don't be mad cuz i'm doing me better than you doing you

If you are in this country and took the job, which I hope you didn't, now is definitely the time to look into a pro-bono labour rights lawyer. You're definitely eligible for back pay of any tips withheld and probably more. If you're in any progressive state there's a good chance your rights go beyond this. Regardless, federal regulations:

On a personal note I am seeing red over the situation. Fuck them for the audacity to pull this shit. Fuck them for being manipulative, abusive bosses.

This is obviously meant for fanfiction bookbinding, and other amateur, non-archival projects. I don’t bookbind for a living, and I’ve only been doing this since March 2020.

Here are the tools I started with, along with alternatives for maximum affordability.

DIY book press (tutorial by sea lemon)

Mine costs about $15 and consists of two cutting boards (18″x11″) from IKEA, and washers, wingnuts, carriage bolts, and bumpers from Home Depot. I was lucky that my stepdad has woodworking tools in his garage so he helped me put my press together. If you don’t have these resources, you can try other options such as two boards and c-clamps.

Printer capable of double-sided printing and has Auto Document Feeder (ADF)

I bought a Canon Pixma TR8520 inkjet printer just for bookbinding, but you can also use any printer, even laser (which I’m thinking of getting soon because it prints faster). UPDATE 5/24/20: I finally broke down and purchased the HP LaserJet Pro MFP M148dw; it’s black and white, so I’m keeping my Canon inkjet to print color inserts.

12x12″ cutting mat

Box cutter

I have two: a Husky 18 mm utility knife with snap-off blades for cutting the thick binder’s board and a smaller ANViL 9 mm snap-off utility knife for the papers. You can make do with just one, and I suggest the bigger knife.

Scissors

18-inch metal ruler with cork backing

12-inch aluminum drafting triangle

Metric ruler

Super handy for the minutest measurements

PVA glue

Foam brush

If you search for glue brush, you’ll probably find the round ones, but I personally prefer the foam brush because of its precise sharp edge, which contains the mess and is perfect for gluing on endpapers to the text block. If you don’t have a foam brush, you can use any brush, really. UPDATE 5/24/20: Or your fingers. I’ve been doing that a lot. Nothing gets glue into the crevices of the spine better than your finger.

Binder’s board

The 13″x19″ boards from Hollander’s are perfect because I can use one board to casebind two books. You can also use the thick cardboard that comes with most paper pads, chipboard, or  Davey Board.

Book cloth

I stick with dark gray cloth for now, since it seems to go with any paper I use for case binding. Sea Lemon has a tutorial for making your own bookcloth if the ready-made ones are inaccessible or too expensive for you.

Decorative cardstock for case and endpapers

The Recollections brand has 12″x12″ paper pads with different themes and designs, but your craft store should have a selection of individual papers.

Awl

I like the kind with the big handle for easier handling. Other options: a pin or thumb tack.

8-inch bone folder

You can also use any other straight, sturdy tool like a short metal ruler or the side of a thick capped marker, as I’ve done most times.

mull/super/jaconet

I’ve read somewhere that you can use cheesecloth. You can also skip mull altogether, but it does lend durability so skip at your own risk and make sure your stitches are tight.

Headband

Yet another one you can skip because you can make your own according to this tutorial by Sea Lemon. I’ve never tried this before, but I plan to in the near future: you can make your own headbands, although it is a time-consuming process.

Linen tape

Depending on the type of binding or stitch you’re using, you can skip linen tapes.

Waxed thread

Get linen if you can.

Beeswax and regular ol’ sewing thread

If you can’t find waxed thread, you can make your own.

Curved needle

You can use the straight needle, but I find this easier to use for sewing signatures together.

BONUS: We R Memory Keepers Book Binding Guide

OCD can exist very physically in the body. A very normal OCD symptom is the groinal response:

Groinal response is a feeling of arousal. It can include swelling, tingling, warmth, moisture, lubrication, tumescence (swelling or feeling of fullness), sensitivity to small movements, partial erection or full erection. A groinal response in OCD is often linked to an intrusive feeling, thought, urge or image. (NOCD)

It's common among people with P-OCD (pedophilia intrusive thoughts), intrusive thoughts focused on incest, attraction to pets and other animals, sexual orientation, or fear of any other unwanted attraction.

People experiencing intrusive thoughts often engage in 'Checking' compulsions. Or repeatedly going over the same information to reassure yourself (NOCD). In this case, the information comes from your body:

You're afraid you're attracted to your brother. When you see your brother, you focus on your body to make sure it's not experiencing any sensations that 'confirm' your fear.

By focusing so intently on the body, Checking can actually trigger the physical response you're most afraid of.

Although not to be confused with pOCD, which is perinatal and postpartum OCD, P-OCD and Harm OCD are common in people WITH pOCD. pOCD may develop both in the birthing parent and other caretakers, igniting terror that they are unsafe and unable to care for their infants (iOCDf).

Understanding OCD is lifesaving information. You are not your intrusive thoughts. Your intrusive thoughts are not your secret desires. Every single person I've ever known with OCD has feared that they don't actually have OCD and that they're the one person whose intrusive thoughts are real.

Spoiler: That wasn't true for any of us, and it's not true for you.

You're normal. Having OCD is normal. Your intrusive thoughts are normal. Best of all, you don't have to live in fear forever.

Recovery is possible. Even without professional therapy. Okay, I love you.

Now they're interesting, but the REAL star of the show is one of his villains, John Doe the Generic Man, who's this guy in a stark white suit with flat pink unshaded, untextured skin with no features or anything who talks like chatGPT and has black text over his face that explains what he's feeling at the moment. That guy is fucking fascinating.