Hi Serious Talk Time! Not My Usual Kind Of Post And It’s Going To Be A Little Long, Sorry! But I’d

Come into a fandom late. Leave early. Write 100 fics. Write 1. Write none. Read every single fic written in your fandom. Read only your OTP. Write only your OTP. Write every pairing under the sun. Make gifs just for your friends. Make gifs to share with everyone. Make art. Make nothing.

Cheerlead from afar and keep to yourself. Join a groupchat. Yell about headcanons with your friends. Leave kudos. Leave comments. Make fic recs. Bookmark everything. Read or watch and then forget it.

Treat canon like gospel. Treat canon like a dumpster fire. Only read/write/art coffeeshop AUs. Decide your corner will be all hurt no comfort. Decide your corner  will be all fluff no angst.

Fandom isn't one size fits all, and there is no one right way to do it. So find what works for you, and don't worry about all of the outside noise. It doesn't matter how everyone else does fandom.

All are welcome.

how to start reading again

from someone who was a voracious reader until high school and is now getting back into it in her twenties.

start with an old favourite. even though it felt a little silly, i re-read the harry potter series one christmas and it wiped away my worry that i wasn't capable of reading anymore. they are long books, but i was still able to get completely immersed and to read just as fast as i had years and years ago.

don't be afraid of "easier" books. before high school i was reading the french existentialists, but when getting back into reading, i picked up lucinda riley and sally rooney. not my favourite authors by far, but easier to read while not being totally terrible. i needed to remind myself that only choosing classics would not make me a better or smarter person. if a book requires a slower pace of reading to be understood, it's easier to just drop it, which is exactly what i wanted to avoid at first.

go for essays and short stories. no need to explain this one: the shorter the whole, the less daunting it is. i definitely avoided all books over 350 pages at first and stuck to essay collections until i suddenly devoured donna tartt's goldfinch.

remember it's okay not to finish. i was one of those people who finished every book they started, but not anymore! if i pick up a book at the library and after a few chapters realise i'd rather not read it, i just return it. (another good reason to use your local library! no money spent on books you might end up disliking.)

analyse — or don't. some people enjoy reading more when they take notes or really stop to think about the contents. for me, at first, it was more important to build the habit of reading, and the thought of analysing what i read felt daunting. once i let go of that expectation, i realised i naturally analyse and process what i read anyway.

read when you would usually use your phone. just as i did when i was a child, i try to read when eating, in the bathroom, on public transport, right before sleeping. i even read when i walk, because that's normally a time i stare at my screen anyway. those few pages you read when you brush your teeth and wait for a friend very quickly stack up.

finish the chapter. if you have time, try to finish the part you're reading before closing the book. usually i find i actually don't want to stop reading once i get to the end of a chapter — and if i do, it feels like a good place to pick up again later.

try different languages. i was quickly approaching a reading slump towards the end of my exchange year, until i realised i had only had access to books in english and that, despite my fluency, i was tired of the language. so as soon as i got back home i started picking up books in my native tongue, which made reading feel much easier and more fun again! after some nine months, i'm starting to read in english again without it feeling like a huge task.

forget what's popular. i thought social media would be a fun way to find interesting books to read, but i quickly grew frustrated after hating every single book i picked up on some influencer's recommendation. it's certainly more time-consuming to find new books on your own, but this way i don't despise every novel i pick up.

remember it isn't about quantity. the online book community's endless posts about reading 150 books each year or 6 books in a single day easily make us feel like we're slow, bad readers, but here's the thing: it does not matter at all how many books you read or what your reading pace is. we all lead different lives, just be proud of yourself for reading at all!

stop stressing about it. we all know why reading is important, and since the pandemic reading has become an even more popular hobby than it was before (which is wonderful!). however, there's no need to force yourself to be "a reader". pick up a book every now and then and keep reading if you enjoy it, but not reading regularly doesn't make you any less of a good person. i find the pressure to become "a person who reads" or to rediscover my inner bookworm only distances me from the very act of reading.

as the eurovision final takes place this year, please take this time to instead please reblog, and donate (if you can) instead of watching:

fundraiser for selma cheurfi

help evacuate nisreen shaheen's family from gaza

bring najlaa's family to safety in canada

help evacuate dr ahmad's family from gaza

donate an e-sim to gaza here (several options available) (holafly tutorial)

donate to provide feminine hygiene kits for women in gaza

urgent evacuation for rafah's family from gaza

donate to careforgaza here (twitter) (paypal)

rescue lulu and baby adam from the siege on rafah

help firas and his family escape to egypt

an entire google doc of gofundme's for palestine

help this family evacuate from gaza

donate to the palestinian civil relief

donate to the children of gaza

please read through and support operation olive branch, a cohesive and detailed spreadsheet of fundraisers and links

donate to the palestine children's relief fund

please also reblog other aid posts (especially recent ones), or flood the tag with posts about palestine. this doesn't have to be just donation posts, but also information and updates on rafah/gaza. anything helps and make sure not to give eurovision your view or your vote! do not take your eyes off rafah.

please boost, and add other resources and links to this post.

i like clicking buttons too but i am asking you to actually pay attention to things that matter even if you don't have a fun poll to engage with. it's ridiculous how inventive people have to get to entertain tumblr userbase enough for you to reblog fundraisers nowadays.

donate to mahmoud ( @ma7moudgaza2 ). his fundraiser slowed down significantly again, once the polls in the promo posts expired. he's currently at $19,794 USD raised of the temporary $20,000 goal. it is a verified, trusted campaign.

gofundme.com

Donate to Support Muhammad in Gaza with a New Start, organised by Annie Hall

The Hamam family has decided to focus their attention away from rebuilding their … Annie Hall needs your support for Support Muhammad in Gaz

@buttercuparry @feluka @appsa tagging you for reach! thank you

chapter 40 wha spoilers ///// am i making you feel sick☹️

Guess who read hsk😋

Types of Blorbo Thoughts:

Projection - This blorbo is just like me and therefore every single trait I have is now their traits as well

Incoherent - This blorbo constantly fills my head but if you asked me to describe why I liked them so much i wouldn’t be able to tell you

Music - Every single song I listen to reminds me of this blorbo

Horror - I love this character so much I want to put them through Horrors beyond their comprehension

All of the above - Hell on earth.

please stop scrolling and take the time to read this.

i don't think people understand the extent of the horror happening in palestine right now. "death" means nothing to people because of desensitisation so let me just tell you what white phosphorus is. it's being used in israeli munitions and has been and will continue to be fired across gaza and the palestinian borders.

white phosphorus burns when it comes into contact with oxygen (at nearly 800°C or 1500°F. the human body can withstand ~50°C for reference.) the air you breathe in ignites and it is near impossible extinguish. it sticks to clothing and skin and is very difficult to remove because it will continue to ignite in air. it burns flesh up to the bone and even past the bone because it penetrates tissue and is absorbed VERY easily. if you inhale it it'll destroy your respiratory tract and lungs. it can cause failure in multiple organs including the liver, kidneys and heart. it is being released in one of the most densely populated places on earth.

the only way to treat someone exposed to white phosphorus is to submerge them in saline or water and to pick out the substance with forceps, and when you undress a wound the substance can re-ignite. this is just ONE weapon that is being used to kill palestinian people right now. palestine does not have access to medical care, humanitarian aid, power, or internet. their hospitals are being bombed. gaza is one of the most densely populated places in the world with over 50% of the population being children. many children are the sole survivors of their families. there are videos of children experiencing panic attacks and symptoms of ptsd. the fact that israel has committed war crimes in plain sight means that we can only imagine what will happen to the palestinians in complete darkness.

israel has and will continue to deny this. your interests and fandom will still be here, you will wake up tomorrow morning and see your friends and family, but an entire nation of people are being wiped off the map. being silent is being complacent. reblog, spread information, tell people in real life, attend protests, sign petitions, call your government offices, at the very least be angry and upset and horrified because once you become numb and indifferent and hopeless the oppressors will have already won.

what's happening right now is more than a genocide and once it becomes a part of history we'll wonder how the world let this happen. genocides have been part of all nations. just because it is far away does not mean you don't have to be concerned. the fact that YOUR governments and YOUR idols and the people around YOU are supporting the mass eradication of an entire group of people should scare you. it shouldn't make you feel anything less than sick and angry and disgusted. DO something about it, no matter how small you feel your voice is, because palestinians no longer have one.

Ola is a Mathematics teacher and a graduate student in north Gaza. She was studying at Al-Azhar University and teaching at a school when the occupation attacked. Her home, workplace, and university were all destroyed, leaving her without a house or a way to support her family.

Following the destruction of their home by the IOF, Ola and her family were displaced to a shelter. Repeated bombing attacks have forced them to flee multiple times since then. They are currently still in north Gaza, where food and other basic necessities are extremely scarce.

The price of food in north Gaza is extremely high, and Ola and her family are starving. She is trying to raise money so that she and her family can afford food and water. They want to stay in north Gaza and hope to rebuild their lives there one day, but they are struggling to survive.

You can directly help a Gazan family survive famine and genocide by contributing to Ola’s campaign, and reposting the link (https://gofund.me/89e42c74) on your social media accounts.

Thank you

gofundme.com

Donate to Ola's Family Call for your Support Amid Crisis, organized by Nesma Khazendar

Hello, I'm Ola, a graduate student from the faculty of science - Al-Azh… Nesma Khazendar needs your support for Ola's Family Call for your S

Ola is verified by @suad-ahmad