#inventory management with square

[softstarter]

ZJSHUYI Inventory& Low MOQ Support.www.shuyitop.com; #frequencyinverter ...

[huntingingoodwill]

taste (d.b.)

masterlist

pairing: dieter bravo x personal shopper! reader

desc: you give dieter some much needed cooking lessons. he’s a terrible student.

a/n: written as a stand-alone but! if u wanna read the first personal shopper! reader story it’s right here

“Tell me again,” you sighed, whipping your tinted shades off your face as you hugged the bag of groceries closer to your chest, “how did you manage to convince me to do this?” 

Dieter sauntered over, a triumphant glint in his eye as he peered at you over the edge of his sunglasses. 

“My irresistible charm,” he grinned, taking the bag from your hands. “Or… maybe the fact that you’re on my payroll? But I like to think it’s the former. You’re even starting to dress like me.” He smirked, gesturing at the sunglasses you had cinched between your fingers. 

Ever since admitting he didn’t know how to cook, Dieter had been trying to convince you to come over and give him a cooking lesson whenever his personal chef had a day off:  a thinly veiled attempt to relentlessly flirt with you over dinner. Yes, it was out of your job scope as his personal shopper, but you gave in rather easily - there was something amusing about him, something almost…cute. Not that you’d admit that to him, of course.

“I don’t wear sunglasses indoors,” you pulled the shades off his face and tossed them aside, where they clattered onto his dining table.

His eyes narrowed, squinting into the soft lighting of his house. 

“When did it get so bright in here?” 

You rolled your eyes, sauntering past him into the kitchen.

“How does someone who doesn’t know how to cook have an amazing kitchen like this?” you sighed.

You marvelled at his kitchen, all high ceilings and marble counters, with countless appliances populating the shelves. 

“A couple of shitty Netflix originals and the cost is covered," he sighed, reliving the cringey scenes in his mind. The tortured look in his eye flickered away, replaced with a smile. “So, you ready for our second date?” 

“It’s not really a date. I’m just teaching you how to cook. Out of pity.” 

“So, you pity me.” he smirked, as if that was a win, “That means you care.” 

“It means I knew you’d starve without your chef.” 

“Which means,” he smiled, pointing a finger at you, “you care.” 

You ignored him, pointedly dumping out the contents of the grocery bag onto the counter, holding up a large yellow onion. 

“This,” you said, brandishing it, “is an onion.” 

You sounded the syllables out, voice sarcastically cresting through each letter.

Dieter put on an expression of mock shock. “No. Way.” 

“Way. And you’re gonna cut it,” you said, tossing him the onion, which he narrowly managed to avoid dropping. “Think you can handle that?” 

“I can try,” he said, with an air of confidence you were not fully convinced of. 

You had decided to do something simple, as you knew Dieter’s cooking skills were lacking. Your fingers skimmed the countertop, taking inventory of what you had brought. Pasta, jarred sauce, tomatoes, garlic, onion, basil-

“I can’t try.” Dieter’s voice warbled unsteadily. 

You turned to be met by the sight of a tearful Dieter, his eyes red (well, redder than usual, and for different reasons), and glazed with tears. He held the knife in his hand, the bite of the onion’s stench wafting up from where it lay, half chopped, on the counter.

“Feeling a bit emotional?” you laughed, tossing the onions into a pan with oil and placing it over the stove.

“I’m an actor. I’m in touch with my feelings,” his voice cracked. 

You stifled a laugh, tearing off a square of paper towel from the roll. You closed the space between you two, dabbing the tears off his cheeks. Catching his eye, you suddenly became aware of your closeness, your heart thrumming. Swallowing thickly, you broke eye contact and focused on wicking away his tears, trying to calm your heartbeat. You did not date clients.

“Is this getting kinda… romantic, right now?” Dieter said, unable to hide his grin. 

Of course, even as you tried to push away the tension, he’d pick up on it instantly. 

You rolled your eyes. “You’re crying while holding a knife. And you smell like onions.” 

The corner of his lips pulled up in a lopsided smile. “Better than how most of my dates go.” 

You snorted, tossing the paper towel aside. “You really meant it when you said you couldn’t cook, huh?” 

“I can’t even boil water.” 

You threw your head back in a laugh. “Well, that’s certainly a good place to start.”

You grabbed a pot, filling it with water and placing it atop the burner. 

“Here’s how you boil water. You ready?” 

“Yes,” he said, determination lighting up his eyes as he rolled up his sleeves.

“I don’t think you are, it’s a huge undertaking,” you said, feigning complete earnestness as you pressed your lips into a solemn line. 

“I’ve been training my whole life for this. I’m ready,” he played along, eyebrows knitting together as he focused his eyes on the pot. 

“Give me your hand.” 

“I’ll warn you. It’s shaking,” he said, making his hand tremble dramatically. 

“I’m nervous too,” you said, barely able to conceal your smile. “You ready?” 

You put your hand over his, the skin of the back of his palm warm against the cold metal of his rings. You led it toward the stove knob. Holding your hand over his, you guided him to turn the knob, fire sprouting from the stove beneath the pot. 

“Wait a little while, and you’ve boiled water,” you smiled. 

“Does that mean you’ll take your hand off mine? I hope not,” he sighed, watching bubbles ping against the pot as the water began to simmer. 

“I’ll have to do it eventually.” 

“Then do it,” he challenged.

“No,” you said, keeping your hand firm over his, trying to convince yourself that you didn’t actually like the feeling of his skin against your palm. 

“Why not?” 

“Because you told me to,” you smiled, your thumb ghosting his knuckles, fingers nearly slotting into the spaces in between his. 

“I’m your boss. I’m supposed to tell you to do things,” he chuckled. 

“This is after hours. You don’t know how to cook, I’m teaching you how. If anything, I’m your boss now.” 

“Hot,” he smirked. 

“Ew,” you laughed, not feeling an iota of disgust. 

“It is getting kinda hot in here.”

“Because of me?” You smirked, taking a note from his cheesy lines. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. 

“Yes. But also physically. Maybe because the onions are burning.” 

“Fuck.” 

You turned toward the stove, the charred remains of the onions sticking to the bottom of the pan in a sticky, black blob.

“I think I’m rubbing off on you,” Dieter sighed, throwing an arm over your shoulder. You allowed yourself to lean into his side, relishing the warmth that emanated from him as you both looked despairingly upon the blackened pan. “You don’t even know how to cook now.”

“Who needs to know how to cook?” You sighed in defeat. “There's always delivery."

Thirty minutes later, the two of you were sitting at his dining table, a greasy pizza box sitting before you. 

“Are you sure this pizza is organic?” He said, shovelling a slice into his mouth. 

“‘Course not,” you sighed, picking up a slice, “But do you really care?”

“Ugh,” he said, taking another bite, “No.” 

You laughed, gazing at that little crinkle at the edge of his eye as his brown irises glowed in the flickering candlelight. 

“The candle is a nice touch,” your voice was dreamy as you gestured at the candle he lit on the dining table, the room bathed in its warm light. Maybe you did date clients. “It’s almost-” 

“-Romantic?” He grinned.  

“Hazardous,” you smirked, trying not to make any rash decisions, no matter how much you wanted to kiss him, “Try not to set anything on fire.”

“No promises,” he said, that glint in his eyes bright, even in the low light of the candlelit room. “It’s kinda bright in here, huh?” He chuckled, reaching for his sunglasses and sliding them on. 

You chuckled as he looked at you expectantly. Alright, you’d give in. 

“A little,” you smiled, putting your own sunglasses on, matching him. 

His lips formed a huge smile as he put his arm around you, the weight around your shoulders pleasant. He opened his mouth, about to make another cheesy remark when you cut him off.

“Let’s be clear,” you said, wagging a finger in his face, “I am not starting to dress like you. I haven’t fully given up yet,” you teased, gesturing at his outfit, a sweatpants and ratty hoodie combination. “I’m taking you clothes shopping next. That’s within my job scope, at least.” 

“It’ll be our third date,” he smiled, pulling you closer. 

“Shut up,” you smiled. 

[ghostofskywalker]

Filed Under: Incident Reports

Words: 1,106

Summary: managing a bar was never easy, but you tried your best to keep things running smoothly, even if sometimes you had to make hard decisions

or alternatively: a collection of 79’s most hilariously infamous incident reports, some which made you ponder a career change.

@clonexreaderbingo square: 79's

ao3 link || clone troopers masterlist

Note: this fic is a sister story to one of my favorite fics i've ever written, filed under: payroll complaints. I loved the idea of doing a "filed under" collection of unconventional reader fics, so i wrote this :) and of course this is dedicated to my friend @captainsophiestark, who is one of the best people i've met on here and who i think loves the first one as much as i do :)

“Hey boss!” The sound of someone talking to you caught your attention as you checked off items on the inventory list you were taking. “Can I talk to you?”

The nervous expression on Kalina’s face was not one you were accustomed to seeing, so your face immediately shifted. She was your newest employee, and you hoped everything was alright. “Is everything okay?” 

“I had to file an incident report last night after you left,” she said, looking down at the floor, as if she was expecting you to launch into a tirade and fire her. 

Instead, you burst out into laughter, and she looked up at you, confusion present in her eyes. “Was it a good one?” you asked once you had pulled yourself back together. 

“I’m sorry?” 

“The incident report,” you said. “Do you think it would make the Hall of Fame?” 

Clearly, the other employees had not filled her in on this very important part of working at this particular establishment. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she stammered. 

You reached out to gently pat her shoulder. “In this place, incident reports are a dime a dozen,” you said. “So we take the funniest ones and file them separately. Come on,” you said, heading behind the bar in the direction of your office. “I’ll show you.” 

The file folder was exactly where it always was, and Kalina handed you the one she had filled out last night as you laid the various pieces of flimsi across your desk. “What battalion were the clones from last night part of?” you asked.

“The 501st I think.” 

“Oh don’t worry, I think at this point we have enough for a whole file on them.” 

*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ ﾟ･:*

Incident Report #7103

Time of Disruption: 23:41

Damage Sustained: Three bottles of Corellian Whiskey, Minor scrapes from scattered glass

Description of Incident: A Jedi General accompanying his troops to the bar for the evening attempted to utilize the Force to have their drinks refilled without having to get up or alert any of the employees. Startled (by his own drunken hiccup, according to witnesses) as the bottles were crossing the room, it turns out the use of any kind of Jedi tricks requires intense concentration or objects will crash to the ground. 

Statement From Parties Involved: [Trooper with “5” tattooed on his forehead] “Wow. We thought he would have had a higher alcohol tolerance than that.”

*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ ﾟ･:*

Incident Report #7476

Time of Disruption: 19:28

Damage Sustained: One drink transport droid, three bottles various liquor, two employee uniforms

Description of Incident: On the way back from the refresher, a drink transport droid startled a commander with orange-yellow armor, and he subsequently roundhouse kicked the droid’s head clean off, where it landed behind the bar and startled employees as they mixed drinks. 

Statement From Parties Involved: profuse apologies from the commander, while his troopers (who were privy to the entire event) laughed with glee. 

*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ ﾟ･:*

Incident Report #7729

Time of Disruption: 21:09

Damage Sustained: Minor injuries (from faceplant)

Description of Incident: Trooper with goggles did not accurately guess his alcohol tolerance, and immediately falls face-first onto the floor after stepping down from a stool at the bar, going unconscious momentarily. Thankfully, his squad was nearby and was able to help him out of the establishment.

Statement From Parties Involved: [Trooper with skeleton face tattoo, as his goggled brother is still reciting random facts about hyperspace engines] “We’re sorry. He isn’t usually like this.”

[Silver-haired trooper] “Don’t listen to Hunter. He may not usually drink this much, but this behavior is very much normal.”

*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ ﾟ･:*

Incident Report #7999

Time of Disruption: 20:42

Damage Sustained: Emotional (embarrassment) 

Description of Incident: Frantic troopers in blue armor approached the bar and informed staff that their commanding officer had accompanied them this evening and was now apparently missing. After imploring that the music was stopped and an announcement was made, the CO was eventually located (and understandably embarrassed) drinking with commanders of other battalions in a booth not directly in the eye line of their troopers. Atmosphere returns to business as usual within 10 minutes. 

Statement From Parties Involved: [Trooper with Republic symbol tattooed on his forehead] “We couldn’t find Rex and were worried he’d been kidnapped.” 

[Trooper with medic symbol on his shoulder, tiredly] “In a bar filled with clones?” 

[Republic Symbol] “You never know!” 

*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ ﾟ･:*

Incident Report #8954

Time of Disruption: 21:42

Damage Sustained: Four bottles of various liquor, minor shock and dropped drinks, sadness (intruder was whisked away before employees were able to pet it)

Description of Incident: Upon apparent escape from leash, a massif burst through the door and ran in circles around the bar, knocking over several drink transport droids and one startled employee. It also started to approach groups of troopers, barking and jumping on them to demand affection. A tired-looking member of the Coruscant Guard eventually ran in and was able to carry their little escape artist back to headquarters.

Statement From Parties Involved: [massif, in a friendly manner] “bark!” 

*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ ﾟ･:*

Incident Report #8533

Time of Disruption: 02:37

Damage Sustained: Employee’s Innocence

Description of Incident: Trooper with teal accents on his armor spotted getting particularly personal with his date for the evening due to the secluded location of his table and the absence of the rest of his squad. In the future, employees should make sure they find some way to announce their presence when informing customers that the bar will be closing in less than half an hour. 

Statement From Parties Involved:  [To Employee, not the least bit embarrassed]: “Sorry, I didn’t hear you there.” 

[To Date]: “You wanna get out of here?” 

*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ ﾟ･:*

Incident Report #9148

Employee Attending: Kalina Zainne

Time of Disruption: 21:59

Damage Sustained: Loss of Refresher facilities for several hours, Scorch marks on several tables

Description of Incident: Due to a drinking game (of which the exact rules are unknown), small bomb-like devices were built and accidentally detonated both at the table the group was sitting at and in the men’s refresher. When the fire on the table started to get out of control, the only liquid at the table (which happened to be whiskey) was dumped on the device, subsequently making the situation worse. The building’s sprinkler systems were activated and did put out the fire, but showered all patrons with cold water.

Statement From Parties Involved: [Trooper with Republic symbol tattooed on forehead] “Rex is going to kill us.”

Yeah, this was definitely joining the ranks in the Hall of Fame.

- the end -

i no longer have a taglist! if you're interested in being notified when i post, you can follow my library blog @ghostofskywalker-library and turn on notifications!

divider credit to djarrex

[spicyclover]

Delilah | part three

Summary: “Hey there, Delilah                                                                                                         I know times are gettin' hard                                                                               But just believe me, girl                                                                                    Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar                                                           We'll have it good                                                                                                We'll have the life we knew we would                                                                  My word is good. “

Part One | Part Two | Part Three 

Hope you’ll enjoy this part. Let me know in the comments section! 

I'm open to requests.

Thank you, and Enjoy! :)

Lots of love, xxx Spicy Clover

“Delilah, come on. Let’s go. We’re done shopping for today.” She turns to you, and the stranger raises his head. Your heart misses a beat. It’s not possible. What’s he doing there. The eyes of the unknown also open.

The world stops. Your breathing stops. You never thought for a second that this day would come so fast. You are stunned, frozen on the spot. You look at this man who was once a close acquaintance. You do not know what to say, and neither is he. His brain integrates information.

For a moment, when he saw this little girl at the corner of a booth, he thought he saw his son's face. It was only the blink of an eye for a moment, but she had this expression and figures so similar that it troubled him. Trouble because he knows very well that his son has no children. He needs to see her closely. He watched her from a distance for a few minutes before daring to approach her. And then their eyes met. The same as his son. It was almost a return in time. For a second, his five-year-old son was in front of him.

Delilah watched the man with big eyes before she started talking to him happily. She smiled with all her teeth when he showed interest in her finds in her pink basket. She made him a complete inventory of its contents before smiling again at the elderly man. Then your voice resounded, and the moment passed. Carlos Sainz Sr’s eyes rose towards your figure, and the surprise is read on his face. Never in his life has he thought of seeing you again. You exchange no words. The discomfort and uneasiness is heavy and pressing. You only want to escape as quickly as possible on the first train. You take your daughter’s little hand and move away from the square.

"¿Cómo te llamas, pequeña?" Ask Carlos Sainz Sr, pushing his voice through the crowd. What’s your name, little one?

"Delilah. Delilah Y/L/N." She answers proudly before turning to her mother.

You met your parents in the car. You want to run away. Far away. Isolated. He knows. That’s for sure. He’ll tell him. It will ruin everything you’ve built. You close the door violently, and your father starts without asking anything. You can feel their worried looks on you. Delilah, in her car seat, looks joyfully at the landscape. You are lost in your thoughts. Why haven’t you been more careful? You’ve managed to keep it a secret all this time. Questions scroll through your head like a groceries list. You feel your phone vibrating, and your heart misses a beat. You remain forbidden for a moment before taking the object and opening it. It’s a message from Paola; Cato chewed your shoelaces. A sigh of relief escapes your mouth, and you answer vaguely that it is nothing.

The rest of the day is quiet. You help in the gardens while Delilah plays in the small pools that your parents bought. You watch her from the corner of your eye. Her little polka-dot red swimsuit brings out her caramel complexion and dark eyes. She’s swimming, monopolizing your father’s concentration, trying to get the garden hose to work.

“¡Papi! Mírame a mí,” She screams, her head popping out of the water. “¡Papi!” Papi! Look at me!

“Sí, sí, es genial Delilah.” Your father responds vaguely by grumbling after the tip. “¡Esto es una mierda!” Yea, yea, it’s excellent, Delilah. It's crap.”

“¡Papi!”

You wipe the earth with your hands and go back to the front of the house to get a bag of potting soil. You’re focused and don’t notice the two people outside the portal waiting. You only raise your head as you hear the sound of a voice that is familiar to you. Your eyes cross their eyes. Carlos Sr and Reyes stand, a bottle of red wine and a basket in hand. You sigh and slowly approach.

"What are you doing here?" You ask.

"We want to talk to you, Hermosa." Answer Reyes nicely.

Reyes has always been there for you. She has always considered you her daughter. After all, you have spent many summers in their company.

"I have nothing to tell you."

"I think you do."

"It’s none of your business." You say turn heels.

"She looks like him like two drops of water. You’re not going to make me think she’s not his." Carlos says, pointing away in the backward where they could hear your daughter laughing.

"No, you’re right. I have nothing to make you believe. He’s not the father. Leave before I call the police."

You grab one of the bags of soil and head back to the back of the house.

"Y/n!" Call Carlos Sr. "He’s not perfect, but he has a right to know. Why you hid her from him?" The drop gets the vase full, and you flip, an angry expression on your face.

"Because you think he doesn’t know?" You exclaim. "You think I didn’t spend months trying to reach him. That I did not come crying in tears at his door, begging him to open it to me in the pouring rain. That the only thing he had to tell me was that he didn’t want it and that I had to get rid of it because I was not and would never be good enough for him. If that’s what you believe, you’re wrong. Now get out of here and don’t come back." You say, the tears running down your cheeks. Reyes' eyes fill with tears, and Carlos Sr can’t believe what you say. How can he? His son is perfect...

You turn around for good and return to the back of the house. Your mother notices your puffy, reddened eyes with tears but makes no comment. She knows you don’t want to talk about it. You go back to tapping the earth to flip it. The shovel blows into the ground slowly, calming you down and lowering your pressure. No one suspects they came to see you. The rest of the afternoon and evening is spent in a peaceful atmosphere. You can even forget about them when you bathe Delilah. She always makes you laugh with the foam on her head. That’s when you’re glad she’s in your life, despite everything that’s happened. You are grateful that she is there daily and that you share your life with her. Seeing her grow up hurts you but, at the same time, fills you with joy.

Delilah is sleeping peacefully beside you. You’ve been watching the ceiling for three hours now, unable to sleep. You sigh one more time before you give up and get up. You go up to the window and sit there. The night is clear. You can see some stars. Somethings, back in Fuengirola, you got up to the roof and lay under the stars. You often did this during the summers when Delilah was much younger. Hearing the city and the agitation of the night always helps her calm down from her disturbed dreams. You sometimes think; it makes her feel less alone. Delilah dreams. You hear her whisper incomprehensible phrases in her sleep. She whispers your name. She has always had a troubled sleep. She talks like he does it too. 

It was a cool autumn night, and you were all in a cottage by a lake. Your two families are gone for the week, and you share your bed with Blanca and Ana. You’re lying next to her in the queen bed while Carlos sleeps on an air mattress on the floor. You can’t sleep. You argued before you left with your boyfriend then, and you replay the scene in your head. He is angry because you refuse to have advanced relations with him. You’re only sixteen, after all. You don’t feel ready, but you can’t help to feel pressured by him. It makes you angry and a feeling you can't quite describe yet. You turn your head and look at Carlos. He sleeps peacefully next to you. His mouth is ajar. Her lips are so soft. You often imagine how they would feel on yours. Your body turns, and you watch her sleep. You hear him whispering in his sleep, little words or little sentences. You are not sure. You come closer to try to understand, but it’s just gibberish.

Your hand comes out of the warm duvet, and you stroke the outline of his nose with your fingertips. He shudders, but he doesn’t wake up. Your finger continues its journey and arrives at the corner of his lips. You hesitate momentarily before passing your hand on it when you feel Carlos move. His body jiggles, and his head comes to find your finger. You find yourself in the middle of his lips, and unconsciously, he gently kisses your index. You blush strongly, and you withdraw your hand quickly. You are warm, and this heat spreads throughout your body. You feel your crotch become sweaty and turn to the other side. Ashamed of what just happened without his knowledge. You close your eyes, and you only see his lips kissing your finger. You spend the rest of the night awake with that strange heat between your legs.

The following day, when the sun is high, you sleep deeply. The others have already left the room for a long time. The shutters are pulled. A slight breeze cools the room. In your sleep, you are out of the duvet and intertwined in it. Your shorts are raised at the corner of your buttocks, and your t-shirt covers very little skin. You are sure your stomach and your head are facing the window. You are deeply asleep, and you do not hear the agitation downstairs.

"Carlos, ve a por Y/n para almorzar. Sé que estamos de vacaciones, pero no estamos aquí solo para dormir.” Says Reyes, pointing the stairs at his son. "Carlos, go get Y/n for lunch. I know we’re on vacation, but we’re not here to just sleep." 

He gets up from the couch, and heads against the heart goes the room. He always thought of you as his sister, but recently, he has emotions that he does not understand when he sees you. His heart capsizes, and every time you laugh, his body warms up with a strange warmth. When you gave him your ocean eyes.  He has never experienced this with anyone. He enters the room and sees you. Lying down. In this innocent position. His body reacts, and his cheeks warm up. Your breathing is slow. You are asleep. He sees through the sheets and your t-shirt the tip of your breast. "She is beautiful." He thinks while trying to drive away these impure thoughts towards you. He approaches you. He can’t help but run his fingers over the bare skin of your legs. "So soft, so warm." It gradually rises, tracing the contour of your body. It is warm and feels the thrill you run under its hand. He smiles before continuing his way. He touches the outline of your buttocks before drawing that of your spine. He looks at your face, and his eyes stop on your lips. He wants to kiss you. He wants to capture them from his own. To hear you say his name. He leans over to you, letting his instincts speak.

Suddenly, steps resound from the staircase, and he abruptly departs. By the way, he accidentally hangs a strand of your hair and pulls it out of your bed, falling down the bed. You scream in pain as you open your eyes frantically. You look around, and Carlos' two sisters enter the room while Carlos struggles to get up, tangling in the duvet.

At this memory, a blank smile appears on your face. You raise your head and see the cute face of your daughter, who struggles to open her eyes.

"Mama," she whispers, still asleep.

"Go back to sleep, baby. It’s not morning yet," you get up from your seat and return to bed. She hugs you and places her head on your chest. Her thumb in her mouth and her cuddly toy in the other. She falls back to your side. Your eyelids are heavy, and you drift towards the arms of Morpheus in your turn. Maybe you can consider seeing them. They probably love to meet Delilah. She would like them too. In those thoughts, you really drift away. 

______________________________________________________________________

Let me know if you are still interested in this story :) I have a few interesting ideas.  

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[irisintheafterglow]

End Game #10 - The Epilogue

summary: after signing with the best team in the country, satoru asks you a question on new year's day. (read the rest of the volleyball captain!gojo au here!)

wc: 1.1k

cw/tags: post-highschool time skip, established relationship, mentions of alcohol and parties,

note: happy new year everyone! i hope 2024 brings you love, happiness, and success. hope you like this little epilogue <3

likes, reblogs, and replies are always appreciated :))

“I didn’t think it was physically possible to have this much glitter,” you huff, pulling a stray golden streamer from the top of your head and discarding it in the trash bin. The dustpan and brush take a break on the dining room table and you lean against the back of the couch, picking at a loose thread on Satoru’s old high school jersey. “Next time, we’re having the party at Suguru’s.”

“You don’t need to do all of this, babe,” your boyfriend reminds you from the kitchen, taking inventory of the catering leftovers and copious amounts of alcohol covering your marble counters. It was still early enough in the morning that girls were walking around the building’s lobby with their heels slung between their fingers. “I’ll have the cleaners come by in the morning to pick up all of that.” 

“There’s candle wax on the floor, Satoru. I don’t even know how that ended up there without setting off a fire alarm,” you point out and he nods in agreement. “I’m just glad we have hardwood. This would be a nightmare to get out of the carpet.”

“It doesn’t need to be a nightmare at all, if you just let the cleaners take care of it. But, if it makes you feel better, remember that I moved all the cleaning supplies to the cabinet in the hallway.” Colorful tubes of glass carefully clank together as he repositions them on the shelves of the wet bar, sweeping confetti and more streamers off of the marble with the back of his hand. When he’s done reorganizing the remaining bottles, he neatens the stack of square polaroids and then promptly messes them up again, spreading them across the counter like a dealer with a deck of cards. “Can you believe we had this many people over last night?”

“I’m still in disbelief that we have this place, honestly,” you admit, slinging a leg over the side of the couch and rolling over the back, landing in the living room of your shared penthouse with Satoru. It still surprised you, what Olympic gold and brand sponsorships could buy, even with the tall ceilings and stunning views of downtown Tokyo. It brought a lot of acquaintances that had the nerve to call themselves your friends, most of them whose names you couldn’t remember. The important people were still in your life, though, Suguru with his highschool ASB sweetheart and the former first years all sharing a flat. It wasn’t a bad life, to say the least. “I keep thinking I’m gonna wake up and you’ll just be a figment of my imagination.”

“Believe it or not, I have the exact same nightmare.” He flops down next to you and pulls you closer to give himself more space, absentmindedly chucking a few throw pillows to maximize the space. “All these fluffy pillows and expensive wines seem a little too good to be true sometimes.”

“You’re an Olympic athlete, sweetheart. Fluffy pillows and expensive wines are pocket change for you.”

“For us, you mean. Nothing is just for me anymore,” he corrects. Ever since he signed on with the most successful pro team in the country and you earned your degree in sports management, everything had been you and him. Though it was new territory for both of you, it still felt familiar in some ways as you served the same roles that you did during high school. When Suguru joined the team, it only became more comfortable and the light-hearted banter helped keep you grounded in such a competitive atmosphere. “Speaking of, we should consider getting married.” Your eyes fly open after fluttering shut against his chest and you sit up, stick straight. 

“What did you just say?” You look down at him in shock, only to be met with a shit-eating smirk. 

“You know exactly what I said,” he says quietly.

“You can’t joke around about those kinds of things,” you murmur as you fall back into your original position, poking a finger into his side for good measure. “It’s not nice.”

“Who said I was joking?”

“Why? Why now, of all times?” 

“You expected me to have a much larger proposal,” he muses and you feel your face become warmer. In your defense, he was always known as the flashy one, the one who brought you bouquets of flowers when you were in class or sent your study room catering to make sure you’d eaten. It wasn’t like you hadn’t thought of marrying Satoru before. You just expected a much grander gesture than mentioning it while you procrastinate cleaning up the sparkly mess in your bathtub. “Disappointed?”

“No, just…surprised,” you say slowly and he hums thoughtfully. “How long have you been thinking about this?”

“About marrying you? Since we won Nationals, obviously,” he states like it was written all over your bedroom wall in Sharpie. “But, if you’re asking about proposing while we’re lying on a glitter-covered couch at five in the morning, I thought of it just now. Call it delirium.”

“Hmm,” is all you can muster up as a response.

“Hmm.” He hums in the same tone, looking at you curiously. “So, what do you say?”

“You actually wanna marry me?” He shakes his head and rolls his eyes melodramatically in exasperation. 

“I can’t believe you just asked that,” he says under his breath, sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the couch. “I cannot believe that you just asked me that.” You follow his movements until you’re sitting with him, shoulder to shoulder.

“I didn’t mean to offend you, Satoru. I just…get doubtful at times.”

“Doubtful that I love you?”

“Doubtful that you’ll let me stay with you through all of this.” Your hands gesture vaguely at the high ceilings and the shining floors, out at the stretch of Tokyo’s skyline and the infinite horizon beyond it. “I’m scared you’ll find someone else to share such a lavish life with–”

“I wouldn’t ask you to marry me if I wanted to spend my life with anyone else, sweetheart. I’ve got this ring from my sock drawer to prove it.” Your jaw hits the floor and he starts laughing, your body frozen in place but screaming at you to see if he’s right as he fishes something from his pocket. “I wanna clean up glitter and bottles with you on New Year’s day for the rest of my life,” he promises, taking your hand and sliding an elegantly simple band on your left ring finger. 

“I can’t believe you propose to me in the most unassuming way possible,” you chuckle, admiring the way the morning light catches on the metal. “You didn’t even get down on one knee.”

“This is the private proposal to make sure you say yes,” he reassures you with a grin. “The public proposal will be much more extravagant.”

“Mmm, I can’t wait. Happy New Year, Satoru.”

“Happy New Year, my love.”

if you enjoy my writing and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee on my ko-fi! you can also check out my full masterlist here :)

[pareidoliaonthemove]

Unexpected Delivery

There had been many changes when their father returned home. Some were new, some were the old status quo reasserting itself.

As Jeff had taken over the daily running of Tracy Industries and the paperwork associated with International Rescue, Scott had managed to take back some of his old duties on the Island.

One of those was unpacking the supplies Virgil regularly brought back from the mainland.

First was the perishables: foods, some of Brains’ more exotic experimental materials, whatever-the-hell it was that Gordon was ordering in to assist in rehabilitating their surrounding sea-scape. Personal deliveries came second, portioning out the mail orders; of which a not-insignificant portion was personal food stocks – Grandma still couldn’t be dissuaded from cooking, even though everyone now had more time to contribute to kitchen duties. Third was domestic consumables: toilet paper, light bulbs, cleaning supplies, and personal grooming and hygiene products – including so much deodorant. And then maintenance supplies; raw materials for production of the custom parts necessary for the maintenance of the Thunderbirds, parts for maintenance for the Villa and auxiliary buildings.

It was a comfortable routine, and one that Scott enjoyed, especially dealing with the maintenance supplies. Checking the packing slip against their internal register of projected deliveries, using the pallet-bot to deposit the large crates and bins at the appropriate areas, before unpacking the individual crates, confirming the itemised stock within, and storing them in the appropriate locations, as he updated the warehousing inventory.

It was a simple – and satisfying – job.

Today there was an extra crate. A large roughly square crate, one and one half to two metres in every dimension and solidly built. Scott frowned at it. There was no sender’s ident, and the anonymous holographic label implanted in the rough-hewn, tightly-spaced wooden slats simply read ‘International Rescue’.

Nothing was unaccounted for on the projected deliveries. There was nothing left over from previous runs, nothing on back order.

Scott checked Virgil’s collection register. This package had been collected from their mail facility at Tracy Industries Headquarters, the security assessment on this crate was attached. Nothing untoward. No radiation, no explosive compounds, no biological matter …

Thunderbird Two’s pod sensors hadn’t detected a threat, either.

“What is it?”

Scott started, jumping as the Mechanic materialised beside him, looking between Scott and the crate curiously.

A slight hesitation – he still hadn’t fully overcome his distrust of the other man, nor had the Mechanic suddenly taken a liking to him – and he explained the situation.

“Only one way to find out. If all the scans are clear.”

Scott waved his tablet at the man, who, after a second, took it, and considered the record trail. He handed the tablet back, and summoned two of his ‘scorpion’ mechas to the crate.

“Better blow them up, than us, if your scans are wrong,” was the response to Scott’s raised eyebrow.

Scott agreed without hesitation. The crate was in a secure section of the hangars, there was no danger to any of their equipment – they had learnt that the hard way, soon after Jeff had … gone on sabbatical. The two men backed off a respectful distance, and watched as the two machines surged forward, powerful pinchers forcing themselves under the lid and prising it up, before skittering around the crate to settle either side of it, like guardians.

The back of the lid was hinged, and a holographic sign projected against the rough and splintery wood. ‘A gift. From a friend.’

The two men approached cautiously. And stared in shock at what lay on the straw at the bottom of the crate.

The Hood, bound hand and foot – hands behind his back – lay half curled with in the space. His naked body bruised and bloody, the slight rise and fall of his chest the only sign the man was alive.

Scott Tracy – Commander of International Rescue, First Responder, Qualified Paramedic, and Survivor of a POW Camp – swallowed his bile as he took in the sight of the bloody and weeping bandage around the man’s head that ineffectively protected what he knew would be the bloody and empty socket where the cybernetic eye had been.

Mutely Scott and the Mechanic stared at each other, both searching for answers the other didn’t have.

How were they ever going to explain this?

Notes:

Febuwhump Day 21 “Unresponsive”.

Whoops. I totally missed posting this one on the date. Other important dates I have missed include my mothers, and my niece's birthdays. Oh well, off to the dog house!

The standard disclaimers, I do not own Thunderbirds, either the Original Series, the Movies (both Supermarionation and Live Action), or the Thunderbirds Are Go Series. (Although I do own copies on DVD.)

I do not do this for money, but for my own (in)sanity and entertainment.

[nishayuro]

To our highest of highs, to my lowest of lows. Genshin Impact Imposter! Au

Self Aware Genshin AU (SAGAU)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff 

GN! Reader

Summary: Waking up not in your room and in a grassy plain with a blue sky is definitely not what you thought would happen, so is being in the world of one of your games.

Part 1 , Part 2

Waking up in Teyvat, realising that it's probably not a dream, you start to panic a bit. “Oh god, how did this happen… uhh okay I have my phone…” you whispered, taking your phone and looking at the screen. You observed that there are no characters in your party, nor in your character page, you checked your inventory, nothing. “This is like starting from square one all over again, except I’m in actual Teyvat and I have no vision nor experience in weaponry…” You complained. 

You opened the map area to see that you are at the peak of Starsnatch Cliff, from there you can see the city of Mondstat. “Hmm, Let’s see if waypoints will work for me” you said, choosing to teleport to the statue of the seven at Windrise. 

A wave of dark fog engulfed you and when it dispersed, you were standing in front of an Anemo statue. “Now, I wonder what happens if I…” you mumbled, reaching towards the statue. A light of blueish green appeared and surrounded you. “So… Do I have Anemo powers now?” you asked yourself, ‘anemo!’ you thought and did a pushing motion. A gust of wind came out of your hands. “Yow!! I have powers now!!” you exclaimed. “Alright, time to head to Mondstat!” You said, looking at your map as a guide.

You traversed the terrain surprisingly easily with the help of your phone as a map. While you were walking, you spotted a group of hilichurls with their towers in the making setting up camp. ‘Uh oh…’ you thought, trying your best to remain calm, now it has settled into you that Teyvat is a dangerous place to wonder about. Monsters lurked almost everywhere. You tried to walk away from them but seemingly so, one has spotted you, immediately telling its peers of your presence, they ran towards you. 

‘Oh shit- I should run!’ and you did, but just as you were about to lose them, you tripped. 

You looked back in fear as they closed the distance, you braced yourself to protect you if they attacked, but lo and behold all they did was drop to their knees with a bow. 

“Wh-what…?”  you questioned, confused with what's happening. You saw a family of dendro slimes approach you, hesitantly you reached towards them, the slimes immediately relishing in your touch. You realised you weren’t in any danger right now and these mobs were only being friendly. ‘I’m so sorry for always attacking you all in game… I kinda needed the materials T-T ‘  you thought. 

After a while you got up and bid them goodbye. You walked towards the city gates of Mondstat. Although the teleport waypoints were available, you wanted to get the opportunity to explore the world on your own and maybe find chests on the way. Lucky for you, you managed to find some common and exquisite chests, containing trinkets, mora and some weapons. 

“Hmm… A polearm or the sword…?” you decided to take both. As you went to pick them up, you realised something, “Oh… I don’t have a bag…” you said out loud. You grabbed the polearm but then it disappeared. “Wha-” confused, you opened your phone and went to your inventory. “Ohh! They automatically go in the inventory? Cool! But… how do I wield it though…” excitedly, you tried thinking of the polearm. ‘Pls work pls work pls work… I summon the polearm’. You felt some metal in your hands and to your excitement, the polearm was in your hands. “Cool!! So that’s how the characters summon their weapons!!” you exclaimed. 

“Now to put it back… usually they do this…” you say, doing a sheathing motion. The weapon dissolved into particles and attached itself to your back, disappearing after some time. “This is soo cool!!” you say to yourself as you continue your walk. 

In the palace south of dragonspine, Barbatos runs into the throne room, alerting the guards and the divine creator. “Your grace! This imposter is no ordinary folk, they managed to acquire the power of Anemo! I felt it!” the Anemo archon exclaims. 

“Well, that must mean their destination is Mondstat. Have the acolytes patrol the city and the wilderness, their destination should be the city. Remember, bring them back to me alive.” the fake creator orders, a cold tone present in their words. 

“Yes, your grace.” Barbatos bows, and rushes out of the room to inform the Knights of Favonius about the order. 

‘Your downfall will be my victory, only one can remain, and you, true one, will die in my hands. You will have never existed, and I shall be the true ruler. For what is a land abandoned by its owner if not property of its new founder’ the imposter thought, a ghost of a smile creeping into their face. 

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Taglist (Reply to be added) : @shizunxie, @itsyourgirlria

[odysseywritings]

What Would a Point and Click Adventurer Do?

@flashfictionfridayofficial

(tw cult, dark comedy)

The mysterious island, with its beautiful sparkling ocean and pink sky, held the next important item for Sierra Lucas. Shiny jewelry, strange tools, a taxidermied head, and so much more filled her endless inventory. But a missing slot was reserved for the elusive pink rat, held captive in a luxurious building with an eight pronged sigil and a capital S in-between two overlapping squares.

Sierra rapidly walked to the front, aimed her lips at the golden complex, and said "Golly, these guys aren't short on donations."

Her eyes bugged out and saw the building's security. Sierra needed to be stealthy and clever to distract the armed guards. She sifted through her inventory, saved her progress in a diary titled 'Bomb,' and hoped for the best. She was ready to chuck the bomb until the sizzle alerted the guards and she turned into Swiss cheese.

Thankfully she loaded back to before that horrible event, and went for another item, this time throwing a gem in front of the guards. The two bickered about who saw it first, became impetuously angry, and riddled the other with bullets. She quickly sauntered by and entered the building.

The interior was immaculate and large, yet the the doorways stretched out to cartoonish degrees and she felt she could see the other rooms and a staircase from how compact everything looked. The members were deathly nervous and smiled with gruesomely gummy grins while their eyes shifted like a compass. Any information from them about the pink rat was irrelevant.

"A pink rat? Why, that's the silliest thing I ever heard! Next you'll say it's behind that door there! Oh, and if you see our leader, would you tell him how good I was at lying?"

Sierra continued to browse the gawdy, Escher-esque pastel nightmare house until she saw a door labeled "Get out!" It seemed to be enough for an obedient population.

Sierra opened it and found the cult leader trying to seduce a younger follower. She didn't want to create a scene, so she pulled out her inventory again, and tried finding the subtlest way to dispatch him.

She jabbed 8 poisoned needles into him and he convulsed on the floor. Sierra smiled like a gleeful child.

"You know what they say, it's the dose that kills you, so I brought every dose just in case. Just like Dad taught me!"

Grateful for the rescue, the follower helped Sierra find the pink rat, sad and bored in its little cage as it played a tiny harmonica. Sierra briskly acquired the rat and headed off and wore the leader's clothes.

"My people, you are under new management! Leave now or I will smite and sic my lawyers on thee!"

Most fled but the higher ups chased her and wanted to silence her for seeing too much. The fake religion wouldn't stop until she was dead, and she knew they'd target her to the ends of the earth. She managed to get outside and block the door with the dead guards, but the cult heads kept banging to get out. With little to lose, she poked and prodded the rat for help.

The pink rat squeaked and raised its skinny forelegs out as if to pray. The door was sealed shut with divine rodent energy with a large rat stamp of approval. Sierra sighed in relief and kissed the rat for its help. She could continue her adventure without those duplicitous charlatans hounding her.

Yet her curiosity got the better of her and went through different saves and loads to see what would happen. She decided to throw ordinary table salt on the building and it exploded into a smoking pile of rubble.

"I had a feeling that would work! And no one important died!"

[isabelle51]

BigCommerce Review 2023: The Pros and Cons of this E-commerce Platform

BigCommerce is an ecommerce platform that has been around since 2009. It is a popular choice for businesses of all sizes due to its robust features and scalability. In this article, we will review BigCommerce in 2023, taking a look at its features, pricing, and performance.

BigCommerce Overview 2023: BigCommerce has come a long way since its inception. The platform has evolved to meet the changing needs of businesses, and its latest version offers a range of features designed to help businesses sell more. These features include a drag-and-drop website builder, blogging and SEO tools, and strong reporting functionality.

BigCommerce Performance and Reliability: BigCommerce is known for its performance and reliability. The platform is designed to handle high traffic and can scale as your business grows. Additionally, BigCommerce offers a range of security features to protect your business and your customers.

Key Takeaways

BigCommerce is a popular ecommerce platform that offers robust features and scalability.

The latest version of BigCommerce includes a drag-and-drop website builder, blogging and SEO tools, and strong reporting functionality.

BigCommerce is known for its performance and reliability, with the ability to handle high traffic and scale as your business grows.

BigCommerce Overview 2023

BigCommerce is an e-commerce platform that is designed to help businesses of all sizes sell their products online. It provides a range of features that can help businesses build, launch, and manage their online stores. In this section, we will take a closer look at the core features of BigCommerce, its ease of use, and design and customization options.

Core Features

BigCommerce offers a range of features that can help businesses build and grow their online stores. Some of the core features of BigCommerce include:

Product Management: BigCommerce allows businesses to easily manage their products, including adding new products, updating product information, and managing inventory.

Payment Processing: BigCommerce supports a range of payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, and Square, making it easy for businesses to accept payments from customers.

Shipping and Fulfillment: BigCommerce provides built-in shipping and fulfillment options, including integration with popular shipping carriers like USPS, FedEx, and UPS.

Marketing and SEO: BigCommerce includes a range of marketing and SEO tools, including email marketing, social media integration, and search engine optimization features.

Ease of Use

BigCommerce is designed to be easy to use, even for businesses without any technical experience. The platform provides a drag-and-drop website builder, making it easy for businesses to create and customize their online stores. Additionally, BigCommerce provides a range of tutorials and support resources to help businesses get started.

Design and Customization

BigCommerce provides a range of design and customization options, allowing businesses to create unique and professional-looking online stores. Some of the design and customization options available on BigCommerce include:

Themes: BigCommerce provides a range of free and paid themes that businesses can use to customize the look and feel of their online stores.

Customization: BigCommerce allows businesses to customize their online stores using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, giving them full control over the design and functionality of their stores.

Integrations: BigCommerce integrates with a range of third-party apps and services, allowing businesses to add additional features and functionality to their online stores.

Overall, BigCommerce provides a comprehensive e-commerce platform that can help businesses of all sizes build and grow their online stores. With its range of features, ease of use, and design and customization options, BigCommerce is a strong choice for businesses looking to sell their products online.

BigCommerce Performance and Reliability

BigCommerce is a cloud-based e-commerce platform that offers a reliable and high-performance hosting environment. In this section, we will explore the platform's uptime and speed, as well as its security measures.

Uptime and Speed

BigCommerce boasts an impressive uptime record, with an average uptime of 99.99%. This means that the platform is available to customers almost all the time, ensuring that they can conduct their business without any interruptions. BigCommerce also claims to have a fast page load time, which is crucial for e-commerce websites. According to the company, its platform can load pages in under three seconds, which is faster than the industry average.

Security Measures

BigCommerce takes security very seriously and has implemented several measures to protect its customers' data. The platform is PCI compliant, which means that it meets the requirements set by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. This compliance ensures that the platform is secure and that customer data is protected.

BigCommerce also offers SSL encryption, which is a security protocol that encrypts data between the web server and the user's browser. This encryption ensures that sensitive data, such as credit card information, is protected from hackers and other malicious actors.

In addition to these measures, BigCommerce offers two-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of security to user accounts. This feature requires users to enter a code sent to their mobile device in addition to their login credentials, making it much more difficult for unauthorized users to gain access to their accounts.

Overall, BigCommerce is a reliable and secure e-commerce platform that offers fast page load times and an impressive uptime record. Its security measures ensure that customer data is protected, making it a great choice for businesses that prioritize security and reliability.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the common criticisms faced by BigCommerce in 2023?

BigCommerce is a popular e-commerce platform, but it is not without its criticisms. One of the common criticisms faced by BigCommerce in 2023 is its limited customization options. Some users have reported that the platform's design options are not as flexible as they would like, making it difficult to create a truly unique online store. Additionally, some users have reported that the platform can be slow to load, particularly when dealing with large product catalogs.

How does BigCommerce pricing compare to its competitors?

BigCommerce offers three pricing plans for small businesses, with pricing that scales with additional features. The typical plans range from $29 to $299 per month. Compared to its competitors, BigCommerce's pricing is generally considered to be on the higher side. However, the platform's robust features and scalability make it a worthwhile investment for many businesses.

What makes BigCommerce stand out for B2B online retailers?

BigCommerce is well-suited for B2B online retailers due to its advanced features for managing complex pricing structures, customer groups, and order management. The platform's built-in B2B functionality makes it easy to create custom pricing tiers, set up negotiated pricing, and manage customer accounts. Additionally, BigCommerce's integration with popular B2B tools like Salesforce and Netsuite makes it a top choice for many B2B businesses.

What are the key benefits and drawbacks of using BigCommerce for small businesses?

One of the key benefits of using BigCommerce for small businesses is its scalability. The platform is designed to grow with your business, offering advanced features like multi-channel selling, inventory management, and shipping integrations. However, some users have reported that the platform can be difficult to use for beginners, and that the learning curve can be steep.

How does BigCommerce perform in terms of user satisfaction and employee experience?

According to user reviews on TrustRadius, BigCommerce has a high level of user satisfaction, with users praising the platform's robust features and scalability. Additionally, many users report that the platform's customer support team is responsive and helpful. In terms of employee experience, BigCommerce has been recognized as a great place to work, with a strong company culture and opportunities for professional growth.

In what areas does Shopify excel over BigCommerce, and vice versa?

Shopify and BigCommerce are both popular e-commerce platforms, but they have some key differences. Shopify is known for its ease of use and user-friendly interface, making it a great choice for beginners. Additionally, Shopify has a larger app store and more integrations than BigCommerce. On the other hand, BigCommerce is known for its advanced features and scalability, making it a better choice for larger businesses. Additionally, BigCommerce's built-in B2B functionality makes it a top choice for B2B online retailers.

BigCommerce LandingPage

[astrobolical]

A (Hopefully) Helpful Guide to What in "Hell" is Bad?

Part 2 - My Devils, Levelling, Skills, and Artifacts

Last Updated: Nov 2, 2023

I have a mild love of documentation (okay, it’s a problem) and I find it fun— so here we go! I’ve hopefully written out most of the options you’ll encounter while playing, as I know it’s been a confusing start with the game coming out in the state that it did.

And let’s be real here, most gacha-style games can feel overwhelming at first, especially if you’re new to them overall. It happens, and with all the questions I’ve seen floating about, I wanted to maybe help someone out, as well as have some fun. Or this’ll flop, either way, still fun.

There will absolutely be things I’ve missed, or glossed over— or even gotten wrong— so feel free to ask about anything, tell me things, or correct me.

For full transparency— I have spent money on this game, but I have not “whaled” whatsoever. I wanted to test certain things, and I have a strong sense of curiousity.

Looking for another part of the game? Check out the other parts:

Part 1 - General Overview, Achievements and Contracts

Part 2 - You Are Here!

Part 3 - Chapters, Levels and Dark Sanctuary

Part 4 - Unit Types, Elements, Battle Boards & Battle Tips

Part 5 - Shop, Secret Shop, Inventory and Management

Part 6 - Secret Club (Adore), Secret Club (Unholy Board), Hell-Oh! Talk

Now, let's continue!

My Devils - General

For now, lets start with a general overview of the options you have— because there’s quite a few. We’ll delve more into levelling and upgrades soon. There’s a lot going on here, so I’ll give a brief explanation.

Information - Left Side

Name of the Devil (L-Grade devils tend to have an indicative word of the pose or version of them, as there will be multiple of them going forward)

Paraphilia - What gets that devil going

A brief explanation of who they are

The upside down crosses represent how many duplicates you’ve used to Evolve them (in this case, I’ve gotten four additional copies of Beelzebub)

Their rank and their current level

Their type— Light, fire, water, etc

Their range/style of fighting — in Beelzebub’s case he’s close range, but there’s others we’ll get to later when discussing battle

Stats — their current stats, such as attack, HP, their speed and how many enemies they are capable of blocking at once

Finally, icons that indicate their abilities— L-Grade’s have three of these, their normal attack, ultimate and a passive ability — we’ll elaborate soon

Information - Center

Floating next to the character is the artifact that’s currently equipped— if empty, the devil currently has none

The devil’s image

The first of the three square icons along the bottom, with the dripping heart, indicates the devils’ current affection/friendship level— this is raised by using them in battle (you unlock information, voice lines, comics, keys and tears through using them in battle)

The winking face will show you different expressions and voice lines as you unlock them through use

The magnifying glass will let you see their art fully, if applicable

Information - Right

In the top-right, you can use the options here to sort and choose to not show certain devil grades for ease of searching

A list of all devils you currently have, you can scroll through to see the information for each of them

A count of your devils out of all current devils available (for me 55/62)

They are ordered by rarity by default

Information - Bottom Options

Here’s where we’ll get into a lot more detail— I’m going to break these out into their own individual sections, so let’s get started!

My Devils - Raise

There’s some duplicate information on the left; so I’m not going to run through that again.

One difference, though, is that it shows you what the devil’s stats/level will become when you upgrade them.

What do you need?

All items that are required can be found along the right-hand side of the Raise screen, for levelling it’s simply Pure Gold and Crowley’s Magic Books (don’t worry if you don’t know where to get these yet!)

It shows you the Amount Required / Amount Possessed (i.e. 1,765 Pure Gold is required, and I have 769,263)

You can’t level in bulk, so be prepared to click level up as many times as you need/can— you can interrupt them while they talk, though! (I don’t suggest levelling devils like Phenix with your volume on if you’re not alone… just a warning!)

I’ve reached a milestone! What do I do?

Congrats— you’ve reached the first step of promotion! I’ll use Sitri for this example, because he’s still at level 20 for me.

To Promote a devil, it requires a bit more than just Gold and Books. Actually, it requires one of the most finite and slow resources you’ll find in WHB— Tears of Solomon!

It also requires a significant increase of Gold and Books— so you may need to do some grinding, but don’t worry I’ll tell you how soon if you don’t know. I’ll also talk about the items you find in this game further down.

You cannot continue to level until you promote your devil— and they will reach another milestone at 40, etc.

The costs will continue to raise as your devils get stronger. I highly suggest choosing a few to focus on, rather than attempting to do everyone at once.

Where do I find these items?

I'll be covering this in more detail when I reach these areas, but here's a basic breakdown.

Pure Gold - Completing levels, achievements, but primarily through Dark Sanctuary

Crowley's Books - Completing levels, achievements, but primarily through Dark Sanctuary

Tears of Solomon - Daily/Weekly Achievements, Daily Sign In Rewards, Shop, Various Mission Rewards (Look below for more details)

"Food" Item - Jellybeans, Gummies, Pudding-- you'll find all of these hidden away within the Dark Sanctuary

I seriously can’t find any Tears of Solomon?! Help?!

Don’t stress! As of the October 25, 2023 update, it’s not so bad anymore— additional ways have been added, and some limits have been upped. But here’s the main spots you’ll be finding these.

Guilty Gem Exchange House - 30 Per Day (Shop)

Pancake Exchange - 2 Per Week (Shop)

Necronomicon Exchange - 30 Per Week (Shop)

Daily Achievement - 1 Per Day

Weekly Achievement - 1 Per Week

96% “Affection” on your S-L Grade Devils - 10 per Devil

Mission Pass - 24 across various rewards

Event Shops - 30 per day (when available)

Daily Sign in - 24 over the course of 28 days

You can also get these from Solomon’s Levelup Support Pass in the shop— as it says, you get these rewards as you level up your account. There’s also a special premium reward for a price (if someone could remind me of how much this was, that’d be fantastic— I bought it after they lowered the price from the ridiculously high one they originally had).

Free Tears Rewards:

Level 10 - 5 Tears

Level 20 - 10 Tears

Level 30 - 10 Tears

Level 40 - 15 Tears

Level 50 - 20 Tears

Special Reward Pass Tears Rewards:

Level 15 - 5 Tears

Level 25 - 10 Tears

Level 35 - 10 Tears

Level 45 - 15 Tears

My Devils - Evolve

Here’s where you can put your duplicate devils to use! If you’ve gotten multiple copies of the same devil, coming to this screen will allow you to use the “Tealeaves” you get from the duplicates.

You can only Evolve a devil up to 5 times

If you've gotten a devil 6 times total-- congrats, you've maxed out their evolution

The benefits you'll unlock are listed on the lower left-hand side

Once maxed out, it will still say "Insufficient Tealeaves" even if you have them-- I'm not sure why they didn't change the UI

What if I get them a 7th time?

Easy! Excess tealeaves can be sold from your inventory-- that's coming up soon, as it's not very clear.

That’s really all there is to it!

My Devils - Skill

Hoo-boy, alright, here’s another place to use those Tears, gold, and another item we haven’t seen yet… but don’t worry, this isn’t something you need to worry about right away.

Getting skills to their third level is a good enough goal, at least when starting out.

Along the top of this screen you will see each skill a particular devil has available to it (the same you see indicated by icons on their information screen)

Tapping on one will switch your view to it, where you can view what it does, and level it up if you so choose

Most characters just have a basic attack and ultimate— but there’s some outliers

L-Grade devils also have an additional passive ability

And some odd characters, like Marbas, may only have one! (We just wheel him out and let him heal, it's fine)

But again, don’t stress about these quite yet— the game’s still new, we aren’t expected to have this all maxed out yet.

My Devils - Opinion

I won’t really dwell on this one — there isn’t much to say. Here you can find community opinions on the devil! It will tell you how many people have given their opinion, and show you the opinions on the right hand side.

You can sort them by likes (popularity) or how new they are— up to you!

Artifacts

These items you’ve gotten during your pulls in Contracts are essentially weapons for your devils— equipment that makes them stronger, and gives additional effects that can play a part during battle. Some are more useful than others, but reading what they can do is important.

Also, don’t be afraid to switch them up.

You can access your artifacts two ways— for now, we’ll focus on accessing them directly through the My Devils screen, so also explain equipping them.

How Do I Equip Artifacts?

Right beside the image of your devil, to the left of him, will be a circular icon, tap it!

If it’s empty, it will immediately take you to select from artifacts you own

You can tap on any artifacts you’re interested in to read more about them, including a brief story-like description and the artifact’s effect during battle

Below the image of the artifact, it will tell you it’s current stats— how much attack and health it’s providing to the devil you’ll equip it to

How Do I Change Artifacts?

Once you’ve equipped an artifact, it’ll show up in that same little circular icon beside them (with upside down crosses just like the devil— hint hint, they have the same mechanic)!

This time, it’ll bring up a menu that will show you your currently selected artifact, with its description, level and effect.

Below, you click the purple button labeled “Replace.” Now you’ll be taken to the same selection screen you encountered when selecting it to begin with.

How Do I Enhance Artifacts?

The same as above, you’ll want to tap on that circular icon again, and this time click the purple button labeled “Enhance.”

This will take you to a similar select screen… but there’s a big difference.

Artifacts require other artifacts, or an item called “Artifact Enhancement Stone” to level up, along with Pure Gold

Using Artifact Enhancement Stones is cheaper— it requires less Pure Gold, but chances are you won’t have all that many of them. That’s okay!

We’ll feed the artifact other ones you don’t need or want to use, unfortunately that’s just the way it is

DON’T use copies of the same artifact to level it, though!

Levelling these can be expensive— so you may need to grind some Pure Gold

Example of Cost:

For me to level a level 1 artifact to level 10, using only B-Grade artifacts as fodder, it will cost me 16,000 Pure Gold— and it only escalates from there!

How do I get Artifact Enhancement Stones?

You can get these from the shop or achievements!

They aren’t all that hard to build up, so don’t waste resources in the shop unless you absolutely feel you need to

They provide some exp, but significantly less than regular artifacts (at least from my experience)

I Can’t Level My Artifact Anymore?! - Let’s Evolve it then!

Yep, these also have milestones and caps just like devils— only it’s a lot less clearly indicated. Don’t worry if you didn’t understand what it wants from you, they don’t tell you well at all.

When an artifact is at its current max level, you need to select a copy of the same artifact to feed it. Once you do, you’ll be able to go back to levelling it until you reach the next cap, rinse and repeat!

That means, just like devils, you’ll need six copies of an artifact to “max” the evolution.

Unlike devils, though, its levelling is directly tied to it.

In Part 3, we'll cover Story and Dark Sanctuary!

[kayawolfhorse]

Supermoon - Chapter Two | Read on Ao3

Previous / Next

— ☾ —

The storm eventually comes, dumping buckets upon the Boatem crew and completely soaking person and horse alike in a matter of seconds.

Pearl is quick to grab her mercifully waterproof cloak from her inventory, draping it across her shoulders and over part of Moon’s hindquarters, drawing the deep red hood up. Grian and Scar aren’t so prepared, both scrambling to lift shields over their heads in an attempt to block the rain. Grian soon gives up on the effort, trotting past Pearl looking positively sodden both in state of mind and being. Scar, however, manages to get a good hold on the thing, and gives Grian a wink that looks hilariously out of place beneath his makeshift cover.

“Nice hat you’ve got there, Scar!” Pearl shouts over the deafening clamor of the rain.

He grins back at Pearl in response, before his horse slipping in a particularly muddy part of the path uproots and knocks the shield over entirely. Pearl winces, and her arm twitches over to grab at Scar, despite him being a good four blocks away. Thankfully, both Scar and his steed regain balance quickly.

“Let’s maybe find some shelter?” Impulse suggests, concern in his tone, from somewhere behind Pearl.

“I’m working on it!” is Grian’s response, far ahead of the group, and moments later he stops and turns around. “Found a surface cave,” he shouts, pointing to the left of the path, “large enough for the horses, too.”

The cave’s mouth opens against the side of a steep hill, indeed tall enough to allow horse and rider to enter without trouble. Mumbo and Impulse dismount quickly and hang torches on the stony walls before mobs can spawn, and Grian ventures into the small opening that leads off of the back wall. Pearl and Scar tend to the horses, taking the bits from their mouths and tying the reins to a fallen log near the entrance.

“You think we can light a fire in here?” Scar ponders after the horses are squared away.

Mumbo turns, and looks between the shivering members with raised eyebrows. “I think we’re going to have to!”

“The ceiling’s tall enough for it.” Impulse shrugs, and sets to work building a fire in the middle of the cave. Shortly after, a small, warm campfire is alight, and the flames cast shadows that dance across the walls around them.

“Oh yeah, this is nice,” Scar says, huddling as close to the fire as he can get. Mumbo plonks down beside him, taking off the coat he’s worn in place of his usual suit jacket and wringing out his red tie.

Pearl strips off her soaked hoodie and slips her cloak back on over her tank top. “Has Grian come back yet?” she asks, after swallowing a bite of bread.

“Don’t believe he has,” Impulse says. “Should someone go get him?”

“Yeah, I’ll do it.” With a torch in one hand and bread in the other, Pearl starts down the long, spindly cave after Grian.

It doesn’t take too long to find him, though time always feels a bit strange underground. The narrow walls around Pearl open up into a beautiful lush cave, glowing berries ripe upon long, draping vines hanging from a mossy ceiling. Shallow clay pools line the ledge Pearl finds herself upon, the rest of the cave a way’s below. Grian sits at the edge of one of them, his knees drawn up to his chin. An arrow sticks out of his still wet sweater, but wobbles with his breathing. The puncture is shallow.

He’s completely still. Grian is always moving, always fidgeting with his hands, his feet. She takes a seat next to him.

For a second, maybe two, everything’s silent, save for the light splashing of fish and axolotls further in the ponds.

“We’ve got a fire going up top,” Pearl offers, by way of conversation. “Could go get you all nice and warmed up.”

“Hm,” is what she gets in reply. Pearl lets the syllable echo across the lonely stone walls.

Even rarer than Grian’s still moments are his quiet ones. It doesn’t take long for him to turn to Pearl, a sharp movement, and say, “You’re not worried? About any of this?” He punctuates the final word with a wide, sweeping gesture.

“Well sure I am,” Pearl manages to get out. A weak answer that doesn’t convey the mountain of worry that’s found a home upon her chest.

Grian, too, finds the response dissatisfying. “If we fail, we’re putting all of our friends in terrible danger. I don’t think either of us could live with ourselves if that happened.”

“Yeah, we wouldn’t.” If anything happened to any of the hermits Pearl’s come to care about so much, she’s not sure she would ever be able to forgive herself.

“Aren’t you afraid of us failing?” Something tinged with desperation creeps into Grian’s tone, a note Pearl can’t quite identify.

Pearl’s suddenly swept up in a memory, from when she and Grian were young and their respective wings had just started growing strong enough to support their weight.

They stood together on a tree branch four blocks off the ground, Pearl’s hair in twin braids and Grian’s sweater green, instead of his signature red. Despite the impulsive nature that’d stuck with Grian since he could move on his own, he was nervous to jump.

Young Grian had asked a similar question to the one his present self proposed now. Pearl promised him that she’d jump first, and would catch him if he fell. After linking pinkies to seal the deal, Pearl extended her wings and tipped forward, letting the breeze catch her and float her gently down.

Grian jumped soon after, on his colorful macaw wings. He glided down easily, and turned to her with a grin so infectious Pearl couldn’t help but return it. She’d fallen in love with flying first, but he fell harder.

Present Pearl has no such luxury of taking the first jump, but she offers her hand out anyway. Grian looks surprised, but is quick to take it. Pearl squeezes, once, and he returns it before they both let go.

“It’s not going to be easy, but when has it ever been, aye? I think we’ll manage,” Pearl says, as much for Grian’s benefit as her own. She hopes they can manage.

“There’s more to it than that and you know it,” Grian grumps, his stress a practically palpable thing between them.

Pearl’s chest feels tight. She sighs. “I know. I want to protect them as much as you do.” She glances down at her gloves, black with a little moon stitched onto the back of each one, covering her hands partway up her fingers. “There’s nothing we can do but try, I guess. Though I can’t say I’m thrilled to have to see the Watchers again.”

This time, it’s Grian who reaches for Pearl, giving her shoulder an awkward but sweet pat and withdrawing his hand before she has time to accuse him of sentimentality.

“I’m not happy about it either. But by getting the egg, I think,” his voice betrays him, trembling around the edges, “I hope it’ll keep them properly away from the server. For good.”

Won't that be nice? Pearl can’t deny the times her antennae have twitched, sensing the presence of a gaze only she can feel at the back of her neck.

Privately, Grian’s told Pearl of the nightmares he suffers from, beneath an audience of a thousand glowing eyes.

“I hope so, too.” Pearl stands up and shakes out her cloak to dislodge any debris. “We do have a pretty nice fire going, if you’d be interested in drying off instead of sulking in a damp cave,” she teases, to Grian’s indignant denial.

Grian complains about his damp shoes as they walk back, and Pearl teases him with her waterproof boots. He lightly shoves her, and in return Pearl kicks a bit of water at him from a puddle they pass.

They rejoin their friends together, and it isn’t long until the rain stops, revealing a beautiful blue sky above the dark clouds. After a quick lunch of flasks of soup, baked potatoes, and cookies that Scar had passed around, declaring them the best on the server (which everyone secretly agreed with as they munched on them), the group was off once more, a crisp wind rustling Pearl’s hair and leaves crunching beneath Moon’s hooves.

Pearl falls into step next to Impulse, and they chat about a new farm he’s working the details out on as they watch Grian, Scar, and Mumbo in front of them, the latter two cheerfully singing Wonderwall as Grian huffs in annoyance. As they turn a corner, Pearl catches a glimpse of the side of Grian’s face, and the smile he’s trying to contain.

Further into the evening, the unmistakable hiss of a creeper interrupts the quiet chatter of the group. Pearl pivots her horse away just in time to avoid the explosion—the much-larger-than-a-normal-creeper’s explosion.

“What on Earth are charged creepers doing out here?!” Mumbo yelps as his steed canters away from another creeper—a charged one—that’s heading straight for him.

“So that’s where they went!” Scar looks thoughtful even in the chaos of swerving away from the mobs.

“Scar!” Grian yells, and levels his bow at one of the creepers, before breaking sight to run away from it when it targets him instead.

Pearl counts six charged creepers in total. How they got all the way out here, a thousand blocks away from where Scar had been collecting them, is beyond her.

“Well we can’t just leave them here!” Impulse guides his horse away from the two on him.

“Yeah, but I can’t stay still enough to aim without them catching up. Anyone have boats?” Grian asks, responded to with a chorus of noes.

“Okay, new plan. Impulse, you and Mumbo get the creepers focused on you. Pearl and Scar, bow them. I’ll help shoot and jump in distracting if needed.” Grian points between the group as he speaks. “Capeesh?”

“Aye aye, captain!” Scar gives Grian a two-fingered salute and trots up next to Pearl.

The plan works well, with only one close call when one of the creepers gets too close to Scar. Grian shoots it down quickly.

Before they continue on, Grian and Impulse, the two people with dirt on them—of all blocks, but useful in the moment—fix up the single creeper hole left behind.

“Well! That was fun,” Scar says cheerfully, and laughs when Grian scolds him with far too much amusement in his voice to be truly resentful.

The rest of the day is uneventful, save for once instance in which Scar manages to almost fall out of his saddle kicking up into a canter. How the man can be so clumsy but speak with such grace is beyond Pearl.

They stop for camp just as the sun sets, with plans for rising early the next morning. As she pitches her pale green tent, Pearl catches sight of the almost full moon, rising over the eastern horizon. Such a sight would usually bring her peace, and even now she can’t help but smile at it as if greeting an old friend, but there’s a gnawing tension in her stomach that’s hard to ignore.

After the last stake is hammered into place and her sleeping bag is set up inside, Pearl leaves her tent to join her friends around the campfire situated in the center of their little camp, this one larger than the fire they had going in the cave.

Mumbo is the only one missing, and she glances beyond the fire to see him struggling with his tent. From this angle, the trademark ‘i’ that runs up the side of Impulse’s tent looks almost like an exclamation mark hovering over Mumbo’s head. Grian sets off to help him, and the remaining three get to work stoking the fire and setting up their dinner, plus the makings for s’mores at the end of it.

One fallen log already sits near the campfire, and Pearl spots another a little way’s away, which she promptly drags over to make more seating opposite of it. Scar gives Pearl a playful round of applause, and she gives a joking flex of her arm before sitting down and grabbing the mug of apple cider Impulse offers her.

Grian and Mumbo soon return, tent finally constructed, the latter exclamiming, “redstone is easier than this!” Dinner is full of traded stories, jokes, and laughter. S’mores are assembled and a toast is made in favor of Boatem, which quickly devolves into chaos as Grian and Scar attempt to get sticky, melted marshmallow in the other’s hair.

Pearl sits next to Mumbo, a shared blanket draped across both of their shoulders to shield against the cold night, and is filled with a warmth for her friends, her family, that, just for a moment, beats out the spike of ice lodged in her chest. She’d be content to stay here forever, with the sounds of her friends’ laughter and the warmth from the drink cupped between her palms, Pearl thinks.

Eventually, with the moon shining over a dwindling fire, Pearl bids her goodnight to Scar and Grian, the other two having already retired for the night. No longer is the atmosphere loud enough to drown out her worries, and they grow louder to the quiet tune of murmured conversation and ashes crackling in the fire pit as Pearl walks back to her things.

The stars wink as Pearl zips herself into her tent. Their very twinkle seems to mock her, and Pearl tucks her head beneath her pillow in defense. The roar in her ears only increases as she falls into fitful rest, and her dreams are strange, disoriented.

They’ll get that egg, no matter what. Whatever it takes, Pearl won’t let the Watchers win.

(Reblogs do more than likes!)

[copper-skulls]

And lo and behold, as he straightened, he saw a glimpse of something a little odd in the treetops. Someone odd, perhaps.

Wing was nestled on a branch that definitely didn't seem thick enough to support him properly (though the skeleton and physics apparently disagreed), open book forgotten as he stared off towards the town square, gaze distant.

He made his way closer, not raising his voice than he absolutely needed to. "You want to dance."

Nothing.

"Wing." Gosh, he was somewhere else, truly. "Wing. Hey, Wing."

Finally, the skeleton startled in the funny little way he did when woken up, barely moving but visibly skipping a breath or two as his eye lights shone much brighter for a blink. Then they landed on him, and surprise gave way to confusion. "Grillby," he signed sheepishly few awkward moments later.

"Mind coming down. I can barely see you."

Wing facepalmed, knocking the book off his lap in the motion, and then it was a mad scramble of panicked movement at the end of which the skeleton somehow stood safe and unharmed on the ground, book safely stashed away in his unsafe inventory. How he managed things like that, Grillby had no idea.

"You want to dance?" He motioned towards the town square. At that, Wing brightened up, catching on what was wanted of him, before very quickly deflating.

"If I knew how, yes," he ended the sentence with a vague apologetic motion, looking off to the side "I've never danced before."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I… never had had anyone to dance with?" He shrugged. Not even barely convincingly casually.

Maybe he was shy that he didn't have a date? "Not even with a friend?" Oh sh— Grillby regretted that question the moment he finished it. Congratulations! You just made the lonely skeleton feel even worse. "Would you like to?"

Wing stared at the offered hand, jaw slightly ajar. Great save. Totally.

-----

hiii it has been three years since I've posted the first chapter of Two Deaths today and I'm not here lmao. Remember how I wanted to make a bigger drawing for this? Then I proceeded to get all weird abt drawing stuff for myself that took more than an evening for over a month straight and I'm still not quite recovered from that so that fell through. so I tried to get a cute writing wip out. It is now about halfway written and needs editing I don't have the brain for right now. So you get both a rough drawing and a rough bit of writing.

if you poke me around the 20th there's a high chance this is like actually semi-finished and just needs to get re-typed. so uh

god i've been writing td for three years. here's to TD quite possibly seeing me get a title or two before I finish it lmao

[stiffyck]

Stiff I am so sorry, I was meaning to write chapter 4 of AAP, but my brain decided to put off the world building by throwing out ten pages of late story, Mumbo POV that I'm eventually going to have to rewrite from Cub or Scar's pov. As an apology for no new chapter, I offer you a little of that mess to tide you over. Be aware, there are spoilers for end story, though they are mild. It takes place after Mumbo comes back from his break.

Scar had been giving him a wary look as he landed, wobbling slightly until he managed to pull his cane out of his inventory. Then he shifted slightly, scratching the back of his head and looking away towards the horizon. Next to him Cub was giving both of them a deeply unimpressed look, however the majority of it seemed to be directed at Scar. Cub whistled something quietly, which seemed to jolt Scar out of whatever fugue he'd been in.

"What no! No, of course I wasn't…I didn't…I was just…"

"I'm not the one you should be saying that to."

Scar sighed, running a hand down his face before tossing the ponytail back over his shoulder before squaring them and finally managing to make eye contact with Mumbo.

"Er, uhm, hi Mumbo. Long time, no see." He trailed off awkwardly with a wince, and the blue on his cheek and the tips of his ears darkened. He shuffled in place a bit. "How…uh how have you been?"

Mumbo honestly couldn't stand the mutual awkwardness anymore so he decided to put an end to it.

"Oh for goodness sake, stop waffling and get over here," he said, opening his arms a bit.

Scar was in his arms in a second and he gave the other man a careful squeeze, mindful of the new appendages. Though this close he could see they were actually attached to the remnants of flesh limbs, with redstone wires littering the skin around the base. He recognized the handiwork, and also realized that until now, unlike Cub, Mumbo had never seen Scar's wings, or seen him in his vex form at all. The reason why, was now staring him in the face.

Then he stiffened as his two brain cells managed to spark a memory and he realized what he was seeing. Scar's skin was stained distinctly blue, a fairly vivid color of it, not vex gray blue. In fact, the particular shade of blue, at least within the game, was extremely distinctive, belonging to a single thing, or rather a single creature.

When he stiffened, Scar pulled back. He seemed to be bracing himself for something, though Mumbo wasn't sure exactly what. Luckily the brain cells seemed to be cooperating and he came to a realization. How many times had Scar been forced to live through this realization since managing to get his wings back? How many times had he had to explain his existence because of other people's assumptions? 

Mumbo dearly wanted answers, but he didn't need them immediately. Instead he gave Scar a smile, squeezing his shoulders before carefully stepping back, making sure Scar was steady before letting go.

"It's good to see you, Scar. Your base looks magnificent."

Scar was clearly caught off guard by his comment because his double take was almost comical. 

"Huh?"

Cub whistled something, which was obviously an insult based on his smug smile and Scar's indignant look.

"I'm gonna get you back for that later, Cub," he said, giving the vex a jabbing point. Then he turned back towards Mumbo. "Thanks, Mumbo. Welcome back. I hope your break was enjoyable. " Behind him his wings twitched and shifted, clearly showing his nervous energy.

Please enjoy and hopefully I'll get the actual chapter out by Monday (though with the stream weekend I make no guarantees)

-The Weird Nonny

PS: This did help my brain sort some things about the world building out, because Mumbo is a Player, and thus I got to see things from a player perspective for the first time.

ANFNJFJDNSNWE OMGGGG I LOVE THIS SO MUCH JSNXJSJS

Also no rush with a new chapter, its your fanfic after all!!!

[photosynthefish-12]

I had a dream that I was Phantom, coming home after many years.

Long post below the cut - I'm not going to write further, feel free to expand on this.

I left because of something terrible Vlad did to me, after which I couldn't stay - no matter how much my friends wanted me to. They knew I lived, and not much else.

Sam, Tucker, Valerie, and Ellie stayed together now - not because of me, but because of a bond that defied words. The bond of those who fought and faced horrors together, those who could act as one. Ties of friendship brought a deep, wordless completion more sacred than marriage.

They all shared a business - a conservatory and dojo. The entrance was sunk into the ground, a riot of wild (native) plants making the low-pitched roof seem like a hill. Inside was dark and bright at once, natural light falling in bands and squares among shadows leeching from the dark wooden walls. This building was made with care, and set on the comfortable edge between safely enclosed and open to the sky. Downstairs (the hallway narrowing to privacy without reaching into restraint, then opening into a broad, bright room), the dojo spilled outdoors into a cobbled courtyard cradled by the hill.

Upstairs, Sam helps with the inventory, counting fertilizer tablets from their cabinet. At the next desk over, Tucker manages the finances at his laptop, looking ever-so-slightly towards the door because he is also the receptionist.

Downstairs, Valerie spars with Ellie. Their class watches as the masters spar just slowly enough to follow, keeping up a light and steady stream of commentary and laughter.

For a moment, their peace is unbroken by his presence. Danny, Phantom, unnoticed as a fleeting ghost.

[fragmentofmemories]

CoH question to the CoH person: Do you have any tips for inventory management? It's been hard to find out what to sell and what to keep for alchemy and stuff

This is a pretty common problem I found early on. It's hard to get used to it at first, but not impossible.

Drop rates are high in CoH1, so it's pretty easy to fill the inventory space. But one thing to consider is that most items you find don't really have a use beyond being sellable or craftable.

So, rather than having it all in your inventory, it's possible to instead store everything you find in the dorm lockers. That way you won't have to carry any unnecessary item around.

(Had to use an old save I have on my phone, cue the resolution being like this)

Each academy has lockers available. And 500 is a pretty generous number that, even if you were to farm for hours, you'd still have plenty of space left.

If you're worried, you can also press square either in the lockers or your inventory to sort every item in them, too. Order goes from Equipment, Consumables, Junk, Materials and Key Items.

Generally, I'd recommend storing everything you find, unless it happens to be a lucky equipment drop or a consumable which you can use immediately. If you're low on money, sell items such as Bronze/Silver Coins since that's their only purpose.

This also doubles for alchemy. You're not meant to craft every single junk item as soon as you find them, so it's better to store them until you know you have the necessary ingredients.

A bit of an "iffy" strat, but if you happen to find a rare junk item or material, sell it. Though it's tempting to keep it in storage, it really won't help you in the earlygame as you will lack other ingredients to make use of said rare items.

Items you sell in stores will actually remain there too, meaning that you can rebuy them once you have the money for it.

There is a very handy gamefaqs guide showing every recipe. But if you don't want to use external guides, you can also buy them at the store. Particus conveniently has the cheapest recipes, as well as the junk items and materials for them so you can use those as a start.

Good luck!

[allstartrekgames]

Star Trek: Generations

Original Release: 1997

Developer: MicroProse

Publisher: MicroProse

Platform: PC

This game is definitely intriguing. It very loosely follows the story of Star Trek Generations, with Soren trying to destroy stars in order to change the path of the mysterious energy ribbon called the Nexus. In this game, Soren needs to destroy multiple starts to get what he wants, and you need to stop him – you can even prevent him from destroying the Amargosa star.

Most of the game is played in a first person view. The controls definitely feel very dated, but are one of the things that makes the game interesting. The directional buttons move forward/backwards and turns while the mouse aims the cursor. On the bottom of the screen, you control your inventory, scanning and map. The big square in the middle will show you objects you can interact with when you get close to them, which is a really nice touch. On the top of the screen, your phaser will aim at that part of the screen. It’s very different to the first person controls we’re used to now.

In these levels you’ll shoot through enemies and solve puzzles. Sometimes, you’ll even beam down in disguise and can do a lot before you have to resort to shooting. The graphics are extremely charming and are surprisingly nice to look at. When you get hurt a lot, you’ll be beamed up and the mission will have failed – however, you can fail a few missions before you lose the game.

Between missions, you’ll use Stellar Cartography to scan planets and stars in order to work out where you next have to go. You’ll also sometimes encounter enemy ships and use a pretty poor interface to fight them with. All the good parts are in the missions. The missions are quite interesting. One has you infiltrate a Romulan base as Troi, one involves Crusher investigating a living planet and fighting giant antibodies (it reminds me a bit of the Voyager episode “Macrocosm” and the Chodak from Future’s Past/Final Unity even pop up.

Eventually, you’ll reach Veridian III. As Geordi is never captured in this game, things play out differently. Picard ends up in the Nexus (which is just a flashing blank screen as he asks Kirk for help), then Kirk delays Soren and falls off a bridge. Soren then beams to the Enterprise and initiates a warp core overload. After separating the saucer, Picard beams to the stardrive section and stops Soren from destroying the saucer (although he does enough damage that it has to crash land) before finding an escape pod with a sleeping Spot and watching the stardrive section blow up in a very impressive cutscene that looks like it’s actually using the studio models.

Although that’s not the only ending – you can actually fully defeat Soren. He brings a large fleet with him to Veridian III, but if you manage to disable his ship, he’ll self-destruct. The Enterprise D warps off unscathed and Kirk will still be in the Nexus.