#except install on a different harddrive because I only have the one

[myautisticpov]

Trying to solve technical problems is a fucking roller coaster

Like, it's all fear that you'll get no results when you type it into DuckDuckGo, then it's elation as you get a bunch of results, then disbelief as you realise that this is a very common issue, but everyone actually has slight variations on it and there are thirty different fixes floating around, and then despair as none of the fixes work for you, then hope as you find a forum post of someone describing the exact variant of the issue you have, and then utter contempt for humanity as the only response is someone calling OP an idiot for not already doing one of the fixes you've already tried

[butterflydm]

this is random but i just remembered that ages ago i saw an ask game for asking fic writers their 5 favorites/ones they're most proud of of their own fics, and i would love to know yours if you're up for it! it would be so interesting to hear a Butterfly Career Retrospective haha

feel free to be flexible on the number and discuss as many or as few fics as you feel like, and to count a whole series as a single entry (like voice, although if you have any particular favorite installments or interludes within that that you'd like to note i'd be curious to hear that too!)

This took a while but I finally got it done, @markantonys!

I have written a lot of fics, so this was a difficult challenge. I am somewhat helped out by the fact that old fics tend to fade out of my memory… but then if I reread a bit of them, I tend to remember why I wrote them and what I loved about them. I did not limit myself to five fics (I tried!) but these are roughly in reverse chronological order of when I posted them.

not in the stars, but in ourselves - trying to bob and weave and make something that feels narratively satisfying out of the mess that is Mat Cauthon's late series arc has become something of a hobby of mine! This is fic is one of several where I narratively examine parts of the canon that didn't work so well for me and try to rearrange them into something that feels like it rings true for the previous characterization and choices.

This fic in particular really made me see how the roadblocks that existed in each of the character's main plotlines was so much easier to solve if they had access to the other main characters (and I suspect that's part of why Jordan kept them so unnaturally separated during these arcs).

I also really enjoy the romance in this fic, and how the characters interact with prophecy in more unexpected ways, and how Rand and Mat help each other through their traumas, and how each of the members of the polycule bring their own perspective to the relationship.

the caffrey exception in White Collar fandom - this fic languished mostly unfinished on my harddrive for a long time before polyweek gave me an excuse to finish it up and post it! I wasn’t really in White Collar fandom, was the problem, and I always write and post more consistently when I have fellow fandom people to encourage me. I also was originally watching WC with my (now ex-)girlfriend and I stopped watching after we broke up, iirc, so I didn’t actually finish the show until years later. And by the time I was writing it, I didn’t feel like there was all that much visible fandom around. But it had a nice little response during polyshipweek, so I was really happy with how it all turned out. Makes me think that one day maybe I’ll finish up and post that RENT fanfic that’s been on my harddrive for eighteen million years.

negotiating with the truth in The Wheel of Time fandom - you can tell I got fancy with this fic because I gave the chapters titles, lol. This fic leans hard into Mat being an unreliable narrator and playing around with that, and it was a lot of fun to focus on and explore that part of him. I do love a lot of the fics I've written in WoT so trying to narrow it down more was tough (and I still only managed to narrow down to three!) but I really loved writing this one and exploring the differing ways that Mat and Rand were approaching this relationship of theirs and how they come to a compromise in the end. I think I really liked that they genuinely do have different wants and desires that need to be navigated.

voice interlude: feels like falling for the first time in The Wheel of Time fandom - this is, a little bit, subbing in for the Voice series as a whole, but I wanted to pick out a complete story and not something still in progress. I am pretty hopeful that Voice will get finished (there are three more main fics in the series, I think — one that mostly spoils through bk9: winter’s heart; one that mostly spoils through bk12: the gathering storm; and then one with whole-series spoilers) but I have some fairly long unfinished works in past fandoms, so eggs and hatching & etc.

What makes this fic in particular stand out to me is how I was able to really take this one moment in time in the series and expand on it so that I could deep-dive into Mat’s characterization and what he was thinking and feeling, and it’s such a revelatory moment for Mat. I enjoy showing characterization via writing about sex, and the interludes in the Voice series really allow me to do that.

my mouth (your lips) my hands (your hips) in The Magicians fandom - This fic where Margo and Eliot approach Quentin on this more equal ground (of them competing to see which of them can land him first) and it developing into a true polyam relationship… I really loved exploring how messy but ultimately loving it was. I also loved delving into Margo as an aromantic character in this fic, and how the great love of her life is her best friend.

A lot of my own fears and pains and worries made it into the three main characters in this one, though all in ways that make sense with their own base characterization, I think. There’s this one line that Eliot thinks - “he had always been better at self-preservation than bravery” and that is 100% canon Eliot but… yeah, it’s also me. One of the things I am working on in therapy is loosening the stranglehold of my self-preservation so that I can be a little braver when it comes to reaching out to other people.

If you like my poly fics in WoT fandom, you might also enjoy my marqueliot fics (but I wouldn’t recommend the show tbh. Or, well, I might rec it up until the episode “All That Hard Glossy Armor”. That’s a good one to end on. And it’s a Margo episode!).

searching for a sound (we hadn’t heard before) in The Magicians fandom - I wrote some serious fix-it fics in this fandom. But this fic was me taking the kind of ridiculous angle on a plotline that I think that the show might have actually pulled off, if it had been so inclined. This fic was also me balling up all my frustration at the poor writing choices and lobbing it at the show’s forehead. It was very cathartic to write. And I think it’s pretty funny too, so that’s a bonus.

(I’m Not Calling You A) Liar for Steven Universe fandom — I am cheating here and including a vid. This vid is… if I sliced up my heart (Hannibal style) and laid it out on a plate, it would look something like this vid. I actually started watching Steven Universe because I saw the “Stronger Together” clip with Garnet but soon after I started watching… holy shit, Pearl and her deep heartbreak over Rose just grabbed me by the throat and did not let me go. Watching her slowly process and begin to resolve her grief was a very healing experience when I was watching the show. There was something very much intensely yearning about Pearl at the start of SU, and how she was trying so hard to hide it (from Steven but from the other gems as well). But she can’t move on until she confronts and heals!

My favorite of the vids that I’ve made, I think, and the one I’m proudest of. There is maybe one single clip that I would change now if I went back to edit it again, but that’s it. I’m fully satisfied with the rest of it; and this is not the case with most of my vids. My Yuri! On Ice vid is probably the other one that comes closest to feeling like I wouldn’t change anything now.

Enyo’s Daughter in MCU fandom — so I am a bit of an odd one out in MCU fandom, because the ship that I liked the best, over any other… Tony and Natasha. Iron Man and Black Widow. It’s a complex and thorny ship, but I liked exploring it. Tony and Natasha both get to be messy and fucked up and exploring situations like that can be interesting. It was written pretty soon after the first Avengers movie came out, if I recall correctly. I never did finish the sequel to this fic, which I am kinda sad about.

Any fandom where canon is currently developing can be kinda tough for me to stay ahead of, in terms of writing any big fic series(es) — this is also why my big Star Wars WIP is destined never to be finished, tbh. I started writing it before a lot of the current canon even exists, and trying to go back and finish it would be difficult because the new shows & movies have changed so much and it can be hard to mentally reconcile what I knew back then vs what I know now when it comes to canon. Once the new MCU movies after Avengers came out, this fic was kinda doomed to never get the sequel finished, alas. And this is why WoT having a closed book canon has made writing fic for it easier, I think.

Melt into Time from American Idol RPF — time-travel fic! I’ve attempted it from time to time, but this one I actually finished. I don’t remember the actual process of writing this anymore, because my memory is for crap, as I mentioned at the start, but it is probably my favorite fic that I wrote in this fandom overall. It deals with second chances and a lot of yearning and people being emotionally messy (a theme for me, for sure).

Justice, Be Not Blind from Dexter — my one and only Dexter fic. What I remember most about writing this fic is that despite how short it is (less than 1k), I did so much research. Miguel Prado was hands-down my favorite character who ever appeared on Dexter and so I wanted to write a fic for him, but I wanted it to sound as true to his character voice as possible. I don’t even really remember the extent of the research that I did and it’s been so long that I couldn’t tell you anymore whether or not the character voice is accurate, but I remember how much I wanted to get this right and how much work I put into trying to get Miguel to feel genuine.

Travelers Without Map or Compass for Doctor Who fandom - cute romantic fluff, but I’m very fond of it. It captures a sort of vibe in the Doctor & Rose relationship that was very appealing to me, and I enjoyed exploring and expanding my thoughts on some of the rooms in the TARDIS.

Another Nameless Planet in the Star Wars (Prequel) fandom — I wrote longer fics in Star Wars fandom but honestly I think I captured Anakin best in this small fic that’s not really about anything in particular except Anakin wanting to be treated as an equal (by Obi-Wan specifically).

I have fics that I wrote before this point, but most of them I genuinely don’t remember writing to the point of going, “huh, oh, wow, I guess that was me, huh?” lol. But going back over my fics… man, it really is like having the deepest yearnings of your heart spread out in front of the world sometimes, isn’t it?

Thanks for sending me on this journey to the past! I hope you enjoyed it. <3

[danetobelieve]

Short Circuit || Jane and Winston

NB: This happened before the eye potw.

Ping. Jane swore quietly as another chat message popped up onto her computer. Admittedly, she wasn’t great with technology, but she knew how to use google like any other asshole. Except her work computer wouldn’t even let her use google. This had to be some sort of virus that Marley installed as a prank. It wouldn’t even let her force the machine to shut off and it hadn’t even run out of battery yet. Damn, she really regretted getting that replaced. She glanced over the message from KindledSpirit29. 

Why won’t you talk to me :’-(

She was certain that Marley had to have done it because her user name was SexyDetective. Nope, that did it. Jane slammed the laptop closed and tucked it under her arm as she went straight for Winston. She had an appointment with them to drop it off anyway, but this was getting ridiculous. “Hey Winston,” Jane said. “Here it is. Sorry, I swear I’ve tried everything, and the stupid thing won’t even shut off properly. It just starts flashing.” 

Winston had gotten permission from Roland to take the time off of work but they’d found themselves going in anyway. They’d wanted to be here with everyone else because at least then they weren’t alone with their own thoughts and they weren’t alone to crumble under Bea’s loss. Looking up, they shakily reached out and scooped up their mug of coffee and swallowed the cold dregs of it with a wince. They didn’t care enough to actually heat it up. “Hey Jane,” they said a little glumly but they could get away with acting as if they didn’t want to be at work, “don’t worry about it, from everything you’ve said to me it sounds like malware or something. I’m sure I can fix it. Let me take a look.” Winston had their recovery USB ready for this,  having all the software you needed in one place was a much more convenient way to do it. “Did you have to call yourself sexy detective though?” 

Oh shit, the kid looked pretty glum. Maybe Jane should have rescheduled or bothered her nephew to help her. He may be twelve, but that kid could do way more than her any day of the week. Maybe they just didn’t want to be at work. That tracked for a lot of twenty-something year olds. Still, she handed over her laptop, and shrugged. “I hope it’s that simple.” Computers were the devil - well, not really, but sometimes it seemed like every damn update they had were meant to muck up whatever older version was on there before and just cause more trouble. She frowned, looking at them. “I didn’t! At first it said DetectiveWu but it changed! Stryder must have changed it to be annoying.” Another ping from KindledSpirit29. 

Who is that? What are you doing?

Jane frowned. “Look at that. That’s creepy.”

 “That is really creepy,” Winston agreed with a frown as they plugged the USB drive into a port and began running various command lines to ping different functions and see just how deep the problem lay. “You think that Marley did this?” No offence, but Winston could already see from the sophistication of the design of the chat that this was not something that someone was just going to be able to pull up. This looked like a very specifically and deliberately designed function that someone had clear plans for. “Well, DetectiveWu, or sexydetective, I mean who am I to judge?” Winston was trying to be their usual sarcastic and jovial selves but right now it was hard. “I think that the problem is that whilst this just looks like a chat it is actually something more, i’ve heard that if you can talk to the bot it can give you answers which are clues on how to turn it off. I’ve never actually tried it but my only other idea is to entirely wipe the harddrive, so we might as well try that. Have you responded to any of the messages yet?” 

“You know, because of the prank war.” Jane looked over Winston’s should, watching them as they typed incoherent things onto the computer. Winston sounded like they doubted it, though. Jane frowned. “I don’t know how else it could have gotten on there, I have an airtight anti-virus on it. Or, well, it’s supposed to be an airtight antivirus…” Maybe someone had scammed her. That could always be a possibility but that was kind of annoying if that were true. Jane balked slightly when Winston said other than talking to it, the other option was to wipe her harddrive. Shit. She was sure she had a backup, but that was a lot of work. “No, I thought it was just some spam bot or something.”

I am not a spam bot! Talk to me :) Get rid of the kid. 

Jane wrinkled her nose. “Okay, maybe we should wipe the harddrive. That’s really freaky. How does it know - is it using my camera??” 

“Oh, right, yeah that was pretty funny for a few days although I’ve got to say you guys weren’t as imaginative as you could’ve been.” Winston didn’t want to brag but they were sure that they were more then capable of coming up with something better then the variety of pranks that Marley and Jane had played on one another. “Sometimes even if you’re really careful these things can happen, it’s fine, we can clean it up, I’d just rather not wipe everything if we can help it.” Winston examined the computer and frowned at the message. “I don’t think the camera’s on, but just in case.” They pulled a piece of masking tape off and firmly stuck it over the camera. “We can wipe it if you really want, but it’ll get rid of everything you’ve got on there, so if anything isn’t backed up….” 

“Are you saying I lack imagination,” Jane said, a grin growing on her face. Bold kid, funny too. “I thought the popcorn filled office space was imaginative.” And really annoying to clean up. “What would you have done  if you were in a prank war?” She was still considering gluing Sarge’s stuff to the ceiling. Or at the very least, paw patrol’s stuff to the ceiling. Maybe not the skulls though, he seemed a little too creepily attached to them. She watched as Winston stuck a piece of tape to the camera. “My father has a stamp stuck to his at home. Used to tell me big brother was always watching.” Jane considered a moment, before shaking her head. “Alright, alright. We can try responding to it.” Jane reached over, pulling the computer a little closer so she could type. What should she say? 

SexyDetective: How do I remove this from my computer? 

KindledSpirit: YOU WANT TO GET RID OF ME?! YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW ME YET!

There screen flashed. “Ah! See, this is what happens when I try to emergency shut down!!” 

“The popcorn stuff was very freaks and geeks,” Winston replied with a shrug, “I’m not saying that it wasn’t cool. It was. I just think you could’ve been more imaginative. Besides, did you think that Marley’s computer just started playing a Nic Cage soundboard spontaneously?” Winston shrugged gently. Getting involved in the unfolding prank war hadn’t been something that they had been planning but it was something that they had been roped into by Sarge and Winston couldn’t say no to him. “I mean, they can gain access to your camera, normally you don’t have to but I guess there’s no harm in always having one there and just taking it off when you need it. Winston watched everything that unfolded and frowned. “That’s weird, maybe ask it if you can get to know it in person? Worst comes to the worst you arrest a creep right?” 

“That was you?” Jane said. “She thought that was me! Ha! That’s hilarious,” Jane snickered. She didn’t know what the deal was with Nic Cage, but there was something about his face that and over all vocal intonations that made him especially annoying. God, when did she get to be a Nic Cage Hater? “I’ve had a few cases like that - back when I worked in Portland,” she told Winston. “Where people would gain access to the camera in a computer to spy and be overall disgusting.” Her nose wrinkled, and she didn’t elaborate farther. “You think this is a real person and not some… artificial intelligence?” Ping! Jane looked at that screen. 

I am not artificial intelligence! 

Jane frowned. “Can it… hear us too? I didn’t even know my computer had a microphone. Stop that!” 

You don’t like me! It accused them.

The screen started to flash again, and she swore she saw something spark. Jane placed a hand on Winston’s shoulder. “Uhhh, I think we should get away from it. I think it’s broken.”

“Technically, and you can’t tell anyone, but Sarge actually asked me to do it, not sure why. I don’t really ask questions when your boss asks you to do something like that.” Frowning gently, Winston shrugged. “There’s a chance that this is a bot or something like that, but AI doesn’t really exist to a level that is sophisticated enough to think independently. At least, not yet. Maybe in the future but not currently.” Winston shrugged and squinted at the screen. Winston reached out and placed their hand on the computer, reaching out with magic and examining it to the best of their ability. Interacting with technology like this was complicated. But it was something they were getting used to. Something felt wrong here, and Winston frowned as a new set of messages flashed up on the screen.

“What are you doing?” Jane asked as Winston reached out, putting their hand on the screen. “Winston, I don’t think you should -” More messages flashed up onto the excreen, and from what she could see there was a series of expletives. The computer’s charging port sparked. “Winston, get away from the computer right now.” Jane’s voice turned authoritative as she realized it was dangerous. She didn’t want them to get hurt. Jane was just considering the pros and cons of firing her weapon at the laptop in the precinct, but didn’t get the chance to think further when the laptop flew off the desk and crashed into the wall. Jane stopped and stared at the empty spot where her laptop was, before looking to where the broken pieces were on the floor. “What the hell was -” 

A burst of electricity was coming from the broken pieces. Sparking in strange ways. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. “Winston,” Jane said, slowly. “Get…. behind me?”

“It’s just a … trick that my tutor taught me,” Winston lied unconvincingly. It was a flaw that until recently they’d been proud of, being unable to lie had never really been a huge problem until now. Now that they were risking their life on their inability for deception more and more however they were starting to think that they might have to get better at it. “Ah, Jane what’s the plan here?” Winston asked as they obligingly stepped behind Jane. “I’m not sure that shooting your laptop because it’s threatening to pretend to be an EMP is really going to help…” Winston’s mind was racing as they did everything that they possibly could to think of a way to fix this without magic. “You ever seen anything weird like this before?” Winston really hoped that Jane was one of the cops that was cool with the supernatural because otherwise they were going to be a bit concerned by all of this. “I can definitely do something about this but if you’ve got a better idea I’m all ears.”  

“I’ve seen some strange things, yes,” Jane said, glancing back at them. She hadn’t exactly seen anything like this before, with the flashing and sparking for the laptop getting worse. “Speaking of ears - cover your ears.” Jane said flatly. She drew her gun and swiftly shot the laptop 3 times in a row. The laptop shattered into more pieces, a loud whirring voices coming from nothing. She didn’t understand, shooting it should have worked. It was probably overkill, but come on, it was just a goddamn laptop! What was it, a laptop zombie? Wait. Jane stopped, frowning as she lowered her gun. Electric zombie? Were electric zombies things? Was it an electric zombie that was trying to be her friend? She just barely got the thought out when the damn thing, whatever it was, tried to attack. A flash of electricity had Jane jerking backwards, elbowing Winston out of the blast. “Sorry. Sorry. Crap. Okay, so my method didn’t work. Maybe we should get the fire extinguisher? What the hell is that thing? It’s definitely not a zombie.”

She shot it anyway. Great. Anything that Winston might have been able to do might as well now be useless. “I was being nice when i said I wasn’t sure it was going to help, now what are we meant to do?” Winston frowned gently however at the fact that it was still sparking as if it might explode at literally any minute. This was not what they had expected when there had been a problem with the chat. “You know about zombies?” Winston asked frowning, maybe Jane wasn’t one of the people who were completely oblivious to the supernatural anyway. “That definitely isn’t a zombie, I don’t know what it is but I would guess some sort of spectre from all the electricity and the sparking and the fact that you shot it and it’s just freaking out even more.” The laptop began levitating. “I am not an exorcist, but I have an idea, I need you to and seriously be really super careful, but grab a chair, break it so you’re holding a bit of wood and when I tell you I need you to hit it out of the air and then maybe I’ll be able to get it to stop freaking out for long enough for us to get a professional in here to deal with it.” Winston looked at Jane expectantly, “Okay?” 

“Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time,” Jane said, frowning. She had hoped that destroying it would prevent it from doing anything else, but guess not. “I do know about zombies.” Jane replied back, happy enough that her hair was blocking the scar on her neck. She was more than a little concerned that the kid seemed to know about zombies too. “Spectre?” Jane was immediately reminded of the stupid step stool her and Marley had trapped in a dog cage in her living room. How irritating, had something gotten her work laptop too? “I have some familiarity with those too, just not this. There isn’t any salt in the breakroom is there?” Jane muttered, more to herself than Winston, as she went to swiftly break a chair into two. She supposed that she was going to have to trust them. Sorry to whoever’s chair that was, but if there weren't exactly many other options. She grabbed the chair leg and nodded. “Let me know when you’re ready. And be careful.” 

“Yeah, I get that,” Winston honestly had seriously considered buying a hand gun until someone had told them that they were a literal human handgun. Not that that had made them feel better, but sometimes you wanted to shoot something dead. “You do?” Winston was a little surprised. They kind of just assumed no one else knew. Maybe that was a mistake. Their own ignorance getting the better of them in this case. “Uh, salt is a good idea in case this doesn’t work, I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to encase the computer in salt or iron to keep the ghost in there until we can get an exorcist out here, I’m just hoping this will work for a bit, like a bandage.” Winston cracked their knuckles and took a deep breath, ready for action. “Whenever you’re ready,” as Jane smacked the chair down onto the laptop Winston darted forward and to their pleasure and extreme displeasure they caught the still sparking laptop. Fortunately they had a spell planned for this, unfortunately the energy wasn’t exactly something that they had planned on. Wincing as they smelled the electricity burn their hair, Winston extended their will into the technology as they had before, it felt completely different from any other magic Winston had ever used. The electricity coursing through them and the laptop as if it were blood in a vast circulatory system, pumped onwards by a beating heart. Groaning with exertion, Winston forced everything quiet, the electricity stalling to a halt before disappearing momentarily, though Winston knew it would be back. “Oh, fuck,” they muttered before collapsing to their knees.

“I do.” Jane made a note to rush for the breakroom after Winston did whatever they were about to do to grab the Morton’s salt she knew was in there somewhere. She wondered if Marley was also allergic to iron too, since she avoided salt. Things to take note of and ask later. Now she waited for Winston to give her the signal and she swung the the chair leg hard down onto the laptop. “Winston, no!” Jane just about rushed forward to yank the possessed, broken-beyond-repair laptop out of their hands, when she realized they were actually doing something. Jane froze, staring at them like they had many heads. “What are you - oh -” The electricity in the air seemed to disappear as the vague smell of burnt hair filled the air. Shit. What the hell was that kid doing? She was reminded, as Winston fell to their knees, of when Otto had saved her from falling off that cliff. She shook it off, running to their side. “Winston? Are you alright? What the hell did you do to it? Here, come on, let me help you up.” She would take them to the breakroom, stick a snack in front of them, and then run back to dump salt on the computer and lock it away in a filing cabinet. 

“Woah,” Winston replied somewhat slurred. That had taken a lot out of them. They were really feeling light headed. They were sure that their vision didn’t normally swim in and out like that, and there weren’t normally dots in front of their eyes. Don’t fuck with electricity and magic. Seemed to be the lesson. “I’m -” they took a breath, “okay I think…” frowning gently, Winston accepted Janes help and staggered over to the table they’d previously been working at, riffling haphazardly through their bag they pulled a candy bar from it and ripped it open, biting into it. “Sorry,” they said through a mouthful of chocolate, “it really took a lot more out of me then I thought it would…” wiping sweat from their forehead they looked at the laptop, “Breakroom?” they asked, “we need to salt that and I need more food if I’m going to be able to drive home. I don’t really want to get my room mate to pick me up because of ma- exhaustion again.” Had they really just said the word magic in front of Jane?

“Are you sure?” Jane said, doubtfully as she practically carried Winston back to the table. She leaned back against it, examining them as they grabbed the chocolate bar. “What exactly did you - oh. Right. Here, stay right there.” Jane left their side for just a few minutes. It took her a bit to find where the giant thing of salt she had gotten too, and she swiped her lunch box from from the refrigerator as well. Lucky for Winston, she was planning on working overtime tonight, which meant she had packed a lunch and a dinner. Maybe a little less lucky, she really had only made a roasted chicken sandwich along with a thing of chips for dinner. Not exactly her most spectacular display of cooking. She came back, sliding her lunch box in front of him. “Do you eat meat?” she asked, worriedly. “Eat that, if you do. It’s just a roasted chicken sandwich. I’ll deal with the laptop. I figure I’ll empty out a drawer, line it with salt, dump salt on the actual laptop, and then stick it in there. It shouldn’t be able to get out after all that.” Jane knelt down on her knees and immediately went to work doing just that. She would question Winston  when they were feeling a bit better. She had caught their ‘ma-exhaustion’ slip up, but maybe now wasn’t an appropriate time to grill them.

“I’m sure, I -” Winston was so far from sure what the next appropriate thing for them to say in this instance was, they were 100% certain that a trained officer like Jane wouldn’t have missed the fact that they had always said magic, “it has happened before and I am bad at managing my blood sugar levels because I sometimes forget to eat,” they had forgotten breakfast, “so I am sure that this won’t be the last time that it happens either.” Winston looked at her food sadly and sighed. “Are you sure? I don’t want to eat your food if you haven’t got anything else…” deciding that it was that or passing out, Winston slowly bit into the sandwich and chewed on it thoughtfully. “That’s probably a good idea,” Winston looked around, “I am going to buy an iron lined box next time, I think that if another ghostly thing tries to attack me then I’m going to be pissed, because that really wasn’t my idea of fun.” They looked up at Jane. “I don’t think you missed the laptop once though, which is cool, Sarge would not be happy about bullet holes in the wall.” 

“Right. Blood sugar levels,” Jane said in that type of tone that meant she didn’t believe them. She used that a lot in interrogation, but she still maintained that interrogating Winston on whatever they had done to the laptop that had caused that level of exhaustion. For the second time, she was reminded of Otto and his bloody nose. Ma-exhaustion… Magic. Hm. Noted for a later conversation  - at least until they had eaten her dinner. “Oh, don’t worry about it, I just feel bad I didn’t cook anything exceptionally yummy other than a chicken sandwich.” Jane opened a drawer, and took everything out before she started lining it with salt. “If you had told me this kind of thing existed a few years ago, I would have laughed my ass off at you,” she muttered. She glanced at them as she grabbed the broken pieces of the computer and carefully put them in the drawer, careful not to break the salt line. “I have great aim, usually. I’m sure Sarge will get on my ass about the paperwork I’m going to have to fill out about the three shots I fired into it in the precinct.” She laughed. “Or the paperwork I’m going to have to submit to get my laptop replaced. Are you attacked by ghostly entities often? You wouldn’t happen to know an exorcist would you? I have a possessed step stool at home that I’ve affectionately named French Fry, but it unfortunately very much wants to kill me.”

It didn’t take a world class detective to tell that Winston had been rumbled by Jane. But unfortunately Winston was exhausted and drained and not really thinking about how clearly it was that they had used magic. In fact, they would silently congratulate themselves on their subtlety after. “Well, if we ever have to do this again I’ll make sure that you make me a full meal, I’m joking really, my room mate Ricky is the best cook I’ve ever lived with outside of my own mother and he usually keeps me pretty … you know sorted.” Winston nodded along as they finished the sandwich. “If you had told me this six months ago then I would have joined you and the worst thing is that I have been in White Crest my whole life and never ever seen anything like this. I guess I was just ignorant or in denial? Who knows.” They smiled and nodded. “You really do have great aim, but if you want I’ll try and get your paperwork through without getting anyone who’s too much of a stick in the mud to sign off on it, I have my ways you know.” They paused for a second. “Yeah, I know several exorcists. One is more reliable but I haven’t heard from her in a while and the other I haven’t heard such good things about.” 

Jane grinned. “Well, I do like to cook - I’ve been told most of my food is pretty great. Sounds like you have a great roommate, though. Good to see kids not relying on instant ramen.” She thought of Dario then, a grown ass man relying on instant ramen, and then of Sarge and his lean cuisines. God, she should teach a cooking class or something, this was pathetic. She looked at Winston. It was clear that they were far more in the know than she originally anticipated, zombies and ghosts and magic and who knows what else. “I couldn’t imagine growing up here,” she said with a frown. “I’ve always been more of a city person, but I swear this small town is more active than Portland ever was - it’s hard to see a whole town so wrapped up in denial.” She stood, brushing the salt off her pants. “If you could do that, I’d owe you definitely more than a sandwich. I’m still new, and I don’t want to cause too much trouble trouble, you know? I’ll take both exorcists names, though, they’ll probably take French Fry off my hands.” 

“I have the best room mates actually,” Winston replied with a shrug, “ I guess that I just really lucked out with them or something like that. Otherwise, yeah, I’d be relying on instant ramen or just going home for dinner every night or something like that.” Winston shrugged gently and smiled. They were blessed in someways. “Believe me, I couldn’t imagine growing up in a city and I don’t think that I will ever leave now that I know the truth about this place because there is way too much shit going on to do that, like I think if I did leave I would come back and there would just be nothing left of this place.” Winston shrugged gently. “I need to … check that they don’t mind me giving out their names, I assume that they won’t and I can’t imagine that it’ll be an issue but once they’re fine with it then I’ll put you guys in contact, it’s just the whole supernatural thing is complicated with ‘outting’ people.” Winston stood and glanced at their watch. “I’ll get your new laptop ready tomorrow, is it okay if I head home? I’m pretty exhausted…”

[bunysliper]

So sorry to have to bug you about this but I don't know anyone else to ask. Referring to Stana's tweet about how there are ways to watch Absentia if you are in the US ... can you tell me how? (FYI - I'm an idiot when it comes to technology and I've never live streamed anything before because I'm scared of viruses and stuff. I'm kind of assuming she's talking about live stream, but I'm not absolutely sure.) Anyway, any help would be very much appreciated.

Hey Anon! No worries at all (unless you’re my ISP or a cop, in which case, I know nothing about this. There’s nothing to see here, move along :P). 

Torrents, downloads, and streaming links are the three ways that came to mind for me. Torrents are a little more involved because you’re relying on people to keep their computers on and connected to the torrent program while others download the file from them, and torrenting can be slow if there aren’t a lot of people seeding, but a lot of people downloading. Torrenting can also be riskier in terms of viruses, cause basically anyone can disguise a bad file as what you’re hoping to see and you likely won’t know until you download it and open it up. 

The second way is that people often upload the videos they get from torrents to other sites like sendspace and rapidshare and whatnot. With those, you open the site and you may have to do some sort of captcha to get the “right” download link (all sites are different, and some of them have annoying fake links/photos that pop up other sites which can have bad stuff on them) or to start the dl and it’ll download the video file directly to your computer. 

After both of these options you would have an actual copy of the file on your computer, so I’d definitely recommend scanning it with your antivirus software before opening it. Sometimes people zip/rar the file - which just compresses it for transfer - and you can scan that file first.  Sometimes people also change the file extension to something that’s not a media file, but they will tell you to change it back if that’s the case. If you download what you think should be a video format file and it’s a .exe, delete it permanently. Don’t take chances. 

Streaming’s the easiest of the three, I think. You just use the link to open it up and hit play and it goes. There might be an ad to watch, or you might have to fill out a captcha before you get to the actual player, too. Every site is a little bit different. If you think a site looks weird, though, or if it causes a bunch of pop ups, close it. My antivirus software can monitor web traffic, so if a site has been tagged as having malicious content on it, it sometimes steers me away, so that’s another safeguard.

So those are the ways… and then there are links. Not using reputable links/torrents is totally the way things go pear-shaped, imo. I know there were a number of accounts that would do kind of a round up of links and would post them on tumblr on Mondays after new eps, so if they do the same thing for this show, keeping an eye on tumblr is probably your best bet. I wouldn’t trust twitter links unless they came from a friend. Patience is super important with these things, because sometimes people put up a bogus torrent and capitalize off of people who jump on it first thing. Plus, the legit dl sites and streaming sites end up super busy and packed with people who all want to get the ep at the same time.

Other tips (that probably sound super scary, and I’m sorry, but in that moment when you’re super excited and you just want the ep, you don’t always think straight): If you torrent, you’ll need a torrenting program (utorrent is one, I think) to open the torrent files, which then download. After that, never install any software that a dl wants you to - even if it makes it sound like a codec or something is missing on your computer, it’s 99% likely that it’s a trap. I would also recommend never installing anything a stream wants you to install, with the exception of something like Flash (and then I would go directly to the adobe site, not following any links a site offers). 

A good antivirus software can saaave your bacon. I use bitdefender and I highly recommend them for the very specific reason of when I got a virus in 2008 (right before dead week and finals, it was a dark time, but I digress), it was the only antivirus software out of four (maybe five) that actually caught the bad stuff on my harddrive and was able to get rid of it. So yes, antivirus is awesome. And even if you just stream, I suggest running system scans after you’re done watching, just to zap any of the cookies that a site might leave on your system.

I think that’s it. Hopefully this helped, and I didn’t scare you even more. Remember, of course, that ISPs tend to frown on this stuff, and I’m absolutely not encouraging you to obtain or view anything that’s illegal in your country, state, or municipality (blah blah blah).

[loveshahinrah71universe-blog]

Best Tempered Glass PC Case

Best Tempered Glass PC Case There are a lot of different pc case available in the market that will impress you with the build quality. But if you want to truly impress everyone with your computer internal component and show off the awesome gaming setup you have then you must have to get e Tempered PC case.

What is a Tempered PC case? It is identical to a standard PC case except one or more panel are made of clear or tinted tempered glass. So what it does is that the internal pc components can be seen from outside. Basically, customizing opportunities on PC building is unlimited so you can take many approaches how you want to do yours.

>> Find more info on Amazon about the Best choice for Tempered PC Case – Corsair Crystal Series 570X RGB

Here in this article, I am presenting my top finds on the best-tempered PC case available in the market at an affordable price with excellent build quality.

Rank PC Case Editor's Rating Price 1 Corsair 570X RGB Check Here at Amazon 2 Phanteks PH-EC416PSTG_BK Check Here at Amazon 3 NZXT S340VR Elite Check Here at Amazon 4 Thermaltake View 31 Check Here at Amazon 5 Cougar case PANZER Check Here at Amazon 1. Corsair Crystal Series 570X RGB – Tempered Glass, Premium ATX Mid-Tower Case Cases CC-9011098-WW

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A very modern looking designed tempered glass pc case which has glass enclosing the entire chassis. All glass panels are removable so if you have a plan to update or customize you pc frequently then this one should suit you. This case also has three vivid SP120 RGB LED fans providing a gorgeous customizable and colorful look to the overall built. There is an in built LED controller which operates the color combination of those fans.

There are total 6 fans can be installed in this case. Also, good thing is that it supports 120mm, 280mm, and 360mm radiators too if you have the plan to install a water cooler system. The removable fan trays are located at the front and can be removed to provide additional space or mounting any other system externally.

Overall this case has excellent airflow system so you should be fine even if you are not using a water cooler for the CPU and GPU. This case has many customization features as well as the flexibility to suit any types of build.

Highlighted Features

Supports up to 6 fans with several size options including 120mm and 140mm. There are 3 LED RGB case fans included with built-in controller comes from the factory. All the side panels are installed with tempered glass panel which provides excellent visibility and looks really colorful when using RGB color mode. Supports up to 272mm ATX motherboard as well as Micro ATX and mini ATX Weight and Dimension

This computer case has a dimension of  480 x 234mm x 512mm and weighs 22.24lbs

Warranty:

Please contact the manufacturer for the accurate warranty information.

Price and More Details

Check Here at Amazon 2. Phanteks PH-EC416PSTG_BK Eclipse P400S Silent Edition with Tempered Glass, Satin Black Cases

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This PC case has only one tempered glass panel. But it made it to my list because of the build quality. It has excellent full body metal construction. Overall the design is very clean and with the red accent power supply enclosure this case truly stands out.

Phanteks are providing a 300mm RGGB LED strips which have 10 color RGB downlight with a power switch. This system also supports modular HDD system and 2 drops and lock SSD brackets.

The power supply enclosure supports a standard power supply but can be used to fit an long PSU if you want to go for water cooling setup. There is a vent at the top of the case which provides effective airflow directly to the CPU and GPU.

Highlighted Features

Very budget friendly price also providing a clean and modern computer case design Built-in RGB lighting features and can be customized according to the user preference Comes with power supply enclosure which hides the power supply and cabling providing a clean interior. All the vents comes factory magnetic vents for additional protection against dust Comes in many colors like black, red white or combination of these. Weight and Dimension

This PC case has a dimension of 210mm x 465mm x 470mm and weighs about 15.4lbs.

Warranty:

Please contact the manufacturer for the accurate warranty information.

Price and More Details

Check Here at Amazon 3. NZXT S340VR Elite Computer Glass Case in Matte Black

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Another clean design example of the PC case. Same as the previous case, this one doesn’t cover in glasses but provide a clear interior visibility maintaining all the customization features. It has 4 color options to choose from and all colors are mate finished so if you are not a glossy finish lover then you would like the design.  As usual, this case supports most major motherboards type and has a total of 7 expansion slots.

There are two fans comes preinstalled from the factory. One for the back and one to the top vent. So you should be good to go for an initial start. But if you want a bit more cooling you can install a couple more at the from the panel.

NZXT is including a magnetic cable management puck to store headsets or VR equipment conveniently. Also, this case supports up to 2x140mm or 2×120 mm radiator fans at the front or a 120mm at the back.

Highlighted Features

Wide clear tempered glass panel provides a crystal clear view of the internal components. VR support with factory magnetic cable management puck to store VR headsets and headphones. Has 4 USB ports at the front of the case and great cable management features. Very easy to do any customizations and PSU enclosure hides the PSU and unnecessary cables. Weight and Dimension

This computer case has a dimension of  203mm x 431mm x 474mm and weighs about 15.6 lbs.

Warranty:

Please contact the manufacturer for the accurate warranty information.

Price and More Details

Check Here at Amazon 4. Thermaltake View 31 Dual Tempered Glass Gaming Computer Case with 3 RGB LED Ring Fan

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Probably one of the most popular pc case available in the market. There are reasons behind it. This case has dual 4mm thick tempered glass side panel and has many other customization features it has a riser GPU support bracket which comes from the factory as well as preinstalled 140mm fans with filters which can be removed if necessary.

This case is fully modular that means a great choice for gamers to build their computers with. The hard drive mounting bays and removable and can customizable according to the user preferences. There are a total of 6 drive bays in this where three can be hidden.

There are other features that stand out this case from others. It has magnetic dust filter as well as 3 preinstalled RGB fans. It does a great job in ventilation too. You can mount up to 6 various sizes fans to maintain a constant airflow throughout the case.

Highlighted Features

Preinstalled 3 RGB fans which can be configured in 3 modes to user preference Modular internal components provide flexibility to the computer configuration. Twin glass panel ensures excellent internal visibility and stands out among other cases. Tool-less drive bay provides easy hard drive installation and upgrades facility. Weight and Dimension

This tower case has a dimension of   495mm x 248mm x  510mm and weighs about 23.6lbs.

Warranty:

Please contact the customer support or the manufacturer to verify the current warranty information.

Price and More Details

Check Here at Amazon 5. Cougar glass case – PANZER

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A mid tower pc case from Cougar made it to my list. This is a beautifully designed duel glass panel computer case. This case really stands out among other competing products with its detailed construction and upgrade capabilities. There are many customization opportunities available for this one. The PSU enclosure nicely hides the power supply unit and extra cables and provides a clean modern look to the computer.

It has many harddrive slots as well as a few slots at the back of the motherboard wall. In terms of airflow, the case will do a good job because it has removable front and top panel to install different sizes fan or a water cooling radiator.

The vent can be covered with factory magnetic cover. it has all others usual features like USB 3.0, front I/O with sound output etc. Overall this case will suit you if you want a constant airflow for your pc and want to get a good ascetics.

Highlighted Features

Front grid patterned vent design looks amazing and provides a unique look. Build quality is remarkable and fit most advance gaming pc setup nicely. Water cooling setup support with up to 2 radiator installation option Smoked tempered glass make this case gorgeous and maintain an aesthetic internal view of the component Weight and Dimension

This case has a dimension of 304mm x 304mm x 660mm and weighs about 30 pounds.

Warranty:

Please contact the manufacturer for the accurate warranty information.

Price and More Details

Check Here at Amazon Conclusion Most of these PC case was affordable and should bring an excellent outcome of your PC build. Tempered PC case is not just a basic item on the computer but it is for people who truly want show off their creation and maintain an aesthetic appearance. Have fun with your build. And here at BestRevX, we are happy to answer any further clarification you need.

Good Luck