BNevis
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Saving the Family Farm
🕑 Added 2020-01-02 02:19:19 +0000 UTCSure, her cousin Jessi was always maybe a bit... out there. Both literally & figuratively.
Kooky. That always seemed like the best word for it. Always bringing up some idea from completely out of left field. Or having some bizarre or wholly unique take about something, often tangential enough to seem like it should be documented, studied, like anthropologically. Even just the way her eyes seemed to bug, showing just a little too much cornea whenever she got overly excited. But always in like… a fun way.
Jules just always chalked it up to her growing up so far out in the country, on the farm. Choring, working the land, being alone with her own thoughts most of the time. And maybe that’s why they were always so close growing up.
Every time summer vacation would roll around, young Jules didn't really have much in the way of options. Without school to occupy all of her time, her career-oriented parents certainly couldn't spare much of their own. Which, in the long run, was fine. Because that meant she’d just end up spending most of June through most of August on her Aunt & Uncle’s berry farm. palling around with her cousin. On the one hand, Jessi seemed to just adore the company, while Jules always seemed to get a kick out of whatever weird thing Jessi said or did next. The two of them had always been as thick as thieves. In a way, a bit more like siblings than cousins really.
So now, a decade & a half or so later, when Jessi started worrying about a few tumultuous growing seasons back to back, & the farm facing some serious financial burdens? Jules dutifully dropped everything in order to do what she could to pitch in.
Having accrued a decent amount of vacation time, she started packing her bag that very next Friday night! Deep down, she knew, as a city dweller, there probably wouldn't be much help she could possibly provide in terms of actual, like, farm stuff. Anything labor-intensive? No! Not her scene, frankly. But having very quickly climbed the ranks as one of her agency’s leading marketing gurus? Maybe there were other applicable skills that could help in all this, perhaps even more than planting a seed or tilling a field or whatever it was that Jessi actually did. You know, move some units! Drive some actual business!
She had two weeks allotted, but confidently, she figured they'd see some returns much sooner than that. After all, the Farmer's market where Jessi sold direct to the public? It was held in the nearby town every Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday this month. So on the long drive up, Jules used some of her expertise to start formulating a strategy. By the time she left the city, she had developed something of a fool-proof plan. And that started with a social media full-court press.
“Social media?” Jessi asked that evening on the porch. As she listened to her speak, Jules basked in her cousin's slow drawl. Not southern, but undeniably rural. It was much better to hear in person than over a phone. "Really?"
"That's right!" Jules smirked with unabashed confidence. Sitting in rocking chairs much older than either of them, the two cousins shared a beer, watching as a soft blanket of mist rolled down the ridge's Northern slope & through the berry groves. It was downright picturesque.
In fact, taking it all in, Jules inadvertently started coming up with a brand new contingency plan on the spot. If for some reason her marketing strategy wasn't successful, they could probably look into converting the property into a scenic, boutique, agri-B&B! With views like this? The sheer serenity of it all out here? She knew dozens of friends, coworkers, hell even neighbors in her complex that wold pay out the ass for an experience like this!
Then again, Jessi? In the hospitality industry? Dealing with the public? That would be something to see, if not a downright disaster! No. Jessi was a farmer. Through & through. Right down to the overalls & flannels she filled out with her sturdy, "farmfed" figure. Besides, there was no way Jules's plan wasn't going to be a success. All the same, Jessi still seemed to harbor a few concerns.
"I don't know. Not many people I know out this way are on their computers all the ding dong time." She grit her teeth, while trying to not be too hard on Jules's grand scheme. But Jules seemed too overjoyed to hear the likes "ding dong" used in place of an expletive to take too much of an issue. So the farmer took a sharp swig. A reticent Jessi had just stuck with what she had known best, which was a rather generic looking aluminum can with "beer" printed very plainly on the side. Even though Jules went through all the trouble of bringing a limited-run craft IPA from the microbrewery down the block from her. It had notes of honey. But also guava. In a bottle with an intricately designed label, painted by some independent artist of seemingly some renown.
"It's not just computers these days, Jess." Jules tried to fight off a dismissive scoff. "Phones? Tablets!" She tried to not come off as sounding too patronizing, but wasn't sure if it was actually working. "Connectivity is essential to the marketplace in this day & age. A lot of times, it's the very thing that moves units. Whether the folks you know are using it or not." Her cousin sighed. "It's not about them. It's the public!" Jessi could recognize she had a point. She started trying to think back.
“I mean I started making a page." Jessi racked her brain, seemingly trying to remember. "But this here was about four years ago. Just to have the name. ‘Fore anyone else did.”
“And you never set it up? I don't want to drone on-" Jules pressed.
"Too late." Jessi chortled before sipping.
"But it’s like… the most important thing these days." Jules continued to insist, without skipping a beat. All while trying to take her own relaxed sip. Conversely, Jules’s natural, snappy directness came off as a bit tense to Jessi. She probably would’ve more accurately described it as “extra.” At least if she was familiar with the term.
"So I hear..." She muttered, hiding a bit of an eye roll. It was the harshest level of snark Jessi seemed capable of. But Jules wasn't just going to take it lying down. She grinned.
“Don’t you worry your pretty blond head!” Jules laughed."We'll get you sorted!" She raised her designer bottle. “Trust me! I’ve got a really good feeling about all this.”
“Hope you're right.” Jessi winced, tipping her can in Jules's direction before throwing the rest of it back.
The very next morning, bright & early, was their first trip to the farmer's market. It was too soon to implement anything. So for Jules, this was all recon. She joked to Jessi though that she needed this. In her mind, this was the "Before" that her successful marketing plan would contrast with in a happy "After."
Things were vaguely familiar, but mostly a lot different than Jules remembered from fifteen years ago. And by her own reckoning, even though Jessi & the farm were forced to downgrade to a new, smaller plot than the one she remembered the farm holding? To Jules, it seemed they were still in a relatively prime location in terms of foot traffic. To her, this was a good thing to know.
Still sales were slow-going. Even if it was a Saturday, for Jules, the whole market seemed slow. She welcomed it though. Having brought her laptop, she & Jessi took turns guessing at passwords, trying to unlock the initial social media page Jessi had started trying to do on her own.
"Try Bullfrog. Oh, but with like a zero instead of the "o."
"Bullfrog?" Jules repeated, remembering the significance of the name. "But with a zero."
"You remember, right?" Jessi giggled looking at her cousin out the side of her face.
"How could I not?" Jules laughed thumbing in the characters. "You had a cat. The most adorable fuckin' kitten I'd ever seen. And I asked you what his name was."
"Hey now!" Jessi argued. "That's a great name! Also he was fighting with a bullfrog when I found him. And he's still kickin' around. Somewhere."
"Who names their cat that?!" Jules snapped before hitting the "submit" button. Mid-cousinly cackle, Jules & Jessi realized that was, in fact, the password. "We're in!" Jules happily announced. The both of them cheered. As Jessi did her thing & managed the table, Jules, did hers & went to work setting up a proper page.
"Do you have the old logo as an AI file? Maybe an EPS?" she asked fifteen minutes later.
"And E-P-whaaa?" Jessi stared blankly. Jules just exhaled slowly & opened up her vector art program. She was no graphic designer. Lucky for her the farms old logo wasn't put together by a graphic designer either, as she went to work replicating it. At another point, a singleminded, laser-focused Jules nearly bumped into a family of potential customers by hovering her phone over the table. "What on Earth are you doing now?" Jessi asked in a way that seemed stern, almost upset by her standards.
"These things look fuckin' gorgeous! Absolutely delicious!" Jules insisted. "I'm getting them for a cover photo."
"Cover photo? Is that... different... from a logo?" Jessi was trying.
By the end of the first day, the page wasn't only up & running with a bunch of new photos, Jules had coerced some of their customers to follow them on the spot. This brought them up to 14 followers. Which was 11 more than the page had initially (which were Jessi, Jules, & Jules's mom & dad's weird old person joint account).
According to Jessi. it seemed like this qualified as a "good" day. In so much that they had essentially just about broken even. Or at least came close in a way that wasn't a complete wash. At the same time, days like this weren't going to help make up for the rougher, earlier portion of the season. Or any of the debt the farm had accrued.
The next day, Jules used a bit of her own money (& a few of her company's analytical resources) to buy up some targeted ads. So by noon time Monday, the new & improved (in so much that there was finally actually some content) Northend Berry Farm social media page had already attracted something in the way of sixty new local followers.
Jules exploited the bright sunny day had managed to snap some more photos & dress the page up a little further. But then Jessi tried to put her to work. If only more for her own twisted, personal amusement than the fact scrawny little Jules was going to be much help! Still this provided even a few more photo ops, drawing just a wee bit more traffic. Little by little, things seemed to be coming together.
Every morning the cousins went to market, Jessi got up early & would bake a fresh batch of Blueberry muffins. She'd even sell some of the extras off their Meema's old porcelain platter. And they always cleared quick. After all, fresh & delicious muffins were one of the best perks of owning a berry farm after all. Jules was desperate for the recipe. She was going to need to learn what her secret was! Aside from their time together, the muffins were slowly turning into the highlight of her entire stay.
Tuesday, came & went. Even Jessi had to admit, the work Jules was doing slowly did turn into more & more foot traffic, & in turn, more & more sales. For the first time in a bit, they ended up turning a pretty decent profit. And Thursday, things were even better! The best day they'd had all this season, & possibly even in the last two or three!
But ultimately? It didn't seem like it was going to be enough. There was just too much Jessi owed on the place, & even if things were starting to swing in the right direction, it seemed to be just a drop in the bucket compared to what they owed. Jessi felt bad, smashing Jules's unbridled confidence & optimism, telling her how much they actually owed. On the ride back home to the farm, Thursday afternoon, there had been an undeniable mood shift.
That following Friday, a week after Jules arrived, the cousins hung out on the porch again. Jessi, who had tried to keep a measured ambivalence about everything seemed to soak in the sunset. Jules on the other hand, was crestfallen. She tried to enjoy her last remaining IPA. Her plan after all, hadn't not worked. It just... needed more time to follow through!
"Believe me! I appreciate the attempt." Jessi said, trying to let her cousin off the hook. "Really I do! I toldja things weren't great. No fault of yours. You did everything you could."
"No, no, no," Jules muttered, not entirely ready to give up just yet. "Not everything. I... we just need..." Whatever was going on in her mind wasn't coming easily. Maybe it was the beer, but she decided it'd be easier to just free associate. "We need a bigger hook!"
"Bigger...?" Jessi asked. “Hook?”
"Something... visceral!" Jules continued. "Real!"
"Real?" Jessi asked again, trying to follow.
"Yeah, like... much more tangible! A way to get people's attention & drive them straight to us!" Building up a head of steam, Jules was moving at a mile a minute now, getting up to pace a bit. "Not like a gimmick so much, but a way to like... catch eyes."
"Catch... eyes?" Jessi repeated.
She suddenly had something of an epiphany. Rocking forward in her chair, she hoisted herself up to her feet slowly, a bit sore after a long day's toiling. Lost in her own little world of brainstorming & pacing up & down the porch, Jules hardly noticed as Jessi started walking off the porch & towards the side shed.
The door opened with the creak of old wood bound to even older hinges. Jessi hit the light while she heard Jules suddenly realize she had left & called after her.
"Wha-where are you going?" Her cousin called after her. Jessi walked a few steps deeper into the shed, up to a mini fridge. She looked at the dire message she scribbled to herself on the masking tape that stretched across its door. "Do NOT under any circumstances sell these!" She opened the door & pulled out a small, plastic container. One of a few. She popped the lid. They still seemed fresh. "Jessi?!" Jules called again.
"Just a second!" Jessi smirked, closing the fridge door & stepping over the clutter to hit the lights.
As the sun slowly started to peek over the Eastern edge of the ridge, Jessi loaded up the truck.
Today was no exception. It was their fourth day waking up early to go into town, & it was starting to become abundantly clear that Jules wasn't at all a morning person. Meanwhile, Jessi woke up to do not only one, but two separate batches of her blueberry muffins. She was actually sort of surprised the smell that filled the house didn't drag Jules downstairs by her nostrils like some old cartoon. Instead, she relied on the old truck's horn to do the job.
"You coming or what?!" She shouted up to the guest room window. The window flew open & a bird flew out. But the finger kind. Not the avian kind.
A few minutes later, a grumpy Jules emerged & staggered towards the truck.
"Mornin.'” Jessi attempted. “I had an idea I was hoping we could try."
"Mmm-ech." A half-awake Jules hummed unintelligibly, waving a hand in Jessi's direction as her cousin got in.
"Oh, so that's how it is?" Jessi laughed as Jules joined her in the cab of the truck. "Well so much for this here muffin I made you this mornin.' Special." Jessi insisted while wearing a big, closed-mouth smile.
"Wait!" Jules came to life, reaching for it. Without putting up too much of a fight, Jessi handed it over. "Yes! Gimme gimme gimme!" the groggy marketing maven insisted, getting a little grabby.
"Might want to wait a little to eat it." Jessi warned. "Though I guess we're not going all that far." She started the old truck's engine. It sputtered to life a little slower than Jules had. "Like I said, I made that one special."
"What?" Jules giggled. "Did... did you find my... is there... weed? Cause my head this morning... I... it's... too much." She said too late, already mid bite.
"It's... it's not weed." Jessi laughed, watching her bite into it with a modicum of concern. "Though now that I know you're holdin' out..." She started down the long, dirt driveway, past Jules sporty little coupe. kicking up a ton of dust. "Just... nevermind. It's all yours, Enjoy!"
"Fine." Jules chuckled. "So what's this big idea of yours anyway?"
"A mascot...?" Jules questioned, chomping the last bit of muffin. Jessi had just pulled into their the parking spot behind their designated plot at the farmer's market. Luckily the traffic lights all seemed to be in their favor. "But we're talking about a farm here, not a professional sports team."
"So you kept talking about “social media this! And social media that” So the other night, I did some digging of my own. And then I found this here account? Out of Japan of all places?" She said, put the truck into park before holding her phone at arms reach. She had the page at the ready. "All sorts of mascots. Companies? Brands? Towns even? Most of them cute or real crazy looking too! But they're great! And people... they seem like they love them."
"Oh. Right." Jules conceded, vaguely familiar with posts from it occasionally spilling onto her own timeline here & there over the years. At this point, more a few years back rather than now "I guess there is quite a trend going on with them. Or was. But I don't know if it's such a great idea for... here." Suddenly her stomach made the oddest little grumble. Or more of a gurgle, honestly. She winced a little but tried not to pay it too much mind. “I mean what? You want us to waste what little profit we have digging up some sort of like… what… blueberry costume?”
"Actually I was... sort of thinki-”Jessi started, warming into something of a coy expression,. But Jules, in her mile-a-minute, city slicker way, cut her off with a new reason why not.
"And I don't know about you, but I don't have a lot of experience in designing mascot costumes myself. So that means, if you want to get something decent, we'd have to hire on an ar-ar... -urp-... artist."
"You feeling ok?" Jessi asked with some degree of concern. But Jules wasn't slipping, still on her rant.
"Let alone actually putting the thing together!" Jules seemed to continue on her train of thought if only because it kept her mind off of what was going on with her in a gastrointestinal sense. “No! No costumes!”
“Really? Oh.” Jessi tried to hide her wry smile. “Well what if we do it without a costume...?”
“What?” Jules snapped, holding in another burp. “What does that even mean?” She pressed in sort of a drawn out way. “Seriously.”
"Well, y'see...” Jessi slowly started to admit. “That muffin? Like I said, I made it sort of... special?” Suddenly, Jules recognized the strange expression on her cousin's face. It was the devious look she got whenever she did something “kooky” in her patented, unique way.
“Jessi,” Jules started plainly, trying to keep a level & calm voice. But another stomach gurgle interjected on its own. “What exactly made that muffin... special?” She asked with a gulp.
“It really...” Jessi sighed. “I hate to admit it, but earlier this season? I started messing with some... things.”
“What things?” Jules pressed.
“Things a country girl like me should probably never be messin' with.” Was Jessi's initial, extremely worrying response with what seemed like too flippant a laugh for Jules's level of concern. “But I was worried we weren't going to grow enough. And I know since daddy & even Meema worked the land, it's always been 100% natural & organic but... well... I did some tinkering.”
“The farm's always been organic!” Jules snapped back. “Ech, that's something I'm always able to brag about to my friends!” She cited, as if there weren't bigger reasons than simply talking up the fact to people she knew.
“Just on one or two trees, in one of the side crops.” She admitted. “Just to try it! Nothin' I ever wanted to sell. And I still haven't! Everything else if free of that... ding dong nonsense.” She eventually tagged on, almost as if to justify it. “Pardon my French.”
“Jessi,” Jules tried to regroup, shutting her eyes to take a deep breath. It felt like there was a hurricane going on inside her tight tummy. She opened her eyes again, & calmly tried to ask “What did you do?” But she noticed Jessi staring at her.
“Um...” Jessi reached for the rear view mirror & tilted it in Jules's direction.
"WHAT...?!" Jules gasped upon seeing her reflection. Her nose was taking on a subtle bluish hue. The same blue as the berries loaded up in back. And the closer Jules looked, the more the bluish blush seemed to spread, furthering into her cheeks & her forehead, until her face took on more of deeper, cooler hue. All she could do was stair into the tight slight of glass slack-jawed. Words weren't coming to her. It wasn't until suddenly the waste of her tights started to cut into her side a bit uncomfortably that her attention got called away. “J-J-Jessi...” was all she could mutter before looking in her cousin's direction. “I'm....I feel... so... bloated...” She muttered, feeling the elastics of her bottoms cinch all the tighter into a growing bulge of increasingly blue skin. She tried to smooth out the wrinkles of her berry farm t-shirt, just to see if it was her or folds in the fabric. But there was a lot more of her than she had anticipated. “I... am... bl-bloated...”
“It's just juice!” Jessi tried to assure her calmly. “You'll be alright.”
“WHAT?!” Jules panicked, but in her calm, slow drawl, Jessi continued.
“You might want to hop out the truck though. Give yourself a bit more... room.” She ended with a bit of a wince, but a growing Jules frantically pawed for the door handle.
As they got out, Jessi continued, whether Jules was in a place to listen or not.
“So like I was thinkin,'” she went on, her tone matter of fact. “Your name is going to be Blueberrina! And we can maybe look to like trademark that or somethin.'”
“Don't give me a stupid nickname! Get me to the hospital!” Jules shrieked. She tried to walk, but noticed a shift in her center of gravity. Her middle wasn't only growing, it was... sloshy. Weighing into her center, causing her to take on an almost tear drop shape. She had to brace herself against the rusty old truck to keep from falling on her slowly expanding ass. “I'm... I'm having an allergic reaction!”
“It's not an allergic reaction.” Jessi assured with an eye roll, walking around the front of the truck to help guide her growing cousin towards their booth's plot. As more of quick, city-paced aside to herself, she explained “It's more like a side effect actually.” Taking Jules by her puffy arm, Jessi slowly lead her out into the public thoroughfare as other sellers were setting up. People could... see her. Like this! “So my idea was that like... Blueberrina... & whatever. We can workshop the actual name. Either way, while she maybe a bit of a big mess, acts sort of like the nasty, GMO “Bad Idea,” to our other, all-natural organic, non-GMO berries' “Good Idea.” She stopped herself. “You don't think that's a little too high concept, do you?” If the shock of filling with blueberry juice wasn't already enough to turn her mind to mush, the idea of her hick cousin using the term “high concept” sure was. Jules tried to sputter for words but nothing was coming. She could only stare down at her body as it betrayed her to grow bigger, & bluer by the second. "Ooh! And I got some paint in the truck. We could paint "GMO" on you, in like big, bold letters? Really drive the whole idea home. What do you say?"
“I... feel...... funny.” Was all that she could muster. Jessi steadied her in the center of their plot before finally letting go of her arm. Without her cousin butting into the side of her, displacing some of the juice, it was slowly becoming clear just how round she was starting to get. A band of blue flesh had grown past the bottom edge of her t-shirt AND expensive jean jacket, forming a bulge that circumnavigated her. It was almost a good thing she got out of the truck when she did! At this point, they maybe would've needed the jaws of life to get her out! “Oh god! I'm... I keep... growing. How... big am I going t-?”
“Hey.” Jessi cut her off, getting as close as she could without bumping into her. “I'm sorry. Maybe we should've... talked this through. I realize that now.” She trailed off reflectively. “But you said it yourself! You wanted to try to do everything you could! And this...?”
“Ohhhhhhh” Jules moaned, having to wobble side to side. Her teardrop frame steadily grew so spherical, she had to spread her feet even further apart to make room. If this kept going, she'd end up in a split!
“... It's something visceral.” Jessi continued, undissuaded. “ Tangible. And it is for ding dong sure, one heck of a lot bigger!” She smiled. “This could be that hook you were talking about. You could be it.”
“But... why not.... you...?” Jules wimpered in a pace that seemed more country now.
“Because I know the product, obviously!” Jessi laughed. “Relax! You're still the head of marketing!”
“Nnnnghhh” Jules winced.
"How you holding up?" Jessi asked later on.
"Ucccch...." at first, it was the only noise Jules seemed to be able to push through her swollen lips. She attempted to pick up her monstrously swollen leg. But to do that, she had to rock her entire, almost spherical body to the side first.
"Oh, c'mon!" Jessi laughed. "Don't be so glum! You were right! We're selling like gangbusters here! More in the past three hours than we did all summer-long!"
"I... hate this..." Jules whined to herself, exhausted, & sopping in sticky juice. "I'm... I'm d-dragging. My feet barely... touch the... gr-gr... floor." She settled on the option with fewer syllables. "If I get... any... bigge..."
"Riper." Jessi seemed to correct with a smirk.
"More... ripe," Jules huffed, correcting further, even in her state. "I... I won't be able to... walk." She hoisted herself another step further along. The best she could.
“Oh don’t you worry!” Jessi tried to assure her. “If that happens, we’ll roll you back home.”
“Roll?!” In her condition, Jules was a little too anxious to really handle being teased. Then again, Jessi was halfway serious.
She was huge. As wide as she was tall, if not maybe just a little bit wider. Her outfit had done a miraculous job holding together for the most part. Her jacket even actually helped her arms retain some of their original shape. Still, the whole experience was humiliating. Even reminding herself that up in this mountain town of barely a couple thousand, no one would ever recognize her in a million years. She felt like a big, fat mess. With juice leaking out of every place it possibly could. She must've been making a huge mess. At the same time, it wasn't like she could stop herself. Or definitely do much in terms of cleaning it up. As she slowly continued to puff up further over the course of the day, she started to embody “Blueberrina” all the more. “Blueberrina,” the GMO freak of nature & exhibit A as to why you should only serve your family healthy, natural options! If she tried to rationalize if maybe Jessi was on to something here. It was just hard to do, seeing as she had been duped into this mess. She just hoped beyond hope that she wasn't stuck as “Blueberrina” for life. She kept asking Jessi but never seemed to get a satisfactory answer. Catching a bit of her breath, she tried one more time!
"You're... sure... this is... reversible... right?!"
"Oh, Yeah!" Jessi waved a dismissive wave, a few berries rolling out of her crate as she turned. "Just gotta squeeze it all out of you, & you'll be right as rain! Eventually.”
“How... eventually...?” Jules mustered.
“I mean it'd probably just take a little bit.” Jessi reasoned. “There is quite a bit in there after all. More than I even expected, to be honest.” Her tone seemed somewhat complimentary, but there was no way in hell that Jules accepted it as such. But then Jessi continued. "We could have you pretty close back to normal by the time you're ready to leave next Sunday. Of course... now that it's in your system though...?" She seemed to think out loud. "There is some chance it might... keep... happening..."
"JESSI!!"
"Relax, Cuz!" Jessi tried to give her round relative a delicate pat on what used to be her shoulder. Or maybe her upper arm. Honestly it was all just a little too bloated & juice-laden to tell for sure. "We'll cross that bridge if & when we get to it. But for now... We got some more berries to sell!" Before remembering "Oh! And we should definitely get some pictures of you too! To post up on social media!"
"If you... p-post a picture of me... like this... so help... me... I'll... I'll... roll you over." Jules threatened while feeling a slight draft of crisp country air in a new place as another few inches of seam split in a new place.
As she struggled to wobble & shuffle forward another step, she tried to take solace in the fact that she was a woman of her word. And that the farm was going to be safe for yet another season.
|||
Hope you guys like this one. You might remember it from when I started it back in about Autumn. I kind of let it sit for a little & then the spirit moved me this past week so here we are. Originally it was just going to be the picture. And then I developed a little short story. But I kept getting little ideas here & there & just ran with it.
At some point soon, I might do a process post on this one. Less about the actual technical how-to stuff (which I don't really feel all that qualified to talk about anyhow), & more in terms of what I was thinking about while I was working, & to maybe point out a few of the little details I tried to hide in there.
However, if you're looking for high res versions of just the image itself, without any of the mock social media bs, you're in luck! Attached there are four very large images for your viewing pleasure. Ones marked "Paint" designate images with the large "GMO" painted on Jules' belly, while the ones marked "Plain" do not. Then the ones marked "Clean" should be a little less... um... leaky. If that's more your thing.
At any rate, I had a lot of ups & downs last year on the whole. But through your support, you really helped keep things from ever getting truly bad & I am eternally grateful! Thank you. Sincerely. And I hope to continue producing more & more stuff for you guys in 2020!
Comments
Berry's Bakery
Well, keep it up! You don't get someone that's good at both art and writing to often ^^
BNevis
Glad! Thank you! I don't know, I try varying it up from the typical factory scenario. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but I just like trying something a bit different for berries.
Berry's Bakery
Just read the story, I loved it! Great concepts as always!
BNevis
The bureaucrats at the FDA might have something to say about that! But they could try! Hell, the rate she's going, they might have to!
WhosThisGuy
Well, this was definitely worth the wait. I love this type of stuff where it's not just a picture but it's framed in something like social media or a news report, makes it seem so much realer but I appreciate that it can be a lot of work coming up with ideas. Great idea and great execution! Just read the story and it's great too. I wonder if they offer people the chance to juice her? ;P
BNevis
I've had another one close to done for a little. I'd love to post more but I find if I post that & Bellflower I get some people complaining I do too many stories & not enough art LoL But no, I'll definitely be posting more soon hopefully!
BNevis
Thanks! I already drafted up most of the process post & I get into a some of that in there. I figured because the characters were a bit different, plastering the logo on them each somewhere would give some level of cohesion LoL
Debauched Sloth
What a great start to the new year! A great little story too. I'd love to see more blueberry related stories from you tbh
Josh Gibson
The detail in the image is really impressive, especially the jacket and the stretched out logo on her shirt.
Blueberryliqueur009
We can only hope.
Chumlee99
Wouldn’t surprise me if there was crazed billionaire trying to make this a reality
