Art ByIffah Yusri

Art by Iffah Yusri

Let's get cozy, friend.

[crow-time.com]

it’s december 1 where’s the christmas tail kitten bring him to me

Tips for Reading with ADHD

(or without ADHD, if they help regardless)

Physical print:

cover the page with a piece of paper and reveal lines/paragraphs as you read them

use a highlighter to emphasize important/interesting parts

take notes as you go to be physically engaged with the material

Digital media:

copy and paste the text into a doc/word processor

change the font size/style/colour to something more legible

make your own paragraphs and spacing

copy and paste one paragraph at a time to isolate them from the distraction of the rest of the text

install a browser extension like BeeLine Reader or Mercury Reader

zoom in on the page and scroll slowly so you’re revealing lines as you read them

physically cover the screen and reveal lines as you read them

if you do better with physical media, print it out or find a physical copy

Both:

read out loud

pace, move around, or use a fidget while reading

set a timer for 5 minutes and read in small chunks with breaks in between

divide the material into sections and read one section at a time with breaks in between

have another person, audio book, or text-to-speech program read it aloud as you follow along

Ok I shall send one in based on one of my favorite childhood fairytales: The Steadfast Tin Soldier where either AfO or Yoichi is the tin soldier

This one always makes me cry.

Both of them are soldiers but Yoichi is THE soldier. They were both made from the tin of a melted down spoon (they're bigger than normal ones) but Yoichi was the second one to be made, so he's missing an arm. When the child they belong to takes them out, Yoichi notices a very handsome dancer made of paper, with a single sequin on his belt holding his outfit together. The dancer has one arm behind him, leading Yoichi to think that he's also missing an arm. He talks to the dancer and they get close, but later AFO warns him not to get too close to his brother. The dancer ignores this and the next day, keeps talking to him on the window sill. AFO gets angry and tries to push him off, but Yoichi takes the hit instead.

Yoichi gets stuck in the rocks, but is too proud to call for help. Some other kids find him, stick him on a paper boat, and have him set sail. The rocking terrifies him, but he tries to be brave and doesn't say anything, even when the boat goes into a tunnel where rats demand he pay a toll. Luckily, the current was too strong for them to catch him. Unluckily, he goes over a waterfall and ends up in the water, and is now utterly terrified.

His shaking attracts a fish, which eats him, and he's once again, stuck in the dark. Until the fish is lifted out and cut open by the child's father, as he had been on a fishing trip. Unable to believe his luck, the child takes Yoichi back to his room where he reunites with the paper dancer.

AFO is insanely jealous that Yoichi chose to greet the DANCER first instead of him, so he gets the child's friend to throw the dancer into the fire. However, paper doesn't exactly go where you want it, and the dancer just manages to miss it. Unfortunately, Yoichi leaped after the dancer, and tin is much less fluttery, so he falls into the fire.

AFO is horrified and tries to go after him, but can't as the child is now playing with him. All he can do is watch as the dancer manages to jump into the fireplace and burn with his brother. The next morning, the child's mother would see a piece of tin melted into the shape of a heart next to a sequin burned black as coal.

I left it ambiguous on who the dancer is, because there's not a lot of description for her, but I like to imagine Second as his hair matches the fire.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your gift :)

men are so privileged they dont even realized how oppressed they really are