#if you're going to max out your settings make sure you have a very high quality thick gauged power cord on your computer

[burningspy]

I've playing an early access copy of the new game Starfield on my computer today.

(not bragging, because I did have to buy the game and pay for the privilege)

I only say that because playing the game much of the day seems to have melted the power cord on my computer! (as seen in the photo above)

While playing, I heard a loud pop come from the computer sitting on the small end table beside my desk. A fraction of a second later, my computer dies and I smell the very distinctive scent of fried electronics.

As soon as it happened, I began to panic, thinking my very expensive graphics card just blew up and killed my computer. Which confused me even more, because I actually have that card slightly underclocked and undervolted in order to prevent it from overheating and crashing in these kind of high quality graphics situations.

I also began to think that maybe my power supply might have been the casualty. Which, financially, would have been the better of the two options; $200 for a decent power supply is much easier to handle than $1000+ for a new video card. Especially when it's an "emergency" purchase for this kind of situation.

Then, I grabbed the cord on the back of my computer to unplug it, and only pieces of it were in my hand. The outer rubber shielding of the cord had quickly melted, hardened, and the whole cord crumbled. Pieces of it had even slightly fused to the part of the tabletop the cord was running across.

I happened to have a much thicker gauged power cord in a closet. I plugged that in, and my computer came back to life. Nothing truly important (or expensive) was damaged. Honestly, the only reason I wasn't using this higher quality power cord already is because I don't really need a 10' long power cord for my computer.

Hopefully this thicker gauged power cord is all I really need to prevent anything like that from happening again.

[sims-himbo]

THE SIMS 4: BARBIE Legacy Challenge!

oh hi there! i haven't posted here in a while, but i just watched the barbie movie a few days ago and needless to say, it is now my entire personality. so here's my first ever legacy challenge based on barbie's many, many careers and achievements!

apologies in advance, this challenge uses a lot of packs! i'm sorry! i might try to make a base game version at some point

BASE GAME version

portuguese translation by @demaciana-sims

sims 3 version by @appaloosawhims

challenge rules below the cut

All heirs must be female and named Barbie. (non-heir children may have any name)

You may use the freerealestate cheat for your first house, but try not to use money cheats after that!

You are allowed and encouraged to use lot traits and rewards to boost skill gain, anything that’s in-game is fair game.

Packs you will need:

EPs: Get To Work, City Living, Cats & Dogs, Get Famous, Island Living, High School Years

GPs: Spa Day*, Parenthood

Optional packs (for the optional generations):

EPs: University, Cottage Living, Horse Ranch

GPs: Strangerville

*You only need Spa Day for the High Maintenance trait in one of the generations and nothing else, so it's fine to skip out on it.

You've been raised with traditional values: find a good man, start a family, be a homemaker... But you want your children to aim higher, so you'll make sure to set them up for success.

Complete Successful Lineage aspiration

Max Parenting and Cooking skills

Have at least 3 kids and 1 pet, each child must complete at least one child aspiration and they must all max out their grades in school

Must have Family-Oriented trait

Your mother was happy staying at home, but not you. You're ready to fight your way to the top and make enough money to support your family for generations to come.

Complete Fabulously Wealthy aspiration

Max Charisma and Logic skills

Max Business career (Investor branch)

Must have Ambitious trait

Your family is pretty wealthy, so you've used your funds to open up your very own vet clinic and follow your dreams of being surrounded by furry little guys all day! But it might be more difficult than you thought...

Complete Friend of the Animals aspiration

Max Veterinarian skill

Run a 5-star vet clinic

Have at least 3 pets and be good friends with all of them

Must have either Cat Lover or Dog Lover trait

You grew up surrounded by pets, and you now want to explore even more of the animal kingdom... So you're going underwater! What magical secrets will you discover on your journey?

Must live in Sulani

Complete Beach Life aspiration

Max Conservationist career (Marine Biologist branch)

Become a mermaid

Max Logic and Fitness skills

Must have Child of the Ocean trait

Your mother had an almost supernatural level of fitness at sea, so now you've been inspired to master fitness on land! You're determined to reach your full potential in physical performance and become a world class champion.

Join Cheer or Football team as a teenager and reach highest level

Complete Bodybuilder aspiration

Max Fitness and Charisma skills

Max Athlete career (Athlete branch)

Must have Active trait

Your family has achieved many, many accolades, and you've set out to capture all of it in an epic Tell-All novel that you spend your entire life writing!

Complete Bestselling Author aspiration

Max Writing skill

Write Book Of Life and bind it to your parent, use it to successfully bring them back from a premature death

Must have Creative trait

Movie stardom is the next logical step for your lineage, so you set out to conquer the silver screen. Will you catapult the family name into even greater heights, or will it now be associated with infamy?

Complete Master Actress aspiration

Max Acting skill

Must reach at least Proper Celebrity status

Must have a secret affair with a fellow Actor!

Must have High Maintenance trait

As the child of a successful actress, people may roll their eyes and immediately write you off as yet another nepo-baby trying to start a music career... So you must prove them all wrong by becoming a proper rockstar!

Complete World Famous Celebrity aspiration

Max Singing skill

Max skill in at least 2 instruments

Max Entertainer career (Musician branch)

Must have Music Lover trait

What's next after conquering so many careers and reaching worldwide fame for the family name? World domination, of course! Become the greatest Leader this nation has ever seen!

Complete Mansion Baron aspiration

Max Politician career (Politician branch)

Max Charisma skill

Must have Self-Assured trait

Now that you've conquered the world, it's time to venture out into Space! There's so much to explore out there, and Barbie must leave her mark all across the galaxy.

Complete Nerd Brain aspiration

Max Astronaut career (Either branch)

Max Logic and Rocket Science skills

Go to SIXAM at least once and bring a souvenir

Must have Genius trait

Still want more? Here's some extra Barbies that you can play with!

Secret Agent Barbie

Complete Bodybuilder aspiration

Must have Active and Geek traits

Complete Secret Agent career (Diamond Agent branch)

Max Logic, Fitness and Charisma skills

Become enemies with a Sim in the Villain branch of the Secret Agent career! (You may need to cheat this career level for sims outside your household)

Countryside Barbie

Complete Country Caretaker aspiration

Max Gardening skill

Must make all money from gardening, farming, wine making, etc. No day job!

Must own a horse and have it max every skill

Must have Animal Enthusiast trait

Army General Barbie

Must live in Strangerville

Complete Strangerville Mystery aspiration

Max Logic and Charisma skills

Max Military career (Either branch)

Must have Erratic trait

Scientist Barbie

Complete Nerd Brain aspiration

Max Scientist Career

Be abducted by Aliens at least once

Must have Genius trait

Ultimate Barbie

Set lifespan to long

Complete at least 2 child aspirations

Complete Renaissance Sim AND Academic aspirations

Max 10 skills

Have 12 or more traits

Graduate from college

Reach the top of any career

Have a house worth 1 Million Simoleons

Have at least 5 kids and max your relationship with all of them

that's about it! if you play this, please use #sims barbie legacy

have fun:)

[riality-check]

more daisy jones-adjacent things. this time, they're finally starting to hate each other a little less.

parts 1, 2, and 3, for your reading pleasure. less drugs this time around, but way more talk about steve's ptsd. part 5. part 6. part 7.

ao3

Steve has never co-written anything before. All of his songs are his, from start to finish. Every note, every chord, every syllable is his invention, and he takes them all very seriously.

That's not to say that he doesn't accept help. He wouldn't be himself if he wasn't constantly bouncing ideas off of Robin and Dustin and Lucas, and he always has other people look it over and offer suggestions.

But the initial creation? That's all him. Steve likes that kind of control.

Writing with a band is very different. Eddie declares it, the song Steve pissed him off enough into writing, done after they've got lyrics and a lead guitar part.

"They'll write the rest," he says, like it's that simple.

Steve can't imagine letting go that much. In all honesty, he's scared shitless. He's never been good at being nice. Charming, yes. Nice, no. And he doesn't know how he'll be nice if the drum, bass, and rhythm guitar parts suck.

It's his song. Well, his and Eddie's, which is weird to think about, but still.

Steve has never co-written anything before.

And, to make matters worse, he fell asleep last night.

He knew it was coming. He's never made it past seventy-two hours, no matter how hard he tries or how high he gets. He knew it was coming, and he prepped as best as he could.

That didn't stop him from sleeping in three hour bursts, at max. Torn between the nightmares and the exhaustion and the crash, he freaked out, passed out, and repeated the cycle until he had to get up and go to the studio.

At least this time, last night, he was back in the Byers house. Scary as shit, with the initial confusion never fading, but it's the best of the nightmares he gets. Between the dogs and the torture, Steve's brain has plenty of worse things to torment him with.

Maybe he should be grateful, but he's never been good at dealing with what he's given.

This morning, he doesn't need to take anything. He's tired, but not that tired, and he's trying to give himself breaks when he can.

He doesn't want to die. He just wants to stay awake.

He has a coffee, though. That's mostly for the taste. His tolerance is shot to hell, so it's not like caffeine makes a real difference.

Steve walks into the studio, coffee in hand, and sees the band setting up and tuning their instruments. Jeff gives him a little wave, Gareth nods absently as he tightens his snare, and Archie positively beams.

"Steve, you're a saint," he says, a little mischief in his eyes. "Different chords, finally. I could kiss you."

Steve laughs and promptly cuts himself off when he sees Eddie staring at him.

"Do I have something on my face?" he asks once the silence has stretched on for too long.

"Why are you here?" Eddie asks bluntly.

Steve, notably, doesn't flinch back. He doesn't snap. He doesn't do anything that he would regret later.

He just says, steadily, "I can go if you don't want me."

He stands there, and he swallows back his hurt. He thought Eddie was finally warming up to him. He took Eddie's fighting words as an improvement from being ignored. And, as usual, Steve thought wrong.

"Hang on a sec," Jeff says. He sets his guitar down and stands between Steve and Eddie. "I said I wanted Steve on backing vocals for this."

"Is Steve not on backing vocals?" Gareth asks from the other side of the room.

"Far as I know, he is," Archie says with a pointed look at Eddie.

Eddie turns to look at Jeff instead. Steve watches their intense staring match and thinks about just walking out.

Before he can take the first step, Eddie says, "Fine."

"Fine what?" Steve can't help but ask.

"Stay."

Steve nods, but he turns to Jeff. "Are you sure? It's fine if-"

"I'm sure," Jeff says. "I think you wrote this song more for your register than mine."

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry-"

"Don't be," Jeff says. "I changed everything I can't hit, but I just want a little more support, you know?"

Steve looks around the little studio space, around at all the cables and amps and mics and instruments, and he counts. Then counts again.

"There's only four mics," he says.

Jeff picks his guitar back up and gives it a little strum. "Share with Eddie."

"What?" Eddie says, looking like he would rather walk out than do that.

"Nothing against you, Steve," Jeff explains, ignoring Eddie. "I'm just a big personal space guy. Can't focus otherwise."

Steve looks over at Eddie, still sitting, still scowling.

"Fine," he says, because he'll be professional, even if Eddie won't.

"You guys are fucking killing me," Chrissy says, and Argyle, the audio engineer next to her, nods in agreement. "Can we get this show on the road?"

Gareth gives them a little salute, one that Chrissy rolls her eyes at. "We all ready?"

"As we'll ever be," the rest of the band choruses.

Steve shrugs. "Yeah."

"You warm up?" Eddie asks, walking toward his mic.

Steve follows. "Never do."

Eddie rolls his eyes, but then Chrissy gives them the all-clear, Gareth counts them off, and they start.

And something switches.

Steve knew this would be higher energy. Different genre, different sound, whatever. But there's something fucking electric about playing with a band instead of being by himself in an iso booth, drilling vocals until he has a take he's happy with.

Recording with a band brings a different sort of energy. It creates a feedback loop, getting them higher, playing faster, sounding better.

Steve tells himself to back off. He's not the star of this show. He's been invited, and a quarter of the people in this room don't want him here.

But filling in the gaps has always come easy to him, and he gives the backing vocals his all.

And somewhere between the guitar solo and the end of the song, Eddie smiles at him for the first time.

It's quick, but it's blinding. Steve didn't think Eddie could smile until he does. It's quick as a flash and wide and feral and a little mean, but it's there, and it's directed at him.

But just like that, the first take is over. It was messy and imperfect, and as soon as it ends, Eddie is back to scowling at him.

But it's not as harsh. And that's how Steve knows that he wasn't imagining that little bit of something.

"Holy shit," Archie says, as soon as they're done. "This is gonna be a good song."

"It's gonna be a great song," Jeff says.

"I want more from Steve," Gareth adds, and the rest of the guys agree.

Even Eddie, however begrudgingly.

"Alright, boys," Chrissy says. "You've got the fun out of your systems. Let's focus and make some music."

Steve looks over at Eddie, who nods, however slightly. And he thinks, because he has never been able to kill hope a day in his life, that they could make a good team if Eddie could stop hating his guts.

[jakexneytiri]

Post a blurb for each draft you have

bet lol but i’m only gonna do the ones i feel pretty confident with/small blurbs/ones that night never get posted :’)

nima squeals, running straight to neteyam. “daddy! daddy! 'nuk teasin' me!”

neteyam scoops nima up in one swift movement, glancing down at txonuk unamused.

“txonuk. what have i told you? no riling your sister up before bed.”

—

"does he ever have you like this?" jake's words come from above you, while his glistening skin smacks against yours in sharp, rough thrusts.

—

"hey...hey. what's wrong? what is it, talk to me, baby." you encourage, gently rubbing his cheek, but it's no use. his strong arms scoop you up carefully, carrying you over to the woven mat you both sleep on.

—

"hey. hey. look at me. keep those pretty eyes open f'me.”

—

jake scoffs at your silence, continuing to try and get you to speak. “c’mon, you're still upset with me from earlier when I left you all hot n bothered?”

“i think the clan members could’ve spared you five minutes.”

—

norm laughs at this. "we will, tomorrow. Don't you remember what day it is?"

"….it's sunday, right?"

“jake, it's father's day. go spend some time with the kids.”

“father's day, huh? haven't remembered any of those stupid holidays from back on earth.”

“really? you seemed to remember valentine's day just fine!”

jake chuckles at this, fondly recalling the night your second son was conceived. “all right, all right. i’m goin.”

—

the olo'eyktan that is very closed-off, reserved. never smiles. only speaks when he has to. who's presence makes other clan members slightly uncomfortable. but he wasn't always this way, of course. no, neteyam used to be happy. used to smile. hell, he even used to laugh. but all of that changed that day. that damned day.

—

neteyam opens the flap to your marui then, flashing you a cheeky smile as he's attacked by three sets of little hands reaching for him.

—

jake looks out of the corner of his eye, noticing neteyam fiddling with his old polaroid camera.

“where'd ya find that? thought i lost that thing years ago.” jake smiles, reaching out to take it.

—

his smile matches yours, full of love as he moves to place a gentle kiss to your lips.

"ewwww! they're doing the sex!" txonuk yells, running to the mat he sleeps on with se'ayl.

neteyam's eyes nearly pop out of his head as he pulls away from you, staring at his youngest son in shock.

"tonuk. what did you just say?" neteyam asks, getting on one knee to be eye level with him.

—

who were you to come in between an olo'eyktan and his duties? stupid, stupid girl.

—

jake can’t stand being away from you, but you both know he has to leave when duty calls. even as he’s currently at high camp with norm & max, he can’t help but let his mind drift to last night. the way your innocent eyes were squeezed shut, lips parted just enough to let your desperate moans escape, begging for him to—

“jake? that sound okay to you?” norm’s voice brings jake back to the lab, waving his hand in front of his face.

��…huh? sure, yeah.” jake replies, raising an arm to scratch the top of his head.

[danifesting]

A birthday present for my dear, beloved friend @nobrakesdown. Cove, I hope you have the wonderful birthday you deserve. Thanks for being my friend, writing buddy, sounding board and everything in between.

*****

Daniel's heat is late. First one week, then two, then three. At four weeks he starts to worry. He's usually like clockwork, has been since his first heat at 15, but now, not even a skin prickle at the back of his neck. He makes an appointment with his gynecologist and goes into the office more anxious than he'd like to admit.

The nurse gets him in the room and takes his temperature, a little high but not a fever. His blood pressure is high too.

"Ha, sorry," he says to the nurse, a pretty beta with long blonde hair. "Just a little anxious."

"That's okay. It's not uncommon and it's not in a danger zone or anything," she assures him. "Is there any chance you could be pregnant?"

Daniel hums. He's been on birth control a long time. "I doubt it."

"Well, either way, we have to have you take a pregnancy test." She hands him a cup. "Just pee in here and leave it on the counter next to the door. When you're done, undress from the waist down and press the button on the wall to let us know you're ready, okay?"

Daniel gives her a thumbs up and does as he's instructed. The wait for the doctor is agonizingly slow. He scrolls through Instagram on his phone but it doesn't do anything to speed up the passage of time. Eventually the doctor knocks.

"Come in," Daniel calls out and Dr. Bernard comes in.

"Well, Daniel," she says, sitting down on the stool next to the table. "I'm just going to start with this. Your pregnancy test came back positive."

"But…" Daniel says, starting to sweat.

"I know you're on birth control but have you missed any doses?" She asks kindly.

"No, never. I take it at the same time every day. I have a special alarm and everything."

"Have you been sick? Taken any antibiotics?"

"I had a sinus infection about a month ago and the doctor gave me something for it."

"Did he warn you that antibiotics can make birth control less effective and that you should use backup contraception until after your next heat?"

"Uh... He did not. Was he supposed to?" Daniel asks with raised eyebrows.

Dr. Bernard sighs. "They never tell people what they should. Well, I'm sorry if it's bad news, and we'll take a blood test to confirm just to be sure, but you're pregnant."

Daniel puts his face in his hands. Fuck, what is he going to do? What is he going to tell Max? They've really only just gotten together. Only a few very happy months and now Daniel's gone and ruined it.

Dr. Bernard pats Daniel on the knee. "I'll give you a moment and then we'll do your pelvic exam."

She steps out of the room and Daniel texts Max.

Daniel: are you busy today?

Max: just finished at the sim

Daniel: can you meet me at mine in like an hour?

Max: i'll be there

Daniel sighs and sets his phone down. They do the pelvic exam, take Daniel's blood, tell him they'll call him with the results tomorrow and to talk about next steps from there.

Max is already in his apartment when Daniel gets home, sitting on the couch scrolling through his phone. He looks up when Daniel comes in and smiles, wide and happy but his face falls when he sees Daniel, turning to concern. Daniel kicks off his shoes and crosses the room.

"Hi Maxy," he says and collapses down onto the couch next to him. "I have some news."

"Good or bad?" Max asks, eyebrows drawing in.

"Um, I haven't really decided yet. Still kind of in shock about it." Daniel rubs a hand over his face. "I'm pregnant." He keeps his face hidden in his hands.

"Daniel," Max says, voice hushed. He pulls Daniel's hands away from his face.

Daniel gives him a wry smile. "Surprise? I'm so sorry. I know we didn't plan for it, but I think I'm keeping the baby," he says, which is a surprise to himself as he says but it's true. He is. Fuck, he's gonna be a dad.

"Daniel," Max says again and his face is broken open into a wide grin, eyes scrunched tight and happy. "This was, of course, not something we have talked about before but if you want this, I want this, yeah?"

"Really?" Daniel asks, feeling his eyes well with tears. Stupid pregnancy hormones.

"Of course, Daniel. Yes. I have always wanted children and…"

"But we've only been dating a few months."

Max laughs. "And I have been in love with you since I was 18. Let's have a baby Daniel."

"You and me, huh?" Daniel asks, matching Max's laughter.

"You and me," Max assures. "I'll be with you the whole way."

And now, now Daniel feels hopeful instead of the terror he felt sitting in that doctor's office listening to his test results. He won't be in this alone. He has Max by his side and maybe they can do this. Maybe it will be okay.

The blood test results come back positive the next morning. Max holds Daniel's hand as they listen to Dr. Bernard lay out their next steps, the ultrasound appointment he'll have next week, the email she'll send with pregnancy nutrition and prenatal vitamins, all of it, and instead of overwhelmed like he thought he'd be, Daniel feels happy, like this is the right choice, like he and Max are starting a life together along with the life inside him.

Max kisses him when the phone call is over. He puts his hand on Daniel's belly and kisses him again, and Daniel knows things are going to be alright, better than even. Things are going to be great.

[triviallytrue]

A primer on Linux for non computer nerds

What is Linux?

Linux is an operating system, like Microsoft Windows or Mac OS. Specifically, Linux is free open source software, as opposed to private software sold and developed by a corporation like Microsoft or Apple.

Why would I want to use Linux?

Windows and Mac OS (but especially Windows) are including more and more bloatware as of late - software that takes up space on your computer and may use computing resources that can't easily be turned off or deleted.

In addition to being free of the anti-user practices that have become the norm on Windows and Mac OS, Linux has other advantages, like not requiring antivirus software (as a consequence of its design decisions and its relatively low usage, comparatively).

As a result, lightweight Linux distributions are often used to resuscitate old computers that have become too slow to use on other operating systems.

It should be noted here that for any aspiring computer nerds reading this, Linux has a lot of other advantages in terms of the customization it offers and the tools it encourages you to use, but that's not as relevant to your average user.

Why shouldn't I use Linux?

There are two main drawbacks. First, the smaller userbase means software companies are less likely to develop with Linux in mind. This is especially notable for gaming, which is generally considered better on Windows than any other OS.

If you have specific software you want or need to run, you should check in advance if it can run on Linux, or if an equally good open source alternative exists. Linux developers are working hard on this and have made great strides in recent years, and personally I've been running games on max settings (4k display) with high FPS and no issues on Linux.

Second, Linux is more work to install and run. On a user-friendly distribution, it should be pretty easy for anyone who is comfortable using google to look up solutions to computer problems, but if computer problems are especially anxiety-provoking or stressful for you, you may be better off sticking with your current OS.

What's a distribution?

Linux is an umbrella term for free open source operating systems that use the same "core" (the Linux kernel). Each Linux distribution has different features.

Which distribution should I use?

Linux Mint. Specifically, the Cinnamon edition, unless you're trying to revive an old computer, in which case you may prefer the more stripped-down MATE or Xfce editions.

For computer nerds, this is a hard decision, and there are lots of arguments on the internet about it. But if you're looking for a distro that prioritizes easy, intuitive installation and use, reliability, stability, and community troubleshooting resources, the consensus pick seems to be Linux Mint by a mile.

To make the switch, you'll need a USB drive with at least 4 GB of space and another device to search for troubleshooting advice/view a guide. After that, follow the advice on the Mint website, or look up any of the myriad tutorials online (there are plenty of video tutorials on Youtube, for ex).

Advice for the switch

If you're switching your OS on a machine you've used for a long time, be sure to back up your files beforehand, and don't switch on a machine that you need to be perfectly functional in the near future, like a work computer. Odds are very good that everything will go smoothly, but you shouldn't count on that.

Make sure that you have another device with internet access (I used my phone) to google troubleshooting advice in case anything goes wrong.

WiFi in Linux Mint doesn't work always work out of the box - the driver manager will get it working for you, but it often needs to be connected to the internet to do so. There are two main ways to connect without WiFi - connecting directly to your router (ethernet) or sharing your smartphone's WiFi (USB tethering). If these are unfamiliar concepts, there are plenty of online resources easily found on google that explain both.

Fellow computer nerds: if there's anything you think I should add or change, let me know in the replies/reblogs.

I also had a weird issue where the driver manager told me I had no updates left, despite my drivers clearly not working. The solution to this was restarting not once but twice - after that everything worked like a charm. Remember the golden rule of computer troubleshooting: try turning it off and on again.

EDIT: Did this again with a friend, the actual solution that works here is updating the kernel to the latest version. Open the update manager, go to View -> Linux Kernels, and install the latest one.

[cannedbeefaroni]

Get This (Joby Taylor X Reader) (SMUT)

Summary: You're the lead singer of a less than successful local band. You find yourself unlucky enough to run into your very first shitty rock guy at a gig, and hatred blossoms.

Content: SMUT 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, unhealthy dynamics, don't replicate irl, hatefuck, public sex, bathroom sex, clothed sex, dryhumping, finishing in pants, joby gets slapped in the face

Reader is written to be entirely gender neutral, but is implied to have an androgynous appearance (Joby implies he can't tell whether they're a boy or a girl)

Genuinely, you felt like you were going nowhere. Being stuck as a local band playing gigs at dingy bars and clubs with 15 max patrons was taking a big hit on your ego as the lead of a band. Your band members didn’t seem to give a shit, gladly taking whatever they can get, getting high off their balls every week and generally not caring about life. You wanted more out of this, and being so stagnant made you agitated all the time. After trying so hard to make things work, ultimately, very little progress was made. At one point the band got lucky, getting a gig at a park for a couple shows sprawled throughout the month. Sure, the set lists were composed of songs you hated and thought were boring, to appeal to the local community but the teenagers who came to watch thought you guys were the heaviest motherfuckers on the planet. Sadly, 21 and up venues did not have dumb teens with bad taste, and most of those audiences were either dead or unamused.

At the very least your drummer was passionate about the band, despite being a little too laid back. Your guitarist and bassist straight up couldn’t be bothered. You contemplated trying to recruit new members, but it would’ve taken so much trial and error. Until your guitarist quit. You always had the tendency to lash out at her whenever she acted diva-ish, but the last time was the last straw. You threw a bottle at her head, missing as it shattered against the wall behind her. Before you could apologize, she got up and left. You had to pick up the slack, since you knew how to play, but you weren’t used to singing and playing at once while performing. Every show since then had been exhausting, and you and your band members had failed to find any recruits. Months had passed, and you accepted that you had become a three person band. 

Through all the bad shit, you were lucky to get a new gig at a lounge. You were nervous, knowing if the manager didn’t like the band's performance, you probably wouldn’t get to play there again. Despite how hopeful and excited you were, you were worried sick. You wanted to practice with the others as often as possible, but you could only push them so much, so you spent even more time practicing the set list alone. You were losing your mind, feeling overwhelmed despite the stakes being low. You wanted to prove yourself, but you didn’t know who to. Maybe to yourself, or to random people you didn’t even care about. 

Setting up for the show, you ran around with equipment, skipping around like an idiot trying to get everything ready. The two others took their time, which they had every right to, since there was no rush. At some point, your drummer placed a drink on the table next to you, insisting you needed to loosen up before the show. You were hesitant to accept, but you eventually agreed and downed the drink. It was strong, but just one drink wouldn’t get you drunk. Turning around to take a seat, you notice some fucked up looking guy slouched in a seat at the table. The sun had just set and he already looked drunk, head leaning back with his legs spread and ass on the edge of the seat. His jeans were too low waisted and too tight, and his overall look could be described as greasy. Wondering how long he’d been there, you pulled a chair away from the table, awkwardly sitting trying to keep a distance. 

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around, sweetheart,” his voice creaked like a door, deep and lazily. You gave him an uncomfortable look. 

“This is our first gig here,” you gave a half smile, trying to be polite but ending up coming across dismissive. 

“Oh, shit. I had no idea you were in the band. I thought you just worked here or something,” he chuckled, but you failed to find what was funny. “Y’know, I’ve toured with a couple bands, but none of them had any female members.”

You had no response, so you sat silently, somewhat hoping the conversation would die out. 

“You are a girl, right? It’s hard to tell sometimes,” he doesn’t stop talking, and for some reason thinks he can salvage the conversation. 

“What’s your fucking problem, dude?” you sigh, wondering why you keep entertaining his bullshit. 

“Chill, man, I know your nerves are shot ‘cause of this gig. You guys are new, right?” he scoffs, hanging his head to the side, pushing his hair back with a cocky grin. 

“Yeah, but I’m not young. I’m in my late 20’s,” you roll your eyes. 

“Hang on, I didn’t say-“

“Come on man, you’re a shitty rock guy. I know you’re trying to get with younger chicks. Your bullshit won’t work on me,” you snap back at him, losing your patience. He fucking laughs, and you have no idea why it enrages you so much. 

“You got a rockstar attitude, that’s for sure,” his smile pissed you off.

You scoffed as you got up without uttering a word. There wasn’t time for this, you needed to get some vocal exercises in before the show, so you headed to the bathroom for some privacy. You had no idea why you were so embarrassed of warming up your voice, it just felt awkward doing it in front of other people. There were only two bathrooms in the establishment, both having only one toilet. While you really hoped the turnout would be good, you also hoped it wouldn’t get crowded enough to the point of the bathrooms having a 2 hour wait time. 

When the show was about to begin, all your worries skyrocketed. You started worrying if the audience wouldn’t like the set list, but the manager who booked you guys approved it and even picked some of the songs. It was going to be the first time a venue let you play as heavy as you wanted, but by the looks of the patrons who were primarily older men, you weren’t sure if you had the right audience. They were probably expecting classic rock, which your band definitely would not deliver on. Despite your worries, the manager assured you that it’d be fine. 

As the show was minutes from starting, you and the band made your way to the stage. You went to plug your mic into the amp, and as you did you caught a glimpse of that weirdo you spoke with earlier. He was sitting at a booth across from two women who looked like they just turned 21 yesterday. They were squealing with glee at the sight of him, which utterly confused you. You couldn’t help but eavesdrop, hearing one of the girls exclaim, “oh my god, are you Joby Taylor?” No wonder he had such a massive ego. He’s probably from some hotshot band that’s popular with teenage girls. You rolled your eyes hearing him soak in their praise, and humble-brag about himself. Everything Joby did enraged you. He caught you staring and shot a wink at you, and you could’ve sworn you popped a hernia. You knew it was stupid to let something so dumb bother you, but it was as if Joby was created in a lab to be the most insufferable rocker guy on the planet. You egged yourself on, needing to convey that rage in your first song.

The show started, and you jumped up on stage and swung your guitar over your shoulder. You gave your usual intro, but before starting you pulled an index card out of your pocket to read out the promotion you were forced to by the manager. You tossed it aside, readying yourself for possible humiliation. You made it a habit not to look at the crowd, because that always leads to awkward eye contact with a stranger. Staring at the back wall was the best bet, but of course, with your luck, your eyes glanced at Joby, and he stared at you with his eyes hooded and his chin resting in his hand. He was judging you, probably thinking he was better than you. 

“Gimme a scream,” the drummer called out, and you did, without breaking eye contact with Joby. If there was one thing you were proud of, it was your voice. You’d often get compliments on how you can scream like hell, but also have a pretty singing voice. This first song, however, was all screaming. It felt risky doing it first, but watching Joby’s eyes widen in horror as he heard the demonic growl ripped from your throat was priceless. 

I DON’T LIKE A FUCKING THING

MUSIC SUCKS DICK

SUCK THE SNOT END OF THE TIP OF MY PRICK, YOU FUCKING CUNTS

GET OFF MY BACK

I DON’T WANNA DO A SHOW WITH YOUR SHITTY FUCKING BAND

You leaped into action, jumping around as you played along with the band. Being a more eccentric performer, you liked having freedom to take the stage and command an audience, but the added guitar playing made that way harder, especially when you just started learning the instrument 3 years ago. It exhausted you, and was probably the reason you were so much more irritable all the time. You were kidding yourself when you thought you didn’t need a guitarist. Considering Joby, though, you wanted to prove in your performance that you could do anything. That you were better than him, no matter how famous or experienced he was.

DON’T BERATE ME ‘CAUSE YOU CAN’T STOP ME 

FROM BREAKING YOUR FACE, IT’S YOU I’LL ERASE

IT’S HATE, MOTHERFUCKER, HATE, MOTHERFUCKER, HATE 

It felt good screaming all this out after all the bullshit you had to endure. You didn’t care if the audience didn’t like your band anymore, you just wanted to fuck shit up. As you looked back at Joby, you noticed that the girls who were sitting with him just a while ago had gotten up and were headed for the door. It seemed like they weren’t big fans of heavy metal. Joby seemed isolated and upset over it, and you grinned to yourself as if you did a job well done. Two less girls who get to be manipulated by some greasy dude. You felt euphoric as you screamed the vulgar lyrics, as if you finally got the chance to cuss out everyone out there who’s hurt you. 

LIFE’S SO SHITTY, BUT AIN’T IT FUCKING GREAT? 

LIFE’S SO SHITTY, BUT AIN’T IT FUCKING GREAT? 

Then you realized that you wanted him all alone. Joby was inside your head, and no matter what you couldn’t spin it any other way. He had you wrapped around his finger and you couldn’t do a damn thing. You hated him for seemingly no reason. Maybe it was the way he seemed to try pulling you in, as if he wanted to push you into doing things you’d regret. Like you were a piece of meat. You weren’t even a person to him. He thinks he can just run around fucking any groupie he wants and run off like nothing ever happened. You’re not a groupie. You’re the motherfucking lead singer of Poor Impulse Control. 

GET THIS OR DIE, GET THIS OR DIE,

GET THIS OR DIE, GET THIS OR DIE,

GET THIS OR DIE, GET THIS OR DIE,

GET THIS OR DIE, GET THIS OR DIE,

GET THIS OR DIE, GET THIS OR DIE,

GET THIS OR DIE, GET THIS OR DIE,

GET THIS OR DIE, GET THIS OR DIE,

GET THIS OR DIE, GET THIS OR DIE

You were jumping and stomping on every GET THIS OR DIE. You wanted to stomp it into everyone’s thick fucking skulls. By the end of the song, you felt like you just underwent an exorcism. There was no more hatred, just sweat, tears, and your racing heart. The audience actually clapped. Though it was dry, they were pleased by the performance. You laughed as tears rolled down your face. 

About an hour or so later, the show ended, and the turnout was decent. The audience seemed somewhat impressed by the performance, and that was good enough for you. Right after signing off for the night, you headed straight for the bar, completely spent and sweaty. You weren’t planning on getting drunk, you were just in desperate need of some water. 

“You were really cool up there,” the bartender smiled, sliding a glass of water over to you. “Are you guys gonna be a regular gig?”  

“Thanks,” you said shyly, voice quiet and horse from the performance. “Not sure. Depends if he likes us or not.” 

“He would,” another voice interjects. Joby was sitting at the stool next to yours, taking shots. You groaned, almost inaudible. “He likes that kinda trashy stuff.” The bartender left the scene, sensing the tension rising between you and him. 

“Trashy?” you sneer. 

“I mean, you gotta admit it’s trashy, but you make it work, babe,” he ruffles your already messed up hair, like he’s cool with you. 

“You would know. You’re the definition of trash,” you grumble. “I doubt your band’s music is any better.”

“Actually, I’m not in a band right now,” he admitted, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “Y’know, something’s got me thinking.”

He leans his head against his hand, elbow on the counter. As he leans in a little, you sit unphased.

“You guys seem to be short a member, right?” 

“What makes you say that?” you brush him off. 

“I don’t think you’re all that great of a guitarist,” he starts, but you’re ready to counter argue. He presses a finger against your lip, shushing you so he can continue. “Your vocals are good, but that guitar is holding you back from being great.” 

“So what? I can get better,” you swat his hand away. 

“It would be easier if you had a guitarist, no?” his tone becomes soft, like he’s pretending to be a nice guy all of a sudden. “Someone with experience?” the way he inched closer made you feel cornered.

You were absolutely stuck. After all this time, what you wanted was handed to you on a silver platter, but in the form of a walking greaseball. Staring at your glass, you still felt his gaze burning holes in you. “I guess. If you really want we could hold an audition for you,” you say reluctantly, “but I don’t know if the band would be cool with it.” You search around for them, but they have already packed up and left. There goes your scapegoat. 

“I think they left without you,” he leaned in, whispering in your ear as if it was a secret. It sent a shiver down your spine, making you tense. His hand brushes along your thigh ever so slightly. Though every feeling you had about Joby was visceral hatred, your body reacted to him embarrassingly. You wanted to find him completely unappealing, but unfortunately he was totally your type. The way he made you feel was unbearable. Uncomfortable pulsing as you sat in your soiled underwear. The fact that your band members weren’t there to judge made you bolder than usual. 

“They tend to do that,” you replied, looking down at your lap pensively. He slowly brought his hand to your knee, resting his palm against it as he dragged it upward slightly. You stared at his fingers with jealousy. They were incredibly long, which probably made fingering any instrument easy. Then again, it would make fingering easy, period. His fingers gripped your thigh, startling you. 

“Guess I have you all to myself,” he grinned, and it sent a rush through you. 

You’re an idiot, so you got up, grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the bathroom. Luckily the bar was nearly empty again by the end of the night, so there were no occupants. You wish you were drunk right now so you had something to blame this on, but you needed relief and he was very much willing to give it to you. As you shut the bathroom door, you pushed him up against it, and before you got the chance, he was the one to break the space between, kissing you intensely. You instantly melted into him, pressing into him as your arms hooked around his neck. He was way too good at this, instantly taking the lead, grabbing the base of your hair and tilting your head, allowing your lips to lock perfectly. You pressed your knee against his crotch, and he groaned. His legs intertwined with yours, and you started grinding against his thigh. Snaking a hand down your back, it grabbed your ass, forcing the movement of your hips to stay in rhythm with his. Eagerly, you took his tongue into your mouth, letting him lick up the inside. He tasted just like you expected, like cigarettes and vodka. You whined for him like you were begging, and it felt humiliating. 

He pulled you away by your hair, making you whimper. You stared up at him as he chuckled at you, loving the way you submitted to him. “Admit it,” he said, slowly repositioning your hips, lining your crotch up with his. “Admit you need me,” he grinded into you, the head of his cock brushing over the perfect spot, making you moan for him. He humped you like he was showing you how he’d fuck you, and it made your mind go numb. Grabbing your face by the cheeks, he forced you to make eye contact with him. He thrusted hard, watching you squeal at the intense stimulation. “You can do it, sweetheart.” 

“I need you. I need you,” you whined, breathless and weak as he gave you a few sharp thrusts. 

“What do you need?” he pulled your face closer, lips inching closer to yours. 

“Fine! I need you in my band!” you exclaimed.

He chucked. “Now, was that so hard?” he cooed before pulling you in again, brushing his tongue along the seam of your lips, wrenching your jaw open once again to let it in. His thrusts were ruthless, abusing your nerves, pushing you to the edge. His lips traveled to your neck, licking the delicate skin over your pulse point before sinking his teeth in. As he bruised you, all control was lost as you were pushed to the point of cumming in your pants. Despite trying your hardest to stay quiet, you let out a borderline pornographic screech. Most embarrassingly, in your foggy state of mind, you moaned his name as your head fell to the crook of his neck, body melding into his. Heavily, you panted as you came down from your high. 

“So, you do know who I am,” he chuckled cruelly, making you scowl. You suddenly felt his hands come between you two, and you failed to notice his fingers working his buckle, then unzipping his pants. Only when you pulled away slightly and glanced down, you were met with the sight of his cock springing from the waistband of his underwear, unprompted. 

In a state of shock, you delivered a sharp smack to his face, making his head recoil to the side. You stared widely in horror as your hand slapped over your mouth, watching his cheek bloom red. 

“I’m sorry,” you whispered meekly. “I don’t think I want to go any further,” you clarified as you pulled away from him. 

“I can see that,” he brought his hand to his face, rubbing the stinging skin. Hastily, he pulled his pants back up.

“Uhm,” you started, trying to find what to say. “We can have the audition tomorrow, if you still want,” you suggested awkwardly, hoping the original plan was still in motion. 

“Only if you promise not to slap me again.” 

“Only if you promise not to take your cock out again,” you rebuttal.

“Deal.”

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

A Light in the Darkness {Part 07 of 07}

Eddie Munson X Hargrove!twinsister Reader

Chapter word count: 2K

Summary: After Billy died, you got stuck in a dark place, where you didn't have to deal with your feelings. Your friends don't know what to do but to drag you away from the many fights you pick. And life was dragging itself, an agonizing day after the other... Until Eddie Munson broke through the very high walls you built around yourself.

<- Previous part (06)

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

Intervention

 “A what?” You ask, blinking a few times as your mind tries to process what's going on.

 “We-”

 “Let me speak,” Maxine says, interrupting Steve. “I've seen what Billy's death done to you, better than anyone.” She continues. “I'm the one to hold you at night, I'm the one to hear you sobbing, to wake up when you have nightmares and wake up screaming for your brother.” Max stands up and walks over to you, taking both your hands in hers. “You have a lot of anger, and I understand why, having lived with Neil all your life. And I understand it's all coming out the wrong way since Billy was gone, but this... This has to stop, (Y/N). I love you, but this has to stop. You're hurting yourself, and hurting us.”

 “And putting yourself in danger,” Hopper adds, from his place standing near the couch. “This time you escaped... I'm not sure for how long I can keep covering for you.”

 “There are five stages of grief.” Eddie finally speaks, and your eyes move to him, your heart beating faster for some reason. But you're used to it now, to the sensations Eddie provokes. It only dawns now, when you look at him in the crowd your family makes, that he lights up like a beacon. Like an anchor. And you crave to hear what he has to say. “You're stuck in anger and depression. And you have to feel them, yes, but you also have to move on.”

 “How?” It comes out in a whisper, broken voice and tears rolling down. It's the first time you cry in front of them since the Battle of Starcourt.

 “Start by letting it out of your chest,” Susan says.

 “Yeah. You never speak to us.” Nancy adds. “We don't know what's happening.”

 “Can you imagine how hard it is for me to understand?” Robins speaks up, gesturing at herself. “I joined the party too late. So I never know what to do when you freak out, go to the lake, or drive around. God knows where you go. What if you die? We wouldn't even be able to find you, and I get nervous and speak way too much, and these guys are the ones forced to bear me.”

 A lot of them nod, and you just don't know what to say. Shrugging, you don't even try to resist the pull that moves you towards Eddie. He immediately stands up, arms opening to welcome you into his embrace. “It's alright. You're safe here, ok? We're your family, and we love you.” That makes you pull away, looking up at him.

 And that's when he kisses you.

 It's just a peck on the lips, but it makes your world stop for a moment. Your eyes are set on his as your skin burns deliciously, and for a moment there's nobody else there, just you and him... That until someone clears their throat.

 “Are you done?” Hopper asks, and you collapse against his chest again.

 But this time, you're not hiding. “If you guys wanna know... I'll tell you...”

 They all move, giving you and Eddie enough space to sit down on the couch. Here, among them, you're safe, as Eddie said. And for the first time, you will force yourself to open up. It'll hurt, you know it, you feel it already, but you'll do this. For them, and for you.

 “Billy was the one to protect me from Neil.” You begin, holding Eddie's hand, fingers laced together. “When we were kids, he took many of the beatings meant to me. Because I was his baby sister, even though I'm just seventeen minutes younger. And as we grew up-” A sob comes, you cover your mouth, closing your eyes tightly to push out some tears. “As we grew up, we started defending each other. I took some beatings meant for him too, even though he didn't like it. He wanted to take it all on himself, but I didn't let him. But many times when I was so scared, he was always there and... And now... Now he's gone and I feel like that monster can show up again at any time and I'll be all alone... And he'll beat me as he did and the only one who protected me and shared this burden is gone.”

 You're a crying mess when you're done, shoulders shaking under the many sobs. Eddie holds you again, and you cry against him.

 “It's true...” Max says. “But I didn't know it was like that...”

 “Hey,” Steve whispers, and when you look, he's crouching in front of you. “I'm sorry Billy is gone. I always knew you guys supported each other, but this... I had no idea. But you have to know that you're not alone. You have me. And Maxine, Mike, Nancy, Robin. Dustin, Hopper, Susan, Lucas, and Erica. Even the rest of us in California.” He looks up at Eddie. “And by the looks of it, you have another protector as well.”

 Sniffing, you look up at Eddie, who smiles and nods. “Hell yeah. I'd punch a thousand Jasons for you, Princess.”

 That makes you blush, and you hide your face again. “So, we need a plan,” Dustin says, and you hear him messing around with some papers. “Here.” He gets up and hands you a small pile of...

 “What the hell?” You speak out, sitting up straight. “How... It's...” Shaking your head, the new tears rolling down making it hard to read what it says on the plane tickets, but you got the most important part. A flight to California, to the nearest airport to Lenora Hills. “You're all going?”

 They nod all at the same time. “You kids do whatever you want. I'm going to win Joyce back.” Hopper mutters and you can help but giggle.

 “It's only a week, between the end of the school year and the graduation,” Nancy says. “But it'll be good. For you and all of us.”

 “Guys, this is expensive... You didn't have to do that for me...”

 “We managed.” Steve shrugs. “And you deserve it. All of us do, it'll be fun.”

The smile comes again, and you don't know the last time you felt... Happy. For too long, you have pushed these people away. And you shouldn't have. There are no words to thank them for not leaving, even after you were mean, almost exploding in anger. “I don't deserve it... I don't deserve any of you. And I'm sorry. I just... Didn't know what to do. Where to go, or how to feel.”

 “You don't have to know,” Robin says, kneeling down in front of you next to Steve. “We'll find out, together. We fought monsters together, we can deal with a very angry girl.”

 That makes you giggle, and you look around. “Thank you. All of you... For not giving up on me.” The tears that follow are from happiness... From feeling found in this sea of darkness.

 “Groups hug, everyone!” Dustin calls and gets up as everyone comes closer.

 You're still broken and hurt, but you'll probably feel like this forever. Billy has part of you, but now, you have to learn to live without him. And live a life he'd be proud of. Be happy, because that's what he wanted for you.

°°°

 The sun is blinding, even under the beach umbrella. Steve and Robin are lying in the sun, trying to get a tan. Nancy is swimming with Maxine and Erica, and the rest of them are trying to find stuff in the sand with a small metal detector.

 “You two,” You call. “Reapply sunscreen. I won't wipe moisturizer on your asses if you get all burned.”

 “The sun isn't on my ass, so it'll be fine,” Robin says, and Steve chuckles.

 “What are you laughing at, Harrington? You're the babysitter, you'll be the one wiping moisturizer in all our asses by the end of the day.”

 “You wish.”

 “Nah, I have a boyfriend to do that for me.”

 “Ouch,” Robin adds. “She just shoved your single state all over your face.”

 “Not for much longer...” He mutters, and you turn your head to look at him. “Nancy and I been talking...”

 “Oh.” That has been going on for a while. And one of the first things that happened when you set foot in Lenora Hills, was Jonathan and Nancy breaking up. They're fine now, but the romantic relationship is over, probably for good. “Good. Remember to send me an invitation for the wedding.”

 “Speaking of you, people with hopes for the future, where's Eddie with our sodas?” Robin asks, and you sit up, looking over your shoulder.

 And there he comes, chatting with Eleven, each holding one side of a styrofoam box. “Finally.” You say when they reach you. “Did you get them from the factory?”

 “Yup,” Eddie says, sitting on the towel next to you. “We were squeezing the lemons.” He smirks and you pull him into a kiss.

 “So.” Eleven starts, sitting in the shade with you and Eddie. “After graduation, what are your plans?”

 That's something you didn't stop to think. And honestly, it's the last thing you want to think about on such a beautiful beach. “Mmm... I'm not sure. I wanna skip college. Find a nice job and just start my own life.” Shrugging, you take a deep breath. “I always wanted to work in a pet shop, ever since I was a kid. Might sound like something stupid, but I'd like it.”

 “It's not stupid,” Eddie says, and El nods.

 “Thing is, I don't even know where. I... I wanted to go back home, to Santa Monica... But I build a strong connection with Hawkins and, as crazy as it sounds, I learned to love it. And Lenore Hills... Would be a good restart. And I already have you, Joyce, and Jonathan here so... I really don't know.”

 “There's a way to know,” Eddie says, and you look at him, eyebrows furrowed. “Might be an odd way to set our future but we could always change our minds after.”

 >>>>>>>>>>The way he says <our> future has the butterflies in your stomach flying all over. “What way?” You ask, your eyes set on him.

 Eddie pulls his bag closer to him and starts looking for something inside it. “Found it.” He pulls out a red, 20-sided dice.

 “I'm not even surprised,” you say with a giggle.

 “We could throw it. And let's say... One to six, we stay in Hawkins.” He starts, and as odd as it sounds, it makes you smile. This is so like him, and it reminds you of everything that made you fall in love with him. “Seven to 12 is Santa Monica, and thirteen to eighteen, we come here to Lenore Hills.”

 “What about nineteen and twenty?”

 “You throw again.” He simply says.

 Biting your lip, you look down at the dice, taking it from his hand. “Let's get closer to the water.” Getting up, you both walk towards the ocean, holding hands. “Whatever number comes up... You'd go with me?” The questions come out with a touch of fear. What if he doesn't want to leave Hawkins, and your relationship is set on where you want to go?

 “Absolutely.” He says, making you breathe out in relief. “It's you and me.” When you stop, Eddie looks down at you, a hand caressing your face softy. “I mean, unless you grow tired of a Freak in your life.”

 Chuckling, you shake your head. “Nah. What would I do without your freakiness all over my life, Munson?” He smiles. “So let's do this...” You say, looking at the dice.

 “Let's do this... And after our graduation, our life can finally start.”

 Nodding, you tiptoe, your foreheads touching. “Alright... I'll let it fall... And our future shall be set.” You put a note of drama on the last part.

 “It shall be,” Eddie repeats, and as he kisses you, long, lovingly, and passionately, you let the dice fall.

 Nothing matters for that moment. Hawkins, Santa Monica, Lenora Hills... It's just you and Eddie, and the kiss that you want to taste for the rest of your days. When you pull away to breathe, a smile on both your lips, you take a deep breath before looking down at the dice.

 Gasping, you can't help but smile. “Well, we won't have to throw again.” He says, and you nod.

 “Our forever starts now.”

Taglist: @multific @lovesanimals0000

[sovonight]

hi sovo ;u; I hope it's okay if I ask you a shop question! So um, I'm lower on money than I've ever been and I'm too burnt out to do commissions for ppl due to personal stuff, but I feel like... if I made one charm or one sticker for a particularly huge fandom/movie that's out right now, and if I put it up as preorder and sold at least 20 keychains then I'd be able to pay my bills this month. but I've never sold physical merch before and I'm a little nervous to try it haha :'D

Would you recommend I try making an Etsy since it seems to have a large enough audience, or do you think I should try making my own website/shop? I'm definitely not ready to consistently sell things as a steady job yet, I thought I'd try literally just one single keychain or one sticker sheet (I already learned how to make those, thankfully) in order to pay my rent this month bc I've only got about a hundred dollars to my name sdflkfssdf;; and if it goes well then maybe I can try it again.

I'm also not quite sure how to price things? if I made a 3.5 inch acrylic charm with the little star shaped keychains like from Vograce, do people normally price those at $15 when they sell them? should I also account for shipping? I've also umm never shipped merch before and I'm so worried about somehow messing it up sldfjsf like I don't know what kind of envelopes I have to get or if I should even use my own address bc I'm so nervous about my personal info being out there, but I don't know if it's worth paying for a PO box if I'm so low on money already. if you have any tips on anything whatsoever, I would appreciate any feedback if you're not busy. But if you don't want to answer please don't worry about it ;u; anyway thank you so much for reading this I really appreciate you! ❤

no prob! here are my thoughts:

pros/cons of etsy:

apparently if you're new to selling on etsy, there's a probationary period where etsy withholds your profits for 3 months. i don't know anything about it personally since it started in 2020, but it seems that funds are only released when your shipped orders are scanned at the post office. i think i also remember hearing about other cases where payments aren't released at all for 3 months--and etsy customer service has a reputation of being difficult to get a hold of if you have a problem as a seller, so if etsy made a mistake with your shop, it may take even more months to resolve. since you have preorders in mind, i would hold off on etsy unless you can pay out of pocket.

etsy can drive traffic towards your listing for you (if you choose the right keywords--it's more difficult to be discovered just randomly if you don't).

they have high fees (for a $15 charm they'd take $1.88 in fees, which is 12.5%).

people may be cautious to buy from a shop that has no reviews yet, but many customers are protected by etsy's purchase protection and can be refunded at no cost to you if their order gets lost in the mail (provided that you ship with a tracking number and meet other criteria).

etsy will strongly recommend that you offer free shipping; ignore them. i don't think i've ever bought fanmerch with free shipping in my life, and their advice isn't geared towards sellers like us.

preorders don't work very well with etsy's system--iirc you're not supposed to do them (even though people still do, of course) but the main reason i remember is that the max processing time etsy lets you set per product (as in, the time between the customer purchasing the listing and you shipping it out) is 6 weeks. that means that the time you allow for customers to place their preorders, the time it takes for you to order and receive the merch, and the time it takes for you to ship out orders, all need to add up a max of 6 weeks, which was personally a difficult timeline for me to meet when making keychains. ofc, it's possible to extend the processing time, but going over the processing time may make it possible for customers to leave reviews/open cases early before you're even ready to ship out their orders, which could affect the reputation of your shop.

pros/cons of not etsy:

if you're not going with etsy, i've heard people recommend bigcartel, since it doesn't require a subscription like shopify or other places do. bigcartel's free plan is limited, but it should work for what you're looking for. another alternative might be ko-fi--i've heard that ko-fi shops aren't ideal for shipping out a large amount of orders, but since you're targeting just 20 i think it should be manageable.

ofc, you'll have to drive all your traffic yourself, so consider if you have enough of a following in your target fandom, or how you should go about getting your post noticed by your target fandom.

unlike etsy, shipping isn't auto-calculated, so i'd probably set a flat rate (in the US i'd expect $5). flat rates might make calculating your taxes just a little bit more complicated; in california at least, you have to pay taxes on the difference between the shipping you charge your customers and the shipping you actually pay to the post office, so iirc you either refund the extra shipping to the customer or hand it all over in taxes.

pricing:

yes, the standard price for ~3" acrylic keychains is $15, though i've also seen people go up to $16 or $17, especially on etsy where the fees are high.

shipping should be a separate cost, either auto-calculated for you (if you're on etsy/shopify) or a flat rate that you set based on shipping rates for your country, so in the end a customer might pay $15 + $5 = $20 in total.

unless most of your prospective customers are international, i'd recommend against shipping internationally to avoid dealing with customs forms, especially since you already have a lot of info to take in.

you can ship everything in a regular bubble mailer, though if you're just shipping stickers not keychains, a flat envelope should work fine. when shipping packages, you'll need to know the weight of each package, but you can just go by an estimate. a 3" acrylic keychain weighs about 1 oz (it weighs less than that, but they don't accept decimals) so i just multiply based on how many keychains are in an order. for usps at least, shipping is the same rate up until 10 oz iirc, so you don't need to weigh it super accurately. you could also always just go into the post office and have them weigh and label everything for you.

po box:

if regular PO box rates in your area are too high, you can also consider using a virtual po box; they go for about $10 per month at their most basic plans. if you're not expecting to get any mail redirected back to you, you should be able to just buy a month's subscription when you're ready to ship things out.

words of caution:

you probably already know this, but large fandoms can often be oversaturated by merch, so just choosing a large fandom might not be enough to guarantee a sale--you might have to stand out by, say, choosing a character who's in demand but doesn't have much fanmerch, having a funny meme concept, or having such a unique/attractive style that people can't help but want your fanmerch in particular. if you haven't already, i'd recommend looking around the market and seeing what's out there and decide why a buyer should choose your merch over anyone else's. though honestly, depending on your fandom, it could also not be this serious and not warrant much research--it all depends!

even if the preorder process works out and you get the funds to place the order, the manufacturer could always mess up on your order, which could lead to delays in your fulfillment and at worst, more expenses if you need to pay to get them remade. if it's easier to get sticker sheets made (like if you make them yourself/locally instead of ordering from overseas) they might be a safer choice of merch to make. ofc, i don't generally see sticker sheets up for preorder so you'd probably have to order them out of pocket and hope they sell, and you'll probably have to sell more of them than you would of keychains to get the same amount of profit. i don't know the whole situation, so i can't say anything definite about the risks/rewards between choosing to sell keychains and choosing to sell stickers.

[dark666posting]

In My Solitude

Pt. 1 of ?

TW: NON-CON, NON-CON, NON-CON!!! *** Dark!Henry, Stockholm syndrome-ish, Violence, literal mind fucking, taking virginity, shame fucking, non-con/ dub-con??

It's a long one.

"Put her in Solitude. We'll sort her out later." Brenner's smug voice ignites a rage in you like a gas stove. The only voice that pisses you off more, is One's. He carries your stubbornly dead-weighted body down the hallway to a room meant to deprive you of social interaction.

Your crime? Scrambling the shock collars of every other volatile subject in the facility. So yeah, they were right to lock you up, actually. They take you to a small room with a bed, a desk, and one single wooden chair.

"You're such a teacher's pet, One." You spit like fire as the two of you draw closer to the room. You hated Solitary. It scares you to be alone, more than anything. Though, One already knew that about you.

"You're too old to be playing rebellious teenager, don't you think?" He lowers you over the bed and drops you onto the mattress. "I'll be back once you've calmed down."

"I am calm!"

"Okay, I'll be back once we've regained control of the violent children you sent on a killing spree today." He speaks flatly and exits without another word. The second the door closes, anxiety sets in.

"Fuck you guys! Do you hear me!?" You use your abilities to sling the one non-bolted-down piece of furniture at the camera; it was the small wooden chair. The seat busts into shreds and your collar instantly shocks you at max power.

You release a cry of pain and collapse on the floor, paralyzed until the voltage stops.

"Oh, you mother fuckers. Did I forget to scramble MY COLLAR?" You curse out loud at yourself.

"I imagine your brain is fried from the constant amount of electricity being sent to your brain every time you fuck up." One reappears in the doorway, silently. He glances at the damaged camera and the red light slowly goes dim.

"Oh no, poor camera. Now you can't watch me stare at the wall." You jeer, rolling your eyes as you lie back on the bed.

"That's fine. I'll just have to come to check on you more frequently." The tone of his voice causes a knot to form in your throat. One finally steps into the room and lets the heavy, computerized door close behind him. You sit up on the bed, hanging your legs off the side, careful to avoid eye contact.

"I like chatting with you, Y/N. You're... Interesting." He walks closer until he's standing right in front of you. The bed is frameless and bolted to the ground, so it's not very high. Leaving you at eye level with his belt as he gazes down at you.

"D-Don't even think about it." You narrow your eyes, disgusted by what his stance suggests- though you already know you'll be thinking about it later.

"Oh, Y/N. You couldn't be so lucky." He glances at the camera one more time, making sure it's broken. "Though, it does get boring here after all these years. You'd think you'd be begging for it."

He holds up the remote that controls your collar, sending a Pavlov-like programmed fear through your bones.

"So beg for it," he speaks with a quiet, breathy voice. Your eyes widen, but as soon as you open your mouth to stutter out "what?" Someone calls for One outside the door. He smirks, satisfied with your speechlessness. He exits silently, returning to the hallway as if nothing happened.

You remain speechless, sitting in silence questioning if you'd somehow misread the situation. You shake any thoughts of One out of your head and try to look zoned out in case the camera came back on. Really, you were trying to use your abilities to unlock the door. You don't know how, but it seems like One can always sense your powers. Your collar goes off immediately.

You scream, ceasing your attempt to open the door, but it keeps going. Sending endless volts of electricity through your body. Once it finally lets up, you pass out on the bed.

Night falls and you're sound asleep, still exhausted from the electrocution. Silently, as usual, One enters your room. He takes his time, drinking in the image of you unconscious on the bed. Your legs are exposed from under the hospital gown you're all forced to wear when they run tests on you.

One slips into the bed, propped up right beside you. His hands wander your body before carefully palming and playing with your breasts. You moan softly in your sleep, only exciting him more. He reaches a careful hand to the hem of your gown, carefully raising it to expose your bright white, cotton panties.

His breathing shudders as his gentle hand grazes over your covered clit. You unknowingly arch your back, desperate for more friction. He takes the hint and slips his hand into your panties, rubbing his long, nimble, middle finger up and down your throbbing slit.

Your eyes flutter open as pleasure consumes you, and that's when you realize why you're feeling so euphoric. You instantly jerk away, attempting to scream, but he's too fast. He pins you in place, his powers have always been much stronger than yours, he could just control them better.

"What are you doing!?" You question, panicking as your brain comprehends being awake.

"Shh," he whispers gently as he continues to work his fingers, carefully slipping one deep inside of you. Your face is consumed by a shade of bright red as you fight back your moans. One chuckles in your ear as he slips his hand from your underwear and brings his fingers to his lips, delicately licking them clean.

"Go back to sleep," he demands calmly before shocking you until you pass out again.

The next few weeks are just like this. In the daytime he slips into your room and taunts you, enraging you until you melt down. At night, he plays with you, sometimes letting you cum, other times edging you until you're convulsing. The more you try to tell other doctors, the longer your stay in Solitude is extended for "misinformation."

Then, one night, something seems different. He's grinning ear to ear as he slips into your room. Usually, seeing him would illicit a sassy remark from you, but after the last few weeks, you find yourself keeping quiet. He excites you, even if you don't want him to.

"Why are you smiling like that?" You ask, desperate to break the tense silence.

"I brought you a... Toy." He reveals a baton from behind his back. It's long and metal with a taser bit on the end. The other guards use them to keep numbers in check.

"W-What is that for?" You ask, as tears already well up in your eyes.

"This." He extends the baton and rests it under your chin, lifting your head with it. He pulls it away, staying close to your face when he activates the electrical current. You flinch, startled by the sound. One laughs, leaning his tall, thin frame over to your bed.

"Don't worry, the battery is dying," he chuckles before prodding your thigh, sending a jolt through you that is much milder than the collar. You jump and let out a small yelp. Your face blushes, alerting him to your excitement.

"Look at you. I knew you'd come around." He joins you on the bed, close enough for your thighs to touch. A soft hand trails up your back before sharply gripping the back of your gown and pulling you over his lap. A deep, satisfied exhale leaves his nose as he runs his hands over your curves.

"O-One-" you start, but he cuts you off.

"Henry." He corrects you with a sudden, firm smack on your ass. "I don't dehumanize you by calling you by your number; do I, Y/N?" And he doesn't. He never has, but you'd only just realized that. The sound of your name from his lips causes your breath to hitch in your chest. He lands one more firm smack.

"Say it."

"Henry." You furrow your brow. "I thought I heard Papa call you Peter?" You glanced back over your shoulder, peering at Henry's studious eyes as they scan over your body repeatedly.

"I don't think it would be as exciting for me if I made you moan a fake name." He drags the end of the baton up the back of your legs as you remain positioned across his lap. The electric barb was cold from being inactive, sending goosebumps up your back. The softness is quickly contrasted when Henry activates it against your left ass cheek.

You release a loud burst of sound, a mixture of cries and moans as you arch your back, lifting your ass higher for him.

"Don't eavesdrop on me again, Y/N." He breathes in your ear with a raspy voice. "I don't think Brenner even remembers you're in here, you know that?" He traces more lines over your skin with the baton.

"What do you mean?" Your voice is no more than a breathless whisper.

"I mean if I didn't come to play with my new toy, you'd starve and rot back here- alone." He puts extra emphasis on that last word, alone. The thought of this fate causes your breath to hitch in your chest. "Don't worry, Y/N. I wouldn't let that happen."

Suddenly, you're reliant on his visits. You're desperate to be violated. (As if this wasn't something you already fantasized about for years prior.) Half of you is terrified of a lonely, painful death and the other half is slowly becoming obsessed with his unwelcome touch.

Another two weeks pass. You're tormented with orgasms every night. He loves to find you sleeping so he can grope and tease your unconscious body while manipulating your dreams with his abilities. Something you don't know he can do.

He makes you dream of getting fucked by five or more men at a time. Taking painful thrusts in every hole they can access. Henry loves the fear and blush on your face as you're passed around inside your mind. He knows this terrifies and turns you on. (Having spent most of your life in the facility, you're still a virgin. No one's taught you that shame isn't real, so you desperately try to gain respect by not being "easy." You tend to feel weak or foolish when your morals are questioned or insulted.) He makes sure you can mentally feel the way your inexperienced cunt stretches around a cock.

You whimper and buck your hips against the air, desperately searching for some sort of friction. Your breaths become shallow gasps as he starts playing with your nipples under your gown. Your hips continue to grind against nothing until he slides his leg between yours, making contact with your clothed, drenched pussy.

Adorable whines escape your chest at the sensation. Henry tilts his head to the side, curiously. A devilish grin spreads across his face as he warps your dreams again. Still getting filled in every direction, you begin to moan his name.

"Henry, oh my God!" You erupt. Suddenly, the dream changed. It's just you and Henry on a cold, metal exam table. Common in the facility. He's pinning your wrists above your head and fucking into you like he hates you. Your eyes roll back in ecstasy as tears fall down your cheek. You and Henry climax at the same time in your vision, causing you to finish in real life, against Henry's leg.

Short, shallow breaths occupy your chest, but you remain asleep. Grinning, Henry releases his hold on your mind. He rises from your bed, palming himself through his white, pleated pants. He's unbearably hard, pressing desperately against his zipper.

He leaves the room and doesn't return the next night. He doesn't even check in all day, but you still receive every meal.

"At least he didn't forget," you reassure yourself out loud. Being alone makes you anxious, but you pass most of the time thinking about your dream. The recollection causes a throbbing in your clit and you attempt to fight off the urge to touch yourself at the thought of him.

You imagine how smug he'd be if he walked in on you with your fingers inside yourself. For a few hours, you loathe the idea of giving him the satisfaction. But as the thoughts remain in your mind, you find yourself losing the battle. You do your best to look nonchalant as you finger yourself softly.

Squeezing your eyes shut, you accidentally moan his name aloud.

"Henry..."

Like a sixth sense, he excuses himself from his duties and finds a quiet area to project to you. You can't see him, though you'd be able to sense him if you weren't overtaken by your fantasies. He smiles as he watches you throw your head back, begging for him to tear into you.

Just as your finish, he returns to his duties, continuing to ignore you for the rest of the night.

The next day is the same. You don't see him at all, but you're still fed. But after that, the meals slow down too. Anxiety sets in as you wonder what could keep him. You stare hopelessly at the camera all day every day for an entire week. By the third day, you stopped receiving food altogether.

You're hungry and weak and panicking from being left alone in silence for too long. You're just about to give in to low blood sugar when you hear the small serving window slide open, meaning your food had been delivered. You eat quickly, almost crying with relief as you fight to slow down with each bite. A couple of hours later, Henry appears in the doorway, stepping in to let it close behind him.

"Henry," you gasped like you hadn't been breathing the entire week. Without thinking or realizing it at all, you threw your arms around him.

"You needed to see that I'm the only one who cares about you now." His voice is dark and cold. He carefully pushes you off of him so he can look into your eyes.

"Please don't leave me again, please-" you fight to steady your voice.

"I don't think you appreciate the time I put aside to take care of you like this. I mean, look at how you feel when I don't come to visit," he steps closer, causing you to step away.

"What? Please don't, Henry. Don't leave me again-" panic reignites.

"Oh, no. Don't be stupid, Y/N. I'm not leaving. I just need you to repay me for my efforts." Another step closer, placing you in a corner.

"I-I can't do anything from in here. I don't have anyth-"

"Shut up and take your gown off." His words are stern and cold. You're shocked by his demand and freeze in place.

"Uh-uh-what?" You stare into his expressionless face and he just rolls his eyes. He grabs the thin cloth and tears it down the middle, exposing your white undergarments. You release a small scream, but quickly stifle it in fear.

"I don't think you're going to fight too hard. You want me to take you. You need to be taken so the shame of being an easy little whore won't ruin it for you, isn't that right?" He breathes his words into your ear as he closes in on you. You're still frozen and speechless. Unsure of how wrong his words really are.

He slides your panties down your legs and discards them along with the torn gown. His eyes carve you like knives as he takes in the image of your naked body pinned against a wall, waiting to be ravished for the first time.

You always imagined your first time would be slow and gentle, but you could tell you were about to be used as nothing more than a hole. That made you blush.

"I hope it doesn't hurt you too much because I don't plan on stopping," he chuckles as he wraps a large, strong hand around your neck and drags you to the bed. He carelessly tosses you onto the mattress and makes quick work of undoing his belt and pants. His face looks angry and focused, his eyes are dark.

You glance at the large, metal door and a tear slides down your face as you realize there is no getting out of this. Henry's throbbing erection springs past his underwear and brushes against your dripping clit. You gasp at the sensation, your pulse quickening as reality sets in. For weeks he had been sexually tormenting you in ways you weren't even aware of yet, but now Henry's finally taking what he wants.

"Look at how you don't even fight me. Both legs wide open; you're so desperate to be fucked out." He taunts you as he strokes himself right outside your entrance. You feel blood rise on your face in shame. You're embarrassed at how horny you are. You cover your face, unable to look at him anymore.

Henry tilts his head, scanning your hands over your face. He chuckles, thinking of more ways to get off on your shame. Without warning, he slams into you, full length. You scream in pain, and your walls throb around him, causing him to moan through his evil laughter.

"Fuck, you're so fucking tight," he gasps, thrusting into you with no time to let you adjust.

"Henry, please!" You beg, losing your breath from the hurt.

"You really are a virgin, aren't you? There were so many rumors about you fucking the guards for more freedom," Henry teases. "I always wondered why you wouldn't give it up for me." Slowly your body adjusts to his size and the burning becomes a tight knot in your abdomen. He can tell by the way your unclenching that you're starting to like getting fucked.

"I n-never fucked a guard!" You defend yourself, but Henry just laughs at you.

"Don't you love the idea of letting them all pass you around and fill you with cum so you can skip around outside for 15 more minutes?" His relentless teasing only adds to your embarrassment.

"No! I'm not a wh-whore!" You sob, remembering how often the guards called you that when you rejected their advances.

"Yes, you are, Y/N. And you're mine. And if you don't want to be alone, then you're going to learn to love being my whore." His words seal your fate and you fall silent. You fight all urges to moan, keeping your face covered as you cry and cum. Henry laughs loudly as his thrusts speed up and he finishes deep inside you.

As you remain laid out on the bed, Henry stands and recomposes himself. He fastens his belt and straightens his hair up before exiting without another word.

You lie in a puddle of sweat and cum, completely unable to feel anything below your waist. The longer you're left to recover, the more you wonder... When he's coming back.

Henry returns the next morning, no longer taunting you because he knows you aren't going to tell anyone anything anymore. He enters the room with a new gown, placing it on the table across the room. You pretend to still be asleep after a tiring night, either to get him to leave you alone... Or to see what he'll do.

He quietly walks over to your barely-covered, naked frame and shakes his head.

"Stupid little thing," he taunts, fully aware that you're awake, but saving that information for himself. He reaches a gentle hand down to your "sleeping" face and traces over your soft lips delicately. The gentle affection causes a sudden blush on your cheeks. You open your eyes and meet his gaze above you.

"Oh, you're awake," he quips. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept okay," you move your hands to try to cover yourself as best as you can.

"Here, I brought you a new gown." Henry gracefully strides from one side of the room to the other, passing you another thin gown.

"Why can't I wear my thermals?" You question, uncomfortably.

"Because, before your last 'mistake' you were in the gown due to testing. And now you'll keep wearing it because it's so easy for me to tear off of you, okay?"

"Okay." You agree like it was instinct to do as he says. Henry helps you into the garment, tying it behind your back for you. After the final knot, he spins you around to face him. Your eyes widen as you raise your guard, unsure of his next plans with you. At this point, you put nothing past him.

He grabs both your arms by your side in the blink of an eye, keeping you restrained where you are. He pulls you into him roughly and plants a hungry kiss on your lips. You scrunch up your face, still unsure of how he makes you feel. Fantasies or not, he was violating you repeatedly. He chuckles at your confused, disgusted expression before leaving the room once again.

Part one of ???

[hikari-ni-naritai]

How do you get started on fishing? I want to start the grind but the sheer amount of fish is daunting af. Anything specific you did to make it easier to get started?

Well!!! The first thing to do is like. Level fisher. If you have fisher leveled, do the fisher quests. You don't have to do feast of famine bc that's a fuckin Huge Ordeal (though if you do commit to the grind, you'll catch the legends you need for it anyway so you may as well) but all the job quests and such. The grind I'm doing is not recommended if you're not at max level and idr if the job quests give you skills, but you'll want them if they do.

Now, what *i* did to get started was my friend had a fishing contest that I won and it filled my brain with so much dopamine that I've been on a fishing high for weeks. So it's been very easy for me. But even so, it IS daunting, so here's the method I used. I just opened the fishing log (I think the hotkey is Y?) And started from the top! The first fishing zone is limsa, so grab some low level bait and go to town. When you stop finding new fish, then it's time to flex your research muscles. There's a real useful website I use a lot for this, if you Google "fishing log limsa lominsa lower decks" you should get a result from the console gamers wiki. The wiki has every fishing zone catalogued pretty extensively, so you can reference it against your fishing log to see what you're missing and how to catch it. Your inventory will fill up with bait. This is unavoidable.

This will be enough to get most of the normal ARR fish, but we'll need to change gears for Big Fish. Each fishing hole has one Big Fish (and some have an additional one that serves as the Living Legend for that region), and these are significantly harder, requiring specific times, weathers, and baits. For these, I highly recommend the Fish Tracker <-(link). This website tells you what Big Fish are up right now, which ones are coming up soon, and the easiest method for catching them. You can go into the settings to filter out later patches if you want to focus on one expansion at a time (like I am!) And you can pin Fish you're Super interested in to the top of the list, so you always know when they're coming. By default, if there's more than one up at a time, the list will sort by rarity, so you don't accidentally chase a Fish with 60% uptime when a 0.2% fish was up at the same time. You can mark them off as you catch them, and if you accidentally mark one off that you didn't catch, you can change it to show you caught Fish only and then uncheck it. It's a very versatile little website and it's completely invaluable for Big Fishing!

As for supplies, you'll need a LOT of Hi-Cordials. These are available at the scrip exchange for white gatherers scrips. No need to farm, really, I'm doing fine with my proceeds from custom deliveries. I also like to keep a supply of regular Cordials on hand for when the situation isn't urgent but I want more gp. These are sold at the grand company for company credits. As for bait, you can get most of it at the junkmonger in residential areas, but some lures you'll have to either craft or buy on the marketboard.

I do recommend sticking to just one zone at a time at first! Hell, there's so many fishing holes in eastern la noscea that I only focused on the Costa del Sol side at first. Take little chunks and work through them one by one. Make sure you have a cute glam, and make sure you put the /sit emote on your hotbar so your wol can have a little chair to fish in! And most importantly, be patient and have fun! Fishing can be intensely frustrating, especially with living legends, but catching one after struggling always feels great. I hope you can learn to love fishing like I do! 💙💙💙

[nikkisheep]

Can i request a Steve Harrington x hargrove reader.

You are an awesome writer.

Okay so

Billy is protective. Like very. Him and yn get along well they help each other get through the abuse.

I can just imagine Billy at the arcade. Why? Because yn was going with the party an other.

He just hides inside trying not to be seen while making sure his sister is okay.

"What are you doing . You hate this place,"

"Fuck," and then he just makes a run for it.

I tried to make it detailed so it would be easier to write.

No pressure if you do it tag me

Arcade

Warnings: protective billy, hargrove reader, cursing, making out

Steve Harrington x hargrove reader

Susan was throwing a party at the arcade. You already told your brother that you were taking the keys to his car, something that you failed to do because Billy stuffed the keys in his waistband of his shorts. The party was going to be at seven so you were going to be over at your boyfriend's house.

You and Steve had been dating since you moved to Hawkins. You met him at a party that Billy dragged you to. After a few drinks, the two of you clicked. You were known as the King and Queen of Hawkins. You loved Steve. How could you not?

---

Getting a shower, styling your hair, putting on make-up, you were ready to get dressed. You chose a pair of high rise shorts (Steve loved to see your legs) and a white shirt. You threw on a pair of shoes and ran down the stairs. Steve was outside waiting for you.

"No running in the house," Billy yells, setting down his weights.

"Sorry Dad," You giggle.

"Where exactly do you think you are going?"

"A party."

"You're grounded, remember," Billy scoffs.

"Oh please, Billy. I have been good, besides if you don't let me go then I will tell Max that you are sleeping with her friend's older sister." You threaten. He rolls his eyes.

"You little shit," He says before dashing to you. You escaped by slipping out the door.

"Love ya, Billy."

"That girl is going to get me killed," Billy shook his head.

You were just like Billy. You looked like him, acted like him slightly. That's why the two of you stick together no matter how much abuse the two of you get. You loved each other dearly.

That was why Billy got in his car to follow Steve's all the way to the arcade. He wasn't trying to spy on you but he needed to make sure that you didn't do anything stupid like you did last time with that Harrington boy.

He parks in the back so you don't see his car. He puts a hat on and goes inside, keeping his head down. He scans for you and Steve but he doesn't see you.

----

"Stevie," You say.

"Yes, dear?"

"I love you so much," You slur.

"You're drunk."

"But I love you," He says.

"I am sorry Billy doesn't like you," You whine.

"It's okay, I don't care if your brother likes me because I like you."

"You like me?" Your buzzed mind making you say anything.

"Baby, we are dating." He chuckles.

He knows how you get when you are drunk.

You climb on a counter, not really supposed to but you do.

"Can I have everyone's attention?" You yell.

They look at you. You lift a red cup.

"I love Steve Harrington! He is my boyfriend, guys. We are dating!" You giggle.

Billy watchs you do the stupid things and all he can think about was the punishment he was going to get when he gets you home.

"Wanna get out of here and make-out?" You ask Steve.

He grabs your hand and drags you to the back of the building. You can feel the cool air on your heated face. You push Steve against the brick wall and claim his mouth. His lips were slightly chapped and tasted like beer but was so Steve. He kissed back with the same intesity as you.

Your lips moved in sync. The kiss was rough, passionate, hot and messy. Teeth clashing, tongues rolling against the other, spit coating the sides of y'alls mouths. You hands in his hair, his on your waist only to slide to your ass. Steve moves his lips to your neck, causing you to moan out.

----

Billy needed a cigeratte. He needed one bad. The beer was gross, there was so many people and he had lost sight of you. The only way to get a smoke was to go behind the building, not knowing that was where you and Steve was.

Walking out the exit, he rounds the corner to his car. He doesn't notice the two of you practically dry humping each other in the parking lot behind the arcade. That was until Steve made you cry out a moan of, "Stevie, feel so good."

Billy turned around and saw the two shadows of you with Steve. He saw you grinding against Steve's leg and he saw red.

"Get your hands off my sister," He hollered.

You and Steve was startled, making you jump at the sounds of Billy's voice. Steve lets you go and you turn to look at an angry Billy.

Billy grabs your arm and you follow his lead.

"Wait, Billy you hate the arcade. You complain about Max all the time," You say.

Billy looks like he sees a ghost. To be honest, you wouldn't be surprised if he did.

"Fuck," He whispers.

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing grinding on Harrington?" He throws back.

"Why do care?"

"Because you are my sister and it is my job to keep you safe. It is my ass if I don't. If Dad came home and found out that I let you go to a party while being grounded, he would beat the fuck out of me Y/n."

Your eyes softening at his words. You understood what he meant.

"Billy, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I just want you to be okay," He says, pulling you into a hug.

Then he pushes you away.

"What was that for jerk?" You yell.

" You have Harrington on you," He groans.

'What does that mean?" You yell again.

"You're gross," He whinces.

"Hey," Steve yells.

[sims3fiend]

Sims 3 Memory Freer

Been kinda busy so I haven't had any sims3 time lately :( but I'm back at it and lookin' at Error 12 again, this time with an ASI file you can use!

Here is a link to the memory "freer", spoilers, it doesn't really free memory. Please read the readme, but basically it just shows a message box/alert when you're getting close to the cap, and has a hotkey (f8) for setting max detail lots to 0 (sometimes helps free memory in a pinch).

To use it you'll either need the smooth patches ASI loader or dxwrapper's (recommended), then just pop it into your Bin directory (make sure LoadPlugins is set to 1 if you're using dxwrapper). I'm also going to update my performance tweaks post to fix some of the now-inaccurate information, but most of the stuff there I still recommend (just not dxvk).

If anyone knows anything that triggers a purge/cleanup lmk! It would fix literally all of this. I've tried traveling to other maps, entering into various editors, changing settings, chanting hymns etc, but nothing seems to work.

Unfortunately nothing I've tried on the memory-freeing front has really panned out, but I still have some avenues that I want to check out. The issue seems to be lot objects not being fully unloaded once the lot is no longer high-detail loaded, which causes memory to balloon over time as more lots are detail loaded.

Here's some things I've tried, in typical rambling fashion, a lot of this will be meaningless to 99% of people:

DXVK…. Nooooooo…. It seems like it does increase overall memory usage. I'm not sure if I've just stuffed a config option up or something, but it seems to have a substantial impact. I'd recommend just sticking with d9 for now, or using dxwrappers 3D9On12 (idk if it actually works tho)

HeapCompact/Clearing working set. Clearing the working set will let you save, however it wont actually remove that memory, you'll just crash instead of getting an Error 12

Obvious memory leaks. Sadly every alloc has a free assigned to it, so there's no easy, obvious memory leaks.

Setting D3DPOOL to DEFAULT, game no like, textures don't display

Manually clearing textures. Kind of worked, but there's no real way to selectively know which textures are safe to unload, because the game often reports things wrong. I might revisit this failing everything else

Deleting cache files/save cleaning. Not a fan, doesn't fix the issue, merely delays it and makes your game look like glitchy garbage in the meantime. If you're going to clean your save, just delete the _objects file in WorldCaches and then mark it as read only. The sims one isn't worth the limbless horrors that await you, and sims load in much faster than objects, which can sit grey'd for minutes (or until you save your game and they all load in at once and crash you)

Various config options and settings. I did find some neat hidden options and some useful settings, but nothing that really has a huge impact. I found ForceHighLODObjects which is what I was looking for in my initial performance tweaks post, which basically cures stutter, at the cost of much higher memory usage. Useless until there's an object free-ing fix, and even then probably a very bad idea on maps like Alpine County.

Anywho, that's it for this post. Remember to always save in the map screen!

[aonoexpat]

10-08-2023

Yesterday, I spent the morning in Kaikōura, and joined a fellow Dutchie on a boat tour to spot albatross! These majestic birds hold the record for the largest wingspan of any flying bird on earth, even beating the condor. The ones we saw maxed out at about 3 meters, and they were a spectacular sight to see. They make a lot more sounds than I had expected, and boy are they fun :) The skipper had a batch of food that she could toss into the water to attract the birds, and they were clearly familiar with the process, because they were following us from the moment we left the harbour. This also meant they were not afraid of us at all, and were happy to get up close and personal!

My favourite one was the wandering albatross, which we saw the most individuals of. They are elegant flyers, slightly less elegant during landing and takeoff, and have the friendliest little faces...

...as opposed to the black-browed albatross, who looked perpetually pissed off for being beaten to the food by its larger cousins:

Other species we saw included the great northern petrel, a whole bunch of cape petrels (the smaller black and white birds in the photos above) who were masters at soaring along with the boat, Salvin's albatross, white-capped albatross, a couple of shags and plenty of seagulls. I did get seasick unfortunately as the sea conditions were labeled 'moderate', but luckily I had had maybe two bites of bread for breakfast so I didn't make a mess, and I had come prepared with ginger candy. The skipper gave me some nice warm ginger tea as well. Both she and the other passenger took good care of me ❤

After the tour I decided to give up my plans of hiking for the rest of the day, because a warning was issued for heavy snow in the evening. The skipper told me they might even close the state highway if it got really bad, so I didn't want to take my chances with that. As Kaikōura didn't make me feel very welcome in the first place due to their strict rules about self-contained camping, I packed up my things and left, heading down the East coast to Ōtautahi. It was another long drive, and I was really tired by the time I arrived. I was happy to find a parking spot for the night close to some takeaway junk food, and got settled for the bad weather to hit here as well.

And just as was forecast, today has been a hell of a rainy day in Ōtautahi, and, in all honesty, in my mind too. I know with a blog like this it can seem like everything on my trip is sunshine and rainbows, as you, as the readers, see the highlights. The highlights are what I take photos of, what I can passionately recount to you. But I won't omit the downsides. Sure, going on hikes and seeing spectacular sights is fun. But you know what's not fun? Waking up at 3 A.M. to a noise when you know you're all alone in a parking lot off an unsealed road in the middle of the woods. Getting told off by a town council member for not having the right type of toilet. Always being on the lookout for public facilities, all of which usually feel unsafe. Not knowing when or where you'll next be able to have a shower. A leaking faucet in the back of your van and constant worries about its status, hoping the cold weather isn't causing a mould infestation in places I can't see. Wearing gloves inside because it's literally freezing outside.

And the annoying thing is, I don't feel like I have a right to complain. I've got an extremely comfortable van with soft blankets, free electricity with my solar panel, drinking water, and enough resources to live from. But I'm all alone. All the time. The moments where the highs seem worth the struggle in between are starting to dwindle in numbers. The rest of the trip feels like a challenge I've set myself that I'll be happy to have overcome. I currently don't feel very excited about it at all. I know that will change, I know in a little while I'll look back on this and it'll seem silly that I ever thought about it, but today I really just want to go home.

I've spent some time today writing to Workaway hosts in the Ōtautahi area, hoping to maybe meet up and hang out with locals. I feel like I need to find some inspiration again, and making a more long-term plan will help. I would like to have a clearer picture of where I'm going, and when I'll get there. Maybe after this week I'll be able to form that picture. Because I don't want to give up just yet. There is still so much left to see and do. But I know in order to enjoy those things, I need to be in a better head space. How I'll get there, I'm not sure yet. But I am determined to.

(^ credit to pastel-hazy-dreams)

[jakexneytiri]

https://www.tumblr.com/jakexneytiri/724759618021179392/post-a-blurb-for-each-draft-you-have

ah thank you!! it wouldn’t show up for me for some reason!

nima squeals, running straight to neteyam. "daddy! daddy! 'nuk teasin' me!"

neteyam scoops nima up in one swift movement, glancing down at txonuk unamused.

"txonuk. what have i told you? no riling your sister up before bed."

this one has been posted here!

—

"does he ever have you like this?" jake's words come from above you, while his glistening skin smacks against yours in sharp, rough thrusts.

this one has been posted here!

—

"hey...hey. what's wrong? what is it, talk to me, baby." you encourage, gently rubbing his cheek, but it's no use. his strong arms scoop you up carefully, carrying you over to the woven mat you both sleep on.

this one has not been posted yet!

—

"hey. hey. look at me. keep those pretty eyes open f'me."

this one has not been posted yet!

—

jake scoffs at your silence, continuing to try and get you to speak.

"c'mon, you're still upset with me from earlier when I left you all hot n bothered?"

"i think the clan members could've spared you five minutes."

this one has not been posted yet!

—

norm laughs at this. "we will, tomorrow. Don't you remember what day it is?"

"..it's sunday, right?"

"jake, it's father's day. go spend some time with the kids."

"father's day, huh? haven't remembered any of those stupid holidays from back on earth."

"really? you seemed to remember valentine's day just fine!"

jake chuckles at this, fondly recalling the night your second son was conceived. "all right, all right. i'm goin."

this one has not been posted yet!

—

the olo'eyktan that is very closed-off, reserved. never smiles. only speaks when he has to. who's presence makes other clan members slightly uncomfortable. but he wasn't always this way, of course. no, neteyam used to be happy. used to smile. hell, he even used to laugh. but all of that changed that day. that damned day.

this one has not been posted yet!

—

neteyam opens the flap to your marui then, flashing you a cheeky smile as he's attacked by three sets of little hands reaching for him.

this one has not been posted yet!

—

jake looks out of the corner of his eye, noticing neteyam fiddling with his old polaroid camera.

"where'd ya find that? thought i lost that thing years ago." jake smiles, reaching out to take it.

this one has not been posted yet!

—

his smile matches yours, full of love as he moves to place a gentle kiss to your lips.

"ewwww! they're doing the sex!" txonuk yells, running to the mat he sleeps on with se’ayl.

neteyam's eyes nearly pop out of his head as he pulls away from you, staring at his youngest son in shock.

"txonuk. what did you just say?" neteyam asks, getting on one knee to be eye level with him.

this one is close to being posted!

—

who were you to come in between an olo'eyktan and his duties? stupid, stupid girl.

this one has not been posted yet!

—

jake can't stand being away from you, but you both know he has to leave when duty calls. even as he's currently at high camp with norm & max, he can't help but let his mind drift to last night. the way your innocent eyes were squeezed shut, lips parted just enough to let your desperate moans escape, begging for him to-

"jake? that sound okay to you?" norm's voice brings jake back to the lab, waving his hand in front of his face.

"huh? sure, yeah." jake replies, raising an arm to scratch the top of his head.

this one has not been posted yet!

[akadeos]

Out of Town, Into the Woods

As you, the daring young traveler venture out into the Pokemon World, you must first overcome three great challenges.

Number one, the old people who keep insisting to explain to you how Pokeballs work despite you having grown up with them being essential to your way of life. "It's all in the wrist" they keep going on.

Number two, some girl who's been stalking the edge of town waiting for some inexperienced kid to rough up. And you're looking wildly inexperienced.

"You must be the new Pokemon Trainer that old Prof Max is sending out to find out what makes a trainer a trainer. Let me save you some time - battle is what makes a trainer a trainer, and what makes a wimp a wimp. So, you ready for your first taste of the Pokemon Trainer lifestyle?"

Her first Pokemon just happens to be the one that yours doesn't have a counter for. Granted, all her Pokemon happens to know in this time is a weak tackle and swiping its tail, so you're about evenly matched. So your first battle is less a battle of wills with the power of the elements at your very grasp, and more two adorable animals pawing at each other until one falls over.

She doesn't get a chance to pull out her second before the Professor steps in. Through the dialogue you hear, you learn that Sari is another member of the professor's studies, but her admitted lack of initiative may be skewing results. After apologizing for her lack of commitment, she hands over two of her Pokemon, the starters you haven't fought yet, and promises to try harder to earn them back.

After she departs, you decide to head into the woods, and soon encounter your third challenge - the wildlife.

These woods are filled with relatively common creatures from other regions - your standard pidgeys and pidoves, rattatas and zigzagoons (both normal and dark varieties), and the occasional ursaring using a tree as a scratching post. You could try to catch one of these intriguing little com-mons, but there are other options within these woods as well if you look hard enough.

ROCKRUFF - the Puppy Pokemon. Although initially hailing from the Alola Islands, the Rockruff population exploded upon introduction to the Akadeos region, to the point where some region purists consider them a pest species. In spite of their now less than noble attitudes, they still are considered favorable friends to those who need them.

RALTS - The Feeling Pokemon. Small in stature but high in attitude, the Ralts of the Akadeos region often attempt to gather groups of Pokemon together under their command. Nobody's sure of the purposes why, but it has been stated that Ralts that have gathered groups have been known to compete with other groups of Pokemon for resources.

PICHU - The Tiny Mouse Pokemon. Although commonly thought cute around the Pokemon World, especially in its evolved form, the Pichu is commonly considered by the Akadean People as a menace, They often herd around electrical sources to build up power, which can cause havoc for electrical systems.

Now that you've developed a strong team of tiny furry animals, birds, and the odd bug, you must face the wildlife.

And to be clear, we're not talking about the Pokemon, for groups of young Pokemon trainers have gotten lost in these woods and set up crude societies with an economy based on beating up Pokemon trainers who have ventured into these woods and stealing whatever supplies they happen to have. Luckily, you are not most of these trainers - you came prepared for a fight...