#so i still haven't figured out hiring models and all of that :[

[shopwitchvamp]

Heyoo! I wanted to ask if you maybe happened to have more pictures of the joggers on plus sized people, on top of the couple on your store site? Your designs look so cool, I've just recently started to embrace more fun colors and patterns and would love your joggers but I live in europe and need to make sure I get the perfect size on the first try since the shipping costs more :D

Omg, sorry about not seeing this until now! Thank you!! Unfortunately, I don't really have any more pics than what are in the shop :[ Most of my jogger designs have come about after I left Fresh Hot Flavors, and I've pretty much only been modeling things myself these days since FHF were the other models (besides occasionally my brother modeling something, but he's even smaller than me..). There might be some more examples in my "happy customers" tag here on tumblr though!

[jisuto]

On the topic of game reception, what are your thoughts on the current state of pokemon?

OK THIS ASK WAS SENT BEFORE THE HUGE LEAK LOL but I have a lot to say:

I watched VHS tapes, played the games, and owned merch since a young age so the series is very special to me. But I don't like the current direction at all and it's not because of the designs or nostalgia. The quality and game performance plummeted so how can I enjoy playing when there's mad lag or low frame rate that hinders my progress and worsen the experience??

It took too many years for them to realize they need to put quality over quantity after the SWSH mess, seeing that they can get away with pretty much ANYTHING and still make huge profit. You see people say that Pokemon should've never went 3D and stay 2D but tbh, it's a series that improves it's graphics as technology advances so it's not a surprise for them to finally go 3D and personally I think that's fine but just keep it looking good and fun (though I would love a 2D/3D hybrid). XY introduced a lot of new features but still lacked in some aspects that still haven't really been solved or added.

Reusing assets is common in the industry but only to a certain extent. They claimed that SWSH was taking a while to make because they were making brand new models which turned out to be a lie and they look like bootleg figures with the new lighting. The 3DS models were ripped from Pokepark, including some animations, but a lot of them still barely have any character. They have their own in-house team (Creatures Inc) so they made the decision NOT to have pokemon properly animated or look alive.... Also they made spin-offs like Ranger, Colosseum, Pokepark, and Pokken which look AMAZING

FRLG took only one year while HGSS was being developed at the same time as Platinum and took 3 years to finish that turned into one of the best games and remakes ever made. As the franchise expands, the team also needs to add more manpower but Game Freak can definitely afford to get more resources to help them?? They can't continue having a ragtag team of like 20 people to make a game back then and do the same now then expect good results... Hire more people who know how create with current gen consoles IT'S COMMON SENSE PLS also I can't believe they had a different company create BDSP knowing how beloved and groundbreaking DPPT was?? No redesigns like the previous remakes and thought it was a good idea to keep it looking a carbon copy to the DS style...

Also it's shocking to see how fan reception can change how the devs direct the next gen ESPECIALLY when it's not even real constructive criticism?? When Unova came out, I remember seeing all the online outcry about "OH THEY HAVE AN ICE CREAM CONE POKEMON AND A TRASH BAG, THEY'RE RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS EW" then actually hear it being repeated at school.... I WAS TRYING TO SURVIVE SINCE DAY 1 IN THE TRENCHES DEFENDING THIS GAME IT WAS ALWAYS GOOD AND DIDN'T NEED 10 YEARS TO AGE WELL. It's crazy how these are the same people who want another Kanto when Trubbish is Grimer (garbage waste) and Vanillite is Voltorb (based on literal items) then you could not catch any other pokemon from different regions in the main game. And the leak confirmed that the disgruntled hate from the west made the devs not release new pokemon in B2W2 and move them over to XY instead AND NOT GIVE A SINGLE GEN 5 MEGA EVOLUTION. So we were robbed because of genwunners who were fixated on the wrong things and ignored all the great content Unova brought us. It's strange how players keep complaining they want a different and fresh game, but want it to continue being super formulaic and binary like wtf do you want make up your mind

None of the switch titles really got me invested and I always end up replaying the older games but hopefully PLZA will break the curse and finally give us a nice game. Also why don't we have more spin-offs on the switch if there's so many of them floating around like the DS had a bunch??? STOP BEING COWARDS I WANT A POKEMON NINTENDOGS GAME OR THAT FIRE EMBLEM CROSSOVER WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GET. I JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN AGAIN ;w;

[driftingmoonmenace]

Ok ok ok I'm gonna just dump all my DCA OC thoughts/info in a post cause I'm shy with rambling about them individually with ppl atm 👉👈💦

BUT OK SO I've been like rattling this idea around in my brain for quite a while! At first I just had Paradox and he was just in his own little AU world thing, but then I decided to just take all my DCA ocs and shove them into a world together and they just work at different Pizzaplexs and stuff.

Paradox's info is still pretty much the same! He's tired of being treated badly by adults and acting out by retaliating with pranks and it's getting on Fazco's last nerve. So they hired a handler to keep him in check.

I got my other Eclipse model, Equinox, he's from a defunct Pizzaplex, there's a lot that went into it closing down, but before he could be decommissioned like the rest, he managed to escape and is 'on the run'. He travels cross-country on a motorcycle with a mission to help other animatronics get out from under Fazco. He totally leans into the 'badboy' persona and has modified himself over time to look how he wants to.

And then there's Umbra! He's a Moon model that Equinox picked up on his travels, and is his journey partner! Umbra was also a Daycare Attendant and had a Sun counterpart, though unfortunately he was officially decommissioned before Umbra could do anything. It's a sensitive subject for him and he's completely on-board with Equinox's plan to save as many animatronics as they can because of it, and maybe take Fazco down too. Umbra is super smart, and a little shy. He tries to make up the plans, but half the time Equinox goes jumping into potential danger before he can even finish getting his thoughts out. It exasperates him, but Equinox is 'totally cool' to him and man he wishes he could be like that and boy he's kinda hot too oh wait wait wait keep it together!

Lumi and Nova are Daycare Attendants who were separated and updated as part of a rebranding for their pizzaplex! Though mysteriously after a year, Nova has gone missing and Lumi has no idea where he's gone. Every night Lumi tries to find clues and access computers to try to find out what happened to him along with searching the pizzaplex from top to bottom. (Nova is actually alive but was moved to a completely separate pizzaplex where Fazco figured he'd 'fit in' better and hasn't made up their mind if they want to keep Lumi alone or build another Sun counterpart for him.)

Then I got Sol and Lune, they're mini Sun and Moon DCA models, and were made more so to be helpers for human daycare employees rather than actual DCAs. They were made as a test run in comparison to regular DCA models and it was found that the regular DCAs were more popular with the kids than the mini versions, so now they don't come out too often and are kept basically in a storage closet. They're only let out when a certain threshold amount of kids is met and the human employees need help or for events. Sol is fed up with being a 'toy stuffed in a closet' and is making plans to escape. Lune tries to be a voice of reason but Sol is pretty hard-headed.

Last but not least I got my pink DCA, Astra! I still don't know much about them, but I think she'd be the next DCA model that Equinox and Umbra find. She's got wings, though she can't fly, and I think she's a beta model that isn't released to the public. They're not quite a Sun model but close to it, not sure how to describe it really! Super sweet, upbeat, and cutesy but they're ready to throw hands and they pack quite the punch for being so petite!

I also may have more DCA OCs knocking around in my brain as vague ideas atm that eventually will get thrown into this hot mess of a mix later...but uh YEAH!

Eventually everything just goes to shit with Fazco and all my OCs end up in a group together but I haven't figured out everything yet. There's a plot in there somewhere! *vague hand gestures*

[fizzigigsimmer]

i wanna hear about all your fics!! so bachelor au, blinding baby like city lights, news paper au and love aint fair at all!!

Ahh bless you nonny. Some of these are still just outlines but a few have chapters posted.

Starting with OUTLINES

The Bachelor Au: This is still one of my favorite ideas lol, born of my love of the insanity that is the bachelor franchise and the poorly concealed producer plants who are clearly just there for the drama. You can't tell me Billy wouldn't make a perfect Chad. The gist is Steve is the first Bisexual bachelor contestant. An icon, An American sweetheart looking for love. Robin and The Party are crew members and all the stranger things teens are contestants (Nancy, Chrissy, Eddie, Jason, Argyle, Heather) vying for his hand and represent various types of typical bachelor contestants. The funny ones, the good guys, the people there for clout, the people who somehow think they can get away with going on a dating show while still involved in a situationship back home, and the people who decide to do a reality show instead of go to therapy for their bag of issues. Billy is an instagram model hired by producers to be the seasons 'villian' and be hated by the audience. It's just supposed to be a free vacation where he gets to make some extra cash to be his most extra before he's finally sent home. But oops, they fall in love. Leaving them to figure out how they build a life together after the show when there are NDA's involved and they are the most hated ship in America.

Newspaper Club Au: This is a no upside down college fic featuring Billy/Nancy friendship, nerd!billy and jock!Steve. I haven't decided yet whether it's modern, 80s, or an ambiguous setting but the basic gist is the boys meet in college. Steve is there on a sports scholarship and chose California to follow Nancy, now his ex-girlfriend. Billy's an English major who works on the school paper with Nancy (one of his electives). He's pissed when she puts him on the sports column as it means he actually has to attend the games. He starts using the column to flirt with/aka harass swimmer Steve through increasingly ridiculous and suggestive commentary. The campus thinks it's a riot. Steve thinks Billy's an asshole and making him the butt of a joke just because he's a "dumb jock". Nancy plays matchmaker and also saves the integrity of her paper by finagling Billy into helping Steve write an essay for his English literature elective. Billy takes the opportunity to show him he was 1000 percent serious about wanting to know if his dick is even bigger out of the speedo.

Onto the POSTED fics

Blinding Baby Like City Lights: Is a dom/sub au where everyone is either a dominant, submissive, or switch. Basically some people need to dominate to stay balanced and others need to submit, or some mix of the two. And everyone responds differently to different things, creating many different 'types.' Naturally not all types are good for each other. Billy is a masochistic sub, has known it for a long time but wasn't safe to explore it growing up with an abusive sadist for a father. He's managed to claw his way out of his abusive home and become a successful business man who is often mistaken for a dom. He found family in Heather & Chrissy, but never a dominant he can trust enough to handle him and give him exactly what he needs. Steve's a recovering sadist. Too much privilege and neglectful parents lead him to some pretty unhealthy and toxic tendencies in his relationship with his first love Nancy. Losing his sub nearly broke him, but he broke good and has been rebuilding his life with his best friend Robin for the last few years. He just wants to take care of people by making good food, and find someone he can take care of always, without having to be afraid of his own desires. Steve might just be perfect for Billy, and Billy might just be what Steve needs to finally embrace who he is.

*** EDIT

When you have so many WIPs you confuse two of them.

Love Aint Fair At All: Werewolf au + a/b/o dynamics. This is a retelling of Snow White that takes place in an alternate version of Hawkins where magic exists. Some peoples magic makes them Wolf Shifters (people who are born with the ability to turn into wolves) and others use their magic to bend the external elements, these people are called Hags. Steve lives in the Cold Zone, a portion of the country that is suffering under a powerful Hags curse. Billy is a Wolf Shifter, exiled from their former pack in California, he and Neil make their way as huntsmen for hire. But everything goes to shit wen Neil brings the family to Hawkins to serve Steve's cousin Elsie, a powerful and mysterious Hag whose obsession with beauty and power threatens to cover the world in ice. The only thing holding her at bay is an old curse that limits her powers and a prophecy that promised one day an omega child would be born who was fairer than her. Good thing Steve is a perfectly normal bland beta boy - until he isn't.

[mizukagami-takamagahara]

With Entropy Effect's Early Access version releasing in just a few hours, I wanted to go over some of what we've learned from trailers, reviews, and sneak peaks that hasn't come up while I was analyzing the character spotlights.

Of course, do take time to note that I am writing this before even the early access version has dropped. What I discuss here may prove inaccurate to the game we'll get tonight, or the full release we'll see in the future.

Let's just have a little fun with some last minute speculation and analysis!

The gameplay visuals that we've seen so far have looked absolutely gorgeous. I love the character models and the way that battles turn into a light show. I'm a very simple creature, I can always be pleased with some colored lights. The environments and battle effects also look great- this game has very strong art direction. I mean, look at this!

Which really surprised me, and still confuses me, when compared to the artwork they've chosen to use as the face of the game.

Yeah, unfortunately we're gonna start this post with a little negativity, but it should be the last of it, so please be patient.

Or feel free to skip this rant, if you'd like to keep your coverage positive, or just read about what we know about the gameplay itself.

But seriously. What is this key visual. This is just the Central Fiction character select artwork!

Okay, correction; it's the Central Fiction artwork for most of the characters. Poor Hibiki doesn't even get his character select artwork, he's left as the odd man out with his CF story mode battle sprite.

And then there's Es! What did they do to Es!? I don't know enough about graphic design to be able to tell what happened here, but something about her face looks like they tossed her art, and only hers, through some kind of AI filter. She's been weirdly smoothed out and she looks way paler, and more gray, than the rest of the line up. This straight up hurts to look at.

For the first few months after Entropy Effect's announcement, I thought the game was fanmade, because all the key visuals they were pumping out were (and, thus far, still are) made up of the basic official art that appears as the first images when you do a google search of the characters.

How did this get greenlit? They really couldn't afford to pay an artist? I can't even say "they couldn't afford to hire and artist" because, looking at the gameplay, clearly they did! They hired some very good artists! Why not write one more paycheck to get some cover art out of the incredible talent they already have on board?

Okay, okay, SaltFest is over. Coping and seething have been reigned in. Let's get into the fun stuff.

Trailers so far have indicated that the story of Entropy Effect is original, with no clear connection to that of the BlazBlue series- although it seems to share a significant amount of thematic elements with BlazBlue.

The story looks kind of cyberpunk, revolving around a world filled with these little robot guys. Our main character seems to be called "ACER," though whether that's their name, a descriptor, or a title, there's no way to tell- at least, for a few more hours. Sources claim that, similar to BlazBlue's story, there are themes of a looping existence, looming destruction, and fighting to ensure the very existence of a future.

Something that stood out to me in trailers, but I haven't seen spoken about anywhere, are these things called "Phenomena Fragments." They seem to showcase scenes from the lives of human figures in this gray dust-like particle effect.

If I had to make any guesses, I'd say this looks like a post-humanity story, with our ACER using the BlazBlue cast within some kind of simulation.

One thing we do know is that the word 'Entropy' in the title will be integral to the plot, as some cutscene dialogue warns of an "Entropy Shoreline" that may threaten to bring an end to the world our protagonist lives in. The robotic inhabitants of this world also seem to have some kind of god figure, though not all of them believe in it.

Those who have played the game say that Entropy works as a mechanic in the game that increases the difficulty of the run as it builds. I'm interested to see how it plays into the story...!

The full truth of the story will remain a mystery, at least for another hour, but all reviews that have spoken of it so far have been very positive.

Now let's move on to take a look at some of the gameplay!

I saw this screen a while back, with what looks to be 30 available places for characters. At first, I assumed this meant that the game would have 30 different playable characters- I mistook this for a character select screen. Keyword being mistook.

Instead, it looks like the 30 slots on this screen are to save up to 30 builds from previous runs. We see the same screen again here, with two different versions of Lambda saved on it, and the other characters in different positions than the one above. As I'll discuss later in the post, previous runs of the game will be used to pass on certain skills to your next character at the start of a new run. So this screen will probably end up looking different for all players!

The real character selection screen loops, so there's no way to know how many characters will appear in the final version. However, the company has confirmed that there will be more than the seven we'll see in the Early Access version.

The seven characters playable in early access Entropy Effect are Ragna, Noel, Hakumen, Lambda, Kokonoe, Hibiki, and Mai. The games animated trailer (which also looks great, I don't know what happened with the damn key visual) also shows us Jin and Taokaka, who will likely be made playable with the full version of the game. Considering Naoto is the face of the game's Twitter and YouTube accounts, I expect to see him in the final version as well.

As for characters appearing as enemies, Bang's NPC subordinates from BlazBlue's story mode have been shown to appear as generic enemies in certain stages, and both Arakune and Susano'o have appeared as bosses!

After selecting which character you want to play as, you're taken to the screen I mistook for character selection, where you can select two characters you've played as in previous runs, called "Evotypes" in the game. You can have your new character inherit abilities from them- the number of abilities you can inherit from your chosen characters seems to depend on how well you've been doing in your runs, as each run earns some kind of grade. This explains how we've been seeing characters using one another's abilities, such as Hibiki using Hakumen's lightning, in the trailers!

While playing, you earn points called "Potential," which can be used between stages to purchase new abilities. This seems to be where characters unlock their movesets from the BlazBlue fighting games.

There's also a second type of choice players can make as they develop their run. These are called "Tactics." Unlike the abilities unlocked by Potential that seem to be exclusive to characters unless chosen as inherited Evotypes, Tactics are universal and can be purchased for and used by any character.

In a video on his experience playing the game early, Twitch streamer Veedotme says the game rewards you for selecting Tactics you haven't used before, so consider trying out everything before you start picking favorites! Veedotme's review also clarified a lot of what I comment on in this post, so please check out his work!

Interviews claim that the game's early access version will have roughly 100 Potentials and roughly 200 Tactics to choose from, though there could be even more in the final version of the game.

It seems that the early access version will include 10 different stages, with 13 levels each, along with a few other modes of gameplay such as a challenge mode were the stage bosses become even more difficult. I've mentioned it already in other posts, but I like this 10 and 13 number theming, as both numbers have been pretty important to the BlazBlue franchise. It's another sign of serious attention to detail from the developers.

And, well, if I want to get this post out in time to be able to watch some of the first streams go live, I'll have to wrap it up now. Thank you for reading, and if you're interested, please share your own experience with the game in the coming days!

[observer-of-the-world]

Okay i haven't read everything bc it's a lot but i have to talk about this

I worked on a huge YouTube channel here in brazil for a few months and although i don't think they're as deranged as MrBeast, it was still weird as fuck

First of all, the e-mail advertising the positions they were looking for was extremely unprofessional, to the point that if it hadn’t been vetted by my uni I'd think it was a scam or something. They're a children's channel so they used very informal language, and I kid you not, one of the questions on the application form was "what’s your favorite movie?"

I mean, it doesn’t fucking matter??? I'm gonna do my job regardless of the project being similar to my favorite movie/genre or not. This shouldn’t be a deciding factor.

And then pay vs job. The position was advertised as an internship, and i thought I would be mentored by someone, which ended up not being true. Someone would give me the assignments but I'd have to figure out on my own how to do them. I was okay with that because of the pay, which was a bit more than most internships, but it also made me raise an eyebrow.

Well, in the end my concern became reality: it wasn't an internship. They just advertised it as such so they could hire students. They ended up firing a friend and I because we couldn’t work 8 hours a day (because of uni) and they hired someone to do my job but 8 hours a day FOR THE SAME PAYMENT.

This was their plan all along, keep us there until they found a sucker that would work more than us for the same payment.

Also in the first meeting they said they were looking for people who "would give their everything until they became a part of the family" which just irked me sooo bad, and they did end up requiring some whacky shit from us.

And then the job itself.

We were supposed to get all the scripts for the following week on friday, so we could get there on monday already aware of what we had to do/buy, cause monday was the day we went shopping for supplies (let’s ignore us having to do the reading during our off time). Except this never happened in the 5 months i worked there. Not a single time were they delivered on time, sometimes they would get there on WEDNESDAY of the following week (so 5 days late) and we had to scramble to get shit done on time.

Also, they were sooo averse to the organization used in movies, they were against any kind of organization, we asked for a certain document in our first week and they gave us a document, we said that wasn't it, the one we were asking for was supposed to be a lot more detailed, so the person got mad and told us that was all they had and we had to make it work.

Whenever we tried to show them a document and be like "this is really helpful! It would make everyo one's lives easier!" they would immediately shut us down with "we don't do that here".

OH ANOTHER THING I JUST REMEBERED!!

They hired us as if each of us was a "company" instead of a person (which is fine and legal here), EXCEPT that means we shouldn’t have fixed working hours. This model of hiring you get paid for doing the job (for example: 5 props for a video) so it doesn’t matter if i took 30 minutes or 3 weeks to do the job yk, it’s like, instead of perks like paid health insurance and everything as an employee you get flexible working hours and home office.

BUT THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN!!! I HAD FIXED HOURS!!! IN PERSON!!! WHICH WAS ILLEGAL!!!

IF YOU DON'T WANNA GIVE ME EMPLOYEE PERKS YOU AREN'T ALLOWED TO REQUIRE I WORK ON AN EMPLOYEE SCHEDULE!!!

And one day i had to paint a wooden box. Easy enough right, just paint it plain red? Well, it would be if we had any kind of paint. We had ran out of spray paint and acrylic paint a few weeks before and even though i had requested more to be bought, they hadn't. So i went to my boss, who just told me to "figure a way to do it and get it done" and not to bother the Boss (aka the YouTuber and owner of everything).

I found some red cardboard and decided to line the box with it, and it actually turned out quite nicely. Well, the next day i discovered my boss didn’t agree with me and yelled at me to hell and back about ir, saying it looked disgusting and asking why i hadn’t talked to her about the paints. When i told her i had and she had dismissed me, she just said "well it doesn’t matter, you shouldn’t have done this garbage."

One day they sent my friend to buy some peppers, he asked how much and they just told him "however much he thought was needed" and then yelled a lot at him when the amount he brought wasn't enough.

Another day he was tasked to send the costumes they used to be dry cleaned. When he told them he couldn’t because he had a court hearing that day they flipped out. He was literally about to face his abuser in court and these people were more worried about shitty costumes.

Anyways, i just wanted y'all to know this isn’t just a MrBeast thing, it’s a big youtubers' thing. People whose earnings come from YouTube are a fucking nightmare to work with and I hope i never work with any of them ever again

Hi I'm that person who made the original post about "no doesn mean no" when a small bit of the mr beast company document was leaked, well, now we have the full document (thanks rosanna) so I'm going to go over it. Please note I am not a lawyer or a business man, I'm in college for psychology, so I might misunderstand some things or make the wrong conclusion. However, if this is a document made for the average mr. beast employee, if I cannot understand it properly, then im sure some employees also struggled

First of all, the opening paragraph. Like I get it's supposed to be like, to put people at ease, but

This is so strange? Like, first of all, this is your EMPLOYEE MANUAL, you should have run it through like, a spell check? Or had someone edit it? This is already incredibly unprofessional. Also the promising of a thousand dollars if you pass a quiz on it? It's bizarre and I'd love to see if it's an actual quiz.

Jimmy, hun, please god get an editor for this you're already trying my patience.

YOU SHOULD, you genuinely should, while interconnected these are all COMPLETELY different jobs, if you think you could write a separate manual for each branch you SHOULD

I'm sure I'm about to get an answer but what the fuck is the best YOUTUBE video then? If it's not comedy, its not production, its not quality, its not look, then what the hell is left? (monetization, it's monetization)

First of all, Jimmy, why are you using internet lingo in this, it's not a text message, this is not a place for, idc, and lol, and not capitalizing your headers correctly??? Also like I said, he's chasing trends for monetization, and also he's just wrong, there are plenty of hollywood level shows and the like on youtube. You fully admit you do not care about trends and actively rush things?

This is just fucked??? Like of COURSE IT MATTERS??? Results based company is bullshit, your employees that worked for five weeks and failed aren't "lesser" then James, it's a structural failure! They still worked for HOURS to try and succeed?? That shows merit and loyalty??? What the fuck???

Rosanna covers this one in her video but it's worth restating that this is FUCKED??? It's clear overwork "your job is your family" culture. Especially the use of the word obsessive? If you do not OBSESS over your work, you are considered poisonous. NO WONDER we have so many reports of employees doing things they feel is dangerous or unsafe, if they don't they're considered POISON to the company.

The formatting in this doc continues to fucking kill me, what are you DOING man GET AN EDITOR

This feels like such an easy fix of just...make the thumbnail after the fact? Or only make a rough draft of one first? Like if production makes a red bouncy castle instead of a yellow one, that feels like an easy fix to the thumbnail OR a communication error, and again, that's on management

A lot of the next stuff is like analytics stuff that for the most part I can't really speak on as someone who does not do any of this stuff. There are a few things though

Which like???? what??? a lull??? what do you mean "watching a video without even realizing they are watching a video??" That doesn't scream good or even mediocre content to me. If I'm actively tuning out as I watch a video, that's bad. Especially because there have been plenty of times I've been like half way through a video i go "hey this sucks actually" and click off. They actively want their audience to not be paying attention to the video so it runs all the way through, that's kinda pathetic.

I don't actually know if this is common or not in this industry, but as an outsider this seems INCREDIBLY micromanaging to me, to an immense degree.

Jimmy why are you putting swears in your employee manual?? sir??? and also something about this whole thing icks me out, I don't quite have the words but the whole emphasis on "im different im special no one else can be me" just reeks of something kind of manipulative

Why is production changing so much Jimmy??? Infinite growth is the mindset of a cancer cell Jimmy! This is incredibly unstable working conditions! Also again with the word obsession, if you take time out of your own day on your own time to watch hulu, that's seen as not being obsessed enough for the company. This is nonsensical!

Again, this is INSANELY micromanaging, and also so fucking unhinged??? "God himself couldn't stop you from making this video on time" is NOT a healthy work mindset, things HAPPEN!!!

In this segment he's actually talking normal things but I did just want to highlight his use of "freaken" who the hell puts that in an EMPLOYEE MANUEL

Again with the micromanaging, and the immense pressure on employees for problems OTHER people do. While he's not fully wrong that you should be in more contact with the contractor then the example, this is too much in the other direction. How much time in the day does he think people have?!

My kingdom for a fucking paragraph break dude, my fucking eyes. Also this is a lot of "im so great and do everything and you should do more for me and if i dont know something that's your fault" for something titled "I am not always right"

I'm getting lazy with my highlighting, but again, the micromanaging? If you're SOOO busy, the first question should be the ideal? it's quick and makes a quick decision, while the second one meanders and meanders

Again, Jimmy is pushing blame for HIS mistakes on OTHER PEOPLE. For again, a section called "i am not always right" hes taking NO accountability for that and just making the SAME excuses he's berating in other places.

I can't even tell what he means here AN EDITOR JIMMY

Autism Hell tm, PLEASE email me so I can DOUBLE CHECK IT, things in writing are SO useful

Again the language towards "C-Players" which as mr beast has said, are the people who y'know, are NORMAL employees who DON'T live and breathe this company

Okay first of all, a Lamborghini is like 300k so that's already A REALLY hard task, and i sure hope don't usually put typos in the tasks. SECOND of all the fact he thinks its okay to go "hey if the studio is literally on fire around you and you stop working to get the Lamborghini, you're not doing good enough" even if he claims it as a joke is NOT OKAY what the FUCK

We've covered this before, but to reiterate this segment is named after a sexual assault reference when it could have been named ANYTHING ELSE and harasses employees and pressures them to break rules, don't do that.

I'm not an editor, so maybe this is normal, but as someone from the outside it seems strange to put this much emphasis on dividing focus between so many videos at once.

Jimmy, hun, are you paying extra for this? Because if I'm an editor and you want me FILMING stuff then i want to be paid more for doing TWO jobs and I probably still wont be as skilled a TRAINED CAMERA MAN

First of all now THAT'S a type, consteatants. Also the fact they are aware that leaving contestants out in the sun is bad, why are you not doing MORE TO STOP IT BEYOND "hey maybe giving them three hours of heatstroke is bad, try only two next time"

Don't we love favoritism, more shitty unprofessional writings, and a completely unstable work environment?

If your people have to pull all nighters period something is wrong, and if something happens to an employees car that could have seriously hurt someone, i sure hope you care more then just "LOL FUNNY" Who's picking up the broken glass? Who's reimbursing the car owner? That one meme of "your first care should be commitment to the bit" is a MEME jimmy, it's not ACTUAL ADVICE

Ah shit I hit image limit, well, you've seen enough screenshots to know these are screenshots, we're almost done I'll put them in as quotes

"Let’s say you are tasked with finding us a castle to live in for 50 hours and while doing research you find a castle and a number to call for the owner. So you do call, and he answers. Only problem is he says he quit the castle renting business to pursue his dream of building a 100 foot tall lego catapult. You can obviously tell where i’m going with this. Ideally you’d recognize that’s badass as fuck and try to convince him to let us use it when we do find a castle. This is a bad example because it’s so obvious but if you’re doing your job right you will be doing an absurd amounts of calls and data collecting. While trying to complete your prios and prepare for the video you should always be on the lookout for new things you can bring to your creative team to inspire them. Because just like me, they don’t know what they don’t know and you can’t just say “i’m in production and i’m not very creative” because that’s literally the equivalent of saying I suck at what I do. You also need to apply this same mindset when problem solving because many people lose sight of this stuff when in the weeds. If a problem appears, always always always ask yourself if your new plan is whats best for creative, not just the easiest bandaid."

First of all it's really funny seeing all the red lines pop up, second of all this insistent blurring of everyone's job seems so strange? Again maybe this is normal, but it really feels like Jimmy wants everyone working every job, instead on focusing on what they are actually hired to do.

"What is the goal of our content?

To excite me. The goal of our content is to excite me. That may sound weird to some of you, especially if you’re new but to me it’s what’s most important. If I'm not excited to get in front of that camera and film the video, it’s just simply not going to happen."

That's fucking weirddddd, like I get that he's trying to be like "im authentic" but it always feels like a bad sign when the goal of a company is literally just "What amuses the boss" like...bad sign

"this is youtube and there are constraints. You know the video can’t be a minute so you’re obviously going to need a story to hold the viewers and there are rules to storytelling. Our audience is massive and because of that you have to be simple, for 50 million people to understand something it must be simple. Content can be anything but there is structure and rules that we must mold it into that I want to teach you about, because virality doesn’t just happen. Every frame of our videos will be seen by 10s of millions of people"

Gross

"I'd say the average MrBeast viewer is a teenage memer that likes video games."

Mr Beast is completely aware of his demographic and puts screen shots of it, he is very aware his stuff is aimed at kids, even when its about gambling or hiring people not around near minors

"I feel silly for having to write this but all the time I talk to 32 new people that have at most seen like 5 or 6 of our videos and it’s mind blowing that they don’t see a problem with that lol."

It's almost like your audience is teenage memer and that people who working here are not in fact, teenage memers.

"What you consume on social media, when you watch youtube, tv, the games you play, etc. are what I like to call your information diet.

How do you stay up to date on the latest memes? How do you know what’s going on with celebrities? What’s trending on youtube? What other creators are doing? What’s popping on tik tok? Your information diet. Consume things on a daily basis that help you write better content."

If my job as a creative writer had my boss tell me to have to see whats "popping on tik tok" as part of my job i'd quit also again, the micromanaging of someone's life as well pops up again, it's weirddd

"It’s okay for the boys to be childish

If talent wants to draw a dick on the white board in the video or do something stupid, let them. (assuming they know all the risks and arn’t missing context on why it’s not safe) People like when we are in our natural element of stupidity. Really do everything you can to empower the boys when filming and help them make content. Help them be idiots"

More favoritism

"If you’ve made it this far you are probably at least semi interested in this being your career. So I wanted to chat about it. Because if you're ambitious and want to dedicate your life to work, you picked the best company in America to do it at. I really don’t care to hoard a bunch of money and I deeply believe in rewarding the people that help this business get where it needs to be. But before I get into that, let’s talk about the future. As I write this we have 2 teams, that will grow to 4 in the next year. (and possibly 8 in the next 2 years but I can’t talk about that cause james will kill me haha). We need more leaders in the company. Weneed hard working, obsessive, coachable, intelligent, grinders that can step up and take some of these leadership spots over the next 2 years. Every single department has an opportunity for you to grow in and you’re in luck because we don’t do yearly reviews. We do whenever the fuck you want reviewes"

Lack of communication from management, and more emphasis on grinding and crunch culture, goodie, all while riddled with typos! God.

"I see a world where this company is worth billions and one day 10s of billions. And those of you that help build this will be rewarded. I want nothing more then for you to go all in, obsessive all day everyday, and become so god dam valuable this company can’t operate without you. And in return for becoming so valuable I hope to give you incredible experiences, a fun place to work, and of course, more money then you could ever dream of making at any other company."

I feel like I'm reading a fucking pyramid scheme document here, "youre so so valuable spend literally every minute of every day on this company haha" good GOD man

[the-firebird69]

Watch "Suzuki Jr50 Top Speed!!!" on YouTube

This is a great this little bikes they only have two gears and it sounds like you switch gears but you didn't you just laid off the gas and yeah we knew but the problem is that he's too big it's going like 35 it's pretty fast for one gear and his size and your second gear probably go 55 it's extremely fast and these motors are powerful back then and they tone down the power and hours of that powerful didn't want that many accidents but here's the deal he wants to make the electric dirt bike still and a little bit bigger electric dirt bike and this dirt bike at Harley for kids but it doesn't want the plastic tank he wants the metal tank it's probably a good idea the plastic brakes and he wants to have it look like the Harley dirt bike. And mac daddy says it's nostalgia too and of course he wants to do it we're going to see if we can and we're going to try and put them in stores as our stores we have some and people buy them like mad there's another idea he had and it was for the Hard knock kicker 5150 Randall text Cobb anniversary edition and it's not the year it's just an anniversary edition and you say that and you put what years in the anniversary and I think it was outside 1978 or something when he did it, so anything with an eight and hard knock kicker 5150 we reopened in the 2015 a very small basis Sylvia 2018 and it's all new but you don't put the year it's just real small and he wants golden wings and we get that it's for Randall takes Cobb premier phone and he's missing and they have some military sign for that we're going to put on it small on the emblem and put it in hard knock kicker 5150 wings and he's thinking of making the T-shirt part of the package and his helmet and people like that so we're going to go ahead and do that and he wants to put them in malls and shopping centers... Smack that is starting to get the idea we're pretty quick but not that quick and all sudden everybody's saying you guys are doing it it's starting to become ugly. Now we're going to put these bikes all over the place it's a HK one and they come upgradable but the biggest motor you can put in the HK one is a 125 and we sell it and you can put others but we don't suggest you do that and then you can go like really at 130 lb about 140 or 150 mph and the bank can handle these days and the tires are better it breaks are better famous very sturdy and you'll see that's cool looking and it sounds cool with the 125 or the 49 cc and it's made in the states what we're going to send a whole bunch of these anniversary editions to the United Kingdom and other HK bikes the new ones and we made a few different styles not really we didn't they haven't sold that well and they might people figure it out

I'm getting calls already and it's from the morlawk if they want to see the T-shirt. We're going to post it in a minute and it has the symbol that our son has on his shirt and it's golden wings and it says the year he went missing and people are going to get excited

Thor Freya

Sales are up too it's known as a motorcycle that's really really inexpensive. This particular version the HK one even though it's a special anniversary model is going to sell for $850 plus delivery you have to add delivery usually it's $50 to deliver answer though motorcycle it's just 49 cc's add $200 for the 125 so it's $1,050 + 50 so it's 1100 mostly anywhere in the United States and a little bit more for delivery outside manufacturers elsewhere too so please get online and we're not the old website those are made in China how's it made in the United States so we changed the method and making them cheaper than they are from China you might do that with the Chinese motorcycle company Chinese American because it's going slow and we need to hire and Way chandelin Wellington they're in the way as usual.

We're opening it up and we're going to start making them smiling like a fool when your first we're going to do it he knows these people want to fight and they want to live we need them to and these bikes are like candy to them hard not just like candy but his hands like hard candy and they can't eat it that well cuz it's sad when I say is it's about being a man it's okay it's okay warlock you start out with the Chinese American bike made America congratulations the Hard knock kicker 5150 golden anniversary Randall text Cobb and people probably call it the tough guy like and it's a 40-year anniversary bike but it's really been 45 years so people see that and flock to it until trying to get one out there with Grandma and we're going to do that they designed it together and not this time that much but bja wants to try and ask her stuff

Thor Freya

You approve this message to go out

Olympus

[sebstanseabass]

Afterglow (A Bucky Barnes AU fan fiction) - Chapter 7

Afterglow chapters

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

CHAPTER SEVEN

Lunch with Bucky was spent in a little Italian place right across the bar. It belonged to a seventy-year old Italian immigrant named Marco who invested in it with nothing but his savings when he first came to New York. Fifteen years later, his little dining place stood still through its ups and downs. In fact, business was getting stronger for Marco ever since the bar opened.  His target customers expanded from fellow immigrants to little boys who played soccer in the little league and finally to drunk bastards who wanted pizza in the middle of the night. He also started putting up a 24/7 sign and hired more people to work for him. Marco gave me a sympathetic smile as soon as he passed by you with a bottle of hot sauce he knew you liked.

"Where's the hunk?" His Italian accent never faltered. "Ditched ya?"

Lunch with Bucky was also cut short when he received a phone call from Leonard about an emergency in the White Wolf. "It's Leonard." He said. "Gotta get back to the hotel." Then you slipped in a tiny question, seeing a different phone on his hand: "Is that your phone? I thought you left it in your penthouse, that's why you crashed into our apartment."

"I borrowed Peter's old phone when we did our little fiancè act back there. Then I got my phone back after I ate all that food."

"And here you are again eating."

"Not anymore, I'm not." He chuckled, getting up from the chair and throwing his napkin gently on the table. "I gotta go, doll. Duty awaits. I'll see you around."

You were left there with two plates of pasta, one large pizza, and a hundred dollar bill that covered the whole meal. "Plus tip." Bucky then fled and hailed a cab. He gave you one last look and a small salute before getting inside then off he went.

"He had some business work to do." You replied. "Can I take these to-go please? Oh, and here." You handed Marco the hundred dollar bill and said something you have never said (not once!) in your entire life. "Keep the change."

Marco grinned, took the money and placed it inside his apron pockets. "Any chance you got four more of this?"

"Hey, that's with the tip already!" You playfully rolled your eyes and leaned back on the chair. "And you should ask the hunk that. Not me."

He started taking some plates off the table, his back a bit hunched as he did. "Who was that anyway? Finally replaced that old boyfriend of yours?"

"Old boyfriend? Marco, I'm single. Oh no, you're not at that stage now, are you?" It was meant as a joke but you did genuinely care for the old guy.

Marco stopped from picking up the plates and stood taller. "What ya talking 'bout?"

"You know," you whispered, "the forgetful stage."

"Oh fuck off." You earned a glare from him then continued to pick up the plates from the table before wiping it clean. A mother covered her three-year-old daughter's ears, with pasta noodles falling out of her mouth. She said something to Marco but was overpowered by his voice. A man in his 40's kept looking at you and Marco, probably wondering what the fuss was all about. "I'm still young!" He added. "And you know who I'm talking about. The guy you live with."

You scoffed and gave him an unbelievable look as you watched him clean, avoiding the stares people were starting to give. "That's not my boyfriend, Marco." You whispered.

"What? He's not?"

"He's my roommate." You took a sip of your bottled water. "We're roommates, nothing more."

"Well, good. I like the hunk better than that skinny roommate of yours." He bellowed laughing, holding his big, round belly. His voice echoed against the walls.

"Wait, so you thought Peter was my boyfriend this whole time?" You genuinely asked.

"Well, yeah! You were always together eating and whatnot. What was I supposed to think?"

You were supposed to argue with Marco that it was okay to be friends with someone of the opposite gender: to platonically hangout twenty-four seven, have pizza nights, movie nights, and all the things couples do but in a very platonic way. But Marco was an old man who stubbornly clung to his ancient beliefs. You didn't want to light a fire you and him. Besides, you were still on your way to earning his trust and getting a friend discount.

"Unbelievable." You mumbled, hoping he wouldn't hear it. Despite his old age, Marco still had the ears of a twenty-year old.

"You and me, both. All the time I was thinking to myself, you could do better!"

Oh, God. I know where this is going. You thought. "I'm not letting you set me up with your son, Marco."

"Why not?"

"Because he's old." You groaned, wishing he would just clear the table and just get it on with your to-go Italian food.

"So was that hunk you were with!"

Tired of all the back and forths, you sighed. "Marco, can't you just give me the food? I still have work to do."

"Yeah, yeah, aight. Don't nag me." Marco grunted. "You sounding like my ex-wife back there." His voice faded once he went back towards the counter, and started placing the food in the little to-go boxes.

Your phone on the table lit up. A text message from Peter asking you if you were still with Bucky. You replied back instantly that he went back to the White Wolf. You received no more messages from him after that.

A few seconds later, a figure approached and stopped right in front of you. You looked up and saw one of your friends who also did photography back in college.

"Wanda?"

Wanda flashed you that sweet smile of hers that reminded you of chocolates, rainbows, and unicorns.

"Aria! Wow, it's so nice to see you!" She crouched down to envelope you in a warm hug, then sat across from you, where Bucky was sitting a few minutes ago. She placed her small, shiny purse right on the table, her painted nails never letting it go. "I was just walking down the street and then saw you from the window. How are you? It's been quite long, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm doing good." Wanda could be such a Chatty Cathy. She was the kind of person that never let silence take over a room. If you memory served you right, you haven't seen each other since you graduated from college. She was a year younger than you and even though you stayed in New York the whole time, you never bothered to visit her at NYU Tisch during her last year. "How about you? How have you been doing?"

"I'm doing real good too! I actually set up my own studio a year ago in Manhattan after being a wedding photographer. I now photograph models, sometimes I do photowalks. I also hold photo exhibits from time to time." Unlike you, Wanda chose to follow her passion and majored in Photography and Imaging. "It's been really fun!"

Albeit feeling happy for her, a pang of jealousy struck you. You tried your best to ignore it and said: "That's great, Wanda. I'm so proud of you. You've come a long way since then."

She grinned. "I did, yeah. How about you? How's the business thing?"

You pursed your lips. "I'm actually juggling two jobs right now. I bartend at that bar over there," you pointed across the street, "and I also started a photography business." You continued. "I just do product photos for small businesses."

It was nothing big like Wanda's. Actually, it wasn't anything compared to her Manhattan studio and photowalks and photo exhibits. Nothing at all.

Her jaw dropped. Eyes wide. "Bartending? Wow! That doesn't sound like you at all!"

You chuckled then shook your head. "Who would've thought, huh? But it's pretty convenient and it pays half of my rent."

"You're still living with the Parker guy?"

"Actually, yes I still am." You replied. "But it's just the two of us now."

"Nothing more comforting than a familiar face around, huh?" She answered. "Oh hey, it's great you're still doing photography. I thought it was just a hobby of yours."

"I fell in love with it more during college, you know that."

Wanda just nodded her head in response then looked at her wrist watch. "Right. Well, this has been fun but I have a meeting to go to at some company who wants to talk about collaborations and stuff. You know the drill." She stood up from the chair, its legs scraping the wooden floors. "It was really nice to see you, Aria. I hope we can see each other again soon."

You mirrored her and stood up, reaching for a hug. "It's nice to see you too, Wanda." You let her go, then rambled. "I'm just in the bar if you ever wanna grab a drink or maybe coffee or lunch or anything, really."

"I will." She replied.

Before walking out, Wanda placed her hand on your shoulder, matched with a tight-lipped smile; like the gesture of someone towards a family member at one's funeral. Funnily enough, it was kind of appropriate. Your career in photography might as well be dead. You haven't received any work inquiry in over a month now, and some businesses have been rejecting your photography services. It was the classic "it's not you, it's me" scenario. They just found someone better.

With Wanda out of sight, you drained your thoughts and continued to stare at the moving cars on the streets. Getting you out of your trance was Marco tapping you on the shoulder.

"You alright there, kid?" He asked while handing you a plastic bag full.

"Yeah, sorry." You answered. "Just got distracted." You relieved him of your to-go food, grabbing it from his calloused hands.

"I know that kid you were talking to."

"Wanda?"

"Yeah, yeah. She photographed my son's wedding."

"The one you kept setting me up with?"

"Not that old bastard." He answered, frowning. "The younger, hotter one. With all the cheekbones and the eyes. Got them from me." Marco looked like a taller Danny DeVito. You doubted this "younger, hotter one" of his looked anything like Marco. "She also photographed my daughter's wedding."

"Jesus. How many children do you have?"

"Five." He chuckled. "I got some great swimmers."

You made a guttural sound and rolled your eyes. "Oh, God. Did not need to know that. Anyway, I gotta go. See you around, Marco." With that, you started to walk out and headed straight to the apartment.

There was nothing much to do once you got in the apartment besides putting the leftovers inside the fridge. The bar usually opened at four in the afternoon for happy hour so you took a short nap and was able to clear you head of all the things that happened overnight.

You woke up at about three in the afternoon and headed down the bar. By the time you got there, Nick was already inside, arranging the tables and chairs that were turned upside down.

"Hey, you got in early today." You greeted him as you approached the bar counter.

Nick looked up, hands still wrapped around a table. "Yeah well, I can't let you be employee of the month every single time."

"Living right above the bar does have some of its perks." You chuckled, grabbing an apron. "Need help with those?"

He answered no but his actions said otherwise. You jogged towards him and lifted the other side of the table, placing it on the floor without making much of a sound. You walked towards the other tables then started lifting one, praying to God you won't let it slip away from your arms but of course, you still had no luck on your side. Once Nick asked you that one question ("Do you want to go on a date with me?") you didn't want to hear, you dropped the table on your right foot. Bam! You stifled the sound of pain that itched your throat. Nick shuffled towards me and asked me if you were okay. You gently shrugged him off, telling him that it was nothing and that you you recently had a concussion less than twenty-four hours ago, this was absolutely nothing.

"You sure?" He asked. His hand gripped my waist, trying to maintain my balance.

"Yes, Nick." You straightened up and tried to stretch your right foot, checking if it was sprained or not. Thankfully, it was still good for running.

He let go of you then scratched the back of his head. His eyes focused on the wooden floors. "That was not a good time to ask that."

"I don't think there was ever a good time to ask that."

"Is that a no?"

Your mind recalled the conversation you and Peter had at the elevator: "Never dip the pen in company ink, right?"

Yes, it was easier to let him down easy with no one else around. You could also tell him you'll think about it but either way, you'd still be spending the remaining minutes in the bar with the fleeting awkwardness hanging in the air. But the silence was becoming heavier each second you weren't saying anything so you just shut your mind for a second and said: "Is it okay if I think about it first?"

"Yes. Sure. Of course!" He replied, finally meeting your eyes. "Just let me know. You know where to find me. Just here in the bar. 'Cause I work here."

"I know, Nick." You snickered. "I work here too."

"Right, right." He shook his head. "I'm just gonna..." He trailed off, pointing to the tables with his thumb.

"Yeah, I'll just..." You didn't know where else to go so you just made up an excuse. "I'll just be in the kitchen."

"What are you gonna do there?"

"I think there are still some shipments there? From earlier?" Lie. "I'll take care of them. Don't worry."

"O-okay."

And with that, you left Nick arranging tables and chairs while you headed towards the kitchen, sat on the floor and scrolled through different social media platforms before one of the cooks entered the kitchen. You ignored the befuddled look she gave you. It was the sign to  stand up and walk out of the kitchen. So you did.

Once Peter walked in the doors, you grabbed a bottle of beer and removed the bottle cap. You greeted him with a smile and placed his drink on the counter. "Hey, Parker. Guess what?"

"Hey, y/n." He smiled, sitting on the stool and placing his briefcase on the counter. He immediately grabbed the beer bottle and took his first sip. "Nick finally asked you out?"

"You don't know the rules to the 'Guess What' game, do you?"

"Oh, I know the rules." He replied. "I'm just a born rule breaker. So," he stared at his beer bottle scratching the sticker with his thumbs, "did you say yes?"

"I told him I'll think about it."

"And you've thought about it?"

"Yes."

"...and?"

"I'm gonna tell him no." You walked away from Peter, pouring beer from the beer tap into a beer mug for one of the regulars who just walked in. "It's kind of hard to work with someone you're dating or you've dated. I mean, you learned that the hard way, right?"

Peter groaned, reminiscing the time he dated his co-worker, a certain Denise, for six months, stringing her along for a couple more before dumping her. He couldn't even begin to describe how much hatred Denise had for Peter. One night, you found Peter on the rooftop, writing his resignation letter. Of course, you had to throw it after sneaking up on him behind his back. Apparently, Peter couldn't take any more of Denise's death stares during meetings, lunch breaks, and any time she was around Peter. Luckily, Denise got fired the next day for some legal dispute. Peter drank his whole night away that very day and you ended up taking care of him. The next day, you told him everything he'd done that night except one thing: trying to kiss you.

"Hey," Peter hissed, "here he comes. Good luck." He swiftly left his briefcase and beer bottle on the counter, hurrying his way towards the toilet.

You gave Nick a small smile once he opened the counter pass-through. "Nick. Hi."

"Y/n. Hi!"

"So, about the thing earlier -- "

"Can I get a beer?" Interrupted a man on your left side but you couldn't care less. You put up your hand in front of his face. "In a mug!"

Before you could even say "I'm sorry, Nick, but I can't date a co-worker. It's just not right. But you're great. Not just with me" the man shooed your hand away. "Hey! The hell is this?"

You groaned. "You'll get your beer in just one moment, okay?"

The man huffed and left the counter then sat on a nearby table, flipping me off. You rolled your eyes at him and brought your attention back to Nick who was still waiting for your answer. While halfway through your short speech you have been preparing in your head, he interrupted with a: "Yeah, yeah, I know where this is going. It's fine. It's alright. I understand. I'll let you get back to work."

He started turning around but you immediately stopped him. "So this is okay, right? No weird tension between us, or something like that?"

He nodded his head and sent you a warm smile. "Yeah, everything's good. At least I tried, y'know. I'll, uh, see ya around 'cause y'know -- "

"You work here, yeah."

"Yeah. Well... " And with that, he treaded away towards the pass-through and approached some newcomers.

The man from earlier was still staring at you so you went ahead and opened the beer tap. Before the liquid even reached the top of the mug, a hand laid on top of the tap handle and turned the tap off.

"Now," Bucky's voice rang inside your ears, "how about you make me a mean drink, doll?"

[ajeevan]

24/06/21

5:15 AM

Figured I'd go back to waking up at 5.

Been a while.

I couldn't render the smoke simulation. Only managed to get one frame out. Although I was able to fix the missing icons on the VPN meaning I can just use that instead of my own laptop.

I'm not sure about modeling a Beyblade. I did a little test in Houdini yesterday and it wasn't that bad.

I should model something procedural since that's what Houdini is for.

Now that I think about it, I could model the Beyblade in Blender. Looking for Maya alternatives I guess since Blender and Houdini are cheaper than Maya.

I thought about writing in the morning. Been a long time since I last wrote something. Still need to finish the story.

I even played around with the idea of making it a series since the movie is already 5h long or something.

I also need to draw. Haven't drawn on paper in ages. Don't even have an empty sketchbook. Also got colored pencils from 2015. Good ones which I haven't used in years I think.

So much to do.

Also need to learn French vocabulary. Whether or not I do move to Paris, it's better to already start learning.

Also, almost forgot...

I saw a job offer yesterday. For the next Transformers movie! Studio here in the UK is hiring across various locations in the world.

Yk. I'm gonna be job ready in 2023. So if there's a movie coming out in 2024 that would mean they would start hiring in 2023. This movie comes out in 2022 and they're hiring now in 2021.

So if I really push myself and get to a really good level, I could apply for the job.

Crazy to think I'm this close to actually working on a TF movie. Even though it's not close at all but still it's kind of in sight.

We just gotta practice and get ready.

[rainedragon]

At Tekko a couple years ago, one of the new designers, Honoka, was a guest and she mentioned that she likes high waist dresses, so that might explain some of the nonprint high waist dresses. High waist dresses are also on trend in China which is a large market for AP. It's worth noting that Honoka is not a print designer as far as I know, their primary print designer is still Maki, as far as I know. If she's not, they have hired someone phenomenally good at mimicking her art style. I think they have one other beyond her other than Imai Kira because they sometimes have things that look like vector traced photos? But I'm not 100% certain. I do think Maki might be a bit burnt out. I think some of the changes to design over the past few years probably have to do with global supply chain issues and the weak yen. AP can't raise their prices too much without alienating their local customer base, but they also have to import a lot of what they use, which means weak yen really hurts their bottom line.

But back on to the art direction. The really old catalogs used to have Candy as the art director, and she left AP, but the catalog style changed long before Candy left.

I would say the general catalog style started changing around 2012 and by 2014 was fully into pouty mode.

Like these are from a 2014 AP catalog, while this below is from a 2017 GLB. AP changed their own print materials to pouty mode long before the GLB went out of print.

That said, AP does do print advertisements in Larme still, as well as the special Spoon issues each year. I'd say the vibe of their catalogs now matches the vibes of Larme... which matches the vibes of Risa and actress Tina Tamashiro who frequently model for them in spoon. (Her insta handle is Tinapouty. I did not know this until this moment... but... fitting)

Like this is from a Spoon Special which theoretically AP should have had creative control for:

But it looks like Larme. All the brands' Larme adverts look more gritty and pouty like this, including Baby and Meta, from what I've seen.

But my Larme magazines evaporated and I don't have the energy to figure out where I put them, sorry ^^;

I have noticed that one of their newer model Kawamura Kokoa, is a lot more expressive in photos? I'm tentatively hopeful that this could mean at least some more happy photos?

I do kind of wonder if their choice of more French/High Fashion art direction is because they are using Tina (mainstream actress) and Risa (child of mainstream actors) as their models, and not because the GLB is out of print. (Kera is basically dead too, they haven't posted new content in over a year). If Risa and Tina want to look cool then the high fashion type angle makes sense? Rumor has it that Asuka has taken over for the founder Honda, and Asuka always used to be very OTT, so I don't know if that might lead to a change? Or if Asuka and Maki are looking at their aging demographic (as they themselves are aging) and are trying to appeal to a demographic that is a little older by trying to look more cool / high fashion?

Hi~

I saw your post about how lolita fashion (and ads for it) have changed in the last few years, especially for Angelic Pretty, and I agree completely!

I think the lack of creative ads these days might be b/c Gothic & Lolita Bible isn't around anymore? (cries) and Kera went purely digital ages ago, I don't know if it's even still around (I should have kept my old Kera magazines). But I remember how I always used to look forward to seeing the clothes and layouts that were featured in the new issues of each magazine.

My favorite when I first got into lolita was from the Wedding issue of the English edition of GLB; a model for Baby was wearing a lovely, tulip print skirt (or was it the jsk?) in blue, holding a parasol and sitting at a cafe table. Something about her looked so sweet and simple; I wanted to be a lolita just like that!

The models in the magazines always looked like they were happy or having fun, which I think is part of what made me want certain dresses or blouses. In AP's current ads, the model just looks... kinda sad and pouty and bored. I've noticed that for a lot of their dresses, they've been skimping on the lace, frills, and ribbons, and there's no more cute hair styles either! Meanwhile, wasn't it AP that brought lolita from old school to New School / OTT sweet when they had models wearing pastel pink / blue wigs for their Mermaid Symphony (iirc) photoshoot back in 2007?

On a different, but kinda related note, I've noticed that in the past 5 years or so AP has been making a lot of dresses with ridiculously high waists.... also so many sack dresses (I know they started doing this back in like 2012 or so with that polka-dot M&M print dress)

Sorry for the long rant, I just really miss the old days of lolita fashion

hello there!

i'm always glad to have some feedback when i post rambles and thoughts on things. i never expect it, so thank you for your input! it's also comforting to know others feel the same way.

i agree that without as many publications in general (especially physical) there's less of a reason to put as much effort into details, like the magazine spreads that were commonly done for example. most people get information on releases online these days, making physical catalogs a bit obsolete.. aside from collectors. i greatly miss all of the graphics and how inspirational everything felt back then, especially the little PNG pictures of items in catalogs.

you're completely right about pictures from GLB's and other magazines looking generally "happier" and more like daily life sort of pictures, like the one in the cafe you mention. that aspect of it appealed greatly to lifestyle lolitas! seeing a dress pictured in a "real life" situation rather than just a plain white background photoshoot picture makes a huge difference. it brings it to life, and makes it a lot easier to see yourself wearing it.

i think a big change in marketing is that AP doesn't cater as much to lifestylers.. and lolitas who are very much interested in the fashion beyond a surface level and see them as more than just clothes. all of the photos now actually feel like advertisements, when they used to also be appealing from a photography perspective. like they're only trying to sell you a product and not an experience, even if only visual. for me, that takes away from it a lot.. it almost feels as though that sense of community, and the acknowledgement that lolita is a subculture, is dwindling.

plus, it's definitely more than just presentation that's changed as you said. i feel as though the designs AP offers have been super uninspired compared to old releases. not as many details, not as much custom lace, and the general silhouettes becoming a bit lazy.. tons more, but i could go on for days. even the revamp and progression of the lyrical bunny mascot has felt a bit soulless. very sad to see, because i do agree that they were the brand to introduce OTT sweet in a revolutionary way.

as much as i gripe about old vs new AP changes, the positive side is that we can still look back fondly on the old era!

and no problem at all! it was nice to hear another perspective on this. ^^

[the-firebird69]

Ford Vehicle Showroom

https://shop.ford.com/showroom?searchid=1070113656|55200459089|19447183|seg-carb-210602&ef_id=Cj0KCQiA15yNBhDTARIsAGnwe0UHowenmVgtYE-0gNgWKGge5W6EO_4ZWCCG54eET-r2jv_64cnibz0aAqf4EALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2519!3!272544250513!e!!g!!ford%20cars&gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=Cj0KCQiA15yNBhDTARIsAGnwe0UHowenmVgtYE-0gNgWKGge5W6EO_4ZWCCG54eET-r2jv_64cnibz0aAqf4EALw_wcB#/

He looked at Ford and he didn't put it up because Ford was still kicking it around and wasn't selling and they were just trying to decide what to do with their company so we can continue making cars look like fools because everybody else is using it for a weaponry and we're going to compete with them over these mountains which is small deposits and something he says I don't know if that's true so we're going to have to try and see and now it's going to be hard to and he says there's a lot of banging it might not be so they're going to have to fight over it it's an error but we know about it we need it badly we don't need them to have that stuff either it's being fought over tons of fighting and this company is ours and it's Hera and she's going to decide on things she says half of those SUVs can go cuz the same thing and doesn't see the cars so she's looking in the cars are there same thing there and they're all the same what we're going to do what he said in retrofit all of them but when we start making it we decided when the model to make you're making some design changes but not many cuz there are cars I'm going to keep the same plants we're going to make the same motors and so forth but still making processes are different and we may expedite some of the procedures like we're doing with Sim versus our Chinese Symm version it's a lot faster. Huge lines to get our cars and Ford is up now I've got it going and he's got Chevy up it was kind of competing we're going to have a race on commercial he wants to do his character and he wants me to have mine so I figured out we might do Chris and Jen everyone seems to like that he says Katia so I know what he's saying is a pig but my kind of pig in our kind of pig not like a real pig. It says that's a lot of saying the word pig. So we're going to do that and have a little race I'm going to try and probably have a tie Camaro versus Mustang. A lot of people are thrilled because they want to see it.

There's a huge Factor going on here there's a lot of women who want Fords and want to know if we can repaint them and what we say is we're trying to sell them all right now and once we do you can order ones that are pink and they're trying to special order them so what we say is we're going to allow that retrofit and we're going to take it to shops that we're going to certify it's going to take over a painting shops we haven't started online and making new cars yet so he's right and they're right too we can probably use the factory and we go ahead and do that cuz you still do a lot of stuff to it to paint it it's worth it

He says I'm a crazy lady I agree with him

Hera Zues

I know how this started and he was egging it on a little but really it's coming from a bunch of women and our women too they want pink Cadillacs and they want pink SUVs and explorers and expeditions or whatever they are now he says.

You got huge expectations to there being met and they're hiring tons of people it's a huge plant and I'm turning it on now and they're getting their spray painting going and they're hiring people who know how to paint and they're prepping and they're getting a whole bunch of them ready it's just selling a ton of pink ones it is a huge effort it's all over the world too with Ford he has someone some pink ones not tons most of them are mainly colors women want cuz their own his car it's going to be out of control they want proof he owns it and there's nothing the only thing that would have is his dad's will and in it it says he cares about me you can own that

Thor Freya

[the-firebird69]

Watch "Disturbed - The Vengeful One [Official Music Video]" on YouTube

We are all going to ride onto the capital of LA and in this format and we all have the bike and it's all hard knock kicker 5150 and we all believe in what he's saying and you guys are kind of lame instead of bothering us and douchebags took a plan and you flushed it as you do all right considering those stupid you are and we're going to arrive and of course and all these bikes are going to become famous and everyone's going to demand them I'm going to have to offer the hand of God and hand of Goddess for each version and there's a whole bunch thousands. The Violator and Demigoddess Wife will introduce this earlier today I don't think it's him

Thor Freya

Sales are through the roof I have it on the monitor that they can't keep them in the shop it's hard not kicker bikes and everyone is modifying it to look like yours and QE has so many calls and she doesn't know what to do with them she calls up China it says he's been getting him batteries won't you get me parts tonight and he says sure it means invasion and I said where is this first you said the British and now you're sending parts invasions no we come along with the parts how can you fit on those little boxes so start laughing cuz that's what she says and he goes oh no I've been trained by a woman and I laugh because I Hera her and I hear Olympus will say stuff now qe

It's my statement and I'm saying this so get those parts to me now I got tons of bikes to make we're going to hire everybody. And Sebastian is switching over his plant and she's sending parts to him and their retro fitting in the building new ones there's just tons of them and they're all coming out now it's a huge pile they're all demanding it and just saying that he can't have one because it says that he is God and they're all saying it out loud and it's a huge protest going on and then huge numbers of them go up and by the bike so they're using it they say and what we say is he's going to have one and then you're going to say that you're him otherwise it kind of kind of s***** Thor says. We agreed to there's no transition there so it's trying to figure out something anyway you got to make this hand of God bike because if you make tons of them and they buy tons of them then I'll be on it and then go after each other it becomes a lot bigger than I'm making it sound so we need to make some plants on some Island somewhere maybe do cuz he's not really shutting along very well so make the whole island this kicker 5150 and say it's for all those poor n****** all this particular model and of course yours so start doing it and I said I'm making yours here yes and there is right and you're in my particular model Gu says and my Goddess Wife's version right he says. So I got it right away and I built tons it would take them over the whole island putting all your factories there and building this bike. Huge numbers of orders just so massive I can't feel him and we have the biggest factories on Earth back to the Madagascar and Japan is now doing it and they've been doing it and they can't fill the orders there's so many orders that is just mind-boggling so we're making tons and tons of frames and huge numbers of them and he says to make a monster frame making company at the at the mine so he did that it's easy to fit cuz all the frames the same and other parts too that are still and we said this so it is damn bikes you better be assigning people and we are you just might have someone it's a huge number of people who want the bike back huge it's just a gigantic force that we're building and this number of Hand of God bikes is exceeded anything we've ever anticipated. It's so huge cuz I recognize the technique and that they don't understand anything now and he expects everything out of them so it even looks like I'm doing it and they're going crazy because I think it's impressively it says it's not and it doesn't have to be him personally and it actually doesn't have to be occasion and then some people know that so it's on I say the sales numbers are so huge we can't mention them

Gu and Goddess Wife

He sounds so many of this bike I got to wish him luck cuz it's so crazy but then he says I should probably be able to get a fitty out of it and people say yes because they want to be here they don't want to be this guy sitting around that doesn't have one and that will boost sales to the maximum and we've got several plants right at mines and they're right at your minds and we're building the frames and other steel parts right there costume the faster we send them out to work bikes get made so we're wondering how big of an operation it should be and we're asking our people and it should be huge because they're all interested in it and having his bike this is going to be like Saddam Hussein without the war so dumb so dumb you saying hello Saddam but it came out so dumb there's huge numbers huge it's it's way past the sales of any motorcycle company and all of them combined for this year including hard knock and Sim it says he should get his own company and he said no and he knows it's not possible but he's going to wipe out the competition and John C Riley's angry because it's based on the model that he rides it's not the same though and he says have you stolen everything yet why am I getting tired of this you haven't the devil going to have him up so we can take over Scotland and Iraq.

Of course he's requesting we make approve a beer and a whiskey and call it the devil's own whiskey and the devils beer and my name is Lilith by the way she says and she's making it hers right now as he requested she's still a little miffed I just came out with a title he's doing it again fighting a little bit not much if they're going to make one with both of them on it this is what they call it she's going to name it it's already huge and it's out in the stores he says he's going to present it over and the devil's Tower and it's not in stores yet but it's near them Google searching seek and destroy they want to beat the opening she's over there too at the devil's Tower right on top of it you're going to show me it and they have the bikes tons of people are going huge caravans and yes military ones they have a way out but decided to load the bikes up and it's in there they did a commercial and they tasted and they're asking if people want to come up and taste it and have free drinks and they said yes so doing that and the machines are coming and they're about to head out and they said wait wait you can't go and leave us here I said they're just going to leave if we do they said okay so they're waiting a few minutes to see what happens all sudden one of them started firing the firing on the crowd and we stopped it it's corky it started hitting him and actually we wiped them out this is approaching carefully I said well corky wants to just destroy him and he go up and say well you know it's time to get rid of that little b**** corky he's had it you know what he's saying so we're leaving and we hear the people the same don't leave us here and said it's time for you guys to vacate the premises as well so they're going down and they're leaving and say okay it wasn't that bad and they leave and nothing happened to him suddenly we get this screw you she ran into the line of trucks and stuff and we said well it seems to be Max so what am I and they're just humans and they said we got to drink it first and that's why I don't know what it is so if you came over there drinking together and we left a huge bunch of it up there this big huge cast of it and then caravan is pulling up and they're all going upstairs drinking it and we're delivering beer also they start laughing cork is a party pooper yeah certainly is. I have my own brand Liluth's Brew and there's a whiskey and there's a beer and a silly huge almost more than his almost and it's up and there's tons of sails and it's going out the door and it has a guy eventual one on his on the whiskey and the beer and eventually what looks like it's even more so on the whiskey but looks like himself on the pier there's all sorts of contests for the Hand of God bike in the Hand of Goddess online

Hera Zues

We just got done explaining that we have our own versions and we were up there too and that's who they let go and we're clear now if we're out and they know why we're flipping them off and we have our bikes and we're riding away and yes Pee-wee Herman was out there yesterday

Thor Freya

It's really my vehicle but he helped make it the way it is even the version of mine is telling me what to put there and tell me what to put on it how to do it I'm really getting pissed cuz I don't get any money from all this stuff and it's a three ring circles just barely made it out of there live up to upstate New York a bunch of fools fighting with some s***** buildings I started laughing about myself and I was leaving vrying a little it says that would be great footage for a movie I started laughing because it is my God what a stupid thing just as Mac was about a stupid movie about the teamsters and everyone's trying to wonder what they're doing stupid crap and New York is gone by the way all states pretty much going and they're moving that Old Town we're in now they're taking the rest of the place pretty soon Virginia will be gone I wonder if it's a good idea or not

John C Reilly says and he's been a huge pain in the ass threading ever since you get off Island about 2 weeks ago and he's been driving this hard knock kicker thing for us and he doesn't want him in a bike but it seems that he's finally gone too far and people say it's John C Riley version really Randall text calm but don't feel motivated because Randall is not around so now I guess what he has to do and the two big ones see it it's going to try and compete with him instead of flying and pissed and have him do the job for himself

Thor Freya

He's making some funny noises that's turning their faces sour and we like it because her big huge ninnies

Olympus