#with every update the features get better

[thevoidcircus]

On the Sims 1 & 2 Rerelease

I'll be the first to admit I did not play Sims 1. But I did play Sims 2 and 3 when they released, and for a long time before I played 4, and believe me, the amount of people complaining about how awfully buggy TS2's remaster was have been absolutely spoiled with Sims 4. Hell, the romanticisation of TS2 at the hands of big-name simmers also ticked me off, but I won't fault them because I'm not immune to nostalgia either. As much as the TS4 community claims to hate whaling for EA on TS4 packs, it doesn't change the fact that TS4 manages to still be nowhere near as broken as TS2. That's not saying much in light of the recent game breaking glitches people are reporting in TS4, but it's something.

Pink/Purple soup is nothing new. Hell, back in my day it was blue soup. There would be blue soup on people's heads, there would be blue soup on their teeth if they were vampires, there would be blue soup in the eyes, there would be blue soup in the pool. Everything had the chance to become blue soup. Back in my day it was my save file corrupting because I did literally anything, up to and including:

Bringing back Bella Goth in Pleasantview.

Asking to be bit by the Grand Vampire, subsequently leading to him or her eventually biting an incomplete sim like Agnes.

Making any positive or negative memories with homeless townies

Bringing back Bella Goth in Strangetown

Creating a baby with Utility Sims like Grim or the shrink

Playing the Curious or Beaker households in Strangetown

Trying to play the Romeo and Juliet gameplay in Veronaville

Trying to resurrect premade ghosts anywhere

Cheating NPCs to show up at the house because I was young and dumb and didn't learn that lesson for nearly five years

Doing literally anything in Strangetown and Veronaville

Visiting Downtown anywhere after the Grand Vampire has bitten someone in the save file, once again leading to him eventually biting an NPC or incomplete sim... Like Agnes.

Putting I Am Dead Tokens on sims to see what would happen.

Using the height cheat to make everyone 20 feet tall

Turning on testingcheats and using every cheat I could find

Making Don Lothario woohoo with every last grown man and woman in Pleasantview (Yes, that happened, my save file was crying blue by the end of it)

Sims 2 being a self-corrupting nightmare when left unattended in vanilla is nothing new, and the amount of people crapping on about how broken the game was compared to how veteran simmers romanticised it got old REAL quick. Yes, Sims 2 had a lot of cool content and a good chunk of it still isn't in Sims 4. But at least your save file won't get corrupted because Vlad bit a premade townie. Probably. Trust me, you will enjoy the Sims franchise a lot more when you realise that it's always been a buggy mess at every stop and turn, take it on the chin, and play the installment that best suits your needs and whims. There are still so many performance improving mods out there, likely for all the games, and some of these modders will eventually come out of the woodworks to update for the definitive edition.

[crazy-hazy-sims]

Hey everyone it seems there a malicious individual trying to hack the sims cc community again and fill it with malware you need to stay vigilant as a creator and a downloader so

i have some tips for both to stay safe while downloading:

1- sims cc file extension is always .Package never download anything that is .exe

2- do not auto unpack zip files and rar files into your mods folder directly, open each zip or rar individually check the file extensions and drag them to your mods folder one by one

3- the only mods that have a .ts4script extension are ones that affect gameplay or how the game works, understand that if you are downloading cas or bb items you shouldn't have a .ts4script file

4- if you are downloading gameplay mods that do have .ts4script make sure that A) the creator hasn't announced on their pages that its infected B) you are downloading from a link provided by the creator of the mods themselves not something off of google or a link you got sent and make sure dates of upload match dated of announcements

5- if the mod or cc creator has retired and hasn't posted for a while LOOK AT THE DATES OF THE UPLOAD if it has been "updated recently" after the creator has left the community its most likely re-uploaded by a hacker and infected

6- download mod gaurd by Twisted mexi and keep it updated and keep your windows defender or malware detector Program up to date and always running do not disable it

7- make sure everything you download comes from a direct link from the cc creator, in this day and age do not trust link shortners, adfly, linkverse, etc get the universal bypass extension and ublock extension to stay safe but genuinely NEVER CLICK ON THOSE no matter how much the creator reassures you its safe it. is. NOT.

8- this is more of a general saftey precaution but, create a system restore point weekly before you run the game with new mods that way if anything happens you could have a chance to restore your windows to an earlier date before you downloaded anything.

9- BACK UP YOUR SHIT im serious right now either weekly or monthly put your files somewhere safe like a usb a storage card a hard drive even an online cloud if you dont have any of the previous.

10- files you should back up are your media from games and media everything else, any mods, games saves, work files, passwords, saved bookmarks, any documents txt files word files pdfs, links you saved, brushes or actions for Photoshop if you have any, any digital bills or certificates if you have any, and keep a physical list of all programs you have installed and where you installed them from

11- turn on any 2 factor authentication and security measures for any account you have

12- google and firefox have the option to check your paswords and emails against any data leaks USE THIS FEATURE and change any leaked passwords

13- regularly check your logged in sessions to make sure all the logged in devices or computers are yours and log out any that aren't and any old devices or unused sessions do this for every website and app you have an account on if available

14- change your passwords often. I know this is a hassle i know its hard to come up with new passwords but changing your passwords every few months will help you against anything mention previously that wasn't detected.

15- and as a cc creator check your cc and the accounts you host cc on and its uplaod and update dates make sure nothing has been changed without your permission :(

16- generally try not to get swept up in the "i must get it" fever you do not need to "shop" for mods weekly or monthly you do not need to download everything by that one creator you do not need to download new cc everytime you want to make a sim, im guilty of this so i know how hard it is to resist but take a breath and think "do i want this or do i need it" before downloading.

These are prevention methods i cant claim they are 100% will prevent any hacking but its better to be safe than sorry and these do keep you safe so

Brought to you by someone who has had their laptop ruined and data leaked from downloading cc once upon a time

[getvalentined]

An open letter to @staff

I already submitted this to Support under "Feedback," but I'm sharing it here too as I don't expect it to get a response, and I feel like putting in out in public may be more effective than sending it off into the void.

The recent post on the Staff blog about changing tumblr to an algorithmic feed features a large amount of misinformation that I feel staff needs to address, openly and honestly, with information on where this data was sourced at the very least.

Claim 1: Algorithms help small creators.

This is false, as algorithms are designed to push content that gets engagement in order to get it more engagement, thereby assuring that the popular remain popular and the small remain small except in instances of extreme luck.

This can already be seen on the tumblr radar, which is a combination of staff picks (usually the same half-dozen fandoms or niche special interests like Lego photography) which already have a ton of engagement, or posts that are getting enough engagement to hit the radar organically. Tumblr has an algorithm that runs like every other socmed algorithm on the planet, and it will decimate the reach of small creators just like every other platform before it.

Claim 2: Only a small portion of users utilize the chronological feed.

You can find a poll by user @darkwood-sleddog here that at the time of writing this, sits at over 40 THOUSAND responses showing that over 96 percent of them use the chronological feed*. Claiming otherwise isn't just a misstatement, it's a lie. You are lying to your core userbase and expecting them to accept it as fact. It's not just unethical, it's insulting to people who have been supporting your platform for over a decade.

Claim 3: Tumblr is not easy to use.

This is also 100% false and you ABSOLUTELY know it. Tumblr is EXTREMELY easy to use, the issue is that the documentation, the explanations of features, and often even the stability of the service is subpar. All of this would be very easy for staff to fix, if they would invest in the creation of walkthroughs and clear explanations of how various site features work, as well as finally fixing the search function. Your inability to explain how your service works should not result in completely ignoring the needs and wants of your core long-term userbase. The fact that you're more willing to invest in the very systems that have made every other form of social media so horrifically toxic than in trying to make it easier for people to use the service AS IT WORKS NOW and fixing the parts that don't work as well speaks volumes toward what tumblr staff actually cares about.

You will not get a paycheck if your platform becomes defunct, and the thing that makes it special right now is that it is the ONLY large-scale socmed platform on THE ENTIRE INTERNET with a true chronological feed and no aggressive algorithmic content serving. The recent post from staff indicates that you are going to kill that, and are insisting that it's what we want. It is not. I'd hazard to guess that most of the dev team knows it isn't what we want, but I assume the money people don't care. The user base isn't relevant, just how much money they can bring in.

The CEO stated he wanted this to remain as sort of the last bastion of the Old Internet, and yet here we are, watching you declare you intend to burn it to the ground.

You can do so much better than this.

Response to the Update

Under the cut for readability, because everything said above still applies.

I already said this in a reblog on the post itself, but I'm adding it to this one for easy access: people read it that way because that's what you said.

Staff considers the main feed as it exists to be "outdated," to the point that you literally used that word to describe it, and the main goals expressed in this announcement is to figure out what makes "high-quality content" and serve that to users moving forward.

People read it that way because that is what you said.

*The final results of the poll, after 24 hours:

136,635 votes breaks down thusly:

An algorithm based feed where I get "the best of tumblr." @ 1.3% (roughly 1,776 votes)

Chronological feed that only features blogs I follow. @ 95.2% (roughly 130,077 votes)

This doesn't affect me personally. @ 3.5% (roughly 4,782 votes)

[106alibi]

good graces ; lee jeno

pairing: boxer!jeno x magazine-editor!reader

synopsis: y/n knows she's petty. so when she found out her (secret) celebrity boyfriend of a year had been cheating on her, through a news article to make things worse, she decided to cook up an action plan to get back at him, and what better way to take revenge than to get together with his all-time favourite athlete?

or, in which y/n involves an unsuspecting lee jeno into her little revenge scheme on her now ex-boyfriend.

ib: good graces, sabrina carpenter

featuring: haewon of nmixx, kazuha of lesserafim, ningning of aespa, 00z of nct dream, (side chars.) natty of kiss of life, jake of enhypen

genre: humour, fluff, angst (maybe)

disclaimers: fem pronouns for y/n, will give disclaimers for individual chapters if I see fit!, mentions of cheating, profanities, kms/kys jokes, inappropriate themes and jokes

notes: need to preface and say I love jake i love jake i love jake i love natty i love natty i love natty

playlist: good graces (sabrina carpenter) | taste (sabrina carpenter) | thank u, next (ariana grande) | mantra (jennie) | dopamine (giselle) | get him back (olivia rodrigo)

status: ongoing (061124)

updates: every wednesday

taglist: open~ drop a reply or ask to be added!

a/n: letting this marinate before i start it from mid to end november! i have high hopes for this one and i hope you give jeno lots of love because there is a serious jeno smau drought on this app 💔💔 if you want me to tag you when the profiles/prologue drops just send a reply or an ask too! love you all 💜💜

profiles 24/7 on the bowl | protected by jeno squad

chapters

chapter 00. prologue

chapter 01. LIKE P IN THE V??

chapter 02. umm uhh O.K!

chapter 03. clout chaser

chapter 04. rookie mistake

chapter 05. I think she's flirting (written)

chapter 06. a girl can't smile in 2024 without flirting?

chapter 07. Awkward!

chapter 08. soft launch

chapter 09. bad luck (written)

chapter 10. atrociously negative rizz

chapter 11. nonchalant kween

chapter 12. taemin sunbaenim

chapter 13. sweet talk

chapter 14. cucumber shreds

chapter 15. pretty

chapter 16. just a friend

chapter 17. use me

chapter 18. guilty?

chapter 19. not before I do

[dcxdpdabbles]

Holiday request: child support

John is in a meeting with the Justice League when Clockwork comes knocking. It's a regular update on security and safety procedures, the kind of boring stuff John would have customarily skipped out on, except that this meeting also covers how to provide younger teams support.

Teams that his son was a part of. If Danny was ever on a mission, that could have ended in him passing simply because some wanker didn't know how to find him or how to help him in time?

So here was John, half slumped over his chair as Batman droned about procedures and policies. He had barely gotten through Wonder Woman's long lecture on support combat.

He was thinking of grabbing a coffee- John's been working on his drinking after making a promise to try and get sober for his son- so he was replacing the urge for alcohol with coffee. It was one of the hardest things he's ever done.

Thankfully, he knows some spells that help with withdrawals. It's better than the alternative, even if some days are shitter than others.

"Hello, Johnny," Coos, the Ancient being of Time, flouting before him in his human form. John can feel every hero's jaw drop even as he smiles awkwardly at the other parent of his child.

"Clockwork." He greets, eyes taking in the gorgeous features of Time. He nods his head towards the bag, flouting by Clockwork. "Lovely to see you as always. Got a gift for me?"

"Hmm." Clockwork flouts down, landing on his feet and surveying the room. His pure red eyes sparkled in amusement as the awestruck members of the Justice League. Even Batman seemed momently thrown- though if that was because of Clockwork's beauty or the insane amount of power pushing down on all their souls was anyone's guess.

"I've come to spend a weekend with my son. And you, I suppose, if you do not mind housing me." Clockwork says, at last, patting the bag. John feels his mouth go dry. Yes, he slept with Acient before and wouldn't be opposed to another round, but Clockwork wasn't his average ex.

Clockwork held the entire multiverse at the tip of his fingers, suspended on his amusement, and it could all be destroyed with a mere snap from the other. If he found disproved of even the slightest thing about how John was raising Danny, he could kill billions of people, or worse, he could take Danny away.

John feels cold dread grip his heart even as he laughs. "Of course, I can house you. I hope you won't find being in the human world too much hassle."

"Oh no. I have the perfect disguise to blend in with the humans." Clockwork assures, pulling out a pair of fetching glasses and a white cane. He places them on his head and taps his stick on the ground before grinning. John finds himself instantly spotting the same cocky curve to Danny's own grin, and his heart swells.

"Now, where is my boy? It's been years since I last saw him." Clockwork pauses before shrugging his head. "Or it's only been nine months in this realm. Still a long time for my son."

The Ancient snaps his fingers, ripping a portal open to the front of Danny's school. He offers his arm to the blond man, nodding toward Gotham Academy. The soft ring of the dismissal bells rings as students start pouring out of the front door in drones. Classes for the day have just ended.

"Come along, Johnny. Guide me." John shoots the Leauge an apologetic smile, knowing they will understand how important this visit is. He loops his arm through Clockwork, while heaving the man's bag over his other shoulder. The soft tapping of Clockwork's cane on the ground is the portal's only sound before it slams closed.

It cuts off the explosion of noise the Leauge makes, but with all those overlapping voices, John has no idea who said what.

Danny walks out of the school with Damian, Jon, and Colin, laughing and beaming at the younger boys. Clockwork pauses for a few seconds before he beams.

"You're doing a great job, Johnny." The Ancient says just as Danny's gaze locks on them. His face fumbles with ripples of emotion before lighting up in glee. He races towards them with a gutted shout, "Father!"

Clockwork opens his arms just as Danny slams into him. John steps back, but the Ancient grabs the sleeve of his trench coat and drags him into the hug.

"A really great job." The non-human whispers into John's ear. He feels a soft caress against his magic as if Clockwork was brushing the hair out of his face. His heart flutters softly, even as Danny beams at them, and various teenagers panic at his boy's beauty.

Something tells John that having his ex visiting won't be as bad as he initially thought.

[realbigpodcastslut]

As much as I like Spotify Wrapped, I have to say this year was awful and the nail in the coffin for me.

Firstly, it was later than usual and was all AI. That isn't 100% a bad thing, but it was missing a ton of stats in favor for what AI generated genre description we were listening to through out the year. I wanted to know what my top genres were this year! What my tarot or energy was! But there was none of that, instead an AI podcast that reguritated the wrapped story and got it wrong for me. (Last time I checked by biggest listneing day couldn't have been 12k minutes as there's not even that many minutes in a week).

Spotify isn't even the best music streaming platform by far. It sucks with music quality where it is very noticible even if you aren't an audiophile. Let's compare individual plans. For 11.99 USD the highest streaming is 320kbps and doesn't have high-res. Amazon, Tidal, and Apple Music all have the ability to stream CD quality (for example Tidal is 1,411kbps) for their 10.99 USD each. And they have the same if not bigger catelogs. Oh and Tidal actually pays their artists and is clear about it (Spotify pays $0.00348 per stream, Amazon does $0.00426, Apple $0.00675, and Tidal $0.00876).

The biggest draw to Spotify for me was the statistics. I really enjoyed being able to see what I'm listening to and compare but now every other streaming service has that. I liked that. Except, each service is doing that now. And Every Noise At Once, a website I use to find great new music, is no longer updating cause Spotify laid off a ton of their staff. While it wasn't a Spotify "offical" thing, the person that ran it worked at Spotify and was a part of the daylist creation along with other things.

Another thing is the music recommendations. They suck. Spotify used to introduce me to a lot of new music but I feel like it just gives me the same five same songs. Shuffle is also rigged and anything generated has gone downhill since the layoff. There's no new layout or UI changes that have been asked for years. Like covers for playlist folders or album collections.

Spotify might have podcast integration but it SUCKS. There's so many better free options. I'm a big podcast listener and their podcatcher is the worst I've used. By far.

The only good thing about Spotify right now is the audiobooks for premium users. I liked that. Except the selection is limited you get 15 hours a month. There's other free options like Libby which is integrated with local libraries.

If you were disapointed with Spotify Wrapped this year, maybe look into some other options. Spotify has some nice features but I'm finding it less and less worth it.

[ittybittyfanblog]

Error 404: (Self-Aware!AU, Sylus Edition) – Pt. 3

Summary: A LADS self-aware!AU featuring Sylus and a (now skeptical!) player. That’s it, that’s the plot. A/N: I’ve already outlined the entire thing–now it’s just a matter of writing it, so don’t worry! Even if some chapters take me longer to update, I’m gonna finish this one way or another. Promise. *fingers crossed* Tags: player!reader x sylus, fem!reader x sylus, reader x lads, self-aware!au, strong language, reader thinks she’s losing her marbles because of a certain someone

Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4 - Pt. 5 - Pt. 6 - Pt. 7 - Pt. 8 - Pt. 9 - Pt. 10 - Epilogue

“Alright—okay, don’t be stupid,” You chant to yourself as you pace restlessly from the kitchen area of your studio, to the coffee table where you’ve set your phone lying facedown. “Just open the damn thing.” 

You’ve just arrived back at the condo a little past seven PM after a, frankly, productive—if not slightly distracted—day of running errands. You’re home, and you haven’t even got to unpacking the two paper bags (and a box) worth of groceries that were all but thrown carelessly on the kitchen counter, and already, you’re back to stressing over all the weird shit that's been happening to you.

Throughout the afternoon, you tried your hardest to resist the urge to check your phone, especially whenever you see the screen light up—whether it was in your hand or stashed away in your half-zipped fanny pack.

It’s at the most random times too, but always when you act on your unfortunate tendency to monologue your thoughts out loud. 

Sure, it could just be some random push app notifications. Text messages from the few people that hit you up on the weekends—invitations to hang out, maybe. A few newsletters you forgot to unsubscribe from if you’re unlucky. 

But you think the timing’s far too deliberate to be purely coincidental. 

“Do I get a dozen eggs or just half? What do I even need a dozen for?” (Phone vibrates)

“Oh, hey, Indomie’s on sale if you buy in bulk. How much for a box?” (Screen flashes. Twice.)

“Who the hell is holding up the line, damn–oh, it’s an old lady. Better hurry the fuck up, grandma.” (Screen flashes) “...Sorry! I didn’t mean that.” 

“Ughhh… my tummy hurty…” (Phone vibrates) “What—” 

“Everything’s perfectly normal. Just your average, sunny Saturday! You are an independent, capable adult… who’s fucking losing it.” (Screen flashes– after a minute interval) 

Of course, you have an inkling as to what’s—or who’s—blowing your phone up; in fact, he’s never left your mind since this morning.

So presently, you’re in the middle of having a small existential crisis over what that means, for you and your sanity. No big deal. 

You puff out your cheeks for a couple of seconds before letting out a deep breath. Don’t be a pussy. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation to all of this. You’re— you’re not crazy. 

Landing heavily down in front of the low table, you finally grab your phone, hand shaking with the teensiest amount of trepidation. Not giving yourself any more time to think and second-guess, you flip it over, switching it back to Ring mode as you swipe up to see—

—a barrage of notifications; one popping up after another. 

Some of them are what you’ve expected: plain, old push notifications from banking apps, others from varying socials. There’s one from your mom. A reminder to email her the flight tickets you still haven’t gotten around to booking yet. 

And. Six banner notifications from the game. From… from—him. It’s something you’ve already braced yourself for. It doesn’t prepare you, however, for what they actually said. 

A knot grows in your chest, spreading rapidly like slithering twine as your mind tries, and somewhat fails, to make sense of what your eyes are seeing. 

Grab a dozen, sweetie. It won’t add much to the total cost, and you need that protein every morning. Cereal’s not gonna cut it. 

You really ought to lessen your sodium intake, kitten. (and) Do NOT get the box. Stop. 

Haha. A feisty one, aren’t you? 

Mmm, poor baby.

I– we can talk about this later when you get home.

Each notification contains a completely unique dialogue you’ve never seen before. A play-by-play commentary specifically in response to you—to your personal remarks from earlier, spoken out loud—that there is absolutely no way anyone could still pass this off as simply being system-generated. 

A faint ringing echoes in your ears as you slowly draw back, putting some distance between the onslaught of text and… you. You can’t seem to tear your gaze away from the screen, though. Even if the back of your head bumps against the seat edge of the sofa behind you from how far you’ve already leaned back. 

Blinking in stunned silence, the only thing you could croak out is a strained “what the fuuuck.” 

... Ping!

Still mustering the courage to face me? Don’t keep me in suspense, darling. 

The sudden message jolts you back to reality. You suck in a deep breath.

… Despite everything, you can’t help but find his nonchalant response to your gradual spiral into hysterics—because he knows—a little amusing. Also rude. But mostly funny. 

(It’s also probably just your brain’s last-ditch effort to find some semblance of control, but whatever.)

At this point, you know that you’re merely delaying the inevitable. Swallowing, you press on one of Sylus’ messages and it immediately boots up the game. 

Instead of soothing your nerves like it usually does, the orchestral background music from the loading screen puts you more on edge; your anxiety builds up to a crescendo, harmonious to the heralding of what you know will undoubtedly change the trajectory of your life. 

Dramatic, but true. 

48%... 82%... 98%...

There’s a hollow drop in your stomach when the screen—finally—reveals the familiar sight of the café. The golden ambient light enters your field of vision for a split second before your eyes flit reflexively to the man standing in the middle of the screen, whose presence commandeered your full attention.

He’s wearing his motorcycle jacket—the black one with the red and white thorn(?) accents, paired along the pair of leather pants with the iconic double zipper. Aside from the black zircon studs, he’s not wearing anything out of the ordinary. Nothing is looking out of the ordinary, actually. 

Holding your breath, you wait for the other shoe to drop. 

“Are you waiting for me to say hello? Then–” Sylus muses with an amused lilt to his voice, sauntering closer to flick “your” forehead. There’s a beat before he continues: “That’s my way of saying hello.” 

… Huh? 

That’s—this isn’t how it’s supposed to go. You… you don’t know what you were expecting, but this wasn’t it.

The man in front of you doesn’t look any different from how he usually does; the way that his… character animation (Should you call it that? It doesn’t seem right, given the circumstance, but you don’t know how best to describe anything anymore) flows is so–-so infuriatingly… normal. As if it’s just like any other day that you’ve logged in the game. 

Where did the sentience go? Why is he reciting lines he’s programmed to say? None of it adds up.

Your mouth tries to form words, but nothing comes out. With wide eyes, you helplessly gape at him. Speechless. For a moment, you feel like you’ve actually gone mad. 

A small “what’s happening?” slips past your lips. Your eyes dart across his face, trying to analyze every microexpression, any hint of sentience on him—in his eyes, in his movements. 

You find none. 

Mechanically, you exit the game.

“What the actual fuck?” You whisper-shout at nothing in particular, and maybe to the biggest cause of your current disconcertion; one who you thought… Who you were sure was—

-

-

Fuck it. It’s time to put your detective skills to work.

[drdemonprince]

It’s true that America has one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the industrialized world, with only 62% of eligible adults turning up to the polls on a good year, and about 50% on a typical one. But if we really dive into the social science data, we can see that non-voters aren’t a bunch of nihilistic commie layabouts who’d prefer to die in a bridge collapse or of an untreated listeria infection than vote for someone who isn’t Vladimir Lenin. No, if we really study it carefully, we can see that the American electoral system has a series of unique features that easily account for why we find voting more cumbersome, confusing, and unrewarding than almost any other voters in the world.

Let’s take a look at the many reasons why Americans don’t vote:

1. We Have the Most Frequent Elections of Any Country

Most other democratic countries only hold major elections once every four or five years, with the occasional local election in between. This is in sharp contrast with the U.S., where we have some smattering of primaries, regional elections, state elections, ballot measures, midterm elections, and national elections basically every single year, often multiple times per year. We have elections more frequently than any other nation in the world — but just as swallowing mountains of vitamin C tablets doesn’t guarantee better health, voting more and harder hasn’t given us more democracy.

2. We Don’t Make Election Day a Holiday

The United States also does far less than most other democracies to facilitate its voters getting to the polls. In 22 countries, voting is legally mandated, and turnout is consequently very high; most countries instead make election day a national holiday, or hold elections on weekends. The United States, in contrast, typically holds elections on weekdays, during work hours, with minimal legal protections for employees whose only option to vote is on the clock.

3. We Make Registration as Hard as Possible

From Denmark, to Sweden, to Iceland, Belgium, and Iraq, all eligible voters in most democracies are automatically registered to vote upon reaching legal adulthood. Voting is typically regarded as a rite of passage one takes part in alongside their classmates and neighbors, made part of the natural flow of the country’s bureaucratic processes.

In the United States, in contrast, voter registration is a process that the individual must seek out — or more recently, be goaded into by their doctor. Here voting is not a communal event, it’s a personal choice, and failing to make the correct choice at the correct time can be penalized. In most other countries, there are no restrictions on when a voter can register, but in much of the United States, registering too early can mean you get stricken from the voter rolls by the time the election rolls around, and registering too late means you’re barred from voting at all.

4. We Make Voters Re-Register Far Too Often

In countries like Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands, voter registration updates automatically when a person moves. In the United State, any time a person changes addresses they must go out of their way to register to vote all over again. This policy disadvantages poorer and younger voters, who move frequently because of job and schooling changes, or landlords who have decided to farm black mold colonies in their kitchens.

Even if a voter does not change their address, in the United States it’s quite common for their registrations to be removed anyway— due to name changes, marriages, data breaches, or simply because the voter rolls from the previous election year have been purged to “prevent fraud” (read: eliminate Black, brown, poor, and left-leaning members from the electorate).

5. We Limit Access to Polling Places & Mail-in Ballots

In many countries, voters can show up to any number of polling places on election day, and showing identification is not always necessary. Here in the United States, the ability to vote is typically restricted to a single polling place. Voter ID laws have been used since before the Jim Crow era to make political participation more difficult for Black, brown, and impoverished voters, as well as for those for whom English is not their first language. Early and absentee voting options are also pretty firmly restricted. About a quarter of democracies worldwide rely on mail-in ballots to make voting more accessible for everyone; here, a mail-in ballot must be requested in advance.

All of these structural barriers help explain why just over 50% of non-voters in the United States are people of color, and a majority of non-voters have been repeatedly found to be impoverished and otherwise marginalized. But these populations don’t only feel excluded from the political process on a practical level: they also report feeling completely unrepresented by the available political options.

6. We Have the Longest, Most Expensive Campaign Seasons

Americans have some of the longest campaign seasons in the world, with Presidential elections lasting about 565 days on average. For reference, the UK’s campaign season is 139 days, Mexico’s is 147, and Canada’s is just 50. We also do not have publicly funded campaigns: our politicians rely upon donors almost entirely.

Because our elections are so frequent and our campaigns are so long and expensive, many American elected officials are in a nearly constant state of fundraising and campaigning. When you take into account the time devoted to organizing rallies, meeting with donors, courting lobbyists, knocking on doors, recording advertisements, and traveling the campaign trail, most federally elected politicians spend more time trying to win their seat than actually doing their jobs.

Imagine how much work you’d get done if you had to interview for your job every day. And now imagine that the person actually paying your wage didn’t want you to do that job at all:

7. Our Elected Officials Do Very Little

Elected officials who spend the majority of their hours campaigning and courting donors don’t have much time to get work done. Nor do they have much incentive to — in practice, their role is to represent the large corporations, weapons manufacturers, Silicon Valley start-ups, and investors who pay their bills, and serve as a stopgap when the public’s demands run afoul of those groups’ interests.

Perhaps that is why, as campaign seasons have gotten longer and more expensive and income inequality has grown more stark, our elected officials have become lean-out quiet quitters of historic proportions. The 118th Congress has so far been the least productive session on record, with only 82 laws having been passed in last two years out of the over 11,000 brought to the floor.

The Biden Administration has moved at a similarly glacial pace; aside from leaping for the phone when Israel calls requesting checking account transfers every two or three weeks, the executive-in-chief has done little but fumble at student loan relief and abortion protections, and bandied about banning TikTok.

The average age of American elected officials has been on a steady rise for some time now, with the obvious senility of figures like Biden, Mitch McConnell, and the late Diane Feinstein serving as the most obvious markers of the government’s stagnancy. Carting around a confused, ailing elderly person’s body around the halls of power like a decommissioned animatronic requires a depth of indifference to human suffering that few of us outside Washington can fathom. But more than that, it reflects a desperation for both parties to cling to what sources of influence and wealth they have. These aged figures are/were reliable simps for Blackstone, General Dynamics, Disney, and AIPAC, and their loyalty is worth far more than their cognitive capacity, or legislative productivity. Their job, in a very real sense, is to not do their job, and a beating-heart cadaver can do that just fine.

You can read the rest of the list for free (or have it narrated to you on the Substack app) at drdevonprice.substack.com!

[greenplumbboblover]

[Download] Lyralei's Pose Addon (Early Release)

It's finally here! 🎉 An successor to Virtual Artisan’s incredible Pose Addon!

VA’s Pose Addon has always been an essential part of my game, but it’s no secret that it had a few quirks and issues. While fixing those, I couldn’t resist adding some exciting new features to take it to the next level!

DOWNLOAD:

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Requirements:

Cmomoney's Pose Box

Why Not Use Virtual Artisan's Pose Box with this mod?

This mod is an update to their original mod! Since it’s no longer available on their website, I decided to fully integrate it into this mod.

What does that mean?

This mod includes VA’s Pose Addon, so you don’t need to download it separately. Just make sure to delete the old version to avoid any glitches or conflicts! 😊

⭐ New Features:

Most things that are mine can be found under "Photo Shooting" > "Lyralei's Pose Addon".

👀Better Look at

Ever posed a sim to look at something next to them, but they do this weird "eye roll-y" and "nudging slightly to the left" type of look at?

Or maybe you simply wanted to make the eyes look somewhere and not the head?

Let's check it out:

Here we have Morgana, looking normally...

Left = Va's Pose addon - Right = Lyralei's Pose Addon.

To get started, first pose your Sim as usual! Once they’re in position, simply click "Look At..." to make it work.

Massive thanks to @thesweetsimmer111 for helping me on this!

Look at with just the eyes:

As mentioned, you can also just move certain parts of the body! In this case, the eyes!

(Left: No Look At, Middle = Looking left, Right = Looking up)

This is done with something called a "Track Mask". When selected, the only parts of the sim will move that fit the chosen trackmask.

For example: Track Mask "EyesOnly" will ONLY animate the eyes!

Blending Poses

Can't find a pose online that fits your needs, but you do have 2 poses that would totally fix that?

Not a problem anymore! With "Pose Blending" you can use a pose "base" and then overlay another pose to create your own dynamic poses!

Here are some examples!

On both cases, we have the "base" pose on the left. Then I have chosen to blend it with the pose in the middle, to get this as an end result! :)

How to:

First, pose your sim as you normally would

Go to "Photo shooting..." > "Lyralei's Pose Addon..." > "Utils..." > "Blend" > Choose whichever option you'd like to use! :)

Pick the Track Mask you'd like to apply. If you only want the upperbody to be affected, click that option.

Click/type in the pose you want to blend it with....

And tada!

Sitting/Laying poses:

Even that's possible! :) Keep in mind, though: The base pose HAS to sit/lay/etc. Otherwise, your sim will elevate!

Categorised Pose List

Frustrated because every time you want to grab a pose from your list, it takes 3455325352 years for the list to load? Well, wait no more!

Completely customizable through XML, you can now sort poses in their own respective categories!

Need a sitting pose? no problem! Just go to Lyralei's Pose Addon > Take pose From... > Common List > Sitting, and there you have all your sitting poses! :)

Can I customise this list myself?

Of course! I wrote a How-To here: Click me!

🕰️ Show History

The Add-on remembers your pose history!

Whether you’re a dedicated “Pose by Name” user or prefer the simplicity of “Show by List”, both options now display your pose history for quick reference.

Note: Each Sim has their own individual history list. This means you’ll only see the pose history for Sim X when clicking on them, and not for Sim Y.

What did I fix for Virtual Artisan's Pose Addon?

I've made sure to keep everything as it used to (and if I made a replacement for it, it's now labeled with "[LEGACY]" at the beginning of the interaction).

But, of course there were some bugs that came with it.

Changelist:

There is now an interaction that uses both look at & reaction simultaneously. (In case you don't want to use my look at interaction).

Fixed an issue where reactions would sometimes or never show on the sim.

Fixed an issue where sims didn't always want to look at the item.

Fixed an issue where certain poses get called twice, making it harder to keep reactions or even look at history data.

Optimised the code here and there.

Most interactions will now continue on posing your sim if you exited out of the interaction, rather than resetting it. (this counts for "Change Expression" and "Look At").

DOWNLOAD:

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[miaoua3]

(pairing: scoups x f!reader)

trying to slowly gain my motivation back to write because I literally feel like crying every time i attempt to finish the fic that i started three weeks ago lmao

your steps have a little skip in them as you walk down the road, happily swinging your and cheol’s intertwined hands as you do so.

to be completely honest, you aren’t really sure why you are so happy, you just…are.

the day hasn’t been anything too special-you decided to use the rare free day that cheol had and got up early to have a breakfast at your favourite bakery. the old lady who is the owner of the shop smiled as she took your orders, although she could’ve already guessed what the two of you were going to order, being that you two come at least once every two weeks in there.

your boyfriend looked very handsome, with his black hair slicked back and white tshirt, a light green cardigan that matched your dress thrown over it. the smile that decorated his handsome face the entire time made him all the more beautiful.

you two chatted about anything and everything, briefly revisiting the old drama from that ex coworker of yours, cheol being just as invested as you as you showed him her most recent instagram update of hers.

after you have finished with the breakfast, you decided to just…walk around.

you dragged your poor boyfriend around one too many stores, making him try all sorts of clothes before you showed him mercy and he paid for the things you picked out for the two of you.

after you left your bags in the car, he gently took your hand and suggested that a walk through a nearby park could be nice.

you close your eyes as you take a deep breath of the fresh spring air, the soft smell of flowers that surround you lingering inside your nose.

with a sigh, you look at cheol with a smile on your face “i couldn’t be happier to finally have spring back. i haven’t felt sun on my face in months.”

you briefly drop his hand in the name of spreading your arms wide and running a few metres in front of him, before you turn around to look at him.

and cheol?

cheol feels his breath get stuck inside his throat at the sight in front of him.

the soft green dress that perfectly hugs your body, the way the soft wind plays with your hair, the way your eyes look even brighter in the sun.

and that smile.

god, the things seungcheol would do to have that smile permanently tattooed on your face.

suddenly, you run back to him, giggling as you do, before stopping just a hair short of his body.

the fond smile that grazes the corners of his lips makes you fall that much deeper in love with him.

quickly, you lean in and peck his lips before pulling away to reveal a mixture of a happy and mischievous smile on your own lips.

cheol just squints his eyes suspiciously at you before grabbing your cheeks all too quickly and pulling you back in for another kiss, one much deeper and much softer than the one you laid on him.

your hand find their place around his waist, hugging him close to yourself as you thoroughly enjoy the little make out session that cheol is “making” you participate in.

pulling slowly away, he opens his eyes to see that blinding smile of yours.

a matching one graces his features as he softly asks you “what’s got you so smiley today, my little fairy-looking goddess?”

you giggle at the silly nickname before you lean back in to place another soft but quick kiss on his cherry coloured lips.

lowly, almost like it’s a secret, you respond “you. you always make me feel so happy. life with you feels much better and brighter in general.”

cheol looks at your soft eyes for a second, briefly stunned by your answer, before he loops his arms around your neck and kisses you once more, fierceness and power being the driving force behind it.

after a few seconds, he pulls away, looking at your gorgeous face yet again, before he lowly says something that will get you feeling as flustered as your first date with the man in front of you did.

“im gonna marry you one day, you silly and crazy woman. be ready.”

the only thought that roams around your head for the rest of the day as you think about his words is

bring it on, baby.

[theteablogger]

You may have already noted this, but Andy's claims on twitter about being able to understand what his sparrow is saying (and thus sparrow language in general) seem to be ramping up in unbelievability- apparently yesterday the bird was able to communicate that it didn't want its conversation with other sparrows recorded and shared. Andy makes mention of several of his followers who have apparently been having FaceTime calls with the bird. There's at least 5-6 of Andy's followers who consistently comment on the bird updates and show no credulity, expressing how much they want to be able to communicate with the bird like Andy does. It's probably not the biggest deal, but the whole thing has just been giving me an odd vibe. Feels like Andy once again making friends/followers by demonstrating abilities and knowledge no one else has.

Yes, his allegedly deep connection with sparrows has been getting weird for quite a while. He says he can understand some of their language, enough to relay things that the flock outside his house is talking about and things that Nuggie communicates to him. On top of that, Andy has written about things like Nuggie watching movies and musicals and following every emotional beat, to the point of showing the characters his malformed feet to offer encouragement when they're lacking confidence. Andy is anthropomorphizing the hell out of that little bird. Meanwhile, his followers praise him for knowing sparrows better than ornithologists do.

I've lived with a parrot before, for many years, and I bonded very closely with him. I agree that birds are much smarter and more emotionally complex than most people realize. But they're not humans. Their thoughts and feelings are not exactly like ours and we have no way to know exactly what's going on in their heads. Projecting onto them can lead to misunderstandings of their behavior and needs. Andy seems to be taking good care of Nuggie, from what I can tell--bearing in mind that we only have his word for it--but that doesn't mean he's right about everything.

Here's the thread you mentioned:

Here's Andy in November, writing about Nuggie's "phone flock":

Here's a thread from October, featuring Andy's musings on sparrow language. Friendly reminder that he is neither an ornithologist nor a linguist.

Note that at the end, he specifies that he's not Dr. Doolittle and doesn't speak or 100% understand sparrows' language...but he's still claiming a level of understanding that no one else has.

And here's Andy in August, wishing that he could communicate effectively with Nuggie and then having an actual conversation with him:

Those are some awfully complex ideas for a member of a non-human species to understand and respond to appropriately.

I'm not trying to suggest that Andy is forming another cult based around his bird, but like you said, Anon, it's notable that he is once again positioning himself as someone who has a special ability that no one else has. He's also repeating an old pattern in making himself the sole conduit to communicate with someone who holds a great deal of emotional significance for people. Back in the day, it was any of 160+ "others", and later, the DAYDverse/Harry Potter characters; now, it's a rescued sparrow with a disability, whom a lot of people apparently find inspiring.

[interstellarflare]

A Cinderella Story || Anthony Bridgerton

-PART ONE-

Summary: Have courage, and be kind. Words that you tried to live by ever since the passing of your parents. Though your step-mother and step-sisters did everything in their power to hide you and your status away from the rest of the Ton, you never expected to catch the eye of Viscount Anthony Bridgerton himself.

Authors Note: This is my first Bridgerton series! I had an absolute ball writing this, and I hope you enjoy it! There is a tag list open if anyone wishes to be kept updated for future parts. Gif by @greengableslover

‘The Prince smiled, extending his hand towards her with grace and ease.

“May I have this dance, my lady?” he asked lowly, his eyes meeting hers with a kind yet mischievous twinkle. There was something about the Prince that made her heart flutter, that made her place her hand into his and reply-‘

The sound of hurriedly approaching footsteps and a chorus of shouting caused you to stuff the book beneath your pillows, a small panic settling over you as you quickly jumped out of your rickety bed and threw the old sheets over the mattress to at least make it look as if you hadn’t been lying in it mere seconds ago.

The door to the attic swung open, violently ricochetting off the wall and with a loud ‘bang’. You flinched, a shaky breath escaping you as you turned your gaze towards the form of your stepmother, her piercing greyish-blue eyes staring intently at you as she entered. She held her head high, the permanent scowl on her features examining every little aspect of the small space with precision. Her eyes landed on the small wooden table beside your bed, narrowing on the melted candle with the wax spilling over the sides.

“You were reading again, weren’t you?” She growled, her lips pursing in annoyance. Fiddling with your hands in front of you, you shrugged your shoulders slightly. “It wasn’t all night, Lady Worthington, I swear-“

“Nonsense, I can see the candle clear as day girl!” She shouted, a look of disapproval forming on her features. You held her stare, a small sense of guilt settling in your stomach the longer your stepmother remained in the attic. With a long and annoyed huff, she brushed he black-greying hair from her shoulder, looking you up and down with a look of disgust. “Get yourself cleaned up, and once you’re done start with breakfast. My girls are hungry, we have a long day ahead of us” she ordered, gathering her deep purple skirts and storming out of the room.

Releasing a breath you weren’t aware you were holding, your shoulders slumped in relief. You looked down at yourself and sighed, Lady Worthington was right. The clothes you wore currently were nothing but rags, and your day clothes weren’t much better. They were either oversized or too small, but you made do with the worn black and white maids dresses you were given. After getting changed and tying your hair back with a small piece of ribbon, you quickly skipped downstairs and into the kitchen.

You could hear Lady Worthington and her daughters cackling manically in the dining room, discussing their plans for the day, and how excited they were to be invited to Lady Danbury’s ball. Lady Danbury’s ball was one of the highlights of the season, or…so you had heard anyway. It had been a long time since you had seen the dear woman, you believed the last time you held conversation with her was when you were but a child. Your father, just after the loss of your mother, had taken you to one of Lady Danbury’s balls after deciding that leaving you at home would have been unwise at this grief-stricken time.

You remembered the beautiful dresses, the beautiful debutants who smiled and waved at your curious gaze. The kind bachelors who greeted you with a dance. And a young boy, hiding behind his father’s legs, his eyes following you wherever you went. Lady Danbury had been most gracious, you remember. A close friend of your mothers, almost like an aunt to you. But when Lady Worthington came into the picture and had taken control of your father’s inheritance after his passing, you were practically forgotten and hidden away from the ton. A part of you missed it, though you weren’t envious of today’s debutants desperately seeking husbands. Lady Worthington was perhaps one of the most persistent mothers out there, aside from Lady Featherington you hear.

This would be the third season that your stepsisters, Elizabeth and Mary Worthington, would participate in. They very much enjoyed flaunting themselves before the ton, given the state of their rooms with delicate and luxurious dresses and jewellery thrown about. They did not hide their wealth, rather your father’s wealth, that their mother had inherited, and bought the fanciest dresses money could buy. It had almost worked one season, Colin Bridgerton had visited to call on Elizabeth. But upon seeing how lavishly she lived, and how horribly she had treated you upon her request for tea for the two of them, the third-eldest Bridgerton hadn’t called again.

She changed somewhat after that, you recalled. She didn’t find much enjoyment in gorgeous dresses or glittering diamonds. She didn’t speak much to you or her mother anymore either, but Mary was her confidant. Sometimes she would glance at you, a look of guilt on her face, but it briefly passed whenever her sister or mother made some snide comment about your presence.

Preparing breakfast was easily done. Keeping a portion for yourself on a separate plate, you carried the three other plates into the dining room with practiced ease. Mary squealed with delight, snatching one of the plates from your arm and almost knocking the others out of your grasp in the process. “Oh thank goodness, I’m starved!” she exclaimed, hastily digging in as if she hadn’t eaten in days. You handed a plate to Elizabeth, who seemed to nod slightly as you placed the plate before her. Lady Worthington however, merely sneered as you placed her plate on the table.

You excused yourself from the room and retreated into the kitchen, beginning to eat your portion of the remaining food whilst listening to their gossip quietly. They weren’t quiet by any means, though you supposed that it was in their nature to be loud and obnoxious.

“Mother, did you hear! I heard from Cressida that apparently Lord Bridgerton is looking for a wife this season!” Mary exclaimed, her words muffled likely by the food in her mouth. You heard Elizabeth sigh heavily “I won’t believe it until Lady Whisteldown writes about it-“

“Nonsense!” Lady Worthington cried, interrupting her daughter with a squeal, “If the rumour is true than we are going to take every advantage we can get. The two of you are going to do your damned best get his attention-“

“And what if we don’t, mother? What then?” Elizabeth spoke quietly, almost timidly. You heard Lady Worthington scoff “Oh, you will. We are going out as soon as possible to find you both new dresses for the ball tonight”.

“Oh mother, how exciting!” Mary cried, you could hear the chair scrape harshly against the wooden floorboards as she abruptly stood up from her seat, “We are going to be the most beautiful women at the Ball!”

“Y/N! Help my daughters get dressed! We will be heading out shortly, and make sure that the horses are prepared!” Lady Worthington shouted, the sound of her shrill cry causing a sense of panic to surge through you.

Coughing as you chocked on your food, you quickly wiped your mouth and fixed your skirts. “Yes, right away!” You called back, sighing heavily as you rushed back upstairs. Upon entering Mary’s room, your shoulders slumped in defeat. Clothes lay on almost every inch of the floor, dresses, undergarments, jewellery. This was going to be a tough morning.

Tag List:

@ladybirdbeetle7 @sweetsourpus @in-deans-arms @blackthorngirl @kee-0-kee

@sometimesminsan @prawntoastsworld @scoopsahoyspidey @darkness-falls-xo

@reallysparklychaos @hottie-bishop-belova @riptidewaters @jay-being-weird

@khhhhjj @golden-girasol @linnygirl09 @xoxonoire @stanmixtapes

@freyagallileaevans @gracielou0518 @judig92 @rafaaoli @queenslandlover-93

@esquivelbianca @fanfictioncafe @hjgdhghoe @sillynilly27

[despressoslatte]

not the zoey you wanted (one)

pairing: zach maclaren x female reader!

summary: you waited all weekend for your boyfriend, Zach, to call or text, anything, to explain why he had just went and ghosted you when you were supposed to go with him on a family ski trip to meet his parents, his sister Avery, and his cousin, Miles.

content warnings: angst; victims of catfishing; miscommunication trope

masterlist

Ten minutes late, not a big deal. 

Fifteen minutes late, but it’s okay, because maybe it took longer than he thought to find a book on Battletoads for Avery. Maybe his bike tires got a flat. You told him it would’ve been faster if he had just taken your car, but he insisted on taking his bike to get in a quick workout. What a jock response, you had laughed at him for it.

Thirty minutes late. Okay, you were starting to worry, picking up your phone every couple of seconds to see if there was any texts, calls, any form of update from him. You type out a quick, ‘Are you on your way?’ and press send.

Nothing. You flipped your phone down on the table, tapping on your thighs as you tried not to think of the worst case scenarios.

Forty five minutes late. You flipped your phone back to face you, a soft, sad smile on your face at Zach’s face on your lockscreen. A frown etched itself into your features when you saw no messages.

You pressed the call button by his name, and it went straight to voicemail. Weird. Was his phone dead? Did he fall asleep and kept his phone off? All the possibilities swirled in your head, wondering, contemplating, worrying. 

ᯓ⟢

Apparently, it was known to all of the above. You had gone by his dorm to see that he was gone, his roommate saying he had already come by with his parents to get his overnight bag.

“Yeah, Y/N, he said he was going on the ski trip with his folks and his girlfriend…” his roommate trailed off, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked down at you.

The confusion between the two of you was ear shattering. You were Zach’s girlfriend, so why the hell are you not with Zach going on this ski trip with him and his folks?

You watched his roommates lips press into an awkward line, sympathy written in his eyes as he pushed his hands into his pockets.

“Sorry,” was all he was able to say.

You just nodded, looking away. “Thanks,” you mumbled, and hurried back to your dorm.

Was this Zach’s sick and twisted way of breaking up with you? You had gotten new snow gear just for this trip, all ready and packed back at your dorm. You had been ready for a while now, nervous and excited about meeting his family, like the two of you had planned. His parents had heard so much about you, according to Zach, and his little sister, Avery, wanted to play Battletoads with you, apparently. Zach’s cousin, Miles, was even joining since he was in town from MIT. 

You tried to think of all the things that could’ve gone wrong that you hadn’t even realized. You and Zach had been seeing each other for almost four months now, having met at the beginning of the semester when he needed help in his English Literature course to keep his grades up since it was soccer season.

Zach MacLaren was your college’s school soccer star, and you worked in the tutoring center that was specifically for college students, the SASS, for Student Athlete Support Services. While the tutor girl x jock trope is one of your favorites, dating back to the Naley days of One Tree Hill, there were no moments of chatter where he was annoying you in the guise of flirting or acting like he was too above it all.

Zach was a total sweetheart and the epitome of a lover boy. With a competitive streak and the type of banter that could only be described best as the kind that made it impossible to stop smiling as you tried to think of witty comebacks, dating Zach has felt as if it were quite literally, better than the movies.

If you two ever fought, it was those types of arguments couples were just bound to get into—stress induced irritation, differing opinions on non-deal breaking topics, learning to navigate the fact that you are two different and individual people who are trying to also learn how to be together as a unit.

That day specifically, you could not pinpoint anything you had done that could have upset Zach. You both got coffee that morning on campus before classes, gone through the checklist of things you needed to make sure you packed before he picked you up after classes and his trip to the bookstore near campus, and went on your merry ways. 

His family lived about two hours away from school. Even though it was only weeks away from finals and then, happily, the three-week winter/holiday break, his family wanted to go to a ski resort since the mountains had already gotten snow, and Zach’s cousin Miles was in town just for the weekend.

ᯓ⟢

You took it pretty hard that weekend, especially the way none of your texts got delivered and your calls kept going straight to voicemail. You debated over and over asking your mutual friends if they could get ahold of Zach for you, scared he had blocked you or something. But you didn’t want the humiliation of finding out you and Zach had broken up through mutual friends. 

You had to hear it from him. 

So, on Monday morning, around the time Zach had originally told you that you guys would be driving back in from the ski lodge since you two had to coordinate if you’d be missing any classes Monday, you parked your car in front of his parents’ house. You had their address from when his parents had mailed you a Thanksgiving family photo card a few weeks ago. Luckily for you, you kept every letter ever sent to you in a box, so you still had the envelope it came in, even if the photo itself was attached to your fridge back on via magnet.

You watched as cars drove past the street, wishing you and Zach looking for Zach’s parents. You never met them, not even through FaceTime, but you had seen photos of them on Zach’s Instagram. Somehow, fate never linked up that you would meet them at his games. You tried to go to all of them, but you still worked at the tutoring center, so sometimes, your tutoring sessions collided with his game schedule. 

Since it was a two hour drive from his hometown, his parents usually watched the livestream of the games, but tried to make a few. It was never the ones you were at. For Thanksgiving, you had flown all the way back home to your own hometown, so another missed opportunity to meet them.

He hadn’t posted anything from the ski trip, you felt too awkward if you went and followed Miles, who was private. You felt embarrassed that you were even checking Miles’ instagram for any glance of your boyfriend, anyways. And maybe even more embarrassed when you checked to see if either of his parents had an Instagram—they don’t—or if Avery, as young as she was, had one. She did, but it was private. Smart girl.

When their car finally pulled into the driveway, you waited until they all started to pile out of the car to get out of yours. But you paused from across the street, blinking rapidly as a girl got out of the middle row with Zach and Miles. 

You knew her. Zoey Miller. Your name was Y/N Zoey L/N, with a bunch of your old high school friends calling you “Zoey” as a habit from when you didn’t want to go by your first name. Since starting college, you’d slowly gotten back into the habit of using your real first name. However, here had been a few times where you’d hear “Zoey” called out in a shared class with her, and turn when they meant her and not you.

Zach even called you “Zoey” a few times, after a FaceTime call he had with your best friend who told him if he didn’t take care of you, she’d come fly in to beat him personally. He laughed off the threat, promising he’d gladly let her, if the situation that would never ever occur on his watch, did somehow occur.

Since when were they even friends? Not that you needed to know all of his friends, but you did somehow know most of them. You didn’t think Zoey Miller was on that list. And then you saw him put his arm around her.

So, you walk up the driveway, calling out Zach’s name softly but loud enough you could be heard, your heart pounding in your ear as you took a nervous breath. Was this it? Were you two really over? You needed to know. You watch as he, his entire family, and Zoey all turn around to look at you. And the next few moments take you for a trip. It was all a bit of a blur, like you weren’t quite sure if you were really experiencing the moment or not.

Someone had asked who you were. You saw Zach look at you like he had never seen you before. Were you really that unimportant?

“I…” you breathe out as you try to gather the words. “I’m Zach’s girlfriend.”

His eyes furrowed at you, mouth slightly ajar. You’ve seen that confused look on his face before, like when you’d ask him discussion questions on a book he hadn’t fully read when he should have during tutoring.

“No, that’s Zach’s girlfriend,” you think it was his mom who said it, though you weren’t looking at anyone but Zach.

It was hard to stomach the way he was looking at you like you were a stranger. You suck in a painful breath when you heard he had a different girlfriend. What was with this guy and girls with Zoey in their name, anyways?

“Oh,” you breathe out, whispering your words. “I see.”

You look to Zoey Miller, seeing the remorse in her eyes. Had she had know Zach never actually broke up with you? Is that why she looked so guilty.

You look at Zach, trying to bite your tongue back. But a bitter, “Thanks for telling me first,” fell from your lips with a scoff. 

And despite the fact you came there to hear it from Zach’s lips personally, you were sure you’d start crying in front of his parents, his sister, his favorite cousin, and his new girlfriend, and that embarrassment felt worse than not getting the answers or closure you needed. Maybe you’d just give him an earful when you’d eventually need to go to his dorm to give him back his shit you had and take your own back.And you turned around without waiting for any other answers, responses, anything. You practically ran back to your car, trying to start it up and get back on the road before you started to cry.

two >

[royalarchivist]

How to Archive VODs and Clips

Whether you want to download VODs and/or clips for your own records or because you’d like to share them online, knowing how to archive things is handy, especially when so many streams become lost media once they’re deleted off Twitch and/or YouTube.

Here are a few programs that I use for Royal Archivist!

—

Of all the programs on this list, my personal favorites / the ones I most strongly recommend are Cobalt and Twitch Downloader! (When all else fails, OBS is also a good backup).

Cobalt

Cobalt has gained a lot of popularity the past few months, and for good reason! It's a very reliable, extremely user-friendly website that lets you save videos in MP4 formats, convert them into MP3 formats, or video-only without sound.

Cobalt is currently compatible with: BlueSky, Dailymotion, Facebook, Instagram, Loom, OK, Pinterest, Reddit, RuTube, SnapChat, SoundCloud, Streamable, TikTok, Tumblr, Twitch, Twitter, Vimeo, VK, Xiohongshu, and YouTube.

Twitch’s built-in download feature

If you’re downloading your own clip, this is the easiest method to use

First, navigate to your clips page.

To do this, click on your Twitch icon and go to “Creator Dashboard.” There will be a row of icons on your left - click the fifth button from the top (the one above the settings icon) and click on the link that says “Clips.”

At the top of the page, click on “Clips I’ve Created” and you should see a list of every clip you’ve ever made (regardless of whether or not you’ve published them, the clips are there!)

If you're having trouble, you can also type: https://dashboard.twitch.tv/u/ YOUR USERNAME HERE /clips/created

Click on the share button, and the list shown in the photo below will pop up.

After you click on the “Download” button (for landscape or portrait), a new tab will open up with the clip (which will autoplay, so heads up if you have your volume turned up high!)

Right click on the video and click “Save Video As”

That’s all there is to it! Please keep in mind that Twitch’s download function only works for clips you’ve made! You cannot use it to download VODs, or other people’s clips.

Twitch Downloader

Twitch Downloader is by far the BEST Twitch download program I have ever used. I’ve used several different ones, some which have broken because of Twitch’s updates, others which have fallen into disrepair because their creator no longer updates the program, but this one has been working consistently for me for a little over a year now. I’ve kept it very close to my chest because I’m terrified it’ll stop working one day, but it’s better to share resources than horde them out of fear.

Pros:

HD quality for all downloads! Whatever quality the stream was, that’s the quality the download will be (unless you adjust anything in the settings).

The best feature of this program is you can adjust how much you want to clip! Only want a 30 second clip from a 6 hour VOD? You can specify the section you want to download so long as you know the timestamps where you want the clip to start and where you want it to end.

You can download entire VODs.

When saving the file, it will automatically enter the original name of the stream and the stream date. (You can change this, but it’s very handy when you’re downloading an entire VOD and not a section of one).

It will automatically prompt you to update it when a new version has been released. (You do have the option to opt out of this, if you want).

There are a lot of other features available, however, I’ve never tried any of them so I can’t say how well they work. The Github page has a lot of examples and a Q&A section though, so check that out if you’re curious!

On the rare occasion that the program encounters issues, it's easy to use a past version, and the creators are quick to release new updates that resolve any problems. As of today (February 21, 2025) the latest version is currently 1.55.2, which updated last week.

Cons:

Sometimes when you click “Get Info” it won’t immediately load the VOD. This is pretty easy to solve by just restarting the program, so it’s not a huge issue imo.

You can’t preview clips before you download them, so you need to know the exact timestamps you want.

You can’t download VODs that are privated or no longer on Twitch.

How to use:

Download Twitch Downloader from Github and install the version that works for your computer. (In this case, I would download the GUI Windows-x64.zip version. Make sure you’re downloading the GUI version if you want a user-friendly version of this program).

Enter the URL of the VOD you’d like to download.

You can adjust the quality of the video and the length. If nothing is specified in the “Crop Video” section, it will download the entire VOD.

Once you’re ready, click the “Download” button and you’re good to go!

Open Video Downloader

If you’ve ever wanted to download any kind of video, I’m sure you’ve heard of Youtube-dl. There are different versions of this program, but some of them are a bit finicky and if things stop working, it can be difficult and frustrating trying to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it — which is why I recommend this program.

Open Video Downloader, aka youtube-dl-gui, is one of the best video downloaders I’ve ever used. It’s basically Youtube-dl with a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that makes the program very easy for anyone to use.

Pros:

No coding knowledge required! VERY user-friendly.

The creator fixes user issues very quickly! Whenever the program experiences a problem, a new update is released within 24 hours.

It can download videos from pretty much all major social media platforms, including Youtube, Twitter, Tumblr, Twitch clips, Instagram, and more.

Cons:

You can’t adjust the length of what you want to download. If you want to download a 2 minute section from a 5 hour Youtube VOD, you’ll have to download the entire video.

On rare occasions, I’ve had issues where it cannot download an unlisted Youtube video. There are sometimes ways to get around this, but it’s a pain and usually not worth the effort.

How to use it:

Download the latest version of the program from GitHub. Scroll all the way down to “Assets” and select the version that’s right for your computer. (For example, I use Windows, so I would download the .exe file).

Once you’ve installed it, you can start downloading things! For this example, let’s say I want to download Quackity’s “Welcome to the QSMP” video. All I need to do is copy the link and paste it into the white box at the top of the program.

Once that’s done, you should see the video pop up in your download queue. You can queue multiple videos to download at once (you can also download entire playlists too). When you’re ready, click the green download button on the bottom right (as shown in the picture below) or if you only want to download one specific video from your queue, click the download button (circled in red) next to the video.

You can adjust the quality of the video you want to download, and in theory you can choose whether to download just the audio or just the video of a video, but personally that’s never worked for me. That might just be a me issue though.

If you’d like to change where your videos are saved to, click the Folder button (circled in yellow) and choose a download destination. If nothing is chosen, it will default to your Downloads folder.

There are ways you can customize this program, but like I said earlier, this program is very very easy to use and does not require any tinkering whatsoever. You open it, download what you want, then close it. Nice and simple!

Other Recommendations

OBS is a good backup when all else fails! I have to use OBS pretty frequently for YouTube VODs, since there aren't a lot of tools that let you clip parts of a YouTube video (and I'd rather not download an entire 7 hour long VOD for a 30 second clip). There are already a lot of good tutorials out there explaining how to use OBS, so I recommend poking around and seeing what works best for you. If you're new to video downloading / archiving things, I'd still recommend starting with some of the tools I mentioned above first.

I’d recommend making a folder on your computer for clips. I find it very helpful to name all my files with this method: [Stream date] Streamer name - Something that helps me remember what this clip is about / something that will help me find it later, or a quote.

Example: [2-6-24] Mike - I hate capitalism

If you’ve got a significant amount of clips on your computer, I’d recommend backing them up and/or saving them to an external harddrive!

That’s about it! I apologize if I’ve missed any steps, but hopefully everything is more or less easy enough for folks to understand! I’m someone who does not like downloading random programs onto my computer and I’m very paranoid about cyber security, but I’ve used these programs for over a year now, and they’re very reliable and trustworthy. 10/10, I recommend both of them.

Lastly: if anyone has a recommendation for good Youtube clip downloaders, please let me know! I haven’t found any good programs that let me specify how much of a Youtube video I’d like to download, and I am suffering. Help your friendly neighborhood Archivist so I can share more clips from the early days of QSMP.

[dcxdpdabbles]

Please update Child Support, it’s hilarious!!!😂

John sighs, slumping on the table. Surrounding him were various bottles of dubious liquids. He found that human alcohol rarely gave him that special kick when he was trying to drink his stress away and would often hop over to a dimension with real fun ones.

He's been under a lot of stress lately.

Danny's potential sutiors were driving him crazy, not to mention the consent fear that he would mess up in a way Clockwork won't take kindly to. His son was slowly finding his footing in this world thanks to the SuperSons. His new school, some posh academy in Gotham, had far stricter policies in regards to bullying, so at least no one had given his boy any grief.

John highly doubted that meant he wasn't facing any verbal abuse. But it was better than the previous five schools he had attempted to send his child to. Danny had even come home one day, waving a permission form to join the astrology club at him, so John figured he owed Batman an enormous thanks. Something like a simple candlelight dinner.

If he could get the stick in the mud to say yes, that was.

"Is everything alright?" Barry asks, patting John on his shoulder. The British man groans into the table top, trying to hide away from the overly cheerful fellow.

He can't handle the Flash right now, not when John has finally gotten a moment of peace.

Sadly, the other didn't seem to get the memo. Barry pats his shoulder again, more insistant than before. John closes his eyes, trying to get the swirling votrex of dancing unicons to vanish from his sight - He did drink far too much Sparkle Shine Ale- as he mutters. "Danny wants to go on a date."

"Ah," Barry's voice takes on a teasing tone. "It's always hard realizing they're growing up."

"You don't understand." John utters in misery. "Dating is different in the Infinete Realms"

"How so?"

"It involves getting parent's permission before hand."

Barry makes a sound that might have been the start of a sentence, but his words are drowned out by a loud and powerful portal ripping the air above them. The rest of the Justice League - for John felt it was safer to get drunk away from his boy and choose to use the company lounge - spring to their feet.

Besides the location of the Watchtower, various security functions had gone into the blueprints of keeping the Justice League safe. Bruce and had installed defenses from paranormal entities. Every inch of the tower had some carvings that were said to be protective wards.

Bruce placed every ward, charm, and protective coating he could find from various cultures of Earth.

John was impressed with the fact Bruce had somehow been able to sniff out the frauds, back when he didn't even know magic was real.

If only they were powerful enough to keep this toerag away from him. John slowly raises his head far enough that his intoxicated eyes can glare at the being, who leaps out of the portal to land on his table with a thump.

"I beg of you, please allow me to date your son!" Klarion, Lord of Choas, drops to one knee and presents a bouquet of the Infinite Realm's most expensive roses. The roses shine and shimmer in various colors and never stay the same for too long. "Our marriage would be a tale for the ages!"

John can't even answer that ridiculous request before another portal rips open, and this time, Asmodeus, a king of demons in a few different realms, falls to his knees beside John's chair. He's in his more humanoid form, having heard the rumor that Danny preference said forms.

He obviously made sure that people would not forget his title of "Demon of lust"with the gorgeous human features he picked out, even if a pair of horns still stuck to his head.

He is presenting John precious jewels that many have lost their lives in an attempt to steal. Mosth had been slain by the lust demon before they even got to glanced at them. "My young lord, I humbly request your approval for your heir's right of dating. I-"

"Get lost! I was here first!" Klarion hisses, flinging magic at the lust demon, "I shall be the one to earn a date!"

"You worthless little worm!" Asmodeus growls, body shifting into a gaint beast that snares at the lord of choas. His once shining jewels now had black spots across them. "Your magic stained my jewels!"

John reaches for his other bottles as yet another voice joins the two arguing higher beings. He doesn't even want to check to see what the rest of the league thinks about all this.

"I, Trox king of the Goblins, have come to humbly request a date with Clockwork's heir -"

"NO! I was here first!"

"I'll shall prove that you worms are not worthy of Lord Danny's hand!"

John wonders, in the far conrers of his mind, if he should attempt to contact Clockwork about this. The emboloment of time was dangerous in a way that would usually mean he would avoid at all costs, but really, he doesn't think he can handle this anymore.

Every day, for the past three months, demons, ghosts, magic users, and whatever else in between would pop up, begging John to approve a date with Danny.

His son unawarely brought this about when he told John one morning before school that he was thinking about joining a dating app some of his classmates were talking about.

His innoccent words had been taken as a request for a mate by every non-human being across the mutiverse and now John was getting bombarded by beings foaming at the mouth, wanting to be the ones that had Clockwork as a in-law.

John was only human, magic powers aside, he couldn't handle this anymore.

Somewhere, he thinks he can hear his ex-lover laughing his ass off.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Doing Time 5

No tag lists. Do not send asks or DMs about updates. Review my pinned post for guidelines, masterlist, etc.

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon/dubcon, threats, age gap, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: you try to keep your brother safe in jail but put yourself in danger along the way.

Characters: con/ex-con!Steve Rogers

Note: hump day, girlies.

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Please do not just put ‘more’. I will block you.

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

You feel as bubbly as the champagne. There’s a looseness in your muscles that has you a bit clumsy as you poke at the last floret of broccoli on your plate. You giggle as it rolls away from your fork. You can’t remember the last time you lost control. You’re not sure you ever have. 

You tense as a warmth settles over your lower back, reminding you of the shadow you can’t shake. You set your fork down and reach for your glass once more. Steve catches your wrist and you look at him with round eyes. 

“Sweetheart, you like the wine?” He purrs as he rubs the top of your ass. 

With your other hand, you touch his, stilling it. 

“Ah, what’s that about?” He keeps his fingers swirling. 

“You... you...” you swallow a hiccup and blink. His chiseled features are fuzzy in your drunken vision. “You are touchy.” 

“I’m admiring you, sweetheart. I can’t help it. You’re just so gorgeous.” He growls. 

“No,” you try to push his hand off. 

He guides the glass back to the table and makes you let go. He drags his hand off your ass and holds yours in both of his. He toys with your fingers. 

“You don’t think you are?” He wonders. 

“I’m... I got extra,” you murmur and curl your shoulders. 

“Extra? More to love, baby,” he brings your knuckles to your lips and kisses each one. “Every single part of you is perfect.” 

“Stoooooop,” you giggle. “No...” 

You try to snatch your hand away but he’s too strong. Your heart knots and you whimper. You look him in the eye, head bobbling. You swallow tightly as a ripple flows through your guts. 

“What’s wrong? Why’re you looking at me like that?” He drawls. 

“You...” you look at your hand and wiggle your fingers. 

“I’m what?” He prompts. 

Your mouth turns downward, “so scary.” You whisper. 

His brows draw together and he tilts his head, “scary? Sweetheart, what’ve I done to you that’s scary?” 

You look away, “Steve...” 

“Sweetheart,” he leans in and kisses the back of your hand. “I’m not doing this to you, I'm doing it for you.” You wince and flutter your fingers. He gently lays your hand in your lap and wraps his arm around you, drawing even closer. “Look at it this way, sweetheart,” he pets your chin as you stare at the table. “I kept your brother safe, right? But you, you kept me safe. You got me through. Gave me something to be good for. To get out for.” 

Your lip trembles and your bat your lashes. You’re drunk. That's the only reason his touch is making you tingle. The only reason he feels so warm. 

“I... I... I drank too much,” you pout. 

“Baby, you enjoyed yourself. You treated yourself like you deserve,” he brushes your throat and hums. “I know you. You don’t think I do but I saw it all. You take care of everyone else, but who’s taking care of you?” 

“No, no, no,” you babble. “No, Steve,” you latch onto his hand and look at him. He's so close. “No, it’s not... no.” 

You can’t make sense of anything. Your words bounce like your thoughts. None of it is in order. It's all a mess. 

“I see it. You never been treated right, have you?” he slips free of your grasp and plays with the collar of your dress. “I hate to think of another man touching you, but the thought of him leaving you so jaded, now that’s a greater tragedy.” 

He follows the buttons along the front of the dress, walking down with his fingertips. You shiver and look around. He’s shameless in the midst of the dining room. You’re too weak to stop him. 

You squeak, “Steve.” 

“Tell me, baby,” he caresses your stomach. “Tell me there’s been another like me.” 

You shake your head. You cover your mouth before the words can bubble up with the carbonation. He chuckles and pecks your cheek. He pulls your hand down. 

“Go on,” he urges. 

You shake your head again, furiously as your cheeks burn. “I’m so drunk.” 

“No, baby, you’re free. I’m free. It’s all as it should be.” 

“I can’t...” you giggle again. He chuckles. 

“That’s the best sound I’ve ever heard, sweetheart,” he cooes. “I won’t judge you. What’re you thinking?” 

“I can’t tell you. You—you—you're---” 

“Get this, sweetheart, you tell me everything. Always,” he grits. “So tell me.” 

You put your head down and chew your lip. “I... I never... not with a guy.” 

“You’re... a virgin.” 

“No, I have... I’ve done that,” you murmur. “But they never...” 

He clucks, “they never gave you what you deserve. Don’t I know it. Baby,” he cups your chin and lifts your head, forcing you to look at him, “I’m going to give you so many orgasms, you’ll forget about all those other boys.” 

“Steve,” you whine. 

“You don’t gotta be afraid,” he says. “I’m gonna give you everything you never had and more.” 

You stare into his eyes. You could melt beneath him. He’s terrifying and dangerous and he’s lied to you over and over but you believe him. In that moment, you see the truth in his gaze. You feel the hunger radiating off of him. You’ve never felt that before. Never wanted, only what’s there. 

He kisses you on the lips. He groans and shifts in the seat. He taps your thigh as he pulls away. 

“Let’s get that check,” he reaches under his jacket. “Any longer and I won’t even make it to the car.” 

⛓️‍💥

The world around you is hazy and bright, but not obscured. Despite the glaze in your vision, it all feels so much realer. You have goosebumps as the walls move past you as you’re still. You squirm against Steve as he carries you, so easily you feel as if you’re floating on a cloud. 

He gets to your door and your keys jingle in his grasp, his hand moves against your leg. He angles you inside and sighs as he kicks the door shut. He turns with you. 

“Lock the door, sweetheart. We don’t need anyone disturbing us,” he growls. 

You reach out and flip the lock. He doesn’t linger as he quickly struts further into your apartment. This place is as familiar as your own face and yet it’s all so strange in that moment. You reach out to brush the wall as he takes you into the bedroom. 

Heat washes over you as he nears the bed. You squeak, “Steve!” 

“Sweetheart,” he lays you down gently on the mattress. He slips his arms out from beneath you as you lay drunkenly with your head on the pillow. You giggle as he gazes down at you and peels off his jacket. “You are...” he inhales and his jaw ticks. 

He folds his jacket and lays it over the end of the dress. You watch how his shoulders strain the white shirt. He’s so big. You always notice that but he’s humongous! He’s so powerful. All powerful. Whatever he wants, is his. You have no choice. 

He loosens his tie as he faces you. He slips it over his head and starts on his shirt, his fingers trailing down the front as he frees the buttons. He reveals his torso as he untucks the tails from his shirt and pushes the fabric down his arms. You stare at him dumbly. 

His chest is broad and muscles, his arms just as corded and thick, and his stomach is lined, the vee of his pelvis visible above his waistband. He must have had lots of time in prison. Lots. 

Your lips fall open as you roll onto your side and bend your legs, hugging yourself as you shrink down. He tuts as he removes his shoes one at a time. He squints at you.  

“You’re hiding,” he accuses, “why?” 

You shrug, “you... I don’t look like you...” 

“Baby, you look better,” he unbuckles his belt and flinches. He chuckles and looks down. You follow his eyes. He’s bulging in his pants. He grabs himself through the fabric. “Can’t you tell?” 

You giggle and hide your face. He laughs and his buckle clinks. The fabric rustles then his footfalls approach. You can’t look. 

He strokes your shoulder then grips it firmly. He pushes you onto your back. You unfold and he sidles you over as he sits on the edge. You stare at him face, all too aware of his body. 

He traces along your forehead and your cheek, drawing across your lips. He bends to kiss you, his tongue cloying as it dips into your mouth. He pulls away with a rumble. He runs his knuckles along your throat and pinches your top button. 

He undoes the first, then the second, and the next and the next. You quiver as he unsheaths your body. He moves down the bed as he does. He helps you untangle your arms. The dress splays beneath you as your breath hitch in your chest. 

He turns and gets up on his knees. You gasp as his dick stand shamelessly. You quickly flick your eyes to the ceiling. He’s very big. At least, compared to the few guys you’ve seen. More often, you keep the lights off. 

He wiggles your shoes off your feet and drops them onto the floor. He drags his touch back up your leg and stops at the trim of your panties. He tickles along your thigh and you giggle at the bubbly sensation. 

“Mm, sweetheart, now I made you a promise, didn’t I?” His fingers brush across your pants and he pushes them down along your slit. “So you sit back and relax.” 

“Steve,” you squawk and reach for him. 

He tisks and bats your hand away. 

“You let me take care of you, huh?” 

He rubs you through your panties. Heat gathers from the friction as he finds your clit, rolling it until the fabric slickens. You wriggle and reach to latch onto the pillow. Your legs fall open and your back arches. He plucks so easily at your nerves. It helps that you’re too drunk to resist. 

“That’s it, baby, relax,” he coaxes as he rubs you. “How’s that?” 

“St--eve,” you croak. 

“Mm, that good?” 

You want to screech at him to stop. You feel that willowy wind blowing inside. That little storm brewing that often only rises with the buzz of your hidden toy. The one you use when you’re bored and lonely. 

You huff and puff as you point your toes and close your eyes. He bends over you as he keeps his fingers moving and he presses his mouth to yours. He groans into you as he invades your mouth and strums at your clit. 

You hips buck violently as the first wave crashes. You grasp onto the back of his neck and his thick bicep as you whine through the climax. It’s so much more intense than anything you’ve felt before. 

He purrs and parts from your mouth, hovering just above as he guides you through your orgasm, slowly as the aftermath ripples from your core. When he stills his fingers, you shiver and let him go. 

“That’s the first warmup,” he smirks and drags his hand back to your thigh. “I still haven’t had dessert.” 

He raises himself up on his knees and scoops his hand under your ass. He flips you onto your stomach and you gasp. He tugs at your panties impatiently and strips them down your legs. You tremble and whine as you kick your feet weakly. He frees them and your body seizes. 

He moves behind you and lifts our ass, putting you on your knees. You try to push your chest up and taps your ass. “No, stay,” he demands. You obey and your thighs quivers. 

He purrs as the mattress shifts. You feel his hot breath on your cheeks and you pucker. What is he doing? 

“This ass,” he spreads his hands across your cheeks. “It’s fucking perfect. I dreamt of you, baby, but I could never imagine anything so beautiful.” 

He pulls your cheeks apart and you twitch as you sense him getting closer. He swipes his tongue across your ring and you squeal. You reach back blindly and swat at him. He nips your cheek and snarls. 

“Hands to yourself, baby,” he warns. “I’m the one taking care of you.” 

You recoil and drop your hand back to the bed. You splay your fingers as he licks your hole again. You squeak and squirm. He repeats the motion, lapping up and down, around and around, stirring in you a new tide. Something deep and fiery. 

“Oh, oh, oh,” the noises tumble out as he kneads your cheeks. “Oh, my, what--- oh, oh.” 

He growls and it flows through as his tongue keeps going. He’s like a man starved as he dives in, drinking you up, devouring you. No man’s ever done that to you. No man ever did more but left you hollow on the mattress. 

Steve has shown you already that he is not just any man.