nick-nonya:

lukadjo:

I’ve made this as a logo/seal thing for a body in a fictional country’s government. It would be helpful if you, the one reading this, could answer the following:

1. What do you think it could be a seal/logo for?
2. Let’s assume you guessed right. How could I improve it?

assuming the symbolism holds the same meaning as in out universe then:

1. the dots probably represent “members” in some way, implying some form of coordination between otherwise distinct entities
2. the fist is a display of force, although not violence necessarily
3. the laurel wreath likely represents “triumph”, another display of force

so i’d say this is some military group, maybe like the UN’s peacekeepers given the dots

as for improvements i’d center the dots on top, or remove them entirely and give their purpose to the laurel leaves

something like this maybe:

Oooh! You may not have guessed correctly what it is but you sure gave me some ideas! Thank youuu!

god-offical:

god-offical:

favoritesticle:

lyingfigure:

combatyoyo:

ratcoded:

don’t worry everyone the doctor who wiki has everything under control

was??

😧😦

me after bottom surgery

WAIT WAIT WAIT WRONG ACCOUNT DONT REBLOG THIS

fuckyeahchinesefashion:

OP: so this is the ‘intense regional downpour’ on the weather forecast

girlcum420:

dw:

iive been so obsessed with this video for days

yapdollar visits nightvale ass radio dj

wasteland-squog-baby:

serious-tabaxi:

vado-ad-inferos:

i feel like you’re lowballing the furry percent number

Oh massively

w0manifest:

I will forever be profoundly unimpressed with people who take pride in their unkindness to others

friedri-ce:

friedri-ce:

DAUNTLESS || ULTRAKILL comic

a summary

dm-clockwork-dragon:

ravynfyre:

le-dreadmau5:

afronerdism:

afronerdism:

Please do not let debt collectors play in your face.

I am super busy so I honestly don’t even know if I should be taking the time to write this, but hopefully this will help those of you who may find yourself in a similar situation.

Earlier this year I received a letter of notice from a debt collector stating that they had acquired a debt supposedly belonging to me and that, per law, I have 30 days to dispute the debt. I immediately drafted a letter and sent it to both disputing the debt and request validation of the debt as well as possible settlement arrangements had they actually been able to validate said debt

I sent this letter via certified mail. Always certified mail.

About a week after the 30 day period for them to respond expired, I received a Phone call very specifically crafted in a way to invoke urgency and panic and suggest legal action. So, naturally, I called this number only to discover this was a different company that had only just recently acquired said supposed debt. I reiterated to them that I was disputing this debt and required validation in writing.

The initial conversation went smoothly, they then called me back the next day and became aggressive. They accused me of lying and did everything under the sun to try and trick me into validating this debt as mine so that they would not have to legally send me that validation. I, knowing my rights, insisted that I was disputing the debt and that they were required to send me validation despite them claiming that they were not and that they already had and many other number of lies. I refused to continue the conversation until someone had sent me validation to which they continually responded that they would be forwarding this to their legal department and blah blah blah blah blah.

Surprise surprise, I get a phone call today from yet another company, this one claiming to be in the process of forwarding my account to the county clerks office. That was an immediate red flag as the county clerk does not handle debt disputes. They would have to hire a lawyer in my state to handle this case. I asked what company this was as they had not stated initially, and when they told me I realized this was now another company who had purchased said alleged debt and we’re trying to collect on it. this one outright illegally threatening to take me to court knowing they weren’t.

Beyond that, he tried to lie to me and tell me that a debt validation was not what I thought it was and that a validation was actually just a notice that they had purchased a debt so when I received a letter stating that they had purchased this debt that would be a validation.

That is not true! Debt companies are legally required to send you notice of an allegedly acquired debt in writing and you have 30 days to dispute and request that validation. The company then has 30 days themselves to respond and validate your debt or the debt is forfeit. This man tried to lie to me and tell me that a notice was the same thing as a dead validation in order to trick me into paying a debt that he cannot validate that I am actively disputing.

This is now the fourth company that has attempted to collect on a debt they cannot validate. They know they cannot validate this debt and instead have relied on trying to trick me into paying it. These tactics would absolutely work if I did not have a sales background and or know my rights.

And this ladies and gentlemen is why you always always always dispute a debt. The last debt I disputed was immediately pulled from collections and that allowed me to get back in contact with the original creditor and work out a payment plan so that it would never hit my credit and keep my account with them current. This debt is invalid and therefore they cannot hit my credit with it nor can I collect on it or I will sue them.

If you guys have any questions about dealing with that collectors please ask me.

I’m not surprised they gave you the long ass run around on this.

For anyone that has a debt sold to a Collections Agency do exactly what OP did and request debt validation (Google-able). Most of the time, the Original company you owed debt to did not give them your Social Security Number or your date of birth; just a good phone number and address. In order to be held legally responsible for it and to be on your credit score, they need your SSN or DOB to prove it’s yours.

Usually, they’re initial call will say “Hey so before we can discuss your debt of $Xxxx, we need you to verify your SSN and DOB.” They’re lying. That means they want you to confirm it so they can legally pin that debt to you. If you send a Debt Validation letter VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, that Collections Agency has 30 days to prove you owe the debt and that it does in fact tie to you. Since in most cases they can’t, they’ll send a letter saying “We don’t have the necessary information to collect on this debt. It is now null and void.” Send copies of that to the credit bureaus, and they wipe it from your credit report.

With OP, they did the shadiest thing possible by constantly re-selling the debt, thus starting over that 30 day response period.

Never pay a debt unless you’re certain that you owe it. Especially if it’s for a deceased relative. Debt collection companies are especially predatory during the grieving period asking you to “Pay down the debt” or “Clear their good name”. Unless you (co)signed, don’t give them anything. The debt will get written off on their taxes. If you do pay, you’re locked in on that debt. You basically showed “willingness and ability to pay” which is all they need.

I gotta say… even if you *are * “certain you owe it”, get it validated. If someone forgot to make sure to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s and didn’t connect the DOB and SSN and everything… That isn’t your fault. This whole capitalistic hellscape is fucking broken. don’t pay *anything* that you legally can’t be compelled to.

While this is all good advice. It unfortunately takes significant amounts of time and effort to request those validations, have things exponged from your credit history, and most certainly to sue people illegally attempting to collect on a debt.

It’s a Vimes Boot Index problem. The poorer and more accosted by debt collectors you are, the less agency you have to fight those things while also providing for your own basic costs of living. And that’s not accounting for those of us with mental health or medical issues that make carrying out those tasks all the more difficult. Yes, it should be easy to send a few letters via certified mail, and then forward on the applicable responses. But when you are struggling not to have a suicidal melt down every time the phone rings, because you can’t afford to pay rent or keep food on the table - let alone your antidepressants - those tasks quickly become insurmountable.

friedri-ce:

friedri-ce:

DAUNTLESS || ULTRAKILL comic

a summary

humanjeff:

ralfmaximus:

ghost-gallery:

thatdisasterauthor:

fangorn-forest:

scientists are in labs right now creating the thinnest and worst material known to mankind so they can make women’s clothing

World’s thinnest spaghetti won’t please gourmands but may heal wounds

Technically they’re using it for bandages. For now.

Quote from the article

The resulting “nanopasta” can then be spun into a tiny mat about 2 centimetres across. While it isn’t intended as food, Clancy says that it should be safe to eat, but is reticent to talk about having tried it. “It’s an ethical quandary to talk about scientific self-experimentation,” he says. “But, hypothetically, one might expect it to be chewier than you’d expect.”

Oh he’s definitely eating it

scientists are in labs right now creating the thinnest and worst material known to mankind so they can surreptitiously eat it

donothello:

Recent doodle dump, full of Rodger for the masses.

Hits your Yatta with the chubbification beam

blabuffet:

Attack for motif on artfight

casenpai:

• You’re never too old to collect figures.
  
• You’re never too old to be in a fandom.
  
• You’re never too old to play video games.
  
• You’re never too old to listen to music.
  
• You’re never too old to enjoy things.
  

diblmetta:

V2s defeat was satisfying and necessary for the flow of the game

but…

carnelianfoxx:

ok e621’s april fools joke this year is pretty good

primarybufferpanel:

saphiretarot:

tumblr where are they

lukadjo:

I’ve made this as a logo/seal thing for a body in a fictional country’s government. It would be helpful if you, the one reading this, could answer the following:

1. What do you think it could be a seal/logo for?
2. Let’s assume you guessed right. How could I improve it?

reikiajakoiranruohoja:

Since I’m on a rambly mood, here’s some serious thoughts;

Your ability to show empathy towards disabled people is not tested when you see a well-put together person in a wheelchair.

It is tested when someone obviously mentally ill is taking too long in the line, when someone haggard asks you for a coin, when someone clearly intellectually disabled and yet an adult is acting up.

Disability is not always cute, it is not always kind. It is not always comforting. Quite often it is dirty and unfair and rough.

Even if you are disabled yourself, you can have ableistic thoughts.

The best you can do is accept the flaw in those thoughts and still treat the person with respect.

ashfae:

leatherlavender:

insufficiently-advanced:

findsomethingtofightfor:

the-real-numbers:

Source

ok this is a poignant visual metaphor tho

this image made me quit my job.

I remember the first time I saw it, i stared at it for several minutes until I finally just started crying. It made me resolve to leave, and I turned in my resignation about a month later.

This is your reminder that if life keeps throwing you lemons you are not morally obligated to make lemonade from them. You can duck, or catch them in a trash can, or get a baseball bat and slam those fuckers into the stratosphere.

melonfacade:

frankiefridayyy:

everythingfox:

Easy entertainment

me when bawwoon

terrible-leviathan:

WHY TF DID THEY REPLACE THE SWORDS WITH GUNS IN THE LIVE ACTION

salubriousbean:

ESPERANTO IS SO COOL

💚🤍💚

mircalla:

random thought: what if someone created anti-esperanto? and by that i mean an international language that is designed to be as difficult to learn as possible. if a lot of languages use the same word like for example orange, then it uses something that is completely different and only recognizable to a handful of people. also every single verb must be irregular

ironspine:

esperanto-aesthetics:

“Esperanto at a glance” Educational poster by the British Esperanto Association, 1923

“16 rules, NO exceptions”

dizzytitty:

dizzytitty:

Everyone look at the cat blanket I made like .. 3 years ago

Btw don’t believe any Etsy ad or things trying to sell this pattern to you. It’s been free since the 90s. It’s very simple, just double crochet and color changes. Be sure to weave in ends as you go unlike me

Wayback Machine

naamahdarling:

thecottageinthedark:

thestalwartheart:

hey jason isaacs what the fuck

good for him

Oh dear god

syn4k:

allsnarker:

altrbody:

Fabio Viale, marble sculpture.

need y'all to know that my friend and i have been looking at fabio’s body of work for the past 30 minutes. this is the guy that does the tattoo’d classics sculptures. hyper-realistic tires with weathered tread. fucking. rust textured correctly on nails??? this shit is insane please look at this

that-wildwolf:

cricketcat9:

certifiedsexed:

meancatboy:

playfully–sadistic:

meancatboy:

Penetration is a gender-neutral act. Topping is gender-neutral. Bottoming is gender-neutral. You are not more or less of a man or a woman depending on how you fuck. You are not “fake trans” for having sex a certain way. You are not any less masculine for bottoming or any less feminine for topping.

Additionally, acting like being penetrated is an act of submission is deeply rooted in misogynistic, cisheteronormative ideas of sexual intercourse, as in “penetration is something that is done to women for the sexual gratification of the man, nothing more, therefore it is inherently degrading and feminine”.

A cishet man getting pegged by his cishet girlfriend is not gay, he’s not less of a man or submissive by default. A cishet man getting pegged by his cishet girlfriend can be sexually dominant and simply likes to be fucked in his ass - these two can co-exist. Yet, in the eyes of cishet society, a man that likes to have his ass played with, must enjoy it because it’s “degrading” , not because it simply feels good.

That’s why I so heavily preach about the difference between sub/dom/switch and bottom/top/vers. Penetration can be used to increase the feeling and severity of a power dynamic, but it doesn’t create one. These two things are entirely separate from eachother, unless connected willingly.

you should reblog this version instead, actually

Certified Sex ED Post !

Because some of you are still confused

The hot rage I feel whenever after I suggest a fictional character I like gets pegged by his girlfriend and everyone’s reaction is “hell yeah I need him gay!!” HE’S HAVING STRAIGHT SEX. WITH A WOMAN. I beg you please be normal about straight men getting topped because you will never unlearn transphobia and cisheteronormativity if you don’t

whiskeydickclaws:

fine-ass-fatshion:

This is not like a fully completed thought but yk

So I’ve done my first aid + CPR a few times. And every single time I try and bring up scenarios for fat folks

Specifically like ‘what if someone is too large for me to wrap my arms around then to do the heimleich’

And its incredibly rare I get a decent answer.

How absolutely insane is it that me, as a fat person, is asking how to have MY life saved or to save ANOTHER life, is an impossible feat if someone is fat.

Most of the time they tell me to 'just try anyways uwu’

There has got to be a better option.

From a first aid and CPR trainer, who is also fat.

The heimleich is scientifically as effective as slapping someone VERY hard on the back. The only reason it’s so well taught is the man that invented it did a lot of great PR for himself. It’s also a bit easier for smaller framed people to get the necessary force in, because people are often extremely scared to hurt people, even in life threatening situations.

With larger bodied people, whether they be fat, tall, muscular, etc. If you cannot get your arms around them, literally just slap the shit out of their shoulders. You want hard, open palmed slaps right in the center of the shoulders or slightly below.

If they are too tall for you to reach that high, guide them to lean over the back of a chair, and then slap slap slap slap slap.

It’s been proven to be just as effective through many studies. It just doesn’t have a trademarked name and a dramatic effect in film.

If you have to do CPR on a larger bodied person, again, fat, body builder, tall and broad, whoever, the trick to finding where you want to put your hands if going to be to take your hand and shove it in their armpit. No seriously. Put your hand in their armpit, then drag it in a straight line towards yourself until you’re in the center of the chest, then put your other hand beneath that one. This is where you push. Then you are going to move the arm closest to you out of the way so you can get closer to them, and get the leverage you need to press down for compressions. The more of your body weight that is over your hands, the better the compression will be. Act like you are trying desperately to pack the last of your clothes in a suitcase, and just slam down hard on their chest.

They will make *horrible* noises. You might even break ribs.

But a broken rib is better than being dead.

One day, perhaps, other CPR and First Aid instructors will actually know and teach this shit. But the medical field is filled with people who don’t know, don’t care, or just outright hate fat people. So while this information won’t fix your complaint, I do hope it helps someone out there with saving their loved ones, should it ever be needed.

alex51324:

regina-bithyniae:

1. In a totalitarian state, anything you can find to do that is neither forbidden nor compulsory is an act of liberation.
2. In a totalitarian state, wasting the authorities time and resources is a positive good.

My fellow Americans, act accordingly.

the-haiku-bot:

foone:

sarah-ankh:

standard-human:

what-if-i-just-did:

So, something I learnt the other day. So, you know how dinosaurs supposedly can’t see you if you stand still? Well that myth is based on real-life lizards/etc and how eyes in general work. So, once my dad starts infodumping, here comes some other cool information. We, humans, can in fact, also not see something unless it’s moving. We fixed this by having our eyes constantly shake. And then our brain compensates for us, so we don’t have to have shaky vision.

What if aliens don’t have this? Like. What if they find out when one of us was looking at something in the distance, and they walk around this thing that’s in front of them, and the alien is confused so they bob their head and oh, there’s a thing there, but how did the human know that, and then we explain and they’re like, horrified.

Humans are apex predators. They can hunt in packs. They can hunt in pairs. They can hunt on their own. They’re persistance predators, which is unheard of. They get stronger when they’re mad or scared. They have this thing called ‘body language’ which acts like a type of hivemind, even if they’ll claim it isn’t. And. They can see you. When you’re not moving. They can still see you. If you ever find yourself in a fight against a human, for whatever reason? Run. Run as fast as you can. And hope, pray if you have a religion, that they won’t follow.

ok thats a really neat concept but what do you mean our eyes are always shaking

If you hold your hand at arms length and look at your thumbnail, thats approximately the size of area your eye can actually focus on. Everything else is a composite image generated by your brain.

Your eyes constantly dart around a little bit to fill in the composite.

the scary part? when your eyes move, you go blind. Your visual system has to cover up the periodic blindness but it does it “backwards” from how you’d expect: instead of “lagging” vision, it shows you what you see after the blindness, but makes it seem like you saw it the whole time.

You can see this by looking at a clock with a ticking second hand. The first time you move your eyes to it, the tick you see will seem to take longer than usual. That’s because your visual system lied about how long you saw that tick, because you were blind for part of the time you thought you were seeing it. (fun fact: we don’t see the same thing with moving objects, but only because our vision system “fakes the footage” of them moving while we were blind, because it understands consistent motion)

The human vision system is a marvelous clusterfuck of hacks.

The human vision

system is a marvelous

clusterfuck of hacks.

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

onemillionwordsofcrap:

lilou-the-world-builder:

^^^

renardtrickster:

a-very-tired-jew:

kelsismedium:

boybeetles:

boybeetles:

There’s a bunch of right-wing people posting memes about “”DOGE”” making the government more efficient by removing funding from “”dumb bug researchers”” and I am now realizing how little the average person knows about entomology and its importance

Excuse me while I get sad .

There is a community note correcting this post about the importance of researching insects - including the reproductive habits of insects. But still the fact this was posted and 2k people liked it makes me sad 🥲🥲

“stupid researchers studying the mating habits of beetles” people when they can’t afford groceries because an invasive beetle species is decimating crops

An actual conversation I had with a colleague.

Colleague: so they were using the wrong species to pollinate their crops.

Me: what do you mean?

Colleague: well they were using a fly species from Canada and they’re growing onions in Texas. The fly they were using was dying in a day in their greenhouses because it’s frigging Texas in May/June.

Me: and no one was studying this or telling them otherwise?

Colleague: not till me.

Me: so they were wasting all that money on an inefficient pollinator and losing out on crop yield.

Colleague: yep…

And yet these idiots want to cut entomological research funding. Yeah, good luck with that. Come back to us when there’s huge outbreaks of pest insects and arbovectors that we were studying but y’all decided it was “too stupid” to fund.

a-krogan-skald-and-bearsark:

elbiotipo:

elbiotipo:

I believe everything should be offline, I believe that every time something that is not your internet browser (and I’m being generous here) should have a big red alert that says THIS PIECE OF SHIT PROGRAM NEEDS TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET AND REQUESTS YOUR CONSENT TO DO THIS SPECIFIC THING, and you had to touch a big red button and it would disconnect as soon as you close it.

“oh you can’t edit this document on your device :) you need to save it to the Google Panopticon first :)” “Adobe needs to update on the background sorry we’ll just steal your RAM for a bit :) you don’t need to notice don’t open the task manager your so sexy ahaha” “Windows needs to be online to send everything you do… somewhere”

IN MY TIME Microsoft Word had to ask permission to even put an hyperlink, let alone fucking update in the background. Videogames had to BEG to connect to a LAN network, now Gabe Newell gives any dev the power to install whatever the fuck in my hard drive.

Computers used to know RESPECT, now they’re all assholes who want access to your contact list.

My laptop installed Copilot without telling me. Apparently it was part of the latest windows update.

It’s uninstalled now, but there’s a word we used to use for programs that secretly installed themselves on your machine.

Malware.

liberalsarecool:

The indoctrination never stops.

Conservatives need a minority target to keep their followers focused/unified on hate. As the followers obsess on hate, their lives/emotions are much easier to manipulate.

Conservatives always vow to restore the country to some distant past that never existed.

It’s an endless loop of failure.

moniquill:

lakidaa:

nitrosplicer:

Guys they reintroduced Galapagos tortoises to espanola island and they’ve essentially terraformed their environment, knocking over invasive plants so that endangered albatrosses (who need space to take off using the ground as a runway) have returned and established nests!

Galapagos giant tortoises are restoring their own ecosystem

https://www.popsci.com/environment/galapagos-giant-tortoises-ecosystem-conservation/

‘you know what? fuck your plant *rebuilds albatross runways*’

swords-n-spindles:

ace-aro-queerplatonic-positivity:

stormclouds-chainmail:

rhosyn-du:

j0die101:

(April 12th 2024)

No medical confirmation or psychological evaluation necessary. The law will be active by the 1st of November this year.

First names can also be changed while changing gender. One all inclusive package with minimum effort.

Here’s the AP article about it for anyone who wants it

[ID: The Destiel meme, edited to say, in the first panel, “I love you”, and in the second, “Today Germany passed a law that allows everyone to change their gender by simply going to the registry and telling them to change it.” End ID]

I need people outside of Germany to understand how huge this is!

Hang on, you can literally… declare yourself to have NO gender, too.

I didn’t know that!

shaemed:

i’m gonna be straight up, we’re at the point where we’ve so thoroughly proven that debate is ineffectual at best in terms of convincing shitheads of fucking anything that, if you do so now, you’re basically just a fucking ally to them

don’t fucking platform nazis. don’t give them the time of day. block them, maybe hurt their feelings too, but just block them.

you need to understand that social ostracization actually fucking works in terms of dissuading behavior. it may not change a person, but it’ll change what they do. you trying to epicly own them with facts and logic achieves less than nothing—it gives them exactly what they want: attention

ali-labyrinth:

kaijutegu:

godmybackhurts:

heartwarminganimals:

I wish we could teach each other how to love the way we can teach animals that aren’t supposed to be able to feel it.

@kaijutegu is this cute? I know you deal with tegus and not iguanas, but I didn’t know who else to ask

This is precious.

So, first thing you need to know is that is a very visibly healthy adult green iguana. Every part of the iguana is sharp. The claws evolved to haul a ten pound lizard up a tree. The spines are like tiny icepicks. The tail is a bullwhip. The teeth evolved to shred leaves, but they’ll just as easily shred your flesh. Good luck making a healthy adult iguana do anything they don’t wanna. That puts us on our first thing to look at- is the animal capable of defense and getting away, physically? Yes, definitely.

Next thing to know is what does a threatened or scared iguana look like? When an iguana is threatened, it doesn’t stand on its hind legs like that; it stands on all fours and puffs itself up to look bigger, aggressively bobs its head (note: head bobbing is a behavior used for a LOT of things, it does need context- for example, they also head bob as part of mating displays), there is hissing, there is tail whipping- iguanas are not subtle creatures. None of this is the behavior of an iguana that feels threatened or is being a threat!

So what does standing like that mean? That’s just simple reaching. The iguana sees something they want and is attempting to reach it, and what they want appears to be uppies, because they settle into the human’s grip immediately.

Then, we see some GREAT handling from the human. There’s really great communication happening between the two of them! The person picks up the iguana very securely- pelvis and pectoral girdles are well supported, and he doesn’t grab. (Iguanas typically do NOT like being grabbed around the sides; many of their predators are birds and coming at them from above or gripping the sides is scary!)

As he goes in for the pet, he lets the iguana support their back half on his knee. The hold is secure but not tight; at any point, if the iggy was distressed, they could leave. But they don’t- instead, you see them leaning into the pets, actively participating in the behavior. They’re not even closing their eyes to block stimulus. They want this to happen.

This is the kind of bond that’s possible when you can prove to a big lizard that you’re trustworthy, and easily the best iguana video I’ve seen in a long time. Thank you for tagging me in!

Some green iguana body language resources under the jump!

Keep reading

catchymemes:

super-ion:

super-ion:

super-ion:

super-ion:

Concept: cursed blade rehabilitation center. Destroying a sentient weapon is expensive and highly unethical, so adventurers bring them to the center where highly trained staff can care for them and eventually find them forever homes. It turns out most cursed weapons are products of trauma and are not strictly evil themselves. Some blades turn out to be fiercely protective companions. Others don’t even want to be weapons at all, finding joy in simple work like blacksmithing or farming. Most blades just need to be loved.

A pack of bandits descend upon a seemingly undefended town. But the blacksmith’s hammer, the farmer’s scythe, the woodsman’s axe, they have not forgotten what they once were, and they *will* defend the town that they have come to love.

This sweet girl has been with us for seven seasons. She was forged in the heart of a volcano and would be ideal for anyone with a preexisting fire affinity (she’s a cuddler and is guaranteed to keep you warm in winter). She still loves burning, but it turns out you can only reduce the world to ash once. She would be perfectly suited for forest management that regularly requires controlled burns.

This weary old soul has grown tired of bloodshed and would much rather spend his days as an ominous decoration in a tavern or common room, a perfect fit for an adventurer looking to leave their dungeon crawling days behind. He likes peoplewatching with his single glowing eye, preferably from high, prominent locations with views of entrances and exits.

clever-ludicrous:

How to Actually Learn a Language (Without Wasting Time)

Polyglots will do anything to sell you something, so here’s the fastest and most basic technique based on my research.

—

Step 1 – Getting the Absolute Basics In

This is where most people already get lost. If you search social media for how to start, the advice isn’t necessarily bad, but it often makes you dependent on a single resource, usually an app that will eventually try to charge you. Duolingo, for example, has turned into a mega-corporation that perfected gamification to keep you on the app.

Remember: free apps make money by keeping you on their platform, not by helping you become fluent.

At this stage, the goal is not to gain conversational skills but to avoid overwhelming yourself and get a feel for what you’re actually getting into. All my recommended resources are free because I believe learning a language should be a basic right. I wouldn’t advise spending any money until you’re sure you’ll stick with it. Otherwise, it can turn into a toxic “but I paid for this, so I have to keep going” mindset that drains all the fun out of learning.

• Language Transfer – Highly recommended for Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, German, Greek, Italian, Swahili, and French.

• Textbooks – Simply search for [language] textbook PDF, or check LibGen and the Internet Archive. Don’t overthink which book to choose—it doesn’t matter much.

• Podcasts – Coffee Break is a solid choice for many languages.

• YouTube Channels – Join r/Learn[language] on Reddit and find recommendations.

—

Step 2 – The 20/80 Principle

The idea is that 20% of words make up 80% of everyday speech.

What you’re going to do:

• Search “Most common words [language] PDF”.

This list is now your best friend

For flashcards, I highly recommend AnkiPro. It lets you import pre-made lists for Anki/Quizlet and has an archive where you’ll definitely find the most common words. But it lacks audio. The real Anki program has it, but only on PC (unless you’re willing to pay $30 for the mobile app). Use AnkiPro for now—we’ll come back to repeating phrases later. In the meantime, find a YouTube video with the most common words pronounced, or use Google Translate for audio.

(Knowt is a free alternative for Quizlet if you prefer that)

These lists will spare you from learning unnecessary vocabulary at this stage. Spaced repetition (which Anki uses) can take longer, but it’s worth it because you want these words to stick. Anki will only introduce a small number of new words per day. Once you start new words, write phrases using them. Doesn’t matter if they’re random just try to use them.

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Step 3 – The First Breakup With the Language

This isn’t really a step, but I have to mention it. For me (and for other language learners I’ve talked to) this is where motivation crashes.

The dopamine rush is over. Your ego boost is gone. You’re stuck understanding just enough to notice how much you don’t understand, and topics are getting more complex. Everything feels overwhelming, and motivation drops.

This is normal. You have to push through it.

I’ll write a separate post on how I manage this phase, but for now:

• Take a step back and make sure you understand the basics.

• Find something that keeps you motivated.

• Consistency is key. Even if it’s just five minutes a day, do it. (Edit: You can search online for inspiration on scheduled plans. I found one that organizes language exercises into different categories based on how much time you have each day, which seems helpful. https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/s/sSGUtORurM

Personally, I used AI to create a weekly plan kind of as a last resort before giving up on the language, but try looking for pre-made ones first.)

I personally enjoyed story learning during this phase. And don’t forget the frequency lists are still your best friend. For story learning check out Olly Richards books!

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Step 4 – Immersion

Your brain needs active and passive immersion. The earlier steps were mostly active, and now you’ll start the fun part.

How to Immerse Yourself:

1. Join some kind of community.

• I enjoy Reddit/ r/lean[Language]. Do this in your target language, but also in the language you already speak. Post that you’re looking for a chat partner in your target language. The most people are nice, and the mean ones will just ghost you anyway.

2. Watch shows.

• Subtitles only in your target language or drop English subtitles ASAP.

3. Listen to podcasts.

4. Read

I personally dislike media made for kids (except on low-energy days). For real immersion, pick something for adults.

5. Translate, write, and speak.

Before this, you wrote simple sentences using vocabulary. Now, put them to work:

• Translate texts.

• Keep a diary.

• Write short stories.

• Complain about the language in the language.

It doesn’t matter, just use it.

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Step 5 – Speaking

Start speaking earlier than you think you’re ready. Trust me. This is probably where most people disagree with me. I do think you should start by focusing on input, but the importance of output isn’t talked about enough.

Now, the real Anki (or any program with phrases + audio) comes into play. At lower levels, it doesn’t make sense to just start talking, since you wouldn’t even be able to recognize your mistakes. Here’s what you’ll do:

1. Repeat phrases out loud.

2. Record yourself speaking.

3. Compare your recording to the original audio and adjust your pronunciation.

If it’s a tonal language (or if you struggle with accents), start this even earlier.

Other Speaking Strategies:

• Shadowing – Repeat after native speakers.

• Reading aloud – Your own texts, books, anything.

• Talking to yourself.

• Talking to natives (if you’re brave).

I’m not here to fix social anxiety, but I am here to help with language learning, so just speak.

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Final Thoughts

• These steps overlap, and that’s fine.

• This is supposed to be fun. Learning just because you’re “too deep in” or because of school won’t cut it.

• If you’re lost, take a step back.

• I’m not a professional. I just think a straight answer is way too hard to find.

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If you have anything to add, feel free to share.