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ms-demeanor · 2 years ago

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So You Need To Buy A Computer But You Don't Know What Specs Are Good These Days

Hi.

This is literally my job.

Lots of people are buying computers for school right now or are replacing computers as their five-year-old college laptop craps out so here's the standard specs you should be looking for in a (windows) computer purchase in August 2023.

PROCESSOR

Intel i5 (no older than 10th Gen)

Ryzen 7

You can get away with a Ryzen 5 but an intel i3 should be an absolute last resort. You want at least an intel i5 or a Ryzen 7 processor. The current generation of intel processors is 13, but anything 10 or newer is perfectly fine. DO NOT get a higher performance line with an older generation; a 13th gen i5 is better than an 8th gen i7. (Unfortunately I don't know enough about ryzens to tell you which generation is the earliest you should get, but staying within 3 generations is a good rule of thumb)

RAM

8GB absolute minimum

If you don't have at least 8GB RAM on a modern computer it's going to be very, very slow. Ideally you want a computer with at least 16GB, and it's a good idea to get a computer that will let you add or swap RAM down the line (nearly all desktops will let you do this, for laptops you need to check the specs for Memory and see how many slots there are and how many slots are available; laptops with soldered RAM cannot have the memory upgraded - this is common in very slim laptops)

STORAGE

256GB SSD

Computers mostly come with SSDs these days; SSDs are faster than HDDs but typically have lower storage for the same price. That being said: SSDs are coming down in price and if you're installing your own drive you can easily upgrade the size for a low cost. Unfortunately that doesn't do anything for you for the initial purchase.

A lot of cheaper laptops will have a 128GB SSD and, because a lot of stuff is stored in the cloud these days, that can be functional. I still recommend getting a bit more storage than that because it's nice if you can store your music and documents and photos on your device instead of on the cloud. You want to be able to access your files even if you don't have internet access.

But don't get a computer with a big HDD instead of getting a computer with a small SSD. The difference in speed is noticeable.

SCREEN (laptop specific)

Personally I find that touchscreens have a negative impact on battery life and are easier to fuck up than standard screens. They are also harder to replace if they get broken. I do not recommend getting a touch screen unless you absolutely have to.

A lot of college students especially tend to look for the biggest laptop screen possible; don't do that. It's a pain in the ass to carry a 17" laptop around campus and with the way that everything is so thin these days it's easier to damage a 17" screen than a 14" screen.

On the other end of that: laptops with 13" screens tend to be very slim devices that are glued shut and impossible to work on or upgrade.

Your best bet (for both functionality and price) is either a 14" or a 15.6" screen. If you absolutely positively need to have a 10-key keyboard on your laptop, get the 15.6". If you need something portable more than you need 10-key, get a 14"

FORM FACTOR (desktop specific)

If you purchase an all-in-one desktop computer I will begin manifesting in your house physically. All-in-ones take away every advantage desktops have in terms of upgradeability and maintenance; they are expensive and difficult to repair and usually not worth the cost of disassembling to upgrade.

There are about four standard sizes of desktop PC: All-in-One (the size of a monitor with no other footprint), Tower (Big! probably at least two feet long in two directions), Small Form Factor Tower (Very moderate - about the size of a large shoebox), and Mini/Micro/Tiny (Small! about the size of a small hardcover book).

If you are concerned about space you are much better off getting a MicroPC and a bracket to put it on your monitor than you are getting an all-in-one. This will be about a million percent easier to work on than an all-in-one and this way if your monitor dies your computer is still functional.

Small form factor towers and towers are the easiest to work on and upgrade; if you need a burly graphics card you need to get a full size tower, but for everything else a small form factor tower will be fine. Most of our business sales are SFF towers and MicroPCs, the only time we get something larger is if we have to put a $700 graphics card in it. SFF towers will accept small graphics cards and can handle upgrades to the power supply; MicroPCs can only have the RAM and SSD upgraded and don't have room for any other components or their own internal power supply.

WARRANTY

Most desktops come with either a 1 or 3 year warranty; either of these is fine and if you want to upgrade a 1 year to a 3 year that is also fine. I've generally found that if something is going to do a warranty failure on desktop it's going to do it the first year, so you don't get a hell of a lot of added mileage out of an extended warranty but it doesn't hurt and sometimes pays off to do a 3-year.

Laptops are a different story. Laptops mostly come with a 1-year warranty and what I recommend everyone does for every laptop that will allow it is to upgrade that to the longest warranty you can get with added drop/damage protection. The most common question our customers have about laptops is if we can replace a screen and the answer is usually "yes, but it's going to be expensive." If you're purchasing a low-end laptop, the parts and labor for replacing a screen can easily cost more than half the price of a new laptop. HOWEVER, the way that most screens get broken is by getting dropped. So if you have a warranty with drop protection, you just send that sucker back to the factory and they fix it for you.

So, if it is at all possible, check if the manufacturer of a laptop you're looking at has a warranty option with drop protection. Then, within 30 days (though ideally on the first day you get it) of owning your laptop, go to the manufacturer site, register your serial number, and upgrade the warranty. If you can't afford a 3-year upgrade at once set a reminder for yourself to annually renew. But get that drop protection, especially if you are a college student or if you've got kids.

And never, ever put pens or pencils on your laptop keyboard. I've seen people ruin thousand dollar, brand-new laptops that they can't afford to fix because they closed the screen on a ten cent pencil. Keep liquids away from them too.

LIFESPAN

There's a reasonable chance that any computer you buy today will still be able to turn on and run a program or two in ten years. That does not mean that it is "functional."

At my office we estimate that the functional lifespan of desktops is 5-7 years and the functional lifespan of laptops is 3-5 years. Laptops get more wear and tear than desktops and desktops are easier to upgrade to keep them running. At 5 years for desktops and 3 years for laptops you should look at upgrading the RAM in the device and possibly consider replacing the SSD with a new (possibly larger) model, because SSDs and HDDs don't last forever.

COST

This means that you should think of your computers as an annual investment rather than as a one-time purchase. It is more worthwhile to pay $700 for a laptop that will work well for five years than it is to pay $300 for a laptop that will be outdated and slow in one year (which is what will happen if you get an 8th gen i3 with 8GB RAM). If you are going to get a $300 laptop try to get specs as close as possible to the minimums I've laid out here.

If you have to compromise on these specs, the one that is least fixable is the processor. If you get a laptop with an i3 processor you aren't going to be able to upgrade it even if you can add more RAM or a bigger SSD. If you have to get lower specs in order to afford the device put your money into the processor and make sure that the computer has available slots for upgrade and that neither the RAM nor the SSD is soldered to the motherboard. (one easy way to check this is to search "[computer model] RAM upgrade" on youtube and see if anyone has made a video showing what the inside of the laptop looks like and how much effort it takes to replace parts)

Computers are expensive right now. This is frustrating, because historically consumer computer prices have been on a downward trend but since 2020 that trend has been all over the place. Desktop computers are quite expensive at the moment (August 2023) and decent laptops are extremely variably priced.

If you are looking for a decent, upgradeable laptop that will last you a few years, here are a couple of options that you can purchase in August 2023 that have good prices for their specs:

14" Lenovo - $670 - 11th-gen i5, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD

15.6" HP - $540 - 11th-gen i5, 16GB RAM, and 256GB SSD

14" Dell - $710 - 12th-gen i5, 16GB RAM, and 256GB SSD

If you are looking for a decent, affordable desktop that will last you a few years, here are a couple of options that you can purchase in August 2023 that have good prices for their specs:

SFF HP - $620 - 10th-gen i5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD

SFF Lenovo - $560 - Ryzen 7 5000 series, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

Dell Tower - $800 - 10th-gen i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

If I were going to buy any of these I'd probably get the HP laptop or the Dell Tower. The HP Laptop is actually a really good price for what it is.

Anyway happy computering.

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jcmarchi · 1 year ago

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Detecting Storms Thanks to GPS - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/detecting-storms-thanks-to-gps-technology-org/

Detecting Storms Thanks to GPS - Technology Org

Researchers at ETH Zurich have succeeded in detecting heavy precipitation events directly with GPS data. The results of their study could significantly improve meteorological monitoring and forecasting.

Electric discharge during a thunderstorm. Image credit: Pxhere, CC0 Public Domain

An exceptionally severe storm swept over Zurich on 13 July 2021 shortly before 2 a.m.: howling squalls, constant lightning and torrential rain woke people up with a start. Benedikt Soja, Professor of Space Geodesy, also got little sleep that night. “It was one of the most severe storms I’ve ever witnessed. I woke up in the middle of the night and could see the storm raging through the window,” he remembers.

The scale of the storm was evident the next morning – fallen trees on streets and in parks, damaged rooftops and overhead tram lines pulled down in various parts of Zurich. The ground in the vicinity of the Hönggerberg campus was also strewn with branches and even entire trees. “The storm must have passed right over ETH,” says Soja.

GPS data outages

A GPS station on the roof of the Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry on the Hönggerberg campus records the signals of various satellite systems around the clock. When examining the data of the night of the storm in more detail, Soja and his colleagues at the Institute couldn’t believe their eyes. “There were outages in the GPS data processing. We couldn’t understand at first what had caused them,” says Matthias Aichinger-Rosenberger, a former postdoc in Soja’s group and now a lecturer at ETH Zurich. When other stations also reported outages in the measurement of data from GPS and other satellite navigation systems for that night, the researchers started to analyse the raw data of the antenna on the Hönggerberg campus.

Lightning in the clouds – illustrative photo. Image credit: Johannes Plenio via Unsplash, free license

They were able to show in the study, which was published in the specialist journal external pageGeophysical Research Letterscall_made, that extreme weather events influence the quality of GPS signals and that these signals are therefore also suitable for detecting storms. It could one day even be possible to use them for the early detection and forecasting of thunderstorms.

The signal-to-noise ratio dropped

The scientists drew their conclusions from the analysis of the data of the storm of 13 July and of another storm in the summer of 2021. It became evident that the extreme weather events had an impact on the signal-to-noise ratio, which indicates how strong the satellite signals are that reach us on the earth. The higher the ratio, the better the quality of the signal.

“The signal strength that we measure with our antenna on the roof normally only changes minimally,” says Aichinger-Rosenberger. However, this was not the case on the two storm days: “The signal-to-noise ratio in the GPS data dropped considerably at the time of the storm. We saw that once the storm had moved on it was back in its normal range.”

In order to determine the precise time of the storm’s arrival and to check whether this matched the time when the signal-to-noise ratio dropped, the researchers compared their data with radar data of the University of Berne. “This confirmed our suspicion that there was a direct connection,” said Aichinger-Rosenberger.

Was it heavy rain or hail?

The researchers are certain that heavy precipitation is responsible for the sudden drop in the signal-to-noise ratio. What is not clear is which type of precipitation—rain or hail—has a greater impact and why. The scientists wish to find out in the future.

The measuring station on the roof of the Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry receives data from GPS and other satellite navigation systems around the clock. Image credit: ETH Zurich / Benedikt Soja

As simple as the study’s result may sound, it is a breakthrough for space geodesy research. “It has never been proven yet that severe thunderstorms and other weather events with heavy precipitation significantly influence the signal-to-noise ratio,” says Aichinger Rosenberger. Until now, it has been assumed that GPS is a weather-independent system. Now, it appears that GPS data are sensitive enough to capture such atmospheric disturbances.

Forecasting precipitation more reliably

These findings could open up new prospects for the use of satellite navigation data in meteorology. “We now wish to collect more measurements in order to improve the forecasting of precipitation in weather models,” says Soja. Reliable precipitation forecasting still remains a major challenge. “Many other meteorological parameters such as the temperature can now be predetermined quite well with numerical weather models. Unfortunately, however, such models are often not good enough in the case of precipitation.”

In order one day to make use of the ETH researchers’ findings for forecasting, they need to be brought into relation to a weather model. “In order to transfer our observations to specific parameters such as the water and ice content in the air or the storm’s direction of movement, we need to collect and analyse further data. These findings could then be incorporated into a computer-based weather model in order to improve the forecasting of precipitation,” says Aichinger-Rosenberger.

More receivers needed for early detection

Storms still need to pass directly over the measuring station for GPS signals in order to be detected. Because the network of measuring stations is not sufficiently close-knit, the method is not yet suitable for the early detection of storms. “If, for example, we had thirty to forty stationary receivers around Zurich, we would be able to capture extreme weather events across the city accurately and also very cost-effectively,” explains Soja. “A dense network of stations could also be used to determine where storms are moving to and how fast.”

Such an early detection system could in future be used, for instance, to ensure safe air traffic, says Soja. “A dense network of GPS stations around the airport would enable a storm to be localised in real time and warnings to be issued to this effect.”

As well as refining the method, the scientists are also planning to expand their research work across Switzerland and at the European level, to enlarge their network accordingly. Although the severe storm in July 2021 caused a lot of local damage, it also enabled knowledge to be gained that could one day be applied globally.

Source: ETH Zurich

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foone · 1 year ago

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We keep finding space stations, and we don't know why yet.

Most are in orbit around planets, but plenty more are orbiting moons, stars, the odd black hole, or just floating in deep space.

Their age varies, some are so old that just getting close enough to dock makes them shatter like glass, others are so recently constructed that the lights are still on and the reactors are still fueled. All are empty of any life or robots smarter than a roomba.

The ones orbiting planets are orbiting dead worlds, or living worlds where nothing on them is smart enough to launch a space station.

The stations in deep space are weirder. The most information came from the one by Epsilon Eridani. A massive installation, it had docking rings for hundreds of vessels, all empty. It was in remarkable shape for how old it was (from the unrepaired micrometeorite impacts, we estimate it has been abandoned for about 3000 years), so we were able to access a lot of information from its main computer. We found the coordinates of several home planets, and visited them all. All were dead, empty, or in one case, simply missing. The star was still there, the other uninhabitable planets mentioned in the databanks were there, but their homeworld? Gone. No debris or expanding gas cloud, it's just missing.

And that's the thing: if we found space stations along with abandoned ruins of ground-based installations, that'd make sense. If we met dozens of living races, amongst a few empty satellites of long dead races, that'd also be expected. But this is all the evidence we're not alone in the universe we've found.

We've sent probes to over half the stars in this galaxy and visited hundreds in crewed spacecraft, but the empty space stations are the only evidence of alien life. Every planet is either a sterile husk, a gas giant, or a vibrant living world with nothing smarter than a giraffe living on it. Oh, there's strange life forms of every kind! But none of them seem sapient, certainly not sapient enough to build a space station.

Where is everyone? We've been asking that question since we first understood the Drake Equation and the Fermi paradox, but the question has taken on a new form as we've gone to the stars and found endless empty houses in the sky.

It's the difference between looking at an empty desert and walking through an abandoned city. In both cases, there's a silent emptiness, but in the latter case, it seems to contain a sinister element. This place is empty, but it shouldn't be. Something made it empty, and we haven't found out why yet.

We keep looking, and keep listening to the echoes of our own footsteps in the silent habitats.

#My writing #Empty houses in the sky

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kesarijournal · 2 years ago

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Microsoft's Nuclear Odyssey: A Symphony of Power, Politics, and Pioneering

Seattle, WA — In an era where “green” is the new gold and “renewable” the new religion, Microsoft is playing a different tune—let’s call it the Nuclear Symphony. As the tech giant ventures into nuclear energy, it’s not just making waves; it’s creating tsunamis that could reshape the energy landscape, the tech industry, and even geopolitics. The Energy Labyrinth Data centres are the unsung…

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lillyjen · 29 days ago

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AI generation may use less energy than photoshop on your computer, but that's because the images aren't generated on your computer. The statistics on water & power usage refer to the vast supercomputers/databanks that do the actual number-crunching, & do actually require that much energy, whether you think it "sounds real" or not.

As for becoming more efficient over time, that doesn't really hold true for large data processing centers, because of physics:

Electricity is a type of energy. When energy is transferred (e.g. through a circuit), some of it is lost as heat energy. The better the transfer mechanism (e.g. circuit), the less heat is lost, but it is impossible to eliminate this loss altogether. This is why electronics get hot.

When heat is already involved, the transfer becomes less efficient, because the existing heat makes it easier for more energy to convert itself into heat energy, rather than whatever energy its supposed to be being used as. The hotter it gets, the more heat is lost, slowing down the energy transfer more & more, until it eventually stops working. This is why overheating is the enemy of electronics.

Because you cannot stop electronics producing heat, & the more heat you have in one place, the more heat is produced, having a lot of electronics in one place produces a lot of heat very fast. The more electronics you have, the more heat is produced, the less efficient they become. It doesn't matter how efficient the individual electronics are, this still holds true. (Well, it does matter, in that they will still be more efficient than the same number of less efficient electronics, but the rule of "the more electronics you have in one place, the less efficient they will be", still holds true.)

As for the water "just passing through the system" or "evaporating",

a) does it pass repeatedly through the system? Once the water is heated (by doing its job as a cooling agent) it then needs to be cooled in turn. Rather than ending up with an infinite string of cooling systems, the most efficient way to do this would be to remove that water from the system (sending it to be reprocessed) & replacing it.

b) every time water is used for one purpose, it must be reprocessed before it can be used for another purpose. Yes, even if it evaporates & falls as rain (which is something we have no control over, & also means that the water that evaporates from one place & falls elsewhere as rain, must be piped/pumped back to the place it evaporated from/it is needed). When we are talking about water being wasted, we are acknowledging the fact that this processing requires time, labour, various chemical agents, & many other resources. No, technically the water itself isn't "wasted", since it still exists ~somewhere~, but the fact that we are unable to access it whilst it is being processed (or floating around in the atmosphere) means the net result is the same.

c) There aren't 16floz in the system. There are gallons & gallons of water in the system. (Gallons & gallons that cannot be used for drinking, bathing, watering crops, etc. Gallons that are not currently part of the water cycle.) 16floz (roughly half a litre) is how much is used Per AI image. That's a lot. (Especially as prompts often generate multiple images. If a single prompt produces 4 images, that's close to 2 litres. If you then decide to refine the prompt....)

(Bonus reason data centers need cooling: environmental factors. Such large centers need a lot of land, & wide, flat expanses of land are often found in deserts, i.e. hot places. Others are built in cities, on ready-cleared land, which are also places that generate a lot of heat.)

I don't think it would be challenging to make an image generator that "respects copyright" (you could train it on public domain art and photos but you could also license massive libraries of stock photos and TV shows and book/album covers etc. from the media companies that hold the rights to them) and I think the existence of such a generator would not lead people currently mad about AI to suddenly be cool with it because it's really not about copyright.

#I blame 'the cloud' for this kind of thinking #stuff stored in 'the cloud' is actually stored on vast servers #(if you want more storage space get an external hard drive #that way you actually know where your files are & have full control over them)#but it gets marketed as this vague ephemeral thing that has no impact on anything #so people get used to not thinking about storage & where things come from or where they go #(also streaming vs downloads: streaming means someone else's computer is actually doing half the work)#so people don't realise the full impact #because all they know is how their computer acts #& it's so much emptier & more efficient!#that's because half its work is being outsourced #technology #physics #ai #critical thinking #(I am not an expert in technology or physics #I am happy to be corrected on details - this is definitely simplified #but 'I just don't believe it' is not a valid criticism)

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xnalux · 6 months ago

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I’d love love love pt3 of streamergfvi! You write her so well <3

streamer!vi hcs christmas special

part 1 part 2

warnings: nsfw 18+, fem!reader

pictures are from pinterest and they're not mine

author’s note: I had to rewrite it twice because my shitty computer was acting up so i'm not fully happy about how it turned out but i really hope you like it. merry christmas pretties ♡

streamergfvi: who didn't really care about christmas decorations but found herself following around an hyper excited and bouncy powder,arms full to the brim with boxes, each one threatening to spill over with the glittery treasures it contained

She found herself trying to balance her weight as powder sat on her shoulders in front of the christmas tree hanging the decorations to it.

''pow the tree is gonna fall over if you add another one''

vi groaned wrinkling her nose as she tried to get one of powder's braid out of her face.

''shut up you grinch''

powder just huffed focused on the task of putting the little elf on top of the tree, the younger sibling stretching out trying to reach the highest part of the fir making vi almost lose balance stumbling a little to the side

''stop moving so much!''

''well if you weren't so short...''

''you are shorter than me''

the two bickered as vander stared at them leaning agaist the kitchen's door frame, arms crossed and a fond smile on his face.

streamergfvi: who is incredibly competitive about snowball fights. her and powder have a little feud. their backyard, a canvas of white, is a battleground of strategically placed forts made of snow and colorful winter gear scattered about like the aftermath of a whimsical blizzard.

Their rivalry is legendary, a spectacle that has been the highlight of winter for the past few years. The neighborhood kids gather around the fence, their breaths forming clouds of anticipation as they whisper about the impending clash of the snow titans.

This year, you've decided to join in the fun, throwing your hat into the ring with Powder. You've been watching their snowball battles from the sidelines, sipping on hot cocoa and offering moral support, but the time has come to immerse yourself in the frosty fray.

The moment the fight begins, it's clear that Vi isn't going to go down without a fight. She charges towards you and Powder, her snowball arsenal at the ready. As she hurls the first volley, you both dodge and retaliate, sending your own icy projectiles flying in her direction. The snow crunches under your boots as you run and duck, the cold sting of the snowflakes on your skin only adding to the thrill.

"Hey, pretty''

vi calls out, her voice a mix of teasing and challenge as she aims another perfectly-formed snowball at you.

"You think you can beat me with those little snow pebbles?"

"Oh, this year you are going down, shortie!"

Powder shouts back, her laughter ringing out like a bell in the crisp winter air.

But vi isn't one to be outdone. She takes advantage of your momentary distraction, and before you know it, she's sneaking up on you from behind.

"Gotcha!"

she exclaims as she tackles you to the ground, the impact sending up a cloud of powdery snow that surrounds you both.

You're laughing too hard to protest as she straddles you, her eyes sparkling with joy.

"Surrender, darling,"

she says, her breath warm on your cold cheek as she holds a snowball over your head.

"You know I'm the king of snowfights"

"Never!"

you reply, trying to push her off, your laughter turning into a playful growl. You wiggle and squirm, trying to break free from her firm grip, but she's too strong.

Powder, noticing your plight, hurls a snowball at Vi, which hits her square in the back.

"Cheap shot!" Vi yells, releasing you to retaliate.

This gives you the perfect opportunity to escape her grasp. You jump to your feet, a snowball in hand, and throw it back at her. It hits her right on the forehead, leaving a perfect white imprint.

"Oh, it's on now!"

she says, her eyes lighting up with excitement. She wipes the snow away, her grin unyielding. It ends up with you straddling her lap asking her to ''beg for mercy'' as powder fill her jacket with snow.

streamergfvi who never lose the change to push her hand in the back pocket of your pants even when you are out in public. And when you playfully glare at her she just

"What?" she give your ass a little squeeze feigning innocence.

"It's cold out here!"

"Well, if my pocket is such a warm sanctuary, I might just have to charge rent,"

you tease, giving her a sideways smirk. She rolls her eyes dramatically, but the smile that tugs at the corners of her mouth betrays her feigned annoyance.

"Rent, huh?"

she says, her voice a low purr as she leans closer, her breath ghosting against your cheek.

"What's the going rate for such prime real estate?"

"Oh, I don't know," you muse, playing along.

"Maybe a kiss for every squeeze?"

Her eyes widen for a moment, as if surprised by my boldness, before she laughs heartily, her whole body shaking with the sound.

"Is that a deal, then?"

The crowd bustles around you, a mix of laughter, chatter, and distant car horns.

"Only if you promise to keep your hands to yourself in public,"

you say, though your voice is laden with affection.

Her hand retreats from your pocket, but only to slide around your waist, pulling you closer.

"You drive a hard bargain," she murmurs, her voice dropping to a whisper that only I can hear. "but it's worth it for that ass."

your laughter rings out again, a sound that never fails to make vi smile. She presses her cheek against your shoulder, her arms tightening around me.

"I'll be good," she promises, her breath warm against your neck.

"For now."

streamergfvi: who hates christmas songs but always ends up humming them whenever she gets lost in thoughts. When the two of you are alone, you can't help but laugh at the sight of her mouthing the lyrics. It's like watching a grumpy cat wearing a Santa hat. And when she catches you watching, she'll blush, a little embarrassed.

So, you lean in and whisper,

"You secretly love it,"

and she rolls her eyes

''shut up''

streamergfvi: who never lose the chance whenever the first notes of "All I Want for Christmas is You" waft through the air from some distant holiday playlist and you two are together, to mouths the words "All I want for Christmas is you,", a smug grin on her face as she points at you

streamergfvi: who is addicted to hot chocolate, it gets to the point it's almost concerning, the moment the first snowflake graces the ground, she's in full-on hot cocoa mode. She has collection of mugs that would put Santa's workshop to shame. marshmallows of every shape and size, whipped cream in canisters, and an assortment of chocolate chips that could fill a stocking.

But what she love even more is drinking it with you (she secretly adds more whipped cream to your mug just to make it more difficult for you to drink it without getting some on yourself)

You took a sip, trying to be dainty about it, but the whipped cream was just too tempting. It clung to your upper lip, a sweet little mustache that vi found absolutely adorable. She couldn't help but let out a soft giggle as she set her own mug down and leaned in. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and her warm breath brushed against your skin as she tenderly licked the whipped cream from your nose. Her smirk widened into a grin, and you felt your cheeks flush.

You decided to play along, you leaned in closer, your sweet breath mingling as you looked at her battling your eyelishes

''thank you baby''

you whispered and you knew you've got her where you wanted by the way her breath hitched and her eyes gazed hungrily at your shiny lips. you let her almost close the gap but as soon as her lips brushed against yours, you pushed your finger, that you previously used to scoop some whipped cream, against her cheek pulling yourself back

"Two can play at this game,"

you whispered, a mischievous glint in your gaze.

gently, you traced the line of the whipped cream from her cheek to the corner of her mouth, painting a sweet path that you couldn't wait to follow. Her eyes still locked on yours, as you slowly briought your finger closer to your own mouth. With an exaggerated show of temptation, you sucked the whipped cream off, savoring the taste as it lingered on your tongue.

"Mmm, you taste so sweet''

her eyes flashed with need and you suddendly found yourself pulled onto her lap as she kissed you passionately

''i'm gonna cover you in whipped cream and lick you clean''

she whispered in your ear

streamergfvi: who let you convince her to wear matching christmas hairband for her christmas stream special.

You were casually lounging on her bed, your fingers dancing across the screen of your phone, searching for some holiday inspiration to sprinkle onto vi's upcoming Christmas stream special when a pop up advertisement caught your eye, a picture of candy cane-themed hairbands.

you looked at vi seated across from you, her back against the bed's headstand while she edited a video for her youtube channel on her lapton perched over her lap, you couldn't help but giggle imagining how she would look wearing it.

vi tore her gaze from the screen of her laptop and arched an eyebrow at you, a small smile curling her lips

''what's so funny?''

she asked as you pulled yourself up to sit on your knees in front of her and held the phone up in front of her. She let her eyes roam over the screen before a smirk formed on her face.

''Yes''

she said without even thinking about it

''yes?'' you asked surprised

''yes you would look incredibly cute in one of this, you want me to buy you one?''

you rolled your eyes

''I want us to wear it, for your christmas stream special''

Vi couldn't help but chuckle at the suggestion, a playful glint in her eyes as she took in the image of the candy cane hairbands.

She leaned forward, setting aside her laptop, and reached for the phone to get a closer look. "You want us to match?" she teased, her voice filled with amusement.

"Come on," you said with a grin

''what about my reputation? the chat is gonna give me hell about it''

you just pouted knowing full well she couldn't resist you ready to hit her with your secret convincing weapon

''please violet? please please please'

you looked at her battling your eyelishes and pushing yourself closer to her

''not fair'' she mumbles trying not to look at you as a blush painted her cheeks.

and that's how she found herself in front of the camera, a pair of candy cane-themed hairbands on her head and a scowl on her face as she read the chat. You giggling seated on her lap.

@/Ekk0: man bat your eyes three times if you are in danger

@/piltiespinerc: vi looks like an evil elf

@/sevikunt: she is also as short as an elf

streamergfvi: who runs as hot as a radiator and streams in a pair of grinch boxer and fuzzy socks set you gifted her and her hoodie. whenever you sleep together during winter it's like a battlefield because she pushes the blankets away in her sleep and you always need to pull them back up.

As the night wears on, the dance of the blankets continues. You, the recipient of her warmth, are engaged in a silent tug-of-war as she unconsciously kicks them off, leaving you exposed to the cold. Your limbs, accustomed to the warm sanctuary provided by the blanket fortress, scurry to pull the covers back up. The fabric whispers and shifts as you both adjust, trying to find a balance between your thermal preferences.

With a sleepy groan that is both endearing and exasperated, she rolls over, her eyes fluttering open just enough to reveal a sliver of hazy awareness. In one swift movement, she abandons the battle of the blankets, opting instead to use her own body as a human comforter. Her form, now a warm, heavy weight, settles over yours like a contented cat. Her head finds its place in the crook of your neck, her breath a gentle warmth against your skin.

Her words, muffled by the pillow and the weight of sleep, are a declaration of warmth and affection.

"Fuck the blankets,"

she murmurs,

"I can warm you up just fine."

And with that, she wraps her limbs around you, effectively trapping your body in a cocoon of love and heat. The battlefield of blankets is forgotten as you both sink into the warm embrace she offers, the chilly winter night outside now just a distant memory. The room feels smaller, but the bed feels infinitely cozier with her sprawled over you, her heartbeat a steady rhythm against your chest.

streamergfvi: who can't keep her hands to herself when you surprise her opening the door of your apartment in a elf costume. Vi mentioned to you once that she thought you would look really fucking cute in an elf costume and today you decided to surprise her. As the door to your apartment swings open vi's eyes widen in surprise and pure, unadulterated lust as she takes in the sight of you. Her gaze lingers on the curve of your hips, the swell of your breasts peeking out from the tight green fabric, and the playful jingle of the bells adorning your hat and shoes.

"Look what Santa left me,"

she murmurs, the corner of her mouth quirking up in a knowing smile.

Before you can even answer, she's already closing the distance between you, her hands finding their way to your hips as she pulls you in for a passionate kiss. Your heart races as you feel her strong arms around you, the warmth of her body pressing against your own. The kiss deepens, her tongue exploring your mouth as if it's a place she's missed dearly. You melt into her embrace, letting out a content sigh.

Breaking the kiss, she looks into your eyes, a playful glint in her own.

"I think someone's been a very naughty elf," she whispers, her voice thick with desire.

Without another word, she scoops you up and carries you into the kitchen, setting you effortlessly onto the cool kitchen counter. The suddenness of it all makes your heart race and your breath hitch in your throat. Your legs instinctively part to allow her closer, and she takes full advantage, stepping between them. Her eyes never leave yours as she leans in, the heat of her breath ghosting over your skin. Her voice is a low, seductive growl,

Her hands are everywhere, tracing the lines of your body with a familiarity that sends shivers down your spine. She runs her thumbs along the hem of your costume, pushing it up slightly to reveal more of your bare thighs. You can't help but whimper at the sensation, your body already responding to her touch.

Her mouth is a searing brand as it trails down your neck, leaving a path of kisses and nips that make you arch into her.

You lean back, supporting yourself on your elbows as she works her way down, her mouth leaving a trail of fire in its wake. You can feel her hot breath against your skin, and it makes you squirm with anticipation.

''fuck violet please''

you moan throwing your head back

Her mouth finds its way to the apex of your thighs, and she kisses you through the thin barrier of your costume, making you squirm with need. The sound of the fabric tearing is music to your ears as she decides she's had enough of the foreplay and dives in, her tongue meeting your skin with a hunger that matches your own.

You grip the counter's edge, your knuckles turning white as she works her magic. The world around you fades away, replaced by the feel of her tongue swirling around your clit, her fingers pressing inside you, and the sweet, sweet friction that builds with each movement.

Your hips buck against her mouth, and she chuckles against your skin, sending vibrations through your core that make you shiver.

You're lost in a haze of pleasure, unable to form coherent thoughts beyond the desperate need for more.

Her rhythm is relentless, each stroke and suck bringing you closer to the edge. You're panting now, your hips rocking against her face as you chase that elusive peak. And when you finally reach it, it's like a starburst of sensation, leaving you trembling and gasping for air. She doesn't stop, though, continuing to kiss and lick until you're a boneless, quivering mess, your legs wrapped around her neck, holding her in place.

she smiles as soon you free her from the hand that had been gripping her hair, your legs relaxing allowing her to push her head back.

''I didn't know we were going for a naughty North Pole theme tonight."

streamergfvi: who asked you to celebrate christmas eve with her, vander and powder knowing you haven't talked to your homophobic family in years and would have probably spent christmas in your apartment alone.

After the icredibly delicious dinner vander cooked, for the first time in your life you felt like you finally belonged as you watched vi and powder wrestle over the remote cotrol of the tv while they bickered about the movie to watch.

''powder we are watching gremlins''

powder tried to reach the remote as vi stretched her arm in the air to prevent her from taking it.

''I'm not watching that stupid movie again''

violet smirked watching powder struggle

''why is that? you think you'll get scared and snuck in my bed in the middle of the night like when you were five''

powder jumped glaring at vi offended

''shut up that was one time''

as you watched them bicker some more you felt the tears fill up the corners of your eyes. ''maybe christmas isn't so bad'' you thought to yourself offering a small content smile to vi when she glanced at you.

streamergfvi: After you watched ''Home Alone'' (yes you teamed up with powder against vi) you and vi went to vi's room to exchange presents.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement as you fumbled in your bag, your hands slightly trembling. You had been carrying around the little blue box for what felt like an eternity, the weight of it feeling heavier than any burden you had ever known. Inside was a set of shiny silver keys, attached to a keychain that had a tiny, delicate heart.

Finally, with a deep breath, you pulled out the box and placed it in her hand.

"Merry Christmas, Violet"

you said, trying to keep my voice steady, your heart thudding in your chest like a drum at a parade. She looked at you, a hint of curiosity playing at the corners of her mouth, her eyes searching myours for a clue of what could possibly be hidden within the wrapping.

Vi gently tore open the paper, her movements deliberate, savoring the moment. The box revealed itself, and she lifted the lid with a soft gasp. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the keys, her thumb tracing the heart-shaped charm.

"What's this?"

she whispered, her voice filled with a mix of surprise and hope.

"It's… it's a spare set of my apartment keys,"

You began, the words tumbling out of my mouth faster than you could control.

"I want you to have them because… because I want you to move in with me. I know it's a big step, but I can't imagine my life without you in it, and oh god i had this speech prepared but i don't know i just I love you and i guess a want to wake up to you every morning and fall asleep together every night...''

The room seemed to hold its breath as she looked at the keys, then back at you.

The silence stretched out, feeling like a tightrope walk over a canyon. And then, she broke into the most radiant smile, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"Holy shit, really?"

she asked, and you couldn't help but let out a giggle.

"Really,"

you affirmed, taking her hand in yours.

"I want to come home to you every night, to wake up to your messy hair and the smell of burnt toast in the morning. I want to share our lives, our space, and our future."

Vi looked at you, her gaze unwavering, and then she threw her arms around me, the keys dangling from her hand as you hugged tightly.

"fuck yes,"

she murmured into your neck.

"I'd love to move in with you."

you spent the rest of the night cuddling in her bed, hands interlocked as you talked about your future together, a pair of silver matching rings she gifted you glinting in the dim light of her room. And as the snow continued to fall outside, painting the world in a fresh coat of white, you knew that with Vi by my side, this was going to be the best Christmas yet.

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