#that was harder to write than expected

[the---hermit]

how I take notes on non fiction books

I recently made a post on my study method, and decided to make a whole separate post on my note taking method. The structure of the notes I write doesn't vary too much from my lecture notes to things I might have to read. A couple of useful informations you might want to know before I start actually talking about note writing is that I am mainly focused on studying history (tho I have had other humanities exams in my degrees), and that I study for oral exams in which the material is mainly composed of non fiction books, but sometimes include articles as well as lecture notes. Somehow I have also failed to mention that I am speaking about HANDWRITTEN NOTES. I only do handwritten notes, I don't work well digitally, so keep that in mind. And with this being said brace yourselves for a very long post. The bullet points I will be making are not really in a specific order and I will be including a few pictures too.

The first step when I am working on the materials for an exam is to figure out in which order I will be reading (and writing notes) the books. This hasn't really much to do with the notes themselves, but it's important to know which of your materials is more general and what other things go more in depth, so that you don't struggle too much while studying. Another plan related thing I always do is to write down each chapter of the book I have to study on my bullet journal and how many pages it is so I can plan my studying more comfortably. If the chapters are very long, and divided in subchapters I sometimes also write those down.

The goal of the notes I write is to fully take the place of the book, so they tend to be very detailed and long. I do this because the very act of writing is part of my study method, and working on things I have written down in my own words is just much better for the type of learner I am. So basically I read the book only once, then it goes back on the shelf and I work exclusively on the notes. This means my notes need to be detailed and well organized.

My method is to read a chapter, underlining important stuff as I am reading, and then right after I am done reading I work on the notes for that chapter before moving onto the next. I do this because it makes the note writing more effortless, I am fresh with informations I just read and I basically just need to skim over what I have underlined.

On underlining, since it is so important. I underline everything I will be including in my notes, it might seem much as sometimes it consists of full paragraphs, instead of key words. But this is okay because my notes I don't just copy and paste.

To create useful notes you need to be re-elaborating the informations. You need to read, understand what you read, and be able to write it down using your own words. That way the notes will be easier to review, they will often be composed of shorter sentences, and by doing so you are also actively making writing part of your studying and not just a mindless activity.

Personally I don't work well with full pages summaries, I need the text to be visually broken into sentences/small paragraphs, and I use a lot of symbols as well as abbreviations.

Symbols and abbreviations are in a way part of your very own language when you are writing notes, you tend to develop these with time, but they are so useful. I personally use different types of arrows, all caps words, position of the text in the page, different methods of highlighting and abbreviations (usually for words that come up often like country names, for example Italy becomes ita, France becomes fr, etc.).

Your notes need to be useful for you, they don't have to necessarily be comprehensible for another person (which means you can and will fuck up sentence structure because sometimes skipping a couple of words makes the notes shorter and still understandable), and they do not have to be pretty. They should be as tidy as possible, but again that might change from person to person, I have some very messy looking notes that make total sense to me. With time you'll learn what works best for you.

I have a visual memory so as I mentioned titles, highlighters, all caps, the placement on the page and other similar things are very important in my notes. I cannot fully exapain some of these things because some definitely only make sense to me in the moment (like the words I choose to write in all caps, or the way I highlight things).

I like to have a clear chapter and subchapter break (so that in case I need to refer back to the book it's super effortless). I like to write those with a red pen, usually the chapter title is in all caps and the subchapter in coursive, but it really depends.

I use only two highlighters in each set of notes yellow for dates, and the colour I associate with the book/the subject of the book (I have synesthesia I don't make the rules when it comes to colours). This of course might change depending your preferences and on the element of your notes you want to focus on. I like to have spacific colour for dates and time periods, because of course while studying history that is a fundamental element. If you are focusing on other subjects you might want to have a specific colour for names, or other elements.

I like to leave a big side margin to add either key words (especially in lecture notes since they might be messier and jump around informations more often), or additional information in a second time (sometimes it happens, after you read another book, or attended a particular lecture you have to add a couple of sentences and I rather have a blank space that never gets used rather than no space at all for emergencies).

I honestly mentioned everything that came to mind right away, but since note writing is now basically a mindless skill I have been practicing for years I surely forgot about something. I might end up adding to this post in the future or write another one. My note-writing method has also changed a lot thought the years from high school to university, it's a skill I have been perfecting for the past decade. This to say that depending on what you are working on things might change, and by experimenting with different things you might find out things that work very well for you. If you have any questions on specific things I didn't mention or that wen't clear my inbox is always open and I am more than happy to help.

Since this post is already very very long I am adding the pictures below the cut

Example of a page of notes before and after highlighting

Example of symbols and structure of the notes and the way I highlight things (in which you'll hopefully be able to understand my handwriting, and in which there might be some spelling errors but alas that often happens in my real notes as well so if there are any it's for the sake of accuracy lmao). If I end up adding informations on the margins I always use a pen of a different color so I can tell which informations I got from what source (ex. main notes from lecture, colorful notes from additional article).

Example of messier notes in which the main text in black are the notes I took during lectures and the additional colorful text was added while writing the materials (I rarely do this, it usually happens when the lectures follow a book precisely, which happens when we have to study books or summaries written by the professor). As you can see I often use post it notes to add more writing space, and sometime I even use them to create visually separated sections. If I end up adding some drawings I also usually like to have them on post it notes so they stand out more (and if you are wondering why the hell would an history student need drawings it's usually either because I need a map or a region/state to mark things out, or when studying for archaeology exams I often needed visual references, for example to identify different types of vases or decorations).

[skania]

I need to know your thoughts on the leaks about Kana slapping his corpse in front of his mother plz?

Ever since TB, Kana's character has been acting like a clown and this chapter is no exception. A clown through and through 🤡

[breannasfluff]

How about Venus for dp with Danny and Sam, cause I could see this going a couple of ways and I'm curious!

Congrats on the follower milestone btw!!!!! You deserve every last one for the incredible dedication and love you give to everything you create, and more people should appreciate it!!! Have a cake!!! 🎂

And cheese, as a treat <3 🧀🧀🧀🧀

“Look, Venus is out tonight.” Danny bumps Sam’s shoulder, pointing up at the sky.

“That bright one?”

Danny moves her finger to the right slightly, squinting to see if it’s at the right angle. “There. See how it glows?”

She hums, pulling Danny back to lie in the grass. They’re in the park, looking up at the night sky as they wait for Tucker to join them. Ghost patrol was fast because–for once–Danny caught a break. It’s rare that they have the chance to just…relax together anymore. 

“Did you know that Venus was the luckiest roll in a dice game as well?”

Sam snorts as she stretches in the grass. “No, but that seems like some weird thing you’d know. Where’d you pick it up from?”

“Pandora.” Danny’s grin isn’t visible in the dark, but it leaks into his voice like sunlight on a rock. “She’s trying to teach me how to play.”

“How’s training going with her?”

“I’m learning how to use a sword and a spear. Which is a sentence I never thought I’d say in my life.”

“Danny.” Sam’s voice is dry. “You live with your parents. It’s not that far off, honestly.”

“Touche.”

The two lie in silence, broken only by the crash of bushes as Tucker joins them.

Overhead, Venus is rising.

[neallo]

not to publicly self-fellate again but they invented romance actually

[what-have-i-unleashed]

7 for lifeline (error/reaper/dream)?

this is making me pull my hair because idk how to write the song into the ship 😭😭😭

but i have to try anyway.....

7. easy - le sserafim

I could get hurt, but keep on walking, kiss me If it’s hard then I makе it easy Up on the stage, sparks fly off my body Pull up and I rip it up likе ballet Damn, I really make it look easy

error doesn’t want to be here, which is why he’s making a spectacle of himself. his strings lash out, carving jagged rifts into the fabric of space, each one bursting with glitchy sparks, distorting reality as they spread across the cracked sky.

“show-off,” reaper says, his voice thick with amusement as he leans on his scythe. “you know, not everyone’s impressed by your little fireworks.”

“good,” error growls, his strings crackling and twisting. “don’t need anyone to be impressed by this.”

reaper chuckles. “sure. that’s why you’re putting on a whole show instead of just sitting quietly and brooding like a normal world-destroyer.”

error’s next strike cuts deeper, the space above them trembling as a large chunk of the dimension crumbles into glitching static, revealing the dark void beyond. “i’m not here to ‘sit quietly,’ bone-bag,” he snaps. “if he’s gonna show up, he can see what he’s walking into.”

reaper grins, sharp and unbothered. “oh, he’ll see. just try not to burn yourself out before he gets here.”

before error can fire back, the golden shimmer alerting them of dream’s arrival spills into the fractured void. dream steps through the wreckage, his glowing aura muted but unmistakably bright against the chaos. his golden eyes scan the destruction, lingering briefly on the sparking edges of error’s rifts, before settling on the death god and the destroyer down below.

“so,” dream says, his voice guarded but sparking with awe. wisely, he stands away from the duo. “this is how you make an entrance.”

error snorts, crossing his arms as his strings vanish in a flick of his hands. “i don’t make entrances. i make exits.”

dream looks at reaper, clearly at a loss of what to say. the death god lets out a laugh, clearly entertained by what’s happening. “told you he’s dramatic.”

error glares at him. “shut it.”

dream directs his gaze at error. “i’ve heard a lot about you,” he says carefully, his tone torn between diplomatic politeness and genuine curiosity.

“bet you have,” error grunts, narrowing his eyes. “let me guess - ‘crazy,’ ‘dangerous,’ ‘a pain in the ass’?”

“reaper might’ve mentioned the last one,” dream replies, a flicker of amusement breaking through his guarded expression. he moves closer, but still keeping a respectable distance.

reaper laughs, the sound echoing in the empty space. “i told you he’s fun.”

error scowls, his strings flickering to life again, though they hang loosely at his sides. “if you think this is fun, you’ve got worse humor than i thought.”

dream watches the destroyer for a moment, eyeing the strings surrounding him. “i didn’t come here to fight you,” he says calmly. “i came because reaper said you were important to him. and if you’re important to him-” dream pauses, his voice softening, “-i’d like to understand why.”

error’s glare sharpens, but there’s a shadow of something – hesitation, maybe – that cracks through his prickly exterior. “you don’t need to understand me, flash bomb. i’m just here because he asked me to be.”

dream’s polite smile holds, ignoring the jab. “that’s a start.”

reaper’s grin widens, clearly entertained by the tension crackling between the two. “this is going better than i expected. error hasn’t tried to erase you out of existence yet.”

“yet,” error mutters, turning away, but the sharpness in his tone feels more defensive than hostile.

dream beams, his optimism unyielding. “then, i guess i’m making progress.”

[sa1808fi]

HEY WHO WANTS A FLUFFY EMMETSTYLE FIC

BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO RN

(with a side of dangerstyle too)

[t34-mt]

Did you keep working on the wiki?

I work on it when I have time / even want to, don't bother with asking me for updates much, i haven't done almost anything since last ask.

a reminder that this will never be a worldbuilding i do for others to see, but just my super personal playground i go into constantly. and that sometimes i share about in public here

i don't really care about having to deliver things for people eitherway, as rude as that may sound im not obligated to, it since its just a hobbie. watch me take years, if ill even have it on public anyways!

[mantisgodsdomain]

The Job Board system, which in terms of overseeing tends to fall somewhere between the Explorer's Association and the mail service, is a system that allows bugs across Bugaria to send off jobs to any bug who might take them. It is known primarily for its incredible efficiency at copying and posting jobs throughout Bugaria, as well as its ability to take down jobs that have been completed within a day of their fulfillment.

Just about any bug can post a mission through this system, with some light checks to make sure it's legitimate, and just about anyone can take a mission - with some caveats. The more difficult a mission is marked as, the more likely you are to need to show some proof of ability- occasionally very eclectic proof of ability. While an Explorer's Permit can allow you to shortcut almost all low-end requirements, anyone who isn't registered in the system will have to repeatedly prove aptitude for low-end jobs, which can get exceptionally annoying very fast, particularly as the Job Board and publicly accessible jobs tend to be almost exclusively to the low end of things.

Technically an extension of the Job Board system, the Bounty Board handles a lot of relatively high-paying jobs, often put up using communally-raised funds rather than a single person. While the Job Board gathers jobs of comparatively low importance, and allows them to be taken by anyone, the Bounty Board is specifically for jobs that are anticipated to be difficult enough to need a whole crew of bugs.

The requirements to run an outpost of a bounty board are significantly more rigorous than the standard job board, as applicants going after these jobs are much more rigorously vetted - an Explorer's Permit will often serve as a way to help you shortcut the line, putting all of your prior accomplishments in easy reach and allowing the certified offices that run these jobs to make an easy background check on you.

Alternatively, of course, some less legitimate venues can piggyback off the certification of an actual office, pretending to be another location and allowing you to shortcut the entire certification process to obtain the reward without having to prove your capability to do a job. Technically speaking, jobs taken in Doppel's tavern will show up as being taken from the bounty board office run by Utter - though this establishment doesn't technically have a physical location.

Unlike with a typical bounty board mission, you also get paid up front upon providing a specified part of the slain monster, rather than having to wait for the kingdom you're working in to certify the danger is gone before wiring you your reward. Also unlike with a typical bounty board mission, the house will take a certain cut of your reward. These venues may also take "unofficial" bounties - organized by parties who can't or won't go through the official venues to get a problem handled, or simply by people who are hunting for specific parts of a monster. You won't be tested as thoroughly before taking the job- but your client won't be, either.

[wandixx]

Serious chaos one-shot snippet

“Hey, Dami?”

Boy hadn’t looked up from kittens he was bottle feeding but let out hum indicating he listened.

“I think about trying out more girlish style. Do you think it would suit me?”

Well, Damian had no idea but if Dani wished to give it a chance, then, well, the only appropriate course of action was to offer his aid.

Also features: Dani and Damian working at an animal shelter, Steph being fashionable, and Batman's rouge gallery and no, it's not a spelling mistake :)

[cloudwhisper23]

While falling into the past wasn't Mike's initial hope, it does force all three of them to face their past realities… Settling back in is rough for Cassidy, who remembers how alone she used to be. For Mike, it's like putting on a pair of gloves. It's almost too easy to be a mean older brother again. Charlie finally gets to hear her father sound happy again.

Maybe for now, that'll be enough for all three of them. But the threat of a killer looms over them all, and they still haven't remembered who he is or why he killed in the first place.

[buttdumplin]

It'd be nice to see Price be as desperate for a househusband as he seems to be for a wife

[watcheraurora]

Enemy — An Imaginary Deepfrost AMV

Hi. I'm brainrotting so hard for a Deepfrost animatic/AMV set to Enemy by Imagine Dragons. Specifically the one without rap because I like the ID bridge more (both thematically for Deepfrost and also because I just harbor distaste for most rap in general) so, uh... I wrote it out again, since I can't draw very well or animate

—

The first bam of the music is Deepfrost's eyes opening, glowing pale blue, with black sclera. The next bam is him looking to his left, our right. On "Look out for yourself," his face is obscured by swarming shadows.

"I wake up to the sounds of the silence that allows" shows him sitting up on his cot in his hideout, the dark, cold basement under the abandoned arcade, blond and green-eyed, and run his hand through his hair. He gets out from under the blanket to reveal his under armor leggings and fluffy socks

"For my mind to run around with my ear up to the ground" is him sitting at his hideout computer (with three monitors) and open multiple security camera feeds. One of them is the division. The shot zooms in on it a little

"I'm searching to behold the stories that are told" cross dissolves to Deepfrost out in the field, blue-haired and -eyed, alone, standing opposite Sheriff who is reaching out one hand, the other iced to a wall: You could come back—rehabilitation is always an option on his mouth. Deepfrost wipes his bleeding mouth on the back of his hand

"When my back is to the world that was smiling when I turned" Deepfrost turns away, the hopeful smile dropping off Sheriff's face.

The screen swims to a memory—obviously-younger Deepfrost standing opposite Lore and Arctic Fox. Arctic Fox has a hand on Deepfrost's shoulder, smiling behind his face mask and giving him a little shake of the shoulder in appreciation while Deepfrost smiles as the lyrics say, "Tell you you're the greatest"

"But once you turn, they hate us..." Deepfrost turns away as Arctic Fox releases his shoulder, and the screen shows him change from hero to in-between to villain proper in three cuts as he turns his back on Fox and Lore, hood going from down to up and smile disappearing as he walks toward a shadow on the side of the screen, where Impulse, GeminiSlay, Blood Moon, and Poultry Man linger as silhouettes against the shadow, and Arctic Fox's face turns sad but Lore's becomes angry and hateful toward Deepfrost's retreating back as he goes from teenage hero to adult villain.

The bam right before the chorus is a flash of the first time Deepfrost uses the Sonic Shriek against Doc, concentrated on the rings of blue from the sonic blast

"Oh the misery" cuts to Deepfrost dead-stopping a chop from Sheriff on a column of ice that splinters from the force of Sheriff's strength

"Everybody wants to be my enemyyy-Y!" continues the scene as Deepfrost replies with an attack of his own

The next bam is his own attack being blocked by Sheriff

"Spare the sympathy—everybody wants to be—my enemy" is a quick cut to a similar fight, but between Arctic Fox and Deepfrost, still hand-to-hand that continues, clearly showing Arctic Fox winning, getting Deepfrost's arms wrangled behind him until the first "Look out for yourself" where a flare of jagged ice bursts from Deepfrost's hands between him and Arctic Fox, forcing Fox to release him, and he skates away while the "my enemy—look out for yourself" continues, ending with Deepfrost alone and escaped

The shot pans in tight to his face and his eyes look up to the camera, icy blue but full of fight as the song says "But I'm ready"

"Your words up on the wall as you're praying for my fall" shows Lore and Sheriff talking, Deepfrost on security footage on the computer monitor between the two of them

"And the laughter in the halls and the names that I've been called" zooms in hard on the monitor to cut to a memory (slightly desaturated colors) of teenage Deepfrost smiling as he trains at hand-to-hand with Arctic Fox and then jump cuts to him as he argues with Lore, a little older but still obviously young

"I stack it in my mind, and I'm waiting for the time" cuts back to present-day Deepfrost zipping into his body armor, hefting his coat onto his shoulders, and flipping up his hood

The shot flips quick to him standing alone in a plaza, arms out to either side of him from the elbows like he's challenging someone as the lyrics go, "When I show you what it's like to be words spit in a mic" and as the crescendo turns into a near-scream, a swarm of darkness twists and twines out of his body, consuming the screen

"Tell you you're the greatest" jumps to him standing in front of the other villains, looking straight ahead while they're all prepped for a fight

"But once you turn they hate us" shows the main roster of the division directly facing off against them

At the little "hah" of the vocals in the song, Deepfrost's mouth quirks up into his lopsided, self-satisfied, wicked, playful, devious, smug little smirk

He hurls a burst of white-blue energy across the distance toward the heroes on the first bam of the music that explodes into a shattering of icicles on "oh the misery"

"Everybody wants to be my enemy" is the other villains engaging with the heroes, running, flying, and leaping past him while he takes a step back to do his work from a distance.

"Spare the sympathy—everybody wants to be my enemy" is his angry expression as he does his work in the fight and draws Sheriff right in, keeping himself safe on "look out for yourself!" with a shield of ice blocking one of HoTGuY's arrows from hitting him from a different direction, not even looking at where it came from or where the shield was going, just flinging a hand

The fight continues, the other heroes and villains in the background, Sheriff and Deepfrost in the foreground, showing Deepfrost gaining ground in the fight and at the second "Look out for yourself!" he rips Sheriff's whip from his hands and tosses it away

"They say 'pray it away'" cuts to a brief desaturated shot of teenage Deepfrost with his arms crossed in an armchair, getting lectured by Joel

"I swear that I'll never be a saint, no way" jumps to still-desaturated Deepfrost and Joel fighting—hurling lightning and ice at one another with fury in both of their faces, Deepfrost winning, but only just barely

"A chair in the corner is my place I stay" shows hero Deepfrost lingering at the back of a division meeting with his arms crossed, sitting in the corner, not looking impressed with whatever Joel is presenting on at the front of the room

"I shake and I think about the powers at play, the powers at play" is Deepfrost actually shaking, watching cops descend on a protest in riot gear, baring his teeth in frustration and running to go try and help the protestors, still desaturated

"And the kids in the dark that were doomed from the start" cuts to Deepfrost and Lore fighting again, but now in a dome of darkness where Deepfrost is in full color, eyes glowing and sclera black, but Lore is just a silhouette

The fight continues through "The child in the basement, face to the pavement" including Deepfrost getting slammed down onto the ground and leaping back to his feet

"Oh what a statement, love is embracement, love is a constant, love is a basis" shows Deepfrost stumbling into Skizz's apartment, nose bleeding, blue fading back to blond and green as he sobs and falls into Skizz's arms, who just holds him there. He drops a bundle that is his suit and coat and shakes his head

"He cannot be" shows Deepfrost, Impulse, and Poultry Man all standing together

"She cannot be" shows GeminiSlay and Blood Moon back-to-back, weapons drawn

"They cannot be changed" shows the entire villain crew of the city in a shot that pulls out

"But keep on praying" is Deepfrost sweeping to the front and center, a wicked smile forming on his face

"Goodbye" cloaks the villains in a bubble of darkness

"Oh the misery!" returns and with every heavy beat, the villains are shown destroying a whole bank of factories along the river. Fire, explosions, bursts of ice, a winged silhouette swooping over all of it, accompanied by arrows of light and arcs of an energy sword, one factory crashing down after another while the chorus repeats

Intercut briefly with Lore getting an alert on his screen that shows the villains wrecking carnage on the factories and hitting an emergency button to alert the heroes.

But then back to the villains tearing the buildings down with joy and pleasure.

As the "pray it away, I swear, I'll never be a saint no way" comes back in, the camera starts tightening in on just Deepfrost and his work on the factories, using ice to burst pipes and crumble concrete pillars while the other villains are seen sporadically in the background. The camera spins around him, getting ever closer

On the last "Look out for yourself!" it ends on Deepfrost's glowing eyes and smirk as jags of ice shoot up from the bottom of the frame and cut the 'camera feed' off

[autisticlee]

no one knows just how hard I work at things. how I have to work 1000000x more than the average person to compensate for being autistic and adhd and probably other things i'm working out with therapist, and having a sort of physical disability i've not received any help or treatment for. everyone assumes I don't try or give up too soon. they think I just started, need more practice. they think I expect everything handed to me immediately with no work or effort and don't acknowledge the multiple years i've put into things. they think I have no right to be upset about still failing to get where I want even after working my entire life to get there, while watching people around me surpass even my meager goals within a fraction of the time and work i've out into the same thing. constantly getting surpassed by everyone around me who seem to barely do any work to get there compared to me. it's all handed to them and falls into their lap so easily. all because they don't have the extra obstacles to overcome and work around that I do. while they go from point A to Z immediately with no major stops in between, I have to go through every single letter and then some, often getting sent back to the start. but it's always *my* fault, according to everyone. it's not the fault of those around me who ignore me, don't support me, don't help me, don't believe in me, etc. it's my fault they don't do those things. because doing the work of 10 people in one isn't enough, just because it's me. and not reaching Z as fast as everyone else means I don't deserve any of the support or help or anything else and means i'm not trying hard enough. it doesn't matter that I *need* to work harder than 100 "normal" people combined to get even half the result! Just because I can't reach what they do means i'm not trying hard enough! ugh.

[platypusisnotonfire]

I am doing perhaps the most hilariously overboard and unnecessary world-building thing (probably not the most….creating 5 accurate conlangs based on languages from 800ad merging and gaining specific vocabulary from 2000 years of life in very different planets is probably up there since that took a year and I only referenced one of them in the actual book… but that was a different book/universe)

I am currently making MANY spreadsheets of duty rosters to logistically make Exodus Terminal run with 53 people and still have scouting missions happening. Every department has its own sheet and all 53 characters have their own sheet to describe exactly where everyone is at any given point in time. There’s also a « crew by alphabetical order » sheet and a « crew by rank » sheet to help inform the choices of where people best slot in.

[aria0fgold]

[You flew too close to the sun...]

Click the image to be able to read the writing clearly! :D

Odette belongs to @gilfodile

[breakfastteatime]

Just got a rejection from an agent that said they really liked my 'line by line' writing but not the plot of the book. I am both happy (I can write characters!!!) and sad (but I can't pull off an engaging plot) and I am going to treat both my sadness and my ongoing migraine to a very nice bath after work 👍