#when the company already struggles with budget issues

[waheelawhisperer]

Never played a second of Amity Arena, but I did notice a bit of that annoying Recent Franchise Thing (also seen in old & Disney!EU Star Wars) where major story beats get contextualized in spinoff material (like those books starring Neo, the caffeine team, etc) as opposed to the actual work. Friggin' mystery box mentality.

It's fine, endless repetitions of the same Little-based gag, Jaune Manpain Moment #247382, and two Justice League crossover movies no one wanted are more important than developing the setting and providing a villain's backstory

That said, this is not a new problem. The inability to fit basic worldbuilding into the show proper stretches back to at least whatever part of the Poser era introduced World of Remnant and never really improved. We've always had important stuff revealed on Twitter, or at cons, or in interviews or whatever. Sadly, much like RWBY's other issues, I don't think that's going to change anytime soon

#I will never understand the decision to make an entire volume full of brand new assets they can't feasibly reuse #when the company already struggles with budget issues #rwby

[strongsassysexysloane]

What You Deserve

Sum: Things get complicated when a case turns into a weekend away. Alcohol is consumed and flirtatious comments leads to...

⚠️ - Sex is mentioned, alcohol consumption, drinking, teasing.. nothing too salacious... yet.

It was always a shame that when you got a case in such a beautiful city, you never got to see the nice side of it. Especially when the hotel was actually decent for a change with a wonderful swimming pool. The team had wrapped up the case quicker than usual and the hotel had the rooms booked for another few days, the only problem was the Agency. They were always the problem.

“What is the point of having our own private jet if we can’t keep it for a few more days and enjoy a well deserved weekend off?” You’d been trying to reason with the higher ups for almost an hour now. Emily tried first, company money and time, they insisted and then you tried. You didn’t have enough pull as Emily did but you were more persistent.

Annoyingly so.

‘We need the jet back in-‘

“Why? It is this team’s personal jet. Who needs it back, when we are all here? We would be using the same amount of fuel..”

Emily was on her third tequila sunrise watching you with amusement. The others had dispersed around the bar, dancing or chatting with the locals. She had hung back to keep you under control but that was before she started drinking half an hour ago.

There was no more arguing with you.

‘It has been over an hour. I don’t know the time where you are, but I want to go home. Have the jet for two more days, fine. You can explain it on the budget next month.’

You smirked and Emily was shocked. “Oh I don’t have to deal with the budget, thanks.” And you hung up, much to Emily’s now new frustration.

“What about the bud-get?!” She was the one having to fill out those reports and give lengthy reasonings about where and why they used their budget.

You shrugged, “This will be put up for questioning next budget review I guess.” Your amusement growing more and more as Emily’s dwindled.

“Those meetings are already hell… This better be worth it.” She grumbled, sipping her drink.

“Just think –“ You paused, she glared at you over the glass. “- Or don’t, that works too.” You held up your hands and backed away, heading for the bar.

You informed the team that you’d secured the weekend for everyone to stay at the hotel. Only issue was you were bunked with Emily for another two nights. That wasn’t really a big issue. There were thankfully two beds to your saving grace but still being in a confined space with her for long periods of time was testing your will power. Not to mention her short sleep shorts.

Usually you managed to bunk with Reid or JJ but this time they got their own rooms and Emily made the call to take one for the team… Meaning bunking with you. Much to everyone’s amusement bar your own. Night one was fine, you were too tired to care. Now you were on night five and alcohol was involved, your will powerful was absolutely drained and Emily was drunk.

When you made it back to the table Emily and JJ were sitting at, you could see more empty glasses which meant she was onto her fifth cocktail.

“Think it’s time to cut you off.” You laughed at her instant frown. “Ok, stand up without swaying and hop on one leg.”

She instantly got up but JJ held on, her hand gripping her shoulder for balance. “This isn’t fair.”

You laughed watching her struggle to lift one foot even with JJ helping her. “Sit down Em.” You sighed, shaking your head.

.. >< ..

The night carried on. To Emily’s delight you didn’t cut her off which was your mistake. Now you were the one helping her walk back to the room. Her feet tripping over themselves which made it extremely difficult to walk let alone stand.

“You’re such a light weight.” You chuckled as she stumbled and leant more on you. “Jesus.” Her arm wrapping around your waist for a second to gain balance.

“Hey. Girls gotta let loose - once in a while.” She hiccupped and regained some balance, removing her hand from your waist.

Thankfully, you reached the room and got her inside and onto the bed. Her drunken smile watching you move around room. The heavy lifting was over, although now you had the task of helping her out of her clothes before she passed out. You handed her a glass of water and she drank it. Your mind going a million miles an hour, you weren’t far off being drunk yourself.

“You’re good at this.” She mumbled, giggled when your fingers tickled the bottom of her feet taking off her shoes. “Not asking permission before you undress me…” She quirked an eyebrow with a smirk. Even wasted Emily could pull off that look.

The thoughts running through your head weren’t innocent when she looked at you like that from this position on your knees in front of her. “Please, I’d be far more seductive undressing you if sex was on the table.” Your eyes slammed closed, and you wanted to hit your head against a brick wall.

“Who said it wasn’t.” She snickered. Not at all regretting flirting with you when you looked like this.

This woman was going to be the death of you. “Do you want help or not?” You looked up at her, legs hanging off the end of the bed where you plopped her, hair a mess, shirt twisted but somehow, she was still the most beautiful woman you’d ever seen.

“Is sex on the table if I say yes or no?”

“Emily.” You warned and she sighed.

“You’re no fun when drunk. Yes, can I please have help, don’t think I can stand up without it.” She laughed, attempting to stand up but she couldn’t get the momentum. “Nope.”

“Here.” You grabbed her hand and with a bit of momentum on her part, you managed to stand her up. Her hand fell from yours and rested on your waist. “Don’t.” Her hand didn’t listen, it went on exploring and snuck under your top. It took all your will power not to moan at the touch.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t-“ Something must’ve clicked in her drunken brain because she instantly retracted her hand from your skin. She shook her head, trying to shake away the thoughts, the alcohol was melting away her walls and rules.

“Hey,-“ You were soft, your hand coming up to cup her cheek and draw her eyes back to you. “Let me help you, then I’ll get you another glass of water and tuck you in.” You threw in a wink and a smile to calm her beating heart and it worked. It didn’t help your racing heart after her touch and how she was looking at you, but she needed help right now and your feelings took a back seat for now.

There was a quick nod and you proceeded to unbutton her shirt and take it off then you helped her undo her trousers. Nothing was said between you, both of you silent and breathy controlling your impure thoughts. You’d never get the image of her in her underwear out of your head and you didn’t want to.

She sat back down on the bed and curled up under the covers.

“I’ll be right back.” You brushed her hair out of her face and swore you heard her purr at the touch.

The bathroom was a saving grace, you took a minute to settle your nerves. Undressing Emily took all your will power, touching her skin was intoxicating and you worked quick as not to wonder. She didn’t seem to mind but then in her state she did put sex on the table. You shook your head and filled up a glass of water for her.

She passed out almost right away after you tucked her in. You made sure she drank the water before falling asleep then you got ready for bed. It was late so sleep came easy but your dreams had you squirming.

The sun didn’t wake you but the sound of someone puking did. Your eyes flickered open and there it was again. Last night quickly came back to you and you shot out of bed. “Em!”

“Don’t come in here!” She quickly flicked the door and it slammed shut in your face.

“Come on. I can hold your hair up at least.”

“No!” She yelled before throwing up again. “Why didn’t you stop me from drinking?!” She coughed and flushed the toilet. Her head hadn’t felt this bad since her late teen years.

You shook your head and leant back against the wall. “Oh gee, like I could stop you, I suggested it five drinks in. You had other ideas.” There was the tap and you heard her brushing her teeth so you walked back to bed. “You’re cut off from drinking for the rest of the weekend though.” You grumbled and flopped back into bed, your head wasn’t feeling that great either.

“Excuse me?” Her hands were on her hips as your rolled over to look. “Did you suddenly become miss boss over night?”

“Fine, drink. Go sleep in Morgan’s room, he might take you up on the sex offer you so readily gave out to me last night.” Your words did the exact thing they intended, she blanched.

Her hands fell from her sides, one came up to cradle her forehead. “I didn’t... did I? You’re screwing with me, right?”

“Pretty sure you were the one wanting to be screwed...” You couldn’t believe you were having this conversation and before coffee too.

She walked over to your bed. “I’m sorry I di- I’m sorry.”

The fact that she stopped herself from retracting the statement had you perplexed, and you rolled over onto your side. Thankfully you had the sheet pulled up over your waist because her hand came out and rested on your hip.

“Thank you for being my saviour.” Her thumb rubbed circles over the sheet.

“Always, now is sex still on the table or is that just a drunk Emily thing?” You got a shove for that and you both laughed. “Drunk Emily. Got it.” Two could play at the teasing game.

She shook her head and walked back over to her bed. “You’re something else.” Her back was to you so she could hide the massive blush all over her face. “Might rest up a bit before showing my face at breakfast.”

“It’s only early, go back to sleep. I’ll wake you before breakfast is over.”

You set your alarm to wake you both up later, thankfully, because you drifted back into your dreams. Dreams where Emily made good on her drunken wishes. The beeping woke you up before it got really good, and you groaned.

An amused Emily was perched on her elbow looking at you. “Good dream?”

Her amused smirk gave away that she’d woken up before the alarm and heard you in your sleep. The blush started to heat up your cheeks. “Might’ve been.” You sheepishly looked away from her daring gaze and hopped out of bed. “Breakfast time.”

“Oh, I took the liberty of ordering us room service, I hope you don’t mind.”

You just shrugged, yawning as you walked to the bathroom and away from her inquisitive gaze.

“Got time for a quickie if you get back in bed.”

You almost walked into the bathroom door at her words.

She must’ve heard the oomph sound because you could hear her laugh before she clarified. “A quick nap.”

“Yeah sure, that’s what you meant.” Sexually frustrated you was beginning to show, “You had your chance.” You said as you turned on the tap and splashed your face, trying to wake up quicker.

There was shuffling from the room. “Was thinking after breakfast we could go down to the pool. Morgan texted and said him and JJ were hitting the bar later –“

“No bar!”

She chuckled, “Oh there will be bar but no tequila, I think I’ve finally learnt my lesson with that one.” She watched you as you padded around the room, looking anywhere but at her. The fact that she’d woken up at the first alarm you’d set but quickly hit snooze and stayed awake to hear you moan her name had her legs twitching. Plus, the memories from last night were flooding back, the look you gave her had her wishing she hadn’t been that intoxicated and followed through.

You grabbed your clothes for the day, opting to put your bikini on underneath to save time later. As you were getting changed and thinking of anything to get your mind of Emily in bed, the room service arrived. It smelt amazing. Emily was perched at the small table with two plates of everything you could want from the buffet.

“This looks amazing.”

“I’m hoping it’ll settle my raging hangover.” She chomped on a hashbrown.

Breakfast was spent in silence, both of you were too hungry to carry any further banter. Although you could feel her eyes on you. A text notification broke the silence and it was Penelope wondering where you two were. They were already pool side. Another text came through and it was of Morgan sipping a drink in the pool. If you were straight that would be a site to see but it did nothing for you.

“Guess I better slip into something for the pool.” She winked as she hopped up from the table.

You prayed she had her back turned before the blush tinged your face as your brain was going ballistic with images of Emily in a bikini although your brain didn’t need to imagine for too long.

A few minutes later she walked out of the bathroom in just a red bikini and the beach towel wrapped around her waist. Why was it always red?

“You coming?”

You realised you had been staring for far too long and she had a very amused smirk on her face. “Be right down.” You needed a moment to cool off but even that wouldn’t happen.

She was in the pool by the time you got down and sat beside Penelope. “I think I need a drink.” You grumbled to an amused Garcia. Your eyes hadn’t left Emily’s body as she ducked underwater.

“Morgan, get Y/N a strong drink!” She shouted from her seat over to Morgan at the bar. He just smirked in response and relayed your order to the bartender. “Best way to cure a hangover, keep drinking.”

Before you could get the relief of alcohol, Emily popped up at the pools edge. “Don’t make me get out and pull you in.”

Your brain went fuzzy before Penelope shoved your shoulder. “Go. She’ll make us both wet.”

You wanted to punch the cute blonde for that remark but thankfully Morgan handed you your drink before anyone could do anything.

“Don’t think I wont push you in with a drink in hand.”

“Come on, shes practically begging you. If only I got that sort of attention from-“

“Hey!” Garcia shoved Morgan.

“Sorry baby girl.” He grinned and kissed her forehead.

You took a long swig of your drink and stood up, unwrapping the towel from around your waist. It took all your will power to avoid Emily’s eyes as you walked up to the pool. You could feel her eyes on you as you walked around and found the steps.

Was it to delay the process and for her to check you out? Absolutely.

You had no idea where this confidence was coming from but you held onto it, diving under the water and going up the opposite end to where she was.

“She’s playing dirty. I knew I liked her.” Morgan chuckled and got a raised eyebrow from Emily. “Oh, she’s all yours. I know better.” He smirked, watching Emily swim towards you. “This could be trouble."

Pen just grinned. “They deserve each other.”

They laughed and continued to not so subtly watch this play out. “I’m so glad we got the weekend off.” Derek smirked.

. . . . . . . . .

Let me know what you think, unsure how quickly updates will come. Most of it is written just needs to be edited. I dislike editing so comments and positivity will help ;)

#emily prentiss x female reader #emilyprentiss #criminal minds reader insert

[demonicintegrity]

Re: Unity’s bullshit

I was talking to my boss about it this morning and he explained that what this is a “stealth contract” because it went as “if you use X by Y date, you’re agreeing to Z new terms.”

Now he said stealth contracts have been upheld before. But not always. It seems like it takes work to prove it in any sort of meaningful way in the court of law. So it can go either way it seems.

What this seems to assume is that any legacy works (I.e Cult of the Lamb, Hollow Knight, any games that are already done and published) probably won’t have to pay up because they agreed to the old contract and were published to the old contract. But as we heard, Cotl is probably gonna pull the game anyway just to be safe. And any already published game is basically guaranteed to never have an updated version or dlc just to be safe from accidentally agreeing to the new contract.

What this still fucks over is games currently in development (Silksong, Billy Bam, etc) because if they published after that date, they’re reasonably held to the new rules. Which are shitty no good rules no one wants to have. And now games in development are stuck because transferring all that work is an ordeal. An ordeal that affects budget and timelines. So now the choice is up to them to either delay timeline to try and transfer/rewrite things in an different engine or just cut losses and scrap things all together.

True limbo is MMO things built on Unity. Apparently Genshin Impact and Pokemon GO were built on/in part in unity?? So who knows what rules they’ll have to abide by. Old installs could be fine but new ones might not be which sucks bc when people get new devices/have tech issues they have to reinstall these things. I have not a guess how the rules would be interpret for them. Bc on one hand they were published on the old rules, but on the other hand it’s my understanding these kinda games are constantly published new versions so those new versions might be held to the new contract???

Even if Unity walks this terrible concept back, they’ve lost all trust. Because apparently this is under EA’s bastard that has been known to do insider trading, so no one will want to risk it anymore. Best case scenario is Unity walks this back, whatever games are in development get published without a hitch and then those developers jump ship to a different engine they trust won’t ever pull this. And the inside trader gets charged for insider trading.

Worst case scenario is this ends up being a weird and messy legal battle in which big companies are able to afford the fight to say they’re legacy into the old contract but smaller companies will struggle to afford to do that even if big companies are winning cases and setting precedents.

So uh. What a headache to be a creative right now amiright?

#Unity #current events #game development #contracts aren’t my forte but this whole thing in developing is a. sour note

[gregoftom]

Something else I don’t think people consider with regards to anon’s point is what exactly those terms and conditions are.

We already know how prickly Ewan is about well, everything, and that he cuts Greg’s mom off at some point after season three starts I think. But like, is that even the first time? The brothers are much more similar than people want to believe and I think it’s possible Ewan could have cut Marianne off and brought her back in depending on their standing while Greg was growing up and he witnessed that. We just don’t have enough backstory to know because for some reason the writers set up this fascinating character and then did nothing with all that lore.

That’s why I can’t get behind people who think Greg was stupid to give up his inheritance. At least with Logan he was in good standing and guaranteed a job with Tom to look out for him. With his grandpa he’s on horrible footing and with no direction of what he wants from him either? Like if he quit Waystar and got another job somewhere else (which, as we’ve seen despite having the skills to hold his own in the company Greg clearly has difficulty in the workforce and maintaining employment), who’s to say Ewan wouldn’t also take offense to that job’s morals and demand Greg quit again? It’s a slippery slope where Greg would truly be under his grandpa’s thumb until his death and even then who knows what that bitter old crone would pull. And at no point does Ewan offer assistance to help Greg with that transition, like quit Royco and I’ll give you a cushion to help you get back on your feet. Nah. It’s do what I want when I want, without the guidance needed to make such a decision.

Also!!!! Thanks anon for reminding us we as an audience forget Greg literally supports his mom. On the little evidence we see she doesn’t seem to work or have a conventional job either, with always being in bed surrounded by wine and pills. Based on her panic spending in the season three premiere and Greg’s buying that 40k watch out of humiliation it’s clear neither of them have smart spending habits or know how to budget. Ewan likely never taught Marianne, and Marianne definitely never taught Greg and now they struggle to be well adjusted working members of society and he gets pissed at them for floundering. Obviously it’s an individual’s responsibility as an adult to look out for themselves and not blame or rely on other people but the fact that Ewan has endless resources at his disposal to help them not be struggling just to survive and doesn’t is nothing short of cruel.

(also don’t even get me started on the fact that Greenpeace itself is a problematic organization that just proves Ewan either does no research into what he wants to spitefully put Greg’s inheritance towards, or simply does not care and only wants it to look good on paper. Greg was right to want to sue lmao)

oh yeah no exactly that’s what pisses me off about ewan too like this bitch could tell greg to jump a certain height and greg would do it with a backflip and it still wouldn’t be good enough, he’s a find something to be wrong with it. ewan is very much like logan and i’ll never understand mfs who say otherwise.

wrt marianne i agree and do believe she has been cut off before, like, this isn’t the first time, and like you say she hasn’t been taught to budget and spend properly and neither has greg, which fits with ewan’s ideology so it makes sense that they would blow all their money. greg did indeed look after his mama despite the fact she would not give him money at the beginning [perhaps echoing her own upbringing?] and i didn’t think about the fact that maybe she doesn’t work and didn’t previously, on god maybe greg has been looking after her for a lot longer than we think and him supporting her when he starts to get money is just a continuation of that. oh oof.

oh for real ewan is a bastard i hate his ass he is awful, just as awful as logan and lmfao i know right. there’s a lot of issues with green peace but ewan doesn’t give a fuck, i’m pretty sure his view is it doesn’t matter if there are a few problematic aspects bc on the whole it’s a “good” organisation. his views and opinions and correct and justifiable in this matter. i love how ppl get so up in arms when greg says he’ll sue greenpeace like yeah there are better things to pick but it’s not exactly evil of him when for example one of their members lots a bunch of money via gambling and another did many short trips gassing the shit out of the atmosphere and going against their policy, not to mention damage to the nazca lines.

#always happy to drag ewan through the mud ty anon #ewan that shitty old bitch

[jennyboom21]

This past September, a group of Marvel creatives, including studio chief Kevin Feige, assembled in Palm Springs for the studio’s annual retreat. Most years, the vibe would have been confident — even cocky — given how the premier superhero brand, owned by Disney since 2009, has remade the entertainment business in its image.  

But this occasion was angst-ridden — everyone at Marvel was reeling from a series of disappointments on-screen, a legal scandal involving one of its biggest stars and questions about the viability of the studio’s ambitious strategy to extend the brand beyond movies into streaming. The most pressing issue to be discussed at the retreat was what to do about Jonathan Majors, the actor who had been poised to carry the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but instead is headed to a high-profile trial in New York later this month on domestic violence charges. The actor insists he is the victim, but the damage to his reputation and the chance he could lose the case has forced Marvel to reconsider its plans to center the next phase of its interlocking slate of sequels, spinoffs and series around Majors’ villainous character, Kang the Conqueror. 

At the gathering in Palm Springs, executives discussed backup plans, including pivoting to another comic book adversary, like Dr. Doom. But making any shift would carry its own headaches: Majors was already a big presence in the MCU, including as the scene-stealing antagonist in February’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” And he has been positioned as the franchise’s next big thing in this season of “Loki” — particularly in the finale, which airs on Nov. 9 and sets up Kang as the titular star of a fifth “Avengers” film in 2026.  

“Marvel is truly fucked with the whole Kang angle,” says one top dealmaker who has seen the final “Loki” episode. “And they haven’t had an opportunity to rewrite until very recently [because of the WGA strike]. But I don’t see a path to how they move forward with him.” 

Beyond the bad press for Majors, the brain trust at Marvel is also grappling with the November release of “The Marvels,” a sequel to 2019’s blockbuster “Captain Marvel” that has been plagued with lengthy reshoots and now appears likely to underwhelm at the box office.  

This is all an unprecedented turn of fortune for a company that has enjoyed a nearly uninterrupted string of hits ever since it started independently producing its movies with 2008’s “Iron Man.” That wildly profitable run culminated in the $2.8 billion success of 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” a high-water mark for the studio that has earned nearly $30 billion over 32 films. 

Replicating that kind of phenomenon is never easy. However, the source of Marvel’s current troubles can be traced back to 2020. That’s when the COVID pandemic ushered in a mandate to help boost Disney’s stock price with an endless torrent of interconnected Marvel content for the studio’s fledgling streaming platform, Disney+. According to the plan, there would never be a lapse in superhero fare, with either a film in theaters or a new television series streaming at any given moment.  

But the ensuing tsunami of spandex proved to be too much of a good thing, and the demands of churning out so much programming taxed the Marvel apparatus. Moreover, the need to tease out an interwoven storyline over so many disparate shows, movies and platforms created a muddled narrative that baffled viewers.  

“The Marvel machine was pumping out a lot of content. Did it get to the point where there was just too much, and they were burning people out on superheroes? It’s possible,” says Wall Street analyst Eric Handler, who covers Disney. “The more you do, the tougher it is to maintain quality. They tried experimenting with breaking in some new characters, like Shang-Chi and Eternals, with mixed results. With budgets as big as these, you need home runs.”  

“The Marvels,” which opens in theaters on Nov. 10, will struggle to get the ball past the infield, at least by Marvel’s outsized standards. The movie, which cost $250 million and sees Brie Larson reprising her role as Captain Marvel, is tracking to open to $75 million-$80 million — far below the $185 million “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” took in domestically in its debut weekend last year.   

Directed by Nia DaCosta, “The Marvels” unites Larson’s heroine with two superpowered allies, Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau (introduced in the 2021 Disney+ series “WandaVision”) and Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan (first seen in the 2022 series “Ms. Marvel”). But instead of seamlessly building on the success of “Captain Marvel,” this move resulted in four weeks of reshoots to bring coherence to a tangled storyline.   

Then eyebrows were raised again when DaCosta began working on another film while “The Marvels” was still in postproduction — the filmmaker moved to London earlier this year to begin prepping for her Tessa Thompson drama “Hedda.”  (A representative for DaCosta declined to comment.) 

“If you’re directing a $250 million movie, it’s kind of weird for the director to leave with a few months to go,” says a source familiar with the production. 

“The Marvels” has seen its release date moved back twice, too, once to swap places with “Quantumania,” which was deemed further along, and again when its debut shifted from July to November to give the filmmakers more time to tinker. But that extra time didn’t necessarily help. In June, Marvel, which traditionally only solicits feedback from Disney employees and their friends and families, took the uncharacteristic step of holding a public test screening in Texas. The audience gave the film middling reviews.   

But Marvel has never been in the business of being average. “Kevin’s real superpower, his genius, has always been in postproduction and getting his hands on movies and making sure that they finished strongly,” the source adds. “These days, he’s spread thin.” (Feige declined to comment for this story.) 

Feige isn’t the only person showing signs of strain. Marvel’s entire VFX battalion, including staffers and vendors, is struggling to keep pace with a never-ending stream of productions. This past February, when the credits rolled at the world premiere of “Quantumania,” shock rippled through the Regency Village Theatre in Westwood over some shoddy CGI. “There were at least 10 scenes where the visual effects had been added at the last minute and were out of focus,” says one veteran power broker who was there. “It was insane. I’ve never seen something like that in my entire career. Everyone was talking about it. Even the kids of executives were talking about it.” 

The schedule swap with “The Marvels” had left the “Ant-Man” sequel in a squeeze, pushing up its postproduction schedule by four-and-a-half months. Marvel films are known for coming down to the wire, given Feige’s ability “to foam the runway and land a plane that way,” says one executive familiar with how the company operates. But this level of unfinished was unprecedented and would be noted in scathing reviews when the tentpole with the $200 million budget opened 11 days after the premiere. Critics weren’t the only ones dismayed. Fed up with 14-hour days and no overtime, Marvel VFX workers voted unanimously to unionize in September, sparking an industrywide trend. 

“The year 2023 was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” says former Marvel Studios VFX assistant coordinator Anna George, who appeared before the Congressional Labor Caucus on Oct. 19 to testify about the studio’s untenable deadlines and working conditions. “The pay and long hours at Marvel were the reason we had to start our unionization process there. The conditions were completely unsustainable.”  

Disney’s top brass, including newly returned CEO Bob Iger, was said to be apoplectic about Marvel’s VFX troubles. One month after the “Quantumania” premiere debacle, the guillotine fell on Victoria Alonso, who oversaw the studio’s physical production, postproduction, VFX and animation. While the reason cited for her abrupt firing was her unauthorized role as an executive producer on the Oscar- nominated film “Argentina, 1985,” insiders say Disney was incensed that quality control on its Marvel productions was plummeting, particularly on the ever-expanding TV front. The VFX logjam had been evident for some time, with some final effects for such Disney+ series as “WandaVision” and “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” inserted after their streaming debuts. That Alonso was busy promoting her art-house project while Rome burned certainly didn’t sit well with Disney’s leadership. (Alonso’s attorney says her client is unable to comment.)

But some internal sources suggest Alonso was a scapegoat and point to the “She-Hulk” VFX issues as a symptom of a deeper rot — namely a lack of oversight on script development. In the original arc of “She-Hulk,” a flashback of star Tatiana Maslany’s transformation into her Hulk character didn’t take place until Episode 8, the penultimate episode. But after Marvel’s brain trust watched footage, it realized the scene needed to happen in the pilot episode so that audiences could see more of the character’s backstory early. That meant that the VFX team was tasked with fixing the mess in postproduction.

“The so-called bad VFX we see was because of half-baked scripts,” says one person involved with “She-Hulk.” “That is not Victoria. That is Kevin. And even above Kevin. Those issues should be addressed in preproduction. The timeline is not allowing the Marvel executives to sit with the material.”

All the while, Marvel was bleeding money, with a single episode of “She-Hulk” costing some $25 million, dwarfing the budget of a final-season episode of HBO’s “Game of Thrones, ” but without a similar Zeitgeist bang. The August 2022 series premiere at the El Capitan Theatre foreshadowed what was to come six months later at the “Quantumania” bow: the “She-Hulk” special effects were out of focus in multiple scenes.

There are signs that the flood of product is leading people to tune out. “I’m not prepared to call it a permanent fall. But based on the numbers that go with Marvel podcasts, Marvel-based articles, friends who do Marvel-based video coverage, all of these numbers are significantly down,” says Joanna Robinson, co-author of the New York Times bestseller “MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios,” who is a writer and podcaster at The Ringer. “The quality is suffering. In 2019, at the peak, if you put ‘Marvel Studios’ in front of something, people were like, ‘Oh, that brand means quality.’ That association is no longer the case because there have been so many projects that felt half-baked and undercooked.” 

As public criticism mounts, Feige is pulling the plug on scripts and projects that aren’t working. Case in point: the “Blade” reboot. With Mahershala Ali signed on for the eponymous role of a vampire, things looked promising for a 2023 release date. But the project has gone through at least five writers, two directors and one shutdown six weeks before production. One person familiar with the script permutations says the story at one point morphed into a narrative led by women and filled with life lessons. Blade was relegated to the fourth lead, a bizarre idea considering that the studio had two-time Oscar winner Ali on board.  

Amid reports that Ali was ready to exit over script issues, Feige went back to the drawing board and hired Michael Green, the Oscar-nominated writer of “Logan,” to start anew. Speculation around town is that the studio is looking to make the film, now slated for 2025, on a budget of less than $100 million — a deviation from Marvel’s big-spending strategy. 

With Iger publicly acknowledging the downside of a Marvel TV glut that “diluted focus and attention,” the keepers of the comic book empire are considering some dramatic moves. Sources say there have been talks to bring back the original gang for an “Avengers” movie. This would include reviving Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, both of whom were killed off in “Endgame.” (That shouldn’t be a stumbling block — in comic books, beloved characters are often killed off, only to be resurrected thanks to the power of things like the multiverse.) But the studio hasn’t yet committed to the idea — if it were able to bring those actors back, it wouldn’t come cheap. Sources say Downey Jr.’s upfront salary for “Iron Man 3” was around $25 million.  

Will that solve Marvel’s Majors problem? When the “Quantumania” actor was arrested in March, Disney executives insisted that they could afford to play a wait-and-see game, given that “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” wasn’t expected to begin shooting until early 2024. But then Majors was dropped in quick succession by his publicists and managers. (He remains a client at WME — the agency where he landed after CAA parted ways with him, pre-arrest, for his “brutal conduct” toward staff, says one source. CAA declined to comment.) In April, other alleged domestic violence victims of Majors began cooperating with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Then, ahead of a key hearing in October, media outlets including Variety obtained a court filing that referenced a police incident in London involving Majors that led his ex-girlfriend to seek medical attention. Making matters even stickier, the ex-girlfriend also worked on “Quantumania” as a movement coach, and the London incident took place while Majors was shooting Season 2 of “Loki.” On Oct. 25, a New York judge denied Majors’ motion to dismiss the case, which ensures that the actor will stand trial in late November. His legal team is attempting to keep some material in the case sealed. 

A studio source notes that regardless of the actor’s legal issues, Marvel already had considered moving away from a Majors-led phase because of the box office performance of “Quantumania,” which will struggle to make a profit. “It gave people pause given that ‘Quantumania’ didn’t exactly land,” the source says.  (On Oct. 27, Disney removed another Majors film, Searchlight’s “Magazine Dreams,” from the release calendar.)

Recasting Majors is also an option, as Feige did when he replaced Terrence Howard in “Iron Man 2” with Don Cheadle.  In fact, Marvel isn’t afraid to change direction, even after making splashy announcements. “Armor Wars” was first unveiled as a series and is now being developed as a feature, while the studio’s push to adapt the comic book “Inhumans” into a feature film generated headlines but is now dormant. (The now-defunct Marvel Television mounted an “Inhumans” TV series in 2017 that ran for one season on ABC.)

Still, there was one bright spot in 2023: “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which became Marvel’s biggest draw of the year with $845 million worldwide. The fact that it was directed by James Gunn, the guy now running rival DC Studios, was lost on no one.

“With Marvel, it used to be as close to a guarantee as you could get,” says Paul Dergarabedian, a box office analyst at Comscore. “So, going all in on the budgets made sense. ‘Guardians 3’ was a bit overlooked in how successful it was. But that had James Gunn and Chris Pratt, and I think star power is becoming more important. Then there was ‘Quantummania’ with $476 million. Anything under a half billion dollars is viewed as a disappointment. And these overreaching expectations are a result of so much success over the years.”

The key to reinvigorating Marvel may lie with the superhero arsenal that Disney acquired during its 2019 purchase of 21st Century Fox. That deal brought several blue-chip heroes, such as the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, back under the studio’s control. Already fans are geeking out about next year’s “Deadpool 3,” which unites Ryan Reynolds’ merc with a mouth with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and a reboot of “Fantastic Four” slated for 2025. As a bonus, the Fox additions give Feige an opportunity to reimagine the “X-Men” franchise, the very property he cut his teeth on as a young executive at Lauren Shuler Donner’s production company. Now that the WGA strike is in the rearview mirror, Marvel has started talking to writers about bringing the X-Men into the MCU fold.

While Feige recalibrates, the rest of the industry is anxiously hoping that Marvel’s best days are not behind it.  

“Writing the Marvel obituary would be ill-advised,” says Jason Squire, professor emeritus at USC School of Cinematic Arts and host of “The Movie Business Podcast.” “Kevin Feige is the Babe Ruth of movie executives, and Marvel has the most profitable track record in movie history. No question.”

#variety marvel 2023 article #marvel mcu #variety magazine #the marvels

[lucky-3833]

Nothing sadder than this show being killed off in the crossfire of corporate nonsense

Right. Like, it's a good show that's dealt with some real bullshit, you know? Right when they embarked on their big tone shift that was going to need their very best work to keep the fanbase hooked, Monty died. That was a blow dealt to S3 and S4 while the animators struggled to fill in his gaps and learn the new system, and then in S5 one of the RT higher-ups skimmed off a shitload of RWBY's budget for Gen:Lock, so S5 had a bunch of issues too. And then by that point, lots of people who had gotten in during S1 and S2 had already made up their minds and decided it was bad now, even though it's been steadily improving since then! Then all *sorts* of dirty laundry gets aired about RT and the company as a whole is going through some rough stuff.

And now this bullshit. It makes me sad.

#rwby

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

FreFo/FuFo Heist Planning: Volume #2

So, down to business, now that we’re all here...

*A little while later, Oliver, Leona and Kouji all show up, and everyone gathers in the basement of the building. 

So that’s the situation?

As I’m sure you’ve already been informed by your friends, Emilia Feng and her company are collaborating secretly with Organization Zetsubou.

And they’re planning something big. We don’t know what it is, but we don’t know if we can stop it on our own.

Yeah, we examined some shit from Tamashiro’s mansion after that whole fiasco, and that Kerokuma that came in and killed him might be part of a bigger project...

Why didn’t you say this when you asked us for help the first time round?

Because we’re not dicks?

We understood your situation. We didn’t want to press for it...

Because, like Leona said...we’re not dicks.

But you see, this is helpful for us as well. Fang Inc. are Organization Zetsubou’s biggest international sponsor and supplier. Zetsubou’s best weapons come from the company, and there’s a chance the CEO had a hand in Operation Toxic Love as well. 

Right, that poisonous rain scheme...But why would Feng collab with terrorists from Japan anyway?

Hm...Well, from the way you’ve played up these guys as extremely dangerous, it’s likely that their influence, should they succeed, will affect the entire world; not just Japan.

It would make sense if the old woman’s goal was to aid Organization Z in doing that, and then fight a war against them. 

For profit I assume?

Likely, but at the same time, if a war gets too big, it falls out of even Emilia’s control. If OZ conquer the world, and destroy most of the cities, even she’ll struggle to reap the benefits of that.

I don’t think that matters. Emilia’s an arrogant bitch, but...she’s not a cynic. She’s gotta make sure both she herself, and everyone else around her, sees herself as the hero. 

Every time she goes somewhere, be it here, or anywhere else in the world, she has some mad plan to fix all it’s problems. Like with highly-trained police, or automated crop fertilizer or some bullshit. Society to a woman like her is a technology problem, and people are bugs in the system.

Which means she’d be more than willing to discreetly remove them to “fix” the system.

Yeah. That’s the issue.

So whatever she IS planning on doing, it can’t be a good thing. In fact, it may actually be Organization Zetsubou’s first step into dominating places off border.

So we need to stop it, but...how do we even find out what her goal is?

That’s the first step in our “master plan”

...

*Kuripa and Maya simultaneously pose.

Lame...

Oi!

No, she’s right. That was lame.

I think it was good teamwork.

Can we focus?

Yeah, come on guys. 

Alright. Here’s the deal.

*Kouji nods to Oliver, who loads up a map on the projector.

This right here is one of Fang Inc’s biggest police stations, and work buildings. It was one of the first facilities that the company produced in their early days.

It’s also open to the public on weekends, and serves as a digital museum, detailing Fang Inc’s history...Naturally, leaving out all the skeevy shit they do.

It’s a museum all about Emilia? Talk about sucking your own non-existent dick.

Hey! Watch the language, we have kids here!

...Sorry...

But why is this place so important?

Because Emilia’s got an upcoming meeting in two days time at this place. She’s assembling both her main circle, as well as some government officials to talk about a major project she has planned for the US.

The US as a whole?

The company may be based in DC, but their influence expands over the whole continent, AT LEAST.

How...do you know this?

Eh?

How do you know about this meeting? Did you intercept phone calls or something?

Not outside of our budget...or morals for that matter...

But no. We have our own Hercules Mulligan, but she’s a badass chick instead.

Who?

Have you never seen Hamilton, Boss?

What Maya means to say is they have a spy on the inside.

Who is this spy? I was under the impression that there were only 6 of you.

That’s...uh...not important right now. Let’s just focus on this, ok?

...

Alright, sure. Then what we’ve gotta do is...

Sneak in, and infiltrate that meeting. Get those juicy deets. Easy clap!

Sweet! I’ve always wanted to be in on a caper!

Uh...are you sure it’s a good idea to let this kid in on this plan?

As her mother, naturally I’m protective of her...But...

Before we adopted her, Akeru survived by herself on the street for a long time. She even formed her own gang.

And she’s stealthy. If this is an espionage mission, then she’s our best bet.

Heck yeah I am!

Hold on a second. Even if Akeru IS a capable stealth agent, I still don’t think sending her in there by herself is a good idea. She’s still young, and it’s not like she’s ever breached a place that’s got Fang Inc. levels of security.

Besides, you know what happened the LAST time she tried to do an espionage mission for us.

That doesn’t mean we can just bar her from doing one again. She’s so talented at it.

Yeah, but even so!

Yeah, I’m with Toko on this one. Just from looking at this place from the outside, it’s definitely not a doddle breaching it. The kid might have to sit this one out.

Aw...

But we have to get in somehow, and it’s too early to risk a full-frontal assault.

If sending in a child is what it takes, then so be it. We have to know what Emilia is up to.

Maya, she’s 13 or 14 years old. And she’s my niece. It’s not happening.

*sigh* Alright. Sorry, I guess that was shitty of me.

Language...!

My bad!

...

Sorry Akeru. I bet you were looking forward to it.

It’s fine...

Alright, but if Kid Ninja’s off the table, what’s the plan? If we can’t navigate past the security, how do we get in?

Have you ever heard of the phrase “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em?”

You mean...?

*Leona suddenly produces a uniform out from under the table.

Ta-Dah! Our secret contact provided this for us! It’s the staff uniform for that facility!

So the way we’re going to break in is by disguising ourselves as employees, and blending in?

Yes...However, there’s just one problem.

We only have one uniform. And...if you’ll forgive me for saying so; I promise this doesn’t just apply to your group but also ours...

A lot of you...stand out way too much.

That’s fair. This hairdo has it’s problems.

Everything about you has it’s problems Hiro.

So ultimately, what you’re saying is...we need to pick ONE person who doesn’t stand out too much.

AND who can act as an undercover agent by themselves.

Basically, we need a perfectly normal proxy...

...

*There is a moment of silence, but then everyone’s heads simultaneously turn in the same direction, like valves.

God Fucking Dammit!

LANGUAGE!

Oop! S-Sorry!

Perfectly normal appearance...check...

Is reliable when it counts...check...

Welp. Good luck Boss~

Hold on a second! I’m not saying I won’t do it, but don’t I get a say in this!?

Sorry Mak...You’re the only one who can pull this off...

Besides, it’s not often that you get to be this useful to the whole group.

Hey! That’s uncalled for!

Jeez...Fine! But you owe me a coffee on the house AT LEAST!

Done deal! Don’t worry though, we’ll lend you a COM device you can put in your ear and talk to us with. Just try to be discreet.

You’ve got a few days to prepare as well.

And what happens if I get caught?

Well...

I’ll burn the whole place down before I let that happen.

Thanks...I suppose...

Good luck Uncle Koto!

Believe me...I’m gonna need my Ultimate Luck now more than ever.

#danganronpa survivor #danganronpa #danganronpa 1 #dr1 #hyper danganronpa h2o #hdrh2o #danganronpa ultra despair girls #drae #into the ocean arc #makoto naegi #kyoko kirigiri #byakuya togami #yasuhiro hagakure #aoi asahina #toko fukawa #komaru naegi #kuripa kurafto #maya canzanilla #four kaiden #oliver feng #hunter rosenhall #leona vasquez #akeru yozora

[yama951]

In Transit, 2022 AC

Like a loud and sudden slam, Emmet woke up from his seat with a jump.

It took him a moment to remember where he was.

He was on an airplane, by the window, with Elesa next to him and Agent Looker on the third seat next to her. Both of which were still asleep. Usually, he recalled, when the three of them went on a long distance trip, Ingo would have the third seat.

Resting on his lap were some books.

The Collected Folklore of Sinnoh by Volus Aurealius

Twin Telepathy: The Bond Across Time and Space

Mysterious Hisui by Volus Aurealius

He rubbed his head, wondering if it was a dream or not, trying to use his twin bond to contact his brother somehow. He struggled to remember what the dream was as it was quickly fading from his mind.

He growled to himself as he failed to recall what it was as he picked up the open book on his chest, the pages showing various linking cords made with traditional Hisui Era methods.

He closed the book and put them away.

A glance outside the window showed the clouds and distant lands and seas.

The ICRS were willing to teleport them to Sinnoh but they decided to take the longer route, not wanting to risk something bad happening to Zekrom and reality should the long distant teleport end up interacting badly with Emmet’s connection to the legendary dragon.

Emmet wondered if the reason why both him and his brother were unnerved traveling by plane was due to their dragon selves flying in the air naturally and the lack of sensations felt wrong.

Another mystery to his status as an avatar of a god.

He groaned, already imagining himself being put on a pedestal by the various Zekrom worshiping sects or being paid for some idealistic boost to the masses or something. All he wanted was winning battles, trains, and having fun with his brother.

His next groan went louder as he realized he’ll end up being a political influencer. Elesa woke up from that.

“Something the matter, Em?”

“I am Emmet. I just fully realized what being a celebrity meant and I hate it.”

“Didn’t realize you were part slowpoke.”

“I am serious. If I say I like this policy or that as Zekrom Incarnate, it’ll result in a massive vote shift. Or people trying to buy my vote…” he growled a bit at the end.

“Greasing the wheels of politics, this time on the Unovan train budget… geeze, that is an issue. And since both you and Ingo are such train nerds, it might be seen as divine approval. Unovan car companies might take a nosedive. It’s rare for Zekrom and Reshiram to agree on anything, if the legends are accurate…” Elesa said with a growing look of annoyance at the mental image of politicians trying to curry Ingo and Emmet’s favor and approval.

“We’ll cross that bridge once we get my brother back. He could always tell if people were lying to him…”

“Yeah, I remember that.” Elesa chuckled at the memory. “You know, in hindsight, it’s actually rather obvious given how you two act like the dragons.”

“We’re twins. We dress in black and white. I strive for victory in all things. Brother likes to tell the truth and be the responsible one. His starter uses flames. Mine uses electricity.”

“Thank whoever made it so neither of you began warping reality when you do end up arguing.”

Emmet became quiet.

“I suddenly remember the fact that our hometown of Anville became only accessible by train when we both shouted that ‘train travel should be the only way in and out of town’ before we went off on our journey.”

“Well, I spoke too soon.”

“I’ll make a note of that for the ICRS to look into.” Looker said with one eye open, staring at them.

“... were you faking being asleep or did we wake you up?” Elesa asked.

“More of the latter but I’ve been trained to keep an ear out for info.”

“How long is the plane trip?” Emmet asked.

“Em, it’s a twelve hour flight. We’re lucky the ICRS decided to pay for the expenses.”

“Do you think we’ll end up in an episode of the I-Files a couple seasons from now?”

“That entirely depends on them, though given your status as a battle facility master, it’s likely rather high. I helped in an upcoming episode about Fallers and how I ended up in another reality’s Hoenn Region for a year or two before I was rescued. They used an experimental vessel designed to travel through Ultra Space and prevented the mental superposition that resulted in amnesia, though it looked more like a blue box that’s bigger on the inside. Falling through the space between realities without protective shielding results in you being made to experience all possible versions of yourself at the same time. We’re honestly lucky that amnesia was the only side effect.”

“Do you…” Emmet began. “Do you think that’s what happened to my brother?”

“It’s a possibility. We still don’t know how your brother disappeared though I imagine the ICRS would send a team for a more thorough look.”

Emmet sighed.

“Hopefully they’ll find something.”

“To be fair for the Unovan police, space-time disturbances are outside their search and rescue training.” Elesa added. “Well, since we’re up, order something to eat?”

“I am Emmet. I am hungry for a vegetable meal. Don’t know why I’m in the mood for one.”

“Just don’t go all train king and order people around alright, and don’t try to make the plane go faster with your dragon powers. I don’t want to be in an episode of Air Crash Investigation.”

“Understood. I’ll double the safety checks.” Emmet said with a chuckle as Looker called for a stewardess.

Meanwhile, on the lands below the plane, a blonde man was looking at his map as his truck parked next to a large boulder.

“I’m pretty sure I drove past this boulder three times now…”

#lucid twin dragons au #fanfic #world building #submas #fanfiction #my writing #submas au #pokemon fanfic #worldbuilding #pokemon legends arceus #submas emmet #subway master emmet #looker #pokemon looker #gym leader elesa #pokemon elesa #elesa

[doctormoveau]

7 Tips for Last-Minute Moving: Surviving the Chaos

Moving to a new office can give people an exciting yet pressuring feeling. They could be happy because there is a new start awaiting people but pressured because of the changes that come with the move. To help you and your people with the process, here is what a commercial removalist Canberra has to say for last-minute moving:

Create a Checklist

The first thing to do is to create a checklist. Since many people in the office can move and do some moving tasks, you can create a checklist while others are double-checking. Everything must be detailed to ensure that you get them correct and nothing will be left behind. Company tools, furniture, and appliances are priorities in this job, so keep your list and things organised. You might also want to consider using a moving checklist mobile application to know the tasks for the day and their deadlines.

Gather Packing Supplies

To save time with the packing, you must be quick in gathering your packing supplies. To do that, you must know its inclusions, like packing paper, bubble wrap, tape, scissors, cutter, and box. If your team does not have any of these days or weeks before the moving schedule, everyone might cram to start and finish the job. As many people know, very few good things can happen when people cram. And sometimes, it is other people who will take the blame and not the ones at fault.

Label Everything

Every box you put the things in must have a label. Forgetting about this can place the fragile ones in danger. Since no one knows what is inside the box, people might not be as careful as they need to be when it comes to the boxes. If you pack your working area, put your name on the box and include its contents. This way, unpacking will also be easier and nothing will get lost or confused about what is inside their boxes.

Get All the Help You Can Get

There is no harm in getting all the help you could get. If there is one officemate who is already done with the packing, ask them for assistance to let you finish the task, too. Get all the help you can get to make the job more bearable. If you are on the opposite side of the coin, do not hesitate to offer help to your colleagues when you see them struggling with packing. Tell them you are willing to help, and those who need it will agree.

Hire Professionals

Aside from getting the help of your friends and colleagues, you might also want to consider hiring professionals. They have the correct tools and skills to make packing easier and more bearable. They can also teach people about how to do it faster yet safer. Last-minute office moving can be stressful, so ask professionals for their help.

Consider a Storage Unit

If the company has enough budget for the move, they might consider getting a storage unit. Though this option has its share of pros and cons, it is better to check with reliable ones to see where the things are safe and secured. Getting a storage unit for the things that will not be moved into the new office will be preserved. If the company does not want to do that, there are no issues because the donation is also a considerable option.

Stay Hydrated and Take Breaks

Even if everyone is cramming for the move, do not forget to take care of yourself. Since the task is heavy, having water with you every time you pack is necessary. Keep yourself hydrated, and there is no harm in taking breaks to gain more energy. Remind your teammates about this to help them have a better moving experience.

Here are other things you can do if you will undergo a last-minute office transfer:

Pack Room by Room

Pack a Moving Day Kit

Have a Contingency Plan

Pack an Essentials Box

Pack Valuables Separately

Update Your Contact Information

Last-minute office moving might not be ideal, but it can happen to anyone. With these tips, you can make the task more bearable for everyone, keeping you going through everything with a positive mindset. All the best!

#commercialremovalistCanberra

[medusas-lovely-eyes]

I don't mean this in a braggy way because like, state of the world/society/economy and all that, but the fact that I have had multiple unexpected expenses with my car and cat this year equaling roughly $1-2k (I'm guessing I don't actually know) and I have been able to pay for all of them out of pocket with money I already had saved is something I'm so proud of. Growing up my parents made some poor financial decisions and then were hit with big medical bills so I always watched them struggle. I watched cars get repossessed, I watched them discuss the best way to ask my grandparents for a loan so the house wouldn't get foreclosed, I watched my mom sob on the phone to debt collectors who treated her like absolute shit. I even had to pay for my moms groceries before when her card got unexpectedly declined and then comforted her while she cried from embarrassment on the ride home. And on top of all that they put themselves into even more debt to give us as normal of a childhood as possible. They are entering their late 50s, my mom hopes that the last of their credit card debt will finally be paid off and all they have left is the mortgage, but they have no savings.

According to the experts I'm not where I am supposed to be financially at the age of 30, but I know I am a lot better off than others my age. I don't particularly like my job; it can be very stressful for a good chunk of the year, I had to give up hopes of using my degree to stay here because this job actually pays me a living wage (which is a whole other discussion about certain fields demanding a degree and then paying a shit wage), the owner isn't as involved in day to day operations as we would like and doesn't see the same looming issues that we do, and it's not what I envisioned myself doing for the rest of my life (nor do I know if I can physically or mentally do it for another 40 years lol) BUT I don't live paycheck to paycheck like I always feared I would. I have worked hard for my promotion and raises, I have literally made myself an invaluable asset to the company (yes a very capitalistic view I know), and I have started earning bonuses that I can put into savings or put towards paying off student loans.

I have learned from my parents mistakes enough to not fall into the trap of credit card debt. I have one credit card and I have never maxed it out nor have I ever used more than I can pay off. I will admit that this past year I was a little frivolous with some of my purchases, but God I think I deserve a little fun now. If my 2024 budget and goals go to plan then by the end of the year I will have an emergency fund with 6 months of expenses built up, my high yield savings account will have 10k, and I will still have money left over to enjoy some things here and there.

I'm rambling. I'm not here to brag, I'm here to tell myself to take a breath and relax a little. I'm 30, single, and doing it all on my own with no one to fall back on for financial support and as of right now I'm doing good. I'm proud of myself and I believe in myself.

(also if I'm being honest all this is me convincing myself not to quit my job after a shitty and exhausting christmas season that has left my sick and emotionally drained lol)

#personal #like no I absolutely do not want to be playing this game for the rest of my life #but like the only option out is the collapse of society or self checkout so not really viable options #as of right now my goal is to build enough of a safety net that is something does go wrong in my life #i have enough money on hand for it to not totally fuck my life up #I look around and see how shitty things are and I have a moment of thanks because a lot of what I have now if from sheer luck #of being in the right place and knowing the right people when I was 16 #i still don't feel like I make enough money to ever retire #but for now things aren't too bad and I will take that small grace while I can and hold on to it for dear life because #i know it can be taken away at any moment #also once I build that safety net I'm working on paying off my student loan

[aspectabundgaze]

Crowds that are funded = CrowdFunds

I love creating content. I also love putting out content for my 162 subscribers on YouTube, if it is still at 162 subs. I can still manage it on my own. But what about content creators who are growing and aren't really sponsored by certain brands? Now if you asked me and my opinion, crowdfunding can be an effective tool when it comes to helping building a community for the creative minds. Platforms like Patreon, Ko-Fi helped artists, graphic designers, beginners or professional filmmakers (who aren't tied to a huge distribution company, singer-songwriters, chefs, bakers, and also content creators to not only help fund their projects, or continue to keep their brands alive, but to also allow them to connect directly with their audiences/subscribers, and build a community around their work. 

Before we get into the question does crowdfunding actually help content creators or those in the creative industry, let's get a little into what crowdfunding is. In an article translated to English originally published by Greek author Zorica Golić in 2014, Golić has states that crowdfunding has become this alternative financing option, especially for projects that struggle to obtain loans from traditional sources like banks or investors. Dannberg, T. describes crowdfunding is a form and part of crowd sourcing, and the typical user of a crowd sourcing platform is described as a middle to old, middle to upper-class, highly educated, married white man with high-speed internet connection.

Other than being a platform to help fund content creators, these crowdfunding platforms also serves as something that motivates creators and contributes to a sense of community. Additionally, crowdfunding helps build a sustainable fan base by connecting with backers, turning them into long-term supporters, as stated by Dannberg, T., 2017. But with it’s positive look, it also has this negative outlook to it. Now with the attention of social media, it has brought not only the interest but also scrutiny when it comes to crowdfunding as stated by Chin, Jones, McNutt & Pebler, 2014. Furter explained by Chin, Jones, McNutt & Pebbler, this draws criticism on duped funders, projects done by celebrities and movie studios whose main motive is to continue on exploiting their fans and audiences into funded projects they themselves can fund.

Examples I can see from my own personal observations The Try Guys, Watcher, while both were part of Buzzfeed, people associated with the company like Eugene Lee Yang, Zack Kornfeld, Keith Habersberger (Try Guys), or Ryan Bergara, Shane Madej, and Steven Lim (Watcher) eventually branched out and started their own companies. As someone who used to subscribe to The Try Guys' patreon, these crowdfunding sites allows fans to view scenes that were not included in their uploaded content on YouTube, early access to more videos or videos scheduled for release from days to a week ahead, or ability to have their feedback and suggestions taken by these content creators for their future content. Another example would be PBS Eons. People who subscribed to their Patreon would be given a shoutout at the end of the videos, but it depends on the rankings of contents they chose to subscribe. But these businesses had already gained a number of exposure, fans and followers that getting the financial support for crowdfunding wouldn’t really be an issue. So take a look on Jon Widegren. Widegren planned on traveling across the United States to really enjoy as well as getting inspiration from burger joints he visited. Widegren spent 3 more months in the States before returning to Stockholm and got to work on he’s new project, Flippin’ Burgers, which was a success thanks to crowdfunds.

In conclusion, does crowdfunding helps the creative industry and community? Yes. Yes it does. I’ve seen it help my friends who were art students who used Ko-Fi, Patreon to help fund their budget to fund their art supplies. And it has also helped me as a writer. I get paid to write certain stories on platforms like Tumblr for fans and in turn, I would be given small donations in my Ko-Fi account to help me financially and my research for any of these stories I’ve been commissioned to write.

References

Golić, Z., 2014. Advantages of crowdfunding as an alternative source of financing of small and medium-sized enterprises. Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Istočnom Sarajevu, (8), pp.39-48, viewed 26 November 2023.

Dannberg, T., 2017. Advantages and disadvantages with crowdfunding:-and who are the users?, viewed 27 November 2023.

Bennett, L., Chin, B. and Jones, B. (2015) ‘Crowdfunding: A New Media & Society special issue’, New Media & Society, 17(2), pp. 141–148, viewed 26 November 2023

‘Flippin’ burgers – sthlm’s best’, Truck Stop El Bulli, viewed 28 November 2023, <https://truckstopelbulli.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/flippin-burgers-sthlms-best>

#mda20009 #social media #blogging #digital communities #crowdfunding #crowdfunds #crowdsourcing #week8

[glodon]

Global Construction Industry Confronts Major Challenges Amid Pandemic and Geopolitical Risks

Market Development Summary

The global digital construction industry is confronting major challenges as it emerges from the widespread disruption caused by restrictions imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19. With the Ukraine crisis set to persist in the coming quarters, the global economy will face severe headwinds amid high energy and commodity prices, supply chain bottlenecks, and worsening investor confidence. Amid rising inflation, central banks have been tightening monetary policy, but with inflation being driven by supply-side pressures, there is a growing risk that high-interest rates will choke off the recovery from the pandemic. Global construction output is now projected to expand by 3.3% this year, a downward revision from 4.0% previously. This follows growth of 3.7% in 2021 and a contraction of 2.3%

Excluding China, the global construction industry posted growth of 4.5% in 2021 and is set to slow to 2.9% in 2022. Performances across countries and regions will vary greatly, but South Asia and North-East Asia will be the best performers when comparing output in 2022 to the pre-COVID-19 levels. India suffered a sharp contraction in 2020 but rebounded in 2021, and in 2022 output across South Asia will be 10.1% higher than in 2019 in real terms.

Opportunities and Risks

The key risks to project momentum remain significant, with geopolitical uncertainty stemming from the ongoing Ukraine crisis, in addition to rising inflation, tightening monetary policy and supply chain disruptions.

Supply chain disruption is the main road blocker. The global construction industry has been recovering from the severe disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it continues to confront major challenges. Shortages of key materials and associated rising prices for such materials have impacted the progress of construction projects, while logistical hold-ups along with supply chain disruptions are extending lead times. The combination of these factors means that contractors are finding it increasingly difficult to complete projects on time and on budget. Many of these challenges have been exacerbated by the Ukraine crisis, which has resulted in a further surge in energy costs as well as disruptions in the supply of vital materials, including steel.

Labour s hortage has been a long and looming challenge. In addition to supply chain disruptions, the construction industry has also generally been struggling to recruit labour to meet requirements. The shutdown of the construction industry in many major markets in 2020 and also during periods in 2021 resulted in a sharp decline in construction employment, and there have been difficulties in recruiting talent as construction activity bounced back. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, there had already been concerns about the aging construction workforce and the looming challenge of ensuring that retiring skilled workers would be replaced. The reliance in many markets on immigrant labour has also been exposed in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, with a proportion of this workforce not returning to their previous locations.

ESG is one of the most important themes of this decade. It's little wonder that pressure on the construction sector to further contribute to the clean environment and be more and more transparent as far as environmental, social and governance (ESG) are concerned. Calls for the construction sector to act are coming from many directions. Investors and consumers are voicing concerns about ESG issues, with legislation, regulation, and reporting requirements evolving quickly in many jurisdictions around the world. In the UK, all companies bidding for government contracts worth more than £5m a year must now commit to net zero by 2050, while new proposals in the EU call for the mandatory disclosure of the emissions potential of new buildings over their whole life cycle, effective from 2027 to 2030. Companies must perform well in all areas of ESG. Being a laggard in any one of the pillars of the ESG framework will hurt their brand reputation and, ultimately, profits. In general, European construction companies respond more rapidly in terms of ESG hiring.

#construction #collaboration #software

[etcsvd]

9 Tips for Choosing the Right Test and Tag Equipment

When you establish a business, and you are the one who is going to produce your products, one thing you need to remember is to guarantee safety. This tip applies to your warehouse, office, and people working for you. You can start by coordinating with professionals or buying safety materials. If you prefer the latter, test and tag Devonport is what you can check. If it is your first time encountering them, here are some tips for choosing the right test and tag equipment:

Understand Your Needs

Before buying something for your business, you must line it with your needs. It will help you narrow down what to purchase, helping you be mindful of where you should spend your money. Assess the requirements needed by your business to see the different types of test and tag equipment you could buy. But even if you are not on a strict budget, understanding the things you need can help you be a wise buyer.

Ease of Use

Whatever test and tag equipment you will purchase, it is better if they are user-friendly. If not, you might see yourself struggling to use them, giving you a difficult time doing the job. When this happens, anticipate that you will encounter delays during the process. Avoid it from happening because many factors could be affected, like the schedule of releasing the products and the trust given by your clients.

Test Speed

When doing testing and tagging, the test speed is a crucial part of it. The speed can impact the efficiency of the test and can minimise disruption. You can also guarantee that you comply with regulations, influencing the safety of the equipment and the overall testing process. The speed testing will also prevent the over usage of the tool because continuous usage might cause it to deteriorate and pose safety hazards.

Connectivity Options

Once done with the testing and tagging process, the next thing you need to do is transfer the data to your computer. However, you cannot do it if there are problems with the connectivity. Consider it before buying one to ensure you will not have issues with the results and avoid delays in doing the task. But aside from these, the connectivity options will also help you with data management, compliance tracking, and real-time reporting. The last thing you want to have in business is delays and cancellations.

Durability

Whatever product you buy, whether for your home or your business, check their quality and durability. Assess this factor in the equipment because it might undergo various conditions you would never want your products to experience. Durability will also show how focused you are on your business because there are fewer reports of damage and returns from the customers. But of course, do not be too confident, as issues can happen even when you do not want them to.

Battery Life

Imagine your test and tag equipment showing low-battery notice after an hour or two of usage. It feels unpleasant and irritating, right? With this, you need to check the battery life of the testers to see if it is the one you are looking for. Lasting them 12 hours up to 24 hours can make you say that your money is not put to waste.

Brand Reputation

Aside from the features of the brand, do not overlook the brand's reputation. Search for one already known in the test and tag industry because they already proved something for their name. Associating with a trusted company can also help you be more picky about what to buy for your business. You do not need to settle for less because you know what your products are worth.

Budget Considerations

One of the mistakes of some business owners is they always cut the budget without considering the factors that could be affected by what they do. If you do not have enough money to buy test and tag equipment, your option is to settle for a cheaper one. Though it might sound convenient, you might never like the quality of the product you produce.

User Reviews and Recommendations

If there is one thing you should never forget as a buyer, it is to read user reviews and recommendations. The words you will read are from the experience of previous customers, giving you first-hand perspectives. Consider these tips to help you be mindful of your test and tag equipment purchase and contribute to the safety of your business.

There is nothing wrong with being picky with what you purchase for your products. It is one way to show that you want the best for your business and clients. These tips will help you choose the right test and tag equipment, so use these as foundation for your buying experience.

#testandtagdevonport

[mirecalemoments01]

#AIForFleets #CostCuttingChampions #EfficiencyUnleashed #FleetAIInsights #FleetTechRevolution #SmartFleetManagement

[dimdiamond]

tbh I feel cynical as well about the Barbie movie because of the level of brand marketing that this has been able to do and present some watered down 'feminist' idea packaged in commercialism, enabling more films like this already being set up because of companies like Mattel. I feel weird, because these are two tentpole films that I feel just REALLY iffy about in different ways and I don't like it. but it's always like...being asked which one you would see. neither thanks. them and their popularity don't feel right. it's either pink brand feminist marketing film vs tortured white guy making a bomb that doesn't feature Jewish actors film made by a white guy. neither of them feel remotely appealing to me.

I completely understand your feelings on them. I do. They're feelings I have for years for Hollywood movies and shows etc. They want to sell hot topics in a marketable neat package following "aesthetic" moodboards instead of actually putting in the centre of the scene the real issue and make a decent criticism.

But I can't expect the perfect representation and the perfect movie that talks about an issue in a perfect way. Frankly, I want people to use market and trends to talk about things that matter. People MUST use any mean to show their truth. Even with the restrictions and exclusions and whatever limitations producers and companies apply on their media, people will still find a creative way to pass their message and I believe for these people it's worth watching them.

You feel weird supporting projects like that? Good. That doesn't mean you have to guilt rip yourself and you can watch them with a way of not giving them your money. You don't want to watch them? Great. You should not feel forced to do so. Honestly there are many other movies you can watch and support (indie productions for example but you probably know them better than me).

Regarding these two movies I feel more comfortable with watching and supporting Barbie than Oppenheimer. One reason is because the first looks fun but the biggest reason is that Barbie feels genuine, like an honest effort to talk about feminism and more, even if it's in a more marketable package baiting you with nostalgia of your childhood. But even the audience it targets it's not the usual, it's for girls and now women who played with them, who got through the girlhood and its struggles and what society demands on them. And that's why it can resonate with anyone, regardless gender and sex, because it talks about patriarchy from the perspective of the "victim". I have my doubts about Greta's view of feminism in general but I do think it's worth to be shown because, honestly, how many big budget movies will talk about this issue? And if more movies like them are made then that's good, we can talk about this issue more instead of ignoring it.

But Oppenheimer? For who is Oppenheimer? It talks about nuclear weapons and the danger of science and what is humanity from the perspective of whom? The one who caused it? And it's not like we should not tell stories from this perspective but what does it mean when it's in a big budget movie of Hollywood? We already see the message of "necessary evil" from the trailer and I honestly felt uncomfortable watching it , especially knowing that it wasn't even a necessary evil story in reality.

Now I don't want to be unfair for those that worked in these movies and whoever is eager to watch them or already likes them but maybe we should consider what it means talking about violence and other issues and from which side of the matter. Especially when we're talking about movies that will be marketed and distributed to most of the world. Especially when they are marketed in a certain way and in the end we have to ask if they were honest to that.

In the end I believe that if even one person watches a movie and makes them question and see a side they never considered then it worths it, even if one reason that was made was to advertise a doll company.

#btw i am not lecturing you or anything #i totally understand your point and i am with you #these are just some of my thoughts on this matter #sorry for not being clear or comprehensive enough it's more of my blabbering #and i am not that knowledgeable or the right person to talk about these things #but yes i feel very uncomfortable with oppenheimer #thank you for sharing your thoughts with me! #the barbie movie #oppenheimer

[oaksau]

Why Fast Labour Hire Is A Game-Changer For Your Business?

If you are a small business owner, you know how crucial it is to stay on top of expenses. Labour hire can be a great way to cut costs and increase your bottom line, but it can also have some serious drawbacks.

For example, if you need workers for only a short period of time or if you don't have the budget for hiring full-time employees, then fast Labour hire melbourne might be the perfect solution!

Quick and Efficient Hiring Process

You may have heard of "the time to hire," which is the average amount of time it takes an employer to fill a job opening. This can be anywhere from 28 days to 60 days and even more for some high-skill positions.

When you're hiring fast labour, you can expect that process to be much quicker--as little as one day in some cases! And if you're looking for skilled workers who already have experience in your industry or business model? You might even get them on board within a few hours!

Access to a Large Pool of Skilled Workers

The first advantage of fast labour hire is that it allows you to access a large pool of skilled workers. This is possible because the hiring process is fast and efficient.

There's no need to spend time and money advertising for workers, or screening them before hiring them. You can also skip the interview process, which saves you even more time in terms of evaluating candidates' suitability for your position or business needs.

Once hired, these workers don't need extensive training because they already have relevant skillsets from previous jobs (or life experience).

                Flexibility in Hiring for Short-Term Projects

Flexibility is important in all aspects of life, and it's no different when you're hiring for your business. Flexibility can help you get the right person for the job quickly, which can save time and money.

It also means that if a project takes longer than expected or doesn't go as planned, then you don't have to worry about paying extra fees like overtime or penalties because of a fixed-term contract.

Instead, you can focus on getting back on track without worrying about losing money due to unforeseen circumstances such as heavy traffic during rush hour (that's happened before).

Increased Productivity and Timely Project Completion

Fast Labour Hire is a game-changer for your business because it allows you to complete projects in a timely manner.

Today, most businesses are struggling with the issue of time management and project completion. This can be attributed to several reasons including lack of qualified staff, poor project management skills and so on.

However, if you have access to fast labour hire services then all these problems will be solved as well as your business will be able to stay competitive in this highly competitive market place.

Conclusion

The hiring process can be a long and tedious one, especially when you're looking for a specific skill set. With a fast labour hire company, you can get access to thousands of workers who have been vetted by the company and are ready to start working immediately.

This means that instead of spending weeks or even months finding the right person for your project, you can get started right away!

#Labour Hire Melbourne