#excel notes for beginners

[eyrieofsynapses]

why Aurora's art is genius

It's break for me, and I've been meaning to sit down and read the Aurora webcomic (https://comicaurora.com/, @comicaurora on Tumblr) for quite a bit. So I did that over the last few days.

And… y'know. I can't actually say "I should've read this earlier," because otherwise I would've been up at 2:30-3am when I had responsibilities in the morning and I couldn't have properly enjoyed it, but. Holy shit guys THIS COMIC.

I intended to just do a generalized "hello this is all the things I love about this story," and I wrote a paragraph or two about art style. …and then another. And another. And I realized I needed to actually reference things so I would stop being too vague. I was reading the comic on my tablet or phone, because I wanted to stay curled up in my chair, but I type at a big monitor and so I saw more details… aaaaaand it turned into its own giant-ass post.

SO. Enjoy a few thousand words of me nerding out about this insanely cool art style and how fucking gorgeous this comic is? (There are screenshots, I promise it isn't just a wall of text.) In my defense, I just spent two semesters in graphic design classes focusing on the Adobe Suite, so… I get to be a nerd about pretty things…???

All positive feedback btw! No downers here. <3

---

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love the beautiful, simple stylistic method of drawing characters and figures. It is absolutely stunning and effortless and utterly graceful—it is so hard to capture the sheer beauty and fluidity of the human form in such a fashion. Even a simple outline of a character feels dynamic! It's gorgeous!

Though I do have a love-hate relationship with this, because my artistic side looks at that lovely simplicity, goes "I CAN DO THAT!" and then I sit down and go to the paper and realize that no, in fact, I cannot do that yet, because that simplicity is born of a hell of a lot of practice and understanding of bodies and actually is really hard to do. It's a very developed style that only looks simple because the artist knows what they're doing. The human body is hard to pull off, and this comic does so beautifully and makes it look effortless.

Also: line weight line weight line weight. It's especially important in simplified shapes and figures like this, and hoo boy is it used excellently. It's especially apparent the newer the pages get—I love watching that improvement over time—but with simpler figures and lines, you get nice light lines to emphasize both smaller details, like in the draping of clothing and the curls of hair—which, hello, yes—and thicker lines to emphasize bigger and more important details and silhouettes. It's the sort of thing that's essential to most illustrations, but I wanted to make a note of it because it's so vital to this art style.

THE USE OF LAYER BLENDING MODES OH MY GODS. (...uhhh, apologies to the people who don't know what that means, it's a digital art program thing? This article explains it for beginners.)

Bear with me, I just finished my second Photoshop course, I spent months and months working on projects with this shit so I see the genius use of Screen and/or its siblings (of which there are many—if I say "Screen" here, assume I mean the entire umbrella of Screen blending modes and possibly Overlay) and go nuts, but seriously it's so clever and also fucking gorgeous:

Firstly: the use of screened-on sound effect words over an action? A "CRACK" written over a branch and then put on Screen in glowy green so that it's subtle enough that it doesn't disrupt the visual flow, but still sticks out enough to make itself heard? Little "scritches" that are transparent where they're laid on without outlines to emphasize the sound without disrupting the underlying image? FUCK YES. I haven't seen this done literally anywhere else—granted, I haven't read a massive amount of comics, but I've read enough—and it is so clever and I adore it. Examples:

Secondly: The beautiful lighting effects. The curling leaves, all the magic, the various glowing eyes, the fog, the way it's all so vividly colored but doesn't burn your eyeballs out—a balance that's way harder to achieve than you'd think—and the soft glows around them, eeeee it's so pretty so pretty SO PRETTY. Not sure if some of these are Outer/Inner Glow/Shadow layer effects or if it's entirely hand-drawn, but major kudos either way; I can see the beautiful use of blending modes and I SALUTE YOUR GENIUS.

I keep looking at some of this stuff and go "is that a layer effect or is it done by hand?" Because you can make some similar things with the Satin layer effect in Photoshop (I don't know if other programs have this? I'm gonna have to find out since I won't have access to PS for much longer ;-;) that resembles some of the swirly inner bits on some of the lit effects, but I'm not sure if it is that or not. Or you could mask over textures? There's... many ways to do it.

If done by hand: oh my gods the patience, how. If done with layer effects: really clever work that knows how to stop said effects from looking wonky, because ugh those things get temperamental. If done with a layer of texture that's been masked over: very, very good masking work. No matter the method, pretty shimmers and swirly bits inside the bigger pretty swirls!

Next: The way color contrast is used! I will never be over the glowy green-on-black Primordial Life vibes when Alinua gets dropped into that… unconscious space?? with Life, for example, and the sharp contrast of vines and crack and branches and leaves against pitch black is just visually stunning. The way the roots sink into the ground and the three-dimensional sensation of it is particularly badass here:

Friggin. How does this imply depth like that. HOW. IT'S SO FREAKING COOL.

A huge point here is also color language and use! Everybody has their own particular shade, generally matching their eyes, magic, and personality, and I adore how this is used to make it clear who's talking or who's doing an action. That was especially apparent to me with Dainix and Falst in the caves—their colors are both fairly warm, but quite distinct, and I love how this clarifies who's doing what in panels with a lot of action from both of them. There is a particular bit that stuck out to me, so I dug up the panels (see this page and the following one https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-30/):

(Gods it looks even prettier now that I put it against a plain background. Also, appreciation to Falst for managing a bridal-carry midair, damn.)

The way that their colors MERGE here! And the immense attention to detail in doing so—Dainix is higher up than Falst is in the first panel, so Dainix's orange fades into Falst's orange at the base. The next panel has gold up top and orange on bottom; we can't really tell in that panel where each of them are, but that's carried over to the next panel—

—where we now see that Falst's position is raised above Dainix's due to the way he's carrying him. (Points for continuity!) And, of course, we see the little "huffs" flowing from orange to yellow over their heads (where Dainix's head is higher than Falst's) to merge the sound of their breathing, which is absurdly clever because it emphasizes to the viewer how we hear two sets of huffing overlaying each other, not one. Absolutely brilliant.

(A few other notes of appreciation to that panel: beautiful glows around them, the sparks, the jagged silhouette of the spider legs, the lovely colors that have no right to make the area around a spider corpse that pretty, the excellent texturing on the cave walls plus perspective, the way Falst's movements imply Dainix's hefty weight, the natural posing of the characters, their on-point expressions that convey exactly how fuckin terrifying everything is right now, the slight glows to their eyes, and also they're just handsome boys <3)

Next up: Rain!!!! So well done! It's subtle enough that it never ever disrupts the impact of the focal point, but evident enough you can tell! And more importantly: THE MIST OFF THE CHARACTERS. Rain does this irl, it has that little vapor that comes off you and makes that little misty effect that plays with lighting, it's so cool-looking and here it's used to such pretty effect!

One of the panel captions says something about it blurring out all the injuries on the characters but like THAT AIN'T TOO BIG OF A PROBLEM when it gets across the environmental vibes, and also that'd be how it would look in real life too so like… outside viewer's angle is the same as the characters', mostly? my point is: that's the environment!!! that's the vibes, that's the feel! It gets it across and it does so in the most pretty way possible!

And another thing re: rain, the use of it to establish perspective, particularly in panels like this—

—where we can tell we're looking down at Tynan due to the perspective on the rain and where it's pointing. Excellent. (Also, kudos for looking down and emphasizing how Tynan's losing his advantage—lovely use of visual storytelling.)

Additionally, the misting here:

We see it most heavily in the leftmost panel, where it's quite foggy as you would expect in a rainstorm, especially in an environment with a lot of heat, but it's also lightly powdered on in the following two panels and tends to follow light sources, which makes complete sense given how light bounces off particles in the air.

A major point of strength in these too is a thorough understanding of lighting, like rim lighting, the various hues and shades, and an intricate understanding of how light bounces off surfaces even when they're in shadow (we'll see a faint glow in spots where characters are half in shadow, but that's how it would work in real life, because of how light bounces around).

Bringing some of these points together: the fluidity of the lines in magic, and the way simple glowing lines are used to emphasize motion and the magic itself, is deeply clever. I'm basically pulling at random from panels and there's definitely even better examples, but here's one (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-16-33/):

First panel, listed in numbers because these build on each other:

The tension of the lines in Tess's magic here. This works on a couple levels: first, the way she's holding her fists, as if she's pulling a rope taut.

The way there's one primary line, emphasizing the rope feeling, accompanied by smaller ones.

The additional lines starbursting around her hands, to indicate the energy crackling in her hands and how she's doing a good bit more than just holding it. (That combined with the fists suggests some tension to the magic, too.) Also the variations in brightness, a feature you'll find in actual lightning. :D Additional kudos for how the lightning sparks and breaks off the metal of the sword.

A handful of miscellaneous notes on the second panel:

The reflection of the flames in Erin's typically dark blue eyes (which bears a remarkable resemblance to Dainix, incidentally—almost a thematic sort of parallel given Erin's using the same magic Dainix specializes in?)

The flowing of fabric in the wind and associated variation in the lineart

The way Erin's tattoos interact with the fire he's pulling to his hand

The way the rain overlays some of the fainter areas of fire (attention! to! detail! hell yeah!)

I could go on. I won't because this is a lot of writing already.

Third panel gets paragraphs, not bullets:

Erin's giant-ass "FWOOM" of fire there, and the way the outline of the word is puffy-edged and gradated to feel almost three-dimensional, plus once again using Screen or a variation on it so that the stars show up in the background. All this against that stunning plume of fire, which ripples and sparks so gorgeously, and the ending "om" of the onomatopoeia is emphasized incredibly brightly against that, adding to the punch of it and making the plume feel even brighter.

Also, once again, rain helping establish perspective, especially in how it's very angular in the left side of the panel and then slowly becomes more like a point to the right to indicate it's falling directly down on the viewer. Add in the bright, beautiful glow effects, fainter but no less important black lines beneath them to emphasize the sky and smoke and the like, and the stunningly beautiful lighting and gradated glows surrounding Erin plus the lightning jagging up at him from below, and you get one hell of an impactful panel right there. (And there is definitely more in there I could break down, this is just a lot already.)

And in general: The colors in this? Incredible. The blues and purples and oranges and golds compliment so well, and it's all so rich.

Like, seriously, just throughout the whole comic, the use of gradients, blending modes, color balance and hues, all the things, all the things, it makes for the most beautiful effects and glows and such a rich environment. There's a very distinct style to this comic in its simplified backgrounds (which I recognize are done partly because it's way easier and also backgrounds are so time-consuming dear gods but lemme say this) and vivid, smoothly drawn characters; the simplicity lets them come to the front and gives room for those beautiful, richly saturated focal points, letting the stylized designs of the magic and characters shine. The use of distinct silhouettes is insanely good. Honestly, complex backgrounds might run the risk of making everything too visually busy in this case. It's just, augh, so GORGEOUS.

Another bit, take a look at this page (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-15-28/):

It's not quite as evident here as it is in the next page, but this one does some other fun things so I'm grabbing it. Points:

Once again, using different colors to represent different character actions. The "WHAM" of Kendal hitting the ground is caused by Dainix's force, so it's orange (and kudos for doubling the word over to add a shake effect). But we see blue layered underneath, which could be an environmental choice, but might also be because it's Kendal, whose color is blue.

And speaking off, take a look at the right-most panel on top, where Kendal grabs the spear: his motion is, again, illustrated in bright blue, versus the atmospheric screened-on orange lines that point toward him around the whole panel (I'm sure these have a name, I think they might be more of a manga thing though and the only experience I have in manga is reading a bit of Fullmetal Alchemist). Those lines emphasize the weight of the spear being shoved at him, and their color tells us Dainix is responsible for it.

One of my all-time favorite effects in this comic is the way cracks manifest across Dainix's body to represent when he starts to lose control; it is utterly gorgeous and wonderfully thematic. These are more evident in the page before and after this one, but you get a decent idea here. I love the way they glow softly, the way the fire juuuust flickers through at the start and then becomes more evident over time, and the cracks feel so realistic, like his skin is made of pottery. Additional points for how fire begins to creep into his hair.

A small detail that's generally consistent across the comic, but which I want to make note of here because you can see it pretty well: Kendal's eyes glow about the same as the jewel in his sword, mirroring his connection to said sword and calling back to how the jewel became Vash's eye temporarily and thus was once Kendal's eye. You can always see this connection (though there might be some spots where this also changes in a symbolic manner; I went through it quickly on the first time around, so I'll pay more attention when I inevitably reread this), where Kendal's always got that little shine of blue in his eyes the same as the jewel. It's a beautiful visual parallel that encourages the reader to subconsciously link them together, especially since the lines used to illustrate character movements typically mirror their eye color. It's an extension of Kendal.

Did I mention how ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL the colors in this are?

Also, the mythological/legend-type scenes are illustrated in familiar style often used for that type of story, a simple and heavily symbolic two-dimensional cave-painting-like look. They are absolutely beautiful on many levels, employing simple, lovely gradients, slightly rougher and thicker lineart that is nonetheless smoothly beautiful, and working with clear silhouettes (a major strength of this art style, but also a strength in the comic overall). But in particular, I wanted to call attention to a particular thing (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-12-4/):

The flowing symbolic lineart surrounding each character. This is actually quite consistent across characters—see also Life's typical lines and how they curl:

What's particularly interesting here is how these symbols are often similar, but not the same. Vash's lines are always smooth, clean curls, often playing off each other and echoing one another like ripples in a pond. You'd think they'd look too similar to Life's—but they don't. Life's curl like vines, and they remain connected; where one curve might echo another but exist entirely detached from each other in Vash's, Life's lines still remain wound together, because vines are continuous and don't float around. :P

Tahraim's are less continuous, often breaking up with significantly smaller bits and pieces floating around like—of course—sparks, and come to sharper points. These are also constants: we see the vines repeated over and over in Alinua's dreams of Life, and the echoing ripples of Vash are consistent wherever we encounter him. Kendal's dream of the ghost citizens of the city of Vash in the last few chapters is filled with these rippling, echoing patterns, to beautiful effect (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-14/):

They ripple and spiral, often in long, sinuous curves, with smooth elegance. It reminds me a great deal of images of space and sine waves and the like. This establishes a definite feel to these different characters and their magic. And the thing is, that's not something that had to be done—the colors are good at emphasizing who's who. But it was done, and it adds a whole other dimension to the story. Whenever you're in a deity's domain, you know whose it is no matter the color.

Regarding that shape language, I wanted to make another note, too—Vash is sometimes described as chaotic and doing what he likes, which is interesting to me, because smooth, elegant curves and the color blue aren't generally associated with chaos. So while Vash might behave like that on the surface, I'm guessing he's got a lot more going on underneath; he's probably much more intentional in his actions than you'd think at a glance, and he is certainly quite caring with his city. The other thing is that this suits Kendal perfectly. He's a paragon character; he is kind, virtuous, and self-sacrificing, and often we see him aiming to calm others and keep them safe. Blue is such a good color for him. There is… probably more to this, but I'm not deep enough in yet to say.

And here's the thing: I'm only scratching the surface. There is so much more here I'm not covering (color palettes! outfits! character design! environment! the deities! so much more!) and a lot more I can't cover, because I don't have the experience; this is me as a hobbyist artist who happened to take a couple design classes because I wanted to. The art style to this comic is so clever and creative and beautiful, though, I just had to go off about it. <3

...brownie points for getting all the way down here? Have a cookie.

[fookinhellcurlyyy]

LARRY RESOURCES: A beginner's guide [NEW]

REPOST WITH UPDATED LINKS

Important Note: There’s a lot of debunked information that might not have reached other Larries yet (for example, the “rejected on Christmas return call” twitcam situation). Always double-check what you share on social media and try to add context whenever possible to avoid confusing baby Larries.

Most importantly, remember: H, L, their families, their friends, and all of us fans—including your fellow Larrie friends/moots—are real people. This is real life. TPWK. 💙

Updated as of 2/23/25

────x────

I. BEGINNER RESEARCH

For easy digestion, I’ve included direct links and added credits wherever possible. There are other important discussions about the topics included here, but I only selected some 'quick read' ones where you can have the whole overview without scrolling through tons of posts. Other advanced deep dive resources will be added to the next section.

1. ANNUAL TIMELINES

Source: Cosmic Leeds Format: Video Links: 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 Note: Road to Larrying starter pack. Great summary of the years’ highlights, but there are TONS of highly significant details (that were either not discussed or adds more contexts) that weren’t included, obviously for the sake of making a compact and coherent timeline. Source: BostonKatie617 (X/Twitter) Format: Excel Link: Larry’s Great Big Doc of Everything Note: Highlight - Collection of day-to-day evidence from 2022 to 2024 (as of writing) + promos from FITF and HH, etc. Source: tobethemselves Format: Tumblr posts Tag Link: Larry Timelines Note: Larry monthly locator (summary) Extra Source: Unknown (I’ll try to find the original source on Tumblr - I only got to save this link) Format: Excel Link: Solo OT4 Shows Note: Shows HL’s tour schedules and how they wrap around each other (newsflash, they fly together and support each other’s tours)

──

2. IMPORTANT LARRY PLACES AND DATES

Leeds Masterpost by alarrytale | Link 𓏔 Important Festival in Larry history.

Manchester Masterpost by bulletprooflarry | Link 𓏔 “All Along”. Ed Sheeran in Manchester. 𓏔 Supporting info - such as the timeline of Ed’s shows in Manchester that aligned with the timeline of creation of All Along - is on Cosmic Leeds’ video. 

Dallas Masterpost by ohthefond | Link | Extra 𓏔Kidd Kraddick interview. “Genuinely, seriously” ‘denial’. Glassy-eyed, wrecked H.

Australia & NZ Masterpost | Link 𓏔 Larry honeymoon extravaganza. 𓏔 LOTS of iconic interviews and Larry on tour moments came from here (including Wellington).

France / Valentines Day 2012 Masterposts | mybodyfails | thisismyoneluckyprize 𓏔Famous one and only Larry interview. Mario Kart interview analysis. 

Jamaica Masterpost by me | Pt 1 | Pt 2 𓏔 One of HL's fave places. They've been there multiple times. 𓏔 Masterposts include 2014, 2016, and 2017 trips timeline + analysis.

Belfast / October 20, 2015 Masterpost by bulletprooflarry | Link | Extra | Extra 𓏔 Belfast is the only 1D Concert that was ever cancelled. The fans were inside the venue and the opening act had already taken the stage before someone went up to announce that the concert was cancelled. The reason given was Liam apparently had diarrhea. Meanwhile, another media outlet was to take an interview with Niall and heard that he was the one who was supposedly sick. Believed to be related to BBG. 

──

3. TATTOOS

All about HL’s tattoos.

Tattoos Timeline by bulletprooflarry | Link

Tattoos Timeline by BPL repost by hoovesandfloorpaws | Link

Tattoos Timeline by Cosmic Leeds | Link 

Gay Sailor (Nautical) Tattoo Discussion on Reddit | Link

twopoppies Papillon tag | Link

──

4. 7 (x4) AND 28 REFERENCES

Significance of 28 / 7 (x4) to HL’s life. Harry instigated the 9/28 thing which led larries to dig more into the significance of the number.  

“28” X/Twitter Thread by teaandfrozenpea | Link

“7” Masterpost by so-idialed-9 | Link

──

5. LARRY’S HOUSES

They live together.

Houses Timeline by bulletprooflarry | Link

Cosmic Leeds’ Houses Summary | Link

My General Houses Tags | #houses

──

6. CONCEPT OF HOME

���Home’ as a recurring theme in Larry’s work. 

Home Timeline | Link

Still The One Timeline | Link

──

7. RBB/SBB AND THE BIG GAY WAR

Cosmic Leeds’ RBB/SBB Summary | Link

RBB/SBB for Dummies by louisandthealien | Link

Mr R.B. Bear & Co Financial Estimate | Link | Link 𓏔 Debunking the claim that it was ‘the sound guy’ who was behind the bears.

Fan RBB and Harry in 2022 | Link

──

8. MUSIC/LYRIC ANALYSIS, PARALLELS, AND OTHER DISCUSSIONS

Lyric analyses and parallels, mainly. Other music promotion-related discussions may be checked through other blogs’ tags (i.e. Gina - twopoppies, Daisy - daisiesonafield, etc - added in the ‘Advanced Research’ section)

Larrylyrics Tumblr Archive | Link

Bluewinnerangel Tumblr Archive | Link

Ella (ialwaysknewyouwerepunk) Tumblr Archive | Link

Gina/Daisy/Allie’s Tumblr Archive | Link

Cosmic Leeds’ Lyric Analysis Summary Video | Link

EXTRA: As for lyric changes, they could sometimes be subjective. Sometimes, what you read also translates to what registers in your brain, but if you hadn’t seen the text prior, your ears might hear a different thing. For me personally, the clearest lyric changes I love are as follows:

Lou’s “I LOVE HIM, I HATE IT” for Back To You 𓏔 Compiled Summary, Context, + Timeline | Link

Harry’s Juice Lyric Change 𓏔 SXM “Louis ONTO my drawers” (with BBC) Analysis | Link 𓏔 BBC “Lou baby I’m a whole damn meal” Live Lounge by tonix3 | Link

──

9. OTHER CODING / SIGNALING

Only adding some of the notable ones. It’s a big separate topic.

The Queer Code: Secret Languages of LGBTQ+ Art | Link 𓏔 Non-Larry related but a good video about queer coding

Harry and the Blue Bandana 𓏔 Summary by genuinelybelieve-blog | Link 𓏔 Timeline by bulletprooflarry | Link

Harry and Louis’ Blue | Link

Louis and Queercoding by No Stunts Magazine | Link

The Bears, Queer Culture, Coding, and Camp!Louis vs LT™ 𓏔 Part 1 by dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram 𓏔 Part 2 by hoovesandfloorpaws

Coded Clothing Tag by Gina | coding | blue and green

Signaling Tag by Gina | Link

──

10. RECEIPTS

Collection of receipts/’proofs’ from HL, their families and friends, fans, and non-fans. Always take them with a huge grain of salt. 

Daisy (daisiesonafield) Tumblr Archive | Mobile | Desktop

Gina (twopoppies) Tumblr Archive | Mobile | Desktop

Larryreceiptsproof Tumblr Archive | Link

──

11. BABYGATE 

Big docs about BBG. Read with caution and respect. It’s a very sensitive topic, but most larries approach/touch this topic without propagating hate or disrespect towards F (he is just a kid), but more about understanding the concept of babygate in Hollywood in general, how fake pregnancies and babies exist in the entertainment industry, and how the management+media can easily manipulate the narrative of an artist’s image.

Complete BBG Timeline PDF (95 pages) 𓏔 Ideal starting point. Concise and coherent. 

BBG Masterposts by tellmethisisnotlove (approx 100+pages) | Tumblr backup 𓏔 Great supporting document to the one above.

BBG Slideshow (107 slides)  𓏔 Photo references and comparisons of the Clark’s and Tomlinson’s. 𓏔 It’s a good addition in my opinion since most comments we see is how F is a carbon copy of L, and having the photo references could help you form your own opinion about it.

Babygate Analysis/Conclusions: A Non-Larry Perspective 𓏔 Important read. Non-biased opinion from a non-larry perspective.  𓏔 Has BBG tags of popular Tumblr blogs at the bottom.

The Big Kiwi Talk 𓏔 Mainly about H’s Kiwi. Highlighting this: H did the famous ‘Kiwi x3’ during HSLOT’s encore in July 14, 2018. July 14 is the anniversary of the beginning of BBG. 

BBG Quick Summary and Masterpost 𓏔 Quick-look reference. Some links might be dead.

Note that all of these are backed up with documentation and real pieces of information released during the height of BBG (pre and post-birth of F) - whether as a form of an article, a tweet, pap pics, etc. In the end, it’s all up to the reader how you’d analyze and take them all in.

──

12. OTHER TAGS TO CHECK

Check out the tags in the blogs cited under the Advanced Research section. There are too many to put here and/or hard to summarize, so it’s better to do deeper dives using the tags.

Beards and Stunts

Louis’ Sexuality

Harry’s Sexuality

Denials

Debunked 

Closeting and PR 

AND SO MUCH MORE. Take it easy - one topic at a time, as it could easily get overwhelming. This rabbit hole just gets deeper as you go, and don’t forget that we’ve condensed 15 years worth of stories.

Other additional information and important discussions will be actively added in Part 2.

Guide by @fookinhellcurlyy (original account) | Will update and create another part as needed.

OTHER PARTS IN THE COMMENT BOX.

[aviiarie]

THE FLAME HASHIRA'S TSUGUKO — platonic kyojuro rengoku & reader !

synopsis. what is the flame hashira like with a tsuguko? warnings. spoilers for mugen train arc. kny-typical warnings (violence, death, etc.) brief mentions of food and eating. notes. STRICTLY PLATONIC. demon slayer!reader. reader uses flame breathing. gn!reader. they/them used. fluff. 1.3k words. second in my tsuguko series! if you enjoyed, do let me know who you want to see in the next one ^^

muichiro ver.

if there is one hashira that is most sought out as a mentor, it is kyojuro rengoku.

to young demon slayers, he is the best candidate. he's warm and welcoming to the new recruits, he's much more approachable than other hashira, he doesn't look he would beat them to a pulp in the name of 'training'. whenever there is a new batch of slayers freshly accepted into the demon slayer corps, there is a wave of requests to become his tsuguko.

however, kyojuro has never actually looked at his pile of applications. they lie untouched in a small stack, gathering dust in a corner of his estate. the system of sending in an application in the hopes of achieving a mentor had never made sense to him; surely the only way a worthy tsuguko is chosen would be by dazzling him with their skills?

that's how mitsuri became his student, and that's exactly how he ended up with [name]!

they were practicing alone in one of the training rooms when he happened to walk by, on his way to a hashira meeting. kyojuro stopped in his tracks, drawn to the bright lights and warmth that only flame-breathing created.

he glanced into the room, and was immediately captivated by their skill. it wasn't perfect, by any means—at a hashira standard, it was downright sloppy—but there was a certain passion in their eyes that caught his attention. they were pouring every ounce of effort in their body into flame-breathing, with an energy that only a truly determined fighter held.

they had strong potential, he could tell from just a few seconds of watching them. if that wasn't a worthy candidate for tsuguko then he doesn't know what was.

“impressive!”

“huh?! who said that?”

when they accept, his training begins the very next morning. he wakes them up at dawn, looking far too refreshed for how early it was, and puts them through a series of drills to test their strength and speed. this is followed by some light sparring, before he encourages them to show him what they know about flame-breathing.

between exercises, there are a few values he instills in his student.

the first is the one he thinks every demon slayer should believe: the duty of the strong is to protect the weak. he will train them for as long as it takes for them to gain strength, so that one day they will be able to protect people as he does. anger and a desire for vengeance would only push them so far; they needed to know what they were fighting for, who they were protecting.

the second is less selfless, but no less noble in his eyes: to take care of others, you must take care of yourself first. he knows firsthand that neglecting the health of one's own body in favour of duty will only make him less capable of carrying out said duty, so he makes sure to drill the words in their head. proper rest, hydration, and sustenance are essentials for keeping oneself in top condition, and ready for battle.

the final is the most difficult to learn: loss is heartbreaking, but inevitable. kyojuro has been a part of the demon slayer corps for a long time, and before he was a hashira, he was a beginner demon slayer. he has experiences missions that have failed, he has witnessed casualties—both civilian, and his fellow slayers. while protecting innocents is a hashira's top priority, he needs his tsuguko to know that death is unavoidable in some situations, no matter how skilled they are. that doesn't mean that it is their fault, when tragedy strikes.

training is rigorous, but kyojuro is an excellent teacher. he is patient when they're struggling, eager to praise their improvements, no matter how small.

he builds a rapport with them fast. months of training go by, and their progress is simply incredible! he couldn't be more proud!

by then, he honestly treats his tsuguko like a second sibling. like, of course they are invited to family dinner with senjuro, was that ever a question? senjuro himself was slightly wary about them at first, but it didn't take long for him to warm up to them too.

family dinner is nonnegotiable, by the way. it only happens about once a month when kyojuro isn't on a mission and senjuro has the time to cook a meal for them, so it's treated very seriously. they will show up and they will enjoy it, or they will have to deal with senjuro's quiet sullenness and kyojuro's passive-aggressive sighs of disappointment.

(kyojuro used to invite his father to these dinners, but he was always met with a blunt dismissal whenever he tried to ask. senjuro told him to just let it go, so he quietly gave up on attempting to include him. family was much more peaceful when it was just the three of them, anyway.)

during the colder months, he has a habit of throwing his haori over his tsuguko’s shoulders after their lessons to keep them warm on their way back to their room. if they try to protest it, he just waves them off with a laugh.

“do not worry, young [name]! i can assure you that i have no problem with keeping warm myself! but i can't have you freezing before our next training session, can i?”

he is a kind mentor. brave, encouraging. he never looks down on his tsuguko, even when the gap between their skills makes it clear he is—and likely always will be—a step above them. to them, he is unshakeable, untouchable.

well. until the mugen train mission, that is.

they were in the middle of resting from a mission, when kyojuro's crow landed on their windowsill and delivered the news: in the battle against upper moon three, kyojuro was fatally wounded.

for a second, they couldn't quite believe it. it was only a few weeks prior that they had seen him, grinning and pushing a bento box into their hands, promising he would be back to train with them soon enough.

the grief hits them hard. they can't fathom the idea of never hearing his bright and cheerful voice wake them at the crack of dawn, never feeling his warm hand clap against their shoulder to give an encouraging squeeze. tears spill over, their breath chokes in their throat.

he is gone. there won't be another family dinner, or spontaneous training session, or trips into town to watch sumo wrestling. they were alone; a tsuguko without a mentor, a fire without any kindling.

it's then that their mentor's voice rings in their head, reminding them of the three lessons he taught the.

the duty of the strong is to protect the weak. kyojuro died protecting his fellow slayers. it was an honourable death, and one that he would be satisfied with.

to take care of others, you must take care of yourself first. with shaky hands, they pour themself a cup of soothing tea. kyojuro would urge them to focus on keeping themself healthy during such a grief-filled time.

loss is heartbreaking, but inevitable. kyojuro was dangerously aware of his own mortality, and never shied away from the idea that he might die any day. he would enthusiastically talk about how when he is gone, they will be the next flame hashira.

kyojuro wouldn't want them to fall apart without him. he would want them to keep burning like a inferno, channeling their emotions into their breathing until it was as sharp as their blade. the last thing he would want is to let his death destroy the fire in their heart.

so they stop. they breathe. they mourn. then, they hold their head up high, and steady their blade at their side.

© aviiarie 2024. do not copy, repost, translate or use my work to train ai.

[sturionic]

Your post "Activism is Not Cold-Calling" came across my dash. The point about building community to persuade makes a lot of sense to me.

You mentioned several trainings you've taken and taught as a volunteer labor organizer that discusses the specific nuts and bolts of it. I am wondering if there are resources you'd recommend for someone wanting to add tools to the toolbox. I'm not organizing labor; I'm a parent interested in improving equity in the local schools. But I think at least some of the strategies should transfer well, and I'd like to learn more.

Thanks.

Hi there! Your instinct is very, very correct: a lot of the organizing principles used in union drives transfer well to different forms of organizing. Things like structured organizing conversations and workplace mapping are incredibly useful skills.

Personally, I think the best comprehensive top-down view of effective organizing for a beginner is Jane McAlevey's works. Jane passed away this past summer. We really lost a true titan, an absolute force of nature; but she's left behind a wealth of invaluable materials - books, articles & other writings, interviews, speeches. The first few pages of No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age rewired my brain and made me think about organizing in a whole new way, and I've read that book practically to death, it's barely hanging on lol. You can find McAlevey's works here: https://janemcalevey.com/

Of course, McAlevey's oeuvre is very union-focused and goes deep. If you're just looking for some quicker concepts, Labor Notes has tons of study guides, handouts, and other bite-sized materials that explain organizing concepts. You can buy them on the site (support them if you can!), but they're mostly also pretty easy to find online, or modified versions other people have made. Labor Notes also runs regular online trainings which are excellent.

Lastly, I know you said you're not specifically doing union stuff, but on the off chance anyone reading this is interested in unionizing their workplace: check out Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee. You can contact EWOC directly and they will help you organize your workplace, and they also have their own excellent resources and run regular trainings. You can also get involved by becoming a trained organizer (like me!) and volunteering for them. (EWOC is, of course, American; if any other Canadians are reading this and interested in organizing, feel free to DM me and I can put you in touch with people.) EDIT: I'm seeing people in the notes of my post recommending IWW's materials, and they are so right! Look up "IWW Organizing Manual" and "IWW Organizing Basics." They are great & digestible reads, and IWW has many more resources on their site and archives. (If anyone else has resources to recommend, have at 'er!)

[muffinrecord]

Magia Exedra: Links Masterpost

Here is a Masterpost of links that can help players with Magia Exedra!

Magia Record Links Masterpost

Last Updated: June 22, 2025

Official Links

Official Magia Exedra Website (English)

Official Magia Exedra Youtube Channel (English)

Official Magia Exedra Youtube Channel (Japanese)

General Links

Magia Exedra Info Excel Spreadsheet: Best source for character information, tier lists, what the portraits do and where to get them, and what to equip regarding portraits and supports.

Magia Exedra Wiki: Wiki that lists characters and what they do in an easy to read format.

Character Base Stats at Max Level and Magic: Exactly what it says in the title.

Kamihama Clock Tower: Website with event timers.

Story Content

Magia Exedra Google Drive: google drive hosted by myself and @abarero that archives story content. Other folks are helping by recording and sending in videos as well.

MuffinExedra: youtube channel run by @abarero that is posting story content from the game. Note that these versions are filmed in Streamer Mode and therefor missing some music to avoid copyright claims. If you want to see the videos with full audio, check out the google drive.

Mochi's Magia Report: Tumblr blog dedicated to comics for "Ready Set Exedra" / "Magia ect.", translated by Mochi

Raz Anime's Scene 0 Playlist: A youtube playlist of Scene 0. Since youtube does not allow for copyright music, Raz Anime replaced the muted songs with other non-copyright music, making it a better youtube viewing experience. Check out the google drive if you want the versions with its original soundtrack.

Specific Guides

Raz Anime's Grand Complete Magia Exedra Beginner's Guide

Raz Anime's Video on Damage Formulas for Magia Exedra

Competitive PVP Guide

Other

Totentanz: This is a project that allows you to play Magia Record!

Gacha Animations: Image that shows different animations and what they mean when rolling the gacha.

[idontmindifuforgetme]

How's piano going?

It’s going well! I’m going to be honest ahaha, my toxic trait is that I don’t know how to just enjoy being a beginner. As a beginner I’m not going to be playing pieces right away — so much of it right now is learning music theory / taking notes (such is my entire life lol), as well as practicing hand formation. I kind of dropped lessons for April bc I was hunting for a piano at the time (and the executive dysfunction got so real), and now I’m having to start from scratch to better retain all the material

But we’re back on the wagon!! The piano’s all set up in my room (yay for waking up and it being the first thing I see in the morning lol) & I’m going back to class this Thursday :-) my piano teacher knows I have full intent to like hone this skill and try my best to play gigs one day, and tbh it’s rly refreshing that she’s encouraging me and wants me to excel. Ik some people just pursue these hobbies for fun (valid) but I like challenging myself so it’s nice that she’s encouraging that too

It bummed me out when my friends & family didn’t seem all toooooo excited that I’m finally pursuing this … but I’m doing this for me so who cares <3! Peace and love

[sonicenvy]

[Megapost] Online Resources For Fiber Arts

Hi y'all! Local crazy lady librarian n' crafter here! I am one of those people who loves collecting resources and to that end I created my Weird Wonderful Web spreadsheet many moons back (which is an ever updating project btw) which is a spreadsheet of useful, interesting, wacky, old school, unique, or just plain delightful gems on the internet. For the purposes of this post I decided to pull out all of the fiber arts related resources (+ I added some new stuff just for this post that will make it on the sheet eventually)

Today, I am here to share with you collection of useful resources online for embroidery, cross stitch, sewing, knitting, and crochet. If you have any useful sites that you know of that I didn't share here I'd love to know! Reblog or comment and share!

Without further ado:

Sewing

@fatmasc’s google drive of sewing resources –– lots of sewing resources in one gDrive folder

Dagraeve’s Jedi Robe Pattern –– sew a simple jedi robe for a costume!

Vincent Briggs’ tutorials on making fabric covered buttons (18th century style!) –– what it says on the tin. These are very thorough video tutorials on this topic from a dude is extremely knowledgeable about sewing 18th century men’s clothing. Check out his whole YT channel for more 18th sewing content and his blog @ vincentbriggs.tumblr.com for more excellent content!

@wastelesscrafts basic circle skirt tutorial –– learn how to design and sew a basic circle skirt

Google WeWearCulture Project –– browse a huge collection of images and information about fashion around the world and throughout history.

Embroidery/Needlepoint/Cross Stitch

Sarah’s Hand Embroidery Tutorials –– a complete visual dictionary of embroidery stitches with tutorial videos for each stitch. Super thorough and informative!

Lord Libidian’s Cross Stitch Blog –– lots and lots of useful resources for cross stitch and embroidery, including the extremely handy downloadable DMC thread color chart spreadsheet for helping you organize your thread hoard. Lots of reviews of products and free patterns as well.

ThreadColors –– DMC thread colors to html hex codes. Excellent resource for selecting matching colors from your reference image to color block your next project. Note that some of the color names on this site are older names that DMC no longer uses, but the number codes and the colors themselves remain unchanged.

Faimyxstitch’s embroidery blog posts –– embroiderer Kseniia Guseva, who is well known for her stunning embroideries of scenes of various cities around the world has a variety of freely available posts with information about getting started with embroidery, including a very thorough post on the supplies you might need. She also sells patterns on her etsy and teaches a class (paid).

Free Patterns on the Official DMC site –– DMC has a lot of free to download patterns for cross stitch and embroidery.

DMC thread conversion charts –– convert DMC colors to other brands and vice versa using these handy charts.

reddit’s embroidery community r/embroidery –– lots of great, talented people, many of whom very kindly offer tips when asked!

Needle n’ Thread embroidery tutorials –– lots of posts and videos for beginners!

Knitting/Crochet

Ravelry –– if you’re not new to crochet or knitting you probably have already heard of Ravelry, but I figured I’d stick it here because if you’re brand spanking new you might not have heard of it. You need to create an account but you can download free patterns or purchase patterns on Ravelry. The other main thing you can do with your Ravelry account is to use it to keep track of your projects in your “journal” where you can put notes, a list of the yarns used, the hooks/needles you used, etc. and continue to update the project as you go along. Because I am a person who starts a project and completely forgets about it for like 2 months, I love my Ravelry journal because I put down the yarn I used, the hook I used and the stitch counts for the last row that I crocheted. Nifty!

Left handed Knitting from LeftyKnits –– short, sweet videos on knitting for lefties posted 16 years ago. All are less than 2 minutes long and cover a single micro topic!

Rowbot’s Knitting Videos –– similarly old knitting videos that are short, sweet and to the point from 10+ years ago.

thecrochetside crocheting videos –– short, sweet and to the point crochet videos from 15+ years ago. Right handed mostly.

Internet Archive’s Collection of Knitting Magazines –– collection of knitting magazines that can be viewed online via IA from a variety of time periods. Some magazines also contain crochet and a few crochet magazines are buried in the mix. Magazines contain patterns and project ideas.

Bella Dia’s “vintage” style vertical stripe crochet blanket pattern –– photo tutorial for crocheting a vertical striped multi-color blanket.

General:

findoldvideo.com –– for those who weren’t on YouTube 12+ years ago, you might not know this but there were a TON of super useful fiber arts tutorial videos that were short, sweet and to the point that were all over YouTube, but since the YT search algorithm heavily weights new content you’d never be able to find them now …. unless you use this site! findoldvideo allows you to search YouTube videos from a particular year and sort your results chronologically. A good example search would be “crochet” year: 2008 Boom! Now you have tutorial videos that are less than 2 minutes long and have no promos, random extra talking, title cards, or other fancy shit because they were posted 17 years ago before YouTube was awash in “content”. You’re welcome.

Degraeve Color Palette Generator –– generate a color palette from any image on the web and get hex codes. Good for graphic design, but could also be useful for coming up with “inspired by” color palettes for your projects.

Kleki –– digital painting in your browser for free. Includes a wide range of brushes and the ability to use layers. If you need to do some drawings for your project, Kleki is a good free alternative if you don’t have paid software on your computer or tablet.

Library of Congress Digital Collections –– Free to use reference images of a wide range of items, including images of historical fashions!

ManualsLib –– did you just buy a second hand sewing machine, digital embroidery machine, or knitting machine that doesn’t have a manual? You might be able to download a free copy here on the internet’s most comprehensive catalog of product manuals.

Stitch Fiddle –– A site/tool for designing patterns for knitting, crochet, cross stitch, needle punch and more.

The Smithsonian Image Archive –– Free to use images of a massive amount of things! If you like designing embroidery or cross stitch images of botanicals, insects, animals, etc. you can find high quality images of these here and download them for free and use them for anything.

Encyclopedia of Needlework by Thérèse de Dillmont (1890) –– Dillmont’s Encyclopedia of Needlework contains tutorials for sewing, embroidery, cross stitch, lace making, knitting, macrame and more. Originally published in 1890, it was an extremely popular work on the topic and is still being reprinted today. The link takes you to a free online copy on  Project Gutenberg. It unfortunately doesn’t seem to have included the Table of Contents so you’ll need to pop a ctrl + f (cmd + if you’re on mac) and search your desired terminology. If you get it in print it is HUGE!

The Dictionary of Needlework­ by Sophia Frances Ann Caulfeild (1885) –– Read another popular book stitching, with the delightful subtitle: “an encyclopaedia of artistic, plain, and fancy needlework. Dealing fully with the details of all the stitches employed, the method of working, the materials used, the meaning of technical terms, and, where necessary, tracing the origin and history of the various works described. Illustrated with upwards of 800 wood engravings, and coloured plates. Plain sewing, textiles, dressmaking, appliances, and terms”

Volunteering Opportunities:

Project Linus ––  Project Linus seeks to “Provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer blanketeers.” Knit, crochet, or quilt blankets that will be donated to NICU babies, Peds Oncology kids, and more. My grandma quilted for Linus for many years. I think that this post is a great encapsulation of the impact of Linus and similar orgs that donate blankets to kids in need.

Loose Ends Project –– “Loose Ends is an everyone-is-welcome movement that aims to ease grief, create community, and inspire generosity by matching volunteer handwork finishers with textile projects people have left undone due to death or disability.”

[ithilien-bjd]

Doll Photography Basics- An Illustrated Guide

Aka: How to Improve Your Doll Pictures in Three Easy Steps

Decided to put together a little basics overview of things that have helped me improve my doll photography, since I've seen this discussion come up a lot lately.

Note: any of these steps can intentionally be bent or broken for a great photo- a great doll picture doesn't have to do any of these things, but keeping these steps in mind will really help improve your photos, and make it easier for you to take pictures you're happy with in the long run.

Step one: Angle

Take photos of your doll from as low an angle as possible, their chest height or lower even. Put them up on a table or stool or something elevated if you have trouble physically getting low. Taking photos of them from a low angle will make the photos look more convincingly scaled and less "doll-like", as well as adding a more dynamic element. This one is easiest to bend or break, but make sure you're doing so intentionally. Be sure to experiment with different angles, even tilting your camera so your doll is at a diagonal in frame, for different vibes.

Bonus: incorporate foreground and background elements in your shot as well as midground (typically the doll). This will give your shot a lot more depth and help to ground it.

Step two: Posing

Arguably the most important step, nothing brings down an otherwise solid photo like a stiff and mannequin-like pose. First, take angle into account, pose your doll while checking the camera's view- most beginner doll photographers make the mistake of posing their doll leaning backwards and almost craning upwards, or even just perfectly straight, which ends up looking like theyre leaning back. Use those slouch joints if you have them, tilt their head down- further- further. Unless you have your doll looking at an airplane or something, you'll want them looking down at a lower angle, even if not looking at the camera. Just trust me on this one. Experiment and try for dynamic poses as well, humans don't often stand very square- twist the torso joint, put more weight on one of their legs than the other, angle their head slightly to the side, put one hand by their face and have the other relaxed at their side- think of how dynamic marble statues look, and the way the artists exaggerate weight distribution and asymmetry to do it. Try replicating that. Don't be disappointed if your doll can only balance standing square. Using a stand is hugely recommended when photographing dolls, you can edit it out later or just minimize it's appearance. A dynamic pose will draw more focus than the stand will. I've even used a tripod and some shoelace to make a very heavy doll strike some fantastic dynamic poses.

Bonus: think of asymmetry and dynamism when it comes to your dolls clothes too! Pay attention to the folds and flow of the fabric, little details make a lot of difference and can showcase the doll's character.

Step three: Lighting

My final suggestion is to play with lighting. Lighting can do an immense amount to impact the mood of a photo. Avoid harsh, direct light, like full sunlight, overhead lighting, and the like. Color can always be corrected in post processing- you don't necessarily have to avoid yellow lights, but having the right color off the bat will make things easier for later you. Aim for diffuse, soft lighting at first, like in a shady spot, on a cloudy day, or with a diffuser (a handkerchief or paper towel will do fine) on your light. Then start experimenting with different lighting types and colors- like rim light, or soft blue! You don't need professional equipment for this, most of my artificially lit photos are taken using a color changing fish tank light or a workshop ring light with some paper taped over it to diffuse it.

Bonus: MacGyver other things for your photos, not just lighting. Have a sheet of textured acetate? Make the doll look like a monet painting by shooting through it. Have a sheet? Excellent, you have a backdrop for portraits. An old mirror? Try making the doll kneel on it and interact with their reflection. I MacGyver almost every one of my doll photoshoots.

(All of these tips can be done with a cell phone, you definitely don't need a special camera. But, a camera can do a lot more things with depth of field and the like. If you do get a camera, I'd recommend a dslr with a decent auto focus, and a 30 or 50mm prime lens for it, with an f stop of 1.8 or so- it'll allow you to get really nice foreground and background blur in your photos.)

Hope this helps!!

[breelandwalker]

Hi hi, beginner witch in practice here, but I've had interest for ages. I've read multiple books on the history of witchcraft, and I've been doing a lot of research, but I'm a bit (very) overwhelmed on where to start. I know protection magic/spells are where I should start, but I don't know how? Do I find someone else's spell? Craft my own? Make a sigil??

And then what's the next step after protection? (I'm drawn to chaos/eclectic magic - it calls to me and my adhd)

Hello and welcome, witchling! Glad to hear you're doing the homework. I know it's a lot, but it's a very good place to start. Let me see if I can provide a little direction.

Protection magic is often recommended as a good place to start, and it's an opinion that I happen to agree with. For one thing, it's a nice low-stakes type of magic that involves a lot of concepts and visualizations that you'll be able to apply to other types of magic later on. And for another, as with any new hobby or craft, it's usually a good idea to learn the safety guidelines first.

That being said, that still leaves you with a lot of options for your entry into spellcasting. And the answer is kind of Yes To All, in this case. It might be easiest to pick a simple protection spell that someone else has written and give that a try, just to have a premade example to work from. Take note of what does and doesn't work for you with regard to materials, methodology, and the casting process - these will help you hone your skills later.

Writing your own spells and creating sigils are EXCELLENT creative exercises at any experience level. You don't even necessarily have to do anything with them right away, you can just make them as a way of figuring out how things fit together and what works best for you.

As for where to go next, there's really no One Correct Answer. What I recommend is to choose something that interests you, research it, then maybe give it a try if it seems doable. (And yes, that means I encourage dabbling.) There's no need to choose a particular path or archetype right away (or ever). Nothing wrong with a bit of freeform exploration, especially if you, like me, are in Club ADHD and thrive off that New Discoveries dopamine hit.

If you'd like some ideas, I have a post of Witchcraft Exercises that might get your mind moving in new directions, help you parse what you've learned, and maybe give you a few activities to try.

Best of luck to you and keep asking questions!!!

[irelandseyeonmythology]

Hey! I was wondering, do you speak any old Irish, and if so, how did you learn it? Im interested in learning!!

I can read and, to a certain extent, write in Old Irish. (Most people don't speak it, but we are taught how to pronounce it...which was actually an impediment to me learning Modern Irish, because I'd had the older stuff first.)

There are a couple of options! The easiest, if you have the time + money, is always to take courses, which is how I did it. As part of my MA, I was required to take classes in both Old Irish and Welsh, and I've continued taking courses in my PhD. Now, if, for some reason, you don't have the ability to casually drop a few thousand Euros on a MA degree, there are a couple of sources I can point you to. If you do this, I can also try to walk you through it to the best of my ability, and I can assign you homework.

First off: Quin's Old Irish Workbook and Strachan's Paradigms. With most copies of Strachan's paradigms, like the one you see on Archive.org, it's kind of neat because people add notes to it over time, so it's also deeply personalized to the Celticist, like a family bible.

I'll tell you immediately: the current editions of both of these are quite frail. They fall apart quite easily, since they're softcover. (I eventually had mine custom-bound together.)

Stifter - Sengoidelic: Old Irish For Beginners. It's VERY in-depth, slightly intimidating, but there are lovely cartoons of sheep to make it slightly less scary.

Ranke de Vries - A Student's Companion to Old Irish Grammar

Antony Green - Old Irish verbs and vocabulary

Rudolf Thurneysen (trans. D.A. Binchy): A Grammar of Old Irish. I'm going to tell you now: This book is DENSE. It is technical. It is OLD. It is EXPENSIVE (especially if you want a good copy, since the one I got was so thick that it was actively falling out of its hardcover binding; I ended up buying an older copy.) BUT...it will help your Old Irish. It's still considered to be the definitive book on Old Irish, even though it's eighty years old at this point. So: I recommend it, but I'd recommend it after some of the others. De Vries is probably the most beginner friendly.

Now, after all that, you will need places to practice your Old Irish.

I highly recommend anything from DIAS' Medieval and Modern Irish series -- they tend to have very good dictionaries, so it isn't like you're being tossed into the deep end. Most of these are technically later than the Old Irish period, but they ought to give you a taste for the basics. (The problem with Old Irish is that Middle Irish was basically creeping in even from the time of some of our earliest texts.) One of these, which you can get online, is Compert Con Culainn and Other Stories, ed. Van Hamel.

Also: Thurneysen's Scéla Mucce Meic Dathó.

Ernst Windisch: Irische Texte mit Wörterbuch

If you can get ahold of it, Vernam Hull's edition of Longes mac nUislenn is also excellent.

When you're reading these texts, I recommend you to make a note of the case, number, and gender (nouns) or the classification, tense, number, whether it's adjunct or conjunct, and whether it's deuterotonic or prototonic, etc. (verbs). Mutations, including invisible mutations (nouns and prepositions). Every bit of information you can parse out, so you can instantly recognize words as you come across them and what they are doing in a sentence.

Finally:

I'm sure you've heard this before, but Old Irish is notoriously difficult as a language. Having Modern Irish helps (particularly re: vocabulary, where you'll see a lot of familiar words), but the language has also radically changed. The verb in particular has totally changed the way that it's formed, going from a predominately synthetic language to a predominately analytical language (Munster Irish is closest to Old Irish in terms of verb formation, though each dialect preserves little bits of it.) Old Irish is significantly richer as far as vocabulary, and it had many more declensions (stems), each of which has its own way of doing things. You had more tenses. You had a neuter gender (though that was already going by the wayside). The definite article was totally dependent on the case, number, and gender of the noun (preserved these days in 'an' and 'na', but it used to be much more comprehensive). You had a full dative and accusative case (no ablative, thank God.) You had infixed particles, and those were divided into three classes depending on the classification of the verb. And adding to all that is that the language was already changing, so the Old Irish that you will be learning in the textbooks is not 100% what will be reflected in the editions. I've been doing this for six years and I still need to use a dictionary + paradigms. (Keeping in mind, though, that my Old Irish has also actively decayed in the States.)

The point isn't "don't do it" -- I'm not in the business of scaring people off. BUT I'm saying that it's okay if it takes a while, or if it seems overwhelming or even impossible. (It's also okay if it comes naturally; some people ARE naturally good at it.) The best piece of advice I have EVER gotten about Old Irish was what an older gentleman told me my first day of my MA program, which is: "Old Irish becomes a lot easier when you remember you'll be learning it your entire life." Take your time, enjoy it, let it sink in, play with it. Pursue the texts you want to read, read the texts you already enjoyed in English in Old Irish, even if it's a couple of lines at a time. ENJOY the process, and don't feel pressured to learn everything at once.

You have a lifetime to learn it.

[samwisethewitch]

Book Review: Freya: Meeting the Norse Goddess of Magic by Morgan Daimler

I just finished a reread of this book and realized I've never talked about it on this blog, even though it ties into a lot of my content.

I've talked about my relationship with Freyja here before. She is the deity I have worked with most consistently in my personal practice, and she's been a strong presence in my life since I was a child. Even before I was interested in witchcraft or paganism, I was drawn to stories and images of Freyja.

Unfortunately, quality books about Freyja are hard to find in English. A lot of the wonderful work being done by Scandinavian scholars and heathens is only available in their native languages. A lot of English-language resources are either very academic and prohibitively expensive, or they are books about goddess worship more generally that only mention Freyja on a few pages. Freyja, Lady, Vanadis: An Introduction to the Goddess by Patricia M. Lafayllve is a pretty good beginner's resource, but it's only available in paperback, which can be a barrier for some readers.

All of this is to say, I was very excited when Morgan Daimler put out this book. I've talked about how much I love Daimler's work before on this blog -- I think they do really great research AND do a really good job of making all that information accessible for a beginner. I have several of Daimler's books on Norse and Irish deities, and all of them are resources I reference often in my practice.

This book follows a similar formula to Daimler's other books on deities, like Odin or the Morrigan. Daimler presents Freyja's mythology, folklore, associations, and relationships. There is also an entire chapter dedicated to Freyja's connection to seiðr, which explains what seiðr is and why it is important in a very straightforward way. There is also an entire chapter dedicated to connecting with Freyja as a modern worshiper.

I like that Daimler includes a section at the end of each chapter about their own experiences with Freyja. I also like that they talk about the importance of actually experiencing the gods and trusting our experiences. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that anything that doesn't match up with primary sources is wrong, and I like that Daimler takes time to shoot down that idea.

I also really like that Daimler does not tell you how to interpret the lore. Daimler presents a story, explains the different ways it could be interpreted, and leaves readers to make their own conclusions. This is a style of teaching I try to use in my own work, and I love seeing it done well here.

If you know next to nothing about Freyja, I think this book is an excellent place to start. Everything you need to make that initial connection is here.

Even as someone who has worked with Freyja for years and done lots of my own research, I found a few things I didn't know here. This book also gave me a new perspective on certain aspects of Freyja's lore. This is why it's always great to compare notes with other people.

If you're interested in connecting with Freyja or just learning more about her, I highly, highly recommend this book!

[morrigans-crows]

February is a month of transition, deep magic, and powerful energy shifts. Whether you're embracing the fire of Imbolc, basking in the glow of the Full Snow Moon, or setting radical intentions under the Aquarius New Moon, there’s plenty of energy to work with. Here are the key witchy dates to note:

🔥 Imbolc – February 2 This sabbat marks the midpoint between winter and spring, a time to honor the returning light. Imbolc is deeply tied to the goddess Brigid, keeper of the hearth, creativity, and transformation. Many witches celebrate by lighting candles, performing purification rituals, or setting intentions for the months ahead. If you’ve been feeling stagnant, now is the perfect time to clear old energy and welcome fresh inspiration.

🌕 Full Snow Moon in Leo – February 12 The Snow Moon shines bright in fiery Leo, bringing a surge of confidence, passion, and creativity. This is a time to step into your power, embrace bold self-expression, and honor your heart’s desires. Fire magic, glamour spells, and rituals for self-love and courage are especially potent under this lunation.

⚖️ World Social Justice Day – February 20 Magic isn’t just personal—it’s collective. Many witches see activism as part of their practice, using their energy and craft to stand up for justice. Whether it’s lighting a candle for protection, speaking out against injustice, or supporting marginalized communities, this is a day to reflect on how you can weave magic and action together.

🌑 New Moon in Aquarius – February 27 Aquarius energy is rebellious, innovative, and forward-thinking, making this New Moon an excellent time for setting unconventional goals and embracing change. Work with this energy by manifesting new ideas, breaking free from outdated patterns, or calling in community connections. This is also a great time for divination, as Aquarius often brings flashes of insight and intuition.

How will you be working with these energies this month? Let’s talk about it in the comments! 🔮✨

Sign up for my newsletter at www.morriganscrows.com and get a 15% off coupon + a Free Beginner Witch’s Guide to Crystals (14-page e-booklet).

[space-blue]

Linocut process!!

Okay so I got some awed people in the notes of these recent linocuts, so here's why you can buy all the tools and do it all at home quite simply!

Step 1 - Hit local art shop for supplies

You can try a tiny lino board for 2£, a cheap carving set for beginners for 10 of 12. If you want to print, there are whole beginner kits. They're not very "good" but a very affordable way to see if you're into this or not and try a couple prints without much hassle.

Step 2 - Have a good sketch

Pro tip! Unless you use transfer paper/calque to copy and paste your art on the lino, the the final art will be the opposite direction, so be careful of symmetrical items like rings, moles, spots, etc.

Step 3 - Get carving!

Once you're happy with your sketch, in pencil or preferably in marker, start etching! Beware of your hand placements as you can slip and squid across the lino and hurt yourself.

Also, be mindful that you're carving out in negative space. What you cut will be white! Fine lines in small pieces are reallllllyyyy not advised for beginner projects.

The process is just tedious and needs a lot of attention. I'm etching way WAY too small considering my tools. My gauge broke midway too (so on 3rd day of use, yay) and you can see me struggle with it. I'll finish the tarot series but I really need to simplify my designs.

This is double speed and that card took me longer than both the Bellini and Tedesco, just due to all these damned stupid pentacles haha

Step 4 - Get printing!!

I have a piece of cardboard and scrap paper (because the inking will be messy). The ink is water solube (and kinda shite) and the roller is serviceable and cheap (but too small heh).

Spread that ink uniformaly on the roller, and make sure you're careful not to get too much ink on the white parts of the etched lino. In the Aldo one I've left "raised" parts in the white background to make sure I'd have artefacts, but with that printing process and paper I'm using, it's a bit much. You'll see.

Then here's the true homemade aspect. My fat ass is my own printing press.

Be sure to have a rigid cover book below, a sheet of scrap paper, THEN the lino, and the paper to print on top. Here it's shitty printer paper so it takes ages to dry and has bad quality spread as it doesn't absorb the ink but it's fine for trial prints! I rub a flat heavy object manually on top to be sure the paper is well pressed, and then, peel and reveal time!!

Fun, no?

And all at home! But the real kicker, once you're addicted, is to find a printing studio near you and go make friends with fellow print nerds! You get to use their gorgeous, uniform, most excellent presses, and better ink xD

[mosspodge]

HELLO @okartichoke I AM HERE WITH MOSSY'S GUIDE ON HOW TO START SEWING: A VERY MESSY TUTORIAL

I am extremely self taught, so this is gonna be a lot of links and infodumping!!!! Hopefully this helps a even just a little bit :>

SO! I honestly got into sewing through youtube during covid, largely bc i wanted silly fun clothes! There are a loooot I could recommend to you out there, but I personally find that the more chaotic and learn-as-they-go people help me the best! Rachel Maksy and The Stitchery are, to me, some of the best to learn from! Which is honestly pretty funny since they tend to just fully wing it most of the time lol. While i could recommend excellent sewists like the amazing Bernadette Banner (who is actually the first sewing channel I watched!), I find that the more loosey goosey the process, the more i can learn, if that makes sense? I find it helpful to watch people trial-and-error their way through projects and show where they succeeded and failed since I get a better grasp on their process that way.

The best way to start sewing, in my humble opinion, is to grab whatever sewing machine you can get your hands on and play around with it! Read the manual, find a tutorial video on how to thread the machine, grab some scrap fabric and play around! You don't really need any special needles or feet (the little thing that holds the fabric down), unless you wanna get started sewing denim or velvet or something Speaking of which, learn about fabrics!!!!! I learned mostly by going to joanns, touching the fabrics, and looking at the content labels. Everything has different uses, and while two things might both be cotton, one could be knit while the other jersey (tshirt fabric). I like this video for learning the basics! Tbh this one took me a while. Usually patterns have recommendations for what fabrics to use, so that's always a good place to start!

Patterns. Ah my arch nemesis. Unless you decide to start drafting your own patterns (or get a mannequin and learn how to drape fabric), you're probably gonna need to use one. There's two major things i recommend for this: 1) Make sure there's a video tutorial online before buying, and 2) start with something you might actually use/wear. Pattern instructions are notoriously vague, but thankfully many wonderful people make video tutorials for them! And while you might be tempted to grab one of those beginner friendly patterns, they can sometimes be. real ugly and not well fitting. Also boring! Finding something you like will hold your attention better and make you actually wanna finish it!

Ok SO. getting into more of the cosplay sewing stuff. First things first my knowledge here is a bit more limited, unfortunately. Fortunately there are many wonderful people out there with tutorials!! So if you wanna learn more definitely look there!!! General tip for cosplays + more complex sewing: MAKE MOCK UPS PLEASE IT SUCKS BUT IT HELPS SO MUCH. Go find the ugliest fabric in the sale bin and buy a few yards, then use it whenever you wanna test patterns. It might be tempting to immediately start cutting and sewing the finished garment, but the truth is that patterns rarely fit perfectly well (especially if they're fitted/tighter on your body). Make an ugly, barebones version first with your bad fabric, take notes, and then start making the finished piece. It'll save you money and sanity.

As for cosplay youtubers, I heartily recommend Sarah Spaceman, since not only do her videos show her process, she also does segments teaching you more about sewing!! She tends to tackle more complex projects, and watching her take those on has helped me a lot :} For cosplay patterns etsy usually has quite a few! I like Indigo Patterns (they have a good array of loz patterns I need to buy) as well as Alice in Cosplay Land. Please note that I haven't bought from either, but both their etsy shops have wonderful reviews and I plan to buy from them in the future!

not gonna lie I am getting very sleepy so I'm gonna cut it off there for now! Hopefully my rambling helped lol. Feel free to ask me any questions or for any clarification!

[cookiesuga55]

A Helping Hand (Seokjin)

Fat feeder Seokjin publishes a feedism cookbook.

They're all his own recipes. "Lovingly made and self-tested!" He pats his belly proudly. "Every recipe is delicious and specially designed to fatten." Seokjin beams. "Whether it's for you or a loved one, you'll swell with success!!"

Over the years of gaining himself and helping countless feedees, Jin has carefully crafted all of his recipes, modifying them specifically for gaining. He imparts his years of knowledge and experience for eager gainers, for singles and couples alike.

His feedees have always seen instant results, and now he wants to share his feeding methods. Jin has always been enamored with how each person gains fat differently, and he's become skilled through the years of altering his cooking depending on what type of chub his feedee (or himself) wants to encourage.

Jin's cook book is curated with the most successful recipes for different kinds of growth. He has the book broken up into recipes organized by what type of fat the reader wants to gain. Instead of "breakfast, mains, sides, desserts", his book is organized by the results the reader wants, with chapter headings like: "Soft Squish; Face and Double chin; Belly; Firm Fat; Love Handles; Arms and Chest; Bottom Heavy; Curves and Rolls; and 'Great for Beginners!'"

It's incredibly obvious how much his book is a labor of love, backed with impressive experience. Jin has tons of notes written in the pages explaining how each recipe settles into different types of fat depending on the ingredients, and lists of what to eat and when if someone wants a whole-body balanced gain rather than focusing on growing one area.

Jin writes in his book things like, "this dessert is great for a plump, jiggly lower belly." And on another "this burger will help thicken up anyone who is lusting after firm fat. Pairs excellent with fizzy beer. Great for gas!"

Aside from the indulgent recipes and nuggets of knowledge, the photos in the book are to die for. Jin spent months perfecting them so each page makes the reader's mouth water and motivates them to try cooking it themselves. Everything looks so decadent and delicious. Even Jin thinks that his book is irresistible.

The portions are strategically just the right size to leave a feedee comfortably full. Jin doesn't want them hurting. His recipes work because of how calorie-heavy they are. Everything is carefully sized to slowly grow a feedee's stomach and appetite. To make their belly push out warm and rich after their meal so they're satisfied and full of the most fattening cooking they've ever had, but not so heavy as to be in pain.

People can get results that they want by following different recipes. Creamy desserts for rich belly fat and curves. Hearty, greasy savory food for thick guts and fat hips. Pastries and pies for bottom heavy babies. Salty snacks for helping out a doubled chin. And whole feast to share on holidays when feedees get together.

Jin usually accompanies each recipe with instructions for after eating too. They never stop at "enjoy!" They are filled with tips and tricks that Jin has found most effective in his years of feeding.

"You'll want to lay down and nap after this one, so best to have it at night. Did you know that you get fatter if you fall asleep on a full tummy!"

"Eat this one slowly. It's tempting to chow down, but it's incredibly rich. This should be halved (and shared 😏)."

"These sugary pancakes are designed to stuff you with calories but then leave you hungry in just an hour. Pair with a hearty, greasy burger so your tummy doesn't get rumbly."

"Eat this one as quickly as possible so you can fit seconds in before it expands in your stomach. Have a friend on hand for belly rubs. You'll need it for this one."

Jin includes 'weekly meal plan' examples with specifically designed diets for small gainers, ones for big gainers, and one for the incredibly motivated piggies. He's perfected each one. Jin balances out the recipes so they don't feel ill, but steadily fill out and fatten up.

Jin doesn't just stop at print copies. He's launching the first ever cook book specifically designed to help people thicken up rather than lose weight, and he spares no expense. He wants his book to be encouraging and become a safe space for anyone trying to gain. He even designs a website linked in his cookbook where people can post their experience. He creates an online community where people can say which recipes they love and how effective they are. They update their progress and can even send in questions to Jin, who always replies with encouragement and teasing. He develops a whole collection of piglets who happily post when they're fattening up and how much they love Jin's cooking.

Every morning, Jin sits down with a cup of coffee and reads through the new posts on his website. He beams at how he's helping so many people get comfortable and fat. Jin comments on as many posts as he can, praising them and leaving tips for how to best plump up. There's so much demand for new recipes as Jin's piggies graze through his cook book and steadily fatten, that Jin starts a streamed cooking show where each month, one of his lucky fans is invited to join him.

Jin always introduces the guest feedee like they're his personal feedee. Beforehand he learns about them (they have to fill out a long quiz he made so he can get to know them, and they can all consent to the stream), and then he can host his cooking show like this excited little chubby is his own personal favorite pet that he gets to spoil and pamper for a whole evening.

He whips up a brand-new personalized recipe each month and explains how this meal will help the feedee get the results they're craving. His audience comes to the cooking show for the new recipes of course, but they stay the entire stream to watch the lucky feedee get stuffed with their own, specially-designed fattening meal by Jin.

After dessert, Jin always makes sure that his feedee is treated like royalty. He rubs their belly while they're full and sated on the couch, and tells the audience how many calories are in the feedee's belly right now. How many pounds they can expect to gain in the next few days. He does some math while patting their plump gut and making sure that his cooking is settling in comfortably.

Jin spoils his viewers so well. They keep coming back to the streams in hope that they'll be the lucky one randomly picked for the next month's cooking and stuffing episode. While the food is the main event, everyone drools as their favorite round feeder grows bigger with each season.

[silvermoon424]

so hey, question! i've been wanting to start learning how torrent(ing?) works so i can take screenshots and make gifs easier (i miss making precure gifs so bad), but i have genuinely no idea how any of that kinda stuff works. would you maybe have a guide or explanation thingy that i could check out? i think i maybe remember seeing you post one a while ago but i can not find it for the life of me. i'm planning on getting stuff from nyaa.si if that helps?

sorry if this is a weird question and dont feel obligated to answer if you don't wanna! <3

Hello @wazzuppy!

Here is my guide on piracy in general. It includes links on guides on how to torrent, VPNs to use, sites to use, etc, so I think you're set!

I will narrow things down and make it more specific for you though:

Here is the guide on torrenting (the act of torrenting itself is easy btw, literally all you have to do is click a button and it pretty much does the work itself lol. It's getting the right VPN, finding torrent sites, avoiding bad torrents [which won't be an problem on Nyaa or other legit sites] that's the issue)

For VPNs, if you plan on using a VPN exclusively for torrenting I recommend going with Mullvad. Mullvad is not going to let you stream from other countries on Netflix or whatever, and it's so strong that I can't even use Airdrop on my Mac when it's active. However, it's by far the most secure VPN for torrenting you can use. DO NOT use highly advertised VPNs like NordVPN; I used Nord and I got busted by my ISP multiple times even though I had it active. Stuff like NordVPN and SurfShark is fine for doing stuff like streaming Netflix, but for torrenting, you really need a VPN that's exclusively dedicated to protecting you from your ISP finding out what you're doing. Another VPN that is recommended is AirVPN, which still uses port-forwarding (I don't really know what that means but a lot of heavy-duty torrent users find it important).

For the torrent client itself, I recommend qBittorrent. It's an excellent torrent client, especially for beginners thanks to its user-friendly interface.

Also, just a note, Mullvad will be $5 a month (AirVPN has multiple price points depending on how long you want to sign up for) while everything else is free. But you definitely don't want to skimp on a VPN, trust me.

Let me know if you have any other questions! :)