#But at the same time I don't want to buy individual collections as I might be missing out on something

[the-busy-ghost]

Love how my taste in poetry is utterly irrational, has absolutely no rhyme nor reason, and seems to be based solely on Vibes

[fashion-runways]

Your tag on one of the Moschino posts made think, who exactly IS buying those particularly outlandish clothes? Like you don’t often see their most over the top stuff on a red carpet, or at after parties/events, and that’s understandable given how difficult they would be to pull off. But someone MUST be buying them right, in order for the company to keep making a profit? Do rich people just….buy those outfits and keep them in a closet? Are they sold to charities or museums for display? I understand if you don’t know or don’t feel like answering, or if nobody really knows, just kinda curious.

well, it depends! the craziest or most detailed looks obviously aren't mass-produced or anything, more times than not there's probably only very few (maybe even one? not 100% sure) of each look, i guess it all depends on the designer but it's not like they have 500 of the same dress at hand for anyone to come get. if someone wants it for a red carpet, the designer will either fit it to the celebrity or maybe even make it all over again from scratch depending on the measurements the garment has vs the celebrity, and probably depending on a bunch of other variables that i can't even imagine. i assume level of fame, if they're lending it vs buying it, what event is being used for, maybe if the brand already has a relationship with the stylist or the celebrity. who knows.

a lot of the quirky crazy ridiculous looks are mostly made for editorial rather than events, too. so a celebrity will use it on a magazine, or an album cover, or an ad campaign. there's fashion historians and fashion collectors who will buy clothes for archiving purposes, there is museums and stuff like the met or other exhibitions that move around the world.

sometimes designers also, at least i remember learning this in fashion school, sometimes present a collection that isn't meant to be sold or worn at all? it's more like... a concept, so it's a little crazy and kooky and over the top, and then the clothes they actually sell are like toned down versions of that. im sure if someone asked to buy the crazy dress they might sell it too, but it's usually not like the point when making them.

or sometimes the way the clothes are presented and what the clothes actually are worn are two different things too. i remember a designer from here presented a collection where the models were wearing jeans as like, a top/vest kind of thing, they were held together with a belt iirc? i don't know, it was a while ago, and it was meant to catch the eye, it was shock value to make you actually look and try to figure out what was going on and really look at the clothes, but you're not supposed to buy the jeans and wear them like that, they're literally just jeans wear them as jeans lmao or like sometimes thom browne has a crazy outfit with a jacket and a vest and a button up and a skirt and pants and platform shoes and socks over the pants and another coat on top and it's insane, but you can just... buy the vest. and wear the vest alone, and that's a perfectly normal piece of clothing you can wear anywhere. or just the pants and the jacket. etc.

anyway all that to say that... i don't know but also i kind of know maybe? i don't know what each brand/designer does individually, i have no idea if moschino sells the burger skirt or if they only made one for that shoot and called it a day, but i know there are a bunch of different ways the crazy clothes can still exist out there i guess. and god knows where they are, maybe some people who work in the industry know and i don't because i live in the middle of fuck nowhere and i'm poor lmao but they might be somewhere.

[crushedsweets]

hey sucker! 😋😋

what would the creeps do for valentine’s day?

like yknow, would some be given small treats or do others treat it like a regular day?

happy belated valentines day! hope you guys had fun and shared some love with everyone around you! this is the closest youre gonna get to x reader content from me.

AGAIN THIS IS SET IN MY AU!!! MY AU IS PRETTY DETAILED AND HAS AN OVERARCHING STORYLINE WITH PRE-ESTABLISHED FRIENDSHIPS, SETTINGS, JOBS, CHARACTER ARCS AND WHATNOT....... so :3 yeah.

Tim and Brian probably don't do much. They'll totally grab some chocolates/candy and eat it, but just cuz its there, not as a gift. if they had a partner, they'd just go get some dinner.. flowers, basic stuff. put on an unironed button up and pick their partner up LOL.

toby might do something depending on where he is in the story. early on, he is not doing SHIIIIT. deep into his friendship with nina(who opens up a lot of his emotional vulnerabilities n stuff), he might feel a little inclined to pick up some flowers for some of the girls in his life (nina, clocky, kate, lazari) just cuz he used to do something small for his sister/mom when he was younger (cuz frank never did shit). if he had a partner, he'd def wanna do jewelry and classic flowers. he likes necklaces and rings and piercings and stuff, doesnt wear them much cuz they get in the way, but likes seeing people wear stuff he got. he's the type to make them turn around so he could put the necklace on them, but if they even slightly laugh at him trying to be sweet, he's getting mad HAHA. "ok nevermind im returning this you fucking suck" (jokingly.. but he is embarrassed). would just wanna stay home though, no nights out or anything

clocky would paint stuff. she'd give nina a portrait of herself cuz nina loooves being someone's muse, do some nice art of forest creatures and leave some notes for toby. she'd feel pretty awkward about it just cuz even when she was with her highschool boyfriend, she wasn't good at giving or receiving affection. if she's gifted any flowers (which she will be getting), she's absolutely pressing them and either sealing them in some paintings, or putting it in frames that hold her old art/art she picked up at thrifts. if she had a partner, she'd obviously paint them or something. i could see her spending a long time working through a journal to gift them, making every 3 pages a painting, drawing, or journal entry expressing something. "today you and i went to get lunch. i think the place was way too expensive, but you liked it." and then empty pages for her partner to fill in with whatever they want.

nina. ok come on. lets be serious. its nina. she's gonna buy everyone(as in toby, clocky, kate, jane, liu) one expensive gift (cologne, watches, shoes, jewelry, makeup) and then throw together mini bouquets, notes, and probably shop lift other smaller stuff cuz 'IM BROKE I SPENT TOO MUCH I HAVE TO' LOLLL.. she's the type to literally decorate her house for it, putting up some of clocky's more romantic paintings (cuz she has a collection of clocky's work), setting out heart-shaped coasters, bringing out heart shaped pillows.... honestly she probably already had those.... she'd absolutely plan galentines dinner for her friends, bake cookies, everything. if she had a partner, it would be really similar. she likes to spoil people, gift giving and acts of service are her ways of showing love - buuuut she does want to be spoiled in return, so physical affection and quality time is what she wants to receive. she wants to be treated like a princess, be picked up, have her doors opened for her, told she looks beautiful, etc.

jack is even less likely to do something than toby. before the sacrifice, he'd grab a cheap bag of individually wrapped chocolates and give them to people he knew around campus. i could see him buying the same chocolates and leaving it in his cabin. telling whoever visits him to take some. nina would leave him some flowers too(say its also from toby) and he'd be really grateful, cuz she'd be very sure to get him whatever he thinks smells the nice. that way he can still appreciate it. if he had a partner, YOU KNOW HE'S COOKING THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DINNER AT HOME. he's cleaning up, very awkwardly trying to dress nice. black button up, slacks, slick his hair back(or he'd just do whatever his partner says looks best, not too concerned with his own preference). he'd feel sooo fucking embarrassed and very nervous but he just wants to make it special. he'd write a long love letter, too

jeff isnt doing shit for anyone. he'll go steal some chocolate and mind his own business. if he had a partner, one that he ACTUALLY loved and wanted to keep around. maybe he'd pick up some flowers and chocolate, mainly cuz he knows thats the bare minimum sort of gift. he'd let them demand that day from him, which takes a LOT for him to let anyone feel entitled to HIS time. if he knows they have higher expectations (dinner, a letter, etc) he'd probably bitch and moan and be like "ugh you already know im into you why do i gotta do this shit" but if theyre serious, he'd probably do it. half assed though...

kates also not doing anything unprompted. she wouldnt even know the day is coming around. her only memories of valentines day would be passing out some candy and cards around class in elementary school, but once she was in the forest, nobody gave HER shit. she might pick some flowers and wrap it in some paper for people , but ONLY if she KNOWS they're getting something for her. like, she'd pick nina some flowers cuz she knows ninas doing something regardless, but she wouldnt get toby anything cuz she wouldnt have expected it from him. then shed feel bad. if she had a partner, again it'd be similar. she KNOWS she needs to put in the effort, but she doesnt exactly have the resources... the farm does pay her some cash since she works with the animals, but she mostly just gives it straight to toby so he can buy stuff for the cabin. but she'd keep it this time around, and quietly ask toby if he could come with her to get some stuff for them. some sweets, a necklace, scribble out a little letter. smth sweet.

janes married. and she goes all out of her wife. buys her like a 3dozen bouquet of red roses, sets reservations at nice restaurants, makes mary breakfast the morning of. all of that. i dont even know how to go into detail on this because thats just how it is for her, theres not some turmoil for her to work through. she'd also start getting sally some stuff. plushies holding hearts, balloons, sweet things like that. if she had a partner...WELL SHE ALREADY DOES!!!!

if liu knows nina is going to gift him something expensive, he's doing the same. he's going to grab her flowers and maybe some shoes or something he knows she's had her eye on. he wouldn't be really subtle about it, just text her "whats on your wishlist right now" LOLLL... he just appreciates nina's presence (after they get over the jeff situation) and likes having a little sister to spoil. he'd probably send jane a bouquet of flowers with a thank you note, since jane did a lot for him. if he had a partner, it would also be very stereotypical. date plans, picking them up, flowers, etc. he'd LOOOOVE to make one of those big baskets filled to the brim with random shit. would wanna come home and draw a nice bubble bath and have some wine. stuff like that in general...

ben, lulu, ann, and dina wouldnt do anything and wouldnt get a partner. lazari would draw some pictures for her friends! sally will draw something for jane and mary

[sirfrogsworth]

Someone was having trouble getting decent sound in his living room and instead of recommending a room treatment or better speakers this person just casually suggests PUTTING AN ADDITION ONTO THE HOUSE.

Trying to get advice on audio forums is often a challenge because a lot of these dudes just have *so much* disposable income. And they just assume everyone else is wealthy too. You can even tell them you have a budget and they'll be like, "You should save up longer and buy this thing that is three times your budget."

And it's not like there aren't wonderful options that are more affordable. I think I may have about $3000 worth of home theater equipment that I have collected over the last 20 years. They will spend that on a single speaker and suggest you do the same.

The people in these forums would have a fit if they knew I had a single subwoofer. Apparently, the cardinal audio sin is having only ONE subwoofer.

Your room could have NULLS!

NULLLLLLS!!!

Seriously, they will lecture you anytime you mention having a single subwoofer. "Your seat-to-seat response is going to be inconsistent!"

I also saw a guy say that a 15" subwoofer was "tiny" and "pointless."

My 70-pound, 12" subwoofer is currently vibrating items off the shelf in my house ever since I moved it upstairs and don't have concrete floors like in the basement. I'm going to have to buy special subwoofer feet to decouple it from the floor. I can't imagine what a 15" sub would do to my house. It might collapse on top of me.

So you can only get a sub that is at least 18" and you need a minimum of 2... but 4 is much better. Actually, 4 is the minimum. 2 is garbage. 2 in front and 2 in back.

And, of course, you have to get a Rythmik or PSA subwoofer. Don't cheap out on the brand!

You have to build an addition to the house AND buy $8000 worth of subwoofers and then MAYBE your sound will be somewhat listenable.

But only if you calibrate the subs with a MiniDSP and the proper UMIK calibration microphone.

Wait, do you have a regular AVR with built in amplification? That won't do. What you need is an audio processor with individual external amplification.

You'll need a 9.4.6 configuration for the proper surround sound experience. That is 9 ear-level speakers, 4 subwoofers, and 6 atmos ceiling speakers.

So 2 of these.

1 of these.

3 pairs of these.

6 of these... plus professional ceiling installation.

And an individual amplifier for each speaker.

Do you really need a 600 watt amp for the ceiling speakers too?

OF COURSE YOU DO!

DO YOU WANT A LOW NOISE FLOOR AND NO DISTORTION OR DO YOU WANT GARBAGE?

Comfort is important too. So you'll want a Valencia leather power recliner with LED cup holder.

And... by far... the most important home theater component...

The power cable.

This will assure that only the highest quality electrons are delivered to your audio equipment.

Don't think about it too much.

Don't think about all of the janky powerlines that deliver electricity to your house.

Or all of the generic power cables inside your wall.

This cable magically negates all of that and turns the last few feet of electricity into pure, audio-grade power.

Guaranteed to drastically improve your sound quality... somehow.

It can't be nonsense, otherwise someone would have never written such beautiful prose about a power cable in a review...

"I was smitten by the piano’s extra depth in its nether regions. I’m not talking about what some audiophiles like to refer to as testicular bass, but rather, a rich and absorbing presentation."

$14,000 for rich and absorbing testicular bass? WORTH IT!

So that's roughly $65,870 for all of that and between $50,000 and $100,000 for a 500 square foot room addition.

A small price to pay for a room that is not junk for listening to music.

[themoonking]

breaking / preventing bad booktok habits

no one asked my opinion, but i've been thinking about this a lot so i'm going to give it anyway.

consumerism on booktube is a tale as old as time, and it's just as bad if not worse on booktok (due to the norm on tikok being to post something new at least once a day), and that leads a lot of book influencers (both on youtube and tiktok, and even instagram to an extent) into some really bad spending and consumption habits

this is my very long opinion piece on some tips and changes to make if you've already developed these bad habits or feel like you're about to.

tldr: stop buying in to hype and by more mindful about what you buy, and REMEMBER THAT LIBRARIES EXIST.

go to the library

quite simple. allows you to read as many books as you want without spending money or cluttering your home. and if you argue back that your local library is small / doesn't have a large selection, that's all the more reason to support it!! it won't grow or improve if it doesn't have people behind it.

getting rid of books

don't feel like you have to get rid of books even if you enjoyed them. i myself have larger book collection than most people i know. but you do have to make peace with the idea of getting rid of books from time to time. stop treating it like the worst thing that ever happened to you.

next time your bookshelf is full, don't immediately jump to buying a new shelf. instead, go through your entire collection and see what you really want to keep. do the marie kondo thing and take everything off the shelf so you can go through each book one by one. go over it multiple times over a couple of days, so you can come at it with fresh eyes.

when you look at each individual book, really think about it. ask yourself: did i even like this book? if i did, will i ever reread it? was it important to me or was it just a book i enjoyed and will never think about again? if i can't remember my feelings on a book, am i willing to reread it to find out?

if you have books that you were neutral on, that you liked but not in any notable way, or that you straight up didn't enjoy, it might be time to move on from them. donate to your local library: if you didn't enjoy them, there might be someone out there who might, and if you did enjoy them, they're right there if you ever have the urge to read them again.

don't think about book purges as tearing apart your perfect collection, but instead think about it as making room for something new that you enjoy and appreciate a lot more.

if you've gone over your collection multiple times and you still have no room, then feel free to buy a new shelf and expand your collection. obviously, as you read more books you'll find more that meant a lot to you that you want to keep. again, it's not about mimimalism, it's about mindfulness.

unread books

some book influencers (and their fans) have a MASSIVE problem with unread books. as in, they have 100+ on their shelves and they keep buying more to add to the pile. if you have books in your collection that have remained unread for years... it might be time to get rid of some of them. sorry.

do the same thing with the unread books as you did with the read books: go over them one by one and really think about why you're keeping them.

how long have you had it? if you've had a book for 5+ years, and you haven't felt the urge to read it yet, do you really think you're ever going to? read the description: does it seem like something that actually interests you, or did you buy it on a whim? perhaps it interested you when you bought it, but time has passed and tastes change; does it interest you now?

if you haven't touched or even thought about a book in multiple years but you can't bring yourself to get rid of it because "well maybe someday i'll need it!!" consider how dangerously close to hoarder mentality you're getting.

if you're really convinced that you'll enjoy a certain book, set it aside. make the books you set aside your priority for the next 6 months / the next year and don't buy anymore in that timeframe. if by the end of that time you haven't read the books you set aside, it's time to accept that you are simply never going to read them, and its better that they get some use rather than collect dust.

once again: donate any you get rid of to the library. if you're worried that you're going to suddenly want to read them (even though you haven't for years) and won't have them anymore, remember that if you give them to library they will be right there for you to borrow whenever you like. except that, in the time between you donating them and reading them, they won't have simply been sitting on your shelf gathering dust. instead, other people will have gotten the chance to read them and perhaps enjoyed them more than you ever would.

buying books

quite simply, just be more mindful about the books you buy.

when a new book becomes trendy on booktok or booktube, don't buy it right away. a lot of book influencers' unread books tend to be ones that they bought because they were really popular online, but that they lost interest in when the trend died out. if you're worried about missing out, remember that the book will still be available when the trend dies, and if you're only interested in something so you can partake in the trend... you're not really interesting in the book. you're interested in the clout.

when a book trend catches your eye, takes some time to think about it instead. first of all, does the book actually seem like something you're interested in? yes, everyone on booktok is talking about this new historical romance, but do you even like historical romance? this new epic fantasy is filling your youtube recommendations, but do you even like epic fantasy? look at reviews. look at reviews from people you know have similar tastes to you. did they like it? were the things they liked about it things that you enjoy?

if after thinking it through you're still engaged, go ahead and buy it! once again, its not about mimimalism. it's not about having less books. it's about mindfulness.

if you're subscribed to a book subscription box (or, god forbid, multiple book subscription boxes) maybe take stock and see if you actually want to remain subscribed. in the past 12 months, how many books from them have you read, and how many have you actually enjoyed? in my opinion, unless you've read an enjoyed the majority of books you've recieved in the past year, it might be time to unsubscribe. also always know that if a particular month's selection really interests you, you can simply buy the non-subscription version of the book without paying for all the ones that don't interest you.

like many book lovers, i enjoy wandering aimlessly around the bookstore even if i don't get anything, but if impulse buying books is an issue for you don't go to bookstores for fun. stay away from book-specific online stores. if you're spending issue is really bad, it might be time to block book-related social media tags (aka abandon booktok).

if you have an issue with your unread books getting out of control, set aside a physical space for your physical to-be-read and always ensure that your unread books can fit inside that space. if it starts to overflow, thats your sign that you need to ban yourself from buying books and focus on the books you already have (and then actually stick to that!!).

i personally have a three-tiered utility cart that i use (they're really common, you can find them a lot of places, but mine is specifically from ikea). it has a little wooden table lid that goes on the top tier that prevents me from storing anything in that layer. my unread books go in the bottom two tiers. if they get to the point that, to store them all, i have to remove the lid and start putting them on the top tier, i know that i need to slow down in my book buying and stay away from the book store. if, after that, it gets to the point where the entire top tier is full, then i know that it's time for a full book-buying ban until they're all read.

other methods i've seen people use: keep a separate, much smaller bookshelf in another part of the house. keep them in stacks but use a ruler to measure how tall the stacks get, and go on a ban if they get above a certain height. limit unread books to how many can comfortably fit on the bedside table. etc.

in general, it's best to NOT store unread books on the shelf with your other books. if they're on your shelf next to all your read books, you may not really be able to comprehend how many unread books you have, which can lead to the number getting out of hand.

and if you're buying books less for the pleasure of reading them and more for the pleasure of buying them (aka you genuinely not as a joke say "buying books and reading books are two different hobbies")... babygirl you have a shopping addiction </3

special editions

a lot of book influencers have a lot of special editions of books, but rarely have they read all of them. a lot of people really like collecting special editions, which is why my advice to unsubscribe from book boxes might, perhaps, be difficult.

however, many people who own a lot of these special editions don't really care about what's inside the book. rather, they care about the clout that comes with having a lot of special editions. even if they aren't an influencer, if you consume a lot of book content, you might get a feeling of superiority knowing that you have this type of collection that your favorite creators have.

essentially, when you go through your special editions, treat them the same as your other books from earlier but also ask yourself:

(1) is there anything actually special about this special edition? some special editions have exclusive bonus content such as cut chapters, interviews with the author, special art on the inside, et cetera; is this one of those or is it just the trade version with a recolored cover?

(2) if i have multiple different special editions of the same book, is there anything to actually distinguish them? do they have different exclusive bonus conent? different exclusive covers made by different talented artists? or are they essentially the same, except this cover is a slightly different shade of red, and this one has gold foiling in a slightly different spot?

(3) assuming i've read it, did this book actually mean something to me? do i care enough about this book to want a special copy of it? if i thought it was just okay, or even disliked it, wouldn't it be better off in the hands of someone who has it down as one of their favorite books of all time?

if you're going over your book box subscriptions and you say that you wouldn't be interesting in reading a certain book if you don't get your hands on the special edition, remeber that your experience of reading will be exactly the same if you have the exclusive special edition hardback or the standard trade paperback. it's like the tiktok trend; if you're only interested in this book if you have a special edition, you're not really interested in the book. you're interested in the clout.

essentially, the base thing you have to consider is: do you want this rare, expensive copy because the book actually means something to you, or because you want the online social status that comes from having a rare, expensive copy?

conclusion

once again, the main point is: be more mindful about the books you buy.

actually think about if you're interested in reading something instead of buying books you'll never read on a whim. think about whether your buying something for yourself or for clout.

and remember that libraries exist!! donate books to your library, donate funds to your library, borrow books from your library, etc. if you like audiobooks or ebooks, download whatever app your library uses. if your library doesn't have a book that you'd like to read, put in a request and they might purchase. participate in your library's events and activities. get involved in your library. show your local library the love it deserves!!!

bye. if you have another tip about breaking or preventing bad book habits, feel free to reblog w/ your tip.

[all-hallows-street]

Guess whose financial mistake arrived early...

I will give more in depth looks later (I have to work to afford such questionable purchases), but a quick individual review of what I got:

Neil Demon Plushy

Not a plush toys collector at all; my closest reference is the IKEA shark. He is heavier than he looks, very sturdy (?) if that makes sense. Doesn't seem like he will deform any time soon. The details are adorable and I don't see any glaring defects.

All Saints Street Hoodie

Surprisingly large for me. I was worried they only had one size made for the Chinese market. I'm 1.7m (5 foot 7) tall for reference and this is still a bit too big for me. Will likely get too small for anyone over 6 feet tall. The quality is good! Very soft. Velvet interior. I don't know much about shirt stamping, but since it's not in the fabric I'm guessing the stamp might start to crack after multiple washes.

All Saints Street Vol. 1-3 Collection

Now this is something I can talk about more. The sleeve was unfortunately damaged in shipping and the books have very minor damage in the spine and vol 2 has a minor case of dog ears. The quality of the paper is great! It is color paper, not glossy one you see in comic book issues, but it's thicker than the black and white you see in manga. Would still make sure to have a dehumidifier if your storing place is not dry. I've already experienced book wrapping and it's painful.

Each volume contains around 80 chapters with one extra chapter not on bilibili. They also contain a message from Lingzi and WSJ's editor, plus all character bios even for ones we never got one (Enrique, Eduardo ans Anthony). And if a Weibo post is correct some might have been updated from the ones online (Axel grew 1 cm in the book bio).

Of course later I'll look over everything to see if there are any significan changes to make a note of. Also it came with this lol.

I have the Alice in Wonderland art somewhere, I'll post it later as well.

All Saints Street Anniversary Playing Cards

The playing card decks from the 6th and the 7th anniversary. As you can see I haven't opened the 7th, but I got the 6th a while ago on AliExpress so I expect them to be similar.

This is something else I can review more in depth, coming from a family that loves playing poker. The quality of the prints is beautiful, however I keep them in the box all the time because the quality of the cards itself is not good!

The cards feel like store bought cardboard; good playing cards are made out of cardboard, but this deck doesn't have the same treatment. They are so fragile, even by just handling them to get the face cards I've already made slight damage to the edges. I wouldn't play any game with them, much less shuffle them. I don't even want to imagine how much they will bend. Also the Crystal card came with damage (the small white spot on the edge) from the store. Pain.

Anyways. I'll frame the face cards because they are so pretty and I want to keep them in the best condition... I don't know what I will do with the rest of the 36 cards. Maybe practice magic tricks? Lol. Before all this I've been working on how to scan all the face cards and post them, but it's been more difficult than expected. If you have ever tried to digitize prints you will know. Once I have them, I'll post them alongside high quality scans.

When it comes to my review of PandaBuy... On one hand it was an excellent service and experience. On the other... I don't even want to reveal how much the shipping was. I wouldn't recommend anyone else do it unless you are stupid with your money (like me), even then

I would advice to do your own research. PandaBuy and all agents to buy from China are definitely better when you buy in bulk. My package was 'only' 2kg. Many people buy over 10kg to make it worth it. I'm already committed so if new volumes come out I will buy them, and maybe also get counterfeit Gucci shoes or something since that's what most people use this agents for...

That's all for now. Feel free to reply or send any questions you have.

[nightswithkookmin]

How did Tae have so much power as to have a different contractual agreement

Uhmm, do you understand the concept of contracts? A contract is simply someone making you an offer and you agreeing to that offer or making your own counter offer if their offer don't sit right with you.

He doesn't have to be powerful to have a different contractual agreement, he simply must have different needs, different goals, and different aspirations.

For instance, hybe may offer to buy each member a million dollar house in exchange for unlimited use of their publicity rights as celebrities.

If he decides he would rather stay in his mother's house and commute to work and thus limit the ways hybe can use his publicity rights his contract will of course be different from anyone who agreed to the offer of the million dollar house.

Or much complexly, he might decide to pay half of that money on the house upfront with his own money while offering to produce two whole albums for Hybe in exchange for Hybe paying the remaining half of the million dollar house.

And when Hybe agrees and he gives hybe the Album them hybe can use that album however they want without needing Tae's permission or even crediting or paying him for it. Or of course Tae might insist he is given credit at least.

BTS as a band collectively have a band agreement or partnership agreement between themselves and between themselves and the company. As a collective. This agreement may spell out who owns the rights to the music they make, how they are gonna share money- either equally or based on age, based on who contributes what, who gets credited for what, how their brand image is to be managed- like they said, they all agreed not to come on vlive drunk. Things like that.

But individually these are also artists that are managed by the company- separately. In terms of their publicity rights and how long the company can profit off of their images, the specific geographical locations within which the company can hold these rights over them. An example will be how members of a certain kpop group were allowed to pursue a career only in say China while the company maintained the rights over any work they'd done in Korea.

The contract could even cover the type of content the company can create based off of the artists image. For instance, an artist may be comfortable having their images associated with adult content or fanfic while some may want nothing to do with it. Example, the seven of fates wattpad stuff they did and the controversies around it. I recall some of the members expressing discontent with it. Then you'd have moments where Jungkook had said he preferred a certain color over what the others went with.

These individual differences exist. And while some are resolved by the dictates of the collective contracts or partnership agreement- which may say majority carries the vote or RMs word must be the final in determining certain choices, it's much harder when it comes to matters that affect them individually.

Separately, they all have different concerns and different goals and different directions they want to take with their career and the company is there to make it happen for them.

Just because they all work under the same company in the same band don't mean they all must have the same terms and conditions in their contract. If they did, all of them would be actors for example because the agreement that allows Taehyung to be an actor would bind the others as well and they will all be doing the same gigs all the time. But clearly that hasn't been the case.

I remember during a live when Jimin wanted to do one of his solo choreos and they were quick to point out he was plugging and promoting his solo work so he stopped. If they all benefited equally from his solo projects why make a fuss about it?

Contracts don't work that way.

One person may agree to hybe having 100% control over their image for X duration of time in exchange for say a higher pay check while another might agree to less pay if it means only giving hybe 50% of control of their image for little amount of time while they retain the other 50% therefore can contract individually with brands without necessarily involving the company.

Similarly, some members could have a contract that allows them to own the rights in the music they make while others sign off their rights fully over to the company and so any work they produce would be owned by the company- especially those who owe large debt to the company.

So for instance, hybe could sell off the right to friends to marvel without necessarilt involving Jimin if Jimin although a producer don't own the right to song because he'd sold it to the company. Hypothetically speaking.

So while for instance Tae or Suga can make music on their own and promote it however they deem fit through whichever channels they want, that autonomy might also bar them from collaborating with any member of BTS at will in their personal projects. To do that they might have to pay the artist like he would any other artist outside BTS because not everyone is as autonomous. Again hypothetically speaking.

So you hear certain members complain they couldn't work on a project with another member because someone in the company didn't let them.

Namjoon does a lot of work for the members and as an artist under a management that management is entitled to a certain percentage of the money he earns from every work he does. So if he is doing all this work for free then the company gets nothing.

Contrastingly, Jungkook couldn't possibly use his image and reputation to promote his brother's business if he wanted to. His brother couldn't use Jungkook's face on his products to promote them either. If he did the company could sue him. Just as they would sue any of us if we tried.

I don't how long you've been in the Fandom, but there was a time the boy's contract forbade them from even taking photos with fans on the streets. And during their vacation the company would issue statements requesting fans to leave them alone. When certain memebers were alleged to be dating the company issued statements saying they asked their artists and their artists said no- these days they just say it's their private matter and leave it at such.

The boys have also complained about moments where the food they eat are billed to them and taken out of the monies they are supposed to earn.

If someone like Jimin doesn't want the company providing his meals because he thinks they charge too much it is within his right to say we'll take that out. Don't provide me with food. I'll provide my own food from now. And if during a live, everyone was served with food and he wasn't then you'd know why.

There's just so many possibilities.

Aha, take Tae doing all these fashiony stuff now. Before it used to be all seven always because they couldn't be contracted individually as brand anything for companies- not sure if they still can but they headed that way for sure.

Now, do you think the others will get a cut out of the income and revenue their individual projects will generate? Or they only get to share royalties and revenue from the income their collective bond BTS generates?

Let's take it all the way back to their trainee period. Some members were flown to the us to get dance training. Others couldn't even get adequate voice training. Why would the company choose to go all out on others while playing stingy on another? Favoritism? Perhaps. But it could also be the contracts. Hybe is an investment company that invests money in people and hope to reap it later. The more they invest in you, the more you have to pay. Not all members would agree to the company pushing too much money into them. While others would take the offer and go.

Some might agree to fly first class and pay for it later, some won't. But I sure hope, these days their flights are taken care off by sponsors if not they should release Jimin to me. So help me I will fly him on my private broomstick wherever he wants. Hang on baby

I wager Jungkook is or was more indebted to the company more so than say Jimin or Tae. And the hyungs, RM, Suga might be earning slightly more from the company than the rest for producing for the company along side being band mates.

Thus, I don't expect them to have the same contract as the others.

Freedom to contract gives Tae the power to determine what his terms and conditions are. It's not a one size fit all situation. The same applies to the others.

Hypothetically.

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

I've always supported Louis and Harry, as a unit and individually. Their silence regarding Palestine has made me want to distance myself from them. I am aware Harry has never tried to hide being a Zionist in some capacity and I feel I have been ignoring it for the longest time in order to stan without feeling guilty and that's entirely on me. I am also aware that Louis' politics are also pretty pathetic.

I haven't been sitting back doing nothing expecting them to do something about it, I don't think in the grand scheme of things their stance matters much. I have been doing what I can for the cause in my own way.

I know the obvious thing to do is step back when it is not giving me joy, that's not what I'm conflicted about. My question is what are your thoughts on expecting a celeb to sign a ceasefire letter, make their stance clear or even attend a protest? Is it unreasonable? Are artists required to do this or should fans just learn to separate art from artists?

I think it might be useful to separate two different questions - one what it means to be a fan and the other what it's reasonable to expect from a celebrity.

You ask 'should fans just learn to separate art from artists' - and one of my problems with that framing is that it puts a particular weight on fans - as if fans have some kind of special status and interest as a group - or even relate to artists in the same way. And I think it's important to understand both that calling yourself a fan doesn't give you a special claim to someone else (I talked about this yesterday). There are many different ways of thinking about celebrities - and you make the choice about what that means to you.

I think that opens up to my next point which is you start this by saying that you've always supported Louis and Harry - and I can see if that's how you see this then that does create a challenge. I don't really see what I'm doing as supporting Louis and Harry. There's a literal truth to that - I'll buy tickets to see them if they come to New Zealand, but I haven't bought any of their albums and I don't stream. It's not just that I don't see what I do as supporting them - in quite a literal way it's not supporting them. But it's also a truth about how I do what I'm doing - I am here for me and my pleasure (and mostly for what I find interesting). I'm saying this to demonstrate that you have a choice in terms of how you think of fandom and what you do. If you do enjoy it here - then maybe just start stealing stuff if you decide you don't want to support them.

There are lots of different ways of relating to a celebrity and I think the more options you feel there are the easier it is to figure out the response. There are definitely lots more options than seeing your relationship as one of active support and entirely separating the art from the artist. Could you move into a space where you can still have whatever gives you joy, but doesn't feel like actively supporting people?

**********

So the second thing - what is it reasonable to expect from a celebrity? And my answer is - the same thing that you could expect from anyone else on this earth.

I think it's very important to reject the idea that celebrities have special responsibilities or power. It leads to really bad politics. I've probably said this before - but collective action is based over the idea that each of us is only tiny - but together we can build something much stronger. The fantasy that there's someone who is already really strong and who matters much more than us and can do the work for us - is just nonsense - and it's nonsense that will make people focus on the wrong place in changing celebrities rather than taking their own action.

As for the direct question you ask - I don't think there's anything wrong with expecting celebrities to take action to oppose genocide. But it's important to acknowledge that not everyone will - that people have political choices and will take them. Artists are not required to sign cease fire letters - and that's what makes the decision to sign meaningful from the people who do.

The only other thing that I'd advocate is a little uncertainty. When talking about your expectations around protests - you're not actually talking about an expectation that they attend protests - you're talking about an expectation that they show that they attend protests. We don't know all the actions celebrities are taking. For me personally, I'm happy stating that I think that there is an obligation to take action in the face of genocide - and realise that I won't know who is meeting that obligation and who isn't.

[crsinclair]

so here's the scoop

Actually before that, I wanna say that I've participated in the Erasermic Omegaverses Zine this year, can't remember if I yelled about that on here? I was a fic writer for that - if you like Erasermic and like ABO, here's the link to the collection on Ao3! Mind the tags on the individual fics, please! ANYWAY. I've had. A fucking. Time. Kinda a rant and also an explanation for why I've been absent and also why I linked my kofi at the bottom of this. A lot of shit happened!🙃 This summer, my Papa passed away. I loved him. I really did. He was funny, kind, and he took shit from absolutely no one. If it hadn't been him I would have said I wasn't going to go help out and I was just going to go to the funeral. But it was him, so I told my friends that I was going back to the city, and I was going to help settle everything, pack his things, etc, because I loved him. I should have stayed home. First of all, my family treated me like free labor and like shit while I was there to help out. Second of all, I got into a car accident on the way to the funeral and the guy who hit me tried to intimidate me into not calling the police before driving off - and yes, I was injured. Third, my family "expressed concern" over my injury and then proceeded to have me write the obituary, decorate the funeral room alone, and asked me to be a pallbearer while injured. I could go into so much more detail but I'll spare you the horror of My Family™️. I'm honestly surprised I made it home without collapsing. AND ON THAT NOTE: A week later, I did collapse. Dramatically, and with flair. I was recovering from both whiplash, grief, and having to spend time with My Family™️ and over at my friend's grandmother's house when suddenly I didn't feel well. I stood up to splash some water on my face, got into the restroom, realized, "Hm, this is more serious than Not Feeling Well, I should tell someone Right Fucking Now," wobbled back into the other room, told the grandmother that something was wrong, and then proceeded to collapse to the ground and have a heart attack. After that, my heart rate would not calm the fuck down and I had wild heart palpitations for the next seven hours! Yes, I went to the hospital. I have been to the hospital twice more after that, had several more doctor appointments, have had several tests done (including a Tilt Table test, which 0/10, do not recommend), and there's plenty more that I could talk about (like the Tilt Table test, though I might just make a TikTok account for just to rant about that akdhfa it's both not funny and FUNNY), but what it all boils down to is this: I have a very, very severe case POTS all of a sudden and my doctor is still trying to figure out what the hell caused it. Currently I'm trying for disability benefits because I legitimately cannot work - my sleep schedule is fucked, my energy levels are all over the place, I can't stand for long at all without fainting and I can't sit for varying length of time without the same. I hate to even do this, but I'm a broke bitch who has medical bills for tests and operations (god I have one in just a few days and I am NOT looking forward to it) that I can't pay for because I don't have insurance, so: Here's my kofi page if you'd like to buy me a coffee or help me not stress about the multiple doctors visits I have every month!

I do have, like, actual things I want to talk about other than "Oh this is what I've been up to - BEING SICK" - like the cute EMic fics I have in the works, the Cheeky Brat fic I've been working on and haven't been talking about on here because it's 🤭 e x p l i c i t (teehee) and even my DnD shit that is mostly entirely self indulgent but I don't care I'm going to shove it in your faces anyway.

Anyways, that's what I've been up to. I've posted about a good portion of this on Twitter, so I know some of you guys know about this, but I wanted to give Tumblr a heads up that I am bed ridden and Doing My Best.😫

[uboat53]

All right, something has come up that has sparked a thought that I need to get out of my head. Specifically I need to tell you exactly why the "take care of yourself" individualistic approach we've adopted toward Covid and toward disease in general here in the United States is a terrible idea. LONG RANT (TM) time!

WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?

Recently, as you may have noticed if you have kid(s), infant/child Tylenol is in very short supply. It's not a coincidence that this is happening at the same time as outbreaks of RSV, Flu, and other respiratory and inflammatory illnesses are hitting kids hard and sending many of them to the hospital.

As far as the individualism, it's the general American idea that people should take care of themselves. We don't have a universal health insurance program, you have to buy it yourself (or, if you're lucky, get it through your work). We don't have a universal health care system either, people are asked to navigate a highly decentralized system of hospitals, urgent care centers, and private providers who may or may not be covered under their insurance; even the same provider for a different procedure.

Where these come together is in terms of drug distribution. You see, in many places if there was a shortage of a drug there would be a centralized system to collect and distribute it according to need. In our decentralized system, individuals are responsible for getting their own drugs.

HOW DOES THIS CAUSE PROBLEMS?

So let's think of this in terms of market forces. If something is plentiful you're not going to worry about it; you'll just go out and get it when you need it. If the supply is restricted for some reason, or if you think it might be, you'll probably try to stock up when you have the chance to get it.

If enough people stock up on it who don't actually need it, they can actually end up causing exactly the problem that they fear. Enough people buying and stockpiling can create exactly the shortage that they were buying and stockpiling in order to protect themselves against. This is known as "panic buying".

Of course, if someone who hasn't pre-emptively stockpiled the thing needs it, they may be out of luck.

THE SITUATION RIGHT NOW

After several years where respiratory diseases weren't much of an issue due to measures taken against them (masks and social distancing worked guys!) they've suddenly come roaring back. RSV, Flu, Covid, and others are now hitting kids particularly hard for a number of reasons and have overwhelmed pediatric wards in much of the country.

Even kids who don't get sick enough to go to the hospital are still getting sick and their parents are doing what we all do, giving them cold and flu medication to help ease the illness. More importantly, parents whose kids are not sick (yet?) have heard of the shortage of kids cold and flu medication and are stocking up in case their own kid gets sick.

What this means is that there a lot of parents whose kids are sick who cannot get any medication for them while some parents whose kids are not sick have medication they are not using.

And I want to be clear, this is not the fault of any of those parents. I'm one of them, I have extra Tylenol in case my own kid gets sick. This is the fault of a system that shifts responsibility for a society-wide issue onto individuals.

MARKET FORCES

Understanding the issue is best done by understanding some of the theory behind it.

Let's say that, in normal times, X amount of a good is made. When something happens to increase the demand for that good, those factories have to increase production to X+Y amount. This takes a certain amount of time. You have to secure additional raw materials, additional labor, and, if necessary, additional equipment.

In the meantime, while production gets up to speed, you encounter a potential shortage. If more people need the good than what was initially able to be produced and especially if, in addition to that increased demand, people who don't immediately need the good are stockpiling it in fear of a shortage, you can quickly run out of that good until such time as the factory or factories can increase output to meet the new demand.

In the case of something that isn't immediately necessary, this isn't terrible. If, for example, string cheese were the product in question, I think we'd all agree that it's okay and we can survive until production gets ramped up.

In the case of medication, however, this situation can literally cost lives. Children's Tylenol isn't exactly the kind of thing that will cause you to die immediately if you don't have it, but a lack of it will cause the symptoms of some children who don't get it to escalate to the point where they will need to go to the hospital when they otherwise wouldn't. Once at the hospital they will take up other resources which are also limited and which another child may die without. In other words, the lack of children's Tylenol is causing shortages of other goods which are more critical.

I should point out that none of this section is controversial, even those who promote market and individual solutions over government or centralized solutions acknowledge that these periods of adjustment occur under their proposed systems, they just believe that the benefits outweigh the costs. I simply disagree.

CONCLUSION

By making each American responsible for their own individual outcomes rather than making even the slightest effort at providing some form of centralized assistance we have created the conditions that lead to enormous market inefficiencies whenever a scarcity exists or even if one is feared to exist.

Ordinarily these are just annoyances, but when it comes to medication these inefficiencies can cost lives. There are some goods that simply need to be available when they are needed.

In a rational system we would acknowledge that some goods cannot be simply left to market forces, but our current system leaves us vulnerable to market swings when unexpected events force changes to supply and/or demand. In this way, our dedication to hyper-individualism is quite literally killing us and it would be wise of us to think about the things that we could make better instead of leaving each person to fend for themselves in a system that we know will kill some of them.

[bog-horse]

Saw you talking about a Bella Sara oracle deck in an ask and I’m super interested in knowing more about that :0

yeah absolutely! idk how helpful my response will be but i'll try!

basically, the bella sara cards already come with little phrases/sayings on them (of the positive #girlpower variety), so that's why i ended up going with an oracle deck basis instead of something else like tarot, where i'd have to assign cards individual meanings. they've already got the little fortunes (???) on them, so might as well work with it!

my deck is made up of 98% cards i've had since childhood, so ymmv. i have a pretty large collection, but the only cards that actually ended up in my deck were ones i'd had for a long time and had been used. however, i have intentions of filling the deck out more over time as i buy specific cards second hand (i'm actively trying to collect the rest of the ancient lights series and i'm probably going to go for the native lights next). right now in the deck i have 93 cards, which is just a "measure with your heart" type thing. they'll probably get rotated in/out as i get new cards that i connect with more or whatever. the upper limit for me will probably be "i can no longer comfortably hold these cards to shuffle them" lmao i cut out all the duplicates in my deck, except for a few of the same horse with different variations (i.e., thunder, thunder from the ball series, and carousel thunder, or foil/non-foil cards), but those may get cut in the future, because they still have the same phrase, just different art (and so different vibes, maybe?). i haven't actually done a reading with the deck yet, so i'm still working out the kinks haha

i also cut out any non-horse cards, although i am considering adding in the Sara, Goddess of Horses card i have for funsies, even though i don't have any other human cards in the deck.

i'm also using cards from a variety of series, not just one specific one, which offers a larger pool to draw from as far as phrases go. i can't say it's especially "complete" like a trad orcale deck might be, but i like what i've got so far.

what makes this such an interesting and fun deck is that it's 100000% just do whatever your heart desires. it makes it super unique to each individual, and really fun to set up, and then you can break it apart or trade cards out or add cards in as much as you want! it's very customizable and individual. you and i can both make oracle decks from the BS cards and have two wildly different decks, just depending on what cards we have and which ones we wanted to put in our deck.

i'm not sure how helpful this answer was, but if you have any specific questions or want to talk more about it, feel free to send another ask or DM me! i love talking about my practice with people :)

edited to add: if you can’t handle the super gooey, cutesy, #positivity phrasing in your fortunes, it’s probably not the deck for you — but if you’re familiar with what the cards are already like and what the sayings on them are and you’re good with that, then it’ll probably be okay. and if you get tired of a specific card you can just retire it from the deck :)

[customstampmaker]

Make your D-day special with Wedding Stamps

While wedding customs are always evolving, some facts never change. One of them is that visitors receive their very first glimpse of your special day from your wedding invitation. That is undoubtedly the case, but we venture to claim that your stamps—vintage personalized wedding stamps included—are what give the first clues about your event even before the envelope is opened. Because of this, carefully considering your wedding stamps is crucial, and you shouldn't wait until the last minute.

Don't become too fixated on the vintage preface while thinking about vintage stamps for your wedding stationery. This style of retro stamps is simply one more method to add personality and originality to your personalized wedding; it doesn't require you to have a vintage wedding. With images like corsages, hearts, and overt "I do" references, modern wedding stamps can accomplish the same feat as the now-discontinued personalized stamps, but it speaks less to your particular wedding celebration and general aesthetic.

Every choice made when organizing a wedding, from the flowers to the tablecloths, is deliberate; according to experts, couples are only provided with the options that the post office has at any given time for stamps, and many couples don't always see the rationale in those possibilities. Curating a stamps collection to reflect your love story is effective for this reason, and older stamps enhance the occasion and impact."

Every choice made when organizing a wedding, from the flowers to the tablecloths, is deliberate; according to experts, couples are only provided with the options that the post office has at any given time for stamps, and many couples don't always see the rationale in those possibilities. Curating a stamps collection to reflect your love story is effective for this reason, and older stamps enhance the occasion and impact."

How are stamps from the wedding logo generator different from modern stamps?

The aesthetics and tactile feel of the stamps are clearly different from those of the modern stamps you can buy now online or through USPS because they were made on antiquated printing presses that are no longer in use for commercial purposes.

What are the steps you can maintain for stamps on your special day?

Focus on your wedding designs Lean on your wedding providers for assistance as you start putting a stamp-sourcing plan in place. Your stamps needs can be met by MyStampReady, and if they can't answer your specific vintage stamp queries on their own, they'll put you in touch with the highly specialized distributors they trust (stamp collectors, curators, and philatelists—stamp enthusiasts, if you will), and they should be able to direct you to the right direction," assures the expert.

Communicate with your logo generator When couples and stationers want their wedding correspondence to stand out, they buy historic stamps (individual stamps and pre-curated collections) and curate services for their guests. You just need to complete a questionnaire on the website of MyStampReady, which is how easy and basic their approach is. Your replies will help them create a stamp arrangement that complements your upcoming wedding and pays homage to your relationship. Not only that, but they will also create a stamp tale for your wedding invitations that satisfies the necessary postal rate.

Recommendations for Using Vintage Wedding Stamps

Gather more than you anticipate being required To send out standard wedding invitations, you need a lot of antique stamps, claims experts. For 100 invites, you might need more than five types of stamps, and that's just for the outer envelopes alone, without even counting the RSVP cards, and you have to make sure that each envelope is packed with the appropriate amount of stamps. Working with a supplier or stationer that offers stamp curation has several advantages, not the least of which are the logistics. They can help you with all the details of invitation distribution, and their expertise with envelopes will make your life simpler. Once your invitation suite is put together, be sure to take it to the post office so that it may be weighed and the appropriate postal amount determined. It's better to plan your curation than to figure out your signature envelope only to find out that your invites lack sufficient stamps. Knowing the value of the stamps you need will help.

Save-the-date card The date and the couple's initials are stamped on a pretty straightforward tree-ring-style stamp for this save-the-date card. It's a pretty notion that would go great with any outdoor or vintage-inspired wedding.

Add it as a decoration We adore these RSVP cards with a forest theme, and you can easily copy them. Simply stamp a forest using the same tree image on both the card and the envelope, and add a little white paint for a snowflake effect.Anyone on a tight budget will love this save-the-date concept, which works as well for weddings and gatherings. Simply circle the wedding date on some gift tags and a personalized calendar stamp, and you're ready to go!

A bottle of love seeds Here's a fantastic suggestion for a wedding favor that we adore. Why not provide your guests with a small bottle of romantic seeds? Love grows just like a plant, after all. These favors are simple to manufacture by hand, thanks to a floral stamp that completes the design.

Crazy Catering Concepts Without nourishment, nothing could be done. And meals play a major role in India's elaborate wedding traditions. Meals are a comprehensive segment that demands considerable creativity from both sides, from the starters to the drinks and the main course to the sweets. But thanks to digital media and the internet, you can now discover thousands of unique and exciting culinary kinds that will undoubtedly give your catering the dark edge you're searching for.

Dessert Pause You have a wide range of options for a winter wedding. You can get a hot cocktail or some hot chocolate with ice cream topping from the drinks menu. Everyone's favorite and a lovely addition are doughnuts. Additionally, you may set up a soup station with flavored bread for your visitors. In addition to all of this, a cheesecake nibble is adorable enough.

Decor that is Divine and Unique What makes a wedding wonderful are the decorations. Undoubtedly, your visitors will be anticipating some really enjoyable decoration ideas. Consider some of the quirky yet charming décor ideas for your location to assist with this.

Centerpieces The bright decorations on the table tops that highlight the arrangement above them are the centerpieces. You might display the flowers in a fancy vase or adorn them with colored candlesticks or candelabras. Fruits make great centerpieces on their own, as well as candles or flowers. Figurines can also be used to elegantly embellish a tabletop.

These oddball suggestions show that couples are excited about their nuptials and searching for everything that could make a difference. The distinctiveness of the decoration might be evident in every area of an arrangement, not simply the entertainment or the wedding stage.

However, you do not need to spend a fortune on your decorations because of this uniqueness in your setup. You can provide innovative suggestions for your wedding with a little inspiration and originality or, after having a comprehensive conversation with your planner and also use a wedding stamp in all these to give a more personal look.

The best wedding favor idea yet combines a cupcake with a unique stamp design. Anything associated with your wedding can be stamped onto your frosting; simply use food coloring in place of ink. Genius! We sincerely hope that some of these wedding stamp ideas have served as some inspiration for you.

[traincat]

I know the comic piracy debate is a never-ending cycle, but in India where I live, you can't get western comics (or manga for that matter). There aren't comic book stores. Sometimes on Amazon you can find collected editions worth more than INR 1000 at least, for the paperbacks. Most older collections, even from the early 2000s, will be upwards of INR 6000. And sure, it's because the exchange value is so low for Indian rupees, but that's still a LOT of money to Indian citizens. You can get digital editions of random odd issues for approx. INR 150, so that's there. But overall it's really a huge investment to buy a physical comic. So yes, I pirate. But I get so guilty when this debate rolls around, every time. I just don't see any other alternative.

I debated whether or not to answer this considering I haven't really addressed the comics piracy issue before so I'm not sure I'm the right account to talk about it, and also because my askbox is not a confessional and I am not a priest, but then some Spider-Man news broke that I feels ties into it this so whatever, we're going for it. The comics piracy debate comes up every couple of months and will probably continue to come up every couple of months until forever and all of these points have been stated before by others because nothing in this debate is new. First things first, you shouldn't feel guilty. I'm going to suggest actually that nobody should feel guilty, unless you are like, a millionaire and you're exclusively pirating indie books. The prices you're quoting are prohibitively expensive but I have some unfortunate news for everyone involved: the prices are really bad in the US, too. If you want good collected editions, especially in hardcover, they're going to run at similar if not quite equal prices. Comics have gone from a cheap hobby to an overwhelmingly expensive hobby.

This is a good article comparing to the cover costs of American comics since the 1960s adjusted for inflation which I think puts some things in perspective. Comics currently cost roughly $5 USD per issue, which doesn't sound that bad, even though most of my monthly streaming services are roughly that price for a whole month's access to a library of content. But it only doesn't sound that bad if you're not buying special issues (the Marvel Pride book retailed for $10), and if you're only reading one or two books a month. The problem is, American superhero comics are specifically designed so you're not reading just one or two books per month -- this is why we have events! And crossovers! Not for the story potential but because it forces the consumer to purchase more product. This is why there's constantly an event running with a checklist of tie-in issues in the back. So now you're spending probably at least $20 a month. If you're a fan with a lot of interest in different titles, and in different publishers, this can easily hit triple USD digits. It's a money pit. It's not affordable to most people. And this is where that new Spider-Man news comes in, because it was announced today that Amazing Spider-Man is going back to a thrice monthly schedule like it used to operate on during Brand New Day. Which sounds good at first -- more comics, yay -- until you realize that's probably going to be $15 USD a month for a one title. That's $180 a year for one title, not including annuals or special issues. That's not feasible for a lot of fans -- young fans, poor fans, fans with other financial obligations etc. And most people aren't reading just one title. I don't know how the X-Men fans are currently financing their Krakoa habit and I'm afraid to ask. There are services like Marvel Unlimited, which make things slightly more affordable, but I imagine the wait for newer issues to hit the service can be alienating for some fans who want to join in current discussions, the library has some incredibly massive holes in it which is unacceptable when it's coming from inside the mouse house, and I believe, although I could be wrong, that it is not available in all countries. Comics are no longer an easily accessible hobby, if you're paying for everything you read.

"But the creatives deserve to get paid" is the common argument and yeah, they do, I'm not arguing that point. They should absolutely get paid and they should get well. I'm a writer, I'm a published writer even, and I want to be a published novelist, and I definitely want to get paid, and I'm reserving the right to be a complete hypocrite about this, as I do with everything in my life, but this is where the difference between indie publications and Marvel publications comes in: Marvel is owned by Disney. There is absolutely no excuse for Disney not to pay their creatives. If they are not getting paid fairly, it's not because you pirated a book -- it's because Disney has a vested interest in not paying their creators, as evidenced by Alan Dean Foster's lawsuit claiming that they are withholding royalties from him. Fans pirating these books are not the reason the creatives are not getting paid fairly -- the creatives are not getting paid fairly for the same reason that Disney park employees experience homelessness, and it's because Disney would rather put that money into the pockets of their executives. There is no debate on that subject. It's easier and perhaps more convenient to blame fans for pirating comics rather than putting all of their money into what has been for years now a prohibitively expensive hobby to keep up with, but the fact of the matter is Disney could pay all of their creatives what they're worth without hurting their bottom line and instead chooses not to. That is not on you, as an individual reader. You have no reason to feel guilty about that, no matter what your circumstances are, and you do not have to justify your actions to either me or the House of the Mouse. I'm with you, and Disney ultimately doesn't care. They're making that money up elsewhere and then not distributing it fairly to the people who create the properties their media empire is built off of. But especially if you're buying older books, you should know that your money is not going to the creative team -- once it's out of publication, they're not going to get any of the money you spent on it. The argument then becomes that you should be supporting local comics stores which yes, is true, but also doesn't apply to everyone, like anon who doesn't have access to local comic book stores. And again, this can become prohibitively expensive -- collections are expensive. Older, hard to find collections can be very expensive. Once something is out of print, all bets are off on what it might be selling for. Buying single issues is only affordable if the single issue isn't desirable or sometimes if it's in exceedingly bad condition. For the sake of transparency, I have a fairly big single issue collection because it's my preferred format, but I had the time to bargain hunt, access to local comic book stores and large comic conventions, and I'm very good at sniping eBay auctions. The most I have ever dropped on a single issue was expensive for me -- and still under three digits USD -- and it's for an issue from the '60s that is not in great condition.

The problem with this debate is that it is generally a nuanced issue that always gets boiled down to "piracy bad" in a way that makes a lot of well meaning and well intentioned fans, especially the ones with extenuating circumstances, feel bad. It's not your fault. You shouldn't feel guilty. There are a huge amount of reasons why someone might pirate something that are not bad reasons and do not make you a bad person who is personally withholding money from the creators -- because you're not. I don't publicly tell people where to pirate comics, mostly because I really don't think it's that hard to find out for yourselves especially because several creators involved with Marvel themselves have, I suspect accidentally, posted pages of their work to social media WITH THE BANNER OF A WELL KNOWN COMICS PIRACY SITE STILL IN THE IMAGE please learn how to crop, so maybe my standpoint on the issue wasn't well known, but there it is. I think readers should, if they are able to financially and otherwise, support the creators they like, but that it should be acknowledged that this is a more complicated issue than it's commonly made out to be on Twitter and that the largest part of the blame needs to be put on the companies making these comics inaccessible to many and who refuse to pay their creators fairly, not on individual fans. Don't feel guilty, anon.

[izusun]

ALRIGHT I'M THE ANON WHO SENT THE STRIPPER AU SO IM DUMPING ANOTHER AU THAT I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH ONTO YOU (don't ask where it came from lmao)

Basically, quirkless Izuku gets a vibe check early in life when he realizes that his mom is really struggling to survive after his father walked out (no I'm not projecting onto him shut up-). Through middle school he slowly comes to the realization that capitalism sucks actually, especially when you are or are related to someone quirkless.

The sludge villain incident happens relatively as normal, only this time after rescuing Katsuki he fucking snaps at the pro heroes on the scene, then goes home without running into All Might. He does a bunch of research on pro hero scandals, losing that hero fanboy mindset as he goes along, but also does research into vigilantism and pre quirk media, discovering an ancient European pre quirk tale about a figure who robbed the rich and gave it back to the poor and needy.

Now he's on the streets as the vigilante "Robin Hood" who robs corrupt heroes and politicians and then uses that money to preventatively stop crime (donating to homeless shelters, giving it to various community centers for addict recovery programs, etc; he'd also stop any crime he happened to come by on the way to and from heists). He may or may not collect various other teenagers in his band of Merry Men all while Izuku dodges around telling Katsuki what he actually does all day (yes Kaachan's the Maid Marian stand in fight me).

TLDR; Quirkless Izuku becomes the vigilante "Robin Hood" thanks for coming to my TED talk-

- Goblin anon (I'm claiming it now, it's mine)

HI GOBLIN ANON!!! your au dumps in my ask box are always welcomed and loved!! sorry for the late reply hnsnsns, my lectures just ended

quirkless + vigilante midoriya who gave up on the hero system IS my fave trope, i’m not even joking. and this au??? this is just godtier!!

i have a thing for midoriya snapping at the heroes during the sludge villain incident. to set up the mood, i’d like to just unpack that scene for a bit.

ok sure there are many things that probably happened behind the scenes during that incident, such as them calling for more equipped reinforcements to take down the villain, but i think that they should have also done more for bakugou. like at least buy time to ensure he wouldn’t suffocate or, idk, strike a deal with the the sludge villain because their priority shouldn’t have been apprehending him but should have been saving bakugou. so imagine midoriya thinking the same thing i did. the torch he carried for heroes have dwindled over time and this was the breaking point.

imagine him growing up, accepting that sometimes the society just turns its back on you because you’re quirkless. imagine him thinking that there are certain thresholds only the quirked individuals would ever get to cross. imagine him thinking that being a hero really is only for bakugou and not for him. then-

then midoriya sees this powerful and strong individual who he kept looking up to at the hands of the same villain who also almost killed him, choking and panicking because the heroes are not doing anything. he thought that heroes only do nothing when you’re quirkless, but apparently they also do nothing to people like bakugou. bakugou who has a perfect quirk and a smart mind and who’s so so young. bakugou who the heroes aren’t even helping.

and midoriya snaps. he snaps because heroes do nothing to everyone. he thought he was the anomaly because of his pinky toe and everything, but no. the hero system is just fucked up. so as he ran towards bakugou and hurled his bag on the eyes of the villain, he thinks the hero system failed us but i will not. and he thinks i will not be a hero because i do not want to be like them. and he thinks i am here.

and so he saves bakugou and the heroes berate him for-? for what? for doing their jobs? he laughs maniacally and goes off. he spills his anger, spills the way it took a puny, quirkless middle school boy to save the day, and people are watching. people are watching the way he is screaming and opening his heart and pouring and pouring everything he never would have said, and the heroes are silent. they are silent as they listened. all of the them were.

people filmed this exchange, posted the videos they took online and then even more people listened to him. and midoriya sees this huge response and support; he sees the way people agreed with him so it helped him push his plans forward.

and so he does many many research and opens up several cases against slimy heroes and billionaires, and boom, he’s japan’s robin hood.

OK BUT we can’t have vigilante midoriya without dadzawa. LOVE ME SOME DADZAWA. and maybe parental tsukauchi because i love these two just trying to help this little vigilante who is too angry at the world who failed him, but never fighting the world back. they care for their little vigilante who shouldn’t be awake at the crack of dawn, busting out villain groups upon villain groups on his own. they care for their little vigilante who is becoming too popular.

so popular that even villains are looking for him. and maybe there would be an altercation between the LoV and midoriya, and who else would save him if not for dadzawa (and tsukauchi)?

also i’d like to imagine that bakugou too was moved by midoriya’s explosion of a speech. he’s taken aback and goes “huh, he’s right.” so he tries bridging their relationship back and midoriya always loved his friend so he accepts AS LONG AS bakugou does not cross him. because even if the hero system failed midoriya, as long as bakugou, who’s willing to change, still wants to become a hero, then there is hope in changing the hero system from the inside. to reshape it to how it should be.

and so bakugou enters UA and is more open (he’s in therapy) to everyone compared to canon (although not as much, still), and almost has a heart attack when aizawa pulled him aside one day, in the middle of the term, and asked if he knew who robin hood is. of course bakugou’s a master liar so he says no but aizawa is squinting his eyes at him.

also imagine: midoriya recruiting shinsou (they’re apparently from the same help group and they met up one night when midoriya saved shinsou from middle school bullies who cornered him and berated him even if he’s already in UA) and bakugou accidentally recruiting hatsume because she saw that someone changed some of his hero gear and she wanted to meet the smart genius who did it (it’s midoriya).

so midoriya’s circle grew from bakugou to now with the addition of aizawa, tsukauchi, hatsume, and shinsou.

(it probably would expand more because midoriya would stumble on this juicy information about the number 02 hero, endeavour but that’s for next time!)

AHHH ok i’m gonna cut it here because it’s getting too long BUT I LOVE LOVE THIS dhaksjwk

THANK YOU SO MUCH, GOBLIN!!!

[introvert--weeb]

I love your works, please notice me! Can i ask for match up? Im 18 years, 152 cm (i'm short af) introvert but full of sass, often mistook as a shy girl but i just don't really talk to much at strangers who don't interest me but talkative when i'm comfortable at my friends, blunt and brutally honest, have a dark humor, doesn't give shit about other opinions about me but i listen just not care (bruh, i like the way i am) i'm a filipina (proud to be) quiet but have a lot of troublesome shit (lmao) big tease

What else?ummm... No i'm not girly, oh i studied taekwondo red belter, my fashion style is often boyish, terrible at cooking but good at baking, have good relationship with siblings and we often play a prank war among us, i like reading, can draw but average, can't dance to save life but pretty flexible since i do split and balance because of taekwondo, i wore glasses because i have a bad eye sight reading a lot of stuff, but wore contact lenses when i have to practice, loves sleeping, SIMP at cute things, lives to tease and bully cute being (they just so cute with tears) school grades are above average i guess? Chill as long as you don't mess with my stuff and people i care ( once i almost bash someone head by round housing them for harrassing my bestfriend and almost got report of assault if it's not for my bestfriend showing the evidence of getting harrassed) you can say independent when it comes to works or study, can cooperate but rather do an individual works, and my most highlight and proud to say once you become my friends were friends for a lifetime

Tokyo Revengers seems to be so popular in this match up event 😂 probably a good thing I caught up on the manga, huh 😅 and don't worry, you have been noticed 😁❤️

And btw, you sound so cool ❤️

I match you up with...

Izana Kurokawa ❤️

You had met this beautiful boy when you were simply wandering the streets of Shibuya. You had wanted to go and find some more books for your growing collection but this had ended up being a bust.

Izana was doing the same, simply wandering the streets because his life had become a little boring. Sure, he had Tenjiku but those guys could only entertain him for so long until they start irritati.g the platinum blond. Maybe he was searching for something entertaining and it looked like he might have found it when his sights landed on you.

What had caught his eye was that you were being harassed by three boys that were a lot taller than you. Was he concerned for you? No, he didn't even know who you were. It was just something that caught his attention and he was bored enough to give it his time. Izana wasn't expecting anything interesting really, as soon as he had his fill he would move on with his day until the next interesting thing came along. After all, that's how he lived his life.

Watching the scene, he couldn't believe his eyes when you had snapped. Within seconds, you had roundhouse kicked the boys and knocked them to the ground as if they were nothing but sticks in your path. Now that had made him interested in you and he wouldn't deny that it was attractive. After all, this boy would want a strong girl by his side.

Izana rushed over to talk to you about what he had witnessed, to express how much it impressed him. To say you were a little wary of the boy was a slight understatement. After all, you had literally just knocked three to the ground because they had chosen to try their luck with you. However, with how attractive Izana was, you felt less inclined to lash out at him.

Conversing about how bored you both were as well as interests you both had, Izana was impressed when he heard you knew taekwando. A girl who could defend herself was a girl this boy needed. Once he realised how much he liked the sound of you, he asked for your number, which you gave him without a lot of hesitation.

You would hang out a lot but never had an official first date with this cutie. He would just ask you to be his girlfriend randomly, not long after he came to terms with his feelings for you. Poor Izana definitely needed help to realise that he liked you in that way. He had asked Kakucho and the other 4 Heavenly Kings for advice on what he should do to get rid of this strange fluttering feeling in his chest. Asking you out was the only solution given.

When it came to you, Izana was in love. From your brutal honesty and 'don't give a shit' attitude to your dark humour. Anything this boy learns about you, the more he falls for you.

Dates with Izana are mainly bike rides. He isn't that romantic at heart so don't expect him to suddenly care about cute dates. He believes that as long as the two of you are together, that constitutes a date. However, invite him over to your house to hang out and he would be there within minutes. Izana just likes relaxing with you no matter what you do.

Discovering that you like cute things, it might motivate the boy to buy you some cute things every now and then. He's not a big gift giver but he wants you to know that he was thinking of you while out and about. These are mainly snacks with cute packaging or small plushies that may have caught his eye. Nothing extravagant.

This relationship is the first one Izana has ever been in and everyone can tell. He doesn't know the first thing about romance so please be patient with him. Point him in the right direction and he will give it 100% of his effort. Just also understand that Tenjiku comes first with this boy. After all, a kingdom is everything to its king.

--

Requests for the match ups are closed.

[marzipanandminutiae]

I don't go here but can you explain the post about art theft and stuff in the doll community? Niche drama fascinates me

Hoo boy. Gather ye round, friends, and let Marzi tell you a very long tale. A tale of counterfeiting and people being very selective with their definitions of “art theft.”

So BJDs. Ball-Jointed Dolls(TM). For the purposes of modern collecting, these are dolls primarily made of polyurethane resin, strung with elastic cord, customizable, and highly articulated.They stemmed from a combination of anime model kits + the aesthetics and jointing of some 19th-century European dolls, The first ones were made by the Volks company in the 1990s. 

Nowadays there are dozens of legit companies out there, mostly in Japan, South Korea, and China, and even more individual BJD artists all over the world. And that’s not even counting the artists who sell goods and services for BJDs: wigs, clothes, eyes, faceups (basically, the painting on the doll’s face), furniture, accessories, etc. It’s quite a large community at this point. 

These are dolls for adults. They’re usually made in very small batches or to order, and the term “company” can be deceiving. Often, it means something like “12 people in a rented studio in Seoul.” The materials have to be purchased. The artists have to be paid. There are bills and other overhead costs, and the product isn’t something that sells in high volumes. Basically it’s a quality over quantity operation, for most companies, and that means the dolls are expensive. Very basic “budget” BJDs start around $150, and it can get all the way into the thousands for very exclusive, OOAK dolls.

Enter recasters.

Recasting is basically bootlegging BJDs. Plain and simple. Recasters, usually factory owners in countries where production costs can be very low, either buy a legit doll or have it sent to them. They take a cast of the parts and start using the molds to produce copies of the doll. Those copies sell for a fraction of the legit dolls’ prices, because of course it’s easier to just crank out products when you don’t have to go through the development and sculpting processes. And when you can get away with paying your workers peanuts, using inferior materials, spending less time on the finishing work, skirting safety rules, etc.

Obviously, if the market is flooded with cheaper copies of an expensive doll, a lot of people will buy the cheap version without realizing it’s a knock-off. And that can drive legit companies out of business. Recasts, especially in recent years, have gotten VERY good at aping the look and feel of the original doll, so if you don’t know it’s a problem it can be very hard to tell the difference.

Or if you just don’t care.

Because, you see, there are people out there who are totally okay with this. A lot of them claim it’s a “more accessible” way to join the hobby, and that people who are against recasts (commonly called “pro-artist”) are just elitist snobs. Instead of, you know...decent human beings who don’t support art theft.

There are multiple lists of less-expensive legit BJDs out there, that people have taken considerable time and effort to compile. The most common argument from the pro-recast side that I’ve seen about this is basically “Well, if people want a specific higher-end doll, they shouldn’t have to settle for something ‘lesser!’ “ So even though a lot of work has gone into finding the most budget-friendly dolls in the hobby, apparently that’s still elitist. Somehow.

You can probably tell from my tone where I stand on this. I think it’s flatly absurd that people are driving small, artist-run companies or individual artists to bankruptcy because they feel they’re entitled to a certain luxury hobby item. And entitled to it right now, without even saving up or doing a layway.

(So many companies and secondhand sellers have layaways. Most BJD collectors are not rich. I’m banging my head against the wall thinking about just how many ways there are to make this hobby work on a budget that the pro-recast crowd just ignores or shoots down.)

Anyway now there’s the problem that sales pages for recasts tend to dominate generic searches like “BJD for sale,” and people from outside the community often know BJDs are a thing before they understand about recasts. If you see a doll for like $100 and the same doll for like $300 elsewhere, you might pick the cheaper option without stopping to think about it. Because you don’t know you need to think about it.

 Once somebody clues these people in to what they’ve done, there are all too many pro-recast forums and blogs waiting to tell them that pro-artist collectors are just “mean, elitist bullies” and that recasts are totally fine. Which is probably what you’d want to hear if you just got this doll you really like, so people are ready to believe it. And thus the problem continues.

Honestly, it always surprises me a bit how angry I get about recasts. I’m not primarily a BJD collector. My main focus is antique and vintage dolls. I have three resin BJDs, all legit, and I’m mostly in it to have dolls I can actually take places without the risk of damaging a historical artifact.

I just. I hate the idea of artists getting ripped off, and people falling for scams that put them into bad situations because they don’t know any better. And ESPECIALLY other people who think artists’ ability to support themselves doesn’t matter.

So anyway, that’s a very long-winded explanation of the recast issue. Hope it was interesting and informative.