#sell textbook online

[sanguith]

"enjoy the freedom of having everything in your phone!" , "get rid of all that stuff lying around and get this app that does this thing!" , "gather all your things needed to live right in your pocket!"

no i refuse to have all my entertainment and tools in my phone. i refuse to live in a small apartment surrounded by minimalist decor and nothing to look at or work with or use, with empty bookshelves and sterile-looking surroundings. i refuse to sit there idle during a power-out on my sofa in the dim candlelight without anything to do or lost in the woods without a physical compass, emergency whistle, kinetic-generator flashlight or any idea of how to do anything survival-based, watching as my phone battery dies and the clock inevitably ticks down until i'm as isolated and helpless as i could be. my phone and all its compact functions, though an invaluable tool in itself if used properly during ideal conditions, i regard as a second-hand backup for other primary tools, used only when i have no other option or when things actually break. sorry for the rant lmfao but i've been thinking a lot about these things and how reliant on one single rectangular piece of often internet-reliant technology i'm becoming.

[aria-i-adagio]

Work in Progress Whenever

I would say 'too much math, not enough writing this week,' but that would be less frustrating. 'Too much bullshit from an incompetent vendor that appears to have effectively DDOS'd themselves,' not enough writing this week.

Continuing with the theme of what my drafts look like, initial docs are frequently an explosion of bits and pieces, notes to self, etc. Eventually they get edited together into a coherent thing. My process would be modeled with an absurdly complicated exponential function.

Tagging: @hoochieblues @motherofqups @atypicalacademic and @cumbiazevran to share if you'd like.

[coryndoll]

not so bad

— in which rafe and y/n absolutely despise each other in public but crush in secret. rafe is failing his humanities class & is assigned y/n as his tutor . . . maybe all it took for this relationship to form was just a bit of forced proximity and some time.

college!rafe cameron x reader au

warning(s): n/a. just a bitchy rafe whos generous n gets awkward as fuck when it comes to u

authors note: college!rafe is lowkey nicer to y/n since he can’t help his buried feelings !! but he’s still an ass. i wouldve casted drew as himself but drew is too sweet i cant even imagine him having like a female sworn enemy that he lowk has a crush on

one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine

the door swings open, revealing rafe himself. he’s silent as soon as he sees you. “lock the door,” he says as he turns around and starts to head further inside, leaving you at the entrance.

“lock the door,” you mock-mumble under your breath as you enter, closing and locking the door behind you like you’re told. you look around, realizing you’ve never actually seen rafe’s dorm before. his friends’ dorms maybe, but never his.

his dorm is surprisingly clean, with only empty to fully filled water bottles scattered around, but very few. both sides of the room are displayed with posters on its walls, you can fell which bed is his and it’s made with its sheets tucked tightly in the crevices with two large pillows at the head of it.

you watch as he walks over to his desk and sits in the chair, opening up his laptop to the online textbook provided for the class.

he peers over his shoulder to glance at you, “can you fucking—i don’t know—sit down somewhere? the furniture isn’t coated in poison, you know.”

you fight the urge to make a remark, and you just sigh and let it go. “kay!” you say, and carefully making your way over to sit on the edge of his bed, placing your bag by your side. you catch his eye when you reply so eagerly without a problem, but you ignore this.

“where’s your roommate?” you ask him, looking around. “just wanna make sure when i need to expect someone- also, typically i charge for tutoring, and if crawford is making me tutor you then i’m charging you double. hundred-fifty an hour.”

rafe looks pissed, shaking his head and opening his mouth like he’s about to argue before closing it again. finally, he sighs, leaning against the wall by the kitchen. “my roommate’s just . . . out . . . today. he’s running errands. whatever, can we just get this over with? i’ll pay you after.”

you grin, feeling even satisified that rafe has to use his own cash to pay for however long this will take. “have a girl coming over tonight?” you guess from the way he’s rushing you. you reach into your bag for your ipad, “this wouldn’t be happening if you’d just pay attention in class, you know.”

“i know," rafe mutters, still annoyed but trying not to show it. "i just don't get how humanities could be important in the real world," he says, running a hand through his hair before resting the side of his head against his spread index finger and thumb, looking at you. “or my world, i mean.”

“still trying to do real estate?” you puzzle, pulling up the notes you took during class for him to look at. “it’s like your dad’s job, right? the cameron department thing.”

“cameron development,” he corrects you, hissing through his teeth.

“whatever. just surprised you’re not pursing sex work from all the girls i see you pull into bathrooms at parties,” you mutter out the end of your sentence under your breath, in a way not wanting to bring up that you’ve even noticed that before . . . again . . . and again . . .

“yeah?” he seems amused. “sex could sell more homes than fuckin’ humanities ever could.”

“sex?” you repeat with raised brows. “damn near prostitution versus political science, sociology, journalism, anthropology,” you name off as you lean left and right in your seat, pretending to think and weigh out your options. “yeah, maybe passing your humanities class can be a good thing! pull up your notes, please?”

“i did," rafe grumbles, gesturing to his laptop.

“i said notes, not the textbook. i wanna see what you’ve even written down while in class,” you say.

he’s silent as he opens up his documents, and he pulls up his most recent document filed under notes. he hands his laptop over to you as he leans back in his seat. you look over his text.

furrowing your eyebrows, you say, “okay, so you . . . you wrote the title of his lesson yesterday. that’s good. but under that you didn’t even write down any notes, you just have someone’s phone number. are you that predictable?”

he chews on his dog tag necklace and shrugs, taking his laptop back. “she was new. just wanted to make a friend,” he insists, closing out the tab.

you hum. you don’t really believe him but it isn’t like you care enough to argue over that. you hand him your ipad to show him your notes. “we’ll start at the beginning of the unit,” you tell him as he takes it.

rafe lets out a breath from his nose as he matches your energy from before, “‘kay!” he skims over your writing, gnawing on his pencil quietly.

you almost catch yourself smiling that he does this, but you refrain.

the lesson seems to be going better than you thought, though there are some pissed glances here and there from both sides. it takes two hours to go over the unit with examples and practices. you’re already exhausted.

finally, after what feels like an eternity, the lesson ends. rafe slumps back in his chair, relieved to be done with the humanities assignments that you made him do for now. he looks up at you, barely casting a smile your way. “thanks for the help,” he mumbles, awkwardly meeting your gaze.

“thanks for the money,” you say, half-reminding him that he needs to hold up his end of the deal as you stand from your seat.

as he stands, he bumps into your ipad on his desk. it collides with his opened water bottle he’d been drinking out of the past hour or so and both of you know what’s about to happen. you blurt out a noise and try to dodge the water coming your way but fail, getting his water on your legs and even more pouring at your crocs that invite even more liquid in. you can just feel your socks absorbing it now.

rafe grimaces as he stares down at your wet legs, and the least he does is reaches down to grab the bottle and the cap that flew off the desk. he closes it up and sets it on his desk as you take off your shoes and socks, holding them with barely your fingers.

“i have uh . . . towels, paper towels,” he says, and you just nod immediately, accepting whatever to dry yourself off.

when he comes back, you grab the paper towels and shove your soggy socks into his chest which he takes out of instinct before exclaiming and dropping them on the floor. you can’t help but look back and glare at him before patting your legs dry, and then tossing the paper towel into the nearby trash can that sat at one of the ends of his desk.

you can see rafe shrug as he picks up your socks and hovers over his trash can too. “might as well,” he murmurs.

“wh— are you serious?” you try to catch the socks, but then again, he’s too far and you have no business carrying some wet ass socks back to your dorm. your hands fall to your sides as you sigh.

it’s like he’s visibly contemplating (or debating with himself) before he walks over to his dresser and rummages through a drawer, finally pulling out a pair of socks. “here,” he says, tossing them to you, which you almost fail to catch from the sudden surprise. “they’re clean. swear.”

you give him a doubtful look. “i didn’t need your socks. i have plenty in my own drawer, thanks,” you say, placing the pair on his desk to reject them, and he stares at you.

he shakes his head and turns around. “so difficult,” he murmurs under his breath, and he quickly cleans up his drawer before closing it.

he grabs his wallet from on top of the dresser too, pulling out the wad of cash. you can tell from the look on his face that he’s not only doing this to count his money properly but also to subtly flex right in front of you. you roll your eyes and look away.

he counts out his three-hundred before handing it to you, scrunching up his nose as he stuffs his wallet into his pocket. you stare at the money, then take it while giving him a glare.

you quickly count it but bless, there’s two hundred dollar bills and then five twenty’s. perfect.

“okay, good luck on your exam,” you say and grab your bag, heading for the door like you’re in a hurry this time.

“wait,” rafe says, and you almost groan from annoyance. you just want to go back to your dorm. “here,” he mumbles to himself, and he steps over to the mini-fridge in the corner. he opens it up and grabs a water bottle, then tosses it to you.

“rafe,” you say, not really expecting all of these ‘gifts’ just for screaming at him for two hours about humanities. you toss it back to him, which he catches.

“just for the road,” he insists with a shake of his head. “since i spilled mine on you.”

you stare at him like he’s stupid. “dude, i live down the hallway.”

when you see his awkward reaction, you almost feel bad. actually you do. and it’s weird. usually you don’t notice this at all, but something about rafe feeling dumb about trying to thank you just makes you feel guilty for how you’ve treated him. fine.

you give him a look like you’re saying okay. that it’s okay to give you gifts and that you’re okay with receiving them. rafe doesn’t even cast a smile, he just nods. you squint your eyes at him before heading for his door again.

rafe meets you there and holds out the water bottle for you. you look up at him and take it. you almost smile, and it seems like he might too, but you both catch yourselves and quickly look away.

“ace your exam so you won’t have to hear from me like this again,” you say, half-joking to keep up their normal behavior.

“i’ll try, i’ll try,” he says simply, and stands at his door while you leave. you raise your eyebrows once before heading off to your dorm, taking your bag and your water bottle with you. you hear his door shut from behind you.

as you walk away, you can’t help but replay the moment in your head, the weird sense of camaraderie that just occurred. maybe, just maybe, rafe cameron isn’t the most horrible person on the planet. and it doesn’t help that he’s unfortunately attractive, which makes it slightly more difficult now to keep up the mutual hatred you have for each other.

from inside the dorm, rafe stands there for a moment, staring at the closed door. he shakes his head, a small, almost imperceptible smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“not so bad,” he mutters to himself before turning back to his desk, ready to tackle his upcoming humanities exam thanks to you.

[dreamdolldeveloper]

back to basics

mostly free resources to help you learn the basics that i've gathered for myself so far that i think are cool

everyday

gcfglobal - about the internet, online safety and for kids, life skills like applying for jobs, career planning, resume writing, online learning, today's skills like 3d printing, photoshop, smartphone basics, microsoft office apps, and mac friendly. they have core skills like reading, math, science, language learning - some topics are sparse so hopefully they keep adding things on. great site to start off on learning.

handsonbanking - learn about finances. after highschool, credit, banking, investing, money management, debt, goal setting, loans, cars, small businesses, military, insurance, retirement, etc.

bbc - learning for all ages. primary to adult. arts, history, science, math, reading, english, french, all the way to functional and vocational skills for adults as well, great site!

education.ket - workplace essential skills

general education

mathsgenie - GCSE revision, grade 1-9, math stages 1-14, provides more resources! completely free.

khan academy - pre-k to college, life skills, test prep (sats, mcat, etc), get ready courses, AP, partner courses like NASA, etc. so much more!

aleks - k-12 + higher ed learning program. adapts to each student.

biology4kids - learn biology

cosmos4kids - learn astronomy basics

chem4kids - learn chemistry

physics4kids - learn physics

numbernut - math basics (arithmetic, fractions and decimals, roots and exponents, prealgebra)

education.ket - primary to adult. includes highschool equivalent test prep, the core skills. they have a free resource library and they sell workbooks. they have one on work-life essentials (high demand career sectors + soft skills)

youtube channels

the organic chemistry tutor

khanacademy

crashcourse

tabletclassmath

2minmaths

kevinmathscience

professor leonard

greenemath

mathantics

3blue1brown

literacy

readworks - reading comprehension, build background knowledge, grow your vocabulary, strengthen strategic reading

chompchomp - grammar knowledge

tutors

not the "free resource" part of this post but sometimes we forget we can be tutored especially as an adult. just because we don't have formal education does not mean we can't get 1:1 teaching! please do you research and don't be afraid to try out different tutors. and remember you're not dumb just because someone's teaching style doesn't match up with your learning style.

cambridge coaching - medical school, mba and business, law school, graduate, college academics, high school and college process, middle school and high school admissions

preply - language tutoring. affordable!

revolutionprep - math, science, english, history, computer science (ap, html/css, java, python c++), foreign languages (german, korean, french, italian, spanish, japanese, chinese, esl)

varsity tutors - k-5 subjects, ap, test prep, languages, math, science & engineering, coding, homeschool, college essays, essay editing, etc

chegg - biology, business, engineering/computer science, math, homework help, textbook support, rent and buying books

learn to be - k-12 subjects

for languages

lingq - app. created by steve kaufmann, a polygot (fluent in 20+ languages) an amazing language learning platform that compiles content in 20+ languages like podcasts, graded readers, story times, vlogs, radio, books, the feature to put in your own books! immersion, comprehensible input.

flexiclasses - option to study abroad, resources to learn, mandarin, cantonese, japanese, vietnamese, korean, italian, russian, taiwanese hokkien, shanghainese.

fluentin3months - bootcamp, consultation available, languages: spanish, french, korean, german, chinese, japanese, russian, italian.

fluenz - spanish immersion both online and in person - intensive.

pimsleur - not tutoring** online learning using apps and their method. up to 50 languages, free trial available.

incase time has passed since i last posted this, check on the original post (not the reblogs) to see if i updated link or added new resources. i think i want to add laguage resources at some point too but until then, happy learning!!

[soloroomies]

lifemate (Chapter 5/ Sakusa x f!reader)

summary: the day you're tying the knot with your very dear friend, Kiyoomi word count. 2.1k cw. marriage pact au a/n. another update! I'm happy that I can update this story quickly. Writing this is really fun for me hehe <3

Masterlist

Not long after you and Sakusa discussed your plans, you both decided to share the exciting news of your upcoming marriage with your families and closest friends. The reactions were nothing short of dramatic. You think it’s a mix of shock at how quickly you both decided to tie the knot and genuine happiness for you. Some of them called you immediately, the most popular question being, “How did this happen so fast?!” So, you shared the love story you and Sakusa have crafted together. Some responded with a knowing “I knew it!” claiming they had a gut feeling you’d end up together. You just laughed at their responses, finding it amusing because there was no way they could have predicted this—both of you were truly just friends before. Your psychology textbook was right about hindsight bias.

Since the wedding is simple and you both hired a wedding organizer to handle most of the planning, there isn’t much left for you to do except look for your wedding dress. You also chose your bridesmaids. At first, you want four people as your bridesmaid, including Tami. Unfortunately, Tami is incredibly busy this month with business trips. Even Tami, who knows all your plans, was surprised. She didn’t expect your wedding to be held in the second month of the year. You explained it’s because you both want to do this before the volleyball season starts. Luckily, she doesn’t have any plans on your wedding day and assured you she would attend. Therefore, the people you chose as your bridesmaids are two of your cousins, Yuuki and Nana, and one of your childhood friends from home, Aya. They’re all thrilled to be part of your special day.

Today is the day you choose your wedding dress, just two weeks away from your wedding day. You actually have a lot of fun looking up wedding dress inspiration. Weddings used to make you kind of emotional when you were a teenager and a hopeless romantic. But then, as an adult with a hectic life, you weren’t really expecting a wedding for yourself. Yet here you are now, somehow able to have one. So, you’ll enjoy this process as a gift to your teenage self.

It’s Saturday, and you’re glad that everyone is available. All of you have a group chat discussing the stores you’ll visit. So, you go through those stores, seeing the dresses they display online, trying some of them on, and deciding which one is the best. After a few stores and trying on more than ten dresses, one dress stands out. It’s a classic and elegant gown with a fitted bodice and a full ball gown skirt. It features a sweetheart neckline and off-the-shoulder sleeves. The skirt is made of layers of tulle and organza, giving it volume and a fairytale-like look. The back of the dress is adorned with covered buttons and a long flowing train, adding dramatic flair.

Your three companions seem to have the same thought as you. Nana even starts to shed tears, making the other two emotional as well. You turn to look at them and can’t help but feel a bit emotional yourself. “Guys, please don’t cry! You’ll make me cry,” you say. You stare at your reflection in the mirror and feel a sense of enchantment and awe. This is the dress, you think.

In the days leading up to your wedding, you frequently communicate with Kiyoomi, juggling to find time between your work and his practice. You handle some legal matters and move many of your belongings from your apartment to his, leaving only the essentials for the remaining days. This often brings you to his apartment, where you arrange your things with him, assisted by people from the furniture moving and rearrangement services you hired. Some furniture is no longer needed, so you sell those pieces.

Two days before the wedding, you arrive home after work and are suddenly overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling. You've already finished some of your project-based side jobs, giving you more spare time than usual. Your apartment, now mostly empty, feels strange, as most of your belongings have already been moved to Kiyoomi’s place.

Your phone vibrates, and you see new texts from Kiyoomi. He sends a picture of a painting you made on a medium-sized canvas that used to hang in your living room. Initially, you wanted to leave it behind, thinking you had already brought too much. But when Kiyoomi visited your apartment, he asked about the painting and suggested it would look great in "our" living room, meaning his apartment where you will soon move in. The picture he sent shows the painting now hanging in the living room. His next text asks, ‘Is this too far to the right?’ You examine the photo and find the painting perfectly centered, so you respond, ‘no! it’s perfect.’

You then realize that you feel a swirl of excitement and nervousness, as the reality of starting a new chapter in your life and leaving behind the familiar truly sinks in.

For this wedding, there were no pre-wedding events like engagement parties or bridal showers. As agreed upon, the entire event was to be simple. There was no honeymoon planned either. When some of your cousins inquired, you explained that you both wanted to wait for a better season and were eager to enjoy your newlywed life in your own home.

The sound of your alarm wakes you up, and you look around the unfamiliar bed, momentarily confused. Then it hits you—you’re not in your apartment but in the hotel of your wedding venue. The bridesmaids, groomsmen, parents, and some family members are also staying here. And, of course, Kiyoomi, too. Shaking off the sleepiness, you decide to take a shower and call room service for breakfast. 

Checking your phone, you see a few messages from family and friends who have arrived in town, expressing their excitement to see you later. You smile, responding to each message with heartfelt gratitude. 

Suddenly, there’s a knock on your hotel room door. Expecting it to be your bridesmaids or parents, you open it and are surprised to see Kiyoomi’s mother standing there. She looks at you and smiles warmly. Bowing slightly, you welcome her into your room, mentioning that you’ve just finished breakfast and inviting her to sit beside you. 

Unexpectedly, she wraps you in a warm and comforting hug. Taken aback for a moment, you quickly return the hug. Then she looks at you, caresses your hair, and holds your hand. Her gaze is soft and carries warmth.

“I want to tell you how grateful I am to have you joining our family,” she says, her voice filled with genuine emotion. You look at her, your mind blank, unable to find the words to respond. She continues, “You remember you used to come to our house, right?” 

You nod, the memories flooding back. You recall the nostalgia of your high school days, when you often visited Kiyoomi’s house with Komori. Kiyoomi’s mom was always more outgoing than Kiyoomi and his father, often inviting you over for dinner. You usually brought your homework along, finishing it with Kiyoomi at their kitchen table.

“I’ve admired you since then,” she says. “I know we haven’t seen each other much since you both graduated high school, but I’ve always known you will leave a lasting impact on Omi's life. I often asked him about you, you know?” She laughs, a light, joyful sound.

You smile at her words, touched by her sincerity. “I’m happy that you’ve always stayed in touch with each other. And I was overjoyed when I heard the news. I’m just... I’m glad it’s you. You complement each other so beautifully, and I couldn't be happier to see my son marry such an incredible person.”

She pauses, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Know that you have my unwavering support, love, and respect. I look forward to many happy moments together as a family.”

Tears well up in your eyes at her genuine words. “Thank you so much for your kind words. They mean a lot to me,” you manage to say, your voice thick with emotion.

You hug her, feeling the warmth and acceptance in her embrace. She holds you tightly, then pulls back slightly to look at you. “Please call me Mom, okay?”

You nod, a tearful smile on your face.

After she leaves your room, you're left with your thoughts. You feel a wave of gratitude for Kiyoomi’s supportive mother, but a tinge of guilt also lingers. You and Kiyoomi had to fabricate your love story, making it seems like you are deeply in love. It feels wrong that she believes you and Kiyoomi are head over heels for each other. However, you genuinely care, adore and respect him as a friend. You promise yourself that you’ll hold onto these feelings throughout your marriage.

As the afternoon sun casts a warm glow over the bustling city, you stand by the window, taking in the view of the skyline. Nana, Yuuki, and Aya bustle around your hotel room, helping with the final touches on your wedding gown. You opted to do your makeup yourself, choosing a natural and fresh look, and now, as you gaze into the mirror, you feel satisfied with the result. Aya hands you your bouquet of white roses and eucalyptus. Your wedding photographer snaps a few photos of you and your bridesmaids before it's time to head downstairs.

You hear the sound of laughter and chatter from the poolside area of the hotel, where everyone’s waiting. Stepping outside, you take in the beautiful wedding venue. At one end of the pool, a stunning gazebo draped in sheer white fabric and entwined with ivy and blooming flowers serves as the altar. The aisle leading to the gazebo is lined with lanterns and rose petals.

You stand at the edge of the aisle and take a deep breath. The late afternoon sun casts a golden glow over the pool, and you see the familiar faces of your family and friends turned toward you. Your father takes your arm, gives it a reassuring squeeze, and smiles at you.

As you approach the altar, your eyes lock with Kiyoomi’s. He looks unbelievably handsome in his tuxedo, the black fabric fitting perfectly on his broad shoulders and slender frame. You've never felt quite like this seeing him before. His black wavy hair is neatly styled, but a few rebellious curls frame his face, adding to his effortlessly charming look.

His eyes scan you and he gives a genuine smile he rarely shows to anyone. When you finally reach him, he gently takes your hand. Then, the officiant begins the ceremony.

After a few words, the officiant says “Please face each other and join hands,”. “Do you, Sakusa Kiyoomi, take ___ to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, for as long as you both shall live?”

You look up at Kiyoomi, feeling a flutter of nerves under his intense gaze. “I do,” he says firmly, his eyes never leaving yours.

“Do you, ___ , take Sakusa Kiyoomi to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in joy and sorrow, for as long as you both shall live?”

You take a deep breath, remembering your meeting with Kiyoomi’s mother and the thoughts that followed. “I do,” you reply, smiling at Kiyoomi.

As the officiant pronounces you both husband and wife, your hands tremble slightly. You think Kiyoomi notices because he squeezes your hand, his touch warm and reassuring, melting away your nerves. “You may kiss the bride,” the officiant announces. Kiyoomi cups your face, his touch sending a shiver of electricity through you. As you look up, you see his gaze soften and his lips curve into a tender smile.

When he leans in, you realize this will be your very first kiss with him, and it will happen as husband and wife! You try to calm yourself and place your hands on his chest. Closing your eyes, you focus on the sensation of his lips meeting yours. The kiss is soft and tender.

As you part, his forehead rests gently against yours, and your breaths mingle. You open your eyes to find him looking at you with adoration you’ve never seen before, taking your breath away all over again and stirring emotions you can't quite describe. You notice his hand still lingering on your face before the crowd around you erupts into applause and cheers. He smiles at you, making you smile at him too.

[tolkpopfan]

For anyone who was curious, it claimed trans women were either A. Straight men who fetishize the idea of womanhood or B. Gay men with severe internalized homophobia and trans men were apparently just women who had internalized the need to escape the patriarchy.

I can’t imagine having such a terfy, reductive approach to gender, but then again, this edition is 8 years old and ideas have changed since I was in middle school.

Big disappointment. I was gonna sell one of my textbooks that I used a couple of semesters ago but apparently NO schools in the system use this edition of the textbook anymore. I mean, it’s a good thing since this is an abnormal psych textbook from like 2015 and it has some super fucked up ideas about trans people in it but still I’ll need to find another way to get rid of it.

[las-lus]

Firefox Extensions

I've decided to make a list of my personal Firefox extensions in case anyone is looking for a recommendation list! I also add some User Scripts recommendations at the end!

Security Reasons:

uBlock Origin is a must. Blocks ads (including YouTube ads) and trackers and warns you if you click in any malicious link!

Privacy Badger is very similar to uBlock, as it blocks trackers as well, but it's more focused, so I like to use both to be safer!

Duck Duck Go Privacy Essentials is another tracker blocker, but with a layer of protection to your emails and searches. If you aren't using Duck Duck Go instead of Google for your day-to-day searches, I highly recommend it! It's like if Google didn't suck.

Shinigami Eyes isn't perfect, but lets me know if someone has been tagged as “anti-trans” by other people. I trust it on big sources like news websites or famous figures, and use it as a warning on smaller blogs/people.

Making my life Easier:

Auto Tab Discard deletes the memory of tabs I haven't touched in a while, but keeps them visually there so I can remember that they exist.

Xkit Re-written, as I'm sure most of you know, enhances Tumblr browser but a lot!

Djvu Viewer is criminally underrated! Djvu is an alternative to PDF files, which, if you didn't know, are owned by ADOBE. Instead of downloading PDFs, you could download them as DJVU and keep the internet free! (For an offline experience, I recommend Okular for reading). This is really useful if you download academy textbooks. Dvju is also lighter than PDF so they demand less of your computer.

Search By Image is literally what is says on the tin. Really useful if you want to find the source of art!

Ruffle is a flash emulator! If you miss flash games, just download this badboy and go have fun on neopets again.

Unpay Wall is only really useful if you read research papers, but it WILL save your life if you do.

No AI google Search keeps Ai out of your Google!!

The Wayback Machine has an extension so you can a) easily find archived websites and b) archive a website very fast!

Tabliss makes my firefox a bit slower, but it makes every new tab prettier and keep a to-do list so I can always check it! good for my adhd!

Mouse's Neopets Tools. If you followed my tip on #5 and decided to go back to neopets, this will help you a bit.

If you're not afraid of little code:

TamperMonkey is the best extension for user scripts! You don't need to know how to make a script, there are THOUSANDS available! HERE are some ao3 scripts!

GreaseMonkey is if you want to try your hand on writing your own scripts! Code isn't that hard, and making something silly for yourself is a great way to start.

WebScraper extracts data from websites if you want. I used this to create an organized Marked for Later AO3 file by changing this tutorial a bit!

That's it! Feel free to recommend more!

If you're really unfamiliar with terms like trackers or scripts, I'll try to explain it in quick words under here.

Trackers are all your data that websites can legally take from your online activity. This includes what you look for when online shopping, where you are and what time you use your internet, so companies can sell you better and more targeted ads. You don't want that, obviously, fuck ads and fuck companies making money selling YOUR data. Cookies are the most well known form of trackers, but not the only one! Tracker blockers will stop websites from collecting everything that is not essential for your use of their platform! They also make your browser faster because you're not wasting memory running the trackers.

You can test how easy (or hard!) it's to track your browser habits here!

User Scripts Are codes you can add to websites to make them better for you! All websites are coded in HTML, CSS or Java, which mean your browser is running their code in order for you to access them. Which MEANS you can edit the version of the code you're running! You can add or remove features, make the website more accessible or even improve them. As they are free and made by and for users, don't trust them implicitally!

Some examples of user scripts:

This one shows you coupons for various shopping websites without making you pay for it. This one adds a download button for youtube. This one makes it easier to read webcomics.

The good thing about user scripts is that if you dislike them, you can disable them and never think about them again! They are really easy to use and it's a shame people usually never even hear of User Scripts.

To end this, I'll say: don't be afraid of learning a bit of code! It's fun! It can make you feel dumb, but that's a universal experience, learning a new thing can shake you up a bit. But being comfortable checking a page's source code or editing a bit of HTML to make a website more accessible to you can make your life SO MUCH easier! I have a few links HERE if you want!

[hussyknee]

Guys, Z-library is back up, but it desperately needs our help.

Z-Library is one of the largest online libraries in the world. We aim to make literature accessible to everyone. Today, Z-Library contains over 12,140,413 books and 84,837,000 articles Z-Library has many servers all over the world. Our stored data now totals more than 220 TB! Every month, millions of people use Z-Library for their purposes — and that means we are on the right track. But it will be difficult to achieve our goals without your help.

As you may know, almost all public domains of the library were blocked in November 2022 by order of the US Secret Service. The inner infrastructure of the project suffered some substantial damage too. Today, we are still under unprecedented pressure. At the moment, Z-Library is going through the hardest times in all the 14 years of its existence. The library might work with interruptions, and we ask you to be patient. Be sure – we are doing everything possible to provide free access to knowledge for millions of people across the globe, and we expect you to help us with that and to support us.

But despite all the difficulties, the library continues to function and develop. We have recently introduced several important features: the new recommendations section, comments to booklists, the new web-site menu, personal domains and Telegram Bot, and more.

Your active support gives strength to our Team and inspires to work. Each donated dollar is not only money for us, but it is also the confidence that you really need our project!

On 15 March 2023, as in March and September of each year, we launched additional fundraising to project maintenance and development. We will be extremely thankful for every dollar that will be donated. Furthermore, UNLIMITED downloads (for 1 month) are available for ALL contributors who will donate during the fundraising period. The fundraising will run until 1 April 2023

Millions of people use Z-Library every month for their purposes — this shows us that we are on the correct track. But it will be difficult to achieve our goals without your help.

Please consider making a donation.

I know there's a lot of discourse around book piracy right now, but you know who absolutely cannot afford to buy your books in dollars, afford the shipping fees, or don't have access/ travelling distance to the kind of fully stocked libraries you have in the West? The Global South. Our factories make your Kindles, your phones, your textbooks, and then we can't afford to buy them from your corps that sell them at around 300% grate price, and half the books are not even available for our region. Our universities don't get your funding or recognition, and when we do sell our personal possessions to get the money and work our asses off to get admittance to Western universities, y'all use us as grunts, exploit us and pass our work off as your own. Worse still, you buy out our local publishing houses and shut them down.

You cannot imagine the extent of global apartheid and colonial economic order that capitalism runs on. Amazon cheats you out of royalties? We can't even afford to buy your books. A dollar can buy someone a full dinner here. These sites – Z-lib, Internet Archive, Libgen, Open Library, Sci-Hub, PDF Drive, LibriVox – they are essential to granting the global majority our human right to knowledge, education and access. Z-Lib is by far the best one of them all.

You will first need to sign up to Z-Lib and access it through the private domain link they send you. It's a simple process, and every little bit counts. You're a leftist that believes in equal access for all? Then literally, put your money where your mouth is.

[kelliealtogether]

This is why I shouldn't look in tags:

I also deeply recommend the Opal short story, however, I don't recommend pirating from an author who very nearly didn't have a series picked up by her publisher because of piracy. I don't recommend pirating from any author.

There are many other ways to read Opal:

It's included in the paperback edition of The Raven King (the US version, at least), which you can score a used copy of on Thriftbooks for less than $8

The ebook is available starting at $0.99 from various international online retailers including Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple Books (and even Amazon Kindle if you want to throw money at Jeff Bezos)

It's available from libraries through Libby and Overdrive in both ebook and audiobook format

Pirate from Disney. Pirate from Netflix. Pirate textbooks. But please don't pirate from authors whose livelihoods rely on readers purchasing books or checking books out of libraries. Unless their books are selling serious volume à la Stephen King, many authors scrape by on royalties, and if you love an author's work and want them to be able to continue writing, pirating their books isn't a good option. ✌️

[randombookposts]

Canaan University Au

Ok I thought of a college au for the locked tomb a awhile ago but I never bothered to write it down until now. Anyways I think they would all go to this imaginary university in New Zealand and it’s like the first book but with a lot less murder. Here’s what I think each house would study

Judith- Criminal justice major. Huge stickler for rules and doing homework. If she’s not in the gym reading a textbook while doing push-ups, she’s in the library getting into a heated debate with a Corona. Had a huge crush on Marta and went to the same college as her to hangout, just getting over it, may or may not have feelings for Corona, maybe.

Marta- In law school, was a mentor to Judith when she was in high school and that’s how they know each other. Gently turned Judith down but they’re still friends and study together sometime. Is the DD at every party.

Corona: Majoring in marketing with a minor in fashion merchandising. Doesn’t do great on tests but aces every presentation. President of her sorority. Can and will gaslight frat boys. Everyone wants her but she only has eyes for the stuck up criminal justice major.

Ianthe- Management major with a minor in maybe finance. Commits tax fraud and gets away with it. Sometimes does Corona’s homework for her. Doxxes people online (mostly Babs), smokes in the dorm hallways. Flirts with Harrow during their study sessions, which Harrow ignores.

Naberius- Economics major, and major fuck boy. Makes thirst traps and is doxxed. Hangs out with the twins even though they bully him. Doesn’t do shit during group projects. Will get a job at his dads company post graduation.

Jeannemary and Isaac don’t go to college but are tutored by Abigail at her house. They just silly teens who experiment with makeup and clothes to find their look. Talk loudly about anime in the school hallways. A little cringe but they’re doing their best.

Abigail- Anthropology professor and is really cool. Tough grader but genuinely loves her students and shares trivia with them. Brings donuts to test days. Will accidentally derail class to talk about books or her husband. If one of her students brings up one of the incredibly niche topics she likes, she will talk about it for hours.

Magnus- Not a teacher but visits Abigail's classes often. Nice guy, helps look after Jeannemary and Isaac. I'm not sure what he would do as a job, maybe chef or stay at home husband lol. Regardless, he's the one making all the meals.

Palamedes- Pre-med, wants to become a doctor so he can save Dulcinea save people. Smartest guy in the room always, a go to for anyone struggling with their biology homework. Has a friendly rivalry with Harrow (it's more rivalry than friendly for Harrow but she grows fond of him over time). Is the one derailing class with philosophical debates.

Camilla- Physics major, too cool for you. Really into sports, just not sure which, like gymnastics or soccer or rugby or fencing. Works hard but actually remembers to eat and sleep too. Probably in student government as well. Her and Palamedes are attached at the hip, they later get an apartment together and that's where all the main hangouts with the other characters happen.

Dulcinea- Suffers from chronic illness and focuses her life on learning and traveling rather than getting a traditional job. She's got multiple degrees in stuff like literature, philosophy, and art history. She is active on social media and has a blog, and sells crocheted animals on Etsy. Became mutuals with Pal and Camilla on social media and they met up later when they went off to college.

Protesilaus- Dulcie's caretaker, helps her with her medical stuff. Becomes like a cool uncle figure to her and her friends. Hangs out a lot with Ortus and they share poetry.

Silas- Double major in theology and philosophy. Freaky teen prodigy who graduated high school early and attends university. Little shit who people are either freaked out by or straight up just don't like him. Will snitch on anyone for anything he doesn't like. Really only friends with Colum.

Colum- Silas' nephew, but way older than him, weird dynamic. Not in school but drives Silas to his classes and Silas lives with him during the school year instead of in the dorms. Nice guy, looks out for Silas' well being the best he can but tries to keep him from being too nasty to others.

Harrow- Double major in theology and archeology. Studies at all hours and forgets to eat and sleep. Local cryptid. Autistic with special interests in religion and burial rituals. Went to Catholic school and had a suffocating home life. Trying to grapple with that as she starts to navigate adult life. Also trying to mend her relationship with Gideon after being so harsh in her younger years.

Gideon- Kinesiology major, butch vibes to the max. Does swordfighting and weight training in her down time. Has kissed both Ianthe and Corona at some point, though it never went anywhere after that. Wears her sunglasses at all times even in class. Finds the worst fashions from thrift stores and wears them to piss Harrow off. Grew up with Harrow in a foster home Harrow's parents ran and also attended Catholic school with her but they rarely interacted beyond antagonizing each other. Reconnected after being randomly assigned roommates. Now they're buddies and hang out alongside the 3rd and 6th, (also the 2nd and Dulcie sometimes too). They all do stupid shit together like sing karoke off key and hit up Taco Bell at 2am after binge watching movies.

[ghostcathedrals]

daddy issues toji whom you've bought lunch for because apparently him asking you to buy him lunch wasn't a joke. by a weird coincidence, you crossed the street when you saw him on your way to eat lunch during your 3-hour free time before your next class and then ofc he wouldn't reject your offer bc hey free food

the restaurant you're eating at has mostly glass pane for walls, so you have enough natural light when you study after eating. your table is big enough so it's not cramped when you're eating and studying. he steals your textbook away from your grasp bc apparently you look weird staring at your book while studying and your posture is very depressing. he's scooping food for himself while skimming through the semi-glossy pages of your textbook because he isnt that interested in reading all that shit in a ridiculously small font.

you finish eating ahead of him. "dunno why i'm still reading thick books like that when i'll amount to nothing anyway."

"you will amount to something."

"i won't."

"then you won't," he bluntly replies, skimming through your notes because somehow it's entertaining to him why you also write in ridiculously small font. "pessimism got me nowhere. besides, you're still reading this dumb book with small font. if you won't amount to nothing then you would've decided to drop out."

touché. perhaps his experience told him that. and maybe while you're still there, you shouldn't waste your opportunity like him. but he doesn't regret dropping out, it's just that his life path now would be extremely different from before. what he said rendered you silent.

but then he shuts your notebook and takes his last sip from the glass of cold water next to his empty plates. then stands up. "gotta go kid. gotta fix cars of ungrateful rich people." you look up at him, slightly dumbfounded, because you don't want him to leave so soon. you don't want to be alone for the next 1.5 hours. you guys barely talked because you were both busy eating. but you also know he has a life and you don't know him enough to demand more time with him.

what you do remember is this:

you asked him his age. "twenty-seven." you tell yours. "twenty-two."

the university he dropped out from is your university now. he didn't say anything but he did say his family hated him for dropping out esp because he's got potential and his father is current big boss of their family's business. since then, they never cared about him anymore. that's all he said and continued eating.

you asked why he's a fushiguro now and not a zen'in. he shrugged. "for the vibes." but that also meant because he didn't want to be associated with them anymore.

there's also this:

"my father left me because he said he's tired of playing the father figure as if our entire life was just a sitcom to him that he could just exit from," you told him.

he flipped a page, not looking up to face you. "i didn't ask."

rude?! you frowned. "excuse me?"

toji then looked up and even if it was merely just eye contact, you felt your gut twist. "i didn't ask you to say that type of stuff. it's personal and we barely know each other."

"you told me about your family," you retorted.

he scoffed. "because i have a habit of talking shit about them. 'bit refreshing." then he leaned back on his chair, hands on the back of his head. "and i don't care about whatever you'll do with that information."

"then that goes with my decision to open up, too."

he pressed his lips together for a brief moment and lean back closer to the table. "you're wasting your time. i dont give a fuck about what will happen about me if i share that much. you've still something for you, kid. don't trust strangers too much."

"you're not a stranger to me anymore."

"yeah?" he sarcastically smiles. "and what if i steal your shit when you go to the restroom and sell them online?"

you crossed your arms. "then i'll go to the restroom." you did without a second thought and didn't even let him react. you put your hands on the corners of the sink nervously. if he would steal your shit, then goddammit. but you were too tired for anything. same old academic burden, same old messy apartment. same old deadbeat father, same old careless mother.

with all the courage you had left, you went out of the restroom, only to see none of your shit taken and he's just reading your notes. "you can't just test someone's vanity like that, kid."

"if you're gonna be a fucking scum then, can't you just do it now just like every pther guy, just like my father?"

and before he stood up to refill his water, he replied with, "don't have the evil to do that to you, kid. i'd be fine with getting free food from you when you cry like a baby in the middle of the night."

and now he's leaving.

"do you wanna hang out again some other time?"

since he's standing up and you're sitting down. he looks down at you and ruffles your hair. "you don't deserve that. go back to your campus and study there."

as he exits the restaurant, you bite your lip in slight frustration. "he can't tell me what i deserve and what i don't."

this is gonna be a whole ass series atp.... would anybody be interested with a playlist for this

[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.

[transmutationisms]

im beginning to explore antipsych but do you think it would be worth it to study psychiatry first? like look at the textbooks they give undergrads, the dsm 5 etc. (and if so do you have any recs for introduction texts to psychology lol)

this will entirely depend on what specific types of questions you're trying to answer. textbooks in particular will speak to some questions (the way the field presents itself to students; the official ie guild-determined consensus on key issues) but not others (how practitioners actually think and practice, what ethical violations are occurring in practice, how patients understand their own diagnoses and treatment experiences, what practitioners are being taught from sources like pharmaceutical reps or professional conferences). you should also be attentive to local and temporal distinctions, meaning, think about what specific time period and place you're interested in (& a text is speaking about) as you try to synthesise different texts and ideas; this sort of historical awareness will also affect what (if any) primary sources you're interested in from both the psych and antipsych camps. if you do want to read current psy-science textbooks, here is what i would recommend: do a few minutes of research into what the top (meaning, most frequently used) psych textbook companies are in the country or countries you're interested in; figure out what titles they sell (you can usually do this on a publisher's website); and then track down free versions online. again, though, whether this is a valuable exercise depends heavily on what you're trying to find and what sorts of questions you're asking. as a matter of general comprehensibility, most antipsych literature will make at least a cursory attempt to summarise and explain the psych positions it's arguing against (there are some useful books that do this wrt dsm diagnoses in this list), and there are also other sorts of documents and sources you may want to investigate if you're trying to understand psychiatry beyond its very theoretical presentation in an undergrad context.

[the-real-list-of-ominous-threats]

I'll make you give up and have to google how to sell feet pics online because you don't know how and you have to pay for textbooks

[bleep-bloop-boo]

OMG PLEASE TELL LIBRARY STORIES

i would love to work at a library one day

iugfbnwqkwsdjf AWW THANK YOU FOR THE ASKK IM GOING TO RAMBLE NOW <33 AND SAMEE i hope you do get to work at the library :)) i need to wait 9 more months before I can applyy

First off all, background In my 7th grade i did Semester 1 online school and Semester 2 in person. I didnt get a choice in elective cuz i switched over so i became an office aide tho i would be sent to the library most of the time to help the librarian. another thing, the librarian started the same time as me. the old librarian quit and the new librarian was just out of college (and also lowkey traumatized but we dont acknowledge that heree) so she was like in her early 20s I LOVE HER SM OMG!! BEFORE BEING A LIBRARIAN SHE PLAYED COMPETITIVE VIDEO GAMES AND SHE HAS AN ANIMATION CHANNEL AND NOW SHES ILLUSTRATING CHILDRENS BOOK AND SHE WAS IN FANDOMS TOO!! SHES AMAZING AT ART, LIKE WHEN YOU ASKED HER TO SIGN YOUR YEARBOOK SHE'D DRAW YOU (i can find the picture of me she drew if youd likee) IN 2 MINUTES!! AND SHE TOLD ME ONCE SHED DRAW A FANART OF NICO GETTING MCDONALDS WITH WILL FOR ME CUZ I TOLD HER I LIKED PERCY JACKSON AND SOLANGELO (i never told her bout the mcdonalds thing, she knew) and it was so much fun cuz id be sorting books and reading books and scanning books and helping kids and fixing books and organizing and just talking with peoplee i loved it smm and speaking of her, she did so much cool stuff!! she had no idea how the library worked or how to do stuff and she did end up crying the first month because of how lost she was but she got a hang of it and i so proud of her for that <33

She made a cozy corner where there are tons of blankets and pillows for people and with cozy curtains and lights

she bought (using her own money) nearly 40 boardgames and made a shelf for people to play with fidgets, cards and games

she brought her switch in so kids could see and watch her play

she made a suggestion box and read every single one

she started a thing where she made slides for the elementary schoolers and read to them every week

she let students come in during lunch and play games and talk and chill (which is amzing cuz our school was HELLA strict, like middle schoolers could only sit at the tables or on the grass. you cant walk anywhere else.)

and we all loved her sm, she was the best <33 i miss her cuz now im in high school and the kid i tutored told on me thursday she moved and she doesnt work there anymore and now i miss her even moree but ill see if i can find her insta time for the actual stories of me and the one other office aide 😭😭😭 - we built a throne out of old textbooks and made a whole photosoot using paper decorations - we spent an entire hour just reading and laughing at this book about toilets - we spent 15 minutes learning how to use a key cuz we locked ourselves outside of the school (we had keys with acsess to the whole school and all the gates, were just stupid) - had so many debates with elementary schoolers who snuck in about the best pjo character and other books - kicked said elementary schoolers out because the school didnt allow them to be there after their school ended (then snuck them back in) - we spent an entire period just playing random songs and videos on the TVs and kept trying to change it to Never Going To Give You Up - kirby. so much kirby. EVERYWHERE - SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR omg, the books come in the shelves pre-pepared but the shelves are like tall, metal blocks on wheels you need to open up yourself and move around. we ended up creating a labryinth and getting trapped then i stacked a rolly stool on a chair and that didnt work cuz the stool was bigger than the chair and even tho i would have surived, they said it was too dangerous so i had to climb on a booksehlf to jump over these 6 foot tall bookselves we opened wrong and escape the maze - selling at said scholastic fair which was so fun <33 (i want a retail job so badd) - the amount of times i just sat and read while sorting books- - theres prolly more im forgetting lol, this is getting long tho so ill just end itt TYSM FOR THE ASK, THIS WAS LITERALLY MY FAVORITE CLASS IN ALL OF MIDDLE SCHOOL (barely beat geometry) AND I LOVELOVELOVE TALKING ABOUT ITT

[jpriest85-blog]

Put together a collage of my Werewolf MC Hala from @barbwritesstuff Bloodmoon and decided to include some additional info and hedcanons about her.

Name: Hala bint Badr

Pronouns:she/her

Height: 5ft.5”/165.1cms

Appearance: An average height Arab woman with a tan complexion, dark brown curly hair, hazel eyes, aquiline nose and medium build. Hala is often seen wearing layered clothes, homemade jewelry, and a headscarf or hijab, usually in red.

Wolf form: Resembles an Arabian wolf with dark, brown fur, that’s darker on her back and tail tip, and lighter beige on her stomach, ears and muzzle. Hala is smaller than her packmates, with larger ears, and a shorter thinner coat.

Conviction: Be Kind

LI: Marco

Alpha: Aliksander, deceased. Hala, current.

Misc. Info & Headcanons

Hala’s name means halo around the moon in Arabic, and her surname means daughter of the full moon.

Her mother’s name was Sama which means sky in Arabic.

Sama’s  pack originally came from a desert climate but like most werewolf packs they had to move to safer territories in other countries. 

Hala’s mother never saw the ocean in person until her late teens, and she learned to swim from Jay during their brief romance. Sama later taught Hala how to swim as a way to pass on something from Jay to their daughter, other than his eye color.

Hala has a caffeine dependency but prefers tea. After moving to the city Ed introduced her to boba tea and she got hooked.

Hala prefers not to drink alcohol due to disliking the taste. As a result Hala and Farro usually wind up as designated drivers whenever their packs meet up. 

Hala is prone to getting cold easily even in her wolf form. So she often dresses in layers and/or will cuddle with pack members for warmth.

Hala and her mom used to spend a lot of time in public libraries when they used to travel. They had free textbooks and resources to help with Hala’s education, and the nicer ones even offered free classes or activities for people. 

Hala learned to make jewelry at one of those libraries and even used to sell the things she made with her mom. After joining the pack Ed helps Hala sell her jewelry online, but she still gives out jewelry for friends and loved ones for free as gifts. As a result every member of the pack owns at least one piece of jewelry or customized accessories made by Hala.

Hala also does little arts and crafts projects with the kids when she is on babysitting duty. This instantly made Hala Izzy’s favorite person when Hala made her a tiara from an old wire hanger, some beads, and glitter.

As far as Hala’s own jewelry preferences go she tends to wear clip-on earrings, usually made of copper or nickel.

Hala’s mother used to own some gold bracelets from the old country that were originally going to be passed down to Hala as a bridal gift if she found a mate. After their pack died though Sama wound up pawning the gold bracelets to support herself and Hala.

Back when Hala was still a stray she used to go out in deep water to swim on nights when there is the full moon, that way she was less likely to hurt someone late at night in the middle of the ocean or lake. Worst case scenario she might swim too far from the shore, wind up exhausting herself and drown. Hala figured that was a better risk than giving into the moon and killing someone, the Alpha and Minjo however did not agree. They were both very distressed at how casually Hala explained that she first wound up in their pack’s territory because she got lost looking for a body of water deep enough to potentially drown herself. 

Hala still keeps her mother’s seashell necklace and wears it constantly. Jay made the necklace for Sama as a gift after their first date taking her on his bike to the coastline. 

Hala learned how to apply jacket patches from Addie and Elma.

Hala’s favorite jacket is a denim and fleece jacket that used to belong to Marco. He gave it to her shortly after she first joined the pack when he noticed she’s more sensitive to the cold, and told her to keep it because she looked cuter wearing it. She started developing a crush on Marco after that and added rose patches to the sleeves so she could always be reminded of Marco when she wears it.

While Hala didn’t become as close with Vicky as she did with Ed. She always respected and admired Vicky. Sure they don’t alway agree on things but Hala understands that sometimes you have to make the hard decisions, especially since Vicky had to become another parent for Ed growing up when she was still a kid herself. After becoming the Alpha Hala knows she can trust Vicky explicitly to keep the pack safe, but she’s also trying to make Vicky understand she can also depend on Hala and the others to help protect and look after her too.

After becoming the Alpha Hala takes different jobs and learns new skills to help the pack and their new home. She starts working at a craft store so the pack gets discounts on everything from school suplies to fabrics. She becomes a certified notary to help the pack when they need to verify important documents and paperwork. She even undergoes training in her wolf form to become a registered therapy dog. 

Likewise Hala tries to encourage and support her pack members with whatever they need. Like helping take care of Minjo’s kids if she eventually decides to complete her training to become an official registered nurse.