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yougavemeyourheartyouknow · 7 months

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Love me or hate me, both are in my favor. (Miguel O’Hara x Fem! Reader [HS Academic rivals AU])

Babe wake up, new series just dropped! This is not proofread btw

(Y/N)-Your name.

Cursing, Miguel being jealous? (If you squint), i am mexican but my Spanish sucks so apologies I’m advance, Phantom of the Opera spoilers (???? Through I’d throw it out there)

Word count: 3k

Series Masterlist Series playlist

Chapter 1:The world was on fire

—

“Love me or hate me, Both are in my favor. If you love me, I’ll always be in your heart. If you hate me, I’ll always be in your mind.”

The quote was etched into the front of your red hardcover notebook, with gold details covering the edges of the front. The black ink was oddly neat despite how deep you had to indent the words over and over on the cover. Miguel has noticed that you would always write a beautifully tragic quote on the front of all your English notebooks every year.

Last year, the quote was, “Love is blind, and lovers cannot see.”

For sophomore year, “She could have been a poet or she could have been a fool.”

And for freshman year it was, “‘I miss her.’ ‘You’re dead.’ ‘Even in death, I mourn her.’”

The first time Miguel saw it was when you both were in the 7th grade, being paired up to write a report about some random novel that Miguel couldn’t remember the name of. You had pulled out your notebook, that year it was a dark forest green, with the quote being, “But just because I’m not going to wish for it doesn't mean the moth can ignore the flame. It’s in the moth's blood.”

Miguel’s dark maroon eyes rolled to the back of his head, it was almost pretentious he thought, a way to show off how “artsy” you are. He allowed a scoff to escape his plump lips, you simply ignored him as you began to flip through your notes.

You were much more into history, the arts and most of all, Literature, while Miguel was more into science and math. Miguel didn’t understand why you loved it so much, he didn’t think your favorite subjects were nearly as important as his. Who cares what some dead poet wrote a thousand years ago, when he could be the next to make a big scientific discovery? Like time travel or curing cancer. Sure, Miguel still did the work in english and history, and for someone who didn't care for it, he would always do so well, and that drove you up the wall, but Miguel could say the same about you with math and science. Miguel would always tune you out when you would ramble on about some new book you were reading to your friends, or would ignore the way your eyebrow would furrow together and your teeth would bite down on your lips when you’d get to a particularly good spot in your novel, stopping every once and a while to annotate, would scoff at the the way your eyes would stare at piece of art with such fascination and wonder when the class would go to a field trip to an art museum, groan at how’d you always talk about the beauty of old gothic architecture, talking about how the beauty of the buildings was almost tragic.

The key word, would.

As you two grew older, and your competitiveness in your grades became more intense, Miguel couldn’t help but start to wonder what goes through that pretty little head of yours. He wanted to see how the deep corners of your mind worked. What made your brain tick, maybe if he saw the world through your perspective, he would understand you more.

Your manicured hand grabbed your notebook by the bloody red spine, gently gripping it before placing it into your bag, and zipping it up. Slinging it over your shoulder as you turn to talk to your friend who sat next to you, before you both made your way out of the AP English classroom.

You and Miguel had been attending the same classes since you transferred in the 6th grade, both of you attend one of Nueva York’s most prestigious and high-end boarding schools. At first, Miguel didn’t pay you any mind, figured you were just another spoiled brat with daddy’s money, and a trust fund big enough to last you until you find some poor unsuspecting fool to ask for your hand and make you into a trophy wife, like most of the girls who attend the school. But it wasn’t until you had beat his score later that year on the mid-year school wide testing did you get his attention. He could remember it like it was yesterday, he was sitting in class with a near perfect score of 97% written on top of his test answer sheet, a self-satisfied smirk on his face as he slid the paper over to his left where Peter Parker had sat.

“I swear man, you’re like, a genius.” Peter grumbled to Miguel as he glanced at his friend’s paper, before at his own which had 78% written at the top. Peter’s hand went up to pat Miguel on the back, but before Miguel could reply, just bearly in earshot, he had heard an unfamiliar voice speak.

“Yeah I got a 99, I wasn’t expecting…” Miguel didn’t catch the rest, but the first part was enough for his whole body to feel hot all over, and make his stomach twist in discomfort. He felt like he was about to go into a state of shock, or rather he was already entering one. He’s never had someone top before, if felt like he was dreaming, well, maybe having a nightmare was a better way to describe it. He couldn’t remember how long he had sat at his desk afterwards, in a weird state of disassociation until Peter had pulled him back to reality. He swore to himself, after that moment he’d never let you top him again.

But that was a hard promise to keep. Because whether he'd like to admit it or not, you were good, always keeping him on his toes. You were almost like a breath of fresh air for him, albeit a painful one, like the first shallow breath after almost drowning. Before you , Miguel was growing content, growing bored, no other student was anywhere close to his GPA, even the second best at the time, he felt simply untouchable, but then you came along, and you changed everything for him.

At first, he saw you more as a pest, an annoying little fly that kept buzzing around no matter how many times he had tried to swat you away. Upon your first time formally meeting with Miguel, you were polite and civil, the kindest smile on your face as you stuck your hand out for him to shake as you introduced yourself to him. Miguel just glanced at your hand with a sour, unamused expression on his face, before his eyes wandered back up to your face and he just let out a noise that was a mix between a grunt and a scoff before turning and walking away, leaving you confused and a little bit hurt from his unfriendly and quite frankly rude actions, you decided to just brush it off, maybe he was having a bad day and wasn’t in a good mood. So a few days later you tried to approached him again in hopes for a better interaction, only for those hopes to get squashed when he basically told you to fuck off, rolling his eyes and ignoring your presence once again as he walked past you, “accidentally” shouldering you in the process. You decided to stop trying to be nice to him after that.

For about the first year since you transferred, you and Miguel simply pretended the other didn’t exist, neither would approach or interact with the other unless absolutely necessary, the only constant reminders of each other's presence was when one would beat the other during tests, report cards, etc. Eventually the plain out ignoring shifted to fleeting glares and glances, eye rolls and snarky remarks muttered under both of your breaths, both of yours already rocky relationship with each other becoming more and more intense and open as you both got older, neither finding the energy to even attempt to tolerate the others presence anymore. So now you and him were stuck in this repetitive circle with each other, but neither of you were doing anything to stop it.

—

“I’ve already told you Gabe, I’m not going to give you my notes from last year. Read the book like everyone else.” Miguel sighed, stuffing his free hand in his pocket, his other hand holding onto his backpack strap, walking to the housing building across the campus of Nueva York’s Preparatory Academy, where he and his younger brother shared a room.

“But Miggy!” Gabriel whined, his lips coming out in a pout, and Miguel’s nose scrunched in annoyance at both the nickname and the high-pitch tone of his brother's whine. “What’s the point of me being brothers with one of the top students at this school if I can’t steal your notes! Besides, I've tried and I just can’t get into it. Who would have thought that Frankenstein would be such a boring book, and don’t get me started on how the paragraphs are set up!”

“And that’s my problem because?” Miguel’s eyebrow quirked up, sending Gabriel an unamused look.

“Look Miguel, you might not get it from my point of view, but it’s very difficult for me, being your brother. From an academic standpoint I mean. The teachers expect me to have the same intelligence as you. I'm not stupid, don’t get me wrong, I’m just not on the same playing field as you. Also, I don’t like reading.” Gabriel shrugged.

“And what makes you think that I do?” Miguel retorted with an eyeroll, opening the glass doors to the housing building for his brother before stepping in himself and shutting the door behind him.

“Well didn't you get an A+ on your report about the book last year?”

“No. I got an A-.” Miguel grumbled, and after a moment, Gabriel’s expression perked up a bit, as if a light bulb had gone off in his head.

“Oh riiight, that one girl got an A+, what was her name again?” Gabriel said in an almost teasing tone, before throwing out various names at Miguel that were similar to yours, obvious bait to see if his brother would bite, and he did.

“It’s (Y/N).” Miguel corrected with a hash glare.

“Oh, right, right.” Gabriel’s lips went up in a slight smirk, his hands going into his pockets to fish out the keys to their shared dorm room. “Maybe I can ask her to help me, I mean she’s a bookworm, right?”

Miguel didn’t answer the question, not completely sure if it was rhetorical or not, choosing to stay silent as they finally stopped in front of their room.

“I could ask for her notes, maybe take her out for some coffee as a thank you.” Miguel’s face scrunched with annoyance at the implication, his brother knew how much you two disliked each other, and a more sound part of his mind was telling himself that his little brother was just pulling at his leg, but that didn’t stop him from the draggers he glared at Gabriel.

“Don’t even think about it. Hasta la mira mal a esa niña, y estás muerto. ¿Entiendes?” Miguel hissed, his voice dropping an octave with the threat. (If you even look at that girl wrong, you’re dead. Got it?”)

Despite his older brother’s threats, Gabriel’s smirk only turned into a wide grin, before he put his hands up as I sigh of surrender, his keys dangling with the motion before he unlocked the door, and walked into the room, Miguel following closing the door behind him.

—

“I don't understand anything about this, (Y/N).” Your friend, Mary Jane, or MJ for short, groaned as you both sat down in one of the school's many libraries, school supplies sprawled on top of the mahogany desk. It was fairly empty, today, but you both took space in one of the empty study rooms to keep from making too much of a disruption from anyone else who might go in, the repeated sound of rapid tapping of MJ’s mechanical pencil hitting the desk as you catch her biting her bottom lip in frustration.

“I know.” You giggled with a small smile, putting your hand on her forearm in an attempt to comfort her. You both have been at it for about 3 hours now, your English teacher had assigned everyone to write a 2,000 word essay about the book being read in class Romeo and Juliet. You’ve already read and watched the play a million times so you knew the back of your hand.

“Like I understand that, they fall and love and die and stuff, but all the jokes and the symbolism and stuff-“

“That’s why I’m here, MJ.” You grinned at your friend, and she just scoffed at you with a friendly smile, a smile you returned, before getting up from your seat with a small stretch. “I’ll be right back, I'm going to go stretch my legs.” You told her, which only got you a hum in response, before you slipped out of the small room. No matter how much time you’ve spent in this specific library, (it’s your favorite one) you’ll never get tired of the earth and wood-like tones that filled your senses whenever you would enter in the building, the four old walls always filled you with such warmth, they were like a second home for you. You let out a deep content exhale as your black Mary Jane heels tapping quietly against the old wooden tiles of the library floor. Mindlessly wandering with no real destination in mind, but making sure you don’t stray too far from the study room, it wasn’t difficult to lose your sense of direction in the make-shift corridors made from old bookshelves. You turn a corner without thinking, a hand goes up , gently brushing the spines of the books as you continue walking. What genre section were you in?

Your steps came to a halt, taking a step closer to the shelf as you grabbed the book your hand was resting on. Your lips came up in a soft small smile as you read the title of the book in your hands.

The phantom of the opera.

Oh how you loved the story, you’ve watched both the movie renditions and the stage version countless times, but you’ve read the novel more than you’ve watched all three combined, but your copy sadly got ruined when you dropped it in a puddle of water while on a walk, and haven’t had the time to get a new copy. Was it bad that if you were in Christine’s shoes, you would have picked Erik over Raoul?

Your fingertips opened the door, flipping the pages until you landed on the page you were looking for.

Hardly breathing, he went up to the dressing-room and, with his ear to the door to catch her reply, prepared to knock. But his hand dropped. He had heard a man's voice in the dressing-room, saying, in a curiously masterful tone:

"Christine, you must love me!"

And Christine's voice, infinitely sad and trembling, as though accompanied by tears, replied:

"How can you talk like that? When I sing only for you!"

Raoul leaned against the panel to ease his pain.

His heart, which had seemed gone-

“Why am I not surprised I’d find you here?” The sudden words interrupted your reading. You didn’t need to lift your eyes to know the source of the voice, the slight accent and the deadpan tone gave it away.

“Hello to you too, O’Hara.” You replied, your eyes not lifting, your hand flipping to the next page despite no longer reading the words on the pages anymore, you weren’t going to give Miguel the satisfaction of knowing he had your attention. The act didn’t last very long though when his finger went up to lift the book up to read the cover, your gaze going up to finally look up at him, a bored expression on your face, a tsk leaving his mouth when he realized what you were reading.

“What?” You question him, wanting to know what that reaction meant, you closed the book and put it back on the shelf.

“Nothing.”

“Tell me.”

His lips come up to a smug smirk.

“That you find that shit romantic.” He stated like he knew it was a fact, and you’d rather die than admit to him that you did, in fact, find it romantic. “Don’t act like you don’t, I can read you like a book. No pun intended.”

Your face came to a scowl, instead of entertaining him with a response, you crossed your arms and slightly leaned against the bookshelf behind you.

“What are you even doing here Miguel? You don’t even like reading.” He didn’t entertain your question with a response either, rather he just shrugged, and took a step closer, his hand going up to rest against the self, his hand was right next to your head.

“Do me a favor?” He asked, but his tone came out more like it was a suggestion rather than a request.

“Why would I do that?” You scoffed.

“Don’t make me beg, muñeca.” His tone dropped an octave. Despite the pet name, his voice was filled with nothing but coldness. (Doll)

“Don’t give me ideas.” You teased. Your lips twitched up slightly.

“If my brother comes to you and asks to take you out, go ahead and say no.” That certainly wasn’t what you were expecting him to say, but you slowly nodded your head regardless, deciding to not ask what his brother said to him that would make him come up to you about that. His hand came back down to his side as he took a step back “Good. How’s the essay coming?”

The sudden topic change you off guard a bit, but you quickly recovered, since it was something you’d both been more used to talking about, your studies.

“I’m almost done, I’ve mostly been just helping MJ with hers.” You explained, as you stood up straight again. “You?”

“Same, if it weren’t for Peter I probably would already be finished with it.”

“Don’t stress about it too much, O’Hara.”

“Oh, why not?”

You smiled.

“Because I'm gonna get a better grade on my paper anyways.”

—

Taglist: @famouscattale @oharasfilipinawife @mxltifxnd0m @loser-alert @homewreckingwreck @dumb-gemini12

#miguel o hara fanfic #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara #spiderman 2099 x reader #astv miguel #astv spiderman 2099 #miguel o’hara au #academic rivals au #spiderman 2099 fanfic #miguel spiderverse #spiderman 2099 #atsv miguel #miguel x reader #love me or hate me fanfic

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brf-rumortrackinganon · 8 months

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Crunching some numbers for Spare

An article today in the Washington Post included some talk about how publishing contracts, sales, and advances work. Here are some excerpts:

A book can end up on a bestseller list by selling 5,000 or more books in a week.

Under most contracts with major publishing companies, an author earns a royalty of 15 percent of the cover price of a hardcover book. A book priced at $30 would earn the author $4.50 per sale.

Publishers will generally offer an author an advance payment. Once enough books are sold to cover the advance, the author begins to earn additional income. In other words, a person receiving a $1 million advance would need to sell more than 222,000 books at $30 each to earn back the advance.

(source)

What does this mean for Spare? It means...it's bad.

First off, $30 is the average cost for a hardcover book here in the US. However we know Spare isn't actually selling at $30 because it's been heavily discounted since its release. US Amazon is selling it at $19 a copy so let's go with that. At $19 a copy, if Harry's contract has him seeing royalties at 15%, he makes $2.85 a copy.

The publishers are claiming that Harry sold 3.5 million copies of Spare in the first week of publication. That number is definitely inflated; it includes audiobooks (which are free for a lot of people through Audible and other audiobook subscription services) and it probably includes some projected figures. So let's deduct 15% for those ghost copies, which leaves us with 2.9 million and at $2.85 per copy, he made $8.2 million just from royalties.

So per the Washington Post, Harry has to sell enough copies of Spare to cover the advance before he can make money on the memoir. If Harry doesn't cover the advance, he doesn't earn royalties. Which is the juicy bit: the Daily Mail has claimed that Harry received a $20 million advance from Penguin to write Spare. Based on these projections (2.9 million copies sold that first week at $2.85 a copy), Harry hasn't paid off his advance yet. He's still got $12 million to give back.

Now take into consideration that sales for Spare steadily declined since publication. Spare might've sold 3.5 million in the first week, but it's not selling 3.5 million the next week. In fact, Forbes Magazine reported that as of July 1, 2023, Spare sold 1,174,137 copies here in the US. That's 33% of the 3.5 million from the first week of sales - in other words, sales really dropped off. Maybe even flatlined.

So getting very hypothetical here, let's add 33% to 3.5 million, and assume that's how many copies of Spare Harry has sold as of July 1. That's 4.6 million. 4.6 million times $2.85 = $13.3 million. Harry still hasn't paid back his alleged advance. Even if we give him 20% of royalties ($3.80 per copy for a profit of $17.4 million), he still hasn't paid back the alleged advance.

So while all these numbers are most likely made up, what probably isn't made up is that Harry hasn't earned back his advance and isn't making any kind of profit. And we know this because a) real cumulative data on Spare isn't easily available and b) there's been no talk of Harry's next book - either the second memoir alleged to be part of the deal or the book on Invictus Games confirmed to be part of the deal. If Spare performed well, or even beyond expectations, the sales would constantly be in the news as new updates are issues and Harry's second book would have been announced immediately to piggyback on Spare's success. But that hasn't happened. It'll be very interesting to see how it all tallies up at the end of the year.

I don't think we'll see any more books from Harry. Or if we do, they'll be updated/reissued versions of Spare that count towards his 4-book deal so Penguin can move on.

(I'm also side-eyeing the Daily Mail's claim that his advance was $20 million. Bruce Springsteen received a $10 million advance and Keith Richards only $1 million. And these guys have legitimate and proven track records that they can sell content. Harry has no record of even writing his own speeches.)

#book talk #spare

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mostlysignssomeportents · 9 months

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When you’re a novelist bargaining with five publishing houses, or a filmmaker bargaining with four studios, or a musician bargaining with three labels, or a games author bargaining with two mobile app stores, or an audiobook creator bargaining with one audiobook store, then getting more copyright doesn’t make you any better off.

Giving more copyright to a creative worker under those circumstances is like giving your bullied schoolkid extra lunch money. It doesn’t matter how much lunch money you give your kid — the bullies are just going to take it.

In those circumstances, giving your kid extra lunch money is just an indirect way of giving the bullies more money. Give the bullies enough money and they’ll be able to afford an international ad campaign:

Think of the hungry children!

Give them more lunch money!

The idea of protecting creators with individual, bargainable rights reframes us not as workers but as businesses: LLCs with MFAs. Our negotiations with our bosses are B2B: just two artificial persons, each with its own EIN, facing each other down across a board-room table.

But the individual creative worker who bargains with Disney-ABC-Muppets-Pixar-Marvel-Lucasfilm-Fox is not in a situation comparable to, say, Coca-Cola renewing its sponsorship deal for Disneyland.

For an individual worker, the bargain goes like this: “We’ll take everything we can, and give you as little as we can get away with, and maybe we won’t even pay you that.”

- Everything Made By an AI Is In the Public Domain: The US Copyright Office offers creative workers a powerful labor protective

THIS IS THE LAST DAY FOR MY KICKSTARTER for the audiobook for "The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation," a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and make a new, good internet to succeed the old, good internet. It's a DRM-free book, which means Audible won't carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

Going to Burning Man? Catch me on Tuesday at 2:40pm on the Center Camp Stage for a talk about enshittification and how to reverse it; on Wednesday at noon, I'm hosting Dr Patrick Ball at Liminal Labs (6:15/F) for a talk on using statistics to prove high-level culpability in the recruitment of child soldiers.

On September 6 at 7pm, I'll be hosting Naomi Klein at the LA Public Library for the launch of Doppelganger.

On September 12 at 7pm, I'll be at Toronto's Another Story Bookshop with my new book The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation.

#labor #copyright #public domain #ai #creative workers #hype #criti-hype #enshittification #llcs with mfas #solidarity #collective power

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britneyshakespeare · 5 months

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barnes and noble has been raising the prices of everything and further pushing for their premium membership option (which they raised the price of by 60 percent this year!) and then when they have big sales events, they're less than what they used to be.

last year at this time you could get one of their leather-bound book annex tomes for $12.50 (without a member discount) because of the 50 percent off all hardcover sales. but they raised the price of those tomes from 25 bucks to 30, and they decreased the sale from 50 percent off all hardcovers to 1/3rd off. so that same book that was $12.50 at last year's end-of-year sale is now 20 bucks. and that's supposed to be savings enough to induce me to walk into one of their stores this week?

i'm sorry but b&n has just gotten so greedy, even though their business has only been doing better and better in previous years. they do not have to be raising prices like they have been, and they can damn well afford to have the same savings events they used to. if you went to one of those hardcover sales a year or two ago, even if you lived in a less populated area like i do, you had never seen a b&n so busy in your life. things were flying off the shelves. they WERE making bank.

and as a company they've only been growing and growing (as much as the publishing industry has been, in recent years). but there are so many other ways to buy books. CHEAPER ways to buy books. MORE SUSTAINABLE ways to buy books. and since books and booksellers are doing really well right now, i don't see why barnes and noble is getting so greedy when they don't have to be. i dont like new shiny books that much. people buy books for the content, ultimately. sometimes we as consumers might make the choice that a new shiny book is worth paying a bit more for, but not that much. barnes and noble has just been demanding more and more of their customers' money for less and less benefit.

#kaily and i shared a membership account for several years but she cancelled it over the summer #bc of them raising it from 25 dollars per year to 40. i'm sorry but we just were not spending enough to make that worth it #the benefits for a member used to be 10 percent off everything in-store and free shipping online.#now it's 10 percent off everything in-store AND online with free shipping. which sounds good enough #but not for a 60 percent pricehike. and a bunch of other supposed benefits no one would ask for #like a free tote (geez. thanks. yeah i really need a free tote every year) and like. a free treat at a cafe on your kids' birthday?#i dont have a kid.#between the two of us. we were not buying 400 dollars worth of stuff at b&n every year #oh and it's also 10 percent off the in-store starbucks. but im pretty sure that USED to be a benefit they had #years ago?? like i SWEAR ive gotten money off at the b&n starbucks so i guess they got RID of that at some point #and gave it BACK when they HIKED UP THE PRICE TO 40 BUCKS A YEAR #text post #barnes and noble #it's a shame bc where i live. barnes and noble is the only like fancy bookstore #and i live in an area that my barnes and noble... is like. what a boston barnes and noble eats for breakfast.#it's two floors. there are plenty of books that it doesn't have. plenty of sections that are very small #like the poetry section is just pathetic. i look at it every time i go and it just makes me sad.#i guess a lot of the book annex stuff contains poetry but still that's not really enough to entertain a rich interest in the genre for long #i outgrew the limited selection at my own local b&n poetry section by the time i was twenty. i was like i already know everything here.#which isn't to say i'm an expert in poetry. it's to say that the poetry section is barely bigger than a shelf #in fact ive never thought about it before but I OWN more poetry books than you'll find in the poetry section #at my local b&n. lol #i have a lot of nostalgia for b&n even though it is a big company that does not love me. i have very few books i bought new #that are not from barnes and noble. i got so many books that changed my life from them #i guess it's like a childhood/teenage attachment at this point bc ive had more mixed feelings abt the direction theyve been taking #for several years at this point.#and no i dont mean that theyve been expanding to selling more toys/games etc. theyve literally always done that in my lifetime. who cares.#they still have books #as an adult ive been more capable of seeing how limited their book selection is and how i have so many problems w that.#and it ultimately comes down to them being a big greedy company

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andromedaexists · 7 months

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It's Been a Week...

Seven days ago I introduced my book baby (Δάιος, you might have heard of it) into the world! On 10/10 Icky baby made his debut!!

So what has happened since then?

Well, my personal life has become a living hell but that's not what we're here to discuss. Today is all about self-publishing a debut novel.

Icarus came into the world on the 10th with a KDP ebook and paperback release. Those were soon joined on the 11th by an ebook, paperback, and hard cover wide release through the distribution channels of IngramSparks.

I have learned a lot with this process. Namely: IngramSparks is a fucking bitch when it comes to covers, Amazon will not provide quality author proofs so I have no way of knowing what my book will look like before it publishes, and that I need to give myself more time to work out the kinks next time.

Before I get too far into details, I want to highlight some numbers here. If you do not want to see publication numbers then you are free to go! Thank you for stopping by, though!

Okay, so here are my numbers so far:

I had sixteen (16) preorders on the Δάιος ebook through Amazon.

On release day, these orders processed. I also received another 3 orders that day, bringing the total number to 19.

Since that first day, I have received a total of 26 orders through KDP.

As you can tell, I had a significant dip right after pub day. This is mostly my own fault, as I am terrible at marketing and by virtue of my life going to shit I haven't even been shitposting about my book.

Of these 26 orders, 5 of them have been paperbacks

This is a lot better than I expected!! I think it's because I am so partial to physical copies that I tend to push those first and foremost before the ebook.

But these are just the amazon KDP numbers, I have also gone wide with distribution!

So how many orders have I gotten through IngramSparks??? None.

Not a one. That's to be expected though, a lot of indies sell through amazon first and foremost. I mostly set up ingram for two reasons: 1. I wanted to hold a hardcover edition of Δάιος in my hands but i really dislike the way that KDP doesn't offer dust jackets for their hardcovers and 2. Consignment

I just finished filling out some consignment forms for my local NE Ohio bookstores, we'll see if I get into any of them.

There is one other place I sell, though: my website. How many orders have I gotten there? 6!!

one of those images is different, because on my website I can offer something that amazon and IS can't. Physical goodies. The books on my website come with a pack of 6 stickers, a thank you card, and my signature! And technically I have 8 orders, but one hasn't come through yet from a friend in person and the other is for Shane bb who is getting an annotated copy of the book (I haven't finished the annotations yet lol)

So now that we have all the numbers out in the open, let's talk about money. How much did it cost for me to publish δάιος? A lot. It is possible to publish for much less than what it cost me, but I went out of my way to commission a cover artist that I just knew I needed to have and that cost me a pretty penny.

All in all, I spent $2,920.16 ($1,703.02 is the cover alone after conversion from GBP)

And how much have I made back so far, just in week one?

$73.46 from KDP royalties and $44.82 from my website ($94.95 - $50.13 for the books alone, not even counting the goodies and packing supplies) for a total of...

$118.28!!! That's a lot!!!

I am very privileged to have a credit card I can put my expenses on as I slowly pay them off, and I do not regret anything I have done in the creation of my book. Even if it makes me cry a little bit at how much I spent.

Now that the numbers are over, what are some positive things that have come of this and some negative things? (pos first)

I have published my debut novel!

There are 4 people who have read my debut novel and liked it enough to rate it on goodreads! (it has a 4.75 star rating atm!)

My book is BEAUTIFUL

Icky baby has been unleashed on the world!

I feel like I've finally accomplished something with my life

DID I MENTION THAT I PUBLISHED A BOOK???

the negatives:

I really don't like that the colors of the cover don't print properly, every copy I've gotten either lightens the contrast so you can't see the title or it darkens the damned thing and you can't see Icarus

I also don't like that IngramSparks doesn't support any letters outside of the basic latin letters on the spine of covers, because that means that my baby is naked under the dust jacket and that's just boring

Amazon Fuckt Up my print proof (i will attach pictures) and I freaked out about it for a good 4 days

I just realized today that I published daios with a placeholder chapter title about halfway through the book... so I fixed that but there are already more than 30 copies of the book in circulation with that error...

Idk if it's just my bad eyes but I feel like the text is too small in the print books. I would like to make it larger when I publish the revised edition next year

INGRAMSPARKS IS A LITTLE BITCH THAT WILL YELL AT YOU AND REJECT YOUR COVER IF YOU LOOK AT IT WRONG

I can order just a regular copy of daios off amazon and it will be here in two days. So why when I order author copies does it take TWO WEEKS TO SHIP

I really hate that the hardcover can't have creme paper. Like, gimme the offwhite. It looks so much better with my cover and the vibes of the story. Lemme use something other than bleach white please i'm begging

All in all, I learned a lot with this!! I had my ups and downs, I think I've done everything in my power to make this book successful, and now I just have to roll with it!

I will check in again at the one month mark, but yeah! That's it! Thanks for reading through this long winded post!!

The pictures, as promised:

And just in case you can't immediately see what's wrong:

The colors are off, the title has like a hard demarcation when it's supposed to be a soft glow and you can't hardly see Icarus down there

My name is brushed up against the edge of the book when it's supposed to have a decent buffer room

The spine is shifted. Why is the spine text partially on the front cover?

The colors are off on the back as well, the text is hard to read and it's too close to the edge of the book when it's supposed to be more centered.

For reference, here's the finally front cover on a regular paperback purchased through amazon (I.E. what a normal customer would receive):

#andi talks #publishing costs #publishing numbers #indie publishing #self publishing #call me icarus #writeblr

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eccentric-nucleus · 3 months

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so i signed up for that 404 media mailing list b/c i mean, why not. so now i am also getting emails from them and so far it has not been too annoying. several articles about various food delivery aggregators using bizarre ai-generated food photography, that kind of thing.

the thing i got today was about people on etsy making bespoke hardcover editions of fanfiction (not their own, just whatever fanfic is popular) and selling them. apparently a lot of draco/hermione fanfiction.

from the article:

“due to the seemingly unstoppable monetization of fandom and the sheer volume of illegal fan bindings being sold, I will be pulling all my works within the next few days,” they wrote on Tumblr. “thank you to those of you who worked so hard trying to keep fandom free and to all of you who supported my writing. it was fun while it lasted”

“I hate these shitty vultures who are destroying fandom spaces to make money before moving onto the next grift once we are burned to the ground,” a Redditor wrote in a thread about the announcement. “Vultures is exactly what they fucking are,” someone else replied.

it has been super weird to see fandom becoming more and more monetizable. i remember when even the suggestion that somebody might be exchanging money for product would get people kicked off fanfic sites. even running charity drives for fan in exchange for charity receipts was considered risky and dangerous! and now there's a bunch of people like "ugh ao3 is so annoying; why don't they let me post links to my commission form on my fics". money slowly and insidiously making its way into the fandom entity.

(i've actually had multiple people tell me they've gotten commissions inspired by my fics, or ask me if i take take money for writing further chapters of w/e fic, and it's always such a weird thing. that used to be such an out-there stance to take and now there are plenty of people that... i mean, i've just been posting about scribblehub. a large part of that site is absolutely hosting porn fanfic with patreon links attached. now it's a Market.)

i do feel like just saying that economic interests inevitably hollow out all hobbyist communities and turn them into empty enclosures filled with advertising is a little doomerist of me, but oof it's hard to see the increasing monetization of these spaces as anything other than another threat to any real community

there's this old saying about the difference between an author and an agent is that an author genuinely wants people to read their work. part of the value of getting published is so people see something you cared about making, not just the money. the agent is there to be a dispassionate advocate so that they can actually make money off of their work, b/c the author is kind of biased there. everybody having to be their own agent just kinda sucks for a lot of reasons

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solarishashernoseinabook · 2 months

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Could you expand on what you said in a post about libraries about the big 5 publishers screwing over libraries in terms of digital lending rights?? I’ve not heard of that at *all* and im generally pretty caught up on publisher news, so I think theres a pretty big library-shaped hole in my sources lol

All righty, a couple disclaimers here. One, this is from a Canadian library perspective, so idk how well it applies to the US. Two, I don't work in the collections department at my library, so I'm basing this off what I remember from class years ago

(also clarifying that I'll be referring to ebooks and audiobooks collectively as digital books just to make it easier)

But in short, the Big Five publishers only very reluctantly put up with libraries having physical books, and one of the reasons they do that is because only one person can have a physical book at a time. Digital books, though? Why, if a library has a copy of one of those, hundreds of people could read it at a time! That's profits they're losing! How terrible!

But, well, selling to libraries is still a sale, so the companies sell to them but restrict it as much as possible. One, libraries pay much more for digital books than your average consumer. I don't have the exact number, but it's significantly higher. Two, unlike a physical book, which a library can have rebound if it's popular but hard to find, and which could conceivably last years if it's hardcover or paperback binding, digital books have severe limits on them. Maybe the library can only buy one "copy" of a digital book - i.e., only one patron can use it at a time. That digital copy artificially expires after 20 loans or 2 years, whichever comes first. Got a waitlist of 50 people waiting to read the latest Alexander McCall Smith book? Too bad! 30 of them are gonna have to go without! Do you have a moderately popular book by Danielle Steel, which gets borrowed every couple of months? Sorry! You've had it for two years, so it's gone now! Better buy a new copy!

Now, this is the case on digital platforms like Libby/Overdrive. Each digital book acts the same as a physical book, except that most of them go away after a certain amount of time. Certain public domain books might be a one-time buy for libraries, but for the most part, every loan, every week that goes by is chipping away at a digital book's life. Certain digital platforms - Hoopla, for example - have what's called "simultaneous use" policies - maybe you only have one ebook copy of a book by Agatha Christie, but every library patron can read it at once. The trade-off for this is that my library has to pay a certain amount for every person currently reading or listening to a book on Hoopla. We have a daily budget that can't be exceeded. Every week we field calls from people who, one afternoon, wanted to open up Hoopla, but were told they couldn't take out any books - because too many of my library's 40 000 active patrons had also decided to enjoy a book that day. And not every publisher even allows simultaneous use licenses, or they don't allow it on all of their titles

A final reminder to this very long post: please do not boycott Libby or Hoopla over this, I beg of you. Your libraries are pouring a lot of money into them because they're being used. Instead, put pressure on the big five publishers to make their digital books accessible, and vote in your municipal elections to get libraries more funding so we have more budget to put into those items. An easy way to increase your library's funding is just to spend a bit of time a week in there. Hang out with your friend for a few hours, just walk in and look at the shelves, or sit there and use their free wifi to play games on your phone. Digital books are here to stay, and libraries are important for getting those books into people's hands

#long post #libraries #if i made any errors pls lemme know #i'm remembering what we were taught in class but this was...er 2019 or 2020 or so #it might've changed since then but tbh probably not for the better #asks

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literaticat · 2 years

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Could you explain the drama with Barnes & Nobles? How will it affect MG and YA (marginalised) authors??

I have gotten A LOT of questions about B&N "rumors" -- like, a LOT a lot. So I'm going to endeavor to answer questions as well as I can here, and delete the other ones, just because they are substantially the same and would have the same answers.

The B&N drama, as I understand it, is that they have made a policy to not stock MG hardcover books, except the very tippy-top bestsellers (ie, the new Rick Riordan or something at that level). I have not heard that this is the case with any other category of book -- only MG -- but I don't know that for sure. That's just the only category I have heard confirmation about.

This has been a policy for a bit actually (I heard about it from a sales rep a month or so ago), but I guess the news just broke to the twitter-sphere yesterday, hence all the questions today!

I have a lot of conflicting feelings about it, actually, and zero data or facts, so ... take all this with lots of grains of salt, I guess:

MANY books were already not being bought by B&N. I would go so far as to say that the majority of my author's books, I never saw at B&N -- certainly not at my small local one, maybe more at the larger locations. Getting picked up by B&N has never been a guaranteed thing by any stretch.

From B&N's perspective, it sounds like they want to make more room for paperbacks, because paperbacks sell better. I saw a tweet somewhere yesterday, anecdotal of course, but basically it was a B&N bookseller who said that hardcover sales for them are very slow -- and so they did a 50% off all hardcover books sale -- and hardcover books STILL didn't sell at a significantly higher volume. Whereas a paperback sale resulted in books absolutely flying off the shelves. (The bookseller in that tweet went on to say that they wouldn't be surprised if the mandate came to pass for other categories of book, too, for this reason.)

We can't force a bookstore to carry books they don't think they can sell. Like - they are a business, not a public service or a charity - they will do what is best for their bottom line, and they can buy and stock whatever they want.

We can be disappointed! We can express that disappointment! We can support indie stores instead! Or order the hardcover from B&N so they'll know people still want to buy them! But we can't make them make choices that they don't feel are good for their business.

I'm guessing, if there is demand for a certain title, individual B&N stores WILL carry it. So if you / your community are super passionate about something, let your local store know.

The reality is: Paperbacks DO often sell better. We make hardcovers for two reasons aside from tradition -- for the library market, and so that the publishers can charge more for books and make more money. In, say, the UK, the VAST majority of kids books are paperback first, because that's what the majority of their customers want. The CEO of B&N is James Daunt, who also runs Waterstones in the UK, and saved that company from ruin. I daresay he's thinking, hey, these are some things worked to save Waterstones from ruin - let's try it at B&N - hence many stores closing and re-opening in much smaller locations that look more like indie bookstores, changing the way buying is structured, etc.

We need B&N to keep existing. That's by NO means a sure thing. Remember Borders? That can happen again, and if it does, I shudder to think how that would impact the landscape. So -- YES, I personally think they should keep buying hardbacks, but also, if it affects their bottom line so badly, YES, I think they should do what they need to do to survive. Maybe that is promoting and selling the hell out of PAPERBACKS. If that's the gameplan -- ok, let's see it; maybe that will ultimately be a good thing.

Hot take: I think more publishers should publish paperback originals or PB/HC simultaneously, hardcover for the libraries and paperback for trade, the way they often do for chapter books and graphic novels. People LIKE paperbacks. People can AFFORD paperbacks. Unfortunately, because they are less expensive, authors make less money on them. The good thing though is that they tend to sell more, so ideally that is made up in volume.

All of this might affect authors (marginalized and otherwise) because it might mean fewer sales for their hardcover books, fewer sales means it's harder to earn royalties and get that next book deal, etc. But actually -- it might also NOT mean that, because again, many hardcovers already weren't being stocked by B&N, or were being stoked but ultimately returned to the publisher; many people DO wait until paperback to buy things, order online or from Indies, etc.

It will be interesting to see actual numbers on how (or IF) this truly has a huge impact on book sales -- or if, in fact, sales of hardcovers stay relatively steady, returns on hardcovers go way down, and sales of paperbacks go up.

TR;DR - I have no answers, just a lot of questions and comments I guess. I would urge authors to not catastrophize, though. Like, does this suck? Yes for sure. Will it ACTUALLY affect you, personally? Maybe, but maybe a lot less than you think. I don't think any publisher is making decisions based on this decision at this point, we are not really in charted territory. I'm sure that both publishers and B&N will analyze how their sales are affected, and adjust accordingly, which MIGHT mean backpedaling on this mandate, or who knows, time will tell. But worrying about what fallout MIGHT occur from business decisions we have no control over is not helpful or conducive to happiness or productivity.

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linesonscreens · 8 months

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Project: Let's Read Peanuts (Yes, all of it)

Initial Thoughts

First off: Yes, actually like Peanuts. Fuck you, your judgment means nothing to me.

Second: Welcome! I'm very happy you are here and I'm so excited to go on this journey with you.

So here's the deal, I've decided to read through Peanuts in it's entirety. Every day or so (schedule permitting) I'll read through about a month of the strip at a time and give my reactions to what I read. I can't promise that they will be deep or profound but they will definitely be reactions. If you decide you like these reactions then you can like, subscribe or leave a comment in accordance with our ancient online customs. I will then give this engagement to my landlord in lieu of money which will make it so I don't have to work anymore.

What is Peanuts?

Peanuts is a comic strip by chronically depressed and more-horny-than-you'd-expect social recluse Charles Schulz. It started in 1950 and ran as the most popular comic strip of all time until shortly before his death in 2000. It stars Schulz's self-insert OC Charlie Brown and his wacky friends(?) as they struggle with the inevitable social alienation caused by daily life under capitalism in the imperial core. It's merchandising/movie/TV tie ins have brought in like eleventy trillion dollars and I'm pretty sure Snoopy is still worshiped as some kind of god in Japan to this day.

But… come on, you already knew that. It's God damn Peanuts.

Why Peanuts?

Why not? The art is good and I enjoy it when the small child talks about how he hates life and wants to die. Plus I've been meaning to read through the archives for a while now.

Is this a nostalgia thing for you?

Honestly, not really. I never even gave the strip a chance until I was already well into adulthood because I'd just assumed that it was a garbage zombie strip that should have ended in the 60s. That only changed when I grabbed the first hardcover collection and discovered that it was actually a pretty fun read.

How much have you already read?

Roughly the first 8 years of the strip plus a random assortment of strips from throughout the comic's run.

Will you cover the movies/specials?

Eeeeeeeeeeehhhh…. maybe some of them. There's a few gems in the animated stuff but also a TON of incredibly tedious bullshit.

How can I follow along?

You can read along at the official GoComics archive or purchase the incredibly well made Fantagraphics hardcover editions. OK, enough of all that. Let's get started.

#peanuts #charlie brown #comics #comic strips #lets read

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krickis · 1 year

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Tension Points print edition!

Howdy! For about a year now I've been working on my getting a print edition of my Deltarune fanfiction, Tension Points (AO3 link, Offprint link). Well, it's here now! Pictures and details below!

This book is roughly 350 pages, hardcover. The actual book under the dust jacket is a tad boring (solid red with gold letters) because that's what Lulu offers. But the dust jacket is gorgeous, all artwork by my good friend @renrink . On that note, it is not lavishly illustrated; there is a full page black and white illustration opening every act, and a final one at the end of the story, for four illustrations (plus about the author/illustrator images).

One more thing to note. Lulu no longer gives me a link for y'all to buy this from They have a Lulu Direct thing where they up the cost by 20% and require I own a storefront somewhere, which I don't. And because this is fandom content, I am loathe to make one.

So here's the plan, and please read all the following carefully: message me if you want a copy! Not in the comments, not an ask (which often get eaten), but a PM. Give me your address and if you want multiple copies let me know how many you want. The cost of the book is $21.91 and the cost of shipping will depend on where you live, but the final total for most places is around $28-29 (for the US) to around $32-34 (for international shipping to countries that don’t have exuberant shipping costs).

Please note that the print-on-demand process is not quick! It will take a few weeks to get the book to you from when you order it! When I have a tracking number, I will give let you know it.

I will not be asking for extra money for myself on this book. I will not profit off it in any way unless you feel so inclined as to send extra money. Which I won’t ask you to, and I won’t try and guilt you into it. But if you want to support me financially by buying this book, it is up to you to decide how much extra to send to me. I won’t even bring this up in a conversation; just bringing it up as an option here.

Lastly, I’m planning on doing the money exchange through PayPal, but if that doesn’t work for you, let me know! I can take Venmo, Cash App, and KoFi payments. If none of those work for you, I don’t know how to handle the sale, but we can still try to work something out ^^’

I'm sorry for the roundabout way of doing this. It is not my preference, but what I need to do to protect myself with fanfic print editions. If someone knows another solution, I am open to hearing it!

#deltarune #suselle #fanfic #Tension Points

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raytm · 7 months

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❝ Ritsu! ❞ He announces his presence once he spots his friend on the sofa, sorting through papers Shou was yet to find out the contents of. Probably lists, places they must visit, names they should meet, people they could rat out. These were usually Higashio's job to manage. Maybe Ritsu has decided to help. The thought alone sounds relieving, the idea of the newest ( dare he say best ) addition to his team getting acquainted and familiar with the rest. Shou should be content, except he is a little confused instead, so much it reaches the edges of concern. Because Ritsu has also been helping Fukuda with researches, and Ootsuki with errands, all while making sure to never miss out on his & Shou's training sessions.

It's almost fond, the feeling that makes him he want to smack Ritsu's head so hard it hits the table ahead, a scolding gesture. Ritsu is always like that, stretching himself thin while trying to compensate for something that only he can recognize. He doesn't give Ritsu enough of a chance to react before he launches himself into a seat next to him, throwing everything off balance and nearly flying except the white backpack closely hugged to his chest.

❝ I brought you something. ❞ He ungracefully searches through the interesting collection of items in his bag, the largest reveals itself to be a notebook. Shou hands it out, his eager gaze searches Ritsu's for a reaction. The notebook is bigger than any of the random worn out ones that littered his bag for as long as he remembered. A journal, "360 pages." written on a cut of small paper stickered upon soft grey leather, elegant swirls of ocean waves engraved into hardcover as decoration, an impressive brand displayed on top in small, glistening golden letters, an elastic band holding it all together, with a new pen, smooth silver, hooked onto it.

❝ I thought I could get you a book, but I realized I never learnt what you liked to read about so- ❞

( CLAW AU AAAAAAAA )

he had fallen into routine and if he were honest, sorting documents for higashio didn’t feel that different from the after school work he had done for the student council. It was unnerving how normalcy became both dangerous : patent & looming & quotidian with tasks like appraising intel & running errands. an eerie, fraught sort of normal, he thinks but does not say aloud. his days were filled with it, arduous training that went on for hours and more elementary tasks such as this. there was a subtle furrow to his brow as he focused on the piece of paper he held, the assignment was allocated in dot points, the person they were meant to be interrogating, then, their exhibited weaknesses, the sort of disclosing that would make their mission far easier. ritsu had been so focused he hadn’t noticed shou’s grand entrance until he collapsed into the couch beside him with a distinct pfft of cushion protest. paper flittered into the air, pencils sent skittering across the desk, in the upheaval all ritsu uttered with a soft sigh, his power reaching out, prismatic and encompassing and towing the workload back down to the burnished wood. i bought you something, it’s spoken grandly, the grin of shou’s mouth was a contagious luster, simmering the agitation that had him narrowed eyed in disapproval. there’s a you didn’t have to do that which rises to the surface, stifled, it felt too innate - yet,all wrong. Instead, he arches a solitary, dark eyebrow, attention settling on the backpack shou had stuffed his hands into. just how much stuff was he carrying around ? finally, after jostling with it for some time he retrieved a lavish looking journal, its cover bound in soft, grey leather, he held it up like a prize before extending it in offering. the gilded lettering spoke of a brand he never could have afforded with his own, measly pocket money, the leather bound firm, the prospect of frays unafforded to something so expensive. tentatively, he reached out and touched it, skimming the side where the pages were exposed, they looked delicate but sturdy, an absurd juxtaposition, his mouth hung open for a moment. “ you .. remembered ? " the fact that he tended to maintain a journal had been a passing conversation, nothing impactful, just shou browsing through the pages saying it was cool and him desperately averting his gaze in an attempt to hide the heat rising to his cheeks. he writhes beneath shou expectant gaze, uncertain how to respond, how to close his mouth, what expression he should be wearing. “ something like this ? you didn’t have to.” however, he’s absorbed in it now, scarcely touching the spine bound and gilded, the pen, somehow just as expensive looking as the book, sat neatly attached to it. “ how..” he raises his gaze, warmth rising to his cheeks. “ how do i pay you back for this.. better yet what am i meant to say ..?” the whole weight of it, the book and the feeling behind it weighed heavy in his hands as shou relinquished it. “ thank you shou.. really, thank you.”

#✦ ⠀⠀ 𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑠𝑢 𝑘𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑦𝑎𝑚𝑎.⠀ ⠀ ╱ ⠀ 𝐢𝐜.

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justasparkwritings · 2 years

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The Littlest Dumpling {1}

Pairing: Min Yoongi x OFC

Genre: Non Idol AU / Author AU

Rating: PG 13

Warnings: Swearing!

Word Count: 4.7K

Summary: Yoongi’s ready to shop his newest book idea, what he isn’t ready for is you.

Master List

Tag List: @4ksj, @jagiya, @ot7nem, @knjkitten, @teamtardis-notdead

Tag List

A dark sky streaks with lightening, thunder rumbles throughout the land.

Boulders quake, but our hero stays strong. He pushes his sweatband up and adjusts his hanbok. The sweat still drips down his brow, his scar, long perpendicular to his eye shines in the flash of lightning.

“I am not my brother,” Lil King Yoongi said, his sword unsheathing itself from underneath his garment. “I am not my father, either.”

“Then who are you?” The hooded figure asked. His sword was drawn too, ready to strike in attack.

“I am King Yoongi.”

Lil King Yoongi Volume 1

April

“Damn it,” Yoongi throws his pen across his desk, watching as it nails the framed picture of him and his parents, holding his first ever published piece of writing from when he was a teenager. It was small, a local newspaper that held an essay contest. He had written stunning prose about why he loves books, and the local library. His essay had won, beating out all the competition from his 1000 person high school and surrounding areas. The prize was having his essay turned into a column, and getting to shadow the local newspaper staff for a month. He was allowed to create a column and run 4 articles. Naturally, he chose to read and review books.

Yoongi’s Reading Review became a hit, and after the success of it’s limited run, he was offered a junior staff position. He submitted 1 article a month, full of up to 5 book reviews. He reviewed everything, novels to essay collections, to biographies and new comic book editions. In Summer months, when his classmates were off from school, hanging out at the local pool and the mall, making out on the empty football field and gearing up for football season in the fall, he worked. In the summer they upped his count from one per month to two, and as a rising Junior they upped it again to three. Every dollar he saved went to buying more books, despite what his parents wanted (saving all the money), he couldn’t help but reach for that hardcover fantasy novel. He couldn’t stop himself from indulging in a reissue of a comic he just discovered. Yoongi loved it, exploring new lands and times, sharing what he’d discovered with other people his age. It hadn’t made him popular, perse, but it had ignited a fire within him.

A degree in creative writing, and MFA and a series that has garnered him a Newberry honor, and he’s sitting at his desk. The desk he started writing on as a boy, refinished and brought to his apartment from his parents house, still had indents from when he would write so hard on loose leaf paper that he permanently changed the make up of the desk. Now he has glass resting on top of it, protecting those early scribbles.

With his favorite pen now lost behind a table, the words in front of him look like utter shit.

“Fuck.” He mutters. “Fuck!”

Yoongi has a meeting with a new publisher, someone his agent set him up with so he could make his first foray into official childrens books. He had the idea, and the concept and what he wanted to say, but he couldn’t well, say it. Nothing came when he thought about his newest project. And what did was complete and utter shit.

Why had he thought he could do this?

Easy, he had to. Just like breathing, he had to write.

The Littlest Dumpling, is a story about a little boy who looks, much like he did and does, like a boiled dumpling. He becomes brave as he goes through school and out into the world. His mom calls him Little Dumpling, affectionately, his brother teasingly, and his father prefers more traditional nicknames for his youngest son.

It’s meant to be both hopeful and easily identifiable as a story any kid can cling to. But he can’t get started. And that is terrifying.

Lil King Yoongi had flown out of him. He had written four volumes of it before he got a publishing deal. He knew it inside and out, every aspect of it. His agent had wanted him to make a spin off when the last book came out last year, but he wouldn’t do that. That felt so disingenuous to the characters. There was no prequel, there was no sequel. Lil King Yoongi was complete.

So he took five years off. Went to Korea with his parents, saw his friends, rested and did a few guest review spots for new books and his local paper that still asked him to. All in the hopes that he could, when he was ready, put pen to paper and write his next great work: The Littlest Dumpling.

Then the deadline came - his agent, Marc, set up a meeting with a new publisher. And he tried. He really really tried. But now, sitting in the waiting room, bouncing his leg and trying not to crack his knuckles, he’s going into this meeting with an idea and no pages to show.

“Mr. Min?” Alexis, the assistant asks. “She’s ready for you now.”

Alexis guides him to the office, through a hallway of framed book covers, pictures with authors holding their books and quotes pulled from said books. It’s a gallery wall to end all gallery walls, and Yoongi kind of wishes he was a part of.

Inside the office, which seems more like a fort than a functioning structure, you are standing behind a desk, waiting.

“Mr. Min, welcome to Serendipity Publishing, where we believe every book we create is meant to be. Have a seat. Alexis will you bring some coffee?” You rattle off in quick succession, no hint of annoyance in your voice, but a little sparkle of fire in your eyes.

“Sure thing,” Alexis smiles.

“I’m Y/N,” You extend your hand to him, and he takes it cautiously. ”And I get paid to say that phrase, though I’d much rather not.”

“Oh,” Yoongi’s taken aback. “Okay, then please call me Yoongi.”

“Okay Yoongi. Welcome. I’m so excited to meet you and discuss your work.”

“That won’t last long,” Yoongi mutters.

“What?”

“Nothing - just, don’t get your hopes up. I don’t know if I have anything, good.”

You’re caught off guard by his deprivation, tipping your head to the side and staring at him quizzically. “That seems unlikely given the success with your graphic novels. But note taken. I am ready to be pleasantly disappointed.”

“So, I have this idea -

“Wait,” You hold up a hand and stare at Alexis who has just entered the room. “Do you want cream or sugar?”

“Black, just black,” Yoongi says.

“Great.”

Alexis, hot pink curls bouncing, sets two cups of coffee down and walks out, shutting your office door behind her. Yoongi takes the opportunity to glance around. It’s an office carved out of book shelves. There’s a window, a window seat and your desk in the middle. Every single wall is covered in what appears to be clear floating shelves filled with books.

“Have you edited or published all of these?” He asks.

“The company has, but if you keep looking you’ll find a few that aren’t our label. I snuck them in,” You say.

“Aren’t you going to get caught?”

“And what, fired? I’d love to see them try.”

He nods approvingly. “So you’ve been here long?”

“Yeah, straight out of college, started reading the reject pile, found a few gems, got moved up and eventually here I sit: Head of New Acquisitions, Young Adult and Children’s Lit.”

“That’s a fancy title,” He says.

“Better be, Vassar wasn’t cheap,” You crack a smile, and his shoulders relax.

“Ah you’re a Vassar grad?”

You shrug. “That’s what my diploma says.”

“Interesting,”

“Not up to snuff?”

“I expected a Sarah Lawrence or like, Whitman.”

“Small college in Eastern Washington. Wow!” You laugh. “That’s not where you went, is it?”

“Nope,”

“Berkeley?” You already know.

“Yep.”

“How’d you like the rain?”

He shakes his head and offers a gentle smile. “About as much as you want to drink black coffee.”

“Ah, you noticed?”

“Yeah, I assume you brought yours from home?”

“Of course.”

Yoongi reaches for his mug, with the company logo in gold and rainbow across the front, and takes a sip.

“It’s hot!” You say quickly, watching as he winces.

“Fucking fuck,” Yoongi mutters. “Thanks for the warning.”

“Who takes a sip of coffee like it’s ice water?” You ask, your mind racing to decide if a lawsuit is possible from too hot coffee. How embarrassing, going down for serving an author coffee that was scalding.

“Valid,” He accepts your sympathy easily.

You let the moment pass, then start again. “So you wrote a book.”

“The new one, or the old ones?”

“The new one, and your agent wants you to what, shop it around? We’re willing to make you a deal today, Yoongi.”

“What if my idea is shit?” Yoongi’s earnest gaze is a little concerned, vulnerability and weakness showing through.

“You wrote a five part saga about a lil king that has sold millions. It’s one of the most popular graphic novels in the history of graphic novels. You could go anywhere, do anything,” You lean forward, your voice just above a whisper. “But you’re here.”

“How serendipitous,” he jokes.

“Precisely. So tell me, Mr. Min, Yoongi, what is this new project?”

He takes a deep breath, wishing he had water instead of this coffee.

“Our parents all give us nicknames as kids, whether or not we want them. We either grow into them, or out of them. My new project takes shape with a little boy who affectionately is called, Little Dumpling.”

“Oh my god,” You mutter. “I’m already hooked.”

“The Littlest Dumpling is about this boy. I want the first book to be about his nickname, how he got it, what it means. Then the next to be about adventures he has as his alter ego, Littlest Dumpling, and as himself.”

“Let me guess,” Your elbows prop, chin resting in hands. “You can’t fucking write, can you?”

Yoongi stares at you, unsure how you could possibly know he’s had writers block for a year.

“I - I currently have writers block. But, at present, I have outlined the first three installments.”

“What’s book 1?”

“His classmates find out his nickname.”

You take out a piece of paper that has his name written across the top in very curvy lettering. “And two?”

“His bully picks on him for the lunches he eats.”

“Traditional Korean?”

“Yes,” He agrees.

“I’m in. I love it.”

“But, I don’t have anything written.”

You wave your hand through the air, dismissing his objection. “That’s okay, I’ve signed deals with people who had far less than you do.”

Yoongi isn’t sure if this is comforting or concerning.

“I see that look - but think about it, look at where I am. I know what I’m talking about.”

“I don’t doubt that you do, but I’ve never gone to a publisher with an idea and no pages. It’s like streaking across the football field at halftime.”

“I get it, and i know we’ve only been talking for twenty minutes, but trust me, Yoongi. You can do this.”

He inhales through his teeth, sucking in air loudly before exhaling and doing it again.

“I’m going to be incredibly difficult about the illustration, it has to be perfect.”

“Understood, and editing too, I’m assuming?” You ask, jotting his answers down.

“Yes.”

“I have an editor and illustrator in mind for you, both have done work with our authors before to great success. I’ll get the contract sent to your agent and legal team today for them to go over and discuss. What we’re paying you will be included and competitive.” You switch to your computer, drafting an email to legal. That’s what it looks like to Yoongi, but really you’re typing send the contract ASAP.

“That’s fast.”

“Look, you’re Yoongi Min. I can tell you right now there’s at least five other agencies and publishing houses who want you to sign with them. Your current agencies is shitting themselves over losing you and your future projects. The sheer fact that you’re leaving your primary publishing house is, the most exciting get anyone could imagine right now. I know that’s pressure, I know that that means that you are having writers block. But Yoongi, I’m telling you, and I will keep telling you, we are your best option. You can pick who you want. You can go anywhere, truly, but we are dedicated to children’s literature. We are dedicated to the highest quality illustrations and collaboration amongst all our artists. We aren’t some big magnate, or conglomerate. We aren’t going to license your work without you knowing, and we aren’t going to publish something you aren’t 100% proud of. I promise you that.”

“Okay.”

“So, once I send the deal over, please take your time to look it over and understand it all. I will give you a list of editors with a single name starred for who I think you should work with, same for illustrators. But it’s up to you. Serendipity is a fabulous publishing house, and I can guarantee you will not regret signing with us or working with me.”

“You’re incredibly convincing.” He says.

“Like I said, Vassar. Business and creative writing degrees.”

Why are you so hellbent on impressing him?

“Double major, damn.”

“I’m incredibly impressive, Yoongi. And I won’t hide it.”

Yoongi wants to smirk, to keep calm, to remain somewhat nonplussed. But he can’t, not when you are looking at him like he’s the hope diamond and you haven’t yet realized he’s cursed.

He can’t look away, so he whispers instead. “You shouldn’t.”

“So, like I said. I’ll send it over and we can meet next week to sign or you can come by for more hot coffee and turn me down. Either way, we should talk again.”

“Yes, okay, sounds good.” He agrees.

“Great. Do you have any questions for me?”

Yoongi does. “What’s your favorite children’s book?”

You smile, not waiting a moment to respond. “Harriet the Spy for classic literature. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library for contemporary. Oh and The Westing Game.”

Yoongi beams, he hadn’t been expecting that. Not one book, but four?

“Okay, okay, I haven’t read three of those.”

“You should. You can borrow my copies,” You stand and move to a specific corner of your book shelves, taking down all four and handing them to Yoongi. “Then you have to come back and see me.”

“Okay, sounds like a deal.”

“If you bend pages or damage them in any way I will take it out of my offer.” You warn him, finger pointing accusingly at the middle of his chest. He’s standing a little too close, he realizes that as he backs away.

He picks up his coat and mutters, much louder than he intended. “You’re feisty.”

“Thank you. It’s one of my winning qualities.”

Yoongi has met with a few publishers in his day, and at the behest of Hoseok’s girlfriend, sat through many episodes of Younger starring Sutton Foster and Hilary Duff. But his meetings were never quite like the TV shows, or films, that glamorized publishing houses. No one was itching to sleep with each other, or fuck him while editing his books. But then again, he was in children’s publishing. Perhaps if he wrote a book geared towards adults, he’d have a similar sexy experience. But he hasn’t. Instead he’s just… Yoongi.

The littlest dumpling that ever lived, slinking into his agent’s office to discuss the deal. Or, if his agent has anything to say about it, you.

“She’s the hottest new publisher in the game, Yoongi’s,” Jane Huang says. Her quaffed hair is the color of flames, reds and yellows blurring into orange and curled atop her head. The sides are delicately shaved and bleached blonde. He always gets distracted by the ancient Chinese symbols dancing up her forearm, giving way to rich greens and emeralds that make up the bonsai she has stained into her skin. Jane, or Janie as Yoongi calls her, stares at him from her place behind her desk. Her office far less occupied than yours. “She’s promising you the world. Or at least, what sliver of it she can.”

“It’s all great - but how does the contract look?” Yoongi asks.

“She’s offering more than the others.”

Ah yes, the others. All the notable publishing houses, the few that still cared about his work after his brief hiatus. All offering far less than Serendipity, with a publisher far less enthused than you.

“The contract is clear, you aren’t going to get a better deal for the amount of work you’ve put in,” Jane says.

“I’ve put in a lot of work! There’s a concept, I have outlines!”

“But you haven’t written shit, don’t try to bullshit me, Yoongi.” Her tone is reminiscent of a scolding from his mother - which he knows if he points out, she will absolutely ream him for it.

“Noona, I know. But there will be,” Yoongi waits for her to erupt, hoping for sparks ready to ignite.

Instead she gently rolls her eyes. “I hate it when you call me noona. I’m not even that much older than you, and you have known me for long enough to know that.”

“Sorry, Janie.”

“Thank you. I’m glad you’re feeling confident. I was beginning to think you lost your nerve, and how embarrassing would that be for either of us? Humiliating.”

He scoffs. “I haven’t lost my confidence, mostly. I mean a little. Most of it is totally gone and tied up with my writing ability which, now that it’s lost and probably never coming back, seems like a great time to sign a new contract with a new publisher who -

“Yoongi!” Jane interrupts. “Stop spiraling. You’re fucking fine.”

“Sorry,” He says sinking deeper into his chair.

“She wants to meet with you again?” Jane asks. She finishes putting stickie notes where Yoongi needs to sign the elaborate and thorough contract.

“Yes, to officially sign the contract.”

“Isn’t that why Doc-U-Sign was invented?”

“Yes, she also lent me a few books so i have to give those back too.”

“I’m sorry, she did what?” Jane asks. She keens at him, elbows on her desk, body moving towards him as if she’s about to pounce. “She did what?”

“She lent me a few books -

“Books she’s published?”

“No,” He’s desperately trying not to blush.

“So, social books? Books about writing children’s books?”

“No,” Deeper red, the colors of hell.

“Yoongi,” Jane’s voice rises an octave, screeching in his ears.

“Well if you’d let me get out more than a word I’d tell you that i asked her what her favorite children’s books are, and she let me borrow the ones I hadn’t read.”

“And have you read them?” She asks.

“Of course,” He rolls his eyes.

“She’s flirting.”

“She is not.”

“Yoongi, you’re dense but not stupid.”

“She lent them to me, I read them. I’ll give them back when I sign the contract. That’s it.”

Jane is still smiling, more like smirking and only a little green with envy. “Good, because no matter how hot and talented she is, you can’t fuck your publisher.”

“Who says I want to?” Yoongi feigns ignorance, of course he wants to. He has eyes and ears that heard you spill genius to him.

“The glimmer in your eyes, Yoongi. That’s who.”

“Come on, you’re fucking some younger guy, why can’t I do something a little reckless?”

“And jeopardize your career?”

“I wouldn’t, she wouldn’t.” Though Yoongi has no idea what you would and wouldn’t do, with him. Or anyone that works for you.

“You’re an idiot if you think sleeping with your publisher won’t absolutely tank your reputation and career,” Jane says.

“It’s a hypothetical. I didn’t even know she was flirting with me until two minutes ago!”

“You definitely knew she was flirting, because you were flirting too,” Jane teases. “Of course you were. Have you seen her?”

“Have you seen the guy you’re sleeping with?” He tries desperately to pivot.

“Uh, yes?”

“Great because I haven’t, so tell me who he is.”

“Yoongi!” Jane tips her head back in exasperation.

“And not that we’re coworkers not friends shit, because you have been my agent for five years and we are more than just coworkers.”

“Work friends is better than coworkers,” Jane reminds him.

“You’ve told me about every exploit you’ve had over the last five years, and yet for some unknown reason you won’t tell me about this new person. Is it someone I know?”

Yoongi and Jane met when he won a collegiate award for an initial draft of, what would become the first draft of Lil King Yoongi. He had busied himself turning his Yoongi’s Reading Review into a city wide column, and then in college leading his collegiate paper and winning writing scholarships. She’d been following his career as they both experienced tangential success. Jane had won some of the same prizes years before him. That’s how she got her start, and how she stumbled upon him. Reading his work in a contest for a 5K scholarship.

To say in the last few years they’d become best friends would be a stretch, but Yoongi is right. They’re more than coworkers.

“You know they’re younger than me, what more do you want?” She asks.

“You’re being shady,” Yoongi accuses.

“You’re being nosy.”

”Ms. Huang, I believe I am just trying to be your friend,” Yoongi says.

“He isn’t in publishing if that helps,” Jane concedes. “And he’s around your age. And incredibly hot.”

“That’s more information than I had… so I’ll take it.”

Jane lets a beat pass. “But he isn’t as hot as Y/N.”

“I didn’t even -

“You have eyes, idiot. You know she’s a stunner.”

”Fine - she’s beautiful,” It’s his turn to concede.

“Thank you!”

“But I’m not, she isn’t interested in me. She wants my book, she wants my story. That’s it. That’s all.” He says.

Jane shakes her head. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“I do.”

“No, you don’t Yoongs,” She leans forward again, staring intently at him.

He’s uncomfortable under her gaze. “How do you know?”

“Your eyes, Yoongi. Your eyes.”

“You’re back!” You say, smiling widely at Yoongi as Alexis brings him into your office. “Oo with presents?”

“Just your books,” Yoongi hands the bag to you. “I liked them. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was my favorite.”

“I’m glad! So, tell me, good news or bad news?”

“Uh, depends?”

“On?”

“I’m ready to sign my contract.”

“Oh shit! Yes! Great news!”

“What would’ve been bad?”

“If you didn’t want to sign it, if you decided you didn’t want to write The Littlest Dumpling. If your old publishing house offered you more money to write more Lil King Yoongi’s. There are a lot of possibilities, Yoongi.”

“Clearly you’ve thought of all of them.”

“Isn’t that my job?”

“That’s fair.”

“Well, while the contract is printed, let me show you the list of illustrators and editors. I’ve already starred the ones that I think would be great for this project.”

You open a folder with his name neatly printed and take out a piece of paper with two columns. Passing it over to him, Yoongi doesn’t take long to skim it and choke on his own spit.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” He says, looking across the top of paper to you.

“What?”

He’s quick on his feet. “I will sign the contract, but I have one stipulation.”

“Oh?” You ask, surprised he doesn’t have more. A lot more. He could ask for almost anything and you’d oblige. You need this win.

“Yes, I will not, under any circumstance, work with him,” Yoongi hands over the list and watches as your eyes linger on the name you had starred.

“Okay, why not?” You ask.

“He’s an asshole.”

“Okay, but what about his work?”

“Who cares?” Yoongi snaps.

You clear your throat, trying a different approach. “Did he wrong you in your past? Is that what it is?”

“Maybe.”

You nod, understanding. “So you won’t work with him because he was a dick in college?”

“High school. And we were childhood friends before that. Our parents are still best friends,” Yoongi rushes through it. A sordid past told in a quick breath.

“Oh my god! Yoongi! That’s even more pathetic.”

“Is it?”

“Yes, it is. Your parents like him, why can’t you?”

Yoongi shakes his head, because really it’s more complicated than a petty disagreement or squabble in high school. It goes back years, decades really, and has hurt Yoongi the entire time. It’s so much more than his parents liking Seokjin, actually his parents liking Seokjin is part of the problem.

“I will never, ever work with that man,” Yoongi says softly, his eyes hard and his jaw set.

“So you’re telling me you won’t sign the contract if I make you work with him?”

“Correct.”

“Okay,” You nod and lean back in your chair, watching him. “So you have two options: One, walk away from Serendipity. Or, two, which I definitely think you should consider: get over it and push your feelings aside to create a great piece of work. Jin would be a perfect editor. He is incredible and has edited several best sellers. He is the best, and it would shock you to know how much we pay him to keep him here instead of going to Penguin or Random House or another boutique publishing house. Insane.”

“I - that’s it?”

“What, I’m not entertaining your teenage angst? Nah, I’m not doing that. I run a business, and if your ego is so fragile you can’t grow up, fine. But that’s who you’re going to work with.” You tell him.

Yoongi exhales. His agent had prepared him for this, well not the Jin of it all, but the potential that his pettiness would be overruled and ignored. He would have to work with people he didn’t like, or who didn’t like him, no matter what field he was in. But this?

Maybe he should grow up and move on. Though Seokjin is the last person he wants touching whatever masterpiece you think he’s capable of writing. But- again - maybe you’re right. Maybe Jin is the best option, and he is finally ready to move past it.

Yoongi inhales deeply through his teeth. “Fine.”

“Fine?” You ask.

“Fine - I’ll,” He exhales sharply, “I’ll bitch about it the entire time.”

“I don’t care.”

“You’re going to be the one who hears about it.”

You smile, already looking forward to it.

“That’s my job. Now tell me, what did you think of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library?”

Having signed his contract and returned home with another two books that Serendipity had in fact published, Yoongi felt ready to finally put pen to paper. Though the physical demand of crawling on the floor to dig his pen out from behind the table seemed beyond reproach. But, he finally, truly wants to start writing this new piece.

That is, until his phone buzzes, and a new email has arrived.

Subject: Untitled YM Project: Editing

From: Seokjin Kim

Yoongi -

Wow! It’s been a long time. What a weird coincidence you’d stumble into Serendipity Publishing. I am excited to work with you on this next project, Dumpling.

Let’s get coffee and discuss your plans soon. I am eager to figure out a schedule and start working!

Seokjin

PS - I know you’re probably going to request I be taken off this project, and I’d love to tell you there’s a solution besides sucking it up and dealing with me… but unlucky for you, there isn’t. Lucky for me, I get to helm the latest project from Yoongi Min. What a partnership we will be.

Yoongi throws his phone at the wall.

Fucking pompous asshole who thinks he’s god’s gift to literature. What an asshat. Who emails like that? Who says that shit? Who flaunts their status and power in front of someone they have to work with?

Fuck.

Seokjin.

Fucking.

Kim.

Yoongi’s fucked - because of course Seokjin is right. You were right when you said it earlier. There is no one better than Seokjin Kim. And Yoongi, despite his protesting and frustration and youthful hatred, absolutely has to work with him.

Next: The Littlest Dumpling {2}

#justasparkwritings #justasparkmaster #the littlest dumpling #min yoongi #houseofddaeng #purplearmynet #bangtanarmynet #networkbangtan #kpopccc #OT7 series #BTS series #Min yoongi x reader #Min Yoongi x you #lil king yoongi

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l0vergirlwrites · 2 years

Text

when life was beginning, i saw you ; peter parker

warnings: fluff... just pure fluff with our best boy

this is inspired by the instrumental "when life was beginning, I saw you" from cherry 🍒

stepping out of high school & heading to university was a big change. it was hard, having to start from the bottom & work your way up until you finally get to have a degree & get a job... only to do the same thing but in a slightly different way.

peter loved campus life, having more independance & all the extra credit he was earning from some of his classes. he was now a junior in university, studying the art of medical science. he had a passion for it & hoped to integrate it with his technology skills.

besides attending his classes & studying for tests or working on assignments, peter had a job so he could make some money & not live off his loans or grants while on campus. he worked at his school's library in his free time instead of catching up on much-needed sleep.

he would stack up the bookshelves, rearrange the books that weren't in proper order, help out at the front desk & sometimes do some light reading while on the job. it was boring, but it paid decent money & he kind of liked getting the chance to be out of the stuffy dorm room that he shared with an annoying guy named carl.

carl just gets on his nerves & since peter had developed a short fuse—a very short fuse, the two only bickered & roll their eyes at one another, despite peter trying to be nice. carl was also a political science major & had very different views on issues than peter, which made it even harder to live with him. so the library was an escape for him to be in some peace.

peter was the only one who worked at the library other than his boss, ms. welling. she was an odd lady, but she loved old film & television, especially star wars, so she got along with peter quite well. it wasn't the dream, but it made him cross paths with you.

he was working late, around eight-thirty at night when the front door opened. the library was quiet & ms. welling had already left for the day, so it was just peter at the front desk. he didn't notice at first who came in because his earbuds were blasting music too loud & he was caught up in reading "to kill a mockingbird" by harper lee.

it wasn't until he heard a loud smack emit from the stone flooring that he quickly took his ear buds out, flinching as he did so. when he looked up with confused eyes, he didn't expect to see you picking a hardcover book from the ground & heading over to him at the counter with a playful smirk.

peter just couldn't help to think how pretty you were, really pretty. the way your hair suited your dark features, how your coat had intricate patterns that he wasn't accustomed to seeing much, how your smile was gorgeous & how your eyes were the perfect shade of y/e/c-- he was in total awe of you.

"you seemed really into the book & i couldn't get your attention, so that's why i... did that. called your name like ten times" you explained, making him let out a nervous chuckle.

fuck, he liked your voice too.

"s-sorry about that" he apologized, fixing his posture in the wheely- chair he sat in & turned on the computer in front of him.

"so uh, what can i help you with?" he asked you, making you slide the book you had brought with you across the counter.

"a return"

with a nod, he went to scan the book code on the back & the computer showed that the book was six months late & the charge for the lateness would be ten dollars. he also saw your name linked to the date you had signed it out.

"so... y/n, you were pretty late with the return... about six months to be exact" peter said, making you sigh.

"wait, how do you know my name?" you questioned, making peter's heart drop.

"i-it says your name on the computer, i should've asked though in case—"

"don't sweat it, it's cool" you assured him, helping his nerves a bit.

"anyways, i may have forgotten that i had it until about, thirty minutes ago" you said with a chuckle, making peter look back at the computer screen with a light laugh.

"there's a ten-dollar fee for the late return though," he said, making you gasp at his words.

"you gotta be kidding right? ten bucks?" you asked him, to which he nodded his head sadly.

you went to grab your wallet out of your purse but peter quickly stopped you. halting your movements, you looked at him skeptically before he spoke.

"we could make a bargain? i could lower the charge to two dollars if you need the extra money. i won't tell my boss" he suggested to you, making you light up.

"thank you! your a life saver! what can i do for you in return?" you asked as you pulled out two dollars worth of coins.

he paused for a minute, wondering what he could do to possibly get to see you again & an idea popped in his head.

"you could come around here again sometime & i could give you some good book recommendations, o-only if you want" he said, realizing it sounded a bit nerdy & weird which made him mentally smack himself in the head.

you smirked at him once more, secretly catching on to what he was playing at.

"i-i know it's not much but—"

"i'm not completely against your offer & it's better than paying full price for the stupid book fee... so sure" you agreed.

peter quickly smiled at you & you returned it while you handed him the money so he could put it in the register. turning back to you, he saw that your eyes were trained on the book he was reading just as you had come in.

"there was a sequel to that you know? well actually, more like an original but it want released until after. it was the first draft of the book harper lee had written" you said to him, taking him slightly by surprise.

"o-oh. i didn't know. what's the other one called?" he questioned in curiousity.

"go set a watch-man. it's not as good as this one though, it's okay but like... kinda disappointing" you explained to him.

"well i guess i won't have to read it after i finish this"

"you still should. & you need to watch the movie" you added.

"there's a movie?"

"you need to know more backstory to what your reading..." you paused, remembering that you didn't know his name.

"oh! i'm peter. sorry i didn't tell you earlier" he said a bit quickly, a tiny bit embarrassed.

"it's alright.... peter... huh, it does suits you" you said while eyeing him up & down.

"well um, i have to lock up soon. so—"

"oh yeah right sorry—" you said flustered.

"no no, it's fine it's just—"

"i get it. i'll come by again soon" you told him, stepping away from the counter & slowly heading towards the door.

"bye y/n" he said looking at you, feeling completely entranced by your everything.

"bye peter" you said before giving him a small smile, walking out through the doors & heading to wherever you were going.

peter smiled to himself while looking down at his desk, feeling his cheeks blush & warm a bit. he couldn't shake off the smile he had when he started to pack up & head for his dorm to catch up on some homework from his drama class. he felt like a teenager again, even though he wasn't that old, he was only twenty.

turning the lights off & locking the doors, he almost walked away but he noticed a blue sticky note on the glass of the window of the doors, making himself stop in his tracks.

here's my number if you wanna talk before i come by next. i wanna know your progress on the books & movie.

111-111-1111

peter held the note in his fingers for a few moments, smiling more at the words & the messy pen writing. he folded it neatly & put it in his coat pocket as he headed to his car. he felt something odd when he looked at you, he had no idea how to describe the feeling that he felt throughout his body. all he knew is that you seemed different, a good type of different.

maybe after all this time of trying to find a new adventure to make life more interesting, you'd be his new adventure.

i miss when peter parker was happy

#peter parker imagine #peter parker #mcu spiderman #mcu fanfiction #peter parker x reader #peter parker fluff #peter parker fanfiction #marvel mcu #tom holland #tom holland spiderman #tom holland imagine #spiderman no way home #spiderman homecoming #spiderman far from home

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