#free-courses

[redvelvetwishtree]

#of course everyone is silent #fuck israel #fuck the US #palestine #free palestine #gaza #gaza strip #middle east #free gaza #israel

[stil-lindigo]

frankly, the people whose kneejerk reaction to bisan asking for a global strike form the 21st-28th is to say that it takes years to organize a general strike are really unhelpful! no one is saying otherwise, but palestine will be a smoking crater if we all wait for years to do anything - bisan is asking us to do something now. Like are we only supposed to do something if we can do it perfectly??? At some point it’s a valid critique about the work that goes into social movement, and at another point I feel like some people are just trying to absolve themselves from not putting any effort into observing a week of economic inaction.

like idk! I get it, okay! People have bills to pay that don’t magically go away for a strike, we don’t have nearly enough social infrastructure in place to support people to fully stop going to work for a week. But fuck, dude! Stop immediately responding in such a defeatist way! Cut out unnecessary purchases! Try to shop local! Put more effort into promoting Palestinian voices online! Attend a protest, call a local rep, do something!

#like am I going insane #why did I see a post with thousands of notes on it talking about how it doesn’t make sense to be asking for this sort of action #it doesn’t make SENSE? #like god! I hope you’re taking other more sensible courses of action then! #fucks sake man #bisan is living through a waking nightmare and some of you are so pedantic and miserly #palestine #free Palestine

[allinllachuteruteru]

Duolingo is NOT what it used to be.

“Duolingo is ‘sunsetting the development of the Welsh course’ (and many others)”.

I’ve used Duolingo since 2013. It used to be about genuinely learning languages and preserving endangered ones. It used to have a vibrant community and forum where users were listened to. It used to have volunteers that dedicated countless hours and even years to making the best courses they could while also trying to explain extremely nuanced and complex grammar in simple terms.

In the past two years it feels like Von Ahn let the money talk instead of focusing on the original goal.

No one truly had a humongous problem with the subscription tier for SuperDuolingo. We understood it: if you can afford to pay, help keep Duolingo free for those who couldn’t.

It started when the company went public. Volunteers were leaving courses they created because they warned of differing longterm goals compared to Duolingo’s as a company; not long after it was announced that the incubator (how volunteers were able to make courses in the first place) would be shut down. A year goes by and the forums—the voice of the users and the way people were able to share tips and explanations—is discontinued. A year or two later, Duolingo gets a completely new makeover—the Tree is gone and you don’t control what lesson you start with. With the disappearance of the Tree, all grammar notes and explanations for courses not in the Big 8 (consisting of the courses made before the incubator like Spanish/French/German/etc. and of the most popular courses like Japanese/Korean/Chinese/etc.) are removed with it. Were you learning Vietnamese and have no idea how honorifics work without the grammar notes? Shit outta luck bud. Were you learning Polish and have absolutely no clue how one of the declensions newly thrown at you functions? Suck it up. In a Reddit AMA, Von Ahn claims that the new design resulted in more users utilizing the app/site. How he claims that statistic? By counting how many people log into their Duolingo account, as if an entire app renovation wouldn’t cause an uptick in numbers to even see what the fuck just happened to the courses.

Von Ahn announces next in a Reddit AMA that no more language courses will be added from what there already is available. His reasoning? No one uses the unpopular language courses — along with how Duolingo will now be doing upkeep with the courses already in place. And here I am, currently looking on the Duolingo website how there are 1.8 million active learners for Irish, 284 thousand active learners for Navajo, and even 934 thousand active learners for fucking High Valyrian. But yea, no one uses them. Not like the entire Navajo Nation population is 399k members or anything, or like 1.8 million people isn’t 36% of the entire population of Ireland or anything.

And now this. What happened to the upkeep of current courses? Oh, Von Ahn only meant the popular ones that already have infinite resources. Got it. Duolingo used to be a serious foundational resource for languages with little resources while also adding the relief of gamification.

It pisses me off. It really does. This was not what Duolingo started out as. And yea, maybe I shouldn’t get invested in a dingy little app. But as someone who spent most of her adolescence immersed in language learning to the point where it was literally keeping me alive at one point, to the point where languages felt like my only friend as a tween, and to the point where friendships on the Duolingo forums with likeminded individuals my age and other enthusiasts who even sent me books in other languages for free because they wanted people to learn it, the evolution of Duolingo hits a bitter nerve within me.

~End rant.

#duolingo #langblr #huge language rant feel free to skip #evolution of duolingo #luis von ahn #duolingo welsh course #language learning

[franeridart]

more op silliness

#my sketches #one piece #mishanks #i wish i had the strength to draw proper comics for them but my stamina for clean stuff is all used up for thcp #doodles it is #ah with proper i mean clean of course #anyway free afternoon successfully wasted time to pass out forever #if u reblogged a version with a misspelling in schrödinger no u didn’t

[euphorial-docx]

people need to realize that what’s going on with palestine and israel isn’t about anyone being jewish.

there are jewish palestinians, muslim palestinians, christian palestinians being trapped in what is essentially an open air prison for children and the elderly with no food, water, or electricity just because they’re palestinian.

this is about colonization, and unfortunately so many people are falling for the blatant propaganda being turned out by an apartheid government (israel).

the only solution to stop all this violence is to give palestine their land back. that is the solution.

#free palestine #and before anyone says it: there is a difference between everyday israeli citizens and the israeli government #of course i sympathize with the people caught in the middle #but i will never stand with the israeli government #i am a supporter of the land back movement. that also extends to countries likes palestine #it is not antisemitic to stand with palestine

[knifearo]

being aromantic is like. hey btw you're going to live a life that is the culmination of most of society's worst nightmares. sorry lol ✌️ but then you turn around and take a really good hard look at it and it turns out that living in that nightmare is fucking awesome and you get to wake up every day and take that fear that other people have and laugh and hold it close until it's a great joy for you instead. and being happy is a radical act that you define instead of someone else. and you're sexy as fuck that's just a fact of life i don't make the rules on that one

#aromantic people are just sexy i'm not making the decisions here it's just facts #course ur hot as fuck. it came free with the aromanticism #being sexy is just default settings for aromantic people 👍 #hope this all helps. anyway i'm on my 'i hope i die alone <3 i can't wait to die alone <3' kick rn #i think the existential fear that people have of Not Partnering specifically is so. well. #obviously that shit is strong and it is SO awesome to be free of it. #realizing you're aro and you don't Want a partner can be such a hit to the solar plexus #cause society says that's the only thing that'll make you happy. so either you go without that thing or you force yourself #into doing something you don't want which would make you unhappy anyway. #so you think it's a lose lose situation and you have to come to terms with what amatonormativity presents as the worst possible situation #but then! whoa! turns out personhood is inherently valuable in and of itself and romantic partnering is just a construct! #and that nightmare is now your life to do with as you please... define as you will... structure as you want... #best case scenario. is what i'm saying. #every day i wake up ready to spit all that amatonormative rhetoric back in life's teeth by being alone and being happy #and it's so fucking satisfying. every day. #fucking JUBILANT being by myself. and i love being a living breathing 'fuck you' to the romantic system #you need a partner to be happy? oh that's sooo fucking crazy guess i'll go be miserable then. in my perfect fucking dream life lmao #yeah obviously it's the worst possible outcome on earth to die without a partner. so terrible. can't wait for it :) #aromantic #aromanticism #aro positivity #aroace #arospec #sorry to bitches who are sad about not having a partner. i could not give a fuck though get better soon #you couldn't EVER pay me enough to go back to a mindset in which my inherent value wasn't enough by myself. #FUCK that shit. absolutely miserable and a bad life outlook in general. like genuinely do the work w/ amatonormativity and get better #life is something that can be so fulfilling whether someone wants to kiss you or whatever or not #i'm on antidepressants and i have people i care deeply about. what the fuck would i need a partner for lmao

[depraved-gf]

Hear me out: An agreed upon fake safeword you try to use over and over but he ignores it, to feel extra violated while he's raping the hell out of you.

#Of course there'd still be a real safeword #cnc k!nk #cnc cw #cnc free use #free use kink #r@pe k!nk #r@pe me #rough cnc #cnc somno #free use cnc #rap3 fantasy #rapedoll #rapekink #rapetoy #r@pe kink #r@pe play #r@pe tw #r@pe fantasy #r@petoy #free use doll #free use toy #free use slvt #fr33use #cnc kidnapping #cnc stalking #r4p3 kink #r4p3b4it #r4p3 m3 #r4pepl4y #r4ape kink

[ftmtoyboy]

wanna be the pet of a polycule where everyone has a possession/ownership kink. Want them to fight over me, one up each other by fucking me better and harder than the last, bring in new and more extreme kinks and toys and punishments so they can be ‘the only one who makes you feel like this’

#of course they’re perfectly healthy and civil w each other outside this #maybe even I’m an outlet for any disagreements they have. work it out on me so they can function normally later #ftm ns/fw #ftm nsft #ftm sub #cnc k!nk #ftm cnc #r4p3 m3 #r4p3 kink #rough cnc #r4p3b4it #r4p3 fantasy #free use slvt #free use toy #fr33use #cnc free use #free use kink #petpl4y #petpl@y

[junotter]

Part 1 of my modern avatar au, the fire nation

#avatar the last airbender #atla #atla azula #atla zuko #atla mai #atla ty lee #mailee #because they in messy yuri in this au #atla modern au #technically all of them work under ozai's company in some form #azula of course is very close to power zuko is at a lower position than her #mai is under her father's department which is in ozai's company #ty lee is in an idol group sponsored by ozai's company #mai visual kei girlie in her free time duh #zuko also depicted when he finally gets out of ozai's company and works at Iroh's cafe #ive got like a decent amount of lore built up so far around this AU so dont worry sokka katara aang toph and suki have places in this world #also its set on our earth so real life locations not the nations

[twisted-deal]

They're bound to run out of good board games at soMe point

#idia shroud #azul ashengrotto #twisted wonderland #twst #twst idia #twst azul #idia shroud fanart #azul ashengrotto fanart #twst board game club #idiazu #☆▪DEAL #please feel free to imagine what they could be saying i couldn't think of dialogue;;; #anywhomst; two of my favorite boys i care them very much and it's so fun to see them being so casual with each other #of course i tag as ship but feel free to consider it platonic as well :]

[chewingbatmanlikeasqueakytoy]

Why doesn't the justice league know about Amity Park?

Okay so it's been a bit sonce I watched the show but one of the things in DpxDC is the anti-ecto acts, which I love, but correct me if I'm wrong, I THINK ??? they only show up in reality trip? SO: What if Danny, when using the gauntlet to undo everything, also got rid of the Anti-Ecto acts? but this is babys first time editing reality so he uh Fucks Up A Lil'. As a result when Danny used the reality gauntlet to wipe the AEA from existence he accidentally wiped Amity Park from perception. A big 'nothing matters over here' jedi mind trick, and now no ones looking at Amity. So, the Justice League actually WERE looking into and monitoring the situation in Amity, but when the perception filter closed them off, all of that suddenly went ignored.

This is noticed when someone (Alfred, Dick, Tim, literally anyone) realises theres just. A BIG dusty pile of case files semi abandoned somewhere in the cave when going through a (time period)ly cave cleaning.

They put it down because it's Not Important.

They come back to finish the cleaning the next day and do the exact same thing, but there's nothing to actually distract them this time and it pings as weird. Because why would case files be not important? They are by definition important, because only things flagged as important go into case files.

They try to get someone else to read it, because as long as they don't read the information in the file, they don't put it down.

That person goes to read it, gets a line in and then says something like 'that isn't important' and goes to leave. Person A pushes it and person B ALSO catches on.

Que the Batfam trying to figure out hey, what the fuck actually?

Meanwhile, how is Amity fairing? Canon compliant everything's going alright? Or have knock on effects to No One Look Here started to show?

#Another way for the JL not to notice amity park and not make the JL wildly incompetent #and if the anti ecto acts ARE a response to reign storm #then the JL doing their own investigations into it around that time checks out #plus it opens plenty of reasonable excuses for some of the more horrifying concepts to take place #oh an entire town only people inside it can percieve? #an entire organisation like the giw you could totally bullshit something like #they have anti ghost technology of COURSE the perception filter doesnt effect them #they made the anti filters when they realised they were unable to communicate outside the town #so thats how theyre getting funding and supplies in #(and that leaves a trail for the JL to follow) #YEAH #an entire town that cant be percieved #with a population that arguably the government has given free range on? #that sounds like a cadmus PLAYGROUND #dpxdc #dc x dp #dp x dc #dcxdp #danny phantom #story prompt #or starter? #lmao not sure

[hersweetrevenge]

#blorbo from my shows #glup shitto #feel free to tag your most underrated or unknown blorbo #daneposting #how dare you suggest such a thing #of course this isnt about dane #(it is) #but its also about every actor for whom i have watched some truly mid content #because they were an extra in it 15 years ago or in it for 15 seconds #rohan campbell #brian van holt #bill moseley #brad dourif #especially brad. the way he is the foundation my writing blog was built on #and for all my random glups who i decided were worthy of main character energy #the things we do for our faves (watch mid media)

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Parallel Lines and Brothers.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

#poorly drawn mdzs #mdzs #wei wuxian #jiang cheng #lan wangji #lan xichen #jin zixuan #Does anyone else think about the tragedy of the parallel lines? Of characters who are parallel lines? #Of running the same course as someone. Of echoing each other in perfect synchronicity. #It's more than being a foil. It's about being on the same path and being so near to each other. #and yet parallel lines never intersect. They cannot meet each other despite their existence being tied to another. #I think the brothers tragedy is just as much of a tragedy of parallel lines as is pre-resurrection wangxian. #Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian spend so much time running side by side and yet - they cant close this gap between them. #Even if their relationship never recovers - they are forever tied together through their past. The good and bad and ugly. #All the things that are left unsaid between them. All the love and sacrifices they made for each other that are never shared. Parallel line #I firmly believe any post-canon material that would have them be indifferent towards each other is just...really doing them a disservice. #And dear god the Lan brothers. They certainly love each other! Its a far fonder fraternal relationship than jiangxian (/platonic) #They fool you by having you think they have a good read on each other. Lan Xichen certainly wingmans + advocates for lwj! #But lets not forget - Lan Xichen by the end is in the reverse situation and headspace as Lan Wangji by the end of this story. #Lan Wangji is more free and open than he has ever been. He's in love. He's married. He and wwx are intersecting lines. #& LXC who grew up with and lived the same path as LWJ - who even is said to resemble him visually - his parallel line - shuts himself away #Despite all the love LWJ has for his brother I don't think he ever manages to reach him.

[greededling]

Rooster Teeth is shutting down, how you feeling?

mavin is dead. long live mavin

#i think it hasnt been my cup of tea since ray left #and then the atrocities #of course #rooster teeth #rt #achievement hunter #mavin #michael jones #gavin free

[kaladinkholins]

Very interesting to me that a certain subset of the BES fandom's favourite iterations of Mizu and Akemi are seemingly rooted in the facades they have projected towards the world, and are not accurate representations of their true selves.

And I see this is especially the case with Mizu, where fanon likes to paint her as this dominant, hyper-masculine, smirking Cool GuyTM who's going to give you her strap. And this idea of Mizu is often based on the image of her wearing her glasses, and optionally, with her cloak and big, wide-brimmed kasa.

And what's interesting about this, to me, is that fanon is seemingly falling for her deliberate disguise. Because the glasses (with the optional combination of cloak and hat) represent Mizu's suppression of her true self. She is playing a role.

Take this scene of Mizu in the brothel in Episode 4 for example. Here, not only is Mizu wearing her glasses to symbolise the mask she is wearing, but she is purposely acting like some suave and cocky gentleman, intimidating, calm, in control. Her voice is even deeper than usual, like what we hear in her first scene while facing off with Hachiman the Flesh-Trader in Episode 1.

This act that Mizu puts on is an embodiment of masculine showboating, which is highly effective against weak and insecure men like Hachi, but also against women like those who tried to seduce her at the Shindo House.

And that brings me to how Mizu's mask is actually a direct parallel to Akemi's mask in this very same scene.

Here, Akemi is also putting up an act, playing up her naivety and demure girlishness, using her high-pitched lilted voice, complimenting Mizu and trying to make small talk, all so she can seduce and lure Mizu in to drink the drugged cup of sake.

So what I find so interesting and funny about this scene, characters within it, and the subsequent fandom interpretations of both, is that everyone seems to literally be falling for the mask that Mizu and Akemi are putting up to conceal their identities, guard themselves from the world, and get what they want.

It's also a little frustrating because the fanon seems to twist what actually makes Mizu and Akemi's dynamic so interesting by flattening it completely. Because both here and throughout the story, Mizu and Akemi's entire relationship and treatment of each other is solely built off of masks, assumptions, and misconceptions.

Akemi believes Mizu is a selfish, cocky male samurai who destroyed her ex-fiance's career and life, and who abandoned her to let her get dragged away by her father's guards and forcibly married off to a man she didn't know. on the other hand, Mizu believes Akemi is bratty, naive princess who constantly needs saving and who can't make her own decisions.

These misconceptions are even evident in the framing of their first impressions of each other, both of which unfold in these slow-motion POV shots.

Mizu's first impression of Akemi is that of a beautiful, untouchable princess in a cage. Swirling string music in the background.

Akemi's first impression of Mizu is of a mysterious, stoic "demon" samurai who stole her fiance's scarf. Tense music and the sound of ocean waves in the background.

And then, going back to that scene of them together in Episode 4, both Mizu and Akemi continue to fool each other and hold these assumptions of each other, and they both feed into it, as both are purposely acting within the suppressive roles society binds them to in order to achieve their goals within the means they are allowed (Akemi playing the part of a subservient woman; Mizu playing the part of a dominant man).

But then, for once in both their lives, neither of their usual tactics work.

Akemi is trying to use flattery and seduction on Mizu, but Mizu sees right through it, knowing that Akemi is just trying to manipulate and harm her. Rather than give in to Akemi's tactics, Mizu plays with Akemi's emotions by alluding to Taigen's death, before pinning her down, and then when she starts crying, Mizu just rolls her eyes and tells her to shut up.

On the opposite end, when Mizu tries to use brute force and intimidation, Akemi also sees right through it, not falling for it, and instead says this:

"Under your mask, you're not the killer you pretend to be."

Nonetheless, despite the fact that they see a little bit through each other's masks, they both still hold their presumptions of each other until the very end of the season, with Akemi seeing Mizu as an obnoxious samurai swooping in to save the day, and Mizu seeing Akemi as a damsel in distress.

And what I find a bit irksome is that the fandom also resorts to flattening them to these tropes as well.

Because Mizu is not some cool, smooth-talking samurai with a big dick sword as Akemi (and the fandom) might believe. All of that is the facade she puts up and nothing more. In reality, Mizu is an angry, confused and lonely child, and a masterful artist, who is struggling against her own self-hatred. Master Eiji, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

And Akemi, on the other hand, is not some girly, sweet, vain and spoiled princess as Mizu might believe. Instead she has never cared for frivolous things like fashion, love or looks, instead favouring poetry and strategy games instead, and has always only cared about her own independence. Seki, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

But neither is she some authoritative dominatrix, though this is part of her new persona that she is trying to project to get what she wants. Because while Akemi is willful, outspoken, intelligent and authoritative, she can still be naive! She is still often unsure and needs to have her hand held through things, as she is still learning and growing into her full potential. Her new parental/guardian figure, Madame Kaji, knows this as well.

So with all that being said, now that we know that Mizu and Akemi are essentially wearing masks and putting up fronts throughout the show, what would a representation of Mizu's and Akemi's true selves actually look like? Easy. It's in their hair.

This shot on the left is the only time we see Mizu with her hair completely down. In this scene, she's being berated by Mama, and her guard is completely down, she has no weapon, and is no longer wearing any mask, as this is after she showed Mikio "all of herself" and tried to take off the mask of a subservient housewife. Thus, here, she is sad, vulnerable, and feeling small (emphasised further by the framing of the scene). This is a perfect encapsulation of what Mizu is on the inside, underneath all the layers of revenge-obsession and the walls she's put around herself.

In contrast, the only time we Akemi with her hair fully down, she is completely alone in the bath, and this scene takes place after being scorned by her father and left weeping at his feet. But despite all that, Akemi is headstrong, determined, taking the reigns of her life as she makes the choice to run away, but even that choice is reflective of her youthful naivety. She even gets scolded by Seki shortly after this in the next scene, because though she wants to be independent, she still hasn't completely learned to be. Not yet. Regardless, her decisiveness and moment of self-empowerment is emphasised by the framing of the scene, where her face takes up the majority of the shot, and she stares seriously into the middle distance.

To conclude, I wish popular fanon would stop mischaracterising these two, and flattening them into tropes and stereotypes (ie. masculine badass swordsman Mizu and feminine alluring queen but also girly swooning damsel Akemi), all of which just seems... reductive. It also irks me when Akemi is merely upheld as a love interest and romantic device for Mizu and nothing more, when she is literally Mizu's narrative foil (takes far more narrative precedence over romantic interest) and the deuteragonist of this show. She is her own person. That is literally the theme of her entire character and arc.

#blue eye samurai #mizu blue eye samurai #akemi blue eye samurai #blue eye samurai meta #just in case... im gonna tag this as #mizukemicritical #akemizucritical #though this post isnt actually criticising the ship itself but rather fanon's portrayal of the ship and the characters #for that reason lemme also tag this as #wank.mp3 #feel free to disagree of course but please be civil #and if you need to rant about how wrong i am without any convincing evidence kindly feel free to make your own post. peace and love <3 #fandom.rtf #meta dissertations.pdf #shut up haydar #edit: for full disclosure. i do rather dislike this ship. but obviously it's fine for anyone to enjoy it. please do! have your fun! #it's just that as usual! popular fanon and fandom around a ship is what has completely deterred me from any sense of enjoyment of it #it's a shame too because i was very open and even eager for some mizu/akemi romance in the future #but out-of-character fanon + the rudeness of certain fans has definitely soured it for me #but that doesn't mean people can't enjoy it obviously! ship and let ship!!! #plus it has its appeal which i DO STILL see and enjoy!!!! #i would even go as far as to call them soulmates because their narratives and characters are LITERALLY intertwined!!! #but. yeah. my gradual distaste for this ship is indeed very unfortunate.

[rookeryyy]

REINVENT

YOURSELF

tumblr HATES my 44.1mb image swag so it has SO MUCH COMPRESSION and downsizing here. :') peep the actual intended size & quality (or as good as i could get it exported)

post-return Q!Tubbo :] Tee hee.

un hamburgesa para tubbo (he lookied ungry)

#qsmp #qsmp fanart #tubbo fanart #qsmp tubbo #yippeeee :D #i forgor what other tags i usually use for my art on this blog. fngbnfdj. oh well. #WHY DID THE WATER TURN INTO LAVA [SHAKES CCTUBBO] WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT HELLO. DID ANYBODY ELSE NOTICE THAT BC I DID. IS IT FROM #THE MACHINE OVERHEATING? HE WAS BURNING WHEN HE SURFACED or is it a less physical creative choice... #this is why theyre surrounded by water and lava (and also bc of dying by the ocean monument ^w^ teehee) #if you notice all the details i had in mind when i drew this ily foreva and eva #i drew this over the course of a few days after the revival/return stream but i never posted it IM SHY OK #i wonder how long i spent on it... must be over 6 hrs atleast? considering i also spent like an hour touching things up b4 posting rn.. #nice. im in my hours-long compositions era :D smiles irl so happily i love it #<- usually never spends longer than like 1-2 hrs on one drawing #i shared this with a couple of qsmp-enjoying friends of mine and they convinced me to let it fly free ksksks. FOR THE TUBBLINGS o7 #also if anybody has a better image sharing option lmk. DHBFK. #blood #ALMOST FORGOT THAT. THERE IS BLOODIN HERE #CONTAINS BLOOD. #guy whos flehs and bone #debatably