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no i can't go out tonight i'm mourning my unlived life. yes i see the irony. yeah all night. no i can't reschedule, sorry. hope you have fun living your life instead of watching it pass you by though! sounds like fun

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Some kneading techniques that I have observed

#oh hell yeah

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Call me impact font the way I make that Bottom Text

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#south park getting popular was one of the worst things to happen fr #like... do yall actually watch the show bc.. #scratches head

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I have a lot of ideas in mind but I do silly things instead

#kohakupyon.... #we love to see him #enstars

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pulling up to the function scared and puffed up

#yeah

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Seeing a steady rise of people using the library as we carry through summer break, so here's a quick thread from a staff member on little things you can do (for free!) to make life easier on staff. Let's go!

If you want to put a book back, DON'T put it back on the shelf! Put it on the return cart or bin, or give it to a staff member. Not only does this make it MUCH easier to catch misfiles and gather abandoned books in one trip, our budget is literally based on returns. Putting it on a cart gives us more money!

(To expand on the above: not only do we get paid more based on more returns, our book-buying budget for next year is based on what titles seem popular. Even if you don't check out a stack of books, putting it on the cart lets us know there's an interest so we can order more in that genre and support that author.)

Conversely, if you see a cart already full of books being pushed around by staff, PLEASE don't yank books off it or loiter around it. Carts are unwieldy and returns can build up quick, so let a shelver have space to move around and do their job.

(Again expanding on the above, especially please don't yank books off a staff person's cart if you see them pulling books off the shelf instead of putting them back. Books are pulled for a reason--hold requests for another patron, damaged, need to be relabeled, etc--so taking one can really throw off our list.)

If you rent a DVD and notice it's scratched or doesn't play, please tell us! We don't have the time or resources to watch every returned DVD, so we rely on patron feedback. Even a note tucked inside the case helps it get flagged for damage inspection when we're processing returns.

Pay attention to news related to your local branch! The VAST majority of book-banning demands we get are bulk lists from only one or two people--which means contesting them (or requesting a challenged book) also only takes one person.

Remind your friends that most libraries don't do late fees anymore! We want to be a safe haven for low income and disabled/nd people, so don't let being late or disorganized or poor or anything else discourage you. Bring your books back whenever you can, or just mention to a librarian if you lose it, and you're always welcome to come back.

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i saw a post the other day that said that gen z/gen alpha say "unalive" and "seggs" and stuff bc they're afraid of being "punished by an invisible force" and while i do think that the self-censoring sometimes unnecessary and worrying, i also don't think they're self-censoring for no reason.

i think there are a lot of situations where talking about suicide/death in general and sex outright would be punished by very real visible forces like parents and teachers and instagram community guidelines. like these kids (i say kids but i know people my age (20) do this, i feel like it's mostly younger genz and genalpha though at least in my experience) aren't just self-policing and self-censoring for no reason. some creators learned to adapt their language to unclear nebulous guidelines to try and avoid their accounts being taken down or their videos being shown to fewer people, then people started assuming any mentions of death or sex would be punished and started doing the same thing, and now younger kids have picked up on it bc they're online a lot and don't know any different.

but that's not the only part of this that matters bc while that is strange and a little dystopian. there are also offline real-life reasons kids would be scared to talk about this shit with actual words. like i was raised very christian, evangelical, not quite fundamentalist, "we don't use labels but we have stage lights for the worship songs but don't wear skirts above the knee" type of thing. my parents didn't teach me about sex until they found out i would have a sex ed class bc they had to sign a permission slip. and then they gave me a book for kids about sex that was heavily christian, abstinence-only, deeply homophobic etc. it didn't teach about birth control, about what things are not normal, any of that. and i was not raised in a way where i was even the slightest bit comfortable asking my parents or talking about it at all. my twin brother got the same book and would talk about sex or make jokes about it and our parents would get upset because it was "inappropriate" and he shouldn't be thinking about that or whatever. and if i had tried to talk about like, menstrual health or signs of abuse or even just made a joke about sex at all my parents would have been upset.

you can probably guess this from what i just said but unsurprisingly my parents weren't big on being upfront about mental health issues either. i have been depressed since before i can remember and was suicidal by the time i was eleven and i had no idea that the way i was feeling wasn't normal or that there was a word for it. i don't remember when i learned about suicide but i know my dad was at least willing to say the word in conversation when i was 12, which my mother wasn't happy about because it was "too dark" a conversation to be having (he had been telling me about a friend he had in college, specifically about how he had recovered from substance abuse issues and suicidal ideation).

and my parents were definitely not normal but there are objectively situations where parents are way worse about this type of thing. there are absolutely kids who aren't allowed to say words like suicide and death and sex. and they're not afraid of algorithms, there are real-life offline consequences if they slip up. so they self-censor, they talk quietly in the lunchroom with codewords and euphemisms with their friends. and that's not even to mention school, and how kids will get in trouble for anything an adult doesn't want them to talk about, how they can get in, again, real-life offline trouble for speaking frankly about this type of thing. because it's "inappropriate," because it's "upsetting," because their teacher is having a bad day, because god said not to, because they don't want their dm to a friend on tiktok to be flagged.

and i would much rather kids talk about these things with sometimes-insensitive code words than to not talk about them at all. if it's a choice between someone coming out as "tr4ns" to their friend and not having someone to support them at all, if it's between saying they want to "unalive" themself and never seeking help, i want them to go the sometimes-silly code word route. because i think they should be allowed to talk about these things and if they're not i think they have the right to try to do it anyway. the unnecessary self-censorship has been criticized to hell and back and i'm not saying it shouldn't be, especially when it's adults saying these things in real life situations. i'm just saying i think kids have a lot more pressure to censor themselves than people think, even offline.

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Y’all, tumblr is letting you report ads for having flashing lights! Tap on the 3 dots at the top and look at the bottom! Please do this for your photosensitive friends!

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local worm gets scritched

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i hate starbucks and not in the “oh coffee shouldnt be so froufrou ill just have a black coffee” way in the “workplace abuse and union busting do not go away no matter how hard you advertise the pink drink or PSL and actual cafes have espresso shots that dont die literally as they are being pulled and they arent charging 6-10$ per drink”

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People with most mainstream tastes imaginable should not open their mouth on how anti piracy they are btw. Yea no shit you can depend on legal sources to watch Marvel and listen to tswift and Maroon 5. Thank you so much for signing the petition to close that platform that was the only one i could download this 2008 romanian dungeon synth ep from

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what it feels like to play pokemon ruby and sapphire on max volume

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Please Teach Me! Ritsu-senpai

Writer: 日日日 (Akira)

Character(s): Suou Tsukasa, Isara Mao, Sakuma Ritsu

Translated by: jewwyfeesh

Disclaimer: I translated this story from the CN version of the game, which means that it has been double translated (JP > CN > EN).

Tsukasa: In addition, I overheard some Classmates saying that their grades really did improve when they asked their seniors to tutor them~ or something… like that…

Season: Summer Location: 2-B Classroom

Tsukasa: Senpai! Kindly teach me how to complete my homework!

Ritsu: Eh… I don’t wanna.

Tsukasa: I would never count on you to teach me anything, Ritsu-senpai!

Eh? That’s weird, is Narukami-senpai not around? Isn’t this 2B’s classroom?

Ritsu: Ah~ Nacchan~? …I think they ran off with Secchan for some modeling job.

The both of them are heading home right after work, so they won’t be coming to Knights’ practice later today.

Tsukasa: E-eh? I guess there’s nothing that can be done since it’s for work, but at the very least I should have been notified!

When you all treat me this way, it makes me feel like I’ll forever be regarded as some mere follower or as if I’m looked down upon by the rest of you!

Ritsu: Huh? Did they not tell you about it?

For you to say that… I think there’s been a misunderstanding~ Because when it comes to reporting, contacting and discussing, Secchan’ll see these through till the very end – even to the point of being a pain in everyone’s necks.

Suu~chan, is there a possibility you forgot to check your SNS?

Tsukasa: Erm… I… don’t think so…?

Aahh… there really is a message in there. “Sorry. Today’s practice is cancelled!”

Uuuu… I had turned off my Smartphone during class earlier on, and didn’t notice it as a result! I can’t believe I’ve made such an oversight!

Ritsu: Though, Secchan’s also in the wrong for telling everyone the day of.

He seems to have been forced to take up modelling again recently… Maybe that’s why he’s a lot busier now?

Back to the topic at hand – you said you wanted some help with your homework, right? What happened?

I’ve also said this multiple times – ‘don’t bring trouble here’.

Suu~chan’s always like this… just like the previous ‘Duel’ and the like~…

Without fail, you’d bring something very unnecessary, something troublesome, and or work over~ to be frank with you, it’s bothering me a lot.

Tsukasa: T-that’s because you seniors haven’t been putting in much effort, that’s why I’ve been running after all of you! If you really want me to say it, Ritsu-senpai, then I think you ought to reflect on yourself!

Mao: Hey~ I don’t know what happened, but stop fighting, you two. Aren't both of you unitmates? Y’all should be getting along.

Tsukasa: Uwah!? Y-you’re Trickstar’s… M-Maa~kun? Senpai?

Mao: It seems like you don’t even remember my name clearly… we are kinda like competitors, so please pay more attention to us…

I’m Trickstar’s Isara Mao, I’ll be in your care~ ♪

Tsukasa: I-I can’t be taking care of you! You all are our enemies! Enemies, I’m telling you!!

Ritsu: Hey… Suu~chan, you’re not allowed to talk to my Maa~kun with that kind of tone.

Tsukasa: W-why did you pull a 180 and scold me? Whose side are you actually on, Ritsu-senpai?!

Ritsu: Huhuhu~ It doesn’t matter when, where, why or how, I’ll forever take Maa~kun’s side… ♪

Mao: Let’s not talk about that for the time being.

Yo Suou, you mentioned something about homework earlier on, right… Which parts are you unsure of? If you don’t mind, I could try to help you out?

Tsukasa: E-eh?? Even though I did come here to request help with my homework…

But I’m not in such a dire state that I’d need to go begging our arch-rivals for assistance!

Mao Hm~ We’re currently not in the midst of a performance, so how about we set that aside for now? After all, we’re senior and junior from the same school~

I’d be more than happy to help you out with your homework.

After all, wasn’t there a story about helping your enemy out by giving them some salt[1]?

Tsukasa: Mhm, I know that story. It’s Bushidō, the way of the warrior [2], and shares some similarities with our Knights’ code of chivalry.

But… mhhghfmmg~…?

Mao: Ahaha, if you’re still that unwilling to have me tutor you, then how about letting Ritchan teach you? He’s pretty smart too.

Tsukasa: Ah? Really?

What a surprise… I’d thought that all of his braincells have already died due to his excessive sleeping habits!

Mao: The reverse is true, actually~ He sleeps the whole day away, which often resulted in him playing truant – but to everyone’s surprise, he was only forced to repeat a grade. So, it’s just proof that his grades are up to standard.

Not only is he an outstanding idol, his grades are good too. Isn’t that right, Ritchan~ ♪

Ritsu: Huhu. Being praised by Maa~kun makes me happy ♪

But please spare me from having to teach anyone anything. Because I think it’s too much trouble, and hence I don’t like it.

Mao: Don’t be like that~ You should take care of your adorable juniors every once in a while.

We ‘Trickstar’ are all from the same year, so I’m kinda envious of people who have juniors to dote on.

Ritsu: Be as it may… it’s because your biggest hobby is taking care of other people, Maa~kun…

But I really can’t find any motivation in myself~ I don’t wanna waste unnecessary effort on Suu~chan…

Mao: ……If you’re going to say that, Ritchan, I’ll end up hating you.

Ritsu: Uuuu… Maa~kun’s about to get angry… Why, though? I didn’t do anything wrong…

It’s all your fault, Suu~chan. Tch…

Okaaay, I got it. Even though I think it’s too troublesome, I’ll tutor you. I’d be really sad if Maa~kun really hated me, after all…

Which parts are you unsure about, Suu~chan? Aren’t you better at studying?

Tsukasa: You are correct. If we’re talking about the first year… I am confident that my grades are on the higher side of the spectrum. However, I am unwilling to stop there, and wish to aim for greater heights.

Because the Suou clan has always used ‘Full Speed Ahead’ as our Motto.

In addition, I overheard some Classmates saying that their grades really did improve when they asked their seniors to tutor them~ or something… like that…

That… Um… How do I say this… Hearing everyone talk about their experiences made me a little envious.

That’s why I, too, decided to be a little shameless and ask my seniors to tutor me.

…So, am I still troubling you, Ritsu-senpai?

Ritsu: Uuu~… Don’t do that~ Don’t look at me with those puppy dog eyes… it’s one of my greatest weaknesses… Ugh… Vampires have so many weak spots, it’s really irritating…

I guess I have no choice. I can’t keep on shoving all of my tasks over to other people, and step up every once in a while.

Though lemme warn you — I’m not as gentle as Secchan, so you’d better do some mental preparation.

Tsukasa: Okay. I can’t wait. I’m sure that my hard work will pay off, and that there’ll be a glorious victory awaiting me at the end of this arduous road!

Please don’t hold back. Teach me sternly, Ritsu-senpai ♪

Translator's notes: [1] The original CN term is "敌人送盐，帮助对手一把", which most likely came from the JP term 「敵に塩を送る」.

"敌人送盐，帮助对手一把" literally translated means "Sending salt to the enemy, giving your opponent a hand" -- it comes from a an anecdote during the Japanes war period, where salt, an important raw material, was in short supply. The TLDR of it was one of the enemies (A), upon seeing that their opponent (B) had their supply of salt cut off and was suffering, decided to send some salt over on the grounds that they (A) would rather defeat their opponent (B) in a righteous manner on the battlefield, rather than forcing them in between a rock and a hard place.

There's a CN article about it here.

[2] Bushidō (武士道, "the way of the warrior") is also known as the Samurai code of chivalry; it is a "moral code concerning concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle, formalized in the Edo period (1603–1868)" (wiki), and "promoted the importance of loyalty, honor and martial arts. The Bushido philosophy refers to not fearing death and dying for valor." (MAIKOYA)

#this is so cute TT #ty for the translation too!! #enstars