#refer and earn shopping sites

[project-sekai-facts]

Project SEKAI 4th anniversary: Brand New Your World - recap post

Much like last year, I thought it would be useful to make one long post recapping all of the information about the 4th anniversary updates. Even if there won't be as many major updates and changes as last year, we still will be receiving news about other related projects like the movie during the anniversary thanksgiving festival, so I'll be recapping that too.

Note that all of this applies to the JP server only.

Official site link

Before we start, the next Broadcast Station episode will be held on the 27th, featuring Isobe-san, Jiena, Imai-san, and Daichan. It will be broadcast live from the Thanksgiving Festival. Related event speculation will be done in a separate post, and the stream itself can be found here.

Section 1 - Game Updates

Most game updates will be announced during the aforementioned Broadcast Station stream, but some things have already been announced, such as:

Virtual lives (after lives/holiday lives) will now be held every hour, cutting the long wait times between some showings.

You will now be able to collect character rank XP for an entire unit in one go, rather than going to each member's page individually.

Calendars for songs and events will be released in advance, so we finally will actually know in advance what days songs are being added and what days events will run (though by the sounds of things, event lineups will be kept a secret outside of the unit).

Broadcast Station News

A new game mode has been added, called MYSEKAI. It's an Animal Crossing-esque side game that will be available through the main app. More details on this will be in section 6.

A story completion progress tracker will be added. You can earn crystals and gacha tickets based on your progress

You can now earn gacha tickets through Clearing and Full Comboing songs on different difficulty levels. These can only be claimed on the first time you clear/FC a song of each difficulty from 15 to 37. Autoplay doesn't count and you can earn up to 140 tickets.

All Kizuna ranks will be added! All of them! However, the new ones will not have specific titles or unlockables for levelling up the rank. Instead you will be given a title that says "X & Y Fan". The unlockables will be implemented when relevant.

You can now autoplay during Challenge Show. You will also be able to get CH show rewards up to a score of 2.5 million, as well as increase CH rank up to level 150

Project SEKAI is opening a store on their official website. You will be able to buy gems and get some freebies by using it. You will have to use your apple/google account to sign in. By the sounds of things this will replace the in-game crystal shop

Max character rank has been increased to 160, and as always new titles for max player rank and daily login will be added

As per the norm, character rank missions will be increased

Live bonus has been reworked. You will now be able to recover up to 15 bonus energy naturally (the limit is currently 10), and you will be able to overfill the meter to 999 instead of 99. Bonus energy's effect on event pts will also be reworked, refer to the chart below for the new bonuses

It will now be easier to obtain another vocal tickets. Their cost has been reduced in the event exchange and wish piece exchange, and two tickets will be given out from character rank and birthday lives. However, to balance this, the cost of a solo alt vocal has been changed to two tickets. The amount of another vocal tickets you own will be adjusted accordingly in the update.

Fes cards will now count as event bonus towards the event they were released alongside. E.g, the Rui and Rin Bloom Fes cards will count as event bonus for the upcoming Nene event.

The rewards earned from completing the tutorial will be increased. Existing users will be compensated accordingly.

You will now be able to exchange limited gacha tickets for wish pieces

All stories will now be fully voiced, even for faceless NPCs. Currently unconfirmed if this will apply retroactively

Starting from October, the number of random rerun limited gachas will decrease to one. This is because they ran out of gachas to rerun.

Birthday gacha reruns have been reworked. Rather than rerunning all past birthday cards separately, they will now be lumped into one gacha.

Kizuna rank for Honami/Mafuyu, Saki/Mizuki, and Haruka/Len implemented

Section 2 - Campaigns

Here's a list of all the campaigns and gachas that will be running over the next few weeks.

Fortune Flower Parade

This campaign will be held from September 30th for one month

You will be able to collect Fortune Flowers and Petals from event exchange, live missions, and stamp missions.

You will be able to exchange those items for some other special items, such as costumes, skill up scores that will instantly max out your skill, Character Rank XP vials, and some special wish jewels (i'm not exactly sure of their purpose but they have a unique design)

There are six different colours of petals and each can be obtained through different methods and be exchanged for different items. Refer to the chart below

Present 4 You

To celebrate the fourth anniversary, four presents will be given out to players

Present 1: Five 4* guaranteed gacha tickets will be given out to all players. These will also replace the 3* tickets for any new players.

Present 2: All another vocals will be released on youtube for two weeks. You will also receive two another vocal tickets for every character.

Present 3: There will be an in-game survey asking players to pick their three most wanted prizes from a list for the next couple days. The three most picked prizes will be awarded at a later date.

Present 4: There will be a prize giveaway on twitter. For following their twitter and retweeting the campaign post, there's a chance to win some prizes (they're really random like a gopro and a coffee machine lol).

Other campaigns and gachas

Login campaign: Earn up to 5000 gems and 7 10-pull tickets from logging in for a week after the anniversary.

Operation Welcome to SEKAI will run again

Special Prize gacha: a gacha where you can earn prizes the more you pull in it. This will run between the 28th and 30th of September. It will also have doubled 4* rates.

Stamp missions and paid costume gachas as per the usual

Happiness Package gacha

Limited edition select list and memorial select list (same as last year)

Section 3 - Songs

Anniversary Song

The fourth anniversary song has been announced! The title is Neppu and it was produced by kemu! Below is kemu’s comment on the song (via @/pjsekai_eng on Twitter).

Song Campaign

The song campaign hint sheet has been revealed, and actually has hints again for the first time in a while. The answers will be revealed during broadcast station on the 27th.

Note: blank tiles include special characters

Answers

Mozaik Role -Reloaded- by DECO*27 (L/n cover + 3DMV)

Mesmerizer by 32ki

Kisaragi Attention by JIN (MMJ cover)

Main Character by *Luna

Call Boy by syudou (BAD DOGS cover)

Kimi to Boku no Resonance by nanameueP

Tensei Ringo by PinocchioP (WxS cover)

Blackjack by YuchaP

Shadow Shadow by Azari (N25 cover + 3DMV)

Outside of the campaign, we also have Cat Food by doriko covered by MMJ + Miku.

This year's high-difficulty commission has also been announced. The song is called Seimeisei Syndrome and was produced by Camellia. It will have a master difficulty of 33 and an append difficulty of 36. A preview can be viewed in the livestream archive (for some reason it was not uploaded to Twitter).

Section 3 - Lives

4th live

Project SEKAI's 4th live was announced last month, titled Unison!! The live will be held in two locations: Osaka on December 13th-15th, and Tokyo on January 24th-26th!

A PV can be found here!

The official account for all information about the live is, as always, @/pjsekai_live on Twitter.

Here are some close-ups of the group artwork above, as well as some chibi artworks. The costumes used as the ones that will be available from the Fortune Flower exchange.

A video teaching player the glowstick movements and chants for I'm Mine has also been posted to Youtube!

Connect live

A connect live to celebrate the fourth anniversary has been announced. It is titled Brilliant Stage and will be held on the 6th of October! There will also be a "meet and greet" session after the two performances of the live, similar to Resonance Beats. A short login story to commemorate the live will be available on October 5th & 6th.

A medley of previously unperformed songs will be performed during this connect live. The songs were given as Aioi, Hug, Hitsuji ga Ippiki, CYBERPUNK DEAD BOY, and I nandesu.

Section 4 - Event and gacha

The next event will be Carry These Feelings! Dream Stage, a Nene-focused event. Shiho, Airi, and Toya will be the other rateups! The 3* is Ena based on the event logo. Rui and Rin will be featured as the Bloom Fes cards.

The bfes gacha will be Dream Pick, utilising the same system as last year (you get two extra slots to fill). You will also be able to get Fortune Flowers as a reward for pulling on this gacha.

As mentioned earlier, there will also be paid costume gachas. You will be able to earn Fortune Flowers from pulling in these gachas. Here's a preview of the costumes.

Section 5 - Project SEKAI: The Movie

A Project SEKAI movie animated by P.A.WORKS was announced back in July. More information on that can be found here. A new trailer was shown during Broadcast Station, which can be found linked above. Some new character visuals will be posted below, but aside from that, please refer to the linked post which will go into the new information in further detail.

Section 6 - MY SEKAI

MY SEKAI is a new gameplay feature that will be added during the 4th anniversary. It's an Animal Crossing-esque farming/life sim game that you can play using your Virtual Live avatar. You can build you own SEKAI and house and decorate it however you like! You will also be able to talk to chibi versions of the main characters and interact with them, as well as visit your friends' SEKAIs!

Your MY SEKAI will also have a new feature called the transformation machine! This is where you can exchange some of your excess resources into things that are more useful to you (that's right they finally made the materials exchange).

I do not know how much storage or power this will take to run. I am very sorry for your devices.

Section 7 - Misc News

A livestream leading up to the 4th anniversary has been scheduled for 29th September at 11:30pm JST (2:30pm UTC). The stream will feature Chiruriin, Honchan, Akina, Daichan, and Ruirui.

A digest video of the previous Colorful Lives will be shown on Youtube on the 5th of October at 6pm JST (9am UTC). This stream will not be archived, so make sure to catch it!

[creations-by-chaosfay]

Fun fact: You can win a quilt!

Every one of my ko-fi goals will result in a giveaway when the goal is reached. In order to enter, you must support me reaching my goal. How can you do this?

Donations - These start at $5 USD. You can donate using Stripe (debit/credit) or PayPal. If you would like to donate but not enter, please let me know.

Shop Purchases - Not one of my free downloads unless you choose to pay. I have free downloads for art references and tutorials, as well as a paid tutorial. Physical items currently listed are my original paintings, coasters, mug rugs, table runners, wheelchair/baby quilt, lap quilt, and quilt tops. More items are being added nearly every week right now, all of them small and quick to make.

Commissions - It doesn't matter how much you pay. A commission will earn you an entry into the giveaway.

Tier Membership - This is like Patreon. You support me every month and, in exchange for this support, you will receive a postcard every month (except gift months), automatic 15% discount on shop and commission prices, and a few other goodies that vary depending on what tier you chose. The lowest is $5/month. Oh, and you're automatically entered into every giveaway I have. No need to do anything else.

Multiple support means multiple entries. Oh, and I ship worldwide. If your country accept cotton handmade items, you'll be able to receive it.

Please, share this information. I'm only on Tumblr, so feel free to share it on whatever social media you use. Reblogging here will be extremely helpful. For those from social media sites: reblogging is the only way to have things seen here. We do not see your likes. This is a blogging site with social features, and no algorithm.

If you would rather just get a free quilt instead of an entry for one, head over to my Throne page. Any gift from my list that's $75 or more will earn you a quilt of equal or lesser value, that choice is yours. It can be a listed item or a commission.

Thank you!

[salt-volk]

I want to preface this by saying that I've been on DV since August of 2020, so I've been here throughout so many of the changes that this site has gone through.

Though I very much appreciate the fact that the dailies aren't nearly as mind-numbingly awful as they used to be and are way quicker, I still can't overlook my lack of excitement towards the game.

I used to be active on an actual pet site (I really wouldn't call DV a pet sim site because the pet aspect is far less involved than the avatar dressup) which barely ever updated and yet DV in comparison feels... hollow? Perhaps it's because I'm an adult now with less free time to be involved with the community or consistently do dailies, but the fact that so much of the assets being downright unattainable is what bothers me the most.

I'm not saying that as a player, I'm entitled to everything that I want in the game— I'm not saying that at all. I don't have a problem with earning whatever I have my eyes on, whether that be through daily quests, art commissions, or even purchasing premium currency with my own money.

What I *am* saying is that players are given way too much control over site assets and what I'm referring to is the shoddy customs system.

I know there are plenty of kind and generous custom owners that have come up with creative events and are kind when it comes to the price point of the customs that they distribute and I appreciate them immensely for sharing the fun and helping to make the game a more enjoyable experience for everyone. Without them, I would've decisively quit a long, long time ago. I've actually even purchased copies of several customs over the years as well.

However, I ultimately don't understand why the customs weren't limited to being an item/pet that anyone can purchase from an NPC shop rather than from the custom 'owner'— in my eyes, these would better incentivize players to continue playing the game because these things would not seem as impossible to earn.

Keep in mind that the people who use these custom creator items do not personally own these site assets as they still belong to DV.

The first word that came to my mind when I heard that a custom owner who quit is still willing to trade copies of the custom for the site currency of a completely different game is... 'stupid'. If you're not playing this game, it feels scummy to try to still benefit from access to this unlimited site asset. 

There's nothing wrong with trading assets that you have between games, but the fact that this player is trading their unlimited access to an 'infinite money printing machine' (which seemingly doesn't cost them anything assuming that the player that's willing to initiate a trade is required to provide the custom mirrors while the other party only offers a grant) for something that actually is limited in quantity leaves such a sour taste in my mouth.

I've scrolled this blog and found it interesting how people have joined FR to grind for things to trade on DV— because most off-site trades are for FR assets after all— and have unintentionally found it to be a better and more rewarding game than DV. In all honesty, this game is a wonderful advertisement for FR.

In my opinion, customs should have either been relegated to NPC shop items/pets or they should have existed as just one copy for the custom maker-rolled player to use. 

And when I continue thinking about the customs system in general, my mind can't help but wander over to the site's other flaws.

When the custom maker drop rates were announced, the makers stopped dropping only a few minutes after each rollover: this was deliberate and not a coincidence. They changed the rates after they were announced.

Agnes is said to occasionally give out items from previous limited monthly sets, but it's been a few years... is that still being implemented? Otherwise, new players will find it hair-pullingly frustrating to try to acquire any past monthlies and to earn entire  sets is something completely unfeasible.

Why is adventuring still so bad?

What about housing?

As I mentioned before, the site has its good qualities such as the frequent updates, charming characters, and the stunning artwork. I didn't even mind the missed deadlines when it came to updates and events— like how DV skipped over the second summer event entirely.

Truth be told though, the artwork was the only thing that was tethering me to this game. Not the gameplay, not the story, and certainly not the exclusivity that the customs system brought— without mincing words, that ruined the game for me.

Despite having bought some of my own custom copies, it felt like a chore to keep chasing after these custom copies, knowing that I had such a minuscule chance of ever attaining rights to a custom of my own and believe me, I've played for a few years and tried. 

Every time I see a customs topic on the forums where the owner is only willing to trade other custom owners for a copy, it feels like I'm completely being shut out from a part of the game with no ability to access it. I understand why they do it since they want to enhance their own gameplay experience by receiving these special site assets, but it's just another thing that someone without their own custom rights can't set a goal towards and achieve.

At the end of the day, I'm more far more upset at the poor admin decisions than the players themselves.

And hey, I'm actually glad that the site implemented a 'potato sink', because I was able to quickly and efficiently throw away all my potatoes, knowing that I can't afford anything worthwhile with what I have now.

I knew that I was done with the game when I stopped opening the monthly chests that I've collected since October 2023 (and I've collected each chest since January 2021), but I felt like I had to continue doing it since FOMO wouldn't leave me alone.

I really didn't have much more of a reason to keep logging on so I leave you all with this vent and airing out my grievances towards DV.

Now that I've got basically no potatoes, here's to hoping that I hop off this site for good!

[corpserites]

RE: THE RED HOOD AND THE HILL

for context, "the hill" is the northeastern gotham neighborhood jason todd was born and raised in in most itterations of his canon in the dcu. it's more commonly referred to as "crime alley", which is the site of the tragic murder of bruce wayne's parents, and is typically depicted as a greatly impoverished and seedy part of gotham city. the community there is tight-knit and family-oriented, but hardened. there is a general distrust towards new neighbors and outsiders coming in. most, if not all, residents there would like to say a big 'fuck you!' to gotham's rich and powerful, the city government, the GCPD, you name it. everyone who could make a change but won't. one thing they do love, though, are their local vigilantes — namely, the infamous red hood.

in what we'll refer to as our main universe, the red hood has been lurking around the hill for a good two and a half years, though he came onto the vigilante justice scene appearing to be so skilled, so experienced, that there is a rumored chance he's been around before under a different name, a different mantle, which he will neither confirm nor deny for anyone who has the balls to ask. his first appearances in the year or so before he took up residency in the neighborhood were... unsettling. something about seven severed heads stuffed in a duffel bag and near-complete control over gotham's drug trafficking rings, an explosive fight with batman and a year-long disappearance thereafter. scary stuff!

the red hood's return was sort of an unprecedented thing, and his tendency to stick to the hill even moreso, when his plans before had seemed to be so much more sinister and widespread from an outside perspective. back then he was all piss and vinegar, mean and efficient in his penchant for violent acts. perhaps those things haven't really changed, but he is markedly different, somehow. more level-headed and not quite so flashy, with less of a vendetta against the batman. more affection for what some in the neighborhood have decided must be his home. why would he care so much about crime alley otherwise?

yes, he fights crime and keeps the big bads far away (to the best of his ability), but he is so deeply ingrained in the community in so many other ways, no matter how much he might deny it. he grocery shops for people who can't. he's checked children's closets and under their beds for monsters. things people desperately need will appear on their doorsteps overnight. rent miraculously paid on the first of the month by an anonymous donor.

on a similar note, all of his neighbors then try to give back to him in some way, something to repay him for his protection and care. everyone in town has helped patch him up after a hard-won fight at least once. he loves good food, they have learned, so they leave baked goods and snacks on their porches and windowsills for him to pick up as he swings by night after night. they paint the town red for him to signify their allegiance, their appreciation — subtle depictions of the red bat symbol he dons across his chest stuck onto windows panes, red curtains hung high, crude children's drawings of red bats and birds pasted to walls, red decorations on the sill. anything to let him know he is safe and welcomed there should he need to enter. some people even know his face, one they'll pretend they don't recognize during the day when he's just jason and walking to the bodega. wouldn't give his identity away for anything if it meant losing him, too. it's really fucking hard to earn this kind of respect and admiration. he does not seem like he has the makings of some sort of protector or even a hero but he is, and he chooses to continue to be, and he is so, so loved for it. the red hood's big heart is the hill's best kept secret.

[pinkiedevv]

The Butler and the MOD Ch. 2

Previous: Ch. 1

And so my tumblr posting of my Harry Potter/Alfred Pennyworth ship continues~

Word Count: 2,275

-------

In the past few days, Harry had spent far too much time attempting to determine how to woo Mr. Pennyworth without referring to it as wooing. A fruitless endeavor on his part, of course, since he was, ultimately, attempting to do exactly such. 

Regardless, the relevant issue was that he was familiar with using the internet, although perhaps not as efficiently as a modern citizen may be, but the vast majority of the results he had found proved to be inapplicable - or unpalatable, at the very least - for his case. The fact of the matter was that courting seemed to have changed far more than he had anticipated in society. Admittedly, it had been several different worlds and timestreams since he’d last looked. No more was it common to see a man bringing over flowers, or opening doors, or buying trinkets and trifles that he believed his partner may fancy. No more were there formal dates where the pair dressed up and enjoyed the company of one another in a polite setting. Oh, of course when Harry said ‘no more,’ he meant not often rather than not at all, but it was still rather a disappointment to him. It seemed the more common practices now were far less focused on romancing, and they all seemed rather… lackluster to Harry. Did everyone go about believing they did not have to earn the interest of the object of their affections? Admittedly, the use of ‘dating sites’ made it a seemingly simple task to find a person who was as interested in you as you were in them, but it seemed so… clinical. Where was the risk? The effort? The breathlessness at the possibility of the ultimate reward: your love being accepted and returned in equal if not greater measure.

There was hope, however. Mr. Pennyworth was an older gentleman, and, from the crisp suits he always wore to the café, he seemed to be one to appreciate the finer things in life. Perhaps he too would enjoy a more… antiquated form of courtship. 

It was likely that Harry had read one too many books from the Black Library during his extended stint as a hermit in his first world, but he’d grown secretly enamored with the courtship rituals described within the texts. 

The more he considered it, the stronger Harry’s resolve became. Indeed, if he truly believed Mr. Pennyworth was the one for him - and he undeniably did, a shockingly large amount, considering - then it should hold true that the man would hold favor for Harry pursuing him with the utmost sincerity and truth to himself.

–

Alfred did not have many activities outside of the Wayne mansion that the family was not aware of. So much so that he could only name two such affairs that he routinely partook in. 

The first was related to his gardening, a hobby of his that the Waynes were well-acquainted with. After all, there was a reason the mansion only had a seasonal gardener to trim the hedges. 

What the family was not aware of was his proclivity to invent new flowers of his own. Oh, they most certainly observed the fruits of his labor, but none of the brood had enough knowledge of harmless plants to take note of their peculiarities. 

For the longest time, Alfred had simply enjoyed taking a quiet pleasure in his unique creations, watching each new variant bloom forth from the soil and unfurl its petals to reveal their remarkable, peerless existence to the world. It was not until his most prized creation - which he privately referred to as the Pennyworth Blue - that he considered sharing his exploits with others. 

Sparing the details, that singular thought eventually led him to one of his non-Wayne-informed activities: donating his rich blue rose blooms to Ms. Calindra’s flower shop. Oh, she had attempted on multiple occasions to insist upon paying him for his flowers, but he firmly refused each time; he certainly made more than enough as the proud butler of the Wayne residence. Truthfully, it was payment enough for him to see others admire the unique blooms. It was a secret enjoyment that only Ms. Calindra herself was aware of him partaking in.

Alfred wasn’t ashamed of his talent, of course, nor did he have any ill intentions in his subterfuge. Simply, Master Bruce tended to be… excitable, at times, when it came to displaying his appreciation. His sons too had largely taken to doing the same, no matter how much they may try to deny it.

All of this to say, Alfred was content with his quiet, weekly visits to Ms. Calindra’s flower shop to impart his Pennyworth Blues along with the occasional other fascinatingly unique bloom he stumbled upon creating, and he was content in the knowledge that his family of employment had enough respect for him to not pry into his private affairs.

Which, of course, led to the second establishment he often paid visit to. For here, the Waynes were well aware he went some place to attain his goods; they simply did not know the name of the store itself. 

A store which Alfred found himself visiting far more often than usual as of recent due to a new… addition to the shop. 

To clarify, for the past month that Alfred had been to Latrice’s Café to pick up his teas and the family’s - largely Master Tim’s - coffees, he hadn’t been able to help but notice a man.

The dark-haired stranger seemed to have created a designated spot for himself in the corner of the quaint shop, facing towards both the register and the entrance to the café. His hands seemed to be perpetually clutched around a cup of tea - of what kind, Alfred couldn’t help but wonder - and for all but one occasion - in which he wore a finely knitted, forest green sweater - the man had on a suit so dark in pitch that Alfred had felt hesitant to do it the disservice of referring to it as simply ‘black.’ 

As much as Alfred could go on to describe the minute, fine details of the man that quietly stood out from the norm, there was but a single feature that truly captured his grasp and had yet to release him from its clutches: 

The eyes.

The first thought Alfred had upon having seen them was a blunt, ‘unnatural.’ 

It was not a condemnation, however. Not in the slightest. Nor was it anything that could even tangentially imply distaste or, worse yet, disgust. It was simply a fact of the matter, one made up in two parts. The easier of the two to recognize was the hue of the man’s emerald irises; the color itself was rare but not utterly improbable, of course, but the rich shade in particular was an anomaly that Alfred had never seen nor heard of before. 

This alone may have kept his attention on the man, at least long enough to make note in the Cave in case it was ever of any importance, but it was the second aspect that truly seized his regard. 

Because the man’s eyes were so very old. 

There was nothing factual that Alfred could express to describe how he came to this determination, but every instance in which he saw the man during his unfortunately brief visits at the café only served to solidify this perspective of his. 

This wasn’t to imply that the man had ‘seen things,’ for all that Alfred was well aware of how trauma could indeed age a person far beyond their years. As much as it pained his weary heart, Alfred was well acquainted with eyes that held more than their soul’s years ought to. 

This was not the case for the man in the café. At least, not the case alone.

For all that the stranger appeared not a day over twenty-five, he had eyes more ancient than Alfred’s own.

However, despite Alfred’s admittedly growing fascination, he made no attempt to approach the man, and he had no such plans to do so.

Which made it all the more surprising when he found himself approached by the very subject of his inexorably growing interest instead. 

-

Harry chewed anxiously against the inside of his lip, an unfortunate habit he had thought he’d gotten rid of several decades ago. His hands fidgeted around the wrapped stems held in his clutches, which bloomed upwards with a mixture of soft pink oleanders and an entrancingly blue shade of rose. He’d chosen the former to signify beauty and grace, which he hoped they still meant, and he’d chosen the latter both because roses were a classic romantic flower on top of the fact that the royal blue shade of them had simply… strangely reminded him of Mr. Pennyworth.

He was hovering around the corner for his admiree to appear, as the man usually came in on Tuesdays and Fridays, the former of which today was. Harry thought it would seem far too stilted to be caught waiting inside the café itself with his bouquet of flowers, so here he remained instead. 

He was not kept waiting long, and his heart jumped in his chest as the gentleman stepped neatly out from the driver’s door of a black convertible, looking as charmingly put together as always. 

Hurrying forth so as to catch Mr. Pennyworth before he entered the shop, Harry could only hope he didn’t look as youthfully desperate as he suddenly felt he must, with his smooth, porcelain skin and thick, dark locks of hair that refused to stay in place even after all his years. Such a contrast to Mr. Pennyworth’s refined lines and smoothed back, sterling hair. 

“Ah - sir!” Harry called, managing to keep his steps even instead of rushing as he felt he ought to by only the thinnest hairsbreadth of a margin. 

Mr. Pennyworth turned towards him from where he’d been reaching for the café's door, quiet surprise splashed across his handsome features. As enviously quick to compose himself as ever, the gentleman blinked, hands gently clasping together in front of himself even as his eyes flickered curiously from Harry’s bouquet and back to meet his gaze. “May I be of assistance?” he questioned calmly, gesturing towards the door as if to hold it open for Harry’s entrance.

Harry shook his head in negation to the offer, and - careful not to thrust them forth instead - he delicately extended the bouquet in his clutches towards the man he had found himself enchanted by since he had first laid eyes upon him, taking a final step forth to close the gap between them. 

Mr. Pennyworth blinked bemusedly at the lush flowers, his gaze seeming to latch firmly onto the entrancingly blue roses for a moment too long, and he tilted his head near imperceptibly as he glanced up to Harry in wordless question. 

“I -” Harry paused, calming himself as best he could and letting a soft, shy yet genuine smile part his lips.  “I would greatly appreciate your assistance, Mr. Pennyworth,” Harry quietly replied, finally answering the gentleman’s question from before and gently pushing the bouquet to the man’s firm chest. “I would be most honored if you would accept this gift from my tired hands,” he divulged with only the slightest trace of mischievousness of which he used to hide his trepidation.

Mr. Pennyworth’s hands came up to grasp the bouquet seemingly on instinct, largely subduing Harry’s worries, and the gentleman’s eyes seemed the smallest bit wider than before. “... may I request to know the intention behind this gift, sir?” the recipient questioned, though there was an air about him as if he already knew but had yet to accept his own deduction. 

It was only then that Harry realized that he had made an utterly rude blunder and referred to the man by his name without having given his own, and he hurriedly introduced himself, preceding with, “Ah, my apologies, Mr. Pennyworth - I’d seen your name written down during one of your visits, but I’d forgotten to now give mine.” Here, he bowed slightly, one arm folding in front of him just below his chest while he rested the flat of the other against his back, dipping forth far enough to not seem shallow. “Harry Potter, at your service,” he belatedly greeted, then solidly replied, “and I have given you these flowers in the hopes that you will consider allowing me to court - to bring you on a date,” he swiftly corrected, willing away the blush that had no doubt risen to his cheeks. Oh, he most certainly wished to court Mr. Pennyworth, but he had realized that requesting a single date first would pose far less pressure on the man.

For several long, nerve-rending moments, Mr. Pennyworth did not reply. Instead, he stared into Harry’s eyes with an intensity that divulged his sharp intellect, and Harry could only hope he held up to muster.

Finally, Mr. Pennyworth’s grip on the bouquet shifted to hold them more firmly in his grasp, the stems tucked beneath the crook of his elbow while the flowers themselves were gently cradled against his shoulder. 

“I’m afraid I cannot accept at the moment,” - Harry’s heart plummeted - “but I simply do not know you well enough to say otherwise,” Mr. Pennyworth finished, and Harry’s heart tentatively lifted, a swell of hope rising within his breast. The gentleman gifted him with a slight - yet no less warm - smile, and inquired, “May I join you for tea today, Mister Potter?”

---------

hehehhehheheh

[cindylouwho-2]

Etsy Fourth Quarter Earnings 2023 - Still Banking on Improving Marketplace Sales, But Not Revealing Many Plans

Slide 23 from Etsy's 4th quarter 2023 earning report, © Etsy. it shows what percentage of sales each major category has, with performance in the quarter.

Etsy’s fourth quarter results for 2023 were as uninspiring as expected, but despite revealing few plans, the corporation is convinced it can increase gross marketplace sales through its gifting and other initiatives. There was a lot of interesting information for shop owners, though, so let’s get right to it. 

First, here are the resources that you should read/watch yourself, if you want to know more:

the press release

transcript of the conference call

slides from the conference call

video of the call (click on “Webcast” under “Latest Quarterly Results”)

my summaries of the fourth quarter 2022, and the third quarter 2023 for comparison

Then, the basic numbers (covering October to December 2023, compared to the same period in 2022):

Sales on Etsy were $3.6 billion, down 1.4% year over year

Total sales for all 3 marketplaces (Etsy, Reverb, and Depop) were $4.0 billion, down 0.7%. [Elo7 was officially sold in mid August; its numbers were still included in the comparison totals of 2022]

Etsy’s revenue (including all 3 sites) was $842.3 million, up 4.3%

Seller service revenue was up 9.4% to $226.5 million, while marketplace revenue was up 2.6% to $615.8 million

Net income was $83.3 million, down 24% (mostly due to the layoff costs of $27 million in the quarter)

Active buyers on Etsy alone stand at 92 million, a third consecutive all-time high

Active sellers on Etsy alone are now 7 million, the fourth large jump in a row compared to the previous quarter; numbers had been stagnant through the end of 2021 and all of 2022 [Note that “active” means one charge or transaction in the past 12 months; many “active” shops currently have nothing for sale.]

Sales where the buyer and/or the seller was not in the United States were 45%, up from 44% last year, but down from 47% in the previous quarter

Sales on mobile are 68%, up from 67% last year [this includes both the buyer app and mobile browsers]

As always, I am reporting what Etsy’s representatives said in the main text, with my commentary in square brackets.

Etsy Search

At the moment, Etsy’s search algorithms aim to show shoppers things they are most likely to buy. They are currently working on changing that to showing what buyers are most likely to love after the purchase. They refer to items that consistently get high reviews, have good photography, and whose shop owner provides good customer service, has quality return policies and ships on time, as “quality” items, or, “the best stuff.” 

This is all a work in progress, so search may not change drastically any time soon. Past calls and interviews have related this to the increase in Etsy Picks assigned in the past few months; they plan on using those Picks to train the algorithm to find “quality”, especially quality photos. The items staff identify as “quality” convert twice as well as other listings, so there is obvious benefit to Etsy showing them higher up in search results. 

Etsy has added some of the features in its “neural ranking model” to non-US searches; previously it was only in the US searches. 

Advertising

Offsite Ad spending was down 4% in the quarter vs. 2022, in part due to competition bidding higher than Etsy thought was worthwhile. At the time of the call, that spending was back to normal. Per slide 21, money from Offsite Ads fees covered about 35% of what Etsy spent on the ads during the quarter. 

CEO Josh Silverman explained why the performance marketing (Offsite Ads) spend can be unpredictable.

“So performance is dynamic on a, really, hour-to-hour basis depending on the ROI we're seeing on every dollar we're spending. And we've got pretty sophisticated algorithms that work on, is this bid -- is this click worth this much right now and how much should we bid. And so to the extent that CPCs rise, we naturally pull back, or to the extent that CPCs lower, we naturally lean in. The other thing, by the way, it's not just CPCs, it's also conversion rates. So in times when people are really budget constrained, we see them actually -- we see conversion rate across the industry go down. We see people comparison shop a lot more. And so we are looking at all of that. And not humans, but machines using AI are looking at a very sophisticated way of what's happening with conversion rate right now, what's happening with CPCs right now.”

Etsy also does testing twice a year where they stop running ad such as Google Shopping ads in part of the country, and then compare with the areas still advertising to see if the buyer still would have bought. Silverman admitted that the data shows “often the answer may be yes.”

Overall marketing costs went up 7% in the year. 

The Gifting Initiative

Etsy is now aiming to brand itself as the place to go to buy gifts. Gift Mode is just the start of this campaign. Their surveys report that more than half of US gift giving is based on personal occasions that occur year round, such as birthdays, or “just because”. People in the US spend an average of $1600 a year on gifts, but Etsy’s US buyers only average $38 spent per year on gifts from Etsy. They estimate that less than half of Etsy buyers in 2023 used the site to buy at least one gift. There is obviously an opportunity to do better. 

The percentage of US residents thinking of Etsy as a good place to buy a gift is now down to 10%. [Previously, the company reported it was 12%, and I commented last quarter that I’d like to see a more recent survey to judge if they have used this knowledge to improve. 

“Only 12% of buyers will name Etsy top of mind as the place to shop for gifts.” They don’t seem to have any updated numbers showing how they’ve been improving that situation. [It’s time to go after that “enormous opportunity”, Josh!]”

So despite wanting to grab a bigger gifting share before now, Etsy has managed to lose ground. This is my biggest fear about the gift push: the market was there before now, and Etsy’s own research demonstrated that. Are they only going all in now that they have run out of other ideas?] 

There were 6 million visits to Gift Mode in the first 2 weeks. [I am not really impressed, given that they promoted it very heavily, and I was personally responsible for over 100 of those visits while researching my Gift Mode blog post.]

Other plans to bring in buyers

Silverman stated “[o]ur focus will be to make Etsy even more Etsy”, and to differentiate the marketplace from sites that sell everyday needs. The following quote deserves to be read in full:

“Most other players are competing head-to-head to sell the exact same merchandise, focused on selling at $0.02 cheaper or shipping it two hours faster, and this has resulted in the commoditization of the entire experience. But that's just not Etsy.”

[This seemed to be a completely unironically-intended comment, with no recognition of the fact that he actually discussed speeding up shipping times in the same presentation, nor of the well-known fact that so much on Etsy these days can usually be bought cheaper on Aliexpress or Shein.]

He also said that the “special” aspect of Etsy is what sometimes holds the site back, as buyers might consider Etsy limited to specific items, or might “worry about the post-purchase experience”. Bringing people back more often is a goal. [They’ve been saying that for years now, though.]

The company is currently doing buyer loyalty program research, but gave no further details. He also cited “shortening our estimated delivery dates this year by at least 2 days” as something that buyers should like, but it is unclear to me reading this if the work done last year (the year discussed in this call) already shaved 2 days off of delivery dates, or if the statement is this year’s goal. I think it is the latter [but the only ways to do that are to improve the accuracy of their tools - and I am not sure that they are currently 2 days longer than reality on average - or to pressure sellers to ship faster. Since Etsy is once again updating shop settings to add weekends to shop processing times without notifying us, I guess we can assume the latter? UPDATE (Mar 19): Silverman clarified at a recent talk that "we think we can cut shipping times on Etsy by at least two days this year."]

Other things sellers need to know

Etsy Ads now involve some localization outside of the US, which increased conversion rates. [If your ad performance changed in non-US countries during the quarter, this is the most likely reason.]

Neither sales or Etsy’s revenue are expected to increase until the second quarter, and they expect revenue to grow faster than sales this year. [Revenue is almost certain to increase, as the corporation has been surveying sellers on what they would be willing to pay more for.]

“In 2023, we removed approximately 140% more listings for violations of our Handmade Policy than in 2022.” [No word on how many of them were removed erroneously, though, as we know the “Temu” bots pulled a lot of truly handmade items that had photos stolen and listed on other sites.]

Silverman promised “innovation planned to improve the predictability of shipping costs for both buyers and sellers”, but provided no details. [I am not sure what would make my personal costs more predictable, given they change every single week with Canada Post’s fuel surcharge right now. Is it going to be forcing people to use Etsy Labels with calculated shipping? Or is this more calculated shipping options for countries outside of the US, and for new carriers? Restricting the amount a listing can charge for shipping? I really have no idea, but I hope all those people they hired for “fulfillment” jobs a few years back are coming up with something that is actually useful.] 

Miscellaneous

Depop had a decent quarter in sales and revenue. 

Reverb sales were flat. “The Reverb team made some organizational changes late in the year” which are expected to be profitable [i.e., they laid off over 30 people in October].

The Etsy layoffs in December were referred to by CFO Rachel Glaser as “our recent workforce realignment”. [At least she didn’t call those former employees churn.] The call provided no details on the restructuring they previously said would be done by the end of this quarter. 

October sales were not good, but November and December improved. January “was a little bumpy.”

Outside of the US, sales in Germany were mostly steady, while the UK, Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria improved.

The upcoming $15 fee for newly-opened shops will largely go to paying the costs of the technology for vetting sellers; it is not expected to result in much profit. 

My thoughts: this is going to be a rough year for many Etsy sellers

As I discussed last quarter, Etsy’s upper brass didn't seem to think they were responsible for the lackluster sales performance of their marketplace, and this quarter that extended to not admitting they overhired since early 2022, and not acknowledging that Etsy’s reputation as a gift site actually dropped over the past few years. The last one is particularly galling. Why keep talking about how there was great room for improvement in Etsy brand recognition for gift buyers and then fail to improve even a tiny bit? What were these folks doing the past 2 years? 

It’s clear they think bravado will get them through this, including the bold move of claiming everything will improve in the second quarter and throughout the year without revealing any real details. No wonder the stock dropped yet again. 

That said, they likely have some reasons for thinking that revenue will pick up at least, if not sales. As mentioned above, they have been extensively surveying sellers about raising fees and/or charging us for things we currently get for free (or mostly do not want). Possible downsides for Etsy include the fact that the Indie Sellers Guild and the Artisans Cooperative (among others) are likely to get more negative press for Etsy if fees are raised yet again, just as happened in 2022. It does not help that Etsy didn’t really follow through on improved services the last time they raised fees. 

And the more I think about the comment on shipping costs, the more I believe they are considering making Etsy Labels compulsory for at least some in the US, with set shipping charges sellers won’t be able to change. Bonanza did this last year, charging its US sellers $2 per order extra if they didn’t use Bonanza labels and didn’t get an exemption from the program. Most Etsy sellers using the labels and being forced to show that price as the shipping cost for buyers is the only way I can think of making shipping prices more predictable for buyers, other than capping shipping charges outright (and that sounds like a nightmare to implement). eBay does it, though. Am I missing something? [UPDATE Mar. 5, 2024: Etsy is surveying buyers about how much they like cheap shipping.]

Perhaps more importantly, the planned search changes have the potential to disrupt the status quo a great deal. We know that Etsy frequently takes a lot longer to develop these types of technologies than they expect, so it may not happen this year, but the work on promoting “quality” listings will continue, and that is already affecting some shops that used to do better in Etsy search. Do everything you can to make sure your images are "high-quality". If you rely on internal search to get most of your Etsy sales, this is a very good time to follow my usual advice and diversify your traffic sources. 

Etsy’s branding pivot to being the place to get gifts could also have a big impact on some shops and categories, if it is successful - and that is a big “if”. I’m not thoroughly convinced Etsy can manage this change in consumer consciousness, considering that the site’s reputation continues to be hammered by controversies around scams and non-handmade items. Kitkats, anyone? 

Many other comments do not bode well for most shop owners: a continuing push for discounting, emphasis on faster shipping times, and financial restrictions/impositions on “newly-opened” shops all indicate that traffic may flow away from small business owners who choose not to comply, or are unable to comply. 

Last quarter I said “[d]on’t be surprised if there are major site changes in 2024”, and I appear to have been correct. But really, anyone reading these reports over the past few years could have seen it coming.

Stay well informed, everyone! It’s the best weapon we have.

Reminder that you can sign up to receive my Tumblr and website blog posts via email.

UPDATED March 19, 2024

[downwiththeficness]

The Usurper-Chapter Seventeen

Summary: Lilah McNamara stole things for a living. It was tedious work and often dangerous, which made it just exciting enough to keep her interested. After botching a routine job, Lilah finds herself standing amid monsters. Wholly unprepared for the horror of living under Amaru’s reign, Lilah decides to use her well honed skills to thwart the queen’s plans and prevent the end of the world.

Word Count: ~5,600

Disclaimer: I do not consent to this work being copied or posted to other sites of blogs.

Start at the Beginning Previous Chapter Next Chapter

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Lilah hunched over the book and her notes, chewing on her lip while she tried to figure out who this person was and where they sat in the confusing hierarchy of nobles and lords and villains and various fantastical creatures in Xibalba. The Scribe kept popping up, always in reference to some writing or another. No matter how many times Lilah went over it, she couldn’t figure out who this person was. She considered the title, ‘scribe’. It could be a job description for many people, all holding the same position beneath the ruling lord. Then again, Xibalbans tended to live a long time if they weren’t killed or stupid enough to walk into one of Xibalba’s many dangerous flora and fauna. It could just as well be a single writer.

“Who the fuck are you?” Lilah said aloud, “And where is this book you’re so famous for?”

Lilah leaned against the side of the tub and sighed. She would put serious money on the possibility that the book was lost when Amaru destroyed the library. Shame, that. It meant Lilah would have to rely on guesswork to gather context for the passages she couldn’t quite decipher. Or...she could ask. Lilah could just ask either Brasa or Javier to help her. She was sure they would be willing. Her head tilted while she debated whether or not her questions would earn questions from the person she was questioning and how much she was willing to answer those questions.

She gave a sharp shake of her head to clear the muddled track of her thoughts and closed her notebook. That was enough for today. Besides, she had to get ready to go out. Lilah specifically requested a place where her dress wouldn’t get dirty if she sat down. She couldn’t show up in sweatpants and a t-shirt, even if they were designer.

Pushing slowly to standing, Lilah gathered her materials and went to the door. After checking that the coast was clear, she put them back in place underneath the bed. Then, with her secret safely stowed away, she went about selecting her outfit. Opening up the wardrobe, Lilah ran her hand over the many different dresses hanging inside. Swaths of fabric in different colors and styles, all of them beautifully constructed and way, way too expensive. She pushed aside the more casual ones and paused over a few that definitely hadn’t been there before.

“Javier,” she breathed around a chuckle. Lilah didn’t know when he had the time to go shopping. She took both dresses out of the wardrobe and gave them a good shake. One was an iridescent green number that would hug her around the hips. The other was a deep dark crimson with a low neckline and a hem that would brush her ankles. The choice between them begged the question: Ass or tits? Which would she prefer to accentuate?

Lilah deliberately ignored the little voice in the back of her mind telling her that it wasn’t only her preference that she was considering. It was the same voice that kept warning her to keep Brasa at a distance. She had a goal to accomplish and having any sort of feelings about him was only going to get in the way. Arms and dresses falling at her sides, Lilah muttered, “This is ridiculous. It was just a kiss.”

Oh, Lilah, she thought to herself. Its more than that.

It was a kiss that reminded her of the kisses he gave her when she thought he was someone else. It was also the way he looked at her and the way he talked to her. It was the way he lied for her. And...the way he told her the truth when she asked him to. It was all of those things wrapped up in an extremely complicated and extremely dangerous package.

With a frustrated huff, Lilah put the dresses back and sorted through the rest of the wardrobe until she found something with a high neck and sensible hemline. She took it to the bathroom to hang on the back of the door while she tamed her hair and put on some makeup. When she was finished, she pulled back from the mirror to check her work. She looked just about as good as she did on any other occasion where Lilah put in extra effort, which she supposed was the point.

After stripping off her clothes, Lilah grabbed the dress from the hook and stared at it. There was nothing wrong with it, per se, but Lilah has the impression that it wasn’t the right choice. The cut was modern and sleek, the fabric a rich black color. It sat in the middle between too casual and too fancy, wouldn’t particularly stand out in at just about any reputable bar. The dress fit the bill in a lot of ways, and yet Lilah hesitated to put it on.

“Oh, please,” Lilah griped. “Just put on the dress.”

She stepped into it and pulled the zipper closed. Her hands drifted along her body to smooth the fabric over her hips and thighs. It was a nice dress and, as usual, it fit her perfectly. Lilah turned and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked good. A little demure for a date, but good enough. Satisfied with her reflection, Lilah went to the bedroom in search of shoes.

There were several lined up in the bottom of the wardrobe, like little soldiers standing at their posts. Lilah touched them in turn, circling back until she got to the shoes Javier brought her in that awful hotel room. She almost picked them up. They were sturdy and they matched the dress, but they weren’t right. She was already feeling a little insecure about her clothes, she wasn’t going to allow additional insecurity about what she put on her feet. Lilah walked her fingers away from them to pick another.

Four pairs down, her fingers stalled. Red satin pumps presented themselves, as if waiting for her to slip them on. Lilah didn’t have to wonder if they were in her size. They would fit. She picked the shoes up with a smile, visualizing Javier speaking to a salesperson. Lilah would like to be there one day when he went shopping. She thought it would be an interesting experience to see what he was capable of. All those little details he would demand to be satisfied. Lilah imagined the staff would be terrified of him, of the commission they wouldn’t get if he walked out without a purchase. She could sit there and watch the free entertainment from the comfort of a plush chair. Possibly with a glass of champagne.

Grinning to herself, Lilah stood and carried the shoes to lay them on the floor by the bed. Using the high mattress for balance, she stepped into each heel and shifted her weight until they hugged the arch of her foot. Turning, Lilah glanced across the room at the full length mirror. She looked...very pretty. Pretty in a way that Lilah didn’t allow herself to look very often. In fact, the number of times she looked pretty since meeting Brasa might have outnumbered the times she looked pretty before.

Brasa walked in, startling her, “Sorry, sorry.”

“You couldn’t knock?” Lilah snapped, irritated that she’d squeaked like a toddler instead of reaching for a weapon. There really wasn’t much to work with in the room, but she could have at least grabbed the table lamp. Lilah was off her game and that chafed. She’d gotten used to the relative sense of security in the cave and that wasn’t going to fly when she eventually returned to the real world.

After taking a breath, Lilah was able to take Brasa in. He was dressed in a freshly ironed shirt that looked black, but flashed with subtle green when he breathed. His hair was combed away from his face and she could smell a faint hint of cologne. Something woodsy. Lilah inhaled the scent, feeling warm.

He lowered the hands he held up in defense, “Yes. Of course. Are you ready?”

She almost reached for a purse before she remembered that she didn’t really have one, “Yeah. I’m ready.”

Brasa looked her over with a considering eye, “You’re missing something.”

Lilah frowned, “Uh, I am?”

The corners of his mouth tipped upwards and he nodded. Moving to the dresser, Brasa opened the top drawer and picked up a small velvet box. Lilah took it from him and pushed her thumb into the lever. Her brows lifted in surprise when she found a pair of earrings with a teardrop ruby dangling from each golden stud.

“I was going to give those to you later, but they match your shoes, so maybe now is a good time.”

She laughed airily and went to put them on, “They do match my shoes. Did Javier pick them out?”

Brasa rolled his eyes, “I do have some sense of style, Lilah.”

“How was I supposed to know that?” she said over her shoulder. “You’re always wearing black.”

Lilah admired the earrings in the mirror. They glittered with every tiny movement of her head. Ruby stones swinging beautifully from her ears. Brasa appeared in the reflection behind her, “What do you want me to wear?”

She stopped and half-turned, “What?”

“You said I only wear black. What do you want me to wear instead?”

Lilah shrugged, “It wasn’t a criticism. Seriously. I want you to wear whatever you want to wear.”

His mouth opened to say something, then closed around the words. He blinked and gave a tight smile, “We should go.”

She almost called him on it, almost made him say whatever he was going to say, but it didn’t seem to be worth the effort. Instead, Lilah followed him out into the hall, “You decide where we’re going?”

Brasa held open the door to the cavern, “I did.”

They walked over the stone bridge to the other side, “You going to tell me or do I have to guess?”

He smiled, “Would you know the place if I told you the name of the bar?”

“Probably not.”

“Alright,” Brasa said while he guided her through the holding room and into the back hall where she climbed into the ceiling with Javier. They passed the ladder and kept walking, “All you need to know is that it meets your specifications.”

Lilah’s step faltered, “When did you put in an elevator?”

“Last week.”

She squinted at the shining metal doors as they slid open to reveal a well lit carriage. They stepped inside and Brasa tapped out a code on the keypad. The doors closed. Lilah felt the carriage lift. “How did you get a whole elevator down here?”

Brasa smirked at her, “Carefully.”

“Oh, fine,” she drawled, “don’t tell me.” The doors opened and they stepped out. “When did you build a parking garage?”

He touched the small of her back to guide her towards a car parked near the entrance on the far end, “Two weeks ago.”

Lilah stopped and looked at him, “It takes longer than two weeks to build a garage, Brasa.”

“We finished two weeks ago.”

“Ah.”

“Do you really care about my timelines for infrastructure?”

Lilah tapped her finger to her chin while she pretended to think about it, “No.”

He gestured towards the car, “Can we go?”

“Not yet.” Javier was standing near the elevator, leaning on his cane.

“Were you there a second ago?” Lilah asked, knowing that he wasn’t.

Javier smiled and ignored her question. The smile didn’t last more than a heartbeat, “She’s missing.”

Beside her, Brasa sighed heavily, “Is she missing or did she just decide to go off and do whatever she wanted for a while?”

Lilah didn’t have to ask who they were talking about. It could only be Amaru. She crossed her arms and stared forlornly at the car. So close. Lilah better not have gotten all dressed up only to walk back down to that barren little room. She clenched her jaw around the decision to throw one hell of a fit.

“She’s missing,” Javier confirmed. “I hear she’s gone after one of the Gecko brothers. The odd one.”

“Richie,” Brasa muttered. “Well, I hope she’s entertained while she plays with him.”

Javier’s face scrunched in confusion, “He is our ally.”

“He’s unstable.”

Unconvinced, Javier kept on, “You know why he’s unstable.”

There was something underneath his words. Information Lilah didn’t know that seemed important enough to give Brasa pause. He sniffed and said, “Find her and send someone to monitor. No interaction. If she gets too rough with him, we’ll figure out how to get her attention and send Seth in to extract his brother.”

Javier nodded, “Done. Have a good time.”

Lilah watched with bemusement as Javier tapped the keypad for the elevator, waited for the doors to open, stepped inside and gave them a little wave while the doors closed. She flexed her hands and uncrossed her arms. The night might not be a wash, after all.

Brasa held his hand out to her, “Let’s go.”

“Gladly.”

Lilah let him pull her along to the car where he opened the door for her. She dropped down into the passenger’s side. Brasa circled the car and got in, turning the engine over and pulling out of the garage. It was dark out and the lack of streetlights made it even darker. Lilah didn’t recognize the scenery as it whizzed past her.

“Why is Richie unstable?”

Brasa cut her a sideways look, “He’s lost his bondmate.”

Oh, that was bad. Really bad. Lilah felt a twinge of sympathy for him. “He’s Xibalban?”

“Culebra.”

“Oh.”

He shifted onto a road and turned towards the highway, “He was turned not long before Amaru woke and she...took his bondmate from him.”

Lilah stared at her hands, not knowing what to say, “That’s, uh, pretty sad.”

The car was quiet while they zoomed along towards city lights. More and more buildings lined the streets until the car reached what looked like a downtown area. Brasa pulled into public parking. He paid the attendant, tossed the ticket onto the dash and selected a spot.

“Am I going to regret wearing heels?” Lilah asked. When Brasa looked at her in question, she added, “Are we going to be walking far to get to the bar?”

He paused to think about it, “A block or two.”

Lilah’s chin dipped, “That’s manageable.”

She got out of the car and met Brasa on the other side. He reached for her, “Its this way. Not far.” Leaning towards her, he said in a low voice, “If your feet hurt, tell me. I will carry you.”

Lilah laughed, “I think I’ll be able to handle it. But, I appreciate the offer.”

The look he gave her was both sly and earnest, “Any time.”

Getting to the bar took less than five minutes. Lilah’s feet were grateful. She followed Brasa to the hostess, who asked them if they had a reservation. They did. Lilah peered at Brasa while he spoke with the woman, reluctantly impressed. He was gracious and polite, asked about how the night was going and if she anticipated a crowd. The hostess smiled and answered his questions on the way to their table. The night was going well. It was a weekend, so she expected a full house. The chef had a special menu planned for the evening. Lilah walked a little behind Brasa, watching the whole conversation with a wide smile.

Their table was off to the side, a semi circle booth in shining leather that faced the rest of the room. Brasa gestured for Lilah to slide in first, moving to sit beside her. The hostess let them know that someone would come to take their order shortly and left them to it.

“This is nice,” Lilah murmured.

“Does it meet your standards?’

Marble floors. Rich, oiled wood. A seat that wasn’t sticky. Lilah nodded, “It does.”

“Good.”

A waiter dressed in head to toe black took their drink orders and left a pair of menus. Lilah opened hers and read through it, “Oh look, an appetizer’s upcharged just because it has truffle butter.”

Brasa, who hadn’t even touched his menu, asked, “Is that bad?”

She sent him a wan look, “Its a fad. Next year, there will be something else topping the tater tots or drizzled over a salad.”

He ticked his head to the side, “The reviews said this place has the best food in the city.”

Lilah glanced at the entrees, “It certainly looks amazing. I don’t know how I’ll choose.”

“Order it all.”

She huffed a silent laugh, “I couldn’t eat that much if I tried, but I see a way to try lots of new things. I’m gonna go with the tasting menu.”

“What is a tasting menu?”

Lilah closed the menu, “Its like a...mini meal. You get smaller portions of several dishes.” She shrugged a shoulder, “Little bites of everything.”

Their drinks were set before them, two fingers of tequila for him and a jalepeño margarita for her. Lilah gave her order to the waiter, who looked excited at first, then disappointed when Brasa declined food. He was well trained and the disappointment barely lasted a second before is was replaced with a congenial smile. He folded up his order pad and assured them that the first course would be out soon.

“You’re not eating?”

Brasa shook his head, “I ate earlier.” He caught the way her expression froze, “Would it make you feel better if I told you it was from a bag?”

It actually would make her feel better. “Is that the truth?”

“Its the truth.”

“I thought your shipments weren’t enough.”

“They aren’t,” he said with a touch of ire in his tone. “That’s the benefit of being the boss. I get first pick, even if supplies are running low.”

She fiddled with her straw, trying to think of something to say to change the subject. The room was beginning to fill with the after dinner crowd and the lights lowered. She noticed a pair of waiters moving tables at the front, “What do you think is going on over there?”

“The website said there would a local singer for entertainment tonight. I think her name is Rosalina.”

“Oh,” she replied, “Any good?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know.”

“Guess we’ll find out together, right?”

Not long after that, the first course arrived. Lilah ate it while she watched the staff set up a microphone and begin a sound check. The second course arrived just as she was finishing the first. Lilah thanked the waiter and picked up her fork. She was just about to take the first bite when she noticed Brasa’s attention, “What?”

“Nothing,” he said quickly.

It wasn’t nothing. “C’mon,” she prodded. “Tell me.”

Brasa hesitated, then, “Do you realize that you dance when you eat?”

“I do not,” she said even as her brain was telling her that she definitely did.

“You do,” he replied with a grin, “Its cute.”

Lilah rolled her eyes, “I am not cute. I’m a highly trained and devious thief.”

“And, cute.”

She waved a dismissive hand, “I can’t eat if you’re calling me cute and looking at me like that.”

“Okay,” he replied in a voice filled with amusement. Brasa deliberately turned his attention to the room.

Lilah made it through the second course with half her attention on the man next to her and half her attention on making sure she stayed still. By the time she pushed away the plate for the third course, the lights were dimming. She drank the last of her margarita and set it next to the empty plate and looked around for the waiter. Brasa slid his untouched glass over to her, “Have this until he comes back.”

“You’re not going to drink it?”

He looked at her with an expression that said she should already know the answer. Lilah shrugged and took the glass, sipping cautiously at it. Straight tequila wasn’t her drink of choice, but this wasn’t bad and she said as much.

Brasa shifted so that he was facing her more directly, “Can I tell you a secret?”

Lilah smiled, “I love secrets.”

“I don’t know anything about alcohol,” he admitted. “Or, fancy restaurants. Or, truffle butter. I spent hours researching the menu and trying to figure out why fish eggs are considered a delicacy. They look...slimy.”

She nearly laughed at the image of Brasa hunched over a computer, intently scrolling through a Wikipedia page. Something about the helplessness in his expression stopped her. “You’re doing a pretty good job covering for it.”

“I can pretend, if I need to,” he said. “But, this is all foreign to me.”

“You don’t have restaurants in Xibalba?”

He shook his head, “We have feasts—had feasts. They were usually political events, one ruler trying to gain the favor of their people so that they didn’t rise up and kill them. Sometimes they were a celebration after a particularly crucial victory in battle.”

Lilah took a fortifying drink, “Did you go? To the feasts, I mean.”

Another shake of his head, “Sometimes. I don’t need to eat. If I did, it would only be for the pleasure of tasting.”

A warmth rose in her cheeks. He was looking directly at her, holding her gaze with quiet force. She couldn’t stop thinking about him picking a fruit from a tree or bush and biting into it, juice running down his chin. About his tongue peeking out to catch it. Her breaths went shallow as she imagined sitting next to him, the same way she had done the day he laid out the picnic for her. The two of them, side by side, licking sugar from their fingers and lips.

Lilah was saved from the embarrassment of realizing she had been staring at his mouth when the lights dimmed further and a smooth voice rang out. She jerked her attention towards it and swallowed around a dry throat. Beside her, she thought she heard Brasa give a low, dark chuckle.

She sat mostly still while she listened to the song. It was slow for the first song of the set, but the sensual timbre of the singer more than made up for the tempo. The music swelled as the song came to an end. Another began and it was a little faster, but not even a little bit less sultry. Lilah leaned towards Brasa, “She’s very good.”

“Is she?”

Lilah turned her face up to look at him, “You don’t think so?”

“I suppose. The others seem to like the music.”

She looked out at the crowd. People were nodding along to the music, some were swaying. One couple got up and danced. Another followed. And another. Lilah smiled at them, enjoying the sight of someone having a good time. She hadn’t slow danced with anyone since the prom and that was only because Stacy Woodenhouse declined Warren Littlerock’s invitation. Lilah could still remember the way his face dropped with Stacy proclaimed herself too tired to dance. She also remembered the reluctance in his voice as he asked Lilah instead. She knew it was a pity dance, but no one had asked her all night and she just wanted to feel special for three or four minutes. Lilah hadn’t danced with anyone since.

“Do you want to dance?”

Lilah turned her head to look at him. He was leaning down to speak to her over the music and there was only an inch or two between them. She said the word ‘no’, but couldn’t hear her own voice. It barely registered above the rush of electricity that was suddenly riding a wave over her body.

“You don’t like dancing?”

“I’m not very good at it,” she lied. Lilah could feel heat rolling off him. It wrapped around her shoulders and torso, gently pushing her closer.

Brasa was pleased, “This, I know about. I can teach you.”

The song changed again, slowing down. She heard the heat in the voice of the singer. There was an invitation in the tone and lyrics. Lilah couldn’t help but to wonder what it would be like to dance with him. To press close and sway.

“You have dancing in Xibalba?” she croaked, internally wincing at how inane the question was.

Brasa ran a gloved finger along her jaw with a low hum. His head dipped and he touched his lips to hers in a kiss that was so light it was barely a kiss. Lilah drew in a shuddering breath when he pulled back a scant inch. Here, he held his position. If Lilah moved even the smallest bit, the kiss would begin again. She realized that was the point. Brasa was letting her decide.

Fuck it.

Lilah’s eyes closed and she pressed her mouth to his firmly. His lips were as warm as the rest of him, fitting perfectly against her own. Lilah’s eyes closed in pleasure, mouth parting to breathe in the taste of him. The music and the room around her faded into a fuzzy periphery as her entire focus rested on Brasa. His hand shifted and slid around to the back of her neck to hold her steady. The weight of it grounded her against the slow, relentless rise of arousal in her belly. It oozed through her body, urging her to move closer.

Brasa gathered Lilah to his chest with an arm around her waist. His kisses were measured and intentional. He wasn’t taking anything more than she was giving. The arm around her was loose enough that she could pull away if she wanted to. His hand at the back of her neck was gentle. Other than that, every other muscle in Brasa was pulled up in tight control.

After catching a short breath, Lilah deepened the kiss. She could taste the heat of his body on her tongue and it made her wish they weren’t in the bar. Lilah wanted to know what it would be like to kiss him on the ridiculously nice bed he never used. She wanted to know what kissing him was like when he wasn’t holding back.

Applause filtered in past the roar of blood in her ears. Brasa pulled away, blinking slowly. Disgruntled by the interruption, Lilah leaned forward to take another kiss. Brasa gasped a breath that sounded vaguely panicked. He maintained the distance between them, staring at her mouth with hunger in his eyes.

Lilah licked her lips, feeling for the first time a tingle that veered close to a burn. Confused, she reached up and touched them. They weren’t numb and she hadn’t been kissing Brasa long enough to bruise. Touching her mouth felt a little like brushing her hand over an old TV screen and feeling static.

Brasa frowned, “What is it?”

“I think,” she rasped, “my lips are burning.”

His expression went suddenly shy, “Ah. That would be the venom.”

“The what?”

The hand at her neck fell away to run over his hair, “Behind my teeth. There are...glands that contain venom.”

She drew back, “Is it poisonous?”

Brasa moved quickly to soothe any fears she might have, “No. Not at all. Its meant to subdue when I feed.”

“So,” Lilah said while her brain tried to figure out what he meant, “its a paralytic?”

His smile was almost embarrassed, “Not quite. The effect is more like euphoria. I can get a cleaner bite if you’re enjoying it.”

“Oh.”

A shadow passed in front of their table. The waiter laid their tab down with assurances that there was no rush. Lilah barely registered it, too focused on thinking about what it might be like for Brasa to bite her. An hour ago, Lilah might have said the thought repelled her. Sitting there with his arm holding her close, she was beginning to think otherwise.

She ruminated on those thoughts while Brasa paid, while they got up and pushed their chairs beneath the table, and while they crossed the room to the door. Lilah was grateful for the cool night air outside the bar. It helped to clear away the rampant fantasies in her brain so she could think. In the bar, she allowed herself to get a little carried away, but now Lilah could reign it in and act like the rational adult that she was. This renewed sense of self lasted right up until Brasa turned to give her a devastating smile. Wide and gleeful and so endearingly happy. Against her will, Lilah’s resolve melted and she let him take her hand, holding it all the way to the car.

They talked a little on the ride back to the garage. In the soft dark of the car, Brasa reached out and grasped her hand again. He brought it to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it while Lilah tried and failed to hide her smile. That smile kept appearing no matter how hard she tried to push it back. She couldn’t even look at her blurred reflection in the elevator doors for fear that she would see a giddy teenager staring back at her.

When the doors opened into the cave, Brasa gestured for her to walk ahead of him. Lilah moved through the hall and into the holding room, feeling him walking close behind. She refused to look over her shoulder, even as she could feel the heat of his gaze on the backs of her shoulders.

In the cavern, Javier was sitting at the desk, shuffling through paperwork. He looked up and smiled at them, “Welcome back.”

Behind her, Brasa intoned, “Thank you.”

Lilah waved at Javier as she passed by, heading for the door to the back hallway. She opened it, pausing when she noticed Brasa had stopped. His head was turned towards Javier, “What?”

Javier was all innocence, “I didn’t say anything.”

Brasa’s weight settled and he fixed Javier with a stern look, “What?”

Sighing, Javier relented, “Seth wants to talk to you.”

“Now?”

“He says its urgent.”

“Alright,” Brasa said, “I’ll return shortly.”

Lilah told herself that she shouldn’t be upset. She got a nice date and some very nice kisses tonight. Anyone else would be willing to accept that Brasa had other responsibilities and she shouldn’t want to monopolize his attention. What was she even hoping was going to happen when they got back to the room? She certainly wasn’t going to sleep with him. Still, the possibility of it was tantalizing. The thought that she could invite him inside, could peel away his clothes, could find out what he was like when he was naked and wanting.

To cover for the sudden nerves, Lilah breezed into the room and kicked off her shoes. She turned to say something to Brasa and found him standing just on the other side of the door, “What are you doing?”

He rested a hand on the door jamb, “I should go see what Seth wants.”

“Right,” Lilah said. She walked up to him, “Well, I guess we should say goodnight, then.”

Brasa’s smile was small and soft. He leaned down and kissed her gently. It might have been the consequence of being denied the pleasure of spending more time with him. Or, it might have been some kind of need to show him what he was missing. In either case, Lilah took his gentle kiss and made it something passionate. She couldn’t decide if she was surprised or not that he took her lead. Lilah ran her hands over his shoulders and up into his hair, pulling carefully on the strands. Brasa hissed against her mouth, returning to the kiss with more intensity.

Her lips began to tingle first, then her tongue. She ignored it, wanting more kisses—not only more kisses, but deeper kisses. Lilah wanted bruised lips and hot breath against even hotter skin. For one scorching second, she thought he might give it to her. She could taste the want in his kiss. There was a heady mix of fire in it that Lilah couldn’t resist.

A flash of pain ran across her tongue and with it came the a flash of copper. Brasa’s body went rigid and he let out the filthiest moan she’d ever heard. He panted against her mouth, refusing her when she tried to kiss him again. Lilah whined, disappointed, but his hands were already pushing her away.

Brasa’s eyes were black. None of the white remained. There was a low frequency growl thrumming in his chest. Lilah trembled before him, aware of his power and unafraid. Her heart pumped hard while she tried to slow her breaths. Brasa seemed to be trying to do the same. His body towered in the doorway. The hand on the jamb was squeezing so hard that he’d cracked the frame. She stared at the strained tangle of muscle and bone, hearing more of the wood splinter. As much as she wanted to test these waters, instinct fold her that she wasn’t ready.

“Goodnight,” Lilah croaked.

He blinked slowly, then nodded, “Goodnight.”

Lilah closed the door and took a huge, calming breath. Her mouth tingled all the way to the back of her throat. She ran her fingers over venom stung lips while she went to the bathroom to change. In the mirror, Lilah looked very much like she felt. A thoroughly kissed woman. She ran her hands over her hair to smooth it down, fingers catching on the earrings that still dangled from her ears.

Leaning forward, Lilah rubbed a teardrop ruby between two fingers. “Oh, girl,” she murmured to herself, “you are in trouble.”

[amazingsaving]

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[pettyrevenge-base]

Treat Your Employee Like Crap? OK, I'll Hire Her...

My bookkeeper reminded me of this now that she's retiring, I'd forgot how she came to work for us... She's been our 'Mother Hen' and office fixture so long I forgot...

Close to 25 years ago, I was estimating and quoting a metal working job, factory expansion job, about 100 miles from my home/shop.

The owner was berating a fairly young bookkeeper about how a computer glitch was her fault, and using completely inappropriate language.

When we went to the job site, he explained how she 'ONLY' had a local collage degree in bookkeeping & business, and if he didn't keep her on the back foot she would want a raise & benefits, and mentioned she had to keep the job because she was a single mother.

We cut steel, installed it, so I saw this girl cry, work through lunch, be the last one to leave her department, etc.

I talked it over with my then girlfriend (now wife) about poaching this trained girl since we desperately needed a resident bookkeeper/comptroller... Like needed one 5 years ago... But if I did it would burn bridges with a customer.

Don't think I did anything that wasn't goal oriented for me/my business, we had SERIOUS issues with taxes/compliance at the time...

My girlfriend went to the job site with me, sit with this girl (young lady) and slipped her a business card not knowing if she would want to move from a city to the country... Etc.

She had worked there 5 years, got no raises or benefits in 5 years, desperately wanted another job, but knew the boss/owner would kill her job reference since she saw him do it before.

My wife rented her a little place for cheap, she started with us, and untangled the last 3 years of mess in about 3 months, for the first time ever the monthy reports were on time and the tax paperwork was done on time...

Even managed to talk the IRS/state revenue out of most of the fines/penalties.

She QUICKLY became "My Girl Friday" since she killed problems in minutes that had plagued me for years... (actual education AND experience, along with being sharp as a tack)

She met her husband here, had her wedding lakeside here, they built a house here, had two more kids here, and spent 25 years working here (High-Grand poo-bah of the office! Killer of paperwork dragons!).

She and my wife have become great friends since they both lived 'City' lives at one point and we are all country folks.

Although I kept a professional distance, so I was quite surprised when she broke down in tears at her retirement get-together saying she owed her entire life to us...

Well, no she doesn't, I was more than willing to throw money at the paperwork monsters to get the tax/compliance people off my ass!, She saved the company!

MODEL Employee, Wonderful Wife, Great Mom, and all around good person.

She doesn't 'Owe' us anything, she EARNED everything she worked HARD to get it. It's my good fortune to have been in the right place at the right time, and the right time in her life. I'm sure with her intellegence, willingness to work and learn she would have done well once she got away from that A-hole...

The Revenge.

I knew the customer I poached her from got into all kinds of tax, employee pay, and state/federal regulation problems about 6 months after she left... But I just found out when working with the state/federal tax people she leaked about his shady dealings, when we dealt with labor relations people she leaked about his shady dealings, and so on... She knew EXACTLY where to point the investigators and they didn't disappoint...

I've seen her use the innocent, "My LAST employer did this this way" or "My boss is going to be VERY ANGRY I messed this up" when talking the people out of fines or penalties from back when she didn't even work here! So thinking about it I know how she worked it into conversation without actually 'Snitching'... and they ran off, foaming at the mouth and left us alone... Sly girl! But OUR sly girl!

He lost the company inside of 18 months of her being here, it's still there and producing, just under entirely new owners & managment.

Don't screw with the people cooking your books!

She, by the way, got us through every audit from everybody/agency. Even a super audit from the IRS about 7 years ago and got complemented from the auditors about how organized and efficient she was, and how pleasant she was to work with.

She said it was 'Easy' when we followed the rules (you know, the rules I didn't know about or understand). My eyes bulge at the mention of Taxes & Easy in the same sentence...

Source: reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge

[ameliaava4896]

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[ofgreyskies]

all about greymatter, the pre-debut chapter

greymatter is the username of the youtube and soundcloud accounts created by ash when he was fifteen years old where he would upload his covers and original music. since signing to a label at eighteen, ash has posted occasionally to the greymatter accounts, but they are generally inactive today. his original tracks from 2013 to 2015 were officially released onto streaming sites in 2016 as a part of the remastered compilation album greymatter following his major label debut. the current-day stage name of grey grew out of the username. to this day, he uses greymatter as a producer alias, and his visual directing, editing, and photography work is watermarked with greymatter visuals.

"cigarette" is the earliest original song uploaded to the greymatter soundcloud account that's still available today. the song features collaborators as the primary vocalists and is representative of some of the early work he was posting to the account where he played a more prominent role as producer and songwriter than performer. the upload brought the first real wave attention to him on the platform, as it went small-scale viral around the time of its release. it wasn't the kind of virality that got him any broad name recognition or places on any charts outside of the soundcloud platform, but it earned him a few local gigs and connections. a visual was released for "cigarette" months after the track was uploaded. the visual was directed and edited by ash and a film school friend he had at the time. in fan spaces, "cigarette" has become one of the songs people reference to prove themselves as a "real" fan. since his most popular soundcloud releases were re-released onto streaming sites, "cigarette" has been among the most streamed songs off the compilation.

greed was uploaded onto grey's soundcloud and youtube in august 2014, when he was seventeen and had just begun his final year of high school. it was the first of three mixtapes he released under the greymatter moniker. greed consists of six self-written and self-produced songs. several of the tracks on greed were songs he was performing at open mics around the city and at school showcases and shopping around to music labels. a music video for one of the songs, "comme des garcons" was uploaded to his youtube channel. he directed it along with the same friend with whom he made the "cigarette" visual. it followed the same monochrome look all of his greymatter accounts and content had at the time.

"antiriver" was uploaded a few months after greed and is one of his least known releases despite being his favorite song he'd made at the time it came out. he released a video for this song too, though this time he broke the black and white look established with his previous visuals. at the time, ash thought this would be his big breakthrough masterpiece that would define him as an artist. it wasn't.

not long after turning eighteen, ash released his second mixtape esprit onto his greymatter accounts. reflective of the self-discovery that comes with becoming an adult and preparing for the next chapter in his life (which, at this point, he believed was going off to college in the fall), it maintained a stylistic throughline with greed, but with a clearly matured songwriting style. as he began to sell songs as a producer with more regularity and grew a bigger team with which to work, the main track of the collection, "lustre", also had a bigger video budget than its predecessors.

evergrey is the most well-known of ash's pre-debut works as his own (since "cigarette" is linked back to him less often). a final self-release before beginning his journey as a newly-signed artist under a major label, evergrey is both a conclusion and a transition. it draws from the same soundscape and stylizations as greed and esprit, but also introduces the more sensual sound that would become the early trademark of the artist grey with his official american and korean debuts in the following year. as the only of the early releases he gave an interview for the release of (thanks to the promotional interests of the label he'd sign to), evergrey is the one he's spoken the most about on-record. in addition to his video for "evergrey" / "in the blur of the rain", track visualizers were released for each track for the first time.

[thinksurfmediallp]

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Today, E-commerce undoubtedly is the best opportunity for businesses to go online and sell their products and services online. It helps them earn more profit and expand their business successfully.  

With the growing popularity of online shopping, many businesses are riding the eCommerce wagon that makes a fierce competition in the digital market. And this is why you require an engaging eCommerce Website to stand out among your competitors. 

To build an engaging website you can reach out to the best digital marketing company in Kolkata that provides the most accommodating website design services.    

But before we talk about an Ecommerce website, let’s first have an understanding of E-Commerce and Ecommerce business. 

What is E-commerce And What is E-commerce Business?

E-commerce is nothing but the purchase and selling of items and services through an electronic channel such as the internet. 

Today when we refer to Ecommerce, it is mostly selling and buying of items over the internet. But in reality, any transaction that takes place over the electronic channel is considered as E-commerce. 

Now let’s take a look at

What is an Ecommerce Website?

More like a physical retail shop, e-commerce websites help customers and businesses to do business with one another on a specific platform. It is growing in popularity as there are many benefits attached to it like online marketing, mobile commerce, electronic funds transfers and much more. The best and most essential part is e-commerce websites help bring shopping right to the consumers who are relaxing in the comfort of their home. 

Why do you need the best website designing services for an E-commerce website?

To make your business stand out among the others, you need to have an engaging eCommerce website. You should utilise the right words, fonts and graphics that attract your targeted customers, making it irresistible for them to purchase your products and services. However to build the best ecommerce website there are many factors that need to be considered, from the best search engine optimization services, best digital marketing services to website designing services.

Sometimes these can sound scary and intimidating to take the right step to build a successful E-commerce business.     So, in such cases, you should prefer taking the help of the best digital marketing company that offers website design services such as Thinksurf Media, Kolkata.

Tips to Create Engaging E-Commerce Websites

Here are the 3 essential tips you need to lookout to create an interactive and effective website:

1- Keep it simple –

One of the most important guidelines for developing an entertaining e-commerce website is to keep it simple. Nonetheless, numerous businesses make the mistake of overloading their websites with features and alternatives.

A vast quantity of features will confuse the client and cause them to abandon the site. 

The secret to a lucrative online business is to strike a balance between making your website unique and straightforward during the building phase.

2- Establish a brand image –

When it comes to creating an interesting eCommerce website design, it must be consistent with your brand. If you are unsure about your brand, take the time to develop one before you begin website design services from the best digital marketing company .

3- Use colours and images –

Colours are another important aspect in creating an appealing eCommerce website design. You may increase revenue and involvement from your visitors by utilising the psychological principles underlying colour.

Different hues may elicit a variety of distinct emotions, prompting people to act. As a result, if you want to boost your website rate of conversion, you must fully utilise these hues.

Contact Thinksurf Media to Create an Engaging eCommerce Website Design

Follow these guidelines if you want to build an interesting eCommerce website. It contributes to a positive user experience for your visitors, increasing their likelihood of purchasing your products and services.

Nevertheless, you should consider hiring professionals providing website design services to assist you in developing an efficient eCommerce website design.

Thinksurf Media, with professionals who have years of expertise in designing engaging and innovative eCommerce websites for businesses that you can benefit from.

[sloggervlogger]

Jambos the Hairless Chimp: A Display of Head Muscle Power by SloggerVlogger Jambo the hairless chimp picks up all the special primate biscuits he can find. He sits down, and you can see his right ear has gone. For further information on this topic, please refer to the text below. He gets himself another treat from under the box. His head muscles working while chewing. He pushes the box aside and moves. He comes towards the window, sits down and eats his carrot. A close-up of his hand. Stay connected and never miss a moment! Subscribe to my channel and activate all the notifications to be the first to know when new videos are released. Join our vibrant community and indulge in a daily dose of captivating videos, carefully crafted for your enjoyment. Hit that subscribe button and let the adventure begin! Discover the captivating story of Jambo, the remarkable alpha male, born at Twycross Zoo in England on June 9, 1982. With alopecia affecting him since his youth, Jambo stands out among his chimpanzee peers. Join us as we delve into Jambo's intriguing life. Jambo shares his habitat with his daughter Genet, a brown chimp and his mother Coco, the oldest animal at Twycross Zoo, born in 1965. Alongside them are his siblings Holly, born on December 27, 1982, and Jomar, born on December 28, 1990. Their adventures unfold within the same habitat. Jambo's half-brother William, born on June 30, 1982 and Jambo's first son Peter resides in the adjacent enclosure. While Jambo's journey has seen moments of challenge, such as the loss of his ear in November 2018, believed to have occurred accidentally during a group altercation, his resilience shines through. Twycross Zoo made efforts to reattach his ear using skin glue, but unfortunately, Jambo's persistent picking resulted in complete loss. Experience the excitement of the chimpanzees' "Chimpanzee Eden" habitat, a sprawling 1,160 sqm area comprising two seven-meter-high indoor spaces, interconnected with a vast outdoor site featuring impressive climbing frames and huts. Follow Jambo's captivating tale as he navigates life with hair loss, creating a lasting impact on the Twycross Zoo community and capturing the hearts of visitors worldwide. Stay connected and never miss a moment! Subscribe to my channel and activate all the notifications to be the first to know when new videos are released. Join our vibrant community and indulge in a daily dose of captivating videos, carefully crafted for your enjoyment. Hit that subscribe button and let the adventure begin! #HairlessChimpanzee #HairlessChimp Shop/Merch Links with worldwide delivery: Biggest collection of T-shirts, stickers, caps and much more rawshutterbug Redbubble @ https://rb-ambassador.pxf.io/HairlessChimp #AD #RedbubbleAmbassador Amazon USA Store https://www.amazon.com/shop/sloggervlogger #Ad #AmazonAssociate Customizable T-shirts, stickers, apparel, homeware and much more rawshutterbug Zazzle: https://www.zazzle.com/collections/hairless_chimp_jambo-119785925986234731?rf=238978496872225031 Amazon other countries through my website @ https://msvrvisual.weebly.com/amazon-merch.html Some links above and in the video are affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission on final purchases with zero additional cost to you. Thank you for your visit and for supporting this channel. via YouTube https://youtu.be/IabDZF0bfU0

[tempest-toss]

SCP 2713*: The Soul Locket

Item #: SCP-2713

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-2713 is to be kept in a Secure Storage Vault at Site-43. Its container should be 9 in. X 9 in. X 9 in., with soft padding, so as to not cause any further damageDue to SCP-2713 now being worn, it is now considered contained alongside its wearer at Site-230.

Description: SCP-2713 is a violet locket of unknown origin. It is in a vaguely coffin-shaped design, with markings similar to Western Christianity etched in the front with symbols of unknown meaning inscribed along the sides. Years of use and travel have caused abrasions and cracks to form in it, although a touch reveals that some of these are visual, almost as if the damages have become nothing but scars.

The exact origin of the locket is unknown, as it has appeared in several pieces of art, including the unedited version of the 1932 film Freaks, a Japanese feudal painting [REDACTED], and described in detail by a monk in 120█. Additionally, it is not known who made it, although speculation commonly falls to a GOI.

On its own the locket shows no sign of anomalous activity, and cannot do anything if there is no contact with human touch. Even when contact is made it seems to show no physical change. Its anomaly only seems to activate when held or worn. If the locket is held and the holder perishes by any means, their soul is torn from their body and becomes sealed inside the locket. If the locket is worn, it will bind itself to the wearer (who becomes SCP-2713-1), becoming impossible to take off until the user expires or successfully frees all the spirits inside.

The spirits in the locket (referred to as SCP-2713-A and onwards) remain in the locket until the can accomplish a final, personal task, in which case they are freed and disappear from this plane of existence. To accomplish their goal, the spirits can possess the host wearing 2713 and have been noted to fight for control over the host at times. Outside of this the spirits can physically manifest outside of the locket, but can only go approximately 10 meters before they are halted by a green chain acting as a tether.

After a suggestion from Dr. ██████, the tests temporarily shifted from about the spirits to the locket itself. Due to this, a secondary anomaly was discovered. It was found that the locket gains an extraordinary increase in durability once worn, as testing has shown it to shatter a standard handgun's bullets upon contact. Additionally, an increase in overall physical resilience is seen to be passed on to whoever wears SCP 2713.

Addendum 1: On 6/23/20██, SCP-2713 was rediscovered and successfully recontained. Due to SCP-2713 being brought back and found bound to an individual, SCP-2713 and the new 2713-1 it was attached to were transported to Site-230

Don't forget to add this addendum and edit the initial containment procedures. And don't forget to delete the redundancy, Phil!

--Dr. Travel

Addendum 2-a: After psychological tests and interviews with SCP-2713-1, revealed to be known as Marcus Woods, further information was found about the current status of SCP-2713, including that there were currently twenty (20) souls residing inside.

Addendum 2-b: The following is a list of all the current souls residing within SCP-2713.

Elliot Lundell - A serial killer who was notorious for using his business of a sweet shop to allow him to murder those that stood in the way of him and his goal to romance the man of his dreams. Before he died, there were rumors that he tried to teach his ways of murder to his younger brother and current Brunshire student Elias Lundell. Elliot had the title “The Lovestruck Life-Taker” in life

Teala Vasquez - A polite maid with exceptional skills and top marks in the Maid Training Academy. However, she earned her title of the “Murderous Maid” due to her frequent use of poison to murder the owners of the houses she cleaned. A moment of sloppiness got her caught, and now she is trapped inside the locket she found.

Jules Forth - A man seemingly cursed with horrid luck. Around him things would break, he would get hurt, and people would die. So many people have died around him that he earned the name of the “Unlucky Unlifer”. His end occurred after he had a date with the mayor’s daughter, took her to the movies, and she was crushed by a girder. He was then gunned down by a mob stirred up by the mayor.

Morticia Aeron - Twin sister of Brunshire student [REDACTED] Aeron, the both of them were serial killers known by their childish moniker of “The Death-namic Duo”. Despite their best efforts, Morticia was caught and killed. Tests found that she is more likely to take control of the Soul Locket’s host.

Zechariah Z. Zaidan - Student of Kretchmar College and twin brother of a Brunshire student. He was known well on the dark web as the “Violent Vivisector” In his last live stream, where he shared the locket on screen, he was swatted and ended up being shot dead.

Irina Kata - With twenty-five murders under her belt, “The Bloody Bride” had earned a reputation as a feared woman to wed; She murdered every single man she’s married. A testimony from a man trapped in a different anomaly revealed that she was being manipulated until her untimely death at age twenty-four (24).

Nyx Kalliope - Mother of SCP ████, Nyx Kalliope ran the now-known Hades Hotel. It is confirmed that she tried to mold her children into killers, and we know now that she was successful with her son who now runs it. Some spirits who haunt the hotel are from her cruelty, but are unaware of her demise.

“+1UP” - Known only by this gaming tag, he was a famous gamer known for taking over leaderboards and dominating any game he started. However, he was very sensitive to any actual or perceived mockery of his physique due to his constant time in the gym (Ex. Calling him a “meathead” or making fun of his thicker fingers, etc.) He sought to punish them for their jeers, successfully gaining their location, and strangling them with the cord of his controller. It took five bullets to put him down.

Ajax Lycaon - A former police chief, he learned that his division was full of racists who took pleasure in bending the law to harm and kill people. Filled with rage, he massacred his division, saying that he knew that they would only get a slap on the wrist for what they’d done. After this, he took a security job at Brunshire. He was killed on the day of the Time Wrym, and died with the locket outside the looping area, trapping his spirit into the locket, but caught his body in the time loop.

Sam Sidney - Known as the “Thames Trampler”, they seek to punish those that try to get away from their crimes in the dark. They are known for their modified boot they used to step through heads. They were ambushed by a criminal gang, who drowned them in the Thames.

Matilda Dodge - Known as the “Crimson Crockpotter”, she seemed like a perfectly normal, bubbly woman. Her sweet smile hid what her main goals were: To kill and make people into meals, and serve them to others. Anyone that ticked her off usually ended up in her titular crockpot. She was caught by a sheriff and accidentally electrocuted on her crockpot’s exposed cable.

Gabriella Emily - A convict from ███████ Penitentiary. Nicknamed “Gabby the Garroter”, she killed many both outside and inside the prison. Her massacre came to an end after getting caught in a work-related accident that cost her her life

Rime Turpentine - A former lighthouse keeper off the coast of [REDACTED], he was infamous for purposefully shutting off the lighthouse and running aground the ships, then looting whatever he could that ended up on the shore. He sank more than 20 ships before a survivor broke into the lighthouse and killed him.

“Classy Lassy” Cassidy - A pop idol who took the world by storm for her role in making strives for the idol business in America. Unfortunately, a bad encounter with a fan caused her to take his life. She then went off the rails, soon intentionally luring fans of all kinds to their demise, although her preferred method was with her microphone. She met her end when a stage light plummeted straight onto her.

Adam Sivers - A animatronic designer, eccentric engineer, and father of a Brunshire student. He manufactured several animatronics that he used to murder his competition in all realms of business. He was ultimately murdered by one of his own inventions.

“Herb” - A horticulturist with a heart of gold, it was interesting that he ended up on this list. It turns out he is the father of the POI and now SCP Yam. This means “Herb” was part of the Flora Fighters, and murdered many under the order of Madam Chrysanthemum.

Kazuichi Brekker - A charming photographer from a certain GOI, he was a sick killer. He would bash his victims’ heads in with his camera equipment, and then photograph them to put up on the dark web. He even streamed the process a few times. He was foolish and killed somebody who had a tracker on them and was gunned down.

Jericho - A shepherd who was devastated when he found his sheep had been killed and kidnapped for their meat and wool. He was consumed with rage, and used his shepherd’s crook to snap the necks of all who were involved. He would’ve succeeded if he wasn’t mauled to death by the criminal’s hounds.

Morgan Baker - A Victorian winemaker and distributor, Morgan worked hard to get where they were. However, they kept getting upset at their establishment being ruined all the time, and so they took the rowdy patrons out with their trusty bottle. They forced their customers to drink alcohol until they died. Ultimately they were in the bar when it was set ablaze, and died in it.

Ayusha Ranjan - A honey hunter from Nepal, she had to fight with those attempting to disrupt nature continuously after a money-obsessed GOI made moved to claim the area. She got her vengeance by drowning the criminals in honey. She was unfortunately sniped and unceremoniously dumped into a nearby river.

--This poor kid, not only basically cursed with an anomalous object but also they're all mass murderers! Maybe I should ask Site Director █████ how he's doing?

--Dr. Travel

[notfinancialadvice]

I Have A Lot of Feelings about this because I:

Write, cartoon, make stuff, etc.

Used to own a small design firm that closed its doors when social media began gearing up (the crew took the clients that they worked on and they all made a small fortune, there were no layoffs)

Do the social media for the things I write / cartoon / make stuff

Now that introductions are out of the way, I hope I've provided evidence to my qualifications enough to be believed.

We are exiting the Influencer Era and I fear we are entering (deeper, to be clear) a Faux Influencer Corporate Sponsored Era.

I hope we get to the point where we enter a Small Marketing Era.

(notes under cut, this is long)

When the web was new and fresh it was fairly easy to get your name out there. You keyword stuffed and got things into search engines because everything was basic.

Search engines started realizing "Hm, no" and got smarter and so "link lists" and "web rings" and similar started exploding.

These were fantastic if you could get discovered by the cool kids and sit at their table. It wasn't perfect (by any stretch) but it set the groundwork for Small Banner Advertising.

You would have popular websites that had the indie equivalent of Google Adwords. The websites made money and so kept going, small shops etc. could say "Here is literally $10. Run my banner on your site occasionally for a month."

Because the cost was so low, the reach available was immense. The early days of my design firm we were doing ad campaigns for tiny websites with a few Photoshop banners and $200.

It was relatively easy to earn back $200 + our fees in revenue for the client, and things moved along really nicely.

At first social media WAS GREAT.

Because they were all flush with cash investor cash -- money was REALLY REALLY cheap to borrow, investors were throwing money at the wall to see what would stick.

The algorithms dashboards etc. that control how far a creator and/or a creator team can reach: none of that is new. None of it. It's not new tech. It's not groundbreaking tech.

There was never a sudden "ah ha, we finally figured out how to moment."

There has been a gradual "Oh. Money isn't cheap anymore. Our investors want to cash out" up-tick.

During the pre-"oh we gotta make money?" era you had creators creating things and being charming or weird or whatever and building massive audiences because the point of the network was to get people to use it.

"Join Twitter. Join Facebook. Join Tumblr and you can follow, you can see... etc."

At this point you have the rise of influencers. People who had natural comedic timing or had basic film editing skills or writing skills (etc.) building up giant audiences.

You have someone with an audience comparable to a television ad

Who would work for extremely little money

With better demographic data than any television ad network would provide you

Who would probably make the ad themselves saving you another giant sack of cash

Oh, and the ad isn't clock-sensitive. Meaning, you're not buying an ad at 6:13 on Thursday evening, you're buying it whenever Influencer Makes the Ad.

For a split second before the mechanisms of Of Course It Happened That Way we had the opportunity to have an internet where people who make things could say "hey, you need shoes? I like these shoes for Reasons" and people who were in the shoe market could say "Neat. I'll check out Shoe Co."

So.

Where are we now?

It is getting increasingly hard to build an audience and so you're left with two categories emerging:

People who already have a large audience.

People with money. Or people with companies behind them that pay them money (this is the faux influencer I am referring to).

This comes in the flavor of:

"Hey guys, here is a YouTube ad, or increasingly a television ad, where I pretend you're a fan of my channel, to talk to you about anti-whatever-pro-whatever cream-whatever."

and outright:

"This channel is bought and paid for by XYZ brand and that is quietly, if at all, disclaimed."

Where do we go from here?

Like a lot of things in life, the Old Ways of Doing Things are still there. They won't work as they did in the Old Days, they have to be modified, but they still exist.

If you make things, make a mailing list -- email and physical.

Social media is free but the reach is diminishing

Email lists are cheap to send to but the reach is going to shift, there is a lot of turnover

Postcards cost money but are cheap

Digital advertising fits somewhere in the middle of "cheap and expensive" and "wasteful and useful"

Explore them all.

Balance them all.

And for the audience:

When I say "a few dollars, extremely occasionally, to your favorite comic artist, writer, or whatever can help them keep going" I mean a literal few dollars.

Like, $2.

Once or twice a year.

To one or two creators you like in whatever capacity they make things.

Back to creators for a moment:

If you take that $2-5 per audience member per year and invest it into basic marketing -- not content, not other bills, pure reinvesting into keeping your channel afloat -- you can go a long way in surviving.

The good news is the path to becoming a author is broader now than at any other point in the entirety of human history.

The bad news is business still exists and it's fucking hard. It will probably always be hard because easy fruit is eaten immediately by people with full bellies already.

I do wish authors could just be authors and not be their own marketing team and/or get help from a marketing team.

That would be great.

There was a brief window when that was possible.

It came about because of a very explicit set of unrenewable circumstances.

The good, but difficult, news is "being an influencer" is not your only path to success.

I wish you luck in whatever you do.

woop there it is

[empresschini]

Hello everyone! ✨

I hope you had a great first week of January 2025! 🎇 It has been long time since I posted here on Tumblr! I've been active on my Facebook Page @empresschini.

I'd like to announce that I will be sharing updates about my merch and online shops here and the following platforms:

Facebook: @empresschini

Instagram: @empresschini

Twitter: @empresschini

Tiktok: @empresschini

Youtube: @empresschini

Caard: https://empresschini.carrd.co/

✨What to expect and other notes:✨

🩷 I'll be announcing pre-orders for new and old merch om all my social media. Every merch post will include the following links where you can pre-order:

• Gank Shop: for new merch, limited-time only

• Big cartel: for new merch, limited-time only

• Ko-Fi Shop: for original art merch (no fanart), you can place an order at any time.

• Google Form: for new and old merch (both fanart and original artworks), you can place an order at any time.

NOTE: There may be a price difference between platforms due to listing and tax fees.

💛 Currently, I don't have Shopee, Lazada, Tiktok shop, and Etsy but I still plan to open one once I've earned sufficient funds and completed the necessary gov docs. If you see any sellers using my artworks / designs and selling it online or on-site, please report them to me immediately.

🩷 For now, I'll focus on drawing fanarts (specifically genshin, hsr, zzz, wuwa, and anime series) to build up my merch catalog for future booths and my online shop. For personal learning, I'll continue creating original concepts and art studies during my free time. Expect a lot of experimenting styles too.

💛 I won't be posting my finished artworks (referring to posting original flat image file) on my social media. I still don't feel safe with Ai stealing artists' works, given the lack of security in major platforms. However, I will still post w.i.p.s and merch featuring my artworks.

🩷 For all my merch, w.i.p.s and other art-related posts, I will be putting my logo watermarks and artist signature (and hidden ones too).

Again, thank you so much for supporting me and my artworks! A welcome cheer for 2025 🥰 May the Lord blessed us with positive motivation and passionate creativity everyday!