#but printing and binding them is also fucking expensive

[lexa-griffins]

Human Osteology manuals are like: give us 100€ for a book or buy the ones from the 19th century for 20€ with incorrect info we refuse to edit

[yokohamapound]

Hi bestie! Great to find a new BSD blog! For starters, can we have some hcs on what kind of lingerie Dazai, Chuuya, Ranpo, Akutagawa and Fyodor would buy their fem!s/o? ;)

Hey, I hope you enjoy these!

Characters: Dazai Osamu, Nakahara Chuuya, Edogawa Ranpo, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, Fyodor Dostoevsky

Warnings: NSFW, lingerie

Dazai Osamu

This man is what we like to call an omniwhore. If it's on your body, he's interested in getting it off and getting you off.

Dazai's stated himself that he has quite wide-ranging tastes, so it's highly likely he'll just buy you something you'd feel sexy in, but if he had completely free reign...?

His tastes are pretty classic. He'd probably go for something black, with lace. He likes how it feels, warmed by your skin, against his hands, his tongue...

That being said, you don't need to buy anything expensive to seduce him. You could be lounging around in one of his shirts and a pair of thigh-highs and that would count as lingerie to him.

Dazai is someone who likes seeing his s/o wear his clothes, especially in a dishevelled, just-got-fucked kind of way.

Nakahara Chuuya

Chuuya's favourite colours seem to be black and red, which isn't a surprise coming from anyone in the Port Mafia. Chuuya leans towards an edgy, femme/homme fatale style if he's choosing lingerie for his lover.

Think bustiers, garters, body harnesses, edging into bondage chic, I guess you could say. These are his tastes and you don't have to subscribe to them, but if you do he'll be shoving you into closets, back seats of cars, his personal office, the club bathroom. Pretty much anywhere he can get you alone and start ripping off buttons.

There's a certain part of your body, and anything that brings his attention to it is enough to get Chuuya raring to go.

Thighs.

Stockings are great, but those little harnesses or garters that go around your thigh get him bricked up like an 18th Century window.

If you're feeling cheeky, you can lift up the hem of a skirt or let him see the outline of it under your pants. Man is gripping the edge of the table.

"You're killin' me with these, dollface."

Edogawa Ranpo

You know those candy thongs?

Jokes aside, I feel like Ranpo doesn't buy you straight-up lingerie as much as he occasionally grabs a little costume for you. Straight-up sex is probably kinda boring, even if it feels good, so why not have some fun with roleplay?

You could be a cute little nurse and he's the world's greatest detective.

Or you're a cute little maid, and he's the world's greatest detective!

These aren't cheap costumes, though—he'll get you some nice, high quality stuff and not those itchy, shiny polyester things from Shein.

If he does buy you underwear, it has cute prints and colours. I feel like he likes stripes, pastel ones. Pinks and blues and soft yellows, because it lowkey reminds him of candy wrappers.

However, one time he did just bring you a bag from the grocery store.

"Ranpo, why is there a can of whipped cream?"

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke

Okay, do not send Akutagawa into a lingerie store because he will panic and he will destroy the store with Rashoumon. At first he will be highly dismissive of buying you underwear—are you not capable of buying it yourself?

Give him time to come around to the idea that he can choose what he sees on your body, the intimate garments that are going to hug your skin under your clothes, for his eyes only. Then he gets it.

Akutagawa's taste definitely runs to dark fabrics: deep burgundies, black, of course, deep purples and emerald greens if he's branching out a bit. Lace and frills, but also a touch of leather and metal. You can't take the Port Mafia out of the boy, after all.

I don't know if this is a Port Mafia-induced kink but he also likes body harnesses. The straps against your skin, especially if they're cinched a little tight against your soft flesh, remind him of when he binds you in Rashoumon and spreads you out underneath him.

This works with normal outfits too, actually. If you wear something floaty with a body harness underneath, and he sees it? Especially when you're out in public or on the job?

There's gonna be a whole different kind of screaming coming from that dark alleyway.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

I'm hardly original in thinking this, but Fyodor would strikes me as the type to lean toward something clean, pure. Angelic, one might say.

White is very common, especially delicate fabrics like lace and silk. Fyodor likes to get his cold hands on you, to feel you shiver at his touch, and the contrast between warm, soft skin and cool, slippery silk pleases him.

The sight of your legs sheathed in pretty white stockings, lace clinging precariously to your upper thighs—that's a temptation he struggles to resist, especially when you sit on his lap. He's a stocking man and will ensure you always have plenty in your drawer.

Little babydoll nightdresses too, usually delicate and translucent.

Oh, and blindfolds.

He also has a lovely collection of pretty silk ropes to tie you up in.

[henrikvanderhussy]

Clue Crew Zine Done Cheap

The current trend in fandom zines (fandoms in general, not Clue Crew in specific) are these very fancy, professionally-printed collections of fanfic and art. Typically it's competitive to be selected as a contributor, and expensive to purchase. I'm sure they satisfy a project management itch or an "owning a nice thing" desire, but they don't satisfy my personal feelings about fandom. I want to make something for the sake of making and sharing, and the joy of creating without the pressure to make it perfect. I want to touch it with my hands and feel like I'm connecting.

I was feeling a little sad that the zines I want aren't really a thing in fandom anymore. Then I remembered that I'm the bizarre Millennial Who Owns A Printer and also I accidentally just bought way, way too many stamps* 

So fuck it. Let's make a zine.

I'll print them at home and mail them out for free to anyone who wants one. If they're too large for a regular sized envelope, I'll still mail them out for free but also ask people to chip in a little money for postage if they can.

We need two things to make a Nancy Drew games zine: 1. People who want to make things for it, and 2. People who want it mailed to them.

1. Fill out this form if you want to make something for the zine. This is not a binding commitment, this is just a way for me to get in contact with you. I'll also poke people in a couple months to see if they're still interested in contributing. 

2. Fill out this form if you want to be notified when it's time for me to collect mailing addresses. To be clear, this isn't an 'interest check' or whatever. As long as one person wants it, I'm going to make it. I'll also put up another tumblr post when I'm ready for addresses, but if you fill out the form, you'll get a message and won't have to worry about watching for that post. 

"What can I make for the zine?" Honestly anything, as long as it centers around the Nancy Drew games and hasn't been posted publicly yet. Fanfic, meta, speculation about KEY, a puzzle, comparisons of Bess Marvin's character across different Nancy Drew media. Limit it to maybe…2500 words? I'm trying to keep this in a range that won't kill my printer.

Art doesn't really work, because again, home printer. BUT an option would be to put in a link or a QR code that goes to an art piece. And hell, if we're going to make this multimedia, it can be anything: a music composition, a podfic, a video acting out your favorite game scene with puppets. (I can help with image or audio hosting for anyone who needs it)

This is open to everyone to contribute, no restrictions or auditions. I'm setting a tentative submission deadline of February 29th (it's a leap year!), but that can be pushed back if needed.

I know it's uncomfortable to give your address to some stranger on the internet, especially since I'm newer to the Clue Crew! I've had my main blog (@theshmaylor) for ages though, and I have some mutuals there who I've met in person at various conventions who can vouch for me. I'll also make sure to collect addresses in a way that doesn't connect to your username or internet presence.

I really want to make this zine happen, so please share around Clue Crew tumblr, and let me know if you have any feedback or ideas!

*I thought I was buying 4 sheets of 6 stamps, but it turns out the sheet was folded and actually they're sets of 18 stamps, and sure I should have asked more questions about why it was so expensive but there was a big line behind me, so what was I supposed to do? Hold up the line at the post office? Of course not

[rosemary-crane]

Pt. 1 of my (very belated) chaotic corset making process

so way back when in August 2023, I finally got the motivation to make a corset for historical costume purposes, which I’ve been wanting to do for several years now. Most(and not just more) specifically, I wanted a corset that would have been considered fashionable in ~1875-80, especially in 1879, had an elegant silhouette, and was historically accurate.

There’s this one person on Etsy- ateliersylph- and they’ve got a ton of patterns taken from extant antique corsets they own, as well as some other fun sewing things like corset hooks, so I scrawled through their antique pattern offerings to find something that got as close to my specifications as possible. Unfortunately, there isn’t a corset that they dated to specifically the years I was looking for, but Ref P looked close to what I wanted: it had the curvy silhouette, wasn’t too curvy for my liking but still wasn’t too small proportionally for my hips, extended to ~just below the hip, spoon front-opening busk, was versatile enough to be used for more than just one decade in the Victorian era, and didn't support to only under the nipple. The spoon busk meant that it had to have been made in/after 1873, as that was when that style of busk was invented, and it fell out of fashion by the Edwardian era, so it should probably have been made between 1873- around 1900, and more likely closer to 1873 than 1900. It also didn’t have garters tabs attached to it, which became a thing closer to the Edwardian era. Thus, this was the closest pattern they had for what I was looking for, even without them having a date for Ref P’s original corset. I chose the pdf file option instead of a paper pattern to save money.

I also decided to go with a white-greige-light blue color scheme, so I got some white lace and bias binding and coutil, greige lace and cotton sateen(because silk would be even more expensive), and blue silk thread and ribbons for the back lacing, flossing, and decoration. I won’t lie, Bernadette banner’s adventures in ✨the joys of corset making✨ /s definitely inspired my choice of velvet ribbon threaded through lace as trim. Between the 3 commercially available options for boning nowadays, I (1) didn’t want to use plastic so synthetic whalebone was off the table, and (2) getting a smooth edge on the cut ends of steel boning was much simpler and cheaper than spiral steel boning, which needs caps and a cap-setting tool. However, Like A Fool, I didn’t remember that maybe, just MAYBE, I should have waited until I was able to print out the properly-sized pattern and measure to see what size bones I needed(because there are two different widths used, Apparently) before just purchasing a size that I thought was right, but. ://// so that was fun and not something I realized until I had gotten to the point of actually sewing the bone channels on all the panels, but I’ll come back to that later in another post. I also decided that because I couldn’t see the spoon busks in comparison to my body irl, it would be safer to buy a straight busk and just bend it for the curve, and that I was also going to use small-ass floral metal stamps on the busk loops because busks with decorative patterns on the loops were all sold out online to my knowledge :| this all happened over the course of a week where I was looking up materials online and debating whether spending all that money was worth it, until I said fuck it, I’m gonna make it, and bought everything, which took until ~late August/early September to all arrive. So, to pass the time, I searched up all the YouTube tutorials I had watched before of historical costubers making their own corsets for tips and watched them all again, and also went through ateliersylph’s blog posts for instructions and other resources, most of which are in French so get a google translator if u can’t read it like me lol. I finally got the pattern printed out after like, a week or 2, so after that, I was cutting and pasting it together irl, making mockups, etc. until everything else arrived. :D

[foldingfittedsheets]

So back in July my landlord issued a thing saying they were raising our rent from $1830 a month to $1985 in October. We were livid as it was the second time that year they’d raised it but they were always too busy to issue us a lease.

We seriously considered moving but couldn’t afford the stress and expense and after begging and being told to fuck odd we finally said we’d sign a lease at the exorbitant new rate. Then the lease came in.

The lease stated the rental rate at $1895. We both freaked out happily. They clearly made a typo but they had issued this legally binding document and we quietly and quickly signed it and printed a copy.

Now it’s October. And not only does the new rental rate start but the original landlords sold us to a new company. The new company set our rental amount as $1985 (and also they did this near the end of the month while deleting all previous autopays, the fuckers, clearly hoping to get late fees).

So I reached out and said, I think you’ll find you’re in error. My lease says $1895. I contacted the old company for a digital copy of the lease, as they deleted our access to their portal. We have a printed copy of it but digital is just so classy. And then I reached out to my property manager with pictures of the lease stating our rental rate.

I got an extremely snippy email back stating that the notice we received in July stated that the rental rate would be $1985. And I responded, “Yes, that’s a very nice letter of intent, but the legally binding document we all signed says we agreed to $1895.” She routed it back around to our property manager and we’ll see what comes back.

We have them over a barrel but I’m so goddamn tired and I have other shit to be doing so hopefully this resolves quickly.

[eat0crow]

I’ve been seeing an increasingly large amount of people get into fic binding lately, which is fucking amazing! I love each and every one of you guerilla publishers! With the history of fandom takedowns, purges, and the bull shit legislation corporations try and start every few years, it’s so good that fics are being given permanency. 

I’ve noticed that fic binders seem to be focused on longer fics, ones in the 50k onward range, which makes sense and is great because these fics absolutely deserve to be put into print! But, the thing is, my favorite fics have almost always been short one-shots, and no one seems to be talking about binding them.

So! I’m gonna show you how to bind short one-shots.

A couple of things before we get started, the method I’m going to show you is called saddle stitching, it works best for works between 5-20k. This method is affordable, utilizing things you most likely have already, and lasts years. (I have booklets that are literally a decade old and still holding strong.)

For longer works Coptic binding is my personal favorite, it’s not only affordable but also produces some beautiful spines. (Video talks about different types of string, but shows off some gorgeous spine work). If you have a little more money to spend on a project, I recommend hardcover binding. I don’t like perfect binding and while Japanese style binding is pretty it’s a nightmare on your margins.

 @armoredsuperheavy​ has an amazing list and perfect tutorial that has everything you need to know about bookbinding and typesetting . The tutorial goes into in-depth detail on exactly what you need to do every step of the way. The only thing I do differently when printing one-shots is that I only have one signature so I  print everything as one booklet. This orders the pages for you.

The most important thing you have to remember is to select flip on the short edge.

Also, add page numbers, trust me when I say it makes everything a world easier.

What I use:

Body text: Garamond 10.5

Meta information: Garamond 8

No gutter

A 1 inch top and bottom margin, and a .7 inch margin on both the inside and outside (Note: If your work is closer to 20k you’re going to need to account for page creep, so I recommend adjusting your outside margin to .9 and your inside margin to .5, this will even out when you cut)

What you’re going to need: 

Mircosoft word—Sorry, I know everyone uses google docs now, but you’re going to need Word in order to print this as a booklet. If you have Adobe Indesign you can use that too, but it’s more expensive.

Card stock or craft paper—Anything 75lbs or more.

Embroidery Floss and Needle. Super cheap compared—and if you have beeswax on hand—the exact same as bookbinding string.

Ruler

Scissors

Craft Knife

Nail file 

Index cards

Clips

Thumbtack

(Washi tape is an extra to add decoration and protect the string, though, if you really want to reinforce the spine duct tape is amazing.)

Okay! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get started.

What you’re going to do is carefully fold your card stock and pages in half, ends flush together, running the edge of your ruler or bone folder, if you have one, over the crease. You’re then you’re going to start placing your pages inside the cover. To minimize page creep, each time you add a page, first push it in place with the needle, then go back over the crease with your ruler or bone folder. It should look like this when done—

You’re going to prep your booklet for sewing next.

What you’re going to do first is open the booklet up, make sure everything lines up as close to perfect as you can, then fold the index cards over the side of the book, to prevent the pages from creasing due to the clips. Then clip them in place to prevent wiggling and make the hole punching easier. Do this to all four sides.

Traditional saddle stitching uses three holes, and you can too, but I like to use seven because it maintains better tension. For my hole guide, I measure 1 and 1/4th of an inch up to my first hole—this leaves me about 1 and 1/4th of an inch between the bottom of my page and the seventh hole. From the first hole, everyone after that is measured 1 inch apart.

After you’ve measured everything, it’s time to jam the thumbtack through the marks you’ve made. The pages have a tendency to move as you do this, so it’s vitally important that all four sides are being held in place with those clips. (If you have an awl, cool beans, they work better.)

For the love of God do not put the crease between your thighs when you start hole punching. I know it’s easier, but learn from my dumbassery and don’t do it bitch!

You should have something like this—

Now it’s time to sew. Which, because I’m weird and love hand stitching, is my favorite part.

I use one strand of floss, folded over for a double-stranded effect. I find this works best because each hole is gone through twice, leaving a four-ply binding. When measuring how much string to use, my rule is double the length of the spine, triple if you’re feeling unsure.

Now traditionally you’re going to start from the inside outward, leaving your tail within the book. I like to leave my tail on the outward spine because I cover it with washi tape. What you’re going to do now, is go in through your 4th hole(Leave around two inches for a tail, more if this is your first time), out through 5, back in through 6, like this—

When you get to seven you're going to follow the same pattern until you get to hole 1, where you will turn and sew toward the middle. When you get to hole 3 for the second time, you’re going to double knot the tail to your string and cut off the ends.

A note about tension, it’s important that you maintain even tension throughout each hole, this takes practice, but it gets loads easier the more times you do it. You want your string to be tight, with just enough give to make closing the book easy. If you have too much tension, over time the strings will wear through the pages. Too little and the pages will move around inside the binding.

Essentially your sewing pattern will be: in 4, out 5, in 6, out 7, in 6, out 5, knot the end, in 4, out 3, in 2, out 1, in 2, out 3, knot.

It should look like this when done—

Now you might notice this along the edge of your book—

That’s page creep. Some people leave it, I cut it away. This is the biggest pain in the ass of the entire process, and I have yet to get a perfectly clean edge any time I’ve done. The only way to get that clean edge is with a guillotine, but I don’t have one, so this is where the craft knife comes in. (If you don’t have one, you can use a box cutter, provided the blade is fresh.)

What you’re going to do now is place your ruler along the edge of the paper you’re going to cut away. Pro-tip, I recommend cutting 1/16th of an inch into the card stock, 1/8th of an inch into the entire edge of the book so that each of your pages have the same starting point, like this—

Becuase my hands shake really bad when I apply tension to them, I stick my book under a sheet of glass, hold it down with a big old book, and use my body weight to keep everything in place.

It’s important that you go slow, cut page by page, and apply even tension from the top of the book down to the bottom.

Now if you’ve done this and still get these little fly aways—

Join the club! Fortunately, they’re really easy to get rid of and smooth out, just use your nail file to sand out the edge.

And that’s it! Congratulations, you’ve bound your very first book!! If you want to hide the spine add your tape, but if not, you’re done, my friend!

[ac3id]

Hey hun! I came across your cool blog through a sinful story binge XD and saw request were open! I'd like to ask for a Seductive Sadistic Villain Reader (Fem) running into a Yandere Tamaki and capturing his attention! After an *ahem* 'intimate' run in with the sexy villain (reader being dom and Tamaki a sub. No pegging tho!), he accidentally tells Mirio about his run in with reader, which causes his blonde friend to be curious and look for reader, who catches his yandere attention aswell. Thx!!

so glad u find my blog cool ;;. also tamaki and mirio!? yes?? hello?? you have that big 🧠 sir.

warnings: yandere themes, dubcon, bj, dumbification, humiliation. 

running into the suneater wasn’t a coincidence. you had planned it ages ago. tamaki was nosy hero and he was investigating you. you needed to distract him, there was already a lot on your plate as it was. too many cops sniffing around and you didn’t need a pro-hero up your radar too. 

the night he started chasing you, you managed to corner him instead. pinning his body against the cold, dirty wall. wrapping your strong hands around his pretty neck. you started threating him, whispering about how he shouldn’t  mess with you, how you are much stronger than he ever will be and honestly you thought you were doing a good job until you start feeling his hardness from under his costume poking at your thighs. the bastard was getting off to this. 

his face was red and eyes glassy from the embarrassment and humiliation as you scoffed at his pathetic state. you thought of leaving him there just like that. all worked up, begging for relief which no one would provide. if he was desperate enough he would have to pull his pants down and jerk himself out in public, getting himself off all alone. and as much as the idea excited you, reducing the great suneater into nothing but a common whore as he pumps his dick out in the open for anyone to come over and see. an even sinful thought popped up into your head. 

you wasted no time in binding his wrists together and locking them against a metal pole before getting down on your knees, unbuttoning his pants and taking his erect cock into your mouth all the while tamaki whimpers and moans above you, trying to break free from his restrains. pulling and tugging he manages to to loosen the strings just a little bit, but its still not weak enough for him to break it. with his mind clouded with lust he forgets that he is a pro-hero capable of fighting for himself as he cums in your mouth. moans leave his quivering lips as he comes down from his high. you send him one final crude smirk before leaving him alone just like that. with his softening cock hanging out in the open and wrists tied together, it’d be very embarrassing if someone else saw him at such a low state. what if the media found out? what then? tamaki’s entire career would be torn to shreds. he needs to work fast, break the restrains before anyone can catch him. you can’t wait to see his face printed in the news paper as the nation’s pervert who likes to walk around naked and get turned on by villains choking him, what a sight would that be but it never comes.

guess the hero broke his restrains in time, huh? 

after that night, tamaki can never get you out of his head. he imagines its because of how you humiliated him, he thinks he wants revenge. but in reality it’s something else. he just wants you, he just wants you for himself. he misses you. your touch, your voice. he just wants to with you. but he is deluded with this idea of false hate he has set up for himself and he would have been lost there for years until his best friend; mirio or better known as lemillion wouldn’t have pointed out that he was actually in love with you. 

he still can’t remember how mirio got to know about you. you were his deepest, darkest secret, if he had told anyone about you it must have been a mistake. he must have been drunk but that doesn’t matter now. no, not when mirio offered to help him find you and keep you for themselves. 

mirio couldn’t help himself. when tamaki drunkenly confessed his virtues of the other night which he had spent with you, he couldn’t help but get curious. you were so different from the rest. you were strong, smart and independent. everything he looked for in women so he could break them into nothing but a senseless fuck toy for him to stuff his cock into. he likes breaking them down, turning them into dumb, thoughtless bimbos and you are perfect for him. with your ego bigger than your worth and an attitude of a feisty brat. how can you blame him for getting obsessed? 

it doesn’t take long for the young boys to find you and kidnap you. one moment you are walking back home and the next you wake up in their expensive pent house all tied up and gagged. they say they will let you out of your restrains when they can trust you enough. till then, they promise that they will make you love them. 

[hisunshiine]

Escape ✈︎ Chapter 4

✈︎ chapter 4: you have been cordially invited... |✈︎ Escape Series—18+, Mature     

   ✈︎ genre: fluff, future smut

   ✈︎ word count: 2,736 words 

   ✈︎ pairing: jungkook x [redacted] (at the very end)

   ✈︎ warnings: alcohol consumption

   ✈︎ summary: A look into what it's like arriving to Bangtania...

| series masterlist | previous | next | hisunshiine | mrsparkjimin18 |

Everyday, since the very beginning when it was announced, you have sat at your computer or been on your phone in order to participate in the giveaway for a chance to go to Bangtania Island. Every week, one lucky person has a chance to win an exclusive invitation from the girls who organized it, all expenses paid for them to relocate out there.  

Friday couldn’t have come soon enough; your job was draining. A typical 9-5, doing office work was monotonous and you slogged through the week waiting for your weekends to come. Despite the wish to find something else, nobody was hiring in your city. Not for anything you wanted to do, anyways. Deep in your gut you felt the need for something more, instead of the repetitious clacking of your fingers against the keyboard, answering the phones, and feeling like a machine.

Fortunately, it’s the weekend, so you decide to stop and grab a bottle of wine and make your way home. You’re ready to unwind with some youtube videos and spend time browsing your social media for anything interesting. You pour a glass of wine and relax on the sofa, open your laptop and log in to twitter. You have a few notifications, including an update from the giveaway page, they had posted there was another winner chosen and that the winner would receive an email shortly.

“That was 30 minutes ago!?” You squeal to yourself, an unexplainable feeling creeping over you.

Just then your phone chimes, and you unlock the screen to check your notifications. You have multiple email notifications, so you check your email app as you sip your wine. Scrolling through them, it’s mainly junk mail, you see one that catches your eye.

Sender Name: Bangtania Island Mayor

Subject: You have been cordially invited…

Y/N,

Congratulations! You have been selected as the next lucky winner to be invited to Bangtania Island. In order to accept this invitation, please click on the link and fill out the application. Documents you may need to gather prior to completing the forms in the link are:

Driver’s License

Social Security Card

Passport

Please make sure to include the earliest date for you to travel, and please have your physical completed prior to boarding the plane. All documents needed are attached to the email. Please make sure to electronically sign them and reply to this email with the completed documents. If you have any questions in regards to the forms, please do not hesitate to reach out. Upon completion of all required documents per your reply email, you will receive your e-ticket for travel.

The following are the guidelines and stipulations for traveling to Bangtania Island:

You will receive a one-way ticket, free of cost. You will be picked up from the airport and transported to the boat, which will bring you to the island. You will be given a limited amount of time to decide if you would like to stay as a permanent resident of Bangtania, approximately 2 weeks. Prior to you being granted full access to the island, you will meet with the Deputy Mayor who will greet you at the dock, completing a brief in-person interview. If you decide to leave or prove unfit for the island at that time, a complimentary ticket home will be provided to you up until the 2-week window.

Thank you,

Vanessa

Deputy Mayor of the Mayor’s Office, Bangtania Island

You couldn’t stop yourself from spilling some wine as you low-key panicked. You knew there was a very good possibility of being chosen; some of your mutuals on twitter had already left to go there, and while you had seen them briefly on the TL, it was never for long and they didn’t say anything other than that they were enjoying themselves immensely and to share the sweepstakes link.

You set down what was left of your wine that hadn’t spilt into your lap, and ran around your room, pulling clothes off of their hangers and out of your dresser drawers before you remembered you hadn’t even clicked the link to complete the forms. 

Pausing in the middle of your bedroom, arms filled with random clothes, you took 7 deep breaths to try and calm down before dropping your handful of clothes into your pen and waiting suitcase. Sitting back down, you calmly clicked the link and once transported to the secure website, you filled in the information needed so that your flight could be purchased for you as well as any other accommodations you may need could be handled by the ones in charge. 

You printed out the forms needed for the physical, jotted down some notes to go to the doctor on Monday to complete the form, and decided that the earliest you would be able to fly out was Wednesday. That gives you enough time to go to your job, request use of your vacation hours for the next 2 weeks, and turn in your two week notice. You didn’t ever want to come back to that shit hole.

You celebrated the news by turning up your bluetooth speaker and blasting your favorite upbeat BTS songs while you packed up everything you would need. Hasta La Vista!

Catching your flight was easier than you thought it would be, as you had an upgraded flight in first class. You were given star treatment, access to a separate waiting area with complimentary food and drinks, less people to deal with, comfortable seats, the works. You couldn’t believe that ARMY was able to provide all of this for you, but who were you to complain? 

The boat ride was also nice, more like taking a large yacht across the water to the island, you stood at the bough of the boat for most of the trip, enjoying the view as you became farther and farther away from everything that was shitty about your life and closer to everything you wanted. An escape into a world that was full of other people who were like you, liked the same music, had the same mindset, and you got to do it all on a paradise island? Hell fucking yeah.

After docking, you rolled your luggage behind you as you disembarked from the ramp, and saw a girl waiting for you. She was short but cute, a friendly smile and aura of being in charge. Her cheeks were slightly sunburnt, but you were envious of the way she looked refreshed, skin glowing. You couldn’t wait for that to be you; sunkissed and relaxed from the ocean breeze and too many margaritas.

“Y/n?” She asked, and you nodded.

“Welcome! I’m Vanessa, I hope that your trip went well?”

“Oh yea, it was awesome, thank you!”

“No problem, congratulations on winning! So before we go off to the fun stuff, we have a brief interview and a few more things to go over, and then I’ll give you a tour of the island and show you to your place. If you’ll follow me?”

Vanessa led the way to a golf cart and you climbed on, your luggage secured in the back seat of the cart. She turned the key, and you were speeding off towards a large house. It was painted white with accents of brick, and green ivy climbing lattices. The windows were large and beautiful, and you felt like you had seen them somewhere before. Like they were in a magazine or some type of professional photos or something. You shrugged off the feeling of deja vu, and followed Vanessa into the house.

The windows were open and provided a good amount of sunlight into the entryway, and you tried to take in as much as you could see as Vanessa walked past a staircase and led you towards the back of the house and into a side room. It was an office, with bright white walls and a large sturdy desk. A bookshelf was the entire wall behind the desk, where she now sat at. 

She gestured to the plush chair in front of her desk and you sat down, suddenly nervous. For such a large house, it was pretty quiet, and you wondered where all the other people were. Was this actually all an elaborate trick to sell you into sex trafficking and you were brought here to die?!

You calmed your thoughts once you heard laughter from somewhere above you, and music playing lightly from another area of the house.

“So, once again, welcome! I am the deputy mayor here, and basically in charge of getting you all settled. We are a formal nation, Bangtania, with a president, a whole government system, and we’re working on expanding the businesses here. Before I can reveal anything more to you, I do need to have you sign the Non-Disclosure Agreement here in person. I know that I sent it to you via email for you to read and electronically sign, but I like to cover all of my bases.”

Like clockwork, another woman walked into the open office door, carrying a glass of wine and some papers. She took a sip and handed the papers to Vanessa, who thanked her as she headed back out of the room. The woman blew a kiss and disappeared around the corner.

“That’s my best friend, Talia, and definitely the reason that all of this was even put into motion,” Vanessa said as she shuffled the papers before straightening them gently by tapping the edges on the desk. She stapled the corner, binding the papers together, and passed it over to you.

“I know you read over most of this, but I want to reiterate a few points anyways. From the moment you leave this office, you are not to share with anyone about the other people on this island. When you first applied to the giveaway sweepstakes, you gave us your social media handles. While we won’t take away social media from you, your posts will be monitored for identifying certain people who wish to remain anonymous while here. Please always ask anyone before posting and triple check photos as well.”

She points to a section and you initial, stating you understand.

“You have a two week period here to see how you like it. You don’t have to stay if you do not want to. After that time, you will be issued a passport for Bangtania, a resident ID, and be included in our census. You will have dual citizenship for here and for your home country as well.”

“If you choose to leave within the 2 week window, it’s no charge. If you choose to leave after, you will have to fund your flight home yourself. We will pay for your boat ride back to the mainland, and from there you can negotiate work or if you have money saved just in case, you can fly out. Also, if you choose to stay, you can always fly out to visit friends and family, just remember the NDA is always in affect.”

You initialed again.

Vanessa led you through a few more sections of the contract, and you learned that a few of the girls on the island were nurses and so if you were sick or needed minor medical attention, they would help you. Everything else was pretty much provided to you, and all they asked was that they could use your skills in return. 

You weren’t surprised they knew you had skills with computers and answering phones, which made you a perfect candidate to work in the main house under Vanessa doing secretarial work for her best friend, Talia. It wouldn’t be a lot of work, you would have plenty of time to enjoy the beach and rest, and the work would be related to the giveaway, running the island, and other fun BTS related things, so you were excited.

Signing your last signature on the bottom of the last page, Vanessa took the document, notarized it, and put it away in a locked filing cabinet next to her desk.

“Now, if you’re ready, I’d love to give you a tour of the island and show you where you’ll be staying.”

After seeing the main areas that people hung out at, you went towards what looked like a restaurant, which was good because you were hungry. Vanessa parked the golf cart next to a few others, and she held the door open for you.

You almost fainted. Seated at the table right when you walked in was none other than the 7 boys that were the reason you lived. BTS. Namjoon, Jimin, Yoongi, Taehyung, and Jungkook were sat at the table, and as you looked around, you saw that in between them sat other girls, including mutuals you knew were living here. Hobi appeared from swinging doors that led to what you assumed was the kitchen, delivering plates of food from a platter as a few girls followed him as well with drinks.

“C’mon Y/N, don’t be shy. Isn’t this what you wanted?” Vanessa laughed, taking in your shocked expression.

After eating, and sharing some conversation with Jin and Yoongi, you were ready for a nap. Jin was an exceptional cook, and you were full to the brim. Vanessa waved bye to everyone, a lingering hand on a certain male’s shoulder as she walked away, leading you back outside. As you sat back on the leather seat of the cart, she checked in with you.

“I’m definitely still in shock, but now I understand the NDA a lot more.” You chuckled as she drove you towards another house. It was just as big as the main house, as you heard several people call it, but the style was more relaxed and upon entering it, you realized it was because it was lived in. It was two stories, with a large open concept downstairs with a living room and kitchen, and rooms upstairs. You dragged your suitcase up the flight and Vanessa unlocked a room for you with a key before handing it to you.

“This is our newcomer guest room. We will have a room ready for you after your 2 weeks are up, if you decide to stay. For now, most people have said staying with me and Talia has been helpful if they had questions or needed anything, but any of the girls will help you, everyone is super nice.”

You looked around the room; it was spacious with a nice big bay window that allowed a decent amount of sunlight in.

“I’ll leave you to get settled in. Feel free to explore some more, and tomorrow we will have our weekly game night so you can meet everyone in a more relaxed setting and have fun. It’s our way of welcoming you to Bangtania.”

Vanessa let herself out of the room, closing the door softly. You wanted to explore, but at the moment the bed was calling to you. You lay down in the spot where the sun was pooling, curling yourself into the warmth and passed out. Jet Lag was a bitch.

When you finally rejoined the waking world, it was definitely not waking hours. The sun had set, and you shiver, the ocean breeze now too cool in your bedroom. You get up, throwing a MOTS tour hoodie on, and climb back in the bed, attempting to go back to sleep. Tossing and turning for about 15 minutes, sleep evades you. You must have caught up on all of your missing sleep with that ‘nap’ you took. Like you said, Jet lag is a bitch. Not wanting to continue to lay there restless, you slip out of the room and down the stairs.

You walk along the road, past other houses, finding yourself walking into sand. Sitting on the beach, enjoying the sound of the waves, you finally begin to feel tired. Rather than fall asleep on the beach, you make your way back to the house.

You head up the stairs and start down the hall, being as quiet as possible since it’s late and everyone is asleep. At least you assume they are all asleep, until you hear a very familiar voice coming from Vanessa’s room.

“Come here Princess, why are you acting this way?” You step closer to the door that is slightly ajar. You can’t believe what you are seeing, but you can’t stop watching either.

↣ all rights reserved © hisunshiine & mrsparkjimin18 2020-2021. please do not repost. translations & modifications are not allowed.

[soudam-appreciation]

Study... date?

Gundam sighed, shrugging his overweight backpack over his shoulder. He had not planned for today to become a social one, though he supposed it was not quite unwelcome. The mortal known as Kazuichi, Tamer of Automatons, had requested his presence here, though for precisely what ritual, Gundam did not know.

Kazuichi leaned back in his chair and rested his legs atop of the table as he inhaled the overwhelming (and honestly, kinda gross) scent of old and new books as he waited for Gundam to hurry the fuck up and get to the library, because he really didn’t have all day. 

He perked up, though, when he saw a small flash of purple and black move by one of the bookshelves he sat next to. Souda stood, waving his hands frantically in an attempt to catch the goth boy’s attention, not wanting to call out and cause more of a scene than the literal highlighter waving his hands sporadically like he was at a concert.

The neon blur tugged at Gundam’s peripheral, and he crossed his arms before him. Facing the boy, he began a usual greeting. “At last, you have been found. Do you not fear this meeting, Fool?” His voice boomed and echoed through the stacks, inciting an annoyed rustle and collective whisper.

Kazuichi’s eyes went wide as he started rapidly shushing him, because if him basically jumping up and down trying to get Gundam to notice him didn’t draw attention to the two, Gundam basically shouting definitely did. Speaking as softly as he could considering how badly his heart rate spiked, he tried to get him to quiet down.

“D-dude! Shut- shut the- Don’t! Stop fuckin’....fuckin’ screaming like that! Jesus! Shudda’...shut the- shut the fuck up! Shhh!” 

Recollection of the location at hand hit Gundam with a hell-strength impact. Clearing his throat, he hurriedly glanced around, mumbling fractured apologies for his forgetfulness. If there was one thing that would make even the Dark Overlord himself bow, it would be intense embarrassment as a direct result of his own foolishness- not that he would even say such a thing. To allow enemies access to his weakness?! Preposterous. He whispered a short apology to Souda as well, for the mortal seemed far more distraught than he. 

Souda groaned softly, rubbing his face with his hands for a few moments before bouncing back almost as fast, a lazy grin plastered across his face. That didn’t stop the drop of malice and embarrassment showing through in his cheerful voice as he pushed out a chair next to the one he was leaning on before to invite Gundam to sit with him. 

There were a lot of books, papers, pens and one lone computer scattered across the table. Souda easily pushed these aside as he sat down to take a sip of his…something. 

Gundam followed suit, dropping his bag on the floor beside him as he took his seat. He was not entirely sure what they were to do on this day, although crawling deep underground was an option he prayed upon. Unzipping his backpack as soundlessly as he could, he retrieved a notepad and slid a simple message to his companion.

What, pray tell, have you summoned me for?

Kazuichi read it over before snatching the notepad from Gundam’s hand, as well as the fancy pen he had (despite there being many writing utensils of his own he could’ve used, he honestly just wanted to be a bit of a dick to his past rival). He scrawled something quickly on it and slid it back nervously, despite there being no teachers nor rules against slipping each other notes. 

ok, well, i asked u 2 come here bc i am fucking failing math and biology and there r these 2 tests cming up i need u 2 help me study for. i thought u’d know a lot abt biology and u seem smart ig so-

He ripped another blank note out to write on more.

-so i thought u could help with, math too. hinata won’t help me he’s mad i spilt monster on his laptop still even though that was a whole day ago :(

The writing was barely legible and Kazuichi seemed to shorten words as best as he could, since he also wrote very large on the small sheet of paper. He slid the second note to Tanaka for him to read.

Squinting, Gundam managed to make out Souda’s print. He sighed, briefly wondering how incompetent Souda actually was, and where to even begin studying. Retrieving his pen, albeit a bit forcefully, he turned to a new page and began his transmission.

Where should we begin? Is there a specific field in which you have little expertise?

As Souda read over the note in the pretty cursive handwriting, he let out a small giggle. He couldn’t help it, reading Gundam’s dumbass Overlord-victorian speak was somehow funnier than hearing it out loud. Snatching the pen and paper back, he started writing.

uh um well i never ever got algebra the little letters always confused me and in biology kind of everything. man i’m not good with that kinda shit like u i’ve seen ur grades you don’t know how 2 whisper when ur flaunting them to sonia lol

Gundham’s ears got hot, and he fidgeted with the end of his scarf. Grabbing his pen, he scribbled out, I do no such thing. I simply share because I am asked, that should be a simple concept to grasp. His scrawl was messier, his haste blurring his senses. Deep breaths stilled his hostility, and he turned to a new page.

So shall we begin with variables, then? You may need to work exceptionally hard to recall these, as no doubt it will be of importance. 

Once again, Kazuichi laughed as he watched Gundam get a little pissed at the Sonia comment. Even when they were slowly getting closer, messing with the guy still yielded hilarious results.

come on man!!!! why r u getting so pissy i’m just teasing u. u know i know that u know we aren’t rivals anymore so calm down!!!!! >:3

anyways uhh ya sure we can start w, variables ig. i don’t remember a lot of this stupid ass math lingo so ur gonna need to remind me some of it.

Variables are those “little letters” you spoke of. If something I mention confuses you, alert me at once. 

Gundam chose to ignore all of Souda’s previous statement, focusing instead on the task at hand. There did not seem a logical reason to become so frustrated when Souda spoke of her. So why did it ignite a hellfire in his chest? 

He shook off the thought, selecting a standard textbook from his oversized backpack and placing it on the table with a thunk. Opening to a page about Variables, the most annoying of unknowns, he slid the book across for Souda’s viewing ease. 

We should begin here, page 28. Do you have a journal for notes?

yeah that’s fine also do u mind me keeping our notes or atleast yours please plz plsssss

Sure enough, the smaller boy was already making a pile of the discarded notes they had forgotten about. Mostly Gundams. It was the only neat thing on the table thus far.

Sighing again, Gundam ceded. He had no use for them, anyway. It caught his attention as slightly strange, but he chose to pay it no mind. Scratching out what information he could on such a small surface, he quickly realized that simply would not work. He slid a mostly-empty notebook from his bag and selected a blank page to share with Souda. It wasn’t as if he really needed the pages in this notebook either, so he added a small note at the top offering the torn-out pages for outside studying.

Souda took the page and studied it, before brightly grinning up at Gundam and quickly nodding. This was fancy shit, definitely not something extremely expensive (he knew Gundam definitely wouldn’t dare share that kind of paper, seeing the small slightly-faded stains of car oil on his hands that he just couldn’t scrub out) but Souda probably wouldn’t be buying these things, especially for every class, without at least a week of ramen dinners to make up for the waste of money working at his Dads mechanic shop.

Souda suddenly realized that ‘fancy shit’ to a slightly broke kid like him was definitely not ‘fancy shit’ to Gundam “I don’t know how to dress casually Ever” Tanaka.

Gundam continued to script line after line, attempting to explain these subjects in terms Souda would understand. The look in Souda’s eyes gnawed at him, such excitement on display over some math notes. He wasn’t certain what rubbed him wrong about it, so he brushed it aside. Reaching the bottom of the page, he printed a small question. 

Do you still understand thus far?

Souda finally grabbed one of his own pens that lay discarded on the table instead of stealing Gundams.

yeah i get it u explain it a lot better than the teachers or chiaki despite ur little demon talk r whatever lol. chiaki use to help me like all the time but she kept falling asleep on me we never got anything done

Reading Souda’s message tempted laughter, and Gundam bit his cheek to silence it. Nodding sagely, he scrawled, As likely as you are to bend truths pertaining to women, this account does seem trustworthy. He knew just as well as anyone how exhausted Chiaki constantly seemed. 

Tugging the newly completed page from its binds, Gundam offered it to Souda as well. 

Souda looked almost offended by the note (he still took it, because of course he did) and hastily scribbled another and shoved it in Gundams chest with a grin.

WOW DICK i’m not gonna go after every girl that falls asleep on me!!! sonia hasn’t fallen asleep on me yet and you know!!!!! >:(((((( 

Gundam stiffened, bandaged hand safely out of sight under the table. If it had been visible, Souda would have a clear view of numb fingers folding against his palm before stretching into claws, over and over. Another deep breath was necessitated by his pounding heart, and he stilled his mind. There was no reason for this feeling. What possible purpose could this rush of adrenaline serve? Certainly nothing pertaining to math. He cleared his throat again, which ended up sounding a bit more like a growl, and took up his pen.

You say “yet”, as if there is even the slightest chance of such an occurrence in the future. This, I do know. A smug smirk crossed his face, daring to settle on his lips.

Souda pouted as he read the note, a somehow adorable sight as he quickly snagged Gundams pen again (once again ignoring his own) and scrawled something on a new note and shoved it back to him. 

nuh-uh! u don’t know shit. unless u can see the future!!! tell me tell me tell me. maybe ur freaky demon shit is real after all ANYWAYS do i end up w miss sonia plz please tell me??!?? :3

Gundam tasted blood as he bit his lip hard. Why was Souda so insistent on her? No, he knew why. She was aesthetically pleasing to someone like him. This was not new information, but it still irked Gundam like hell. He pursed his lips. The last thing he was going to do was tell Souda his pathetic simpering dreams would come true in the end. Or perhaps, the last thing he wanted would be to admit to Souda that he cannot truly see the future? Grumbling, he snatched his pen back and tapped it against his knuckles. Neither option was preferred, though one was a clear admission of weakness…

He settled on a third choice. Of course not. I know precisely who you shall fall for in the end, although I cannot tell you. That is the Law of Causality.

actually it’s the law of cASSuaslity because ur an asshole who the fuck cares why can’t u just tell me!!! if i don’t get with miss sonia or whatever u say i don’t even know if i completely believe ur bonkers shit why can’t u just tell me their name or anything i just!!! want a hint. please 

Kazuichi’s handwriting grew sloppier as he grew more desperate. Why the fuck was Gundam hiding it? It’s not like he’s gonna get suspended for some random ‘law’ or whatever he probably made up. He didn’t even know what the word Causality meant but it sounded exactly like a freaky word Gundam would say.

All I may tell you is that… Gundam paused, wiggling his pen between thumb and forefinger to come up with an excuse. …you have likely already made their acquaintance. All trace of smugness had dropped from his features, now replaced with stale indifference. He locked his worry deep in his chest, buried it. The last thing he needed was Souda to call him out on such a ridiculously big lie.

Souda didn’t know why, but he grinned at that. He grinned at a lot of dumb shit, and Gundam telling him some vague dumbass answer like that was apparently dumb enough to get on his list of Dumb Shit That Made Him Grin. He flicked Gundams note into his ever growing pile and chugged the rest of his drink, his eyes blown wide with the sudden rush of, apparently, sugar. He tapped the textbook again, trying to remind them both to stay on task. His hands were starting to shake too much from the sugar high to make writing any good.

Gundam nodded. They needed to focus on the task at hand.. Which was math. Boring math. Another sigh settled in his chest, and he thought fleetingly on how he would much rather talk about silly magic business. Shaking dramatically dual-toned hair from his eyes, he set to scribbling some more numbers. Stupid, boring numbers. 

Kazuichi watched with interest as Gundam quickly drew out complex strings of numbers and occasional letters. However, his mind quickly drifted as well as his eyes. Higher and higher until he was watching Gundam’s facial expressions shift as he tried to help Souda. How he bit his lip as he hesitated before continuing to keep writing, how his eyes narrowed, Souda half-mindedly thought of how pretty Tanaka’s eyes were, he could get lost in them if he really wanted to, and he did. So he simply tuned out the sound of pen against pencil, rustling of paper and the occasional whisper between others in the library and just stared into his eyes.

Sliding another page across the table, Gundam glanced up at Souda’s face, before they quickly flicked away. On the quickly growing list of things he did Not Want to happen today, was for Souda to catch him staring. Or- he paused. To catch… Souda staring? He didn’t want to look again, even if he was right, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as if he could feel Souda’s gaze. Ears growing red, he scripted a small note back, faltering slightly as nerves made his fingers stiff. 

Do you still understand well enough?

Kazuichi’s gaze didn’t move until he finally noticed Gundam actually wrote words down. He did a double take back at his face before he picked up his pen, his cheeks heating up. Shit, did Gundam catch him looking? His hands trembled slightly from the sugar and caffeine as he scribbled on the paper.

yeah i understand completely ur a good teacher  i already said that didn’t i sorry

He slid the note over, now doing his best to keep his eyes on the table and not on Gundam.

Do not fret, I am pleased you understand. 

Clearing his throat as quietly as he could, he returned to numbers. Gundam really tried to focus, he did. But he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering… Muscle memory served him well, and he continued to write, but his mind’s eye strayed from questioning Souda’s gaze, to wondering why keeping their notes tidy was so important, to the way Souda tapped his fingers on the desk ever so slightly, the sugar and caffeine running rampant through his veins. It soon became impossible to focus, and he started mixing up numbers and crossing them out. He shook his head, hard, mumbling apologies for scrambling up his figures. 

Kazuichi easily picked up Gundams distraction and yanked an empty note from him to write on.

do u wanna stop for today

He slid it over, giving Gundam a small smile as he did. He wasn’t unfamiliar with his brain getting jumbled and melting into mush and before he knew it, the day was over and he hadn’t got shit done. So he didn’t mind giving up for today, starting again tomorrow or next week. He just liked being with Gundam, kinda. As weird as that was. 

Gundam nodded. 

My sincerest apologies, I seem to have lost my senses…

What the hell had gotten into him? This was highly unusual for him. Gundam mumbled another quiet sorry, sliding the incomplete and jumbled page across to Kazuichi just in case he needed it anyway. 

Souda tidied everything up on the desk, sliding his books, computer and the notes into his black backpack. As he stood, he bounced on his heels, the caffeine suddenly taking full effect as he finally got out of the chair and could move around to his heart's desire. He slid his backpack over one of his shoulders and didn’t hesitate to start playing with one of the enamel pins of a vocaloid character that hung from the zipper, needing something to occupy his hands with.

Gundam stood as well, fumbling as he slipped the last notebook into his bag. Offering a hand, he gestured towards the door. He whispered, “Shall we meet again tomorrow, then? I swear I shall do better at my job.” 

Kazuichi laughed softly at that, nodding. His hands fiddled with his jumpsuit pockets as he made his way over to Tanaka, a small bounce in his step. He would definitely blame that and what he did next on the overload of caffeine in his system the next day. He put his hands on Gundams shoulders, slightly dragging him down as he stood on his tippy-toes, kissing him sweetly on the lips before he was already skipping towards the door, waving him bye as he exited, most likely to his dorm on campus.

Blood froze in his veins. Gundam’s heart pounded, throbbing in his ears. His face was beyond red, and his stiffened fingers twitched in surprise. Mouth opening and closing like a fish, he could not even will his feet to carry him after the boy. What… What just… happened? His mind felt as slow and sluggish as if it was buffering through a torrented movie file. 

Finally gathering enough control of his own limbs, he pulled himself through the door. He wanted desperately to give chase, to pull Souda into his arms and kiss him back, but he knew there was no possible way he would keep his courage. So he settled, simply deciding upon returning to his own abode. He would have to speak to Souda at their meeting tomorrow. Just thinking about it gave him… butterflies? Oh dear, what an unpleasant sensation.

. . .

Thank you @kazudam for writing with me! This was so much fun, and something I’ve always wanted to do :’) 

[repost-this-image]

All right Tumblr, let’s talk about art theft in PowerPoint format, because I’m hearing a lot of complaints, and some artists I know have literally stopped putting out art to the public because of rampant theft of their art.

[Transcription:  The story of art and art theft goes hand in hand with the history of copyright.  So why does that exist, anyway?  Whose genius idea was copyright law??

In the beginning there was no such thing as copyright. 

Books and artwork had to be carefully produced by hand.

Each new copy of a book took the same amount of time to produce, no matter how many copies you wanted, so there weren’t a lot of copies of books that weren’t religious text (like the Vedas or the Bible).

Because it took so long to write and bind a new copy of a book, an author’s livelihood wasn’t affected by other people making a copy.

Gutenberg changed everything

The invention of the movable-type printing press was HUGE, y’all.

You didn’t have to write really slowly to make each letter neat and legible; the type blocks were already made before you produced a book.

Once you’d set up a page, you could make as many exact copies of that page as you wanted, which meant you could print hundreds of copies of a book at a time.

Because it was easier to print a lot of books, you didn’t have to charge as much, so lots more people could afford to buy your books!

(Image of people using an early printing press with the caption, “These guys are printing 240 pages per hour.  So much faster than fancy handwriting!”)

There was just one problem...When it’s easy to publish and print lots of copies of your books, other people can also print lots of copies of your books.  And make money off them.  And if their copies are cheaper than yours, you lose sales, which means you don’t make money and could become a starving artist.  (Or author.  Whatever.)

But that’s not all.  That other printing house?  Doesn’t give nearly as much of a shit about your book as you do.  They’re printing out the bargain-basement version of your book, after all, so it doesn’t have to be as nice as your Super Official Version.  So they’re gonna make a lot more printing errors than the official copy that you originally ordered.

Oh, and if they don’t like the ending?  They could just fucking change it, and then people don’t know which ending is the real one that you wrote.

So in addition to not making that sweet, sweet sales money, your reputation takes a hit.  Ouch.

Copyright was the solution, but it wasn’t perfect.  On the one hand, an author got to choose which printers had the right to make copies of their books, and nobody else would get to print copies for 14 years after the original print date.  So you could control the quality and sales of your books, and actually make enough money to support you while you wrote a second book.

BUT without those cheap, shitty bootlegs, books got a bit more expensive again, so fewer of the unwashed masses could afford books.  It’s a tradeoff.

Why 14 years?  Because it was assumed that most of the people who were gonna buy your book, would buy it within that amount of time.  Sure, some people would buy it later than that, but not enough for you to really rely on those later sales.

Wait, only 14 years?

That’s right.  In 1710, when England and Scotland created the first copyright laws, your copyright expired after just 14 years.  Copyright law has been changed several times over the centuries to make that period last longer.

The most recent change to US copyright law, for instance, was the Sonny Bono law in 1996 (yes, that Sonny Bono).  This is why there were a lot of companies selling VHS tapes of popular cartoons before 1996, but when DVDs became mainstream a few years later, there were no DVD versions made--those cartoons had their copyright renewed right after the Sonny Bono Law passed, so it wasn’t legal for those other video producers to make and sell unlicensed copies of those cartoons anymore.

(Picture of VHS tapes with cheap, off-model images of Mighty Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and Daffy Duck on the covers.)

That’s right, the tapes on this slide, that look like cheap bootlegs, were legally produced.  Because the old cartoons on them were, at that time, in the public domain. And they’re not anymore.

So what does this have to do with online art?

Copyright law still applies to art.  Yes, even if it’s made on a computer.  Yes, even if the artist chooses to post that art on the Internet.

Because the artist gets to choose how their art is distributed, an artist can say “Do not repost to other websites, and do not reblog without this caption,” and it is legally binding.

If an artist wants to sell prints of their own art, they can legally do that.  But you can’t sell or distribute prints (or digital copies!) of their art without their express permission.

Because we currently live in a capitalistic society, artists need to make money off of their art in order to be able to produce art full-time.  If they can’t make money off of it (say, because some asshole is off posting hi-res copies of it on other websites without permission and without giving the artist credit), then they have to get another job and don’t have as much time to produce art.  Which means you get less art.

Small-time artists aren’t like major corporations.  When you make a bootleg of a Disney Movie, or Disney’s promotional art (for legal reasons, I wish to point out that you should not do this because it’s illegal and Disney can and will sue you into the poorhouse), you’re preventing a massive, multinational corporation (which has unethically devoured hundreds of other corporations, btw), with already earns billions of dollars in profits every year, from making $20.  That’s a drop in the bucket.

But when you make illegal copies of a small-time artist’s art, that’s just a regular, not-ludicrously-wealthy  person, who relies on sales and commissions to earn a living.  That money could be the difference between them buying groceries next week, or having to have a glass of water for dinner for a few days.

The moral of the story:

Support small artists and small businesses!

The only viable replacement for copyright laws that both allows artists to spend time Making Art and also allows you to make all the copies you want, is socialism.  You just can’t have it both ways under capitalism.  It doesn’t work.

This, by the way, is also a reason I support a Universal Basic Income:  so that art theft doesn’t prevent independent artists from being able to do what they love full time, because their survival doesn’t depend on selling prints or drawing commissions for That One Guy who wants art of his unusual, weirdly-specific fetish that the artist REALLY isn’t into but hey, he’s shelling out $300 for it and money is money.

Also, if you remove an artist’s watermark to repost their art somewhere else, you’re both an art thief and a huge asshole.  Don’t do that.

End of transcription.]

[vands38]

things i wish someone told me about coeliac disease (UK edition)

apparently some doctors are still not telling coeliacs what they actually need to know so here’s some fun facts --

*coeliac disease is likely to go undiagnosed if you don’t have digestive symptoms. for a lot of folks, their first symptoms are odd things like weight loss, bloating, mouth ulcers etc that take ages for doctors to correctly diagnose as coeliac disease. I know someone whose only sign was tingling in her fingers (nerve problems are a Thing sometimes). I don’t wanna freak folks out but check this list of symptoms and if you’re worried, ask your doc for a blood test to check for coeliac disease. I went in and out of my docs for years with various symptoms (mostly from the anaemia) and no one caught it until I was finally having noticeable digestive trouble.

* coeliac disease an autoimmune disease. not an allergy. not an intolerance. when you eat gluten, your gut just screams NOPE and throws everything out of there.

* this means if you keep eating gluten you will have serious long-term health problems because your gut can't absorb shit 

* as I mentioned, anaemia is one of these associated health problems. a lot of people have this at diagnosis b/c your gut hasn’t been absorbing the nutrients it needs. it leaves you very weak and tired, and the longer it goes on, the worse it gets. 

* long-term anaemia / malnutrition causes so many fucking health problems I can't list them all. basically, if your body sucks, there's a good chance it's a side-effect of your coeliac disease going undiagnosed. I got shitty joints and a shitty heart and shitty bones and godknowswhatelse and every time my doc is like "hey, guess what? it’s coeliac disease!"

* you know what a common side effect is? LACTOSE INTOLERANCE. this is because, once again, your gut hates you from all that gluten you've been killing it with, so it starts to muck around and kick out other things too. but good news! most of the time this is reversible!!! lay off any lactose for a couple of months, reintroduce it to your diet slowly, and you -- like me -- might be a-ok 

*some folks with coeliac disease can’t digest oats either as they contain a similar protein. I found that I was kinda squiffy with them at first but as soon as my gut had calmed down I was a-ok with GF oats (this is good b/c 99% of good GF biscuits are made with oat flour, RIP to everyone that can’t eat them)

* so... your bones are probably fucked. if you were diagnosed early and your doctors are on it, you might be okay but for a lot of people it means osteopenia, and further down the line, osteoporosis (meaning it's v easy to break bones). you need to be eating, like, double the regular amount of calcium every day. most people are put on calcium tablets with combined vitamin D (to help absorb the calcium) but even on top of that, you need to be getting a lot in your diet. If you're still lactose intolerant then switch to lacto-free versions of dairy products or eat tofu like there's no tomorrow. It's super important that you get enough.

* relatedly, bone health!!! You should be doing MODERATE impact exercises like jogging to strengthen the bones but nothing high-impact like tennis. load-bearing exercises are good too. here’s some examples (in detail) given to me by the rheumatology dept

* people have different sensitivity levels. in the UK, certified gluten-free products have to be 20 parts per million or less, but in the US this is 100! marmite lives somewhere between these two and can cause some coeliacs to have a reaction. please be aware when you eat international gluten-free foods that they might have more parts per million than your body is used to

* because you're super sensitive to gluten, not only do you need to check the bold allergens on the ingredients, but the small print too. it might say "made in a factory that handles gluten" or "may contain traces of gluten" and that’s a no-go

* similarly, be careful in restaurants. Apparently it's still perfectly legal for restaurants to say a dish is "gluten free" and then put your nice GF bread in the same fucking toaster as regular bread and have you shitting your pants for days. Just because the ingredients are GF doesn't mean they're cooking it in an allergen-conscious manner. If its not a Coeliac UK certified restaurant, always ask about their methods. Is that milkshake made in a GF blender? Is your fry-up cooked in a separate pan? The first time I got glutened after my diagnosis it was because my GF naan bread shared a tray with a regular one. A lot of places won't even fucking think about this stuff.

* if you're in a gluten-eating household, you've got a big expense coming up. you need to buy a GF toaster at the very least and I would recommend also a separate baking tray (because pizzas, garlic breads etc stick to that shit like no tomorrow) and a saucepan (or anything else that regularly contains pasta/noodles/etc). You'll also need a separate bread knife and board. Separate butter. Separate strainer if you're the type to drain your pasta. Line anything suspicious (e.g.your sandwich toaster, a communal baking tray) with baking parchment. Don’t use bare rungs in your oven or hob. And buy separate spreads and condiments, unless your household is very well trained in not dipping their crumb-covered knives into those things. I've even got separate plates, kitchen utensils, and cutlery. It seems extreme but I haven't had a cross-contamination incident since. Just think: has gluten touched this? And if so, do your best to minimise the risk.

* living GF is expensive long-term too. GF bread costs twice as much as regular bread. Restaurants often charge extra for GF alternatives. I had to switch from having toast in the morning to cereal because it's much more reasonably priced. I eat more fruit than I ever have before just because GF snacks cost so much. I used to have breakfast bars lol say goodbye to that shit unless you wanna be broke

* things I didn't realise I couldn't eat: crisps (a lot of your standard crisps are made with ??? production methods), candied nuts (most of these are made in factories that handle gluten), soy sauce, strawberry laces and a whole bunch of fave sweets (contain wheat starch to bind them - check this list for safe sweets), marmite (you can buy a GF yeast extract that is only 50% worse than the original)

*good food you actually can eat: most cadburys but not most nestle, GF beer which tastes exactly the same, schar pretzels are actually the shit, so are their BBQ pringles and those little chocolate bars with hazelnuts, Morrisons free from frozen mini hash browns will cure your depression, M&S do these bacon tortilla rolls which... OH BOY. Quiche alternatives are pretty damn good but I've yet to find a pizza that doesn't make me want to cry.

*speaking of supermarkets... Morrisons stock a good range of stuff and tend to have everything in one aisle, M&S have many yummy (and expensive) treats, Sainsbury's has good own brand things including bread, Tesco's are fairly decent and stock a lot of baking things, ASDA are the king of GF cake, if you're still lacto-free then Waitrose sell LF cheese including halloumi, and check your your local hippy food store because I found the best goddamn bread in mine (Incredible Bakery Company - you are £4.50 a loaf but I have no regrets)

*party risks: if there's a BBQ, insist that your things go first or have a separate BBQ, or, if worse comes to worse, just eat cold snacks. (Beware of sausages! Many aren't GF!) If its a chip and dip situation, either everything has to be GF (easily done) or have your own dip. BUFFETS ARE LITERALLY OUR WORST NIGHTMARE. the amount of coeliacs I know that have been glutened at one are INSANE. even if those tasty treats are labelled 'gluten free' they've probably be contaminated. everything at a goddamn buffet is contaminated. Dinner party? Well meaning friends will want to cook for you but unless their kitchen is set up as above, it's safer to bring your own food -- if you're very lucky, you will have friends who take the time to learn about allergens and will clean every item in their kitchen before cooking and serving an entire GF meal. these friends are to be treasured -- nay, worshipped.

*fast food. there’s no good way to put this but you’re never having that guilty pleasure 2am burger again. mcdonalds fries are miraculously GF though. (a lot of takeaways recycle oil so even if the ingredients are GF it’s often not safe but mcdonalds always use a separate fryer for chips). indian takeaway is great as most dishes don’t contain gluten. on the flip side, you’ll only be able to have about 5 items on the chinese menu (soy sauce is in everything, yo) so be prepared to learn those 5 items by heart. dominoes do Coeliac UK certified GF pizza!!! (buuuuut not during covid). chains like pizza express have got our back and will even serve you GF doughballs

*coeliac UK are your best friend! most of the things I’ve mentioned are described in detail on their website. they also have a barcode scanner app that will tell you if foods are safe, and they have a restaurant guide, and useful things like translation guides for when you go abroad. 

That's all I've got right now but hmu with any questions or corrections. Take care of yourself, folks. <3

[derrickdent]

BBHMM, OR HOW TO DEAL WITH THE DEADBEAT CLIENT

You’re a fucking freelancin’ badass, with a semi-steady flow of work, and you’re living the dream of doing **insert best/fave thing here** , and getting the money from your biggest fans. Can’t be better, right? Well, one of things you were probably not informed about is what happens when the dream sometimes becomes a financial nightmare. 30 day waits for payment. Invoices and reminders. Anxiety waiting for that check. Clients that don’t seem to care that you’re eating peanut butter for breakfast, lunch, and dinner while your payday is delayed in a death spiral of perpetuity. Getting stiffed sucks, and you gotta keep the lights on. How can you keep this bullshit at a minimum? I’m not a financial expert, but I’ve eaten a fair amount of shit trying to get money from clients that have a sense of urgency about everything except paying me. There’s a ton of info about this online, but hopefully my lewd voice in the choir is helpful. (Samuel L. Jackson voice) LET’S GET YOU YOUR MONEY, MUTHAFUCKA. FROM THE BEGINNING

Make sure that you get everything down in writing. Have a statement of work or a contract that states your scope of work, your fee, deadlines, usage restrictions, deliverables, and any notes about late fees, payment timetables, and billable expenses. (Example of a statement of work).

Make sure that a client knows that you can’t begin work without acknowledging these terms. They should return a signed copy of this document, or acknowledge its terms via email. Sometimes there’s a rush situation and you may be pressured to dive in. It’s still a clients responsibility to make sure everything is taken care of on paper, to protect you and to ensure that they are also in the best position to get the best from you. 

If they “politely” ignore the contract, then reiterate the terms in a follow up email, with a polite call to action (ex: “Hi! I’m just making sure that we’re on the same page about what the scope of this project is all about. I going to be [**rates, usage, time, deliverables, expected expenses, payment expectations here**]. Is that correct?). It’s important to get this down on the front end. Depending on your state, this counts as a legally binding statement.

NOTE: Try to get an upfront deposit if you can. 30-50% is normal, and this is also a test of whether the client will be good for it after all is said and done. This is also an incentive to put your best foot forward. Some clients will balk at this, but if the early “what is your rate?” convo suggests this is a possibility, go for it. This also depends on the industry. This is almost impossible with editorial, and though I’ve heard mixed stories in publishing, it’s hard to get an advance or deposit unless you’re doing a full book. Large corporations often have a convoluted accounts payable system that pretty much guarantees money will be slower than human evolution. The best results I’ve had are with small, dynamic businesses and individual clients. Once they confirm the terms, then you can begin scheduling and first steps in a project. FAST FORWARD TO PROJECT COMPLETION

INVOICE IMMEDIATELY. Seriously. Do NOT delay this. Most clients are not going to remind you to send one after you’ve finished a project, and you are ultimately responsible for this. (example invoice). Include the basics: your business name your contact info and address the client’s info and address an invoice number total due  

Don’t forget an invoice number- accounts payable folks have a hard time placing your invoice in their system without one, and you don’t want to delay things because of a technicality. You can use a simple numbering convention: I use my initials and a double digit combo (ex: DD01). Also, if you haven’t gotten an EIN, get one from the IRS. WHEN YOU APPLY, ONLY GO TO THE .GOV IRS LINK. SCAMS ARE A-PLENTY AND I WANT YOU TO AVOID TEARS THO. An EIN is great, because it can be very compromising to keep putting your SSN out there, and in some cases an EIN can get you paid faster. You should itemize your work in the invoice, similarly to how you would find items on a receipt (ex: 1- Illustration for “client and application”, **brief description** = $THIS AMOUNT.00) Write amounts in dollars and cents. Instead of “$3000”, write “$3000.00”. Again, this helps your client or client’s accountants process your payment a touch faster, and saved time counts. Include a line with a total of your billable expenses. These are items that you HAD TO purchase to finish your work. Make sure you keep your receipts, and make a PDF slideshow with scans of those items for transparency’s sake. Send that PDF with your invoice. Finally, include a line that is the grand total of EVERYTHING. Put that total in BOLD PRINT just to make sure that it’s clear what the client owes. If necessary, you can include direct deposit info. This includes your routing and account number. This way, you give the client another way to pay you, and you can fight off the delay of waiting for a paper check. Even though it’s assumed in many places, make it clear that payment is due NOW. From the moment you send the final invoice out, the onus is on the client to pay up. They should confirm receipt of this, but if they’re slow after a day or two, give them a quick email reminder. NOTE: If you have a client’s phone number, keep it handy. This will come in handy later. FAST FORWARD TO A FEW WEEKS LATER AND YOU HAVEN’T BEEN PAID YET

Either way, you’re waiting (and hopefully pursuing other work!) for money that you need. The timeframe for a reminder varies. Some people will drop a friendly note after 15 days. I tend to be a bit generous, and will wait until 10 days before the invoice is late. The email is friendly, and assumes good faith. Something like: “Hi! I just wanted to touch base about the payment for this invoice. Is there any progress on this? Is there anything I can do to assist with this? Please note that you will be 30 days late on (date here). If so, then a (late fee percentage) will be added to the final amount due.” The key is to emphasize some kind of fiscal penalty. People don’t like to spend more money, so you’ll, at the very least, get a response to let you know that things are being processed. You may also get redirected to an accounting department. If you get a number or an email to them, HOLD ON TO THIS INFO. Hopefully, at this point, the client gets the push to make good on payment. FAST FORWARD TO 30 DAYS AND NO PAYMENT

At this point, you are apprehensive because no one wants to wait to be able to pay bills, eat pizza, and enjoy their own Netflix account. The dynamic changes now, because this is the day that the client has to pay you before it’s late. Tomorrow is late. In some states, you have legal recourse to pursue payment (In NYC, the default timetable for freelance payment is 30 days). You should email your client reminding them that payment is due today. If you have their number, call them as well to reinforce this message, but emails are important now. Each email you send is a recorded effort to receive payment, and they are timestamped for posterity. Note that a client may have already sent a payment out, but the check is transit. Also, calling/emailing an accounts payable department will reveal that a payment has been made and it will be in your bank account in a few business days. Get confirmation of this before you continue. AFTER THE INVOICE IS 30 DAYS LATE

Clients need the benefit of the doubt, but it’s their responsibility to pay you now. After 30 days, you have “permission” to increase the frequency of your correspondence. During the first 10 days of being late, I will email and call every other business day (Monday, Wednesday, Friday was my model, but it may differ for you).  Afterwards, I will check in once a day. This may seem excessive, but persistence goes a long way. You may get an exasperated response, but don’t stop until you get a confirmation of payment or a layout and timeline of the payment. If you have a contact within a company, use them as your ally within an organization. It’s easier to get things moving with someone on the inside, and pressure on them will translate to pressure elsewhere to get you to stop asking for your money. Be professional, but direct. They owe you, and any further delay will result in additional fees, and possible collection action (including legal action to collect). If you have a number for accounts payable, hammer them hard. They will be probably be your last line of communication, and you’ll need to get an email to reach them again, an employee name to refer to, and a timeline for payment. 

SIDEBAR>>> NYC CREATIVE PROS AND THE FIFA ACT

If you live in NYC, you have an additional resource: the city government. The NYC Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), and The Office of Labor Policy and Standards (OLPS) have a complaint form that you should fill out as soon as the client is over 30 days late. The Freelance Isn’t Free Act (FIFA, passed in 2017) is very clear that what your client is doing is ILLEGAL, and the city will assist you in gathering materials to make a case for nonpayment. Fill the complaint form out, be very specific about your client and any related contacts. Note, they are not legal representation as much as they’re navigators who will help you find legal counsel and resources needed to file a claim in court. Remember when I said to get everything in writing? That’s important. It may be a bit of work, but find every email thread related to your freelance gig. If you’re doing this on your mobile, open the thread. Go to the first message. Find where the “print” option is. You’ll be taken to a preview window. Look for the “download” button. This is really easy with Gmail. You can basically save the entire thread as an organized PDF, with messages in chronological order

Do this with every gig-related email attached to the overdue payment. Save these PDFs to a folder. Create sub folders that can put this correspondence in context, like chapters (ex: one folder is “Beginning of Job”, another “Job in Progress”, another “Invoice/Payment Requests”). This will make it easier to navigate everything. Include the PDF folder (zipped) with your complaint folder. OLPS will take a sec to get back to you, since you’re not the only person in NYC that gets stiffed. After about 5 biz days, give them a call. This can help you get ahead of the pack. You will receive a call from an OLPS office case manager who will confirm your info. They will ask if you’ve been paid. If yes, then you can thank them and call everything off. If not, they will send a certified letter (WITH AN OFFICIAL ASS LETTERHEAD) to your client, reminding them that they’re late. They have 20 days to respond to this- if they don’t, then they will basically be on the hook to go to court for a nonpayment case. You’ll have to either get a lawyer to rep you, or you can rep yourself, but the client is on the hook to prove they don’t owe you. Since you already have a record of your interactions, this will be very difficult for them. It should be noted that clients tend to get reallll antsy when the government says that they owe money. They’ll probably contact you directly. Keep up with these responses. Each email builds out the timeline of your case, and is fodder for the cannon. At this point, they usually pay up. DISCLOSURE: I’ve never had to go to court, so you may need to look elsewhere for advice. This may be a good place to start. SPEAKING OF DOCUMENTATION- I forgot to add that you should record your calls when speaking to clients that are late. ACR is a free app that allows you to record your calls. Make sure recording is legal in your state, and always let clients know that the call is being recorded. You can borrow the “for quality control purposes” line if you’d like. Sometimes people will try to circumvent documentation by using the phone. Don’t let them weasel out of that. LASTLY, this is specifically related to NY. The parts about documenting your correspondence are universal, though. Wherever you are, a vital part of making a civil case is piling on the material against a deadbeat. Be vigilant and persistent. I would suggest looking into whether there is a state govt. entity that you can go to about civil cases, and also look up if there are any local volunteer/low cost lawyers in your area. 

The FIFA Act has been a gamechanger in giving freelancers more power to get what is owed to them, and my hope is that other cities follow suit, or organize to get similar legislation for this purpose. SIDEBAR AGAIN>>> LAWYERS

Another way to get a client to pay up faster is to lawyer up earlier. After 30 days, you should see what your options are. If you can afford it, you can consult with a lawyer and get a pro opinion about your case. They may be able to send a stern letter to your deadbeat client (WITH AN OFFICIAL ASS LETTERHEAD) prompting them to pay or else. Like with a government agency, people don’t like surprises from legal. They will probably pay up quick, but if they stick it out, then you can file a claim and take them to civil court. This will be costly for you and your client, so nonpayment usually gets resolved before this happens. If not, know that if a court rules in your favor, the client will have to pay you and cover your legal fees. My experience with lawyers is limited, and I would suggest looking elsewhere for particulars. Also, keep in mind how much you’re owed. A $300 case may not be worth as much squeeze as a $3000 or $30000 one. If it’s a low ball sum you’re owed. You may have an easier time calling it a loss and moving on. 

EDIT: I’ve been told that contingency fee lawyers are out there that don’t collect fees until after an event (like you winning or losing a judgment for example), but they’re kinda like unicorns for freelancers and tend to take on bigger cases. It doesn’t hurt to see if any are out there anyway!

NEW!>>> COLLECTION AGENCIES

So, you may want to seek help through a collection agency. They have the time and resources to call, mail, and chase money when you’re trying to focus on good clients that pay on time and are depending on your A game.

The good news is that most are contingency fee based. That is, they won’t collect anything from you until they get the money from your client.

The down side? They can take anywhere between 18-40% of what your client’s debt is. Note that I didn’t say WHAT THEY COLLECT. If your client owes $100, and the contingency based fee is $30, an agency will take $30 even if they only get $60.

Also, based on a lawyer friend’s input, if your collection agency is legally shady, you may be indirectly on the line if your deadbeat client decides to sue said agency. Also your payment, connected to the collection agency and your client’s legal battle, will be held in indefinite limbo. 

So do your homework and weigh your options before taking this route.

FAST FORWARD TO 60 DAYS Fortunately, I haven’t had to do this, but you can start pursuing legal action to get your money. Check on state laws to make sure this is the case, as well as the particulars about filing a claim. By this time, you should hopefully have a lawyer or some legal counsel at your disposal. If you don’t, then look up the laws of your state and local area to see where you stand if you have to rep yourself. Remember that as long as you have written acknowledgment of your terms of work and written acknowledgment of your invoice, things should lean in your favor. THE END

HOPEFULLY this has been helpful. The best parts of freelance (independence, flexibility, control, and self-prescribed wages) are often at odds with the pitfalls (feast-or-famine dynamics, wearing of all of the hats, taking all of the risks). It can feel like robbery when you put your blood, sweat, and tears into a project only to have an empty bank account as thanks. Some of this info is boilerplate, and some is from direct experience. If any of this relates to you, and you were able to get closer to your hard earned scrill because of this, I can die happy(er).

GOD SPEED AND GET PAID, GODDAMMIT!

ADDENDUM: One of the things that I didn’t emphasize enough is that doing this will be emotionally draining. Unless you are a robot or a stone cold Type A business beast, it will strain you. Make sure that you’re taking care of yourself mentally.

If you have a partner or family, make sure to take the help and support they provide and don’t turn your money issues into a personal issue with them.

  Also, doing this requires energy. It will feel like a part time job, and even if there are late fees that factor into what you get paid, this will largely be unpaid labor. 

Persistence is key, but I’m not going to pretend that it’s not hard or that you won’t have other obligations that make keeping up the effort difficult. I’m lucky in that my girlfriend and I have a relatively low-expense lifestyle, and no dependents, and we’re both fairly flexible because we both freelance full time, and that we had a bit of financial padding saved to weather the storm. Mileage will certainly vary.

Edit: Tumblr is weird about making links visible, so I put them in bold body font for you to find them easier.

[om-nom-berries]

How to Make a Fan Comic

The ask I received from @griffindorfightingheart earlier (which I answered here) got me thinking about fan comics and how much is generally understood both about this scene and even how one might go about making a fan comic. I thought I’d talk a little more about it because I want encourage more people to get into making fan comics. So come on over and let me tell you a story...

First, I’ll tell you about how I got into making fan comics, which was my discovery of doujinshi...

Doujinshi (or Dōjinshi, which Wikipedia tells me is the proper English term but I’ve been using the first term since before there was a wikipedia article for it so lol). Zelda doujin via History of Hyrule was my gateway drug. I discovered the site many, many years ago and was impressed to see that fans in Japan were just making their own comics. GOOD comics, too! I started collecting them via eBay, talking with fellow fans who also collected them, etc. It was so impressive to me and I decided I wanted to make comics too.

But I couldn’t afford to get them printed.

I also didn’t know how.

Starting Off Small

But I could figure out how to make a webcomic! Sort of...

I got some help and I was able to start a Zelda webcomic in 2003, which may as well be fucking ancient times at this point. It’s not pretty to look at (I gave the comics from that site to History of Hyrule so you can always check them out), but they gave me a start. I worked on that site for a few years, got busy with school and life (my mom got cancer in 2005 so that was a big distraction) and then started to do some original comics.

Get an Artist Alley Table

In 2007, I finally decided to try to go to my first anime convention as an artist, and tried for a table at Anime North. I was successful (there used to be less demand and therefore easier to get a table back then), and finally had the impetus to make a printed fan comic. I actually made two that year: one based on Ocarina of Time, and one based on Twilight Princess. My friend @renlikesstuff helped me get them printed (dude do you remember that lol?) and I was able to debut them there. Sure, I printed way too many copies, but it was a great learning experience (yes, I did eventually sell out of those copies, but I did print way too many).

Friends R Good

I just want to point out that having friends in fandom, especially friends that enjoy the fandom in similar ways (ie: write fan fiction, make fan art, etc) are invaluable. You can support one another but also are there to help you with your ideas (what is a realistic goal, for example).

Legal Stuff

Are fan comics illegal? In most jurisdictions, if you don’t have the permission of the copyright holder OR it’s a parody (legal protected in many countries but not all countries), then yes, it’s illegal. But generally the enforcement of copyrights is left to the copyright holder. To be realistic, the only dangerous bootleg stuff out there are, for example, plane parts (yes, this is a thing and really fucking scary), or medical equipment (that could harm or kill someone). A fan comic, unless you’re selling thousands of copies, isn’t really hurting the copyright holder (if said copyright holder is a large, multinational corporation). Even still, some large companies have been known to crack down on fan works (usually as a result of rampant bootlegging. See: Disney).

If you’re in a fandom, the discussion of fan art, bootlegs, etc may or may not be A Thing, depending on how the copyright holder deals with fan creations. Some copyright holders may be independent, and some may be large corporations. You must be mindful of the laws where you live and sell your works, and of how the copyright holder feels (or doesn’t feel) about any kind of fan works.

You must also keep in mind that a copyright holder can choose to enforce their copyright at any time. Generally, if they feel you’ve overstepped a boundary, they’ll let you know by sending a simple Cease & Desist notification (usually by email) or just have your web host take down you creation without warning (if said host has a way of reporting it). No one’s going to come to your house or school or work or blow down your fucking door over this shit (I mean, if you live in a democracy, because some people do live in countries where freedoms are more restricted and sometimes this shit does happen over what others might consider very basic actions).

Actually Fucking Drawing Something

I could write a metric assload of stuff about making a comic. But I won’t, because people have already written a lot about it. Instead, here’s some links to get you started:

notes from a 2011 presentation that Love Love Hill did at Anime North about making comics/doujinshi

comic process and tutorial notes from Love Love Hill (listen to them for they are wise)

resources for printing, payment services, etc from AAtoast

creating a comic - basic process

About printing:

Printing is expensive!

At least, nice printing is. If you don’t have a lot of money, you can do zine-style stuff, where you’re using a basic photocopier and a long arm stapler (to do what’s called a “saddle stitch” binding). If you have a little bit of money you can hire a printing company to print the comics for you. I’ve done both, and here’s the pros and cons:

Printing and Stapling Yourself

Pros:

Cheap af

No surprises re: quality control

Cons:

More work

You may need a long arm stapler (but some people do super short comics that are foldable which is cute too)

Has to be shorter (bc long arm staplers will only staple through so many pages before you need to get a stronger industrial one)

Printing with a Professional Printer

Pros:

Quality result

Access to perfect binding (when you have it bound by glue)

Cons:

Expensive

Not all printers can do book binding or have experience with comics

You often need to pay extra to get the comic pages set up for printing if you don’t know how to use something like InDesign

Actually Fucking Sell Something

When you finally have a print comic, you can sell it! Knowing WHERE to sell it is just as important as actually selling it. You want to make sure you’re presenting to the right audience.

I’ve done direct sales, mostly, either in person or online using Paypal as the payment handling.

When you’re selling online, keep in mind the cost to mail the comics (postage, packaging). Packaging is important because you want the comic to arrive in pristine condition. I usually get plastic bubble mailers and then put the comic in another plastic baggie so that there’s no chance of moisture getting in there. Also, I put in a nice little thank you card signed to the person who bought the comic. Handwritten notes are always a kind and appreciated gesture that people will remember.

Where to sell? If you have enough followers on Tumblr, you can do ok, especially if you’re already known in the fandom. If not, some larger fandoms run comic anthologies (either print or digital). I’ve seen people also sell on Etsy and Gumroad. I’ve used Gumroad but not Etsy. Keep in mind that using 3rd party sellers like Etsy and Gumroad and Ebay make it much easier for copyright holders to take notice of you, and they might assume you’re just a bootlegger making a ton of money off this.

Which brings me to my final point:

Don’t Expect to Get Rich Making Fan Comics

You’re not going to make much money selling fan stuff. That’s just the reality. If you’re really REALLY good and persistent then yes, maybe you can do the convention circuit or get a popular Patreon or something. Some have. But it’s rare, and those artists that made it work did put a ton of effort into finding something that worked for them and also mix in original art and extras.

If you’re getting into making fan comics, make sure it’s because, first and foremost, it’s something that brings you joy in creating. It doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby, but it should bring you some measure of joy. I’d say that’s the most important thing.

[dropintomanga]

The Manga Price Is Right, But For How Long?

Once again, the piracy debate rears its head. Physical sales of manga volumes in Japan have fallen in 2017. For the past 2 decades, manga magazine sales have fallen. Japanese manga publishers are trying to figure out what’s the cause of all the lost sales. And of course, one of the main culprits is always pirates who scan all the manga for internet users to see for free. One manga creator says the pirates aren’t to blame, while a prominent manga creator suggests that piracy will destroy the Japanese manga industry.

For once, maybe I’ll take the side of finding that one sweet price point for manga fans to enjoy whatever they can because everyone’s perception of what’s worth their time and money is so different for everyone. 

While this current piracy discussion is going on in Japan, I want to discuss the Western side of things because what’s happening in Japan can trickle overseas.

Manga outside of Japan is generally considered to be somewhat of a collector’s product, which means it will likely cost as much as a take-out lunch in a mid-tier restaurant. For most fans (usually teens and young adults), this is a turn-off. Hence the eternal war between piracy and manga publishers. 

To be fair, I think the pricing of manga is fine. The manga published outside of Japan is made with high-quality stock paper and binding to make it worth something to collect. In Japan, manga is made with cheap paper. It’s supposed to be disposable anyway. The fact that unsold manga in Japanese bookstores can be used as toilet paper shows how “valuable” the medium is in its home country. I sure as hell don’t want an inferior-looking book in my hands when I buy it. 

But there comes the question of what happens when the price hits that point where supply is decent, but demand is low? Would anyone buy a print volume copy of the hottest shonen manga with an hotter anime adaptation, but at $15 (not $10-$11) per volume? This is a tough question to answer. However, I can say that digital manga volumes aren’t an easy sell because of their prices sometimes.

When you go to a publisher’s hub, like Kodansha Comics’ for example, they charge their normal pricing for digital prices on titles that may not be as well-known to the public. A $10.99 manga volume in print, which is the lowest price for a Kodansha Comics volume, will cost the same in digital format. I’m not sure how this is going to attract new manga fans. I would love to support everything I like in a way that helps the creators, but this isn’t reasonable as I only have so much disposable money to spend. Other legal manga sites, like Viz and Bookwalker, have reasonable prices for their digital manga offerings.

I know manga fans talk about accessibility and pricing is a big part of that. However, what is a good pricing point for manga right now? We may have to think about our anchoring points when it comes to manga. Now you might ask what do I mean by anchoring. The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias where the person being affected by it is heavily influenced by the first piece of information they receive about something. 

I’ll use manga as an example. Let’s say that a manga fan finds out a print volume of a manga costs around $9.99-$12.99 at their bookstore and considers that price to be expensive. However, let’s say a sales person at the bookstore says “Oh hey, it’s on sale right now. 20% off.” That fan would purchase it because the idea of saving money is a sign of relief, even though that 20% off discount may not mean it’s still worth buying. That is anchoring in a nutshell. That $9.99-$12.99 price range point makes them anxious and they base further decisions off of that anxiety.

For most manga fans, that anchor point is arguably “free.” When you have Hollywood celebrities not knowing the difference between legal and pirate manga sites, then you have a situation where it doesn’t seem to matter what the price is. All of this “do we blame the pirates once more?” situation reminds me of multiple conversations I had with my dad over the cost of certain things. I tell him about nice (and sometimes useful) items that are worth purchasing and the one question he asks me in broken English, “How much? $1?” He uses that as his excuse to not buy things that aren’t deemed that important to him. That $1 was jokingly his anchoring point.

What’s a good price that manages to convince fans to go “Okay, I’ll support this.” is hard to define. I mean, back then, I used to pay $14.95 to buy Dragon Ball Z from VIZ Media when it was in a huge graphic novel format in 2001 before they adopted the Japanese book format we know today. How many fans would purchase a manga volume that’s priced that much nowadays? It seems the best way to do this is to appeal to their emotional desires and connections with series they love.

To be honest, I do think there are fans who do care about manga creators. However, they may not necessarily care about publishers. I do care about both, but it doesn’t mean that I worship everything they say or do. Regarding that manga creator who thinks publishers shouldn’t be attacking pirates, they make a fair point about publishers ostracizing fans who read manga online for free because I see this quite a bunch online. The creator argues that those kinds of fans are more likely to be manga fans than those who are in the mainstream audience. 

I don’t think manga fans who read a LOT online without buying make great customers, but their potential to be a paying customer is really high. Plus their word-of-mouth potential can be amazing, since you need new comic/manga-loving customers to survive. I know people who both pirate and buy manga. This is actually somewhat common.

I’m just tired of hearing things like “Oh, you’re killing the industry!,” “You should be ashamed of yourselves for pirating!,” etc. Look, I love and buy manga as much as anyone, but in the grand scheme of things, do the majority of fans give a shit about what goes on in the manga industry? Negativity only breeds more negativity. Fans mostly care about themselves and those close to them. 

I know manga and also anime have been associated with piracy more than any other entertainment product out there, but most fans seeing data about sales lost due to scanlations (which I think is very important) will just go “Well, what does it have to do with me?” 

I’m going to quote a marketing blog post about how consumers really think compared to marketers (which is probably going to piss some people off):

“How marketers think:

How can I engage consumers with my brands? How do I connect the personality of my brand with my target audience? How can I co-create with my target and develop a conversation?

How consumers think:

Is there parking? Will this fucking thing work? How badly are they going to screw me on the price? Will there be anyone who knows what the fuck he’s talking about?”

Notice the typical consumer question about the price because some manga fans do feel screwed. And people are just basic at heart despite what complexities they may have.

Make those fans feel good about buying manga. I just wish a manga publisher would say something like this as a selling point, “If you buy this volume of Attack on Titan, Hajime Isayama will have motivation to come up with some ridiculous plot twist that you will enjoy and tease about to your friends who only watch the anime.” 

I really do think there are young fans who don’t mind paying for manga. I see so many kids go after print volumes in droves at my local bookstores, but it may take a well-versed knowledge of psychological pricing to convince those who are skeptical. People default to their cognitive bias most of the time. Right now, there’s just this wacky disconnect between fans and publishers due to how manga production works in Japan. Both sides have to own up in a way that works for everyone. 

Otherwise, the price we’ll pay is the loss of creativity that’s truly starting to get the respect it deserves outside of Asia.

[intheorchards]

Another costuming ramble because I haven't had one in a few days.

Started binding my Scroop stays. Didn't follow pattern instructions exactly, as in I chopped some of the edges down owing to me being short as fuck. Under 5'0 short as fuck. Also making them fully front and back lacing, because as I've said before and I must reiterate:

Spiral lacing up your back is the devil.

I'm kind of tempted to seam rip the centre front of my other stays to make them front lacing too, but if I do that I want to change the back panels too because they're a little too big.

I think it's a side effect of having an eating distorder in a 'non typically sized' body (a term ripped straight from a costuming book ugh) I am constantly overestimating adjustments I need to make in patterns... The one time I was mindful enough about that and worked against my instinct to fuck with seam allowance I went a bit too small, luckily with ingenuity and a weird use of bias tape I fixed it, but still. It's a pain.

Anyhoo, my Scroop stays. Started the binding, am not binding over the seams. Only have 1inch tape and that's far too big for covering seams. Besides historically accurate stays seams are held together with whip stitches so if they tear it's not a huge deal to go over the area.

Not looking forward to binding the top though. Technically it should be easier. But as I do not have the cash for a worsted weight wool, I used some cheap ass fabric for the outside layers that didn't particularly like having almost 20 year old thread used for the boning channels. Should I have just waited for a delivery of new thread? Yes. Was I too impatient to start the hand sewing because I want the stays done so I can go back into my caracao jacket to secure the skirt some more? Also yes. But old thread and that fabric meant I had to use gorilla glue to secure the thread ends, where the pattern suggests leaving them long and hand sewing to the back... Gorilla glue seems to be holding them in fine, but there's some rock hard fabric near the top edge that feels like it will break my expensive needles.... Might just gorilla glue that bit of binding down too. They're stays, they're underwear, not like people are gonna see them all that much.

Judging by how long my fully boned stays took me to finish, reckon I've got 4 days of binding left. Could probably do it in less but once again my pharmacy is late with pain meds and I'll be all out by tomorrow afternoon so I ain't pushing it. After that it's another 4 days of eyelets. Then they'll be wearable.

Once that is done and sorted, I'll be deciding if I actually want straps or not. My other stays are strapless, and straps are one of the reasons I went for this pattern so I guess I'll fudge around with the positioning.

So yeah, like I said, when all that is done, finishing touches on the caracao. Might add lace to the sleeves, too.

And theeeen, I have more plans.

First plan. A second caracao. But this one will be sleeveless. Why? Because I have a fancy, expensive pirate shirt that I bought and I want to have something to wear it with that shows off the puffy sleeves. Also I found some navy taffeta in the fabric stash from that time years ago I wanted to try quilting. There's just about enough for the jacket but sleeves would be pushing it.

And then, and then right, I had planned for my first gown to be a mantua. Well it turned out the PDF pattern I bought needs to be printed at a print shop and all the local ones are closed for that kind of business due to covid, so who knows when I'll be able to make that? W/e I'd also bought like 10meters of this striped fabric for cheap and it's just been lying around still in the bag for months. I've got so much of it and it was so cheap that I'm gonna learn how to make breeches. Then when I've got it right, I've got some pants to go with my shirt and jacket!

This whole having something to wear with my shirt is also pushing me towards spending a lot of money on a fancy pair of not at all historically accurate stays. I've had something from the person who makes them before, and owing to my height+ tit size it had to be custom but she still did it at base price and it came out perfect for me, so I know that it will be worth it and come out looking good. But also it's a lot of money for this disabled bitch, like 3/4 of my next month's payment. Those stays are just so pretty and it would be nice to have some that I could have on show if the occasion called for it.

Another thing I've got planned, that's definitely a running before learning to walk thing, I got myself a book on DIY historical pattern drafting. Ima try to draft my own bodice pattern. And that bodice I plan to make out of black wool. I may not have the cash to buy wool fabrics, but I have a friend who gets good deals for her eBay store and sometimes if I'm lucky she straight up gives me bags of fabric. The good thing with wool is that I don't /have/ to line it, and I'm thinking I might even have enough to do one piece sleeves with that bodice. I know I can draft a one piece sleeve pattern, because I tried it once on a piece of scrap linen so I know it fits my arm, the challenge is drafting it so it also fits the armscythes.

See, I figure that if I can work out how to draft a bodice, and I already have a decent idea of skirts, what with my foolproof petticoat methods, combine the two and I've got a basic gown. Or riding jacket. Or something else. Recently saw someone make a really pretty kirtle so maybe I'll try my hand at medieval at some point, too.

[therainypizzacollector]

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