#which was all from Facebook marketplace anyway

[chandajaan]

Hey guy submitted an application for a tiny townhouse apartment that I'll probably have to sell most of my furniture to be able to live in let's hope I get it, I need somewhere to live 😵‍💫

[longingforacultparty]

maybe once ive finished cleaning my apartment ill start trying to sew again

[botanyshitposts]

ok INCREDIBLY old content originally meant for this blog but in 2018 when i was just a wee lad with a little spinner propeller hat and big rainbow lollipop i went to a carnivorous plant convention in california and met a bunch of people who breed/collect/study these guys. one person was this collector who was slowly working on leaving the hobby or at least no longer growing plants, and he had a bunch of carnivorous plant related files he was charging like 50 cents for or something, and so i came into possession of these, which are examples of the kind of paperwork you have to have done to legally ship/trade endangered species of both plants and animals. functionally very boring paperwork, but something i found like, incredibly fascinating. i blacked out the personal id of the person and then immediately forgot to ever upload them, lmao.

these plants were bred and raised in a greenhouse and sold abroad, not taken from the wild, but because the species are endangered and often protected in their native countries (most of these are nepenthes, asian pitcher plants, a huge family spread throughout oceania and southeast asia), there's a lot more documentation that needs to be done regardless of their origin, both on the end of the seller and on the end of the buyer.

the rabbit hole on carnivorous plant trade is deep and kind of wild. there's plenty of common, non-threatened, greenhouse-grown pitcher plants on the market that people buy all the time, even non-collectors, but there's a whole debate to be had on if it's morally okay to be collecting the more endangered/rare of these plants in the first place. the big argument for breeding is that breeding them in captivity means there's more supply that's not poached from the wild, meaning poachers have less of an incentive to take the risk of taking adult plants from their habitats; from what i've heard, sometimes countries will issue permits for breeders to collect some wild seeds just to create a non-wild breeding pool to drive down the price. predictably, however, you also get people who are very much willing to pay a lot of money to get as rare of a plant as possible.

anyone familiar with the allure valuable plants have had over people throughout history can imagine the rest, but here's an article about a guy who started buying poached plants to enrich his private nepenthes collection, who then got busted by a fish and wildlife service agent embedded in his carvirorous plant circle. the plants this guy was buying were being sold to him without any CITES paperwork or declarations like the ones above; it was literally just a guy in indonesia taking rare plants from the woods around where he lived, selling them over facebook marketplace and ebay, and mailing them overseas as an undeclared 'gift' to get around customs. frighteningly small steps to take on all sides, to be honest.

(also, fun fact: another example of carnivorous plants that get poached are wild venus fly traps, which are only native to north and south carolina in the US. from what i understand it's a mix of people who genuinely did not know it's a native species and people who really are just going out into the woods and digging up plants to sell online. sometimes poaching is closer to home than you'd think!)

anyway. wild and interesting times in the land of plants recovered from a hard drive lmao

[exercise-of-trust]

everyone clap and cheer for my beautiful daughter who has every disease 🥰 her name is þerindë because her wheel is made out of an embroidery hoop; she is entirely handmade and boy howdy does it show

a whole bunch of things have stopped working since i took that video last night and i'm not sure how much more wherewithal i have to keep messing with her, but i did manage to spin about two feet of something before then! so i'm showing her off a bit now, and if i can figure out what-all i fucked up maybe you'll see more of her in the future. some process and progress photos under the cut (not a tutorial. do not do this. i cannot sufficiently stress how bad of an idea this was and is*)

(*if you are going to do this and have questions not answered here i am always happy to answer them, inbox and dms are open etc, but like. i would strongly advise against it)

here's the hoop! it's about a foot across, with a groove carved out with a speedball. this ended up being way too shallow (who'd'a'thunk) so the final version is a lot deeper than what you're seeing here. the paint stirrers are held in with straight pins because i was worried regular nails would just crack the hoop lmao. my girl is so deeply and profoundly scuffed <3

the flyer is made from three cedar shingles glued together because i didn't have a solid piece of wood large enough. astonishingly nothing broke while i was sawing out the rough shape and it whittled down pretty nicely! the hooks are scrap 2mm copper wire, the orfice is a couple inches of plastic drinking straw, and the pulley wheel is also hand-carved, which is why it looks like a fucked-up oreo and has the weird hitch at the top of the spin that you probably saw in the video 🙃 frankly i am astonished it works as well as it does

the wheel frame is. man. the axle supports haven't broken yet but frankly it's a miracle they're still in place with how much strain they're under every time. the original base was that weird little bit of paint stirrer, which (shocker) did not work out in the long run; it's been replaced by an offcut from the frame and is significantly more sturdy now. it's surprisingly level, though, and turns pretty smoothly all things considered!

the frame was a nightmare start to finish; i've never done any serious woodworking before in my life and the whole thing was just kind of slapped together without a plan or any sort of concrete measurement. it wobbles so fucking bad and every few hours i have to push a couple of the parts back together where the nails are sort of drifting out of the wood. you may observe a weird post sticking out the left side of the mother-of-all; that is supposed to be for scotch tensioning. does it actually do that? sort of! the belt is a length of cotton crochet thread that is, after much fiddling, just the right size to not slip out more than once every three minutes.

treadling was another pain to figure out and i think i probably made it way more complicated than it needed to be. it still doesn't work very well and i can't tell if that's something i can fix hardware-wise or if i just have to suck it up and practice a lot more. turns out feet are not as coordinated as hands! i would say "now i know for next time!" but frankly i am never doing this again. you couldn't pay me. speaking of which, i did the math and at my current pre-tax hourly salary i could've bought two brand-new ashford travelers with the number of hours i spent building my awful rickety daughter. at the end of the day, do i love her? immensely. is she "good"? by no stretch of the imagination.

anyway. this was a terrible use of my time <3 but i do finally feel confident enough in all the parts of a spinning wheel and what they're for that i can brave the dangers of facebook marketplace's "spinning wheel" category without getting too badly scammed! which is pretty valuable in its own right, i guess.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 13 thoughts

so i read the description of this episode and i was thinking to myself, yeah, this one seems believable. i keep loosely acquainted with the drama of the funeral world, and after learning of the harvard morgue scandal of last summer, i was like. well. the truth echoes art, i guess.

but that was the POINT of the episode- that the real world is scary, even without vampires and bigfoot!

so we begin with a funeral for a poor little girl. and it is an open casket, which is upsetting, and these little kids that i assume were her classmates are looking in. and then to make it even MORE upsetting, this creepy man working the event shows up and starts... touching her hair...

boy, i hope that child actress got a fat check for that very uncomfy bit part.

next we see a man eating an ice pop in the embalming room, to which i say: king. and he's hearing some weird stuff, and who emerges but... donnie!

(donnie's the guy who was stroking her hair... and he's holding scissors... and the girl's hair is scattered all over the floor...)

donnie briefly morphed into a demon, and ice pop man banishes donnie from his realm upon realizing he cut the little girl's hair. he says "i should report you" but i don't think he actually did.

(PRO TIP: if you are in a workplace where this type of event happens, please do file a report)

anyway. agent time. they're arriving in a graveyard. and i saw a gif this morning of mulder lifting the caution tape up so scully can get her umbrella in!!! it is suuuuch a cute moment. and a tiny consolation for the agony the rest of this episode produced.

the policeman is blabbering on about aliens and says to mulder, "you know andy" and he says "no i don't" "well, he knows you" which is sooooo funny. another example of mulder being famous amongst the nerd population.

poor scully looks absolutely horrified at this little girl's desecrated body...

and while the policeman thinks it's aliens, which may be a first, mulder does not, which again may be a first, because he says he's seen cases like this before

"you okay, scully?" he asks, noticing that she is Not Okay, but seeming unsure of how to approach the situation. she insists that she is, and perhaps he accepts this at face value.

they share an umbrella <3 but whilst doing this she's deeply shaken, and says she's surprised he isn't bothered. he says he prepared himself, and i thought he was going to elaborate on what preparing yourself for a case like this looks like, but he didn't

and she's shocked that they drove all the way here for a case that isn't aliens... why did we come here then?

because he got them tickets to a football game. LMAOOOOO this man........... football date night. it does not sound pleasurable to me but maybe watching his nerdy face light up would make up for the misery. i was giggling here. he wanted to take her out and show her his culture.

okay so now we're back to donnie. he's applying for a new job. he says he used to be a cosmetologist.

NOOOOO they had to miss their game because there are more bodies dug up and violated... and since this took place in the 90's they didn't even have facebook marketplace to try and sell their tickets beforehand... this is truly a devastating loss </3

and did they show a football player with the same name as the dude who runs this show... you can't sneak that stuff by me...

scully has to walk out after seeing the pictures of the crime scene and i'm already so deeply sad for her but oh boy, past me, wait a bit and see where all this goes!

mulder says that the police need to put an alert out NOW and the policeman is all "well we don't have a whole lot of guys on the squad so it might take awhile :(" THEN HURRY??? mulder says he thinks this dude is gonna kill someone and you're gonna complain about lack of resources???? WORK OVERTIME???

poor scully is sososo shaken and mulder pops his head out to where she was sitting... he says he'll cancel their plane tickets so they can stay longer and she's just staring out into the distance... SOMEONE HELP MY QUEEN PLEASE

then we get a glasses and takeout moment as the agents come up with a profile for a guy who steals body parts from dead people

donnie sees a woman on the side of the road- a working woman, if you will- and he takes her back to his place. and this woman is sooo pretty. but he's running her a bath and marty i'm scared.

(wait i just realized i can straight up insert the reaction images i'm referring to on here)

HE IS OBSESSED WITH HAIR... first the little girl's, and now he asks this woman if she needs shampoo for chemically treated hair...

he goes to take a phone call- congrats, you got the job- and she sees his room is FILLED with wreaths from funerals. and she might be naked but i was still yelling at the screen GIRL YOU NEED TO RUN!!!!!!

well. we cut to body time. so we know how that went. it is a spectacularly bloody body. and our freak has escalated from desecrating graves to killing real people.

mulder wants to go look at the body and asks scully to come but she can't bring herself to do it. WHY IS NO ONE NOTICING THE STRESS SHE IS IN. HOW CAN WE TAKE STEPS TO AID HER.

(i think that mulder is trying his best to Not Make A Big Deal out of her visible distress to make her feel better, and instead just gives her space and respects her lack of desire to discuss the whole thing. because there is no way he doesn't actually notice)

now donnie is on the job as a grocery deliveryman. which i am familiar with as i do use doordash occasionally. but the woman whose house he's delivering too just. LETS HIM IN??? to pack up the groceries. is this how the job worked at the time... can anyone confirm or deny... because i'm trying to imagine welcoming the doordash or instacart guy coming in and putting the food away for me... and i feel my skin crawl... what a textbook murder situation...

and if that isn't bad enough, the woman tells donnie they have 3 daughters and leave the backdoor open........ this does not bode well for the plot....

he asks to go to their bathroom and he digs through their trash to find a clump of hair and he SNIFFS it and then pockets it... we need someone to deal with this man with a QUICKNESS.

scully is in autopsy mode now, and unlike her usual very professional self, she looks like she is going to pass out conducting this one. which is remarkable because she has seen some nasty stuff, but this is what puts her over the edge.

in her report, she's writing about how every autopsy tells the story of a life, and that being killed for someone to take a piece of your body is perhaps the most dehumanizing death imaginable

someone who saw this freak donnie says that he looked like an ordinary guy, so this is gonna be a tough search. so mulder is going into deep psychoanalysis mode, saying it must be driven by a very intense hatred of women. which seems fair. i'll trust the oxford trained fellow.

now donnie is in class and he sees a woman and we know what's coming, but when he approaches her and tries to get creepy, she kicks him away and manages to run!!!! thank god honestly we could use a victory.

the phone wakes up scully from a nightmare where she sees the same demon we saw earlier and also SHE was the one on the autopsy table- but mulder says they have a suspect at the station. and i'm like, yes! they're gonna get him!

but it isn't him that they get! they brought someone else in, and we SEE donnie watching their interview moment and this was the narrative taunting me

mulder can no longer try and ignore scully being so on edge, and he says "scully, if you're having trouble with this case, i want you to tell me" and my first reaction was, king, do you have eyes, she has been about to collapse this whole time. but now i see he is doing the best he can to put the ball in her court, and yet she STILL denies it. lies straight to his face.

"i'm not having trouble", she says <- okay so we all see that this isn't true but i respect that he's trying to be mindful of her boundaries. however i would have been like hey queen let's get you out of here <3

"i just don't want you to think you have to hide anything from me", he says, and i kiss each of my fingers like i just savored a delicious meal, because that is EXACTLY what i wanted this man to say. mmm angst. just what i had ordered.

so donnie is asking the guy who DID get questioned what they were talking to him about, and what their names were, and he remembers scully's name because she has the same name as a baseball announcer i guess? and then they let the donnie go -_-

she goes back to DC to get a fingerprint read on the body but says something about maybe not flying back to the case that night... she did NOT want to be there!!!!!

at this point we learn that the FBI has an on sight therapist, which honestly makes perfect sense... but man. this scene.

she's referring to herself in the second person, talking about how you have to become used to seeing death in med school and in fbi, and she's distancing herself to try and cope. and the therapist brings up losing her father and her coma, and asks if she feels uncomfortable with her partner, and she's like no, i trust him with my life.

wow. that's incredible. but!

"i don't want him to feel like he has to protect me"

and i cannot imagine a world in which mulder, the protector, would ever NOT try and guard those he loves like some sort of snarling beast. but she must still feel horrible after just coming out of a coma, and he had been so scared to welcome her back, let her come on the missions, she had to PROVE herself, and she can't make herself feel guilty knowing he'll see her as something to protect.

(as if there was ever going to be another way)

so yeah i was basically barking at the screen here.

she says she's lost faith, and she needs it back. and where do you get faith these days?

but, while she was away, they found a print. she calls mulder to tell him this and decides that she'll fly back that night.

"anyway, you could use my help" "always" <- what if i started crying.

but someone called for her while she was away... and i knew it was that donnie freak........... foreshadowing....

so the agents trace the prints to donnie and bust into his house, where they find his endless funeral wreaths and even a FINGER in the fridge, but no donnie

and this is just as scully is arriving from the airport AND DONNIE IS STALKING HER. and i wrote, donnie, i will get u with my bare hands.

and he HITS HER CAR and DRIVES HER OFF OF THE ROAD and then mulder comes to the scene and they find her car but no SCULLY

back at donnie's place, he is running a bath and my screen was dark enough to see my face in the reflection and it could best be described as looking like that dizzy emoji. "oh girl i am UNCOMFY", i wrote, but in a sort of horror way that you expect from the genre.

she's tied up in his closet and sees him as a DEMON again which is more evidence that she has had to endure SO MUCH and i'm getting duane berry flashbacks with the gag in her mouth and i'm feeling a profound level of defensiveness for a person who does not exist

mulder is stressed, there are no witnesses, and he's pissed, he says "there are people that can videotape police beatings on darkened streets, they manage to spot elvis in 3 cities across america every day, but no one saw a pretty woman being forced off the road in her rental car"

AUGHHHH his bloodhound nature, need to find answers, is kicking in again.

(and also he thinks she's pretty)

so back at donnie's place, he is approaching rapidly with a knife, and mulder is sleuthing. the car they found was donnie's mother's car, so maybe they're at donnie's mother's place... but he is PICKING UP THE KNIFE AS MULDER SPEAKS

he ASKS ABOUT HER HAIR to properly shampoo it which is SO FREAKY but she manages to BREAK AWAY by shoving him into the tub. yes yes those FBI agent skills are kicking in!!!

shes hiding and he yells "there's no way out, girly girl" which briefly took me out of the scene because i just know that he would have said "girly pop" if the writers had their hands on that phrase and it was distracting but still. STILL.

she's hiding in the closet and he opens the door and she SPRAYS HIM WITH ROACH SPRAY and runs and they're tussling about when...

MULDER BREAKS DOWN THE DOOR and sees her!!!! he's calling for paramedics while the policemen take care of donnie

and the first thing she says to him is "i'm okay", reassuring him despite her awful situation, perhaps referring to her mostly uninjured body, but she's shaking like a leaf, and she just keeps saying that she's fine, she's fine, until he lifts her chin up to look at her face...

and she starts SOBBING into his chest. he's got his fingers in her hair and he's mumbling "it's okay" to her again and again and. i could feel my heart melting. i was a mere puddle of a human being at this moment. it's okay. it's okay.

there is something i think you will understand that is so rich about seeing characters hit their breaking point. it tells the audience so much about them- here we see that scully's biggest fear is the evil that lies in the ordinary, in the idea that anyone could be a monster, that this is a world of constant fear, and how do you try and rationalize the things that humanity is capable of doing? how do you walk down the street knowing that someone, anyone that passes you by could be a devil, metaphorically speaking? and she doesn't have the luxury of believing that it could be some outside force- some aliens, or evil vampires- manipulating people into doing their bidding, like mulder does. she knows that it is flesh and blood people that she sees everyday at the grocery store or next door or even those she autopsies, that do horrific things. and that there is a capacity for that in anyone, and no way to keep yourself or those you love entirely safe. what is there in this cold world of facts if there isn't faith? and again, where do you get more faith when you run out?

(and, of course, her deep and terrible fear of needing protection. needing to rely on someone that isn't just herself. of inadequacy. how scary that must be for a person who sees the terror in the rest of the world)

so yeah. love to see a character break. and i love it even MORE when we get to see someone they love comfort them. hurt/comfort trope remains undefeated.

the episode ends with mulder writing the case report and talking of very similar things as i just rambled on about- about humans being demons, and demons being what humanity comes up with to explain that- but this is delivered over a slideshow of donnie's childhood pictures to emphasize how he was just the boy next door, except that honestly he looked like young sheldon. so i was a bit taken out of the whole thing.

so yeah. this episode did not leave me with the warmest and fuzziest of feelings, but in terms of horror it was definitely one of the scariest so far, again because the entire lack of supernatural causes. i mean you could choose to interpret that this guy genuinely WAS a demon, but i think that defeats the purpose of the episode and scully's character study we get as a result. i was spooked, but we still had some good moments, such as attempted football date.

overall, i thought this episode was great. and we could talk about how the creepy killer was super queer coded, and discuss if this was done in bad faith, which could be an interesting conversation- but i find it not entirely relevant to the overarching theme. like, the scary part was that he wanted to keep your fingers, not that he called scully "girly girl", and i didn't get the sense that those two things were being equated in the episode.

now give me 10 beach episodes, or perhaps a journey to a museum, or a spa, or the mountains, or an ice-skating trip with matching scarves worn by our agents, or a day at the mall. really i don't ask for a lot!

[wandaluvstacos]

I am so happy right now. That first line of stitches is literally the first thing I ever sewed with this machine, and they were just... perfect. Immediately. No adjusting of tension, timing, nothing. That's after I took the needle assembly out to clean and put it back in. Not sure if I'm lucky or if it's just hard to fuck up the timing on these machines.

Anyway, I'm so happy she RUNS cuz I rewired her ENTIRELY because all of her wiring was rotted through. I had no guarantee that I did it right until I could put it all together and plug it in. And everything works!!!! :D This is a 96-year-old machine that according to the woman I bought it off of Facebook Marketplace from for $40 said she didn't think it had been used in 30 years.

And it showed, of course, though she was in pretty good shape overall. I had to do a lot of cleaning of old varnish, but she didn't have much rust.

Before:

After:

She will do 30 STITCHES PER INCH, which if you're wondering what that looks like, it's the stitches on the right:

Even my 50s/60s era machines don't stitch that tiny.

Her motor sounds good too, not loud or laggy. Amazing that a 96-year-old motor can run so well. But that's how they made shit back then.

Anyway, next plan of action: redo the cabinet. I want to take off the veneer on the top of it and put new veneer on. This thing was not taken good care over the course of its life, which is sad, cuz this machine would have cost a shit ton of money in 1928.

I'll probably sand down the rest and restain it. And maybe do a French polish on both machine and cabinet, to protect them for another 100 years. :3

[cure-icy-writes]

Sky: Children of the light cosplay writeup

Wig: The fun part about skykids is you can do basically any hairstyle, so long as it’s in white. Good quality wigs start at about 20 dollars; I just happened to have one on hand that I was willing to recycle for this. If you’re on a budget, consider checking secondhand websites, local cosplay swap meets, and facebook marketplace.

Mask: I used this pattern from Punished Props to make the mask out of 5 mm EVA foam (Which would cost… I want to say $2 at michaels to get a similar sheet?) and then decided I didn’t like it, so I did it over again at 75% size. The gem is resin, painted with nail polish. I like using nail polish as paint; I know it’s not conventional, but it’s super fun and gives a nice shimmer without being overbearing. And then I stuck some aluminum foil onto the back of the gem to give it a nice reflective shine! The eye holes were enlarged somewhat because I shrunk the pattern to begin with, so as they are, I think they give it a more appropriately childish vibe. I put some of the plastic mesh that knitters use in the eye holes and painted it with a bit of shimmery gold! Finally, I just hot glued elastic to use as the strap, no need for leather or anything.

Cloak: 2.5 yards anti pill fleece. It’s a ¾ circle shape, so what you do is buy 1 ¼ yards of the color you want, then the same amount for the(Comes out to 15-20 dollars total; fleece is relatively cheap) and take one, and fold it in half and lay it down so the selvedge is going up and down. Measure on the center fold 29 inches up from the bottom edge, and make a mark with washable marking pen. This is the center. Now, using a yardstick or other measuring tool, continue marking in a circle 19 inches from that dot.

Make a smaller circle using the same dot as a focus, this one about 4 inches in diameter. There’s your neck hole. Now use the first piece of fabric as a pattern to cut out the second. Applique on your stars (I did a five star cape because the look I’m going for is that of a young moth who’s just barely becoming a butterfly, but you can do however many stars you want!) After this, you put the two layers together, and sew, leaving a small opening for turning. Turn, topstitch near the edge, and you’re all done!

You can also use this tutorial if you want more in depth instructions! However, keep in mind that this one requires more fabric to begin with.

Tunic: This was made out of a t shirt pattern and a curtain I thrifted for two dollars. The only real advice I can give here is to make a small pintuck on the inside to sort of cheat the seam on the right side of the chest, and don’t be afraid to make it baggy!

Pants: I already owned these, they’re just a regular pair of khakis, but I’ll budget in five dollars to thrift a new pair.

Shoes: Another thing I already owned. I’m going to cut this out of the budget, because frankly you will want comfortable shoes at the con and can likely get away with something casual.

Candle: Six dollar flameless candle at hobby lobby. The outside is made of actual wax, which is odd and not super durable. I also bought a real red candle and a white one for photoshoots.

So, overall? About $55 in total. You can cut down or cut corners or use coupons, and I don’t think it’s terrible, but there’s also the option of cutting out the mask entirely. Which is entirely fair; masks are a hassle to wear and to see out of, and often require a handler, which cuts down on the things you can do. Anyways, if this helps you at all to put together a cosplay, I’d love to see it!

[plenilune]

hello friends! I used to be Guy Who Does Nothing Ever for like the better part of ten years and now I'm become Guy Whose Schedule Is Too Packed (Good Way)? anyway I miss you and here and also I hate mobile tumblr but it would be so much easier to use tumblr and like chill here in a fun social way if my computer situation were not so dire that I am perpetually harnessed to my desk where the shitty desktop Corey liberated from work (managers thought it was broken bc they're too generationally wealthy to have really sat down and reckoned with bad technology before; it's just a really shit Acer) when I wish to do, non-phone things. anyway, recently I have accidentally unlocked some type of overall beneficial mania I am trying to ride out gently but that has made me become Make Stuff As Part Of My Identity and also have a lot of emotions all the time. I bought a big rolling craft cart (twice the size of the Michaels ones) off Facebook Marketplace for fifteen bucks and then Corey and I had breakfast-lunch (it deffo wasn't brunch) at a diner in the neighbourhood where our combined meals with sides and coffees totaled like sixteen dollars before tip. (this is detectivecore.) also I've started painting tshirts and I may take up the bass. I don't know who I am or what is happening too me but I am riding it all the way to the end of the goddamn track, okay!!!!!!! maybe I'm just better now!!! maybe I love to be alive!!!!!!! I've spent more of my life more or less passively suicidal than I have, not being that, since my early teens so this is like, okay. sure. nice. what. let's fucking go

anyway not to brag but to tell my isolated teenage self -- my isolated mid-twenties self! -- that fuck it, life can be great and weird and big someday even if you feel like it's too late to get in on it, my calendar for this week includes

goth/industrial drag king night at my favourite local queer bar

if I convince myself it's worth it to call in sick to work to go see HOUSE (1977) on the big screen and maybe sell some stuff to make up the lost income (money is tight lately), I will, uh, go see HOUSE (1977) on the big screen at my favourite local cinema. you may know about it, coincidentally. recently it advertised Oppenheimer's sexual proclivities and went viral about it, which made me very proud.

oh it's ~employee appreciation week~ at work this week and Saturday is uhhhh sports day when everyone is encouraged to wear sport, clothing, or whatever. well I participate in one sport (cycling) and consume another (...........Formula 1) and can't afford a Bianchi logo shirt on short notice, so I may simply have to paint a shirt with checkered flags and the legend FASTEST LAP. you know. for normal and wholesome reasons. to wear to work.

[mumble mumble might have a make stuff and make out date with a hot possum-in-human-guise I know who gave me a chicken bone as a token the last time we hooked up]

anyway hello friends! I MISSED YOU. let's take this one from the top.

[velvetsands]

2024: milestone after milestone

living with my partner after two years long distance was such a nice reward, and confirmed that everything was right

realised my dream of going to the australian open

and going to attica(!!) and having a kangaroo meat pie

before coming back to the table and getting engaged(!!!!!!)

unfortunately we wanted to elope but family had other ideas

leading us to plan our wedding in just three weeks

it was such a great day but yeah, not what a little girl dreams of

anyway!

turned 30 on the 2/2 - glamped/biked around riesling country in adelaide which was goooorgeous

i was conferred my phd on the 22/2 which was cool

recieved dean's commendation for outstanding theses

submitted our manuscript for publication after so much tweaking

married on the 3/3

so yeah it was pretty full-on time tbh

we packed up our entire home, facebook marketplace was our best friend

my husband flew to saudi two weeks later, sending us back into the trenches of long-distance with a new challenge of time zones

i started my long goodbye to alcohol on a trip with friends to kangaroo island - lots of wine, laughter, and swimming with dolphins!

packed up my suitcase, ready to live out of it for the next three months and moved back into my childhood room in brisbane

spent easter with my sister, our grandparents and their siblings which was so lovely

went to san diego for a conference and for some reason, we were invited to the first class bar area on the plane (i can only assume an attendant heard my colleague and i talking about our cancer research which was very unexpected and nice)

flew to sydney for two weeks to complete requested experiments from reviewers and said goodbyes to all my friends

and finally received my saudi visa after much faffing around

my first business class experience to saudi was the qatar qsuite and it was heaven 40k feet above earth

all our stuff from adelaide arrived a few days after me, i set up the entire house

the compound is amazing, so much green space and although it hit 46C in summer, the lack of humidity makes it bearable

lack of alcohol was hard at first but then you just don't seem to think about it? there are tough days where you wish you had a whiskey sure but you get through it

worked on the paper revisions back and forth for months on end

we went to paris and bordeaux just before the olympics and stayed in chateaus and drank beautiful wine and did lots of fine dining

the saudi way of life is very much "inshallah", it's not very conducive to a western way of working which has been a steep learning curve

being here finally gave me the TIME to plan, order and cook whatever my heart desired instead of feeling like a total chore and hindrance during my phd

we went to turkey and bought rugs, drank, explored the landmarks, and went back to my hammam that i dreamt about re-visiting since 2018

saudi racing is fun but as no drinking or gambling, you just sort of sit around and gasbag with friends the entire time hahaha

the women like to engage with me and ask lots of question and the kids like to show off their english and be super cheeky with me!

in general, saudi's are the kindest people and feel the need to impress! same with the pakistani and indian expats!

there is such a sense of non-urgency yet things happen at the last minute - it's truly a wonder

i don't dress much differently to australia which made me realise i am quite modest (and that's fine). i try not to wear an abaya to show expat women that you can still be #stylish

i recieved lots of compliments from saudi women on my outfits which makes me feel FANTASTIC

i did however have to buy new racewear for here ofc which is fine

we went back to paris for racing of the arc at longchamp and explored a bit more, caught up with friends, lots of good food and museums, climbed the eiffel tower etc.

started doing mini triathlons are managed to get a sub-1hr 400m swim/8km bike/2.5km run which i was stoked about

made friends with someone at the australian embassy which was been wonderful - we went to a gala dinner onsite and i think that's a once in a lifetime experience

flew back to australia for the holidays which was again, another insane trip of three weeks in a suitcase

brisbane for a few days, to adelaide for racing (we were guests of honor which was hilarious) and to catchup with our friends and chicken schnitzels; back to brisbane and then to sydney

for my graduation gift, we booked a hotel under the sydney harbour bridge which was like a staycation in our own city. that was such a treasured part of my year

the uni dress people gave me a faulty phd bonnet which was too late to be fixed which resulting in a botched graduation photo with VC :( i got it replaced it after the ceremony but i still haven't recovered from the embarassment and anger!!!!!!

we flew out that night to hong kong for the international racing and catch ups! saw romantic warrior win up close <3

and then flew home just in time for christmas (we had a moo deng angel for our fiddle leaf) and spent christmas at the ritz carlton in riyadh which was unparallelled luxury

oh the manuscript was finally published on the 12/12 in nature communications (v prestigious, v proud) but bc of the embargo, i missed out on doing all public inteviews and tv appearances as i was no longer in australia :---(((((( honestly, the whole process sucked and really jaded me as a scientist - i know it's publish or perish but they just make it so demanding and hard

also they charged us 10k USD to publish which is an actual joke as they don't do any print versions, we could used that to perform more experiments

oh the patent was finalised too so now i can say i have officially found a potential cure for cancer

in bed at 10:30pm on new years because honestly, i think we celebrated every week of this year in a different shape or form

2025

just not sure hey!

i can't seem to get a job here try as i might

going to sweden to mid-jan to ski (read: apres bc i don't ski lol) with friends from australia and america! i am scared of the cold but we shall see

saudi cup is a big time here as the richest horse race in the world

we may be moving compounds which is slightly annoying

our cancer therapy will move into clinical trials in the first half of the year so i am really hoping that we can do some good in the world and make a difference to some families

we have tickets to the imola and monaco f1 gps!!! hoping to do lake como between the racing and we have a yacht for monaco!!!!!!

we may be moving to *** mid-year but stay tuned/fingers crossed

but other than that, inshallah it will be a good year!

[lauvra]

My mind is pretty loud today, I should head this "I used white onion, now I'm spiraling about my entire life", because that's essentially what's going on. I'm in therapy, next app tomorrow, waiting for my psychiatrist appointment to hopefully understand my brain and manage it better medically and I'm in a recovery program and committed. Today I picked up a package for my housemate and made a phone call I've been avoiding for weeks and the government rep helped me significantly more than I believe she was required so I'm incredibly grateful for her. Then I spent a long time this afternoon mindfully preparing a meal, but used white onion in place of red and now I'm like: Why are you thirty years old and can't even cook? Oh, you couldn't afford all the ingredients? Why have you been so careless with your finances for so long that you can't buy an onion or answer the phone unless it's one of five people or an expected call? Why did you start smoking at the age of 26, you fucking idiot. Why did you sell your car for $200 on facebook marketplace in 2022 as if covid was forever and you'd never need one again? Oh, it was falling apart? Why didn't you maintain it, instead of solving a coolant leak by storing 2 litre bottles of water in the car at all times, you poor excuse for a human? I would literally refill the 'coolant', drive to work, finish my shift and see the puddle beneath my car, refill it then drive home. Girlboss. At that time, I couldn't give a shit about anything. I'd get stranded in strange suburbs at the middle of busy intersections and consider abandoning it. If I couldn't find it in a carpark, I'd momentarily feel relieved like maybe it wouldn't be my problem anymore. I remind myself the meal is fine, I can take the L and start learning more about flavour profiles - my housemate even ordered a book about that which was delivered today. I understand the value of taking care of things especially maintaining a vehicle, having gone without one for two years and HATING ITTTTTTTT SORRRYYYYY I LITERALLLY HAAATE IT, I DON'T WANT TO RIDE A BICYCLE, I DON'T WANT TO RIDE A BIKE, I want to drive FAST with my angsty music BLARING. THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER, I AM GETTING BETTER, I HAVE ZERO PEOPLE IN MY LIFE THAT DETRACT FROM MY LIFE, I TRUST MYSELF, I AM SAFE INSIDE MY BRAIN. So anyway, red onion in curries, okay? I also left laundry in the machine overnight but I digress I'M SAFE INSIDE MY BRAIN

[ink-n-shadow]

Request - a headcanon or fic for Ian and Mickey realising their lease is up on the West Side apartment and they have to decide whether or not to stay. Or… their first official date night on the West Side. 💖

Eviction | Gallavich

pairing: Ian Gallagher x Mickey Milkovich

genre: slight angst/eventual fluff (shitty ending but i'm too tired to fix it)

word count: 1118ish

note: i kinda took this into a little bit of an angsty direction so i might rewrite this later but anyway－ (also apologies for going MIA again oops)

The red 'EVICTION NOTICE' stamp was the first thing Ian had noticed after Mickey carelessly tossed their mail on the kitchen counter.

"Hold up－" Ian pulled the envelope in question from the pile and held it close to his face, almost as if it was written in code. "Mick, I thought we paid our rent for the month."

Mickey sidled up to Ian's side, arm coming to loop comfortably around the taller man's midsection. "Thought I did－I took the check to that fucking office lady downstairs and everything."

There was a pause while Ian hurriedly ripped open the envelope and rifled through its contents, eyes scanning over the words quicker than Mickey could keep up with. He was barely past the 'Dear tenants...' part of the letter whenever Ian tossed it back onto the counter in defeat, knuckles immediately digging into his eyes anxiously.

Mickey forced Ian's back against the edge of the kitchen counter as his hands encompassed his husband's, uncovering the now watery green eyes staring back at him and soothingly petting at his cheek. "Hey, chill out, Gallagher. No need to get all anxious and shit, 'ight? I'll just go downstairs and talk to－"

"No! Mick, that's the fucking problem. The check bounced. If the check bounced, that means we don't have enough money in the account－which means we can't afford rent this month." Ian's chest was rising and falling in anxious, panicked breaths as he yanked his hands from Mickey's grip and started combing through his ginger hair. "I－I thought you said that that job was fucking legit!"

"It was! I..." Mickey turned on the ball of his foot as his eyes began scanning his surroundings, the gears of his brain spinning a mile a minute. "I thought it was." Maybe he had gotten the hourly rate wrong－it wouldn't be the first time Mickey struggled with math. But this was the first time that that lack of skill had him worried.

Ian had put his heart and soul into this West Side apartment, and it was finally starting to look like a real home. A photo of him and Mickey from their wedding reception hung delicately in the front hallway, beneath it a shoe rack full of old sneakers and a vanilla-scented candle Mickey swiped from a Marshall's. They even had scrounged up enough money to furnish the living and dining rooms, which simply consisted of some bare-bone table and chairs alongside a foldout sofa Ian was able to find on Facebook Marketplace. It wasn't a lot－especially not for a West Side apartment－but it was at least theirs. Ian couldn't begin to imagine having to pack it all up and move back in with Debbie and Lip. He couldn't imagine having to be back in that house again.

The sound of feet shuffling drew Ian out of his anxious spiral, his vision coming back into focus to see Mickey tousling his hair in the front hallway mirror. He had put on a white muscle tank with a pair of black sweatpants slung low across his hips. If the circumstances had been different, maybe Ian would be reacting differently.

"Mick－c'mon, might as well just start packing now." Ian stretched his hand out, frowning when his husband moved past him quickly without any acknowledgment. His anxiety morphed into annoyance. "Where the fuck're you going?"

"I'm just gonna go talk to the office lady. Shouldn't take me too long," Mickey muttered as he patted down his pants pockets, pressing a absentminded kiss onto the redhead's cheek before his head swiveled around the kitchen. "Have you seen my fucking keys?"

.................................................

Ian was halfway through writing a sappy text message to both Debbie and Lip, trying to explain the situation as best as he could without completely throwing his husband under the bus. He was about to hit send when the door busted open, Mickey padding inside with a soft smile and an armful of some takeout containers. “Mick—we had leftovers here. Why’d you—”

“Shut up. I got your favorite, so don’t give me that fuckin’ lip, ‘lright?” Mickey’s words seemed harsh, but the way his lips wore a soft smile made it known that it was all teasing.

Mickey made his way over to where Ian was sprawled out on the couch, setting the takeout containers onto the coffee table and pushing it closer so the redhead could reach it.

As he watched Ian wearily tear into the plastic bag, Mickey moved to set his keys onto the kitchen counter. “Got the rent stuff figured out too.” He said absentmindedly, as though it was no big deal. Mickey knew that Ian wasn’t going to react to it that way though.

“What did you do, Mick?” Ian asked slowly, eyes meeting his husband’s as he stopped opening the styrofoam container. “God, please tell me you didn’t tear that poor lady’s office down.”

Mickey groaned as he joined Ian on the couch, taking one of the styrofoam contains into his lap before kicking his boots up onto the coffee table. "Oh Jesus Christ—my husband has no faith in me. No, I didn't tear that woman's office apart. So relax and enjoy your food, 'kay Red?"

It was calm and quiet for a moment, the two of them eating their dinner in comfortable silence and listening to the storm outside as it began to pour. Mickey let out a soft sigh, knowing by the way Ian's eyebrows were knit together that his husband was still thinking about it.

"I just explained the situation to her, told her I'd get the rest of the money to her tomorrow. She said don't let it happen again. Happy?" Mickey explained as he reached over, stealing a french fry from Ian's container before leaning back against the leather of the couch.

Ian didn't object, instead leaning back with Mickey and chewing his food thoughtfully. "So what—that's it? How're you gonna come up with the rest of the money so quick?"

Mickey set the takeout container onto the coffee table as he swung his legs back down to the floor, fingers moving to untie the laces before toeing off his boots. "I called Frank. He's gonna let me work a quick shift at the Alibi tomorrow—should be enough to cover the difference."

Once his boots were off and on the floor, Mickey shifted in his spot on the couch to face Ian, laying one arm across the back of the couch and letting the other lay in his lap. "Now c'mon, stop being so worried and pissy at me. Please? I bought your favorite food and everything."

As much as Ian wanted to fight it, he couldn't help the soft smile that stretched across his lips as he took another bite of food. "Alright—fine. You're outta the doghouse f'now. But next time? Let me handle the money, alright?"

[valtharr]

I posted this to the alternate history subreddit and got zero responses, maybe Tumblr is more interested in discussing this idea?

------------

You ever create an alternate timeline just to indulge in your own nostalgia?

...just me? Okay...

Anyway, for a while now, I've been thinking about an alternate present where present-day sensibilities and everyday life are closer to what they were like pre-2010. Since the biggest influence on modern day life during that time arguably came from the rise of the Internet, social media, and related things, pretty much all of my thoughts center around that.

The point of divergence here is that the Millennium Bug (aka "Y2K") was just as devastating as people feared it would be. Databanks were wiped, machinery failed, there was loads of general unrest as people were falsely classified as deceased, didn't get their paychecks, and other major and minor consequences of their data being either wrong, or gone completely. In some cases, it took years to clean up the mess completely.

This, coupled with the bursting of the dotcom bubble not much later, led to a general wariness and distrust towards anything having to do with the Internet. Businesses might have still been okay with using their homepage as interactive billboards, but it turned out to be almost impossible to find investors or loans if your business directly relied on the Internet. And even those who did get their idea off the ground, failed to find a large enough audience. As such, social media like Facebook and Twitter are barely, if at all, a thing in this world. This is also partly due to smartphones, and therefore smartphone apps, never breaking into the mainstream. Apple could not establish its new iPhone as the lifestyle gimmick of choice, instead going all-in on their iPods, music players that you insert USB drives, and, in modern variants, SD cards into to listen to your favorite tunes. The newest model has three card slots, letting you choose between three different albums on the go!

Streaming, of course, also isn't a thing. No Netflix or iTunes to inspire copycats. Blockbuster partners with Microsoft for their new HD-DVD technology, establishing it as the primary medium to watch videos at home. Sony, meanwhile, focuses its efforts into combining a handheld gaming console and a portable video player. The PSP becomes a huge hit.

But, speaking of video games, online games are an almost negligible market. There's less of a focus on high-end Internet speeds, so playing with friends is an activity mostly relegated to your own home. Microtransactions and subscription services are not a thing.

Some popular websites do establish themselves, but they're far from being as influential and popular as in our world. Youtube stays afloat, but is mostly seen as a place to find new creators, and then follow them onto their own web presence. Very few people manage to make a living off of it, and corporations, TV stations, etc won't be found dead making their own YouTube channels.

Without social media, interactions online are still relegated to message boards and chat rooms, with the accompanying implicit netiquette. Which of course means, everything's still pretty anonymous. Without Facebook introducing the idea of using your real name and photo as part of your online presence (nobody joins a Pokémon fan forum expecting their old classmates to find them there, after all), pseudonyms and avatars rule the day. This, of course, makes it almost impossible for artists to really find an audience, much less make a living off their art. Even if they did find lots of people who enjoy their work, the lack of services like PayPal, Patreon, or Kickstarter, makes it nigh impossible to actually make a profit as an independent online artist. Some find a way, but the concepts of "influencers" and "content creators" never develop.

Amazon fails to establish itself as a major online marketplace. It makes enough for Jeff Bezos to start a chain of brick and mortar bookstores, with the online storefront being more of an afterthought. Most, if not all online shopping is really just individuals selling their old stuff, usually locally.

That's all I really have so far. I'd love to hear some more ideas, maybe things that aren't as tech-centric? Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

[novi-high]

So...I went on Facebook Marketplace

I was looking for Rainbow High dolls--just curious to see if there was anything. I found an add that had the dollhouse, the car, the beach set, and a fantastic collection of dolls. Maybe of which I had on my want list. The add said my pick of 10 dolls from the collection which had about 18-20 to choose from.

So I contacted the seller and specifically asked if all the dolls pictured were still available. The amount asked was a lot, but not an unreasonable amount for what I was getting. I could take or leave the playsets, but it was really worth it with the dolls shown.

The lady said yes, the dolls were available. Though it literally took a couple hours before I could pry a time and address out of her. It was so difficult getting anything more than a one-word response out of her. When I finally got an address and a meeting time, I went down there to find she only gave a building number, but I needed an apartment number. I didn't have Facebook on my phone, but luckily (unluckily?)my friend did. (I brought her to help with the dollhouse.) So we asked for an apartment number and it was still at least a 15 minute wait and several responses that were NOT the apartment number before we got that out of her. By that time I was already tired, but we were there.

So finally, we found the right apartment and pulled up to their garage. We loaded all the playsets into my car and then finally were shown the dolls. And a large chunk of the dolls I was after WERE NOT THERE. She told me she had already sold them. I was so annoyed and so tired. She had told me she still had all the dolls. And I had already loaded so much stuff into my car. So I still took 10 dolls and all the playsets. But if I had to do it all over again, I would have never bothered because I did spend a good chunk of money and did not get the specific dolls I thought I would. (Sheryl, Hali, and Simone were among some of them.)

But anyway, here's pics. I got the closet (the only playset I legit really wanted) the car, the dollhouse (only found out when I got home it's missing the couch) and the beach set. The dolls I got were the cheer set (I did not want these dolls at all, even though they are nice and very cute) plus Georgia, Krystal, Daphne and Gabriella.

The pool has already been taken over by my resident reptiles. Phaedra doesn't mind. In fact, she quite likes them.

[skippygoldfish]

Hey i could use some advice if you have the time :-) my stepmoms dad passed away and left two single tail goldfish (😬) that i am taking in, assuming nobody else in her family has a set up ready to go. Ive shuffled my tanks around to put them both in my 42g tank cause theyre still really small (they were in a 5g 😬😬) im guessing i have about a year to figure out a more permanent solution as they grow. So yeah do you have any tips about indoor stock tanks/ponds? Or any advice at all would be great. Either way i appreciate you taking the time to read this, thank you :-)

First off good luck taking care of them. I've actually never kept my stock tanks fully indoors aside from our unfinished basement. I've also not kept commons myself. But it's good that you're starting to plan! I'll just say random stuff that you may already know idk.

A 40gal sounds good for juvenile commons for a good while, as long as you keep up with water changes. They might not grow to maximum size due to having been kept in a 5gal, but it's best to assume that they can get big!

Buying a stock tank, I kept an eye out on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace. Don't be scared to make an offer, and just ask to confirm if it's watertight first. I'm using Tuff Stuff brand and it works great, although it bows out some when full. I'm also not sure what would be best to keep underneath an indoor stock tank to prevent water damage. Of course, make sure the floor is strong and level before putting a big tank there.

For filters I used a HOB which just barely fits over the lip of the stock tank, but has to be supported up by bricks or against the side of something, which probably isn't advisable indoors. There are pond filters but they're pretty big and can be loud. I believe you could use some large sponge filters instead.

Also idk whether you've kept other goldies before but my advice there is just that they eat and poop so much, be sure to keep up with it. They enjoy sinking pellets, and occasional treats of cooked shelled peas and frozen mealworms.

Anyway best of luck with the goldies!! I'm always happy to talk about my fav fishies. Other people, please add your own insight!

[animehouse-moe]

Manga Haul Roundup: Feb. 6th - Feb. 10th

This has easily been my busiest week in manga hauls by a massive margin (and will be the biggest for ages), and I'd say it's largely because stars aligned within such a short period of time for a series of miracles. Seriously, Only one retail order out of batch and you'd hardly be able to tell that most of the others weren't retail. Crazy deals, crazy finds, lots of cool stuff to go through! So let's get to it.

Feb. 6th - r/Mangaswap Haul

This was a big one, and super cool at that as it's my first score on the Mangaswap subreddit! Hardly any posts advertising being in Canada, so it can be a bit messy to get anything if you're not on top of it. With this one, I was on top of it, and got a great deal at that. Everything in this haul retails for 300CAD before tax. I got it for 185CAD shipped, just crazy savings I wasn't going to pass up when the books are effectively brand new.

Feb. 7th - Elfen Lied on Kijiji

So for anyone that's not a Canuck, Kijiji is basically a domestic version of eBay. A craigslist, if you will. Though it's better, if only marginally. Anyways, found a used listing for Elfen Lied Vols 1-3 (there's 4 total) on there, and managed to haggle a little bit for a steal of a price. Cost 40CAD, including shipping, to get the volumes here. Sure, 1 and 2 have crease marks on their spines (though Dark Horse is notorious for creasing on larger omnis), but just a single volume of Elfen Lied retails for 33CAD pre tax. Impossible to say no really.

Feb. 8th - Rightstuf Odds and Ends

So, the only thing on this order I really needed was Lucifer and The Biscuit Hammer 7-8, because it's out of stock everywhere in Canada, but buying a single volume from a US retailer wasn't worth it, so I padded the order a bit. Paradise Kiss has been on the list for a while, so throwing on a single volume series was easy enough, and they had a Denpa sale so I grabbed the Shuzo Oshimi art book of course, and I've been needing Otherside Picnic 3 for a while, so it all worked out to be reasonable in the end.

Feb. 9th - Kijiji Haul 2, Electric Boogaloo

In the span of a week I've become a massive Shuzo Oshimi fan haha. 18 volumes of their work plus an art book is quite a bit, but considering the deal, and quality, here it's so hard to say no to. Sure, it's an ungodly amount to spend within the span of a week, but at the same time I have the funds to be able to facilitate that, and they're deals I probably won't see again. So, as an individual be aware of your funds and purchasing habits, don't let a good deal pull you in over your head. Anyways, 100CAD shipped for the set, which is pretty damn good, but I was hoping to hit at least 90CAD on the deal but guy was standing pretty strong with his offer. Can't really complain though when 1-8 retails for 160CAD pretax.

Feb. 10th - eBay Lottery and Kijiji Round 3

Now I wouldn't say I got a deal on the Violet Evergarden Keyframe Collection, but I'd still say it was worth it. I got it for 100CAD (ish) shipped, which you might think isn't that great, but even domestically, the volumes go for around 50CAD each anyways. Then you have to factor in shipping to the proxy's warehouse, then international shipping to you, and if you're Canadian (and it's not a cheap order) there'll be import fees to pay probably. So at the end of the day I saved a good bit of money on the volumes themselves and had an overall easier time getting them here.

Anyways, Zombie Powder. I've been trying to get this for God knows how long, and even worse is that the world keeps tempting me with it. I'll open up Facebook Marketplace or Kijiji and see someone selling a set for dirt cheap, so I'll reach out and have always heard back with, "I'm sorry I just sold it to someone else". Fated to be second place always, the stars finally aligned for my chance and I jumped on it. 30CAD shipped for the set, which is about what all the other ones would have cost me (20CAD for set plus 10CAD shipping was the usual that I saw), so I'm incredibly happy to have gotten such a good price and such a good set overall.

So yeah, a pretty insane week for collecting. I've got a few other things I purchased during this week, but they'll probably be spread out over the next two or so. There'll certainly be some super cool stuff in them though so incredibly excited for it to come in!

Also once more, I really do want to stress how much of an uncharacteristic and impossible to repeat week this has been. This is 36 volumes in a single week. That's more than most people will buy in a month, and for people starting out more than they'll buy in 6 months. It's incredibly excessive, it's expensive, and unless you're reading 3+ volumes a day, will take well over 2 weeks to read it all. I really don't think it's something that people should be doing commonly/frequently, if it at all, and I'd really encourage people to have smarter spending habits than me (unless you're made of money and have zero other hobbies). So yeah, incredibly cool and crazy luck on my part, but I'm also painfully aware of how much it costs and how completely unsustainable it is to keep up, even if it was all used items I got at reasonable prices.

[penguinmerchant]

I love your posts about ficbinding, your work is gorgeous! I’m thinking about try my hand at it as well, and wanted to ask if you were willing to share what equipment you use? You mention a guillotine - did you buy it for binding specifically and if so what kind? I’ve looked at renegade publishing but there is less easily available info about where people are getting their tools/equipment.

Thanks for sharing your process and talent!!

Oh yes, I'm happy to share everything! So I did buy a guillotine specifically for binding, but it was something I found on Facebook marketplace, and so I'm not sure it'll be too much help in that regard. It's a Dahle 852 paper cutter and I got it for $200 (a $1500 machine! I was so excited to find it!) but it doesn't actually cut that well (which is probably why it was so cheap). It doesn't cut straight, the replacement blades are $200 and it doesn't have a mechanism to hold down the paper while the blade cuts, which is really important for straight cuts. If I had to do it again I'd probably go with something like this, which is the same price and I think would work very well. I'll probably do this rather than buy a replacement blade for the big guy. There's also manual ways of trimming a text block, but I have absolutely 0 patience for things like that so I can't help you there.

I bought my paper at Church's paper, I get the 11x17 paper and cut it in half so the grain goes the right way. Plus you get twice as much paper that way! People say you can call and they'll cut it for you but that requires talking to people on the phone, so I just cut it myself with my (not quite straight) guillotine.

The rest of the tools I get from Talas/Hollanders. A bone folder and a good exacto blade like this are musts. Talas has the duo bookcloth that I love so much. Both places sell Davey board. Be ready for sticker shock on the shipping prices if you buy from there, but there's really no better place to get this stuff. Most of my endpapers come from Mulberry, they have such a huge assortment of stuff and at great prices.

Oh and lastly the Cricut--I already had a Cricut before I started bookbinding, it's an older Explore Air model (like...from 2018?) but it still works great. I think a cricut or some sort of paper cutter like that (silhouette, cameo, etc) are necessary to get the kind of cool covers that make a book look so cool. I bought mine new but be careful buying these used, I've heard stories about how Cricut can remotely brick machines.

Oh oh oh and lastly (this time seriously) I did take a bookbinding class to get started on this BUT I think that DAS bookbinding over at youtube is probably more helpful. The class was good because I could use their materials before deciding if I wanted to buy my own but DAS really cemented how to do good work. Even after taking the class I had to watch his videos like twenty times, they're really very informative and detailed.

Anyway, that's all I could think of off the top of my head! Let me know if you have any other questions I'll be more than happy to answer.