#i was reading on my own when i was 4

[5-htagonist]

i read the hunger games books multiple times over as a kid, and i didnt like katniss' ending at first, bc my hyperlexic ass could read the words long before i could REALLY Comprehend the concepts, but as soon as i got a firm understanding of aromanticism and trauma and and etcetc... i like it a lot now

[puppppppppy]

act 4 :(

@chipper-smol and i came to a realization

[diamondzart]

DID “DESPICABLE ME 4” TRAILER LEAVE YOU DISAPPOINTED? There’s a solution! :D

My very good friend @annchanorsomethin writes THIS AMAZING FIC on AO3 for over a year already! I am following it since November 2022 and let me tell ya, I wish this was the way Illumination treated their canon. I don’t think this amount of planning went into the real DM4, judging from the trailer…

And for those of you who were upset about the absence of Dr Nefario and Dru, this fic has you covered, believe me 😏

SUMMARY:

After Balthazar Bratt's defeat, everything seems to go better than ever: Gru and Lucy are back working for the AVL and Gru's overly enthusiastic brother, Dru is the new bad guy in town... or is he? The illusion of everything going so well fades, as the past comes back to haunt the family, threatening to destroy them once and for all... If it wasn't for the most passionate of the family doing everything in their power to protect what they love most - even if it means to step over the bounds of time and space itself.

Rated M for possible graphic depictions of violence in the future (though for now it stays in PG, I think). Features Professor Rott as the main antagonist – the original character inspired by early concept arts for Gru from late 2000s, the idea and design of Rott belong to @elitadream

This post also features original concept art made by me, styled to mimic Eric Guillon’s (official concept artist from Illumination) style, so it looks more like a real DM4 concept. I really, really hope this story will find more followers, because it totally deserves them! For now there are 11 chapters, and there will be more!

[crystalpallette]

frye inspires this sort of manic "i can do whatever i want" kinda will in people and god. I sure did do whatever I wanted here

[tennessoui]

it’s like baby gorl there’s no way I, the author who wrote the fic you’re commenting on and who is the intended audience for this comment, am gonna agree with you 😿🙏 some things can just stay on your chest 🙏

[bmpmp3]

sorry to be a bit of a hater but i do wish youtubers weren't so scared of making their videos just like, "reviews", whys everything gotta be a "video essay" all the time. every day my recommendations are filled with 40 minute videos titled "_____: An Underrated Masterpiece" where the first like five minutes are reading the wikipedia definition of "masterpiece" in a somber voice with dramatic themed text on screen. please just tell me how good or bad you think something is and use the rest of the runtime to explain why. you dont need to put on all these airs

[highladyjane]

The assault at Sangravah happened in early ACOMAF (before Elain's existence even came into picture for Azriel - 3 days before he even got to meet Feyre)... So I don't get how G and Az are supposed to be mates when he's had all that time to feel something?

There's the parallel of Rhys' father feeling his mating bond snap into place the moment he met his mother being assaulted.

"One look at her, and he knew what she was..." (ACOMAF, ch. 16)

Or Rhys himself feeling the bond when Feyre was being tortured by Amarantha...

"And I knew as I picked up that knife to kill her... I knew right then what you were. I knew right then that you were my mate." (ACOMAF, ch. 54)

Or Cassian simply meeting Nesta. "Say what I've guessed from the moment we met" he breathed. What I knew from the first time I kissed you. What became unbreakable between us on Solstice night." (ACOSF, ch. 62)

Bonus from Nesta: “‘From the moment I met you, I wanted you more than reason. From the moment I saw you in my house, you were all I could think about. And it terrified me. No one had ever held such power over me."

Or even Lucien after Elain was Made and maybe even while being thrown into the Cauldron... I don't even need a quote for them, but even Lucien knew and has tried seeking Elain out after the incident.

It's stated in the books and shown again and again that it's the males who are deeply affected by the mating bond. That they can know from the moment they meet. They all in one way or another sought after the females. Even Nesta and Feyre felt something before they knew or opened themselves up to it. And since they all met - They. Couldn't. Stay. Away.

But there's like... no hint of it from Az after stumbling upon G? Like he just literally stumbles upon her - never actually even actively seeking her out through all those years? He hasn't even actively tried to stay away? He's just... *crickets*

It's been Gwyn making noises and attracting his attention through all their scenes together. It was Gwyn asking for dagger lessons. It was 'Gwyn' making Az the new ribbon (whatever that means). And it's Az's shadows reacting to Gwyn, not Az himself. But there's no real hint that Gwyn feels anything romantic for him. There's barely any interactions between them without linking it to her assault in Sangravah and her growth from it.

Besides Az's shadows reacting to G, and that ribbon moment that everyone deems so pivotal when Az realises what it means for the Valkyries (that he's had a hand in training) and maybe even reflects upon Gwyn's character development and therefore what the ribbon means for Gwyn - which made me feel proud too, and that's how I interpreted it - but I can't see an undeniable sign of it being a mating bond anywhere.

I thought at first that mayhaps he was giving her space because of the assault, but then the BC came and he went "It was too late to bank without appearing like he was running," and then "He wouldn't go so far as to call Gwyn a friend,". (ACOSF, Azriel's Bonus Chapter)

Let's not even mention the part where Gwyn was actually in danger (no matter how capable she was at that point), while Cassian was going ballistic at Nesta being in danger, but Az is all like "Let's go save Eris". Eris who both he and Cassian hates. Eris who Az himself nearly killed during the HLs' pre-war meeting (before he exhibited actual mate behaviour and sought and risked his life to save Elain who's not even his mate). But no, he gave just as much or even less action and reaction about Gwyn as Tamlin gave when Feyre was UTM.

And I was like...

How are they mates? Where's the mate behaviour every male - mated or not - in Prythian has exhibited throughout the books? Why did I keep seeing things about them being mates and endgame?

The only hint between them that I could even begin to consider it from is the second to last sentence in Az's BC.

"But Azriel tucked away the thought, consciously erasing the slight smile it brought to his face. Buried the image down deep, where it glowed quietly."

But I basically have the same interpretation about that as this post from @merymoonbeam. (Although I'm still neutral about the lightsinger theory, it's the most interesting take.)

Because again.

Why hasn't Azriel felt/shown anything or actively sought her out or even actively stayed away if he's known Gwyn since Sangravah?

If they're mates, shouldn't he have felt and shown something - like that glow - and Gwyn be the one to snap him out of his 'love' for Mor before he even had the chance to meet Elain? If he's just lonely and jealous of his brothers having mates then... Why has he barely noticed or sought out Gwyn who's supposed to be his mate?

What, he had to wait until his shadows reacted to her to even think about her?

I'm not an expert at analysing things - I wouldn't even say I'm good at interpreting things especially when I've got my rose-tinted glasses on, so/but I'm always open to being wrong and changing my mind accordingly.

But/so convince me with actual canon and not just your biased opinions, delusions, self-insertions, or ships.

[bidokja]

I thought you kin kdj?

anon i hope this is a joke cause if this is a genuine question it is the singlemost scathing read i have ever recieved in my life 👏 bravo

[morrigan-sims]

Royal Horses

@morningstarequestrian's new Baroque Tack Set is absolutely perfect for tacking up the horses from my story save. (which I've been neglecting for the past year+) (Other pieces are from the Medieval Tack Set or the Medieval Round Bridle. The first outfits are from @objuct's Traditional Arabian Set, plus one of my recolors of that set.)

(also obligatory tagging @simgerale because Phillip pics.)

The first two outfits are something I could see being like, a parade outfit, at least for Alena. (Kristopher wouldn't be involved in any parades back in Oryn, I just wanted to test out all my cc.) Especially the version with the tassels isn't practical for just recreational riding, but it certainly looks nice for a parade, and does resemble parade-type outfits.

Alena's 2nd-3rd outfits and Phillip's 2nd-4th outfits are just more general-purpose riding. Two different saddles each and a few different saddle pads for Phillip.

Phillip's 5th outfit and Alena's 4th and 5th are potentially more of long-distance setups. Maybe like some kind of tour, where Fallon would be riding for long distances, but still want to look formal / be seen by people. (Again, not really something Kristopher and Phillip would have been doing, but it looked good on him and I wanted to test stuff out.) Alena has a second variation because technically white isn't one of Anvia's royal colors, but black is, so if it was a public event, she might tack in black. Especially as that would show less wear and dirt than the white for long travel.

The last pic is a blanket for Phillip because it gets cold in Oryn, especially in the winter and late fall/early spring. Alena doesn't really need a blanket most of the time, since Anvia's winters are much milder. (They don't often get snow, and when they do it's rarely more than an inch or two at a time.)

[rigelmejo]

Something that always annoys me is the idea only 1 language learning method works. Which is not true. While it may be possible that, for a particular individual, only a few out of many study methods may work well enough for That Individual to make progress and stay motivated... that doesn't mean all the other study methods won't work for anyone else out there, or that those few methods will work for every other given person.

Obviously if you've been studying a while, then you already figured out what kinds of things work for you and don't. If you're a beginner, just wading into studying?

I would suggest you simply look for study methods that: 1. Teach you new things regularly, 2. Review and practice things you've learned, 3. Include studying things you need for your particular goals (for example if your goal is to read X book then the study materials at some point should involve reading practice and some words the book contains, if your goal is to talk about Y then the study materials should include some information about pronunciation and words you'll need to be able to say).

As you can imagine, a TON of study materials will meet these requirements. And you can study a given skill in a LOT of ways.

(Reading is my focus lol so just for reading, a beginner might: do vocabulary study with lists or conversations with native speakers or watching shows and looking words up or listening to dialogues with a transcript like in a textbook or graded readers or a picture book with word labels in the target language or a video game with labelled objects in target language, all of those things as long as your vocabulary is improving or reading practice is happening would help you make progress). So to improve reading skill as a beginner: you could study with a textbook, a podcast with transcript, a classroom or tutor with words written down in target language (like TPRS), a video game, a TV show and a translate app on your phone, a friend you talk with (who either writes words down or you look up words you hear with a translate app), a friend you text with, srs flashcards like anki (provided there's text) etc. As long as there's new words, and/or you're practicing reading, the study method may work. If it works will come down to if you can stay motivated doing it regularly, and make sure you regularly learn some new things and review/practice things you've already studied.

So consider those things when you see people selling a study method as a product (especially when it's costing you money). Consider if it teaches you NEW things, and are those new things related to your goals, and how MUCH new stuff will it teach you before you finish it? Consider if it provides review or practice, or if you can use it's materials to review on your own making up your own method, or if you'll need to do separate review/practice.

So examples:

LingQ. Can it teach you many new words? Yes, thousands, since you can import any texts you want when you get done with their provided material (I have no idea how much their beginner material covers though in terms of words... I would hope 1000-3000 words but that can be researched). Is your goal reading? It's suited to reading, so you will practice and review often with it. Cost? I think it was $12 a month when I last had it, and the price may have increased. Is it worth it? Depends on a learner's needs. I found it was wasting my money, so I chose to use free tools like Pleco and Readibu apps - since those apps are suited for Chinese learners and have better translations, Pleco has better paid graded reader material if I was going to spend money, and both Pleco and Readibu let me import texts so I can learn thousands of new words just like LingQ but free. Now that I'm not a beginner, I often use Microsoft Edge to read chinese... since I can still click-translate words easily (all my web browsers have that tool free), and Edge's TTS voice is helpful for pronunciation and sounds quite good. I read webnovels online so Edge works well. But it's translations aren't as good as Pleco or Readibu, so if I still needed translations more I would use them. So... is LingQ a good study method? Its certainly a study method marketed to buy. Well... the method is suited to improving reading skill, at least. It costs money, which is a negative, but it does offer a lot. However: everything it does regarding reading can be done free with other apps or sites or web browsers on their own. So if paying money motivates you to read... sure. LingQ does have a few word tracking features a learner may find worth the money, keeping in mind the actual read-to-learn method can be done free without lingq. (Also... while LingQ is a valid option for improving reading, if the learners goal is speaking then it would be important to think of what study activities the learner will do OUTSIDE of LingQ to improve speaking... because I've seen how LingQ is marketed as "how to learn a language" but it's only focused on some skills. It has vocabulary and grammar in some sense, since you'll read a lot and encounter new words and structures. But it doesnt have speaking or writing practice at least last time I was on it. Those activities would need to be worked on, on your own).

You can do that kind of cost/benefit contemplating with any study method material you see being sold. Amother example: there's a beginner Mandarin course called Mandarin Blueprint. It teaches like 800 words. Thats all. It may be worthwhile for a beginner... who still needs to learn 800 common words. But if you already know a few hundred words, the benefit of the course is less, you'll need to find a new material to teach you more new stuff soon. And the price was like a few hundred for the course... which for me personally was too much to spend, when I had already learned 800 hanzi from a book that cost me 12 dollars and 2000 words from a free user made memrise deck. The course claimed to get a person speaking, competent, but anyone not a beginner would say speaking basically with 800 words is nowhere near the level of working in Chinese or just doing a lot of daily life stuff, or reading/listening to media. (Although for the motivated beginner if you're learning 800 words on your own like I was, its definitely close to the point of jumping to learn more words and start reading kids and teenager books, and watching easier shows if you're willing to look new words up). So to me... Mandarin Blueprint felt like overselling some basic beginner materials. (Again when I know several other things that teach beginner stuff either more in depth so HSK test prep classes, and college courses, or that teach beginner stuff to the same depth as Mandarin Blueprint but free).

Some study materials aren't going to act like they teach everything. I've seen chinese courses just for learning to speak tones better and general pronunciation - probably worthwhile if your goal is to improve speaking and a teacher could help improve the issues your having. But a learner needs to be aware for that course that they'll need to study vocabulary on their own, its JUST a pronunciation improvement course.

[alexhasalotofthoughts]

I have already read all of Heartstopper so I know what happens in season 3 but I've been trying to avoid spoilers for the new storylines and it's nearly impossible.

I can't watch it in one go because episode one had me bawling. Episode one.

I understand Nick Nelson in a way others just simply can't (hyperbole). I understand him and I wanna give him a hug.

[xxlady-lunaxx]

Hiii I really like your fics! They can be so cute and so angsty and I always enjoy reading them! <3

if possible, could you maybe write something for Gentan where Genya wakes up after a nightmare and panics and Tanjiro calms him down and then just holds him? I totally get it if you’re busy but if you’re willing to write this I’d be really grateful and excited to read it :)

HIIII ><!! soso happy you like my writing,, & i'll do my best w/ this!! thank u for giving me an excuse to write gentan

the butterfly mansion was quiet when genya woke up, but he barely noticed the silence, shooting up in his bed. the frame creaked with his movement and he flinched, a hand fisting the fabric of his shirt. his breath came short, and it took him a moment to realize he had absolutely no control of it anymore. at that thought, panic surged through him and his chest constricted, throat tightening. he tried desperately to gasp for air, eyes shutting tightly, but that proved to worsen it, allowing the darkness to be flooded with incoherent flashes of color. he vaguely registered sanemi's voice ringing in his ears, and then a hand on his back.

instantly, his body tensed, but he forced his eyes open, turning to look up. panting for air, it took him a moment to notice the boy who sat beside him on his cot. but when his gaze focused, he found himself relaxing involuntarily, blinking quickly.

"t- tanjiro?" he gasped, trembling slightly. the sheets moved and genya shuffled to the side. tanjiro opened his arms, encouraging him forward. genya hesitated, trying to steady his breathing. when neither of them moved, tanjiro sighed and let his arms drop. instead, he patted genya's shoulder.

"it's okay, genya," he assured him. likely grasping genya's difficulty in breathing, he held out his hands instead, visibly relieved when genya placed his own hands in the smaller boy's. tanjiro smiled gently, squeezing genya's hands lightly. "alright, can you try breathing deeply. watch me, okay? breathe in slowly when i do, and exhale with me."

genya didn't nod, but tanjiro went ahead, sucking in an almost comically long breath. nevertheless, genya followed. he imitated tanjiro in breathing out, and they began to create a pattern until genya was able to slump against the bunched up blanket.

he let his hands slip out of tanjiro's, eyes flicking away. now that he'd gotten ahold of himself—and his conscience wasn't as muddled anymore—his cheeks rose in heat. he must seem pathetic for letting something as insignificant as a nightmare get the better of him and his hard-worked for control. but he mumbled something of gratitude, deciding tanjiro deserved that at the very least.

"no worries," tanjiro assured him. "are you okay?"

"fine. i'm fine," genya muttered, tugging the blanket up. he considered something for a moment, before offering it to tanjiro.

tanjiro beamed, for some reason, and snuggled up against genya so they could both fit under the blanket.

"if you say you are, then i'll take your word for it. but if you want to talk about anything, or just sit here with me, i'm completely open!" tanjiro insisted, tilting his head up to gaze at genya with his wide, pomegranate eyes.

genya nodded slowly, humming. "can you... uh...?"

"mm?" tanjiro looked at him, full of curiosity.

"...stay here?" genya finished meekly. "for a bit. you can sleep here, if you're tired. or, uh. just go back. if you want."

tanjiro's smile grew much too wide, and he all but scooped genya up into a hug, ecstatic. "of course!" he said, then quickly hushed himself, shooting a look over to where inosuke and zenitsu were sleeping. once he was sure they hadn't woken, he continued, his voice softer now. "i'd love to stay here with you. in all honesty, it was hard to sleep for me. and i'm glad i could help genya in the process."

"you couldn't sleep?" genya asked, curious. in his inquiry, he forgot to pull away, instead sinking into the embrace. "why not?"

"oh! well, i had a dream or something that kept me up. i can't remember it anymore, but i was a little distressed," tanjiro said sheepishly, shrugging. "sometimes, i feel like it comes with being a demon slayer. or maybe its my brain telling me there's something i have to acknowledge so i can feel better, i think? it's hard to say. but, yes, i was just awake and then noticed you were, also."

"oh." genya inspected him for a moment. it was hard to tell tanjiro, ever the cheery boy, had recently awoken from some nightmare. "i hope it wasn't too bad."

"nope! i was able to calm down," tanjiro said, tightening the hug around genya. "but i do feel a bit better being with you. it's comforting, because i know you're so amazing and it feels like you could ward off any bad feelings."

"oh...?" genya cocked his head to the side, unsure what he should say to that. then he realized tanjiro was currently hugging his lungs out and wriggled out, batting tanjiro away. "you're... squeezing my life out."

tanjiro scooted back, eyes wide, lips forming the smallest of a frown. "oh, no, i'm sorry!" he said quickly. "i got distracted in being happy that you were letting me sit next to you—"

genya sighed, shifting on the bed to sit vertically. he ushered tanjiro over, encouraging him to sit beside him. "'s fine. you can stay here, as long as you don't strangle me again."

instantly, tanjiro perked up, an almost smug smile brightening his face as he closed his eyes, leaning against genya. "works for me," he decided. "you can hug me, though, if you wanna."

scrunching his nose up, genya shook his head. "no, thank you."

"..okay."

"okay."

genya sat patiently, eyes closed as he allowed his mind to calm. somewhere through the night, he realized tanjiro's body had begun to completely depend on genya to stay up, and that the boy had fallen asleep. against his own instincts, genya took tanjiro into his arms, patting him gently.

"...alright. take two on sleeping," he murmured to himself. "'night, tanjiro."

[jaynovz]

JayVik is like... big anxious excitable dog with overflowing emotions x tiny bitchy more reserved cat who you better not cross

[bsotted]

ok well. unfortunate news: sometimes ur niche is so niche u've already niched the niche. this is exactly the same as the feeling of hitting the end of ur ship tag in ao3 🥲

*edit: sorry i accidentally named like every character ever in the tags so ppl are Seeing this post who dont have the benefit of so much as a single crumb of context. if i accidentally namedropped ur blorbo its bc of this post:

anyway. i was excited for recs bc i also enjoy this genre of fictional character. unfortunately as above the niche is niched, it turns out. at least for me, content enjoyer georg, who has apparently already seen or read everything anyone else has already seen or read except for a small handful of specific media properties that i do not wish to see or read for various personal reasons and also not literally everything ever... just the same things as everyone else has already seen and read... u get the idea. ok thnks 👍🏻

[lord-squiggletits]

Also I'm just gonna say that even if it were true that Rodimus was a """""true Prime"""" and Optimus wasn't, that isn't as much of an L for Optimus as people seemingly want it to be.

Like so you're telling me Optimus was never a chosen hero and the burden of the Matrix/leadership pained him morally, emotionally, and physically, yet he still survived 4 million years of war?

You're telling me he wasn't God's Designated Special Boy but he still tried his best to live up to that impossible ideal to the point of developing serious depression and suicidal ideation as a result of so much goddamn loneliness and self-doubt?

Optimus wasn't a "true Prime" and yet he still believed in ideals of reconciliation and ending the cycle of violence? He wasn't a true Prime but he still stayed on Cybertron trying to fix a broken, broken society while also trying to stop Earth from being invaded for a second time? He didn't even need to do that he could've just stayed in exile which he was originally supposed to do all along, and which he would've personally preferred?? You're telling me that Optimus wasn't Primus' Specialest Boy And Chosen Leader and yet he stepped into leadership anyways bc he perceived that there was injustice to be fixed??

Wow yeah I guess Optimus is just such an inferior leader, clearly his actual actions/moral character as person don't matter and his "worthiness" should be judged solely on whether the Magic Cybertronian 8 Ball liked him or not.

[icewindandboringhorror]

Pictures and things