#please hire better graphic designers

[j-crow]

why is everything FUCKING ROUND!!!!!!!!

[deepdive002]

I found Tumblr after a multi-year hobby/career of unfulfilling livestreams on Twitch.

I still love Tumblr and I'm not going anywhere.

On Live I was connecting with people rather than entertaining a crowd. I realize many people here didn't like Live and it's gone now. I'm fine with that, I just need help making my return to Twitch better.

I need to hire an artist to make 3 backgrounds for my website.

I can pay around $384 to $512 total for the 3 images. Please post a link to your portfolio in a comment or reblog if you would like to apply.

I also made a more detailed gig post on Reddit about this project.

The first image is like Raphael's “School of Athens” but with modern live streamers.

Here is an example of the foreground stuff that will float above your image:

I also need 2 additional backgrounds. I can explain them if you are interested.

I welcome any graphic design tips you have for my site, but I'm more interested in your fine art skill.

[sunsets-and-crows]

I Wanna Be Yours - Chapter 6

Pairing: Sylus X Reader

Words: 7.1K

- - -

Tasked with infiltrating the life of Sylus, the most wanted man in the N109 zone, you're torn between what is right and feels right, blurring the line between duty and desire. As danger escalates, you must decide whether to carry out your mission or succumb to the magnetic pull of the man you're meant to destroy. In this game of power and obsession, betrayal could cost you everything.

Content warnings ⚠️

Dark Themes, Yandere! Reader and Yandere! Sylus! Power play. Violence and Gore. Smut: mutual masturbation. Stalking/surveillance. Reader slowly losing her mind. Sylus being hot and a menace. TRIGGER WARNING: stalking and dubious consent. Graphic deptictions of violence.

If you feel there’s any other warnings I need to add then please reach out and let me know!

Autumn had come, left its mark on the world, and was swiftly disappearing in Linkon. The trees stood bare, their leaves scattered and decaying on the rapidly freezing ground and the air carried the crisp threat of icy breaths and frozen nights. Tonight marked your first mission using the Hunter’s Association alias - bartending at an underground auction. How you’d managed to land the job was a mystery to you. Sure, you had some experience with mixing drinks, but not nearly enough to justify working the bar at such an exclusive event. During your “interview,” when the organisers had requested a practical demonstration, you’d clammed up and produced the most over-stirred Negroni you’d ever made. You’d apologized and hastily remade it, but even that wasn’t great. Yet somehow, you - or rather, Natalie Moore - had been hired. Natalie, a runaway, desperate and resourceful, blending in among the staff - a role designed to keep you hidden, unnoticed, and, most importantly, far from the action.

You parked the beat-up car, provided by the Hunter’s Association, and hurried to your destination. The building was as gloomy as the weather had been over the past few days, an old building that had once been quite beautiful but years of neglect had turned it into a sad husk of its former glory, but you knew better than to take its appearance at face value. You entered the building and walked down to the bar area. 

The underground auction hummed with activity from the elite patrons scattered around the main hall. The atmosphere thick with the weight of unspoken deals and veiled power. The gathered people toured each display case admiring the rare and even dangerous items. The room itself was a study in contrasts: ornate carvings and velvet drapes disguised the building's grim origins, while the scent of aged whiskey mingled with a faint metallic tang that hinted at hidden weaponry and the musk of the centuries old building. 

You stood behind the bar at the far end of the room, polishing glasses in methodical circles as your eyes scanned the crowd. It was all you had been entrusted to do so far, which was probably for the best as your focus was far away from the menial task in your hand.

Instead, you were watching Sylus Qin take his place among the elite, as effortlessly commanding as ever. His presence filled the space as he entered, capturing everyone’s attention. They couldn’t help their stares, yet no one dared to approach him without an invitation. His tailored black suit hugged his broad shoulders and tapered perfectly down his lean frame. His silver hair framed his sharp features, catching the warm light of the chandeliers and making him look like he’d stepped out of a painting, if paintings could exude danger and power. 

Sylus moved with a predator’s grace, flanked by two men in crow masks, Luke and Kieran you’d discovered from your research. Every step was deliberate and unhurried, as he took note of his surroundings. The unspoken king of the N109 zone. The sight of him was always enough to start your pulse racing, a mix of respect and that simmering desire that haunted you when you were around him. 

You tried to refocus on the bar, on the repetitive motions of your hands as you arranged the bottles and tools, trying to ground yourself. Yet, every few moments, your gaze flickered back to him, taking note of the items he seemed interested in, or who he deemed important enough to give a cursory nod to. He only spoke to his men, their conversation quiet and completely theirs, a faint smirk playing on his lips as the three of them chuckled about something one of them had said. The glint in his crimson eyes was as sharp and calculating as ever - a man who already knew the outcome of the night’s dealings. You felt a twinge of envy for the effortless way he commanded attention, for how he belonged so completely in a world you were only pretending to inhabit.

He was headed right for you, you realised. Well, for the bar that was. His approach left you no room to be caught off guard. You busied yourself arranging glasses, trying to look preoccupied as he closed the distance between you. You looked between the bottles you were fussing with and the other bartender working alongside you as his footsteps came to a halt. He cleared his throat, signalling for attention, completely unnecessarily when he already commanded it so effortlessly. 

His voice, smooth as velvet, broke through the hum of the room. "An old-fashioned," he said. This voice made your stomach turn in somersaults.

“Right away sir,” The other bartender replied, but Sylus cut him off before he could start making his drink. 

“I’d prefer that she be the one to make my drink,” He stated. 

You spun around in shock to find his eyes already firmly locked on you. He was even more handsome up close, if that was even possible. 

“Me?” You said, your words coming out a little more alarmed than you’d intended. 

“Her?” Your colleague exclaimed at the same time, with the same tone of alarm. He must have remembered the negroni you’d made at your interview. “Sir, s-she’s just in training I think it’s b-”

“I don't care what you think,” Sylus snapped, his eyes never leaving your face. “I find my drink always tastes better when it’s been made by someone beautiful.”

You could feel the heat rise in your face. Beautiful. He called you beautiful. Your heart rate raced in your chest, if he was any closer, you were sure he would’ve been able to hear its frantic pumping. Was it too dramatic to pass out?

His smirk deepened further at your reaction, satisfied at having had the chance to throw you off your guard, for being the reason the blood rushed to your face. 

The other bartender sighed before gesturing for you to begin. You nodded at him, then focussed on, keeping your hands steady as you prepared the drink. Each motion felt heightened - the clink of ice against glass, the subtle aroma of bitters and orange peel. You forced yourself to ignore Sylus as you concentrated on your work, pouring your attention into every detail, desperate to make this moment flawless, to impress him. When you slid the finished drink across the counter, your fingers brushed each other on the cool glass as he picked it up. Your hand flexed as you rested it behind you and watched him.

Sylus took a slow sip, his carmine eyes fixed on you. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed the drink you had made for him, the movement drawing your eyes in. The silence stretched, thick with unspoken tension, before he finally spoke. "Impressive," he said, his voice laced with approval. "That’s the best old-fashioned I’ve had in years.” You could’ve passed out right then and there from the praise that fell from his lips. “Such… talent for someone still training, you’re surely wasted with your current employer miss…"

The comment hit you like a lightning strike, leaving your heart pounding the way he said it felt pointed, almost teasing. You managed a polite smile, when you’d finally encouraged your brain to resume its normal functioning. "Natalie," you said softly.

His eyebrow twitched a little as you said your alias’ name, but it was gone as soon as it happened. Instead, a slight smile graced the corners of his lips as he repeated the name. "Natalie," he said, as though tasting it, testing it. The name on his tongue was disarming, yet undeniably frustrating, you wanted to hear him say your real name, for it to be you he was addressing, not some fabricated identity. He placed a hefty tip on the bar in front of you, nodding as a gesture for you to take it. 

“Enjoy your evening, sir” you said, desperately trying to remain as calm as possible as you took the tip. Was that too much eye contact? You should look away. Are you sweating? 

One of his henchmen let out a slight giggle, only to be swiftly kicked by the other masked man. Sylus tipped his drink at you in a salute and walked away to his table, front and centre. 

The lights dimmed in the room as the auctioneer stepped up to the podium and people hurried to take their seats. Your palms were sweaty and shaking as you watched the beginnings of the proceedings. You turned to the bartender and told him you were going to head to the restroom, desperate to find a quiet place to calm your racing heart and mind. He simply glared at you and nodded, still butthurt by the interaction with Sylus. 

You found solace on the upper balcony, where the noise of the auction floor became a distant murmur. The air was cooler here. Its freshness kissing your skin as you leaned against the railing, trying to collect yourself. Your heart raced, not just from the interaction but from the overwhelming mix of emotions swirling inside you. Desire, frustration, and a gnawing sense of inadequacy warred for dominance. The tip burned from its place in your pocket.

What were you even doing here? Captain Jenna had insisted you take this opportunity to meet him in person, but where had it gotten you? Making his drinks and watching him. So, nowhere. You sighed, rubbing your face as you tried to collect yourself. Everything came back to the uselessness of the Hunters Association. 

Unbeknownst to you, Sylus had noticed your sudden departure and was in fact not pleased to have lost sight of his favourite source of entertainment. He remained seated, but his gaze scanned the room carefully. Where had you gone? His interest had been piqued, and now you’d disappeared. The realization left him unsettled, his chest tightening with an unfamiliar sensation he didn’t care to name.

Lucienne chose that exact moment to approach him, gliding across the room in her burgundy slip dress. The fabric clung to her figure, the sheen of the material catching the light with every step. To anyone else, she looked stunning, but to Sylus, it felt calculated and false. Her confidence faltered slightly under his sharp gaze, but she recovered quickly, smiling as she addressed him.

"Sylus," she said warmly, her voice dripping with familiarity. "I was hoping to run into you again tonight."

He stood out of politeness, offering her a cordial smile. "Lucienne," he said smoothly. "What a surprise." He knew he would regret leading her on like that.

She reached out, resting a hand on his arm as she leaned closer, her tone taking on a flirtatious edge. "I thought we might discuss a partnership," she began, clearly indicating something more than just business. 

His face fell into a look of disinterest and he almost rolled his eyes at her attempt to flirt with him. His eyes flickered briefly to the bar, where he’d last seen you, and a flicker of irritation creeping into his otherwise flawless facade.

Lucienne, noticing his distraction, faltered. Her words stumbling slightly . "I mean, if you’re… interested, of course."

Sylus couldn’t stand her touch for much longer. He gently removed her hand from his arm, stepping back just enough to establish a boundary. "Forgive me, Lucienne, but I’m preoccupied tonight." He replied, his tone polite but detached as he sat back down in his chair. 

The conversation was over, there was no question about it and Lucienne knew that. She had been dismissed. She lingered for a moment, her expression faltering before she excused herself. Sylus’ gaze returned to the room, scanning once more for any sign of you.

Your grip tightened on the balcony railing as you watched the scene below. Fucking Lucienne! Your chest tightened with jealousy. Of course, he was interested in her. She was elegant, poised, and clearly belonged in his world. And yet you couldn’t dismiss your own interaction with him. 

Did you imagine it? The way his eyes softened when he looked at you. The way he seemed… interested in you. No. There was no way you were that delusional. He must have taken a liking to you, that was the only explanation for it. At least, it was the one you were going to go with. The one that gave you some hope that he would be accepting of you once you made your move. 

No. He doesn’t belong to her. He doesn’t belong to anyone, yet.

The door clicked closed as you entered the stillness of your apartment, finally shutting out the chaos of the night. Equal parts of exhaustion and excitement thrumming through your system. Your feet ached from the long shift, but that was nothing compared to the way your emotions raged inside you. 

You took the cash Sylus had given you out of your back pocket, your fingers trembling slightly as you unfolded it. It felt heavier than it should, not because of its physical weight, but because of what it represented. He’d noticed you. The thought sent a dizzying rush through your veins. He hadn’t just noticed you - he’d spoken to you, given you his money, chosen you in that moment. A wild mix of elation and disbelief surged in your chest, leaving you breathless.

The crisp texture of the bills felt surreal under your fingertips, grounding you even as your thoughts spun. Your mind replayed the encounter on an endless loop, picking apart every detail like a cherished relic.

And yet, a thorn of unease pricked at the edges of your joy, the thought of Lucienne tied to him casting a faint shadow. It niggled at the back of your mind, unwelcome and persistent, but it wasn’t enough to pierce through the haze of reverence you felt. The money, his money, sat in your hands like a promise you didn’t fully understand yet.

You’d played the role of Natalie Moore perfectly tonight - dutiful, composed, unremarkable.You leaned back against it for a moment, the cool wood grounding you. His voice, low and deliberate, as he ordered the drink you’d prepared. The faint curve of his lips when he’d complimented your skill. The way his crimson eyes had softened, just for a heartbeat, when they met yours. Your breath hitched at the memory, heat creeping up into your cheeks.

You shrugged off your coat, tossing it onto the back of the couch. Your heels were the next to go, kicked off haphazardly, one landing near the door and the other skidding across the floor to rest beneath the coffee table. The act of discarding them felt almost cathartic, but it did nothing to clear your chaotic thoughts. 

Your apartment was a mess. 

Clothes strewn across furniture; takeout containers littered the room; an enormous pile of dirty dishes. Your eyes swept across the chaos, the clutter pressing down on your chest like a weight that couldn’t be lifted. Each out-of-place object seemed to gnaw at the edges of your mind, a cacophony of silent accusations. You'd let this get out of hand. Your desk - once meticulously organised with your notes and recordings - was now a disheveled mess of papers, empty coffee cups, and half-finished reports.

This wasn’t you. You were methodical, deliberate, and precise. You’d always taken pride in maintaining a perfectly kept space, your cleaning routine serving to clear your mind and set you up for the coming weeks of work, but the last few weeks had been a whirlwind of spiraling thoughts and poorly managed emotions. It showed.

The sheer mess of your life felt like an insult to your obsession with him. How could you imagine yourself by his side when your own space looked like this? Disgusting. 

“God,” you muttered under your breath, the word slicing through the oppressive silence.

Despite the ache in your feet and your exhaustion, you knew you couldn’t leave the mess any longer. Pulling your hair back into a ponytail, you dove in. The rhythmic act of cleaning took over as you scrubbed dishes, tidied up clutter, and vacuumed the floors. Each task felt like a small victory, the chaos slowly giving way to order. Trash bags piled up, requiring three trips to the bins, each one tossed with a satisfying finality. By the time you reached your desk, the rest of the apartment had transformed into the haven it was meant to be. Only a few loads of laundry, your desk and a change of bedding remained before you could finally call it a night.

You started organising your desk. Sorting into piles to be filed, “reports” to be finished and you silently tucked away a few more personal notes. It was there, amidst the organised disarray of your notes and tools, that you spotted something that had your mind pausing its focus. A tracker. Sleek, discreet, and entirely unassuming, it rested on the corner of the desk like a forgotten artifact. Its smooth surface felt cool in your hands as you turned it over to look at it more clearly. The Hunter’s Association had issued it to you as part of the mission - a tool to help you keep tabs on Sylus’ movements. But it had limitations, ones you could no longer afford.

Your mind whirred with the ideas bouncing around but with the state of your exhaustion, you couldn’t properly latch onto any of them. For now, you stored the tracker in one of the draws and decided to reward yourself.

Bath finally drawn, you allowed yourself to strip off the final layers of Natalie, relaxing into the warm, bubble water as just you. The water soothed your sore muscles, overworked from your combined shift and the borderline manic cleaning of your apartment. 

Sinking further down into the bubbles, you sighed as you considered your next moves. You wanted him, wanted him all to yourself, no distractions. How were you going to explain yourself to him? How could you make him understand without scaring him? Your thoughts once again turned to Noah and his rejection of you. Wincing, you tried to push it from your mind, subconsciously cupping the side of your face from the memory of the sting. 

Wait. 

Maybe the problem was that he finally confronted you in public! That’s why Noah was so upset right? He had been caught off guard in public and reacted like that because of how everyone else was staring, right?

So, all you would need to do is get Sylus to someplace private, away from the hustle and bustle of other people. Easy!

Turned out it was not so easy after all. Your first thought had been to bring him here. To your own apartment. The idea had sent a thrill through you until you thought about it for even a little second. Your apartment was out of the question. It was too small, too exposed, and far too close to the Association’s watchful eye. You needed somewhere secure, somewhere they wouldn’t think to look. I mean all of your neighbours were hunters. Having him in your space, would absolutely not work. 

You opened your laptop, setting it on your newly organised desk, and began your search. The listings in Linkon were plentiful, ranging from modest apartments to luxurious penthouses. But each one was vetoed pretty quickly. Too close to the Hunter’s Association. The area was too busy. Near a school? Absolutely not appropriate in your opinion! It all came down to the Association’s jurisdiction covering the entire city. Any property you acquired in Linkon would be far too easily found and traced. Bringing him here would place him in far too much danger. You were not willing to do that. 

Frustration gnawed at you like a relentless itch, leaving you restless in your chair. You sighed, leaning back with a soft thud and dragging your hand through your hair, the strands falling messily back into place. “How do you even find a safe house?” you muttered to the empty room, the edge in your voice sharper than you intended.

The N109 zone. It was your only option now, but finding a property there? That was another beast entirely. There were no real estate agents for the N109 zone - no polished offices with eager professionals offering brochures and coffee. There weren’t even official listings. Just a tangled mess of underground networks, anonymous forums, and shadowy contacts who vanished when pressed for details.

You spent hours scouring message boards and digital scraps of information, each post a breadcrumb promising something useful only to turn to dust when you followed it. Property A? Already occupied by squatters who didn’t just refuse to leave - they sent a heavily veiled warning not to come asking again. Property B? Owned by someone with clear ties to Sylus’ rivals. Even seeing the name had made your pulse quicken, the risk too great to ignore. And Property C? A literal death trap with rotted floors, exposed wiring that sparked in the listing video, and the unsettling promise that it might collapse on you mid-sleep.

You could not embarrass yourself by bringing him to any of those places. 

You closed yet another useless tab, biting the inside of your cheek to keep from screaming. Your patience was fraying like a taut rope, thread by thread. You weren’t naive - you knew the N109 zone wouldn’t just hand you an answer wrapped up in a neat bow. But with every dead end, every link that spiralled into nothing, the reality of it all loomed larger: you were running out of options.

“How does anyone survive in that place?” you muttered bitterly, slumping back in your chair.

The quiet of your apartment enveloped you. That awful kind of stillness that lets thoughts creep in uninvited, pressing against the edges of your already frayed mind.

Your jaw tensed as you fought against the rising doubt, dragging a hand through your hair. The ache in your temples pulsed as your thoughts spiraled, circling the same impossible problem over and over again. 

You wanted to see him. To know where he was right now, but the little menace had been almost going out of his way to lose you recently. There were days when you didn’t get to see him at all and that began to annoy you. What if he was doing it on purpose? 

It would be so much easier if you knew where he was, literally all the time. 

The idea sat there for a moment, harmless and innocent, before unfurling fully in your mind. You sat up straighter, your pulse quickening as it settled in place. Of course. Knowing where Sylus was at all times - his movements, his location - wouldn’t solve everything, but it would give you some form of highground. A sense of control you were sorely lacking right now.

Your fingers tapped against the desk as the thought burrowed deeper. You knew that tracker would come in handy.

It was tucked away in the drawer, exactly where you’d left it the day before, when you cleaned up your workspace. The drawer slid open, and you hesitated briefly before reaching for the sleek, unassuming device. The metal was cool against your fingers, heavier than you remembered.

Staring at the tracker, you placed it carefully on the desk. For a long moment, you just took in your situation, torn between reluctance and temptation. The tracker wasn’t yours - it was theirs, a tool given to you by the Hunter’s Association. Using it felt like crossing another line, breaking yet another rule.

But hadn’t you already done that?

You picked up the tracker, rolling it between your fingers as if testing its weight, its worth. It was a tool from the Association, but it didn’t feel like yours - not yet. That could change. You had the skills to corrupt its programming, to sever its link to their systems and bend it to your own needs. Of course, if they ever caught on, it would be over for you. But the thought of leaving it untouched, of not using it at all, left you feeling even more powerless.

Your chest tightened as you weighed the choice, a part of you thinking this might be too far, but the other part - the louder, hungrier part - had already made up its mind.

You returned your focus to the laptop. The glow of the screen painted your face in cool light as you sat back down, the room filling with the quiet hum of fans and faint clicks of your keyboard. You knew what you had to do. You had to make the tracker yours. 

No links to the Association. Just you, and him. Well, watching him.

You worked with carefully, precisely, your hands steady as you pried the tracker open with a bobby pin. The casing popped apart with a soft snap, revealing a delicate web of circuits inside. A faint hum emanated from its core, and you paused for only a moment before diving in, disconnecting the transmitter. You cut the link that fed its data back to the Association. It was a simple task, but that didn’t stop the thrum of nerves as you severed the tie to their ownership of the tracker.

The next part was trickier. You opened a new program on your laptop, lines of code scrolling and scrolling endlessly, the DNA of the motherboard. Code you, luckily, knew well enough to work with. The Association’s firewalls were formidable, of course they were, you’d helped set them up in your early days as a hunter, but you were better. Where the Association had allowed itself to sit stagnant on advancements in programming, you’d remained informed. Each line of code gave way under your knowledge, firewalls and protections fell as you navigated deeper into their system, ensuring the PCB’s connection was completely severed from the Association, down to the core.When the final line of code executed successfully, a small ping sounded from your laptop. You smiled, feeling very content with yourself. But you weren’t finished. 

You needed to attach your own GPS system, upgrade the transmitter’s coding and finally link all of it to your own personal devices. Each successful execution sent a thrill through you, a mix of relief and triumph. Finally, the tracker’s signal reappeared - this time, on your laptop monitor. A bright dot blinked steadily on the screen, marking its presence in real time. You moved through your apartment with the tracker, seeing the precise location on the screen moving with you. 

You exhaled slowly, a tension you didn’t realise you’d been holding dissipating from your shoulders. You picked up your phone, syncing the device so the dot appeared on the map interface. When you moved the tracker across the desk, the dot followed seamlessly, its connection flawless.

“Perfect,” you murmured, your voice soft, almost reverent.

Another thread of control had slipped neatly into your hands, leaving you with a small, sharp satisfaction curling in your chest.

You sat back, staring at the pulsing dot on your phone screen. Where are you now? The thought came unbidden, edged with curiosity and something darker, something you weren’t ready to name. Knowing you could see him whenever you wanted, that you could follow his movements with just a glance, sent an unexpected shiver down your spine.

But the tracker was just the first step. It gave you knowledge - his location, his movements - but that wasn’t enough. What good was knowing where he was when you couldn’t reach him? Couldn’t bring him to you? You needed more.

The words slithered through your mind, making your fingers twitch against the armrest. More control. More certainty. Sylus was untouchable, out of reach in every way that mattered, and the thought gnawed at the edges of your resolve. He wouldn’t come willingly. You’d have to bring him to you - close the distance yourself, force his gaze back to you, where it belonged.

The solution whispered itself to you like a secret: a sedative. That could work.

You pulled your laptop closer, once again motivated enough to solve your problems. Your fingers hesitated for only a moment before typing “effective sedatives” into the search bar. It felt almost ridiculous - wrong, even - and yet the click of the keys was so deliberate, so purposeful. You swallowed hard, watching the results flood the page in long, disjointed lists: blog articles, obscure medical forums, even links to dubious N109 black-market suppliers.

The first few results were absurd: "Ten Sleepy-Time Teas for Your Insomniac Lover!" A soft exhale of a laugh escaped you. As if the Sylus Qin would ever be taken down by a sleepy time tea. You scrolled further, past DIY sleep aids and over-the-counter nonsense, until the real answers started to surface. The research became clinical, factual, with medical terms you had to work hard to decipher. If you could talk to a medical professional, you could probably understand this a lot easier, buuuut you'd also almost certainly end up locked up. So the internet was your only source of information.

Chloroform was an early temptation, of course, you’d seen it used in TV shows and movies for the exact same outcome. Fast-acting, the promise of unconsciousness in only a few minutes - it had an appeal that made your pulse quicken. You clicked through case studies, reading about its use, imagining for just a moment pressing a cloth to his face and holding it there until…

No.

You grimaced, shoving the thought away as quickly as it came. The TV shows had clearly not done their own proper research. The drawbacks were too much: burns from exposure, unpredictable dosage based on weight and metabolism. Could you even reach his face? He was tall - so tall - you’d have to stand on your toes just to hold the rag in place. The mental image was absurd. Worse than that though, it was dangerous. And the thought of leaving a mark, even an unintentional one made you draw back from that line of thinking completely. You’d sooner fail than disfigure him in any way. Sylus was perfect, every sharp edge and flawless line.

With a sigh, you moved on, typing new terms into the search bar. Fast-acting sedatives. Safe sedatives. Substances for unconsciousness with minimal trace.

Pentobarbital caught your eye next. A potent barbiturate with a long and controversial history - it was strong enough to knock him out, yes, but its unpredictability made you hesitate. You skimmed the medical notes, lips pressed into a thin line as the words blurred together. Respiratory depression. Lethal at higher doses. Your pulse skipped at the word lethal. Immediately striking it off the list, that wasn’t an option. You would not hurt him.

The thought came back like a mantra, as if you needed to convince yourself. This isn’t to hurt him. This is to help him. To protect him.

Scrolling further, you found something promising: midazolam. A benzodiazepine with a clean, precise reputation. Fast-acting and reliable, it was commonly used in hospitals to calm patients before procedures. One moment they were awake, and the next… gone. Its effects were temporary, too - enough to ensure that you could get him where you needed to without causing harm. At higher doses, it could completely knock someone out, at lower doses, it could be used to make him easier to manoeuvre into a vehicle or something like that. 

Your eyes traced the screen as you absorbed the information. Minimal taste, odourless in liquid form. Perfect. Your hands trembled slightly as you bookmarked the page, your breathing steadying as the weight of the decision settled over you. You sat back and stared at the text on your screen, imagining it in action.

A drink - just one. He’d tip back the glass, never knowing what you’d slipped into it. It would be easy. He’d close his eyes, his tall frame relaxing as the drug took hold. Then you’d… what? Somehow get him to a safe house. Your thoughts stumbled, and you forced yourself to keep moving forward. The details didn’t matter yet. What mattered was the first step: securing the sedative.

Your search shifted as you began scouring suppliers, looking for underground networks and black-market pharmacies that wouldn’t ask questions. This was the N109 zone’s territory, you realised. There were no rules out there - no ethics, no oversight. Just people like you, willing to pay the price for what they needed. You glanced at your dwindling stack of cash, running numbers in your head. It would be worth it. Every penny, every risk - worth it to have him.

A few days had passed, and the dust had settled. Now in your possession was a small vial of midazolam, a tracker linked to your phone, and a fully formed plan simmering quietly in your mind. The pieces were finally starting to align, each one as dangerous as it was necessary. Yet, the issue of the safe house remained unresolved. 

Slumped at your desk, you opened your laptop with a sigh, half-expecting another fruitless search. Your inbox pinged, startling you slightly. A new message sat there, the subject line calling out to you: Exclusive Properties in the N109 Zone.

Your brow furrowed. Properties? You didn’t remember signing up for anything like this. You frowned, your mind racing. Had you registered your interest in properties accidentally? Maybe you had clicked something in your late-night searches and forgotten. Or maybe someone was tracking your internet history. The thought set you on edge, but you pushed the feeling aside. Your interest had been piqued, you clicked into the email, the sleek formatting and pristine images catching your attention immediately. There were three listings, each stunningly presented with immaculate photos and descriptions. They had flexible term contracts, furnished or unfurnished options; all boasting of being discrete and having excellent security as well.they were, for lack of a better word: perfect.

Number one was sleek and modern, all sharp angles and steel. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the sprawling city, though the interior felt cold - almost sterile. It was a fortress, but one without a soul. You could see its appeal to someone with no interest in comfort, just functionality. It would do but it wouldn’t be the most comfortable.

Number two was ostentatious. Crystal chandeliers, plush gold accents, and velvet everything. It reeked of new money trying too hard to be tasteful, every inch designed to be a showpiece rather than a home. It was beautiful, gaudy yes, but still beautiful. 

And then there was, number three. The moment the image loaded, your breath hitched. Dark wood floors, soft amber lighting, and furnishings that struck the perfect balance between luxury and livability. The space was grand yet intimate, the leather sofas arranged around a massive set of windows that let the city lights spill in like a painting. It was elegant without being overdone - rich but warm, like someone had considered every detail carefully.

Your gaze lingered on the images longer than you realized. Something about it felt right. Safe, even. Like a place where you could rest, regroup, and focus - without feeling watched.if you ever had unlimited funds, this is what you would’ve chosen for yourself but alas you did not.

And then you saw the price.

Your heart sank. The numbers glared back at you, cruel and unrelenting. The cheapest penthouse was far beyond your reach, and this one? Laughable. You leaned back, dragging a hand through your hair in frustration.

“What a joke,” you muttered, biting back the sting of disappointment. Closing the tab, you shook your head. It’s just bait. Probably a scam anyway. Still that last property stuck with you, you even went as far as to pin it to your “home inspiration” pinterest board. 

Across the city, Sylus stared at his screen, his crimson eyes narrowing as he watched the moment you dismissed the listing. Through Mephisto’s feed, he saw the flicker of disappointment on your face and something deep within him twisted. He was irritated.

You hadn’t chosen any of them. Hadn’t even looked long enough. His jaw clenched as he brought up your file, flicking through to try and understand why on earth you would dismiss the places he picked out for you. Finally a thought struck him. Finances. Specifically, your finances. He rifled through your baking history and what he saw made his lip curl. Your accounts were nearly empty, savings depleted, seemingly all withdrawn over the course of a single week.He scrolled back further, checking your transaction history and almost sneering at what he saw. The total amount that had been withdrawn was less than he made in a single deal, significantly less actually. Your monthly income, a pitiful amount.

This is what you were living on? A bitter laugh escaped him, though it was more disbelief than amusement. The numbers on the screen - meager remnants of paychecks from the Hunter’s Association - were laughable. You’d been scraping by, sacrificing comfort, and working for them.  Plus the job of a hunter was incredibly dangerous, not to mention completely essential to Linkon city. And this was your wage? Pennies?

“Unbelievable,” he murmured, a dangerous softness in his tone. She’s worth so much more.

Sylus’ fingers hovered over the keys, and with a few precise strokes, he adjusted the listings. He knocked down the prices to amounts you couldn’t ignore, nudging them closer to affordability. Even so, the thought of you paying at all rankled him. You didn’t owe him anything - he didn’t want your money, he just wanted you. He’d make them free but that would be far too suspicious.

“She’d better pick the one she actually wants,” he said to himself, unable to stop the faintest smirk from tugging at his lips.

The second ping of your inbox drew your attention. Frowning, you opened the message - the same one as before, but now with the subject line Updated Listings - Limited Time Offer.

Your brow furrowed, as you looked at the email suspiciously. “No way.”

But still you clicked back on the listings, your heart pounding. Each property was the same, same pictures, same descriptions, same everything. Except for one thing, the price. They were cheaper - dramatically cheaper. The numbers you’d seen initially were slashed down to something that could possibly be achievable. Still steep, but no longer completely impossible.

“What the fuck?” you whispered, your pulse quickening.

Had the system adjusted after picking up on your interest? Was this some kind of algorithm-driven discount? The whole thing screamed ‘too good to be true’, and every rational bone in your body told you to close the screen.

But what if it isn’t too good to be true?

Your gaze drifted back to the third penthouse -the one you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about. It was perfect. Too perfect. Your instincts still screamed caution, but something in your chest clenched at the thought of letting it slip away. Well you know what happens when you want something.

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” you muttered to yourself, the words firm. Rationality had, of course, gotten you nowhere. Maybe it was time to take yet another huge risk.

Your cursor hovered for a long moment before you clicked “confirm.” The screen flashed, and your inbox updated with a confirmation and instructions for sending payment. You exhaled sharply, the knot in your chest unraveling into something strange and electric. Relief. Satisfaction. Excitement.

“Finally,” you whispered, a small smile tugging at your lips. 

The seller told you to deposit the cash in a subway locker and they would exchange it for the key, deed and other papers registering the property as yours. It all felt very official for the N109 zone, you didn’t even know that houses had deeds over there. 

Sylus watched in real time as your smile bloomed - wide and radiant, lighting up your entire face. He froze, his fingers stilling mid-motion as he took you in. The way you bit your bottom lip as you checked the details, the small, victorious clap of your hands as you leaned back in your chair - it was intoxicating. His chest ached with something he didn’t want to name, something far more tender than he’d ever felt before.

“That’s right, sweetheart,” he murmured, his voice soft, reverent almost. Of course you had picked the one he’d decorated for you - not consciously, perhaps, but with you in mind. The warmth, the comfort, the faint sense of safety it exuded - it was all tailored to what he imagined you would want. And you’d chosen it.

A smirk curled his lips, though there was no malice in it - only pride. It felt like a victory, like you’d stepped closer to where you truly belonged. To him.

“Adorable,” he muttered, watching you scroll through the confirmation screen again, as if afraid it might disappear. He leaned forward, his crimson eyes narrowing slightly as if speaking directly to you through the screen.

“Sweetheart,” he whispered, his voice rich and dark, “you should know better than to think anyone else would hand you something so easily. I’m the only one you need.”

Mephisto gave a mechanical twitch, a subtle nod of agreement, and Sylus leaned back, his satisfaction curling through him like a slow-burning ember. The sight of you - humming softly to yourself, your fingers tapping the keys as you admired the penthouse - was intoxicating in ways he couldn’t quite name. You were his, even if you didn’t know it yet.

Thinking of you living in that space, beneath the roof of a building he owned, sent a thrum of delight coursing through his veins. Finally. You’d be safe there - so much more under his protection that nothing in this wretched city could touch you. Not the Hunter’s Association, not the chaos of the N109 zone, and certainly not anyone foolish enough to think they could come between you and him. He’d make sure of it.

But beyond the satisfaction of having you tethered so neatly to his world, there was a deeper pleasure - one he hadn’t anticipated. The joy on your face, the smile that lit up your expression when you thought you’d won, lingered in his mind like a warmth he couldn’t shake, no matter how tightly he buried it beneath his usual resolve. He had put that smile there. He’d made you happy, even if you didn’t yet understand why.

Soon enough, you would. You’d see how far he was willing to go - how much of the world he would bend and break to keep you close. Gods, you were perfect for him. Perfect. And now, you were right where you belonged - under his protection, and his control.

“Enjoy it, kitten,” Sylus murmured, his crimson eyes glinting as he stared at the screen. “I’ll enjoy it too.”

➽──────────────────────────────────❥

I feel Sylus is incredibly hot in this chapter to be honest, but let me know your thoughts haha! Thank you so much for reading!

Please let me know what you think  

❥ Like, reblog, comment, message me, ask me something, literally anything - I live for your feedback on this  ❥

[mimisaurora]

The Final Broccoli Shareholder Meeting ☆

I had originally written the below portion for Mia's 10th Uta no Podcast episode: Music Talk, as she tends to go over occurrences and fandom news that have come out between episodes toward the end of the show. However, considering the nature of the news, I felt it would be good to also share part of the transcript here so that those who do not listen to the show, or may not know otherwise, can get a better understanding as to what's been going on.

Minor edits have been made for clarity.

Without further ado....

_________________________________________________

Broccoli held their 29th stakeholder meeting on May 26th, 2023, resulting in much controversy within the Utapri fandom. It is believed that around 160-170 people were in attendance; and from my understanding of this thread by @active_cns_N, Broccoli as a company has fostered a culture of allowing fans to interact directly with their staff at these meetings to discuss topics outside of just management policies, which is customary in this kind of gathering. Because Broccoli will be delisting themselves from the stock market, this would be their final public shareholder meeting. Please keep in mind that the information detailed in this summary are consolidated from various tweets that came from the attendees themselves, and no minutes have been released as of writing this document. As a result, there may be some things that may need clarification or amendment at a later date. 

In any case, it is believed that Broccoli were expecting to be answering questions regarding the Happinet acquisition considering their lack of preparedness, vagueness, and overall lacking responses regarding Dolce Vita, Backdol and Utapri as whole. These subjects took up most of the duration for the meeting. In fact, I believe it was mentioned that only one question regarding the acquisition was asked throughout the entire meeting, which may have been a shareholder asking if Broccoli was intentionally sabotaging themselves so that Happinet's tender offer could get to 1,500 yen and allow for an easier acquisition. The current President affirmed that no such actions were taking place.

This would be a good segway to mention that the current President of Broccoli is Shigeki Suzuki who served as director and senior managing executive officer at Happinet, being appointed back in April of 2022. The chairman and executive director of Broccoli are also previous Happinet employees.

At this time, it seems there is only one female executive in the company and she is believe to be the producer responsible for overseeing the Utapri project. There are no women currently on the board of directors.

Now for what everyone's been waiting for: As supporters of Uta no Prince-sama, what do we need to know?

♫ Dolce Vita is still in development and Broccoli asserted that it will see a release date; they explained that the reason development on the game slowed to a crawl had to do with having few staff members who are well-versed in the world of Uta no prince-sama and that with the expansion of the movie projects, Shining Live and SSS among other things, it has been difficult to allocate resources to Dolce Vita. The discontinuation of the PS Vita game console also had a huge impact on DV's development. Broccoli emphasized that they want to carefully craft a game they feel the fans will be satisfied with and are very cognizant of its significance and want to be careful with the product they end up releasing. They also declined to say specifically if there would or would not be new information coming out on the 13th anniversary.

♯  It's been brought to light after the meeting that Broccoli currently has up to five (5) different job postings on their site directly related to Utapri in some capacity, like the hiring of a content director, graphic designer, and staff for scenario direction and writing among other roles.  ♯  It's also worth mentioning that historically, the writing for the Utapri games have largely been outsourced to other companies. It wasn't until ASAS that the content was produced in-house.

♫ The title of Uta no Princess-sama from Uta no Princess-sama: Back to the Idol will not be changed, and that after an internal discussion on the matter, did not see the reason to change it and stand firm with Agematsu's vision for the project. They maintain that there will be no crossover between the franchises.

♯ When asked exactly what to expect from Backdol, and why there was a severe lack in quality for their recently released videos (like the recently published Golden Week series), Broccoli only answered the question in part and said they are "making efforts to improve the quality of their videos".

♫ Broccoli was also asked why Backdol and Utapri were so similar despite having nothing to do with each other and asked if their neglect for female-oriented content despite their enthusiasm towards male-oriented IPs had to do with the lack of women among the board of directors. Their response is as follows: On the similarities between Backdol/Utapri: The company does not perceive it to be that way. On the lack of women among the board: While there are no women among the board of directors, they do have a female executive officer (likely referring to Sayaka Konno) who is involved in the development of concepts. Within the company, women also outnumber men in middle management positions and female employees are constantly involved in projects such as Utapri. The prospect of a female on the board is welcome and desired, but they do not consider appointments solely on gender alone. Again, because of the amount of women in the company, it is only a matter of time before some of them transferred to director or executive officer positions. They also emphasized that the opinions of female staff are more readily accepted and incorporated compared to their male counterparts when it comes to content creation. All of this to say that the company feels they are not inhibiting their voices.

♫ When it comes to the mishandling and lack of sufficient stock for event merchandise, Broccoli could only conjure a vague response stating they will "make efforts to improve the situation"

♫ Broccoli has plans for upcoming Birthday celebrations but would not say exactly what. They also did not have anything to say regarding the apparent discontinuation of the Birthday Collection series.

That is as much information as I can remember to include at the moment and am unsure if anything was missed, so anyone with more to share, please don't hesitate to correct or add to in the chat or comments below.

There is much to be said about the acquisition because of Happinet's apparent limited understanding of otome or romance content and Broccoli's responses in general but all I can hope as an enthusiast of the franchise is that it all turns out for the best.

[rainbowmoonstonestories]

Let Your Dreams Be Your Wings | Chapter 8

Chapters: 8/? Fandom: The Sandman (Netflix 2022, minor content from the Comics) Rating: Explicit Relationships Dream of the Endless/Morpheus x F!Reader Characters: Dream of the Endless/Morpheus, Lucienne, Matthew the Raven, Mervyn Pumpkinhead, Hob Gadling, Death, Rose Walker, The Corinthian, other minor Sandman characters, Original Characters. Warnings: 18+ content (minors DNI), explicit sexual content, POV switching, very long chapters to read. Summary: You always dreamed of becoming a successful Fashion Designer, sharing your creations with the world and making your father proud. But with him being very ill and so many costs solely weighting on your shoulders, things didn’t go as planned and you had to take a different path instead. An interesting offer led you to the elder Alex Burgess and you were hired as a new housemaid for a very good pay. However, your kindness and outstanding empathy convinced the man to give you an additional task for a doubled compensation; gaining the trust of Dream Of the Endless, held captive into the basement for over a century. Despite the shock of finding such an ethereal entity stripped of all his clothes and contained into a confined space, you had to accept for the sake of your father. But the more you got to speak to the mysterious anthropomorphic personification who didn’t utter a single word, the more you were lost into his eyes that, conversely, seemed to contain the entire universe. A deep connection formed between the two of you, separated only by a thick layer of glass.

Little did you know, what started like a simple housemaid job was about to change your life forever.

Credits: The moon dividers were made by firefly-graphics

Warning: This chapter includes smut! Minors please dni.

For this update, I did some writing research to make my text better and richer, in order to avoid most repetition. Hopefully you will see me improve more and more with the future chapters.

Tagging: @number-0-iz. If anyone else wants to be tagged in the next updates, let me know! I noticed that Tumblr sometimes won't let me tag everyone for some unknown reason, so if it comes to that I can at least send you a message to notify you.

Ko-Fi (If you ever wish to support my work)

And just like that, you found out that your best friend was immortal.

Chapter 8

After your first full night in the Dreaming, instead of meeting Morpheus on the beach again, you discovered places from your childhood memories you had entirely forgotten about and hadn’t even crossed your mind while you were awake. Moreover, you experienced peculiar events that either reminded you of your teenage years, or conveyed something too abstract for you to comprehend. You assumed this is how dreams normally operate, given that everything transpired beyond your control.

Seven whole days passed and you had not seen him once. You were aware that restoring his realm posed many complications, and that with the substantial number of humans who were falling asleep all over the globe, you weren't expecting any exclusive treatment from the otherwordly ruler of the Dream realm. Nonetheless, Morpheus had promised to see you again ‘soon’, and you didn’t quite understand what this implied for an immortal being with an eternity to spare. You needed to stop dwelling on it as it was making you anxious and sick.

In order to divert your attention, you proceeded in browsing new job vacancies on the internet, applying to corporations with an appropriate visual profile that matched your style. You were constantly checking your phone (which was fortunate enough to remain pristine after that tumble on the sidewalk), refreshing your email inbox. At the end of the day, you felt demoralized, albeit slightly amused, observing the amount of irritating spam populating your account.

You couldn't have won the lottery since you never bought a single ticket for it, and you weren't interested in claiming fake Amazon gift cards or accepting a one million bitcoin donation on your non-existent digital bank. You also couldn’t care less about the man who seemed to be enjoying a yellow banana up his butt, Nancy Pelosi being absolutely disgusted with whatever you might have done, and a certain Kim Smitherd offering millions of dollars to make you as rich as 'Bull Gates' while your aunt was dying.

You had to give these scammers credit for their entertaining content, at least.

On the bright side, your father was appearing to be progressively recuperating, gaining weight at a rapid pace and finally spending a lot more time outside of the house. He had struggled with his health for two years straight, simultaneously as Morpheus had endured a century of seclusion, solitude and mental affliction without ever turning his back on humanity. They both inspired you to relentlessly chase after your ambitions, even if it meant reaching out to each and every company in town that could provide you an opportunity.

Even though your heart sank every time you awakened devoid of sighting the King of Dreams, you carried on with all you wanted to complete, working hard from day to late evening to create some momentum in your stagnant routine.

Ten days after that sensual night with the Endless, your nerves were about to get the best of you. It was an emotion that you recalled all too well from your previous romances, and you truly hoped to not go through all that again. Since Morpheus didn't have a phone, you couldn't text nor call the Endless to invite him out for a drink. Matthew had paid you brief visits throughout that period, but the only information he disclosed was regarding how hectic Morpheus was with the reconstructions of his domain.

Feeling mentally fatigued and in need of some respite, you endevoavored to recuparate at Regent's Park, which occured to be your favorite area in London. In your childhood, your father frequently had you visit that place almost every weekend to relax and partake in a long walk amidst the captivating greenery and view the diverse species of birds that resided there. It was one of those locations that never changed, providing you with a pleasant sensation of nostalgia whenever you stopped by.

Arriving at the curved bridge over the lake, you set your arms upon the wooden railing and peacefully gazed at the ducks floating in the water, carried along by the calm flow. The discrepancy between the sounds of the natural world and the buoyant pulse of the streets was precisely what you needed, ideal for any mood you might be in.

In that particular instant, the rustling of leaves in the mild wind was consoling and harmonious. You were so lost in it that you failed to notice the woman proping herself on the guardrail beside you, observing you with a kind smile and waiting for you to acknowledge her presence. When you didn't, engrossed in your thoughts and fixated on the rippling patterns od the water underneath, she decided to initiate a conversation with a polite greeting.

“Hello.”

With a tilt of your head, you came face-to-face with a pair of dark, incredibly gentle eyes. The brown-skinned woman at your side left you struck with her voluminous black curls, so soft-looking that it almost made you want to touch them. The positivity that she exuded was immediately infectious - a rare quality in people that you couldn’t find often.

"Uhm… hello…?”

As she moved closer to where you were standing, her upper arm brushed against yours. Though the stranger's touch was in some way pleasant, it left you at a loss for words and with a bewildered look on your face. You searched your mind for any memories of her but couldn't find any.

Your brow wrinkled. "I apologize, but... have we met?"

The woman let out a brief chuckle, shaking her head. "No, but you definitely know my brother.”

You stared in confusion. "Who might he be?"

She didn't reply but kept gazing at you with the same friendly smile. Your eyes discended to the necklace she was wearing, an Ankh pendant attached to a long chain that sat comfortably on her chest.

You had read about the Ankh and what it meant in symbolism and in Egyptian culture; also known as "the key of life", it was generally used by ancient deities to represent their power and reviving human souls in the afterlife.

A symbol of life and death.

"There is Death, my sister. She is the one who greets the souls of the departed and guides them on their journey to The Sunless Lands.”

And then it hit you.

"You... you are her. Dream’s sister. You are Death."

Her smile broadened even more at your realization. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Y/N.”

Aftr the initial astonishment, you began to sweat profusely. What was the reason that Death herself had come to a random spot in London in order to meet a human who was lost in thought?

You were unable to contain it and said, "Please tell me you're not here to take my soul.”

She laughed. "Of course not. I just want to talk.”

Although her response relieved you, you recognized that Death was one of the Endless, a being of tremendous power and responsibility. What sort of communication was she intending to have with a mere mortal like yourself?

Unless…

The question came naturally, and the dread attached to it was quite weighty. "Did something happen to Morpheus? Is he okay??”

Seeing your concern, Death clasped your hand on the edge of the railing in a reassuring way. "He’s fine, this is not why I came here.”

You tried to make sense of it but nothing came to light. Death took both of your hands in hers, her eyes glistened as her bright expression shifted into something hollow. Her touch was gentle, but you could feel the strength in her fingers and the safety they transmitted.

Finally, she continued. "Thank you. For taking care of my little brother when I wasn't there,” she said, her voice low and slightly hoarse.

Your throat became dry, and you were unable to respond appropriately. Instead of addressing what she told you, you questioned her.

"Did you know that he was captured?"

Somehow, you quickly became accustomed to her touch, and when she removed her hands, you mentally protested at the sudden chill that enveloped your skin for the loss of contact, despite the warm temperatures outside.

She closed her eyes, confirming with a nod of her head.

“Why didn’t you help him?”

Death let out a deep sigh, turning her melancholic gaze towards the lake in front of the bridge. "The Endless are bound to certain rules that prohibit them from interfering with each other's domains. We exist in service to the universe and the living things within it, with our own tasks and realms to oversee.”

You were aware that you should have clamped your tongue and refrained from speaking so animatedly in the presence of a formidable entity, but the immense disappointment felt within your body urged you to give it expression.

"So, you couldn't step away from your duties even for five minutes? Maybe he was hoping that you or your siblings would come to his aid, to show that you cared and let him know he wasn't alone and forgotten by his own family. What's the point of rules when someone you care about is suffering like that?”

You were filled with regret almost instantly after speaking so fervently, despite the fact that you might not have fully grasped the situation. Nevertheless, her next statement only amplified your displeasure.

"Dream’s pride would have been damaged in ways that none of us would be able to repair."

"His well-being is more important than his pride."

The atmosphere became dense and solemn. You were so fervently protective of Morpheus that it clouded your judgment. Your knowledge of their existence in the universe was restricted, so how could you presume to teach them a lesson on what ought to be done based on your assesment?

You let out a frustrated sigh. "I apologize. I understand that it's not my place to judge. As an Endless, you certainly know better than I ever will from my humble human perspective. I just can’t see how leaving Dream to his fate and ego would make up for what he went through.”

Her smile once again beamed with warmth and joy, illuminating her entire face. "My brother means a great deal to you," she said.

Your cheeks immediately turned red at her statement, and she seemed to find your reaction amusing as she giggled under her breath. Without asking further about your feelings towards her brother, she nodded her head, gesturing for you to follow her. "Come on, let's take a walk.”

She slipped her hands into the pockets of her black jeans. Her equally dark tank top showcased her perfectly toned arms, with visible muscles lining them. Although she was generally slim, she was fit and a bit taller than you. Everything she did appeared human and ordinary, but the strength you sensed in her was enough to make anyone cower in fear.

Still, she had such a sweet approach that you could hardly believe she was the literal embodiment of a Reaper. Humanity had often portrayed these figures in inaccurate ways, prioritizing creativity over accuracy.

As you walked alongside her, the sound of children's laughter filled the park. Your feet moved in perfect sync with hers, while her imposing and confident strides in leather boots made your own sneakers seem small and insecure in comparison.

"You see," she explained, "my brother needed to learn a lesson about the consequences of his actions and how they affect others. He had to confront his captors and overcome the situation on his own to grow into a better ruler of the Dreaming.”

You swallowed your bitterness. "So you're saying that this was supposed to happen? That he brought it upon himself and therefore deserved a century of emotional torment?”

A gust of wind blew through her hair, but she didn't even flinch when a curly lock fell in front of her eye. She continued to look ahead as she spoke. "Dream could have summoned me. He was given a choice, and he didn't take it.”

This made you think. If Morpheus truly had the chance to be released early, why did he choose to stay in captivity for all those years? He remained trapped in that cage without a word of complaint, despite the pain consuming him inside, all because of that one missed opportunity.

Was it really just pride that kept him there?

However, you understood all too well what it meant to feel helpless and always afraid of burdening those you cared about. As a mere mortal, you struggled to accept that you could hardly succeed on your own, so you couldn't blame Morpheus for holding onto his ego. Being powerless and unable to escape his predicament must have been unbearable for a creature like him. All Dream wanted was a straightforward offer from Death, which explained the disappointment you had seen plastered onto his face.

Sometimes, all we need is a caring gesture from someone we love, even when our answer is no.

"Would you have set him free if he had asked?”

She seemed to consider your question carefully, but ultimately chose not to answer. "You didn't know him before. You only see him for who he has become as a result of that incident.”

You gradually decreased the pace of your strides, and when you came to a standstilll, she turned and regarded you with a questioning expression.

"They killed his raven and stripped him of everything he had. The ruby, the helm, even his clothes were taken and thrown away. I don't know who Dream of the Endless was a century ago, but how is any of this justified?" you asked.

Her smile grew even wider at your passionate response, and it seemed as though the sun itself had become brighter because of it.

How ironic.

"If he hadn't taken my place that day, we wouldn't be having this conversation. If you could change the course of events, would you rather not have met Dream?”

You stood in silence, fighting to gather the correct response to give and conceding that she was in fact correct. If those particular conditions had not led you to cross paths with Morpheus, you probably wouldn’t have met the person who was bringing so much love to your existence. It pained you to realize that you would willingly choose to stay in the present reality, regardless of the implications, even if you were given the choice to shift to a separate timeline where he was not a component of your existence.

“This is so messed up,” you muttered.

Death softly squeezed your shoulders in a gesture of comfort, her eyes glistening in the sunlight. She already knew what her brother’s answer would be, and so she left him behind when he needed her the most. Their family was more complicated than you could imagine, with regulations and dynamics that were foreign to you and the world you inhabited. It was unfair to criticize their lack of intervention when you didn’t really know the depths of their connection. The only thing you could do was adjust to their nature based on what it was.

You took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be indiscreet."

Her expression softened. "You were not. You're sweet."

Instead of harboring resentment for something that nobody could control, you realized that there was a very important reason for you to appreciate her.

"You didn't take my father when I thought I was about to lose him. I should be thanking you, not cast judgement," you said.

You could see the kindness and empathy in her eyes, with no resentment present. "It wasn't his time. It won't be for a while," she reassured you.

Hearing those words from her put your heart at ease, as you still had that nagging worry lingering in the back of your mind.

Guided by your emotions yet again, you were unable to resist the impulse and surprised the Endless in front of you with a shy and hesitant embrace. But as soon as your hands pressed against her back, you no longer had a single afterthought.

Death's scent was distinct from Dream's but equally pleasant and grounding. Her hair and skin emanated a mix of jasmine flowers, smoldering swathes of woody incense, pink lotus, and saffron. She surrounded you with her enigmatic veil of mystery, but at the same time, her sweet and caring nature was warm and fulfilling.

The woman hummed in appreciation against your hair, combing through it as a caring older sister would.

"Am I signing my death sentence with this?" You asked her.

She laughed heartily at your question. "It doesn't work that way. And this actually feels nice.”

She didn't even attempt to extricate herself from your arms. She allowed you to keep her close, as if she required that form of affection more than you did.

You reckoned that Dream's role was tremendously difficult, being entrusted with preserving the delicate balance between humanity and his realm. Death's job was undoubtedly arduous too, guiding human souls to what Morpheus called The Sunless Lands. What would have occured if she was imprisoned instead? What would a world without people able to die be like?

There was something in the way she stroked your hair and rubbed your back. Everyone assumed that the Grim Reaper was a merciless being, marching through existense with a fearsome scythe and a black shroud covering its head. They didn’t know how elegant, uplifting, affectionate and empathetic the real entity was.

When you let go of her, the expression on her face was gracious and accomplished. As the pair of you resumed your stroll under the trees, Death draped her arm around your shoulder like an old friend.

You were uncertain whether she wanted to meet the woman who showed great interest in her brother or merely intended to confirm that you were trustworthy. Regardless of her reasoning, you discerned that your unexpected encounter with her was having a beneficial effect on you, despite its rough beginning.

You continued walking side by side as if it were the most normal thing in the world, until a sudden scream made you both freeze in your tracks. It reverberated throughout the park like a strangled cry, gathering a multitude of people in the vicinity. A girl was calling out a name, pleading and choking in desperation.

Death's face became somber as she looked at the scene. She assessed it in silence, but somehow, she didn't require any explanation for what was going on.

"I have to go. I can't miss this one.”

The wind gusted once more, enveloping you in a rotation of leaves that rose from the ground. She turned towards you for the last time, and with a tender caress of your elbow that was equally affectionate and apologetic, she bid you farewell.

"I'm glad I could meet you, Y/N."

You remained still, nodding, and feeling your heart pump more forcefully. "I’m glad too. Can you tell me your name?"

In spite of anticipating denial of your request, she sent off another smile and moved backward a few paces without taking her eyes off you. “You can call me Teleute, it you desire.”

Teleute. The name which had been used to portray Grandmother Death in the ancient Greek culture. Everything made sense in the framework of history and mythology.

She turned on her heels, walking away with her hands in her pockets. Within a brief moment of diversion to pay attention to the crowd that continued to increase in size, you completely lost sight of Teleute. She had disappeared in the blink of an eye, as if she was never there. Ethereal like the swiftest of avians, the most graceful angel.

You were spurred by a combination of curiosity and uneasiness to move forward. The girl was still crying and calling out for someone who was lying motionless in her lap. As you approached, you worked through the crowd of people who were standing there in shock. You spotted an unmoving man with his eyes half-open, his body stiff like a lifeless dummy, and his complexion gradually becoming ash-grey. His partner shook him repeatedly, searching for a vital sign.

"Robert! Please wake up, please!”

The pain in her tone was excruciating. causing your stomach to tighten and shudder with each utterance of the man’s name. A friend was trying to take her away, pulling her by the arms in a futile attempt to let her leave the body behind.

The man she loved was gone forever.

“No, no! He can’t! We were supposed to get married next week!”

“Linda, please… get away from him, there’s nothing you can do...”

“No!!!”

The ambulance arrived with a loud siren, and three paramedics ran to the body with a stretcher and defibrillator ready in their hands. You heard the sound of fluttering wings at your side, but when you pivoted to look at the origin, nothing was there. All you could see was the group of onlookers surrounding the pair and the expanse of green behind them.

The defibrillator wasn't working. The man's chest lifted and expanded with each electric impulse, but you didn't need to stay to see the outcome because you already knew it; Death had just taken him and he couldn’t come back.

Fighting to overcome the lump caught in your throat, you left the crowd and walked as far away as you could from that tragedy. Watery drops emerged at the corners of your eyes and dripped down, one hand pressed against your mouth to contain the sobs that erupted within you.

Two days later, you had agreed to spend some time with Hob, sharing the occurences that took place in your lives while working on your separate undertakings. The sun’s rays were shining gloriously in the azure sky, showering the idyllic views with a gentle beam. You could feel the breeze tousling your hair as you made your way to the modern tavern, the overgrown grass tickling the skin of your legs. The summer dress and half-sleeved viscose shirt that you selected for the occasion were soft and comfortable on you.

Upon entering the New Inn, your eyes quickly searched for Hob's usual spot. You saw your friend already seated at the table, clad in a stylish brown jacket over a white t-shirt. After greeting the enthusiastic waitress, you walked over to join him.

As you made your way past the other customers, you didn't initially notice that Hob wasn't alone. Someone was sitting across from him, and they appeared to be having an engaging conversation that caused him to display a genuine smile. Seeing Hob in such a relaxed and carefree state was a rare sight; he was frequently on edge, eager to reconcile with that old friend of his.

You immediatly wondered if the individual in front of Hob was actually him.

The man was wearing a knee-length black coat better suited for winter, and had dark hair that looked eerily familiar even from behind. The similarity was so striking that you decelerated as you moved closer to the table with your heart racing faster, incapable of making a sound and announce your arrival.

You could recognize those short, adorable, untended strands anywhere. You tried to get a better look at his face, but he remained turned away from you until you reached a distance that allowed you to be spotted.

Seeing you, Hob's expression immediately brightened. "Y/N!" he exclaimed. "Do you remember that old friend I've been telling you about? Let me introduce him to you.”

Hearing your name, the other man instantly swivelled towards you, meeting your gaze with his beautiful blue eyes. A flood of feelings engulfed you and it couldn’t be kept at bay as you looked at Morpheus’ features, struck by his exceptional appearence. He radiated an aura that could have made anyone fall to their knees in admiration.

Your face flared red with the notion that you had looked at him for too long. "It's you," you said, your tone coming off as more relieved than you intended.

Hearing your words, Hob looked back and forth between the two of you in disbelief. "Wait, do you two know each other?”

You finally diverted your attention back to your friend, giving him an affermative nod. "We do, actually."

"Bloody hell, what a small world!"

When the calmness returned to you, a strong epiphany surfaced. Morpheus was imprisoned in 1916, and according to Hob, they eventually experienced an abrupt separation, whereupon the Endless didn’t show up to their designated meetings any longer. This meant that Hob was substantially older than he had previously claimed, owing to the fact that Morpheus remained locked in that cage for more than a hundred years.

How many more astonishing truths were you about to discover? Hob had several explainations to give, but you decided to leave them for another time if you wished to keep the atmosphere untouched.

You weren't the only one making discoveries that day. Hob didn’t fail to perceive the way you looked at Morpheus, and he smugly raised an eyebrow with a devilish grin that held a lot of secret promises for later.

Afterward, Hob gestured for you to join them, pointing at an empty chair nearby.

While you were strongly enticed to snuggle with Morpheus, you chose to give them some required space to have a heart-to-heart talk on their own without your interference.

A little disappointed, but still compassionate and pleased for their reconciliation, you kindly declined his invitation with a smile. "It's all right, you two must have a lot to talk about. I’ll just sit over there and work."

You gestured towards an empty table next to the window, but Hob's expression quickly changed to one of guilt for the unforeseen change of plans.

"Are you sure? I invited you out, it's not fair to make you sit on your own, is it," he said, looking at you with concern.

You gave yet another nod. "Positive."

You looked at Moprheus who didn’t utter a single sentence, but you detected his subtle smile while he gazed at you from his seat. You gave his shoulder a light squeeze as a demonstration of affection, though maintaining secrecy. Your fingertips gently glided along his sleeve as you stepped back.

You got settled in, requested a cup of tea and retrieved your tools to initiate your work alone. Your attendance was not necessary during that time as Hob and Morpheus had a lot of things to catch up on. However, being close to the one you adored and had been waiting for, yet remaining temporarily out of reach, made it challenging for you to keep your focus.

You inhaled deeply, plugged in your laptop and let your hand drift unrestricted across the pages of your sketchbook.

A few minutes later, you were completely immersed in your own realm of creativity.

"I saw that," Hob spoke, his countenance exuding approval as he regarded Morpheus.

The Endless decided to feign ignorance. "What did you see?" he asked.

"The glim in your eyes. The way you looked at her says it all, my friend. You like her!"

Morpheus became rigid, reclining back in his seat and directing his eyes downward, maintaining silence.

"Who would have thought that after all this time I've known you, I would finally see you in love?"

In the past, Dream of The Endless would have denied Hob's assertion with unruffled temper yet seething rage, storming out of the inn to digest his private humiliation. This time, Morpheus involuntarily shifted his gaze towards you, silently admitting to the truth. The radiance of the sun illuminated your profile, and he couldn't refrain from taking note of it due to its ethereal appearance.

Hob's smile was kind. "She's a great woman, you know. Seriously, the most incredible human being I have encountered in this century. She works tirelessly to achieve her goals, and she's both intelligent and compassionate. You won't easily find someone like her in the next era.”

Although he was still in the process of comprehending your nature, to Morpheus, that wasn't difficult to believe

"Don't break her heart," Hob suddenly warned, catching him off guard and immediately drawing his attention back to his serious face.

"I know you're not a bad guy, and surely you don't need me to tell you what to do. But I care about that girl over there like family, and she's been through enough hardship to deal with more complications.”

While Morpheus was aware that Hob could decipher him with ease, he continued to keep the same calm demeanor in order to conceal his sentiments. He was not inclined to let them be made obvious or to exhibit his softer side, even to his friend.

Hob’s voice was filled with determination. "I would go to hell and back just to ensure she can be happy."

With a minor lift of his eyebrow and the edge of his lips, Morpheus replied, "That is quite admirable.”

Hob took another sip of his beer, his shoulders raising and lowering in a quick shrug. "Judging by what she told me about this 'mysterious guy she's been seeing lately,' it's clear that she really cares about you. Honestly, I believe I've never seen her care so much about any other lad before. They were all a bunch of idiots, but still.”

His eyes remained nonchalant and blank, but the usual slight bob of Morpheus's Adam’s apple definitely gave his feelings away. "So she did talk about me, then?" he asked, sounding flat but curious.

"Aye, but she was very reserved about it. I didn't get any clue that it was you, of all people, " Hob straightened from the comfortable wall sofa and directed his look towards you. He showed a smile of great pride at the sight of your hand gliding effortlessly across the page of your sketchbook without a single interruption.

Morpheus felt the urge to watch you from a distance, examining your actions and admiring the absolutely adorable way with which you seemed to bite your lower lip while tracing your pencil along the page.

The Endless was eagerly looking forward to meeting you in your dreams that night, yearning for the occasion after his extended absence to fully restore his kingdom. Morpheus wasn't expecting to meet you in the Waking World before the scheduled time, let alone find out that you and his old friend would share a special bond as well.

Eventually, the conversation with Hob took a different turn, yet Morpheus found his mind constantly drifting back to you.

You lost track of time again as you drew. It could have been an hour - maybe even two.

You observed that Morpheus was still deep in conversation with your best friend, seemingly frozen in the same position as when you first spotted him. Despite his composed and dignified demeanor, his discomfort around humans was evident from the way he watched people warily out of the corner of his eye and stiffened his shoulders when others came too close.

It was understandable, given that those who were supposed to admire him had instead ensnared him and exploited his possessions.

You closed your sketchbook and began scrolling through your emails, deleting any messages that didn't seem important without even opening them. Doing so, you almost missed an email from the CEO of a company you had reached out to in hopes of finding a job. Despite them not currently accepting new applicants, the man took the time to send you a polite response, wishing you good fortune for the future. Though it wasn't exactly what you were hoping to see, the kind and encouraging words still managed to brighten your mood.

Hob rose from the couch, stretching his neck before turning to say a few last words to Morpheus. As he approached you, a beaming smile lit up his face, though he was clearly remorseful about not being able to spend more time with you. Nevertheless, he seemed content and at ease, a state you hadn't seen him in for some time. With everything now resolved between him and his friend, the last thing you wanted was for him to apologize for something that you didn’t perceive as a lack of attention at all.

You knew there was a long conversation and explanation waiting for the two of you, but for the moment, you simply watched as he strode out of the pub and vanished into the trees beyond. You couldn't help but wonder which century he had originally come from, but given his extensive knowledge of history, it was impossible to pinpoint his specific era of birth.

Reflecting on it, you were feeling a bit daunted by the sheer number of changes and developments he had witnessed in the world, as well as deeply saddened by the loved ones he had lost and left behind. It now made sense why he had always been reticent to discuss his family history, clearly it was a delicate topic for him.

You shut down your laptop and put away your belongings. When you looked up, you noticed that Morpheus was silently and intently watching you, his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat. When he came closer to your table, you realized that his attire was reminiscent of what he wore in the Dreaming - all black and enigmatic - but tailored to fit the style of the Waking World. The fabric was structured and gave him a modern look, while still retaining his signature mysterious edge.

“Hello.”

His low voice was like a vibration, a resonant melody deliciously flowing through your bloodstream. When you stood up and got inches away from his face, you had to keep yourself grounded and resist the urge to kiss him on the lips in front of the other customers (and the waitress, who was already glancing at you with piqued curiosity).

The immediate attraction was undeniable, stirring something in you that was definitely not appropriate for public display.

Hey you," you replied with a smile. "It's good to see you." "I've missed you," you were tempted to say, but the words caught in your throat and you couldn't bring yourself to say them.

"Are you busy at the moment? Do you need to leave?”

He shook his head almost imperceptibly. "I can stay, for now," he replied.

Your heart fluttered with excitement, producing a series of backflips in your chest. "Would you like to take a walk with me then?” You asked, trying to sound casual.

Your request may have been simple, but it seemed to work in your favor.

"With pleasure.”

The sensation you felt was spine-chilling, causing your skin to prickle and making your hair stand on end. The genuine and happy smile that you gave him caused the corners of your mouth to pull up painfully, but you allowed your emotions to show without restraint. Walking on air, you paid for your tea and bounced out of the inn.

You sensed Morpheus following silently behind you, his cryptic expression giving him an air of caution. He stood tall and firm, his eyes narrowing occasionally as he observed his surroundings. The warmth of the sun and the gentle breeze enveloped you, while the distant sound of car horns and the chatter of passersby filled the air.

As you stepped away from the entrance to let a few more people inside, his hand lightly brushed against your upper back for support. The contact left a tingling sensation across your covered skin the moment he withdrew it. Clearing your throat, you tried to shift your focus to a new topic, hoping to distract yourself from how much you longed for more of his touch.

Thankfully, you had just the right thing to break the tension. "So, Hob Gadling? I had no idea that you were the old friend he was waiting for,” you remarked.

Morpheus looked at you, raising an eyebrow. “Nor did I know that the two of you were close.”

"He's like a brother to me, really," you explained. "But I never would have guessed that he was, like, super bicentenarian or something.”

"We first met in 1389," Morpheus revealed.

And so you stopped in your tracks, unable to wrap your head around what he just told you. "Wait what? You're kidding, right?"

"I assure you, I am not.”

Your mind boggle at the thought. "But that was over 600 years ago!"

Morpheus seemed amused by your astonishment. "You look quite shocked,” he observed.

"I'm practically a baby compared to him," you admitted. "I can't even imagine what it would be like to live for so long.”

Morpheus studied you thoughtfully as you walked together, considering what he was allowed to reveal. "I must admit, Hob Gadling has proven to be remarkably persistent.”

“Persistent? You mean he actually had a choice?”

Morpheus nodded. “He did. And, he still does.”

When you turned the corner of the street, Morpheus slowed his already leisurely pace and glanced at the building to your right. It was a large complex that had been standing for centuries, refurbished into a more modern-looking bar around 1989. Throughout all the changes it went through, its original name, White Horse, and location remained perfectly intact.

The tavern had been visited by many notable figures, including William Shakespeare himself. It was one of those timeless landmarks steeped in history and wonder that had been passed down through the generations until it was eventually sold. Now, it looked more like a disquieting construction site, with all the windows covered in scribbles and the old, decaying roof under repair for an indefinite amount of time.

According to Hob, the New Inn had been founded as a replacement for those who had fought to keep the old tavern running.

"It all started here," Morpheus said.

You looked at the dilapidated structure, trying to imagine what it may have looked like in medieval times, but found it difficult to picture Hob in anything other than his usual fashionable attire (or Dream with a different hairstyle).

"How?" you asked curiously.

"I was intrigued by his...experience," Morpheus replied. "I wanted to know how long a mortal creature could crave such a long life, convinced that he would beg for death within a century.”

You were captivated, a grin spreading across your face. "And?”

"Even after 300 years, when I found him in misery and starving for food, he still claimed to have much to live for."

You burst into a loud, genuine, joyful laugh that echoed throughout the area. Holding onto his coat, you doubled over, unable to contain your exuberant reaction. Your belly was hurting and you could barely breathe as your laughter didn't cease.

"What?" He asked you, furrowing his brows in confusion.

As you tried to recover from your guffaw, you literally convulsed with tears forming at the corner of your eyes. When you finally calmed down, you pressed your forehead against his chest, subconsciously clinging to him.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," you said, wiping a tear from your eye. "That just sounds like him. It's hilarious!”

You continued to shake like a bowlful of jelly, breathing in and out a few times to regain your composure.

"If you find it amusing, you shall ask him to share more of his adventurous tales with you,” he suggested.

You let out a contented sigh. "I think I will.”

Your eyes met again, and the intensity of his gaze immediately captured your attention. Despite his outward stoicism, his expression seemed more relaxed than it had been at the inn. The mischievous, subtle smile you were becoming accustomed to only confirmed that he was enjoying your spontaneous hilarity.

You looked down at the metallic barricades, where someone had sprayed the words "The New Inn" in red with a long arrow pointing in its direction.

“Hob did it, didn’t he? For you. So that you could find him,” you concluded.

“He did.”

Despite the fact that 133 years had passed since that renowned argument, their connection had survived unscathed, filling you with a sense of comfort and warmth.

"I don't know what your fight was about, but he's been remorseful about it for a long time.”

Morpheus continued to pierce you with his stare, pouting slightly at the recalled memory.

"He cares deeply for you,” you added.

His gaze returned to the building, and his eyes narrowed with an inscrutable, impassive look. He didn't respond right away, simply staring off ahead as a few seconds went by.

"He is a good man, despite what he may or may not say. One who speaks very highly of you."

You were stupefied, tilting your head quizzically. “You… talked about me…? After more than a century apart?”

"I suppose you had a certain influence on him," He answered cryptically.

You offered Morpheus a kind smile. "I doubt that I had any influence on him. You, however, have undoubtedly made him a better person, according to his own words.”

Their friendship had begun as a challenge - a game, if you may - devised to test Hob's endurance as an immortal among humans. A mere curiosity that gradually deepened into something more meaningful. Over time, Morpheus came to regard Hob not just as a subject of study, but as a true friend that he valued despite his usual aloofness.

You found yourself adjusting the collar of his coat, feeling the stout, yet very yielding and plush fabric against your fingers. Once satisfied, you gave the front of his shoulders a gentle pat and wrapped your arm around his, holding him loosely but tenderly.

Morpheus was unruffled, but his unwavering gaze on you made you feel somewhat self-conscious. At one point, he even seemed to anticipate something as he moved his eyes downward until they rested on your lips momentarily.

Although you were in close proximity and a small push from you would have been enough, you decided to respect his reservedness when people started passing by on the street. Therefore, you resumed your trek, leaving the antique tavern behind and reaching the park in the distance.

A great number of individuals of diverse ages were appreciating the weather that day. Elders were stationed on the benches with their eyes shut, couples relaxing on a large sheet for their impromptu picnic, adolescents engaging in football on the grass and children running about in circles.

“Do you see these people? Have you ever appeared in their dreams or interacted with them?” You inquired.

“I do not always interact with dreamers. When they rest, my realm mirrors their waking lives, their wishes or their fears. Only when they seek guidance or require advice, I might grant them my aid,” Morpheus said.

And there you were, walking alongside the King of Dreams, whether it be in the Waking World or the land of dreams. Maybe you did possess a unique consideration from him, after all.

You looked at all the carefree activities in the vastness of the park. "It's strange. I never thought about it, but I now realize that what you Endless do is essential for this world. It seems like nobody is aware of that, or if they are, they don't show you the gratitude that you deserve.”

Morpheus halted along the way, fixating on your eyes anew. When you turned in his direction, your countenance was overflowing with sadness and compassion. "Every person we see right now has a dream that propels them through life. They receive inspiration, ideas, and realizations from you, but they don’t even know that the source of it all is standing right here in front of them.”

“Humans forget in waking hours,” he noted. “It is not my purpose to make them remember me.”

You disagreed, shaking your head. "Even so, this world wouldn't even function without you and the rest of your family. It's incredible how nobody acknowledges what's truly happening behind the scenes.”

Morpheus appeared to give your statement a moment of contemplation. “I am the personification of ideas and concepts that are tied to life. I do not wish for mortals to acknowledge me.”

You pondered his utterances, and the only thing you were capable of doing was to accept his reasoning. You smiled, caressing his chin with the pad of your thumb and forefinger. "Then I hope you at least accept my praise, Dream of the Endless.”

As you pulled back, Morpheus tracked your hand’s movement to understand your actions. He portrayed a grin with a certain trace of self-satisfaction on his face. “Very well.”

You examined him with utter amazement, feeling as if you were standing before a lifelong hero. In a sense, that was indeed the truth.

A group of teenagers assembled in the vicinity, talking and chortling noisily as they advanced. When a young girl walked past Morpheus, you quickly noticed his awkwardness and out-of-placeness amidst such a jolly atmosphere. The girl promptly retreated when she noticed his darkened face, dragging her friend along and whispering to her in concern. Observing her troubled response, Morpheus turned away and stared at the ground.

You proceeded to move forward, slowly bringing your lips to his cheek and delivering a brief, tender, and affectionate peck on it. He exhibited a look of surprise and confusion the moment you broke the kiss, but you maintained your sweet smile in his direction.

“Look,” you gestured, turning your head slightly to check on the two girls.

As if by magic, the pair of youngsters were now grinning at the two of you, giggling with delight and hurrying along with the rest of the bunch. They went from terrified to appreciative in an instant, relishing your sudden display of affection and forgetting the momentary tension they felt.

You clasped his hand and tugged upon it. "It’s interesting how easily our perception can change, isn’t it?”

And thus, Morpheus understood that you had done it exclusively for his sake, in order for him to cease feeling like he would not fit in, like no matter what he did, the humans would consistently be alarmed by his presence.

You felt a sense of contentment and fulfillment, repositioning yourself at his side and walking forward with your hand firmly clasped in his grip, which Morpheus didn’t object to. He permitted you to retain your fingers around his, accompanying you to whichever place you wanted to go.

On the path leading to your apartment building, you disclosed about your interaction with Teleute. You presumed that he was aware of it, but it turned out that his sister had not informed him about that matter in any way. Fortunately, Morpheus didn’t express any sign of dissatisfaction or annoyance in relation to that revelation. Since he had lived close to his family for a span of billions of years, he obviously knew Death well enough to understand her inclinations and motivations.

You definitely had nothing to hide, and he listened to you extolling her mildness and empathetic gestures.

It became obvious to you that she was the one he cherished the most amongst his other siblings. It seemed like they held a particularly strong bond that, regardless of the unfavorable occurences resulting from Roderick Burgess, caused them to continue believing in one another’s loyalty.

Nevertheless, Morpheus was still reluctant to reveal any significant information about his family, so you decided to stop pressing upon the topic and continued walking along the sidewalk.

Eventually, you arrived at your building with an immense sadness growing inside you, knowing that you had to part ways with Morpheus. Your fingers slowly unfastened from his hand, and a chasm formed in the pit of your stomach.

You smiled at him, trying to conceal your increasing disappointment. He didn’t speak, continuing to cast his sharp gaze upon you. He put his hands back into his pockets and awaited for you to say anything.

As you thought to yourself, "Don't go" and "Please stay with me", you desperately wished to spend more time in his company. But given your past mistakes that led your previous partners to consider you overly clingy, you ultimately let those sentiments go.

“Thank you for indulging me,” you said. “I hope I didn’t keep you from your responsibilies for too long.”

“No,” he replied, his voce low and deep. “I owed you as much.”

You frowned. “You don’t owe me anything, Morpheus.”

He attempted to reply, opening his mouth, but quickly closed it, unable to vocalize whatever thought he wanted to share.

When he remained silent, you adjusted the bag on your shoulder and firmly wrapped your hand around the strap. Your mind was in chaos, torn between your emotions and reason, leaving you uncertain about what action to take next. A single kiss couldn’t be the end the world, and it’s not like you’d never done it before. You continued to persuade yourself that it wouldn't be harmful in any conceivable way, but the more you tried to convince yourself, the less you wanted to take the risk.

And so, you permitted yourself to only touch his elbow, giving it a light squeeze. "See you in my dreams?" you asked him.

Morpheus assented with his head. "I will see you in the Dreaming."

You stepped back, turning on your heels and retrieving the keys from your bag. As you flipped open the lock of the main entrance, you glanced back to where he had been standing, but in the blink of an eye, he had vanished, nowhere to be seen in the alleyway before you.

As you made your way from the lobby to the elevator and your dwelling, you scolded yourself repeatedly for missing the opportunity and allowing your past to hinder you once again, despite having declared that it was long gone. You were not supposed to feel afraid of sharing a kiss with the one you loved, especially after spending a night together engaging in deep and passionate lovemaking. In the Dreaming, he was the one who initiated the contact, capturing your lips in that sweet, electrifying kiss that you didn't openly ask for.

Things were different for him in the Waking World, however, whether it was due to the traumatic ordeal he endured or because it was a place in which he felt like he didn’t belong. Morpheus was not a human being; rather, he was an entity of extraordinary might and prominence. Was it really feasible to be yourself beside him without holding back your feelings?

As you shut the door, a heartbroken sigh slipped out of you. You tossed the keys on the tabletop, let your bag slide to the couch, kicked off your high heeled sandals, and stripped off your shirt, only remaining with your sleeveless dress on.

You almost made it to your bedroom in a nervous stride, but suddenly halted. Your mouth fell open, and your eyes widened as soon as you noticed Morpheus standing in the parlor area, watching you with a pair of eager and yearning eyes.

In that fleeting moment, your determination to subdue your fondness for him disintegrated from your consciousness. That glimpse in his eyes was irrefutable; he desired you as ardently as you needed to feel him against you.

No words or spoken affirmations were necessary. He kept looking at you with his hands tucked away in the pockets of his coat, barely blinking as he stood still, waiting for your move with anticipation.

That was the indicator you were looking for. Throwing away all your reservations, you dashed towards him without thinking it over, seizing his face with your hands. You pressed your lips onto his and kissed him, feasting on the taste of his mouth with an intensity that surprised even you. It felt like the only thing that mattered, as if you needed those lips to breathe.

Morpheus instantly moved his hands out of his jacket and took hold of your midriff, pushing his palms against the small of your back as he kissed you with equal passion. His tongue shot forward and encountered yours whilst you lifted your feet to deepen the kiss, wrapping your arms around his shoulders.

You pulled away to catch your breath, panting and quivering, but still clinging to him tightly. “You came back,” you whispered.

“I never left.”

You chuckled in delight, once more locking your lips with his.

“You did not ask me to stay,” he noted. “Why? Is it not what you wished?”

Of course he would notice.

Your lower lip sank under the light pressure of your teeth. “It is. I just… I didn’t know how to ask.”

He smiled. “Have no fear, my love. I will not leave your wishes unattended.”

My love…?

Those words caused your heart to leap in your chest, as it was a lovely way of addressing you that nobody had ever used before.

"I don't want you to fulfill my needs at the expense of your own, though,” you stated.

“Do you truly believe that I do not want this just as much?”

“Well no, but-”

“Then allow me to prove it to you.”

You became soft and pliable in his embrace as he kissed you again, enveloping you in a hazy and semi-bewitched state with his delicious fragrance.

Unlike the cologne that your previous partners favored, his scent was a subtle aroma that didn't fill your lungs to the brim, but was just enough to make you feel like you were surrounded by a welcoming oasis.

As you continued your make-out session, you gradually pushed him towards your bedroom. Morpheus silently followed your lead, kissing your neck and moving to your collarbones. Once you arrived at the bed, you sat down in front of him, causing the edge of your dress to slide up and reveal a peek of your thighs. It didn't take long for him to climb onto the mattress and press against you, positioning himself between your legs. His cold fingertips caressed the line of your leg, starting from the area around the knee and ending at the upper region of your thigh. It wriggled under the cotton material of the skirt to hoist it higher, gripping your skin and making you jolt.

Normally, you would take your time, letting your sensations grow with his touches, kisses, and pleasurable foreplay. But this time, your desire for him was so strong that you couldn't wait any longer. You immediately brought your hands to the button of his pants, eager to get to the point.

But before you could undo it, Morpheus caught your wrist and pulled both of your hands up beside your head. His grip was firm as he held you down on the mattress. Your faces were very close, and you could feel his breath tickling your mouth as he gazed down at you with a fiery look.

You made a small effort to keep your breathing in control.

“What is it that you want?” He uttered softly, his tongue just barely touching your lips. “Speak clearly, and I shall satisfy your needs.”

Your heart pounded rapidly, and your mind grew clouded with a steadily escalating craving.

“Morpheus… please….I beg of you…” you entreated with a quavering voice, your request filled with an air of desperation and longing.

“No.”

“I-”

“You must say it out loud.”

You let out a small mewl when you felt his hips push forward, the hardness in his pants already evident and wanting.

"Morpheus…" you pleaded.

"Say it," he demanded.

“You!”

“Oh?”

You gasped hard, your chest rising and falling rapidly beneath him as he held you in place, pressing himself against your body.

“I want you. I need you, please.”

A faint smirk appeared at the corners of his lips, conveying a small amount of triumph. “You need me? How?”

What a mischievous, teasing, and absolutely gorgeous creature.

‘Two can play at this game’.

You smiled, raising one of your legs and looping it around his waist. You pulled him even closer against your core, much like a python coiling around its prey.

You were pleased to hear the low, throaty groan that escaped him.

"Do you seriously need me to spell it out?" you teased. “You know what I want, Dream Lord.”

His sister had described him as the most prideful member of their family. According to Teleute, he was so proud that he wouldn't have even accepted her help if she had offered it at the right time. And yet, your challenging attitude was clearly amusing him to a noticeable extent.

"I will give you that, and more," he promised, his voice filled with lust and eagerness.

He removed his hands from your wrists, trailing them along your arms and closing around your breasts. Even through the fabric of your bra and dress, you could feel the way he squeezed them, causing your back to arch.

It was so little and yet too much, your inner walls clenching irrepressibly. You couldn't stop looking at the clear protuberance in his trousers, urging you to be set free. So you tried again, rapidly reaching for the button to unfasten and the zipper to pull down. A moment later, he was grasping your buttocks from under the dress and angling you exactly how he wanted, pulling his erection out and hooking his index finger under your panties. Slowly, as if he was unwrapping the most awaited gift of time, he moved your damp undergarment aside and revealed your glistening entrance. He swallowed hard at the sight.

He pushed himself inside of you in one swift motion. The entry was rough, but he managed to slide in without any resistance, making you gasp and moan as his tip hit the perfect spot inside you. You wrapped your limbs around him as he delivered strong thrusts with his impetuous pelvis, moving in and out and increasing his tempo. He fixated his hungry eyes on your face, driven by his growing need to make you come undone.

Even though the both of you were practically fully clothed, you found the scene absurdly arousing. That coat looked absolutely wonderful on him, and you loved the way his shirt rubbed against your clit, creating the perfect friction you needed to let loose. Morpheus emitted deep, rich grunts as your walls tightly enveloped his length, providing a heightened sensation of suction and pressure. Your room was filled with the sounds of sex, as skin met skin and your bodies moved together.

Just like the first time, you latched onto the back of his hair with your hands, grasping a sizeable portion of his strands without pulling, but maintaining a stable position. You continued to whine and sigh, matching his rhythm and responding to the kisses he delivered.

"The sounds you make are marvelous," he expressed, a small grin emerging at the corners of his lips.

“What can I say?” you replied with labored breaths, still reeling from the impact of the intimate and heated encounter. “You are just that good.”

With so many centuries of experience, he must have had countless lovers in the past. This made you feel a bit envious and possessive.

Morpheus was relentless, sliding in and out of you with incredible stamina. You could feel your orgasm approaching, ready to ignite a powerful firework. As he felt you tightening around him, he slowed his pace. His fingers left your thigh and moved directly to your clit, brushing it with gentle and light strokes.

You gasped at the pleasure it caused, throwing your head back as he continued to circle the small tip with his index and middle fingers. He wasn't even applying that much pressure, but the sweet stimulation combined with his girth meeting your G-spot was absolute heaven, even if it was torturous.

You were so close now. A part of you wanted the experience to carry on for hours, but the urge to feel that exquisite sensation was becoming impossible to control and withstand.

"Please, harder," you muttered.

Morpheus complied with your request, delivering precisely what you were asking him to provide. His hips pushed forward, then almost fully out, and in again to the base. As you adjusted to his thrusts, you felt your muscles tensing from the effort involved, but you didn't plan to stop. You consistently met him halfway, tightly gripping his hair with one hand and his back with the other.

His fingers maintained their position on your clit, pinching and massaging it deliciously. Your moans grew louder, and you chanted his name like a prayer.

You came with a convulsing jerk of your hips, pulsing around him as his erratic movements urged him to reach completion and follow you to your high. Your orgasm was earth-shattering, draining you all of your strenght as it coursed throughout your entire body like a massive explosion. Your legs were trembling and tingling, while your chest and cheeks turned into a scarlet and blazing mess from the waves of heat.

It only took a couple more thrusts for him to reach his peak, groaning and stiffening as he released his essence into your depths.

It was hot, grounding, and fulfilling. It was something significant that went beyond the mere physical satisfaction. To you, it was a way to fortify the connection you had established with Morpheus, the outcome of the deep affection that was continuously expanding inside your being.

You took shallow and short breaths, taking a moment to appreciate his expression above you through your hazy state. He was throughly satisfied, gently pressing his lips against yours to prolong the moment of bliss.

As your nails scratched the back of his head, gently intertwining with his short strands, you let out a contented sigh. Your legs weakened at his sides as he pulled out, and your underwear snapped back into place.

“I must return to the Dreaming,” he voiced softly, barely above a whisper.

You signaled your acknowledgment with a slight nod of your head. “Sorry for keeping you here.”

“I was not kept here, my love. I chose to stay,” he clarified, carrying an affectionate tone towards you and an air of assurance.

You genuinely beamed, grasping his head with your hands once more and delivering a quick yet vehement peck on his mouth.

"Thank you for staying, then. And for healing my scars. Oh, and for the shell too,” you told him, emphasizing your words with a look of gentleness and gratitude.

Morpheus’ expression depicted complacency. “The Dreaming will always be there to welcome you, just as I will.”

You breathed out in a relaxed fashion. “Why are you so good to me?”

“Why should I not?”

When you attempted to steer clear from falling too deep into your usual overthinking, your smile slowly started to diminish.

“For a number of reasons,” you stated, the self-depreciating words falling out of your lips with an air of bitterness and pessimism. “Maybe one day you’ll get tired of me and leave me. I’m not deserving of having you in my life.”

In an instant, his face also changed, brows knitting together as he looked down at you. “Y/N, what-”

"Don’t mind me," you interjected. "My emotions tend to get all over the place. I didn't mean to ruin the mood.”

“You did not.”

You felt uncertain concerning the underlying cause for your sudden outburst. Perhaps it was the fear of not being enough for any committed kind of relationship. Or maybe you were scared of the notion of seeing your happiness destroyed again, despite your intuition telling you to proceed forth without hesitation.

Unlike before.

A faint chuckle escaped your throat as you tilted your head upward and kissed him one more time, maintaining an innocent and reserved touch. Your eyes were gleaming with a mixture of sorrow and joy, but you refused to be overtaken by your negative thoughts.

With a playful tap, you pushed his chest lightly. "You should go now, or I won't be able to keep my hands off of you.”

Morpheus grasped your arm and hauled you up with him, moving both of you away from the mattress and bringing you close.

The moment you stood on your feet, you could feel a few drops of his essence dripping down between your legs.

"That does sound quite tempting," he said. "But I cannot stay longer.”

“It’s all right,” you vocalized, a touch of sweetness creeping up in your voice. “See you soon?”

“Yes.”

He sealed that promise by applying a delicate and loving peck to your forehead. His hand slid off of yours and brushed against your skin, lingering on your fingertips before drawing away. You stepped back slightly, watching him carefully as he retrieved the pouch of sand from his coat. You waited patiently, your eyes fixed on his every move.

“Please say hi to Matthew for me.”

He nodded to your words, the golden powder immediatly encasing him, embracing and providing him the much needed comfort and warmth that he was accustomed to.

You stared at the sand slowly fading away, vanishing from your sight and leaving only some particles that sparkled around the room.

The sun had set below the horizon, and night had fallen over London. Ella Corbyn tapped her fingernails in an anxious manner on the top of her desk as she re-read the message on her phone, her eyes staring at the screen as she tried to process the unwelcome development.

She walked through the halls of her workplace, passing by the empty offices and stopping in front of the CEO's door. She knocked softly and entered, greeting her husband with a tired expression and a sense of exhaustion.

Oliver Corbyn remained at his workstation, taking a quick glance away from his monitor to check on his wife.

“Darling, are you okay?”

Ella sighed deeply, shook her head, and looked at him with concern all over her face. 'We have a problem.”

Oliver took off his spectacles and placed them carefully on the table. He then moved his chair back and said, 'I don't like the sound of that.”

As she considered the best way to reveal such disappointing news, Ella decided to simply reveal the truth as it was.

“It’s about Isaac. He left.”

Oliver reflected on his wife's words, blinking a couple of times. “What do you mean he left? I thought he was sick.”

Ella started scratching the back of her hand and a red patch began to emerge from the rough contact with her nails.

"Yes, well. It turns out that was just an excuse. He actually sent his resignation to my email an hour ago.”

Oliver's face turned ashen, and he quickly leaned against the edge of his desk for support. “And the reason?”

“Apparently, he decided to move abroad and live with his family in the US.”

He cursed under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose in disbelief and frustration. “I can’t believe this.”

Ella crossed her arms in front of her chest, adopting a firm stance to refrain from scratching her skin even more. 'What do we do now? We are officially without a fashion designer. We need to find a new one, and soon.'”

“I know.”

“The show is in three months. How are we supposed to make it?”

“We’ll figure it out.”

Ella started to walk back and forth around the office, moving her legs in a repetitive motion. "Gosh, I can't stand this! Isaac was so good. Will we ever be able to replace him?”

Oliver was quiet, spacing out and absentmindly scratching his chin.

“Oliver?”

The man’s gaze widened abruptly. The sudden insight that struck upon him appeared to have a significant impact on his overall perspective.

“Hang on, hang on, hang on,” he muttered, lifting his index finger into the air as he expressed a sense of urgency.

Ella looked puzzled. “What?”

Oliver promptly ran back to his computer, rapidly typing some words on the keyboard and clicking around with the mouse. “Look.”

Ella stepped closer to his position, standing beside her spouse and shifting her emerald eyes down to the monitor.

"A few days ago, we received an application from this woman. Her portfolio was quite impressive, but with Isaac on our team, I thought we were covered. So I politely rejected her this morning.”

As Ella observed the numerous illustrations on the display, her eyes settled on the exceptional detail, accuracy and artistry that was put into every single piece, a style that was rather unique and captivating.

No one else was capable of producing such clean and mesmerizing drawings except one particular person.

“What’s her name?”

Oliver closed the PDF document and went back to the email he retrieved from the archive, going to the bottom where your signature was.

“Y/N Y/LN…? My goodness!”

Oliver was taken aback by the transition of his wife’s demeanor, somewhat amused by the way in which she started to jump up and down and laugh out loud.

“Love? Do you know her?”

Ella raised her hands to the top of her head and gazed at the ceiling while breathing out a sigh of relief, her feelings of worry slowly evaporating as a sense of calmness descended over her.

“We were literally best friends in high school!”

Notes:

• I didn't come up with the full description of Death's scent. Full credits to this site.

• In case you're wondering if the Reader will meet the Corinthian again, the answer is yes. All in due time.

• I was planning to add the revelation about Nada and Morpheus' son in this chapter, but in the end, I just couldn't fit those parts in. The Nada segment will definitely be added in the next update though, while I came up with something interesting regarding the truth about Calliope and Orpheus. There will be some drama and angst because of that, but this is all I can say without making spoilers.

• How many times do we sense something, but our brain and/or heart gets in the way? Sometimes we are confused and emotional, to the point we cannot make sense of what we truly feel anymore. I wanted to portray this aspect with Reader's state of mind.

• The timeframe I set at the start of this chapter is most likely inaccurate. I tried to find some proper information about the amount of days or weeks that pass between the end of episode 5 and the beginning of episode 6, but I couldn't find any. If someone knows, please correct me and I will edit the chapter!

• In my mind, even if Death never told her brother that she met the Reader in person, she most likely mentioned something about their relationship. Initially, I wanted to include that in the chapter as well, but I decided to cut it out to reduce the amount of text. Maybe I'll add a bit of it as a written memory.

• Yep, time to add some original characters into the story! :D Ella will play a very important role in Reader's life.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 (currently reading) Go to Chapter 9 ->

Read on AO3!

[yvline]

I'm preaching to the audience of absolutely nobody here, but I need to get something off my chest....

PLEASE BE VOCAL ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU DON'T LIKE AI-"art"!

ESPECIALLY AS A CONSUMER!

THE REASON WHY IT'S EVERYWHERE IS BECAUSE SOME BIGWIGS IN PR BELIEVE THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT!

It's not about designers being lazy. Designers are being hired by people who believe AI to be the next big thing. You can be the greatest graphic designer in the world and also draw like da Vinci, but your employer will just say "nah, let's use AI-image instead. It'll get us more clicks"

That is why you should talk about how much AI sucks. It's just a passing trend and it's already getting old. It's a plagiarism machine and using it is unethical.

Unfortunately for designers, especially for beginners, there aren't many options. If we refuse to work with AI, we might not even find a job.

But you can help. Be vocal.

Tell your friends, tell your family, go on the company's instagram and tell them, say their old design was better and the new one sucks balls.

Don't buy products with ai on the packaging if you can. Seek alternatives.

Please help designers, I promise you a lot of us also hate AI crap!

[evansbby]

okay but who played stardoll as a kid???

and i don’t mean just casually played stardoll… but like PROPER played it??? not just the dressing up celebs part, but the whole community fashion part of it!

like i remember hosting modelling competitions, being a fashion journalist for stardoll blogs (??? i was like 10 but i remember putting my age as 15 bc i thought that was grown up) and i remember sooo many users had fashion magazines bc they could do graphics but i couldn’t bc i was only 10 years old 😭😭😭 but i wanted to sooo bad!!

like my medoll has her own blog for her portfolio 😭😭😭 which was basically different sceneries I’d made for modelling competitions AND i remember my medoll was the “new model to watch” on someone’s magazine and i got a whole feature 😭😭😭

i remember also being hired as a writer for one of the stardoll blogs (again, i was 10 sjsjsjak) and i had to write a weekly travel column and my first article was about visiting Paris (which I had not been to ever) and I got moderate hate in the comments bc my article was so bad (I WAS TEN!! But ofc they didn’t know that bahahaha)

Looking back, I wish stardoll still existed now bc I would be SO good at the magazine part now bc I can actually do graphic design 😭😭 and I could pay for superstar membership which before I never could… you know… BEING TEN YEARS OLD 😭😭

Like i remember all this sooo clearly and my blogs all still exist!!! I remember being part of a modelling agency too😭😭

PLEASE TELL ME SOMEONE ELSE WAS ALSO PART OF THIS PART OF STARDOLL!! Like I loved dressing up celebs and all the games but there was this whole other community of stardoll on blogspot yall and I remember wishing I was older so I understood stuff better 😭😭😂😂

[channiesrubberduck]

The Book-Boyfriend Incident

Bang Chan x OC

Genre: fluff, a bit suggestive?, best friends (who are in love with each other, but are so stupid, that they don't notice) to lovers

Summary: A usual night of Chan working on his music, with Sam chilling on his couch behind him, reading her current book. What could go wrong?

It was a pretty normal occurrence, that when Chan was busy fixing parts of his songs in his studio, Sam would drop by after her work as a graphic designer, to get some peace and quiet and continue reading on her current book series she was into. Today was an especially stressful day for her, as today was the D-Day for the big project she was working on. So when she left work, she immediately texted Chan that she would be coming to his studio, knowing that he would be working late again. Chan just answered with a simple thumbs up, already guessing that today must've been really stressful for his newly acquired best friend.

Chan and Sam had met, during Sam's time at JYPE. She was still working as a freelance artist and was hired to do some designs for the 'SKZoo' merchandise line. She only visited the JYP building a couple of times for some major decisions, but as fate wanted, every time she was in the building, she ran into Chan. Chan, knowing the employees of his company very well, asked her right away who she was and upon knowing she was designing something for his group, he of course wanted to get to know her better. He felt, that they both got along pretty well, so naturally he invited her to go to a café to keep the interaction between him and Sam going. Maybe also because he was fascinated by Sam the moment they started talking, but that was only for him to know. Sam was equally intrigued by Chan, or as she likes to call him: Chris. He was so nice and warm upon first meeting, which she definitely wasn't used to in this industry. And maybe Chris' good looks were a tiny bonus, while talking to him, too. She didn't want to admit it either, but Sam definitely felt this certain pull towards the singer-songwriter. But that was all in the past now, right? They were just great friends who hung out together on occasion, since they were both very busy people. Workaholics, if you dare say so.

Upon Sam's arrival at Channies Room, they both embraced. Sam still had some food left from her Lunch, so she gave it to Chan, since she knew, that he hadn't eaten all day. He quickly devoured the meal that was presented to him and then showed his friend what he was working on. Sam thought that it was perfect already, but Chris, being the perfectionist that he is, naturally disagreed. Sam just shrugged and sat down to get started on reading her current Book. It was a trilogy, centered on a cute couple in a small, magical town. It was sweet and filled with triumphs and setbacks, as well as a lot of heartache. Chan never really understood, the appeal of the books Sam was reading and didn't question it. Until that night. Chan was finished a bit earlier than he expected. Sam did not notice him turning around in his chair, way too engrossed in her book. The tension in her chapter was thick, and the scene was getting hotter and hotter with every sentence she read.

But of course Chris had to pop down on the couch right next to her, which startled her completely. "Chris! Oh my gosh, you scared me!" she yelled, annoyed. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to. I just didn't realize how engrossed you were. I thought you saw me standing up." He apologized. Sam just answered with a big "Nope, I did not" while popping the p. "What are you reading anyway?" "A romance book. What else?" "I don't know, maybe a crime story?" "Does this cover scream crime story to you?" Sam held up the book cover to reveal a comic like art style with two people kissing on it. Chris smiled awkwardly, "No, not really, you're right." "That's what I thought. Now please do not disturb me, the story is getting really interesting." she said, with a pleased grin.

Before she could continue to read, Chris came up with another question, hoping to keep the conversation going. "What is so good about reading romance books anyway? I don't get it." Sam huffed, almost offended by Chan's comment. "Look Chris, the romance Books are great 'cause the fictional men in them, are better than real men will ever be. Or have you ever pinned someone against the wall and made out with them, like these book boyfriends do with their love interests?" Sam thought that this blunt comment would shut him up, but it weirdly didn't. Chris, now with a mischievous glint in his eyes, creased his forehead and asked obliviously, "Pin someone against a wall? How do these book boyfriends do that, then? Maybe I can learn from them." Sam, not noticing what Chan was talking about, put her book away and stood up from the couch. "Ok, so you wanna learn? Then come here, and I'll show you what I mean." Chan stepped up and strolled into the tiny space between the couch and the doorway.

Sam showed him what he has to do while talking him through it. She grabbed both of his hands and started explaining. "The first thing is that you decide if you either wanna grab their wrist, the side of their face or their waist." Chris decided to put one hand on Sam's waist. "Great, and then you push me lightly against the wall and put your other hand against it too. It will help with balance and make you look bigger to the other person." Chan did exactly how Sam instructed him to do. And as they were in the final position, Sam realized how close Chan actually was to her. She scanned his face, noticing again how beautiful his face was and how soft and warm he looked. Chris was just as enraptured by Sam's beauty. After a while of just blatantly staring at each other, Chan decided to try and back away, but suddenly Sam put her hands on his broad shoulders. "No, stay." She whispered hesitantly, gauging for his reaction. Chris stopped in his motion and relaxed his muscles. "Is it okay then to..." "To what Chris?" He was too nervous to continue speaking, too nervous to admit what he wanted to do. Instead, Chan just looked at Sam's lips and then looked at her eyes again, trying to make her understand.

Sam noticed that small action of his and finally understood. She started to lean in, almost afraid that he wouldn't do the same, but she didn't have to fear long as she felt his soft lips on top of hers a moment later. The kiss was full of emotions, they didn't realize they had for each other, but most importantly it just felt right. Chris started caressing Sam's waist, while Sam put her hands securely around his neck, feeling safer and happier than ever. After searching in the dark for so long, they finally found the light in each other.

[southport-printing]

"Graphic Design Gold Coast: Elevating Your Brand with Creative Solutions"

Introduction: In today’s visually-driven world, graphic design plays a crucial role in shaping brand identity, attracting attention, and delivering messages effectively. For businesses on the Gold Coast, investing in professional graphic design services is more than just an expense; it's a strategic necessity. From eye-catching logos and engaging social media graphics to impactful marketing materials, the right graphic design can set your brand apart in a competitive market. In this article, we explore the importance of graphic design on the Gold Coast, the services available, and how to choose the right designer to bring your vision to life.

1. The Importance of Graphic Design for Businesses on the Gold Coast: Graphic design is not just about making things look good; it’s about communicating a brand’s message, values, and personality through visual elements. For businesses on the Gold Coast, where tourism, retail, and service industries thrive, a strong visual presence can make all the difference. A well-designed logo, cohesive branding, and attractive marketing materials can boost brand recognition and customer loyalty. Whether you are a startup, a boutique retailer, or a large corporation, graphic design helps convey professionalism and builds trust with your audience.

2. Services Offered by Graphic Designers in Gold Coast: Graphic designers on the Gold Coast offer a wide range of services tailored to meet the needs of local businesses. These include:

Logo Design: Creating a unique, memorable logo that captures the essence of your brand.

Branding: Developing a consistent visual identity across all platforms, including business cards, letterheads, and promotional materials.

Website Design: Building aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly websites that enhance the online experience for your customers.

Social Media Graphics: Designing eye-catching graphics for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to engage your audience.

Marketing Collateral: Designing brochures, flyers, banners, and other promotional materials to support your marketing campaigns.

Illustrations: Custom illustrations that add a creative touch to your brand’s visual communication.

3. Choosing the Right Graphic Designer in Gold Coast: Selecting the right graphic designer is crucial to ensure that your vision is brought to life effectively. Here are some tips for choosing the best fit:

Portfolio: Review the designer’s portfolio to see if their style aligns with your brand’s image and goals.

Experience: Look for a designer with experience in your industry. They should understand your target audience and industry trends.

Communication: Choose a designer who listens to your needs, communicates clearly, and provides a collaborative experience.

Cost: Consider your budget and compare quotes from different designers. While quality is important, it’s also essential to find a service that offers value for money.

Timeliness: Ensure the designer can meet deadlines and deliver work on time.

4. Benefits of Hiring a Local Graphic Designer on the Gold Coast: Hiring a local graphic designer offers several advantages:

Face-to-Face Meetings: You can meet with the designer in person, fostering better communication and understanding of your brand.

Local Market Knowledge: A local designer understands the Gold Coast market and can create designs that resonate well with the local audience.

Supporting Local Businesses: By hiring a local designer, you contribute to the local economy and build a network of business relationships in your community.

5. Conclusion: Investing in graphic design on the Gold Coast is an investment in your brand’s future. With the right designer, you can elevate your visual identity, engage with your audience, and drive business growth. Whether you need a new logo, a refreshed brand identity, or marketing materials, professional graphic design services on the Gold Coast can help you stand out in a crowded market. Take the time to choose the right designer who can bring your vision to life and help your business thrive in today’s competitive landscape.

[centizen]

User Experience/User Interface Design (UX/UI) – A side by side comparison

In a business-technology driven world, consumers are aware of what products and schemes they are getting themselves into. Products play a rather great deal in this cycle. A product’s popularity is based on the way, a customer feels about it. More particularly, how it solves the problem for its customer without having to go through a routine or do something out of the ordinary in order to get the job done. Here is where User Experience and User Interface Design comes into play, where the developer puts themselves in the shoes of their customer to get a better insight. A product can have all possible features yet can be unpopular just because it has a complex design. Thus eventually, a product’s design contributes a significant deal to its success as well. Hence, to improve its User’s experiences the UI/UX designers were hired. Often people confuse UX designs with UI designs. By the end of this read you will have a basic outline of how each varies.

What is UX?

UX Design is the study and understanding of a user’s behavior & motivations with a goal of providing better digital experience. Before starting a design, every designer has to keep in mind that the product or service they design should answer the most basic questions — WHAT, WHY and HOW?

Why User Experience Design? Most problems are actually problems of perception.

User experience design (UXD) allows you to create products that makes the user feel that he/she had been a priority or that the product’s design had been tailored to fit them. The entire design process relies on acquiring details and integrating those details into the product. Now a days, people are more familiar with the technologies available than they have ever in the past decade hence they have higher expectations. User Centered Experience Design, has been a proven factor behind these successful designs.

User-Centered Design

One of the most effective design methodologies is the user-centred Design. The main theme of this user-centred design is that it is built purely on the needs & requirements of the end-user. To build an uncompromisable and flawless design, a UX designer should do his/her fair share of user research, buyer persona, design frames and prototypes. Once you have mapped an outline it is essential to include testing into it too. This doesn’t mark the end of the routine; the designer should identify & include relative issues as well.

Role of the UX Designer

UX Design is the study and understanding of a user’s behavior & motivations with a goal of providing better digital experience. Before starting a design, every designer has to keep in mind that the product or service they design should answer the most basic questions — WHAT, WHY and HOW?

What is UI?

First things first to those debating, UX and UI designs are two different elements of user experience with a product. However UI in other words can be said is a part of UX. As User experience arises from interaction with the User Interface. UX refers to the user experience, that focuses on how something works & how people interact with it. User Interface, focuses on how the layout design can appeal to the user. To help you understand better, consider a car, UX will refer to the car’s gear, steering etc., and UI will refer to the model, color of the car. Together they provide a pleasant experience to the user. An UX designer makes sure that the user can understand and follow the logical flow of the product, whereas the UI designer ensures that the user enjoys the looks and feels of the product.

What includes as the UID?

Designers strive to create designs, which pleases its users yet provide a level of ease to use. UI designers design graphical user interfaces (GUI) but nowadays UI is not limited to just graphics. Voice-controlled interfaces, oral-auditory and gesture-based interfaces as well fall under UID. This is because of the psychology that the less the user goes through the motions of control the more immense their experience will be and more likely they are to return to your product or service.

What is a perfect UID/UXD?

Let me give you an example. In case a company figures out an ideal product and designs based on a human-centered design process which has everything from feels and looks, perfect modules & interface and the expected user experience. Then everybody has one or wants one.

How to perfect a UID/UXD?

Take your time, dedicate to research, constant improvement, polishing the details and editing will make a big difference. In the long run, companies who did not take their time will slowly become obsolete, and people will forget they ever existed.

Take a step back from the pressure of having to deliver a perfect product to your competitors and customers. Start by defining what is important to you and how your product can deliver that. You have to make sure that your product is relevant and effective.

A major business giant, who runs a successful company for more than two decades, advices startups to focus on three questions,

“What do customers want?”

“How their needs can be satisfied?”

“What can we do to enhance our customer service and value?”

Be Consistent

To contribute to the betterment of the design, ask these questions. How do your customers feel about your product? What do they use it for? Have you experienced its environment yourself? What issues do your customers have on a daily basis that might hinder their experience? The answer to these questions can’t be found in the comments and review section. Best products come from listening to the voices of the users. To summarize, when coming up with an idea or developing a product put yourself into your user’s shoes. Stick to simple rather than an attractive complex layout. Work in small groups. Contrary to the popular belief, small groups with strong decision makers are more successful. Analyze and reiterate. Take your time to perfect the modules.

[ofirdesign]

Real Estate Branding Agency: The Catalyst for Growth

In today’s competitive real estate market, building a recognizable and trusted brand is essential. A real estate branding agency specializes in creating powerful branding strategies that drive growth, attract clients, and establish your agency as a market leader.

Why Branding Is Critical in Real Estate

Real estate transactions are deeply personal and significant. Clients need to trust that they’re working with a professional who understands their needs and can deliver results. Your brand communicates this trust and professionalism.

A real estate brand should reflect your values, expertise, and the unique experiences you offer. Whether you’re targeting first-time buyers, luxury home clients, or commercial investors, a real estate branding agency ensures your brand speaks directly to your ideal audience.

Key Branding Services

Logo and Brand Design A strong logo is the cornerstone of any successful brand. Agencies create visually striking and meaningful logos that capture your business’s essence.

Content Marketing Agencies develop content that positions your business as a trusted authority. Blogs, videos, and social media posts help build a connection with your audience.

Social Media Management With millions of people using social media daily, having a strong presence on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn is crucial. Branding agencies design campaigns to boost engagement and reach.

Personal Branding for Agents For individual agents, personal branding is as important as company branding. Agencies help agents establish their reputation as knowledgeable and approachable professionals.

Benefits of Hiring a Branding Agency

Consistency Across Platforms: Branding agencies ensure that your visual and messaging elements are consistent across all channels, from your website to social media.

Enhanced Credibility: A professional brand conveys expertise and reliability, building client confidence.

Improved ROI: Strategic branding efforts result in better lead generation and higher conversion rates, driving overall business growth.

The Long-Term Impact of Branding

Branding is not just about immediate gains; it’s an investment in your agency’s future. A strong brand builds loyalty, encourages referrals, and positions you as a leader in the real estate industry. Over time, your brand becomes synonymous with quality and trust, giving you a competitive edge.

Conclusion

A real estate branding agency is instrumental in helping businesses navigate the challenges of the modern market. By creating a compelling and professional identity, they empower your agency to attract clients, build trust, and achieve sustainable growth. Partnering with a branding agency is a strategic move that delivers long-term benefits for your business.

For more information about Graphic Design Firms New Orleans and Website Design New Orleans Please visit: Ofir Design.

[hiregraphicdesigner]

 Case Studies: Success Stories from Top Catalogue Designers

Research Works - Examples of Catalog Design from Renowned Designers

Catalog designers remain some of the key drivers of branding and sales strategies in the modern-day corporate world. There are best catalogue designers who incorporate stunning designs, attractive pictures and other elements that encourage creative thinking in order to market products. In this article we shall look at some of the insights from the best catalogue designers in the industry that have been very good case studies. In case you are planning on getting services of a graphic designer, this article will help explain the aspects of professional catalogue design more effectively so that you will understand how the design works.

The Advantages of Engaging the Services of Professional Catalogue Designers

In working with professional catalogue designers, one of the most important benefits is the capacity to make pleasing and efficient designs. They appreciate the need for the catalogue’s design to be in a concurring compromise with the brand’s design and marketing objectives. Let’s get into some of the successful works done by the professional catalogue designers whose names are well known.

Theme 1: Transformation of a Retail Brand Background: A leading retail brand grappled with sales growth while being endowed with a multitude of quality products. Their previous catalogues were busy in nature and out of design coherence, which compromised the customers’ attention. Solution: The organization then resolved to hire a professional designer who possessed a vast experience in catalogs and their design. They enlisted the services of Språk Design Company which offers unique design services. At this point, the Språk Design team took over the catalogue design and implemented a simple but stylish and contemporary layout that effectively highlighted the products. As well, high quality images and product text that is appealing to the targeted audience was added.

Outcomes:

A 35% spike in sales within the three months after launching the new catalogue.

Improved image of the brand and an increase in customer retention.

Customers were satisfied with the new catalogue and expressed that it was easier to navigate and looked better.

Theme 2: Raising a High-End Brand

Situation: A well-known luxury clothing brand required a catalogue that resonated with its status and high-end customers. Previous catalogues prepared by the brand were unable to communicate the exclusiveness and the finesse of the offered goods.

Option: In order to create the luxury catalogue, the brand decided to use an advertising agency that specializes in luxury catalogue designs. It was Språk design that was selected because it specializes in providing high-finish design solutions. The designers at the Språk Design studio, completed a catalogue that was so elegant and classy. They exaggerated the effect through the inclusion of sharp pictures, a clean design, and the use of expensive paper.

Outcomes:

The level of customer engagement and inquiries has risen by 50%.

Improved brand recognition and strengthened presence in the market.

Higher sales for products promoted in the catalogue.

Theme 3: Increasing Sales for an Online Store

Introduction: The conversion rates for the e-commerce business were low despite of the strong online visibility. The issue was that they were unable to convert the visitors into clients using the digital catalogues.

Resolution: The organization choose to recruit a graphic designer specialized in e-commerce catalogue design. Språk Design was contracted to redevelop the digital catalogue. The team aimed at designing an easy to use and aesthetically pleasing structure including interactive features such as hyperlinks and clips. They also made the catalogue to be mobile friendly.

Outcomes:

A 40% rise in conversion rates within a period of two months.

Better user experience and customer satisfaction.

Interactive catalogue features attracting a high engagement rate.

Insights Drawn From The Success Stories

Significance Of skilled practitioner: The focus on professional catalogue designers is likely to influence the sales and the perception of the brand of a business positively.

Personalization: It is important to customize the design in regard to the brands and audiences one is targeting in order to be successful.

Creativeness: Modern designs and interactivity are some of the ways one can improve on interaction with the clients. 

Reasons To Contract For The Services Of A Graphic Designer For Your Household Catalog

There are many advantages that one stands to gain through hiring a designer for his or her catalogue. Some include the following. Professionalism: This is an area that requires some level of expertise in order to create good designs that are not only attractive but functional as well. Imagination: Designers are able to think out of the box which helps in making your catalogue unique. Time: Engaging someone professionally avoids wasting time and guarantees quality work for the given project.

Advantages of Engaging Professional Catalogue Designing Services

Improved Brand Identity: Professional catalogue designers understand how to fit the design within the brand which helps in visual storytelling such orders to enhance the overall appearance, impact and aesthetics of the catalogue.

Higher Profit Margins: A catalogue that is designed properly has the potential of not only presenting the products well but also engaging the customers hence increasing sales.

Audience Interaction: Creative design features can draw the attention of the target audience and motivate them to use the catalogue.

Closing Remarks: Joining Forces With The Most Suitable Catalogue Designers

The success stories presented in this article are a testament to the effectiveness of catalog designers. For instance, working with a designer such as Språk Design makes it possible for the company to benefit greatly, from increased revenues to better visibility in the market. If graphic design services are in your plans, it is worth noting that such money spent on developing a beauty of a catalogue will be worth a great deal in future.

For many years, Språk Design’s professionals have been engaged in aesthetic communicating designs branding companies. Our organization has also experienced the transformation of wearable art into decorative art over time. Therefore, we provide distinctiveness as we alter the way we tell stories to fit different markets. For more information, feel free to contact us.

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[folksdigital]

How to Choose the Right Graphic Designer in Victoria, BC?

Are you struggling to find the perfect graphic designer in Victoria BC? Whether you're a small business owner, a startup founder, or someone looking to refresh your brand, the process of choosing the right designer can feel overwhelming. There are plenty of options out there, and selecting the wrong one can lead to frustration, delays, and even wasted money. We understand how vital it is to find the right fit, which is why we're here to guide you through the process.

In today's digital world, your brand's visual identity is more critical than ever. First impressions matter, and often, it's the quality of your design that sets you apart from your competitors. But with so many graphic design Victoria services available, how do you determine which designer can bring your vision to life while keeping your project on budget?

Common Challenges When Looking for a Graphic Designer

Lack of Clear Communication One of the biggest challenges when hiring a graphic designer is communication. Many people assume that simply explaining their needs will be enough. But without clear communication, misunderstandings can arise. This can result in a design that doesn’t align with your brand or your expectations. It’s important to find a designer who listens to you, understands your goals, and communicates effectively throughout the project.

Inconsistent Style or Quality Not all graphic designers have the same style or level of expertise. A designer might be skilled in one area but lack experience in others, leading to inconsistent results. You need to find someone who can consistently deliver high-quality designs that resonate with your target audience.

Missed Deadlines Deadlines are crucial in business, especially if you're launching a new product or rebranding. A delay in your design can lead to missed opportunities, frustration, and even financial losses. Choosing a reliable graphic designer Victoria BC with a proven track record of meeting deadlines is critical to the success of your project.

What to Look for in a Graphic Designer

When you begin your search for the right designer, it’s essential to consider more than just their portfolio. While a designer’s previous work gives you insight into their style and abilities, there are other factors to keep in mind:

1. Experience and Expertise

A well-rounded designer should have experience in various areas, such as logo design, website graphics, print materials, and social media assets. When reviewing their portfolio, look for projects similar to yours. For example, if you need a logo, check out the designer’s previous logo work. If you’re looking for website graphics, ensure they have examples of web design in their portfolio.

At Folks Digital, we pride ourselves on offering a comprehensive range of graphic design in Victoria BC services. Our team has experience working with a wide array of clients, and we tailor our designs to meet your unique needs.

2. Understanding of Your Brand

A great designer doesn’t just create aesthetically pleasing visuals—they capture the essence of your brand. When you talk to a designer, pay attention to whether they ask questions about your business, your goals, and your target audience. The more they understand your brand’s identity, the better they’ll be able to craft designs that truly represent you.

Here at Folks Digital, we always take the time to understand your brand’s personality before starting any project. This helps ensure that the designs we create not only look great but also resonate with your audience and achieve your business objectives.

3. Flexibility and Adaptability

Graphic design trends change quickly, and the ability to stay current is essential. A skilled designer can adapt to different styles, ensuring that your brand stays modern and relevant. Whether you want something minimalist, bold, or more traditional, make sure the designer you choose can deliver a wide range of design styles.

At Folks Digital, we stay up to date with the latest design trends, and we can adapt our approach to fit your needs, ensuring your brand always looks fresh and professional.

4. Clear Communication and Collaboration

Good design is a collaborative process. Look for a designer who values your input and keeps you involved throughout the project. They should be able to explain their design choices and incorporate your feedback seamlessly. Effective communication ensures that the final result is a design you’ll love and be proud to share.

Our team at Folks Digital excels in client communication, making sure you’re kept in the loop every step of the way. We prioritize your vision and offer guidance where needed, making the design process smooth and enjoyable.

5. Attention to Detail

A design might look great at first glance, but the devil is in the details. A top-notch graphic designer in Victoria BC will consider every aspect of the design, from the use of colour and typography to the overall composition. These small details can make a big difference in how your brand is perceived.

At Folks Digital, we sweat the small stuff because we know that attention to detail is what takes a design from good to great. Every element of your design will be carefully crafted to ensure it meets the highest standards.

Benefits of Working with Folks Digital

When you work with Folks Digital, you're not just hiring a graphic designer—you’re gaining a partner dedicated to your success. We offer a full range of graphic design Victoria BC services, and we take a personalized approach to every project. From logos and branding to digital and print design, we cover it all, ensuring consistency across every touchpoint of your brand.

Our clients appreciate our ability to balance creativity with professionalism, providing designs that are not only visually appealing but also aligned with their business goals. With Folks Digital, you can expect clear communication, on-time delivery, and designs that reflect the unique essence of your brand.

How to Get Started

The process of choosing the right graphic designer doesn’t have to be daunting. By following these guidelines and working with a team like Folks Digital, you’ll be well on your way to finding the perfect designer to elevate your brand. We make the design process straightforward, and our team is always here to provide guidance and support, ensuring your satisfaction with the final result.

Remember, your brand’s visual identity is one of your most valuable assets. Don’t leave it to chance—partner with a team that understands your vision and can help bring it to life.

[eclipseadagencys]

What Are the Key Aids of Social Media Marketing in Riyadh?

Riyadh social media marketing provides organizations through a number of important advantages. Businesses can interact directly with local consumers through it, increasing brand recognition and cultivating a devoted following. Businesses can better target potential clients with tailored content by focusing on specific demographics. In addition, analytics tools aid track performance and measure return on investment, safeguarding campaigns are enhanced for success in the Riyadh market, and social media marketing's affordability creates it likely for companies of all sizes to compete. Hire a Digital Marketing Agency in Riyadh to Develop Your Business Riyadh firms need to use creative methods to keep ahead in the current competitive scenario. Engaging through your target audience and expanding your online presence are made likely with the help of a Digital Marketing Agency Riyadh. All of the amenities that these organizations provide are customized to fit the demands of your business and contain pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, email marketing, content production, and search engine optimization. Your brand may growth its visibility and see long-term success with the appropriate digital marketing plan. Saudi Arabia's Use of Marketing Agencies If your company wants to grow, you have to work through a Marketing Agency Saudi Arabia. These agencies are skilled in understanding the local market, which helps them make ads that appeal to Saudi consumers. A complete agency can help businesses form their brand, generate leads, and increase conversions through together traditional and digital marketing. Businesses can reach new client groups and build closer bonds with their audience by leveraging local information and cutting-edge marketing strategies.

Saudi Arabia's Utilization of Social Media Social Media in Saudi Arabia has grown to be an effective occupational tool. With millions of users on social media sites like Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, businesses can cooperate through their target market directly. Businesses may strengthen their relationships through customers by providing tailored content, communicating posts, and real-time communication. Social media gives companies the ability to get quick feedback, modify their plans, and remain current in a market that moves quickly. Brands may build their credibility and reputation on social media by being consistent and active.

Why Riyadh's Social Media Marketing Is Important For companies looking to boost customer interaction and brand recognition, Social Media Marketing Riyadh is crucial. Businesses may engage with Riyadh consumers in a way that speaks to their cultural values and preferences by producing content especially for the city. A brand can reach more potential customers by using paid advertising on social media sites to better magnify their message. Social media marketing gives companies the ability to remain relevant and competitive in a city like Riyadh, which is thriving and expanding quickly. A Graphic Design Company's Effect in Saudi Arabia The graphic identity of a brand is greatly influenced by Graphic Design Company in Saudi Arabia. Professional graphic design makes sure that the message of your commercial is conveyed in an engaging and inventive way, from logos to social media postings. An audience will be more likely to remember your brand if it is visually appealing and effectively connects its core values. Whether for offline or online platforms, aesthetically pleasing designs improve user experience and make companies stand out in the competitive market.

[cringe-time]

I am so fucking fed up with everything. I wish I never went to school for art cuz now I have an art degree and every single job I find is looking for someone for a senior position, or something for motion graphic design, which I’m terrible at and hate. No one is looking for illustrators cuz they can just use ai for free, no one is looking for entry level animators, and the thing is I HATE practicing animation. I wish I chose a degree that didn’t involve so much self motivated work cuz I am the least self motivated person in the world. I might be able to practice animation if it wasn’t to the end of “so I can move out and pay rent and retire someday”, KNOWING that even if I was a half decent animator there would have to be a miracle to get a job that would pay enough for all that. It all just feels so pointless. And it doesn’t help that every single job description involves “working in a fast paced environment with tight deadlines” and “able to work on multiple projects at once”, which sounds like recruiter slang for “we’re gonna overload you with work for barely any pay”. I don’t like art enough to work harder to get better to MAYBE, if I’m lucky, get a job that breaks my back with work making nothing. My mom is always telling me that I need to work hard now and do everything I can now to get a job in art but the thing is I DONT WANT TO. It seems like no matter what job I get in art I’ll hate it cuz they’re gonna overload me with work I’m bad at, and I’m not even gonna get paid enough to live, assuming they don’t fire me and replace me with ai. She’s an accountant and I was considering going back to school for accounting so I think she’s trying to make sure I don’t follow in her footsteps and get a stressful soul crushing job, but for me that’s what pretty much any art job is gonna be too, so I’d rather get one that ensures I’ll be able to move out, afford rent and groceries, and retire.

And every time I try to look for art jobs I get so overwhelmed and stressed I always end up crying, without fail. So I don’t think that’s a good sign. I’m not good at researching so it’s hard to find jobs to apply for, I’m not good at lying so it’s hard to write resumes and cover letters saying “working in animation is my passion and im great at it”, I’m only ok at animating cuz it feels so pointless to practice when I hate it, and I’m barely improving, and you need to be the best of the best to get a job.

I think my mom has a point that a normal 9-5 is hell cuz you don’t have any free time, but I really don’t know what else to do. I don’t think I’d mind being a janitor but janitors don’t get paid a living wage. I’m not an ambitious person, and I wanna say I wish someone told me you kinda need to be ambitious and self motivated to be an artist, but they DID. AND I DIDNT LISTEN. I literally said “whatever, I’ll figure it out.” cuz I didn’t wanna think about what else I could do cuz I couldn’t think of a single other thing. I wish it wasn’t expected to decide what you wanna do for the rest of your life at 17. I wish there was a job that existed that both would pay me enough to live comfortably and not be hell on earth. I wish I didn’t need to get a job at all. I wish I could just turn off the part of my brain that cares about fun and comfort so I could just force myself to work. I don’t wanna put together a demo reel, I don’t wanna write a different resume and cover letter for every application, I don’t wanna prove what I can/can’t do to every recruiter. I just wanna say “I have the qualifications, I can do accounting, hire me please”.

And im terrified that if i do go back to school for something else like environmental science or accounting that it’ll be the same thing all over again, where I realize I hate it but I don’t know what else to do, so I just drift along, graduate, and end up stuck cuz finding a decent job in that field is impossible if you don’t care that much and can’t force yourself to spend all day applying to stuff you hate hoping you don’t hear back from them every day all the time. I just don’t know what to do

[ansunconsulting]

Ansun Internationals- Affordable SEO Company in USA for Better Keywords Ranking

Are you frustrated by the lack of traffic on your website despite its stunning design and captivating graphics? The truth is, without proper optimization for search engines, your website may remain hidden from potential customers, hindering your business's growth and success.  No matter how much well designed and developed your website is, unless it is not visible in the search result, there will be no positive outcome for the business. At Ansun Internationals, we understand the critical role that search engine optimization (SEO) plays in improving website rankings and driving organic traffic. Our mission is to empower businesses by enhancing their digital presence, allowing them to focus on delivering exceptional services while we handle the technical intricacies of SEO.

As an affordable SEO agency in USA, we offer strategic and transparent SEO services aimed at boosting our clients' online visibility and reputation management globally. Our approach goes beyond mere ranking improvements; we strive to cultivate trust, loyalty, and credibility for your brand among visitors. Ethics is at the core of our practices. Unlike some SEO companies, we adhere strictly to ethical standards, ensuring sustainable growth and long-term success for our clients. With a proven track record and a plethora of satisfied clients worldwide, we take pride in being industry leaders, setting new benchmarks for excellence.

Our comprehensive range of services includes not only SEO but also search engine marketing (SEM), social media optimization (SMO), and content marketing. By leveraging the expertise of our seasoned professionals, we deliver results that translate into increased revenue and a stronger brand identity for our clients. Finding the best SEO company in USA can be daunting, but it's crucial for your business's marketing success. Avoid common pitfalls such as opting for cheap services or inexperienced teams, which often lead to disappointment and decreased leads. Instead, focus on partnering with a reputable agency like Ansun Internationals to propel your business forward.

Our team of skilled SEO experts stays abreast of the latest industry trends and algorithm updates, ensuring that your website remains optimized for maximum visibility and traffic. By hiring our SEO consultants, you can expect a significant boost in website traffic, ROI, leads, and search visibility within a short span.

In conclusion, investing in SEO is paramount for businesses looking to thrive in the digital landscape. With Ansun Internationals as your trusted partner, you can unlock the full potential of your online presence and achieve sustainable growth and success. We have successfully delivered a number of digital marketing and SEO projects with the help of the dexterity of the professionals staffed with us. Let us help you elevate your business to new heights through effective SEO strategies tailored to your unique needs and goals.

Ansun Internationals is the best SEO company in USA, offering top-tier services that amalgamate these vital SEO components. For more information, please visit our website https://ansuninternationals.com/seo-services-company-usa or talk to our SEO experts at +1 832-546-0604.