#less importantly the image quality is worse

[mango-dolphin]

wait Ren physically cant hold items past a certain quality??? based on what i read on the wiki i thought that if he holds anything high quality it just gets worse and worse until its value very low or its crumbling in his hands

IIIIIIT'S INCREDIBLY POSSIBLE THAT I MISREAD THE WIKI. what i was thinking of was Ren's bullet under Legendary Heroes in the Curse Series article:

The downsides to these swords are that he can't gather EXP nor would he be able to hold anything worth cash in the wake of utilizing the Curse Series arms Guillotine and Strong Decline.

either way. that also sounds really cool tbh?? part of me likes him not being able to hold certain things because it harkens back to naofumi realizing he couldn't hold weapons outside of the shield, but also him degrading things of a higher quality just by holding it is also pretty cool and feels like you could get more creative with it.

i view ren as someone who cares deeply about image, but particularly his self-image: he seems like someone who wants to be proud of his actions, so he's more capable of self reflection than most of the other heroes. but also, he's a teenager (the youngest out of the legendary heroes, in fact), so coming to terms with more egregious flaws is probably something scary or painful for him.

putting on a cool facade and being a bit of a loner type probably helps him twofold: convince himself of his better character, and keep people away from seeing him as anything but. getting help scary: doing things on your own more efficient, you don't have to worry about getting people hurt and being a bad person by extension. of course i don't think this is like, the Primary Root of his whole deal, but you could definitely interpret it as that. i'll need to rewatch the anime/read the series to see if this particular interpretation holds up to scrutiny.

but i think something like him causing things he holds to rot and crumble does just as good a job at conveying this vulnerability of his—of trusting others with his true self (never having to share himself)—as him being unable to hold things of value at all might demonstrate how his behavior denies him solace and companionship (keep taking, never giving). i could also see both of these curse after-effects working in tandem:

rotting could be from his gluttony series;

and losing access to valuables could be from his greed series.

frankly, it's kind of refreshing to see how Shield Hero applies the Seven Deadly Sins conceptually. the sins tend to be represented in a straightforward way, but the way the Heroes not only encounter these sins but grapple with them has been making me think for a good while on how precisely the Sins are meant to fit into this series.

The Curse Series is described by Naofumi (and/or as the wikia states lmao) as a defense mechanism unlocked by the weapons after undergoing psychological hardship. which implies that it's meant to protect the users... but honestly, with the way the curses have been shown to work (Naofumi's our best example as w/the anime it's the only one we've seen so far & also he unlocks it first), it's less actual protection and more perceived protection by the hero that unlocked it. (naofumi might feel safer never trusting anyone, but he wasn't able to progress in the world—and, more importantly, feel fulfilled and connected to the world—without making connections with the people inside of it.) so it's likely whatever curses they unlock are influenced by the user and their outlook on the world.

which would imply that ren feels obligated to pilfer and hoard in order to protect himself. (please note that i do not mean to use these words interchangeably between the sins. not to oversimplify, but for the sake of my ramblings: greed is taking (thus emphasis on value), gluttony is wasting (thus, rotting.)) so the question keeping me Up At Night is not just what he's taking/collecting, but why he's taking/collecting it.

and the wiki does answer pretty neatly on the face of it: to exact revenge. to have the ability to exact revenge. items. levels. strength, XP, dignity. but, honestly? i think while looking for empowerment when you're wronged is not only understandable but justified, going the extra length to try and prove that the people who wronged you are the weak ones (rather than maybe letting that fact stand for itself ig? or doing self-evaluation first?) can get pretty immature.

ren can't let his insecurities get the better of him: otherwise, his facade will crumble, and he will be forced to look at the mirror and see how weak he is. so he has to cover up that mirror with whatever he can find, and if he amasses enough stuff he will be able to hide it. he will never have to give himself away (something he may be afraid of) nor will he have to give up his facade (something he holds onto).

so uh. not being able to hold things up to obscure this figurative mirror, be it through sheer inability or the means of decay, are pretty fitting.

...i will Also say that honestly i think the best source for any canon info in general would be straight up canon, i am just 1.) poor 2.) too lazy to look it up on free sites rn fkjsfnsejkfNESJ. the wikia in particular won't necessarily give concise, accurate, or truthful information, especially as it's an english wiki for a japanese series. (which reminds me i should probably try looking things up in japanese. and also continue practicing japanese)

all of this is to say: i only watched the anime so i am the least reliable when it comes to canon information OOPS. it is a little curious that i'm trying to make an AU so soon tbh? but honestly making fanwork helps me digest the canon more, as trying to write for the characters/write alterations of the characters forces me to hone in on all the little nuances that make those characters (and their world) tick.

#mango japery #answer #small-spark-of-light #shield hero #theory #analysis #uhhHHHHH I DIDN'T MEAN. TO RAMBLE SO MUCH ABOUT #ren amaki #THIS JUST HAPPENED BY ACCIDENT. PLEASE EXCUSE ME #anyways enjoy my impromptu ren tangent i guess #you were just trying to ask about information and then i was like #''ok GREAT time to talk about why i think greed & gluttony fit ren's sins'' #long post #love how i admitted at the end that i barely know stuff about the source material but i spoke w/my whole heart and ass #the fandom life ig. #sorry i keep editing this i just need to add more

[wellknownfact]

Without Distributor-led Changes on Compression, 4K Just Doesn't Matter

tl;dr Video signals seen by most content consumers are grossly compressed and therefore obscures content intended by their creators that are never delivered to their intended audiences. I call for content distributor transparency in the manner and degree of their compression technology, and a means by which customers can elect to get the maximum viewing experience possible. And advertisers should be noisily clmmering for the same for their paid ads, which are no less affected, and in many cases, are delivered under worse conditions.

I'll admit it. I was a tech nerd growing up. I was the president of my high school video club. This is no embarrassment. This disclosure to you, dear Reader, is in the service of conveying that I'm sitting on more than 30 years of first-hand nerdery about how the technology of TV, and behind TV, works.

From the vantage of 2022 it's easy to disparage the stone age of NTSC analog-signal television of the late-20th Century. But missing in that conversation is just how good a 525i analog signal could be. And that was much, much better than the downsampled digital versions of 20th-Century content readily seen today. Put another way, TV in the second half of the 20th Century was not cause for mass complaint of poor image quality.

I say that because, in the stone age depicted as over-the-air, analog color TV, signal compression artifacts weren't a thing. Sure, there might be a degree of degradation due to atmospheric conditions (i.e., a bit of static noise in the signal), but on the whole, if your set was getting a strong signal--and in analog that is a relative term, to be sure--you could have a very fine, no compromises viewing experience, indeed.

Fast forward to digitally broadcast TV, and with it, the proliferation of video compression techniques designed to squeeze more channels down limited pipe. This is where the story gets literally, and not metaphorically, fuzzy.

At the dawn of digital transmissions in the early 2000s, a child in my house watched a lot of Dora the Explorer. Too much, probably. It was also around that time that a relative of mine worked at the Viacom satellite uplink facility outside of New York City, where the signal for dozens of networks was delivered to the bird (i.e., satellite) in the sky.

For every one of those dozens of Viacom channels, there was a console with a human operator looking at a monitor to make sure the feed was being delivered to the satellite equipment cleanly. Rows and rows of these workstations--think a dimly-lit version of NASA's Houston Mission Control.

Walking up and down the aisles of consoles tuned to different networks, what caught my eye was Dora. I did a double take because what I saw on the monitor tuned to Nick Jr. changed my impression of mass transmitted video forever. What I was seeing in that control center was the pre-compressed signal. At 525i, it was glorious. A very sharp picture with eye-popping color. Not at all like the murky, fuzzy experience of that same content in my home living room, delivered courtesy of compression by half-a-dozen systems between that Viacom network center and my in-home cable box.

It got me thinking about the various video compression experiments at that time pitted in a kind of technology survival of the fittest: Outwit, Outlast, Outplay.

Fast forward 20 years to the current state of terrestrial cable TV, satellite TV, and over-the-top (OTT) streaming, the results have been mixed: the sheer volume of content available today thanks to compression is unprecedented. At the same time, the picture quality--and more importantly to many--the fidelity of the original signal to what makes it to your smart TV, PC or other viewing device has been, underwhelming at best, and frequently disappointing.

A careful observer will notice signal dropouts, compression artifacts and some lack of definition that collectively make the signal fuzzy and blocky all at once. Today when I watch streaming 4K video on my LG Smart TV, the show content looks glorious, but the first 5 or 10 seconds of each commercial is unwatchable. After a moment, the high compression signal gives way to a higher bandwidth, lower compression signal that looks like the HD content the advertiser expected. But still surely less awesome than the original file delivered to the broadcaster.

(As an aside, I wonder how little telemetry from these partially degraded ads are ever delivered back to the paying advertisers. I would suspect that there would be a lot more make-good ads being delivered by OTT broadcasters if paying advertisers had full visibility into what little of the first few seconds of their ads many customers can see.)

While my TV of choice at home is labeled as 4K, unless I directly plug in a 4K camera to an input jack on the back of the display, I'm not seeing the richness and fidelity intended by the originating content producer. This is why the 4K image a shopper sees on the showroom floor is oozing of contrast and quality and nothing at home seems to compare. If the retailer has an in-store demo display unit set-up to spec, the in-store customer is seeing as close to an uncompressed, high dynamic range, ultra high definition signal, at max refresh rate and every bit of the Energy Star-certified auto-dimming energy saving features turned off. Importantly, that shopper may notice you're definitely not watching live TV from a cable or satellite provider--it's an on-site source running an uncompressed (or very lightly compressed) signal on a demo loop designed to tweak the available color gamut to its max.

If you haven't seen an uncompressed 4K signal live on a soundstage, inside a news studio, or in creating your own raw content with all quality metrics cranked to 11, it's hard to describe what you've been missing. Even a casual observer will notice details easily discerned in an uncompressed 4K video signal that don't stand a chance at making it through the meat grinder of commercial transmission compression.

My holiday wish is that cable companies, satellite providers, OTT providers and others would be transparent about the compression being used in their operation. It is an important factor that is easily overlooked. Until that happens, I will stare up at my live sports and streaming content with a wary eye, knowing that there is a better version available at the sacrifice of bandwidth. I'd love to have the option to experience a new tier of service that maximizes my image quality for the tradeoff of the unavailability of other content. I suspect there are quite a number of people who would pay a premium for that, too. Cable and satellite companies--are you listening?

#tech #TV #resolution #integration #4K #longform #compression

[koiryuu]

fuck it. rating the swords in cql by fuckability.

thanks to a certain extra chapter i now cannot watch the untamed without thinking about the logistics of fucking the swords. so im gonna rank em based on overall sexiness of design of course, but more importantly, by practical insertability of the hilt. its 4am.

Lan Wangji's sword (Bichen)

the whore that started this all. good ol bichen. this is the only sword we have canon information on the genuine fuckability of. solid, attractive design, for sure, though personally it's a little blocky and boring for me. the main part of the hilt is well-shaped, with a subtle wavy topography in what looks like quartz or ivory, not bad at all. the sword exudes icy air as well which can certainly be a point for it if you're into that, or a point against if you're not keen on getting frostbite in the worst possible place. but there's one big problem here; the shape at the end of the hilt seems very problematic in terms of insertability, so much so that I wonder if the prop designers knew anything at all about the fate of this particular sword, or if they did, and they deliberately tried to make it as unfuckable as possible to hopefully put that thought out of everyone's minds. but we're all thinking it anyway. 6/10 godspeed wei wuxian.

Wei Wuxian's sword (Suibian)

oh honey, this is a stick. this is a branch. very aptly named "whatever", suibian is overall an "eh" in the looks department. in some shots it looks more shiny and finished, but in others it seriously looks like a piece of wood from the forest floor. it's like the swordsmith heard what wuxian wanted to name it and decided to stop trying. the metal detail lends a little to it, and i do have to admit that the blade itself is a lot sexier than the sheath, there's also something to say about its loyalty in sealing itself for only its master, but in its everyday look, it leaves a lot to be desired. the shape of the hilt is not bad, and it has no obstructions at the end, but i wonder exactly how finished the wood really is.... 3/10 ow ass splinters.

Jiang Cheng's sword (Sandu)

ok now this is a sexy sword. very good overall look. this sword is a hot goth that you spot from across the mall food court that you will never talk to, because you know it is too good for you. sandu has its aesthetic figured out. the deep purple, the quilted pattern, the entwined snakes? hell, sandu is too good for jc himself. the frog at the end may be a slight problem for cowards, but it's nowhere near as bad as bichen, and has the ridges down the hilt to make up for it. 8.5/10 the name is metal as fuck too.

Lan Xichen's sword (Shuoyue)

not terrible in design, though it's honestly just bichen's less hot brother. the bulky dull metal looks somewhat cheap and thin, but i do like the double chains on either side of the sheath. the hilt itself is a more exaggerated texture from bichen, and is that same pretty opaque white, but of course the glaring problem here again is the end. this looks like a nightmare to insert, to at least double the degree that bichen is. this is a plug, but not in the way you want it to be. shuoyue does, however, gain something for being the sword in the most homoerotic and tense scene, jgy's death scene, so that's redeeming, i think. 4.5/10 just fuck bichen instead.

Nie Mingjue's saber (Baxia)

ouch. ow. nothing is more hostile and outright unfuckable than baxia's little head of spikes. sexy design but at what cost. you'll have a better time fucking nmj himself tbh. 0/10 not even a sword.

Jin Zixuan/Jin Ling's sword (Suihua)

sexy in an insufferable rich asshole way. so pretty but so infurioratingly stuck up and arrogant it drives you insane and you can't stop thinking about it. the gold detailing is a little much, but like, in a good way. the blue on the sheath is a perfect touch. hilt is smooth and unproblematic, with the buttons for a little extra something, good shape, if not a little short and underwhelming. suihua overall is not a bad sword to fuck, but you better not fall in love with it. 7/10 is he gay or just european.

Xiao Xingchen's sword (Shuanghua)

if shuoyue is bichen's less hot brother, then shuanghua is bichen's sexy cousin, even down to the frost magic. the design is immediately one of the prettiest right away, with the silver design on the sheath and the pretty clean matte white. the structured hexagonal shape of the hilt is incredibly interesting, and the intricate engraving is a nice touch. the end does have a similar problem to bichen though, but while it is more rounded outwards, it's also not disconnected the way bichen is so it's up to you whether it's better or worse overall. 7/10 everyone's sword crush.

Xue Yang's sword (Jiangzai)

holy shit this is a hot sword. i know i previously haven't been commenting on the blades because they're usually sheathed in the pictures i find, but how can i not acknowledge the aesthetic of this blade. everything about this sword overall is exceptionally beautiful, and just the right amount of evil to suit xy. the hilt is very smooth and a bit tapered in shape, very nice. biggest problems is that it does have a tassle on the hilt, and the very end is a flat piece of metal, which might be sharp and would bring down insertability significantly. but i really can't find it in me to lower the score of this beautiful sword for that. 10/10 but the manhua version is even sexier.

Wen Chao's sword

i literally would not be making this post if not for this nameless beauty right here. this sword, in its bold, yet refined design, is the entire reason i thought to myself, hm, maybe you could fuck more than just bichen? it's honestly such a shame that i can't find a higher quality image of this sword, so you'll just have to trust me on this one. the exaggerated, swirled ridges spiraling down the hilt are... needless to say, very intriguing, and the head of it is not only rounded for ideal insertability, but is such a perfect cap shape too. there is absolutely nothing wrong with this sword, down to the design of the sheath, except for the man that carries it. take it out of his hands and put it somewhere more useful. 100/10 i think im genuinely sexually attracted to swords now.

#mo dao zu shi #mdzs #cql #chen qing ling #the untamed #tagging this with every fandom tag because if i had to write this you have to see it #legit i started this as a joke and now after two and a half hours of writing it i am fully and completely attracted to swords #im gonna sleep now #nsft

[razieltwelve]

Wither

I’ve been playing video games for a long time even if I don’t game all that much anymore. Perhaps it’s because I feel that gaming has passed me by. I’m something of a dinosaur. I can still remember complaining when Final Fantasy moved from Nintendo consoles to the Playstation, and I have fond memories of Dreamcast despite its colossal failure from a commercial perspective.

If someone asked me to name three companies that I think of when I think of gaming, I would say Nintendo, Sony, and Blizzard, and it’s Blizzard that I want to talk about today.

I won’t go into detail about the horrific allegations that have been levelled at Blizzard. Other people have covered those far better than I would be able to, and they’ve done so in both written and video form across a variety of websites. I would encourage any interested reader to peruse that coverage. I will, however, say that Blizzard’s response has been telling. It wreaks of attempted corporate cover up, and their official statement was utterly pathetic. Rather than improving their image, their behaviour has only further stained their character.

But I can remember the old days, the days before World of Warcraft killed the company. Those were the glory days, the days of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo. Those were the days when Blizzard could honestly call itself one of the greatest development studios in the world. Back then, you could buy a Blizzard game on day one without reading any of the reviews because the simple fact that it was a Blizzard game meant it would be quality.

Look at Starcraft and Broodwar. Look at Warcraft 1, 2, and 3. Look at Diablo 1 and 2. Every single one of those games was a hit and helped define their respective genres. I will gladly grab my flag and die on the hill that Broodwar is the greatest RTS ever and that Warcraft III is only slightly behind.

I spent some of the happiest years of my life playing these games with my friends. It’s been years (almost twenty for Warcraft 3 and more than twenty for Broodwar), and I can still vividly remember some of the games I played. And it wasn’t just the multiplayer. The single player modes were amazing too, not to mention the cinematics.

Blizzard games back then were a complete experience. You’d play through single player mode because the story was amazing and you wanted to learn how the game worked. Once you were done, then you’d go play multiplayer and have a blast. You could play with friends. You could play with random people from all over the world. You could even play custom maps and scenarios.

It was perfect, and I honestly never thought the sun would ever set on a company that could make such awesome games.

But the sun has set, and I fear that the first hint of dusk arrived with World of Warcraft.

Now, you might be wondering why I blame World of Warcraft. After all, most people would agree that the original World of Warcraft and the early expansions were amazing. However, they represented a fundamental shift in the culture of the company.

Prior to World of Warcraft, gamers were customers. Blizzard would make a game, gamers would buy it, and the game would be supported by patches and further content for a while before Blizzard eventually turned it over to the community (see e.g., the way Broodwar grew into an eSport). More importantly, the game had to be good. Otherwise, nobody would buy it. And once they’d finished the game, they had to be able to make more good games. They could not afford to rest on their laurels.

WoW was different. In WoW, Blizzard finally had the ultimate money-making machine. Rather than charge a one-off payment, they could charge a subscription. They had a game that could make money forever. And the best part? It didn’t matter if the game got crappy. Once people had put enough time and money into it, they’d be reluctant to leave. After all, they’d already sunk hundreds of dollars into it and put hundreds of hours into it too. Leaving would mean they’d wasted all that time and money, and, hey, if the current patch or expansion sucked, there’d always be another one right?

It’s not a surprise that this shift got even worse when Activision arrived.

And things did suck. Little by little WoW became less about the spirit of adventure and heroism and more about how best to extract money out of the players. The in-game shop became more and more prominent, and the game became more and more grindy and repetitive. Endgame content became the only content that mattered. 

It speaks to the dearth of competition that WoW flourished for so long despite the rot that had set in. I don’t think it’s a coincidence, though, that Final Fantasy XIV has seen an influx of what some people are calling ‘WoW refugees’. The difference in how the development teams approach their respective games is massive, and the difference in design philosophy becomes clear very quickly.

Some people believe that Blizzard can recover from this. Perhaps they can. Companies have survived worse scandals. But in terms of the ability to develop good games, I think Blizzard has been dead for years now. People say that it’s all Activision’s fault that Blizzard is still good. I would reply that there is no Blizzard anymore. It’s all Activision now, and it has been for a while.

Look at WoW. Look at how the most recent expansions have been received. Look at the absolutely shambolic state of the storyline and gameplay. Look at how members of Blizzard have publicly attacked people for daring to critique the game. 

Now ask yourself, when was the last time that Blizzard released a game that was truly excellent? When was the last time Blizzard released a game that blew all of its competition out of the water and set the world on fire? It used to be that when Blizzard went to war, their victory was already a foregone conclusion. That’s not true anymore. That hasn’t been true since the golden age I mentioned. Blizzard is haemorrhaging players, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. If anything, it’s accelerating.

Do you know that feeling you get when you haven’t met an old friend for a long time and you run into them on the street and they just look so different? That’s how I feel about Blizzard. It’s like they were a straight A student with a bright future ahead of them, and then I see them on the news committing armed robbery on a convenience store.

#musings #personal #video games #blizzard

[harderbetterfasterstarker]

2. For the first time in a decade, Tony has a sex tape leak. This one was filmed without his knowledge. As awful as it is having a non-consensual sex tape of oneself go viral, Tony never really cared whether the internet saw the full monty before—until now. This time he definitely cares. Because this time, the guy in the video with Tony—well, he looks undeniably like Tony’s 18-yo mentee. How do people react? What does the media do with the story? And most importantly, how does Peter react?

ahhh this was such a good prompt and it instantly caught my attention and inspired me!! sorry it’s a little longer than I initially planned for just random prompt fills but I had a lot of feelings~

tags: starker, mature, angst with a happy ending

The image quality is a little blurry, not quite in focus, but the bodies are clear enough, Tony’s fucking face clear enough as he stares at the man above him, runs his hands over toned skin and down to grip at the man’s ass, pull him to sink down onto him. The audio quality is great, though, picks up the man’s breathy sigh and the groan that gets punched out of Tony as he bottoms out, the slap of skin on skin as the man starts riding him, thin, lithe body twisting and grinding, the sound of Tony murmuring “that’s it, kid, yeah, just like that”, the little sigh the man makes when Tony reaches up to run a hand through chestnut curls and tug, and—

The video pauses, Tony pulling the man’s head back, exposing his undeniably younger face, toned body arching over Tony’s more solid one, the moment frozen in time as Pepper’s picture appears over the holoscreen image.

Tony picks up even though he doesn’t want to, wincing in anticipation.

“At least tell me he’s legal, Tony.”

She sounds more angry than he’d expected, though if she thinks she has to ask whether the man was legal Tony supposes it’s a reasonable anger.

“Christ, Pep, no—I mean—fuck, of course he’s legal.”

He hears her exhale of relief.

“You couldn’t have given PR even the slightest heads up? I know it’s been awhile, but you used to have a protocol for this, Tony.”

Tony winces—at the reprimand, at the reminder of a past when he’d had so many escapades that he’d tell some poor sap in the marketing department when he’d let someone film or take pictures of him in bed so they could be prepared for damage control, at the reminder that that protocol had fallen by the wayside long ago, when he’d first gotten together with Pepper (he hoped the poor marketing sap still had a job, just a better one), and, even worse, at the reminder that despite that, here he was back again, in his fifties with a sex tape leak.

“I didn’t know.” His voice is barely a croak, but he knows that Pepper hears him, even if she follows it up by repeating him incredulously.

“You didn’t know? You—Tony Stark—didn’t realize you were being filmed? What the hell happened, Tony? You used to be careful about this.”

“I know, Pepper, I—” he trails off, instinctively turning for where the bar used to be and then clenching his fist when he’s reminded of the fact he hasn’t had a drink in years. He takes a deep breath, hopes it’ll steady him, tries not to be disappointed when it doesn’t. “How bad did I fuck up, Pep?”

He hears her sigh, hears the shift in her from Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries, to Pepper Potts, his ex-wife, one of his best friends, in spite of it all.

“With the company? It won’t be too bad. We’re past the days when the stock rose and fell on your latest news story, and you’ve got a long track record of being able to perform no matter how much of a shitshow your personal life is. With the media? Not great—you know how they love a breakdown story, and you didn’t do yourself any favors with how young he looks. But it’ll pass as soon as the next scandal comes along, probably sometime in the next forty-eight hours.”

Tony waits for the tightness in his chest to release somewhat, but it doesn’t.

Pepper hesitates and he thinks she’s going to hang up, but then she says, “With… him?” And Tony freezes, because he knows who she means, and it’s not the man in the video, and he hadn’t thought she’d know, hadn’t thought anyone knew, that was kind of the whole point of the man in the video, but he supposes that it’s not subtle to anyone who really knows him, not after this leak at least. “I… I don’t know, Tony. I really don’t know.”

The tightness in his chest is now a death grip, and he chokes out a “Thanks, Pep,” before he hangs up the call with a swipe of his hand and collapses back against his worktable. He finds his way over to a back corner, where his old car collection still sits, desperate to get his hands in the guts of his ’32 Ford Flathead Roadster, something old and finicky that he can get lost in for days, until all of this blows over and he can work on getting his life set back to rights. He’s only barely gotten his hands on the engine when he hears the sound of the doors to the lab opening and closing behind someone. He drops the wrench, which lands on a piece of the engine with an accusing clang, because the list of people with automatic access to his lab is short and—at this particular moment—terrifying.

He turns around with his heart already halfway in his throat, because those footsteps are familiar, and he’s greeted by the sight of the one person he’d been most hoping not to see right now. Peter Parker is standing in his lab, at 2 in the morning, peeling off the Spider-Man suit because of course the kid webbed over here, and—fuck, with dark circles and eyes red at the corners as if he’s been crying, and he looks nearly as bad as Tony must look. Tony tries to speak—he does, he really does—tries to say something comforting, or mentor-like, or even just honest, but it catches in his throat and twists and boils and all that comes out is a fucking joke.

“Come to deliver my mentor of the year award?”

Peter makes a strangled noise, and Tony flinches at just how abysmally he’s managed to handle this.

“Fuck, kid, I’m sorry—” he starts, but Peter makes a high-pitched noise that’s somewhere between a laugh and a sob and Tony suddenly wishes he had the wrench back in his hand, because hitting himself with it as hard as he could would have been less painful than hearing Peter make that sound.

“You—y’ called him kid.”

Guilt rips through Tony so fiercely that he actually staggers back to lean against the car, quietly cursing. “Fuck, Peter, I’m sorry, he—I promise, he wasn’t a kid, he was young but he was an adult, he was a consenting adult who was free to do what he wanted, I—”

“And I’m not?” Peter’s cut him off, voice suddenly raised, and in it Tony can hear anger and pain and he it looks like Peter’s fighting back tears, and Tony wants desperately to know what to do, but all he says is “what?”, dumbly confused.

“He—so he’s young but he can be an adult and make his own choices but I’m just a kid, —‘m always just some kid,” Peter says, but Tony finally notices that Peter’s slurring his words slightly, and when he’s done talking he tries to take an angry step towards Tony but ends up swaying, needs to reach out and grab onto a workstation.

“Peter, are you… drunk?” Tony doesn’t bother to conceal the horror in his voice, not because Peter’s drinking—because sure he’s not 21, but no one waits until they’re 21 to start drinking, and Peter deserves as much normalcy as he can possibly get—but because this is Tony’s fault, he’s not drinking for fun with his friends, but Tony’s somehow driven Peter to get drunk, to drown himself in alcohol, and fuck he’s making all of the mistakes he’d never wanted to.

“So what if I am?” Peter says, “ ’s not like you care.”

“Christ, Pete, of course I—I always care, but—shit, how much did you even drink to get drunk, with your metabolism?”

Peter shrugs. “Dunno. Stopped counting. Doesn’t last long, anyway, but I just needed to—just needed to be drunk to come here and say—and say—” Peter slumps forward, as if all of the anger has been drained out of him.

Tony takes a tentative step forward, afraid that Peter’s drinking is actually catching up, suddenly terrified of what could be happening.

“Say what, Peter?” Tony asks gently, taking another step forward, but then Peter looks up and there are tears on his face.

“I don’t—I don’t know, I just—I don’t know if I can do this anymore, Mr. Stark.”

Tony’s stomach drops, to the floor, through the floor, through the center of the goddamn earth, because he has apparently messed this one up badly, terribly badly, and Tony would trade every dollar he has to make this up to Peter, but that’s not how this works, and he wishes he could say the right thing, but he’s Tony Stark, and so even though as he takes a step towards Peter he realizes his own hands are shaking, all that he can say is, “Peter? Pete?”

Peter doesn’t seem to notice or care about his slow approach, just wipes at his eyes with the back of his hands and keeps talking.

“It’s stupid, but I just… I saw it and I told myself not to watch it, but then of course I did, because I’m stupid, and then I got jealous, and that felt even stupider so I started trying to get drunk, and it didn’t really work and all it did was make me realize that I—I mean, the way things were was fine, I could tell myself at first that you had Pepper, and then after that that you didn’t like men like that, or that you would never look at someone as young as me like that, but then there was that guy and—I just—I guess it’s just that’s that it’s me, that’s what I realized, that it’s not my age or my gender, it’s just me that you’ll never see that way, and it’s one thing to be half in love with someone and spend all your time with them when you know you can’t ever have them, and it’s another thing to—to—it just feels like rejection? Even though it’s not?”

Peter pauses to draw in a shaky breath, suppressing a sob, and Tony is aware that he’s trembling now. “Peter, Pete—what are you saying, Pete?” he whispers, mind stuck somewhere between overdrive and frozen, like a part that’s gotten jammed, trying desperately to whir through his thoughts but somehow just—stuck.

“I don’t—you’re right, Mr. Stark, I’m drunk, I’m not—I probably won’t quit in the morning or anything, I couldn’t—but I just—this was dumb, I should just—”

And Peter’s turning away, and heading for the lab doors, and Tony’s desperately trying to send the signals from his brain to his limbs to go after him, to take just one fucking step forward, but it’s not working, and all he can do is yell after him.

“Pete, wait, please!”

But Peter’s not stopping, just says, “It’s okay Mr. Stark, it was a mistake to come here, I’m really sorry, maybe we can just—pretend this didn’t happen, okay?”

And he’s almost at the door and Tony’s finally started to move, but not nearly fast enough, so he says, “FRIDAY, lock the doors!” And he knows his voice sounds a little throaty, a little desperate, but it works, because he hears the smooth click of the lab door sealing shut, sees Peter reach it and push uselessly before turning back around.

“C’mon Mr. Stark, seriously, I don’t wanna—just, please?”

“Pete—you were… jealous?”

And maybe it’s not the best place to start, but it’s the thing that Tony’s brain is stuck on, because it feels so laughable—that Peter could ever be jealous of someone who was only ever meant to be a cheap imitation of Peter. Peter just turns away, trying to hide his face again.

“Mr. Stark, I don’t wanna—I already said I was, I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Tony’s close enough to touch him now, rocks forward as if he might and then thinks better of it, his brain trying to catch up. “Pete, I—I just—god, we were both supposed to be smarter than this. I mean—you honestly think it was a coincidence he looked like that?”

At this, Peter starts to turn around, eyes wide with a mix of confusion and hope, but Tony just keeps going.

“You don’t think every time I called him kid it was because I was picturing you? Shit, I’m sorry, but—you don’t know how hard it was not to give in and call him Peter.”

“Mr. Stark, what are you—are you saying—”

“Stop me if I’m—if you don’t want—” Tony murmurs, closing the distance between them to lean close and press his lips against Peter’s, so gently, tentative, a question. There’s a long moment, and just when Tony’s starting to pull away, resigned to his error, Peter answers, leans forward and wraps a hand around the back of Tony’s neck, pulls him close and opens his mouth in a shuddering gasp, kisses Tony back like he wants to drown in it, and Tony meets him with everything he’s got, finally wraps a hand in those perfect curls, drinks in the soft gasps from Peter until he’s weak in the knees and has to pull away to draw in great gulps of air.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter whispers against his neck, where he’s pressed himself tight to Tony, wrapped in a hug like he’s as afraid of this moment dissipating as Tony is.

“Come to bed, Pete,” Tony says into the top of Peter’s head, feels him nod. And as FRIDAY unlocks the lab and they walk, intertwined, constantly touching, towards Tony’s bedroom, Tony’s mind is for once quiet, content in the knowledge that in a few minutes he can tuck Peter into bed beside him, for now just hold him while they sleep, and in the morning—everything will be better.

[earnestly-endlessly]

Can i request Cherik fic rec of collage au? Pretty please? Extra cookie points if it’s long fic

Thank you for the request anon! I am so sorry how late this is, but I hope that this list will give you plenty of new fics to read and enjoy!! 

College/University Cherik AU 

** Where they’re both college/university students**

A Road Trip to Pennsylvania – Aainiouu

Summary: For a year Charles has nurtured the biggest and most embarrassing crush known to man towards Erik. They are friends and roommates and when Erik asks Charles to accompany him to home on Thanksgiving of course Charles goes.

Of kittens and teacups and love – Ren

Summary: Modern AU in which Charles and Erik are flatmates. Charles studies psychology and likes tea and chess and keeps bringing home stray kittens, and Erik lets him because he's maybe perhaps a little bit sort of in love with him.

Love Medley – ikeracity

Summary: Charles and Erik have been friends and roommates for two years. They've also, coincidentally, been in love with each other for two years. Neither of them has ever had the courage to admit it to the other, but Erik's new friendship with Magda and an untimely accident forces them to confront their feelings once and for all.

it was a red scarf semester – ikeracity

Summary: When Erik makes a bet that he can get into Charles Xavier's pants before the semester ends, he doesn't expect Charles to resist quite so much. And he doesn't expect Charles to change everything he thought he knew about mutants, friendship, and love.

Can You Feel My Heart – FuryRed

Summary: Erik Lehnsherr hates Charles Xavier.It’s as true as the words written on the wall in the bathroom at the university that Erik attends. Erik sees them one day- accompanied by a crude drawing of Erik and Charles glaring at each other- and recognises the truth of the sentence, and smiles.

He hates Charles. Probably…

Enemies With Benefits – bettysofia

Summary: Casual sex with your sworn enemy gets tricky once feelings get involved.

CMUniverse - Pookaseraph

Summary: A series of fics that star Tony, Charles, and Erik (and probably some others as the idea expands) at Carnegie Mellon University. Some are AU of each other, don't use logic.

Math Reasons - pearl_o, pocky_slash

Summary: "Mom says Erik always knows what he wants, it just sometimes takes him a little while to actually realize it," Ruth said.

Charles fell in love with Erik the first night they met, the first week of freshman year. Two years of friendship, adventures, arguments, hijinks, secrets, and summer visits later, Erik is starting to catch up.

Still Life with Cookies – stlkrchck

Summary: It wasn't fair that he only wanted Erik to draw him when Erik wanted to listen to him talk about how unfair the lack of emphasis that tenure committees placed on teaching ability was and tuck him into the hat and scarf and mittens that he wore even though it wasn’t properly cold yet and kiss his gorgeous, ridiculously red mouth and make out with Charles on the bed that he'd apparently wedged between the window and "pipes of some sort, don't ask me why there are pipes in my room, Erik," in his tiny dorm room.

Or: Charles is a nude model, and Erik is an art student.

The Pretender – Clocks

Summary: Charles is sick of having his best friend Erik drop to one knee and fake-propose to him in restaurants, just to score a free dessert. He doesn’t know which is worse: the complete embarrassment, or the likelihood that Erik doesn’t mean a word of it.

That time the System didn’t work – bluexlily

Summary: "pick each other up from bad dates" au

They had stablished The System a long, long time ago.

Since they became each other’s roommate, actually, and realized that they had more in common than their home state and decided they should be friends.

Whenever he or Charles is on a date, they send a first message after meeting the prospected boyfriend.

Accidentally Welcome to the Rest of Your Lives - Kianspo

Summary: Non-powered college AU. Erik and Charles have nothing in common until they end up having sex at someone's party. They don't have much in common after that, either, but find each other a hard habit to quit.

A Study in Advanced Lecherism - orphan_account

Summary: Charles has this thing he does when he's drunk. He gets completely lecherous. For some reason, that really pisses Erik off. Who knew?

Learning Curve – pocky_slash

Summary: (Non-powered college AU) Erik takes a trip back to campus to visit a despondent Charles and does his best to offer comfort.

Charles Does Not Buy a Shamwow - Madneto

Summary: Charles and Erik are spending the first few days of their university's winter break alone at Erik's mother's house. Then, Erik's mother decides to come home early unannounced... while Erik and Charles are naked on the living room couch.

5 Times Charles Had Nothing to Say and 1 Time He Did – BadLuckBlueEyes

Summary: Charles Xavier usually has a lot to say. But sometimes he doesn't and that's nice too. (Written for the prompt: Erik befriending and falling in love with mute!Charles)

Five Useful Signs When Dating Charles Xavier (a down under remix) – letosatie

Summary: Erik meets a fascinating mute boy and rapidly discovers sign language is useful.

Home Together (The Finding Our Way Remix) – significantowl

Summary: Erik is not the sort of person other students strike up conversations with. His expression, his posture, every part of his manner say: Don’t talk to me. I don’t want to talk to you. But none of that stops the boy ahead of him in line with the collapsible white cane, and nothing can stop Erik from falling for him, like it or not.

The Wall (a.k.a.  Erik Lensherr) – fkbunnyclub

Summary: Charles doesn't really want to have a crush on the cute stoic senior who keeps dropping by the library where he works who also has a pregnant girlfriend. Or so he thinks.

Building a fire – dedkake

Summary: Erik wishes he were in law school instead of med school, because then he would be researching the legal remedies for the doubtless thousands of violations his apartment building's slumlord owner, Sebastian Shaw, has perpetrated on his tenants.

On the bright side, maybe he can finally coax his bizarrely oblivious roommate, Charles into sharing his bed, or curling up together on the couch under many blankets. Purely for surviving the night, of course.

April Showers – ikeracity

Summary: Walking home in the dark in a rainstorm is not Charles' idea of a pleasant night. Of course, the stranger with the umbrella who offers to walk him home makes the experience infinitely more agreeable.

Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei – Darksknight

Summary: “My mother has expressed that if I come dateless, I will be assigned one, to put it lightly. So, you see... well, I have a favor to ask. Erik, darling. Will you be my pretend boyfriend?"

Erik thinks it over for a second. "... No."

Mutant House at Dead Kings College – mabyn

Summary: When it comes to romance, Charles has terrible timing.

Best of Enemies – Black_Betty

Summary: Student and mutant rights activist Erik Lehnsherr is furious when the college newspaper chooses to interview his opponent Charles Xavier instead of him.

He's mad because of the politics of the thing. It nothing to do with how hot Charles looks in the picture accompanying the article.

Seriously.

The Luck You’re Born With – Lynds

Summary: College AU. Erik thinks Charles Xavier is an arrogant, rich brat, whose only redeeming quality is his intellect. Charles never disputes this image. Then through an accident Erik finds out that Charles has been long cut off from his family and is essentially a single parent to a ten-year-old Raven.

Like Roses and Wine – Schwoozie

Summary: Charles is not what you would call a “sports person” - but the promise of free kisses after the game, especially with one Erik Lensherr playing midfield, is a temptation Charles can't resist.

Every Song I Know – Fengirl88

Summary: “Erik,” Janos says wearily, “you had amazing sex with this guy. He obviously really likes you. You have, what, a month, six weeks left? You can spend it moping and hiding and worrying you're going to run into him. Or you can call him, have a good time, and figure out where you go from there.”

Erik groans. It's what he wants to do, so much it scares him.

[or, the one where Erik and Charles meet and fall in love as exchange students, break up, and meet again by chance seven years later]

Argue me tender, argue me true – Wild_Imagination

Summary: “You’re having your bad-boy crisis with seven years of delay, Charles.”

“Why must he spit out those hateful, misanthropic, science-free, separatist ideas of his with a face like that!”

Charles and Erik attend the same college, and they never, ever agree on anything. But that's fine, because Charles can't stand him. No, really.

Simultaneity – TurtleTotem

Summary: Trying to deliver roses to his girlfriend, Erik knocks on the wrong door -- but Charles is so happy to get them, how can Erik possibly tell him the truth? Love, lies and exhaustion follow as Erik tries to keep boyfriend and girlfriend happy and, most importantly, unaware of each other!

**Where one of them is a college/university student**

in the moonlight, on a joy ride – scarlettblush

Summary: Librarian AU. Charles is the young librarian and Erik is the college student who is completely besotted with him.

Mutually Beneficial Transaction – Pookaseraph

Summary: In his sophomore year at Columbia University, Erik, feeling slowly strangled by his mounting college debt, places an add on a sugar daddies website. He doesn't know exactly what to expect from it, but when he's contacted by a man named Charles who seems less creepy than the other people who have responded to his profile, he decides to give it a shot. Charles is nothing like what he expected, and Erik finds himself slowly falling in love with his sugar daddy while trying to find out exactly what caused this amazing guy to buy his emotional and sexual intimacy when he clearly deserves so much more than that.

Authority kink – aesc, Subtilior

Summary: “You’re going to be in your room, on Skype with full video, when I call you tonight, at … nine o’clock sharp, your time.”

Tonight.

Erik, a proud and surly graduate student, keeps his deepest, darkest desires under tight control. Charles, his genetics professor, keeps handcuffs on his copy of the university handbook. You can see where this is going.

An Ideal Grace – afrocurl, nekosmuse

Summary: Erik Lehnsherr is a visiting professor at Columbia University, as well as an acclaimed and award winning poet. Charles Xavier is a lead researcher with the Genetics Department who is well on his way to tenure. But what happens when Charles has to cancel a class because half his students abandon him in favour of a mysterious new English Lit professor? Naturally he ends up sitting in in the class, where Professor Lehnsherr mistakes him for a student. It's really too bad Erik has such a strict policy against dating students. It's also too bad Erik doesn't seem to know how to use Google.

Note: This is not technically a university/college AU, but I’ll let it slide because it’s one of the best cherik fics out there and for the majority of the fic Charles is in Erik’s class (even though, unbeknownst to Erik, he’s a professor as well).

#cherik #cherik fic recs #fic recs #asks #earnestly answers

[snezfics-n-shit]

Whumptober Day 17: Dizzy

Fandom: Ace Attorney 

Characters: Klavier Gavin, Apollo Justice

Notes: Every so often, things that lost popularity back in the day end up returning and taking the world by storm once again. The Gavinners’ merchandise is no exception to that rule, but Klavier wishes anything else came back instead. 

     Klavier Gavin had questions. Correction: he had a lot of questions. Most of said questions were to be directed at the corporation holding rights to The Gavinners’ merchandise, and in a very disapproving tone at that. Why was he not informed of the band’s sudden burst of popularity years after having broken up? What even sparked this unexpected revival? Most importantly, why did this revival involve the re-release of probably the worst promotional product in the band’s history: the Guilty Love fragrance collection?

The fragrance collection was incredibly easy to recognize due to its selection of unique scents that seemed to be based on things that had no possible reference on Earth. It was like the manufacturers traveled to space and sniffed Neptune, or worse, Uranus and thought that made a fine scent for a cologne or perfume. Despite its distinguished qualities, Klavier didn’t even need to get a whiff of the scent to know just what was the most popular scent among the courtroom gallery. The moment he opened the door, he could feel his eyes burning. Wasn’t there some kind of policy against his fans watching his trials? There ought to be.

He had to put up with this for an hour, casually putting his hand on his face to pretend he was thinking when in reality he was hiding the fact his nose was running profusely. By the time the judge called for a recess, Klavier had no interest in getting a Guilty verdict for Jay Walker. He couldn’t even remember what the charges were. Around the halfway point of the trial’s first half, he gave up and just let Herr Forehead say whatever he wanted so this could be done and over with.

When Klavier finally left the courtroom, he couldn’t even enjoy the freedom as the excess fumes hovered over him in the halls. The worst part of the reaction was upon him, dizziness that made it hard to navigate the building. The first run of the fragrance collection was bad enough, but at least concerts could be scheduled at outdoor venues. Outdoor trials? Not exactly something that was done. He ran his hands against the walls to keep himself on his feet until he could find an escape.

The courthouse men’s restroom was a safe haven for him, thanks to gallery members being prohibited from entry. Once the room stopped spinning, he could comfortably stay there for the rest of the recess and maybe even find an excuse to leave early. He took a deep breath through his mouth, grabbed a paper towel, and let himself clear those awful chemicals from his system.

“Eehk’kcheuh!” That was a start. “Ih’kksssheuh! K’ktTCHEUH!” That last one echoed off the tiled walls. 

“I’ll just be a minute.”

Klavier heard a voice from behind the door. There was a hoarse quality to it, like how Apollo sounded after shouting too much in court, which was just about all the time now that Klavier thought about it. Maybe, if it was him, it might have been a bad idea to let him speak for about a half hour straight.

Klavier ran one of the sinks and splashed some water on his face. It wasn’t like he would be horribly embarrassed if someone saw him dripping as much as he was earlier, but he couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to see him like that for even a second. As a bonus, it looked like he was actually in the bathroom doing something other than standing around and breathing.

“Gavin?” Had Klavier still been watching the door, he would have recognized Apollo’s face as the defense attorney joined him at the sinks. 

“Deed sobethig, Herr Forehead?” Klavier turned away to blow his nose in a new paper towel. “Excuse me.”

“Are you feeling sick?” Apollo cleared his throat, sharing the quality of an old car Klavier heard occasionally in the prosecutors’ parking lot, just with less pleading to be put out of misery. “You don’t sound great.”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“Oh, nah.” Apollo shook his head. “Just from running my mouth at the trial today. That, and some kind of awful smell has been bugging my throat.”

Oh thank God, Klavier wasn’t the only person it bothered. Maybe if enough people were affected, he could finally petition for a recall like he wanted to years ago.

“I told them it was no good.” Klavier muttered to himself. “But to your question, nein. Some people with the rights to Gavinners merchandise decided to restock the old fragrance collection.”

“Because of that meme, right?”

“What meme?” 

Apollo dug in his pocket for his smartphone to show Klavier an image of Daryan stroking his unusual hairstyle, with captions that would make Klavier’s poor grandmother faint. 

“So,” Klavier lifted his arm to cover an oncoming sneeze, “Ei’kktchEUH! All this,” he gestured to his irritated eyes and nose, “because of a picture of Herr Amateur playing with his hair.”

“Yeah, I think it’s pretty stupid.” Apollo slid the phone back in his pocket. “So that’s what the smell was? What is it supposed to smell like? Some kind of flower?”

“When they pitched it to us, after the release might I add, they said it was based on ‘guilt.’” Klavier wasn’t sure if it was the lightheadedness or just him saying the pitch aloud, but what he just said sounded even more ridiculous than it did inside his head.

“‘Guilt?’” Apollo pressed a finger to his forehead, just as perplexed as Klavier was when he heard it. “The concept of guilt? Something intangible?”

“Ja.” Klavier nodded with a shrug. He gave up trying to understand the pitch after just a week post-launch.

“You know what?” Apollo sighed in resignation. “Why don’t we just ask the judge to call it a day?” He was going to be up all night trying to understand what guilt could smell like, wasn’t he?

“There is nothing I’d rather do right now. Just let the room stop spinning first.”

#whumptober #whumptober 2020 #sickfic whumptober alt #sneezing #snez #snz #sneeze kink #snez attorney

[beneaththetangles]

Otaku Reader’s Corner: One Piece, Cutie Shikimori, and a Detestable Demon Falls in Love

Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie, Vol. 1

Shikimori seems like the perfect girlfriend—cute, sweet, bashful. But Izumi knows that’s only half her personality. Like some moe Jekyll and Hyde, in moments where her boyfriend needs her most, she becomes a super cool and dashing young woman, and it’s especially that part of her personality that Izumi loves so much. Volume one of this fun series doesn’t just play around with this unique personality switching, it also introduces a really fun dynamic. Izumi is lovable but clumsy accident prone, and the sudden transformation of Shikimori into a suave, athletic girlfriend who comes to his rescue time and time and time again swaps traditional gender roles, with Izumi playing the “girl role” and Shikimori the “boy one.” While it’s a source of laughs, there’s a lot of sweetness there, making for a compelling and cute read. Just as importantly, the art style of mangaka Keigo Maki really stand outs, especially in how he places his characters within their surroundings. I found it far more artistic than the usual manga romance. All told, I’m excited to continue with the read, as it hits all the pleasantness of Komi Can’t Communicate, to which Kodansha is comparing it, while featuring a little more depth and greater creativity than that super popular like-minded series. ~ Twwk

Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie, Vol. 1 is available through Kodansha.

Why Shouldn’t a Detestable Demon Lord Fall in Love?! Vol. 1

Anima is the most powerful entity in the world, feared by commoners and demons alike—all flee before his mighty power, which presents a little problem since all he really wants is a wife and family! So how does one solve such a conundrum? How about a kind-hearted and beautiful maiden summoning him by her side to her own world! Sol Press’ release oozes lovey-doveyness even beyond what you’d expect from the above summary. When Anima arrives in a new land, he immediately falls head over heals for the lovely Luina and takes on the mantle of caregiver and “daddy” for his newfound family. It’s a bit heavy-handed, and I don’t mean the saccharine sweet tone, which is just fine—the conversations, however, are often inane and repetitive. Worse, Anima loses his personality after the first handful of pages and becomes quite a boring character. However, there is hope for the series. Despite how OP Anima is, there are hints of dread on the horizon, and though this sweet series may never go totally dark, there’s opportunity here for the author to earn the love he’s created between his leads through the deeds of the story’s villain and the mechanics of summoning and magic. The best parts of volume one involve foreshadowing and world-building, so here’s hoping those strong elements continue to develop in future volumes. ~ Twwk

Why Shouldn’t a Destestable Demon Lord Fall in Love?! Vol. 1 is available through Sol Press.

Unnamed Memory, Volume 1

Billing itself as “an epic fairy tale,” this new light novel from Yen Press surprised me. It felt unexpectedly reminiscent of western fantasy (as opposed to the sorts of fantasy stories more common to anime and light novels). I can’t quite put my finger on why I get this vibe, but it’s there, and I enjoyed it. Perhaps the capriciousness and danger of the story’s fantastical elements evoke western fairy tales. As the story opens, Prince Oscar, cursed by a witch to be unable to continue the royal line, seeks a boon from the world’s strongest witch, Tinasha. When she can’t break the curse, Oscar sets his sights on marrying her, which would effectively circumvent the curse. I’m tempted to call this a fantasy-romance-mystery story, since secrets and intrigue abound. There seem to be multiple, separate antagonists or factions at work, and there are also indications that time travel is involved. Besides hinting at various mysteries, this volume serves to introduce the the romantic leads, Oscar and Tinasha. The two are quite stubborn and have some good rapport…but they also might totally kill each other. I look forward to the next volume. ~ Jeskai Angel

Unnamed Memory is available through Yen Press.

One Piece, Vol. 1

So, recently I decided to do something ridiculous. I told my Twitter followers that if I was able to get my follower count back above 3,000 I would start reading the One Piece manga. It’s a huge fandom and one of the biggest manga series in the world. It took my followers less than 3 hours to get me back above that threshold. So, true to my word – I started reading it. So, at the time I wrote this I am finishing up the first volume’s worth of chapters. My thoughts so far? I’m really enjoying it. The story kicks off with kid Luffy and introduces you very quickly into the entire world setting Oda has created. From the widespread piracy to the corrupt government to the magic fruit that gives Luffy his stretchy powers, it’s all explained in those first few chapters. I’ve read a lot of short lived manga series that gave us an oversized first chapter that tried aggressively to shove the reader into the plot and world setting too quickly. One Piece brings us into the world masterfully without any of it feeling forced. Instead, I felt immersed in the new characters as they were introduced and enamored by Luffy. I think I’m going to like this series, so feel free to follow me on my journey. ~ MDMRN

One Piece can be read at Shonen Jump or purchased through Viz.

Harem Royale ~When the game ends~, Volume 1

From the creator of Higurashi and Umineko comes a manga with quite the twisted concept. Asunaro is a high school boy who fantasizes about having a harem but has no desire to try to get a girlfriend in reality. When he releases a demon from a sealed bottle, though, said demon decides to “grant his wish for a harem life”… by dragging the girls he fantasizes about into a deadly game of seduction. A number of girls must compete in various tasks to appeal to Asunaro, with the goal to be the one girl he chooses at the end, and any girl that fails will be subjected to being repeatedly killed in Hell. It’s an absolutely vile setup designed specifically for grief and suffering, which is why I’m glad the story at least focuses more on the efforts of four girls not to try to destroy each other or indulge in the whole “harem” romancing thing, but instead how they can try to work around the rules of the game so all of them can survive, while watching out for outside forces trying to sabotage them. As such, it reads less like a sleazy harem story and more like a thriller with mind games and strategizing. With Asunaro himself out of the loop that this death game is happening, though, it does mean that he has no real characterization worth speaking of, and the girls also don’t have much characterization beyond how they are trying to survive the game. Overall, it’s not my type of story so I probably won’t read any more of it, but if “harem death game” with a focus on mutual survival sounds good to you, this should serve fine. (Content warning: there’s a few depictions of detailed upper-body nudity.)  ~ stardf29

Harem Royale, Vol. 1 is available from Sol Press.

Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts with a Village, Volume 1

The latest reincarnation isekai light novel centered around using modern knowledge to improve lives, Fushi no Kami is a solid entry for those who like that kind of story. The premise might be very familiar, but the execution works well on many fronts. For example, the protagonist Ash not only has to learn how to read the language of the world he’s now in, but also gets to put some linguistic knowledge to use in order to try to decipher ancient languages. Likewise, the story goes fairly in-depth with what sorts of developments are needed to improve life and how to actually execute said developments. However, it is with the characters themselves where the story particularly shines; the narration not only gets into Ash’s head and his thoughts about everything but also switches viewpoints frequently to those of other characters, which helps with understanding and developing all of them as they start to grow to accommodate Ash’s newfound passions. The only downside is that, for as bright as Ash can be with improving the quality of life, he’s rather dense when it comes to romance. Overall, this is a nice, more down-to-earth isekai story that I certainly would like to read more of. ~ stardf29

Fushi no Kami, Vol. 1 is available from J-Novel Club.

Shirahime-Syo

Shirahime-Syo is a single volume series from CLAMP filled with tales of romance and loss in the winter. Interconnected through each of the stories is that the winter itself is living component of the story as the Snow Goddess. Each of the 5 chapters of this single volume set is in ancient Japan during blistering wintery conditions and tell about different tales of love. Some of the stories are tragic, while others are more bittersweet. CLAMP’s art style in this set of folktale style stories were completed with a brush and ink. This gave the art a more traditional flair than more modern pen inking. This was, apparently, done as a cost and time cutting measure; however, the choice to complete the art with a brush and ink helped fit into the setting very well. It entirely felt like you were being told some traditional folktales and I really enjoyed it.  ~ MDMRN

Shirahime-Syo is available through Viz.

Keito Koume Illustrations Spice & Wolf: The Tenth Year Calvados

One of the attractions of both manga and light novels is the illustrations—even in the age of video, still images can remain compelling, especially when masterfully drawn. Keito Koume is certainly a master, and has been the mangaka for the Spice & Wolf manga adaptation for the last 10+ years. To celebrate the decade of his work, a lovely artbook featuring many of the manga’s illustrations, as well original pieces and those from other materials, has been released. The work also has a lovely monochrome illustrations section, a new short comic, and a thumbnail gallery of all the illustrations, including references and Koume’s own commentary. The Tenth Year Calvados is a must-have collector’s item for fans of this classic franchise, and worth checking out even for those who aren’t. Though a bit of warning: Just as with the other platforms, this artbook features heavy doses of a mostly and occasionally fully nude wise wolf. ~ Twwk

Keito Koume Illustrations Spice & Wolf: The Tenth Year Calvados is available through Yen Press. Watch our video review of this artbook on YouTube.

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Thank you to Kodansha, Sol Press, and Yen Press for providing review copies for some of the materials reviewed above. 

#Manga #Light Novels #Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie #Why Shouldn’t a Detestable Demon Lord Fall in Love #Unnamed Memory #One Piece #Harem Royale ~When the game ends~ #Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts with a Village #Keito Koume Illustrations Spice & Wolf: The Tenth Year Calvados #Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori san #Kiraware Maou ga Botsuraku Reijou to Koi ni Ochite Nani ga Warui! #Renai Harem Game Shuuryou no Oshirase ga Kuru Koro ni #Fushi no Kami: Henkyou kara Hajimeru Bunmei Saiseiki #Shirahimeshou #Keito Koume Illustrations Ookami to Koushinryou: The Tenth Year Calvados #Otaku Reader's Corner #Articles #Author: TWWK #Author: Jeskai Angel #Author: MDMRN #Author: stardf29

[cosmonaughty]

I recently re-watched Season 1 of Fargo FX and, as is the case with every great show or movie, there were things I noticed that I had missed in earlier viewings. A few of these had to do with the portrayal of hospitals in film, which is another small obsession of mine, so I thought that I would take the time to combine these two interests and talk about the way that Fargo FX depicts hospitals. I will be mentioning the inaccuracies in this portrayal and the way that the liberties that are taken advance the plot and enhance the mood of certain scenes. By pointing out these inaccuracies, I am not trying to criticize the show or its writers, I’m just using my specific experiences to talk at length about something I love.

(Also, this post will contain big ol’ spoilers for Season 1 of Fargo FX, so go watch it if you haven’t yet and then come back.)

There are a few scenes that I wanted to discuss here, and I will bring them up chronologically. In episode 5, Lester is rushed to the hospital in an ambulance with what appears to be sepsis resulting from a shotgun pellet lodged in his hand. In the following episode, he sneaks out of the hospital to frame his brother for his wife’s murder. He does this by switching beds with his roommate, whose face is bandaged. As far as accuracy goes, it pretty much goes without saying that this concept is pretty farfetched, but I’ll run down the issues here anyway.

It’s never really clear to me what injuries require intensive care in this show (more on that later), but I will say that Lester recovers from sepsis in what must be record time. When I had more or less the same thing, my body essentially held down its own power button and restarted everything. I was in the ICU for multiple days, though I’m not sure how many because I wasn’t lucid the entire time, and I was pumped full of fluids and antibiotics, as well as hooked up to multiple tubes and wires.

Lester, however, is in excellent condition pretty much as soon as the source of his infection is removed, despite having been delirious, vomiting, sweating, shivering, and all that other fun stuff only the night before. His room seems to be on the general ward and the only thing hooked up to him is an IV, which appears to be dispensing saline and nothing else.

He is also under the care of what may be the least competent nurse I’ve ever seen in any show. Nurse Farber comes in to transport Lester’s roommate to radiology, but if she had checked his bracelet, she would have realized she was transporting the wrong patient. She also moves the entire hospital bed, rather than moving the patient to a gurney or a wheelchair, as has been my experience in the past (those beds are portable, but they’re very heavy and unwieldy).

However, these aren’t “mistakes”. They are deliberate choices that serve to move the plot along. We can’t put the story on hold so that Lester has a couple of weeks to recover and gain his strength back, so that process needs to be hurried along for the sake of the plot. If the nurse had checked his bracelet, his plan would have been foiled and, again, the plot would not be able to progress. If she had moved him to a wheelchair or gurney, he wouldn’t have been able to smuggle a change of clothes with him. So, these choices don’t arise from the writers’ ignorance of hospital procedure, they just need to bend some aspects of reality to advance the plot.

I would also like to point out some things this scene gets right about the hospital (based on my experience).

This room layout is pretty accurate. I like the little details like the plastic cup + bendy straw that everyone always has on their bedside table (even if you can lift a cup to your mouth, a bendy straw is required. It’s like an unwritten rule). I like the detail that the windows don’t open and I really appreciate that they didn’t have Lester pull out his IV like every renegade tv character seems to do. Instead, he simply disconnects the port from the tube so that he can move around, which I’m sure is more difficult than he makes it look but it’s leaps and bounds better than the old rip-em-out technique that I seem to see all the time.

I also like that the nurse uses the pain scale, which is pretty standard but I get a kick out of it. And, believe it or not, I have actually been deposited in the hall and left alone by nurses while waiting for imaging, which is how Lester manages to escape in the first place. Personally, I’ve never made it out the front door, but I haven’t tried that hard.

 Now that we’ve talked about how the writers take liberties to advance the plot, let’s look at how similar inaccuracies can be used enhance the mood of a scene. If you want to see me get emotional (you sadist), get me talking about episode 7. In this episode, Molly, having been hospitalized after an emergency splenectomy, makes a trip from her room on the general ward to question Mr. Wrench, who is in custody in the ICU after having been shot twice by her (it’s not clear where he was shot, but he indicates his upper right chest, so somewhere in that area). He uses a white board to ask about his partner (Mr. Numbers) and Molly confirms that he is dead. She makes an attempt to connect with him and asks for his help in finding Lorne Malvo, but he shuts her out by refusing to look at her and she leaves. Later, in episode 8, Malvo shows up to taunt Wrench about having killed his partner, as well as to commend him for coming closer to killing him than anyone else had in the past. He gives Wrench the handcuff key and leaves.

Like I said earlier, it’s not clear what requires intensive care in this show, since Mr. Wrench doesn’t appear to be any worse off physically than Molly is (or than Lester was earlier). He does have more stuff attached to him, which is…good(?), but let’s talk about this ICU room:

This looks nothing like any ICU room I’ve ever stayed in. For one thing, in my experience the bed has always been facing the door, not inward to the rest of the room. I assume this is to make it easier to provide emergency care, which is the function of just about everything in the ICU. For this same reason, there’s very little privacy; the doors are usually clear glass and people come in and out all the time (nobody checks on patients in this show).

As I mentioned above, he has more “gear” (no, that’s not the correct term, but just be glad I didn’t call it “swag”) than either Molly or Lester, but far less than I would expect to see. There are maybe two bags on that IV pole, so probably saline and morphine (no blood/plasma/antibiotics/other medications). He’s got a heart monitor and a pulse oximeter, but no oxygen or bp monitor. Whether I like it or not, I’m always given oxygen in the ICU (which I tend to remove as soon as possible, apologies to my nurses) and if he was shot in the chest, he might actually need it. I’m also not convinced that heart monitor is working, since it doesn’t fluctuate at all when Malvo shows up in episode 8. ALSO: that bed rail should be up; I don’t care if he is handcuffed in place, that looks like a fall risk to me. Who is running this place?

(I’m also kinda jealous, because I’ve never been in an ICU room with this much natural light.)

 As I mentioned before, there is specific intent behind these omissions and changes.  For one thing, if there were several different machines and wires and lines and the like, the shot would be really busy and it would be distracting, both visually and auditorily, as hospital equipment tends to beep and beep and beep and beep.

Additionally, the shots are very clean, which effectively communicates a sterile environment to the audience; the natural light from the window compliments the Season 1 aesthetic really well and it also contributes somewhat to the coldness of the scenes in this room.

Speaking of which, this is as good a time as ever to bring up something I only consciously noticed very recently. Let’s go back to episode 7 and take a look at the difference between his room and Molly’s.

It’s very subtle, but the light above her bed is a warmer tone; her bedding is also comprised of warmer, lighter tones. Additionally, there’s some framed artwork on the wall, and most importantly she is surrounded by people (and flowers) in every shot.

Even in reverse shots of her, the frame contains color and warm tones. Contrast this with a similar OTS shot of Wrench in his hospital room. The temperature of the scene is a lot colder and the frame surrounding him is empty, which is excellent shorthand to communicate loneliness and alienation.

His room also has some kind of mesh over the window, the practical purpose of which (if there is one) eludes me. As I mentioned earlier, hospital windows don’t open, something the writers are obviously aware of, and I’ve personally never been in a hospital room that had a grate or bars over the windows. Regardless of its practical purpose, this is another detail that contributes to the theme of isolation that is present in the design of these scenes. Being in the hospital can be a lonely, alienating experience, which is something I feel is communicated really well here.

These are subtle decisions that make a huge impact on the mood of the scene. I’m gonna be real with you right now, Mr. Wrench is my favorite character and this scene breaks my heart every time I see it. A good deal of that is owed to the quality of the show’s writing and the amazing talent of Russell Harvard and Allison Tolman, but it is always fun to see how my emotions are being relentlessly manipulated by the cinematographer as well. Good job, you guys.

 I want to conclude with a proposed alternative to the staging of that last scene.

As you can see here, this scene is set during the day, with daylight clearly visible from the window. However, imagine how the emotional intensity might be different if the scene was set at night.

In my experience, nighttime in the hospital can be the most difficult, emotionally speaking, and it’s something I’ve even come to dread as a patient. For the most part, visitors have to go home, the room is dark but the lights are on in the hall and the nurses’ station. You can’t sleep because you’re uncomfortable and people keep coming in to take vitals and blood, and overall it’s very lonely.

So, imagine this scene exactly as it is played out in Season 1, but now instead of a closed off room with daylight coming through the window, the lights in the room are dimmed, it’s night outside (maybe street lights are visible through the window, but not too much). There is a soft glow coming from the heart monitor. Molly is sitting beside the bed with her back to the open door rather than the window. In the background the lights are on in the hall, you can see hospital staff going about their routine in the background. His life is falling apart in this scene, but it’s business as usual for everyone else. Even Molly, as sympathetic as she is, is just doing her job here.

I’m not saying that this staging would have been better, but it would have had a different emotional intensity. I like to see how the environment of the hospital could be used to enhance the mood of a scene, rather than simply act as a back drop because hospitals are deeply personal places, but can be so alienating at the same time. That said, I think that the way they used the environment to impart that sense of loneliness was excellent, and I support the decision to omit certain specifics that might compromise the mood or the flow of the plot.

Oh, and, if you still haven’t done it: go watch Fargo FX.

#fargo fx #fargo season 1 #lester nygaard #lorne malvo #mr wrench #molly solverson

[scissoria]

Labyrinth Fanfic-Sarah’s Realization

"Sarah!" Jareth had reached her easily.  After all, one step from him was about three steps for her, but seeing as Sarah had rushed forward with anger expecting to be "decently" farther away, it did not make her one bit happy that he had no problem  reaching her. She crossed her arms.    Now Jareth was trying to read her face. His expression was solemn, but she knew he was analyzing her because his green and brown irises were tracing her face. As a result, Sarah tried her very best to control her facial gestures, putting on her own solemn mask and looking at his face the same way. But a part of her was afraid of what could be written on her face. Sarah hadn't perfected being able to remain stone-faced; actually, she was even more afraid of never being able to control her nervous gestures. They made her feel like she was reverting back into a child, and herself as a child had been the little girl who always seemed to say or do the wrong thing, the one who often felt a fool in comparison with everyone.     Damn, she thought.    Jareth stepped forward in her path, signaling with his palm up for her stop. Her brow wrinkled, but she stopped.    "Sarah, you are running away. This exhausts me, so just stay put now for a moment."    Sarah had had it. If she didn't want to listen, she didn't want to listen. How hard was it to understand! He couldn't make her!    Jareth himself was astonished at his words. These were words that he had kept quiet for a long time, and now he had thrown them out. But now that he had said something, he felt the impulse to say everything.    Sarah answered him," I am not forcing you to do anything. It is you... I, I have no power over anyone, except for myself." She gulped down her saliva, biting her lips but still standing firm. This was the truth, at least she wanted it to believe the second part, that she did have power over herself at the very least.    The goblin king shook his head, walking closer to Sarah. He had never look tenser in her presence. His chest rose up and down sharply, his eyes wide looking nowhere, his mouth dry and frowning.      "No Sarah, I have no power over myself, nor this kingdom nor anyone. I've dreaded to say this since the very start, but it is much, much worse to live in a lie." He breathed in, "Everything here just might be a product of your thoughts, desires. As soon as you finish playing with this thought created for your self-interest, we will all be gone. We will cease to exist."    What?    What was this he had revealed to her? A cold force was seeping through, and the surroundings disappeared, leaving only her thoughts.        He was afraid... of disappearing? But how, the goblin kingdom, this world, wasn't hers. It was his, wasn't it? She didn't understand. But...he was telling her she controlled it, not only that but that she had created it?! These words that seemed to come out of the blue, brought a strange atmosphere into the air. Sarah had never once thought about the Labyrinth having been created from her mind like a dream; as in; a figment of imagination. Because she had been there she had just taken it as real even if it could sometimes still appall her.    Now a new thought had formed: What if... she had created the labyrinth from her imagination? Or what...if it was all a dream...    No! No, this was not true! She knew it couldn't, it was too real, too fresh in her mind.    No, she knew she was spiraling out of reason, and railed herself back in. This wasn't true. If Sarah controlled the labyrinth then she would have gone through the labyrinth in less than a minute, or just dissolved it all. Her imagination could not create this world, it didn't matter how strong it was. Besides, she was a human being, not a God. This conversation didn't even make sense!     His random assumption had thrown her off balance from her thoughts. Now she was silently going over it when it held no actual logic, even if the labyrinth itself was unfathomable, she only believed what she had seen so far. Why was the goblin king thinking this? It didn't make any sense when he was the one who took her into the labyrinth, who used magic to place obstacles in front of her like the cleaners. He had tricked her with the help of his goblins as she had tried to save her brother. Why was he saying this now? Was it a trick? But to what purpose?     Images of the Labyrinth spun through her mind, as she remembered how her own realizations of the labyrinth had allowed her to cross through the labyrinth. For a moment Sarah decided to entertain his idea. She had taken everything for granted. The changing pathways had stopped her, but she had questioned it, and a path she hadn't seen was revealed to her. She had solved the two guard's riddle herself, and each time she changed her mind after getting frustrated, it seemed like everything became clearer, the pathways seemed to open up like they were following her mind.     Sarah's decision to grow brave for her brother, maybe it was she who allowed herself to find Toby and defeat King Jareth. Sarah had solved the labyrinth once she changed the way she was thinking, and learned that things were not as they seemed. In a heartbeat, everything could change as long as someone had the desire to make the effort, (she could change), and most importantly, what resonated with her heart and mind were the words she came to understand at the final moment against the goblin king:                                                                 you have no power over me    This realization hit her hard, and Sarah felt her body pull down in weakness. She stood back up firmly.    Could it be-She had controlled this world!    Maybe it wasn't a mysterious force of the labyrinth itself having tested her, but maybe she was the one who had created it, and changed it so that once she learned what she knew all along she would allow herself to cross through the labyrinth and find her brother!     Her eyes were wide, looking at the goblin king in front of her who was gazing at her running expressions. Was this true? Would they all disappear, her friends, the whole kingdom itself with just the power of her mind. No, Sarah couldn't possibly. Again, Sarah railed herself back in from her sudden frenzy. This far-fetched idea, (because that's what it must be?), was becoming scarier by the second, but a thought railed her back in. A memory flashed.     Sarah remembered an important detail of when she had reached the end of the labyrinth, and it was a special energy she felt at having uttered her words that gave her a feeling of power over herself. She had felt part of the world itself, as she became a different person from herself. The world around had broken up and Sarah had fallen back to her world, but she had felt protected by something, and it wasn't herself. It was something else, but Sarah could not understand it even now. Like the whole world there was alive, somehow...    Sarah shook her head, as the thought disintegrated, and her head began to hurt. But she knew: this world was not dependent on her. It thrived on itself, its mystery belonged to itself.     "Did you-do you, control the labyrinth?" She knew the answer, but she asked anyway, sitting down on a flat boulder.    Jareth was confused, not knowing where her train of thought had gone through her train of thought and where it was heading now.    "Why do you ask me that?" He leaned towards her.    "Tell me so that I can answer you."    He moved back,  teeth sneering evilly, and he brought his head back into a laugh.     "I used my magic and goblins to trick you back to the beginning. You were this close to falling into my spell, " He signaled to her with one hand, "But you resisted me at the very end of every test. "     The atmosphere turned to one of uncomfortable silence, as Jareth's voice faltered, and he appeared more bothered. He sat down on a boulder near her.     "No." He peered at her, " I can use my magic, my subjects to lead you away from a pathway but I cannot change the labyrinth itself."    He had stopped talking for a bit, and they were still for a minute before Jareth continued his speech, "I had thought that it controlled itself and that it changes depending on who enters it(if they dare.) Only the inhabitants of this kingdom, my subjects can find their way here, most of the time anyway, and myself of course, without the labyrinth changing up. But I don't need to cross through the labyrinth, as you yourself have seen from the very beginning, my powers allow me to cross this labyrinth swiftly, and without delay."        He was referring to his shape-shifting powers. King Jareth had also disappeared in the beginning when he had given her the rules of the labyrinth. Maybe he could also transport himself. How else would he have passed through the labyrinth to his castle so quickly? Sarah remembered that when he had thrown the crystal ball into the cleaner he had also mysteriously disappeared.    Her lips were filling up with numerous questions that were impatient to burst out, but she bit her mouth in caution.    "But you knew the way inside Sarah. Perhaps you don't realize yourself that you could."       ...    " What are you thinking about Sarah?  I see so many strange expressions on your face but I cannot understand with just those expressions, tell me. "    Sarah sighed as a drop of rain touched her forehead.    "No one will disappear from here. I don't have that power. You're the goblin king, so you are the leader here. I would never destroy this world, and I couldn't anyway. You must know this."    He was coming closer, eyes on hers,  and hers on his. Had he understood?    " I don't think you realize what is you have done." He turned away, and swiveled back again, now sneering again. Sarah had seen many multiple different sides of him; she hardly knew which was which.    "I said that your strength and imagination was an admirable quality, Sarah, but you should also know that they have resulted in the curse that only I suffer. No one..." He almost seemed choked up now, "No one in my kingdom or this world for that matter is suffering. Only me. Do you understand the reason?"    Jareth knew that there was no way Sarah could know why he was losing his head; his mind at least was his own, but his wrath was building up from being so long restrained. He was tired, tired of having questions, of being a pawn for the girl, of everything!    Sarah felt that he had fallen into his own bubble of thought. She was almost frightened as his sudden actions. He was speaking for himself, pacing around, and she could not keep up.    "No, of course not. You are Sarah, after all. You only appeared after all these years of wait. I was created, Sarah. I'm a shadow of a man," He scoffed mockingly, raising his hands in the air, "King of the Goblins! Hah! I have no true power here. I want...-!"    His eyes widened, before swiveling his face towards hers. A realization, but she didn't have enough information to know what it was.     " I must go now. " He made a sharp breath in but composed himself fairly quickly. Jareth picked up his staff lying on a few hairs of grass.     "You've flustered these thoughts, Sarah. We will no doubt cross paths again, but I am not sure that there will be no dire consequences next time." He stopped in front of her once more and hesitated. But he didn't say anymore and left.    She sat for a couple of minutes, feeling the wind pass by, and the sprinkling of the rain vanish before it even began.    ...    "Sarah! Sarah!"    "My lady,  where art thou?!"    "Sarahhhh! My friend,  my friend Saraaahhhh!"    It was Hoggle,  Sir Didymus, and Ludo. Sarah felt a tender feeling wrap itself around her heart. Her friends were worried about her, searching for her. She stood up immediately.    "I'm over here!" Sarah yelled, but her eyes looked to the side where Jareth had left.     When her friends arrived,  they expressed their eased worries,  and Ludo carried her back with the others to her world. Sarah's nerves relaxed, and she let her shoulders and feet fall down onto the ground before they took her away in Ludo's arms. They placed her onto her bed back home, lifting the warm covers over her body. They stayed for a bit, talking with her without knowing that Jareth had crossed paths with her, and she herself didn't say anything; she simply wanted to talk about normal things, well, normal as they could be with goblins.    Sarah waved goodbye to them when they left back into their world. Sarah was grateful, even though her mind melted back into a faraway place inside of her, and a faraway goblin king was also pondering in his own lost world. What was going through the goblin king's mind, why had he had said what he had said? More importantly, what was bothering him so much to point that he had gotten so frustrated?                                                                        "I don't think you realize what you've done."                                                                                                ...                                                                                                  ...                                                                                                                       

#labyrinth #labyrinthsarah #labyrinthjareth #jareth and sarah

[bagelpyjama19]

Apple Revenue Approach for Next Season

Apple is considered to be the most innovative business enterprise in the globe now. It is the company to which nearly all others search for direction. When Apple reveals an innovative new design language or launches a fresh product, it generates ripples throughout the market. Quickly, the entire industry is manufacturing items in Apple’s image. However to state Apple is merely a trend-setter undermines the business’s position as probably the figurehead of creativity in consumer technology. Apple isn’t simply setting technology tendencies; Apple’s vision models precedents and begins actions that allow the styles to exist in the first place. As great as it must feel to be Apple in this scenario - and as humbling since it must experience to be the many businesses copying Apple at every change - it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Most people can claw your way to the very best of a mountain, but there’s not a lot of stable ground up there. One incorrect step and your toppling back off the mountain, undoing years of the hard work needed to get up there. We do not want to discount Apple’s successes in 2018: Apple Pencil program for iPad was a good addition; iOS 12 has given new life to iPhones as aged as the 5S; Apple Watch Series 4 is literally conserving lives; and that’s simply a few highlights. Looking back again, though, 2018 was a pretty tough year for Apple as certain missteps finished up impacting the company’s important thing. Between Apple’s most questionable movements in 2018, there’s one I wanted to focus on for an essential purpose: Without second-generation iPhone SE in sight, it seems Apple has exited the spending budget flagship market. The fact is, I’ll consider it one step further: I am certain Apple would not be delivering any more budget iPhones, and here’s why. Apple’s product portfolio is usually varied. The company generates revenue from providers like iTunes and Apple Music to accessories like AirPods and the Magic Key pad, from home entertainment devices like Apple TV 4K to personal processing devices like the MacBook Pro. However product sales for the majority of these aren’t that impressive (though Apple’s profit margins absolutely are). It’s in fact the iPhone that accounts for the majority of Apple’s revenue. Since its debut in 2007, iPhone has pushed Apple’s earnings to such amazing heights that the business is just about the first trillion-dollar firm ever sold. With so much of Apple’s revenue riding on the game-changing gadget, you can wager there would be a significant drop in Apple’s revenue if people beginning buying less iPhones. And that is exactly what we are witnessing. Following a moderate fourth quarter, income for Q12019 - which, to be clear, is comprised of October, November, and December, encompassing the holiday shopping season - was lower than Apple originally expected. With the price of brand-new iPhones rising, revenue would’ve increased also if unit sales experienced only remained regular, but there have been fewer iPhone units sold during the period. The implication is normally that demand has waned, or it’s possible there wasn’t much demand for Apple’s expensive new iPhones to begin with. The initial hint of problems was in 2017, the entire year iPhone X premiered. At a starting cost 50 percent greater than the previous year’s baseline model, iPhone X unit product sales were reportedly flat although Apple’s income increased. Just how? Because even though Apple sold roughly the same number of units as the year before, the average cost of an iPhone had elevated. When you sell the same quantity of products but mark up the price, you still see a bump in product sales. Of course, it’s not only the iPhone that is gotten more expensive. Apple has elevated selling prices across virtually all of the enterprise’s stock portfolio. But with the iPhone driving profits, the implication can be this: Whenever iPhone product sales continue to be smooth or start to fall, Apple will need to keep raising the price of the iPhone each year to maintain year-over-year income gains. As you can plainly see, it’s not really a coincidence Apple has decided to stop reporting iPhone unit sales publicly. Also if 2017 was an outlier, the release of new iPhones in the fall is meant to give Apple a go of revenue adrenaline in the ultimate stretch out, enabling for a strong finish as the company crosses the fiscal finish line. But for the second calendar year in a row, that did not come up. Doesn’t it appear plausible, if not likely, that increasing the costs for fresh iPhones has led to lower demand? About a week ago, Apple CEO delivered a document to shareholders. You can read the letter for yourself on Apple’s website, but it warns investors that Apple’s 1Q2019 income will end up being $9 billion less than was originally projected. The letter mainly blames China’s industry for almost all the year-over-year iPhone income decline even while also indicating that individuals are still adapting to the extinction of carrier subsidies. In a recent interview Cook explained most of the same reasons to clarify lower-than-anticipated iPhone revenue. Besides slowed growth in developing marketplaces and having less subsidized prices through service providers, Cook suggested to iOS 12 and the $29 battery replacement plan seeing that having encouraged users to hold their current iPhones rather than looking for new ones. As you might remember, Apple started the battery alternative program in late 2017 in wish of hiding the smell of the battery hot debate, which had earned concerns of planned obsolescence. As outlined by Cook, many with older iPhones decided not to upgrade since they could get fresh batteries for inexpensive. This would remove the efficiency caps that Apple had imposed to them, repairing their iPhones with their former glory, specially when paired with iOS 12. In fact, Apple visited lengths to make sure that iOS 12 would make older iPhones faster, so Make is probably right in assuming the battery substitute program and iOS 12 factored into the weaker sales of 2018 iPhones. On the other hand, Cook declared that challenging trade relations between the US and China was ultimately the largest factor. China represents a ton of untapped sales prospect of Apple, so there’s most likely some truth compared to that, too. You can observe the full interview in the video below if you want to hear more of what Make must say about it. Meanwhile, critics and analysts have suggested poor iPhone sales certainly are a indication of market saturation; at this stage, most people who want an iPhone curently have one, and that’s a hard hurdle to overcome, specifically with customers stepping up less frequently. It is also truly feasible that Apple priced the 2018 iPhones out of the developing markets the business claims to be targeting. After all, if you reside in China and need it a new cell phone, will you buy an iPhone XS for $1,000 (¥6800) or even more, or are you going to get the most recent Vivo or Xiaomi Android mobile phone that’s manufactured locally and may do pretty much whatever iPhone XS can do at a portion of the price? Not surprisingly, Cook mainly sidestepped the topic of ballooning iPhone prices - a concern that we’ve noticed across most of Apple’s products for that matter - which has been one of the main criticisms of latest iPhones. Latest Price Increases Price increases for the iPhone used to end up being pretty rare. Actually, after carriers stopped providing subsidized prices on mobile phones, forcing us to start paying complete MSRP if we wanted to buy fresh iPhones, we could at least depend on a constant starting price from season to year. That starting price used to be $649. With the launch of iPhone 8 in 2017, it jumped to $699, a disappointing gain, but it wasn’t too surprising. It was only a $50 boost after generations of a constant price, so many people gave Apple a pass. And, also at the higher price, iPhone 8 seemed definitely inexpensive when compared to $999 price tag on the new iPhone X. However apparently, the price increase for iPhone 7 set a precedent because in 2018, the purchase price jumped again. Matching the increase from iPhone 7 to iPhone 8, the 2018 iPhone line-up started at $749 for iPhone XR. You would argue that iPhone XR is a much better device than iPhone 7 and justifies the extra $100, but value is subjective. Although some might say iPhone XR will probably be worth its $749 starting price, especially compared to Apple’s more high quality versions, many customers will fixate on how each new era of iPhone is more costly than the one before. And at this time, can you blame them? To create matters worse yet, as iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR were getting unveiled in stage during Apple’s fall 2018 event, iPhone SE was being discontinued. So not only are iPhones getting a lot more expensive, but Apple has now eliminated the only spending budget option we had. So if you’re looking to get a new iPhone in 2019, there’s not much choice anymore. Purchasers are effectively having to accept Apple’s higher beginning price in the lack of a true budget iPhone. Naturally, customers and critics as well are receiving more vocal in their calls for an iPhone SE successor. Significant Unexpected Value Apple revealed the iPhone SE , which stands for Particular Edition, in March 2016 in a special spring event. Both for customers and the industry most importantly, iPhone SE was a very un-Apple device for Apple to release. The iPhone 6 had just jumped in size and received a completely new design from the prior generation. Then iPhone SE was released, having a smaller, compact type with its design virtually indistinguishable from the previous-generation iPhone 5. Even more surprising was the actual fact that iPhone SE remarkably featured most of Apple’s up-to-date, flagship-level engineering regardless of the low starting price; for $399, you got the same custom made A9 processor as iPhone 6S in addition to a 12 MP camera with 4K video recording and a bigger electric battery. The fact is, the only significant short-cuts were the lack of 3D Touch and the use of first-generation TouchID instead of the faster second generation. But, again, taking into consideration its low starting cost (which ultimately settled to $349), the iPhone SE provided uncharacteristically great worth for a product made by Apple. The challenge was that iPhone SE did not become a top-selling iPhone. Throughout its life-span, its defining characteristic was that it provided an inexpensive point of entry to the iOS ecosystem though it eventually gained relatively of a cult following among certain Apple fans. Obviously, after iPhone SE had been the baseline of the iPhone lineup for a couple of years, consumers were ready for the obligatory refresh. While iPhone SE offered an excellent cost-to-performance rate in 2016, a refresh could bridge the efficiency gap that grew as iPhone SE’s A9 processor was succeeded and changed, first by the A10 Fusion chip in iPhone 7, then again by the A11 Bionic in the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X . Patiently Looking forward to Apple's Latest Product launches Affirmed, we heard through the grapevine that Apple was focusing on a new version of the spending budget iPhone. Details varied, however the iPhone SE successor - alleged to be named either iPhone SE 2 or iPhone X SE (with suffix and modifiers meticulously arranged)- seemed to have the same purpose as the original, which was to be a compact, low-cost iPhone offering great efficiency and most of the latest features. A lot of the difference surrounding the naming theme for the iPhone SE 2 was because of unclear accounts concerning whether the gadget will keep its iPhone 5-era style or whether it would embrace the new iPhone X visual. Some customers insisted (or possibly hoped?) iPhone SE 2 would appear to be an iPhone X from leading with a almost bezel-less, edge-to-edge screen. These accounts were mainly informed by supposed designs for screen protectors and cases; if reputable, the implication was that iPhone SE 2 could have a bezel-much less, notched display identical to iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. Of program, the notch would become among the defining features for 2018 mobile phones overall as its was imitated by almost every smartphone manufacturer after the iPhone X debuted in late 2017; nevertheless, for Apple’s purposes, the notch only exists to house biometric sensors for Apple’s proprietary FaceID. So the implication was that iPhone SE 2 would feature FaceID although the high cost of FaceID components managed to get an unlikely inclusion in any budget iPhone. Following these reports, renders were designed to show the way the device might look if it turned out to be real. Assuming the case designs and resulting renders had been accurate, iPhone SE 2 would’ve been a truly fascinating gadget, the lovechild of the bygone iPhone 5 and the more futuristic iPhone X. Provided Apple could keep production costs and, by extension, the MSRP straight down, iPhone SE 2 could’ve easily outsold the original iPhone SE, possibly learning to be a top seller just like the original iPhone SE never could. These weren’t just the pipe dreams of iPhone SE fans and anyone who wanted cheaper iPhones; reports from Apple’s personal suppliers all but verified programs for iPhone SE 2, giving estimates for possible production schedules and ship dates. In early August 2017, Wistron Corp. - a low-volume manufacturer located in Taiwan that Apple recruits when iPhone demand is definitely high - was working on expanding its creation base to accommodate a new compact Apple smartphone, which many presumed to become an updated iPhone SE. After that came a tentative ship day: In late November 2017, Economic Daily Information in Taiwan reported Apple had been eyeing a release time in the first half of 2018 for the iPhone SE 2, which would’ve been consistent with the spring release of the initial iPhone SE. January 2018 brought another report of iPhone SE 2 launching in 2018. Shortly thereafter, there is a rumor iPhone SE 2 would include a glass rear panel, suggesting the addition of the wireless charging capabilities that the iPhone has already established since 2017. Just simply because rumors pointed to Apple gearing up for the release of a next-generation iPhone SE, Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with KGI Securities who is known for predicting Apple’s products with uncanny accuracy, planted one of the initial seeds of doubt. In late January 2018, Kuo reported iPhone SE 2 had hardly any chance of being released because Apple had exhausted its assets on the three flagship models to be released in 2018. Of training course, those three models finished up being iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. However, rumors persisted - though at a slower pace - in spite of Kuo’s question. For instance, there have been specifications and other details of the iPhone SE 2 reported in April 2018. According to these leaks, Apple designed to keep production costs (and, by extension, the eventual retail price) down by omitting the 3.5mm headphone jack and using iPhone 7’s A10 Fusion chip instead of the A11 Bionic chip used in iPhone 8 and iPhone X. For all intents and reasons, the axe was decisively dropped in July 2018 as BlueFin Research told MacRumors that Apple had nixed all plans to proceed with iPhone SE 2. We’ll probably never find out for certain whether iPhone SE 2 was ever actually in the offing; however, even if it was planned originally, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever get an iPhone SE 2 at all. It’s been four a few months since the start of the 2018 iPhones, an event that coincided with iPhone SE being taken off Apple’s lineup, which, in and of itself, allegedly happened because Apple retired its A9 processor chip. So aside from Apple quickly unloading the last iPhone SE products at a discounted $249 price, which took only a day, iPhone SE is gone from Apple’s catalog, and anyone looking forward to a next-generation iPhone SE has little cause for hope. In the event that you ask me, the writing is on the wall: Apple won’t be building another budget iPhone. No More Budget iPhone? Spending budget smartphones, or smartphones that price roughly $300 or less, are pretty common today. In some instances, these budget devices present great value for your money. Some of the more recent notable for example the Moto G6 for $240, LG Stylo 4 for $250, Huawei Mate 20 Lite for $290, and, of course, the amazing Pocophone F1 for $299. For those who have a tad more to invest, you can find a used or refurbished Samsung Galaxy S8 for barely over $300. Or you may get the brand new Nokia 7.1, an Android One device with the design and nearly all of the features that top-shelf Android flagships possess for the bargain price of $350. I’m not sure where the term originated, but I completely agree: “Good cell phones are getting cheap, and cheap phones are getting good.” Of training course, you might’ve noticed that the smartphones mentioned previously are Android smartphones. What about iPhones? When carriers did aside with subsidizing smartphones, we had to begin paying full retail cost for new smartphones. Therefore Apple’s decision to create the iPhone SE was very timely: Instead of paying $649 or even more, you could buy an iPhone for under $400 without making a huge amount of compromises. Suddenly, people who preferred iOS to Android had their personal Pocophone. From September 2016 to its discontinuation in September 2018, iPhone SE was never a top-selling iPhones. Also at its peak, iPhone SE under no circumstances accounted for more than 11 percent of iPhone sales as the third-best-selling iPhone, and just by a slender margin. Meanwhile, both iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus almost tripled the product sales of iPhone SE during that period, accounting for 28.5 percent and 29.5 percent of iPhone sales, respectively. After September 2017, iPhone SE sales dropped substantially, remaining somewhere between 5.5 percent and 8 percent until the device was taken in fall 2018. Suppose you’re Tim Cook looking at these amounts. Everybody has been requesting a second-generation budget iPhone, but sales numbers present that when a lower-cost option is available, the majority of customers keep purchasing the more expensive iPhones. If customers are willing to pay even more for high-end iPhones, does it seem sensible to produce a cheaper device that, at best, no more than one in ten customers would be interested in buying? With some context, positioning the iPhone more as a luxury item starts to make sense. Like voting on a ballot, Apple’s customers have been casting their votes on higher-end iPhones, therefore we can’t really blame Apple for moving away from budget smartphones that don’t sell well. If you’re miffed about the loss of life of iPhone SE 2, there are, in fact, cheaper iPhones obtainable for people on a budget. But you’re not going to find them in shops. Current Market Conditions Apple gave customers the lower-cost iPhone they’d always been asking for, but most of them decided not to buy it. Therefore if you’re Apple, do you create a second generation knowing the first generation didn’t sell well, or perform you ditch the budget-iPhone idea altogether? It seems Apple find the latter. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take away from the fact that spending budget iPhones are already available, not forgetting plentiful. Specifically, I’m discussing used iPhones in the marketplace. The gray market identifies the buying and selling of used iPhones on the secondhand market. It’s comprised of the many people selling their used gadgets after upgrading, which essentially creates an unofficial marketplace of budget iPhones. Therefore those listings for iPhone 6S, iPhone 7, and iPhone 8 on eBay, the Amazon Marketplace, providers like Swappa, and yard-sale apps like LetGo will be the gray market for iPhones. Apple doesn’t need to invest in R&D, sourcing parts, production, and distribution for a budget iPhone because we already have access to all the discounted iPhones we could ever need in the secondhand marketplace. And each year when brand-new iPhones are released, millions even more iPhones will revitalize the secondhand market as users who upgrade to new iPhones sell their older ones. Plus, any post-2016 iPhone models in the gray market will have better specifications than iPhone SE, and some of these used iPhones will be cheaper than buying a new iPhone SE from Apple for $349. Put simply, Apple doesn’t need to sell a budget iPhone because the current-generation iPhones purchased at full retail cost today become budget iPhones as consumers use them and eventually sell them to on the gray market when they upgrade. And even more devices are shown on the gray marketplace every day, in order long as Apple is offering smartphones, the gray marketplace is a renewable resource for budget iPhones. Of program, the gray marketplace isn’t the only way to get an iPhone on the cheap. Depending about how you consider it, Apple actually offers new budget iPhone options each year. With the official unveiling of new iPhones each year, the MSRP of every preceding generation still in creation is decreased. For instance, when iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X were announced in nov 2017, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus became previous-generation products, which warranted cost cuts. The iPhone SE was still in production when iPhone 7 got its lessen price, if you wanted a new iPhone but didn’t want to spend $699 or even more for iPhone 8 or iPhone X, you could choose iPhone SE from $349, iPhone 6S from $449, or iPhone 7 from $549. Though $349 isn’t specifically chump transformation, it’s certainly even more palatable than iPhone X’s thousand-dollar starting cost. With iPhone SE discontinued, the least expensive iPhone available is iPhone 7 for $449, meaning the cheapest iPhone available today is $100 a lot more than last year. To be fair, iPhone 7 was an excellent device at launch, and it’s still a compelling option today, especially for the price. Though it had been divisive as Apple’s initial iPhone without the apparently requisite 3.5mm headphone jack, iPhone 7 is in any other case a full-presented flagship. But if you’re searching for a fresh iPhone on a spending budget, which would you rather purchase: a 2016 iPhone for $449 or an iPhone SE 2 with the latest A12 Bionic processor chip for $100 less? Regarding iPhone SE 2 not materializing, maybe understanding what could’ve been is normally what makes this thus disappointing for some. Even though the data suggests a limited audience for budget iPhones, there will always be situations where a low-cost iPhone with current-generation efficiency hits the sweet spot. Where Should Apple Go From Here? It’s an enjoyable experience to be a lover of tech, particularly cell tech as budget and mid-range flagships are slaying in the Android smartphone market. Though priced greater than a $349 iPhone, the OnePlus 6T is certainly a primary example of how to offer flagship-level specs, design, and efficiency at a lower life expectancy cost. For better or worse, Apple seems to have evacuated the budget smartphone sector after just one single attempt. Granted, Apple hasn't really catered to budget-minded consumers with almost all the company’s equipment starting at $1,000 or even more and a shrinking amount of products, like iPods and iPads, priced lower than that. That is why it was so unusual for Apple to produce a budget iPhone to begin with. The problem is that it appears Apple is currently trying to close a door that probably the business never should’ve opened to begin with. In the end, when you’re offering this inexpensive iPhone on the lineup, all the flagship iPhones appear that much more expensive by comparison. Whether there’s a new iPhone SE in the future, the prices mounted on Apple’s items are climbing. In many markets, Apple is coming dangerously near to pricing the iPhone as well as the majority of Apple’s other products out of reach. For customers who can’t (or don’t need to) pay out such exorbitant prices, the actual fact that Apple offered inexpensive options during the past but no longer offers those options now will undoubtedly leave a bad taste in people’s mouths, almost like biting into a rotten apple. Honestly, I am hoping I’m wrong about this, but if Apple really wants to curb the decline in iPhone demand and for product sales to resume an upward trajectory, one of two things will have to happen, and sooner rather than later. Apple needs to either lower the margins on iPhones to create them more affordable (or even just less costly), or there needs to be a fresh budget option so consumers in least have the illusion of preference. Because as the numbers show, most buyers go for the premium iPhones in any case, but if Apple puts a budget model on the table, at least they won’t feel like they’re being forced to pay the ever-growing Apple tax. Apple’s current pricing structure gives consumers only high- and higher-priced models to pick from. But it seems buyers are beginning to understand there’s still an added option, which can be to save themselves the difficulty, and possibly some buyer’s remorse, by not buying brand-new iPhones at all.

#news

[casscutting]

Cass’s Cover Do Over: Round One

Welcome to Cass's Cover Do Over, the new monthly series where I take books who’s covers I feel could better represent the story and give them a fitting makeover. Originally I wanted to call this series Extreme Makeover: Book Cover Edition, HOWEVER, Disney owns the trademark rights to “Extreme Makeover” and I REALLY don’t want to get sued by Disney.  

Now before I get into the meat of today’s post I want to give a disclaimer. I am in no way shape or form mocking or making fun of any cover designers and or authors who put their own time into making the original covers. If the authors do happen to see these posts and like what I have done I will give them the high quality images free of charge. This series is to help authors both established and aspiring better understand the do's and don’ts of Cover Design from the perspective of an aspiring author and established graphic designer.

Let’s start at the beginning WHY should you hire a designer to design your cover? Whether we admit it or not the first thing that draws your eye to a book, be it online or in a store, is the cover. I, like many others, have bought or borrowed a book because I liked the cover. I also, like many others, have kept a book because of the cover to spite the contents of the book.

The book cover is your first line of attack when trying to obtain a new reader. If the cover is eye-catching it brings that person one step closer to picking up your book. A cover should envoke the overall feeling or theme of your book and a designer will (SHOULD) be able to do that.

I see so many authors, I’m speaking about the Indie Authors though there are some questionable covers that have come from the traditional world, however, traditional authors have a minuscule amount of design input if any at all. Indie Authors are the sole decision makers when it comes to their books.

An author has put in months if not years to writing this book then if they go about things the RIGHT way they put in hundreds if not thousands of dollars (insert applicable currency here lol) into editing and formatting. Then comes time to hit the publish button and send your book baby out into the world but wait you need a book cover.

I’ve seen authors talk about this on their blogs or their youtube channels they’ve put little to no thought into the book’s cover with their first book or first few books. I’ve seen people say they just grabbed a Royalty Free Stock Photo or used Kindle Drect’s or LuLu’s cover editor to make their covers. Or even worse I’ve seen authors say they just googled pictures and find one they like and slap it up there vualá they’re done.

I am going to say this loud DON’T USE PICTURES FROM GOOGLE AS YOUR BOOK COVERS!

A: those pictures could be too small making your book cover blurry and bad. Most importantly B: You don’t know the legal ownership of that photo. Best case scenario you, by some miraculous chance, get a Royalty Free Stock Photo but most likely you will choose someone else's design or photograph and that person will be entitled to sue your ass off.

When I was still in school for graphic design we were given articles to read, wish I still had them, where authors were sued because they used someone else’s photo. Not only did that author need to pay out a percentage of back earnings the rightful owner of that photo was entitled to a percentage of that author’s royalties for the lifetime of that book or until such time as the author changed the cover image.

So I reiterate DON’T USE A RANDOM GOOGLE PICTURE.

Now on to the Cover Do Over’s

I want to note that I have NOT read these books the designs I came up with are based on a few criteria. 1: Title, 2: synopsis, 3: Genre and Age Groupe, and if I needed more to go off of 4: Reviews

White Rabbit by John Stanley

Synopsis:

All his life Gabriel has struggled with childhood memories. Or better said; the absence of them. Now a young man and married to the beautiful Alaina, the memories begin to surface in wild and terrifying nightmares. Tormented by the dark images of a faceless man, he discovers an inner strength found only in the delicate fibers that connect what is real and what is not.

A thousand miles away Professor O'Bannon, Homicide Detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, is hunting a sadistic and cunning killer who preys on the city's most innocent. He too, tormented by a faceless man who displays his victims with devastating affect. Soon fate intervenes, and worlds of the Professor and Gabriel collide in a jarring, mind-bending thrill ride that will change both their lives forever.

I believe I saw where the author/designer was going with this cover but I feel it came across more cartoonish which made it feel less thriller to me.

So I created a stylized rabbit head on a dark cracked textured background with a deliberate light source and jittered text to envoke the ominous and unsettling feeling that John Stanley alluded too with their synopsis.

The Culling by Anthony Hulse

Synopsis:

A series of child abductions are linked to Jules Devlin’s touring circus. A team of CID detectives are deployed and attempt to unravel the mystery. The performers, including a clown, a lion-tamer, a fire-eater, a dwarf, and conjoined twins harbour a terrifying secret. Jimmy Crawford, an ex-CID detective turned private investigator is hired by the parents of a teenage girl, who believe her disappearance is linked to the circus. Crawford is aided in his task by a child psychologist and a priest. Through a handicapped boy, they discover that the circus is not what it seems. DS Jenny Stiles, believing Devlin is the head of a paedophile ring, soon discovers something more sinister. Could the evil carnival be responsible for the burning of churches and their priests? The Culling is a supernatural thriller set in Whitby and Dartmoor. From Edinburgh, Cleveland and Lourdes in France, strange and unexplainable episodes occur, which leads Jenny to believe that Devlin is indeed evil.

In my eyes they only thing that tells me this book is a Mystery/Thriller is the foggy road and no I did not use a low-quality image here every image of this book I’ve found has the same low-quality image. From Google to Amazon to Goodreads it’s the same.

Aside from the SLIGHT reference to the Mystery/Thriller, I would have no idea what this book was about without reading the synopsis and there is nothing about this cover that made me as a reader want to learn more about it.

So after reading the synopsis, I saw the Mystery/Thriller aspect of this story revolves around a creepy traveling circus and missing children but like I said I didn’t get that from the original cover. So I created the circus tent and found several royalty-free stock images that would work as a background when stitched together.

I chose to go with a more circus-themed font that I created for this project to tie in the title and author name to the theme because the juxtaposition between the creepy circus background and any flat color for the typeface would have thrown off the whole feeling.

Now I have almost 20 variants of each design and the ones I’ve chosen I feel best to represent the themes as stated in the synopsis. And so you know for when you’re choosing a cover designer they, after the consultation, will go and design, depending on the designer, 3-5 or 3-7 different designs with a handful of variants for each design. I personally offer in the 3-5 design range. What I mean by variant is the designer will move around the typeface or other elements of the design and or give you different typefaces as options as well to give you more to choose from.

Also of note and again every designer is different, but every designer will offer a set amount of Revisions where they will change something you, the client, have changed your mind on. This is usually anywhere from 1 - 5 revisions before charging extra with most I’ve seen offering 3, I personally offer 5. There are also Fixes if there is something the designer fucked up they SHOULD redo it and it SHOULDN’T count towards any of the revisions. During the consultation, a designer worth their weight will take extensive and detailed notes on what you want in order to prevent having to make to many fixes or to prevent a shady client from getting more revisions than they deserve.

How do you get your designs? Throughout the process, the designer is sending you a lower quality watermarked image so they can show you the design and get your feedback. Once the designs are done and payments are paid IN FULL the designer will send you the full HD images and they are yours to do with as you see fit, unless otherwise stated.

Now let's talk about price, again here is where every designer differs but I have seen designers offer flat rate payments and usually, that is paid upfront before the designer starts working. There is a second version of a flat rate payment where there is one flat rate but you pay 50% upfront and the other 50% when the designs are signed off on which is the payment method I use. There are hourly billed payments, where you as the client are to pay for a set number of hours upfront and the rest of the payment is to be paid in full before you’re given the final product. 

I’ve wanted to do this for a while now and I am glad I finally did it. One of my goals this year is to start designing book covers and I thought this would be a fun way to get my name out there.

Question of the day: Do you sometimes buy a book just because you liked the cover?

#bookworm #book cover #book cover design #cover design #cover redesign #book cover redesign #Book cover critique #judging books by their covers #cover art #book art #cover art design #art #artist #graphic design #graphic designer