#i’m still worried i messed something up in my email or smth but like…i think it’ll be ok hopefully

[josephtrohman]

i sent in my application for the summer student jobs a whole two days ahead of the deadline. who clapped

[prettylittlebutterflie]

It All Started With A Break

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31840603

Okay, so I have fallen down the rabbit hole known as MariBat and I just can't stop all the ideas I have because of this and decided that enough is enough and I am doing it.

This is my very first fanfic - or any fic actually - but I hope you guys like it and be WARNED that some of you may find some part of this story that's similar with another and that may've been because I really liked the idea when I read it and wanna have a kinda similar thing here and the same goes with some trope of this fanfic in the future, but I'll do my best to keep it unique. I am also new to the DCU, but I'm doing research and planning to binge watch stuff and if you could please help this poor soul find a way to navigate and somehow get an idea on how that universe work (especially abt the batfam), I'll be forever grateful to thy savior.

This fic is canon until S4 Ep 1&2 (Truth & Lie) of MLU and as for the rest, I'll let you guys know.

So yeah, that's all. Enjoy and hope you guys like it. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

P.S. Sorry I kinda ranted, this is my first time actually posting smth so bear with me people

SYNOPSIS

It’s been four years ever since Hawkmoth, who now goes by the name Shadow Moth, began his reign of terror in Paris. Four years worth of akumas that have brought pain and suffering. Four years of no rest in controlling their emotions, afraid of what may come if they were controlled.

After four long years, the Miraculous Team can finally see a ray of light. Everything they have sacrificed for that one goal they all share is finally going to be repaid… Not.

Locating Hawkmoth was easier said than done, and the frustration is finally getting to them. With that, it was decided that they need a break from their hero lives — ok, maybe not. After all, Shadow Moth is proving himself to be a workaholic (like dude, don’t you have anything better to do than destroy everyone’s schedule?) — but anyways, it was clear. THEY. NEED. A. BREAK. Away from Paris. Away from Hawkmoth. Away from the frickin akumas.

So yeah, that’s how it was decided (more like forced) that they are going to America to relax, let loose, and have some fun. After all, who knows, maybe a break is all they need to get things to start getting better — or worse.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

PROLOGUE

“Alright. So, we are going to take a break—”

“For two months.”

“For two months. And because it’s supposed to be a break, that means—”

“No thinking of anything Moth related.”

“No thinking of anything Moth rela— Moth related?”

“You know, Hawkmoth, Red Moth, Shadow Moth, those Moths.”

“Right. Moths. Aside from Moths, it also means—’

“No thinking of akumas.”

“No thinking of akumas. For this entire break, we’re not going to think about—”

“Anything Miraculous related.”

“Anything Miraculous related. Alya, do you really need to do that every time I’m about to say it?”

“It’s because she knows you. We know you. It’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, how you always promise not to worry about something, especially anything Miraculous related, just to break it the moment anything related to it comes up. So, yes. She needs to say it and repeat it as much as possible for it to go through that head of yours.”

“Guys, I swear, I’m really going to follow through with this plan. I did agree that we need to unwind ourselves since we’re getting way too stressed and that won’t help us focus on our job.”

“Only after we bugged you about it. Get it? Bugged. Pfft—”

“Hey! Puns are my thing. And you shouldn’t be saying it like that. You’re making it ape-solutely obvious and that makes it not punny anymore”

“Dude, do you really have to do that? That’s so not paw-some. Pfft—”

“All puns aside, it is true that we had to convince you, Mari-hime, to agree on taking a break. Although I rarely take a break from fencing, my Mother and I are aware of the importance of having one and may I also remind you that you were the one who taught us that.”

“And that’s why I told you guys to go have one.”

“But you plus the kitty are the ones who need it the most. Remember what future-me said? About you two always leading us and how she— or rather I am the last one called upon? That means you guys are always gonna work while the rest of us may or may not be needed in some fights.”

“There is a 97.6% probability of you two showing up in fights.”

“Because we have to. It’s our responsibility as the one leading our team.”

“M’lady’s right. Besides, there were only the two of us in the beginning and with all the akumas, we just got used to it.”

“But that doesn’t mean you don’t need to rest. The music I’m hearing from both of you is filled with the stress you guys have and it doesn’t sound nice. Maybe you two unwinding will help make it more beautiful and even more powerful than before.”

“Fine. We’re all taking a break—”

“Especially you and Adrien.”

“Especially Adrien and I, for a month. Now, does anyone have any ideas on how we're gonna do that?”

“Ooh! Me, me! I have a competition coming up this summer break so I can’t really go anywhere too far since I have some training to do.”

“I’m sticking with the ape. Gotta keep an eye on him if I don’t want him messing up with the timeline. Plus, it’ll be pretty fun beating him up every time he asks for a challenge.”

“Hey!”

“The same goes for me. Someone has to make sure the correct time is recorded with not a single millisecond of it missed. Kwami knows how many times he messes it up whenever he does the recording himself.”

“Okay. So Kim, Alix, and Max will be staying in Paris. Are you guys sure that you’ll be able to take a break even if you’re in the city?”

“Yeah, we're fine. And I am totally beating you next time, little bunny.”

“Whatever. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming, y’know.”

“Anything else?”

“Oh, I have an internship in America this coming summer. The one at the Daily Planet. I just got the email and I was finally given an invite!”

“Really? Cool! Told you you’ll get it, babe!”

“Yeah! That’s really awesome, Alya! So I’m assuming you'll be accepting that?”

“You got it, girl! I mean, this is the Daily Planet we’re talkin’ about. I’ll learn so much about writing and journalism there, I’ve just got to take it.”

“So Alya’s going to America. Anyone else with plans outside of the country?”

“There will be an upcoming world-class fencing competition this summer and Mother and I have discussed my participation in it. It will be held in the States as well, specifically Gotham, two weeks before the end of the summer break. Maybe you should participate in it as well, Adrien. That way, you’ll have an excuse for your father to leave the country. I’m sure Mother will be happy to convince him as well to let you participate in it. That way, at the very least, I’ll have someone I know who’ll be an actual challenge.”

“Really? That actually sounds great! I’m sure Father would agree if your mother’s the one who suggested it. Thanks Kagami!”

“Okay. Kagami and hopefully Adrien will have a fencing competition in America too.”

“My Dad is having a tour in America right now. He’ll be having the last one at Metropolis during the summer break. He actually wants me to go with him, but I declined. It’ll be great if we all could go there and see it.”

“Dude, that’s so cool! Maybe you’ll even get to perform with your dad on stage. You did make that song with him that reached the record chart’s top. I’ve even made a playlist based on it.”

“Okay then, that makes Alya, Kagami, Adrien, and Luka going to the States. Chloe, do you also have plans to go there this summer? Maman said your mother was thinking of inviting you to be one of the models in an upcoming fashion show there.”

“She did mention something like that, but I wasn’t really paying attention to details once I found out that it’ll be outside of Paris. I’ll discuss it with her again then I can have my much needed vacation in the States.”

“So now that makes five of you going to America. Nino?”

“Well, I don’t really have any plans this summer. Just chill out and relax, y’know, make some playlist, listen to some music.”

“Ooh! How about you come with us, babe? That’ll be so cool and not all of us will be doing something most of the time while we’re there. You can just chill and relax there and maybe you could even study the kind of music they listen to and make a playlist out of it.”

“I would love to go, but I don’t think I really got the money for it. ‘Sides, my parents might not allow me to go out of the country.”

“You’re already 18 and if your parents ever say no, just tell them that you want to really relax, without keeping your emotions in check and have the freedom to let it out. I’m sure they’ll understand and unlike my Father, they actually listen to you.”

“As for the money, I have some savings and if you want I can lend you some-”

“But-”

“Lend. I’m not just giving it to you. You will have to pay me back, alright? And if you try to say no again, I’m going to insist that you don’t pay me anymore.”

“You sure? You're the best! Thanks, Minette.”

“No problem. So now that makes six of them—”

“Seven.”

“What?”

“Seven. We’re including you.”

“Me? But Alya, I already got plans this summer.”

“Plans? What plans?”

“I was planning on working on my commissions this summer an— Guys, can you all stop rolling your eyes on me and no, Chloe. I don’t need you doing it again.”

“Girl! We all agreed that we’re going to take a break this summer. How does doing your commissions sound like a break to you?”

“You all got your own thing to do this summer and mine just happens to be those. Also, the break was for anything Miraculous related. My commissions don't exactly fall under that.”

“Nope. We actually all agreed that for you, commissions should be added to the list of things you get to take a break from.”

“Adrien! I thought you’re supposed to be my partner? So much for the two of us against the world.”

“He is still your partner alright. But also, as someone who truly cares about you, he decided that you really needed a break. And besides girl, this could be your chance!”

“Chance? What chance?”

“Your pen pal! Doesn’t he live in Gotham? You could go and finally meet him. Who knows? Maybe something might happen.”

“Ooh, he’s from there? That’s awesome! You should totally go meet him. Maybe you could even go on a date or two-”

“A date?! Kim, he’s just a frie-”

“You stop right there, Dupain-Cheng! It’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! All of us already had enough with Adrikins always calling you ‘just a friend’ when it’s pretty obvious how totally untrue that statement was. We don’t need you ending up just like him, thank you very much.”

“But he really is-”

“Yeah right. If he really is just a friend, then why do you guys stay up all night talking to each other? You always immediately check your phone whenever a notif comes up and you smile like a love-sick fool whenever you read his messages for you. And don’t get me started on the way you gush about him non-stop.”

“There is something beautiful in your music whenever you talk or even think about him.”

“Your smiles are much brighter compared to before the two of you got to know each other.”

“Markov and I also have a record of your heartbeat and we have observed your heart beating faster whenever we talk about this certain topic.”

“And it's been more than a year since you two have become pen pals. The two of you are now so close that it’s a wonder why you guys still haven’t video-called each other just because you insist for your first time seeing each other to be in person.”

“I think it’s rather romantic. They’ll look into each other’s eyes for the first time then BAM! They’re finally together. But I still plan on giving him a shovel talk the first chance I get. Can’t have him break my twin’s heart without him knowing I have the god of destruction on my side.”

“What do you mean shovel talk- I mean, what even gives you the idea that he thinks of me that way for you guys to assume that we’ll end up in… in that kind of relationship?”

“He’d be an idiot if he still hasn’t fallen in love with you.”

“Literally almost everyone I know had a crush on you or have you forgotten already that my boyfriend’s one of those people?”

“I know for a fact that that’s true since I’ve already admitted that one of my reasons why I began bullying you back then was because I had a crush on you.”

“I must admit, I think I also had the same feeling towards you at the beginning of our friendship until I really got to know Luka and you helped us get together.”

“Oh! There’s also that. Do you actually know just how many people you’ve helped get together, buginette? Alya’s even written an article about it at the Ladyblog of how you are also known as Paris’s own cupid and how all of the couples you’ve paired ended up living a happy life together.”

“Everyone’s been saying how Ladybug’s the next best person they can go to if they ever want to find love after Andre.”

“And yet every time you try to pair yourself with someone, the magic just doesn’t seem to work.”

“So we all decided that we’ll be Ladybug’s cupid and pair her up with the boy she just can’t seem to get off of her head.”

“Now, you coming or what? I won’t be taking the money you’ll be lending me if you say no. I’m only going with these dudes if you also come or else I’ll just end up getting bored when there’s no one who can go around the city with me.”

“...”

“““...”””

“Fine. You guys win—”

“““YES!”””

“So here’s the final plan for the break. Kim, Alix, and Max will be staying in Paris for Kim’s competition, while the rest of us will be going to America doing our own stuff—”

“With you finally meeting your pen pal.”

“Yes. Alright. I’ll go and meet my pen pal. And during the break, no thinking about anything miraculous related. If ever there’s an akuma, only those who’ll be needed will go. Max will bring us to the akuma’s location and if there is anything going on that we can’t be excused of or if the fight goes longer than expected, Alix will bring us back in time making it look like we just went to the toilets, the usuals. Any questions?”

“““Non.”””

“Good. Operation: Taking a Break is good to go.”

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Yay! Finally got to post it. So comments? What do you guys think and who do you think who is saying what? I know there will be new holders in S4, but I decided I’ll either make them a temp or they still don’t know the other’s identities bc of stuff, so yeah. Still thinking abt it. Adios (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31840603

[xmoonlitxdreamx]

J2G Works Charm Review

HEY kind of random but I tried out a different charm manufacturer recently! I haven’t seen any reviews for this manufacturer so I thought I’d talk a bit about my experience. The manufacturer is called J2G Works, and they’re based in Singapore. Here’s their website:

http://j2gworks.com/ 

 More info and pics under the cut! (also tagging @howtobeaconartist in case they want to share w their followers)

***

Since this was a sort of test-run, I only ordered J2G Works’s minimum quantity of 5 charms at 6 cm. I did double-sided printing with some custom parts without a layer of white between the front and back to give a transparent-color look. I also ordered double acrylic charms, but received single acrylic charms. I’ll talk a bit about the printing mix-up first. 

***

Acrylic Printing Mistake

So the first thing I wanna get out of the way is that they messed up the kind of charm I ordered. The charms I ordered were supposed to be double acrylic, meaning the image is sandwiched between 2 pieces of acrylic. This is more expensive and protects the image from fading or getting scratched. Vograce is the only other manufacturer I know of who does double acrylic, but I’ve had difficulties with Vograce in the past so I was excited to try double acrylic out with a different manufacturer!

However, when my charms arrived it seems they sent me single acrylic charms instead, with the image printed on the back of one sheet of acrylic. This is how places like Zap! Creatives and Acorn Press do their charms. You can see that my charms aren’t double acrylic from this pic:

Notice how there’s only one piece of acrylic, and no indication of the img being sandwiched between two pieces of acrylic. To compare, here’s what the side view of a double acrylic charm (that I got from a zine) looks like:

On double acrylic charms you should be able to see where the two pieces of acrylic meet. The charms I ordered didn’t have this. Plus I could feel the matte texture of the printed image on the back side like I do w/ Zap! Creative and Acorn Press charms.

I’m used to selling these charms so it’s not a big deal, but it was still disappointing + I paid the extra price for the double acrylic... I’ve emailed them, but I’m still waiting to hear back about getting some sort of compensation/refund for this mistake.

BUT YEAH NOW THAT THAT’S OUT OF THE WAY, l’ll talk a bit about the details working w/ J2G.

***

Packaging

Something that was interesting to me was that the charms came individually packaged in little plastic bags! This was a nice detail and saves the trouble of bagging them for whoever I would sell them to later. The charms also come with a protective film on the front and back that should be peeled:

The protective film on the front is v noticeable and easy to take off, but the one on the back is a more transparent, thicker plastic that’s a bit harder to take off. It’s also not totally noticeable, so I have a feeling that customers who buy my charms may not take off the back film if I give the charm as I’ve received them from J2G Works... so I guess in that sense having them individually packaged could be a hassle if you wanna take the films off before giving them to customers, but eh I think it’s a neat touch.

As also pictured above, it also comes with a keyring already attached. You can e-mail to order charms without the keyring if you want to attach your own (phonestraps/etc) but the keyring comes attached at no additional cost.

***

Minimum Quantity/Pricing/Shipping

J2G Works’s mimimum order quantity is 5 charms at $1.91 USD per single acrylic charm (aka the kind of printing that Zap and Acorn Press does). The default charm size is 6 cm (approx 2.4 inches). Considering the low order quantity and the relatively large size, I think this is a great deal! Zap’s minimum order quantity for 2″ acrylic charms is 25, while Acorn Press’s minimum order is 10. They don’t offer any bulk discounts of orders less than 100 charms, but I think the price is still reasonable for those who want to order in small quantities at a time. 

Here’s a size comparison to 2″ charms from Zap Creatives and Acorn Press, btw:

Also, I’m not sure if J2G would split the minimum order of 5 between different designs... their website just says “minimum purchase 5″ and has a location for uploading one file for that order, so probably not. But still, for someone like me who gets worried about ordering in bulk and selling charms bc I don’t do conventions that frequently, being able to order charms at 5 charms per design is useful. 

The only downside about pricing and ordering in small quantities is that since they’re Singapore-based and I’m US-based, shipping is v expensive. My charm order for the double acrylic charms was around $12, but the shipping was around $30. The shipping isn’t so bad if you add more things to your order (they offer a lot of other services) but it’s definitely not ideal if you only want to order a small quantity of items.

***

Template/Customization

Based on my past experiences with Zap! and Acorn Press, I thought customization was kind of a hassle with J2G. Here’s what J2G’s Template looks like:

The way their template works is that you literally put the front and back of your charm in the boxes, and that’s it. It’s really straightforward for people who just want acrylic charms of their art, but it makes it difficult for those who want to customize how the charms are printed and cut.

Unless you email them, they do the cut-line and loop hole themselves. I can definitely see this being a problem for people who want to put multiple loops and non-silhouette cuts for their charms. I’m not really sure what the protocol for customizing the cut would be, but I’m guessing you’d have to email them and put the desired cut on a different layer like one would w/ Zap’s or Acorn Press’s templates.

Their template also doesn’t have any indication of where the white in between the front and back layers should go. I asked J2G over email what I should do if I wanted transparent-colored parts of the charm (which is what I wanted for the roses), and they told me to put the transparent-color parts on a separate layer from the opaque-color parts. 

Anyway, I think this style of template is definitely nice for those who don’t have much experience with setting up charm files, but for those of us who are used to setting up files I can see doing charm customization via email correspondence as a negative part of the ordering process.

***

Printing Quality

I’m gonna go through a couple things one by one, but as a summary I’d compare their printing quality to Acorn Press. (And I like Acorn’s charms, so overall I’d say that’s a plus)

Colors Like with most manufacturers, the colors are a bit darker and duller than the colors on my computer. One nice thing that I noticed is that the white parts are pure white, unlike the white parts in Zap charms (which are usually a little grainy). Here’s how the white looks on J2G charms:

Notice the white in the eyes doesn’t have any grains in it. On the other hand, here’s a Zap charm:

Here, you can see in the eyes and teeth that the white isn’t pure white. 

This isn’t a huge deal bc it’s not noticeable from far away, but it’s something that’s always bothered me about Zap’s printing, ahaha. 

Double-Sided Printing From what I can tell, the double-sided printing doesn’t have as opaque of a white layer in between as Zap’s charms. Here’s the back-view of the J2G charm in slightly-strong natural lighting:

The front of the charm is pretty clearly visible on the back of the charm. Here’s how double-sided printing from Zap looks in comparison:

I don’t see the other side of the charm almost at all here. If I hold it against a strong light it becomes visible:

The back is VERY visible against a light for the j2g charm, tho:

That may just be because the back has a lot of dark colors against the light parts of the front. 

The colors are actually opaque enough imo, it’s really only noticeable against semi-strong light, especially from the back view. Here’s what the front looks like in the more neutral lighting:

And here’s what the back looks like in less-strong lighting:

I think what’s mostly making the front show through on the back is the texture, which is what I’ll talk a bit about now.

Texture Kind of an annoying thing is that the texture of the front is very visible on the back. It’s like this weird embossed texture on the spots where the front and back don’t align? Here’s a pic that can maybe show how the texture is weirdly embossed:

It’s most visible in strong lighting, but you can feeling just by running your fingers over it. :T I’ve bought charms that have this texture on it before tho, so it’s not a huge deal... I don’t have any double-sided Acorn Press charms, but I think it’s Acorn Press that has this oddly textured finish. You can kind of see it on this single-sided charm I made thru Acorn Press:

People still buy charms like this so it’s not a super big deal, but I just prefer a less textured finish on charms. I think it distracts less from the back image on the charm, too. This might’ve been solved if J2G gave me the double acrylic charms like I ordered, but I’m not sure. :T But yeah, this was the main issue I had with the printing.

***

Customer Service

For me, I found the customer service to be very friendly and flexible! Like I noted throughout, I had some customized parts for the charm and they were very accommodating and polite about that. They normally respond in about 1 business day, but it depends...? I think they actually have 24 hour customer service (?!) which is wild... they once sent me an email at midnight Singapore time, ahaha. Communication was also never an issue, which I know can be a problem for people who use Vograce. (English is widely spoken in Singapore and I spoke in English in my emails, which was never a problem). 

Another nice thing about working with them is that it seems like they have a quality control aspect to their process or smth...? I used a chalky/fuzzy brush for this charm so they emailed me to let me know they didn’t think my lines would print well. (I told them I’ve printed w/ these lines before, so I would be fine with the quality.) That’s just a small thing, but idk it’s nice that they reach out to the customers abt printing concerns. 

Lastly, they also email you some pictures of the finished charms before shipping! I don’t know if they do that so you can voice any concerns before they ship, but idk I thought it was nice. 

***

ANYWAY yeah that was my experience with them. Here’s a quick run-down of the pros and cons:

Pros:

Low minimum quantity (ideal for me personally)

very cheap price per unit, especially considering the charm size

comes with keyring attached

individually packaged

friendly and responsive customer service

relatively decent print quality

Cons:

messed up my order (single acrylic rather than double acrylic) which was kind of a bummer

template not very customizable

texture from front image visible on the back image

shipping is expensive

I think I’ll definitely use their services again because they have some other charm options that I’m interested in... but I’d only use them for the more straightforward charms rather than ones that need more specialized customization for cuts/loops/opaqueness. I’d also recommend ordering a minimum of 25 charms from them considering the shipping price. But yeah, overall I had a good experience with them and I think the charms are of the same quality as other charms I’ve seen sold at artist alleys. :^) 

Thanks for reading, hope it was useful!

[cytaoplasm]

i'm sorry to hear you're having a hard time right now :( and don't worry about ranting on tumblr it's your blog and we're always here to listen. things maybe shitty right now but i promise they'll get better you always have us to rely on :)

You’re supposed to pay for everything you list on the form.Hello anon. Thank you for taking your time sending me this message. I’m just afraid that people might take a screenshot of my rant and send it to the person I am upset about. I don’t like starting beef with people (even if they’re shitty) but yeah thanks for that. I hope it will be better soon because I feel really upset right now and I’m trying very hard to be positive. I will rant below so keep reading. Please do not attack the person or trying to find them. I’m not trying to start beef with this person. I just want to get this off my chest not starting a drama. If you cared for my mental being please do not DO NOT screenshot this and send this to other people.

So yesterday, I saw one of the group order person opened a korean good form. so I decided to buy a pair of contact lense that i cant get in the US along with a SM COEX exo keychain for my friend who is moving away soon. Since this is my first time group ordering with this person and I don’t know the expectation that well so I got worried about item and thought about how OP’s sister who is traveling to Korea for vacation  (which is why they opened a GO) might not be able to find it so I put down an etude house palette as an alternative option and said that in case if it’s a disconveinet for them to find the lense they can just get this palette for me which can easily find in korean road shop

My order:

Lensme Cocktail Hologram Kalua Milk 1+2 event (Please get Peach Crush + Blue Hawaii if they allow you to choose)

http://lens-me.com/product/detail.html?product_no=917&cate_no=82&display_group=1#prdDetail

Lenseme

Power: L- 4.5 R - 4.00

20,000 ($17.69 USD)

but if the lenseme shop is kinda far away from you and there’s an olense store nearby or something:

Olense Russian Velvet Gray http://www.o-lens.com/product/search.html?banner_action=&keyword=%EB%9F%AC%EC%8B%9C%EC%95%88%EB%B2%A8%EB%B2%B3

Olense

Power: 0

20,000 ($17.69 USD)

If you can’t find the lense please get me this instead:

Etude House Personal Color Palette Warm Tone http://www.etude.co.kr/product.do?method=view&prdCd=101001241 Etude House

35,000 ($30.95 USD)

Other orders beside the lense:

EXO Lightstick White Chanyeol Key Chain https://detail.tmall.hk/hk/item.htm?spm=a1z10.15-b.w4011-14804704346.51.q16QAx&id=544589047475&rn=05a7455bb212062bbc9c6b5c4678b91b

94.00 Yuan ($13.68)

SM SUM

Please note that I am trying to make both side: myself and them happy. I don’t want to cause a hassle for them but I also want to get stuff from Korea myself which is why I put down an alternative option. She doesn’t have to get it. If she can find the lense, that’s great If she can’t find it, she can stop by an Etude House road shop which is all over the place in Korea and get the palette for me.

However, the problem is that the palette is $30.95, so I was wondering if I have to pay for that too so I send her an Ask:

“Hey so I just send u the payment and stuff immediately right after the order. On the form I ordered a pair of contact lense & a keychain from Coex but I put an alternative option in case they can’t find it. Do I also have to pay for that option before or can I do it after they confirm they cant ?“

and this is why she told me ( I copied and paste the reply)

“You’re supposed to pay for everything you list on the form.”

The way she replied was very cold and it didn’t answer my question. The palette is not my primary choice. She can chose not to buy it. So I asked her again.

“Ok so I’m gonna send you the payment for the alternative option. I just want to confirm this again (sorry for being annoying) but you will refund me back that money after your sister’s back right? Thank you for your patience I really appreciate it”

and her replies:

“If she can’t find the goods, your payment will be refunded.”

She still didn’t answer my question clearly. Maybe I guess I’m just slow. IDk you make the judgement.

The thing is  I want to get some goods from korea and i dont want them to go through the process of refunding my money u know so I thought it would better to just keep it and spend it on the alternative option which can easily be found in road shop. That way both side will be happy.

I was actually thinking about sending them an extra $13.26 so that even if she cant find the lense she still have $17 smth (money that i gave her for the lense) and she can use that extra money + the money for the lense to buy it so I messaged a friend of mine who is in the NA EXO G.O who I thought might have her line ID but it turned out to be the wrong person. So yeah then, I found out she refunded my order and send me this email:

“I cancelled your order and refunded you your payment. My sister isn’t a personal shopper to be on the lookout for alternatives for you as the point of her getting items for people are if you are 100% sure you want that good. If you list the item in your form, you pay for it and if she can’t find it, your payment is refunded. There are no alternatives as she doesn’t have time to be catering to just your order. She’s going on vacation and will not be spending her whole time for just you.You also asked if there will be a fee for domestic, then said you live in Dallas, Texas? I only do meet-ups in Houston, so of course there will be a fee for me to send you your goods.Also, my orders don’t have anything to do with Chen USA Union. I run both, but they are separate entities. Different rules apply.”

Also I forgot to mention, since her form didn’t said anything about paying domestic fee so I asked. I didn’t know if I have to pay for domestic shipping fee since we’re in the same state. I did shopping on eBay and a lot of sellers who is in the same state do free shipping so I was just curious.

Secondly she said  "They will also take special requests yet do not guarantee that they will be able to find them.“ She did not said we’re not your personal shopper and we do not have time to take special request. She said on the form, she said they WILL ALSO TAKE SPECIAL REQUEST.

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT????? I CANT READ HER MIND OR WHAT SHE WANT. PLYS ETUDE HOUSE ROAD SHOP IS ALL OVER THE PLACE IN SEOUL. IF SHE HAVE TIME TO BUY MY STUFF THAT’S GREAT IF SHE DOESN’T THAT FINE TOO. I DON’T MIND.

BUt out of courtesy I send her an apology email. Even though I personally think I did nothing wrong.

“I apologize for my actions. I did not know that what I was doing was wrong. This is my first group order so I just wanted to clarify and follow the rules correctly and send in my payment, so everything would work out and not becoming a huge mess. I don’t have the knowledge about the obvious reason of paying domestic fee since again, this is my first time doing something like this. I have looked at all of the information and read everything closely in the form. I did not know that putting in an alternative option would offend you. I was simply trying to be specific like what you said on the form so you didn’t have to email me about different concerns. So I apologize for that along with my foolishness and lack of thought when ordering from you. It was my inexperience with group ordering and group order expectations from you that caused you and your sister some inconveniences.  I am not sure  if I am in your blacklist or not but if your sister is willing to take my order to buy the lenses from Lensme and an EXO COEX good that please let me know. I will resend my payment to you. I am very willing to pay for the domestic fee as well. But if you and your sister are not willing to, I understand and I wish you the best and I also wish your sister to enjoy her vacation. If she has the time, I would definitely recommend her to go to this cute sheep cafe called Thanks Nature Cafe. I don’t remember the address but I think it’s in Hongdae. You can go search it up! My cousin went there during her vacation early this year and said it was really nice. Thank you and have a nice day.”

IT IS NOT MY FAULT THAT I CAN’T READ HER MIND. I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER OR THIS KIND OF STUFF.

I READ THE FORM AND IT WAS SO UNCLEAR. ALL THE INFORMATION SHE TOLD ME WAS NOT IN THE FORM. EVEN BETTER YET, SHE INDIRECTLY SHADEH ME ON TWITTER. SHE DOESN’T EVEN BOTHER TO REPLY TO MY EMAIL TOO. 

SHE DIDN’T EVEN LET ME EXPLAIN MYSELF AND FUCKING SHUT ME DOWN.

*took a deep breath* I put the options as a good gesture. I honestly don’t know why is she getting triggered by my actions. Can she just inform me in a nice way? Instead of criticizing me and make me look like a shitty person? I have never missed my payment nor back out an order. I was just simply trying to follow directions and trying to clarify some information because it’s my responsibility to know what I’m getting into and not causing trouble for other people. I do not understand why this person is mad.

So yeah. Don’t do group order, guys. They take a long time and group order master always sounds like they’re moody 24/7. If you tripped up once, they will kill you. I get that their job is stressful but do they feel the need to take it on an innocent person who just simply trying to abide by the rule ?

DM if you want screenshot and links and actual proof. I didn’t make up any of this. I have never lied once in my life. If I’m upset there’s a reason why. I don’t get upset by things easily but when I do it’s serious.