#You can technically buy the book online but it's bad because it was for a competition and I wouldn't do it again

[not-that-syndrigast]

I also want to do this

[hum-suffer]

Didi Didi chp 6 kab ???

Arre shit, likh ke post karna hi bhul gayi 😭😭🖐🏻 I'm sorry

Of course, you'll hurt me 6 (Rajneeti)

Meeting Prithvi and Samar for the shopping is the first thing on her agenda and it's overwhelming.

Samar is wearing a white button up with a blazer and jeans, and Amrita remembers a time where he exclusively used to wear white t-shirts and white shoes on every Friday.

(On an impulse, she glances down. He's wearing white shoes. It's Friday.)

Prithvi is buzzing with energy, despite the hellish PR yesterday. To be seen with his kid brother, buying something for him, is a double edged sword. Some will claim how emotional must Prithvi be, so caring for his baby brother, with whom he's had to bear a separation for years. Samar's soft demeanor only helps in that narrative. Others, they will subject them to scorn for buying a luxury end product with the government salary.

Amrita sits in the front seat with Harsh while the brothers sit at the back, reading through the online opinions on Prithvi. It seems to be the general consensus that he's a bit arrogant but most people seem to think the arrogance suits him. Thankfully, Amrita has been able to mitigate the damage from yesterday to a minimum by spreading some "leaked" talks about Prithvi refusing any more grants than necessary and earning by his investments in several business and how he uses his government salary for charity every month.

Prithvi talks about some dream he saw last night, something about having an arranged marriage and he feverently shakes his head. "It was honestly a nightmare, Chhote. Why would I ever marry someone I don't like?"

"It's not that bad," Samar says, shrugging,"Mom and dad had an arranged marriage."

Prithvi rolls his eyes. "And look how that turned out. I want happiness and love in my marriage, not silent support and political gain."

Amrita clears her throat and gets out of the car as soon as Harsh parks the car, feeling strangely suffocated. Amrita doesn't care what happens to her, really, she can even live the rest of her life between books, following Prithvi and his heir and making sure that the party prospers. But she'd rather die alone and lonely then marry someone only to have an marriage like her parents.

Dev will never be forced to marry anyone he doesn't like, she vows to herself. Hell, she won't even insist him to marry if he wishes to remain a bachelor.

No fate is worse than being unloved so wholly.

She sees Samar stare at her with a look that she can't decipher but she ignores it, walking into the store with Abhinav, another security guard of Prithvi's. It's only after talking to the manager to provide Prithvi and Samar with privacy as well as the best possible suggestions that she leaves, wandering to where Prithvi and Samar are already browsing.

"Whatever you buy, leave a 10% tip for the manager," she advices Prithvi, not looking at Samar. "It's for your reputation."

Prithvi pulls her closer and winds an arm around her shoulders,"Chhodo yaar ye sab reputation. You're always making me do things for the public opinion."

"Because you keep ruining the public's opinion of you," she says back breezily. "I've got to make some calls to the creative team, you two continue with this."

She's about to turn and leave when she feels a brush of fingers against her arm. She looks back at Samar in question.

He freezes, like he didn't expect her to react to his touch. "Maybe you could buy a watch, too? If only you want one, Amu."

She shakes her head and holds up her phone. "I don't need a watch to know the time. Thanks."

Amrita walks away quickly before she can be held again, calling Archie. "Hi, my favourite reporter."

"Hello, my least favourite person."

"Harsh."

"You deserve it for threatening me."

"Technically," Amrita says,"I just threatened your career. And I gave you better news, didn't I? I did hear something about an incentive."

Archie laughs,"You're such a bitch. Go on. What do you want?"

"I'm going to need to meet you to give you some more information about Vijaynath's party. Very interesting information." She's already cleared it with Mamaji. They've both talked about it and they both know that sacrificing some people from the other party is the only way they'll change the topic for now. Offense is the best defence and all that.

Archie is silent for a while. Finally, he says,"Meet me at Surya palace today. 1 pm. Let's have lunch together."

"It's on me." She says, knowing that this small investment will go a long way. And really, it's not her money she'll be using. She's going to take Prithvi's card.

Archie huffs."I'll make sure to order the most expensive wine, then."

"I'm not your sugar mommy, no matter how badly you need one. And dress fucking well, if you wear garish clothes, I'll pour coffee on you." Amrita says, turning around to check on the brothers while jotting down the time and place on the palm of her hand.

Both of the brothers seem to have overheard her and Samar seems awkward like he always is, and Prithvi has raised his eyebrows.

Archie says something and cuts the call.

"Not a word, Prithvi bhaiya. Not a word." She threatens him, grabbing a bottle of water.

Prithvi shrugs. "I'm just saying, you're always talking about how I shouldn't spend time with Sharma."

"I'm not going to fuck him." She deadpans at him, ignoring the way a dark look passes over Samar's rigid eyes.

Prithvi turns back to the watches on display. "Yes, yes, that's why you were dictating what he should wear."

Amrita walks over towards them and stands beside Samar, completely ignoring him and looking over his back at Prithvi. "When I'm fucking someone, the world will know it. I don't do secret affection."

"Who says you need affection for that?"

"Who says I won't punch you for saying all this? Ever heard of the HR department?"

Prithvi smirks. "You're my little sister, you wouldn't complain."

Amrita rolls her eyes and looks back at the watches that Samar has selected, almost all of them have a round dial. But the one he has in his hand currently has a square dial. It's completely black with subtle golden accents. Amrita can't help but think that it matches the watch she's currently wearing.

She shakes the thoughts off and steps away. "I'm going to get tea for myself. You two want anything?"

»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

Most days, Samar struggles to maintain the shimmer of darkness that dances under the surface of his skin. It's always threatening to become into a forest fire.

The moment he overhears Amrita talk to some guy with such authority, his blood is swirling with need to talk to her and ruin the man if need be. He wants to be the one she has such rights over. She should dictate what he should do, not some random reporter.

Amrita claims she's not interested in the guy, and Samar swallowing subtly, swallowing the poisonous words back into his throat. She tells them she won't do silence affection and meaningless relations, and he feels something pierce and soothe his heart at the same time.

Amrita has always been loyal to a fault. Samar has known since they were teens that she will not be one casual relationships, not ever.

And yet, the words soothe his heart. He still knows her. She is still the same woman he knew, but she is also so much more.

She excuses herself to get tea and he sees Prithvi bhaiya shake his head and chuckle.

"She'll really hit you someday," Samar tells his brother in a half joke.

Prithvi bhaiya laughs and shakes his head. "Nah, she won't. And anyways, I could deduct from her salary if she hits me."

Samar raises his eyebrows. "Maa would buy her a gold medal if she can corral you into behaving, even if she has to use violence for it."

Prithvi bhaiya pouts at him mockingly. "You people have no respect for me. It's blasphemy."

"I don't think you're using that word correctly."

"Now you'll contradict your brother too?!"

Samar laughs at his dramatic brother and chooses the watch that matches Amrita's watch.

(He'd gifted her that watch, ten years ago. He's surprised to still find it on her wrist. He wonders what happened to the other gifts he bought her over the years on her birthdays. He stops himself from wondering what happened to that jean jacket she was wearing on the day he—)

Samar clears his throat and fiddles with his phone while Prithvi bhaiya pays for the watch. The background wallpaper on his phone is of Amrita, wearing his sunglasses. Prithvi bhaiya sent it to him yesterday, and he hasn't been able to take his eyes off.

When they walk out of the store with a new watch on his wrist, Samar sees Amrita's eyes dart down to his wrist and her grip tightens just so on the tea glass.

They wordlessly get back in the car.

»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

Samar gets to tag along to the meeting with Mr. Bajaj, because Prithvi and him had incessantly fought over what to eat. Prithvi wanted something spicy and Samar was craving something sweet.

Amrita was firmly in Prithvi's camp— she hated sweets and especially sweets so early in the morning just sounded horrible. Still, to maintain even a facade of professionalism, Amrita had refrained from taking any sides and had texted Dev instead.

That little shit was texting back in the middle of class, claiming that he hated the class because the subject was so boring. Amrita wanted to whack him over the head for being so overconfident.

However, now, sitting in Mr. Bajaj's office, Amrita wishes she was back in college and she could bunk this particular class. The day is beautiful, and she doesn't want to start it off by talking about politics and the implications of several PR moves.

Prithvi is the perfect son-figure to Mr. Bajaj. Extremely polite, unfailingly indulging and funny, and listening to his every word. Mr. Bajaj already seems besotted. If nothing else, Amrita knows that Prithvi is a good showman. He knows how to control his audience.

Amrita sits at the corner sofa, with Ritik, noting down the minutes of the meeting. Its tiring to keep with them, but the hour is well spent when they get up and Mr. Bajaj has a promise of a cheque ready on Prithvi's name for the near future.

"Thank you, Mr. Bajaj," she says, smiling widely at him. "I still apologise for the sudden rescheduling and I hope you're satisfied with the bargain between our collective powers."

Mr. Bajaj, a man who looks like every average Indian father, smiles genially at her and tells her,"The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Arya. Prithvi Babu is the icon of our future. He is fit to govern. I and Shiv Incorporation will always be here to assist in any way we can."

Prithvi and Samar talk pleasantly with Mr. Bajaj and Amrita turns to Ritik with a tired smile. Ritik frowns at her slightly. "Please, don't mind me saying this, but you don't look like you're particularly enjoying yourself."

Amrita raises her eyebrows and shrugs,"You have some courage, I'll give you that. And really, who actually ever enjoys meetings?"

"That's why I usually arrange meetings for Mr. Bajaj at meals!" He says,"At least I can fuck off to eat while he talks."

Amrita hums at him, absent-mindedly and gathers her purse with her as she stands up. "Next time, I'll keep that in mind."

As they're walking out of the building, Amrita spots Indu standing at the gates, leaning against her car with her arms crossed over her chest.

She risks a look at Samar and realises it's time. She'll become a choice for him again.

[ladytabletop]

My GenCon bookstack!

There's a lot I can say about my first GenCon, but for now I just wanna talk about the cool games I picked up. Starting from the bottom:

Spire: the City Must Fall by Grant Howitt & Christopher Taylor

You got your oppressed elves and your ruling elves and a big ol fucked up city to skulk around in. Anyone who knows me knows I love the themes of this game. @monsterfactoryfanfic just did a fantastic video essay on the game that really highlights the politics and setting, which are what drew me to it in the first place. Grant and Chris signed this one for me, which was unexpected! I picked up Orc Borg for a friend at the same time.

Thousand Year Old Vampire by Tim Hutchings

The ultimate solo game; how could I resist? You are the titular vampire and you live lifetime after lifetime, trying and failing to hold onto memory. This book is so aesthetically pleasing! Very excited to crack it open and play.

Voidheart Symphony by Minerva McJanda

You have the real world and you have the Void, and you gotta try and rescue people from the Castle in the Void. Inspired by Persona! I'd heard of this one in name only - I kept conflating it with other games, though I couldn't tell you which ones. This one's also published by Rowan Rook & Deckard. I was intrigued by the mechanics of this one. Playbooks that change based on whether you're in the city or in the void? hell yeah, I'll give that a try. (also it was less expensive than Heart, which I was on the verge of buying)

Dream Askew/Dream Apart by Avery Alder and Benjamin Rosenbaum

Dream Askew has you playing queer post apocalyptic survivors in a community outside of what remains of society. Dream Apart is an alternate history of an Eastern European Jewish community. This is one I've been eyeing for a while. It felt like the gap in my game design knowledge - defining "belonging outside belonging" online turns into a cyclical discussion, so straight to the source I went.

CBR+PNK by Emanoel Melo

Technically my partner picked this one up, but I was an enabler for it. Love cyberpunk. Do not love six pages of rules for a machine gun (looking at you, Shadowrun). The design of this one is super tight, both in terms of game design and in its packaging/materials design. It comes with dry erasable character pamphlets!

Bang: The Duel by Emiliano Sciarra

Okay so it's a board game, not a book. my bad. I love the original game and my partner and I like playing two player games, so this was a fun find.

Void 1680 AM by Ken Lowery

I can't gush about this game enough. You play a lonely radio DJ taking calls from your listeners. It's a solo game where you build a playlist and it takes me back to my radio days! I was so excited to see this at the @indiepressrevolution booth at the con!

Hunt by Spencer Campbell

This one was also new to me, but I knew I'd buy something at the GilaRPGs booth. I was sold on it as Lumen 2.0, because I already adore the Lumen system. You play a doomed order of knights on a quest to slay a beast. If you succeed, the order is saved, and if not, it's doomed. The design of this one is really tight and modular, so even though it's a self-enclosed one-shot, you could certainly run it repeatedly with different combos every time.

I almost bought so many games, but I did have to be mindful of my spending! Honorable mentions I'll hopefully get in the future: Monster of the Week, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Into the Wyrd and Wild, Anamnesis, Slayers, Moonlight on Roseville Beach, Cowboys with Big Hearts, Signal to Noise, I Have the High Ground, Apocalypse Keys, and more I'm sure I'm forgetting!

It was absolutely wild to see so many games I've got in PDF in print, and to meet a few designers and publishers I admire!

[literaticat]

Regarding the AI-to-sort-through-submissions question, a major publisher recently opened (briefly) to submissions and were going to use an AI called Storywise to sort their subs. There was a massive backlash on social media and they rescinded the idea, got them a lot of bad press. Not sure if you saw that controversy. So I wonder if the person who asked you that question also saw that or if some agencies/other publishers are now doing this too.

I hadn't heard of this controversy, so I googled it, and came up with this article recapping a thing where Angry Robot was going to use Storywise to sort through submissions and got a lot of pushback. (Are they a major publisher? Is this what you were referring to? Or was there another thing?)

The interesting / wild thing about this to me is that... this doesn't sound like a big deal, actually? They put an FAQ about it (which they have left up for transparency) -- in reading the article above and the FAQ, if they are to be believed, it seems that AR were using a non-generative AI program that was NOT being trained on or retaining any of the author's work.

This "slushbot" was going to filter submissions to the appropriate editor and flag any anomalies (like, "doesn't fit requested word count" etc).

All submissions, whether or not they were "flagged" in this way, were being looked at by an actual human. (Because slushbot can make mistakes!).

This... doesn't sound that egregious to me? In fact, it sounds super reasonable? AM I BONKS? Am I missing something?? Maybe!

Things I -- and possibly you! -- use every day that have similar features:

GMAIL. Uses AI to filter out spam, highlight important messages, designate promotions and ads to different folders, remind me to follow up on things, etc. Does it make mistakes? Sure, sometimes. I do have to check the spam filter now and again to make sure it isn't flagging important things wrongly. Does it make my life infinitely easier? YES. I get hundreds of emails a day -- if I had to look at all the trash ones, I would NEVER find the important ones!

SPELLCHECK / AUTOCORRECT / AUTOCOMPLETE / GRAMMARLY, et al. Use AI to tell me when I have misspelled something or to suggest wording. Is it always right? No! I never mean DUCK, spellcheck! Does it make my life easier? For sure! I have fat fingers, this saves me from many a gaffe!

"IF YOU LIKE ____, TRY _____" -- you know how online retailers often suggest things based on your buying preferences, or give you a bargain on things they know you enjoy to get you to re-buy, etc? You know how TikTok and Netflix push content that they think you'll be into based on your viewing habits? Or you'll just be chatting about beekeepers and suddenly you have ads for bee merch on your Facebook? That's the magic of the algorithms, babes. And they are everywhere.

QUERYMANAGER. I don't know if this technically counts as "AI" -- but QM does do things like flag submissions that meet certain criteria that I've designated (like, if it is somebody who is previously published, if it is a referral, etc) -- it also tells me the history of submissions, so I know if they've queried the agency before and when and to whom and with what material. (This is how I KNOW FOR A FACT that so many people don't follow the DUCKING directions.) And, while currently I have to manually forward submissions to other agents if they are more appropriate for them, I could see a world where that was automated -- like if all queries came to a central repository and QM2.0 forwarded them to the specific agents at the agency who were open to [whatever] kind of book. Would that be a bad thing? Or a HELPFUL thing? IDK.

These are just tools, at the end of the day. I don't think there's anything morally wrong with using them or trying them out as long as you aren't letting them make actual decisions for you. Like, I would never want a slushbot to reject things (or accept them!) on my behalf - I have to be the one to look, just as I would never want an algorithm to purchase things on my behalf just because I MIGHT like them -- no thank you! By all means suggest, but I have to make the final decision!

(TL;DR: Using spellcheck on your work to make sure you haven't called me KENNIFER? Yes please! "Creating" work that you intend to submit with your name on it using generative AI? Please, no. Using an AI filter to flag submissions and sort them to the correct person? Sounds OK! Stealing author's work to train an AI? Not OK!)

[gender-trash]

how did you get into typesetting? are there particular resources/guides you'd recommend?

i am so incredibly sorry, because the answer to your first question is almost certainly useless to you: when i was 9-12 years old i took a bunch of online math classes from the Art of Problem Solving. AoPS classes (at the time; i haven’t followed what they’re doing in years) were formatted as a chat room where the entire lecture was given in text format (vv accessible to me for both adhd and auditory processing reasons), occasionally the teacher would ask questions for you to type in a response to, and a few of the fastest correct answers would be shown to the rest of the class. especially if you used latex math typesetting to make it Look Nice (the chatroom had limited latex support).

i, a small child extremely interested in math and in Proving my Skills to the other faceless usernames in the chatroom, was super into this. with practice i eventually got really good at speed-typesetting math in latex; i also habitually wrote up all my homework in latex because my handwriting was fucking unreadable (probably because of the dyspraxia) and it was honestly simpler *and* faster than writing it on paper and scanning it.

so at that point i was just kind of in the habit of using latex whenever i wanted to make a vaguely technical document Look Nice. math camp qualifying tests. final papers for technical classes in college. personal notes and reference sheets (i’m much more likely to study things if my study materials are visually appealing, i’ve found). i discovered that with practice it *is* possible to take class notes, live, in latex, and that if you send your ~fancy~ latex notes to your friends in the class they will love you forever. plus the extra Challenge made it easier for me to pay attention in class (fuck you, adhd).

thus, when i got into ficbinding my basic approach was “download a random latex book template -> modify to my own tastes -> consult stackoverflow if anything goes wrong” and it works pretty well for me, because i’m an extremely bullheaded programmer with a decade of latex experience. would i necessarily “recommend” it to a beginner? …not really.

anyway i hear you can use ms word or another word processor to typeset fic/danmei? lots of people in the ficbinding discord seem to be pretty successful with it, and @armoredsuperheavy’s introductory ficbinding tutorial goes into some detail (all of which i fully skipped) about typesetting in word. i can’t really provide any help here, though, sorry :(

otoh if you DO want to take the plunge and go latex or go home, i’ve found that overleaf provides some pretty good basic guides to latex syntax; if you want, i can also send you some of my latex source files and talk you through what’s going on with them. you’ll almost certainly want to use the “memoir” documentclass (not “book”), so hit up ctan and download the memoir documentation while you’re at it. personally i don’t use overleaf because i am physically incapable of using any text editor without vim keybindings; you might want to start there because the live preview is super helpful for a beginner, but i have NO idea what font support is like. if you’re not using overleaf, i recommend installing xelatex on your local machine, and if you don’t already have a text editor of choice, sublime text is free* and has some nice latex extensions.

*it will occasionally nag you to buy a license but you can keep clicking “maybe later” indefinitely

(someone recommended ConTeXt to me a while back, but i can’t remember who it was. that might be a friendlier option?)

actually, would anyone be interested in me writing up a more detailed Guide to Typesetting Books in LaTeX for complete beginners/cleaning up and posting my book template? (i am bad at modeling what “a complete beginner” to latex typesetting knows, but i will beta test it on a long-suffering @combat-epistemologist.)

[bohemian-nights]

Top ten favorite books?

I can name five(cause I don’t even have ten favorite books😬):

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: Hands down my favorite book of all time. If I could only own one book for some reason this would be it and unlike a lot of classics(cough cough Jane Austen cough cough), this book is very readable for a 21st-century person(the language is exceedingly modern).

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: This is the first “big” book I read by myself so it has a special place in my heart. It’s a classic and it’s a childhood favorite that I’ve never outgrown.

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin(who is my favorite writer of all time; morbid, but outside of speaking to dead relatives he’s the guy I’d like to bring back to have a nice chat with): It’s short and beautifully written. It is sad, but the ending is ambiguous* so you can picture a happy conclusion.

*Unlike the movie, which I do love, it’s even sadder than the book so definitely read this if you have watched the movie.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (lol this is technically cheating cause it’s a four-book series🤣 ): In my humble opinion it’s the best YA Sci-fi book series(it’s fairytales with a Sci-fi twist so really what’s not to love 🤷🏽‍♀️).

The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough: It’s a really good stand-alone YA novel. If you love period romances in the YA genre then this book is for you.

It’s not very popular though so you’ll probably have to order it online if you want to read it(the last time I saw this book at a bookstore, and I always look for it every time I go into a store, was in Barnes & Noble back in 2016😬 This probably isn’t a real issue for anyone though, but I actually like buying things straight from the store).

*I don’t think Jane Austen is “bad,” I just think her work is boring and not as modern as people make it out to be(the exception being Persuasion which is her best novel IMO; Pride and Prejudice is almost unreadable which is probably why I love the 2005 movie so much because they “modernized” it).

[dropintomanga]

You Can Get Bored With Manga

About a month ago, I discovered this video on my manga Twitter feed.

As much as I love manga, I have started becoming bored with manga at times since the start of 2023. Manga’s blown up everywhere offline and online, but I do feel that the growing popularity of manga can lead to oversaturation that biases the mind into a state of boredom.

I still think manga is exciting, but it’s getting really hard to keep up with everything released over here. Granted that I’m not in France with its huge love of manga culture, hearing licenses of various titles can get a bit overwhelming. I mean, when a publisher announces 10+ licenses in a day, it makes me wonder if enough people will buy those titles to justify the cost of the licenses.

What does not help is that even though a genre with common tropes may have a few titles that destroy those tropes, there’s more titles with the same tropes than those who diverge from them. Shonen is the biggest example of this. An example I can give is a title like Akane-banashi.  It’s one of the best manga out today and is published in Shonen Jump, which is still associated with mainstream battle series. But many people sick of shonen may not give it a glance because it’s either a Jump title or shonen in general. Of course, you can say the same thing for other genres. Read too much shojo/seinen/josei and you might become bored of it. I would argue that there’s more experimentation in seinen and josei (which, by the way, not many fans appreciate) than shonen, but you know what I mean.

I also noticed that there’s not many series that interest me as of late. There’s a bunch that sound the same. I see this in the case of the amount of romantic comedy manga in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine as there’s more rom-coms than action-oriented titles in the magazine. I saw a promo for who’s the best rom-com girl in all of the series published in the magazine and asked myself “Aren’t these are subjected to the usual rom-com tropes despite whatever unique differences they have?” I say this as someone who’s a fan of Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie, which is published in Shonen Magazine. I love the concept of the story, but it’s easy to resort to common tropes because of genre limitations that might displease/bore fans if books aren’t selling. 

You can also argue that now that anime has become mainstream, all you will hear about in geek news is the mainstream stuff, which is often series with lots of action. This has a trickle-down effect onto manga since publishers need to make money. What still sells the most is action-heavy shonen to this day (a big reason why VIZ Media is still the big dog in English sales). That hasn’t changed for at least over a decade now despite outliners like Junji Ito stories and maybe a title like Fruits Basket, a shojo title which sold like hotcakes at the time of its initial release a long time ago. Shonen still being a hot mainstream commodity can lead to becoming bored of anime and manga since it technically is everywhere now.

So yeah, maybe it would be nice to change the shift from “All anime/manga = shonen = great” to “There’s REALLY something for everyone with anime and manga.” Now you might say that the 2nd statement is still preached and you know fans in your life saying this. Yes, it is. But it’s not coming from corporate execs with significant power to change consumer perception who don’t always get the full picture when it comes to anime and manga’s appeal to all kinds of people.

In any case, if you do get bored with anime and manga, it’s okay to feel that way. I’ve accepted that there’s certain manga titles I probably will never read due to personal reasons related to tropes. Yet I will always try to keep my curiosity open to titles that catch my interest. I still rely on buzz from certain manga outlets. I don’t think boredom is inherently bad; it’s just that it’s an opportunity to self-reflect and focus on what’s important/interesting to you, value-wise.

Remember - burnout is a huge thing and getting it from a hobby you love is not worth the experience. And that’s a trope you don’t want to be bored with.

[jetblackknight]

hc + 📔 + 😡 + ❓please!

Thematic Headcanons. A series of subject-specific headcanons you can ask your favorite blog and muse.

hc + 📔 for a reading-themed headcanon

Vergil will read anything and everything, within reason ( he will not read illegal materials, though he will read bigoted things — not because he agrees with them, but because he likes to laugh at them ). His favorite thing to read, however, both in canon and my headcanons, is poetry. He will, sometimes, quotes poems instead of speak, much like his humanity, V. He does not do that as frequently as V, though, and he will quote more than just his favorite author and artist, William Blake. His current, favorite genre of books are thriller and horror novels. The selection is so large now that it's much less boring ( when he was younger, shelves were dominated by one or two horror authors . . . looking at you Ste.ph.n K.ng ! ), so he feels free to read almost anything. But he can, and will concede that Rose Madder is one of his favorite horror novels. . . and for obvious reasons.

hc + 😡 for a headcanon about something that makes them angry

Meme-y Angry — How online everything is nowadays. He misses the ' good old days ' of sending letters and ' electronic mails ' to people. He has no idea how to text, which makes him upset because it takes him a little while to do so, and sometimes he can come off of as far too formal: he tends to use proper grammar across all communication, and that makes him come off as too serious. And also, Dante won't stop texting him at random intervals, and he can't remember how to turn his phone's ringer off. Legitimately Angry — Dante didn't kill Mundus when he had the chance. And he's not angry because Dante is an idiot, but because he's also terrified. He will never go into specifics, but he knows Dante is incredible aware of how furious he is and tries his best not to bring up Mundus in any capacity to him. Sometimes, the name slips through, though, and it takes Vergil multiple days ( sometimes weeks ) to return to a calm-enough state to return to Devil May Cry without tearing his twin brother apart.

hc + ❓ for a headcanon of the receiver's choice ↳ I choose 🚬, a bad habit !

Legitimate bad habit ( NSFW ) — he can't stop thrill-seeking new ways to orgasm, though he never tells or documents it anywhere. His voyeurism is getting out of hand, though he has a hard line of never sinking so low as to be legitimately illegal. He still refuses to explore more healthy ways to get his own rocks off, and still doesn't trust people enough to focus his energies outward. One day he'll get there, but as of current, he has no interest.

Meme-y Bad Habit — He has real people money now, and can't stop buying bulk dark chocolate ( 70% or darker ) to eat. He doesn't technically ' need ' to stop eating, ever, as his metabolism is so fast that his body stores, uses, and discards of the energy needed within hours. You can clearly see where this is going with regards to chocolate.

[hamofjustice]

whoever wrote this is my friend at game freak. about 2500 new lines of dialogue celebrating these characters in the way you'd expect the plot drivers and supporting roles of the story to be celebrated (albeit i wish more the former and less the latter), if the game that the writer(s) were stuck writing for actually got to be about those characters and hanging out with them the whole way through. it's a - pardon me for saying so - real treasure.

that being said...

i don't think pokemon, my former chief interest, is a series for me anymore, unless we get a permanent traveling party in the next one. i'm looking for games that are less... lonely all the time? that don't set up expectations they'll never meet because they don't have time? whose fans and leadership don't both openly hate story and companionship (and also women) unless those companions can't talk? i've changed, pokemon's not changing with me. and this console generation in particular has been egregious about not caring about making customers happy as long as they buy shit because of the brand on it.

but stuff like this league club or the epilogue is at least good enough closure for me on my unusual investment into this also unusually heartfelt generation. i'm no longer so pissed off that i'd just stop posting about these characters altogether. in the end, they weren't completely forgotten about... but why were they forgotten about at all? they were the main characters of the story, not us. forcing our character into making bad decisions isn't going to change that.

man, what could've been.

between this and the aforementioned epilogue (that has no reason to not be available day one tbh) i can see a ton of evidence that stuff got changed or cut against their wishes, or at least compared to the original plan. and that's gonna keep happening as long as pokemon keeps up this sloppy, rushed, "who cares if it's good, they'll buy it because it's pokemon" business model with far too many places, characters, and monsters and far too little time spent lovingly with each one, that keeps them feeling stuck generations behind other $60-95 games... and hollower and lonelier than the rich warm hearts of $5 indie games.

what i linked above, however, is the kind of thing i wanted from the DLC - just getting to sit back and enjoy being nemona penny and arven's friend like we did in area zero and watch them grow together - and it's an afterthought in a game that otherwise threw its characters and messages about friendship into the garbage and aggressively pretended they never existed (including the love story they just released a music video and book about!), that refused the most obvious slam dunk story climaxes (no 4v1 tera raid boss fight ever happens with other characters? given two different opportunities? that were both remixes of the raid music? really? really?) and cool returning features we saw coming a year ago and never actually got (seriously, you're getting outdone by sword and shield here), in favor of... a massive amount of grinding over four versions of the same song that makes doing things without paying for both your online subscription and pokemon home subscription unbearable. how playable is the endgame going to be when those things are gone?

they really don't think people are going to be upset that the main characters still have basically no new lines or mentions until the epilogue (that they don't even know exists) releases? that they're not going to be upset that kieran and carmine just despawned again with no clear way to bring them back after kieran asked if you could be friends again? (same thing, epilogue)

kinda seems like this DLC was made to piss off people who were emotionally invested and reward people who hated nemona as anything but a hentai model. it didn't even execute its own story properly! the beautiful mess of a base game just turned into the usual pokemon dumpster fire with the absolute bare minimum done for the trailer to not technically be lying about anything, and nobody's gonna notice because it has starters and legendaries and the synchro machine. even the new credits theme sounds like a cry for help.

i'm taking the love i had for these kids and channeling it into something that no corporation has control over.

my biggest wish for the next game is to let our friend NPCs use the union circle as one of its headline features. with this much effort put into its dialogue for just those few characters. like the area zero trip but all the time (players who hate dialogue would probably also appreciate it not interrupting their actions like that segment didn't! win-win!). i want the characters from the 50 hour story to still be in our lives for the 500 hours of postgame, not say we'll live happily ever after and then turn into statues for a year. if next gen hurts as much as this one did, i'm not getting invested.

also, where the hell are the multi battles. i'm not that surprised they didn't bother with a battle tower again, but 2 on 2 with friends just like sword and shield seems so, so obvious and fun, but apparently not to this company

not even saying the game is bad, just not what i wanted.

i (somewhat) formatted the text dump of the blueberry league clubhouse dialogue in the indigo disk if anybody just wants to read it now without the lil animations and skip the big grind

(and the irl wait for the epilogue quest with all of our friends to become available. spoilers for that, but i will not hold off on telling people it exists because they deserve to know before they get too upset that the DLC story completely shafted the basegame's characters yet again, for even less good reason than last time, to the point that it feels almost spiteful)

[copperbadge]

How did you get started with investing? I've seen you talk about it before and I know that's something I need to do, but I feel so lost in terms of which companies to invest in and how much money I should put in. I have retirement accounts but nothing outside of that. And really, I feel like I can't talk to anyone IRL about this because I'm too embarrassed - I'm literally a CPA and do corporate taxes for a living but still find investing to be so intimidating 😞.

I mean, when people say "you should be investing" often, until you reach a certain wealth level, they are actually referring to your 401K. This is more general advice for the readers, but don't feel bad if you're not investing outside of retirement, especially if you're early in your career or if you're in a job where you don't have much disposable income. Don't feel bad in general, honestly, even if you haven't got a retirement fund at all; life is hard and money is necessary but stupid.

I only really started to invest invest in the last two years and even then I'm pretty conservative about it. On the plus, as a CPA, you will probably have a leg up in terms of knowing a lot of financial terms and kind of...understanding how money works in at least some sense.

I actually got started studying investing with my retirement fund. I was young and broke and mad that a chunk of my paycheck was going into my 401K when I could use that money NOW (see Sam Vimes Boots Theory for more on why ready cash now can often beat more cash later). I didn't know much about finance but I knew that a) I was basically being forced to play the financial markets with that money and b) the fate of our country's economy is tied to the stock market which is a mood ring hooked up to a roulette wheel. Being the Oldest Living Millennial I also understood I might not actually ever get to retire, so I decided to treat my retirement fund like Monopoly money: real but meaningless. And so I thought, well, let's Learn About Investing with it.

When you invest with a 401K or IRA usually you're not buying straight stocks; you're buying some conglomeration of investments bundled together as a fund (this is not a technical term, fund has a specific meaning in the technical sense, but it's easier to just use fund as a shorthand so I'm gonna). These can include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other more esoteric vehicles. So I started looking into the funds available to me -- there's the "retire in this year" fund that most people just dump all their money into, but there were also ways to invest in small businesses abroad, in health care or in funds that are "socially responsible", ways to buy into funds that did nothing but attempt to keep up with inflation, and on and on.

I didn't know any of that, of course -- I just saw something like "International Explorer Fund" and decided it sounded interesting and I'd learn what it was and what it did, and when I was satisfied that the reward was worth the risk, I'd dump some cash from my 2045-Retirement investment into it. While "past performance is no indication of future success" past performance isn't a bad way to at least pick something to research, and usually there's an earnings graph on the fund's prospectus page. I'd start reading prospectuses and looking up every word I didn't know or felt had a specific context I was missing (mostly on Investopedia, a GREAT resource). I'd take the term, add it to a vocabulary list, and rewrite "what is this and what does it do" in my own words. Eventually I internalized a lot of the terminology but I still check my notes once in a while.

There are financial literacy courses you can take, of course, and I don't think you should be AT ALL ashamed about trying to find a good one (lots of scams out there) or asking colleagues about them. "Hey, I'm not comfortable with my level of literacy about investment vehicles; do you know of any good educational material or class that would fill in the gaps?" is a good way to go about it. Very few people know jack shit about investing and my level of knowledge is just BARELY above jack shit, to be honest, so no shame, my friend. It is also totally fine to find a financial planner or investment advisor outside of your work and have a sit-down with them to get advice, which is what my parents do. Many banks offer that kind of service, so check with wherever you do your banking, and almost any retirement fund administrator (like Vanguard or American Funds) will be happy to send someone to meet with you and advise you. I was never prouder of my financial self-education than the one time I met with a guy from Vanguard who said, "Basically, keep doing what you're doing, this is a model portfolio."

Once I was investing in my retirement funds more confidently, I got the RobinHood app and started studying stocks, which is really just like, "find a stock and do a book report on it". Look at past earnings, who the CEO of the company is, what their board makeup is like, what they're doing in the news. And of course the most important advice: Never, ever invest money in the stock market that you aren't prepared to lose.

Aside from my stock adventures on RobinHood, which is about five hundred dollars that I turned into a thousand dollars over a couple of years, I have money in a few savings accounts. I don't have CDs or money market accounts or any of that, because I still don't have quite enough cash to make it worth it. I just parked some in a credit union that pays 6% interest on the first $1K you put in, and the rest in Betterment, which had a 2% interest rate when I started but now is down to .3% which is a bummer. But I haven't found another vehicle like Betterment which allows you equally easy access to your money while having as intuitive and modular an online interface.

So overall, aside from retirement (which is at $116K, which seems impressive until you remember you're supposed to retire with 25x your yearly salary in your 401K) I have a grand in the stock market, a grand in a 6%-interest savings account with a credit union, a grand in an emergency-only savings account attached to my checking, and roughly five grand with Betterment. It's a fairly conservative setup but I'd like never to be poor ever again, so I'm hedging carefully :D

Some great resources that I've used include:

Investopedia

Planet Money podcast by NPR and its sister podcast, The Indicator

The Financial page of the newspaper (I used to read NYT, now I read Tribune)

Rankandfiled.com, a free stock filings resource site that basically scrapes the SEC for financial data -- this is for if you really want to do a deep dive once you've got more experience

Good luck! It's a slog at first, but eventually it gets kinda fun :)

[i-left-my-room-tidy]

favorite thing to do in each of your drs?

[thanks for this ask!]

- - -

HP DR

splurging 😭😭😭 I've always had a bad habit of hoarding things in my CR, and the fact that i scripted (technically) unlimited money for myself doesn't help that. i have the backing of two great families (grindelwald and martell; black, crouch, and malfoy don't count; the gaunt vaults have nothing to add, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯), and while those major houses took hits during the two blood wars, ultimately, it didn't detract from their wealth.

so, yes, I'm just grabbing as much as i need. as someone who's financially struggling in my CR, it's so fucking cathartic to not worry about a serious restriction in money. i do have a limit set for each shopping session, though—my uncle became stricter with my spending when i came back from leeds with several bags of clothes (rich or not, he said, i can't be careless with how i spend—which, alright, point).

i usually just buy clothes and trinkets—i rarely buy books unless i feel i can actually finish them. I'm still unused to not using a phone to search for articles or stories online. some of the things I'm ecstatic at having spent money on include: an original 59 gibson standard (y'all i actually cried over this), several issues of the antique doll collector magazine, and an honest-to-god ballgown (i can try drawing a replica of it when i have the time). if I'm lucky, i can also find some good vintage thingamajigs at garage sales [i once bought a pair of wooden hairsticks with dangling pearls, which actually resemble the ones i wear in my naruto DR—lmao it made me kinda freak out when i saw them].

- - -

Naruto DR

experimenting with my sharingan, or elemental bending in general. i don't think i can ever get bored with doing either of those things. they're frustrating, sometimes, when i feel as if I'm not making progress with a certain aspect or process (like controlling multiple elements at once, or working on my stamina)—but overall, they're activities i could never stay idle with, and i enjoy that.

I've only recently started practicing with my mangekyō abilities (I'll make a post about the eyes themselves in the future). it's fun, and just the slightest bit morbid, but genuinely exciting. I've used my mangekyō on rats (and afterwards, feeding their remains to my snake), and smaller variants of its power on shady individuals. the actual abilities of my mangekyō sharingan are a bit, erm, psychologically violent, so take it with a small grain of salt when i do talk about it.

elemental bending, on another note, is so fucking convenient. i keep telling my clanmates to be more creative with their jutsu (looking at you, you fucking elders), because any job's easier when you approach situations from a different angle—but everyone mostly leaves me alone to my, and i quote, "freak of nature shenanigans". i actually laughed when madara told me that—shifting really makes you OP, huh. anyways, i use elemental bending not just for combat-related activities, but also mundane ones. even just a gradeschool level of understanding on how science works might suffice. basic house skills: cooking, washing clothes, ironing, scrubbing floors; alright, chores, but they're actually fun when i apply elemental bending on them.

although, the radicality of some ideas i borrowed from history are really seen as strange. and no, nobody's accusing me of witchcraft or foul play, it's honestly just weird to them to see me use the science we're familiar with.

[falloutrebellion]

PSA TO ANYONE BUYING A CAR!!!

I work as a BDC agent at a very large dealership and have a ton of experience in helping people buy a vehicle. This can be a huge purchase so I want to give advice to anyone in the market or thinking about it.

First time buyers and bad credit. Maybe you have bad credit or none at all and you really need a vehicle. To many dealerships, anything under 600 is considered challenged credit. If you don’t have a qualified co-signer, you are going to need 20-40% as a down payment, depending on the value/age/mileage of the vehicle. A lot of issues I see with buyers with challenged credit is repeated reported hits on their credit because they have applied to several different dealerships in desperation. Every time a dealership pulls and submits your credit, it’s a hard hit and you will lose 2-4 points off your credit score. Most dealerships will submit you to 3-4 banks before stopping, some may go higher. So if you have challenged credit, having two or more dealerships do this to you is damaging. Being fully prepared is important!

In my experience, different dealerships use different credit bureaus to pull credit, so be familiar with all three bureaus if possible.

MYTH! A cheaper car is easier to finance. This is INCORRECT! Usually cheap vehicles are older and have high mileage. Banks do not want to finance those kinds of vehicles, so you have to look at something considered “financeable.”

These requirements fall along the lines of:

1. The vehicle must be 7-10 years old or newer

2. It must have 80-100k miles or less

3. It cannot have a salvaged/branded title, odometer rollback, and sometimes structural/frame damage. Almost all reputable dealerships will have Carfax reports publicly accessible on their website or upon request. 

4. The car needs to book well. This means that the NADA value (basically the REAL value of the vehicle) is not too far off from the selling price. If a vehicle is worth $15,000 and they are selling it for $20,000, the banks will decline because the values are too far off. 

However, just because a vehicle books bad does not mean it’s “over priced”. Technically. Most dealerships now have market based pricing, so the prices fluctuate with the economy. Similar to how housing, gas, and grocery prices rise and fall, vehicles are the same way. It is nearly impossible to buy a new vehicle anymore. Due to a wide array of issues, most 2022+ models are order only. This makes used vehicles in high demand. If dealerships are paying more to get vehicles via trade and auctions, they will have to charge more to sell them.

There are many dealerships out there who don’t care about you and only want your money. It is important to not let them pressure you and do your research to shop when you’re ready. 

On a final side note, if you inquire by calling or going online and schedule a test drive, you will help workers like me. We are here to help answer questions, provide any and all information, without the pressure of salesman. (Yes we may call and bug you, but just say you’re no longer interested and we will stop!)

If you ever have any questions please ask me!!!

Please reblog/share to help educate people in an exploitative market!

[darcymariaphoster]

lajf;lakhf thank you.

What book are you currently reading?

I'm not really reading anything rn. 😔 I do have A Christmas Carol open on my phone, though. Figured maybe I should finally read it.

What’s your favourite movie you saw in theatres this year?

...

I haven't been to the theaters in, like, two years. lmao. HOWEVER, I did watch that Norwegian film on Netflix, Troll, and that was interesting.

What do you usually wear?

Jeans. And, currently, most of my wardrobe is made up of thermals and men's hoodies. 😭

How tall are you?

5'10". I have claimed to be 5'11" before tho, so apparently I'm not tall enough? 🤷 😂

What’s your Star Sign? Do you share a birthday with a celebrity or a historical event?

I'm technically a taurus (and that shows, but since my birthday lands on the last day of that one, I also do have a few gemini traits).

I apparently do share my birthday with some celebs, but no one I know.

Do you go by your name or a nick-name?

Mostly my full name because I hated nicknames growing up so I was very stubborn about that (sans family, because I felt too guilty to ever correct them). I've gotten less fussy about my name, though, because people just use whatever version they feel like and I'm generally too polite to get upset anymore. 😭 I do go by a nickname online, however!

Did you grow up to become what you wanted to be when you were a child?

Absolutely not. A lot of what I thought I'd be or wanted to be got sidelined or discarded. And, for the most part, I'm okay with that.

Are you in a relationship? If not, who is your crush if you have one?

I am not. Idk if I actually have crushes...? Nobody I know irl, I can tell you that.

What’s something you’re good at vs. something you’re bad at?

Oh. Uh. I think I'm pretty good at writing and scrapbooking! I really, really like making cards, too, and I get compliments on them every time I give them to people.

What am I bad at? Ya know, I am absolutely terrible at math. I can't count back money without significant effort. I would die without a calculator, ngl.

Dogs or cats?

Cats. Just...one at a time...

If you draw/write, or create in any way, what’s your favourite picture/favourite line/favourite etc. from something you created this year?

Kinda reread "Anything Goes" recently, and I loved this line: “I hate hating you when I know that I love you,” Lukas whispers.

But I also really loved this chapter of "I'm Crazy Over You".

What’s something you would like to create content for?

Mmm... I'm pretty good with what I've been doing. All I hope for is that I stay with Hetalia long enough to finish "A Kingdom to Fall", tbh.

What’s something you’re currently obsessed with?

Um? Most of my obsessions have been put on hold with the holidays. 😆 Before that, I have spent way too much time on Nordic culture, both past and present. I've also spent a lot of time on runes and oracle cards.

What’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?

Not to go into massive detail, but I was super excited to buy my first house -- it was all on my own, and I was proud of it. But it fell through literally at the last minute. While it was a blessing in disguise, I was pretty upset by it.

What’s a hidden talent of yours?

I have hidden talents? I dunno? I've been told that I'm pretty good at photography. I've really thought about picking that up more this next year, actually

Are you religious?    

Nope. I do consider myself spiritual, though I am still pretty eclectic in my spirituality. 😂

What’s something you wish to have at this moment?

More time to write my gift fics. 😭

Who do I want to tag? @brokskar @lemonsunshower @blueprintfish @pvffinsdaisies

Tag Game To Better Know You! Send this to people you’d like to know better!

Thank you @fizzycherrycola  for tagging me! <3

What book are you currently reading?

I'm still making my way through "The vortex" by José Eustacio Rivera. The book is a classic in here and it has amazing descriptions of the amazonian rainforest but I always forget where I leave the book lol but I'm close to end!

What’s your favourite movie you saw in theatres this year?

The Batman! I loooove Batman and I was astonished with Robert Pattinson's take on the character and Paul Dano did an excellent job as The riddler!

What do you usually wear?

I wear a lot of dresses and big coats, they're comfy and look cute, I also lean to soft colors though lately I've been buying more green clothes...

How tall are you?

I'm the tallest in my family, but people here are not so tall...

What’s your Star Sign? Do you share a birthday with a celebrity or a historical event?

Cancer. My birthday is on independence day, so it's annoying at times, but it's always festive!

Do you go by your name or a nick-name?

Ilich is a nickname, but irl I just go by my name.

Did you grow up to become what you wanted to be when you were a child?

Haha no. When I was a child I wanted to be an astronaut which is nearly impossible in a country that has no space program. Though I am happy with what I am now.

Are you in a relationship? If not, who is your crush if you have one?

I am 🥰

What’s something you’re good at vs. something you’re bad at?

I am very good at swimming! I used to take lessons and all, but I am very bad at the trademark sports here like soccer and cycling.

Dogs or cats?

Cats!

If you draw/write, or create in any way, what’s your favourite picture/favourite line/favourite etc. from something you created this year?

I really liked this part of Together, I had fun researching about how outer space looks like and idk that part always gets me.

Everything seemed to work normally. Alfred lost count of how much time had passed, days, nights, it was hard to tell after they crossed by the Andromeda Galaxy, clouds of nebulae and a foreign web of constellations displayed an overwhelming number of suns, leaving them with the knowledge of how small the spiral-like Milky Way actually was.

There was a pause and shake of their heads every time the system marked a break on the distance from home. An infinite path strayed from their calculations, from their lifespans, but the prospect of a finish line for their journey didn't comfort them either.

In a surge of boredom, Alfred turned off the gravity inside, they seemed astonished at first. Wang had tried to turn it back on, but he had shoved him away and a childish game of tag started. It was strange, how unprofessional this was, how they were wasting time and energy on something so… human.

Alfred laughed, even when he knew they couldn't hear him, that they couldn't see his smile through the helmet, and it was… nice, for a while, but his laughter turned into sobs.

They were together, but not really.

What’s something you would like to create content for?

I think I'm happy with what I've done, and instead of creating new stuff I'd stop doing it, I want to finish my stories and take a break.

What’s something you’re currently obsessed with?

Cooking, this year I'm the one preparing the Christmas dinner and I've been practicing and planning what to do. Some of my family is coming over too so Idk I'm a bit nervous with that haha

What’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?

The Wakanda forever movie, there's something about how they handled having two powerful nations/empires and putting them against each other that simply disappointed me... It's a good movie but idk what I was expecting.

What’s a hidden talent of yours?

Hmm I've been crocheting lately and it's getting better haha

Are you religious?    

I'd like to say no but I'm constantly catching myself for assuming that some traditions here (that are heavily catholic) are also usual in other places, so that makes me go 🤔🤔

What’s something you wish to have at this moment?

Ahh I need some nice buñuelos (a pastry), in fact I think I'll get some of those on my way home.

I'm tagging @fireandiceland @magictrio1118 @darcymariaphoster and @crumpled--notes if you want to~

[writingsbychlo]

I know you're working, so answer this when you can. but I'm sharing so I don't forget lol. what do you think the profession of IC would be in a modern world? I don't know everyone because my imagination is precarious, but I definitely I think of Morrigan having a luxury clothing/makeup/jewelry brand. and Emerie I come to be one of its famous partners and they just fell in love and the two are rich bosses who date 😌😌

okay, some of these are not really creative. like, they literally write themselves, I’m working on their personalities, y’know?

rhysand: CEO of a business he inherited from his father. (definitely a corrupt company that was on its knees when he took it over, he now donates ti lots of charities and does everything above board)

azriel: personal investigator & legal advisor. mostly for rhys’ company, actually, he investigates all potential clients and employees and threats, and offers legal advice.

cassian: personal trainer specifically at a boxing gym that he owns. well, technically rhysand owns it, but cassian is buying it with monthly instalments. rhysand tried to give it to him as a gift, cassian refused. he doesn’t know that rhysand is changing him less than 10% of what it actually cost.

feyre: struggling painter who met rhys at an auction she was only at because she was hosted to display one single painting by her college, and she had no idea who he was and ranted to him about all her struggles. he bought her painting, and all the others she had, in exchange for one single date. she is still a painter but she now married into millions. she’s still humble. she keeps rhys humble too. he has that first painting he bought hung up in his office.

mor: personal shopper, but for the elites. stylist for celebrities and big events. she dabbles in a lot of fashion things.

nesta: law student and aspiring lawyer.

elain: café owner. nothing more to say, just a cute little coffee shop with pastries.

lucien: musician who met feyre in college and helped her out of a bad relationship with his best friend of the time, but his music doesn’t make him much money so he temps for rhys occasionally. no set job, just fills in where he can, always. does a bit of everything, because music is his real passion.

gywn: bookshop owner, really quaint bookshop, but it stocks all the good stuff. she also custom makes bookmarks to sell for extra cash inspired by whatever book she’s currently reading. she also runs a book club there on thursday night. and there’s a back room she made into a study room for any students who drop by.

bonus: helion: one of those online make fitness coaches who runs retreats and does yoga and “wellness weeks” and it actually works. is actually a licensed therapist who got sick of the couches and decided to make nice retreats and help people in groups. massively popular. massively undercharges for his services.

[literaticat]

Is there a way to find out online if a publisher (i.e. a small press) has bookstore distribution or is just POD/available online? I know you can email the publisher and ask or look in local bookshops, but I was wondering if there's a way to check ourselves? I know most POD books are available on various online sites to order (and I think most can be ordered in from bookstores?) but can we check to see if they're on the shelves of any bookstores (especially in a country we're not in).

Woof a lot to unpack here.

So for those who don't know, POD means "Print On Demand." Sometimes a publisher will produce their books POD rather than regular offset printing. Regular printing (ie, large quantities) is quite costly, and you end up with A LOT of books -- obviously a very small publisher will not need 20,000 copies (or whatever) of a given book, or have a place to PUT that many copies, so though POD is technically more expensive per unit, you only get the number of books you actually need, and you can get more at any time, and you don't have to figure out how to warehouse a bunch of excess stock. So for a bigger publisher that has warehouse space and distribution and will move a fair number of copies, offset printing is the logical, much more cost-effective answer -- for a tiny publisher, or for a very small print run, POD may be the answer.

The thing is -- POD books can look exactly like regular books. Yes, sometimes self-published or small press POD books DO look like shit -- but they don't actually HAVE to look like shit, that shit-look is because of the choices the publisher made. Here's a fun fact: Major publishers sometimes use POD technology and you would literally NEVER know the difference! Like let's say you have a major-major-major bestseller -- the new Michelle Obama book just dropped, and they published a half a million copies, but it just wasn't enough, bookstores are clamoring for it, customers are clamoring, and the next boat full from Malaysia isn't coming for three more weeks. You need this book NOW! Well -- you can have Ingram or a similar country do a quick print run to fill the gap. It will be pricey - but it CAN be done quite quickly in the US, and look identical to the Hardcover version coming from Malaysia, and be in bookstores by early next week to cover this demand.

SORRY TO GO OFF, I know that in no way answered your question, it just felt like important info to have - POD is just a technology / tool, it is not inherently "bad" or anything. More relevant:

I think it depends on the country. I can only answer this for the US, I really don't know what tools other country may have (but I'd assume that they would be in the language of that country, anyway) -- for the US, you have a couple options:

-- look on the publisher's website. They should indicate if they have 'distribution partners' or 'distrubuted by xyz'. (They might not always! But that's where I'd probably start!) - also just like, EYEBALL the books. Do they look attractive? Are there buy-links to more than just Amazon? Are they available as hardcover, paperback, or only ebook, or what? Do they seem to be high quality, and of a normal price-point?

-- look up the publisher on Edelweiss. (you will need to sign up for an account). This is the online database of publisher catalogues that bookstores in the US use to order from. Basically -- if the publisher doesn't have a catalogue on edelweiss, they are unlikely to be getting into bookstores, and are not even trying.

-- unfortunately, looking a book up on Amazon or Bookshop.Org or even an indie bookstore's website isn't particularly helpful -- because pretty much ANY book that has an ISBN can be ordered from Amazon, Bookshop.Org, or special ordered from B&N or an indie bookstore. So you can't tell what book is actually on what bookstore shelves without looking up the stores. If you want to do that, though, you can -- bigger bookstores will probably have their in-store inventory available online. So let's say you look up a book on BN.com -- set it to "pick up in store" and then put in a zip code and it will tell you which stores within a hundred miles of that zip code have the book actually in stock. (This data is sort of meaningless though, because LOTS of books might not be on a given bookstores shelves right now - that doesn't mean they can't be, or they weren't before, or they might not be in the future!)

Hope that helps!

[lady-literature]

Accidental Crime Boss Marinette

Okay so,, I have this AU in my head, right? (not surprised) and I’m lacking any real direction for it (still not surprised) but it basically goes like this:

Marinette moves to Gotham.

She’s drawn there for whatever reason and the kwami are saying something about balance and being a Guardian and her sacred duty and something but Marinette isn’t really listening. She’s too busy trying to find a shop front where she can open a bakery without having to worry about getting mugged every time she steps outside.

Chloé comes with her, obviously, because they’re friends and Chloé has a business degree she puts to good use actually running Mari’s bakery and online boutique while Mari gets to bake and fuck around basically. Adrien, Luka and Kagami are not there, but that’s mostly because they travel too much to settle down and keeping an empty apartment in Gotham is just asking for trouble.

Kagami is a world-renowned fencer and Luka travels the world for his music company. Not touring, but soaking up cultures and ways of life so he can make soundtracks to movies and tv shows. Providing the background and life to a film is more his style than touring the world ala his father, Jagged Stone.

Adrien is having the time of his life being Kagami’s trophy husband. He has no pressing responsibilities he doesn’t take on for himself and he gets to fuck with the world’s elite with little to no consequences. He spends most of his days donating far too much money to charities and orphanages and then causing minor scandals that land him on the cover of magazines.

He has much the same kind of ‘dumbass with a heart of gold’ persona to the media as Bruce Wayne does, only without the playboy bits.

(There is a wall in the back of the bakery, where Chloé and Mari carefully cut out and frame every headline and ridiculous picture Adrien has. He is very much delighted when he learns about his ‘wall of fame’.)

Anyway, Marinette finds herself with a bakery not overly far from crime alley, much to Chloé’s chagrin.

(“What do you mean it ‘just felt right’?! I swear to kwami, DC, you’re going to get us robbed and sold into slavery.”)

They do not get sold into salvery.

In fact, despite their less than stellar choice of locale, they do pretty well for themselves. The only problems they have (according to Chloé) is the army of children Marinette accidentally attracted.

When asked, Marinette tells everyone that it was an accident. Meanwhile, Chloé, standing behind her, will shake her head and insist there was literally never any other option for them the moment that first kid came in looking to nab some cash and a few pastries.

Mari lives by the phrases, ‘kindness breeds more kindness’ and ‘do unto others’ and all that other nice person shit. Chloé just lets Mari pseudo-adopt her strays and makes sure that they don’t steal anything too important in the time it takes her to gain their loyalty.

The kwami stay staunchly out of any arguments involving the kids (and eventually the homeless all along their street and every working girl in a five-block radius). They do so with a special brand of amusement that never means good things for either of them. (After all, the last time the kwami looked that amused, they moved to Gotham.)

The first kid is named Serrure, as Marinette comes to learn over the next month after he returns again and again, getting closer and closer like a feral cat. Other kids come during that time, all of them too small and too thin and too guarded for Mari's tastes. She wants to wrap them all up and tuck them into bed but she can’t. She has to be patient, has to be gentle. These kids are just as likely to bite her hand as they are to accept help.

Serrure becomes an almost permanent fixture at the bakery after that first month. Mari’s not quite sure what she did to get through to him, but she did, she supposes. He can’t be much older than eleven and looks nine, but after getting settled, she and Chloé discover this little slip of a boy is just as mischievous as Trixx and has all the dramatics of their favorite black cat.

The kwami, when talking about him, only refer to Serrure as Loki, even after Marinette scolds them for it. She eventually gives up trying to correct them, it’s not like Serrure talks to them anyway(yet)((that she knows of)).

There’s an apartment above the bakery, which is where Chloé and Mari and all her strays that grow to trust her enough live. It’s three bedrooms, and at first, Mari just buys as many bunk beds as she can fit into the spare room and calls it a day. The kids feel safe in her home, which isn’t too surprising. Everyone thinks the bakery feels safe, feels like home or comfort or whatever else eases their minds.

And Marinette should hopes so. She certainly put enough time and effort and magic and energy into the wards around this place for that to happen. To protect her and the children and all her strays that no one else will help.

But, she eventually amasses too many kids to fit into the one room. Chloé throws a fit about having to share with Mari again—“I had enough of that in university thank you very much”—but she relinquishes easily enough.

Mari buys more bunk beds, and Serrure has taken to sneaking into her room to curl up in her bed anyway, and sometimes the smaller kids who have nightmares will come in and pile on as well.

(There are only a few that Chloé will allow to do the same with her. It is considered a high honor and breeds a playful kind of jealousy that Chloé finds amusing. Mari scolds her for pitting the kids against each other.)

That only lasts them another two months.

“This is getting ridiculous,” Chloé tells her one day before the kids wake up. Mari is at the stove, cooking and baking for a small army while Chloé balances the books. “There’s not enough room for us all, DC, and the only reason someone hasn’t come barrelling down on us about the abundance of children is by the grace of your absurd amount of luck.”

“Well I can’t just kick them out, Queenie! What do you want from me?”

“Either we need to buy more real estate in this city—which I’d rather not do—or you open up the grimoire and start building pocket dimensions. I know you can. I’ve read the chapter.”

Marinette looks at her. “That is such a bad idea.”

They do the idea.

And then Mari adds about a thousand more wards to the bakery, carved into the wood and counter and anything that’s a permanent fixture. Doorways become particularly ward heavy, what with them being the entrances and exits to the hidden realms and children’s’ rooms.

The apartment above the bakery isn’t quite infinite but it gets pretty damn close some days.

This also means, of course, that all the kids definitely know about magic now. Some of them—Serrure—have known about it for a while she knows, but it’s different now. The kwami followed her around most of the time and she doesn’t keep them trapped in the Miracle Box like Fu did, but now that the kids know, they don’t bother staying hidden.

The children, at least, love them and the kwami adore them with all the ferocity a god can give. After Chloé gets over her ‘ew children’ phase, she throws herself into their education (on top of actually running the businesses Mari keeps, mind you). She has the help of the kwami, who act as personal tutors to the children, and it’s not long before the kids start to joke about her being the Principal.

(Some tried to call her Warden, but that joke didn’t last long.)

Marinette has also been telling the kids bedtime stories ever since this started. Old stories of the Guardian and Chosens who fought back the darkness, she shares all she knows of the Orders history with these kids and it’s not until Wayzz points it out to her does she realize what she’s doing.

“Ladybugs are known for renewal. It is no surprise that you are rebuilding what was lost.”

Rebuilding the Order using children was certainly not her intention but, well. She supposes there’s no place safer for her kids than what is shaping up to be the new Miracle Temple. It’s the only haven where they can learn to harness their Gifts and powers, it’s the only place where they can be surrounded by others like them without being thrust into superhero-dom.

Context: about a month into this whole circus, Marinette had realized there was a significant—almost all of them really—amount of metas and Gifted in her little hoard of strays. Which is… odd. Especially with how few metas there are in Gotham.

She had asked the kwami about it, and they have that amused look again. “You are their guardian.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re their guardian. True, you are the Guardian of us, of the ancient ways, but you are a guardian at your soul too. You protect what is yours, and they are yours whether you realise it or not. The children can sense that, so they flock to you.”

And, huh. She supposes that makes sense but that’s also really kind of strange and weird and she doesn't want to think about that anymore actually.

So things are… fine, Marinette supposes. The bakery is doing well, and she has about two dozen-plus helpers running around underfoot to help tend to the customers or run to the store or help in the back with the baking. And every kid of hers has new clothes, their street things thrown out for being too ragged and replaced with something fresh made by Marinette’s own hands.

She embroiders little fairy wings into the clothes normally, because that’s what her cloaked wards look like most times and the kids like it and its technically the logo for the bakery and there’s a million reasons she does it.

It is, perhaps, her first mistake.

(“It was certainly not your first,” Chloé will snark one dayin the future.)

Because now Marinette has an army of magical children learning to wield their powers and not fear them and they’re all wearing what can be considered her insignia and uh oh, it looks a lot like Mari is some sort of up and coming mob boss who uses kids and prostitutes and the homeless as runners. People on the street start calling her the Pixie, start referring to Chloé—her second in all things just as Chat had been her equal—as Wasp, as Yellowjacket, as the Unseelie.

(They cannot seem to pick a name for her, but Pixie is all but engraved in stone. Mari is not sure who coined it, and she doesn't think she wants to know.)

The first time the whole situation is brought to her attention, she punches the idiot who dared even imply such a thing so hard she knocks him out.

Because look. The kids are hers right? And she watches out for the people near her, makes sure the working girls are treated as well as they can be and offers the homeless extra food and a dry place to wait out the storm. She offers her hand and gives them all a place to rest, to eat, to exist without expectations or consequences.

She does that because she’s kind, because it hurts her to see people in need, to see them suffer, not because she’s hoping to gain something from it.

The fact that most of them repay her in gossip or information or bend her ear about the newest goings on in the corrupt elite or filthy underworld is strange, yes, but it’s nice to know what’s going on in the city, she supposes. And one time, Kathy, who works on the corner of Brookes and Gilmore, warned her of a drug raid that saved her an unnecessary trip to the police station so it’s not like it doesn't have it’s uses.

But mostly, Mari doesn't really think about all the information that’s unintentionally or otherwise passed onto her. She remembers it all, because it’s rude not to listen when people talk to her, but nothing comes of normally.

Not until Serrure—now twelve and well versed in the magic of illusions and glamors and knows almost as much about this city as her or the Bats—bursts into the bakery one day and grabs Mari away from the front counter right in the middle of a customer ordering. She should, perhaps, be a little angry at that but Tony, one of the older boys and just shy of sixteen, steps into her place almost immediately, so.

And then Serrure speaks and everything is pushed aside in favour of the next words to fall from his lips.

“Someone took Sophie,” he says and she nearly sees red.

After Serrure, Sophie has been here the longest. She is the youngest of them all, only seven, but oh so clever and kind and while she looks nothing like her, everyone calls her Mini-Mari. If Serrure is her beloved first son, Sophie is her treasured daughter.

She’s out the door in the next moment, storming her way to their base. She has Sophie and a handful of extra kids back by sunset, a little frightened, but no worse for wear. She doesn’t make a big deal out of it, besides making sure that the idiots who dared cross her never do so again, but word gets out.

Soon, her kids and teens and adults begin giving her more than just information, they begin giving her problems. Ones she’s meant to fix because she’s Pixie. She’s safety, she’s protection, she’s the one the people start to turn to for help.

And enter stage left, one Jason Todd who’s all snark and charm and smiles wrapped up in a nice leather bow and tall enough that Mari likely could climb him like a tree. If that was something she wanted, she guesses.

(She wants. She just won’t admit.)

He becomes a regular at the bakery and befriends most of her kids.

Mari’s wary when he first takes an interest in them. They’ve been hurt and a lot of them are still adjusting to being safe and it doesn't matter that this man is hot enough to burn, if he steps even a toe out of line with her kids she’ll make him wish he was never even born.

But, she stops worrying eventually. The kwami like him well enough, but seem to think something’s odd about him—but its Gotham, who isn’t strange?—and both Serrure and Sophie take to him like ducks to water and they’re both good judges of character.

There’s a certain intuition they both have that reminds Marinette just a bit too much about herself and pure magic. Not for the first time does she wonder if they got such strong magic from their parents or if it cropped up in them randomly, fostered by fortune and chance and the magic that’s so deeply seeped into the bones of her bakery it’ll be here long after she’s gone.

And, okay, so she was a little right to be wary because Jason was mostly there to investigate her. Far too many people respect her and are loyal to her and she has a veritable orphanage in her pocket and also Harley and Ivy like her and it just- it doesn’t look good right?

But Jason’s a good detective and it doesn't take him long at all to see that Mari is just as sweet and kind and loving as she appears to be. Not long after that, Red Hood declares Pixie and all of hers, under his protection. She, of course, is more than capable of taking care of her and hers, and the underworld knows this, has seen it, but he does it anyway.

The news, of course, gets back to Mari and she is… confused. Why would the Red Hood do something like that? She’s heard talk of him being sweet on kids, but to claim her? They’ve never even met.

Bonus points for Jason being there when she’s told about it. He kind of raises his eyebrow at her because, huh, that was fast, and then spends the next few minutes talking up the Red Hood to her much to her utter bafflement.

He actually keeps doing that too, talking up the Red Hood. Mari thinks he has a crush on the man for the longest time because of it. Until he reveals he is Red Hood, then she just wants to punch his stupidly handsome face for being such an idiot.

Shit happens from there and things go down and the two spend a couple of months dancing around each other and intentionally and unintentionally ruling the criminal underworld and at one point Marinette definitely punches Bruce and Batman in the face—separately, much to Jason’s unending joy—and she also definitely adopts Duke/Signal as well because that poor boy needs to know he’s not alone.

And it’s just them being domestic and badass and lowkey raising an army of children and falling in love while the kwami and the kids and Chloé are all in the background just yelling at them to get together already!

Which, they do. Eventually. After all the secrets come out and Jason knows about the magic and Order and meets Mari’s other friends, ie Kagami, Luka and Adrien who are all intimidating for wildly different reasons. And Mari finds out that Jason died and came back (which earns him the nickname firebird btw) and that he was a Robin once upon a time but is now Red Hood and oh my kwami it all makes sense now.

Jason confesses like three times via classic Victorian romance novel quotes because he’s a fucking literature nerd but it’s not until he basically spells it out for Mari does she really understand. it’s all very sweet and heartwarming and then the pair duck into one of the empty pocket dimensions they have lying around and aren’t seen for three days.

(No one really goes to look for them tbh)

Chloé definitely teases them about early honeymoons and things but besides the two being even more ridiculously lovey-dovey than usual, life goes back to normal. Or as normal as it gets for them. 

And they all live happily ever after the end.