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#Wide Format Printer
dobbdobbz · 20 days
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Beeeeeeeeee comm completed for peppers 💜
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kevinbradleysstuff · 1 year
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The first contender on the list, a precise and efficient wide format printer usually uses some kind of inkjet or toner-based technology to print the image.
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foodprinttech · 1 year
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🍰On the hunt for a cost-efficient edible printer to move its print-head onto your food production line directly? If you just want to print monochrome edible graphics or logos in bulk, 🌟the FP-511-B wide format edible printer🌟 is the right one! Check out https://bit.ly/511printer for more details.
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scatteredcloud · 3 days
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Going on yet another rant about “merch”
If you did not screen print that shirt yourself, you did not make it.
You made the design on it, which I’m sure would be a nice poster or sticker perhaps? Which of course you didn't print yourself, that sounds hard! An embroidered design? Maintaining a 12 needle embroidery machine capable of producing a design with that many colors for the number of orders being received is a lot of work, that's pretty impressive! Not to mention maintaining proper tension on the frame working with a hundred stretchy t shirts, which idk came from somewhere who knows! Your repeating pattern looks very nice on a skirt that you did not make and was mass produced by some Vietnamese person getting paid pennies so that ~50 gay people on the internet could pay for international shipping for a design you “made”. Wow that mug is awesome didn’t know you got into sublimation printing! And have a cylindrical heat press to be able to do not just mugs, but tumblers too! Woah your sublimation set up can do bed sheets (any size)? And shower curtains? And three different shapes of throw pillow stuffed with poly fill, which will never decompose and isn't comfortable to begin with?
Your poorly digitized vector art looks lovely as an enamel pin now that someone else (Who? More like who cares!) cleaned it up for you and then created moulds for and maybe even hand injected the enamel into only for you to sell maybe seven or eight of them. Aw damn your design got ripped off? Who could have guessed that with the distribution power of an entire manufacturing plafffnt that has hundreds, if not thousands of moulds sitting around that they might have used your mould to make themselves a profit for a change! Those money grubbing Chinese bastards! After all, you were there every step of the way, casting the negative of the mould, running the injection of liquid metal into that mould, mixing each color of enamel, and precisely filling each segment of the design, which you refused to simplify! You just can't compromise with art.
Ohhh I see they’re made to order so its more sustainable. So this factory (Guatemala? India? The Philippines? Pakistan? Could you point to it on a map? They just don't teach you this stuff in school!) Anyways this factory in some poor country has to keep your design on file, oh and for your enamel pins they have to keep the mould too! Ahh right but it’s sustainable, because it's a limited run. You’re the 100th person this week to place an order, and they're only printing 50 of your design, you should complain to the manufacturer about how slow your orders are being filled.
I love supporting small businesses - it’s just you after all! With all the hard work you’ve put into fiddling around in procreate who has time to figure out material acquisition, and production runs, and printer calibration, and inventory management, and machine maintenance, and payment processing, and international shipping, and packaging, and
#eaii#accidentally clicked on someones redbubble and they call it that because i started seeing red#i'm so fucking sick of this shit#look i think its great that people have more avenues to sell their art#but idk i feel like i'm crazy for thinking that should actually involve MAKING the art that they sell#the upfront investment is prohibitive I get it#but then connect with someone#preferably who lives on the same continent as you#to produce it locally#and like. a printer capable of printing nice stickers and posters is not like heavy duty machinery#again#expensive - sure#but i can almost guarantee that someone living in your city has a wide format printer they'd be willing to let you use#i make custom embroidered patches#im in the middle of building my own embroidery machine. obviously you do not have to do this#the machines that i use currently i borrow time on from someone else#'where do you get cute packaging?' i have brown paper envelopes that i decorate with washi tape and stamps which people seem to like#'how do you calculate shipping?' i don't usps does that for me#'what happens if an order gets lost?' it sucks and is inconvenient but i send them another one or refund their choice#'where do you get materials?' scrap fabric almost 100% of the time unless its a very custom order i spend very little on materials#i'm not asking anyone to reinvent payment services or whatever like if you want to use your neighbors printer and then sell those on etsy#great! thats what i do!#(and also fuck etsy - for different reasons)#but if you outsource the actual labor of producing the good that you are selling to easily exploitable people on the other side of the worl#im judging you. hard.
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mgmcopier · 6 months
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ink-insights-hub · 11 months
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honeybeeofficial · 1 month
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CRAB! CRAB! CRAB!
The Horseshoe Crab pattern is now available!
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Available on ko-fi for $35 USD or pay-what-you-want!
I’ve been completely blown away by the response to my horseshoe crab! Since a bunch of people have expressed interest in making their own, I've put together a pattern and instructions so anyone who wants to can make their very own sea puppy to love and to hold. 
This is a digital download which includes instructions and the pattern, printable either on a standard home printer or on a wide-format architectural printer. 
The instructions are for leather; however, the pattern pieces should work in other materials as well– you may just have to adjust slightly for any different medium you use. (For example, for fabric, you would need to add seam allowance.) Stiff, non-stretch materials are recommended for the best results.
If you make a horseshoe crab of your own, please tag me in any photos you post– I’d love to see them! I’m excited to see different takes on it. 
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Go forth and make a creature!
https://ko-fi.com/s/f0197da98e
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suriel · 2 years
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I really did just print out a hundred pictures of my sweetie and I, like I thought I could just do that
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mmorgchi · 2 years
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Epson stylus photo 1400 wide format color inkjet printer
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#Epson stylus photo 1400 wide format color inkjet printer verification#
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Listing Templates with Vendio Sales Manager.
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250+ Mobile Responsive & Active Content Free Please contact us for shipments outside this area.Thanks!Ī pretty image. Postage cost in listing is for FedEx domestic shipping in US 48. We will refund or ship a replacement to you.Please provide a physical address for FedEx.
#Epson stylus photo 1400 wide format color inkjet printer verification#
Please keep damaged packaging as well for verification purposes. Please alert us immediately if you believe your item arrived damaged. We will ship within 3 business days of receiving a cleared payment, although we often ship the next business day. Customer Service Policy: We combine and discount for multiple orders.Shipping Carrier Domestic FedEx Ground$79.95I will ship to:United States Shipping Options: Domestic shipping: Fixed Shipping Charges.If you have any questions regarding your payment or shipment please contact us directly. We will ship within 3 days of receiving a cleared payment. Payment Policy: PayPal:We will email a PayPal payment confirmation after payment is received. Payment Paypal Paypal: We will email a PayPal payment confirmation after payment is received. We also include a USB Printer Cable for quick connection.Shipping is $79.95 inthe USA 48(it is a large printer), but pickups are always free! EPSON Stylus PHOTO 1400 Wide-Format Color Inkjet USB Printer EPSON Stylus PHOTO 1400 Wide-Format Color Inkjet USB PrinterĬlick images to enlarge Description EPSON Stylus PHOTO 1400 Wide-Format Color Inkjet PrinterThis printer is lightly used in working condition, comes with Ink & Cables!This printer comes in great, working condition! It comes complete with inks& cables! However, you might need to purchaseinks upon arrival, we do not guaranteethe inks after shipping.We thoroughly tested the printhead in working condition! Pleasesee the test print pic.
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mpchev · 4 months
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Dissertation on Fanfiction Bookbinding — Looking for participants! [EDIT: Thank you so much, participants found!!!]
[Edit continued: I'm still sorting through emails and setting up meetings, will reply to everyone very soon, I can't even begin to thank everyone enough for the visibility that's been given to this 💜 I'll keep the updates coming as I work on the dissertation (and learn how to bookbind), in case anyone would like to follow along. For any questions about the research or comments/suggestions/resources about ficbinding, my asks are wide open. Thank you thank you thank you!!!]
Hi! My name is Marie Chevrier, I’m currently doing my postgraduate dissertation on fanfiction bookbinding, and I’m looking for people to talk to about it!
If you’ve ever taken a fanfic from somewhere online and turned it into a physical copy, either for yourself or as a gift, I’d love to know more. From printer paper stapled together to typesetting and painted edges, nothing is too simple or too complex — I’m interested in the whole process, what motivates readers or authors to bring the story to a different format, and how it’s one more way to interact with stories actively and creatively. This will be the final project of my MLitt in Folklore and Ethnology with the Elphinstone Institute (University of Aberdeen, Scotland).
What to Expect
To participate, you must be 18 or older and speak English. I’ll give you more details and answer any questions you might have via email, and will then set up individual video calls with participants (if you happen to be in North-East Scotland, we could also meet at an agreed public location). I’ll tell you more about the dissertation and explain how what you share will be used, which depends entirely on what you agree to, including if you would prefer your contribution to be credited or anonymised. I will ask you about your experience with fanfiction bookbinding and if you have some examples to show me, I would love to see them! Meetings will last approximately 45–90 minutes and take place in June 2024. You have the right to withdraw your participation at any time.
Contact Information
If you’d like to participate or have any questions, please send me an email at [email protected]
To know more about the Elphinstone Institute, please visit https://www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/
To know more about me, here's an intro post for you.
If for any reason you don’t wish to participate but still have comments/suggestions/resources/musings you’d like to send my way, please do!
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theriverbeyond · 1 month
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Black Irises in the Sunshine by imalwaysstraight/@nooomagnus
art by @rhywhitefang, @nakji, cosplay by @aborsenkatiel, cover art by @nakji
Nova & Co Private Investigations is the best damn detective agency this side of the River—and strictly a one-woman operation. But when Harrow gets shot (again) while working to expose corruption at City Hall, her so-called friend Palamedes goes behind her back to hire her some muscle. The good news: Harrow only has to work with Gideon until she’s cracked the case. Once she’s busted this thing wide open, they never have to see each other again….right?
Fandom: The Locked Tomb
Pairing: Gideon Nav/Harrowhark Nonagesimus
Title font: Betty Noir
Body font: Garamond
Pages: 256
Size: Quarto letter
Case: Cover art by Nakji (computer paper + Krylon crystal clear), back is Arrestox Bookcloth Black, spine is Skivertex Imitation Leather (with hand embossed gold foil + red copic marker)
This fantastic fic has been on my to-bind list since before it was even posted on AO3, and I'm so excited to finally share it! I tried a lot of new things with this, especially the cover. This is the third and final bind I finished for @renegadeguild's Fanfic Writer's Appreciation Day event!
Progress pics/process rambling under the cut!
MASSIVE massive thank you to @nakji for the INCREDIBLE cover art, and for so graciously allowing me to slap text over it. I was really going for the aesthetic of those pulpy noir detective novels, and I think it turned out really good! This is the first time I ever tried an art cover. I basically formatted it in photoshop, then printed it in black and white a couple times to make sure I had sized the image right for what I wanted before taking it to fedex to print in color.
It is printed in color on normal paper, and then I sprayed the shit out of it with Krylon Crystal Clear. I also bumped the saturation a bit before printing, which I think worked well because in my experience coor printers often desaturate/fade out color prints
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I then put the case together as normal. I used gold foil for the spine, and then used a marker to color it red because I didn't want to buy red foil just for this, and honestly it worked out great, 10/10 money saving method!
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I really adore how this came out and I'm excited at my new art cover powers... I will be using this in the future!!
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boin-de-bindery · 1 month
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All Shook Up / É tutto cosí semplice by ke_vl
My first têtê-bêche binding! First and foremost, thank you ke_vl for trusting me with your AikuSen fics and agreeing to let me bind them 🧡 please check out All Shook Up and É tutto cosí semplice, two stories which catch me in the feels every re-read.
For this project I had to work out how to format both fics into signatures so that the latter one would sit upside down. I was fortunately able to wrangle one fic into 96 pages, while the other ran to 80. Since both are divisible by sixteen, this allowed for the fics to be formatted into self-contained 4-sheet signatures. Hey presto! So rather than navigate inverting PDFs, I printed the two fics separately, then sewed the latter set of signatures on upside down. It was a lot easier than expected, thanks to the numbers working out so neatly.
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This is also my first paper cover bind, with recycled 150gsm cotton paper from Søstrene Grene. Adhesive backed vinyl for the cover graphics and text, bound together using kettle stitch. I'm not sure of what brand the endpapers are, but they're 110gsm and pretty sturdy. The endpapers and headbands reference Aiku's heterochromia, while the cover paper is peachy like Sendou lmao. rip blond Sendou
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In terms of typesetting, I've found a formula that works for me and my printer... mostly. The margins are a little wide still, even after a round with the chisel. I've pretty much given up on that as a method of page trimming—it scuffs and tears the edges too badly.
Some further WIP pictures/commentary under the cut, since I actually took some for once!
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Sewn textblock, then with added headbands/mull. The kettle stitch took me ages for some reason... considering going back to French link stitch for the next project, I think it's quicker.
The headbands are a little scrunched up but I'm happy with them. Green and purple is a pleasing combo.
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Completed casing and textblock, then the weeded adhesive vinyl—supervised by Chigiri 👑
I always tell myself my Cricut can handle cursive and thin fonts as long as they're big enough... it really can't 🥲 Had to redesign and reprint the author name / spine titling for É tutto cosí semplice since my original design was too bitty. Weeding was hell regardless. HTV is so much easier to wrangle, but I have loads of the adhesive stuff to use up before I let myself buy more HTV.
I had a concern that the cover paper design was too busy for the vinyl to stand out on. In the end, the purple looks fine, but I think the reverse cover would look better if I'd used a darker green.
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The last issue with the book is how jank the spine looks when the cover is laid flat. I think I glued the purple side of the text block too close to the edge of the coverboard, making the other side bunch? That or yet again, I made the spine stiffener too wide. It's not super noticeable when the book is closed. Hoping to improve on this in future binds!
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My favourite detail is inspired by a têtê-bêche novel I owned in childhood (Sisters... No Way! by Siobhán Parkinson) It's written from two perspectives, and when you'd finished reading one, my copy had a note telling you to flip over and read the other side. I did the same thing here, accompanied by panels of the two boys nabbed from the manga.
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thebibliosphere · 1 year
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Question about self publishing that is not urgent or necessary for you to answer, but I'd love your feedback!
I'm shopping around for places that will do well with a children's picture book. IngramSpark is rated highly on one platform for being trustworthy, but I also saw you express frustration with the coloring they did for your book. I don't know if there's a reliably better option in the US (Amazon's doesn't allow landscape formats, annoyingly, and tbf it seems there's limited landscape formats with IS :/)
(Thank you for the resources btw! They've been a great help and I've been reading the Gaughran book nonstop)
Ingram Spark is trustworthy in that they are one of the biggest printing and distributing platforms in the world, used by both indie and trad pub alike. You might not be able to get a "true" landscape option with them, but I've seen them print plenty of children's books with the kind of standard kids' book formatting. (I think they call it US A4 letter print)
They are also apparently updating their color and photo print options, so I might recheck with them in a few months to see if their options have changed.
I used Mixam Print for my hardbacks and was very impressed with the quality and customer service, and I know they offer a wide selection of shapes and sizes. They do not, however, offer distribution at this time. So if you wanted retailers and libraries to be able to stock your book, your best bet would probably be Ingram.
It might also be worth looking at Draft2Digital, though they are likely restricted as well because they use Ingram printers.
I know Lulu and Blurb offer landscape printing, but they're not the greatest when it comes to customer service, print quality, and overall expense. I also don't think they have as far a market reach as Ingram. I do think they can work well if you plan to print small batches and sell yourself, but if you want global retail distribution, I'd still go with Ingram.
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sanctus-ingenium · 8 months
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After purchasing Said the Black Horse, may I have it printed and bound? Just one personal copy, not for sale. There's something about the tactile feeling of books that makes me happy.
I actually have a book-formatted pdf with a full new cover ready to go and I've already ordered a single copy for myself (it will take some time to get here but you'll know when it does because I'll post about it). If it looks good I can make it more widely available.
In the meantime I'm 100% cool with you using the book pdf you get on kofi to print a personal copy using like your own printer or local in-person service but I would rather you didn't upload it to any online self-printing services. Also be aware that there are images at the back of the pdf so you might want to cut those out before printing.
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anna-neko · 8 months
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horror may not be my genre, but damn I am a slut for some hella fine sound design editing inna audio-only medium
Magnus Archives had that slight hiss of tape. a familiar sensation frm days long past of taping music off the radio, or copying cassette to cassette to make the perf mixtape
now Protocol kicks it off with another forgotten noise. That very specific sound of an old beige-monstrosity PC booting up, complete with the lil driver checks beeps. My mind's eye [ha] can straight up see black screen runnin Memory numbers & the floppy-drive light blink
and swear to fuck, there is a dot matrix printer noise in there too
anyways, all the wonderful fanartists creating a flood of awesome new images - plz remember to add shit to the monitor! you do not get to be stuck in an office staring at this beige block for hours and days w/out starting to decorate it. A joke sticker in the corners, or tiny lil figs/keychains on the very top (those fuckers are wide enuff to support something as big as a small plush sitting up there!)
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bonus points if the plush is the dumbest dumb goof evah! (the bug says Y2K on it, it made crashing noises)
anyway, yes, clutter that shit up!! Boxes of floppies (MAC or PC format), spindles of CDs, loose labels (for the disks), post-it notes stuck around monitor if cannot stickers. Bonus points for an ancient AOL CD (or similar junk soft) used as a coaster
I cannot emphasize how much real estate there is on those things for stuff!
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megidonitram · 7 months
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Everyone's Running From Something (ch.3)
A Baldur's Gate 3 University Professor AU
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Rating: M
Quick Summary: Astarion and Gale are two University English professors precariously mentoring a troubled 19-year-old and falling in love.
💖Main Pairing : BloodWeave,(Astarion/Gale) 💕Side Pairings: Shadowheart/Nocturne, Karlach/Dammon, Wyll/The Dark Urge, Tav/Tav 💔Past Pairings: Gale/Mystra, Astarion/Sebastian, Astarion/Tav
<=Previous Chapter | Master List | Ao3 | Next Chapter =>
**Please see Master List Entry for Full Content Warnings**
⏰Chapter Warning⏰ None
Astarion took a lap around the building to cool off before returning to his office- The last thing he needed was Gale asking him how he was doing after that little shit-show. Korrilla had also given him something of a runaround after he left Raphael’s office. She accidentally printed his requested forms on legal-size paper (because she forgot that she didn’t restock the printer before break) and then wasn’t sure if being in the wrong formatting would invalidate the paperwork, so Astarion had to wait for her to go get a fresh package of printer paper from the supply closet in the basement, which made him feel like a dick because she had to climb four flights of stairs to do that.
The problem with Korrilla was that Astarion never knew if she was in on Raphael’s torment or if she was just making a series of human mistakes because he made her nervous- though neither answer made the interaction any less annoying.
When Astarion got back to his office, Gale was still there. He was flipping through a heavily marked-up handbook on technical writing for business communications, staring at the pages as if he were either heavily engrossed by the reading -unlikely- or trying to light the damn thing on fire. It only made sense once he stepped into the room and saw Xenia posted up in the corner on her phone.
“Ah, Miss Bellona. Exactly who I was hoping to run into.” Astarion said, snapping the tension in the room like a loose thread. Gale nearly jumped out of his skin. “You look terrible.”
Xenia looked up at him with narrowed eyes, chewing one of her nails on her good hand. “I’ve had a rough few months.” She replied in that flat, desperately-trying-not-to-care tone that made her so fun to tease.
“I’ve heard. What do you need help with?” He slapped down his stack of paperwork on his desk and sat at his computer. Astarion saw Gale watching him wide-eyed, and he wondered how much Gale had pried while he was gone.
“I wanted to get the assignment sheets for my missing work from Survey of Gothic Literature,” Xenia said. Gale casually turned in his chair and pretended to rearrange the books on his shelf, giving them the courtesy of at least pretending to check-out of their conversation. “I thought I should get started on finishing that before the rest of my classes start…”
“Of course, you dropped off around Project… 4, was it? I think I kept a folder with your missing assignments somewhere.” With a few keystrokes, Astarion’s computer lurched back to life, fan buzzing as the machine recalibrated after being shut off for a month straight.
“I think the last thing I turned in was the 2nd character study…” Xenia replied. “…or maybe I just finished it- do you recall reading a paper from me about Miss Jessel?”
“I don’t, but I’ve read nearly a thousand bad-to-mediocre composition papers since then, so it’s likely I just forgot.” Astarion clicked through the expired Canvas shell to skim the grade book and determine which assignments he needed to pull.
“Oh, so my writing's mediocre?”
“I’m sorry, your 1200-word sophomore-level essay demonstrated a pure mastery of your craft. How foolish of me to forget when the beauty of your words brought me to tears.”  Astarion scoffed. He found the file folder he was looking for and printed it off. “Gale, I know you’re terribly busy, but could you grab those papers from the 2nd floor breakroom?”
“Absolutely!” Gale was on his feet and heading for before the request had fully left Astarion’s mouth. He gave Xenia a friendly smile. “Back in a flash!”
“Take your time.” The comment came out a lot more passive-aggressive than Astarion meant it. He watched Gale leave the room and listened for the stairwell door to open and close. Astarion turned back to Xenia. “What did you say to him?”
Xenia shrugged. “He asked about my dad, and I told him that I stabbed him to death.”
“Did you happen to… elaborate on that?”
“No, he didn’t ask.”
Astarion sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You know, if you want people to stop treating you like a freak, you’ll have to stop acting like one.”
Xenia crossed her good arm in front of herself and pouted. “It’s not like someone wouldn’t have told him anyways.”
“Probably, but even a complete stranger would make you seem at least a little saner,” Astarion replied.
Xenia went quiet for a moment, her lips twisting into a disgruntled snarl. Her eyes drifted to the water-stained ceiling tiles. Astarion sort of understood her twisted logic. There were a lot of people on campus who treated her like a ticking time bomb, regardless of whether they knew her exact circumstances or not. If people would be convinced that she was a monster regardless, perhaps it was better if she was the one doing the convincing- at least then she was in control. It hurts less to meet someone's rotten expectations than to try your hardest and fail to prove them wrong.
“I suppose you want to know what happened last semester?” she muttered.
“Tell me or don’t.” Astarion shrugged. “I could not care less.”
Xenia rolled her eyes. “You’re such a dick.”
“What I am is a mandatory reporter, so think carefully about what you want to tell me- unless you like filling out copious amounts of paperwork,” Astarion said. “Do you need the reading materials? I could just lend you my anthology since you’re the only one left in the class.”
“I’ve still got my book from last year…” Xenia replied, mind still very clearly elsewhere. “…Do you have siblings?”
Astarion paused. “Yes. 6 of them. Why?”
“How do you refer to them… like in your mind? Do you call them your siblings?”
“I don’t think of the much anymore, honestly. But I suppose when I do, I think of them as their first names.” Astarion sighed. “Is there something you actually wanted to talk to me about?”
“I’m having trouble figuring out how to think of my sister,” Xenia admitted. “I guess she was never really my sister, and she was never really to blame, but…”
“You’re allowed to be angry at her,” Astarion replied. “I think you should be, frankly.”
Xenia mulled over his words for a moment, and Astarion could see her run her tongue along the inside of her cheek, absent-mindedly tracing the contours of her scar. She opened her mouth to say something, but the door in the stairwell creaked open, and she clamed up, wary of being overheard.
***
Gale felt horribly selfish for wanting to bolt out of the office as badly as he did. He wanted Xenia to feel comfortable and safe around him -the poor thing seemed like she’d been through enough- but he’d locked up. It wasn’t difficult for Gale to surmise that she probably didn’t commit patricide for the fun of it- those kinds of actions are usually born out of extreme desperation. However, whenever he thought about trying to relate to her or lift the mood, the impulse was killed by some strange insistence that he was being too personal, too forthcoming, too intimate.
He envied the ease with which Astarion had struck up a rapport with her- it seemed that despite his posturing, Astarion did, in fact, have a few soft spots. Gale told himself that it was because Astarion had leagues more experience in these departments than he did, but still, he worried. This was the first time he’d been on a college campus purely as a professional, and it felt a lot more daunting than he’d ever imagined.
It took Gale a hot minute of wandering around on the wrong floor to figure out Astarion meant “second floor” in the standard British English sense of the phrase, and the break room was actually located on the third floor. He collected the small stack of orphaned papers from the tray next to the copier and returned to Astarion’s -his- office.
Xenia was still there, Idle chatting about the books she’d read while in involuntary hold. “Do you teach V.C. Andrews? She’d gothic lit, isn’t she?”
“I’m not much of an Americanist,” Astarion replied. “If I’m forced to teach Southern Gothic authors, I tend to gravitate towards Falkner.”
“Not Poe?”
Astarion gave her a derisive look, but Gale handed the stack of papers before he could respond. He flipped through to ensure everything was in order and handed them over to Xenia. “You’ve got two more plot summaries, a thematic analysis, and a comparative essay for the final. Work on them at your leisure.”  
Xenia took the papers and tossed them in the tattered messenger bag she’d brought without a second glance. “Thanks!” She said. “Is there anything else I need?”
Astarion put a hand on the paperwork he’d brought in with him, thumbing over the corner before he shot a scrutinizing look over at Gale. “Yes… but we’ll talk about it later.” He said.
“Alight, see you around then.” Xenia shrugged and slung her bag over her good shoulder but didn’t quite get it, and the strap slid down her arm, catching hard in the crook of her elbow. She let out a frustrated groan.
“Here, allow me.” Gale stepped forward and looped the strap comfortably over her shoulder.
Xenia cocked her head and gave Gale a thoughtful look, her dark eyes piercing right through him. “Thank you…” she muttered before she turned and hurried out of the office.
“She seems…” Gale trailed off. He wasn’t sure what Xenia seemed like; he’d never met a murderer before- at least not to his knowledge.
“Shorter than you’d thought she’d be?” Astarion asked flippantly, reclining in his chair. That was fair; Gale had a hard time imagining how someone as little and frail as Xenia could overpower a full-grown man, boxcutter or no.
“Did she really-”
“Self-defense,” Astarion answered several questions ahead. “I don’t suggest asking her anything else about it. She didn’t have a particularly pleasant home life.”
“I’d imagine not,” Gale replied, sitting back down at his desk. He tried his credentials again- still nothing. “-do you know how long it should take for me to be put in the university’s system?”
“Surely you should be in by now…” Astarion replied. He moved to look over Gale’s shoulder. He was so close Gale could feel his breath tickling the back of his neck- he had to suppress a shiver.
Astarion said something, pointing at the computer screen. He had such striking eyes, such a warm brown that they were almost red.
Gale completely missed what. “Sorry?”
“Try logging in without the server address,” Astarion repeated a slight edge in his voice. “Everything after the ‘at’ symbol.”
“Right.” Gale deleted the back half of his username and tried again. The computer loaded and loaded and loaded.
“That’s typically a good sign. Computers on campus take forever to log you on the first time.” Astarion said. He picked up the picture of Yenna and examined it dispassionately. “Cute kid, is she yours?”
“Ah, no… that’s my niece.” Gale felt suddenly and incredibly self-conscious. “I’ve always wanted my own, but it wasn’t in the cards, I’m afraid.”
The admission shocked him slightly, but he supposed it was true. Mystra had never wanted kids, and Gale wanted to keep her pleased, so he went along with that. But Gale had always loved kids. He’d been so excited when Yenna was born that he could hardly put her down. Still, when people asked him and Mystra if they were planning on having kids, he’d just nod dutifully while she explained that he was too focused on his career to think about kids.
“Shame,” Astarion said, setting the picture frame back down.
Gale’s computer screen went black, and then an empty Windows desktop appeared. Success!
“Just in time to log out for the all-hands meeting!” Astarion exclaimed looking at his watch.
“Naturally…” Gale sighed.
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