#someone got paid for to design that package

[corndogswhenever]

[ch6douin]

> Wᴀɴᴛ — IDV! SELF AWARE AU (4)

Victor is not my favorite but I wrote for him as if he was...ngl (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)

cw: obsessive behavior (?); mentions of feeling/being watched; romantic in someway; light angst; victor is kind of paranoic.; short chapter as always idk why i cant FUCKING WRITE MORE

When he heard you, the experience was nothing short of breathtaking.

...

In a bad way.

Victor thought he was going crazy when that happened, that was his first reaction. He looked around, and there was no one. He looked at Wick...obviously, the dog wasn't the one talking. The voice didn't go away. Instead, it only intensified as he tried to go on with his matches. And then now, some weird feeling would make him move even if he didn't want to. He no longer had control of his body, and that scared him. The stress took control of his being, and he spent nights without sleeping, the idea of someone watching him being unbearable.

So how did he grow to like you? To care for your attention? It's simple: he felt himself warming up to you as he listened to your reactions and tone of voice. Victor was always fond of people's reactions, especially reading the letters he delivered, and it was no surprise that he slowly paid attention to yours too and got less panicked, he felt like he was important to be the one listening to you, and a weird yet inviting warmth filled his body. He enjoyed being the vessel to your entertainment, the doll who would coax out shocked gasps from you as he was supposed to get terror shocked, but somehow was still standing proudly after jumping through a window. He was the man who could make you giggle with his dances. He could be everything and much more if you let him hear more of your genuine answers.

You were the reason for the late-night midnight snacks and lesser hours of sleep. But now, it was because of the countless letters he wrote to you. Letters that he was sure he would not be able to send it out, but he needed to get those fervorous feelings out of his chest some way. Lovely packages with intricate designs piled up inside his drawer, flowers that would slowly wither glued with wax, and sweet words that would never be shown to others.

But now, with letters or not, he can talk to you. He can make you recognize him, and he just maybe, in a distant future, be able to look you in the eyes.

_

This is not working.

You're wary. Why did Naib have to mess up their peaceful approach with his bitter words? Now Victor couldn't do anything but type in a hurry a single 'It's me!' and their titles as he watches in horror the screen glitching and unfortunately going black. His hands go up to his face, hiding an expression twisted with sadness and frustration. Why did it have to be this way? He wanted you more than anything right now, but you wouldn't answer. Maybe you won't ever answer after this horrible experience. He doesn't care like the Mercenary if you may be using all of them, his curiosity is much bigger to care about it.

He storms out of the room, almost running through the long corridors to get the prototype to work again with Luca's maintenance.

priestess next wowwww im excited to see how its gonna turn out bc i don't really know a lot about her 👹...i wrote half of this listening to chamber of reflection from steezy knicks laying down on my bed.

[nezumithewriter]

magnus archives season 1 was pretty good

ep 15: "This is my [sister's] hole! It was made for m[y sister]!"

ep 16: "fuck this guy in particular" - the spider

ep 17: Bone Hurting Book ouch oooo my bones ouch oooo

ep 18: Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer

ep 19: "please, G- just let me have one good day"

ep 20: the demon "ugh, you again? tear off that guy's face, buddy!"

ep 21: mr blue sky please tell us-- "MARTIN WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT???"

ep 22: "open the noor" KNOCK KNOCK SQUELCHING SOUND KNOCK KNOCK "open na noor"

ep 23: "damn can't kill you rn sorry" disappears

ep 24: cheater gets what he deserves from angry grandpa's evil calliope

ep 25: "my roommate loud as fuck god damn. also there might be a cult involved" kathy probably

ep 26: "whoops you missed one" cuts skin open and grabs silly little worm

ep 27: evil's #1 enemy; locks on doors that may or may not exist

ep 28: GOING TO CAMBRIDGE MILITARY HOSPITAL AT 3AM!! (GONE WRONG) (SOUND GIRL TORE OFF HER SKIN AND GOT LUNG CANCER)

ep 29: "Fallout 76 bug has made a player invincible and they just want to die" - vg247

ep 30: "maybe PETA has a point"

ep 31: mfw the guy i tried to hunt for sport had air force military training and two guns

ep 32: The episode where Jon really makes it really known he wanted to be a voice actor

ep 33: "hey jon maybe you should redo some of these statements--" "FUCK OFF TIM I NEED TO READ THIS STORY ABOUT A BOAT"

ep 34: "oh THAT'S how you do it!" sound of writhing flesh and cracking bone from inside student

ep 35: "oi oi oi got a package 'ere for Jon sims" "you're-- you're standing in a pile of worms" "i don't get paid enuff to care"

ep 36: terrible managing director causes nursing home to go under after not paying cleaning staff and then it explodes

ep 37: this is why you don't fuck with ritual grounds dumbass

ep 38: Mandelbrot Hall Pot, oh and also THE WORMS ARE COMING

ep 39: Prentiss really, really hates academia. also worms. also the weirdest date i've ever seen. also GRAHHHHHHH SASHA NOOOO

ep 40: "gertrude got lit up by someone in the archives, so everyone around me is probably going to kill me next. i can feel it. also OW THESE HOLES REALLY FUCKING HURT."

[fishmech]

It's just like, damn man communication and getting info cost so much around 2000.

You wanna look up some information on the phone so you can call someone that isn't in your phone book? That's like $4 in modern money.

You wanna call your aunt who lives a couple of states away and you're not paying the extra monthly landline cost for unlimited long distance? $15 in modern money for a 10 minute call in daytime hours, still like $3 nights and weekends, and these are both like "you got a pretty good deal" cases. Worse for most people.

OK so you just want to call your buddy who moved like 25 miles away? Maybe it's free cuz you lucked into still being in the same local call zone, but maybe you're still paying $3 in modern money for a 10 minute conversation because you managed to hit through two long distance zones. Especially if you're on opposite sides of a metro area or something. And if he had a cell phone you were calling, it might mean you paid even more because it registered as a further call.

But that's landline, let's say you were going cell. You might be paying the equivalent of $50 a month in modern money for 120 minutes of call time and no included texting. This service would likely charge you extra for "roaming", that is being out of your designated home calling area, as well as exceeding 120 minutes of talk time (and you would be billed a full minute minimum for any call that connected, mind), and texting once might be 75¢ in modern money on a cheaper provider, as much as $2 modern on others. Your excess call minutes might cost between 50¢ and $3 in modern money per minute and roaming calls would cost similar amounts even when you were within your plan. And on such a plan there was no cell data service so it would be an addon around $5 a month in modern money to have it at all - and prices of between 35¢ up to $5 in modern money per kilobyte transferred. Even if you were using strictly plain text that piled up quick.

You could of course move up to significantly more expensive plans per month in fixed costs to have much bigger pools of call minutes, freedom from roaming charges texts, and data. And to have significantly cheaper per-unit overage charges if you exceeded those. But that would quickly take your bill beyond $100, even $200 a month in modern money for a single line.

And of course if you wanted a couple songs from favorite singer? You ain't streaming it on a cheap monthly plan or likely even paying individually: your ass is paying nearly $38 in modern money for the whole album on CD, maybe $23 in modern money if you got a good sale price. And the artists still got a fraction of a penny off it cuz music royalties have been fucked forever. (of course you could pirate it probably... If you had internet service, if it was fast enough, if you could afford it for generally $36 a month in modern money for slow dialup, often much more if you had broadband available at all)

You wanna watch TV shows? Well like now you could watch the over the air stations for free. With tons of ads on the non-public stations ofc. But this is generally pre digital so there's much fewer stations on the air.

Or you could pay around $85 modern a month to get a pretty decent cable or satellite package and well you know, hope the time the shows you like line up with your schedule and of course it's full of ads too. Maybe you will setup a vcr or DVD recorder to catch what you couldn't be around for, and if you're not willing to wipe your old recording then you're going to need to drop serious cash to have fresh tapes and rewritable DVDs to keep that stuff around.

You want the higher end cable/satellite stuff? Well HBO alone back then was like $28 in modern money for a month on top of the rest of your bill - and most other similar no-ads premium channels were similar.

And let's not forget that this was still a time where getting official copies of shows on any kind of media often just Didn't Happen. Or they'd do it but they'd only put out random single episodes, maybe one full season on a multi season show. You might easily pay $26 in modern money for two half hour episodes or one full hour episode on a tape or DVD. Maybe you'd get lucky and instead be buying a whole season set for $75 in modern money, admittedly a much cheaper price per episode. Otherwise though, it's record it yourself in often pretty bad quality or trading and copying recordings from other people who liked that thing, if you got in touch with any.

And on-demand cable/satellite was just getting started and often required upgrading to a higher package, including paying more to rent a higher end TV box, with miniscule libraries. And the pay per view costs were often like $5 modern to watch a single movie squished to fit your TV, sometimes up to $35 modern for "new releases". Similarly, typical rental store costs were in the ball park of $7.50 to $30 in modern money per item, depending on overnight versus all week and sometimes old release vs new release. That shit added up quick! And Late fees could easily double up or triple up in just a few days.

And of course newspapers and magazines and books all cost money. We generally expect most of these to have some at least limited amount of free access on demand today, whether it's the free few articles a month before the paywall or getting free access digitally through your library. But of course back then, that's no such thing. A lot of online versions of publications were strict pay only, others only posted summaries for free, and that's if you were even online. It may not sound so bad to shell out 65¢ to $2 in modern money for a newspaper issue, or $4-$15 in modern money an issue for various magazines, but you'd be buying them pretty often if you wanted to keep up with things in more detail than they got into on TV. Even if you subscribe and get that discount for everything in a year, that's like maybe $90 a year in modern money for a major city paper, or $70 to $150 in modern money for a magazine depending on its frequency and size and content.

Shits just so fucking easy and cheap these days for real. You want to call someone you don't think about distance charges or roaming, you just fucking call. If you're calling overseas you probably use some app or program on a computer to call for free. A text message does not cost more than sending actual mail, it's nothing. Even all those stupid streaming services, which I don't use personally, you can have like 5 of those damn things, have way more to watch for less than cable back then, let alone modern cable prices, and have somewhat more reliability in what will be available next month!

Even when you're stuck on something like a strict budget, using prepaid cell service with blocks of minutes now, like some Tracfone "I only can afford $15 a month" stuff? It's like shlt at least that's 500 minutes/texts/megabytes of data. Like you're still getting screwed but it's much less so than what you got for that 10 or 20 or 25 years ago, and a lot more places have wifi you can use to stretch your data usage out.

[teaberrii]

Chapter 17: Letting Go

You've been Cupid for as long as you can remember. You've brought countless soulmates together, yet you've never found love.

When you're assigned to bring two childhood friends back together, it should be simple until you unexpectedly catch feelings for the mysterious and cold Ph.D. student, Dan Heng, the man with a soulmate… the man with answers to your past.

Dan Heng/You

Notes:

Cross-posted on Ao3

Female reader

Chapter index at the end of chapter one

Today was a different kind of day.

Villagers stopped what they were doing. Mothers held their young children close to them. All eyes and ears were on the group of men on horses making their way through the northern village. However, there was one who captured the attention of many. The man leading the pack. The General of the Southern Kingdom. Jing Yuan.

Yet, he paid no attention to the gossiping villagers. Instead, his eyes were on the palace in the distance. He’d been waiting for years, and his goal was in sight. Little did he know, however, this was only the beginning.

The large gates creaked open, allowing Jing Yuan and his men onto the palace grounds. He saw a group of people, and standing in front of them were the king and queen of the Northern Kingdom.

After Jing Yuan got off his horse, the king stepped forward and said, “You’re even more handsome in person! ”

Jing Yuan smiled and gave a slight bow to show his respect. Then, he looked around. There were many smaller buildings and temples but also a garden that he could see in the distance. While the architecture didn’t differ too much from the South, the North preferred darker colour schemes.

“The king would like to send his regards,” Jing Yuan said.

“Ah, yes. I got his message. It’s a shame he couldn’t be here to witness the start of our partnership.”

“It’s an honour to be here.”

The king put a hand on Jing Yuan’s shoulder. “Come. I’ll show you to your quarters. You’ll be staying near my son and daughter.”

While the rest of his military recruits followed the queen's orders, Jing Yuan led his horse by the reins and followed the king. As he did, all he could think about was how beautiful it would be to see this place engulfed in flames.

Once Jing Yuan gets to his feet, he forces you to look at him.

“Don’t you think you’re going too far?” he asks, glaring at you. His grip on your shoulders tightens. “I don’t know what you have against me, but let’s try talking it out, shall we, sweetheart?”

“...Let her go, Jing Yuan.”

Jing Yuan turns to Lan who has a stern look on his face. Then, he feels someone cautiously pushing his hand away from you. Jing Yuan doesn’t need to look to know it’s Dan Heng.

“Why’d you call me here?”

“You said you wanted a way to get your memories back,” Lan says. Before Jing Yuan can ask, Lan turns to Dan Heng who gives him a nod. Then, Lan looks at Jing Yuan. “Let’s go see Caelus.”

“...A way to remember your past life?” Nanook asked.

“I’ve been observing Caelus for days. I don’t know how it’s happening, but he’s been remembering events and people… things that don’t match up with the present. Is The Withering responsible for this?”

“I would say so. Yes, this is a curse disguised as a disease, but it’s possible to add a… personal touch if you will.”

Lan raised a brow. “Personal touch?”

“Think of it as an add-on to the whole package." Nanook sighed. “It’s possible Cupid made the curse so those who got infected couldn’t forget about their past.” He tapped the report. “It would make sense based on what I found.”

“...Explain.”

“The Withering is a curse designed to infect the same people over and over again.”

Lan narrowed his eyes. “So, there’s no way for those people to avoid it?”

“Nope. They can only speed up their ultimate demise. Can’t get rid of it, those poor souls.”

“And how can they do that?”

"Touch one of the infected where the disease has already spread," Nanook said. " If they are one of the people The Withering was meant to target, that will bring back their memories, or parts of it at least, and get them an express ticket to Hell Central.”

“When The Withering was first researched, they said it wasn’t transmissible.”

Nanook scoffed. “Yeah. That’s because they were using human technology, which is useless, by the way.”

Lan sighed. “I should’ve asked you earlier, but is there a way to get rid of it?”

Nanook slid a hand inside his pocket. “If you're hoping to rely on magic. Black, white, or whatever... there's no hope. Based on what I found, this curse is personal. Something like a strong grudge, and we both know how strong grudges can be when the hate runs deep enough.”

Lan puts a hand on Caelus’s door. If Nanook told him the truth, you must’ve hated Jing Yuan enough to curse him with The Withering. At least, that’s what Lan is betting on. Lan knew Young was executed, but Lan never learned about the details of Jing Yuan’s ultimate demise. Perhaps now it’s the time to find out… and even get rid of him. Will that end your suffering? Will that… end the Withering once and for all? Killing him a second time?

“You’re not hiding something from me, are you, Lan?”

Lan doesn’t turn around when he says,” Why do you ask?”

“What is this method you speak of? How is seeing Caelus going to solve anything?”

“I could answer for him.”

Jing Yuan and Lan turn and see Luocha walking up to them. Jing Yuan frowns. “Look who decided to show up.”

Luocha stands beside Jing Yuan and looks at Lan. “...You’re trying to infect him to get his memories back.”

Jing Yuan steps back. "Wait a second. The Withering isn’t supposed to be transmissible. Is it?”

Luocha rolls up his sleeve. It’s barely visible and easy to miss without a closer look. But, Jing Yuan and Lan can see faint spots on Luocha’s skin. The colour is similar to the pigment found on Caelus.

Luocha rolls down his sleeve and says, “It must’ve been when I accidentally touched Caelus’s hand.” He looks at Jing Yuan. “That was also when I got some of my memories back.”

“What do you remember?” Lan asks.

“I was her brother. And seeing how I’m infected now, I assume she hated me enough to want to kill me.”

“...When did you find out?”

“What are you two talking about?” Stelle had suddenly appeared from behind the corner.

Pom and Luocha glanced at each other, and it was Pom who said, “Nothing. Just talking.”

“I heard someone named Jing Yuan…”

“Do you know him?” 

“It’s a name I heard a couple of times,” Stelle said. “Dad mentioned him.”

Luocha felt a slight itch on his arm. “Don’t worry about him.”

“...You know him?”

Pom turned to Luocha. From the look on Pom's face, Luocha knew what was on his mind: how did you and Jing Yuan meet?

“I know of him,” Luocha answered evasively, scratching his arm. “But I don’t know a lot about him.”

If Pom was suspicious, he didn’t ask. But Luocha had his motives, of course. Stelle didn’t need to get involved with this. The less she knew about Jing Yuan, the better. Pom probably thought the same.

“Are you okay?” Stelle asked. “Did a mosquito get to you?”

Luocha rolled up his sleeve as Stelle went to get ointment. At first, he saw nothing, but taking a closer look, that was when he saw it.

“Something wrong?” Pom asked.

Luocha rolled down his sleeve. “...Everything’s fine.”

Jing Yuan scoffs. “Don’t tell me that woman mistook me for you.”

“...She hates me because I helped you,” Luocha says.

A small pause.

“You killed Young, the man she loved.”

“Well, gosh, that explains everything,” Jing Yuan mutters, remembering the iron grip you had on him earlier. Then, a loud sigh. “Look. I don’t want to apologize for something I clearly don’t remember doing. My past self is not me. I’m innocent.”

“Hate runs deep,” Lan says, remembering Nanook’s words. “It’s true I wanted to infect you.” Jing Yuan frowns, glaring at the god. “But… maybe that’s not the best option.”

“You seem like you know a lot,” Jing Yuan says. “Look, I don’t care if that woman hates me. I just want to know how to get rid of this damn thing.”

“If you want to get rid of it, you’d better start caring if she hates you or not,” Lan says sternly. “The Withering isn’t a disease. It’s a curse.”

When Jing Yuan planned on getting close to you, he had no idea what he was going to find. He thought he was prepared for everything, but obviously not. Now, he’s at a standstill. If Lan is hinting at what Jing Yuan thinks he’s hinting at, this is far from a walk in the park. It’ll be a 100km marathon. Perhaps more.

“Are you saying the only way to get rid of this curse is to get her to stop hating me?”

“...I think it’s more than that.”

Regardless, how in the world is Jing Yuan going to approach you now, especially when you hate him enough to kill him?

◆◆◆

Yesterday, you were the Princess of the North engaged to the Commanding General of the South. Today, you were an exile. You never expected to lose the love of your life and become a prisoner in your own home overnight. Yet, that was what happened. You’d become numb to the pain, staring straight ahead while your wrists and ankles were chained to the stone wall.

Jing Yuan had imprisoned you. This was after your parents had officially exiled you in front of guards, generals, scholars, doctors, and everyone else who inhabited the palace.

“He tricked you, didn’t he?” your mother had said in a desperate plea. “That horrid monster tricked you into falling in lo—”

"He's not a monster," you said coldly. "And he didn't trick me. He was my best friend. The man I was in love with."

You immediately felt a sharp pain in your face. Your head had turned due to the hard slap from your mother who was glaring at you.

“...I dare you to say that again.”

You looked back without any hesitation. “We met in secret.” Your mother clenched her fists. “For years.”

“How… how did you end up like this?”

You scoffed. “Like what?”

Before your mother could slap you again, you grabbed her hand and looked her dead in the eyes. But it was she who said, “I was wrong about you.” Then, she rudely pulled her hand back. “I don't need a daughter like you. Get out of my sight."

You didn’t want to think about it anymore. Yet, if that wasn’t what you thought about, you kept thinking about Young. You had no more tears, but your heart remained absolutely shattered. 

“You haven’t eaten.”

You didn’t turn your head, but you recognized the voice.

“...How does it feel?”

Now, you slowly turned and saw Caelus looking at you from the dungeon corridor. He was holding a torch. Your nails dug into the ground. This man, the one who you thought was a friend, had betrayed you in the worst way possible.

“I know you’re curious.”

You wanted to scream. Why? Why did he help Jing Yuan do this? But you weren’t going to entertain him. Instead, you said, “...I’m going to make you suffer. Mark my words.”

Pom, who came with Luocha to the hospital, just finished telling you and Dan Heng about what Luocha told him at Stelle’s place. You’d ask Pom to stop after he told you about what your father did to Luocha’s mother. More of your memories are returning, and you can only handle so much trauma at once. After you take a small breath, you finally tell Dan Heng and Pom about Young's execution.

“I couldn’t control it,” you finish. “When I saw Caelus again… I just… I wanted to kill him.”

Pom sits next to you. “...I didn’t think it would be… that brutal,” he mutters.

Dan Heng wishes he could say something… anything… but he puts an arm around you and pulls you close. Finally, he quietly says, "I’m here now.” Your eyes widen. “...And I’m not going anywhere.”

Lan, Luocha, and Jing Yuan come around the corner. Dan Heng sees Jing Yuan looking at you out of the corner of his eye but continues walking. He quickens his pace as if to avoid being spotted by you. Then, Dan Heng makes eye contact with Lan who gives him a slight nod.

Once the three are out of sight, Pom says, “A lot’s happened today. Let’s go back and sleep on it. He raises his arms as if flexing his muscles. “We’ll tackle this again with a fresh mind!”

“I agree,” Dan Heng says as you and he break away. Then, he smiles at you. “Let’s go home.”

◆◆◆

Pom had taken a detour for the supermarket, so you and Dan Heng are the only ones at the apartment. You’re lying on your bed with him next to you. You’re facing each other, and Dan Heng brushes some of your hair out of your face.

“What did Lan tell you?” you ask.

“Are you sure you want to talk about this now?” You look down for a moment, and Dan Heng says, “I understand you want to get to the bottom of this mystery. I do, too. But let’s also try to focus on the present.”

“You’d make a good distraction.”

Soon, you find yourself in Dan Heng’s arms, your head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “Summer vacation is coming up,” he says.

“I thought busy students like you don’t usually get vacations.”

“I can sneak a few days off.”

You look up at him with a small smile. “Why does it sound like something you shouldn’t be doing?”

“I want to take you out.”

“...Just the two of us?”

Dan Heng suddenly flips you onto your back with him on top. “It’s what I want. But, if you want others to come along, I’m okay with that too.” His straightforwardness takes you off guard. Then, your eyes land on his lips and your fingers wind up in his hair. You guide him closer, but before his lips touch yours, he says, “...You’re supposed to be resting.”

“Who was it that said we needed to focus on the present?”

And then his lips find yours.

You can feel everything. His hard, lean body against yours. His hot, hungry kisses leave you desperate to keep up. A quiet moan. A gasp. And then…

“...You’re my first.”

You and Young were lying next to each other on the bed. His arms were around you, your bodies still hot from the intimacy. You looked up at him and saw him blushing when he met your eyes. Then, you moved on top of him and kissed his lips.

Young sat up, and your legs went on either side of him. He looked a little conflicted, and you knew what he wanted to ask. Was he also your first?

Young put his hand around your head and pulled you close as if knowing your answer. Your body was flush against his when he kissed you again. You positioned yourself better without breaking the kiss when you felt his hardening desire.

“...You're my last,” you said.

And before you knew it, the passion started again.

“I’m baaack!”

Dan Heng breaks away. You’re staring at each other as if snapped out of a trance. But before he can move off of you, Pom suddenly appears at the doorway and lets out a short scream.

“My virgin eyes!”

Dan Heng moves off of you as Pom quickly uses his hands to cover the scene before him.

“You’re supposed to be resting not—”

“Did you find what you need?” you ask, sitting up.

“They were all out of chocolate ice cream,” Pom says. “But, I got the next best thing!”

So, that’s how you, Dan Heng, and Pom end up eating Cookies N’ Cream ice cream on the couch.

After you tell Pom about the vacation you and Dan Heng plan to go on, your friend says, “A vacation, huh? I think that’ll be good.” Then, with a sly grin, “You’ll have a lot of privacy then.” You give him a deadpan look and Pom says, “What? It’s true!”

Dan Heng glances at you and sees the colour has returned to your face. You also look a little happier, though the exhaustion is still obvious. Under normal circumstances, Dan Heng wouldn’t even think about taking a vacation until this was solved. But he hopes this vacation will help you relax a little.

You and Dan Heng meet eyes, and it’s as if he knows what’s on your mind. So, he gives you a slight nod, and you smile.

“Do you want to come, Pom?” you ask.

“Me?” Pom asks a little too dramatically but happily. But his happiness wears off. “I’d love to, really, but I’d rather not be third-wheeling the whole time." He claps. "What about a group vacation? March and Gepard would definitely liven things up!"

“Um… what about Stelle?” you ask. Pom puts his empty ice cream bowl on the table. “If what Luocha says is true, I’m kind of curious about what happened to her.”

“Me too," Pom says. "It didn't seem like she has any of her past memories. So, it makes me wonder if she was even alive when, well, y’know, everything went to hell.”

You and Pom look at Dan Heng as if awaiting his opinion. 

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have her come.”

“Then, it’s decided!” Pom says. “Group vacay, here we come!”

Dan Heng softly sighs. So much for a romantic getaway.

◆◆◆

When Dan Heng returns to his apartment later that day, he isn’t expecting to see Lan and Nanook.

Lan is sitting on the couch. Nanook is leaning against the counter, enjoying a cup of tea. He looks at the doorway and smiles before taking a sip. “Ah, look who’s back.”

“...What are you doing here?” Dan Heng doesn’t bother asking how they got in.

“Nice place you got here, kid."

“We’re here to ask you about what you plan on doing with Cupid,” Lan says.

“Might as well include the rabbit while we’re at it,” Nanook adds.

Why does this feel like an interrogation?

“We have a theory on how to get rid of The Withering,” Lan says. “...But we can’t accomplish it alone.”

“The Withering is a grudge,” Nanook says, walking over to Dan Heng. “And while there’s no solid evidence Cupid was the one who created it, she has a strong enough motive.” The god stops in front of Dan Heng. “I’m sure you already knew that didn’t you?”

Dan Heng walks past him and slips off his coat. “Young knew Pom, and they might’ve gotten close enough to be friends.” He looks at Lan and Nanook. “If that’s the case, he would also have a strong enough motive to help her create the curse.”

Nanook sighs. “I was hoping you wouldn’t catch on.” He frowns. “Then, I would at least have a reason to take Cupid away from you.”

Dan Heng isn’t amused but stays quiet.

“She needs to let go,” Lan says. “Until she does, The Withering will continue haunting the same people for centuries to come.”

“There's no escape.” Nanook smiles. “Never thought Cupid would have it in her to create such a thing. I knew I was attracted to her for a reason.” When he catches the cold look from Dan Heng, Nanook puts a hand on his hip. “Yet, the woman is head over heels for a kid like you. A human. What a waste.”

Dan Heng can relate to the pain of not being able to let something go, given his past experiences. But he knows he can’t compare the two. You went through so much more. He just got caught doing drugs as a minor. But while he's curious about your past, his past is also catching up to him: the mystery surrounding his mother.

“We know that’s easier said than done,” Lan says. “Especially when Jing Yuan hasn’t gotten his memories back. Not all of it, at least.”

Nanook casually tosses the TV remote in his hand. “We thought about infecting him like what happened with Cupid’s dear ‘ol brother, but—”

“...Luocha’s infected?” Dan Heng asks.

Nanook turns to Lan. “You didn’t tell him yet?” When Lan says nothing, Nanook looks at Dan Heng and says, “Well, surprise!” Dan Heng frowns. “Look, I’ll explain later, but if we were to infect Jing Yuan, whatever that happens after… it wouldn’t be genuine. He would be under the influence of the curse like what’s happening with Caelus. He’s going mad with memories of his past, and when he reaches the tipping point, he’ll be well on his way to the place of no return.”

“Hate to admit it, but Jing Yuan brought up a good point,” Lan says. “He’s innocent in this time period.”

“...But, you were the one who mentioned the dangers of history repeating itself,” Dan Heng says.

Nanook smiles proudly. “And that is where I come in, mon ‘ami.” Lan rolls his eyes. “I’ll keep an eye on Jing Yuan.” Nanook puts a hand on his hip as his smile turns cocky. “It doesn’t matter what he is in this world. He can’t outmatch a god.”

“Especially one with a knack for destroying everything he doesn’t like,” Lan says.

“Where did you think the title came from?” Nanook asks. He looks at Dan Heng. “Little Lan may be hesitant to kill him considering their questionable friendship. But trust me, kid, one wrong move, and no one would know what happened to him. Wouldn’t even be able to find a body."

“Anyway,” Lan deadpans, looking from Dan Heng to Lan. “I can sadly vouch for him. Nanook won’t let Jing Yuan hurt her in any shape or form. That also means he’s protecting you.”

How ironic.

“As long as Cupid’s safe,” Dan Heng says.

“Glad we’re all on the same page.”

There’s no question that Dan Heng wants to help you get over this hate. Seeing how things are going, there’s no doubt about it. The only way for you to let go of the hate is to come to an understanding with Jing Yuan… whatever that means. Regardless, you and Jing Yuan need to talk, and perhaps become closer, and as much as that annoys Dan Heng to the bitter end, he needs to put his feelings aside. This isn’t about him. It’s about you.

“You’re the person she trusts the most,” Lan says. “If there’s anyone she’ll listen to, it’s you.”

“...Then what about Jing Yuan?” Dan Heng asks. “I’m not going encourage her to forgive someone who shows no signs of reciprocation.”

“...You said I killed her lover,” Jing Yuan said. “I refuse to believe I was that pathetic.”

“I… don’t know what to tell you,” Luocha said.

Jing Yuan sighed. “What I mean is that there’s something more. I can feel it.”

“What you mean is that you want your memories back,” Lan said.

Jing Yuan glares at the god. “But I refuse to be infected.”

“Then, are you going to cooperate?”

“For my sake, yes.”

“I know he’s curious,” Lan says. “He wants the entire picture of what’s going on. Not just the past between him and Cupid.”

At Dan Heng’s silence, Nanook looks at him. “What’re you thinking about, kid?” When Dan Heng still remains silent, Nanook leans forward. “Is there something you don’t want us to know about?"

“It’s about my mother.”

“...Don’t tell me Cupid killed your mother?”

“She was infected with The Withering,” Lan says. “Which means that Young’s mother was one of Cupid’s victims.”

“Well, damn.”

“The more Cupid interacts with Jing Yuan, the more their memories will return. We’ll likely get our answer then.”

“We’ll leave the rest to you, kid. Of course, you can bet that I’ll keep my end of the deal. Jing Yuan won’t escape.”

Dan Heng blinks once and Nanook is gone.

Before Lan can disappear, Dan Heng says, “Wait.” The god looks at him. “Is everything that’s happening… a repeat of the past but just in a different time?”

Lan stands. “It doesn't matter if you're a doppelganger or a reincarnation, you are not an exact replica of your past self. Things can change. What happened in the past may not happen now. But they can still happen. Does that make sense?” Lan slightly narrows his eyes. "Are you questioning your feelings for her?"

"No. I want to protect her."

"But you don't know if your feelings are because of Young, right?" Lan walks over and puts a hand on Dan Heng's shoulder. "Don't overthink. No matter how many centuries go by, I think you two will always find each other. However"—Lan smiles—"it’ll be interesting to see how things play out. So, my advice is to prepare yourself.”

And then he’s gone.

Chapter 18

End notes:

Just so everyone's on the same page: There will be a love triangle but it's more of Jing Yuan chasing you rather than the other way around. There will be fluffy moments between you two, though.

Dan Heng is end-game, and despite Jing Yuan's efforts (lol) I hope by the end of the story, people will understand why Dan Heng was the better choice and not just because he's the male lead.

Tag list: @suoshiii @lordbugs @lxry-chxn @seirenspinel @tanspostsblog @theprinceofkhaos @nqctre @lunavixia @akwardbiscuit @kplatzman @sunsethw4 @hiqhkey @n8mareee

[fuck-customers]

It's almost sad that when I tell my regulars I only make $14.50 an hour at a job where I do professional level graphic design and print work, they all get shocked and say I should be making more (I work at a locally owned print shop, and I love the job for the most part, I just hate how I'm rushed and hate certain clients).

WcDonads employees make more than I do. Gas station employees around here make more than I do. And I honestly feel quite jipped because I was told to go to college. Get a degree. Find a job in the field I go to school for and I'll be set (I'm one of those "zillenials," too young to be a millenial but too old to be gen z). Some people say i should be thankful, $14.50 is a lot, but cost of living where I'm at is at least $20/hr. Granted, my college is completely paid for so I don't have student loans to worry about and I'm happy I have graphic design and photography experience. But when I'm at work and I feel the bald patch from where my hair has been falling out from stress from workload, it makes me feel like I was tricked.

I'm so conflicted. Like I said. I like this job. When things aren't busy it's wonderful. But those are becoming fewer and farther between where stuff has completely reopened from Covid and more people want printing for events and sales.

And I've met wonderful people! And learned about small businesses in my community I would have never known about otherwise! I love getting to make nice designs and print beautiful art every day. One of my current friends I've met copying her artwork for her! My gifts to my family have been photo prints and even signs for my dad's workshop that I've gotten printed at a discount and they're all loved so much. And I don't have to wear a uniform - jeans and a t-shirt of my choice every day!

But I've also been yelled at over small shit like maps not being printed on time, or how the color on a flyer isn't as "vibrant as it is on screen," or told to hurry up on a yard sign that someone decided they needed today rather than next week, or have a someone chew me out because I haven't even had time to print three sheets of mailing labels because I've had to hold the hand of a very picky woman who wants her rental guest book to look "just right" yet can't be assed to learn how to use a computer on her own. I've had packages thrown at me when I've said people need to pay to ship them. People getting mad over $.20 black and white copies and $.49 color copies. People saying they're going to get their business cards from PistaVrint because it's cheaper. People come to us and act like we're tech support - "Why is my computer not opening Wicrosoft Mord?! Why is my email not sending?! Why is my phone doing this?!" Like I don't know! Take it to Bye Best!

My manager hardly gets paid any more than I do and she's been with the business for almost 30 years and drives an hour each day to come to work. I only got bumped to $14.50 after my boss overheard I was interviewing at a college print shop that would have paid me $18 an hour. He couldn't even wage match! And I didn't even get the job.

I don't have funds to move to another location where I could find a better paying job in my field, nor would I want to as my family and community are here.

There is a pillow factory here I never knew about. They're hiring various positions starting at $19 an hour. Evenings and weekends mostly off, only needed to work if they need to fill a very large order. My friend started there this week and while she says she's physically tired, the environment seems nice so far and I'm so burnt out here that I've already asked her if she can get a word in for me to start there. More pay? And way less customer interaction? I could do that! But it sucks that I feel like abandoning what I like to do because of my pay grade and the stress I feel. I wish it was all different.

Posted by admin Rodney.

[hacked-by-jake]

As someone who played episode 1:

I'm disappointed of Moonvale. All AI art. Pay to win. No real life actors. It looks cheap and it makes me sad. I already knew that Moonvale wouldn't be able to hold a candle to Duskwood but this? Hell nah. I'm disappointed. Pay to win... Thanks for nothing Everbyte 👌🏻 Duskwood was made with way more love.

Well, as for me, I was convinced they can do another game with the exact same love they used in duskwood. I was sure they can even beat it. Without looking at the Duskwood side story. I was sure they can make another story just as amazing as Duskwood.

Sadly, they took some sad ways, this time. And for me, the worst things are definitely using AI art, everyone who know at least a tiny bit about AI art should know where it comes from and why it's bad. And especially after Everbyte complained back then about the Duskwood APK's mods etc, their game was stolen by other, given into the world for free. And that was wrong. Absolutely. But now.. Using AI art.. I don't know but I don't really see many differences there. And especially as programmers etc. they should know why using AI is wrong.

And the second bad thing... The payment thing. This was really just another cherry on top. I was so sad that I paid so much money to be able to see everything, and because I want to support Everbyte, and then I was sitting there. With nothing. After giving my money. And then the rest... Having to buy everything in order to be able to keep playing. Money Maschine. But it wasn't only about money. Of course I'm mad I paid so much and still was sitting there and had to pay more (I didn't) so I can keep playing. But they truly forgot about our emotions with this. Because duskwood wasn't just a game. It was home. It was hope. It was love. It was a community. And with what they did, it hurted. The money thing is bothering, because it was a bit. And in the end, it just felt like they had used our love for Duskwood, for their games, for money.

I want to say, of course they have to earn money. It's their job. And I even understand the sum for the "premium package", I would have paid it. But I think they could have found better ways to do that. Much better ways. I would even have paid more if that means they get the money they need. But how it ended up...

And I also don't care about real life actors. I mean, completely without would be a bit sad for me as well, but as long as the game is good, I don’t care. They should have used stock photos like they did in duskwood. It never bothered me. Never. It would not have bothered me if the characters in duskwood were nothing but stock photos. Jake was. Alan was. Even Hannah. And they changed it in the last episode. They could have done that as well. When they find someone in the middle of the game? Perfectly fine for me. It never bothered me that Hannah suddenly looked different. I remember how hyped we all were when we saw that Hannah got an actor. It was happiness. But before? No one of us was bothered by it. But using AI for it?...

I like the general design it looks like good wonderful quality to me. The messager. The pictures. And then these AI pictures. They destroyed it for me. Especially this huge bunch of pictures for our profile picture.

I really understand the resentment about most of it, and I can even understand some of Everbyte’s decisions. But not pay to win and also absolutely not AI art...

I'm really sorry it disappointed you so much, Anon. We all were so excited. It's so sad when you waited so long but find something that was so unexpected and not understandable.. It's absolutely frustrating. 🫂

I thank you very much for sending this ask and sharing your thoughts. And especially, I hope it helped you maybe a bit to let this out. I think if we all would just stay silent, the explosion would be insane at some point. And I hope the negativity won't stay too long with you. You deserve to be happy but things like that can really haunt your head. And that's not what you deserve.

I hope you're doing good so far, please take care of yourself and stay healthy and safe. 💚

[prof-peach]

Hello! I love the website for your electus comic it’s so clean and easy to follow! I was wondering if you host it on a website or make it from scratch? A lot of webcomic sites don’t have any information on how they were made and I certainly don’t want to copy anyones design, I would like to start posting a webcomic online one day though. Are there any tips you could give to someone new to website creation. Right direction to start in for example?

Ah im glad its easy to navigate, but I will be honest with you, I date a graphic designer who handled the whole build for me, because I so much as look at a computer wrong and it freezes up on me :')

The good news however is I watched them make it, it seemed very intuative and simple, and they were able to teach even me the back end, so adding pages is super simple. It is hosted on SquareSpace, and it comes with templates, easy to use tools, and because its so widely known and paid for, theres SO many tutorials! It's very easy to do with a small amount of effort to wacth some videos.

You can pay varying ammounts per year (and month I believe) to host, which I do, to make it available to all who want to view it without costs to them. Its not for everyone, and is from what I recall, roughly £160/$200 a year for the domain I use, though there are varying packages and prices. Many creators choose to use comic sites like tapastic or the likes, as its a free version, but due to legalities, artists have been veering away from that to protect their creations.

Honestly, I think theres a lot to be said for youtube tutorials, people have been swearing by squarepsace for yeaaaars now, and the interface is very simple and easy compared to other web building options (wordpress im looking at you, youre terrible)

While we did not use templates or preset fonts (partner made it all custom to make it unique) the site offers SO many good options that can be edited to suit your needs, so no need for complex processes if its an option you choose to go for.

Sorry I couldnt be more help, im a huge technophobe, anything electrical seems to hate me haha

At least you have some names for things and can dig further from here, good luck bud! you got this.

[nixtape-foryou]

✿ SHOP MAGNOLIAS

The magnolia blooms symbolize youth, innocence, and joy. During the Victorian times, the magnolia flowers often symbolized dignity, nobility, poise, and pride. The strength of its bloom is also symbolic of self-respect and self-esteem.

Bouquets = Series | Stems = Oneshots | Seeds = Drabbles | In Shipment = Ongoing

BOUQUETS

Who You Are, Who I Am by hanibalistic (52.0k) || Another Dimension AU || When you find yourself waking up to a good-looking man who claims to be your husband, there isn’t much for you to do aside from assuming you got stuck in a drama, you know?

STEMS

Leave the Door Open by formidxble ★★★ (12.3k) || Mature, Sugar Daddy AU || Months after ghosting your sugar daddy, lee know, he gives you a call. you answer.

Between the Lines by maatryoshkaa ★★ (9.7k) || High School AU, Slight Enemies to Lovers || In which a frantic search for an overdue library book leads to you finding other things that are…long overdue.

7 Days by yyxgin (3.7k) || College AU, Best Friends to Lovers ||  You confess your love to your best friend for a whole week before he finally takes it seriously.

Pick Your Poison by linorachas (14.5k) || Mature, Celebrity AU || The last thing you want is to be at this gala. Minho convinces you to stay.

Business Proposals by chanluster (10.9k) || Mature, CEO/Secretary AU || Clashing heads with your annoyingly attractive boss was your everyday activity, but when a new, beautiful client comes in for the day you find yourself getting jealous.

The Enemies to Lovers Project by softukiyos (18.0k) || Enemies to Lovers || Taking part in Jisung's psychology project was supposed to be simple - date your worst enemy, Lee Minho, for one month and see if the two of you start falling head over heels for each other, though, things start to get much more complicated.

Youngblood by changbeanie ☆ (17.4k) || College AU, Best Friends to Lovers || Lee Minho crashes at your apartment four out of seven days in a week, but you’re the crashing for him.

1-800-Be-Mine by binniesthighs ★ (7.1K) || AI AU || Thank you for calling 1-800-Be-Mine! We appreciate your service. How can we help you today? Just so you know, we are currently holding a Valentines Day sale: all purchases will be 15-20% off depending on the package you choose. 

Not So Bad by luvknow (13.7k) || College AU, Best Friends to Roommates to Lovers | Falling for your best friend isn’t the most ideal situation, but it’s not as bad as you think

In Another Lifetime by luvknow ☆ (18.9k) || Iron Man AU, Co-Workers to Lovers || You and your boss were inseparable. no one could understand how you could work ungodly hours for such an inexperienced ceo. but your job was to stick by Mr. Lee for as long as you were getting paid, and that meant being his date to charity balls and helping him turn into the country’s best superhero

Your Heart & Your Headache, Too by missinghan ☆ (9.6k) || Stray God AU, Comedy || A self-proclaimed god shows up at your door in the middle of the night for a place to stay. you let him and hope the unconventional encounter doesn’t become a regular thing. of course, it becomes a regular thing

Weight of Worth by abiaswreck ☆ (13.0k) || Mature, Vampire AU, Part of Monarchs Collection || You were hired as a live-in servant for one of the town’s founding leaders Lee Minho. The job fairly simple so you were told. Only being fed from on occasion till your family’s debt was paid.

Destiny’s Design by h0neydewmoon (16.4k) || Royal AU, Arranged Marriage to Lovers || “Names are meaningless in this world,” his words seemed filled with spite despite the quiet tone he spoke with, as though if someone heard him mutter them something horrid may occur, “all that matters is whether you can be used as a chess piece for politics.”

Human Condition by mxxndreams (6.7k) || Superhuman AU, Classmates to Lovers || When Minho decided to use his powers as part of his plan with Jeongin, he never expected to get caught by you. However, instead of turning him in, you decide to offer him your help, stating you also want change. Still, one cannot be too careful and Minho isn't sure if he can trust you or if he'll ever be a normal human while his powers are slowly taking over every aspect of his life.

Invisible Thread by astraystayyh (20.0k) ★ || College AU, Rivals to Lovers || Your studies were your lifeline for as long as you can remember. What happens when Minho comes into your life and rips it away from you?

Conflict, Conceal, Confess by fizzydrink698 || College AU, Rivals to Lovers || “Why don’t we call a truce?” Minho blinked, caught off-guard. “Truce?”

IN SHIPMENT

Consort by fizzydrink698 || Mature, Historical AU, Slight Enemies to Lovers, Arranged Marriage to Lovers || “Nervous?” Minho asks, casually, as if completely unaware of what the two of you needed to do. You bit your tongue, and held your head high. “No,” you lied.

[askagamedev]

Why is it that even/especially on mobile, micro-transactions are as expensive as they are? That is, at least the ones I've seen I have to think whether the value is even there. I would have thought that "giving away" obviously great value would get more people to bite. Are big spenders worth that much more than getting more small spenders? Is there some floor where even the cheapest good deal won't entice a new spender?

You might be surprised at how much others are actually willing to pay for things they like. Big spenders do a lot of the heavy lifting, and most choose to spend because they get sufficient positive value (for them) out of the game overall. My cousin's FIFA league is an example of that - all participants are highly-paid professionals who really like soccer, so they all engage without a spending limit because it's fun for them.

For pricing determination, it's something of an optimization issue - we don't want to charge more than most spending players are willing to pay or the value proposition isn't there and they won't buy at all, but we also don't want to charge too much less than most spending players are willing to pay or we're leaving money on the table that the players would be willing to give us. Many sufficiently-large mobile games will feel this out via A/B testing, where they distribute two slightly different versions of the same game and microtransaction offerings to their players and track spending behaviors to see which set of prices do better overall. They will also do this A/B testing to try other potential changes as well - game flow, visual design, level design, etc.

You are quite correct, however - the "regular" microtransaction offerings usually aren't for the budget-minded or newer spenders. Most developers create different microtransaction products aimed at different types of players. Converting non-paying players to small spenders is extremely important to any microtransaction business model. Getting someone to spend the first time is a lot more difficult than getting them to spend the second, fifth, or fiftieth time (especially in a free-to-play environment). For new players, devs usually offer a variety of one-time introductory packages that are more budget-friendly and help with early- and mid- game content more than elder game content. These introductory products ease the transition from non-spending player into spending player.

For regular spending players that are more budget-minded, devs typically offer a different set of options - often more limited quantity time-based "deals". These often aren't the latest and greatest things released, but can provide more value to the player for the price - instead of offering the newest coolest costumes to come out, this month's deal offers a bundle of several older costumes together at a reduced price. The fact that they are better value (if not the latest and greatest) and time-sensitive tends to make the buyers feel better about their limited purchases - they're getting a better deal that isn't always available.

Obviously, those who spend the most will get the most offerings. Not only are they the ones who support the game most financially, they are also the ones who consume the most paid content and demand more. Those who spend less are still valuable, which is why we will still offer them things, but they spend less so they also consume less. New players get special treatment, because new players can bounce off of a game easily and we want to keep as many new players around for as long as we can.

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Frequent Questions: The FAQ

[stingslikeabee]

@hisroyalmagnificence found the concierge

The fact that a hotel manager had business elsewhere in the city was not uncommon. Theirs was a different world that existed in the shadows of the general population and which had progressively expanded over the last decades, but still - alliances, partnerships, inspections and investments were done with those who did not necessarily trade gold coins from their presses.

What caused Melissa to grow concerned at first was the lack of communication - Magnifico did not often turn off his phone or failed to respond his wife. After all, theirs was a bond that surpassed etiquette and protocol. But maybe he had ran into someone from the High Table and devices had been collectively apprehended as tradition mandated... Perhaps she was worrying too much.

Until the first tape came in, delivered to their door in a nondescript envelope and by a street kid that merely said he had been paid to drop the package addressed to the concierge. It was an old cassette, but luckily there was an ancient TV and VCR set which was still functional in their surveillance room - but as soon as it started, Melissa wished it was all but an old, somewhat grainy movie.

There was no way that Magnifico - that her Nicolás - was in chains, strapped to a wall. Not him.

And yet, that was precisely what the video suggested; since the technology used was old, neither sound nor image quality were great, but the shows of torture were evident. Someone had kidnapped a Continental manager (off consecrated ground) and were subjecting him to unspeakable things while recording it all and sending it to his family. The first thing Melissa thought of was that she had to rescue him - immediately followed by a meeting with their daughters.

Now, the three beautiful daughters they had were no longer toddlers - instead, they had been groomed to take specific positions in that world of theirs. Rosalinda was next in line for manager; Narcissa had turned into a talented sniper and Florita was an expert in crafting poisons and working with toxins from their gardens. Each and every of the girls had a skillset, and they would need all of them - including Melissa's own training as the firstborn to a Welsh crime syndicate.

Together, they kept receiving and watching the tapes delivered every two hours or so - tracing the delivery kids was likely a dead end as they really were the homeless children that roamed around the district and who would have never been behind a master plot of that size. Instead, they joined forces in trying to see beyond the obvious, painful torture - any signs on the walls, trademarks on boxes, voices and hints that could disclose a location.

Melissa immediately contacted her peers; the girls used their own connections and pooled all resources together, from old-fashioned intel gathering to modern-day triangulation of Magnifico's phone and last known locations on CCTV. At some point, there was just one building that had been vacant within the designated perimeter which had seen suspicious movement of black cars parking around and people shuffling inside. That had to be their target.

With decisions made and all information available pulled up - from the map of the sewer tunnels to the nearby constructions for a good placement for snipers - Melissa did something that she never thought would happen: she unlocked the armory and grabbed most of the arsenal available there with her children. That damn book of his - the concierge had thought that it would protect him more than the fencing classes the brunette forced Magnifico to take.

Now, while she placed guns into holsters and checked the comms, Melissa felt her heart sinking - they were not too late, were they?

They would be able to reach Magnifico in time from whoever had taken him - there was no other possible scenario in her head. And, with a simple look at her kids while they got into a van to take them to the place he was likely being kept at, Melissa knew that the girls shared similar thoughts.

They would bring Nicolás home.

[always-outsider]

It's finally here °˖✧◝(≧▽≦)◜✧˖°

!!! Warning: Long post

After a month of anxious waiting (not to mention many months of money saving by working my tail off), I finally got my hands on the Valkyrie Connect Official Visual Collection. And holy cow, it's absolutely beautiful!

The artbook is in perfect condition. I can't believe this is a second-hand item. I expected missing or torn pages because I paid only $19.34 (plus free shipping!) for it. Second-hands on Amazon cost at least $40 (not including shipping fees).

And here it is. The sole reason for purchasing: Lord Odin's info page ! I can't believe I bought an entire book just for a single page! (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄)

Look at his rough design expressions! Oh my goodness! Is that a smile I see? I'm always moaning about not being able to see his smile. I guess my lament is no longer relevant!

============

There is a very interesting page about the 2017 Character Popularity Poll. I'll show you the poll results where Lord Odin came out on top ranks.

Ranking 07: Character who appears to be the most intelligent

Matisse

Odin

Skuld

Hel

Liesa

In 1st place, even surpassing the gods, was Matisse the Alchemist. Odin, the next in line, was also in a satisfyingly good position. Skuld (?) was in a surprising position. The same goes for Lisa in 5th place. She received a high rating despite the fact that she is not a magician but rather a close-range type.

Ranking 08: Character you'd like to have as your boss

Liesa

Freya

Skuld

Odin

Nautica

Lisa, who is dignified and strong-willed, and whose previous life was that of a heroic king, took first place as she seems to fit the top position. The two who appear to lead gently took 2nd and 3rd place. It appears that evaluations are divided based on whether the ideal leader image is more reliable or receptive.

Ranking 11: Character who you would want to ask for life advice

Liesa

Skuld

Odin

Freya

Hel

Lisa has successfully won 2 awards. Other characters in the "Character you'd like to have as your boss" category share the same ranking, but it is important to note that Hel won. She is a cool queen of the underworld, but her appeal lies in the fact that she seems to be empathetic and willing to give advice.

============

In addition, the seller included an origami crane and a drawing by his daughter in the package. How could someone be so adorable!?

I'm so, so happy with this purchase! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

The artbook is currently out of stock on his eBay page. He does, however, have a large selection of anime/manga/game merchandise in his store. Please check him out if you're interested!

eBay ID: japan-ssdyuk

[belladoesmakeup]

Blogmas Charlotte Tilbury Iconic Magic Skin Duo 💕

Hi guys,

We all know around this time of year Charlotte Tilbury brings are some beautiful gift sets for the holiday season. Personally I love shopping these collections for myself because it's a great time to replace empty products in your collection for a good price (as far as luxury brands go) and they make ever better presents! When it comes to Charlotte's skincare range she has so many amazing products but there are 2 in particular I use daily. When I started running out of both products I started shopping around for gift sets and I found one so today we are chatting about the Charlotte's Iconic Magic Skin Duo, £85.00 gift set.

In the Magic Skin Duo set you get a full sized Charlotte's Magic Serum and original Magic Cream. These 2 products have been such a game changer in my skincare routine that I honestly think my skin wouldn't be as good as it is now without them. Now before we talk more about the products let's chat price. I paid £85.00 for this gift set, it included a 30ml Magic Cream that is £52.00 and the 30ml Magic Serum is £65.00. So if I brought them separately it would of total to £117 but since I got the 2 products in a fancy gift set packaging I saved £32.00! So while I'll be the first to admit it is pricey if you know someone who uses these products daily it's totally worth it!

Now if you haven't had the pleasure of using these products before let me chat you through some details. If you are using these products in your routine you would start with the Magic Serum. This product is designed to give your skin a hydration boost, brighten your complexion, minimise pores and make skin feel firmer. Personally I feel like this product makes me face so much smoother and easier to put makeup on because it sits so much better. I have been using this serum for years now and I love how much it has improved my skins oiliness while still giving me a healthy glow.

One you have put on your serum you then put on the Magic Cream. This cream has been my go for 5+ years now and I am obsessed with how it has changed my skins texture over the years and made it so smooth and hydrated. If you haven't tried Magic Cream (OG) before it is famous for being an immediate skin reviving cream that moisturisers, smooths and leaves your skin looking plumer with a gorgeous glow. I adore Magic Cream because it's a very thick, rich formulated cream that makes your skin feel amazing the second it's applied. Everyone I have ever recommended Magic Cream to has been obsessed with it and never goes back to their regular cream so highly recommend trying.

A gift set like this would make an amazing main present for someone because you get 2 full size iconic Magic skincare products from Charlotte Tilbury for a really good prize. As always all products mentioned are linked above, these holiday collections are selling out fast so highly recommend grabbing it while you can.

Lot's of love

Bella x x

[call-me-jennn]

jenntistry (2023)

When I started in dentistry in 2014, I knew nothing. I’d failed out of college and getting the job as a sterilization tech was practically a miracle. The assistant I worked under was awful and the doctor hated me, she never wanted to hire me. But I worked hard and I was good at it. I watched and taught myself about the procedures and within two months the doctor admitted to me that she’d never met anyone who learned as fast as I did. The assistant continued to be awful, and the doctor’s fondness of me only deepened her resentment of me. But I weathered the abuse until they fired her 8 months later. With my position as the chairside assistant, I grew hungry for knowledge. I asked questions. I learned everything I could from the doctors.

When I moved on to a more modern office with more technology, I only grew hungrier. Implants, CAD/CAM technology, labwork. New procedures. I asked questions constantly. I absorbed all the information around me.

Fast forward to the present, I’m working in surgery. I assist on cool surgeries on sedated patients. I work very hands-on alongside a doctor who loves to teach, and takes my recommendations. My office has all the newest toys and technology. I get to 3D print guides and appliances that I design. I get paid more than anyone in the office, and according to Indeed, more than anyone in San Diego. I’m doing well.

Now fast forward to today. 

I went in for an interview for a part-time position at another office. At my current office we work a 4-day week every other week to avoid burnout because our office is so busy. I was looking for another office to supplement the hours because well, pretty soon I won’t be working. The interview was… I don’t know how to describe it. It felt like I was interviewing the doctor. It felt like just a conversation between two colleagues. At one point we weren’t even talking about me as a candidate and we were discussing the 3D printer. We were discussing the similarities between our offices in terms of technology and procedures. I gave him a contact for a trainer. I could tell he was impressed by me. He asked me if I was interested in a full time position. I told him the pay I was asking for for the part time position was significantly less than my current pay, not even considering my benefits package. He asked what it would take. I threw out a number. And that was just for me to consider the position. I assumed he’d balk at the number alone and we finished the interview discussing the part time position we initially discussed. Then I got a call from his partner an hour later. They wanted me for the full time position. 

I thought I was doing well where I was at. And now I’m getting money thrown at me to poach me for a position I wasn’t even applying for. I didn’t even show any of my skills. They didn’t even ask for a working interview. 

I did it. I can say I did it, right? I reached the top of my field. And if I took this new position I’d learn even more so I’d only be continuing up. I did it. I did it all by myself. I built myself from the ground up. It feels so bittersweet because in a few months I’ll be walking away from all of it. Everything that I did, everything I earned in the past 9 years. 

I could take this position. I could accept this salary and I could work this job. We could buy a house and this could be my career. I don’t have to go to school anymore. But I should. Then we can buy a bigger house.

I look through all my contacts and I wish I could talk to someone about this. I know everyone would congratulate me on this offer being validation of how great I am, and support me on my next steps. But is there anyone who understands the loss I’m feeling leaving behind all that I achieved. All that I did for myself, by myself. 

[froggybangbang]

Today in: Subtle Ways Companies Are Deceiving You, I present; La Vie En Rose.

I got this plastic bathrobe at La Vie en Rose because this was the only place i was able to find one in 2020 when my own was taken hostage by the pandemic and i needed one because i have roommates and a blader that won't hold till morning. i really tried to find better in other stores, but, pandemic and supplies.

And today i noticed the tag.

You'll see clearly that the English and French bit says "Designed in Canada" and while i can't read Arabic nor Chinese characters, I'm beginner in Russian and while the polyester bit is 100% fine, the second bit raises an eyebrow. Because Камбоджа is 100% NOT how you spell Canada. In fact it sounds like Cambodia. And someone correct me if I'm wrong but isn't сделано "made"?

So basically this robe has been designed in Canada but made in Cambodia and the people it is marketed towards (Canadians) are only being told the second fact in Russian (and possibly Arabic and Chinese, if someone in the note could confirm? Or is that the rest of the information not included in other languages?) This probably because you're able to mark up the price of a this if the consumer thinks it is made here, locally.

From working a shoe factory i know 70% of the salaries need to be paid in Canada in order to have the "Made in Canada" tag (which in boots means gluing the sole, finishing the boot, and packaging it, when all the hard work of cutting and sewing is done in China).

Don't believe tags at first value.

[scatteredcloud]

Going on yet another rant about “merch”

If you did not screen print that shirt yourself, you did not make it.

You made the design on it, which I’m sure would be a nice poster or sticker perhaps? Which of course you didn't print yourself, that sounds hard! An embroidered design? Maintaining a 12 needle embroidery machine capable of producing a design with that many colors for the number of orders being received is a lot of work, that's pretty impressive! Not to mention maintaining proper tension on the frame working with a hundred stretchy t shirts, which idk came from somewhere who knows! Your repeating pattern looks very nice on a skirt that you did not make and was mass produced by some Vietnamese person getting paid pennies so that ~50 gay people on the internet could pay for international shipping for a design you “made”. Wow that mug is awesome didn’t know you got into sublimation printing! And have a cylindrical heat press to be able to do not just mugs, but tumblers too! Woah your sublimation set up can do bed sheets (any size)? And shower curtains? And three different shapes of throw pillow stuffed with poly fill, which will never decompose and isn't comfortable to begin with?

Your poorly digitized vector art looks lovely as an enamel pin now that someone else (Who? More like who cares!) cleaned it up for you and then created moulds for and maybe even hand injected the enamel into only for you to sell maybe seven or eight of them. Aw damn your design got ripped off? Who could have guessed that with the distribution power of an entire manufacturing plafffnt that has hundreds, if not thousands of moulds sitting around that they might have used your mould to make themselves a profit for a change! Those money grubbing Chinese bastards! After all, you were there every step of the way, casting the negative of the mould, running the injection of liquid metal into that mould, mixing each color of enamel, and precisely filling each segment of the design, which you refused to simplify! You just can't compromise with art.

Ohhh I see they’re made to order so its more sustainable. So this factory (Guatemala? India? The Philippines? Pakistan? Could you point to it on a map? They just don't teach you this stuff in school!) Anyways this factory in some poor country has to keep your design on file, oh and for your enamel pins they have to keep the mould too! Ahh right but it’s sustainable, because it's a limited run. You’re the 100th person this week to place an order, and they're only printing 50 of your design, you should complain to the manufacturer about how slow your orders are being filled.

I love supporting small businesses - it’s just you after all! With all the hard work you’ve put into fiddling around in procreate who has time to figure out material acquisition, and production runs, and printer calibration, and inventory management, and machine maintenance, and payment processing, and international shipping, and packaging, and