#and it will take time for me to re-learn some things and gain some confidence again

[spellboundinks]

This is so true and such a good thing to remember but I also want to add sometimes you really are worse at your craft than before and that's ok too.

Maybe you had to take a long break from your craft. Life happens. When you pick it back up again there are things you may have to re-learn. Take it one step at a time.

Maybe you've picked up a lot of writing advice that doesn't work for you. It'll take some time to figure that out and learn what's useful to you and what isn't. Writing styles vary just as widely as visual art styles. What works for one writer doesn't always work for another.

Maybe you're trying to write something you're not actually interested in. Don't force it if you don't have to. And if you really have to? Find a way to make it interesting to you or to make the writing process more enjoyable.

Sometimes accidents and illnesses happen that can have long-term effects on how we write and perform. There are so many different tools out there that can help you through all kinds of difficulties. If you find yourself in a difficult situation where none of the tools are helping — that's ok. Your writing does not have to be as good as or better than your old writing. It is still worth writing and reading no matter how imperfect or inferior you may personally find it. You will always be a writer until you decide not to be and there are readers out there who will love your writing, flaws and all. Please keep writing if it brings you joy.

-

Some final thoughts and tips:

Don't compare your unfinished drafts to polished, published works. That isn't a fair comparison.

There are plenty of authors out there whose earlier work was more enjoyable or more critically acclaimed than their later work. That hasn't stopped them from continuing to write. Don't let it stop you either.

I guarantee there is a reader out there for your writing no matter what. Everyone has different taste and one book's flaw can be another book's strength.

Go look up Lynda Barry's art. She draws "bad" on purpose. She draws like a child and it is so inspirational. Many of my peers attended a workshop of hers near the end of their illustration degrees and it had such a profound impact on them. She gave them permission to be "bad" at their crafts and showed them there's joy in doing something imperfect. I guarantee there can be joy in writing "bad" too.

please please please please reblog if you’re a writer and have at some point felt like your writing is getting worse. I need to know if I’m the only one who’s struggling with these thoughts

[mightbmel]

Hanbee Abara relationship headcanons

quick note!! these headcanons of mine are actually mad old, at least a year old, but I decided I should add them amongst my other work just cause. never know if there’s another starving Abara lover out there like me so why not. May be some minor inaccuracies here and there but I tried my best, Hope yall enjoy <3

Hanbee being hanbee of course, you can imagine he’s quite shy and timid when it comes to courting you, before and during the relationship.

Honestly, he wasn’t even planning on telling you at all. He was just hoping if you liked him back (and that’s a big if, in his mind, as he wasn’t even sure if someone as strong, cool and smart as you would like someone as cowardly as him) you’d confess to him yourself, saving him the trouble of possibly embarrassing himself and making things awkward between the two of you.

It’s either you confess, or he spends months being pushed by others to try to confess to you, like Juuzou, who pushes him to confess to you constantly with a smile, even trying to set the two of you up together when it’s so obvious to everyone he has a thing for you.

Some of them are even tired of it, but Juuzou doesn’t seem to mind it as it gives him another thing to tease Hanbee about, other than his cowardice. And of course because Juuzou himself is childish, he’s always teasing Hanbee while you’re around or in the same room, making the poor guy even more nervous than he was before </3 poor thing. If Juuzou keeps it up he thinks he might just go limp right there or faint.

At first, Juuzou thought Hanbee was only nervous around you because you were a recently employed investigator for the CCG, assuming Hanbee just didn’t really know you well so he wasn’t sure how to act around you, but boy was he wrong.

He started to notice how Hanbee would act around you, afraid to even start a conversation with you, as Hanbees head would fill with negative thoughts that clouded him, overthinking about “what if they think this” or “what if they I bother them” constantly, pulling at his own hair at his own mental exhaustion. Honestly the sight was amusing to Juuzou but he decided to help him through this funk nonetheless as he didn’t want it to interfere with ghoul business.

Even as you got settled into the CCG for quite some time now, it was hard to speak to Hanbee as he’d shy away whenever you tried to speak to him, or he’d be too clouded in his own negative thoughts to come up with a response, leaving you with silence as you walked off to continue your business, which of course left Hanbee beating himself up over it as he’d cower away with every chance he had to speak to you.

after a while though, (with the help of Juuzou of course) he grows a pair and starts to open himself up to you little by little. Even though he’s still nervous when talking to you, he does his best to keep the conversation going, slowly learning about you and even talking more throughout the day after you’re both done with ghoul business<3

after some time, he gains the confidence to ask you out!! However it’s nothing extravagant off the bat, simple hang outs after work or during breaks is what helps him ease the tension he feels while being around/with you, and lets it get more lavish from there once he’s sure you’re comfortable with him too (pls don’t be too harsh on this man he’s trying)

even though Hanbee himself didn’t plan on confessing to you out of fear of being rejected or making you uncomfortable, I can see him confessing on accident, like say you’re both in a dangerous situation with ghouls and he blurts it out last second as he reluctantly fights the ghouls with a sudden boost of confidence, ridding them as you stood there dumbfounded while you processed his words, reminding Hanbee what he just did as he nearly passed out right then and there realizing what he just did.

it kinda takes him a moment to calm down as his legs went limp, but you assured him you like him too <3 and of course he’s just relieved his pining for you was mutual even if he was too clouded in his own negative thoughts to see how into him you were, glad his cowardly attitude and negative thoughts didn’t scare you away.

[amysubmits]

I’ve just spent about half an hour reading and re-reading your “Owning me is complicated” post. Reading this from a sub’s perspective is so helpful to a Dom. I often feel like I have to be perfect and never make a mistake with my sub. Often I feel like making a mistake would sabotage our relationship because I wouldn’t be living up to her expectations or standards. It’s heartwarming to read your thoughts about your Dom and the struggles that occur in His mind. We try to lead with confidence and assuredness and we want that to exude daily so that the sub is naturally “comfortable” in following and submitting. The truth is, we don’t ALWAYS know the answer. We don’t ALWAYS have it figured out. Trust and honor is a delicate strand that we try not to break. Her submission is the most beautiful gift she can give me but knowing she looks at me and thinks of me as her everything is even more. Never wanting to let her down is always a part of my mindset. I try to earn her submission and trust every day, not by my words but through my actions. It’s beautiful to know that there are subs that think and acknowledge the things you described in your writing. Thank you. Thank you for shining a light that says “True Doms will always have a sub’s best interest at heart.” Such a beautiful post. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you so much for this thoughtful message!

It feel like the nuance involved with D/s often gets lost on tumblr. There isn't really a good way to say in a short snippet or meme that on one hand, most subs are really drawn to confidence and confidence can feel like a key part of being a dom in some ways. And yet..doms are human and should have room to make mistakes. And while confidence can assist dominance a lot, it can also be a huge liability or threat to the D/s relationship if someone in the Dom role acts confident when they aren't informed. I guess in other words, confidence is great, but it's not realistic for doms to always be confident in everything...and arrogance is dangerous. Sometimes a dom not knowing exactly what to do and just having a nice discussion ith their sub about what they are thinking and even gaining additional insight or information from their sub to help make a decision can be a really bonding, D/s-feeling, lovely thing. And it's easy to miss that nuance if you go looking at memes or shortform content that talk about how confidence is key to being a dom or whatever. Or erotica that portrays dominance as practically being an all knowing, all confident god-like creature. Finding it hot as a fantasy I get for sure, but it's so important to differentiate between fantasy and real relationships and that difference isn't always clear on here. Similar with earning submission. I get why there is a lot of content that talks about the importance of earning trust and submission. There are so many doofuses out there who think they should just command a sub into compliance without earning submission and those are some really dangerous people. At the same time...it's easy for me to grasp why a well-meaning dom might think if they make a mistake then that means they have temporarily 'lost' submission or failed to earn it that day or something - and it's not necessarily like that. I try to always remember that my dom is human and will get it wrong sometimes. I don't expect perfection. More than anything else it's just the fact that he really wants to be cautious and take good care of me and of our relationship...that he's always looking to learn from his mistakes and to grow as a person and as my partner... that allows him to earn my submission more so than how 'right' he gets it. It's the way he is motivated to act in ways that align with his moral compass and character that really get me submissive the most. Anyway, thanks again for your message, it was really heartwarming to read!

[marta-bee]

News of the Day 6/11/25: AI

Paywall free.

More seriously, from the NY Times:

"For Some Recent Graduates, the A.I. Job Apocalypse May Already Be Here" (Paywall Free)

You can see hints of this in the economic data. Unemployment for recent college graduates has jumped to an unusually high 5.8 percent in recent months, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently warned that the employment situation for these workers had “deteriorated noticeably.” Oxford Economics, a research firm that studies labor markets, found that unemployment for recent graduates was heavily concentrated in technical fields like finance and computer science, where A.I. has made faster gains. [...] Using A.I. to automate white-collar jobs has been a dream among executives for years. (I heard them fantasizing about it in Davos back in 2019.) But until recently, the technology simply wasn’t good enough. You could use A.I. to automate some routine back-office tasks — and many companies did — but when it came to the more complex and technical parts of many jobs, A.I. couldn’t hold a candle to humans. That is starting to change, especially in fields, such as software engineering, where there are clear markers of success and failure. (Such as: Does the code work or not?) In these fields, A.I. systems can be trained using a trial-and-error process known as reinforcement learning to perform complex sequences of actions on their own. Eventually, they can become competent at carrying out tasks that would take human workers hours or days to complete.

I've been hearing my whole life how automation was coming for all our jobs. First it was giant robots replacing big burly men on factory assembly lines. Now it seems to be increasingly sophisticated bits of code coming after paper-movers like me. I'm not sure we're there yet, quite, but the NYT piece does make a compelling argument that we're getting close.

The real question is, why is this a bad thing? And the obvious answer is people need to support themselves, and every job cut is one less person who can do that. But what I really mean is, if we can get the outputs we need to live well with one less person having to put in a day's work to get there, what does it say about us that we haven't worked out a way to make that a good thing?

Put another way, how come we haven't worked out a better way to share resources and get everyone what they need to thrive when we honestly don't need as much labor-hours for them to "earn" it as we once did?

I don't have the solution, but if some enterprising progressive politician wants to get on that, they could do worse. I keep hearing how Democrats need bold new ideas directed to helping the working class.

More on the Coming AI-Job-Pocalypse

I’m a LinkedIn Executive. I See the Bottom Rung of the Career Ladder Breaking. (X)

Paul Krugman: “What Deindustrialization Can Teach Us About The Effects of AI on Workers” (X)

How AI agents are transforming work—and why human talent still matters (X)

AI agents will do programmers' grunt work (X)

At Amazon, Some Coders Say Their Jobs Have Begun to Resemble Warehouse Work (X)

Why Esther Perel is going all in on saving the American workforce in the age of AI

Junior analysts, beware: Your coveted and cushy entry-level Wall Street jobs may soon be eliminated by AI (X)

The biggest barrier to AI adoption in the business world isn’t tech – it’s user confidence  (X)

Experts predicted that artificial intelligence would steal radiology jobs. But at the Mayo Clinic, the technology has been more friend than foe. (X)

AI Will Devastate the Future of Work. But Only If We Let It (X)

AI in the workplace is nearly 3 times more likely to take a woman’s job as a man’s, UN report finds (X)

Klarna CEO predicts AI-driven job displacement will cause a recession (X)

& on AI Generally

19th-century Catholic teachings, 21st-century tech: How concerns about AI guided Pope Leo’s choice of name (X)

Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence? (X)

Two Paths for A.I. (X)

The Danger of Outsourcing Our Brains: Counting on AI to learn for us makes humans boring, awkward, and gullible. (X)

AI Is a Weapon Pointed at America. Our Best Defense Is Education. (X)

The Trump administration has asked artificial intelligence publishers to rebalance what it considers to be 'ideological bias' around actions like protecting minorities and banning hateful content. (X)

What is Google even for anymore? (X)

AI can spontaneously develop human-like communication, study finds

AI Didn’t Invent Desire, But It’s Rewiring Human Sex And Intimacy (X)

Mark Zuckerberg Wants AI to Solve America’s Loneliness Crisis. It Won’t. (X)

The growing environmental impact of AI data centers’ energy demands

Tesla Is Launching Robotaxis in Austin. Safety Advocates Are Concerned (X)

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act would ban states from regulating AI (X)

& on the Job-Pocalypse & Other Labor-Related Shenanigans Generally, Too

What Unions Face With Trump EOs (X)

AI may be exposing jobseekers to discrimination. Here’s how we could better protect them (X)

Jamie Dimon says he’s not against remote workers—but they ‘will not tell JPMorgan what to do’  (X)

Direct-selling schemes are considered fringe businesses, but their values have bled into the national economy. (X)

Are you "functionally unemployed"? Here's what the unemployment rate doesn't show. (X)

Being monitored at work? A new report calls for tougher workplace surveillance controls  (X)

Josh Hawley and the Republican Effort to Love Labor (X)

Karl Marx’s American Boom (X)

Hiring slows in U.S. amid uncertainty over Trump’s trade wars

Vanishing immigration is the ‘real story’ for the economy and a bigger supply shock than tariffs, analyst says (X)

[rewatching-sam-and-dean]

Ranking 327 Episodes of Supernatural

(And I need your help first!)

Okay, so I'm finally planning to live up to my blog's name by doing a full rewatch of Supernatural (Only 3+ years after the show ended and 1+ years after I made this blog for this purpose 🤦‍♀️ ). Anyway, I’ll be "Rewatching Sam and Dean," in other words. (Sorry 🙄.)

I'm not only gong to rewatch it and comment, but I'm going to try to rate and rank every episode. I'm generally bad at ranking on a large scale, but I want to be able to say with confidence what my top 5, 10, 20, etc. episodes are. Because right now, I can list episodes I love, but I can’t say which one I like best among my favorites. Also, ranking gives me an additional purpose to my rematch.

(I’ll put my particular criteria for ranking under the cut, so there no need to skim through that part if you’re not interested in specifics.)

So, you might be asking, "Why do I care about this?"

And if you don’t, that’s cool. But, I’m posting about it here because I’m hoping to get some ideas for things to track as I’m watching the episodes. I don’t want to do too many things because that’s a sure way to get bogged down and make this feel like work, but there are often those little things that I wish I had a quick answer to, and looking for them as I go through each episode should be easier than hopping back and forth to track things down. And I know there are things like Superwiki for that (though they aren’t perfect), but I want to track some things for myself, too

So, these are some things I’m already planning to watch out for:

How John is described/acts, and his relationship with both boys

Sam and Dean's "anger issues"

How/when each brother responds when the other is upset (and how this changes), and which brother shares more

How Bobby treats each brother

How each brother relates to Mary and how she treats them

When each brother prays; who is it to, and what is it about?

Times when Sam and Dean are depicted as classic brothers, vs. blatantly compared to a couple, a parent-child, friends, or are just weird.

So, if you made it this far, could you please give me your suggestions for other things I should keep an eye out for while watching? Or, suggest other things that might be interesting to rate/rank as I go through the show?

Thanks for reading!

How I’ll be Rating the Episodes:

Now, when I rate these episodes, I’ll be determining MY FAVORITE episodes, not what I think are technically THE BEST episodes. For example, "On the Head of a Pin " is a very well executed episode, but I can pretty much guarantee that it wan’t be in my top 25 or anything, because Alistair disgusts me so thoroughly that I can't stand rewatching it.

I’ve created a bit of a rubric for myself to quasi keep myself honest, though there is still a lot of room for subjectiveness in my ranked areas. So far, my criteria is:

1. The Brothers: Are there good or meaningful brother moments? Do we learn anything new about either brother or their relationship? Are they behaving in character?

2. The Monster: Is the monster or antagonist of the episode interesting, frightening, handled in a unique way?

3. Story: Is the narrative strong, impactful to the show as a whole, or entertaining? Is there canon-breaking or retconning that damages the show?

4. Recurring/Side Characters: Are the characters who are sharing the screen with Sam and/or Dean interesting, effective, important, and/or standouts in some other way? Do I care about them?

5. Re-watchability: On Subsequent viewings of the episode, am I still entertained? Do I gain a new perspective or find more to enjoy when I watch it again? Does the episode lose impact, relevance or entertainment value (in a significant way) on repeat viewings?

Anyway, as I said, this is deeply subjective, so maybe no one will be interested in my takes, and that’s fine. But, I will give reasons with canon support, for what I like or don’t like, so my ratings won’t be based on what I head-canon to be true. I’d ideally like to do this on YouTube with edits, but I’m not sure I want to put myself out there to that extent. Either way, I’ll be on here, too. Either I’ll post here, or link my videos (if I ever make them) here.

My Pilot Review

From ages ago …

Also, if anyone is interested, you can find my original attempts at episode reviews HERE. My format for rewatching will likely be a bit more structured now (and not take multiple posts per episode), but here’s how my brain works, if you’re interested.

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Don't you think there's better ways of showing support for Palestinians/Israeli Christians than by perpetuating the "Jesus was Palestinian" myth that people constantly try and use to deny Jewish indigeneity. Allegory or not, it's not a great look for someone who purports to be against that kind of erasure and supercessionism. Also, having 1 line about how his death was the Empire's fault so don't blame the Jews is meaningless when in this allegory, the Empire (Israeli government) *is* Jewish

(anyone curious about what anon's referring to, I believe it's my poem here)

Hey there anon, thank you for your feedback. In this situation where various marginalized peoples are being pitted against each other (and/or conflated with political groups), I've been struggling to make sure my words don't add to the misinformation and harm. So whenever someone takes the time to remind me of that danger, I'll take the time to re-examine my words — even if I end up standing by them, as I mostly do in this case.

I can't promise to say and do all the perfect things, because there isn't time to waste getting my words just right before saying something — people are dying right now (and yes, anon, that includes those Israelis who are still hostages of Hamas, who are also endangered by Israel's continued attacks.)

I have been spending much of my free time these past few months learning more about Israel and Palestine, and I still don't feel I'm even close to knowing enough! But I've listened to those who are actually in the midst of the violence who say that all of us across the world must join their cry now, not letting our ignorance be an excuse. That means there have been a few things I've said that I then had to re-consider after learning more.

...

Just a few days ago, I was actually trying to look into the origins of the statement that "Jesus was a Palestinian Jew." (Btw if anyone knows the origins of this statement, please hit me up!)

Arguments against it note that the term "Palestinian" didn't exist in Jesus' day. Looking into the accuracy of that statement is still on my to-do list; I did skim over this article calling it a myth but yeah, still digging. Regardless, sure, I don't think Jesus called himself a Palestinian in his lifetime.

That doesn't necessarily mean that the statement is useless, however. I do very much believe that if Jesus were born today, in the same place, he'd be born to a Jewish Palestinian family, not an Israeli one.

That does not erase his Jewishness; it confirms God's "preferential option for the poor," God's choice to side with and become one with the most oppressed and discarded. It also does not assert that Jewish persons don't "belong" in the region — only that the modern nation/colony Israel isn't necessary for them to live and thrive there.

All that said, if anyone has more info on the statement that "Jesus was a Palestinian" — its origins, how it's been used over the years — I would absolutely like to examine it further. For now, I stand by the phrase, with an openness to re-considering that with further education.

...

I feel more confident in talking about Empire — how I used it in my poem, versus how you've interpreted it. I'm genuinely grateful to you for bringing your reading of it to my attention, because it's shown me that my words weren't clear enough there!

In these verses from my poem:

"...And now, as then, some may blame Jesus’s death on his own Jewish people — but resist this lie! Now as then the crime is Empire’s and those of us who would cast stones should ponder first what our nations gain from genocide. ..."

You interpret Empire as being Israel.

My intention was that Empire with a capital E is a much larger network of all imperial forces on earth. Israel is entangled in that, and directly backed and funded by those forces. My own country, the United States, is one of the nations at the helm of Empire.

So when I talk of Empire being to blame, I'm not saying just Israel — honestly, I'm personally more concerned with the US's complicity, because I feel as a US citizen I can help demand they stop.

So I'm going to rework that bit to better express what I mean by Empire, so it doesn't sound like I'm focusing only on Israel. Empire is so much bigger than any one state, colony, or government.

...

Okay, I'm out of steam. I'm going to link a few pieces that have been helping me frame all that's going on right now to resist pitting marginalized groups against each other:

This art piece naming "contradicting truths"

This article by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg also naming seemingly contradictory truths

Since I didn't really get deep into this part of your ask, I also appreciate this article discussing the question of indigeneity. It discards the "need" to figure out "who was there first" in favor of exploring intersecting histories.

Oh also, because you claim that the Israeli government "is Jewish," I think discussions on how Israel isn't actually a safe haven for all Jews, only those that fit into their goals, are vital.

[titaniasthings]

Ginny and Luna's Relationship

I struggle so hard trying to figure out Ginny and Luna's friendship, which makes it a million times harder to figure out what a romantic relationship would look like for them. Fanon/movie Luna has really soured my view of her. She's this flanderized, whimsical(derogatory) girl who's just a vehicle for easy jokes and poetic lines. I'm re-reading parts of the last three books for a possible silver trio fic, and Luna in canon actually has so much more potential than I remembered.

“I’ll be quite glad if he has,” said Luna. “He isn’t a very good teacher, is he?” -Order of the Phoenix p.255

“Luna did not seem perturbed by Ron’s rudeness; on the contrary, she simply watched him for a while as though he were a mildly interesting television program.” - Order of the Phoenix, p.256

“I liked the D.A.! I learned loads with you!” “I enjoyed the meetings too,” said Luna serenely. “It was like having friends.” This was one of those uncomfortable things Luna often said and which made Harry feel a squirming mixture of pity and embarrassment.” - Half-Blood Prince p.153

“Well, they were right, weren’t they?” said Hermione impatiently. “There weren’t any such things as the Blibbering Humdinger or the Crumple-Horned Snorkack.” Luna gave her a withering look and flounced away, radishes swinging madly. ”- Order of the Phoenix p.333

I know I just threw a lot of quotes at you, but do you see the vision? Luna Lovegood is kind of a bitch(complimentary). She's off-putting, harsh, and argumentative. She is pretty rude sometimes and not accidentally. Doesn’t that sound like someone we know? It’s not coincidence that Luna and Hermione parallel each other. It was such a disservice when R*wling drops this dynamic for her own self insert.I personally like them being head-strong and messy about it.

I love the idea that Luna is actually very self-aware and thinks about the things she says. She doesn't just talk to talk contrary to popular fanon belief. She has strong beliefs and a backbone. She willingly goes to the Department of Mysteries, revels in being right and others not seeing the truth, and bites back when she wants to.

This version of Luna pairs very nicely with how I view Ginny. In canon, the level of their friendship kinda varies, but we can ignore that for the fun of it. They both are very passionate people, especially when it comes to their values. They do connect on a more emotional outside of that though. We see that both are desperate for friends at some point in their lives. They don't just want any friends; they want friends who understand them and make them feel seen. We don't know if Ginny actually agrees with Luna's politics, but I don't think their seeing eye to eye is what makes their relationship interesting. What makes it interesting is their mutual respect and defensiveness for each other's vulnerability. If we view Luna's strangeness as a guard, like how Ginny's short temper is a guard, we can see them strengthening each other's defenses.

“‘There’s no need to take that tone with me,’ she said coolly. ‘I was only wondering whether I could help.’ ‘Well, you can’t,’ said Harry shortly. ‘You’re being rather rude, you know,’ said Luna serenely.” - Order of the Phoenix p.937

“Oh, it’s been all right,” said Luna. “A bit lonely without the D.A. Ginny’s been nice, though. She stopped two boys in our Transfiguration class calling me ‘Loony’ the other day —“ - Half-Blood Prince p.347

I like that they protect each other, not just Ginny protecting Luna. Luna recognizes how difficult it is for Ginny to be open and wants to persevere it because she thinks her feelings are beautiful. I like to believe Ginny gains a lot of self-confidence before and after HBP and it’s because of that friendship with Luna. She heals Ginny’s girlhood a little.

They're the type of friends you only make in school. They wouldn't have known each other if they weren't forced to be around so much. They wouldn't have connected if they hadn't seen themselves reflected in each other.

I'll share a headcanon to display what I think their dynamic looks like. Ginny writes songs, and Luna composes the music. Ginny likes to write but doesn't do diary entries anymore because it feels too personal. She writes lyrics and distances herself from them even more by letting Luna sing them. Luna sings them because Ginny's words are so potent and raw that it gives Luna something to explore emotionally. Feelings she's never thought twice about.

As a Trio, Ginny, Neville, and Luna work well together. Neville bridges a personality gap that Ginny and Luna might have. Ginny and Luna's friendship is something I appreciate more now. I think they care about each other deeply and value their impact on one another. I don't think I can ship Linny simply because I think they'd get bored of each other. I am excited to dive into a Luna with this Catherine Morland-esque mindset.

To end I’ll leave you with an excerpt from “the wolf’s just a puppy (and the door’s double-locked)” by @pebblysand which has a really rich portrayal of their relationship in only a paragraph.

[ijustkindalikebooks]

Review: Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa.

In the spring of 1972, after the death of her father, twelve-year-old Tomoko is sent by her mother to live for a year with her wealthy aunt and uncle. It is a year that will change her life. Her aunt’s family lives in a magnificent colonial mansion surrounded by sprawling gardens and the remnants of an old zoo, where the family’s pet pygmy hippopotamus still resides. The family is as beguiling as their home, but beneath their sophistication and charm lie darker undercurrents that Tomoko struggles to understand—her aunt’s misery, her handsome foreign uncle’s curious absences, her German great-aunt's experience of the Second World War. At the centre of the family is Tomoko’s cousin Mina, a precocious asthmatic girl who draws Tomoko into an intoxicating world full of secret crushes and elaborate storytelling, including the strange tales inspired by the illustrated matchboxes she collects beneath her bed. The two girls share confidences and enthusiasms, encounter heartache, and have their eyes opened to the workings of the adult world.

After reading The Housekeeper And The Professor, I knew I wanted to read more from this author and though it has taken me some time to get around to it, and I'm very glad I did, as we see a new re-release of her book, Mina's Matchbox.

Ogawa's style of writing for me is never something that lets me down. How this writer sets a scene and brings to life on the page the life of her characters is never something I am disappointed by and that is clear in this book, from the first pages where she talks about the pram to the last pages describing neighbourhoods passing through, this author really does make a sumptuous perspective of the world she is creating.

The story unfolds beautifully really, as we learn about Tomoko and the family she has been sent to live with. Mina and her's bond in these pages is brilliantly told and as the book goes on, we see the story unfolding as we take in Tomoko's story about moving to a new place and gaining her first steps of independence away from her parents.

I think one thing I am glad of is that I was able to take my time with this book and let it simmer in my mind, because it really a book packed with thought and emotion and a story to take your time with as it unravels in front of you.

I need to read more from this author.

(Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC for honest review).

[fantomette22]

By the way, I wanted to ask - what are the flaws / the worst traits of your Laurence would be? So far I've only seen him portrayed in your fanfic, when he was still so innocent.... And he is already a rather pleasant man. But also everything you post about him in your blog is rather flattering?

But like, what are his dark sides? What are his vices? I could expect them to start manifesting/developing in Healing Church era more specifically, but all will do! There are just unique things. Smug bastard overly-confident in his ever-rightness, fierce arrogant stubborn asshole, the fuckin manipulative self-vindicating narcissist being *delighted* with too many close people taking bullets for him, manic vain cuckoo clearly getting off at the awful things he "had" to do, etc etc... Like, yeah whereas the same character written, what are YOUR Laurence's 'focal' flaws and vices?

(P.S. It is okay if you did not actually plan anything like this and your Laurence simply descends by making more and more sacrifices. There could be at least one Laurence that WAS a good person x) )

Ah Laurence! Really interesting question about our fav Vicar (beast on fire) indeed!

First have this drawing of a darker side of Laurence i just draw too.

Yes, it’s true that in my fic for now he’s kinda in his baby era so far XD so he’s not at his worst at all yet (gonna detailed that later but yeah it really develop during healing church era & become even worst after the fishing Hamlet. Until MP calm him the fuck down but it was already too late to fix the mess 😭and with beasthood creeping it was not super great for him…) but I imagined he still have a couple of flaws at that time yes.

Well back at Byrgenwerth and afterwards he was overconfident, too proud and wanted to test lot of new things that the older scholars didn’t really approve of (even if he was right some experiment or research, he wanted to do were either kind of controversial or people found the results weren’t that great at first.) But he was proven right in the end about the old blood XD so yeah, he got kinda a big ego who grow more during the years/his life. He can be impulsive, reckless but will do anything if the ones he cares about are in danger.

(Just another idea I had too I think him and some people of Byrgenwerth staff could be ok with torturing people and enemies, and experiment on people O_O but he’s not the worst at all (like he just talk and ask question) but it’s more of an AU scenario I guess)

In contrary the more the years pass the more he start to loose empathy towards stranger he couldn’t save (but he’s a doctor too of course he got disconnect but sometimes it’s just too much) and even towards his friends after losing lots of them :/ He start to believe that « some sacrifice need to be done » and would continue what he started and still wanted to reach the great ones, at WHATEVER THE COST. Ready to take distance or ditch? the ones who didn’t follow and weren’t of any use to him and would just hold him back.

He became quite a bit absorb in religion too (but normal he’s a vicar you would say) he want to « strict to the code! » But his way, or the saint writings or smt but kinda his interpretation and what he learned. He helped people with religion and with the healing blood of course but some people start to almost veneered him, believed he was some kind of messenger of the gods etc. And that allowed him to changed people mind on lot of things (even if he didn’t plan too at first) That didn’t help so yeah god/messiah complex let’s go… Also, yeah kinda obsess with the great ones, ascension (the watchdogs and fire cough cough but I digress).

As well, after the church gained lots of influence, his life was on the line several time and he didn’t seems to realize it was THAT serious XD

« Hm smn got into my apartment, stole smt and re send it to me with a note saying I will get into trouble if I continue my work…Hm I don’t see the problem 🤔 They’re just trying to intimidate me.»

« Laurence you’re gonna freaking get assassinated!!!!! DO SOMETHING!!! »

Later, he did ask the assassins of the church to kill the « problematic peoples/enemies » too. As for the « preventive measures, aka go kill people before they become beast but are still human » I liked to thing it wasn’t from him perhaps but it become automatic after his death, or maybe it happened when they had huge doubts, but could be occasional and was generalized later on (after his death).

So yeah, for me he’s not the huge devil but not an angel either. He’s human, the best and worst of humanity. To resume, he wanted to do good things, had ambitions and just had a few flaws, then he become kinda an egocentric bastard & distance/dissociated from his friends and their suffering.

He cared about his friends for real but the trauma of losing some really changed him and he then he began to give an image of someone how is more bother by the administrative mess he got to deal with, because his close friends died/suffer/or are problematic than being sad for them/trying to help genuinely without waiting for smt in return. (actually, he is SAD! And want to help but he got responsibilities… and he decided that they pass before… (see what happen with Caryll/some members of the church/Maria/Gehrman/Ludwig/the Vilebloods vs executioners/Gehrman again lol/Old Yharnam burning etc) I think he didn’t really want the Cainhurst massacre /Old Yharnam burning to happen but he thought it was sadly the best/less worst thing to do and they didn’t have another choice. Especially with Cainhurst, I hc they got a Third of umbilical cord in the end SO…

 And after all deal with the blood moon he realized his mistake and tried to get thing to be better but… it was too late… he couldn’t just take back the blood like that or say it was too dangerous… you can’t risk a civil war and even so it’s in the wild, traffic would still happen… and the rest of the church would probably thing he’s crazy… I think at the end of his life he was really pitiful yes….

(Last mention to his incredible theme who make me see/imagined all his life (like gehrman’s). The glorious part as well as the decent to hell…)

In conclusion I think yeah, he was a grand man but kind of a bastard too…really a nuanced character. He wanted to help but ultimately failed… (still I think healing church maybe even worst after he passed away) Like the one before him (pthumerians) and the one after. And even if it wasn’t him maybe smn else would have done what he did. For me he’s one, if not THE MOST important character of Bloodborne lore, after all.

Hope I answer the question 🫡 I really have difficulty to explain him it feel so natural how I see him and his evolution in my head but I can’t tell and write everything yet. I hope to be able to.

[tiredgremlintime]

Arc-v Month Day 3: Duetto of Duelist and Spirit

@arcvmonth

ok so I’m going to talk about three decks! Performapals, melodious, and lyrilusc!!

So performapals! The first arc-v deck I wanted to play

As the zexal era in duel links was drawing closer to its end, I knew arc-v world was next, and I was excited, I was super excited to play Yuya and try out Zuzu, I knew I wanted my first deck to be Yuya’s, especially the performapals focus one, with odd eyes and some magicans of course since Yuya is one of my favorite characters, I tried to study his deck by watching the anime, yes, I was and still am unhinged thank you. So when arc-v world dropped, I couldn’t really play Yuya’s deck. See the problem with duel links is that when new decks come in, some of the cards from said deck is from older boxes, which meant spending a bunch of gems, until last month I couldn’t have Yuya’s deck, considering how EXPENSIVE he was, thankfully I could still play his deck, I just couldn’t bring it online. it was performapal focus! Just like I wanted! Sure it probably wasn’t THAT good but it was fun :). Thankfully, thanks to the campaign that happened last month I can now FINALLY play his deck and main Yuya! Fully compatible, fun to play, AND can be brought online, yippee!!! Even though I have to play with LESS performapals, I still get to play with some! So there’s that atleast! I’m just happy I can finally play my boy :)

Now with that knowledge, you may be wondering, since I been struggling to actually play as Yuya this past year, who else did I play in arc-v world? Who’s deck did I fully have? All the cards and such? Well that’s a pretty easy answer, which leads us to our next point!

Melodious! The deck that gave me confidence again

Now, I really like Zuzu! She’s one of my favorite arc-v characters! Back then though since I was still watching arc-v season 1, she was just a character I liked. Now when arc-v world dropped and the new tier list dropped melodious was actually tier 1! Unfortunately I missed that era cause it lasted like 2 months and it took me 3 months to get Zuzu, but when I DID get her my brother encouraged me to built her deck! I did and she became one of my dl mains! Melodious might have been tier 3 but I was playing GREAT with it online, this deck actually helped me re-gain the confidence to duel online! I’m forever thankful to this deck for helping me gain pvp courage, even if the deck isn’t consider powerful anymore. And this deck also made me love Zuzu even more! So another great thing this deck did for me!

so those are my two arc-v decks in duel links! How about tcg wise? Well this leads to the next and last deck I’m going to talk about in this post

Lyrilusc, baby’s first irl deck

SO, I’m going to talk about this more later, but spring last year I started to really like Lulu, like she was becoming a fav of mine, to the point where I made a daily doodle blog for her, but during this stage where I started to really like her, my brother got the synchro storm box, the newest Yugo box! So we opened it up together, and as a result I got a LOT of lyrilusc support from it, I actually got almost all the cards I needed for the base deck! Because of this my brother suggested that my tcg deck should be lyrilusc, I was a little nervous but also excited about this, so I agreed! It took a long time for the deck to be built however, because believe it or not playing Yugioh actually cause a LOT of money!!!! I didn’t really think I get to actually play the deck, but then Christmas approached, and one of my brother’s gifts for me was the rest of the cards I needed for lyrilusc tri-birgade!!! One of the best versions of the lyrilusc deck is to play it with tri-brigade, so that’s the deck I now own!! Now that it’s officially summer I can finally take the time to learn the deck, I been wanting to play with this deck for awhile so now I’m really excited to learn! I can’t wait to see how far I can go with this deck I was gifted!

So yeah that’s it for my arc-v decks! Thank you to anyone who read this far!!

[spilt2manysecrets]

you know, i was so proud of the fact that i finally made a private dump acc where i could just speak my mind and know that only the people i trust would see it.

but there are still some things that i can never say in front of them.

especially since it technically concerns the one im closest to, my best friend.

but hey dont worry, it's not her fault. she did nothing wrong and i am by no means mad or frustrated with her.

it's just that

i can't help it when my insecurities decide it's a good time to say hello.

the past 3 days have been... eventful to say the least.

my bestie found a guy, a pretty good guy, and is now in a relationship!

i genuinely could not be more happy for her and proud of her.

i just know that she deserves all the love that little man can and is willing to give her.

but when that twinge of pain flashes in my chest and i feel like crying, i also know that my mind has begun spiralling out of control again.

when i look at the situation... how my best friend wasnt exactly looking for love and wasnt expecting to start dating anyone at this point in her life and how she attracts people so effortlessly...

im reminded of The Princess and the Frog.

of what it was like between Charlotte and Tiana.

the one who longs for love never receives it in return.

we just give and give and give

and we ask and ask and ask

but it's never returned, at least not in the way we want.

not in the way that we so desperately dream of.

and this knowledge

wow

it does things to my head.

i feel like i had a scab ripped off or stitches torn open.

i was healing.

i have been healing.

however i apparently wasnt healed enough to handle this type of thing, especially when it's happening so close to me.

so while i would never want to ruin what my best friend has, or come in between them, or do anything that would possibly hurt her

i can't help the punch of pain that hits me.

not at who she's with.

not at her happiness.

not at her at all.

but just at the fact that another year has passed, and all ive been receiving are reminders of how... unattractive? unlovable? unappealing? i am

even right now, as i sit on the stone steps of the track oval getting ready for visage, all i can think about is how... everyone got a feature in the promotional videos, except me 😝

and yeah it sucks, yeah it hurts, but what can i do?

i decided to join the club where all of the most attractive people in the school choose to go and show off their beauty. that choice was my fault. all because for a few short months, i deluded myself into thinking that i was pretty. all because i gained a sense of confidence for a while.

now, that confidence i came in with has been shattered beyond what i can repair with a few inspirational videos or songs.

i have to rebuild everything from scratch.

i have to re-learn how to be comfortable in my own disgusting skin.

how to feel at peace even around people who have everything ive been dreaming of since i was, what, 6? 7?

how to stop that pain from blooming in my chest every time im reminded that other people can actually see the things im insecure about.

fuck.

man here i go again- asking the same shit again and again then passing it off as a joke to try and mask just how much it hurts.

saan ba ako nagkulang?

ive tried EVERYTHING.

being myself

moulding myself to fit the ideal

being kikay

being natural

being loud

being quiet

participative in both acads and ecs

nothing works and nothing helps

haha

hahahahahahahahahah

even now, as i try to bring back my hope by saying "you still have college, don't worry", my brain never fails to remind me

you've been saying that for YEARS

"it's ok! you still have grade 4, take your time"

"you still have grade 5, you're gonna be in a new school, a fresh start! don't worry"

"you still have grade 6, new classmates, don't worry"

"maybe gradeschool was too early. im sure you'll find someone who'll like you in highschool"

"oh no! pandemic... maybe you'll find someone outside of zobel?"

"yes! back to face-to-face and another fresh start! someone is sure to like you now sometime soon."

"ah- so that's what peer pressure can do. anyway, im sure you'll find someone who genuinely likes you now in senior highschool."

"don't worry about it. grade 12 is probably the best year to find someone you know? right before college."

...screw that.

my 10 years of wishing, hoping, praying, longing....

the only thing i have to show for it is a one month summer fling that i know there was no love in. we both knew it to ourselves that we loved each other just as friends.

fuck fcuk fuckrixjebsjwh

how many more times am i gonna write a post like this...?

2 more times? 4 more? 10 more?

until im a resident? until im working?

until im fucking dead?

hah...

im 18 years old

how much longer am i going to have to wait before i find out what it feels like for someone to love me?

how many repeats of the vicious cycle of unrequited love do i have to fucking grin and bear?

im tired, hurt, sad, scared, insecure, and just... i dont know

i just want to be loved.

[dreamychuu]

Hi! Could I request a scenario where keito has a crush on a gn reader and he finally asks them out after gaining the confidence/courage?

Thank you so much, and do take care! Lots of love 💕💕💕

A/n : do u guys know that keito is a hopeless romantic! Huh, what? You ask for source? The source is that i made it up ‼️

₊˚ପ⊹ - is this... Supposed to be this complicated?

╰┈➤ - warning/info = gn!reader, "!" Era, keito is an hopeless romantic.

-

✿ - Keito never understood the complex of "being in love" that his classmate's, unit mate, and others experience.

he always thoughts confessing to someone is easy. "All they has to do is to admit the romantic feelings and it's over" Or at the same time he doesnt care about it at all.

but for some reason lately he's started to develop feelings for a certain someone.

And the certain someone is you.

whenever he's near you, he can feel his heartbeat going faster, as smiles apper on his face after chatting with you, and the fact that he always appears when someone talks about you whether it's good or bad topics.

At first he didn't notice how he act like that, until finally the student council president or so we called eichi pointed it out to him and told him maybe he was in love.

With a bit of shock he started to re-think about it, maybe eichi was right?.

now he understood the complex problem people around him feel about being in love!

As times went by... He cant stop thinking about you..

He then start to be so desperate because he lacked focus on his work just because of the feeling.

he then asked the so called love expert "hakaze Kaoru" To helped him.

Of course, the blonde haired man was in shock, he never thought "the always serious student council vice president" ask him about love!

and that's how he learned that if he wants to confess to someone, it's better to ask them out first.

because that way he can know whether the person he likes is interested in him or not.

Keito still doesn't feel he is ready, yet.. He already thinking about just sending a small letter to you, but Kaoru was against it and said that it was a way that coward's choose.

keito was a bit offended but still complied with him.

everyday he's always trying to test his courage in front of you, by being nicer to you or spending more time with you, which surprises you a bit.

As if an angel bless him.. in the end he was sure that it was time for him to ask you out!

And unfortunately he still used his original idea to just sent a letter through your friend so you know that he want you to meet him after school.

believe me, he so nervous! he even wrote various scripts that he could tell you...

even a few days before, mao had seen keito's desk full of papers filled with many kind of scripts while keito can be seen fell asleep in the middle of writing another one.

the school bell finally rang as you packing up your things and went to the place marked on the letter.

once you get there you can see the dear vice president already there.

You greeted him and asked why he asked you to met him after school.

"Do you know about the cafe near here? Yes, the cafe that's two blocks from here, I hear they serve's great foods , even though the food is not that healthy for an idol or anyone, there are still many people who like to go there and actually the scenery there is quite mesmerizing with lots of different kinds of flowers that are put up there as well, making the cafe stand out more... I also still have a lot of student work so if I go there maybe it's rare or you could say only once.. talking about flowers earlier I realized that there are flowers that remind me of you then I can also count you as reliable to help me so with that I hope you can help me and go with me there after school the day after tomorrow ," he answered by giving you the same length as the lecture he always gave.

"So , keito is asking me out?", you ask

Keito, who didn't expect that you realized it, only looked down so you wouldn't see his face that was starting to turn red.

Seeing his reaction you then continue your words by saying that you were just kidding and you accepted his offer.

when keito wanted to say something else you heard your name being called by your friend as you immediately said goodbye and left him.

You may not have seen it.. but he smiled after hearing that you accepted his offer

[resiliencewithin]

Daily Gratitude

January 4, 2023

What are you grateful for today?

Welcome to our gratitude support group! All are welcome to be a part of the gratitude crew.

I tag some of the crew several times a week. If you’d like to be on the tag list let me know.

Take some time to reflect on the things, big or small, that you can find appreciation for in your life. Then, take some time to read the other responses. It helps me appreciate ♥️ my life even more every day.

Re-blog or write a note about what you are grateful for as often as makes sense for you.

All posts will be tagged ‘resiliencewithin’s daily gratitude group’

Prompt (if you want): As 2023 dawns… What skill are you grateful you gained confidence in this past year?

Want to do some more reflecting?

What lesson are you grateful you learned in the last year?

What are you grateful you let go of in the last year?

What new discovery are you grateful you made this past year?

What achievement are you proud of? What quality of yourself are you grateful for that got you there?

What purchase did you make that you are so grateful for you can’t imagine how you lived without it?

What person(s) are you grateful was a part of your life in the last year?

What new habit, routine or small change did you develop last year that you are grateful for?

[in--other--words]

Langblr (Re-)introduction

Hello! I've been lurking around these langblr parts for a few years now, and did post some stuff ages ago, but thought it was about time I became a bit more involved in the language learning community here.

I'm going to try and follow prepolyglot's langblr reactivation challenge over the next couple of weeks to give me a structure to use to get back to posting regularly, but for now here are some facts about me to act as a new intro...

My name is Alice

I'm 28 years old

I live and work in the UK as a data scientist

I love languages because I like the window they give me onto other cultures. They help me understand diverse perspectives on things and put my own values and ingrained beliefs in context... It's interesting to realise how some things that I take for granted as facts are actually totally arbitrary ideas that I wouldn't have if I'd grown up in a different situation.

I'm actively studying German to try and reach a level where I can more easily learn via input (for me this usually means watching youtube or TV). My current level is probably around A2 so I have a little way to go but hoping to be there some time around this Summer.

I'm also actively studying Spanish and taking a C1 class with Instituto Cervantes. My aim with this is to polish it up and gain more confidence with output.

I'm trying to maintain my French and Italian, both of these are at an intermediate-ish level.

That's probably it for now, but please interact with this post if you post langblr content or anything related to the languages above so I can follow you! I'm super interested in different language learning methods and theories too so would love to get more of that stuff on my dash.

[itsnothingofinterest]

Thanks for clarifying that earlier ask, I had a hunch that was the case. Still, I have to say this certainly wasn’t what I expected to return to. I dropped the manga thinking maybe there a way to connect both sides and now that I’m back I’m pro-villain all the way. At least they’re honest about what their goals are and unafraid of any possible consequences, all the heroes seem to want is zero accountability and a return to the status quo. Also you’ll have to forgive me if the students don’t inspire any confidence either, they still have a lot to learn is all I have to say on the matter. AFO is still absolute trash tho

Too true.

Like I know the correct resolution is both sides coming together in a middle ground; but besides the closing of the moral gap between them, that’s not been happening. Conversations keep breaking down, heroes throw away their morals & responsibilities in the hopes it gives them an edge, animosity is rising on all sides; and any time a hero hits they do maybe want to change things, they give a bunch of feel-good nonsense about setting a good example and hoping things work out. And these are just a few of the general issues.

So prospects of a proper resolution aren’t looking their greatest. It’s a big part of why I’m hoping this arc is just the finale to My Hero Part 1, and there’s still a whole lot of story left to try to fix this mess.

A lot of people seem to think the Deku & the kids are in the right state of mind to save everyone though, and so tend not to like when I call them out on their flaws or needed character development. But like; sorry, no.

I mean they’re far from hopeless, and they’re certainly better than the old guard in pretty much every respect. But that’s a low bar. They’re still dead-set on returning things to "normal” with minimum-to-nill indication they want to change things and no inclination to listen to the League on why they things need changing. And ignoring that because they’re your faves won’t change that...side note: I feel I suddenly gained some insight on why changing hero society is so hard in this setting while writing that sentence.

This is why until actually coming together is on the table, which I really do hope will eventually happen, I root for the Tomura & the PLF (trash villain AFO not included of course) without really caring for their methods. Like, the methods are bad; but the results of the kids winning without major re-evaluation of themselves and the society they just saved, is a return to the status quo, including more people falling through the cracks to form another League. Which’ll hurt, because it’ll be a League failed by Class 1A. They’ll use the same methods, inflict the same casualties, and we’ll loop back to the same result. And then we’ll get a third League after that.

Call me a crazy villain-stan if you wish, but I’ll take violently wiping the slate clean to start from scratch over that recursion of violence & tragedy. (Even ignoring the implicit plans of villains like Toga, Spinner, & Redestro on actually rebuilding after.)

[38sr]

Following up on that one anon that asked about how to practice animation, how do you practice art skills while learning how to animate? In other words, what art skills should I hone/continue to practice for animation?

Ooooh this is a good question! Outside of the animation principles, there are some other skills you can do to help hone your animation skills more. Figure drawing/Gesture drawing: This one is prolly the most self-explanatory. Understanding the human figure (of just form in general) is an incredibly important skill that you will inevitably encounter with animating regardless of the visual style (realistic, cartoony, anime, etc.). I also would suggest gestural drawing because animation is more so about selling the motion and the feeling behind it rather it being the most accurate depiction. Now there are animations that are hyperrealistic so it's possible to do that. Personally, animations that impress me the most are ones that are able to sell realistic motions without having to draw a lot of lines or animating on 1s.

Perspective/Foreshortening: Another self-explanatory one. When it comes to motion you will have to draw forms in angles that are quite difficult. Hell, even I'm still honing this skill and I'm not the greatest at it haha. But doing exercises using geometric shapes and applying to more organic forms (ie. humans, animals, etc) is a great way to practice and build that skill. Over the years, I've realized doing these exercises has helped re-enforce my figure/gestural drawing skills. Trying to interpret difficult forms in difficult angles/perspectives forces you to critically think "Okay, how can I depict this thing at this angle with only this amount of lines" or "Oh that muscle doesn't show as much in this perspective and sort of overlaps with the form of this muscle". Combine that with animating, you'll be able to create some crazy good work while having a a solid understanding of form.

Character Design: Prolly something you wouldn't think about but is super super super important to learn character design when it comes to animating. I love designs that animation friendly, meaning it's easy for any animator to adapt to. Can you break down the designs into simpler shapes? Is there a shorthand that can be used for animating at farther distances? Is the design distinct enough that even with less lines you can still tell what character this is? Are you able to draw this character over and over again at a steady pace? It can be tempting to add as much detail as possible to a character but you have to remember, "Oh, I have to draw all these details and stuff over and over again consistently." And sometimes it can be hard to do... So yeah, taking the time to learn character design has helped me immensely with animating while also re-enforces the previous two points as well. Funny how it all connects in the end haha. Penmanship: Okay, I will admit this is a weird one and this is purely from my own personal experience. But yes, penmanship has been a good skill to learn for my animation journey. I've been writing in cursive since 2nd grade and I don't think I would have a good sense of line depth/control if it wasn't for that strict learning way way back in Catholic school. If you think about, cursive is just writing words with only long singular strokes. You need to understand the flow of the line in order to apply the appropriate amount of pressure to depict certain shapes of letters. At some point during my art journey, I realized that this can be applied to drawing especially with forms (organic and inorganic). It became easier for me to develop shorthands, learn perspective and foreshortening because I was so comfortable with line through penmanship classes. In turn, it also made it easier for me to animate with very decisive line-making with confidence. So if you can, I would say practice writing in cursive to gain more control/confidence of line weight/depth. A practice I always do is writing the English alphabet with only one stroke. It's just a way to re-enforce my control over the line through pressure, the way I hold the pen, the speed I write, etc and continue to apply that into my drawing skills. But yeah, this one isn't like a hard absolute just something I've learned in my experience that has helped me in my animation journey.

I hope that list of things were helpful!