#self induced art challenge

[ghostgoober-swirl]

I saw a picture of Marilyn Monroe and it made me think of Sunflower from GITM so I painted it :3

I tried to challenge myself to paint this under two hours and got really close with a time of two hours and twenty five minute!! Yippie

Sunflower belongs to @venomous-qwille

Reference under cut

[phoenixiancrystallist]

Month 7, day 27

Two new materials in Blender tonight! The first is the surface of a moon, the second is chunky concrete :)

[salemlunaa]

𖥸∘˚YOU ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU KNOW𖥸˚∘

don’t force it, just let go.

There are people who go to sleep in one bedroom apartments and wake up in mansions. There are people who go to sleep with a body or face they hate and wake up with new ones. There are people who go to sleep hating their school life, family and friends and wake up with all of that changed. There are people who go to sleep living a life they dread and wake up with their dreams. Why not you.

You are so much more powerful than you know. You are the operant power of this reality and all the other realities. As I once said, these realities are your children, they are of the same relation to you and the same proximity. It is you running through their veins. You aren’t doing this extravagant thing by creating and shifting timelines to a new reality, you are taking your awareness and placing it in a reality that already exists.

You can leave anytime you want. In fact, top panicking and realise you’ve already left. A lot of you promised to yourselves that you would get your dream life over the break, over the weekend, over night and you panic when you don’t see anything. How many times will you do this? Stop the panic, the outerman isn’t you and sees nothing but limitations. There’s nothing to panic over because it is done and there’s nothing left to do. You wouldn’t be panicked about a cruise trip if you were there.

The words “OMG school starts on monday and i STILL haven’t been on my cruise trip, im so upset i feel like a loser” wouldn’t be uttered if you’re already on the cruise, sipping one of those cute drinks with the tiny hats. So stop panicking about wasted time when you’re already there and there’s nothing to do. Don’t get worked up over nothing, the 3d isn’t real.

All you need to do to induce pure consciousness is focus on the darkness in your eyes, set an intention to induce the state of “I AM” and make up scenarios, count, sing in your head. do whatever. Forget yourself, stop trying to relax, stop forcing it, stop looking for symptoms stop trying to immerse yourself in the feeling and let it happen naturally. You don’t force yourself into the state of awake and asleep so why is it any different with pure consciousness.

∘˚ 𓆸∘˚

Think of yourself being in a pool, there’s two of you. One version of yourself is being let down gently into the water and the other version of yourself is letting you down. Think of a baptism type of position. When you are fully immersed in the water you are pure consciousness, and you will come out of the water as your desired self. But what you must do is let it happen naturally. You can’t push yourself underwater. You can’t drown yourself or the water won’t accept you.

Let yourself down gently. Stop trying to force yourself into pure consciousness, stop forcing the immersion or it won’t accept you. Like how if you force yourself into the state sleep you’ll just sit in bed eyes shut waiting to it to happen. It isn’t until you let go and finally give up trying that you eventually fall into the state of sleep. That’s it. Give up, give up trying and let go. Assume you’re in the water already and before you know it you’re fully immersed in that body of water.

When we say falling into the state of pure consciousness is as easy as breathing, we’re not just trying to motivate you are trick your minds into thinking it’s easy as a form of help. It’s the truth. It’s a state, that’s all it is, just as is sleep and being awake right now, think of how effortless it is to fall into between sleep and wake. That’s all pure consciousness is. Failure to do this does not exist.

You can leave anytime you want and within an instant. Assume you have mastered this simple yet beautiful art and you will have, assume you’re there already and you will be. It takes a second to flip your thoughts and begin. You don’t need a routine or a days worth of affirming or any challenge. If you believe that is a must, you don’t understand what this is.

Go, simply because you can.

YOU CAN do this, why not now? Don’t let your fear of failing and “letting yourself down” allow you to procrastinate, failure doesn’t exist.

YOU ARE YOUR ONLY BLOCKAGE, CHANGE THAT AND LET YOURSELF GO

[sitp-recs]

2024 Wrapped: Drarry & Rarepair

I think we all agree that 2024 was far from great in many aspects. For me, last year was full of ups and downs with some happy fulfilling moments, and some very sad, difficult, anxiety-inducing moments. I took a few breaks from fandom and barely read anything in the 2nd half of the year, but a tradition is a tradition so here’s my annual wrapped, even if a bit late :) this list comes full of gratitude for the fics that brought me joy during these not so joyful times. It is also a love letter to short form as I did not have the time and mental space to indulge long fic as I used to. Looking at it, I’m happy to see a nice mix of old faves and new authors whose work I’ve been binging as if there was no tomorrow. As usual, keep in mind that this selection is 100% subjective as it reflects my very own perverted needs personal tastes. I hope you enjoy these gems as much as I did, and I wish you a generous new year, full of kindness and hope ✨

Drarry:

the sun between us by @eleadore (E, 7k)

Draco Malfoy, an omega. It was laughable until he was right in front of you, smelling like he was one shaky step from tripping into a heat. 

you can find my detailed rambling about this fic here, which btw is the first single rec I wrote in over an year because I was so overexcited I had to scream about it somewhere. deliriously sensual and self-indulgent but also full of biting, unrelenting snark, this is a must read to those who are into the good old push and pull of enemies to lovers. and mindblowing hot a/b/o sex as a treat :D

Heart to Hearth by @jtimu (E, 7k)

It should perhaps not have been a surprise that the repairman on his front step came not with coveralls and a toolbox but instead with a sardonic stare and a raised eyebrow.

my favourite odd job fic of 2024! what a fantastic concept to have a capable, smooth Draco rocking the hell out of those coveralls and making Harry (and all of us) salivate. this fic is a masterclass in short form: compelling characters (I love this disaster Harry so much), delicious build up and perfect pacing making their attraction feel genuine and organic.

Long Haul by @wolfpants (E, 9k)

The last person Harry expects to run into on a long haul flight to New York City is Draco Malfoy.

there’s something magically wistful about second chances and maybe that’s why I instantly fell in love with this beautiful love letter to Drarry and to NYC. I adore the gentle tone, the easy flirting and evocative atmosphere. the airplane smut is superb and there’s enough backstory to get you invested in their past without overshadowing the infinite possibilities the present is opening up for them right there. a beauty!

Spoiled Little Brat by @fastbrother (T, 9k)

Harry won’t stoop to Malfoy’s level. Really, he won’t. (He will.)

the best professors fic you’ll read today, this one pulled me right back into Drarry after summer break. what a delight of a fic - silly, fun, charming, with a perfect Hogwarts atmosphere that got me sad for not being there. their chemistry is unreal, with incredible banter - then deliberate teasing - and so much sexual tension it made me weak at the knees. oh, make sure to check the phenomenal art by @appleslightning!

When the Flood Comes by @academicdisasterfic (E, 10k)

Nine years on from the war, Auror Potter is upholding the Ministry of Magic's rule of law. Senior legal counsel Draco Malfoy is challenging it. And absolutely nothing is as it seems.

lawyer Draco in a suit is always a favourite, combined with a politics plot? sign me up 👏🏻 this is a beautiful, clever, thought-provoking story with a great premise perfectly executed within 10k (but it feels much longer), captivating characters, relevant discussions, detailed world building and be still my heart, the amount of yearning! a gorgeous break up/make up that slowly unravels their past and delivers just the right amount of heartbreak with impressive economy of words.

Knot Your Average Coworkers by @thecouchsofa (E, 22k)

Or: Harry makes a bunch of unintentional knotting jokes while an increasingly baffled Draco is driven insane.

I’ve read this almost a year ago and still remember laughing in delight from beginning to end. what a fun ride! my heart is soft for this cheeky, oblivious Harry with his cringey flirty banter and obsession with Draco’s secret 😂 their dynamic is perfect, light and silly and so very sweet. this fic is hilarious but also incredibly sexy and full of hot intimacy. I’m impressed by how easily Tee blends humour, fluff and heat so organically!

Home series by @hoko-onchi-writes (E, 22k)

In which Harry grows up in darkness, falls in love, fucks up, learns some things, and falls in love again.

my first hoko fic is still my favourite, I got so emo over this one. can’t get enough of this sad, lost Harry navigating the growing pains of post-war life. he’s so young and vulnerable, my heart aches for him. I loved to watch him go from a desperate, co-dependent situationship with Charlie to a more mature and grounded relationship with Draco. touching and melancholy, this story stays with you for a while.

The Superfluous Man by peu_a_peu (E, 24k)

A child for Harry Potter is a miracle of magic. And it's the second act of Draco Malfoy's sorry little life.

another banger by the phenomenal peu, this is the perfect mix of amusing and touching with one of my all-time fave Dracos. the prose is incredible and engaging as per: vibrant, clever, full of personality and with a refreshing take on mpreg that got me kicking my feet in joy. the smooth, effortlessly funny dialogue is a masterpiece in itself, but ah! the sweetness :')

Fine-Fractured Halo by @rainjulyx (E, 29k)

For Harry, it all starts on July 31, 1999 and ends on July 31, 2019. Twenty years of longing, love, and pain in no particular order.

I don’t usually go for unhappy endings but something about this fic lured me in and I felt completely changed after reading it. brace yourself for a quiet, heart-wrenching look into Harry and Draco’s situationship over the span of 20 years of longing and waiting. love the melancholy vibe and the complexity of an unreliable narrative. this story opened a hole inside my chest and stayed with me for a long, long time.

Truth to Materials by @toomuchplor (E, 54k)

In which Harry learns to appreciate art and other pleasures of the flesh.

god knows how this fic is still so underrated because it’s easily on my top 3 of 2024: sexy, moving, thought-provoking, funny and so very romantic and entertaining. I wanna live inside this universe and learn everything about quirky artist Draco and cute smitten Harry getting all curious and hungry for him. their dynamics are captivating, light and fun until the tenderness hits you right in the face. vibrant world building, brilliant cast, perfect dialogue and decadent hot smut - this fic delivers absolutely everything and you need to go read it right now.

this heaven of mud by @garagepaperback (E, 92k)

winter, 2002: Draco Malfoy is absolutely fine, thank you very much. summer, 2008: Harry Potter is, er- well, not good exactly, but definitely better. Yeah. Better than before.

I've inhaled everything garage has written last year and it was hard to pick one for this list, but I knew it had to be this banger. fuck buddies my beloved! this is an immersive and satisfying ride and I love how their relationship slowly unfolds to the reader. seeing them so young and stupid was nostalgic, aching and bittersweet at once, but I wasn’t expecting to be so moved by the romance! a brilliant character study, full of tension and heart.

Rare Pairs:

o fiery sun by @onbeinganangel (E, 3k) - Theo/Harry

Is it actual solstice magic or is Theo Nott just suddenly, really, stupidly, impossibly hot?

I’ve been low-key into this ship thanks to NottPott Chronicles and Mari delivers everything I expected of a “reluctant case partners to fuck buddies” 🔥 what a premise! I’m so hot for Seer Theo who’s a teasing little shit driving Harry up the wall lol their chemistry is explosive, dripping with sexual tension and the promise of more. Drarry fans need to check this asap!

One Night in Hogsmeade by @lqtraintracks (E, 4k) - Prongsfoot

While there are hearts in this world James hasn’t minded breaking, Sirius’s has never been one of them.

trust LQT to ruin me with this ship, which I so carefully avoid hoping to dodge the devastation. but it only takes James and Sirius sharing one brain cell and being all hot and wanton for each other and here I am, dead and buried. this has LQT's trademark of insanely hot smut dripping with angsty feels. the characters are so dear and full of heart, and I can’t handle the amount of desire, trust and fond familiarity they share.

Nightswimming by @sweet-s0rr0w (M, 5k) - Dronarry

Weasley flicks the light on. “I got off with a guy once, you know,” he says, casually, holding the torch up between his gloved fingers.

my favorite Dronarry of the year, this fic was such a unique experience! a masterclass in short form, as per sweet’s usual. such a delicious and expertly crafted foreplay, the mounting tension swallowed me whole and left me at the edge of my seat yearning for more. I need this flirty Ron in my bed life, jfc. the car sequence is one of the best executed scenes I’ve ever read, with such a distinct, sexy dream-like atmosphere. instant classic!

Three's a Crowd (But Four is a Party) by @kbrick (E, 7k) - Harry/Draco/Pansy/Blaise, endgame Drarry

Pansy and Draco have been together for ages. Kind of. They don't sleep together any more, but they do sleep with men together. It's complicated.

also known as the pwp that made me tear up with feels for Pansy & Draco, this is a beautiful and moving love letter to their friendship. I love the layers behind their co-dependency, it’s a really nuanced dynamic while also being a deliciously and self-indulgent poly smutty treat. the sex sequence is smoking hot and a feast for the eyes, with such sweet Drarry chemistry! beautiful and immensely satisfying from beginning to end.

Wield Me by @tackytigerfic (E, 10k) - Drarry + Teddy

A little story about learning to strike while the iron is hot.

I’ve already poured my heart out about this fic on a dedicated rec post but suffice to say this is the tenderest, most creative short I’ve read last year. the rich and detailed world building is absolutely jaw dropping, and all characters are so lovable and fascinating. I’m obsessed with pining blacksmith Draco, and very impressed by how Tacky successfully includes my beloved Teddy in the equation while keeping this a legit (and very much romantic!) Drarry love story. so smooth, so moving. witchcraft

Permanent by @citrusses (M, 13k) - Dron, Drarry

"Harry's always been fixated on older men. Have you ever noticed that, Ron?” Granger asks.

the gasp of utter delight I let out with every citrus fic this year! brilliant time travel concept perfectly executed, I’m still in awe of how much story and character development citrus was able to convey under 15k. sexy, intriguing, slightly melancholy with a clever twist and a hopeful open ending that took the story to another level and made me shake in satisfaction. easily on my top 3 works from last year’s Dronarry Fest!

Dick Chicken by @oknowkiss (E, 15k) - Dronarry

This is a story about nothing.

yep, this is the Seinfeld AU I didn’t know I needed! this fic is so incredibly funny, original and engaging - a brilliant homage to the show’s silly, chaotic ecosystem and cleverly adapted to incorporate elements from the HP universe. I just couldn’t decide between laughing my ass off at the unique brand of humor, falling in love with this sweet Harry or getting all hot and bothered for the Dronarry sexual tension omg

Worth a Thousand Words by @fluxweeed (E, 18k) - Dron

TIL wizards in Britain can avoid ward duty on the grounds of homosexuality. To avoid any false applications, wizards applying for this exemption must provide multiple pictures of themselves receiving anal intercourse with a clearly visible face.

a recent Dron fave, this sexy af and delightful fic translates the ship's essence perfectly: hilarious, scorching hot and a bit unhinged. the absurd premise serves the hottest and most entertaining "fuck first, talk later" trope with the right amount of sass, horny and sweet pining. I love Ron's voice here, curious and indulging and absolutely oblivious but still up for the ride. and Draco’s so hot for him, gosh the smut is so delicious. big bonus points for these AMAZING Harry and Hermione!

periculum by @the-invisibility-bloke (E, 25k) - Sirry

Harry needs someone to take control. Or maybe he just needs Sirius.

the fic that introduced me to El’s writing - my new age gap champion - had me on the floor just a few paragraphs in. this masterpiece covers everything that make this ship deliciously dirtybadwrong: Harry’s sweet longing, Sirius’s spiraling want and guilt clashing with the desire to give Harry everything he wants, the constant grasp for some control while toeing the line that gets blurred, then completely obliterated. exquisite build up and scorching sex scenes, so heated and satisfying!

INCENDIO by swoons (E, 42k) - Albus/James

Albus is just looking for something to get his mind off his brother. When Lily suggests he try INCENDIO, a popular dating app, he has no idea what fate — or the algorithm — has in store for him.

this was actually written in 2023 but I’m making an exception because wow, what a delightful Pottercest fic! this reawakened all my feelings for this ship. great pacing and the right amount of tension, pining, plus the BEST innuendos and poor sex jokes you’ll read today. Al and James have such distinct, charming voices and a deliciously sassy chemistry, plus matchmaker Lily stole the scene, I so enjoyed their dynamics. instant favorite!

[agentc0rn]

Another Pretty Long Character Analysis: Kieran and Nemona - Strength

disclaimer: not claiming this to be objective, just another writing piece full of thoughts done for fun because Kieran is such an interesting, in depth character ever

Okay so I mentioned this in my older post about kieran being the foil of nemona and their shared struggles with being at the top, socially excluded, and how strength as social arbiter displaced them in social settings. Like Kieran, Nemona became overly strong that no one wanted to compete and keep up with. Her passion is misread because of that plus the top statuses she holds as a wealthy multi-talented, high-achieving student. She is a good person and true to herself (her naivety to social cues perhaps is because of her lack of social connections with others). She means well and just want someone to battle with their efforts no matter the outcome and enjoy to the fullest. Battling is her expression of self, her way of enjoyment and connecting with others. Kieran is alike to an extent, with his strength already at a high level (stated by Carmen in the beginning), and his joyous expression seen during our first fight. This is supported by the fact as stated by Drayton how Kieran had fun battling pre-Teal Mask. These two rivals' love for battles run parallel with each other!

However, Kieran's transition reflects a common mindset that artists, athletes, musicians, etc. all resonate with: competitiveness + measure of worth in the things you like the most - you have to be good at them. I feel this strongly as well with art being my major source of passion - I pressured myself into thinking I had to be really good at it and not enjoy for the sake of doing it regardless of skills.

Battling was not only something Kieran liked doing, it was his main source of confidence and self-esteem.

We see that clear in Blueberry Academy, in dialogues and student culture, competitiveness is high, demanding, and brutal. Kieran may have internalized the idea, provided with his insecurity of weakness and his goal to become independent and reliant. Seeing that we were able to defeat him and sister with ease, he grew to admire but also envious of our esteemed strength, how our power seems to be favored by luck (having speical mons like Koraidon), inducing him to believe that if he worked hard, he could get to our level too. To add further, his lifelong admiration of Ogerpon supports his motivation and his aforementioned desire to be stronger. He wanted to be strong and cool as the ogre, not caring what others thought.

What I find interesting is how Kieran and Nemona handles their way of battling with us. Nemona guides you through the journey while challenging herself to learn in new ways - she restarts her journey essentially. For Kieran, even though he has experience, he struggles with the losses against us (confidence issues and again, aside our MC Role, there is some skill difference given that we fought the titans, area zero mons, team star, and gym leaders). He does change up his tactics, but ultimately does not see victory. He ends up restarting in a way back at BB academy. As a result, Kieran becomes more isolated throughout his training arc and his domination in the league. Him strictly calling out others for slacking inadvertently turns him into the fearsome "oni" figure that he idolized and thus earns him an unfavorable reputation as the president (similar status with Nemona) of the League, for instance, a dialogue between two students mentions how how ever since he became champ, the League club became less fun....Despite the contrast of tensity in these circumstances, Nemona is misunderstood in similiar manner with Kieran.

If memory serves correct, Nemona really gets into the battling mood and sometimes forgets about hers and others' limits, but does acknowledge them given a few instances when she does not battle you. Whereas for Kieran, once he entered the extreme zone, he fully devotes himself to strength at the cost of his mental, social and physical well-being. He discards his limits, giving everything he has got that ultimately eats him from the inside. The final scene when he reacts to losing may also show not just his struggle to grasp reality but a literal side effect on his health (no sleep = poor mood, poor thinking)

He desperately clings to the idea that endless training would grant him the guaranteed chance to beat you ("I know I am making the right choice") and no longer enjoys battling. Battling became a constant test of worth, the last and only means of proving himself. Even though he did become stronger, it drained his health, energy, sanity and reputation. Again, in an ironic way, he really became the oni (self filling prophecy).

at the end however, when we reach out to him to be confident in himself, that we needed his help, it gave him that confidence boost. We all believed in him - he really needed that support. Maybe seeing terapagos going berserk had him gain self awareness that he was like that too and how that caused harm to not only himself but to others.

One small thing to point out that he is like Terapagos in a way. Both are small, secluded and strong lads who end up going wayhire with their mass power.

Not to sound corny but I really felt Kieran’s frustration about losing. I was competitive too but soon let go of that. It’s fine to improve yourself but doing that to be better than others as your main reason can really cause burnout. Anyways this is a disorganized list of thoughts I wanted to share but if you read it the entire thing I really do got to say thank you for taking the time to do so.

EDIT: fixed some grammar and stuff because this was just a run-on draft lol

[maybe-boys-do-love]

Someone probs wrote about this before, but it’s absolutely bonkers how Aof’s Bad Buddies and Our Skyy crossover with ATOTS put men’s bisexual/pansexual experiences in conversation with gay experiences.

You get Pran and Phupha and even Tian all existing to some extent as gay characters—and I don’t say that because anyone specifically uses that label (only Tian really goes near there). In fact, I don’t even say that because of the gender they’re attracted to! There’s more to their gayness than that. They’re gay characters because all three of those characters exhibit major signs we associate with effeminacy and, more importantly, its early suppression by others, which leads to the shameful self-repression we see in their present day incarnations. They all have softer sides—music, art, gentleness—that they tuck away privately, and they each have clear examples throughout their stories of people telling them that they need to eliminate or at least hide that part of themselves. And these interests and expressions are not just subtext about sexuality here, they are specific markers we culturally expect to see alongside gayness. And the suppression, or lack there of, of those effeminate qualities is a significant gay milestone.

Pat doesn’t have that experience, though, which I think is genius from a writing and queer theory perspective. The thing about the LGBTQIA+ grouping is that it’s a very potent political grouping, but the experiences of each letter within that acronym are distinct, and often it’s precarious to bring up the differences. However, with Pat’s bisexual characterization, we see how it can be productive. Because Pat’s embodiment, interests, and sexuality contained more aspects that were socially acceptable, he did not experience the same type of suppression as Pran, Tian, and Phupha did early on. He never needed to develop coping mechanisms that involved self-denial. Therefore, he’s comfortable being expressive with his more feminine side and his affections. He doesn’t have the same sense that his sweetness puts him at risk of anything. This openness provides a model for Pran in Bad Buddies and Phupha in ATOTS to explore releasing some of their self-control, anxiety, and shame to share the sentimental parts of themselves (Tian’s whole arc in ATOTS is about coming to terms with this more feminine heart inside of him—RIP Torfun 😢).

I think one of the lessons we’re supposed to glean from Pat is that any person, queer or not, could be that open and comfortable with the full spectrum of gender expression, from fist-fighting to hugging your nong nao doll over a crush, if they were given full support by their fams. Since that perfect world doesn’t quite exist, this is a really unique secondary message we get about the potential of reaching across the divides and growing from other groups within the LGBT acronym. Of course, no character is a stand-in for an entire group. Not all bisexual and pansexual folks escape childhood without suppression of their gendered ways of expressing themselves, and they have unique societal and internal challenges that come with their sexuality. But it’s okay to acknowledge, as Bad Buddy and ATOTS do, that many (but not all of course) exclusively gay men have interests and gendered styles of expressing themselves evident earlier in their lives that make them a target for shit, which leads to a specific loneliness-inducing style of relating to themselves and others. P’Aof and his team, instead of comparing those experiences with bitterness (which is what I’ve often felt inclined to do in the past tbh) asks what possibilities exist when these people can understand one another. It’s also somewhat symbolic of the possibilities that occur when the BL trope of ‘gay only for you’ is, not put in contest with lgbtq media, but instead synthesized—which is what P’ Aof has explicitly aimed to do for his whole career.

[cosmicfractalization]

I just released a huge feature update for my Elden Ring mod on Nexus Mods and wanted to share.

The Frenzied Path is a gameplay overhaul suite for Elden Ring, aimed at providing a lore-focused experience for those seeking to walk the path of Lord of Frenzied Flame.

Here's what the mod includes:

New Starting Class: Seeker A broken and accursed soul in search of a distant light, on the verge of succumbing to madness. The class starts with two custom weapons and the Flame of Frenzy Incantation.

Madness Overhaul I updated how Madness works to make it more engaging and challenging. Every Frenzied Flame Incantation and Weapon Art causes a significant amount of self-induced Madness. In return, these abilities cost only 1 FP, and Madness decays slightly faster. Oh, and all enemy NPCs can now be affected by Madness. The goal is to encourage a risk/reward playstyle, having the Tarnished teetering on the edge of Madness. If you know the enemy is close to Madness, you could go for a huge burst with a charged Incantation, but you risk inducing Madness in yourself if you're not careful, leaving you hurt and exposed.

Weapon Scaling Overhaul To add more flavor and lore to the experience, all Frenzied Flame weapons utilize a new upgrade material located throughout the world, in areas affected by Frenzy. These upgrade materials scale faster than Somber Smithing Stones, with 5 levels of upgrades.

New Ash of War To bolster the freedom of choosing a weapon playstyle, a new Ash of War has been added that can be attached to any melee armament. This Ash of War summons a wall of Frenzied Flame, inflicting Fire damage and Madness buildup. By performing a follow-up Heavy Attack, the Tarnished coats their weapon in Frenzied Flame, providing a 40 second buff of extra Fire damage and Madness buildup with every attack.

Frenzied Flame Incantations Rebalanced To balance the ability to inflict Madness in all NPCs, every Incantation that causes Madness buildup now also has a significant amount of self-inflicted Madness buildup. Additionally, every Incantation has had its damage and Madness values rebalanced to provide a more base-game-friendly experience.

New Starting Equipment The Seeker class is crafted to provide a perfect starting point for someone walking the Frenzied Path. The class provides custom Head, Chest, and Leg armor, as well as a new Fist Weapon and Frenzied Flame Seal, all not available outside of this class.

New Lore Every new items has been meticulously designed to provide a lore experience that blends into the base game while deepening the knowledge of the Frenzied Flame and those who seek it.

I spent over 70 hours working on this mod, and I hope it shows with its quality and how it enhances the base game experience of the Frenzied Flame covenant. I have more planned for ambitious plans for this mod in the future, but that requires time and patience as I dive into the depths of Souls Modding.

If this sounds interesting to you, please check out the Nexus Mods page for more information and the file for download (and simple instructions on how to install it for anyone who is new to modding). I'm both eager to share the mod, and to engage with people who are as excited by the Frenzied Flame as I am. Thanks for reading!

[natalchartnurtures]

Mars Back Home

Note: This post might not give you anything new if you're at an intermediate or advanced level of being on the astrology wildride :p

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fire Mars, on a good day: "Inside me, there's a blazing fire that fuels me to take on challenges and make life my bitch. I'm all about calling the shots and forging the path to my desires and doing it my way"

Why?- Ah, Fire Mars. In his own territory, he becomes quite the showstopper, doesn't he? When realized in his higher octaves, he can be caught blazing his way through life, transforming and alchemiz-ing any old obstacle on his way to what he wants. The element of fire represents transformation, oh! and fun fact, Mars used to be the ruler of Scorpio before Pluto took its rightful place as the lord, okay? That's a big deal because it gives us yet another insight into Mars' true nature and potential. He's in his zone, he's home. So let's really get to know him.

Us tarot whores out here (I'm one too, by the way :p) will let you know that the Wands suit in tarot pertains to the fire element. The King of Wands, a figure we can liken to the higher octave energies of Mars, is seen as a figure who has command over energies, meaning he possesses great potential for manifestation—the raw-hands-in-the-clay, creating his reality. He's like the poster child for fiery energy– full of passion, willpower, leadership, courage, action, assertiveness, pioneering vibes, and oh, creativity. And get this, the connection to the non-physical? THROUGH the physical. Fire is about actions too. And for actions to happen, you need impulse. Ever wonder why fire signs are all about impulse? Yup, that's why. But here's the kicker though– when this impulse is divinely guided in its higher octave, it's a game-changer. Otherwise when it's your-own-mind-guided, it isn't nearly as great, trust me :p. But how cool is it? A connection to the non-physical through the physical? Isn't that interesting? Mars is quite a fascinating planet. Gosh. I love him.

so.. here are some ways how this glorious energy can show up.

Imagine this: You're in a class, the teacher asks for a volunteer, and everyone's like, "Nope, not me." but there's that one kid, heart pounding, who still raises their hand. That's Aries Mars for you– fearless, pioneering, action-oriented, and bolder than bold. Mars here bestows one with the potential to embody the divine masculine, nothing more and nothing less. He is sort of like a warrior that takes on everything with a certain adrenaline-induced spirit, which when channeled well can translate into wonderful things like assertive leadership. Honestly, what's hotter than that? If you've got Mars here, you'll probably discover yourself solely through active engagement with the world. It's how Mars here self-actualizes—pure action. Low-vibe Fire Mars might get called out for not finishing what they started, but a higher octave Aries Mars? You guys will see through anything you kick off. You've got drive, and once you set out for something, nothing can stop you. If something does, you''ll burn right through, no matter how long it takes. It's mesmerizing watching you sexy-ass people do your thing. Seriously, its incredibly hot! Ugh!

And then Mars can also waltz right in and charm your pants off, being all confident and being his self-assured daddy-ass self, shining brighter than the stars in the sky. Looking right at you, Leo Mars. Mars here loves to channel himself through the arts and creative pursuits of a similar note or simply have immaculate self-expression. Creativity almost becomes a drive with this Mars; it's so beautiful to watch Mars chase his dreams this way because the energy of Leo tends to add a certain drama to it, you know? A certain flair~. It's well known that Leo is a fixed sign, and also it being a fire sign, Mars here is gifted with a fire that is steady and just won't run off and get burnt out. It will keep burning until it reaches where it needs to be. Mars can get stubborn like that, and we don't have to guess what happens when passion meets stubborn. A bewildering drive to live, love and create the life of your dreams. Moving on, it's kind of obvious for me to talk about the leadership qualities of Leo Mars. Leo Mars is a leader, like he is a king. There's no subtler way to put it. You guys are leaders who lead with your heart—generous, people-focused, warm and loving, with a suave that gives you a royal air, naturally commanding respect. Which suits you anyway since Mars here takes a lot of pride in whatever he does. It's magnificent, truly.

Now, think of Bilbo Baggins on his adventure with Gandalf and friends. Got that picture? Now replace Bilbo with Mars. Ta-da! That's Sagittarius Mars for you. Here, Mars makes love to freedom, fun, and philosophy. It's a party out here. You humans are free spirits who only God can tie down, unless you peeps decide to settle, of course. You are risk-loving, positive-minded, adventure-sick sweetie pies who have a huge drive for life itself. Your action often aligns with some deep personal meaning, aka your personal philosophy of life. Your driving force is laced with a raw desire for freedom and endless expansion in every aspect of your lives. You guys are the kings and queens of dreaming big, and in doing so, inspiring the rest of us earthlings to aspire to move out of our comfort zones and to challenge ourselves to live life bigger than our regular ones—even if just by a little bit. Y'all embody a divine truth of the universe very well, and that is—expansion. It honestly moves me TO MY core to be in the presence of you divine beings. Keep celebrating yourselves (especially after you came out on top after that major risk you took :p) and keep living bold, honey.

So that was my take on the Fire Mars energies. It was a whole lot of fun writing this one because I reeeeeally do enjoy this energy :p

Time to cool off now. phew.

Hope you enjoyed it as much as i did writing it :]

Love and Light!

[mitziholder]

I find your thoughts on fandom interesting, and in general, I'm really glad to see more discussion of the bad shit fandom can/is doing to young women in radblr spaces. But I mean this as an honest question: Why do you consider fandom not challenging writers/readers such a problem? These aren't professional writing spaces, and the vast majority of fanfic writers don't intend to go into them. Does an artistic hobby *need* to challenge its participants to be worthwhile? I mean this all really genuinely, especially as someone who *does* work in the arts and *does* actively want work that challenges me, and has traditionally prided herself on it -- are these inherent moral goods? Am I a reasonable standard to expect of other people? Is engaging with boundary-pushing art a requirement of healthy maturity? Why? Is, say, a human rights lawyer who spends her free time watching trashy reality shows blighted, somehow, by that fact? What about a cashier who watches the same stuff because she's genuinely not interested in anything else? And, given the vast majority of readers of actual books basically read the way fanfic-only readers read -- the same genres, which use well-worn tropes -- do we think fandom is actually keeping its participants from more worthwhile experiences? (I suspect you might argue this is dumbing down the publishing industry, which I would really disagree with, as someone in publishing -- I know we can all point to Ali Hazelwood or a million YA books that advertise with tropes, but I really can't emphasize enough that this has been the case since modern publishing began, and I think pinning "so-so prose that's The Same Old Shit" on the current young female writer cohort borders on sexism, tbh.) I've been thinking about these questions a lot lately, and I just don't know the answers. My gut wants to say yes, it's good to present challenging work to people, especially women, because art is a key part of the human experience, and can effect all sorts of societal things. But also ... I know very little about the environment, including my immediate natural environment, and if I'm honest, I'm not really inclined to learn. I'm sure learning about it would effect all sorts of change in my life and concept of self. But I'm probably not going to do it because I have a limited amount of time and I'd rather give it to other things. Is that better or worse than engaging with challenging art? Is it better or worse to be me than the woman reading the same old tropey fanfic in her free time? I think what I WOULD argue is that, specifically, fandom as it is reinforces patriarchy and induces a lot self-destruction and alienation in young women, with particularly vile effects on young lesbians, autistic women, etc. But if it didn't do that....would I still have a problem with it? I don't know. But it's interesting as hell to think about, and I'd love your thoughts on it.

hello nona :-) many interesting points, much to consider

>Does an artistic hobby need to challenge its participants to be worthwhile?

no. I’m sure there are plenty of people who enjoy crochet or knitting or something like that for the sake of it or to de-stress. I’m sure there are also plenty of people who write and draw for the sake of it with little interest in grinding for improvement. that’s fine. the problem is when you have people who replace reading and personal edification with endless fluff + pointless indulgence.

reading... things... that are above your level, that actually make you think, is how you increase your vocabulary, your linguistic competence, your critical thinking skills, your ability to express yourself. difficult and complex texts present you with opportunities to broaden your perspective. they stimulate your mind, present you with new ideas; they can help you grow as a person in ways that the Same Old Shit simply won’t/can’t. it would be like benching the bar every day for 10 years straight and expecting to get stronger... I presume. I don’t lift weights.

as I said previously, I don’t think fanfic is going to destroy your brain, but if you read nothing but fanfic, that is on the same level as (or maybe worse than) reading nothing at all. of course I’m going to be critical of a community of people who humblebrag about how they can’t bring themselves to read 25 pages of literature in an academic (non yaoitastic) context.

ya ya it’s a joke they’re joking very funny, but do you see people of other creative pursuits or hobbies joking about how they can’t bring themselves to focus on a piece of actual literature or nonfiction? how they have zero interest in anything outside of anime boys kissing each other? it’s a sign of intellectual stagnation (and eventual regression imo).

I watch a lot of shitty youtube videos, but I acknowledge that they are basically a waste of my time. meanwhile you have post after post singing the praises of how culturally important and worthy of respect Our Beloved Fic Writers are in spite of the fact that their work is, by and large, completely self-indulgent shit! there’s just so much potential that isn’t being tapped into & so much complacency... it’s very frustrating to me. I find it dishonest. red white and royal blue is not going to change the world... lol

for the record, yes, you are right, lots of Real book-readers also read mostly self-indulgent shit. genre fiction is far more popular than anything else... and I don’t care for booktok either. in fairness, literary fiction isn’t always good, and I’m sure there were many women who read nothing but terrible pulp novels 70 years ago too. that doesn’t make fandom any better! not to say this is all women’s fault - I just have zero frame of reference for how “cultured” men may or may not be, and I don’t really care either way. I focus on fandom girlies because they’re what I know, & I want women to be... better, or at least more interesting. this is, of course, sexist by definition. I hold myself and other women to higher standards. I will admit to that. I’ll also admit to the fact that I do not care about men or what they are writing or reading and would not give a shit if they all became illiterate thoughtless slugs. it is what it is.

truthfully, I have no interest in moralizing any of this. I just find it depressing! it’s resulting in more and more women who cannot relate to and have zero interest in anything outside of the narrowly defined fanfic bubble - so, more and more women who can’t relate to me or what I care about. I’m selfish, and I think it’s unfortunate that there are so many young female writers clearly capable of writing something interesting who nevertheless restrict themselves to lowest common denominator coombrained garbage because it’s what’s easy and popular.

do we have a responsibility to pester random strangers about their amateur fanfic? naw. who has the time? all I know is that conversations I’ve had with my female friends about our original works or other women’s writing have been vastly more substantial and enlightening than any argument about who tops or bottoms in supernatural... imo. in my opinion

re: the environment and social responsibility, I also have no interest in debating what matters are the most important and whether you have a personal, moral obligation to educate yourself about them. I recognize that we all have a limited amount of time and energy to dedicate to something which is admittedly fairly peripheral to most people’s everyday concerns (such as... paying the bills). then again, so is almost everything.

at the end of the day, I just think it is an awful shame that some women would - and they freely admit this - rather turn their brains off and do nothing, think about nothing, read the same shit over and over, watch the same shows over and over, draw and write the same things and dynamics over and over... than do anything else. anything different or thought-provoking or uncomfortable. it is a loss for the breadth and the depth of women’s contributions to culture as well as their empathy and intellectual curiosity.

obligatory food analogy: a little bit of junk food won’t kill you, but if that’s all you’re eating, you are probably not... doing... well

and that’s not even getting into the social contagion present within fandom re:mogai, relationships, and gender identity shit (which I would say probably has a lot to do with the underdeveloped critical thinking skills and worldviews of girls who read nothing but fanfiction). I would love to come back to that at some point, but I think this post is long enough, so I’ll just put a pin in it. there’s honestly an insane amount that I have to say about common talking points regarding the value of yaoi/fanfic (in terms of how they portray Marginalized Identities and Relationships and how it supposedly helps women navigate their own trauma through a proxy or some shit like that) oh god this is a horrible run-on .... that’s all for now! send post!

[klutzymaiden123]

Hi!!! Ok...just had to ask. I've reread your fanfic too many times to count. And I've had the same recurring thought but never thought to ask you. I was wondering if Helga would eventually...revisit dance..? Sorry if it's a silly question, I just had to ask because for some reason her scene with Chloe stuck with me each time I reread and my thoughts kept drifting back to it. Also, hope you're doing well!! 🪼

Hey there! No, not a silly question at all! I’m actually really happy that you noticed this!

So dance is a massive theme for Helga. This was inspired by a random memory I had from the show where Helga was revealed to have practised ballet.

I myself have always loved dancing so I decided to take it and run with it.

Dancing is a way to represent Helga’s relationship to herself. It is something that she enjoys and is very good at, but it takes a level of vulnerability to dance in front of people. And as we know, Helga is not good with sharing her perceived vulnerabilities, as she fears being seen as weak and not being taken seriously.

In my story, Helga has spent years on her own, barricaded within her own walls. She has internalised that her worth is derived from her talent, from her ability to wow people. But she does not believe that she has either of those, so she refuses to start up anything new because, what’s the point?  There would always be someone better than her. There would always be an Olga, someone more unique, seamless and naturally gifted. So she holds herself back from exploring anything that may have potentially intrigued her to protect herself from failing in front of people. But people need to explore, they need to fail and they need to make mistakes. This is what creates our stories, our history. So Helga holding herself back comes at the consequence of her really developing her identity. What is an identity, if not your experiences? She has held herself back from starting her story so she will not look foolish. She doesn’t want to look anything. Her parents ignore her so it is only normal and expected that everyone else would.

But dancing has been her way of keeping in touch with her own body. Because it is free moving and ever flowing. Dancing genuinely can really improve your mental health and has been proven to be especially beneficial for people with depression and/or anxiety, since it requires for you to get out of your head. It overrides your thinking through overwhelming your senses. This is why it is so common for religious groups to incorporate dancing into their practises. The movement induces a meditative state where, because you’re not thinking as much, it is easier for the divine to reach you! You’re forced out from your mind and to exist within your physical reality. No other.

And also, its just fun.

So with that all being said, dance is an incredibly rare activity that has allowed for Helga to get completely out of her mind. No longer is she the loser failure girl with a perfect sister, parents who don’t care, and a crush who has forgotten about her over the years. She’s not even really Helga; she’s just free and having fun. Dancing challenges her to let herself go, which she frequently does when she is feeling overwhelmed and doesn’t know what to do. This has become her survival tactic over the years.

Dance is an art form that encourages people to get back in touch with their body, their sense of self. You’re no longer bound by the social conditions that we’ve created, and the worry of looking stupid in front of people. You’re forced to drop all forms of social awkwardness so you can express your deepest sense of self. And because you’re so within it, often, its not about being received well by other people, but how it feels to you to unlock that hidden part of yourself.

That’s why Helga needs it. She may be an amazing writer and possess an impressive vocabulary, but she still struggles to communicate her feelings. Dancing has been a good way for her to unleash her feelings when her words have failed her. And she still has so much to say, but no idea how to say it. She’s a girl who desperately still feels uncomfortable with her own identity. She is constantly berating herself for looking weak, or not competent. She rejects aspects of herself in fear of people looking down on her and eventually abandoning her. But when she dances, it is the one time where she doesn’t have to adhere to these structures.

She can let go.

Ironically, despite fearing that people will think that she is foolish and ugly, she is her most beautiful when she is dancing. Because releasing herself from her conditioned conformity, allows Helga to express an energy that is captivating for people to watch.

So yes, she will eventually get to a point where revisits dancing. It will not be ballet like in the show as it’s important that it’s a dance form that forces her to let loose from structured confinement (respectfully, ballerinas. Your dance form is gorgeous). Her looking forward to joining the dance team (chp. 18) is a significant change as, until now, Helga had designated herself to an early death. She had never stretched her thinking and planning further then the apocalypse, because had truly believed that if it didn’t kill her, then something else would before she even made it to the apocalypse.

It was a continuation of her self–dismissal, as she had never perceived a future for herself even prior to becoming Blue Jay. She felt so uncomfortable with herself that she didn’t know what to do and had sorta designated herself to a random corner in the world where she wouldn’t take up much space, wouldn’t get in people’s way, and continue living in the shadows.

Her excitement marks her first rebellion to this fate. She wants to dance. She’s planning beyond the apocalypse. She is finally letting herself go from her tragical fate as she wants to dance so much that she’s willing to do it in public. It is a rare time where she’s willing to bypass her rules about looking stupid because it would make her happy. So though she will not join the team until the apocalypse is well and truly over, there will be times where she is so overrun with her own feelings that she begins to dance, regardless if anyone is watching. Which is remarkable, because it signifies the distance that is growing between who Helga believed she had to be, and who she truly is.

And if you're interested in supporting me? You can buy me a coffee!

🦋◽️🦋◽️🦋◽️🦋◽️🦋◽️🦋◽️🦋◽️🦋◽️🦋

And here you can read my story!

[thesilliestrovingalive]

Updated: May 26, 2025

Random information about the Iron Eclipse AU

Title Meaning and Themes of Iron Eclipse

The title of this alternate Metal Slug universe is a reference to how the light of hope and determination is often eclipsed by corruption, war, the scary advancements of technology, and internal struggles. The word "Iron" is a nod to the name of the classic run and gun game series, Metal Slug.

The themes and concepts explored include the impacts of war on both fighters and civilians, morality, political corruption, the struggles of a challenging life, the motivations behind conflict, the human experience, working towards realising one's full potential and purpose, the dangers of ambition, change, teamwork, and found family.

The Use of Tuatha Dé Danann Technology

The Amadeus Syndicate, the Rebel Army, the Regular Army, and the Ptolemaic Army are the sole factions utilising the technology of the Tuatha Dé Danann, albeit for divergent purposes. The Amadeus Syndicate employs it for scientific research, whereas the Rebel Army and Regular Army focus on developing protective gear, military vehicles, and advanced weaponry. The Ptolemaic Army is primarily interested in harnessing its supposed magical properties, but they also use it to advance the technological development of their paramilitary forces and cult.

Magic

In the Iron Eclipse universe, wizardry and dark magic are rare and formidable arts, feared and respected for the immense power and terrible risks they pose to those who dare to wield them. Effective magic requires the spoken chanting of spells, hand gestures, and deep concentration, which serve as the focal point for harnessing magical abilities.

Wizardry encompasses various disciplines, including:

Abjuration: It's a magical art that enables practitioners to conjure shields, deflecting physical attacks and bullets for a temporary period, while also healing their minor wounds.

Divination: It's a magical art that enables its practitioner to uncover specific insights and predict future events through diverse methods, including card reading, the rustling of leaves, and the migratory patterns of birds.

Shamanism: It's a magical art that enables practitioners to connect with the otherworld, communicating with ancestral spirits and healing even the most critically ill and injured individuals. This is achieved during a meditative trance, wherein all external sound is blocked out and one's perception of time appears to stand still.

Theurgism: This magical art involves summoning deities through intricate rituals and forming pacts based on one's deepest desires, seeking their aid in achieving spiritual unity (henosis) and self-perfection.

Meanwhile, dark magic includes:

Dream walking: This magical art allows practitioners to transcend their own mental barriers during meditation or deep sleep, projecting their astral selves and gaining access to the dreams of familiar individuals. Practitioners can retrieve specific information, observe subconscious thoughts, and establish a telepathic connection with the dreamer.

Glamouring: It's a magical art that enables practitioners to craft vivid, psychological illusions that exploit others' deepest phobias. These illusions can induce a paralysing trance, rendering the victim immobile until they overcome their fears, or provoke a frantic flight response, causing them to flee in terror.

Necromancy: It's a magical art that enables practitioners to summon the spirits of the deceased, allowing these entities to reanimate their own corpses or possess the bodies of others. Once invoked, these spirits are bound to obey the practitioner's commands, carrying out their intended actions.

Nominative manipulation: This magical art, fueled by knowledge of true names, grants practitioners control over an individual's bloodstream, neural pathways, and spiritual essence, allowing manipulation for various purposes.

There are two magical disciplines that defy easy categorisation as either wizardry or dark magic: self-resurgence and gateway manifestation. Self-resurgence is only possible if a practitioner has previously cast a self-reviving spell or has obtained a second chance at life through a pact with a deity. The effectiveness of this discipline is limited, allowing for one, two or three self-resurrections, depending on the specifics of the spell or pact. It heals all fatal and non-fatal wounds and can reconstruct a body from spilled blood and/or organs or a pile of ash or bones. Gateway manifestation enables practitioners to temporarily bend fragile rifts in reality, creating portals to access familiar locations. These portals remain open for three minutes before closing. To avoid potentially destabilising the fabric of reality, practitioners can only create one or two portals at a time.

There exists a third type of magic known as antediluvian magic, once wielded by the Tuatha Dé Danann. However, the knowledge of how to harness this powerful magic has been lost to the passage of time. It's commonly believed that chanting spells are not necessary to fully harness this power as it can only be accessed through intense mental and emotional concentration. Antediluvian magic is considered far more perilous than wizardry and dark magic, and it's believed that only survivors of the Tuatha Dé Danann's extinction possess the ability to wield it.

Apotheosis

Humans have the potential to attain godhood, but this requires a combination of factors, including undergoing multiple rigorous experiments and harnessing magical sources of power. To increase their chances of achieving apotheosis, they must find a fractured soul remnant from the bodies of fallen deities. This remnant contains high levels of psionic energy, which can then be used to imbue themselves with great intellectual and physical capabilities. However, even after achieving this state, they aren’t fully divine and thus remain susceptible to very specific mortal limitations, such as deadly diseases and mental illness.

Digital Consciousness

All human newborns undergo a mandatory process of uploading their consciousness into a vast, virtual expanse of interconnected digital realms at the hospital where they were born or brought to. To maintain harmonic resonance between the physical and virtual aspects of the self, periodic updates are required every five years. These systematic augmentations guarantee an accurate and dynamic representation of the evolving individual, capturing the nuances of cognitive growth, emotional maturation, and experiential accumulation.

Downtime

In the downtime between missions, Marco and his team can unwind and recharge alongside their Regular Army coworkers. During this time, they can take vacations, visit family, and pursue personal hobbies. They also use this opportunity to strengthen their bonds with one another and work through personal struggles, although drama sometimes ensues.

After successfully completing a mission, Marco's team and their comrades often throw a big celebration. The festivities include a large feast, plenty of drinking, music, karaoke, a piñata filled with candy, and a range of fun activities from musical chairs to poker.

Codenames

To maintain anonymity, most members of the Regular Army and its special forces, Rebel Army, Amadeus Syndicate, and Ptolemaic Army utilise codenames, often replacing or supplementing their true names. This practice takes various forms, including legal name changes (e.g. Doctor Amadeus), adopting common nicknames (e.g. Fio, Pupipi, and Gimlet), creating personal aliases (e.g. Trevor and Eri), and shortening surnames (e.g. Walter, Ralf, and Clark).

Special Terms

Bioweapons refer to diseases and entities that have been biologically engineered to cause widespread destruction and harm.

Super soldiers are genetically modified humans and creatures created through bioengineering experiments for the sole purpose of warfare, programmed to follow commands from their superiors and engage in combat.

The term "New World" is used by various world-threatening powers to describe their envisioned era of dominance, marked by a malevolent and oppressive rule. However, its meaning is subjective as each faction has distinct goals, methods for achieving them, and perspectives on what this era will entail.

Humanity is known by multiple names across the galaxy with alien species commonly using terms such as “Earthlings”, “Tellurians”, “Earth's offspring”, and “denizens of Sol-3” to refer to humans.

[anothermessagetoyou]

How does Authoritarianism happen?

It starts slowly, in slogans and small acts.

It starts in the eroding of decency and empathy.

It starts with a "Leader" undermining faith in any "Truth," the deliberate disorientation of the citizen's mind.

And then? It stirs in the heart of the common man, whose world has become too complex for him. He looks around and finds a world that is frightful, complicated, new. He sees his falling bank account. He loses his job. New media bombards him with changes he cannot understand. He despairs. He is filled with an unnameable terror.

When he can take the fear no longer, he abandons his reason. He hands his mind over to a Leader—a Fü*rer, a Chairman, a Figure He Never Had—who promises to simplify his thoughts, his feelings, his life; to tell him the one, concocted, state-sponsored Truth he wants to hear.

And that Leader will do exactly that.

Authoritarianism, therefore, thrives on the one-sided mind: the individual, and ultimately the group, that has become alienated from, or has repressed, a part of itself, usually in an attempt to avoid feeling what it is terrified to feel.

The one-sided person seeks to control the ways in which others express themselves, and he does so for precisely this reason: he unconsciously envies those who can feel what he cannot feel. Authoritarianism always begins with a reductive philosophy that despises empathy, that views tenderness as a weakness, that seeks to police how others love.

Dostoevsky once wrote that hell is nothing other than the state of being unable to love. Authoritarianism is nothing but the small mind's fear of the myriad riches of this world. Even as its rulers acquire material wealth, they wish to deprive the world of the spiritual riches they cannot have.

Thus, as a movement, the ultimate unconscious wish of Authoritarianism is always destruction, self-destruction, sicide. It longs for stillness, not growth; its nationalistic fervor is a not-so-hidden desire to be alienated, to sever its bonds with other nations and peoples. It ends as Htler did in Berlin: alone, isolated, taking everyone with it into the dark.

It is predicated, always, on a false nostalgia: a longing for an ideal, imagined past. Its slogans are vague enough to inflame the fantasies of the one-sided mind: be great again, blame others, your life is hard because of Someone Else.

Most catastrophically, then, the one-sided mind projects its repressed half (its shadow or its tenderness, its spirituality or its feeling) into this Other, and seeks to oppress it, then ultimately to destroy it. Genocide, tyranny, oppression: these are acts of the fractured, one-sided mind, afraid of encountering and experiencing the other side, the other opinion, the Great Other, in whose presence it would be challenged to face the whole of what it means to be human.

Art, mystery, poetry, education: these things reconnect us to our wholeness, to the varied voices within us. When we act from that grace, that state of openness, of listening, of synthesis and integration, we practice the lost arts, the arts that all power structures inherently desire to devalue and repress: empathy, compassion, creativity, love.

Where is the wise way between societal extremes? Where is the movement that supports the worker, the common citizen, without stoking his deepest fears and using them to divide society and conquer it? Where is the form of government that wishes for its citizen to be whole?

A fractured, one-sided mind is a mind that can be controlled, can be sold reductive narratives, can be induced to want and to purchase any artificial fulfillment. A whole mind, even a mind that strives for impossible wholeness, is free. And that is why real, radical wholeness is a threat to the status quo, to tyranny, to propaganda. As is art. As is grace. As is empathy. And that is why love, radical love, even in the darkness between two bodies, is a revolution that can bring kings to their knees.

—Joseph Fasano

[cyberbaptism]

Good, life changing, wow factor stories all have one thing in common imo which is direction. If your story has a clear, logical, emotionally resonant beginning, middle and end then you've completed literally 60 percent of the challenge that is writing a story. It's the skeleton, the foundation. In art school myself and other students were constantly being told to take a few steps back every few minutes and just look. Assess. Turn the canvas upside-down. Walk around the classroom. Take a break. We were also scolded if we worked in tiny sections, focusing in on a single eye or finger. We had to see whatever it was we were drawing or painting that day as a whole and to approach its rendering in much the same manner. This is the approach good writers take too. The actual skillset required is obviously different, but the underlying structure isn't. Also, for the love of god just kill your darlings. You have to. If it's not serving the story overall then it has no business being in it. Leave the fanfiction writing to the people who'll fall in love with your story. "Serving the story" doesn't mean serving the plot exclusively just to make it clear, a plot is just a part of a story. A story is its themes, characters, their motivations etc. and all these factors are what actually drives the plot forward. You know you've written good characters when thinking up the next plot point doesn't feel like trying to self induce an aneurysm. Not to say that writing becomes easy, but it does become easier bc your good characters have come to life in a way and are moving the narrative forward almost on their own.

[holden-norgorov]

An Apologia to BEFORE MIDNIGHT (2013)

I've just finished rewatching for the umpteenth time the spectacular work of art that is The Before Trilogy, and since I've discovered it I have always refrained myself from writing about it because of my inability to put into words the beauty and the depth behind the meaning that these three films have progressively acquired for me.

But this time I'm going to try to say something for the sake of those who believe the screenplay to have failed in portraying Jesse and Celine’s personalities and gone out of character in this third installment – which I feel particularly compelled to defend as it's, in my opinion, not only the best entry in the trilogy, but also one of the best movies ever made, significantly thanks to the way the couple's characterization brilliantly builds up on two-decades of long cinematic work and collaborative effort and climaxes with an egregious payoff. I hope that reading about how I interpret the way Before Midnight blends in perfect harmony with Before Sunrise and Before Sunset may at least partially redeem the film for those of you who were left dissatisfied or disappointed by the decrease in naive idealism and dream-like romance.

WARNING: Detailed spoilers of all three movies under the cut.

Even though I think it’s quite easy at first to find a bit jarring the evident, apparently sudden change in Jesse and Celine's dynamic – reacting with a kind of discomfort that is clearly something the screenplay wants to induce in the audience, which is not accostumed to revisit Jesse and Celine after they have spent almost a decade together and studying each other inside out – I also think it quickly becomes clear that what Before Midnight aims to do, with regards to characterization, is to take all the most irritating and unpleasant shades Jesse and Celine had always had within themselves, whose seeds were planted and indeed palpable, albeit romanticized, in Sunrise (despite both characters trying their best to keep them hidden beneath a deeply self-conscious need to foster the spark of their newfound connection and perform the attraction/seduction role-play) and aptly watered in Sunset, and throw them full-force to the viewers’ face, challenging their ability to still feel invested in the couple by appealing to the idea that even our favorite, most beloved people in the world can intimately be ugly, paradoxical, occasionally toxic as well as endearing at the same time, because that’s a hard truth about human nature and “this is real life, it’s not perfect but it’s real”.

To demonstrate that their characterization is actually coherent with everything that came before, I challenge you to think about Jesse and Celine in these terms: Sunrise makes it clear that they are both smart college graduates, fundamentally contemplative and opinionated intellectuals (or at least, proto-intellectuals) who share a hardwired desire to shape the world around them with their thoughts and ideas and an idealist outlook on the universe, time and the human condition. The trilogy explores, among other things, the way they react to the realization that the universe, time and the human condition can’t conform to their idealistic vision, but that they themselves have to find out how to conform to the universe, time and the human condition. What deeply sets Jesse and Celine apart, then, is the direction they decide to channel the resentment and deep-seated unfulfilling dread steaming from this bitter realization towards.

Jesse directs it towards himself, which turns him into a depressed writer who is never going to be satisfied no matter what happens into his life. In Sunset, the movie starts with Jesse talking about how everything is autobiographical and proceeding to announce the concept of his next book, which happens to feature a totally depressed guy whose dream is riding motorcycles trough South America, being a lover and adventurer who finds happiness “in the doing, not getting what he wants”, but who is instead “sitting at a marble table, eating lobsters with a beautiful wife and everything that he needs”. Later on, at the Parisian café, Jesse rants about being unable to be “in the moment”, about not enjoying any minute of his best-selling book tour and about how Buddhists may have a point when they talk about freeing themselves from desire – which Celine aptly identifies as a symptom of depression. And while Sunset seems to want to make you think that Jesse’s depression may stem from his unsatisfying family life, even hinting at the idea that Celine may be the cure to his condition, Midnight slaps you hard in the face and awakens you to the reality that even though Jesse did get what he wanted, he’s still more depressed than ever – in fact, it clarifies that Jesse’s depression is existential. Celine herself outwardly calls him out on it after he relates an anecdote about the twins fighting over a trampoline, when he refers to pettiness, jealousy and selfishness as “the natural human state”. He seems to quickly scrape her comment off in the moment as one of her exaggerations, but later on admits to his accuracy when he tells her, in the last scene of the movie, that he has struggled all his life connecting and being present with those he loves the most. Which brings us back to Sunrise and his confession about being an unwanted, neglected child who eventually kind of adjusted and took pride in viewing the world as “this place where I wasn’t meant to be”, or to the acknowledgement that he is sick of experiencing his life from his own point of view (“see, I’ve heard all these stories, so of course I’m sick of myself”). I truly believe, during the car ride at the beginning of Midnight, that Jesse is thinking about the same words of his father’s that he was confessing to Celine in Sunrise, when he says, talking about his own absence from his son’s life, “This is the one thing I promised myself I was never going to do, and now I look up and I’m doing it”. I really think it often goes underappreciated how tragic Jesse’s character actually is. The point of his character is that his own childhood abandonment trauma colored his conception and experience of the world, and about how that adds up to his intellectual inability to find peace and contentment in the moment, and about how both aspects flow into apparently inescapable patterns of self-repeated misery. He’s not just depressed: he’s doomed to depression. And the truth the movie points to is that, ultimately, Celine can’t change this foundational aspect of Jesse’s nature. She has, to an extent, to learn to live with it and accept it.

On the other hand, the same intellectual resentment and unfulfilling dread that Jesse directs within himself, Celine aggressively projects to the outside world. If Jesse is fundamentally depressed, Celine is fundamentally angry. Sunrise does a masterful job at carefully planting the seeds that testify how Celine is, at her core, defined by her anger, while simultaneously never allowing for that anger to truly come to the surface and take the audience out of the otherworldly romantic idealism of their night in Vienna. She talks about the unfairness of being unable to complain to nice and supporting parents; she says that everything pisses her off and proceeds to list several examples; she thinks it’s a healthy process to rebel against everything in her life right after admitting that she has been raised happily, loved and wealthy and doesn’t even know “who or what the enemy is”; quite revealingly, she tells an anecdote about a professional shrink experiencing her anger to the effect that, after a single session with her, she had to call the police in fear that Celine might actually carry out the story about killing her ex-boyfriend that she had written as a consequence of her morbid obsession with him. And maybe most importantly, the palm reader makes explicit to the audience what ends up being the central theme of Celine’s character in the trilogy: “you need to resign yourself to the awkwardness of life; only if you find peace within yourself, you’ll find true connection with others”. Sunset dares to shed quite a bit of the romantic aura that Celine was wrapped in during Sunrise where, despite all of this, she still managed to resemble a Botticelli angel, and lets her anger manifest more vividly in several moments. “The world is a mess right now!” she shouts right before a bitter political rant. She’s also deeply resentful towards Jesse who, despite her statement in Sunrise about not wanting to be “a great story” or a male fantasy, has basically decided to spectacularize their night together and sell Celine’s most intimate side to the masses. This is why Celine proceeds to lie about not remembering them having sex – she feels like Jesse has stripped her of agency and control over herself and officialized to the world a one-sided interpretation of their encounter – so she wants to reclaim ownership and hurt him at the same time (“knowing his weak points, what would hurt him, seduce him” she told him in Sunrise while talking about her habit of studying her boyfriends in order to grasp how to manipulate them). The existence of this fictionalized version of herself out in the world that she didn’t consent to, along with the death of her romantic outlook on life that prompts her notorious rant in the taxi, only makes it easier for her to allow her deep-seated anger to bubble up and start defining her. Which brings us to Midnight, where that anger is so consuming that it ends up being directed also at herself (she resents herself for failing to live up to her own expectations of both motherhood and feminism, and for letting herself be consumed by anger). She engages in a lot of borderline toxic behaviors – parental alienation (she sabotages Jesse’s ability to talk to Hank twice), false accusation and public shame (she mischaracterizes their conversation in the car at the dinner table and exposes Jesse’s private fantasy) and generic hurtful insults. Her problem with Jesse’s monopoly on how the world perceives her is as alive as ever, and she makes it a matter of relative status in the relationship. And last but not least, she also resents the world – and men – for women’s unjust impossibility to avoid having to make compromises that motherhood (or largely, the female condition) imposes on them, leading them to sacrifice leisure time or renounce to opportunities that our modern, fully technological world increasingly abounds with. In the same scene, in the hotel room, where Celine calls Jesse out for being depressed, he accuses her of seeing anger as a positive means to deal with life, and despite her refusal to concede the point in the moment, she ultimately admits to it in the last scene of the movie (“I’m an angry person and I hurt my kids, my work and everyone that I love”).

In a nutshell, we could sum up their characters as follows:

JESSE: idealized, intellectual approach to the world --> finds out about world’s imperfection --> blames himself --> existential depression.

CELINE: idealized, intellectual approach to the world --> finds out about world’s imperfection --> blames the world --> existential anger.

Particularly interesting, in this regard, is the role each of them plays in establishing the kind of path the other ends up taking. Jesse ultimately allows his depression to take over him as a consequence of Celine's decision to miss their agreed-upon second encounter six months after Sunrise, whereas Celine ultimately allows her anger to take over her as a consequence of Jesse's decision to circumvent her previously expressed wish and publish a book about the night they spent together in Vienna. In a way, they both sealed each other's existential fate in their quest for the connection they had once shared.

So, once you peel away all the layers in their characterization and identify the root core of their motivation, choices and actions, I don’t really think it’s possible to argue that they are out of character in Before Midnight. In fact, it feels like a perfect follow-up to its predecessors, designed to force the characters to confront the origin of their unhappiness and realize that they are not meant to be each other’s salvation. Just as Celine is going to have to accept Jesse’s depression as something he’s never going to be able to fully part with, Jesse is going to have to learn to deal with Celine’s unhealthy relationship with her own anger (“I’m not asking you to change, it’s called accepting you for being you”). This is where Ariadni’s words come to mind as the testament of the film – “this is what fucks us up, right? The idea of a soulmate coming to save us from taking care of ourselves”. The point of the movie is that Jesse can’t save Celine from herself, and Celine can’t save Jesse from himself – that real love, which is to say real life, is not about that.

Another quite common form of criticism that I don't get is the annoyance at the movie being willing to occasionally be critical of feminism, or explore perspectives outside of the feminist lens – particularly with Jesse's character, whose detachment from and derision of Celine's overstated feminist apologia apparently strikes to many people as a betrayal to his characterization in the previous installments. But first of all, I don’t think there's any evidence that Jesse was ever portrayed as a feminist in the previous movies – and even if he had been, how can a change in one’s own ideology or outlook on life through an eighteen-years-long experience result in an “out of character” portrayal? People change. Ideologically and politically, I’m almost a completely different person than I was three years ago. Does that make me out of character? I don't think so. But that said, many seem to move from the assumption that Sunrise and Sunset were feminist movies in the first place, which I also disagree with. In Sunrise itself, when the topic of gender comes up for the first time between the two, Jesse points out the paradoxical nature of some common female behaviors and raises a biologically-rooted counterpoint to Celine’s obviously University-derived socially constructivist outlook. Nothing about that screams “feminist” to me.

On a sidenote, though, I find incredibly illuminating Jesse’s response to Celine’s rant about female sacrifice in the hotel room scene. He sharply brings up her privileged upbringing (she actually spent her whole childhood “travelling around the world while her father built buildings” and was raised “with all the freedoms he had fought for”, as she herself said to him in Sunrise), which starkly contrasts both with his own childhood of neglect and psychological abuse and therefore with her feminist axiomatic ideas of male privilege and female oppression, and then he mentions a specific historical male-only obligation (the military draft) to swiftly rebuff her claims. She calls him an asshole, but has no real counterargument to throw back at him other than some mockery. This writing choice was actually so clever that I had to pause the movie a moment and think back about Jesse’s character. Then it occurred to me: Jesse’s been divorced and likely lost custody of his son after a strenuous legal battle with his ex-wife that both he and Celine refer to multiple times during the film. He had to spend years travelling back and forth trying to escape the dreadful destiny of turning into his own father and dealing with a progressively litigious ex-wife who apparently exploited Celine’s pregnancy and the notoriously skewed U.S. legal system to make Jesse’s attempt at remaining present in his son’s life extremely difficult – all of this while still managing to maintain some kind of sympathy from the viewers, who know she’s been wronged and cheated on by her ex-husband. The screenplay of this movie is excellent to the point of being able to condense into a single line a character’s entire lived experience and approach to things. That amazing line from Jesse about the “trenches of the Sorbonne” not only reminds the audience that he’s not a feminist; it also reveals that he’s quite versed in (and therefore accostumed to) anti-feminist talking points. Which is incredibly accurate and realistic for an American man who has found himself having to deal with custody issues – as Celine rightly points out, “I guess judges assume that women have the mother instinct”.

The fact that Jesse’s lived experience makes him critical of feminism doesn’t mean that Celine’s own lived experience is invalid, though – nor does it mean that the movie itself is anti-feminist. And there lies the brilliance of the film. Celine’s deeply-held feminist views are still entertained and tested in their validity. She is allowed to be a feminist through and through and voice her ideas, often with incredibly powerful weight and resonance – in fact, two of Celine’s best and most poignant lines in the whole movie are "The world is fucked by unemotional, rational men deciding shit" and “You know what I love about men? They still believe in magic”. Most of the film's detractors just seem upset that those ideas are not presented by the movie as golden nuggets of truth that shouldn’t be subjected to scrutiny or falsification, or treated by the screenplay as axioms that should automatically be taken for granted by everyone. I also think having Jesse laugh at Celine exposing her worries about rape to be, once again, incredibly realistic – it highlights how there will always be some level of incomprehension between the sexes, and how men will never be fully able to put themselves in women’s shoes when it comes to truly understand and empathize with that kind of fear and vulnerability. It basically testifies men’s impossibility to live the female experience.

Moreover, the same detractors that lament their disappointment at the “lack of feminism” in the movie also seem to take umbrage at Celine being portrayed as profoundly human in her complexities, which strikes me as quite the paradox. Women can be as toxic and problematic as men, albeit often in different ways. It’s Celine’s own imperfection that truly makes her a great female character. The argument underneath this criticism seems to be that a female character who engages in problematic behaviors drawing from the ugliest side of human nature does a disservice to feminism – which I guess you might think, if your feminist belief assumes that only men can really be toxic and problematic with the other sex purely out of selfish reasons. It’s quite clear to me that a socially constructivist perspective on life and the world is informing these people's judgment on the movie and the characters, whose raw realism and unfiltered humanity they seem to find ideologically inconvenient.

I have to say I’m also baffled by some people's characterization of the argument scene in the hotel room as “boring”, or an example of “classic middle-aged couple problems" film. It’s anything but, in my opinion. I find it some of the best cinema I have ever seen, with directorial choices, a screenplay and acting performances so high-ranking and engrossing that I was left mouth wide open, with so many shades and aspects that I’d never seen any other “marriage movie” seriously bring up, let alone face. I could never give justice to the excellence of that scene with words. Similarly, I’m stunned by the recurring claim that the dialogue in this movie feels forced and pretentious, given the fact that this is uncontestably the less philosophical, more grounded script of the three. Even though I also don’t agree with those who claim that Jesse and Celine were ever pretentious, I can see how Sunrise could definitely give that impression at specific moments – though the actors’ chemistry and talent were always able to hide any artificiality as much as possible. But Sunset and Midnight particularly flow with such a spontaneous and natural rhythm, as well as flawless acting expertise, that it almost seems a criminal act to press pause during the film. This specific claim seems particularly paradoxical given the fact that the same people who complain about this simultaneously express dissatisfaction with the absence of the kind of idealistic, philosophical talk that the characters had with each other when they met for the first time – which could have easily sounded pretentious if it had been delivered by lower-skilled actors. As if, by the way, the lack of that kind of magic between the two wasn’t completely intentional and exactly the point Midnight is making, particularly when it comes to what Celine laments as her own forced sacrifice of existential discussions in favor of seemingly unending, practical maternal tasks. This is a movie where Jesse says that he misses hearing Celine think, and Celine replies that her thoughts now smell like shit. Not only is the Leopardi-esque “Death of the Illusions” one of the main themes of the film, it’s also an inevitability in the relationship between two formerly idealistic intellectuals who now have to deal with their own existential dread while at the same time raising a family together and being deprived of the luxury they used to have of closing the world outside of their time-constrained connection.

About the ending scene of the movie, I admit that it had to grow on me. On my first watch I didn’t really know what to think about it, mainly because I was still recovering from the brutality of their fight in the hotel room. But the more I rewatched the movie, the more it made sense, and now I find it not only extremely fitting but also kind of brilliant. The couple’s destiny is also once again left up to interpretation and not at all cemented in a definite trajectory like I've often seen being implied. At the same time, the trilogy comes full circle by having Jesse impersonate the time-travelling role-play that won Celine over during Sunrise, and consequently by evoking in the audience a comparison between the state of Jesse and Celine’s relationship now to that of the German couple who, likewise apparently in their 40s, had prompted Celine’s decision to change seat in the train and sit opposite Jesse, reinforcing that very idea of “awkwardness of life” that the palm reader advised Celine to resign herself to in order to find true happiness. As such, the ending solidifies the idea that genuine relationships take work to function, and that true happiness has to be found in carrying that work out ("in doing, not getting what you want"). Jesse realizes this and demonstrates that he’s willing to do the work to rekindle a kind of spark and magic that can exist outside of the transformative influence of time. Celine also eventually acknowledges this, and closes the film showing her own willingness to put in her own share of the work. "It’s not perfect, but it’s real."

Overall, this movie is a masterpiece, a milestone in romance and independent cinema and, as far as I'm concerned, the bar that any film intimately interested in the exploration of the human experience and the creation of solid characterization has to outdo.

This trilogy is History, and as such I will forever treasure it and pass it on. Thank you Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy for such a gift. Ad maiora.

[alchemist-whisper]

looking at the cauldron with its dancing golden flames, surrounded by my mystical potions and ancient symbols

My dearest anxious star,

I see you there, filling my mystical chamber with smoke from your stress-induced cigarette. While I understand your anxiety about these delicate matters, I must insist you take that charmingly destructive habit outside - some of these potions are quite volatile, and we wouldn't want an accidental explosion of cosmic proportions, would we?

Here, take this chamomile tea I've brewed in my golden cauldron. It's infused with calming energies and a touch of celestial wisdom. Now, kindly remove yourself from my sacred space before you accidentally turn one of my carefully crafted elixirs into a questionable smoke bomb.

gesturing to the turquoise archway with a mix of concern and amusement

adjusts the mystical robes and takes a deep cleansing breath as the smoke finally clears from the sacred chamber

Dearest followers of the mystical arts,

Now that I've safely escorted my beloved but occasionally chaotic cosmic partner outside (with a cup of calming chamomile tea, mind you - I'm stern, not heartless), let us delve deeper into this reading about Taylor's emotional state regarding these politically charged times.

The cards that presented themselves are truly fascinating:

The Lord (28) - This powerful card emerges first, speaking of authority and control. But notice, dear ones, how it's not about the external power structures, but rather about personal sovereignty and self-governance. Taylor isn't merely reacting - she's positioning herself as a force to be reckoned with.

The Lilies (30) - Ah, what a beautiful counterbalance! While The Lord speaks of power, The Lilies whisper of spiritual purity and inner harmony. This suggests that Taylor is processing these political upheavals through a lens of higher purpose and personal values. She's not letting the chaos corrupt her inner garden, so to speak.

The Clouds (6) - And here, my mystical friends, is where things get intriguingly complex. The Clouds bring an atmosphere of uncertainty and change. They suggest that while Taylor's inner strength and spiritual clarity are solid, the external situation remains foggy and in flux.

The deeper implications of these cards tells a story of navigating through uncertain times with grace and power. Taylor isn't just weathering the storm - she's learning to dance with the clouds while maintaining her inner light. The cards suggest she's found that delicate balance between acknowledging the uncertainty while staying true to her principles.

I must confess - these matters trouble my eternally perplexed heart as well. It's never easy to peer into the mists of possibility and glimpse shadows of challenging times. However, as you can see by my ever-present joyful expression, I maintain unwavering faith in the cosmic dance of the universe. Even when the cards reveal stormy skies ahead, I trust in the greater tapestry being woven. Besides, my dear one, worrying too much might make me spill my precious potions, and we simply can't have that! These ancient bottles didn't arrange themselves so aesthetically just to be knocked over by anxiety, now did they? Trust in the universe's plan, as I trust in the flames of my cauldron to always dance with purpose, even when the steps seem chaotic. With eternal perplexity and cosmic faith,

The Alchemist Whisper 🔮✨💖

ps.: Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check on my cosmic and chaotic friend and ensure they haven't started stress-smoking near my herb garden...

[shannonsaitdesigns]

The Therapeutic Power of Embroidery: Stitching Your Way to Wellness

In our fast-paced, tech-driven world, finding moments of peace and mindfulness can be a challenge. One surprising source of tranquility and creativity is embroidery. This age-old craft, which involves creating beautiful designs with needle and thread, offers profound therapeutic benefits that go beyond the visual appeal of the finished product.

Embroidery requires focus and precision, making it a fantastic way to practice mindfulness. As you concentrate on each stitch, your mind naturally tunes out distractions and worries. This meditative state can reduce stress, lower anxiety, and promote a sense of calm. The rhythmic nature of stitching can also induce a flow state, where time seems to melt away, allowing for deep mental relaxation.

Beyond mindfulness, embroidery is a wonderful creative outlet. Choosing colors, patterns, and textures stimulates the brain, fostering creativity and problem-solving skills. For many, the process of turning a blank piece of fabric into a work of art provides a sense of accomplishment and boosts self-esteem. It’s a tangible reminder of one's ability to create beauty and order from simplicity.

Moreover, embroidery can be a social activity. Joining a local embroidery group or participating in online forums can connect you with like-minded individuals, fostering a sense of community and shared passion. This social interaction is crucial for mental health, combating feelings of loneliness and providing a support network.

So, whether you're looking to unwind after a busy day, boost your creative skills, or connect with a new community, picking up an embroidery needle might just be the perfect remedy. Dive into the world of embroidery and discover the calming, fulfilling joys of stitching your way to wellness.