#if you want to check out a book but you can't afford to buy it why not try requesting it at yours?

[yourlocalbreadenthusiast]

Kindly take a break from scrolling to read this, it's important.

Take your time to grieve and come to terms with the election results, but once you've done that, it's time to get to work. We have two months. And a lot to do in that time. We have to prepare, to be ready.

Be careful about what you post or say online. Anything potentially incriminating should be avoided. Threatening language, even if clearly a joke, can be used against you.

Know someone who's trans? Someone who's had an abortion? Someone who's LGBTQIA+? Someone who's an immigrant? Someone who attends protests? Someone who's disabled? Someone who might in any way be at risk due to laws being put into place? No you don't.

Move away from social media platforms and browsers that require you to use your real identity or input a large amount of personal information. Now's a good time to find alternate means of communicating online. Tails, Element, Tor, Mastodon, Firefox, and Lemmy are all decent options.

Find a community. Someone you can talk to, either online or in real life, that you'll have reliable contact with. We need to try and create a network, but one that's as anonymous as possible.

Start scrubbing your trail as much as possible. Get rid of old accounts that can still be traced to you but are no longer used, delete personal data off the internet. There are websites out there that will freely remove your data from the internet, but be careful about which one you use, make sure it's safe and legitimate first.

Change any usernames that you can that contain any personal information. Names, birthdays, anything.

Plan B has a four year shelf life. Stock up, but don't take more than you you'll need. We don't want a COVID repeat where everyone buys an excessive amount of things and leaves none for everybody else.

There are doctors that will sterilize you, if that's the way you want to go.

Stop using online period trackers right now. Delete all data from it if possible first, then delete the app itself. If you must, write it down, but in a subtle manner and on something you keep at home. Don't label it, just put the dates. If you're really worried, discard older records and only keep the most recent few, and label the dates as other random events, like "go to mall" or "chicken salad for dinner this night"

Get your vaccines now.

Save money.

Archive. We have to start collecting records, media, data, books, and articles now. On racism, on fascism, on homophobia, on gender, on self-reliance, on survival, on safe travels routes, on equality, on justice, on anything that may be useful and/or censored soon. We can't let them erase it.

Collect those online resources. Bookmark them, copy files into your storage, Screenshot pages. Create a decentralized library where everyone is working to be part of a whole, storing what they can individually and sharing it between one another. Again, be careful about doing this.

Second-hand bookstores are your best friend. Books are usually very cheap in them, and they often have a decent stock. See what you can find.

When buying ANYTHING I have mentioned above, or anything else that maybe put you in danger, try to use cash to reduce your spending trail.

Check your car information online, many newer models can be remotely tracked.

Turn your phone completely off if you may be at risk due to your location and current activities. Turning off your GPS also helps.

Take note of where you are. Who are your friends? Who's a safe person? Where can you go besides your own home that you know you'll be safe? Establish these connections now.

Who around you is not safe? Who and where do you need to avoid? Do you need to move? If you cannot afford moving but need to, there are fundraisers that can help you. If even that is not an option, at least try to make sure your home is secure. Have someone who can help you. Have a fallback safe place.

And finally, I want anyone with resources to put them in the replies. Flood it with useful links, information, tips, anything. We're in this together. Do not panic. Organize.

[inkskinned]

i got rickrolled today but it didn't work because i have adblocker installed, so youtube just told me i violated the terms of service. yesterday i was trying to edit a picture as a joke for my girlfriend, and google made me check a box to prove i'm human because i wasn't "searching normally".

it isn't just that capitalism is killing fun and whimsy, it is that any element of entertainment or joy is being fed upon by this mosquito body, one that will suck you dry at any vulnerability.

do you want to meet new friends in your city? download this app, visit our website, sign up for our email list. pay for this class on making a terrarium, on candlemaking, on cooking. it will be 90 dollars a session. you can go to group fitness, but only under our specific gym membership. solve the puzzle, sign up for our puzzle-of-the-month-club. what is a club if not just a paid opportunity - you are all paying for the same thing, which makes you a community.

but you're like me, i know it - you're careful, you try the library meetings and the stuff at the local school and all of that. the problem is that you kind of want really specific opportunities that used to exist. you are so grateful for libraries and the publicly-funded things: they are, however, an exception - and everything they have, they've fought tooth-and-nail to protect. you read a headline about how in many other states, libraries have virtually nothing left.

do you want to meet up with your friends afterwards? gift your friends the discord app. you can choose to go to a cafe (buy a coffee, at least), a bar (money, alcohol) or you can all stay in and catch a movie (streaming) or you can all stay in bed (rent. don't get me started) and scream (noise complaint. ticket at least).

you want to read a new book, but the book has to have 124 buzzwords from tiktok readers that are, like, weirdly horny. you can purchase this audiobook on audible! your podcast isn't on spotify, it's on its own server, pay for a different site. fuck, at least you're supporting artists you like. the art museum just raised their ticket price. once, they had a temporary exhibit that acknowledged that ~85% of their permanent art galleries were from cis white men, and that they had thousands of works by women (even famous women, like frida! georgia o'keefe!) just rotting in their basement. that exhibit lasted for 3 months and then they put everything away again.

walmart proudly supports this strip of land by the street! here are some flowers with wilting leaves. its employees have to pay out-of-pocket for their uniforms. my friend once got fined by the city because she organized a community pick-up of the riverfront, which was technically private property.

no, you cannot afford to take that dance class, neither can i. by the way - i'm a teacher. i'm absolutely not saying "educators shouldn't be paid fairly." i'm saying that when i taught classes, renting a studio went from 20 bucks an hour to 180 in the span of 6 months. no significant changes to the studio were made, except they now list the place as updated and friendly. the heat still doesn't work in the building. i have literally never seen the landlord who ignores my emails. recently they've been renting it out at night as an "unusual nightclub; a once-in-a-lifetime close-knit party." they spent some of those 180 dollars on LEDs and called it renovating. the high heels they invite in have been ruining the marley.

do you want to experience the old internet? do you want to play flash games or get back the temporary joy of club penguin? you can, you just need to pay for it. i have a weird, neurodivergent obsession with occasionally checking in to watch the downfall and NFT-ification of neopets. if i'm honest with you all - i never got into webkins, my family didn't have the money to buy me a pointless elephant. people forget that "being poor" can mean literally "if i buy you that toy, i can't afford rent."

you and i don't have time to make good food, and we don't have the budget for it. we are not gonna be able to host dinner parties, we're not made of money, kid. do you want some kind of 3rd space? a space that isn't home or work or school? you could try being online, but - what places actually exist for you? tiktok counts as social media because you see other people on it, not because they actually talk to you.

there was a local winter tradition of sledding down the hill at my school. kids would use pizza boxes and jackets and whatever worked, howling and laughing. back in september, they made a big announcement that this time, rules were changing, and everyone must pay 10 dollars to participate. when im not scared shitless, i kind of appreciate the environmental irony - it hasn't gone below 40. so much for snow & joyriding.

i saw a bulletin for a local dogwalking group and, nervous about making a good first impression, showed up early. the first guy there grimaced at me. "sorry," he said. "there's a 30-dollar buy-in fee." i thought he was joking. wait. for what? the group doesn't offer anything except friendship and people with whom to walk around the city.

he didn't know the answer. just shrugged at me. "you know," he said. "these days, everything costs money."

[rudeflower]

you need a library card

Almost everyone I know doesn't have a library card, and some of them read less than they want to because they can't afford to buy the books they want???? GUYS BIG SOLUTION TIME

BOOKS! Audiobooks! DVDS! Movie/series/documentary streaming services! Ebooks! Video games! Magazines!

Air conditioning! Wifi! Heat! Meeting rooms to reserve! Copy machines! Printers! Quiet safe place!

FOR FREE! FOR FREE! NO COST! FOR FREE!!!

Let's face is inflation is killing us, and you may have had to sacrifice buying books for fun, keeping the heat at a comfortable temp, cancel a few subscriptions. Enter your library card

"I don't have time to go a library" me neither I use the audiobook and ebook app daily and check out digital books and get them on my phone immediately

"I want to support the author" If you like it then you buy it! You don't have to pay up front for something you might not like ten pages in! Buy a book you know you love even if you don't plan to reread it to support the author!

"I don't want to wait for a book" Fair enough then don't, check out the books you can wait for

This world has home, where you pay to be, and very very few places outside of the home that you don't have to pay to be. If you're losing your head and need to get out for a few hours, you have to pay to exist almost anywhere you want to go. Not libraries.

I've gone to libraries weekly, almost daily at times, my whole life and they have never once asked anything of me. They give.

This world takes and takes and takes and libraries give and give and give and you deserve to be given lovely things.

It is not hard to get a library card, for most people. In most places I've lived you need some form of evidence you live in the area the library serves, and I've brought in a piece of mail, a student ID or an electric bill and been good to go. Many libraries also work with people who don't have documentation like this to get one anyway.

Get a library card even if you don't think you'll use it. Because one day there will be a book you really want that your local bookstore doesn't have, but who has it? THE LIBRARY! GO GET IT!

This is a USA centric post, and also goes out to my non-American cousins who taught me that libraries are a beautiful gift and not a given, and we should take advantage of it more often than we do

Get a library card, love yourself

[renthony]

My doctor ordered tests that I can't afford + I need further appointments

Without plastering my medical info all over tumblr, I need about $600 to cover some bloodwork, a followup appointment, and a separate appointment plus medication for a different issue.

Now is a SUPER great time to buy my book, check out my Etsy shop, or pledge to my Patreon for updates about my art & writing.

Shop my Etsy

Buy my book on Amazon as an eBook or paperback

Pay-what-you-want for my book on Gumroad

Pledge to my Patreon

If you're not interested in any of that and still want to help me out, you can:

Kick me a tip on Ko-Fi

Use the tip feature on this post

PayPal @ renniequeer@gmail.com

Venmo @ renniequeer

CashApp @ $renniequeer

Thank you so much for reading, have a great day, and I hope you enjoy my book if you read it. <3

[sunraies]

hiiii can u do rafe x reader? she is really shy and a very nice person and maybe she is jj twin and one day she is just browsing on a second habd bookstore cause obvi she cant afford to buy books all the time and rafe sees her there cause he took weezy there and he buys the books that she looked more interested at and later he approaches her and jj all protective

idk where i want it to go🤣 u can be tyr judge

thank uuuu

This is so cute! I hope this does the request justice. x

Second-Hand Books

Rafe Cameron x Pogue!Reader

Warnings - Fluff, protective JJ, Reader is JJ's sister, but no description given. Hints of Luke being a shit dad.

As requested above

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

You loved the second-hand bookstore in Kildare. It sometimes felt like a second home. Its name and sign was by no means magical "Secondhand Books" written in cursive golden letters, but the atmosphere was.

The old converted shop was a treasure trove of wonders, tucked away in a little side alley. It smelt like an old library with its shelves filled with countless stories and adventures waiting to be picked up and read. There were plants dotted all around, and even ivy tangled amongst the fairy lights on the ceiling.

Mixed matched lamps, tables, and plush armchairs were scattered around. If you caught Ms. Peggy, on a good day, she would let you sit and read until closing. The old lady enjoyed your company, often making you tea and giving you cookies.

You returned the favour by helping clean, unbox shipments, and take orders. You never accepted a penny from her, even if it was desperately needed it.

"Wheeze, why are we here?" You knew that voice as it carried through the aisles. "The store up the road has brand new books, not these dusty, old shit ones."

"They aren't dusty. Some are old. But none are shit." the youngest Cameron's voice protested. "I like it here. Plus, there is no chance of finding first editions of classics in that one"

"Just look online." Rafe sighed as you peaked around the corner.

He stood close to the door, which bell had jingled as they entered, with his hands stuffed in his shorts pockets. The backwards baseball cup gave him a boyish charm as his sunglasses were tucked into the collar of his pink tee.

He looked a little out of place, but only by his uninterested expression. Rafe Cameron would most likely fit in anywhere if he wasn't jugding his surroundings.

Wheezie, on the other hand, had a smile so bright as she practically skipped into the store. "There is no fun in that. You can't smell the books"

"You're a weird kid, Wheeze." Rafe shook his head, but you caught the small smile as he watched his baby sister happily search the shelves.

"Shut up and help look for Little Women." Wheezie called over her shoulder. "Make sure it's first edition"

You were shocked as Rafe chuckled and held up his hands before helping Wheezie look. He checked the higher shelves that she was unable to reach.

One problem with Ms. Peggy was her store had no order to it. You had offered to organise and arrange in alphabetical order, but she claimed it took away the magic of finding the perfect book.

"Here." You smiled as you approached Wheezie. Rafe had given up looking about 20 minutes ago and was slumped in an armchair, scrolling on his phone. "It's not a first edition, but the cover is beautiful."

"Oh. It's beautiful!" Wheeze smiled, taking the book and admiring the cover. "It's ok, I just said that, so it would give me more time in here." she whispered, making you laugh.

Your laugh caught Rafe’s attention as he quickly glanced up from his phone. His eyes looked you up and down.

Damn, how did you look so beautiful. He was sure he'd seen the crop top you were wearing on Kie before, but it looked so much better on you. He loved the way your shorts hugged your ass and waist. He even smiled a little at the shell anklet at the top of your greyish white Converse.

"You find it?" He asked, having shook the thoughts from his mind and tucking his phone into his back pocket.

"Yeah, Miss Maybank helped me," Wheezie smiled, remembering her manners, even if you were the same age as Sarah. "But I wanna look around some more."

Rafe sighed and rolled his eyes at her pleading look. "Alright, fine. One hour, and then we gotta go."

As Wheezie bounced around the store, he flopped back into the chair, even picking up a book from the table and glancing at it.

What you didn't realise was that as you looked away, he would glance over the top of the book every so often and watched as you moved around the store. He noticed that you would read the back of a book, flick to the first page before smiling and tucking under your arm if you like it.

"Just the one, Ms Peg." You smiled at the old lady behind the till before digging into your old, tattered, looking tote bag and pulling out your purse.

"I can put the others to the side for you, dear." She offered as you had walked up to the till with a pile of five.

"It's ok. If they are gone by next week, then it wasn't meant to be." You said as handed her the cash.

You didn't know why you even admitted to buying all five as you should have known your card would bounce. Maybe this time, you had just been hoping that Luke, your father, hadn't run up the credit bill.

You wished a goodbye to Wheezie as she walked up the counter with a pile of books and even gave Rafe a smile and wave as you left the store.

*-*-*-*

The sound of a dirt bike coming up the road broke you out of the world you were emersied in. You had been reading your new book on the creaky old porch swing on the porch outside. Enjoying the evening coolish before sunset.

At first, you thought it was JJ coming home, but then you realised he'd come home an hour ago with John B and Pope. You could hear them laughing in the house.

"JJ?!" You called into the window open as you stood up, placing your book on your blanket. "Are you guys expecting anyone?"

You were a little nervous as unplanned visits from people not in the Twinkie or Kie's car normally meant your father or JJ had caused trouble.

The rider stopped a few feet away, and your eyes widened in shock as Rafe Cameron removed his helmet. His hair tousled from the helmet and his cheeks little pink.

"Rafe?" You frowned and hugged your hoodie around your body as you hid your hands in your sleeves.

He looked a little unsure of himself as he walked over to you, a cotton tote bag in his hand. "These are for you." He held the bag out to you as he glanced around, not looking at you directly.

You took the bag, completely confused before gasping as you looked inside. It was the books you had to leave at the store.

Before you even had a chance to question it or say thank you, the screen door burst open as JJ came flying out "What the fuck are you doing here, Kook?"

You tried to pull him back as he got right in Rafe’s face "Jayj. Stop"

JJ looked between you and Rafe "What the fuck did he say to you?" He asked you before turning to Rafe again "What'd you say?"

"What's it to you, Pogue" Rafe looked like he was trying to hold back his anger but with JJ right in his personal space it was hard.

"Stay away from my sister, pretty boy" JJ pushed Rafe a little "Get the fuck outta here"

John B and Pope appeared in the doorway but before they could back up JJ, you got between the two that were squaring up to each other.

You stood with your back to Rafe as you spoke to JJ but could feel him breathing heavily behind you.

"Jayj. Go back inside" You sighed and got annoyed as he stared at Rafe over your head "JJ, go the fuck back inside. I will call if I need you"

It took you actually pushing JJ a little for him to snap out of it. He looked at you before nodding "He tries anything. We beat him. He's on our terf now"

You rolled your eyes "I'm sure, he won't. But sure, you boys can protect your territory if needed"

You knew Rafe was taking a risk being in The Cut, especially after the stunt he pulled the other week. You knew why the boys were bitter as you hadn't been too happy either after finding out he'd jumped Pope at the Country Club.

You watched JJ walk backwards and stand on the porch with the others. You sighed before turning to face Rafe.

"I can't take these." You held the bag out to him, but he stook his head.

"They're yours," He said, rubbing the neck of his neck. He seemed nervous and not because of the boys glaring at him from the porch. "Bin them, read them, do whatever you want with them."

You looked in the bag again before smiling. "Thank you, Rafe." You smiled at him.

"I better go." He sighed after nodding at your thanks. He looked like he wanted to say more but walked back to his bike

"Bye," JJ yelled. "Don't come back. The Cu- Ow!" You cut him off as you shoved into his shoulder

"You guys are fucking unbelievable" You muttered walking into the house, leaving them looking offerened at each other.

As you sat on your bed, you pulled the books out of the bag before finding a note, tucked into one of them. Your heart fluttered as you read it.

'I would buy you all the books in the world, just to see that smile - R'

[mcalhenwrites]

Please boost if you can't help financially, thank you!

So here's the deal: My mom is getting a new car (used but new for her) and has a car that I could buy off of her. It's not the best and I can't afford it yet (alongside tags/taxes/insurance), but it's the only option I have. Buying a car anywhere else is either going to be extremely expensive, or I'm getting something from a stranger without knowing the car's issues. Three different people are giving me rides to doctor's appointments, errands, and work. I work two towns away. I have a book for sale. It's called Geckos, Automata. If you like urban fantasy with queers, automatons, necromancy, and the discussion of generational abuse and trauma, check it out!

Even if you've bought the book and want to help out, there are other ways as well! I have two tiers available on my Patreon: $1 and $3 If you like my writing already and want to support me, even $1/month is incredibly helpful! I've also got a Ko-Fi, with a car goal set already. You can send whatever amounts you like. I also will take art commissions, but they're just sketches and would be $15 per character, +$10 for an additional character. (Limit of 3 characters total.) You can ask me more about it if you're comfortable. Thank you so much whether you help out financially or boost this. It will help me out immensely, and it'll ease the strain on the three people who are giving me rides everywhere. I'm doing my best and working on writing, but I am disabled and struggling a lot financially despite all the different jobs I juggle. (And if I can't get rides, I can't even go to work, I can't get money. No, I don't have public transportation in the country.) I'm pretty desperate but I'm willing to work for my wages, and I'll work on publishing more stories. If you do want to check out my writing, I do have free original stories as well as fanfic up on my AO3.

[juiceboxscans]

Date drops!

Manga is still on hiatus but Volume 9 is listed as coming out February 2025. Keep an eye on Amazon or your local bookseller for more news.

New anime trailer was released today: Premiere date is Monday October 7, 2024.

Follow the official anime Twitter and anime website. Anime will be streaming on Crunchyroll and Prime Video (check in your location for availability).

OP is UNDER and OVER by Oral Cigarettes:

EP is Nani Warotonneen by Yoshino

Rounding out our cast of characters

Kirishima Miyama: Akira Ishida Yoshino Somei: Hitomi Ueda

Shouma Toriashi: Koji Yusa Azami Suo: Hiroshi Kamiya

Renji Somei: Youji Ueda Gaku Miyama: Kazuya Nakai

Tachibana-san: Ryota Takeuchi Inamori-san: Hiroshi Shimosaki

Hotei-san: Katsuyuki Konishi Tsubaki: Rina Ueda

Please make sure to support the mangaka.

We've gotten busy with life but have been checking back and the mangaka has not posted any updates so we're not aware of them coming off hiatus any time soon.

In the meantime, SUPPORT THE MANGAKA: Buy the tankobons if you can afford them, watch the anime when it airs and hype it on social media, and if you can't find the content legally in your area reach out to manga publishers in your region and book stores and ask them to stock your fave. Let them know that you want access to content. Bookstores take note when fans get excited about stuff.

Whatever you do: Please do not pay fees on scanlation sites that promise ad-free browsing.

Happy (almost fall)! 。.:☆*:･'(*⌒―⌒*)))

[bunninova]

nothing new to add to the watcher fiasco so here's this. not to make it personal but I'm gonna make it personal.

what they get payed per brand deal could pay for a year of uni for me. what they make with patreon per year would change my entire family's life. my 50-60 year old parents could finally drop one of the multiple jobs they have, my sister could spend time with her kids and finally afford a proper wedding, I could go back to much needed therapy. we could travel more and go to concerts and nice restaurants, we could get tattoos and professional haircuts, we could spend money on spoiling our pets, we could buy books and clothes and go to the cinema without having to carefully budget, things the watcher folk do regularly without giving it a second thought. I could buy my best friend with unstable housing an apartment for their family for fucks sake. I'm out here skipping meals on school days because I can't afford to spend £5-10 a day to eat at uni, 'borrowing' necessities from big stores, and missing out on social events or birthdays that involve going out. I've only donated £20 in total in the last couple months to help people in Gaza and it devastates me that I can't donate more. I'm still privileged in many ways, the world is in shambles and regular people are being hit with an economic crisis, where housing and food is hard to secure.

I've been a huge fan of Shane and Ryan since I was thirteen, they were my comfort creators. I even checked their shows and merch to see if I could afford it (no) because I wanted to support them. their content has gone down hill for the past year and I still sat through the forced cringey parts because I used to love their videos. I respected them, they brought me joy and inspired me to create. "we priced it low enough that anyone can afford it". fuck off. day 3 and not even an acknowledgement. this has felt like the biggest "fuck you, poor" ever to me and I'm crushed.

[toskarin]

»GET://NOISE« WORKING WITH RI47 HEAVY INDUSTRIES FOR PROFIT AND UNPROFIT

so, I do feel like I should clarify my actual policy on using my tracks in projects. I do this every now and again, but to be fair, circumstances change pretty often

these aren't blanket licences or anything because honestly a few of these are like... complicated enough that it's literally easier to just talk to someone after the conditions are met and give them permission in writing. in nearly every single case, the first step is "contact me directly and we'll make things work"

if you're working on a project to raise money for Palestinian aid, I am especially interested in working with you. of course, I will be checking to make sure the money is actually going to help the people it's supposed to, as I'm unfortunately aware of how many people are trying to take advantage of these tragedies for their own benefit

a case-by-case reference with slightly more detail is included below

-

if you want to download Ri47 music to listen to but can't afford it... legally, I care that you pirate my music. personally, never tell me about it. I don't want to see that, I'm not signed to a label that seeks out uses of my music, and I understand that the international economy is in shambles. ideologically, I am pro-piracy. don't do anything that will legally force me to care (using my work in a commercial project without permission, for example) and we'll both keep on living our lives as we were

if you want to remix a Ri47 track and need stems… I don't have the stems either. I'm bad at recordkeeping, tune my samples by ear, and primarily do my own last pass of mixing in audacity. I might have some stems kicking around, but the odds are that I'm as empty-handed as you are. sorry about that lol

if you want to use a Ri47 song in your freeware (read: not for sale) project... that's probably fine. contact me first, not because I'm going to spring a fee on you, but because a few of my songs are already licensed out to projects that make it a little more challenging to hand them out. this is mostly applicable if you're making rpgmaker games you don't intend on selling

if you want to use a Ri47 song in your small-scale commercial project... if you're making a promo video for a stream, need music for a podcast, or anything like that, contact me first. in almost every case, as long as what you're making isn't a persistent standalone work (read: something you are selling directly, with my music as part of the package) the most I'll usually ask is that you buy one copy of the album

if you want to use a Ri47 song in a more serious commercial project... you can contact me directly to get a licence. I usually don't work on royalties unless you are selling a product that I'd consider "reselling" my work (read: an OST album or other primarily audio-based product) and I'm happy to work with people to find a deal that works for them

if you want to use a Ri47 song in a project that is intended to raise funds for a not-for-profit charity, especially in providing aid to Palestine… the freeware conditions apply. let me know about your plans beforehand, because I almost certainly want to be more directly involved, but there are very few cases where I would say no to this sort of thing

if you need original music or sound design done by Ri47... I'm booked out about a year or so in advance, so I can't promise I can actually join a team actively, but this is extremely contextual. if you need some UI sounds or a handful of piano pieces to feature in a project, I'm much more likely to find time for that

if you want me to feature on an album or compilation, whether that be contributing a song or remixing one that you provide… contact me and let's talk. this one's the most complicated conditions-wise, but I don't bite

the bottom line being... I work within all budgets and project scopes. even if you think the answer is no, drop me a line and you might be surprised. if you're unsure, I'll happily help you figure out what exactly you need. it's easier than taxes!

[dylanwritesgood]

How To Save Your Old Shit After Floods

Hi, Tumblr. My reach is small and I am but a poor archivist who can't afford Blaze, so please boost this.

Author's note: I hate to have to add this, but cultural heritage is inherently political and this made it to TERFblr somehow so... The author is nonbinary. Go get your own archivist to teach you if you're gonna be like that.

The west coast of the US is flooding, and while it might seem unimportant in the face of people dying, getting stranded, and being without power, a lot of people are also going to lose personal history to flooding. This gets talked about a lot in the context of hurricanes, but we should all know what to do to save our pictures and documents, too.

FEMA has a good cultural heritage rescue guide here: https://www.fema.gov/disaster/recover/save-family-treasures

You can contact emergency conservators for advice here: NHRpublichelpline@culturalheritage.org

The Northeast Document Conservation Center is also invaluable: https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/overview (check out the Emergency Management section)

Knowing what to do before it happens is crucial to actually saving things. Read this stuff now! Like to save! Bookmark it! Screen cap it! Idc but keep it handy (and remember you might not have online access when you need it)!

The FEMA guide does a really good job at explaining how to dry things, but the basics are:

Separate, separate, separate. While it's still wet if you can do so without causing further damage. Salvage color photos before black and white, paper backing before plastic film. Pre-gelatin silver (black and white on paper) photographs (collodion, ambrotype, cyanotype, etc.) get priority, but most people don't have those. Remove items from frames of they show signs of water damage. Take off dust jackets, unfolder documents, etc.

Rinse with clean, bottled water if there is mud or other debris. Use a dish pan, fill it with a little water, and slip photos in carefully for a short little bath. Dip, dip, dip if you need a little agitation to remove mud, but don't wipe or swish (unless it's REALLY stuck and you're okay with the possibility of damage). Change your water often, and try to avoid agitating things or touching the image side. It is recommended to hold books closed to protect the textblock from more water when you rinse. Obviously, don't soak things. Photos are probably your most fragile material and can be submerged for up to 48 hours before it gets really hard to save them, so you don't want to add to that time.

Spread it all out. Get creative with how you keep things apart. Hang things if they can take the strain, but remember that the corners are the weakest points of paper and photos. Books can be tented on clotheslines if the binding is still sturdy (pages aren't coming loose. If they are, see the next point)

Interleave books with paper towels every 1/4 inch of pages or so. If you can, fan them out and stand them upright. Change the paper towels as they get damp (and idk, use them for cleaning tasks. Shit's expensive)

Get air moving. Indirect airflow from a fan is best. Avoid fluttering. I face my fan into a wall or upwards to diffuse the air flow.

Some staining is likely. Dried mud can be brushed from paper like book textblocks but shouldn't be brushed from photographs, so rinse photos first.

Photograph materials while they're wet and still intact. If you should lose something while salvaging, at least you have a photograph of it so it's not lost forever.

If you cannot dry things immediately, wrap individual items or small clumps that are stuck together in wax paper (ideally. Parchment can work, plastic wrap or ziplocs if you have to) and PUT IT IN A FREEZER. Not an ice chest. The goal is to freeze the water, and ice chests will soak it. Freezing buys you time. It halts water damage until you can deal with things. When it's time to dry, unwrap your items and allow them to fully thaw before even thinking about separating them.

If you find mold, quarantine those materials in sealed plastic bags and freeze. You need professional help. It is not worth getting sick because you tried to clean mold without appropriate protection!

ETA: These techniques also work on that book you dropped in the bathtub or spilled a soda on, just sayin'.

Again please feel free to share this! Fellow conservators, GLAM professionals, or those who have been there, done that, feel free to add to this! Thank you!

Edits:

This was hiding in the tags and is also a good practice! Preparation is key to reducing damage. Which reminds me--store the good stuff on your highest shelves. It won't help in cases like Hurricane Katrina, but a minor-to-medium flood probably won't reach!

[copperbadge]

Radio Free Monday

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

Ways to Give:

nivchara-yahel and her sibling Hem are disabled and currently applying for SSDI and other benefits; they need ongoing support and are currently fundraising for August rent. Hem is also an artist and offering work for donations of $10 or more to those interested. You can read more, reblog, and find giving information here.

Char is raising funds for a friend's cat, Phil, who is currently at the animal hospital indefinitely until he receives treatment; they're still working out what he's dealing with, but are treating him currently for an infection in his liver and are checking for lymphoma. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.

Anon linked to a fundraiser for a classroom in Texas that is trying to get some missing chapter books in the classroom library, and read-aloud books that focus on marginalized peoples, environmental concerns, and non-Western upbringings. The project page states it will impact ten students, but all students and teachers in the school will have access to these books. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.

Buy Stuff, Help Out:

sarahmackattack is with Skype A Scientist, a nonprofit science education organization that connects scientists with classrooms, libraries, and scout troops for free; they also run a "Squid Facts" hotline that people can text to receive squid facts, and support a science mural program in Philadelphia. They're currently selling Frog Facts and Crab Facts advent calendars; you scratch off the sticker each day to reveal fun facts about frogs or crabs. You can purchase them and other fun stickers and merch to support Skype A Scientist at their website here.

Recurring Needs:

we_are_spc's AC in their house has gone out, and they are trying to stay cool with only one fan; they are unemployed, and the heat is bad for both their asthma and their cats, as well as several musical instruments in the home including indigenous flutes. They've had a great update which is that the unit itself is working so only the copper lines need to be replaced; they need to raise less than previously thought, but are still trying to get as much funding as possible for the line replacement. You can read more and support the fundraiser here or give via paypal at celticphoenyx@gmail.com, via venmo at rowansong, or via cashApp at rowansong.

loversdoom has recently been diagnosed with PCOS and needs help to afford the prescribed birth control pills on top of living expenses; you can read more, reblog, and find giving information here or give via paypal here.

thegeeksqueaks's school district has shorted her on her summer teacher's budget; she can't afford currently to stock her classroom for back-to-school. She's raising funds to get food and hygiene tools for underserved kids as well as various aids for neurodivergent kids. You can read more and reblog here, give via DonorsChoose here or via paypal here, or purchase from an Amazon wishlist here.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can post items for my attention at the Radio Free Monday submissions form. If you're new to fundraising, you may want to check out my guide to fundraising here.

[specialagentlokitty]

Lucifer (fox) x reader - the time of giving

For Fox Lucifer, could you do a Christmas one where Reader is a janitor and is upset because she can't afford to buy Christmas presents for her kids so Lucifer decided to drop a couple of checks in Reader's bag. - Anon💜

Sitting on a chair in an empty interrogation room, you felt tears brimming your eyes as you looked at your paycheck.

They had just been given out, and you were hoping for maybe a Christmas bonus or something would be handed out but apparently not.

You weren’t part of the police, you were just part of an external company who the police hired to come and clean the building.

Folding it up, you put it back into your pocket and ran a hand down your face.

The door opened and you quickly got up, grabbing your things.

“Oh, I wasn’t aware anybody was in here.”

“Sorry Mr Morningstar, that’s my fault. I’m just finished if you need this room.”

He looked at you as you walked past.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, of course.”

You gave him a weak smile and quickly ran off.

Lucifer furrowed his brows as he watched you leave.

He had seen you around, a lot of people enjoyed chatting to you. You were friendly, and helpful, and you kept anything the officers lost so they could have it back.

He hasn’t had much of a conversation with you before, but he knew that there was something wrong with you.

So he left the room, and made his way back to where he had come from.

“Detective.”

“Lucifer.”

Chloe looked up from what she was doing and he glanced down at the present she was wrapping.

“Is that for the spawn?” He asked.

“Lucifer does Trixie look like she would play with a toy truck?” She asked.

Lucifer shrugged a little bit.

“Maybe.”

Chloe groaned, rolling her eyes at him as she carried on wrapping the present.

“It’s for (Y/N)’s boy, every year we all come together and buy a few things for her twins.” She said.

“Who’s (Y/N)? Why haven’t I met her? Why do you buy her kids gifts why can’t she do it?”

Chloe glared at him, hitting his arm.

“Don’t be such an ass lucifer, not everybody can afford to buy presents. (Y/N) was in hospital a few years ago, she got shot protecting one of the uniformed officers downstairs, and since they we all try get her some stuff for the boys.”

“Okay, but who is she?”

“The cleaner? You talk to her everyday. How do you not know her name lucifer?!”

“I never asked!” He huffed.

He watched as they put a hamper of presents together for you, and he felt something bugging him about it.

The fact that you had this medical debt, and the force wouldn’t even clear it for you.

As he was walking around trying to think of something, he bumped into you again and you smiled at him slightly.

“See you later.” You said.

“Yes, have a good day.” He smiled.

He watched you leave, and noticed something fell out of your bag, and that’s when the idea hit him.

Quickly pulling something from his pocket, he slipped it into your book and jogged after you.

“(Y/N)!”

You turned around.

“You dropped this, here I’ll put it in your bag turn around.”

“Oh thanks.”

He put the book in your bag and zipped it up for you, and you waved at him before leaving.

Happy with himself, lucifer went back to find Chloe again.

When you got home, you paid your babysitter and set your bag on your bed before leaving your bedroom.

“Niko, Julian, come on snack time!”

The two boys came running through to the kitchen before climbing up at the table to sit down.

“Will you draw with us mommy?” Niko asked.

“Of course I will sweetie. Eat your snack first. Julian do you want to draw?”

The other boy shook his head.

“What do you want to do?”

“Trains.”

“Okay, well how about while we draw, you set your trains up and we’ll draw them, yeah?”

“Yeah!”

Laughing softly, you happily spent the rest of the afternoon with them until it was their bedtime, and you went to your room to read.

Grabbing your book, you opened it to pick up from where you left off and you notice a couple of things fall out.

“Oh my god…”

You looked at the cheques, and the sheer amount of money that was written on them.

Quickly grabbing your phone, you found the number for his club and called it, waiting for someone to answer.

“Oh, Mr Morningstar, I’m sorry to bother you I was wondering if we could talk?”

You listened to his reply.

“Yes, you can come to my apartment.”

Giving him your address, you got up to begin cleaning for when he arrived which didn’t take long.

He knocked on the door and you opened it, letting him in.

“Is everything alright? I assume you would have called the detective.” He said.

Then he grinned a little bit.

“Unless you wanted to see me.”

You laughed a little.

“Nothing like that, I actually have something for you.”

You walked to your coffee table and brought the two cheques back over to him.

“I think you lost these, I wanted to return them as soon as I found them.”

He looked at them and chuckled, shaking his head as he covered your hands with his, pushing them back towards you.

“You misunderstand love, they’re for you.”

“W..what..?”

Lucifer helped you sit down, and he sat next to you.

“The detective told me everything, how you struggle for money, and what happened a few years ago. Frankly it’s unacceptable, so this is enough money to clear your debt and give your spawn a good Christmas for a few years.”

Tears burned your eyes and you clenched your jaw a little as you shook your head.

“I.. thank you but I.. I can’t accept it..” you whispered.

“Why not? I don’t need it and you clearly do.”

You sighed.

Sniffling a little bit, you wiped your eyes, shaking your head again.

“I’m sorry.. I.. I can’t..”

Lucifer frowned.

“Is it not enough? I can give you more.”

“No! No…”

You took his cheque book from him and set it on the table, looking at him

You took a deep breath.

“Yes, okay. I need the money, but taking it now won’t change anything. I’m raising two boys on my own, I’m going to have things I can’t afford, and that’s okay. They’re happy, they’re healthy and that’s all I could ask for.”

“Yes, maybe so, but this can clear all of that.”

You heard footsteps and you turned around.

“Julian? What’s wrong sweetie?”

The boy padded over, climbing into your lap and rested his head on you.

“The monsters are back..”

Lucifer titled his head a little.

“The monsters?” He asked.

“They’re under the bed…”

You smiled softly, kissing his head.

“How about I’ll go check for monsters, and then afterwards we’ll put the Christmas tree up a little early, how’s that?” You asked.

Julian nodded his head and you sat him next to lucifer.

“You stay here with Mr Morningstar, he’s a friend.”

With that you got up and left the room and Lucifer looked at your son, watching as another came padding out to sit with his brother.

“You dress funnily.” Niko said.

“Well so do you, your shirt is backwards.”

Niko frowned, and he glared a little at lucifer.

“Santa won’t bring you present if you’re mean.”

“Is that so?”

The two boys nodded their heads quickly.

Niko got up, and he began to get his toys out and lucifer watched him.

“Why are there monsters under your bed?” He asked.

“Sometimes they just stay there… I’m scared they’ll hurt my mommy…” Julian whispered.

“Well, from what I heard your mother is a brave woman.”

Then an idea hit him.

If you wouldn’t accept his money, then instead he would do the boys what they wanted Santa to bring them.

Then he would buy the presents and bring them over for you a few days before Christmas.

It was a flawless plan and he was proud of himself for it, and he couldn’t wait to see the look of shock when you saw

[elisedonut]

I've been so freaking obsessed with Evan Rosier/Percy Weasley time travel fic.

Starts out as a Voldemort wins AU and Percy time travels to the past, ends up about 16/17 and back in Hogwarts, sorted into Slytherin, he doesn't know shit about Voldemort or how to prevent the war, so he does the only logical thing he can. Becomes a better alternative to Voldemort. Yup, straight up Percy Weasley cult, yes I'm doing that :P

It takes a while, but most of the other students are more or less on board, except Evan Rosier. He's hanging around because his friends are all enamoured, but he's suspicious, he doesn't trust Percy. Percy thinks he's hot c: Evans emotionally constipated self thinks Percy is hot too :p but very sus and he doesn't trust easy

So basically Percy has to change the future by forcing the Hogwarts population into therapy, becoming a sort of accidental cult leader, joining the pta and uniting with parents in ways that change actually happens even if they don't like some things he says, changing some of the dumb things the teachers do, changing the gryffindor bias, promoting interhouse unity and all that fun stuff :D

Yk like litte things that change everything

His and Evans dynamic is kinda like

Evan: *shaking the front of Percy's robes* I don't know who the fuck you are, or what you're playing at but I'm going easy on you because my friends like you. But you so much as stub their toe, you are dead, do you hear me?

Percy: That's nice, mind the robes will you? They're new. Unlike some people I can't afford buying new ones for every idiot who randomly decides to assault me.

Evan: You kissed Mulciber?

Percy: What of it

Evan: No- I just- Mulciber? He's probably got some- I don't know, infectious disease!

Percy: If I didn't know better I'd think you wanted to kiss me.

Evan: *spluttering*

Evan: Why were you hanging around with Snape

Percy: *flipping page of his book* We were discussing the importance of media literacy in charged political climates

Evan: *darkly* Of course you were.

Percy: Is there a problem?

Barty: *popping up out of nowhere with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle at Evan* Yeah, why are you bothering him Evan, it's like your obsessed :)

Evan: I am not obsessed! I just- I- I just think maybe his lordship shouldn't leave everyone out of interesting discussions!

Barty: Seriously.

Percy: Actually, that's a good point Rosier. Thank you for pointing that out. How about tomorrow we properly launch debate club! I'll go ask professor Slughorn, Rosier will you assist me?

Evan: *dying inside* Whatever. I don't have anything else that I'm doing so like- yeah

Evan doesn't know why the fuck Percy is crying but he gets it. He gets what it's like and he doesn't trust him, can't trust him, can't make that shrivelled little thing inside him reach out and accept someone new, but he can understand. And he holds him. And Percy cries into his jumper until he's asleep and then Evan tells himself he should go, he shouldn't be here, it feels so wrong to see this boy so vulnerable and trusting but he stays and in the morning they don't talk about it. In the morning Avery fawns a little as he pours milk in Percy's cereal and he sneers just the same as usual, a hufflepuff asks for Percy's thoughts on rock music and he scoffs and rolls his eyes the same as usual but he finds himself checking if Percy actually eats the food they give him, seeing the dark circles under the redheads eyes, seeing the smudged and filled up schedule he keeps worrying over

ASDFGHJKL I CAN'T GET OVER THEM PLS

oh sounds neat

ngl I don't really know anything about Evan because I'm not a Marauder girlie like at all

Death Eaters are honestly my least favorite people to pair with Percy personally and there's not many that I do actively like

so i don't tend to pay them much attention unless i find them interesting for some other reason

because as anyone who's been here long enough can probably tell i have a hard time caring about characters unless i can tie them back to Percy in some way or another

but regardless yeah Percy and Time travel are two of my favorite fic genres so i could see the appeal

Percy trying to start a cult himself is very funny though

like at this point he just doesn't know what else to try so he's just kind of like fuck it i guess ill try this

it is neat because Evan's the only one seemingly suspicious and in a way his suspicions are right like Percy is 100% up to something its just that the something isn't actually a bad thing really

Also your writing him so jealous thats always fun

[turtletaubwrites]

✨1,000 Followers Celebration!!✨

I can't describe how much being part of this community has meant to me. The first fic I posted here was in November in the middle of some major health and life crises (which I talk about in my about me post if you'd like to know), and I honestly don't know how I would have gotten through it without all of your support and encouragement, as well as all the laughs and good times that y'all have shared with me.

It blows my mind that there are 1,000 of you here 🤯🤯🤯 I'm so grateful for all the love, it means the world to me! 🖤🙏🏼

Here's what I've got going on:

I wanted to plan something extra special for this milestone, but y'all have been following me faster than I can write! For the 900 milestone I decided to circle back around to Numbers Game since it was the most requested fic, and I'm so happy that the bad men of the Cross Guild seem to be hitting the spot 😅

WIP Updates

I keep my current and upcoming wips + announcements listed on my pinned Masterlist post, and here's what I've got at the moment:

Numbers Game ~ Part 13 will be out later today!

Current WIPS: Numbers Game 14, and We've All Got Needs 28 Upcoming WIPS: Misty Eyes 6, 1 request, Wrong Side of the Bars 2, a few WAGN extra scenes, and 4 requests that came in while they were closed) Announcements: Requests will remain closed until I complete the next batch of Numbers Game, as well as the requests on my list. I'm sorry for the delay, I keep turning them into multi-chaptered fics! If you've submitted a request, know that it is on my list, and I've already started outlining!

New Fic Rec Masterlist

I have been reading some amazing fics lately, please check out my new Fic Rec Masterlist, and show the authors some love!!

Fic & Personal Playlists

I never made playlists for writing until I was tagged in an ask game, and it was so fun! Typically my brain will only let me listen to the same 1-10 songs over and over for a month or more, lol. So in addition to the fic playlists I'm starting, I've made a playlist of my current hyperfixation songs if you'd like to check in on the sounds looping through my head that week 😅 Plus a dump playlist where I'm slowly adding all the past hyperfixation songs I can remember because sometimes I need to pull one back in when there's a void, lol. I love getting song recs too! This reminds me of hooking up my dingy little ipod nano (that I still have, his name is Desmond 🥰) to all of my friend's computers to steal their music since I couldn't afford to buy my own 😅

TurtleTaub Current Hyperfixation Playlist TurtleTaub All the Fixation's Playlist Misty Eyes ~ Law x Reader Playlist Bend Until You Break ~ Playlist More to come, and feel free to send me song recs, they make me so happy 🥰🎶

Next Fic Poll

To celebrate this milestone I'm going to write one of the requests/wips of your choice that I've got on the books next.

| masterlist | about me | rules | ao3 | ko-fi |

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIbta if I don't read an author's books for their opinion on book piracy?

Context: I live in a country where literary has plummeted, reading is a hobby for the privileged, bookstores are closing or dilapidated, libraries are worse off.

Bookstores here are not good at keeping up with new releases. Their bestsellers are local publishes, and things like Percy Jackson or the Hardy boys. Requesting them to bring books almost never works.

With libraries, schools and colleges have their private ones only open to students and staff but they're... Restrictive about what someone can check out. Librarians here totally pro-censorship. Public libraries are less than 10 in my metro city, they keep old books, academic texts, and in some cases specialize in one area. That includes one of the biggest libraries in the country. And it's like 6 hours to commute so that's not a sustainable option for me. Of course library apps straight up don't exist here.

We have a couple book box subscription services. One sends those bestsellers that everyone's read as kids. The other one is expensive and more of a privileged influencer orientated thing than for readers.

What I said so far might sound too bad to be true but it is the reality. Physical books have been getting expensive worldwide. On top of that if I can't be caught reading things our government doesn't like. I read a lot of classics, for which I use a legal free site. But for something like a queer fantasy book written by a foreigner my only options are buying on kindle or well.. downloading them. Kindle doesn't always have the books I want, but the download sites tend to bring in requested books.

So of course there's ethical dilemma. With my salary I can save up and buy 6-7 books a year, I only buy the ones I've read and thoroughly enjoyed, enough to want them on my shelf or because I want to support the author, even with the risk of kindle copies being taken away at an exec's whim in the future.

I found out a couple authors I really wanted to read from are anti-piracy, one of them put a message like "Whoever pirates this book I put a curse on you" in their ya fantasy book. And I don't read a lot of ya but that book sounded interesting, until I saw that. These author's tone while talking about readers in my kind of position put me off and I decided not to read their works.

My logic is that I'd rather download and see if I love a book before buying, if I love it I wouldn't want to support people like them and feel bad reading it too, if I buy first and hate it then it's a waste of my money while the authors get a few cents off that purchase.

So naturally I've been told to suck it up, read less, stop reading if I can't afford, stick to free classics and fanfics, make more money, bring revolution in my country etc.

I do feel bad about the authors, even though most of what I read are from dead people there's a good amount of living people too and not all of them are getting their coins whether I want to give it to them or not. And the reason for this ask: Someone said I'm overreacting to those authors, I should just read those books like a normal person and move on instead of viewing them as books not to be touched.

So?

What are these acronyms?

[glamorous-astrology]

So your a Witch and you have a problem with routines or suffer from chronic overthinking

Listen when I say my executive dysfunction and anxiety can be quite devastating to any form of action I mean it from the bottom of my ✨soul✨ but when it comes to a witchy routine... Oof. These are some tips and tricks I've learned and figured I'd share it with you. Remember this is based off of my personal experience, what works for one person does not automatically work for another!

So first piece of advice in the fight against these unfaltering foes!

Don't fight em.

WAIT!! Hear me out!

Somedays you just can't do ✨the thing✨ i promise you your spirit team loves you and understands and while procrastinating is the enemy of achievement taking breaks and rest are it's allies. Now don't put if off for too long, maybe set a specific date or time to do it and stick to your word. If you make a promise to yourself you must endeavor to keep it. Life happens, it's unfair but you must at least be fair to yourself and to quote Mister Meeseeks "Follow Through!!" This doesn't just apply to witchy based activities either. Sometimes the urge to just not, is your bodies request for something else.

I have so many unread books I don't even know where to start and depsite all the unfinished books on my shelf I want to have more and I really shouldn't be buying more but -

First step when things get overwhelming is to breath.

Secondly you don't have to read all those books today, tomorrow or ever.

It's also okay to just have books and not finish them. I love to collect books. They may call me a horder(they being the anxiety based court that constantly judges my actions) but you'd call me a librarian if I let the public read borrow em, sooooo. Some people collect teapots that aren't even useable but I don't judge them for it. (I kind of do but only a little bit! But that's because I like my teapots pretty yes but you see-)

Speaking of Libraries!

I love the library so much guys! Please please please support your local libraries! They have so many helpful resources, I honest to Gods could make a whole other post about why libraries are important but! ✨ Focus is a must ✨

Your local library may already have that book you wanna buy, if they don't libraries are connected to a network and depending on where you live your local library can actually get books from pretty far away, sometimes they can even go out of network and into another and the cool thing is in the bookstore I can check of my library has it and save my self a pretty penny.

✨ IMPORTANT! ✨

Maybe despite how well written it is, or how enjoyable you find it you find yourself stopping halfway through. Maybe the stopping point isn't the end of the book. The knowledge you'd sought and needed might have been found and who knows maybe later you will finish it but beating your own ass about it ain't going to help. Take your time, knowledge is power but unused knowledge is a precious waste of time and space for your beautiful brain.

I have this spell I wanna do but there's so much I need to do in order for it to-

Pause

Make the spell simpler.

Yep! Not every powerful spell needs to include sage and cinnamon in order to work. Sustainable witchcraft is important. If you don't have the energy, time or money to make your spell all fancy smansy then don't. You're creative and wise, the intent behind the spell is most important and creating your own method using what you have/can afford is not only creative it shows intent. Witchcraft is not there to stress you out or be judged. The only standard for witchcraft is intent. For example! My first spell changed my life and I made it all fancy smansy, I'm talking the full nine yards I had a special knife, fancy fruit, candles, chanting, moon water, I went big sense I refused to go home. My last life changing spell included my tarot deck and a piece of paper, while I drank my morning tea. It's not just the what you're doing when it comes to spells and rituals it's about mindset. Life's already hard enough, have fun with your spiritual practice!

I feel so weighed down, and tired and I just can't find the energy to do a daily ritual but I really want to start one!

That's okay!

I'm exhausted too and also wish to have more routines but you gotta start.

My ideal routine is morning tarot, cup of tea, and meditation. Some weeks I'm up every morning, drinking tea, doing a quick tarot reading, going on walks, just taking in the day before getting started.

Some weeks I sleep through all 6 of my alarms, don't have time to pack a lunch let alone do some tarot and go on a walk!

Routines are there to help build structure in your life, not rigid cages you must appease.

Some weeks, some days, some times you honestly can't be bothered. That's okay but that just means when you can be bothered you do. My tarot decks are sassy as hell to me about it tbh. I'll do my morning tarot or I won't but they understand. But if I have the time and energy later on in the week and just don't? That quick three card reading I was gonna do with my coven mates just become 26 cards plus two Oracle decks (I'm exaggerating a teenie bit but it feels like a lot sometimes) and you know what, that's okay. Your deck is just catching you up on all the knowledge you've missed! You'll make time for tarot, it's not a scheduled appointment, it's supposed to be a meeting between equals.

I'm pretty sure I've gotten off track but to show you the sum my knowledge or TLDR as you young whippersnappers are saying these days.

Basically, be kind and patient with yourself as you establish your routines and find what works for you. Remember your best today might not ne your best tomorrow. Some days the best I can do is drink my cup of tea as I drive down the highway, other times its that nice meditatve walk.

Find what works for you, day to day, hour to hour and remember be kind yourself. You're not just a meat suit who needs to accomplish everything and anything right here right now, your stardust that deserves to enjoy and cherish those happy experiences that can find you if you step out of judgement and into self love.

Remember this is just my personal experience, and you can take it with a grain of salt, a speck of sugar or just toss it over your shoulder.

I'm exhausted since sleep is a elusive mistress that likes to come and go but I hope this makes sense and maybe helps you enjoy your day a little bit more.

~Admin Cryptid