#and mileage not as nice either

[tonyglowheart]

Any of yall have opinions on cars? I'm looking at a Kia Niro rn debating if I like that lmao, the other I'm looking at is a Hyundai Tucson, but I'm also open to suggestions.

Basically I'm looking at hybrid SUVs/crossovers rn, seems like the msrps for both are similar, the Kia maybe gets better mileage, but the Hyundai would feel a bit more luxe and is a bit more spacious? Tho I did find a used 2019 Kia Niro for ~$20k lmao, and like, compared to ~$33k for new, like, maybe that's not bad...

[flowerfreya]

First Day

This is Part 2 of an office / cooperate AU for poly!141

Here’s Part 1 / Part 3

Pairing 141 x you

Tw: mean bf ( not 141)

The 141 leaves at the same time , and when they get down to the lobby they see that you are still down there in the cafe with a cup that is for sure empty and a large smart water on your phone. They are all shocked to see you there and and John is pissed but tries to breathe through it.

“What are you still doing here?” ,He ask.

You look up and is a little startled when you are greeted by 4 large guys looming over you. Your startled a little bit, “huh?”, you tired and you know you haven’t done anything for seven hours but your still not at home and you wish you were.

“What are you still doing here, bird?” John pushes out , he has an ideas as to why but he wants to hear from you.

“Oh , I’m waiting on my boyfriend , he gets off in 4 more hours” you say brightly , faking it until you make it.

“Do you need a ride ?”, Soap interjects, “ I get great gas mileage.”

“Oh thank you for the offer, but I’m okay”. You know how your boyfriend can get when he thinks that you are entertaining other guys , which you would never do but he doesn’t seem to realize that.

“You sure?” he questions, you want to take him up on his offer but you know you can’t so just smile and shake your head.

~

Four and half hours later you are passenger side of the car and he doesn’t even ask how your interview went just wonders what for dinner.

You roll your eyes , you don't even like cooking but its your duty since you don’t work and still need to share the responsibilities.

“Probably chicken and rice”

“Anything other than that?” , that pisses you off because one: you haven’t made chicken and rice for a two weeks and two: you don’t like cooking so he should take what’s he gets.

“If you don’t like how about you cook” you snap back.

“Don’t be such a bitch” he says casually. You know you deserve better than this but you feel stuck, you’ve been with him for 8 years, he was you first everything and while they has been many breaks within your relationship you never strayed and hopefully he hasn’t either (he has break or not).

You get home , you make dinner you don’t really want to make , have a sex with a guy you don’t really want to have sex with and go to sleep in a bed you really don’t want to sleep in.

The call comes in the morning at 8:30 am sharp , your so excited you have an issue answering the phone so it take a couple of rings beofre the sliding your thumb across the screen.

“Hello”

“Good morning , this John Price from the interview yesterday” his voice sounds so nice and low over the phone and you honestly love and it take you second to remember to say something back.

“Yes, that’s me”

“We would like to offer you a position as receptionist associate”

“Yes!”

“Woah, bird slow down, you need to hear my offer and then ask some questions”

“Oh okay sure”. So you listen to him talk and do a spiel that sounds almost robotic. He ask if you want to negotiate for the salary. No you say. Honey, you should negotiate he says. So you ask for a dollar more than offered and he says that will be fine.

“When can you start ? “ he ask

“Immediately”

“Today?”

“Ummm I guess not immediately, my boyfriend has the car today”

“I’ll call you a car” he says easily.

“Oh sure, how long do I have”

“Can you be ready in 30 minutes” . No. You cannot, but you say, “Sure”, in the most preppy voice as possible, you can feel the aniexty ramping up.

When you get off the phone it’s a mad scramble to find an outfit , which of course nothing fit rights and everything is wrinkly. You do your hair but you need a reti and your hair is fuzzy so you just leave it down. Your make up is not turning out right and you forgot to powder your makeup so now it’s going to crease. And you didn’t have breakfast but still has coffee so now your going to have to go the bathroom in 20 minutes and it’s not going to be fun.

And your sweating. A lot.

You just finished with your routine by the time you get the text from the number that called you this morning

>>the car is here for you.

You thumbs up the message, rushing out the door with your tote bag.

You slide into the backseat of the car because you think it’s a rideshare.

“What are you doing back there? Sit up here with me”. You look up and see Soap looking at your through the rear view mirror and shoot him a smile slide out of the backseat and move to the front seat.

“I didnt know this is what Mr. John meant when he said he was going to send a car”

“Mr. John,eh”

“ I just want to be respectful,” you say with a laugh.

“Hen , he will love that”

~

By the time you get to the office you are a bundle of nerves , you hate being the new girl , you also hate not being good at your job. You know what happens when you get a new job but you can still hate it. You are picking at your cuticles which is a nervous tick that you have, you follow Johnny up the office space and sit on the sofa next to the reception and wait for John to call you into his office. You do the basic onboarding task with and thankfully Kyle which you now know as “Gaz” is HR and that’s why he’s in the annex. After you are done with John you get sent back there and complete the rest of the task and that when you get shown your desk at reception.

“You can decorate it however you want”

“Really” You’ve never had a cubicle or a desk that you can decorate however you want. You're so excited to go to TJ Maxx after work and spend the money you don’t have . You sit at the desk and get started with making your system to work. Making a new voicemail message, making a new email signature and distro list. You look after answering the phone and having to assign to a rep and see a tall man with a surgery mask staring back at. You remember when you got the tour of that being Simon Riley. You give him a big smile and wave nd then point to the phone and then to you then to him and nods once, you transfer the call hopefully to Simon but then you hear Johns phone ring and you internally cringe, already knowing that you transferred the call to the wrong office.

“This is Price , what can I do for ya?” you hear and want the floor to swallow you up. You look over at Simon and his eyes widening and then is followed by his shoulders shaking and great hes laughing at you.

“Hen, a word ? “ You look up and see John in doorway, leaning against in that sexy way that guys do and you stand up from your desk with you head down and head over. You squeeze by him to get into the office and he shuts the door behind you.

“Please have seat , do you know how to- “ You quickly cut him off and start to explain how your still getting used to transferring calls and that you know Simon sits next to Soap but Soap real name is John but also called Johnny and then everyone's name is blinking an-

“Your not in trouble … did anyone teach how to use the phones?” You shake your head, and then he teaches you, like actually teaches you how to do things, and its the best first day you ever had.

~

You forgot to tell your boyfriend you had to work, and when he got home without you being there he called you. Your phone was on silent. In your purse. He has your location.

The door slam opens with the blinds bouncing on the door causing you be look and be startled. “Where the hell have you been” he demands , you know hes mad , his face is red amd his hair look like he ran his hand through it multiple times and you know for a fact the car is park half haphazardly taking up two spots.

Your used to this attitude and you make sure you stay perfectly still but not too defensive because it will make it worse but you’ve never experienced it at work. You glance over to your coworkers: John standing up in his doorway, Soap moving towards your desk, and Simon watching from his desk , he’s alert and you can’t see his hands.

“I’ve been here, they wanted me to start today”, you smile hoping to pacify him. You start to get stuff ready already knowing that you are about to leave just so he won’t embarrass you anymore. “I’m sorry it was all so sudden, you know”, ending in a nervous laughter.

“I’m not fucking laughing”, he says your name with so much force , you lean back as if that will get you away from him.

“I know” , you say softly, moving around the desk and putting your jacket on.

You look around and thank them for such a good first day.

“You okay ?”, John ask you with a tilt of his head trying to look you in the eye.

“She fine”, your boyfriend answered for you. You know you have tears in your eyes and if you were lighter you would be flustered but all there is to show for it is sweaty armpits. You nod you head and smile at him.

“I will see you guys tomorrow , have a nice rest of your day” , just as your boyfriend grabs you by the arm and drags you out of there.

~

John glances at Soap and then Simon and nods his head towards annex. They need to have a little chat about the receptionist and her little boyfriend.

[magewritesstories]

[ SPENCER REID ] IT'S BASIC MATH, REALLY

cw. my continuation of unit chief!spencer reid x gen z!agent, in this installation you try to explain girl math to him [fluff.] wc. 601 (it's a small blurb)

SPENCER REID KNOWS MATH; HE HAS A PHD IN IT TO PROVE SO. But somehow you've managed to stump him (which happens more often than the genius would like to admit) with the concept of what you call 'girl math.'

It started when you walked into the small crowded bar near the Quantico building where the team had decided to meet up after a particularly satisfying arrest.

You strutted into the room in a pair of gorgeous, expensive-looking shoes, and of course, Penelope had to comment on it.

"Oh my God, Y/N," the blonde practically squealed as she pulled you into a hug, "You look even more gorgeous than usual—I love, love, love those shoes!"

You let out a soft laugh as you joined the rest of the team at the table with a quick greeting. "Thanks, Pen, they were actually pretty cheap," you reply, "I got 'em at Bloomingdales."

"Really?" JJ asked, joining in on the conversation, "Were they having a sale?"

"Nope, but they were only $156," you answer.

Spencer raised his brows in surprise, "You think $156 is a cheap price for one pair of shoes?"

"Mhm," you hum as you take a drink that Luke hands you, "It's girl math."

"Come again?"

"Girl math," you clarify, standing closer to him so that he can hear you over the loud music.

Spencer leans towards you instinctively, genuinely curious about whatever 'girl math' was.

"So, basically, these shoes cost $156, right?" you say as he nods along, "But they're comfortable and cute, plus they go with like four different outfits, which means I'll be wearing them a lot. In the coming month, I'll probably wear them, like, 10 maybe 15 times. Which means that they actually only cost me around 10 to 15 dollars—you know, if you divide 156 by the amount of times I wear them."

"But you don't pay for the shoes in installments," Spencer replied in confusion, "And your shoes aren't a car, the amount you walk in them doesn't depreciate their value like mileage would a car."

You shrug as you take another swig of your drink. "But this way, I make myself feel better about spending $156 on shoes," you reply with a grin.

"So it's a form of consolation?" he replied with a small grin playing on his lips.

You roll your eyes as you give him a soft shove, "Shut up, Dr. Reid."

Spencer lets out a laugh at your playful eye roll.

"Well, either way, you do look nice in them," he said.

"You sayin' I don't usually look nice?" you teased, leaning even closer to him.

The close proximity suddenly made him realize the rest of the team had magically vanished from the table.

(Luke and Penelope had managed to drag JJ and Emily to the dance floor, while Matt, Tara, and Rossi were making conversation with the bartender.)

"Silence, really, doc?" you continued, feigning a hurt expression, "I'm hurt."

"I—I—What, no!" Spencer quickly replied, turning back to you, "That's not what I—what I mean was you look nicer than usual—not that you don't usually look nice or anything—"

You laughed, throwing your head back just a little, as you stopped him from digging himself an even deeper grave. "Calm down, Spence, I was joking."

You put down the now empty glass and grabbed his arm. "C'mon, you need to loosen up, let's dance."

Spencer let you drag him to the dance floor, where he pointedly ignored JJ and Emily's surprised faces as well as Luke and Penelope's eyebrow wiggles.

He was never going to hear the end of this.

[frogcroaks]

How I deal with shapes

@spadefish @kobothesmall So for shapes, the way I work with them is from studying how things break down individually, instead of following a broader ruleset for character design that you see a lot in tutorial posts (the triangle, square, circle theorem basically).

The way shapes work in humans is different from other animals (which also differ from each other), which is different from objects. The same shape can be used for different goals depending on what you're drawing. So there's no one size fits all, and especially in styles that have a bit more of realism going on, those shapes will behave differently than extremely cartoony styles.

Process wise, a lot of it ends up happening in my head than in the canvas, because I spent years dealing with this shape philosophy of "just bang your head for each thing you're drawing", which I understand is very tedious to some people, but I love studying individual things vs following tutorials because it teaches me 1. how that thing works in a context 2. gives me a new book to my visual library which I can pull from, which is often what happens! That, and a lot of it is just staring at references too. Still, I'll try to draw something up for this.

There are 2 ways to approach shape design. You either start with the shapes and then apply a concept to it, or you start with a concept and apply shapes to it. The former is much harder to do without practice (and also comes more in concept art which is rough, unfinished and meant to be done and redone dozens of times by design). So, I tend to do the latter: I start with a concept of what I want. This can be as simple as "I just want a character that's fat/standing" or more abstract like "I want a character that feels like a river/I want this to feel like an outburst".

Let's start with a concrete concept: I want a design that looks like a pacman frog, and just a standing pose that isn't too stiff.

I grab some pacman frog references, and sometimes if the pose is complex, I'll find references for that too. Pacman frogs are pretty pudgy, and their legs aren't that long compared to most frogs, even when unfolded, and their faces have a nice triangle-ish forehead with a nice shape for the mouth.

The result is that i use large shapes for most of the body. Curves contrast with sharper lines, giving the sense of something geometric but still organic. The line of action here helps me pose these shapes in a way that gives some movement to something as simple as standing (and you'll gain a lot of mileage from learning how to rotate shapes! this is how you're able to position them in different ways and create more dynamic poses).

For something more abstract, like a crouched pose meant to be angry, I take some references when i can and start doing something like this:

Note that these shapes seem weird because I'll have a naked fullbody wip below any clothed characters to have some anatomical guidance, but for actual final shapes and silhouette, what matters is the final elements, and that includes clothes! so i try to build shapes that emphasize this droopy, closed off feeling. This sketch isn't even that good really, there's plenty of errors, but I hope it gives an idea of whats going on.

I hope this weird rambly nonsense helped LOL

[featherwurm]

*'Burned-Out Village' from Mulan playing ominously in the background*

My own personal thought on Clive*, the teddy bear: She found him in the abandoned village, and because somewhere in there she's a soft touch, she felt bad for the little inanimate object either left behind or lost. She brushed him off, brought him back to camp, gave him a name, propped him up in her tent, and thought of him as a nice little mascot - every unit needs a mascot, right? (And, well, maybe something to squeeze by proxy before she can be touched after washing him out and patching him up a bit.)

She's well used to the horrors of war and battle, this is nothing, really, is it? How long has Demonsbane been detached from Karlach Cliffgate...

*Your mileage may vary.

[thehuntyhunties]

sorry this is a day late but in light of the funimation debacle my recommendations for free streaming are wcostream and 9anime. between the two i've found that the quality on 9anime is a little bit better for older shows – like, say, the original Saint Seiya, which is 90% of what I use 9anime for – but as with many things I'm sure your mileage may vary.

I watch them in Firefox with an additional adblock extension running, because i'm a woman of a certain generation and i fundamentally can't trust any anime or manga site, but i've never had issues with either of them! still tho, if you're a Chrome user, get Firefox and throw an adblock on it, just in case. you can absolutely get Firefox exclusively for watching anime if you want to, treat yourself to something nice. ✨

i'm out of the game on torrenting/actual piracy so I can't help anybody with that rn. u_u idk what the method is these days. I got most of my files in swaps with friends and anime club members anyways. Once in 2016 I tried to properly torrent HxH and it didn't work and i couldn't figure out what went wrong so i gave up lmao

[princescribbler]

ADULT DIAPER BAG BASICS:

Enough diapees for the day....+2. Never do the bare minimum or you might find yourself in trouble with no backups left! For me, that usually means 4 to 5 in case I need them, even though I normally only need to change in the morning, shortly after lunch, and in the evening once usually, but I still bring more!

DISCRETE stuffies are good. One slightly larger one or a few small ones is enough for me, but your mileage may vary!

An actual BAG! First, almost anyone can get away with a backpack unexplained these days, but even if not, at least have it in the car if you've got one! Either way, a bag is key so you're not smuggling diapers under your shirt and thinking that's somehow sneaky!

Disposal bags, especially if you're a diaper Messer. I'm not generally, but even i know it's not good form to just dispose in a random bin, please bag and close up your diapees to the best of your ability changing in public!

Powder or cream, even if it's not always your thing. Very good to have when you DO need it! Better safe than sorry, and better avoiding rashes if possible!

Extra wipes, and ideally good-sized ones. While expensive, the Northshore brand wipes are nice for me and mean I don't need SEVERAL smaller wipes with less tensile strength. Very good to have!

Change of clothes, seriously.. if you're in 24/7 diapees you need to prepare for the possibility of a bad accident or leak. Some folks even suggest 2 spares of clothes.

Your paci or other cutesy little items (but only if you're sure your bag will stay private). Having a change of diapee can be explained with incontinence... having an adult sized paci that says "Mommy's boy" might be a bit more work!

Extra juice or liquid... because the easiest way to get noticed from diapees is being dehydrated and reeking of concentrated peepee, or making a messy diapee. Avoid the stinky peepee by staying well hydrated!

Did I miss your favorite addition? Anything you consider an absolute requirement that I've missed? Let me know and leave a comment, or share what you include in YOUR diapee bag!

And as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay kinky!

-Scribbler

[existslikepristin]

Tags: NSFW, TheLounge, Dreamcatcher, Handong, female reader (or potentially a force-feminized male reader your mileage may vary), just a little quick-read ficlet about how Handong is a pervert, is that a foot fetish?, you should probably worship Handong’s body, she got them wander-y eyes and hands, woah woah woah you don't think this is inappropriate do you?, are you a dirty little reader?, oh you're a dirty little reader alright, Handong can tell

Just A Little Vanity

Handong strikes quite the figure. Most anyone would, sitting as she is on an armchair ornate enough to be mistaken for a throne. Your particular point of view is that of extreme artistic foreshortening. Mere millimeters away from your eyes, her bare foot takes up most of your field of view, obscuring even her crossed, mile-long legs. Her face, appropriately for such protracted limbs, seems distant and yet no less beautiful. Beyond those gorgeous, exposed legs, her fashion sense is as ostentatious as the tower-like structure of her body. Shaggy faux fur on denim, bedazzled camo, and pearls. Hair so platinum it might as well be chrome, reflecting blacks, blues, whites, and silvers. One slender finger adorned with two unreasonably large rings taps gently against her cheek.

“What to do… what to do…” she muses, “with such a naughty little girl like you.”

“Make me please you?”

She sighs heavily and presses her big toe against your lips. “Shush, you. It was not a question. Did you hear a question mark?” she demonstrates her meaning with her tone well enough for you to recognize the rhetorical nature of the question. The rest of your suggestions will have to wait.

“You…” Handong says, stroking your jawline with the same foot, “do not get to wave that delicious butt of yours in front of me all day and then just get what you want. There are consequences for teasing me.”

Although you're not going to say anything about it, you can’t help but think that perhaps Handong was planning this all along. After all, she made you wear a tiny skirt today, insisting it would be fine without safety shorts, and then she found any and every reason to be behind and slightly below you. It was certainly less than subtle. You'd been feeling her eyes burn a hole in your helplessly visible underwear all day. At least it kept your ass warm in the chilly spring air.

Yes, it was all a trap. Not a particularly clever one, and also not one you mind being caught in. Though it'd be nice if she let you kneel somewhere other than the hard floor.

Handong continues to caress you with her foot, lifting your chin, turning your head to either side. She inspects your face from each angle.

“Done talking back?” she threatens.

“Yes,” you talk back. Cheeky, but technically compliant.

She smirks with you, appreciating the irony. “Good. I would hate to have to send you home without a snack.”

Oh how utterly, coquettishly subtle.

“Please, no, Handong. I'm so hungry.”

She lifts her foot, and your jaw with it, snapping your mouth shut. “Shut up already. I am looking at you.”

It's unclear how those things are related, but you keep yourself from saying anything.

With a flourish, Handong uncrosses her legs, spreading them wide so you can briefly see up her skirt. “Surprise,” no underwear. But you can't look long. Her upper body spans that vast distance in an instant, putting her face nearer to yours, going from practically a pinprick to vision-encompassing, menacing you from above. Those slender, metal and jewel laden fingers grasp just below your chin, holding your head still. You only feel four fingers, giving you the impression that she's sticking her pinky out as if you're a fancy glass of wine. You can't wait for the dinner party.

Handong clicks her tongue, half-lidded eyes traveling up and down. They linger on the down stroke, reminding you of the other piece of clothing she'd demanded of you. Your chest is barely covered, the neckline of the shirt so low that it really shouldn't be called a “neck"line anymore, but perhaps a “nipple"line. As she pulls you forward, you're sure she can see far, far more than the shirt's designer ever intended. Handong's light dusting of a blush and perverted twitch of a lip key you in further.

“Mmm,” she hums, “I could just take a bit out of you.”

You bite your tongue to stop yourself from correcting her verbal spelling error. She tends to make more mistakes when her mind is meandering down your clothes.

She urges you up with a slight pull. Anybody normal would close their eyes for the impending kiss, but Handong’s eyes stay open and predatory until the last possible moment.

When you’re close enough, she strikes. Your lower lip is caught between her teeth and she nibbles softly before she kisses you proper. Her breath hisses between the gaps at the corners of your lips, greedy more for you than the air. She pries your mouth open with hers, invading you unreasonably quickly. She’s got a different metric for what constitutes reasonability though. You’re her toy. She'll play with you according to her rules.

“Handong!” Soomin shouts from across the room, “I’ve called your name three times! Come get your damn coffee! And we’ve got rooms for that!”

Without any additional warning, Handong drops you to the floor, stands up, and glides gracefully past you toward the counter. Watching her go past, you see no small number of other coffee shop-goers staring in your direction.

“Thanks, babe,” Handong flirts shamelessly as she picks up your drinks, “Oh, and I would like to use one of the rooms.”

[eldstunga]

Hi! I really love your art! The lines are so bold but the colours so natural that it feels distinct but grounded?? I'm obsessed with the shapes in your work

I was wondering if you had any advice for drawing bodies? Whenever I try it either my proportions are off or an arm ends up looking like a calf or something.

First of all, thank you <3 That's so nice and I think "lines bold, colours natural" is some truly aspirational words to say about my art, I'll strive to be what you say I am <3 I do not, unfortunately, have any great tips on drawing bodies - it's a very wide topic and fundamentally just really bloody hard. I fail horribly 9 times out of 10. How to approach it I think varies a lot with like...HOW you are struggling, and who you are as a person. For proportions and anatomy there are definitely books to look at, and some rules of thumb that can help you - anything from "the shoulders are about 2.5-3 heads wide" through "feet are the same length as the forearm", "elbows are in line with the navel and the navel is two sternums down" etc etc. For me, realising just how big the ribcage actually is and learning how to use that as a unit of measure was a big event (the torso is about two ribcages long). Look at references, Draw over low opacity references and try to look for patterns that help YOU. Like... "Hm, do the shoulders line up with something useful?"

Having a good ref model to double check things helps too. The pen is pointing to about the bottom of the ribcage. But there's also stuff like maybe you're getting too hung up on construction and then it might help more to try to draw from references by ONLY blocking in a silhouette first. This helps me sometimes still:

Or you could be like me, struggle with all of the above and then some - like how to make poses look natural and/or dynamic? Weight distribution is a whole other topic.. gah, it never ends, but it's fun to learn.

Lastly, this took me way too long to realise and I think it should be said: Do not fret too much about STUDYING. The unfair thing is that the better you are at something, the better you will be at actually learning from doing studies and exercises or reading books. We accept this with many other disciplines and sports but rarely art. Mileage is king, and mileage is best gained from having fun and enjoying what you do. If you find studies suffering and frustrating you're probably better off just drawing what you enjoy and fuck it if it isn't "pushing your boundaries" or whatever. Eventually you'll get to the point where studies start to give more than they take, and then you're home free. I'm not gonna recommend a billion resources you likely won't enjoy but here are some things I genuinely found helpful lately: * a physical anatomy model, they're pricy and not necessary but being able to just look at it every now and then, turn it over etc helps. * The "Morpho" series of books, they do not teach anatomy, but they are very useful quick reference books and much more easily digested than most anatomy material. Just try to find a real anatomy book to read once your appetite is up as well.

The zig-zag/Lightning bolt method for arms and legs, fuckin' thing revolutionised how I sketch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCkmB030GpQ

Gottfried Bammes "The Complete guide to Anatomy for Artists and Illustrators" This thing is insane, it's from the 50's and like 600 pages long. You could absolutely kill someone with it, but a lot of the pages are more philosophical or art history you can skip and despite its age and fear factor this dude writes in a witty, clever and just wonderful way that I've seen nowhere else. Fantastic photos. By far, FAR the best anatomy book I've ever seen. It's not a book I'd recommend for someone starting out, I would not have been able to digest it like four years ago, but once you get to a certain point it's amazing.

That's a lot, uhhh, feel free to ask me for more specific tips this was a bit of a rant. Hope some of it was useful!

[motocorsas]

here's my rundown of all the new 2027 tech regulations:

the most important news is the reduction in engine capacity. the pistons are going to be reduced from 1000cc to 800cc, meaning they generate less power with each stroke. the bore of the pistons is also going to be reduced, which is the width of the piston head. the wide bores that have been in use for some time deliver more power, so reducing bore size means less fuel and air will be used with each stroke. this makes the bike slower, but more fuel efficient.

fuel efficiency has also been taken into account with the new gas tank and fuel regulations. gas tanks are being reduced from 22 to 20 liters for full races and from 11 to 10 for the sprint. essentially, since dorna has reduced bike power, they've reduced fuel capacity as well, since less fuel is needed.

this is where the new sustainable fuel comes in: the new fuel will be a mix of biofuel and synthetic, both of which have a lower power storage by volume compared to gas fuel. this will also reduce power. are you seeing a pattern?

the last time 800cc bikes were used in MotoGP, they were absolutely hated by riders. from 2007 to 2012, engine capacity was reduced from 990cc to 800cc for similar reasons as today; concerns about safety and overtaking. but the bikes were considered some of the worst to ride, due to low torque and inconsistent power delivery, meaning the bike performed best a very narrow rpm and throttle range -- step on the gas for just a milisecond longer, and you'd get shot off the bike. that made highsides much more frequent. mat oxley explains here:

the title of the article is MotoGP 800s - Rot In Peace, which feels like a grim portent of the years to come.

attempts to mitigate the engine's problems with electronics also sacrificed power and overtaking.

sound familiar? right now, riders, stewards and engineers are all complaining about overdone electronics. this brings us to the next point revealed in the presentation, that holeshot and ride height devices will be banned.

these devices program the bike body to shift up and down under certain conditions, carrying momentum and reducing drag. holeshot devices specifically program the bike to start, resulting in the classic rocket-powered starts we see today. riders plant their feet, tuck their heads down, and let the bike do the rest. holeshot devices have their negatives, especially combined with heavy aero -- plenty of crashes occur in the first few corners of a race because the overpowered start combined with heavily engineered aero shoots a rider directly into another's rear tire. this is the sacrifice made for overtuning bikes so that they're perfectly optimized.

but notably, these changes don't mitigate crashes! despite claiming to prioritize safety, reducing power on its own does not reduce crashes. less torque = slower corner exit = riders prioritizing quicker roll speed and engineers seeking higher rpms. and less power = less braking = less overtakes.

none of this is to say that the original 800cc era was inexcusably terrible or that the new era will be as well. but i don't think liberty media or dorna understand what draws viewers to the sport. in the presentation, they justify most of these changes as making bikes more "road relevant", increasing mileage and sustainability. but world superbike already exists to fill that niche, making motogp obsolete in that sense. i'm all for safe and environmentally conscious racing, but as stated above, these new regulations don't make motogp more safe. they also don't make it more eco-friendly either; ethanol fuel is nice, but it's a drop in the ocean compared to the absurd emissions generated by transporting the entire traveling circus from racetrack to racetrack. if there's anything motogp can learn from wsbk, it's a reduced calendar. less travel means less emissions, and longer breaks gives riders time to recuperate from injuries.

in their attempts to make motogp a better entertainment product, liberty media are challenging the integrity of the sport. their unnecessary limitations ignore the true root of most problems -- overworked riders and teams and a bloated schedule -- and waste money in the process. constantly changing concessions and regulations forces manufacturers to spend more and more money developing new bikes; no wonder teams have been dropping out. these concessions don't help anyone but liberty, since they can claim they've "revolutionized" the sport and made it into a safe, sustainable overtake-fest. all they've really done is sanitize it.

[bramblesse]

Faeries 𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

allegedly we get a new occult every fourth gamepack and i'm cross at people arguing that faeries would be too much like spellcasters so here's my manifesto of content that would make it worthwhile. feel free to pass this on to the nearest eaxis snoop. if you are the eaxis snoop, please read carefully and take notes. 🍄🌱

all the tuning for the 'erratic' trait built-in to every faerie's personality from the jump — laughing or crying at seemingly inappropriate times, combustive fits of rage, a playful moodlet that won't kill them for being quirky or random, etc.

not only speaking to plants but singing to them — and loudly!

either far more attentive or far more neglectful of infant, toddler and child sims. [historically fae parenting mileage may vary, they are either the worst or the best! see: changelings!]

spontaneous dancing, with or without music, and lots of it.

tampering with food such as milk for an awful rotten surprise.

higher likelihood of something being stolen by them. toys, trinkets, decorations, other sims... [i have never read a tale about a faerie who wasn't casing a joint! they like shiny objects!]

faerie bargains! they have special interactions for bargaining and haggling with human sims for things in their inventory.

bestowing gifts and curses interactions. existential gifts like longer lifespans or giving human sims green thumbs or blessing a sim with an unexpected fortune. curses that involve having human sims mindlessly going around in circles, dancing to exhaustion, having all their crops never grow to fruition, etc.

grilled cheese want replaced by a want to eat cake.

other sims find them instantly attractive and more charismatic, even more charismatic than normal sims who have high charisma skill. [listen the everything about fae tells me they are v cunning.]

an affinity for all music and boosted skill level when learning to play an instrument. [it would be nice to have a lute, flute or harp added to the game but could easily be put in a bands or medieval pack.]

setting traps everywhere but particularly in forests with trees surrounded by toadstools that trap human sims in their realm. imagine a new death type from a faerie ring object...

exceptional at locating the garbage your normal sims can find whenever they go digging. [a faerie troupe whisking by during a faerie hunt is p commonly depicted in art and literature so their ability to track things down is probably wild.]

rather than incessant need to exercise, they have an incessant need to sunbathe and/or moonbathe.

insects and animals are drawn to them and easily convinced to do their bidding without any training — for instance, they can set bees upon their enemies. [unrelated, sort of, but we need bee and butterfly spawners in build mode!!!]

a court system that is a hybrid of groups from get together and the packs in werewolves. seelie, unseelie. spring, summer, autumn, winter. day, night. it really doesn't matter. let us decide what each court represents and place our faeries accordingly!

[ethicaltreatmentofcowplants]

Never Ever Have 2,000 Reward Points Been So Well-Invested

Since my heir's gymbro husband kept on getting whims to go jogging (riiiiight in the middle of a Windenburg winter), I bought him the ICE-PROOF trait from the Rewards store. Let's just say that he's been making maximum mileage out of it...

This. This is what the Watcher saw after her regular early morning check that the younger and more helpless members of the household had all their needs in the green.

more of the same

I'm not even trying with this shit, he just did this autonomously.

Taking it very seriously, I see.

@akitasimblr have your twins come fetch their AU dad, I think he may be broken. Actually maybe just have Dodo. Leo would likely join in and freeze his [redacted] off.

"A masterpiece if I may say so myself, and the snowpal isn't so bad either..."

He legit did not have one negative moodlet, not one single notion or sign of recognition that it's ducking freezing out.

On the contrary, the man is clearly living his best life.

May all the Watchers of the land smile upon Paolo Rocca. May all boons be granted upon him.

Paolo Rocca really said "fan service? Say no more." Paolo Rocca really said "what ice bucket challenge?" Paolo Rocca really said "Akira Who-bo? I'm the new Baby Daddy in town." (Though he does grant you Salim Benali.)

(And I must say that it is nice to have a gift so obviously appreciated.)

Er, Happy Monday for some of us I guess?

[rockingrobin69]

Last Minute

The right turn was apparently the wrong one, and they had to drive another ten miles before they found a place to stop. Harry still wasn’t very confident behind the wheel, a fact he strictly refused to admit; it was unto Draco then to tell him, a little shrilly, that he was nearly scraping that fence and to watch that bloody lamppost! Which didn’t put either of them in a great mood.

Then the rain came on, of course. Then the tyre air pressure light, again. Then a sheep sauntered onto the one-lane excuse for a road, and a lorry nearly crushed them flat, and the wheels flicked mud all over the passenger-side window.

They’d run out of snacks two hours ago and were about to run out of fuel. The radio, which had been playing screeching static for the last thirty miles, was now adamant on sticking to some Tory-bullshit chat about bus fare. Draco wished he’d taken the bus; wished he’d left the country; wished he told Harry to forget it, forget the whole thing, just, enough. Go back home with their tail between their legs and admit defeat, because none of it actually mattered.

Wait. There was—wait, that was true. None of it actually mattered. Draco tapped the frown between his eyebrows, then clicked his tongue.

“Hey,” he put his hand on Harry’s arm. When all he got was an annoyed hum: “Can you just—stop for a second?”

Miraculously, the road provided a place to pull over, which Harry then did, and added a deep, painful sigh to the whole tragic affair.

“What?” with this weariness he only got on long drives.

“Why are we doing this?” Draco asked, and wished his voice had come out gentle instead of accusatory. “I mean—who are we trying to prove wrong? I know how far I can go on spite alone, and apparently it’s exactly three-hundred and seven miles.”

Harry swallowed a small sound of surprise. “What? You mean—you want to turn back? Now?”

“Would that be so bad?”

“It’s a fucking three-hundred miles journey and it’s getting late.”

Draco rubbed his eyes, nodded. “All right. Then we don’t go home. We planned to spend the night anyway—”

“At your fucking parents’ estate.”

“Yes. And instead of torturing ourselves, why not try the next lovely bed and breakfast we see. Why not—take a ferry and go to Arran. Why not do anything that doesn’t involve Lucius Malfoy, and possibly as little driving as can be, and just have a nice night? Why not forget about all this,” hand gesturing vaguely at the rain, at the mud, at the mileage, “and remember the only thing that’s actually important?”

Harry’s pout should not have been so endearing. “Which is?” he asked, suspicious.

“This,” couldn’t help rolling his eyes. Took Harry’s hand and squeezed. “My darling, my idiot, this, this is what matters.”

Harry sucked in a breath. Closed his eyes. Shook his head, nodded, then shook his head again. “Your father—”

“Can eat an entire, gigantic, garlic flavoured, extra-hot bag of dicks.” With a devilish smile that made even Harry crack a grin. “Who bloody cares. Let him rot. In fact, I think I know a place just down the road—if we are where I think we are—it’s nice and has a great view to the loch when, you know, it isn’t chucking it down, and… what do you say?”

Harry shook his head again, but he was still smiling. “You fucker. Of course. I fucking love it.” Leaned down to give the corner of Draco’s mouth a peck. “Fucking love you.”

“Me too,” Draco said, and, “idiot,” and kissed him again, properly this time.

It turned out they weren’t at the junction Draco thought he knew. It took about thirty minutes and three wrong turns to find it. Didn’t matter: fuck, what a relief that it just didn’t matter, because Harry’s hand was rubbing gentle lines over his (and not angrily drumming on the gearstick), because he was still smiling, because they had this all to themselves. The rain and the traffic and the terrible road. The whole night just for them.

My darling @getawayfox, happy, happy birthday. I love you and also I love you and also, I love you.

[shelandsorcery]

guys i really, really like the noodler's Ahab flex pen

like, a lot

like, enough I'm recommending it even though i know half of you will hate the smell so so so much

(the baking soda soak recommendation i found really reduced the smell significantly, highly recommend)

it's juicy enough to use my driest ink, too! which is a relief.

makes me want to try their music nib next.

to be serious though, the things I like about this pen include but are not limited to:

it feels nice to hold - the resin is warm and it feels like it's just a tiny bit soft while being really really sturdy in the hand, and it's a nice big pen for me without being heavy

the nib writes really smooth at the thinnest and it's not too bad at it's thickest either, tho I admit that that takes a lot more force than my hand is good for right now in any sustained way

even though I'm not able to exert enough pressure to get the full Flex without a fair amount of strain on my part, a) remember that I have a half paralyzed hand doing all of this, so your mileage may vary, and b) just the light line variation I get with natural writing with it is so appealing to me, I can't overstate it

and it's just so juicy, it lays down a lot of ink, and I know that that can be actually a problem in a lot of people's experience, but I adore it

and the clip looks like a whale! how incredibly nerdy! I love it when my pens are nerdy.

have you tried one? do you have a fave Flex pen? should I go for one of the zebra nib adapted pens next, or should I try out an architect or blade nib instead?

[starcrossed591]

KDrama Year in Review 2023

While I watched more KDramas this year than CDramas, none of them consumed my heart and soul quite like this year's crop of CDramas did (CDrama review post here). And I dropped KDramas more readily than I have in years past, in part because there were so many more things to watch than I had time for (also I had to finish my dissertation and graduate, etc etc). Still, there were definitely some that I really, really enjoyed, so here's this year's KDrama round up:

16. My Lovely Liar: Started strong, got boring real quick. Dropped for homophobic murder plot. Still, glad to see that Hwang Min Hyn can actually act (although full disclosure, I did still enjoy him in Alchemy of Souls, wooden as that performance may be). Hoping Kim So Hyun can catch a break and get a role in a drama more worthy of her in the near future.

15. Crash Course in Romance: Excellent performances and chemistry by the ML and FL. Romance between two middle aged people instead of youths is also a treat. Dropped around ep 12 because of the unnecessary, homophobic murder plot. Pass.

14. A Good Day to Be a Dog: Surprisingly stronger than the goofy premise suggests, largely on the basis of Park Gyu-Young's performance as the FL who turns into a dog upon being kissed. Pacing problems in the third act around the origins of the whole dog curse thing. Can't say I recommend unless you're really in the mood for some shenanigans, but largely inoffensive if a little silly. (Also it turns out Cha Eun Woo *really* leveled up his kiss game for this one!)

13. Love to Hate You: Perfectly serviceable rom com. Nothing too special, but a nice weekend binge if you're in the mood for that. Also a good way to see Kim Ji-Hoon's v handsome face and that *hair* without having to deal with everything involved with his rather murderous run in Flower of Evil.

12. Joseon Attorney: A Morality: Perfectly serviceable law procedural/Joseon historical. If you don't like either of those genres your mileage may vary, but I had missed having Bona on my screen, so it worked well enough for me.

11. Welcome to Samdal-ri: I seem to like this one more than literally everyone else I know, and I fully admit that my enjoyment of this drama is more vibes-based than plot-based. I guess I have a soft spot for Shin Hye Sun yelling at people at Ji Chang Wook going a bit unhinged over a woman who ran away from him (see also: Lovestruck in the City).

10. My Demon: Very much enjoying Song Kang as a cranky demon falling in love with a human. Very tropey in the best way, and feels like a return to form for the supernatural romance genre. Remains to be seen if they'll land the ending as of this writing, but enjoying as it goes.

9. Doctor Cha: A contribution to the slate of divorce comedies I watched this year (see also: Strangers Again (KDrama) and Let's Get Divorced (JDrama)), a surprisingly touching story about growing older when you've devoted your life to someone who has not done the same for you.

8. Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow (Part 2): While Ko Joon-Yung never quite managed to replace Jung So-Min as the FL for me, I definitely still enjoyed the closer to this fun fantasy series. Special shout out to Shin Seung-Ho as Prince Go Won and his pet turtle

7. Strangers Again: I didn't see a ton about this one on tumblr as it was airing, but I found this rom com? melodrama? divorce procedural? makjang? story about relationships and why they end unexpectedly profound. I tuned in expecting mindless makjang hot mess, and instead got a thoughtful meditation on divorce. Left me feeling unexpectedly melancholy at the end, but glad I watched it.

6. The Secret Romantic Guesthouse: Very fun sageuk! Probably won't knock your socks off, but it does what it does very well. Bonus points for a B couple as compelling as the A couple. I've also been a big Kang Hoon fan since Little Women, and there are a couple of other actors in here that I'm always glad to see working.

5. Perfect Marriage Revenge: Tour de force makjang. Came out of nowhere and blew me away. Hits all the right beats, and unexpectedly fun (and was a nice break from the heaviness of My Dearest for me). This was a good year for jaded and slightly unhinged transmigrated FL's back for their #revenge (see also: Story of Kunning Palace in CDrama land), and I was here for it. Also features one of the spiciest make-out scenes of the year, 10/10 recommend

4. See You in My 19th Life: Absolutely loved this haunting, melancholy, and sometimes unexpectedly goofy reincarnation drama. I loved the webtoon and had high expectations, and this drama largely met them! The continuing relationship between sisters Ji-Eum (Shin Hye Sun) and Cho-Won (Ha Yoon Kyung) was a special highlight for me, and while Shin Hye Sun is already a never-miss for me, I'm especially looking forward to whatever Ha Yoon Kyung does next. I prefer the ending of the Webtoon to the KDrama, but I'm still delighted this drama exists and am glad I watched it.

3. The Interest of Love: Look, I loved this drama. Even though it seemed on the surface like nothing but *mess* in the interpersonal lives of these characters working at a bank on the border between a rich and poor neighborhood in Seoul, it nonetheless had some of the most searing class commentary of the year for me. I also love an FL who will (spoiler) pack up her things and disappear at the drop of a hat, even if no one else will understand her decision to do so, because she just cannot deal anymore (see also: the FL in Lovestruck in the City, whom I also love but everyone else hated). This drama kept me gleefully coming back every week in a year where not a lot of others did.

2. Call It Love: A revenge slice of life melodrama that I found unexpectedly touching in its deep melancholy. Loved not only the main couple, but the relationship between the siblings and their pharmacist bestie. A lovely character study. (Also I somehow ended up watching this at the same time as Till the End of the Moon and Li Susu as Ye Xiwu's hidden identity/revenge plot, which was unexpectedly stressful! Had a very "it's the same picture" moment despite two dramas in two genres that could not be further apart.) If you missed this one (and since it aired on Disney+, you might have--Disney+'s effects on the KDrama streaming ecosystem will be the death of me), it's worth seeking out!

1. My Dearest (Parts 1 and 2): Kind of feels like everyone has said everything there is to say about sageuk of truly epic proportions, but it blew me away as well. Epic romance? Check. Twisty political machinations? Check. Heartwarming friendships between women? Check. Strong ensemble cast? And my top FL of the year, Lady Gil-Chae, played to perfection by Ahn Eun-Jin. I've adored her since Hospital Playlist, and am delighted that she's getting the attention and the roles she deserves. Namkoong Min also a top contender for ML of the year as Lee Jang-Hyun. Part 2 dragged for me a bit in places after a nearly perfect Part 1, but such a great drama overall.

Favorite Drama of the Year: My Dearest. See above.

Favorite Female Character: I mean, it's gotta be Gil Chae from My Dearest, right? She starts out as such a spiteful, spoiled noblewoman, and then turns out to have a core of pure steel. Turns out all her conniving and strategizing, which went towards causing mischief in the village, really just needed a proper outlet. While I would never want to be in the circumstances in which she found herself, if I did, she's exactly who I would want on my side.

Favorite Male Character: Everything's coming up My Dearest this year, because this one is Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest as well. Checks the box for my competence kink, and has a knack for showing up just when Gil-Chae needs him, even at great personal cost. Also a smart-ass, which I probably like a bit too much in a man.

Favorite Secondary Female Character: Cho-Won from See You in My 19th Life. Her relationship with her reincarnated older sister was almost more compelling to me than the main romance sometimes, and really helped develop how the ties that bind us are not just romantic ones. Also she was just super cute

Favorite Secondary Male Character: Could have picked anyone from Team Himbo in Alchemy of Souls, but gonna have to give this one to Go Won, himbo prince of my heart

Favorite Ship: Again, it's gotta be Gil-Chae and Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest. Sometimes, there are drama couples that nearly cause me pain when they are apart, and these two quickly became one of them. Though their relationships is hardly functional for much of it, through all that push and pull, they ultimately learn how to show up for each other. Also, their *chemistry* is insane!

Favorite Secondary Ship: I loved Hye-Seong and Sung Joon, the B couple in Call it Love. Seeing the SFL grow more comfortable with herself after a truly shitty ending to her previous relationship was a nice respite from the hidden identity stress of the A couple in this one. I'm also a sucker for a good romance where you start to see someone you've long taken for granted differently. (Close Runner Up: Cho Won and Do-Yun in See You in My 19th Life)

Favorite Platonic Relationship: Gil-Chae, Eun-Ae, and their maids, Jong Jong and Bong Doo, in My Dearest. I loved loved loved the relationship between these women in this drama, and part of the reason the second half of the drama suffered a bit for me is because of how far it moved away from this core relationship. They were ride or die for each other more than the majority of the men in their lives, and I loved that for them.

Trope that Needs to Die: While I find murder plots in rom coms tedious at the best of times, homophobic murder plots are really not it. Quit it, y'all. It's not cute.

Dramas I Missed: Moon in the Day, The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, and Tell Me That You Love Me (grrr Disney+ on this one) are on the list for next year. I'm probably missing others.

Non-2023 Drama Spotlight: Finally went back and watched Do You Like Brahms? for a hit of Park Eun-Bin. A lovely, if also melancholy, slice of life romance that's just as much about what to do when a (career related) dream that you've worked really, really hard for just isn't going to come through as it is about the main romance. Also made me fall in love with Kim Min-Jae and his lovely deep voice, enough so that I also then went back and finally watched Dali and the Cocky Prince, which was also a treat. Recommend both.

Most Looking Forward To: I continue to yearn for a Yumi's Cells 3, and who's to say if that one will ever come through, but I'm putting it out into the universe anyway. More realistically, I'm looking forward to the surprisingly stacked line-up of sageuks coming up, including Captivating the King and Love Song for Illusion.

[peltk9]

A Simple (relative!) Way to Save a Lot of Fanfic to EPUB at Once

Disclosure: This is a relatively simple way. There are still a lot of steps and requires a little bit of computer know-how. However, many other processes involve copy-pasting URLs one-by-one, which, for 100+ fics, takes a long time.

This guide is particularly meant for Fanfiction.net works, which, at the time of writing, can no longer be downloaded in bulk from the Calibre FanFicFare plugin (rip in peace). FicHub can still reliably download from FFN, and there is a FicHub CLI to bulk-download from a list of URLs.

Regarding AO3: Using FicHub CLI with AO3 appears to be a bit finicky. FicHub CLI is more likely to give up on URLs in longer lists. Your mileage may vary. Personally, I recommend either the in-built AO3 downloader (one-by-one downloading only) or the FanFicFare Calibre plugin (for bulk downloading). EDIT: there is also this python program from tumblr user nianeyna: https://nianeyna.tumblr.com/post/659921552559783936

Regarding Wattpad: It does not look like FicHub can download from Wattpad. However, FanFicFare can download from Wattpad.

What You Will Need

Windows PC (theoretically this will work on a Mac or Linux, but will require different steps vis-à-vis python and the command prompt)

Firefox

Python (version 3)

Notepad++

fichub-cli

If you don't have Python installed, and don't know how, please follow this tutorial: https://realpython.com/installing-python/#how-to-install-from-the-full-installer (if it asks to create an account to view, open in a private window)

(I know the full installer works for the purposes of this tutorial, but you'll need to make sure you install pip--under Customize Installation--and add Python to the PATH. I am unsure if the Windows App version does both of these.)

Install Notepad++ from the official site: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

If you installed Python correctly, then to install fichub-cli (https://github.com/FicHub/fichub-cli):

Open the Command Prompt in Windows (Windows search bar "cmd")

Copy-paste the following: pip install -U fichub-cli

Hit 'Enter'

Wait for the Command Prompt to do it's thing . . . and you're done!

Instructions

Getting the URLs - FanFic dot Net Favorites version

(These instructions are specifically for the Favorite Stories on a user's account, but can be modified to get any story URL on any page of FFN.)

Open Firefox and go to FFN. Now go to the mobile version of the site by clicking the smartphone icon on the top bar, left-ish side of the screen. You can also replace the 'www' in the URL to 'm'.

Log into FFN if you aren't already, then go to your account > Favorite Stories. The reason why we're using the mobile site is because it won't paginate your favorites. All your favorite stories will be all on one page, which means it's only one copy-paste for everything.

Right-click anywhere on the page and hit 'Inspect (Q)'. This will pull up DevTools, which will give us a nice place to get all the URLs. Look at the left-most panel in the the 'Inspector' tab. It should have a bunch of HTML code in. Find the <tbody> that's right before a bunch of <tr>...</tr>.

Right click the <tbody>, Copy > Inner HTML.

Open Notepad++. In a new file, paste in that Inner HTML we just copied. This is where we extract just the URLs for the stories from the mess of HTML by having some fun with regular expressions.

Open the Find & Replace in Notepad++ (Ctrl+F, or on the top bar Search > Replace ...). In the window, make sure you're on the 'Replace' tab. In the bottom-left-ish of the window is some Search Mode options. Select 'Regular expression' and check the box labeled '. matches newline'.

In 'Find what': .*?(/s/\d*/1/) In 'Replace with': $1\n

At this point, you should be able to click 'Replace All'; but if you want, click 'Find Next' to see Notepad++ highlight the first place it finds a regular expression match and click 'Replace' to see it change that highlighted section to just the /s/ . . . /1/ part (the /s/ . . . /1/ is the story URL on FFN). Depending on where your cursor was when you first opened Find & Replace, you may need to click 'Replace' once or twice even after 'Replace All'. You may also need to move your cursor to before the very first letter.

Once you've clicked 'Replace All', you should be left with a long list of partial URLs, looking like /s/ . . . /1/. There will be one section of unneeded HTML, probably near the bottom of the page. Manually delete it to leave only the URLs.

Now to change those partial URLs to a full URL. Open the Find & Replace again. In the Search Mode, select 'Normal'.

In 'Find what': /s/ In 'Replace with': https://m.fanfiction.net/s/

Click 'Replace All' (and maybe 'Replace' once or twice if needed--move your cursor to before the very first letter if needed) and now the list of partial URLs should be full FFN mobile URLs.

Save as a .txt file with whatever name you want.

Using FicHub CLI

First and foremost make a new folder somewhere on your computer. Name it whatever you like, but remember where it is and what you named it. Take the TXT file of URLs and move it into that new folder.

Open Command Prompt (Windows search bar "cmd"). In Command Prompt, navigate to the folder you made. If you don't know how to change directories in Command Prompt, this guide can help: https://www.howtogeek.com/659411/how-to-change-directories-in-command-prompt-on-windows-10/

For example, if I made a folder called 'FFNDownloads-2024-01-01' on my Desktop, I would type: cd Desktop/FFNDownloads-2024-01-01 in the command line and hit 'Enter'.

Once the Command Prompt is looking into the folder where your URL list is, type the following into the command line: fichub_cli -i [NAME].txt

Replace the [NAME] with the name of your URL list file. So, for example, if I named my URL list 'ffnurl.txt', I would enter: fichub_cli -i ffnurl.txt

Hit 'Enter' and the FicHub CLI will start it's magic. It can be a bit hard to read what's happening, because some of the text is dark blue, but it will print out how many URLs it finds, then check if there are duplicates, and then go through them one by one and start downloading them into an EPUB. The EPUB files will be saved in the same folder the Command Prompt is currently looking in--which should be that folder you just created.

There is a progress bar at the bottom of the Command Prompt with a rough estimate of time left. If you have 200 or more URLs, FicHub CLI can take an hour or more. Leave the Command Prompt alone until you're done. If you need, you can still use the rest of your computer, including the Internet. Just be careful to leave the folder and Command Prompt alone until the FicHub CLI is finished.

(Why does it take so long? As a general rule, polite internet behavior for robots, like the FicHub, is to ask websites for things slowly. If a robot asks for a lot of things quickly, it can overwhelm the website and make it difficult for the website to work properly. Some internet spam attacks do this, asking for a lot, quickly in order to disable a website. FicHub CLI is slow so that it doesn't get flagged as spam.)

Once FicHub CLI is done, it will make an output.log file. You can delete that if you want, it's basically a copy of the TXT file with the URLs inside. If there were any problems, FicHub CLI will also make an err.log file. Both LOG files can be opened in Notepad++ or in the default Windows Notepad. The err.log file will have a list of any URLs the FicHub CLI couldn't download, for whatever reason. I've found that if I make a new TXT file with just the error URLs copied right from the err.log file and re-run FucHub CLI on that TXT, most of the time they will be downloaded without problem.

Any lingering error files (hopefully less than 10 at this point, if any), you can go through the https://fichub.net/ site to download them one-by-one.

Et voilà, you have successfully downloaded a lot of fanfiction, all at once, as EPUB files. Once Python and fichub-cli are installed, then the process can be repeated to get any new or updated fics. All you need to do is create a TXT file of URLs for new/updated fics, and FicHub CLI will do the rest.