#that’s like 6 dollar per book

[rowlfthedog]

Just purchased The Book and I am, ironically, overjoyed about it

[chiefguideandcentre]

Crazy to me how humans have literally made life so difficult for ourselves for no reason at all. Like why do we have to pay for water monthly when it literally falls from the sky? Why is a super simple one bed, one bath “house” (cheaply made of course) easily between $250k-$400k and someone would have to pay a high monthly payment with a 20% interest rate to have it? Why did we choose these numbers? When did we make prices for food so high, create mortgages, student loans, and car payments? Who created interest rates? Why does my entire future depend on a credit score? A number we ourselves made up. Why did we go the extra mile and decide to tax ourselves? For what purpose? When did we decide that we need to have a certain level of education to succeed and if you don’t have it you are obviously a failure at life. When did we say “yes, this seems good, I want to pay astronomical amounts of money for literally everything and make everything as stressful as possible for no reason at all?” Why do I owe money for having money (taxes)? Why can’t I pay for stuff with rocks? That cat I see sleeping in a warm beam of sunlight (and living a happier life than I) doesn’t have a credit score, it doesn’t have to pay extreme amounts of money for a home, it doesn’t have to pay for water that falls from the sky, it doesn’t have to worry about interest rates, it doesn’t know what the Pythagorean theorem is, it doesn’t have a car payment, a set of tires doesn’t cost it easily $1,000 in one go, it didn’t make applying for a home or a car an exhausting endeavor, it doesn’t have to work 40+ hours a week working on stuff that we made up all for a check that doesn’t even reasonably cover any expenses (that once again we forced on ourselves). So why are we?? Why can’t we help ourselves out and make rent $10 a month? Why can’t a good credit score be a 10 instead of 700-800? Why can’t a mansion be $10,000 instead of a million? Let’s make grocery shopping easier by trading cool rocks and pieces of clay pottery and buttons and other neat things for food. What’s stopping us from doing that? Why did we create the most complicated system? “The entire system would collapse, there would be anarchy, everything would shut down, society would explode!!!” Why?? Over numbers and problems we made up ourselves? It’s all made up!! Why did we make it so hard? We could have made things so easy and have a perfectly workable society. We could have the most bonkers system and could all be schooling life right now if we paid for stuff with pretty things we find in abundance and made houses cost like one pretty vase and a loaf of bread you bought with your cool acorn stash and made cars only cost a packet of tomato seeds with no interest rates in sight, didn’t make the production of goods and supplies so expensive, and if we simply didn’t tax ourselves, and if education/the school system was literally just learning all sorts of things that could help you live a happy, self sufficent, simple, productive life the way you want to live it (if you want to learn about history, languages, how to work on cars, or build robots, or cooking, or music, making pottery, or conducting science experiments, learning about medicine, or playing sports or whatever you could do so) and it wouldn’t cost you your first born child, and if we didn’t have mind numbing jobs trapped in windowless buildings doing things that shouldn’t actually matter or exist but we made them so. Why did we make it so hard??

[charmedreincarnation]

Hey, guys! I've been receiving a ton of messages in response to my last post. It's reminding me of how I first discovered shifting. I feel like doing a little story time since Ive just passed the three-year mark of my discovery, and I've been reminiscing with friends about it.

I remember being in a very dark place when I stumbled upon shifting. I was depressed, and very suicidal. Yet, there was this unshakeable optimism inside me that I was meant for an extraordinary life. Despite my mental state, I had a lot of knowledge of subliminals and the law of attraction (-_-). These gave me hope, but they weren't enough tbh. I didn't want to attract my dream life through practicing gratitude or becoming a magnet for my desires or whatever. Nor did I want to have to listen to subliminals for years on end to achieve my goals. My list of desires was so long, and I needed everything to change that going step by step and waiting years for each one to manifest just wasn't feasible.

But I refused to give up. One day, after a particularly hard day of being sad per usual, I searched on Quora for something like "fastest most powerful subliminals on YouTube ever" (Y’all 😭😭). Among the recommended sub creators, I found a video called "Desired Life: Reality Shifting". The description promised everything I had ever wanted: waking up with all your desires fulfilled permanently in short. It piqued my curiosity so much. Could I really just wake up with my dream life, family, house, wealth, all based on my scripts and imagination?

Growing up, I was a heavy maladaptive daydreamer. From ages 10-17, I created alternate lives in my head, telling myself I would go there someday. I was always doing SATs (State Akin to Sleep), and I think that's what kept me from ending it all. I was constantly in the wish fulfilled state, even though I didn't know what that was at the time.

Back to my story, I went into the comments of that video and came across a guy who claimed that after a week of using this subliminal, he woke up with a new life as a multi-millionaire living in his dream penthouse. I messaged him, and he gave me his Instagram which showcased his luxurious life. He had what seemed like a perfect relationship, he was very attractive, had so many cars, and travelled 24/7 while having a six figures amount of followers. He was living proof that this wasn't just scripting. Also the law of attraction community is known for their mad expensive coaching.. like hundreds of dollars per hour for questions and he was answering it all for free something I didn’t see the law of attraction community. And I talked to him for hours! He never got mad, he had proof, and he was kind, proof and the behavior of someone who really had mastered the art of life.

After our conversation, I spent the next couple of months doing research. I found numerous stories about glitches in the matrix, accidental shifting, people entering parallel realities, and eventually, shifting communities on platforms like Amino and Reddit. It was stuff I already believed in and did in my imagination; I just didn’t know there was a term for it.

Then I got reminded of a memory that I had seriously repressed bc it was so fucking weird. When I was 6 and my brother was 3, we were absolutely obsessed with dodo birds. One day, we were outside playing, and on god time seemed to stop. Out of nowhere, a dodo bird appeared. I know you’re probably like “maya be so fr rn you were a kid” but no, This wasn't just our young imaginations running wild - there was a bird that was huge, dinosaur-like, exactly how dodos are described in books and pictures we had.

Then things got weirder. Suddenly it started raining eggs. Big, large eggs everywhere it was so gross and my brother and I were a mess. We were young, sure, but not stupid. We knew this wasn't normal. My brother and I rushed inside to tell our dad. When I managed to drag him outside, he was furious, accusing me of throwing eggs everywhere. To this day, he tells the story of the time I "trashed the backyard with eggs." And every time, I'm like, "Dad, where would I get that many eggs?" We didn’t have eggs but so he assumed I stole them and we went inside for hours and it was magically cleaned. So he also tells the story of how responsible I am and how I took accountability for my actions even as a child. I didn’t clean that shit bro and I tell him that too and he just laughs it makes me so mad.

My brother, who knows I'm into reality shifting (though he doesn’t really believe in it), can't explain that day either. He often shrugs it off as a "glitch in the matrix," which honestly, well no duh it is a shift dummie. He does believe in manifesting but only bc he has seen me use it and he experiences the good things I manifest as well. They’re the same thing anyways but that isn’t the point

The reason I'm bringing up this bizarre childhood memory is because during my months of research into shifting, I found countless stories of accidental shifts, people entering the void, entering parallel universes, time glitches, examples of the Mandela effect first hand, glitches in the matrix and etc. It was like uncovering a myriad of experiences that confirmed what I already believed: we can change and choose our reality. I just didn’t know the phenomena had a name. Obviously in the future I came across other things like the law of assumption, the void state, etc etc but this was where it started.

I wish I had saved all those fascinating stories, posts, and blogs. I might go back and compile everything I found because they were so real and enlightening. It will probably take forever tho if I do choose to do that, but I think it's worth sharing.

In the meantime, check out this accounts of accidental shifts that my friend shared with me this account https://instagram.com/tessicavision?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA== based off the Glitch in the Matrix subreddit which is also a goldmine of people experiencing similar phenomena. It helped me make sense of my own experiences and might do the same for you.

I don’t want this to be too long and I already got to the point I think! but regardless stay curious and realize you’re really not that special. I mean ofc you are, i mean this is not some tumblr thing teens girls discovered or created and isn’t even limited to “spiritually/manifesting inclined people” I think at the beginning of my journey people talking about accidental shifts and such, inspired me more than purposeful success stories because they really have no reason to lie and they were looking for answers just like I was.

[love-byers]

it’s been a year, mike. (MAJOR BYLER REVELATION INCOMING---MUST READ)

mike and will constantly saying "a year" or "all year" when talking about the time since the move when it's only been six months keeps me up at night

i saw people talking about how they say a year when it was only 6 months because they’re idiots in love and are being dramatic. as cute as that is, i didn’t really buy it until RIGHT NOW. i just saw it as a cute headcanon, but now i see that the writers could be enabling you to make this realization by use of subtext.

allow me to explain

^ these are the three times they say it

at first i thought the writers may have just used year because that’s less confusing for the audience because 1 year time jumps have been used before in stranger things and are super popular in books/movies/tv shows. BUT, it clicked for me that that doesn’t make sense. the timeline in stranger things has always been acknowledged. throughout s1 we hear the amount of time will has been missing several times (as far as i remember). in s2, mike counted the days el had been gone. he called her every night for 353 days. when el and hopper argue in s2, el uses specific numbers to tell us how long she’s really been with him. in s3 hopper specifically says ‘6 long months’ when talking about how long he’s been dealing with mike (lol). that's the same amount of time between s3 & s4, yet mike and will don't say 6 months, they say year. there’s a date at the start of every season. and in s4, el says this in her letter to mike. 

185 days = 6 months (almost on the dot)

the writers have specifically told us how long it’s been since they moved, down to the amount of days. and it’s 6 months, not a year. this makes it very hard for me to write off mike and will saying ‘year’ as just the writers slipping up. also in el’s letter, she says this:

this is INSANE. 

mike and will are saying the wrong amount of time. the writers aren’t stupid, they know how much time has passed since season 3. THEY WROTE IT. i’m a writer as well, and i know how much time is passing between what im writing because I CREATED IT. IT CAME FROM MY BRAIN. and like i said, the stranger things writers have proven to be very keen on dates and time. all of this happening in the same season is not a slip up, its on purpose. stranger things 4 had a 30 million dollar budget PER EPISODE. do the math--that’s 270 MILLION DOLLARS. and yes, i know they supposedly forgot will’s birthday, but that’s different. his birthday is a date that was mentioned one time and served no purpose aside from creating emotional tension in that one scene. none of their birthdays are important to the plot, hell, will’s is the only one mentioned in the show and it wasn’t even on his birthday. one date that was mentioned one time and never brought up again is NOT the same as continuous attention given to timelines/time jumps over the course of all four seasons. and some fans theorize that they’re lying about forgetting his birthday anyway. either way, its not the same.  

so....the writers want us to know that emotions can make time speed up or slow down....and that el’s week has felt very fast because of her emotions....and then show us mike and will SPECIFICALLY deviating from the timeline established in the SECOND LINE OF EPISODE ONE “yeah, but you knew she was having problems for months and didn’t tell me.” “its been six months, mike.”, or “it’s been months, mike.” or not even including that line at all, or “the past couple months have been weird” would’ve worked and stayed in check with the timeline we’ve already established. but when writing those scenes, they chose to say year. which is flat out wrong and way off from the actual time they’ve been apart. 

and what did el say makes time speed up or slow down? emotions? oh, okay got it 

the first two times mike and will say it’s been a year are in the same scene: the rink o mania fight. emotions are high. they’re in a pretty serious fight. its not about something dumb, it’s about their ten year friendship and how they’ve grown apart. their friendship is VERY important to both of them. (remember when mike said asking will to be his friend is the best thing he’s ever done?) the third time it’s said is when mike is opening up to will in episode 4. it’s a very emotional scene. mike is being honest and vulnerable with his feelings. in this conversation he apologizes and admits that will didn’t deserve how mike had been treating him, which mike never does to anyone else. he admits his relationship with will is different and home isn’t the same without him, and that he feels like he lost will and wants to be best friends again. 

and the obvious: emotions making time speed up or slow down doesn’t just apply to in the heat of the moment occasions. (in theory) mike and will are in love. the six months they’ve been separated felt like a year to them because of their emotions, just like el said in the letter. and mind you, will is canonically in love with mike, yet they’re both acting the same way about this. it’s not just will. it makes sense for six months to feel like a year to will because of his emotions, because he is in love with mike, right? well, mike feels the exact same way. this isnt even about the characters as people. narratively speaking, mike and will both doing this doesn’t make sense if it’s unrequited. one way writers show how characters aren’t on the same page about something, a relationship for instance, is whether they’re on the same emotional page about different plot points. something major and emotional happens to all the characters---now we watch how they react to it. and i don’t mean small disagreements & such, characters are allowed to feel differently about things. i mainly mean when whatever happened is painful and important to one or more of the characters. for example, steve and nancy. steve and nancy didn’t feel the same about barb, barb’s parents, and everything that happened in general. steve wanted to keep on like nothing happened while nancy was literally eaten up with grief, guilt, and trauma. jonathan was the one who was on the same page as her and made her feel better about carrying that baggage around all the time. they understood each other. and who was nancy in love with? jonathan. narratively, that makes perfect sense and even further sways the audience into understanding they’re in love.

so...what? the emotions that made mike and will’s six months apart feel like a year to them is....friendship? not a fucking chance. mike and el are a couple, and according to mileven fans, they’re the main couple of the show who are in love and are going to be an endgame couple. why save this incredibly romantic coded trope for will and mike, the best platonic bros? idk, you tell me. and the fact that the line about emotions came from someone in the love triangle?? and it was said to someone else in the love triangle?? not a coincidence.

edit: someone reblogged and pointed out how el said 185 in her letter to mike that we SEE him reading. there is no reason for him not to know how long it's been. so either he isn't paying attention to a damn thing el says in her letters or he is just extremely in love with will

another edit: i keep seeing reblogs of people saying they're probably referring to the time since mike and el started dating, which i used to think too. but the context when mike and will say a year makes it hard for me to believe.

"but you knew she was having trouble for like a year and you didn't tell me"

here mike is specifically talking about el's bullying problem which has only been going on since the byers have been gone and she enrolled in school. what he's talking about is something very strictly related to the time since they moved, and it's been six months, not a year.

"you called maybe a couple times. it's been a year, mike. meanwhile el has like a book of letters from you."

will is again, very specifically talking about something that strictly happened between the time since the byers left and the start of s4. he's saying how crazy it is that it's been a whole year and mike has barely called. but it hasn't been a year, it's only been six months.

"the last year has been weird, you know? and you know, max and lucas and dustin, they're great, they're great, it's just..it's hawkins it's not the same without you. and i feel like maybe i was worrying too much about el...i don't know maybe i feel like i lost you or something."

this one i will cut some slack, i think he could be talking about literally the last year, as in since the beginning of 1985. but immediately after he starts saying how home hasn't been the same without will (and separates his relationship with will as being different than his relationship with max dustin and lucas and even el), something specific to the time since they byers have been gone, six months, not a year:

in conclusion: mike and will referring to their time apart as a year when it’s only been six months is not a mishap on the writer’s part. they go out of their way to make sure you know exactly how much time has passed, down to the number of days, and they put this much attention on time in every season. and in the same season mike and will do this, there is a line in the SECOND LINE OF THE OPENING SCENE OF THE SEASON about emotions making time go by faster or slower.

byler is going to be a s5 surprise, but its not coming out of nowhere. there’s piles of subtext in every single season---enough that when you look back, it all makes sense. small details like this aren’t outlandish because this is without a doubt the length writers will go to keep something hidden, and in byler’s case and many other tv show plots case, to keep something a surprise. and for christ’s sake, WATCH THE SHOW! the amount of attention to even the TINIEST details in stranger things is insane. they put so much thought into everything---not just ships, and not just byler. idk how many times the writers are going to have to say details matter and that there are no coincidences until people believe them. 

anyways, byler is endgame. thanks for reading :) 

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Same as it ever was 6

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as neglect, bullying, manipulation, cheating, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: Between your home life and work, you just can’t catch a break. Especially after you draw the ire of your boss.

Characters: Lloyd Hansen ft. Pete Brenner

Note: have a happy friday.

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!)

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

Sunday gives you an excuse to get away. Pete, like a dog with his tail between his legs, doesn't even try to come up with an excuse to 'work'. You take Simone with you to the grocery store, warning the slug that he can handle Malik for a couple hours alone. You notice the pout in his lips but don't acknowledge it.

You don't need much but you take your time. You agree to buy Simone an Archie comic, shrugging off the extra few dollars as you notice her growing restless. You made her leave her book at home. You're happy she loves to read but she can't ignore the world all the time.

"You wanna get lunch?" You ask as you push the cart through the lot.

"Mm, I dunno," she drags her feet, "I'm tired."

"Probably 'cause you need to eat," you judge her with your elbow, "come on, how often is it just the two of us."

She grumbles but you ignore her reluctance. You're in no hurry to get home and you can scrounge enough for a sit down in the diner. It might be the last nice thing you can afford.

You load up the bags on the trunk and drive down the block to the same place you would take Simon when you were still pregnant with Malik. Those days were nice and so far behind you. The memory makes your heart ache.

You open the door ahead of Simone and follow her into the mom and pop shop. You're seated by the window in a booth. You order coffee as your daughter gets an apple juice. You peruse the menu but you're not very hungry.

"Oh, they still have the grilled cheese," you say.

"Yeah…" she continues to read the menu, nonplussed by your suggestion.

You tap your toe and cup your chin as you look out the window. It's a nice day even if you're gloomy inside. You turn back to the table and flip over the menu. 

The waitress returns with your drinks. You sip your coffee before you order a mac and cheese and Simone gets chicken fingers. You hand the menus over and smile at your daughter. She's old enough, she'll catch on soon.

"So, what's your latest adventure about?" You ask.

"Uh, well, I just read one about a knight. She's a girl and she goes off to fight an army of trolls…"

You immerse yourself in her retelling of the children's novel. You don't care, it's better than reality. You giggle and smile as she becomes more animated. She can be so monotone but her passion makes you proud.

A figure approaches, breaking your trance, and you look over expecting the waitress. To your chagrin, it's not.

You grip the edge of the table as Simone's voice peters out and she looks at the man with her cool deadpan. You clear your throat, fighting the urge to reach across and shield her. Mr. Hansen smirks down at you as he glances between you and your daughter.

"Funny running into you here," he snickers, "enjoying your weekend."

"Just having lunch," you say crisply, "hope you're having a good Sunday."

You turn straight on the bench and look at Simone as you gesture for her to face you. She frowns as you try to come up with an escape plan. You don't even know what to say and he's not going anywhere.

"Oh I'm having a wonderful weekend. Look at you, how cute, this must be the spawn."

"Spawn?" Simone murmurs, "hey, what's your deal, guy?"

"Sim," you wave her off, "that's good to hear Mr. Hansen. I hate to keep you so–"

"Room for one more?" He winks.

"Ew, no," Simone speaks before you can, "mom, tell him to go away."

"She's mouthy. Not hard to guess why," he scoffs.

You slide off the seat and stand, stepping between him and the table. You arch a brow, pleading with your hands out.

"Please, sir, we're just enjoying a meal out. I'll see you tomorrow. At work."

He watches you, his amusement playing on his face. He's enjoying seeing you squirm, just like before. He always knows the most sensitive spot to hit. Your kids would be top of the list.

"Tomorrow," he winks as he leans back on his heel, "we got a special meeting, don't we?"

"Sir," you hiss.

He chuckles and rolls his eyes, "alright, ladies, enjoy your lunch."

He backs up and struts away. You don't sit until he's out the door. What on earth is he even doing in a place like this? It's not exactly a Michelin star experience.

You settle back in and swallow, turning to watch out the window. He isn't in his usual suit but still dressed nicely. A peach polo peeking out under a teal bomber jacket and canary pants. Tacky if you say so yourself.

"Who was that weirdo?" Simone asks.

"My boss," you lean back, "just saying hi."

"He's strange. Like the villain in the book I was reading," she scowls out the window, "you need a new job."

You laugh despite yourself, "you have no idea. First things first, I'm starving."

🗄️

You get home, exhausted. You put away the groceries and tidy up. Of course Pete couldn't clean up after making a mess of the kitchen for a simple PB and J. You sigh as you finish and look in on the kids in the living room.

Malik colours as Simone creases her brow at her book. You hear Pete outside working on his Corvette. For a brand new car, it sure needs a lot of maintenance.

You tell the kids you'll be upstairs if they need anything. You go to the bedroom and open the closet. You're so anxious about tomorrow, you may as well get ready to face the music.

You pick out an outfit. Nothing special. You don't have anything fashionable. It's not like you need more than a striped blouse and worn black pants. You just don't want to come back up there to grab it all in the morning.

As you come downstairs, you hear Malik giggling. You peek in through the doorway with your armful of clothing. Pete sits on the floor at the coffee table beside the boy and scribbles with a crayon. He meets your eye as you pass and gives a sheepish smile. You shake your head and keep going.

You open the door to the basement and the cool air sweeps around your descent. You put the outfit on the folding table beside the camping cot. Your first few nights have been less than comfortable. As cozy as your own marriage.

You check the dryer and take out the towels, folding them on the top and stacking them there. You hear footsteps on the stairs. You keep your back to the airy space.

"Hey," Pete says. You're not surprised. He keeps trying to corner you. "So…"

"Busy," you grab a basket and set the towels in it.

"Hm," he stops only a few feet from you, "Simone said you ran into someone. Your boss."

"Yup. Nice guy," you utter dryly.

"I thought Mandy was your boss."

You roll your eyes as you lift the basket and turn, "one of many. She's up in York now."

"Ah…" he hangs his head, gripping one hip, "a lot's changed."

"I'm not in the mood to talk so let's not do this."

He huffs and steps into your path. He puts a hand on the basket. He looks you in the face.

"I will be home every day at six–"

"Too late."

"Please, can't I just try? Can't you?"

"Me? I tried, Pete," you snap, "come home at six anyway. The kids will be happy."

"What about you?"

You stare at him grimly. Your eyes tingle and you look away. Your chest rises and falls.

"I haven't been happy in a long time. Don't think I will be again," you shrug and pull the basket away, striding past him, "I didn't make you happy either, did I?"

He huffs and trails after you as you cross to the stairs. As you go to make your ascent and he grabs your arm and spins you back to him. Before you can react, he snatches the basket from your grip and places it on the stack of rubbermaid bins by the wall.

He puts his hands on your arms and pulls you against him. He leans in and you turn your head, his lips crashing into your cheek. You shove on his chest and growl.

"What are you doing?" You pinch by his ribs.

"Baby, please, let me make it up to you–"

"Don't touch me," you push on him, "get off."

"I love you. I mean it–"

"Stop!" You hit his chest again but he doesn't budge, instead wrapping his arms around you, squeezing the breath out of you. How is he still so strong when you only ever got weaker? "Pete…"

"You can't walk away–"

"You already did," you keep your voice down, mindful of the open door above.

"Let me try. I wanna make love to you–"

"Pfft, yeah right. Go get tested and I might even consider letting you hold my hand," you snarl, "get off of me now."

"Wha– I'm clean–"

"Get!" You bring your knee up and feel it collide with his crotch. He releases you and staggers back, cupping his most precious possession. "You're a dirty fucking weasel."

You turn and pick up the basket and stomp up the stairs as you hear him whimpering. Serves him right. You can't help but smile at the ounce of power you feel in that moment. 

🗄️

Monday morning both too quickly but not fast enough. You get up with the kids and get them ready for school, filling a thermos of coffee for yourself. You drive them to school and send them off with dread in your chest.

For a moment, you idle outside the school. You miss the days when you only worried about spelling quizzes and dodgeball. You hope at least your kids never end up where you are.

You follow the crawl of traffic out of the school zone and reluctantly steer towards work. You yawn and drain half your thermos before you get to the office. As you shoulder your bag and look up at the corporate facade, you feel the world threaten to crumble around you. No, not the whole world, just yours.

You enter behind a few others and try to find your courage in the elevator. You peek over at your coworkers; you recognise two but the other you don't know. There's not much workplace camaraderie, more of an understanding to get your work down and clock out.

You follow them out and go to your desk. You sit and pop the lid off of your thermos. Just enough to get you through this. You don't unpack your lunch, certain you won't be eating it there.

You turn on your PC and sign in. You're in no hurry to get started on work. Your calendar pops up with the internal schedule reminder. There it is, a meeting in ten minutes. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

You get up and go to the bathroom. You can do this. You dealt with your scoundrel husband, you are still moving, you're not dead in the water.

But how do you survive this? Do you beg? You quit and take the loss? No you can't. You need this job and if you get fired, at least you'll have a hope at severance. 

You avoid your reflection. That old woman isn't you. You go out and check your watch, pausing as the shine of your rings gleam in the fluorescent light. You slide them off and put them in your back pocket. 

You check the schedule one last time and go to tbe meeting room. There's no one there as you find the door shut. It's clearly empty on the other side of the windowed walls. You lean against the plaster and tap your sole.

"Ah, there she is. How's it goin', toots? You need some chamomile? The chairs sure are comfy, aren't they?" Mr. Hansen struts down with his hands in his pockets.

"Sir," you greet flatly. He's mocking you. Jokes on him, you're always tired. 

"Come on," he twists the handle and swings the door open so that it bounces on the hinges, "get moving."

You don't react to his crass tone. You merely step into the room as the light flicks on as the censor picks up your movement. You walk along one side of the table as Hansen shuts the door.

You hover behind a chair as he goes along the wall and tugs each cord to repel the blinds down, blocking out the hallway. Uneasiness bubbles in your stomach as you watch him. You expected him to make your humiliation public.

"Have a seat, honey buns," he faces you, approaching the other side of the table.

You sit and fold your hands on the table top. He has no paperwork, not even a computer. You wonder what exactly is going on. 

"Is someone from HR–"

"Look, let's keep the sticklers outta this," he waves you off, kick one foot out as he shifts his weight to one hip, "unless you really want a disciplinary slip. Me, personally, I can't be fucked with that paperwork."

You frown and flatten your hands on the table, trying to keep your anxiety from showing. He looks at the gesture and tilts his head. His cheek dimples and he snorts.

He doesn't comment. Not at first. He paces up and down the table and bites his thumb. 

"Alright, let's get to business," he stops at the end, close to the corner, "what are you willing to do to keep this job?"

"Sir?"

"Pretty daughter you got. Probably eats up that paycheck in no time. All those cute shirts and ugh, the growth spurts–"

"Mr. Hansen," you swallow, "please, I don't think my family has anything to do with this."

"They have everything to do with this," he insists, "let's not pretend."

"I'm not– I'm sorry I fell asleep. It won't happen again."

"I gave you an out. All you had to do was put your hands down my pants and you could've napped in the boardroom. No problem. I do it all the time," he snickers, "but no, you're a stubborn little bitch. Makes me wonder what the old man sees in ya. Really, cause a tight ass ain't fun unless you get inside–"

"Mr. Hansen," you exclaim, revolted by his lewd words.

"Whatever he's doing, he's not doing it right. You need to loosen up, toots," he runs his thumb across his mustache, "and that little girl won't be so proud of mommy if she ends up working at Burger King like some stoner teenager–"

You sputter, heat creeping up the nape of your neck and speckling down your body. You shake your head. Did he know or is it a lucky guess? Either way, you don't have the energy for this. You're done being a joke for men.

"Just spit it out. What do I have to do?" You sneer as your hands ball.

His lips slant and he smothers a noise in his throat. He slowly walks closet until he's right beside you. You turn the chair to face him as he leans down and puts his hand on yours. He unfolds your fingers and feels along the indents left by your rings.

"Looks like trouble in paradise," he winks, "well, I'm the good kinda trouble. Trust me."

You stare at him. You're not as naive as you once were. There's no denial here. This is real life, a bitter pill you need to swallow.

"That's it? A hand job and I keep my job?" You squint.

He laughs and cups your chin, "oh, you think that's it?"

You can't help but let your surprise bleed through. Your not some young hot thing. Is he just trying to rub salt in the wound or is he serious?

"I…"

"Hand, mouth, cunt, ass, tits," he pulls away as he lists of each word, "you look in tact for the most part. But most importantly…" he shoots you with a finger gun, "you're desperate. What more could I ask for?"

[dozing-marshmallow]

I looooooooove the chris x wife! reader fic that you wrote!! It got me kicking my feet and blushing 😊 By any chance, could you write a chris x wife! reader going on their honeymoon?

Awww this is such a cute idea, thank you so much, I’m so happy to hear that you loved the last one! ⋆˙⟡♡  I had to get something out on the man’s birthday as soon as I could and this request was the one I was fixated on finishing the most, so do enjoy reading and McLean’s bday ~💗!

CHRIS MCLEAN X WIFE! READER ON HONEYMOON HEADCANONS

Most newly wed couples go to just one location for their honeymoon.

Yet it was very poor of you to think that standard would apply to Chris.

You didn’t realise until he informed you that you were gonna go to two countries per continent(apart from Antartica, cuz what the hell): Barbados and Costa Rica for North America, Brazil and Colombia for South America, France and Italy for Europe, Thailand and (The) Philippines for Asia, Morocco and Tunisia for Africa, French Polynesia and Australia for Oceania.

The only reason why Chris cut it to two instead of four was because he suspected you would get sick of travelling, and didn’t want you to be complaining on holiday.

“Chriiis, we don’t need to, you know!” you’re verbal about your humble take on the honeymoon as Chris made his long list based on the notes he wrote from his and your opinions,“This is all so costly! We could really go to two continents instead!”

“Huh?” he looks at you, confusion scratching into the space between his eyebrows,“(Y/N), this is literally nothing. You seriously wanna spend our whole two months of celebrating marriage in one place like working class people?”

Harsh, but it’s fine because it’s Chris.

Before you left, he took you on a massive shopping spree where it had not even been the beginning of him pampering you with all the jewellery, the swimsuits and the candies.

This guy doesn’t need to book reservations: the best hotels, air BNBs, holiday homes, you name the one you want to stay at the country and baam. Availability opens a door and charm hands over the keys.

He also hired a chaperone for each country, but most of the time, only for the arrival and departure; he wanted more alone time with you.

At this rate, you wondered if he needed to pay to enter the countries asides from paying the fuel and landing runway.

That’s right. You were getting there by his jet -he ended up upgrading- to each location.

Since it wasn’t meant to carry fifteen contestants this time, Chris abolished the loser and first class section in the new version of his plane to be furnished completely into his headquarters.

During each jet ride, you and Chris would review helpful phrases and attractions that would enhance the experience.

“So in France, we will have to remember to say “bonsoir” from 6 PM onwards.” you reiterate.

“That’s doable.” Chris comments, leaning back in his chair.

“And they don’t like smiling a lot.” you add, doing it yourself.

His relaxation ended,“Bummer. D’you think they can make an exception for me? My resting face is a smile.”

They did- in every place.

The honeymoon was an epoch for Chris to meet his fans from all over the world. If you had a dollar for every autograph he signed the entire getaway, you would have enough money to have your own jet.

Weirdly enough, Chris lost genuine pleasure to greet his global admirers and increasingly rushed the interactions.

“It’s okay to be more attentive to your fans, Chris.” you insist, with your head on his bare body, laying around somewhere on the warm Tunisian beach.

“Nah.” he differs with his hand scrubbing sand on your back,“I came on holiday with you, not them. I couldn’t leave you by yourself.”

Aw. You love your husband,“You’re right. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

He bought you anything that caught your eye. Clothes, hats, rings, ice cream, souvenirs.

Chris had also bought five cameras. He wasn’t letting a single moment of a scenery or pose go to waste.

Be prepared for the day when he eventually gets them all printed out and stuck in fresh albums and wants to reminisce with you.

He took you to the best restaurants, never settling for one less than five stars (maybe four if you persuaded him enough).

“To another exceptional night of our honeymoon!” he raises his glass of happiness.

You copy, both clinking and declaring cheers.

Going back to your accommodation, Chris would have you carried until the first descent onto the fine duvets.

Let’s just say that, by the time you do get back to Canada, both husband and wife’s necks have never been more wine red.

[copperbadge]

We recently got into a discussion of producing audiobooks for small press, indy, and/or selfpub authors on another post, but we had strayed pretty far from the original post, and @genedoucette very kindly gave permission for me to slice his comment off the end of that post and put it into a new one.

genedoucette

I have been very, very lucky when it comes to audiobooks, so I'm hesitant to offer advice without adding a huge YMMV caveat at the top. For most of my self-published novels, I used ACX and paid a narrator out-of-pocket (rather than 50-50 proceeds split), which just means I'm paying an agreed-upon X dollars per finished hour, prior to making any money off f the audio editon. Every book I did this with paid for itself, sometimes within the first two or three months, sometimes longer. (YMMV: I did a lot of this during what I would call the audiobook bubble, when demand was higher than supply.) I had another novel series--Tandemstar--that I brought to an audiobook company, who brought it to their distributor, who agreed to pay for the production costs of the book and to pay me a (small) advance. To date, the royalties from that series have not made up the cost of the advance, but the good news was that none of the production costs came from my pocket and the advance meant I did make something out of the deal. The rule-of-thumb I always heard was, don't expect books that haven't sold well to sell any better as audiobooks. But my experience, with ACX/Audible, is this: about 50% of my monthly earning come from audio sales. How long is the book in question (word count), and what is the genre? Because it is absolutely possible to get a not-terrible narrator at a not-terrible cost on ACX. If it's a low word count book with a decent sales record, I'd 100% do it. If it's a high word count book with few sales, maybe not.

Thanks so much for this! I am admittedly always suspicious of Amazon writ large, but it's not like I've never partnered with them before, and often for indy authors they're one of a very few games in town.

50% of sales via audio impresses me a lot -- I'm not really in the industry so my sense of scale may be off but my eyebrows went up at that. And looking at ACX, a split-profits model would be appealing. I'm more interested in providing the reader with more options than I am with making royalties, so I don't mind low payout, but I also don't want to exploit a narrator if I can avoid it.

I doubt I'm selling near the level you are, but it's pretty consistent, at least -- for the last literary novel I published in 2021, and for the four genre romances published in the past year-and-change, it's generally 200-250 copies (epub and paperback) in the first 6 months, and about 40 per year after that. None of them are over 100K words -- the first of the romance novels, the one I'd be most likely to have done as an audiobook to trial, is around 50K, and the other books are all between 60K and 90K or so.

There's some fine print I'm not nuts about -- exclusivity to Amazon/Audible/iTunes for example -- but I can see why it's a necessary business model for them. There's not a ton of clarity on cost per hour for a book, but it looks like for a flat fee it starts around $250 per finished hour? So I'd probably be looking at minimum $1K out of pocket, which is probably roughly (I haven't done the math) royalties per book for a full year. It could be fun to give it a swing regardless, although reading the ACX site made me realize I'd actually have to give notes and feedback to a reader which sounds nervewracking.

It looks like the readers for ACX are repped by SAG-AFTRA, which means that for now I have time to consider while the strike is going on. (Obviously not all of them are union but if it's an entertainment format where the union is involved, I don't want to cross the picket.) And the ACX site is pretty comprehensive in terms of figuring out how it all works, so if I did want to source a narrator elsewhere and perhaps not distribute exclusively through ACX, I now have a grounding from which to research other options too.

Sorry, a lot of this is just me thinking aloud, but I truly do appreciate the info and also something to bounce off of in terms of considering it. And I appreciate the opportunity to share it with my readership too, thank you!

[knickynoo]

Back to the Future Part II, The Novel by Craig Shaw Gardner: Thoughts, commentary, and general ramblings

Part 6: A weird-looking old man and a little guy in a leather jacket.

Previous posts here

• Instead of describing Doc as a “crazy, wild-eyed old man,” Old Biff says, “a weird-looking old man,” which is just so personal, lol

• There’s an interesting scene where Marty is almost caught in Biff’s garage. The shouting between Biff and his grandmother isn’t there to alert Marty, and instead, Biff just walks straight out to the garage. Marty thinks it’s Doc who has come to rescue him and calls out, which Biff hears. Marty then hides in the car, and waits as Biff looks around a bit before getting distracted.

• I really want the full scene of Doc scrambling to get that new hat and bike so he can head over to Biff’s house. The book mentions that he’d bought the bike a few hours prior (then had to wait for it to get dark enough) but I’d love to see how that played out. I also want Marty doing his shopping for his Inconspicuous outfit.

• Marty has a very funny response to Doc reminding him to be careful at the dance since his other self is there with Lorraine. “Yeah, that’s right! Hey, that’s cool, Doc. Maybe I’ll say hello to myself.”

This is followed immediately by, “’No!’ Doc felt like he might have a heart attack.”

And what I want to know is: is Marty just being a wisenheimer, or is he genuinely considering stopping to chit-chat with his other self? I could honestly see it going either way with Marty.

• This chapter is giving me a few good chuckles so far. Marty enters the dance and it says, “He stepped through, and found himself in the same alcove where he’d had that heart-to-heart with his future parents—the one about being nice when your son sets fire to the rug.”

Why don’t we have any definitive information on The Rug Incident? That story should’ve been included in the comics. I need to know what unfolded that day. Why did Marty set the rug on fire? Was it purely accidental? Did little Marty go through an arsonist phase?

I demand answers.

• When we return to Doc, who is still riding his bike all over the place, he ends up at the Peabody farm. There’s a cop there talking to Mr. Peabody, who’s recounting the alien encounter he had. Which…doesn’t make much sense to me since this is a week now since the “flying saucer” originally crashed into his barn. But I guess this has been an ongoing ordeal, and Otis has been trying to get someone to take him seriously.

Anyway, Doc is worried that they might actually stumble upon where he’s hidden the DeLorean behind the billboard, so he goes over and announces that he saw the spacecraft take off wayyy in the other direction. The police officer and Otis immediately take off in search of it.

• I wish I got a dollar for every time in this novel that Marty has said, “Yo, Doc!” because I would have many dollars.

• Lester (Wallet Guy) describes Marty to Biff as, “A little guy in a leather jacket.” So true, Lester. He IS just a little guy in a leather jacket.

• Ok, OK!! So! Two things to mention about the scene after the dance where Marty runs into Biff outside the door. After Biff calls him chicken, Marty once again recalls that, per his mother’s repeated suggestions, he’s supposed to count to 10 when he’s upset. And as he wrestles with his feelings, he thinks, “Maybe he always felt he needed to do this because he was so short.” !!!!! May I direct you to this ask and poll? There you have it, folks. Marty (book Marty, at least) is quite aware of his height and ALSO aware that it might be the reason he wants to fight at the slightest provocation.

• I already always feel bad for the Western Union guy when I watch the movie, and this makes me feel even more sorry for him. He gets no closure!!! He will NEVER know what the 70-year-old mystery letter was all about. The most disappointed voice Marty has ever heard!!

• We close with the scene of Marty running back to the clock tower. However, his revealing his presence to Doc is pretty different in the book than it is in the movie. We’re told, “Marty stepped out of the shadow of the courthouse. He tapped Doc on the shoulder.”

I mean. It definitely doesn’t have The Flair of Marty running full speed and dramatically spinning Doc to face him, but it is funny. He just. Steps out from the shadows and gives him a little tap. A gentle, “Um, hi, hello, I’m back.” Amuses me to think about.

This is how I imagine it, btw.

• The book ends with Doc passing out and Marty legitimately fearing that Doc may have just DIED before his very eyes, and how will he ever get home now?

I guess we’ll find out in the part III novel! Stay tuned.

[fabled-lady-twilla]

I took a mental health day today (forced myself to get out of the house) and went to the book store. I got myself a lil sweet treat and read for a couple of hours but OMG when did manga prices get so expensive? I wanted to buy myself a couple of volumes of MHA and they’re like, 11.99 PER volume. That's like, almost the price of a novel!

I remember being a lil teenager and they were like… 6 or 7 dollars. I haven't bought manga in a while so I was truly baffled. 😔

Anyways. I've been a little sad lately and it's really been affecting my writing but I feel a lot better after performing some much needed self-care today! Gonna get back outlining my MHA fanfiction and (hopefully) get back to writing the happy ending that Izu and Shiggy deserve. 🥰❤️

[literaticat]

What does it take for a book to make a publisher a million dollars on a title? Yes, robust promotion, hard work and a sprinkle of luck! But sales wise is 500 K copies or more a very realistic ballpark-ish figure? Talking MG of course! 

Huh. I mean just in terms of numbers, uh... do you rlly want me to do math this early in the morning? OK, but I warn you, nobody ever reads the math posts, so it's probably for nothing.

Of course IT DEPENDS is really the answer, but. Let's say the hardcover book retails at $20. You, the author, get 10% of the retail price, in this case, $2 per book. If you sold 500k copies at the regular retail price of $20, that's ten million dollars, your 10% is one million dollars, so you would have earned a million dollars in royalties, less your advance that you already received. (Never mind that most books don't come remotely close to selling 500k, or the fact that many of your book sales would probably be 'exports' or 'special sales' or something that has a different royalty rate, or the fact that this doesn't take into account subsidiary rights -- whatever, we're doing BASIC numbers here!)

But that's not what you asked - you asked how many would it take for A PUBLISHER to make a million dollars. The answer in this scenario is: Less than 500k. Obviously the publisher 'earns out' before you do. But let me see if I can break it down:

The retail price is $20 at the bookstore. The bookstore gets around 40-50% of that, the publisher around 50-60% so let's call it 55% and say the publisher gets $11 per every book sold. We know that $2 goes to you, the author. In this scenario, that means they get $9 per book sold. But how much did 500k books cost to PRINT? To warehouse? To ship? How much are they paying the employees who edited, designed, managed, printed, boxed, schlepped, shipped? How much to keep the lights on? How much was their initial outlay for this book? THAT I have no idea. But we do know that they are running a business and presumably intend for that business to be profitable, and they certainly crunch a lotta numbers before they offer, so -- let's say each book costs them $3 all-in. (Like, say, $2 for printing /shipping that particular single book, and $1 for that individual book's portion of the employee salary, lights being on, account for returns/damages/shipping problems or WHATEVER). I have no idea if I'm right btw, this is total guesswork, but hey.

IN THIS SCENARIO, that means to print 500k copies, they laid out 1.5 million dollars, and they are making $6 per unit sold. So they will have recouped their investment and gotten to a million dollars by the time they sold 417k, approx.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Toontown Corporate Clash Recap: Toontown Central Cogs

Okay so, before I begin, let me just explain that Trap Gags were updated a couple days ago so that, when multiple Traps are set on the same Cog in the same turn, all are overwritten except for the most powerful.

Now, on to Toontown Central’s Cogs:

(Note: because of how I split my information up, some information unrelated to the Cogs was mixed in.)

Toontown Central Playground has four tunnels that each lead to different streets:

Puncline Place, which connects to Barnacle Boatyard. The Fisherman is a purple duck named Punchy. Its Cog Population is 40% Sellbots, 40% Cashbots, 5% Lawbots, 5% Bossbots, 10% Boardbots, and every Cog that spawns has a 5% chance of being an executive.

Silly Street, which connects to Ye Olde Toontowne. The Fisherman is a yellow duck named Billy. Its Cog population is 20% Sellbot, 20% Cashbot, 20% Lawbot, 20% Bossbot, and 20% Boardbot. Its Cogs have a 10% chance of being executives.

Wacky Way, which connects to Daffodil Garden. It used to have a white kiwi named Fruity as its Fisherman, but Fruity was removed from the game a while ago. Its Cog population is 5% Sellbot, 5% Cashbot, 20% Lawbot, 30% Bossbot, and 40% Boardbot. Every Cog on this street has a 5% chance of being an executive.

Loopy Lane, which connects to Mezzo Melodyland. The Fisherman is an orange cat named Droopy.  Its Cog population is 5% Sellbot, 5% Cashbot, 40% Lawbot, 30% Bossbot, and 20% Boardbot, with a 5% Executive chance.

Most of the Neighborhood’s Cog Level Range is from Levels 1-4, with the exception of Silly Street, which has a Level Range of 1-3.

Level 1 Cogs can create 1 story Cog Buildings, Level 2 Cogs Tier 1 2 Story Cog Buildings, Level 3 can make Tier 2 2 Story Cog Buildings, Level 4 Cogs make Tier 1 3 Story Cog Buildings. There’s a maximum of 3 Cog buildings per street, and Level 5, 6, and 7 Cogs can appear in buildings.

I’ll only be covering the Cogs that can appear on the streets, however.

You can encounter Cogs up to Level 4, allowing you to meet the following Cogs in battle on the Streets:

Cold Caller: Sellbots. Levels 1-5. Has a blue, cube-like head.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Air Conditioning, Ice Cubicles

Dislikes: Space Heaters, the Cold Shoulder

Cold Callers have the following attacks:

Freeze Assets: Summons a cloud to bring gloomy snow down on a single Toon.

Pound Key: Takes out a rotary phone and bounds the keys on it, sending # (pound) signs at a single Toon.

Mumbo Jumbo: Attacks a single Toon with a barrage of meaningless business jargon that goes flying out of its head and swarms the Toon.

Telemarketer: Sellbots. Levels 2-6. Resembles a white man with a scrunched up, angry face.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Persistence, Phone Books, Strong Signals

Dislikes: Caller ID, Hang-Ups

Telemarketers have the following attacks:

Clip On Tie: Yeets a clip on tie at a single Toon’s neck.

Rolodex: Sorts through a rolodex, leafs through a rolodex, sending a barrage of rolodex cards at a single Toon.

Finger Wag: Wags a finger at the target, hitting a single Toon with a barrage of “Blah!”.

Pound Key: Same as before.

Name Dropper: Sellbots. Level 3-7. Pink head with purple hair and massive lips.

Honorifics: Ms.

Likes: Alphabetical Order, Friends in High Places, Rolodexes

Dislikes: Fact Checking, Nobodies

Name Droppers have the following attacks:

Razzle Dazzle: Holds up a stick with a smile on the end in front of her mouth, launching a ring of sparkles at a single Toon.

Rolodex: Same as before.

Synergy: Wiggles her fingers and sends out a wave of dollar signs at all the Toons. Any Toons the attack hits are lifted about a foot into the air and then dropped to the ground. Accuracy is calculated separately for each Toon, meaning it can hit some Toons without hitting ALL of them.

Pick Pocket: Steals a dollar from the pocket of one Toon. As Toons don’t use dollars as currency, this attack only causes the Toon to lose Laff, no Gags, Jellybeans, or Gumballs are lost. The Cog does not regain HP by using this attack either.

Glad Hander: Sellbots. Levels 4-8. Large, round head with pale skin and a large, toothy grin. Also have massive hands.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Enthusiasm, Handshakes

Dislikes: Joybuzzers, Sweaty Palms, Weak Grips

Glad Handers have the following attacks:

Rubber Stamp: After inking up the stamp, they press it against the air in front of them, sending the imprint of the stamp at a single Toon.

Fountain Pen: Squirts a stream of ink at a single Toon from the tip of the pen.

Filibuster: Cog stamps their fist in their palm, sending a string of legal jargon at a single Toon.

Schmooze: Same as filibuster, but the words are now compliments. Painful compliments that cause damage on impact, but still compliments.

Short Change: Cashbots. Levels 1-5. Light blue, smaller recolors of Cold Callers.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Hoarding Cash, Skimming Off the Surface

Dislikes: Checks, Exact Change

Short Changes have the following attacks:

Water Cooler: Squirts a single Toon with a stream of water from the water cooler’s spigot.

Bounce Check: Bounces a pay check along the ground towards a Single Toon’s face.

Clip On Tie: Same as before.

Pick Pocket: Same as before.

Penny Pincher: Cashbots. Levels 2-6. Red, thin head with a scrunched up angry face.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Pocket Change, Clipping Coupons

Dislikes: Holes in Pockets, Mark Ups

Penny Pinchers have the following attacks:

Bounce Check

Freeze Assets

Finger Wag

Tightwad: Cashbots. Levels 3-7. Green, short heads with scrunched up angry faces and massive hands.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Bouncing Checks, Counting Cash

Dislikes: High Payments, the Holidays

Tightwads have the following attacks:

Fired: Wiggles their fingers at a single Toon, sending tiny flames to burn them. (Note: Does not inflict any status effects.)

Glower Power: Literally glares daggers at a single Toon.

Finger Wag

Freeze Assets

Bean Counter: Cashbots. Levels 4-8. Green, thin head under a bowler hat. Their faces are angry and scrunched up.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Accounting, Calculators

Dislikes: Know-It-Alls, Losing Count, Things Not Adding Up

Bean Counters have access to the following attacks:

Audit: Punches the keys of an auditing machine with a sheet of paper coming out, sending the symbols on those keys flying out at a single Toon.

Calculate: Same as Audit.

Tabulate: Same as Calculate.

Write Off: scribbles something on a clipboard, then sends a checkmark flying at a single Toon.

Bottom Feeder: Lawbots. Levels 1-5. They’ve got blue, flattened head, trash-can lid-like mouths that open on a hinge (causing the upper half of their head to go flying open every time they speak), banana peels on their heads, and five-o-clock shadows.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: One Man’s Trash, Leftovers

Dislikes: First Dibs, Recycling

Bottom Feeders have the following attacks:

Rubber Stamp

Shred: Puts a sheet of paper through a paper shredder, sending the shreds at a single Toon.

Water Cooler

Pick Pocket

Bloodsucker: Lawbots. Levels 2-6. They are literally vampires.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Dark Nights, Drinking a Pint, Easy Prey

Dislikes: Silver Spoons, Garlic

Bloodsuckers have the following attacks:

Eviction Notice: Throws a rigid sheet of paper with a red seal stamped in the bottom left corner at a Toon, flattening them if it hits.

Red Tape: Throws a roll of red tape at a single Toon, briefly restraining them on impact.

Withdrawal: Draws some sparkly bits out of a single Toon.

Bite: Cog yeets some wind up chattering teeth at a single Toon, which bites them if it connects.

Liquidate: Cog sends a raincloud after a single Toon, causing it to rain demoralizing words on them and sink them into a dark puddle if it hits.

Pettifogger: Lawbots. Operations Analysts. Levels 2-7. Blue, cylindrical head with a powdered wig and fogged up glasses. Always scowling.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Plea Deals, Litigation

Dislikes: Transparency, Sunny Days

Pettifoggers have the following attacks:

Filibuster

Red Tape

Write Off

Finger Wag

Double Talker: Lawbots. Levels 3-7. Have two faces, both showing unhappiness in different ways.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Confuddled Speech, Double Meanings

Dislikes: One-Sided Arguments, Decisiveness

Double Talkers have the following attacks:

Rubber Stamp

Bounce Check

Buzz Word: Cog wags their finger and sends multiple yellow and black “buzzes” at a single Toon to swarm them.

Double Talk: Signature attack of Double Talkers. They send contradictory words to barrage a singular target.

Jargon: Bangs fist on hand to send difficult-to-understand words at a single target.

Mumbo Jumbo

Needlenose: Lawbots. Field Specialists. Levels 3-10.  Blue skin. Red hair in a bun. Needle for a nose in the middle of their large, angry faces.

Honorifics: Ms.

Likes: Crochet, Cross Stitching

Dislikes: Thimbles, Bending the Rules

Needlenoses have access to the following attacks:

Rubber Stamp

Fountain Pen

Buzz Word

Pound Key

Ambulance Chaser: Lawbots. Levels 4-8. Purple skin, angry face, wearing a white cap with a purple cross.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Insurance Premiums, Traffic Accidents

Dislikes: Healthy Habits, Waivers

Ambulance Chasers can perform the following attacks:

Shake: User stomps the ground hard enough to shake it for an AOE attack. Toons who dodge this attack do so by jumping repeatedly, while Toons who get hit all trip and do a belly flop.

Red Tape

Rolodex

Hang Up: User presses keys on an oldfashioned landline phone, then hangs up, damaging a single target.

Conveyancer: Lawbots. Levels 4-8. Metallic, cylindrical head with goggles revealing their absolutely terrifying eyes, above an equally terrifying mouth.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Mass Production, Real Estate

Dislikes: Inefficiency, Indecisiveness

Conveyancers have the following attacks:

Legalese: Bangs fist in hand, sending wave of legalese at a single target.

Eviction Notice

Rolodex

Jargon

Flunky: Bossbots. Levels 1-5. Cute, rounded, pyramid-esque head with massive glasses covering a frowning face.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Menial Labor, Strong Frames

Dislikes: Complicated Tasks, Being Looked Down On, Tutorial Tom

Flunkies have access to the following attacks:

Pound Key

Shred

Clip On Tie

Pencil Pusher: Bossbots. Levels 2-6. Their heads resemble the points of no 2 pencils.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Getting to the Point, Staying Sharp

Dislikes: Erasers, Pens

Pencil Pushers have the following attacks:

Fountain Pen

Rub Out: Erases something off a clipboard, causing a single Toon to briefly disappear, one body part at a time, if the hit connects. (Again, Cog attacks don’t inflict debuffs, so this just deals damage.)

Finger Wag

Right Off

Fill With Lead: Pencil Pushers’ signature attack. They stick a pencil (not their head) into a pencil sharpener and barrage a Toon with the shavings.

Yesman: Bossbots. Levels 3-7. Same exact head as Glad Handers, but smaller.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Agreeable Statements, Staying Positive

Dislikes: Disapproval, Rejection

Yesmen have the following attacks:

Rubber Stamp

Razzle Dazzle

Synergy

Tee Off: Hits a golf ball towards a single Toon’s head.

Micromanager: Bossbots. Levels 4-8. Tiny women.

Honorifics: Ms.

Likes: Small Scale Problems, Butting In

Dislikes: Being Corrected, Proper Supervision

Micromanagers have access to the following attacks:

Demotion: Sends sparkles at a single Toon.

Finger Wag

Fountain Pen

Brainstorm: Sends a thundering storm cloud after a single Toon, raining words on them.

Buzz Word

Con Artist: Boardbots. Levels 1-5. Small, gray head with a big grin and a French beret.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Theaters, Smoke and Mirrors

Dislikes: Slow Decisions, Split Paintbrushes

Con Artists have access to the following attacks:

Bounce Check

Schmooze

Fountain Pen

Mumbo Jumbo

Pick Pocket

Connoisseur: Boardbots. Levels 2-6. Big mustache, monocle, and a tophat on top of their head.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Fine Oil, The Arts

Dislikes: Amateur Hour, Disproportions

Connoisseurs have the following attacks:

Half Windsor: Yeets a tie at a single Toon’s neck.

Jargon

Brain Storm

Finger Wag

Mumbo Jumbo

Swindler: Boardbots. Levels 3-7. Thin, cylindrical, gray head in a bandit’s mask. Also have a mustache in the middle of the scrunched up, scowling face.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Suckers, Deception

Dislikes: Common Sense, Being Exposed

The attacks?

Bounce Check

Hang Up

Rolodex

Pick Pocket

Middleman: Boardbots. Levels 4-8. Two faces with big, toothy grins.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Taking a Cut, Negotiating

Dislikes: Two Man Jobs, Direct Selling

They’ve got access to the following attacks:

Re-Org: Reorganizes a single Toon’s head.

Rolodex

Synergy

Razzle Dazzle

Because I’m tired of recounting Cogs I’m going to save the building exclusive Cogs for the next post. Thankfully, future neighborhoods will NOT introduce as many new Cogs at once, which will give me WAY more breathing room.

That said, there is ONE Cog who can only be found on Toontown Central’s streets.

Duck Shuffler: Level 5 Cashbot Manager. He wears an unkempt Cashbot suit. Red duck head with a slot machine in place of his eyes, tongue sticking out of his toothy bill, lever for the slot machine sticking out of the side of his head, and several playing cards sticking out of the top of his cap. Real name: Buck Ruffler.

Honorifics: Mr.

Likes: Jackpots, Raising the Stakes, Chips

Dislikes: Poor Odds, Bank Statements, Trouble Hands

The Duck Shuffler will patrol a street for 10 minutes. If nobody challenges him, he’ll fly away and choose a new street to spawn on within the next 15 seconds (possibly selecting the street he just flew away from). If challenged to a battle, he’ll automatically spawn on another street in the same neighborhood. The Duck Shuffler will walk through existing Cog battles without joining them. Only one instance of the Duck Shuffler may exist on a street at any one time, though each street can have simultaneous Duck Shuffler instances.

Duck Shuffler groups can be created anywhere in Toontown Central, though they will automatically disband if the leader goes to another Neighborhood.

When a member of the group initiates a battle with the Duck Shuffler, all their groupmates will gain the ability to teleport to the battle. Once the Toon side of the battle reaches capacity, the Group will disband.

All Toons in the Duck Shuffler fight are subject to Content Sync, in order to ensure that experienced players won’t be able to just sweep the fight and ruin the fun for inexperienced players.

The Content Sync is as follows:

20 Laff Soft Cap (with a hard maximum of 28 for Toons at Max Laff, please don’t ask me to explain the formula).

Gag Level 2 Cap (higher level Gags are temporarily downgraded to fit the level cap)

No Boss Rewards Allowed

As long as the Duck Shuffler is present in the fight, Cogs have a high chance of joining. Ordinarily, Cogs will only join fights in Toontown Central to match with the number of Toons, with defeated Cogs being counted towards the cap. Here, Cogs will join the battle as long as the Duck Shuffler is alive and there is a free slot.

The Duck Shuffler ignores all Cog Health formulas. His max HP is instead fixed at 200.

He only has one attack:

Spin: Sends sparkles after one Toon, spinning around them. This spins the target, lifts them in the air, and drops them to the ground.

As a Manager, the Duck Shuffler has access to unique abilities, known as Cheats.

His Cheats are as follows:

Lure Resistance: The Duck Shuffler has a Lure Resistance of 1 round. This means he’ll automatically unlure whenever its his turn to attack.

Wager Management: The Duck Shuffler pulls the lever on the side of his head to activate the slot machine that exists in place of his eyes. This can activate one of the following effects:

Bust: No effect. He did not get three of the same symbol.

Bar: Upon rolling all Bars, gold bars are dropped on both sides of the field, damaging both Toons and Cogs. It is possible for the Duck Shuffler to defeat himself this way.

Ducks: Upon rolling all Ducks, the Duck Shuffler turns all Toons in the fight into Duck Toons and deals 4 laff points of damage to them. The Duck transformation lingers until the end of the battle.

Sevens: Upon rolling all Sevens, the Duck Shuffler will restore 7 Laff to every Toon and 7 HP to every Cog, including himself. This can put all Cogs above their max HP, at which point their health indicators will turn light blue until their HP drops to or below their starting amount.

Jellybeans: Upon rolling all Cherries, the Duck Shuffler will give all Toons at LEAST 20 Jellybeans (more if any of the affected Toons are under the effect of Jellybean Boosters).

When the Duck Shuffler is defeated, he’ll fly away, and Cogs will stop joining the battle. However, Toons will still be under the affect of Content Sync until the battle is over, meaning they still have to defeat the remaining Cogs.

Once a day, the Duck Shuffler will drop a Sweetener. His Sweetener will refresh at midnight (allowing you to claim it again the following day), and your Cog Gallery will tell you when its available.

The Sweetener is as follows:

10 Gumballs*

100 Jellybeans

150 Toon Experience

* There’s a cap on the number of Gumballs claimed from a Sweetener per week. Once you hit 1000 Gumballs from Sweeteners, you won’t be able to collect anymore from Sweeteners until the week is over. Jellybeans and Experience can be boosted by other factors.

Additionally, the Duck Shuffler also has some Very Rare Loot:

Duck Shuffler Sticker

Moneybag Backpack

Every time you defeat the Duck Shuffler, the odds of him dropping one of his Very Rare prizes increase. This will eventually give him a 100% chance of dropping them if you are extremely unlucky. You cannot get duplicate drops.

Additionally, he thpeakth with a lithp, rethulting in hith thpeech looking like thith. Thith ith becauthe of a botched repair job from a fellow Manager.

He was WAY more sane before that incident, but given that he’s more entertaining this way, I’m not complaining.

Every Neighborhood has a Manager patrolling the Streets, and Managers don’t show up in the Cog Gallery until you defeat them for the first time.

Still though, welcome to Toontown Central, I hope this wasn’t too overwhelming.

Next time, we’ll be covering the Sidetasks.

-

I know I compliment the wordplay every time but GOD that’s fantastic and the visuals sound quite creative for all of those.

Also what happened to Fruity??

[tokyogirl07]

Watson’s Army Pension and Baker Street Rent

In A Study in Scarlet (Which I think is supposed to take place in 1881?), Watson’s Army pension is 11 shillings and 6 pence a day. 1 Shilling is 12 Pence, thus Watson’s daily pay is 11.5 shillings. 1 Pound is 20 Shillings. 11.5 x 30 days (Average days in a month) is 345 Shillings a month. Divided by 20 is 17.25 Pounds a month. Times that by 12 months means that Watson met Holmes, his annual salary was about 207 Pounds. In today’s money, that’d be about 32,202 Pounds a year, about 619 Pounds a week, or 2,683.5 Pounds a month. Or about $38,470 a year, about $740 a week, and about $3,206 a month. Bonus: Both Holmes and Watson were in their twenties when they met. Hell, Holmes was still taking college classes. According to Murray's Handbook to London As It is, 1879, "’Elegantly furnished rooms’ in [the] West End” (Which is where Baker Street was) were between 4 to 15 Guineas a week. 207 Pounds a year is a little over 4 Pounds a week. 1 Guinea is 1 Pound and 1 Shilling. 11.5 Shillings x 7 days is 80.5 Shillings a week (Or 4 Pounds and a Sixpence a week), which is 3 Guineas, 19 Shillings,  and a Sixpence a week. At minimum, Watson would probably spend about 2 Guineas on rent a week (If we go with the modern 33% of pay on rent rule of thumb). Going halves with Holmes would bring them right at the low end of the average West End weekly rent. Other factors would include how much Watson was actually willing to pay for rent vs his weekly salary, his increase in salary with the books sales and medical consultations, and if he and Holmes shared the money they got for solving cases. (We haven’t gotten there yet, but if the Granada series is to be believed, at one point Holmes is paid the Victorian equivalent of a little over a million dollars before it got doubled to about 2.5 million.) In later books, it sort of seems like Holmes takes over paying the whole rent (he was able to live in Baker Street alone when Watson got married, Watson sold his medical practice when he moved back in and he never had one when he lived at Baker Street). *Shrugs* If you ever wanted to know how much Holmes and Watson payed for rent it’d be about 2 - 7.5 Guineas or 1.05 - 7.88 Pounds a week a piece, which would be 163.34 - 1,225.85 Pounds or $195.13 - $1,464.46 a week a piece today.  Most likely, their rent would be closer to the lower range. So, at minimum in today’s money, 163.34 Pounds a piece ($195.13 a week, $845.56 a month, and $10,146.76 a year) and 326.68 Pounds together per week. ($390.27 a week, $1,691.17 a month, $20,294.04 a year) In other words, at the least, in total they pay more than I do. Historically, the West End is not cheap. Go, Mrs. Hudson.

EDIT: Upon rechecking my figures, I was off on Doctor Watson’s annual income by about 2-3 pounds. Doesn’t really change much though. Also, in today’s money, Watson was making a little over $106 daily. Or almost 88 Pounds.

[depressedloser1001]

Yo!

⚠️Might be stereotypical, but thats how my flow is rn. And is NOT is relation to this world or universe, this is an entire different one, with the same history, but a few changes I've made, with Noah.

MY OC (Noah K.V) (ALSO NOT MY EDIT, U CAN SEE THE WATER MARK. THATS HOW NOAH LOOKS)

Noah K.V

He's half-n-half. Half German and Half Indian. His mom is German, His dad is Indian.

He's the great-great-great grandson of Holy Roman Empire. So basically, German Empire (Prussias son) was blessed with a human girl, even though he was married to a countryhuman (Austria-Hungary) He took her in and raised her and boom, Noah was born (Noah also has a sister, a younger one, but we'll get to her later)

So Noah is an Astrophysicist (Studies the Universe and builds rockets) He is in NASA.

Noahs relations with the German family:

Holy Roman Empire: Great, Great, Great, Grandfather

Prussia and Austrian Empire and Brandenburg: Great grandads

German Empire and Austria-Humgary: Grandads

Third Reich, Weimar republic, Hungary, Austria and Switzerland: Uncles .

Germany, East germany: Cousin brother and sister, respectively

Prabhav Vasudev: Father.

Clara Schneider Vasudev: Mother

Elizabeth Abigail Vasudev: Younger sister.

He speaks: Hindi, Telugu, A bit of German, and some French and Spanish included.

Born in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. So he's South Indian.

His middle name is 'Klein'

Bro is now 24.

His sister is 22.

He spent 10 years in India and 7 years in Germany, after which he went to college in Yale. (IK ITS SO STEREOTYPICAL)

He has a PhD for Astrophysics. Switzerland and Austria are doctors. Austria plays the violin and wears those stringed ass gold glasses and looks old cuz he is, and so does Switzerland (spectacles) but their normal glasses and they wear suits (waist suits in particular) all the time. Third Reich and Weimar are governers who have glasses (spectacles) and wear uniform all the time, Hungary is a lawyer who's chill and drinks often.

Noah is Light-hearted, has PTSD. He loves music and books, he has more fashion sense than the French. He has a good job that pays him 6,00,000 dollars per year. (IM SORRY) And he's single af. He's hot ofc. Bros 6 foot, has black hair, jacked and has tattoos.

Btw he's also half Christian, Half Hindu.

He loves him mom, his mom died and so did his dad, he went to space, His accomplishment: He reach the asteroid belt and almost crossed it.

Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Germany and Elizabeth are his only living family who He has a close relation w/.

Loves suits.

Is colorblind.

Met the talking planets. (Not Solarballs but more like gods. Ofc, he didn't meet Zeus and all but the planets are portrayed as gods with ancient English. Like Jupiter, he's formal, IS the largest and the one maintains order in the system. Saturn is light hearted and his rings hold love, loss, etc, like that)

Hes happy, but traumatized, he makes the most insulting and creative threats. He loves music, loves books, loves studying. Loves everything and he also has anxiety. Hes sweet but you get on his bad side and 😵.

Deep vouce, gentleman, doesn't bully girls. And also is the most cracky with his friends and that's it. I'll tell yall if there's more.

Right, Bye loves!

[jonathankodi45-blog]

Making a hundred dollars in a day is an achievable goal, even if you’re working from home or have limited resources. In this blog post, we will discuss some ways to make 100 dollars in a day.

1. Sell Your Unused Items: One of the easiest and quickest ways to earn money is to sell your unused items. You can list your items on online platforms like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or Craigslist. This could include clothes, electronics, books, furniture, and more.

2. Complete Online Surveys: If you have some spare time, you can take online surveys and get paid. There are several websites where you can sign up for surveys, such as Swagbucks, Toluna, and InboxDollars.

3. Rent Out Your Space: If you have a spare room in your house, you can rent it out on Airbnb. This platform allows you to host travelers and make extra cash. You can set your own prices, and Airbnb takes care of the payments.

4. Participate in Focus Groups: Many market research companies look for people to participate in focus groups or online surveys. You can find these opportunities on websites like FocusGroup.com or FindFocusGroups.com.

5. Do Freelance Work: If you have a skill, such as writing, graphic design, or programming, you can use sites like Upwork, Fiverr or Freelancer to offer your services to clients who are looking for work. You can charge an hourly rate or a flat fee.

6. Deliver Food: You can sign up to be a delivery driver for companies like UberEats, DoorDash or Grubhub. It’s a flexible way to earn money, and you can choose your own hours.

7. Sell Your Crafts: If you have a hobby, such as knitting or woodworking, you can sell your creations on platforms like Etsy. You can also sell your products at local markets.

8. Do Odd Jobs: You can find odd jobs on websites like TaskRabbit or Craigslist. These can include anything from cleaning, lawn care, or moving furniture.

9. Pet Sitting or Dog Walking: If you love animals, you can sign up to be a pet sitter or dog walker with companies like Rover. You can set your own schedule and get paid per job.

10. Offer Your Professional Services: If you have expertise in a specific field, such as accounting or financial planning, you can offer your services to clients. You can find people who need help on sites like LinkedIn or Fiverr, or even offer to help people in your community.

In conclusion, there are several ways to make $100 a day. Whether you’re selling your unused items, doing odd jobs, or offering your professional services, you can earn extra cash with a little bit of effort and determination. Try out some of these methods and see which ones work best for you.

[roseserpentpress]

Hey 😊 I'm very interested in getting into fan binding, and I love your work! I wonder, how much does it normally cost you to bind a book? I see you made quite a few in 2022 and I would love to hear about the average amount you normally spend :) best of luck on your future projects!

Aww thank you for the compliment! ❤️ I'm also really terribly sorry for how long it took for me to write out this response--I've been really busy lately, and properly calculating what actually goes into my books is something I haven't really done previously, as I typically engage in fanbinding as a hobby, and I don't usually keep track of how much is going into my books. It's also a bit difficult to exactly calculate materials wise as often things I buy end up going a long way... so breaking down the prices can be difficult as you'll see below.

Anyhow! Fanbinding is a really lovely hobby, and highly encourage you to get into it when you have the time and energy! If you are interested and haven't yet joined the Renegade bindery discord (18+ however!) with all the lovely fanbinding/bookbinding enthusiasts, I'd highly recommend you do as they have a bunch of resources for beginners and are an absolutely lovely community.

To properly answer your question, what one spends on making books can really depend on the materials you use. Hell, there was a document from Renegade on how to make really low cost book out of materials you just have lying around at home, which I unfortunately can't find right now. Personally the cost has also varied depending on where I'm getting my resources, and as you become familiar with whats in you area, you can also minimize cost for certain resources. Below the read more I'll actually give a break down of what generally goes into a 100 page (about 100k) A6 book. Everything will be given in CAD as I live in Canada.

Basic A6 100 pg Book:

Paper: 1.7$ as 100 pages would be 50 sheets of paper. It's 17$ for a ream (500 pages) of cream paper. I'm not sure the exact price for the printer, as that I own my own printer. I know that for just plain bright white and black and white text you are charged .20 per page at Staples, which for a 100 page book would be 20$.

Bookboard: .80-3$ I've had quite a variety of bookboard I've bought; currently am getting 9$ for a pack of 6 chipboard which makes about 12 a6 books; so about .79$, but I've previously bought chip board that is much more expensive (15$ a pack for about 4 books, which would be 3.75$ per book). I've also used the back of old sketch books, stiff and flat shipping envelopes for prints,and I've recently seen that someone recycles old books from library sales where the books are just going to go to the landfill.

Endpaper: I like coloured end and cover papers; per one sheet, it is usually about $5-10. Depending on my use of the paper, usually I can get about two A6 book worths out of the paper, which means about per 1 a6 its 2.5-5$ for the end paper.

Cover paper: For cover paper I often use a mix of paper. I also usually use the same type of fancy papers as the end papers, so thats an extra 5-10$, which can be halved. However, I often mix this with simple single coloured cardstock paper for scrapbooks. Normally, since I'm cheap, I buy the dollar store paper which is about .75$ per sheet. So about cover paper goes from 3.5-6$.

Ribbon: I like to make my books with ribbons so they are not just supported by sewing. Again, I'm not fancy so I use micheals/dollarstore polyester ribbons; a roll costs about 1.5-3$. For spine ribbons, getting a white or neutral colour is best as that in-between the signatures the colour isn't obvious. However, for adding ribbon bookmarks, it's nice to have a colour that matches the colour scheme of the book. The rolls obviously end up being used for more than one book project, so it's somewhere in the cents for the ribbons per book. I like silky polyester for ribbons as for those used as a bookmark, you can easily ensure the end doesn't fray by using a lighter to melt the very edge.

Thread: I just use sewing thread that I double when sewing the signatures together. It's about 3$ for a roll of white, and will last a very long time. I do like to add beeswax to the thread, which is somewhat optional. You could probably also use other soft waxes such as those used in candles if you don't specifically have beeswax. That cost will be under beeswax though.

Backing cloth - I purchase micheals squares of linen fabric, which you can buy for $2-3 for the cloth backing of the spine. Again, you can get quite a few cloth backing out of one square of fabric. You can also choose to use cloth instead of paper for a book cover, which then you would swap the coverpaper to the price of the cloth. Again, purchasing a neutral cream-white for the cloth is the best for the backing for the cracks between the signatures. I also know people will use misprint paper for backing, which would be even cheaper.

Paste: Personally as I'm cheap, so I like to make bookbinders paste at home; this is made by boiling a flour-water mixture. However, bookbinders paste takes long to dry, and for the first time or two might be more damp then you want and can leave your pages a bit wrinkly; as well, I'm not sure how acid free it would be considered in the long run, and its not a strong bond if it's not a large surface area that's paper-paper. Lots of people like to use ph-neutral PVC glue instead, which an art store near me sells around 10$ for 8oz, which is definitely pricier in comparison, but you'll end up using it for many books, so it can pay off. I've also however used simple Elmer's glue a couple of years ago in my first bookbinding forays, which is also cheap.

Head bands

Twine: lots of people use different types of cores for their headbands, but something that can remain an even width is good. I use this type of twine, which costs about 12$ per roll. The one I use is one I already had at home. Obviously you can get a quite a few headbands out of a ball of twine.

Embroidery floss: about 1.5$ for two different colours. Again, you'll only be using part of the whole embroidery floss for the endbands.

Beeswax proofing

Beeswax: 7 oz for 7$. Again, a fraction of one of these bars is used per book.

Mineral Spirits: also a fraction required for the a single book. A bottle however is about 11$ for 4.2 oz.

So if you are going by the bulk items, without anything at home including everything and going middle of the road for prices, that would be about $84... however, most of these costs are negligible in the long run per an individual book, plus often you may have some of these lying around already, which can significantly cut into these costs. As a result a more accurate cost of materials per a single individual book would be about maybe $30.50 on average, and going by middle of the road for some prices, and utilizing the 20$ for the text block via staples. The heaviest cost will always be printing out your textblock, which can be minimized if you have your own printer at home (but then you need to invest in one...).

However, cost again can really quite vary, depending on what materials you are using! Starting off with things you already have at home significantly cuts into material costs, and starting on smaller projects will make the material cost cheaper. Plus, some fancy paper can be bought in packs for cheaper then they type of paper I tend to purchase. I hope this was at least somewhat informative, even if it took forever for me to write this up for you, apologies again about that!

[televinita]

Tuesday To-Do List

Wish me luck on my grind tomorrow; if it could STOP SNOWING for one frickin’ day, I need to accomplish all of the following because seriously, only one day in the last 6 has not been absolutely hell weather and I already had commitments all day. I was so ahead of the ball when I started on Monday the 12th, and then snowmageddeon part 1 happened and now I only have basically Tuesday the 20th + maybe the next morning before the winter storm era that goes until Christmas Eve.

THINGS TO DO:

* Get and install a new wiper blade for the car, because the driver’s side one broke over the weekend (main reason I can’t go out if there’s a chance of snow or rain, even if the roads don’t scare me) (...damn it, you know what, I actually could have walked to the automotive store today. It snowed all friggin’ day, but it was pretty light. just too much to drive in without wipers)

* Go to Marshall’s: 1-3 presents for husband, mom and maybe brother (unsure if what the latter wants will be there)

* Pick up library holds that I have to pick up by 12/23

* Go to dollar store for tape and wrapping paper, since I couldn’t get to any estate sales this weekend to grab it cheap. I think this will suffice for the number of presents I have to wrap even if it’s not the best value per square foot, and I know it will at least be in stock.

* Unfreeze and open the damn trunk of the car where I foolishly stored 3 of the presents I bought Monday. May possibly have a roll of wrapping paper in there as well?

* Go to Half Price Books to check for planners for Dad that will suit his needs

* Go to Barnes & Noble where I will definitely be able to find a planner for Dad, but I’ll pay 2-3x as much

* Maybe go grocery shopping??? I have been dying from lack of vegetables for a week

* Get gas, I’m at a quarter tank right now I think so not dire but also, when its this cold you want there to be plenty Just In Case.

And I have to get it all done during daylight because the possibility of the sun is the only thing that will make the freezing temps bearable (high of 8 degrees tomorrow. low tonight is -2). And I woke up at noon today because I was already having trouble falling asleep, and when I finally started to nod off at 2 the cat started being a bitey yowly terror so I didn’t fall asleep until past 3 (and was woken up at least 3 times between 7 and noon), so, uh, good luck to me with falling asleep in time to get up no later than 9 and hopefully not feel like death!

IDK what I would do if the work project hadn’t wrapped up last week. Besides possibly be a little more on the ball with ordering stuff online / forcing myself to go out on Saturday, even despite the awful crowds.

Anyway. I guess the one good thing is that I don’t have to drive very far, all the places I need are within a 5-mile radius.