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#and compared to similar editions prices
granhairdo · 7 months
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1885 edition of the brick!!!
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i get irrationally drawn to certain objects i see, and unfortunately, this pretty overpriced 1885 edition of les miserables was that item i was drawn to. i needed it.
from my research, this edition was printed all throughout the 1880s along with illustrated editions of many of hugo’s works.
i’m sure you recognize at least a couple of the illustrations here, as these are full of the classic gustav brion and emile bayard illustrations (including the famed one of cosette!)
these images are just a fraction of the amount of illustrations throughout it. it is PACKED with illustrations, almost every chapter having one as this edition has ones done by multiple artists. this clearly was even higher end for the time! it’s filled with illustrations, impressively large, sturdy covers, and i don’t know if it’s just me but the paper does feel stronger than some from books ive worked with or owned from this period.
while flipping through the pages, it definitely feels soulful. on several of the pages, there’s clearly a thumb indent from reading, which might be annoying to some. but to me it makes it all the more charming. clearly, someone throughly enjoyed it. whoever this person was, i feel connected to them a little bit.
this edition is BEAUTIFUL and i am very proud to own it!
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robbie-wallis · 6 days
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I need to vent about Watcher, endure it if you can
Relax, this isn't a parasocial thing, but it is a long ass post, which suits me as a long ass human.
I need an outlet to discuss the terrible business decision Watcher has made by announcing their plan to leave YouTube, and this long-forgotten Tumblr account reached from its grave to grab at my ankle.
If you didn't see their video, good for you. It's extremely cringe-worthy in its sentimentality and editing, with blurry shots, pensive pauses and obligatory sad piano.
But at least there's no f'ing Ukulele.
Although, I think we might get the Ukulele in a few months.
Even though anyone who reads this is probably familiar with what the "Ghoul Boys" have done, I feel as though I need to add a little history.
WATCHER HISTORY
You can skip this part if you've been obsessively following the shenanigans, this is for the noobs who were never a "shaniac" or a "boogara".
Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara used to work at Buzzfeed. They hosted the successful Buzzfeed Unsolved shows. In 2019 they followed in the footsteps of the Try Guys and Safia Nygaaard and left Buzzfeed to create their own YouTube channel named "Watcher".
They brought along Steven Lim, another Buzzfeed person who is most known for the "Worth It" series. This series followed Lim and his friend/s spending obscene amounts of money on obscenely overpriced and indulgent products.
Think of it as being similar to the $100 V's $10,000 Sidemen content, only without the self-awareness and British "bad lads" humor.
Notably, even the Sidemen seem to have cut back on those adventures, perhaps understanding how bad it looks when so many people are struggling to pay their essential bills.
Steven became the CEO of Watcher while Shane and Ryan continued to create and present for the new channel.
They were wildly successful by YouTube standards. At the time of their self-spanking on Friday they were close to achieving 3 million subscribers, in just 4 years, based on basically only 2 cornerstone shows. If Social Blade is still a reasonably trusted source in everything but estimating income, they were gaining thousands of new subscribers every week.
Their most successful shows were Ghost Files, Puppet History, Too Many Spirits and Mystery Files.
Ghost Files is the only one of these shows which requires heavy investment, travel, a large crew and impressive production costs. These videos are shot on-location and require a lot of work. The rest are basically Good Mythical Morning style, just the two hosts and their banter.
Aside from Ghost Files, their content could be created with 3 cameras, 2 lapel mics and a good editor.
They were massively successful, solely because of Ryan and Shane.
THE DEMISE
So, what did they do on Friday 19th April? They decided to announce the launch of their own subscription platform.
Not a Patreon for extra content, behind-the-scenes, audience interaction etc, (they already had a Patreon with 6,000 paying subscribers earning them at least $50k a month), but a bespoke streaming platform which looks like a clone of Netflix.
The cost is $5.99 a month, or $60 a year.
Comparable to Netflix.
And by that I mean the price is comparable to Netflix while the content is comparable to a 4 year old YouTube channel.
Don't get me wrong, their production quality is incredible. The quantity, however, is not.
From the end of May viewers will have to pay to be a subscriber on their own platform in order to watch their shows.
They'll still be posting their trailers on YouTube, and the first episodes of new shows, but to watch it all you'll have to pay up or miss out.
Edited to add: Variety originally reported the Watcher crew were planning to remove all their existing content from YouTube to monetize it on their own platform. It's since been confirmed they will not be removing their old content. Fans are undecided whether this was a back-track after the announcement or a misunderstanding by Variety. You be the judge.
Of course, they're entitled to do this. They are creating a product and you can either enjoy it or not. No one is entitled to see it, for free, whenever they like.
Why did they do this?
Half of the sombre video gushes about their "humble beginnings" as "struggling young guys in a big harsh world", which comes across as extremely self-indulgent and ego-stroking.
A quarter of it explains how insanely successful they've been on YouTube and how this is all thanks to the fans who stuck with them after Buzzfeed, how it's allowed them to hire 25 people, how it's given them the freedom to create what they enjoy making and what the viewers want to see, and - most importantly - how it's allowed them to increase production quality on Ghost Files.
The final quarter of the video explains that this isn't good enough, the quality isn't high enough, the finish not glossy enough, it's not "TV caliber" enough! They want more, they need more, you have to give them more, mostly (apparently) because their CEO Steven Lim wants to bring back his show where he flies around the world with his bestie sipping Champagne and eating gold-leaf-covered lobster.
In short, they want more money to make even bigger things, even though their audience never asked for that.
WHY IT WILL NOT WORK
Oh my goodness, this is going to be a ride so strap in.
I'm not a YouTube creator so there are a lot of things I do not know. Having said that, I know a little about business.
This ain't Buzzfeed, y'all
Watcher became successful because of Ryan and Shane. It was their friendship, their personalities, and the content we loved to watch featuring them at Buzzfeed, that brought us along for the ride.
The audience they poached from Buzzfeed is there for them and Ghost Files. It's not there for Steven Lim and "Worth It". His show worked under the Buzzfeed umbrella only because they had numerous sub-categories in that community to support it.
The Try Guys left and created their own channel from their Buzzfeed fans.
Safia Nygaard left and created her own channel from her Buzzfeed fans.
Shane and Ryan left and created Watcher from their Buzzfeed fans.
Steven Lim left and became the CEO of Watcher. He didn't take his audience with him.
The audience of Watcher is not the audience of "watch me fly around the word with my pal and spend $100K on hand-reared, Whiskey marinaded, diamond-encrusted Kobe steak".
And... IN THIS ECONOMY?
Steven chose to become a CEO instead of a presenter. He's missed the opportunity to take that Buzzfeed audience with him.
This is made clear by the Watcher channel itself. Their "man eats food" content rarely breaks 500K views while their Ghost Files breaks 2 million consistently.
If a million of their viewers followed them from Buzzfeed to Watcher, the other 2 million have joined them since, based almost entirely on their spoopy content.
Not only did they base their channel on this genre and format, they have distilled their audience further ever since the creation of their channel and no matter how hard they try to diversify into "man eats food" it's just not working.
This ain't Netflix, y'all
As mentioned, the $5.99 charge is comparable to Netflix and just about every other streaming platform. Only Watcher can't give you even 5% of what a competing platform can offer for that price.
Other platforms also tailor their content and their pricing based on geographical location and localized economics.
You're paying far less than $5.99 a month if you live in an economy where the median household income is $300 a month. YouTube has a global audience. Their subscribers don't all live in a stable economy where $5.99 is considered disposable income.
We don't know the numbers, but I would guess only 60% of their subscribers are based in the USA, Canada, and the UK.
Even for those who do live in a stable economy, their audience is predominantly young adults and students. Most young adults are currently facing the reality that they will possibly never own their own home, they're living day-to-day trying to budget.
They've instantly priced-out a large % of their audience.
I confidently predict that diehard fans who can't see anything wrong with this will sign up for $5.99 a month, binge watch for a couple of weeks, realize there's no new spoopy content and cancel.
They'll come back when a full season of Ghost Files has arrived, pay again, binge it and leave.
Steven Lim thinks they're gonna get $5.99 a month, every month, from thousands of subscribers. In reality they're going to get maybe $12 a year, from people signing up to binge watch what they want, then leaving.
This will then decline naturally as attention wanes during the months where there is no spoopy.
This ain't good marketing, y'all
They're going to be posting "trailers and season pilots" on YouTube.
Sure, I bet YouTube is gonna be totes okay with a channel doing nothing but trying to hijack traffic for an external site.
Posting nothing but trailers and season premiers will mean maybe one full video per month during busy seasons. That's not enough to remain relevant for the algorithm.
If 80% of those posts are also just trailers saying "leave YouTube and come here", the channel will be smacked down quicker than a crypto scam using an AI generated Elongated Muskrat.
Their channel was growing steadily, but that was with full content regularly posted. When the schedule drops off, and when most of it is considered spammy by YouTube, it's going to collapse like a flan in a cupboard.
A streaming platform needs a constant flow of new subscribers just to replace the gradual drop-off (maybe ask Rooster Teeth about that). When your global audience at YouTube is gone, where are those new subscribers coming from?
The platform is also an additional overhead. It's going to cost thousands a month to keep the servers going.
This ain't good financial management, y'all
I don't know if they've already spent hundreds of thousands of $s on Lim's "men eat food" gamble, but I suspect they have.
I know they have spent hundreds of thousands of $s on a new season of Ghost Files, flying to the UK to host live events while filming those episodes.
This means they've over-extended their finances just at the moment where they've cratered their opportunities to see a return on investment.
Just that, on its own, is enough to destroy a production company.
They do not need 25 employees any more than I need an editor and proof-reader for this long ass post.
They do not need a production studio in Hollywood any more than I needed an office to write this.
They do not need to spend tens of thousands of $s on glossy graphics that appear on screen for maybe 4 seconds in one episode any more than I needed to add screengrabs to this painfully long essay.
By leaving YouTube they've lost:
Adsense revenue (which might not be much on a per-video basis but adds up with a back catalogue over years of productions)
Sponsorship deals, which allegedly contributes almost 50% of their annual revenue.
Merch sales, which is about to crash if the only people they can promote merch to are already paying per month in their smaller ecosystem.
Patreon. Why would someone pay $5.99 twice, for the same or less content?
And they've abandoned all of this for maybe a few thousand people who will probably end up paying just $12 a year when a new spoopy season arrives for them to binge.
I'm no Will Hunting, but no matter how hard I try to make the numbers work they just don't, and I don't need Robin Williams to tell me it's not my fault.
This ain't nice, y'all
Some of you are feeling like Ned's wife right now, and some of you will have no idea what that's in reference to.
Most of you will hate that I made that reference more than you hated the SNL skit.
I get it.
Maybe the worst part about all of his, from a viewer's perspective, is the dismissive nature of their sign-off.
They didn't mention the Patreon members once, not one single time in the whole video. It's like they consider the Patreon "too YouTube". They're the deformed cousin locked in the attic. They're the relative who wasn't invited to the wedding because they can't afford a Tom Ford suit. They're the colleague who isn't invited to the staff night out because they only work in accounting and no one has anything in common with Janice anyway.
These are diehard fans who were actually paying them extra to support them and enjoy a little bonus behind the scenes, and the boys didn't even consider them worthy of an utterance.
They also finished with "If you don't follow us and pay up it's been real, peace out". I'm paraphrasing, but that's basically what it was.
They spent so much of the video saying how awesome and great it was that the fans and YouTube got them to this point, but they didn't thank their Patreon members, and they ended with a blunt suggestion that if you don't follow them and pay more then you're not a real fan anyway and they don't really need you.
"Thanks for getting us here, sucks to be you, bye now!"
You made them wealthy, you helped them hire 25 people, you helped them increase production value to "TV caliber" even though you didn't ask for that, but your job is done and now you're superfluous. Only the real fans are wanted.
In the words of the great George Carlin - "It's a big club, and you ain't in it".
They're okay losing the vast majority of the people who got them here if a few thousand of those are comfortable enough to be able to pay $60 a year for a YouTube channel.
Can it get worse? Sure!
We've had a weekend to enjoy the constant heat of this bonfire and it's predictably worsened with each hour of silence from the company and its employees.
The fact that they haven't back-tracked, despite almost unanimous agreement that this is badder than the baddest thing that could happen to their company, suggests they're okay with it.
Consensus seems to be that they knew it would be this bad, and they're cool. They predicted 90% of people would scream "Boo to you good sirs! Boo indeed!" and they could still survive on the 10% who don't see a problem here.
The lack of response reinforces the narrative that they're totally fine with discarding almost their entire audience if they can just squeeze the cash they need out of whoever is left.
This ain't fixable, y'all (maybe)
Note: I don't want this to be mean, but it's going to sound a little bitchy no matter how I try to say it.
If they'd brought out the Ukulele on Saturday, or even teased Ukulele's on their socials before putting out a video on Sunday, they probably could have survived this with much hand-wringing and a little groveling.
But now I think they've grilled this Kobe steak for far too long.
They've lost 100K subscribers, and counting. The venom among Patreon members is allegedly worse than the public comments section under the video, which is startling. Dozens of YouTubers are torching them harder than a $100 crème brûlée.
People are scraping their channel content in case it's nuked.
Shane "eat the rich" Madej's sentiments over the last few years look disingenuous, to say the least. To shamelessly steal someone else's comment: "Imagine being all 'eat the rich' right before throwing yourself on the plate". He's silent while his McMansion burns down, at his own hands. "Why not!?" indeed.
Steven "I drive a Tesla" Lim's socials now make him look like a tech-bro try-hard and his use of words like "early adopter" and "soft launch" in the video only compound the belief that this was all his brainchild. He is the CEO, and that comes with responsibility and the associated blame. You can't steer the ship into the Bermuda Triangle and then disappear without looking like the bad guy.
Okay, you can disappear, but that convoluted metaphor is a mystery for someone else to solve.
Ryan "TV caliber" Bergara now sounds like an elitist who thinks YouTube is "too pedestrian" for his big plans, not big enough to meet his artistic vision. You see, he's more James Cameron, while YouTube is more like your student film club. He's grown beyond this pesky platform with billions of daily hits offering exponential growth with almost zero financial risk.
Even if they released a video today admitting they messed up big time it's still going to be hard to get the taste of this Ghost Pepper Warhead out of the collective mouth of their viewers.
This hasn't just burned their shared brand, it's singed their individual reputations among an audience upon which their careers rely.
What they should have done, on Saturday, is release a video (Ukulele or no) confessing their error. They should have announced their new platform will instead just be a bigger and better Patreon, with early access to everything, behind-the-scenes content, extra features, audience interaction etc.
They should have reversed to make clear their YouTube channel will stay the priority, their main source of revenue, but that you could get more on their own platform if you want it.
And, maybe, over time, people will pay for that. If they grow their channel to 6 million subscribers in the next 4 years there will be a couple hundred thousand of them willing and able to pay $5.99 a month for 8 years of shows, 8 years of behind the scenes content, 8 years of community involvement and regular early access to new episodes.
Maybe then they could try out their "privileged guys eat expensive food in expensive places" show and see how it does? Maybe a majority of people won't be living on the cusp of poverty by then and it won't look as tone-deaf as a 13 year old YouTuber trying to cover Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah"? Maybe then they could hire another 50 people and make Bergara's "TV caliber" (I still don't know exactly what that means) game shows and reboots?
The clock has been ticking since they hit that "publish" button on their career ending video, but that clock is about to count down to zero and silence will permeate throughout their previously lively community.
That 1980s basement set needed someone crying in the corner, right?
The problem is, their own platform is not a terrible idea. Really, it's not the worst thing they could do. The badness came in the timing, the switch, the middle finger and the f you. They could have released this as an extra, their own Patreon alternative, waited, developed it over time into something sustainable and established.
They could still try to do that and hope this dark chapter is forgotten.
Maybe I'm wrong? Maybe Lim is a financial genius with more skill than the management of Rooster Teeth and their corporate parent company combined? Maybe this gamble will be wildly successful despite all streaming services down-sizing or just going bankrupt? Maybe they won't be back on YouTube in 3-6 months begging for views after having to lay off 20 of their employees?
I know this... if I were one of those 25 employees blind faith would not be enough to stop me from looking for another job.
I suppose this will, for now, remain... a mystery.
EDIT:
I'm not writing another essay about this, but I'm glad to see they've backtracked and made the right choice to use WatcherTV as any sane creator would - to host early access and exclusive content in addition to their YouTube channel.
Over time, while promoting it in every video, building up that trust and fan base, it can be a secure and long-term financial bonus helping them to expand their business incrementally as finances allow.
Why this wasn't the plan all along is anyone's guess. Gambling everything on this was never the sane decision.
I still think they need to scale back on costs. I still think the food content is not currently a viable source of income while being a serious drain on resources. I still think they need to stop hiring all their friends and they need to hire one person who doesn't have personal relationships with everyone there and can make the tough business decisions.
No one likes firing people, it's ten times worse when it's a friend. But this is a reality of business and just wishing it wasn't so isn't going to make it go away. It would be awesome if we could all run a business where we can hire all our friends and family, never have to rely on any outside funding, make whatever we want, make a great living in one of the most expensive cities in the world and continue to grow.
That's just not the reality.
Their apology was genuine, in my opinion. I just hope they can work out the right financial balance.
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clubdionysus · 2 days
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[DRABBLE] Last Christmas
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warnings: alcohol aisle but no consumption lol
wc: 1.2k
bd total wc: 540k (on-going)
minors dni | AO3 | series masterlist 
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4 MONTHS EARLIER
"No," you say with a stern look in your eye as you clock Danbi's latest suggestion. At the opposite end of the supermarket aisle you've been down for the past ten minutes, she holds up a dark bottle of overpriced port.
"Oh, c'mon-"
"Absolutely not," you laugh as she walks towards you, shaking your head with playful disapproval. "We both know what happened last Christmas. We're not repeating it again this year."
While Danbi knows you're right, she still pouts. Doesn't even like port that much, just knew it would get a laugh from you, which is why she suggested it.
Late December, you're in need of drinks for the festive little gathering that you're hosting that evening. It'll be a small crowd, just a few friends and other halves, but you're looking forward to it.
You hadn't even been planning on drinking that much, but your boyfriend cancelled earlier in the week, so now you're thinking of just getting wasted. Bars are always open, and Danbi's been whining about a mistletoe kiss all week, so you might even hit the town.
Nothing is set in stone, except for Danbi's need to keep a smile on your face, 'cause Lord knows your 'good-for-nothing, sack-of-shit boyfriend' (her words, not yours) doesn't seem to care about it.
"I'm thinking vodka," you muse, looking at the shelves ahead of you. It's a small section compared to the rows upon rows of wine, but you're not after anything classy.
The aisle you're in is crowded; people stocking up last minute for supplies that will last them for the rest of the festive period. You really should have known better than to leave shopping until the last minute, but had also spent the past two days at home together, with the last of your wine supply and the entire Christmas movie collection on Netflix to see you through.
Christmas is the time to indulge in unhealthy habits, and indulge you have, but you think it's okay if it helps to heal your heart a little bit. So does Danbi. In fact, she's the enabler, here.
"I'm thinking you wanna get shitfaced," Danbi assesses as she meets you, and joins your contemplative gaze towards the clear bottles of alcohol.
The labels are all fairly similar - red, primarily. Shiny. Inherently festive, you think.
There's one bottle that's really grabbing your attention, though. Top shelf. Limited Edition Christmas bottle. Covered in glitter. Comes with a complimentary pot of shimmer dust to pair with the liquor. Is practically calling your name.
"And you don't?" You tease, glancing across to her, pleased to see that she's clocked it too. "What do you reckon? Worth the price tag?"
Nearly three times the price of your regular vodka, you only ever go for top-shelf on very special occasions - important birthdays, your graduation. Christmas doesn't qualify.
"I reckon with the money we'd save by getting the usual bottle, we could get edible glitter from the baking section and just make the bottle glittery at home," she reasons, but is also a sucker for a gimmick. "It is a nice bottle, though. And the vodka is better..."
Her thoughts linger in the air and have you contemplating just saying 'fuck it,' and going for the overpriced chaos of the glittery bottle - until you hear the clearing of a throat beside you.
"Word to the wise," the guy perusing the shelves next to you says, leaning slightly closer so you know that it's you he's talking to, then passes you a bottle from the middle of the self.
Though you can see him in your peripherals, you haven't really bothered to look in his direction - was too focused on the alcohol. The movement of his body spreads the silage of his aftershave, and you're reminded of why you like men so much.
He's dressed in all black, that much is certain, and the hand that passed you the bottle was covered in tattoos. Part of you fears looking in his direction, for the knowledge that you probably won't be able to stop.
"It's made in the same distillery as the top-shelf one," He continues. You don't look at him, still, too busy reading over the label. It's not one you've ever tried before, but it's in the same price bracket as your usual one. "It's just filtered one less time, and doesn't have the marketing budget. You can barely taste the difference. Most of the bars downtown swap the bottles, and no one ever notices. I never told you that, though. And Dionysus definitely doesn't do that. Merry Christmas."
Studying the bottle, you take a second before glancing up across to the man beside you - but he's already walking away.
"Nice to meet you, too," Danbi whistles under her breath as you both watch him head towards the next aisle. Didn't really get a good look at him, either. Didn't realise he was talking to you until the last second. "God. He was like a sauve, sexy Santa, delivering presents and dipping like that. Delightful."
"What does that make us then?" You laugh, still holding the bottle. "His little elves?"
"If that's what he wants us to be, sure," she playfully jokes.
"Well then- ho, ho, ho," you hum in agreement, looking to the now-empty end of the aisle. Broad, tall, and dressed for a funeral, you've no idea what your mystery vodka man actually looks like, but it doesn't really matter. You know he's hot. It was laced in the way he walked away. The way he spoke. The way he'd definitely been eavesdropping and waiting for the perfect time to bestow a little wisdom to you.
If there's one thing you like in a man, it's competence. It's why you're with Seokjin. He has it in abundance. And so did this mystery man, it would seem - or at least, he knows far more about obscure vodka brands than you. Maybe he's a bartender, you hypothesise. Or maybe he's just hot. Maybe both.
"Our very own Christmas miracle," you say with a smile, then turn to Danbi. "Baking aisle? We need edible glitter."
"Baking aisle," she nods, grinning just as brightly as you are. "Shame there wasn't any mistletoe there."
"I have a boyfriend," you remind her, shoulders knocking together as you walk.
Danbi holds her tongue. Could say all sorts of things about Seokjin and his less-than-saintly behaviours. It's Christmas after all. No time for discussions of such unpleasantries. One day, his horrible qualities will just be a memory of the past - as will the presence of your mystery supermarket Santa, and the club he mentioned. You'll think nothing of it as the word Dionysus rings in your head when Hoseok and Danbi insist on going to bars in a few months time to nurse your impending breakup.
You're none-the-wiser now, though. Ignorance is bliss.
Danbi just shrugs. Wraps an arm around you and squeezes you tightly. Giggles. "Bah humbug."
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boinin · 2 days
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Blue Lock in Japan fandom diary
I was in Japan for my holidays, which was incredible—it's somewhere I dreamed of visiting for a long time, and it lived up to every expectation.
I'll talk a little bit about my experience from a Blue Lock fan perspective, as it's something that interested me prior to going. April 2024 was a good time to visit, thanks to the Episode Nagi film coming out. There was a lot of pop-up cafés/collabs open, and no shortage of merchandise.
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In Harajuku's Takeshita Street, there were a series of banners/pendants for the new film, featuring all the main characters. There were also digital ads for Episode Nagi in a few places—I recall the trailer playing at Shibuya Crossing (which is exactly as surreal and overwhelming a place as I'd imagined).
Rambling and pics under the cut, including gacha machines, stores, general anecdotes and my merch haul.
In case anyone's uncomfortable seeing IRL pics, be warned there's couple shots of my hand below. No face reveals 😛
Gacha
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So, gacha machines are EVERYWHERE in Tokyo and other cities, often randomly in the street, but also in dedicated stores. The biggest selection tended to be in arcades or shopping centres. Akihabara had a few big ones (Gigo comes to mind), but I found multiple. And Blue Lock is really well represented! There's loads of stuff to waste money on, from little acrylic keychains to small figures to... tiny cushions with characters' faces on them 👀
One minor annoyance is that the gacha merch for a fandom doesn't tend to be grouped in one place, so you spend a lot of time wandering around stacks of machines squinting at their content. Only one store I visited in Osaka had all the Blue Lock stuff grouped together.
In general, most of the machines are priced between ¥300 and ¥500 a spin (€1.80 to €3.00 at time of writing), so it's reasonably affordable unless you're a completionist set on collecting ALLL the merch.
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Much of what's in the gacha machines is seasonal, so it's worth snapping up anything that you like while it's there. That said, I found a few stores selling same season or older gacha merch at a markup. The most expensive ones were older merch/limited edition, which can cost many multiples of what you'd pay originally. Other places (like Ani Ani) sell current gacha merch at a small markup. I was able to buy a Rin to finish a seasonal collection for only ¥100 more than I'd pay at a machine, which saved me whatever multiple of ¥300 I'd have paid on spins to get him in addition to the four others.
Throughout the trip I saw the same gacha content over and over again in various places. Specifically for Blue Lock, you don't generally have to worry about throwing money at the first set of machines you find or risk missing out. That said, one regret of mine was passing on some really cute gacha figs of the Bllk boys in casual clothes on a street on Akihabara, which I never saw anywhere else.
There's also heaps of claw machines in similar locations, which mostly had figures of Nagi and Reo in their Hakuho uniform.
Pop-up stores/collabs and merch stores
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Blue Lock is well represented in cafés/pop ups. This is likely due to the EpiNagi film releasing this month, but with some research beforehand, you'll likely find a venue should you wish to get some Bllk themed food/venue exclusive goodies. Be warned—many of these will require a reservation, and they book out quickly. That's the case for most of the fandom cafés. If it's a must-do for your trip, research a venue before you go and try booking a slot if you can.
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I only went to one myself, which was a place in Harajuku that did Blue Lock themed drinks. I chose Nagi's, which looked mysteriously black on the menu. It turned out to be tea with lemon flavoured jelly—tasty and canon inspired! I also got a free card of Bachira, which the store assistant handed to me at random. This was overpriced at ¥800 (€4.77) compared to what you'd pay normally in Japan for a drink, but that's the branding mark-up. In comparison, a bottle of soda, tea or coffee from a vending machine costs on average around ¥150 (€0.90).
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Regarding stores, there was a Blue Lock pop-up in Ikebukuro in an electronics store which had SO many acrylic stands and plushes. A lot of this was bishounen/pretty boy appreciation material for each of the characters. Think stands of the boys smiling handsomely at the camera in various outfits.
At time of writing, merch tends to feature just the characters from season 1 of the anime, specifically the Egoist Four, Nagi, Reo, Rin and Sae. I saw little for the other characters, and next to nothing for manga-only charas. My favourite manga character find was a sticker of Hiori, which has subsequently gone missing amidst the chaos of unpacking 🥲 If it turns up, I'll add a picture. Found it!
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In terms of spots for Blue Lock merch, Ikebukuro and Akihabara were the best and most concentrated. Akihabara gives tourist trap vibes, but if you're willing to navigate every nook and cranny plus the crowds on the hunt for blorbos, you'll almost certainly find merch to your taste.
Ani Ani in Akihabara was pretty good for BLLK, and excellent in general for its selection of fandom merch. Smaller shops have more niche content, which is great if you favour side characters.
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Ikebukuro has a more chill vibe than Akihabara (less tourists) but still a decent selection of fandom merch. Hands down the best spot for Blue Lock on my trip was the Animate store there (pictured above), which had five or six shelves just for our favourite football prisoners. Lots of plushes as you can see, but also things like clear files, acrylic stands, keychains, stickers, pins and more. Again, big focus on pretty boy appreciation, but there were also cutesy things like chibi figures/stickers. There's also heaps there for other animanga fandoms.
Animate Ikebukuro had the Blue Lock fragrances! I only sniffed a couple of these—both Isagi and Kunigami's were reminiscent of blue shower gel, but with woody notes in Kunigami's case. Chigiri's fragrance was more floral and fruity. They cost somewhere between ¥7000 to ¥8000 I think (around €45ish).
In addition, Harajuko has a lot of anime stuff along Takeshita Street, but the selection can be hit or miss. I found two shops there that were reselling Blue Lock goods (things like gacha figs and limited edition merch). These could be pricey, but these were the best for cute/older Chigiri and Kunigami merch IMO.
Snacks
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Again, availability may relate to the timing of anime releases etc, but I tried a bunch of BLLK snacks in Japan. The most common type were these chocolate wafers, which you could get cheaply in convenience stores for loads of different shounen fandoms (I recall seeing One Piece, JoJo and MHA). The wafers themselves were mid, but the packaging was cute and you get a free sticker or card in each. I managed to get a Kunigami card on my first try 🥹
"Slowbar" is like a protein or granola bar. Again nothing to write home about taste-wise, but I saw a few with Bllk packaging. Go figure, I bought one that had Kunigiri. No freebies, but it was a more substantial snack than the wafers.
My merch haul
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Here's what came home with me! It's modest as far as fandom hauls go, particularly next to all the stuff I bought in the Pokémon centres. I didn't go as nuts as I thought I would, but the gacha machines definitely put a dent in my bank account. They're fun, but should be treated with caution by anyone who likes owning complete sets of things.
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Close up of gacha figs, minus Rin + the bonus Chigiri I picked up on.
I ended up spending around ¥3000 (about €18) to get the full set of sleeping figs (including duplicates). Spent around the same to get the sleeping bag figs, then at least half that again on Chigiri's when I spotted him at a resale store (he's from a previous release).
As a result of my gacha spree, I have a bunch of duplicates 🥲 It would be a shame to bin 'em, so might do an interest check to see if anyone's interested in taking them off my hands.
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These are the cards/Zantetsu sticker I got from the combini wafers, the Bachira card from the juice café, plus a random cushion of Rin from a gacha machine. It's way too small to be practical, but still cute.
I bought the two Kunigiri chibi plushes at a resale store for ¥3000 altogether. Chigiri was twice the price of Kunigami, lmao.
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Kitty!giri came with a little sleepy eyemask. As soon as I saw him, I had to have him. Bought him at Ani Ani in Akihabara for ¥2500 I think? (€15 approx). They had kitty Isagis and Bachiras too.
Now for a story: there's a gacha series out now which has gold rings featuring the names of the main BLLK cast + Aryu. I swore not to buy any of these, cos it's a little self-shippy; no shame in that, but it's not really my bag. I also dislike gold jewellery.
Relatedly, partner and I just decided to get married, and half-talked about looking for a engagement ring in Japan before we travelled.
So. A few weeks later, while wandering around Harajuku, partner walks back to me after disappearing for two minutes. They hold out a gacha capsule with a shit eating grin—"Hey, got ya something!"
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I shit you not: not only was it one of the stupid rings, but out of eight choices, they managed to pull Kunigami's 😭 I laughed/despaired for about five minutes. Partner was amused.
I don't have small hands (¥100 for scale); Ringsuke loosely fits my baby finger but gets stuck on my ring finger if I shove it on past the bottom knuckle. Based off my own measurements, the BLLK rings are probably around 50-53 mm in size (Japan size 12 maybe). It's surprisingly good quality for a ¥400 capsule machine prize.
So yeah: that's how this Kunigiri stan ended up with an ill-fitting engagement ring with her favourite blorbo's name on it 🙃 ...I'll get a proper one eventually, and Kitty!giri will inherit Ringsuke. Y'all are about the only people I'm ever admitting this story to.
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Finally, my favourite purchase is these two acrylic stands of Chigiri and Kunigami, with pop ups of their stats. I'm not big on acrylic stands generally, but this was one of my favourite official art releases and I couldn't pass it up. They were ¥1800 (€11) apiece in a Harajuku resale store—probably more expensive than their original sale price, but I'm not complaining.
That's about it, I think! I've tried to recall as much detail as I can about places/prices here, but happy to provide more info if anyone's curious about anything—just ask!
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dangopango00 · 2 months
Text
After Last Night
Waking up with him after a hookup
Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 |
FAT/LBC men x gn reader (William Included for all my Aris out there)
CW: very suggestive, maybe dubcon?? (Mentioned that Lars and reader were both drunk in his)
A/N: waking up with cael is waking up behind bars thats croomf, groomf even 😭😭😭 im jp u dk him since ur childhood here ok this is a safe space
Edit: Alkaid rewrite 🥶🥶
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more utc
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LARS / LUO XIA (罗夏)
- SCENARIO: You’re in a similar or complementary industry to him and he’s had his eye on you a bit, admiring how you present yourself but you never really became too closely acquainted. One crazy night of drinking during a negotiations meeting later and two lonely busy old people get busy (30 isnt old sorry. Uncalled for)
- You wake up first; he is KNOCKED OUT
- He wakes up with the wildest bedhead normally and even moreso today. He’s drooling and sprawled out across the couch with a loose hold on your body (Just his arm slung around you as he sleeps)
- His grip on you tightens if you try to leave the couch but if you’re insistent he’ll just let you go; whine grumbles about it in his sleep
- He has work and he’s very busy so he’ll have to leave soon but he wants to make it up to you because he wasn’t being professional; he makes the effort to at least chat or have breakfast with you before leaving which you don’t mind since you’re busy as well
- He usually doesn’t do hookups since he’s busy, doesn’t want to lead anyone on and knows he’ll get attached too easily so he rlly dk what happened, he was lonely but ayayay this is a mess. He does his absolute best to make things less awkward for you
- This scenario would actually be so wild bc if you wanted to do it again while sober I don’t think he’d say no LOL as soon as you had breakfast/chatted he started to like you even more I think and remembers last night being really great so
- I don’t think he’d initiate it if you did do it again though because he feels really bad about being unprofessional but ever since that night if he ever sees you his eyes are glued to you, your body and all its curves and/or edges; he’s so distracted help him 😭😭
- It’s even worse if he’s pent up, he actually will just. Avoid you if you don’t assure him it’s alright he doesn’t want to be weird and he knows he wont be able to focus so he gets a little nervous around you from then on
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ALKAID / LU CHEN (路辰)
- SCENARIO: You’re his classmate and more importantly, his film dealer. You’ve been selling him film and camera repairs for a pretty good price compared to how high the quality is from a small shop that doesn’t get too much traction because it’s more of an antique shop but you do offer more. He was usually standardly polite and short maybe with an extra question out of curiosity here and there before becoming a regular over time. You eventually started tacking on a few more comments and questions than necessary but not so many that it’s noticeable, chatting him up a bit im class as well until you started actively seeking him out, being curious about him and you two became friends. Since this is an edit I’m gonna say like Ayn, you’re probably already in a situationship by the time you hook up but unlike Ayn you haven’t kissed yet (he’d at least ask you out or vice versa before kissing i think) You were over at his apartment to study and help bathe Sparkle; just generally hang out and after a PAINFUL amount of tension building with playful comments and little touches so much so that you ended up kissing him and one thing lead to another !!
- You wake up first but likely go back to sleep and he wakes up during that time tbh. I feel like his home is cozy as hell not to mention Sparkle climbing up and cuddling with you
- He let you wear his clothes to bed since yours got messy and he noticed that you were shivering, freezing from wearing. Well. Nothing. So he let you borrow something and his entire face is red including his ears an neck, it’s quite a view— both you and him
- He ghosts his thumb over your features, his gentle touch almost unnoticeable as he notes each unique thing about you as if trying to identify different stars in the sky
- You had already cuddled up to him in your sleep and he lays in bed with you in his loose embrace for an absurd amount of time until he decides his heart has had enough and gets up to make you both breakfast, you stirring a bit in your sleep in the process
- He kept trying to find an opportunity to get up before but you clung to him so he couldn’t find it in himself to leave you gn but when he did eventually get up he just kissed the crown of your head and gently pulled your arms off of him, then laying you down
- His bed head is just his normal hair honestly and he doesn’t move too much, just snores a little bit and slightly drools
- He’s embarrassed the rest of the day, his usual charismatic persona failing on him when he needs it most and he’s a bit nervous not knowing if you’d felt the same as him or if it was just lust. Though all that is quickly nipped in the bud when you give him a kiss on the cheek and confess properly, holding his hands in yours
- Deciding he’s wasted enough time being a dork He offers to take you on your first date in a nearby cafe since it was pretty impromptu but he still says it with a helpless smile and slight blush. On this date he def took pictures and has them pinned on his wall; they’ll quickly become some of his most prized photos
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CLARENCE / SI LAN (司岚)
- SCENARIO: You two went to the same high school all four years and maybe even the same middle school at some point but you never really interacted because he was busy with schoolwork and so were you so you really never felt the need to bother him. Little did you know Clarence had the biggest crush on you since you met and after being acquainted through the student council you became friends. Upon growing closer and some worrying about how little he relaxes later and you mayyy have accidentally made out with him a little in the council room after hours 🥺 then took it back to your apartment 🥺🥺 and ended up sleeping together 🥺🥺🥺
- He wakes up first and just stares at the ceiling. how did this happen oh my god. Not in a bad way but oh my GOD. -Clarence
- He’s so embarrassed by last night especially with his own behavior. Just remembering the sounds he made and the words he said has him reeling; he must’ve told you he loved you 100,000 times
- he just stays completely still hoping you’re still asleep and once you wake up he shuts his eyes so fast kind of trying to pretend to be asleep but with how tightly his eyes and lips are shut you know he’s awake
- You give him a little kiss on his eyelids and lips and he knows he’s caught; he blushes but then kind of just lets a small exasperated smile wash over his face; he really doesn’t know what to do
- His bedhead is basically the same as his normal but more messy around the bangs also he snores a tiny bit but thats pretty much it
- He’s pretty happy and normal when he isn’t thinking about the specifics of last night’s events
- He even goes ahead and makes breakfast for you and him as well as his cats (they’re probably the ones who woke yall up lol)
- He doesn’t do hook ups and he’s liked you so long so he reaalllly realllllllllyyyyy hopes you’ll consider getting to know him more and let him take you out on a couple dates because even if his hands are clammy the whole time he’d be so happy
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WILLIAM / CHEN ZIHAN (陈子涵)
- SCENARIO: You two have always been best friends with no question of whether or not your feelings were platonic. Well he had no question. You on the other hand had been crushing on him for a while now but didn’t want to ruin the friendship. That was until college. He started noticing you more and your qualities: how you’ve matured and how you’re there when no one else is, so his feelings have gotten a little bit more than just platonic. He justified it as appreciation and normal friend things all the way up until you two suddenly decided to “test out” what kissing and making out would be like. Platonically of course. Since neither of you had ever been in a serious relationship. The sex part was just testing too, trust 🙏
- You wake up first but that doesn’t stop him from having an existential crisis when he wakes up
- You’re excited although a bit nervous from anticipation honestly since you already knew your feelings were not platonic but you didn’t know what he’d think so instead of worrying you just poke his face and admire him sleeping
- His bedhead is crazy, some of his hair sticks up and he has a pool of drool under him. He snores too— finally getting to release his feelings has him K.Od it was tew good
- You go to make breakfast or shower or something and he’d probably wake up during that time bc he doesn’t feel your warmth anymore
- Like Clarence, Liam wakes up perplexed and embarrassed and he’s worried he may have crossed a line doing what he did last night since you were supposed to be just friends! He’s freaking out so bad! come back he needs reassurance 😭
- When you get back he’s so apologetic and is just so nervous around you until you broach the subject, reassuring him that you don’t mind what happened
- After you sort out your thoughts on what happened and have a loooong talk about it you’re pretty much back to being normal and you even hang out for a bit longer, watching some movies and baking together although he does still blush and fumble his words around you a little
- He’s scared to tell you he would rather be yours than be your fwb (friend with benefits) bc this is his first hookup but considering he’s been your best friend and crush for so long you feel the same way so you end up dating pretty soon after
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darkbluekies · 4 months
Note
I do collect Barbies! This genuinely isn’t me trying to brag or sound arrogant, but all of my 59 Barbies I currently have are collector/special/limited edition. I like them not because of their status, but because their clothing/quality was so well done. They’re from the late 90s to 2000s.
I’m not gonna list them all of course, but I think you’ll like these as a lot listed are historical/time period inspired outfits. Let me know though if you have different/more style preferences and I’ll try to find some to share with you again.
Barbie Cafe Society
Barbie Faberge Porcelain (3 in series)
Barbie Great Fashions of the 20th Century (7 in series)
Barbie Hollywood Movie Star (6 in series)
Barbie Mrs. P.F.E. Albee: Avon (2 in series)
Barbie Royal Jewels (4 in series)
Barbie Victorian Tea Porcelain (2 in series)
Barbie Victorian with Cedric Bear
Barbie Wedgwood (2 in series)
The website I used when collecting is https://barbieguide.sosugary.com/index.php
It’s a great catalog of Barbie releases. You’ll find a lot more historical inspired dolls on there, and Barbie makes excellent porcelain dolls too that I think you’ll like.
And tips if you’re interested in fashion doll collecting…
Don’t buy newer collector/special/limited edition dolls from Mattel. They’re worse quality for outrageously more money. Trust me on this. (A lot of my collector Barbies I was able to get for $30-$40 USD new in box, compared to the $100+ USD price tag Mattel charges now for collector dolls).
Mattel has been declining in quality ever since 2016 (probably earlier) and is still going lower present day. So if you’re interested in good quality play-line or collector dolls, try to get pre 2016.
Mattel dolls most of the time have polypropylene hair, which is considered the worst hair quality fiber as it literally disintegrates over a few years and isn’t easily brushsble/stylable.
Mattel also gives most of their dolls cheap paper-like printed clothing or molded on clothes.
If you want quality, buy MGA. They have nylon hair (easily brushsble, stylable, and won’t disintegrate). Much higher quality clothes/fabrics with intricate details and complex designs.
Mattel=Quantity
MGA=Quality
Thank you for your time!
That's cool to hear :))) it's nice to find someone that shares the interest of dolls, even if it's a different kind! Although I learned a lot, thank you♡ I'll check out the older styled ones!!
I'm not very interested in fashion dolls (apart from those from the 1800s) so unfortunately I'm sticking to my child looking dolls, which is why I kind of like the American girl dolls that are supposed to look like 1900s/1800s
I'm going to take this opportunity to brag about my girls as if they were my children. Here are my some of my older dolls<3
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Just like you say about Barbies, these dolls also have limited editions (such as the discontinued one with a very, very uncanny voice box from the 1880s) unfortunately, I don't have any of them. BUT, I do have two from the most famous doll makers, Kestner and Armand Marseille<3 Always have to look for the markings that tell exactly which model they are
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And I have one special girl who I call Darling who has human hair!!
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And I just have to squeeze this in, when I was in Belfast I got to see a doll I have been such a big fan of for so many years. It's a doll that was floating around in the wreckage and actually seeing her up close in real life made me tear up in pure happiness. She was absolutely stunning, and I think she might (just might) be a similar model to my doll with the red boots, but i could get a good luck of her neck to see the "tag". Here she is!!
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I just had to, dolls are one of my biggest interest and i have to take every chance i get♡
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moonshine-nightlight · 4 months
Note
Hello! I Just wanted to let you know that I LOVED the published ver. of "Don't Shoot the Messenger". And I was so excited to hear that Dale and Sana's story might get published too.
At first I was really unsure about getting the book, as I didn't want to be disappointed if the changes made didn't translate well compared to the original. BUT YOU KNOCKED MY EXPECTATIONS RIGHT OUT OF THE WATER!! IT WAS SO GOOD!!
Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I'm so excited for your future projects. And I wish you luck on your future publishing endeavours because I will be buying all future published books by you. And no one can stop me haha >:D
I also wanted to ask if there's a chance that any of your other previous works will also be published? Of course it's a huge effort of time and resources to publish something. But I do hold out hope that I might one day hold Heshi's story in my hands because truthfully it's such a comfort to me and I go back to it periodically to reread. I love that snakey boi. NO PRESSURE THO. If that's not in the cards, just the fact that it exists as a story is wonderful. Thank you so much for all the writing you do.
anyway, bye
@annjo-wolfe
hi! thanks so much! i really liked what DSM actually was and focused on my own edits and that of my editors just honing it to be the best version of itself - so i'm glad that came through and you liked it!
if ur interested in too much info about my self-publishing plans, pls see under the read more
Dale and Sana's story definitely will be self-published,its just a matter of when. it's also probably gonna get more tweaks than DSM due to the length and the way the story evolved over 2 years lol
thank you so much for your support and encouragement with publishing! i'm so happy people are excited about actually buying my stories lol
As for previous short stories that getting published, the answer is yes, i do have plans to publish them as well, they're just a lower priority for multiple reasons. firstly, me and everyone wants NWWD the most so its #1.
For 'Finally Woken' i actually already have the first 2 chapters converted to 3rd POV, however, its shorter than DSM and so would cost nearly as much to have edited but would sell for less (and amazon will try to tell me the spine is too narrow lol) so my current thoughts are to bundle it with 'Selfish' (helpfully already in 3rd person) and make a Naga Novella (called like 'Tangled Up in Tails' or something lol) with both of them in it so i can release it priced similarly to DSM.
For 'Sacrifice', i actually have plans to make that a 5 novella series about different forgotten deities returning to the same town, with 'Sacrifice' likely being offered as a cheaper, first book about a month or so before the second is published to get people into the series. the rest of the novellas would likely not go up on tumblr/AO3 at all and would only be published. i'd like to use this hypothetical series to see how that sort of model would work for me. i've planned out the 5 novellas to some extent but nothings really written yet besides 'Sacrifice'. as a complete project, its very low on my list after everything i'll b posting here and NWWD publishing, so since 'Sacrifice' is tied to that, its not likely to get published anytime soon.
For 'Snapped', i'd likely do something similar to 'Finally Woken' - write another short Sci-Fi/Alien story and bundle them together for publishing. However, i dont currently have anything written that would work so that's also a low priority evn if 'Snapped' is already 3rd POV.
I'm really excited to self-publish my work, but its expensive and what I've made from DSM has come nowhere close to covering my costs and likely won't. the only good thing is basically all the costs are up-front so its easy to jsut keep the books out there and making money when ppl buy it. i have a good job and am happy to spend my money to get my work out there and hope over time self-publishing will break-even, but that will take years at a minimum so it'll be slow going in the beginning.
my goal is to get everything self-published so it'll just be a matter of time - i too want to hold a copy of Heshi's story in my hands lol
thank you for all your support and giving me a chance to ramble about all my self-publishing plans!
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flyfish1999 · 1 month
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UK Edge Magazine Issue 181 - November 2007 Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (vanilla) in Reviews
this article is actually reviewing the american version rather than the european one - only because persona 3 vanilla hadn't yet come out in europe ! the eu recieved vanilla on february 29th, 2008, half a year after america. often forgotten is that persona 3 was europe's first persona game (but not first SMT, beaten by nocturne in 2005), having missed revelations and eternal punishment entirely. the review compares the gameplay of p3 to canis canem edit (bully, for all you ntscheads), and implies the reviewer opted for the kendo team in their playthrough ^_^
Transcription under the cut:
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Format: PS2 Price: $50 (US), £30 (UK) Release: Out Now (US), TBC (UK) Publisher: ATLUS Developer: In-House
Suicide is painless?
Anyone who's ever complained that there aren't enough hours in the day will be pleased with Persona 3's premise. Soon after enrolling your character at the local Japanese high school you're accepted into a covert society and let in on an enormous secret: there are, in fact, 25 hours to a day. The extra 'dark hour', as it's known, occurs every night at midnight. The vast majority of the populace is unaware of its existence as, for its duration, they are rendered unconscious and sealed in coffins, oblivious to the shadow creatures that emerge outside and roam the world looking for prey. A few humans remain unaffected by the phenomenon and, as one of them, it's in the sparse company of these cognoscenti that your character finds himself after dark.
The group, called the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, is responsible for holding back the shadow creatures' advance while trying to uncover the secrets of their origin, a huge multi-storey ephemeral tower named Tartarus, which emerges each night in the school grounds. Tartarus takes the form of an upwardly built dungeon whose Rogue-like floorplans change every visit. Your overarching mission is to scale the tower bit by bit (don't panic: a warp opens up every five floors) while leveling up and discovering new Personas: creatures that can be summoned to aid you in battle.
While this is a little traditional, the dark hour is just one element to an unorthodox game whose scenario manages to twist it out of the firm grasp of its JRPG roots. In the main this is achieved by the dark hour's counterpoint: daytime, during which you participate in the lessons, clubs and societies of a Japanese school. Here, in a similar way to Canis Canem Edit, you're tasked with daily studying, exam taking and after-school clubs and sports, all minigame-style pursuits that are used as a means to build and enhance your character's abilities. Three core stats (academics, charm and courage) must be raised by taking part in a wide range of different activities from enrolling in the school's kendo team to visiting the karaoke bar in the local mall of an evening. Raising these statistics while building and fostering relationships in school is crucial to creating stronger Personas to make your character more powerful on the nightly battlefield. By linking the game directly to 2009's school term calendar and breaking every day into seven distinct stages (from early morning through lunchtime to late at night), you quickly settle into the comfortable rhythm of a education system, which provides an excellent framework for the disparate mechanics to slot into.
The game's aesthetics are unusual for the genre. Low-poly environments, simple character models and drab lighting are the uninspiring visual building blocks. However, thanks to some ingenious use of beautiful anime artwork the game fizzes with life as character portraits zoom into shot to personify the dialogue while slick and design-conscious menus add some contemporary style.
As with any game that's based on repetitive tasks set in unchanging environments, its rhythm in time becomes a little monotonous. However, the frequent boss battles (introduced every few levels of Tartarus) and surprisingly compelling relationships you foster daily inspire perseverance. Games with distinctive souls are rare things but Persona 3 succeeds in displaying a mesmerising personality that touches the many well-crafted aspects of its curious and singular approach.
Captions, left to right:
Personas are ethereal creatures that are summoned from your unconscious mind to lend their abilities in battle. For this reason, the stronger your relationships with other students or groups the stronger your 'inner self' is and the more powerful your Personas will become. One of the most enduring images from the game comes from the way in which characters summon a Persona: by putting a gun (known in the game as an 'evoker') to their temple before pulling the trigger. To players not closely familiar with anime culture it's a shocking image that's used repeatedly, and since the game's release has attracted keen debate in the US as to its suitability.
Fans furious at the lack of a Japanese audio option have already released on the internet a patched version known as an 'undub', with English subtitles but original voices.
In battles, you only gain direct control over your own character. Your teammates can be given general directions (such as to major on offensive moves or healing) but their specific actions are handled by the competent AI.
You aren't forced to visit Tartarus every night. If you'd rather you can meet up with a friend at the local mall, visit a club in town or spend the evening at your desk studying, all of which level up aspects of your personality.
Persona cards can be fused together with one another to create entirely new monsters, and much of the deeper level of play is concerned with maximising resources to uncover the most powerful Personas in the game.
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ronanceautistic · 24 days
Note
LiS AU where Nancy has Max's rewinding powers, but, similar as to how Max can never save Rachel, and can only save Chloe at a great price, Nancy can never save Barb, not without sacrificing Hawkins and everyone else she loves.
From the moment she gets her powers she has visions of Hawkins torn asunder by Vecna's portals (a lá The Storm), and it's never made clear to her whether that's a consequence of using her powers to keep the others safe, or whether her rewind powers came with a side of prophetic apocalyptic visions, as a treat.
Imagine when she discovers the ability to travel through pictures, how she tries to use Jonathan's pictures to save Barb, only to find she can't bear to live with the consequences of that. Or how, once they learn about the whole 'favorite music stops the curse' bit how she tries to discover Chrissy's favorite song, to try to go back and save her (maybe even successfully, if the story goes the Cheerwheeler route)...
Loved your edit, definitely created a bunch of ideas in my head, can't unsee it
Something about Life is Strange… I think the reason it wrecks me so much compared to other sad media is because I think it might’ve been the first piece of media I ever consumed with like a big sad part. I was 11 i think.
But yeah, Nancy has such life is strange vibes in season 1 and season 2 it would make such a good game adaptation. And oh my god travelling through Jonathan’s picture?? I didn’t even think of that you’re a genius (to be honest it’s been so long since i played i forgot that’s a part of her powers).
I also love the idea that no matter how protective Nancy is of her friends and family, she would tear apart the world just to get Barb back. It’s the thing that ignited everything, the Nancy we know began because of Barb and will die because of Barb. Her two big driving goals as a person is 1) saving the world and 2) getting Barb justice. Forcing her to choose between the two?? Soul ruining.
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cerberuscommissions · 1 month
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I’m sorry but asking $30 for that theme is just ridiculous. I’m an amateur theme maker and could make something similar to your recent post in maybe a few days, and would never charge someone for it. $30 is the going price for an extremely responsive, well-coded, complex theme. Please don’t get your hopes up about people spending money on your themes if you’re charging more than ethereal does for something not even half the quality………..
This is incredibly rude. Comparing to another creator is also incredibly rude. Everyone has their own style and their own version of themes. Just because mine has simplified over the years doesn't mean that it's any less quality. Just because I don't overload my themes with a lot of coding either doesn't take away from the quality. People actually buy my themes a lot? I only took them off my list for a while since Tumblr was editing coding to fit with the new editing system. I've been doing this for going on four years. Please do not come into my inbox and try to belittle me or my pricing or the quality of my things.
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antigonewinchester · 9 months
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Oppenheimer thoughts.
I’m neutral-to-slightly-positive on Nolan’s filmography but I loved Dunkirk when I saw it back in 2017 so I was delighted that Oppenheimer took many of its stylistic flourishes and dialed them up x100.
the timeline and perspective divisions between 1. Fission and 2. Fusion and how the two intermixed with each other & occasionally overlapping
the unrelenting pace, never stopping or slowing down, with the music almost constantly going except for key moments of quiet
just the sound mixing!! my favorite moment in Dunkirk is the last 30 seconds where the sound finally goes quiet (after having been near constant the entire film) and we get a similar moment twice in Oppenheimer -- once w/ the bomb test, where the bomb silences everything except for Oppenheimer’s breathing, and then when he’s giving his speech to the crowd after the real bomb has been dropped -- that are so so good, and made all the more compelling that the movie keeps going each of them, unlike Dunkirk
I’ve seen people talk about Nolan’s obsession with time, but seen less on his returning to 1) technology & its intersection with war & warfare, and 2) knowledge / uncertainty / action, all 3 of which are super prominent (and were also key to Dunkirk)
there’s a lot to say about the timelines but one thing that stood out what how it contrasted Oppenheimer and Strauss as two sides of the same powerful, horrible coin. I was a little put off by how the film seemed to take some glee in Strauss’s comeuppance at the end, even if Strauss going after & destroying Oppenheimer’s career & reputation was a real shit move, but the final scene was just a devastating undercutting of Oppenheimer & his choices & guilt. the image of Oppenheimer watching the bomb test with eyes wide open vs closing them against his visions of the world destroyed by nuclear catastrophe, huh. men chasing after dreams, men chasing after power, these impulses are both very similar, and it’s very often other people who pay the price (at least at first).
people crap on Nolan for not have good characters or character-driven movies, but that’s bothered me less esp as he’s embraced more technical elements within his style (the focus on how he structures his films, the sound design, editing, etc.) and I thought it was perfect how Nolan focused on the technical and allowed his actors to bring their humanity to their characters, particularly w/ Cillian Murphy delivering such an internal character performance. all those close ups of Murphy where you could tell there was so much going on underneath, in a way that can only be conveyed by an actor, as compared in something in the script, and that not many actors can pull in such a deep way. AND it also worked when Oppenheimer being a cypher was itself a thematic part of the film, in the question of “what did Oppenheimer really think / feel?” being so prominent thru it. it’s probably easy to miss the nuances but that’s not something bad, that just means the film was super dense and needs rewatching to get all of it.
not particularly related to the film but I have to say, people metaphorically comparing eyes to gem stones in writing is super common but never quite worked for me except wow do Murphy’s eyes look like actual blue gemstones at points in this film. he has such a beautiful face, altho in an aesthetic way for me. like a beautiful painting.
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I've gone ahead and dug the press release for the new version out of the email i used for the app, pink text is clarifications added by me. i should have gone looking for this B4 i said anything in hindsight. I'm more hopeful about the switch than i was previously even if I'm still not convinced I'll be paying the subscription once my free months run their course.
Dear Android users of Magic Poser,
We are super excited to announce that the new Magic Poser on Android has launched in beta testing!
Beta testing is the final phase of testing before we officially launch this new update in Google Play. As a beta tester, you can try new features before they are officially released and give us feedback. Since launching our hugely popular iOS update last year, our small team has been tirelessly working towards bringing the same premium experience on iOS to Android. Starting from today, Android users can download the beta app and enjoy the same slew of amazing features such as our new male and female models with the best anatomy ever, muscular, fat and skinny body morphs, multiple lights setup and so many more!
This newsletter will walk you through:
🔧 How to download the Android beta app. (edited out bc irrelevant)
✨ Highlights of the new Magic Poser on Android.
🏆 Pricing changes to ensure the long-term success of the product that we provide to you, and rewards for our existing users.
❤️ Migration of your account, files and purchases to the new Magic Poser.
What's new
(link to a video showing new features and models)
The best posing app on Android has just become 10x better. Here’s a summary of the most exciting improvements in this new version:
New models with the best anatomy ever to help you nail figure drawing!
Muscular, fat and skinny body types to bring a variety of characters into your artwork!
Stunning lighting effects to add a cinematic touch to your scene!
Powerful library of 3000+ preset poses to greatly speed up your posing!
Group anything together with the Layers menu to create expansive scenes with ease!
Export in 3D formats to bring our models seamlessly into other 3D apps!
New hand posing with 50+ presets to finish poses lightning fast!
Comprehensive tutorials center to help you master Magic Poser!
Watch more preview videos
If you have trouble loading the youtube video above, please checkout our homepage magicposer.com for a sneak peek of these new features!
Pricing changes and rewards
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Our goal has always been to help artists achieve greatness from day one of creating Magic Poser. To best achieve this goal, we need a solid business model. After 6 years of testing, numerous user interviews, and the validation of our new pricing on iOS, we discovered that the winning business model is very similar to the model that we started with back in 2016. It is so simple and is best for you and for us: A basic free version plus paid versions with more features.
Introducing the new free and paid versions
You can also check out a full list of features and compare these three versions on our website:
Help me compare versions!
** Please note that all prices shown are for the U.S. For international markets, please refer to the prices in the released app.
Rewards for existing users
With the change to our new pricing, we have prepared the following amazing rewards for our existing users:
Basic rewards
As an existing user, you automatically qualify for the following rewards (even if you are a Free user in the new app):
You will still keep all the prepackaged free models in the old app in the new app.
You will also get permanent access to anything you purchased from our previous Asset Store.
*"Prepackaged" means the models that came already downloaded with the old app
Please refer to our migration guide for more details.
Extra rewards
To express our heart-felt thanks for your long-term support, we are offering these extra rewards to our most valued and adored existing users:
🎁 If you downloaded Magic Poser app before this new beta
1 month free trial of Pro!
For anyone who just joined the Magic Poser community, welcome! This will help you transition seamlessly into the new app!
🎁 If you bought Magic Poser Pro (old version) before 03/2019 OR if you have spent a total of $9.99 or more in our old app (Wombat Coins and prop bundles):
New Pro version!
For those of you that supported Magic Poser from the very beginning, we give this to you as a special thank you!
🎁 If you have spent $14.99 or more in our old app:
Master for at least a month and Pro version!
How long do you get Master version? Divide the amount you've spent in the old Magic Poser by the monthly Master subscription price ($14.99) and round it up to the nearest number. Also, you will keep ALL Pro features even after your Master plan expires.
Why are we changing
After extensive testing, research and interviews, we picked the pricing model that is best for you and best for us -
It is best for you because:
Free users can still get art studio level anatomy, pose and lighting reference with our new Arnold 3 model.
You can choose to pay for more features and assets as you progress in your art.
You no longer need to wrap your head around the cost of individual props or characters. With Free, Pro and Master Asset Library, you pay less and get access to a collection of assets that is constantly being expanded and updated.
It is best for us because:
Our small team can be financially sound and continue to develop amazing features and improvements for you!
We can fully focus on improving and expanding our asset collection for you, rather than optimizing pricing for individual assets.
We can continue to make a lot more high quality 3D models and store large 3D files with the support of the subscription plan, which will fund ongoing art production and server costs.
Our #1 goal is to make the best drawing reference app to serve the amazing art community. We are always improving our business model to best achieve that goal!
Smoooooth transition
In short, to transition to the new beta app, you don't need to do anything! Just update your app to beta by following the instructions in “How to download the beta app”. We have made every effort to ensure the compatibility of your account and files so that you can lie back and enjoy the new Magic Poser 😃:
Continue using your existing Magic Poser account!
Open any local or Cloud files created in the old version! They just work!
If you have purchased any assets from our previous Store, you will get permanent access to them no matter if you are a Free, Pro or Master user in our new app!
As an existing user, you will keep the prepackaged free models in the old app in the new app too!
The winning business model means that there are two important changes for users who have purchased Wombat Coins and who are in the new Free tier:
Wombat Coins are going away with the change to Free, Pro and Master Asset Libraries. But rest assured, we are offering you great loyalty rewards of Pro and Master versions based on how much you have spent on Wombat Coins. The Master version, in particular, provides unlimited access to our entire asset library! (For details, please refer to the previous section and our New pricing and Rewards for existing users guide.) We believe that migrating from purchasing individual products with Wombat Coins to purchasing different tiers of Asset Libraries will be much better for you and for us long-term.
Local and Cloud files will be subject to limits under the Free tier. If you get the 1-month Pro trial reward, please ensure that you export images of your old files during your 1-month trial. After your Pro trial ends, you will NOT be able to open old files that contain multiple models due to the limit of 1 model per scene in the new Free version. You can read all the details in our Account, files and purchases migration guide.
Thank you thank you thank you
Exciting! We think you will enjoy the new Magic Poser and that it will propel you on your journey of drawing even better and even faster.
Get in touch
Listening to users like you has always been our #1 priority when making any changes to our product. If you have any question or feedback, there are two ways to get in touch:
The best way to chat with our team real-time is to join our Discord server. We have created a channel #android-beta specifically for feedback on our Android beta app. You can also meet thousands of other Magic Poser users there!
You can also email us at [email protected].
We would love to hear from you!
Cheers,
Your Magic Poser Team ♥️
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nam-lemonade · 6 months
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i just downloaded firefox and i was wondering if there were any addons/extensions you'd recommend? like ublock origin and similar stuff
Hey there
First thing you're gonna do is ditch Firefox and switch to Librewolf. It's a fork of Firefox that has a lot more privacy settings out the box. It comes bundled with uBlock for your convenience.
As for extensions, well it really depends what you want to do. I mostly use extensions for website debugging stuff (like i mostly use var_masterpiece, wappalyzer and the vue devtools lol...). But I have a few ol' reliables.
Tampermonkey - Learn some javascript and edit parts of websites you don't like or want to change. Useful to clear some of the annoying shit
WhatFont - If you want to identify the font used on a website, pretty useful for me as a webdev, maybe it will be for you
Colorpick Eyedrop - Lets you colorpick from your browser. Quick and easy. Mostly use it for work related stuff, but it could be useful to you
GifsOnTumblr - I fucking hate that gifs save as webp. This extension lets you save all gifs as gif.
Control panel for Twitter - If you still use Birdsite, this extension clears out a lot of the crap on the UI and restores some old features, as well as hide blue checks. A must to make the website somewhat bearable.
Librewolf also has some recommended addons if you want to look into this. They recommend to keep a minimal amount of extensions, so keep that in mind if you really want to be privacy conscious.
Do keep in mind tho, I don't have the best relationship with Firefox, and my main browser is Vivaldi, who is also a privacy focused browser, that uses Chromium (they however have removed all tracking as well as do not take money from Google thru searches you make, and they do not sell your data either), mostly for some of their productivity features. So I don't know a lot about the cooler extensions available on there, and also I'm not the biggest Firefoxhead around haha. But these are extensions I tend to use on Vivaldi which are also available for Firefox-based browsers.
Also while i have your eyes, if you ever want a VPN, you should go with Mullvad. They are actually privacy focused, do not keep any of your informations at all, and don't come bundled with useless bloatware. Also, the price is pretty good compared to other VPNs.
Well that's all for me, hope this was at least a little bit useful
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squideo · 1 year
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Advert Alchemy: The Jingle
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In this series, Squideo is breaking down the eight key ingredients to turn your advertising content into gold! In the last edition of Advert Alchemy, we examined the importance of location when releasing your marketing campaign to the world. This week, we’re looking at the effectiveness of a jingle. 
This short, catchy advertising technique is similar to a slogan except it’s set to a tune. Unlike a soundtrack, a jingle is only a few seconds long but they can wriggle into your customers’ memory – ensuring they remember your product for a long time!
The Power of an Earworm
An earworm is a song or melody that keeps repeating in your head. Some of the most commonly reported earworms are songs like It’s a Small World (Disney), Who Let the Dogs Out? (Baha Men), Gangnam Style (Psy), Karma Chameleon (Culture Club) and YMCA (The Village People). 
A truly well-crafted jingle has the potential to become one of these insanely catchy earworms. Before we dive into some of the best jingles to grace our screens, let’s explore how to create a jingle. 
Keep it simple. In the examples below, no jingle is longer than thirteen words. The shorter it is, the easier it is for your audience to remember! Use repetition, rhyme and keep your language simple.
Choose the right music. Make sure it has the right tempo and speed for the voiceover artist to sing along to. Do your market research as well to discover which music genre your audience will respond to.
Know your product. What is the unique selling point you want your jingle to convey? Do similar products use marketing jingles? How can you set yourself apart from the competition?
Jingle Jamming
Think you’re ready to create a jingle of your own? Before you do, look through Squideo’s top ten picks for the best advertising jingles. Consider what these jingles say about the brand. Which ones would work for your brand?
01. Haribo
Kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of Haribo.
Jingles are perfect for child-targeted advertising. These catchy songs catch their attention, ready to be repeated to their parents nonstop. The German confectionary company Haribo has used this jingle across all of its English-speaking markets for over twenty years, making it instantly recognisable to people of all ages. 
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02. McDonald’s
Ba-da-ba-ba-baaa… I’m lovin’ it.
First used in 2003, this jingle was implemented at a time when sales for this enormous American fast-food chain was in trouble. Its stock prices had dropped and they needed to attract more customers – fast! German advertising firm Heye & Partner created this simple jingle which was rolled out internationally. It was only meant to play in McDonald’s adverts for two years… twenty years later, the jingle is still going strong. 
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03. Cadbury’s Fudge
A finger of fudge is just enough to give your kids a treat.
To a younger generation, Cadbury’s most iconic advert is likely the Gorilla campaign which ran in 2007. Go back a few decades, however, and this jingle for Cadbury’s Fudge bar created one of the most popular advertising campaigns of the 1970s. There is a longer version which was played as a song in some adverts, however this shorter jingle remains more memorable. 
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04. Hastings Direct
0800 00 1066.
Jingle’s usually contain one of three key pieces of information – the company name; the product; or how to get in touch. In 2005, Hasting’s Direct impressed their telephone number upon a nation – making 0800 00 1066 almost as well-known as 999. By choosing a familiar date (1066, the year of the Battle of Hastings which is taught to most Britons at school), half the work was done for them. Through repetition and the use of a catchy tune performed by their mascot Harry Hastings, the full phone number was soon memorised. Very clever!
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05. Compare the Market
Compare the meerkat; compare the market. Simples!
First launched in 2009 on British and Australian television, the advertisers behind this campaign were dedicated to its success from the get-go. Creating a Facebook and Twitter account for their mascot Aleksandr the meerkat, and a fictional website for comparethemeerkat.com, the advert series runs to this day. And at the end of each advert comes this memorable jingle. 
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06. Calgon
Washing machines live longer with Calgon. 
Whether or not the statement made by this jingle is true – trust us, there’s been a lot of debate over the years – the memorability certainly created a huge boom for Calgon sales. Despite Which? making a complaint to the Advertising Standards Agency in 2011 over the validity of its marketing claim, the jingle is still used in their adverts thirty years on from its introduction. A true credit to its effectiveness. 
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07. Lilt
With a totally tropical taste.
Launched in 1975, the drink soon became associated with its jingle thanks to some memorable advertising campaigns that ran in the 1980s and 90s, including the popular “Lilt Man.” Unfortunately, in February 2023, it was announced by Lilt’s owners, Coca Cola, that the drink would be replaced by ‘Fanta Pineapple and Grapefruit.’ We’ll certainly be sad to see the last of these adverts but glad the tropical taste survives. 
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08. Toys ‘R’ Us
I don’t want to grow up, I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us kid.
This jingle for Toys ‘R’ Us, which was used in the 1980s and 90s, and was co-written by the crime novelist James Patterson. That’s an interesting piece of trivia for your next quiz night! This memorable line was produced by the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency. The idea was to create a simple jingle that children could easily memorise and sing along with when it came on the television. It was later extended into a song. 
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09. PC World
Where in the world? PC World.
Considering the brand no longer exists, it’s a testament to the power of a jingle that it is still remembered long after the company it represented. After its merger with Curry’s, ‘Curry’s PC World’ still used the jingle for a time in its new adverts, clearly recognising a useful marketing tool when they saw it. Removing the PC World name in 2021, the only trace left of this former retail chain is a jingle that refuses to leave the head of anyone who ever heard it. 
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10. Cadbury’s Smash
For mash get Smash.
As the second Cadbury jingle to enter the list, it really goes to show this company knows what it’s doing! Launched in 1969, Smash is a brand of instant mashed potatoes – although it is no longer owned by Cadbury. Cadbury introduced the iconic Smash Martians in 1974 to promote their product through a catchy jingle. It was so memorable that in 2005 it was voted the UK’s most popular advert. The Martians even received their own fan mail while the advert was aired!
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Content Worth Gold
Get in touch with the Squideo team today to find out how we can improve your advertising strategy with video production, motion graphics, social media management and much more! 
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aktbfdosl · 1 year
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마슐 다시 보기 애니 1화~12화 (1280X720)
마슐 다시 보기 애니 1화~12화 (1280X720) 링크 <<
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마슐 다시 보기 애니 1화~12화 (1280X720)
마슐 다시 보기 애니 1화~12화 (1280X720)
마슐 다시 보기 애니 1화~12화 (1280X720)
마슐 다시 보기 애니 1화~12화 (1280X720)
마슐 다시 보기 애니 1화~12화 (1280X720)
After the 2020s, due to the COVID-19 crisis, the hairdressing contract with the Japanese publisher holding the original publication rights was delayed, and companies that dominated the Korean hairdressing market from the 2000s to the mid-2010s, including NT Nobel, JNoble, and Extreme Novel, began to sell illegally scanned copies and It suffered great damage due to sharing, and to make matters worse, the publishing industry went into restructuring with the advent of EBOOK or declined while not looking for a successor.
The paper book market, including light novels, is also experiencing stagnant growth and decline due to the fixed book price system. Although many light novels are among the top 10 male bestsellers in online bookstores, it is not a meaningful ranking because the number of people who read paper books is small.
Compared to the mid-2010s, the heyday of La Novel, the number of new publications has decreased by half since the 2020s. Regarding the fact that even the light haired novella was reincarnated as a slime, except for popular works that sold well in the past, such as Re: Life in a different world starting from zero, the hairdressing was stopped or the release delay of about 1-2 books a year increased. As a result, the departure of existing readers accelerated.
In particular, web novels, which account for most of the pie in the domestic genre novel market, continue to grow, and since 2018, academy and novelpia have caused the popularity of light novels and similar web novels in Korea. Domestic light novel readers, instead of the domestic version, want to become a domestic web novel or novelist, web serialized versions of Japanese web novels serialized in Kakuyomu, etc., overseas direct or amateur translations of unedited book editions, amateurs of original Japanese webcomics of light novels They are leaving with translations, etc.
In the case of web novels, Novelpia Plus has a subscription economy system that allows unlimited viewing of paid serial works for just 9,900 won per month. At 3,000 won, web novels are more competitive in price than light novels and e-books, which cost 7,000 won if they are expensive at 5,000 won. Low price, one of the competitive advantages of light novels, has become a thing of the past since the 2020s. Unlike domestic web novels, which are serialized 5 days a week, domestic light novels are released one or two times a year unless they are popular, and even popular works sold in Japan are discontinued without notice, and domestic publishers As various complex factors overlap, such as not responding to inquiries about the release and hairdressing of readers, the domestic light novel market continues to shrink and continues in a vicious cycle due to the departure of existing readers.
In addition, as mobile games aimed at otaku began to become popular in Korea as in Japan, the mainstream Korean media outlets also started to popularize Genshin Impact, Collapse 3rd, and Princess Connect! Re:Dive, Last Origin, Blue Archive, Bang Dream! Girls Band Party! Unlike the heyday of the early 2010s, light novels were pushed out of competition with mobile games and fell to the minority even in the world of virtue. There are almost no active light novel related communities in Korea, except for the official L-Novel Naver cafe [19], and rather, there are more stories about light novel original Japanese webcomics in the manga gallery. Rather, Miyeonsi, represented by the Usesoft channel, and the Eroge community are much more active.
Since the 2020s, light novels have become a non-mainstream genre in Korea, but among them, the most popular light novel genre is not the Japanese-style otherworldly, outcast, or villainous heroine, which is the mainstream genre of Japanese light novels, but rather a humane depravity because of the angel next door. It is a love comedy like Miss Aya, who sometimes shyly speaks in Russian. This is because the demand for fantasy works, represented by Japanese-style other worlds, has been the mainstream in the domestic genre novel market since the 2000s, when Korean fantasy novels represented by mass-market stores have been mainstream. This is because most of domestic fantasy novel readers consume fantasy novels as web novels. On the other hand, since youth stories and love comedies are still minor genres among minors in web novels, there are no alternatives, so demand for Japanese works still exists in Korea. Japanese-style other world that is popularized in Korea by jumping on the bandwagon of animation, fantasy light novel is well known and well-known in the world of overlord, Re: life in another world starting from zero, about being a slime after being reincarnated, the success story of the warrior of the shield, Blessings on this wonderful world!, Jobless Reincarnation ~I will do my best when I go to another world~ Except for a few popular works, this hero is too cautious about ZZANG Sen theme, the slave of the demon king of another world and the summoning girl is magically stopped. The reason for this frequent occurrence is this.
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is it possible to somehow actively "fake" DID/OSDD/other similar illnesses without actually meaning to do so via recognizing symptoms and slapping the label on yourself, fueling making you think you have it even if you dont? not sure if thats the right term. asking for myself because in 2021-2022 i learned about DID/OSDD. researched it heavily and thought i had it because of "alters" & a whole bunch of "fictives" which i think were just some form of heavy daydreaming episodes where i believed i was that person/character. i DID have trauma from before the age of 9, but the only trauma i can think of that would qualify to form it happened during and after the age of 9. im fairly sure i saw the symptoms and recognized that most of them are symptoms i had (& still have) and slapped the label on there because it made sense at the time. i feel super guilty about it because i interacted with a bunch of systems during this time and only now realizing i DONT have did/osdd and some other illness with similar symptoms that made me believe i did have it.
Okay so this is a lot, but I have three primary points:
1. You can't "actively fake" a disorder accidentally. To fake something requires knowing that you did not have it, and actively choosing to present yourself as having it. If you genuinely believed you had it, you weren't faking it, you were questioning your identity and ended up being wrong. That's fine. Relatively healthy, actually. Nothing to be guilty about. See point 3 and subsequent paragraphs.
2. There is no trauma that is not "qualifying." This isn't the trauma-comparing game. This isn't "the price is right: trauma edition." You can't just assign value or pain to certain kinds of trauma to rank them from least to most traumatising. So much goes into how an individual is affected by traumatic things, that all trauma, even the same event, is incredibly individual. If you had "severe" and/or consistent and/or repetitive trauma as a child without proper support, it's possible that it's enough. So without a professional's opinion, I wouldn't discount your childhood trauma like that.
3. Getting to what most of this was about--you can absolutely be influenced by what you see and research and become involved in. It happens all the time. That's (part of) why getting someone else's perspective, preferably that of an unbiased professional, can be so important.
Know that you're just doing your best to define your experiences, find belonging, and help yourself with the resources and knowledge that you have access to. It's okay to do that, and it's also okay to be wrong sometimes. There's no need to feel bad if it turns out that you were wrong, either. You learned more about yourself, a disorder you might not have ever learned about otherwise, a whole community of people, and probably a lot of coping mechanisms for the symptoms that made you think you had it in the first place. Even if you were wrong, you were respectful and honest, and it benefitted you in your development of self and awareness, which is fantastic.
This whole culture of "you genuinely and respectfully self-diagnosed/self-identified wrong and are therefore a terrible person and appropriated our culture" is ridiculous and needs to die. It's healthy to question yourself, to explore your experiences and mental health, to research your symptoms and feelings and communities you can relate to. It's healthy to try and define yourself to the best of your ability, and it's just as healthy to realize that you have grown and learned more about yourself and that perhaps that disorder or identity or label doesn't quite make sense now. This goes for all labels btw--sexualities, disorders, gender identities, etc. You have nothing to feel guilty about here. But if you still feel bad or like you unintentionally hurt our community, from a system, you're forgiven.
I hope this helped.
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