#called-kept

7.) what advice would you give your childhood self?

You're not as smart as you think you are, kid.

23.) what is your favorite fruit flavor?

Raspberry

45.) an instrument you aspire to learn how to play?

I will do my best to help! The answer to that question is very long if I write it all out here, but a lot of it has been answered by other people, so I'll give you an overview and link you to some resources along the way.

The good thing is that you don't need any programming knowledge to use Linux. If you just want to try out the Linux operating system and see what it's like, I would start by downloading a program like Oracle's VirtualBox: https://www.virtualbox.org/

This will allow you to basically run a second, simulated, computer on your actual computer. From there, you can download a Linux image and install it, run it inside VirtualBox, and get familiar with the operating system. This has the additional benefit that if you do something wonky to your Linux virtual machine (VM for short) by mistake, you can just delete it and recreate it and no harm will be done to your actual computer. For a step-by-step explanation, see: https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/how-to-run-ubuntu-desktop-on-a-virtual-machine-using-virtualbox#1-overview

Short aside: Linux is not a monolithic operating system like Windows or MacOS. Linux, written by a man named Linus Torvalds, is a "kernel" made up of certain very basic computer functions, and the rest of the operating system, things like the graphical user interface (GUI, to nerds like me) doesn't come with it. To be usable by normal people, Linux has to have that functionality filled in by other programmers, which creates something called a distribution, or distro for short. Ubuntu, Debian, RedHat, Linux Mint, and OpenSUSE are all Linux distros. Different distros are designed for different purposes. Ubuntu and Mint are both pretty friendly to normal folks who want to write documents, check their email, etc. RedHat is for large companies. There's a distro called Kali that's for cybersecurity and penetration testing. Etc. etc. etc. There are tons of distros. If you don't know which one to pick, I recommend Ubuntu or Mint, as I have experience with both, and they're fairly easy to use.

From this point out, a search engine will be your best friend. There are lots of helpful tutorials online, and also answers to almost any question you can imagine. If you're unsure where to start, documentation from the website of an official Linux distribution, like Ubuntu, is usually reliable, though it can be kind of opaque if you're not used to reading tech-ese. The tutorials on Ubuntu's site, however, seem to be structured with beginners in mind, and I would run through this one to start with: https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/command-line-for-beginners#1-overview

Once you get to the point of having specific questions about how a command works or how to make the operating system do something, I would take a good look at any answers from StackOverflow, which is basically a website for computer people of all skill levels to ask each other questions ranging from the basic to the ridiculously obscure. If you're wondering it, chances are good someone on StackOverflow has asked it.

Other than that, click around your new VM, create files, find programs, etc. If you really get stuck, I'll try and help, but keep in mind I may very well be searching StackOverflow myself. XD

The other cool thing about VMs is that you can try multiple operating systems, i.e. Linux Mint (https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) which is pretty user-friendly, as I recall.

Once you get to the point where you actually want to install Linux, you'll want to back up your computer to an external hard drive so you can restore from the backup if something goes wrong, and then follow the instructions for your chosen Linux distro. LibreOffice runs on Linux and can open most Microsoft file types, so you shouldn't need to move your files to a different type, you'll just need to copy them somewhere (like another external hard drive or a thumb drive) and then copy them back when you're done with the installation. Obligatory word of warning: installing Linux on your actual machine, as opposed to a VM, WILL OVERWRITE YOUR ENTIRE HARD DRIVE. Do this with caution. Restoring from a backup is possible, so as long as you backed everything up you will not lose any data, but it can be a pain in the neck and if you're not particularly tech-savvy, you may have to go to a computer repair store to get them to do it.

Now, as to your question about learning to code: this requires no VM and no new installation; you can start doing that today. There are almost infinite tutorials online about how to start coding. CodeCademy.com is a pretty decent one, as I recall, though it's been a long time since I used it. There's also a channel on YouTube called BroCode that puts up free 'how to get started in this programming language' tutorials, which are pretty beginner-friendly. I would recommend that you start with either Python or Java (NOT JavaScript; it's not the same thing as Java, and it's a really annoying programming language, so don't do that to yourself). Python has syntax that is more similar to English than most programming languages and it is pretty powerful, but it may confuse you when you start moving to other programming languages. Java is less immediately comprehensible but probably more representative of programming languages as a whole.

What have you learned in the last few months?

It’s really hard so I wouldn’t say I’ve learned it 100% but I’ve definitely gotten better at accepting that other people’s reactions and thoughts have so much less to do with me than I think. I’m so finely calibrated to see everything as a response to me. In good ways as well as bad ones! Because a response to me, to something I say, even just to my person, is my favorite thing in the world. But sometimes it just isn’t. At the very least it’s fifty-fifty but honestly I think it’s far more often that someone’s words and moods have nothing to do with me and everything to do with that person’s own rich and complex inner life than that it is about me.

What hard things have you accepted lately?

I don't think I ever ended up making a How To post actually although I did promise! Ok give me a minute.

What you need:

A lot of a-4 plain printer paper

A LOT of white glue. More than you think.

Awl, thick needles, sewing cord coated in wax (I would recommend buying a cheap bookbinding kit, or at least bookbinding thread).

Cover fabric, I tend to buy a fat quarter and that's more than enough, try to get stuff that takes glue well.

Cardboard, not the stuff you get in boxes, that thinner sturdy stuff you can buy in packs.

Some fairly study other fabric, long, takes glue well, will be invisible by the end of the book so it doesn't matter what it looks like.

Creasing tool

METAL ruler (otherwise your knife will keep gouging it)

A sharp craft knife, sharp enough to cut good cardboard.

Lining paper, decorated and thick.

So you have to start by splitting the text up into signatures, which are like pamphlets, often made out of 8 A-4 sheets folded together so you get 32 pages out of it. You just stack them one on top of the other and fold in half. However because you're using text, you need to find out how much text of the story fits into 32 pages and then arrange it so when you fold it it folds over together. I tend to put all the text into one word document, format it the way I want (landscape, each sheet divided into two, and make sure the middle column margin is quite wide because the fold over takes up a lot of space. Also make side and top margins quite small otherwise it looks ugly). Then copy paste the 32 pages (which is 16 sheets in the document because you'll have to print double sided) into a new document, and then work with those 32 pages and rearrange them in a third document to be in the right order for double-sided printing where they all fit together to make a pamphlet. Arranging each page in the right section can be confusing and I can't really explain how it works, but it's a bit logical. Basically the first page on the first sheet should be the very last page of the 32, then the 2nd page on the first sheet should be the very first page, the first page of the second sheet should be the second page of the 32, and the second page of the second sheet should be the second to last page of the 32, and then it keeps going back and forth until it meets in the middle.

Your very front and back pages will be covered over with lining paper, so remember to leave empty spaces for them, and often you'll need to leave empty pages for aesthetic reasons, like if you want the title on the right of the spread rather than the left, for example. This is the most time consuming and frustrating part of the process, but it pays to take time and get it right.

I don't have any photos of signatures, but in a reblog I will link the webpages which I found really helpful in making this, and they have clear photos.

So you print out the signatures, you check to make sure all the pages fit together linearly, and then you crease down the middle. I would recommend buying a cheap bookbinding kit, it should have a tool for creasing, typically made with bone but now often just plastic. Creasing the inside means the pages don't crumple when you fold them over.

Then, you need to bind the signatures together. You need to sew them using thick thread with wax on it, and they're thick enough that you need to pierce them with an awl. Make five holes down the centre crease, one in the middle, then I tend to do two more one on either side an inch or an inch and a half from that first one, and then two more again, an inch or inch and a half from those.

You then sew, basically you sew along the signatures and then up to the next and then along again. I have an excellent tutorial with pictures that I will link, look at that for sure. It recommends using bookbinding tape, which gives more support to the pile of signatures, I don't use it but my books haven't been hugely thick, it's up to you. Pull the thread fairly tightly, if you don't the signatures will slide apart from each other and won't remain in line, but not so tight it wrinkles the paper.

Then, you need some thin cloth, easy to cut, takes glue easily, but sturdy. You need a length of it as long as the signatures and several times wider. None of it will be seen in the end so it doesn't matter what it looks like. What you do is you clip together the signatures tightly now they're sewn together, using bulldog clips, and cover the spines of them in white glue. White glue was invented for bookbinding originally, and you can get really fancy stuff, but tbh PVA works just as well. You need a LOT of glue, try not to let it seep between the signatures, but be liberal with it. Press the spine of the signatures directly onto the fabric, and leave the glue to dry with the signatures standing upright, I use cans of beans or whatever pressed on either side to keep it standing up.

While that's drying, make the cover. Measure the signatures beforehand, and cut out two identical rectangles of cardboard which are about a cm wider than the signatures, and between 1-2 cm taller. These will be the amount which sticks out from the pages of the book, so it depends on how much you want, but don't go too big. Also cut out a strip of cardboard exactly as tall as these rectangles, and as wide as the block of signatures is (I would suggest measuring the width of the signature block before gluing it). Then, cut out a rectangle of the cover fabric you want, it can be messily cut it doesn't matter, larger than the three pieces of cardboard arranged together in a row, and glue the cardboard to the backside of the fabric, in this arrangement:

Suddenly it starts to look like a real cover! I would recommend having a few cm of extra fabric on both sides. Use the same white glue as you did for the signatures. Leave to dry.

After everything is dry (and basically every time I say leave to dry, it should take about 12 hours maybe to be sure, there's a Lot of glue and it takes a LONG TIME). After everything is dry, you take the hanging over fabric of the cover and you fold it over and in, gluing it down to the inside of the cardboard. You can just glue as is, you can do fancy corners by pinching the fabric together at the corners and flattening that loose fabric into triangles, it's up to you. Be inventive. But make sure it's well glued down. It should go from this

To this

That's your cover!

Then, when everything is dry, you take the signature block and fabric glued to it. You trim the fabric if there's any sticking off top or bottom, and maybe cut that fabric on both sides diagonally from the top and bottom inwards, so it looks like a diamond if that makes any sense.

Unhelpful photo but see how that fabric, the cream stuff attached to the white, is kind of cut diagonally? Do that more.

Then, you glue the fabric, NOT THE SPINE, but the fabric on both sides of the spine of the signatures, to the cardboard rectangles that are the cover of the book. This is very important, you do not glue the spine of the signatures to anything, and the cardboard spine in the middle of the cover, that thin strip, is also not glued to anything. You need free movement there to be able to open the book to different pages without it being too stiff. It should end up looking like this when you close it.

No glue between the signatures and the spine of the cover.

So you leave this to dry again the signatures standing up, again the canned food is extremely helpful and beloved.

You're almost done! Get your lining paper. I got some real marbled paper from Yorkshire, very thick and heavy and pretty

But any patterned paper will do as long as it's not too thin. You can just print a design onto printer paper, that works fine.

This bit is tricky, you need to measure a rectangle on the lining paper that is exactly as high as the signatures, and as long as from the outer edge of the first page of the signature to maybe half a cm from the outer edge of the front cover. It should cover up all the edges of the fabric glued inside, but not reach all the way to the end of the cover. Do the same with the back page and back cover.

Then, you glue this paper directly onto the front cover and the front page, and the second piece directly onto the back cover and the last page. I tend to use too much glue for this so it comes out lumpy and wrinkled, so maybe use less and make sure it's positioned well. If too much sticks out from the front or back page, you can trim it a bit. Leave to dry.

Awwww, you’re so sweet!

I LOVE Luke/Mara too but am usually looking for NSFW sooo...let me dig through the bookmarks/history to see what I can dig up. But if anyone else has some great L/M fics that are SFW please add.

In no particular order:

JediDryad did a February Fluff challenge: 28 Ways Luke and Mara Get Together At Last this year for our favorite duo. Some are SFW and some are not so mind the tags. I am slowly making my way thru but definitely check them out.

@teagrl/ frangipani has Thresholds which is mostly SFW with a T rating.

Summery: While in Dathomir, Luke and a pregnant Mara take part in an old Witchy purification ritual in preparation for impending parenthood.

Set during NJO it has lots of L/M feels as they get ready for parenthood, A++ word-building expansion on Dathomir and is such a lovely story.

Also try Routine Checks. Summary: Scenes from a marriage in spaaaaace.

Frangipani is great but most of their stuff is NSFW.

Deaka is also great but would highlight An Odd Kind of Honeymoon, It’s great and usually shows up on everyone's list. Summary: Newly married Luke and Mara Skywalker journey across Tatooine on their honeymoon, some unexpected discoveries arising along the way.

Will the Real Luke Skywalker Please Stand Up? by kayladie is cute and silly. Summary: What happens when Luke Skywalker runs across someone using his name to pick up women?

Shattered Remembrance by Jedi-2B is an angsty amnesia fic that I don’t remember having any NSFW parts. I have a few other stories by this author also in my bookmarks/favs so check out some of their other stories as well. Summary: Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade are looking forward to beginning their life as a happy couple. But as they say, the best laid plans ...

everything I am not by fiesa Summery: She has spent two decades either hunting down or running from Luke Skywalker. OneShot- Mara Jade and a sudden change in pace. Or perhaps, not so sudden.

Responsibility and Commitment by Cassandra Spayke Summary: It is no small thing, to be second-in-command of a galaxy wide smuggling operation or head of a Jedi Praxeum. Responsibility & commitment are matters not be taken & given lightly, & that includes when it comes to marriage. Yes, another missing moments from VOTF story. Set in the 15 days between leaving Nirauan & the signing of the treaty on the Chimeara. Rated T for safety.

Repair by @bananasareforparties a lovely H/C, fluff, angst story. Summary: Mara Jade came to Aran to trade. She acquires nutcakes, Imperials, and one Luke Skywalker, condition: damaged. Hurt/Comfort fic.

A Year In The Life Series by @jadelotusflower Some are G some are M all are good. Summary: Luke and Mara celebrate various holidays in the first year of their marriage.  Each part can be read as a standalone or together as a series.

Auld Lang Syne by @jadelotusflower Summary: When you realise you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

Common Hazards of the Penumbra Sector by @celinamarniss Summary: Luke joins Mara (and her crew) on a not-date in the Penumbra Sector to watch the popular, dangerous, and very illegal Ewok swoop races. Trouble, as it always does, finds them.

I would also highlight The Moisture Farmer’s Wife though there is very little L/M and more Mara getting a look at boy Luke’s life. Summary: After touching a mysterious Jedi artifact, Mara is swept back in time to Tatooine three decades earlier. Taken in by Owen and Beru, she has to figure out how to get home without revealing who she is. On top of that, her future husband is just a kid, and it's weird.

Celinamarniss has a few other G stories L/M stories that I haven’t gotten too yet so maybe check them out as well.

5 Times Mara took a vacation and 1 time she didn’t by @jedimordsith A fun look at all the trouble our duo get into. Summary: Mara Jade hates vacation. New Republic law requires she take them every year anyway. It goes... badly. 

They also have a few SFW stories all worth reading.

Catalyst by @myevilmouse This and Creativity are the exception for this author who is a self-proclaimed smut writer. But luckily they graced us with something safe to read.

Catalyst Summary: "So why’d you come?” Luke asked, genuinely curious.With a grunt, Mara stood up.  “I already told you.  If Jedi Master Luke Skywalker dies trying to make friends with a wampa, the Republic will never recover.”  She stretched, pulling her elbows behind her as she looked down at him.  “From the humiliation.”“Thank you for taking on such responsibility, Mara,” Luke grinned, getting to his feet.  “I really am glad to have you along.”