Dualité

Expenses

[-1,333G] For living in the Snowstyle Apartments with Lyric and Alice.

Profits

[+1,000G] For being the owner of Minera Hot Springs.

[+2,000G] For being the boss of Minera Hot Springs.

[+1,500G] For working at the Minera Hot Springs.

[+1,000G] For working at Pink Diamond Cosmetics.

[+1,000G] For working at Cantata Tailoring.

[ +5,167G ]

@sunshine-sunsets;

[ ♛ ] — So Julia was in a bit of a pickle. Okay, maybe a slightly bigger pickle. Or... an incredibly huge one? 

How bad was running a near-failing bathhouse, having to pay 4,000G in rent every two weeks, and keeping up a high maintenance lifestyle when her accumulated paychecks could barely keep up with her excessive spending habits? Whatever sort of pickle it was, it was... bad, and Julia needed to do something about it.

The most rational thing to do would be to downgrade, and ‘live within her means’. Meaning moving to one of those cheaper, crime-ridden apartment complexes, buying less clothes and beauty products, and basically just turning into a poor, pathetic, average girl. Julia had already spent most of her life having nothing and being a nobody--- there was no way on Leuda’s dry earth would she go back to that now.

She had an image that she created for herself, one of beauty, elegance, and perfection, and she would be keeping it, thank you.

So instead of doing the ‘rational’ thing, Julia does what she wants, and decides to post an ad at the guild for a roommate. At least bringing someone else in to help pay rent would be cutting down on her expenses a little, and she wouldn’t have to take any drastic measures to save her finances.

Thankfully, someone calls her up to express their interest in rooming with her: a man by the name of Lyric. He sounded decent enough over the phone, but Julia wanted to meet him face to face, and judge what type of person he was for herself. She wasn’t going to live with some creep, after all.

Response to this.

[ ♛ ] — Julia watches the mayor’s speech on TV from her hospital bed, a dark expression on her face. Since the nurses and doctors had gone off to treat the more critical fire victims, the former bathhouse owner had been left on her lonesome, deemed relatively fine aside from the after effects of some smoke inhalation.

“About time...” She mutters in a slightly raspy voice, glad to hear that the government would be finally getting off its lazy bum to set up a fire station. What sort of city didn’t have one? She never thought much on it before, but now that all this devastation has happened, she couldn’t help but be bitter about the lack of foresight.

If it wasn’t for Mayor Luke there, none of this would have happened. People wouldn’t have gotten hurt, lost their homes, and Julia wouldn’t have lost the bathhouse she worked so hard and long to establish. Now she would be having to start again, all the way from step one, and it took all of her self control not to throw something at the TV, or just scream right then and there.

But at least the thoughtful and valiant Mayor was making a heroic effort for Leuda, right? Please. This was the least he could do after all that’s happened, and any less wouldn’t have been acceptable. Not to her. Not to the people he owed and hurt. Honestly in Julia’s eyes? He and his cronies were just as bad as the dragon.

But when the nurse comes in to check on her, Julia quickly schools her scowl into a pleasant smile. “Oh, hi! Back already?”

“Yes, I came to check up on your vitals... ah, I see the Mayor’s speech is on. Can you believe he’s going to be building a fire station for the city? Amazing, isn’t it?”

Julia smiles, though her throat was already strained from talking. Still, that wouldn’t stop her from keeping up her cheery facade. “Yes, it is! He’s a pretty great guy, huh? I can tell Mayor Luke really cares about the city.” Or saving face. Maybe boosting that approval rating of his for the next election. She couldn’t blame him for looking out for his own interests--- who wouldn’t? That was certainly a philosophy Julia herself took to heart.

Expenses

[-4,000G] For living in the Snowstyle Apartments alone.

Profits

[+1,000G] For being the owner of Minera Hot Springs.

[+2,000G] For being the boss of Minera Hot Springs.

[+1,500G] For working at the Minera Hot Springs.

[+1,000G] For working at Pink Diamond Cosmetics.

[+1,000G] For working at Cantata Tailoring.

[ +2,500G ]

@karnakt;

[ ♛ ] — She never saw it coming.

The day had been a normal, and quite depressingly, uneventful one. With her not having to go into the tailor’s or cosmetics shop for work that day, Julia had all the time she needed to focus on her true pride and joy: the Minera Hot Springs. Business had been regrettably lacking as of late, (with most of her income coming from her silver tongued fox of a regular) and she had been working on a few ideas to reinvent the bathhouse’s image.

But just as she had been strutting down the halls, humming and jotting down her plans for herbal-infused milk baths, she smells... smoke. Of all the things she would have expected in her bathhouse, smoke was the absolute last on the list, and the mere presence of it spurs her to go and investigate.

And once she sees what it leads her to, Julia can feel her heart physically sink. 

The entire front wall of her main lobby was engulfed in flames. Not only the door (which she couldn’t even see for all the smoke and flame), but the walls and furniture around it, all burning and withering away under the fire’s merciless might.

Though her heart ached for her beautiful bathhouse -- the bathhouse she’d put all of her hopes, efforts, blood, tears and sweat into -- her first concern actually isn’t the tragic loss of revenue, or expensive affects and decorations. But rather, the customers still inside, whose well-being she was responsible for. Or rather... customer.

“Crap!” She curses, swiveling on her heel and pulling out her phone to put in a call to the police department as she rushes down the hall, towards the male baths. Not only was she going to drag Leon out, but also try and grab a few bucketfuls of water to try and contain the blaze before it spread anymore.

Without care or abandon, Julia rushes inside of the male baths and winces against the onslaught of steam that hits her in that moment. Except. It wasn’t just steam... there was only a hint, but she could smell it. The scent of smoke.

Had it spread to the baths already!?

“Hey, Leon! Get out, we’ve gotta---” She runs deeper into the room only to stop in her tracks when she sees the man in question, unconscious and leaning against the side of the baths. Julia couldn’t believe it. Had he seriously fainted? Now, of all times!?

@littlemissillusion;

[ ♛ ] — Rumor had it that the maid cafe on Arcadia had some of the cutest girls around, and Julia was curious to see if there was any substance to these claims. Girls as cute as her--- or rather, cuter than her? She was both annoyed and excited at the prospect, eager to see just what it was that made them so much more ‘adorable’ than the girls here on Leuda?

And, of course... how she could apply their methods to her own lifestyle.

So on one of her free days, she takes a ferry over to the neighboring island of Arcadia and heads straight to the CuteTea cafe, her deceptively sweet gaze critical as she steps through its doors. Interestingly enough, most of the ‘maids’ walking about were rather cute in appearance, but they all paled in comparison to...

...Oh, no. Wait. 

A woman with curly and vibrant pink hair, a petite figure, and the most beautiful honey golden eyes Julia’s ever seen... ah, she even had her hair up in pigtails, too! Pigtails! Truly a fetishist’s dream. Now this girl... she was a bonafide cutie, and Julia couldn’t help but be drawn to her and her striking appearance.

@stardewemily;

[ ♛ ] — When it came to workplace settings and relationships, it was of Julia’s firm opinion that the employer was the person that mattered most. They were the one you needed to kiss up to, to befriend and appeal to, so that you could form much needed connections, cultivate a reputation, and advance up the corporate ladder.

But that wasn’t to say that co-workers didn’t matter, either! Because they did. After all, the more they liked you, the better you would look to the people who mattered more.

So when the tailor’s shop closes for the day, Julia puts on her sweetest smile and approaches her co-worker, Emily. She hadn’t spoken with the woman much, on account of always rushing off to another job or appointment whenever her shift ended, but she had a little free time today, and figured she would make use of it.

@arigatosmiles;

[ ♛ ] — When she wasn’t working there as a sales rep part time, Julia was almost always shopping at Cantata Tailoring for the trendiest and most interesting fashions. And considering the amazing designs thought up by Evelyn, the shop had plenty of unique charm to spare. During these visits, the bathhouse owner rarely paid attention to anyone else, as she was most focused on finding the best outfits and ensembles to perfectly complement the image she was trying to create for herself, figuring that there was plenty of time for social interaction later.

But when she was working... the customers were her first priority, with with her being a sales rep and all. She was practically (and rightfully so) the face of this business, and without her adorable charm and undeniable charisma, this place probably wouldn’t even have half the customers it got! She had to keep up her good work, impress the lovely Miss Evelyn with her talent, and keep these sheeple coming back for more. ♡

@neildownpeasant

[ ♛ ] — It was a disaster, a total disaster! 

Somehow, somewhere, Julia managed to lose one half of the pair of pink diamond earrings she’d purchased the other day, and wearing only ONE was completely throwing off the rhythm of her outfit! At some point during her cleaning of the bathhouse, the pesky little earring had gotten misplaced, and she didn’t have the first clue on where to start looking.

So of course she enlists some professional help. As soon as she found out her earring was lost, she placed an URGENT call to the guild, requesting (or... demanding) that they send their finest worker to come and help her find it. They tell her, of course, that their finest were either off on expeditions or busy with other jobs, and that she’d have to settle for the first available person they could send over. Julia never much liked settling for anything, but she guessed beggars couldn’t be choosers. For the sake of her earring, she’d take whoever she could get.

It doesn’t take ridiculously long for the man to arrive at the Minera Hot Springs, but he hadn’t been early enough for her liking, either.

@gothic-marionetta;

[ ♛ ] --- There were a number of people in this city who didn’t seem to have any sense of style and decorum! Well, less like a number and more like... the overall majority.

Instead of eating nutritiously and being conscious of their beauty and health, some people seemed to just come out wearing any old thing, or shoveling food into their mouths as long as it gave them something to eat, regardless of how disgustingly meaty or... greasy it might have been. Eugh.

It was hard being one of the only people on Leuda to be truly enlightened. She considered starting a program to help enlighten others to the world of health and fashion, but as it would end up being quite a lengthy (and knowing these people, difficult) process, she decides to do the next best thing: find like minded individuals to share in her interests.

So she posts an ad for a meetup on the Guild’s request boards, asking for ‘elegant and proper lolitas with a fondness for nutritious treats, cute fashions, dolls and tea’. Classy girls, basically, which was just the sort of company Julia needed to surround herself with.