#acup: task1

[mikhailacey]

task one → working nine to five (introducing: lacey’s work family)

Mary Goldstein ;; 78 ;; owner. worked as a lawyer for eight months before deciding to open a bakery instead. learned to love baking from her jewish-american mother. married her wife Bessie in 2011.

Bessie Sommers ;; 83 ;; co-owner. pops in every few weeks to check in. prefers to spend her time volunteering at the public library or training for her amateur 60+ boxing league. married her wife Mary in 2011.

Clementine Cook ;; 71 ;; worked as a teacher for 32 years before retiring to bake bread. hits on theo’s older brother whenever he comes in. has floor to ceiling windows in her apartment and likes to bang her husband weekly in front of them. believes masturbation is the best form of stress relief. isn’t allowed to decorate birthday cakes anymore.

Doris Fitzpatrick ;; 72 ;; fosters rescue dogs. thinks emojis are the best thing about modern technology. thought Lacey’s name was Lucy for the first seven months she worked there. now it’s a joke, where she calls Lacey Lucy, and Lacey calls Doris Dolores.

Phyllis Howard ;; 63 ;; used to be the youngster of the group before Lacey was hired. needs to work on her croissants but boy does she try. exclusively wears “world’s best grandma” shirts underneath her apron. thinks puppy dog pals is the cutest cartoon this country has ever seen (she’s right).

Marta Mendoza ;; 68 ;; immigrated to the US from Argentina in 1987. has three sons, all doctors. regularly participates in (and wins) hot dog eating contests. the weekly work-wide knitting circle is held at her house. has a rottweiler named princess. 

Myrtle Olsen ;; 70 ;; doesn’t talk much but when she does, you better listen. alludes to the idea that she may have killed a man in the 70s but the police could never prove anything. teaches Sunday school, and is Snickerdoodle’s current Scrabble champion.

Hilda VanAntwerp ;; 67 ;; retired US Air Force. has had two hip and one knee replacements, but still kicks ass at shuffleboard. came out as bisexual earlier this year and the whole bakery threw her a party.

[notthatharperlee]

TASK ONE - WORKING 9 TO 5 🏫

What drew your character to this particular profession?

School has always been a safe space for Harper. Back in Chicago her only positive adult interactions happened with her teachers and school staff. It was a place where she could be herself and try to reclaim what it meant to be a child. School meant guaranteed lunches and all the books she could ever want to read. As she’s aged her love for school has only grown bigger. With that she realized that nothing would make her happier than to provide the same safety and security to students of her own. 

How did your character land their position? Did someone help them get an interview or offer a recommendation?

Harper is very fortunate to have so many great fellow teachers in the community. She did student teaching with Rowan and has gone to Fiona and Sam several times for advice. All of them have been fantastic resources and offered recommendations while Harper was applying for jobs. She’s positive that they were a driving force in her landing this position. 

Does your character have set hours? Do they have a flexible work schedule? Do they have to get up early or work late?

Harper’s schedule is set around the school day. With the bell ringing at exactly 8:00AM, Harper usually walks in the door each day by 7:00AM or earlier. Harper has never been much of a morning person so she wouldn’t say this is her favorite part about her job. One perk is the fact that she gets to enjoy the same break schedules are her students. No work during the summer? You won’t find her complaining even with the early mornings. 

What challenges does your character face daily when it comes to their job? Are there drawbacks to their current position? Is there something in particular in which they’ve struggled?

As much as Harper loves her students there are days when they leave her absolutely exhausted. It’s on those days she realizes why so many teachers suffer from burnout at some time in their careers. Between the constant deadlines, nerve wracking layoffs and challenging days with students? It’s more than enough to leave her frazzled at times. 

Are there perks to your character’s job?

The biggest perk is by far the breaks. Harper’s favorite perk is getting to retell all of the funny things her students say and hanging their art on her fridge. She also loves the fact that she gets to shop for school supplies every year and decorate her classroom. 

How does your character celebrate job-related successes? 

Usually with dinner out and a night dedicated to playing video games.

What’s your character’s favorite part of their work day?

Harper loves her lunch period. It gives her the opportunity to exchange stories with her coworkers or read with her meal. 

Is your character good at what they do?

Harper is an excellent teacher. Her easygoing nature comes in handy when the day’s schedule gets thrown off. She’s fair and firm when she needs to be, but also has plenty of time dedicated to making her students laugh. The fact that she’s so passionate about what she does keeps her students engaged. Okay, most of the time. They are third graders after all. 

Does your character enjoy the work they do, or is their job a way to make ends meet?

Harper absolutely loves her job and wouldn’t change it for anything. 

[acuppellarp]

So there’s no confusion, though we’ve had a handful of tasks in the past, we’re going to kick off the new year with labelling this task as #1 and moving forward from there. 

TASK 1: WORKING 9 TO 5

Welcome to the first Task Tuesday of 2019! 

At ACup we have characters involved in a range of professions. Some characters have achieved their dream jobs and are flourishing, some are striving toward a goal, and others are grinding away at survival jobs to pay the bills.  

For this task we’d like you to focus on your character’s daily life in regards to their careers, and explore what a typical work day is for them. 

Some questions to consider (if applicable):

What drew your character to this particular profession?

How did your character land their position? Did someone help them get an interview or offer a recommendation?

Does your character have set hours? Do they have a flexible work schedule? Do they have to get up early or work late?

Does your character have coworkers? Do they get along with their coworkers? Whom do they interact with most?

What challenges does your character face daily when it comes to their job? Are there drawbacks to their current position? Is there something in particular in which they’ve struggled?

Are there perks to your character’s job?

How does your character celebrate job-related successes? 

What’s your character’s favorite part of their work day?

Is your character good at what they do?

Does your character enjoy the work they do, or is their job a way to make ends meet?

This task can be completed in a variety of ways, but we would like some form of a written element to be involved. Some suggestions are:

A narrative. Write a solo/snapshot of a day in the life of your character while at work.

Headcanons. Compile a list of headcanons about your character’s career/job.

Planner/To-do list. Provide an insider glimpse into your character’s daily/weekly planner when it comes to their job.

Time card. If your character punches in at 9am and out at 5pm, give us a bulleted and detailed list of everything that happens in between on a typical work day for your character. 

Piclet. Find a picture that relates to your character’s career, and write up a story inspired by the photo.

Questions. Answer the questions listed above!

Also, please feel free to combine your written element with a visual! This could be via an aesthetic, moodboard, social media post, ID badge, etc. 

If you choose to complete this task, please tag your post with the following:

acup: task1

acup: inspo

And finally...

Usually, tasks aren’t mandatory, but they are always highly encouraged as a way for you to get into your muse’s head, characterization develop, and overall enrich the verse.

Usually, tasks have no deadline, so please feel free to go back and redo and start an older task at a later time if inspiration strikes!

And as always, if you have any questions or suggestions for tasks you’d like to see in the future, please reach out!

[thehudsonator]

TASK 1: WORKING 9 TO 5

What drew your character to this particular profession?  During her formative years Fiona saw her mom go back to school for nursing, and it instilled the importance of education in her.  Fiona was in college and unsure what the future held for her, but she was teaching drum lessons on the side between school and soccer practice.  Her favorite students were always the enthusiastic kids.  It didn’t take long before Fiona realized she would be happy teaching kids full time.  

How did your character land their position? Did someone help them get an interview or offer a recommendation?  When Fiona made the decision to move to New York from Jersey, she applied to a wide variety of schools.  The Charrette School wasn’t only one of the first ones to show interest, but it was also within walking distance of the apartment she’d share with Puck.   

Does your character have set hours? Do they have a flexible work schedule? Do they have to get up early or work late?  Fiona’s hours are pretty set.  However, there are days she needs to hang around the classroom longer than others.  She tries to avoid having to get there early as much as possible.  

Does your character have coworkers? Do they get along with their coworkers? Whom do they interact with most?  Fiona adores her co-workers!  Her fellow teachers are some of the best people she knows.  She tries not to play faves even with her fellow teachers but Sam, Rowan, and Amber are her favorites.  

What challenges does your character face daily when it comes to their job? Are there drawbacks to their current position? Is there something in particular in which they’ve struggled?  Fiona loves children but there are some days where they are just simply exhausting.  There’s also the fact she’s on a constant deadline and often doesn’t feel she has enough time to pull all her lesson plans together as precisely as she’d like.  

Are there perks to your character’s job?  The hours work really well for her.  She’s able to still stay dedicated to playing soccer which is important to her.  The summers off too are a major bonus.  

How does your character celebrate job-related successes?  How she celebrates most things: ordering a bunch of take out. 

What’s your character’s favorite part of their work day?  Occasionally she’ll join a game of basketball during the kid’s lunch period and it’s the most fun she has at work tbh.  

Is your character good at what they do? She genuinely is!  Fiona has a knack for communicating with her students, and sure some kids are more difficult than others but overall she’s able to balance being in a position of authority while gaining their trust.  

Does your character enjoy the work they do, or is their job a way to make ends meet?  Fiona honestly couldn’t imagine herself doing much else at this point,  

[acupofmatt-blog1]

MATT SOLÍS : ACUP BARISTA 

“Coffee, because crack is bad for you.” 

What drew your character to this particular profession? When Matt first began to work at ACup, it was out of desperate necessity. She thought this was only going to be a temporary job while she got back on her feet after being disowned by her family and leaving Chicago. Things, however, never go as planned.

How did your character land their position? Did someone help them get an interview or offer a recommendation? It was a few weeks after Matt moved to New York City. Her savings was running out and Matt was getting desperate. Matt stumbled upon ACup and did some job searching at the coffee shop before getting around to talking to the owner, April. Matt shared her situation and April felt for Matt before offering her a job to help her out. Matt’s been working at ACup ever since.

Does your character have set hours? Do they have a flexible work schedule? Do they have to get up early or work late? Matt’s schedule varies. Considering a majority of the baristas that work at ACup have other obligations, scheduling shifts. Sometimes Matt works early, sometimes late. Matt usually opens up or closes. You can catch Matt nearly every day.

Does your character have coworkers? Do they get along with their coworkers? Whom do they interact with most? Matt does have coworkers. She gets along well enough with all of them. Of course, she has her favorites. Marley and Stacey are definitely her favorite coworkers. Marley’s her work wife and Stacey is her sunshine. Matt’s not sure where the title of work wife came from, but Marley and her have rolled with it since then. Stacey’s still new as a barista and Matt quickly took her under her wing. Stacey’s like a little sister to Matt.

What challenges does your character face daily when it comes to their job? Are there drawbacks to their current position? Is there something in particular in which they’ve struggled? Working in customer service means having to deal with customers who have complex orders or they’re just plain assholes. It’s also not the highest-paying job, so sometimes Matt can struggle a bit financially—it doesn’t help that she has an expensive taste, but Matt makes it work. She sometimes gets sugar mommies and daddies to help her out. A girl’s gotta do what she can.

Are there perks to your character’s job? Oh, definitely. Where do you think Matt does most of her flirting at?

How does your character celebrate job-related successes? A bottle of wine, a few rounds of Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch, and relaxing in her favorite lingerie.

What’s your character’s favorite part of their work day? Closing. Matt likes seeing ACup wind down and then getting to close up in silence. It’s a different environment from the usual busyness.

Is your character good at what they do? Considering Matt has worked at ACup for about five years now, she definitely has a ton of experience of being a barista. Not only that, but she has a knack for making intricate latte art. It’s one of the things that brings in customers. Usually when there’s a new barista, Matt helps train them.

Does your character enjoy the work they do, or is their job a way to make ends meet? Matt honestly loves her job. Sure, it can be stressful and tiring working in customer service, but Matt loves making her fancy latte art and the satisfaction she gets when people are satisfied. Matt’s a giver in many ways, you could say. Despite it having been a job Matt thought would be temporary, things change and Matt’s not sure she can imagine herself doing anything else but being a barista.

[snixxxlopez]

TASK ONE: WORKING 9 TO 5

What drew your character to this particular profession? Being in the spotlight was all Santana ever wanted. Despite her saying it’s because she knows how talented and hot she is, being in the modeling industry reinforced that idea. Not to other people as much as it helped her know it for herself. Acting, well, that was easy. Santana acted every single day of her life.

How did your character land their position? Did someone help them get an interview or offer a recommendation?  It was stupid. Santana will be the first to admit that her ‘rise’ was stupid. She auditioned for everything and anything. Then she landed the Yeast-I-Stat commercial. For some people that might have been the end of the career. Santana though? It was the one thing she booked and the one thing she could list on references. A stupid and gross product? Sure. A commercial that did well and showed companies that she could sell products? Absolutely.

Does your character have set hours? Do they have a flexible work schedule? Do they have to get up early or work late?  Santana can go weeks without a real job. She doesn’t like to do it, obviously. If it was up to her she’d have multiple shoots a week, but the industry doesn’t always work that way. Especially being Latina, her roles and places are limited to background POC mandatory spots. When she does book a job, they’re all day, early to late. There’s never a time when if she’s working that she knows for sure when her day will end.

Does your character have coworkers? Do they get along with their coworkers? Whom do they interact with most?  She fucking hates most of her coworkers. The bitchy blonde pretty as sin models that book shoots make her sick. Literally. Santana has sacrificed everything to get where she’s gotten and even that sacrifice hasn’t gotten her as far as she thought it would. Plastic surgery. Crash diets. Occasionally emptying her stomach in a bathroom stall to look less bloated... and some girls walk in and make being pretty look easy. She hates them all.

What challenges does your character face daily when it comes to their job? Are there drawbacks to their current position? Is there something in particular in which they’ve struggled?  Santana’s biggest issue is her confidence, because faking it can only get a person so far. And she knows it. There are so many times when she’s told she’s too thin. Or she’s told she’s not thin enough. In auditions it’s that she ‘wasn’t the right fit’ or ‘we’re looking for someone else’. Most of the times those things mean that they wanted a white girl. Other times it all comes down to the fact that no matter how talented Santana is, if she doesn’t believe it, no one else will believe it either.

Are there perks to your character’s job?  Santana has been on television. People can see her on the Subway and know who she is. Which okay, when it’s because of a national yeast infection commercial might not be the best. But PEOPLE KNOW HER and that alone makes her feel special. If only she could get a job that was more than talking about vag itching or wearing clothes she can barely afford herself.

How does your character celebrate job-related successes?  Santana gets drunk. Because all success comes with Santana picking apart everything she could have done better for herself. For the ad. For everyone.

What’s your character’s favorite part of their work day?  Weirdly enough, Santana loves the moment when it’s all over. By the way she acted everyone would think that being in the spotlight or getting her picture taken would be her favorite part. But what really gets to her is when she walks through her front door, yells at her roommates for being nerds, and kicking off her heels.

Is your character good at what they do? Santana would say she’s good at everything she does. The industry would say she’s just another pretty face... which, isn’t that much of a discouragement, right?

Does your character enjoy the work they do, or is their job a way to make ends meet?  Sometimes she loves it. Most of the time she’s waiting for a project that’ll actually mean something to her.

[yesyesyoumae]

MAE DÍAZ: Gymboree Instructor, NYU Student, and Warblette

What drew your character to this particular profession? Mae has always been a fan of children. She absolutely adores them and, honestly, prefers tiny kids over adults any day.

How did your character land their position? Did someone help them get an interview or offer a recommendation? After having worked at Build-a-Bear for nearly a year, Mae decided she wasn’t a fan of stuffing and being surrounded by unstuffed toys (it was kinda creepy, if Mae was being honest). Mae’s grandma mentioned to her that friend of hers had a daughter that worked at Gymboree and Mae had honestly never heard of the place, but the sound of it sounded pretty great! Playing with kids all day? A DREAM. So Mae got in touch with said daughter of a friend and Mae managed to land a job at Gymboree and has been working there ever since.

Does your character have set hours? Do they have a flexible work schedule? Do they have to get up early or work late? Due to also being a student at NYU AND a committed Warblette member, Mae has a pretty flexible work schedule. She mostly works weekends and from noon until closing time. They are usually pretty long, tiring shifts—but Mae enjoys them, nonetheless.

Does your character have coworkers? Do they get along with their coworkers? Whom do they interact with most? Mae is always an absolute ray of sunshine at work and tries to get along with all her coworkers. Of course, there are some coworkers that Mae questions on a daily why they’re working at Gymboree, but Mae tries to be nice to all of them. She interacts mostly with the coworkers that are around her age and tend to invite her to parties or grab lunch together. Thankfully, it’s not the most hostile environment.

What challenges does your character face daily when it comes to their job? Are there drawbacks to their current position? Is there something in particular in which they’ve struggled? As much as Mae adores the tiny children, there are always setbacks. Mae tends to have to deal with creepy dads who have no idea what boundaries are. And there are always the helicopter parents that try to tell Mae how to do her job, as if she hasn’t been doing it for nearly three years. Mae also knows it’s not the child’s fault, but some kids can be so…difficult. Mae tries to maintain as much patience as possible, though.

Are there perks to your character’s job? Mae thinks getting to blow bubbles and sing cute songs to kids is a pretty nice perk. And getting paid to play games with kids? How much better could that get?!

How does your character celebrate job-related successes? Lots of high fives, hugs, and tequila shots.

What’s your character’s favorite part of their work day? When she sings the bubble song while blowing bubbles to kids.

Is your character good at what they do? Definitely. Kids are Mae’s area of expertise. When her coworkers are having trouble with their group of kids, it’s always Mae that comes to the rescue. She’s the local kid whisperer.

Does your character enjoy the work they do, or is their job a way to make ends meet? Mae loves her job. Of course, she’s aware it isn’t forever. Mae intends to be a music teacher for elementary kids, so this is just Mae gaining experience.

[nicoladerocha]

TASK 1: WORKING 9 TO 5

TLDR; Nicola is a full time student and a paid intern for A24′s public relations department.  

What drew your character to this particular profession?  Nicola’s major at NYU is entertainment, media, and technology which was a welcomed change from the boring business classes she was taking before transferring from North Carolina.  She always knew she wanted a job in the entertainment industry, and with the rise of social media she saw her in.  

How did your character land their position? Did someone help them get an interview or offer a recommendation?  Admittedly The Porters used their connections in the tech industry to put in a good word for her at A24 for her initial social media internship.  She is incredibly thankful and wouldn’t change a thing, but she works a little harder to make up for the fact the position was essentially handed to her.  When her time in the social media department ended she was offered a position in public relations and feels she earned it on her own merit  

Does your character have set hours? Do they have a flexible work schedule? Do they have to get up early or work late? All of Nicola’s classes are in the morning so she has her afternoons freed up to be in the office.  She works four days a week usually from 1:00-6:00, but that doesn’t include the occasional event she needs to attend.  

Does your character have coworkers? Do they get along with their coworkers? Whom do they interact with most?  At first Nicola socialized mostly with her fellow interns, but since receiving a promotion of sorts to the PR department she’s gotten much more comfortable with networking.  She uses it in her advantage to pick up extra projects in order to prove herself valuable enough to hire upon graduation.  

What challenges does your character face daily when it comes to their job? Are there drawbacks to their current position? Is there something in particular in which they’ve struggled?  She hates getting other people’s coffees.  The moment she gets introduced as an intern she gets coffee orders barked at her and it drives her nuts.  

Are there perks to your character’s job?  The events!  Nicola loves the events: press junkets, red carpets, premieres.  It’s what she lives for!  She’s been chosen to host interviews on a few occasions and she loves it every time.    

How does your character celebrate job-related successes?  Bragging on social media, a bottle of wine, a night in (or out) with Spencer.  

What’s your character’s favorite part of their work day?  Gossiping with her coworkers lbr.  

Is your character good at what they do?  Nicola was a natural at all things social media and while public relations is a bit more of a challenge she’s confident in her skills.  

Does your character enjoy the work they do, or is their job a way to make ends meet?  She loves it and couldn’t ask for a better way to get her foot in the door to the entertainment industry.  While she’s banking on being offered a full time position at A24 once graduation comes around, she can’t help but feel she’d enjoy a position where she gets to flex her creative muscles a bit more: possible something in set design or location scouting.