#Go Launcher EX

[crowcryptid]

damn they got a glassing beam in this

[garbinge]

Cowboy and Pony

Tyler Owens x F!Reader

Summary: Tyler comes home with the crew after a chase and after a unpleasant run in with your ex. Word Count 4.5k Warnings: Light angst, mentions of parental death, really bad science and tech explanations for the sake of plot lol, anxiety, talk of trauma/guilt/grief, fear of leaving home, kissing and i guess PG-13 sexual situations (not really but like blink and you miss it type stuff). A/N: I saw Twisters last night and cannot get Tyler Owens out of my brain. Taglist: @drabbles-mc @justreblogginfics @kmc1989

You knew Tyler practically your whole life. He was the boy next door, but that quickly turned into your friend next door. Throughout all of his crazy life adventures, bull riding, studying meteorology, chasing storms, you were there. Except while he was trying out a million things, you were doing one. Tinkering with shit. Some people probably would have called you a mechanic, but you hated it. Because you didn’t just stop at cars, you were the person that would dig through the garbage to find trashed parts and build a computer out of it. That’s actually when Tyler talked to you for the first time, he stood back watching you pick through his trash just to get a circuit board from an old computer. You just liked to build stuff, you learned how to solder, how to rewire shit, the whole nine yards. 

Tyler wasn’t just your neighbor growing up, he was a friend. One of the best of ‘em. It’s why when he switched up to tornado chaser and asked you to join his crew there was no hesitation in your decision. You also managed to find a boyfriend, two of them actually, a jerk off one, that only lasted a few months and then the one you currently had, who was in front of your face this entire time. 

You were nose deep into some project as you heard the bark from Pony, the rescued Great Dane who you spent most of your days with. It was a miracle you didn’t hear the loud speakers of the truck you knew pulled into the driveway, but then you realized they had probably been broken off or mangled to the point of repair. 

“He-hey Pony, who's a good girl.” His voice was muffled, he had to have been a few feet out from the barn, which meant he was keeping the truck a good distance away from you on purpose. 

Sliding the barn doors open, your eyes first fell on him. Your number one concern always being him. But when you saw that damn handsome smug face on him, looking up at you with the most apologetic smile as Pony licked his face, your eyes jumped to the truck. They were jumping just as soon as they were closing shut. 

The exoskeleton of welded steel had been crushed on one side, which honestly was the least of your problems. The weather station atop had been missing complete pieces versus just a couple dings and scratches. The roof rack lights were broken and the trailer hitch was bent in an unusable position. But the firework launcher was in perfect condition still, of course. 

“I fixed what I could on site.” You heard the statement through gritted teeth as Tyler stared at you knowingly. 

“Oh. There was more.” You opened your eyes and saw him with an expression that could only be described as yikes as he nodded and stood up, Pony attaching to his side instantly. 

“Yeaaaaa.” He was still gritting his teeth as he walked towards you with open arms, knowing he was going to work his way back into your graces. His arms were around you in seconds, and his lips on yours moments later. Reaching to the top of your head, you removed the soldering headband that was resting on the top of your head like a simple pair of sunglasses although was 5x the size. Tyler instinctively grabbed it from you, and moved his hand right back to your lower back while you let your hands cup his face. “I’m sorry.” It was whispered as he pulled from the kiss to rest his forehead on yours. 

You looked up at him and noticed the smallest scratch on his face and wiped your thumb along it in hopes that it was just dirt but when the mark stayed and you felt the rigidness from the skin starting to heal already, you knew it wasn’t. “You know all that shit I build for you is so this doesn’t happen, right?” 

He let out a laugh, and you felt his body vibrate against yours as he did. “It’s barely the size of a papercut, and I, uh, recall you using your wiring tools to stitch up my head one from bull riding so I’d say it’s not too comparable.” His hands were now reaching up to your face to place a swift kiss on your forehead in an attempt to ease you. 

“I don’t compare, I just find a way to make things better. So now you need to tell me what happened to make this happen.” Your hands had moved against his chest. 

“One of Storm Par’s guys didn’t tie down their gear right and it nicked Tyler.” Lilly was walking right by you both into the barn to drop her drone for its own repairs. 

That made your entire mood change. “I’m sorry, what?” Your head jumping from Lilly to Tyler who was smiling with his mouth open readying an excuse.

“It was one of the new guys, didn’t know his ass from the tornado.” This was him trying to simmer the situation with humor.  

“Yea and when you told him that, that David guy got all up in our pretty boy’s face!” Boone was also entering the barn, following shortly behind Lilly with the drone eyes and controller. 

“I’m sorry, what?” That’s when your body got more tense and Tyler did everything to try and shake it off you. 

David. The jerk off ex-boyfriend. 

“Which ones David?” Dani was calling out from the RV, her hat crooked as she hung from the passenger door handle. It was obvious she was probably busy when the situation occurred. 

“The jerk-off one!” You and Tyler both called out at the same time. It earned him a smile, you could always count on being in sync with him. Surrendering from your tension you raised your arms up again to his neck, just below his jawline. 

“What’d he do?” 

“Ah, you know, storm up in my face.” The irony of his statement wasn’t lost on you, it’s why you rolled your eyes which made him explain further. “You know, just said some stupid shit, Boone’s probably got it on video, probably really drive up our views.” 

You didn’t give a fuck about views or watching the footage right now, you wanted to hear it from him what happened. And he read that off you immediately. “He just got mad. I mouthed off to someone in his crew, he said some shit to me and I just brushed him off.” 

Looking over to Lilly and Boone, you were looking at them for the real answer. “I didn’t realize we were calling, pushing the guy to the ground, brushing him off.” Lilly was smirking as she was looking around at the pieces of the drone that were needing repairs. 

“Let me see the video.” You were pushing off Tyler, who was leaning in trying to get you back in his embrace until he dropped his head in defeat. 

Boone was eager to show you the footage he caught, ditching the drone and coming to your workstation to set up his camera for you to watch. 

“Watch your mouth, Tornado Wrangler. One of my guys is worth all of yours combined.” A typical thing to come from David’s mouth. The MIT degree he held must’ve come with a minor in selfish pretentious douchebag. 

You saw how Tyler’s tongue swiped against his bottom lip inside his mouth as he looked out past David, considering he had a few inches of height on him. “See that’s the difference between me and you, Storm Par, we value things a little differently.” 

It was immediately apparent that Tyler was referring to you. Yes, he valued his team way more than David his, but Tyler knew what he was doing when he said it. David put a lot of things before you when you were dating, and the straw that broke the camel's back was when he didn’t show up to the hospital when you found out your mother was sick. This was before Storm Par and Tornado Wranglers though, this was when David was just working tracking storms in the area for his college internship and Tyler was just starting to get over taming bulls and more into taming twisters. 

When David joined Storm Par, you were already with Tyler for about a year, so it was much to his surprise when he saw you at one of the many motels on the storm trail in Oklahoma not only on top of the red dodge RAM truck fixing something, but also on top of Tyler at the little bonfire gathering in the field adjacent to the motel later that same night. 

But it wouldn’t have mattered if you were together with Tyler or not. The two never got along, when he first met David from when they both started chasing the same storms, there was always something in the air. 

“Yea, we do. Extremely difficult and exhausting emotional baggage weren’t high on my must-haves when I was looking for a girlfriend.” It was the exact words he used when you broke up with him. Correct, you broke up with him, and he hit you with the yea this isn’t working, you’re extremely difficult and the emotional baggage is beginning to exhaust me line. The extremely difficult line was probably in reference to not wanting to build machines for him to use to track the weather, modeling equipment, etc. And the exhausting emotional baggage was the whole your mother being sick thing. He clearly was still using the statement which meant he thought it was effective. And it was. At getting pushed to the ground. 

After the words left his mouth, Tyler’s hands were on David’s collar bones and shoving him with such little effort but enough to get him to stumble to the ground. Tyler smirked, a fully sarcastic look as he shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hands. Very that’s what you get of him. “Told you not to talk about her, Storm Par.” 

“You told me not to say her name.” David was annoyingly dusting off his shirt, knowing that physically he couldn’t take Tyler even on his best day. The secret was, you knew he couldn’t outsmart him even on his worst day either. 

“Hm.” Tyler was taking a couple steps closer now, really towering over him now, blocking any sun from David's vision as he stood tall looking down at him. “Well let’s just add it to the list, huh?” Just as Tyler was about to step away, the smirk on his face went from sarcastic to a full blown smile as he grabbed the ‘not my first tornadeo’ t-shirt that was on Boone’s shoulder and tossed it down to him. “Here, something to change into, you got a little dirt.” He pointed to his own torso when he said it.

That’s when the camera flipped to Boone raising his eyebrows, “you mess with the bull you get the horns!” His fingers raised to his forehead where his pointer and pinky finger were extended in the rocker sign and his teeth gritted to imitate a bull. 

“Classy.” You looked up to see Tyler still in the same spot, at the entrance of the barn leaning against the door frame, arms crossed. “Maybe next time we can get you both knight costumes and we can make it a true fight for my honor.” 

Despite your satire, he knew you weren’t mad. “Next time, huh? That mean you comin’ on the next chase with us?” 

That was the question. It was so much the question, that everyone was looking at you now. Lilly, Boone, Dani, and Dexter. After your mother got really sick, it was hard for you to leave the house, when you needed time for yourself, you’d come to the garage barn and work, that way when she needed you you weren’t too far. When she passed, you were away, on a chase which held enough guilt to basically move you into your barn. The house was merely a place for you to eat, sleep, and shower. And have sex with Tyler, although the barn had seen its fair share of that as well. Now, you had explained it as a habit–preference even, you preferred staying home, it was habitual. But everyone really knew… it was that emotional baggage. 

Even though he was mentioning it now, you knew there was never any pressure to go. You used to go. But ever since you got that call from the nurse’s aid that your mother had passed in her sleep while you were 75 miles away, it was hard to pull yourself from here. 

“Let me bring the truck in here.” Avoidance.

The keys were being dangled from Tyler’s fingers before you could say another word. As you jumped into the driver’s seat of the truck, you looked down to see a note on the odometer with your name on it. 

She got a little more mangled than expected. But can’t wait to tell you about the chase. Give you a little sneak preview, twins, changing wind shear and a surprise. Did what I could on site to fix the ol girl but no one’s as brilliant as you, especially with the vehicle sonar. You probably didn’t notice the vehicle sonar was broken. I’m sorry, did I say that? I don’t think I said that. I love you, I’ll say that too, in hopes that it’s enough for you to forgive the state of the truck, and if not, I brought back barbecue to win your love back. 

T 

These were your favorite; they made you feel included, like you were there. And Tyler knew that. Tucking the note into your jacket pocket, you pulled into the garage barn and got to work. About an hour in was when you were interrupted by the smell of barbecue and Tyler attached to the plate. 

“Winning back my love?” You called out with a smile, your legs extended out on the roof of the truck as you installed the new-old weather station to it. 

He placed the plate next to you, barely needing to reach up to get it that high and jumped into the bed of the truck. “And if not yours then Pony’s.” He was picking a piece of chicken off the plate and tossing it to the Great Dane who was nestled in the corner of the truck bed. “You get my note?” He was standing in the bed now, leaning against the back of the truck cap, his arms crossed on the roof as he watched you work. 

“Of course I did. You gonna tell me about,” You pulled the wrench away and looked in his direction while trying to remember the keywords he gave you from the chase. “Twins, and the shifting shear.” 

“Don’t forget the surprise.” He was picking up the fork from the plate and waving it as he spoke. “Yea, so we caught twins, although they didn’t look like twins, one was thin, small radius, the other was growing, kickin’ up a lot of dirt.” 

“Which one did you follow?” Despite not being much into meteorology, Tyler talked enough about it for you to learn a lot, and even though you hadn’t been on a chase in while, you knew the ins and outs pretty well still. 

“The wrong one.” Now he was pushing the fork in your direction, knowing you wouldn’t stop what you were doing long enough to relax and eat. 

“The shifting shear.” You mhmed in acknowledgement to the word in his letter about the wind change and also as the taste of your favorite Oklahoma barbeque spot filled your taste buds. 

“Yep.” He nodded, “We lost it and Storm Par didn’t.” 

“Before or after your run in with David.” 

“Before.” 

“Then, Tyler Owens, I think you still came out on top.” You said it while still looking at the plate, about to grab more food but the interruption of Tyler’s arms pushing him up on the truck roof, his boot stepping up on the fixed exoskeleton to boost him up so he was on top of you. 

“You’re damn right.” He was leaning his face dangerously close, as if his body atop of yours wasn’t dangerous enough. The slightest touch of his lips met yours and any thought of barbecue and fixing weather stations was out of your brain, in fact any thoughts at all were gone from your head aside from the many thoughts of Tyler caressing you.  “I missed you.” That was until he said that. 

He meant well, and you missed him too, but it just reminded you of not being there. Tyler picked up on your change in mood immediately, his left arm pressed against the metal of the car so he wasn’t as on top of you anymore, his face twisted in concern as his eyebrows raised in a way to ask you what happened but as you thought about how you wanted to explain he got it without you needing to share a word. “Fuck.” Dropping his head and the confused concern, his head fell on your shoulder. “I didn’t mean it that way. Even earlier today, I just–” 

“Miss me. I get it.” Your hand fell on his head, your fingers getting tangled in his blonde locks, your mouth moving to pepper kisses on his head as well. “I missed you too, for the record.” You mumbled it against his head. 

He moved off you and fell next to you, his hand cupping your head as he placed a kiss to your forehead as he moved. “There’s never any pressure. At your own pace.” 

“Says the guy who faces his fears by riding them. If I was anyone else, you’d laugh and scream cowboy obscenities as you walked away from me.” 

That caused Tyler to laugh out loud, his body vibrating against yours as his laughs fell in the crook of your neck. “You’re not scared.” 

“I’m scarred.” Making jokes was the only way you felt comfortable really talking about it. 

“And for the record, you’re you, not anyone else, so yes I treat you differently.” He left a kiss in the crook of your neck as he left it. “And what are cowboy obscenities?” 

You cleared your throat and began hollering typical midwestern slang and finished it off with the Tyler Owens tagline. “Woooohooo, if you feel it chase it!” 

There was his laugh again, buzzing against your body, making you miss him even when he was right damn next to you. 

Things quieted down for a bit and the two of you sat up and finished off the plate of barbeque on the picnic table you turned the roof of the red dodge into. “So, I was thinkin’ you know how you have the buttons in the truck to release the rockets and drill in and all that.” You spoke like you weren’t the one that helped him install all of those gadgets. 

“Mhm.” He smiled thinking the same thing, his arm propped up on his folded leg. 

“Well, Storm Par they have those data trackers, the things they gotta get out of the car and place down around the vortex.” You explained. 

“Think it’s the PAR in Storm Par.” Tyler teased.

“Exactly, Phased Array Radar. And I know we have the drone, which is great but what if we could have both? Footage and data.” Before Tyler could answer you were jumping back down to your work station and moving some things around to pull out a mechanism you had been working on before the group arrived back. 

Tyler was following behind you, not as quickly paced but still intrigued. “Okay so this we could install in your truck and attach it to this.” You were now showing a large panel that had hydraulics on it. “And basically, you press this and the truck bed flap will open and this will move out, dropping whatever you want out, you guys won't have to leave the car.” 

Tyler nodded as he took it all in, impressed, as always. “Pretty sure the handsome fellas at Storm Par use 3 of those bad boy radars though. Don’t think we could get the RV that close to a twister.” 

“I’d build you a data catcher where you’d only need one.” Already having the answer to his question you folded your arms and smirked. You had the mechanism to release it pretty much done, now you just had to build the radar, no biggie. 

“How?” He copied your pose, arms crossed, leaning more on one leg than the other, although his eyebrows were frowned while yours were raised. 

“Because you just have to drop it in the vortex.” Now his eyebrows raised and before he could ask his one more follow up question, you were answering it for him. “And I’m planning on building one that shifts its panel, so even when the twister passes, you can still track it for up to 5 miles. Dorothy reimagined.” You were referring to the hundreds of sensors people would generally have zipped up into a tornado to radio back data. 

“We’d have information on the twister way quicker.” Tyler’s brain was starting to wrap around this idea. 

“It’s not perfect, it’s not going to change much but–”

“It’s a way to get more information faster, that’s pretty big.” He stopped you from doubting the idea. “And keeps us from needing to race against the twister outside the truck. 

“I’m nothing if not concerned for your safety.” You pointed at him with the large switch in your hand while he walked over to start helping you piece some more things together. The two of you fell into a silent groove, working on the idea you had just shared with him, rewiring things and going over different equations to best prepare the data capture radar. As time passed, Tyler looked over at you from across the workstation and spoke up. 

“You know, I get why you can’t come out. I know prolly better than anyone how much your mom meant to you, what seeing her get sick did to you.” 

Shifting your focus from the lamp lit table covered in wires in front of you, you looked up at him. His eyes were staring at you, softly, it was something he seemed to want to share for a while and was just waiting for the right moment. And he was right, Tyler did know. It was the perk of growing up with him as your neighbor, he just knew things because he was there. Not only did he know, but he experienced them with you. He’d come by for dinner, bring you any piece of tech or electronics him or his aunt didn’t use anymore. When you popped your bicycle tire riding home from school, he picked you up in his aunt’s truck even though he didn’t have a license. On those weekend trips you’d so often take with your mom, he’d come by and check in on the barn, on your family pets. When she was sick and 90% of your time was spent making sure she was okay, he was making sure you were okay. And when your mom passed, he was the one who drove you the 75 miles back home in the same red pickup truck when one of the most historical twisters touched down. 

It was memories and thoughts like those that always made you wonder what took you so long to realize you were in love with Tyler Owens. He’d love to tell everyone now that he knew from the moment he saw you picking through trash that he loved you. That when you were rushing down the high school hallway with some contraption you made explaining to him that you made it to help him with the focusing issue he had casually brought up to you was when he realized he could never lose you. This person who knew neither of them had the money for noise cancellation headphones and just decided to make them herself with a playlist of his favorite songs in one night to help him focus? You cared about him. And he could never lose that. Which is why he could never tell you that he was in love with you. He watched you date losers, even went on his own dates too sometimes to see if he could get over the feeling. The only thing comparable was bull riding. Or storm chasing. And with that came you, because as much as you didn’t realize you loved Tyler, you knew you loved being around him. 

“We can start slow if you want to get out, maybe we can go away for the weekend, go to that town you and your mom used to drive out to in Texas, Sun Valley, right?” 

It was honestly the perfect idea. Getting out and doing something that reminded you of your mom. “Yea that’s a good idea.” 

He sensed the hesitancy in your voice though and changed the topic quickly. “Never asked me what the surprise was.” 

“What’s the surprise?” It was spoken in a mockery tone, you knew he’d get around to telling you. 

“Be right back.” He was eagerly standing up from the table and lightly jogging down the driveway into the RV where Dani and Dexter were probably working on making sense of the data they had already captured. 

As Tyler came back into the barn, Pony whined and tilted his head as the scent of what Tyler was carrying entered the barn. He had a young dog in his hands, although the dog was big enough to likely not be a puppy but you could tell from his face, he still had a few more young months ahead. It was a real dog and pony show, literally. 

“Found him in the aftermath rubble, pretty sure his owners didn’t make it because no one claimed him.” The heaviness of his statement hit you as you stepped out and made your way towards both Tyler and the dog.  “Didn’t have a nametag on ‘em.”  

“Cowboy.” You grabbed the dog from Tyler’s hands, giving him his name, and scratched him behind his ears before putting him down on the ground to meet Pony. 

As you looked at both dogs, now curiously sniffing and playing together in your workshop barn, Tyler tossed his arm around your shoulders and kissed your head. “Pony and Cowboy.” He nodded. 

“You bring him home because you don’t think Pony has it in her to protect me all by herself?” 

“Somethin’ like that.” He smirked. “Plus now, you got an excuse to stay home more. You got a puppy to raise.”

[nornities]

How to use DXVK with The Sims 3

Have you seen this post about using DXVK by Criisolate? But felt intimidated by the sheer mass of facts and information?

@desiree-uk and I compiled a guide and the configuration file to make your life easier. It focuses on players not using the EA App, but it might work for those just the same. It’s definitely worth a try.

Adding this to your game installation will result in a better RAM usage. So your game is less likely to give you Error 12 or crash due to RAM issues. It does NOT give a huge performance boost, but more stability and allows for higher graphics settings in game.

The full guide behind the cut. Let me know if you also would like it as PDF.

Happy simming!

Disclaimer and Credits

Desiree and I are no tech experts and just wrote down how we did this. Our ability to help if you run into trouble is limited. So use at your own risk and back up your files!

We both are on Windows 10 and start the game via TS3W.exe, not the EA App. So your experience may differ.

This guide is based on our own experiments and of course criisolate’s post on tumblr:  https://www.tumblr.com/criisolate/749374223346286592/ill-explain-what-i-did-below-before-making-any

This guide is brought to you by Desiree-UK and Norn.

Compatibility

Note: This will conflict with other programs that “inject” functionality into your game so they may stop working. Notably

Reshade

GShade

Nvidia Experience/Nvidia Inspector/Nvidia Shaders

RivaTuner Statistics Server

It does work seamlessly with LazyDuchess’ Smooth Patch.

LazyDuchess’ Launcher: unknown

Alder Lake patch: does conflict. One user got it working by starting the game by launching TS3.exe (also with admin rights) instead of TS3W.exe. This seemed to create the cache file for DXVK. After that, the game could be started from TS3W.exe again. That might not work for everyone though.

A word on FPS and V-Sync

With such an old game it’s crucial to cap framerate (FPS). This is done in the DXVK.conf file. Same with V-Sync.

You need

a text editor (easiest to use is Windows Notepad)

to download DXVK, version 2.3.1 from here: https://github.com/doitsujin/DXVK/releases/tag/v2.3.1 Extract the archive, you are going to need the file d3d9.dll from the x32 folder

the configuration file DXVK.conf from here: https://github.com/doitsujin/DXVK/blob/master/DXVK.conf. Optional: download the edited version with the required changes here.

administrator rights on your PC

to know your game’s installation path (bin folder) and where to find the user folder

a tiny bit of patience :)

First Step: Backup

Backup your original Bin folder in your Sims 3 installation path! The DXVK file may overwrite some files! The path should be something like this (for retail): \Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Game\Bin (This is the folder where also GraphicsRule.sgr and the TS3W.exe and TS3.exe are located.)

Backup your options.ini in your game’s user folder! Making the game use the DXVK file will count as a change in GPU driver, so the options.ini will reset once you start your game after installation. The path should be something like this: \Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3 (This is the folder where your Mods folder is located).

Preparations

Make sure you run the game as administrator. You can check that by right-clicking on the icon that starts your game. Go to Properties > Advanced and check the box “Run as administrator”. Note: This will result in a prompt each time you start your game, if you want to allow this application to make modifications to your system. Click “Yes” and the game will load.

2. Make sure you have the DEP settings from Windows applied to your game.

Open the Windows Control Panel.

Click System and Security > System > Advanced System Settings.

On the Advanced tab, next to the Performance heading, click Settings.

Click the Data Execution Prevention tab.

Select 'Turn on DEP for all programs and services except these”:

Click the Add button, a window to the file explorer opens. Navigate to your Sims 3 installation folder (the bin folder once again) and add TS3W.exe and TS3.exe.

Click OK. Then you can close all those dialog windows again.

Setting up the DXVK.conf file

Open the file with a text editor and delete everything in it. Then add these values:

d3d9.textureMemory = 1

d3d9.presentInterval = 1

d3d9.maxFrameRate = 60

d3d9.presentInterval enables V-Sync,d3d9.maxFrameRate sets the FrameRate. You can edit those values, but never change the first line (d3d9.textureMemory)!

The original DXVK.conf contains many more options in case you would like to add more settings.

A. no Reshade/GShade

Setting up DXVK

Copy the two files d3d9.dll and DXVK.conf into the Bin folder in your Sims 3 installation path. This is the folder where also GraphicsRule.sgr and the TS3W.exe and TS3.exe are located. If you are prompted to overwrite files, please choose yes (you DID backup your folder, right?)

And that’s basically all that is required to install.

Start your game now and let it run for a short while. Click around, open Buy mode or CAS, move the camera.

Now quit without saving. Once the game is closed fully, open your bin folder again and double check if a file “TS3W.DXVK-cache” was generated. If so – congrats! All done!

Things to note

Heads up, the game options will reset! So it will give you a “vanilla” start screen and options.

Don’t worry if the game seems to be frozen during loading. It may take a few minutes longer to load but it will load eventually.

The TS3W.DXVK-cache file is the actual cache DXVK is using. So don’t delete this! Just ignore it and leave it alone. When someone tells to clear cache files – this is not one of them!

Update Options.ini

Go to your user folder and open the options.ini file with a text editor like Notepad.

Find the line “lastdevice = “. It will have several values, separated by semicolons. Copy the last one, after the last semicolon, the digits only. Close the file.

Now go to your backup version of the Options.ini file, open it and find that line “lastdevice” again. Replace the last value with the one you just copied. Make sure to only replace those digits!

Save and close the file.

Copy this version of the file into your user folder, replacing the one that is there.

Things to note:

If your GPU driver is updated, you might have to do these steps again as it might reset your device ID again. Though it seems that the DXVK ID overrides the GPU ID, so it might not happen.

How do I know it’s working?

Open the task manager and look at RAM usage. Remember the game can only use 4 GB of RAM at maximum and starts crashing when usage goes up to somewhere between 3.2 – 3.8 GB (it’s a bit different for everybody).

So if you see values like 2.1456 for RAM usage in a large world and an ongoing save, it’s working. Generally the lower the value, the better for stability.

Also, DXVK will have generated its cache file called TS3W.DXVK-cache in the bin folder. The file size will grow with time as DXVK is adding stuff to it, e.g. from different worlds or savegames. Initially it might be something like 46 KB or 58 KB, so it’s really small.

Optional: changing MemCacheBudgetValue

MemCacheBudgetValue determines the size of the game's VRAM Cache. You can edit those values but the difference might not be noticeable in game. It also depends on your computer’s hardware how much you can allow here.

The two lines of seti MemCacheBudgetValue correspond to the high RAM level and low RAM level situations. Therefore, theoretically, the first line MemCacheBudgetValue should be set to a larger value, while the second line should be set to a value less than or equal to the first line.

The original values represent 200MB (209715200) and 160MB (167772160) respectively. They are calculated as 200x1024x1024=209175200 and 160x1024x1024=167772160.

Back up your GraphicsRules.sgr file! If you make a mistake here, your game won’t work anymore.

Go to your bin folder and open your GraphicsRules.sgr with a text editor.

Search and find two lines that set the variables for MemCacheBudgetValue.

Modify these two values to larger numbers. Make sure the value in the first line is higher or equals the value in the second line. Examples for values: 1073741824, which means 1GB 2147483648 which means 2 GB. -1 (minus 1) means no limit (but is highly experimental, use at own risk)

Save and close the file. It might prompt you to save the file to a different place and not allow you to save in the Bin folder. Just save it someplace else in this case and copy/paste it to the Bin folder afterwards. If asked to overwrite the existing file, click yes.

Now start your game and see if it makes a difference in smoothness or texture loading. Make sure to check RAM and VRAM usage to see how it works.

You might need to change the values back and forth to find the “sweet spot” for your game. Mine seems to work best with setting the first value to 2147483648 and the second to 1073741824.

Uninstallation

Delete these files from your bin folder (installation path):

d3d9.dll

DXVK.conf

TS3W.DXVK-cache

And if you have it, also TS3W_d3d9.log

if you changed the values in your GraphicsRule.sgr file, too, don’t forget to change them back or to replace the file with your backed up version.

OR

delete the bin folder and add it from your backup again.

B. with Reshade/GShade

Follow the steps from part A. no Reshade/Gshade to set up DXVK.

If you are already using Reshade (RS) or GShade (GS), you will be prompted to overwrite files, so choose YES. RS and GS may stop working, so you will need to reinstall them.

Whatever version you are using, the interface shows similar options of which API you can choose from (these screenshots are from the latest versions of RS and GS).

Please note: 

Each time you install and uninstall DXVK, switching the game between Vulkan and d3d9, is essentially changing the graphics card ID again, which results in the settings in your options.ini file being repeatedly reset.

ReShade interface

Choose – Vulcan

Click next and choose your preferred shaders.

Hopefully this install method works and it won't install its own d3d9.dll file.

If it doesn't work, then choose DirectX9 in RS, but you must make sure to replace the d3d9.dll file with DXVK's d3d9.dll (the one from its 32bit folder, checking its size is 3.86mb.)

GShade interface

Choose –           

Executable Architecture: 32bit

Graphics API: DXVK

Hooking: Normal Mode

GShade is very problematic, it won't work straight out of the box and the overlay doesn't show up, which defeats the purpose of using it if you can't add or edit the shaders you want to use.

Check the game's bin folder, making sure the d3d9.dll is still there and its size is 3.86mb - that is DXVK's dll file.

If installing using the DXVK method doesn't work, you can choose the DirectX method, but there is no guarantee it works either.

The game will not run with these files in the folder:

d3d10core.dll

d3d11.dll

dxgi.dll

If you delete them, the game will start but you can't access GShade! It might be better to use ReShade.

Some Vulcan and DirectX information, if you’re interested:

Vulcan is for rather high end graphic cards but is backward compatible with some older cards. Try this method with ReShade or GShade first.

DirectX is more stable and works best with older cards and systems. Try this method if Vulcan doesn't work with ReShade/GShade in your game – remember to replace the d3d9.dll with DXVK's d3d9.dll.

For more information on the difference between Vulcan and DirectX, see this article:

https://www.howtogeek.com/884042/vulkan-vs-DirectX-12/

[the-jade-palace]

Fin Fin on QEMU (Current Version - v2.2)

Fin Fin on QEMU is a project designed to create an easy to use way for anyone to play Fin Fin without the need for any complicated setup on modern operating systems. It is fully compatible with Windows 10 and 11, but will also work on any version after XP.

The version of the game used is a custom made translation that includes all 6 worlds in English. It has working microphone input, sound recording, and all associated features such as screenshots and the encyclopedia work as well.

Rather than using virtualization, this works through emulating an entire Windows 98 machine. To play it there's no need to install any hypervisors or set up a virtual machine, as everything is already set up, and ready to go.

The download link can be found here! (Hosted on MEGA)

Installation

The whole thing is portable, meaning nothing is actually "installed" and all the data is wherever you place the folder. This also means that if moved to another PC, all user data will still be present.

To run, all you need to do is extract the folder in the .zip to a location of your choosing, and then run one of the launchers.

Included are two launcher versions for the different QEMU display options, one that uses GTK and one that uses SDL. The only difference between the .bat script and the .exe versions is that a command window will be shown when using the .bat script.

Both have pros and cons, so I've included both to let the user decide which one they want to use.

SDL has broken window scaling and no mouse integration, but has a correctly stretched fullscreen. GTK has a stretched fullscreen mode, but has working mouse integration and window scaling. Basically if you want the game in fullscreen use SDL, otherwise use GTK. For a bit more info about these, checkout the 'Files' section under the 'Keep Reading'

Important Info

Before launching the main game, be sure to create a profile using 'New Contact', as the game will not run until doing so. When exiting the game use the shutdown option in Windows 98. Exiting through closing the window forcefully can possibly cause data loss/corruption. When using SDL, mouse and keyboard input will be captured. To release this, press 'Ctrl + Alt + G'. When using GTK, the menubar can be hidden or shown by pressing 'Ctrl + Alt + M'. To make the window fullscreen, press 'Ctrl + Alt + F'.

Sounds

Included are two "sound effect packs" for the in game sounds that play based on the number keys from 1-5.

By default, the game will use the sound effects from the 5 Worlds version, but you can swap out to the 6 worlds one by renaming the "sound (alternate)" folder in the D: drive to just "sound", and renaming the original sound folder to something else.

I hope you all have fun with your new best friend Fin Fin!

Fin Fin is a wonderful little enigma from the past, and my attempt to make it easily accessible even in the present is something I hope you will all enjoy.

If you encounter any issues in Fin Fin on QEMU, please contact me about it.

To view the changelog, credits, and some more info about this project check below the 'Keep reading'.

Changelog

Some information is cut for brevity, the full version can be found inside of Fin Fin on QEMU and the MEGA folder.

v2.2

Added several new Fin Fin screensavers the user may choose from Updated method for calculating Transfer folder size Updated emulated machine to use 128mb of RAM and a Pentium Updated main teoboot.exe executable to fix several issues Updated shortcuts

v2.1

Removed WHPX launching options Removed FinFinWHPX.bat and FinFinWHPX.exe Removed startup crash fix as it was only needed for WHPX Modified folder settings in Windows 98 to open folders in the same window Rearranged Fin Fin on QEMU folder layout for cleaner appearance Added 'OK' button back to Microphone Setup that was mistakenly removed Updated shortcuts for Microphone Setup and Sound Recorder Fixed problem with 'Encyclopedia' launching script that caused screenshots to not show up in the photobook Added 'Transfer' Folder which allows for transferring files between the host and emulated machine Added options for launching with either GTK or SDL display Altered updater to improve ease of use and used NirCmd to improve process as a whole (Updater.bat & updater.iso)

v2.0 (Major Update - 6 Worlds Edition)

Modified original Taiwanese 6 Worlds version to add English Translation Added 'Microphone Sensitivity' shortcut to the desktop and start menu Added in 5 Worlds version Encyclopedia (finfinEncyc.exe & encyc30.GIZ) Added sound effects from 5 Worlds version (D:\sound) Added Mouse Integration Added Nircmd to replace launch batch scripts (C:\WINDOWS\nircmd.exe) Added Windowed Mode shortcut to start menu Altered launching scripts (FinFin.bat, FinFin.exe, FinFinWHPX.bat, FinFinWHPX.exe, FinFin Update.bat) Removed large amount of unecessary setup files from finfin.qcw Removed 'Task Scheduler' from taskbar Added Credits and Changelog shortcut to start menu Added dll to fix issue with running on Windows 7

v1.3

Added animated Fin Fin cursor

v1.2

Added guided updater (FinFin Update.bat & updater.IMA) Adjusted wallpaper Renamed startup shortcut ("_setup.bat" to "Crash Fix" at C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\Startup) Adjusted Volume Control Settings

v1.1

Added new wallpaper (C:\background.jpg) Added new startup sound (C:\boot.wav)

v1.0 (First Public Release)

Changed from qemu-3dfx to base Removed unnecessary files in Windows Added missing shortcuts on Desktop

v0.5 (Playtester version)

Moved all Fin Fin data to finfin.qcw Created batch scripts for Disc.id Added shortcuts to launch programs Removed unnecessary programs from Windows Removed unnecessary files in Windows

Credits

Resources

The finfin Homepage (finfin.de) - By EMGE The finfin Archive (finfin-archiv.de) - By Xvemon, Nadine S., and EMGE Fin Fin 6 Worlds "Beta" (finfin-archive.de) - By Harald G.

Playtesters

mchi22 that-one-scratch-on-your-arm

Software

QEMU 7.1.0. (qemu.org) - By QEMU team: Peter Maydell, et al. NirCmd (nirsoft.net) - By Nir Sofer Resource Hacker (angusj.com) - By Angus Johnson

Updating Versions

Included is a guided updater that will help you transfer your save, screenshots, and sound recordings to the latest version.

Place the new version in a temporary location without replacing the original. Then, just run "Updater.bat" and follow the instructions.

System Time

Time in the emulated machine is synced to the host PC.

If you would like to time travel in Fin Fin, you can change the time in the emulated PC but it will go back to normal after a restart. Note that if you do this you will not be able to go back to the original time, you can only go forwards using this method If you would like to permanently change the time, you can use the built in date-changer present in the 'New Contact' program, but this will cause the loss of the current profile.

QEMU

Though it should be quite obvious by now, this project works through the use of QEMU, an open source emulator. Specifically, its emulating a full Windows 98 SE machine, and then the game is run on that.

The emulated machine has 128mb of RAM, an AC97 Soundcard, and a Pentium CPU.

Files

The only files this project really has aside from QEMU are FinFin GTK.bat/.exe and FinFin SDL.bat/.exe

The reason I list the .exe and .bat files together is that they do exactly the same thing. The executables aren't really 'true executables', but are instead just batch scripts that have been converted into .exe files. When they run, they essentially create a temporary batch script that deletes itself. The only real benefit of this is that its a bit more straightforward for launching and creating shortcuts, and that there is no distracting command window while playing.

Within the 'Data' folder is where the bulk of the project is. Inside are two virtual hard drives, w98.qcw being the main Windows 98 drive, and finfin.qcw being where all the Fin Fin game data is.

[dykerightsmp3]

here are my favorite real things that happen on person of interest

the ai is lesbian coded

the main guy reese is widely known as "the kneecap guy" because he shoots people's kneecaps out

the other main guy finch lives in a library. reese at one point gives him a dog. the dog eats books. reese is aware of this when he gifts the dog

they kidnap a baby and then have to raise it for an episode

reese gets two cops who are partners to do things for him but refuses to tell each one about the other person, so joss (played by taraji p henson) and fusco (this is actually his name) spend an entire season going "john I think they're onto me. I think they suspect i'm working for you." and he just goes "don't worry about it". he does this entirely to fuck with them

the show's evil hot lesbian villain root threatens to torture the show's bisexual sociopath shaw with an iron. it is their meetcute

at one point the dog in question is being used to threaten reese’s life. so they adopt it. fusco has a ball gag on during this scene

the dog eats a first edition isaac asimov

the cia and the fbi have a turf war

the cia and fbi both completely fail to capture this one dude, whose name and face they know, for two years

some fucking guy spends an entire season trying to take down the mafia while fucking with the duo and then when he goes to jail one of them just straight up plays chess with him weekly

the aforementioned evil hot lesbian root tries to kidnap and almost kills finch in the first episode they meet. she becomes a main character

shaw and root steal reese's grenade launcher

reese's backstory is that he straight up killed a man for domestically abusing his ex

one of them gets drugged on ecstacy and dances to a microwave about to explode

they live in a subway basement for a year

the creator of the lesbian coded ai has entirely bird aliases

[mindless-bibliophile]

Okay so, recently I’ve been rewatching this show called Person of Interest, and my brain said. Well.

—

Fox, setting blasters to kill: And remember, aim for the kneecaps. We need them alive

-

Fox: *tackles a guy, shoving both himself and the bad guy out of a four-story window*

*a thud is heard as they hit something*

Stone and Thire: *look out the window*

Fox, having landed on the guy instead of the speeder: *gets up, is completely uninjured*

Fox: *shrugs in a “What?” gesture before heading back inside*

Stone: Wonder Boy’s got issues tonight, huh?

Thire: He’s working on it

Stone: Hope that guy has health insurance

-

Thorn: We’re going to go steal a jet

Thire: That does sound like fun

-

Grizzer: *is happily chewing on something*

Fox and Thorn: *enter the room*

Fox: Wait

Thorn:

Fox:

Fox: That’s a grenade launcher

Thorn: :§

-

Stone, to his comm: Call Fox’s ex-brother-in-law twice removed

Thire: *picks up*

Thire: What do you want

-

Satine: I am extremely uncomfortable being here Commander-!

Fox, lining up a sniper rifle: And I am extremely uncomfortable having you here, but I need a spotter.

-

Fox: Well, the other commanders are mad at me, and my batchmates are mad at me too

Riyo, laughing: What, did you shoot someone else or something?

Fox:

Riyo:

Riyo: Fox.

Fox: It was hot out

-

Fox: Are you eating something near my desk?!

Thire: *stops chewing* maybe

-

Fox, on a call with Hound: And we need to make sure that- what is that noise?

Hound: I made the grievous error of buying Grizzer a squeaky toy

-

Fox: I’m proud of you Riyo. You’ve really gotten comfortable with your breaking and entering duties.

Riyo, sarcastically: thank you for appreciating my descent into deviant behavior

-

Palpatine: You miss me between busting drug dealers?

Fox: Yeah. I missed you like I miss an intestinal parasite

-

Stone: Woah, hold up Coco Puffs. I can’t let you in there. CSF has custody over over the crime scene now, the Guard are just watching over it until they get here

Quinlan Vos, flashing a fake badge: Lionel King, Coruscant Security Forces

Stone: Oh give me a break

Vos: Stone, you don’t want to be uncooperative with a security officer, do you?

Stone: If you’re involved? I don’t want nothin’ to do with this

[lunatic-pudge]

Postal Dad Headcanons

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Requested by Gojifan1962)

HAPPY POSTAL 2 DAY!!!!! Can't believe Dude is finally old enough to drink. Homie is going places and I'm proud of him!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-Aight, so I'm turning this request to a pregnancy/dad headcanons cause why not. Kill two birds with one stone and might as well start from the beginning, breaking the news that you're pregnant

-Now, Dude doesn't seem one to want kids. But since these are my headcanons, too bad. I'm sure he's thought about it before, but never really took time to truly consider it, especially with his deteriorating mental health and a marriage that has lost it's meaning long ago

-He's always had Champ to look at as his baby. His spoiled little baby at that. But now that he isn't with his ex-wife anymore, and is now in a happier relationship (with you, dear reader) having a kid or two might be something for him to start considering, might

-The pregnancy was definitely unplanned. A little "oops" if I may. It was nervewracking to tell him. How would he react? Does he even like kids? Could he handle being a dad?

-So, after some pep talk, you finally tell him. It doesn't register at first. KInda goes in one ear and out the other. It takes a few seconds of him blankly staring at you for him to finally understand what you said. And, surprisingly, he's ecstatic! Pick you up, swing you around, give you some smooches. Maybe some tears even shed

-But then the hard part starts, the big thing is that there's gonna have to be some changes (the crack addiction). After years of doing it, it's gonna be hell to quit. But if he kicks it now, it won't be a problem later when the baby is born. So be ready to have a cranky Dude around. You're both gonna be taking care of each other during this time. He's gonna need a lot of support during this

-Once the rough part of withdrawls is over, and he starts feeling better, he'll be already coming up with ideas for the baby's room. I'd like to think that his trailer has two rooms, one the guys you sleep in, the other is probably where he keeps his weapons. So he's gonna have to find a new place to put all his weapons cause we can't have the new baby trying to use the Napalm Launcher... yet

-At some point, he's gonna question if staying in Paradise would be the best choice. He doesn't want his kid to get hurt or deal with the consequences of being his kid, so you guys might pack the trailer up and start anew somewhere else, let's just hope the chaos doesn't follow

-As the months go on, Dude will start to get anxious. He worries that he won't be a good dad for the little one. He never had a good relationship with his Father's, one's dead and the other he basically has no contact with. He knows you'd make an amazing parent, no doubt about it. But he will need a lot of reassuring that he'll make a good dad. Plz help him

-He's ready to deal with anything and everything you throw at him. Morning sickness, cravings, he will go out at 3am to get you whatever you're craving if it means making you happy. He'll let you lay around and do nothing while he takes care of the place. Hell, even Champ will be loving on you as well. Staying by your side during the whole pregnancy (Dude gets a little jealous)

-When it's baby time, he's in full panic mode. Speeding to the hospital and refusing to leave your side. He'd be ready to fight the doctors and nurses if they don't listen to you or are even slightly rude. By the time the baby is born, he's gonna have a broken hand by how hard you were gripping it and he almost got kicked out of the hospital three times

-So now baby is born and Dude now has a new best friend. He just met his kid and he's already planning all the fun chaos the two will have. He's so excited to finally be able to hold his baby. He already knew he was gonna spoil the fuck out of them

-He's a lot more of an active dad than you'd think he'd be. He's rather a night owl so he doesn't mind being the one who's getting up to take care of the baby, he wants you to get your rest.

-Is the type to get the baby onesies that say things like, "I can't fucking read". He thinks it's hilarious. And if you don't stop him, he'll be trying to teach the kid how to swear and flip people off.

-The type of dad you'll catch sitting at the tiny kids table with your kid, wearing a tiara and getting his nails done by your kid. Yes, he will wear a dress if his kid asks. How is he supposed to say no to such an adorable face?

-He can't help but spoil them. Again, he struggles to say no to them. He would kill for his kid. He would steal toys for them as well. He will shank a bitch for an American Girl doll, he doesn't care. His child NEEDS this doll, and he will stop at nothing to get them what they want

-He will teach his kid how to defend themselves. He doesn't trust people and he wants to make sure his kid is safe. He'll be gifting his kid weapons once they turn 13. The kid will have an alarming knowledge about different types of weapons

-He doesn't want his kid seeing him killing people. He knows how traumatizing it can be to see such a thing. He'd feel so horrible if he was the cause of his kid's trauma. But he sees his kid kill someone, he's helping with hiding the body. If they're killing someone, then clearly that person was in the wrong cause his kid can do no wrong

-He really do be a dad that is chill and you can tell everything to. If his kid is in deep trouble, they know they can call their dad to help. Very rarely will Dude ever be mad at his kid. They have to do something really horrible for him to be upset with them. He's also the type of dad who wouldn't care if his kid smokes and/or drinks. He'd smoke with his kid if it didn't make his schizophrenia worse

-So to finally end this long post, Dude would be a good dad. He wouldn't be perfect, but he's trying. He would want the best for them. He does get overprotective of them as well. He'd be a content man in life with his family. Ain't nothing gonna ruin it <3

[lizzieraindrops]

BRING ME PINS FOR MY RED STRING BOARD

Eris looked to the last card. The Wish puzzled her. A wish is desire, the greatest power in this universe. Eris had wished before. It had led her here. Would she be asked to wish again? What else would her desire wrought? Turning away, Eris left the cards on the table and took her questions with her.

From the Ex Diris exotic grenade launcher lore. This will obviously be highly relevant to the resolution of Season of the Witch. What does Eris really want??

guiding others down the same path that saved me. But... I might allow myself to want more than peace. What, I am not certain. Is joy the word? Might I find that again?

From Eris' last radio message in Season of the Haunted. Once resigned to misery, Eris now wants something more than the peace she has gained helping others process and survive trauma like hers. She even entertains the once-impossible idea of seeking joy in her life.

"Hey," Drifter said. "You find that joy yet?" "Soon," Eris answered. "Joy is built... but I have taken the first step."

From the IV. Tether in the Purpose lorebook from Season of the Deep. She's seeking the joy, folks! But still, what does she want?

I am lost in these lunar tunnels. Out of ammo. Short on Light. I am out of moves, save one. I clutch an Ahamkara bone in one hand, and my dead Ghost in the other. I hear a whisper. My vision is gone. My face itches from the viscous flow from my eyes. Though I can't see, I find that I suddenly know the way out.

From the Cloak of the Great Hunt lore all the way back in Forsaken. She wants what she's always wanted, what she originally wished upon an Ahamkara bone for. A way out. Of the Hellmouth, of her personal misery, of the Sword Logic and the greater horrific positive feedback loop of violence that the Hive have been enacting upon the universe for billenia.

Your star got its name from the oldest myths in that archive. and when your mother told your father that story...the star became your name. A prayer that all will go as it must... and the way it must go is struggle." "Aiat." Not a word in Ulurant or any other Cabal tongue. "But Caiatl means something else." "Yes. 'It may not always go as it needs to go.' A good name for a soldier." (emphases mine)

From Caiatl's journal in the Lightfall Collector's edition. A way out!!! It keeps coming up in the lore again and again. Ending vicious cycles and finding out what's beyond them, even the Hive's unstoppable AIAT.

Recovery is a spiral, not a circle. You may return to the same patterns, but you will break free." —Eris Morn

From the Refashioned Shapes (!!!) ship from Shadowkeep. Perhaps the most iconic Eris line in the game. This is who she has always been! This is what she has always sought. By finally fully embracing and claiming the way the Hive have affected her, she is going to paradoxically END THE HIVE'S CYCLE OF VIOLENCE. The HIVE!!! She is going to FREE HERSELF and in doing so FREE THE HIVE FROM THE SWORD LOGIC!!!!!

[lizaluvsthis]

A Chamber of Burning Souls

Fanfic Written and Illustrated by @lizaluvsthis

Idea of creation by @itsajjanea

First off- I'd like to thank @itsajjanea for the main fic idea I feel so tempted on making the fic cause I really don't want to attend prom rn and I dont even have no partner. Anyways- consider this as a valentines meal for yall-

I know how much everyone has been wanting a valentines fic for our gay boys :))

Oh- just a reminder that me and AJ are making an AU dedicated with the Movie we both watched and gave us the gay fairy boys some ideas of it so :D

Summary: It's Prom and everyone is invited to celebrate at Square Plaza, having no partners left to find. SMG4 and SMG3 both paired together.

With Four having no experience of what Prom is at all, he happens to find himself binded with his ex rival filled with complicated thoughts.

Tags: Friends to Lovers, Sun and Moon, fluff, romance, drama, hurt/comfort, angst, gay fruits are real, LOVE IS IN THE AIR YALLL

Relationships:

SMG4/SMG3

Mario & Meggy Spletzer

Meggy & SMG4

Mario & SMG4

Mario & SMG3

Meggy/Tari

Luigi/Bowser

Mario/Spaghetti¿

Bob & Mario

Chapter: Prologue- The golds in strangles

SMG4 gets a knock on the doors step as he opens it with no one at the presence. His eyes phased down to spot an envelope. "Huh- that's weird-"

SMG4 picked it up and brought it to the living room where Bob and Mario are currently playing games, Meggy cheered Mario up. "Come on Mario! You can do it! Beat his ass!"

Mario trying so hard as he spam clicks the buttons from the controller, with another set of limb to eat his spaghetti trying to focus. "I'm trying here!" Mario grunts in frustration as he gets almost beaten by Bob.

"OH YEAH!? YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER? WELL TRY ME B-TCH CUZ THIS BOB NEVER RES-" almost filling up Bob's sentences, he gets knocked over to the ground as SMG4 pops into the couch.

"Yo guys! Check this out! We have got a letter!" Meggy and Mario looked at each other, then back to him. "Ooh a letter? What does it say?" Tari spoke right beside Meggy as she pets her rubber duck.

Four carefully opens the envelope and took out the paper, he makes a small joke before opening it's last fold. "Hope it's not our loans for the castle-" in an immediate took by his suprise, the shining of the font reflected to his eyes.

The text is filled out of gold ink in a fancy choice for the font's italic words. The scent of the paper is dried oatmeal, with a mixture of red roses that can be smelled.

The crew found it astounding to take the envelope a bit too serious now as SMG4 carefully read out the words.

"Good afternoon to everyone, I hope you all are having an amazing day. This letter that we provide you all, is about an upcoming event that will be held at the Square Plaza near the Mushroom Kingdom, you are all invited to join in.

The main event is a party themed for Prom, just to remind everyone it's almost close to valentines day and make sure to bring yourself a partner.

We'll be glad to meet your attendancies at the party."

After SMG4 had read the letter, the bubbles of the air filled in and popped with his crew's early celebration.

"LETS GO BABY I'M GONNA GET MY OWN B-TCHES FOR TONIGHT!" Bob excitingly said, picking out something from his pocket and shot up a launcher through the roof as he called a helicopter to take him away.

"I'm so excited! I've never been on a prom sadly, last time I remembered were other of the inklings I know were the ones to beg for me to be their partner. I didn't know how prom works so I went alone and got kicked out- like thats a big sucker-" Meggy gazed up waving her hand away to think about the past and brushing it off as a cold plain memory.

"Mario's got-ta have thems spaghettis for free!" He 'Oooh'd' rubbing his stomach craving for more spaghettis than he'd eber order in a silver platter.

He day dreamed sitting on a fancy table holding a fork to his right as he asked the waitress for more pasta, sit up straight confidently pointing up his hand.

As a result of Meggy breaking through his 'imaginable-barrier' with the paper ripped on to the spaghetti. "Mario, we're supposed to bring our partners not just enjoy food." He threw out the paper snapping back to reality.

"Atleast foods can be your love match when it comes to terms of 'love' like my sweet spaghetta pasta rolli" he accordingly pulls another set of pasta out of nowhere patting the 'sauce' on top.

Meggy pinched the bridge of her nose fuming out frustration, guess it's always assumable that Mario will always be Mario.

"Mario, you do know foods aren't real beings right?"

The orange haired girl turned to look at SMG4, but to all she could see is a Meme Guardian whos pondering deep from his thoughts.

It was such a very hard decision, he wasn't even sure if he'll attend. "What about you SMG4?" The man in white and blue didn't respond, but instead. Turned the letter to look at the back.

---

Location held in: Square Plaza

Time in: 5-6 pm

Time ends: 11 pm

Note- Required to attend and bring a special guest/partner

---

Gazing through the golden text double checking, it made his eyes felt life threatening from the word's mouth. He squints his eyes. "I don't know Meggy, you guys seemed to have an experience when it comes to prom but I... well-"

Mario scoots closer to be in the side view "Assuming, you've never had a partner to dance with in your days?" Out of curiousness, SMG4 breaks everyone out by telling a word.

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT OR HOW PROMS ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK!" throwing the letter and the envelope at the same time to the sky.

"Aww don't worry SMG4! If it makes you feel any better, I don't know how proms are when it comes to occassions like this! I only watch it on animes with my waifu hatsune miku!"

Boopkins filled out enlightment with a soft pull from the sheets is a body pillow of miku hatsune where it gets hugged tightly by boopkins.

"But that isn't the same in reality, I've never had a partner- or even went to prom- neither!" "I thought you said people loved you and your contents before?" Mario urged in gibberish.

"They do... But- I'm not that as funny as a kind guy I am. I'm not one of those rich wealthy dudes, I don't have experience-" "well you're about to have it now!" Meggy cracked her knuckles.

"No- I don't think you understand-"

"we're pulling you in for your first ever prom experience!"

"Mario's gonn to help you find some chicks!"

The M&M duo spoke in different answers.

The dried inkling added a death stare to Mario's soul, giving him the creeps making him change back the sentence. "I mean- uh- help you with prom." Mario thought to himself with both eyes turning on opposite directions away from each other and his mustache growing bigger.

SMG4 gave them an awkward look, and finally decided. (If Three were to come then... I'll be there...) He didn't want to miss out all of the fun stuffs that will happen during the event.

"I guess- whats worse that could happen during prom?" He brought up a wide smile to the team as everyone Wooh'd in excitement.

Leaving then, pointing on view to SMG3's cafe where a letter is left the side of the doorstep the same placement back at the blue's castle.

-

*ding-dong* a doorbell rang. Where Three opened the door to check.

What could've been a result to happen when you didn't come?

"What is this... A letter?"

End of Prologue...

------------

Next Chapter- Night Bring Out... [COMPLETED]

[j-l-kepler]

BG3 - How I Make Single Saves with Multiple Tavs on PC (No Mods Required)

Hey hey BG3 buds

So one day when I was very sick and a little bit delirious, I decided to try making a multiplayer save so I could play twins in BG3. I'm a twin who loves twin narratives, and my half-conscious state demanded I bend the laws of reality to see some authentic twin content for some reason. Little did I know my clunky little influenza-fueled experiment would completely change how I play the game, because I haven't made a fresh single-Tav save since...

I've got 2 different methods (one I use more since it just works for me).

Keep in mind I have a relatively beefy PC and I also own 2 Xbox controllers I got for like $27 on Amazon (not proud of that source). So if your PC is already struggling to run this game on the lowest graphics, and/or you don't have the money for 2 controllers you might not otherwise use, this might not be very helpful!

Also keep in mind I have only used these methods to get 2 Tavs/Origins in one playthrough. They can probably get more. I just haven't tested my abilities that far yet.

[TUTORIAL UNDER THE CUT]

METHOD 1 - THE TWO-WINDOW METHOD

I also call this the Two-Instance method. This is the method I started with months ago, and I've struggled to recreate it myself but I also haven't really tried that hard.

For this, all you need is BG3. It helps to have a secondary monitor, but it's not necessary. You might need Mod Manager, but you don't need Mods.

For clarity: I use the word "instance" to refer to the different BG3 windows you will have open.

Load your first instance of BG3 (I don't think you should close your launcher). Go to your settings and make it so it's a smaller window you can drag your mouse off of. This'll make it easy to see both of your instances at once and swap between them.

Load a second instance of BG3 (same thing, don't close that launcher right now). I believe I did this by directly loading the exe from my File Explorer or via the Mod Manager to bypass launching it via Steam. I think the way I did it was I went to Mod Manager, swapped my "profile" from my Steam to "Public" so it wouldn't try opening my Steam instance.

Go to Multiplayer on either instance and start a local closed multiplayer game. Get a multiplayer access code so only people with the code can join your game.

Enter that code in your other instance.

Go through the character creator and start the game on both instances like normal.

Once your Tavs/Durges/Origins have climbed out of their pods, save on your main instance of the game.

Once you've saved, have your second instance quit the game.

If all goes according to plan, your Tavs can now be controlled on one instance, and will follow each other like any other party member!

Fun fact, I didn't figure out the "disconnect your game" bit until I had already recruited Astarion, Gale and Shadowheart the first time I did this. I was playing the game by swapping back and forth every ten steps to keep the party together because I'm a genius.

Don't do that. Disconnect your other run as soon as your characters can be controlled. Good God. Don't be like me. It was so tedious.

You can probably use this method to get up to 4 Tavs in one playthrough if your PC can handle it.

METHOD 2 - THE CONTROLLER METHOD

This is the method I use the most because it's way easier. Like. WAY easier, both on my PC and on my braincells.

This method requires 2 compatible controllers for your PC. I use Xbox controllers because I'm more familiar with the configuration and I have 2 from my streaming days.

Connect both of your controllers to your PC/laptop at the same time.

Open BG3 (only 1 instance) and start a local multiplayer game.

Push A on the first controller to activate it if you didn't already (I always default to keyboard so I wait until I enter this screen to turn on the controller).

Turn on the second controller by pressing A. Accept that controller in-game, putting 2 players total in your multiplayer lobby.

Start the game. You'll now be in a split-screen where both views are visible.

Customize your characters and launch (I usually design the Tavs in a single-player ahead of time so I know what options to pick. In my case, if I take too long, it crashes my game so this is a time-saver. I think this is because of my mods).

Once your Tavs/Durges/Origins are out of their pods, SAVE your game and unplug BOTH controllers. If you only unplug one, it usually changes on of your avatars to keyboard control without going into single-player mode, so I always do both for good measure.

If all goes according to plan, you can now control both like they're companions/avatars! If you use controller, just plug your controller back in.

This method is way faster and way less convoluted, but it also requires the controllers to get it to work as far as my tests have gone.

If you have 4 controllers, you can probably get 4 Tavs in one playthrough.

SO WHY WOULD I WANT 2 AVATARS IN ONE SAVE?

THE UPSIDES

It can make for interesting roleplay opportunities! Having 2 characters that don't have a defined story can be a lot of fun as a player. I like familial relationships between Tavs (my Markolac Twins are my favorite example), but it's also a fun way to get a Durge and a Tav in one run.

Building off the previous point, you can explore more stories and character relationships in one run. You can do two romances in one run, have one Tav hate a certain character and the other really like them, etc - it's a cool way to experience the companions without having to make a fresh save every time you want to explore a certain avenue.

If your Tavs are the first two party slots, you get more chances to hear them react in-world to stuff as you walk around, which is really fun and makes your characters feel more alive.

THE DOWNSIDES

Unless you use the Party Limit Be Gone mod, that's now another slot in your party that cannot be used by a Companion, potentially limiting how many unique interactions you get. This method is compatible with the Party Limit Be Gone, so if you're okay with modding, it's a non-issue.

This is a me-problem, but I already spend like 2 hours every time I load playing dress-up with my Tav. If I have another Tav, that's another 2 hours. No wonder only 1 of my active saves has made it to Act 3.

STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

You can't have 2 Durges in one save. Pas possible. That's an Origin character. Tavs, you can have loads of.

If you have a Durge in your party, your Tav and even Hirelings will spout off the Durge walking around lines. It is extremely funny to me.

As far as my understanding goes, 4 Avatars is your cap even if you have Party Limit Be Gone. If you need more custom characters for your roleplay, get some mods and alter some hirelings. I can't attest to how STABLE that'll make your saves, so do that at your own risk.

LEMME KNOW IF YOU WANT ME TO UPDATE THIS WITH VISUAL AIDS OR ANYTHING THAT'LL HELP CLEAR UP ANY CONFUSIONS YOU MIGHT BE HAVING. I made this in like 10 minutes before a meeting.

I hope this helps you 2-Tav peeps who just wanna walk around with their blorbos and their OCs in this cool cool game.

[walks-the-ages]

How to actually install Fallout London properly in one go:

This is a guide I slapped together after getting annoyed at having to reference the Discord's "Solutions" tab on how to install the mod properly after having to uninstall and reinstall everything after all the textures mysteriously vanished, despite the mod coming with its own installer.

This Mod is a lot of fun, but you should definitely go into it with the mindset that this is a "beta release", because there are a ton of bugs and crashes.

NOTE: This Mod will completely overwrite your base game. You will not be able to play the base game and this mod at the same time unless you have multiple computers or something. If you want to play the base game again, you will have to completely uninstall Fallout London and Fallout 4 and fresh install Fallout 4.

0) Download the "Fallout4.ini" and "Fallout4prefs.ini" files from the offial discord linked above.

1) Install Fallout 4 GOTY from GOG in C:/GOG/GOG Galaxy/Games

2) Install Fallout London From GOG in C:/GOG/GOG Galaxy/Games

3) Open Fallout London's either in Fallout London Folder ("Launch Fallout - London") or GOG Galaxy ("play")

4) From the Fallout London launcher, select "Update", and choose "Install" and Install it in C:/GOG/GOG Galaxy/Games/Fallout 4 GOTY

5) Once Fallout London has installed in your Fallout 4 Folder, Open the "Data" Folder in C:/GOG/GOG Galaxy/Games/Fallout 4 GOTY , and Delete all entries beginning with "cc" at the begining of the name. Go back one folder so you are in Fallout 4 GOTY and keep the tab open.

6) Open at least three tabs in your File Explorer, for ease.

7) In the first tab, open your Fallout London Folder located in C:/GOG/GOG Galaxy/Games.

8) In the second tab, go to C:Users/[yourname]/Documents/My Games/Fallout 4.

9) In the third tab, go to C:users[yourname]/AppData/Local/Fallout 4.

10) Select your Fallout London tab, and copy the folder named "_Config" to /Documents/My Games/Fallout 4.

11) Select your Fallout London tab, and copy the folder named "_AppData" to AppData/Local/Fallout 4.

12) Select your Fallout London tab, and copy the "Data" folder into your Fallout 4 GOTY tab; select "override" if prompted.

13) Open this link, and download the Buffout 4 mod:

Once it is installed, unzip the folder, and copy the "F4SE" folder into your C:/GOG/GOG Galaxy/Games/Fallout 4 GOTY folder.

14) In your Fallout 4 GOTY folder, open "Fallout4Launcher" and under settings, make sure your graphics are set to low if they are not already; under Advanced, you can also turn off Ambient Occlusion as well. Save your settings, and close the launcher.

15) Copy the "Fallout4.ini" and "Fallout4prefs.ini" files from your downloads to "Documents/My Games/Fallout 4". Overwrite if prompted.

16) Restart your computer to ensure everything runs smoothly.

17) Open C:/GOG/GOG Galaxy/Games/Fallout 4 GOTY (I suggest pinning this file-explorer tab to your file explorer for quick access) and Launch the game Via "f4se_loader.exe" , NOT the Fallout4.exe. You will always use the "F4SE_loader.exe" to open this mod.

18) There should be a custom opening as well as custom music. Start a New Game, and cross your fingers it doesn't immediately crash.

19) Save Often, and do NOT overwrite old saves.

20) Have fun!

[fulcrumstoried]

Ex Diris and the Card Spread

Just read the Ex Diris lore entry exotic grande launcher from the season pass and haven't seen anyone try to do a breakdown of the cards and how they align with cartomancy yet, cause I am gnawing at this.

So, the Deck of Whispers is an oracle deck (think tarot, but the cards and meanings are different).

One of the ways that people engage with cartomancy is by developing spreads, aka the order you draw the cards, and the places that you put them, add to the meaning of the cards.

Eg, a three card spread of past, present, future. The first card you draw represents the past, the second is the present, the third is the future.

I don't believe Eris' spread has an exact match (please let me know if it does), but it is very very close to the Celtic Cross Spread, particularly the expanded version.

I'll break down the spread, the meanings, and the cards below. There's very little theory crafting, but a lot more meaning finding, so I hope you enjoy!

The Labyrinthos link above is a very good full breakdown, but tl;dr, each card in this Celtic Cross Spread has a different meaning, which I'll get into (at a basic level), and it looks something like this:

Card 1 - Your current situation [Blades]

Eris interpretes this to mean Sword Logic. Yes, but I think it's also about the First Knife, and the Final Shape, aka this whole fight / saga is centered around whether or not the Witness is right.

Card 2 - The Challenge / Obstacle [Adherent]

Eris clearly sees this as Xivu Arath. I agree, an Adherent could also be known as a Disciple. The meaning also supports it: she's the threat of the season, the thing we have to overcome first.

Card 3 - Foundation / Cause of the situation [Sisters]

Eris clearly sees this as the Hive God's first selves. I agree, as the meaning supports this: who the Hive Gods once were is the foundation of who they have become.

Whilst this feels like a limited meaning (there are more causes than just them), I think it's a deliberate choice to set up the next card:

Card 4 - The / Your Past [The Harbinger]

Eris can only see this as herself. The spread meaning becomes tenuous here, perhaps because she is the Oracle and from the past she foretells the future? Perhaps it is her card because it is her past that is in play? Or perhaps it's because the writers wanted to have that very interesting line

Perhaps now she counted among those sisters. Savathûn, Xivu Arath, and Eris Morn. A game between siblings. A love that sharpens.

I've got a bit of a crack theory developing about this (particularly with what implies about her role as a Navigator), but that's for later.

---

This is also when the normal spread and Eris' differ. Traditionally, you then place Card 5, which represents the present. Eris skips this (perhaps because she doesn't need to know what's happening now), and goes straight to

Card 6 - Near Future [The Lie]

Eris wonders if this is the Guardians, or maybe the lie of the Deep. From a simple standpoint, perhaps it could just mean that the future is a lie, or that to know the Future is to know a lie? Or, following the way each card is an entity, perhaps this is the Witness? After all, they're going to be in our near future.

---

This is when the normal and Eris' spreads diverge again. Sometimes, at the end of a reading, people add three or four more cards across the bottom, which shows the more subtle influences around the person doing the reading. Eris does this halway through, creating:

Because she does it halfway through, I think Cards 6, 7, and 8 are clarifiers of the three columns beneath them, rather than the reading as a whole. (I'm also toying with the idea that they could also represent the Surface, the Sky, and the Deep, but eh)

(Lmao I've just realised that because I made the second graphic, now the numbers don't align, and I'm going to repeat Card 6 and now use the numbers from Eris' spread, sorry!)

Card 6 - aligned with Harbinger/Eris [Liminal]

Imo these match, Eris is currently occupying the liminal space between Hive and not-Hive, Light and Dark.

Card 7 - aligned with Sisters [Ascension]

Again, a match, their rise from being sisters to godhood.

Card 8 - aligned with The Lie [Lacuna]

Now, a lacuna is a gap, particularly where there should be, or once was, something. Eris saw it as part of a Guardian's Light, but I think it's specifically her Light - and the fact that she no longer has it.

She had not held it for centuries. The Hive sisters below beckoned more loudly than the Light did.

Aligned with The Lie, either she is tempted to fill it with the Lie (aka the Darkness), or the fact that she doesn't have it is the Lie (?).

---

Then we get to the final four cards, also known as the Staff.

Card 9 - Current approach / Your influence [The Witch]

Eris is torn between Savathun and herself, and I think that's reflected in what the meaning of the card could be. I'm leaning towards Savathun, because it's highly unusual to have two cards representing one person in a spread, and because she is, you know, the Witch Queen.

Also, that which is influencing us and dictating our approach right now is Savathun. So if we continue with our current approach, we will continue up the staff/column of cards to:

Card 10 - What you need to know / External influence [The Truth]

This is a fun card because it states The Truth, then Eris goes and says

There were too many truths for any one to triumph.

This is a very interesting line to me, and immediately brought to mind the final Veil Log, the Von Neumann-Wigner hypothesis mentioned, and this breakdown from Reddit. Tl;dr the Light is about creating possibilities, and the Darkness is about collapsing all possible states into one reality.

I also find Eris' use of the word triumph interesting - what will the final truth (final shape) of the universe be?

Card 11 - Hope / Fear [Lament]

Eris sees this as Oryx's death. I immediately thought of The Lament sword from Beyond Light. The sword was a gift from Clovis Bray to Banshee, due to his regret at not caring about the living whilst he was alive. In it, he states

Stay alive. For legacy.

However, when we activate the Clovis Bray AI, he threatens to kill Banshee. His initial lament is forgotten. Similarly, Savathun and Xivu Arath both once died, and Oryx brought them back.

So, these combine in two interesting ways; that of fear of total loss then rejection upon regaining it, and perhaps a fear/hope of sword logic being true.

Card 12 - Outcome [The Wish]

The particle The Wish feels important, and my immediate reaction was The Last Wish or Eris' Wish? Now Eris' was in the past, and I think both the meaning (Outcome) and Eris' interpretation suggest that this is something that will occur.

Eris had wished before. It had led her here. Would she be asked to wish again? What else would her desire wrought?

This post breaks down those lines really well. Or perhaps it is about the Last Wish, fulfilling it, that of the fireteam wishing to keep the Dreaming City / Awoken/Humanity safe?

A wish is desire, the greatest power in this universe.

Which is pretty much a direct quote from the Last Wish cinematic. This also reminds me of the reddit post, as being able to choose your reality feels like a pretty darn great power.

---

Eris' interpretations of these cards are built on each other, like a tower working up. A Witch, from whom Truth flows, which causes Lament, to the final outcome of The Wish.

This could be the story of Eris, actually. She asked for the way out of the tunnels under the moon (knowledge, and truth), losing and gaining something in the process, to obtain the wish of being free.

But also, according to Labyrinthos, with the staff (this column of four cards),

We learn how the context of this situation can affect the reader's life outside the situation, and also - how to change it, if desired.

I think these cards are not just for Eris, but for the story/season - the wider picture, and also how it may change later.

---

I also think that these cards do a really good job of bringing together a lot of different areas of Destiny story together - from Forsaken and the Last Wish, to Lament and Beyond Light, with the Hive and Witch Queen.

This was an absolute blast to try and read into, so hope you all enjoyed my red string nonsense!

[rad-roche]

a thing i hate hate hate with video games now is if i buy a game legally with money that can be exchanged for goods and services and it lands on my computer and i open it the game goes great, fantastic! now you just have to link your steam with your Spimblr account and download this redistributable, and you're set. and i go, what the fuck is Spimblr? and they go why just a mere seventy gigs. and if i try and open the game through the exe, the game i bought, the Spimblr launcher opens are starts wailing

[transgenderastarion]

hello baldurs gate 3 community again: This time im talking about modding!

hello adventurers and shifty-eyed people, I bring to you some important stuff. Mod compilations! Below the cut, if you are interested, I have compiled a few things for what I think the bg3 tumblr modding community wants (based on me being in the tag for a month straight). Things I have compiled include: - Super basic install of baldur's gate 3 mod manager (and a bit of vortex) (9 Easy Steps!) - My OWN special "Computer helper" mod bundle with super easy installations (helps it run on my piece of crap laptop who hates me so much but I love her <3) - Companion and player mods (visuals only, and like de-ab-ing and stuff, I'm not going around adding all the extra eye colour mods) INCLUDING TRANS TOP SCARS AND DADBOD MODS + MORE - Some personal favourite mods that really helped enhance my experience. Enjoy! (if you enjoy bg3 modding, please consider reblogging because I think posts with links are still shadowbanned in the tag lol)

HOW TO GET THE MOD LOADER FOR BG3 IN 3 EASY STEPS

go to the github download page and scroll down until you see the first downloadable file that reads "BG3ModManager_Lastest.zip"

extract the file into an accessible area (your downloads folder should work fine, I just put it on my desktop) (just anything that won't require you to give admin permissions to download it. I would also keep this off Local Disc (C:) for convenience) You can use any free extractor program, 7zip works, i used to use Peazip and now I use Breezip and that works well.

Tada! You should have an open folder in your extracted location. 2 things may happen here: You will get the extracted folder with the other documents inside. Congrats, you're done! If you have an extracted folder with ONLY the .exe file in it, go back into the zip file and drag the other files into the folder. This should fix the problem, all files from the zip need to be there to work.

(OPTIONAL) you CAN use Vortex mod manager to manage your bg3 mods on there, in which case any nexusmods mod will have a direct download button for you. Personally I have my subnautica mods loaded from there so bg3 is unavailable.

HOW TO MOD BALDURS GATE 6 IN EASY STEPS + SCRIPT EXTENDER

Make sure you have Baldur's Gate 3 Installed. I have it on steam, I don't know how to help with EA, sorry.

open your file explorer/documents. Go to Admin -> AppData -> Local -> Larian Studios* -> Baldur's Gate 3 (leave launcher alone). Create a mods folder if you don't already have one, but one should have been created on your first bootup. DO NOT CLOSE THIS TAB. THIS TAB STAYS OPEN UNTIL YOU ARE DONE MODDING. * I also just search Larian Studios in Local Disc (C:) but that does take some time to load

Congrats, you're ready to mod! Now, most good mods will need something called the Baldur's Gate 3 Script Extender. You can find the download page here, and this time you're going to hit the green "code" button. Ignore everything else. Hit download zip

Extract the file again, but this time into Local Disc (C:) -> Program Files (86x) -> Steam -> Steamapps -> common -> Baldur's Gate 3 -> bin* ** * MAKE SURE to extract it to the bin folder. Some other mesh and texture mods use the data bin, so confusing them is bad. ** you CAN directly extract the folder to the bin, but I personally find it easier to extract the zip back into downloads, then open my other file explorer and click and drag the whole extracted file into the bin folder

The fun part begins! Go find some mods you like (nexusmods mostly, gamebanana MAY have some). Extract folder to your mods folder in larian studios -> baldur's gate 3 -> mods. ONLY DRAG THE .PCK FILE. YOU DO NOT NEED ANY OTHER FILES UNLESS THE MOD MAKER SAYS SO.

USING THE MOD LOADER: you are done with file explorers! Go ahead and boot up the bg3modmanager.exe file from earlier. Any INACTIVE MODS must be CLICKED AND DRAGGED over to the ACTIVE MODS side. If you don't see any mods, hit the blue circle refresh button. After that, hit the "export order to game" button right beside "export". If you see a green popup at the bottom, you are good to go!

All done! You are now on your modding journey! (if you have any outlying problems, my dms are open and there is a whole host of modders out there with answers!)

NOW TO THE FUN PART: MOD PACKS!

My own Game Optimizer Pack (basic): includes General Fixes (general bug fixes), Improved UI & Improved UI Assets (necessary for customization mods), and Mod Fixer (necessary for mods to work) *you CAN download all of these files individually from https://www.nexusmods.com but this is basically. a short version of that.

My own Game Optimizer Pack (deluxe): includes all previous mods as well as 5e Spells (spell fixer), Additional Backgrounds, Customizer Compendium, Show approval ratings in dialogue, Purchase camp clothes from merchants, Tav's hairpack

COMPANION MODS:

No Abs for companions/pcs

"oops all futas" (all female companions have penises, if you want like an all transfem run or something)

Customizable Origins (lets you customize if you play as an origin character)

Astarion:

Astarion Moles and blemishes mod

Vampire Ascendant (ability fixer mod)

TAV MODS:

Freckles and Moles as Tattoo replacers

Trip's Accessory Collection (has glasses & monacles)

Ophelia's Body Shop (top heavy/bottom heavy/chubby body alternatives)

Stronger Tav - Muscular Upper Body Mod

Top Surgery Scars

Alternate Top Surgery Scars mod for bodys 1 and 3

Strongfat body - humans and half orcs

Tav's Dadbod Mod

Softie Body - Tiefling 2

New Eye Colours and Blindess for all eyes

Transmasc Clothing options

Actually feminine and lore friendly dragonborn legs

Femme obese dragonborn body (no clothing options developed yet)

Chubby/thick/bbw body mods and clothes

Big gut dragonborn (male)

Female muscle mod

Less defined abs for male bodies

Game Enhancing Mods that I recommend! (if I have one marked starting spoiler! just. just download it and ad it just trust me dont look to far into it I promise it will be good. If I have one marked late spoiler! you can look at it and decide if you want it or later)

Faithful & Faithless - no mandatory choice of god

Mundane Blindfold (one eye cover)

No Romance Limit (polyamory mod)

highlight everything tooltip

Party Limit begone

No more spiders (all spider models replaced with dogs)

Ritual spells for rp fun

Colourblind friendly spell slots

Camp event notifications

Autosaver/Save timer (GET THIS IT SAVED MY LIFE SO MUCH)

Histories & Occupations - new backgrounds

Scratch colour variety (late spoiler!/not spoiler heavy)

Just Story (for those who just want the story. every enemy has 1 hp)

Wyll's Devil Form (starting spoiler!)

Eyes of the beholder (eye alts + scleras)

[hazyspiderwebs]

You’re not alone

“Hello?” JJ answered basically still asleep. Until he heard your sniffles. “He cheated on me JJ.” JJ was suddenly wide awake and seeing red. He never liked your now ex boyfriend and he would tell anyone that would listen.

As the two of you grew up together JJ not liking ANY of your boyfriends was one of the common themes. So much so that he started joking that you had the worst taste in guys. And your ex was somewhat proving that true.

JJ made it to your place in record time. You were surprised to hear he rang the doorbell. As you answered the door you understood why. The sight of JJ balancing candy and chips and drinks on his arms and somehow fitting an already open bag of his favorite candy between his teeth and none falling out was quite entertaining. “My candy man.” You greeted amused. JJ rolled his eyes and fake pouted at your lame joke before setting everything down on the counter.

JJ finally got a good look at you and his heart broke for you. As much as he joked about you having bad taste. A part of him always hoped you would turn to him. He shook the thought out of his head for the time being. You’re going through a breakup now is not the time for him to be feeling sorry for himself he reasons in his mind.

He snatched whatever candy you had out of your hand and took a bite for himself. When you have him a look he just shrugged “I gotta make sure it’s not poisoned or anything.” He finished that one and grabbed another one “for good measure you know. And good news they’re not poisoned!” “Or they are poisoned but it’s a long lasting poison and we die together.” You counter back.

JJ was somewhat taken aback by your response “mm well you got me there. But what a way to go out.” That was one of the things you loved about JJ if you had said that to anyone else they would’ve wondered about your mental state. But with JJ you could pretty much say anything to him and not feel judged. “If you could choose how would you wanna go out?” You asked intrigued while taking a chip out of his hand. He absentmindedly shifted the chip bag to where you could both share it as he thought of his response. “Hmm in a cool way like a human rocket launcher or something like that. What about you?” “I don’t know. I just want it to be peaceful.” JJ rolled his eyes.

The night continued on with you and JJ asking each other questions and your typical shenanigans. As the sun started to come up you and JJ were starting to fall asleep. JJ suddenly got serious “Y/N you know you’re never alone right? I’ll always be here for you no matter what.”

“Thanks ba- JJ.” You corrected yourself in shock. JJ obviously picked up on what you were about to call him. “Do you wanna go out together sometime?” JJ’s question caught both of you by surprise. “I’d love to JJ.” You responded happily.

[venomous-ragno]

Writing advice...

... About military things by soldier :)

You wanna write a story with a militaristic setting, like CoD or R6S? But you don't know much about military related stuff and don't know where to start?

Well, lucky for you or not I know what that feels like and I've also got the combat / real life experience to help ya out!

Feel free to hop in my askbox or dm's and ask questions. I'll gladly elaborate and do my best to answer in full and plenty.

Disclaimer: My experiences and knowledge are mostly based on the German military, the Bundeswehr. They may differ from those of other countries.

Happy writing y'all :)

Pt. 7 / ?: Military jargon

I thought it'd be fun to do while I brood over all my other wips and future writing advice posts. There's a lot more jargon than I list in this post, but I needed some kinda start and end to this so I just wrote down all the terms I've heard and / or used myself.

Ally: How cool someone looks in uniform / gear. Speacial forces are automatically 'ally'

Bird: Helicopters, jets, drones, basically any kind of flying military equipment

Chest candy: Medals and ribbons worn on a uniform

Civy: Civilian (who doesn't serve in the military)

Demilitarised zone: Area in which any type of military force is banned

Expectant: A casualty who's expected to die

End Ex: Training exercise / event is over (a soldiers favourite words)

FOB: Forward Operating Base

Gunner: Service member operating heavy artillery

Green time machine: Sleeping bag

Helo: Helicopter

IED: Improvised Explosive Device

Jack: Selfish person or someone who disappears any time there's work to be done

Klick: Kilometer

Lizard: Someone who routinely screws up or a civy wearing military gear / uniforms for 'fashion purposes'

(40) Mike-Mike: Grenade launcher (either 40mm or M203)

Mincing: Procrastinating or being very slow while carrying out a task

Nails: Hard as nails

NIGS: New in Greens - soldier straight out of basic training

Outstanding: Very much not outstanding

Paddy: Irish soldier

P8: Mental health issue ("Going P8 in the block")

Quebec: Letter Q of the NATO alphabet

RV: Rendevouz - meeting up at a so called rendevouz point (meeting point)

Smoke: Punishing a service member with excessive scolding / physical work

Tango: Letter T in the NATO alphabet, also stands for enemy ("Tango in sight")

Ulu: Remote / rural area

Voluntold: Assignment that is technically vountary, but actually mandatory

Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrott: NATO alphabet letters meaning WTF

X-device: Radio navigation equipment used on aircrafts

Yoyo: Young Officer in training

Zone of fire: Area designated for help from above, aka fire support