upper arm: “Hey, don’t laugh about it.“

“I saw you play. You belong here.“, your roommate grinned.

The heavy feeling started to lift with Ona by your side. You finally had to smile now too: “If you say so.“

Ona shrugged: “Fine, don’t believe me. But I know it’s true.“

“Thank you for listening to me.“

“Do you think you can sleep now?“, Ona yawned.

“Yes, good night, Ona.“, you mumbled before the increasing drowsiness let you fall asleep with your head on Onas shoulder.

2015

You and Ona trusted each other blindly. You had become best friends over the years which made for an incredible partnership on the pitch. With one of you on each side of the defense line, you were stable parts of Barcelonas youth team. You had a league game against Levante and it was half time when Aitana came to you: “I’m jealous of Ona and you.“

“You’re jealous, Tana? You don’t need to be, you’re one of our best.“, you laughed and pulled the shorter girl into a hug.

The midfielder shook her head: “But you have such an understanding of each other. You always know who’s going to attack and who needs to hang back without talking. I love that.“

“I wish I was a part of that.”, Laia sighed.

Smiling Aitana stated:” You kind of are, Laia.”

“Laia, you’re equally as important in our line of defense.”, you reassured her.

“Yes, we need you.”,  Ona padded your teammates thigh who’s face lit up after all those kind words from her team.

Closing your eyes you told Laia:” I feel like you’ll score a header in the second half, Laia.”

“We’ll see about that.”, your teammate laughed warmly.

“Trust me.”, you grinned at her.

“I do.”

Only five minutes into the second half and Aitana scored a screamer with your assist. “Oh my god, that was amazing!”, Ona jumped into your open arms, you almost fell over but could stay up with the two of you.

Her compliment made your cheeks turn red almost immediately:” Nah, Aitana’s goal was prettier.”

“Stop it and take the compliment.”, the midfielder rolled her eyes at you.

“She’s been bad at it since day one.”, your best friend blurted out with a teasing smile on her lips, clearly referring to one of your first nights at La Masia when you have doubted yourself so much it brought you to tears.

“Shut it.”, you tried to stop her from adding anything more.

But she nonchalantly responded: “It’s true.”

“Let’s keep our head in the game, chicas.”, you reminded them.

“Ugh fine.”, Ona groaned.

At the end your prediction turned out to be true, only one minute before the game was over Laia scored the winning goal.

Excited Laia gesticulated with her hands:” Have you seen my header? Thanks, Oni!”

“Nice one.”, the fellow defender remarked happily.

Meanwhile you hugged Laia from the side:” I told you so.”

At the final whistle you could see Ona walking away from your team to greet her brother who was watching the match in the stands. Grinning Joan embraced her in a hug before he said to her: “Ona, you and your roommate have a great chemistry on the pitch.”

“Thanks?”, she replied a bit confused by the tone in his voice.

“Is there more to it?”, her sibling wiggled his brows.

With an amused smile on her lips Aitana joined their conversation:” Honestly, we’ve been asking them that for forever.”

“No, that’s ridiculous.”, Ona protested giggling.

You came to her rescue, adding:” Right, we’re just friends nothing more and nothing less.”

“That would be weird.”, she thankfully pressed your hand.

“Yeah, I agree.”

“Okay, I got it.”, Joan answered.

“I don’t.” Aitana confessed.

“Aitana, stop!”, you both demanded.

The midfielder smiled innocently:” What?”  

In hindsight Ona and you might could have notice that there was more to your connection, but you didn’t like when people were right because you rather proved to them that they were wrong even when those could read you better than yourself at the time.

2018

You both were 18, in a few weeks’ time you both would be 19 but it was the first time you were about to party with the adult team of Barcelona.

A lot of things had changed since your academy years, for example Ona was playing for Levante now while Aitana and you were a few of the lucky ones who were allowed to stay in the Barcelona senior squad as the club was trying to get more experienced players and let the younger ones go. But you still were best friends, and you were happy that she was in town to celebrate.

The two of you sat in the Barcelona apartment that you had recently moved in and got ready for the party.

“Can you believe it? We get to play with the adult teams now and we’re going to party with them for the first time.“, you asked while applying mascara to your eyelashes.

Ona was busy changing into a new shirt for the third time: “No. But I’m so ready for it.“

“Me too.“

Your best friend examined her outfit in the mirror and with a satisfied nod turned to you: “Are you done?“

You put on another layer of lipgloss: “Yes, I’m ready.“

“Let’s leave.“, Ona grinned while passing you your purse.

Of course, you arrived fashionably late at the party where the older players were already celebrating.

With a drink in hand, Jenni elbowed Alexia in the side: “The children arrived!“

Unimpressed, you rolled your eyes: “Not funny, Jenni.“

“Oh come on, take a joke.“, the dark-haired striker grinned.

“Maybe after a drink.“, you replied casually which caused Alexia and Jenni burst out laughing.

“Someone’s thirsty.“, Alexia teased.

“No, worries. We got you.“, Jenni smiled before leaning over the bar to order some drinks. She handed you and Ona a glass each.

You quickly took a sip: “Thanks, Jenni.“

“You’re welcome.“

Alexia held out her glass: “Cheers, you two.“

“Cheers.“, you said as you all clinked your glasses together.

You and Ona spend most part of the night talking to the other players who always made sure, you had a drink in hand. While the clock ticked closer to midnight, you started feeling the alcohol.

“Come on, Oni. Let’s dance.“, you begged and pulled on your best friends arm.

Ona who seemed a little less drunk, grimaced: “Dancing? In front of everyone?“ You took her glass and set it down on a table before pulling her towards the dance floor. Gently, you took her hands in yours: “Close your eyes, pretend it’s our room.“

“Fine.“, she sighed and followed your instruction.

You happily watched as she finally started moving to the rhythm of the music. “Better? Or still terrible?“, you laughed.

For a moment, Ona said nothing and as you followed her gaze, you realized why. A man, definitely older than you, had started dancing close behind you and kept thrusting his hips in your direction. You immediately felt panic rise in your stomach.

“It just gotten horrible.“, Ona belatedly answered your question but you could barely hear her over the rush of blood in your ears.

“Want to dance with me?“, he asked. His smile was betraying him, telling you that he did not only have dancing in mind.

You forced yourself to a stiff smile: “No, thanks.“

“What’s the problem? It’s just a dance. Or do you have a boyfriend? He doesn’t have to know.“

Surprised by his persistence and audacity, you found yourself unable to answer.

Luckily Ona stepped in and gave him a cold look: “Actually, she has a girlfriend?“

“You?“, he asked.

“Yes, Ona is my girlfriend.”, you quickly lied. To make sure the man was finally leaving you alone your best friend kissed you. The words didn’t work but that gesture thankfully did.

After the kiss you went back to the table the Barcelona girls were sitting around.

“Oh my god, girls, what if something happened and he didn’t just leave?!”, Alexia who has seen everything sounded deeply worried.

“Alexia, relax that was hot.”, Jenni grinned.

The midfielder shook her head in frustration:”  This isn’t about that, Jenni. It was about their safety.”

Softly you intervened:” We’re okay, Alexia. Really.”

“I hope so.”, she grumbled.”

“The kiss.”, Aitana started.

Promptly you interrupted her:” That was just a measure to make him leave, Tana.”

You could hear her voice being filled with scepticism:” Yeah, definitely looked like that.”

“We’re just very convincing that’s all.”, Ona replied with a wink.

“Sure.”, Aitana said, clearly not believing a word she said.

“Let’s stay with us for now please.”, Alexia pleaded smiling.

Despite the incident earlier you enjoyed that night out. So much that you looked up in surprise a couple of hours later:” You’re leaving?”

“It’s late, children.”, Jenni answered amused.

Her comment made Ona blush:” We’ve not noticed.”

“Of course, you two didn’t.”, Aitana remarked giggling.

2020

“Wait, Ona you’re going to Manchester?!”, you repeated while feeling weirdly numb to the news your best friend just told you in your own appartement.

“Yeah, I’m signing the contract in a few days.”, she tried to keep her voice calm even though your reaction confused her.

“Oh. Wow.”, you muttered.

A bitter laugh escaped Ona’s mouth:” What? You’re not even excited for me?”

“No, I just hoped you would go back to Barca.”, you admitted.

She raised an eyebrow:“Why?”

“Doesn’t matter. Good luck in cold England.”, you waved it off.

“Thanks. I don’t need it. If you excuse me now, I must continue packing.”, the hurt in her voice was undeniable. You noticed that the defender was holding on to one of your sweaters which she was trying to put into her tote bag: “That’s mine, can I have it back?”

“It’s my sweater.”, Ona coldly stated.

“Whatever.”

She was already on her way to the front door but turned around glancing hopeful at you:” You’ll visit me, right.”

“We’ll see about that.”, you replied.

Much later you’d realize that you didn’t react like a best friend more like a lover who was hurt that her love was leaving for another country to find success abroad.

to be continued...

[gorgeouslypink]

The Illusion of Method (My AP "Guide")

Hey guys! I'm so sorry that I've been behind on finishing up my masterlist but I've been really busy. I was having a conversation with my friend @junfairykyu and I remembered this post and she said it really helped her and urged me to share it with you guys too! This post is to help people AP (astral project) but the same concepts apply for the void. I hope this helps everyone.

original link: here

Hello there,

In this post I want to share an epiphany I had a few months ago regarding astral projection which changed my approach to it completely. Once I understood what I am about to explain, the amount of OBEs I had completely skyrocketed, to the point I can astral project on demand. I later found I could apply the same rule to lucid dreaming, and I started to enjoy countless conscious dreams. So this is the story of how I got to the "core aspect" of astral projection, the key to induce it effortlessly on demand. I will start by explaining the conditions whereby I came to this "truth" or "top method", and then I will develop it a bit more to ensure that its understandable. I I hope you guys enjoy the post and benefit from it. That being said, let's start!

I have been having OBEs for a few years now. A few years in which I tried many astral projection techniques, and while some of them seemed to work better than others, I always had one single desire that obsessed me to the core: I wanted to understand what was the root technique, i.e. that background cause, shared by all fruitful OBE strategies, that actually separated consciousness from the body. You know, the skeleton of all techniques. It was the deepest of my fixations, and I was compelled to find out the answer to that, I knew there was a core method, it was undeniable: if many different techniques lead to the same results, then there was for sure some hidden and shared dynamic that, if emulated over and over again, it would always produce Out of body experiences.

But it was really hard at first to understand what this hidden method was, because I was conditioned by my own results. What do I mean by this? Well, if only one technique worked for me, then it would be easy to assume "oh, that's the true and only method". But I had successful results with a wide variety of techniques, so different from each other: from tactile visualization, up to affirmations and pure desire, the ear ringing technique (using the ear buzzing sound to project) , the WBTB and many others. The challenge was in finding the single thing that united such different techniques. It seemed almost impossible!

You see, at first I thought imagination was a core aspect, but I rapidly discarded that, because many techniques dispensed with imagination. So then, imagination wasn't necessary. I kept discarding things just like that, trying to reach the substratum. I eventually thought it was pure intention, pure desire. This made sense to some extent, because all techniques required you to think actively about projection, whether you do this by imagining you project, or state it via affirmations, or whatever. It seemed like I succeeded with stripping away everything unnecessary. But then I had an spontaneous projection, which messed it all up. Not that it was the first spontaneous OBE in my life. In fact, I had a few of those during my career as an astral traveller. I was just ignoring them. Pretending that they were not there. Right when i thought astral projection had to do with a burning desire or intention, I realized that some OBEs dispensed with intention completely.

I was so obsessed with finding the key to astral projection in those OBEs I induced myself, that I was screening out those that happened involuntarily. I don't know why, but I guess it made more sense to find the how-to in the techniques rather than in...and then my mind went silent. I reached something important: a point of no-return. I realized something embarrassing: I had the answer in front of my eyes, but I kept pretending there was a hidden solution. But via spontaneous projections, the message was clear: it is not that those "spontaneous" projections weren't induced by me. NONE of my projections were induced by me! Its almost as if my unconscious was trying to tell me, via spontaneous projections, something like; "hey! its me who does it, not you".

At that point I understood the following: there is no method. We can't induce out-of-body experiences, nor lucid awareness in a dream. We don't really know how it is that the projection of consciousness occurs, or how lucidity pops up. We just get to experience it under certain conditions. All we do, really, is asking for projections to occur, while meeting the most optimal conditions for them to occur. That's the reason why spontaneous projections are kinda unconfortable for many and we try to screen them out, because they are trying to tell us about the illusion of method, and we as humans need to cling on a certain "how to", believing we are responsible for phenomena to occur. But we aren't. It is "something else" (the unconscious, the higher self, or whatever you want to call it) who kicks you out of your body, or triggers lucidity while dreaming. And when it occurs naturally, we try to understand how we did it, instead of realizing it isn't something we did, and thus opening ourselves to that same gift.

When I understood that, I began to do the following (the "no-method" method), and it ALWAYS works: I just lie down in the morning (to ensure that I don't fall asleep), close my eyes and simply ask this "unconscious" or whatever it is, to induce an OBE for me. And then I evoke this feeling of TRUST. I trust him, I trust that it will do the rest for me, because I understand that every time my consciousness escapes my body, it is this kind of higher consciousness or being who does it, not me. And this feeling of trust is the way to get rid of responsibility; in giving away this need for control and responsibility for the experience to occur, you also get rid of anxiety, fear and other emotions that boycott the outcome. So then, i just allow myself to drift with that feeling of peace, KNOWING that it will happen and I don't have to worry about it. Every time I do this, I get an amazing out of body experience. I just ask "the universe" to induce an OBE, and allow it to do its job. This same "method" (now you see why I refer to it as the illusion of method: you really don't do a thing) also applies to lucid dreaming: I just allow my higher self or unconscious mind or whatever to trigger lucid awareness for me, and go to sleep happily, knowing that it will happen.

To sum up, the answer is not in the techniques. All techniques are rituals we create to convince ourselves that we are the architects of the out of body experience, but we aren't. By acknowledging the one who DOES induce these kind of experiences, we get ourselves out of its way, we allow it to do its job and our emotions and feeling of responsibility no longer boycott the results. It is quite weird, even ironic to some extent, but it is also a relief in some way. You realize that you were never doing it wrong, because you can't do it. None of us have the supernatural power to separate consciousnesses from their bodies, its absurd. That being said, allow yourself to experience the OBE state, trusting your inner mind, knowing it will do this for you.

Exempt yourself from this responsibility and enjoy!

UPDATE: If you enjoyed the approach given in this post or found it useful, I am excited to announce that I just released an AP book on Amazon called "The Illusion of Method", which is an in-depth expansion of this guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/AstralProjection/comments/pc3ipt/my_ap_book_the_illusion_of_method_is_available_on/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

[hunnymisworld]

How Haikyuu Characters would respond to you:

When you ask them for help in making the homework.

SFW | Fluff | Crack | Short AU

N E K O M A VER.

[ READ ME FIRST ]

C O N T E X T: You are a 1st year transfer student in Nekoma HIgh and you've already adjusted to your new environment as well as the new people you met whom you made friends with. You were having a hard time with a homework and decided to ask for help in your fellow classmates/seniors.

KUROO TETSURO

INTIMIDATING (he's smart and he's the captain of the vball team - WBK)

You hesitate to approach him because of his usual sly/serious facial expression.

He noticed you were trying to approach him so to your surprise he approached you instead.

"Hi Y/n, i see you've been looking at me and hesistating about something, is there something i can help you with?"

You shyly told him that you were struggling with chemistry homework and he didn't think twice in helping you.

"Sure! Here, let me see. I'll read it first then i'll explain it to you."

You see him nodding and humming as he scan through the pages of your notebook.

Believe it or not WITHIN 5 MINS. he suddenly closed the notebook and said "Alright, i see what your homework is about. Sit here beside me, i'll show you" while showing you a wide warm smile.

Mans a VISUAL LEARNER (he asked if it was okay for him to write on the back of your notebook - ofc you said yes)

He draws and writes things on the back of your note book and literally creates a framework guide for you to understand the concept of the lesson.

"Do you understand it better now?" (he won't mind to go over it again)

You easily understood what he taught you and you were amazed by how this man just made it easy like that. (Yes, effortlessly like that)

You thanked him and offered something to give him but he stopped you from there.

"No need y/n, I'm glad i was able to help you. Really, i mean it. You don't have to give anything" (but if you insist, i bet you he would agree eating ice cream with you after class - he ofc brings Kenma with him)

"If you're struggling with any homework, you can ask me or ask kenma. No worries, glad to be of help."

YOU ACED THE HOMEWORK!

KENMA KOZUME

Didn't notice you at first cause he's busy playing video games.

"Oh Y/n, sorry i was kinda busy- what can i do for you?"

He's just sitting there looking up at you, gameboy in hand.

When you told him you were gonna ask for help with regards to the homework (he tried to hide it but he was flustered & flattered that you thought he was THAT good that you asked him for help yourself) he just nodded and offered to take a look at your notebook.

He silently scanned through the pages and after a while he explained the concept to you.

The way he explained it was so detailed that you felt like your brain was overwhlemed with the information but at the same time you learned a lot from him.

"Do you understand the concept now? If not i can send you a file with a complete guide in it. I made it myself, if you need any other notes you can tell me." (he really made NOTES everytime he and kuroo studied cause he doesn't wanna ask kuroo again - best believe this man has COMPLETE notes)

He showed a small smile when you thanked him and you offered to buy him ice cream but he suggested another idea instead "An apple pie would great though, but you don't really have to give me anything. It's alright y/n"

You insisted - you ended up eating apple pie with kenma and he tagged Kuroo along (Kuroo is eating ice cream)

YOU ACED!!!

When you checked your notifications when you got home, he literally ended up sending you ALL OF HIS NOTES. He attached a message saying:

" You're welcome :)"

LEV HAIBA

You didn't have a hard time approaching him, he was approachable - But he was dumbfounded when you asked him about the homework.

"Huh?"

MANS WAS CLUELESS

"What homework?"

You were standing in front of him, (looking up - bc he was TALL) with a blank emotion in your face T.T (you thought to yourself: wDYM YOU DON'T KNOW THERE'S A HOMEWORK?!??!)

You were just in awe that he was clueless standing there (your jaw almost hit the floor) T.T

After a while of him trying to remember the homework, he was SHOCKED "RIGHT! THAT HOMEWORK!"

Asks you how to do it instead T.T

He suggested you both go to Kuroo to get help (HE REALLY SAID SOS T.T)

You both were tutored by Kuroo and both got PERFECT SCORES!! ^^

After that you became chaotic besties fr!! <3

MORISUKE YAKU

You were greeted by him with a warm smile as you approach closer.

"Hey Y/n! How are you?" (a warm ball of sunshine fr)

"I see, alright here let me see that" (HE DIDN'T THINK TWICE)

He scanned through it and let you sit beside him as he was trying to figure out at which part were you having a hard time. (He does not mind if he would go over it all again for a number of times - he would understand)

He explained the concept to you in its simplest form and you thanked him after.

He offered to get ice cream after (HE INSISTED TO PAY FOR IT)

You were flustered, you thought you were the one to buy him ice cream (he disagreed and pain immediately so that you won't pay for it)

P R I N C E S S T R E A T M E N T/?!?!?!

"I noticed you were getting anxious so i offered to eat ice cream to calm your nerves down. Cheer up y/n, you'll get through your 1st year smoothly. If you're having difficulties just message me or tell me okay?"

WORDS OFFF AFFIRMATION?????? COMFORT KING??

Pls he is so caring and a type that would know how to comfort you.

Yes, he offered to be you tutor too (FOR FREE!!!!!!!)

YOU ACED THE HOMEWORK (at this point you can graduate with flying colors bc of how good this man is in mentoring you)

E N D

note: part 2??

[yuyuizzz]

"Inheriting More Than Heirlooms"

Gojo x Reader

Once upon a time, in a quiet Japanese suburb, Satoru Gojo prepared for his nuptials to you, his bride-to-be chosen through traditional means. While modern society condemned arranged marriages, Satoru, a respected businessman, saw benefit in preserving cultural heritage. You, as a ethernal beauty, was nervous yet determined to fulfill your obligations. Satoru's family had already welcomed you with open arms, showering you with affection, but behind closed doors, a sinister undercurrent stirred among the men. It transpired that Satoru's late father, the household's patriarch, had cultivated a dark hobby – breeding women to be the ultimate companions, fulfilling his every depraved desire. This 'tradition' had been shrouded in secrecy until now, as your virginal body awakened Satoru's primal instincts.

On the eve of their wedding, in the opulent master suite, Satoru cornered you just as you planned to flee to the nightwear-clad en suite for solace. "Sake, my dear, let this wedding night be just the beginning," he growled, his large hands gripping your delicate arms gently yet surely. "You will learn to crave every drop of my seed within you." You trembled, the fear in your eyes unmistakable yet diluted by a faint flutter of arousal, as if your treacherous body yearned for the forbidden. "Please, I don't know if I can—"

"And if you cannot, we will find out together," Satoru chuckled darkly. "Kneel before me, and take the gift of life, dear bride." He towered over you, his massive hard cock straining against his trousers, a visual manifestation of your new husband's unrelenting desire. With an outward showing of reluctance, You sank to your knees, your trembling legs the only indication of the turmoil within.

As commanded, You wrapped your small hands around Satoru's formidable thighs, feeling the heat of his skin through his trousers. He grasped you, guiding your head closer to the thick, pulsating flesh that had become your only focus, leaving naught but submission and shame on your lovely face. "Open wide, take it all in," Satoru commanded as he freed his enormous manhood from his tailored pants. It bobbed before you, heavy and throbbing, the engorged head glistening with a bead of pre-cum. You parted your lips, a mewl of reluctance escaping, as you took the massive head into your mouth, your tender tongue swirling around the salty, musky tip. A shudder coursed through Satoru's powerful frame as you began to sink down, your inexperienced yet eager tongue exploring every ridge and vein, your soft lips stretching impossibly around the imposing girth. Slowly, inch by excruciating inch, your warm mouth enveloped the growing length of Satoru's cock, revealing a hunger you couldn't explain.

Satoru groaned in bliss as you descended along his throbbing length, your succulent lips and nimble tongue teasing every sensitive spot. Your warm, velvety mouth grew tighter as you took in more of his imposing girth. "You're quite a natural, little one," he praised, fingers intertwining in your hair to guide your motions. "Take it all, every millimeter is part of what's making you mine."As your nose nudged his pubic bone, Satoru lifted you almost off, then pushed down hard, burying his cock to the hilt in your eager throat. You gagged around his width, tears forming at the corners of your eyes, but the pain only fueled your taboo arousal. He held you there, relishing in the exquisite tightness, before allowing you to pull back, gasping and drooling. "You're...you're so big," you stammered weakly, a deep flush darkening your pale cheeks.

"I will split you open and fill you to bursting," Satoru growled, yanking you back to shove his shaft deep inside you, starting a relentless pace of cruel thrusts. "You're made for this, bred for nothing but milking my cock and bearing my heirs."

[mieczyhale]

Stemming from this post, i'm going to go through the lyrics and try to explain my thinking a little more in depth (not every single line applies so i'm sticking to the ones that.. stuck out to my brain)

I am not putting this under a readmore because.. i don't really want to. So. Sorry.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

I am alone again / An island separates me from my home and then you pull me closer

Bucky is alone, or feels alone at least. Getting lost in his head, dissociating and/or daydreaming. He's right there with Steve but so far away at the same time. And the Steve pulls him closer, gets his attention, pulls Bucky back home from wherever his mind went

If the sentence is right / Why does my body interfere? / Like a thief in the night / To steal the stars when they appear / No constellations guide me here / A voice inside me screaming

The sentence being right could be in reference to a literal sentence said by Steve. Maybe it's something sweet, maybe it's something dirty, maybe it's something that pulls at reminders of Before Hydra, maybe it triggers something about his time with Hydra. Whatever it is, Bucky hears it and maybe he freezes.

Maybe it's something he's heard before and not reacted to, but now he's hearing it in a different headspace and it gets to him and he doesn't know why. Something about the words steals the joy of the moment, the light - the stars, something has taken the stars and Bucky doesn't know what it was or why. They were perfectly normal words... right?? If it is related to Hydra the voice inside him screaming could be the part of the Winter Soldier that's left, that Bucky will have for the rest of his life.

It could also be a reference to nightmares, getting lost in the dark of them and not being able to find his way out

Ride the wave like a message in a bottle / For the only words I ever wanna hear / I will wait with the syllables I swallow / Bitter taste until they disappear

For Bucky, riding the wave like a message in a bottle could be just.. hanging the fuck on. A message - a piece of paper - in a glass bottle - so breakable - being tossed about the ocean - something violent and unstoppable that the message cannot fight on its own, but with the bottles help it just might make it somewhere safe. The swallowed syllables work in two ways I think::

1. Bucky, post Winter Soldier, having a hard time piecing words together, a harder time speaking as he gets himself back together. And then overtime, even though it gets better, for awhile he isn't sure what he can say / should say. Especially when people want to pick apart everything he says so they can judge him. And it's bitter because now that he finally is able to talk and he is able to express himself, he still can't entirely because of public opinion. 2. Early on in the torture he endured to become the Winter Soldier you can imagine he'd be punished for speaking, especially for saying anything that made him sound human, made him sound like he had his own thoughts. So eventually, slowly, he stops saying anything - he has the words and he keeps them inside. Not long after he stops talking back, the words he kept inside slowly disappear until there's nothing left. Maybe at one point he has a moment of fuzzy awareness and he knows he's forgetting things, he can feel himself losing himself, but he can't do anything about it. He can't say anything about it. Even if he wanted to. He should want to. But he doesn't. The person that was angry, cocky, bitter, doesn't exist anymore and neither do his words.

I try to tell myself those words are for someone else / A delusion, I feel so clear / My heart corrodes itself / A vessel I can't compel / To break open when you pull me near

So the bit of this section that really grabbed my attention for Bucky was the visual of a delusion so clear. I imagine, at some nebulous point in his time as the Winter Soldier - more often before they've really conditioned him - Bucky's mind would try to help him hang on by providing a world where Steve is there. Where they're safe and together as they should've been the whole time. Logically Bucky knows it's not real, but he can picture it so clearly. The way Steve looks. The things Steve would say. Bucky imagines entire conversations during the days he still has words.

After he's been tortured beyond hell and his awareness is gone, there could still be bits and pieces that come through as dreams or nightmares that he doesn't know are dreams and nightmares. Or when he's awake he could get brief flashes of things he doesn't understand: an angry scrawny little boy, a scared blond man, a hand grabbing his and pulling him to safety, etc.

Fast-forward to any time, some time, post Civil War where Steve and Bucky are finally reunited for good and Bucky is trying to deal with... everything. And Steve is right there beside him doing his best to help. (therapy is off the table because a. i said so, b. how well was that done in-canon, c. who the fuck is going to be able to understand anything Bucky has gone through at all?? and beyond that: who is going to understand AND care and love at the same time, the way that Bucky needs to feel safe?? a random therapist isn't going to care about Bucky as a person. not really. if you disagree go argue with a wall lmao)

ANYWAY. Bucky is trying to handle the weight of his entire past at this point, with the things he remembers and the things he knows he should remember, the things he doesn't know he forgot but something feels.. missing. And Steve is solid beside him the entire time. There isn't much he can do to help, but he can provide comfort and support and reassurances. Bucky wants to accept it all, he wants to believe the nice things Steve says, the loving things he says as he holds him close in the nest of blankets that is their bed, but he can't seem to. Especially when he feels he isn't giving much, if anything, for Steve to work with. How can Steve say all these things when Bucky can't even tell him what happened in any sort of detail??

That's the corroding heart - a broken heart, not necessarily broken by love but by time - and the vessel - his heart, maybe, but also his mind - that won't "break open", won't accept / is having trouble accepting anything good despite how badly Bucky wants to.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

This song and analysis obviously don't get too far into Bucky's recovery, and certainly not to anything close to the end of it, but it's not supposed to be. It's a song of hurt and helplessness but some kind of hope, something that has you holding on. Which I think fits Bucky and his story quite a bit.

I don't think I actually covered everything I was thinking, and feeling, but I got a lot - or most - of it out and that's better than nothing I guess

Anyway, feel free to reblog and share your thoughts. I might do this with other songs, for Bucky and other characters, if anyone is interested

[study-core-101]

How to do Visual Supports/Aids for an Oral Presentation

A Power Point, a poster, a Canva presentation. It is so easy to get them wrong to the point they end up being more an annoyance than a helpful tool. There are a few things to keep in mind to avoid these:

1. They are VISUAL, not blocks of texts

When you are doing the presentation, your visual supports helps your audience connect the ideas you are explaining (with arrows, diagrams, etc) and help you remember what you should say next. If you forget what you have to say, the information needs to be easy to find in your visual support. This means:

NO blocks of text

NO small text

NO hard to read font

NO extra information

NO compressing of information

NO images as background

What you should do instead to make it easier to find and read:

Use a big and undertandable font

Use arrows, diagrams, concepts maps, etc. Anything that isnt a block of text

Separate ideas with font size. Title: gigantic. Primary ideas: Major big. Secondary ideas: big

Only write the nessesary information, dont overwrite (we'll revise this later)

Look at these. If you were in front of your professor and needed to quickly check for a number, a word or a concept you forgot, which one would you rather find when you turn your head to your visual aid?

It looks hard to make your aids look like that, but there are a lot of pre-made presentations you can use. I personally like Canva for that but if you know how to use (really use, the whole tricky trick thing) Power Point/Prezzi/LibreOffice are literally heaven.

2. Dont put unnesasary images

They dont help you. You ignore. Your audience ignores it. At most, it makes you waste seconds when you try to look up the info. Why is it there? Because there is an empty space and you want to fill it. Because the presentation is a block of text and you want to make it look more presentation-like. If you wont use it, dont put it. Save the space for graphs or symbols that help identify what you are saying (ex: you are talking statistics, put ten symbols of people and paint them in different colors according to your numbers). Negative space is better than a distracting image that turns away your focus of the important stuff

3. Only write important information

This is probably the hardest thing to do. In your presentation, time and space is limited; you cannot explain everything, you have to pick. And in your visual aid, specially so. My way of picking what to write is the next:

Divide your presentation in the big topics. Like, the titles of all you are covering.

For each title, think what are all the important concepts (or ideas) you have to explain in your presentation. Shortly, a few words each

Define those concepts. Not more than a line or two

Is there ant other information you cannot miss at all?

Now you have all the parts. Write only these and not even that. Sometimes, you dont need to write Point 3. When you are speaking, you can should expand the concepts, add examples, etc but in your visual aid, a few words/sentece is all you need

4. Keep it topic-appropiate

When you are preparing you aid/support, of course you are going to use different colors and add some shapes to keep it dynamic. But! if you are presenting consequences of child abuse for your psych class, adding the rainbow of colors and flowers may be a little bit insensible. Keep in mind what you are presenting, use appropiate colors/colors that fit (scale of greys for sensible topics, greens for nature, blue for corporate/bussiness and like that).

5. Have a secuence

Both your presentation and your visual aid have to be organized. There needs to be a logical order and no repetition. For your presentation you should have a draft/guide and that order should be the same for you aid. If you are presenting a problematic, you start talking about the causes and your first slide has to be the causes. Next what it involves so your slide has to have the topic and like that. The order in which you speak and the order in your aid have to be the same and they have to be organized

Now that we covered the basics, go luck with your presentation!

[writeforfandoms]

Warrior Song 10

Find the series masterlist

Well here we are. Getting to some actual plot. This is entirely speculation and, again, I play fast and loose with canon so. Keep that in mind.

Warnings: Brief violence, we're going beyond canon now, Blue Team in danger, shit's going down

Word count: 1.5k

Two days later found the entire team back on the Pelican, on your way to the next objective. Another part of the installation, Joy had told you. One they hadn’t visited yet at all, and were hoping would reveal more information. 

Honestly, you were expecting this would be like every other time Blue Team went - you and Fernando would mind the Pelican and shoot the breeze, Blue Team would do their thing and come back with questionable stains on their armor, and off you’d go again. 

But not this time. 

“Echo-216.”

“Here, Chief.” 

“Is the LZ secure?” 

“Yeah, all quiet here,” Fernando confirmed. “Need a pickup?” 

“We’re heading your way,” Chief said without giving an actual answer. 

“Copy that.” Fernando looked a bit puzzled. Understandably so. That was something new. 

“What do you think that’s about?” you asked quietly, leaning your weight against the back of his seat. 

“Not sure.” Fernando frowned out the front viewscreen of the Pelican. “At least he hasn’t thrown himself off something this time.” 

You snorted and shook your head, sinking carefully into the copilot seat. “This time.” 

Fernando tapped his fingers on the control panel before he glanced at you. “Ever flown one of these before?”

“Me?” You snorted. “Absolutely not.”

“Want to learn?” He smiled, but there was something more in his eyes. 

“Fernando…”

“Never hurts to learn a new skill, right?” He tipped his head at you, waiting to see if you tried to defy his logic. 

You puffed out a breath but obediently watched as he fired up the Pelican, explaining to you as he went. 

Fernando hit the button to lower the ramp. “Let’s go see what Chief found this time.” 

You got to your feet carefully and made it to the main area. Fernando hovered next to you but let you pace yourself, which you appreciated more than you could say. 

Blue Team walked on board and Chief immediately made for you and Fernando. “We need to go.”

“Made a few new friends, big guy?” Fernando asked, even as he threw himself back into the cockpit and into his chair. 

“Not exactly.” Chief stopped next to you, one heavy hand on your shoulder guiding you to sit. 

“We found evidence of activity further in the ring,” Joy piped up. “Recent activity.”

“Could be more Banished,” you murmured, though you frowned.

“Or worse.” Chief didn’t say anything else as the Pelican lifted off. 

A quick glance showed Fred, Kelly, and Linda all sitting, though they were all on alert. 

You clenched your jaw as the thought of worse caught up with you. Well. That could definitely be bad. You swallowed hard, glancing at Chief. But he didn’t show even the remotest sign of nerves. Which, honestly, of course he didn’t. Especially not with the helmet on. 

“It will be fine.” Chief kept his voice low, for the two of you, his hand squeezing your shoulder lightly. 

You nodded once but didn’t reply otherwise, brow furrowing. His confidence was bolstering, but not quite enough to keep your worries at bay. 

The trip was otherwise silent, although you could hear Fernando and Joy talking quietly in the front. You just focused on breathing. 

“We’re here.” Fernando’s statement was quiet but it didn’t matter - everyone heard him. The Pelican landed with only a little bump. 

Chief was the first off, gun in hand, sweeping the area visually. The rest of Blue Team followed, and you went only as far as the end of the ramp, looking around.

Like the rest of the ring, this place was beautiful, with long grass and trees, studded with rocks. It was almost peaceful, except for the tension the team carried with them. 

But you could see a cave entrance up ahead, a faint blue light coming from within. That must be part of the Halo structure, leading inside somewhere. 

A hand fell on your shoulder, not as big as John’s but just as comforting. “They’ll be fine,” Fernando murmured to you, standing next to you. “They’re Spartans! And they’ve got Chief!”

“They’re human too,” you murmured back, twisting your fingers together. “I just… worry.”

“Yeah.” Fernando sighed, squeezing your shoulder. “So do I. They need people to worry about them, I think. Keep them human.” 

“Good thing they’ve got us,” you agreed, tipping your head to smile at your friend. “Well. Let’s see what we can get done while they’re hunting, hm?” 

Fernando shot you a grin and nodded. A couple hours passed in companionable work. 

And then the ground started shaking. 

Fernando slammed himself into the pilot seat, hitting the button for the COM. “Chief, what the hell is happening?” 

“We found the Endless,” Joy spoke, sounding anxious and a bit distracted. “But not just them.”

“Get to a safe distance,” Chief interrupted. 

“Copy, Chief.” Fernando started up the Pelican, and you more or less plopped into the copilot seat. “Hold on, this might get bumpy.” He handled the controls like a pro, guiding the Pelican up away from the ground and further away. You held on tight to the safety straps, watching below you to see what was going on. 

The ground below cracked and split open. For a moment, you had the wild hope that this was the worst of it.

And then things started to fly up out of the crevice, which was slowly growing larger as the ground gave way at the edges. Most of them ignored you, flying off in one direction.

But a few turned to look at the Pelican, drifting closer. 

“Shit,” Fernando breathed, eyes wide. “Hang on.” He turned the Pelican sharply and retreated. 

“Think they’re following us?” you asked quietly, as if speaking too loudly would summon them.

“Just two.” Fernando clenched his jaw, hands tight on the controls. “If they’re what I think they are, we’re in trouble.”

“Well… I’ve gotta warn you, I’m not the best shot.” Your own hands clenched around the straps and you swallowed hard against the rising fear. 

“We’ll figure something out.” Fernando swerved the Pelican around a cliff, clearly hoping the two followers would get bored and move on. Almost idly, you noted that some of Chief’s relentless determination must have rubbed off on Fernando. 

With a triumphant noise, Fernando maneuvered the Pelican into an alcove in the cliff face. You both held your breath, hoping the two would ignore you, or miss you altogether. 

For once, luck was on your side. The two moved away, back to the others, which Fernando silently pointed out to you on the screen. 

And you both sagged into your seats. 

“That was too damn close,” Fernando breathed. 

“Can we wait here? Safely, I mean.” You levered yourself upright to get a better look around the alcove. It wasn’t much bigger than the Pelican, really, at least from what you could see. 

“Think so.” Fernando shrugged, the corners of his mouth pinched. “We’ll find out.” 

The Pelican set down with a bump, and you grimaced. Still wasn’t your favorite way to travel, but it was sometimes convenient. 

Without a word, Fernando stood, motioning you with one hand to stay put. You watched outside carefully, gaze flicking back and forth to the scanner, while he rummaged around in the back. There was a soft swear or two, but other than that, just quiet. 

He sat next to you again and held out a gun. A handgun of some kind - you were far from an expert. “Do you know how to use this?”

“Yes.” The answer felt ripped from you, but your hands didn’t shake as you took the gun, double checking the safety. “Like I said. I’m not a great shot. But I know how to shoot.”

“Let’s hope we don’t have to use these.” Fernando kept hold of his own gun, shoulders tense, mouth a thin line under his beard. 

“Think they’re okay?” you asked quietly after several long minutes of tense silence. 

“They have to be.” Fernando rolled his shoulders, staring outside. Not that there was a lot to see - grass, rocks, trees. Not much else. 

Neither of you spoke again until Joy contacted the ship. 

“Fernando, we need a pickup.” 

“Right, okay, I’ve got a lock on your location.” Fernando moved quickly and confidently, getting the Pelican moving again. “Everyone okay?” 

“For now.”

Foreboding slithered down your spine like cold water, and you wordlessly got up and moved to the back to drag out the medical supplies. 

“What the hell happened?” Fernando asked, pushing the Pelican to go faster. 

“It’s… I’ll explain when we’re all on board.” 

“Copy. We’re a few minutes out - are you secure?” 

“We’re okay here for now.” 

You swallowed hard when the Pelican juddered a little under your feet but you refused to move. You had potentially injured Spartans to tend to, after all.

[yuriisclumsy]

The Witch of the Purple Rose

Last Chapter | Next Chapter

𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗈𝖿𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗌 𝗍𝗋𝗎𝗅𝗒. 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 2212

Authors note: Long chapter. Do you guys want to know where Amalia went? I could give you a hint... Also, from all the times I've called Venti Barbie-toes, I can't even write Barbatos correctly. I go 'Barbetoes'. yrtfuagwda. PS. if you ever wonder how I do the background, I go in-game and take a screenshot in the location I want for the plot. So, you can visualize the story better (like how I do inside my head!).

The howls of a dragon in pain echo through the streets of Mondstadt.

Stormterror – the dragon that has been terrorizing the citizens it used to protect – was defeated by the blond traveler who sores above in the sky after the fight with the dragon. The dragon flees high into the sky, leaving the city with damaged buildings to be repaired; and just in time for me to finish my meal.

“Ah…” I placed the cup down and relaxed against the hard seat, “that was delicious!”

Looking around, the area was left with debris from the tornados and dragons wrath. I guide my head upwards to see Sirius gliding down to the City Square, where the Statue of Barbatos is.

…I need to make sure they're okay. Getting up and leaving the mora for the meal with an extra tip, I headed toward the Cathedral.

I ran past the folks leaving their homes to assess the damages to their residencies; some are in shambles. Skipping the flight of stairs to reach the top faster almost made me fall, but I luckily managed to catch myself. Reaching my destination, I see Amber’s worried face as she sees Sirius’s descent.

“Amber–!” I managed to say her full name before the damned ringing in my ears rendered me unable to speak anymore.

This is getting repetitive…

Sirius lands on the ground as Amber, and Paimon’s appearance from her pocket dimension, surround him asking if he wasn't injured. He reassured them he was fine with that smile of his.

Loud clapping came behind him making them turn.

“Well, look at that. You’ve actually got the power to go up against the dragon…” a tall and fine man with dark complexions said, impressed.

“Are you a new ally… or a new storm?” his eyes—eye—pierced through the soul of the young boy.

Hmm, he looks familiar. Where have I seen that eyepatch?

Having my body back to myself, I made my way to the group.

“Sirius, Paimon, Amber! Are you guys alright?” I asked once I was close enough.

“[Name]! Where have you been?!” Paimon checked her up and down.

“I was eating,” I stated.

“Eat!? At a time like this!? Not even Paimon can stomach food during a disaster!”

“Stormterror…is attacking Mondstadt itself!” Amber was worried. If the dragon were to come back, they don’t know if they can defeat him again. “Kaeya, you came at the right time. We must…”

“Ah-ah, ap. Slow down there, Outrider. Are you perhaps forgetting to introduce us?”

“Oh… Sorry. I got frantic,” she turned to me, “as I explained to Paimon and the Traveler, this is Kaeya, our Cavalry Captain.”

The…Traveler? Did Amber forget Sirius’s name?

“This is [Name], she is the Traveler’s and Paimon’s other travel partner.”

“I see. Are you also looking for someone, or are you simply traveling with them?” I felt like an interrogation was going to begin. Are all the Knights like this? Is it in their manual?

“Paimon can tell you! You see, [Name] here lost all her memories, and she’s traveling with us to recover them.”

“I see… I welcome you to Mondstadt too. Even if it’s strange for someone to lose all their memories…”

Is he calling me a liar? I glared at him.

“Haha, relax! I won’t press you for more,” he put up a nice face.

“First and foremost, on behalf of the Knight of Favonius, I would like to extend our thanks to you for your help just now,” he thanked Sirius.

“You’re welcome! So…uh… Where’s the reward?”

Seriously? How shameless can you be?

“Y–you can’t just ask to be rewarded for something you willingly did!” Paimon scolded him.

“Ahh… How about a traditional delicacy, is Sticky Honey Roast okay with you?” Kaeya suggested the reward.

“Ouuu, Paimon likes the sound of that!”

“You know that reward isn’t for you, right?” I said to her, and her eyes widened.

“UH? But I did do something!”

“Like what? Float?” I smirked once I saw her stammering.

“Well I, you know…I…I did something…! Like…Oh! I was emotional support!” She gave me the answer with a puffed chest.

I rolled my eyes. And she was the one criticizing me for eating in a storm.

“Now you two, let’s stop fighting. There’ll be enough food for an entire pack of hungry wolves by the end of this. But now is not the right time. The Acting Grand Master of the Knights if Favonius is also very interested in meeting you, and formally invites you both to our headquarters.”

“So, we’re going to meet a big-shot already? Paimon is excited!”

“When did she say she wanted to meet them, Kaeya?” Amber asked.

“As soon as possible,” he responded.

“Then let’s go. We can’t possibly keep her waiting.”

Meeting with the Acting Grand Master? I can skip that, right? I don’t think she would want to meet a girl who’s lost her memories. I thought as I was dragged by Amber, saying the handbook of the Knight of Favonius has strict rules on not being tardy.

“Is this the Knights of Favonius Headquarters? It’s so big! Paimon never thought she’d get the chance to enter it.”

“Yup!” Amber answered her. “It’s not often that we invite non-knights in.!”

“Then it is a privilege to be welcomed by two astounding knights,” I said with a smile.

“Please, no need for modesty. We are just doing our duty as knights,” Kaeya spoke and gave us a big smile.

"Hmm..."

If I had to describe him, it would be as a peacock. Such flattery, and a pretty face? I can already see women falling head-over-heels for prince charming over here.

Walking up the main entrance, two guards stand on either side of the doors, keeping guard. The knights, seeing one of their captains, open the door for us.

They are accommodating, even after they’ve just been attacked. +10 points for hospitality.

My good impressions didn’t last long. For what I saw when we crossed those doors was horrific: Knights running around frantically, some citizens complaining, with peppers flying around.

-50 points.

This whole building was a mess. Have they considered hiring a maid? They could really use one.

“We apologies for this unruly sight,” Kaeya sighed just looking at the scene, “This has become the regular ever since Stormterror was spotted a few weeks ago…”

“This is awful… Paimon can’t even imagine how you can all sleep!” She said out of pity.

I think some don’t sleep, Paimon… I thought after I saw a few knights on post bobbing their heads, trying to stay awake. They look like zombies!

“Ah!” Simultaneously, we turned our heads to the noise. A knight had fallen with all the peppers he was holding scattered on the floor.

“Are you okay?! Sorry guys, this is where I leave you,” Amber ran over to help without waiting for a response.

“Yeah…Paimon can tell now why you need our help now.”

“Haha, didn't Amber tell you it was bad?”

“Amber did… Just, not how bad it was,” Sirius commented.

This is a sorry sight to see… I should help them.

“Hey guys, you three should go,” I said to them.

“Are you sure you don’t want in?” Sirius asked.

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“If you say so. Well then, Traveler, Paimon. Let’s head to the Acting Grad Master’s office.” They left to adhere to the invitation.

They keep calling him Traveler. Is his name really that difficult to remember?

I placed my attention back to Amber, who had just finished placing the last piece of loose paper in the knight's hand. She turned to me, as she caught me staring.

“[Name]? Why are you still here? Weren’t you supposed to meet with Master Jean?

“I felt like I'll be more useful out here than in there. Besides, I can’t fight, nor do I know anything about this place, so I'll be a total nuisance. Don’t have memories, remember?”

“Ahh, Sorry, if I offended you! I know it must have been very hard, losing all your memories.”

“Haha…no worries. You get used to it.”

Especially if you never lost them to begin with.

“So, what can I do to help?” I asked, ready for whatever chore to be thrown at me.

“Nothing.”

“Excuse me?” I let out, dumbfounded. “What do you mean, ‘nothing’? I’m sure there is something I can help with.”

“Sorry. What I meant to say, there is nothing you can help with because you are a guess of the knights. It would be highly improper of us to give you something to do! And according to the Knight’s Handbook: ‘When welcoming a guest, one should do everything in their power to not make the guest not do anything.’”

So, I’m basically being called useless in fancy fonts.

“Right…” she panicked a little at my response and thought of something I could do.

“Do, uhh… Do you like reading? We have a library that you could use,” she said pointing at a door I presume to be the entrance to the library. “The librarian isn’t there right now, so you won’t be able to check out a book. B-but! You can certainly read to your heart's content while in there!”

“Hmm, you’re lucky I do enjoy reading,” I said to her, making her wipe a visible sweat from her forehead.

“Great! Let me guide you in.”

We managed to open the library’s door after Dodging multiple knights. She asked if I had something in mind I wanted to read. I asked her if there were any history books in their arsenal. I need to learn the history of this world to pretend I got some memories back. It would be believable if I just didn’t recover them, no questions asked. But, just to be safe.

 Amber reassured me there were plenty of books on history. 

Why wouldn’t there be? This is basically their government. Can we pretend I never said that?

She left me in the section for history downstairs, and told me to knock myself out. There were many things that the knights needed her help with.

I was instructed to leave the books I finished reading at the front desk on the floor above.

Now, I was completely alone in the library.

I wonder how many people would come here when there wasn’t a threat of a dragon. I thought while looking at the columns of books. I need to find one about ancient powers.

“Let’s see… ‘Mondstadt’s Religious History’, no. ‘The Three Clans of Mondstadt’, ‘Old Mondstadt’…‘History of Teyvat’, bingo,” I quickly took it out. I looked around and found a table I could sit on to read.

I skimmed through the first few pages, finding it uninteresting. Until I read a chapter titled: ‘The Archon War’.

The chapter fascinated me. Apparently, there was an era of wars waged between gods, back thousands of years ago for unknown reasons. Talk about power struggles.

Scholars believe it began over the right for seven divine seats. Although the beginning of the war hasn’t been discovered yet, it’s known to have ended five-hundred years ago, when the cataclysm happened.

There were 7 gods remaining after the whole thing ended; the god of freedom, Barbatos; the god of contracts, Morax, or Rex Lapis; the god of eternity, the Shogun of Inazuma, Baal; the current god of knowledge, Lesser Lord Kusanali, or Buer; the god of justice, Furina; the god of war, Murata; and lastly, the god of love, the Tsaritsa; all coinciding with seven nations, which they have dominion over.

They all have demon names… Are they perhaps… I shake the thought of. Don’t need to play detective. I don’t need to know more than necessary. Remember [Name], you are a girl who lost her memories. Play the part!

“Dear me. You look like you don’t like what you’ve read,” a voice said from beside me.

“Ah! No, that’s not it. I just haven't read this part befor—” my throat closed.

(Trying out new brushes. Still haven't found my art style yet).

That face… I have seen this face..! It can’t be… But how..?! No… no, it can’t be…

In a place not far from the city…

“Paimon wonders how [Name] is doing… Do you think she ate something weird and has a stomach ache, and doesn’t want to tell us?!”

“I don’t think she’s the type of person to eat weird foods…” Sirius commented and looked to the sky.

But…I do have the feeling she is keeping something from us… I’m sure she’ll tell us eventually.

“You two! Hurry up! We have a few more rooms to check out before I mark this Temple as completed!” Amber yelled from across the room.

They went to Amber. They had been in the temple since morning dew, yet haven’t finished exploring the whole place.

“Just how big is this temple!? It’s been hours! And Paimon is hungry!” She stopped the air. Paimon has been doing nothing but complaining, and her monologues were getting a bit frustrating.

“Don’t worry, Paimon. We need to check three more rooms before we head back,” Amber said as she took out the map of the temple.

“B-but, Paimon has not eaten since breakfast!” She sulked as her stomach growled.

“How about this, I’ll take you to Good Hunters to get a Sweet Madam if you can power through these rooms!”

“Really?!” Paimon’s eyes sparkled.

Amber nodded.

“Then what are we waiting for?” she flew into the next room, “the faster we finish, the faster Paimon will get food!”

Sirius and Amber looked at each other and giggled, running after Paimon.

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[dollywons]

I was wondering how you first learned to make dividers? It looks like so much fun, and I’d love to learn to create dividers of my own, but the process sounds so overwhelming and I don’t know where to start! Do you happen to know any resources or guides that explain the process? If not, no worries <3

hi! :) I started by using picsart, as I figured that would be the easiest app to make them on, at least for me :> It really is fun! :D (And once you start it will be so hard to stop sksks) I don't really know of a step by step resource or guide for dividers specifically, but I do have this post I made about how I made a specific banner gif, it's not much but its the only thing I have currently! ૮꒰ྀི⊃⸝ ⸝ ⸝⊂꒱ྀིა Probably not the best thing to start with since it's tedious, but when I have time, I will make a step by step visual guide on how I make my dividers :)) have a nice day pls!!

[spacestationvampire]

the way you color things makes me want to commit crimes. any coloring tips for a baby digital artist who doesn’t know how to do the computer things good?

AUGH apologies for taking so long, i was in the middle of writing this answer and the whole thing was deleted as soon as i switched to another tab on my phone, and then the draft didn't save the second time i tried to write it. jfc at least i had it written out in my notes app the second time. anyway, thank you thank you thank you!! this was very nice to recieve, i love getting asks ❤️

i'm not versed in the arts of drawing on a computer, either, so i can't give tips in regards to specific programs (said in chronic procreate user voice) but i can certainly give universal advice keep in mind that i'm not professionally taught in the slightest so i lack much of the vocabulary to describe my methods, and remember that my word is not law!

in case of confusion, everything has been explained. i've added a cut because it got needlessly long. i've also added visual guides for certain tips, and image descriptions for each one

to be honest, much of what i do when picking colors is done with the help of gradient maps (more on that later) but when choosing my base colors i follow these rules:

1. you don't have to cell shade with purple + multiply and an add layer. that's the voice of lavendertowne attempting to take control of your body. stamp it out. (/j i love her)

2. bright, vivid colors!

3. instead of shifting just the brightness and saturation when picking colors to shade, shift the hue, too! in the first image, we can see that the circle is dull and boring. in comparison, the second image pops!

4. so, how does this work?

without getting too much into color theory--because while i've studied it before, i don't trust myself to articulate it properly without making a fool of myself--it's all about how colors interact with each other. for example, a beige circle looks lighter when surrounded by a dark background rather than just plain white.

in the same vein, surrounding greys/desaturated colors with warm colors makes them look blue, and vice versa.

5. blue/grey shadows and warm lighting!! or the other way around. actually, you can use any color for shadows and lighting, depending on your light source. is it sunny outside, or are they beneath white light?

6. for color picking, i reccomend avoiding using the wheel, instead opting for the rgb sliders or the hue saturation brightness sliders if you're dumb like me. this allows for precision in the colors you pick, and accuracy when putting together color palettes.

7. and, finally, the actual computer stuff: gradient maps! i looove gradient maps.

as far as i'm aware, procreate and krita have the gradient map tool. ibispaint does not. i am not sure if firealpaca does.

i usually use gradient maps to make my coloring more cohesive, rather than just slapping them on a monochrome drawing (which is also a totally viable method for coloring, but you'll be less precise, as gmaps only recognize values). when using gradient maps, i prefer to duplicate my completed artwork, lower the opacity of the duplicate on top of it (usually between 25 and 50%, depending on how strong i want the effect to be), and use gradient maps on the duplicate.

this makes my colors all nice and pretty!

11. if you use krita, it can be hard to find the right colors to use for your gradient maps. never fear! i'm here to give you the default templates from procreate, as well as a couple of the ones i've made.

if you have any more questions, or you want me to get further into a specific topic, feel free to send me another ask

[gr1ffins]

hi. hello. so. um. I hope you're okay with long asks. that new griffin fic and that art. um. um,,,,,,

this gif is literally me I fear... I feel manic. a bit. maybe a lot. please bear with me on this, I need to say, that art? griffin with his dark brows and frowning eyes and slightly askew hair and stubbles?!!! ssjdjsjsubeis???? i meant to say this earlier but your griffin made me feel INSANE grrrghh

also i'm so not over your writing style, and the mentor dynamics kind of slapped me on the face hard, [“I’m supposed to be the one looking after you,” Griffin murmurs so quietly you almost don’t hear him. He sounds deliberately disinterested, but he keeps clasping and unclasping his hands.] IM GUTTED. your griffin characterizations too oml, [Griffin’s lips quirk up with amusement. “But when I say that, I’m the one being crude.”] // [ “I’m only indulging you because I know what you’re like when you’re bitter. Don’t start expecting this, next time I won’t have it.”] like, oml shut UPP I'm going to kiss you ooo boy you want us so bad just admit it 💔 I NEED to tackle that guy and smooch all over his face and give him warm food and feed him soup and tuck him in and kiss his brow and pat his arm and if he protests that doesn't matter he has no choice, I'm still calling him pookie snookums whether he likes it or not ♥️

speaking of, the way reader and griffin is comfy with each other in an unspoken way...[You duck forward to rest your head between his shoulder blades, right above where a new scar of neat stitches will run down his back, hiding from his gaze. You ghost your fingers over the shape of it, smiling to yourself. ] // [You consider kicking his chair out under him, just to see him suffer, but decide better of it when he leans into your palms as they cup the jagged angles of his collarbones.] pacing around my room rn. thinking about your art again. you in that art are so cute what 😭 after griffin creases his brow (aw he's angy) you're doing that cute lil mischievous crinkling eyes that's so cute 🥹 and so them. I'm visualizing the fic with that, and ugh I'd literally read a whole novel of griffin and his little mentee 😔♥️

anyways thank you for coming to my ted talk loll tysm for sharing your work <33 here's a more sane and normal part of the ask if you don't mind hehe; can I ask what program you use for your art? literally gorgeous rrahh

Circi i want to scoop you into my arms and smooch the top of your head. my ask box is ALWAYS open to any type of ask, long short whatever. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU SEND IN SUCH CUTIE THINGS ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

i’m currently drawing more griffin, because i need a banner for my pinned post and a new pfp. i’ll make the damn aesthetic griffin account with my own two hands. i completely understand the feral need for him. i’m a professional griffin glazer you don’t even need to explain. i always imagined him with scruff, and in the book his hair is described as sort of longer and messier. i was a little paranoid that he looked too… full? in my drawing? like i needed to draw him thinner, but everything i tried just looked awkward so i left him be. this makes me happy that i did, im glad im appealing to the masses

circi you are ruler of uplifting any of my worries about my posts. i literally thought to myself “no no, i shouldn’t post this. it’s so out of character. i despise it.” but i didn’t have anything else to post, and i felt the need to produce something since it’s been nearly a week since lost solace. i rewrote those specific lines you’re quoting at least twenty times, im so glad you liked them 🥹 the mentor and mentee dynamic!! i imagine griffin in my mind as just being older. more mature. perhaps not guiding, but definitely experienced. it feels so perfect to write him in that dynamic. trust, he wants you bad. pet names and all

IM BLUSHINGGGGG that little animation is very much what i imagine griffin’s dynamic with reader is. you are both the one who pushes him to insanity and the one who brings him back to reality. no matter what he says, he does enjoy your antics.

you are making me want to write a long fic with this dynamic. with a full plot and like. 7-10 chapters. i’ve only written a long fic once and it nearly killed me but i think i could do it again. if i were going to, it would take a long time before i could post it, as id want to do proper research and then pre write all the chapters in advance, but this has given me much to think about… my messages are very open… if you want to chat about it…….

THANK YOU for the lovely ask!! i adore seeing you in my notifs, and this brought such a big grin to my face i was so pleased hehehehhehehe ! also! i use procreate! although i’m planning on switching to a different program once i get a new tablet. the one i currently use is like. 8 years old and can ONLY have procreate on it, otherwise it just shuts down. i get nervous its gonna crash and delete all my artwork one day. procreate cant really handle the animations and it limits how many frames you can use. so annoying

[ambrosialdesire]

i’m sorry but i’m gonna feed your work to ai.

IS WHAT SOME ASSHOLE SENT ME IN MY INBOX. i genuinely considered deleting my blog 😭😭😭 especially because i had just went on a rant about how harmful ai is.

ANON YOU'VE SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME 😭😭

no but the audacity of some mfker to say that to you, could be a troller but still, people downplay the effects of ai on the earth and it'll never be justified on how they refuse to educate themselves about it; sure, some components of ai can genuinely be helpful, but using someone's hard work, someone's passion and creativity, that can never replace anything in the world. i've never used ai for anything, despite the many tedious discussion posts and replies, presentations, and essays i've wrote, despite all the exams i've gone through, i've never used it once. the only time i'll use ai for anything is to check for any grammar mistakes or plagiarism in college essays (i never plagiarize fics, i can promise everyone that, i try to put credit where credit is due (such as in desiderate with how i visualized bertolt) but that's about it.

i've had classmates ask me why i still bother actually doing the research and typing down everything that comes into my head when doing my assignments, AS IF IT'S DIFFICULT TO DO 😭 literally just find an article that relates to your topic, quote it, and explain why you think it fits your topic LIKE I GENUINELY DON'T GET IT AND I DON'T THINK I'LL EVER DO 💀💀

i don't think you should give up your blog though anon, despite the threats of someone trying to put your work into another machine. i was scared of that too when i started posting my art here but keep on creating, don't let an uncreative lazy loser prevent you from creating art. make sure you report the ai bot if you or your followers can find it, report and block that dumbass, and keep on going with your life. try those ai preventative overlays too, i personally don't use them since i don't really like how it looks on my art, but if you're truly worried about someone stealing, i encourage you to use it.

IF YOU USE AI AS A WAY TO "MAKE" SOMETHING, GENUINELY PICK UP A FUCKING PENCIL, STOP CRYING ABOUT HOW SHITTY YOU THINK YOU'LL BE, AND START DRAWING/WRITING. EVERYONE STARTS SOMEWHERE, WHO GIVES A DAMN IF YOU'RE BAD AT IT FIRST!!!!! and don't even think for a second that anything can hold you back from making art, i've seen so many people with various disabilities and conditions ON tiktok still manage to make personal and beautiful artwork that HAS MEANING AND A HUMAN'S WARMTH. beethoven was literally deaf and made pieces that are still played till this day, monet was going blind yet he still created artwork still looked upon till this day. there is literally NO excuse in using ai to make your own work, don't get me started with being too broke because everyone can make art with anything. even the goddamn cavemen made their own art that's still admired.

i even still hand-write all my notes and study guides IN PEN; i even doodle in pen whenever i'm doing something traditionally BECAUSE THAT'S HOW YOU LEARN, WITH HANDS AND EYES AND A DAMN BRAIN. i really think that after covid and the fast evolution of ai and technology overall, a really large amount of people forgot common courtesy and respect, especially towards artists and writers in fandoms. god forbid a person try to anything creative these days without ai stealer dick riders nabbing at everyone's ears.

i encourage all to fight against unethical uses of ai, especially in creative spaces. ai "writers" and "artists" have no place in using other people's works and passing it off as theirs. i've seen how difficult it's getting to tell the difference between ai and a normal person's work, and it's truly frightening how quick it managed to develop to become almost untraceable. keep on calling out how bad generative ai use is anon and keep on posting 👍👍

AI USERS YOU'RE NOT AND NEVER WELCOME ON THIS BLOG!!!!!!!!