#books 2 and 4 are about.....20k each

[no-name-publishing]

Tiny Book? Tiny Book. Pt1.

Idk yall I just felt like writing a little how-to of how-I-do my tiny A9 books! So if you've ever been interested, I hope this will be helpful. This will be neither a beginner typesetting nor beginner bookbinding tutorial; as I go through my process I will only be showing my process and providing a few tips, assuming you already have the basics understood. We can worry about the rougher technical skills in another post.

Also keep in mind that this guide includes images of fic I've bound, and you're zooming into these fics at your own discretion. I am not responsible if you read something yucky. I know you have a lot of options out there but thank you for flying No-Name Publishing.

Tiny books part 2; Tiny books part 3

Just like with regular ficbinding, there are layers, and they are:

1 - Typesetting and Imposing 2 - Printing 3 - Cutting, Folding, and Sewing 4 - Gluing, Rounding/Backing, Endbands 5 - Building the Case and casing in 6 - BOOK

In this part we will be focusing on steps 1 and 2. Please feel free to skip to the area you're interested in most.

1 - Typesetting and Imposing

Okay, so this area has some nuances that you don't have to consider so closely with typesetting for more traditionally sized books. To me, these tiny books are not about readability, they are about novelty. As such, I do not prioritize readability. Instead, I try to achieve something that is closer to scale. That said, neither do I want these illegible. But we'll begin from the top.

You want to make a tiny book, but you're wondering, what would be an appropriate word count for a tiny book? Tiny books are the perfect medium for the ficlettes, the shorties, the one-shots. They are also perfect for the mid-sized, 10-15-20k fics, in my opinion. Here we can see,

On the left we have a fic that is exactly 12,771 words, typeset on a 1.5" x 2" (37 × 52 mm) document, with .3" margins, 6pt Garamond font, and 5pt line spacing. This book is only approaching 1/2" (13mm) wide, and only took 5 sheets of Letter paper to print. On the right we have a fic that is exactly 1,939 words, typeset to the same specifications. This book is only 4-5mm wide, and took only 1 sheet of Letter paper.

In my opinion this format of book begins getting unruly around the 300-page mark. However, making any combination of margins, fonts size, and line spacing will yield different page results for different word counts. For example:

Like the above, in each of these examples I typeset in Garamond font @ 6pt size and 5pt line spacing. Typesetting on an A9 page, this is about as small as I felt comfortable sizing my font while still being legible. But notice the rivers between the words--the rivers of white space bisecting the lines, due to the Justified alignment battling the admittedly tiny work surface. At this scale, with the font at this size and alignment, those will be unavoidable. Over time I began disliking this in my own work, so I pursued a different method, which was typesetting on a quarter letter page (4.25" x 5.5" / 108mm x 140mm), and allowing my imposer to scale the PDF down.

Have you ever seen anything sexier. THIS looks like a tiny book. Little to no rivers, still legible (hand-wobble), and preserves the novelty feel that I desire from a tiny book. This method of scaling down (specifically from quarter letter to A9) does change the final shape of the book, from A9 to A9-ish in this case. Specifically, from 1.5"X2" (37 × 52 mm) to 1.625"X2" (41.3mmX52mm). You're achieving something closer to a square shape, which is delightful to hold. All this to say, you have some freedom with word count, with font size, with page size. I've done as many pages as 376 and as few as 17. The fantastic thing about tiny books--their structure will not be load-bearing, meaning--the only thing stopping you are your tastes.

Quickly, some more examples of features in a regularly sized typeset and their tiny counterpart after the imposer has scaled them down. First, scaling half-letter down to A9, a little-over 4X shrinkage:

And from B6 to B9, smaller by 3x:

You notice the compression of every element, and too how entirely unparcable the text in the first example is, sometimes not horrible, sometimes very. Make your decisions dependent on your tastes!

You have decided on the fic you'd like to bind into a tiny book. I will be using my own fic as the typesetting example, and I will be using Word 365 for PC. I'm sure many of my pointers during this process might not apply 1-to-1 if you are using a different word processing software, but hopefully you can adapt the concepts to your program of your choosing.

Kay, next you will do your typesetting. Since this is not a typesetting guide I'm trusting that you have your preferred methods, but I will go through my key steps for setting up a tiny typeset:

First, for every typeset I delete each default Style, create mine own, and dictate the document size. For this example I will be doing my preferred quarter letter method, setting the custom page size to 4.25" wide and 5.5" tall, and .5" page margins all around (except Gutter; leave 0"). On the Multiple pages dropdown I will select Mirror margins (however, as all my margins are the same size, this is redundant, though may not be the case for you). My body text style will be Cardo font @ 11pt size and Exactly 15pt line spacing, with a .2" first line indent and Justified alignment.

You can use whatever body font you like, I only encourage you to do many many test prints to refine your preferences. Your favorite font for half-letter books might not translate to tiny books. After ~30 tiny books I've found I like Cardo at this size and spacing. And if you're using A-paper sizes, consider doing quarter A4 instead of quarter letter, which is technically A6--4.1"X5.8", or 105mmX148mm. Follow your heart~~nyah 🐱♥

Now I will go to my fic and download the HTML file. I hugely prefer copying from the HTML file rather than the browser itself. It kind of standardizes any goofy formatting that might try to make its way over otherwise, while still preserving the italics and bolds, etc, and makes for an easier editing process. It was important I made my body Style in Word first, so that once I paste the text into my document that Style is automatically applied in one fell swoop (if not, you can change that in your Word settings. Advanced -> Cut, copy and paste -> Merge Formatting. It is a huge time saver.)

Now you've gone through your typesetting process, you have a liddle quarter letter Word document that you're happy with. Gets real close to you. Listen to me--listen, you're going to Export as PDF. Not Save As PDF. Not Print to PDF. Export. It's in--listen--it's in File, then Export, then Create PDF/XPS. You need to Export. Especially if you selected Bookfold instead of Mirror margins in your page settings because we need an unimposed PDF in order for this to work right and exporting to PDF is going to solve 99% of your pdf formatting woes with Word. Okay, I love you 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨

Now, your EXPORTED pdf should look something like mine. Straight, unimposed.

Now what we're going to do is take this PDF back to my penthouse and freak it. Go to this link for the Renegade Bindery-created and -curated imposition tool. This has been will be is such an incredible FREE asset to you, maintained by a crew of intelligent, skilled Renegade Bindery members who understand the importance of community and accessibility. If you find someone hiding this link behind a paywall of any kind it is not with the creators' permission, so shame on them.

Anyway I will be assuming that you know what imposing your document means. If you've never used this site before, it's very straight forward, and here are my settings for making Tiny Books.

1 - Upload your unimposed exported pdf. 2 - ignore 3 - Select the paper size you will be printing on. This is not the FINAL size of the book, this is what paper you are printing on. These instructions are for Letter sized paper. Don't change any of the other settings right now, I will explain more about the Single-sided vs Duplex option in a bit. 4 - Skip aaalllll the way down to Signature Format. Under Wacky Small Layouts, click on the bubble next to Little. You'll notice there are a lot of options here. I encourage you to play with these settings later on as well, there are so many things you can make with this tool.

Once that's done, scroll down to the very bottom. You'll see the Signature Info area, telling you the results of your imposition. In the case of using the Little option we've selected, 1 sheet of our paper will make 40 book pages. 3-signature-sets of 3/3/4 folio configuration. That's a lot of pages per page.

Anyway for our document today it will cost us 2 sheets of Letter paper, and will make 6 signatures. Math says that's 80 pages. Now, you may be concerned because your typeset PDF is not formatted in a number equally divisible by 40. And why would it be. The imposer is doing that math for you in the background, organizing your pages regardless. In my case, my finished typeset is 62 pages, which means that from my second page, I will only be using my 3 folio segments, and discarding the 4 folio segment. This will make more sense later. Click the Generate button, and save the zipped folder wherever you want. Don't change the name of it.

Unzip that baby, and inside you'll notice 2 files--(filename).pdf_little_packed_backs, and .pdf_little_packed_fronts. Appropriately named as one file contains one side of the sheet that will be printed, and the other file the other side.

And when you open them up, they will look like:

2 - Printing

We are manually duplexing this bad boy, because working at this scale amplifies and compounds every millimeter of difference. Manual duplexing will keep printer skew to a minimum, as the printer will not have to perform gymnastics in order to print on the reverse side of your page. Here are some examples:

Two auto-duplexing examples of skew, one horizontal and one vertical, dependent on which direction my paper was loaded into the feeder. There is significant skew. Not a horrible issue on full-sized books but these will matter much more on our tiny books, the key issue being that we do not have much to work with in the margins department. Trimming 5-6-7mm of margins of your half-letter sized textblocks might not be much of an issue; however, here, in order to remove all the trim lines during the cutting process, you will be significantly impacting the margins of your tiny textblock.

Now here is an example of the skew from manual duplexing:

MUCH subtler. Your skew with manual duplexing will range from this--less than .5mm--to no skew at all, and you will have to cut off far less of each page to remove the trim lines, maintaining the consistency of appearance of your tiny, beautiful pages. This is why during step 3 of the imposing process we selected Single-sided (which is MANUAL duplexing), and not Duplex (which is AUTO duplexing) appropriately. This will result in you either getting two files for manual duplexing, or one auto duplexing file.

Your next consideration when it comes to printing your liddle book will be whether you want to use an inkjet printer or a laser printer. I've until recently only had a laser printer available to me. I can say after about 6 or 7 little books on an inkjet printer that I prefer the laser printing on tiny books. Here is an example of why:

On the left you have a tiny book printed from an inkjet printer printed on the highest quality setting, and on the right is a tiny book printed from a laser printer. These were both printed at the same scaling, same font size, same line spacing, everything. The inkjet printer, printing at this scale, introduces pretty glaring feathering on the letters, whereas the laser printer is crisp as can be. I've said before that to me tiny books are more for novelty rather than readability, however I do still want to make out the word I'm looking at, you know what I mean? For this reason I prefer printing my tiny books from a laser printer. Use what you got though, you'll get a tiny book regardless. Make sure you're flipping on the short edge with these tiny books too, and double check to make sure your page numbers line up. And when you're done you got...

BOOK(-adjacent).

Continue on to part duex.

#bookbinding #ficbinding

[fowlfics]

This year's @fandomtrumpshate browsing period is open!

One Piece has 18 offerings from 13 creators! You can see all of them RIGHT HERE or have a look at the sparknotes below!

Bidding runs from 5th March 2024 8 am EST, to 9th March 2024 8pm EST. You can help raise money for non-profit organizations - you can see the full list of those HERE!

For One Piece fanfiction:

Less than 5k:

CaptainSupernoodle (@scribble-dee-doo) - Charity specified (Middle East Children's Alliance *, Never Again Action *, Any/all listed environmental orgs) • Up to M rating •

ShadowSpires (@shadow-spires)- Any Charity • Up to M rating • "For One Piece I'm currently only up to Zou, so I want to focus before that. My main ships are ZoLu, LawLu, and ZoSanLu, with a focus on devotion/loyalty."

Between 5-10k

ladybug114 - Any Charity • Up to T rating • "I can write for either the anime or live action, with the caveat that I've seen about 250 episodes of the anime. I won't write anything that ships Luffy with anyone. I won't write any sexual content."

altokiwi (@altokiwi) - Charity specified (Bellingcat *, Life After Hate, Middle East Children's Alliance *, Never Again Action *, Any/all listed environmental orgs) • Up to M rating • "for pairings, I'm more familiar with Zoro/Sanji, Nami/Vivi, though, I'm super down on writing for almost any f/f ship or rarepairs as well. For gen fics, I'm more familiar with the Strawhats, the Vinsmokes, the Revolutionary Army and the Marines."

juurensha (@juurensha) - Any Charity • Up to M rating • "Zoro/Sanji, Luffy/Law, Robin/Franky, Nami/Tashigi, Zeff/Garp, Crocodile/Mr. 1, Crocodile/Mihawk, Shanks/Mihawk, Yamato/Hiyori"

Emily Fowl (that's me!) - Any Charity • Up to E rating • "I love exploring the themes of brotherhood between Ace, Sabo and Luffy. Additionally, I like making Ace meet Roger and/or Rouge, having Sabo recover his memories early or stretching Luffy's luffiness to its absolute limit. Other characters I'd be happy to write about as the main characters of the fic are the Strawhats, Nika, Law & Rosi, the OG Hearts (Bepo, Shachi, Penguin), Dragon, Roger, Uta, Crocodile & others (feel free to ask!)"

Thursday - Any Charity • Up to E rating • "Especially interested in: poly ships, lgbtq+ characters and identities (especially trans and non-binary characters), found family (or just family) dynamics. i especially love to explore how relationships change and i'm a big fan of queerplatonic and just platonic relationships in general!! i love to include the hurt/comfort trope a lot. i also really love to world-build and i enjoy doing non-traditional things for a lot of different dynamics."

Between 10-20k

Trinipedia - Any Charity • Up to E rating • "Luffy/Zoro, Helmeppo/Koby, Sanji/Zoro, Mihawk/Zoro, Luffy/Sanji

For One Piece fanart:

facethestrange - Any Charity • Up to E rating • "I'm offering colored digital art. Anything between 1-4 characters in one picture. The scope and style is going to be similar to the art in my AO3 profile, no matter how high the winning bid is. (To see representative examples of what you'll be getting, please only look at works from the last 1-2 years - some older ones are a very different style and lower quality.)"

PYRZQXYL - Three offerings; Two are both Any Charity • Up to M rating • Unwilling to address: hard 'no full frontal' rule, erotica otherwise v. negotiable; One is Any Charity, Up to T rating • All are: "PORTRAITURE(S) (up to a triptych) // ILLUSTRATION (of a scene, up to three (3) characters), fanfiction scenes (w. & only w. author's blessing)"

Arandin (@arandin-art) - Any Charity • Up to T rating • "For a book cover with a fully illustrated background 10$ must be added to the minimum amount. Each additional characters represent 5$. My favorite pairings: LuSan, ZoSan or LawSan... But I'm open to your ideas nonetheless."

For One Piece fan labor:

ShadowSpires (also in Section 1) - BETA • Any Charity • Up to E rating • 10-20k range • "For One Piece I'm currently only up to Zou, so I want to focus before that. My main ships are ZoLu, LawLu, and ZoSanLu, with a focus on devotion/loyalty. Open to most other things, though, including Crew Feels!"

altokiwi (also in Section 1) - CULTURE PICKING, SPECIALIST EXPERTISE, TRANSLATION • Charity specified (Bellingcat *, Life After Hate, Middle East Children's Alliance *, Never Again Action *, Any/all listed environmental orgs) • Up to E rating • "Depends how much the bidder contributes.. For translation - 1k words per $4 bid. Expertise and Culture - 1k words per $2 bid. Fan labor details: Culture picking - Mexican culture (everyday life, food, language, etc) Specialist expertise - Medical equipment/devices (particularly in a clinical setting). Engineering in general. Translation - Spanish <-> English. If the text is not your own, please make sure you have the author's permission! (or public blank permission works too)"

For One Piece fan audio & video:

ShadowSpires (also in Sections 1 & 3) - PODFIC • Any Charity • Up to T rating • Less than 5k • "For One Piece I'm currently only up to Zou, so I want to focus before that. My main ships are ZoLu, LawLu, and ZoSanLu, with a focus on devotion/loyalty. Open to most other things, though, including Crew Feels!"

Alistair_Nightly - PODFIC • Any Charity • Up to E rating • "Depends how much the bidder contributes. $10 - up to 10k words; $5 per 1k words after that, capped at 50k words. Stuff I'm especially interested in working with: - Found family - Soulmates - Friends to Lovers / Enemies to Lovers - AUs / Cross-overs / Collabs - Non-hetero relationships (I'm especially indulgent of boy-love & bara, but all flavors are welcome. including hetero) - Adventure stories - Horror/Thriller/Slasher - While I love good mimetic fiction, I am especially fond of speculative fiction"

aaronantium - VIDEO • Any Charity • Up to E rating • "Video details: I will make a music video with a song of your choosing. It can be multi-character, focused on a single character, or a shipping vid. I'll do a minimum of 1 minute and a maximum of 5 minutes (I can do a section of larger songs, but five minutes is the max length for the final vid). [For] One Piece I'm good to work with either live action/animated or both, but if it is a ship vid I don't want to do anything that is incestuous or underaged."

If you're interested in bidding for a One Piece offering, but can't find something you'd like among the ones listed above, don't fret! Plenty of creators picked "any fandom" on their offerings!

#one piece #one piece fanart #one piece fic #fandom trumps hate

[theimaginatrix27]

Oops, I did it again

Sooo the reason I was looking up DS9 characters on the Star Trek wiki is that. I may have. Created another Six/Wild Swans AU.

For reference, since I'm tagging the relevant fandom and I've not mentioned some of these on here, I have currently got the following AUs of this fairy-tale/set of tales:

The Twelve Crowns Quartet (original setting, books 2-4 of currently planned series)

Wild Swans of Domino (Yu-Gi-Oh-based retelling, not linking because early chapters are under renovation)

Silence (original short story, set in modern era, a thing in my files that I'm tinkering with off and on)

The Spinner's Tale (tumblr-based retelling, as-yet unwritten)

Swans of Winterfell/Swans and Lions (ASOIAF retelling, currently on the backburner until I can think of a solid plot for it again that I'm confident enough to work on. Last one had many holes poked in it by well-meaning long-time fan).

Super Secret project for friend.

And now, one for the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space 9, with Garashir as the central ship because oh my stars these two are fucking made for each other, help, AO3 fic writers have me swooning over them and I want them to be happy damn it they needs fluffy happiness after everything!

I was reading DS9 fics over the weekend for reasons, and came across a lovely little fairy-tale-flavoured Garashir fic called Innate Conditions, which I loved on sight.

And I'd already been having thinky thoughts about fantasy/fairy-tale AU with the above favourite fairy tale as the framework, and so now I'm writing it, and I'm 2700 or so words into it, and I don't know when I'll deem it ready for posting but I do want to try and make this one short. Please Prophets help me make it short, it doesn't need to be more than 15-20k, don't let it get out-of-hand, don't give me too many worldbuilding details please...

No spoilers for the ending (which I do know obvs), but how I'm making it work is Julian's parents do a dirty deal to entrap Julian after he's run off to be an adventurer for years and his party has become like a family to him, and curse all Julian's companions into birds (several different types, there are only two swans and they're the only married couple). Parents claim the only way Julian can free his friends/found family is to submit to their wishes. Julian then receives a dream visitation informing him there is, in fact, another way. But it involves nettle shirts and silence.

I can be timey-wimey in a fantasy AU, so Garak doesn't show up until Julian needs somewhere to hide out under a false name stay while completing his task, and the tailor in this random town I haven't named just happens to live in convenient proximity to the ultra-painful nettle variant he needs.

Again, no spoilers for ending.

Still not quite sure the bird selections I've made for certain cast members are the ones I'm gonna stick with but I googled the national bird of Ireland and it's too small for my needs/wants. Don't wanna think too hard about changes though, because that way lies stalling and I don't want a story this short to stall.

#Star Trek #Deep Space 9 #star trek deep space nine #st ds9 #Garashir #I am weak for this ship and I have zero regrets #Just stop making them sad it hurts my soul #Also Julian my beloved I wanna hug you and punch your parents into the sun

[toolazytodecide]

writer questions!

nobody tagged me but I love this crap and am technically a writer so lets do it.

1. what’s your favourite genre to write?

Oooooo romance obviously, but more specifically I like writing fics that focus a lot on character analysis? 

2. do you pull inspiration from real-life, or do you pull things from other books/fanfic?

I write a lot of AUs, but I do get a lot of inspiration from songs. I’ll also work in headcanons I see on tumblr and stuff 

3. do you tend to write one-shots, short stories, or longer things?

I always want to write multi-chapter fics, but struggle to finish them. It’s a goal of mine to write more one shots instead of dedicating myself to 20k+ fics.

4. do you prefer description or dialogue?

DIALOGUE!!! I used to be obsessed with writing texting fics which gave me a lot of experience with dialogue, while leaving my description skills to suffer.

5. favourite fanfic/book of all time?

Bro. Impossible question, but my current favourite book is The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. My favourite series is Six of Crows or  The Raven Cycle. 

As for fics...I’m gonna forget so many BUT I’ll give you one for each of my top ships on AO3

1. Andrew and Neil (All for the Game):  Those That Broke Us by  WriteThroughTheNight  ( https://archiveofourown.org/works/9095254:)

 This is atypical for me since it’s not romance focused, but is rather focused on Neil’s trauma from his mother and him realizing that the way she treated him was not okay. 

Also shoutout to every “andreil fake rivalry fic” it is one of the few times I read established relationship and I eat it up every time.

2: Adam and Ronan (The Raven Cycle): while we're on the subject, could we change the subject now by  shinealightonme (https://archiveofourown.org/works/12643005)

A truly adorable neighbour AU. Honestly Pynch was one of the toughest to pick a favourite for. 

3. Mickey and Ian (Shameless): I couldn’t decide between Fucked for Life by  Awritersmind (https://archiveofourown.org/works/21800806/chapters/52022443) 

An interesting twist on the coffee shop AU where Mickey and Ian fall in love as adults rather than teens. 

I read this a while ago, but I was OBSESSED it made me fall in love with the idea of Artist! Mickey and I loved how they wrote his relationship with his sister Mandy.

 and None the wiser by Loftec

 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/4856489/chapters/11128907

Again I read this a while ago, but it is a diner AU and just utterly delightful. I love reading fics where Mickey had a good relationship with his son and this is is a really good one. 

4: Remus and Sirius (Harry Potter)- My actual favourite Wolfstar fic has disappeared and is a Greatest British Bake off AU where Remus has fibromyalgia so if you know where to find it please let me know. 

BUT a close second is Text Talk by  merlywhirls (https://archiveofourown.org/works/1651109/chapters/3501239)

If I’m having a shitty day I’m re-reading Text-talk. it’s that simple. It’s a wrong number AU where they muggles in the modern day and Remus is home schooled due to his health.

5: Boris and Theo (The Goldfinch)- They Fuck (it up) by  colish3

( https://archiveofourown.org/works/33547123/chapters/83356504) 

A gorgeous fic about Theo dealing with the aftermath of the book, and maybe accepting his feelings for Boris. 

6: Ben and Devi (Never Have I ever)- all the magic we gave off by  transfiguredtoad

Bevi trying their best to not still be into each other while in other relationships. Super addicting tbh. 

6. favorite trope?

Wrong number! Enemies to Lovers! Fake Dating! There was only one bed! I’m a simple girl tbh. when writing I especially like writing about chronic illness but idk if that counts as a trope.

7. are you the kind of person to work on more than one wip?

Not successfully. If I start another fic the first one won’t be touched again til I’ve finished my new fic if ever again. 

8. how long have you been writing for?

Since I was 14 so almost 9 years, but that has definitely not been continuous. I’ve gone years without writing anything.

9. do you tend to write more during the morning, afternoon, or evening?

I get an idea and write whenever I can until it’s either done or I’ve gotten distracted rather than having a set time of the day. 

10. do you prefer to post your wip chapter by chapter, or do you prefer to wait until your wip is 100% finished before posting?

I prefer to finish everything first because I’ve found I won’t finish otherwise. Besides I like being able to go back and change stuff. 

im tagging  @furoruisa and  @siriuslynotovermarauders   🙈  feel free to ignore this if it aint your thing. I also challenge anyone else who wants to give it a try.

#tag game

#Tag game #writer tag #ff #fanfiction #ao3 #did this instead of sleeping #the ff part took so long #i missed a few ships too #like destiel bc I couldnt think of a stand out fic #Andreil #Pynch #Gallavich #Wolfstar #Boreo #Bevi #FF recs #I havent read most of these fics in years but theyre the ones that stuck in my memory #whoops

[limetameta]

I genuinely want you to answer all of the weirdly specific questions for writers 👀

I am waiting for eggs to boil so I went and answered them. :)

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

Times New Roman 12 babyy

2. If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil?

I would just never write anything ever again and would instead evaporate

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

I write crosslegged so I had to dismantle an expensive gaming chair that I bought to treat myself because I had never owned one and was so guilty about buying it only to find out that I cannot sit comfortably (ie neurodivergent like) so I just never sat in it and didnt write anything in ages and felt so bad abt it and tried sitting in so many weird (ie normal neurotypical) positions on that chair but nothing was working. Until one day bestie just asked me if I can take the arm rests off. I did so the same day and binge wrote 20k.

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

Rompar. It used to be roly poly but now its rompar.

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

Never keep the story in one google doc, you will be overwhelmed. Have a doc for each chapter and then you will finish it lmao.

6. What is your darkest fear about writing?

That I suck ass and that the people who say I write well are lying to me.

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

Seeing how other people build off of my writing and them trying to give me theories about what they think is coming next :D

8. If you had to write an entire story without either action or dialogue, which would you choose and how would it go?

Without action. I can write a whole fic just with dialogue no problem.

9. Do you believe in ghosts? This isn’t about writing I just wanna know

Grandma, if you see this I hope you smite my enemies

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

Means that paragraph that haunts me either fucks or sucks so bad I need to change it. I am haunted by my first ever published fanfiction from 2012. It is gone for a reason.

11. Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve?

Kid me used to delete that shit mercilessly and now I rue not having access to some of those darlings. I have a doc that I keep with all the darlings for a specific fic.

12. If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be? Btw if you wish for more wishes the genie turns all your current WIPs into Lorem Ipsum, I don’t make the rules

Lorem Ipsum my beloved this takes me back.

Wish 1) I never have to use google translate again. The word I am looking for appears to me in the language I want it to appear in so I dont need to scour bosanski -> english google translate.

Wish 2) I look like an eldritch horror when you see me out of the corner of your eye but when you see me normally i look like me :)

Wish 3) I wish to free the genie

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

What you see me write is easy. What you dont see is hard.

14. Do you lend your books to people? Are people scared to borrow books from you? Do you know exactly where all your “lost” books are and which specific friend from school you haven’t seen in twelve years still possesses them? Will you ever get them back?

I give people books that I am done with. Never lend. I feel like a beggar trying to get them back after and thats not smth i need.

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

I am scared to write in books because growing up i never owned books i only had library books.

16. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

Dead bug.

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

Can somebody send me a message what they want here like narrow it down

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

Send me passages

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

I started writing in English in 2009. Published my first fic online in 2012. I am on a proverbial horse right now, my writing is so rad when compared to even last year s writing. "Svakoga dana u svakom pogledu sve više napredujem ." XD

20. If a witch offered you the choice between eternal happiness with your one true love and the ability to finally finish, perfect, and publish your dearest, darlingest, most precious WIP in exactly the way you've always imagined it — which would you choose? You can’t have both sorry, life’s a bitch

I would chose love. I know I can do the writing thing lmao. My love life is unlucky insofar.

21. Could you ever quit writing? Do you ever wish you could? Why or why not?

I wish Id quit writing fanfic. But I keep getting sucked into fandoms. I most likely will try my hardest to stop writing fanfic once I fully complete the MCU.

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

I am skipping this because dear god it is a mess.

23. Describe the physical environment in which you write. Be as detailed as possible. Tell me what’s around you as you work. Paint me a picture.

I think I did answer this one somewhere u can check it out if u go in the #ask tag and scroll

24. How much prep work do you put into your stories? What does that look like for you? Do you enjoy this part or do you just want to get on with it?

I want to kill Maes Hughes but every single scene with him having fun with Kimblee and co is important because it is making you fall in love with him as a character and making him into a real and lived char in this au. His death has to hurt and not be abrupt like in FMAB. Fma03 did this better u had more Maes scenes.

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

Pinako and Van used to grow weed.

26. How do you get into your character’s head? How do you get out? Do you ever regret going in there in the first place?

I dont know man I just do my thing and ask myself what would Solf J Kimblee do and then I write

27. Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written? Why?

Tom Riddle. I meann

28. Who is the most delightful character you’ve ever written? Why?

Dr Morsels is honestly turning into my favourite fandom oc lmao

29. Where do you draw your inspiration? What do you do when the inspiration well runs dry?

My muse is Slenderman. I write Slenderman and all the words come back.

30. Talk to me about the role dreams play in your writing life. Have you ever used material from your dreams in your writing? Have you ever written in a dream? Did you remember it when you woke up?

I remember my dreams in the first like hour after I wake up. But I did get some really good ideas in my dreams so I will implement them.

31. Write a short love letter to your readers.

I love you. :) If you dont tell me you love me back I will die like a plant. <3

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

I dont return to anything lmao I am in academia and therefore disallowed from feeling art and reliving it.

33. Do you practice any other art besides writing? Does that art ever tie into your writing, or is it entirely separate?

Entirely seperate. I dance.

34. Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:

Good comma. 10/10.

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

The way I just write sentences goes against all rules apparently. Bestie, native english writer, used to have an anyeurism until they found out that this is just how I write sentences and that I just will not change. They can explain better than I can.

36. They say to Write What You Know. Setting aside for a moment the fact that this is terrible advice...what do you Know?

:) I am a part of the leisure mafia so I know all about that field.

37. If you were to be remembered only by the words you’ve put on the page, what would future historians think of you?

This person was so poor that they never went to therapy, huh?

38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

Cats love us. :)

39. What keeps you writing when you feel like giving up?

Each day that I write I get better at it. Each day I get better at it I am leagues better than my sworn arch nemesis.

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.

https://fleursdumal.org/poem/126

#ask

[crispywhispersunknown]

Wings to your dreams

Old Bollywood [source 1]

New Bollywood [source 2]

• The Ultimate Hub Of Entertainment

the city of Mumbai is famously popular for its entertainment industry "Bollywood". Bollywood is a Hindi film industry which has the biggest entertainment capital in the entire world it produces upto 1500 - 2000 films each year there by producing double the amount of films from Hollywood.

This is also the reason why many people from around India who come from small families who struggle to make a living come to Maharashtra, Mumbai with one dream that is to become a successful actor not only Indian citizens but people from Nepal wnd Bangladesh come to India to fulfill their dreams, unfortunately as beautiful as the industry of Bollywood may seem with all the glamour and the wealth the comes with being a super star or a successful actor it is not so easy to get into.

Sharadha Kapoor and Milind Gunaji "The success rate in the film industry is 0.1 percent" , Bhandarkar says adding "you have to be thick-skinned to succeed in Bollywood."

• Street foooood~

Street food In Bombay (old) [source 3]

Street food in Mumbai (new) [source 4]

India is famous for its mouth-watering cuisines the diversity and the mixture of culture in every bite,all over the globe.

The streets of India is where you can find the best blends of cuisines and cultures. Here's a fun fact about samosas one of the most famous street food in demand on the streets of Mumbai after Vada pav samosas aren't originated in India but actually in the Middle East where it was first mentioned in the 10th century by an Iranian historian Abolfazal Beyhaqui's work Tarik-e-Beyhagi where it was referred to as 'sambosa' because of its small size it was preferred by travelers to carry on their trips in sealed bags or just to eat on the go.

• Changes in the city over the years

Old Bombay [source 5]

Mumbai now [source 6]

The city of Mumbai was referred to as Manbai in the Mirati-i-Ahmadi which is a historical text on Gujrat which was dated back to 1507 it was written in Persian by Ali Muhammad Khan in the book of Ledas Da India also known as the legends of India

which was written by Gaspar Correia it is also referred to as bombaim which means "good bay" "Bombay" is just the anglicised version of the Portuguese name that was used by British in the 17th century when they took overthe city. During the 16th century the local Koli fisher folk already started calling Bombay Mumbai the name is said to be derived by Koli goddess Mumbadevi.

~to find more information you can read the article uploaded on this site...

• Popular sites

old photos of gateway of India [source 7]

new photos of the gateway of India [source 8]

→ Gateway of India

→ chatrapati maharaja terminus

→ Elephanta Caves

→ Marine drives

• Population density

population density earlier [source 9]

population density now [source 10]

The current population of Mumbai is 20M

Mumbai, also called Bombay, is the capital city of the state of Maharashtra in India, and it's the most populous city in India. Mumbai is 4th most populous city in the world and one of the populous urban regions in the world. The most recent census was conducted in India during 2011, which put Mumbai's Urban Agglomeration at 20,748,395, while the city itself was recorded at 12,478,447. The metropolitan area has experienced an explosion in growth over the past 20 years, a common occurrence with metropolitan areas in India. the population of Mumbai has doubled since 1991

~to find more information you can read the article uploaded on this site...

• Cost of living in Mumbai

https://images.app.goo.gl/ZgZKsgEmJgevbR2y5

Cost of living in Mumbai [source 11]

https://images.app.goo.gl/PDAdveRo35U7FuKs7

Cost of living in Mumbai [source 12]

as a bachelor

→ The average rent for bachelors is 10,000 (rs) to 20k (rs) per month

→ Household cost 5k (rs) per month

→ Public transport 300rs to 700rs per month

→ Lifestyle cost 2k (rs) to 4k (rs) per month

as a family

to rent a 2BHK apartment near the suburbs or a little away from the city centre you'll have to spend around 40k-50k (rs) per month

• General living conditions in Mumbai

https://images.app.goo.gl/g8DMxaqceZx8KwpY9

living conditions earlier [source 13]

https://images.app.goo.gl/S3zQKiUN9i81fZD89

living conditions in Mumbai now [source 14]

Mumbai is an unbalanced city where the richest and most poor people live together mumbai has an estimated balance of $950 billion, it is also the 12th richest city in the world ranking ahead of Paris and Toronto which are one of the major urban cities

~to find more information you can read the article uploaded on this site...

• Future prospects of Mumbai

https://images.app.goo.gl/5Si9LLhkaLpQHN4w6

Major projects of Bombay [source 15]

https://images.app.goo.gl/b54JDDtLPNge2uwU7

Major projects of Mumbai [source 16]

Major development projects

→ Delhi Mumbai industrial corridors

→ The costal road of Mumbai

→ The aqua line of the mumbai metro

→ The Navi Mumbai international projects

Taniya X-E 3

Mass media and communication

Cambridge school

[ocean-anchored]

Dear future self... 2024 Goals & Recap

I'm going to be 30 this year. I said last year that 29 was scary but man, I think 30 is going to be interesting & I really don't know how I'm going to feel about it. Especially considering this last birthday was another horrible fail of a year. I was miserable, I was so depressed for all of October. My hope this year is to specifically spend it only with people who I know care about me & that I know are going to be in my life long term, either that or I really am going to book a flight & just peace out for a week over my birthday. I'm really leaning towards the ladder because I don't want to be around for it, but we'll see how this year goes.

Recap: I wanted to save more and stick to a budget which I'm not fully sure I did yet. Until I do my taxes & see how much I owe to CRA which might be scary, then I'll know how much I saved. I have been putting money away, I have like $27k in my savings but I know I'm going to owe a big chunk like maybe $20k to CRA so it's hard to say right now. I didn't really live close to a budget because I ended up being out for like 5-6 days a week the entire year. I wanted to put myself out there more & do more things out of my comfort zone. I think I did some of this. I did more hikes alone, I did go on an incredible 17 day US trip where I planned & organized the entire thing for Ed & I so that was huge. I also explored a handful but mostly New York by myself. Like legitimately left, figured out the subways & getting around & sight seeing, so that was huge for me. I also started going to a new church by myself which was great. I also essentially asked Troy out, a few times which normally I would never do. I've also met another girl, Sandra who is really sweet & great. I actually also started the game night evenings at my place, that was nerve wracking for a time because I hadn't hosted in forever & also putting a bunch of people together who didn't know each other but that turned out really well. I wanted to better my relationship with God. This one hurts me a bit. I feel like the first 5 ish months I really did great. I've fallen short of it. The first few months with Zack I wasn't focused which is very unfortunate. The last few months I've really been trying to get back & focus on this. I wanted to read more books which didn't really happen until about two months ago. I hadn't had any time for reading, then I got the library app & in two months I listened to 4 audiobooks & read a book. I haven't finished the hard copy books yet that I started. I wanted to go to the mountains more, I feel like I started & ended with this better. I didn't go as often as I wanted through the summer but I went on a handful at the start of the year & then this later months I've gone a good bunch of times, including 2 or 3 hikes alone. I wanted to expand my circle of friends. This I feel like I have & this is amazing. I have Amber who I can't rave about more. Sasha has been really great & now her friend Shruti as well. I've also been close with Shane this year. I met Daniel, Jeremiah's friend who him & I have had some really great times together building too. I've seen Sandra twice now & hope to continue building that relationship as she's really sweet. I did meet a girl from church whom I really need to reach out to & apologize for not connecting with. Jeremiah & my friendship has dwindled... he's seeing someone now so the last 3 ish months he's been distant to say the least. I wanted to create a healthy lifestyle, man this one sucked. Not only did I fail so miserably on my self care, but I lacked on my work out routine. Even though I did a lot more walking & for a while I got in a good habit of going out 2-3 times a day with Nova for at least an hour & a half but my eating, everything has been so out of whack. I wanted to rebuild with Steven & Amanda which I really got to do this year which has been amazing. I'm really thankful for that. I wanted to grow more in my career which I definitely did. More so that hopefully these coming weeks I'm going to be training a new girl & going to be learning & taking on a bigger role with Ed. I wanted a better daily routine which I just touched on was not very good. I had short spirts of being on top of it but it never lasted. I wanted to be strong enough & not date, which clearly that didn't last very long at least until May.

#dear future self #yearly recap #yearly goals #dearfutureself

[mrdrzezstchkowitzatyourservice]

I posted 4,113 times in 2022

That's 2,414 more posts than 2021!

31 posts created (1%)

4,082 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@shellshocked-arty

@ltwilliammowett

@gardener-of-shinies

@see-arcane

I tagged 201 of my posts in 2022

#jules verne - 13 posts

#robur the conqueror - 10 posts

#20000 leagues under the sea - 9 posts

#captain nemo - 7 posts

#long post - 5 posts

#music - 5 posts

#manfred von richthofen - 5 posts

#history - 5 posts

#books - 4 posts

#sunless skies - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#too much bourbon one night and the next morning your homie suddenly doesn't have a wife and there's a hitman crawling through your window

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Multiples of 5 for Captain Nemo? :D

Ah yes, one of my favorite characters!

5: My favorite ship of them: Nemo and Aronnax were made for each other, and there are 500 pages of solid proof

10: Describe them in one sentence: A sad, tragic, yet very badass, action science man

15: Worst storyline they had: Are we talking about how he appears in different film/TV adaptations of the book? Because if we are, that gottdamn Hallmark movie deserves hell

20: A weird headcanon: He and the crew have something like a game night or something every once in a while. They do stuff like board games and charades n stuff. Imagine them playing monopoly lmao

25: When did they act the most out-of-character: For me it was at the end of 20K Leagues when he just collapsed in front of the painting of his family and cried. It really surprised me because throughout the novel he was always a stoic, thoughtful, and wise kind of person always in control of himself. But that scene just seemed so out of nowhere to me (not to say it didn't hit me right in the feels, poor guy)

30: The funniest scene they had: Hey professor, since you're just passing by, d o y o u k n o w t h e h i s t o r y o f s p a i n

23 notes - Posted February 20, 2022

#4

This photo of Manfred is so so good because of its energy.

Look at him. He is like an angel of destruction, or a proud king standing before a vanquished enemy.

And yet, despite this, he somehow manages to make it look like he did it on accident. He just standing like 🧍

24 notes - Posted April 8, 2022

#3

Jonathan waiting for Dracula like

32 notes - Posted October 26, 2022

#2

MORE of me talking about The Mind Electric because 1)my obsession with this song is unhealthy, 2)there is nothing stopping me from making a million and a half posts about this song and the album in general and if there is such a force in the world they had better pick a god and beg for mercy before I arrive at their location (totally not armed with a shotgun or anything)

Now. Let’s begin. (Warning, it’s another long one)

The Mind Electric is, as many of you know, the 7th track in the Miracle Musical album Hawaii: Part II. It is one of the longest tracks in the entire album, at 6 minutes long, only rivaled by Dream Sweet in Sea Major, which is just around 7 minutes long.

All of the HPII songs have their quirks, but TME’s backwards segment is what makes it so unique. The segment is nothing mindblowing, it’s simply the forward part of the song, backward. Yet this helps to reinforce the song’s part of the story in a very peculiar way.

Unlike the other songs in the album, whose lyrics are often quite cryptic in nature, describing feelings and moments in time and space and generally leaving them open to interpretation, TME averts this by having some surprisingly straightforward lyrics in some places. Consider, if you will, the beginning verses of the non-reversed segment of the song. The scene of a courtroom is very clearly set for us and what plays out within is very obvious: 

-The judge asks Simon to plead his case and orders him to swear to tell the truth

-Simon tries to get all woe-is-me with the judge by pleading insanity

-It works. Too well, however, as Simon is sentenced to an infirmary to be treated for a condition he was likely lying about having.

From there, the lyrics make a little less sense without thinking about them. Whatever the interpretation, however, one thing is for certain: TME is about Simon losing his mind, and the latter half of the non-reversed segment highly reinforces that. Bad (and quite possibly abusive doctors also appear to be speeding up this process). 

But what does the reversed section mean, exactly?

Well, TME’s primary motif is insanity. The song becomes more and more chaotic as it progresses. There are parts where Simon appears to be in a moment of solitude and serenity, only to be violently ripped from what were really nothing more than delusions. The voices of the people Simon deems his “enemies” sound strange and distorted. For example:

The judge: When I first heard TME, I thought the judge was congested, or something (lol). As I listened to his voice more it sounded less... ...silly and more pretentious than anything. He emphasizes certain syllables and words (granted, it’s a song) but overall speaks in a tone that implies dominance and a general sense of superiority. He isn’t taking crap from anybody and that shows.

The doctor/caretaker: Sounds similar to the judge, but less serious. Take the lines “Here in my kingdom I am your lord / I order you to cower and praey”. Listen to those lines again. He doesn’t sound serious, not at all. If anything, he sounds happy, like it’s all a game to him. We hear him again with “See how the serfs work the ground...”, describing the hapless plights of the others in his care. His voice sounds diseased. It buzzes like old static, it’s sharp as a razor blade, and it absolutely oozes with malice. And once again, there’s no hint of remorse in it. It’s almost prideful, as if he is saying, come and see what I have created.

Simon’s views on these people may affect why he hears their voices in those ways. It’s not just madness, it’s trauma.

If we consider the timeline of HPII being that Introduction to the Snow and Isle Unto Thyself show Simon in his current state, with songs 3-10 being a flashback before Dream Sweet in Sea Major brings us back to Simon’s death, then TME makes much more sense in context.

View TME as though it were part of a flashback. Black Rainbows, White Ball, Murders, and Space Station Level 7, the other “flashback” songs preceding TME are relatively normal, for the most part, but TME is where things start to fall apart. The music for each of those preceding songs is pretty smooth, largely coordinated. Listen to those. Then listen to TME. Notice how in TME how erratic the music becomes is certain places. It glitches all over the place, tone switches are sudden and sometimes jarring. It sounds distressed.

If TME is part of that flashback, think of how Simon views it. Up to this point his memories seem clear. But when TME hits, you just know something’s wrong. The infirmary has to be, without a doubt, a traumatic place for Simon. The “treatment” there cost him his sanity. Thus the backwards part of the song could be interpreted as a series of scrambled memories, while the glitching in the forward segment and the general distressing atmosphere that the song radiates like a Chernobyl rat could be triggered in a bout of PTSD, his fragile conscious fraying at the remembrance of such a horrid place, such terrible people, and such painful moments. 

After TME, we get Labyrinth, then from there the album slowly dies down, as if TME was only a bad dream left behind, or a sickness to be recovered from. But one thing is absolutely clear:

Simon reacts badly to TME.

 Any remembrance of the courtroom and its judge, or the infirmary and its overseer, the suffering he endured there, only to be swept under the rug when pleading for help, sends him over the edge. We can tell because he supposedly leaves the infirmary at the end of Labyrinth, and from Time Machine onward, the stress and panic are no longer there. His time spent inside the infirmary broke him in a way that whenever he recalls what happened to him there, he dances a sporadic waltz on the fragile line between sanity and complete loss of mind, and the facade he’s put up around himself disappears like it was never there.

But there’s still another big question out there: Was Simon lying to the judge?

Now, I don’t think we can know for certain whether or not Simon was lying. Either he was already insane and was asking to be treated, as the lyrics of “Inside the Minds of Simon” suggest, or he is a genuinely evil, though charismatic individual, an H. H. Holmes-type character whose greatest weapon is his charm.

The is, however, another factor that comes into play here, and that’s religion. In a previous post I discussed the religious allegories that are present in TME, and how they affect the story, but I think that they’re worth bringing up again here. This begins with the judge. This “character”, so to speak, has a name, and has “appeared” before. It’s our good friend Marvin. 

As we know, TME was born from a demo known as “Inside the Mind of Simon”, a track that never made it into Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum. Marvin is mentioned by name in ITMOS, and though that song never made it into MMMM, Marvin sure did. In “Ruler of Everything” he criticizes a man’s unchecked hubris, telling him that time will eventually pass him by. And in “Spring and a Storm”, he gently explains to a group of children the concept of death and life after death. He is a religious figure of sorts, as I theorized, an angel. (Also note that Simon refers to him as “Father Your Honor,” with “Father” being used in religious establishments, suggesting that Marvin is a man of the church.)

However unlike ROE, where he simply taught a narcissistic man to have doubts, or SAAS, where he explains death in a way so as to not frighten the children, he is very straightforward and serious with Simon. Because, consider, the narcissist was just... that. A narcissist. He doesn’t seem to have hurt anyone, and is simply obsessed with himself. And the children? They’re just curious and innocent. But Simon, as the track “Murders” suggests, is not as innocent as he seems. Simon might have one some very bad things.

If Marvin is some sort of otherworldly being, this could make the court situation much more different. He’s making Simon make an oath of truth, though he likely already knows if Simon is lying or not, which possibly means that he can see right through Simon’s manipulative tactics. If Simon was insane from the get-go, it’s likely he could see that too. Probably what happened Simon was trying to be sneaky and smart like “OH FORGIVE me Your Honor, I’m just SO INSANE you HAVE to help me.” And Marvin, seeing right through that, in response was like “Sure, wish granted” and had him sent off to the Hell Allegory. Either way, though, it’s implied that Simon did something very very bad and Marvin did not like that.

Moving onward, TME is full of references to religion. From the straightforward references: “I order you to cower and praey” and “Nuns commence incanting” (fun fact, in TME’s lyric video, the word “wholly” flashes to “holy” for a brief moment) to the overarching theme of the toils of the sinner, religion plays a considerable part in TME’s narrative, much more than one would expect. As I mentioned before, the infirmary is likely an allegory for Hell and eternal suffering, and the overseer of it all is the adjoining allegory of the devil. Whatever the case may be, whatever Simon did or didn’t do, he still ended up there, suggesting spiritual impurities. 

Hawaii: Part II’s story goes a lot further beyond TME, yes, but this one song is a very crucial part of the story being told and ultimately effects the outcome. Maybe one day I’ll make the Post To End All Posts about HPII in a similar vein as this one, but for now, I’ll leave you some time to take this hefty one in haha.

39 notes - Posted August 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Yet Another (Very Long) Mind Electric Rambling

Man, can’t tell ye all how many times I have talked about The Mind Electric on this blog. But, the song and the role it plays in Hawaii Pt. II’s story is just so fascinating to me. So! Random thoughts and theories, here we go!

The song’s structure and melody

Let’s be honest. It doesn’t matter whether the song is backwards or forwards, it sounds good either way. But, it’s incredible to me. The song’s melody overall is nothing complicated, but at the same time it is something that I feel I never could have thought of. Everything feels so smooth and so chaotic at the right places. And the voice it gives to the “characters” is really something incredible. 

Speaking of..

The song’s “characters”: who are they?

As The Mind Electric is part of a musical story, there are, of course, quote-unquote characters. They are characters in the sense that they exist as part of a story, not because we can see them or understand them. But, let’s go over the most discernible of them.

-”Resident Minor” AKA Simon, the main character of the album. The Mind Electric continues his story but also takes us into his psyche, showing us how he loses his mind. But, alas, who knows, perhaps it was gone to begin with...

Cryptic messages aside, we know little about Simon, but we do know that something happened that landed him in the courtroom, and eventually the infirmary, where he utterly loses his mind thanks to special “treatment”.

-”Marvin” AKA The Judge. The only reason we know this guy (or Simon)’s identity is Inside the Mind of Simon, which provided names for both of these characters. However. Marvin. Who is he? 

Well, long story short, he’s the judge presiding over Simon’s trial. He appears to be a relatively neutral party for the most part, but he immediately has Simon sent to the asylum once Simon pleads insanity. So, we can tell that he for sure is a harsh judge.

-”The Caretaker” is what we will call Simon’s doctor, because while Inside the Mind of Simon gives names to Simon and Marvin, Simon’s doctor remains unnamed. Now this guy, as cryptic as he is, is let’s face it, kind of a massive jerk.

Why? Well, as we can tell throughout the song, he is pretty abusive towards his patients, and, well, if “Here in my kingdom, I am your lord / I order you to cower and praey” isn’t enough of an indicator, he enjoys a power trip as well. It ends with Simon literally pleading for this guy’s mercy. And as the icing on the cake, he puts Simon up to abusive treatment, which only makes his condition worse and breaks him more. Put simply, this man has more red flags about him than the entire Soviet Union.

Theory: Marvin is an angel, and the Caretaker is the devil

(Fun fact I learned while researching: Inside the Mind of Simon, where we get Marvin’s name from, was originally supposed to be a part of Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum. Hence the name Marvin. It never happened though, which was why the name was dropped in The Mind Electric)

As I was writing this post, I was listening to TME on repeat, and, I definitely noticed something: there’s a lot of references to religion in the song, as well as throughout the album itself, and that got me thinking. Is Marvin, the judge, an angel, or some other divine figure?

We can definitely see it. Most religions desire goodness: purity of the mind, of the soul, and of the body. We can see that, considering how fast the verdict came after Simon said that he was insane, (and also considering that he might have committed the murder which landed him in court) Marvin was troubled by that fact and resolved to have him treated immediately, because after all, Simon’s mind and soul are definitely not pure.

Then we come back to the Caretaker, who exhibits an oppressive and abusive nature towards his patients, treating them harshly, and watching them suffer and beg for his mercy seems to bring him satisfaction and enjoyment. The infirmary is possibly an allegory for hell, where the inhabitants are tormented for their wrongdoings (or supposed wrongdoings) and overseen by a cruel and sadistic ruler whose job it to make it all happen. 

Also make reference to the nuns in the second “electric shock verse”, the whole thing almost feels like some sort of twisted exorcism, with Simon supposedly being “cleansed” of his mental and spiritual impurities. Throughout the song, Simon seeks refuge in his own mind, the only place where he can truly be safe, but he finds himself being stripped of even that luxury, continuing to allude that the Caretaker is taking everything from Simon out of enjoyment.

So, to sum it up, Marvin could be an angel, believing in mental and spiritual purity, which is why he sent Simon to the infirmary, and the Caretaker is an allegory for the devil, abusing and torturing the patients for their wrongdoings.

Theory: Simon is a psychopath

Woah, this one is kind of heavy! It is gone into detail verse-by-verse on TME’s Genius.com page, which I recommend you view. This one also fits quite well with the theory I explained above, so buckle in.

Basically, it states that Simon is fully insane before he is even in in the infirmary. He shows a charismatic side, and his testimony to Judge Marvin seems to be some sort of manipulative tactic, which works as well as you’d expect against a presumed divine being such as Marvin.

Thus, we come to the infirmary. The idea of it being an allegory for hell fits perfectly with this theory. Simon is impure and accepting of this, thus he is punished harshly for his actions by the abusive Caretaker. Though it is unknown what exactly Simon did that brought him to court in the first place, it was enough to corrupt his soul to the point that he needed to be punished for it.

Theory: The “backwards” motif is the effects of Simon’s insanity

The first half of TME is backwards, and is not in German, as many people I know believe. We know that it is backwards, and be accept that in move on. But why exactly is it backwards? What does it mean?

Well, the answer is handed to us on a silver platter. Take a listen to the album version of the song: in the backwards part, we can hear that insane is clearly spoken forwards, while in the forward part, the same word is sung backwards. This is a very simple and clear about the meaning of the song and its role in Hawaii: Pt. II’s story. 

Also note again the second “electric shock verse.” you can hear “Axon-dendrite” being chanted in the background. Axons and dendrites control impulse and actions. However, dendrites are the imput and axons the output. In the song, they are chanted in reverse order, further proving that the backwards motif is the result of insanity.

Is it electric chair or electric shock therapy?

A commonly asked question: And the answer? It’s electric shock therapy. Evidence for this is that Simon undergoes treatment at multiple points throughout the song. And he’s clearly still alive at the end of all of them. And at the end, he is clearly still alive enough to think. Plus, his story continues with the rest of the album. His actual death comes in Dream Sweet in Sea Major.

See the full post

41 notes - Posted March 9, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[fifth-times-the-charm]

June 2022

Daily Habits: *bold = doing right now - Get 7-8 hours of sleep each night - Find a new podcast/Youtuber (besides ABG to listen to) in any of the following: skincare, mental health, personal finance/investing, cooking/meal prepping - Get back into using Google Calendar - Spend 30 mins every week on Passion Planner - make it pretty and not scribble work on it anymore - Spend 1 hr every week finances/expenditures - Follow face routine daily and exfoliate 1x/week + mask 1x/week - Use gua sha and roller every other night - Wear makeup/dress up 1x/week - Limit time spent on Instagram to less than 2 hrs/day - Limit alcohol intake to 2x/week - Meditate with Headspace 1x/week - Gym and/or Classpass 2x/week - Eat out 1-2x/week - Drink water every morning - Be more present and a more empathetic listener (listen to understand, not to respond) - Check up on sister more - Hang out with family 1x/week - Start an apple cider vinegar detox to feel less bloated/have better gut health - Be more conscientous about personal hygiene and building a stronger immune system

Themes of 2022: Balanced & Young

___

June 2022 - Strategize an investing plan, including utilizing an Excel tracking sheet - Condense old credit cards? - Be fully unpacked in new home - Organize closet, bedroom, garage and laundry room - Set goals with Ginger - Start SQL for Data Analytics book or Udemy class and come up with schedule to study - Refine work 2022 objectives - Start purging and donating - Be more diligent about wearing Invisalign and flossing - Set up water floss - Call mom 1x/week - Date night with Kevin 1x/week - Leave house 2x/week - Spend 30 mins everyday on Art of Life journal and catch up by EOM - Cook a new recipe 1x/week - Finish a book this month lol - Save $60K this month

This Year Goal - Finish Invisalign - Save $100K, with $20K in investments - Become a Senior Analyst - $150K+ TC - Start a side hustle and be consistent - Attend 1 network/webinar event or have 1 informational interview by EOY - Polish resume and LinkedIn by EOY - Finish SQL for Data Analytics book - Become proficient in SQL and gain experience in Tableau - Be more sustainable and have less food waste - Volunteer - Explore locally: Tomales Bay to shuck oysters, Sonoma, Monterey, Pinnacles, Russian River, Mammoth, Paso Robles, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Sequoia, Eastern Sierras - Backpacking - Work from Washington - Mexico trip? - Potential Europe trip EOY: France, Portugal - Save $100K

2 Year Goals - Have a side hustle generating additional wealth - Project a 3-year career path advancing in Analytics - Solo trip - Other international travel: Japan, Korea, Singapore, more Taiwan, Greece, Italy

3 Year Goals - Become an Analytics manager - Take more advanced analytics courses - Become a mentor to a young Asian female professional - Start Lasik? - Have $250K in savings (outside of equity in property) - Buy another house - Get married 4-5 Year Goals - Have $300K+ in total net worth - Have kids - Have out-of-state investment properties generating additional wealth

[savrenim]

chickenswithsocks replied to your post “I know nobody cares about any of the writing that I’m doing that’s not...”

I am very interested in writing that's not ifmlam but also quite INTIMIDATED by how much it seems to be

yeah gay murder elf bachelorette at least did really grow into.....three different novellas and book 5 is at least a fourth might be even more ridiculously long than its predecessors, the good thing about it at least is that the proper two parts that are actually written in-universe, Book 2 and Book 4, are both stand-alone enough that one doesn’t reaaally need much more context than their introductions to have fun with the story and all the correspondence continuations are mostly posted for sake of completeness, not any actual Story Impact

(otherwise oops I’m actually waiting to finish the full series before I start posting.... at least trash novel, Numanok Files might get posted as they are finished, and I helped beta-read?? and co-write an episode of?? a really cool sci fi story podcast, which I will definitely be screaming about when it comes out, and I-swear-I-will-actually-finish-soon my lesbians in space hadestown fic which requires no knowledge of hadestown to read as it’s all just direct greek mythology anyways and has a bunch of very cool real science viewed through a quasi-mythological lens I’m so happy with how it’s coming out, so there will soon be a lot more Options of My Writing That Isn’t Ifmlam available)

#chickenswithsocks #books 2 and 4 are about.....20k each? #which to me is like a mildly long one-shot of a fic #but that's also because I'm ridiculous and cannot for the life of me write anything reasonably short #book 3 is shorter and is an exciting summary but funnily enough is I think less fun as a stand-alone #mostly because it's centered around character interactions and meeting and establishing relationships with a bunch of new characters #and if you don't already Care about Iria and Talvus and the Caedic Empire it's a bit of a 'sooooo why should I care about any of this?'thing #that being said it and Book 4 are defs the gayest #if you're looking to read one and only one hella recommend Book 4 #also I am almost certainly going to fix up the summary of Book 3 and general formatting as I throw things on ao3 #(provided Jeremy is chill with me posting it all on ao3) #so idk pick and choose or wait and decide at your leisure

[ficsforeren]

The Last Song Series Masterlist

Pairing: Eren Jaeger X Female Reader

Genre: Rockstar AU, Friends with Benefits, Angst, Smut, Fluff, Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining

Chapter Count: 17/17 (Completed)

Series Summary: Eren Jaeger has two personas, a charismatic lead vocal who has lost himself in fame, and a boy who struggles with depression, seeking for someone to bring him back to where he was twelve years ago. Where he only knew love in the form of your name.

Content Warnings:  explicit sex (cunnilingus, blow job, fingering, hand job, car sex, dry humping, drunk sex, public sex, unprotected sex, one night stand, choking, treating women like objects, dub-con, corruption, face-sitting, sex toys, daddy kink, praise kink, slight degradation, etc), substance abuse (use of drugs, alcohol, tobacco), severe abandonment issues, childhood trauma, anxiety attacks, depression, adultery, physical abuse towards men and women, family issues, abusive parents, crude words, dark humor, mention of sexual assault/rape, harassment, car accident and child abuse.

Poster art by the most talented @rainbuniart (follow her on Twitter)

CHAPTER LIST

Chapter 1

Word Count: 15K

Summary: Eren Jaeger, the new promising rockstar, feels hollow inside even when he has hundreds of people chanting his name. Desperate for comfort, his thoughts drift back to where he met you twelve years ago.

Chapter 2

Word Count: 16K

Summary: You are reunited once again with your best friend, Eren Jaeger, and things are going well until you see the persona he displays on stage.

Chapter 3

Word Count: 10K

Summary: Under the influence of alcohol, you become brave enough to tell him the things you tried to keep to yourself for years. What follows is something you never thought would happen. Something that will change your relationship with him forever.

Chapter 4

Word Count: 15K

Summary: After the heated moment you spent with him in the car, Eren pays you a visit the next morning, desperate and anxious for answers. How do you feel about him exactly?

Chapter 5

Word Count: 16K

Summary: Having casual sex with your best friend is exhilarating and Eren knows perfectly how to make you moan his name with his tongue.

Chapter 6

Word Count: 18K

Summary: You keep insisting on applying some rules to your friends with benefits relationship but Eren never wants to play by your book.

Chapter 7

Word Count: 15k

Summary: Eren takes you backstage during his solo concert and you let him know just how much you appreciate his music by raking your nails down his back in an empty dressing room.

Bonus: Chapter 7.5

Word Count: 4k

Summary: Eren gives you a private tour inside his tour bus.

Chapter 8

Word Count: 14k

Summary: Eren goes away for a month and it's making you realize just how hard it is to spend a night alone in your apartment without having him by your side.

Chapter 9

Word Count: 18k

Summary: Eren extends his stay in another country for a month, and you're shrouded with nothing but loneliness. Desperate to have someone else to distract you from it, you seek comfort in Armin's company.

Chapter 10

Word Count: 18k

Summary: Eren comes back home and you surprise him with a very, special gift.

Bonus: Chapter 10.5

Word Count: 5k

Summary: Desperate to bring his attention back to you, you decide to fulfill the kinky desire Eren has been wanting to do in bed.

Chapter 11

Word Count: 20k

Summary: You're planning to visit your parents' house for the weekend and Eren decides to tag along. You've promised each other that you'll speak nothing about your relationship, but can Eren really keep it a secret?

Bonus: Chapter 11.5

Word Count: 4k

Summary: Drunk and half-asleep, Eren becomes uncharacteristically rough and demanding in bed.

Chapter 12

Word Count: 20k

Summary: What starts out as something that's filled with nothing but passion, turns into something intimate. And as you lay with him on your bed, legs tangled underneath the sheets, Eren decides to open up about his past.

Chapter 13

Word Count: 24k

Summary: Professing your love to one another is the easy part. The hardest one has yet to come. Are you ready to be in a relationship with him? Should you even be in a relationship with him? Are you ready to risk your friendship for it? You need to be able to answer these questions before you take a step further.

Chapter 14

Word Count: 23k

Summary: Armin invites you to his house to celebrate his birthday together and you learn that there's far more to him than meets the eye. But Eren also has his own secrets too.

Chapter 15

Word Count: 17k

Summary: Eren has lost so many people in his life, and when you walk away, he feels like you're abandoning him too. Chased by the ghosts of his past, he tries to keep his head clear. Right now, he just needs to find you.

Chapter 16

Word Count: 23k

Summary: Desperate to win you back, Eren tries everything he can to revive whatever is left in your relationship. Meanwhile, you learn a new secret about yourself, one that you don't think you'll ever be ready to tell him anytime soon.

Chapter 17 (Epilogue/END)

Word Count: 33k

Summary: The ending of The Last Song series, heavily based on the song Forever and Always by Parachute.

DRABBLES

Rockstar Eren masturbating at the sound of your voice

Shower sex with Rockstar Eren

Rockstar Eren's reaction to reader fixing his tie

SEQUEL

The Last Song Sequel: In Another Life

Pairing: Eren Jaeger X Female Reader

Genre: Domestic AU, Rockstar/Band AU, Fluff, Smut, Slice of Life, Romance

Summary: What if the car accident never happened? In this alternate universe, Eren Jaeger, the frontman of notorious rock band Empire, gets to come home to you after the wedding proposal he made on stage. You are now married to your childhood best friend, and the mother of his children, Irene and Jace Jaeger.

CLICK HERE TO READ HEADCANONS FOR THE LAST SONG

#eren jaeger smut #eren smut #eren yeager smut #eren x reader #eren yeager x reader #eren jaeger x reader #eren fluff #eren angst #eren headcanons #eren x you #eren x reader smut #eren yeager x reader smut #eren jaeger x reader smut #aot smut #snk smut #eren jaeger fluff #eren yeager fluff #eren jaeger #eren

[mangoosmoothy]

The Broadway Challenge

(Base Game/Mod Compatible)

Basic Rules

1. Each heir can typically be any gender, in the rules it will be the gender of the character.

2. If you want parents of the same sex, you can mess with the settings in CAS so one of them can get pregnant and one can get others pregnant.

3. You must move around, it is not required to live on the same lot throughout all generations.

4. Adoption is acceptable - the heir must be biologically related unless stated otherwise.

5. Must reach Level 10 on each generation's career unless otherwise stated

6. Rich sims (20k+ Simoleons)

Poor Sims (Less than 20k Simoleons)

7. Rules may be subject to change and/or more generations may be added; I am currently playtesting.

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

Legacy Background & Rules

Generation 1: Hamilton "I am not throwin' away my shot."

The musical that defines broadway is where we start. Lights, audience, action! And the best part, it's all singing! Oh, wait. This is the sims we're talking about... I guess we can settle for making it accurate to the source material without having our sims sing for their whole lives... When you become a child the story begins.

Aspiration: Fabulously Wealthy

Traits: Ambitious, Self-Assured, Outgoing

(Pack Traits: Paranoid, Self-Absorbed)

Career: Writer or Business (Pack Career: Politician, Law, (Military as YA))

Degree: Language & Literature or History

Max Charisma and Writing

Live with your parents and cousin/relative

(Pack Skill: Max Research & Debate)

As a child your parents divorce (Father moves out, taking 10k simoleans)

Never socialize with Father again

As a child your mother must die

As a teen your cousin/relative starves themself to death

Collect and sell items to make money

Move to another world (at 5k simoleons)

Marry a rich sim

Have at most 4 friends (Remember who your 1st friend was)

Have romantic interest in wife's sibling or friend

Have 8 kids

Have an affair

Write a book about your affair, Self-Publish

Eldest child must die as YA (Child must have a lover or more before death)

Fight your first friend, now enemy

Youngest child is the heir

Die the day of the fight

Generation 2: SIX "Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded- oh wait..!"

Being the youngest of a big family had its perks, like... Your were the spare to your older siblings and get what they had if they die early! The perks right!? You were forgotten by your busy father but loved by your caring mother. Now that your eldest sibling is gone, your father finally recognized you and passed on his legacy. When you become a Young Adult, the story begins.

Aspiration: Serial Romantic

Traits: Romantic, Non-committal, Hot-Headed

Career: Business, Salaryperson, or Unemployed

After your sibling's death marry their lover

Max Charisma

Have child from an affair

Have daughter with spouse (may cheat this, or leave the gender of the child alone)

Cheat on wife until romance bar is gone

Divorce wife

Pick your next wife from your past flings

Throw a party

-- Get into a fight

Buy Re-traiting Potion while 2nd wife is pregnant

--- Drink potion during party (Change Hot-Headed to Erratic

Have daughter with 2nd wife (1st legitimate child rules apply here)

2nd wife must cheat on you with three sims

Become enemies with 2nd wife

Kill your 2nd wife

Get married the day after your wife's death

Max romance with 3rd wife

Stop interacting with past mistresses/misters

Have a son with 3rd wife (1st and 2nd legitimate child rules apply here)

3rd wife must die soon after son's birth

Refrain from romance for one week

Max weight scale

Pick a rich and/or ugly sim for 4th spouse

(Rich: Over 20,000 simoleons

Ugly: Customize an ugly sim)

-- If you own the Wonderful Whims mod, they can be "Basic Looking" to count as ugly

When romance bar is gone, move your spouse into a mansion

Leave 4th spouse with 20,000 to 50,000 Simoleons

Never Woohoo with 4th spouse

Divorce 4th spouse

Become friends with 4th ex-spouse

Befriend a teenager, when they age up, marry

5th spouse must cheat with home service sim (Pizza sim, butler, etc.)

Kill 5th spouse (Same way as 2nd wife)

Break up a married couple, marry one of them

Get 6th wife pregnant

Die from natural causes

6th wife remarries ex-husband

Generation 3: Mean Girls "On Wednesdays, we wear pink."

Though you lived rich and free of poverty you've always seek more. You have no memory of your biological father, and what's told of him isn't very good. Now that you've grown, you want to go somewhere new and meet new people, you want to roar. When you become a child the story begins.

Aspiration: Nerd Brain or Friend of the World

Traits: Genius, Clumsy, Loves Outdoors

Career: Astronaut, Freelance (Programmer Branch)

(Pack Career: Scientist)

Max Mental and Motor skills

Max Logic skill

Gain 3 friends and 2 good friends

Maintain A Grades

Find a love interest

Move to another world w/ family once teen

Begin to grow closer with friends

Begin to drift away from good friends

(Get Famous Pack, Optional: Become Notable Newcomer)

Slack off in school daily (if still a teen)

Do not interact with old good friends

Insult one new friend repeatedly

Unfriend one of the 3 friends

Have a D in school (if still a teen)

(Get Famous Pack, Optional: Become Rising Star)

Insult love interest once

Unfriend both old good friends

Throw a silver/gold medal party

Have an F in school (If still a teen)

Throw a party

Reunite with friends at party

(Get Famous: Opt out of the limelight)

(Discover University, Optional: Go to University for a degree of choice)

Marry love interest as YA

Max friendship with husband

Have 1 child (boy preferred)

Divorce spouse to go travel the world

Take 200,000 Simoleons

Move to another world alone

Leave child with ex-spouse

Generation 4: Be More Chill "So, it's like... Drugs...?"

After your mother left, you were stuck with a broken dad who barely leaves to house, even for work. He walks around in his pajamas and you just have to live with it- with him. You've lived your life out of the limelight, just barely surviving school. But, you can't live like this, you want to do more than survive. Whatever it takes. When you become a child the story begins.

Aspiration: Computer Whiz

Traits: Geek, Clumsy, Loner

(Pack Traits: Unflirty, Adventurous, Squeamish)

Make your only friend, your best friend

Max Video Gaming

Level 2 Mixology

Introduce yourself with future love interest, don't interact again until teen

Career: Tech Guru (eSport Gamer Branch)

Play video games with best friend at least once a week

(Get Famous Pack: Join Drama Club as Teen)

Become friends with love interest, gain slight romance

Parents divorce during childhood

Drink the most expensive bar drink

Stop interacting with best friend

Gain romance with 2 other people

Stop romancing with love interest

Start dating one of the two others you gained romance with

Throw a House Party (Pack Events: Spooky Party, Dance Party) at a friend's house

- Cheat on your new partner, find the 2nd of the two others you gained romance with. Ask to Woohoo/Mess Around with them, once you get to the room cancel it out.

- Confess attraction to original love interest

- Set a house fire

(^^Should be able to fit these all in the party- if not host another party back-to-back)

- Unfriend your childhood best friend (You should get a notification stating you're no longer best friends)

Give Cupid Juice drink to love interest

Gain romance with love interest while their under the drink's spell (become 'Lovebirds')

Confess attraction to original love interest (again)

After realizing it wasn't right, ask to stay just friends a day later

Break up with partner

Make up with best friend

Lose relationship with both the other girls

The day after the drink wears off, ask love interest on a date

Marry love interest

Have 1 child (girl is preferred)

Spouse dies when child is a teen

When BMC generation has child, create a new household, make Beetlejuice

Aspiration: Chief of Mischief

Traits: Erratic, Evil, Slob

Career: Unemployed

((Vampires Pack) Occult: Vampire)

Generation 5: Beetlejuice "Cause we're all on a hit list. Might not live 'till Christmas, choke to death on Triscuits. Hey, that's just statistics."

You grew up with a loving family and a mother better than any friend you could ever have. But, everything changed when she suddenly passed away. (Starting to see a pattern with single parents here...) She was your best friend, the only one who understood you. Now, it's time to shut everyone out, bury yourself in your mom's favorite books, and wear black. And no, it's not a phase, dead mom. When you become a child the story begins.

Aspiration: Bestselling Author

Traits: Erratic, Gloomy, Family-Oriented

(Optional: Bookworm, cannot replace Gloomy)

Career: Writer, Freelance Writer, or Self-Employed Writer

(Pack Career: Paranormal Investigator)

Become best friends with mother

Max Photography

Max Writing

(Pack Skill: Max Medium)

At the end of childhood, mom must die

Never interact with mom's ghost (only grave/urn)

Avoid socializing with remaining parent

Family moves to another house as teen

(Pack Lot: Haunted House,

Optional: Live with married ghosts)

Buy "Needs No One" reward trait

Parent must get engaged and move in fiancé(e)

Dislike future step-parent

Nearly starve self to death

Find and move Beetlejuice in, they may not interact with anyone but main sim

Throw a dinner party

Buy Potion of Youth for Beetlejuice three times in a row

(Required, Vampires: Beetlejuice drinks from main sim, 3 days in a row, with permission instead)

(Optional, Eco Lifestyle: Make and drink Beetle Juice drink three days in a row instead (Do not drink 3 times in a row, will result in sim's death))

Kick/Move out parent and future step-parent

Become enemies with a girl scout

Become best friends with Beetlejuice

Get engaged to Beetlejuice

Become enemies with future step-parent, dislike father

Argue with Beetlejuice

Run away for 24 hours (Only take dead parent's urn with you)

Mourn parent's grave/urn while away

Return and rekindle relationship with parents

Marry Beetlejuice

Kill Beetlejuice (same day of marriage)

Never move away from family

Adopt a baby

Write a personal Book of Life

Generation 6: Heathers "Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?"

Your family... Boy, your family! You've got a set of loving grandparents (one of them your step grand parent), a pair of ghost practically-family parents, and a single adopted parent who couldn't be happier with their paranormal life. (Way to break the single parent stereotype!) A wonderful best friend, great classmates; you wish everything could stay beautiful like this... But all good things must come to an end. You need to grow up. When you become a child, the story begins.

Aspiration: Renaissance Sim

Traits: Self-Assured, Genius, Creative

(Optional Traits: Paranoid, Romantic)

Degree: Any

Career: Any

Max Writing Skill

Level 5+ Logic

Master Whiz Kid Aspiration

(Pack Requirement: Keep a journal)

Make a good friend as toddlers, become best friends at childhood

Have three good friends

Have two enemies

As teen, start dating a sim with the erratic/evil trait

Get into a fight with a good friend

Mess around with partner

Kill/Witness the death of one of your good friends with partner

Write a sad novel about your dead friend

Kiss an enemy

Kill/Witness the deaths of both your enemies with partner

Write a romance novel about your enemies

Save a good friend from death (ex. plead, revive ghost, or give death flower)

Break up with partner

Fail to save childhood best friend (ex. With a fire, let someone else extinguish them)

Fight ex-partner

Kill/Witness the death of ex-partner (same day as fight)

Throw a party

Reunite with former best friend

(DU Pack, Required: Go to college)

Marry a lawyer (or business person)

Can you live by the book and make this legacy worthy of imitating their broadway doppelgangers or will you make up rules as you go? Your sim, your choice. Happy simming!

(Inspired by: Disney Princess and Flower Challenges)

#sims 4 #the sims 4 #heathers the musical #heathers #hamilton musical #be more chill #bmc musical #beetlejuice #beetlejuice the musical #mean girls #mean girls the musical #six the musical #sims challenge #sims 4 challenge #the broadway challenge #broadway challenge #ts4 the Broadway Challenge

[eat0crow]

I’ve been seeing an increasingly large amount of people get into fic binding lately, which is fucking amazing! I love each and every one of you guerilla publishers! With the history of fandom takedowns, purges, and the bull shit legislation corporations try and start every few years, it’s so good that fics are being given permanency. 

I’ve noticed that fic binders seem to be focused on longer fics, ones in the 50k onward range, which makes sense and is great because these fics absolutely deserve to be put into print! But, the thing is, my favorite fics have almost always been short one-shots, and no one seems to be talking about binding them.

So! I’m gonna show you how to bind short one-shots.

A couple of things before we get started, the method I’m going to show you is called saddle stitching, it works best for works between 5-20k. This method is affordable, utilizing things you most likely have already, and lasts years. (I have booklets that are literally a decade old and still holding strong.)

For longer works Coptic binding is my personal favorite, it’s not only affordable but also produces some beautiful spines. (Video talks about different types of string, but shows off some gorgeous spine work). If you have a little more money to spend on a project, I recommend hardcover binding. I don’t like perfect binding and while Japanese style binding is pretty it’s a nightmare on your margins.

 @armoredsuperheavy​ has an amazing list and perfect tutorial that has everything you need to know about bookbinding and typesetting . The tutorial goes into in-depth detail on exactly what you need to do every step of the way. The only thing I do differently when printing one-shots is that I only have one signature so I  print everything as one booklet. This orders the pages for you.

The most important thing you have to remember is to select flip on the short edge.

Also, add page numbers, trust me when I say it makes everything a world easier.

What I use:

Body text: Garamond 10.5

Meta information: Garamond 8

No gutter

A 1 inch top and bottom margin, and a .7 inch margin on both the inside and outside (Note: If your work is closer to 20k you’re going to need to account for page creep, so I recommend adjusting your outside margin to .9 and your inside margin to .5, this will even out when you cut)

What you’re going to need: 

Mircosoft word—Sorry, I know everyone uses google docs now, but you’re going to need Word in order to print this as a booklet. If you have Adobe Indesign you can use that too, but it’s more expensive.

Card stock or craft paper—Anything 75lbs or more.

Embroidery Floss and Needle. Super cheap compared—and if you have beeswax on hand—the exact same as bookbinding string.

Ruler

Scissors

Craft Knife

Nail file 

Index cards

Clips

Thumbtack

(Washi tape is an extra to add decoration and protect the string, though, if you really want to reinforce the spine duct tape is amazing.)

Okay! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get started.

What you’re going to do is carefully fold your card stock and pages in half, ends flush together, running the edge of your ruler or bone folder, if you have one, over the crease. You’re then you’re going to start placing your pages inside the cover. To minimize page creep, each time you add a page, first push it in place with the needle, then go back over the crease with your ruler or bone folder. It should look like this when done—

You’re going to prep your booklet for sewing next.

What you’re going to do first is open the booklet up, make sure everything lines up as close to perfect as you can, then fold the index cards over the side of the book, to prevent the pages from creasing due to the clips. Then clip them in place to prevent wiggling and make the hole punching easier. Do this to all four sides.

Traditional saddle stitching uses three holes, and you can too, but I like to use seven because it maintains better tension. For my hole guide, I measure 1 and 1/4th of an inch up to my first hole—this leaves me about 1 and 1/4th of an inch between the bottom of my page and the seventh hole. From the first hole, everyone after that is measured 1 inch apart.

After you’ve measured everything, it’s time to jam the thumbtack through the marks you’ve made. The pages have a tendency to move as you do this, so it’s vitally important that all four sides are being held in place with those clips. (If you have an awl, cool beans, they work better.)

For the love of God do not put the crease between your thighs when you start hole punching. I know it’s easier, but learn from my dumbassery and don’t do it bitch!

You should have something like this—

Now it’s time to sew. Which, because I’m weird and love hand stitching, is my favorite part.

I use one strand of floss, folded over for a double-stranded effect. I find this works best because each hole is gone through twice, leaving a four-ply binding. When measuring how much string to use, my rule is double the length of the spine, triple if you’re feeling unsure.

Now traditionally you’re going to start from the inside outward, leaving your tail within the book. I like to leave my tail on the outward spine because I cover it with washi tape. What you’re going to do now, is go in through your 4th hole(Leave around two inches for a tail, more if this is your first time), out through 5, back in through 6, like this—

When you get to seven you're going to follow the same pattern until you get to hole 1, where you will turn and sew toward the middle. When you get to hole 3 for the second time, you’re going to double knot the tail to your string and cut off the ends.

A note about tension, it’s important that you maintain even tension throughout each hole, this takes practice, but it gets loads easier the more times you do it. You want your string to be tight, with just enough give to make closing the book easy. If you have too much tension, over time the strings will wear through the pages. Too little and the pages will move around inside the binding.

Essentially your sewing pattern will be: in 4, out 5, in 6, out 7, in 6, out 5, knot the end, in 4, out 3, in 2, out 1, in 2, out 3, knot.

It should look like this when done—

Now you might notice this along the edge of your book—

That’s page creep. Some people leave it, I cut it away. This is the biggest pain in the ass of the entire process, and I have yet to get a perfectly clean edge any time I’ve done. The only way to get that clean edge is with a guillotine, but I don’t have one, so this is where the craft knife comes in. (If you don’t have one, you can use a box cutter, provided the blade is fresh.)

What you’re going to do now is place your ruler along the edge of the paper you’re going to cut away. Pro-tip, I recommend cutting 1/16th of an inch into the card stock, 1/8th of an inch into the entire edge of the book so that each of your pages have the same starting point, like this—

Becuase my hands shake really bad when I apply tension to them, I stick my book under a sheet of glass, hold it down with a big old book, and use my body weight to keep everything in place.

It’s important that you go slow, cut page by page, and apply even tension from the top of the book down to the bottom.

Now if you’ve done this and still get these little fly aways—

Join the club! Fortunately, they’re really easy to get rid of and smooth out, just use your nail file to sand out the edge.

And that’s it! Congratulations, you’ve bound your very first book!! If you want to hide the spine add your tape, but if not, you’re done, my friend!

#Putting fics into print #saddle stitch booklet #turorial #bookbinding #book binding

[kyotakumrau]

2021.04.06 a talk event at Meguro Rock-May-Kan film screening at Namba Hatch with Kyo and Shinya  - PART 1   Report by とあ on twitter (topics are not reported in order things happened, I mostly followed the order they posted, 1st and 2nd session bits are mixed together)   my comments go in (*…) 

Shinya entered the stage in black hoodie, both hands in his pockets. He also had hands in the pockets when he left the stage. Came with a drink. 

Kyo came on stage with his arms crossed. He drank some water soon after sitting down, I thought he started to play with the flyer but he made an airplane from it.   Q “To Die. Please tell us the secret of your youth.”  Kyo and Shinya face each other and laugh.  Kyo: Is it okay to imagine what Die is doing? I said that I quit McDonalds, right? Die also said he hasn’t had McD in years.  Fujieda: He also said he doesn’t eat ramen.  Kyo: and he doesn’t eat spicy food.  Kyo: Now he’s just eating, like tofu? Tofu or soybeans.  Shinya: he researched and knows a lot. Even when going on a diet in the past he found a good plan.  During the rapid question time they also answered another one for Die “I bought Die’s model guitar. Please tell me how can I get better” when reading Kyo answered “tooth guitar”.  I think it was when reading about this guitar? Kyo started laughing then Fujieda started laughing and for a bit they both faced each other laughing. 

  “Coffee”  Kyo: I drink it black. Even at home. Using beans from Starbucks. I drink 1~3 cups a day.  Fujieda: Kaldi’s coffee is also great. They have many types.  Kyo: If you say that they have many different types you have to try them to compare.  You don’t say this even though you didn’t drink them, right?  Fujieda: I tried quite a lot. There’s different one for each season. Now they sell sakura blend etc.  Kyo: Ah, then it’s fine. If you drank it.  Shinya: some years back I bought Nespresso coffee maker but I’ve only used it for 2 weeks. It’s still in my house.  Kyo (suddenly looking at Shinya): gimme! (くれ!)  Shinya: o, okay.  Kyo (turning to Fujieda looking happy): he said okay!  Kyo: Then I will give you a coupon to get that right side curl fixed. it caught my eye that looking from here that just the right side of your hair has this weird curl.  Shinya: No, it’s not weird...  Kyo: But I will give you a voucher to get that fixed.   

 “What’s your routine before the show?”  Both of them don’t have one  Kyo: Does anyone have?  Fujieda: Toshiya is doing muscle training.  Kyo: Ah... and doesn’t Die move around a lot?  Shinya: He does. Until the start he’s very restless.  Kyo: Right? Even when we all gather one is always going back and forth.    “Your favourite takoyaki”  Shinya: I don’t care. Even though I’m from Osaka I don’t really eat takoyaki. It is said that every household in Kansai will have a takoyaki machine but we didn’t. In the 20 years I lived there I only had like 5 octopus balls.  Kyo: That time when you were wearing that long earring? You only had 5? So what type?  Shinya: the one that is crispy outside and soft inside   

“A difficult song”  Shinya: Rinkaku. Because I need to keep kicking. It’s faster than Zan. The drum is nice but it totally kills my leg.  Kyo: DIFFERENT SENSE as I said before. I imagined a dialogue as it’s a heavy song when I made it, but when I didn’t get any response, I ended up having to sing all of it by myself so it’s really tiring. I tried control my breathing when swimming but I can’t.  Kyo: So in the end it’s like swimming the whole thing without breathing.  I was told by Kaoru to try pointing the mic [at fans], but all I get is ‘eh right now?’ (gestures pointing with his right arm) I get ‘eh here?’ The people in front of me try to respond, but the people on the sides (again points with his right arm) go ’eh? Eh? Here? (agitated) so I gave up. I don’t mind if it’s the wrong pitch, just put your feelings into it. 

 Kyo: I started playing Monster Hunter. On Switch.  Takabayashi: I’m also playing.  Kyo: Then let’s play together! (big grin)  Takabayashi: Okay.  Shinya: I bought it on the day DS got released, but I couldn’t understand the objective of the game after playing for a day so I didn’t feel like playing anymore.  Kyo: So you just started playing from zero by yourself? No one helped you saying what to do?  Shinya: Yup.  Kyo: If you told me I’d have helped you.  Shinya: So in the end what happens? What is the goal?  Kyo: there’s none.  Shinya: What?  Kyo: You just continue getting your level up.  Shinya: And for how long do you continue to play?  Kyo: There are people who continue playing until the next game comes out.  Shinya: Woah... 

 "What weapons you're using in Monster Hunter" Kyo: I'm using a bow. It might seem it's because it's huge, but I can attack from a distance and avoid being found. Make a shot from a distance, if you're found out you can run away. Direct confrontation is scary.

 “During the Osaka period what studio did you use?”  Kyo: Was it in Umeda?  Shinya: Yup.  Fujieda: What was the name?  Kyo: I don’t remember. Do you?  Shinya: Yes. It was M4　www.m4-studio.com  Kyo: That’s some memory.  Shinya: I booked it. I confirmed the date with 4 of you and called them. We made Karma and Aoi Tsuki there. 

 “About Oboro teaser”  Kyo: Could you see me? I only watched it on my phone so couldn’t tell what was what. 

 “Rock-May-KanGIG"  Shinya: there were many problems... no one around me [to help]. When my ear monitor fell out I had to fix it myself. And I made this rookie mistake of not pressing record on camera...  Kyo: We don’t remember things like that.  Kyo: Do you remember what you ate a month ago? You don’t right? It’s the same. You might remember that the main dish was shrimp but you won’t remember sides.  “About SOGAI in May”  Kyo: something that will happen in a month...Do you think about what you will be eating in a month?  Fujieda: But I think many fans are looking forward to it.  Kyo: I guess, but that’s because they’re going to enjoy the food. From the side of people who will be cooking you only start preparing about a week before, no?  Fujieda: So you will start feeling motivated a week before...  Kyo: Nope.  Fujieda: Shinya, do you think this analogy works?  Shinya: After hearing it I think so.   

“What are some food combinations that you find just wrong?” (*from other twitter reports the question had example like pineapple in sweet sour pork etc)  Shinya: as long as there’s no foods I dislike anything is okay.  Kyo: I don’t have any food like that, but but I hate when people mix different sports brands. Wearing adidas with Nike shoes and so on. When I see someone like that I want to tell them ‘could you not?’ 

 “What expensive item have you bought recently?” 

 Shinya: I’ve already answered this earlier. A camera. The camera itself was 40k and lens was 20k yen.  Kyo: What do you use the camera for?  Shinya: For recording and so on.  Kyo: What kind of [recording]?  Shinya: For youtube or Haiiro.  Kyo: Isn’t iPhone good enough for that?  Kyo: When I’m taking a photo I just pass my iPhone and ask someone.  Fujieda: I was given a camera for taking photos, but after about 15 minutes I was told to use iPhone in the end.  Kyo: Do you know what was different?  Fujieda: I didn’t.  Kyo: (*going back to the main question) an expensive item... Nike and Garcons sneakers I guess. They were about 20k yen.　(*Pegasus?)  I’m drinking coffee while looking at the sneakers. 

“Do you prefer indoor or outdoor festivals?”  Shinya: If it’s daytime then indoor. It would be too bright outdoor in daytime.  Kyo: I hate insects so indoor. Weren’t there so many insects when you had plants? Fujieda: Speaking of insects, don't they get into your mouth when you ride a bike? Kyo: You ride a bike with an open mouth? Silly kid. Fujieda: Instead of having open mouth, it's like there's suddenly an insect in your mouth, when it crashes into you. Kyo: Riding a bike with an open mouth is silly. Why, are you singing? Fujieda: Sometimes I do, actually. Kyo: If you're singing while riding that's okay, if you just have your mouth open while riding that's silly.  

 "About SOGAI in May"  Shinya: We're working on the setlist, it will be great.  Kyo: That's why I don't want you to ask me about a concert in a month. Don't ask me questions about concerts next year. I won't answer.   

 "What's a good place in Hirakata?"  Shinya: Hira pa (Hirakata Park) and TSUTAYA, right? TSUTAYA is where I was born.  Fujiefa: Eh? Really? I didn't know.  Kyo: if in Tokyo you say Hirapa no one will understand   Kyo: Do you know? (looks at Shinya) when you just come in and there's a place with dogs Shinya: Like real dogs?  Kyo: Yeah. There are about 20 dogs, but all are so tired. Lifeless as if they were abused. Of course they weren't abused, but it's a place where you can spend some time with dogs but they are so tired, so lifeless and tired that it's almost a shame they are kept there.  (*I think he's talking about Doubutsu Hug Hug Town) 

  "What hotel facilities do you find exciting?"  Shinya: ...for example?  Fujieda: ehm...  Kyo: This is not something exciting, but. You know in a shower? When you don't know if you're supposed to move the handle up or down? Maybe this way? And then when you move it the water suddenly comes out from above! (Shinya nods)  Fujieda: That's criminal! Was it hot?  Kyo: First water came out, but when I turned the handle the water suddenly poured from above, I got totally soaked. How do you use that?  Shinya: there are some places where water comes out in 3 places instead of 2.  Fujieda: Criminal!  Fujieda: Anything exciting?  Shinya: Like?  Fujieda: Like a big tv.  Shinya: I don't watch TV.  Dujieda: That's true, you don't. How about a very good pillow?  Shinya: I don't care.  Kyo: And the shower [head]! Just from one hole the water goes in a strange direction, there's nothing stuck there, just water, but just this one spot. What's that about?  (Shinya continued to nod while smiling)  

 "To Shinya. What time did you wake up today?"  Shinya: Around 1. At night.  Fujieda: What time did you go to bed?  Shinya: I think about 10pm.  Fujieda: You almost didn't sleep at all.  Kyo: Aren't you an old man now!  (*🤣🤣🤣🤣) 

 "What toothpaste and toothbrush are you using?"  Kyo: Any toothpaste is okay, but I prefer small toothbruses. Because I have very complex teeth. Like a maze. You get lost there. That's why I choose a tothbrush with a small head, has good reach.  Shinya: I'm using a toothpaste from overseas with an M, any brush is okay for me. But I use one with water coming out of it.  Fujieda: Is it electric?  Shinya: Yes.  Fujieda: Is it painful?  Shinya: Well sometimes it gets a bit bloody.  Kyo: You're really into it (laughing) to keep using it even if you're bleeding. 

  Kyo is watching The world unknown to Matsuko every week (depends on the episode but it's interesting), when finishing the 2nd sessiin event Shinya said 'go straight home and from 8:57 watch The world unknown to Matsuko'. It already started and it seems [dir] appeared there.  

 "Where do you want to tour besides Tokyo-Nagoya-Osaka?"  Shinya: Somewhere we still haven't been to... where was it?  Takabayashi: ehm... Shimane, Wakayama, Saga.  Shinya: There.  Kyo: Kyoto. Kyoto is good. Kyoto is the best. Even now I'd love to [have an event] in Kyoto instead. Kyoto is the best or, I want to become Kyoto.  

 "What animals do you like in the zoo?"  Kyo: ehm... sheep I guess. I want to look at them or hold them.  Shinya: Animals you don't see in everyday life like giraffes, elephants or lions. 

"What do you like in an amusement park?"  Kyo: I guess the haunted house? Yeah, haunted house. It's okay when people try to scare me. It's not scary. I'm laughing all the time.  Fujieda: So you can enjoy FujiQ no problem?  Kyo: I haven't been, but I think it's fine? I would be fine bringing a sheep with me I guess? Going in while stroking the fluffy sheep.  Shinya: Ferris Wheel.  Fujieda: How about the thrilling ones? Shinya: I don't like them. Fujieda: So Ferris Wheels for Shinya, understood.

 "About shooting Oboro PV"   Shinya: It was tough. Kyo: You say that? Say that to ME?? Shinya: Well, you were shooting naked. The green stuff got all over my clothes and cleaning that took ages. Kyo: Ah, I guess. But you could've gotten it dry cleaned, no? Shinya: It was a fabric that cannot be dry cleaned. I couldn't remove it in the end so I gave it to Fujieda. Kyo: You did? You got it? Fujieda: Yeah, I passed it to the person who designed the costume. Kyo: I see... Shinya: And the floor was very cold. Kyo: You say that?!?!?! Fujieda: Were you okay, Kyo? Kyo: Yeah... I'm a pro in the end. Fujieda: Oh (claps) Kyo: Are you mocking me? Looking down on me? Fujieda: No! Not at all! I clapped because I think that's great! Kyo: No, you're defnitely looking down on me. It's the same as the 'whats your salary like?' 'this much' 'oh'.

 tbc

#dir en grey #kyo #京 #shinya #爆音会 #talk event #namba hatch #translation

[mary-is-writing]

(The banner is by @ecwrenn)

Hi there!! I read about this activity proposed by @ecwrenn and I thought about giving it a try. A Year of Writing is basically a newsletter to sumarize the writing you did throughout 2021, as a way of closing the year.

I don't have the greatest memory so it took me a little bit more than I thought to remember all I did this year, so I got my summary done by quarters.

It's under the cut, but before that I wanna say that I'm super glad I got into writeblr because I've met a lot of cool people who bright my day just by seeing them in my dash (I'm sorry I don't talk a lot on discord tho Dx). Even if my following is small I'm happy each one of you is here, and to know there's people who like and show interest in my writing has been a boost to my confidence.

Anyways, thanks!! It's been a good year. Now for real, here's my year of writing:

~ January - April ~

It was on February this year when I decided to change my blog to go into writeblr and I did the post that's pinned on my page.

Around that time I was writing the third act of The Monsters Only We See, as well as the outline for Where Camellias Blossom. After the many troubles a single plot hole on TMOWS story gave me, I finally reached the point where I could finish the second act and go fully onto the third. It was very exciting because I felt I was getting closer and closer to the end of the 1st draft after having to take a big detour to fix the plot hole.

Seeing that I was near the end of writing, I thought it was time to start prepping for another wip and I picked WCB. I had already wrote around 45 pages, but decided I wanted to take a step back and do the outline. And... Well I already new that the story in my head was long and I wasn't gonna be able to fit everything in one book, but the more I wrote the more I realized this needed to be a trilogy. After fixing stuff here and there post-writing, I managed to structure the whole plot on 3 books.

Then I got excited and also plotted a spin off. So the whole series has 4 books now I guess. Oh well.

On March I pushed myself and wrote 80 pages on 10 days or so for a contest and I was very proud of myself. I didn't won and, looking back, I get why: the stories there weren't that good. Still, I was happy to get them out of my brain and into words, and it was a good writing exercise. I'll never repeat what I did to make it to the deadline tho, that left me exhausted mentally and creatively.

It was during this time where I also did a bunch of posts about TMOWS and WCB, a new post a week for like 2-3 months. I thought about keep doing it but my writing speed is simplu not enough for it, and having to do weekly posts kinda stressed me out. So, even tjos I wanna keep doing posts like those, I think I'll avoid the weekly release format for now.

Ah, and on February, my comic celebrated its first anniversary!!! owo)/

~ May - August ~

Okay so one of the most important things of this year happened between this months because I finished the first draft for TMOWS!! I was so, so happy when I did, and ever since then I've been working on editing it. After the 2nd draft was done, I gave it to my first betaa readers and 2-3 said good things about it and also gave me insight of elements to change for the 3rd one.

Not a lot else happened here, I was mostly working on this wip and progressing on my comic, but also enjoying summer vacation and watching the Tokyo Olympics. I probably got a few new wip ideas but I'm too lazy to check them out and see which ones xd

~ September - December ~

So now, finishing the year I managed to do a 3rd draft for TMOWS. However, I think it's better to consider it a 2.1 version of the 2nd one, since the changes were minimal. I also submitted it for a contest and I'm expecting news about it for next year :D

But obviously, the most inportant here was Nanowrimo 2021!! Tho I didn't finish it I managed to reach almost 20K on WCB, so I'm calling that a win. I also realized a few errors on my outline that need to be fixed, so I'd been working on them as I write and thinking about how I'm gonna pace the first book, considering that many things and characters need to be introduced here and I want to make it as smooth as possible, without info dumps. It's gonna be tricky but, hopefully, I can do it.

(Maybe I can do a little bit of info dump and get away with it, who knows, we'll see.)

And I did the 100th page of my comic a few days ago, too! I believe it's already scheduled on Tapas for next year to be published.

~ Next year plans ~

A friend encouraged me to translate my works myself and tho I still feel intimidated by the task, I think I'll do it. So based on this, I want to open a BetaBooks account next year to get feedback on the translations I do, but also on the book in general (this won't happen if I get to win the contest tho)

I definitely want to find a way to publish TMOWS at some point next year, wether it is traditional route (via the contest) or indie route.

Maybe do something with Patreon, too? I saw somebody on Tumblr talking about using it as a platform to release book chapters and at the end give the e-book, but Idk if it'll work for me. And since my book releases aren't exactly gonna be regular, asking for a monthly payment seems like too much. We'll see, but I do wanna give it another look to see how I'll use it.

Of course, I'm gonna keep writing WCB and, hopefully, can also get a good progress on That One Wip I have in the back waiting for me. But next year's Nano is gonna be WCB again for sure, and it'll keep being that until I finish the trilogy I guess.

Thank you for a great year, and see you in the next one with more writing and more wips!!!

#ayearofwriting #writing #writers #writeblr #writers stuff #writing stuff #I wrote this ahead of time and still forgot about it Dx

[merlinfic]

group ask for lost fics #32

Hi y’all! Below are a few lost fics that us mods just can’t seem to find. That being said, we’re hoping that you lovely followers are able to help! If anyone knows any of the fics below please reply below or send in an ask with which anon/user and group ask that the fic corresponds with!

Note: previous group asks and all lost fics!

Anon 1 asked:

Hello! First of all thanks so much for everything you do for the fandom! Also, I’ve been trying to find a fic for a while where Merlin and Arthur are both super into each other and Arthur keeps trying to seduce Merlin but Merlin thinks he has to remain pure until the dragon tells him that’s not the case w Arthur and I was wondering if you could help! Thanks so much 💖🥰

Thanks to statistical-nightmare for suggesting Touch Me (Not) by veronamay!

@ohmytimeturner14 asked:

Hey! I'm kinda getting back into the merlin fandom and I was looking for a fic I once read and can't find it. It's a sick fic where merlin gets sick with pneumonia I believe. Can't remember how long it is, at least 3k and most likely under 20k? I think part of it had Morgana offer to read to Merlin when he was sick? I think it was Merthur but I couldn't swear to it. Love your blog, Keep up the good work!!!

Hey! I love your blog. You always do such an awesome job.

I lost a fic, its at least 5K probably leaning twords 20 though. It involves Merlin getting sick, I think pneumonia. I remember that at one point Morgana reads him a book when he's sick, and Arthur almost leaves to get Hunith because he thought Merlin wouldn't make it. May have something to do with a formalwear tunic that made him cold and got sick, but that might be a different one. I also think he was going to go to a party of Gwen's before he got sick?? sorry if this is kinda vague

Thanks to fractalinferno for sending in Midwinter Festival by Miss_Em!

Anon 2 asked:

hello!! yay the ask box is open again!! 🥺 I’ve been going through the asks for a quartermaster/007 thing but I can’t find this particular fic where Merlin was Q, and closer to the end of the fic he gets kidnapped on a train (to be specific.) It’s slash, but not pre-established, happens during the fic. Arthur bursts into Merlin’s apartment and manages to have flashback about the laptop’s password or smth too! Thanks in advance!

Thanks to wiggly-jiggly-higgledy-piggledy and overworked-bookworm for suggesting You Only Live Twice by storyforsomeone (WIP)!

Anon 3 asked:

Hello! I was wondering if you'd be able to help me find a fic. The only thing I remember from it is that both Arthur and Merlin are in the crystal caves and Merlin sees Arthur's death through one of them and completely freaks out and comfort ensues with Arthur. Sorry it's so vague but I'd love to see if you can find it! Thanks again!

@eyra-j-nee asked:

Hi!! I’m looking for a fic that was on ao3, (TW: non con) in it Merlin was assaulted in the stables and he called I think both killgarah and aithusa come and won’t let anyone pass into the stables except gaius and eventually Lancelot. Arthur figures out it’s Merlin and I can’t remember what happens after that. I’ve looked through your hurt and abused Merlin tags and I didn’t see it. I can say it’s not “all of himself” by StormDancer but they are very similar! Any and all help would be appreciated. As always THANK YOU for what you do, this blog and your hard work is a godsend!!

Thanks to fangirl485 for sending in The Fire of a Dragon by ma_r (check warnings!)

Anon 4 asked:

hi I am looking for a fic, it's post canon au and magic is legal, arthur & gwen aren't married though and all the people of Camelot are used to see Arthur and Merlin together or near each other and one time they don't, so they ask merlin who tells them that the king is on holiday today so they come to merlin with their problems and even after the holiday is over they still come to him and start calling him lord and Arthur is very amused and they get together at the end of the fic

honestly I'm a little annoyed that I remember this much but not the name of fic but I can't find it in my bookmarks, so thanks

Thanks to onceandfuturekid for suggesting King of My Heart by illiterateowl!

Anon 5 asked:

hello! i was wondering if you know about this one fic where merlin receives a purple tunic as a reluctant gift from arthur and he worries about it because it's the colour of royalty. i think it was gen? i can't really seem to find it and this is very vague, so im sorry. thank you for all you do!! <3

Anon 6 asked:

Hi I’ve been looking everywhere for one particular fic. It’s pretty dark and modern au. Merlin is immortal, has lost his memories, not thinking clearly, and is suicidal. Arthur is reincarnated and has the urge to kill. They somehow? come to an arrangement, and Arthur “consensually” kills Merlin, and then is filled with regret. But it kind of “resets” Merlin so when he comes back his memories are restored and he’s ok again? Any ideas??

onceandfuturekid asked:

hi I'm looking for a fic where there's a new servant master (?) who is harming servants so arthur disguises himself and pretends to be servant and merlin & gwen take him under his wing,,, also the servant master (?) was a druid I think or atleast banished from them and was looking for power of emrys

Thanks to atlantablack-chaotic and avery28 for sending in The Serving of Servants by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle!

Anon 7 asked:

Hi! I've been looking for this but can't seem to find it and I would greatly appreciate it if you guys could help me. It's a genderbend!Merlin. The story basically follows canon with Merlin becoming Arthur's manservant just that on top of magic she has to hide the fact that she's a woman and when things go "further" Arthur thinks he's forcing himself on Merlin, since he can't "feel his desire". Thank you do much for your help! ❤

Anon 8 asked:

Hi, I've been trying to refind this fic for a while but I'm having trouble finding it. I can't remember much of it which makes it difficult, but I just remember that Merlin gives Arthur a gift, which I think is a ring, and he finds out Merlin had magic and questions whether Merlin enchanted it against him. It's in the canon era where Merlin is his servant.

Thanks to fractalinferno for sending in A Little Roughing Around Never Hurt Anyone by melennui!

@emritz86 asked:

Hi, it's been a while I asked smthng. Caught up with work and stuff. I read a fic where Merlin was a doc and married to Arthur but Arthur didn't like Merlin at first and didn't even let him enter to their bedroom. Later he realised how awesome Merlin was and tried to reconcile but Merlin already thought about filing divorce. Do not remember the name but I'm certain I read it and saved it somewhere. Anything similar would be great too. Thanks.

Anon 9 asked:

Hey! I was wondering if you could find a fic for me where everyone thinks Arthur is dead and then Merlin goes to look for him but the knights are like he’s dead and Merlin says something like “half my soul resides in him. I would feel his death like a wound” ps this blog is literally my life

Anon 10 asked:

I'm looking for 2 kind of similar stories. The first is a canon au where Merlin is actually a dog that Arthur finds in the woods. I remember toward the end they both get injured and Arthur is frantic when he wakes up. Asking Gaius where his dog is.

The second is modern au where Merlin is blind and Arthur is reincarnated as his seeing eye dog. I don't remember much more than that, sorry. Thank you for all the work you out into the fandom. MUCH MUCH appreciated!

Thanks to fractalinferno for suggesting Familiar To You, Strange To Me by TheYaoiChick for the first part!

@gaylord1027 asked:

Hi,

Do you know of a fic where Merlin was raised by Balinor in the cave after Hunith died and Merlin has some for of mental affliction. It starts with Arthur coming to them for help and then he wants to protect Merlin. Nimueh is in it and she befriended Merlin and died when Balinor lived to keep the balance.

Anon 11 asked:

I was wondering if you knew of the fic where Gwaine and Arthur are fighting to see who's merlin's best friend but in the end they realise it's Lancelot

Thanks to fractalinferno for suggesting Merlin's Favourite by OwlsWithFins!

#other: group asks for lost fics #other: fic find #other: lost fics #mod danielle #sorry for the long post lmao #we have A Lot of asks