#(so this shouldn't be advice for beginner beginners)

[bookshelf-in-progress]

Now that I know more about writing, I'm upset at all the writing advice that urged new writers to find the one best way to write stories, when they should be telling us to play with writing techniques like toys.

Don't tell us to avoid certain points of view! Don't box us into the one currently popular prose style! Let us play and see what effects different techniques achieve, so we can learn the best ways to make use of them! Give us a whole ton of possibility instead of one cookie-cutter template!

[airborneice]

little addendum to my last post.. since i'm in a pokemon phase atm I felt like checking in on my old dead deviantart page and uh

2015 vs 2024

9 years of art improvement wheee

[writeblrfantasy]

my 10 holy grail pieces of writing advice for beginners

from an indie author who's published 4 books and written 20+, as well as 400k in fanfiction (who is also a professional beta reader who encounters the same issues in my clients' books over and over)

show don't tell is every bit as important as they say it is, no matter how sick you are of hearing about it. "the floor shifted beneath her feet" hits harder than "she felt sick with shock."

no head hopping. if you want to change pov mid scene, put a scene break. you can change it multiple times in the same scene! just put a break so your readers know you've changed pov.

if you have to infodump, do it through dialogue instead of exposition. your reader will feel like they're learning alongside the character, and it will flow naturally into your story.

never open your book with an exposition dump. instead, your opening scene should drop into the heart of the action with little to no context. raise questions to the reader and sprinkle in the answers bit by bit. let your reader discover the context slowly instead of holding their hand from the start. trust your reader; donn't overexplain the details. this is how you create a perfect hook.

every chapter should end on a cliffhanger. doesn't have to be major, can be as simple as ending a chapter mid conversation and picking it up immediately on the next one. tease your reader and make them need to turn the page.

every scene should subvert the character's expectations, as big as a plot twist or as small as a conversation having a surprising outcome. scenes that meet the character's expectations, such as a boring supply run, should be summarized.

arrive late and leave early to every scene. if you're character's at a party, open with them mid conversation instead of describing how they got dressed, left their house, arrived at the party, (because those things don't subvert their expectations). and when you're done with the reason for the scene is there, i.e. an important conversation, end it. once you've shown what you needed to show, get out, instead of describing your character commuting home (because it doesn't subvert expectations!)

epithets are the devil. "the blond man smiled--" you've lost me. use their name. use it often. don't be afraid of it. the reader won't get tired of it. it will serve you far better than epithets, especially if you have two people of the same pronouns interacting.

your character should always be working towards a goal, internal or external (i.e learning to love themself/killing the villain.) try to establish that goal as soon as possible in the reader's mind. the goal can change, the goal can evolve. as long as the reader knows the character isn't floating aimlessly through the world around them with no agency and no desire. that gets boring fast.

plan scenes that you know you'll have fun writing, instead of scenes that might seem cool in your head but you know you'll loathe every second of. besides the fact that your top priority in writing should be writing for only yourself and having fun, if you're just dragging through a scene you really hate, the scene will suffer for it, and readers can tell. the scenes i get the most praise on are always the scenes i had the most fun writing. an ideal outline shouldn't have parts that make you groan to look at. you'll thank yourself later.

happy writing :)

[beatingdrumspouringwine]

Advice for beginner Hellenists

This isn't necessarily a post where I include a list of Gods, epithets, resources, and offerings for said Gods, but rather, hopefully soothing the worries of those of us who are starting the journey into the religion. As someone who was once in a religion that made other religions sound like something absolutely terrifying, my journey into Hellenism was once which was also... pretty terrifying, and this fear was mostly just from my own mind.

Anyways, my list of Advice:

You can literally just start praying. If you want to get more formal, you can absolutely get more formal, but you very much don't have to. I've definitely had my first prayers to some Gods be "hello, [God or Goddess's name], I want to worship You! Please lead me in my journey. Thanks!" I can promise you, the Gods are much kinder and more understanding than any of us fully know.

You can also just start worshiping in general. I feel like I've seen on occasion people worried about the Gods not "calling" to them. This is definitely not something that needs to happen pre-worship. If you find them interesting enough to pray to, then that in and of itself is enough.

In a similar vein, I wouldn't be too concerned about the idea of "signs". I feel like there's a tendency for folks to be incredibly worried about everything when first starting out - the behavior of a candle, the sighting of an animal, a strange dream, all can suddenly seem to take on jarring significance. But I can promise you, the Gods don't constantly give out signs, and frequently, these strange occurrences can be attributed to the mundane. When something comes from the Gods, you will know, trust me!

You don't have to worry too much about the idea of cleanliness, be it spiritual or physical. Khernips are cool, and I'd definitely recommend integrating them into your practice sooner or later. Hygiene is cool too! But if I'm being honest, we in the modern day are far more physically clean, and a lot less likely to regularly encounter the type of pollution that would have been encountered in ancient Greece.

The Gods will be at varying distances over the course of your worship. Sometimes, They will feel close, joyfully, burningly so. And sometimes, They will feel far, and prayers may even feel a bit futile. Both of those are perfectly okay, and neither of those will be permanent.

And, once again in a similar vein, you will likely not find yourself having constant, close mystical experiences with the Gods (i.e., conversations, visions, etc.). These experiences are rare and far between, and I would advise that you not make them a central part of your worship. They will come when the Gods deem you're ready for them, and you definitely won't be expecting it. Focus on the little things!

My final thing (for now) is that you also shouldn't put undue pressure on yourself to be doing some sort of big offering to the Gods. If that's what you can afford, that's great! But if not, fresh water, a small wildflower that you came across and picked*, or a small bit of a meal also count as a good offering!

And with that, my (much longer than I was previously planning on) list of things for beginners to keep in mind! A lot of this list is made up of things which I picked up along the way, and a lot of it is also made from my own personal hindsight being 20/20. I hope this is helpful to someone, and that it maybe soothes some of the (incredibly common) worries which so often accompany those who are venturing into the world of Hellenic polytheism!

[spamishmoss]

ADVICE FOR BEGINNER PRACTITIONERS

I'm a generational witch and have worked in the craft for around 10 years, with some experience in conjure. I'd like to disclaim that I am still fairly young - but I feel as though I've gathered a decent well of knowledge. And thus, as I connect with others in this community, I'd like to share it.

1. Know what type of work you're actually doing.

"Witchcraft" is a blanket term often used to describe any type of ritualistic manifestation, however, not all of what you may regard as 'spellwork' is considered to be witchcraft. You see, at their core, any spells, workings, or prayers are examples of folks working with energy to achieve a desired outcome. Many religions that denounce or don't explicitly link themselves to witchcraft manipulate energy in their practices in very similar ways to witches themselves. However, these religions still do not consider what they're doing to BE witchcraft - this could be because of stigma or a variety of different things, but it's usually important to respect this because if you ignore the origins of your work, then you'll miss important cultural context - and the history of any items used or deities called upon DOES affect the results of any ritual significantly. There are also closed practices in which only certain people can work with a type of energy because of heritage, location, age, gender, etc. Participating in closed practices when you are not invited is not only disrespectful, but it can also be extremely dangerous because you can anger the gods of that practice and spirits that have been venerated for thousands of years. This can result in horrible misfortune.

So, to summarize, when you're conducting rituals created by other people or working with gods or spirits venerated by others, it is extremely important to learn the history (mythos, examples of previous use, etc) and cultural background of what it is that you're doing. It may take longer, but your results will be better and you also won't accidentally put yourself in harm's way. This doesn't so much apply to extremely simple things like lighting a white candle to honor a recently passed relative, because it's common knowledge that thousands of cultures around the world have done that for years. But if when researching rituals and whatnot you find something completely unfamiliar to you, do NOT try and work with it until you've looked into it more.

2. People Lie

There is a small number of people who knowingly practice witchcraft or similar works. There is an even smaller percentage of people who tell the truth about their experiences and are skilled enough to make spells work consistently. It is easy to become a 'real' witch, but we are rare in Western society for a variety of reasons - a big one being that it takes lots of time and research. Many people who claim to be psychics or 'witches' are either scam artists, in psychosis, or are too ignorant to realize the errors in their craft that are preventing their spells from working - and they brag about them anyhow as if they do work. It is important to understand that, while you are learning about witchcraft or consuming content related to it, people are going to lie to you. Many people will exaggerate their anecdotes or just makeup stories altogether, either for recognition or to sell a product. On the other hand, witchcraft is WEIRD. Things that shouldn't be possible become more common, and it opens your eyes to the fact that some things just can't be explained with science. In my personal experience, at the beginning of my craft, my spells would manifest slowly as odd coincidences, but now I can control the timing of my work much better, and - since I am more experienced - the results are more effective and shocking than they were five years ago. So, in conclusion, some things that may sound like lies can actually reveal themselves to be true - and the world is actually that much stranger than you thought, while other things that seem fictitious just are. Thus, it's important to ensure you trust any source you may be getting information from - even from me, your dearest Nicasia.

3. Your results aren't going to be consistent at first.

This kind of piggybacks off of the last piece of advice, but when you're a beginner witch without any enchantments already active for whatever reason, it's unlikely that everything you do is going to work - and that is okay. I remember finding this very discouraging when I first started because I thought that if my spells didn't work, it meant that witchcraft itself wasn't real and everything I was doing was stupid. But spellwork is a very old and complicated practice, so when you're a beginner, it can be easy to make mistakes. Like I've said, as I've become more experienced, my spells are more effective. I'd say they work about 85% of the time now as opposed to my former 20, and the sole reason for this is that I'm more knowledgeable. Practice makes perfect, and even the elders can fail sometimes. Spells can fail for a variety of reasons. It can be because of the moon phase, your poor mental health or lack of subconscious belief, unstable energy, previous blocks, etc. Sometimes you can do everything perfectly and your ancestors or spirit guides just won't let something manifest because it's not meant for you - even to the point of your supplies going missing out of the blue. What's important is that you keep trying.

**If you don't have mental health issues, are currently living a privileged lifestyle, or have never been cursed before - this next part likely doesn't apply to you, but certain people will need to do uncrossing or road-opening work to begin spellwork. People can bind your energy, and thus your ability to do witchcraft, and you can even do this to yourself by overthinking too much. Many witches preach beginners learning protection magick first, and I agree that's usually a good idea, but there are cases where you gotta make sure your gates are open before you can receive iykwim.

4. You Don't Need to Spend Money to Have Effective Spells

As with all 'cool people' things, witchcraft is done best when you get creative. In Hoodoo / Conjure, a closed practice of African American folk magic, there's an emphasis on the fact that slave magick was created by those who literally had nothing and just had to learn to work - in secret - with the energy of what they had on hand. It is 1000% doable to do witchcraft without investing in expensive crystals, oils, and herbs. Don't get me wrong, the more you put into your craft the more you can get out - whether it be effort or money, and sometimes expensive supplies are genuinely just better. But if you have a strong intention and know how to call upon the right spirits, you can literally do witchcraft just by thinking. Don't limit yourself by thinking that since you can't afford to buy the angelica root in a spell posted online, you have no chance of doing it successfully. That's when you research substitutions and build upon that ritual to your needs until you finally have your own spells.

5. People are assholes

People suck. When and if you choose to tell people about your craft, you're going to get mixed reactions. Be very careful about who you tell, because witchcraft is very misunderstood and misunderstanding leads to hate and violence. Some people may even respect your work but inform you they don't believe in it: Which is fine, but this may affect your confidence in witchcraft and spells. Thus, sometimes, it's better to keep things to yourself. I'm a very anxious person, and many of my personal friends don't even know I'm a witch for this exact reason. I've found that my craft works better when I don't tell people about it. When I do workings concerning other people, even if they've specifically asked me to do them, I often won't tell them when exactly I conduct their spell. This is because I don't want them overthinking and second-guessing themselves, therefore closing themselves off to receive any new energy.

Opinions and facts matter, remember that. But above all, have confidence in yourself and your craft - and of course, stay safe.

- Nicasia

[ms-demeanor]

hi! i am not sure if you will have good advice for this but your photography guide made me think about this issue. i grew up quite poor (school supplies were a struggle every september) and now as an adult i am not as financially stable as id like. this has made me very scared to use any art supplies because im always thinking that im wasting them on not good enough projects or not good enough skills or similar thinking. however that leads to me having supplies bc of gifts and whatnot (ie watercolor paper) but not using it out of anxiety. do you have any advice? thanks!

There are two ways that I go about getting over this kind of issue:

Get out the supplies right now and start making any marks. Cut a piece of watercolor paper in half. Draw a line down the center of a page in grease pencil. Do anything to just start using it to get over the "can't open it, must save for special occasions/projects" mindset. Once you've broken the seal on a first use, it's a lot easier to use tools or notebooks or paints a second time.

Plan projects for yourself like they're assignments. Give yourself a deadline and materials list, write it up like a school assignment sheet, and then do the assignment.

And, if it helps to think of it this way: you're likely hesitant to use your materials because you don't want them "going to waste," but at the moment they are being wasted because they aren't being used.

It is solidly my opinion that art supplies used for art are never wasted; not all "art" is meant to be kept and a part of the process of creating art is practice, which should lead to massive piles of clumsily made, "bad" art that you wouldn't want to hang up on the wall but is nonetheless a part of the process of making art that you'd want to hang on the wall.

You may be looking at the watercolor paper and thinking "I shouldn't break into this because each piece of this paper needs to be something special to show that I value this gift" but you don't get better at painting with watercolors if you use them on printer paper. You need to use the paper (and the paints, and your brushes) to maintain and improve your fluency with the medium.

Many people are hesitant to "waste" sketchbooks or good paper or canvas or expensive paint because they think they are throwing away the good things they *could* make if only the had the perfect plan and create the perfect piece of art with each page and each new tube.

But these things are consumables. Your sketchbook is not a guitar, and it is not a finished song, it is a set of strings. The lovely watercolor paper is a gift for you to make art with, but it is also a gift for you to *practice* making art with and the practice is just as much a part of the gift as a finished artwork would be.

So you're not wasting it if you just get out your paper and start painting with no plan, or if you "mess up" a piece, or if you just use the paper for practice.

So, if you're trying to get yourself to use watercolor paper specifically, I have an assignment for you:

Watercolor Thumbnails Assignment

Materials: Watercolor paper, 2 colors of paint (your choice), Hard pencil Tools: Ruler, Small and medium brushes, Palette

Instructions:

Using your pencil and your ruler, divide the page into 10 equal rectangles.

Visit this website and click the "surprise me" button. Select 10 artworks to create monochrome thumbnails of. (you can click as many times as you need to, but the goal here is to do thumbnails of art that you aren't familiar with rather than seeking out art that you know well for this assignment)

Reproduce each of the images as a monochrome thumbnail in the ten rectangles you've marked on your paper. You don't have to mix a unique color for each rectangle, but you should mix a few different colors and use only one for each rectangle. For instance, if you are using green and yellow paint, some images should be yellow, some should be green, some should be green-yellow, some should be yellow-green.

Purpose:

To use your materials

Work on achieving different values with single colors by layering or diluting your paint.

Composition study

Time Limits:

Once you have collected your ten images and have your station set up, you should take no more than one hour to complete your thumbnails.

Due Date: July 20th 2024

___________________

If you are not familiar with watercolor, here's a good video on some of the basic techniques for painting with watercolor:

And this is a good example of a monochrome painting done in watercolor; if you want, you can watch the video and use it as a tutorial to practice getting a feel for monochrome painting.

Use this assignment to practice! Make use of the gift that you were given by familiarizing yourself with the medium and thinking about art and working in color.

I'm going to play along too and will reblog this post with my thumbnails on July 20th - anyone who wants to join in is welcome to do so as well.

And everyone please remember: time and materials spent doing something you love or practicing a skill you enjoy are never wasted. Even if you don't end up with a "good" finished product, you have learned something and that, in itself, is valuable.

[itpemod]

How does one get into making podfics? Are there like, rules or anything?

So glad you asked!

The only "rule" I can think of really is to make sure you have permission for the stories you record. Some authors have a transformative works policy (often found in their AO3 profile or tagged on their story) that may grant automatic permission (meaning you don't need to ask first) to podfic their stories and others may have a "please ask first, I'll most likely say yes" policy. For people who don't have a visible policy, the norm is to ask the author for permission to podfic their story. This is really the only step you shouldn't skip, otherwise you might invite trouble.

If you're curious about where to find blanket permission to podfic, we have a volunteer-run site called the FPSlist that is a database of authors who have blanket permission for podfic. Another incredibly convenient tool is the Blanket Permission Highlighter, which is an extension that will highlight the name of any ao3 author that's on the FPSlist in green in your browser.

So to get into podfic, first find a story you'd love to record that either has blanket permission or you've received permission to podfic! Anything after that is almost entirely individual. You can record using a gaming headset, or using your phone, or a USB mic! You can edit as much or as little as you want. You can have as much or as little metadata in your podfic intro as you'd like. You can host on a variety of websites! There's a lot steps involved in podficcing that we could discuss for many more paragraphs, but I'll link you to some more comprehensive resources to keep this brief.

Here's a good beginner's guide that'll take you through the whole process.

If that feels too overwhelming, there's also this bare-minimum guide you might find helpful!

This is also a really good resource that links to all different kinds of tutorials for various processes!

And if you have more questions, there's a discord server where you can ask questions and advice. You will be swarmed by excited podficcers who are thrilled to walk you through your first podfic! You can also join the Podfic Community on tumblr!

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

hi sex witch! i love your blog and think u give great advice so i thought i would get over my embarrassment and send an ask.

i used to jerk off "normally", rubbing one out with my fingers, but a couple of years ago i started humping my pillow to see how it felt and then got lowkey addicted and now i cannot cum amy other way.

it's led to some shame during sex, because they try to make me cum and im like Oh lol don't worry about it! and also im just genuinely sick of it myself. it doesn't feel that great and i want to be patient and explore my body but i feel like i just can't.

anyway how the hell do i train myself to cum in other ways. i know i can snd i want to, my body just won't and eventually i get frustrated over not being able to cum

hi anon,

okay, so, before we dive into this, I want to address some terminology here, not because I'm mad at your for phrasing this question the way you did but because I am pedantic and the words we use for things influence the way we think about things.

you probably already know this since you used the scare quotes, but there's no such thing as a "normal" way of masturbating - or rather, any way of masturbating can be totally normal to the person who practices it. sexual behaviors don't actually have any innate norm; it's just that some behaviors have been privileged over others and made to seem more common, healthy, or moral.

addiction is also an inaccurate word here, which I feel the need to flag since "addiction" has become VERY popular to misuse in the context of masturbation, porn, and sexuality. you aren't addicted to masturbating this way, you've just gotten accustomed to it. if you were, say, used to lifting with your back and were struggling to adjust to lifting with your knees, as if recommended for the well-being of your back, you wouldn't say you were addicted to lifting with your back. it's just that repetition has made that way of doing things feel easier and more intuitive even if you know logically that it's not ideal and you want to change it.

now, here's the really cool part: unlike lifting things, an activity with a pretty well-defined wrong and right way to do it, masturbation can be ANYTHING.

listen: you just need to get used to doing this other ways. like, literally just stop masturbating that way and explore other ways of fooling around with yourself. it's not going to lead to orgasms right away; you shouldn't expect it to. nothing goes perfectly when you're a beginner, but if you never do it badly you'll never learn how to do it well. just play around and have some grace + patience with yourself while you learn new ways to find pleasure.

[bowerspowers]

Do you have any advice for making it ocs?

If there are two things I love in life, they're IT and OCs. While I might not be the best person to ask, I do have some tips that can hopefully help a few people! Buckle up, this is going to be a long one!

Altering Canon .

First and foremost! I think it's important to not heavily alter the main story of IT when you create a character. This also means don't subtract from canon character's experiences. By that I mean taking a canon characters "scene" and giving it to your character instead.

Altering canon can be fine as long as it's not done to an extreme <3

Relatives .

Making your character related to any canon cast is fine, but with some characters you need to be prepared to explain a LOT. Say if you are making a character related to Beverly Marsh or Henry Bowers, two characters who are both heavily abused by their fathers. It's going to be a lot harder to explain "Where are they?" during certain events of the canon than say a character who isn't overly impactful on the plot.

Arguably, making any relative to any of the Losers cast would be challenging! Off top my head, Richie is probably the easiest to pull off haha.

THAT BEING SAID. There are so many Richie Tozier sisters out there. I'm not trying to say it's overdone but —

Face Claims .

I touched upon this recently, but remember if you're making a child character it's important to choose a face claim that actually looks the part! The main age range is 12-16, however I feel like in the search of the "prettiest face claim" people have chosen actors who when you look at them you go: "That's a grown adult!"

A rule of thumb that might help! Imagine them side by side with the main cast ( especially Ben ) and the image looks funny in your mind, it would probably have looked funny on screen.

Actors age however, and if you have a face claim you really like, choosing a role which you base their main visage around really helps! For example, I chose Elle Fanning for a face claim — and she's quite obviously not a child anymore. So I made sure to indicate which role I base her appearance off of! ( The Neon Demon )

Of course, there are always exceptions! Some people genuinely look older than what they are ( or younger ) and that's okay too! It might just help to specify that in their bio.

Lore .

The best and arguably most important part of your character, their foundation! The fun stuff! Truthfully, the more information you have the better!

Where in Derry do they live? West Broadway? Are they on Witcham Street with Bill? Or perhaps they live in the poorer neighborhood near Beverly. Whichever you choose, should honestly impact your character.

Family, it's so important to include family SOME how. It doesn't matter if they are present in your writing or not but they shouldn't be ignored. You'd be surprised how much fuller your character feels when you shape their world around them, if that makes sense.

Friends, if your character has friends with any of the canon cast, you should absolutely add details about how they get along. ( Or don't! ) if your character has other OC friends, or friends you've created to world build for them — absolutely talk and write about them as well !

ALSO! What is their social standing in school? What sorts of people do they hang around with — cliques! Artist? Music? Popular kids? Band Kids? The list goes on....

There is SO much to go into detail about, and honestly I HIGHLY reccomend writing it all out in one space where people can navigate and learn about your epic lil OC.

Carrd.co - a great and FREE webpage which you can fully customize to suit your OC. Including thousands of free themes you can choose from! It looks professional, and it's easy to navigate and use for beginners too. There IS a paid subscription so that you can have unlimited elements ( basically like unlimited photos, text boxes, links, etc) but free users get up to 100! Which should be more than enough. And if it's not you can make a secondary carrd site and link them together!

Google Docs - Another great tool for begginers! I'll be honest I don't use it but many of my friends swear by it. It's also customizable with thousands of custom themes online to choose from!

Toyhouse - Toyhouse is another popular OC hosting website with many themes to choose from. Many are also paid and created by the community however. Toyhouse requires a generated key to create an account, I might have some spare keys if anyone needs one, but honestly Toyhouse isn't as user friendly as the above options.

Pennywise .

Please please PLEASE! Do not forget about Pennywise. There is a very real looming threat in Derry Maine, and while most choose to write about their characters interaction with the canon cast or other OCs; it's very important to include your character's thoughts on the disappearance of MULTIPLE children in Derry Maine.

They do not need to combat Pennywise, and realistically they wouldn't stand a chance against Pennywise either. But it's also really cool when writers include Penny into their story or lore, otherwise it may as well just be a slice of life fandomless character.

The EDGE .

I understand we all love having that really cool character who is considered to be "dangerous" or "unhinged" and it is 100% okay to go that route too. HOWEVER, if you're going to create a character who is considered to be a "pyromaniac" or a character who is a "stalker" ...

Take it seriously.

While IT has it's fair share of comedic scenes, it also takes it's characters who do Bad things, seriously!

Take Patrick Hockstetter for example. He is mischaracterized to hell and back in the fandom, and more or less made into a joke character. But if you genuinely read into his backstory; he is a terribly creepy person, dark, and absolutely twisted. Disregarding the one scene that EVERYONE tends to focus on; Patrick is a very well written character. And the things he does aren't written to be jokes as the fandom is very much guilty of portraying them to be!

ULTIMATELY it's really not that deep. But these are just a few tips that I have to share. There is so much more when it comes to making a well developed character, but I really hope that it helps! If I can think of anything to add later, or if anyone has any questions I'd be more than happy to help! I LOVE OCs and I love supporting people who wish to create them <3

[booksinmythorax]

So you're an adult who wants to start reading for fun, but you don't know where to start

I'm a librarian, and I hear at least once a week from people who sheepishly tell me that they'd love to start reading for fun (for the first time or after a long break). Here's my best advice broken down into bullet points, but start here: there is no shame in being a beginner.

-Think about what you do enjoy and start from there. So you're not a book person. Do you like movies? Television? Podcasts? Music? Tabletop games? Video games? What other media do you like and what does it have in common? Make a little list and Venn diagram that shit.

Maybe you're into stories about fucked-up families (Sharp Objects, Succession) or found families (lots of realplay TTRPG podcasts, Leverage, Avatar: The Last Airbender) or fucked-up found families (various Batman media, Steven Universe, The Good Place). Maybe you mainly watch or listen to stuff for the romance (Taylor Swift music, The Best Man, Heartstopper) or the sci-fi horror (The Magnus Archives, M3gan, Nope) or the romantic sci-fi horror (Welcome to Night Vale). And hey, maybe you're not a fictional media person at all. What do you like? What do you want to know about? World history? True crime? Home improvement? Birdwatching? Gardening? Various animals and their behavior? Human psychology? Cooking? If it's a thing, there are books about it. Start there.

Think about why you started to dislike reading. Did an adult snatch a book you thought looked cool out of your hands and say "Don't read that, it's below your reading level/above your reading level/a comic, not a real book"? Did school give you an endless parade of miserable, bleak books and tell you they were universal stories about the human condition? Or did it maybe only give you stories with saccharine, unearned happy endings, or only show you stories about straight cis wealthy abled white kids, or keep you from reading entire books at all in favor of endlessly dissecting tiny passages out of context? (For some vindication, check out "How Teachers Make Children Hate Reading" by John Holt.) Did you have an older sibling or a friend who was better at reading? Did adults put you in competition with that other kid and make you feel like shit about it? Were you in a situation where you were good at reading in one language, or even more than one, but required to read in another that you were still learning? Did this make you feel like you were "behind schedule" or like you shouldn't read at all? Or was reading just harder for you than it seemed for other people? Did reading give you headaches? Did the letters or numbers seem to float around on the page? Was it hard for you to focus for long enough to get through a whole book? Did you need to learn to read differently than the kids around you could? Did adults punish you for this instead of helping you? (Look, I'm not a doctor, but if any of these apply to you, consider going to an optometrist, a psychologist, and/or a psychiatrist to talk about these things if they're persistent and interfere with your life.) Or maybe you're burned out on reading. Maybe you did an advanced degree in literature or writing or history or some other reading-heavy discipline and you're just tired. Maybe your professors or classmates got snobby about what constituted "literary" works and their good opinion didn't line up with what you actually enjoy. You get to be sad and angry about these things, if they happened to you. They're also clues to how to move forward if you'd like to read more, or enjoy reading more.

Give yourself permission to read whatever you want, in whatever way you want. Wanna start with young adult books? Middle grade books? Awesome. Many of them have stories that are sophisticated and complex. Starting with re-reading the first books you enjoyed reading could help jog your memory about why you initially found it fun. Hell, even picture books are a good start. Have you read a picture book lately? Those things are getting cooler every day. Comics and graphic novels? Those count as reading. Many of them are published for adults, though again, the ones published for a middle-grade or young adult audience are often complex and moving. If you're an anime fan, give manga a shot. The source material for many anime go deeper into the characters and stories, especially now that anime seasons are often truncated to 12 episodes for entire series. (The right-to-left thing is easier to get used to than you think, too.) Romance novels and mystery thrillers and science fiction and fantasy? Those count as reading. Many of the things you might have liked about the books you read as a child or a teenager are present in adult "genre" fiction, and many of the things you might despise about adult "literary" fiction (god, I hate that word, but that's another post) may be absent from those titles. E-books and audiobooks definitely count as reading, and they're often more accessible than paper books for some people. Anybody who tries to genre- or format-shame you is a dick and not worth talking to.

Go to your local library. All right, shameless self-promotion here, I'll admit it. But I promise you, if you walk into a library and say "I'm an adult, I stopped reading a while ago, and I'd like to start back up again but I need suggestions," you will make someone's day. I get asked for my opinion about books approximately once a month. I get asked how to use the printer approximately eighty-five times a day. I love helping with the printer and I'm saying that unironically, but my colleagues and I absolutely adore "readers' advisory" questions. If you come with the answers to the above questions about your preferred genres, formats, and reasons you'd like to read, it'll help the process, but most of us are trained to ask follow-up questions to get you the best possible book match. Do not apologize. You are not bothering us. It is literally part of our job. We want people to know that reading is fun, and you are a people.

[liesinmyeyes]

hey, so I'm a new pagan witch and one who has barely practiced anything yet/ has only like 10 pages filled in their book of shadows

i am seeking advice on what to do with myself and my craft and practices, or just hoping someone has felt/currently feels the same way I do because I'm the only pagan witch I know irl and have no one to tell this to.

practicing witchcraft makes me anxious? I haven't really done anything aside from wearing crystal necklaces and sleeping with an amethyst below my pillow, but i'm lowkey afraid to do much more than that because whenever I do research across the internet (don't worry, I don't only take one pinterest source at face value, I make sure to look at other sources on the internet and always check with multiple witchy forums/threads or just simply history sources if the practice is closed/appropriated or should be done as a beginner) - but here is my issue. There's soooo many sources on the internet that tell you so many differing opinions. Some sources will say "NO WAY DON'T EVER DO THAT" while others will go "it's okay and totally safe". I haven't ever read a book abt witchcraft because I know how much TERF-y and culturally appropriate-y agendas they have and the amount of misinformation in a lot of them. I almost got radicalized once before and I told myself "never again", so i'm too afraid to pick up a book half the witches praise for being so good and accurate and half condemn for including TERF bs. I know I should form my own opinions on magic(k) and how I percieve witchcraft but i just get this BOUT of anxiety whenever I see a post anywhere on the internet saying "DONT EVER DO THAT AS A WITCH" or something along those lines... i can never tell what's just gatekeepy fear-mongering and what's an actual closed/dangerous practice anymore and it makes me too afraid to pursue anything because I fear bad things happening to me more than anything. I think it's a side effect of my neurodivergent self wanting to be told exactly what I can and can't do (considering my ethnic identity) and how and when to do it, what moral code to abide by, which is a tough ask in something like witchcraft.

i often feel swayed and get these bouts of guilt for NOT being christian. I grew up areligious in a very christian country with an added sprinkle of shaming people for being religious (which i dont agree with obvs). When I was agnostic and not giving any thought to religion at all, it was fine and dandy. But now that I identify myself as a pagan who worships the greek gods, I often feel, idk, ashamed of it? I'm friends with some very devout christian gals and whenever they talk about going to church or getting their sins forgiven I just feel so guilty and kind of like I'm sinning myself. I feel like I shouldn't be believing in the Gods and should be christian instead, even though SO many of my world views don't align with christianity's teachings and frankly, I don't want to be christian? I want the Gods to be real and I want to worship them. But I often doubt my faith in them and feel the guilt of not being christian like everyone else in my country. Is this a faith issue? On some days I won't doubt the Gods existing at all and feel all happy and uplifted and sure in my faith and on other days I'll be sitting around all day, questioning all my morals and beliefs and questioning whether I'm going to hell for praying to the greek gods. Maybe it's because of all my sorroundings (multiple churches in my town, Jesus statues everywhere, very christian friends) that I feel that way, but if anyone could tell me how to stop these thoughts I'd give ANYTHING to do that. (Not that there's anything wrong with christianity or finding comfort in it, its just that whenever I think about it I get anxious because the concept of eternal torture just for enjoying life on earth scares me. On the other hand, I DO find comfort in worshiping the greek gods. I feel more beautiful, inspired to write, so on and so forth...)

[the-suns-temple]

hello! i'm a very beginner in all this. i researched a bit and i would like to start worshipping apollo, since i hope he's going to guide me through a journey of healing.

i did a prayer, today. shouldn't i have done that since i am just a beginner?

is there something important i should know before worshipping him?

how does he like to be worshipped?

thank you so much in advance. any advice is very very welcomed.

Ciao! I so deeply apologize for not answering this sooner. There is nothing wrong with praying at the beginning of your practice. In fact, I personally encourage it. Prayer is an excellent way to connect with your Gods and build a relationship with them. I started my relationship with Lord Apollo via prayer and offerings. My golden rule is this: If you ask the Gods for something, leave them an offering. If I ask Lord Apollo for assistance navigating a situation, I leave him Bay Leaves and burn incense for him.

Prayer is something that any practitioner can do. Prayer is part of worship. Prayer is part of your relationship with the Gods. If you feel inclined to pray, do so! I never pray without an offering. This is how I format my prayer: I greet the deity I am talking to and reference three of the things they rule over. For example, "O, Lord Apollo, God of the Sun and light, God of Prophecy and truth, bringer of plague and medicine." This clearly defines who you would like your prayer to reach. Then, I thank them for all they have done for me. This can be very broad, i.e. "Thank you for all you have done for me, all you do for me, and all you continue to do for me in life." From here, I typically move into my request, and following the request, I make an offering. I may ask Lord Apollo for assistance getting through a depressive episode while lighting incense and setting it down. Then, I thank him again for all he has done, will do, and continues to do for me.

Prayer is also a very personal thing. So what works for me may not work for you. You may not like what my prayers look like, but this is what works for me. I sincerely hope this helps, and please, do continue to ask if you have questions.

Best wishes, and blessed be, and may the Sun be your guide. Khaire.

[magical-girl-coral]

To the anon who requested gaming with Lucy and Nara; I accidentally deleted the ask when I tried to draft it so I have to answer it like this. I am so sorry, sir Anon.

Two months into her scholarship in the Aguefort Adventuring Academy, Nara came to a realization that she desperately needed something to connect her to today's youth other than having a weird relationship with her family and a messy love life.

She doesn't know any of the local celebrities, she can barely keep up with the trending media and their lingo changes so often, she doesn't bother to understand it anymore. Thankfully, she found out about the concept of 'video game' and purchased a 'console' with a cute game with talking animals in it. It was mainstream and for beginners. It's perfect!

She went to the Bloodrush field where the Hellspawns/Spitfires were hanging out (seems like they were arguing over their party name again) to ask Mary Ann for advice as she was known as the Gamer Queen throughout school. Thirty minutes later and Nara was so overwhelmed, Lucy had to take her aside to a bathroom/breakdown breather and gave her number in case of an Animal Crossing emergency.

Which is how Nara ended up sitting on Lucy's bed in her bedroom with Lucy cross legged right beside her.

She can't honestly tell if this is a punishment or a gift.

Lucy was holding the Nintendo console and pointed out basic instructions. "I don't think you should start traveling so soon in your gameplay. You should mostly focus on building up your village, talking with the locals, figuring out what you like having arou- Nara?"

"Hmm?" Nara hummed, not realizing she's been silently staring at Lucy's lips for the past five minutes.

"Are you okay?"

No, I'm surrounded by beautiful women constantly and it's going to kill me. "I'm perfectly sound. Just overwhelmed from the last two months, that's all."

Lucy smiled weakly. "I know what you mean. I've lived here all my life, but coming back from the dead definitely changed some things I'm not ready to face. Like coming to a whole new world."

Nara was semi aware of the scar laid on her chest from the ordeal and pointedly did not stare at it. "Sometimes it all feels like a dream. And not even in a good way. In the 'I have no idea what's going on but somehow I understand the rules so I'll just go with it' weird type of dream. Nothing here feels real."

"Yeah, and I bet the constant wave of gods being brought back from the dead didn't help," Lucy snorted to herself in a cute way that made Nara want to throw her head through glass. "I actually just remembered something that can help you with your Nintendo."

Lucy got up before Nara could ask about it, walked towards her closet and picked up a box titled 'Lucy's forgotten hobbies.' On it's own, this shouldn't be a big deal, but Lucy is wearing a tank top and her muscles are glowing under the lighting.

Nara's mouth dropped open.

Lucy casually sat back on the bed as if she wasn't in a walking lesbian crisis. "I have a bunch of old manuals and gaming consoles that I forgot about during middle school. Some of them are a bit dated but I think you can still get a kick out of them- Nara? Nara you look like you're having another stroke."

Nara, in her infinite wisdom, choked out "hospital" as she collapsed backward onto the pillows, deciding that pretending to be sick is better than explaining that she lesbian panicked so hard, she lost the ability to speak.

The ride to the hospital was almost worth it.

The rumor mill that came on the next day was not.

[gyuluttony]

So, that Ateez feederism bug has certainly taken root and I couldn't tell you why exactly. (It's because I finally am getting a feel for how many people like it as much as I do 👀)

And with that being said, I want to write about another one of my ults, being San... it's not going to have a fixed pair... but that doesn't mean he can't play around hehe

Better

This is a feederism fic and features weight gain, weight gain denial, breaking of clothes, and smut. Don't like, don't read.

Finishing his set in the gym, the sound of the weights clanging on the machine as it settles. He's panting as he looks at himself in the mirror. He's come a long way since he started working out. He remembers the first time that he set foot in the gym and how just about everything intimidated him. Flexing his figure, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as a result of just how far he's come. It wasn't something that he achieved overnight after all. Lots of effort had to be made to get his body to the level that it was currently at.

While he washed up, some things came to mind. Like there were people who might have struggled with the idea of going to the gym for the first time and plenty of questions that they had. As he lathered up his firm pecs and broad shoulders, it was properly occurring to him that he had a rather amazing set up. The gym was owned by his friend, Yeosang, which meant it would be fairly easy to set up a camera and record beginner guides to helping out those who needed the advice. While he rinsed off, his mind was already buzzing with ideas as to what he'd need to mention with Yeosang if he wanted to get the go-ahead on this idea.

In his mind, as long as he delivered his advice to a level that was befitting of the audience, it shouldn't be too hard to get the information out to everyone who needed it. He arrived at his apartment as he announced, "I have the best idea ever."

Wooyoung had flopped his head over on the couch to look at him, an eyebrow raised curiously while Seonghwa paused the game that he was playing to look at him. "Oh, how was the gym, Sannie?"

He simply gave a thumbs up before he sat on the coffee table in front of them to look at them eye to eye, almost like he needed to be at that level to brace them before his idea properly blew them away. "You're not ready for this."

Seonghwa kept his encouraging smile on his face while Wooyoung looked at him, a little exasperated, "What is it? You've hyped it up but haven't said it yet."

San paused for dramatic effect for a moment before he stated, "I'm gonna start a channel to promote fitness for first timers because they don't know what they're doing and Yeosang already gave me the go ahead."

There was a pause in the air before Wooyoung just sighed as Seonghwa politely began to play his game again, ready to listen as background noise, almost like his interest had pulled away.

"What?" San looked genuinely puzzled as to why the attention had waned.

"No offense, San, but I think I've seen about a thousand channels like that where they all advertise their advice. It's just oversaturated and almost everyone does it." Wooyoung rips the bandaid off rather easily and it's hard not to deflate a little.

He pouted rather easily, "It's a great idea! I didn't get like this without knowing my way around the gym so I think I'm pretty trustworthy!" The way that he flexes while having a cute expression flusters both of his roommates as Wooyoung openly gawks the muscles on display while Seonghwa pays closer attention to the game that's on the screen before pausing it when San seems to wait for them to comment again.

"Wooyoung does have a point, Sannie." It's hard not to coo at the sight of San being more pouty than expected as his plans are stepped on but Seonghwa continues, "But, I think you'd be able to carve a niche as you are. You do a pretty good job of that." He can't help but smile as he blushes at the kind words of the older one at that.

A pat on the shoulder comes from Wooyoung, "If you need someone to film, I'll be happy to help. I feel like you'd be bad at setting up shots." He raises a fist, threatening to hit his friend before muttering that he'd appreciate the help.

After a little bit more planning, the first video goes without a hitch and he can't help but feel a pit in his stomach as he watches the video process before it slowly uploads on their shared Internet. Both Wooyoung and Seonghwa are in the room as moral support when it finally finishes and he can't help but stew.

A couple of minutes go by and San whines, "I really put a lot of time into this introduction! Even Hongjoong helped me with editing everything in a nice way!" The video looked rather professional and not amateur at all thanks to the older man's touch that San promised to repay him for at dinner one day.

Wooyoung patted him on the shoulder comfortingly, "You can't expect everything on day one, San. It'll take some time." He left him in the room with Seonghwa who seemed to smile encouragingly, "Yeah, it already has about fifteen views now so that's more than just our friend group. Give it some time to settle!"

Even if he was going to heed their advice, it didn't mean he wasn't going to bed sulking... but when he woke up that morning, the fact that his phone was warm and currently buzzing with notifications was a cause for alarm. Looking at it in shock, all of his friends were sending him various links of different edits of him in the video that went viral.

He knew that he looked good but seeing people editing him to shreds while basically making thirst traps of what he had said was incredibly kind to his ego. He felt himself blush while reading the various comments that were left. Was there such a thing as digital footprint with what some of these people were saying? Either way, it didn't take long for his channel to blow up and thanks to his work with Hongjoong, he didn't need to completely rely on him for editing and knew how to do it for himself.

Everything was panning out. He received sponsorship and just about everything under the sun that came with being a successful content creator and it wasn't hard at all for him to stick out in the crowd. A few lingering shots on his body here and there and it would inspire someone to make another edit that would go viral. Even if a lot of people weren't there for advice, it was the views and fans that made him go viral which he vastly appreciated.

Before long, brands were starting to sponsor him. Athleisure clothing brands, various different services and he took a good majority of them. San hadn't had this much money forever even working full time. But, then, he received his largest sponsorship deal yet. It was a formal process. Signing with Fever Supplements, he would have an exclusive deal that would pay more than enough for him to cover his rent on his apartment alone for each month.

All he had to do was take their products and be causal about mentioning it. And considering he was already in the stage to start taking protein again to bulk for the winter, it wouldn't be hard. Plus, their pre workout had tasted amazing from his experience.

At the stage that he was at, he was starting to workout with guests because he knew that the edits seemed to get a lot more traction when one of his friends was in the gym with him. So far, Jongho, Mingi and Yunho had accompanied him before. Today, Mingi had come with him.

Watching San shake his drink shaker made him raise an eyebrow curiously, "What's that? It looks different than what you usually drink." The camera wasn't recording while they were still in the middle of warming up. San liked to record during stretches so that they could have more to capture. Mingi raised an eyebrow as San offered it.

Watching him take a sip and recoil, Mingi looked at the drink in surprise, "Woah... that's really sweet. Are you sure it's pre?" San shrugged, "It says it's pre workout on the container and I think it's their new flavour. It's pretty good though. It's been energizing me for a couple of weeks now before my workouts." Mingi looked at it rather suspiciously before he added, "Damn, I can see why. It wakes you up."

They usually assist each other in stretching and when it comes time to work with each other, San feels his waist intruded on by Mingi, large hands resting on his sides and for some reason, sinking in slightly as San yelps. "Isn't it early for bulking season?" Mingi snickers as San raises a fist, "Like you're one to talk." He pokes Mingi's softened middle who covers his stomach shyly before they continue.

It makes a sort of tension that persists through the video as San noticed how his friend had put on. It's not like he put that much on though. The fabric of his shirt was clinging to him but that's how most compression shirts fit. On Mingi, it was bulging a little at the stomach and he couldn't help but find himself staring.

While they were in the shower, Mingi's voice was clear through the constant stream of water, "Uh, San. Would you be able to hook me up with some of that pre? It really worked and I just had a sip." Blinking a couple of times in surprise, he looked at Mingi, "Really? All you had was a sip." Mingi shrugged nonchalantly before he added, "That's the best I've worked out in a while... but I still have some energy. How about you?"

The words hung in the air for a moment, the tension only growing more intense before San added, "Yeah. I could do some more." He wandered over to the other man before he saw the way that he moved his neck downward and pressed their lips together. Naked bodies were pressed into each other as the water continued to clean them of everything but their desires.

The perks of the semi-private gym were making their way to the surface now as they stroked each other. Doing anything else was a little riskier even if they knew they had the space to themselves because the staff needed to clean soon for the actual hours of the place. What San was noticing was the fact that Mingi's stomach which had been flat the last time he appeared in a video seemed to protrude and inflate when he breathed out in pleasure at San's touch that was threatening to make him come undone. Had he put on weight since then? Maybe his next video needed to be something about weight loss. But, his thoughts were wiped clean as Mingi moved down and began to suck him off. Clutching the railing, his fingers curled in his friend's hair while he made sure to show attention to just about every inch of his length. As much as Mingi ran his mouth, he always knew how to use it just as well which is why they hooked up as often as they did.

As they both helped each other wipe off the mess after experiencing a release, San's stomach growled. "Damn, you're that hungry?" Mingi slaps his friend on the ass, who yelps before he says, "If you want, we can grab some food with Yunho. He wanted to eat with me today anyways."

Another thing that he didn't realize following his sponsorship with Fever was the fact that he was hungry a lot more often. He didn't really notice it because most of the time, he did his own meal prep. But, San seemed blissfully unaware of how the portions of these preps had slowly been increasing everytime. Where it used to be properly be one portion, it was getting to the point where he would eat portions of three for just about every meal.

Whenever he ate out with friends, it was more absurd that he ever would have noticed. Yunho had noticed that Mingi was eating a fair bit as well but San's order nearly filled up the table. He looked curiously as the two stuffed their faces with everything that was bought. "Good workout?"

The pair nodded before going back to stuffing their faces as Yunho watched, feeling his face heat up as he watched Mingi beside him belch before he continued to eat his own food.

From this point forward, just about all of his friends were noticing the amount that San was eating as he continued to increase the portion sizes slowly but surely. Seonghwa noted that he was cooking just about every other second when he was at home and the planned meals were filling the fridge. Wooyoung had tried some of the protein shake that he mixed but felt full a quarter of the way through while San had started to drink two per day. Mingi was starting to become a regular on the channel and those little meals where they would spend nearly two hours eating were becoming a near daily occurrence that San could afford with no difficulty thanks to his income.

However, the strangest part to just about everyone that knew San was the fact that he didn't even notice what all this food was doing to his body. He was under the impression that with Fever Supplements, he was going to bulk. But, following the winter, what he hadn't done was bulk. He had grown beyond the word bulking.

What Mingi was after the influence that San had on him was chubby and even that was being nice. He was definitely lingering closer to fat these days. But San? San had gotten properly fat and was starting to border on obese.

Gone were the broad and defined shoulders that he had launched the channel with as they were replaced with rolls on his back and flabby moobs that were starting to hang with how much fat that they had blown up with. His stomach protruded out so far and his roommates could hardly believe he poured himself into skin tight clothes without breaking them.

Although, Seonghwa remembers one day where he had checked in on San because he had stated that he was going out to eat with Mingi, not even going to the gym this time. Wandering in his room after hearing some noises, Seonghwa gaped at the sight. San was hopping and just that alone was shaking the floor as the massive amount of fat he put on was jiggling as he tried to get himself into a pair of jeans that didn't even make it halfway up his thighs.

San turned his head, panting as Seonghwa noticed more closely that even his jawline that was sharp had blurred and was even starting to develop a double chin just naturally. He couldn't figure out why it was exciting him to this degree. "Ah... hyung, perfect. Can... you help me close these? I think I bulked up too much."

Seonghwa felt a shiver run down his spine as he moved to San. Placing his fingers on the sides of the pants, he gulped feeling his hands press into the soft cellulite on his thighs. Pulling it up was a lot of effort and even more difficult at the fact that San didn't realize how much he was jiggling at just about every desperate movement. They managed to make it up to where they should rest but were presented with the next problem.

The button.

Now, Seonghwa was seriously going to overload at the feeling of his knuckles pressing into the underbelly of San's fat gut while he tried to make the two ends reach. He had tried lying down and sucking in. "Is it easier now?" He wheezed out the question while Seonghwa was praying for how aroused this was making him. His hands brushed San's crotch a couple of times and he heard a couple of whimpers from his fat roommate before he made his advances less coy, placing a hand on the area. It had gotten fatter too given how he knew San's length was a lot more plentiful the last time they hooked up.

San mewled in pleasure when Seonghwa's hand slipped into his pants, starting to please him before he realized that with just about every pump that caused San to move his hips, his gut would move too and make it more difficult to stroke him between the pressure of the tight underwear and his belly moving into his erection. San was losing himself to the pleasure of the feeling but still so horribly unaware of the point that he's blown up to.

They continue on before San releases, soiling his underwear as they both try to catch their breath. The last thing Seonghwa says before he leaves was that he should just wear something comfortable if he's going to out to eat with Mingi.

He does listen and when Seonghwa leaves the room, he's pulled into Wooyoung's room. On his computer screen, he sees orders for clothes identical to what San has in his wardrobe, just to replace everything with proper size ups. Seonghwa can't help but blush when Wooyoung reveals that this isn't the first time that he's done this before but he has San's card and he's gotten enough funding to the point he can pay it off without glancing at what's being bought.

It became an experiment basically. Just how massive could San get without noticing just how much these supplements were doing. Yunho had looked at the label and saw appetite stimulant and bulking formula on just about every product and weight gain enhancers in nearly everything that San mixed into his drinks. Mingi had grown at a slower pace but because he was with San so often, the damage had been done to the other gym goer as well.

The thirst edits of San hadn't changed. In fact, they had only steamrolled alongside his weight. Now, instead of focusing on his muscles, they focused on how strong his arms still were while they jiggled with fat when in between sets. How his belly spilled out of various workout shirts and how plump his ass was when he turned around while doing something. The fans were just about as ravenous as the one they were making these edits for and he didn't pay it any mind because it was still about his body.

In his eyes, he just viewed it as light pudge... even if he was getting to the point where his fattened form was knocking things over with either his belly or ass whenever he was at home.

He had reached a large milestone after almost a year. Over five million subscribers to the channel. In this time, he put on more than double his weight and didn't even bat an eye to the changes, which is still what shocked the other men the most. Didn't even think about how he couldn't fit in booths at restaurants or how difficult it was to do his stretches with Mingi when they were both of massive proportions. Their shower room hook ups had gotten a lot less subtle with all the bulk and San being teased about how much he had put on.

But, that wasn't the focus. He was finally treating Hongjoong to a meal that he promised. He had started to do a lot of the editing himself, so in the groove that he didn't even bat an eye at the way his sides were pressed against the arm rests of his desk chair most of the time. The editing style was retained and Hongjoong was rather proud of the younger man.

He hadn't expected the shorter man to choose an all you can eat restaurant as their destination. "Ah, hyung~ If you eat here, you'll get bigger~" San teased rather easily as Hongjoong's eyes scanned the massive man as if he could talk. He wasn't the slimmest person, carrying a small belly but it's not like he had grown to the size that Mingi had gotten to and San was an entirely different beast. He heard from the rest of their friends that he was unaware but he didn't think it was this crazy.

The two sat down at the booth as Hongjoong said, "Sannie, just let me grab what you want. You might be treating me today, but we're celebrating you too! You're probably the most popular fitness creator out there." It took a lot to not laugh at the sight when he said that. The most popular fitness creator being the largest person in the room, who's gut was pressing into the table and even resting on it where it protruded.

San smiled, "If that's what you say, hyung. I'll be sure to eat well." He had no doubts that the younger had been doing that for months at this point but today would be a proper test. Plate after plate was brought to the growing influencer as he stuffed his face just as well as he promised.

The clothes that his roommates bought for him could only do so well after the third upsize and around the seventh plate, San felt a relief in pressure as his gut expanded and pushed the table off balance for a moment. Hongjoong grabbed it in a panic as he heard the button rattling on the floor.

San looked flustered as he finally took in his body and how everything had settled on him. This wasn't just winter weight. In fact, it was the middle of the next fall. He had gotten so fat that he had broke his clothes. His fattened hands found his gut as he rubbed it, a small groan leaving him as he belched loudly, feeling his face flush from the people around staring at the gluttonous display he had put on.

He squirmed in his seat as he realized his ass needed two chairs to properly rest in them. Looking at Hongjoong who was equally as flustered by the sight, San whined, "Hyung, can we go to your place? I didn't mean to make a mess like this..." There was embarrassment bubbling up in his tone but all of his friends knew that was something that he enjoyed. He just didn't ever expect it to be in this way.

Even in Hongjoong's car, he was more aware of how it dipped and groaned when he sat in it, his belly filling up the space between him and the dashboard as he tried to relieve the pressure that had built up within it. Once they arrived at Hongjoong's apartment, Hongjoong pressed against him into the wall as San groaned while a burp bubbled up. "Oh, Sannie. How did you just realize this now?"

San felt his face flush while Hongjoong's hands explored his ample body, squeezing his moobs and getting a whimper from the younger. "You keep working out but when you're stuffing your face like that everyday, it's just barely keeping you strong." He still had muscles but the chub all over his body was more overwhelming than anything else. Each inch that Hongjoong pinched was a reminder of how he had let the supplement properly take effect and blow him up.

"I still am strong... I thought it was just bulking and-" He groaned when he felt Hongjoong's hands cup his ass and lift it, feeling the heft to him while he relished in the feeling. "This is more than bulking, Sannie. You're fat."

Hearing it plainly made a shiver run down his spine. Was that why he was having so much trouble to do certain things? Was that why people were referring to him as big guy? Was that why when Wooyoung rode him the other week, he only got his hands on his belly and he couldn't even see his own dick when looked down?

Hongjoong squeezed his crotch as they moved to his room, a mix of fat, desire, and pleasure to describe their bodies while they made out. A couple of times where Hongjoong leaned on his gut and got a burp out of the younger to his embarrassment before they continued, stripping each ill fitting layer away from San before he ended up with his ass pointed and his gut pressed into the mattress.

It oozed in just about every direction as Hongjoong inserted a finger, prepping San to take him. He had gotten so massive that Hongjoong, even with his chubby form, felt so much smaller. He was feeling his thighs mashing his fat pad into his underbelly as he rocked back and forth with Hongjoong's preparation of him.

He moaned when feeling Hongjoong enter him, his small belly resting on San's overly softened back as he pumped back and forth, sending ripples into his overfed body. San might have had all these fitness sponsorships but he had grown to a size where he was getting off better from his body humping his fat than properly being fucked and it was only skyrocketing his enjoyment.

It didn't take long for him to finish with how much his dick pressed into his underbelly as he released with a shout and panting to catch his breath while Hongjoong thrusted deep into him, clutching him by the love handles to get a better grip and reached his own ending soon after.

San lied down, flopping onto his back, watching his belly expand and eliminate the view of anything past it feeling himself grow harder again. Hongjoong admired the sight while he lied down next to him, rubbing his belly to help the younger digest after both the food and the pleasure that had just run through him.

A single question filled the air.

"Hyung, what if I put on weight intentionally?"

Insatiable for more was a good way to describe him but he liked himself getting this fat... and it would only get better if he did it on purpose.

[lostinvasileios]

Hii I wanted to ask you about Apollo because lately I have felt some sort of connection but I haven't seen the obvious signs. I got into paganism for this feeling I have and it has felt right but I'm still not sure, it would be nice to know if he is reaching out or wants to work with me. I would also love some advice because I'm a complete beginner. Thank you for your time and have a great day ☀️

Hello, lovebee! Thank you for asking! 🤍🪻

So, firstly, you don't need any blatant, big, grand, sparkly lit up sign(s) from a deity to attempt to get close with them, if that makes sense. It's super, super important to realize that your feelings/instincts will tell you a lot when it comes to your deity work. I want you to know is that if it feels right, if it feels safe - (and, sometimes, it won't feel safe. And that's almost always because, as humans, we tend to fear the unknown a lot. And stepping into new deities, into a spiritual path, ect, is unknown regardless of how much studying or whatever you've done beforehand. But! Fear and excitement can feel the exact same. One thing that you're gonna do a lot is take that leap of fear, and come out on the other side feeling that thrill of relief of not letting it consume you.) - and if it gives you those happy feelings in all of the various forms that they can come in, it's almost a definite truth for your path. Does that make sense?

When it comes to deities, I often overlooked the connection I had with them when I was first starting out because I thought, well, it was "just a feeling", but, I've come to learn that a huge part of deity work IS feeling!

The only reason I started to work with Apollon at first was because I felt some sort of - draw to him. He, along with a lot of (if not all of them) deities often will send an emotion, a constant-like thought of them or things connected to them, ect as a way to tell you how they want your company/to work with you.

For example, even before I started working with deities myself but was aware of their existences, I had this persistent (and I mean persistent) thought of Asmodeus. His name repeating in my head, feeling some form of butterflies at the thought of him, ect. But it took me months into my journey to begin to even question if he'd like to be around me in any capacity. And, funnily enough, it turns out he's one of my soul spouses.

(Of course, not every deity you feel drawn to is spoused to your soul, just to clarify!)

Apollon is a very, very social deity. He loves getting new devotees, he loves helping people, ect. Actually, he helped me through the first year or so of my journey.

Now, the relationship I have with him won't be like yours, since, if you weren't aware: everyone's interactions with deities will be different based off of countless things, but one of the major (if not the major) key points being because of the different souls. So, take this next part with a grain of salt.

From my experience with him, he's a very tender god. He's a very loving, considerate, patient, and - lords, I could mush about him endlessly. He's the type of lord that will kiss away your tears and ease your worries. You can be as repetitive as you like with your fears and doubts, and he'll be right there with you through it all to reassure you of any and everything.

But, of course, he also does have his more - firmer sides to him. He is a god of rage, amongst all his other things. Now, he's never yelled at me, punished me, ect. But, he has made his... Stance? On certain things very clear to me. When we first started working together, I had very... Bad habits. I was not nice to myself, emotionally, mentally, or physically. At all, really.

I was very harmful to myself. And lived in a very toxic environment. And, yes, Apollon being the sweetheart he is, accompanied me and wrapped bandages around my wounds, but, at the same time, he'd give me those stern (yet loving) talks about how I shouldn't inflict them on myself, how I shouldn't worsen the pain I was already going through by allowing myself to use the same weapons my parents, friends, ect would use on me, on myself.

To work with him, or any deities in my opinion, you have to be open to... Well... Change. And, that was drastically hard for me at first. But, the thing is, Apollon is a god of light and truth, as well. And some things that come with that are the light he'll shine on things you've pushed to the shadows, and the pain that'll come with having to face the truths of your reality.

Don't worry too much, however. That most likely won't happen until sometime into your journey with him. And, it'll be in your best interest whenever it does happen. Healing hurts, and he also rules in healing. He will re-open some of your deepest scars, but he does it to properly treat them and stitch them up himself. Not just the self-taught, shaky way that they were closed up before. If that makes sense, haha.

Also! Don't be afraid to get close with him when/if you two start working together. I've found out that he particularly enjoys being able to participate in some cliche's. Like having nick/petnames for one another, allowing him to listen to your ranting or vents, telling him small things about yourself (favorite colors, plants, ect), and so on.

A lot of the time, I see people who want so badly to get close with their deities, but are too afraid or unsure how to. All in all, it does depend on your form of love and what you're comfortable with. What you're able to do. But, it can be as simple as eating something in devotion for them. Thinking of them. Making them a small, or big, playlist. A pinterest board, ect ect. You can trust yourself to find ways to help feel closer to your deities, you can trust yourself.

And, no, you don't need a job to worship or get close to a god either.

(It's also very important to establish your boundaries, not that deities intentionally try to make you uncomfortable/to trigger you! It's just, you want to have some ground basics put down first, then maybe you'll learn some more along the way... Basically - communication. Very important, lol.)

Sorry I yapped as much as I did here, I hope it helped clear some things up for you, honey! May Apollon give you his loving rays.

[thingsidrawgohere]

You make some really gorgeous books, my god!! I recently got into book binding and I've been having a lot of fun with it!! Even if I mess up during the process it's always nice to be able to hold something that you made in your hands.

Do you have any tips of beginners? Things you wish you new when you started?

I'm beginner, too. I have experience with zines and other styles of paper craft but I am new to This type of construction. I'm also mostly using PODs for my textblock so it's debatable if I Am doing bookbinding.

But I think the best advice I've ever been given regarding any creative act is build up the muscle in your heart that can survive failure. That's dire, I realize. Perhaps only useful for those of us with The Brain Problems. But the thing made is going to be disappointing- at pretty much every point in one's skill/career with it. There will always be Something wrong. Easier said than done but if you can live with good-enough, you are in Such a better place to make your next piece.

Thusly, at first, Use Shit Materials. You've probably heard that. You can laminate chipboard from a cereal package to yield a decidedly non-acid free board- but it can work and it gives you glue-up practice. Maybe your textblock is a handful of terrible copy paper pinched from the office machine. You'll be fighting with your short-lived materials, which will make it harder going, but this is a very expensive hobby. Experimentation- which is Always good for development- shouldn't be a financial burden. Let your hands learn on someone else's dime.

Never skimp on your xacto blade, tho'. Change it out for every project and/or when you notice yourself applying force to the blade. I sure wish I knew That when I was starting back in the day. A dull knife is far more dangerous.

This is all bog standard stuff, I think. Not sure it's helpful but- here we are. As you've discovered, making physical objects is so satisfying, right? Weird little guys, books. So much room to play.