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miasiegert · 2 months

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CATS Suncoast Broadway Dinner Theatre - Hudson, FL (with Pics)

Thanks to Suncoast Broadway Dinner Theatre for renting our set and having us for the past two weeks in the Junkyard. It's always a delight working with Chaz, and we got to know an incredible cast and crew. I'm not sure how many hashtags I can use so I am going to include the cast list here for pics that arrive since all of you are so talented at Tumblr (the cast is so intrigued by Superfans, btw!)

We had many challenges with a dinner theatre because the stage is very small in order to accommodate tables. As well, actors serve patrons so I needed to design an outfit to protect the costumes and suspend disbelief. And from patron reactions, we've been told this is one of the best openings, if not the best opening, and the best show/costume the theatre has had to date and hoped we'd be back, which was very, very kind of them.

Pouncival, played by Isaiah Mayhew

Electra (u/s Bombalurina) played by Rachel Knowles (so sorry for the bad photo quality--she's stunning!)

Misto played by Kory Randles

Pounce, and these two randos, what losers. :P

Mungojerrie/Macavity split track, played by Andre Spathelf-Sanders and yeah, this jerk who keeps showing up. I adore the whole cast to bits truly but we're planning on cosplaying Green Lantern together and he was the first to get my "Archer" references in the make up classes. If it's ever of interest, I'm happy to sometime talk about my make up classes and what to do when there are "mistakes" with what I call the Bob Ross Method.

Demeter by Iraya Catalina is making an argument that maybe all Demeters need to be Filipino because she slays!

Jennyanydots and her incredibly supportive husband. She was one of the most delightful people to work with, hilarious, fun, loving, amazing hugs, and just a joy. I've never had a Jenny almost refuse to take the Gumbie suit off (which is a huge compliment). What a joy.

David was the make up designer for all of the designs except Bombalurina's, and I taught about 5-hours of make up classes.

The magic of an incredible LED screen came into play as there were cool effects, such as a first person POV of a cat going to the junkyard (bringing YOU into the show) and the sky changing with the hours of the day, the moon, everything. The lighting designer Dalton Hamilton was wonderful and provided the following photographs. All costumes designed/created by David and myself (The Costume Asylum/Siegert Creative):

I am going to try to get some rehearsal pics and one of the funniest bloopers ever but I hope this is a nice start. Happy Sunday, I'm happy to be home, but I miss these kitties so much already!

Apologies if I missed tagging anyone, y'all know I'm really trying with Tumblr very hard. Oh! Rhagan Carter (Rumpleteazer) is the Dance Captain! Knew I forgot something.

Also... is there a way I can add text when I add a bunch of pics at once to name the actors? I cannot for the life of me figure out how. I keep clicking in between photos and hit return and nothing!

Each passing day, I become more and more of that "how do you do fellow young people" meme, I swear.

If there's anything specific you'd like to know, feel free to ask or comments in general. Not sure how long it'll take to get back because I got 2 hours of sleep last night, flew in, and today is a "fuck it, let's order dominos" day. ... but... ordering dominos... is hard. moving is hard. falling down the stairs... easier than anticipated. 0/10 do not recommend.

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wisewidow · 3 years

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Hello, Your Parents Want Me To Have Your Babies

PAIRING: Natasha Romanoff x Reader

SUMMARY: Melina, my workplace’s neighbour, wants to set me up with her daughter.

I'd only ever hear about Natasha every couple of weeks, when her adoptive father, the mechanic that owned the garage workshop beside my father's cafe slash bar, met up with my uncle for beers one day last year. Ever since then, our families have been loosely intertwined, friendly but not too close. Alexei fixed my mom's wrecked car for a cheap price, in return I let his youngest daughter Yelena have free coffees whenever she pops over.

From what my father told me, Alexei's entire family, including his wife, were all involved in the family business of repairing cars, except for his eldest daughter: Natasha, who turned out to be an FBI agent living in Quantico. Dad says they're proud of her but they miss her.

"(Y/N)," my brother calls from the kitchen. I put down my phone and find him balancing three plates of sandwiches and a salad in his spindly arms.

He opens his mouth to explain the orders, but I cut him off.

"Alexei," I say, pointing to the bacon and egg sandwich. "A salad for Melina. The tuna and tomato roll is Yelena's. Did they want drinks?"

Peter nods. "Four coffees and a large bottle of water, they already have them."

I ruffle his hair to thank him and grab the plates, balancing the third on my forearm until I can place it on a tray. I carry it outside, years of waitressing practice keeping it balanced, and head towards the garage.

"Melina?" I call. Moments later the raven haired woman slips out of the office and smiles. She yells something in Russian that causes Yelena to slide out from under a silver BMW, covered in black grease. Alexei appears moments later wielding a spanner.

They hound me for their orders, gratefully patting my shoulder and carrying their food away to their separate stations. Yelena disappears into the shadows with her sandwich, and her father to his desk, but Melina simply brightens and says, "(Y/N), have you heard? Natalia is visiting."

"Yes!" Alexei yells around a mouthful of bread. "Family, reunion! Grandbabies!"

Melina hisses something in their mother tongue. I laugh, and then ask if Natasha was bringing her kids, though I wasn't aware she had any.

"He means nothing of it, Natalia is focused on work at the moment. Too focused, I think. No babies. No partner."

"Tell her about her penthouse!" Alexei encourages.

Melina flaps a hand at him in irritation. "Yes, well, she has broken up with Bruce, the shy scientist from work. And then Sharon, charming field operative, also from work. And now she refuses to date. Because of work."

I chuckle nervously. "Where are you going with this?"

Melina smiles innocently. "Nowhere. What happened to your last girlfriend, again? Your father mentioned something about . . ." The look in her eyes is enough to egg me on, though the subject is one I rarely speak of these days.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I say, "Carol left to travel Europe."

"Shame," she nods sympathetically. "You don't seem bothered. Are you not looking for a relationship?"

"Not actively, but I'm sure another troublemaker will find me. I don't have a good track record of steady relationships," I admit.

"Neither does Natalia!" Alexei shouts.

"Oh!" I say. "Does she want Carol's number? Or my friend Harley, she's not looking for commitment."

Yelena snickers. Alexei frowns. Melina chuckles. "No, no, Natalia needs someone she doesn't work with, and you need someone serious, and we need grandbabies before we die, since Yelena neglects it."

I flush a bright red. "Grandb— I'm— okay, first of all, neither of us have the equipment for that—"

"Neither did Dad," Yelena pipes up, referring to the fact that she and her sister were adopted.

"Hey!"

"(Y/N)!" Peter calls, rounding the corner. "Ned's coming over to pick me up, we need to finish our physics project. Uncle Ben should be here soon, can you manage the bar until he gets here?"

I jump onto the excuse and yell back affirmation, say a quick goodbye to Melina before speed-walking back to the cafe.

Peter leaves with Ned soon after, and Ben arrives at around the same time. I move to the kitchens while he takes over serving our regulars, as he's friendlier with them than me.

I work on making more sandwiches and tapas meals until four, when my shift ends. I kiss Uncle Ben on the cheek and head home.

The smell of paprikash greets me as I unlock the door to my apartment, which I guess means that my roommate is home. I call out a hello to her and head to the shower.

I groan happily as the hot water rains down on my front. I close my eyes and lean my head back, thinking over how strange the day had been, and lose myself in a trance of relaxation.

"(Y/N/N)!" Wanda barges in. I jump and almost slip grabbing the shower curtain to cover my body as I peek out at her.

"I'm naked," I hiss.

She ignores me and holds up two clothes hangers. "Pantsuit or dress?"

I push my wet hair out of my face. "Uh, are you bar-hopping with Vision or going to a family dinner?"

"Get together with some friends," she explains. "Vis, Sam, Steve and some guy named Bucky who I'm informed we're supposed to be pretending Steve isn't in love with, do you know him?"

"Nope."

"Okay, well, he's bringing some friends, so I'm bringing you. Don't make that face, you know almost everyone."

"I don't feel like getting drunk," I complain.

"Good! You can be the designated driver. Pantsuit or dress?"

Grumbling, I tell her, "Dress."

"Okay, thanks, you wear the pantsuit, be ready by seven. May the Force be with you!"

She ducks as I throw my shampoo bottle at her. We bicker and mock and tease as I pat myself dry and she changes into the scarlet dress. While she braids her hair, I carefully slip into the navy and white striped pantsuit, and we move into her bedroom to make use of her vanity, since the sun's lowering position in the sky shone straight into the window while my room would be encased in dimness by now. I sit in the chair and she leans over me, brushing her eyelashes with delicate mascara. We fall into our normal going-out-getting-ready rhythm, periodically handing each other different brushes, comparing lipstick shades, and commenting on our days. She tells me about her brother's latest shenanigans and I make the grave mistake of commenting on Melina's attempted set-up earlier today, much to Wanda's entertainment. The two had never met but they both shared the pure ecstasy that came with matchmaking involving me.

"Do you think she's pretty?" Wanda wonders.

"I've seen photos," I shrug. "She's a redhead. Yelena says she changes hairstyles often."

"That doesn't answer my question! Pretty redhead or no?"

"They were baby photos, Wanda! I didn't have an opinion on her looks past the Wonder Woman pajamas."

She hums, and turns to draw a small heart under my left eye with her gel liner pen. "It would be nice if you wound up with her, but if you do fall madly in love with her beautiful red locks and decide to move to Washington to marry her and have her babies, I will murder you. You pay your rent on time and you're fun and please, please do not make me move back in with my brother."

"Why does everyone keep bringing up babies?" I yell.

An hour later we're pulling up to the bar in the back of a cab arguing about getting a cat. The debate of whose bathroom would host the litter tray is interrupted by Wanda spotting Vision through the window and quickly smacking my arm and hissing at me to hurry up and pay so she can sneak in and scare him. Unfortunately, I can't locate my purse inside my bag.

"(Y/N), (Y/N), go, go, go . . ."

"Wanda, Wanda, going, going, going . . . Aha!" I pay the driver and find myself being ushered inside before I can put my purse back in my bag.

Sam, a friend of Wanda's from college, ends up foiling her evil master plan by pointing her out as soon as she walks in the door. Vision, being a good sport, pretends to be startled when she yells "BOO!" in his ear. As she cackles manically before sliding into the chair beside him, I notice the only free space is by the pretty blonde woman beside a man with brown hair pulled into a bun.

"Oh, look who I dragged out with me!" Wanda exclaims, taking a sip of Vision's drink and making a grand gesture with her hands. "(Y/N)!"

I'm greeted with a chorus of hello's. I bow and grin as I sit by the woman and offer a polite smile. Steve leans over points to the brunet man. "This is Bucky, we were close as friends. As kids. We were close as friends, when we were kids."

Sam snorts into his beer.

Steve clears his throat awkwardly. "And this is his partner from work, Nat."

I get a closer inspection and my eyes widen in shock. "Natalia?"

"Her name is Natasha." Steve corrects.

"I thought her name was Natalie?" Vision frowns.

"She goes by Nat, who cares?" Sam shrugs.

"Natalia Alianovna Romanova?" Wanda yelps. "(Y/N)! You didn't tell me this was the Natalia!"

"The what? I— Do I know you two?" Natasha asks, bewildered.

"Not me!" Wanda says, and then makes a motion for zipping her lips shut.

Everyone turns to me. I chuckle nervously. "I should probably explain. Hi, I'm (Y/N), your parents want me to have your babies."

#natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff x y/n #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff oneshot #natasha romanoff fluff

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jumukus · 3 years

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A3! Translation: Tasuku Takato’s SSR [Straddle a Noble Steed] - Alpha Horseback Archery

Tasuku, Muku, Citron and Izumi joined a horseback archery trial thanks to the tickets Citron received from the neighborhood association.

Citron: Listen up, guys! I've got something good from the neighborhood association.

Izumi: Something good?

Muku: What is it, Citron-sama?

Citron: Book at this, everybody!

Itaru: You mean, "Look at this"?

Citron: Ta-dah! Four tickets to the horseback archery trial!

Izumi: Horseback archery!? You mean, the one where you ride a horse and shoot a bow?

Banri: Never knew there's a trial for that.

Citron: I'll be going on next weekend. Raise your hand if you can join!

Muku: Can I tag along? I want to try horseback archery!

Citron: I knew you'd say that, Muku! It's decided, then~.

Muku: Thank you! I hope I can hit the target with style.

Izumi: I'm sure you can, Muku-kun. You're good at horseback riding, after all.

Muku: Ehehe. I had fun riding a horse back then!

Itaru: I'll pass. I can already tell I'm going to fall from the horse.

Citron: I knew you'd say that, Itaru! It's decided, then~.

Itaru: How about you, Banri? I have a feeling you'll be good at it.

Banri: Haha, yeah, I probably can do it if I try but I have plans next weekend.

Citron: Oh, that's too bad! I wanted to see you doing horseback archery~.

Muku: Same here! Since I'm sure you will look cool doing that, I want to see it!

Izumi: There's nothing we can do since he has plans on that day. Such a shame, though, indeed.

Itaru: Not you all going, "Oh, that's too bad," when Banri could not join but said nothing when it was me. LOL.

Citron: How about you, Director?

Izumi: Huh? Me? I don't have any plans on that day…

Citron: You should join us, then! We have three people with this!

Izumi: What? I'm not really confident I can do it…

*door opens*

Tasuku: I'm home. What are you talking about?

Citron: Oh! To think you're back at this time, this must be good riddance!

Itaru: You mean, "God's guidance"?

Citron: Tasuku! Join us in horseback archery next weekend!

Tasuku: Horseback archery? I don't understand what you're talking about...

Banri: Citron got tickets to a horseback archery trial from the neighborhood association.

Muku: Since he has four tickets, including Citron-sama, Director-san and I will be joining…

Citron: The last ticket belongs to you, Tasuku!

Tasuku: Well, I don't mind. I don't have plans on that day, anyway. You'll be going too, right, Director?

Izumi: Looks like it…

Citron: In that case, the four of us will be going! I'm looking forward to it!

Citron: It's finally the day of the horseback archery trial! I'm so exited!

Muku: Me too!

Tasuku: I've already checked in at the reception. Go change your clothes at the building over there and gather here again.

Izumi: Women's dressing room is over there so let's meet up here again once we're done changing!

Tasuku: Okay.

Izumi: Wow! You all look good in that attire!

Tasuku: Do you think so? Well, that's great to hear…

The person in charge seemed to be having a hard time putting these clothes on me.

Izumi: You're tall, after all, Tasuku-san.

Citron: Oh, horseback archery attire is so cool! This is so exciting!

Muku: You also look great in that attire, Director!

Izumi: Thanks. I'm a lil bit nervous since I'm not really used to wearing traditional clothes.

Muku: Because Tasuku-san wore traditional clothes several times for plays before, you're somehow giving off this dignified vibes in that!

Citron: You look really, really confident!

Tasuku: Thanks. This time I'm wearing a Hakama, though. It's different from the ones I wore in "Die by the Sword" and "Hotel Compass".

It's a little bit hard to move around in this, but it's not like I can do something about it.

Person in charge: Everyone, we are going to start the trial now so please gather here.

Teacher: We are going to start with a horseback riding lesson. Get used to the horse you're riding today while trekking.

Izumi: Put your left foot here…okay.

Muku: What a calm and good kid. There, there.

Citron: I want to run fast! It reminds me of the long ride I took with Pochi back home!

Tasuku: You have a great posture, Citron. It makes sense since you're used to riding a horse.

Muku: The same goes for you, Tasuku-san! You look like a real samurai.

Izumi: I couldn't agree more. It's more impactful since you're wearing traditional attire now.

Teacher: Everyone in this group is talented. Are you all already used to riding horses?

Especially you. That's very impressive of you to sit up straight like that.

Tasuku: Are you referring to me?

Citron: Look at you, Tasuku! The teacher is praising you.

Muku: That's to be expected. Tasuku-san's posture is already good from the start. I think it also has something to do with your strong muscles.

Tasuku: I guess my years of experience on the stage has influenced me in some way. It has become a habit to straighten myself up.

Person in charge: Next, we're going to practice shooting a bow on the ground. This session will be split in two parts with lunch break in between.

Izumi: Whoa…! I never knew bows are quite heavy…!

Tasuku: It's pretty big in size, too. It's taller than me.

Muku: I heard Japanese-style bow is larger than the western-style one, and it can make your arrows fly farther.

Citron: It'll be hard to shoot while riding a horse!

Tasuku: Oh. I hit it.

Izumi: No way. You already hit the mark!?

Tasuku: You can say it's luck, I guess.

Citron: That's still great, though!

Muku: You're so talented, Tasuku-san! I have to do my best too!

Citron: Me too! I won't lose to you~.

Izumi: (Hehe. They seem to be having fun. I have to do my best to hit the mark as well!)

Tasuku: It's finally time. I hope we can do well, just like how we did during practice.

Citron: Tasuku, you also got praised for your archery skill, right!

Muku: While we didn't actually ride the horse during practice, you were still impressive for being able to hit the mark most of the time!

Izumi: Not only hitting the target, but quickly fitting the arrow to the bow is also difficult.

Teacher: We are going to move on to the actual horseback archery now. Try to aim for the mark over there. No need to rush.

Tasuku: No need to rush… Like this?

*shoots*

Muku: Y-You hit it!

*shoots*

Izumi: You hit it again!

Citron: Oh, would you look at that! He hit the center spots!

Teacher: It's so rare for participants to be able to do that. I don't usually let beginners do this, but… can you try running?

Tasuku: Is it really okay?

Teacher: Yes. I have a feeling you can do it.

Tasuku: I'll give it a try, then.

Muku: Whoa…! Running through with a horse while shooting an arrow… It feels like we're in a real battle!

Citron: This is true horseback archery!

Izumi: Do your best, Tasuku-san!

Tasuku: Thanks.

*shoots*

Teacher: It's a hit! Well done!

Participant A: Who is that man? He's so amazing!

Participant B: He's so good!

Participant C: So hot…!

Tasuku: ...phew.

Izumi: Great job, Tasuku-san!

CHOICE 1: That was flawless

Izumi: You hit the mark flawlessly despite running so fast like that.

Tasuku: It's actually quite the opposite. I did worse than I expected.

I could have run faster, and I could have done a better job at fixing the arrow to the bow.

Izumi: Really!? It was perfect in my eyes.

Tasuku: For me, I can't say I have shown the result of my practice enough.

Izumi: (He's really stoic…!)

CHOICE 2: It was as if I traveled back to the past.

Izumi: Seeing you shooting a bow in that attire made me feel like I traveled back to the past.

Tasuku: In that case, I might have done a better job at that if we were doing an etude set in Kamakura.

Like, let's say, while I'm on the run after kidnapping you, the daughter of the Lord… I will shoot my bow at the pursuers.

Izumi: That's a great plot!

Tasuku: ...On second thought, seeing you in that getup, I think it's more fitting to have you as a tomboy princess who ran away with me.

Izumi: A tomboy princess… But I'll go all out if it's for etude!

Tasuku: Haha. How reliable of you.

Muku: You were totally impressive, Tasuku-san!

Citron: I made the right choice inviting you here!

Tasuku: I had fun joining this trial as well. Thank you.

Muku: Today was so fun!

Tasuku: I would never try doing horseback archery if I didn't have an opportunity like this. I learned a lot.

Citron: I should offer my gratitude to the neighborhood association after this!

Izumi: Have you seen the photo we took in this attire? It came out great. See?

Muku: You're right! I want to show it to the others in the dorm.

Tasuku: Then, let's get go--.

Teacher: Hey, wait up!

Tasuku: Yes?

Teacher: Thank goodness. You're still here. I actually have a request for you.

Tasuku: What is it?

Teacher: Do you… want to try aiming for the top in horseback archery!?

Troupe Members: Come again!?

Teacher: I'm sure you can be Japan's top horseback archery athlete! Please join my team.

Tasuku: I don't think I can do that. I'm an actor.

Teacher: In that case, can you at least join the next tournament…!?

Tasuku: Even if you say that…

Teacher: Oh, right! There's an annual event called "Horseback Archery Festival".

If it's alright with you, can you take part as a guest at that event?

Tasuku: Well, I don't mind appearing as a guest…

Teacher: Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to your appearance.

Izumi: (Being invited as a guest despite being an amateur… Tasuku-san, you're way too awesome…)

#a3!#a3! translation #spring troupe #summer troupe #autumn troupe #winter troupe #itaru chigasaki #citron #muku sakisaka #banri settsu #tasuku takato

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catcze · 3 years

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Oh, Catte, my beloved... The bracelet is so beautiful. Goodness, did I cry when I took it out of the envelope. It's almost as beautiful as you are, I love it so much! I'm never ever taking this off. Oh starlight I'm so happy, you may as well have just proposed! I love you so so much, thank you💜💜💜

I'm glad Cyno is doing well for himself these days! It's not really that complex of a spell, simple transmutation really, but I'm sure he didn't want to overwhelm you. He may not talk a lot but trust me; he cares. I should write him sometime, if only so the next time an emergency arises he won't think I only remember he exists when I need his help, hehe... I'm joking of course, he's not the kind of person to care. I do still owe him a favor though. Two, now that he's gone out of his way to teach my girlfriend magic, and specifically for helping you make me this wonderful present. Send along my thanks please, but please don't mention that I said I'd write him, just in case I somehow forget to. You know me, heh..

Also I'm a little surprised to hear that name again! Collei was quite the visitor when she was here a few years ago, it's a long story, and one I doubt very much she'd want me to tell. Suffice to say she and Amber are good friends, but I'm sure she already asked you about her as soon as you mentioned Mondstadt. I'm so relieved to hear she's safe, and studying medicine no less! Tell her I'm proud of her. She'll do great things in her life.

I must admit I'm slightly bothered to hear that so many scholars accosted my poor babygirl to ask if I'd return, I'm so sorry darling. If they give you any more trouble, oh I'll come visit alright. To dispense punishment(although I'd definitely grab some food on the way as we left). Speaking of food, that's so sweet of you to offer to learn the local cuisine just for me~ you're so thoughtful, it's one of the many many things I love about you. My reputation around the school is honestly the only accomplishment you'll find though sweetheart. I wasn't really all that social there, aside from talking to the professors and scholars. I couldn't afford to procrastinate if I wanted to learn everything I could. Funny, that sounds completely unlike me, now doesn't it~ Those lectures can be tiresome at first, did they provide you with the appropriate reading materials, or are you only listening? I still have my copy of the first semester alchemy textbook--it's only about 800 pages, but they're packed to the brim with knowledge. I still reference it sometimes.

Like I mentioned though, most of my time in Sumeru was spent at the Academy or at the local restaurants. If you wanted food recommendations, those I can provide, but unfortunately I won't be of much use otherwise. Sorry cutie~

[the next page of the letter is a list of local restaurants, many with recommended dishes written next to them. There's also a fair number of heart shapes and "I love you"s doodled around the edges of the paper]

I hope you'll try at least some of those and tell me what you think. The more you talk about it honestly, the more it's beginning to grow on me. I do want to go back and visit with you, my love. I miss it, even if I don't want to admit that. It would be so much fun to sight see with you, being able to just meander aimlessly through the city, not a care in the world, and with you by my side... That sounds amazing. I'd want nothing more. Perhaps for our honeymoon~? [the last sentence of the paragraph is crossed out with a single streak of ink cutting through it]

Your photos are all amazing, darling. I just wish I had as many to send you in return, but unfortunately I don't own a camera, nor can I afford to leave the library long enough to travel to Liyue and buy one. That being said, Albedo does have one, and he already took that first photo. Darling, I'm curious, and please, *please* say no if it would bother you even slightly. If I... Perhaps wanted to take some... Pictures, just for your enjoyment~ ...would you mind if I had Albedo continue to serve as the photographer? I want my baby to be thinking of me, especially since I'm not there to pleasure you myself~💜 again, PLEASE say no if you'd have any problem with that. Or I could ask Jean if that would be better. I just want to treat my princess to some candy~

That line is going to have me up all night, I swear. I do wish I was there for you in every sense, but goodness does my heart ache for you. I miss the way you taste so much, my precious little munchkin~ you're not going to sleep at all the first night you're back in my arms, I hope you know that. I'm going to edge you so hard you'll cry for me, hehe~ I'm a little peeved you didn't take notice of my comment about punishing you! There will be ropes involved when you return to me. Just the way you always like it, cutie~ tell me, how bad do you miss me? Miss my tongue you love so much~? Don't worry baby--you'll get everything you could ever want for when you come home. I can't wait to taste you~ goodness, excuse me a moment baby... I need to scratch an itch before I finish writing this letter, hehe...~

Okay, I'm back. That was quite the itch, it just kept coming back~ that picture you sent with this letter may have helped with that... Celestia, you're so so beautiful, my rose..~ I love you so much.

Where was I... Ah yes. I'm very glad you've been eating and sleeping properly. Such a good girl you always are~💜 and don't worry; I'm taking care of myself as well. I've been becoming more adjusted to the late nights lately, since your letters often arrive around this hour(it's 11:30 right now, although up until a page ago it had been 10:15, hehe...). I don't mind it at all, since you know I love to sleep in anyway. I love reading your letters sweetheart. They truly do carry your love across the distance. I'm so happy that you're my partner. I love you so so much. I reread your letters every day, they put such a smile on my face.

Also, what's this about ideas you're having ever since I mentioned the uniform? Tell me!! Pretty please~? 💜

I'm going to call my letter to a close here, before I end up needing a bigger envelope, hehe~ I love you so much, starlight. Please take care, and I hope you're well rested when you read this. Hopefully I can put a smile on your beautiful face. I just wish I was there to see it. I love you so much, take care and write me back when you can, promise~?

Yours Always,

- Lisa 🌺💜

Milddd nsfw here muaH <33

Hi, love, I’m so happy that you like your gift! I love you very much as well— hopefully it can give you comfort on some particularly hard nights where I cannot be with you, dearest. Sort of like a reminder that although I cannot be there with you in person, you always carry a piece of my heart with you, you know?

I’ll be sure to relay your message to Cyno and Collei! They were rather surprised when they found out I was your girlfriend, haha! In a good way, of course— they’ve been great company so far.

And don’t worry about the other scholars, Lisa dear. I can handle them plenty fine. I’m sure they’ll go running if I even so much as imply that you wouldn’t be pleased with them for their behavior, my love. They wouldn’t want to mess with one of the best sorcerers to ever roam those halls, you know?

Regarding the lectures, they offered to loan me some textbooks actually, but I had to turn them down since, well, I am just an observer, and carrying so many books with me to and fro would weigh me down. Still, although I sometimes get confused while I observe, It’s such a fun and interesting experience! I can’t say I’m remembering every bit of knowledge I hear, but I’ve definitely learned at least a thing or two.

Just yesterday, there was a bit of a lull in lectures that I was attending— something about one of the scholars who had agreed to host me taking their class out to fieldwork, and I was unable to accompany them. So I took the time to check out some of the restaurants you listed for me! I went to just one of them for lunch, since I didn’t want to get too full throughout the day, and I enjoyed it very much!! I included a picture of one of the dishes you noted for me (a best seller of theirs, apparently) and I didn’t regret purchasing it at all. It was so good! In my free time, it’s one of the recipes that I hope to familiarize and bring back home to you— I think you’ll rather like it, especially since there’s no meat. Hopefully I’ll get good enough at making it that you’ll be able to savor the flavor too!

Though, I don’t mind either if you’d rather return with me next time, and we can have a dinner date here? I really like the ambiance of the place— its both romantic and private. And the view from the balcony here is absolutely magical. Or we can maybe visit a couple of the other restaurants you’ve recommended to me? I doubt that I’ll be able to try all of them this time, and being able to experience it with you would make the experience a million times better.

Also, regarding the photos you mentioned— well, I’m fine with it if you are. As long as you’re comfortable with whoever is photographing you love, then it’s perfectly alright with me. Besides, I know that we’re devoted to each other, so there’s no cause for me to be uncomfortable 💞 If you so wish to grant me such photos, I eagerly await them, love! They’re not the same as you being here, of course, but I’m sure they could help me with how much I miss you.

And ah, sending such things only makes me miss you more! Perhaps I should take a good, long rest before I come back to Mondstadt, if you plan to keep me up all night. And who says I didn’t notice your comment? Perhaps I was just teasing you by keeping quiet about it, especially if I know what’s awaiting me back home. And yes, I miss you so so much, I miss your tongue and you lips, your touch on my skin, the way you hold me and make me feel so good each and every time— Love, really, if your intention with that letter was to get me all worked up, then safe to say you’ve succeeded. My, I doubt I’m going to be getting any sleep tonight, thinking of you.

And regarding that bit about the Academy uniform… well, I might have found a local seamstress who was willing to make me a version of it, tailored to my measurements. It’s not ready quite yet, but hopefully I can send you some photographs soon 💞

By the way, love, there’s no need to have to wait up for my letters, not if you’re not getting enough sleep! I don’t mind waiting a bit for your reply as long as I know you’re sleeping on time. I worry about you as much as you worry about me, so for both your sake and mine, promise me you’ll get enough sleep? Either way, though, I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself, dearest. It makes me happy, knowing that you and the others are doing well. I love you very, very much you know? Please continue to stay safe, dearest, and know that I’m always missing you.

And, well, regarding a proper proposal, though I can’t say I haven’t thought of it before (how could I not? I can fully envision spending the rest of my life with you) I would much prefer if I were able to give you the ring and ask you in person, love. That being said, take the bracelet as a promise that I’ll return to you soon— and hopefully with a ring that I think you’ll like and a question that I plan to ask you.

All the best wishes, dearest. I love you very much 💞

—Catte 💞

#Character anon 💌 : Lisa #Kisses from Catte 🦩#Catcze.Lingerie 💦#liSA anon ily <333 please get enough rest babes!!!#muAH 💞💞#ALSO have a nice day!!!! ILYSM <33 #Alsooo regarding your other ask I'm so glad you liked the bit about the bracelet aaAA 💞👉👈

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cartermarcian · 4 years

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4Kids Korner - Season 2 - Episode 3

I'm a bit late this week because I got caught up with work and school-related dread, but now I'm back to bring you more 4Kids products! This week we have an epic trifepic: Winx Club Magazine Issue one - the castle, Kirby Right Back at Ya - Ice Kirby (DVDouble-Shot) and Kirby Right Back at Ya - Kirby Comes to Cappy Town!

Let's start by getting the smallest one out of the way. Here's Kirby Right Back at Ya - Ice Kirby (2005)

There's something I oddly like about DVDouble-Shot. Starting In 2005, the DVDouble-Shot line was introduced featuring two-Episode DVDs of 4Kids most profitable shows as a way of promoting 4Kids TV. As for the consumer, the main selling point is that you could buy them for a low price, collect and possibly trade them with your friends, kind of like Pokémon cards. I like the idea of one kid saying to the other on the playground, "hey, wanna trade your Ninja Turtles for my YuGiOh?" How successful they were, I have no idea, but they're fun and easy to review on this show. Given their small portion size, practically every DVDouble-Shot is the same. This one had the episodes "The Chill Factor" and "DeDeDe's Snow Job," in accordance with the ice theme of the disc. It also features assorted promos for then-current and upcoming 4Kids shows identical to those seen in the 4Kids TV September demo disc (which I will hopefully review some time in the future.) Before we move on, though there's one little thing I want to point out about the box art. You can't see it in the photos I've provided, but the ice monster on the cover is far more pixelated than Kirby, if you look closely at it, so it appears to me that they lifted it right out of the episode and placed it on the cover. I guess that's just what happens when no official art of a character exists for your graphic designers to use...

Now that we have that one out of the way, let's talk about the stars of today's episode, which actually turned out to have much more historical value than most of the other stuff in my collection. So say hello to the Winx Club Magazine Premiere Issue, The Castle (2005)

This is a very special addition to my collection not only because it's part of what I consider to be 4Kids' absolute peak year, but since the book was presumably printed in January of 2005, it means this was one of the first pieces of of merchandise to feature the now-famous 4Kids TV logo. Heck it might have even been printed before then. As for the book itself, it's quite cute as it features everything an 8-11 year old girl wanting to be a hip and trendy 2000s teenager could want, and contains surprisingly few ads for Winx Club merch. And even more adorable, is the publisher's attempts to fit that description using words like "slammin'" in sentences. I call it a magazine, but it's really more dedicated to the comic included, "The Castle," which I would have read, but I needed to get some sleep the day I read it, so I skimmed the book's numerous activities, instead. But for those still interested, the comic is a retelling of Bloom's enrollment in Alfea, with original art that's pretty accurate to the actual show. But the book's real allure is the activities. Like the free trading card you'll see in the photo above. It even comes with a full-page description of what a trading card game is, making reference to YuGiOh in the process, which I thought was funny since 4Kids owned that, and also because it heavily implies that only boys play YuGiOh when the show itself has many female duelists. After that, you have a faux interview with Bloom taken from the perspective of a fellow Alfea Student. What I remember most clearly about that, is that Bloom says she listens to top 40's, which made me think "man, she's got some trash music taste," even though I, myself have said on multiple occasions off of tumblr that I listen to basically everything. Also included on the magazine are a paper fortune-telling toy, a best friend diary which includes a "secret crush" slot to fill in, a page for writing down predictions about the reader's future, and even a personality test which assigns your traits to a type of flower, as suggested by Flora on the page. The funny thing about this is that one question asks for the reader's favorite kind of movie, and one of the options is "anime everything," which I thought was funny since anime was just starting to get big at that time in America, and the online anime community was just starting to grow. Finally, on the last page, probably the most creative of all, is a step-by-step slumber party plan by Musa, which details inviting everyone over, having them show up dressed as their favorite popstar (like Brittany Spears, for example) and bring their favorite CD from said popstar, then taking turns playing them and talking about them. It sounds quite fun, and it made me smile imagining all the little kids who tried this. That's exactly what I think is awesome about children's entertainment: it makes them happy and builds their imagination. So that's the Winx Club Magazine, a really good buy, but I must admit they used the same art of the girls more than once on a few occasions, and also wrote in a plot hole in the interview with Bloom, where she says she discovered her powers as a child, but in the show she unlocks them at her current age when saving Stella from the first monsters of the series. So it may have a couple flukes, but still quite enjoyable.

And last, but never least, it's time for Kirby Right Back at Ya: Kirby Comes to Dream Land (2002)

This one is also historically significant for two reasons. One is that it was the very first release of one of the more famous non-Pokémon/YuGiOh shows 4Kids had to offer, but it also played a part in promoting the very launch of the Fox Box, as you'll see on the box art. This disc may only have the first three episodes of the show, but it super makes up for it with a plethora of special features, more than any of the DVDs I currently own, and that they strangely enough don't tell you about on the box. And speaking of the box, though you might not see it, the episode descriptions on the back are written entirely in comic sans. Yeah, it's clear to see 4Kids wasn't quite as sharp as they would be in the next few years... and the DVD menus are also written entirely in this font. But that doesn't take away from the outstanding value. much like the Fright to the Finish DVD, this one's special features are split between two menus. For this one, there's "More Kirby" and "Added Attractions," which is the far superior one, but more on that in a minute. The More Kirby menu features a character gallary telling you about the main cast, set to music from the show. Then there's "Kirbyoke," which is there to teach the kids the words to the theme song. And finally, we have a preview for the next DVD in the series, which at that point hadn't a proper name, so Mike Pollock's voice just refers to it as "Kirby Right Back at Ya Volume 2." Then, in the "Added Attractions" menu, we have a promo for Cubix - Robots for Everyone's first DVD release, a short promo for the newly-launched FoxBox.TV website, and the star of this review by far, "What's Inside The Fox Box?!" This incredible 14 minute long promo (which you can find on Youtube, by the way,) previews every single show in the Fox Box's initial lineup as a way of hyping up the network for it's September 2002 launch. Well, kind of... You see, 4Kids made multi-minute promos for their own productions, complete with plot synopses by Mike Pollock and others and theme songs for the shows. Meanwhile, Stargate Infinity, a third-party show, only got a promo featuring still images of the main cast, a paper-thin explanation of the plot and no opening, all clocking in at under a minute. So, yeah, pretty lame move on 4Kids part, but at least we get to see HD footage of 4Kids lost Ultraman Tiga dub. Ultimately, it's a really fun promo from 4Kids' very beginnings as a dedicated children's entertainment company, even though it uses some uncut clips of guns in Fighting Foodons since the dub wasn't finished at that point. One last thing to point out: the promo for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (which hadn't even started production at the time,) features an unused theme song demo for the series which also made it's way onto the illusive Fox Box CD. So there you have it, one of the DVDs that started it all. Thanks for reading about it, as well as my other items this week. I will be back with more next week, so hang in there, and I'll see you all next time. Take care!

#4Kids #4Kids TV #4Kids Anime #4Kids Dub #4Kids Entertainment #Kirby #Kirby Right Back at Ya #Kirby of the Stars #Winx Club #Books #Fox Box #DVDs #Cartoons

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sally-mun · 4 years

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Ever met a celebrity or anybody famous? The most famous person I've met was a former pro boxer, by the name of Ray 'Boom-Boom' Mancini at a charity dinner at the banquet center I worked at 4 years ago. Nicest man you'd ever meet and he even sent me a signed autograph picture in the mail. I'm a Star Trek fan and I'd love to meet the cast of TNG, but autographs and conventions are so expensive. Of course there's the chance you could catch one of them on a bad day and get the brunt of it

If we’re including conventions, then yeah I’ve met several famous people before. I’ve met and gotten autographs and/or selfies from voice actors and screen actors, and I’ve occasionally met some artists too! Outside of that, though, I can’t really say I have. Even my best and most extensive meeting was still at a convention. You could even argue that Mario Marathon was kind of a convention in a sense, albeit a super limited one!

I wasn’t sure if I should include a list or not, so as a compromise I’m going to do so below a cut!

Voice Actors:

Sonny Strait (voice of Krillin) -- Got to spend basically an entire day with him! Unexpectedly encountered him at a convention waaaay way back in the day and he just kind of adopted me and the other handful of fans that were hanging around. He gave us all free DBZ CCG t-shirts, let us sit in the DBZ hummer, and signed anything we put in front of him!

Christopher Sabat (voice of Vegeta) -- I brought him a set of cookies made to look like dragon balls, and brought my favorite Vegeta card that I’d been saving for something like 17 years or so on the off-chance I could ever get it signed. He was so moved and impressed that he gave me two other autographs for free~

Todd Haberkorn (voice of Jaco) -- This was the same convention where I got to meet Chris Sabat, and I also brought him a box of cookies. He was so excited that he dug into them right then and there, and then when signing my card he even wrote “Thanks for the galactic cookies!”

Chuck Huber (voice of Android 17/Hiei) -- I’ve gotten autographs from him a couple of times for different characters. One of the items I got signed was one of the original Hiei action figures back when Yu Yu Hakusho first debuted in the US. He was impressed that I had it at all, let alone that it was in the box. (Amusingly, the only reason I did was because I had one previous to it that was out of the box on display and whose sword had broken. I got a new one intending to replace it, but just never opened it.)

Chris Rager (voice of Mr. Satan) -- SUCH a nice guy! We had a nice little chat and I offered him some dragon ball cookies I’d been handing out that day. He signed my trading card and took a selfie with me! I caught him at a panel where he told some absolutely amazing behind-the-scenes stories that I still tell to other people to this day.

Chris Cason (voice of Tien) -- Not much to say about this encounter, I didn’t get to say much more than a hello and thank you before he had to go. I’d missed the official signing session and just happened to catch him after a panel.

Team Four Star -- I catch these guys every opportunity I can manage, and every time I bring them some DBZ-themed treat. I refer to myself as “Snack Girl” when I come to get autographs, and at my last encounter Lanipator mentioned that I looked familiar when I came to the table, so I guess I’m making an impact! I have several stories concerning these guys, way too many to list here.

Little Kuriboh (YGOA voice of Merik, DBZA voice of Freeza) -- Amusingly I met him the time I was at a convention in my Piccolo costume, and that ended up being a whole conversation by itself. It then immediately turned into a conversation about Fallout because someone had brought him some New Vegas playing cards, lol. He was enamored with the trading card I had brought him to sign, and we had a discussion about a fund raiser he’d hosted to raise money for disaster relief where I’d won one of the auctions he’d held.

Kevin Conroy (voice of Batman) -- I found out very late that he was going to be in town, like maybe a week or two before, and dropped EVERYTHING to be able to meet him. When I was in line for an autograph I was so worked up that I kept getting light headed and having heart palpitations. By the time I actually made it to the table I was so starstruck that I could barely say anything. I’m pretty sure I said “I can’t believe you’re here” (??? wtf past-me) and something about him being so talented. He thanked me and didn’t really say much. I had also paid for a photo with him, and in the photo you can see my hand gripping the side of my leg REALLY tightly because I had a very strong instinct to hug him and I WAS NOT ABOUT TO BE THAT FANGIRL.

Charles Martinet (voice of most of the Mario cast) -- Holy shit, this man is playful! He was an absolute delight to talk to, and even just to watch with other people while I was in line. He was very open to whatever sorts of fan requests each person had and was just so warm and gracious with each person that came up. I mostly just wanted to shake his hand and tell him that Mario games basically set me up for the person I grew up to be today. The thing that amused me the most is that if you had him autograph one of the prints at the table, which had all the Mario characters on it, he’d do the voices of each character while doodling little word balloons for them~

Screen Actors:

John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who/Torchwood) -- This was one of the first times I’d gone to a convention specifically to meet an actor. He was a lot of fun and did his best to be chatty, but his handlers were kind of hurrying people along. He was especially tickled by my name (I guess he doesn’t sign too many autographs made out to “Leda”), and he even signed a second item that we happened to have for free!

Cary Elwes (Wesley in The Princess Bride, among other things) -- This was another one of those moments where the weight of just WHO I was meeting got to me and I completely lost my voice. I think I said something about having grown up watching Princess Bride ever since I was a little kid?? I honestly don’t remember what I said, it’s kind of a blur. All I know is that I was so struck by the moment that I didn’t even remember to say that I also love him in the Saw movies.

Billy Boyd (Pippin in Lord of the Rings) -- Not a lot I can say about this one because it was a very fast-paced, conveyor belt sort of affair. We exchanged greetings and he thanked us very much for coming out to see him, and we all agreed that Pippin is totes the best hobbit.

Robin Lord Taylor (Penguin in Gotham) -- One of my favorite interactions meeting a celebrity, for sure! He was actually really interested in knowing about -me-, which completely threw me off-guard. He wanted to know where I was from and what I did for a living, and when I said I was a manager at Spencer’s he got really excited and squeaked “I LOVE Spencer’s!” While he was signing my doll I explained that Penguin is by far my family’s favorite character in Gotham and that we had a joke where, anytime the show switches back to him, we say “Meanwhile, with the REAL main character...” He got a big kick out of that~

Khary Payton (King Ezekiel in The Walking Dead) -- So I don’t watch a huge amount of Walking Dead, but I watch enough that I wanted to come along when my mom went to go get an autograph from him for my brother. He’s definitely the friendliest celebrity I’ve encountered -- so much so that he wouldn’t stay behind the table! He spent the entire time in FRONT of the table so he could hug every single person that came to see him! It was a nice strong hug, too, and he was just so welcoming and pleasant. I told him that, if I had to choose one of the communities in The Walking Dead, I’d absolutely choose The Kingdom. He threw his hands up to his sides and said dramatically, “You will always have a place in my kingdom!”

Penn & Teller -- This year my mom took me on a surprise trip to Las Vegas, and while we were there we got to see Penn & Teller perform, which has always been a dream of mine! After the show they came out into the lobby and they did autographs and selfies with anyone that wanted one, and I got to meet them each. It was a little disarming hearing Teller talk, and Penn was as funny as ever because he’d loudly comment whenever someone’s phone wasn’t working. During this trip I also had my Boris plushie as my “traveling doll” and asked if they’d take pictures with him as well, which they both obliged. Teller seemed particularly amused by Boris.

James Rolfe (the Angry Video Game Nerd) -- So I actually have kind of a long history with him, which originated with me contacting the show to donate a fairly odd peripheral accessory. I given a green light and provided an address, and since I was going to be mailing him anyway, I basically just got a big box and threw in any video game related stuff that I didn’t want anymore and didn’t feel like putting the effort into selling. It ended up being a HUGE box, so much so that I included an inventory list to make sure he didn’t accidentally throw something away. To my surprise he actually mailed me back an autographed AVGN print thanking me for the donations! I thought that’d be the end of it, but he’s actually since featured that peripheral several times on the show, and even included an Easter egg that I asked for twice! This year I got to meet him at Too Many Games and introduced myself as the one that sent the item in. He mentioned that they had a lot of fun messing with it.

Mario Marathon team -- I’m known as one of the regulars since I’ve been around since the first year, and a couple of years ago I was actually invited to the marathon itself as a player! It’s definitely one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and I only wish I could do it all over again! Everyone was just... wonderful~ I was there for several days so there’s obviously way too many stories to tell, but at least in this case you can always go watch the videos on Twitch.

Artists:

Steven Butler -- This was particularly amusing because I was the one that caught him by surprise. I happened to be making my way through the Artist Alley when I realized he was there, and since no one was at the table at the time I went over to talk to him. We had an awesomely long chat about his work (I was going through a sample book on the table) and his time drawing for the Sonic comics. He tried to bring it up as a talking point, and I told him “I know, I own some of your pages!” which REALLY threw him for a loop! He showed me some art for a new Sonic-style story he’s been working on, and I completely fell in love with a character that was clearly inspired by Sally (and I’m not just assuming, he confirmed as much). I then started talking about @fini-mun and how it’s only a shame he couldn’t meet Deebs too, and was talking about Deebs’ history with art and almost getting recruited to be in the Archie art stable as well and how they now do art streams. He was particularly interested in the streams, and I was like “Oh yeah, that’s actually why they aren’t here now, they have a stream today!” so he gave me a free print to pass along to Deebs as a show of interest and support!

Veronica Vera (from the Not Enough Rings comic) -- This was another chance encounter in Artist Alley. I was just kind of poking around to see everyone’s work, and I realized I recognized the comic she was selling. I commented that I loved that comic, and she said she was selling hardcover copies of the entire series. I love the comic and I wanted to show my support, so I bought a book and she signed the inside cover! Unfortunately Oliver Bareham wasn’t there at the time, so no autograph from him. Maybe one day if I’m incredibly lucky, I suppose.

Rich Koslowski -- This was at one of my very first conventions ever. He was an inker of the Sonic comics at the time, and I was only.... 12, I think? I mostly was just excited to be meeting someone that works on Sonic stuff, and I can’t remember much about the encounter aside from just babbling about liking Sonic. I remember him being very kind.

And unfortunately... Ken Penders -- This was at the same convention I just mentioned with Koslowski. As stated above I was only 12, and I was just excited to meet someone who works on Sonic stuff. I believe I was there because of a post on Archie’s Sonic website. Anyway what strikes me as the most surprising about this encounter is how -normal- it all was, at least as far as I remember it. I’ve heard some horror stories of Penders being horrible to fans at conventions, but at least way back at this time (like 1997 or so), he was passing for a normal human. He didn’t say anything mean to me (that I noticed), and he actually gave me some free Sonic loot, which I can’t imagine him ever doing nowadays. I still have the comic book he signed, and I legit consider burning it on a regular basis.

OKAY this ended up way longer that I thought it would. I think even -I- forgot how many people I’ve met before. If I think of anyone else I’ll add it to the list later!

#sheesh this took me like an hour #magnumthecreator001

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topicprinter · 5 years

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I'm one of those people who has followed this sub a long time but have had a hard time getting started because of fear of failure. I just decided to go for it and accept that I'm fumbling through this and not everything will be perfect. So yesterday, I made my goal of making at least $1 online this year lol. My subscription box is launched and so far I have 5 sales. I know it's nothing so far but I'm damned proud of myself for starting and now to figure out what is next! And I know, I know, subscription boxes... but it makes sense for my audience and I'm having a lot of fun with the subscription model!What I've Done So Far:Planned out products for the first 6 boxes. I sourced them on Etsy, Alibaba, and some I will make myselfBought samples from the suppliers to use for pictures, and checked with them on bulk pricingBuilt a website. I decided to do Wordpress with Woocommerce Subscriptions because I've made other websites before on WordPress and I like the flexibility I will have compared to some of the pre-built packages for subscription sites. I spent $50 on the Shoptimizer theme because it is very fast. I learned that fast is most important when I bought a slow theme for my last project. So my website loads fast, I can use Elementor to design the pages, and I have the flexibility to add to my shop over time if I decide to sell more products. I'm using PayPal for payments.Built an audience from scratch. I feel like most guides are for people who already have an audience in some capacity, but I had absolutely ZERO, so the following are steps I took to make something out of nothing and with no experience! Hell, I had never even used Instagram before.Instagram setup and strategy: I built up my Instagram page to about 500 followers. Every day I followed and liked a few pictures based on hashtags in my niche and most people followed me back. Instead of creating content for posting to my account, I picked a theme and scoured Instagram for photos that fit that theme. Then I reposted with credit back to the original authors, while adding a graphic that explained the theme and also promoted my box.Facebook setup and strategy: I setup a Facebook page but also a Facebook group. I set up the group around the same theme I had for my Instagram posts and posted similar content, and encouraged others to post too. I joined about 30 existing Facebook groups where my target audience was. Every time someone posted something that fit with my theme, I responded saying "I love this, you should post it in this other group too!", since creating new posts to advertise another group wasn't allowed. My group is up to about 150 members.Ran a contest to collect email addresses. I used King Sumo to incentivize and track people who were signing up to win free boxes. I collected about 300 email addresses from this, plus I got about 100 likes on Facebook and 50 Twitter followers, which I liked because it looked pretty lame having like 2 followers on each before. It looks slightly more legit now. I kind of thought this would be more successful, but looking back I think it wasn't a great match for my audience. They don't really have email addresses of people they know with the same interest they can refer. So I should have figured out a way to promote this better through influencers on social media.Partnered with a nonprofit. I like supporting nonprofits anyways, and it's a good way to reach out to my audience. I gave a small donation to a nonprofit in my niche and offered them 10% profits on my first box, and they threw up some advertisements on their Insta and FB accounts. That's where I got about 200 of the email sign ups.Now at this point I was kinda discouraged because I had 300 emails and I knew I needed more like 3,000. I had reached out to some other influencers in my niche but not gotten a response. I think it was because I didn't actually have a product yet. I was stalling because of lack of motivation to be honest. So I just said fuck it, I'll move forward with what I have. I can test to see if anyone buys what I've got so far, and set aside some free boxes to send to YouTubers for unboxing videos later, so that maybe the second box would get more traction.I sent out to my email list the link to pre-orders for the first box (I said I would ship in December so I have a little more time). I posted to my Instagram and Facebook groups the same. Immediately I got 5 purchases! This made me feel much better, since I hadn't really been able to validate yet if people would purchase it at that price. The price of the box is going to be $35 per month, but since this is a pre-subscribe I decided to put it on sale for $29.99. So on this first box I'm only making $6-8 per box, but the margin will be better later on, especially when I can scale it and get better bulk pricing. I've only spent about $200 so far to get this started, which includes setting up the website and ordering samples.Now here's where I would love some help and advice:I've got a month to try to sell more of my pre-order boxes and I'm not sure what the best way to market/advertise would be. My long term strategy will be to send this first box to YouTubers, because that's where the influencers in this niche seem to be. Also SEO and content marketing seems like it would work quite well for this niche, but it will take me some time to work on that since I've never done it before and it will take time to put together good content.More about my audience:There's probably 30-50 Facebook groups with my exact audience, some of the bigger ones have 50,000+ members. I've been a little stumped on how to reach them because advertising in these groups is strictly not allowed. I wish I could create Facebook ads targeted at exactly these people, but I don't think there is a way.There are no blogs in my niche. Literally none lol.There are some popular YouTubers in this niche. The top 2 have 250,000 subscribers each. This is why I feel like giving them free boxes must be the best way to go.There are a few Instagram accounts with large followings, but not many. The top 3 have about 100,000 followers, then there's a bunch of smaller ones with about 10,000 followers. I should send out some boxes to them too.There's a decent number of nonprofits that are followed by people in this niche, so I plan to feature one nonprofit per box and leverage their audiences.I'd like to try paid advertising (especially Facebook) but I don't really know what kind of $$ I have to put in here to test to see how well it works. If anyone has a really good guide they would recommend, that would be really helpful!Any and all advice welcomed! I didn't post my niche or website for privacy, but I'm happy to PM it to you.It's been an amazing learning experience for me since I didn't know anything about starting a business or marketing when I started. But of course, the most important thing I learned was to get past my fears and just get started, and just show up!

#/r/entrepreneur #reddit

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abiteofnat · 6 years

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SLOWLY LEARNING THAT YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL...

Because when luck suddenly strikes, it strikes in the form of a lot of free food and a couple hangovers at 5pm. I took those headaches gladly as they meant we took advantage of a good time when it presents itself, and given that nearly everything I ate/drank this weekend involved sugar, carbs and booze I’m really proud of the fact we let no bite go unbitten. So what on earth was I up to besides ruining my skin and healthy arteries, you ask?

WELL. I lived my dream foodie weekend. I’m still pinching myself. And in blatant transparency, it’s because it was all. fo. free. Not a penny spent except to go see a movie and indulge in my favorite fall-time beer, and to buy a hat for one of the events because my hair was *humid* and felt hats are VERY fashionable right now... or so Instagram tells me. Now, there’s never any issue with paying for experiences that make you happy, because literally everyone who reads this blog knows that I lack any sense of saying “no” to my stomach and a good time involving food. If it’s financially feasible, do it, fuck it, you’re on the Earth for a LIMITED TIME ONLY. But... I also like living a life of pretend luxury sometimes, when luck should have my back. Disney gave me such high expectations as a kid.

But here we go! Starting off on Saturday, I got to round up some of my favorite ladies and our favorite men for ping pong, mimosas, and Eggs Benedict PIZZA thanks to Ace Bounce! My sorority group that’s lasted past the post-grad blues is a core group of (mostly) PR women who share a love of beautifully crafted cocktails and a dope weekend ambiance, so we tend to tag each other in EVERY SINGLE giveaway on social media that offers a chance to experience either of those hobbies. Beautifully crafted cocktails, you may ask, are indeed a hobby. The algorithm behind the perfect Instagram photo involves time getting ready, time securing the location, stalking the menu for the right option that will take the best photo, and of course finding the right lighting to execute said photo. Yes, you’re rolling your eyes, I can feel it. But that’s the reality behind the science of why we love to live in Instagram world; it’s fun when people do all of that for us, isn’t it?

So, back to Ace Bounce. They found my comment on Facebook buried amidst the rest in a contest to win FREE BRUNCH!!! and somehow, I won FREE BRUNCH!!! I almost fell out of my chair at work because these things... they do not happen to me. Warning: I’m not going to be chill this post; not at all.

My group of seven showed up at noon on Saturday for two hours of debauchery, and after living right near the Ace Bounce in Shoreditch (London) during it’s opening I had so many questions what this one in Chicago would be like. Seeing as the one in London was the typical basement-style bar with men in their navy suits drinking endless beers after work while playing polite games of ping pong, I imagined bottomless brunch might be a bit... different. To my enjoyment, the atmosphere was incredible and the design was really brilliantly done! With lots of dark leather, strange zoo-like details, exposed mint green brick, and some delicious neon signs suggesting naughty things I was sold on the environment. And don’t forget the many, many ping pong tables! As I tried to prove to Eric that I AM talented at ping pong, very attentive waiters came around with the start to bottomless mimosas poured in very Gatsby-esque glasses for us to get some game-time courage from.

The mimosas were wonderful, the ping was being ponged, and then there was time for food! Carts of luscious little buffet-style things came around for the second half of brunch, once everyone was a little more spirited and awake, and we filled our plates with a very hearty variety of food. My plate included mac & cheese (I chose to ignore the brisket on top since it didn’t touch my spoonful), breakfast potatoes with sour cream and chives, coconut shrimp, little donuts, and EGGS BENEDICT PIZZA. This pizza stole the show for me. It had a thin crust topped with eggs, spinach, cheese, and hollandaise sauce strewn about. Holy fuck, between that and the mac & cheese I was in heaven.

That night, once the mimosa headache set in and Eric and I were done handling my energetic terror of a dog who literally cannot get close enough to Eric without suffocating him, we went to my favorite movie theater in Evanston to see “A Simple Favor” starring my queen, Blake Lively. Anna Kendrick didn’t even strike a match next to her. Blake. is. Everything.

ONTO THE NEXT! Sunday was the event I still can’t believe I was so lucky to attend- Chicago Gourmet. Yep, the biggest foodie event in Chicago that costs an arm and a leg to go to if you want access to all the yums! Since my entire Instagram feed is comprised of foodie accounts that have reached a wayyyy bigger following than mine, I've dreamed of attending this event for years and just never saw it... happening. I think honestly, I didn’t want to allow myself to go and feel like a fraud for not being top tier enough. Social media gets to us that way! But when Brett Firdman of @hertastylife announced I won the tickets I entered for weeks ago, in her partnership with Country Financial, I freaked. When the tickets arrived in my email, I screamed and woke Eric up and he didn’t care AT ALL until it was 10am the next morning and he knew he was going with. He understands why it was such a big deal now!

Sunday we both woke up pretty jazzed to get the day started, and then after a trip to Walgreens for blister Band-Aids and a trip to Staples to print the tickets out we got ready, chugged some cold brew, and headed out the door. Then in transit, I realized I forgot the tickets at home. After very quietly admitting my mistake and expecting Eric to lose his mind from hunger, he instead proved to be the best boyfriend ever and did not roll his eyes when we had to go to another Staples to print the tickets. Thank goodness for Staples!

Finally, it was time to enter the fantasy land and I was actually kind of nervous! I didn’t know what to expect, what to eat, what was worth it, and what kind of people would be there! Walking in they hand you a wine glass and a plate with your swag, and you just LOAD THAT SUCKER UP. The wine flowed endlessly from the nicest suppliers ever, the plate was suddenly full of smaller places featuring Indian delights and tiramisu and sushi and pasta and sooo much goodness. Part of me wishes I had paid closer attention to what I was eating from where, but I think part of the fun of this event is just enjoying everything in the moment and then seeing what you look back on fondly to find again. I’d eat the curry sauces topping all of the little plates all over again, RIGHT NOW.

We really did not waste any time eating and drinking everything, from brightly colored cocktails to the deepest red wines, and even though it rained a little being stuck under a tent with endless wine and my love until it passed seemed to good to be true.

The entire aesthetic of the event was intriguing; there were people in cute fall sweaters and jeans and dresses and expensive little booties (not like mine, lol) and there were also people in running clothes and what could pass for pajamas. Since it’s an outdoor festival in the fall, in the middle of Millennium Park, it’s understandable that one would want to be cozy. But it was really cool to see people just enjoying themselves and their endless wine on a Sunday, comfortable and sharing good times with friends! I think the lesson learned for next year (tickets ARE worth the price) is wear shoes that can get a little dirty, expect some lines but know it’s worth it, and go on a Saturday so it can be a longggg day of really savoring every bite. We stayed the perfect amount of time since it was a Sunday and rainy, but sit me in a chair with wine and I can stay all day!

So was it as magical as Instagramland makes it all seem? Indeed it was. I felt like a kid at... you guessed it, Disney. Reference my high expectation meter earlier; Chicago Gourmet really did blow me and my Prince Eric out of the water. I’ll stop.

I want to repeat I feel beyond lucky to have won access to both these events this weekend, so the biggest thanks goes to Ace Bounce and Brett / Country Financial. I’m always counting my blessings that I’m part of Chicago’s food scene, and weekends like this just keep confirming Chicago will have my heart forever and ever. You can’t get bored here!

Until next time, Happy Eating!

-Natalie

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duanecbrooks · 7 years

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On Not-At-All-Sloppy Seconds Now that you know what are my all-time favorite literary offerings, I'll fill you in on what is my all-time second-favorite literary work--and keep in mind when you get wind of same, as you did when you got wind of all my all-time favorites, that I, as I've said before, am and throughout my adult life have been a card-carrying geek a la Meghan McCain. My all-time second-most-cherished literary work is...again, a tie, here between that bitchin'-hot-blonde Goldfinger chick Shirley Eaton's personal/professional memoir Golden Girl and the Playboy Magazine darling Vikki LaMotta's ("with" Thomas Hauser) memoir Knockout!: The Sexy, Violent, Extraordinary Life of Vikki LaMotta. I should say here that, in coming to said decision concerning these books, there was, as always when compiling these rankings, a hell of a lot that I had to overcome. In the case of Eaton's tome there was at first my deep and long-standing resentment of aesthetes grabbing to their bosoms and swooning over anything and everything British, of those who (so they profess) admire Quality--whatever that is--gushing and cooing over every single solitary scrap the Brits come up with. Yet after careful reflection I've come to fully realize that my admiration of--indeed, my love for--Golden Girl transcends the usual if-it's-British-it-must-be-good dogma. In the case of LaMotta's book there was at first the suspicion that my intensely strong favoring of it was based not so much on the merit of the tome itself but on the circumstances surrounding it--the aforementioned tome was never, ever the subject of any politically-correct negative reaction or, indeed, any reaction at all, thus, for me, it had approval; LaMotta herself had no genuine professional cachet, her sole claims to fame being 1) she was Playboy Magazine's first middle-aged pictorial and 2) the Playboy Magazine issue in which she appeared was and to this day remains said publication's highest seller among women, the said facts concerning her giving her, to me, a fiercely enticing air of independence and individuality. Yet upon careful pondering I've come to the full realization that I dig LaMotta's tome because of the book itself, not because of any external facets of that tome or of its author. Having covered all that, I shall now detail just why the aforementioned books rate so highly with me. .Neither of their authors, at any time in their tomes, make any great claims regarding themselves or their books. While Eaton freely bows to the fact that it is her role in Goldfinger that has provided her with cinematic immortality ("I am the girl covered in gold paint in Goldfinger and, in a sense, I always will be...Every week I still receive fan letters from round the globe and although the writers mention the many other film roles I have played, the part they most often refer to is the Jill Masterson cameo in Goldfinger. There clearly is something about that image that has struck a chord with...women as well as men"), never, ever in her tome does she thump her chest, does she indulge in grandstanding concerning the part that, as she herself concedes, put her on the cultural map. And LaMotta, for her part, while she freely recounted the impact that her Playboy Magazine spread had (among other things, one woman wrote to her saying: "Our exercise instructor put a photo of you on the bulletin board as a goal to work toward"; a Niagara Falls high-school senior sent her an invitation to his then-upcoming prom), you easily get the sense that she was sincerely proud of the impact that her pictorial had, that she was genuinely pleased that she inspired others, not just that she dug calling attention to herself (I should say here that I'm referencing LaMotta in the past tense because, alas, she died in 2005). .The prose style of both books is consistently intelligent and sensitive. No matter where you turn in either tome, you quickly see that both were turned out by women of obvious depth and dimension, by girls of considerable maturity and considerable spirit who know (in LaMotta's case, unfortunately, knew) how to express themselves and are in no sense bimbos. At the end of both books, you feel uplifted by having spent time with fully rounded, fully centered females who, happily, have marvelous insight and marvelous perspective regarding their lives. .Both of our authors have led greatly individualistic lives. Eaton in her tome unashamedly tells of her decision to retire at 32, making her the youngest celebrity/entertainment adult to do so (she ingratiatingly and intelligently relates her post-showbiz doings, which includes being good buddies with her former co-star's successor as 007, Roger Moore, and his wife Luisa and having built and moving to, with her husband, this glorious French palace, which they called "Rose Grange," which was "the French equivalent to the name of our family house in Hertfordshire 'Rose Barn'"; also: judging by the various contemporary photos of her, including an especially mouth-watering one of her wearing a black leotard, matching fishnet stockings, and in her bare feet, she's still one damned sexy dish) and LaMotta in her own book not only told of the fact that after she did her layout she turned down literally all offers to do films, including a particularly tempting offer from Home Box Office which she wound up saying no to because of the script's excessive (for her) nudity, but disclosed her feelings about aging ("I'm not a fifty-seven-year-old woman with dreams of being thirty again. I'm a fifty-seven-year-old woman trying to act fifty-seven...[L]ook at a baby; any baby. We all start out knowing nothing and we learn") and about Being Recognized ("[W]hen [myself and my admirers are] done, if they smile and say, 'I can't wait to tell my husband I met you' or 'Wait till I tell the guys at the bowling alley,' I feel that both of us have lived a shade better"). And both of our memoirists conclude in grand fashion. Eaton at the conclusion of her tome answers the question of whether of not she'd like to go back into acting by asserting that she'd say: "I'm contemplating two offers at the moment. If they are interesting or fun, I will accept them, as now all my doors are open," And after coming out with this quite humorous saying referencing her world-famous cameo--"James Bond never dies and neither does gold paint!"--her absolute final words are her quoting this rather lovely poem. "There is nothing as sweet as promise, What is to come before it comes. The dream, the idea, is rich with pleasure, It has no end that we can measure." And LaMotta's absolute final words genuinely melt the heart: "Life is wonderful. I want to live it." The book itself ended with these mega-moving comments from LaMotta's surviving son Harrison: "I'll always miss [LaMotta]...My mother was full of life and she taught me to enjoy life. I love the fact that I never saw her talk down to or disrespect anyone. And even in her seventies, she was still a knockout." It was Meryl Streep who, upon being awarded for Lifetime Achievement during the Golden Globe Awards telecast, concluded her legendary acceptance speech by quoting "my friend, the dear, departed Princess Lela [Carrie Fisher, of course]": "Take your broken heart, make it into art." Shirley Eaton and Vikki LaMotta both took their hearts, which in their pasts were broken--the former's by her beloved husband lingering death due to cancer, the latter's first by the vicious beatings she was forced to endure at the hands of her father, then, much, much later, by the also-vicious beatings she was forced to endure at the hands of her boxer husband Jake--and turned them into not art but often incisive, frequently touching, always stylish autobiographies. And it is we readers who should fervently thank them for having done so.

#Meghan McCain #goldfinger #shirley eaton #Golden Girl #playboy magazine #vikki lamotta #Knockout!: The Sexy #jill masterson #cameo #Meryl Streep #the golden globe awards #acceptance speech

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