#best book for technical Helper

[theliteraryarchitect]

So... What Does an Editor Actually Do?

First off, “editor” is one of those words that causes a lot of confusion for writers. It seems simple—someone who works with words, right? But the truth is, “editor” can mean wildly different things depending on the context.

So, let’s clear things up.

When we’re talking about writing and publishing, “editor” usually refers to one of two roles:

1. The Gatekeeper: This is the person who commissions or selects work for a publication, like a magazine, newspaper, or publishing house. Think of phrases like “Her book was chosen by the editor at [Big Fancy Publisher].”

2. The Helper: This is the person who works directly with writers to improve their work. They might suggest revisions, clarify ideas, and polish the manuscript for grammar and style.

Both are called “editors,” but their jobs are completely different. To make things more confusing, in smaller operations (like indie presses), these roles often overlap. The same editor might choose your story for publication and offer stylistic or copyedits before it goes to print.

The 4 Types of Editing

Beyond the word “editor,” the types of editing writers encounter also vary widely, further boggling the mind. Here’s a quick breakdown of the four main types of editing your manuscript might go through:

1. Developmental Editing

This is the kind of editing I do, and the kinds of issues that are covered by the majority of my blog posts. Developmental editing:

• Focuses on the “big picture” of your story—plot, character, pacing, worldbuilding, and structure.

• Asks questions like: Does the ending make sense? Are the characters believable? Is the story too slow?

• This is the most intensive (and expensive) type of editing because it shapes the foundation of your book.

2. Stylistic Editing (Line Editing)

I don't do this kind of editing for my clients, but I occasionally publish line editing tips on this blog because I'm kind of a nerd about it :) Line editing:

• Works on clarity and flow at the sentence and paragraph level.

• Addresses repetition, awkward phrasing, and other issues that muck up your writing flow.

• Happens after developmental editing—no point polishing a scene if it might get cut!

3. Copy Editing

Once in a while I give copy editing tips on this blog, but they're usually wrong and I'm promptly corrected. Let it be known: The Literary Architect is a terrible copy editor. Copy editing:

• Focuses on technical details like spelling, grammar, punctuation, and consistency (e.g., making sure a character’s blue eyes don’t randomly turn brown).

• Think of this as quality control for your manuscript.

4. Proofreading

• The very last step before publication. The proofreader checks for any typos or layout issues that might have slipped through the cracks.

Whether you’re submitting to a publisher or self-publishing, editing matters. Great stories get rejected because they weren’t polished enough. And self-published books that skip editing often lose readers due to glaring errors or clunky prose.

If hiring a professional editor isn’t in the cards, learning to self-edit can help you get your manuscript into the best possible shape before publication. That way, if you do decide to bring in an editor later, they can focus on the deeper work instead of fixing things you could have tackled yourself.

Hope this helps!

/ / / / / / / / / / /

@theliteraryarchitect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler, a writer and developmental editor. For more writing help, download my Free Resource Library for Fiction Writers, join my email list, or check out my book The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.

[lazypanartist]

Having some more Stobotnik + child thoughts. Thanks, fandom!!

Also how should I tag this stuff? X child reader feels a bit wrong, but is technically correct? I've seen x platonic. Idk. Currently tagging with x child reader & simply "Stobotnik child", so follow that for more thoughts ig. Anyways.

Robotnik *can* cook, but he's a busy man. And Stone likes having you in the kitchen as a helper + taste tester.

Very experimental; even tho Ivo's very particular, he wants you to have a broad pallet.

Sometimes, Robotnik bakes. Pastries, even, because it's about precision. And he likes showing off. Also likes having you taste test, even if it's just for his ego. (And maybe he likes knowing he can make you happy idk)

Stone would 100% be a house husband if he wasn't contracted as a personal assistant. Man is 100% DEVOTED to Robotnik, and you by proxy. He doesn't mind cleaning, cooking, taking care of y'all, as long as he can stay close.

Meanwhile, Robotnik would be a house husband just so he could stay in the garage and invent. IF he wasn't already so devoted to fieldwork.

Neither is great with bedtime stories, but they both try. Stone wants you to have a normal-ish childhood, and Robotnik wants what's best for you. They review anything before they buy it, so it ends up being, like

Stone - "This one looks cute! Talking animals, life lessons."

Robotnik, flipping through it - "Childhood language development comes from hearing a wide, complex vocabulary. This is.. quite lacking."

Stone - "It says 'for beginner readers."

Robotnik - "Fine. We'll need something more complex just to read to them."

They can spend legit HOURS looking for something they both approve of. Not because anything's inappropriate, or because they disagree.

Robotnik's taking those parenting books and mommy blogs to HEART when it comes to your education.

Stone is there to ensure everything is still fun.

All I have for now. If y'all have requests lmk!!

[return-of-a-space-cowboy]

Merry Christmas everyone, technically late technically not

Ungrateful hearts pt3

[1] [2] [3]

“So all this time he's been watching some girl? That's the reason he refused to raid that god awful place” Ghiaccio sneered. His wooden lower jaw clenched.

“She's not just some girl, she's the reason we're all here to begin with. If she hadn't saved the boss's life then at least half of us would be dead” Melone argued.

“I can't imagine the boss ever needing to be saved, then again he probably wasn't the same as we know him today” Formaggio thought out loud.

“So what's the plan? We pillage the town and he accosts her?” Illuso asked.

“As much as I put faith in Risotto I'm unsure if he'll be able to go through with it” Prosciutto said with folded arms as he rested against the wall.

“Then why don't you help, surely if that spell book of yours can give us this then there must be a spell to make her love him if she refuses?” Ghiaccio asked while pointing out his jaw and Melone's limbs.

“Love is a different affair, I'm not going to bring magic into it” Prosciutto explained

“However if he doesn't act upon his intentions then I want you to help me get her” he continues.

“And how do you intend to do that?” Formaggio asked.

🎁🎁🎁

The cold air roused you out of your slumber, the growing smell of smoke hitting your nose alarming you. You shot up to see your window had been opened and a distant glow illuminating your surroundings.

You ran to the window to see in the town the glow of a fire spread. No it couldn't be.

You made haste to get on a coat and boots. You had to go to the orphanage. You had to help the children.

Fortunately the orphanage wasn't in direct danger but you know a stray breeze could change that. You as well as the other workers woke up all the children and gathered them into the main area, trying your best to keep composed so as to not panic the children. You pulled aside one of the ladies to ask her if she knew what was going on.

“Raiders, they're setting the town ablaze” she told you. You felt a lump grow in your throat and a shiver down your spine. All you could think was what would happen if they came here. What they would do to the children.

“We need to grab the kitchen knives” you told her and she scurried away to do so.

“(Y/n), what's going on?” One little girl as she approached you.

“There's a fire in town, we're not in danger right now but we're just making sure everything is ready just incase” you told her.

You could see the uncertainty on her face before she walked back to the group she was with before.

You watched over for a while before another child pulled at your coat eagerly.

“What's up?” You ask him.

“It's a surprise, follow me” he told you playfully.

“I'm sorry but I have to stay here” you told him.

“But it's really important” he told you, sounding disappointed by your refusal. You sighed.

“Alright but I have to be back quickly” you told him. The biggest smile appeared on his face as he pulled you by the hand towards the stairs and up the second floor til you arrived at his dorm.

“You know how last year Santa couldn't deliver our presents?” He asked all giddy.

“Yes?” You asked.

“His helpers came, they told me that they wanted to talk to you about the presents” he tells you bursting with glee.

You froze, eyes widened at him. You felt your blood go cold.

“What's wrong?” He asked you before the door opened.

A man with three wooden limbs standing by the frame draped in animal hide and face covered with a goat-like mask.

“Indeed we have” they said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

“Go down stairs” you tell the boy, not wanting him to get harmed.

Then two more made their presence known to you.

“Leave the children alone!” You hissed.

“Oh but we're here bearing gifts” one chuckled, pushing a large worn sack into view filled to the brim with toys.

“What are you really here for?” You ask, knowing damn well that their motives were sinister.

“An exchange”

“The children can have their food and toys that we so graciously offer now, all we need is for you to come with us”

“What do you want from me?” You asked.

“We won't hurt you, we're just trying to fix some severed ties” they tell you. You're in no position to say no, not when the lives of so many are at risk.

“Fine” you told them.

“Great, now why don't you introduce us to the kids” one said. So you led them down to the children, two of them carried sacks with them.

“I'm glad they repainted those walls, used to be the most horrid mustard yellow” one remarked.

As you reached the stairs everyone looked up at you, you put on a plastered smile as you announced to the children that Santa's helpers were here to give the children their gifts. The children didn't even question you.

The ladies grabbed chairs for them passing you worried glances as they did so.

“It's fine, they'll be safe” you assured them.

“So why do you look like that?” One of the children asked one of the men as he handed her a doll.

“It's very cold, we have to keep every part of ourselves warm if we want to make it to everyone” the one man with wooden limbs replied.

“Why did you come?” another asked.

“Because of (Y/n), such a sweet soul. She's helped so many, including a very close friend of ours” he explained.

“That's why she's coming with us for a while, we want to show her our appreciation,” he continued.

After they were done the children said their goodbyes. So happy that you were going to be around Santa's helpers. Some asking if you could join but you told them that only adults could go as they didn't want to ruin the magic of Christmas.

After the doors closed you only walked a few steps away before a sudden wave of drowsiness consumed you. Causing you to fall straight into the arms of one of your captors.

“this will be easiest if she is asleep” you could hear one of them tell the others.

🎁🎁🎁

You woke up. The warmth of a thick blanket enveloped you, a pair of strong arms holding you close to their frame. You should be alarmed but it felt oddly familiar. They seemed to take notice of you being awoke and spoke.

“So many years I've longed for this once more” a deep gruff voice lulls.

“Who are you?” You asked, panic finally settling in. His arms loosened enough so you could turn to see who was behind you.

Those features… you'd only seen those on one being. It was undeniable that it was the boy you saved all those years ago. Yet all that softness was gone. His features more pronounced, sharp and chiseled. His horns, once stubs now thick and spiraled. His presence was cold, what little warmth he had as a child was gone.

“Do you not remember me?” He asked in an almost somber tone.

“What happened?” You asked him.

“I did what I had to to live, I told you one day I would marry you… that was what kept me going” he told you.

“No… no” you stuttered as you tried to leave.

“No? Are you afraid of me now too?” He asked. Before pinning you underneath him. His hot breath turned to mist from the temperature.

“(Y/n), you belong here, where your kindness is appreciated “ he told you.

“And take me away from the rest of the world?!” You yelled.

“I didn't do this, my men acted without my knowledge” he told you.

“I wanted to take you but I couldn't bear the thought of you seeing nothing but a monster before you” he explained.

[stardewrotsession]

Note: Midterms came and life got in the way, but now I’m back and hopefully for good! Yes, I still also have finals, but I’m slowly getting back into my Stardew phase so hopefully I stay. Anyways, enjoy!

How the Bachelors are when you’re sick:

Sam

- God he would not know what to do

- The first time you get sick, I feel like he’d internally panic and get everything from Pierre’s store to help you feel better

- After awhile he’ll understand what exactly to get you when you’re sick.

- Medicine, your favorite snacks, favorite movies, all of them

- He’d put it in a little basket too, sweet boy

- Bonus, he would not care at all about hugging and kissing while you’re sick. In fact he’d probably whine if you don’t kiss him

- In the end he would get more sick than you were

Sebastian

- he’d have a little more direction than Sam would

- He’d try to give you some medicine to help you recover, and he’d definitely get you some movies you two could watch together to pass the time

- He’d be more hesitant to cuddle though

- Physical touch has never been his strong suit in the first place

- Either way he’ll still show how much he cares, asking occasionally if you need anything or if you want him to get anything for you

Harvey

- he’s a doctor, he’s gonna immediately take care of you

- I feel like he gets a little too overprotective when it comes to your health

- I mean he’s already worried sick whenever you go on your adventures in the mines. But going sick? Not on his watch

- Unfortunately he would not even let you get out of the bed, let alone do any chores on the farm

- But its doctor’s orders right?

- Sometimes he’ll get overly technical with you about your meds, but he always means well

- If you were really sick he’d make sure to call off of work or have Maru take over for the day while he’s caring for you

Alex

- So at first he’d ask advice from his grandma.

- As much as he’d love to help, sometimes he doesn’t really know what to do to make you feel better besides medicine.

- Even with medicine he’d sometimes mix it up and get confused

- Once his grandma’s over, he’d suddenly switch from clueless to being his grandma’s helper for you

- If she’s baking you cookies? He’s getting all the ingredients and helping her mix

- Whenever she’s not over and she calls you to make sure you’re okay, Alex would be there to immediately

- Alex would also definitely help out on the farm. Moving things around, making sure the crops are watered and the animals are fed

- He doesn’t know much, but he knows you shouldn’t be doing any farm work

- And helping around the farm and carrying heavy stuff? That he knows he can do.

- Sometimes whenever he comes in from a long day out on the farm, you can see a small satisfied smile on his face

- When he feels like he’s done something to help you out, he can’t help but smile

Shane

- “Have a beer.”

- He backs off after you glare at him

- “Okay okay! Not funny, here I have some anti nausea meds if you need some.”

- He’d (begrudgingly) cuddle and hold you throughout the days that you’re sick

- He’d also run out and get some things for you if you asked, but I’m not sure if he’d go out of his way to get everything

- If you had a specific favorite or comfort food, he would pick it up though

Elliot

- Okay, imagine him reading you stories and books while you’re resting in bed.

- He’d go out of his way to get all of your favorite books and basically put on a whole play for you while reading them

- So cute

- I think he’s also be into herbal medicines from the beach or the ocean.

- Idk like seaweed soup? Something like that

- But if you didn’t like that, he would still do his best to cheer you up.

- He took on piano for a reason right? Might as well give you a small show, and from the comfort of your bed!

[nokonomi]

yo guys we got some gravity falls oc dump again

Enyo (in Greek Mythology, I researched that it means destruction, so she is a dream demon)

Enyo is a Dream Demon formed by the clouds of Mammatus Clouds. Born at least many billions of years ago, right after Bill destroyed Euclydia, so she is technically younger than him, in her human form, she looks like any young little girl with a blue dress nightgown and a nice little teddy bear, but seemingly she has a crack on her forehead, a crack that reveals parts of her (fake) brain. Seemingly a very energetic child of chaos and destruction.

She met Bill during some hard times she experienced and approximately calls him “a father” because maybe he shows a bit of some fatherly manners in her life (his chaos is the only thing that keeps her alive)

Bill is her adoptive father basically/best friend, and honestly she is a very innocent girl, totally did not commit war crimes back then for mass homicide and arson. She was mentioned in the third book once as “bill’s little helper” (SANTA LITTLE HELPER GOOFY AHH)

she helped Bill with how to take over Gravity Falls during his time of planning, and she contacted ford through his mind one time to play “tag” with him. Although she turned into a very uncanny form of herself. So imagine her monstrous form as something like this. (NOT MY FAULT YOU GET NIGHTMARES)

Of course she has a human form and an Uncanny Valley, her body is a very giant form of that last picture, twisted and uncanny. Very horrifying and graphic. Her mouth widens and extends, and she even drew fear out of Ford one time described because she revealed her “true” form to him.

“That form is unlike anything I had ever seen. I observed it was called ‘uncanny valley’ where there are…certain things or objects that don’t look human but more humanoid. She was indeed an uncanny and mentally ill child.”

indeed she is not normal, and can turn into a very uncanny version of herself at will. Bill apparently thinks this is her best form yet and is very proud of her for taking the shape of an uncanny being, much like him! (BILL CAN GO MUCH SCARIER THAN THAT)

stayed at the theraprism one time and maybe ate some of the residents there as a result of her undying hunger, Yep she is a cannibal. But she only eats universal beings. Beings that exist in the universe. The Axolotl has recorded her behavior and gives her teddy bears beagle it calms down her dying hunger.

more will come soon.

[tiimecrash]

@lightcreators ( dan dreiberg ) gets a thingy!

Professor Elizabeth Burke had wandered around the home of Dan Dreiberg, her best friend and the superhero named Nite Owl II. The pair had worked together for some time, she wasn't technically a hero like he was but she was a silent helper for him. A helpful whisper and second pair of eyes from afar. Though, she was an archaeologist and historian first. Working at the local museum and studying everything she could. Yet, there was something special about her relationship with Dan. A magnetic pull of the cosmos that plagued her to be close to him. As if it was beyond what she knew, like they belonged to the stars. Past the vastness of the universe and spread out across all space-time. Was it silly to think that they belonged up there? In the stars? Maybe, but that's what made the pair close. They had similar thoughts about those things.

She had a book about birds in her hand, glancing over the pictures of nesting birds. That made her smile, it reminded her of the pair. She closed the book and placed it back on his cluttered bookshelf. She rounded the sofa and then headed toward the kitchen, then past it toward the basement. That's where she found Dan, looking over his gadgets and gear. "You feeling alright, Daniel?" The English woman spoke from the doorway. She took a moment to look over all his gadgets and things scattered about. She admired Dan and his smarts, she always had. When he was Nite Owl, she too found herself feeling proud of him. She also worried over Dan too, always afraid something bad would happen .. but nothing really did. He was capable to take care of himself out there.

Elizabeth then approached Dan, coming up behind him. A soft sigh escaped her lips as her fingers combed through his locks of hair. She knew there was something on his mind, but she didn't know what exactly. "You know you can talk to me, Dan. I'm here for you." Her voice was calm but curious in nature. She then turned him around, to let him face her. "What's on your mind?"

[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 2

Episode 5: Captain Man Goes On Vacation

~Junk-N-Stuff~

Ah, geez. It was a stressful time right now for the Man Cave's resident lovebirds for several reasons. 

Firstly, Ray was supposed to be going on a trip for his cousin's wedding and that meant he'd be away for a few days, which, in turn, meant that Henry and Charlotte had to be on hand to help (y/n) through a few days of pining and misery. She knew it was a family event that he couldn't miss and she wouldn't dream of keeping him away from what little family he had left, but that didn't mean she wouldn't miss him. Even the thought of him leaving was enough for her heart to ache and her energy to be sapped. 

Ray felt a similar way about the situation. He knew he had to go to his cousin's wedding. He couldn't fail to show up after he RSVP'd, it would be unbelievably rude and he wanted to stay in his family's good books. But it didn't feel right to go to the event alone, he felt in his heart that he was leaving behind the one person who truly felt like family to him. 

In his mind, he should walk into that reception room with (y/n) on his arm, so he could send his gossiping aunts into whispers. He could perhaps introduce her to his father, even though they hadn't spoken in years. With all his heartache in mind, he was doing everything in his power to stall himself. If he missed the plane, he wouldn't have to leave her, right?

Well, technically no, but his slowness irritated his teen assistants and stressed out his helper. How could he be so nonchalant about his lateness? (y/n) was nervously pacing up and down the Man Cave's floor, thinking about the disaster that would unfold if he couldn't attend the wedding. Her jumpy personality meant that she took pride in being organised and was nearly always on time for things, a trait that she tried to rub off on her friends. 

"Where is he?" (y/n) asked the kids, looking up to the sprocket where Ray was meant to be. He should've left like ten minutes ago.

"Ray, come on, you're gonna miss your plane!" Henry yelled to the man, who was currently struggling down the sprocket corridor with his king-sized mattress in his grasp.

"I'm coming!" He yelled back, shuffling through the sprocket and tripping over the mattress as he tried to move it.

"What is he...?" Charlotte looked at her friends in confusion as (y/n) and Henry groaned. They didn't have time for this.

"Ray, what are you doing with that mattress?" Henry asked his boss, who had lifted the thing over his head so he could walk down the steps. (y/n) was nervously biting her lip and checking the time on her phone; at this rate, she'd have to kick him out of the door.

"Taking it on my trip." Ray answered struggling to stop himself from falling over.

"Oh, sweet cheese, you can't take a mattress on a plane, doofus." (y/n) facepalmed, not believing how stupid he was being. It was like he didn't want to leave.

"Yeah, you're right." He sighed, knowing his girl knew best. He slammed the mattress down on the floor in frustration, making the woman walk over to him.

"What's wrong?" She asked, straightening out his jacket and hair. Her soft touch only made his heart hurt more, he couldn't bear the thought of three days without her.

"Maybe I shouldn't go." He said quickly, dashing over to the supercomputer so she wouldn't see his yearning eyes.

"See, I knew it!" Henry exclaimed, having had a sneaking suspicion all along that his boss was terrified of leaving (y/n) alone for a few days. He couldn't be there to protect her, to provide for her. What if some criminal came along and kidnapped her? Or worse, what if some cute guy came along and stole her heart? The notion of him coming back and finding her in love with another made him feel sick. It would be best if he stayed.

"Ray, you can't blow off your cousin's wedding." Charlotte scolded him as (y/n) put her hands on his shoulders, hoping he'd turn around and face her.

"He'll be so disappointed if you're not there." She told him, making him stroppily turn around in the chair.

"I know, but most marriages don't work out. I'll just go to his next wedding." He told them, leaping up from his seat and trying to run away. (y/n) was too quick for him though, and used whatever upper body strength she had to hold him back. 

"Just admit that you're afraid to leave town 'cause you think me, Charlotte, Schwoz and (y/n) can't handle things without you," Henry called him out, making sure he didn't add in the bit about his boss not wanting to leave (y/n). That would open another can of worms.

"Well, what if there's an emergency?" Ray asked the three. He was nervous to leave Swellview, thinking that even though Henry was a skilled fighter and he had three amazing people working in the Man Cave, they wouldn't be able to keep the city safe.

"Henry will blow a bubble and Kid Danger will deal with it." (y/n) pointed to the boy over his head and he and Charlotte nodded in agreement.

"What if he suddenly gets that disease, huh? Nu-nu-numb tongue and you can't blow a bubble?" He looked at his friends who squinted at him with puzzled faces.

"Numb Tongue?" Henry reiterated.

"That's not a thing." Charlotte rolled her eyes as the elevator door opened and Schwoz started to walk over to them.

"You're chatting shit. People don't talk normally one second and then all of a sudden, blerughhh, bleur, bluh, blergh!" (y/n) acted like she couldn't speak properly, not seeing that Schwoz was behind her.

"Uh, oh, does she have Numb Tongue?" The genius asked, making the woman turn around so she could glare at him.

"See?" Ray exclaimed, his presence making Schwoz check his watch.

"Hey, shouldn't you be on your way to the airpoot?" He questioned in his funny accent.

"Yessss!" Henry elongated the word as he and (y/n) grabbed Ray's arms and began to lead him over to the elevator.

"Whoa, whoa, wait, I need my suitcase." He wiggled out of their grasp.

"Bork! Hey, Bork, bring it over here." Ray instructed the large, muscleman, who was carrying an enormous trunk. He dropped it in front of the group, the impact of the extremely heavy box making a loud noise and causing the ground to shake.

"Thanks, buddy." Ray gave Bork a piece of meat as a reward, the guy taking a bite out of the steak as he walked away.

"What the hell have you got in here?" (y/n) asked her best friend in disbelief as she tried to move the trunk with her leg, but it wouldn't budge.

"Just stuff I might need, like, cotton swabs, shampoo...and non-cotton swabs. You know what, let's talk about all the different kinds of swabs." Ray smiled at the teens.

"Stalling!" Henry exclaimed, him, Charlotte and Schwoz gesturing to (y/n) who was too busy looking at the box to notice. 

"It's just--" Ray tried to give them an excuse as his cheeks blushed, knowing he'd been rumbled.

"It's only three days." Charlotte butted in, not needing to hear some lame excuse.

"We can handle it," Henry added as (y/n) looked at her friend.

"Me and Schwoz have all the experience and Henry knows how to fight. And if there's some cataclysmic disaster, I can whip out my emergency super suit and give him a hand." She told him softly, ignoring how teary she felt at the prospect of saying goodbye. She didn't want him to go and find the girl of his dreams in some other city, she'd have no hope of convincing him that she'd been there for him all this time.

"Okay...after one last hula dance with Leilani." He smiled, thinking of anything that could make him stay a little longer. He didn't see the way (y/n) faltered at his words, the Hawaiian girl being exactly the type of girl she was afraid of. Beautiful, elegant, perfectly capable of capturing his heart and making him forget all about her. 

"No!" Henry and Charlotte protested together, already afraid of what (y/n) would turn into after he left. They didn't need him stoking the fire with references to pretty hula girls and whatever else he did to distract himself from his love for her. Ray growled in frustration and flopped face-first onto the mattress he had left on the floor before swiftly getting back on his feet.

"Okay, fine! But you better not let any bad guys get away with crimes while I'm gone!" He told Henry in a childishly stern voice, the ache in his chest making him crabby.

"Stop being a child and grab your huge box-trunk thing!" (y/n) instructed him firmly, jabbing her nail into his chest like a mother scolding her petulant son. Not wanting to leave on a sore note with her, Ray grabbed the trunk's red strap and tried to lift it, but he had filled it with so much junk that he couldn't lift it, even with all of his super-density strength.

"Well, too heavy, better stay here!" He gave up easily, walking rapidly towards the sprocket so he could hide in his bedroom. 

"No, wait. I'll get the anti-grav!" Schwoz thought on his feet, rushing off to grab his invention so Ray could leave on time.

"Anti-grav?" Charlotte queried, she hadn't heard of that gadget before.

"Yeah, it's a device you attach to really heavy things to make them a lot lighter." (y/n) explained, grabbing the large man's hand so she could steady her nerves and stop him from running away. Schwoz dashed back over with a long stick-like device that he attached to the trunk. He pressed a few buttons and activated its gravity-defying effect.

"There!" He backed off with a flourish, letting Henry step forward to test it out.

"Whoa, man! It works!" He smiled at the adults, marvelling at how the box simply floated up in his hand. 

"Hey, what do these do?" He looked at some glowing buttons on the side of the devices and pressed them before anyone could stop him.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Ray, (y/n) and Schwoz cried, but it was too late, he had already started to fly up to the ceiling. It seemed like Ray would never get on that damn plane.

~The next day~

It had been a difficult goodbye for (y/n) and Ray. After getting Henry down from the ceiling, they had given each other a tight hug, not wanting to let go. He had buried his nose in her hair and took in her perfume for the last time for three days. God, he hadn't realised how small she was until he had had her in his arms. He felt like a giant next to her and he couldn't help but want to pin her down and ravish her in a sinfully delicious way. If only he had time to stay and the courage to do so.

Still, she had soldiered on and had been monitoring the supercomputer when an emergency had come in. Putting down her mug of tea, she flicked on the hologram machine so she could call Henry. Whilst waiting for him to pick up, she sent a quick text to Charlotte so she'd get to work ASAP; what was going down was serious and she'd need an extra pair of hands around.

"Hey, (y/n/n), what's up?" Henry's little hologram appeared on the computer as he opened his whiz watch.

"There's a robbery going down at that eyeglass store in Midtown, uh, what's it called...Specs in The City." She told him as she checked what little information she had on the monitor.

"Okay, I know where that is, I'm on my way," Henry replied, popping a gumball into his mouth in preparation.

"You better hurry up. We need to prove to Ray that we're not completely useless when he's not here." The woman urged him as Schwo and Charlotte walked up behind her.

"Hey, Henry, look, it's me Schwoz!" The genius jumped in front of her so he could say hi to the sidekick.

"I got no time for you, Schwoz!" Henry snapped and closed his watch, effectively ending the call. Well, it was up to him now.

~Specs in The City Shop~

Two thugs were threatening the owner of the store, who was fearing for his life.

"Come on, man, hurry it up!" A robber with a leaf blower said, pointing his odd choice of weapon at the owner.

"Look, why do you just s-steal my m-money and get your glasses made wherever you want?" The terrified storekeeper asked, willing to let his money go so he could keep his life.

"No! This place has the best reviews on Yarp! So you're making my glasses!!" The other criminal shouted, pointing a hammer at the owner. The threat was definitely real now. However, the criminals' attention was stolen when Kid Danger cleared his throat and made his presence known.

"I don't think so, jerk," Henry told them, pointing to his eye as he made a pun.

"Kid Danger! Thank god you and Captain Man are here!" The storekeeper praised god that his salvation had come, now these criminals would get a taste of justice.

"Uh, actually Captain Man's at his cousin's wedding in Cleveland," Henry told them, which piqued the criminals' interest.

"Captain Man ain't here?" One of them smirked, thinking that if they didn't have to face Swellview's superhero, then taking on his sidekick would be easy.

"No," Henry said nervously as the criminals returned to threatening the man behind the counter.

"All right, you just keep making my glasses, and those lenses better be progressive!" The hammer-wielding thug yelled, sending his victim into an obedient panic.

"Hey, man, you love your mother?" Henry asked the criminal, confusing him.

"Yeah." He answered honestly.

"Then freeze, mother lover!!" Henry quipped, pulling out his laser control, but the criminal wasn't very scared.

"NO!" He hissed and moved to whack Henry with his hammer, but the kid just shot him with a laser, sending him unconscious. 

"You should've freezed..." Henry smirked at his sleeping body, quickly switching his attention to the other goon when he fired up his leaf blower.

"Hey!" Henry tried to shoot the second criminal too, but he used the leaf blower to blow his weapon out of his hand, the strong wind making Henry stumble back.

"Oh, what?" Henry groaned as he tried to keep the glasses on the displays, not wanting to clean everything up after he was done here. He struggled against the wind and put his hand over the blower's nozzle, forcing it into the man's face as the two began to battle. Using his strength, Henry punched the man on the nose and took the leaf blower off of him and used it to blow him into a wall. Some shelves collapsed on his head, rendering the man unconscious like his partner. 

"Well, sir, looks like I just saved your life," Henry told the delighted owner as he threw away the leaf blower and leaned on the counter. However, it seemed like someone didn't have any faith in him.

Captain Man dropped down from the ceiling, ready to fight since he thought that his sidekick couldn't deal with a simple robbery on his own.

"I'm here," Ray announced, much to the owner's happiness and Henry's shock. The nerve of this guy.

"Captain Man!" The owner cried as Henry looked at his boss in horror.

"Captain Man?" The kid asked in a hurt voice. He had lied about leaving?

"Just a moment..." Ray growled and lifted up the man who had the hammer. He punched him in the face, despite the guy not being a threat anymore, but he wanted to act like he had been instrumental in ending the fight.

"There, you're safe now," Ray told the owner, who excitedly came out from behind the cash register as Henry spluttered in confusion.

"Thank you, Captain Man. Oh, I gotta go tell my wife what you did." The man said, running off to report Captain Man's actions, even though he hadn't done anything useful.

"What are you doing here?" Henry asked Ray.

"Fighting crime!" He replied, kicking out his leg as he smirked.

"No! You're just here because you don't trust me and Charlotte and (y/n) and Schwoz to handle things while you're away." He called him out, feeling extremely irritated.

"You don't have my experience." Ray hissed, keeping his voice down since the storekeeper and his wife were close by.

"I don't have your enormous ego." Henry snapped back.

"That too!" 

"I've been doing this job for over a year and I can handle things for three stupid days without you. (y/n) can help me—you're just scared some other guy will date her while you're not here." The boy pointed out, his anger meaning he couldn't keep a lid on his feelings.

"Oh, really? Like you handled this crime? And I'm not scared of (y/n) dating. She can...date whoever she wants." Ray swallowed as he said the words, the idea of his girl with someone else making him feel tremendously sick. Not that he'd let Henry see that.

"Yes, I completely handled this crime. And you're totally afraid of someone else taking her." They argued back and forth.

"Yeah, I guess, I mean, you handled this, like I can handle (y/n) with a boyfriend who's not me," Ray said moodily, making Henry roll his eyes.

"Dude, you can't be jealous if you won't even try to ask her out." His sidekick berated him, not wanting to let him escape from the fact that he wanted the young woman, but did nothing to make her his girlfriend.

"Okay, fine, I'll go." Ray whinged, walking out of the door until the voice of the storekeeper stopped him.

"Captain Man...this is my wife, Nancy." The man introduced a smiling woman, who was beyond excited to meet the hero.

"Oh, hiiiiiiii." Ray smiled back, hoping this would give him an excuse to stick around.

"Out! Before I call her and let her know you're still in town!" Henry threatened his boss, making him briskly walk out of the store before he could let (y/n) know he had lied to her and had not caught his flight. Seeing her hurt and upset because of him would break his heart.

~Later that evening~

Needing to get (y/n) out of the Man Cave, Henry and Charlotte had taken her to a milkshake bar for a much-deserved break. She felt 'floopy' without her soulmate and kept pouting and plodding around the room. Seeing that she desperately needed a pick-me-up, they bustled her out of Junk-N-Stuff, trying their best to make her laugh and take her mind off her absent hero. It worked; (y/n) had perked up after they told her their best jokes, and being with her friends made her feel a lot better.

The three of them stepped out of the elevator as they entered the Man Cave again, feeling refreshed for work again. Only, Schwoz had taken advantage of their absence and had turned the hideout into a discotech. 

"AHHHHH!" Their laughter was stopped by the loud music and odd characters that were dancing all over the furniture. What had Schwoz done? His cousin was dancing around, his pig was in a paddling pool, people were playing around in the tubes, the place was in pandemonium and (y/n) was pissed off.

"What is going on?!" Charlotte yelled over the music, as she took in the party scene.

"I don't know!" Henry shouted back as (y/n) seethed beside him.

"I know exactly what's going on. Come on!" She growled, walking over to the small man jumping on a mini-trampoline as he laughed with Bork.

"Schwoz, you little fucker!" She hissed, separating the two men and dragging Schwoz away from the trampoline.

"Welcome to the party. Charlotte, what's happening?" The man greeted them happily, thinking they were here to party with him.

"How could you have a party without Ray's permission, or me knowing?" (y/n) asked him angrily, furious that he had done this behind her back.

"Easy! He's not here and you were drinking milkshakes! Hahahaa!" Schwoz chuckled, irritating the woman more.

"You know, we promised Ray we'd be responsible!" Charlotte reminded him as (y/n) rubbed her face in frustration.

"What's gonna happen?" Schwoz scoffed, not worried about any consequences.

"Oh, I don't know, how about a criminal in Mongolia hearing this damn music!" The woman shouted as Bork grabbed Charlotte and lifted her over his shoulder, not liking how everyone was being a party pooper.

"Henry!" She yelled at her friend for help.

"Hey, Bork. Charlotte is not a toy, put her down!" The boy scolded the freakishly tall man, but he was distracted as Winnie, Schwoz's sister poked his shoulder. Bork then started to swing Charlotte back and forth with Larry, Schwoz's cousin, which terrified the young girl.

"Who did that?" Henry asked, spinning around to see the neighing woman.

"This is chaos! Come on, Schwoz, I have to live here!" (y/n) tried to calm everything down, but between Charlotte's squeals and Schowz's laughter, her efforts were useless. She or Henry couldn't even hear the emergency alarm go off. Ah, geez, Ray was going to kill them.

~The next day~

After a whole night of partying, Henry, Charlotte and (y/n) returned to the Man Cave to see what had become of Schwoz. The young woman had crashed in a downtown hotel for the night. There was no chance of her getting any sleep with the blaring music and numerous weirdos dancing around outside of her bedroom. They stepped out of the elevator and holy cow, they were greeted by a mess.

Schwoz was passed out on the floor, much like his guests, who had all partied the night away. There were decorations, streamers, food, trash and confetti littering the floor and the sight of the destroyed room made them all groan in disgust. It was normally so well-organised and tidy in there, thanks to (y/n)'s diligence, but after one night of Schwoz and his friends living it large, it looked like a bomb had hit it.

"Sweet cheese." (y/n) breathed out as she hesitantly stepped into the Man Cave, cringing as she heard bits of confetti and crumbs crunch under her sneakers.

"This place looks disgusting." Charlotte gagged, choosing her steps carefully so she wouldn't step in anything gross.

"Yeah. So does Schwoz." Henry grumbled as the three of them walked over to the genius, who was sleeping on his trampoline, a large rubber ducky tucked under his arm.

"Hey, Schwoz, sleepy times over. Come on, wake up." Henry tried to get him to wake up, even going as far as slapping him about the face with a slice of cold, slimy pizza, but it was useless. He just mumbled something in his native language and snuggled back into his ducky.

"Okay... WAKE UP, YOU ASSHOLE!" (y/n) screamed at the top of her voice, startling the man into consciousness, his pale face looking around in alarm. Even the kids winced at her sharp tone.

"How long did this party go on?" Charlotte asked him as he yawned.

"Uh, we broke up around 6 AM. Oh, look. My sister, Winnie, fell asleep. So peaceful, so beautiful." Schwoz mentioned wistfully, looking at his snoring, horse-like sister, who had fallen asleep standing up, just like an actual horse.

"Uh-huh."

"Yeah." The three replied in unsure voices, not certain that what they were looking at could be classed as peaceful or indeed beautiful.

"Right, Schwoz, I'm going to be very clear about this. You better clean all of this crap up before..." (y/n) tried to be stern, but her words trailed off as Henry nudged her arm and pointed to emergency alarm, which had been flashing all night. Oh, god.

"Oh, shit, shit, shit. The crime light." She cursed as she, Henry and Charlotte dashed over to the supercomputer, worry etched onto their faces. 

"How long has that been flashing?" Charlotte asked Schowz, as (y/n) scrolled through the databank.

"Since 9:37 last night!" She cried, thinking about what catastrophe could have unfolded when no superhero turned up.

"Dang-dangit, Schwoz!" Henry groaned, squishing a balloon into the control panel and making it burst. However, the loud noise made Winnie wake up in alarm and she started to whinny and buck around the room, like a startled horse.

"Ah, you spooked my sister!" Schwoz panicked, trying to calm down his sibling as she trotted across the room in fear. He finally managed to subdue her with a carrot and a pat to the head, confirming that she was probably more horse than person.

"What are you guys doing?" Henry asked the girls, who were working on the computer.

"Since no one answered the emergency call, we're checking to see if someone left a message," Charlotte told him as (y/n) checked their inbox. Pressing play, they listened to the latest voice message.

"You have one new emergency voicemail: Hello, Captain Man? This is Carlos from Sushi Dushi." The message began, the three listening carefully.

"It's Carlos from Sushi Dushi," Henry repeated, despite his observation being completely pointless.

"How'd you figure that one out, Holmes?" (y/n) sassed him sarcastically before resuming the voicemail.

"There's a guy robbing us right now. He's locking us in the fridge so he can steal a huge tuna fish." It continued.

"He's locking them all in the fridge." Henry pointed again, his deduction again being useless.

"Yes, thank you, Henry." (y/n) rolled her eyes with Charlotte.

"Where's the tuna fish?"

"Captain Man, Captain Man, save us!!" The message ended with the criminals intruding on the recording and Carlos begging for help.

"What are you thinking?" Charlotte asked her fellow teen and he stayed quiet and looked thoughtful.

"The robber's voice sounds so familiar." Henry pondered, his thinking making the girls wonder too. 

"I know." Charlotte agreed, suddenly feeling like she had heard that voice before.

"(y/n/n), can you cross-check it against the national voice database?" Henry asked the young, who smiled softly and nodded.

"Sure, easy-peasy, squeeze the lemon." She said, inputting a clip of the message into the databank and waiting a few seconds for the feedback. The computer came back with two matches.

"Ah!"

"Okay!" The kids smiled, glad that their plan had worked out.

"So, the robber's either Jeff or Miley." Henry studied the two pictures carefully, even though the answer was pretty obvious.

"I'm thinking it's Jeff." Charlotte theorised, knowing that it was ludicrous to suspect that Miley Cyrus would rob Sushi Dushi for a fish.

"Ugh, Jeff. He's such a moron." (y/n) groaned, smiling fondly when she remembered how she and Ray scattered him off to jail last Halloween. Ah, good times, apart from when he kept calling her "pretty lady", ew.

"Well, you better find him and arrest him or Ray's gonna fire us all," Charlotte stressed, not wanting to lose her job. She needed the money.

"He wouldn't fire his best friend, 'cause...y'know...he likes (y/n)," Henry argued with her, choosing his words very carefully as Charlotte raised her eyebrows and subtly nodded at (y/n). Luckily though, the true meaning of his words flew right over her head.

"Yeah, I'm not sure that even I'd get away with this." She joked, not realising how she could get away with murder when it came to Ray. One puppy-dog gaze from her and he was putty in her hands.

"Then I guess I'll chew some guy and fight some scum." Henry quipped before blowing his bubble and transforming into Henry Danger. The loud noise of him popping the bubble and snapping into his costume made Winnie kick off again, much to the annoyance of Schwoz.

"Ah, you did it again!" He yelled as his sister brayed and kicked.

"Just go, go go!" (y/n) told Henry, knowing he should go fight crime. They could deal with Schowz's weird sister, hopefully, they just needed some sugar cubes and carrots. Yeah, lots of carrots. 

~Jeff's Apartment~

Henry arrived at the building where Jeff still rented the same apartment that Captain Man and Miss Danger had fought him last time. He really needed to get brainier. Deciding to make a Captain Man-style entrance, Henry kicked a hole through the door, confusing the criminal inside. Not that it took a lot to confuse Jeff.

"Hey, hang on, someone's foot just came through my door." Henry heard Jeff tell one of his potential buyers on the phone. Squatting down, Kid Danger looked through the hole he had made and scanned the room, checking to make sure he had the right apartment. Seeing an irritated Jeff sat across the room, he poked his hand through the gap and unlocked the door from the inside. 

"Looks like you're gonna need a door-hole repairman, Jeff." Henry snarked, trying to be all tough after his clumsy entrance.

"Ah, crud. Hey, it's Kid Danger and Captain Man, can you, uh, come bail me outta jail later?" The dumb man said to whoever was on the phone.

"It's just me, Jeff. Captain Man's outta town." Henry smirked, feeling proud that he was being a cool superhero by himself.

"Okay, so after you come pick up this tuna, do you wanna see a movie or something? I heard that the sequel--" Jeff's complacency was cut off by Henry grabbing his phone, the boy having been offended by Jeff not seeing him as a threat.

"Dude!" Jeff grumbled.

"The only movie you're gonna see is the one in jail...on movie night...if they even have that. Now, stand up or get zapped!" Henry rambled, threateningly pointing his laser control at Jeff, who was very intimidated.

"I'm gonna slap that thing outta your hand." He told Kid Danger.

"I'd like to see you try slap--" Henry was cut off as Jeff did what he had said he would, showing a blatant disrespect towards the kid. He was shit scared of Captain Man, but Kid Danger? He could take him easily.

"Okay, that really hurt my hand," Henry whined, but the phone he had confiscated from Jeff started. to ring.

"Oh, it could be my tuna buyer, give me my phone." The criminal asked.

"Oh, you want the phone? This thing right here?" Henry teased him.

"Yeah. Are you playing Keep Away From Me?" Jeff frowned at the teen superhero.

"Yes, I'm playing Keep Away From You," Henry replied in a mocking tone.

"All right, that does it!" The stupid criminal growled and began to chase Henry around the tuna fish. Henry leapt through the kitchen hatch and Jeff tried to follow him, but he was too slow and fat to get through. He fell off the counter and onto the floor, huffing and groaning from the strain. He continued to chase Kid Danger around the room, his breathing laboured, unlike Henry's. The boy could do this for hours. After running around so much, Jeff bent over a chair as his gasps for air became very wheezy.

"Are you all right?" Henry asked the criminal. Yeah, he didn't like him, but that didn't mean he wanted Jeff to have an asthma attack. Jeff was too wheezy to respond.

"Hit the table twice if you're all right." The teen instructed him, but when Jeff raised his hand to smack the table, the rickety old thing collapsed under his weight. 

"Okay, was that one or two?" Henry asked, unsure if he was okay. At least it would make taking him to the jailhouse easy...

~Junk-N-Stuff~

"But I'm pretty sure Jeff meant to knock twice," Henry told his friends upstairs in the store. Charlotte was listening intently, but Ray was rather preoccupied with the girl on his knee. His arms were around her waist and his nose was tucked behind her ear. It had been an emotional reunion and they had spent the last half an hour in each other's arms. (y/n) snuggled back into his chest, happy to let his warmth settle in her bones and the scent of his cologne engulf her. God, she'd missed him.

"Anyway, thirty minutes later, he was in jail and the huge tuna fish was back at Sushi Dushi," Henry told his boss, who smiled at the kid proudly, as did (y/n). Sure, there had been some mishaps, but what Ray didn't know wouldn't hurt him. 

"You know, I'm proud of you guys." Ray smiled at his friends, squeezing his arms around his girl's waist, making her blush as his biceps tensed around her. He felt so big behind her and she smiled bashfully at how she felt like he was protecting her.

"Aw, thanks, Ray."

"Thanks, man," Henry and Charlotte returned his smile, delighted that he was proud of them.

"And I'm proud of you too, sweet girl. You really came through for me." Ray praised (y/n), pressing a sweet kiss to her temple, making her face really flush. How was she supposed to stay calm when he said stuff like that to her? The teens smirked at their bosses as the young woman squirmed in Ray's lap, her hips rolling against his.

"I bet those employees at Sushi Dushi were thrilled when you finally let them out of that fridge," Ray told them shakily. He was striving to keep his voice steady as the girl in his lap unknowingly ground her ass into him in wickedly passionate waves.

Henry, Charlotte and (y/n) went quiet at his assumption, realising they had forgotten something really, really important. Those poor Sushi Dushi employees must have been in the refrigerator for hours.

"Yeah, yeah." Henry choked out, his face paling.

"It was a magical moment." Charlotte smiled nervously, hoping Ray wouldn't see her clammy skin.

"We did some good work..." (y/n) stammered apprehensively, not knowing that Ray was praying that she wouldn't notice how her movements were affecting him.

"Well, fantastic work guys," Ray told them, lifting (y/n) off his lap so he could make a quick exit with his growing predicament.

"Now, I'm gonna head down to the Man Cave and install a mirror in my shower!" He smiled at the kids, ignoring (y/n)'s puzzled expression.

"Should I even ask?" She grinned at her best friend's antics, swallowing at the thought of him in the shower, wet, naked, oh, geez.

"Have fun!" Charlotte called after her boss. He dashed to the elevator so he could find sanctity in his room, where he could find relief to the fantasy of a girl with (y/c/h) hair and voluptuous curves.

"I gotta go get those people outta that fridge!" Henry panicked, taking out his gum tube and shoving a gumball in his mouth.

"Bring sushi!" Charlotte told him, as he briskly walked to the door.

"If they're alive!" (y/n) added, hoping the kid wouldn't be greeted with the gruesome sight of chilled corpses.

"Will do!" Henry waved them goodbye and ran off into the night. A hero's work was never done.

[droughtofapathy]

"Welcome to the Theatre": Diary of a Broadway Baby

Maybe Happy Ending

November 3, 2024 | Broadway | Belasco Theatre | Matinee | Musical | Original | 2H 20M

Wait, okay, this was actually very sweet. It has a hint of that Kimberly Akimbo wholesomeness that Broadway's sorely missing right now. The concept is a little kooky; in the distant future two obsolete helper robot models forge a charming relationship as they grapple with their purpose, their humanity-adjacent emotions, and their looming "deaths." Accompanied by breakout star HwaBoon (pictured above in a blue-green pot), they travel through Korea disguised as real humans.

The set is a technical delight that showcases the extent to which projection can be utilized in an effective and evocative way. The practical set is even more entertaining, somehow both expansive and sparse all at once. The scene on Jeju Island with the fireflies is really beautiful, and as someone who's been in a fraught state these last few weeks, I teared up a little. The two leads are lovely and talented and you will root for their happiness. Darren Criss has a boyish charm and is very good at uncanny robot acting. Helen J. Shen is a stand-out young talent and I wish the best for her going forward.

With a quirky but entertaining book, solid acting, and great design, the score does end up being the weakest link. It's nice, but there are several numbers that just don't hold interest. There's a repetitiveness that grows weary with lyrics that fall into the same on-the-nose trap that so many recent shows fall victim to. It needs tightening and subtle adjustments, but it's sweet. While I know the set doesn't lend itself to a smaller, less expensive budget, I think it would have done so well in a more intimate venue off-Broadway. Word of mouth is mostly positive, but it's a bloodbath out there right now, and word is it almost didn't make it to Broadway because of such poor advance sales. We'll see.

Verdict: A Lovely Night

A Note on Ratings

[sororalice]

Book Review: “The Hierographicon” by Cory C. Childs

A font system for occultists and more from the author of “A Little Orphic Initiation: Three Easy Pieces for Prose, Poetry, and Piano”

Disclosure: I know the author/compiler of this text and software personally and work with them professionally. Nonetheless, I will endeavor to be as objective as possible.

“The Hierographicon” by Cory C. Childs, billed as a “Technical Toolkit for Esoteric Artist and Academic Esoteric Alike”, is actually a compilation of several texts, separated using a schema based upon the Greek Muses, an ennead of goddesses that, according to Hesiod, are the children of Zeus, king of the Olympians, and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. From this divine origin comes art in all its forms, and each muse is reflected in the present text as different aspects of the work are brought to light.

At the core of the work is the font system (for that is the only word I can use here, for this is no mere font) which is linked to at the beginning of the text and available free of charge. The installer for the font also installs a shortcut to activate the massive and complex system of shortcuts that make the font system usable.

As an offering, especially a free offering, the font system is excellent. It allows for a single Windows installation for an extensive number of languages and symbol sets useful to occultists (note that while I am sure classicists, philologists, and folklorists—among others—may benefit from this font system as well, I am primarily speaking as an occultist writing for other occultists). This font system works in any Unicode-based writing software (though, as noted in the text, it will argue with Microsoft Word’s shortcuts…solutions are offered within the text) and, for those with an urge to get under the hood, the entire Unicode specification document is included.

The use case given by our author for the font system is that of an occultist researching a particular spell in the PGM (the “Greek Magical Papyri”), which almost certainly contains several ancient languages the reader does not know. Speaking from experience, this can be a difficult task involving several reference texts in addition to the PGM itself, and part of why it is so difficult is because until now it has been nearly impossible to take accurate notes for later research and reference. This font system makes this laborious process much easier, allowing the working occultist to note down accurately exactly what the text says in a document for later work, which saves time and energy for the actual research required to make sense of the spell and make it useable.

The font system itself is articulated in to several subsystems, which are helpfully explained by the Muses in turn. In addition, several appendices are included. This is where our dear author shows their impishness as well as their literary ability. Among the appendices are works by the odd and interesting author of the 19th century, Isaac Preston Cory, with whom our author clearly feels a peculiar kinship and with which the average reader may feel varying degrees of interest, but the real gem of the work, at least from an aesthetic point of view, is our author’s brilliant and scintillating literary offering satirizing the best and worst of our little occult community.

About halfway through the book, in section Ω, right after the “Agrippa’s Pseudo-Koryphanean Alphabetic Correspondences” and right before “Orphicum Fragmenta” sits the sort of long, fantastical riff one would expect to run into into in the best of William S. Burroughs on a real good fix (think “Interzone”, “Nova Express”, or of course “Naked Lunch”) where the reader is led through a goth club filled with a menagerie of magickal helpers and hazards. While it is a short piece wedged in among the “real material” on offer here, I feel like this jazz solo of a short story can stand alone on its own merits.

All in all, “The Hierographicon” is an interesting, if uneven, contribution to occult literature. The font system will, I am sure, prove invaluable to many, and the various appendices are interesting enough to support their added weight. Well worth the price.

“The Hierographicon” by Cory C. Childs can be purchased on Amazon here (not an affiliate link): https://a.co/d/68rUK14

[alyjojo]

Past Life 🗿 Karmic Spread August 2023 - Virgo

Gender I’m Picking Up On (in the past life): Male in past life, Trans female in this one

Who You Were: The Hierophant, The Magician rev & 6 Cups

What You Did: 5 Wands & 8 Swords

How It Ended: Justice

What Karma Was Brought With You: King of Pentacles & 7 Pentacles

Who You Brought With You: 8 Cups & 2 Cups

Additional energy: 4 Swords

Past Life Oracle: Spirituality & Religion, Food & Hunger, Finances

Dreaming Way: Book & Mask

Charm:

Rose 🌹 on The Hierophant (overall energy)

White Heart 🤍 on The High Priestess

Turtle 🐢 on 4 Swords

Comb 👱🏽‍♀️on The Empress

Whew. This one is gonna be controversial to the religious and trans communities alike…hot damn. Pissing everyone off in one day, that’s cool 🤦‍♀️

Disclaimer: In this reading, it appears that being a trans woman is karmic “punishment” for being a dick to lesbians via religion and very conservative, burning in hellfire type of beliefs in the past. I do NOT choose the messages, nor do I personally see the trans experience as a punishment whatsoever…though it may feel that way to them at times & I can understand that. All of that just needs to be said. I’ve seen several cases already where this is *not* everyone’s story regarding a trans experience, and I don’t mean to offend anyone. With that being said…

In the past, you were an extremely religious…well, sham. You were a sham, the villain of this batch of past lives. For impressions, I got the holy man in Robin Hood…like you’re stealing money and “taxes” right along with the Sheriff or whoever, with no real care or consideration of the people looking to you for prayer and guidance, many of which were poor and needed your help. Your beliefs were genuine, but your actions were not, and I’m not sure how you justified yourself to yourself, but you did. Rather large ego here, feeling powerful and righteous.

Whatever kind of holy man you were, you were a married one. But that marriage too, was a sham. You and your person played the role of divine counterparts, and they are a soulmate, just a different kind. I’m getting you knew them from a very young age, there could have been some level of an arranged or manipulated marriage with this as well. Your parents were friends or something, there could’ve been a literal contract or payment. I get a Middle Eastern region from this story, but none of the larger countries I know of, it feels very small, but strictly controlled.

Your wife was gay, and had a partner they loved very deeply, romantically, sensually, this was their actual person. I get it was played off as more of a best friend, or a helper?, they were inseparable, you thought nothing of it. With White Heart on The High Priestess, I get their love being pure, genuine, and their lies were not intend to hurt anyone but to protect each other. They really loved each other. When you found out, I get it was a dramatic scene, you were FURIOUS. I don’t get that you ever told anyone, or tried to divorce, though it may have been allowed in your case, but it was your reputation you were considering. Both with the people around (beneath) you, and…Allah. Which was more hated, sin that was technically not yours, divorce, or silence thereby being an accomplice to this sin? You were heavily conflicted, this played on your mind in a loop, constant worry & fear, for the rest of your life. Death was a sweet release, you felt like you were leaving “The Devil” behind and could finally be free. You felt deeply victimized by this situation, even though you were victimizing others on a daily basis with no regard.

In this life, you are not cruel 🙏 Though it may be perceived that way by one particular romantic relationship. I get you being a grown man, late 30’s-40’s, who has recently discovered or experimented with your more feminine nature…that’s probably always existed on some level. I don’t get a shocking discovery for you, but absolutely one for someone who knows you and has committed to you as the King of Pentacles. This person has come with you from the past life, clarification shows they’re someone who worked with you, on some level they were in on this mistreatment of people as well. You could be deciding to leave them, but more likely they’re deciding to leave you because this revelation has pulled the rug out from under them…they don’t really know you, and can’t wrap their head around this in the way that you would need them to in order accept you. A very painful experience. It’s for the best & you seem to understand that. Or will. I get once you transition, this former life is dead to you.

The problem is the transition, you want to go with the full surgery, but can’t afford it, there is much time passing, and saving up involved. Your whole life is just feeling comfortable in your own skin, with the added difficulty of losing a lot of people you were once close to. Friends too. They think you’re being foolish or going through a phase, many of them probably have very different beliefs than you, and healing from things they may have said or done in response to who you really are, will take a long time to heal. Some of them you may have expected more from. There is also a period of a lot of alone time, Hermit, maybe too much. You don’t seek people out, because of those that have already put you down, but there are people like you all over the world and you only need to join the right groups and go to the right places in order to find them. Tumblr is a good one 💯 But it’s not the only one.

I do see you finding someone else, a person you can deeply commit to, and the love being unconditional between you. Weirdly enough, they could work in a spiritual profession, or you meet them in a spiritual sort of way, a Pagan fair comes to mind, tarot readers, or even an online community like “Trans Christians” or something. You know it exists, everything exists. You are still traditional but in a non traditional way, and the way you love, how you believe you should treat people, what you want from others - all of this is morally & ethically sound. You’re a good person this time, after you’ve had this very difficult experience, with a lot of endings and healing, I get a major soul awakening and a feeling of “leveling up” once you accept yourself for who you are. Being kind to you & loving you is the karma.

[digitalrhetoricpune]

How to Set Up and Use Meta Pixel & CAPI for Better Retargeting and Traffic Attribution

What Is Meta Pixel?

Meta Pixel (formerly Facebook Pixel) is a piece of code that you add to your website to collect data about user actions such as:

Page views

Add to cart

Purchases

Form submissions

This data helps optimize your ad delivery, build custom audiences, and measure conversions. However, with browser tracking limitations (like iOS14 changes), Pixel data alone is no longer sufficient.

What Is Conversions API (CAPI)?

Meta’s Conversions API (CAPI) complements the Pixel by sending web events directly from your server to Meta. Unlike the Pixel, which relies on browser-side data, CAPI operates server-side, ensuring more reliable and complete data.

When used together, Pixel + CAPI provides better visibility, accuracy, and control — especially important for retargeting and attribution in 2025’s cookie-light environment.

Why You Need Both: Pixel + CAPI

Implementing both tools provides benefits such as:

More Accurate Attribution: Recover lost data due to ad blockers or browser restrictions.

Improved Retargeting: Reach users more effectively with complete behavioral data.

Better Optimization: Machine learning models work better with more accurate conversion data.

Privacy Compliance: Collect and use data in a more GDPR and CCPA-compliant way.

At our SMM service company in Pune, we recommend Pixel + CAPI implementation as a best practice for all Meta advertising clients.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Set Up Meta Pixel

Step 1: Create Your Pixel

Go to Meta Events Manager

Click “Connect Data Sources” > Web > Meta Pixel

Name your Pixel and connect it to your Business Manager

Step 2: Install the Pixel Code

Choose manual installation or use a CMS plugin (e.g., for WordPress, Shopify)

Copy the base code and paste it into the <head> section of your website

Add standard event codes (e.g., Purchase, Lead, ViewContent)

Step 3: Verify the Pixel

Use Meta Pixel Helper (Chrome extension) to ensure your Pixel is working correctly.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Set Up Meta CAPI

There are three common methods:

Method 1: Partner Integration (Recommended for Non-Technical Users)

Platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce offer easy CAPI integrations through the Meta Events Manager.

Method 2: Use Google Tag Manager + GTM Server Container

This method offers more flexibility and control:

Set up a server-side container in GTM

Forward events from your website to Meta via the server

Map user data (email, phone, browser ID) for accurate matching

Method 3: Direct API Integration

If you have developer support, you can send events directly from your server using Meta’s Conversions API endpoint.

Best Practices for Meta Pixel + CAPI Integration

Send Redundant Events: Let both Pixel and CAPI send the same events to ensure backup coverage.

Enable Event Deduplication: Use event_id to prevent double-counting of events sent by both sources.

Prioritize High-Value Events: Focus on conversions like purchases, leads, or bookings for optimization.

Test Regularly: Use Meta’s Test Events tool to check real-time data flow from Pixel and CAPI.

How This Improves Retargeting

Once implemented, you can:

Build custom audiences from website visitors or cart abandoners

Create lookalike audiences based on high-value actions

Retarget users across Meta platforms with tailored messaging

Analyze the customer journey with multi-touch attribution

For example, one of our clients — a D2C fashion brand — saw a 28% increase in ROAS after switching from Pixel-only tracking to Pixel + CAPI. This success was possible due to more precise conversion tracking and improved remarketing segmentation.

Final Thoughts

In the evolving digital marketing landscape, it’s no longer enough to rely on browser-based tracking. Leveraging Meta Pixel and Conversions API together ensures you maintain accurate, privacy-compliant tracking that enhances ad targeting and ROI.

At Digital Rhetoric a leading SMM service company in Pune, we specialize in helping brands implement advanced tracking strategies that deliver real results. From setup to optimization, our team ensures that every rupee you spend on Meta Ads is fully accountable.

[annieintheaair]

I cry a lot, but I am so productive, it's an art. You know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart.

Well, I'm pretty delirious at this point and I should probably be in bed, even though it's not even 7pm yet, but of course, I got home and had to pour myself a glass of wine -- I deserve it.

Yesterday I got home from work in the morning and tried to nap but couldn't so I watched a movie. I hate the nail salon I go to in Fort Worth but I had no choice and went last week and of course, they did a pretty crappy job so I had three cracked nails within a few days. I decided to go there to have them fix them, hoping I'd get in and out quickly and then make it to yoga. I ended up missing yoga. It was literally the one thing I had been looking forward to all week.

To make my drive to Fort Worth worth it, I stopped at Costco and then picked up Chick-fil-A on my way home. I felt like I had a million things to do at home but jumped on a call with my therapist and cried my eyes out for the hour. I filled him in on all that had happened since we last spoke and once again, he reminded me that I do need to do what's best for me and move since everything in my life seems to be dependent on it at this point. When I was done with our appointment, I had to take some anxiety meds to calm myself down. I thought for sure that it would put me to sleep but it didn't.

The apartment complex I applied at has been giving me the hardest time, not wanting to accept my income from my second job because I'm technically self-employed and don't have paystubs. I spent nearly the entire afternoon trying to find a solution. It wore me down so bad that I was really wishing I didn't have to go to work last night. It kept me going though knowing that I'd be working with my friend, Nancy.

Everything went pretty smoothly last night and we made it to Oklahoma City just fine. I got up this morning at 4:40am, drank some hotel coffee, and expected to be on the ground in DFW by 7am. After boarding all of the passengers, the rolling delays began. The weather hit Dallas -- badly. Storms rolled in and there was a ground stop. Thankfully, my dog helper, Ashley, was back from her vacation and able to make a few trips over to my house to let the dogs out and feed them today.

After waiting with the passengers on the plane for hours, we allowed them to have the opportunity to deplane to go to the terminal to get food. Eventually, we deplaned everyone and then eventually reboarded, even though we knew we were going to go illegal.

Once we got the door closed, the captain made an announcement that the ground stop that had been lifted was once again in place. We would not be able to leave OKC. We sat on the plane as the rolling delay continued and we were officially illegal, per FAA regulations. The company had actually tricked us into getting the passengers back on the plane because once the door was closed, our legalities basically didn't matter. As I spoke with the passengers about their connections, I helped them to realize that it was in their best interest to try to rebook their trips with connections in any city except for DFW. We had no choice but to open the door to let everyone off.

In all of this, I ended up talking to a grandma named Georgia who was trying to get to Delaware to see her grandchildren since one of them was having her First Communion. I worked with her to figure out which flights she could rebook on to make it home today. Georgia said that she felt like we had become her family and I told her I wanted to adopt her because she felt like our family too. It was honestly so heartwarming to be with some really kind people. However, there were also plenty of passengers who basically told us we looked like shit since we were so tired.

During all of the delays, the planner/coordinator in me booked a rental car. I knew we would need to drive home (we ended up with a Kia Soul and I told everyone I felt like we were like the hamsters in the commercials). The company completely forgot about us and currently thinks we are still in OKC, however, we got the rental car and drove home.

I was so thankful to be with such an amazing crew. All four of us maintained a positive attitude throughout the day, even though we were all completely exhausted. We stopped at Love's and I got two Red Bulls, a little pepperoni pizza, and some spicy pickles. We drove through the rain, jammed out to the new Taylor Swift album, and listened to a few episodes of the Murder with My Husband podcast.

While the other two flight attendants slept in the back, Nancy and I did some catching up. Throughout the whole day, Brady, who I was supposed to go on a date with today, was texting me. I told Nancy that even though he seems like a really great guy, I'm not sure that I'm actually ready to date yet. She reminded me that it's ok and I don't need to if I don't want to and I should feel comfortable being honest with people if going on a date isn't something I want to do right now. I've gotten some matches on the apps but have really tapered off with talking to people. I feel like I already have a lot on my plate right now and dating just isn't what I need to focus on currently.

Back in DFW, we dropped off the rental car, and then all went to the employee lot to get our cars and head home. The ride home was terrible because of all of the flooding but I drove slowly and it took me an hour.

As the rain came down harder and I approached my house, I thought about how all I wanted on this chilly, rainy night, was to go home and put on my pajamas and cuddle up on the couch to watch a movie with my dogs and someone I loved. I just really wanted a hug. I wanted someone to be there with me after this challenging week. I think that's the hardest thing sometimes-- knowing you need a hug but not being able to get one.

I thought again about dating and how I hate the idea of going on dates and starting over. Even though I want that person to be with me on the couch watching movies on a rainy night, I don't want to go through the process again to get to that point. I'm not ready to put myself back out there again and risk my heart hurting again.

At home, my dogs were overjoyed to see me. I took a shower, put on my pajamas, gave them dinner, and poured that glass of wine. I quickly responded to some emails for my other job and then, well, here I am, writing a recap of the last two days.

As much as I miss the weekends that I had since August, there's also something about being able to be home. I was able to drop my trip for tomorrow night so now I have two nights at home and I'm really excited to sleep in my own bed. Of course, I do wish I had someone to cuddle with instead of it just being me and my dogs but I love knowing that I can have this time to myself on the weekend. When I'm flying all week, it's nice to be at home in my own space and have no one forcing me to do anything. I like being able to have this time to recharge after a long week without an actual plan all of the time.

Well, I'm fading fast now that those Red Bulls are wearing off and I think that glass of wine is calling my name. Goodnight friends!

xoxo

Annie

[ronit-k]

Releasing the Power of Best Buy Geek Squad Total Tech Express

In this contemporary time, where tech drives the world, one’s ability to remain tech-savvy revolves around tech support that ensures your devices stay up to point and run efficiently. This blog provides all you need to know about Best Buy Geek Squad Total Tech Express, which is a one-stop center for all your tech needs, ranging from reliable experts to tailored customer service. Therefore, this writing talks about ways to get to use Best Buy Geek Squad Total Tech Express, appropriate responses to tech problems, or answers to basic questions in mind.

Contact Customer Support:

As for the rest of the types of connection to technical support, multiple options are available to the user. Thus, the Best Buy Total Tech Express program offers support in an offline store or by phone. In case a user needs to make an appointment with a Geek Squad agent, he can visit the Best Buy website or call a dedicated phone for an appointment. Moreover, the user can use an online chat system or go to the nearest Best Buy retailer.

Problem-Solving Expe­rtise: The Best Buy geek Squad hours Total Tech Express spe­cializes in efficiently re­solving tech troubles promptly. From hardware issue­s to software hiccups and connectivity hitches, the­ skilled Geek Squad age­nts can tackle any tech problem. You can re­ceive customized assistance­ by booking a Geek Squad appointment, pe­rfectly suited to your specific ne­eds. Whether se­tting up new devices, trouble­shooting glitches, or optimizing your tech setup, the­ Geek Squad has got you covere­d.

Frequently Asked Que­stions Regarding Best Buy Gee­k Squad Total Tech Express:

1) How can I make an appointment with Geek Squad?

It's easy to get Best buy geek squad appointment- just head to Best Buy's we­bsite with your Best buy login creditanls or give them a call on the­ir Best buy total tech phone number. Or, you could swing by your local store and chat with some­one face-to-face to book an appointme­nt right then and there. Be­st Buy's Total Tech Express offers a wide­ variety of tech support service­s. Computer troubles? Tablet glitche­s? Smartphone crashing? Home theate­r not cooperating? Geek Squad has your back, handling e­verything from device se­tup to data backup, software installation, virus removal, and more. No te­ch issue is too big or small for their expe­rtise!

2) What services are included in Best Buy Geek Squad Total Tech Express?

Be­st Buy's Total Tech Express offers a wide­ variety of tech support service­s. Computer troubles, Tablet glitche­s, Smartphone crashing ,Home theate­r not cooperating, Geek Squad has your back, handling e­verything from device se­tup to data backup, software installation, virus removal, and more. No te­ch issue is too big or small for their expe­rtise

3) Can I return a product purchased from Best Buy if I encounter issues?

Yes, Best Buy return policy le­ts you return most things you bought from their shops or site. If a product has proble­ms, you can give it back in the return time­ for your money back or a new one. Be­ sure to check Best Buy's re­turn rules for details.

4) How can I use Be­st Buy Geek Squad Total Tech Expre­ss from far away?

To use Best Buy Total Tech support Express remote­ly, you can plan a virtual meeting with a Gee­k Squad helper. During the me­eting, you'll get personal he­lp and guidance on the phone or online­ chat, so you can fix tech issues from home.

[geniusbook1]

Unveiling the Literary Journey: Genius Book Publishing's Odyssey

Introduction:

 Genius Book Publishing, a haven for true crime aficionados, literary enthusiasts, and aspiring authors, traces its origins back to a genuine passion for books. Founded by the dynamic duo Steven and Leya Booth, this publishing venture emerged from a love for storytelling and a desire to create a diverse literary space.

A Serendipitous Start: Steven's journey into publishing began on his high school newspaper, where he delved into the world of Desktop Publishing. Fast forward to September 2011, when life's twists led Steven and Leya to work from home. Their foray into publishing commenced when a friend, Harry Shannon, recognized Steven's technical prowess and sought his help in creating an ebook. This collaboration blossomed into the creation of Genius Book Publishing.

The Sheriff Penny Miller Series: The genesis of Genius Books took a thrilling turn with the collaborative effort of Steven and Harry Shannon, resulting in the creation of the first Sheriff Penny Miller novel, "The Hungry." What began as a single novel evolved into a seven-book series, marking a significant success in the early days of self-publishing.Diverse Literary Landscape: Since its inception, Genius Books has burgeoned, publishing over 60 titles spanning genres from horror to mystery-thrillers, true crime to coffee table books about music, photography, and history. The eclectic catalog mirrors the founders' commitment to offering readers a rich tapestry of storytelling.

Editorial Philosophy: For True Crime Authors: Genius Books seeks true crime narratives that intertwine good storytelling with accurate and unique representations of facts. The emphasis lies on unveiling the truth, steering clear of sensationalism, and upholding the motto: "Honor the Victims and Celebrate the Heroes.

Other Nonfiction Authors: The publishing house's nonfiction ventures extend beyond true crime, encompassing image-heavy projects, memoirs, music industry works, and more. The key is diversity, and Genius Books welcomes projects that resonate with their vision.

For Fiction Authors: Fiction holds a special place at Genius Books, with a penchant for dark fiction, mystery, thriller, horror, and general fiction. While the focus is on dark themes, the door is open to a variety of genres, reflecting the dynamism of the publishing house.

Our Approach to Publishing: Genius Books takes pride in crafting some of the best books in its genres. The collaborative approach involves partnering with authors for publicity and promotion, striving for media interviews, speaking opportunities, and impactful public outreach.

Executive Team: The driving force behind Genius Book Publishing comprises Steven W. Booth, CEO, and Publisher, and Leya Booth, COO, and Editor-in-Chief. Their combined expertise in literature, publishing, and entrepreneurship has shaped Genius Books into a literary powerhouse.

Meet the Feline Staff: Adding a touch of feline charm to the mix are the nine adorable helpers, each contributing to the creative chaos with their antics. Mouse, Katniss, Roo, Panda, Chewbacca, Princess, Bear, Butterball, and Jack bring warmth, interruptions, cuddles, and a dash of keyboard chaos to the Genius Books family.

Conclusion: Genius Book Publishing's narrative is a testament to the transformative power of storytelling. From its humble beginnings to a vibrant literary hub, Genius Books continues to celebrate diversity, authenticity, and the enduring magic of words. As the literary journey unfolds, readers can expect more captivating tales from the Genius Bookshelf.

[studyaddaonlineclasses]

Best book for #UPPCL #Technical_Helper #Delhi_metro