Tumgik
#books to improve general knowledge
writingsbyjackie · 2 years
Text
Website : https://www.writingsbyjackie.com/
Jacqueline P. (Jackie) Walker was born in Jamaica, West Indies, and raised in Washington, D.C. Having held a lifetime of love for reading and writing, Jacqueline recognizes the power of storytelling to educate, encourage, and entertain, which inspired her to become a motivational blogger and self-published author. She uses her experience, knowledge, and training to craft written content that encourages and inspires readers.
Business Mail : [email protected]
Keywords: best books for self improvement best books on self improvement best books to read for self improvement best book for self improvement self publishing a children's book self publishing children's books best book to self improvement best books for motivation and success best motivational books for women best self improvement books 2021 self improvement books for women self published coffee table book self improvement books for men self publish children's books best inspirational books for women best motivational books for men best self improvement books reddit books inspired by greek mythology books to read in 2022 self improvement books to read to improve vocabulary children's book self publishing self publish a children's book self publish full color book self publishing a non fiction book self publishing my first book best books to improve vocabulary best motivational books to read best self help motivational books best self improvement books 2019 books to improve vocabulary for adults books to read for self improvement inspirational books based on true stories inspirational quotes from children's books inspirational world book day quotes motivating swear word coloring book motivational books for young adults niggalations the lost book of ghetto philosophers inspirational quotes sample copyright page for self published book self published books best sellers self published middle grade books the little black book of workout motivation best books about self improvement best books to improve mental health best inspirational books for teenage girl best inspirational books to read online books on success and motivation books to improve reading comprehension books to improve self esteem books to improve your vocabulary inspirational books for cancer patients inspirational books for women.in their 30s inspirational books for young adults marketing a self published book must read self improvement books sample copyright page for self-published book self improvement book from the movie belly self publishing a poetry book self publishing children's book the young widows book of home improvement time life books home repair and improvement top books for self improvement best books for workout motivation best books on motivational speaking best books to improve storytelling best books to read to improve vocabulary best golf books to improve your game book distributors for self publishers book marketing for self-published authors book that inspired the matrix books that inspired the matrix books to improve general knowledge books to read improve vocabulary copyright page for self published book dog names inspired by books examples of self published books have any self published books become best sellers inspirational books for young black males inspirational books in the bible
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/JWalkerPat1
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/JWalkerPat1/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/JWAlkerPat1
Amazon Books : https://www.amazon.com/-/he/Miss-Jacqueline-Patricia-Walker/e/B00B653CXA/
2 notes · View notes
spicebiter · 2 years
Text
Watching Serial Experiments Lain was an experience because it's weird- it feels something like a fever dream and a glitching one at that, but with a story that I can still follow enough to want to stay asleep. I'm reminded of that Rob Zombie movie House of 1000 Corpses and the way it was interspersed with cuts of VHS tapes, altered footage of landscapes, and bits of documentary-type footage.
It has times when it makes no sense at all, mostly when they're talking about coding God and whatnot, but it's sort of a science fiction type so there's bound to be things that they'll say with their whole chest that mean fuck all. The factor that makes it work is not over-explaining or trying too hard to make the bullshit you say sound real. It has to sound implausible but possible (ie 'That doesn't sound right but I don't know enough about ____ to dispute it'), and Lain does a wonderful job of that especially with the episode that has bits regarding scientists and philosophers that lead up to the whole concept of coding God.
I decided to watch the series because I've been seeing it brought up in memes and references a lot lately and having seen it now I'm not surprised it's resurfacing since apparently Y2K aesthetics are coming back into style and the series is, of course, chock full of that. It really has charming technology design. Watching Lain's room fill with computer parts and intricate cooling systems and such really makes me want to crack open a PC's casing like nothing else. The phones are really eye-catching, as well, and remind me so much of all the short lived cell phone designs that came out in the 2000s before the market was taken over more solidly by Apple and Samsung and such. I have a whole inspiration folder filled with tech like that because they had sooo much character you can't find existing naturally in tech design anymore with things being focused on streamlined silhouettes and compactness.
It's also interesting in concept, most especially with the ending. All in all, it's a series that goes by quickly and is easy to watch in one sitting if you have a couple of hours free, and I'm glad to have dedicated a few hours of my own time to it. (Fair Warning, the series has extensive focus on suicide, drug use, and de-realization/de-personalization/un-reality)
9 notes · View notes
aldebaranlune · 4 days
Text
♊ ♃ Jupiter in gemini for the rising signs ♃ ♊
Jupiter is in gemini! Everyone will possibly be presented with multiple blessings and you'll have to make a choice between several good things. Some of them may be:
♊ For the gemini rising, it can mean a glow up, better skin, cosmetic procedures, increase in self esteem.
♉ For the taurus rising, an increase in finance and better organizing bank accounts and projects.
♈ For the aries rising, maybe new friends, better communication overall and your siblings may be blessed too.
♓ For the pisces rising , peace at home, new home decor, moving houses or relocation, or just a better feeling about who you are at your core
♒ For the aquarius rising, new love, better dating life, children or creative pursuits.
♑ For the capricorn rising, new jobs, improvements in career and pay, and becoming your healthiest version.
♐ for the sagittarius rising, marriage, love, better relationships and partnerships, new important and positive people come into your life.
♏ For the scorpio rising, you can also get money from other people, open investment accounts, do shadow work with great results, start therapy.
♎ For the libra rising, it's going abroad, writing or publishing a book, improving relationships with religion, joining or graduating university, open your mind to new knowledge
♍ For the virgo rising, also career, being recognized at your job, career chances going smooth, people seeking you out for your expertise.
♌ For Leo rising, getting famous, increase in your follow count, better relationships with friends, joining prestigious organizations, deciding to go after your wildest dreams.
♋ For the cancer rising, good year for shadow work, consolidating the work you've done on yourself, better sleep and mental health, a sense of general improvement or relief can arise.
630 notes · View notes
csuitebitches · 6 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Things I Have to do for My Sanity
1. Wake up at the first alarm - no snoozing and no going lying around in bed. Getting up straight away and head to the bathroom. It’s going to suck initially but you’ll get used to it in a few days.
2. Mental self care: 30 minute meditation, brain games mental math, reading, news. Knowledge is sexy and don’t deny yourself sexiness.
3. Daily review in my diary at the beginning and end of my day: what went well, what didn’t, what I need to accomplish to achieve my goals. This has tremendously helped my goals and keeping my motivation more consistent, especially at work. Analysing and correcting incremental changes creates long term success.
4. Cleaning up before bed - clothes, shoes, organising my bag, etc. I set a timer for 5 minutes and try to get as much done as possible.
5. Pick out my clothes the night before and steam iron them for the next day.
6. Face masks twice a week, a hair mask once a week, I scrub the soles of my feet with that foot scrubbing thingy once a week. Manicures every month because my nail beds are too sensitive to do it biweekly, iron supplements so that I’m not a moody bitch. Matching underwear to feel good about myself. Lavender spray on my pillow before sleeping so that I don’t get weird dreams.
7. Reading biographies and autobiographies. My mentor had suggested this to me and it’s amazing how literally I don’t have a single original experience - everything I’ve felt or mistakes I’ve made have already been done by someone else.
I’m going to curate a list of business books that I feel that have helped me the most recently.
8. I write a short essay everyday in the language I’m currently learning. I also end my day by talking about my day for at least 2 minutes in that language and I record it in voice memos to keep a track of my progress. I want to be fluent to a level where I can think in this language.
I don’t generally share a lot about my personal life - none of you know my name or where I’m based and I feel comfortable doing that. But I do want to start giving out more insights to what I’m doing personally in my career - the good, the bad, the ugly.
Being self aware and honest to myself has helped me improve a lot. I know that shame is my Achilles heel, so now I’m reading books to combat that. I’ve caved in and decided to try therapy for a bit to see if what I’m doing is useful or not. My first session is tomorrow. Staying disciplined was my initial hurdle but the systems I’ve set (waking up early + habit stacking) have helped me slowly overcome that.
Work side, I’ve started establishing myself publicly more. I don’t want to reveal too much about what I do exactly but the good news is that our biggest competitor has noticed my progress (a former employee of that company came to us for an interview and directly asked our top management about me). It’s been 4 months that I’ve been working here but I know that next year I really have to swing the bat and hit a home run. I’ve decided to work on the field more and less in the office to really understand people’s needs and create unique solutions.
The daily/weekly/quarterly diary is definitely credited to my recent wins. That’s the biggest change I’ve made in my routine and i can already see that it’s working well. I’m going to continue refining and implementing that method.
Recent work methods I’ve decided to start working on (I’m not required to do these but I do it for my growth):
1. I’ve started studying popular companies’ business and revenue models in detail. Everything is adoptable and adaptable, you just have to figure out how to tweak something for your company’s clients and needs. Now I’ve decided that I want to keep a track of our competitors, their business models, their owners names, pricing strategy, their target audience etc etc on an excel sheet so that I’m aware with what’s happening in the market. 
2. I’ve started making client profiles. Every time I meet a client, I note down their name, the company name, what they were like, anything specific they seemed to like or want, how much they had paid us for a service, what their paying capacity could be, etc. 
1K notes · View notes
yaksha-lover · 22 days
Text
I was reading through General Lilia’s card lines (woo he came home!!) and this one line really struck me because I think it contrasts well with a future dialogue he has with Malleus.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
In his general days, Lilia completely dismisses the worth of NRC, because he believes with his skills and knowledge he’s already learned everything he needs to. He has a sort of arrogant approach, believing young mages or people in general couldn’t possibly have anything to teach someone like him.
In contrast, current day Lilia acts with humility and has an opposite view, which he discusses with Malleus. He loves travelling and meeting new people, and is always open to new experiences and learning new things. Lilia understands that there are certain valuable things that Malleus can never learn through books or tutors, that can only be found through connecting with people and learning to understand experiences that are different from your own.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
We can see how Lilia has matured and become more open minded, because he’s able to challenge Malleus’ worldview that, despite being in a similar situation to Lilia and already having nothing to learn academically at NRC, there’s so much Malleus can learn just from having experiences with other people. Social skills, tolerance, kindness, friendship, humility, and maturity are all areas he can improve on from interacting with those different to him.
(To clarify, Malleus isn’t so much dismissing the value of these things, he’s just acting aloof because he was left out once again. So Lilia has to remind him why it’s worth it for him to have come, because he knows Malleus is searching for ‘something more’ in his life than just the knowledge/power/skills he already has).
TLDR; General Lilia parallels with current Malleus, and modern Lilia tries to help Malleus learn from his faults because he had the same attitude 😭💔
335 notes · View notes
astaroth1357 · 1 year
Text
The OM Cast as Househusbands
Inspired by my recent rant about domestic Solomon.
Contents: Pure fluff and unhinged roasts.
~♡♡♡~
Lucifer
A-tier. Generally a solid choice skill-wise.
Cooks decent, cleans well, budgets FANTASTICALLY, has a good list of connections/spells for all home repair, and even has a stern (but caring) parenting-style if so desired.
In short, Lucifer can run a house very well. He practically already does! Hope you like having a big, extended family because the brothers are coming with.
Really, the biggest downside to Lucifer is that you'll be constantly worried that he's bored... Man can run a house and then some. He probably has the daily chores done by noon, and then what?
He just has so much extra potential, is what I'm saying. Very "big, beautiful bird in a cramped cage" energy. But then again, maybe making him chill the fuck out and have a low-maintenance lifestyle for once is better for his blood pressure in the long run. Your call.
Mammon
B-tier. He ain't perfect, but he can learn quick.
If you can give Mammon anything, it's that he's a capable guy when he wants to be. He may not be good at cleaning up, cooking, or anything like that on his own, but with some encouragement...?
Big improvements made practically overnight! Shower him in praise and "thank you's" for every little thing he does and he'll start get greedy for it. Then he'll do even MORE around the house and he gets better each time.
Show him how to cook what you like, and he'll never forget. Remind him to fold up the laundry, and he'll get it done. Praise him for keeping the floors clean, then suddenly he's nagging YOU about tracking dirt on the carpet...
And he'll get so proud about it too... Like, he's your first man and you NEED him now. What would you ever do without him?? Now hand over your shirts because he has some ironing to do, dammit!!
The only downside is you'll have to handle the finances... The words "Mammon" and "budget" go together about as well as "grainery" and "match." He'll blow through it and then some. Earners beware.
Leviathan
Hovers around C-D tier. Levi can play the role of good househusband for a VERY particular kind of partner, otherwise he's a lost cause.
He is a surprisingly decent househusband ONLY when sufficiently motivated and playing out his "domestic slice-of-life" fantasies are that motivation.
He can cook (anime-inspired dishes), he can clean (if you convince him to treat the house like he does his figurine collections), he can even sew/mend (though the majority of what he makes may be cosplay related)!
He won't leave the house to shop, but deliveries are fine. He also can't keep to a budget that doesn't include a MASSIVE chunk carved out to maintain his otaku lifestyle. He'll throw a fit otherwise.
Really, Levi's biggest problem is that once those "domestic fantasies" become mundane, he'll get bored and go back to his shows and games again.
Anyone with him would need to keep feeding into his role with new "quests" or different tropes to try out like a DM running an irl campaign. Could be fun for a little while, but it'll be too much trouble for you both long term. Best give him a skip.
Satan
S-tier. Very good choice, and he's proud of that fact.
Cooks well, very conscientious of your needs, knowledgeable on many topics from recipes to home repair, actually knows how to do laundry in a timely manner... a very good man indeed.
100% the kind of husband who sees that it's going to rain, so he treks out to wherever the hell you are to make sure you have an umbrella. Can't have you getting sick.
Get him a cat and the house will become his own slice of the Celestial Realm. He'll even text cute pics/updates on what your cat is doing like they're your literal child.
Only downside is cleaning. He's a book horder and will argue until he's blue in the face to keep Every. Last. Pamphlet. An in-house library is a MUST and expect to need expansions. Otherwise, perfect man. Much approval to be had.
Asmodeus
B-A tier. Another decent choice, just a little eccentric at times.
Asmo is that partner who will happily play the part of the trophy househusband buuut he absolutely won't do anything too strenuous or dirty.
Cooking? Totally fine! He isn't amazing, but he's not awful either. Laundry? Say no more! Your clothes will never have a wrinkle again. But cleaning...? Like the floors, attic, or ESPECIALLY the bathroom??
Nope. Nuh-huh. His cute-ass hair and his cute-ass nails in his cute-ass clothes will not stand for it! He's going to beg for a maid immediately.
I guess in exchange you'll be hosting some killer dinner parties, though! Asmo has that "suburban wife who flaunts her amazing life" energy. Also keeping his influencer game alive with tutorials galore.
In short, Asmo is willing not just to spoil you, but elevate you as well. You just need to give him a little pampering in return, kay?
Beelzebub
B-tier. Most of his problems are, predictably, food related...
Beel really, REALLY tries but you are probably never going to have a meal on time (if there's somehow any food left at all).
It isn't that he won't cooking, arguably, he spends TOO much time cooking because he'll spend just as much time eating! Or running to the store because he ate the ingredients again...
Surprisingly, though, he's actually very good at cleaning and caring for another person. That's because it's what he does for Belphie. You think the seventhborn is picking up their room AT ALL? Don't kid yourself...
Probably a good time to point out that another downside (or perk??) of husband!Beel is you also get Belphie! But he's just as spoiled as ever so... Hopefully Beel's overwhelming amazingness will make up for that.
If you like Belphie and don't mind an empty cabinet, Beel is a good choice. If not, there are better options available, I promise.
Belphegor
D-tier. Shit househusband. Doesn't even try.
Won't clean, won't cook, won't shop, can't fix, can't budget, and don't even get me STARTED on the state of the sheets!!-
He is a decorative plant of a househusband. Meant only to make the room look nicer by his presence. I've seen dogs more capable and self-motivated to maintain a household than this man will ever be.
Should you somehow get him to exert the effort, he will whine and complain the entire time. And even then, he won't do much more than put some things away and order takeout.
The only upside to Belphie is that since he's always asleep, it's not like he's making the house any dirtier. Vacuuming around his unconscious ass is home life now. At least you probably get Beel too.
Diavolo
C-B tier. What he lacks in experience, he makes up for in enthusiasm.
So... he basically can't do anything but since he's never had to, you can cut him some slack. He loves the idea of TRYING though, so you have an eager student!
He finds cooking to be a fun challenge and he isn't terrible at it. Cleaning is a drag but he likes to see you happy. You'll have to teach anything laundry/clothes related, unfortunately, and sending him to the grocery store without a very detailed list may result in him buying an entire aisle if he doesn't know what to get.
At least he'll genuinely love to hear about your day and have the biggest smile and warmest greeting for you every time you come home. He's like a big'ol puppy, just thrilled with your existence!
(Honestly, if something has him stumped, he'll call for Barbatos to help. He'll try to hide it because he wants to show that he can do things himself, but at the end of the day your happiness wins over his pride. Now let the butler fix your plumbing.)
Barbatos
SS-tier. So good, it's literally not fair.
He's been caring for another person for centuries. He has every possible skill he would need permanently etched into his DNA. He is the Grand Master of Domestic Life that all others should strive for.
Meals are at perfect temperature by the time you sit at the table. The house is so spotless that you could eat off the broom closet. Anything that breaks gets fixed/replaced within the day. He even leaves words of encouragement in the little notes packed up with your lunch. You'll start to wonder if he's an angel who's infiltrated too deep....
Barbs also seems to have a sixth sense for whenever you've had a bad day. You come back dragging from exhaustion? You favorite meal is already cooked, the bath is ready to be drawn, and would you like a shoulder rub on top of that? Feel free to vent, he loves to listen to whatever stories you have to share!
There are only two downsides to Barbatos: the first is that you are absolutely sharing him still with Diavolo and the young master is his top concern. So sorry.
The second is that moment he gets even the hint that there may be a rat in the house, he'll nuke the place with all of your stuff still in it. So keep some traps out and keep'em fresh, yeah? You'll be fine.
Simeon
S-tier. He even comes with pre-installed parenting skills! (If you're into that kind of thing).
Simeon may not have Barbs' "live to serve" mentality, but he is truly an angel to a fault. The man already acts as Den Mother of Purgatory Hall, so what would you expect?
He cooks well enough to own his own business and you can't run a business without being good with your cash. He probably has book royalties too... Plus, he cleans up after Solomon's messy ass in canon, so-
He's gonna be that husband you take to the office party and nobody will leave you alone about him for the next week. People are going to ask if he has a brother or some shit (give them Raph's number, I dare you)
Admittedly, home repair (especially of the electronics he's guaranteed to break) should probably go to someone else. Also, he is a package deal with Luke. That child is your unspoken son now, and you'll just have to deal with that.
Otherwise, he's trophy material. Marry him and carry him over that threshold! He's worth it, truly.
Solomon
I've already ranted about Solomon here. But if you aren't aware, he's D-tier saved only by the fact that he's really trying his best.
800 year-old bachelor be like: "Oh, you're supposed to change those...? They don't smell that bad after a month."
"Of course those dishes are clean! Yes, I can see that there's still food on them, but I washed them with soap. That's what makes them clean."
"What do you mean, 'Don't set the table with beakers on date night?' Isn't this one your favorite??"
"Dinner's almost done, honey! Just let me finish clubbing this octopus!" 😁
Disaster husband. Just leave him to his delusions and get used to takeout...
1K notes · View notes
esotericpluto · 1 year
Text
messages from your future spouse
from left to right; intuitively choose the pile you feel more connected to. To make it easier, you can take a deep breathe, close your eyes and ask for guidance to your deities or guides. These are all general messages, so just take what resonates and leave what doesn't. This reading is timeless. If it resonates, feedback is always appreciated and motivates to keep doing pick a card readings.
these are intuitively channeled messages. I also channeled a book and looked at the quotes until I found the one that I intuitively matches your story better.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
pile 1
sunshines, rainbows, picnics, lakes, swans, ducks and bunnies is the energy this pile is giving me. It feels like your future spouse is looking forward to taking you to such dates and it seems like they cannot wait until this becomes a reality as you will be their sunshine.
"It is you and me against the world. You are everything for me, my flower, my castle, my sun, my moon, my world. Never leave me and I'll make you the happiest person in the world. We are in this together and I'll never abandon you. I'll be your lighthouse and guide you and you will be my candle in every unknown path of life. We are one and I can't wait until we marry and have children. I am sure they will have your beautiful eyes. We will me meeting soon, just trust your heart and let go of fear"
"She began now to comprehend that he was exactly the man who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her. His understanding and temper, though unlike her own, would have answered all her wishes. It was an union that must have been to the advantage of both: by her ease and liveliness, his mind might have been softened, his manners improved; and from his judgement, information, and knowledge of the world, she must have received benefit of greater importance.” – Pride & Prejudice
Tumblr media
pile 2
I feel like your future husband has tendency to act rough and strong, even in moments where they just want to break down and hold onto softness. Strength and resillience become weary and too much of a weight to endure and carry after so long, especially after years of going through so many hardships, difficulties and even traumas. Your future spouse struggles with opening up, with letting someone in, with showing vulnerabity or even some form of weakness.
However, they are telling me, and this is the message for you, that you make them feel like they are safe and taken care of. You are the warmth in their coldest days, you make them feel secure and like they can finally lean on someone, like they don't have to go through everything alone. With you they will learn how to trust, how to break down their barriers, their fears, their deepest worries. They want to give you the world and will defend you and protect you from everything they want. They are definitely the type to be very bold and strong towards other, but a full sweetheart towards you and this is something that will greatly enrich your heart.
I feel like they are telling me that you will also be scared at first as you will feel as if they are going to break your heart. They can assure you they would not, they would rather the whole world ending than your love going away and they will stick to their words and promises. Trust your intuition always.
"The first symptom of true love in a man is timidity, in a young woman, boldness" – Les Miserables
Tumblr media
pile 3
"If we have had many ups and downs, many struggles, many back and forths. I thought I would lose you for real, that I had truly messed up, yet we are here again. You are in front of me, in this altar, in this sanctuary of love, exchanging vows. You made me the happiest person in the world and I can only thank you for that. I am sorry for failing you like I did, I am sorry you had to see the worst parts of myself the way you did and if I could give you the universe to compensate you, I would.
I am glad we could meet again, be together again. I knew our hearts would always find our way back to each other. I saw you in my dreams, I remember you from past lives. Our love was destined and nothing that could have happened could have separated us or changed that. You are my angel, my salvation, my inspiration to become better everyday. You have a shine in your eyes that lights up my smile. Thank you for giving me another chance".
I do not think this is an ex (although, for a minority of you, it is possible). It feels more like someone who you will still meet, have a separation with and find your way back to each other eventually. They seem to have really learnt from their mistakes and will do everything in their power to show that to you.
"Good-bye, till we meet then—I embrace you warmly, warmly, with many kisses. Yours till death." – Crime and Punishment
Tumblr media
2K notes · View notes
astrojulia · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Disclaimer: These general free readings are made in good faith for entertainment purpose.
Warnings:There are piles that contain more personal subjects such as trauma.
Hello dear, how are you? The most votes PAC was Your True Passion, I am doing all the themes on the list little by little since all of them received votes. Thank you all for participating and I hope you enjoy your reading!
How to pick a pile
When you have different cards to choose from in pile 1,2,3… look at each of those cards. Wait until someone reminds you of a memory. Perhaps a character’s outfit resembles one of your own. It is this pile that has its message. What if they all remind me of something? Go for the one with the strongest memory, one might look like her earring but another might be the favorite candy you got from your grandma when you vacationed at her house. But what if none reminds me of something? Take a deep breath and wait a little longer, without charging yourself or creating worries. Relax, some will awaken some memory in you, I promise! .
Credits: Piles images: here. Template: here
Tumblr media
Pile 1
Your true passion involves helping humanity in its most catastrophic moments. There is helping someone who needs a meal and there is helping someone who has lost everything and sees no reason to live, you're in the second case. This includes social assistance, medicine, fortune telling, firefighter, police officer... Jobs that often require you to see a person in their most vulnerable moment, jobs where you can save a life in various ways, witness various stories and change several lives.
To get closer to this today, you need energy, to have your own will to live and face life, today you no longer have that sparkle in your eyes, that fire in your soul... It may be due to physical, mental and psychological reasons. If it's physical, seek your nutritionist and doctor to give you the necessary vitamins. If it's mental, improve all your self-knowledge and look for books and courses that can improve your essence. If it's psychological, look for the most accessible therapy for you, don't give up, you're not lazy, you're unhealthy.
You can also do the spell from "Book of Spells" by Paulina Cassidy page 75:
Booster Walk You’ll need: - A music device and airphones; - A relaxing and safe route for walking; Make sure you’re wearing comfortable walking shoes. Put your phones on, and start walking quickly! As you breathe in and out, using long, deep breaths, imagine white light flowing through you, invigorating your body, mind and spirit. With every step, feel your energy boosting. Walk as long you feel this energy.
After you have reconnected with your essence, there are several ways to exercise your true passion in your life as a whole. Here I present three.
One of them is to help sick or vulnerable people such as children and the elderly. You will need a lot of spiritual strength, to live a life where you know that when you leave your house, your pains and problems are left behind and the only thing that matters is helping someone else. You will need to be a person who has the courage to do whatever it takes and assume all your responsibilities, because here you will have to embody all the stereotypes of what a responsible adult really is.
The second involves more writing, but not exactly creative writing, but rather a more didactic one, such as being a teacher of any type of subject. If you happen to be the type who hates studying out of responsibility, there is also the other side of living for dance,so the effort of living with your face in books and huge texts is all going to learn about your own body, in these two options they both involve a lot of teaching for future generations, you learn to accumulate knowledge and help the next person not to make the mistakes you made.
The third and last one talks about building communities that support people in their doubts and difficulties, creating a safe space where people can be their best version and this doesn't need to be anything grand, it can be a place where they can gather to have an afternoon coffee and talk about dreams and nightmares.
In all three options, there is a lot of hope for a better future and a confrontation against the cruelty of the world, you need to learn from your own tragedies, live them and leave them behind to help others.
Pile 2
Your true passion is to succeed in life, to be better than your parents ever were, to rub in the faces of people who bullied you in school that you are much better than them. For this, you will need to align two very difficult things... which are ego and humility. You will need to have a healthy self-esteem and ego to know that you are capable and humility to not think you are better than everyone else and step on others. What is lacking for you to do this today is motivation, it’s like you want to do something but can’t see any path to achieve that goal. I will give you a spell from my book, but know that to get what you want you will have to follow a different path from your friends and ancestors, you will have to chase your dreams alone and fight for them until they become a reality.
But to give you a little push now, I give you the spell from "Book of Spells" by Paulina Cassidy page 125-126:
The Garden of Motivation Take a section of the yard, if not possible pick a vase, you will consecrate as your motivation garden. Each day you will tend to it taking any amount of time needed. Weed, water, feed and care for this garden, picturing what you want it to be in the future. Add anything to your garden that makes you happy, such as wind chimes, garden sculptures, gemstones, outdoor candle holders and pretty stones. This is your garden, so make it and keep it a reflection of yourself, and your motivation. When weeding your garden, you’re in turn weeding away the negativity from you. As you nurture and cultivate this garden over time you’re nurturing and cultivating your own ambitions. As an extra tip, you can plant something and give it your dream name or even your own name. If you truly want results, you will enjoy the work to achieve them. Happy gardening!!!
There are always more than one way to achieve your dreams, I talk about three.
The first one talks much more about enjoying your own life than anything else, you know, there comes a point where we have everything we wanted years ago and still aren't happy because we want more things, that is, we didn't even enjoy all the effort we had. You will need to take a break from the rush of life from time to time to pamper yourself, to see how much you have achieved and be proud of what you already have.
The second way is to leave the city or country where you were born, maybe you already have the dream of living somewhere else, a connection with another culture that you don't even understand what it is, but for you to be happy with your life you you will need to face the fear of abandoning all the comfort and security of living in a place you already know to go somewhere you don't know.
The third is to do almost the same thing as the second, leave where you live (do you hate your home? just kidding), but now it's for work and study. Where is the best college you can go? Can you go there? You should.
All options speak of physically leaving the place where you are and not stressing yourself thinking about all the things you still need to do, but being aware that you are responsible for achieving your dreams without being tied to the future, enjoying the present and being proud from past.
Pile 3
Your true passion is independence. Not owing anything to anyone, not having to wait for someone else's decision to do what you want. You want to be rich and enjoy everything you have sown. You are afraid of having to ask for something from someone, since you want to be your own provider and what is lacking today is a more abundant look. There are times when you are very pessimistic, more afraid of running out of something than acquiring something, it's like you chase after things not because you want them, but because you're afraid of running out. It's like you go to work not because you want to spend the money to buy McDonald's or enter that course, but to not run out of money when you need it.
Something that can help you get rid of this fear of scarcity is the spell from "Book of Spells" by Paulina Cassidy page 147:
Prosperity Bath You’ll need: - Fresh ginger root; - A handful of cinnamon sticks; - A bunch of fresh basil; - A piece of cheesecloth and rubber band Put all ingredients into the cheesecloth and tie with the rubber band. Allow the pouch to soak in the water as you run your bath. When you step into your bath, relax and envision prosperity streaming to you. Know that you will receive all that you need. (Julia notes: normally we do our baths making a “tea” with the ingredients and at the end of your normal bath you pour the “tea” into your body, avoiding your head, and then you let your body dry naturally).
There are several ways to achieve your true passion, but I always mention three:
The first is going back to doing that childhood dream that you left behind a long time ago because you thought it didn't make money. What was? Sing, draw, write, paint? You can go back to doing what you like, but now as an adult you have the opportunity to study, take a course and improve your skills.
The second thing you can do is much more perverse... You hold a lot of grudges from people who hurted you. You carry a lot of trauma and anger and that's it, either you take revenge the way you want or leave all that behind and move on with your life, go to a therapist or solve your problems, the way you are now, no no matter what you do, it's going to be out of fear and not for passion.
The third talks about opening yourself up more to life's possibilities, you've been so locked up, so focused on survival and forgot that you can just live, the world is full of opportunities and you have the competence to put effort into something and make it your own work or hobby, you don't have to beat yourself up, you don't have to suffer to be worthy of happiness.
All options speak of fear and trauma, of how you are still chained to the past and it is not letting you be happy, know that time heals all wounds and that life does not give greater challenges than our own strength.
Pile 4
Your true passion is to answer "What is the meaning of life?", because you want to live it. There is a lot of curiosity here, wanting to know more, having answers to all questions and a tiredness of seeing that everything is always the same,like the world will never change. What you have control over and can change is yourself, the world will change... in very, very slow steps, until then, revitalize yourself every day.
Something that can help you have energy is the spell from "Book of Spells" by Paulina Cassidy page 184:
Vitality Broom Dance You’ll need: - A broom; - Citrus-scented incense, or citrus essential oil and an oil diffuser; - Upbeat music; Light the incense or oil diffuser. Begin playing the music. With your broom, begin sweeping the room in unison to the beat of the music. Sweep in a counterclockwise direction to purify the room and remove negative energies. Then, sweep clockwise direction to build harmony, balance and vitality. This spell will get your cells pulsating as you awaken the healing flow of vitality within and around you.
There are several ways to make your dreams come true, but I always indicate three:
The first is to pursue knowledge and get involved with younger people or those whom you have seen as ignorant until now. Everyone has their truths, and uneducated people often learn too much from life. Maybe you have that simple grandmother who knows how to do many things... Be aware that you will be an eternal apprentice, carrying your own truth without needing to harm others.
The second way is to get involved with people in a joyful way, to celebrate life and have fun with all the material world. Life is abundant and has a lot to offer you, you can learn not only in studies, but also at parties and conversations.
The last one is already the most complicated, as it talks about being able to maintain a balance between social life and solitary life. You are very prone to work which the law (judges, lawyers), professions that require a lot of studying to achieve, that suffer their own dangers and pleasures. You can follow this path, but you can't get lost in it and become dogmatic.
All options talk about people, you you can learn from people, how you can you protect them when necessary. Don't be afraid of society, you will see that there are many more good people than bad ones, it's just that the bad ones are louder.
1K notes · View notes
queenofcoquette · 10 months
Text
eating clean(er)!
prefaces:
i know talking about food can be a sensitive subject, so i want to give some prefaces before we begin:
this is not about weight loss, this is about health. people can be thin but still have a diet that is not beneficial for their health. even tho i’m not overweight, im still striving to eat healtheir for the sake of my health and the health benefits of whole foods. 
 i know it can also be difficult to eat healthy (healthier foods are typically more expensive in the US) and a lot of people don’t have the time to put time into thinking about what they’re going to eat. you don’t need to eat completely farm fresh food, these are simply tips for bettering your current diet.
eating better:
read about nutrition. you can buy or check out books on it or read online, but read about the importance of eating good and what we need in our diets.
find fun recipes. the first step is finding recipes you can make at home. generally, eating at home is cheaper and also a lot healthier. and finding recipes that are fun and new makes eating healthy a lot better :)
make a list of fruits and vegtables you like and dont like- this will help you know what to buy and what to eat more of. this is a great starting point
add more fruits and vegtables to your meals. find new ways to incorporate them into your meals- snack of them- whatever. just strive to eat a fruit and vegtable with every meal.
add more whole foods into your diet. obviously this includes fruits and vegtables, but also things such as poultry, eggs, nuts and beans. fish is also really good for you. find ways to incorporate the nutrients you need.
start with healthier snacks. to put it simply, just swapping out highly unhealthy snacks (such as chips, sweets, etc.) with healthier alternatives (such as fruits) can make a big impact. not only will these healthier options satisfy your hunger better, but you’ll also be provided with the proper energy your body needs.
balance it out! dessert is fun to- so are sweets and milkshakes and ice cream and all of that. eating healthy doesn’t mean getting rid of those foods, it means eating healthy most of the time but letting yourself enjoy a variety of foods.
how to start:
do your own research. the internet is full of misinformation and fear mongering, so before you even begin take time to research things like the effects of canned foods and other ultra-processed ones. you don’t have to be an expert in nutrition, but building a better knowledge of healthy eating and WHY it’s important is crucial to start.
find healthier alternatives. for example, i love fruit snacks and gummies, so not only do i eat less of those, but i tend to go for the healthier versions. changes like this will make healthy eating a lot easier!
start small. maybe just add a fruit or vegtable to two of your meals a day and then all of them. progress always comes from little steps, so find something that works for YOU.
if you’re having trouble balancing out food, or if food is just a general issue for you, then please get help and contact a hotline or service that deals with eating disorders.
conclusion
self-love means nourishing our bodies in order for them to be their healthiest versions. our bodies keep us alive and do so much for us- so in return we need to nourish them with what they need to keep us feeling good. treating our bodies to the nutrients they crave helps us feel more energized, improves our overall health and mood. it gives us a healthy feeling and a glow. hope u enjoyed this post :))))- amy <3
Tumblr media
473 notes · View notes
whoistartaglia · 11 months
Note
Hi I’m kinda a boomer on tumblr so srry if I do this wrong or something
can I request a diluc taking care of injured reader (broken ribs, bones, yk the usual). He spends more time w/ you, buys you things to make u feel better, just him being the gentleman that he is ^^. And then when your injuries heal more, he helps you get used to physical activities and stuff like that.
Thank you! Have a great day
in sickness and in health
genshin men helping you recovery after an injury
diluc had to fight the urge to tell you he “told you so” after you returned home from a particularly dangerous adventure with quite a few bruises and fractures. he went white as a ghost when he saw you drag yourself back to the dawn winery, and even paler so when you nearly collasped in the doorway. needless to say, he spent the next few days right at your bedside—dressing your wounds, helping you take your medicines and healing salves. during this time, if you ask him if he’s been sleeping, he’ll look you dead in the eyes and tell you “you don’t want to know the answer.” when you do start to improve, diluc will actually leave your bedside for more than an hour. you’ll take a nap and wake up to an abundance of gifts and presents, and a bashful diluc explaining what each one is for. he’ll help you get back on your feet too, but is naturally weary if you want to go on another adventure right away—you just got better! what do you mean you want to go back out fighting and exploring? protest against this, and he might just need to drop the “i told you so” bomb.
childe makes himself nurse you back to health before hunting down the poor souls that did this to you. if you think you feel extra bloodlust radiating off of him at this time, you’d be right. he’s livid, truthfully, but he’s pushing that aside to be a good and caring partner to you. he’s unsurprisingly talented at bandaging your cuts and applying creams and salves—after all, he’s had a plethora of injuries of his own of which to take care. childe will feed you meals in bed and act as a crutch should you have difficulty moving about. growing up with siblings, he’s naturally adept at feeding you in bed and taking care of you in general. once you are back on your feet and kicking, and childe deems you can, in his words, “survive a couple days without his illustrious care,” he’s going to go out and find whoever did this to you. there’s a glint in his eyes that spells trouble, but he did just help you recover some rather nasty injuries, so you give him a pass.
kazuha will halt all his travels, cancel all his plans, stop anything and everything, when you get injured. it doesn’t really matter if it’s a papercut or broken bones; his care is always attentive and efficient. having traveled around the world, kazuha is rather knowledgeable about natural medicine and different healing practices from different cultures. he has an innate ability to care for you, and you’ll find yourself getting better within days, if not hours, depending on the injury. during this time, kazuha will remain at one location, and regale you with tales and stories of his previous travels as you recover. what helps is that he’s so gentle when tending to you and your wounds. this calm nature is even more reassuring once you do start to get moving again; his soft encouragement does wonders for sore muscles and lingering doubts. kazuha will never push you too hard, and for that your grateful. when you are fully recovered, you’ll resume your travels, though may hear kazuha call “be careful dear!” every so often.
dottore might groan and grumble when you show up at his office, scratches and bruised and broken, but he’s truly worried in his own way. he’ll take care of you by the books—medicine at this time every day, bandages changed every hour, three meals on rotation. if you ever complain about bitter medicine or him insiting you need rest, the most you’ll get out of him is a pointed glare and raised eyebrow. he’s basically telling you to suck it up without outright telling you (though he’s not terribly opposed to the idea). if you really don’t like it, he’ll experiment with trying to make it better, or at the very least, mix it with sweet tea or honey. as for rest, dottore won’t budge. he’ll explain in medicinal terms you can’t quite wrap your head around why you need sleep and use big words about why your body heals more when you’re asleep. when he finishes this lengthy explanation, he’ll find you actually fell asleep, which hurt his feelings, but got the job done, at least. the only practice not by the books is dottore laying down next to you and pulling you in his arms, but looking back on it, you think this made you feel best most of all.
519 notes · View notes
ghostlyferrettarot · 3 months
Text
Hello guys! I'm Kat. I am tarot and astrology reader. I use my psychic abilities and knowledge in tarot and astrology to help you discover and get to know yourself. I am opening my paid services to help myself pay my university expenses as well as my studies supplies.
✨️Your reading will be sent in about 1-3 days and this will be either through email or Tumblr dm, you choose (in exception to the full natal chart reading that will be send through email or other way of your choice due to be a pdf file). All readings are in depth.To book a reading please send me a tumblr dm.✨️
🌟All payments are made through paypal, although im open to use other method if it's easier for you and im able to use it🌟
✨️If you are from Argentina the payments can be made through mercado pago✨️
💐Thank you in advance💐
Tumblr media
🔮Tarot readings:
If you want a personalized reading with topics and questions of your choice, you can DM me.
♣︎General tarot reading: 12$ or $3500 Arg pesos.
-Your current energy.
-How can you improve right now.
-Advice and guidance from your guides about a situation of your choice.
♣︎Channeled Messages from your person. 15$ or $4500 Arg pesos.
-What they want to tell you?
-What is their perception of you?
-How they feel about the situation.
-Advice from your guides about the situation.
♣︎Your next 6 months: 15$ or $5000 Arg pesos.
-What's coming your way?
-How is your energy changing?
-Advice and guidance from your guides for the next months.
-2 questions of your choice.
♣︎Your Spirit Guide: 15$ or $6500 Arg pesos.
-Who is/are the guide/s trying to communicate with you? How is their energy towards you?
-Ways they communicate with you.
-What are their messages for you?
-Advice from them for you.
♣︎Your life as a celebrity: 18$ or $6500 Arg pesos.
-What you would be famous for?
-How your day would look like?
-How your fans/admirors would be?
-How will the media view you? Would you have any scandals?
-How to step into this energy?
♣︎ What's next in love?: 18$ or 6500 Arg pesos.
-Who is this person?
-What are their intentions?
-Their first impresion of you.
-Personal characteristics and hobbies of this person.
-Advice from your guides.
♣︎Your soulmate: 20$ or $8000 Arg pesos.
-How your connection will be.
-How they see you.
-Their intentions towards you.
-Physical characteristics and hobbies.
-Their overall energy.
-Their love language.
-Advice from your guides.
♣︎Your Past Life: 25$ or 8000$ Arg pesos.
-Who were you in this past life? How others view you back then?
-How was your life back then?
-What past life skills/talents can you develop in this one?
-Who from your past life has a message for you?
-What lessons you need to learn from this past life?
-Advice from your guides and higher self.
Tumblr media
🌌Natal Chart readings:
★You big 3: 8$ or $3000 Arg pesos.
-Your big 3 reading (Sun, moon, risining) as well as the houses they are in.
★Personal placements (Sun, moon, mercury, Venus, Mars and rising): 15$ or $4500 arg pesos.
-Personal planets as well as the houses they are in.
★Full natal chart reading: 25$ or $9000 Arg pesos.
-All planets as well as the houses they are in.
-Houses and the signs they are in.
-Rising sign, Midheaven, Lilith, Chiron and fortune.
-Aspects of your natal chart.
(This will be an in depth pdf document that you will be able to read when you want; i would also include pictures and advice that can help you understand your chart better, for example pictures of how to dress according to your venus when we get into the venus part, ideal jobs for your midheaven, etc.)
💐Thanks for taking your time reading and i hope i we can work together! Have a nice day💐
Tumblr media
Tumblr media
220 notes · View notes
video-game-luvr · 1 month
Text
80's themed Honkai Star Rail!
A/N: Let me cook! Let me cook! These prompts will be made into yandere fics, if you guys enjoy it, the smut will come eventually.. If you folks dig it! Just be patient and let me cook! I haven't ever posted actual fics or series so my work isn't the best but I still hope you bunch enjoy it nonetheless! Feel free to correct me or tell me if it's OOC! I am always open to improving! English was not my first language.
My ask box is open for ideas and thirsts! Maybe an 80s slasher theme next? A serial killer is on the loose! Who could be behind the mass disappearances!
Tumblr media
Neighbourhood dilfy uncle Gallagher, who is friends with your parents... This prompt would also work so well with Jingyuan! Your parents just trust their friends so much, don't they?
Welt being that hot librarian with a mature charm. You can't help but gaze at his veiny and calloused hands, holding that book, and scrutinizing everything about the contents of the book.
Sneaking out at night to skate around with Caelus and Luka!
Dan Heng who is part of a band, as a bassist. Walking around everywhere with his headphones on. Talking about music with him, and him sharing all his favourite songs with you by giving you a custom made cassette! (Though it was probably pirated)
Going to a cassette store and befriending Dan Heng gives you butterflies. The usually cold and hard-to-approach Dan Heng was now your friend!
Gepard being the local heartthrob, he is such a sweet man, always helping his neighbours with carrying their groceries to their house. Funnily enough, this man is also really clumsy. Your mom asked for his help in changing a light bulb, only for him to fall over from the ladder, luckily he didn't get any major injuries from it.
More about Gepard, he is part of the baseball club! His broad figure and precise aim makes him perfect for it! Just about everyone has a crush on this brawny oaf! He is such a himbo. He can definitely do no harm!
Rock star Blade/Yingxing! It just makes so much sense! Especially if his band is punk, definitely an alternative band for sure, even if it's not punk. Just cheering for him with all your heart, and seeing him throw a wink your way.. Orz "Meet me behind stage." He mouthed to you. The cold arrogant star took a liking to you! Now this is exciting!
Ah yes, Sunday. The epitome of a perfect man. A role model for everyone in school. (Probably a preppy private school) His drive to keep things in order is commendable. All of his perfect execution as a school president isn't limited to the school. He also most definitely goes to church and organizes youth events, leading the choir, you name it!
However, under that flawless persona. Sunday is probably hiding some deep dark secrets. Who knows what that man is thinking.(It's giving... cult leader!)
Playing videogames with Caelus! Who has been your trusty neighbour for years! Your first encounter was him digging into piles of junk, you were really weirded out at first, and probably refused to play with him. But with enough nagging from your mom, you slowly warmed up to the idea of being friends with that weird silly neighbour of yours. From that point on, you guys started to play videogames together! Caelus has started to change over time, he seems to not be able to focus on videogames anymore.. His face oddly becomes red when he catches you gazing at his face. Without your knowledge, someone's love has started to bud and bloom. (He wants you so bad! You might regret befriending this weird kid!)
Himeko is the absolute hot aunt! The resident MILF! Every time she talks with your mom, you can't help but stare at how beautiful she is. She can't help but tease you about how adorable you look with that flushed face of yours. Your mother trusts her with all her heart. I'm sure she wouldn't do anything twisted.
Argenti, an art student. His vision of what beauty is is directly painted onto the canvas. He is incredibly passionate about his vision. A beautiful birth, a beautiful life, a beautiful end to life. He may seem a bit eccentric at times, but he means well... Right? (He is probably a cult member... Not Sunday's though. He is a follower of the path of beauty!)
112 notes · View notes
amourdivine · 8 months
Text
Tumblr media
𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃 🦢 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐆𝐍𝐈𝐙𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐅𝐒?
Tumblr media
Hello! Since I wanted to cross this to Instagram, I wrote a sweet and short reading on how you'll be able to recognize your FS. I really hope this resonates! Feedback is always appreciated; If you liked this reading, please consider booking a paid reading or tipping me at @ [email protected]! xo. ♡
follow me on my socials. youtube ✨ instagram
none of the images are mine unless stated otherwise.
Tumblr media
how to choose your pile.  take deep breaths for a few minutes & look at each and every one of the piles separately. which pile sparks a feeling inside you? which pile gives you a strong memory or calls out to you the most? take your time and feel free to come back to it later.
♡ ♡ ♡     pick a card masterlist & information.
Tumblr media
disclaimer. this is a general reading for entertainment purposes. tarot is a divination tool & is not a substitute for medical and professional advice, nor is it meant to be taken as such. i do not take responsibility for any choice(s) made by you or others regarding my readings.
Tumblr media
amourdivine. 2021 - 2023 © do not copy, redistribute or edit my content.
PILE 001.
three of wands • three of cups • eight of pentacles
Before being a good anything, this person is a good friend. You'll recognize them by their hardworking nature, their cooperation and team working skills. It's likely you'll meet them during a work travel or another kind of formal situation - perhaps on a group travel for a college project or some other kind of professional setting. Your FS will be extremely skilled and knowledgeable, but humble about it. You may end up collaborating with this person on something significant here, perhaps a business or a project together. I feel like they're very prim & proper, they'll never cross boundaries and will always be respectful of everyone's beliefs, religion and backgrounds. You'll recognize them by their patience, their independent, wise and practical nature.
Planets and signs: Earth energy, mainly Capricorn and Taurus.
♡ ♡ ♡ if you enjoyed this reading, please consider tipping me via paypal @ [email protected]!
Tumblr media
PILE 002.
two of swords • the empress • the hermit.
So much Venus and Libra here. This person is a people pleaser, not in a terrible way, but they want to be discerning, okay. They want to be fair and diplomatic. Your FS is thoughtful - you'll recognize them by how much they always want to do the right thing, to the point where it becomes borderline unhealthy and perfectionist. They want to make sure they make the best decisions for everyone in their lives. Your FS takes everyone's feelings into account because they care deeply about their family and loved ones. You'll recognize them for their big heart, their sensitive, introspective and gentle nature. They may be an overthinker as well, because your FS is terrified of hurting someone or doing the wrong thing by themselves or someone else. They're beautiful in all aspects.
Planets and signs: Earth and Air, mainly Libra and Virgo.
♡ ♡ ♡ if you enjoyed this reading, please consider tipping me via paypal @ [email protected]!
Tumblr media
PILE 003.
the star • three of swords • seven of swords.
Your FS is resilient, hopeful and cunning. You'll recognize them by their ability to outsmart the people who don't mean well, by their silver tongue and sharp wit. They have an uncanny ability to get past the heartbreaks and difficult moments in their life. This person has been through it, they've seen many things and they did not let the world get to them. While they may seem smug, your FS is confident in themselves to get through anything in life. They're hopeful, but they're not passive about their hope. They don't sit around and wait for things to improve - no, this person improves their own life and crafts their own destiny. Magician card energy. You'll recognize them by their stubbornness, their desire to fight for better things and their unique sense of humor.
Planets and signs: All air signs, mainly Aquarius and Gemini.
♡ ♡ ♡ if you enjoyed this reading, please consider tipping me via paypal @ [email protected]!
Tumblr media
PILE 004.
page of swords • eight of pentacles • justice.
Your FS is a curious, busy and hardworking person. You'll recognize them by how many questions about life they have - they're a truth seeker. They could work in the legal or justice system. This person may be a bookworm and likes asking the hard, philosophical questions. They're not afraid of harsh truths and confronting the people who have done something wrong. Your FS may strongly believe in karma, or perhaps they have a very strong ethic and moral code. You'll recognize them by how passionate, eager and restless they seem for something greater than what the world can offer. A larger-than-life personality. Someone honest, curious, non-judgmental and principled.
Planets and signs: mainly Libra and Gemini, with a feel of Sagittarius.
♡ ♡ ♡ if you enjoyed this reading, please consider tipping me via paypal @ [email protected]!
Tumblr media
amourdivine. © do not copy, redistribute or edit my content.
389 notes · View notes
csuitebitches · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
On Being Well Spoken
I recently received a request about posting something regarding being well spoken.
Something you need to realise is that you’re not going to become well-spoken overnight. You need to practice on people. You need to SPEAK.
I used to stutter so badly that I could barely speak a whole sentence.
Flash forward a few years. I pitched my start up in front of a crowd, I joined Model United Nations in high school and college, I’ve been invited to speak on my entrepreneurial experience by some top universities in my country. It’s taken a lot to get here. And I’m still not where I want to be.
1. Apps to track progress and help you get better at public speaking
An app that you can use: “Speeko.”
I used to use this, it is beginner friendly and you can improve your public speaking skills as well.
2. Use topic generators
Go online and look up a topic generator. Generate a random topic, video yourself speaking on that topic. Don’t give yourself time to prepare anything - read the topic and start speaking. Set a time limit - you’ll realise that speaking for even 2 minutes can be quite difficult at times.
Not only does this make you realise that you may have limited language skills, but it will also make you realise exactly where you’re falling behind. Note down things in a journal.
- is grammar the issue?
- Lack of vocabulary?
- Too many filler sounds?
- Knowledge gap?
This is also a great idea if you’re at an intermediate level of learning a language/ polishing a language. Do this everyday and maintain a diary on your improvement.
3. Reading out loud
Select a news article or any article. Read out loud, slowly and steadily. Pronounce every syllable calmly.
A two minute read should take 5 minutes to read out loud. That’s how slow you should go. Not more than 4-5 words per breath.
Your tongue needs to get used to different syllables and sounds. Practice will help.
4. Talk in real life
Talk to anyone and everyone whenever you can.
Ask your barista how their day is going.
Ask your work or university security if they’ve had a good day and if they ate today.
Chat with your taxi driver about their life. I always start with asking them if they are from the city we’re travelling in. Even if you’re from that city, act like a tourist. Where are the best eateries? The conversation eventually goes to personal questions. How many children do they have, and what do they do? What do they like about the city?
You’ll learn the art of small talk only through practice. No book or guide can actually prepare you. You have to practice, practice and practice.
5. Diaphragm breathing
Diaphragm breathing is very important. Look up some YouTube videos for reference. You essentially breathe from your tummy (stomach goes in and out; not chest going up and down). This is a great calming exercise too.
6. Stuttering tongue/ jaw exercise videos
These are great because they really do prep your jaw and tongue well. The videos could include tongue stretches, placing your tongue on your palette correctly, etc. Search on YouTube.
7. Body posture
You really need to work on your posture too. Sit up straight. Back, STRAIGHT. Chin up, shoulders relaxed. Something as simple as posture can change your level of confidence.
8. Pranayama
A yoga exercise for breathing. You can find a guided video on YouTube for sure.
9. Vocabulary
Invest your time in expanding your vocabulary. There’s enough apps and games that can help you with that, if you aren’t fond of reading. A sign of being well spoken is having great vocabulary.
Start by looking up the synonyms of everyday words.
“I’m upset”
- how many different words can you find for upset?
“I had a crazy day today”
- one can easily use “hectic”, “chaotic” “lively” instead
10. Idioms
Idioms, phrases, sayings - look up common idioms in your language of choice. Aim to use at least 3 new idioms on 3 separate occasions in a week while you speak. You need to understand when and where you can use the idioms in your vocabulary.
11. Knowing when to switch
You can’t talk like a 50 year old heiress to a 10 year old child; you need to get down to their level.
If someone is clearly not a native speaker and is struggling to put words together, don’t use difficult words around them.
If you’re meeting with someone high profile, refrain from using slang.
The best speakers know when to switch their level of language.
You can’t use one singular type of speaking with everyone. You need to understand that there is a time and place for everything - and you’ll be able to switch like a pro only when you actually speak and start gaining experience.
5K notes · View notes
meimi-haneoka · 1 month
Text
Clear Card Trivia 3 ~ Sakura's journey of growth and self-understanding throughout Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card
Tumblr media
Hello and welcome back to my "Clear Card Trivia" series, a collection of informative posts where I delve into certain aspects of the story of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card! ✨
The topic I will talk about today has been on my "to-do list" for long time. It's something I felt the need to talk about, and I won't hide the reason why: the desire to fully eviscerate this topic grew particularly after reading around certain criticism of Clear Card Arc. But also after listening to CLAMP's Twitter Spaces, particularly the ones towards the end of the story.
It's something that, setting aside my obvious love for the new characters, will always make me think that Clear Card Arc has been a very welcome addition to the series.
This post will delve into Sakura's growth throughout Clear Card Arc.
Sakura grew up considerably during the story, and had a character development that sadly not many people truly realized.
I'm not talking about an evolution of the character design which, despite changing and evolving throughout the story (as it's expected for a long-running serialization), kept depicting Sakura consistently with quite young looks...no, I'm talking about her mental growth, in relation to her self-knowledge and her relationship with her magic powers.
A journey that might almost feel "frustrating", because it is full of "up and downs", and Sakura sometimes seems to be taking one step forward and two back. Aside from the obvious practical reasons (the plot had to develop several other storylines simultaneously), it very much reflects the realistic growth of a pre-teen, which is never a straight line but is made of improvements and relapses.
Along the journey, I couldn't really avoid mentioning some bits of the development of Sakura's relationship with Syaoran, which will get its own deep and detailed post another day.
There's also an extra about the significance of the Clear Cards in the story, at the end.
I have to be honest, the post is very long, but I tried to insert visual elements to make it easier on the eye. If you're curious to know how the hell I found so much to talk about for this specific topic, follow me under the cut and dive into Sakura's journey throughout Clear Card (it's also a good way to review the story)! ✨
Tumblr media
A Disconnected Beginning
Clear Card Arc starts in a very "festive" and happy way: everything is peaceful, a new exciting chapter of Sakura's educational life is starting with the beginning of middle school, Syaoran is back to Tomoeda, this time to stay forever with his beloved girl...everything seems so perfect. And precisely in chapter 1, before everything takes an unexpected turn, we have this scene here, which I consider the "true" beginning of everything:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Sakura says "I haven't been using this lately...well, that's for the better".
At the beginning of Clear Card Arc, Sakura seems to be feeling disconnected from her natural gift.
Despite she had to go on a quest to collect all the Clow Cards, which later she gave a new life to by changing them into Sakura Cards, we have to remember that Sakura was born with magic powers. They weren't bestowed on her by Kero-chan, nor by the contract with the Clow Book: she always had magic in her blood, and it apparently "woke up" on that fateful day she found the Clow Book in the library of her father.
At the beginning of this arc, Sakura seems to think that the purpose, the meaning of this natural gift which is literally part of herself, has been fulfilled by transforming all the Cards, and splitting Eriol's power as he had requested. Her words here seem to be suggesting a general idea of "if I have to use this key (therefore, my magic powers), it means something troublesome is happening, so it's better if I'm not using it because it means everything is okay".
And although we can't really deny that what happened afterwards is far from being able to be considered "peaceful", this scene here always left a bad taste in my mouth because there's almost a negative vibe attached to the idea of her magic, transpiring from Sakura's words. It's almost as if she's politely rejecting it.
Precisely after she places her Star Key in her jewelry box, probably hoping to never have to use it again, she has her first premonitory dream of the events that will shake her life afterwards. Almost as if her powers were trying to tell her "no my dear, this is you and you'd better come to terms with it as soon as possible".
Then, as we all know, the Cards turn blank. Sakura produces a new key while having another dream and a quest to fight and "secure" some strange phenomena happening around her begins, leaving her in a state of increasing confusion.
This is the beginning of the part of the story that I quite literally call "Sakura loses sight of herself".
At this very early stage of the story, she still doesn't know that she started losing control over her increasing magical power, and it is definitely not a coincidence that all of this began when she thought of shutting her main magic tool away in a box, hoping to ignore it forever. For plot reasons, this also happens simultaneously to Syaoran taking the spirits of the Sakura Cards away from her (because in the beginning, you had to be tricked into thinking he was up to something shady and was the real mastermind behind all the incidents).
Syaoran expected for Sakura to lose control over her powers, as his mother predicted a general period of trouble for her that could lead her to unhappiness, albeit without any clear indication of what could happen: Syaoran came to Japan knowing something was bound to happen to his girl and her powers, and that something was going to lead her to grief, but he had no idea about all the rest. So his uncertain and reckless approach, which ended up in some cases worsening the situation, is also somewhat understandable. He was acting like a worried, overprotective boyfriend at his wit's end.
The strange events, which Sakura materializes into a new set of Cards, surely leave her distraught and confused, not to mention the situation with the Sakura Cards and Eriol's missing replies, but I feel that what really destabilizes her core are the constant dreams she gets, sometimes even in the middle of her waking hours, making her faint on the spot wherever she is.
Premonitory dreams are a part of her natural gift that she began to express ever since the OG manga, but she never seemed to really understand them or take them seriously.
This time around, she keeps seeing this cloaked figure and this terrifying dragon, no one speaks a word despite her relentless questions and the cloaked figure seems to be wanting to take her newly made key away (Lilie!!! what were you trying to do!! *facepalm* she probably tried to pull her closer so she could talk to her), so it's just normal that all of that leaves her increasingly stressed and anxious, even though initially you never see her openly and verbally stating that, due to her overall positive nature ("I'll manage it, somehow" is part of her "everything will be alright" invincible spell, and this is indeed what she keeps telling herself in the beginning of the arc, even though in some occasions it turned out to be a double-edged sword, as sometimes it looked more like sweeping her fears under the carpet, to me).
Tumblr media
"Something Is Not Right"
Tumblr media
Dream after dream, Card after Card, Sakura begins to have these general feelings of discomfort and of "something is not right, here", as she openly states to Syaoran in this scene of volume 4, chapter 14. There's something about this situation that is pricking her sixth sense, and makes her uneasy, but she can't quite put her finger on it yet. All she can do is to keep "fighting" these phenomena happening around her, hoping to find out more along the way. She reiterates the same feeling of uneasiness at the end of chapter 15, after what I consider one of the most concerning side-effects of her poor control over her powers: Sakura seems almost "in trance" while she leads her guardians to the exit of the maze, and acts in a very uncharacteristic, cold way by shoving her bag in front of Yue to make him hold it for her. It's almost as if her magical sixth sense worked too strongly and warped her personality in that moment: an effect that has been mentioned several times in relation to powerful magicians like Clow, Eriol and later Kaito too, so it's not farfetched at all to attribute this one-off occurrence to her loss of control over her strong powers, which ended up affecting her personality too. Luckily, it didn't happen again in the rest of the story and the capture of this Card was completely changed in the anime (a wise decision imho, since the JP fandom is particularly fussy about the integrity of Sakura's character, and she needed to stay "Sakura" in order to do what she did at the end).
At the culmination of a "mini arc" (the visit to great-grandpa Masaki) characterized by uncontrolled visions of Nadeshiko, another frightening dream (one that ended up dragging even Akiho in, due to the synchronization) and Sakura for the first time ever confronting Syaoran about the things he's been hiding from her, we reach the following scene of volume 5, chapter 23.
Tumblr media
"I Wish I Had A Mirror"
Tumblr media
I always considered this scene extremely important, because for the first time Sakura spells out clearly the inner turmoil that's been gnawing at her soul ever since this ordeal with the new Cards started.
"The truth is...I'm the worst at understanding myself. And that is probably causing lots of concern to everyone." "I wish I had a mirror. A mirror that could reflect the real me. Then, I would probably understand how to not make everyone worry"
Here, Sakura clearly spells out the frustration of knowing, feeling in her bones that there's something wrong with her, something that she's not understanding about herself, and that something is causing problems, but most importantly, is causing her loved ones to worry about her. Let's not forget that not only Syaoran, but also Yukito, Touya, Fujitaka, Tomoyo, Eriol & his family have all been watching her situation in apprehension, each of them making decisions and moving discretely in a direction they felt was right (and admittedly, not all instances were so).
Sakura can somehow feel all of that, she can feel that it's related to something she still hasn't realized about herself. This tends to be forgotten because it happens in a relatively early part of the plot, but notice how this is the same problem Kaito suffers from. A quite stunted ability to understand oneself. Sakura and Kaito definitely have lots in common, when it comes to this specific part of themselves. Keep this in mind, because it'll be relevant later.
And then, the situation worsens.
Sakura's dreams start to terrify her, because they begin to show Syaoran's face under the cloak of the mysterious figure who's scaring her in her dreams. An apparent truth she cannot accept, she won't accept, even though she's still unsure about what exactly these dreams she's having are. Despite her boyfriend has been acting shady for long time, she decides to trust him and wait for him to talk to her about all the stuff he's holding inside, instead of putting him through the wringer. This also means, though, that Sakura will keep all her fears to herself, eventually bottling up.
Furthermore, Kaito starts to rewind time to fix a situation without a way out (in chapter 28, Akiho was on the verge of going berserk completely and unleash the artifact), creating an additional sense of confusion when Sakura can feel that her finger is numb due to strain, but she can't understand why (she had fought Kaito's time magic unconsciously). Whenever Kaito will rewind time, even later on, Sakura's magical sixth sense will try to wake her consciousness up more and more, giving her these vibes of "deja vu" or making her act in an apparently inexplicable way.
In the first part of Clear Card, Sakura sometimes literally looks like a soul wandering about in confusion, dragged by the events.
I wish to point out that this is not a flaw in the characterization, it is a precise design by CLAMP. Sakura IS, in this part of the story, confused and lost, overwhelmed by the events. She has no idea how to approach this matter other than "treating the symptoms" as they come. This happens because she's still, surprisingly, quite reluctant to embrace a fundamental part of herself: her innate magic power, which expresses itself mainly through her intuition. But we'll gradually get there.
Around chapter 30, before the big realization, Sakura's situation reached a point where:
- her Sakura Cards unexpectedly became blank; - almost everyday (sometimes multiple times a day) there's a new incident that she secures into new transparent Cards; - she constantly sees ominous dreams (in scattered order) with a cloaked figure acting in a questionable way and a scary dragon, and at some point she starts seeing her boyfriend under that cloak; - her boyfriend acts shady, Eriol doesn't reply to her messages; - there's a general feeling of "something is not right" with her magic and some stuff starts to not make sense to her (because Kaito rewinds time)
It is at this point that Sakura finally moves one (giant) step forward and connects all the "puzzle pieces" she collected (particularly, how much more "obvious" the creation of a Card became) and understands that she's been the one causing subconsciously each and every single incident that lead to the creation of a new transparent Card.
Tumblr media
"I'm Angry At Myself"
Tumblr media
And with Syaoran finally coming clean with her (because at that point he had no reason to keep things hidden anymore, as the thing he was trying to delay ultimately happened - and believe me, I'm sure he partly felt relieved to not need to lie anymore, as that took quite a toll on him too), Sakura can at last give an explanation to at least a part of the things that are happening. And she finally realizes that the doubt that was tormenting her was true: she DID, in fact, not understand something very important about herself, she didn't realize that it was her own power going out of control and that all the incidents that happened bore "her magic signature", so to speak. She failed to "tune in" with her magic.
For the first time ever, Sakura expresses anger at herself.
She will direct that anger (to a lesser extent) to Syaoran too, but I'll tackle that in a separate post.
This is a moment of deep reflection and regrets for Sakura: the poor understanding of herself, the poor "communication" between her heart and her magic powers brought to a situation where her most beloved person was putting himself in danger in order to protect her, while trying to not make things escalate. This is a very sensitive, beautiful and important moment, steeped in conflicting and complex feelings (and remember, Sakura is just a pre-teen. It is normal for a pre-teen like her to not understand herself, but there's just one tiny detail: she's not a common pre-teen, due to her natural gift, and she needs to take that into account). Eventually Sakura calms down, and after creating Rewind, her resolute face while hugging tightly Syaoran suggests that from now on she'll face this matter from another, more courageous and determined perspective.
Or at least, these were her good intentions. Because unfortunately, insecurities are hard to eradicate and in the central part of the story it's shocking to realize how far longer Sakura will insist in shutting away her emotions and refusing to listen to her heart (and intuition) fully.
Tumblr media
"It's Just My Imagination"
Tumblr media
Part of Sakura's anxiety might have been sedated with the revelation that the Clear Cards are produced by the girl herself, but unfortunately the true core of her problems was not solved at all and will only surface more clearly in the next 20 chapters.
Sakura actively starts having "premonitory bad feelings" when she sees Akiho in volume 7 chapter 34, a bad feeling that she does check with Syaoran, but quickly dismisses as "well, it's just my imagination". This will basically be one of the major problems preventing her from reaching the complete control of her magic. Sakura, knowing her magic potential, should've given way more credit to her sixth sense, but her anxiety, her insecurity and her crippled connection to her innate gift still pushes her to dismiss these "signs" as nothing really important or true. Timely as hell, a few hours later something bad will indeed happen to Akiho, where she completely loses consciousness for the first time and the clan/Association actively starts to absorb Sakura's power through the artifact implanted in Akiho. All of this was caused by the high concentration of magic that "triggered" Akiho's artifact (and here I have to sarcastically "applaud" Kaito, just like Syaoran he's another one who does stuff before thinking through, ultimately worsening the problem).
Once trapped in Akiho's artifact, thanks to her power Sakura can see the most horrifying glimpse of Akiho's past, when she was turned into a magic artifact, by living it on her own skin. And even though Kaito is forced to rewind time once again to save the situation, erasing these memories from Sakura's head, her heart (which is tightly connected to her magical sixth sense - I'd daresay her heart is straight up the source of her magic) DOES REMEMBER, pushing Sakura to act in an apparently irrational way, crying and hugging Akiho tight in empathy. Sakura is particularly shaken by this feeling, still in pain even hours later, but once again she doesn't understand where it comes from. However, she does express with Syaoran an intention to talk to him about it once she's able to put it into words, and in the meantime do her best with all the rest. At least, there's an intention to understand better this part of herself, but it's still soon to see actual results.
Aaand CLAMP really seem to be wanting to test Sakura in this arc, because at this point of the plot, they add the electrocution spell. 😅 No one seems to understand who caused it (it's not Sakura, nor Kaito, but now we know it was none other than Yelan!!) and Sakura's anxiety increases once again. The fact only Syaoran gets affected by it inevitably reignites the doubts in her mind, unwittingly reminded of that terrifying dream of Cloaked Syaoran she keeps seeing...but she stubbornly keeps telling herself "no, it's not like that, it's just a dream". It's undeniable that this situation where she cannot understand her foretelling dreams yet, and the way they show her scattered hints because her power is out of control, has surely contributed to Sakura's insecurity when it comes to trust her own intuition.
Her power is so out of control at this point, that even when Kaito shrinks her and throws her in a hole carved into a tree (landing in a "world" created with magic where he hopes she'll create the right Card) her dreams take over again (it's apparent by the "shaaan" sound and how everything turns suddenly pitch black, a common background of her dreams), showing her Akiho in the dress she was wearing when she was turned into an artifact and, inevitably, Sakura's biggest fear, "Cloaked Syaoran". Pay attention because these visions she's getting here thanks to her power match what will happen later on: what the talking flowers tell her here will turn out to be the beginning of the lyrics of the main theme of the "Alice in Clockland" play. This vision of Cloaked Syaoran seemingly "about to do something" to Akiho horrifies Sakura to the point of screaming in terror and creating one of the most unsettling Cards, "Break". It is after this very scary moment that Sakura starts to wonder very specifically for what purpose she is creating all these Cards. The purpose is actually more than one, but she definitely posed herself THE RIGHT question, as this brings her one step closer to the core of the problem and eventually embracing her own magic abilities.
Then, between chapters 43 and 45 we finally start to see some changes in Sakura: surprisingly, she begins to listen more to her sixth sense, first catching Yukito red-handed while activating a newly acquired magic, and then wondering about a strange painful feeling in her chest when her father tells her that lately she and Akiho became even more similar. We were all lead to believe that this was the foreshadowing of Akiho taking her place (cause everything in the plot at this point deceivingly hints at Kaito wanting to switch them), but she actually was getting foreshadowings of the "rewritten world", where Sakura would genuinely feel wrecked to know that someone important to Akiho was missing, precisely when Akiho would've become part of her family as her twin. In fact, in chapter 45, before falling completely asleep, she hears again the ominous "you won't be able to come back" (the Association's threat to Kaito), wondering WHO wouldn't be able to come back - somehow, Sakura knows that it's not directed at her.
Tumblr media
"Just Tell me Honestly How You Feel"
Tumblr media
And then, we reach another moment that I consider pivotal for Sakura's growth during this Clear Card Arc. The moment when she's on the verge of breaking down and finally lets all her feelings out.
Her anxiety over the dream with the Cloaked Figure reached the highest peak, so much that she finally manifests a Card, Mirage, that challenges her precisely with that appearance. While Sakura battles that Card (which at the moment she still believes it's an actual person), she seems resoluted to get to the bottom of this story, and to pull down that hood to know the truth. You can really feel that she's so done with all this psychological torture. The fact the real Syaoran appears right at that moment and she finds out the person she saw was just a Card is partly a relief for her, but also throws Sakura again in despair because who the hell is that person in the dream, then??
Syaoran, as the good and attentive boyfriend he is, can just feel that Sakura is stressing over something, so he brings her to his home to help her calming down. And to her umpteenth attempt at sweeping her negative emotions under the carpet, beating around the bush commenting over the tea with a fake smile, he cuts immediately her bullshit and just tells her : "You don't need to force yourself. Just tell me how you feel right now". When she hears that she's allowed to speak out her emotions with honesty, Sakura wears on her face one of the most heartbreaking expressions of the entire manga. She's literally about to break down in tears of exhaustion, as you can see it above. ☝️ Listening to her, gradually, Syaoran encourages Sakura to get out all that's been torturing her lately, particularly about the dream with the Cloaked Figure. It is a very difficult moment for her, because she has to relive the dream, and expose in front of him all the fears and doubts that were trying to tamper with her trust in him. Courageously, she goes through with it, even though her denial ("it's just a dream!") is so strong that she ends up creating another Card: "Dreaming". Sakura at first seems relieved to see the Card, in the hope that everything she saw was indeed a mere messed up dream and nothing else (see? she's again self-sabotaging her relationship with her magic) but Syaoran with his frankness is quick to bring her feet on the ground: the kanji on the Card show "yumemi", and the word can also indicate a "foretelling dream".
Although Sakura seems disheartened at first, her next dream with the Cloaked Figure is much more relaxed, so much that even the dragon doesn't particularly scare her anymore: our girl's intuition makes her correctly feel a sense of loneliness in this dream, which she attributes to the hooded figure, not realizing that it was more likely coming from the dragon itself (aka, Kaito). After all, in chapter 72, Lilie will confirm that her presence ended up distracting her from the one "character" she should've paid all of her attention to. Her intuition, despite being misattributed, ended up having a positive effect through the synchronization with Akiho: the girl will wake up with the same feeling of discomfort of her friend, and as if guided by hitsuzen, she will head to the garden where she'll find a sickly Kaito staring at the moon - most likely feeling the loneliness Sakura perceived in her dream. I like to think that in this scene of chapter 48, Sakura subconsciously helped Akiho comforting Kaito, by waking her up with the unresting feeling, precisely when Kaito needed it the most. Still not completely embraced her magical sixth sense yet, but a significant improvement.
The road between chapter 48 and chapter 52 is paved with lots of struggles, as the Mirror Sakura Card gets stolen by Kaito, Sakura runs the risk of being absorbed into Akiho's artifact again, she meets Momo for the first time and she's even given a hint about Kaito's plan (or what Momo thought was his plan, as he had benignly lied to her about that), but almost all of that gets rewound and erased when Kaito intervenes. Moreover, despite not remembering anything consciously, Sakura is left with a sense of unhappiness when she looks at her home, a remnant of her brief journey in the world of Momo's book which straight up threw her into despair, showing her what her life would be if everyone forgot about her. She also finds once again a Card produced out of nowhere, "Time": I'm convinced she produced this Card because her conscience was awake while Momo and Kaito talked in stopped time, and their conversation triggered her sixth sense to produce Time as a result. Needless to say, all of this worsens her state of mind once again, which leads to the other pivotal, and finally resolutive, scene of chapter 52.
Tumblr media
Never Avert Your Eyes From Your Heart
Tumblr media
We finally get to what I consider THE scene, the one that will definitively shake Sakura from her deadlock, from the anxiety that stunted her connection with her innate gift and her deepest emotions. And the one who helps her overcoming all her fears is, of course, the love of her life - with a honorable mention for none other than his mother Yelan!!
Chapter 52 got a very, very special place in my heart, because it's basically one giant parallel between SyaoSaku and YunaAki. The two pairings experience similar situations, but the response from one side of each pairing is quite different. Let's remind you for a moment of the part earlier in this post when I told you that Kaito and Sakura, for most of Clear Card, surprisingly have one thing in common: they don't seem to understand themselves well enough, and both have a tendency to look away from feelings that cause unrest to their hearts - anxiety for Sakura, love for Kaito.
Syaoran, always attentive and observant towards his girlfriend, notices immediately that Sakura is suffering, as soon as he sees her at school. Despite being unable to touch her to comfort her, he offers all of himself to support and listen to her concerns. Sakura is visibly and pleasantly surprised of how the boy could read behind her mask, that usual contrived smile with which she tries to dissimulate her emotions and not make him worry. A bad habit she's consolidated lately, but that Syaoran is gently determined to dismantle. After opening up with him (and this is where Sakura differs from Kaito - by having an established relationship made of love and trust with Syaoran, Sakura lowers her walls with him), she falls once again into the usual trap of "but maybe it's just my imagination" and I love to see how Syaoran is her anchor to the ground, making her see the concreteness of this situation: he straight up tells her "you produced a Card out of it, it cannot be 'just your imagination'. " And then, like a precious family gift, he passes on to her the priceless words of wisdom of his mother Yelan, an advice that not only Sakura, but also the other "lost soul" of the other paralleling pairing should listen to:
"People with magical power should never ignore the turmoil and stirring in their hearts, the so-called 'intuition'. And it’s not limited to people with magical powers. People should never avert their eyes from the changes in their heart."
Tumblr media Tumblr media
This is a turning point for Sakura. These words seem to positively "break" something inside of her, showing her the correct path to follow. CLAMP beautifully portray this process of "embracing and assimilating" the words she's just heard, by making her place her hand over her heart. I love when they do that (they used the same visual when Akiho heard Kaito's true name, and 'wrote it' on the most important page of the book of her life). Sakura is truly grateful for the words Syaoran relayed to her, precisely what she needed to get out of her impasse with her feelings and magic. She knows she can always count on the support of her soulmate even in the darkest moments, and she's thankful for having him in her life.
From this moment onwards, Sakura will experience several instances where her magical premonitory senses give her signals through the "stirring" of her heart. Contrarily to before, she starts to actively take them seriously, listening, without dismissing them as the delirium of an anxious little girl. This allows her to activate the Siege Card in the fraction of a second, successfully shielding herself from Kaito's time magic, making her the first person ever who achieved that. This also leads her to effectively remember that she saw Kaito using magic, even when time was rewound by him, and contact immediately Syaoran to talk about it, planning how to move from that moment onwards. A little relapse on her bad habit is immediately dispelled by Syaoran, and our girl even goes as far as saying "there's something inside Akiho", even though she's not sure exactly why she's feeling that way. But it's an intuition she's having and she decides to not dismiss it anymore, with everyone trusting and supporting her in that direction. By listening more and better to what her heart tells her, Sakura also decides to not confront Akiho about Kaito and his magic, because she's well aware of the feelings Akiho got for Kaito and she doesn't want to potentially disrupt their relationship. So, she decides to wait for her friend to talk about it first.
Thanks to this better understanding of her own intuition, she also says in chapter 57 that she wants to meet the guardian of the book "Alice in Clockland" once more, despite not remembering if and when she's met her before. This also ultimately leads her to accept the role of Alice in the upcoming play scripted by her friend Naoko, because her sixth sense tells her that it's inevitable for her to do so. It's important to emphasize how the other characters support and encourage her to listen to her innate gift, at this point, without trampling over her self-determination like they did before.
It is a moment of big growth and character development for everyone.
Tumblr media
The Ultimate Growth: Finding a Meaning and a Purpose
Tumblr media
What happens afterwards is history: the fateful "Alice in Clockland" play unfolds, and Kaito completes his plan to push Sakura to create the Card he needs, exchanging his magic artifact (the watch) with Akiho's one (the book), in addition to activating the forbidden magic to rewrite the memories of everyone, to fit Akiho as part of Sakura's family.
Sakura's intuition will be crucial to wake her true self up while in Clockland, succeeding in beating Kaito's magic multiple times, till Syaoran comes in and gives the "final blow", cutting off the spell definitively.
And even when everything seems lost because Kaito successfully activated the fobidden magic, changing their memories and erasing himself from their existence, Sakura's magic and sixth sense keep making her say things she either already said or heard before in the "unrewritten world". Not only that, but even after meeting Lilie in a dream and forgetting her face (due to the strong influence of the forbidden spell), bit and pieces of that conversation keep coming back to her, and she listens dutifully to every single one of these "feelings". Kaito might have overridden part of their memories (only the ones concerning him, Akiho and the events connected to the creation of the Cards), but the experience, feelings and personal growth of each character were left untouched, that's why the chemistry between Sakura and Syaoran is the same as before the play started, but also Sakura's personal relationship with her magic is far better than before (an information that might have seemed random and unimportant is that now Sakura summons Mirror even just to chat, an indication of her completely changed perspective on her magic).
Now that Sakura finally embraced her magical power, all that's left for her is to find a true purpose for it.
A question echoes in my mind, "What am I creating these Cards for?". Sakura poses herself this question halfway through the story, and she finds the answer to it precisely at the end of the journey.
Her powerful magic intuition, combined with her immense empathy, leads her to realize that somebody is missing from their reality, and that person is the one Akiho loves. At this point Sakura is unstoppable: she wants to listen to the voice in her heart that's screaming "Go and help them!! Give the true happiness back to Akiho!", and everyone can only follow her lead as she assertively puts into practice what her heart is telling her to do.
Sakura in this final part of the story shines brighter than ever. She's more assertive and self-confident than ever. All of this is because there's something she strongly wants to do with her innate gift, as Eriol unequivocally says in chapter 75: her power grows exponentially again, but this time it's not out of her control - it is Sakura herself who's voluntarily boosting it, thanks to her strong wish. And that allows her to control it and use it exactly as she wants.
In chapter 79 her growth reaches the highest peak, by handling the resolution of Akiho and Kaito's personal problems in an admirable way (she steps aside for a moment to give Akiho all the agency she needed), but also finding herself in front of an uncomfortable dilemma, which leads her to an unavoidable reality: Sakura quickly understands that she cannot be on everyone's side and there are lines to be drawn at some point. She can't be a pure and oblivious girl forever. She needs to grow up. There are choices to be made, especially when dealing with real evil people.
And Sakura choses to go on with the people she loves, even if that means she has to "stain" her "moral record" a little bit.
Empowered by this strong wish to fix the situation, she literally gives life to a miracle, protecting her dear friend and her beloved from the grasp of their abusers, simultanously giving everyone their true memories back. The effort exerts her greatly, but what she achieved is by far the most important thing she's ever done with her magic power till now: she helped two dear people lost in a life-and-death situation. Her magical growth went along with her personal, mental one.
This is also the reason why the accusations of "the other magicians should've trained her" end up being in vain: Sakura's problem with her powers was mainly on a personal level, not on a technical one. This was a journey she had to mainly walk by herself, finding the right balance and confidence in her abilities, deep down in her heart.
No one could've done that for her.
Merely training the practical aspect of it would've just worsened the situation, because Sakura wouldn't have been truly "in it" with her heart and mind. She needed to go through this process of growth, before reaching this stage of self-awareness in relation to her magic powers. I truly feel this is the reason why CLAMP made certain choices inside this story. Again, as I always say, a good part of Cardcaptor Sakura does revolve around magic, but the main focus and linchpin of this story is and always will be the main character's heart, her growth and the interpersonal relationships with her loved ones.
This makes Clear Card Arc, in my opinion, a worthy sequel and a full-fledged part of the Cardcaptor Sakura series. I think those who decide to skip it or read it with a superficial approach miss a journey of tremendous growth for our beloved protagonist.
So much for those who kept saying "This is not Sakura's story".
How can all that ☝️ NOT be Sakura's story?
I'll let you judge. 😊
Tumblr media
Extra: The Significance of the Clear Cards
I want to digress for a moment about a thorny topic: the significance of the Clear Cards in this story.
Sakura isn't always completely passive towards the events happening around her, but wonders several times during the story why all those Cards are manifesting like that. While the first and easiest answer is of course "because her powers are going out of control" (and this is something Momo herself questions Sakura about in chapter 50), it becomes apparent at some point that the more the story goes on, the more the Cards that are created by her are particularly relevant and connected to the events that will happen in the final part of the story.
I know this is a sore spot for many who complain about not understanding the purpose of the Clear cards. It's because people tend to compare this set of Cards with the ones Sakura captured previously. That's not the right way to look at them, because their origin and purpose are different and change throughout the story. Forget about the Sakura Cards, even though so many of these "Clear Cards" (which are never called so, not even once, in the story itself, but just "new cards" or "transparent cards") might look so similar in purpose to the previous ones.
First of all, the Clear Cards are an outlet for Sakura to vent in a healthy way her power in excess. Power that if kept inside, untapped and confined in her body, might have unpredictable harmful effects on her (<- probably the grief Yelan foresaw). God bless the Clear Cards for existing and allowing Sakura to vent out these bouts of uncontrolled power in a relatively safe way.
The Cards that Sakura produces in the beginning are sometimes reminiscing of the Sakura Cards, because her power manifests itself basing on Sakura's experiences, feelings, thoughts and wishes. The Sakura Cards are an important part of her life (before Syaoran took them, she literally acted like their "mom", keeping them alive with her power) so it's only normal that the first base for some of these new Cards would be a magic tool that she already knows. In this sense, it becomes easier to understand why many of the "captures" seem so easy, way too easy compared to what a reader would expect from a sequel: the goal of the capture here isn't to make her power and experience in capturing cards grow. She already had 2 arcs to do all of that. The capture of the Cards in this third arc becomes something new and unexpected: a "damage control" of a regrettable situation with Sakura's powers, while she learns to dominate them and enter into harmony with her supernatural abilities. The growth Sakura needs here is mainly a mental one. Performing her magical power aimlessly without having a true connection with it and a true understanding will only exacerbate the problem. This is the reason why, despite having a "capture" element, Clear Card derails from the previous arcs in the purpose of the capture. It's a pity that an element that should've brought freshness to the plot was in many cases received as an actual flaw.
In the beginning, as Sakura's power is completely out of her control, some Cards might look completely random too - they don't look based on Cards, thoughts or wishes (like Appear, Reflect, Action, etc.). But pay attention, because the more the story goes on, the more the Cards begin to become particularly specific to something that shook Sakura's heart in that moment, or referencing events/feelings that will become pivotal to the events Sakura will experience later. Especially regarding Kaito's plan. Many of the later Cards Sakura produces are a direct reflection of the feelings and wishes that Kaito infused in the activation of the forbidden magic, with the creation of "the story for Akiho", the one he wanted to absolutely have a happy ending for. Cards like Repair, Promise, Choice, Kindness, True and False, Synchronization, Rewind....many of them didn't even get to express their magical abilities in a "conventional way" (everyone expected to see Sakura literally activating them like she does with all the others), but it's just because at that point the Cards Sakura is producing are born following her premonitory intuition: thanks to the hints/speeches that those Cards give her in Clockland, Sakura little by little regains consciousness of her true self (it's a pity that many English readers will never realize all the times Sakura was about to "wake up" in Clockland, because the translation didn't respect the change in fonts of the JP text). Sakura wasn't supposed to "use" them in a conventional way (how do you "use" Kindness? You force people to be "kind"? 🤨 and what about Choice??), she was supposed to listen to them and let them guide her towards the truth. This is also the reason why all of these Cards bear the face of her loved ones. Think of them as tarots. Which is, incidentally, another use of the original Clow/Sakura Cards. I am basically sure of this interpretation because the kanji of some of those Cards I mentioned above are brought up during the climax: particularly when Akiho talks to Kaito in chapter 78, she uses two specific verbs, referring to Kindness (慈愛 - a kind of gentle and tender love) when she describes the love and support her family gives her in this rewritten world, and to Choice (選択) when she questions Kaito about his choice to disappear completely from her life. So to summarize, the last Cards Sakura produced "accidentally" weren't accidental at all, but were actually specifically produced by her power in reference to Kaito's plan, to help her finding the way out to a dire situation. This represents a very important indicator in the plot: at that stage of the story, Sakura started to listen more and more to her intuition and her sixth sense, finally quitting her bad habit of downplaying it ("maybe it's just me") but actually giving it credit and taking it seriously, trusting her instinct to lead her in the right direction. And this was, of course, all thanks to the speech Syaoran gave her back in chapter 52. It is also the case of the Rewind Card, which Sakura will ultimately understand the purpose of on her own, at the very end of the series. That's the moment where everything will become clear and make sense to her: "This Card, too...I created it precisely for this moment". The Clear Cards ultimately became the embodiment of her foretelling powers. Which then led to the birth of the first two consciously created Cards, Blank & Remind, which will become so important in the climax.
If we ever get a new arc in the next years, we'll certainly deal with a more mature Sakura, who's more in sync with her magical powers 🩷.
84 notes · View notes
tripleyeeet · 8 months
Note
I saw requests are kind of opened and I have to ask for something with Gale Dekarios of Waterdeep (quite a mouthful, ain't he?)
Like, perhaps Gale and Tav just cooking together and Tara being around and just... a sweet domestic moment?
MEASURE WITH YOUR HEART
SUMMARY: Gale is horrified when you try to improve upon his family's recipe.
PAIRING: Gale Dekarios & Gender Neutral Reader
WORD COUNT: 592
WARNINGS: None unless you count going against the recipe book as sacrilegious or something.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I read domestic Gale and blacked out for a second. (Also unedited because I am lazy!)
MASTERLIST
-
You see a stray finger dip into the pot in front of you. There and gone in an instant, it makes you sigh and close your eyes, taking a moment to listen to the rapid footsteps of a grown man racing across the floor, followed by the screech of a nearby chair. 
“You know I’m fully capable of making dinner without a second opinion, right?”
Looking smugly towards the dinner table, you see Gale nonchalantly reading a book, his eyes flickering to meet your gaze as if he wasn’t just hovering at your side. “I never said that you couldn’t?” he says, pretending to be confused. 
“You didn’t have to. I see that grubby little fingerprint of yours in my soup.” 
While motioning towards your creation, Gale sighs and sets his book down, watching as you narrow your eyes, a soft pout pushing through your lips. 
Immediately, it forces him to push out his chair and move towards your frame, slotting himself against your back with a soft grin that presses against your cheek. “You’re imagining things, dear. I was merely reading my book over there the whole time.” 
You roll your eyes, feeling him grip your hips, pulling your attention away from the soup just long enough so that he can steal a kiss as well as dip his finger in all over again, causing you to scoff through a grin as he laughs.
“You wicked wizard. I should starve you.” 
He licks the tip of his finger, narrowing his eyes as he smacks together his lips. “Hm, is that coriander?” 
You open your mouth to respond but ultimately huff, shaking your head at your partner’s inability to relax in the kitchen. 
“Wouldn’t think to put coriander in it but—“
“You hate it.” 
“I don’t hate it.” 
“But you don’t like it.” 
Picking up your wooden spoon, you begin to stir your less-than-perfect soup to distract yourself; rolling your eyes as Gale begins to go on some long-winded discussion about the recipe you’re currently making. Telling you how, traditionally, it’s made with equal parts cumin and oregano and not bloody coriander because the combination of the two aforementioned spices is the reason the soup is so good in the first place. 
It makes you groan in response, prompting a chuckle to escape Tara as she rubs her fur against your leg.
“Ignore Mr. Dekarios,” she coos, pressing her head against your bare ankle. “He’s just not used to people fiddling with his mother’s recipes.” 
You bite back a smirk and look towards him, watching his brows push together in annoyance as he gently kicks Tara away, earning himself a loud hiss.  
“You’re well aware that this recipe has been in the Dekarios family for generations, right?” he says, jostling you about as he dodges one of Tara’s swipes. “It isn’t just my mother’s recipe. It is a tried and true tested piece of knowledge that has served only the best amongst my clan.” 
You can’t help but let out a dry laugh, craning your head back to rest against his shoulder, feeling his arms tighten around you. “That doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.”
Pinching your sides, he gives you a stern look. “But it does mean such a feat can be difficult.” 
“I’m sure it’s not that hard,” you argue then, planting a soft kiss to his neck before leaning forward again to reach for the spice rack, measuring out a few unlisted items with your heart as Gale watches in horror, trying his best to let you have this moment. 
162 notes · View notes