halfcactus | Network

https://www.tiktok.com/@duckprintspress/video/7618609115929103647?_r=1&_t=ZP-94nJH5w7pz4

(Video ID: a white person with short reddish hair in glasses sits in front of a book case and talks. /end ID)

Transcript: So my next question is, what are some misconceptions that people have about publishing in general or about indie publishing that I would like to talk about?

So, I think the big one for me as an indie publisher is this pervasive idea that indie publishing is somehow “less,” that what we publish is worse, which is really nonsense. There’s a ton of reasons to not do traditional publishing or that traditional publishing would not be interested in your work that has nothing to do with a work’s quality.

In the end the Big Five traditional publishers are ginormous corporations primarily interested in Number Go Up. They’ve got investors and traditional stock stuff going on. If they don’t show returns, they don’t succeed. And so they won’t take risks, especially on things that don’t fit neatly into a category, so they frown on indie – uh, sorry – cross genre. They don’t like to takes risks on queer works, as we all know. They don’t like to take chances on new authors, because what if they lose money on that new author? They don’t want people who don’t have existing followings. And so what gets published by the Big Five aren’t the best books. That’s not even what they’re trying to publish. The Big Five are trying to publish the books they think will make the most money. Which is not at all the same as the best books.

And I’m not saying indie publishing is publishing the best books either. Book quality is part of making money, so yes, a lot of what Tradpub publishes are good books, no contesting that. But a lot of what indie presses publish are also good books. They’re just books that don’t fit neatly into the boxes that indie pub – that traditional publishing likes to try to shove everything into. And so this idea that – that indie publishing is somehow “less” quality is not only wrong, it’s just completely unhinged from what the purpose of traditional publishing and indie publishing are.

Indie publishing is a space for people taking different kinds of risks, for people whose works don’t fit neatly into boxes, for works that the Big Five don’t think will make that much money. And that gives us a lot of room to find really amazing, amazing things to publish that wouldn’t see the light of day otherwise. To amplify voices that don’t usually get heard. To take risks and, you know, push outside of boxes. So, yeah, support indie publishing! We’re not “tradpub light.” We’re awesome! And we’re different! We’re trying to do something different and that’s important.

This has been an Indie Press Month Ask Me Anything with Claire. Feel free to drop me any asks you might have in the comments. Bye!

galadhir

Oh, and lump-wise, I saw the Doctor on Monday and she referred me to the appropriate clinic, so now I have an appointment to see a specialist on the 27th. (The NHS can move quite fast when it needs to :) )

bluapapilio

Used my game/drama/etc boardgame. Last challenge here. I did good though I couldn't beat Katayama in P5X. >> First time I'll be doing more than one game/etc challenge in one month.

Avatar:

Superhero/Ride Kamens
Skill: Beat trap tile once

Roll #1:

A 5, romance element. I'll do the next route of Brother's Conflict, hope the guide is accurate this time...

Roll #2:

A 6, favorite genre. Fantasy so Mahoutsuki no Yakusoku.

Roll #3:

A 7, prompt: kemonomimi. Hmm I'll go with kemonomimi side character with NU: Carnival.

Roll #4:

A 10, trap tile - used skill. New roll: another 10. Reward: Paradox Live.

~Game/Drama CD/Etc To Do List~

[Otome/VN] Brother's Conflict
[Mobile Game/Fantasy] Mahoutsukai no Yakusoku
[Mobile Game/BL] NU: Carnival
[Voice Drama/Music] Paradox Live

x2 mobile games, x1 voice/music drama, x1 visual novel

Current Mood: tired

duckprintspress

I went to the library on Monday and borrowed a whole pile of new books when I hadn't finished the old ones, so I buckled down this week after finishing the main story in Don't You Like Me to see if I could clear out some of my physical library loans ~~to make space for the new physical library loans~~.

1. What are you currently reading?

Don't You Like Me vol. 2 by Lv Tian Yi: I finished the main story and now I'm working my way through the extras.
Kase-San and Yamada vol. 4 by Hiromi Takashima
Les Normaux vol. 2 by Janine Janssen and S. Al Sabado: I was really excited for this one but I'm running into the problem that I don't remember much of what was going on in vol. 1 and so I'm a little lost and as a result I'm procrastinating.
DMBJ in Chinese: I'm almost a third done!!!

2. What have you recently finished reading?

The Apothecary Diaries light novel vol. 4 by Natsu Hyuuga: idk I'm inching closer to not reading more. If I didn't already have a hold on vol. 5 I'm not sure I'd bother. I can't even put my finger on my dissatisfaction, and I actually liked this volume better than some of the others, but... idk. It's maybe just not the series for me, even though it feels like it should be.
Yuri Espoir vol. 1 by Mai Naoi: oh, this is fun. It's modern GL about a girl whose parents have set up a marriage for her, so she wants to get all her lesbianism and yuri expressed before she's forced into this wedding, and so she looks at girls around her and makes up wlw stories about them. Except even tho her stories are always wrong, all the girls she looks at ARE wlw so we get glimpses of their lives. And also her (female) best friend is in love with her. And ALSO there's a (male) teacher of theirs who is in love with the affianced arranged marriage guy. So it's all a delightful mess. I really liked vol. 1.
Lullaby of the Dawn vol. 6 by Ichika Yuno: worth the wait.
At the Flower Capital by Rihito Takarai: this turned out to be the historical setting prequel to 3-book modern BL I haven't read. It wasn't world-shattering, and it was very sad, but I liked it enough to go grab the modern BL.
How Do We Relationship? vol. 3 by Tamifull: was very iffy on this volume, decided to read the back blurbs for upcoming volumes, and based on what they said, I've dropped the series. Please just fuckin' communicate, this is idiotic.
Sleepless Domain vol. 1 by Oscar Vega and Mary Cagle: an interesting idea for a story (it's a magical girl thing) but it's tagged LGBTQIA+ without any obvious rep (there was maybe a whiff of wlw) and the art quality declined rapidly even just in vol. 1. Also, it's from that Hive-whatever publisher, so I suspect vol. 2 has gotten fucked over in that mess.
Wrack and Rune by Chris Kappel: I had such high hopes for this modern BL with a white dude and a fat Black guy holding hands on the cover, but oof, it was. not good. Like there were good pieces in it but the actual relationship development was handled so entirely off-screen that it was impossible to buy-in to why these characters were risking so much for each other.
Only the Flower Knows vol. 1 to 3 by Rihito Takarai: this is the 3-book modern BL that the other was a prequel for. Considering it's from like 2010 it's pretty good, one of the better older BLs I've read.
Good Old-Fashioned Korean Spirit by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada: this was a really good mostly historical graphic novel set in Korea. Taught me some Korean history I didn't know, had a great sense of humor, and also had a surprise trans character making it perfect for the first day of the Trans Rights Readathon (which I'm not technically participating in but hey, if I've got stuff with trans characters, no reason not to read 'um now!)

3. What will you read next?

Novels: The Beauty's Blade by Feng Ren Zuo Shu

Physical Graphic Novels: I still haven't read the last volume of the MDZS manhua, oops. From the library, next is Gaysians by Mike Curato.

Digital Graphic Novels (Libby): Les Normaux vol. 2, which I've already started, is due in six days, so gotta read that. Nothing else is imminent, but my hold on Wild Beast Forest House vol. 3 by Inma R. came through, so probably that, I enjoyed the first two volumes a lot.

bluapapilio

[Official Site] 🌕 [Wiki]
[Previous]

Chapter 6.4: Oh right, Bradley wanted to go out and attack the minister's people surrounding the castle, but suddenly disappeared after sneezing.

Drummond: “How DARE they turn me into a mouse like that…! This is my chance to avenge myself for that squeaky humiliation! …I mean, SNEAKY humiliation!”

🤣

Now Shylock's chest is on fire!

Chapter 6.5:

Snow: “It appears as though we’re finally starting to feel the effects of the Great Calamity.”

White: “We ventured too close in our last battle and each were injured in ways we could not see.”

Oh no...can't Akira heal the damage?

The minister's people are infuriating, so scared of magic that they turn to murder. :|

Chapter 6.5:

White: “This will only grow more out of control should we harm them. You must bear it.”

Faust: “I have been. For a long time now.”

Faust: “You know exactly how THAT ended the first time around. It’s always the same with humans…”

What...what happened last time?

The new wizards show up and it's funny to think the minister wanted to wrap this up before Arthur heard of it...and here Arthur is, having been summoned.

Chapter 6.7: Guess Lennox and Faust know each other?

End of chapter 6!

Current Mood: exhausted

conuly posting in

agonyaunt

Dear Prudence,

I’m a 21-year-old college student living in a house with five other students. There are three women and three men. We’re having an issue keeping our kitchen clean, and I am the only one who consistently cleans. I keep the floors and counters clean, wash the piles of dishes in the sink, wash dish towels, etc. Anytime I’ve asked people to chip in, they never follow through. I’ve tried not doing the cleaning, but then the kitchen gets disgusting and I end up caving.

I’m not completely innocent when it comes to not always washing my dishes immediately and being messy, but I feel like I clean more often than anyone else. A general chore chart doesn’t work, and I am tired of feeling like my roommate’s mother. How can I get them to take some initiative and do more of the heavy lifting that always falls on me?

—Not a Mother to Five at 21

( Read more... )

seleneheart

1. What have you recently finished reading?

The Melancholy of Untold History by Minsoo Kang - it was an interesting set of myths and pre-history of an Asian-based fantasy world. I enjoyed it from that standpoint, but it was more like a textbook or collection of stories than an actual novel.

2. What are you currently reading?

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher. This is the bookclub_dw read for March. I'm almost finished.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. I've been feeling nostalgic and it will satisfy a book bingo square.

3. What will you be reading next?

A Scandal in Mayfair by Katharine Schellman. I finally got my hands on a copy of this from the library. This will complete the Lily Adler Mysteries for me.

The Gales of November by John U. Bacon. Another one I've been waiting for from the library. I live in Michigan - this is practically required reading.

I'm a day late for the icon. IYKYK

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Lykke Li - Window Blues

galadhir

It's approximately two weeks since we had the heat pump put in, and I know I promised an update on how it is going :)

I thought it would be a bit colder, but it's not. We have been so toasty that we had to set the thermostat down a degree.

I was also worried that there might not be enough hot water in the tank that DH could have a shower in the morning and I could have a bath in the evening. Probably - I thought - we'd have to boost the hot water with the supplementary immersion heater if we wanted a bath full of hot water in the evening.

But no, the hot water is actually hotter with the heat pump than it was with the boiler, and the tank is hot enough throughout the day that there is enough left in the evening to run a pre-bedtime bath and more.

The cost of running it seems to be about equal to the cost of both electricity and gas that we used for heating the house, which DH seemed to think was good, although not as spectacular a saving as I expected. Still, it means that we are no longer dependent on oil as a household, and that is a step toward a less fossil-fuel based world, while not being worse for us in any way.

oursin

Happy birthday,

james_davis_nicoll and

perennialanna!

shipperslist

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

myrmidon posting in

fandom_icons

Dune: Part Three (2026)
[ teaser trailer ]

[ here @

axisandallies ]

beatrice_otter posting in

fancake

Fandom: Pride and Prejudice
Pairings/Characters: Darcy/Elizabeth, Georgiana, Jane/Bingley
Rating: Teen
Length: 75k
Creator Links:

anghraine
Theme: siblings, old fandoms, book fandoms, novel length, AU, family,

Summary: Without Lady Catherine's interference, a family catastrophe throws Darcy and Elizabeth down wildly different paths.

Reccer's Notes: This series is very much Darcy/Elizabeth, but they spend a lot of it going down separate paths. And on those separate paths, their closest relationships are with their siblings--Darcy and Georgiana, Jane and Elizabeth. I love the care that is taken with all of the different relationships in this story.

Fanwork Links: The Rich Are Always Respectable

beatrice_otter posting in

fancake

Fandom: Marvel
Pairings/Characters: Steve/Bucky
Rating: Gen
Length: 4k
Creator Links:

what_alchemy
Theme: siblings, AU, family

Summary: Bucky was the eldest of four.

Reccer's Notes: Bucky has four younger siblings, and in 2015 they are elderly, crotchety, and determined to go see Steve Rogers. Getting there is an ordeal, and what they find there is a surprise. I love the way the characters are so well-drawn and realistic, and I love the humor.

Fanwork Links: Geriatric Road Trip, 2015

Content notes: racist and homophobic language

beatrice_otter posting in

fancake

Fandom: Vorkosigan
Pairings/Characters: Kareen Vorbarra, Alys Vorpatril, Gregor Vorbarra, Ivan Vorpatril
Rating: Gen
Length: 13k
Creator Links:

lannamichaels
Theme: siblings, family, secret identity reveal, female characters, old fandoms, book fandoms, AU, female friendship,

Summary: Kareen protects her children.

Reccer's Notes: This is such a fascinating AU about Kareen, Alys, Gregor, Ivan, and what might have happened.

Fanwork Links: The Emperor's Brother

troisoiseaux

Read The Stranger by Albert Camus and spent the entire time thinking about the Ben Affleck smoking meme, or perhaps a little cartoon man smoking a cigarette and muttering bah in a French accent, which is to say I had a deeply unserious reading experience. I found this book to be surprisingly (darkly) funny, because the main character/narrator, Meursault, just floats through life— including his own trial and forthcoming execution for murder— by responding to everyone and everything with abrupt and odd statements about how nothing matters, actually. Promotion at work? It's all the same to him; nothing matters. His girlfriend wants to get married? Sure, if she wants to; it's not like anything matters. The blurb describes this as the "story of an ordinary man who unwittingly gets drawn into a senseless murder on a sundrenched Algerian beach," which led me to expect that Meursault would be an accessory to murder, or perhaps framed for a crime he didn't commit— especially as, early on, a shady acquaintance has him (Meursault) write a threatening letter to his (the acquaintance's) ex— but no?? He literally just shoots a random guy multiple times at close range for no reason?? Because Life Is Absurd And Nothing Matters, Actually????

In a rare (and only very, very loosely book-adjacent) movie update, I saw The Bride! (2026, dir. Maggie Gyllenhaal) last weekend and it was SO much fun. It is not a particularly coherent movie— it does feel like a sort of Frankenstein's monster in itself, cobbled from about three different premises ("what if Bride of Frankenstein was Bonnie & Clyde?"; "Frankenstein 2: Mary's Revenge, A Feminist Retelling", etc.)— but as a fan of campy horror and classic Hollywood I felt incredibly catered to. I also watched National Theatre's Ncuti Gatwa-led The Importance of Being Earnest, which is in fact as absolutely delightful as it looks. (It's available on YouTube through tomorrow, the 18th, and streaming on National Theatre at Home after that.)

Current Music: The Man I Killed - NOFX

starandrea

Me: Internet, how long do dahlias take to sprout?
Internet: Could be two months, but probably only one. Maybe as little as two weeks if they're the right variety in the right conditions.

It has been ELEVEN DAYS. 7 out of 22 containers have little dahlia sprouts, and by "little" I mean the biggest one has FOUR LEAVES ALREADY. I cleared off a shelf in the utility room and snapped my one spare magnetic grow light to the shelf above, plugged it into a Christmas tree timer* in the hallway, and squeezed in all but 7 pots. (The four that had sprouted by yesterday are still on their succulent shelves, and the three I judge least likely to succeed are sitting on a box near the light for monitoring.)

I did a little garden tidying, but the ground is still too frozen for digging (despite the daffodils coming up everywhere, plus some red sprouts that must be tulips, yay my daffodil protection circle worked) so bad news for the boxes of cannas by the back door: they are headed for the garage tomorrow morning. If I have to cart them back and forth from the garage to the house to keep them from freezing overnight I will, but I'm hopeful that I'll be able to insulate them enough that they can weather a few freezing nights on their own.

( plants and puppy )

*All the lights have to be on timers, otherwise it's like Wei Ying's tomatoes in that one where Lan Zhan is a wolf and keeps judgmentally turning his plant lights on and off for him. I have absolutely thought to myself, "oh I turned the lights on late this morning, surely I should leave them on late tonight to make up for it!"

bluapapilio

Chapter 71: Someone was watching Yukio half-kill himself.

lol at Rin calling Lewin a pervert for wanting to do things to his sword.

Rin comforting Konekomaru. :')

Rin: "I'll help, too. But it's for Suguro, not you." Hah. =P

Suguro was so badass playing that karuta game even if he got too into it and made a mistake. He's Lewin's apprentice now!

The SugoRin fistbump!

Chapter 72: Aw, I love Konekomaru's app idea. And Suguro cut his haaair! He always looks good but I will miss the longer hair.

Geezus Yukio, jumping off a building? If someone sees you they're liable to put you in a ward and stop you from being an exorcist at all. 😭

As he was falling, he thought of Shiro, Shiemi and Rin.

As long as Yukio is afraid of his powers he's not going to get anywhere, but first he does need to know what they are. I just wish he had someone who knew.

Chapter 73: Lol I can't wait to hear Shiemi imitate Yukio in the anime.

Aw, I'm not a fan of romance in my shounen at all but I still found the confession scene cute.

Shura is missing and Mephisto wants the brothers to go to 'Aomori' to find her.

I'm definitely caught up to where I stopped in the anime now.

Current Mood: tired

wtfjht_feed

Posted by Matt Kiser

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/17/day-1883/

Day 1883

Today in one sentence: Trump said NATO “is making a very foolish mistake” by refusing to join the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran; Trump – twice – said that a former president told him he wished he’d been the one to attack Iran, but all four living former presidents denied talking to Trump about Iran; the top U.S. counterterrorism official resigned over the Iran war, saying Iran posed “no imminent threat”; the Senate voted 51-48 to open debate on the House-passed SAVE America Act; and the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear for a closed-door deposition over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

1/ Trump said NATO “is making a very foolish mistake” by refusing to join the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, while calling it “a great test, because we don’t need them.” He also insisted that “all of the NATO allies agreed with us” on confronting Iran, but that NATO had become “a one-way street” in which “we will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need.” Trump also said he was “not afraid” to put U.S. troops on the ground in Iran, adding: “I’m really not afraid of anything.” (Politico / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Bloomberg / Reuters / CNBC / Axios / Associated Press)

2/ Trump – twice – said that a former president told him he wished he’d been the one to attack Iran, but all four living former presidents denied talking to Trump about Iran. Representatives for Bush, Clinton, Obama, and Biden said they hadn’t spoken with Trump recently. Nevertheless, Trump first made the claim at a White House meeting with Kennedy Center board members, then repeated it in the Oval Office, saying, “I spoke to one of the former presidents” and that the person told him, “I wish I did what you did.” When asked who it was, Trump ruled out Bush, wouldn’t say whether it was Clinton, and said he didn’t want to identify the person because “I don’t want to get him into trouble.” (NBC News / New York Times / Associated Press / The Hill / The Guardian)

3/ The top U.S. counterterrorism official resigned over the Iran war, saying Iran posed “no imminent threat.” In his resignation letter, Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said: “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” Kent claimed Israel “deployed a misinformation campaign,” which “sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran,” and “was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now.” In response, Trump said Kent was a nice guy, who “was weak on security, very weak on security.” Kent is the first senior Trump administration official to publicly quit over the conflict. (Axios / Wall Street Journal / NPR / Politico / Washington Post / Reuters / CNBC / NBC News / Bloomberg / New York Times / Associated Press)

4/ The Senate voted 51-48 to open debate on the House-passed SAVE America Act, launching what Republicans said could be days of floor speeches on Trump’s “No. 1 priority.” The measure would require proof of citizenship to register and photo ID to vote, but Senate Republicans lack the 60 votes needed to break a Democratic filibuster. Senate Majority Leader John Thune also said that “the votes aren’t there” for the more aggressive talking-filibuster strategy. Democrats called the measure “a naked attempt to rig our elections” and vowed to block it “all day, all night.” (Politico / NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CBS News / The Hill)

5/ The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi to appear for a closed-door deposition over the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The move followed a bipartisan committee vote earlier this month, when five Republicans joined Democrats to compel her testimony. Chairman James Comer said the panel has questions about possible mismanagement of the Epstein probe and Bondi’s role in collecting, reviewing, and releasing the files. The Justice Department called the subpoena “completely unnecessary,” and said Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche would brief committee members Wednesday, and didn’t say whether Bondi would comply. (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / CNN / CNBC)

The 2026 midterms are in 231 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 966 days.

Today last year: Day 1518: "Overdrive."
Four years ago today: Day 422: "Consequences and implications."
Five years ago today: Day 57: "Democracy is having a hard time functioning."
Six years ago today: Day 1153: "We have it totally under control."
9 years ago today: Day 57: Tapped out.

Support today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member

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https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2026/03/17/day-1883/

zwei_hexen

Tally:
Welcome post
( Days 1-10 )

Day 13:

badly_knitted,

carenejeans,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

luzula,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 14:

badly_kntted,

brithistorian,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

goddess47,

luzula,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 15:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

carenejeans,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

glinda,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 16:

badly_knitted,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

glinda,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

Let us know if we missed you or if you didn't check in for a while, so we can add you. Of course joining the fun is possible at any point.

~ ~ ~

ysilme here: 70 words for the new story.

sylvanwitch here: 175 words on “Dixon and the Detective.”

bluapapilio

Original webcomic: M/M Title: Necromancer Doesn't Let Me Rest In Peace "Meet my trashy OC's in toxic relationships."	Hunter x Hunter: Gen, ChroKura, HisoIllu, ChroShan Lots of variation! Single, group and trio.	Card Captor Sakura: Gen, TouYuki, TouYukiAki After the chapter of Clear Card I just read, it's nice to see some fanart of Akizuki hanging out with Touya and Yukito!
Gyakuten Saiban/Ace Attorney: NaruMitsu, NokoMitsu [pixiv] [poipiku] [pic link leads to twitter]	Original BL: Actor x Photographer This is so lovely. ❤️️ [alt: twitter] [pic link leads to instagram]	Howl's Moving Castle: Howl/Sophie Illustrations for a new Russian book edition! [alt] [link leads to twitter]