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thebibliosphere · 9 months

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I saw your post about ingram, and out of curiosity, is there some advantage to going through the whole self-publishing thing with retailers when you're just starting out? like I mean the way that fandom zines work is that they don't even bother going through ingram or amazon or whatever. they just set up a social media site (usually twitter) to gain followers, open preorders (usually 1-2 months in length) to generate the costs of printing upfront, and then sell anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred copies of their books (usually artbooks, but anthologies exist too). I've seen some zines generate over a thousand orders. they're kind of like pop-up shops, except for books. maybe the sales numbers aren't so impressive to a real author, but the profit generated is typically waaaay more than the $75+ apparently needed for Ingram Spark, so I still feel like new authors could benefit from this method too, especially if they just need some start-up cash to eventually move to ingram if they want to for subsequent runs of their book. I think authors would also have to set aside some of the pre-order money to buy an ISBN number to have printed on their book, and I'm not really sure what other differences there are, but I just wanted to ask about it in case there's some huge disadvantage I'm missing!

So, popup zines work well for some people, and I know some authors who kickstart their work successfully. But for a lot, it's just not feasible as a long-term stratedy. Or even as a means to get off the ground.

Fanzines succeed primarily because an existing fanbase is willing and ready to throw money at something they love. They’ve got a favorite writer or artist they want to support. Supporting all the others is just a happy by-product. They also take a HUGE amount of short-term but intense planning that just doesn’t always jive with how some of us work.

I, for one, would never offer to organize a fanzine. I’ll take part in them as a creator, but I’d rather throw myself off a cliff than subject myself to wrangling that many people and dealing with the legal logistics.

When it comes to authors doing anthologies, it'svery much the same. The success of the funding often hinges on having other big-name authors involved whose existing fans will prop up the project. Or having a huge marketing budget.

Most self-pub authors have zero marketing budget. I’m one of them, and I’m under no illusions that my work would not be as popular and self-sustaining as it is if I didn’t have a large Tumblr blog.

When I thank Tumblr in my forewards, I am utterly sincere. Tumblr brought fandom levels of enthusiasm to an unknown work and broke the Amazon algorithm so hard, that Amazon thought I was bot sniping my way to multiple #1 spots and froze my sales rankings.

That’s not the norm. And while I could probably kickstart my own work as an indie creator, that’s because I’ve put literal decades into building up a readership. I’ve been doing this since I was 16 and realized people thought I was funny. I didn’t know what to do with it or if I’d ever actually write anything, but it meant the groundwork was already there (thank you, past-me). I basically fell upward into my success by virtue of never being able to shut the fuck up and wanting to make people laugh. Clown instincts too strong.

New or first-time authors trying to sell their work without that will find it infinitely harder.

All of that aside, even if an unknown author somehow gets lucky and manages to fund their work, there’s still the question of shipping and distribution logistics. Are you shipping everything yourself? Better hope you’re able-bodied and have the time for it. (for reference, it took me months to ship out 300 patreon hardbacks because of my disabilites. It damaged my back and hands. I couldn’t type for several weeks after I was done.)

Are you going to sell primarily at conventions? Better hope you’re able-bodied, have the time and don’t have cripling anxiety about being in large groups...

Also, will selling a dozen to a few thousand copies in one burst be sustainable in the long run as a career? Not for me. Doing things via Ingram and Amazon means I earn a steady trickle of sales for the rest of my life provided the platforms remain and so long as I keep working and can generate interest in the series, not just when I have funds to pay for physical copies to sell. The one-time (in theory) cost of $75 to distribute through Ingram gets paid off pretty quick that way. And it doesn't require the same logistics as doing the popup/crowdfund.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you are capable of but also the type of work you’re doing. If you’ve got an extended network of fellow creatives who will back you or you’ve got a large following elsewhere, doing it like a popup might work for you.

If you’re an exhausted burnout who can’t fathom the short but intense amount of organization that sort of thing requires, not to mention doing it over and over and over... Ehhhhh. No thank you.

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mayakern · 23 days

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hello! I have watched your videos and I am sorry the preorder is going so poorly. You all have poured so much time and care and thought into these, and if anything I think you're doing *too much* in the way of trying to accommodate customer requests when it comes to color/pattern specifically. for all that you are so open with your back-end processes, you guys are always going to be able to see the big picture better than anyone. Also, you have way more at stake in your design decisions than your customers do.

all this to say - don't make your pattern decisions based on polls! Use demographic data, sales data, seasonality, info about what colors (and complementary items) are currently popular in other stores - polls might have a place in there, but they're not super trustworthy and they can't bear all of the weight, because ultimately you know more than we do.

I also want to tell you that I'm so appreciative of the lengths you're going to to provide us with lovely, sustainable fashion for all sizes and texture tolerances, and I hope this doesn't discourage you for long!

i appreciate your thoughtfulness.

previous to this experience, polling our customers has been very effective. it just sucks that wasn’t the case this time because this was the time where we really needed to make sure we had a hit because the shirt and dress are SO expensive for us to make.

in the past we have just kind of done our own thing and said screw it. most of our customers aren’t super concerned with being on the cutting edge of trends, which is good, because that would be an impossible standard for us to follow when production cycles take minimum 2 months AFTER product development is complete and trend cycles seem to change every other week with the advent of shein and other fast fashion sites being able to pump things out super fast and the life cycle of everything on tiktok being super short, in part due to the generational shift from subcultures to aesthetics.

we’ve been having a lot of internal conversations about this situation and what to do going forward. in large part i think what we’ve learned is that any more complicated pieces (like the shirts) we need to make with less expensive fabric. the cost of a garment isn’t just about how much fabric it takes, but how many lines of stitches are required and if any specialty processes or materials are used (sewing in buttons, adding zippers or gussets, etc). ultimately the shirts are expensive not just because of the high quality material, but also because they are a complicated garment made by people who are being fairly compensated for their labor. we can lower that price slightly in the future by changing the materials we use, but by and large this means we will be trying to focus on less complicated garments in the future.

#ask #store

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dynamo-deepblue · 21 days

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✨ WING EMBLEM Ita Bag 2024 Release Info Thread! ✨

Preorders will work differently this time so more people can have a chance to get one (because last time, in June 2023, there were only 100 and they sold out in 4 hours. Lots of disappointed people!). Please read below!

In late June/early July 2024, I'll send out a preorder form on various platforms and via social media that'll be open for 1-2 weeks. Fill out this form to claim your bag! When the form closes, bags will be produced based on the number of forms submitted. Payment will be collected once bags are in my hands (estimated around October 2024).

You'll also be able to order 2 matching accessories on the form - the SPECIAL STAGE wallet and the SPEED HEROES wrist lanyard! These items are still being manufactured currently, so when I can get photos I'll post them. But for now, here's some art mockups. (I anticipate having the samples of the wallet and lanyard in my hands in June, so that's why the preorder form will not be available until then. I want you all to see the photos!!)

The WING EMBLEM ita bag will be priced at $95 USD, the SPECIAL STAGE wallet at $25 USD and the SPEED HEROES lanyard at $15 USD. (+ shipping. Worldwide shipping is available!)

If you miss the preorder form, don't worry! In-store stock will also be available this time 🎉 This includes the bags, wallets and lanyards.

You can find more information about all these items at this link (also makes a good bookmark and will be updated periodically).

Don't want to miss out? You can also sign up for my newsletter to have info and updates straight to your email. Great if you don't check social media too often.

In the meantime, I'll be working on other merch projects, fandom-related and otherwise! I do art full time and thrive on your support, so if you'd like to help me and my cat survive and make fun things, you can commission, visit my shop or tip me on Ko-fi!

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If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this thread, or contact me on any site I frequent, or via email, and I'll do my best to answer. If I have further updates I will also add them to this thread. Thank you all for taking a look - I hope you all will look forward to it!

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Website | Commission Info | Shop | Ko-fi | Telegram Art Feed

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic merch #sonic merchandise #shadow the hedgehog #miles tails prower #tails the fox #knuckles the echidna #dynamo merch #dynamodeepblue

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vanessaroades-author · 11 months

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Let’s look at what happened from June 13th to July 13th. (ARCs, Preorders, Sales, Marketing!)

Note: I’m not talking about costs here and likely won’t ever. However, my author buddy JAL Solski has an awesome write-up on the costs, tax considerations, all sorts of numbers, of publishing their sapphic fantasy duology! I’m also very fond of Ros’s write-up on expectations and goals related to post-publication.

Before you start–some disclaimers on my experience

First, expect very little! These numbers will not impress you and honestly there’s a part of me that’s pretty embarrassed, like I'm advertising that I'm a big dummy who can't write. But all in the name of honesty & transparency!

Something I hear a lot from other new authors is, “Am I doing pretty good? Am I doing really badly? I don’t know.” Well, here’s another batch of numbers to consider!

Deep Roots is currently only available as an eBook & through Kindle Unlimited.

I’m not writing anything trendy. By a long shot. I can throw “queer fantasy” on it but that’s kinda the most I got. (When’s the last time you saw a runaway indie hit that didn’t have a ton of romance?)

I’m not popular on social media (260 IG followers with on average <10% engagement and <200 TikTok followers).

I have so many friends in my corner. Someone should stop you at the gate to the Indie Publishing Amusement Park of Hell and tell you, “Listen, if you want any hope of staying sane, make author friends.” Besides helping you navigate tech questions or giving second opinions on your cover, and, you know, understanding and empathizing with you, your friends will be the ones who comment on your posts, repost them, tell their friends, add you in their newsletter, read, and review. That can mean sales…but that also means having people lift you up and celebrate with you.

Advance Reader Copies

I began posting about ARC sign-ups April 4th, sent the first round of eBooks ~May 5th, and closed applications on June 2nd.

I didn’t use a service like Booksprout or Booksirens, just plain old BookFunnel and email (therefore my reach was entirely reliant on my social media efforts). I was most talkative about it on Instagram. I only posted like once or twice on Tumblr and TikTok, but they went really well for my standards.

Sign-Ups: 51

Reviews/Ratings:

By publication day I had 4 ratings/reviews on Goodreads, 1 on Amazon, and 1 on StoryGraph.

After 31 days I had 6 reviews and 10 ratings on Goodreads. 1 extra rating on StoryGraph; Amazon stayed the same.

Note: I was really lax with my ARC team about when reviews should be sent in. I was clear that I didn’t care if they were pre-publication (partly because well…I read ARCs a lot and I know I can’t always get to things on time, and partly because I didn’t decide a publication day until fairly late in the timeline).

However, from what I’ve seen for other authors, a pretty low return on ARC readers isn’t entirely uncommon? Kind of a kick in the confidence regardless.

Preorders

Total of 7. I don’t remember when I opened preorders, but I believe it was around the same time as the ARC application.

Marketing (sort of) from June 13th to July 13th

I ran a small (kinda last-minute) campaign for extra merch & an extra story for anyone who preordered or purchased during release week. I said that I would re-run this campaign for paperbacks.

These are my Tired Girl numbers:

Instagram: 5 posts specifically about DR. 2 non-DR related.

TikTok: 7 videos specifically about DR, most getting ~300 views, though one broke 1k. (Notably, I didn’t post about the release week extras on TikTok at all.). 2 non-DR related.

Tumblr: One post I would send spinning around the block every once in a while. Definitely lowest priority.

Release Week Sales

eBook: 3

KU: 15 pages read

Release Month Sales

eBook: 4

KU: 594 pages read

Future Plans

*Releases one giant sigh* I’M FREEEEEE

Once the book is written and done, cover made and words edited, there’s only one thing left in your control: marketing. Everything else is up to chance (honestly, marketing is up to chance a lot of the time, too).

But I pretty quickly decided to take it easy on social media. A wave of burn-out that had been chasing me since last summer finally caught up, and I don’t think I’m alone in saying that when I saw like no return on investment for my posts or chatter, I was like, “Okay, I’m going to rest, instead of pushing this boulder up this hill, then. I deserve it.”

One plus of having paperbacks come out way after the eBooks? I get release day Part 2! (With fun new props for pics and videos!) I have a good list of video ideas & drafts, but I would always look at them and think, “Wouldn’t this be better to do when the paperbacks are around?” And soon, they will be!

As for blog posts, I want to continue being transparent with things like this. I will (hopefully) catch up on the numbers again near the end of August, as by then I’ll be making the decision to keep Deep Roots in KU for another three months or not.

Until then, lower your expectations! It’ll keep you sane out here. Thanks for reading and hanging out.

#vanessa.txt #writeblr community #writeblr #indie publishing #indie books #self publishing #self publication #book sales #this is allowed to be reblogged

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dreenicorn · 2 years

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🦂MUMMY PROFILE PINS⚱️ [Swipe for more!] (Preorder November 26th @ 10am) Adding onto my ever growing Profile Pin series here are the main couples Evy/O’Connell and Imhotep/Anck Su Namun from 1999’s The Mummy! As you can see the designs of Evy and O’Connell have changed a smidge. I hope you all like this slight add on to theirs. 🤗 There will be TWO Variants this time around!! Movie Variant and Scroll Variant, the Scroll Variant will be LE20 each (LIMITED EDITION), meaning once they’re gone I will NOT reorder that Variant again. The Movie Variant will be LR25 each, (LIMITED RELEASE), meaning IF these are sold out depending on demand, I’ll be able to order them ONE more time. You can preorder any of these separately or as pairs! These variants will be available Saturday, November 26th @ 10AM PST (California Time) in my online store! Preorders will be open for one week OR until ALL spots have been taken - Preorders contain a 2.75 inch variant pin of YOUR character choice at the DISCOUNTED price of $30 each or $60 per pair! After the limited time each variant will be priced an extra $5 more, so don’t miss out on this AWESOME deal! Pin Details: (25 SPOTS PER CHARACTER) MOVIE LR PIN SPECS: * 69.85 mm tall (2.75 inches) * Gold Metal * Hard Enamel Colors * Multiple Screen Printed Effects * 3 Rubber Clasp Posts (for extra security) * Raised Logo Imprint on the back SCROLL LE PIN SPECS: * 69.85 mm tall (2.75 inches) * Black Nickel * Hard Enamel Colors * Screen Printed Effects * 3 Rubber Clasp Posts (for extra security) * Raised Logo Imprint on the back MOVIE 2 PIN SETS EACH: (10 SPOTS) ANNIVERSARY 2 PIN SETS EACH: (5 SPOTS) *ALL Preorders will also receive a matching FREE 3 inch sticker! 🤗 . . . #fanart #enamelpins #screammovie #themummy #themummyfanart #themummy1999 #pins #themummymovie #themummyfranchise #evelyncarnahan #rickoconnell #imhotep #anchsunamun #evelynxrick #evyxrick #imhotepxancksunamun #brendanfraser #egypt #hieroglyphics #desert #highpriestimhotep #nefirtiti #bookofthedead #bookofamunra (at California) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClUe1bNvzyRENU28kuLCTNrTEkZ1hRVptOqpZE0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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wiwinia · 11 months

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Tag 9 people you’d like to get to know more

Tagged by @celestialspark - Thank you for tagging me ❤️ This came out a little longer than I expected

Last song: According to my YouTube history (I really don’t understand how to use Spotify and I don’t think I ever will at this point), that would be Stranger by The Mechanisms, from Tales To Be Told, Volume II. Idk why, but this song vibrates my brain in exactly the best way. (I feel like that about a lot of songs in this album, especially Lost In The Cosmos, which is honestly weirdly relaxing for a song describing a slow death in painful details, and Pieces, but like, only the chorus)

Show I'm watching: Well, the last show I’ve seen was the newest episode of Helluva Boss, watched it with both of my partners, one of whom knows nothing about this show. It was fun, though, well, don’t want to spoil anything, but I was hoping for something else. Besides that, I intend to watch Stranger Things soon, cause I have read some great fanfics (I wanted to check if any of the authors are on Tumblr, so I could tag them, but for some reason, I can’t open ao3, which is quite concerning considering what happened this month) and decided I might try, even though I am good 7 years late. However, I am not watching it yet, because from what I know so far it feels like the kind of show that will permanently rewire my brain, so I am waiting til I can watch it with my friends, cause I am not going through that alone. If we consider podcasts shows, then I am an active listener of Dracula Daily, the voice acting is great, and I am already swooning and fanning myself like a victorian lady at Quincey P. Morris, which is to be expected, he’s one of my favourite characters. I can’t wait for this year’s holiest love entry tho, I want to see Tumblr go wild for it again. Also, season 2 of Not Quite Dead is coming out in a little more than two weeks (a fair warning to anyone who follows me, I already know I will be insufferable about it ❤️). I binged season 1 in one sitting, I am so excited (there are precisely 0 fanfics for this show on ao3 so far, I am working on changing that, but I’ve been suffering from a serious case of can’t-finish-wips-disease for quite a while now, so we’ll see how it goes)

Book I'm reading: If we’re talking new books, then right now nothing, but the last two I’ve read were: 1 Noce za nocami by Małgorzata Wilk, I loved it, it was exactly what I wanted, and I was so excited to finally get it, I read it on Wattpad back in the day and I preordered it the moment I was able to. It just feels very cozy to me. If you a) know Polish, and b) like gay vampires, I highly recommend it 2 Vampireology from the Ologies book series, cause I’ve never seen it before, I found it at a convention and I may be an adult, but it had vampires and was full of shiny secrets, you can’t possibly expect me to resist that Besides that, I am currently relistening to an audiobook of The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, because the first time I listened to it, I was in a really bad place mentally, and this in tandem with some incorrect beliefs I had about this book caused me to miss some important things the first time, so now I am doing better I plan to listen to the whole series again, and I am really enjoying it! I know this series goes into some very dark places, but at the point at which I am currently, it is just full of pure joy of exploration and awe-inspiring discovery and listening to it makes me really, really happy right now

Currently obsessed with: Fandom-wise, The Magnus Archives, closely followed by The Mechanisms, a lot of things mentioned above are either basically obsessions, or very close to becoming that, because I can’t just be normal about things Also, vampires are my obsession that has been a constant part of my life practically since I remember, and I doubt it will ever change at this point. If for whatever reason you want to see me ramble, ask me about my opinions on any vampire-related trope or theme, and you will probably get a pretty substantial essay

Tagging: @suaveotter @laceandsteelgirl @kind-ghost @doofus-and-dragons @fall-festival @katenotbishop @wet-snail @rhymingteelookatme @graceful-not

#tag game #implied dracula spoilers #I'm looking forward to the replies

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fanofbirdsflying · 11 months

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sm entertainment is a bad managment company when it comes to exo.

this company has been relying on exo's fandom to carry ALL the promotion since kokobop (technically monster even).

this company releases albums quickly, gives them less then 7 music show apperances, less than a handful of variety (or radio) show appearances and expects fans to do everything.

in recent years it's become popular to show some of the recording bts of how the title tracks/album were recorded... has exo had that for obsession? or don't find the feeling? (hoping for cream soda...). exo and their producers do some actually interesting things with their songs, but we don't get to see that.

killing voice has become a great promo platform in recent years. exo went on there because fans asked for it.

exo is known for being a pretty group (vocals too)...when was the last time exo's faces were together for a magazine photoshoot?

sm doesn't understand that exo isn't as dead as they WANT them to be. they REFUSE to put exo out there and give them proper promotional cycles. they REFUSE to send them to variety shows to promote their music and the members. they give them 1 MAYBE 2 weeks of music shows to make fans shut up. they refuse to introduce exo to new audiences. there is only so much exo's old fandom can do in terms of streaming and buying albums. exols don't have the habits that other fandoms have of manipulating their own faves' numbers. if you don't make the effort to reach out to new audiences through variety shows, radio shows and online content, with barely any music show apperances, OTHER ppl/ppl who are NOT fans won't know about exo, their new song/album or their talent.

you might think it's stupid of me to want exo on music shows for a significant amount of time put it's not. the more you go on, the longer fans have sth to talk about. and maybe ppl who aren't fans will stumble upon their new performance while they were looking for sth else. (this isn't about the music, but there are instances of idols going viral for good styling (e.g. taeyeon lion heart), so even non musical things like this can do a lot.)

what's the point of of spending time on making an album if you don't go out there and promote it?

sm has the habit of releasing exo album's quickly so that they can go on an (asian) tour.

sm didn't really have much hope for exo in 2016 when they came out with their third album ex'act. sm thought (and made exo believe) their best days were over, despite exo outdoing themselves in terms of their personal best. and continued to do so with every following release.

sm actively holds them back by not properly managing them and planning schedules. i am aware that exo has individual schedules, but that's what the COMPANY is there for, to make it work somehow.

they also hold them back by not printing exo's album(s). sm, like many other companies, opens a preorder to roughly determine how much interest exists for an album, so that they have a rough number of how many copies to print. sm and exols tend to not really inflate exo's numbers. when exo released their obsession album, sm CANCELLED people's orders. to this day it is their lowest selling full album, because of sm not wanting to cater to exo (and exo's fandom). there is a DEMAND. people want to spend money on exo, but sm doesn't want that.

now, in case you haven't heard, sm has done the same with the exist album. they cancelled orders and don't want to meet demands of exo fans who want to buy exo's album and spend money on EXO. exo had over 1mio preorders, and refuses to meet demands, yet thus far (20230716) have no issues with nct dream and their 4mio copies of preorders (which have become a somewhat regular thing for bgs in the past few years, inflated numbers, to media-play with).

and you can't say it's because of sm's internal drama at the beginning of the year, because sm has been treating exo and their promotions like a joke for a long time.

sm does not like exo. sm doesn't want exo to be bigger than sm.

#why would they hold them back like this for so many years?#th

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ziiro · 11 months

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I got an ultraleap leap motion 2 last week, I preordered one on a whim over a month ago when they announced it because I was looking at one to tinker with anyway.

I am not at all impressed with this device. For something that should be very good at dedicated hand tracking, it's completely inconsistent and nearly useless outside of broad gestures.

The tracker has decent idea of where your hands are and oriented, but it stops there - it usually has no idea what your fingers are doing outside of a mitten-like vague idea of what they should be doing. (Fist? Open? Curved digits?) You cannot raise individual fingers while completely curling the rest.

The software is also pretty bad - I have to run it in inverted mode in order for it to detect my hands at all. I'm hoping this is something they can fix over time with updates.

Also the USB C cable they provided is like 3ft long. Why.

#ultraleap #leap motion 2 #vtuber tech #jesterbot ziiro #vtuber

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xiaojuun · 2 years

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I'm sooo excited, I can't even explain. I feel like enha comes back just when I start to really miss them. Although I was a bit anxious because I went on a mini vacation to another town just before they announced the comeback and I was fearing for my wallet around that time (I was hoping they'd announce it a bit later so I could scrounge up the money to preorder) but alas they announced it while I was broke so instead of feeling sorry for my pocket, I picked up a temporary job to do through my semester break - which I'm on rn - and preordered anyway. So far I don't have a preference for a concept, although I like the D version more than the J version but I'll take any concept at this point. I just want the photocard gods to give me ramyeonz again (but I would be happy with 1 jake pull also). I could trade my pulls to get what I want but tbh the fun of it for me is seeing what you get, so i usually just keep whatever I pull and hope for the best on the next album 😆

I've also seen the teasers but I've been avoiding hearing them in case they have spoilers. I like going into albums blind because I have so much suspense building up as we're leading up to the album release that when I finally watch that mv and hear that album, it blows me away even more. idk, it adds to the fun imo 😆😆😆

I hope it's not a permanent fatigue and that you heal quickly, or at least that ir gets easier to deal with 🧡🧡🧡

I'm okay!! Like I mentioned, I'm on semester break so I'm honestly just sleeping and doing as little as I can when my boss doesn't need me. I really want to go out this weekend tho.

I think for the first 2 weeks of my break I didn't even touch my computer, which is understandable because I study design so * most * of my time is spent in front of the computer with an adobe program open. today is really the only time I've had motivation and time to make gifs since my last sets (which was either enha performing polaroid love or jake's log, I can't remember lol, but it was a while ago.)

i must admit I did really develop jake brain rot today, I have even more gifs of him in my drafts that I'm probably going to post later hahaha but it's fun just making gifs of videos I want to make gifs of and not caring about notes or anything :')

also, I have to ask!! do you watch kdramas? if so, have you seen business proposal? I loved it sooo much and it's now my 2nd favourite kdrama - my first will always be crash landing on you - and it got me through a few of my projects towards the end of the semester. I was a bit late to it so all the hype was already over but I still think it was worth the watch 😆

and finally, I hope you don't mind the long ask 😶

— seungzie

@jseungz i don't mind the long ask at all, i love it in fact !! i'm so glad you were able to preorder and i am sending you luck for your pulls <3 and i totally get wanting to wait to see and hear everything without spoilers ! i personally am impatient so i tend to watch everything for my ult groups ajdgbjh but i respect y'all who are able to wait it out and get the full impact at release; it's true that spoilers can change the way you receive it at first, and in my case i usually like to listen to the full album in order before i even watch the mv with the title track but it doesn't always work out that way. i think even when i check out teasers or album previews i still find things that surprise me, but particularly for the enha comeback i prob won't actually check anything out until the actual drop either - we can be fully surprised together!

thank u, it should not be permanent but it may take quite a few months to get over - luckily, i'm on a semester break too, so i have plenty of time to rest! it makes sense that you'd want a bit of a break from screens, but whenever you feel inspired it's always nice to see your creations hehe. brain rot fuels some of our best work i think 😂

i don't watch any kdramas ! i tried to watch what was it ... 'let me be your knight' for my beloved donghyun but tbh i really don't watch a lot of tv in general like, barely any, and kdrama episodes tend to be quite long so i didn't end up sticking with it. i did watch the film 'love & leashes' with a friend though and thought it was really cute! i thought that was a drama when i was just seeing the previews around it, i didn't realize it was just a one-off. maybe i'll find one eventually that i can get into! i think i'm suited for shorter contents so web dramas are probably a better bet, i did watch 'to my star' as well and really enjoyed it but those episodes are super short haha

#i'm rly terrible with tv ajkdgjb i am watching the anime spy x family lately though! do you like anime as well?#erimail #mail from: seungzie! 🦌#long post

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bbeelzemon · 5 years

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Oh fuck yeah! If this gets here before dec25th i can probably get a family member to pay me back for this and give it to me as a xmas present LMAO omg that would actually b perfect timing if it worked out that way

#i wont ask for the whole amoubt though #cuz it was 3800 yen for the item plus 2500 yen or so shipping..#but maybe $40 or $45 or so. meet in the middle between the two costs #the first payment was back in like june though omg i had actually almost forgotten about it #before they emailed me last week 'ok we have this now so send us shipping money!' i was like ..OH FUCK I FORGOT #i almost had gotten my hopes up too cuz at first i thot it said 660 yen shipping and i was like oohh nice and cheap!#then i realized that was for domestic shipping and that international was 2200 yen LMAO so i think i had to pay both #so it wouldve actually been 2800 yen for shipping #2860 if we're being specific..#i didnt even notice if they had like. tax or anything dhhsdndh #OH I DIDNT SAY IT YET this is a digimon x version 2 purple with silver!!#i think if i remember right this is the lucemon x version??#good ol v-pet living up to my url once again #i was a bit miffed when they announced wave 3 like a week after preorders for wave 2 opened though #cuz i knew i probably couldn't get one LMAO rip #i heard noblepumpkinmon is gonna be in the X3 </3 RIP!!!!#anywaay back to the xmas thing #thatll depend also on if anyone still has to get me something by the time it gets here #my brother tends to wait til last minute but also he tends to spend closer to $20... we will see.......#i expect this to get here around the... 15-20th or so #maybe even on my dogs' birthday the 17th wouldnt that be fun!#these days i tend to kinda be the main xmas planner in our house along with my mom #making sure everybody is getting stuff and no one ends up with like literally one single thing #i wouldnt say we go all out for xmas by any means but we definitely keep the gifting part of it pretty organized LMAO #not 2 brag but i fink im the only kid in my family who likes and enjoys picking things out for others #i think my gifts are generally pretty well thought out #whereas 2 xmases ago my brother got our brother a solar powered mini turntable . and a plastic goldfish to display on it #like... what??#he didnt and still really doesnt even have things to use that spinning display for dhsjdshfhs #god im a fucken chatterbox tonight huh

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deannaroxannewrites · 3 years

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Tropetember Day 2: Coffee Shop / Tattoo Parlor / Flower Shop / Other Retail AU

Coffee and other ways to heal the soul.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x GN!Reader

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Rating: General Audiences

TW: Valhalla arc (mentioned), coffee, NCIS cameo

AN: Day 2 of @tropetember. I was really struggling with the coffee shop AU but once I got going, really got way too into it and could probably pad this out into a short series. Is that something people would be interested in?

Also, not really sure if I managed to capture Spencer but remember this is an AU and that's my excuse!

Enjoy!

Find this story on Ao3 here.

Word Count: 2.4k

One of the biggest advantages of owning one of the few coffee shops in Quantico that wasn't part of a massive chain, was the constant stream of senior FBI and Navy personnel desperate for high quality, well made coffee. It had become such a lucrative venture in fact that you could afford to hire enough staff to rarely even have to be behind the counter at all.

The surge in popularity has even allowed you to convert one of the spare upstairs rooms into a meeting room. In hindsight, you should have converted more because once your regulars found out about it, there had been outright war between the Navy and FBI to try and get meetings booked in. A couple of your regulars had even managed to get both institutions to hardwire connections so they could host even more briefings and meetings in the friendly, comfortable space.

Today's winners were a Unit from the FBI, who had booked it out for a whole day. Aaron Hotchner, the BAU chief, came in most mornings and was a real sweetheart. You'd been trying to get him to drink something other than his normal americano since his return from Afghanistan a few months ago, but had not been successful so far. You were excited to meet the rest of the legendary team. He always spoke fondly of them when he bought extra coffees to boost morale.

With that in mind, you quickly throw together the pastries and beverages he'd preordered for the start of their session and head in to do a quick check that everything was ready.

Like any meeting room, there was a large table in the center but you'd made sure to surround it with comfy and artfully mismatched chairs. The floor was a deep walnut colour and matched the numerous floating shelves which were covered in plants and books. The place was homey and extended the cosy chic look you had been trying to achieve throughout the shop.

After a little bit of organising, including making sure the FBI cables were accessible and tidying any of the Navy’s equipment, you head downstairs to the main space.

Charlotte and Jessica were behind the tills this morning, making quick work of the line and exuding friendly helpfulness out of every pore. They were both grad students and you were already dreading them graduating. Their natural effervescence would be impossible to replace.

To pass the time until your booking arrives, you catch up with NCIS Agent McGee who is on the coffee run, trying not to hold him up too long in case he ends up getting in more trouble with his big bad boss. Apparently Agent DiNozzo had knocked over Gibbs coffee but McGee had then slipped in it and done some minor damage to some of the equipment. He told you he much preferred coffee run to door knocking duty round a 6 block radius like DiNozzo.

As you wrap it up, a group of people enter the shop, led by a woman in colourful clothes and a sunshine demeanour. It's not until you see Agent Hotchner's suited and booted presence bringing up the rear that you realise this is the infamous BAU.

Donning your friendliest persona, you politely excuse yourself from McGee and head to greet them, calling Aaron's name across the way.

The profilers seem surprised by your use of their bosses name but quickly shake it off as introductions are made. You receive hand shakes off most of them with the exception of Penelope, who gives you a hug because of course she does, and Dr Spencer Reid who gives you a shy wave and looks like he'd rather be anywhere else.

It didn't take a profiler to see the physical distance between the genius and the rest of the group. He was always a step away from the nearest person and automatically avoided any physical contact from them.

How strange.

Brushing it off you lead them upstairs and get them settled, letting them know that they're welcome to come and go in the shop as need and that all their drinks would be added to the discounted tab and left them too it, all the while trying not to puzzle over the handsome loner and his cute sweater vest.

-----

If there was one thing Spencer Reid hated more than anything, it was team building.

Normally, back before everything happened, he would just grit his teeth and bear it. That's been a lot harder after finding out that Emily was alive.

Processing the joy at her being alive and the rage at being led to believe she was dead in the first place, particularly by the people he trusted the most, was not easy. He was trying to forgive them. He was trying to let it go, to accept the damage but move forward.

It was still a work in progress.

That's why, when Hotch announced a team building/meeting day, he had momentarily considered resigning. Though there was no longer outright hostility between himself and Jennifer, things weren’t exactly comfortable between himself and half of the team. The only bright side to this whole endeavour was the location. No coffee shop lasted long in Quantico unless the coffee was actually good. It was a small mercy.

He followed the rest of the team into the coffee shop, eyeing the surroundings and taking note of the other visitors. As the rest of the team joked about, he stayed back, simply waving at the nice owner of the shop when Hotch introduced them.

They appeared to be about his age which was very impressive considering the success of the café. And there were a couple of sci-fi references hidden in the décor that he would have loved to ask about, but he doubted they’d appreciate him going off about Star Trek this early in the morning. Instead he just gave a tight-lipped smile and followed the team upstairs.

Spencer tried his best to concentrate throughout the morning but to say he was relieved when they were left to their own devices for lunch would be an understatement.

-----

After a productive morning in the office, you wander back out to the main part of the shop to check on things. The lunch rush can be unforgiving but the girls seem to have it in hand. Nothing out of the ordinary for a Tuesday lunchtime.

What you didn’t expect to see was Spencer Reid hidden away at one of the back tables with a ginormous book in front of him, a small scowl on his face and the rest of his team nowhere in sight.

You agonise silently with yourself for a few moments before you decide to head over. You figure if he doesn’t want company he’ll let you know but you feel drawn to him. It was strange. Maybe it was just your instinctive need to collect strays.

You smile gently at him when you reach his table, indicating the seat opposite him in question. He gives a quick nod but doesn’t fully look at you.

“Everything ok?” you ask.

He takes a moment and seems to be considering his options. He looks at you with a little tilt of his head, likely questioning your motives.

Finally, he seems to decide you have no sinister intention and quietly replies “I just wish things could go back to how they were”.

You had heard about the events involving the BAU in the last year or so. It had been a hot topic of gossip in the shop numerous times. Aaron also occasionally talked about his guilt at what he put his team through when he stopped by, needing a friend to talk to. It’s the first time, however, that you think in depth about how faking a close friend's death likely affected the team members who were unaware.

This isn’t to say you didn’t care or didn’t think that it must have been terrible for them. You did, but had agreed with the justification that it was for Agent Prentiss’ safety, that finding out she was alive would make up for it. It’s apparent in the sadness of Dr Reid’s expression that that isn’t the case.

“Can I touch you?”

His eyes shoot up in surprise and he hesitantly nods. You gently grasp his hands, wrapping your fingers around his.

“I can’t even imagine,” you begin slowly, “how difficult this must be. But if you ever need to talk to someone, you’re always welcome here”

He gives a short, sharp nod and squeezes your fingers which you take to mean thank you.

“Also, this is totally not my place but, a therapist, one outside the Bureau? Might not be such a bad idea?” You give a sardonic grin and admit ” It worked for me”

After you give his hands another quick squeeze, you leave him to ponder your statement and head back to your office. Paperwork doesn’t do it self after all.

You hope Spencer manages to find some support though and decide that if he wants it, you’d be more than willing to help him.

---------------

It was a few weeks before Spencer Reid showed up in the coffee shop again.

It was early evening and you only had a few people in. You’d opted to close up tonight to ensure Jessica, who had been on the afternoon shift, had time to work on her assignment for class. She’d been complaining about it for the last few days.

The sound of the front door opening distracts you from your thoughts and you glance up to see who has entered. When you realise who it is you can’t help but smile.

“Fancy seeing you here Dr Reid” you say in greeting. He gives you a small smile in return.

“Well, it’s good coffee and, erm, the company’s good?”

You understand the question implicit in that comment and glance around at the few remaining patrons. They all have a beverage and it’s a quiet night so you can afford to take a step out behind the counter between orders.

“Sure, let me make us both a drink and then I’m all yours.”

You take his order (how much sugar?!?!) and get you both sorted out and settled into a small booth. You look at him, taking in the nervous expression on his face and let him settle in and start the conversation.

“I, erm, I took your advice”.

“That’s good. Are you finding it’s helping? Having someone outside of work to talk things through with?”

He nods his head.

“One of the things she pointed out was that so much of my life is wrapped up in work, that when things go wrong I don't have an external support system. Not that I didn't know that already but, someone else pointing it out made me realise how much if an impact it has.”

You bob your head thoughtfully, acknowledging his comment but not forcing him to say more.

“She suggested I try to find people outside of work to talk to. I was... I was wondering if you could be one?”

His nerves seem to have failed him slightly as he can’t look you in the eye, but you give him a big grin. Of course you want to spend time with this lovely man.

“I’d love to” you say, which gets him to look up and give you a smile in response.

You spend nearly an hour, with occasional breaks to serve customers, chatting to him before it becomes necessary to close up. He starts gathering his things but you’ve been enjoying his company so much you can’t bear to let him go. Instead, you check if he’s in a rush and, after confirming he has nothing else planned, invite him to hang around and grab something to eat from the diner down the street.

By the end of the night, you’re glad the diner is 24hr. You completely lose track of time, fascinated by the sheer amount of information he can provide and the passion with which he infodumps. It’s extremely endearing.

“I had a lovely time tonight” you tell him as you walk towards your apartment. You don’t live too far from the coffee shop and he had very gallantly offered to walk you home. “I’d love to do it again some time?”

He smiles and nods in agreement before asking for your phone number.

“I don't really like technology that much so I don’t have a smartphone and I don’t really check it that much and prefer speaking to texting…”

“Spence” you say, a little laugh in your voice as you interrupt. “Whatever works best for you. I’m not going to suddenly vanish on you, promise.”

You seem to have hit his worries a little too closely as he sways a little awkwardly, gaze wandering down to his feet.

“Can I hug you?” you check. His answer is to wrap his arms around you and you gently sway the both of you side to side.

He lets go and turns to head back out into the night as you call out “If you’re ever missing me, I know a place you can get great coffee. I can get you a good discount.” A laugh stutters from his lips and he wishes you a good night.

Leaning against your door you sigh happily to yourself. It’s always a good feeling making a new friend.

--------------

It had been over a year since the last time the BAU had booked (and managed to attend the booking). In that time, you’d converted another room upstairs into a meeting room, as well as setting up a shared work/study space in a room out the back.

You grin as you see them all enter, fascinated by the way this family of agents interact with each other. There’s even a tall, handsome genius who stands within the group, laughing and joking along with the rest.

Spencer greets you with a gentle kiss to your lips and it causes uproar from his colleagues. You don’t react much, you just turn to them and shrug.

“Do you know how many germs are passed in a handshake? It’s much safer to kiss.”

Your genius just laughs and wraps an arm around you, guiding the whole group upstairs, his friends playfully demanding details the whole way.

#Trope: Coffee Shop AU #Criminal Minds #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #tropetember #fanfiction #unbeta'd

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primroseyarnco · 3 years

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Tips and tricks, so you know you are ready for NYSW! Tip # 1: get there early. Like 45 minutes early. Lines begin to form around 1 hour before the gates open, and with the uncertainty of how this year’s festival will be conducted, it is best to be prepared by arriving early. Tip # 2: First year attending? Sweet! Welcome to the party! Familiarize yourself with the layout of the festival by checking out a map. While you’re at it, make notes on a piece of paper of where your favorite vendors are, and list them in order of which ones you want to visit first. We all only have one booth this year, so crowd navigating will be challenging, and visiting your “must see” vendors first will ensure souvenir success. Tip # 3: *MOST IMPORTANT* WiFi is literally non existent on the fairgrounds- so remember that thing I mentioned above about writing everything down on paper or in your phone- yeah, SUPER IMPORTANT! You are more than likely going to find it impossible to access things like Ravelry or pattern websites to check yardage and yarn info, so if you are planning to shop specifically for projects, in some form of another, have a hard copy of what you need for that pattern. Tip # 4: Do not wait for lunch to grab those coveted Apple Cider Doughnuts- EVERYONE DOES IT! Grab them at the beginning or end of the day. Lines are thinnest then, and you won’t waist time standing in line when you could be shopping. But seriously, you need one of these in your life. Tip # 5: preorder you Rhinebeck merch. You don’t want to go to the merch tent only to find that everything is sold out Tip # 6: Couldn’t make it to a vendors booth to grab that “must have item”? Ask the vendor if they are willing to do a preorder. Most of us are, but that is up to the vendor. And since we are limited to space this year, we are also limited on how much we can stock. *My booth will be accepting pre orders* Tip # 7: Have fun y’all! You are attending the best wool festival in the world! I hope this helps, and I can’t wait to see ya in 2 weeks time! #primroseyarnco #rhinebeck #rhinebecksweater #nysw #newyorksheepandwool #newyorksheepandwool2021 #dutchesscountyfairgrounds #andreamowry #drkilluminate https://www.instagram.com/p/CUacY52rn-K/?utm_medium=tumblr

#primroseyarnco #rhinebeck #rhinebecksweater #nysw #newyorksheepandwool #newyorksheepandwool2021 #dutchesscountyfairgrounds #andreamowry #drkilluminate

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mayakern · 2 years

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Anon who asked about the Luna Moth skirt back again! I just want to say that I didn't mind at all the long winded response! I'm very pleased with the transparency in what's going on behind the scenes. It really does help me understand what's going on and that's absolutely valid. You and your team are doing great and it brings me so much joy to my heart to know you're doing your best without putting yourselves or your employees at risk. You have a good business model and it's going to take a while to build up to a more stable situation with your manufacturer and that's okay! I'm glad to hear what's going on! As for the Luna Moth skirt, it's really unfortunate that it didn't sell well! I and a few of my friends would love to get one of your Luna Moth skirts (all of us work jobs with strict dress codes when it comes to color; the black and white with the Luna Moth design is perfect and i adore it). If that's the case though, would maybe a small selection of low selling designs maybe get a chance at a yearly pre-order or something down the line perhaps? Where it's to order only and extras bought in case of defects just go on the store? I'm not a shop owner so I don't know how all this works, but i do hope to see your store be able to expand in the future! I also wish you the best of luck with your manufacturer. Send my good wishes to your lovely team too!

i’m glad it helps! honestly neither devin or i are Business People so we’re just doing our best to achieve stability without being shit lords and that’s mostly worked out for us (much to our surprise)

as for preorders, i don’t know if we’ll ever run those again. we just can’t keep up with the volume of orders. during march preorders, which were only open for 1 week, we sold about 90% as many skirts as we sold in the entirety of 2021, which was already our best sales year by a huge margin. this is what led to our catastrophic miniskirt issue. our factory could not keep up.

the new factories we’re talking with actually have the capacity to keep up with our volume of sales, but with that we’re planning to still keep on the smaller, more frequent drop schedule (tho the merch orders we make will be bigger than the last two small ones we made). and when i talk about merch orders, each merch order accounts for multiple store drops. most individual drops contain 200-500 skirts and our eventual hope is to make merch orders of at least 1000 skirts every month. that should, once things calm down, be able to match demand.

the problem with preorders is that while skirts have an amount of scarcity (i.e. we aren’t able to keep them in stock), the amount of preorders made will continue to be overwhelming (potentially for a factory but definitely for ourselves/our staff, who still have to quality check and pack orders). it’s a lot more sustainable for us to do more frequent, smaller orders and to process those at a steady rate, rather than to place a huge order, twiddle our thumbs for 2-3 months, and then have a solid month of hardcore crunch time. and until we don’t have the scarcity issue, this is what will happen, unless we introduce an inventory cap, which defeats the purpose of preorders for where we’re currently at.

also i do routinely try to bring back small batches of less wildly popular designs, but unless i see a significant uptick in demand that’s not likely to happen for the moth or monstera designs.

also thank you for the well wishes!

#ask #store

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bugmomwrites · 4 years

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Animal Crossed Lovers (Tamaki Amajiki)

Alrighty so I haven't put any finished work on here in a hot minute, that’s my bad. ANYWHO my mom got me ACNH as an early birthday gift since my birthday (April 5th) just missed the supposed quarantine cutoff date for our area (7th). I may be be stuck inside while everything’s closed, but hey- at least the island of Escapism hardly rests 😉

(SW-3129-0651-5422)

Tamaki Amajiki x GN! Reader

Tamaki was never one to play video games, but he had to admit there was just something...soothing about Animal Crossing that melted much of his anxiety away. Nejire had initially preordered a copy for his birthday weeks ago, but her friend who worked at the local (s/n) (who he may or may not have been crushing on since their second year after they joined them at lunch one day) was able to pull a couple strings and get it on the fourth of March instead of the twentieth. Of course he had no idea, but he was so stunned when he opened it that it didn’t even occur to him that the game wasn’t even out yet until Mirio had reminded him. He didn’t question it though- his friend group was one wild card after another, so he guessed he shouldn’t have been too surprised.

He was thrilled, and just the fact that no one else had a copy yet made it feel all the more personal. Of course he knew in sixteen days it would be all anybody ever talked about, but for the time being it felt like the game, the little world he had created in the past few days with its gentle music and soft, wholesome theme, was his and his alone. The fact that it was a gift from his friends made it all the more special, and even if he had a hectic day at school he could turn on the console and water pretend flowers on a pretend island, and for those few moments, all was right with the world.

He was pulling weeds to sell to Timmy for bells when his screen pinged in the corner that made his blood run cold.

(Gamertag) is online

Playing: Animal Crossing New Horizons

That’s right, you had friended him on the switch after realizing all his friends had one, and now with a fourth person they could have a full team online. Mirio has suggested everyone exchange codes, and you had taken the liberty of showing him how to punch in the code and adding yourself while he sat there trying not to melt into his seat at how excited you got, or how nice you smelled up close. You had passed it back with a beaming grin, telling him you couldn’t wait to do co-ops. At the time he could only nod, speechless as the rest of his friends made idle chatter until the bell rung, and everyone scurried back to class.

He quickly realized he had left the terminal gate open when he was poking around the various features, learning about what each thing does in game. He tried sprinting to the airport to close the gates, and he made it to the dock before a big green banner flashed across his screen reading “you have a visitor!”

Out of the threshold popped your avatar, and for a moment he was grateful he could hide behind a screen. He wanted to be mad, upset even, that you had wandered onto his digital sanctuary, but couldn’t find it in himself because, then again, it was you.

The Nookphone in the top left corner buzzed to life, and he opened up the chat log with shaky hands. In a cutesy, pastel speech bubble was your message, and he wondered how something that was once so therapeutic to him could do a 180 and suddenly become the source of his anxiety.

G/T: Hello! Sorry to pop in unannounced, I hope you don’t mind^^

Tamaki felt his mouth go dry, reading it in your voice and after steadying his breathing, he painstakingly typed out a response.

Suneater: its ok.

G/T: It’s kinda hard to find others to play with when the game isn’t even released yet >~<

Suneater: Oh?

He should have known it was too good to be true. You were only visiting him because no one else was on yet. He sighed, trying to keep the dread from crawling back in before another note popped up.

G/T: The game doesn’t actually release until the first day of spring, but working at (s/n) has its perks. I saw the trailers and the hype and figured it would be the perfect game for you.

He felt a wave of relief wash over him upon reading that. So he wasn’t the last choice- rather, the game simply wasn’t out to the general public yet. But if that was the case, how did you also get a copy?

Suneater: thats nice of you

G/T: And then a little birdy told me you had a birthday coming up, so since I have a couple connections after I got my copy, I asked my manager if they’d set aside one more.

Suneater: you

Suneater: you were the one who helped get it early?

Boy did he feel stupid now. You worked at (s/n), (as you had literally just mentioned in your previous notes), Nejire got him a game that wasn’t out yet, you guys were all mutual friends- how did he not put two and two together?!

G/T: Yes lol that would be me^ you liking it so far? You picked a good name for the island too.

“Sunshine Island” may have seemed a little cliche to most people, but Tamaki had so many things in his life linked to it that by this point, it was just routine. Mirio was his sun in dark times. His nickname Suneater, even the sunflowers he had received from his parents for his birthday each year was tradition. He knew not everyone would see it the way he did, but to him, it was perfect, and he was definitely chuffed when he thought it up and punched it in for the first time.

To hear you loved it too sent a swell of pride through him, and he wondered if it was possible to love someone as much as he did just then.

Suneater: you really think so?

G/T: Absolutely

And with that, the two of you explored Sunshine Island together, he showed you his tent, the shops, and the little orchard of peaches he had arranged. You were impressed by the amount of detail and care that went into arranging everything, and asked if he’d be willing to help you with your island sometime, to which he obliged.

You guys did some more walking, and he told you to feel free to shake theres and take a couple fruits with you. His native fruit was peaches, and in exchange you dropped a couple of your own fruits from your island on the ground for him to pick up so he could have more variety in his world.

G/T: There’s six different kinds, and each island is assigned one main type of fruit. the more you visit with friends, the more biodiversity you’ll get. Pretty cool right? I have some spare (F/N), and if you take and plant those, they'll grow and multiply!

His avatar hesitantly wandered over to the offering after yours stepped back a little to let him take them. Your generousity was surely appreciated, and even though you couldn't see it, he smiled softly before typing out a new message.

Suneater: Thank you. I’ll go plant those.

The game might have been synced up with real time, even getting darker after a certain hour- yet despite it being outside, neither one of you noticed just how much time had passed between all the bug catching, fishing, exploring and talking. When your screen loaded up a clock that read 2:54 AM, you blinked a few times, as if that would change the reading. But lo and behold, it was going for 3am on a school night, and you knew you both had to get to bed.

G/T: Ah beans its 3am, I gotta get to bed soon. Thanks for letting me hang out on your island, and sorry for keeping you awake >~<

Suneater: don't be sorry, i had a lot of fun. can we play together again sometime?

G/T: Of course! I can't wait to meet up again. Maybe we can visit my island next time? I should have those peaches planted by then, and you can teach me your ways, oh master landscaper.

Tamaki chuckled out loud at that, blushing, as he suddenly had a brilliant idea.

Suneater: That would be nice. Wait here a second.

He scurried off to a patch of flowers he had blooming, and with a shovel, picked up a few in your favorite color before making his way back over and dropping them in front of you.

Suneater: You can start by planting a few of these around your island. It is your favorite color, right?

Now it was your turn to blush as you picked up the (f/c) flowers he dropped in front of you, smiling like a goon at his burst of confidence. How he remembered your favorite color is beyond you, but hey- you weren’t complaining.

G/T: They’re perfect, thank you Tama!

Suneater: You're welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow?

G/N: You know it! Goodnight <3

And on that note you walked down to the airport, his avatar following close behind as if to see you off. It was a simple gesture, but appreciated nonetheless. Both of you powered down your switches for the night before plugging them in, and promptly hopping into your respective beds with racing hearts. It was the perfect end to your digital “date” and you couldn’t wait to log in again.

Thank you for reading! Feedback and reblogs are appreciated. Hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. The inbox is always open for future ideas, so don’t be afraid to drop in.

Also gonna tag @katsukisprincess cause I mean...Animal Crossing and wholesome Tamaki fluff. ‘Nuff said.

#bug mom writes #amajiki tamaki x reader #tamaki amajiki x reader #acnh #bnha #mha x reader #mha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #boku no hero academia x reader #tamaki x reader #amajiki tamaki #tamaki amajiki #x reader imagine #fluff

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beneaththetangles · 3 years

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Reader’s Corner: Springtime Window, Boys Run the Riot, and A Sign of Affection

A Sign of Affection, Vol. 2

Volume one of A Sign of Affection was a manga I had on pre-order a full year before it released, and I instantly hit the preorder button whenever a new volume becomes available. No surprise then that I stopped everything to read volume two when it arrived, and it did not disappoint. It’s every bit as good volume one, and perhaps better. My heart was so giddy and happy when I finished because Yuki is such a brave and courageous woman and was really moved at how she is able to share her feelings so openly. And Itsuomi! He treats her so well, and so respectfully! I am very much appreciating this very sweet, slow burn romance, though I am eager to witness it fully unfold, especially after seeing both these characters open up to one another. Volume two shows more of Yuki’s hope concerning her friendship with Itsuomi, as well as more about Itsuomi’s dream, along with the lingering concern, first voiced by another character, about whether Yuki can fit into it. And just as Yuki feels her time spent with Itusomi is so short, I can’t help but feel the same way. I’m desperate for the third volume because the ending was such a cliffhanger! But not only that—I just love the sweetness of this story and this beautiful romance. I highly recommend this josei series! ~ Laura A. Grace

A Sign of Affection is published by Kodansha Comics.

Stitch and Samurai, Volume 1

Stitch & Samurai asks a very important question: Can the premise of Lilo & Stitch titulor alien crash landing in feudal Japan and being found by an aggressive warlord carry an entire manga series? Turns out, the answer is yes, yes it can. This first volume opens with Lord Yamato preparing to burn an entire village down as a way of spreading his authority. Then he sees something crash into the ground. It’s a rocket, holding Stitch. The “blue racoon,” as Stitch is called, causes Yamato to totally lose focus on the war efforts and instead shift them toward trying to befriend Stitch. It’s ridiculous in the best possible way. Also, the artist approached this work by doing a combination of a more traditional and realistic manga-style artwork for the Japanese cast contrasted with the American cartoon look of Stitch. It works beautifully. The first volume was a lot of fun and I look forward to seeing where this ridiculous concept goes next. ~ MDMRN

Stitch & Samurai is published by TOKYOPOP.*

Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai (Rascal Series, Vol. 2)

Despite its focus shifting from “bunny girl senpai” to “petite devil kohai,” and thus severely lacking in the rapid fire exchange between Sakuta and Mai that made volume one so much fun, Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai is a vast improvement on its predecessor. Author Hajime Kamoshida’s habit of not letting the story unfold in a natural way, but forcing it to go where he wants and then quickly trying to explain the rational when certain situations don’t add up, returns but in far fewer instances. Although the plot seems as complex as that in volume one—Sakuta and Tomoe, the kohai with whom he exchanged butt kicks in volume one, are trapped in a time loop in which they pretend to be a dating couple to avoid the latter being ostracized by her friends—there are actually far fewer complications with this sci-fi device and thus a smoother plot overall. Buffeted by the endearing personalities of the central “couple,” as well as final chapters that take the story in an interesting and unexpected direction, Petite Devil Kohai is a triumph, an entry that is compelling from start to finish and, after the inconsistencies of Bunny Girl Senpai, an encouraging sign for the future of the series. ~ Twwk

Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai is published by Yen Press.*

Springtime by the Window, Vol. 1

Volume one of Springtime by the Window is nothing but warm, fuzzy feelings—namely, the lovey dovey kind. Cool and popular Yamada is in love with his childhood friend, Seno, while Yamada’s friends, Akama and Toda, appear to have feelings for one another as well. Originally posted as tweets by the artist, the volume has a social media or webcomic feel to it, featuring short chapters with miniature payoffs as they depict school life and place the would-be couples in situations that push them nearer and nearer to admitting their feelings. I do think this series would probably best be enjoyed in such short bursts, but I admit, I found myself reading quickly through the volume, like an elementary-aged child tearing through an entire bag of candy, making a meal on food that’s quite lacking in nutritional value, which in manga terms, comes across somewhat in story but more profoundly in the almost-novice and inconsistent art. But also like said kid, I was too hopped up on the sweetness to really care. ~ Twwk

Springtime by the Window is published by Tokyopop.*

Boys Run the Riot, Vol. 1

Based purely on the concept of the openly transgender mangaka Keito Gaku developing a manga featuring a transgender and LBGTQ+ lead discovering his voice while entering the world of street fashion, Boys Run the Riot would demand attention. But this series isn’t satisfied with staying within the confines of that premise, as complex as that lane by itself would be. Instead, Gaku is weaving a tale of young character who are trying to find out and be comfortable with who they are, despite the sacrifice and cost that comes with doing so, as represented in this volume through Ryo, who is facing gender dysphoria while being surrounded by fellow students and teachers who, whether entirely real or imagined, don’t care about his struggles; Jin, the transfer student, held a year back and seen as a delinquent, and who finds a kindred soul in Ryo as one who shares his eye for fashion, quickly enlisting him as a partner in starting a brand; and most surprisingly, several others in more subtle situations who are likewise trying to find their own way in an unforgiving world. What results is a powerful and human look at the complications for those working through issues of gender identity and a host of other identifying traits about themselves in a cultures that impresses normalcy on them, and how they learn to fight back by being themselves. This is a moving and significant work. ~ Twwk

Boys Run the Riot is published by Kodansha.*

The Treasure of the King and the Cat

The Treasure of the King and the Cat is a TokyoPop collection of two stories (and a set of small postlude vignettes) about the half-elf wizard O’Feuille and Prince Volks, the twin brother of King Castio, saving various people. The first story revolves around a young boy whose mother is ill while also conducting some world building about the inherent magical nature of half-elves in this world setting. The second leads more into the main plot about people disappearing and cats turning up all around town. This is advertised as a Boys Love (BL) manga as there’s heavy homosexual overtones, though everything is winked and nodded at with no actual relationships developing. Volks’ huge crush on O’Feuille is played up a lot with the king and his humble servant implied a lot as well, but again, no development beyond that, There’s a kingdom of missing people to deal with, after all! As you can tell, the story is silly and simple, a read without much distinction, but it does make one think about the nature of what it is you genuinely treasure. ~ MDMRN

The Treasure of the King and the Cat is published by TOKYOPOP.*

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Reader’s Corner is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works their reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works and older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

#Manga #Light Novels #Yubisaki to Renren #A Sign of Affection #Stitch & the Samurai #Tono & Stitch #Seishun Buta Yarou #Rascal Does Not Dream #Springtime by the Window #Boys Run the Riot #The Treasure of the King and the Cat #Ou to Neko no Hihou #Reader's Corner #Articles #Author: Laura A. Grace #Author: MDMRN #Author: TWWK

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