#LOOOOL ANON ALL OF THIS

[prince-liest]

Yours was the first bottom Alastor fanfic I ever read and I was like woah, a whole new world… But I was wondering if you’re planning on ever writing Alastor indulging Vox and actually topping him? (He’d probably overheat and reboot at least twice during the ordeal)

Gonna be totally honest, probably not - and if I do, probably not the way you'd expect if you're a person who has specific top/bottom dynamics expectations!

Alastor's general progression in this fic series has been a slowly decreasing willingness to engage in more "lots of intimate body parts involved" sex acts because the more he tries them out, the more he realizes he could take or leave a lot of them. So I'm really unlikely to write him doing that unless it's with toys or something, purely because the way this fic series has progressed, he doesn't really have an interest in it!

To Vox's eternal regret, pfft. I'm kinda tempted to eventually take a hack at the subject, at least, regardless of how far along they get, and mesh that together with Alastor's extremely rudimentary understanding of what it means to be trans.

[pardonmydelays]

oooh the last two anon replies got me fired up so here's my manifesto i guess.

the universal hating on lin manuel miranda comes down to a few factors that most of the time have nothing to do with his actual mistakes:

their cringe history is reflected in him and they can't deal with it. let it be known that it is not lin who created miku binder jefferson. that was entirely a monster of our making. and somehow, his enthusiasm and willingness to interact with fan content (i remember everyone loving him for it) is worthy of punishment in relation.

he's an easy scapegoat to dump criticism on because people already feel so comfortable speaking on him. like you said, it's crazy that people will paint out lin manuel miranda, the guy who changed broadway and did so much for POC roles, to be the big baddie. he's made mistakes, and there's a lot we can discuss about hamilton's legacy, etc., but damn. where's this energy for everyone else? is it a case of "he actually tried, therefore we have material to latch onto and tear down?"

a lot of what he does is successful and in the public eye! it's crazy but i see people going "why is lin manuel miranda in everything" about projects from the 2000s, like yeahh he didn't just make hamilton and then disappear for your own convenience. if anything it's a statement about how a lot of his work, like it or not, is remembered over time. the reaction to him being in percy jackson was crazy to me because i KNOW for a fact that you did not see his dark materials or tick tick boom; at most you know him from moana and hamilton. and then complaining that he "threatened disney to be in everything they do" smh.

he's not your typical white boy of the month. this might be a loaded statement but sue me, i think it's true. POC celebrities have a limited amount of time in the sun compared to white celebrities. a white actor having multiple roles in a year is okay, and it means they're a hard worker. but when it's a POC actor, their presence is conspicuous. their presence becomes bothersome. public goodwill dries up so much faster. even pedro pascal, i feel, has been talked about with eye-rolls recently. i read a very interesting paper about this.

it's fun! the internet's chosen him as their punching bag, and there are no consequences to online hating if everyone else agrees. i bet a lot of people think they're just joking.

and all of this makes it such that if they do find out about some of his actual mistakes, it's a relief. i legitimately saw a tiktok comment section filled with bashing, and someone said "this is so hilarious but kinda mean, the guy didn't do anything" and someone said with "actually he did this this and this" and they replied "oh thank god, i don't feel bad now!" so it's not "oh let's see if this person improved" it's "phew! i have a legitimate reason to continue what i've been doing all along!"

it's crazy because i'm not even a lmm fan necessarily. i've just been in the musical community for years and noticed all of this happening surrounding his very popular work. you all will rue the day! 10 yrs later or so people are going to start making those "he deserved better" posts but i will not forgive or forget.

i don't know if you want me to respond to every single thing you wrote here, but i appreciate the message, especially when it comes from someone who's not really a fan - it only shows me that it's possible not to be in the fandom & still be respectful.

don't even get me started on miku binder jefferson, it's probably the most ridiculous thing i've ever seen in my life. also, one thing i need to point out is that NOT EVERYONE in this fandom is like that, & i think i'm a perfect example of a person who just enjoys lin's art & likes talking about it & analizing things, but not enjoying all those weird cringe things that were created by the fandom (like the one you mentioned), so like... maybe a certain part of the fandom was the problem, not the creator of the thing? i have nothing against fanfiction in general, nothing against fanarts but like... some people are ruining the thing cause it's just too much. like the famous lmm cannibal mermaid fanfiction, come on guys, be serious, what the actual fuck???

i also agree with the percy jackson thing, i remember seeing all the hate even before the episode with him dropped & honestly i couldn't stand it, the pjo fandom ruined all the fun for me & i literally had to block pjo tag lol. then the episode was out & everyone was suddenly like OH, HE WAS ACTUALLY GOOD, well guess what bitch, i've been saying this all the time, he is actually a good actor & you are just a miserable hater. this fandom is toxic as fuck. also, you think he's everywhere? i do know a lot of other celebrities who actually ARE everywhere these days & somehow no one is sick of them??? so maybe people really are just racists. also, this is literally his job lol what do you expect him to do, disappear forever?

i will not forgive or forget either. like i said before, i'm aware that he made some mistakes, it's not like he didn't apologize for some of them, also he's not perfect, but no one is. all i'm trying to say is that there are more problematic people but somehow everyone feels the need to hate on him. you picked the wrong guy, just let him be.

[blindmagdalena]

Read your dragonlander fic first thing this morning...

GREAT HEAVENS you don't disappoint. The whole thing was absolutely amazing, and I didn't know if i was more invested in the character, his backstory, and the world building, or really horny for him... I’m in LOVE way you write Homelander, as you always find a way to keep his character close to canon, while including your own ideas, and the amount creativity and love you put into these pieces is insane. You’re perfectly able to capture the predatory aspects of Homelander that make him intimidating, while also writing in his vulnerability and uncertainty. one line I LOVED in particular…

“I’ll be good for you. Let me be good for you.”

I mean, I am an absolute slut for any sublander coded content and you are feeding me! Definitely rereading all your writing again! keep up the great work. <3

aaahhh my gosh, thank you so much! working out exactly what Homelander's backstory would be in this au and how that would result in him having more or less the same personality was kind of the main crux of making this fic work for me, so i'm really, really happy it's landing with folks. he's such a complicated character, i really didn't want to lose or substitute any of his nuances.

gah, you and me both anon. i always have to slip sublander in there, even when he's a big scary dragon man. that's really the most appealing aspect of him for me, how scary and yet deep down pathetic he is.

anyways, i'm rambling. thank you again! i appreciate the support so much more than i can say. 🖤

[marzipanladyart]

YOUR ART MADE ME SHIP HOJODEGGER I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!

YAY! \o/

[heytheredeann]

Do you have any advice on responding on commenters on fics. I want to interact with commenters but I don’t know what to say and I feel awkward doing it.

Ooooh alright, I feel you LOL. Bad news is that it does still feel kind of awkward to me, because I'm BAD at taking compliments and I never feel like the way I answer can properly convey how excited I am that this person liked what I wrote... but, to be fair, I don't think ANY answer could really capture that excitement LOL.

Still, I do answer comments as a general rule, so hopefully I can be of some help anyway! And of course, if anyone else has any suggestions feel free to drop them in the replies or in a reblog.

So.

There is no real “rule” for answering comments, I think it’s important to remember that it doesn’t need to be a formal interaction, you are just two people with a shared love for some characters/ships (A LOT of love, I’m assuming, considering that one of you is writing fics and the other is taking the time to interact with said fics), so try to treat it like a casual conversation, not a performance!

Also very important to remember, what you are doing when you are answering a comment is, at its core, giving validation to the reader. You are letting them know that you appreciate their comment and that you wanted to take the time to say thank you, which readers, in my experience, DO appreciate very much. So like, even just saying “Thank you very much!” or “Thank you, I’m happy you enjoyed it!” is a good answer that is nice to receive. This kind of answer is a good baseline for answering comments imo, if you can’t think of anything else to say just leave it at that! Just like a short comment is very much appreciated and way better than no comment, a short answer is very much appreciated and way better than no answer.

And if you fear that you are being too repetitive in your answers, remember that you are the one writing ten answers in a row, the reader is only getting one thank you!

Still, if you want to come up with more elaborate answers, I’d say try to “mirror” what the comment said.

Meaning that, for example, if someone points out a line they liked, you can thank them for the compliment on that, or say that you are happy they liked that, or, if you can, add some commentary on it (which in my case would be about the thought process behind the line, or about what’s going with the characterization, or something along the lines of “LOOOL yes, they are idiots”).

Or, if someone points out something else that they specifically liked, for example a scene, or bits of characterization, you can discuss those, for example by sharing what you think was going on in the non-POV character’s head during that scene, or discussing how else that scene could have played out by changing certain details, or discuss headcanons that you have related to the fic, maybe what would happen after or what was happening during a time jump, etc (readers, as a general rule, do love to hear about this kind of stuff!).

And, again, it doesn’t have to be formal! Since I have the charming bad habit of writing a lot of pain, sometimes people leave me crying emojis and/or screams as a reaction (which, btw, is DELIGHTFUL LOOOL) and my answer tends to be something along the lines of “SORRY, MY BAD *collects your tears in a jar*”, so like. there LOL.

Also, I had never thought about this before, but you can add pictures/memes/gifs to your reply if those help you express your feelings, that could be fun! (Maybe I should try too loool)

It’s also nice, imo, when a reader leaves a row of comments, to let them know in one of your answers how much you appreciated that! Let them know if you grinned for an hour, if you kept checking for notifications and were delighted when you saw them leaving more and more comments, if you were having a bad week and that was an excellent pick-me-up, etc. (letting them know how they made you feel could be a good idea in general, even if you are answering just the one comment).

That is pretty much all that I can think of at the moment, hopefully there’s something useful in here loool Mostly I think it’s just a matter of trying to let yourself have fun with it, it’s not serious, it’s not a performance, you are fine! <3 (Said the extremely anxious bean, very hypocritically. I swear I’m getting better at letting myself go LOL)

[onlyswan]

Art! How are you doing? I hope you’re doing well! I just read that you’re majoring in psychology; I majored in that but never did anything with it, lol. I’m currently going for my master's in business (so a complete change), but for a while, I thought I was going to go on and focus on Neurology. I was going to get a Ph.D. in it but opted not to because I hated all the research.

I hope you’re enjoying psychology. It was fun and has honestly helped a lot in what I’m doing now (particularly human behaviors).

Anyways, I’m super excited for the next IW installment. I'm sure it's going to be great as usual. And remember, take good care of your eyes! 💜

-🍷

omg you are sooooo cool best of luck with your current studies beloved! i was honestly in a huge dilemma with what course i was going to take and time was running out 🤧 but i’m most interested in psychology so i just went with my gut haha. i don’t know where life will take me but i’m having fun learning and i think it’s what matters most at the moment <3

hehe thank you so much! i’m super excited for you to read it as well 🥺💜 (oops- bless your heart for the constant reminder. i should wear it right now before i get a headache 🏃)

[evansbby]

No but what's giving me the ick is that Chris couldn't even go to Jeremy Renner's house without being photographed. Like, none of the other avengers had paparazzis follow or take pictures of them when they visited Jeremy, but Chris did. Like...ick. It's so obvious his team or he paid/tipped paps - it's giving desperate and attention seeking. u get what im saying 😭.

Look, I don’t even know okay 😭😭 maybe he’s more relevant so that’s why his pic was taken. Or maybe he called them… WHO KNOWS. It’s tiring deciphering these celebs and their dumb motives and what is genuine and what their “teams” are behind like ugh who even cares. He visited Jeremy I guess that’s the important thing coming out of all this. And it’s not like we didn’t benefit from those pics I mean we all reposted them and gushed about how good he looked sooooo yeah

[sincerelymissatomicbomb]

Hope you fail your thesis defence

Anon, you just made me laugh, thank you haha I actually passed!! MSc now! Should I get my PhD next? I'm also cooking up a new diarturia story yay!

-Ms. Atomic Bomb

[loudmouthedllama]

Imagine crying that 'notes aren't everything, people just use you for notes' and then whining "MY FRIEND ( probably you ) NEVER GOT A SINGLE NOTE ON ANYTHINGGGGGGG" You're a hypocrite in everything you post; not surprising you can't keep up with your own bullshit considering you can't even remember what gender you're pretending to be to try to prove a 'point'. " a llama that speaks her mind // i am a gay man that likes fucking men " ( which no one asked, no one cares what you do in your own home )

My sweetums, ya are missing the point here.

First off, ya are trying to bait me into saying that one of my followers is not a friend, which is not true. Any of my Llamas are my friends. Didja think I was stupid? I AM A FUCKING LLAMA.

Second off, ooc: I am a male, I am black, I am gay. I am 30 years old whom works at target. :) Why don't ya get the fact checking done more correctly its all over my fucking blog, kay bunny sheeple?

Third, this was for my follower not me. I don't care about notes, I don't need them. Unlike them who legit couldn't get anywhere in the rpcs thanks to fucks like ya. Unlike ya, people look and pay attention to my shit. :)

ALSO:

Hypocrisy: the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.

What ya think mah llamas? Ya have read my shit. Ya be the judge.

[zaiinab]

he just gave a shout out to jenny in the cheap seats, the uncensored version is out

WAIT HELP

[wannaeatramyeon]

DG x Reader: Remember?

To the anon whose ask I accidentally deleted and requested angst to fluff. Fluff looool. Anyway. G/N reader.

DG remembers kind eyes and tender touches.

A voice that calls him 'James Lee' without any fear. That in the middle of night, bodies intertwined, gasping his name as he moans yours with reverence.

Remembers thinking the world of you. Back when he was younger and everything was shiny and new.

Mornings in bed, tangled in bedsheets, bathed in the golden glow of a new dawn.

Lazy afternoons, hand in hand, wandering down cobbled streets or peering up at skyscrapers.

Evenings and nights whispering hushed secrets. Drunk and hazy from each other's company.

And then.

DG remembers the love fading.

Letting you fall through his fingers. Sprinting blindly towards a path that took him further and further away.

Until you're nothing but a dot on the horizon as his ambitions grew.

When late nights blur into early morning. When the noise dies down and only buzzing is left behind. When sleep won't come and regrets remain-

He also remembers what a mistake that was.

.

.

He looks you up on social media and sees the same kind eyes.

.

.

He wonders if you're happy.

.

.

He wonders if he has branded you like you have branded him.

.

.

He wonders if you realise you have ruined him for everyone else.

.

.

He wonders if you forgive him.

.

.

And when the regrets give way to hope. And when the hope overwhelms and intrudes all other thoughts-

DG types out a message, praying that you would see it, praying you wouldn't be cruel enough to ignore him.

That you still remember who he is beneath the K-Pop polish and the pink hair.

That you remember him for the love rather than the heartbreak.

.

.

Heart in his throat, he watches the message change to 'read'.

Eight minutes later, three dots appear on the screen.

One response comes through.

'James? Is that really you?'

It's not much, but it's enough to make him smile.

(He also remembers the last time a smile reached his eyes, the last time he was truly happy.

That was with you too.)

[cxtori]

Hi :3

Can u please do a jealous scenario with Kumatani? (^o^)

Thank u <3

I love your writing <3

Mitsuo Kumatani ✭ Not Jealous

wc: 1.5k

genre: fluff, jealousy, establish relationship

warnings: n/a, most definitely a little ooc Kuma here lmao

tori's note: I'm not gonna lie to you anon, I really struggled writing this. I just don't really see Kuma as the jealous type, so I didn't know what kind of situation to write lol. I hope he's not too OOC? I'm sorry babes, I did my best *cries* also, also SO SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG LOOOOL

Kumatani always considered himself a typically calm and collected man. Someone who didn’t let things get under his skin easily. It wasn’t often that his emotions got the better of him, but when they did, it was usually because something (or someone) had pushed his buttons until they shattered.

The emotion he usually felt in such instances was annoyance, sometimes frustration and anger. But what he was feeling right now was a new one, and it was intense. 

“Wow, these trees look great, Y/n!” Eddy exclaims. Kumatani watches as the assistant director stands beside you, patting you on the shoulder. Kumatani feels his heart wrench when you nervously laugh out a ‘thank you’.

The bear suit he was so “blessed” to wear everyday didn’t have many perks. It was hot and stuffy, oftentimes itchy. It was hard to move in and it impaired his spatial awareness which, for him, was frustrating. 

But, a pro to the suit was it allowed his eyes and face to do whatever they pleased as it wouldn’t be seen by anyone else. He could roll his eyes and give annoyed expressions all he wanted without consequence. 

So, for moments like this, when he’s glaring holes into the back of Eddy’s head, he was thankful for it.

“They’re really not a big deal,” you say, brushing off the man’s compliment. You pick up a fake maple leaf and reattach it to a plastic tree branch, hoping it’ll stay in place this time. “They only took a couple hours, and they’re already falling apart.”

“Come on, give yourself some credit!” Eddy says, shoving his rejected compliment back in your face. “I couldn’t do anything like this, which is exactly why we hired you.” 

“Haha, right,” you say with a forced laugh. “Well I should get these onto the set  before Derekida shouts at me,” you say as you carefully pick up one of your mini maple trees, your hands squeezing the rough, faux bark. But, before you can walk away, Eddy begins to speak again.

“Oh, hey, I was uhh… Well, ummm… ” Eddy stutters and you feel your stomach drop. Oh no. You know that look as well as that nervous quiver in his voice. Before he even continues you already know where this is going. “I was planning on trying out that new restaurant tonight, would you wanna go? O-only if you’re not busy, that is...”

Just as you feared. You and Kumatani have only been dating for a few months, and you both preferred to keep your relationship quiet, so you can’t blame Eddy for not knowing. But seriously? Here? Now? In front of your boyfriend? You admired his courage but hated his timing.

“Oh, Eddy that’s nice but,” you start, trying to find a way to let him down kindly. You turn your head just enough to see Kumatani out of the corner of your eye. You turn back to Eddy, ready to break the news, and possibly his heart. “Umm, thing is-”

“We’re busy tonight,” Kumatani interjects, popping up beside you. 

“Aww, really?” Eddy says, a hint of confusion in his voice.

“Yes, really,” Kumatani says sternly, laying an arm gently over your shoulders, silently saying all that was needed. “Now, leave her alone.” You glance over at your boyfriend, even though you can’t see his face. 

Not many people can tell when Kumatani is getting ticked unless he purposefully shows it. You however, can tell by the slightest change in his tone. And based on the few words he’s just spoken, he’s not just ticked, he’s pissed.

Your eyebrows quirk and you question just why he was so mad. Eddy doesn’t know you’re dating, and it’s not like he’s pushed your boundaries. Kumatani seems to surprise himself with his words, his stoic shell cracking a bit.

“Oh, I see… s-sorry,” Eddy mutters. The director walks away without another word, partly out of respect, but mostly out of fear. He knew better than to make Kumatani mad.

You stand there in silence for a moment, tiny tree in hand and stuffy bear suit over your shoulder. 

“Thank you. But you know you didn’t have to do that. It was just Eddy,” you say with an awkward giggle. Mitsuo removes his arm from you and takes a small step back.

“Sorry. I don’t really know-”

“Y/n! We need those trees!” Derekida’s voice echoes through the studio, cutting Kumatani off and making you jump out of your skin. You groan, turning to pick up another one of the fake plants.

“Be right there!” You shout back, doing your best to hide the annoyance in your voice. Though it's not like Derekida hasn't heard it before. You turn back to your boyfriend, still interested in hearing what he has to say. “Hold that thought, ‘kay? I’ll meet you in your dressing room in a minute.”

Kumatani just nods as he watches you stumble to the filming set with your props. 

It doesn’t take you long to get the trees set up in preparation for Utano and Iketeru’s next performance. The moment you’re satisfied with how everything looks, you sprint to the dressing rooms before Derekida can notice you’re leaving.

You knock on the door before entering, finding Mitsuo standing in the room with his bear suit removed. Well, all but the mask. You stand there in silence for a moment as you stare at him, wondering why he’s bothered to take off everything except for the head.

“Whatcha doing?” You ask curiously. Your boyfriend remains unmoving, his arms cross over his chest.

“What do you mean?” He says casually, like he doesn’t expect you to question his choice of outfit. You roll your eyes with a small laugh before walking up to him and gently placing your hands on the bear head.

“Come on, I can’t take you seriously with that thing on,” you say and he doesn’t resist as you carefully pull the mask up and off of his head. You smile at the sight of his steely grey eyes, much better than the soulless black dots of a fake bear.

“Hi,” you say airily, leaning closer to him.

“Hi,” he says in return, his lips curving in a faint smile. You set his mask down on the table and sit on the edge beside it.

“So, wanna tell me what happened earlier?” You ask. Mitsuo’s eyes flash with a very brief moment of annoyance, and you just barely catch it.

“There’s nothing to tell. He tried to ask you out and I told him off,”

“Yes, but I think there’s a little more to it than that,” you push gently. “You seemed pretty upset.”

He just looks at you, not bothering to give even a small hum in response. But recalling the situation from just a bit ago was getting him irritated again.

He’s being ridiculous, he knows he is. He's not sure what set him off to begin with. People are allowed to compliment you, especially on things you’ve poured your time and effort into. But for some reason, seeing Eddy interact with you like that angered him.

He wasn’t about to tell you that though. That would mean admitting that his emotions got the better of him. And even though it is something that has happened before, he didn't like the feeling of losing control.

You watch him stand in his silence, replaying the situation in your head when it hits you.

“Are you jealous?” You ask bluntly.

 “Jealous?” Mitsuo repeats, caught off guard by your assumption.  “Of course not.” He looks away from you and crosses his arms back over his chest. He’s trying to look unperturbed, but you absentmindedly make the connection to a pouting child. He may have been annoyed, but he certainly wasn’t jealous.

 “Oh, you’re so jealous. This is hilarious.”

“I said I’m not jealous,” he says simply, but from the slight change in his tone of voice, you can tell he’s at least a little jealous, even if he doesn’t know it. You laugh softly and stand from the table, walking over and taking your boyfriend's hands in yours.

You look up at him sincerely, though his eyes avoid yours.

“Mitsuooo,” you coo. The man grunts in annoyance, wanting this conversation to be over so he can leave. He never thought he’d be given the choice to wear his bear suit or talk to you. And he certainly never thought he’d want to choose the former of the two. 

You raise a hand to his cheek, tenderly pulling him to face you, smiling brightly when his eyes finally meet yours.

“It’s okay if you are, I’m just teasing,” you say. You lean up to place a soft kiss to his lips and, while at first he doesn’t kiss back purely out of indignation, he soon melts into you, unable to resist your lips against his. You pull away, a satisfied look on your face.

“Are we good?” You ask, just inches away from his lips. 

“There wasn’t a problem with us to begin with,” Mitsuo states, a smirk, while absent on his face, audible in his tone.

“You know what I mean,” you say with a laugh. “Please don’t give Eddy a hard time. I love you and only you, okay? You don’t have to worry about anyone else.”

“Are you sure?” Mitsuo jokes.

“Shut up!” You say, giving your boyfriend a playful punch on the arm. He smiles as he grips your waist and leans down to kiss you, his warm lips molding perfectly against yours, warmth spreading through your body.

“I love only you too.”

©Cxtori 2024 please do not copy, plagiarize, repost or translate. reblogs appreciated

[mintytealfox]

in an au where hunters are big enough to hold a survivor like an action figure, nortalice affection would involve alice climbing fg norton like a mountain to kiss him and then nuzzle his neck, only to get gently grasped and given a full face kiss. also, fg norton protecting alice by putting her in a pocket good

LOL LOL Anon said "not enough -BREAKS ALARMINGLY TALL BUTTON-" 👏👏👏👏🤣

Now to add to this adorable list 🥹 Nose Nuzzles:

goooosshhhhhhhhh im adoring the cutie imagery aahhhhhhhhhh

Imagining her trying to climb him and he is just frozen still cause she is being the OPPOSITE of CAUTIOUS so he has to be cautious enough for the BOTH of them LOOOOL (same for og nortalice honestly LOL pulling caution for both of them cause Alice keep wildin for content HAHA)

-SLAMS DESK- BIG KISSES THOUUGGHHHHH I got too shy to draw it so I went with nose nuzzles -WHEEZE- One day 👀 (I used to draw big kisses all the time so I don't know why I got so shy all of a sudden LOL)

BUT THEN the image of her by his neck and he just fastens here in his necktie thing like a seatbelt cause 'NO FALLING ALLOWED AND IM BUSY HERE'

Then maybe riding noggin like ratatouille: 'go left here' -tugs tuft of hair-

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I LOVE this so MUCH LOOOOOOOOL

and in all legitness this would be so terrifying if you aren't Alice LOOOOOL

-decoding in the shack- 😊 -shack has been thrown off the map- 🤌 -no longer decoding in the shack- 😔

[ddarker-dreams]

Hellooooo I have been DYING to know this from you 👉👈. You know how there's a lot of tips for writing stuff? Well do you happen to have any tips for reading stuff? I want to read the books you recommend but I fear I'm just too dumb 😭 and won't understand what is going on let alone the themes and philosophies discussed. I feel like I would be insulting Dostoevsky by reading his work looool. We were never taught this stuff in schools ;O

I'm talking about critical thinking and analysis skills, media literacy, being able to picture and visualise sceneries; characters' voices/appearances etc., and just overall being able to comprehend one sentence that doesn't use the most basic active voice structure 😭 thank you if you choose to answer!!!!

SWEET ANON !!!! YOU ARE NOT DUMB !!!!

this is coming from a survivor of the american education system, so it might not be universal, but my experiences in middle/high school made me dislike reading books. no joke. i didn't see the point and thought reading the classics was a waste of time. i'm sure that's partially teenager arrogance, but from the conversations i've had with others, reading was rarely framed in a way that stoked intrigue. we're not given the tools to engage with the text so i'm rarely surprised when i see the worst takes imaginable on a piece of media i enjoy from a 14 year old.

i'm still learning myself when it comes to media literacy, it's an ongoing journey. when i read notes from underground for the first time last year i was literally so confused. i can normally read anywhere from 80k-100k words in one day if i'm motivated enough, but NFU, a novella at around 43k words, took me over a week.

i say all this to reassure you that you're not alone!

some advice that comes to mind when reading a dense work:

do some background research on the author. i know teachers hiss at wikipedia for some reason but reading a few paragraphs about the person's life, beliefs, politics, etc really helps put their writing into perspective.

look into the time period it was written. what were the pressing social issues at the time? who was in charge? what conflicts were ongoing/just ended? what was the predominant religion? books don't exist in a vacuum, a lot of the classics are filled with jabs at ideologies the author doesn't like (i'm looking at you, dante).

if the author's from a different country than you, getting a basic grasp on the culture helps a lot. with reading dostoevsky specifically, historical events like the emancipation of the serfs was an entirely new concept to my american brain.

not everything is going to make sense. sometimes the cultural/historical layers go so deep you'd need to have been alive at the time to immediately get it. fortunately, there are nerds with degrees in book who do extensive research and can give insight. i'll think i maybe understand a book okay, go to read a journal article on it, and go ??????? wat???? page 632 paragraph 3 references euclid's optics?? how was i supposed to know that.

finally, you're not going to like every book you read, even if it's well written. there's a difference between persevering and actively torturing yourself with words. if you dread picking it up again, there are other books to check out instead. there are some classics that i don't care for much (some of edgar allen poe's short stories, the fall by albert camus, no longer human by dazai osamu, to name a few).

ask yourself questions while reading. why did this character do that? is there a reoccurring motif throughout the work, and if so, why might the author be trying to highlight that? what perspective is the work from? is the protagonist lucid, are they an unreliable narrator? what themes are being explored here?

i hope some of this helps dsfhgkdjshgks there's a lot to be said on the subject but i didn't want this post to be miles long.

[soulmvtes]

going on anon just in case any insane swifties threaten to hurt me looool but yeah her new album.....ehhh. she's so funny because i genuinely feel so fond of so many of her songs, like they mean so much to me, and i'm seeing her in concert in may. also currently wearing a friendship bracelet with lyrics to august, lol. but i've also been consciously aware that even her "best" stuff (folklore/evermore) has never been groundbreaking or inventive. every new album cycle i hope and pray that she really pushes boundaries and tries something braver and more artistically interesting and she... never does. she doesn't have it in her i think! too caught up in that popstar billionaire vibe, too soulless to really dig deep and do some cool new shit. whereas other popular artists like lorde or lana can really try new things and experiment artistically, I think it's bc they live a quiet life away from all the glitz and glamour. also they're less of a Product To Be Sold. can you have any artistic soul if you are literally a giant money-making machine first and foremost? to be discussed!

so sorry just saw this now but agreed!!!!!! the way her music is marketed and capitalised on especially in more recent times sucks the soul out of it and it feels like every album regurgitates the same sort of things, she does have good music and i do listen to her often but i can't say it or her are groundbreaking

[sugarpasteltmnt]

SUGAR, SUGAR SWEETIE WHEN I TELL YOU I RE-READ THE NEW CHAP THREE TIMES OVER WITHIN AN HOUR AND I'M GOING BACK FOR MORE-

the emotions, the perfect description of that urge to melt into comfort when you're just so gd mentally and physically exhausted (I feel ya nardo, no way in h3ll to your extent but I feel ya man-), THE FIGHT SCENES THESE LAST 2 CHAPS RAAAA, and the internal fight between what Leo thinks is 'right' and what he truly wants (and what he genuinely deserves but will never allow himself to truly have in his current mental state JUST LET YOUR FAMILY LOVE YOU, YA LIL SH!T-)

Sugar ya keep outdoing yourself and I'm afraid one of these days you're going to do the writers equivalent of a super saiyan Kamehameha, blasting us all with so much emotion that all who read will cry for a full year minimum about it-

also anon got turned off and I'm not sure if I missed a post or smth saying why but I'm extra nervous posting this but must say it regardless so here I go-

THAT'S SO SWEET AWWWW 🩵🩵🩵!!!! jaksdasdh "super saiyan Kamehameha" LOOOOL!!! omg thank you so much you're so sweet ;w;