#Multi level menu

[divinector]

Bootstrap 5 Multi-level Dropdown Menu

[ribbonskiss]

ANOTHER ROUND -> CS55

Part 1 of 3. Read Part 2 here.

Pairing: Carlos Sainz x reader

Summary: A spontaneous night out alone lands you in a new bar in town, owned by a man whose story seems to intersect with yours—not that you know it, yet.

Tags: strangers to lovers, meet cute, pretty fluffy, slow burn, multi-part fic

A/N: okay so I got REAAAALLY carried away with this one so it’ll probably have to be a two or three-parter 😭 in other news, happy new year everyone! I’m excited to be writing more things and sharing them with you all in 2025 ☺️ IF YOU SAW ME PUBLISH THE WRONG DRAFT NO YOU DID NOT

It is eight o'clock in the evening and you’re not ready to go home yet. It’s a beautiful Thursday night, the air is crisp, the city is bustling with people, and the streets are lit up by ornamented lampposts that line the sides of the roads. You stumble out of the restaurant with a satisfied stomach, your leather bag slung over your shoulder, but your legs don't want to take you to the metro. The idea of returning home now when the night is still so young fills you with dread instead of relief.

So you don't. It’s been a while since you’ve had time for a night out—or rather, a while since you’ve allowed yourself to have a night out—and since then, new things have popped up in the city. In the financial district, only a ten-minute walk from your work’s building is a newly renovated record bar that smells like tobacco and leather, now popular with the vest-wearing yuppies; almost directly across it, a respectable upscale quasi-pub where lower-level white collars sing karaoke together after a long week. Away from the business district and just to the side of the city’s centre is an area of distinct character: cosmopolitan but residential, filled with terraced houses and stylish small bars. It’s an area where young parents have to put their little ones to bed, so the little cocktail joints are designed for jovial chatting and conversation, not riotous boozing and bad decision-making. To you, this is the place to be. Naturally, you set off.

The walk is breezy and gentle on your heeled feet; you’re not quite wearing stilettos, but the heels are still dangerously fiddly. A blink of an eye later and you’re turning around the corner into the main street, one side littered with dazzling storefronts that have turned their lights out for the day and bars that have only just started their work hours. You furrow your eyebrows, halting to a stop as you lean up to squint at a sign you don’t recognise. El Matador. You look inside—dark green interiors, tasteful brown leather booth seating, sleek black stools at the bar if you dare approach the broad man in a dress shirt currently turned to the shelves of alcohol on the wall behind him. The place is tiny, cosy, bebop played at a low volume softly transitioning into Sade. The lights aren’t so dim, lamps hanging over the patrons’ heads so the light hits them like a halo. Everyone looks beautiful in here tonight—

—Least of all, the bartender. The moment you settle onto a stool, you regret being so unprepared for such a situation. It’s not that he’s audacious or brash; he’s nothing like a charging bull eager to sweep you off your feet. When he smiles modestly at you, it’s less on his lips than in his eyes, those soft doe eyes that twinkle in the dim lighting, even as his thick arms and messy hair suggest he’s no Bambi. He quickly folds a towel and throws it into a bucket before turning back to you.

“What can I get you?” he says. Thick accent; explains the tan.

Your eyes dart from side to side, looking for any spare menus on the bar counter. He shakes his head, chuckles softly to himself, and the sound of it makes you feel a heat start to pool in your stomach. “Sorry,” he says, seemingly genuinely apologetic. “No menu. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll tell you if I can’t do it.”

You let out an awkward sound that’s somewhere between a nervous chuckle and a sigh of relief. “I’ll just take a gin and tonic,” you say, and he nods briefly before wordlessly turning his back around again. “Good choice,” he says. “Testing the new guy with a classic, ah?”

“So you are new?” you ask timidly, embarrassed at how uncultured you sound. “Sorry—I just haven’t been out for so long, so many of these places seem new to me.”

He glances at you over his shoulder briefly before pouring the tonic over a spoon into the glass. You can’t tell what expression he has on his face, and it makes you chew on the inside of your cheek. “We just opened a week ago.”

“Change of location?”

“Change of occupation,” he smiles, garnishing your drink with an inspired choice of kumquat citrus before serving it to you. He’s rather mild-mannered, and strangely precise for someone new to the business, you think. He points around with his finger. “This is my baby now.”

Your eyes widen. “So you own the place. What were you doing before?”

He winces a bit, and it makes your stomach feel bad and weird when you notice it, hoping to have not offended him. “Finance,” is his succinct answer. “It’s high-pressure. Antagonistic. Then eventually, your conscience catches up to you.”

Ah. You smile bitterly. “I know that all too well.”

He seems to light up at your words, cocking his head a little to the side as he places his rough hands on the counter. “What do you do?”

“Definitely nothing on your level of ranking, if my assumptions are correct,” you say, and it earns you a chuckle from him. “But something similar. Nothing fun, nothing fulfilling, but the situation is stable.”

He nods. “But at some point, life has to be more than just stable, no?” he says, pushing your glass towards you again. “Drink. There’s no poison, I promise.”

You smile, pinching the straw towards your lips with your fingers. He watches you in anticipation. “It’s good,” you say with a satisfied nod.

His shoulders seem to loosen in relief, and it makes you chuckle to yourself. “You’re quite modest for a matador,” you comment.

“Ay, no,” he shakes his head with a smile. “I am not the matador. My father is El Matador.” His eyes drift above your head towards the photo framed on the wall behind you. “He wasn’t thrilled when I went into finance. He was right, it took a lot out of me, but I’m here now and it just made sense to name it after him.”

He lets out a sigh, takes a moment to think to himself before shaking his head. “But I won’t bore you with the details,” he says, hands still firmly on the counter.

It seems more like he doesn’t want to unload on you. And you won’t push him. “But you can make me another drink, yes?” you smile.

With a soft chuckle, he nods. “That I can do,” he says. “What’s your next choice?”

You return the week after on a Friday, after deciding it would be too miserable staying in after a whole day working from home. It’s less the dinner that you’re looking forward to and more so the painting of a bullfighter in red that adorns the wall at El Matador, and you finish up your pasta quickly to take a brisk walk towards the bar. To your surprise, it’s someone else manning the bar tonight, a man considerably more boyish and fresh-faced even with his scruffy facial hair.

You take a seat at the bar again. “Bonsoir,” he smiles, drying his hands off on a towel tucked into his back pocket. “What can I get you?”

You blink, looking around on the off chance the owner will somehow magically appear. The new bartender furrows his eyebrows. “Hello, good evening?” he quips, tilting his head as he looks at you with a puzzled expression. “Ah, I’ve lost her. I must be terrible with the ladies.”

Awkwardly, you laugh and start to explain yourself, but then he does magically appear—from behind the shelves. “We both know that’s not true, Charles,” the tanned man snickers, patting the new boy fondly on the shoulder. “But I’ll take this one, anyway.”

Then he settles in front of you. “Hey.”

“Hey,” you smile.

“You came back,” he says, and you nod affirmatively. “Next time, just ask for Carlos, the better barman—”

“—I heard that,” sneers the man you presume to be ‘Charles’ as he reaches for a liquor bottle on the shelf. It makes you giggle, watching them banter smoothly like this, seeing a side of Carlos that isn’t just quiet introspection.

“How’d you find another bartender on such short notice?” you ask, once the laughter dies down in your chest, leaving behind only a gentle smile.

“I didn’t,” Carlos shrugs, leaning over the counter now. “He just didn’t show up last Thursday—”

“Again, I hear everything you say, and again, that was a mishap in communication,” Charles snaps again from behind Carlos, his peculiar accent growing thicker as his tone turns playfully irritated. The older man simply waves away his words. Soon enough, they take turns narrating the story of how this place came to be (though each insists that his version is the more accurate one, you manage to piece together a more likely timeline from both of their contributions in your head). Charles was Carlos’ co-worker; they were always friends, but work was turning them into fierce rivals; and when Carlos dropped out of the rat race, Charles realised he no longer had his heart in it either. “Why not?” he says, telling the story like a true showman. “I’ve got more than enough in the bank, I’m set for life, and Carlitos bears the majority of the brunt if this falls through.”

“To be clear, he stands to lose a lot as well as an investor,” Carlos clarifies with a roll of his eyes.

“Eh, still,” his impish friend shrugs, with a mischievous smile that suggests an incredible case of the gift of the gab. “Carlos, do you plan on making the poor girl a drink or should I swoop on your customer?”

You end up staying until closing time. Thursdays are the new Fridays, and a spot in this part of town was never going to be bursting with people anyway, especially when it’s new, so Carlos and Charles manage to keep conversation with you just fine even as they’re working. As it turns out, you’re not the only one who’s a returning customer—especially when Charles, with his frisky demeanour and polished looks, has grown adept at attracting a certain kind of clientele. You can see why that is, absolutely, but Carlos catches you off-guard often; you find out that he’s bitingly funny, often going quiet for a few minutes just to slide in with a quip that makes you heave with laughter. He’s lowkey about it, eager to fade into the background as his colleague plays the role of the raconteur, but you notice every little joke he makes, his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it digs at Charles and all of his little expressions when something unexpected happens. Carlos knows that you notice them, too. He’s glad that you do.

Soon enough Charles bids you both goodbye, rambling on about how his girlfriend Alex is waiting for him at home and how she rags on him for having forgotten to bring home a jug of milk three nights in a row. Carlos shoos him away with a smile, wishes him a goodnight’s sleep and sends him off with a pat on the shoulder. And then it’s just you and him, together, alone. He’s turning the lights out one by one, running a hand through his hair as he lets out a long, deep breath, almost as if he’s sad to go home.

“Are you sure you don’t want my help?” you ask.

“No, no,” he shakes his head. “Absolutely not. You’re a customer. But I suggest you pick up your things now, before it gets too dark.”

You nod, flinging your bag back over your shoulder and picking up your coat. You walk out the door, watching as he flicks the last of the light switches and locks the front door. His keychain jangles; you notice he’s got a charm on it in the shape of a chilli pepper and bite back a smile.

“I hope this isn’t weird.”

He smiles at you, his hand turning the key to finish off the final lock. “It’s not. I’m glad you stayed,” Carlos says. “I’m glad you came back.”

Your stomach is doing that weird thing it always does whenever you make eye contact with him now, but you choose not to read into it. He puts his keys back on the carabiner on his belt loop, shoves his hands into his pockets. “Do you live near?”

“Kinda, yeah,” you answer. “I’m a 20-minute walk away.”

He looks down at your feet. “…Not in those heels, no,” he shakes his head, motioning at you to come with him. “Come. I’m driving you.”

Hesitantly, you walk with him towards a carpark nearby, where a sleek silver Mercedes SUV sits idly. “Jesus,” you chuckle in surprise. “You really were a rank above me.”

“A rank or two,” Carlos shyly admits, reluctant to make a show out of it. He’s walking towards the passenger’s side now to open the door. “Get in, come on. You must be tired.”

He’s right, but you say nothing, thanking him as you slip into the seat. You wonder if you said it too quietly. You wonder if he thinks you’re ungrateful. When he makes it over to the driver’s seat, he tells you to punch your address into the GPS and promises not to break into your home. You laugh and it makes it hard to type the words in fast.

The car sets off and you lean against the leather, eyes shutting for just a moment. Carlos allows himself a split second to glance over at you. “You’re very observant,” he says.

Your eyes shoot open at the sound of his voice. “How do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re a good listener, at least,” he continues, eyes on the road now as his GPS’s voice chirps, telling him which way to turn. “I’ve never made anyone laugh as much as you.”

You turn your head. Even in the darkness of the car, the street lights passing by illuminate his tan skin, sparkling brightest in his eyes. “But you’re very funny, no?”

The words seem to resonate with him, the corners of his mouth twitching for just a second, as if he’s trying his best to not smile. He has very seldom thought of himself that way; in the presence of friends like Charles, or god forbid, Daniel, it is easy for him to fall under the perception that he is a charmless man. He’s never complained or allowed himself an inch of self-pity anyway, but this is nice. This feeling is nice. “I could be,” Carlos says, perhaps pausing a little too long. “I don’t get that one very often.”

You arrive at your apartment block too soon. The car halts gently to a stop; he’s a very smooth and skilful driver, just as smooth and skilful as he is with bartending. You wonder how one man could be so careful with everything as he is—especially a man who had only just left such an aggressive occupation. “Well, this is me,” you say, and he leans over you to look out the window, sizing up your building.

Picking up your things, you try to open the door yourself, but he beats you to it, hand stretching out to tug at the handle. You bow your head down a little in gratitude (what, oh God, who does that, this is so embarrassing) and bid him goodbye, walking towards the front entrance. He watches as you struggle to open the glass door, always underestimating how heavy it is. Carlos chuckles to himself. You don’t hear his engine rev again until you’ve disappeared into the elevator shaft.

Questions? Thoughts? Feedback? Ideas for the next part? Feel free to leave anything you want (except hate mail) in my askbox. All my love <3

[ofliterarynature]

HELLO, I just learned that a friend from college has a novella coming out next year from Tor Nightfire!!!

Morsel by Carter Keane (April 14, 2026)

The Blair Witch Project meets The Ritual, with a generous helping of The Menu, in Morsel, a delicious folk horror novella perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, Cassandra Khaw, and Paul Tremblay.

Lou did what the children of parents with back-breaking, poor paying jobs are supposed to - pulled up her bootstraps, went to college, and got an office job with coworkers who won’t stop talking about their multi-level marketing scheme disguised as self-betterment.

Determined to lift her ill mother out of poverty before it's too late, and in the spirit of climbing the corporate ladder, Lou accepts an assignment in the rural hills of Ohio. She quickly finds herself stranded in the middle of nowhere with a sabotaged truck, a dog she’s determined to keep safe, and something stalking her through the ancient Appalachian woods.

If she can’t escape the woods in time, she’ll come face to face with the fact that her job isn’t the only thing that wants to eat her alive.

Morsel is a chilling testament to the burden of generational poverty and the all-consuming nature of capitalism, where the monster and the monstrous, in the end, are not the same.

[life-o-n-m4rs]

bit of rambling but somehting that has crossed my mind is the fact that the billionaire Bruce Wayne that exists in the fandoms mind cannot exist. simply because he could solve all of gothams problems and the worlds with his money far better than as Batman. he is a multi-billionaire and with the iron morals he is often written with, what’s stopping him from using his money to end homelessness and hunger worldwide? if someone like Bruce Wayne actually existed—a multibillionaire, philanthropist, and person with a passion and love for humanity and empathy towards those who suffer—people would not face the problems they still do in the world. i see the same with characters like Iron Man. you cannot be both a billionaire and a true philanthropist if people all over the world are suffering from things your money can easily fix. that’s why we never see people like that in the real world. billionaires like Elon Musk and Bill Gates could easily end homelessness in the US and still be the richest men in the world. it wouldn’t even make a dent in their wallets. being a billionaire is inherently immoral because you hold so much power and money just for the sake of power and money. Because, right now, when you say eat the rich, Bruce Wayne is on the menu.

a simple solution to this dilemma in regards to Bruce Wayne that allows his morals to stay the same: make Bruce Wayne poorer. i’m not talking like absolute Batman where he’s not rich and Wayne Enterprises doesn’t exist. just make him not a billionaire. he can still be wildly, Kardashian level famous and also put a lot of money towards local and global charities without being a billionaire. shrink Wayne Enterprises down, give every employee a livable wage and then some, and Bruce Wayne can still be a multimillionaire, carry on as Batman to solve the problems at their root, and let him do all he is capable of doing to solve what he can with money. anyways this has been my ramblings

[simstorian-blog]

New York City: ONE

(CC List + Links)

World Map: San Myshuno

Area: Spice Market – Old Salt House

Lot Size:  30 x 30

Capacity:

4 Apartments: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, washer/dryer per unit

1 Townhouse: 4 Bedroom Suites, 6 Baths, 2 Half Baths, A Sauna, Indoor Pool, Gym, Office Space, Entertainment/Hosting Floor

Shared Areas: Café, Game Room, Laundromat (non-functional), Press Conference Room, Security Booth

Gallery ID: Simstorian-ish

Packs Needed

Expansion Packs

City Living

Discover University

Eco Lifestyle

For Rent

Get Famous

Get Together

Get To Work

Growing Together

High School Years

Horse Ranch

Snowy Escape

Game Packs

Dine Out

Jungle Adventures

Spa Day

Strangerville

Vampires

Stuff Packs

Laundry Day

Kits

Cozy Bistro

Desert Luxe

Recommended Gameplay Mods

(Please read through what each mod has to offer before deciding if it fits your gameplay style or not.)

City Vibes Lot Traits

Lock/Unlock Doors for Any Lot

Use Residential Rentals shared areas as Community Lots

Build Mode

Felixandre

Berlin Pt. 2 (Doors, Ionic Column)

Chateau Pt. 2 (Marble Tiles, Stone Stairs)

Colonial Pt. 3 (Column 1, Fence 2, Railing 2, Spandrel 1)

Georgian (Arches, Doors)

Gothic Revival (Pilaster 4m, Socket, Trim 1)

Paris Pt. 2 (Bar, Bistro Table, Counter, Espresso Bar, Glass Display, Island, Paneling 3 Tiles, Stone Wall, Window Decal)

Soho Pt. 2

Soho Pt. 3

Soho Pt. 4

Versailles

Harlix

Kichen (Fresco Wall)

Tiny Twavellers (Trim Wall)

Harrie

Brownstone Pt. 2 (Traditional Items, Stone Wall)

Brownstone Pt. 3 (Wallpapers)

Klean Pt. 2

Klean Pt. 3 (Plaster Window Frame Large)

Hey Brine

Indonis Bathroom (Penny Floor & Wall Tiles)

Joyce

 Summer Garden (Floor Tiles)

Lili’s Palace

Folklore (Smoky Kitchen Wall)

Intarsia (Polished Marble Floor + Florence Fresco Add-ons)

Lijoue

A Louer Collection (Apt Mailboxes, Door, Intercom, Iron Fence, Railing, Stone Stairs)

Peacemaker

Multi-Level Carpet

Pierisim

Combles (Module Medium 2, Paneling Middle)

Sooky88

Victorian Tiled Flooring

Syboubou

Industrial Elevators (This Mesh Needed)

Buy Mode

AroundTheSims4

Laundromat (Chariot, Folding Table - Metallic, Seating x3, Laundromat Sign, Soap Machine)

CharlyPancakes

Lavish (Wardrobe Pieces)

Lighthouse Collection (3-Seater Sofa)

Felixandre

Chateau Pt. 4 (Fridge, Cabinets, Counters, Sink)

Chateau Pt. 5 (Bookshelf V2 – Medium)

Grove Pt. 2 (Timber Shelves)

Flirtyghoul

Lavanderia (Note: Non-functional)

Harlix

Bafroom (All Wall Mirrors)

Baysic Bathroom (Shower Wall, Toilet Roll)

Orjanic Pt. 2 (Medium Curtain + Rod)

Harrie

Brutalist Bathroom

Coastal Pt. 3 (Marble Kitchen Sink)

Coastal Pt. 6 (Bathtub, Landscape Mirror, Shower, Toilet)

Spoons Pt. 2 (Cake Boards, Pastry Display Platter)

Meinkatz

Light Fixture (DL on Patreon)

Thermostat

Pierisim

Coldbrew Pt. 2 (Books, Menu, Napkins)

Coldbrew Pt. 3

Oak House Pt. 4 (Bathtub, Shower, Towel Holder, Wall Hanging Light)

Woodland Ranch (Dining Chair 1 + 2)

Ravasheen

Thermostat

Tuds

SHKR

DO NOT REUPLOAD MY LOTS.

DO NOT CLAIM THEM AS YOUR OWN.

DO NOT PLACE BEHIND A PAYWALL.

Tray Files: DOWNLOAD

[d8tl55c]

(originally written just after the Onion Skin actual short, edited for chosenweek (studio audience: CHEERING )) c!Alan seems to regularly spar with CG, seeing more and more of those sessions.

imagining orange goes and wakes up cho from the lava pit...

(they've been in there long enough that they'll tolerate being interrupted for something)

...and they're a lil sleepy and pleased to see him,

so very few of his rapid-fire words reach their ears except, " . . . help us go fight the Cursor?"

.

chosen straightens like a switchblade, and a halo of fire leaps around their shoulders.

worst-case-scenario-plans flood the empty, serene space in their mind, adrenaline starts flowing-

W H A T -

orange is quick to pat down the flames and offers multiple overlapping apologies/reassurances/platitudes at once.

NO- 

no, it's not-! 

it's not like that, calm down pLeAse-

it's for fun! ':D

.

fun?

chosen is briefly caught between sweeping away those emergency plans (for later) and the emptiness that remains.

it clicks for them on that word: fun.

like,

"sparring?"

orange nods with a big smile.

- - -

chosen slams open their door in greeting.

they are ready to spar.

are YOU ready, ALAN?

(c!Alan instantly flinches and also looks a little thrilled as well)

- - -

everyone else instinctively falls back to allow The Chosen One and c!Alan to take the first dance.

the Cursor flickers between different Animate tools, even faster than it had when c!Alan was facing the entire CG...!

TCO goes through their kick-twirl-stance-wave taunt...!

CG gets the feeling they're about to witness something on a whole other level.

and it IS.

one moment they're both poised, ready, waiting, 

and the next, two perfectly matched opponents are wrestling for dominance.

it starts off simple, but immediately ramps up to a 10, to 11, then 12, then 13- they're doing a hand-to-hand thing as fast as possible that would've left Dark scrambling for his bracelets.

cho breaks the pattern by landing a blow on the Cursor that tosses it across the screen, where it collides with and subsumes the Line Tool.

c!Alan draws a few random lines, dodging chosen along the way, then circles back and wields each of them one or two or three at a time with the power of multi-select and a rotation slider.

while chosen handles them, c!Alan draws one massive line across the diagonal of the entire canvas (off to the side on the couch CG gasp and point over their popcorn)... they notice just in time to form a fire bolt, hold it enough to heat it up, swirl it about a little to shape it, and toss out a little fire knife that slices through the incoming line.

open flames follow, the rest of the line begins to burn from the inside out, and c!Alan is forced to abandon that weapon and re-engage with cho in more close combat.

they trade the upper hand a few times in quick succession.

in an impressive flick, c!Alan right-clicks chosen: chosen seizes their own options menu and bludgeons the Cursor with it until the individual options snap off or crack from the pressure.

chosen flames the Cursor while it's stuck under menu debris; the Cursor whips around overhead, circling in to grab them again; chosen hops backward, twisting out of the way catlike and baring their teeth and snapping to discourage pursuit.

it is unclear which side the spectators are cheering for. probably both. cho and c!Alan are making a great show out of it, even though it also looks incidental - they're in their own world right now, utterly focused on one thing after the other, the next move, the next plan, the next counter.

at one point it looks like c!Alan's got them by paint-bucketing the entire canvas black, but the "move" has no adverse effect! now chosen just has perfect camouflage ! ! ! ! and that's a whole thing where he has to mop up his mistake while being wailed on from all directions. it takes him like 10 seconds to remember the CTRL+Z keybind. CG are rolling with laughter the whole time.

finally, it seems c!Alan's truly got them cornered: he's pulled the same trick he did with orange and formed a box object around chosen.

problem is, chosen is not first-day orange at all. they're not average. they're not new. and they're certainly not scared.

they're not trapped in here with him.

he's trapped in here with THEM.

chosen grabs the box outline when it appears and something happens- it gains collision. the Cursor can't move outside it anymore.

they've taken over control of it or something??

chosen raises their free hand, pooling energy there that gleams light and sucks in the air about its origin.

c!Alan flails.

he's out of ideas.

the attack finishes charging, and chosen wastes no time unleashing it-

...

...into the walls of the box, just above the spot where the Cursor hangs mid-air. the energy disperses through the material, destroying it instantly and dispersing the atoms into airborne particulates, but not doing much to the combatants.

one of them lands gracefully on the Animate timeline.

the other twitches gently with pent up nerves.

chosen and c!Alan breathe in sync.

...

CG jump up and down on and around the couch, pumping fists and waving their arms and barely avoiding spilling (all of) the popcorn.

the spell breaks, and chosen dusts themselves off.

c!Alan swaps the Cursor for the Hand Tool. brings it a little closer. just above eye level, where orange taught him was the best spot for high-fives.

and chosen would accept it, yeah, they'd give a high five for that performance.

but not with him.

they see an outstretched hand and they see dark.

if they want to make equals with ALAN, then...

they have to make it theirs.

.

chosen takes another step closer to the Hand, and stretches up to their full height, bumping their head into the palm.

.

delicately, carefully, the Hand pushes back.

it pats them three times before retreating- but cho grabs it, then, and gives it a shake, until c!Alan handshakes back.

yeah, they're good.

CG are still clapping and cheering throughout.

.

while CG are deciding who will fight next with a friendly decision-making argument, c!Alan pets cho a few more times (which are accepted), then feels adventurous (how far does it go?) and swoops under the base of their head for the chin scratch.

chosen leans into it so harshly and fast they lose nearly all of their balance, a rough little trill whispers out of the computer speakers, and their WHOLE back fluffs up. neck, shoulders, arms, spine.

they come to, shove the Cursor-Hand a few arm lengths away, and aggressively smooth down their back before anyone else notices.

they stare out the screen at c!Alan head-on.

a little bundle of text appears next to them, the first one they've ever created (and may not be fully aware of):

[not a word.]

[ok] c!Alan replies.

both messages disappear.

.

the next fight has been decided - to give c!Alan and cho and break, it'll be green vs. blue, unarmed rematch number 999999 (it's been a running joke lately to pick a random number of nines).

chosen hops down from Animate to occupy a space on/near the couch, and, after sweeping up some loose menu-debris, c!Alan's Cursor joins them.

and chosen doesn't flinch when it settles nearby.

- - -

:DDD ANOTHER.

👉👉 oct 30: interactions. could also fit healing 💕

i remember writing this one. i was thinking about a comic or animation but then it grew past my spoons, so--- i tried to render it like i was telling my friend something awesome i just saw go down (in my head (it was the visions again)).

i still don't know what to name this AU (this part occurs after AvA VI (with a nebulous "they got outta there in one piece !!" bc not all the episodes are out yet (<- for future historians lol)), if u were wondering)... maybe when i tie more pieces together it'll be clearer. :/

ill tag and link and generally string together all the bits and pieces ive posted once i find a good one uwu

this is about it for me until i get back !!

see y'all in mid November \o_ <3 <3 <3

L'/_'/_' |..'L'[,-[,- "/,|-•_|||| !

[marreddream]

Housamo Fic - Two Dog Warriors Walk Into A Cafe

Ding-a ling~

Shinya Tennoji is picking up empty cups and plates from the tables when he sees a small pink and a large brown Therian enter his cafe. Hazelnut strawberry and matcha dark chocolate. They make a rather charming pair, he thinks.

“Oh my, Tanetomo and Yasuyori! It’s so nice to see the two of you again!”

Yasuyori beams. Tanetomo scoffs. 

“We’re just here to use the coupons you gave us. We happened to be close by, so we figured we’d scope your place out.” 

Shinya’s glad to see them, and glad they hadn’t shown up until a good amount of time after the Valentine’s Snowball Fight Shinya had met the two at had passed. Days after an absence of his at the cafe were always busier than normal, to speak nothing of a missed Valentine’s Day shift. 

“Aw, I’m happy to hear that! Yes, see what on the menu you’d like, and order at the front when you’re ready.”

“Shinya Tennoji. I hope for your sake that what you just said was a simple case of you automatically rattling off whatever generic customer greeting phrases first popped into your brain when you saw us, and not you assuming me to be so moronic I never learned how to order from a cafe.”

“Ahaha, it was most definitely a case of the former, Tanetomo.”

“Well, perhaps Yasuyori might have needed the assistance, so good on you for being such a diligent and attentive employee.”

“Counselor! You have seen me function perfectly well at the plenty of other establishments we have been to together before!”

There are some minimally subdued rumblings from the regulars about the fresh faces who have entered the cafe. 

“At least...not fawning…Shinya, but…” “Treat… more respect…holes…” “...think they’re …type?” “… are pretty cute…”

Tanetomo’s ears twitch at the last comment. He does a hair flip and a whimsical 360 degree twirl for the crowd as naturally as he draws breath, which is to say: effortlessly yet with intention, before returning to scanning the menu. 

Taromaiti is at the cash register. She observes this action without judgment or reaction. Hermes isn’t here today, but it’s what you could call a slow day, so Shinya doesn’t particularly mind. Kalki is busy preparing food and cleaning dishes in the back, so he does not get to witness this 10s-across-the-board maneuver.

Cafe Asterism’s patrons tend to get upset when Shinya isn’t the server or cashier, but he wishes he could be on cooking duty during cafe hours more often sometimes. Oh well. He wishes for a lot of things that can’t come true. He returns to what he was doing before hand, and Tanetomo and Yasuyori make their order.

“Iced coffee. Grande. And a bread pudding.”

“Could I have… a venti sized matcha frappuccino? Five Monte Cristos, and two shortbreads, please.”

Yasuyori pays for them both, and they take a seat. 

“Oh, 1 hour seating?” “Well, we won’t be staying long. Anybody who could find something in here even remotely interesting enough to justify spending over an hour in this place (aside from the presence of yours truly, of course) would have to be quite the simple minded kook.”

It’s a subtle dig at Shinya, and the corners of his lips curl up a little. But, for somebody whose goal was to win over Shinya’s “adoring throng of fans to show them who was truly worthy of their love”, as Tanetomo had put it, Shinya wasn’t quite sure if…ah, what was it called? If, “negging”, was the right direction to take.

The people seated nearby Tanetomo and Yasuyori smile upside down. There are definitely some unsavory feelings to be felt in the air, but romantic rival nor direct threat to Shinya’s life/ego (it’s the same thing to them really) Tanetomo does not yet appear to be, so they keep to themselves.

Shinya drops off crockery in the sink, and Kalki has already completed the preceding order for Shinya to serve. Kalki’s insane multi-tasking skills are one thing, but that combined with his four, rugged, heat-resistant arms puts him on a whole nother level when it comes to cafe work. Shinya could sing his praises about Kalki all day long, but not out loud. Kalki would explode the world from embarrassment before any of Shinya’s fans could do it for him in a fit of an envious rage. So Shinya settles for a simple ‘thank you Kalki’ and serves Moe-chan her order, who smiles and says thanks.

When Tanetomo and Yasuyori’s orders are completed, Shinya brings their food over.

“Wow! It looks so good! Thank you, Tenn-”

“Taste test for poison.” Tanetomo spoons a scoop of pudding into Yasuyori’s mouth, and then a strawful of iced coffee. 

“Gulp. Delicious! No poisons identified, Counselor.” 

Shinya wonders if this is Tanetomo’s roundabout way of sharing his food with Yasuyori, some sort of twisted display of dominance, or if poisoning attempts really are frequent enough to be something they actually needed to watch out for. Regardless, it’s a somewhat endearing scene, in a darkly comedic sort of way. 

They are in dangerous territory too after all, Shinya acknowledges. He smiles at the two and leaves them to go attend to the other customers.

Yasuyori takes a small sip of his frappe before setting it down on a coaster. The drink is now already half empty. 

“Give me some of your drink.”

Tanetomo has already snatched it before his sentence is even finished and tries some. He drinks a quarter of it, and Yasuyori nibbles on one of his cookies before giving it to Tanetomo.

The two of them efficiently dine and chat. As Tanetomo consumes the bread pudding and his drink at a surprisingly fast yet visually refined pace, Yasuyori piles three Monte Cristos on top of one another to impressively bite down on all at once, and then hands the remaining two to Tanetomo who proceeds to do the same.  

Wow. Shinya can already feel his jaw locking from just looking at them, but it also kind of makes him want to try it out as well.

Yasuyori finishes his sandwiches and cookie first, and then stares at the one he had given to Tanetomo. Tanetomo purses his lips and tells him to go buy some more for the both of them to-go. Yasuyori complies.

To Shinya’s surprise, Tanetomo calls out to him.

“Don’t think I haven't been seeing you side-eye us the entire time, Shinya Tennoji.” 

Oopsies. Looks like Shinya Tennoji got caught. He wasn’t bombastically ‘side-eyeing’, as Tanetomo had verbally interpreted it as, but he really thought he was doing good about not being that obvious observing them. He hopes the other customers haven’t been as perceptive and paranoid today as Tanetomo is in general, but he’s been pretty good about personably interacting with everybody so he thinks it’ll be okay. 

“So was the entertainment of our dining in your establishment to your satisfaction?”

“Aha, sorry, sorry. It’s not like I wasn’t looking, but the two of you seemed like you were having a lot of fun. I always want to see my customers having a good time at Cafe Asterism.”

“Hmph. Is that so.”

Well, yes. That is so, Shinya thinks. He most certainly does not like to see people having a bad time at Cafe Asterism, when the reasoning for most everybody gathering here tending to be because of him.

“Ahhh… could it be that... that wasn’t the case for you two today?” 

His hands come up to his chin. It’s an endearing pose that he finds tends to quell agitated customers, but it only serves to scrunch up Tanetomo’s expression even more. Shinya holds back a smile.

“The atmosphere here is not to my standards. The interior design doesn’t help either.” 

Shinya’s proud of his quaint little cafe, but he knows it’s just that. A quaint little cafe. That also attracted a lot of… rather strong-willed habitué . So he can acquiesce to that opinion. And besides, Tanetomo was not saying Shinya’s decorating was making the atmosphere worse! He can take that part as a compliment.

Anyways, the only opinion on his cafe that truly mattered was Retail Food Health and Safety Code’s opinion, and Cafe Asterism was up to snuff.

“Aww…. Tanetomo, I’m so sorry to hear that. I’d love for you and Yasuyori to come again sometime… but if you’ve lost all interest in returning to Cafe Asterism, then I completely understand.”

He doesn’t want them to never return again. But it’s not a bad thing to let people run while they still can either.

“I’d be significantly more incentivized to return if I had some more coupons to use at a next visit. The food is up to par, I can at least say.”

“Hehee. At least that can be arranged.” He pulls some from out of his apron pocket. “Here you go, Tanetomo.” 

He smoothly plucks them from Shinya’s fingers and looks them over. 

“You just give these out to whoever asks?” “When I feel like…I have extra, I guess.”

Shinya feels a presence behind him and turns around. Oh, it’s Moko.

“Sh…Shinya… sorry, cuz’ I overheard…but could…. I have a coupon, too…?” 

Moko gets the words out just audibly enough for only Shinya to hear, but Shinya knows it’s only a matter of time before people will begin to gather round, and Tanetomo seems to sense this looming phenomenon as well.

“My, one’s heart can't help but be tugged at by such pitiful displays of desperation…”

Yasuyori returns with a paper bag of confections in hand, and Tanetomo gets up to leave.

“I’m off.” He spins, his hair elegantly following in a curve, and heads to the exit.

“Farewell Shinya!” Yasuyori gives a friendly wave goodbye, and Shinya turns around to reciprocate.  

When he turns back to respond to Moko, and Sumael, Amon, and Rue who have also begun to crowd around Shinya, he hears the bell of the exit door ring as it is opened and Tanetomo calls out from behind.

“Customer service wasn’t bad either. Give my regards to Miss Taromaiti and the chefs.”

The door closes shut. 

“I was still right here to give regards to, you know,” Taromaiti remarks amusedly from the front register. 

Shinya proceeds in the distribution of coupons to his patrons who have circled around him.

[gabriellerudessa]

I bought Fallout 76 recently and like... I'm very into it just for the world and such, I'm not big into the multi-player aspect. I don't even have my microphone connected. (And the one I have is really bad lmao)

A high level player stumbled into my camp while shooting a bunch of those chinese robots, asked to make a team (I didn't even know to open that menu until then lmao), dropped a bunch of resources in my camp, disappeared, I was trying to find them in the map to like "how do I help, thanks guy!" And now unmade the team.

Even if our paths never cross again, this brief interaction stayed with me.

Hope one day I'll be able to be high level enough and occasionally drop the gift for low level players and disappear again like a fae of ye old times.

[melloianv2]

I have nothing else to post on this account 🥰so I just made this to not be a dead account.

Goofy aaaah conpect painted all over (no models so this is what I got :((()

The artstyle meant to be a mix of btd5 and btd6

If you want to read a entire wall of paragraphs about gameplay and little storyline explaining (not all the way), then press read more. If not, have a nice day

This idea has been done before, however I wanted to do my version.

RPG is an prequel spinoff game that takes place after 5 and before 6. The gameplay is kind of similar to mario rabbids.

The games have about 6 games in total. and all the games are connected.

~ Ingame gameplay ~

The player usually play as the player monkey, and the character cannot be switched out.

The player usually have to pick 5 units, and their not spammable. Once 5 units are chosen, they automatically placed in-game. The game is turn-based, as the player goes first.

Players do not immediately attack the enemies, they have to make their way to the enemy in order to attack them. Meaning they have to make their units travel. Enemies also travel closer to attack.

Player has the manually pick each monkey to move a specific spot. Or attack. However, the player can skip an turn.

Some enemies spawn on top of obstacles or heights. In order to attack those enemies, the player will have to use one unit to lift up the other unit to toss them up there. which takes both units turns. But if a unit can fly, they can just fly over.

Each unit have different percentage of health, depending on the unit or level. SP stands for special power, CA is for different abilities. (fgor what ca stands for again 😭)

Hp is important in the game, its the way to keep your units alive. If one unit is out, the game still keeps going. But if all the units are downed, it's gameover. Getting rid of all the enemies is a win.

To get sp or ca, it charges up as the rounds go. Once it gets to its max, its ready to be used. Rounds how many turns went on.

Using a special ability usually takes up that unit turn. they must do it when not making a move.

Some units do not move, and only stay in one place. those are not placed down automatically, and the player has to manually place them down.

Each game has an adjective to be completed. This includes bosses as well. They do not have to be completed, but completing all of it gives better rewards.

There's a time in the game, usually to tell how long you spent on a level. However, some times the time is replaced with a timer countdown, which are timed battles. Not clearing all the adjectives in time is an gameover.

Once a game is completed, the player is awarded with monkey money, materials or equipment.

All levels are replayable

~ Units game ~

Now about the units itself, each is picked in the units menu. They have 5 slots available. It can be the same unit for every slot, but recommend not to do that. In order to get units, its either completing levels as the player go, events, achievement or buying them.

Units are usually monkeys, animals (later on) or machines.

There are like classes and elements. Its not the same like btd6

Classes are:

Melee

Range

Magic

Defense

Support

Antiair

Water

Multi (combination of 2 or more classes.

Elements are:

Normal

Fire

Water

Dark

Light

Nature

Electric

Technology

Then there's special units which are called, Helpers, Specialties and Reinforce. All have their own slot, which is only one.

They are usually stronger than units. they either be brought or earn from minibosses.

Equipment is usually used for making damages or defense better on units.

Units also gain exp and may even level up after a level completion. Once a unit levels up, they gain an knowledge. knowledge is for picking certain pathway for an unit to go. like dart -> triple dart or something like that. The player can manually level their units up if they gain points.

~ Ingame other ~

Unlike other games, there is an overworld for the player to explore. They usually explore with the player monkey. In the overworld, it just usually just to travel to the next level or location. The overworld expands when the player unlocks a new location. They can fast travel there. The overworld serves as giving lore, side quests, cutscenes or just to go to the next level. There is a main menu just to quickly go to the next level, but you cannot earn sidequests there.

~storyline and lores~

Now, the games have their own stories. each game has their own theme. Which each the main character is always the player monkey, the character that becomes the hero later, and the companion that learns along the way.

I pretty much somewhat following some lore, but also doing my own thing at the same time without going overboard. Though the rpg sequels starts becoming less and less orderly but instead becomes more and more chaotic.

Examples of the rpg games:

Rpg - Spirits and death

Rpg 2 - Nature and self-discovery

Rpg 3 - War and Deception

Rpg 4 - Modem Technology

Rpg 5 - Parallel Universe and Outcasts

Rpg 6 - Multiversal destruction and Difference

Despite the themes, all the games connect in some way or another leading to RPG 6 existence.

5 and 6 is the only ones who doesn't follow the main characters format.

Now, notice i didn't say heroes during units section. Well in this game series, the idea of heroes were still developing as the heroes were still in training. At the time, no one was an hero in the first rpg. they was either a specialty, agent, helper, reinforce, military or nothingburger (basically a nobody)

Heroes to seem like monkeys with a special title of higher rank whose gets paid. Not that is a bad thing what so ever, but i wanted to make it a bit different here. When someone becomes an hero, its because they did something heroic. Which each game does.

Heroes are usually earned during playing the game. but onwards, previous heroes has to be brought.

Hero characters are coming to the game, however not all of them.

The Heroes that are coming in Rpg series:

Quincy, Gwen, Ezili, Striker jones, Obyn, Captain Churchill, Admiral Brickell, Benjamin, Pat fusty, Adora

Heroes that are not coming to rpg

Etienne - naw (maybe?)

Geraldo- No

Sauda - originally was going be in, had entire storyline dedicated to her. but decided not too.

Psi - child getting physically beaten up on screen is crazy, i don't think the monkeys allowing that

Corvus - the entire rpg storyline wouldn't exist (/j)

Rosalia - I don't wanna

Heroes in rpg series are not immediately op and solo everyone (not every hero strong but still). They are weaker than their btd6 counterpart. Reasoning is in training. (the only one who isn't weaker than their btd6 counterpart is Adora. She stronger than btd6 counterpart. she also the only hero where she cannot be brought or used in slots. She only can be played in certain levels. just like sun god)

Heroes also had a different look in rpg games, indicating its the past. The only ones who design doesn't change is obyn, brickell, chruchill, pat fusty and jones.

Heroes are usually important in the game, as some of them are main characters. Some are side characters (pat fusty, Gwen and Quincy (until rpg 4)). Usually in their own games

Rpg 1: Ezili

Rpg 2: Obyn

Rpg 3: Brickell, Churchill, Jones

Rpg 4: Quincy and Benjamin

Rpg 5: Parallel counterpart

Rpg 6: All (mostly importantly adora and ezili (again))

Gwen and Pat is the only ones who became heroes off-screen. Adora never became one until btd6.

Enough about the heroes

Now let's talk about other things I didn't mention.

Enemies!

Of course by default, bloons are the enemies. However they are not the Main Antagonist of any of the stories. but they are still an enemy. Though they are actually a threat and more than an nuisance. from ambushing, to kidnapping to destruction. not as insane when one actual spinoff game did the same thing.

However, who is the main antagonist? Well, its either monkeys or an entity. nk claims monkey don't fight each other, naw am going do mental gymnastics to make it where monkeys did. Rpg 3, 5, 6 were monkeys awhile rpg 1 is a ghost, rpg 2 and 4 is entities.

Evil monkeys sometimes uses bloons as an weapon against monkeys. Or deliberatively sending bloons as monkeys cities or towns. though, that doesn't mean they like bloons.

Some monkeys are minibosses or final boss. not every single miniboss monkey is evil, keep that in mind.

There also introduction called villains. They are 100% different from heroes. They are units that are like last resort if the player really think they need them. the rpg games can be beaten without villains. Nor are the players forced to use them. Villains are basically just as strong as hero or maybe even more so. However using them is a cost of doing something terrible to other units. For example, let say this villain is very strong and can deal great damage. Every single round that finishes, the villain drains one of the unit's health to enhance themselves. some Villains can also ended up making a unit lose all their hp, downing them. villains have different ways of screwing the player's team. one villain can screw what the player gains for any level.

Special agents from btd5 comes back after rpg 3.

Now wanted to explain each rpg story but in a summary

Awhile the games remain a cheerful upbeat, some of them leading to more dark like rpg 3, 5, and 6.

I won't explain all of the rpgs as of now since I typed here a bit too long. But i can say one more thing

~ Quick list of important characters throughout all of the rpg games ~

Monkey King (tutorial and explains the special units. also in the storyline becuz i thought he fits more in rpg setting)

Supermonkey (he's not an a unit, but in specialties in this series)

Dr monkey

~Appears in all games, but not important ~

Patch

General Monkey

Quincy (expect for 4 and 6)

~ uhhh ~

So, the lore of rpg is kind of different and kind of disconnects from btd6. Why? well, let just say this universe used to exist. every since rpg 6 happened, the world wasn't the same. The universe has been altered (purposely and then accidentally) and now is btd6 known today.

so why i decided to do that as the ending of the rpg series?

in my opinion, btd6 lore doesn't make sense with Btd5 and previous sequels . it contradicts itself some way or another (even contradicts spinoff). only ones am not going say that too is druids, alchemists, beast handlers and heroes since they are technically btd6. am not going explain why I think so, because I don't want to make post any longer. (no offense to btd6 cuz i like the game)

Anyways that's the end of the post !!

i originally was going to add 3d model i was making for the monkeys but i give up !!

3d assets were not made by me!! expect for the for the fence and the hill and somewhat of the pathway.

[turkweek]

FFVII Turk Week 2023

Turks. The Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department. The Department of Administrative Research. Whatever you call them, they know who you are, and what you’re doing there. You don’t want to be on their bad side, and unless they’re working for you, you don’t want them following you, not that you’d notice them unless they wanted you to. They’re an interesting bunch, full of secrets, their own and others. Below we have the list of prompts. Feel free to be as creative with those as you want to, and take your time working on your entries, but please don’t forget to post them on the right date if you can. (But remember, late is better than never!) Don’t like the prompts, or need MOAR PROMPTS? Make up your own! Or pull from a previous year! The 2022 post here also has links to the previous years as well.

This year our prompts are special thanks to case-of-traxits. Thanks so much for submitting, and for sharing the Turk love. <3

Nov 10 - Day 1. Unauthorized Disclosure / Compromise / "It's strange what desire will make foolish people do."

Nov 11 - Day 2. Intelligence / Secrets / "Why do you smile like you've been told a secret?"

Nov 12 - Day 3. Dead drop / Exchange / "Refuse is our inspiration; terrorism is our trade."

Nov 13 - Day 4. Evasion & Escape / Runaway / "Run me down and race away from me."

Nov 14 - Day 5. Human Source / Confidential Informant / "You've got such a fetching smile, but my what sharp teeth."

Nov 15 - Day 6. Multi-Level Security / Safeguarding / "Dirty my hands, steady my feet; send out the message."

Nov 16 - Day 7. Surveillance / Security / "Staring down the barrel of a .45"

Bonus prompts for switching out or mixing in:  Cipher / Puzzle / Classified / Deception / Handbook / Electronic Warfare / Downtime / Bar / Sparring / Alcohol and/or Cigarettes / Self-Medication.

Please remember to include the week’s tag (ffviiturkweek) within the first 5 tags or else we might be unable to find your work! We will NOT accept/reblog anything containing Character/Ship Hate, so avoid including those in your entries. Also don’t repost anyone else’s work as your own! You are welcome to reblog other’s posts, but credit where credit is due. You can submit your works on AO3 to the event collection at https://archiveofourown.org/collections/TurkWeek And if you have any questions, don’t be afraid of sending an ask, or messaging the mod (link in the blog menu sidebar). We hope it turns out to be a fun event for everyone!

[divinector]

Bootstrap 5 Multi-level Dropdown Menu

[felixcloud6288]

Metaphor Re:fantazio 6/15

Today is Idlesday which means big bargain discounts!

The first time we were ever able to access any shops was on 6/11. I think it would have been better if the game moved the Royal funeral to 6/10 so I could get the shop discounts to prepare for the mandatory dungeon and boss fight on that day.

In universe, they probably avoid holding any major events on Idlesday though.

I believe any shop with a "shopping" menu has a 20% discount on Idlesday. So the various equipment and item shops, the informant, and the merchants selling Pristine Clearwater and Bidou meat are having sales. But shops like the herb seller or ones that sell a single item or have rotating stock do not have discounts.

Also, it rains at night on 6/15, so you can get extra money from the MAG exchange if you need it.

At this point, there are only two pieces of equipment that are better than anything I've found in the Regalith Grand Cathedral or Belega Corridor. The first is the Golden Epee. It's a sword the Seeker can equip that has 200 ATK and gives +3 strength and magic. It's great if you are going to use Seeker, but I'm not planning on using it for now. The other equipment is the Noble Tuxedo. It's a clothing armor that gives 200 DEF and +1 to all stats.

They both normally cost 50,000 reeve but they're discounted to 40,000 on Idlesday. Since the tuxedo can be used no matter what Archetype I have, I decided to buy that.

Also, you might as well buy all the Fruit Cordial from the water shop since it's discounted today (I say that but I forgot to do so). MP items are hard to come by so it's a good idea to snag any you come by.

I ran around Grand Trad to see if there are any new conversations or conversations I missed.

Two soldiers were talking about Grius's assassination attempt on Louis and they said he was a hero who should be given a statue for it.

Thinking back on it, More called him a revolutionary, but Grius's end goal was to restore the monarchy. We never got much about his political opinions, but he has a half-Ishkia daughter and was married to a Paripus so he likely did not believe in the social structures dividing the tribes. And he studied Archetypes in the past but never managed to awaken his own so he probably aligns with the ideals in the Prince's book and doesn't agree with Sanctism.

I guess we would call him a liberal monarchist? Well, any royalists would support his actions since Louis did admit to killing the previous king.

After, I turned in the quest for Brigitta. She gave me my payment and asked if I'd be interested in doing some additional work for her in the future. And then a little noise comes out from under the couch.

Obviously, I heard noting and it was just the wind.

Sorry but my imagination is at level 1. I'm too dull to do that.

New Bond unlocked.

The new Merchant Archetype is pretty awesome. Its hero passive gives you a chance to get extra money when you stun or kill enemies on the overworld, it increases item drop rates, and at max level it gives you a move that can steal MAG from enemies. If you're low on resources, the Merchant is the best Archetype to use.

Its skills also have high crit chances and deal Almighty damage which exists outside the normal elemental strengths and weaknesses. So a high luck build can have consistent damage output that crits and isn't going to be resisted. However, those moves cost money, which isn't a problem later in the game.

I also can now use the Igniter shop. Admittedly, I don't think they're actually worthwhile. They're expensive and all they do is give you one additional skill at the cost of your accessory slot. The spells they let you cast also cost more MP than the ones from your Archetypes. Maybe the igniters that let you use multi-targeting buff or debuff spells might be worthwhile, but I never used them during my entire first playthrough.

That might be the point though. The church is definitely trying to monopolize magic use and if igniters become the only source to use magic, then that decentivizes making them more efficient or varied. But also, there's the trade-off that learning actual magic takes time and practice while anyone can use an igniter.

There are some new people talking mostly about the rain. But more importantly, is that a dog!?

This guy appears only at night, only when it rains, and only gives you the memorandum entry for cigniters if you talk to him before clearing Regalith Grand Cathedral.

With all the shopping and socializing out of the way, I talked to the chatty elder outside the tavern. Listening to him gives you some points to level up imagination and also the Memorandum entry for fairies.

And that's what Darin did today. Darrin meanwhile turned in the "Helping the Hushed Honeybee" quest and then went to Tradia desert to kill the "Not so man's best friend" bounty. Timi slept the whole day away.

Darin is level 15 and ranked 8071st. Darrin is level 18 and ranked 6278th. Timi is level 11 and ranked 8121st.

back

[ikilledyvette]

Definitely not distracting myself from Election Day anxiety! Despite the first sentence of this fic, this is a standalone for now. I've got a whole multi-chap story in my head, but IDK when or if I'm gonna get to it. If you'd like to be tagged on the off-chance I do write more, just let me know!

Eddie is the first one to get stuck in a time loop and predictably takes the longest to accept that, no, he doesn’t have a brain tumor, and no, he isn’t going crazy, and yes, this is really happening to him. Once Eddie finally acknowledges this, he becomes convinced that fixing things with Christopher will break the cycle. It doesn’t. 

Eddie, well. He maybe has a very small emotional breakdown then because he’s long since lost track of how long he’s been trapped here, and finally, finally he managed to get his son back; finally, he was actually happy, and then—

It’s Tuesday again, and Chris is gone, and Eddie is all alone.

So yeah, maybe Eddie has a very minor breakdown where he just sorta ... lies down on the station floor and listlessly tells everyone there’s no point in getting up, no point in doing anything; he’s just going to stay here until it isn’t Tuesday anymore, which won’t actually happen because it’s always Tuesday; it’ll never stop being Tuesday, and is it possible he died, and this is literal Hell? This really feels like it might be literal Hell. At which point, Chimney and Hen lift him up on a gurney and drive him to the hospital, and Eddie is admitted overnight and then wakes up the next day in his own bed, alone again. It’s Tuesday.

Well. No point wasting more time feeling sorry for himself. That’s not how Eddie was raised, so he gets back to work on breaking the loop, this time (reluctantly) telling people in order to get their advice. He tells Buck first (because he always goes to Buck first), and Buck believes him because, well. He’s Buck. (Maybe YOU’RE in a coma dream this time, Buck inevitably says each and every time they have this conversation.) Eddie also goes to Chimney (because he must have some idea right, all those movies), and Chimney pretends not to believe Eddie but obviously does; at least, he does once Eddie predicts the next six things that happen. (Thus begins the 118 Time Loop Movie Nights. Eddie’s pretty sure he’s now seen every single time loop movie and television episode that was ever made. His favorite is Edge of Tomorrow.) And Eddie inevitably goes to Bobby, too (because Cap always gives good advice, even if Eddie can’t always follow it), and Bobby clearly doesn’t quite believe him, but humors Eddie anyway. (Also, if Eddie asks early enough, he can get Bobby to change the menu. Eddie is so sick of pancakes. Eddie will never eat a pancake again.)

He never bothers trying to convince Tommy or Hen about the time loop because Tommy only goes along with weird shit when Buck is involved (Eddie gave Tommy so much shit for dressing up for that mummy funeral), and it’s just too hard to imagine Hen “this time he only got stabbed” Wilson humoring anyone. Honestly, Eddie respects her for that.

He goes back to church. (It doesn’t help.) He screams at his parents. (It doesn’t help—not with the time loop, anyway, but on a spiritual level, it’s pretty great.) He shaves off his mustache, not because he thinks it’ll work, but because Buck, Chimney, and Bobby each independently suggest that it might. (It doesn’t, and Eddie scowls for the remainder of the day because everyone at the station keeps coming up to him and saying things like, “Finally came to your senses, huh, Diaz?” or “oh, thank God,” or “YES! Pay up, bitches, I WON!”)

Eddie stumbles into the actual solution entirely by accident. Three days after the Mustache Solution fails—and maybe, maybe in the middle of a second emotional breakdown—Eddie, refusing to get up out of bed, calls 911, and says, “Well, turns out I’m still stuck in this time loop. Any advice?”

Maddie takes the call, and while she clearly thinks Eddie is either having some kind of psychological meltdown (possibly true) or has a terrible head injury (not true, unfortunately), she’s also ... nice, offering good-natured commiseration about the time loop in between more professional questions like “are you bleeding” or “is there anyone else around, Eddie?” She sounds worried but also calm, like this isn’t even in her Top 10 Weirdest 911 Calls, and for some reason, he finds that oddly soothing.

Eddie ends up in the hospital again, but the next day when everything resets, he asks Maddie to lunch, saying yeah, it’s kind of out of the blue, but isn’t it weird how little time they’ve actually spent together over the past seven years? Maddie agrees, and lunch goes great. They have a surprising amount in common: Buck, obviously, but also complicated relationships with their parents, and struggles with depression, and a history of leaving newborn children behind and lying to themselves that it’s for the best. So. Not all positive stuff, exactly, but it’s kinda good to have someone else to talk to about it. And they chat about lighter stuff, too. Maddie says she’ll try one of his telenovelas if he tries one of her k-dramas. He formally accepts with a handshake, and she laughs and says, “Deal.”

Eddie goes to bed that Tuesday, thinking I needed this break, and hopes to hang out with Maddie again someday if he ever returns to his own timeline. And then he wakes up, and it’s—Wednesday? And Eddie doesn’t know what the hell to do with that. 

He’s not ... could he ... could he be secretly in love with Maddie? 

Eddie barely gets through the thought before making a face and immediately shaking his head. No, Maddie’s pretty, and she's nice, and he can see why both Buck and Chimney adore her—but he doesn’t love her, and she definitely doesn’t love him, and getting tacos together doesn’t exactly feel like the kind of Important Life Lesson that all of Chimney’s movies taught him to expect. Eddie considers having a third mini breakdown about it, but it’s Wednesday now, so unfortunately, there will be actual consequences for that.

Instead, Eddie goes back to work and just ... continues on with his life. He doesn’t tell anyone about the time loop, obviously, because no one but Buck would believe him, and even if they did believe him, they’d just tease Eddie that his Important Life Lesson was to make a friend. (Eddie has friends! Ones outside the 118, even! He has Tommy! And ... and other people! Okay, Eddie used to have a lot more friends, but lately, he’s just ... he’s been so busy with work. He’s picking up all the overtime he can because otherwise he’s home alone in an empty house, looking at old pictures and collapsing in his son’s bed and crying where no one can see him—but it’s fine. He’s fine.)

Okay, maybe he hasn’t been fine. But other than Eddie’s new aversion to pancakes and a neurotic need to check the date roughly twenty times a day, he’s actually doing pretty great now. For one thing, he and Maddie keep getting lunches and swapping TV shows. (Chimney and Buck squint at them, suspicious of this newfound alliance.) And most importantly, Eddie hasn’t forgotten what he learned about finally reconnecting with his son. (The short version: honest communication and lots and lots of therapy.) Three weeks after the time loop ends, Christopher finally comes home on two conditions: Eddie keeps going to therapy and also finally shaves the mustache.

Eddie does both.

[krypticcafe]

❧ The Menu

aka The Masterlist

Please expect the menu to be subject to change as we add more items and further expand and categorize them. It is our job to make things as convenient and enjoyable for you all. If you see something missing or want to make a suggestion, please refer to our request box.

Thank you, ✎ Kryptid

Quick drinks to satiate that fix, small but rich pastries, sides that leave you feeling satisfied, and warm meals with several courses to keep you full, we have it all and in so many flavors, some for more mature customers. And if we don't? Check out our customer service policy* and pop by the request box when we're open ;)

*Other fandoms and characters can be found on our Customer Service Policy page.

☕︎ = Staff Picks

✎﹏Call of Duty

König

Take On Me (König/GN!Reader)

Fight or not, you're pretty sure you could take him on.

Logan Walker

☕︎ Shatter (Logan Walker/GN!Reader)(Drabble)

Multi-Character

Headcanons & Spitballs

☕︎ When you call them 'babygirl' (TF141 + König/GN!Reader)

☕︎ When they call you 'babygirl (TF141 + König/GN!Reader)

TF141 w/a hypersexual partner (GN!Reader)

COD:MWII boys w/a curly-haired partner (TF141 + König/GN!Reader)

COD:MW boys w/an autistic partner (TF141 + KorTac + Los Vaqueros/GN!Reader)

TF141 Monster/Hybrid AU

Oneshots

Fight Song (April Fools 2023)

☕︎ Me and the Devil (Platonic)(141/Reader)(Oneshot)

You can see it. The devil. It laughs, and laughs, and laughs, mocks you for your childish stupidity and naivete. To think the angels would come marching in, that you'd make it out with any semblance of sanity. You can't fight it, you can't even hide from it. All you can do is lie in your grave.

Multi-Part/Series

☕︎ Everything I Wanted (Platonic)(141/Los Vaqueros/Reader): Part 1, Part 2

Kicking, punching, cutting, all sorts of torture you were prepared for. But drugs? That was a whole new level of crazy you didn't sign up for, and lord knows the 141 wasn't going to stand for it. No one will.

✎﹏Slashers/Dead By Daylight

Harry Warden/The Miner

Happy Super Late Valentines (GN!Reader)(Drabble)

You had a shitty Valentine's day, and Harry comes to pick up the leftovers.

Multi-Character

Headcanons & Spitballs

Slashers comforting their partner after a nightmare (GN!Reader)

DBD killers w/a partner who wants to take it slow (GN! Reader)

Remember, you can always ask for a custom item in our request box when it's open! If you're not sure what we offer or want to know what you can and can't order, refer to our Customer Service Policy, aka the Rules!

[tinywonders8]

Tally Training in Chandigarh: Build a Successful Accounting Career

In today’s fast-paced digital economy, proficiency in accounting software like Tally is no longer optional — it’s a necessity. Whether you’re a student, a working professional, or someone planning a career shift into finance, Tally training in Chandigarh offers a golden opportunity to build a solid foundation in business accounting. With growing business activity in the region, mastering Tally can set you apart in the competitive job market.

Introduction to Tally and Its Relevance

Tally is one of the most widely used business accounting software in India. It simplifies complex financial operations such as invoicing, inventory management, taxation, payroll processing, and financial reporting. Tally ERP 9, the earlier version, was known for its robust features, while Tally Prime — the latest iteration — offers an intuitive interface and smarter navigation for enhanced productivity.

In a country where small and medium enterprises form the economic backbone, Tally plays a critical role in helping businesses maintain compliance and streamline operations. From automating GST filings to tracking stock levels in real time, Tally’s capabilities are deeply aligned with the needs of modern Indian enterprises.

Why Choose Tally Training in Chandigarh?

Chandigarh has steadily grown into a major educational and business center in North India. With its well-connected infrastructure and proximity to Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, it attracts students and professionals from across the region.

The city boasts several reputed training institutes that specialize in job-oriented programs, including Tally training in Chandigarh. These institutes not only provide structured learning but also offer real-world exposure through internships and industry interactions. The business-friendly environment of Tricity — comprising Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula — further enhances placement opportunities for Tally-trained individuals.

Key Features of a Good Tally Training Institute

Selecting the right institute can make a big difference in how effectively you master Tally. Look for the following features when choosing your Tally course:

Certified and experienced trainers ensure you’re learning from professionals who understand both the software and its industry applications. Practical exposure through case studies and real-time projects helps you gain confidence in using Tally in real-world scenarios.

Modern Tally courses now include essential modules like GST compliance, inventory control, payroll processing, MIS report generation, and taxation management. Institutes that regularly update their syllabus in sync with government norms and business trends are more valuable.

Personalized mentorship, flexible batch timings (weekend/evening), and career support services like resume building and mock interviews can significantly enhance your learning experience.

Career Scope After Tally Training

Completing a certified Tally course can unlock a variety of career paths. Common roles include:

Accountant

GST Consultant

Billing Executive

Finance Executive

Audit Assistant

Tally skills are especially in demand in sectors like retail, manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and professional services. Small and mid-sized businesses across the Tricity area consistently hire Tally-certified professionals for daily bookkeeping, tax filing, and reporting.

The average starting salary for a fresher with Tally training ranges from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per month, with rapid growth potential as you gain experience and industry exposure.

Tally ERP 9 vs Tally Prime: What You’ll Learn

A well-rounded Tally training program in Chandigarh covers both Tally ERP 9 and the newer Tally Prime. While ERP 9 remains in use across many companies, Tally Prime introduces improved usability with a simplified menu structure, enhanced multi-tasking, and better data tracking.

Key modules you’ll explore include:

Financial Accounting and Ledger Management

Inventory Management and Stock Control

Payroll Setup and Salary Processing

GST and TDS Return Filing

MIS Reports and Business Intelligence

Data Backup and Security Features

You’ll also learn how to use Tally as a business management tool that integrates seamlessly with compliance and audit requirements.

Best Tally Training Institutes in Chandigarh

When choosing an institute, reputation matters. The best Tally training institutes in Chandigarh offer practical curriculum, certified trainers, placement assistance, and flexible learning schedules.

Bright Career Solutions Mohali stands out as a highly rated institute offering in-depth Tally training with practical exposure. With expert faculty, dedicated career support, and strong student feedback, BCS Mohali has become a trusted name in Tally education in the region.

Students regularly highlight the institute’s hands-on training approach, one-on-one mentorship, and successful placement records across local businesses and startups.

FAQs About Tally Courses in Chandigarh

Q. Is Tally useful for non-commerce students? Ans. Yes. Tally is designed to be user-friendly and can be learned by students from non-commerce backgrounds. Institutes usually begin with accounting basics before diving into software-specific training.

Q. What is the typical duration and cost of Tally training? Ans. The duration can range from 1 to 3 months depending on the course level (basic to advanced). Fees generally range from ₹5,000 to ₹15,000. Institutes like BCS Mohali also offer installment plans.

Q. Is a Tally certification necessary to get a job? Ans. While not mandatory, a certification adds credibility to your resume and significantly boosts your chances during hiring. Certified professionals are often preferred for finance and accounts roles.

Conclusion

Tally training in Chandigarh is more than just a short-term course — it’s a launchpad for a rewarding career in finance and accounting. With businesses increasingly relying on Tally for daily operations and compliance, skilled professionals are in high demand.

Whether you’re a student, job seeker, or professional looking to upgrade your skills, enrolling in a Tally course from a reputed institute like Bright Career Solutions Mohali can help you take a decisive step toward career success. The right training, combined with dedication and practice, can turn you into a valuable asset for any business.

[miloscat]

[Review] Katamari Damacy Rolling Live (ATV)

After fourteen years, a new, proper Katamari game!

Although there's been a string of Katamari releases recently, they've all been half-baked spinoffs or remakes. The last real proper games were in 2011, one for Vita and one on iOS (now delisted). Which is why it was a pleasant surprise to get an all-new Katamari instalment with new content just this month. Sure, it's exclusive to Apple Arcade which is sure to cause some consternation, but it's a thrill for Namco to put a bit of effort in for once.

The thin conceit for this instalment is that the King of All Cosmos has become a streamer. Levels are collabs with other streamers, and a fake rolling chatbox responds to your rolling efforts. Progression is gated by number of subscribers, which are somehow related to your performance in each level; unlocking the later levels then requires a bit of grinding, but finding collectibles like playable cousins got me to revisit earlier ones enough to easily clear the requirements (I would not have bothered with this if not for the wonderful Junglekun's prompt guide on the Katamari on the Web forums). The theme isn't deep but it's a bit of fun, especially with the level names that are structured like clickbait video/stream titles.

The gameplay, well, it's classic Katamari! You start small, you roll around sticking objects to your ball until it grows bigger and can collect larger things. It's still a fantastic idea, and it still works perfectly well here. As always, you push the Katamari around with a novel twin-stick control scheme (a simpler method is the default, but the real controls are still there) and you must reckon with its weight and momentum. This is a "back to basics" sort of game, without Forever's jump and magnet hearts or silly multiplayer modes, or Touch's stretching gimmick, which is fine I guess.

Rolling Live really doesn't stray from the formula of the early games, but hey, it's a good formula. It still has the colourful low-poly look and a catchy multi-genre soundtrack. It's got a decent selection of cousins with more to come in future updates, plus a handful of new ones including my new favourite Catherine the they/them dabbing cousin in a cat suit. Most importantly it has new levels and objectives, like a fishing contest, an amusement park, finding particular types of rubber duck in a bathhouse, etc., as well as revisiting previous themes such as the eating contest level and the infamous cowbear challenge. And of course levels are full of the usual silly little scenarios and setpieces built out of those lovely low-poly objects.

I played this on Apple TV with a controller and it worked great. I had doubts about the device's performance after my time with Sonic Dream Team, but I think the only time I noticed a poor framerate was ironically during the tutorial level, and it cleared up after that. Load times are pretty short, but it does unfortunately have short fade-out loading sequences sometimes within levels when you pass certain size thresholds. Bummer. The menus could also be a little cleaner, and there's some mobile-game-isms, but they're not too intrusive so it's not a huge deal. It's just so nice to get a new entry in the series after fourteen years of being relegated to ill-fitting mobile games and straightforward remakes. Thank you, Namco!