#and is starting to learn the basics again and practicing more consistently

[fairyofshampgyu]

he’s literally so beautiful and handsome

[study-diaries]

How To Study For Longer Hours

These are some of my tips that I used for studying for longer hours during my junior and senior year in high school. I generally studied 4 heavy content subjects and 2 languages. And, yes, i did get good grades.

Studying is a task that requires you to be consistent and driven. That is why, I want to make one thing very clear. This is not a promotion of toxic studying when you feel too tired.

I will start with a simple process that i formed.

Work => Compensation => Repeat.

Quality Matters

By quality I mean. One hour spending time recalling facts and answering questions and filling gaps is better than 5 hours of reviewing notes. Just focus on improving your focus and methods. I call it the "FM Method"

You choose one specific method, and you consistently follow it for a specific period.

Longer Hours Should Not Exceed 5

If you have to study for long hours, don't let it exceed 5 hours. The reason is simple. It's useless, and your body will drain up and use all your energy. I used to study for 9 hours some days in my junior year. Now i study only for 3-4 hours every day. The results? Practically the same. My grades didn't drop but i feel more motivated to study and complete everything.

So, don't extend the hours you study. Make your focus and methods better.

20 Second Breaks

When you complete a topic, small or big. Just close your eyes for 20-30 seconds and lean back on your chair and calm your breathing. Process the information. Let everything sink in. Take out the tension. DO NOT TAKE YOUR PHONE. And then after those 20-30 seconds, just glance through the topic before moving to the next one. So, take 20 second breaks.

Active Studying > Passive Studying

This is the same thing i spoke before. Use active methods of studying. Active recall and filling gaps, visual representation, learning through stories and mnemonics.

Passive studying is when you learn through notes, repeating things over and over again, trying to memorize instead of learning and understanding the concepts.

One hour of active studying is better than 5 hours of passive studying.

Rewards

When you complete an hour or two, give yourself a small reward. But the reward should be as productive as your time spent. If you spent the last two hours studying and then you watch 3 hours of your favourite tv show then that is not a good reward.

A reward should actually compensate, you need you calm your brain, not indulge yourself in instant dopamine hits.

Actual Rest

A reward is different from rest.

Rest is essential for your body. Sleep is the body's soother. You used your brain for hours and if you don't let it rest than definitely it doesn't matter how well you're actually studying. You. Will. Feel. Tired.

Burnout Effect

In one way, burnout is good. Honestly, some people's highest point is 30 mins or an hour. They find burnout creeping in after some time had passed. And that is why, if you want to reach at least two hours of studying. You need to push that limit. Every single time. Try moving 30 mins every week. Your max limit is 1 hour. Then this week, study for 1 hr 30 mins. The next week, study for 2hrs. then 2hr 30 mins. Do it for a few weeks.

If you don't push yourself to the max limit. Then you'll never actually reach your goal.

Consistency

This is an indefinite rule. You want to improve your grades. Do it every day.

Your work ethic and your willingness to stick to habits will determine your success.

Make a "Your" Environment.

This is a very underrated thing; you must have a "you" environment. It doesn't matter what it is. Basically a "you" environment is whenever you're there, you're motivated to do work. It doesn't have to be a place really. Another example would be, whenever i'm on my phone, i'm likely to waste my time doing unnecessary things but whenever i'm on my laptop, i'm automatically in "work" mode. So, for you it might be your study desk or even school sometimes.

(I remember, during the last 2 months in senior year, i used to go to the very corner of my classroom, sit on the ground, face the wall, put my headphones on, placed my bag in front of me as a table and just solve accountancy sums because that place was my "work" environment. Honestly, it looked so weird but whenever i was there, my focus was just amazing)

Additional Posts That Might Be Helpful:

Study Trick That No One Told Me How To Use Previous Year Papers Tips To Understand Complex Topics Small Things To Get Additional Points In Exams Questioning Method

Hope This Helps!! :)

[roxoxoxoxy]

Random Nsfw Head Canons For Riize Maknae line (with Fem!Reader)

( Includes: Seunghan, Sohee and Anton )

Again, there will be so many typos in this so get ready, I didn't proof read this at all.

Also hanis section might not be the best because I got into riize after they put him on hiatus (I hate sm so bad don't get me started) and I have a hard time getting a read on him but I tried

Hyung line, Maknae line

♡ ♡ Seunghan ♡ ♡

I had a hard time getting a read on him at first because he's such a cutie (he doesn't deserve half the shit that he gets OT6 WHEN I CATCH YOOUUUU-)

But honestly after thinking about it a little bit...this man is a undercover freak, HEAR ME OUT

The type of guy to finger you under the table when you're out with friends, smiling and chatting it up with everybody as if he isn't knuckles deep inside you.

He's so sweet too, calling you "his girl" and talking about how happy he is with you as you're struggling to not make any sounds.

That's his entire thing, he'll tease you and be so so mean but he'll do it with the sweetest smile on his face.

I would consider him a strict soft dom, If you're a good girl he'll treat you like a princess, praise you day and night but if you start getting bratty with him, he'll get so mean (in a fun way 🤭)

You bent over as he's fucking you from the back, your face buried in the pillow so you can't beg for his forgiveness whenever he slaps your ass.

"Awe are you trying to say something baby? I can't hear you sweetheart"

Also a bit sadistic, loves leaving marks on you, especially ones that last for days.

Seeing you wince whenever you sit down after he spanks you gets him so hard, literally ready to go for round two right then and there.

As much as he loves when he gets to punish the brat out of you, he also loves when you're his good little girl.

It's been said before but this man is a EATER, if you behave you get your pussy ate till your brain melts out your ears.

His aftercare mainly consists of him putting on ointment where you need it and making sure you're okay, since he's the Dom it's catered to what would make you feel the best.

At your beck and call after sex, the sweetest man alive.

SIGH I MISS MY MAN

♡ ♡ Sohee ♡ ♡

Virgin loser. IM SO SORRY HSHA

I'm a loser!Sohee truther, this man hasn't been near a pussy his entire life, gets absolutely no play.

He's always been too nervous too approach women and when he started training to become an idol he just didn't have the time.

So when he meets you he's all nerves, too shy to say anything, so you'll have to be the ones to initiate things.

Probably the most submissive out of Riize mainly because he's inexperienced and more comfortable with you taking the ropes.

Cums way too fast the first few times you two do it, is super embarrassed about it but he can't help it :(

"shit- sorry- it just.... you...you feel so good I'm so sorry"

Because of that he insists he wants to learn other ways on how to please you, whether that's oral or through his hands.

In the beginning of your relationship he's kinda sloppy but what he lacks in experience he makes up for with enthusiasm.

After learning and practicing a whole bunch I honestly think he has the best head game in Riize, he lives to please.

Same with his fingers, because he has a hard time lasting during sex he got really good at basically everything else so don't worry, you'll definitely leave the experience satisfied.

Also probably the most vanilla in Riize, you're his first and he's still figuring out the ropes, definitely wouldn't be into BDSM.

Maybe over time after you've been together a while but for the time being he's more than happy with missionary.

He does eventually get over his cumming too quickly problem but he's almost disappointed, he kinda liked the humiliation. 🤭

Aftercare is more of a joint activity with him, prefers to both take care of you and be taken care of.

You've gotten in the habit of alternating who gets to be the small spoon.

He also likes to talk after sex but it's more like him quickly rambling before falling asleep mid sentence.

Also gets the cutest bed head the morning after.

♡ ♡ Anton ♡ ♡

Sigh.....MY MAN MY MAN MY MAAANNN okay sorry wait-

This is gonna be long because he's my favourite, tee hee.

I don't think he's a Virgin but he's mostly inexperienced, hasn't really done a whole lot but knows the basics.

I mean have you seen all the shit he was up to? Swimming competitively, playing the cello, being an Idol, this man doesn't have time for anything.

Also another one that takes his time dating you before you two sleep together, I don't think he'd wanna sleep with you if he wasn't sure you two would eventually be official.

Also another switch, leans dom though, specifically soft dom.

This man is PACKING, we've all seen that one screenshot, definitely the "Big and doesn't know what to do with himself" trope.

Would honestly prefer a more experienced partner, tell him what to do because he doesn't know.

Also has a size kink, you could only be like two inches shorter than him but the fact that you're shorter at all gets him going, it's not just about height either.

He's broad as hell so he loves giving you back hugs, especially when you're brushing your teeth so he can see himself engulf you, that visual really gets him going.

Unexpectedly kind of a tease, leans into kiss you but pulls back just before your lips touch his, passing you a big smile when you pout.

Also speaking of him being huge...his hands....okay listen listen.

Whenever he plays the cello I can only think of one thing...

There's no way his clit rubbing game isn't on point, not too hard, not too soft, keeps it at a consistent pace, doesn't loose it mid way...

NEED THAT. DESIRE THAT.

Also his fingers are so long? He has the biggest hands in Riize, I just know they can do some damage.

Loved laying your back against his chest and reaching down to finger you, has a arm wrapped around your waist so you can't push him away.

"sshhh it's okay baby, just stay still. let me make you feel good"

Also loves giving and recieving head, I already wrote a whole fic centered around him eating pussy so I won't go into details about that here.

He loves watching you struggle to take his cock into your mouth, it's nearly impossible to get it all down and it makes his size kink go crazy.

He rarely finishes in your mouth because seeing you struggle to suck him off makes him want to fuck you right then and there.

Gets so sleepy after sex, like wants to fall asleep then and there type of sleepy. He isn't great at aftercare solely because he gets lazy and just wants to sleep and also because again he isn't that experienced.

Will eventually get a hang of it though, will clean you up and praise you, he doesn't even really do it on purpose it just kinda slips out, how you're so pretty, how you feel so soft, how much he loves you etc etc.

Wants you to sleep on top of him because feeling your weight on top of him is comforting.

Really hope y'all like this, writing these was so fun

[alwayslurkinginthebackground]

In the Garden - A Raindro Drabble

Pairing: Joel Miller x reader Rating: Fluff AGAIN? Word Count: 1307 a/n: I STRUGGLED with this one, but I finally came up with something for the color green! I went back and forth between Frankie and Joel about a million times but finally, I landed here!

You're always in your garden.

It's the first thing he notices when he moves into the house across from yours, your consistently growing presence in his awareness distracting him more often than he'd care to admit. But it's hard for him not to notice when the little plot of land behind your house morphs from nothing more than a pile of dirt into a thriving array of color unlike anything he's seen in the last twenty years. Flowers and vegetables and an assortment of herbs fill the once empty space, all while he watches from his porch across the street.

But you notice him, too. You notice the quiet hesitation that seems to surround him. You notice how withdrawn he is, rarely interacting with anyone outside of the girl he arrived with and his brother. And, of course, you notice the way he observes you when he thinks you won't notice, quietly strumming at his guitar as some kind of cover. You never feel anything more than a basic curiosity about Jackson's newest resident, the whispers in town enough to keep most of it at bay, but you still notice.

It's only when you're struggling to fix the gate to your garden that it all changes.

"I can fix that," he mumbles gruffly, suddenly in front of you instead of on his porch where you'd last spotted him. Granted, the repair had gotten out of hand, and you'd already spent most of the afternoon fighting with the hinges.

A part of you wants to resist, to prove your worth. After all, he doesn't really know you, and you've spent the better part of the last two decades having to do just that with everyone you meet to earn their respect. But there's something in his gaze, a kind of gentleness, that makes you reconsider.

"That...that would be nice."

Joel fixes the gate with practiced ease, all while you watch from a few feet away. He waves off your thank you when he finishes, leaving you silent in your garden as he crosses back to his home as though nothing had happened.

It's enough for your curiosity to grow.

"What's this for?" he asks the following day when you're standing in his doorway with a basket of flowers in your hands. He looks like he could be ready to go at any moment, jacket on and boots laced up, and you can't help but wonder if he's uncomfortable. Not just in this moment, but here. in Jackson.

"It's a thank you. For fixing my gate," you explain, hoping that the smile on your face as you offer them will be enough to settle his soul, but he only stares at you with narrowed eyes. "I know it's kind of silly to be growing flowers now, after everything, but..." you trail off, suddenly more self-conscious than you were a moment ago. "You know what, nevermind..." you start, already turning away.

He clears his throat, effectively pausing you before your foot can hit the first step. "Haven't had flowers to admire in a long time."

You freeze, sucking in a breath as you force yourself to turn back around. "That's why I grow them," you clarify, "because I think that we all deserve to have something beautiful to admire even when the world has gone to shit."

Fresh flowers end up on his kitchen table weekly after that.

Spring blooms into summer, and eventually transitions into fall, the contents of your garden passing through their seasons until it is once again barren and brown. You long for an excuse to show up on Joel's doorstep, but there isn't one. It leaves you with the realization that the effortless ease of your blossoming relationship, whatever that might be, is built largely on the foundation of your weekly visits, and without them, there's little you can do.

But Joel finds a solution, and it makes you wonder if he misses you, too.

"You still want to learn guitar?" he asks one evening, his boots on your front porch as he stands there with a guitar in hand. "I thought you said something about it this summer but..."

"I do," you blurt out almost instantly, your nerves spiking only to be soothed a moment later by the expression on his face.

When you welcome him inside, he takes off his jacket. It's the first time you've seen him without it, even in the midst of summer, and it's like he's removed a protective layer. You don't take it for granted. Not when he sits you down on the couch and positions your hands on the neck of the instrument and not in the weeks that follow.

And so, as winter sets into Jackson with brutal force, the two of you trade weekly flowers for weekly lessons. At first, he leaves right after, but then he starts to stay - for dinner, for a movie, for conversation - worn down by your constant insistence that it's the least you can do in repayment. Ellie will appear sometimes too, the three of you forming some kind of routine as you wait for the ground to thaw again.

They both help you plant when it does.

Ellie leaves halfway through, the initial novelty wearing off before you're even to the carrots. Joel, however, stays, the two of you working quietly in between the occasional conversation about life in Jackson. You don't even bother to ask if he's going to stay for dinner as you rise from your knees to observe the completed project, wiping the dirt from your hands onto your jeans before making your way inside.

Likewise, he doesn't say anything as he falls into step beside you, but you pause to watch when he follows your lead, carefully removing his boots at the back door. It's just to keep your floors dirt-free, you know that, but it's also the first time you've seen his socked feet, and suddenly a fire swirls low in your belly. It feels like you're witnessing something scandalous, another one of his defenses finally broken down.

If he notices the way you stare, he doesn't bring it up, but you know he catches the blush on your cheeks by the way he's smiling when you both make your way into the kitchen. It was never something you expected, the kind of relationship you now have with Joel, but as you stand beside him chopping the last of the vegetables from the fall before, you realize that it's become something you can no longer imagine your life without.

"Can I ask you something?" you voice before you can stop yourself, your eyes never leaving the cutting board in front of you.

Joel leans against the counter at your side. "You're gonna ask it anyway, so might as well go ahead."

His response makes you smile, and it's enough to get the next words out of your mouth before you can change your mind. "Do you ever think about us? I mean...like, the two of us?"

You don't look at him, heart beating loudly in your chest as you wait for his response. Your anxiety spikes in the silence, the weight of his consideration hanging over you until rough hands encapsulate yours, gently easing the knife from your grip so it rests on the board. He doesn't encourage you to look at him, and you understand immediately that it's because this step, this moment of growth, is something that has the potential to overwhelm you both.

"Yeah," he whispers anyway. "I do."

"And?" you ask, suddenly desperate to understand the meaning behind the way his calloused thumbs now run over your skin in a steady pattern.

"And I think that everyone deserves to have something beautiful to admire," Joel returns softly. "I'm just somehow lucky enough to have that thing be you."

[ros3ybabe]

Winter Break 24' Goals

My winter break is quickly approaching as the fall semester is coming to an end. I will be getting time off work as well, due to the semester ending, so that gives me about ~5 weeks to basically do whatever I want! Which I am so excited about <3

Here are some goals I am going to accomplish over this long, much needed break:

learn + practice more crochet 🧶(I can do a chain, but a single crochet is difficult for me right now)

workout at the gym 3-5x a week 🏋‍♀️

begin running again 🏃‍♀️ (I'm taking a running class next semester, so I want to prepare myself for it)

study japanese 3-5 days a week + take 2-3 italki lessons 🌸 (I'm also taking a Japanese class next semester so I want to know more than the basics)

study Spanish 2 days a week minimum 🇲🇽 (another language I know a little bit of but want to get better at)

complete watching 2-4 unfinished anime 💻 series (I always stop with a few episodes to go, need to break that habit)

consistent self care + begin a few healthy, consistent habits 🎀 (meditation, journaling, skincare morning + night, stretching, etc)

visit my boyfriend ❤️ (aiming to do so in early January!)

start drawing or at the very least, coloring, again ✏️ (very fun, very creative, very stress relieving, but I won't be mad if I don't hold myself to this)

meal prep 2x a week for lunches and dinners 🥗

on that note, learn a couple new recipes for lunches and dinners! 🍜

finish reading two books at minimum, three if I really work at it 📚 (going to finish What Alice Forgot, then going to move on to Girl In Pieces and If He Had Been With Me [or No Longer Human])

I will truly begin these on December 13th, and begin my daily updates soon too. Will Reblog this around Jaunary 13th to see what I actually did!

what are your guys goals for the winter?

til next time lovelies 🩷

[goat-fanatic]

hihi not a creature au ask sorry but do u have any tips to improving art skills? /gen, second question how did u get into digital art?

dont be sorry the asks are for anything really

my biggest tip is pretty boring and has been said a billion times probably but you u fortunately need to do the boring basics. you can go anywhere you want from there and its gonna be much easier. ex. - drawing alot of boring 3d shapes in dofferent types of perspective. boom now you can draw backgrounds. drawing from models in realism  (live ones are better but photos are great too). boom now you have the skill and knowledge on how the human body works and can play around with it to develop ur own art style. greyscale form practice (like shading cubes or drapery or still life). boom u understand how light and shadow works. the hardest thing really (imo) is learning colour. me personally, traditional painting (acrylic, oil, guache, tempera) helped the most (again ALOT of still life). but learning colour theory, or just fucking around with whatever colour medium you like until it looks good is also very helpful. so again basics are really important.

next thing is, use resources. theres so many free  art resources out there and theyre very helpful. my personal fav lately are quickposes and david finch on youtube. use refs, if needed take ur own.

also mindset stuff like being okay with making "bad" drawings. shitty sketches, wierd colour xombinations, wonky perspective. making art is not abt not making mistakes, but abt making them and learning from them cuz if u dont try ull never get it right, even if its bad at first. also always go from overall to detail. make 5 minute sketches, that forces u to focus on form and translatinf the overall idea more than hyperfocusing on detail. and ofc alot of consistent practice. draw every day, whether its a 5 min aketch or something more polished. (im gonna attach some of my oractice sketches so u get the idea of what im talking abt cuz i feel like im not the best at explainin)

as for digital art, i was first drawing on a regular ass samsung tablet with a pen wrapped in tin foil (it makes it work like a stylus fun fact) on ibis paint which is free and honestly it was great. on thing is if ur starting digital get some free simple program cuz if u try to start with something thats "industry standard" its just making ur life harder cuz on top of learning how to draw oj a tablet, you have to learn the software, and u dont need that when u start. i got my actual drawing tablwt after like two years and i was working in krita (also free and really good). now i work in csp and its amazing but theres alot going on and it is pricey (but well  worth it imo) digital is easier in alot of ways but i still recommand learning traditionally

sorry for the shitty photo quality im bad at posting traditional art. but thats what im talking abt these are like 10-15 min each, focusing on form and the overall and not going into much detail

[thehyperfixationcorner]

Phineas and Ferb Season 5 First Thoughts: Summer Block Buster/Cloudy with a Chance of Mom

Spoilers for PNF season 5 under the cut!:

Okay, so since I haven't seen the other eps, and I want to rewatch "Agent T (For Teen)" when I reach it again so I can spam with screenshots. The rest will be dialogue reviews, such as this one!

So, what did I think of the long awaited premiere? We had the first segment released early, so I've had time to really think about it, and...

Yeah, it actually surpassed my expecations!

Long time followers of the blog will be aware that I've had... Mixed thoughts on the revival. I was happy to see it coming, I was optimistic (for the most part), and while I wasn't happy with the retreaded Doof and Candace arcs, I've learned to live with them.

However, one fear that did not pass was my concern that the show would feel like "More Phineas and Ferb" in the bad way. In the forced way. In the artificial way.

But full credit to the crew, they proved me and all the other doubters wrong instantly!

Admittedly, Summer Block Buster starts off quite standard: With summer starting once more, Phineas, Ferb and the rest of the gang decide to kick things off perfectly with a summer block party, while Candace tries to bust them and Doof uses a vaporizer-inator to battle Perry once more. Notice how... Basic that summary is. The episode is practically screaming at you "This is MORE of the SAME", from all the callbacks (with literal screenshots) of previous eps, Linda pointing out that Candace is busting her brothers AGAIN, the quirky worky song, the catchphrases, even Vanessa waves off her dad being evil again like it means nothing. Heck, half of Doof's lines are "WE'RE BACK, WE'RE DOING IT AGAIN", which, seeing who he's voiced by, feels on purpose.

But that's EXACTLY what makes this episode (and especially its sister episode) BRILLIANT. For all of that is a trap, perfectly set as if by Doofenshmirtz himself, in order to lull us into a false sense of security. When Candace chuckles that they can't make 5 inventions disappear, only for Doof to show his inator has an attachment to make 5 things disappear (a classic PNF joke, many of which have already popped up, the humor is as sharp and unique as ever, which was greatly encouraging), I foolishly laughed to myself, so brazen and confident. "But of course!", I cried, twirling my handlebar moustache and blowing my bubble pipe. "The inventions will disappear, and Candace will say "But... But... But...", and Linda will make some shitty remark, for what else?".

And then Linda gets hit with the vaporizer.

Putting aside how great all the memes that came out of this were, this was a STROKE OF GENIUS. This ending is the crew going "You all thought we had no tricks, no twists, no fresh takes on the formula left", and mocking us. Egg FIRMLY on my face, and I relish it.

Now, just because this twist was brilliant doesn't mean that the episode still wasn't standard. That was the point, after all. But the recontextualization of it adds so much to the narrative device, and it's followed through brilliantly by "Cloudy with a Chance of Mom", an episode that I firmly believe is up there with some of the best, at least animation wise.

Has the animation been... Spotty? A little choppy? To say the least, yes. Close ups reveal many flaws, and it makes for hard viewing when one remembers the more consistent animation of the past.

But it would seem this sacrifice was made so that when a BIG set piece is required, the budget can go to that, rather than to your average look. It's a big sacrifice, but we all saw those gorgeous shots of Candace trying to get through to the insane Linda cloud (a brilliant character design and an evocative portrayal and force of nature antagonist all in one, only Mom's Birthday and Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together" come close to better Linda episodes, and seeing as she doesn't appear that much in those...), and they were worth the trouble.

It would take too long to list the jokes I loved: The mom in law line from Isabella, Doof getting his plans from Monogram by accident, Doof only having 4 fucking contacts, Lawrence being a mega simp, EVERY SINGLE THING BUFORD DID MY GOD HE WAS ON TOP FORM, Wind Con, the stupid obstacles, the Linda Cloud's every action, the damn whack-a-mole.

And that ending??? That genuinely emotional ending that reaffirms the core of Phineas and Ferb (besides Carpe Diem): Family, Friends, Love? I honestly felt chills at that emotional conclusion, at that beautiful family photo, at the reminder that we must cherish those moments, since time is fast and unforgiving.

If this is what the rest of the season is going to be like, the classic humor and vibes with new set pieces, new twists, and perhaps even more emotional resonance, we might be in for not just a great revival, not just a great season, but perhaps one that can compete with the best of the show, toe to with Season 2.

Bring it on!

Pros and Cons of both episodes:

Pros:

Humor as unique and snappy as ever

Emotional resonance up there with the best episodes

A clear understanding that "more of the same" ain't gonna cut it

Buford, Candace, Doof, Phineas and Ferb, all on top form

Fanservice without going overboard (so far)

When the animation is good it's GOOD

First song feels like a classic PNF song, though more on the "Good" tier than all time banger

Overall I am massively encouraged

Cons:

Mostly choppy animation, not a killer but a dampener

Still could have used better explanations for Doof and Candace's relapses, ESPECIALLY the former, as at least the latter was implied in a more casual way in the last series finale

Could have had a better look at those big ideas, they looked fun but they felt a little unimportant, though I suppose that was the point

Hopefully tomorrow I shall react to our next two episodes! Oh, and here's a ranking of all the segments so far as I go through them (obviously these thoughts may chance once I finish my Dwampyverse review video):

Cloudy with a Chance of Mom (1B)

Summer Block Buster (1A)

[victorie552]

Ok, so Noldolantë, "The Fall of the Noldor" is a lament composed by Maglor about what happened before, during and after First Kinslaying at Alqualondë. It's such a good song that it's played regularly in Aman and Valar listen to it often (I swear, I swear it was in the Silmarillion I just can't find it now).

It's also a more or less common fanon that Maglor continues writing Noldolante through the whole First Age. Makes sense - it's about fall of the Noldor, and Noldor did a lot of falling back then.

Headcannon time: So my first thought was that Noldolante must a long, long, long epic of a song. So it probably has many parts, right? Iliad has 24 books/parts, somehow I think Noldolante would be at least just as long, and there are longer epics. And again, just like Iliad, unless you're a scholar, in the daily life you don't really listen to/read the whole thing, just reread and repeat the most dramatic fragments. What I'm trying to impress upon you all is that the story would have different segments, or chapters, if you will.

And if Maglor continues to write the story during the FA, there would absolutely be a moment in the lament where the OG Noldolante becomes Noldolante 2, and even Noldolante 3. There may be the same musical motif or something, I decided that Maglor IS that good of a bard to keep it all consistent enough so you know it's all the same story, but the style changes a lot - it's been 400 years in the making, let The Music Elf have fun!

So, Point 1: Many, Many Parts, basically Maglor's FA WIP

My second thought was that, while Feanor invented his alphabet, elves learned their history mostly through oral tradition aka songs and spoken stories. Noldolante is definitely a historical record, where a historical event was archived for future generations.

(It was a also a way to deal with grief, guilt and blame Maglor and all Noldor have faced regarding First Kinslaying - free therapy! But that's not what this post is about)

Archived.

My 2.5 thought was that Noldolante isn't just recallings of how pretty and horrified the beach looked during the murdering or how mad and sorrowful the sea was at everyone during the voyage or even how awesome and charismatic Feanor looked during his speeches that every single Noldo was ready to fight Morgoth barehanded in his name - no, this is a record of who killed who, who got killed by whom, and how.

Noldor and Teleri knew each other (were friends, even!) before the First Kinslaying, so I'm confident that after a lot of interviews, detective work, and cross-referencing, Maglor could and would create a very good... name list. Practically every Noldo and Teler present during First Kinslaying would get a stanza in a song, more if he killed someone, most if he killed many people. Killers and killed would show up twice, first in a fragment listing the killers and their victims, then in a part listing the victims and their murderers. Basically it's the same thing twice, but from different POVs. With when, where and how included.

(It was seen to be in bad taste to compare kills during Maglor's Regency, when most of his interview-part work happened. People did it anyway. There were a Saddest Kill, Funniest Kill, and Weirdest Kill discusions. There was a Tier List. These were weird times to be a Feanorian Noldo.)

(It WAS in Bad Taste, but at least people talked about it. I cannot stress enough how much free therapy this lament provided)

(Little did they know, when Teleri started getting reembodied in Aman, they had very similar discussions, but more in a "I can't believe he killed me like THAT" way. Long, long, long after the First Age. Noldolante is a gift that keeps giving)

So, Maglor had all the historical grith and no common shame to create a "We Killed All These People And We Feel Bad About It" banger of a song, and every Noldo had a very personal reason to at least remember the fragments they are in. It's a hit on a scale never seen before.

(I'm not sure how to tackle the issue of Nolofinweans and Arafinweans learning about Noldolante after crossing the Ice. But there were discussions. There was anger, there was "????", there was controversy. Basically, the song got bigger and bigger rep no matter what your opinion on it was. By the time of Mereth Aderthad it was an important cultural and political piece and at least Fingon's forces were included in the main song. It had parodies.)

Point 2: Archive Function/Kill count storage. Cultural phenomen, every Noldo included

This is where my personal nonsense begins: Main Noldolante was done, there was nothing more to say about First Kinslaying, all killings and deaths were well documented.

But the Siege started. And the Noldor kept dying.

It was less dramatic than it sounded - between the big battles the siege was maintained, but orc raids also happened and sometimes one to few Noldor died in skirmishes. The legal procedure was to document the death of a fellow elf and send a word to king Fingolfin. The cultural procedure, technically started by Feranorians but adapted by many more, was to send the name, common characteristics and cause of death to Maglor's Gap. After few months, King Fingolfin would send reinforcements, short condolences and financial compensation if they had family. After few months, family of an elf would also receive a personal lament for them and a place for them in a Noldolante.

Yes, every lament Maglor created in that time was technically part of the Noldolante. Noldolante 1.5, if you will. Laments make in that time were very customized, and simpler than Noldolante Main, but were still considered a part of the same song. Of course, nobody was expected to know and remember laments for every single Noldo, younger Noldor born in Beleriand could even only know fragments about their family members. Only Maglor would ever know Noldolante in full, but it was understood that everyone had their place in The Song.

The results of Great Battles were harder to document, but Maglor did that. Of course, Dagor Bragollach was hard on him personally, but he worked his way through.

(High King Fingon forbade creating laments for his father. There were no songs for Fingolfin. Apart from in Noldolante, of course. Of course. Maglor did not share the lament with anyone, but he sat long hours and many nights with a blank paper before him, looking at the candle flame and thinking of the past and the future. The song unsung, but there)

Nirnaeth was... Maglor was never more hated and more approached at the same time than then. Still, Noldolante grew and grew, as if people knew the end was near.

It was Second Kinslaying that destroyed the myth of Maglor's song. Feanorians didn't know the Sindar they killed, but surely, they couldn't just left their names unmentioned like they did with orcs? So, Noldor talked, but the battle happened in caves - it wasn't uncommon to find dead bodies in empty rooms, with no witnesses to what happened. Surviving Sindar didn't want to share any names, even when Maglor strong-armed some into talking with him, and good for them. Maglor made a big lament anyway. Maglor, wild, with no shame and dead brothers, with legacy crumbling around him. Noldolante, with holes.

After Third Kinslaying, Noldor didn't want to talk. Lament for Sirion didn't have any names. Clearly, songs weren't a way to go anymore, it was always about live witnesses. And so Maglor raised the twins.

Lament for Maedhros was sung repeatedly. There was no one to hear it.

Point 3: Only Maglor knows Noldolante in full. But that doesn't matter, because everyone knows the important part: the Noldolante is finished. The Star of Hope rises in the West and the story goes on. The Fall has ended.

[thesophistiicate]

How do you practice manifesting?

i strongly take into account my human design chart, so i use it more to inform how i manifest. for me it’s ingrained into my lifestyle. what i do currently:

mood boarding and visual inspiration. in human design my strongest sense is “outer vision” which makes visuals THE most important way for me to manifest. i am constantly collecting pictures on tumblr, pinterest, and instagram so i’m doing this all the time.

using the correct manifesting type. i’m a non-specific manifester so i focus on the vibes and feelings i want. i don’t place limits and i remain very open to possibilities. i usually do this when i am writing my morning pages and also sometimes at night before i go to bed so i fall asleep on those feelings.

morning pages. i write morning pages every day which helps clear out all the junk on my mind. the solution to any problem i have usually just occurs to me while i write and it comes on the paper. i always know what i should do which makes it easier to get what i want (less doubt or confusion). it did take a long time for me to trust myself though.

trusting my gut. i’m a generator in human design so i listen to my instinctual yes/no reaction. i don’t need to go out chasing and initiating. the options are always presented to me and IF I’M PAYING ATTENTION and TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY and DON’T OVERTHINK IT WITH LOGIC i can tell what is a yes or no pretty much straight away. feeling frustrated is a sign i’m on the wrong path so i also take that feeling really seriously. again, took me a long time to get here but now it is easy for most things. the more i get on a path where there’s a lot of yes’s means i’m successfully manifesting and going in the right direction.

putting the rest under the cut bc it’s getting long lol.

growth mindset. if an opportunity falls through i trust that it was supposed to happen that way. something better is meant for me. i take what i learned from the experience and trust i was meant to go through it to be better prepared for achieving my goals. i’m so much more calm this way which also allows me to see opportunities better, bc I’m not reacting to everything from a place of fear, stress, and scarcity.

understand manifesting = opportunities to act upon. i think people forget this. it doesn’t land in your lap, manifesting just brings options to me. i still have to take some level of action which is the hard part!! if you don’t have self worth or self trust you won’t be able to do this well or consistently. you have to actively say yes and do whatever action it requires to follow through. it can be tiny, like sending a message or buying something. but correct manifesting (as a generator) will bring options to me. it’s up to me if i accept or not.

orient my life around my profile and gifts. i’m a 2/4 profile and my gift is gift 3 (highly related to storytelling and living by example). the more i lean into what these mean (connection to community, deep connections, pursuit of knowledge, nurturing others through my writing and storytelling etc) the more smoothly my life seems to go.

i’m chill about it. bc my type is non-specific it’s crucial to be chill. no timelines. no desperation or anxiousness. no trying to decide how it should look or unfold, that’s not my place. the universe has it under control and i don’t need to waste my energy on this. when i forget and try to control too much is when life goes to shit. a hard lesson to learn when we are told to plan every detail and obsess and that being stressed means you’re working hard as a good thing… basically had to unlearn that whole mindset and start over.

sorry it’s a long answer but overall rather than manifesting being some separate activity or just one thing i do, i slowly shifted my entire lifestyle so that it’s a natural part of how i live on a daily basis 🤍

[evillittlebug]

PLEASE HOW DO YOU DO YOUR LINEART

it's complicated, and also something i put a lot of serious thought and practice into, so this answer got very long!

my first most serious and most important advice is LEARN TO DRAW WITH PEN. it does not have to be a fancy pen. i have been drawing basically my whole life with SHITTY SUPPLIES. like basic ballpoint pens and dried up felt tips. if you LIKE fancy pens, or brush pens, or any other type of "permanent" mark-maker, use those, but you do not need them.

drawing with pen WILL MAKE YOU MORE CONFIDENT. the drawings do not have to be good, or amazing figure studies (but those are good to do, in pen/charcoal/other permanent methods.) CONFIDENT LINES LOOK BETTER. you will get better at decision making, experimentation, etc. or, at least i did.

this is key. you really do have to practice. and the practicing is FUN so you should WANT TO DO IT. if you're getting frustrated put the pen down for a while and come back later. if you mess a drawing up you can try again later.

for digital art, when i was just starting out, i struggled a lot with learning to MAKE THE TOOLS WORK FOR ME. learning to do this will make your finished work better, and will make the making-of it less frustrating.

i do not use a screen tablet, and i prefer drawing small, and small tablets can often introduce a lot of noise (wobble) to your strokes. rather than fight the digital noise, use the tools in your drawing programs to eliminate it.

STABILIZERS are good. if you are using CSP or similar programs, i highly recommend USING POST-CORRECTION as well. here's the settings i use for my of the Devil line brush:

post correction will do a little math to "average out" the points that make up the line you have drawn. experiment and find a setting that works for you (i recommend doing experimentation with all of your brush settings, but this is the key for "clean" lines.)

i tend to turn it off or keep it at the low end for sketching/doodling, and set it in the middle for finished pieces.

if you want my brushes or brush settings, here is what i use:

USE A BRUSH THAT MAKES SENSE FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!! a brush-like pen will excel at thick, highly variable lines with lots of interesting spot black. a thin, more consistent brush will be better at clean, even lines. use your noodle...

i am only familiar with clip studio paint, so i do not have much specific advice for any other program.

i hope this is helpful.

[theglamorousferal]

Persephone's Binding Part 15

Hardcover/Anger Management ship Sacrificial Bride au

AO3 Prompt Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

“So my day consists of training, then meeting with the scholars and then paperwork for the afternoon. What’ll you all be up to?” Asked Jazz as she sliced into her french toast.

“Ellie and I are going to check in with Johnny to see how the bike is coming, and because Ellie needs a touch-up on her hair.” He said and scrubbed the top of Ellie’s head, messing her hair further than the bed-head she had left it in that morning. She swatted at him and yawned like a lion, canines on full display.

“Yeah yeah, I still don’t get why we had to be up this early.” She moaned and took a comically large bite, her cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk.

“I guess you don’t want to see if he’ll make you one then?” She stilled, syrup dripped from the piece of french toast on her fork hanging halfway between her plate and her mouth. She slowly turned her head to face him, the rest of her body still eerily unmoving.

“Are you serious?” She asked, tone like that of someone receiving life-changing news. Danny’s grin widened and he nodded. She shrieked happily.

“Hey, you’d be roughly the right age to be able to work on getting your motorcycle license if we were still on Earth, I don’t see why we can’t get started on planning for your birthday soon.” Danny found himself tackled by an ecstatic Ellie. “You do still need to learn how though. You can learn from any of us, though Jazz or Dante would probably be the most patient and not call you names while teaching you.” He patted her on the head and righted them so they could stand again and they took their seats, Ellie digging into the food with more enthusiasm than before.

“I could also teach you once I get mine. I taught Damian how to for emergencies, and he’s smaller than you are.” Jason offered while reaching for the syrup. He poured liberally before setting it back down again. 

“We still need to teach you how to ride an ecto-bike.” Danny pointed at him with his spoon. “There are some pathways in the Realms, but for the most part you’re basically flying. You have to kind of imagine there’s ground beneath you for it to work, we can show you once the bike’s finished.”

“Fair enough.” He took a bite while he mulled over his next question. “I meant to ask, but I noticed two rather conspicuous mounts at the training grounds. Who do the techy horse and the purple cat belong to?”

Danny got a big, stupid smile on his face and the two sisters shared a fond look. “Those belong to my partners, Tucker and Sam respectively. Tucker is a whiz with tech stuff and has some Egyptian royalty ancestry, so he modeled his ride off that. The cat is Sam’s, Skulker gave them to her as a kitten during the Christmas Truce, but he didn’t tell any of us that they’d grow to be the size of a horse. Sam was unable to keep them at her house, so they live at the castle. Now that Sam’s moved into the castle, they get to spend more time with each other, outside of college classes that is.” Jason nodded along at this.

“You said they’d be here at the end of the week right?” Jazz asked.

“Yeah, they should be here in a couple of days.” Danny replied as he finished off his plate. Ellie already had and was practically vibrating in her impatience. He took a bit longer than necessary to finish his glass of milk, purposefully drawing out the time to irritate her further.

“Come on Danny! Let’s get going!” She hauled him out of his chair as soon as he set the glass down, much to Danny’s amusement. He let it be known by full-belly chuckling.

“Alright alright. I’ll see you two later, don’t kill each other in training, alright?” Danny leveled them each with a serious look. It was not as effective as he thought, because mischief and amusement still glittered in his eyes.

“No blood, got it.” Said Jazz, giving him a thumbs up. Jason nodded in affirmation. Danny seemed satisfied with that as he turned to leave the room. Jazz turned to Jason.

“So, besides joining me for training this morning, what were you planning on doing today?”

“Oh, I was thinking of probably looking through the library catalog and see if I can find any information on Dionesium. I didn’t know that was in my system, and while I’ve heard of it, we don’t really have a lot of information on it. I think I might be able to pin down my universe if I can find where the stuff is. Frostbite mentioned that it’s usually just in the Realms, so if we can find a way to track that substance, then we should be able to track what dimensions it’s in, right?”

Jazz got a contemplating look on her face. “Chances are that it fell through a natural portal from here in the Realms to wherever you’re from. I know Tucker was working on something that would allow for dimensional tracking, he wanted to get it done before Danny went and explored space in that one dimension he was looking at. I think he’s just in the planning phases right now, but that’s probably because there’s no real time crunch. We can talk with him, and I��ll see when I talk to the scholars later if they can obtain a sample of it. Oh, speaking of Frostbite, he said he’d be back in a couple of days with the medicine for you to flush out the toxins in your core.”

Jason blinked. He had forgotten about that. “Cool, does this mean I’ll get powers or something once I’m healed?”

“It’s very possible. We haven’t found records of someone with a blended proto-core of ectoplasm and Dionesium before, so we’re going with what we’d expect of a highly liminal human for you. It’s possible you’ll have side effects from the Dionesium like Frostbite said.” He clenched his fist on the table, his lips in a tight line and his eyes scrunched shut as he remembered that he was likely immortal now. Jazz set a hand on his wrist, just below his fist. He looked up at her in surprise. She had a soft, sad smile on her face.

“Jason, if you ever need a place, if it ever gets to be too much once you’re back home, I’ll leave you with a one-time summoning circle and you can always come here and stay with us. All of us are functionally immortal too. We’re so closely tied to death magics that even if we die, we’ll become a full ghost. Unless somebody Ends us,” her eyes flashed yellow “and it will take an apocalypse for that to happen, then we will always be here.” She squeezed his arm in comfort, drawing her thumb across his skin. They sat like that for a bit, both lost in their own thoughts. 

Eventually, Jason sighed and drew his hand from under her grip and brought her hand to his lips. He looked deeply into her eyes as he spoke, “It would be my pleasure to stay with you, your majesty.” Jazz flushed bright red up to her ear tips and down her neck and squeaked. He smiled at her and let her hand go. “I’m going to go get ready for training, I’ll meet you at the grounds?”

She just sort of absent-mindedly nodded and waved him off with a shocked and thoughtful look on her face. He smirked to himself, proud to have gotten that response from her. He jogged to his quarters and armored up.

*   *   *   *   *

Jason was fully aware of the fact that it was now him that was stunned when breath caught in his throat as he saw Jazz at the training grounds in full armor. She was glorious. She stood to her full height, her helm, for the crown had morphed to an actual helm, made it seem she was taller. Her hair was braided down her back and had a golden cuff at the end of it. She wore her Amazonian armor in its black with a symbol on the front, and teal pants tucked into tall armored black boots. Her well-muscled arms were on display with her bracers firmly in place. A gold and black shield was strapped to her back and her sword was at her hip. She was standing and talking with the tall knight Danny had spoken to previously.

“No Frighty, it’s just a friendly spar, we’re not going to first blood, I’m gonna be fine.” She had her hands on her hips as she glared up at the knight.

“Apologies your majesty, I was merely concerned considering you performed the Ritual yesterday. I do not wish you to either burn yourself out or to accidentally harm the Sacrifice.”

“His name is Jason.” She crossed her arms. “And he has advanced healing and strength too, so it’s fine.” 

The knight slumped. “Very well. I shall clear the field as it seems your partner for the day has arrived.” He turned to face the grounds at large. “All of you, off to your next duties, it is time for the Queen’s training. You know where to go, off with you all!” He shouted and gestured with his arms for them to leave. He then turned to Jazz and bowed, before swirling his cape and vanishing himself in a swirl of purple flames.

Jason whistled as he approached. “I should never let B or really any of the bats or birds meet that guy. They’d be trying to figure out that trick for weeks.” He paused for a moment. “Actually, Cass’d probably get it, and Duke can technically do that already, just without the cape.”

“And they’re all baseline humans? I thought I had the strange family of the two of us.” She remarked. They made their way to the center sparring ring. She set her shield and sword at the fenceline and dropped into some stretches. Jason started warming up as well, dropping into push-ups. 

“Duke is a meta-human. He was born with the ability to have powers and then something happened to him to activate them. It’s a trauma response.” He paused in his reps for a moment and considered the rest of the family. “If dying and coming back is a thing that makes you more than baseline, then I think at least Damian and Cass would qualify. Oh and Steph.” 

“You would have to have at least started to form into a ghost to be considered liminal from a near-death or death-and-resuscitation experience. Were any of them exposed to the same magic liquid, Lazarus Water you called it?” She was sitting with one leg extended as she stretched as far as she could over it, bending herself nearly in half.

“Oh yeah, I don’t think B ever got dunked in it, but he was around it for a few years. Dami grew up around it and definitely got a bath in it at one point. I think Cass did too. Tim was around the stuff for a few months, I’m not sure if that would count.” He started doing squats.

“Probably only counts if you were dunked in it. We’ll have to see if they need to filter stuff out of their systems too.” She stood and made her way over to a bench by the fence of the ring, where she grabbed a couple of water bottles and started to chug one. “Do we want to start with hand-to-hand, or go straight to swords? Danny said you dual-wield?” She whipped her braid over her shoulder and handed him the water bottle.

Jason stood as well and tilted his head considering. He took a sip from the bottle, then spoke. “Yeah I do. Let’s start with hand-to-hand and we’ll work up to swords. Then maybe we can work through some forms as a cool down? Diana taught me some Amazonian ones that I’m a little rusty on.” He thought for a moment, taking another draw of water, before suggesting further. “If we still have time we can do some target practice. Danny mentioned you’re a good shot.”

Jazz nodded along. “Yeah that sounds good to me. I’m ready whenever you are.” She jogged to the center of the ring and started bouncing on her feet like a boxer.

Jason smiled and set down the bottle of water and jogged to join her. “Bring it on Queenie.” He waved her forward.

[kailysander]

So I found out about you after doing some research on I story in writing that is heavily based on religion. It’s just a document right now, but I would love to make it into to webcomic except my drawing skill arnt really that good. I saw your art and I thought it looked absolutely amazing so I was wondering if you have any tutorials or just plain advice/examples? The way you draw faces and bodies/poses is amazing and I wish I could draw like you 😭

Thank you so much and sorry it’s taken me so long to respond!

The biggest thing about comics is that you need to get comfortable with drawing things you’re not very good at drawing. Generally, these are the basic classic fundamentals you’ll need to study in a more academic sense, meaning you must learn a bit of construction/formal technique that may change your current approach drawing as an action— it’s better not to draw in pure construction lines when studying these:

Anatomy

HAND anatomy

Perspective (1 point perspective is all you really need 80% of the time, but it’s good to know 2 point and beyond as well)

Color theory isn’t NEEDED per se, but it’s a personal pet peeve of mine when I see people haven’t taken time to study it

Unfortunately I don’t have any good tutorials to link because I had a formal education— I’m sure you can find some decent ones on YouTube tho! Gnomon tends to be decent for figure drawing, but you can also look for tutorials made specifically for animation if you have a more simplified style.

Beyond this, it’s really important to get comfortable moving forward from things you’ve drawn “badly.” If I’m struggling too much, especially with an unimportant panel, I usually give myself a time limit of around fifteen minutes to fiddle with it before moving on.

Genuinely tho, the best way to get good at making comics is just to make them. It’s really the only way to practice at it, so I would just reframe art as a “genuine documentation of your skill at a certain time” rather than something that is supposed to be perfect. My art at the beginning of GH is definitely less refined than what I put out now, but it’s a genuine reflection of where I was in my artistic journey at that time, and it’s my opinion that anything genuine you bring to the world is always good.

2020 > 2023

Really, just working on comics consistently will improve your skill exponentially because it’s all applied practice. That being said: Do NOT start redrawing the beginning of your comic once your skill has improved. That is the devil speaking. You’ll never get to the meat of your story if you keep starting again at the beginning! It will be there to redo once you’re done if you so choose.

Anyway—- I’m wishing you the best with your endeavors! Comics are a lot of work, but so worth the effort!

[nyxtickled]

do you have advice on comparing yourself to others?

i do but i’m not sure how much help it will be. tbh i dealt with this for soooo many years that i basically wound up having to rip out my core and sit face to face with all of my insecurities so i could understand why i compared myself to others in the first place. once i got to the bottom of that, i learned how to let those parts of me go.

like, at first it was like, i’d see someone and wish i looked more like them, or talked more like them, or id want to be as smart and funny as them, or as cool, whatever it was. and i tried just not paying attention, or mirroring their actions, or emulating their styles. i tried the whole “i am perfect just the way i am!” chanting in my brain but none of that ever really solved the actual problem. so i had to ask myself why i was comparing myself in the first place?

and the more honest i was willing to be with myself, the more my answers changed. at first it was “because i wish i looked better” or “because they have what i want.” but eventually i whittled it down to “because i am not secure in what i have to offer,” or “because i do not love myself,” or “because i am afraid that no one will love me if i don’t look/act/think like that person who is receiving the love that i wish i had.”

ironically, when all signs pointed towards “i compare myself to others because i am afraid of being unlovable,” i realized that i felt unlovable because i did not love myself the way i loved others. and that loving myself is a practice, not a singular action. it wasn’t something i could just wake up one day and decide, like “alright! i love myself today!” or something. i had to observe the things i did for the people i loved, and the way i thought about the people i loved.

i went out of my way for these people. i gave them the benefit of the doubt when they made mistakes. i looked at them with admiration. i got them gifts. i encouraged them when they were feeling low. i believed in them. and these were all things that i did on a consistent basis, not just one time.

and then i realized i wasn’t doing any of that for me. it had never once occurred to me that i could love myself the way i loved everyone else. i didn’t have to wait for anyone to do it for me. i could go out of my way for myself, give myself the benefit of the doubt when i made mistakes, look at myself with admiration, get myself gifts, encourage myself when im feeling low, believe in myself.

and then i learned that i didn’t have to do anything at all to be lovable. i didn’t need someone else to prove that i was lovable by loving me. i could do it myself, and that meant no matter what happened, i would always have a minimum of one person who loved me. and if one person loved me, then i must be lovable. and the more i practiced that act of love, the more i started to believe it, too. cuz of course if you carry around self-hatred, and then you just try to love yourself one day, it’s going to feel ingenuine. but that’s okay. you don’t have to buy into it right away. there’s a lot of deconditioning that has to happen.

eventually i realized i had no excuse to hate myself, because if there was something i didn’t like about me, i could change it. so i looked at my jealous tendencies, my defense mechanisms, my unhealthy patterns, all the shit that made me hate me. and i started trying to change them. i read books, i learned ways to communicate, i studied emotion, i unpacked my trauma, i practiced observing in place of judging.

and, well, that’s when i stopped comparing myself to others. because all comparison begins as a judgment that we’re passing on someone else and on ourselves. we look at them, and decide they’re attractive or cool, without even realizing that not everyone might even agree with us. and then we look at ourselves, and decide that we’re not attractive or cool because we don’t have whatever they have. again, a judgment, not a universal fact, not an observation.

without judgment, other people’s qualities just become..other people’s qualities. i observe them, and sometimes i absolutely love them! but i do my best to draw no conclusions from those qualities. now i just feel happy when i see other people with amazing qualities. and since i have learned to practice the act of loving myself (which ill admit isn’t always pretty), i don’t experience the same fears of inadequacy when i see these qualities in other people.

and if i see things in others that i believe are better than what i see in myself, i just remember that im passing a judgment. not a fact. i don’t need anything anyone else has. i’m lovable and ive proven it to myself, with or without love from another. the only reason i would seek so much validation from others was because i hadn’t yet learned that i could validate myself. anything i wanted to hear from someone else was something i could say to myself, it just became a matter of whether i could believe it when i said it.

i hope that maybe helps somewhat! jesus christ i also just looked at how long this got … if you made it this far, godspeed soldier 🫡

[kamiko1234]

Can we talk about how genuinly OP Rin acctualy is ?

(English isn't my first language, so please excuse any spelling mistakes I could have made)

So I've been thinking a bit and....Rin may just genuinely be one of the (if not THE (in the future)) most powerful characters in the entire series? Genuinly if you look at what the guy managed to achieve in comparison with his relative time spent training is crazy.

We know that it's been round about a year since the beginning of the manga (afaik at least). Before that Rin had no idea of anything demonic. He didn't even know he had the abilities he does. That already puts him at a HUGE disadvantage against virtually everyone else in his cram school class. Even if they hadn't properly trained before, they at least had some form of basic knowledge and idea of the work to go off on.

Rin in the meantime started off from 0, no training and no knowledge. And even on that incredibly weak and disadvantaged position, he managed to beat up Aimaimon, a demon KING, fairly well early on. Admittedly Mephisto did interfere and Rin did have the element of surprise on his side, but one still has to remember that he did this on his own with no training or preparation time.

Then during the Impure King arc he played a HUGE role in defeating it together with Ucchusma. Bon was only there to do damage control for the other exorcists and civilians while Rin really posed the "main" fighting force. Ucchusma's role mainly consisted of guiding and reinforcing his flames which- again I have to remind you all that Rin JUST learned to control his flames properly. He barely got down the basics of his powers at that point and was already able to go toe-to-toe with the Impure King.

Shima specifically advice Lucifer to go send his bodyguards to fight Rin in battle as a safer bet, due to the fact that Rin would have reservations about killing humans. And even then he just called it a 50/50 chance at winning if I remember correctly- and those bodyguards are highly skilled exorcists.

Then when we fast forward to his awakening- which may just be Rin's biggest power-boost, the guy just gets more and more op. Not only did he gain pretty functionally much full control over his demonic side, but his body was burned to a literal crisp. And it proceeded to regenerate a few seconds later, fully. Without any issues at all- still leaving the guy more than enough energy to go ham on his friends right after.

During the Blue Night Remembrance Arc we only get more indicators for how strong he is. Rin was able to straight up kill like...five people as a newborn? Not to mention the fact that he did but up an impressive fight against Shiro- at the time strong enough to be declared Paladin- for someone who was literally just fresh outta the whomb.

This just proves (in my opinion) that Rin with his flames alone could kill off just about anyone not an Upper Class level exorcist atleast.

Later when the exorcists ask how to deal with him and propose just destroying his body Mephisto also plainly states that it would do nothing- that Rin will just keep on regenerating himself over and over again if his demon heart is not taken out. This confirms that Rin is practically invulnerable to any damage not destroying his heart- as his body would just keep regenerating and healing any other injury.

This btw also confirms that Rin basically has the perfect vessel. If Rin would have had to deal with the same issues as the other demon kings, i.e his body not being able to handle his power and thus deteriorating, all they would have had to do was to wait him out. And then when his flames destroy his body, just make sure Rin doesn't get another one. But no- it was specifically stated that his body would just keep regenerating.

His body's regeneration pretty much makes the guy immune to the major limiting factor for powerful demons in Assiah.

But the most damning proof of Rin's OPness: The guy managed to go up against literal SATAN SOLO and do fairly well. This is someone Lucifer had respect for, and he wasn't able to just one-shot Rin. He's still vastly superior ofcourse- but he did have to put in some effort, as menial as it is.

At this point I'd again like to remind you at right now, Rin still has comically little actual training. Again he's been introduced to this world like....one year ago. The guy is SEVERLY lacking in experience and training compared to pretty much everyone else, and he already managed to do all that.

Just imagine what Rin would do if he had been trained and introduced to the world of exorcists since birth. Or even if he just had started to train from the same age on as Yukio. If one year is enough to get Rin to the point of throwing punches with Satan, what would have 8 years of training done for him?

This is also why I'm genuinely gonna say that Rin has the honest potential to just about surpass everyone and everything in terms of power if he's given enough time and training. The guy isn't even a nuke anymore, he's a hydrogen bomb!

[hms-no-fun]

any music that you've listened to lately that you wanna share?

yeah sure! i don't really listen to a lot of popular/new music, i just sorta download stuff when it seems interesting to me. i tend to get really fixated on an artist or album for a long stretch of time, like if a track hits i'll have it on repeat constantly for hours if not days or weeks.

what, me autistic?

anyway i've been getting a lot of play out of John Carpenter's four Lost Themes albums. basically, they're soundtracks for movies that don't exist-- which means they're nonstop bangers start to finish, because unlike his actual movie OSTs he doesn't have to cater to the needs of dialogue and sound design. i especially recommend these albums if you, like me, spent a lot of time in the 2010s listening to the various Homestuck music albums. genuinely there are a bunch of tracks here that could show up in an [S] and you wouldn't even blink.

this is gonna be a pretty big bucket but i've been listening to a lot of J Jazz and City Pop. the three Pacific Breeze compilations, Tokyo Glow, and the four J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan compilations have been regulars on my rotation. i have to be in a particular mood for the city pop but i can listen to jazz whenever. i'm really glad there's been a resurgence in attention for j jazz since they broadly kept the tradition alive and evolving after it fell out of fashion in the states, and that scene broadly formed the musical foundation of a lot of the greatest composers of Japanese video game & anime music in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s.

sorry to be a white woman but i love Vulfpeck. they're an ensemble of exceptionally talented and affably good-natured musicians who've picked up where the 70s left off and carried on as if they never ended. their most recent album, Clarity of Cal, is so wild. it's a live album recorded at a massive sold out show... performing music that had never been released before. this gives it the quality of a greatest hits compilation from an alternate universe. idk man i love these guys. i saw Theo Katzman live in 2020, literally the last good thing that happened in my life before the pandemic hit, and yes Joe Dart really IS that good. also highly recommend Cory Wong's solo stuff and literally every Fearless Flyers album.

there's a lot of soundtracks that tend to go through my rotation so i won't overload you with too many of those, but in particular i've been listening to the Wanderstop OST and the Challengers OST. extremely different vibes! Wanderstop is a game about making tea while dealing with trauma whose music is by C418 (of Minecraft), and of course Challengers is a movie about disaster tennis bisexuals whose music is by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (of The Nine Inch Nails, as seen on Twin Peaks). the former just has such a depth of comforting textures and moods, while the latter is like "i'm having a panic attack but fuck it we thrive anyway."

the last thing i'll share is my favorite band: Murder By Death. i did a video about their most recent album like two years ago, and also wrote an entire novel based on another of their albums back in 2012. they're currently kickstarting what will probably be their last album, which i'm both incredibly excited for and sad about. they're a sort of apocalyptic country/blues/rock band (???? i'm terrible at describing music genres) who've done all sorts of concept albums with different sounds and driving ideas. they're the only band i've seen live more than once (three times, hopefully four when they come to seattle again later this year) and learning how to play & sing their songs on guitar has consistently been my strongest motivator in actually practicing on that damn instrument. i made a playlist on spotify touring through the phases of their career, but if i had to pick one song it's gonna be Last Night on Earth from The Other Shore. it's an album about people escaping from earth to find a new home for humanity (an evergreen topic for concept albums) and this track is the big finale. MBD is SOOOO good at finales dude. i love their music so much

[roartowrecks]

I really like your art style. I was wondering if you had tips on how to draw consistent bodies and faces? Or any art tips to share? If not, no worries.

hi this is so sweet!! thank you for asking!! the best advice i can give is to practice unfortunately, which i know is everybody's least favorite thing to hear. life drawing is really useful for learning body proportions and how different parts move, and also for learning to draw bodies in perspective. there are tons of websites to do actual croquis-style quick life drawings from photos of different models. i do recommend doing them in person though, if possible! watching the actual model move into different poses gives me a great idea of motion and keeps my drawings from feeling stiff. i also highly recommend michel lauricella's morpho books for helping to learn anatomy for drawing. i will say 9 times out of 10 my drawings start as the most basic breakdown of the pose i want to use, like a literal stick figure with joints, and then i flesh out in layers of detail from there

faces are a little different but my personal method has always been studying tons of reference images until you have a method for mapping and placing features and a basic shape language for each-- eyes nose mouth etc. the more detailed your studies are at the beginning, the more you will be able to break any face down into proportions, and the more you will learn to simplify those features while still having your drawings look like whoever you want them to look like!

as for consistency, truly drawing the same thing repeatedly is the only way to achieve this. i'm an animator and a comic artist, which means all i do is draw things over and over again, so i have a lot of practice -- but it is a skill that is learned, not innate. the more you train your eye and hand the easier it becomes!!

i hope that helps or whatever, i'm no expert by any means but i'm always happy to share what advice i have! xoxo