I dunno if I can begin to explain how much of a ship purist I am for Haikyuu. Each character has a ship. That is their one true love and I will take no notes. I will avoid any fic that includes anything other than them, and I will refuse to acknowledge their existence.
Unless I find cute art, that gets a like and the occasional praising comment.
But under almost all other circumstances, no changes made. I will not budge on this.
Actually that’s not true.
KiyokoXTanaka
KiyokoXYachi
TanakaXEnnoshita
Tanaka alone
are all interchangeable and I will take them. However otherwise, I have a very strict little list of ships that I will read fanfic about, otherwise, out of my sight!
Tehe but no really I don’t have a problem with most ships, I just don’t enjoy them as much, especially as a sucker for childhood friends to lovers, there are some ships that tear Iwaoi, Tsukiyama, or Kuroken apart that I simply cannot look beyond. Like yes I know they’re best friends, but they’re actually so much more than that to me and I will hear nothing more.
And I’m AWARE that most of my ships are the most common but I like to believe that it’s because they make a lot of sense. Plus, this way, Everyone’s got someone they have chemistry with, when it gets mixed up some characters end up alone and I simply cannot do that to them.
(Also OsaSuna/OsaSunaKomo are both good. It’s like adding a little egg to your ramen, it doesn’t technically change the dish but it drastically changes the flavor.)
[something’s changed in the year the traveler was away]
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.
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.
vein... is beautiful.
xia fei noticed it the first time they've met. long hair, so soft, yet in such brave colour. what a shame his hair is always braided. xia fei has never seen vein with his hair down. but he badly wants to.
vein is beautiful.
xia fei noticed it the first time they've met. playful eyes, looking at him. mysterious, yet kind. red eyes that see everything, even the slightest detail. long lashes cover them whenever vein's irritated, tired or amused by what xia fei's said. but sometimes, only sometimes, the red eyes are happily looking at him.
vein is beautiful, truly.
xia fei noticed it the first time they've met. vein's elegant clothes and the way he wears them. full of pride. full of grace. full of confidence. whenever he's passing by someone, their eyes follow him. and vein knows that because he knows everything.
vein is beautiful. but he doesn't look like that all the time.
there're these days where small dots of blood stain the white fabric of his shirt. it's not often, but it happens. xia fei pretends to see nothing because sometimes it's easier this way. vein never tells him what's going on. he usually puts on his long, black coat and tries his best to cover the blood.
that night when after a tiring day he'd finally came home, he's noticed he has a guest. and not just any guest. the familiar black coat hanging in the hallway. the elegant shoes in the hallway. and also vein's perfumes xia fei could scent in the hallway.
the bathroom light is on. the door is open. xia fei goes there.
vein is beautiful, yet full of mysteries.
in the bathroom vein stands next to the sink. the water is running down. however, the boss hasn't noticed him, yet. vein's too busy washing his dirtied by blood hands to care bout his surroundings. xia fei comes even closer, careful not to make any sound.
but he fails. vein instantly turns around and when he spots xia fei, something like embarrassment shows up on his face. only for a second. there's blood on his face, on his right cheek and forehead. but xia fei doesn't care because vein finally has his hair down.
One such person is my friend @samah-2 who is an absolute sweetheart. She has a whole family that she looks after and their home has been decimated from the war. Unfortunately the aftermath is VERY expensive for Palestinian families. Please help Samah and her family on their journey to a free Palestine and their own goals and self-determination. Show up now more than ever. I have linked her gfm. If we can raise 2k by the time this poll closes, that would be amazing.
Youtube links for the animated short films created for Link Click's overseas creator program!