#all require typing

[adrianharley]

I often look down at my hands, flex them, and think, “What have I done?!”, but so far this is just because I type too much and not because I have crossed a moral event horizon for my character arc

[kbsd]

you're gonna dance with me before this night is through

[goldensunset]

literally don’t talk to me don’t touch me

[undead-moth]

I know I've been on about this for a while now and I'm being a hater but you're telling me SydCarmy was "always meant to be platonic" even though there are two seasons of writing making use of tried-and-true explicitly romantic tropes, themes and writing signals, and SydLuca is going to be romantic because...he was nice to her on screen for a few minutes?

I don't even care if people ship SydLuca, or if they just prefer it, but you can't honestly tell me that you believe Carmy was always meant to be a friend but Luca is an obvious love interest.

Just because Syd and Carmy haven't kissed or confessed their love to each other doesn't mean that isn't very obviously the direction this show is going. The Bear has already shown you who is endgame. It has shown you every episode of the show so far.

Honestly I really don't think The Bear fanbase understands this show or cares about these characters or the story being told here, which is unfortunate because this show is shockingly well-written in comparison to most shows right now, and we should be so grateful for it but all we're doing is complaining that the writers led us on by not making a ship canon fast enough. It's just. Sad.

[il3x]

ah, yeah, this quote will do numbers on the tumblr

[fiona-fififi]

...

[solar-halos]

do you think finnick audibly gulps in such a fr way whenever annie gets flirty with him

[milkweedman]

Made another spindle. It's very small. Also very irregular and lumpy due to the wood (I wanted the raised brown lines to stay and erred on the side of caution in how much I cut away...but that did lead to a very irregular spindle).

It also wanted to crumble as I carved, so pretty much all the fine tuning I just did by sanding it, which helps to compress the fibers down as well as remove material without crumbling or splintering.

It really came to life when I oiled it. Probably will be best after a few good coats and some time. My woodburning kit seems to be totally gone, which is a bummer. So I'm not woodburning anymore.

Spins well. Obviously being so tiny and light it was always going to be a fine spinning spindle, but effortless thread from an unprepped piece of fleece is pretty indicative as well. I seem to find myself carving mostly thread spindles at the moment. They're always so small and light in the hand, they remind me of holding baby birds.

[katsigian]

── ⁺⭒*˖₊☽ ⁺˖ ᴏ ᴄ ɪ ɴ ᴛ ᴇ ʀ ᴠ ɪ ᴇ ᴡ ˖⁺ ☾₊˖*⭒⁺ ──

I was tagged by the lovely @mercymaker to fill out these questions for an OC, thank you! There will be a blank version and a tag list below the cut ♡

─── ⁺ ɴ ᴀ ᴍ ᴇ: ᴠᴀʟᴇɴ ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɪɴʟᴀᴡ

─── ⁺ ɴ ɪ ᴄ ᴋ ɴ ᴀ ᴍ ᴇ: ꜱᴛᴀʀʟɪɢʜᴛ. ᴀɴᴅ ɪꜰ ᴀʟɪᴀꜱᴇꜱ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ, ᴛʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴀɪɴᴛ.

─── ⁺ ɢ ᴇ ɴ ᴅ ᴇ ʀ: ᴄɪꜱ ᴍᴀʟᴇ, ʜᴇ/ʜɪᴍ

─── ⁺ ꜱ ᴛ ᴀ ʀ ꜱ ɪ ɢ ɴ: ᴀʀɪᴇꜱ ꜱᴜɴ, ꜱᴄᴏʀᴘɪᴏ ᴍᴏᴏɴ, ꜱᴀɢɪᴛᴛᴀʀɪᴜꜱ ʀɪꜱɪɴɢ. ɪ ᴘᴜᴛ ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ɪɴᴛᴏ ʜɪꜱ ꜱᴛᴀʀ ꜱɪɢɴꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴜʀᴘᴏꜱᴇʟʏ ᴘɪᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴀ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴍᴀᴛᴄʜ ʜɪꜱ ᴘᴇ��ꜱᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ ʜᴅʜꜱᴊꜱ

─── ⁺ ʜ ᴇ ɪ ɢ ʜ ᴛ: 6'4" or 193cm. ʜɪᴍ ᴀ ʙɪɢ, ʙɪɢ ʙᴏʏ.

─── ⁺ ᴏ ʀ ɪ ᴇ ɴ ᴛ ᴀ ᴛ ɪ ᴏ ɴ: ᴠᴇʀʏ ɢᴀʏ.

─── ⁺ ɴ ᴀ ᴛ ɪ ᴏ ɴ ᴀ ʟ ɪ ᴛ ʏ/ᴇ ᴛ ʜ ɴ ɪ ᴄ ɪ ᴛ ʏ: ᴀᴍᴇʀɪᴄᴀɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ꜱᴄᴏᴛᴛɪꜱʜ, ɴᴏʀᴡᴇɢɪᴀɴ, ꜰʀᴇɴᴄʜ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʀɢᴇɴᴛɪɴɪᴀɴ ʙᴀᴄᴋɢʀᴏᴜɴᴅ.

─── ⁺ ꜰ ᴀ ᴠ ᴏ ᴜ ʀ ɪ ᴛ ᴇ ꜰ ʀ ᴜ ɪ ᴛ: ᴏʀᴀɴɢᴇꜱ! ᴛʜᴇʏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ꜱᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴍᴇᴀɴɪɴɢ.

─── ⁺ ꜰ ᴀ ᴠ ᴏ ᴜ ʀ ɪ ᴛ ᴇ ꜱ ᴇ ᴀ ꜱ ᴏ ɴ: ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ. ᴠᴀʟᴇɴ ɪꜱ ᴀ ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ ʙᴏʏ, ʟᴏᴠᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴇᴠᴇɴɪɴɢꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀʀᴍᴛʜ. ʟᴏᴠᴇꜱ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴀɴᴅ ɢᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ᴀɴ ɪᴄᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴅ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴅʀɪɴᴋ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ʜᴇ ꜱɪᴛꜱ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜɴ. ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴡʜʏ ʜɪꜱ ꜰʀᴇᴄᴋʟᴇꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ꜱᴏ ᴅᴀʀᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴛᴀɴɴᴇᴅ. ꜱᴘᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴏᴜᴛᴅᴏᴏʀꜱ.

─── ⁺ ꜰ ᴀ ᴠ ᴏ ᴜ ʀ ɪ ᴛ ᴇ ꜰ ʟ ᴏ ᴡ ᴇ ʀ: ᴠᴀʟᴇɴ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ʟɪᴋᴇꜱ ᴀɴʏ ꜱᴏʀᴛ ᴏꜰ ʟɪʟɪᴇꜱ. ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ʜᴀꜱ ᴀ ꜱᴏꜰᴛ ꜱᴘᴏᴛ ꜰᴏ�� ꜱᴜɴꜰʟᴏᴡᴇʀꜱ.

─── ⁺ ꜰ ᴀ ᴠ ᴏ ᴜ ʀ ɪ ᴛ ᴇ ꜱ ᴄ ᴇ ɴ ᴛ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʏ ʜɪꜱ ʜᴜꜱʙᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴍᴇʟʟꜱ ᴀᴛ ᴀɴʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴀʏ ᴏʀ ᴀɴʏ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ. ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ᴍᴇᴀɴ ᴀɴʏ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

─── ⁺ ᴄ ᴏ ꜰ ꜰ ᴇ ᴇ, ᴛ ᴇ ᴀ, ʜ ᴏ ᴛ ᴄ ʜ ᴏ ᴄ ᴏ ʟ ᴀ ᴛ ᴇ: ᴠᴀʟᴇɴ ᴅʀɪɴᴋꜱ ᴇꜱᴘʀᴇꜱꜱᴏ/ʟᴀᴛᴛᴇꜱ 80% ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪʟʟ ɢᴇᴛ ᴀ ᴄᴏꜰꜰᴇᴇ ɪꜰ ᴇꜱᴘʀᴇꜱꜱᴏ ɪꜱɴ'ᴛ ᴀᴠᴀɪʟᴀʙʟᴇ. ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ʜᴀꜱ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴋɴᴏᴡɴ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ʜᴏᴛ ᴄʜᴏᴄᴏʟᴀᴛᴇ ᴏɴ ᴏᴄᴄᴀꜱɪᴏɴ, ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪɴᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴡʜɪᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴍ ᴏɴ ɪᴛ. ᴍᴏꜱᴛʟʏ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴄᴏʟᴅ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴅᴜʀɪɴɢ ᴡɪɴᴛᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ ꜱᴇᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴏꜱᴇ ᴀᴅꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴᴀʟ ᴘᴇᴘᴘᴇʀᴍɪɴᴛ/ᴇɢɢɴᴏɢ/ɴᴜᴛᴍᴇɢ ᴅʀɪɴᴋꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ɢᴇᴛꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ɪᴛᴄʜ ꜰᴏʀ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ꜱᴡᴇᴇᴛ.

─── ⁺ ᴀ ᴠ ᴇ ʀ ᴀ ɢ ᴇ ʜ ᴏ ᴜ ʀ ꜱ ᴏ ꜰ ꜱ ʟ ᴇ ᴇ ᴘ: ᴀɴʏᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ 3-8 ʜᴏᴜʀꜱ. ɪᴛ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴅᴇᴘᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴏɴ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴇʟꜱᴇ ʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ. ꜰᴏʀ ᴇxᴀᴍᴘʟᴇ, ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴏᴜᴛ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ʟᴀᴛᴇ ᴏɴ ᴀ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛ, ꜱᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇxᴛ ᴅᴀʏ ʜᴇ ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘꜱ ɪɴ ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴜᴘ ᴏɴ ʀᴇꜱᴛ. ᴏʀ ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ʜᴇ'ꜱ ɢᴏᴛ ᴀ ʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ɪɴꜱᴏᴍɴɪᴀ (ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴏɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜɪꜱ ᴘᴛꜱᴅ) ᴀɴᴅ ᴏɴʟʏ ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘꜱ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴜᴘʟᴇ ʜᴏᴜʀꜱ.

─── ⁺ ᴅ ᴏ ɢ ᴏ ʀ ᴄ ᴀ ᴛ ᴘ ᴇ ʀ ꜱ ᴏ ɴ: ᴠᴀʟᴇɴ ʟᴇᴀɴꜱ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛᴏᴡᴀʀᴅꜱ ᴅᴏɢꜱ ꜱɪᴍᴘʟʏ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ʜᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡꜱ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴄᴀᴛꜱ. ʜᴇ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ ᴅᴏɢ ɢʀᴏᴡɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ɢᴇᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴏɴᴄᴇ ʜᴇ ꜱᴇᴛᴛʟᴇꜱ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ꜱᴏᴍᴇ. ʜᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇꜱ ʜᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʀᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ ᴛᴏ ɢᴏ ᴏᴜᴛꜱɪᴅᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ʜɪᴍꜱᴇʟꜰ ʙᴜꜱʏ.

─── ⁺ ᴅ ʀ ᴇ ᴀ ᴍ ᴛ ʀ ɪ ᴘ: ɪ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴠᴀʟᴇɴ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴇᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴍᴏᴜɴᴛᴀɪɴꜱ. ʜᴇ'ꜱ ꜱᴇᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱɪᴇʀʀᴀ ɴᴇᴠᴀᴅᴀ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴋʟᴀᴍᴀᴛʜ ᴍᴏᴜɴᴛᴀɪɴꜱ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀɴᴛꜱ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴇᴇ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴡɪʟᴅᴇʀ. ᴍᴏʀᴇ ɴᴏʀᴛʜ, ᴜᴘ ɪɴ ᴄᴀɴᴀᴅᴀ. ᴠᴀʟᴇɴ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴏᴜᴛᴅᴏᴏʀꜱʏ ᴛʀɪᴘ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ. ᴠᴀʟᴇɴ ʜᴀꜱ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴄᴀᴍᴘɪɴɢ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴇ ᴛʜɪɴᴋꜱ ʜᴇ'ᴅ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴛ. ᴄᴏᴏᴋɪɴɢ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴀ ꜰɪʀᴇ, ꜱᴛᴀʀɢᴀᴢɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏɴꜱᴛᴇʟʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ʟɪɢʜᴛ ᴘᴏʟʟᴜᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ, ʜɪᴋɪɴɢ, ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴘ ᴏᴘᴇɴ ꜱᴏ ʜᴇ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴋʏ. ꜱᴏᴜɴᴅꜱ ɴɪᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ ʜɪᴍ.

─── ⁺ ꜰ ᴀ ᴠ ᴏ ᴜ ʀ ɪ ᴛ ᴇ ꜰ ɪ ᴄ ᴛ ɪ ᴏ ɴ ᴀ ʟ ᴄ ʜ ᴀ ʀ ᴀ ᴄ ᴛ ᴇ ʀ: ɪ'ᴍ ɴᴏᴛ 100% ꜱᴜʀᴇ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴇxɪꜱᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʏʙᴇʀᴘ��ɴᴋ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ʏᴇᴛ, ꜱᴏ ɪ'ᴍ ᴀꜰʀᴀɪᴅ ɪ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ᴀɴꜱᴡᴇʀ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴏɴᴇ!

─── ⁺ ɴ ᴜ ᴍ ʙ ᴇ ʀ ᴏ ꜰ ʙ ʟ ᴀ ɴ ᴋ ᴇ ᴛ ꜱ: ᴜꜱᴜᴀʟʟʏ ᴏɴᴇ ᴠᴇʀʏ ꜰʟᴜꜰꜰʏ ᴅᴜᴠᴇᴛ. ᴠᴀʟᴇɴ ʟɪᴋᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ʙɪɢ ꜰʟᴜꜰꜰʏ ꜰᴇᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ꜰɪʟʟᴇᴅ ᴏɴᴇꜱ, ɴᴏʀᴍᴀʟʟʏ ɪɴ ᴀ ɴᴇᴜᴛʀᴀʟ ᴄᴏʟᴏᴜʀ. ᴛʜᴀᴛ, ᴘʟᴜꜱ ᴀ ꜰɪᴛᴛᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰʟᴀᴛ ꜱʜᴇᴇᴛ ᴀʀᴇ ᴜꜱᴜᴀʟʟʏ ᴀʟʟ ʜᴇ ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴄᴏᴠᴇʀꜱ-ᴡɪꜱᴇ. ᴘɪʟʟᴏᴡꜱ-ᴡɪꜱᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ, ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ.

─── ⁺ ʀ ᴀ ɴ ᴅ ᴏ ᴍ ꜰ ᴀ ᴄ ᴛ: ᴠᴀʟᴇɴ ɪꜱ ꜱᴜʀᴘʀɪꜱɪɴɢʟʏ ᴀɢɪʟᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ʜɪꜱ ꜱɪᴢᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ ᴄᴀɴ ᴅᴏ ᴄᴀʀᴛᴡʜᴇᴇʟꜱ! ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴᴇ-ʜᴀɴᴅᴇᴅ ᴋɪɴᴅ. ʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ꜱᴜʀᴘʀɪꜱɪɴɢʟʏ ᴠᴇʀʏ ꜰʟᴇxɪʙʟᴇ. ᴠᴀʟᴇɴ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴ'ᴛ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴘʀᴏʙʟᴇᴍ ʀᴇᴀᴄʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜᴘᴘᴇʀ ᴄᴇɴᴛᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ʜɪꜱ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴏʀ ʙʀɪɴɢɪɴɢ ʜɪꜱ ʟᴇɢ ᴜᴘ ʜɪɢʜ ꜰᴏʀ ᴀ ᴋɪᴄᴋ. ɢᴏᴏᴅ ʜɪᴘ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅᴇʀ ꜰʟᴇxɪʙɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴏɴᴇ. ᴍᴀᴋᴇꜱ ꜱᴇɴꜱᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋɪᴄᴋʙᴏxɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴊᴊ ʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴇꜱ.

As always, there's zero pressure to share your results (or fill these out) if you'd rather not to ♡ and if you've already been tagged, then feel free to ignore this. There's no pressure to interact with this post if you don't want to. Let me know if you'd like to be tagged or would rather not be tagged ♡

@rindemption @noirapocalypto @spicyraeman @swanfey @skyllianverge @elenaril @kharonion @peaches-n-screem @quickhacked @mrdekarios @dameayliins @elvenbeard @westealtoys @f001onthehill @balverine2077 @thedeadthree @ravensgard @duskfey @strafethesesinners @aggravateddurian @opaleyedprince @envergothash @timaeusterrored @wilxfyre @vincentmatthews @seluned @yharnams @cove-holdens @skaterboisims @alphanight-vp @cyberneutral @aceghosts @florbelles @feykiller @minastirithe @leota-nexus @baldurians @aelyosos @gortash @hibernationsuit @ncytiri @cetra @nightcxty @vanoefucks @enverflymm @estevnys @cybertokyodog @dreadfulsanity @cloudofbutterflies92 (hi new mutuals♡)

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[leonardcohenofficial]

huey newton really nailed it when he said (in regard to marx) "in every discipline you find people who have distorted visions and are at a low state of consciousness who nonetheless have flashes of insight and produce ideas worth considering"; it's such an obvious and basic tenet when it comes to ways of approaching critical thought but it's a good reminder when it comes to considering the impact(s) of both theory and praxis and the ways we can critically discuss orgs and individuals without either offering uncritical total praise or flattening accomplishments for the sake of over the top criticism

[aroaceleovaldez]

my trials as possibly the one singular person who cares about the larger worldbuilding lore of the riordanverse is figuring out what the difference between harpies, sirens, and bird nymphs (from Artemis' retinue) are. what are the distinctions between these bird women.

[jakeperalta]

i don't believe in hell but if i did i just know that whoever invented cover letters would be there

[realasslesbian]

I just had to share this email I got so all y'all can appreciate the absolute state of welfare services in Australia with me:

The NILs Loan Scheme is a government funded, no interest loan scheme for people on low incomes, but this leaves me wondering exactly who tf can qualify for their loans. Because it seems like if you have any symptoms of poverty it's a no.

I applied because I need the clutch replaced in my van, which I live in. It's lucky that I actually CAN afford the cost myself (due to living in a van & not participating in Australia's increasingly ridiculous housing market). I thankfully can afford such an expense these days & was just looking for a responsible financial buffer, just in case. But if this had happened to me a few years ago when I first became homeless and was far less financially stable, then my next living situation wouldn't be "affordable housing" it would be a fucking tent.

Anyway, the backwards ass state of a GOVERNMENT FUNDED welfare scheme refusing to assist those who need welfare the most because they don't want to encourage homelessness or whatever the dumb fuck? Just really rustled my jimmies tbh. Just screams "yet another govt welfare scheme that's actually just about handing out money to fake charities & not helping the poor". Good Shephard just got on the "do not donate to these grifters" list along with the Salvos😒

[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.

[girlfailurefelix]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58669168

here’s that beckory fic btw! ao3 is back up so i posted this this morning. alternative timeline for the end of borrowed time cuz i felt bad for making a few of you upset, so tony lives/most of chapter 6 doesn’t happen au lol

[mamawasatesttube]

uh oh i can feel myself getting bogged down in the perfectionism sauce again... i need to write smth stupid and self indulgent ough