#Automatic Printing Machine | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

niennanir · 2 years ago

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Listen to your elders

So last week I posted abut the importance of downloading your fic. And then three days later AO3 went down for 24 hours. No one was more weirded out by this than I was. But while y’all were acting like the library at Alexandria was on fire I was reading my download fic and editing chapter eight of Buck, Rogers, and the 21st Century. And also thinking about what I could do to be helpful when the crisis was actually over.

So first off, I’m going to repeat that if you’re going to bookmark a fic, you really need to also download the fic and back it up in a safe place. I just do it automatically now and it’s a good habit to get into.

But let’s talk about some other scenarios. Last October I lost power for over a week after hurricane Ian. Apart from not having internet or A/C I did find plenty to do, I collect books so I had plenty to read, but maybe, unlike me, your favorite comfort reads aren’t sitting on a bookshelf. So let’s do something about that, shall we?

In olden times many long years ago around 1995 we printed off a lot of fic. It was mostly SOP to print a fic you planned to reread and stick it in a three ring binder. And that’s totally valid today too, but you can also make a very nice paperback with a minimum amount of skill and materials.

Let’s start with the download; Go to Ao3 and select your fic, we’ll be working with one of mine. This method works best with one shots, long fic tends to need a more complicated approach. Get yourself an HTML download

Open up the HTML download and select all then copy paste into any word processor. Set the page to landscape and two columns, then change the font to something you find easy to read, this is your book, no judgement. This is all you have to do for layout but I like to play a little bit. I move all the meta, summary, notes to the end and pick out a fun font for the title:

No time like the present to do a quick proofread. Congratulations, you’ve just created your first typeset. On to the fun part.

Now you’re going to need some materials: 8.5x11in paper ruler one sheet of 12x12 medium card stock (60-80lb) scissors pencil pen or fine tip marker sheet of wax paper white glue two binder clips 2 heavy books or 1 brick butter knife

You’ll also need a printer, if you’re in the US there is almost a 100% chance your local library has a printer you can use if you don’t have your own. None of these materials are expensive and you can literally use cheap copy paper and Elmers glue.

Print your text block, one page per side. Fold the first page in half so that the blank side is inside and the printed side out:

use the butter knife to crease the edge. Repeat on all the sheets. When you’ve finished, stack them up with the raw edge on the left and the folded edge on the right. I used standard copy paper, because you’re only printing on one side there’s no bleed to worry about. Take the text block and line everything up. Use the binder clips to hold the raw edge in place.

Wrap the text block in the wax paper so that the raw edge and binder clips are facing out. I’m going to use my home built book press but you don’t need one, a brick or a couple of books or anything else heavy will work fine.

Once the text block is anchored down, take off he binder clips and get out the glue.

You can use a brush but you don’t need one, smear some glue on that raw edge.

Go make a margarita, watch The Mandalorian, call your mother. Don’t come back for at least an hour

In an hour smear some more glue on there and shift your brick forward so that the whole book is covered. This keeps the paper from warping. While glue part 2 is drying we’ll do the cover. Get out your 12x12 cardstock

Mark the cardstock off at 8.5 inches and cut it. Measure in 5.5 inches from the left and put in a score line with the butter knife (the back edge not the sharp edge)

Carefully fold the score line, this is your front cover. You have some options for the cover title, you can use a cutting machine like a cricut if you have one, you can print out a title on the computer and use carbon paper to transfer the text to the cardstock. I was in a mood so I just freehanded that beoch. Pencil first then in pen.

Take your text block out from under your brick. Line it up against the score mark and mark the second score on the other side of the spine

Fold the score and glue the textblock into the cover at the spine. Once the glue dries up mark the back cover with the pencil and then trim the back cover to fit with your scissors.

Voila:

I’m going to put this baby on the shelf next to the Silmarillion.

The whole process, not counting drying time, took less than an hour.

If you want to make a book of a longer fic, I recommend Renegade Publishing, they have a ton of resources for fan-binders.

#fanbinding #fanfiction #Nir paperback

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guanshentai · 2 years ago

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Analysis and solution of printing faults of automatic screen printing machine

　　The fully automatic screen printing machine broke down, but I don’t know where to start, want to move but dare not, want to repair but are afraid to repair, today GST will talk to you about how to analyze the fault and deal with it!

　　1. The lines of word products are distorted after printing

　　There are too many silk screens on the automatic screen printing machine, which is caused by the relaxation of the screen template; the distance between the loose screen and the substrate changes; the angle between the scraper and the substrate is wrong, or the force is uneven; the consistency of the printing material is too thin or too dry ; After the printing surface of the reworked workpiece is cleaned, the solvent will dry up and then silk screen printing will be done.

　　2. The pattern or line of the printed product is blurred

　　The printing material before automatic screen printing is too thin, and the force is too large when scraping; the printing material is unevenly adjusted (the solvent in the printing material is unevenly dispersed); the solvent or cleaning agent on the screen is not dry after wiping the screen, or When the workpiece is reworked, the surface cleaning agent is not dry or not clean; after the first scrape printing, the sealing force of the printing material is too large, so that a small amount of printing material is squeezed out of the mesh; The difference in the area is too large, stop halfway or repeat printing, etc.; the fineness of the printing material does not match the mesh number of the selected screen

　　3. Burrs, gaps, and cams on the printed pattern line

　　The surface of the substrate before screen printing is not clean and has oil stains; the printing material is too sticky, the dirt on the screen mold has not been removed, the particles of the printing material are large, and the high-mesh screen cannot pass; the drying speed of the screen printing is too fast, and the screen printing work The place is ventilated; the fast-drying printing material is not sealed in time, resulting in netting; the force is uneven when scraping, large or small; the surface of the substrate is uneven, etc.

　　4. There are pitting on the product after printing

　　The printing material is too sticky, and has impurities and clogged holes; or the printing material is too sticky, and the scraping force is insufficient; the maturity period of the printing material is not enough when the printing material is mixed, and the residual air bubbles in the printing material have not escaped completely, and the air bubbles stick to the substrate after silk printing. ;The surface of the substrate is not clean, affected by dust, etc., improper force during printing, light and uneven or scratched, insufficient force; the printing material on the substrate is not dry, caused by dust in the storage place; The distance between the substrates is too large; the pre-press screen cleaning is not thorough

　　5. Silk screen medium sticky screen plate

　　This is because there is a problem with the angle between the scraping plate and the substrate. They are not in contact with a line, but a small plane; the distance between the screen and the substrate is small, or the tension of the screen is small; Too large, the ink layer is thick and sticky to the net; the printing material is too thick, etc.

#automatic screen printing machine

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jabbage · 1 year ago

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The Secret of Sherlock Holmes bookbinding project!

I've really wanted a hard copy for a while of 'The Secret of Sherlock Holmes' play by Jeremy Paul, which was performed by Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke (and is very high on my list of things to go and see if I get a time machine, because there aren't any video recordings of it.)

ANYWAY it's long out of print and very expensive to buy so I figured... I can just make one myself!

First I bound the text block. It's so slim, at a grand total of 75 pages.

I bound the cover in honey-coloured book cloth, and then set about creating a cover design.

I wanted to use the official logo of the play and this amazing publicity photo, so I went into my paint package of choice (clip studio) and tweaked the photograph until I was happy I'd got a likeness of the actors only using black and white. I think Jeremy Brett lost a little of his handsomeness, alas.

A while ago I bought a cutting machine, a Silhouette Portrait, which comes with some great software which can automatically convert an image like this into a path for the cutting machine to follow, although I usually tweak it manually too.

For example, I figured the weave on Hardwicke's tie was too intricate so I removed it.

Then I set the cutting machine to work!

For a while I tried using self-adhesive vinyl to make covers, but I found that it wasn't very hard-wearing and would start peeling off. These days I use self-adhesive vinyl to make a stencil, and then paint onto the book cloth in acrylic. The fact that the stencil is self-adhesive reduces the chances of any paint sneaking in underneath!

(The stencil is gold just because I have a lot of spare gold vinyl - it's probably not the best colour to use.)

For this project I did something I've never done before, which is doing two layered stencils, a white layer underneath, and then a black layer on top.

I kind of regret not painting all of the figures in white because if you squint you can see the line where the white stops on the final piece.

And now for the really satisfying bit - peeling of the stencil when everything has dried!

I'm really pleased with the finished book, and it's so fun to possibly have the only hardback version of this play... ever...???

#the secret of sherlock holmes #jeremy brett #edward hardwicke #bookbinding #fanbinding

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lupinqs · 9 months ago

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CHAPTER SIX ━━ Shattered Glass

☆ ━ pairing: hopkins!paige x oc (dani callan)

☆ ━ word count: 3.8K

☆ ━ warnings: mentions of conversion therapy

☆ ━ links: my masterlist, take me to church masterlist

☆ ━ author’s note: finally bro

DANI STANDS in the dimly lit darkroom, watching the chemicals slowly bring her latest batch of photos to life. The soft red glow of the safelights fill the room, casting long shadows across the black-and-white prints hanging on the drying line. The hum of the machines and the faint smell of chemicals are oddly calming, giving her a momentary escape from the chaotic mess her life has become. She likes it here. The darkroom is one of the few places that still feels like her own—maybe her safe space.

She adjusts the print in the developer tray, her hands moving automatically as her mind wanders. It’s hard not to think about the other night, about Paige’s basket. The note stays with her, a flicker of warmth that she hasn’t felt in a long time. She wishes Paige hadn’t done it. She wishes she could’ve just stewed in her misery, in the mess she’s made. It would be easier that way.

Now, Dani can’t stop thinking about it. Paige is always there, lurking at the edges of her thoughts, no matter how much Dani tries to push her away.

It’s frustrating and comforting at the same time.

The door to the darkroom swings open, flooding the room with harsh light from the hallway. Dani blinks against it, silently cursing as Serena Corren struts in. The blonde cheerleader makes no effort to close the door softly, the bang of it slamming shut making Dani wince. Serena isn’t supposed to be here, at least not right now, but here she is anyway, crashing into Dani’s quiet space like she always seems to do.

“Hey, Dani.” Serena drops her yearbook materials on the counter with a loud thunk, her sharp voice cutting through the low hum of the room.

“Hey,” Dani mutters, her eyes fixed on the developing photo, hoping Serena will take the hint and keep her distance. But that isn’t how Serena works. She never really does subtle.

Serena leans over, peering at the picture. “You’re still working on that football game? Don’t you have, like, a thousand of those already?”

Dani shrugs, her jaw tight. “I’m trying to be thorough.”

Serena scoffs. “No, I think you’re trying to be alone in here, avoiding everyone.” She straightens, fixing Dani with a pointed look pursing her lips into a line. “You’ve been weird lately, you know that?”

Dani’s shoulders tense. She knows where this is going and she doesn’t want to deal with it. “I’m fine, Serena.”

“Yeah, sure,” the blonde drawls, pulling up a stool and plopping down on it without asking. “That’s why Beau’s been bitching to everyone about you. Says you’ve been acting all ‘distant.’”

Dani doesn’t say anything, keeping her eyes locked on her work. Beau. Of course, it’s about Beau. Everything is always about him—her boyfriend, her obligation. The person she’s supposed to care about. Except she doesn’t. Not really.

Serena crosses her arms, eyeing Dani with a mix of disdain and curiosity. “You’re lucky, you know that? Beau’s, like, the hottest guy in school, and you’ve been treating him like shit recently. So, spill, and tell me what your deal is.”

Dani’s grip tightens on the edge of the counter, knuckles turning white. “I’ve just been dealing with stuff,” she mumbles.

“Right, ‘stuff.’” Serena’s tone drips with sarcasm, her eyes narrowing. “You’ve got everyone worried, Dani. Not just Beau—though, let’s be real, he’s the only one actually trying. The rest of us? We don’t know why you even bother hanging out anymore if you’re gonna be so… ugh.”

Dani’s stomach twists, but she keeps her mouth shut. Of course, Beau’s trying. That’s the narrative. That’s always the narrative. But neither him or Serena or any of their other friends are ever actually trying to help. The blonde isn’t even asking if Dani was okay. She’s here to make a point, to make sure Dani knows she’s out of line for daring to withdraw from the group.

Serena’s lips curl in a half-smile, her eyes sharp. “Look, I get it. Maybe you’re going through something or whatever, but seriously? You’re not the only one with problems, Dani. Beau’s been putting up with a lot from you.”

Dani lets out a short, bitter laugh before she can stop herself. “Putting up with me? Are you serious?”

Serena’s smile falters for a second before she narrows her eyes. “Yeah, I am. You’ve been flaking on him for weeks, acting all moody, and he’s still there. Most guys wouldn’t stick around if their girlfriend was being such a—” Serena throws her hands up in the air, searching for a word, “—headcase!”

Dani’s vision blurs with irritation, but she swallows it down. It isn’t worth it, arguing with Serena. Sure, the girl was nice and welcoming at first, but it didn’t take Dani much time to realize just how fake Sersna can be. By now, Dani can hardly stand her, but she’s inevitable—Serena’s a part of Beau’s circle, part of this whole sick, suffocating dynamic Dani’s been shoved into. At this point, she has to hang out with them, even though Serena and the others have no idea what’s really going on, and even if they did, they wouldn’t care. They’d probably just mock her even more.

She can’t explain why she’s acting “weird.” She can’t explain why the thought of being around Beau makes her feel like her skin is crawling. She can’t explain how much she hates who she’s become since she got back from camp. She can’t explain that the more she’s sucked into this straight girl, quarterback’s girlfriend, Catholic princess persona, the more she feels the girl underneath it slipping away, caught in between two worlds that don’t meet.

Serena’s still watching her, waiting for a response, her lips frowning in faux concern. “You’re lucky he hasn’t dumped you yet.”

Dani grits her teeth. Lucky. She’s not lucky; she’d be much more lucky if he dumped her. Beau’s controlling, selfish, and she knows he’s never given a damn about what she wants or how she might feel. He’s only gotten worse lately too, like a few nights ago—leaving her stranded, making her walk home alone in the dark while he drove off, doing who-knows-what.

But none of that matters, because in Serena’s world, Beau can do no wrong. In fact, Dani wouldn’t even be surprised if the two of them have fucked by now. “Maybe I don’t care if he dumps me,” the brunette mutters under her breath.

Serena snorts, “Yeah, right. Please. You’d be miserable without him, Dani. You wouldn’t have anyone left.”

That is what hits Dani hard, the words sinking into her like ice. She wants to that Serena’s wrong, but the fear is there, gnawing at her. Because who will she have without Beau, without this group she’s been forced into? She’s already lost her real friends, the ones who actually matter. Paige, Thaliah, Jalen.

“Look,” Serena continues, her voice smug, “just stop acting like this. Whatever this moody, weird thing you’ve got going on? It’s not cute. We’re all getting tired of it.”

Dani feels the anger bubbling up again, sharp and hot in her chest. She can’t do this anymore—can’t sit here and listen to Serena drone on about something that doesn’t even really fucking involve her. “I don’t care if you’re tired of it, Serena. You know what? Maybe I’m the one tired of it, tired of hanging around all of you, tired of hearing you bitching, and tired of the fact that none of you have a nice fucking bone in your body!”

Serena’s eyes flash with surprise, but she quickly covers it with a smirk. “Wow, okay. You’ve been one of ‘us’ for months now. So what the fuck does that say about you then, hmm?” She pauses, letting the words sink in, before continuing, “You’re just like the rest of us. And if you’re really gonna throw away everything just because you’re in one of your moods, then I guess I thought you were smarter than you really are.”

Dani’s heart pounds in her chest, her hands shaking slightly as she turns back to her photos. She doesn’t respond. She refuses. Because if she does, she isn’t sure what will come out—whether it would be anger or something worse. She doesn’t want to cry in front of Serena. She refuses to give her that satisfaction.

After a long, tense silence, Serena stands, brushing invisible dust off her skirt. “Whatever, Dani. Keep being weird if that’s what you want. Just don’t be surprised when Beau gets tired of your shit and moves on. You’re replaceable, you know.”

Dani bites the inside of her lip at the venom in Serena’s words, but she doesn’t look up. She doesn’t let herself react, no matter how badly she wants to lash out.

The door to the darkroom creaks open again as Serena leaves, slamming it shut behind her.

PAIGE HASN’T heard a single word her financial algebra teacher has said the entire class period. Her foot taps against the floor incessantly, the low thud thud thud filling her head. She’s restless—scratch that, obsessed. Her is was stuck in one place, on one person.

Dani.

Dani, Dani, Dani, Dani, Dani, Dani, Dani.

Paige has been like this since Halloween, unable to focus on anything except the basket she left on the girl’s porch, hoping it would be some kind of olive branch. She’s spent the last few days replaying every interaction in her mind, trying to decipher Dani’s walls, to figure out what exactly is going on inside her head.

For how well and how long Paige has known the brunette, she simply can’t tell. She’s tried—but she has no idea what’s swirling in her ex-best friend’s mind that prompted her to create this entire situation. But what Paige does know is that she can’t keep sitting in this classroom pretending to care about math when all she wants to do is get Dani to talk to her. Really talk to her.

She lets out a sigh, barely noticing the way the teacher glances up from her notes. Paige bites her lip, her foot tapping even faster now, her knee bouncing. She can’t take it anymore.

Shooting her hand up, Paige catches the teacher’s attention. “Ms. Greene?” she asks, her voice a little shaky.

Ms. Greene, who’s in the middle of explaining some equation Paige can’t even begin to follow, stops mid-sentence, raising an eyebrow. “Yes, Paige?”

Paige swallows, feigning discomfort. “I don’t feel well. Can I go to the nurse?”

Ms. Greene studies her for a moment, clearly weighing how bad Paige looks. Then, she nods. “Sure. Go ahead.”

Paige quickly packs up her stuff, barely caring about leaving her things behind, and bolts out of the classroom. She isn’t going to the nurse. She has somewhere else to be—somewhere Dani would be.

She hates to admit it, but she knows Dani’s schedule like the back of her hand. It isn’t like she meant to memorize it; it just kind of happened over time. Call her a stalker—maybe she is—but she’s always paid attention to Dani, even now when they aren’t even friends anymore.

And she knows exactly where Dani is during this period: the darkroom. Paige has seen her slip into it on more than one occasion during this period. Paige has been in there herself several times, all with Dani, all last year. She’d sit on one of the stools and watch Dani work, infatuated like she always seems to be by the brunette. She misses it. She misses everything.

And she can’t stand it anymore. She has to get through to Dani. Today.

The hallways are mostly empty as Paige strides down them, her heartbeat quickening with every step. She isn’t sure what she’s planning to say, but she knows she has to say something. If she can just get Dani to open up—to explain why she’s shutting everyone out, why she’s pushed Paige away so violently—then maybe, just maybe, things can go back to how they used to be.

As Paige turns the corner, she slows her pace, watching someone step out of the darkroom. Serena Corren struts out, her face twisted in an annoyed scowl. The cheerleader’s blonde hair whips behind her as she slams the door with enough force to make Paige raise her eyebrows. Serena’s eyes flick up as she passes the basketball player, and for a brief moment, their gazes meet. Paige can see the disdain in Serena’s eyes—she looks irritated, almost as if she’s blaming Paige for something, but neither of them say anything. The silent exchange is fleeting and Paige thinks it’s a little odd, too.

Paige reaches the door of the darkroom, her heart thudding in her chest. She doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t knock. She just pushes the door open. The low red light of the darkroom washes over her like a wave of unease, the smell of developing chemicals hangs in the air, and the soft hum of the machines fill the silence.

Before Paige can even step fully inside, Dani’s voice cuts through the air, sharp and biting. “God, if you’re gonna keep berating me about this—” Dani snaps, her tone dripping with irritation, clearly mistaking Paige for Serena.

But when Dani spins around, her words die on her lips. The fiery annoyance in her eyes quickly evaporates, replaced with shock. “Paige,” she breathes, like the wind has been knocked out of her. She blinks, her body stiffening. “What are you doing here?”

Paige steps further into the room, letting the door click shut behind her. She swallows, her heart racing as she locks eyes with Dani. “I’m here because we need to talk,” she says steadily.

Dani’s face hardens. She turns back to her photos, ignoring Paige like she isn’t even there. “There’s nothing to talk about,” Dani mutters, flat and dismissive.

“Yes, there is,” Paige responds firmly. She refuses to let Dani shut this down again. “You know there is.”

Dani quickly turns back toward Paige, a faux smile on her face. “You’re so right, Paige, we do need to talk,” she says, her tone sickly sweet. “Thank you for the basket, I appreciated it.” And then she turns right back to the photos.

Paige clenches her fists, frustration boiling up inside her. She’s spent months tiptoeing around Dani’s moods, giving her space, hoping she’ll come around on her own. But that isn’t working. She isn’t going to stand by while Dani pushes her further away, destroying herself in the process.

“Stop it,” Paige replies, shaking her head. “You know that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong, what exactly has been going on with you.”

Dani scoffs, shaking her head as she continues to work, refusing to look at Paige. “What, you’re just going to barge in here and demand I spill my guts?” she asks incredulously. “That’s not how this works, Paige.”

Paige steps closer, her voice firm but pleading. “I’m not trying to make demands. I just… I need to understand why you’ve been acting like this. Why you’ve been pushing me away. You don’t even look at me anymore, Dani. And I—” Paige’s voice cracks, and she swallows hard, fighting the emotion rising in her throat. “I don’t understand what I did wrong.”

Dani’s hands still over the photo paper, her fingers trembling slightly, though she quickly balls them into fists to hide it. She doesn’t respond, but Paige can see the tension radiating from her.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Dani finally mutters under her breath, her voice barely audible.

Paige’s heart clenches. “Then why are you pushing me away?”

“I’m not,” Dani rebuttals, though both of them know she’s lying. “I just—I can’t do this right now, okay? You should go.”

“No,” Paige says, shaking her head, her voice ready to rise at any second because she’s tired of this. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to shut me out like this after everything we’ve been through, and then lie and say that you aren’t. I care about you, Dan. I always have. And I know you care about me, too. So, why are you doing this?”

Dani shakes her head profusely, almost like she’s trying to shake something out of her brain. “You wouldn’t get it.”

“Try me,” Paige shoots back, her frustration rising. She can feel the walls between them, the weight of everything Dani isn’t saying, and it’s suffocating. “I’ve been your best friend since we were kids. You can’t just cut me out of your life without an explanation. I know something happened over the summer. Something had to have happened, because I know you wouldn’t do this without reason I know it. But I don’t know why you won’t let me in. Why you won’t even talk to me.”

“No!” Dani responds, her voice rising slightly to meet Paige’s. She stays stubborn, not breaking. “You won’t understand.”

“Then make me understand!” Paige bursts out, her frustration finally spilling over. She throws her hands up in the air in disbelief. “God, Dani, I’m trying so hard to be here for you, but you’re making it impossible. Why won’t you just talk to me?”

Dani slams her hand down on the counter, making Paige jump. “Because talking won’t fix anything!” she snaps, turning to face Paige. The blonde can see the tears glistening in Dani’s eyes. “You think this is all about you, don’t you? That I’m pushing you away because of something you did. But it’s not about you. It’s about me. It’s about everything I’ve been through, everything I’m still going through. And you can’t fix that.”

Paige’s heart clenches at the sight of Dani’s tear-filled eyes, but she doesn’t stop. She steps closer once more, her voice soft but firm. “Maybe I can’t fix it. But I can be there for you. I can help you if you just let me. Please, Dani. Just tell me what’s going on.”

Dani shakes her head, her hands trembling. She averts her eyes, looking at the corner of the wall, refusing to meet Paige’s gaze. “I—I can’t,” she whispers, her voice cracking. “You don’t know what it was like…”

Paige’s breath hitches. Dani’s breaking, right in front of her, and Paige can feel it—the dam about to burst.

“What what was like?” Paige asks gently, her heart pounding in her chest. Her voice drops to a low murmur. “What happened, Dani?”

Dani stares at the ground, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Paige watches as Dani digs her nails into her thigh and she fights the urge to take the brunette’s hand in her own. “My dad…” the Callan girl starts, hardly a whisper. “He—on the Ring doorbell—he saw us kiss. You know how he is. You know what he believes in. He couldn’t accept the fact that his daughter liked other girls. So, he sent me to camp. And—and it wasn’t just any camp…” she pauses, finally meeting eyes with Paige. The blonde watches as her tears begin to spill, and she feels her own heart break with every word that comes out of Dani’s mouth. Dani shrugs, “It was conversion therapy.”

Paige freezes. “What?” Her mind reels, the words not fully sinking in at first. “You… you went to—”

“Yeah,” Dani laughs bitterly, her voice thick with tears. “All summer. While you were at basketball camps, traveling, I was stuck in that place. Being told every day that who I am is wrong. That what I feel is… is disgusting. That I was disgusting.”

Paige feels like the ground has been ripped out from under her. She stumbles forward, her hand reaching out to touch Dani’s arm, but Dani flinches away.

“Dani…” Paige’s voice is shaky, her heart aching. “I—I had no idea. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I couldn’t,” Dani whispers, and her voice breaks with a sob. “I couldn’t tell you, Paige. I wanted to. You don’t know how much I wanted to. But—y’know, I felt ashamed of the fact that I loved you just as much when I left camp as I did when I got there, even after everything they put me through. And I—I wanted to protect you from all my problems.” She pauses, sniffling slightly, trying to wipe her tears with the back of her hand. It doesn’t matter; they keep coming. “My dad, too. He’s friends with Beau’s parents. They started it—the thing with Beau and I. It made my dad happy; that’s all I really wanted. I’ve never wanted or liked Beau, Paige.”

Paige stares at her, eyes flitting across her face. She wants so badly to reach out and touch Dani, hold her. But she doesn’t want to scare her away. So, instead, she asks, “You never did? Not at all?” She thinks she already knows the answer, and she feels almost guilty for being relieved at it.

“Never,” Dani confirms, her arms wrapping around herself, probably trying to stem the sobs. “I wanted someone else.”

Paige’s heart skips a beat.

“But my dad,” the brunette chokes out, “he told me that if he ever saw us together again, that he’d send me back.” Dani looks up at Paige once more, her eyes bloodshot and filled with more fear than Paige has ever seen. Dani shakes her head, sobbing as she says, “Paige, I don’t wanna go back.”

Paige feels her heart shatter at the sight of Dani’s pain finally laid out before her. The blonde takes the final step forward, her hands going to cup Dani’s cheeks, making Dani look at her. Paige says firmly, feeling more protective of the girl before her than anything else in her entire life, “You’re not gonna go back, okay? He can’t you send you back. I won’t let him.”

Dani sobs again, and Paige pulls her in closer, was wrapping her arms around Dani into a tight hug. She holds her so tightly that it feels like they might both stop breathing, but Paige doesn’t care. She isn’t letting go. Not now. Not ever.

“I’m so sorry,” Dani whispers through her tears, clinging to Paige like she’s the only thing keeping her grounded. “I’m so sorry, P. I—I didn’t want to push you away, but I was so scared. I still am.”

“You don’t have to be scared anymore,” Paige murmurs, her own tears slipping down her cheeks as she holds Dani even tighter. “I’m here. I’ll always be here. Everything’s gonna be okay, I promise.”

They stay like that, locked in each other’s arms, both of them crying, both of them holding on like the world is falling apart around them.

Because maybe it is.

But for the first time in months, they aren’t facing it alone.

#paige bueckers #paige bueckers fic #uconn wbb #uconn #wbb #paige bueckers x reader #uconn huskies #wcbb #paige bueckers smut #hopkins p fic #take me to church #wlw

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julihlaufey · 2 months ago

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William Afton x Strawberry Reader Headcanons (SFW + NSFW) 🍰

It's three in the morning and I've been thinking since college about how William would act with his controversially younger girlfriend with a fixation and strawberry scent.

⁠・ The character uses feminine pronouns and has a biologically female body.

⁠・ This isn't my content and English isn't my first language, but I decided to give it a try! ⁠♡

🍓 When you walked into the office for your first day of work, the scent of your perfume reached him before you did. William looked up quickly to see where it was coming from. And from that day on, strawberry is his favorite smell.

🍰 Strawberry has become his trademark and William loves to spoil his girl with everything strawberry he can find. A cat in a plush strawberry suit in the plush machine? He'll try to catch it. A new printed dress? It's yours. A pair of red shoes that match the red outfit you wore on Tuesday? He already bought them.

🍓 Will is a simple guy. He memorizes everything that makes you happy and puts it into practice. If you ask him, he doesn't know anything about you. He never bothered to research. But the truth is that he has memorized every outfit you have. He knows your combinations, your favorite pieces. And he loves to fill you with gifts like strawberry pendant necklaces, earrings, bracelets. Everything. And everything matches. It's his personal hobby.

🍰 When he sees a strawberry dessert, William automatically buys it for you. He arrives at the office and silently places the package on your desk. Like the devil flees from the cross, Will sits in the chair and doesn't even look at your face. Only when you've stopped trying to thank him and make fun of the fact that he was cute, he looks at you over the top of his glasses, seeing how you enjoyed the sweet.

🍓 And following this line, their displays of affection include gifts. He loves buying you everything. One time, he got into a fight in line at a bakery because You've been sick and can't go to work for a mere three days. So Will thought it would be a great idea to bring you something to eat during your break as a "silent welcome back." A man in front of him tried to buy the candy before him and William looked at him so crookedly that the guy dreams of him to this day.

🍰 He always complains about everything. William is a professional complainer. He complains about the strawberry smell in his car, how over the top the decor is, how his clothes always follow an annoying pattern, "Even your keychain has a stupid strawberry?" but the truth is that he loves all of it. He loves everything that makes you you. And everything that made him never look at a strawberry the same way again.

🍓 He LOVES the smell of your hair. Your strawberry hair scent makes William go crazy. And whenever you're in bed, he'll snuggle up to you and fall asleep smelling your sweet scent.

🍰 He gave you a collection of bows. You don't quite understand what he sees in them, but ever since he met William, he's loved seeing you in bows.

(NSFW) 🔞

🍰 Ever since he discovered that her intimate scent is strawberry, he's been crazy. Afton already loved the idea of being able to delight himself and eat her pussy as if it were his last meal on earth. He'd always daydreamed about it at work and you'd always felt him eating you with his eyes while the paperwork on his desk waited. But after he caught his first whiff of it, this guy became the biggest strawberry fan in the world.

🍓 He buys you lots of themed lingerie. Red, black, even green in your favorite shade. He secretly thinks it's cute how obsessed you are with the fruit and wants to bring that personality of yours to bed. He bought you every printed set he could find and some lingerie with lace and details that he will be very sorry to rip later.

🍰You are his strawberry girl. And even though he likes to call you that in private, he loves it when you remind him of it in public, even if he doesn't admit it. His face turns red as a strawberry every time you come up to him reminding him of this nickname at work or in front of acquaintances. But deep down, he likes everyone to know that you are his.

🍓 He gets excited just by smelling you. Strawberry has become his signature scent, so smelling you is like getting hard right away. When he was talking to a client once, he felt his dick tighten so much in his pants, just because you were next to him and that smell penetrated his nose. When the customer left, William could only curse as he saw how You left him hard. That day he didn't even get up for lunch.

🍰 Despite your small car and the "sickening smell" according to him, William has the goal of fucking you in that car. He wants to take away your innocence by staining the seat with your juices and his cum. He often finds himself making you squirt in that car just by frenziedly fingering your clit and sinking right into your g-spot.

#william afton x reader #william afton #william afton x you #steve raglan #steve raglan x reader #steve raglan x you

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panimoonchild · 1 year ago

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Russian culture is erasing the culture of others

Today is the Day of Publishers, Printing and Book Distribution Workers, as well as Philologists. The Vivat publishing house published the names of the employees of the Factor Druk printing house who died as a result of Russian attack on May 23:

Photo: Yulia Orlova/Facebook ▪️Tetiana Khrapina, a printer-carpenter; ▪️Roman Strohyi, gluing machine operator; ▪️Svitlana Ryzhenko, brochure maker; ▪️Olha Kurasova, sewing machine, and automatic machine operator; ▪️Olena Ninadovska, sewing machine, and automatic machine operator; ▪️Hanna Mynaieva, operator of a completing machine; ▪️Dmytro Shilo, brochure maker.

Faktor has launched a fundraiser. All funds will be used to support the victims and restore printing life.

The details are on the Vivat website.

If you ordered anything online, please be patient, as shipments from the warehouse have been temporarily suspended and will resume after the investigation is completed.

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elumish · 1 year ago

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I saw a post recent about the idea of, what happens after the revolution that some people are yearning for, and I have a lot of thoughts about that, but it actually also got me thinking about how a lot of people conceptualize government, and particularly how this shows up in books.

I've read a lot of books where someone is secretly or not-so-secretly the heir/rightful king or queen/the one true chosen leader/etc., and one thing that I see in a lot of those is this idea that government is its leader, and if you have an evil leader then the Government Is Bad and if you replace that evil leader with a good leader then the Goverment Will Become Good.

And there is definitely truth to the idea that an ineffective, immoral, greedy, cruel, etc. leader will generally lead to the government being worse and doing bad things, but a government is not simply the will of the person in charge taken form.

There are a few ways to think about a government, but I'd think of it like this:

A government is the services it provides, the rules it enforces, the external engagement it has, the people who decide all of that, the people who make it happen, and the fact that people agree that they are the government.

You'll see there that only one part of that is the leadership. Anyone can stand up in the middle of a town square or go on YouTube or whatever and say "I'm in charge and here are the four thousand rules that everyone needs to follow" and if they don't have legitimacy and enforcement power, it doesn't mean anything.

It also means that changing the head of state can't automatically change everything else. Most governments (especially national governments) have a large set of professional civil servants who do the business of government regardless of who is in charge, and that is a huge ship to resteer.

Often, the fastest way to resteer that ship is to literally fire everyone--and as we've seen in instances like the de-Ba'athification of Iraq, it can have massively negative impacts on the country and its ability to provide services.

There's a certain branch of fantasy that I've read where the government "is in charge" but doesn't seem to actually provide any of the services that exist in the world. There's a king or a ruling counsel or whatever--but there are no departments/ministries/public sector.

Who provides utilities? Who provides human services? Who collects taxes? Who manages the allocation of government funds? Who enforces regulations or laws? Who manages public spaces? Who delivers mail? Who prints money? Who facilitates relations with other countries? Who maintains public safety?

A lot of these stories act as though all of those things just happen, that they are self-perpetuating machines that have always existed and will always exist, and government is an unrelated piece of the world that is just there to look important and make decisions.

#government #worldbuilding

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dwaekkism0811 · 6 months ago

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a world of colour

chapter 1

{ reader x seonghwa }

daycare au

ateez members included

single dad hwa, fluff, hurt/comfort, mentions of divorce

. * . * .* . loading . * . * . * .

Waking up in the morning wasn’t always a chore. Usually you gave yourself enough time to run your coffee machine and do your full AM skincare routine. The sun was never up when you rose, which always made it tougher to pull yourself from the warmth of your bed. It was the cost of running your own business, one where you needed to be there to open up shop. While it was a struggle to make it out on time, it wasn’t a chore. Every morning you travelled to your passion project, your dream job.

The daycare looked a little drab with all the lights off as you parked in the lot outside. It had taken years of hard work in school and then raising the money to get yourself the rental space, but the little daycare was yours and every day was rewarding.

Unlocking the door, you moved inside and flicked all the switches outside the office. The rooms illuminated, all the colourful displays of hand-crafted art and spelling guides suddenly blooming to life. One of your favourite things the daycare did was display copies of their attendees’ creations, hand-print art and colouring sheets and everything in between. Your staff always reported that the kids were proud that they could see their art lining the space they spent so much time in every day, obviously through less and more simple wording.

A bit of time had passed and you had gotten most of the set-up for the day done. It would still be a while before the first parents would arrive and even the staff would only arrive a few minutes before official open. You believed that it was more cohesive and less stressful for everyone if you were the one to handle all that and the attendants could arrive ready for the day.

You really weren’t expecting the knock on the front glass door, the sound of it sending you jumping a little where you were sitting at the greeting desk. After the initial shock, your body started moving automatically, kicking into gear. You could see two sets of legs through the door, one adult and one mini.

At first glance the man behind the door seemed intimidating. There was something about the energy he exuded. He wasn’t looming over you, meeting you eye to eye, but there was something that made him seem bigger than he was.

“I’m so sorry, I see the hours don’t start until 7,” Your gaze automatically follow his pointing to the plaque in the window despite knowing it by heart already. “There was a work emergency and I wanted to make sure she got in before the cut-off time- seems like I went a little overboard.” The man’s energy was contagious and you found yourself laughing along. The man moved to rest his hand on his little companion’s head, fingers pressing lightly to her scalp in what looked like a calming massage.

You looked down at the little girl and was pleasantly surprised that she had a familiar face. Her eyes were wide and looking right up at you. Quickly your smile warmed, moving to kneel down to meet her level.

“Hi Seoyeon, good morning.”

She raised her hand to offer a shy wave, turning to press her face into her guardian’s pantleg.

“I didn’t even tell you my name, sorry again. I’m Seoyeon’s… uncle, Hongjoong.”

“You don’t seem very sure of that?” You joke, standing back up. The bell on the door chimes as you open it up and usher the duo in.

“I’m her dad’s best friend, I just- yeah.”

As they walk back in you feel a little tug at your work apron. Seoyeon’s little hand has grabbed the fabric and she’s turned her wide pleading gaze your way. “It’s okay I get it,” You offer to Hongjoong, then to Seoyeon, “Yes, yes, I’m coming. Don’t worry sweetie.”

You pat lightly at her back, reassuring her that you’re there, guiding them into the playroom. “I can take her early this time since it’s a one-off thing; I hope everything is okay with her father’s work.” Hongjoong thanks you, relief evident in his voice. He signs easily when you turn the drop-off sheet his way.

“Seoyeonnie, what do you think of some early colouring time?”

#park seonghwa #seonghwa #ateez #ateez fanfic #reader x seonghwa #ateez x reader #fanfic #fanfiction #ateez fic #atz #atz fic

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bimboficationblues · 2 months ago

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Marx, Capital, Volume I, 13.5: "The Struggle Between Workers and Machines":

Much of what has been invented since 1830—certainly enough to fill a whole volume—was brought into the world expressly to serve capital as a weapon for combatting workers’ mutinies. The self-acting mule is the first thing to mention here, since it launched the new epoch of the automatic system. Ure remarks about the coloring machines made for calico printing, “At length capitalists sought deliverance from this intolerable bondage [namely, those so onerous conditions set forth in their contracts with workers] in the resources of science, and were speedily re-instated in their legitimate rule, that of the head over the inferior members.” On the topic of a machine for making dressing wraps, which was invented in response to a strike, he says, “The combined malcontents, who fancied themselves impregnably intrenched behind the old lines of division of labour, found their flanks turned and their defenses rendered useless by the new mechanical tactics, and were obliged to surrender at discretion.” He has this to say about the invention of the self-acting mule: “A creation destined to restore order among the industrious classes. . . . This invention confirms the great doctrine already propounded, that when capital enlists science into her service, the refractory hand of labour will always be taught docility.” Although Ure’s book appeared 30 years ago, or at a time when the factory system was still in its early stages, it remains the classic expression of the factory spirit, with its frank cynicism but also owing to the naïveté with which the author parades the mindless contradictions in capital’s head. He articulates the “doctrine” that capital, having put science on its payroll, will always teach the “refractory hand of labour” to be “docile,” but then he waxes indignant because the “physico-mechanical science has been accused of lending itself to the rich capitalist as an instrument for harassing the poor.” And he sermonizes at length about the advantages workers derive from the rapid development of machinery, only to warn that if they go on strike, machinery will develop even faster. “Violent revulsions of this nature,” he says, “display short-sighted man in the contemptible character of a self-tormentor.” The opposite is the case just a few pages earlier: “Had it not been for the violent collisions and interruptions resulting from erroneous views among the factory operatives, the factory system would have been developed still more rapidly and beneficially for all concerned.” Ure proceeds to exclaim again, “Fortunately for the state of society in the cotton districts of Great Britain, the improvements in machinery are gradual.” “It [the introduction of such improvements] is said to lower the rate of earnings of adults by displacing a portion of them, and thus rendering their number superabundant as compared with the demand for their labour. It certainly augments the demand for the labour of children and increases the rate of their wages.” On the other hand, having offered such consolation, this same writer defends the paltriness of children’s wages, arguing that if they were higher, parents would send their children to the factory at too young an age.

The whole point of Ure’s book is to justify the unrestricted workday. Legislation that prevents thirteen-year-old children from being worked to the bone twelve hours a day reminds his liberal soul of the darkest moments of the Middle Ages. This doesn’t stop him, however, from admonishing factory workers to say prayers of thanks to Providence, which uses machinery as a means of supplying workers with “the leisure to think of their immortal interests.”

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taiyoooh · 2 months ago

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Was thinking about the death aspect in the Twisted Wonderland manga Yuu's names, and then somehow it wandered into twewy and I thought The World Ends With Yuu and laughed and thought about it more. Currently styled them in in-game clothes, but I think they'd wear some slightly different things if given the option, especially Yuuna since she seems to really like leopard/cheetah print. Yuuichi's my own, not necessarily a Yuusona, but was made to make things fair between them as the leader of their Reaper's Game team, and sufferer of the prologue. Vague story blather below

So they'd be dead and on a team called the Ghost Union (Yuurei Union), which initially had other members whose names didn't include Yuu in it, but somehow all of those members either left or got erased, leaving only the Yuus to it. The Ghost Union would eventually place last in the weekly rankings, leading to erasure, which leads to their entry into Twisted Wonderland.

They arrive one by one, starting with Yuuichi to suffer through the prologue alone, then Yuuken when the Phantom in the mines is defeated, Yuuka when Riddle's overblot is over, etc. Since I never write anything, I have time to decide whether it's the overblot being defeated or Grim eating the overblot stones, because oh boy chapter 6, and whatever's beyond chapter 7.

Playing with the idea that they can still use their pin psychs as magic, since imagination is key in both twewy and twst, but they're still having to work from the ground up with twst's magic. Also playing with the idea that the Dark Mirror couldn't sort them because their souls are damaged, as if parts were erased, and it has an incomplete idea about the shape of their souls.

Floyd's nicknames Yuuichi - Lil' Shrimpy Yuuken - Lobster Yuuka - Mantis Shrimp, or Bobbit Worm Yuuta - Big Shrimpy Yuuna - Decorator Crab

Unique ability ideas Jumpstart - can jumpstart any device/machine and power it for a few minutes. In the Reaper's Game, it was used to power up and move things around. DIY - User goes into a fugue state and crafts new items in a comedic cloud of smoke. Abused to slowly renovate Ramshackle. Pocket - With the flick of a wrist, the user can disappear/reappear items. Great for storing the team's extra clothes. Probably assigning to Yuuichi so he'd have a clean clothing nest to sleep in. Everyone complains their clothes are dirty after he returns them. Instatrendy - Automatically makes worn brands trend for a boost. Duplicate - Duplicates an item, but it does not copy over any additional attributes. Like, if a piece of clothing is duplicated, its extra abilities aren't copied over, but it will be perceived as the brand and add to its trending ability.

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst yuu #enma yuuken #yuuka hirasaka #mito yuuta #yuuna oujou #the world ends with you #twewy

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sophiuhhsthots · 2 months ago

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LOVE NOTE : photo booth

WORD COUNT : 807

────────── ୨ৎ ──────────

they’re wandering around a mall, and mal drags him into a photo booth.

she spots it out of the corner of her eye — tucked between a claw machine and one of those stupid little massage chairs no one ever actually uses — and her whole face lights up.

“oh my god,” she gasps, yanking on dean’s arm before he can even register what’s happening. “get in. get in.”

“what? no—mal,” he groans, dragged half-laughing across the tile, nearly sloshing iced coffee all down the front of his jacket. “babe, c’mon, we’re not sixteen—”

“exactly,” she grins, shoving him through the little vinyl curtain. “so you don’t get to complain.”

he lands with a thud on the bench, grumbling but secretly grinning, because of course he is. she wedges herself onto his lap before he can scoot over, one leg slung across his thighs, her knee bumping the wall. the booth smells like popcorn and cheap plastic, the little light flickering like it’s been half-dead since 1993.

“you’re ridiculous,” he mutters, but his hands are already on her hips.

“smile,” she says sweetly, hitting the button. the screen starts counting down.

the first photo is blurry, her kissing his cheek and him mid-laugh, trying to dodge it.

the second’s clearer — he’s grinning now, all teeth and dimples, and she’s holding his face in both hands like she owns it, eyes half-lidded, lipgloss a little smudged.

the third, she’s licking his neck.

“jesus,” he laughs, twisting away, which only makes her giggle harder.

“one more,” she breathes, flushed and gleaming and bright with mischief, eyes locked on his like they’re the only two people in the world. “don’t move.”

he doesn’t.

in the last frame, she kisses him full on the mouth, deep and soft and slow — his eyes fluttering shut, hers already closed, his hand splayed across her jaw and neck.

the strip prints a minute later, curling into the little metal tray like something sacred.

they tuck it in the glove box. right next to condoms and fake IDs and emergency cash. and every time dean opens it, he pretends not to stare.

but he does. every damn time.

sometimes, on long drives when the highway stretches out forever and the radio’s nothing but static, dean fishes the photo strip out of the glove box and flicks it against the steering wheel. he never shows it to sam. never says a word about it. just traces the edges with his thumb and lets the corners of his mouth tilt up, soft and helpless.

mallory always pretends not to notice. she’ll lean her head against the window, one foot propped up on the dash, pretending she’s asleep — but there’s a smile tugging at her lips too, lazy and secret.

once, months later, after a hunt goes sideways and they’re both bleeding and laughing about it in the impala’s front seat, she plucks the strip right out of his hand.

“you’re such a sap,” she teases, voice raspy with exhaustion.

“yeah,” dean says, without missing a beat. “for you? absolutely.”

and she kisses him again, right there on the side of the highway, blood on her knuckles and love in her bones.

they’re stupid and reckless and way too young to know any better. but god, they’re happy. at least for a little while.

one day, months later, mal catches dean sitting on a motel bed, just admiring it.

“oh my god,” she says, holding it up to the light, grinning so hard it aches. “were you just sitting here… staring at this?”

dean scrubs a hand over his face, groaning. “jesus, mal. don’t make it sound pathetic.”

“it’s not pathetic,” she says immediately — and softer than he expects. she crawls onto his lap like she belongs there, the photo strip still dangling between two fingers. “it’s sweet.”

“great. exactly the vibe i’m going for,” he mutters, but his arms are already wrapping around her, automatic, instinctive. like breathing.

she glances at the photos again — their younger, wilder selves captured forever in a busted old mall booth — and then at him. same green eyes. same stupid smile that makes her feel like the world might actually be good.

“you’re such a sap,” she says, but it’s all fondness, her thumb brushing along his jaw.

he tilts his head back, lazy and smug. “yeah, well. you’re the one who picked me, sweetheart.”

“tragic mistake,” she teases, dropping the photo strip carefully on the nightstand before tugging his mouth to hers. he tastes like toothpaste and a little like bourbon, and he’s smiling against her lips, the bastard.

neither of them remembers to turn off the light. the photo strip stays right there — tucked beside the bed, half-hidden under a receipt and a room key — like it’s still something sacred.

because it is.

always will be.

#sophiuhhwrites #dean winchester #dean winchester smut #supernatural #mallory hawthorne #supernatural smut #mallory hawthorne smut #he’s so babygirl #i’m so in love with them #precious babies

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guanshentai · 2 years ago

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Printing elements of automatic screen printing machine

　　The screen printing process of the automatic screen printing machine is that the ink leaks on the substrate after passing through part of the mesh of the screen, and the rest of the mesh of the screen is blocked, and the ink cannot penetrate. The ink is poured on the screen during printing, and the ink will not leak through the mesh to the substrate without external force, but when the scraper scrapes the ink with a certain pressure and inclination angle, it will transfer through the screen To the following substrates to achieve image replication.

　　Printing elements of automatic screen printing machine:

　　1. Silk screen printing plate

　　Three methods can be used to make the screen plate of the screen printing machine: direct coating method, direct film pasting method, and indirect film pasting method. According to the type of substrate, important parameters such as screen tension, screen mesh number, plate film thickness, and screen frame size should be fully considered during the plate making process. Choose water-based or oil-based photosensitive glue according to the type of ink.

　　2. Screen printing ink

　　Screen printing machines can use solvent-based screen printing inks, UV screen printing inks and various functional pastes. Screen printing inks should be selected and tested according to the material of the substrate.

　　3. Screen printing squeegee

　　The screen printing squeegee is the pressure source of the screen printing machine, which plays the role of transferring and pressing ink leakage. Flat substrates usually use a squeegee with a rectangular cross-section, curved substrates usually use a triangular squeegee, CD discs can consider special squeegees, use a softer squeegee for rough surfaces, and use a harder one for smooth surfaces. Squeegee.

　　4. Fixtures

　　Fixtures with good stability and uniformity must be made to ensure the accuracy of overprinting and the consistency of positions. The tangent plane at the highest point of the plane fixture is parallel to the screen plane, and the curved surface fixture requires that the diameter of the transmission gear index circle at the shaft end is equal to the diameter of the circular surface of the substrate.

#automatic screen printing machine

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voxina · 5 months ago

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Jade Thirlwall was only 14 when she first presented herself for judgement. She put on her best leopard-print headband and bravely sang some of Whitney Houston’s ‘Where Do Broken Hearts Go’ in front of the X Factor panel. “You’re a funny little thing, aren’t you,” remarked an amused Simon Cowell, like a cat playing with its food. Louis Walsh then jumped in with: “Unusual!” In response, Thirlwall thanked them with an unwieldy grin.

For this tiny singer, it would be a case of third time lucky. After being put through to boot camp twice, she auditioned again at the age of 18, now wearing leopard-print trousers. Judge Kelly Rowland told the naturally shy teenager she’d be good in a girl group, an idea that Thirlwall was completely unimpressed with. She was resolute about being a solo artist and an unusual one at that.

Rowland, of Destiny’s Child fame, had correctly identified herself in Thirlwall. That season of the show, Thirlwall was placed in what would become the second biggest-selling UK girl group of all time, Little Mix. Their accolades could fill an infinite scrolling Wiki page. They were a well-oiled commercial pop machine amassing billions of streams with hits like ‘Black Magic’ and ‘Shout Out to My Ex’ while touring stadiums until they went on hiatus in 2022. “I didn’t see myself as a conventional girl’s girl. I was nerdy and quiet. When they told me I was gonna be put in a girl group, I automatically thought of Pussycat Dolls,” she laughs. “I thought, ‘Oh no, I’m not sexy — and if they’re bitchy, I’ll struggle because I’m not confrontational at all. I shrink at any drama.’ But it turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to me for my confidence and understanding of sisterhood.”

Tonight, I’m sharing wine with her at a table in Shoreditch House to discuss the fact that Thirlwall finally has what she wanted: she is the solo pop star she always dreamed of being. “I’m a bit of a dark horse,” the Rolling Stone UK Trailblazer Award winner tells me. “I’ll try anything once. I don’t see myself as a safe person creatively and I am a bit strange. All my life I’ve been told I’m weird.” Her bandmates and friends saw it, her boyfriend, Rizzle Kicks singer Jordan Stephens, saw it, Cowell clocked it after only minutes in her company, and now the rest of the world gets to see it.

Outwardly, she didn’t seem like the biggest personality in the band, but behind the scenes, Thirlwall had been the creative driving force and business mind. For her solo project, that incisive playfulness is fully on display. From the horror-influenced visuals to the Drag Race inspiration, Thirlwall — whose solo artist name is JADE — is more aligned with Charli XCX than Little Mix. On the addictive lead single, ‘Angel of My Dreams’, she switches between a Y2K sound, hyperpop and a nostalgic girl band chorus gone wonky to tell a story about the dark side of the music industry, a theme that is repeated across her presently untitled debut album. It’s smart and entirely unexpected.

In person, Thirlwall has the same excitable offbeat energy she had as a 14-year-old in her first audition. She’s like a conspiratorial friend primed for gossip exchange: she directs me to a clip that circulated from a Little Mix interview where fans thought she was on cocaine because she was pulling odd faces. “People don’t believe me even now,” she laughs, pausing to sip on her rosé. There were bad moments and dramas when she was in the group, of course, but she’s prepared for the same to happen in her solo career. “I’m never going to discredit what we achieved. I don’t have anything bad to say about it, so I wouldn’t stir anything up, just to look cool,” she laughs again.

The group’s young fanbase has matured with its members. Thirlwall doesn’t see it as her responsibility to appease them or tell them what they should and shouldn’t do. “I’m 31 years old, I’m gonna write about stuff I experience, my merchandise will reflect that, you know what I mean?” One such recent merchandise bundle includes sex aids. The other day, while recording with Sugababes, she told them what’s included in the package and had to explain to Keisha Buchanan what a butt plug is, much to her amusement. This is an older and wiser Jade Thirlwall having even more fun.

Thirlwall grew up in a household of eclectic tastes in South Shields, a seaside town near Newcastle. Her mother was a Motown fan who looked like Diana Ross, while her dad listened to 80s power ballads and VH1 classics. Her big brother — who she aspired to be like as every younger sibling does — was deeply into the happy hardcore-clubland classics era of the 90s and 00s. It was a happy childhood, in part due to the fact that there’s a strong Yemeni community in South Shields (Thirlwall is half Arab: one-quarter Yemeni, one-quarter Egyptian). “I have a lot of memories of my grandad cooking curries or waiting for him outside the mosque,” she remembers. “I listened to his prayer and Arabic music, too.” It wasn’t until she went to a Catholic secondary school, where she felt alienated, that she began to struggle with racist remarks and her feelings of anxiety. She was bullied by other girls, hence her initial reservations about being in a girl band.

While she was in Little Mix, she didn’t understand that she could have spoken out more about her race. “I’d only ever seen negative stereotypes of Arab people in the press, so I was scared to promote my heritage,” she says. “I feel sad for my younger self that I could’ve been the representation I needed back then. I try to make up for that now.” Thirlwall has been outspoken about issues close to her heart. Whether it was attending Black Lives Matter protests and pro-Palestine rallies or becoming an LGBTQ+ rights ambassador for the UK charity Stonewall, she stands out among many of her peers for her political verve.

Each of the girls knew a year ahead that Little Mix were disbanding, so they individually spent that period preparing in the studio. “It took me a long time to figure out how to not write a Little Mix song because that’s all I’d done for a decade,” admits Thirlwall. Panicked about the idea of having so much stillness after the group, she made an abundance of music in a bid to find her sound as soon as possible. This became an advantage: so sure of what she wanted to do, Thirlwall was able to approach potential labels with a fully formed vision. After signing with RCA of Sony, they assured her she could take her time to release her solo music, which came as a surprise: in the pop world, two and a half years is a long time to disappear. “In hindsight, I was freaking out about existing without the group and thought I had to jump on the hype of us just disbanding. If I’d released then, I would’ve been anxious and have put so much pressure on myself to be as big as [Little Mix] was.”

[...]

If Thirlwall was in charge of the music industry, it’d look different. Sure, it’s improving for artists because social media means “you can’t get away with as much bad shit”, but there’s some way to go. When I ask her how she’d change it, she sits up in a businesslike manner and adopts an Elle Woods from Legally Blonde tone. Before she’ll answer that, she’ll take me back to the nagging feeling she had that something wasn’t right with Little Mix. The four girls were presented with different contracts and told who their team was, and she didn’t feel she had a choice.

To all intents and purposes, Thirlwall and her fellow Little Mix band members were child stars. She agrees with this assessment. “I almost think you shouldn’t be allowed to be a star until you’re 18. I’m so glad I was turned away and didn’t get put in Little Mix until I was 18 — and even then, I feel like that was too young,” she says.

Previous X Factor winner and South Shields born-and-bred Joe McElderry had warned Thirlwall of his negative experiences in the industry. “I remember him saying make sure your mum’s there when you’re doing all these important signings. But I was too young to understand what he meant, and I made the same mistakes as him.”

It wasn’t until halfway into their career that the young women looked around and wondered who that person in the room being paid to be there was or why their peers and friends were making more money than them. Thirlwall and bandmate Leigh-Anne Pinnock helped to write the Little Mix music but weren’t signed into a publishing deal until 2019. Unfortunately, it was a “really shit deal” that they were stuck in but at least she was finally recognised as a songwriter, financially speaking. (For her solo career, she has not signed a publishing deal because she now finds it hard to trust the entire framework.)

If she were queen of the industry, her first decree would be to introduce a comprehensive course that artists take as soon as they’re signed by a label (if not sooner), that teaches them what a label deal is, how royalties work and how they make their money. That would prevent the type of situation that Little Mix got into when they were first signed. “When you come from a working-class background, you get your advance and think you’ve made it, but you have to recoup everything back. You’re getting all these lavish cars and making them wait for ages, but you’re footing that bill eventually,” she laughs drily. She would also introduce the sort of mental health care she’s managed to negotiate as a solo artist with her new label: a substantial pot of money that she can use if she needs therapy.

The topic of mental health brings the conversation round to Liam Payne, the One Direction member who tragically died in an accident while under the influence of drugs in October. He was Thirlwall’s peer — the only X Factor pop group to outperform Little Mix by any metric was One Direction, with the two groups frequently spoken about in the same breath — and was once her friend. They both had their first auditions during the same series, aged 14. The pair returned a second time: Liam went through to the finals and was placed into One Direction while Thirlwall was sent home. Payne was encouraging of Thirlwall and told her she had to keep trying X Factor. She was then put in a group on a later series. They fell out of touch over the years, but she was naturally upset to hear of the news for both him and for his family — their mothers are still friends.

“When the news broke out, it did shake me up because we’d started the same, but we’d ended up on very different paths. We both wanted to make it so much and sometimes that is a blessing and a curse to get what you’ve dreamed of. It’s unbelievably tragic,” she says of Payne’s death.

Just hours after it was reported that Payne had died, Thirlwall was due to start a heavy day of promo for her single ‘Fantasy’. She cancelled it as she didn’t feel like she was the right person to be fielding questions about his passing so soon after it happened. After all, she hadn’t been close to Payne over the past several years. “All I can speak of is who I knew he was when we were kids, and he was someone that wanted to make his family proud,” she reflects. “He wanted to be a singer more than anyone I knew.”

[Full article here]

#jade thirlwall #music industry #mental health #liam payne #xfactor #the x factor #tw liam's death mention

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